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Diamondbacks 3B Davidson leads US past World 4-2
NEW YORK Matt Davidson was overwhelmed when a Hall of Fame representative stopped by and asked for some game-used equipment to display in Cooperstown.
Batting helmet? Sure thing.
Batting gloves? Here `ya go.
But not his bat, Davidson said. No, sir. He needs to hang onto that.
Down in the minor leagues, supplies are limited.
"The Hall of Fame wanted to take one of my bats, and I told them I'm on an unbelievable pace for breaking bats. I broke about 40 this year. It's unreal," the budding Arizona Diamondbacks slugger said. "So I don't know what it is. But I was like, I've got to have this. I mean, I've got to make the season still. And I hit a homer with it, so I better keep it. It's lucky."
Davidson hit a two-run shot Sunday that sent the United States past the World Team 4-2 in the All-Star Futures Game, baseball's annual showcase for top minor league prospects.
The opening event for three days of All-Star festivities at Citi Field, the Futures Game certainly had a New York Mets flavor in their home ballpark. Two of the team's touted pitching prospects, Noah Syndergaard and Rafael Montero, started on the mound, and each worked a scoreless inning.
"It was a glimpse into the future, not just for us, but for our fans. It's real positive," general manager Sandy Alderson said.
Both managers were former Mets favorites, too. Edgardo Alfonzo guided the World Team, and his counterpart was Mookie Wilson - who certainly took the job seriously. He brought in Philadelphia Phillies left-hander Jesse Biddle in the middle of an inning to get out of a jam.
New York outfielder Brandon Nimmo also got in the game - and moved into captain David Wright's locker for the day.
"I'm honored that I get to stand where he stands. I'm not taking his place or anything," Nimmo said. "I hope this is my field in the future."
The only other time the Mets hosted the All-Star game was in Shea Stadium's debut season of 1964. And while a scattered crowd announced at 39,188 was eager to see the promise of a better future, it turned into a big day for the Diamondbacks.
In addition to Davidson's drive, Chris Owings looked silky smooth at shortstop. On the mound, right-hander Archie Bradley worked a perfect inning, showing off his 98 mph fastball and sharp curve.
Baseball America recently rated Bradley the game's top pitching prospect. He passed up a chance to play quarterback for Oklahoma back home.
"It kind of felt like we stole the show a little bit," Bradley said.
After winning MVP honors with his family and girlfriend in the stands, Davidson found himself in the Mets clubhouse handing over his helmet and batting gloves to Brad Horn from the Hall of Fame.
It was a little surreal for a 22-year-old third baseman still eager to set foot in the majors.
"Pretty crazy," Davidson said. "I mean, I don't have any words for that yet. Those are like little kid dreams."


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I like to draw, both with paper and pen, and on the computer, I'm not very good at either, but it's a hobby. If you have a request of a drawing you'd like to see me try my hand at, let me know and I'll see what I can do for you.
I do intend to become a published author at some point in time, we'll just see how long that takes, since I'm currently studying to become a massage therapist. I have a wonderful Co-author for my main book series, and an amazing Girlfriend who supports me and writes with me for fun.
Current Residence: My Computer
Favourite genre of music: Rock
Favourite style of art: Anime
Favourite cartoon character: Tinkerbell
Personal Quote: "I'm not afraid of you, you're just the monster in my closet"

subset: commoncrawl


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Szekeres 2015It would be interesting to compare the sound between returning the headphone 'ground' side as shown and then to the +ve rail so the rail draw becomes constant and the FET is acting as a 'shunt' amp.
Posted Today at 07:09 AM by abraxalito
Why do I need a preamp?A preamp makes more sense in an historical perspective: consider LPs and the need for a phono preamplifier. Yes you can do it all in one chassis, but do you really want your phono preamp circuit running off the same power supply as your power amp, in proximity to high currents and noise of that circuit?
That and physically all the components for the phono stage, line stage, tone controls, and headphone amp found in a high end preamp literally required so much space that a separate chassis was needed.
Today with microelectronics, remote volume controls, and most people choosing to have a phono preamp or headphone amplifier external to their preamp, the need is simply not the same. The remaining components: line stage, volume control, input selectors ... can easily be put in together with the power amplifier. Even the line stage isn't really needed, since its purpose was to buffer the output of the volume control and drive the interconnects ... just increase the gain in the amplifier stage to compensate.
I think it was Wes Phillips at Stereophile who many years ago made the most eloquent case for why you would want to invest in a really nice preamp. Basically he said, look, this is the bit you physically interact with. It's also the bit that all your audio signals pass through. Get a really nice preamp and you get all the functionality (phono, headphone amp, mute or balance) in an elegant, uncluttered chassis with the transparency to be able to truly hear all the other components in the system.
I never did get around to following his advice since I'm forever putzing around with phono stages and headphone amps, but I've always thought it was a wonderful goal.
Posted 16th May 2015 at 12:48 AM by rjm
Updated 16th May 2015 at 12:51 AM by rjm
Schitt's flagship DAC uses a not-for-audio DAC chip.Some additional measurements have surfaced here: Yggdrasil Measurements
What surprises me is the zero cross-over distortion - I can't understand how this can occur with the +/- 1 LSB INL distortion figures quoted in the AD data sheet... any explanations? Or is this actually within spec? I can't tell that either based on the scale of the measurements...
Edit: Nothing in the DS referencing signed magnitude implementation.... but again, the INL plots don't suggest there is an issue with crossover distortion.
Posted 15th May 2015 at 07:11 PM by aive
Updated 15th May 2015 at 07:37 PM by aive
Building a vacuum tube amp vs a solid state ampQuote:
I am starting to realize that it might not be that much cheaper to DIY as I get deeper in this hobby. Though I will still retain the fantasy that I am saving money building circuits and price/performance ratio remains near the top of the things I value in a DIY project.
Posted 14th May 2015 at 06:13 AM by cspirou
Exploring laptop soundSince foobar player is mentioned often, especially in reference to the ABX comparator, I thought it would be a good idea to install the latest version - wasn't there prior - and see how it went. Oh dear!! Immediate reaction to the default installation, absolutely nothing done to optimise anything, first playback - it's awful!!! Dead as a doornail, boring as hell, lifeless as ... I will need to go some number of rounds, to see if I can bring it to life, if this program can be made to behave ...
Edit: OK, probably was too harsh with poor littl' foobar, but all the ridiculous, constant updating of display data was killing the quality, totally - switched off everything, the display is now completely static while playing a track, and the sound is starting to get somewhere ...
Posted 13th May 2015 at 11:32 PM by fas42
Updated 13th May 2015 at 11:55 PM by fas42
Exploring laptop soundJust to emphasise, yet again, what it means, as people say over and over again in comments about what they hear when they listen to a newly improved component, or refreshed area of the system, or new DIY effort, referring to "improvements in SQ". This is actually code for removing, temporarily or permanently, some handicap, impairment in the playback process - never is the actual source material, the music track, "improved", over and over again - but, an improvement in the integrity of the playback chain may very well have been achieved.
So this is what I'm now doing in reversing some of the tweaks of the laptop - I'm losing a little bit of the integrity, "quality" of the processing of the audio data to produce sound, with each undoing. I've got the laptop to the point where it produces pleasurable sound for as long as I care to listen to it; and the typical result of each "untweaking" is that the sound becomes less pleasurable, there's an edge, uncomfortableness, dullness, lack of life, smallness which is immediately noticeable or which makes me lose interest relatively quickly in what's playing - I want to stop listening.
Posted 13th May 2015 at 12:15 AM by fas42
Updated 13th May 2015 at 12:19 AM by fas42
New year, new DACLow hanging fruit all gone now, have to climb higher and higher to get my paws on the rest....
Posted 11th May 2015 at 06:11 AM by abraxalito
Exploring laptop soundSome things to note about the track I just used to easily highlight the player software difference:
* It was nominally a "poor" recording
* I was looking for an instrument or sound element that was in the background, it was not primary in the mix
* That sound element is one that one has a good acoustic memory of - say, real pianos are heard over and over again, and one tends to be able to say immediately whether the instrument sounds 'right'
This is a simple, and very effective way of selecting a music track for evaluating system performance - I use variations of this all the time.
Posted 11th May 2015 at 04:50 AM by fas42
New year, new DACOl' Diminishing Returns could be kicking in - at a certain point key flaws will have been eradicated or sharply diminished, and the gains will be harder to come by ... this is when I start upping the room volume more, extra stress everywhere can bring further things to light ...
Posted 11th May 2015 at 03:46 AM by fas42
Exploring laptop soundDone quite a bit of fiddling with Blu-Tack, can never get it quite perfect, I have a rough Mario Lanza CD here which excites resonance like you wouldn't believe - this is much, much better now but still the metal grille goes into a merry dance, momentarily, while the disk plays. But, I don't want to lift the lid yet - so I'll leave it as a known fault, which can be fixed if I go the extra step ... .
OK, let's start going backwards, as I mentioned earlier. Just change one thing, undo one tweak, and see what that gives me ...
First up, the playing software: using MediaMonkey (MM) for best performance, so now the m/c is going nicely, just stop MM and swap to Windows Media Player.
To test, using a rough blues recording CD, a no-name compilation that's as dirty as one could want. Track is Crying, by Jimmy Witherspoon, and there is a piano accompanying in the background, a nice tinkly element to the sound.
No contest: Windows player gives me a flat, dead tone to the piano, no sparkle, a transistor radio tone, the life is sucked out of the track. Restore MM, and the piano comes to life, becomes a real instrument, and has a "space" about it.
Windows player does all the wrong things: chews up lots of CPU time, and constantly accesses the CD-ROM drive, and HD. This was an easy one, but serves to give one an instant taste of the type of losses one hears when playback is not optimised.
Edit: Just in case someone immediately runs to this, there is no equalisation going on in any of the software I'm using - this stuff slugs the quality so severely, and I keep right away from the nonsense ...
Posted 11th May 2015 at 02:00 AM by fas42
Updated 11th May 2015 at 02:10 AM by fas42
Schitt's flagship DAC uses a not-for-audio DAC chip.the yggy is shipping, lots of ballyhoo about the days of warm up/burn in required for best sound
some measurements: yggdrasil technical measurements
not stellar but not obviously over audible thresholds
would be nice to know if its the 5791 limiting the #
or "audiophile" "good sounding" supporting circuitry - of course it could be just the limitations of the measurement too
Posted 10th May 2015 at 08:57 AM by jcx
Exploring laptop soundBlu-Tack to the rescue! So thoughtful of HP to "engineer" a cover plate for the speaker area of the laptop, such that it resonated unpleasantly with certain types of musical material, perhaps to encourage the buying of, hopefully HP, external monitors, etc, . Yes, this is a type of metal grill, which "sings" quite offensively, especially since it is not tightly bonded to the plastic surround it's mounted in - so, I'm getting a fair distance with careful inserting of gooey muck around the visible perimeter - no dismantling yet - killing a lot of the ringing! It's still trying hard to make noises, so I may have to subtlely bend some of the metal, or place strongish pressure at certain points, to fully deaden it.
Posted 9th May 2015 at 01:05 AM by fas42
What's the PSRR of an emitter follower?I have a rather old book by E.F.Wolfendale entitled "The Transistor" an Introduction to It's Applications, published by Heywood & Co Ltd in 1963. It discusses transistor behavior in terms of transmission lines, T circuits and hybrid pi equivalents.
In Wolfendale's model representation of the collector, the collector depletion layer looks like a parallel plate capacitor known as depletion capacitance (Cc,dep) that appears in parallel with the current that reaches the end of an RC transmission line and an open circuit.
I had never thought in terms of collector impedances - the power supply constituting a load which might alter the voltage according to the collector current being drawn. The collector depletion layer width is a function of the voltage applied to the collector and the greater the voltage the greater the width of the collector depletion layer. As a consequence of the width of the base narrows, which corresponds to a reduced length of the transmission line and reduced input impedance.
My initial thought was that MJE15032 might one of those devices that are less susceptible to base width modulation effects, as used in a Vas stage.
Posted 8th May 2015 at 07:34 AM by mjona
Exploring laptop soundThis is a nuisance ... I did an exercise to track down where the resonance issues are, and unfortunately it's the bits of plastic, etc, that make up the case of the laptop. Created a sine wave sweep through the suspect frequencies, round 600-800Hz. A bad one was at 750Hz, so did a pure 750Hz sine waveform and started pressing on bits of the case while playing continuously - this nicely made the noises come and go! Meaning, I will have to dismantle and try damping various areas of the body of the laptop to get this irritation to go away - is it worth it ??
Unfortunately, big male and female vocals, and very old recordings have lots of these frequencies at high levels, and that makes listening to this material less than brilliant with this added bzzz'ng ...
Will I do something about it? Not sure, will need a bit more motivation to go this extra step ... let it sit for the moment ...
Posted 7th May 2015 at 11:57 PM by fas42
Exploring laptop soundMight just note that I've reached the target that I placed up in the first post here - that "What I'm aiming for is to get the sound to be pleasurable to listen to". If every tweak is in place then I have no trouble just leaning back and soaking up whatever track is playing - all the right things are coming through, and minimal bad things are happening ... this everyday laptop is getting the job done of delivering the sound that's on the recording without intruding any more than minimally - quite remarkable, really ...
Posted 3rd May 2015 at 01:27 PM by fas42
Exploring laptop soundThis one's for fdegrove ... - tried some Piaf tracks, and apart for some slight resonance did well. One track, L'Homme de Berlin, is of very poor recorded quality - but the playback was as good as I've heard this ...
Posted 3rd May 2015 at 07:08 AM by fas42
Exploring laptop soundI'm impressed!!! ... Just tried another one of my "difficult" CDs, https://musicbrainz.org/release/e6cd...2-f4964e281161, Harry James going at maximum rev's, from a broadcast recording! Doing remarkably well, easy to hear the flaws of the recording media, but this doesn't get in the way of the music - good stuff!
Posted 3rd May 2015 at 12:56 AM by fas42
Exploring laptop soundSince the sound from the laptop is now good enough to be taken seriously, another exercise that makes sense, apart from backtracking with "undoing" in turn each of the tweaks, will be to develop test signals, in the normal sense of the word, that will emphasise these artifacts of difference and make it easy to feed into a system to try and catch them out. Hopefully, something that can both be heard, and recorded with a reasonable setup, making analysis a bit more "rational", .
I've had this idea before, but there was no neat, easily used, convenient environment in front of me for doing it, so I haven't bothered so far. The laptop can be used to both create the test waveforms, and then play them back in the right state, for immediate feedback. So, could be interesting ...
Posted 2nd May 2015 at 03:56 AM by fas42
Exploring laptop soundOne of the" fun" bits of doing this sort of thing is fighting the computer, Microsoft ... ! I had just noticed that every time the display was turned off, to see if this possibly helped or altered the sound, that the disk activity light was going crazy - needed a bit more checking, yes, the disk drive was going mad for many seconds most times when trying this - why ??? I want the computer to shut down unnecessary activity, not go in the other direction !!
After some detective work, turned out to be Microsoft's malware "protection" service, using the display off as a trigger to go into a mad fury of scanning the drive ... okay, this makes sense, but I want to shut down this behaviour, to give myself a level playing field, for evaluating relevant factors. So I need to disable Windows Defender Service ... long story short, this took a couple of hours of fiddling to work out how to do this - but, finally, killed it!
Result, hard disk now doesn't go for a frenzied dance, predictably so ... progress made!
Apart from that I'm pleased with the sound quality at the moment - from a cold start, it does remarkably well now, good clarity, standard of low level detail, sense of depth and space. Again, I had no expectations when I started this exercise that it would do this well ...
Posted 1st May 2015 at 11:51 PM by fas42
Updated 1st May 2015 at 11:55 PM by fas42
Exploring laptop soundContinuing on the theme of running with a track, as a tool, that is on the edge of being dirty enough to, literally, cause headaches - I am now focusing on that Count Basie track. This is track 15, "Sixteen Men Swinging", a live recording from 1956 - one that was not included on the original vinyl release, and that may have been, as seems to be the case from the playback here, because that recording was not taken in the best circumstances.
As the name implies, this is a full on, driving swing band production, brass going full tilt, and the drummer going for it too. There is a version of that number on YouTube, but this is not the same session - completely different sound to the recordings. My CD's one has picked up nice and gutsy bass drum hits, the transients are well conveyed.
The sound on this can be rapidly wearing, plenty of natural echo, plus the drummer is working hard, a very dense combination - when it's replaying better one has an immediate sense of relief!!
This is an ideal test signal, at the moment, for fine tuning of of laptop settings, etc.
Posted 1st May 2015 at 07:19 AM by fas42
Updated 1st May 2015 at 07:23 AM by fas42


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City on list of top places to invest in real estate
Respected agent tells 'Today' of opportunities
Corpus Christi received some upbeat national attention on NBC's "Today" show, as fourth among the nation's Five Cities to Invest in Real Estate.
"Corpus Christi has youth," nationally known New York real estate agent Barbara Corcoran told host Meredith Vieira on Monday, "and that means prices continue to go up." The city's median age is 34, she told Vieira.
Corcoran, who put the report together, found something snappy to say about all five markets -- she noted No. 2 Amarillo's famous 72-ounce steaks that can be had for free if eaten within an hour at the local restaurant for which they're known, and she said No. 5 Des Moines, Iowa, is the nation's friendliest city, where "people actually like each other."
But beneath the marketing sizzle were statistics-based observations that provide insight into where a master real estate agent smells money -- low foreclosure rates, price appreciation, job creation and low divorce rates. Divorce leads to motivated sellers willing to accept lowball offers.
The youth advantage in Corpus Christi was a surprise and a bit of a puzzlement to those at the Corpus Christi Association of Realtors office, said CEO Francisco Aguilar. He was more familiar with Corpus Christi's low foreclosure rate and its price appreciation, which was noted in the "Today" report. In September, the average home price was $164,965, up 7.4 percent from $153,540 in September 2007, according to the association.
A lower foreclosure rate means fewer homes being sold for pennies on the dollar. Also, neighborhoods here are more stable, he said.
"We believe that here they're buying their homes as a place to live and not as an investment," Aguilar said. That means fewer houses being flipped quickly and it means the buyers are less likely foreclosure candidates.
He was glad to see the real estate report, so soon after a report in BusinessWeek.com naming Corpus Christi among the top markets to ride out a recession.
"It gives us national exposure and shows investors the market is good," he said.


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The Japanese government has changed the severity rating of the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant to the highest level of 7 — meaning that the disaster is on a par with that at Chernobyl in the former Soviet Union. Both the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times raised concerns about the Japanese government's changing reports about the severity of the disaster, noting that authorities spoke defensively "about whether they have delayed or blocked the release of information to avoid alarming the public."
The accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant occurred in the wake of a massive 8.9 earthquake and tsunami on March 11th. These knocked out the plant's power and cooling systems, with the result that several of the reactors overheated.
At a news conference on Tuesday morning, Junichi Matsumoto, a senior nuclear power executive from the plant's operator, the Tokyo Electric Power Company, said:
"The radiation leak has not stopped completely, and our concern is that it could eventually exceed Chernobyl."
But later on Tuesday evening, Hidehiko Nishiyama, deputy director general of Japan's nuclear regulator, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, said "I cannot understand their position," in regard to the company's estimate.
The Japanese government appears to be going to some lengths — even straining — to explain the upgrading of the severity of the Fukushima crisis. In a nationally televised speech and a different press conference on Tuesday, President Naoto Kao defended how the government handled the communication of information about the accident:
"What I can say for the information I obtained — of course the government is very large, so I don't have all the information — is that no information was ever suppressed or hidden after the accident," he said. "There are various ways of looking at this, and I know there are opinions saying that information could have been disclosed faster. However, as the head of the government, I never hid any information because it was inconvenient for us."
Other officials emphasized the complexity of the calculations used to determine the amount of radiation released by the nuclear reactors, as a reason for the change in the rating of the severity of the crisis. Initially, the Japanese government had said that the Fukushima disaster had a rating of 5, compared to the level 7 severity of Chernobyl.
Fukushima and Chernobyl Compared
As the Wall Street Journal notes, the Chernobyl disaster, which happened on April 26, 1986, occurred almost exactly 25 years ago.
The Guardian details the effects of the disaster so far at Fukushima:
The death toll from the tsunami is more than 13,000, but no radiation-linked deaths have been reported and only 21 plant workers have been affected by minor radiation sickness, according to Japanese officials. About 70,000 people living within a 12-mile radius of the plant have been evacuated, while 130,000 living between 12 and 20 miles from the plant have been told to leave voluntarily or stay indoors. The government's chief spokesman, Yukio Edano, said the current evacuation zone would be extended to five other communities, including the village of Iitate, which lies 25 miles from the plant. Some experts have criticised the raising of the severity level. "I think raising it to the level of Chernobyl is excessive," said Murray Jennex, associate professor at San Diego state university. "It's nowhere near that level. Chernobyl was terrible – it blew and they had no containment and they were stuck. Their [Fukushima] containment has been holding, the only thing that hasn't is the fuel pool that caught fire."
At Chernobyl, explosions destroyed a nuclear reactor, which released a cloud of radiation that contaminated many parts of Europe. Some of the effects of the Chernobyl disaster were:
Fifty emergency rescue workers died from acute radiation syndrome and related illnesses, 4,000 children and adolescents contracted thyroid cancer, nine of whom died. More than 100,000 people were immediately evacuated, and the total number of evacuees from contaminated areas eventually reached 350,000. The explosions that destroyed the unit four reactor core released a cloud of radionuclides, which contaminated large areas of Europe and, in particular, Belarus, the Russian Federation and Ukraine, and affected livestock as far away as Scandinavia and Britain. Hundreds of thousands of people were exposed to substantial radiation doses, including workers who took part in efforts to mitigate the consequences of the accident.
More Aftershocks
On Monday 7.1 magnitude quake in central Fukushima temporarily shut down the power supply and makeshift cooling systems to three reactors at the plant while workers were evacuated, the Wall Street Journal reports. The system was shut down for nearly an hour before workers could turn on emergency reactors.
According to the Guardian, while radiation from the Fukushima plant is spreading, the amount of radiation released around the world via the air and the sea, the threat to the rest of the world is low.
Take Action: Sign the petition to tell Congress: No New Nuclear Reactors!
Previous Care2 Coverage
Fukushima 50 Fight On Despite Dangerously High Radiation Levels
Fukushima Radiation Plumes Reach U.S. East Coast
Read more: chernobyl, earthquake, environment & wildlife, Fukushima, japan 8.9, natural disaster, nuclear meltdown, ocean, radiation, tsunami
Photo by Kordian.
They are very different, lots of unknowns.
Whatever a govt tells us ... the unvarnished truth is ALWAYS worse ... they just can't help themselves.
for sure fukushima is worse... no doubt..
Frightening beyond words.
Of course it´s going to be worst than Chernobyl, BUT we all know that the Governement keeps all truth to themselves...A very frightening Thought of what can happen if all the other nukes (in the USa, Europe etc.) have a similar accident! My daily Prayer goes out to Japan!!
If you think you are being told the truth, think again. They don't want the world to panic. And HEY folks, we've got plants all over the US, and sitting on fault lines in CA, so it is only a matter of time. And ours will be far worse...We'd better get off our a$$es and get rid of these bombs before it is too late. My heart goes out to Japan. I have friends there, and they do NOT deserve this, nor even our worst enemy, whoever the gov is touting these days.
I wonder how many people have been affect by this and not reported????
Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may
not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.
How cute! I'm a sucker for a head tilter.
Kathlene L has written just what I wanted to - with feral cats (and yes, in an ideal world every one…
Tyfs. Remember to neuter your cat - and your hubbie while your're at it:)


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This is Tunisia's Moment
Madeleine Albright is a PSA Advisory Board member and was U.S. Secretary of State from 1997 to 2001. She also chairs Partners for a New Beginning, the Albright Stonebridge Group, a strategic consulting firm, and Albright Capital Management, an emerging markets investment firm.
Penny Pritzker is U.S. Commerce Secretary. Article originally appeared in Al Jazeera America.
This is Tunisia's Moment
On Dec. 17, 2010, a Tunisian street vendor named Mohammed Bouazizi staged a desperate protest against corrupt local officials by setting himself on fire. The act helped trigger a revolution in his country and a wave of uprisings across North Africa and the Middle East. The consequences of his actions were complex, but his demands were simple: He wanted to earn a good living, start a business and be treated with dignity.
Bouazizi's story reminds us that the roots of extraordinary political upheaval in what came to be known as the Arab Spring were fundamentally about economic freedom. Creating opportunity for young people besieged by high unemployment is a challenge that must be addressed head-on by governments in the region. The United States will continue to serve as a partner in that effort, through both our government and our private sector.


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2011 BEST Veterinarian
Anyone who's ever tried to cram a hissing cat or a yelping dog into a pet carrier knows that a trip to the vet is the worst day of your furry friend's year. So spare everyone the ordeal and ring up Vetcall's Jake Tedaldi, a Harvard- and Tufts-trained DVM who'll examine Fluffy in your home and take care of vaccines on the spot.
Be respectful of our online community and contribute to an engaging conversation. We reserve the right to remove impersonators or personal attacks, threats, profanity, or flat-out offensive comments. By posting here, you are permitting Boston magazine and Metro Corp. to edit and republish your comment in all media.


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Social Security: It's too complicated
Chris Farrell
Nov 2, 2012 More than 20 percent of the U.S. national budget is spent on Social Security, so of course politicians like to promise to reform it. Commentator Chris Farrell says unfortunately both candidates' plans are way too complicated.
Will social security increase offset retiree costs?
Shereen Marisol Meraji
Oct 16, 2012 Seniors wonder whether 1.7 percent hike next year will be enough to cover fast-rising health care expenses.
One proposal to fix Medicare, tax code
Jeff Horwich
Interview by
Sep 10, 2012 Fortune Magazine's Allan Sloan discusses his solutions to fixing Social Security, Medicare, and the tax code – without the help of politicians.
Heading towards fiscal health
David Lazarus
Interview by
Aug 31, 2012 David Lazarus of the Los Angeles Times answers caller questions on personal finance, along with CBS MoneyWatch.com editor-at-large Jill Schlesinger.
Retirement savings is gone. Now what?
Chris Farrell
Apr 28, 2012 Hi. I'm 53 years old and have had to go through the little bit of my retirement savings. Now, I have $5,000 to start something, as far as retirement goes. What should I do? I do not have anything through work. Actually, my workplace is on brink of closing right now. Lisa, Louisville, KY
More elderly Americans living poor
Chris Farrell
Apr 25, 2012 The poverty rate among older Americans is up, with the highest rate among the "oldest old."
Social Security money to run out sooner than thought
Jeremy Hobson
Interview by
Apr 24, 2012 The Social Security Trust Fund will run out of money three years earlier than previously thought in 2033. As for Medicare, that's still on track to run out of cash in 2024.
Putting Social Security's deteriorating finances in context
Chris Farrell
Apr 24, 2012 Social Security's shortfall is manageable, but it's also real.
Medicare, Social Security get annual checkup
Elizabeth Wynne Johnson
Apr 23, 2012 A trustee report on the fiscal health of Medicare and Social Security will allow political parties to spin their message.
Social Security and the job outlook
Chris Farrell
Apr 10, 2012 Social Security claims came down last year, an intriguing sign that older workers are feeling better about their job prospects.


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By Old Yank Schneider: Does a fighter exist that has had more difficulty winning American fans then Joe Calzaghe? He began his amateur career at the age of nine and fought in 120 contests before turning pro winning all but a few. He amassed a professional record of 45-0 with 32 KOs. He claimed victories over very good competition. He took on all comers at super middleweight with perhaps only one or two missing names.
He is ranked on most credible top-10 pound-for-pound lists in the top 5. In the very rarefied air of 20 or more successful title defenses, he ranks in the top 3 of all-time. Yet he has been maligned by American fans as being coddled and protected by rarely leaving the UK to fight and for never stepping foot in the USA to fight. Did his victory over the cagey veteran Bernard Hopkins help him finally win over some new fans?
American fans are a tough lot. It is about as easy to get an American boxing fan to change his opinion as it is to pry a ham hock out of the grip of a pit bull terrier. Enough already! There is a difference between tough and just plain stubborn. What is it that Joe Calzaghe has left to prove to anyone? If his win over the living legend named Bernard Hopkins is not enough, then what will it take?
Weve all heard the American excuses for disrespecting Calzaghe; his competition was soft; he lacked the courage to fight in the USA; Jeff Left Hook Lacy (the man who was widely expected by US fans to KO Calzaghe early) was one-dimensional; Mikkel Kessler was a typical over-rated Euro fighter; and, of course, Roy Jones, Jr. (in spite of being in a different weight class when any potential opportunity could have presented itself), would have made Calzaghe look like an amateur.
I invite readers to add disrespectful missives that I overlooked to the list.
We are bound to hear new trash being piled on as Calzaghe brings his career to a close. By the time you read this article how many times will an American boxing fan have said, Hopkins was an old man and Calzaghes win proves nothing? And the disrespect will continue with statements like, Calzaghe built a career fighting bums and now hes ending his career climbing in the ring against spent, past-it, has-beens. And the stubborn will say, Big deal, with only one USA fight Calzaghe now probably believes that he deserves to fight Roy Jones, Jr. at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. Or, how about this one, Calzaghe will never find the courage to fight Chad Dawson.
Again, I invite readers to pile on to the disrespectful missives of the past with all the nonsense that you can come up with for what the future holds for Joe Calzaghe.
Enough! There are many Calzaghe fans from all over the world that have used their eyes, rather then relying on a brail-like read of his resume, to arrive at the conclusion that this is an all-time great fighter. Are you ready to join them as a Calzaghe fan?
previous article: Calzaghe And Hopkins - What Should Each Guy Do Now?
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Mavs Donuts: Of Kings And Knuckleheads
LeBron James in the East? That was a coronation, again. ... Ty Lawson as a Mav? Let's do a Knucklehead Check first ... Is there an ominous nature to Chandler Parsons' cryptic approach here? ... The wish list needs to be prioritized inside the AAC. Here's the latest on how that's working ... Mavs Donuts!FULL STORY
Mavs Donuts: Why Won't Dallas Try To Draft?!
DALLAS - 'Why won't the Mavs take the NBA Draft seriously?' 'They don't even care!' 'Why don't they at least try?' These are the laments of Dallas followers who have come to the right destinations regarding the Mavs' draft results ... but who are stumbling down the wrong paths to arrive at those destinations. Mavs Donuts:FULL STORY
From the Scout Network
WARRIOR TV EP. 4: The Ultimate Sacrifice
There's no greater sacrifice than losing one's child for America's freedom. Deacon Collins, a retired lieutenant colonel, knows this all too well. Warrior TV host Jake Zweig had the honor of getting the story of Robert Wilson Collins at the 2015 American Bass Anglers Vet Tournament.FULL STORY
Mavs Raymond Felton Season In Review
DALLAS - Our Mavs Player-by-Player Season In Review series continues with Raymond Felton - a 'high-integrity guy' ...FULL STORY
Mavs + DeAndre: The 'Want-To' + The 'How-To'
The buzz is real. Standout center DeAndre Jordan, a Texas native and a Clippers free agent, is open to being courted by Dallas. So the 'want-to' exists. Now, what about the 'how-to'? DB.com has your Mavs details:FULL STORY
Mavs Offering Gasol? Truth From Front Office
DALLAS - A report out of Bristol has the Mavs 'developing proposals' to steal center Marc Gasol from Memphis.' The truth about the report - and the general truth about Dallas' up-to-the-minute plans for max-level free agency:FULL STORY


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OpenEstate PHP-Wrapper
Vertical Markets, Markets - Hosted
OpenEstate.org provides a freeware software-solution - called OpenEstate-ImmoTool - for small and medium sized real-estate-agencies all over the world.
As one certain feature of this software, the managed properties can be exported to any website that supports PHP. Together with this plugin, the exported properties can be easily integrated into Joomla without any frames.
In advance - you need to create an export interface within OpenEstate-ImmoTool. Select the format 'Website: PHP-Export' and transport method 'FTP'. Create an empty directory on your webspace and enter it's path in the FTP configuration.
After you've executed the export procedure for the first time, you should find some PHP scripts in the previously created folder on your webspace. These PHP scripts are compatible from Joomla 1.5 up to 2.5.
Afterwards you can install the OpenEstate-Wrapper component into your Joomla installation:
- Use version 0.1.x with Joomla 1.5: http://wiki.openestate.org/mediawiki/images/c/c9/Joomla15comopenestate.zip
- User version 0.2.x with Joomla 1.6 / 1.7 / 2.5: http://wiki.openestate.org/mediawiki/images/5/51/Joomla25comopenestate.zip
After the component is installed, you need to configure these settings - http://wiki.openestate.org/Datei:Joomla_addon-06.jpg
- Set the absolute path, that points to the export directory on your webspace. (script path)
- Set the URL, that points to the export directory on your webspace. (script URL)
If these settings are correctly configured, you can create menu entries to embed the properties into your Joomla website.
By the way: If you transfer the exported scripts manually to your webspace, make sure that the 'cache' and 'sessions' directory has write permissions for the webserver (CHMOD 777).
OpenEstate PHP-Wrapper
- Version:
- 0.2.7
- Developer:
- A. Rudolph & W. Wagner
- Date added:
- Nov 18 2014
- License:
- GPLv2 or later
- Type:
- Free download
- Uses updater:
- Includes:
- Compatibility:
OverallNot rated
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Less than the Least
Entries from Less than the Least tagged with 'work'
The past few months have been discouraging. Thanks to pain, nausea, and fatigue—the first two are worse now than during chemo; the third is almost as bad—I've done a lousy job of teaching this semester. I've managed to do a little writing...
Graduation Speech--Stuntz
Why do we work? And how do we choose our jobs? Last weekend, I had the surprising pleasure of giving the graduation speech at my son's high school: a Christian high school in Lexington, Massachusetts. The two questions above are...
© Copyright 2008. All Rights Reserved. David Skeel & William Stuntz.


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Reaction To Ruling On Abortion Clinic Buffer Zones
Thursday, June 26, 2014
The Supreme Court has struck down a Massachusetts law that established a 35-foot buffer zone around abortion clinics, saying it violates the free speech provision of the First Amendment.
Judy Waxman of the non-profit National Women's Law Center discusses her reaction to the ruling with Here & Now's Robin Young.
- Judy Waxman, vice president of health and reproductive rights at the National Women's Law Center.
Source: NPR
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You got yourself a deal
story: Caesars Entertainment Enacts One-Price-Fits-All Resort Fee
posted on November 11, 2014 11:57:33 PM EST
Who gets the gratuity
story: Double Barrel Calls Automatic Gratuity On Small Parties 'Opening Kink'
posted on May 11, 2014 06:11:30 PM EST
Why Hasn't The MGM Grand Embraced This?
story: The Legendary Lion's Share Slot Machine Is Still Not Giving It Up
posted on March 07, 2014 12:35:33 AM EST
9/11 Memorial
story: New York-New York Starting To Tear It Up, Too
posted on July 22, 2013 11:59:10 PM EST
Quads X 5!
story: What's The Best Hand You've Been Dealt In Video Poker?
posted on July 18, 2013 12:40:36 AM EST


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Some people seem to "hate" getting shots towards smart targets
View Single Post
Hi I'm Ray
Hall Of Fame
Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 1,504
Originally Posted by
Power Player
No you just can feel it out with who you are hitting with. I just try and warm up by sending balls down the middle anyway. I keep them deep and get up to a standard match rally ball so I can work on the heaviness & consistency of it.
So if I was sending you pretty heavy top down the middle, but not trying to hit you off the court or move you around, would you do the same for me?
That is the way to think about it.
I also say sorry if I am late and hit a winner off that by accident.
I just feel out whoever I hit with, but I do prefer a guy who can hold a 20 plus ball rally. It really develops my fitness and just fine tunes my consistency.
Another way to think about it is I work on strike zones. the best hitting partners hit to you but don't always put it right in your zone. so you are seeing a lot of high balls that you would see in a match from a better player. It is tiring to hit shoulder high balls 30 straight times, but it will make you a better player.
I think having a down the middle rally in the "avoid" zone will probably work with one of the better players who knows when to take it easy and isn't always trying to prove something (and achieving the opposite). I've run into
of players who after landing a shot a couple of feet wide, will take the very soft, feed-like shot I just hit back to the center keep the rally going & meant to be a cue to reset the point, and hit it into the opposite corner while I am still making my way back to the middle. A lot players just don't get it. I also apologize if I accidentally hit a shot too far off the center from a feed, but it doesn't keep them from trying to kill a feed.
Anyways, I like the idea & will try it out with the right player. Thanks.
Last edited by Hi I'm Ray; 01-11-2013 at
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Radney Foster Cranberry Logo T-shirt & Hat Combo
Radney Foster Black Logo T & Hat Combo
Radney Foster Knit Stocking Hat
Radney Foster Black Logo T-shirt & CD Package
Radney Foster Cranberry T & CD Package
Radney Foster Cranberry Logo T-Shirt
Radney Foster Black Logo Shirt
Radney Foster Guitar Pick Pack
Radney Foster Journal
Radney Foster Can Coozie
Everything I Should Have Said
Ultimate CD Collection
Clearance – Baby Onesie
Clearance – Women's Revival T-Shirt
Clearance – Orange t-shirt
Clearance – Maroon T-shirt
Clearance – Revival VIP Jump Drive
Revival Combo Pack
Del Rio, Texas Revisited: Unplugged and Lonesome
Radney takes us back 20 years and revisits one of his greatest albums, live and unplugged.
It's Already Tomorrow
Radney Foster and Bill Lloyd's first Foster & Lloyd album in 20 years!
Radney's 2009 Release.
This World We Live In
Radney's 2006 Album.
And Then There's Me
A special website only acoustic album.
Another Way To Go
Radney's 2002 album.
Are You Ready For The Big Show?
Radney's First Live Album
Revival: Behind the Confessions DVD
One-Hour DVD on the making of "Revival"


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Wind Power
Of the world's nearly 45,000 cargo ships, many burn a low-grade bunker fuel in their engines and produce pollution equivalent to millions of automobiles. To help reduce that toxic load and keep the price of shipping freight reasonable, engineers at the University of Tokyo (UT) and a group of collaborators have designed a system of large, retractable sails measuring 64 feet (20 m) wide by 164 feet (50 m) high, which studies indicate can reduce annual fuel use on ships equipped with them by up to 30%. Read More
Remember the Airborne Wind Turbine covered by Gizmag towards the end of March? The creator of the prototype, Altaeros Energies, has been in touch to show us a video of the prototype in operation and we can confirm that a) it flies and b) the turbine goes round. Read More
Altaeros Energies has announced the first testing of its Airborne Wind Turbine (AWT) prototype that resembles a sort of blimp windmill. The test took place at the Loring Commerce Center in Limestone, Maine, USA where the AWT floated 350 feet (107 meters) into the sky and successfully produced power, before coming back to earth in a controlled landing. The turbine was deployed into the air from a towable docking trailer, while demonstrating that it can produce over twice the power at high altitudes than generated at conventional tower height Read More
Versatile Wind Harvester breaks from traditional turbine design
By Paul Ridden
February 22, 2012
From huge kites to sea-bound flywheels and roof-top installations to tree-like art creations, we've seen many different approaches to capturing energy from the wind. One design, though, reigns supreme - the tri-blade turbine tower. It's not exactly a trouble-free life at the top and there are those who do not look upon these monsters favorably, most often complaining about the noise and the not so picturesque view. With support from Nottingham Trent University's Future Factory project, Heath Evdemon is currently building a new type of wind turbine called the Wind Harvester that's claimed to be virtually silent, doesn't need to loom high over the landscape and can operate in a variety of wind conditions. Read More
While large offshore turbines can be very effective at harnessing the power of the wind, they do pose at least one challenge – how do you get them out into the ocean? One option is to bring them to their deployment site on board a ship, partially assembled, then put them together on location. Doing that kind of work on the pitching deck of a ship can be challenging, however, and requires crews to stay out at sea longer. Another option involves towing them from shore in their final, vertical orientation, but this requires an uninterrupted channel of deep water, and limits the speed at which they can be transported. Now, Norwegian company WindFlip is developing an alternative method that can accommodate shallow water, while allowing for relatively high transport speeds and a minimum amount of time spent putting the turbines in place. Read More
KiteGen looks to get wind-power off the ground
By Bryan Clark
December 18, 2011
Wind-power has rapidly evolved over the last decade to become a key part of the alternative energy mix with towering rows of turbines now dotting horizons all over the globe. One of the drawbacks to the conventional windmill approach is that they are still low to the ground, so why not go to where the winds are stronger and more consistent - up. Like the Magenn Air Rotor System, KiteGen technology is aiming to do just that. The system generates energy by guiding tethered kites over a predefined flight path in order to rotate a ground based turbine and, while only in the testing and planning phases, it looks to be a promising solution. Read More
Flying wing prototype takes wind-power to new heights
By Pawel Piejko
October 10, 2011
Wind can be an unpredictable and unstable source of power, and high in the sky where it is more stable, it's difficult to exploit. Airborne wind turbines could provide a solution to this problem, but although the idea has been around since the 19th century, it's never been exploited on a larger scale. California's Makani Power aims to change that with its innovative flying wing turbine design. Wing 7 is essentially a cross between a UAV and a wind turbine that's tethered to a ground station from which it ascends to a height of around 1,300 feet (400m) and flies autonomously, generating up to 20-kilowatt of power in a 20mph (35km/h) wind. Read More
SeaTwirl puts a new spin on offshore wind turbines
By Ben Coxworth
September 27, 2011
One of the main drawbacks of wind turbines is the fact that for maximum efficiency, the power that they generate must be fed into the grid right as the wind is blowing and their blades are spinning. While that power can be stored in batteries for later use, some of it will always be lost in the process. Sweden's experimental new SeaTwirl system, however, is designed to kinetically store wind energy until it's required - it's basically a seagoing flywheel. Read More
Although wind power energy production in 2010 was estimated to be only about 2.5 percent of worldwide electricity usage, wind turbines are considered a mature technology with many experts suggesting that we're approaching the theoretical limit of individual wind turbine efficiency. For this reason, researchers are now looking at new approaches to wind farm design to increase the power output of wind farms. Researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have been conducting a field study and claim the power output of wind farms can be increased at least tenfold by optimizing the placement of turbines on a given plot of land. Read More
When most people think of wind power they think of large-scale wind farms with fields of huge three-bladed horizontal axis turbines. With such farms requiring lots of room they are generally unsuitable for placement in or even near large cities. Smaller turbines tailored for urban environments such as AeroVironment's Architectural Wind System, the Honeywell Wind Turbine and the Windspire represent a growing sector though, and the latest to catch our eye is the IMPLUX – a vertical axis turbine designed to harness the power of the wind blowing from all directions. Read More


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Larry David
Celebrity Buzz: Stephen Collins admits he molested children
Celebrity Buzz: KISS front man Gene Simmons latest to rip 'Redskins' name
Obama golfs with Larry David on last vacation day
President Barack Obama is wrapping up his Martha's Vineyard vacation by playing golf with comedian Larry David, former U.S. trade representative Ron Kirk and businessman Glenn Hutchins, a part owner of the Boston Celtics.
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ABC7 News at 4 Now Weekdays!ABC7 is giving you MORE news in your afternoons with an extra hour, an hour earlier! Join ABC7's Leon Harris and Alison Starling for what's trending in your community and world. Every weekday afternoon at 4pm right after back to back "Hot Bench" shows at 3pm on ABC7.


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Member Dealer
- Superior Customer Service
- Trusted Autobytel Partner
- Competitive Pricing
Hilton Head Chrysler Jeep Dodge265 DRIVERS WAY
Hardeeville, SC 29927
Consumer Reviews & Ratings
"Well I was disappointed with the service.. My request was for a righthand drive jeep sport and you sending information for a left hand drive vehicle. It would be great for you to read what the customer is requesting. If you can't get what the customer requested that fine don't try and sale something that they don't need.. Thanks and have a great day.."


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Cheap BQH to Montreal flights
Popular Flights from London, England
Top London Flights to US Destinations
Top London International Destinations
Popular Flights from Montreal, Quebec
Top Montreal Flights to US Destinations
Top Montreal International Destinations
BQH to YUL Route Map
London to Montreal Flights, Stats and Airplanes
Route information for flights from Biggin Hill to Pierre Elliott Trudeau Intl..
3,263.19 miles
YUL - Pierre Elliott Trudeau Intl. Airlines
Browse the most popular airlines servicing the Montreal (YUL) airport. Visit their flights pages to learn more about the most popular routes these carriers fly.


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Lichen Legion
July 2, 2014|
Genetic analysis splits one species into 126.
July 2, 2014|
Genetic analysis splits one species into 126.
June 30, 2014|
A new model suggests emperor penguin populations could decline by 19 percent by 2100.
June 30, 2014|
Mice infected with a malaria-causing parasite emit odors that are more attractive to malaria-transmitting mosquitoes than uninfected animals, a study shows.
June 18, 2014|
Economists explore the wheelings and dealings of universities and publishers during largely secret negotiations regarding access to scientific journals.
June 5, 2014|
A new plan to protect the Great Lakes from the invasive species is set in motion.
June 1, 2014|
Coordinating the submission of manuscripts can strike a healthy balance between competition and collaboration.
June 1, 2014|
As rich sources of genetic diversity, the progenitors and kin of today's food crops hold great promise for improving production in agriculture's challenging future.
May 22, 2014|
Mice in nature appear to enjoy running on wheels, helping to settle the question whether the behavior is a just a neurotic response in lab mice.
May 8, 2014|
An increasingly common algal growth, found in rivers the world over, is caused by changing environmental conditions, not accidental introductions.
May 7, 2014|
Darwin's finches use pesticide-treated cotton to line their nests and unwittingly protect themselves against parasitic fly larvae.


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Spoilers: Is This [Spoiler]'s Original Enterprise?
View Single Post
March 10 2013, 01:18 PM
King Daniel Into Darkness
Location: Randiland
Re: Spoilers: Is This [Spoiler]'s Original Enterprise?
Hartzilla2007 wrote:
Lance wrote:
The shape is wrong for it to be a pre-timeline change Connie. It looks like the Alt-Enterprise, just look at the shape of the nacelles. So, I'm banking on the alternative explanation: Kirk is doing his orbital skydive thing to get back into the ship from another vessel (shuttecraft?). Or else it's simply
Alt-Constitution Class ship. I mean, it isn't like the USS Enterprise was the
one we ever saw in TOS, the Starfleet consisted mostly of them.
Except in Countdown to Darkness they show a previous Enterprise that looks kind of like the JJprise
I wouldn't put any stock in IDW's depictions of ships in their comics. Their track record is awful - in recent issues of
Star Trek Ongoing
, they've used the TMP version of the Enterprise to represent the 2009 version of the ship, in one panel of another issue they even used a smooshed TNG Enterprise with "NCC-1701-D" written across the saucer, they often use TNG bridge graphics on ships of all eras (in Spock: Reflections, the sight of the TOS Enterprise bridge where every console surface was solidly covered in Voyager-style bridge graphics was more than a little bizzare) ... so long as it's from Star Trek, it's good enough for them. They likely just reused the 2009 movie Enterprise (drawn with nacelles further apart exactly as they drew it in their adaptation of the 2009 movie) to represent a vaguely similar looking ship.
Star Trek Imponderables
, fun mashups of Trek's biggest continuity errors!
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Jim Cramer speaks with U.S. Navy SEALs and two organizations that help members of the military transition from war zones to business.» Read More
It is no secret that markets have been quiet. But there's quiet—and then there's dead.
Check out which companies are making headlines after the bell Wednesday: Synnex, Chesapeake Utilities & more.
For years this stock has left investors underwhelmed. But Cramer's hearing that could change, very soon.
Tobias Levkovich explains why the utilities sector is up 16 percent for the first half of 2014.
The beginning of July brings more than trips to the beach. It's also that time of year to position and profit from the second half.
The $18 billion in green bonds this year compares with $10.9 billion in 2013, but with the growth come significant growing pains.
According to one indicator, there is a "Santa Claus rally" effect that takes place in July -- but more growth is needed.
While stocks have generally moved higher, winning themes have emerged for the second half of the year.
A new government study shows that a decades-long trend toward retirement at a young age has reversed, probably because we can no longer afford it.
Check out which companies are making headlines after the bell Tuesday: CalAmp, Google, Paychex & more.
As investors prepare for the third quarter, Cramer is hearing chatter of a new threat.
Stocks started the second half of 2014 with healthy gains, and while many analysts expect further advances, the trip higher won't be without hurdles.
Jim Cramer loves stocks so much, that even on vacation in Europe, he was looking for stock ideas.
Dennis Gartman of "The Gartman Letter" says a large grain crop is bullish for food stocks.
Some of the names on the move ahead of the open.
Americans are choosing to save over spend, and that's creating an unwanted discount on these consumer spending-linked investments.
The "Fast Money" traders share their final trades of the day.
Ward "Tim" Timken calls it a 100-year old start-up. What does Cramer say about the new TimkenSteel spinoff?
Up 5.3 percent, Jim Cramer said same-store sales at Sonic are the envy of the industry.
Yahoo's stake in Alibaba is undervalued and stands to send shares 20 percent higher, Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster says.
Get the best of CNBC in your inbox


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To embed, copy and paste the code into your website or blog:
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently published limited guidance on frequently asked questions relating to the SEC's new Conflict Mineral Rules, which require U.S. issuers that manufacture or contract to manufacture products containing conflict minerals to disclose annually whether those minerals originated in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or an adjoining country.
The SEC prefaced that its responses to the 12 FAQs released on May 30 "are not rules, regulations, or statements of the Commission." Nevertheless, this guidance may be useful to corporations in determining their obligations under Rule 13p-1. A brief summary of the FAQs follows below. Review the complete text here.
DISCLAIMER: Because of the generality of this update, the information provided herein may not be applicable in all situations and should not be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particular situations.
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We have a great range of women's tops for sale... From plain t-shirts to statement blouses, you're sure to get it for less.
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Art Adventures at the Children's Museum in Easton
Thu, Jan 10 - Thu, Mar 28, 2013
Times: 9:30 am - 11 am
Venue: The Children's Museum in Easton
9 Sullivan Avenue, North Easton, MA 02356Contact:
0 people saved this
Come by The Children's Museum in Easton every Thursday from 9:30 am to 11 am to enjoy the Art Adventures program! Children will be able to explore various art mediums as they are introduced to the colorful and creative world of art. They will become young artists as the learn how to make their own special masterpieces that they can take home! Art Adventures does not require registration and is free with paid admission to the museum.
There will be no class on February 21, 2012 due to school vacation.
The Children's Museum in Easton is located in the Old Fire Station at 9 Sullivan Avenue in North Easton, MA. Admission is $7.50 per person; members and children under 1 are free. For more information, please feel free to call, (508) 230-3789, or check out our website: www.childrensmuseumineaston.org
Outstanding in the Field: The Ultimate al fresco Meal
Fresh food, summer weather and gorgeous scenery are a winning combination. Jim Denevan, the creator...
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Pentagon Memorial
Army Navy Drive and Fern Street, Arlington, VA 22202Map
+1 703 692 7052
The Pentagon Memorial was constructed in the memory of the citizens killed in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. It was opened with a performance by the Navy Band and the Sea Chanters Chorus. The maple trees surrounding the memorial add to the serene atmosphere. Truly, a sincere tribute to the citizens, who came from different walks of life and were victims of terrorist activities.
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Real Housewives of New Jersey star Jacqueline Laurita's daughter, Ashlee Holmes, appears in a controversial new music video and only RadarOnline.com has your exclusive first look.
The catchy, yet sexually charged, song is by Pink Grenade and features rapper Bim Fernandez spitting lyrics like, "I know you want my lipstick on your dipstick, my lipstick on your dipstick."
PHOTOS: 9021-Oh No They Didn't! 25 Scandals and Controversies 'The Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills' Would Rather You Forget
Clearly hinting at oral sex, Bim raps and sings while Holmes and her music video co-star are dressed in white and slap red, yellow and pink paint all over each other.
"Your last girl must have been a tease, the way I turn you on with my big ole double Ds," Bim raps.
WARNING: Music Video Contains Adult Language & Content
"I'm goin' down, down, to the playground. I'm goin' down, down, to the playground."
Holmes got involved with the video through Bim, a billionaire heiress and one of the singers in Pink Grenade, the production team tells Radar.
"When we all heard Ashlee Holmes was going to be in our video for Lipstick, at first we were all very skeptical because we heard all the rumors of her being so hard to deal with, etc," Bjorn of Pink Grenade told Radar.
"It was quite the opposite. She was extremely professional and very easy to work with. We all clicked with her and immediately and became great friends."
PHOTOS: 'Real Housewives' Show Off Their Hot Bodies In Bikinis
Bim echoed the love for Holmes saying, "Ashlee loves our song Lipstick and she said her mother does too — so she was amazing support for us during the shooting of the video. Ashlee is also a great makeup artist, so playing with paint and lipstick was right up her ally for her being in the video."
The controversial music video even features a diss to reality TV queen, Kim Kardashian.
PHOTOS: Revealed: 35 Secrets The Kardashians Want Hidden
"It ain't over motherf**kers. Yo, when she says Lil Kim she ain't talkin' about the rapper," a guy says at the end of the video.
"No disrespect to Biggie's homegirl. What she's talking about is Kim Kardashian. That's right. Because Kim Kardashian, she has little money, next to Bim's big money. So yeah, f**k you Kim Kardashian."
Holmes then blows a kiss to the camera while the man says, "F**k your whole family."
PHOTOS: The 'Real Housewives' Hall Of Shame — 18 Bravolebrities Who Said Cheese For Their Mug Shots!
"There is a lyric in the song 'F**k Lil Kim they call me Big Bim,' but it's a play on words, and it's not aimed at rapper Lil Kim, but Kim Kardashian," co-producer Jonathan Hay told Radar.
"Around our camp at SMH Records, we refer to Kim Kardashian as 'Little Kim', because as materialistic as it sounds, Kim has little money compared to Bim's money. So move over Kim, here comes Bim. Listen to the end of the song to hear the message for the whole Kardashian family."
What do you think of Ashlee's video and the diss to the Kardashian family? Sound off in the comments below . . .


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Captain Seagle's Restaurant: Riverview Hotel restaurant
We went to the hotel restaurant for dinner after we got back from Cumberland Island. They were totally backlogged. They didn't have enough waitresses and the restaurant manager was having to do some of the cooking as some of the cooks didn't come in. So we had a long wait to get something to eat.
Favorite Dish: Bob had shrimp cocktail which he said was good, and a chicken tender basket.
I asked for Brandon's Rock Shrimp Dip, which was a mistake. They were out of it and that was what took all the time. And when I got it there was very little shrimp (I wanted to see what a Rock Shrimp looked like) and it tasted mostly of mayonnaise. I also had a salad and Key Lime pie ice cream. The Key Lime Pie ice cream was good.
- Food and Dining
- Road Trip
- Romantic Travel and Honeymoons
Silver Star Steakhouse: Former Grocery
Since we struck out again with Langs, we drove out to the Silver Star Steakhouse which used to be a grocery store.
Angus beef steaks in a historical setting.
open 7 Days 4:30 pm -9:00 pm
plus Tues-Fr 11:00 am - 2:00 pm
and Sunday 11:30 am - 9:00 pm
Favorite Dish: I ordered an oyster po-boy, but there were out of oysters, so I had a fish sandwich instead. Bob had a cup of crab bisque and fish and chips. I brought home a key lime cheesecake but I can't find the plastic fork that I thought I had in my bag. I'm sure I will figure something out.
Later: The Key Lime Cheesecake was very good. I can't remember what I used to eat it with though.
- Food and Dining
- Seniors
- Road Trip
Riverside Cafe: Cumberland Post
There's a handicapped ramp that leads up to the veranda where there are some tables. I don't think the inside restaurant is as accessible. At any rate, there was a guy in a wheelchair eating outside and the no-seeums were terrible out there.
Two gift shops (Acquisitions and the White Pelican) are in the same building.
Favorite Dish: I had a spinach salad (which had hard boiled eggs, olives and tomatoes-picture 3) and a corned beef sandwich. Bob had the shrimp salad platter (picture 4). I had coconut ice cream for dessert (picture 2) and Bob had rice pudding with real whipped cream.
- Budget Travel
- Fishing
- Sailing and Boating
Lang's Restaurant and Marina: The Only Name in Town
Lang's have a seafood business and a marina. This restaurant is associated with the seafood business. It is supposed to have really good fresh seafood.
Unfortunately, when we got there just before 6 there was going to be a 45 minute wait, so we didn't stay. I overheard someone say "Well if you want fast food, go to McDonalds". But I was tired, and my hip hurt (and there weren't many places to sit), and my stomach was a bit upset and wasn't up for seafood, so we left.
Under normal circumstances, we try to go early enough so that this doesn't happen, but we really don't like to wait for a table and will almost always leave and go elsewhere.
Favorite Dish: The next time we went, Lang's was closed because it was Monday
Lunch Hours 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM
Tuesday through Friday
Dinner Hours 5:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Wednesday through Saturday
- Food and Dining
- National/State Park
- Sailing and Boating
Riverside cafe and restaurant: Breakfast, lunch, or dinner
You can sit outside on the porch to eat and look out on the water . The food was good and they have a great variety.
Favorite Dish: My son and I had pita sandwiches. They come with a side of greek salad and I couldn't finish mine, but it was GREAT!!
Market On The Square: Ice Cream
Since we expected to stay over on Saturday to explore St. Mary's, we didn't want to do everything on the first day. So I never got to sample the advertised ice cream of this place, and I don't know what else they had to offer.
- Women's Travel
- Budget Travel
- Road Trip
trolleys seafood: over looking the river
trolleys is a very good seafood restaurant over looking the saint marys river in downtown saint marys. trolleys offers local seafood and typical american fare. their upstairs porch is a great place to eat and drink and watch the sunset over the river.
- National/State Park
- Architecture
- Historical Travel
marianne's sterling's southern cafe: southern cuisine
marianne's sterling's southern cafe is located in the 1911 bachlott house on osborne street. this very nice restaurant offers southern cooking and local seafood. a very nice place to eat in downtown saint marys. reservations recommended.
- National/State Park
- Architecture
- Historical Travel
Alot of the same.: Do you want the Franchise...or the Franchise.
I've traveled quite a bit over the eastern US for the past few years, and the one place I have yet to find good local cuisine is in the St. Mary's/Kingsland area. The food roll call reads like a strip mall of any North American City, McD's, Taco Bell, Krystals, Wendys. KFC, etc. Throw in a Chinese takeout or Buffet and there are your options.
So if anyone from the area reads this tip and has a suggestion for me I would honestly love it, and might even treat the fellow VT'r to a meal for helping me make the long weekends with the In laws tolerable with some good food.
Trolley's: Food and Spirits
We saw this restaurant, but the sign put me off because I thought it was mostly a drinking establishment, or maybe even a market where one could buy "Food and Spirits".
Favorite Dish: Sandwiches, seafood and steaks.
- National/State Park
- Architecture
- Road Trip
- 1
- Cumberland Island Inn And Stes
- Riverview Hotel
- Spencer House Inn Bed and Breakfast
- Emma's Bed and Breakfast
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Per the AHL Transaction Log, the Rangers have recalled goalie Cameron Talbot from the AHL. This is a bit surprising. I can only think of two things: either there's an injury that we don't know about; or he's being called up to work with the guru of goaltending coaches Benoit Allaire. I'm betting there was an injury to The King that we will hear about shortly. Talbot has a 2.56 GAA and a .913 SV% in 19 games with the CT Whale.
Update: Apparently Talbot is a locker room cancer. There has to be a reason for him to be up in the NHL now. I'd assume Lundqvist has an injury and can't go tonight.
This is what happens when people start jokes while I'm out of the country. I think they are legitimate. Damn you Jim.


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I would try contact options at AVO: Homepage
I've looked around there for the band you were describing, but didn't run across any white bands.
PhP007 is a good source of info for AVOs.
Corona Cigar lounge in Orlando or Tampa (I forget the city) is a good source for AVO information. I believe AVO still spends a good bit of time in that lounge.
Or you could try looking up any Davidoff Retailer. They will probably have a good bit of information regarding the AVO lines.


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BOISE -- The mother of an 18-year-old girl who died while texting and driving gave emotional testimony before the Senate Transportation Committee on Tuesday. The Sauer family is urging Idaho lawmakers to ban texting behind the wheel.
It's given us a purpose to remember our daughter for the good that she was, said Shauna Sauer, Taylor Sauer's mother.
The Sauer family lost their daughter Taylor to texting and driving one month ago to the day. And on the one-month anniversary of Taylor's passing, the Sauers find themselves testifying before state lawmakers about their daughter's death.
Shauna Sauer told the committee her daughter was coming home from Utah State University for a long weekend when she slammed into the back of a tanker truck.
Taylor was using the phone on the freeway with very few cars and in open spaces, said Sauer. Probably considered by many to be a somewhat safe place. However, that was not the case that evening, said Sauer.
Taylor's family is now vowing to stop the senseless tragedies caused by texting and driving. They stood before the Senate Transportation Committee urging lawmakers to do the same.
The pain we've endured since Taylor's accident is at many times unbearable to take, and we don't want any other families to have to go through this pain, the pain of losing a child due to this media addiction, said Sauer.
After her death, Taylor's family and friends made a pact to stop texting and driving. They say the loss they endure everyday is a reminder. They now want to ensure every teenager is reminded about the dangers of texting, and they believe a law against it is best.
What about the kids who didn't know our daughter Taylor? What about the teenagers who've never dealt with the loss of a loved one or friend at the hands of texting and driving? Sauer asked the committee. By having a law in place that specifically lists texting and driving we are hoping that will be their reminder. Please consider our testimony when you look at this bill. Please remember the loss that we will endure for the rest of our lives. We as a family our doing our part. We hope we can count on you to do yours. .
The Sauer family says they don't plan to stop their efforts to ban texting while driving no matter what happens with the bill. They have begun to reach out to area schools to educate Idaho students about the dangers of texting.
The Senate Transportation Committee listened to more than an hour of testimony Tuesday. They voted to advance the bill to the full Senate for a vote. The bill would make texting while driving an infraction, meaning law enforcement would issue citations, much like a speeding ticket.


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1. In a large skillet on medium high, heat oil and add the anchovies. Stir fry for about 1 minute. Once done, remove and set the stir fried anchovies aside in a bowl.
2. In the same pan, add brown sugar, garlic, soy sauce and corn syrup. Stir fry for a few seconds on low heat until well combined.
3. Add the stir fried anchovies into the pan, turn off the heat and mix it until well incorporated.
4. Stir in the pine nuts and mix well with the anchovies.
5. Serve the stir fried dried anchovies (sweet) in a bowl garnished with sesame seeds.


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This 1968 Pontiac Tempest Custom Convertible has only 41,625 actual miles, rebuilt 400 V8, replaced the original 350 V8 engine. Updated TH350 Turbo Hydra... More
Flathead V8, Offenhauser Alumi. Head, Intake 2 Dueces, 3 spd transmission, Columbia Overdrive, Frame off Restoration. More to come... ... More
Beep! Beep! .This 1969 Plymouth Road Runner is from Wisconsin. The cars exterior body and paint were restored only. One single repaint, Factory Yellow that... More
This 1972 Chevrolet Camaro Rally Sport was restored from the ground up. 350, #'s match, Automatic, power steering, front disc brakes, new tinted glass,... More
Picture yourself summer cruising in this 66 Olds 442 convertible. Acquired from a private collection, this rare factory colored Autumn Bronze metallic with a... More
This handsome looking 1950 Custom convertible exudes class with lots of eye appeal. Getting behind the wheel of this beauty is like putting on... More
Think spring! Here we have a 1971 Dodge Challenger convertible. This rare example was originally from NC according to the history and Title. This... More
2nd generation baby boomers, feast your eyes on this 1980 Pontiac Trans Am. This amazing find is truly a time capsule, one owner elderly... More
1968 Pontiac Firebird Just in time for the Cruise Nights. You can't help but notice this flashy Firebirds originally the car was born with a... More
WOW! Here's a car you hardly see... A very limited production factory 326-4V high output, #'s matching frame off restoration over the past 5... More
Who was Bill Frick? Bill Frick was a gifted early model mechanic and fabricator many years before the term "Hot Rodders" was used. Well... More
1971 Corvette Convertible 350/270 HP, 4 speed, #'s matching. War Bonnet Yellow, Black Leather, Excellent black top with clear rear window. Power brakes and Tilt... More
This 1959 Corvette convertible is considered a nice, quality driver. The rebuilt motor has less than 200 miles. It's a 4 bolt main, cast... More
This fine example spent its entire life in Northern ME. Drag raced in the late 60s to 70s. The original 302 MO engine was... More
Here we have a 1969 Chev. Chevelle SS that has been completely restored from the ground up approx. 12,000 miles ago. This true SS... More


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Multi Rip Sawblades
GUHDO USA Inc. | Posted: November 21, 2013 - 04:12 PM
The Guhdo "Classic" precision industrial sawblades for the Scm M2 and M3 multi rip saw models are in stock. Blade specifications are 300mm (12") diameter 3.2 kerf and 70mm bore with double keyway, (Item 2012.301.170). The blades feature 24 extra-large TCT tips for many regrinds, and a precision tensioned saw plate to guarantee optimum performance. Guhdo Classic blades are made in Germany to the highest quality standards, says the company, and are priced competitively.
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Renault turns more than heads with its new swivel seat
Renault will offer Europe's first original equipment swivel seat on its New Clio
Article Summary
Renault is making getting in and out of its New Clio easier for Europeans with the introduction of Europe's first original equipment swivel seat. Comprising a swivel base located beneath the original front passenger seat the optional swivel seat turns through 75 degrees at the pull of a lever situated underneath it. The seat locks automatically into place to ensure the passenger isn't doing the twist as the vehicle is being driven.
« Back to Renault turns more than heads with its new swivel seat
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I asked Gloria, a new therapy client, one of my routine questions I ask clients during their first visit. "Have you seen a therapist before?"
"Sort of."
"Sort of?" (That's what therapists do a lot of. We repeat clients' statements back to them as questions.)
"Well, I went to this therapist, and while I was waiting for my appointment in her waiting room, I noticed that all her plants were nearly dead. I thought, what kind of therapist could she be? If she can't nurture her own plants, how could she nurture me?" So I left before seeing her.
Without moving head, I moved my eyes around my office furtively to check out the condition of my own plants. I was relieved to see that they were all green, except the tips of the leaves were brown. Darn it, I meant to water those plants earlier this week, but I got busy and forgot. What kind of therapist will Gloria think I am – kind and nurturing up to a point?
If she noticed and disapproved, she didn't say anything or act disappointed. As soon as she left, I grabbed a pair of scissors from my desk drawer and snipped the brown tips of every leaf in my office. Problem solved. Now I was a thoroughly green plant therapist.
The fact is that our offices, our homes, our living space, wherever we happen to live and work, give us away. The kind of furniture we have and the way we arrange it, the colors, the lighting, the objects on our table tops, the pictures on the walls, the stacks of paper on our desks – they all reflect something of our personalities, our values, our identities, our souls. One of the principles of dream interpretation is that one's house represents oneself. Our living space is like our bodies – they are extensions of ourselves. When I see a person with unkempt clothes and hair, I see someone who doesn't care and possibly even feels that he or she doesn't matter. I feel the same way about someone's home or office. Show me an unkempt, chaotic home or office and I'll wager that the person who inhabits it has an unkempt, chaotic life.
So Gloria, the client who draws conclusions about her therapists from the condition of their plants, got me to examine my own office and wonder what my work space says about me. As I talk about this, I feel a little self-conscious, like I'm bearing my soul, because to some degree, I am. But since I'm the one doing the interpreting, I will give it the most wholesome and positive interpretation possible. When someone enters my office, I think he or she will notice that I am a minimalist, that I don't have a lot of stuff, and that the stuff I do have is neat and orderly. I can't help it. I was raised to believe that neatness and orderliness are next to godliness. Too much clutter makes me feel as if I am going to drown. I guess you could say I have a natural Feng Shui spirit. Or maybe I'm just anal retentive.
The colors of the walls and carpet are light, perhaps suggesting that I am cheerful and upbeat. Or perhaps I'm just a cheapskate since the carpet came from the Habitat for Humanity store. My desk, book shelves, and sofas are rich and dark. I'm not sure what they symbolize, except they look more expensive than they are, which is always a good deal in my book. I do know that I like natural look and feel of imitation leather, except that you slide around more than you want once you get situated, which may unconsciously reveal that I'm a slippery character.
My sofas and chair are arranged in a kind of semicircle that embraces you as you enter my office, as if they are saying, "Come in and relax. It's safe and comfortable in here. You can be yourself in here." And they are spaced far enough apart so that the other person and I can actually talk and see each other's reactions and consider our words before sharing them. I don't like getting too close to people when I talk with them. If you stand too close, it feels like you're smothering one another. Conversation needs space, and I think my office accomplishes that.
I hardly ever use the overhead fluorescent lights because fluorescent lights have a cold, sterile, institutional feel to them. I usually turn on the soft, subdued lamps because they are more relaxed, more welcoming, and I always have the shades pulled up to let in the sunlight and the sight of the treetops. Unfortunately, the open shades also let in the sight of the decrepit fence around the air conditioning units. When the weather permits, I open my windows to smell the fresh air and to hear the birds, and I have placed a bird feeder outside my window to attract as many birds as possible ... when I remember to fill it with birdseed. I prefer the outdoors, and I can identify completely with Frank Lloyd Wright when he said that he wanted to be an architect who would bring the outside in. I, too, want to bring as much of nature indoors as I can, so I have plants in my office, thoroughly green plants with no brown tips, a fountain that sounds like a mountain stream, a print of the Nantahala River on which I have kayaked, and a painting of the 200-year-old oak tree that once stood in our playground, painted by our own Regina Moody. I know that it's hard to imagine a minister as Nature Boy, but in my heart, I know that I am.
There are shelves of books which show that I, like many Unitarians, am over-educated, and they reveal my interest in theology, philosophy, psychology, and children's books. My love of children's books is also given away by these two characters, Frog and Toad of my favorite children's book series. Other objects on my shelves and table tops announce who I am, as well. There's Dwight Schrute, with his over-sized head, from my favorite TV series, "The Office." There's my Galileo thermometer that somehow measures the temperature with suspended spheres of various densities. I don't think Galileo actually invented it, but because it was created in the 1600's, he got the credit. I have a rock collection which is not so much a collection of rocks as a collection of souvenirs. Whenever I travel, I like to bring back a piece of that place, like this piece of concrete. It's a fragment from a German bunker on the high cliffs of Normandy, shelled from the Allied fleet on the early morning of the D-Day invasion.
There's my photo from Strawberry Fields in Central Park of the "Imagine" mosaic honoring John Lennon. Lennon is one of my favorite song writers, and "Imagine" is one of my favorite songs, reflecting the idealism of the 60's and my own idealism, which hasn't faded too much over the years. I'm still a dreamer who believes that we really can live for today and live in peace and live as one. There's the bust of FDR, the photo of JFK and RFK from the 1960 Democratic Convention, and the photo of yours truly with Barack Obama on the night of his first fund-raiser in South Carolina. I was invited to give the invocation that night at the Columbia Museum of Art, and Senator Obama signed it two years before he became President Obama. When I showed Mike Paget my autographed manuscript, he said, "Wouldn't it be something if that guy became our next President." These items reveal not only my political affiliation but my esteem for public servants who view public service as a high calling to make our national community more humane and more human.
I notice that many of the objects around my office come from times past. Like these Radio Flyer red wagons, replicas of the ones I used to pull and ride in as a boy. There's this model of a 1957 Corvette that I used to yearn for as a boy and still do. There's this glass insulator that used to insulate the power lines along railroad tracks and that I used to collect walking down dirt roads as a boy in eastern North Carolina. There are these antique cast iron banks like the ones I used to have that made frugality fun. I'm not sure what all these old things mean, except that maybe a part of me does long for a simpler time that has slipped away, even here in the South. I have to admit that as I get older, I feel less at home in our increasingly impersonal, hectic, rushed society. I have to admit that I don't like the way our lives are evolving. I don't think that it's healthy for our bodies or our souls.
Well, that's a little bit about my space and what it says about me. What about our space and what it says about us? To understand our present space, we first have to understand our past. I know it's hard to believe, but we Unitarian Universalists are direct descendents from the Puritans. We may have left behind their rigid religion, stuffy morality, and those tall hats with large buckles (why do hats need buckles?), but we have inherited their worship space and worship style. For one thing, the Puritans, like all Protestants, emphasized the preaching of the Word of God, whereas their Catholic forebears emphasized the celebration of the mass. So the Protestants placed the pulpit at the center of the worship space. In Catholic churches, the altar, where the sacrifice of Christ takes place, takes center stage. In Jewish synagogues, the Torah is placed in the center. By the way, how many of you know that the Torah was kept here at the center of the stage when the Tree of Life synagogue was here? These days you won't hear the Word of God preached from this or any other UU pulpit. Instead you'll hear the word of Jones or Smith or Johnson, and it will be a word celebrating life, love, and meaning and the community where we find life, love, and meaning.
Another part of our Puritan heritage is simplicity. The Puritans wanted to purify worship of established forms and patterns of ritual and liturgy. Architecturally, this was symbolized by replacing stain glass windows with clear glass and removing all icons so that there were no visual representations of God or Jesus. A simple cross on the wall might be the only religious symbol. We tend to forget that the Puritan meeting house functioned as a church on Sunday and a town hall during the week, so the building was simple and ordinary. A church didn't have to be a large cathedral in order to be sacred. In fact, the Puritans thought the size and ornaments of the cathedrals were pretentious. What makes a place sacred is the purpose for which it is used, and in this the Puritans were following Biblical teachings of what is sacred. In the Bible we find that the ancient Hebrews carried their place of worship, the Tent of Meeting, around with them in the desert. God met them where they were. And in the Bible we find that God's son is born in a stable with smelly barnyard animals. God can appear anywhere. No place is more sacred than another. Any ordinary space can be sacred.
I like the fact that our worship space is simple and ordinary. Our sanctuary is not sacred because it has ornate chandeliers or Renaissance paintings or marble floors. It is sacred because we are gathered here as a community of people seeking dignity and destiny. I like the fact that we have wide, uncluttered space because community needs space. Children need space to run and play. Adults need space to talk to one another and see each other's reactions and consider their words before sharing them. We need space to set up chairs in rows for lectures and presentations and in circles for discussion and personal sharing. We need space to set up tables for shared meals, and what better way to nurture community than around a meal, where we nourish our bodies with food and our souls with fellowship. People who are into Feng Shui say that we need uncluttered space to allow the flow of our life force energy, or chi. I like to think that we need space to form community and become human. One of the meanings of the word "sanctuary" is that it is a refuge, a place of safety and protection, as in the way the city limits are often a bird sanctuary. I think of our sanctuary as a refuge from the clutter of things and noise that bombard us in our society.
I like the fact that we have a high ceiling in our sanctuary. Remember when we had to hold our worship services in the social hall while we were having the concrete floor treated in here? The low ceiling and low pulpit stage in the social hall, with the chairs arranged in a close semicircle around the pulpit, helped to create more of a feeling of community. But many of us noticed that it didn't feel as worshipful without the high ceiling. Our spirits need space above in order to soar. Now don't press me to define "spirit" too exactly because I'm not sure I can, but I do know that there is that part of us that yearns to soar and that must have room to soar if we are to be fully human. Call that part of us our dreams and aspirations, call it hope. It's that part of us that Bobby Kennedy alluded to when he said, "Some see things as they are and ask why; I dream things that never were and ask why not." One of our Unitarian Universalist theologians, James Luther Adams, said that worship connects us with intimacy and ultimacy. I think our space helps us to connect with both. I like to think that our social hall is where we experience intimacy, and our sanctuary is where we experience ultimacy.
I'm glad that when we renovated our sanctuary, we place the pulpit closer to the congregation. This, too, has roots in our Puritan heritage. In the cathedrals of Europe, the priest is separated from the congregation by a choir screen. He (and it's always a he) has a special place reserved for the consecration of the host and the completion of the mass, while the laity wander around in the nave of the cathedral. The architecture has theological significance. It implies that the priest is special, that he is set apart from the people in a kind of holy-of-holies space. In the Protestant tradition, the minister is called out from the people but is not separate from them. He or she is called by God and a congregation to serve as minister because he or she possesses gifts for ministry that all recognize. In the Puritan and Congregationalist tradition, we ministers are literally members of the congregation. This reflects our theology of the priesthood of the believer, that we are one people before God with no one more special than another. So there is no barrier between the minister and the congregation, and you may have noticed that the trend in UU congregations – and maybe in other denominations as well – is to lower the pulpit stage and bring the chairs closer to the pulpit. We had this experience when we worshipped in the social hall, and as I said, I think we felt a closer sense of community as a result of that. One of the ideas for renovating our sanctuary is to place the pulpit stage over there against the wall on a low stage and arrange the chairs in a semicircle around it. If we do, maybe we can experience intimacy and ultimacy in the same place.
As much as I like stained glass and even have a couple of stained glasses in my office, I'm glad that we have clear glass windows like the Puritans did. I like to be able to look out and see the sky and trees and to be reminded that we are part of nature. Our Landscaping Committee is looking at the possibility of creating a garden courtyard right outside the social hall with windows and doors in the social hall and the foyer opening to the outside. Wouldn't it be wonderful to go out of the social hall during our coffee hour and socialize on a patio? Instead of bringing the outside in, we would take the inside out. These connections with nature reflect our current naturalistic theology in which we recognize that humanity does not stand above nature or against nature or separate from nature but that we are an integral part of nature, that humanity has emerged from the earth as a limb grows from a tree, that the earth is our home, that its destiny is ours, and that humanity and earth are one organism.
Our worship space may be simple and ordinary, but we have some extraordinary touches on our building left by members past and present. Like the banners on either side of our stage and on the back wall, created by Velma Smith, and her husband Pete made the large black flaming chalice in the foyer and our name on the front of our building. For these and many other contributions they made to the life of our Fellowship, Velma and Pete are honored with a photo from the Mountain Retreat Center which hangs on the other side of that alcove wall. Since then, other artists have created banners, like Pat Mohr's chalice banner on the stage which hides the huge hole in the wall where the Torah was kept and Janet Swigler's blue UUFC banner that she personally paraded across the stage at the UUA General Assembly in Boston. Helen Moody donated our piano, Jessica Kross our two chalices, and Carita Barr and Polly Laufer our antique membership book table. Carita and Pat also donated the print of musicians behind the piano, and our partner church in Beszterce, Transylvania, gave us the embroidered print with the Unitarian motto in Hungarian, "Egy Az Isten" (Edge Oz Eeshten), "God is one."
The ghosts of members past linger here through the touches they have left on our building. Their distant voices call to us to make this place our spiritual home. Homemaking is a primal, innate impulse. Birds make their nests and beasts dig their dens, their homes reflecting something of their identities. As children, we make tree houses, forts, camps, and tents with blankets outside in the woods and backyard and inside under card tables. As adults, we make our homes daily, weekly, and yearly as we vacuum the floors, mow the lawn, paint the living room, fix the door, and add a piece of furniture. Little by little we leave our touches on the place so that more and more of it reflects something of our personalities, our values, our identities.
So it is with this place. Every time we reorganize the kitchen, clean out the closets, trim the shrubbery, take up the theater seats, remove the orange extension cords from the social hall ceiling, we leave our touches and make it our home so that, like a mirror, it reflects who we are. This place, our spiritual home, shines with our souls.
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fernando P. 2 years ago Reply Spam SpamCancel
buena rola
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coman mierda
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buen ritmo !! orgullosamente catrachos..
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mi ritmo punta tan bello... envidia de muchos en el mundo!!!!!
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