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The continuing rise in the cost of health care is increasing the level of scrutiny and risk associated with an employer's benefit plan. Most employers maintain some sort of responsibility for their employees' health care coverage, but they may engage a third party administrator and/or purchase insurance to cover larger losses. Rising costs have increased the stress on these relationships.
The financial stress has shown itself in a number of different ways. For instance, insurers have a dramatically increased incentive to perform audits or deny reimbursement under "stop loss" coverage. The lack of adequate documentation or records will also tend to cause problems between employers and employees. Moreover, employees who are no longer actively working can get "lost" in the employer's human relations system, which leads to rapidly escalating complications for a business.
In the present environment, many businesses have stop loss insurance that covers catastrophic losses, but the companies themselves are responsible for typical, medical expenses incurred by employees. In this situation, the employer's responsibility to its employees is controlled by an employee benefit "plan." In contrast, the insurer's responsibility to the employer is controlled by an insurance policy. Unfortunately, the language in the plan is not always consistent with the policy issued by the insurer.
Situations arise in which an employer gets trapped between the restrictions in the insurer's policy, the coverage provided by the plan, or a summary plan description ("SPD") provided to employees. For example, many stop loss carriers provide reimbursement only for medical expenses incurred by employees who are actively at work. At the same time, employers may have leave policies or provide benefits to employees suffering family or medical problems. The result can be trouble obtaining reimbursement for the employee's medical expenses.
Please see full newsletter below for more information.
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Rip placed 4th
Type: Posts; User: 2 labs
Rip placed 4th
Thanks John for the update on the Q
Any information on the Q
WOW !!! Congratulations !!!!!! to John and Amie
1st in the Open
1st in the Qual
1st in the Derby
Congratulations Peter & Delilah for 3rd in the derby & finishing the Q
Love my 50qt Yeti, for me it was worth the money. It works great for the FT & HT games.
I have a gunx and love it
Thanks, she sounds like a nice little girl :)
Looking to hear some updated info on the Tubb pups. I know that he is only 50% of the ingredients But I'm interested in that 50%
Green Monster
I bought a used 3 hole Ainley from a private party.I didn't get the keys with it, so I called Ainley & they sent me keys at no charge. I have nothing but good things to say Ainley.
Thank you for posting the results
looking for some call backs in the Qual ?
Thanks Missy
I guess nobody knows anything about the Qual ?
Any news on the Q ?
Congratulations to Peter & Delilah with the RJ in the Derby
Anyone have the results on the Open or on the Q ?
Thank you for posting the Q placements
I met Jewell about 3 years ago and would see her at all the field trials here in Southern California. She was very helpful and a huge asset to the retriever community.
I was very sad to hear about...
Any info on the Qual ?
The results are posted on EE
Results are now posted on EE
Any updates on the DERBY ??
Congratulations Peter all that training paid off She is a talented girl

subset: commoncrawl


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Pleasure Wars by Peter Gay
Pleasure Wars
by Peter Gay
Norton. 324 pp. $29.95
"Victorian" and "bourgeois" have become distinctly less acceptable as synonyms for hypocritical and philistine in the wake of the Yale historian Peter Gay's monumental reexamination of 19th-century European and American culture. His revisionist history has taken shape in five volumes bearing the collective title The Bourgeois Experience: Victoria to Freud. The burden of the whole has been to show the variety and complexity of bourgeois life through a focus on certain fundamental human passions.
Gay's researches into the inner life of the bourgeoisie have yielded volumes on sex and love (Education of the Senses and The Tender Passion), the inclination to aggression (The Cultivation of Hatred), and strategies for ennobling the bourgeois self (The Naked Heart). In this fifth and final volume, Pleasure Wars, he takes up the formation of taste and the emergence of modernism in the arts. The memorable verdict of the first volume—"Bourgeois eros ranged from extreme repression to unabashed libertinism, but for the average couple, there seems to have been far greater sexual pleasure, for both partners, than we have been led to believe"—finds its counterpart in this new realm. Just as lots of Victorians liked sex, so too, lots of them had taste.
This was not, needless to say, the verdict reached by contemporary vilifiers of the middle class. Gay begins with these self-avowed "bourgeoisophobes," novelists like Gustave Flaubert whose loathing of "stupid grocers" (his all-purpose epithet for the bourgeoisie) was so intense that it left him nauseated. Philosophers as diverse as Marx and Nietzsche added to the abusive caricature, and their slanders came to be accepted as reportage.
The middle class did have its defenders, however, even among the ranks of fringe-dwelling artists. The poet Charles Baudelaire, for instance, referred to the bourgeoisie as "the natural friends of the arts." Taking his cue from such surprising allies, Gay argues that the bourgeoisie, far from being "the sworn adversary" of unconventional art, as the standard view would have it, was in fact its principal backer, not least of all financially.
This intersection of commerce and culture is a leading theme of Pleasure Wars. Gay goes to great lengths to describe what the various strata of the bourgeoisie could purchase in the way of artistic expression and cultural goods. Thus, by setting out the pricing of opera tickets in Munich right down to the last pfennig, he shows how an impecunious student attending a special matinee might enjoy the same performance as a local notable at a world premiere. Such accessibility meant that culture was less and less the preserve of aristocrats and magnates.
The upper echelons did exercise a guiding influence, however. In one especially interesting chapter, Gay compares the elites of Manchester and Munich. In Manchester, arts patronage was entirely in the hands of enterprising and highly educated merchants and manufacturers, many of them assimilated German-Jewish immigrants like the calico printer Hermann Leo and the Jewish-born Unitarian Salis Schwabe. By contrast, the tone in Munich was set by the royal house of Ludwig I and Ludwig II, the latter of whom was Richard Wagner's besotted patron. In this contest between "self-help and state sponsorship," Gay gives the laurels to Manchester, attesting to the reality of the city's motto: "By the gains of Industry we promote Art."
With the democratization of the cultural scene, a need arose for new authorities. Enter the critics and reviewers who became the guides to pleasure and the guardians of opinion. According to Gay, the foremost of these "acknowledged legislators"—writers like William Hazlitt and Matthew Arnold in England, or C.A. Sainte-Beuve in France—were themselves "bourgeois refining the palate of other bourgeois." Their intent was frankly pedagogical, and their audience included not only the public but artists themselves. "It is striking testimony to the anxiety of creative spirits in the presence of critics," writes Gay, "that beginning in the 1880's, [the painter Claude] Monet subscribed to two clipping services."
Not everyone checked in with the critics first. Gay devotes two chapters to independent-minded collectors, particularly highlighting the role they played in the eventual success of the Impressionists. Interestingly, wealth was not a prerequisite for significant acquisition. Among the earliest discoverers of Cezanné was Victor Chocquet, a chief clerk in the customs house in Paris. Despite his quite limited means, Chocquet was able to assemble a truly impressive collection of modern French art, including works by Delacroix, Monet, Pissarro, and Renoir and more than 30 paintings by his beloved Cézanne.
Gay is aware, of course, that such affection for the avant-garde was hardly universal among the bourgeoisie. Throughout Pleasure Wars, one encounters members of the middle class on every side of the 19th century's disputes over art, from staunch traditionalists to votaries of the new. For Gay, however, these very controversies and divisions promoted the eventual victory of modernism.
The bourgeois, Gay observes,
performed their historic service to modernism almost as much by reviling as by endorsing it; they gave it the kind of publicity the modernists would never have enjoyed without the shocked exclamations of insulted lovers of art, music, or dance.
The irony, then, is that the virulent "bourgeoisophobes" among modernist artists, like Flaubert, turned out to be dependent on the "stupid grocers" for their success, while the bourgeois themselves, whether knowingly or not, served the cultural and political aims of those intent on their destruction.
Gay's Revisionist history is a helpful counter to the tendentious caricature of the crass and priggish bourgeois. Yet when all is said and done, it is unclear what exactly he intends to put in place of the caricature. He describes his project as "a crowded, colorful, and recognizable portrait" in the pointillist style—which means that once we get sufficient distance from the bourgeois experience, it "should cohere into a whole." Yet his method achieves just the opposite effect. Though details are traced with realistic exactitude, the overall impression is a mishmash.
For Gay, to be bourgeois is to be everything, and anything: "the spectrum of bourgeois taste covered the whole range of possible expressions from the outer edges of conservatism to those of radicalism, from the support of the conventional to the equally determined support of the unconventional." Even those whose motto was "épater le bourgeois" (shock the middle class) are themselves to be called bourgeois.
Gay may be right that the pleasure wars, rather than being a struggle between bourgeois and bohemian, were really a series of internal contests within the bourgeoisie itself. If that is the case, however, it becomes imperative to explore the self-division and self-contradiction that lie at the heart of what it means to be bourgeois—something that Gay, despite his professed indebtedness to psychoanalysis, does not undertake to do. Perhaps if he had traced bourgeoisophobia back to its (non-phobic) beginnings in the thought of Rousseau, he could have helped the reader better understand the quality of "in-betweenness" that leaves the bourgeois so undefined. According to Rousseau, still the most profound student of the subject, the bourgeois "will never be either man or citizen," for he is "always in contradiction with himself, always floating between his inclinations and his duties."
An appreciation of the bourgeoisie's dissatisfaction with itself would also help to explain the eventual triumph of the avant-garde in this century—and might have led Gay to entertain more reservations about the desirability of that triumph. In our own time, after all, the obsession of artists with administering polemical shocks to bourgeois society has gone so far that art often seems to have lost all connection to pleasure, not to mention beauty and truth.
Henry James was already aware, at the close of the last century, of the dangers of an art animated by hatred of its audience. In a review of Flaubert, James wrote of "the strange weakness of [Flaubert's] mind, his puerile dread of the grocer," and asserted that this sentiment had "sterilized a whole province of French literature." What James reminds us is that artistic authenticity does not require bourgeois-bashing, and that the truest art entirely transcends the pleasure wars.


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The Grover Cleveland Park Conservancy has worked diligently with the Essex County Park System since 2001 to improve the conditions of the Grover Cleveland Park. Our initial concern was safety. With this in mind, the playground was replaced in 2003 since the old one did not meet safety standards. In 2004, the tennis courts and Children's House next to the playground were refurbished. New benches, trash receptacles and light stanchions were installed throughout the parkl. In 2006 the Pond House was renovated and the ball field was upgraded to include team and spectator benches and wing fences to protect spectators from foul balls. Iin 2006 100 dead and dangerous trees were pruned or removed. In 2011, the brook bed, wall, weir and dam were repaired. Fourteen trees were planted through the park and general maintenance and repair are kept in check.
With all of the major projects the GCPC set out to accomplish in 2001, the GCPC will now concentrate on maintaining the existing landscape, buildings and grounds. Additionally, the GCPC will work to incorporate more of the original landscape plans invisioned by the Frederick Law Olmsted Firm. Modifications will have to be made as many species chosen by Olmsted are not deer-resistant or are even now considered "invasive." Olmsted strove to create interest in his parks by introducting a variety of plants - shrubs, ornamental and hard-wood trees. It is the GCPC's goal to follow the original planting plan as a guide while adjusting it for the landscape challenges faced in the present.
The GCPC created events to bring the community in to the park and is interested in new ideas for future events. The GCPC offered a Halloween Parade, Arbor Day events, Playground Opening and May Fest. Our goal is to provide educational demonstrations and fun for the whole family. The GCPC supports two Essex County events as well – a summer concert in the park and the fishing derby every spring.
All of what the GCPC does is only possible through donations from volunteers and members. Future accomplishments depend on the interest of new volunteers.


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- 4Promote
Framed Art Print
Janelle Monáe 'Tightrope'by MAKE & CO.
Choose from a variety of frame styles, colors and sizes to compliment your favorite Society6 gallery, or fine art print - made ready to hang. Fine-crafted from solid woods, premium shatterproof acrylic protects the face of the art print, while an acid free dust cover on the back provides a custom finish. All framed art prints include wall hanging hardware.


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PrepZone: Saturday football notebook
Notes from Friday's games:
Cape Coral 24, Palmetto Ridge 14
The loss Friday night set up a tough situation in the district standings for the Bears (3-2, 0-1 in 4A-12). With a four-team district, they could find themselves facing elimination as soon as Oct. 23, when they host Baker.
"It really puts us behind the 8-ball," Palmetto Ridge coach Dan Newbrough said. "But there are four teams, and you never know what will happen. ... I've been in football long enough that you never say never."
What came as a surprise on the stat sheet was that the Bears outgained the highly touted Seahawks on offense. Because of Palmetto Ridge's possession offense that saw mostly short-yardage rushes, they had 215 yards of total offense to Cape's 165.
However, turnovers made the difference, with the Bears coughing up three fumbles, throwing one interception and allowing a blocked punt.
-- Dave Montrose
Bradenton Christian 28, St. John Neumann 6
Bradenton Christian kept its perfect record intact with a decisive win Friday night.
The Panthers (6-0, 1-0) dominated the line of scrimmage throughout the Distict 1B-6 opener as junior quarterback Sean McCarthy had his way with the Celtics secondary.
McCarthy completed a pass to eight different receivers, including a 51-yard swing pass for a score to David Schopfer in the first quarter.
"It was a very physical football game. ... St John Neumann comes in and hits you right in the mouth. I'm proud of the effort from both teams," Bradenton Christian coach Allan Gerber said.
The Celtics kept it close in the first half when they recovered a Schopfer fumble, and four plays later Dylan Woods found tight end Garrett Braun fading to the left corner of the end zone.
The extra point kick was blocked, and 14-6 was closest St John Neumann would get. The Celtics failed to have a running back gain over 40 yards and struggled to finish drives. Woods, a sophomore, was picked off twice and completed just three passes.
-- Chris Dell
South Fort Myers 24, North Fort Myers 7
Wolfpack quarterback Dallas Crawford didn't play favorites when it came to picking out his receivers in Friday night's game at Moody Field. His 12 completions went to five different teammates.
Crawford got off to an especially hot start, connecting on seven on his first eight passes. On his next four, though, two were incomplete and two were intercepted. He also was intercepted just before the end of the first half. If the interceptions on the long balls didn't affect Crawford's confidence, they did seem to influence the thinking of South head coach Grant Redhead.
Utilizing the power running of Josh Copeland, the Wolfpack went to more of a grind-it-out game the second half. Crawford passed only twice, completing one 6-yarder. Copeland in the second half carried it 13 times for 74 yards and for the game, he totaled 16 carries and 82 yards.
-- Tom Rife
Barron Collier 37, Cypress Lake 0
No one seems to have an answer for beating Barron Collier so far. The Cougars rolled to 6-0 after a 37-0 victory over Cypress Lake on Friday.
BC's offense dominated the first half of the game. Juniors Torrey Campbell and Travis Weber combined for a total of three touchdowns on 151 rushing yards.
Sophomore Matt Gerhardstein also got a chance to shine in the second half, picking up a touchdown and 44 rushing yards on 10 carries during the fourth quarter. Gerhardstein also made a helmetless tackle late in the game to stop a 40-yard kick return by the Panthers.
The loss of their starting qauterback Matt Schoenfeld to a knee injury has not stopped the offense, which already has over 1,600 rushing yards this season and is averaging 41 points a game.
Filling in for Schoenfeld, Julio Gomez put up 37 yards on 7 carries. Gomez also had 66 passing yards on four completions, including a 31-yard touchdown pass to Jeff Heuerman.
The defense is also stepping up, holding their opponents to an average of 12 points a game. They forced eight turnovers in the victory against the Panthers, marking their second shutout of the season.
BC will play its tough opponent yet, Naples (4-1), in two weeks, which could decide the Class 3A-District 12 championship.
-- Meghan Pezzano
Lely 34, East Lee County 3
Though the Trojans allowed the Jaguars nearly 200 yards on the ground, the Lely defense didn't buckle when it counted.
Despite the 31-point deficit, on a few occasions, East Lee had an opportunity to get back in the game, but the Trojans defense, especially the line, was able to stymie any threat.
Already trailing by two touchdowns halfway through the first quarter, the Jaguars began their third possession at their own 1 yardline after returnman Gabe Cullens took Trojans' kicker Adolfo Bedolla's kickoff in the endzone and promptly stepped out of bounds.
The reeling Jaguars drove to the Lely 12 but had to settle for a field goal, their only points of the night. On another East Lee drive in the third quarter, Trojan defensive back Vipatrick Telsunord intercepted an East Lee pass to quell the threat. The fourth turnover for the Trojans in the game.
"Defense has been our staple all year," said Lely coach Dave Miller. "They have been our strong suit."
-- Scott Clair
Lehigh 13, Golden Gate 7
Pete Fominaya was an integral part of Bill Kramer's coaching staff for four years, before landing his first head coaching job at Lehigh in February.
After dropping their first four contests, the Lightning have turned things around with wins over Lely and Golden Gate. A defensive line coach for Kramer, Fominaya learned a lot at Naples and helped the team win a state title in 2007.
"There's no better man to work for than Bill Kramer," Fominaya said. "I'm trying to build a program here like he has, there was always a family-type atmosphere with those Naples teams, and I want to have that here."
The Lightning have already become a close-knit group under Fominaya, one that didn't waver after the 0-4 start.
"I'm truly blessed to be where I'm at right now," he said. "We've got a great group of kids here. They've bought into what we've taught them, and it's nice to see some positive results."
--Andrew Sodergren
Cape Coral-Baker 48, Gulf Coast 7
There weren't many bright spots for Gulf Coast during Friday's 48-7 loss at undefeated Cape Coral-Baker in the both teams' Class 4A-District 12 opener.
But junior quarterback Austin Masse provided a ray of hope in case Darby McCormick cannot return in time for the district matchup against Cape Coral on Oct. 23, after the Sharks' offweek. McCormick, a junior, suffered a broken collarbone in Week 3.
Masse went 10 of 17 for 95 yards, including the 56-yard scoring combo with Kyle Huff. Under extreme pressure, Masse also managed 22 yards on 11 carries.
"He came in and made some good reads and did a good job for us," said Gulf Coast coach Frank Tudryn.
So Masse is the guy until McCormick returns?
"Yeah, right now, till we get Darby healthy," Tudryn said. "We'll find out (about McCormick's status) Monday, going to the doctor Monday. I don't think he'll be ready for Cape, but we have an off-week and you never know."
-- Dana Caldwell
DeSoto County 61, Estero 27
It's been another tough season for the Estero Wildcats and injuries certainly haven't helped. Friday was more of the same as sophomore quarterback Ryan Sides left in the second quarter after a helmet-to-helmet collision.
Sides walked off under his own power and was taken to the hospital for evaluation. Whether or not he can return remain for Friday's game against Fort Myers remains in question.
Senior Will Davis, who started the season at quarterback and safety, also remains out after suffering a hairline fracture in his ankle in the opener. Davis had his cast removed Thursday but is likely at least two weeks away from contributing in a game.
That leaves head coach Rich Dombroski with limited options if Sides can't play.
"Both our quarterback on JV are freshmen so I wouldn't do that," he said. "But we'll figure something out. I don't know what yet but we'll do something."
Junior Colin Lewis filled in to the tune of 4-of-10 passing for 66 yards and two interceptions.
The good news for Estero fans, however, is that senior wide receiver John Pencil could return this week. Pencil missed the last two games after hyper extending his knee against Palmetto Ridge.
"As soon as it will go I can go on it," Pencil said. "I went to the doctor and he said it was fine but I tried running on it and practicing on it all week and it's just been giving me problems."
Pencil ran as late as Friday afternoon but said he still wasn't able to go full speed.
Dombroski said Pencil participated in practice Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday but it was clear the receiver was still experiencing pain.
"You could tell by just the look in his eye that his body isn't ready for it; his knee isn't ready for it," Dombroski said. "If he comes back next week that's tremendous. If he doesn't and we're going to lose him for one more week lets at least get him ready for Hardee, our second district game."
-- Eric McKinney
Wauchula-Hardee 48, Immokalee 6
Immokalee couldn't have had a more trying introduction to its Class 2A-6 season than it did in Friday night's 48-6 defeat at the hands of Hardee.
The Indians faced a Wildcats ground attack that averaged nearly 13 yards a carry and saw four different ball carriers find the end zone in the game.
"I thought we were ready to play," Immokalee head coach Israel Gallegos said after Friday's game. "We had a good week of practice, but we just couldn't match their energy."
Luck wasn't on the Indians' side, either. Their starting quarterback, Tshumbi Johnson, fell awkwardly while scrambling from defensive pressure late in the first quarter, when Hardee's lead was just 14-0. Johnson left the game with an ankle injury and never returned.
"We had a few guys get banged up out there tonight," Gallegos said. "But that happens."
The Indians left their fair share of opportunities on the field as well. Several passes were dropped by different Immokalee receivers – one of them was a fairly tough catch falling backwards in the end zone, and another came on a botched defensive coverage that left a man wide open near the sideline. Both balls hit the receivers in the numbers before being dropped.
"The dropped passes continue to bother us," Gallegos said. "But, you know, we can't point out just one thing we did wrong. We played a good team tonight."
Hardee has now outscored its opponents 168-36 through the first five games of the season.
-- Jason Elek
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Faith Rising: The Death Penalty and the Quest for Community Justice. A death penalty panel discussion on race and class in the American Criminal Justice System 40 years after the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy.
Women Veterans: Celebrating Service and Fighting for Change
Plugging Pasadena's School-to-Prison Pipeline
As Governor Arnold Swartzenegger and the Democratic-controlled state legislature strip education funding wholesale to meet California's budget collapse, Pasadena's public school district offers a microcosm of the woes besetting school districts that are already in crisis across the state. Recent months have seen a drumbeat of distressing reports of alarmingly high dropout rates in Pasadena's […]


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Rose to help Colbert Busch in 1st District
CHARLESTON (AP) — Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch is getting help in her race for South Carolina's1st District congressional seat from someone who has tried before.
Colbert Busch said Wednesday that Bobbie Rose will serve as a special adviser to her campaign. Rose ran for the seat last year by was defeated by incumbent U.S. Rep. Tim Scott.
Scott's seat was left vacant when he was appointed to the U.S. Senate seat left vacant by the resignation of Jim DeMint.
Rose had planned to run again, but decided not to just prior to Monday's filing deadline.
Colbert Busch is the sister of comedian Stephen Colbert and is one of three Democrats running.
There are 16 Republicans, including former Gov. Mark Sanford. The district runs from the Charleston area to Hilton Head Island.
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It's finally official --Heather Locklear returns to Melrose Place!
Amanda Woodward aka bodacious blonde Heather Locklear, 47 returns to the new re-do Melrose Place on the CW with the November 17th ep, RadarOnline.com reports.
Scheming ad boss Heather who made residents of Melrose squirm in their own day-glo scrunchies was last seen faking her own death in the 1999 finale of the original series.
"We're ecstatic to have the chance to bring Amanda Woodward back to Melrose Place," show runners Todd Slavkin & Darren Swimmer (formerly of Smallville) said.
"Heather's involvement in the show is something we've been working on for some time as we couldn't imagine creating and producing this show without the iconic character's inclusion."
The ENQUIRER first reported Heather was in talks to visit Melrose months ago, natch. Guess they finally made her a financial offer she couldn't refuse.
Prior to Melrose, Locklear had been a regular on Bill Shatner cop show T.J. Hooker and glam soaper Dynasty.


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Step 1: Gather your supplies
* Polystyrene sphere (mine is 4 inches)
* Scalloped circle paper punch (I have used Creative Memories)
* Craft Glue
* Brads
* Chalking Ink (I have used 'Ash Rose' and 'Gingerbread' for a vintage look)
* A length of Dowel Rod (for stem)
* Ribbon and lace for embellishing
Step 2: Make your flowers
Take each layer and scrunch upwards. The scrunchier, the better.
Step 3: Time to assemble
Glue the flowers onto the sphere closely together. You can use sewing pins to hold the flowers in place while the glue dries and then remove them once the glue has dried.
I have used between 50 to 60 flowers altogether. (Each flower has the 7 layers)
I have used a chalking ink on these to give them a light vintage look. If you were to use a juicy ink pad (Close to my Heart, Stampin up brands etc) with a dauber, you'd get a much deeper colour. I tried a spray ink / mister and when it dried, the flower changed shape and lost it's crunched look. Still looked great but not right for my topiary.
I am rather new to inking so hopefully the above info is helpful. Thanks for taking the time to look and comment :)
Thank you :)
I did steal a bit of silicone / glue from the hubby's workshop to hold the foam in place in the dish. It hasn't tipped over yet. Fingers crossed :)
this is so cute! ill have to try it sometime!
Thank you. I was planning on gifting this but the more I look at it, the more it looks great on display in my living room :)
lol! I know the feeling; you work so hard perfecting something crafty that it seems like a crime to pass it along...
:) Perhaps one day I'll dust it off and pass it along, but 'til then.......
Very cute decoration :D
Thank you :)


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The carcasses of a rhino cow and her calf were found on the side of the road near the game farm.
NORTH WEST - Two rhino have been poached at the Mafikeng game reserve, bringing the number of attacks in the North West province to 13 over the past six weeks.
The carcasses of a rhino cow and her calf were found on the side of the road near the game farm on Wednesday.
The cow had been dehorned.
The grim discovery follows an attack on 11 rhino at the Hartzhoogte Game Farm in the North West, where nine animals died from their wounds.
The reserve's Louis Coetzee said they found empty shells on the scene and bullet heads were discovered in the carcasses.
More than 500 rhino have been killed in South Africa since the start of 2012.
(Edited by Katleho Mogase)
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Poets often describe love as an emotion that we can't control, one that overwhelms logic and common sense.. That's what it was like for me.. I didn't plan on falling in love with you, and I doubt if you planned on falling in love with me.. but once we met, it was clear that neither of us could control what was happening to us.. We fell in Love, despite our … [Read more...]
Circuitous dreams, quirk of fate, That the heart undulates amid fields of gold. Beauty speaks through her raven tufts, And so in a whit of time a heart is sold. Too much can be said in a furtive glance, That two lovers do steal off the thralls of chance. Thus she spake to me in a parlance too old, All lovers have braced in warmth or cold. Then the calmness of the … [Read more...]
Lover of Leaving
He told himself he was'nt ready for love No one sees his pain He rolled towards me,I kissed him on the cheek. Did he see it ? could he feel it? The love that had been there all along. He's ready to leave,he always was. His breath catches his throat He's saying his prayers Im praying he stays My blood just stopped flowing Walking away,stopping Goodbye,he says The … [Read more...]
We will be complete
Life is moving faster than ever, Everything around us is moving. "Is life driving us or is it us who are the drivers"? Hold my hand and don't fear, So what if our end is near, The time we have, we will share. Away from home, there is a home inside us... Away from love, We love each-other... I will take the sorrow and always be there, To hold you in my arms, my … [Read more...]
LOVE.. after all..!
Then he walks into your life with a smile, A silent whisper and a kiss, You are no longer broken... Your world of grey becomes a little brighter... a little more colorful. The more time you spend with him, The more complete your once fragile, shattered heart becomes... Until one morning you wake up just like that... You are in LOVE! And the grass is greener, the sky … [Read more...]


text: This is the 2nd generation APU processor from AMD with the architecture code named "Pile Driver". These perform about 6% better than the previous generation Bulldozer CPUs. It however does not match an Ivy Bridge i3 in single-thread performance. However, at $99 you get a Quad-core processor and can blow away i3 Dual-Core Ivy Bridges in multi-threaded optimized programs. The onboard GPU also features the same architecture found in the GTX6900 series of video cards.


text:
A below grade utilities connections vault is disclosed. The vault of the present invention comprises a concrete box with lockable, hinged lid. A floor platform lies at a distance above the bottom of the box such that utilities cables enter the box below the level of the floor. A hinged utilities wiring frame is mounted to the wall opposite the lid hinge such that the frame hinges down into the box when the vault is closed and into a vertical position for making connections. A safety barrier is formed by the lid, the wiring frame, and barrier arms which hinge between them surrounds the vault, when open. A venting system provides egress for gasses and equalization of pressure between the interior and exterior of the vault.
1. A below grade utilities vault comprising:
a chamber, said chamber having:
a bottom and
four walls, said four walls being substantially normal to said bottom and to each other, and
a lid, said lid hinged at a top edge of one of said walls and substantially parallel said bottom when in a closed position;
lid lift assist means for assisting a user in lifting said lid to an open position;
locking means for securing said lid in a closed position;
sealing means for sealing said lid against said four walls to prevent ingress of water into the interior of said vault;
venting means for venting gasses from said chamber when said lid is in a closed position and equalizing air pressure between the interior and exterior of said vault;
utilities access means for allowing passage of utilities lines into and out from the interior of said vault;
step means for aiding in descent into and ascent from the interior of said vault;
barrier means for providing a safety barrier around the perimeter of said vault when said lid is in an open position;
flooring means for providing a standing surface, said standing surface being above said bottom and said utilities access means; and
mounting means for mounting utilities connections at a level above said flooring means.
2. A below grade utilities vault, as defined in
3. A below grade utilities vault, as defined in
4. A below grade utilities vault, as defined in
5. A below grade utilities vault, as defined in
a cavity recessed within an outer surface of said lid,
a lockable cover hingedly attached at a side of said cavity,
a locking mechanism mounted within said lockable cover such that said lockable cover may be secured in a closed position lockably sealing said cavity, and
a hasp extending upwardly from of one of said walls through a bottom surface of said cavity, said hasp adapted to receive a pad lock.
6. A below grade utilities vault, as defined in
7. A below grade utilities vault, as defined in
8. A below grade utilities vault, as defined in
9. A below grade utilities vault, as defined in
10. A below grade utilities vault, as defined in
11. A below grade utilities vault, as defined in
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to below grade utilities vaults. More particularly, the invention comprises a vault, having a openable top which may be installed flush with a ground surface, providing a dry, secure chamber for housing utilities connections.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Subterranean chambers are frequently used for utilities connections, especially in urban areas, where above ground space is at a premium or there is a strong desire to maintain an aesthetically pleasing landscape. While the vaults are below ground level, it is desirable to maintain a dry, environment which is conducive to maintaining the utilities connections in a good condition and acceptable working conditions for those who must install and service them.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,304,444 B1, issued to Charles D. Combs, et al., on Oct. 16, 2001, presents an UNDERGROUND CENTRALIZED POWER SUPPLY/BATTERY VAULT. An above ground unit having an intake fan and a discharge fan forces outside air to flow through a multi-chambered, partially submerged vault. A ducted, positive airflow is maintained such that air flows from the first chamber to the second chamber, preventing contaminated air from flowing from the second chamber to the first. With the exception of air ducts, the vault of Combs provides no ingress/egress for utilities, but rather provides a chamber for storage.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,006,944, issued to Charles G. Machledt on Dec. 28, 1999, a BATTERY STORAGE VAULT is disclosed. An underground vault having a ground level, openable top is connected by a conduit to a separate equipment vault, thereby separating batteries and the associated gas fumes from the equipment. A separate ventilation system prevents fumes from migrating to the equipment vault.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,360,652, issued to Roy E. Uptegraff, Jr., on Dec. 26, 1967, discloses a TRANSFORMER HOUSING CONSTRUCTION. A vertical housing having a back, two side walls, and a front having a removable door cover is joined to a top and a bottom such that a gap is formed between the vertical housing and the top and bottom. Airflow through the upper and lower gaps provides cooling to a transformer housed within the construction.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.
The present invention fulfills the need for a dry, secure, below grade housing for utilities connections, especially those utilities using wire type transmission lines, in an outdoor environment. In such applications, it is desirable to have connection terminals which may be conveniently accessed without the need for working in cramped quarters, without requiring a large work area. The present invention provides a wiring frame which may be stored horizontally within a below grade vault, but hinged into a vertical, above grade, position, for making connections.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a below grade utilities connections vault which may be easily installed in a below grade position.
It is another object of the invention to provide a below grade utilities connections vault which may be easily accessed for making utilities connections in a convenient working environment.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a below grade utilities connections vault which incorporates features to ensure public safety when in an open position.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a below grade utilities connections vault which is secure against unauthorized access and tampering.
An additional object of the invention is to provide a below grade utilities connections vault which has sufficient weight to resist the effects of ground water lift.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a below grade utilities connections vault with an external stepped flair around the bottom thereof to help lock the vault in place by the weight of gravel/soil compacted thereabove.
It is again an object of the invention to provide a below grade utilities connections vault which is ventilated to ensure exit of gasses and equalization of pressure between the interior and exterior thereof.
It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof in an apparatus for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.
These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.
Various other objects, features, and attendant advantages of the present invention will become more fully appreciated as the same becomes better understood when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same or similar parts throughout the several views, and wherein:
FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of the vault of the present invention with the lid open.
FIG. 2 is a partially cut away perspective view of the vault of the present invention showing the removable floor.
FIG. 3 is a partially cut away perspective view of the vault of the present invention showing the seat/step.
FIG. 4 is a rear perspective view of the open vault of the present invention showing the wiring frame in a raised position.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a portion of the upper surface of the lid of the present invention showing the locking system.
Referring first to FIGS. 1 thru 4, the below grade utilities vault 1 of the present invention, in its most simplistic elements, consists of a substantially rectilinear box 10 with a lid 30.
Box 10 has a bottom 12, a first wall 14 a, a second, opposite wall 14 b, and two end walls 14 c, each wall 14 being substantially normal to each of the two adjacent walls 14 and to bottom 12. Box 10 is preferably formed of fiber reinforced concrete, thereby providing weight substantial enough to prevent box 10 from floating in the event of rising ground water. It would-be evident to one skilled in the art, however, that box 10 could be formed of a variety of other materials, such as, but not limited to, fiberglass, which are resistant to the effects of ground contact, such as oxidation or other forms of deterioration, providing the vault 1, in its entirety, is of sufficient weight to resist floating. A stepped flair 15 at the exterior base of each wall 14 provides additional resistance to vault 1 floating after gravel/soil is compacted thereabove.
Internal of box 10, at a distance above bottom 12, a removable floor 16 (FIG. 2) is suspended from walls 14 by brackets 18 attached to walls 14. Although a floor of multiple segments would be easier to manipulate, it would be evident to one skilled in the art that floor 16 could be of single or multiple unit construction or that floor 16 could be hingedly (not shown) attached to at least one wall 14 while suspended on brackets 18 on the remaining walls 14. Floor 16 could also be fully removable from the interior of box 1, suspended, solely, on brackets 18. A utilities stowage chamber 20 is formed in the space between bottom 12 and floor 16, with floor 16 providing protection to cables entering the vault into utilities chamber 20. Floor 16 also acts to keep dirt and debris from accumulating around the cable in utilities chamber 20. At least one utilities port 22 penetrates through at least one wall 14, proximate the bottom of wall 14, thereby allowing passage of utilities lines into utilities chamber 20 from the exterior of vault 1. Typically, at least two utilities ports are provided, allowing ingress and egress of utilities lines. A step/seat 24 extends along the interior length of one wall 14, providing a step for ingress into box 10, as well as a seat while performing work within box 10. Like floor 16, step/seat 24 is suspended on brackets 18 affixed to walls 14, or could be hingedly (not shown) attached to wall 14.
A lid 30 is hingedly attached to an upper edge of a wall 14 such that it completely covers box 10 when in the closed position, extending beyond the top of the opposite wall 14. A gasket 32 surrounds the perimetric edge of lid 30, such that a compressive seal is formed between lid 30 and the top of each of the walls 14. Gasket 32 is formed of a compressive material, such as, but not limited to, neoprene. The placement of gasket 32 into the lower surface of lid 30, as opposed to the upper surface of walls 14, provides an added protection of the gasket 32 from accumulations of dirt, grime and debris and from the wear and tear of rubbing by workers and/or equipment entering the vault 1. Pneumatic pistons 34 offset the weight of lid 30, thereby assisting in the opening and closing of lid 30 without undue effort. Lid 30 is typically hinged along the wall 14 adjacent step/seat 24.
A locking system cavity 36 (FIG. 5) is recessed into the upper surface of lid 30. Locking system cavity 36 has a lockable cover 38 and a hasp 40 adapted to receive a pad lock (not shown) within the cavity 36. This double locking system provides added security to vault 1 over that which would be afforded by a single lock. In a preferred embodiment, a perimetric frame 40 extends upwardly from the top of the walls 14, surrounding lid 30, thereby providing a defined perimeter of the top of vault 1 relative to surrounding surfaces.
A venting system 50 (FIG. 2) extends through the wall 14 of box 10 proximate the top of wall 14 opposite the hinge of lid 30. The extension of lid 30 beyond wall 14 provides protection of venting system 50 from the intake of water from above. A variety of venting systems are known in the art, including U.S. Pat. No. 6,016,828, issued to the present inventor on Jan. 25, 2000, which would be suitable for use in the present invention.
Connections for utilities like, but not limited to, electrical, CATV, and phone lines are facilitated by a wiring frame 60 (FIG. 4) which hingedly folds down into the confines of box 10 when in the closed position, and up into a substantially vertical position for use. Wiring frame 60 is mounted parallel to and proximate side 14 opposite the hinge of lid 30 such that when both lid 30 and wiring frame 60 are in the open position, they extend upwardly from each of two opposite sides 14. Once again, there are a variety of wiring frames known in the art, and, while the purpose of the present invention is to enclose the wiring frame, the frame itself is not deemed to be an integral part of the invention. Therefore, no further discussion of the specifics of the frame will be made.
In the interest of public safety, safety barriers are incorporated into the design of vault 1. A pair of safety barrier arms 42 (FIG. 4) are hingedly attached, one at each end, to lid 30 such that when lid 30 is in the open position and wiring frame 60 is in the open position, the safety barrier arms may be extended between lid 30 and wiring frame 60, thereby providing a barrier above each of the four sides 14. A safety barrier arm bracket 62 at each end of wiring frame 60 receives the free end of each safety barrier arm 42 when the safety barrier arms 42 are extended.
Lifting points 70 (FIGS. 1 & 4) are formed in the exterior surface of each of at least two of the four walls 14 to facilitate connection of a lifting device, such as a crane, for movement of vault 1 from place to place and for lowering vault 1 into its install position. Lifting points 70 would typically be a metal loop extending from the surface of wall 14, or other installation, many of which are known in the art.
It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.
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Runway fashion focusing on Jewelry by designer. … [Read more...]
Milan Fashion Week
Fall/Winter 2013 Milan: Jewelry
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Runway fashion focusing on Hats & Hairgoods by designer. … [Read more...]
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New York, Paris, Milan, London—Trends happen faster than ever these days, which is why it's important to scrutinize the runway … [Read more...]
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Paris, New York, Milan Fashion Weeks, Fall 2013--Menswear was definitely the word at Fashion Weeks around the world this season. … [Read more...]
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New York, London, Paris, Milan Fashion Weeks, Fall 2013--Birds of a feather have been definitely flocking together at the Fall … [Read more...]
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NEW YORK, MILAN & PARIS FASHION WEEKS, FALL 2013--What's black and red and chic all over? The international runways this Fall! … [Read more...]
Breaking Trends Fall 2013: Fendi's Colored Fur
MILAN FASHION WEEK, FALL 2013--While there were there were lots of amazing colored furs on the international runways, nothing … [Read more...]


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For years, Barry "FLYBOY" Chase has carried the grief and belief that his mentor The Red Cowl was dead, and the guilt that he could have prevented it. Now Julia Moonglow provides all the proof he needs to know that the Red Cowl is alive and well...somewhere. Now comes the task of finding him, and more important still...exacting their revenge.
All content copyright © & Trademarked TM 2015 Image Comics or their respective owners
Image and its logos are ® and © 2015 Image Comics, Inc. All rights reserved.


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Geek Speak
Geek Speak is where the world of Geekdom comes alive.
Monthly Archive for February, 2010
Behold, the Jackie Earle Haley as Freddy Krueger action figure!
(TNI) Remember my post about the "A Nightmare on Elm Street" Freddy Krueger action figure and how figure maker NECA yanked the pic? Sure you do. Now you can finally see the bad-dream baddie in all his small-scale glory courtesy Toy News International. TNI has pics of NECA action figures unleashed at Toy Fair and […] [Read More]
On tour w/Norm the LEGO stormtrooper and the Crystal Method
(Synthful) This might be the coolest fusion of geekery and parenthood I've seen in a long time. Scott Kirkland of the Crystal Method left to go on tour last May and his son gave him two "Star Wars" LEGO figures for the road. One got lost but the other, a stormtrooper named Norm, found himself […] [Read More]
'Wolfman' action figures look bloody good
(Mezco Direct) It took long enough, but "The Wolfman" has finally hit theaters. And while I'd love nothing more than to see the Benicio Del Toro flick thump those pretty-boy vampires into the ground, I have a feeling "The Wolfman" might have a tough enough time just holding its own against Percy Jackson and an […] [Read More]
Reel Comic News: 'Losers' for June, 3D Spidey reboot for 2012 & more
('The Losers' official site) • "The Losers," originally slated for April 9, got bumped to June 4. Which means we have to wait a bit longer to see Zoë Saldana (pictured) fire a rocket. Not a euphemism … much. (Film) • Spider-Man's big-screen return/reboot swings into theaters July 3, 2012 and in 3D. So far […] [Read More]
The final two covers for 'Return of Bruce Wayne'
(DC's The Source) Ye gods, more "Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne"? I know, I know. This is just ridiculous. But that's kind of the point of Bruce's fantastic voyage back to the DCU, isn't it? Too bad the last two covers for the Grant Morrison comic aren't nearly as gonzo good as Bats the […] [Read More]
Bring out your 'New Dead' for a David Liss signing Feb. 16
(davidliss.com) For a novelist famous for best-selling historical thrillers like "The Devil's Company" and "The Whiskey Rebels," it just makes sense David Liss would dig deep into the lives of the long-gone for his next published narrative. That those long-gone would still roam the earth as lifeless "reanimates" in various states of dress and lucidity? […] [Read More]
Gorgeous 'Siege' interconnecting covers, activate!
(Marvel) OK, confession time: I probably won't buy the Siege tie-in comics that drop April 14, but I will blog the holy heck out of their interconnecting covers by artist Marko Djurdjevic. Because they're gorgeous. And I will parrot the Marvel press info that says "Siege: Captain America" gives us more on the Bucky Barnes/Steve […] [Read More]
VIDEO: Beaker's Ballad
Epic, fire-y win, indeed. (via Digg) [Read More]
'Dante's Inferno' video game, comic, action figure clearly not for English majors
(photo by René A. Guzman) So I find an ominous box at my desk that has a certain "abandon all hope, ye who enter" vibe to it. Which is just my less-than-clever way of saying I got an unsolicited bunch of swag to trumpet today's release of "Dante's Inferno," the rapid-fire video game based on […] [Read More]
Holy Pirate Batman! More 'Return of Bruce Wayne' covers
(DC's The Source) DC's The Source has two more covers for "Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne" and they're by far the best of the bunch. Seriously, Pirate Batman for "Return of Bruce Wayne" #3 (pictured) and Cowboy Batman for "Return of Bruce Wayne" #4 just might be the funnest spins on the Dark Knight […] [Read More]
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text:
Sleep Apnea Health Center
Sleep Apnea: Less Common Surgeries - Credits
|Healthwise Staff
|Primary Medical Reviewer
|Anne C. Poinier, MD - Internal Medicine
|Specialist Medical Reviewer
|Mark A. Rasmus, MD - Pulmonology, Critical Care Medicine, Sleep Medicine
|Current as of
|June 25, 2013
In this article
This information is produced and provided by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The information in this topic may have changed since it was written. For the most current information, contact the National Cancer Institute via the Internet web site at http:// cancer .gov or call 1-800-4-CANCER.
WebMD Medical Reference from Healthwise
Last Updated: June 25, 2013
This information is not intended to replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information.
© 1995-2014 Healthwise, Incorporated. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated.
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|Matthew Dillon <dillon@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
|Mon, 26 Jan 2004 11:30:12 -0800 (PST)
:On Mon, Jan 26, 2004 at 11:18:56AM -0800, Matthew Dillon wrote: :> Try not to break the tree with all of these mk commits :-) : :Well, only thing that break was Perl. But those Makefile's are :broken anyway. This should be fixed now. Hell, I want a cleaner :build system. : :Joerg Yup, total agreement there. -Matt Matthew Dillon <dillon@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>


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Learn More with Our Buying Guides:
- Understanding Different Types of Fur
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So Beautiful I Bought 2!
By Kim
from Littleton, CO
Comments about Silk Velvet Scarf with Mink Fur Poms:
This is the perfect scarf to dress up casual jeans or wear with a nice cocktail dress - I've used it for both already. It is lightweight and the blue has almost a metallic quality to it. I loved it so much I bought 2 just in case something happens to one - and really that's just my luck when I buy something I really like, I'll tear it or spill something. Not now! I have a back up. Buy 3 - give one as a gift, keep 2 for yourself!
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Gorgeous new scarf!
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Technology update
Jan 31, 2008
DNA helps self-assemble nanoparticles
Two independent teams of researchers in the US have used DNA strands to guide the self-assembly of gold nanoparticles in 3D. The innovative "bottom-up" techniques, which should work for other nanoparticles too, could lead to useful structures for a range of applications, including photonics, catalysts and electronics.
Although nanoscale building blocks can self-assemble into ordered structures, it is difficult to precisely position these blocks in 3D. Such control will be needed to produce technologically useful materials in the future.
Now, Chad Mirkin and George Schatz at Northwestern University and colleagues have used the interactions between complementary DNA molecules attached to gold particles to make the particles assemble into crystals with a well-defined symmetry. Meanwhile, Oleg Gang of Brookhaven National Laboratory and co-workers have interacted complementary DNA strands with nanoparticles to make crystals whose structure can be tuned by heating.
Rapid self assembly
Both the Mirkin-Schatz and Gang teams attached DNA to gold particles, measuring around 10 nm across, to make two sets of DNA-topped gold nanoparticles. Each particle has several tens of DNA strands attached to it and the ends of the strands on one set of particles adhere to the strands of the other set. By mixing the two sets together, the scientists observed that the nanoparticles rapidly self-assembled into well-ordered arrays with a body-centred-cubic structure as the strands "hybridized" to form a double helix.
The scientists also observed that there are DNA "spacers" connecting the binding regions on the nanoparticles. "Although there are many bifunctional materials one could consider for interconnects, DNA is the most programmable and reliable," said Mirkin. "In addition, it allows one to control the spacing of the nanoparticles over much larger distances than small molecule interconnects."
Other complex structures
Mirkin's team now plans to selectively functionalize the different faces and edges of a nanoparticle with various DNA strands to create the equivalent of linear, trigonal, pyramidal and perhaps even octahedral crystals. "This will open up the possibility of making almost any type of crystal structure from inorganic materials and DNA interconnects," he explained.
Gang's group is also planning to create other complex structures using DNA-encoded nanoparticle interactions and exploring the unique optical and mechanical properties of these materials. "Using biomolecules to control the formation of ordered nanosystems will allow us to build 'artificial atoms' from nanoparticles and assemble them into new classes of materials," said Gang.
Both teams published their work in Nature.
About the author
Belle Dumé is contributing editor at nanotechweb.org


text:
Lincoln High School's Coach David Dunn was named the San Diego Chargers' week 13 recipient of their Coach of the Week award in a ceremony at the school Nov. 30.
Coach Dunn, the Hornets' head football coach, was honored for his outstanding work with student athletes and was awarded $1,500 from the Chargers Community Foundation. The money will be used for Lincoln's athletic department. Charger Girls Lauren and Rachel were there to make the presentation.
During week 13 of the Hornets' 2012 season, Coach Dunn led an impressive 20-7 road victory over the previously undefeated Olympian High Eagles. The semi-finals win also advanced the Hornets to a Division 3 title game against Ramona in which Dunn and his team were able to come away with another remarkable 42-14 victory.
The San Diego Chargers and the NFL have teamed up to honor local high school football coaches since 1998. One local high school football coach is chosen each week during the 2012 high school football season and awarded $1,500 for their school's respective athletic departments. The coach is also highlighted on KUSI's Prep Pigskin Report.
At the end of the season, one outstanding coach is named Coach of the Year and is announced during the Prep Pigskin Report's annual Silver Pigskin Gala show. The Coach of the Year is also awarded $2,500 for their school's athletic department.
– Chris Earley, San Diego Chargers


text:
The Office of Residence Life is located in University Crossing on the first floor.
Hours of operation: 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
firstname.lastname@example.com: 978-934-5160
Fax: 978-934-6453
Office of Residence Life
University of Massachusetts Lowell
University Crossing, 220 Pawtucket Street, Suite #120
Lowell, MA 01854-5140
UMassOnline | UMass Club | UMass System


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The Eve of St. Agnes
Poem by Keats
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Posted at: 08/11/2013 10:38 PM
Updated at: 08/11/2013 10:41 PM
By: EMILY HAAVIK
About 70 artists staked their tents at Glensheen Mansion over the weekend for the Festival of Fine Art and Craft.
It is the 19th year Glensheen has hosted this festival. The best in show award went to Paul Webster and a metal arts nonprofit called "Forging Community."
Webster called the whole festival experience "pure joy." He said he wants to be a part of bringing Duluth's arts community together.
"Duluth has a very, very powerful art community," he said. "And what needs to happen is we need to bring all the very powerful parts together and form something that has even more power, to move with synergy and to actually work together and have it be known that this is an art destination."


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Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
Dr. David P. WiseFacial Surgery Center FACES 415 Morris Street, Suite 309Charleston, WV 25301304-348-3290
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text:
Below is the poem entitled Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia which was written by poet
George . Please feel free to comment on this poem. However, please remember, PoetrySoup is a place of encouragement and growth.
Read Poems by
Elaine George
Between a sky of pale blue, streaked with white,
and a glassy sea of royal blue,
there lies a land of lavender rock,
where wind blown grasses grow in briny
patches around weather beaten houses
brushed in pastel shades of yellow, pink,
and green and blue.
A grey fishing shack stands on silts
beyond the waters edge,
deep in rippling reflections of itself
and the sky that shimmers across the inlet
to the other side, where a dory
tethered to a dock stacked high with reels
of blue and orange ropes and buoys,
rests peacefully in the noon-day sun, with me,
on these long cold winter nights.


text:
Mark Naison: The punitive, stress-filled environment that No Child Left Behind and Race to the Hop has created is good for no one's children. But it is especially damaging to children who come to school hungry and fearful because their families are living on the edge.
All Through the Night
Tom Degan: But seriously, folks! If you still choose to remain blind to the overt racism that is the cornerstone of the so-called "Tea Party Movement", you're kidding yourselves. It is an organization of white supremacists – not much more; not much less. True, you might glimpse an occasional Uncle Tom on the fringes of any gathering, chomping away at a watermelon, but that's merely for decorative purposes; Lester Maddox would have felt right at home with these birds.


text:
26th annual Fabulous Feline Follies
8 August 2015
5-8 pm
Feline Follies 2015 Information Package (PDF) - sponsorship form, reservation form, and raffle ticket form.
Our main fundraiser every year is the Fabulous Feline Follies dinner. Follies is held at EFBC/FCC in Rosamond, CA. Tickets are $75 each (purchase a week in advance). Dress is casual. Collectible glasses will be sold with specialty drinks. A silent auction offers fabulous items for your donations. A live animal show, raffle, and door prizes add to the excitement of the evening. Raffle first prize is $1,000, winner need not be present. Raffle tickets are $5 each or 5 for $20. Use the form on-line above to purchase tickets, or call 661.256.3793 during operating hours (10 am-4 pm except Wednesday). Plan to attend Follies 2015! Donations of auction/raffle items are accepted year-round. Call or email if you are interested in donating items. Or mail items to:
3718 60th St West
Rosamond, CA 93560.
Sponsorships Follies sponsorships help make our fun-filled evening possible, and of course are tax-deductible. Benefits for being a sponsor and sponsorship levels are:
Titanium Sponsor - $2500 or more
Titanium Sponsor - $2500 or more
|Garner Holt Productions, San Bernadino, CA
Platinum Sponsor - $1000 or more
|AAZK-EFBC chapter, Rosamond, CA
Gold Sponsor - $500 or more
Silver Sponsor - $300 or more
|Bronze Sponsor - $200 or more
|Past Feline Follies
Follies 14
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Follies 11
Follies 10
Follies 09
Follies 08
Follies 07
Follies 06
Follies 05
Follies 04
Follies 03
Follies 02
Follies 01
Follies 00
Follies 99
Follies 98
Follies 97
Follies 96
Follies 95


text:
"Honestly kind of tired of hearing all the scenarios and hearing everybody talk about it," said Lewis. "I would like to take care of that here this week, especially with the Open come up and all that, just would like to go in there without having to deal with all these extra story lines that people like to make."
Lewis took over the top spot amongst the Americans in the world rankings after she won her third-career victory at the 2012 ShopRite LPGA Classic. She said there would be some nostalgic feelings this week if she would be able to reclaim the No. 1 ranking here.
"You know, it would be huge," said Lewis. "I was only there for four weeks last year when I got there, so I never really - - it was so crazy those four weeks, I never got to enjoy it. So I definitely want to get back because I know kind of now more what to expect with it."
Topics: ShopRite LPGA Classic, Lewis, Stacy


text:
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text:
Welcome to The Bowood Estate
Home to The Marquis and Marchioness of Lansdowne
Bowood has been the Lansdowne family home since 1754. After the Second World War, the Estate's future hung in the balance. The "Big House" was derelict and full of dry rot. Most of the Estate cottages were unmodernised. The 8th Marquis took the courageous decision to demolish the "Big House" leaving what visitors see today – a beautifully proportioned Georgian house, in the centre of "the most beautiful park in England". In 1975 his son, the present Marquis, opened the house and grounds to the public. Three years later, he restored the derelict stables and grooms' quarters to create a sculpture gallery, exhibitions rooms, restaurant and shop. Over the past thirty years, a policy of diversification has been assiduously pursued to reflect the changing social and financial landscape. Assets have been harnessed and developed to support and protect the house and oasis which forms Capability Brown's parkland. All who work here take great pride in developing and protecting such an outstanding enterprise. We hope you will visit us. Your enjoyment of Bowood makes our work worthwhile.


text:
An Evening With Princess Pat Akpabio
La'Khush Records and Pat Akpabio Music Ministry
Saturday, November 2, 2013 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM (EDT)
Who's Going
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Sara Haughty
San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
Luke Picard
London, United Kingdom
London, United Kingdom
Rick Vespucio
Florence, Italy
Florence, Italy
Event Details
Join Princess Pat Akpabio for an evening of gospel music and spirit filled ministry. Songs from her 3rd album 'You Can' will be highlighted during the nights music ministry. Be sure to reserve your tickets, it will be an evening you don't want to miss.
Have questions about An Evening With Princess Pat Akpabio? Contact La'Khush Records and Pat Akpabio Music Ministry
When & Where
Bethak Hall
3099 Breckinridge Blvd
Saturday, November 2, 2013 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM (EDT)
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text:
Running On
Marathoners' continuing saga.
Posts by Author
The Bad Idea Bears
I got to see Avenue Q at the Majestic last weekend. It's a musical about a young man (who happens to be a puppet) who is besieged by an abundance of early adulthood difficulties. Two of his problems come in the form of other puppets, known as the "Bad Idea Bears," who are strangely similar […] [Read More]
Reality vs Dreams
No running until Friday. That's how I'm going to play this thing, for now. I did lift this morning. My routine includes squatting and lunges, i.e. pain-drivers if severely injured, and everything seemed hunky-dory. Had a little hammie twinge, but after I informed that leg that it would not be messing with me, that it […] [Read More]
Game face
Everybody had their game face on today. Our running group did a dress rehearsal this morning at Mission Park. We were all instructed to go through our pre-race rituals and use today as a scrimmage in preparation for the real thing. The goal is to have no surprises on game day. For the past 16 […] [Read More]
Montezuma's Return
Yep, he's baaaaaaack. For those of you who read my last blog, recounting the colorful fall I took down the stairs (caused in part by my weakened state brought on by a 24 hour flu bug): I am pleased to announce that I have healed from my wounds but the bug is back and wreaking […] [Read More]
If it was easy, everyone would do it
The Farewell to Long Training Runs Tour is now complete. Sadly, not without incident. I cried on my run today. Three cars slowed to ask me if I needed a ride home. One guy stopped completely, with a concerned look on his face and said, "I have never seen you walking…you must be hurt." [Read More]
A First Marathon
As I run into folks preparing for the Rock N Roll Marathon or the Half-Marathon next month, I sense so many first-timers are really prepared. Particularly so, when I reflect back on my first marathon. [Read More]
How many is 30,000?
The Rock-N-Roll Marathon is going to be a sell out. There will be 30,000 runners hitting the streets of San Antonio. That's a lot of people. This event has to be in the top 10 for the city, right? I can only think of a few other events that draw this many people here. [Read More]
Farewell Tour: Day Three
The Farewell to Long Training Runs Tour continues. The t-shirts will be available soon. Right along with the cd's of my heavy breathing and third person trash-talking. My training schedule is skewed this week. Instead of my typical M/W/F runs, I ran yesterday in order to fit in some rest time before the last long […] [Read More]
Recruiting Runners
Recruiting runners has not been easy. In each job I held I tried to recruit coworkers to run for health and exercise. As Director of The Alamo in the early 90s I offered encouragement and training, but got few takers from a largely sedentary group. One security officer though, Juan Guzman, became quite a good […] [Read More]
The Hill
Before there was a gym, Bass Pro Shop, Target, or any other store in the Rim Shopping Center there was a quarry. Overlooking the quarry was an old ranch house with a few barns and some rolling hills where the cattle grazed. Leading up to the highest peak was a rough, dirt road useful only […] [Read More]
Show More


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Average Customer Review
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4.0 out of 5 stars Essential reading for the 21st Century military professional,
David A. Appling "polkovnik" - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Path to Victory: America's Army and the Revolution in Human Affairs (Hardcover)
This work is a tour de force, perhaps best shown by Secretary of the Army Tom White's enthusiastic adoption of its ideas. Vandergriff ably identifies the Army's longest-lasting and most serious systemic problem -- human resources mismanagement as it affects training, deployment, cohesion, and effectiveness in battle. Based on extremely extensive research (meticulously documented), he ably describes the evolution of the problem and presents the promised "path to victory."
Despite the effectiveness and timeliness of this book, it does have a couple of significant (and related) weaknesses. First, despite the meticulous endnoting, it is difficult to sort out which ideas are Vandergriff's own and which derive from his multitude of sources. The sorting can be done, but, if done thoroughly, would require the reader actually to construct an "idea matrix" from the endnotes as he goes along.
Second, this is a work with 796 (!) endnotes -- but with no bibliography at all. All in all, Presidio Press has made the book quite difficult -- unnecessarily difficult -- to use as a reference. This does detract somewhat from its value as a synthesis of ideas and guide for follow-on work. Fortunately, these weaknesses detract very little from the overall message.
Highly recommended. (But if there's a second edition, could we please have a good solid bibliography?)
5.0 out of 5 stars A Crusade for Common Sense,
Ralph H. Peters (Washington, D.C. area) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Path to Victory: America's Army and the Revolution in Human Affairs (Hardcover)
Donald Vandergriff is one of those rare men who live their beliefs. Now, he has written a fine, clear-thinking, heartfelt book detailing the deep flaws in the Army's (and our military's) personnel system. But the book is much broader than that. Although he does not use quite these terms, the text constitutes a demand for a sensible post-modern personnel system that rewards the core military virtues, in place of our current, long-outdated, poorly-performing industrial-age system, a legacy of both Henry Ford's assembly line mentality, in which all parts, even the human ones, are interchangeable, and a bizarre, inchoate conviction within the Army that, really, it's still 1944 and the draft will supply the needed talent to replace that which is squandered. Even now, in 2002, there is a bizarre belief among the Army's hierarchy that every officer (and soldier) is easily replaceable, if not perfectly interchangeable. Well, tell that to corporate America, or the scientific community, or to the arts community. America has achieved its paramount position because we recognize and reward the unique talents of the individual--but our military resists excellence whenever it can (what passes for excellence is a polished conformity to superficial forms). Our broken-down, morally-bankrupt personnel system may be well-suited for the ten-million-man military with which we ended WWII, but it is a travesty when it comes to developing the right Army for the 21st century. Critics may respond that the military is not about individual excellence, but about teamwork--but teamwork based upon excellence is far more impressive than group-think and timid acquiescence based upon lowest-common-denominator professional values. There is not inherent tension between building a team and rewarding talent honestly employed; on the contrary, men and women crave leaders who earn their respect through performance, rather than through currying favor (or simply being born a general's son, the surest path there is to a general's stars). At the very least, we should recognize that a post-modern military does have some different demands placed upon it--a greater requirement for individual initiative and battlefield autonomy--than did our earlier armies of massed infantry divisions. We still need courage and clarity, but the recognition and exploitation of the unique worth of the individual officer may be our greatest potential combat multiplier.
Of course, it is easy to be too pessimistic. We still have the finest Army--and military--in the world. Not all dissent is suppressed, fine ideas, such as Major Vandergriff's, still emerge, despite institutional resistance (more a matter of defensiveness and mental sloth than of maliciousness), and not every officer promoted is a shallow careerist (indeed, in some military specialties the trends are encouraging). In the end, it is not that we are doing so badly, but that we could do far better. For all our might and virtues, our personnel system remains less than the sum of its often remarkable parts. Major Vandergriff has laid out a worthy road map for building the Army of the future, instead of clinging to the Army of the past. We may not wish to drive down every lane he recommends, but he certainly has signposted the main highway with accuracy and clarity.
In my own military career, I slowly came to the realization that, if I could control the personnel system, I could change any organization, but that if I controlled everything but the personnel system, all meaningful change could still by stymied by the bureaucracy (and our military is, above all, a vast bureaucracy). Donald Vandergriff understands this profoundly. This is a worthy, even heroic book by an officer genuinely dedicated to selfless service. We Americans should be proud that such men remain committed to serving our country in uniform.
I strongly recommend this book to military men and women, but also to policy-makers and to the business community, for which it has especially relevant lessons in these days of Worldcom, Enron and Put-on.
This is the work of an officer with whom any soldier would be honored to serve.
5.0 out of 5 stars "PATH TO VICTORY":A MUST-READ FOR THOSE SERIOUS ABOUT REFORM,
Carl Rehberg, Ph.D. (Manassas, VA USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Path to Victory: America's Army and the Revolution in Human Affairs (Hardcover)
If you care about real military reform and transformation-this is an absolute must-read book!!
Although this book is primarily written to an Army audience it has applicability to all the Services. No other book has hit the target like this book. Many other books have alluded to problems, but Vandergriff digs deep to find the underlying reasons and causes of this dysfunctional system. He also provides solutions.
"The responsibility for military planning, direction and execution falls most heavily on the officer corps. The officer corps is critical to combat operations. It is the officer corps that reflects the values and characteristics of the military. If the corps is corrupt or incompetent, the whole army [military] will be also." As the Duke of Wellington supposedly remarked: "There are no bad troops--only bad officers." "Military excellence has always depended upon an officer corps which could think creatively about war--one that understood and practiced the art of war." Many of the deficiencies in our defense must be traced to problems in the officer corps.
Although, one can argue that many of the egregious problems of the officer corps in the Vietnam War have been corrected, many of the systemic problems have not. Several surveys done by the Army and the USAF since 1970 indicate there are still significant problems in the officer corps. Certainly, civilians in the Defense Department, the Congress (DOPMA) and the Executive Branch share the responsibility for our defense inadequacies, but a significant portion of these problems must be traceable to deficiencies in the organizational structure and within culture which officers are created, developed, and promoted.
That does NOT mean that most officers are individually to blame. The problems are generally systemic in nature. For the most part, officers in all services are victims of the current system. The problems are rooted in bureaucracy, the officer surplus, how we promote our officers, and in the way we educate them--matters over which only the most senior officers have any significant control. That is why many younger officers are dissatisfied and cynical about the Pentagon and other centers of bureaucracy. They know the shortcomings are NOT due to laziness, disinterest, or lack of dedication on their part. Few other groups put as much effort into their work as our military officers. Physical discomfort and danger, separation from family, and inadequacy of material and authority to do the job are the rule, not the exception. Unfortunately, we have promotion systems that often reward careerism and the courtier--not the truly selfless and those with moral courage
One of the most detrimental aspects of the current military culture is the up-or-out promotion system.
Instead of just analyzing the problem, Vandergriff gives us the foundation for a new system. Vandergriff states that the Army should adopt an up-or-stay (tracked) promotion system.
Vandergriff highlights that the promotion system(s) that drive military culture have a negative effect on our military capabilities. Moreover, some of the effects of the up-or-out system could be described as "corruptio optimi pessima"--the corruption of the best is the worst. As Shakespeare put it, "Lilies that fester smell far worse than weeds." We need promotion systems that rewards those of strong and honorable character, people who have the moral courage to speak the truth--not the courtiers who are interested only in self. A promotion system should NOT reinforce the Peter Principle, where every person tends to rise to his level of incompetence.
Instead of using promotion as the sole positive incentive, we should seek alternatives that would link performance with pay and longevity, but reduce the link between rank and pay. Officers performing well should be allowed to stay in positions where they are competent. There would be a tracked system that would allow officers to stay in their main specialty longer. There would not be enough officers to perform all the current jobs, which would be to the good: many make-work jobs would be eliminated. Unit commanders would rotate less frequently, and many decisions made by officers would be delegated to NCOs.
This book is tremdously researched and footnoted. There is no doubt that Vandergriff's "heart and soul" went into this masterpiece. For those hesitant, it will provide cognitive dissonance and more. A great book!
5.0 out of 5 stars Corporate Management Should Also Take This Path,
C. W. Richards (Atlanta, GA United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Path to Victory: America's Army and the Revolution in Human Affairs (Hardcover)
Don Vandergriff has written the next cult management classic. In the guise of how to transform the Army-... - MAJ Vandergriff displays the results of eighteen years of thinking about, researching, practicing, and writing about how to get groups of ordinary people to perform extraordinary feats in times of crisis and confusion. ...P>"Why did the army leadership," he asked himself as he began to write this book, "preach terms like selfless service', 'decentralization,' and 'trust,' but practice careerism, selfish service, and centralized control?" Who among us has not sat through corporate potentates droning on about "empowerment," " risk-taking,"' and "initiative," while in the real world they promote sycophants, second guess every decision, and personally approve all purchases more expensive than a paper clip?
... ... Readers with an ounce of imagination can easily draw parallels between MAJ Vandergriff's recommendations for strengthening unit cohesion - the prime determinant of how well a group of soldiers does in combat - and how their companies are organized and run. His suggestions for improving the selection, retention, and promotion of officers could also, with just a little wordsmithing, make any corporation more competitive.
People, not technologies and not lines on the org chart, are the first duty of any CEO...
5.0 out of 5 stars Heroic Critique of the Army,
John G. Wilcox "Greg" (Springfield, VA USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Path to Victory: America's Army and the Revolution in Human Affairs (Hardcover)
It takes considerable courage for a serving officer in the U.S. Army to criticize the institution as well as the culture to which he belongs. But that is the very point that Major Vandergriff makes in his book. He loves the Army, but he is compelled to speak out against the personnel management system which is at the heart of the culture of micromanagement, officer retention problems, and overstaffing as well as impacting the operational art. In Major Vandergriff's mind, a professional can do no less than speak out and tell the truth as he sees it. Shades of Sam Dameon! On the other hand, the careerists bred by over three generations of applied personnel management formulae are unlikely to read this book - lest they see themselves in the mirror. Central to Vandergriff's arguments are the personnel management system's focus on issues of "equality", "individual replacement system", and "taylorism" or the science of management -- all counter to good military operational art. He lays out, detail by detail,how the Army has fallen into the hands of the personnel managers - who definitely affect how the Army fights wars. Why is it that not all our professional officers are more critical? As Major Vandergriff explains, criticism and questioning, no matter how limited, is not welcomed within the ranks. Conformity is the value expected, with little interest in honest debate. Major Don Vandergriff has thrown down the gauntlet in this major work, and he does not expect to win any popularity contests. Although this book directly addresses the Army, all military and naval institutions must feel some of his heat. What is most interesting is that there appears to be some recent interest at very high levels in what Major Vandergriff is saying. The Vice Chief of Staff of the Army has noted Major Vandergriff's arguments, and Mr. David Chu, Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, spoke to reporters about personnel management reform in May 2002. Whether Mr. Chu read this book or not is not important. The message is getting out, and with men like Major Don Vandergriff in the ranks, it is beginning to get heard. It is unfortunate that it has taken this long. Kudos to Major Don Vandergriff, and read his book!
5.0 out of 5 stars Another Winner from Donald Vandergriff,
This review is from: The Path to Victory: America's Army and the Revolution in Human Affairs (Hardcover)
Once Again, Donald Vandergriff has written an insightful and provocative book detailing the problems facing the US military. The fact that he is a serving officer and placing his career at risk shows his moral courage in facing up to very real problems. He gives a very detailed historical look at how the current US officer corps developed and how it has brought us to where we are today. He shows how our current military is still mired in a 2nd Generation Warfare mindset, still ready to fight the Cold War. While it is easy to show where things are wrong, he also offers a solution to the problem, a well thought out solution, showing step-by-step how to change the current culture into one better prepared to face the challenges of 4th Generation Warfare. The timing of this book couldn't be better, as reports are already trickling out of Afghanistan that so many of the lessons of Vietnam are being replayed.
5.0 out of 5 stars More Balls Than I Did!,
BG (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Path to Victory: America's Army and the Revolution in Human Affairs (Hardcover)
Vandergriff exemplifies what Sec Def Rumsfeld says he wants-innovation & moral courage! I was in from 59 to87-Right on target-cease fire! Great research, little hard to read, I beat Vandy is very intense, intelligent, passionate, but with a temper? I know the type-great troop leader, poor administrater. Anyway-good work Van. They wll force you out-run for office-on the truth ticket. Must buy-shuold be a legacy book.
5.0 out of 5 stars Very Interesting,
Kindle Customer "PurpleSlog" (Milwaukee, WI USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Path to Victory: America's Army and the Revolution in Human Affairs (Hardcover)
A very interesting set of ideas for changing the Army's human resources related systems and process.
Take this book and MacGregor's "Breaking the Phalanx" and you the major parts of a true transformation for the U.S. Army (and less specifically, the other branches of the U.S. Armed Forces).
Perhaps some nice U.S. Citizen should send these both to Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz as a present.
4.0 out of 5 stars A Modest Proposal,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Path to Victory: America's Army and the Revolution in Human Affairs (Hardcover)
Path to Victory is extensively researched, concisely written, and wonderfully appropriate to the current debate over the future transformation of the Army. MAJ Vandergriff has written a book that all senior Army leaders should read, and anyone who follows civil-military relations or current events should own.
5.0 out of 5 stars Vandergriff "Iron Major" = Next Emory Upton,
This review is from: The Path to Victory: America's Army and the Revolution in Human Affairs (Hardcover)
BG Upton Failed, MAJ Vandergriff will not! Great book!11 The pending war, excepting, for Army to take the lead promote Vandergriff-MacGregor (COL-Braeking The Phalanx-at Ndu in D.C.,) now! With their views the army can take over as the premeir fighting force in 21st century-with decisive victories.
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The Path to Victory: America's Army and the Revolution in Human Affairs by Donald Vandergriff (Hardcover - April 5 2002)
Used & New from: CDN$ 3.34