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this hotel used to be fun, entertaining and clean. what the heck happened? the pool area used to be a blast around new years. the bar was always small but entertaining. the banquet room was fun for receptions etc and that fell apart.
this absolutely shows poor management decisions.
- Official Description (provided by the hotel):
- The Clarion Hotel is conveniently located for both business and leisure travelers on the north side of Muscatine, IA just three miles from the Mississippi riverfront. The Iowa hotel also is a short drive to Bridgestone Bandag, AllSteel, HNI and the Muscatine Soccer Complex. Other attractions in the Muscatine area include Wild Cat Den State Park, Muscatine Art Center (includes Musser Mansion and the Stanley Gallery), Weed Mansion, and Alexander G. Clark House. Two historic districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places (Downtown and West Hill). Guests of this Muscatine hotel can enjoy the free continental breakfast, indoor heated pool and whirlpool along with the 24-hour fitness center. All rooms feature coffee makers, microwave, refrigerator, irons and ironing boards, well lit desk areas and premium TV channels. Business travelers will welcome additional conveniences featuring the 24-hour business center with fax and copy service. The next time your travels bring you to Muscatine, IA, the Clarion Hotel would be delighted to accommodate your lodging needs. We look forward to seeing you soon! ... more less
- Reservation Options:
- TripAdvisor is proud to partner with Booking.com, Travelocity, Expedia, TripOnline SA, Odigeo, Hotwire, Agoda, Hotels.com and Priceline so you can book your Hotel Muscatine Iowa reservations with confidence. We help millions of travelers each month to find the perfect hotel for both vacation and business trips, always with the best discounts and special offers.
- Also Known As:
- Holiday Inn Muscatine
- Muscatine Holiday Inn


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Language Study
Our language program offers children the opportunity to learn Yiddish, the language of the Ashkenazic Jews of Eastern Europe, and exposure to Hebrew.
Our language teachers are passionate educators who have been instrumental in inspiring new engagement with Yiddish language and culture in America and worldwide.
In the younger grades, children learn the alef-beys, the alphabet shared by both Hebrew and Yiddish.
As students progress, they learn simple vocabulary and phrases through song, poetry, and creative projects. They discuss the linguistic and historical relationship between Hebrew and Yiddish, and explore the role of both languages in Jewish identity and culture.
"This is Yiddish", a project of YIVO and the Columbia School of Journalism, features our school and includes parents' reflections on what it means that their children are studying Yiddish today.

subset: commoncrawl


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Dell Inspiron N5010 SeriesProcessor: Intel Core i3 330M, Intel Core i7 740QM
Graphics Adapter: ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5650, Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 4500MHD
Display: 15.6 inch
Weight: 2.7kg
Price: 730, 980 euro
mobility: - %, workmanship: - %, ergonomy: - %, emissions: - %
Dell Inspiron N5010
SpecificationsNotebook: Dell Inspiron N5010
Processor: Intel Core i3 330M
Graphics Adapter: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 4500MHD
Display: 15.6 inch, 16:9, 1366x768 pixels
Weight: 2.7kg
Price: 730 euro
Links: Dell homepage Dell notebook section
Source: PC Store BU→EN
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 08/24/2010
performance: 80%
Dell Inspiron N5010-P10F001
SpecificationsNotebook: Dell Inspiron N5010-P10F001
Processor: Intel Core i7 740QM
Graphics Adapter: ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5650
Display: 15.6 inch, 16:9, 1366x768 pixels
Weight: 2.7kg
Price: 980 euro
Links: Dell homepage Dell notebook section
Source: Laptop.bg BU→EN
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 11/19/2010
Dell: Dell Inc. is a multinational technology corporation that develops, manufactures, sells, and supports personal computers and other computer-related products. Based in Texas, Dell employs more than 82,700 people worldwide (2009). In 2006, Dell purchased the computer hardware manufacturer Alienware. In most countries, the laptops are directly sold to consumers by Dell and each notebook custom-assembled according to a selection of options. Market share regarding sales of personal computers in 2007 (market research IDC): HP 18.9 %, Dell 16.4 %, Acer 9.9 %, Lenovo 7.5 %, Apple 5.7 %
Only some 3D games with very low demands are playable with these cards.
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 4500MHD: Onboard (shared Memory) GPU built in the GM45, GE45 and GS45 chipset (Montevina). Because of two more shaders and a higher core clock, much faster than the old GMA X3100. Still not advisable for gamers (DirectX 10 games not playable or only with very low settings). The integrated video processor is able to help decode HD videos (AVC/VC-2/MPEG2) , e.g., for a fluent Blu-Ray playback with slow CPUs.
Modern games should be playable with these graphics cards at low settings and resolutions. Casual gamers may be happy with these cards.
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5650: Middle class DirectX 11 capable graphics card with a power consumption of about 15-20 Watt. Supports Eyevision (up to 6 monitors)
» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Graphics Cards and the corresponding Benchmark List.
Intel Core i3:
The Core i3-330M is a slower clocked 350M and therefore also lacks the Turbo Boost feature and clocks with max. 2.13 GHz. Thanks to Hyperthreading, 4 threads can be processed simultaneously. An integrated graphics card (GMA HD 3150) and a DDR3 memory controller are also included in the package.
Intel Core i7: The Intel Core i7 for laptops is based on the LG1156 Core i5/i7 CPU for desktops. The base clock speed of the CPUs is relatively low, but because of a huge Turbo mode, the cores can dynamically overclock to up to 3.2 GHz (920XM). Therefore, the CPU can be as fast as high clocked dual-core CPUs (using single threaded applications) but still offer the advantage of 4 cores. Because of the large TDP of 45 W / 55 W, the CPU is only intended for large laptops.
The Core i7-740QM is a high-end quad-core CPU for laptops (in 2010) with a relative small base clock rate and a high Turbo Boost max frequency of 2.93 GHz (for one core). Therefore, it combines the advantages of a slow clocked quad core CPU with a fast single core one. Compared to the faster Core i7 mobile CPUs, the 740QM only features 6MB L3 Cache.
15.6: 15 inch display-variants are the standard and are used for more than the half of all notebooks. 15.4 inch display with 16:10 are the standard for notebook displays. However nowadays, more and more 16:9 displays with 15.6 inch appear. The reason why so many people like displays with medium size is, that this size is not exhausting for the eyes, does not need too much energy and the laptops can be kept quite compact.
» To find out how fine a display is, see our DPI List.
2.7 kg:
This notebook is lighter than the average of all notebooks. It is too heavy for sub-notebooks. 14 inch displays are normal for this class of weight.
2.7 kg:
%: No rating comment found (one expected)!
» Further information can be found in our Notebook Purchase Guide.
Devices from a different Manufacturer and/or with a different CPU
Devices with the same GPU


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Washington D.C. Forecast: Snow showers this weekend
Conditions will continue to be cooler than normal across the D.C. area and a few snow showers will visit the region this weekend.
- Overnight:
- Partly Cloudy
- Lows: 20s
- Wind: NW 2-5 m.p.h.
- Friday:
- Partly Cloudy, Cool
- Highs: Low 40s
- Wind: Light
- Saturday:
- Mostly Cloudy, Light Snow Showers
- Highs: Upper 30s
- Precipitation: 30%
High pressure has returned to the area and provided a cold but pleasant day with one more to follow tomorrow. On Saturday, a wave of low pressure will move south of our region and may develop into an organized area of low pressure, once it is over the Atlantic Ocean, But that development will be too far away to have much of an effect on this area.
During the day on Sunday, another small disturbance could affect the region. But it will have limited moisture to work with. Add to that discussion, the fact that medium range computer models have varying solutions and effects, we believe it will be mostly cloudy and cold during the weekend with only about a 30% chance of seeing a few areas of light snow or passing snow showers, The first opportunity would during the daylight hours of Saturday and then later Sunday afternoon or evening. We do not see any evidence of a "winter storm" for this area, this weekend.


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A car bomb and two roadside bombs in Iraq killed at least 32 and wounded dozens more on Thursday. All the blasts were targeting Shiite-populated areas south of Baghdad.
Two roadside bombs in the city of Hilla blew up a group of Shiite pilgrims, leaving at least 26 people dead and several dozen wounded. The bombs struck a commercial area of the city during a busy period.
Another attack happened in the shrine city of Karbala, 90 kilometers to the south of Baghdad. A car bomb killed 6 civilians and wounded 20, some of them police officers.
A police spokesman said all roads to Karbala are closed and police are searching the city for another car bomb.
Every year millions of pilgrims visit the city of Karbala for Ashura commemorations, marking Hussein's death in 680 AD. This year commemorations fell on November 25. Ashura commemorations are followed by a 40-day mourning period which also attracts thousands of pilgrims to Karbala.
The majority of the Iraqi population are Shiite Muslims. Insurgents from the Sunni minority are regularly targeting Shiites in terror attacks.
On Tuesday three car bombs, targeting Shiite places of worship and a funeral in the Shuala district of Baghdad, killed 23 civilians.


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The Starkville School District Board of Education will hold its regular monthly meeting today at 6 p.m. in the Greensboro Center.
The board will have to consider a number of agenda items, including approval of a Tax Anticipation Note, or TAN, to help pay expenses until the district's tax revenues allocated in the budget begin coming in.
To subscribe to the E-edition, please click here.


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The weather in Costa Rica's Caribbean is unique to the country. Rainy season is November - January. The rest of the year has sun and rain - mixed. It can get hot in the summer but here at Hidden Jungle Beach House the ocean breeze and jungle shade keeps us cool. I live in Puerto Viejo, on Costa Rica's south Caribbean coast. In November 2011 I opened a jungle guest house, where I live and write this blog. Here you'll find the weather and more.
Saturday, February 9, 2013
The past few days since I last posted have been nice. We had one cloudy day and the rest have been just like today - wonderful! I am headed for a swim now, right here in the same location as the photo above.
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In January 1989, he wrote the first of several stories featuring Superman for DC Comics' then-weekly title Action Comics, from #635. He has also written stories featuring popular icons like The Phantom, and contributed to the lauded A1 anthology. This was followed by Stalkers, a 12 issues series for Marvel Comics' Epic Comics imprint.
Verheiden has also contributed to scripts for the feature films The Mask, Timecop (he also wrote the Dark Horse comics adaptation of the film) and for the Smallville television-show. He was also supervising, then co-executive producer for Smallville during the first three seasons, as well as one of the writers on DC's Smallville comic, based on the series.
Verheiden was also the creator/writer and supervising producer on the ABC television series Timecop, and consulting producer on the UPN series The Strip.
His Phantom stories featured in a 13-issue maxi-series from DC Comics (following a 4-issue Peter David written mini-series) and took on 'real-world issues', such as poisoning, illegal weapon trading, racism, and toxic dumping. The stories usually took a more psychological approach than the Lee Falk written comic strips. Luke McDonnell was the regular artist.
Verheiden has been a writer and co-executive producer on the television series Battlestar Galactica since season two, and has written nine episodes of the Peabody Award-winning series.
In 2007, Verheiden began work on the live-action screenplay for a Teen Titans film for Warner Bros., as well as an adaptation of his own Ark (written for Dark Horse Presents in the mid-1990s) with Sony Pictures.
In the mid-2000s, Dark Horse Comics gained the Evil Dead comics licence, and from January-April 2008, Verheiden wrote the four-issue miniseries based on the Sam Raimi movie, with art by John Bolton. Verheiden was no stranger to the Evil Dead team, having previously worked with Raimi on Time Cop, written a pilot for Rob Tapert and produced the screenplay for Bruce Campbell's My Name is Bruce.


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HR Green is proud to be ranked as one of the Top 100 Construction Management-for-Fee firms by Engineering News-Record Magazine. The list was published in the June 16 issue of ENR Magazine.
According to ENR revenue for the CM-PM group rose 1 percent, to $19.41 billion, in 2013. Domestic revenue from CM-PM work rose 2 percent, to $14.62 billion, in 2013. This marks a rebound for the domestic market, which had declined from 2011 to 2012.
The magazine goes on to say professional services firms are now reaping divi¬dends from owners that downsized during the worst of the recession. "The lack of trained in-house staff, coupled with a lack of funding, particularly among public agencies, is creating an opportunity for CM firms to expand their palette of services," the article states.
HR Green's staff is experienced with projects ranging from municipal work to multi-million dollar roadway reconstruction and new roadway projects. Our extensive project experience includes construction of bridges, roads and highways; storm and sanitary sewers; water distribution systems; water treatment facilities; wells, storage facilities, pumps and lift stations; and wastewater facilities.
Originally founded in 1913, HR Green has offices throughout the United States including McHenry, New Lenox, Evanston and Yorkville in Illinois. HR Green provides engineering and technical and management services to clients in the following markets: Transportation, Water, Governmental Services, Senior Living, Energy and Land Development. For more information, see www.hrgreen.com.


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No pun intended.
b. Why is it that every single time I stop there (no matter what time of day it is) the nice policeman whose spiffy policeman shoes I spilled Diet Coke all over one morning is ALWAYS there, which causes me to turn bright red and babble incoherently about what a terrible klutz I am?
And so, I think it's pretty clear that I've been pretty darn busy.
What with the whole "sickness" thing, and the whole "thinking" thing,
by golly,
it's truly a wonder that I accomplish anything.
Or I suppose that you also could go with that first theory.
The one about me being a slacker.
In the worst kind of way...


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In Michael Brooks's "Easy rider" (28 May, p 44) he wrote, "it is clear that a near-perfect [bicycle] design evolved decades ago".
Evolution as a metaphor is perhaps a little off, given that marketing, new materials and the restrictive rules of international cycling have exerted powerful "non-evolutionary" effects on the design process.
Even so, surely the path of this "evolution" has not been towards a single "near-perfect" design but, through a process more like speciation, into many different bike designs: cargo, folding, mountain, touring, recumbent, recumbent trike, Christiania trike and front-wheel-drive recumbent.
These are not tweaked road bikes, and road bikes are no more perfect than they are, any more than there is the "right" kind of Galapagos finch.
Even when speed is the key, recumbent bikes are faster due to lower air resistance. Indeed, as I ride my recumbent with its aerodynamic and comfort advantages, I tend to ...
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to McCombs
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Betsy Greenberg
Current McCombs School of Business Faculty or staff?
Login to update your profile.
Associate Professor
Information, Risk, and Operations Mgmt.
Greenberg, Betsy S. Associate Professor, Department of Information, Risk, and Operations Management. Betsy Greenberg received her B.S. from Brown University and her M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. Her research and teaching interests include statistics, stochastic processes, and queuing systems.
Page last updated: 7/6/2015
By phone: (512) 471-5921
By mail:
1 University Station, B6000
Austin, TX 78712-1178
In person:
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This profile for Precision Cut Lawn Care is located in Tallahassee, FL. Precision Cut Lawn Care industry is listed as Lawn/Garden Services.
Johnathan Drier served as the Principal and has interests in other corporate entities including Drico Enterprises, Inc located in Tallahassee, FL . Johnathan's past corporate affiliations include Madron LLC, Drico Enterprises LLC .
Key roles for Precision Cut Lawn Care
Johnathan Drier
Comprehensive Insight Plus Report
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|The D&B Comprehensive Insight Plus Report for Precision Cut Lawn Care combines D&B's proprietary statistical scoring with business, payment and financial information all in one report.
US Company Profile Report
|Learn More
|The D&B U.S. Company Profile contains basic information such as address and telephone number, executive names and titles, line of business and SIC codes, D-U-N-S Numbers, organization status, and year and location of incorporation for Precision Cut Lawn Care.


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Hyde Park, NY Pizza Parlor
Frankie's Pizza & Wings
For delicious pizza, wings, and pastas, visit Frankie's Pizza & Wings in Hyde Park, NY.
Hungry? Try one of our Sicilian pizzas with a wide variety of toppings to choose from, hot and cold subs, or even a wrap! All of our dishes are available to dine-in, take-out or for delivery.
Frankie's Pizza & Wings Offers:
- Sicilian pizza
- Pizza by the slice
- Wings
- Calzones / Stromboli
- Pastas
- Hot and cold subs / wraps
- Salads
View our menu here.
Catering is available; try our 28" giant party pizza!
Contact Frankie's Pizza & Wings today at 845-233-5600 for take-out or delivery.
Contact Information
Hours of Business:
Sunday – Thursday: 11:00am to 10:00pm
Friday and Saturday: 11:00am to 11:00pm
Methods of Payment:


text:
Small Towns, Big News ...
Gazette Media Services LLC offers itself to and through the media. Working with newspapers and other media, we look for ways to improve content, products and revenue. Professional assistance is available for writing, editing, paginating, promotions, collaborations, consulting, and other individualized services — all at affordable rates or through profit-sharing agreements.
Tom McDonald, owner and manager, has more than two decades experience as reporter, editor and publisher for newspapers in New Mexico, Arkansas and Kentucky. A diversity of experiences in journalism, and in the business of newspapers, has prepared him for this young enterprise and its services.


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Water vapour has been found in the atmosphere of a Jupiter-like planet outside our solar system.
Planetary scientists had predicted that "hot Jupiters" - massive gas giants orbiting perilously close to their host stars - would have water vapour in their atmospheres. In April, astronomers claimed they had found some using the Hubble Space Telescope, but many dismissed the evidence as flawed.
Now Giovanna Tinetti of University College London and her colleagues have used the Spitzer Space Telescope to probe HD 189733b, a hot Jupiter orbiting a star just 63 light years from Earth. They studied starlight in three infrared bands centred around wavelengths of 3.6, 5.8 and 8 micrometres, and found that when the planet crossed the face of the star, the light dimmed in a manner consistent with the absorption of light by water vapour (Nature, vol 448, p 169).
The team had predicted just ...
To continue reading this article, subscribe to receive access to all of newscientist.com, including 20 years of archive content.


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Joined: Oct 2005
Oddometer: 9
1991 suzuki dr 250
Found one on Craigslist for $1700.00, 1200 miles. Any thing I should look for? Plan to use it for mainly for fire roads.
Oddometer: n/a
Pros: reliable, easy to start, easy maint., decent brakes, parts are easy to get, $1,700 is an OK price.
Cons: lack of power for extended highway riding, soft suspension, crappy shock and fork valving, low seat height for shorter people, heavy for its size.
A good fire road kinda bike that can't be pushed very hard off road. A good first bike or for slow speed exploring.
Good luck
Beastly Adventurer
Joined: Jul 2005
Location: Tampa
Oddometer: 11,251
Dito to above, although it can be pushed hard off road, it just won't perform like a modern race bike. It wasn't all that long ago that folks were racing DR350's (same bike) in ISDE's and all sorts of rather serious off road races.
Its a perfect bike for general exploring, fire roads, single track and pretty much any riding that doesn't involve huge jumps or being in a huge hurry. Its not fast, but its faster than most folks think. Its very comfortable for its class, super reliable and long lasting (a guy on TT has 143k miles on one with no engine work). For your uses (mostly fire road) I can't think of a better bike. It really is an excelent alternative to the 650 single cylinder thumpers for most riding. Anything below interstate speed I perfer my 250 to my dad's 650L. Its lighter, smoother and the motor is more flexable (doesn't shudder as much at lower rpms, revs out much higher) and uses less fuel.
Only known flaw reliability wise is the counter ballance shaft pin which in a few rare cases manages to work its way out and cause major trouble. Its so rare I wouldn't worry about it, but if your really ocd about that stuff you can read up on it at kientech.com
I recently purchased a newer one which is the same except that its got E-start and more weight. Its not on par with my CR250R race bike off road, but its far more capable than most riders. I wouldn't want to race a harescramble on it, but have no doubt that if I did I'd place mid pack or better in the C-class (I normally race B class). Even then there's a lot more potential in the bike. I've been totally blown away by a friend on a DR350 (with street oriented tires) in technical off road stuff before and I mean totally absolutely left in the dust. Granted the friend is top pro enduro guy but it just goes to show that its mostly rider. I bought the bike just for putting around with my wife and such and have been happily suprised at how much more capable it is than I expected both on and off road.
It will happily run 65mph all day long on the highway with 15/42 gearing (stock is 14/42, but on the 350 stock is 15/41) with almost no vibs. The bike itself remains stable and composed even at higher speeds, but the motor gets a bit buzzy.
I rode mine home to VA from NY and averaged 76mpg and that was with much lower than stock gearing.
'09 Buell XB12XT, TL1000S, H1F, M620, CR250R, KX100, XR650R, Cota 315R
Summer 2009 Ride Report http://advrider.com/forums/showthrea...1509c&t=507038
Summer 2008 RR. http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=367703
BikePilot screwed with this post 11-11-2006 at 06:19 PM
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Salesforce Integration (1:10)
Salesforce Integration (1:10)
2 Comments
I have a customer that is replacing their CRM with Salesforce. Their current CRM includes financial features and I am recommending Xero to replace this. The only thing is that I need a way to access an account directly on Xero with a URL. Currently the URL contains a ClientID that isn't easily transferred to Salesforce. Is there any way we could access the accounts by Account Name in the URL instead?
I don't currently use Xero. However, it appears to be clear and designed to make inputting data a simple process. Even without reading through extensive tutorials or watching a number of how to videos I can easily figure out what to do when it comes to some tasks.
An intuitive application sometimes seems to be hard to design, if you look at the examples from various sectors that are out there. There are powerful packages that give no end of problems to the users. This can be frustrating and wastes time and money, since people also have to spend a lot of time on training.


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This site is dedicated to helping people that are looking for answers, suggestions, tips, ideas, and general knowledge regarding the transformation from male to female. My name is Ana Mancini and I felt compelled to publish this website and share my life and experiences because I have been very blessed. It is my hope to make your transformation journey easier, more understandable and I want to offer a helping hand. It is very important during this transformation to have someone there in your corner that has experienced the same things you are going through.
A lot of people ask me how I started my transformation. Today I will expose it all so sit back and get ready.
As you may know, I am from a small town in Argentina. Since about eight years old I always knew I wanted to be a woman. I wore my mom's clothes and put on makeup. I was always very feminine. I use to cut out woman models pictures and put my face on it dreaming to have one of those beautiful bodies. When I hit puberty, I started thinking more and more that I wanted to be a woman. By this time I started thinking about it 24/7 and just couldn't get it out of my mind.
Watching TV I noticed that Miami seemed very 'gay' friendly. On top of that, it seemed most people in Miami spoke Spanish (I couldn't speak any English at that time) so I thought I could fit in. So I told my family that I was leaving on vacation to Miami for two weeks. When I arrived in Miami I realized that this was the perfect place for me. I truly love my family but I came to realize that all the thoughts in my mind (transforming) could become a reality here in Miami. It was a very hard decision; it meant I would have to be away from my family for quite some time. My family was a little surprised because they never knew that I wanted to be a transsexual. It was tough on them but they love me and came to accept it. That is the key to my happiness, unlike many transsexuals, I have always had the support of my entire family and they are always behind me to this day.
My first night on the town I went to a gay club here in Miami and I remember seeing so many beautiful transsexuals I was in awe. There were specifically two that I remember well. One of them was named Bianca. When I saw her I was fascinated with her, she was very beautiful. I was a young teenage boy and I approached her and told her that I wanted to be like her. She took me under her wing (grateful to this day) and taught me all the in's and out's and was protective. She taught me about hormones, doctors, procedures, etc.
I started my hormone treatment immediately after speaking with Bianca. After three months in this country, I had my breast augmentation (only went to a 34B at that time, later BAMB!). I never had any doubts as to what I wanted. I was so sure that my transformation was very quick. I knew that I wanted to be a beautiful transsexual (for anybody that wants to be a beautiful transsexual everything is possible but you must be sure and then take massive and quick action)...
I was fortunate enough to meet very good people, guys and transsexuals, that always lent a helping hand. After a year, my mom and sister came to see me here and I was so happy. My mom was very proud of me and in shock as to how beautiful I was. After that, my dad and other members of my family came to see me all with open arms. After I finished my goals, all my transformations, I eventually went back to my home town in Argentina. I was very, very nervous. I am from a very small town and everybody knows me and my family. My family already told everybody that I was changing but that didn't stop my nerves from rattling. At the same time, I was very excited to see all my old friends from school, neighbors, and all the people.
So I arrived and it was unbelievable. Everybody welcomed me and accepted me for the new me. Guys were looking at me with different eyes...LOL. I cannot describe with words what a great experience it was. Coming back to my hometown the way I looked. I left looking for the new me and here I was back and I had fulfilled my dreams. I was a beautiful woman, the one I always dreamed of being and I was strong inside and out and proud of myself. To this day I still have contact with all the kind people in my hometown. They are the greatest people on this planet. Here in America you have an image of a small town and how they would respond to transsexuals (not favorably). But my hometown was completely different. Not one person shunned me. Not one person ridiculed me. It was as if I were a girl my entire life. I love and respect my neighbors and feel blessed.
I returned to the US, I have decided that this is home. I will return to Argentina often because, of course, that is home and my family and friends are there. However, my new home is here. Not sure if I will stay in Miami, you just never know, but I am comfortable here and I am meeting a lot of wonderful kind people here as well. Just as leaving Argentina was tough, leaving the US would be very hard as well.
So that was the start. As this site progresses I will add my travel experiences, stories about people I have met, people that I met that had an impact on my life.
I was lucky to have guidance and friends to point me in the right direction and I want to do that for you as well. Understand that all content on this site comes from my own experience and personal knowledge and is my opinions only. I am in a very good place in my life. I am very happy with myself and when you find that inner peace you want to help others as well. I have made this website with a lot of love, respect and honesty.
I am talking from my heart and truly want your transformation to go as smooth and comfortable as possible. I have also included a forum to enable you to reach out and share your personal experiences with one another. I will be monitoring the forum to make sure the content is appropriate. To have access to this site, you need to register first. Once registered you will have access to all sections of this site including, but not limited to, doctor recommendations, before and after pictures of myself, tips, advice, the forum and much more. Please, enjoy this site and participate as much as possible. I also offer one-on-one coaching (spiritually and physically) for those of you that want personal guidance.
This forum is a very important part of this website. This is your chance to share your experiences with others. You also have the opportunity to ask questions of other girls in transition that have different points of view. As you know, I share my point of view with you throughout this site but my opinions are not always right for everyone. Everyone has their own unique experiences and opinions and we all want to express our ideas.
Please do not abuse the forum. It is not for advertising! This is a chance for us all to pull our community closer together.
Have fun with my transgender forum!


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Women face tough choices on abortion coverage
NEW YORK Millions of American women will face tough choices about abortion coverage if restrictions in the House health care bill become law, both sides in the abortion debate agree.
Divisions over abortion are a major obstacle in President Barack Obama's push for health care overhaul, with both sides arguing over how to apply current law that bars taxpayer dollars for abortions in a totally new landscape. Under pressure from the Catholic Church and abortion foes, the House added tough restrictions to its version of a health care bill.
The measure would prohibit the proposed new government-run insurance plan from covering abortions except in cases of rape, incest or to save a mother's life, and bars any health plan receiving federal subsidies in a new insurance marketplace from offering abortion coverage. If women wanted to purchase abortion coverage through such plans, they'd have to buy it separately, as a so-called rider on their policy.
"It forces insurance companies and women to navigate a series of chutes and ladders to get abortion coverage at the end of the day," said Donna Crane, policy director for NARAL Pro-Choice America.
The amendment's proponents says its goal is simply to ensure that a long-standing ban on using federal dollars for elective abortions is extended to coverage plans arising from new health care legislation.
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., an abortion foe, insisted the amendment is not a dramatic change in current law, offered to negotiate if his critics could convince him otherwise, and said it leaves ample alternatives for women to obtain coverage if they use their own money and are willing to buy a separate, add-on plan.
"If you really still want this coverage, you can have it," he said. "The only difference is that more people will have to make that decision that they didn't confront before. ... More people are going to have to choose, 'Is this a benefit I want?'"
Crane and other abortion-rights advocates say the amendment would make it harder – in some cases perhaps impossible – for millions of women to have health insurance that covers abortion. They depict it as one of the gravest assaults ever on American women's reproductive rights.
Two large groups of women would not be affected by the amendment: low-income women already ineligible for abortion coverage because they rely on federal Medicaid funds for health care, and women who have abortion coverage through the private plans of their own or their husbands' large employers. Most Americans currently have employer-sponsored coverage.
That leaves a significant number of other women likely to be affected – women who would be prime candidates for joining the new federally subsidized plans, but in the process might have to forgo abortion coverage they had previously under a private plan. These would include self-employed women who must buy their own coverage, divorced women who formerly were insured through their husbands' employers, and women who work in small businesses whose owners decide to seek more affordable coverage through the new exchange.
"This is a middle-class abortion ban that would impact millions of middle-class women," added Cecile Richards, president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. "It's saying to them, 'You can't get full coverage that meets your needs.'"


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Our Hong Kong F10 owners/members met this past weekend and have shared some of their photos with us. Check out some tastefully modified F10 5 series inside.
5POST member delvek reviews his Hartge ECU remap for the 550i, which he had performed on site at Hartge's facilities. Hartge's official stats for their 550i ECU is 360 kW (490 hp) / 5500 rpm 720 Nm (lb-ft 531) / 6400 rpm.
The results? The Hartge engineers were able to record a 80kmh (50mph) to 180kmh (110mph) run in just 7.2 seconds. Delvek's previously stock 550i took 11.4 seconds to reach the same speed!
Vorsteiner has released its full tuning kit and program for the F10 5-series, which they've dubbed the VMS-F10.
The kit details are as follows:
VMS Front Spoiler
The newly designed VMS front spoiler has been specifically designed to fit F10 5 series vehicles with the optional M Tech package. The front spoiler not only creates a purposeful and functional balance to the front end but is also unmistakably beautiful and precise.
VMS Rear Spoiler
The VMS rear add on carbon deck lid spoiler … CONTINUED
Germany based Prior Design has released its F10 5 Series aerodynamic kit. The entire F10 kit includes:
Package includes:
– Prior-Design PD front add-on spoiler (fits all bmw 5-Series F10 standard models except M5 and models with original M-Sport Package installed)
– Prior-Design PD side skirts (fits all bmw 5-Series F10 models)
– Prior-Design PD rear add-on spoiler (diffusor) (fits all bmw 5-Series F10 standard models except M5)
– Mounting material… CONTINUED
The BMW 5 Series will turn the big 30 this year and BMW has a special edition F10 to mark the occassion. The 528i 30th Anniversary Edition has just gone on sale in Japan.
Only 200 of these 528i 30th Anniversary Edition F10s will come off the line. It's powered by BMW's inline 6 3.0L motor (not the 4 cylinder turbo N20 motor).
This deep sea blue metallic 528i is packaged with the M sport package, BMW Individual aluminum window trim, Veneto Beige dakota leather, Satin Walnut Wood … CONTINUED
5POST member IE92 decks out his F10 528i with 3D Design parts, OEM parts, and other custom modifications. Coupled with the photography skills of jzhang, the result is a beautiful photoshoot.
Jzhang brings some highly stylized photos from the first 5POST meet to us. We previously posted these photos, but not in this stunning of a look.


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Privacy and Cookies
PPG (Booth 1259) and Gentex will supply electrochromic window shade systems for the passenger-cabin windows of the new Beechcraft King Air 350i.
"The aircraft will be the first in general and business aviation with electrically dimmable window shades as standard equipment, and only the second aircraft program to use the technology developed by PPG and Gentex," says Tom Clark, general manager, PPG Aerospace.
Electrochromic shades will replace the polarizing shades on the King Air 350i's cabin windows to enhance passenger comfort, interior aesthetics and the aircraft's operating efficiency.
"Passengers will be able to control visible light transmittance of a dimmable panel between the inboard dust cover and outboard structural cabin window system. The shades will be adjustable from a bright, clear state to a nearly opaque, dark state, or comfortable intermediate settings in between," says Clark.
The PPG-Gentex system includes the electrically dimmable panel and passenger interface control switch. The shades use Gentex's proprietary electrochromic technology and PPG's aviation transparency expertise.
"We will produce the electrochromic window shade systems in Zeeland, Michigan, with deliveries to begin in 2009. Each King Air 350i will have 15 electrochromic dimmable window shades," Clark says.
There is a demonstration model of an electrochromic shade at PPG's stand and a demonstration in a full-size mockup of the new King Air 350i interior at the Hawker Beechcraft exhibit (Booth 3235).
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I met her as she ran into room 1 carrying his little gray body…the triage nurse was just ahead of her with scared eyes. The mom, carrying the little gray body, was not crying. I wanted to. I took the little gray body from her, he was heavy and stiff, and laid him on the stretcher.
The triage nurse ran to get more help. I grabbed the Pedi bag mask and began rescue breathing…I wanted to do chest compressions …but there was nothing to rescue, but I couldn't not do it…there was no pulse and no activity but asystole on the monitor…he was gone. "Please don't do that…it's his time to go and I don't want him to come back…he has had a bad life, and we have a do not resuscitate order." The nurse in me began screaming … I'm supposed to save him…do CPR…intubate him…not give up!
I stopped. I stared at his 4 year old mottled gray body and willed my mouth to speak words of comfort to this young mother~~ I couldnt speak …his eyes were open but vacant.
"What happened?" the doc questioned as he jogged in. "I just found him this way when I went to check on him." She answered flatly. As the doctor and mother talked about the boy's chromosome disorder and his pain I unwrapped the blue truck blanket that held his little body. He was naked. This bothered me greatly. "Why is he naked?" I asked her. "He hated clothes." She answered. My heart hurt. Time of death 8:04am. I asked her if I could clean him up (his body released fluids). She said yes. She sat down on the bed next to him but didn't touch him.
Another woman came in who was crying. The mother got up and went to her. They hugged. She asked me to give them a few minutes with him. I covered him up with a warm blanket and left the room. I know the warm blanket was useless but it made me feel better. I went into the bathroom and cried. When I came back into the room the mother told me what funeral home to call and then she and the other woman left. She left him with me.
I unwrapped his little body from the blankets and I gently washed him up. I cried. I wanted to close his eyes. I prayed for him. I put him in a little hospital gown and put his cold, gray and blue body into the body bag, and I again cried as I zipped him in. I went to the nurse's station, filled with chaos as usual, and I called the funeral home. Security came and took his body. I felt numb, sad, pissed off and confused. I tried so hard not to judge the mother but I did. My heart hurt over this boy~ over the detached last moments she had with him…I did not walk in her shoes and so I knew that I had no business judging…And in that moment I felt God tell me, she has grieved over this child for 4 years…he is with me now.
I closed my heart, took a deep breath and went into room 3 to start my patient's IV and draw her blood. I smiled and introduced myself…


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*I think it's probable this date is actually the 9th of August since that's what the official schedule reflects. Tim Morehouse also reports that there will be a spot on him during NBC Olympic coverage on August 9, "the same day as women's sabre."
Visit my fencing webcomic and blog! "Not just blogging about boring personal stuff" since May 2008!!


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The Mystery of Tuolumne Meadows
If you've never been to Tuolumne Meadows then you're missing out on one of the best parts of Yosemite, in my opinion. It's a broad, grassy valley surrounded by sharp, knife-edged peaks and domes that makes for some very beautiful scenery. But it's always been a bit of a mystery how the meadow and the unique mix of geological features surrounding it formed. Now researchers think they may have uncovered clues to how the meadow formed and likely it has to do with the way the Sierra Nevada itself formed.


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Vodafone Ghana has unveiled a refreshed 'Family and Friends' offer, enabling customers to call their most valued contacts across all local networks and international locations.
Under the new 'Family and Friends' offer, customers can sign-up a total of six people into their family and friends 'circle' as follows: four on the Vodafone network, one from another local network and one from any international location.
Customers on the 'Family and Friends' offer pay just GH5p for calls on the Vodafone network, GH8p across local networks and GH10p across international locations. ,
Chief Marketing Officer of Vodafone Ghana, Uche Ofodile reiterated Vodafone's commitment to providing its customers with unbeatable value: "Ghanaians are often referred to as the most sociable people on the continent, and as such, their family and friends are important to them.
"Our new 'Family and Friends' offer allows our customers to spend more time with those most important to them, irrespective of where they are.
"We believe in giving our customers the opportunity to do more on the Vodafone network, with products that are convenient, flexible and affordable. The Family and Friends offer is a fantastic example of this."
Family and Friends can be used in conjunction with other prepaid Vodafone products. Vodafone customers can dial 555 to subscribe or dial *151# from their mobile phone for more information.


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News of Riverton, Lander and Fremont County, Wyoming, from the Ranger's award winning journalists.
The way it was: Navy brothers -- 1944
Jun 30, 2014 - Staff
During the massive commitment of American manpower to military service during World War II, it wasn't uncommon for brothers to be in uniform at the same time.
Such was the case with the Pollock brothers of Riverton 70 years ago this month.
All three were Navy men. The eldest, Navy seaman first class Eldon B. Pollock, was aboard ship in the South Pacific, where the U.S. had been in combat since 1941.
Russell E. Pollock was an aviation radio man stationed aboard a ship in the Atlantic, and Harold J. Pollock was nearing completion of signal corps training at Camp Peterson in Idaho before receiving his deployment orders.


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Wilkes-Barre, PA (PRWEB) December 11, 2013
Metro, a world leading provider of technology, storage and transport solutions, recently announced the introduction of their new line of utility carts, the myCart Series™. The cart is not only durable and easy to clean, but is extremely user-friendly and is built around the needs of those using the cart on a daily basis. The contoured handle, spacious shelf cutaway, and roomy utility tray provide more comfort and convenience than conventional utility carts. The complete line of myCarts is available now.
"Our customers expect reliable, durable storage and transport solutions to support their important processes," said Rob Kaluzavich, product manager of open storage at Metro. "Many actual users refer to their utility cart as "their" cart because it is a critical tool for their daily activities. Whether used as transport cart, portable workstation, or supply cart, the myCart Series will enable users to perform their daily tasks more efficiently…making every step count."
When Metro designed the myCart Series it made sure to incorporate features into the design that the market not only wanted, but needed:
For more information on Metro and its diverse breadth products, visit http://www.metro.com
About InterMetro
For more than 80 years, InterMetro has been the world's leading manufacturer of technology, storage and transport solutions in healthcare, food service, commercial and consumer products. Committed to understanding the needs of customers and channel partners, Metro provides complete solutions that optimize space, improve workflow and ensure overall safety. InterMetro is a business of Emerson. For more information, visit http://www.metro.com.
About Emerson
Emerson (NYSE: EMR), based in St. Louis, Missouri (USA), is a global leader in bringing technology and engineering together to provide innovative solutions for customers in industrial, commercial, and consumer markets through its network power, process management, industrial automation, climate technologies, and tools and storage businesses. Sales in fiscal 2011 were $24.2 billion. For more information, visit http://www.emerson.com.


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The Piano Teacher
by Julia Cho
Directed by Helen Hayes award winner, Kasi Campbell
Smith Theatre
Playwright Julia Cho's brilliantly crafted mystery tells the tale of an elderly widow and former piano teacher, Mrs. K, who has lived by herself in a small town since the death of her husband. She fills her days reminiscing about her late husband, as well as the children who had been her students. One day, she finds herself compelled to call her old students and discovers that what troubles us most may be what we cannot bear to know. "The Piano Teacher" has been described as "Deftly wrought . . . a cozy, effective little chiller…you will probably feel speechless with sadness" by The New York Times and "Well-written . . . triumphs in dramatizing the unknown" by The New Yorker.
$=Pay What You Can,
Purchase Online:
To purchase tickets for "The Piano Teacher", click on the date/time of the performance you would like to purchase.
The Horowitz Visual and Performing Arts Center provides a variety of theatre services for patrons with special hearing, visual and mobility needs. Requests for special seating should be made a minimum of 24 hours prior to arrival by calling 443-518-1500 so that we can reserve special seating.


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Group Name:
Weight Watchers Fall Challenge10
Anywhere 00000
Goal for this team is focus on weight loss by November 21st! Write down your goal publicly in our team community and everyone keeps everyone else on track between now and then.
We are a team that follows the WW system (Core, Flex, Points). We log each day keeping us accountable to ourselves. The members of the group help each other each day, keeping everyone supported and motivated. And there is no Weekly Fee! Right now we are going to do a challenge to shed some pounds by the fall. When you join, please introduce yourself!
Last posted:
Tuesday, May 25, 2010, 1:45 AM
Other Info:
Members profiles:
I am a 35 year old single mom of three, work a very full time job in a very high paced corporate enviorment, I love baseball...obviously the white sox (hence the name). I love to bike and walk. I love to swim and miss it so much. It is one thing I long to do again, and will soon. I am a huge music fan (never anywhere without my ipod). I enjoy movies, cooking shows, well tv as a whole.
I am 33 yrs old and have been married for 9yrs. I have a beautiful 13 mo. daughter,ava.
I am a very busy mother of two trying to find a way to slow down enough to take care of myself!
- our sponsor -


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Dr. Rose Rubin is Professor Emeritus of Economics in the Fogelman College of Business & Economics at the University of Memphis, where she served as Department Chair and then Professor (1994-2009). A graduate of Wellesley College, she holds a Masters of Arts (MA) degree from Emory University and a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) from Kansas State University, all in the field of Economics. She completed post-doctoral work in Health Care Finance at Johns Hopkins University.
Her areas of expertise and research are in the economics of health and aging. She is the co-author of three books, Working Wives and Dual-Earner Families (1994), Expenditures of Older Americans (1997), and A Handbook for Widows (2009). She has also authored dozens of research articles on economics, healthcare, aging, gerontology, and social science in numerous journals.
Dr. Rubin has been a Robert Wood Johnson Fellow at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, a visiting Fellow at the Brookings Institute in Washington DC, and a Research Fellow at the Urban Child Institute in Memphis. She currently serves on the Executive Board of Plough Towers, a HUD facility for older or disabled persons. She completed a comparative analysis of Plough Towers and other HUD facilities in Memphis.
As a professional economist, Dr. Rubin worked, taught, and researched for many years in areas related to the economics of aging and financing for older Americans. Her skills include an understanding of cost-benefit analysis and budgetary clarity. She also brings an understanding of the problems and issues of aging, related to many years of research.


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'Sirens' producer Denis Leary 'had to draw personal boundaries'Add to Favorites | Sirens
Actor and comic Denis Leary is not a man known for self-restraint, either on the screen or off -- and especially in his choice of vocabulary (be warned).
Even though he's not in the cast of the USA Network paramedic comedy "Sirens," premiering Thursday, March 6, as executive producer and co-creator (with Bob Fisher), Leary ensures that the safe option will seldom, if ever, be taken.
For example, in the show's trailer, a patient begs a trio of Chicago EMTs -- sports-loving Johnny (Michael Mosley) outspoken Hank (Kevin Daniels) and eager new recruit Brian (Kevin Bigley) -- to go back to his home and clear the browser history on his computer.
When the guys turn it on, the sound makes it obvious that there is some sort of a porn video playing. And then a horse is heard, and the EMTs are seen reacting in shock and horror.
Related: 24 can't-miss Midseason 2014 TV premieres
Related: 24 can't-miss Midseason 2014 TV premieres
"Had to draw some personal boundaries," says Leary to assembled TV critics in January in Pasadena, Calif. "The porn episode's a good example -- we would pass in, we would discuss the idea, and some people at USA would go, 'How far are you guys going to go?' We said, 'Well, let us write it,' and we would write it.
"And you could jump on a notes call, you hear, 'OK, listen, you can't show the horse actually getting a b*** j**.' We're like, 'We know we can't show the horse getting a b*** j**.' But secretly we were like, 'F***. We can't show the horse getting a b*** j**.'
"[The network] has been great, though. USA's basic thing is, 'We're worried about how far to go with this, but you guys go out and shoot it, and we'll pull back from there.' There's some stuff in these shows -- again, only if it's funny. We can only really get away with it if it's funny. If it's not funny, it's not going to fly.
"Part of the fun of that is watching these guys. One of the things I loved about that porn episode is that these guys think they're so, 'Yeah, we can take anything. We've seen everything.' Then all of a sudden, they see something that really takes them over the edge."
If Leary is unrestrained in speech, on the set, the action also never stops moving - and Mosley admires that.
Calling in from Brooklyn, N.Y., Mosley tells Zap2it, "Denis moves really fast, which is great. We do four takes and then move on. At one point, we shot a wedding scene that was 15 1/2 pages, which is half an episode, in one day. Usually it's a 12-hour day, 12 1/2 hours -- I've done other gigs where we'll do four pages, and it'll take 15 hours.
"So yes, he moves really fast, and also, he's an actor. He's a comedic legend. It's fascinating to watch where his brain goes and watch where he finds the joke. But he's also an actor, and that's a very good thing. He knows how to talk to us, and he knows how to get in our heads, motivate us to do what he likes.
"Also, he's open to what our instincts are -- very egalitarian. He lets the funny flow."
While the daily lives of paramedics might not be tops on everyone's list as a source of comedy, Mosley says he found both laughs and camaraderie.
"It's about three friends who are riding around all day. We get a call, we flip the sirens on, and 90 percent of the time, somebody's having a panic attack and thinks they're having a heart attack, or fallen down or whatever.
"Then there's other times when it's the worst day of their life. There's a little margin where you get to move around, so it's fine. And they have to be close. There's big gallows humor in there, but they have to be close.
"It's a unique experience, to grow so close to these guys. I can really call them my friends."
Mosley is also acutely aware that he's representing people who hold the lives of others in their hands.
"I did this movie where I played a fireman," he says. "We were on a firetruck, and we were driving around Astoria, Queens, and we drove by this little kid. He's looking up at me in awe. He thought I was a real fireman, so I waved at him. He waves back, and you can see his eyes light up.
"These guys are real guys, and they're the real deal. We're actors. We get paid to say lines and hit a mark and have run, but none of us is curing cancer or running into burning buildings. I've played a cop; I've played a detective, done ride-alongs with detectives.
"I have such awe for what they do. It's so humbling, because it's the real thing. We're just playing pretend."
Photo/Video credit: USA


text: Hearing for man accused of beating dad postponed Published: May 7, 2009 NASHUA - A city man accused of savagely beating his father, a former Nashua police chief, has switched lawyers and his probable cause hearing has been postponed. Eric Largy, 42, of 98 Pine Hill Road, has been jailed since his arrest on felony domestic violence charges after the incident April 22. He had been scheduled to appear in Nashua District Court on Wednesday for a probable cause hearing, but he and his lawyers asked Judge Michael Ryan to appoint new lawyers. "There was a breakdown in attorney-client relations," said one of his former lawyers, public defender John Newman. Largy's probable cause hearing has been rescheduled for May 13, and his bail remains at $100,000 cash only. Defendants often opt to skip a formal hearing, or use the hearing simply as a chance to argue for lower bail. There is no indication as to what might happen in Largy's case. Largy lured his 65-year-old father, former Nashua Police Chief Clifton "Doug" Largy, to his home by claiming someone had dropped off a golf club for him, Clifton Largy later told police. Eric Largy then hit his father in the back of the head, handcuffed him and strapped him with duct tape to a barber's chair, beat him repeatedly about the head and held him for nearly 12 hours. Clifton Largy was able to reach his cell phone and call his brother for help while his son was distracted when a family member phoned the house. His brother, Daniel Largy, of Litchfield, later told The Telegraph that Clifton Largy was being treated at Massachusetts General Hospital for multiple fractures in his facial bones but was expected to make a full recovery in time. Police said Eric Largy claimed he and his father had fought, his father had started it, and he acted in self-defense. Eric Largy is charged with kidnapping and second-degree assault, both felonies. His case ultimately will be prosecuted in Hillsborough County Superior Court. This article appears in the April 24 2009 issue of New Hampshire Business Review Did you like what you read here? Subscribe to New Hampshire Business Review »


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Areas of Study
On this page and other pages within the School of Energy web site, this icon indicates that the link will take you to BCIT's database of program and course information.
Program areas listed on this page may offer certificates, diplomas, and degrees not itemized below. A full list of what we offer can be found on the credentials page. Sectoral clusters of programs are listed on the industry training page.
For additional information, refer to individual program areas.
Degree ProgramsBachelor of Engineering in Mechanical (Full-time)
Bachelor of Technology in Manufacturing (Part-time)
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Refrigeration Apprenticeship
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Nondestructive Testing and Training
Power Engineering Distance and Online Education
Refrigeration Systems


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A method of fabricating a mask forms a rectangular opening within etch resistant material that overlays a substrate. The mask preferably comprises two layers of photoresist separated by a layer of light blocking material. One of the layers of photoresist is patterned per a longitudinal exposure strip, and the other per an overlap of a lateral exposure strip with the longitudinal exposure strip, so as to provide an opening for the mask where the two overlap. With this mask over a substrate, the substrate is etched to form a container therein with a rectangular cross-section corresponding to the aperture of the mask. The container is then lined with electrically conductive material, dielectric, and electrically conductive material respectively to form a capacitor in the container—e.g., a container-cell capacitor for a DRAM device.
1. A mask, comprising:
a first layer of photoresist;
a hard mask layer of radiation blocking material disposed over said first photoresist; and
a second layer of photoresist over said radiation blocking layer.
2. A mask for a substrate, comprising:
a first photoresist formed on the substrate, wherein the first photoresist includes a rectangular aperture to the substrate, wherein the rectangular aperture comprises first parallel edges and second parallel edges, and wherein the photoresist is sensitive to radiation; and
a material opaque to the radiation formed on the first photoresist, wherein the material comprises a rectangular etched region comprising third parallel edges and fourth parallel edges, and wherein the third edges coincide with the first edges, but the fourth edges do not coincide with the second edges.
3. The mask of
4. The mask of
5. The mask of
6. The mask of
7. The mask of
8. The mask of
9. The mask of
10. The mask of
11. The mask of
12. The mask of
13. The mask of
14. The mask of
15. The mask of
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17. The mask of
18. The mask of
19. The mask of
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21. The mask of
22. The mask of
23. The mask of
24. The mask of
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 09/887,603, filed Jun. 22, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,475,921, which is a division of application Ser. No. 09/391,078, filed Sep. 2, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,410,453.
The present invention relates to a mask suitable for use in forming a container in a substrate, and more specifically to a mask having a fine geometry, rectangular opening that may be utilized to etch a substrate and define an opening or hole therein having an outline corresponding to the rectangular opening of the mask. Additionally, the present invention relates to a container-cell capacitor for a dynamic random access memory (DRAM).
An exemplary prior art dynamic random access memory (DRAM) device comprises an array of container-cell capacitors that are formed in a substrate. In the current application, the term "substrate" or "semiconductor substrate" will be understood to mean any construction comprising semiconductor material, including but not limited to bulk semiconductive materials such as a semiconductor wafer (either alone or in assemblies comprising other materials thereon), and semiconductive material layers (either alone or in assemblies comprising other materials). Further, the term "substrate" also refers to any supporting structure including, but not limited to, the semiconductive substrates described above.
One known container structure for the container-cell capacitors a memory array, comprises a container having a cylindrical or "bath-tub" shape. In a known method of fabricating a container in a substrate, with reference to FIGS. 1-3, a single layer of photoresist 12 is coated over layer 10 of, for example, borophosphosilicate glass (BPSG). Light 14, such as ultraviolet light, irradiates a select region 16 of photoresist 12 as determined by an exposure plate or reticle (not shown). Advancing to FIG. 2, photoresist 12 is developed to form opening 18. Opening 18 exposes surface 20 of layer 10. With this mask 12, layer 10 can be etched (e.g., by a reactive plasma etch) to form container 19 within layer 10, see FIG. 3. As used herein, the term "container" shall be inclusive of similar structural descriptors such as void, pocket, hole, contact opening, via and the like. A radius of curvature r1 of the container corresponds to the radius of curvature of opening 18 of mask 12. To form a capacitor, container 19 is lined with first conductive material, dielectric, and second conductive material layers respectively.
In order to minimize costs, manufactures of DRAM's strive to reduce the dimensions of the container-cell capacitors and increase the density of such cells within the array. Accordingly, some have developed a container-cell capacitor having a primarily rectangular cross-section for providing increased capacitance without sacrificing cell density. Referencing FIGS. 4A and 4B, such exemplary prior art container 19 comprises a cross-section of rectangular outline 23 offering an increase in the area of the container walls. This increased area, in-turn, increases electrode area and capacitance value of the container-cell over that which might otherwise be provided by an equivalent width cylindrical container 18.
In a prior art method of forming a mask with a rectangular aperture, referencing FIGS. 5A and 5B, insulating material 10, e.g., BPSG, is layered over a silicon wafer of a supporting substrate 21. Etch resistant material 96 is layered over insulating material 10. Etch resistant material 96 is capable of resisting an etchant that is used during subsequent etching of insulating material 10, and may comprise, e.g., nitride of about 1,000 angstroms thickness. Photoresist (not shown) is layered over the top of etch resistant material 96 and patterned to define lateral apertures therein. The lateral apertures of the photoresist are used to define lateral openings 100 into etch resistant material 96. After forming lateral openings 100 in etch resistant material 96, the first photoresist is removed.
Continuing with this particular, exemplary, prior art method, additional photoresist 94 is applied over the patterned etch resistant material 96. This new photoresist is patterned to define longitudinal openings 106 that overlap lateral openings 100, thereby defining rectangular openings 18 (FIG. 5B) at overlapping regions. Thereafter, select regions of substrate 21 are processed or etched in accordance with the openings to define containers 19. In this exemplary prior art method of forming a rectangular opening for a mask, the second photoresist is layered over the substrate and processed only after the first, lower photoresist has been fully processed. In other words, the lower photoresist is processed first, and only then is the upper layer of photoresist coated thereover and processed.
After forming this mask opening, the substrate is etched in accordance with the rectangular opening of the patterned photoresist and lower mask material, so as to provide a container within the substrate having primarily a rectangular cross-section corresponding to the rectangular opening of the mask.
In the above, exemplary, prior art method of forming a mask with a rectangular aperture, the upper photoresist is applied to the substrate only after the lower mask material has already been processed to define the lateral opening therein. In other words, the exemplary prior art sequence of steps comprises, in general, processing the first mask material, applying photoresist over the first mask material, followed by processing the photoresist. With this sequence of steps, the substrate is moved from, firstly, an etch or development station associated with processing the first mask material; to, secondly, a photoresist coat station for applying the photoresist over the processed mask material; and then back to, thirdly, an etch or resist development station to define the longitudinal openings in the photoresist. Recognizing a need in the manufacture of semiconductors to reduce handling and travel of wafers during semiconductor production flows, so as to reduce the time and costs associated with such wafer transport, the present invention proposes a new mask and method of manufacture thereof that can provide for effective and efficient semiconductor production flows.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a new mask and method of manufacture thereof, for use in forming a container for a container-cell capacitor having a rectangular cross-section, which mask and method of manufacture are capable of overcoming some of the above limitations. Furthermore, an array of containers are formed in a substrate by etching a substrate in accordance with fine geometry openings of such mask, providing for an efficient process flow.
In accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention, a method of forming a mask comprises layering radiation blocking material over a layer of first radiation sensitive material, such as photoresist. The radiation blocking material is patterned to provide a first opening therein that uncovers a portion of the layer of radiation sensitive material. Next, the layered structure is irradiated in accordance with an exposure pattern that overlaps a portion of the first opening, thereby irradiating a region of the lower radiation sensitive material. The radiation sensitive material is then developed to remove the irradiated region thereof and form an opening for the mask.
In accordance with one aspect of this embodiment, a second layer of radiation sensitive material, e.g., photoresist, is layered over the layer of radiation blocking material and patterned to provide a longitudinal opening therein and uncover a corresponding region of the radiation blocking material. A visible portion of the radiation blocking material is removed using the patterned, second layer of radiation sensitive material as a mask, thereby forming the first opening in the radiation blocking material.
Preferably, the second layer of radiation sensitive material is provided a longitudinal opening, and the lower layer of radiation sensitive material is irradiated using a lateral exposure strip that overlaps the longitudinal opening.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention, a DARC (dielectric antireflective coat) layer is provided between the light blocking material and the second photoresist.
In a further embodiment of the present invention, a mask, as outlined above, is formed over a substrate. Again, the second layer of radiation sensitive material has been patterned to provide a longitudinal opening, and lower layer of radiation sensitive material irradiated using a lateral exposure strip that overlaps the longitudinal opening to provide for a rectangular overlap region. The exposed, rectangular overlap region is developed to provide a mask aperture having a rectangular outline. Through this mask aperture, select regions of the substrate are etched to form a container therein with a rectangular cross-section corresponding to the rectangular outline of the mask aperture.
In accordance with one aspect of this embodiment, a capacitor is formed within the container, thereby providing a container-cell capacitor with a rectangular cross-section.
In accordance with yet another embodiment of the present invention, a mask comprises a layer of first photoresist, a layer of light blocking material over the first photoresist, and second photoresist over the light blocking material. A dielectric antireflective coat (DARC) is provided over the light blocking material and beneath the second photoresist. In accordance with one aspect of this embodiment, at least one of the first and second photoresists is patterned per a longitudinal exposure strip, and the other per a lateral exposure strip. The first one comprises an opening corresponding to the longitudinal exposure strip, and the other an opening corresponding to an overlap of the longitudinal and lateral exposure strips.
The present invention will be understood from reading the following description of particular embodiments, with reference to the attached drawings as illustrated below, where:
FIGS. 1-3 are partial, cross-sectional, isometric views representative of a known method of forming a known mask and cylindrical container;
FIGS. 4A-4B show planar and exploded views illustrating generally a mask over a substrate;
FIG. 5A provides a partially sectioned, isometric view of a prior art mask and container;
FIG. 5B is a planar view of FIG. 5A, illustrating generally a mask aperture over an underlying substrate;
FIGS. 6-10 provide exemplary, isometric and cross-sectional views illustrating generally fabrication of a mask in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and
FIGS. 11-14 provide exemplary cross-sectional isometric views illustrating, generally, fabrication of a container-cell capacitor in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
The present invention proposes a mask with a rectangular opening, and a new method of forming such mask which can facilitate an easy process flow that can be used, for example, in production of Dynamic Random Access Memory.
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, skipping forward with reference to FIG. 10, mask 12 comprises first and second layers 65,68 of radiation sensitive material separated by a layer 66 of radiation blocking material. In accordance with one aspect of this embodiment, layers 65,68 comprise known photoresist of about 0.5-1.0 μm thickness and layer 66 comprises a metal, for example, aluminum, of less than 1000 angstroms thickness, and more preferably between 500 and 600 angstroms. In an alternative exemplary embodiment, referencing FIG. 6A, layer 66′ further comprises a dielectric antireflective coat (i.e., DARC) layered adjacent light blocking material 84. In one aspect of this exemplary embodiment, a DARC layer 85 is formed over the layer of radiation blocking material 84 and below photoresist 68. In a further aspect of this exemplary embodiment, a DARC layer 83 is also provided over photoresist 65 and beneath the layer of radiation blocking material 84. For these exemplary embodiments, DARC layer comprise a material and thickness—e.g., α-Si or SixOyNz of about 200-1000 angstroms—appropriate for minimizing reflections of the associated process irradiation, e.g., ultraviolet light.
Turning to a method of forming such mask, with reference to FIGS. 6-11, first photoresist 65 is layered over substrate 21, with a thickness of about 3000-10,000 angstroms. Again, the term "substrate" or "semiconductor substrate" will be understood to mean any construction comprising semiconductor material, including but not limited to bulk semiconductive materials such as a semiconductor wafer (either alone or in assemblies comprising other materials thereon), and semiconductive material layers (either alone or in assemblies comprising other materials). Further, the term "substrate" also refers to any supporting structure including, but not limited to, the semiconductive substrates described above.
Further referencing FIG. 6, layer 66 comprises radiation (e.g., light) blocking material and is deposited over first photoresist 65. In an exemplary embodiment, the photoresist is sensitive to ultraviolet light and the radiation blocking material opaque to the ultraviolet light. In accordance with such embodiment, the radiation blocking material comprises a metal, for example, aluminum of 200-1,000 angstroms thickness. Next, another layer of photoresist 68 (preferably sensitive to ultraviolet light) is layered over layer 66 of the radiation blocking material.
As discussed above in accordance with certain exemplary embodiments, a dielectric antireflective coat 85 can be formed on the layer of radiation blocking material 84, as shown in FIG. 6A, for provision beneath photoresist 68. Additionally, a dielectric antireflective coat 83 might also be formed over photoresist 65 for provision beneath radiation blocking material 84.
Preferably, the material(s) of layer 66, or 66′, are formed over photoresist 65 under conditions preserving the integrity of lower photoresist 65. For example, the DARC and/or radiation blocking material layers should be deposited using known chemical vapor deposition or sputtering methods at temperatures less than 200� C.
With reference to FIG. 7, the upper layer of a photoresist 68 is irradiated 70, in a preferred embodiment using ultraviolet light, using a reticle (not shown) to pattern a longitudinal irradiated region or exposure strip 72 on photoresist 68. The irradiated region of the photoresist is developed to form longitudinal opening 74 therein as shown in FIG. 8. Opening 74 uncovers a corresponding surface region of layer 66 comprising radiation blocking material. Using the patterned, upper photoresist 68 as a mask, the uncovered region 76 of layer 66 is etched—e.g., using a reactive ion plasma 78—until reaching and uncovering a corresponding portion of the lower photoresist 65. In an exemplary embodiment, layer of radiation blocking material is etched using a known anisotropic etchant. Additionally, a brief isotropic finishing etch may be employed after the anisotropic etch so as to remove undesirable "stringers" or "slivers", which may not have completely cleared the etch window of the preceding anisotropic etch.
Continuing with reference to FIG. 9, another exposure 82 irradiates a lateral exposure strip 80 of the layered substrate structure and exposes region 86 of lower photoresist 65. Exposed region 86 of photoresist 65 is defined by where lateral exposure strip 80 overlaps longitudinal opening 74. Preferably, lateral exposure strip 82 overlaps longitudinal opening 74 with its primary axis perpendicular to that of the longitudinal opening. The photoresist is then developed to remove its irradiated region 86, thereby providing mask 12 with an opening 18 as shown in FIG. 10. In accordance with an alternative exemplary embodiment, the upper layer of photoresist 68 can be removed (leaving light blocking material 66) before the exposure and patterning of the lower layer photoresist 65.
In the exemplary embodiment depicted by FIG. 10, opening 18 has a rectangular outline that exposes a corresponding region 92 of substrate 21. Accordingly, the select visible region 92 of substrate 21 can then be processed, as permitted through opening 18 of mask 12. In a particular exemplary embodiment, select region 92 of substrate 21 is etched through opening 18 of mask 12, so as to form a void, pocket, hole, contact opening, via or container (hereinafter container) within the substrate having an outline corresponding to that of mask opening 18. In alternative exemplary applications, mask 12 can be used during deposition or implant of the select region 92 of substrate 21.
Moving on to a particular, exemplary embodiment, with reference to FIG. 11, substrate 21 comprises a known silicon wafer 24 that has already been processed through some of the steps in the production of a dynamic random access memory. Field-oxide regions 25 isolate various active regions of wafer 24. Wordlines 26 are disposed across the surface of wafer 24. The wordlines comprise poly 32 covered with silicide 34, both encapsulated by insulating materials of cap 36 and sidewalls 38. Cap 36 and sidewalls 38 prevent the silicide 34 and poly 32 of wordlines 26 from contacting and electrically shorting to neighboring electrically conductive plugs 54, 56, 58. Diffusion nodes 30 have been doped to provide electrically conductive regions within silicon wafer 24. Plugs 54, 56, 58 comprise electrically conductive material which electrically interconnect to their respective diffusion nodes 30. Insulating materials 41, 50, 64 around the walls of plug 56, serve to insulate plug 56 from adjacent plugs 54,58. Insulating material 40, disposed above and between certain wordlines over the field-oxide isolation regions 25, serve to separate the various memory cell units from their adjacent other memory cell units. Insulating material 10 overlays wafer 24 and its various wordline and plug structures. In an exemplary embodiment, insulating material 10 comprises an oxide such as borophosphosilicate glass (BPSG) or tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) deposited silicon. Preferably, the outwardly facing surface 9 of insulating material 10 has been planarized, for example, by a known planarization proces such as chemical-mechanical-polishing (CMP).
Moving on to FIGS. 12-13, mask 12 (of a particular embodiment of the present invention as described above) is formed over substrate 21. An anisotropic plasma etch is used to etch exposed regions 92 of insulating material 10 of substrate 21. The etch continues sufficiently until exposing portions of plugs 58,54, thereby forming containers 19 of generally rectangular outlines 23 corresponding to the outlines of openings 18 of mask 12. Upon forming containers 19, mask 12 is removed.
The protective materials of cap 50 and spacers 64 are different from insulating material 10 so that insulating material 10 can be etched more favorably relative (selective to) cap 50 and spacers 64. Accordingly, the protective cap 50 and spacers 64 keep plug 56 isolated from the neighboring containers 19. In one exemplary embodiment, when insulating material comprises oxide, protective cap 50 and spacers 64 comprise nitride.
Continuing with reference to FIG. 14, electrically conductive material 110 is layered within containers 19, using a known deposition procedure. In an exemplary embodiment, conductive material 110 comprises hemispherical grain (HSG) polysilicon and is deposited before removal of mask 12. These conductive linings in containers 19 will serve as storage node electrodes for the resulting container-cell capacitors to be formed therein. Dielectric 111, for example, silicon nitride or tantalum pentoxide, is then deposited over conductive material 110. Finally, electrically conductive material 112 is deposited over dielectric 111, providing upper electrodes for capacitors 42,46. By way of the present invention, container-cell capacitors 42,46, have been formed in containers of rectangular or square cross-section, thereby providing greater electrode areas over that which would otherwise be available for cylindrical containers as represented by phantom lines 17 of FIG. 13.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/076,324 entitled "Methods of Electrically Contacting to Conductive Plugs, Methods of Forming Contact Openings, and Methods of Forming Dynamic Random Access Memory Circuitry", (97-1200), and U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,651,855 and 5,858,877, hereby incorporated by reference, provide exemplary known etching and deposition chemistries.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a mask and method of forming such mask with a fine geometry, rectangular aperture. Further, such mask can be used to form a container of rectangular cross-section within a substrate. Additionally, a container-cell capacitor can be formed within the container to provide a capacitor of electrode area and capacitance greater than that of a similar diameter cylindrical container.
Although the foregoing invention has been described in certain preferred embodiments, other embodiments will become apparent, in view of the disclosure herein. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the independent claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes thereto which come within the meaning and range of the equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within the scope of the claims.
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Psychology Focus
The Psychology Focus Series, edited by Perry Hinton of Thames Valley University, provides students with a new focus on key topic areas in psychology.
It supports students taking modules in psychology, whether for a psychology degree or a combined programme, and those renewing their qualifications in a related discipline.
Each short book:
- presents clear, in-depth coverage of a discrete area with many applied examples
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I just loved the way ODC products are packaged with the "handmade" tag and the ODC ribbon. It was such a fun package to get in the mail. The purple edges you see are the toddler sized Terry Square in Grape, and the one on top is the infant size in Natural.
The Super Doublers are a fantastic addition to any cloth diaper stash. They come in a package of two and are made of three layers of bamboo fleece. At 3.75 inches wide by 21 inches long, these are a great size to fit in any diaper you have! I used these as doublers for many different flat folds and they fit great in all of them. I discovered that I could use both of these with the toddler sized Square as an overnight option for my heavy wetter! I just laid them in my fold and then folded the extra length back over itself in the front since Ava is a tummy sleeper and needs that front absorbency.
This is the Infant sized Terry Square in a Neat Fold on Ava. I like to use a size one Snappi for many flat folds and it worked great on this one. The Infant Sized Square is 23.5" x 23.5" and according to the ODC website should fit from birth up to 25+ pounds. Ava is 26 pounds right now and I still had a lot of room to have this fit her, so you can definitely use this size for a long time. The size and absorbency you get do depend on what flat fold you use, but so far every fold has fit great. The bamboo terry cloth is very stretchy, so that helps to get a nice smooth fit and helps to make a smaller flat fit longer!
You can see in this picture just how nice and trim the flat is. I am in love with the squishy bamboo terry that these squares are made of! Some terry cloth flats have a smooth side and a looped side, but the fabric that ODC uses has the plush loops on both sides! I found that the fabric was really easy to either Snappi or pin depending on my mood and how still Ava would hold for me.
The Toddler Sized Terry Square is 28" x 28", and fits from 20-40 lbs. This larger size could be folded to fit smaller babies than 20 pounds but it will be bulkier, so ODC offers options so that you can get a trim fit on any size baby. I personally loved the larger size. I could tell that the extra 4.5 inches on each side gave quite a bit more absorbency and I can see how this size will fit Ava longer than the Infant size. This picture above is the Toddler size in an Origami Fold with a single pin for closure.
If you want a Terry Square for a newborn but don't want to fold an Infant or Toddler size down to a newborn size, ODC offers a Newborn Size Terry Square! The newborn size is 16" x 16" and will fit from birth to 15+ pounds. If you need help deciding what size to get check out this post from ODC that talks about how the different sizes came about and how each of them fits.
Overall, we love these flats and doublers! I was so excited that the doublers plus the Toddler sized flat can work as a nighttime option for us, and I love using these for naps as well. Both the flats and the doublers handwashed really well during the Flats Challenge, too. One thing that I discovered during the Flats Challenge was that these Terry Squares remain soft even with handwashing and air drying. Many of my standard cotton flats would get super stiff and kind of rough, but the ODC terry flats stayed soft with every wash! The absorbency of these flats is just amazing to me: they hold a ton of liquid. If you are using flats for the cost savings, you might see the price of these and balk somewhat, but I really think that they are worth the extra money. I would recommend that any flats using family get at least a couple of these to supplement their stash with a highly absorbent option. If you are just a cloth diaper addict then you need to try ODC if you haven't already. The squishiness is irresistible to a cloth diaper addicted mama! Check ODC out on Facebook and on her website, where the Terry Squares are open for a pre-order right now.


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Spring is always in the air with this set of three gorgeous glass roses! A unique design concept featuring chic lifelike glass flowers, this collection artfully brings summertime into your home regardless of the season! A stunning glass rose is a great companion to any vase. These lifelike perfections can grow among floral arrangements or act as an accent piece alone or in groups.
California residents only: "Proposition 65" WARNING


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June 2012 Wood-Fired Newsletter
The June 2012 Wood-Fired Newsletter from Forno Bravo is here!
In This Issue
Fun New Package for Our Extra Virgin Olive Oil
The Revamped Forno Bravo Store
Peter's Corner: Dough FAQ
Recipe: Wood-Oven S'mores
Special Offer: Got Wood? T-Shirt With Oven Purchase
Read online: Wood-Fired Newsletter | June 2012 | No. 39; New FB Store & Wood-Oven S'mores
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The offensive was part of the later stages of the Croatian War of Independence (Domovinski rat, Homeland war) and seen as a precursor for larger, more ambitious and more decisive Operation Storm.
Initially, the territory of the SAO Western Slavonia was relatively large and the rebel forces could theoretically advance north to the Hungarian border and sever the link between Zagreb and Osijek. In such case the Virovitica-Sisak-Karlovac-Karlobag line would have been established.
In reality, the territory of the SAO Western Slavonia was mostly hills and forests with relatively poor communication infrastructures. Establishing and maintaining a base for such ambitious operations required more resources than the Serbian government was willing or able to invest. As a result, the SAO Western Slavonia didn't receive as much support from the Yugoslav People's Army as other parts of the RSK did. Most of its forces were local militias, poorly trained, lightly armed and unable to match their Croatian counterparts.
This situation became apparent in late 1991 when local Croatian forces, armed and equipped from the captured JNA garrison in nearby Varaždin, conducted a series of offensives which ultimately reduced SAO Western Slavonia to a relatively small pocket centered around Okučani. It is believed that the Sarajevo armistice in January 1992 saved the forces of the Serb Krajina from being pushed across the River Sava and the SAO Western Slavonia from disappearing altogether.
The position of the rebel area in Western Slavonia became even more precarious with the escalation of Bosnian War. It became quite clear that the position of the rebels in Western Slavonia in such circumstances was untenable in the long run. Veljko Džakula and a group of other local rebel Serb politicians in 1992 and 1993 started secret negotiations with the Croatian government about eventual peaceful transfer of the rebel areas in Western Slavonia under Croatian authority.
On February 18, 1993 Croatian and local Serb leaders (led by Džakula) signed the Daruvar Agreement. The Agreement was kept secret and was working towards normalizing life for the locals on the battlefield line. However, the Knin authorities learned of the deal - and Džakula was arrested by the authorities of the RSK and replaced by hardliners.
The UN negotiators saw this development as an encouraging sign that the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia could be ended peacefully. The authorities of Croatia and the rebel areas in Western Slavonia were encouraged to take part in various confidence building programs like family reunions. Some of those programs began to bear fruit in late 1994. The most important was the opening of the Zagreb-Županja Motorway for Croatian traffic.
In late April 1995 there was an inter-ethnic incident which resulted in the deaths of a number of Croats and Serbs and in the disruption of the motorway. Hrvoje Sarinic, Franjo Tudjman's former Cabinet Chief, confirmed under cross-examination at the Milosevic trial a transcript detailing the then Croatian leadership's plan to stage an incident as a pretext for the offensive on May 1st, although no linkage was shown to the abovementioned incident. Hrvoje Sarinic, as a witness at the same trial, downplayed the significance of such a plan, pointing out there were many incidents daily, and to his own exepriences at being refused entry on the motorway, problems with reopening the oil pipeline, and finally stating that he was "very astonished that any incident was needed, because it was quite legitimate to free part of the country that had been occupied".
On the early morning of May 1st, Croatian Army forces (which included the elite 3rd and 5th Guards Brigades) and Special Police units began their advance from three directions. Over 7,200 soldiers and policemen participated in the operation.
Rebel forces were quickly overwhelmed and in a few hours time local commanders and civilian authorities issued orders for evacuation across the River Sava into Bosnia's Republika Srpska.
By the afternoon of May 2nd all rebel forces were evacuated and the Croatian Army had achieved all of its initial aims. One large group of rebel soldiers and civilians, including Džakula, failed to evacuate and had to surrender near Pakrac. The operation produced a total of around 1,500 Serb POWs, the largest capturing of an enemy force to date in the war.
The forces of the RSK also launched a retaliatory action against civilian targets by launching a number of cluster shells on Zagreb on May 2nd and 3rd. The attack killed 7 and injured at least 175 people. On that very same day the leader of the RSK, Milan Martić publicly took responsibility for the shelling, and that statement was used against him at his ICTY trial.
Initially, Croatian authorities reported that Croatian Army and police units had 55 fatalities during the course of the operation. In 2000, the official quote was that 33 members of the army and 9 members of the special police units were killed, and that 162 were injured. The government refused to publish a list of these casualties and only spoke in general numbers, causing some public outcry.
The outcome of the operation was not surprising, considering the huge disparity in numbers, equipment, training and, ultimately, morale between two opposing sides. However, it proved to be major boost for Croatian Army and it tested procedures and tactics that would be employed in Operation Storm with even more wide-ranging results.
The UNPROFOR also removed itself from the former UNPA Sector West, but did not make any effort to oppose the Croatians since the October 1993 Security Council resolution affirmed that the United Nations Protected Areas were an integral part of the Republic of Croatia.
Among Serbs in the RSK and the Republic of Srpska, Operation Flash caused huge demoralisation. The 500 km² of the SAO Western Slavonia was not only the first major part of the RSK to be erased from the maps; it also proved the untenability of the Greater Serbian project under the new circumstances. Rebel Serbs from Western Slavonia not only failed to get support from Serbia proper, but also from Republika Srpska.
Operation Flash is also notable for the professional conduct of Croatian military and police. There were very few reports about reprisals and/or atrocities against POWs or Serb civilians, which later represented a sharp contrast to the more controversial aftermath of Operation Storm. The U.N. Secretary General´s Personal Representative, Yasushi Akashi said that "massive" human right abuses have taken place during the offensive. A subsequent and in-depth Human Rights Watch investigation showed there were only isolated incidents and criticized the Secretary General for his preemature and counterproductive statement.
Gojko Sušak had claimed that 454 people were killed in the Operation on the Serbian side. The Croatian Helsinki estimated that 83 Serb civilians died, while Veritas came to a total figure of 283 killed Serbs (both military and civilian).
The Croatian Government's commission on missing and captured persons composed a list of 168 fatalities together with places of burial, of which 79 bodies were identified. Veritas, a Serbian organization, run by former rebel Serb intelligence officer, composed its own list which has another 113 people listed as missing as a result of the Operation Flash.