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- The Progressive Pulse - http://pulse.ncpolicywatch.org -
K-12 cuts are really starting to take their toll
Posted By Rob Schofield On November 15, 2012 @ 7:26 am In Uncategorized | Comments Disabled
The folks on Right-wing Avenue like to tell us that all is well in North Carolina's K-12 education system after the last few years of budget cuts.
Well, actually, that's not true; they like to tell us that everything is terrible and that we need to privatize and "voucherize" the whole thing, but that the cuts they've advocated and imposed over the last few years have had nothing to do with any of the problems.
Well, here's the truth: Things were not great before the cuts. The state was making marked but uneven progress and needed to devote a lot more resources to education — especially to underfunded schools and at-risk kids — but there was a plan and some hope.
Now, after years of cuts, the picture is darker. Yes, some encouraging signs of progress can stil be found, but one has to recognize that these things take time; the test score increases of rerecent years are almost certainly the result of investments and improvements (things like Smart Start and Pre-K) that were made years ago.
And while teachers and administrators have been able to muddle through and patch things together in recent years as they've endured big cuts, this will only be possible for so long. Eventually, the cuts will take their toll.
To see some concrete examples of the kind of negative impact on core K-12 functions that recent cuts have had, check out this morning's NC Policy Watch report by journalist Lucy Hood [1]. The piece is entitled "A veritable graveyard of education budget cuts" and it documents, among other things, the way state lawmakers have devastated the state's text book operation and increased class sizes and workloads for teachers, counselors and other specialists. It is not a pretty picture.
And it is not going to get any prettier soon unless state leaders abandon the far right anti-government, anti-tax, pro-privaitzation approach that has dominated their actions of recent years.
Article printed from The Progressive Pulse: http://pulse.ncpolicywatch.org
URL to article: http://pulse.ncpolicywatch.org/2012/11/15/k-12-cuts-are-really-starting-to-take-their-toll/
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[1] this morning's NC Policy Watch report by journalist Lucy Hood: http://www.ncpolicywatch.com/2012/11/15/a-veritable-graveyard-of-education-budget-cuts/
Click here to print.
Copyright © 2014 The Progressive Pulse. All rights reserved.


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About NADS
NADS is the oldest organization in the country serving individuals with Down syndrome and their families. It was founded in Chicago in 1961 by parents who chose to go against medical advice and raised their children with Down syndrome at home. Their pioneering efforts have made it easier for later generations of individuals with Down syndrome to be accepted by their families and communities, to develop their capabilities, and to work towards independence. Our mission is to ensure that all persons with Down syndrome have the opportunity to achieve their potential in all aspects of community life. We offer information, support, and advocacy.
The direct support we provide to families through our Parent Support Program, our Mentoring Program, the Work Experience Program, and other individualized services is at the core of our mission, but we do not have the staff or the resources to provide those services outside of the Chicago metropolitan area. However, many of our other services are available to a wider community, including our conferences, our products and publications, our website, and the information about Down syndrome we provide. Our members can be found throughout the United Statesand across the globe.
For more information on NADS programs, please contact us at :
Outside the Chicago Area?
If you live outside the Chicago metropolitan area, two national Down syndrome organizations may be able to help you directly. Their contact information is:
National Down Syndrome Congress
National Down Syndrome Society
(800) 221-4602

subset: commoncrawl


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HOUSTON—A 15-year-old who left her mother and home behind in Plaquemines Parish isn't sure what will be there if and when she returns.
Arieion Demolle is now staying with family members in Houston. The family continues to watch images surface of their hometown under siege by floodwaters.
Demolle tried to hold back tears and she spoke about the home she evacuated.
"I just thought it was going to be a lot of rain and wind. I [didn't] know there was going to be a lot of damages," said Demolle.
Demolle hasn't been able to get in touch with her mother and some others back at home.
"Hurricane Katrina was already putting people out," she said.
Demolle's family members, who now live in Houston, said they were emotionally torn apart by the images surfacing from Plaquemines Parish. They evacuated and moved to Texas seven years ago when Katrina unleashed her wrath.
"It just brings back everything all over again," cried Adrienne Coleman. "It's so hard to see all of that happening."
Coleman and the relatives who now call Texas home say their doors are open for the rest of the family, struggling in the aftermath.
For others who don't have family members or friends to stay with, finding shelter has been costly.
"I don't know if we can go home, and we can't afford to stay here because we don't have any money. What are me and my kids going to do?" asked Katherine Cole, who evacuated from Harvey, LA.
Cole is taking it day by day with her kids at a motel in Baytown. She doesn't know how much longer they'll be able to stay here.
"If it was just me, maybe I could say, hey I'll stay, but when I look at the conditions, no, I couldn't do that to my kids," she added.
She says they're the reason why she doesn't regret her decision to evacuate.


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Tank carriers support EOBR
National Tank Truck Carriers said it voted to support the electronic logging mandate last July.
Study IDs truck drivers likely to crash
Drivers with certain records are more susceptible to being involved in a future truck crash than their peers with clean driving records.
Diesel averages $4.10
The national average price is at its highest level since Sept. 1, 2008, when it was $4.121 and $1.03 a gallon higher than the same week last year.
EOBR, drug testing bills offered
Bills would mandate electronic on-board recorders and prevent CDL holders from continuing to drive trucks or buses after failing alcohol or drug tests.
Freight index falls in February
For the first two months of 2011, freight shipments measured by the Freight TSI were down 0.6 percent.
Show to focus on personal safety
"Crime Against Truckers – Protection on the Road" airs April 14 online.
FMCSA opens comment period on EOBR
FMCSA will continue to accept and consider comments on all issues within the scope of the proposed electronic recorder rule.
Seattle agencies cut small business paperwork
Small businesses that qualify as small contractors and suppliers can fill out one application for the Port of Seattle and King County.


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Aside from being a great word for spelling contests, ptarmigans are also known for their unique ability to change color and blend in with their surroundings in winter. In fact, ptarmigans adapt to winter quite well; they become pure white to provide perfect camouflage against a snowy background, while a covering of short feathers on their feet form a sort of "snowshoe" to keep them from sinking into the snow. And where do they live in winter? They're quite comfortable burrowing into snow banks, where they can spend the nights in safety. In summer, ptarmigans change color to match their warm weather surroundings. They become a mottled gray-brown to mix in with the trees and shrubs where they live.
Lagopus leucurus altipetens
Ptarmigans have a relatively limited range in Montana, inhabiting only alpine meadows above the tree-line near Glacier National Park. They nest wherever they have enough cover on the ground, lining the nest with grass or leaves. Their eggs may be cream colored or red with dark spots.
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Stephen Dawson says he has endured the "nine worst months of my life" after charges against him for his alleged spot-fixing were dropped.
Stephen Dawson will link up again with manager Keith Hill after signing a one-year deal at Rochdale.
Sky Sports understands Barnsley have offered Stephen Dawson a new deal amid interest from a host of Championship clubs.
Sky Sports understands that interest is mounting in Barnsley midfielder Stephen Dawson heading into January.
Barnsley's Stephen Dawson has enjoyed a 'magic' few weeks following his daughter's birth and Championship survival.
Barnsley midfielder Stephen Dawson is hoping to make his first appearance since mid-January at Sheffield Wednesday.
Stephen Dawson could make a surprise return for Barnsley in Saturday's FA Cup quarter-final at Manchester City.
Sky Sports understand that Barnsley have rebuffed an enquiry from Birmingham City for Stephen Dawson.
New signing Stephen Dawson believes the Barnsley management duo can help take his career to the next level.
Stephen Dawson has promised to bring 'non-stop' energy to Barnsley after completing his move from Leyton Orient.
Barnsley have had an improved offer accepted by Leyton Orient for their highly-rated skipper Stephen Dawson.
Barnsley have agreed a deal for Leyton Orient captain Stephen Dawson, Sky Sports can confirm.
Sky Sports understands that Leyton Orient have rejected an offer from Barnsley for their club captain Stephen Dawson.
Leyton Orient skipper Stephen Dawson faces up to six weeks on the sidelines with ligament damage in his ankle.
Leyton Orient captain Stephen Dawson has rubbished speculation he is set to leave Brisbane Road during the January window.
Millwall manager Kenny Jackett has scotched speculation linking him with a move for Leyton Orient captain Stephen Dawson.
Manager Russell Slade is determined to hold on to Leyton Orient's key players after committing his own future to the club.
Leyton Orient boss Russell Slade was left to rue a tackle by Tottenham's Danny Rose which looks to have robbed him of his captain.
Leyton Orient skipper Stephen Dawson has been named the club's Player of the Year for the 2010/2011 season.
Stephen Dawson nearly quit football two-and-a-half years ago, now he is preparing to face Cesc Fabregas.
Watch every goal from every game in the Football League on your computer, mobile or tablet...


text: RegistrationAccording to current EU law, horses need to be registered in the country where they are born, e.g. if your foal is born in Germany it needs to be registered with a German breeding association. Over the last years some exceptions have been made but for all foals born in 2013 and later registration with the PFHA in the United States will not be accepted. There may be exceptions so if you are not sure, please contact your regional breeding association to find out. For more information or if you have questions, please contact Christine Farkas: |


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Excel Intermediate course
Downtown Education Center
Hone your Excel skills by learning how to use multiple worksheets and workbooks efficiently. Sort worksheet rows, freeze headings and split worksheet windows. Discover how to insert art; draw, move, size, rotate and add styles; and create SmartArt. Use Office templates and create custom templates. Learn about worksheet protection, setting a password and digital signatures. Copy and move worksheets, copy formatting between worksheets and use linked formulas.
Students in Extended University courses receive discounts on Microsoft software from the MSU Bookstore.
The cost of this event is: $99; discounts available for association members. See Website for details.
For more information go to:
For questions regarding this event, please contact:
Listed as: Colleges Alumni Faculty Community Academics Audience Staff Classified Professional Extended University


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Much of healthcare journalism is about policy choices and the debates that shape them. The full implementation of Obamacare, however, calls for something different—old-fashioned consumer reporting. Many features of the Affordable Care Act are already in place, but now comes its central pillar: the requirement for most Americans to carry health insurance, starting January 1, or face tax penalties. Most people—insured through their employer or through Medicare or the military—won't see much change. Some with low incomes will be able to get benefits for the first time through Medicaid, at least in the 26 states that have currently agreed to expand that program. But those who buy their own insurance—about 15 million Americans already and maybe another 9 million or so who may buy it for the first time—will need help.
These people can buy coverage via the new health insurance exchanges that are being set up in each state—some by the states themselves, some through state/federal partnerships, and some by the feds alone (in states where the legislature chose not to take part). How the exchanges will function is anyone's guess. So is the question of affordability. Some people will receive government subsidies to help them pay for coverage; others won't.
Critics and backers alike agree that implementing a vast and complex program that affects family budgets and family health will be fraught. Readers and viewers will be forever grateful if journalists help them find their way through the confusion of the liftoff. Here is a case study that illustrates some themes for journalists to consider, and a down payment on what they need to know.
Carol's story: One woman tries to navigate the insurance jungle
A Pennsylvania woman we'll call Carol contacted me not long ago with a vexing problem. She is 59, "a self-employed individual buyer of Aetna health insurance," which "just raised my rates by $100 per month," she wrote. Aetna told her that her premium—for its HMO 30 plan, a managed-care policy with what the company calls "moderate" premiums—would increase 17 percent, from $604 to $704 a month. That's $1,200 a year, bringing her annual insurance outlay to nearly $8,500. These days, such increases are not uncommon in the individual insurance market.
Aetna's Dear Customer letter gave a rationale: higher medical costs plus Obamacare. "I live in Pennsylvania," Carol protested, "so I don't understand why Obamacare would cause my rates to go up, because our governor has not opted into Obamacare."
For starters, Carol had a misperception about the law, one that's often heard in states that have chosen not to operate their own healthcare exchange. The state may not be taking part, but the federal law still applies—whether the state, the federal government, or a joint partnership between the two operates the exchange. Carol has the option of continuing with her existing policy for another year or trying to do better by shopping in her exchange, which in Pennsylvania will be run by the feds, and for which she is eligible. She could also decline insurance and pay a tax penalty. She says she won't do that.
Meanwhile, Carol's premium is already going up. "I think they are gouging me," she said, and set out to find out why, though she didn't expect to find answers. "I feel powerless," she told me.
Many of the 15 million people who, like Carol, buy insurance on their own, without the help of an employer making decisions about price and coverage, feel just as powerless. They will soon be joined by another 9 million or so who are currently uninsured and who will be turned loose in the uncharted insurance jungle starting October 1. Carol's story is emblematic of all those people looking for answers.
She began her quest with Aetna, where a customer-service rep advised she would have to write to the carrier's grievance-and-appeals department because it has no phone number. The Aetna rep also told her that the state of Pennsylvania had allowed the premium increases, so if she wanted to appeal, she should contact state insurance regulators in Harrisburg.
Instead, Carol called the office of Steve McCarter, her representative in the state House of Representatives. "They told me to fill out a complaint form and to check out the federal exchanges in October," she recalled. Her next stop: the office of Patrick Meehan, her congressional representative. There a staffer informed Carol that a complaint about high premiums was a legislative issue, and the office would call her back. By the end of May, nobody had called.


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Welcome to the Operations Group Web Page at the National Training Center, Fort Irwin, California. The purpose of this page is to introduce you to our organization and provide you information on what we do to assist in training and exercising the worlds greatest Army. You will find links to the individual Observer Controller (O/C) Teams that introduce the teams and provide you with TTPs and other ideas that can be applied during an NTC rotation and to your home station training program. There are also other links we feel are of interest to our Army and will provide information to help better prepare your units for a rotation at the NTC.Operations Group AKO Communities & Knowledge CentersNTC Operations Group AKO Page
Army Training Network (ATN) For Stryker unit specific information, visit (AKO login required):
Army Training Network (ATN)


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Lauren Ralph Lauren Classic White Down Comforter
Sleep under luxury with a cozy down comforter from Lauren Ralph Lauren.
Tell a Friend
Seek style and comfort in the way only Lauren Ralph Lauren can offer. This comforter will add comfort atop your bed while you sleep. The woven stripe cotton comforter cover features 525 to 550 fill power of white down. The comforter's baffle box construction keeps the down fill from shifting, ensuring you won't have any cold spots.
- Available in Full/Queen and King sizes
- Full/Queen: 88x96" with a 31-oz. fill weight
- King: 104x96" with a 37-oz. fill weight
- 300-thread count cotton cover
- Machine wash or dry clean
- Made in the USA with imported materials
This item cannot be gift boxed.
This item should only be returned to the warehouse from which it was originally shipped.
Use the pre-addressed return shipping label attached to the packing slip included with your shipment. In the event that you have misplaced your packing slip, this product should be sent to the address below:
The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc.
ATTN: Returns
1340 Dayton-Yellow Springs Road
Fairborn, OH 45324
Additional information
Shipping & Delivery Details
Returning a purchase
Customer Service


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Ford Escape News:
In the past hybrids have had a reputation for little power but, the reviews are showing that people are generally pleased with the 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid's power, and its performance.Handling still is not quite up to par: One drawback in the 2008 Ford Escape on the road is the added weight of the hybrid power train, which adds more than 250 pounds over even the Ford V-6 Escape. Favorable cash test scores from the federal government adds to the 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid's very good safety score. The 2008 Ford Escape has made significant improvements in its cabins comfort and its interior ranks in the middle of its class
Running Board Specials :
Save hundreds over what the dealer wants for these Ford Escape Factory styled running boards / steps for your 2001-2007 model.
High Polished Mirror Finish, Extremely Popular 3" Tube.
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Home : About Us : Order Status : Privacy Policy : Sitemap : Contact Us Running Board Warehouse 2303 SE 17th St. Suite 102 Ocala, FL 34471 888-257-3111 © Copyright 2015 RunningBoardWarehouse.com


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This Diwali I surprised myself by making a traditional Diwali sweet — coconut barfi. I never would've known how simple it is (and no doubt never tried to make it) if I hadn't gone to a friend's Diwali cooking demonstration. Here's how I made the barfi.
{ 26 comments }


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Reader comments are listed below. Comments are currently closed and new comments are no longer being accepted.
A summary of the scientific studies of the Yucca mountain storage facility is provided here, greatmongo.
Wind and solar are NOT getting "incredibly fast". There have been no major improvements in the efficiencies of either in the last 20 years. The latest breakthroughs in PV solar systems, use of InCdTe thin film panels, actually DECREASED efficiencies, but reduced panel costs - a larger, cheaper thin film panel produces the same power as a single crystal silicon-based panel. That 300 mw plant will use those state-of-art panels.
Perhaps you have no idea as to how to handle nuclear waste, but that is not surprising, as you have no expertise on the subject. Right? And should we believe that somebody who can't tell silicon from silicone plastic knows anything about solar energy? I don't think so. I do not believe that you still understand (or had even heard of) the capacity factor. Your exaggerated measure of solar energy cost - $2M/MW - demonstrates a complete misunderstanding of the concept, as well as your confusion over the difference between energy and power.
China indeed is selling cheap solar systems to the US. Meanwhile they are going ahead with a massive program to build nuclear reactors. They state that their goals is a total of 100 GW in place within 20 years. That is equivalent to 500,000 MW of solar power. The cost would be $3T needed just to build that solar capability. And then you will still need the nuclear power plants or their equivalent (dirty coal, in China) to back up the solar power.
The cost of the last nuclear power plant disaster was 6 dead and many billions spent in clean-up. That is a negligible cost, compared to the cost of solar power. One of those events every ten years is a small penalty, compared to the trillions that would have to be spent to provide a solar/conventional power system. How many millions of lives could be saved, greatmongo, if we spent that excess money you would need on finding a cure for malaria, rather than temples to your Sun God?
"What is your plan to force the Chinese to pay a high price for their energy?"
What about the costs of uranium or whatever fuel is used for nuclear reactors?
What about utilization of these?
What about if just 1 in 10 000 of those reactors have a problem and a spill...
The cost of cleaning after Fukushima would allo
The cost of nuclear fuels, manufacture and disposition, is negligible compared to the cost of capital to build a nuclear reactor, greatmongo. In that way nuclear power plants are similar to solar farms. The cost of energy is dominated by the cost of capital.
If 1/10,000 had a serious accident, the consequences might be similar to Fukushima. The cost of the clean-up would be billions - tens of thousands per reactor installation. That, too, is negligible compared to the initial investment.
Given all of these considerations, greatmongo, the Chinese ARE proceeding to install large numbers of nuclear reactors, giving them a cheap source of electricity, immune to the manipulation of energy costs proposed here to "level the playing field" for solar energy.
The question remains - what do the promoters of this scheme propose to do about it? Tell the Chinese they are making a mistake?
Until you cost in the damage done to others, fossil fuels are going to always look like the winning thing to do.
Yep, think the Chinese are making a mistake.
Some things are short term wins, but are long term looses. Some indigenous cultures prohibit fishing certain fish species during their spawning time. Burning fossil fuels for energy & nuclear power power are two things that modern culture should develop cultural prohibitions on.
The Chinese will not listen to you Gnoll, as they will not believe you know what you are talking about. They will accept whatever risks are associated with nuclear power, and then the will invest in advanced nuclear power technologies, such as thorium-based reactors. If there are accidents, they will figure out a way to fix the problems.
And we will be back in the hunter-gatherer age, using expensive energy when it is available and tolerating unreliable enrgy supply.
As far as I know Japan has around 50 nuclear plants... so If you have billions of clean up costs plus another billions in lawsuits and idle machinery through power cuts it is a significant costs...
I agree with your logic, but I think you make a mistake of not taking enough of inputs into consideration....
What about radioactive waste!???? In Germany it was stored in old mines... this is the stupidest idea I have ever seen and will probably end in a disaster and water contamination. If not now, then in 100 years...
I also dont get your objection to renewable energy... Wind power is now quite affordable, Solar went below 2 mil USD per MW...BIogas is a bit more expensive but works 100% of the time and takes care of the organic waste as well as makes fertilizer...
I think the future of the world is decentralization and renewable energy is precisely that.. a large number of small installations.
Yucca Mt was considered to be the storage site for US nuclear waste, but was torpedoed by Sen Harry Reid of Nevada. The nuclear power industry had invested significant capital in construction and now is suing the federal government to recover their investment. Costs were projected to be a small fraction of a penny per kwh of energy produced. The French solved the NIMBY problem by renaming their waste sites as nuclear fuel recovery laboratories.
Your comparison of costs does not include the capacity factor for various technologies. Wind farms are rated at capacity factors as high as 40%. but the UK has found them to be disappointingly low in practice - less than half their rated numbers. PV solar systems in the American desert SW are rated at 20%. In contrast conventional systems run at 80-90%. The 4GW Palo Verde plant in AZ has a record over several years of running at better than 90% of its rating. So when a state-of-art 300 MW solar energy plant is announced for construction in Arizona - cost: $1.8B = $6M/MW(peak) - it has to be derated by a factor of 5 - or $30/MW(avg). The plant will produce only 250M kwh of electricity per yr. Think of it sitting there as useful as a box of rocks for 19 hr/day. Or, to recover that investment in 20 yrs (plus a modest 4% interest) you would have to charge the power company $0.44/kwh, prior to distribution. Power companies pay 2-3 cents/kwh now.
And, of course, this cost does not include the capital investment required to provide a 100% back-up conventional power plant.
Do you see the magnitude of the problem, greatmongo?
Sorry but I feel you are mixing several things.
1. Nuclear waste-
As you seem to acknowledge there is NO CLEAR Solution. Response in the USA seems to be the same as in Germany, so "bury it under loads of cement". In France they also lie to the public... perfect!
Is this the world you want to live in!
Please explain what will be the costs if a river or underground water get polluted?
No system is 100% secure and leakage free!!
2. Capacity versus operation
This is clear. We were talking about capacity so I gave prices related to that.
As far as Wind and Solar goes you seem to forget the operational costs which are very very low! In any other type you have the fuel costs, waste disposal (be it ash or nuclear), supervision and much more manpower than needed to wipe the panels once a week.
3. You have again failed to respond about the nuclear catastrophe problem. Nuclear plants have failed in Japan, USA, Soviet Union... pretty much everywhere where they are used! The costs were always huge and always there was some excuse
-"old technology" - Ukraine
-"lacks control" - USA
-"one of event" - Japan
and so one...
And it keeps happening....
My proposal is just to include external costs in the analysis!!
4. All the power comes from sun!
All the fossil fuels used are a product of photosynthesis.. dont you think it makes sense to cut the middle man (plants) and get the energy ourselves? Already the silicone panels are about 20 times better than plants... let us experiment more and the prices will go down!
5. Waste
Everywhere in the world you have large quantities of waste that is being land filled. From waste water sludge, to manure and food waste.
Why not use it and make biogas?
It constitutes already 8% of Germanys natural gas use and will go to 20 in the next nine years.
Why not do it worldwide?
Shale gas is 30% of America' use and it widely seen as game changer... why couldnt renewable energy be the same?
The Yucca Mt facility buried the nuclear waste far below the water table. There was scientific consensus that the facility was safe from leakage. The problem was a political one - a powerful politician didn't want it in his state. They problem is NIMBYism, just as it is in France.
You did NOT understand my post. The cost per MW does NOT account for ENERGY production, greatmongo. A MW is a measurement of the peak power that an power station produces, not the energy it delivers over a period of time. I gave you the numbers for the latest solar energy facility being built today - with a power cost 3X of your guestimate of $2M/MW(peak). But a solar plant only delivers peak power at noon on a sunny day. The rest of the time it delivers less power and by 4 pm the power output has dropped to less than half peak. The parameter used by the solar energy industry to characterize this problem is the CAPACITY FACTOR - 20% under the best of conditions for a PV solar system.
Solar power plants are not built for free, even in the US, where the government-subsidized money is borrowed from the Chinese. Eventually you have to pay back the money, and the interest on the loan. The rate payer (or the taxpayer) is the person who pays for that money. THAT is where the high cost of solar power lies, not in wiping off solar panels. I gave you the cost of that money - $0.44/kwh for the newest plant, now under construction. That capital cost alone is more than 10X the real cost of electrical energy produced by a conventional power plant, even with all of the other costs included.
Perhaps you need to accept that there is a great deal about solar energy for you to learn about before posting any more on the subject. You are arguing with a person who has carried out research in this field and has patents in solar panel improvements in efficiency. You, on the other hand, do not know the difference between silicon and silicone.
"The Yucca Mt facility buried the nuclear waste far below the water table. There was scientific consensus that the facility was safe from leakage."
Please... the scientific consensus ? Really? So concrete and steel lasts forever? Or you are using some super yet to be discovered material...
Nuclear waste is a type of waste we really have no idea how to handle...
I understand the difference between capacity and real production.
The thing is you are talking about China and I live and work in China in the renewable energy sector and I tell you that this is the one of the strongest growing markets in the country!!
If you guys in the US do not want to go into renewable energy this is your problem!
Or it will be your problem in 10-20 years!
Of course with solar there is still a need to be more competitive, but for example wind is getting there incredibly fast!!
What I feel very sad is that you never relate to my points about EXTERNAL COSTS!!
What is the costs of risking lives through a nuclear plant, what is the costs of cancer and respiratory diseases caused by coal, both mining and burning.
This is all paid by the taxpayer but you do not see it at the station so you think it is not there!!
As we expect from a well established research centers, with such efforts we can see prospectives of energy solutions friendly to Environment. 37% efficiency is a step forward with next research results to yield higher eff factors.
Good luck.
Calm down folks, I just tried this and it didn't work.
Calm down folks, I just tried this and it didn't work.
This development is phenomenal IMO. If proved successful for commercialization with further development, do you know how much forestry it would have saved for one thing? Not just in the replacement energy, but in the clearing of lots it spared.
Like with anything, this "Tungsten approach" can not be "do it all" for power. Huge energy farms built on dessert like open places can continue to use arrays of sun reflectors to send sunbeams to collecting concentrator to turn steam turbines; roof and wall mounted solar panels can continue to convert light to utility power; and roof top water tank can continue provide sun heated hot water at "every" home, but the implication of this tungsten backed indium gallium arsenide development is significant.
Since the power generating surfaces would be created by photolithography according to the article, the standard bearer process for major chip fab foundries today, that means production may be possible using existing or similar generation technology already invested in plant, and since it is gallium arsenide based, another mature material and technology for making wireless chips, the waste and toxic water recycling technology and plant for production are also in place, making cheap production of scale a definite possibility.
Translation? Cheaper and greener electric power us all.
You know what technologists have always said about GaAs, nkab?
"It is the technology of the future - and always will be."
Developing a commodity technology around exotic, difficult to fabricate material does not work. That is why compound semiconductor devices have only been used in applications where nothing else works - lasers and LEDs, where size does not matter are examples where this amture technology has found a niche.
A typical fab today expects to sell the products from a single 300 mm wafer for tens of thousands of dollars just to break even. Since there is no known method to even create 300 mm wafers from these materials, that is a moot point. But try to imagine what the cost of products made from smaller wafers would be.
And try to keep in mind that solar panels require large areas, even at efficiencies higher than we have today.
'You know what technologists have always said about GaAs, nkab?
"It is the technology of the future - and always will be."'
Well, I seem to recall the same bunch of people saying the same thing about GaN blue LEDs back in 1992.... right before one man made it a reality in the remote corner of Shikoku island in Japan...
I think I acknowledged the roll that compound semiconductors play in the fabrication of LEDs and laser diodes, Anjin-San. Those devices are not dependent on the area of the device for their performance as a solar energy device is. A 150 mm wafer can produce 1000s of devices. How useful would a 150 mm wafer be for manufacturing solar panels?
"How useful would a 150 mm wafer be for manufacturing solar panels?"
If you can make each wafer for 10 cents, VERY useful.
50 wafers will be about 1 sq.m, providing (at the efficiency stated in the article) about 2kW of power, resulting in $2.50/kW cost for the wafers alone, and maybe double that for the actual panel.
They have been makimg compound semiconductor wafers for a long time now, Anjin. The major cost is in the single crystal sapphire substrates. What do you think a 300 mm piece of sapphire, cut, polished and surface processed for epi growth might be?
2" sapphire wafers are now costing about $25. Assuming no cost penalty for large wafers, the 6" wafers would cost about $250 - only 2500X your target. THEN you have to go through the MBE process,
teacup775 wrote "...I'd rather see percentages of energy demand offloaded from the grid and ...Solar might be redundant, but it also is independent... As the price for panels falls, it also becomes more competitive with grid power (over time)…On the more wild eyed end of things: That electric/hybrid car might provide the buffer and an intermittent store..."
* * *
Teacup, I think you are overlooking the energy and environmental cost of creating and maintaining the "independent" supply (solar panels). Manufacturing the panel incurs energy and a pollution cost. Maintaining them also incur energy and pollution cost. If it is used only a small percentage of the time, the overall energy and environmental cost of the panels may be a net negative. For many houses, you even have the added cost of roof reinforcement to take on those heavy panels. Now you have another huge energy/pollution cost of replacing your extra heavy duty roof every 15 or 30 years.
Similarly, using hybrid car battery as a temporary store will work technically. But given that the rechargeable batteries have limited charge/discharge cycles, the whole equation there too may be a net negative. Not to say that it is, but you must consider that it might be net negative. You may be introducing more pollution in mining the lithium, making and transporting the batteries, recycling the various material in the end, so forth, than just burning coal to get that power to begin with. (Not to mention spending god knows how many tens of thousand dollars to store a few hundred dollars' worth of KWH over the life of the battery).
Side note: what is the cost of covering that much ground? We can't take a poll of the earth worm or the other small animals whom lost their homes, but each time I drove by a big solar panel field near a place I visit about twice a year, I think about the little hares I used to see, the dears I used to see lurking behind the bush... I actually miss them. What used to be a soothing plot of nature is now a cold field of panels dotted with bird poops.
"Teacup, I think you are overlooking the energy and environmental cost of creating and maintaining the "independent" supply (solar panels). Manufacturing the panel incurs energy and a pollution cost. Maintaining them also incur energy and pollution cost. If it is used only a small percentage of the time, the overall energy and environmental cost of the panels may be a net negative."
OK now it's clear you're talking to fossil fuel industry talking points. You've not actually been following current research & commercial best practice.
Current manufacturing methods produced panels that produce seven times the energy that is embedded during manufacture. Your talking point may have been true up until the 1990's, is isn't now.
The pollution produced is a function of local legal requirement. If local government allow dirty manufacturing, that's what will happen. Economics' good old race to the bottom, currently lead by China. Best practice for panel making is currently, as far as I know, the US maker SolarWorld. They have been using McDonough and Braungart's Cradle to Cradle manufacturing philosophy.
Is any unavoidable local chemical pollution really a show stopper where saving the climate is concerned?
Fossil fuels are what got us into this mess. The same fossil fuel thinking isn't going to get us out of it!
PS, given the amount of ground we use for agriculture currently, the land needed for panels is trivial. Add to this, the fact the you can roofs mount panels and that you can still graze stock under them. Sounds like another talking point to me.
Thanks Gnoll for commenting.
If we're going to discuss embedded costs of PV then we should include more than, "You may be introducing more pollution in mining the lithium, making and transporting the batteries, recycling the various material in the end, so forth, than just burning coal to get that power to begin with." I do believe there are a more than a few negative externalities unacknowledged in this statement.
In addition to the changes you mentioned in PV tech there are plenty of energy storage options being explored. What about fuel cell options for home storage?
I have a ~4KW home system and it cost around ~21K (monopole mount) exclusive of the 30% fed credit (my state doesn't have any subsidies, other than a net metering requirement). On a strict fiscal C/B analysis it will pay off in ~30 years (energy very cheap in my area ~.09/KWH). This doesn't account for inverter replacement and assumes static energy charges (obviously not going to be the case), but that gives a quick sense of the current state of affairs. I was motivated by more than the C/B analysis, but I also have the fiscal means to do this project. I realize that isn't always the case for consumers.
Yes, there are many storage approaches being "explored", Iccheap. Fuel cells are not on the list, however. That would require using electricity to produce hydrogen, then using the hydrogen to power the fuel cell - too many expensive and energy-wasting intermediate steps. As I stated, the de facto storage method is to have expensive power plants on stand-by.
If we had a rational approach to implementation of solar energy, you would not be permitted to link your system to the grid without a battery system as a buffer. But that would approximately double the cost of your system. As it is arranged now, you are permitted to use the grid as your "battery", selling power to your neighbors when they don't need it, and buying when everyone else is buying it. What is the cost of this favorable arrangement to your neighbors, Iccheap?
You only need batteries in grid connect systems if your power supply has long or regular disruptions, like after storms in rural area.
Better and cheaper to have large thermal batteries in the grid. While this isn't the case know, it's the long term sensible thing to assume is going to happen. Disclaimer: the species may no be sensible. :P
The major concern that power management engineers have is power drops due to a cloud cover over a large area. That could lead to grid insfability and massive power disruptions. Some thing simi;ar happened when the wind power system in Texas saw a sudden drop in delivered power. Adding intermittant power sources introduces unpredictable complexity into the grid.
There are thermal solar systems being built today, using molten salt storage. There are two difficulties with the technology, however. First, these thermal storage systems add only about 5 hrs of span to the usefulbess of the solar energy system (good enough to provide power during the evening peak) but approximately double the investment cost. Second, the thermal loss associated with the energy transfer degrades the efficiency of the system. The consequence is somewhat less total electrical energy output for considerably more capital.
I only said centralised batteries are better than individual small building batteries. Not that you can get around some stand by combustion generation all together. Its all trade offs in design, like the 5 hour figure you quoted. Why force people into the expense of an asset that's not going to be part of a long term solution?
"The consequence is somewhat less total electrical energy output for considerably more capital."
Thus we again come to the crux of the issue. Minimizing cost just puts you back at burning fossil fuels again. For me it's about getting away from fossil fuels, while avoiding nuclear because catastrophic failure is so bad the it's unacceptable no matter how small the risk.
Solar energy advocates, when pushed up against a wall, will accept that some sort of storage technology is required. But they are not willing to commit to its development. Like you, Gnoll, they are perfectly willing to ignore the need and install 50 year old technology on their roofs, accepting the subsidies that go with it. You claim you want to avoid fossil fuels, but want somebody to pay for the fossil fuel back-up capability you need. Today, the cost of that back-up is loaded on the rate payer.
The money wasted on these useless monuments to the Sun God would be much better spent on efforts to develop a viable renewable energy technology WITH the vital storage capability included.
My view is that this viable technology will inevitably be based on a biological process which produces a high density, storable fuel
We had a catastrophe in Japan, to be sure. Twenty thousand or more people were killed and the damage was in the hundreds of billions. Oh, yes, there was an accident at a nuclear power plant, too, and six people died. Are you willing to accept the fact that there WILL be another such catastrophe in Japan (or California or Washington)? Should we avoid that inevitable catastrophe by evacuating all people from areas that will be hit by tsunamis and moving them inland? If not, why the irrational anxiety over a relatively minor threat?
WT Economist wrote "...If Congress cared about the future of the United States and its people, it would implement a tax that rose if oil and coal prices fell from current levels..."
* * *
WT Economist, this is the kind of view that makes me think liberals are insensitive and hopelessly selfish, or just simply ignorance.
Behind every dollar increase in per barrel price is the corresponding drop in GDP. And for each drop in GDP, more people are out of a mean of making a living. When oil price shoot up, companies may bite the bullet and eat the lost for a while. But keep the price up long enough the company has to let people go. At times, even letting a few go is not enough and the whole company folds. These are real people. They pay your way by having to live a lesser life so as you can feel good about your environment.
The world is not just for you. It is for those people too.
Yes, we see the bind that fossil fuels puts people in.
The whole idea of these kind of measures is to drive reform at a measured pace. A supply crunch, that started in 99, will bite even harder as China etal. find better uses for this energy than the West can. Remember, they are just starting, the marginal value they can derive is far high than the West can. We picked the low hanging fruit decades ago!
Through in Global warming too, and everyone need to move across at some stage.
Don't be a Fossil Fool American.
China has a program in place building large numbers of American-built AP1000 nuclear reactors. They expect the first of them, now under construction, to cost $2/w(avg). They are targeting $1/w
Meanwhile, the largest PV system being built, a 300Mw(peak) system in AZ, will cost about $30/w(avg).
What is your plan to force the Chinese to pay a high price for their energy?
I've been talking to PV because that's that whats been talked about. PV is the dearest method. Thermal methods are more efficient but don't lend themselves to micro applications.
Links to China nuclear figures please? Yer, China is an interesting situation. They built expectations, now they got to deliver on them.
"They expect the first of them, now under construction, to cost $2/w(avg). They are targeting $1/w
Meanwhile, the largest PV system being built, a 300Mw(peak) system in AZ, will cost about $30/w(avg)."
By the way, these figure are incomparable as they are. Oranges & apple. One is in China and the other is in the US. Some kind of Purchasing Power Parity transform need to be done first.
As they are, these figures are Red Herring.
Thermal methods also have the capability of energy storage and power spike filtering. The default method for energy storage for PV systems is a large pile of coal and a conventional power plant, sitting there unused. I haven't seen a cost model that includes this scenario, however.
Here is a link that gives a progress report for the first four reactors. The contract with Westinghouse is the construction of the reactors for $8B. They also have an agreement for teechnology transfer and a joint effort to drive cost down by 50%.
Perhaps China can provide us with even lower cost PV panels, manufactured using cheap power from their plants. And, eventually, we can import the advanced version of our reactor design from them. A win-win situation.
In many small & medium-sized villages in Spain, autonomous solar companies have weathered the storm of the crisis and have even thrived, compared to the collapse of dumb developers and real estate agents. Some solar companies have a profitability of up to ten-fold the investment.
There is pressing need for renewable power in a world where demand of energy is on the rise worldwide and natural resources are finite. Investment in renewable energies is just a matter of common sense in order to leave an environmentally healthy planet to future generations.
Efficiency is not necessarily a good thing if it comes at a higher price. For large arrays in relatively empty places, where there are no space constraints, cheap panels that are relatively inefficient are a better bet.
Speaking of, here's a great article on solar panels & efficiency. He mentions the efficiency of photosynthesis in here as do several commenters above:
Try going about 1000's times smaller and you'll find the wholy grail of solar (and a whole load of other)technologies - Quantum Heterostructures. 10/15 years away - will happen sooner than fusion.
Making a photodiode smaller means it captures less solar energy, J Cornish. I'm certain that somebody will invent some such device - and that it will be equally useful to the one described here.
Check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_dot_solar_cell for more information.
The advantage of quantum dots is you can stack them, thus having larger absorption efficiencies across a greater range of frequencies. These things actually work - I spent an entire year testing them.
Yes, but that has diminishing returns. Most of the available energy can be collected with a single photodiode, tuned to the green regime. More layers adds complexity and collects incremental amounts of energy. The basic question, raised above, is whether a 3-layer device can be made cheaper than an equivalent one-layer device.
Stirling Engines technology have been around for centuries. With today's technological advancements, I am surprised, no one has yet taken this tried-n-proven technology and marry it with solar technology (to generate heat) to produce electricity.
Err, They have, you need to read around more. Mr Google is your friend!
There are commercial parabolic dish Stirling engines available. From memory Southern California Edison was looking at a power station with several tens of thousands of dishes.
The has also been research with Sond Pond power Stirling engines (since the 70s) in Israel, at the University of Texas and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) in Australia (not an exhaustive list).
Lots of solar heat can be captured and accumulated in space. So this sort of technology may reach its ultimate expression in solar energy satellites. Imagine huge orbiting arrays constantly exposed to the full spectrum of solar radiation with no interference or thermal loss from atmospheric gases or particulates. There is real potential here for plentiful and affordable carbon-free energy.
SciFi? Yes, for now. But I think the odds are more than even that this will happen before we get commercial fusion power.
I think this technology is very good.The world resource become more difficult to explore such as oil and coal.To take the effective measure should be a release to this problem.But the technology is not mature,so we need to improve it quickly.
Interesting article - I like these sorts of write ups that introduce innovation that may not necessarily get attention in the mainstream media (outside of the New York Times Science Times, or one of the science magazines).
It would have been nice if a diagram could have been provided. The writing and description was good, but I think some visual would have helped really top off the article.
Otherwise, how expensive would this structure/device be to produce? I saw referencs to indium gallium arsenide and recall that being expensive...
Also was wondering if whole "farms" of these devices would be envisioned - say set up in the desert. If so, would the higher efficiences mean less land needed for any production site?
Sunshine is plenty and there is no lack of space for solar modules. It does not matter whether a few percent more of sunlight are harvested, what matters is the relative cost. The break-through will come when modules with average yield have become dirt-cheap and not in the form of super high tech, super expensive systems. That is, Asian factories will likely play a larger role than American laboratories.
Whenever I hear about a technology breakthrough involving the use of compound semiconductors I squirm. These material are orders of magnitude more expensive to fabricate than silicon, And since solar cells are by their nature, dependent on the area used, the cost will be proportionately higher. It is not reasonable to expect improvements that will offset costs.
What this invention will produce, however, is orders of magnitude more research funding.
(been there,done that, bought the T shirt)
The truth that no one wants to talk about is that the key to energy and humanity's survival is a massive reduction in energy use. Fossil fuels are a one off boon to our energy supply. The massive financing and intellectual resource waste of expensive, complex, energy needing, waste producing, corporation enriching technological solutions are nothing but follies, like every next promising big thing is. Real solutions will come when the worlds people as a whole embrace things like bicycle commuting, composting, home grown permaculture gardens, passive solar heating, water treatment using biological and food producing aquaculture systems, public transportation, and the like. The rest is just wastefullness, like we've been doing for centuries. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me for a dozen generations? Come on!
Unfortunately, such ideologically pure solutions can only feed at most about 5 billion people. so, how do you propose to feed the remaining 2 billion?
Much of today's agriculture depends on information from weather satellites (and resulting accurate weather forecasts) to determine timing of seeding and preparing for oncoming weather calamities.
All technologies are interdependent, and trashing one aspect for some ideology's sake serves no one.
Why does the trashing need to take place? If every building sported its own solar array, then demands on the grid are aleviated. Same goes with community gardens. Likewise, high urban densities reduce transportation costs needed to get food from the grocery, to work, and to entertainment.
No, teacup, they are not alleviated. That is the problem. Slor energy is only produced effectively for a short time of ther day, a few hrs around noon. The rest of the time you still need the complete grid and a power generation system capable of producing 100% of your peak power needs - the solar investment is completely redundant. Moreover, you need the grid to redistribute the excess power that the rooftop system at noon. And to compound the problem further, you need to put some sort of buffer between your roof-top system and the grid to protect the grid from intermittancies.
I'd rather see percentages of energy demand offloaded from the grid and provided for locally where possible, from any reasonable source; I take a reduce, re-use approach over wholesale replacement. You need a grid as a backup primarily because the rest of the system is built around the concept of central power supply.
Solar might be redundant, but it also is independent. As the price for panels falls, it also becomes more competitive with grid power (over time).
I have a UPS which I use to buffer brown outs and spikes coming over the grid. Combined with the transformer failures which the hit the city and other shortcomings due to infrastructure neglect, a solution to buffering already exists.
On the more wild eyed end of things: That electric/hybrid car might provide the buffer and an intermittent store.
None of this would satisfy the needs of larger industry or business, but I don't see that as being necessary. Reduction in overall grid dependence/fossil fuel is good, and also serves to prolong the viability of the existing system capacity.
"On the more wild eyed end of things: That electric/hybrid car might provide the buffer and an intermittent store. "
Nothing wild eyed about that. This was already implemented in Northern Japan shortly after the 3/11 Earthquake there last year. Mitsubishi Motors donated 100 of their i-MieV electric cars to the affected region for dual use of power storage and mobility.
The grid back-up is needed first because solar energy output does not match very well with peak demands. Winter demands tend to come in early morning and late afternoon, while summer peaks are late afternoon. In both cases solar power output is diminished or unavailable.
A battery-based UPS that would provide for peak output would solve that problem for you, but would add significantly to the cost of your system, and require periodic battery replacement. It would also be an effective buffer to protect the grid from spikes from your system. An acquaintance of mine runs a research program devoted to developing a liquid-S/Ni battery capability for large scale applications. He asserts that these systems will be demanded for use before large scale use of solar energy is permitted.
A large fraction of electricity cost is associated with the capital investment. Solar energy use inevitably increases that cost because of the high capital cost itself, and the need some sort of back-up, either through storage or redundant conventional capacity.
may I suggest it would have been better to stay in the trees, hence no need for even a bicycle and its associated pollution of a metal industry?
mayhaps we should have stayed as microbes?
We need to produce consume and liberate masses of energy so that we may enjoy and visit all that this universe has to offer while its still here, feel free to create your own primitive idylls where ever you please but please don't ham-string the mad ape.
The only thing needed to produce progress on renewable energy, conservation, lifestyle changes, even domestic fossil fuel production within developed countries, is continued high prices. People will figure out what to do.
If Congress cared about the future of the United States and its people, it would implement a tax that rose if oil and coal prices fell from current levels, canceling the decrease, with an upward movement for inflation legislated in. As of this moment, it wouldn't cost anyone anything. In the future, the benefits of cost certainty could be great.
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text: Run Away ! gamesBookmark the permalink. Release date: Dec 12th, 2011 Price: Free Version: 1.0.1 Seller: Tsukasa Komiyama Buy Now STP SCORE: Not yet reviewed Description Related Games Death Golf™ Vector for iPhone Mad Skills BMX Party Wave Fishing Superstars Soccer Superstars 2012 Deer Hunter Reloaded Big Win Hockey Justin Smith's Realistic Summer Sports Simulator Ice Rage


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JUST IN: Girl, 17, missing
Thursday, June 10, 2010 8:02 PM EDT
Officials are investigating the disappearance of a North Fairfield teen last seen Sunday night at her grandmother's house in Norwalk.
Abbi Obermiller, 17, just finished her junior year at South Central High School in Greenwich. Her family says she is a straight-A student who dreams of becoming an oncologist.
She is tall and slender, about 5 feet 10 or 11 inches, with brown hair and blue eyes.
Anyone with information should contact the Norwalk Police Department at 419-663-6780.
Last edited by Cubby; 06-30-2010 at 12:47 PM.
Abbi is the youngest of seven children and very close to her family.
Abbi's family reported her missing at 5:54AM on Monday after she had spent the night at her grandmother's. A phone call was placed from her phone an hour prior to the report of her being missing. LE can place her at her grandmom's until about 1:00AM Monday morning.
Be safe Abbi.
By Caroline Darany
Published: June 15, 2010
Updated: June 15, 2010 - 2:36 PM
NORWALK, Ohio -- Authorities ask for your help to find a missing teenager whom police believe is in danger.
The Norwalk Police Department has issued a statewide, endangered missing child advisory for a 17-year-old girl.
By Annie Zelm
01:41 AM Jun 16 2010
The disappearance of a North Fairfield teen last seen June 6 has taken a troubling turn.
Norwalk police arrested the boyfriend of 17-year-old Abbi Obermiller this week and charged him with obstructing official business.
Police Chief Dave Light said when questioned, Robert J. "Bobby" Young, 20, denied having contact with her, but police have records of text messages between the two of them when she first disappeared.
By CARY ASHBY - Reflector Staff Writer | Friday June 18 2010, 11:30pm
NEW LONDON - Norwalk police used a search warrant early Thursday morning at the rural New London home of the boyfriend of a missing teenager.
Officers were at the 408 Exchange Road home of Robert J. "Bobby" Young, 20, about 4:30 a.m. "According to the report, he (Young) was there, asleep at the time," Capt. Mike Conney said.
By SCOTT SEITZ - Reflector Staff Writer | Monday June 21 2010, 4:34pm
The search continues for Abbi Obermiller, a 17-year-old North Fairfield girl who has been missing since June 7.
Norwalk police were hopeful early Sunday morning after they received what they thought was a tip from an anonymous female caller.
By CARY ASHBY and JOE CENTERS - Reflector Staff Writers | Tuesday June 22 2010, 3:09pm
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Abbi Obermiller's boyfriend said he has nothing to hide. He blames her parents for the 17-year-old North Fairfield girl's disappearance.
Her family members, however, contend the boyfriend is making unfounded accusations and say he is involved in her leaving home.
Much more at the link...
Elisa Amigo Fox 8 Reporter
9:41 PM EDT, June 25, 2010
NORWALK, Ohio -- The boyfriend of a missing Huron County teen has been arrested and charged with obstruction of justice.
June 7 was the last time anyone saw or heard from 17-year-old Abbi Obermiller. Abbi is a student at South Central High School in Greenwich. Her parents, Rose and Jim Obermiller live in North Fairfield. Her family says as soon as schoolyear ended, Abbi went to stay with her grandmother in Norwalk.
More than two weeks have passed since anyone has heard or seen Abbi. Abbi's mother Rose Obermiller said, "You want to go to bed at night, kiss her goodnight but she's not there."
Norwalk Police Sgt. Jim Fulton said, "She left a note behind. It was hidden in a notebook, it indicates she left willingly because of her family situation. There was problems with the boyfriend. The parents didn't like the boyfriend because he was older."
Abbi's boyfriend, 21-year-old Robert Young been charged with obstruction of justice.
"It's clear he [boyfriend] sent her text messages of when to leave the house and was aware of who was picking her up."
I didn't see this posted or may have missed it.
Shopper saw Abbi in the back of her boyfriend's vehicle?
This isn't sounding good at all....
An honor student and aspiring oncologist, Abbi displayed uncharacteristic behavior in the run-up to her disappearance, according to her father, James Obermiller.
"It's not like her to do this," he told the Register. "Not calling ... I'm not understanding that. At least call and let us know she's safe."
Young recently backed out of a planned polygraph test, but allowed police to search the home he shares with his sister, Fox News reported.
full article at link:
Hmmm. I can see why he/his sister allowed LE to search their home. I doubt he harmed her in the home he shared with any family member. however his refusal to cooperate with LE- based on the obstruction charges in previously linked articles and his refusal to follow through with a planned polygraph test is telling.
I hope she is ok somewhere, but I don't have a good feeling about this. If he was that controlling he wouldn't just send her along her way and she would have contacted someone by now. Poor girl. Teenagers fall in love and aren't always best at recognizing the signs of DV.
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Seems that maybe he saw the writing on the wall....her parents were not going to give in and accept this relationship. He knows where she is....hopefully, alive.
In the fox article..."Investigators believe the girl left her grandmother's home willingly, citing a note found inside one of her notebooks that indicated problems with her family."
So there's conflicting accounts, I guess....whether or not family life was good. Does she have any history of depression or other mental illness? Just asking in case she got overwhelmed by something and needed a break. Obviously, you can't just "take a break" without telling anyone, but something is hinky with this case, IMO. I hope she's okay...
Does she turn 18 soon? Nevermind...November she'd turn 18. I was thinking maybe she left and her and the BF hoped she could hide out until her 18th birthday.
ETA: In NO way am I saying she's not endangered or that it's her fault, IN ANY WAY. I'm just trying to rack my brain for ideas.
Last edited by Truthful Lies; 06-28-2010 at 09:55 AM.
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I think the boyfriend knows where she is - they had this planned. I did the same thing when I was in high school - I wasn't gone this long but my bf and I planned it because my parents weren't going to let me see him anymore. I think she is alive and well and will come home.
This article mentions her parents think she is in Detroit or Toledo being held against her will by the BF's relatives. Not sure if it's against her will. Or maybe she wanted to run away with him, changed her mind - and now she is being held against her will?
Her parents are going to be on Prime News on HLN today.
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Nothing new on HLN earlier, that we don't already know.
Boyfriend agreed and backed out of LD test.
Police think boyfriend knows more that he is saying and knows where Abbi is.
Rose and James are going to on Nancy Grace in a few.
Justice for Nevaeh FB Group http://bit.ly/justice4nevaeh
In Memory of Aja D. Johnson: http://bit.ly/AjaFacebookGroup
In Memory of Ethan Stacy -
Jim Fulton: Norwalk police.
Thinks Abbi left willingly. Thinks Bobby knows where Abbi is. He went to say more but Nancy cut him off. As usual.
Justice for Nevaeh FB Group http://bit.ly/justice4nevaeh
In Memory of Aja D. Johnson: http://bit.ly/AjaFacebookGroup
In Memory of Ethan Stacy -
# one in her class, straight A student, wants to study oncology, has a 20 year old BF, authorities believe she left willingly per NG
wanted to live with grandparents for more freedom
would still ask parents for permission to go out
volleyball star
grandmother woke up at 6 am to find her gone
parents looked immediately to find her
no contact with friends or family
watching NG to relay info
Bobby Y a person of interest
Last edited by Coldpizza; 06-28-2010 at 08:15 PM. Reason: sp
Boyfriend has no idea, was questioning text messages, he suppossedly texted her where to go that night, when to leave
BF wont take a poly
BF has diabetes so he thinks it will affect a poly, thats why he wont take it
Last edited by Coldpizza; 06-28-2010 at 08:22 PM. Reason: sp
if there even a suspect cant force someone to take a poly
le did an emergency request to get phone records and its pretty clear he new
he says Ill let you know when to leave
she says I'm scared
he says leave now
she says ok
he says meet me on Main St at 11 00 pm
The cop just read off those text messages and yeah that sounds to me like she has taken off. As far as her being scared she could have been scared of the dark and not wanting to walk alone to Main Street. I don't walk around town at night because I'd be afraid to as well.
bf said dont go to NY with her choir, per her parents
Didn't want her to be with friends, wanted her all for himself per her parents
just typing what I'm watching on NG everyone. so you don't think I'm a nutcase! Usually Panthera is here! Hey where are you?!
I really don't know who to believe in this case. When you are dealing with a teenager who whose parents don't like the guy you were with then in most cases they tend to act out on it. I mean of course her parents opinions are going to be negative about him because they don't like him. Her parents seem really strict and when you are dealing with something like that the teenager always does the opposite of what you don't want.
I just IDK I think this could be a case where she went against what her parents want.


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Could have completely understood hitching yourself to the YMCMB bandwagon back in 2011. Lli Wayne had not yet given up rap to concentrate on his skateboarding, Drake had just dropped Take Care, and Good Kid m.A.A.d City had yet to drop and make everything Lil Wayne comes out with look trivial. It would've actually made sense. But it's 2013 now bruh. 2013! Lil Wayne probably has bastard kids who wouldn't cut that shit into their hair now.
Have it your way I guess, Kane. Can't wait to see how crazy those darned Winnipeg Jets players get when they finally perform their 'Call Me Maybe' spoof in 2014.
Never forget:


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Some of our music falls outside the bounds of this law (which restricts how many songs from one album can be played), and you'll hear them on the radio, but not on the web stream.
There's also a rule against moving forward and backward through a stream, so we had to disable "scrolling" of the archive files.
The Long Version:
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) is a U.S. law, passed in 1998, which regulates many aspects of Internet activity. It was established, presumably, to protect the copyrighted material of artists, scientists, writers, etc., in these times of growing technology. Part of this act establishes that the recording industry would have a right to collect royalties for their performers based on Internet "airplay."
It took a while for that to kick in, but in 2003 - amidst much debate and confusion - a set of rules and royalties was established for webcasters to follow. In order to track what songs are played, webcasters must submit thorough reports on every song played by every listener.
We're prepared to do whatever we can to continue streaming. NPR and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting have worked hard to help us and other public radio stations, with legal support and coordination of the complicated tasks.
Some DMCA rules affect any archiving of recorded music, since:
- Archived shows can appear for 14 days consecutively;
- Archived shows must consist of 4-hour-long files.
Some of these DMCA rules outline restrictions on the frequency some songs can be played.
In any 3-hour period, we can webcast:
- No more than 3 songs from one album;
no more than 2 played consecutively - No more than 4 songs from a set/compilation;
no more than 3 played consecutively - No more than 4 recorded songs by the same artist
(live studio appearances are okay)
Shows from our broadcast past that ventured beyond these limits do not appear in the WFUV Archives. There are gaps in the live stream for any entire albums (we fill in with other WFUV music).
Another element of the rules states that listeners should not be able to call up any particular song on demand, so therefore, there should be no way to "scroll" forward or backward through the streaming shows that contain recorded music. We've had to disable that feature on purpose. (We hate it too.)
We have the choice of following the guidelines or giving up our audio presence online.
More info:
Here's some more information about the DMCA, and how to let your feelings about the situation be known:
(web links will open in a new browser window)
- The complete text of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act
- The Recording Industry Association of America: www.riaa.org
- An organized effort in opposition to the DMCA: www.anti-dmca.org
- The Radio and Internet Newsletter: www.kurthanson.com
- The Electronic Frontier Foundation: www.eff.org
- The 'Telecommunications and the Internet' House Subcommittee


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Tomato Basil Soup
Yield: 2 servings
Community Recipe from
Recipe Time
Cook Time:
Prep Time:
- 1/2 cup(s) grated Parmesan Cheese
- 1 can(s) Progresso Hearty Tomato Soup
- 1/2 cup(s) sour cream
- Mix all three ingredients together. Warm it up on the stove. Yum!
January 2010
This recipe is a personal recipe added by katycook and has not been tested or endorsed by MyRecipes.
Tomato Basil Soup Recipe at a Glance
- COURSE: Soups/Stews
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Hey Paul, nice tux! Dinner for Schmucks star Paul Rudd must feel like a real-life schmuck when looking at this vintage video from his days of "gettin' the party started" as bar mitzvah deejay! Before he became famous, the comedian supported himself by working the bar and bat mitzvah circuit in Los Angeles' San Fernando…
Betty White "Oh, God" Movie Remake Featuring Paul Rudd
Paul Rudd "Sesame Street" Video
Donning a giant Earth outfit, ccomic actor Paul Rudd danced with the residents of Sesame Street on the Easter Monday edition of the Children's Television Classic.


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Bratz: Desert Jewelz
action & adventure, anime & animation
When a magic carpet is compelled by an enchanted ring stolen by thieves during a fashion show, the girls are taken on an unexpected journey to help find a genie lamp and to rescue it before it falls into evil hands.
® & © MGA Entertainment, Inc. BRATZ®, and all related logos, names, characters, distinctive likenesses and slogans are the exclusive property of MGA. All rights reserved. Mike Young Productions, LLC.


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Well today is going to rock my socks! First up, i have netball today. At 10 for an hours non stop feirce trainin then the game that we are going to KICK ASS in! WOO! cant wait.
Netball.... you know what that meas? im vrs. the Merici girls. A private all girls school who think their the shit. The wear cute lil black netball skirts on the court. But there short skirts. not to mention they were g's under them... translation for americans 'thongs'. ... :P and all the girls are HOT HOT HOT! lol WOOO!!!
So while netballs on ill be having gr8 fun. Then im babysitting tonightt.... but it gets beter! My friend Alyce is sleeping over tonight! *YAY*! So yeah thats it.
But i know there is a negative about today.. im not going to get that one girl who i LURVE out of my mind. Like for example when im vrs. merici today ill be thinking something like ' hmmm if only that were aly......' haha ;P
i love you aly. i miss you aly. i admire you aly.
luvre your princess of mistakes, lisa-maree.
xoxoxoxo -NO THOSE ARE FOR ALEX NOT YOU! hehe.
what about you adam? okay here 'xoxo' but thats all you'll ever get from me! hahahahahaaha! i love you adam!!! haha.


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Hi Ms. Lepi,
I recently defended my MA thesis in education policy studies at the Centre for Cross Faculty Inquiry in Education, University of British Columbia. The main focus of my research was constructions of 'good teachers' and 'good teaching' in BC's '21st-century learning' (21CL) policy agenda. In brief, I found that BC's vision of 21CL masks a managerialist attack on teachers' work, and is best understood as a vehicle for aggravating a democratic deficit in education policy.
With that said, Ms. Lepi, I feel compelled to challenge a few of the very problematic agenda(s) that appear to be lurking within and beneath your post.
Although uncredited, the graphic that's labeled "21st century student outcomes and support systems" is via the Partnership for 21st Century Skills – the largest and most aggressive advocate for 21CL in North America. P21 draws strong backing from some of the world's largest corporations – Apple, Cisco, Microsoft, Ford, Disney, Pearson, SMART, Hewlett Packard, etc. In 2005 "partners" paid a yearly premium of $35k to participate in P21's re-conceptualization of public schooling. What I mean to illustrate here is that P21 pushes a corporate agenda that's backed by an economic elite. Not teachers. Not scholars of pedagogy. Not social justice advocates. None of that. No, 21CL is a corporate fantasy, through and through.
"The starting point has to be the recognition that there are two distinct logics at work. One is a logic of education, based on social and individual needs, and notions of equality and democracy.The other is a logic of business, whose bottom line is profit. Not everything business wants to do is incompatible with educational interests. But the logic of business is incompatible with the logic of education." (Hatcher, 2011, p. 58)
Second, one key component of 21CL's diminution of teachers' work is the stress given to "skills" for the "knowledge economy". Mounds of research literature links "knowledge economy" discourses with neoliberalism, compounding inequalities, and a crisis of democracy, so I'll not waste time there. Instead, I'd like to problematize this assumption that "skills" are meaningful priorities as possible outcomes of teachers' work.
Richard Pring (2004) understands this economic skills agenda as relying on "the bewitchment of the intelligence by a misuse of language." Pring critiques the vocationalistic skills strategy by suggesting that a skilled philosopher is not necessarily a good philosopher. A skilled philosopher, for instance, may be quite adept at the mechanics of philosophical argumentation without actually having "anything philosophically interesting to say." This critique holds for lawyers, authors, musicians, and other professions. Therefore, Pring suggests that "to focus on skills traps us into a limited language which transforms and impoverishes the educational enterprise." In other words, there may be noble hopes animating the push for skills and embedded in policies, but they may actually "impoverish the educational enterprise."
Given these points, Ms. Lepi, I invite you to download and grapple with my thesis – in the hope that you might come round to advocating for a more democratic otherwise.
Tobey Steeves
Twitter: @Symphily


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If your presentation will be viewed via video, consider these best practices. These are good for general purpose Power Points, too. It's also recommended to avoid or limit your use of transitions between slides. You can also click here to see an example Power Point presentation that shares the do's and dont's of using Power Point during a webcast.
The A/V technician is there to control the environment, so let them do their job. Sound checks are important, so ask for one if it's not already on the itinerary. Ask them about best practices in speaking angle for the particular style of microphone being used.
When you step up to the microphone… don't move it! The technician will adjust the sound levels to the way you speak. If you move the microphone, they lose their window of control to make you sound your best. Start speaking, and continue at your natural level. Allow 15 seconds for them to adjust the system to meet you. Don't worry about what your own voice sounds like; it will be taken care of for you. Don't bother asking your audience if they can hear you, that's what the technician is there for!
Your mouth should be 6 inches from the microphone, or about the length of your fist.
Top 10 ways to be a better public speaker:
When in doubt, tell them what you're going to say, say it, then summarize your key points.


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You could count this for Bear requirement 9b: With an adult, make snacks for the next den meeting. It isn't the healthiest thing in the world, but it probably a little better than the bags of chips or ding-dongs the parents used to send for our den when we had our meetings right after school.
Tag Archives | Cubs in the Kitchen
Apple Crisp Recipe for Cub Scouts
Cub Scouts love to cook. They might need some help peeling and cutting the apples for this recipe, but they should be able to handle the rest of it with supervision. And they will love getting their fingers messy making the crumb topping.
Apple Smiles Recipe
This is a nice recipe to make in the fall when fresh apples from local orchards are readily available. When assembled, this should look like two lips (the red sides of the apples) with two teeth (the marshmallows).
Soil Sample Cupcakes Recipe
Scouts always enjoy playing with their food! This would make a nice snack for any den meeting based on one of the ecology lessons.
Banana Wheels Recipe
Cub Scouts can make this snack at home for themselves or it would work as a snack at a den meeting.
Ticks on a Toilet Seat Recipe
What's the best way to get a picky eater to have a healthy snack? Make it funny!
Firecracker Burgers Recipe
Boy Scouts and Venturers can make this one at camp or your Cub Scouts can help you make this for the Fourth of July to help fulfill their cooking requirements.
French Toast Recipe for Cub Scouts
This is a very easy French toast recipe. French or Italian bread works well in this recipe, but plain white bread will do.
Campsite Honey Apples Recipe
Here's an easy snack recipe for camp or for a den meeting. No cooking required!
Wolf Den Meeting Plan for Achievement 8: Cooking and Eating
Cub Scouts always enjoy a picnic. Line up some adults to help you and fulfill some of the requirements for Wolf Achievement 8: Cooking and Eating with this den meeting plan.
Edible Spiders Recipe
A snack made with crackers and pretzels. This recipe does not require any cooking, so it can be made at a meeting even if you don't have access to a kitchen.


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Plusrite brand 600 Watt clear high pressure sodium lamp with mogul base. T15 tubular shape. Universal burning position.
Value - light exterior and large interior spaces efficiently and at a competitive price
High-Pressure Sodium Ballast (ANSI Code S106) required
That's why we make the process as easy as possible and pledge to never leave you in the dark when it comes to buying replacement bulbs and lighting accessories.
Receive special offers and information from Bulbs.com.


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The Homebuilders Association of Southwestern Oregon is a Trade Association organization. The builders, who are the core of the Association, are committed to meeting the needs and interests of all members whether builder or associate. Professional credibility, political influence, and business networking are provided.
THANK YOU to our Home and Garden Show Title Sponsor
No events |
HBA of Southwestern Oregon
Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 696
Coos Bay, OR 97420
Physical address:
Pony Village Mall
1611 Virginia Avenue, Suite 219
North Bend, OR 97459
Amber Burnette, Executive Officer
(541)756-2000 - Office
(541) 297-3319 - Cell
(541)808-0935- Fax
Email Amber


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I wanted to take a moment to share how you can taken back 10+ hours a week of my time from monotonous tasks.
Think about how often you "search" through your hard drive to find and open files, applications, or folders? 10, 20, 50 times a dayhttp://www.stefancrain.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=338&action=edit&message=1? Probably takes you a while huh? And then you find the file and cant even remember why you were searching for GuyDoingFacePalm.jpg in the first place. Lucky for us there is a much faster way to find stuff on the mac.
Apple built this fucntionality straight into into OSX in 2006, they call it "Spotlight".
TRY IT OUT: Press command + spacebar to open the window in the upper right corner. Type in the first 3-4 letters of what you are looking for, use arrow keys to navigate the list and press enter to open the file. Easy, fast, found.
More about Spotlight from Apple .
Time saved : 20-30 minutes a day.
The time you spend blocking out distractions and to getting focused work done is invaluable.
We can all agree that one of the big drawbacks of the new social web is our level of constant distraction. How much time do you waste checking your two favorite sites? I started keeping track of mine and I'm sure the results would alarm you.
I started using an application called SelfControl 1 month ago and immediately noticed changes in my work habits.
SelfControl blocks your access to any sites in its' blacklist for a preset period of time. After you start a session there's no going back.
Learn more about Selfcontrol – sGit the source on github
Time saved : 40-60 minutes a day.
I've made it a practice to use two computers in my weekly workflow. I have a rock solid desktop to really crank out most of my work, and when cabin fever strikes I have an old PowerBook that I take with me to escape. I wanted the computers to keep my projects in sync without being forced to work off of a remote server.
Enter Gitdocs. Gitdocs is awesome for my coding projects because not only does it keep my 2 stations in sync, but it also it keeps track of a files revision history, so if I need to revert to yesterdays file, its right there!
Time saved : 20-30 minutes a day + countless headaches avoided.
How have you streamlined your workflow ?


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News Release
Jennifer Martin, CSREES Staff, (202) 720-8188
Printable version
BELTSVILLE, MD, June 15, 2006 - Farmers and ranchers seeking to learn more about profitable and practical agricultural systems will find a wealth of ideas from the 2006/07 SARE Highlights, a free publication now available from the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program. SARE is funded through USDA's Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES).
The 2006/07 Highlights publication features 12 of the most innovative research projects funded by SARE, which awards grants to promote farming and ranching systems that are profitable, environmentally sound and good for people and communities.
"The Highlights publication showcases projects from SARE that underscore CSREES' mission to advance agricultural knowledge to benefit farmers, their communities and the environment," said CSREES Administrator Colien Hefferan. "SARE's best projects include careful research that culminates in practical extension education to farmers, ranchers and those who work with them."
In New York, a mentoring program paired experienced graziers with farmers in the Finger Lakes region to improve pastured livestock systems. The program helped 100 farmers achieve such goals as improving fencing and lanes or converting crop fields to productive pasture on 5,500 acres in the environmentally sensitive area.
"Our goal was to curb erosion [into the lakes], but also to sustain small and medium-sized farms," said Richard Winnett, coordinator of the Finger Lakes Resource Conservation and Development Council. The program "just exploded because we recruited good people to be our grazing advocates and develop plans for individual operations."
In Idaho, a researcher who showcased the strategies of successful potato growers prompted 25 farmers to try new conservation measures to manage pests and maximize returns with less fertilizer. His efforts mean that 110,000 acres, one-fourth of the state's potato production, are managed with conservation-oriented strategies.
"Too many growers have a recipe approach to farming based on what worked last year, regardless of the situation," said Bryan Hopkins, a potato cropping specialist at the University of Idaho. "The crux of the issue is basing it on site-specific needs."
Among other highlighted projects:
The 2006/07 report is the latest of a series of publications that shed light on some of the most creative research funded by SARE. For a copy, go to www.sare.org/publications/highlights.htm or contact firstname.lastname@example.com / 301 504-5236.
The 2006/07 SARE Highlights was published by the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) for the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program. SARE is a program of the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES), USDA . SAN operates under a Cooperative Agreement between CSREES and the University of Vermont and the University of Maryland to develop and disseminate information about sustainable agriculture. www.sare.org.
Note to Reporters: USDA news releases and program announcements are available on the Internet. Go to the CSREES newsroom at http://www.csrees.usda.gov/newsroom/newsroom.html. Also, anyone with an e-mail address can sign up to receive CSREES press releases automatically. Send an e-mail message to firstname.lastname@example.com and leave the subject blank. In the message, type 'subscribe news'.
SARE Funding Opportunity


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Take Action For Your Rivers
Contacting government officials is one of the best ways to help protect your rivers. Add your voice to thousands of other activists across the US to help create real change for our environment.
Current Actions
Protect the Grand Canyon for Everyone
The New York Times recently spotlighted two major development proposals that would devastate the canyon's wild nature, beauty, and overall health. These projects would harm a national treasure, a wild place essential to our identity as Americans. Sign the petition opposing this unprecedented level of development.
Make Water Conservation the Priority in the Water Plan
Colorado residents: Water conservation in our state's cities and towns is the best and most logical step for protecting our rivers — and the wildlife, residents, agriculture and industry that depend on them. Urge Governor Hickenlooper to prioritize urban water conservation as they draft the state's water plan.
Stop Megaloads from Degrading One of America's First Wild & Scenic River Corridors!
The Wild & Scenic designated Middle Fork Clearwater and Lochsa rivers are threatened by the oil industry's desire to convert U.S. Highway 12 into an industrial transport route for massive loads of oil processing equipment bound for the Canadian tar sands. Tell the U.S. Forest Service to protect the special values of these Wild & Scenic rivers by saying NO to megaload shipments through the river corridor.
Colorado's White River is More than Just Oil & Gas
The Bureau of Land Management is proposing 15,000 new oil and gas wells for the area. If the plan were allowed to move forward, it would put the region's air, water, wildlife, and wild places at risk of becoming an industrialized disaster. Ask Secretary Jewell to protect the White River, Colorado, from irresponsible energy development.
Protect Healthy Flows in the Edisto River
The Edisto River is America's longest free-flowing blackwater river. The river is home to gamefish, endangered sturgeon, swallow-tailed kite, and other magnificent fish and wildlife. But excessive agriculture withdrawals threaten the river's health and downstream water users, including other farmers. Tell SC's governor and General Assembly to ensure healthy flows for the Edisto and all of SC's rivers by requiring agricultural users to comply with the same rules as industrial and municipal users.
Say NO to Expensive and Harmful Diversion Projects on the Gila River
An unnecessary and expensive water diversion and pipeline project would harm fish and wildlife, river health, and local economics dependent on outdoor recreation and tourism. Tell the Chairman of the New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission that water diversion projects are too costly for the environment and for taxpayers. New Mexico must embrace water conservation to meet future water needs and keep the Gila River flowing strong.
New Madrid Levee Would be a Disaster for the Mississippi River
A proposed new levee would cut off the river from the floodplains that protecting downstream communities from floodwaters and provide habitat for fish and wildlife. Tell the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to abandon the levee project and the Environmental Protection Agency to veto it if the Corps proceeds with this ill-conceived plan.
Keep The San Joaquin River Flowing
Outdated water management and excessive diversions leave the river dry in stretches, threatening water quality, fish and wildlife, agriculture, and leaving communities vulnerable in the face of drought. Tell the Senate to take a stand for the San Joaquin and oppose H.R. 3694.
Tell the EPA that You Support Clean Water Protections
Right now, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers are moving forward to close these loopholes and reduce uncertainty by improving the existing regulations. Make your voice heard and let the EPA and the Army Corps know that you support these improvements to better protect clean water.
Protect Birmingham's Drinking Water from Coal Mine Pollution
The Black Warrior River is a valuable resource for drinking water, recreation, fishing, and rare fish and wildlife. However, the river's Mulberry Fork is threatened by the Shepherd Bend Mine, which would discharge polluted wastewater only 800 feet from a major drinking water intake. To mine the proposed area leases must be obtained leases from the University of Alabama. The University must permanently refuse to sell or lease its land and mineral rights at Shepherd Bend for coal mining.


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Current Time
user posts + reviews
Hawaii User Posts + Reviews
welcome to: ====== http://www.gocntrade.com ======
Hello, everybody, the good shoping place, the new season approaching, click in.===== http://www.gocntrade.com ===== Air Jordan (1-24) shoes $36,Air max shoes (TN LTD BW 90 180)...more
When we visited the Big Island we booked a zipline tour through Skyline Eco Adventures-Akaka Falls. Their last line is over 3,000ft and goes right over a 250ft waterfall! What a rush! more
Maui-Trilogy snorkel sail trip to Lanai
Trilogy sailing snorkeling trips are first rate. We took the trip to Lanai and had a great experience. The staff is lovely and seemed to make a point to get to know every one on the...more
Sacred Oahu Site - Kaneaki Heiau Makaha Valley
http://absolute-hawaii.com/absolute-must-sees/1785/Kaneaki Heiau is one of the most powerful spiritual places on Oahu, a well-maintained sacred site chosen by the Hawaiian gods and...more
Most amazing places to stay in Hawaii?
I just returned from a trip to Fiji (Turtle Island) with my 8 year-old daughter and next Christmas break I am planning to take her to Hawaii (approx 8 days).I'm looking for...more
HALEAKALA CRATER And a Sunrise Bike ride, which is ALL DOWNHILL for 30 MILES, with AWESOME VIEWS! It is Highly Recommended. All ages. An experience of a lifetime. more
Renting along the Hana Highway
We went to Maui Feb 2008 and it was the single best trip we've taken as a family. Rented a wonderful homme along the Hana highway and best move - had its own pool and hot tub,...more
The best tip i can give is to spend quality family time together, and we did just that with our kids and grandkids at the kaanapali beach hotel in maui. it is the most hawaiian hotel in...more
For pet lovers who need a pet connection while on vacation, or for those who wish to see a top flight organization, consider stopping by the Kauai Humane Society. Their attractive...more
I believe Kuaui is the island where this Resort is located and it is phenomenal! I totally recommend anyone to visit the Resort for at least a week. There is a boat that goes around the...more


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For information about current opportunities at Philip Morris USA, please visit our recruiting website.
Connect with Philip Morris USA and other Altria companies:
There are some who believe that a company that makes a dangerous and addictive product cannot be responsible. We believe that responsibility is defined not only by the products a company makes, but also by the actions it takes.


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About Us
A World of Discovery and Excitement
Perhaps one of the most unique aquariums in the world, the Key West Aquarium has delighted visitors since 1934. Come join us and see for yourself the beautiful indigenous sea-creatures of Key West and the Florida Keys.
Aquarium History
Learn about the history of the Key West Aquarium.
Meet the Team
Meet the staff of the Key West Aquarium.
The Key West Aquarium provides answers to common questions.


text: Electroswitch is an ISO 9001 certified American manufacturer of rotary encoders. With experienced design engineers, Electroswitch has the unique ability to offer custom designed switches, which in addition to its standard product offering, precisely fits virtually any customer requirement in hundreds of applications. Learn more about Electroswitch. Click here to view all Electroswitch sensors products available at Digi-Key


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Dresar Studio is an innovative, boutique design studio. We offer our clients a range of services, from Made to Measure Bridal, Evening and Special Occasion Wear to traditional steel boned corsetry.
We specialise in quirky, vintage inspired and alternative bridal wear.
We also offer a bridal and evening wear alterations service. If you have already bought your gown, let us help you make it feel like it has been made to measure.