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Alright, as promised, session 2 of the weekly S&A Scandal Talkback, now that episode 5 has aired (last night), and I'm sure most of you have seen it. I watched it this morning.
If you haven't seen that episode yet, then you may NOT want to any of this.
So... Amanda Tanner's dead. She was kidnapped in episode 4 as we all know, but I certainly didn't expect that she'd be killed; so that was a bit of a surprise to me.
Oh, and by the way, she was also pregnant with what we thought was Prez Fitz's child, but it appears that it's actually NOT his child as is revealed in the end.
And he receives a blackmail letter (which Cyrus tells him about), but no one knows who the sender is.
So the question is: who's the third party in all this that we don't yet know about? Whose face have we yet to see? The mysterious caller at the other end of Amanda Tanner's phone line? The person responsible for her kidnapping and, now, death? Who's "Charlie" the dude Huck tortures for answers on Amanda Tanner's body's whereabouts?
Questions... questions... questions... who's got answers?
I think Prez Fitz's wife has dropped the occasional hint that leads me to believe she's not as innocent as she might seem; and she continues to do just that in episode 5; recall the scene in which she tells Fitz something like "there's no one in this building [the White House] who won't go to extremes for you." And then the camera lingers on her face a few extra seconds, as she cracks a smile that looks like it's hiding all kinds of pain. I think she knows about Fitz's affairs (including his relationship with Olivia Pope, and probably Amanda Tanner). Is she in anyway the mastermind behind some of these occurences?
This episode also introduced us to Vice President Sally Langston. Why now, with 2 episodes left? Fitz needs her support on the passage of the Dream Act (she holds the deciding vote) as we learned in episode 5 last night. What other role might she play in any of the show's developments?
And how about the ending, with Fitz showing up at Olivia's apartment. What could possibly happen next? I hope she doesn't go you know where, and preferably makes sure he does not get into that apartment.
As noted in a post yesterday... in next week's episode, we'll learn about how Olivia's relationship with the Prez was started, how her team was assembled, and the contentious primary race between Fitz and Sally Langston, who's now vice president, in an episode that will contain mostly flashbacks.
So I expect that next episode, next week, will likely fill in some holes for us before the season finale the following week, which I'm sure will be explosive, ending with a shocker of some kind. What that shocker will be, I don't know. But I'm sure it'll leave us anxious for the next season.
That season finale episode's synopsis reads:
When Quinn finds herself in a fix that's both tragic and compromising, Olivia and the team rush to help. Meanwhile, Cyrus turns reluctantly to Olivia when Billy Chambers makes an announcement that shakes Fitz's presidency to its core.
What could this tragic and compromising fix be that Quinn finds herself in? In her last scene in episode 5, she's at Gideon's doorstep, weeping, and he embraces her. I'm guessing the predicament she finds herself in will be a continuation of that night, and may involve Gideon.
And what could this core-shattering announcement from Billy Chambers be? Maybe he breaks his silence and reveals all he suspects of the Prez's affair with Olivia? Or could it be something else that's connected to the aforementioned mysterious hand?
Finally, let's hope that some time between now and the end of the season, ABC will renew the series for a second season.
I should note that The Hollywood Reporter says last night's episode saw a "small bump" in ratings, calling it "the most consistent midseason drama for ABC," averaging 2.1 rating with adults 18-49, and 7.4 million viewers.
moionfire | May 5, 2012 10:58 PM
I agree with Misha. This show has a lot of flaws, but it is still worth watching. Shonda really had a good concept, but she really ruined it with the terrible dialogue and often times outlandish storylines.
misha | May 5, 2012 11:41 AM
Oh and I forgot to add that I'm loving Jeff Perry (Cyrus) on this show. He (and Cyrus' relationship with the president) provides sufficent reason to continue watching, despite the show's flaws.
misha | May 5, 2012 11:32 AM
Ok, I've watched every episode of this show thus far and I'll continue to watch as long as it's on air. But I must say that there are more than a few things that annoy me about this show, most notably, the cheesy dialogue, painfully melodramatic tone/stories, blatant moralizing, and yes, Kerry Washington's acting. Now, before I say any more, let me add that I WANT to like Kerry in this role and I thought I would based on the promos. But my goodness, is she hamming it up! Specifically, her facial expressions are killing me softly....they are way too over the top. She's still trying too hard to convince us that she is Olivia Pope and as a result, her performance doesn't feel authentic to this viewer. I gotta agree with SLB. I think Angela Bassett would have killed a role like this or if a younger actress was a must then I would have went with someone like Sanaa Lathan or Nia Long, both of whom have the gravitas/screen presence to pull off a character like Olivia Pope while making her likable/vulnerable, I think. Alas, Washington is whom we have and I do like her chemistry with Tony Goldwyn so as I said, I'll continue to watch, nonetheless.
Melissa | May 5, 2012 3:38 AM
kidchaos' earlier comment, which shows what it all comes down to for him:
"how many bets she starts sleeping with the white guys instead of the one black dude?"
I said SO THE FUCK WHAT then and will say it again now. lol!! There are way too many shows and films with all types of wm/bw hookups, for you to just be worried about this one. This show is not a novelty in that area. Heck, take a look at Kerry's IMDB and it's not bw putting her in those roles. It's wm.
Believe that. Even if this show gets pulled, we'll be having Americana where a high power fashion designer (Anthony LaPaglia) has a black supermodel wife(Christine Adams). And so on and so forth. kidchaos this tv trend is not ending anytime soon, it started in the 80s, so better save up your Kleenex. Sorry it's not happening as much the other way around. Maybe that's why you're angry?
B Nicole | May 4, 2012 7:24 PM
I'm loving the show so far. I expected Amanda to be dead but I'm definitely wondering who the daddy is. I think the VP is the blackmailer so that she'll assume the presidency after forcing him to resign.
Kid chaos | May 4, 2012 5:52 PM
Cant buy that a white man running to be pres would mess with a black woman.I can buy a black man messing up his career for a white woman.
Nadine | May 4, 2012 3:34 PM
@KID CHAOS...also, I am in NO WAY assigning value to WMs ( I am not the one). I'm simply stating the reality... that you don't know shit.
Nadine | May 4, 2012 3:32 PM
@KID CHAOS... your contributions are worthless. It's actually laughable how wrong you are. I can tell you from personal experience back in my interning days (size 4-8 Black women in suits and high heels in D.C.... please... you were always getting approached/propositioned) or you could simply look at all the powerful Black women in D.C. married to White men that they met in college (mostly overseas) and also while working the D.C. rounds. You are so clueless you are embarrassing yourself. I can name, off the top of my head, like 10 D.C. officials, journalists and insiders (but won't call them out) who fall under the category you claim to not exist (crapola), the question is... can you? They are some of the highest ranking political insiders in the WORLD (male or female)... again, can you name them? You're clueless and most were there BEFORE Obama, CHAOS. Please stop...your ignorance is offensive. What you're not getting is the mindset... there is a sense that in Federal politics, the rules, especially the social rules, that apply to everyone in the country (right or wrong) do not apply to you in your D.C. "privilege" hence their always getting into trouble in D.C.... pedigree, educational background and charisma is more important .....forget it. You're just sooo wrong and seem to want people to infer that Black women have no value with the dismissive tone of your statement as well. Good luck being ignorant dude...
slb | May 4, 2012 2:43 PM
This show has been able to, surprisingly, hold my attention for 5 episodes. I'm still not sold on Kerry for this role. I do think her acting is good in this. I just feel that considering she's younger than me, that she's too young to play this woman who has ALL these connections in DC and knows everyone. I would have preferred someone older, or at least looks older. First person comes to mind is Angela Bassett. She would have been perfect. But that's neither here nor there.
I too was not expecting Amanda to end up dead. I figured if they were going to play that card, they would have shown her being killed last episode. I think they're too obvious playing up the FLOTUS' role in this. IMO, they should be a little more subtle. But my theory is she's responsible for Amanda being killed. Come to think of it, she may be the one Amanda was talking to on the phone. She found out about the affair and offered Amanda a large sum of money to go through this charade but had Amanda killed when she got cold feet. However, I think someone else is responsible for blackmailing the President.
I do find fault with this show. Which is easy when dealing with contrived Shonda Rhimes' melodramas. But the gripe that's been with me since the premiere is that apparently the same company responsible for performing background checks at CTU is responsible for security at Olivia Pope & Associates. Please tell me how every week someone just walks in to the office without being stopped, questioned, or approved? Everytime one of the characters looks up, there's someone unexpected in the office. Olivia can't afford a receptionist?


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U.S. milk production up 1% in October
January-October milk production up 0.5% from year ago.
BakingBusiness.com, 11/21/2013
by Ron Sterk
WASHINGTON — U.S. milk production totaled 16,425 million lbs in October, up 1% from October 2012, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in its latest Milk Production report. January-October production totaled 168,294 million lbs, up 0.5% from the same 10 months last year. First-quarter production of 50,501 million lbs was down 1.1% from the first quarter of 2012, April-June production was 51,962 million lbs, up 0.9%, and July-September production of 49,406 million lbs was up 1.5%, the U.S.D.A. said.

subset: commoncrawl


text: Royal Pains Series 3 - 4. The Shaw/Hank Redemption Share: About this programme 4/16. Hank and Evan travel to Florida to support their father Eddie at his parole hearing, but are shocked by what they discover about their father and his situation. Plus, Marisa goes into labour with only Divya to help her. Medical comedy drama, guest starring Henry Winkler, with Mark Feuerstein, Paulo Costanzo and Jill Flint. Cast and crew Cast Hank Lawson Mark Feuerstein Divya Katdare Reshma Shetty Evan Lawson Paulo Costanzo Jill Casey Jill Flint Eddie R Lawson Henry Winkler Categories Comedy Drama Share:


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"How would you Elevate the Sport of Boxing/ What would you like seen done", how "you" would implement a resugence into the fight game
"How would you Elevate the Sport of Boxing/ What would you like seen done", how "you" would implement a resugence into the fight game
Apr 12 2010, 10:55 AM
Post #1
Team BU''s Little Play Thing...LOL
Group: Team BU
Posts: 581
Joined: 27-May 08
From: Chicago
Member No.: 7,451
This topic is about what you as a boxing fan would do or like to see done to bring boxing back center stage. I think boxing has taken a major backseat to other sports in the media especially over the last 10 years. I think there a numerous things that could implement the fight game and bring it back close to what it use to be.
24/7 and fight camp 360 are great starters, they take a look into the lives of the guys that put it on the line in the ring. I think back stories greatly sell the fights. I think an inside series, something like inside mma would be great for the boxing fan that wants more boxing. Have interviews with up and coming fighters as well as those who are more established names, show highlights, up coming fights, build fights, and have expert analysis on those topics. Maybe even look at what is going on in the armature scene. I know i pretty much tune into Friday night fights for those reasons but its not nearly enough.
HBO has the rights to 1000's of fights, why not implement a package where consumers and boxing fans could access previous fights and relive the glory of past times.
I know a lot of people hate him but Floyd got the right idea with selling the fights the way he does. I know when i was younger i watched a lot of pro wrestling because i like the whole idea of the good guy fighting the bad guy and the way they sold the show. It doesnt always have to be that scenario but shit, promoters should want their fighters calling out guys, selling fights, talking trash, its about entertainment value.
up and comers need to fight more, tyson used to fight every month during his early career. I dont mind if a young guy is fighting bums but if your going to fight bums at least fight a lot, dont take 2 months off in between fights. It builds public interest, guys like Demitrius Andrade and Deontay Wilder need to stay in the public eye so they can become stars, not fight bums every 3 months.
How about a series, like a contender, tournament style, that only has prospects and promoting stables each have a stake in it. The show would air every week and have a fight at each weight class(say the original 8) and be seeded by amateur and pro experience. They wouldn't have to live in the same house or anything and the tournament would take well over a year to finish. Maybe make it like a team thing with team top rank and team golden boy etc.. where the winning stable would get promotional rights to airing the championships on ppv or some kind of reward. Then a champion is crowned at each weight class and the next year the tournament is held again with new participants and some reentering. Maybe the winners of that year eventually facing the champions of the previous year/s on a return ppv, something of that nature
what are some of your thoughts?
Apr 12 2010, 11:34 AM
Post #2
Super Middleweight
Group: Team BU
Posts: 3,603
Joined: 9-December 04
Member No.: 1,301
You make some valid points! I like the idea of accessing past fights.
1) 24/7 Style Shows
Love or hate MMA, they do a good job at selling their product - especially to the younger generation, which is what boxing needs. Like you say, shows like 24/7 are important and they could sell any fight to the general public if they edited it right.
2) Fighting More
Again, like the post above, fighters need to f-ckin' fight more! The top guys should be fighting at least 3 - 4 times a year...it's their job!
3) Less Belts
We can dream, but it would make things seem so much clearer to the general fan. They don't care or want to learn who the IBF, WBC, WBA, WBF, champion is....they just want to know who 'the champ' is.
Apr 12 2010, 11:42 AM
Post #3
Super Flyweight
Group: Members
Posts: 207
Joined: 24-March 08
Member No.: 7,112
I would sing up to a "boxing channel", just like the mlb network, nfl network, or nba tv. ESPN never talks about boxing, except for 3 minutes when there's a big fight. Then they spend the rest of the time talking about Tiger. That's why I go directly to the channel of the sport I want to hear about, so I don't have to listen to tennis news when I have no interest in it. We need a boxing channel where they not only show fights, but in-depth looks at all aspects of the game, from the trainers, to the judges and ref's, promoters, what it's like to work a corner, etc. Like nba inside stuff. Nowadays, you can't stay up to date on boxing without the internet. The RING magazine comes out every 4-5 months or whatever. By the time u buy the issue, you're reading old news. A weekly paper/magazine would help too.
Apr 12 2010, 11:49 AM
Post #4
Junior Middleweight
Group: Team BU
Posts: 2,005
Joined: 13-May 08
From: Bonny Scotland
Member No.: 7,369
You make some valid points! I like the idea of accessing past fights.
1) 24/7 Style Shows
Love or hate MMA, they do a good job at selling their product - especially to the younger generation, which is what boxing needs. Like you say, shows like 24/7 are important and they could sell any fight to the general public if they edited it right.
2) Fighting More
Again, like the post above, fighters need to f-ckin' fight more! The top guys should be fighting at least 3 - 4 times a year...it's their job!
3) Less Belts
We can dream, but it would make things seem so much clearer to the general fan. They don't care or want to learn who the IBF, WBC, WBA, WBF, champion is....they just want to know who 'the champ' is.
Thats the one for me. Many casual fans of boxing are fans because of one or two fighters, they have their favourite that they like to watch. If these guys fought 3 or 4 times every year you have to think that more people would be exposed to more fighters on undercards etc and would spend more time following the sport. Which leads nicely onto the next biggest problem in boxing. The lazy promoters. Start stacking undercards for fuck sake!!!
Apr 12 2010, 01:15 PM
Post #5
Group: Members
Posts: 962
Joined: 28-September 07
From: Vancouver, BC
Member No.: 6,263
Better fight cards, more often.
Boxing has alot of talent, the problems with promoters is that interests often clash. I would love to see boxing implement a style similar to UFC where all their fighters are represented under the UFC banner, boxing should do the same. Having 3-4 quality fights on a PPV card with 4-6 reputable names would make even the casual boxing fan excited and maybe even get some recognitition to those elite-lesser known fighters in the lower weight classes (aka Montiel,Donaire,Darchinyan etc)
Apr 12 2010, 01:22 PM
Post #6
Junior Welterweight
Group: Members
Posts: 1,327
Joined: 10-October 06
From: NJ
Member No.: 5,468
Same day weigh ins and get rid of all the fucking belts.
Apr 12 2010, 01:57 PM
Post #7
Light Heavyweight
Group: Team BU
Posts: 4,425
Joined: 29-October 03
Member No.: 84
Two things:
ONE - fighters must fight more. Fighting once or twice a year just does not build support for them. By the time they've had a month's break, negotiated for the next fight for three months, trained for six weeks the general public have forgotten who they were.
They should strike whilst the iron is hot, if you've just gotten yourself into the public eye with a breakthrough performance, why wait a year for your next fight? I guess it's because fighters are too scared to lose unbeaten records, which shouldn't really mean a thing.
TWO - The three bodies, WBC, WBA and IBF should make the other champs mandatories for their own titles. Surely if there was one undisputed champion the alphabets wouldn't lose too much in sanctioning fees, especially as it means the guy who holds all three belts is going to be a bigger name than some of the random, unheard of fighters they have at the moment. Surely a third of the Mosley-Mayweather fight sanctioning fees is worth more than all of the Jan Zaveck IBF fees.
Those two things would clean the fight game up.
Apr 12 2010, 02:07 PM
Post #8
Light Heavyweight
Group: Team BU
Posts: 4,200
Joined: 10-August 05
Member No.: 3,047
Great topic and great replies so far, I agree with you all.
These ridiculous PPV cards have got to go. If it is quality and warrants PPV, I am fine by that for BIG fights. But these shitty no name, has been, awful match-ups we get for the majority of cards is a joke.
Fighters def need to fight more often.
Get some name fighters on some Saturday or Sunday afternoon free TV.
Get one universal set of rules for boxing.
Apr 12 2010, 04:27 PM
Post #9
Junior Welterweight
Group: Members
Posts: 1,410
Joined: 9-April 08
From: Honolulu, HI
Member No.: 7,195
I would like to see fighter's insurance. This is something that may or may not be in existence but I never hear about it. Fighters get hurt or killed in the ring and their families are left with nothing. The insurance would go a long way in fixing that problem. I would also like to see a retirement fund for fighters. Most fighters can't manage their money and often go broke after retiring. They may have ring smarts but money smarts is totally different. The best have succumb to this problem. Even SRR died broke.
I would suggest some type of 401K for boxers where parts of their earnings go into this account so when they retire they have something to fall back.
Apr 12 2010, 04:45 PM
Post #10
The Prime Minista
Group: Team BU
Posts: 6,677
Joined: 3-December 05
Member No.: 3,850
The problem with a sorry ass undercard is that the Main Event is taking such a HUGE slice of the pie. Shit, sometimes they're taking the whole fucking thing. For an undercard to contain viable names they would have to:
A- Pay the Main Event fighters less
B- Charge the fans more
With the regular $50 PPV, and live gate tix averaging about $40-$100 for a cheap seat...there isn't much more that they can charge us. That means that the fighters themselves would have to take a pay cut...and you all know how likely that is of happening.
The best shot that we have of seeing a good undercard is when the Main Event fighter is also getting a promoter percentage. That keeps their cut to where they're used to, and frees up a little more cash to fill the card. Unfortunately for all of us, that STILL is no guarantee that they'll actually put that "extra" money back into the card, instead of just putting it in their pocket.
This post has been edited by Spyder: Apr 12 2010, 04:47 PM
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U.S. Representative Brad Miller (D-NC) toured two small brewers in Raleigh, NC, recently, highlighting his support of the Small BREW Act.
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Give Economy Hops With Microbrew Tax Cut: Christian DeBenedetti
Freelance writer Christian DeBenedetti shares what it would mean for America's 1,900+ small and independent craft breweries if the proposed federal excise tax reduction is passed in "Give Economy Hops With Microbrew Tax Cut."
Delaware Senators Visit Local Brewery
Fordham Brewing meets with Democratic Senators Carper and Coons.
Texas Small Brewer Wins Partial Victory Against State Alcoholic Beverage Commission
In a decision handed down earlier this week by the U. S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, several provisions of Texas alcohol law have been found to violate the First Amendment of the Constitution. The court found in favor of Jester Kin
US Senator Visits Ohio Craft Brewer
Great Lakes Brewing Co. provides an update to US Senator Rob Portman's visit to their Cleveland brewery.
Senator Charles Schumer Joins Senate Small Brewers Caucus
Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) recently joined the Senate Small Brewers Caucus and is in support of the proposed Brewer's Employment and Excise Relief Act (S. 534).
New Jersey's Flying Fish Brewing Co. hosts Lt. Governor
Small business in New Jersey prompts Lt. Governor's visit to Flying Fish.
BA Members Meet on Hill in Support of Small Brewers Bill; Participate in NBWA
BA members visit DC to meet with lawmakers and showcase their craft beers.
Brewers Guilds Crucial In State Reform
Established brewers guilds effective in reform in Massachusetts and California.
Congressman Visits Lucky Bucket Brewing Co.; Commits to Support Small Brewer Tax Bill
Continuing an August tradition, Congressman Lee Terry (R-Nebraska) made his third visit to Lucky Bucket Brewing Co. in as many years on Monday, August 15.


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Divorced after 11 years and 16 years together, I moved on with my life accepting all things as a lesson for the next chapter. I moved away from home, which is the Philly area and pursued a dream. I succeeded and decided it was time to come home after 10 years.........glad to be here too :o).....it was awesome to move home and watch the PHILS go all the way to the world series....I knew then, I was suppose to be home.
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Police arrested two men early Tuesday morning following an argument on Percy Priest Lake in Davidson County.
According to affidavits, the men, Timothy Flanagan, 43, and James Phillips, 51, were arguing in a tent on Luau Island on the lake when Phillips pointed a gun at Flanagan.
A struggled over the weapon ensued and the gun discharged. Neither man was hit.
Phillips got into a kayak to leave the island, leaving Flanagan stranded, an affidavit stated. Flanagan followed and tipped the kayak.
In response, Phillips told police he grabbed an oar and struck Flanagan in the face.
Both men suffered minor injuries in the altercation.
Flanagan was charged with domestic assault and booked into the Metro jail on a $2,000 bond.
Phillips was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and booked on a $10,000 bond.
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More than 2,000 join First Lady for 2013 Kansas Book Festival
Topeka – More than 2,000 book enthusiasts joined Kansas First Lady Mary Brownback for the 2013 Kansas Book Festival at the Kansas State Capitol in Topeka.
"I want to extend my deepest thanks to the excellent authors who took part in the festival, the adults and children who took time on this beautiful Saturday to come out and enjoy the event, and all of our amazing sponsors who helped make this event possible," First Lady Brownback said.
In total, more than 25 authors participated in the 2013 Kansas Book Festival, including Frank White, Larry Welch, Joel Rosenberg and many of the 2013 Kansas Notable Book winners.
"The State Library is pleased to be part of the Kansas Book Festival and will continue to support this in any way we can. It is a wonderful way to promote the love of reading and lifelong learning by bringing authors, publishers and readers together," said State Librarian Jo Budler.
During the book festival, the First Lady assisted the Kansas State Library in recognizing the 2013 Kansas Notable Books by presenting awards to their authors. The Kansas Notable Book Award is the only award for books either written by Kansans or that have a Kansas connection. The winners this year are:
The Kansas Book Festival is a 501(c)3 organization established through the Topeka Community Foundation. The book festival organization will award grants to public and school libraries across the state that can be used to supplement their books, reading programs, and technology.
The following sponsors made the 2013 Kansas Book Festival possible:
The 2014 Kansas Book Festival will take place on September 13, 2014 at the Kansas State Capitol.


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The brand isn't giving away many details about anything else regarding the new brand, but rumor has it the new line will be high-end.
The Swedish retailer already owns the label "COS," and is well known for its limited edition team-ups with big name designers such as Versace and Marni.
"The new chain of stores will be independent and complement the other offerings from the Group..." said H&M chief executive officer Karl-Johan Persson.


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Vicks Electric Steam Inhaler
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I recently returned to work after being out of the office with bronchitis, walking pneumonia and then finally a hospital stay for pneumonia.
The week I returned has been bitterly cold winter weather - the worst kind when you really need warm, moist air to feel comfortable. I bought the Vicks Personal Steam Inhaler for my cubicle and I am thrilled with it. I steam for 5-10 mins when I first come in for the day and steam again around lunchtime or whenever else I need it.
I am using distilled water in it, which will hopefully eliminate having to treat it with vinegar.
Thanks for a great product!
steam inhaler worked just fine. My wife used it for the first time and it quickly
decongested her nasal passages.
This is so much better than the non-electric version that I have used for years - it was either too hot or too cool to do much use. I didn't know there was an electronic version available since my local pharmacy does not carry it. It was a search in sheer desperation that took me to other stores in search of an electric one. One day and I'm hooked. It would be nicer if the aromatic inhalant pads weren't so expensive. I had picked up a bottle of inhalant (didn't open the inhaler box first) that said it worked in ALL electronic vaporizers. I guess there is a difference between a vaporizer and an inhaler? In any case, I'm thrilled with this product.
Product is nice and compact. Produces a lot of steam and for a long time.
I suffered with a cold for several weeks and finally consulted an ENT doctor. He recommended the Vicks Steam Inhaler. After 2 sessions all symptons disappeared.
the unit works very well. but the last one i purchased broke in only severeal months of use. so i am registering this last one i bought.
I am in love with this product. It is effective and I love the fact that it is so light and portable. Unfortunately, the store where I purchased it at sold it to me damaged and is refusing to give me a refund or return the product.
I have had one of these for many years and this year decided to get my children each one. They are great and easy to use.
The V1200 has provided good relief from sinus related migraine headaches (actually eye aches). Unhappily, the rotating support for the face mask has tiny plastic tabs, all but one of which have snapped off. Your website does not offer spare parts. Can I purchase a replacement mask support?
I think this is a great product. I used the product and feel better. The only challange that I find with this product is you need to purchase replacement pads. It would be nice if you could just add oils to it.
I give this product 4 stars for now, since I've only had the opportunity to use it once thus far. It produces plenty of steam, and per doctor's orders, I am to place my face 2 inches from the mask to use. Any closer than that and I find it to be too hot. My only complaint is that the mask was received in a deformed condition, more than likely a result of a packaging error. This isn't a show stopper since the mask softens and will conform to your face once it's been heated, but I found that it returned back to it's original deformity once it cooled.
Nice steam inhalor unit. Puts out hot but controlable steam. Inhalent pads also a plus. Simple to use and operate. " RECOMENDED " Satisfied customer, { R. S. }
I want to report that my Steam Inhaler nonstick finish in the water well has now bubbled and blistered. It is not broken or flaked as yet, but it is just a matter of time. I have used only flitered water and no vinegar. I have only wiped it clean.
My first inhaler, also purchased in Jan. of this year, nonsitck finish blistered and cracked in just 2 weeks of use.
This product would be far superior without the nonstick finish. It is not necessary. My first one was replaced by the online seller.
I love everything else about the product but not the nonstick finish. It is probably not good to breath the fumes either. There is lots of concern over nonstick.
Linda Woods
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Fran Drescher Sounds Off for Marriage Equality
October 21, 2010
Actress Fran Drescher is the latest New Yorker to join the Human Rights Campaign's "New Yorkers for Marriage Equality" campaign, raising the profile of the timely fight for equal marriage rights in the Empire State. Her new video and the entire campaign can be viewed online at whttp://www.hrc.org/campaigns/new-yorkers-for-marriage-equality. In her call to fellow New Yorkers, Drescher states that marriage equality is a matter of "justice and equality and liberty for everyone."
This is the sixth installment of the series; Drescher joins Mayor Bloomberg, Moby, Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe, actress Julianne Moore and designer Kenneth Cole to support marriage equality in the state – In the coming weeks and months HRC will continue the series of prominent New Yorkers speaking out in support for marriage equality to include: Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick, David Chang, Tom Colicchio, Whoopi Goldberg, Ethan and Ryan Hawke, Christopher Meloni and Joan Rivers. An equal marriage bill failed last year by eight votes in the New York state Senate despite having the support of the Governor and being passed in the Assembly. HRC's Campaign for New York Marriage is working to defeat senators who voted against equality and instead to elect fair-minded leaders. To date, HRC's New York PAC has raised over $150,000 for election-related activities.
Top Posts
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August 14, 2014
#LoveIsLove: After 20 Years, Same-Sex Couple Runs Out Of Time Because of Marriage Equality Ban
August 11, 2014
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Rand Paul on Marriage Equality: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
August 7, 2014


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South Shore swells keep surfers and lifeguards busyUPDATED 6:48 PM HST May 17, 2013
Surf's up on the South Shores! Lifeguards are busy but they aren't the only ones with their hands full.Video Transcript
ones with their hands full.. KITV4's Brenton Awa has today's top story. NATS SURF Whether you're here to surf... Sit and watch... or -- have to work... Tirst south shore swell is already making an impact in town. Hawaiian Ocean's Waikiki usually has no problem renting out its surf-boards. But it was a different story today ... 36:41 "TODAY I THINK THEY'RE SCARED, THEY'RE SCARED OF THE BIG WAVES BREAKING SO NOW THEY WANT TO WANT TO TAKE A LESSON WHICH IS REALLY GOOD FOR US." Kevin Okimoto is a surf instructor... He says the list for surf lessons usually book up just a half page log.. Today -- it was over a page and a half. 35:20 "SOME OF THESE PEOPLE SAVE ALL THEIR MONEY THROUGHOUT THEIR WHOLE LIFE AND WANT TO CATCH ONE WAVE AND STAND UP, AND THAT'S WHAT WE DO." Local surfers also filled Waikiki -- for what they say was the most consistent day in recent memory. 52:00 "ALL MY LIFE PRETTY MUCH, THERE WAS ONE IN SEPTEMBER THAT WAS PRETTY BIG BUT NOTHING LIKE THIS THAT'S CONSISTENT." Consistent for lifeguards too. They rescued 9 people and assisted another 39. Ocean safety officials say this was their busiest day of the year so far. They've already relocated personal to help handle the crowded south shore beaches. And they plan to work longer shifts during this swell. 55:38 "MOST OF OUR WATER ACTIVITIES HAVE BEEN ASSISTS, PEOPLE WITH LOST BOARDS, PEOPLE WITH BROKEN BOARDS, PEOPLE JUST GETTING CAUGHT IN THE CURRENT WITH FLOATER MATS." 54:14 - 54:29 STAND-UP "OCEAN SAFETY OFFICALS WANT TO GET A MESSAGE OUT TO SURFERS, THEY SAY IF YOU BREAK YOUR BOARD OUT ON THE WATER, TO MAKE SURE YOU BRING ALL OF ITS PIECES BACK INTO SHORE. THEY DON'T WANT IT TO FLOAT OUT TO SEA AND BE MIS- INTERPRETED FOR A MISSING SURFER. BAWA KITV4 NEWS." KITV4's Moanikeala
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CommentsThe views expressed are not those of this site, this station or its affiliated companies. By posting your comments you agree to accept our terms of use.blog comments powered by Disqus


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Finding licensed roofers in Orlando that are qualified to install a new roof in your area can turn into a real time consuming project. Reading all of the local reviews online, checking for current licensing and eventually selecting a company near you to call and schedule an inspection or roof estimate can often take weeks before you are actually ready to get the job started… Welcome to Roofing Quest…where you save time and money without having to sacrifice quality! We are a locally owned business that has hand picked an exclusive group of Central Florida roofing contractors offering discounted products and services at very affordable prices.
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Akron man charged with murder in connection with shooting death of 24-year-old
AKRON, Ohio - A 21-year-old has been charged with murder after a shooting death in Akron Thursday evening.
Police are investigating the homicide of 24-year-old Derek Edwards, of Akron.
They said Edwards was walking near the intersection of Clifford Avenue and Hammel Street at about 9:50 p.m. when he was shot and killed on the 700 block of Clifford by Larrence Clay, 21, of Akron.
Clay was charged with aggravated murder.
Edwards was taken to Akron City Hospital where died from his injuries at 10:46 p.m.
An autopsy is scheduled for Friday.


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- James Kindler
- Pittsburgh, PA
- United States
Mental Health Recovery Coordinator,
This conversation is closed.
How do we get corporations out of government.
Large corperations run our government, thay donate huge amounts of money for which they are rewarded. The government no longer represents the people but rather the corporations. We are supposed to be a representitive republic but our needs are not being represented, the corporations are. This is why I'm in the occupy movement, to try and return to our constitution and excercise my rights. We want the government to represent us and not the corporations, they are not people. Everyone thinks we are there to get money from the 1%, while this may be true for many what I have just written is true for me and most in the movement.
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Don TraubJan 15 2012: James, I apologize for not directly addressing your question in my initial response and my followups. I am fatigued from watching the show of our world. Seeing how people are oppressed, abused, manipulated and murdered. We inhabit a world that is being guided by a global conspiracy whose roots can be easily traced to a small group of bankers who have systematically monopolized everything from our money supply to our food supply. The evidence is all there. So, when I read your question: "How do we get corporations out of government?" I automatically substituted the question with "Who are the real criminals in this global crime scene?" and "What's the best thing we can do as long as we're all standing around talking about fixing what's wrong with the world?" By the way, just doing THAT is a fantastic start. I support you guys. I love that you're putting yourselves out there. I hope that everyone will get educated and continue to sharpen your message and bring attention to so many things that are wrong.
Don Traub
James Kindler 20+Jan 18 2012: Great post Don, we will stay out there as long as it takes. The Bank of New York Mellon has us in court trying to get our tents of there property but we have good lawyers who are helping us stay. Even if we do get evicted we say you can't evict an idea whos time has come. We are not only connected by camp but by internet, we will keep demonstrating until they listen. We are not a bunch of radicals, we are average citizens wanting major change. The people in Occupy Pittsburgh range in age from 18 to 70, I myself am 50. I work full time as do many others but we are out there at night and on weekends. Thank you for your input and don't believe what little the media says about the Occupy Movement, we are strong and determined to get corporations out of government. We also seek social justice in all facets of society, no more corporate welfare, no more police brutality, no more a policed state. We have been peaceful but arrested, beaten, maced and more. Pittburgh is the exception, the police respect what we are doing for them, they are but a tool of theose in power.
Jan 20 2012: Hi James, this is a little off topic, but just so you know you have my support and solidarity out there in the various Occupations. I don't necessarily agree with your end goal, I think it's beside the point, but I think what you're doing is important on its own. You are shattering the illusion of consent and consensus with the status quo. You're showing people who have been thinking that there is something seriously wrong here (usually quietly and to themselves) that they are not alone. I don't know whether something will come directly of Occupy, but thanks to you guys the world, and I, know that there is widespread awareness of the problem and a desire to find solutions.
I'm glad that you're not in particular danger there in Pittsburgh, at least not yet. I hope you guys have a plan of action in case the worst happens. I've been circulating some materials on peaceful strategies and countermeasures to riot control and mass arrest techniques (I didn't come up with them, I've just accumulated them over time). Have you guys been getting this stuff out there and talking about it? I'm not real sure how well it's been getting around. I hate to see good people getting hurt for no good reason.
Jan 23 2012: Hi Justen
Thank you for your solidarity and we are safe and have been practicing in case something happens. People drive by and yell "get a job", they have no clue as to what we are doing and have done. We are attempting to wake up the 99% so things can change. I'm not for taxing the rich, that's a drop in the bucket and will kill jobs. I am for seperating government from corporations and corporations from government. I work full time, own my own house and car, I don't comp in 20 degree weather for fun. This is the message people should be getting from Occupy but the news won't print the truth, I think the truth will come out anyway. Thank you so much for your comment.
Jan 23 2012: Michael M: I'm not interested in further debating the nature or morality of states. Believe it or not I've had this conversation many times and it has become very tedious. Clearly neither of us is interested in changing our point of view.
Regarding arable land: I stated this elsewhere in the thread, not sure if we had this conversation or not, but there are different kinds of efficiency; until you know what factors you're trying to maximize, you can't determine whether you've taken the most effective course of action. Industrial agriculture maximizes price-performance. That is all fine and good, if all other factors are irrelevant (particularly space usage and energy consumption). If you want to maximize the amount of food you can produce per acre, or maximize the amount of food per unit of energy, there are radically more effective methods (land and energy are cheap). Unfortunately they cannot be automated or scaled very well with existing technology - they require a lot of specific human attention and intervention.
No I don't expect everyone to grow their own food. I am certain that everyone could, but not everyone wants to, or should want to. There are about 4 acres of land per person, 1.2-1.4 presently arable, on the planet for every human being (you're welcome to check my math there). A substantial amount more could be sustainably improved. It takes a small fraction of that to provide 99% of the food needs for an individual using space and energy-maximizing techniques. We could all live quite comfortably on just 1/3rd acre per person, varying according to climate. See for instance what http://urbanhomestead.org is doing.
As for luddism, it would be hard to be a transhumanist luddite, and I am certainly the former :) This is a common ad-hominem attack, but not a very effective one. Obviously I am here, chatting on the internet, on a website entitled "Technology, Entertainment, and Design". At the very least I'd be a pretty hypocritical luddite.
Jan 23 2012: Justen
That's fine if you don't want to talk about the morality or the basis of the state. I just really disagree with your assumptions. Therefor on the nature of this question on getting corporations out of government I do not see how your position really moves along in any solid fashion.
I have seen the stats on land usage before and while division might work on paper, in reality the arable land is not available, nor will it be to be divided up. Personally I prefer solutions that can actually deal with our problems. I do agree that more efficient methods can be found for food production, but in general food production is not our problem it is food distribution. (That and the fact that a lot of corn in the US goes to cars and cows, not people.)
Sorry the luddite comment was not an ad hominem argument but one that goes to the core of what you propose. Obviously you do use "contemporary media."
I have enjoyed your comments and I just can't go there.
Jan 23 2012: Michael M: My understanding of luddism is that it is the rejection of industrial technology and the belief that machines are somehow harmful rather than helpful to human productivity. I am definitely not in favor of that idea. I'm all about technology - I toy with robotics as a hobby, I write artificial intelligence simulations, I'll be the first in line for cybernetic implants.
As for arable land being divided up, almost everybody who lives in a suburban home has a substantial amount of arable land available for use in more productive things than passive-aggressive lawn-keeping competitions with their neighbors :) The link I posted above is an ideal example of what can be accomplished on a suburban lot. If you would, entertain a thought experiment where everybody lives in a suburban home grows a fully edible landscape that provides, say, 50% of their annual food needs. Suppose they dedicated 1/8th the time they spend watching television to the garden instead - that's about 8 hours a week on average and just the amount of time required. This is definitely achievable in the temperate zones.
I argue the main reason that this doesn't happen is that people have better things to do with their time in a place where food is cheap and abundant. With the looming approach of the end of cheap, portable energy and soil improvement in the form of petrochemicals, without which industrial scale agriculture is impossible, that may change. If and when the time comes where waiting for a political solution is no longer an option, I'll be there and ready to offer alternatives. That's what direct action is all about - alternatives.
I agree about allocation and distribution of food - fixing that alone would fix a lot of the world's problems. Alas, Big Ag owns all relevant institutions that could be involved in a political answer, and I don't see that changing any time soon. As you like to point out, this is the reality we deal with.
Tim Colgan 50+Jan 18 2012: Don. I don't dispute that conspiracies exist. People with power conspire together to maintain their power. That can be taken as a given. The question is - how do people without power protect themselves against those with power? Isn't that the principle theory behind government "of, by and for the people"?
Now we can also admit that the powerful then try (and are often successful) at manipulating the government for their own purposes. But is the solution to that problem to eliminate government? Or to reform the government in such a way that it better represents the people?
Jan 18 2012: Tim
Really good insights and ones we have to take seriously in all this. We do live in a country ruled by law, albeit (as Don points out) the lawless seem to win the day at times. Change like many of us have spoken of here, comes with very deliberate actions. It does take some people being dedicated not to just a cause (they come and go), but the causes of the cause.
We do not need to eliminate government, but make it not just responsive, but responsible in its actions. The debacle last year on the deb ceiling is ample proof we are not there. I would still hold out on this issue, that changing back even to the way it was 20 years ago with lobbyists, would do a great deal for us. There is an incredible amount of leverage there, if we can make our elected leaders responsible for saying clearly and forthrightly who they are receiving money from. Limiting lobbyist groups by amount, by registration, by legally limiting there ability to buy influence, would greatly help.
I agree, the system may be corrupted, but it is after all, the system we have allowed to grow. We can work to change that.
Jan 20 2012: Tim, I guess I'm just an old-fashioned question everything guy. I can't get past the 'idea' that it is wrong to force anyone to do anything. I have always said that every person's life is their own personal experiment on how to live. I find the idea that anyone, or any group has the right to dictate to me how I should run my 'way to live' experiment untenable. As far as I know, this life may be all I get at conscious, proactive engagement with the universe. If it is, I want to be part of allowing mankind to experience it in the most meaningful and fulfilling ways possible. Therefore, I seek to abolish any unnecessary boundaries to my opportunities for personal exploration and expression.
I should also point out that for me, and possibly other people who think like me, this fight for freedom from external control is not something I do just for fun (though I do enjoy the discourse among other intelligent people, and the opportunity to open people's eyes), I'm fighting because I strongly feel the wrongness of it and know that it is at the center of a deepening, dark cloud smothering mankind from its potential. I have also observed that the pace of those working against this consciousness expansion has accelerated. If we don't fundamentally change our thinking soon, it will be much more difficult in the near future. Protect the internet. Protect the internet. Protect the internet!
James Kindler 20+
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The Links below give access to the Guilford County Development Ordinance, County Code and Landscape Manual.
Development Ordinance
This Ordinance was established in order to lessen congestion in the streets, secure safety from fire, panic and other dangers, provide adequate light and air, prevent the overcrowding of land, avoid undue concentration of population, facilitate the adequate and economic provision of transportation, water, sewage, schools, park, and other public services, protect water quality within watershed critical areas and/or designated municipal watersheds, preserve and enhance visual attractiveness and economic vitality, and require appropriate setbacks for buildings and other structures to facilitate the safe movement of vehicular and pedestrian traffic, provide adequate fire lanes and ensure adequate distance from dust, noise and fumes created by vehicular traffic.
Text Amendments
County Code
Code was created as result of North Carolina General Statutes granting authority to counties to adopt and issue a code of its ordinances (G.S. 153A-49); general ordinance-making power (G.S. 153A-121); territorial jurisdiction of ordinances (G.S. 153A-122); and authority not limited by enumeration of powers (G.S. 153A-124).
Landscape Manual
The purpose of the Landscape Manual is to inform the citizens of Guilford County about varieties of native and locally adopted plants and their characteristics as the relate to meeting the landscaping regulations set forth by the Guilford County Development Ordinance.
Note: Copies of the Development Ordinance, County Code and Landscape Manual are available for purchase in the Planning and Development Office for $20.00.


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Dungeon Hollows Beagles is a family ran kennel. We pride ourselves on our blood lines, and the performance of our hounds. We strive to better our pack and the beagle breed as a whole with hard hunting, big nosed, and FAST paced running Black and Tans.
We have made many friends along the way, in hunting and trialing our hounds. These people have been a god send to us, they have handed down wisdom to us that we will pass down to future generations of beaglers our sons.
We believe in the all around beagle, you should not only be able to trial but also hunt the same hound.
We pride ourselves on honesty and integrity, some people out there will lie just to sell a hound. One thing is for sure a hound will tell the truth in its running. We will always be up front and honest about our hounds, and you can also trust the people that we have put their links on our page. For Links to other beagle websites click on the links page.
We want to say a very special thank you to our good friend Jim Colbert from Silverhill Kennels. Jim has sold us almost every hound we own. He is honest, up front, and has some of the best hounds in the country! We encourage you to visit his website.
Thank you for visiting our site, any questions just click on contact us.
Please take the time to watch the following video of a few of our hounds
Pleasant Valley Beagle Club
3rd in Field Finish
Vic' Silverhill LoBo
Monon Beagle Club
1st in Field Finish
Topshelf Silverhill E&J Chip
East Tennessee
2nd in Field Finish
Topshelf Silverhill MTN Bottom Stubby
Our niece Kylie with her buck from 2013 gun season
Our oldest son Hunter with his buck from 2013 gun season
Our oldest and youngest loving a day of hunting!
Ryan and his buck from 2013 gun season


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By STEPHANIE BEECKEN6 News Reporter
NASHVILLE (WATE) - After more questioning Friday morning, a jury was selected to hear the case for the retrial of Christian-Newsom defendant George Thomas.
Thomas is set to be tried again for his involvement in the kidnapping, torture and murder of Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom in January 2007.
He was granted a retrial after the original presiding judge later revealed he was abusing prescription pills while overseeing Thomas' trial.
In that trial, Thomas was found guilty on 38 charges and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
This week it took only 10 hours of questioning to select a jury for the retrial, much less than attorneys anticipated.
On Thursday, the pool of potential jurors was whittled down to less than 80 people.
To start things off Friday, several people were dismissed for hardships, saying they had to care for family members and no one was available to cover for them.
Another juror said he needed to work enough hours to receive overtime pay, but the judge did not dismiss him.
Judge Kurtz told the potential jurors, "This is not California. We will not waste your time and take half-day recesses."
Thomas was present again in court and wore a white shirt to court. He maintained a blank stare throughout proceedings, much like he did Thursday.
The judge then began explaining more about the trial, saying that they were not seeking the death penalty for Thomas and telling the pool not to be concerned about the lapse between the crime and the trial.
Both the state and defense attorneys spoke to jurors about what they needed to prove in the case and asking jurors questions about their backgrounds that might influence their decisions.
The defense asked whether any potential jurors might let emotion override the evidence in the case.
The state made sure no one had a problem judging another person.
One potential juror who was later excused, said he wanted to know why the trial was being held in 2013 for a crime that occurred in 2007. The judge said he'd have to consider evidence only.
After several more jurors were dismissed during questioning, the jury was officially seated around noon.
Sixteen people were selected for the jury. Four of those people will be selected later randomly to serve as alternates.
The jury consists of eight white men, three white women and five black women. All ages are represented in the pool, though most are middle-aged. Two are in their 20s.
Thomas' retrial is set to begin Monday at 9 a.m. at the City-County Building in downtown Knoxville. Jurors will be bussed to Knox County on Sunday.
1306 N. Broadway NE Knoxville, Tennessee 37917
Telephone: 865.637.NEWS(6397)
Fax: 865.525.4091
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com


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Our Lil' schoolroom and shelves have seen some changes in way of holiday cheer. Woohoo! The art corner has been scooched over to make room for a lovely smelling pine tree. We managed to pick one out together last night and get it in the house :) we will wait for dada's day off to … Continue reading
Filed under preschool …
back to school again la.
The break: After a week of preparing for vacation and then the week we were away on vacation the kids and I caught a cold and were a week out of commission. Blah, unmotivated and weak I felt a bit hopeless about homeschool. This week has been better though, thank goodness. We have fresh shelves … Continue reading
Camping, meal plans and homeschool.
homeschooler's camp whenever: Even when school is in session,lol. We have been talking about camping lately. The nights will get cold here soon so we really need to get out there! We can take school with us or make it up later- but we sure want to take advantage of good weather! A day or … Continue reading
2012 school photos
Here are the big kids first week of school photos! How did our first week go, you ask? Good, mostly and that's just fine! I was ready for the weekend though, lol. How did your week go? Skye age 5 Sun age 3 And baby coloring while the big kids have school- well she's just … Continue reading
our lil' schoolroom 2012-2013
We moved house last month and lost an office space and a large living and dining area that we'd used for school. The "office" is now at the end of our new dining room and it looks directly into the space near the front door where we set up the new school area. the view … Continue reading
preparation for writing fun
I saw this on pinterest and liked it. More importantly I think my big kids (meaning not the baby) will like something like it too! So, this is my take on it x2- in baskets of course- and on our language shelves. #montessoristyle one dry erase board for each big kid, washable dry erase markers, … Continue reading
Curriculum 2012-13
It is curriculum week next week, yay! so drumroll please… Montessori has made the curriculum search easy this go around. I do pull from pinterest for other Montessori inspired and or just darn cute activities. But these albums are plenty and awesome! I am still tempted by the catalogs coming in the mail lol, just … Continue reading
summer so far…
I'm joining the HSMJ here this week- it has been a while… In my life this week… and in our homeschool this week… Despite my extraordinary plans for this summer we've been taking it easy around here- so far- for a few big and unexpected reasons. this hasn't meant that things are easy here at … Continue reading
nuts and bolts…
recently on a look through my moms shed I found a few things that I thought would work for a practical life lesson. This is my homemade take on a nuts and bolt lesson in our homeschool. in addition to the Montessori presentation this was also a good time to cover such things as: small, … Continue reading
wordless wednesday: summertime #1
wee garden 2012 and ladybug love…
This year we decided that we'd grow our garden in containers rather than raised beds. It started out well. we had so many lovely seedlings- absolutely none of them have survived. I'm thinking that it was a fungus of some sort. I transplanted them outside when they were nice and tall. I hardened them off, … Continue reading
our Montessori week
So HS moms, are you all done for the summer or are you keeping your school rooms(s) open all summer long? After our two-week break here i am certainly ready for the new week of homeschool leading us into the summer, Woo hoo! This is what our school area looks like this week :) happy … Continue reading
the break, updates and peace
so…we took two weeks off from HS this month. I meant to take one week off when Skye had his eye surgery but we took two and it was a good idea in the end. double eye surgery: Skye is doing great. The first few days were tough but he was all climbing and running … Continue reading
Wordless Wednesday: Spring #6
may: week 1
In our homeschool this week… This week we worked from the sensorial, practical life and language shelves. We made a little Montessori-inspired outdoor gardening and pretend play area. We went fishing here as a family. The kids and I went to this very lovely bakery for a school trip with the playschool peeps and afterwards … Continue reading
the family that bakes mud cupcakes together…
… has fun together! I've wanted to make an outside garden and play area for our little family for ages. The place we are staying now has a space that works well for this. I decided not to plant a garden in the ground (just in case we move house again). Some of our seedlings … Continue reading
this week's shelves and trays aqui.
this week here… sensorial shelves: practical life trays: language shelves and a shelf for baby Day: and the bottom shelves handy for baby Day: 14 months happy week to ya!
April: week 4
In my life this week… This week I caught up on required reading and spent time with hubs. His days off fell on Tuesday – Thursday so our week was much less HS and much more errands, fun and family time. In our homeschool this week/Places we're going and people we're seeing… This week … Continue reading
building our montessori homeschool: summer 2012
Christy over at one little word she knew inspired me to share about my homeschool plan for the summer. i have been thinking a lot about our next steps here in our little Montessori homeschool and i think that i have landed on a plan for this new season. it is hard to believe that … Continue reading
April: week 3
In my life this week… i've been catching up this week. the weekend before was Easter and an overnight trip. last week was for planning a party and so i had a lot to do around the house. i really wanted to be prepared for school this week as well so sunday was a marathon … Continue reading


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New York Methodist Hospital is a voluntary, acute care teaching hospital. Its mission is to provide excellent health care services in a compassionate and humane manner to the people who live and work in Brooklyn and its surrounding areas. The Hospital?s main campus, housing 651-beds (with bassinets) is located at 506 Sixth Street in Brooklyn's Park Slope neighborhood. Satellite offices provide services in many other areas of the borough. New York Methodist Hospital provides services to over 36,000 in-patients each year. An additional 350,000 outpatient visits and services are logged annually. The Hospital, founded in 1881, has undergone extensive renovation and modernization over the years. Recent programs and services added have included a new, state-of-the-art birthing center, an advanced interventional pulmonology program, a sleep disorders center, a reproductive endocrinology laboratory, an extensive neuroscience program that includes centers for the treatment of Parkinson?s disease, epilepsy and multiple sclerosis and an integrated stroke program, and the New York Methodist-Cornell Heart Center which provides Brooklyn?s most modern cardiac surgery and interventional cardiology facilities. New York Methodist Hospital is affiliated with the Weill Cornell Medical College, an Ivy League medical school that is among the nation?s best in patient care, medical education and research. The Hospital is also a member of the NewYork-Presbyterian Healthcare System.


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1. Tony Gonzalez, ATL vs. OAK
After his massive 13 catch, one touchdown and 123 yard performance last week, the Great Gonzo has now scored in four of five games. What's better is that he has been targeted 47 times this season, which is more than both of the stud wide receivers he happens to be teammates with (Roddy White and Julio Jones for those not in the know). This week he faces a bad Oakland defense. The Raiders are allowing a touchdown to tight ends on one in every five receptions.
2. Heath Miller, PIT at TEN
There are five tight ends in the league that have four touchdowns already this season. Heath Miller is the only one of them who has not played five games as of yet. The new Todd Haley offense has showcased the passing game (and more specifically Miller) quite a bit this season. Ben Roethlisberger is averaging six more passes per game than he did last year. Those passes have to go somewhere! The Titans are the Thursday night opponent. Tennessee has given up a touchdown to a tight end in every week but one.
3. Kyle Rudolph, MIN at WAS
Kyle Rudolph scored his fourth touchdown last week against the aforementioned Titans. The lack of a true tall wide receiver in Minnesota has made Rudolph Christian Ponder's favorite target when he's in the red zone. The Redskins have given up a tight end touchdown in four of five weeks including the Week 5 heroics of Tony Gonzalez highlighted above.
4. Owen Daniels, HOU vs. GB
Did you know that in the last four weeks that Owen Daniels has more targets than Andre Johnson? Yeah, it's 25 for Daniels and 20 for Johnson. What does this mean? Are the Texans shifting to the short passing game more? Are they conserving Johnson's legs for a Super Bowl run? Either way, it's good for Daniels who has now scored in each of the last three weeks. The Packers have allowed a tight end to top 75 yards or score in four of five contests this season.
5. Jared Cook, TEN vs. PIT
Jared Cook has become fantasy relevant again after a touchdown in two of the last three weeks. The struggling Titans offense can't seem to get the running game going, nor can their quarterbacks stay upright long enough to throw deep, so Cook is fast becoming the best weapon on an offense full of decent fantasy players. The Steelers have had a ton of injuries to the linebacking corps and the safeties and it has shown. Pittsburgh has allowed a touchdown to a tight end in three of four contests this season.
6. Brent Celek, PHI vs. DET
Brent Celek only trails Tony Gonzalez in yards by a tight end this year, averaging 66 per game. That doesn't sound like a ton, but it's an average that gets him to a 1,056 yard season (which is great for any tight end). This week he squares off against a Lions team that has allowed three tight end touchdowns in the last three games. The pass rush hasn't been good for Detroit as of yet, when you add in a mobile quarterback like Mike Vick, it seems like Celek could be on the end of more than a handful of improvised plays.
7. Fred Davis, WAS vs. MIN
The uncertainty of Robert Griffin III's health is a major concern for Fred Davis owners, as it seems like in just the last couple of weeks the two have started to develop a rapport. In the last three weeks Davis is averaging 71 yards per game. While he hasn't scored a touchdown as of yet, he's got a great shot against the Vikings this week. While the Minnesota defense has been much stronger this season, defending the tight end seems to be their Achilles' heel. The Vikings have allowed a tight end touchdown in four of five games this season.
8. Dennis Pitta, BAL vs. DAL
While Dennis Pitta has fallen off of the cliff from his hot start (only three catches for 22 yards in the last two weeks) I'm not ready to give up on him as of yet. In the first three weeks of the season, Pitta was targeted 31 times. You just don't suddenly stop passing to a guy that you're going to over 10 times a game. This might be the opportunity he needs to get back into the fantasy game this weekend against the Cowboys. Dallas has been as tough as anyone against wide receivers, but have allowed a tight end score in each of the first three weeks and allowed the Bears' Kellen Davis to gain 62 yards in Week 4.
9. Rob Gronkowski, NE at SEA
It's almost ridiculous that Rob Gronkowski is listed as questionable on the depth chart. That Bill Belichick is such a prankster. This week he may be the only legitimate shot in the passing game as the Pats take on a Seahawks team with a tandem of really good, really tall cornerbacks. Gronk at 6'7" towers over the 6'3" duo of Brandon Browner and Richard Sherman. You could see him lineup out at wide receiver to create a rare mismatch for the Seahawks.
10. Vernon Davis, SF vs. NYG
Vernon Davis is one of the few tight ends in this league that can almost play as a top flight wide receiver. Case in point, we use the wide receiver benchmark of topping 100 yards or scoring in a game to rank Davis. He happens to have done either of those in four of five contests this season. Facing off against a Giants team that is allowing wide receivers to burn them at a Great Chicago Fire pace shouldn't be too bad if Davis gets a few more looks out at wide receiver. The Giants have allowed eight touchdowns to wide receivers this season but none to tight ends.
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Sometimes I feel like kids have the best stores to shop from. And when I walk into stores like The Land of Nod, I am proven right.I had the opportunity to shop at The Land of Nod last week before it was open to the public. I'm so glad I went sans kids because they would have ran up quite a bill from all the awesomeness in the store. We noshed, we drank, we mingled, we went crazy at their photo booth. It was an incredibly fun event! Appropriate for such a fun store.
Remember the great organization shopping plan I wrote about last week? Yeah... I didn't stick to it. I tried! This is what I came home with instead.
1. Funny Face ($4.95) | 2. Bon Voyage Suitcase Set ($19.95) | 3. Magnetic Crazy Face Game ($19.95)
4. Animal Memory Game ($24.95) | 5. Flea Market Wire Ball Bin ($39.00)
There were bunches of items that I had to add to the wish list though... and I'm not talking about the kids' wish list. I'm talking about mine! I mean, how cute would this chandelier look in my closet?
and this huge monster duck in the bathroom? Sweet!
Of course, I could just re-do our bedroom in all kinds of girliness, like this set-up. It has comfy bedding, great lighting and accessories that scream "Princess Pattie."
And this would be the perfect desk or vanity chair. I'm in love.
Okay fine... I'll add this cute rocking horse to the wish list too. It'll be for the kids and home decor!
The Land of Nod is an awesome store at South Coast Plaza and I cannot wait to go back. It was also great that Honest.com made a guest appearance! They have the most amazing eco-friendly baby and children's products, and their diapers are awesome too. I like to take the liquid hand soap with me when I travel, and the kids are currently using their laundry soap. Crossing fingers that one day The Land of Nod will carry their products.
On top of all the goodies that I purchased, I also came home with a great swag bag. It was also given to to the first 50 customers on opening day!
Oh, and did I mention how much my kid loved his birthday gifts? He paused long enough for me to take this picture of him.
If you're in the Orange County area, I invite you to stop by South Coast Plaza (Crystal Court area) and check out The Land of Nod. It's super cute and it'll fill your head up with all kinds of great decorating ideas too.
This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and Land of Nod, but all my opinions are my own. #PMedia #NODinCA http://cmp.ly/3/8vNxcO.


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The defense has rested without presenting any witnesses in the Anthony Sowell murder trial.
Attorney's then reviewed defense exhibits to be submitted to the jury.
Shortly after 11AM, Judge Ambrose carefully read the jury instructions. He said instructions will take at least "a couple of hours."
Closing arguments will be heard first thing Wednesday morning. After that, the jury will get the case.
Sowell faces the death penalty if convicted of murdering eleven women. The bodies of the victims were found in and around Sowell's Imperial Avenue home in late 2009.
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UPDATE: I have added the data for this year up to game 17 for the Spurs. Like CapHill said in the comment section the Spurs are having serious issues in the 1st and 4th quarters if we are looking at the point differentials.
In an effort to learn how to collect data from the internet (screen scrape, compassionately of course) I decided to take on a small (initially) project and write a fanpost for PTR. The motivation for this post originated from comments like the following:
THIRD QUARTER SUCKED!!!!! -- Artis Gilmore
I HATE THIRD QUARTERS -- Sleep Research Facility
Ugh. And the Spurs are showing why they have the third quarter collapse under copyright. -- Tim C.
Third quarter collapses are "in" again. -- LatinD
What a depressing third quarter. It's . . . it's like watching a Spurs game! -- Lauri
And there are many more colorful comments regarding the infamous third quarter. So I ventured to find out if the Spurs' third quarter calamities are the real deal or if they are imaginary psychological junk. A few disclaimers and notes before we begin. This is the first time I do something like this and although I have randomly checked the data to verify the accuracy of it and make sure there were no mistakes, I did not check the data like I would if I were to publish it in a scientific publication so it comes with no guarantee of accuracy. Also, these are the most basic statistics possible and there are no adjustments for pace or any other advanced metric. In addition, I ignored for the time being performance during the playoffs, overtimes and the difference between normal games and SEGABABAs which would add some complications to the data collection. Finally, if anybody is interested in getting their hands on the entire data set (it is BIG!) let me know and we can work something out.
My initial plan involved looking at the Spurs numbers during the last 10 years to see how their performance in each quarter varied per year. If you are keeping count that would be 10 years x 82 games x 8 scores (4 quarters for Spurs and opponent) which yields 6560 data points collected. Of course when I was done doing that I realized that the results dont mean anything if you dont compare them to the rest of the league, this led me to collect 6560 points x 30 teams for a total of196800 points! whew! Im glad computers are good with numbers.
OK, enough rambling and lets look at the data. The following plots show the league minimum, maximum and average points scored per quarter along with the same number for our Spurs for every year in the data set.
That was fun wasnt it? One of the main features is that the Spurs have been right near the league average offensively in every quarter. What is more incredible is that the third quarter has been notoriously close to the league average and it does not show a lot of variation, something we would not expect from our understanding of the third quarter performance of our team. A few additional noteworthy observations include the difficulty of the team in scoring point in the 4th quarter the last three years indicating a possible difficulty in closing out games, and the scored points per 1st quarter in 2007-2008 which was near the league minimum, which might indicate that the guys were behind after the first in many of their games (more on that later).
Now that we looked at the offense lets take a peak at the defense. And the defense is a thing of beauty for most of the decade.
WHOA!!! That is some nice defense. The first thing that jumps at me is our defensive domination compared to the league in the first and second periods. Those are some beautiful data points. In the third quarter we were still near the league minimum but somewhat closer to the league average. The fourth quarter went up and down throughout the decade. A second interesting observation is that we had the best points allowed per quarter the last three years in the fourth quarter which for me was unexpected. There is not much more to say about the defense by itself just like the information in the offense is somewhat ambiguous. A better approach is to look at these together and calculate the average points differential per quarter. Here a positive number is good and a negative number is bad.
OK. Guess what is the league average point differential per quarter? That is right, Im a genius and spent a bunch of time calculating a quantity that is obviously zero. In any case the exercise had didactic consequences and I dont regret doing it. In any case this is one of the more revealing findings. Look at the first and second quarter data and see how we used to essentially get solid leads for the early part of the decade. In 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 however the point differential for these quarters decreased dramatically. In some instances there were probably as many of those quarters in which we had a lead in those years as those were we didnt. Not a good omen for dominating basketball games. In 2007-2008 especially we were behind after the first quarter as much as we were ahead (probably) which means that the team had to fight back in half of their games. A nice year was seemingly 2002-2003 in which it appears that the team was so dominant in the first three quarters that they could ease it in the fourth (and maybe rest the starters? or maybe almost blow it in the fourth? some Spurs veteran fan can tell us).
To finalize, the main objective of all this was to find out if the third quarter is really worse than the other ones for us. I think the answer is partially answered in that it does not seem that the third quarter has ever been any worse than the others. If I had to call any quarter as the Spurs worst would be the fourth in which our defense and points differentials are all over the place. As for the reasons we have this perception, maybe further analysis would reveal the answer. A possibility that I have thought about is that maybe some of the third quarter collapses have been huge. Its a possibility that can be verified with the data set I have built and I hope I can do it (or maybe some of our resident statisticians) before the seasons is over.
Thank you all for reading! If there is enough interest I can make a monthly post monitoring the numbers for this year (I already have a little script that would do most of the work) let me know if you would enjoy that.


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New housing at Augustana College has gone to the dogs. The "Viking Pups" is the name of a student group that trains service dogs. The college recently bought a home by the campus for the club's student trainers and their dogs to live in. They moved in two weeks ago.
Three student trainers and two puppies live in the house. Students tell us while some of their club members live off campus with dogs, for those members that live on campus, the house has made training a lot easier and more consistent.
Prior to the house, several of the dogs lived with volunteers and had be dropped off at school everyday with their trainers. The girls who live in the new house say it's big step for their club and shows just how far the group has come.
The "Viking Pups" was started only a year ago, and so far three dogs have been trained and placed. Five dogs are currently being trained. Student trainer Ashleigh Hresan knows first hand how big of an impact a service dog can make in someone's life. She has a medical condition that requires her to take medication at a specific time everyday and she is training a dog to help her remember to do that.
Group members say they hope to see the program continue to grow and help others who are in need of service dog.
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Route Guide - iPhone / Android - Partners - Forum - Photos - Deals - What's New - School of Rock
Routes Sorted
L to R R to L Alpha
Great beginning warm-up for the harder routes up at Blue Sky or a challenging route for the 5.10 climber. This route is technical at the bottom on small pockets and edges that lead into a funky dihedral. After negotiating the dihedral, the climbing is on big holds up to the crux on not-so-big holds. Lots of fun.
7 bolts, open cold shut anchors


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UI Chrome in Mobile Browsers
Over the past few years a lot has changed in the world of desktop browsers. Google Chrome has trail blazed into the future, and others have reacted by following their lead. One of the simpler changes Chrome brought was minimalizing the user interface chrome of the browser. The UI chrome refers to the surrounding graphical elements of the browser that allow the user to interact with it. In the past this UI chrome was gaudy and much larger than it needed to be. I credit Chrome as being the first to cut this UI chrome to a minimum. The Chrome team accomplished this by putting tabs into the browser window's menu bar, and beyond that, only including an address bar with forward, backward, and a settings button. This became a trend that showed up in Firefox 4+, and IE9+ (among others I'm sure).
The underlying philosophy behind this UI approach was to get the browser out of the way, and let the web page get as much screen real estate as possible. I think it's time that someone takes a critical look at the UI chrome we are seeing in mobile browsers today. Screen real estate is an even more precious commodity on smartphones than it is on desktops. Despite this, nearly all mobile browsers are taking up at least 5-10% of the screen with their UI chrome.
I did some research in preperation for this post. On my Android smartphone (a Nexus S running ICS) I downloaded just about every browser I could find in the market. I also took a look at Safari Mobile on an iPod Touch. I looked at 15 mobile browsers in all, here is the list:
- Android ICS Browser
- Chrome Beta
- Firefox Mobile
- Opera Mini
- Opera Mobile
- Dolphin Browser HD
- Dolphon Browser Mini
- Angel Browser
- Maxthon Browser
- UC Browser
- Boat Browser
- Boat Browser Mini
- Sleipnir
- Skyfire
- Safari Mobile
I noticed a lot of trends among these browsers, some that I like and others that I dislike. Ultimately, I was looking for the browser that could cut the chrome to a minimum, without sacrificing utility.
Current Trends
The Fixed Bar
By far, the most popular UI chrome design I noticed was the fixed (static) navigation bar at the bottom of the screen. This bar would typically include buttons for forward, backward, refresh, tabs, and menu. There is also an address bar at the top of the screen, but this scrolls away with the page. The Opera Mini screens above are an example of this approach.
Of the 15 browsers I looked at, 7 took this approach. Those 7 include both Opera browsers, both Boat browsers, UC browser, Sleipnir, and Safari Mobile. It's such a popular approach because it works well, but it has room for improvement. Including a back button is redundant on Android phones since they already have a back button built into the hardware (iDevices don't have this, so it's more excuseable in Safari). And the other buttons included in this fixed bar don't justify taking up this much screen real estate. Also, in order to get back to the address bar you must either scroll to the top of the page, or press the hardware menu button (on Android). Scrolling to the top is cumbersome, and as you probably already know, the menu button is on it's way out in Android.
The second, and even more offensive, fixed bar approach I saw was taken by Chrome Beta, Maxthon Browser, and Dolphin Browser Mini. These browsers fix a static address bar to the top of the screen that includes the address box and tabs (or a button to view tabs). This is particularly frustating because the Chrome team lead the way in eliminating useless chrome on the desktop. Having this bar occupy as much permanent space as it does, while offering so little utility, is simply unjustifiable.
The very popular approach of fixing bars to the top or bottom of the screen is too bloated. In order to get the masses used to using touchscreen devices it may have been necessary for the first generation of mobile browsers to have this amount of chrome. But at this point, we need to move on. A more intuitive and less intrusive approach has already been taken by some.
Hidden Elements
Some browsers have taken a more daring approach to their UI chrome, cutting it to zero in some cases. They do this by "hiding" elements of the browser off to the sides of the screen, letting the user swipe them out no matter where they are on the web page.
Firefox Mobile and Dolphin Browser HD do this in a similar fashion to one another. They hide vertical menus on each side of the screen. They can be swiped out ("pulled" out) at any point on the page, and when you are done with them, they can be pushed back.
In Firefox the left side hides your tabs, and the right side has the forward, backward, and settings buttons. The address bar appears at the top of the page and scrolls away when you go down, but swiping out either side makes the address bar reappear. This eliminates the UI chrome considerably. Aside from the address bar, which scrolls away, this UI chrome has a zero footprint.
Dolphin Browser HD hides your bookmarks to the left, and also some settings. To the right they have the add-ons (extensions) for the browser. The concept is good, but this approach doesn't offer as much utility as Firefox. And the address bar doesn't reappear when you swipe out a side.
Android's ICS Browser has a beautifully simple and intuitive UI hidden away in the Labs section of it's settings page. They call it Quick Controls (I believe this may have been in Honeycomb as well). It allows you to swipe in from the side to display a small menu of buttons (pictured above). The menu includes buttons to create a new tab, view all tabs, show the address bar, view your bookmarks, and view the settings. You just continue sliding your finger to the button you want to choose and release to select it. It's simple, intuitive, and hides all elements of the chrome. They also have a separate option in the Labs to hide the Android status bar, but despite all my talk of freeing up screen real estate, I can't part with the Android status bar.
Angel Browser has this same functionality built into it, but by default it also has just about every other element I've talked about in this post. It's also extremely ugly next to the Android ICS browser. Still, I give them credit for including this in their browser.
Wrap Up
Of all the browsers I've explored, Android's ICS Browser and Firefox Mobile were easily 1 and 2 for UI chrome. I truly feel that, due to the small size of the screens on our smartphones, not a single pixel should be dedicated permanently to the chrome UI of our mobile browsers. Firefox Mobile accomplished this by hiding elements of their chrome to the sides of the screen and letting the address bar scroll away when going down a page. But in the end I prefer the Android ICS Browser and it's Quick Controls, which are hidden under Settings > Labs > Quick Controls. This simple and intuitive UI concept should become the standard among all mobile browsers in my opinion. At the very least I hope that Chrome Beta adopts this functionality.
Please let me know your thoughts on this in the comments. Thanks.