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A received television signal (such as a television commercial) is substituted out in favor of a local recorded signal on a record containing the substitute signal. A detector detects a command signal indicative of a broadcast program signal to be substituted out. An RF switch is operable to selectively supply the broadcast program signal or the substitute signal to the television receiver. A signal matching circuit is responsive to the broadcast program signal and the substitute signal to match the levels of both the audio and video portions of the substitute signal to the program signal.
1. Apparatus for use in combination with a television receiving means for substituting a selected local signal for a received program signal from a remote source, the apparatus comprising: record means containing a record of substitute signals to be substituted for program signals; receiver means for receiving a program signal from a remote source; detector means for detecting a program signal to be substituted out, said record means being responsive to said detector means for selecting a record of a substitute signal to be substituted for a program signal; switch means connected to said record means and said receiver means for supplying a program signal to said television receiving means and operable to supply said substitute signal to said television receiving means when said record means supplies said substitute signal; and signal matching means connected to said receiver means and said record means for matching the levels of the audio portion and the visual portion of said substitute signal to the audio portion and the visual portion of said program signal.
2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said switch means is responsive to said record means for supplying said substitute signal to said television receiving means.
3. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said switch means is responsive to said detector means to selectively connect said television receiving means to said receiver means or said record means.
4. Apparatus for use in combination with a television receiving means for substituting a selected local signal for a received program signal from a remote source, the apparatus comprising: record means containing a record of substitute signals to be substituted for program signals; receiver means for receiving a program signal from a remote source; detector means for detecting a program signal to be substituted out, said record means being responsive to said detector means for selecting a record of a substitute signal to be substituted for a program signal; switch means connected to said record means and said receiver means for supplying a program signal to said television receiving means and operable to supply said substitute signal to said television receiving means when said record means supplies said substitute signal; and signal matching means connected to said receiver means and said record means for matching the level of said substitute signal to said program signal wherein said signal matching means comprises a voltage-controlled attenuator means connected to said record means, first peak detector means connected to said attenuator means for determining the peak voltage from said attentuator means, second peak detector means connected to said receiver means for determining the peak voltage from said receiver means, and difference means connected to said first and second peak detector means for determining the difference voltage between the peak voltages from said attenuator means and said receiver means, said attenuator means being responsive to said difference voltage for adjusting the attenuation of said attenuator means to adjust the peak voltage from said attenuator means to match the peak voltage from said receiver means.
5. Apparatus according to claim 4 wherein said switch means is connected to said attenuator means and said receiver means.
6. Apparatus according to claim 4 wherein said attenuator means is a JFET.
7. Apparatus according to claim 6 wherein said switch means is connected to said attenuator means and said receiver means.
8. Apparatus according to claim 4 wherein said switch means is responsive to said record means for supplying said substitute signal to said television receiving means.
9. Apparatus according to claim 4 wherein said switch means is responsive to said detector means to selectively connect said television receiving means to said receiver means or said record means.
This invention relates to television signal substitution, and particularly to apparatus for substituting test commercial signals for signals broadcasted by a broadcast station.
It is common in the market research industry to test prospective television commercials before they are actually broadcast publicly. One common technique has been to display a test commercial to a test panel in the environment of a theater, or the like. However, research indicates that when persons known they are being shown test commercials, they alter behavior patterns to react in a manner that they believe the researcher wishes them to act, rather than in their own natural reaction. Consequently, market research organizations have employed commercial signal substitution for television receivers of volunteers, whereby the volunteers permit the market research organization to substitute test commercials for commercials transmitted by the broadcast station. The concept of such substitution is that test commercials are substituted for broadcast commercials without the specific knowledge of the test audience. Consequently, more accurate information may be obtained from the reactions of the test audience.
One problem with prior television signal substitution techniques has been that the technique was feasible only with cable systems so that test commercials are substituted for commercials broadcast only over the cable system. Substitution techniques have been proposed whereby commercials are broadcast through a full broadcast facility on a separate channel, and apparatus at the receiver would automatically change the channel of the receiver. The cable system, of necessity, excluded potential market research participants, namely those persons without cable connection. The broadcast system, while effective, was also quite expensive as it required duplicate television broadcast facilities to operate in coordination with the commercial being substituted. Examples of these two systems can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,366,731 issued to Wallerstein (cable system), 3,639,686 issued to Walker et al (broadcast), and 4,733,301 issued to Wright, Jr. (broadcast).
The present invention contemplates signal substitution techniques employing a video disk player, video cassette player, or the like, containing prerecorded test commercials. The player is located locally at the television receiver. On command from a command center, a command signal is broadcast to the receivers via a sub-carrier to operate the video media player to substitute a prerecorded television commercial for a commercial being broadcast by the television station operating on the carrier. The command center may be part of the television broadcasting station, or separate therefrom. In either case, the sub-carrier command signal is transmitted to substitute out a selected television commercial. Alternatively, the television commercial being broadcast might contain an identifying signature or data which is detected by signal detectors at the local television receiver to activate the video media player to substitute a test commercial for the broadcast commercial.
One feature of the present invention resides in the provision of a voltage controlled attenuator to match the signal level from the video media player to the signal level of the broadcast station.
Another feature of the present invention resides in the fact that the circuit used to perform signal substitution is symmetrical with respect to the local and remote RF signals. Consequently, no information will be added to or lost from one signal without similarly affecting the other, thereby assuring the local signal level will properly match the remote broadcast signal level.
The above and other features of this invention will be more fully understood from the following detailed description, and the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a block circuit diagram of a signal substitution system in accordance with the presently preferred embodiment of the present invention; and
FIG. 2 is a block circuit diagram of the signal matching circuit employed in the present invention.
Referring to the drawings, and particularly in FIG. 1, there is illustrated a block circuit diagram of a signal substitution system for substituting television commercials recorded on a local video media for broadcast commercials, and for recording information concerning the viewing and purchasing habits of the viewer. The apparatus includes an RF tuner 10 for receiving the television signal from an antenna or cable system, in a manner well-known in the art. The received television signal operates through RF tuner 10 and RF switch 12 to demodulator 14, volume control 18 and character generator 16. Character generator 16 provides a video input to TV modulator 20, and volume control 18 provides an audio input to modulator 20. Modulator 20 provides an input to RF switch 22. Auxiliary units (not shown) such as VCRs (video cassette recorders) and the like are connected at inputs 23 to RF switch 22. A television receiver (not shown) is connected to output 27 of the RF switch 22 which in turn is connected to microprocessor 24.
Microprocessor 24 is connected to character generator 16 to provide data to character generator 16 to generate messages for display on the television receiver connected to output 22. Replies to the displayed messages are provided through a remote control (not shown) operating through IR (infra red) receiver 28 to microprocessor 24. The remote control operating through receiver 28 also controls microprocessor 24 to operate auxiliary units connected to input 23 of switch 22. Receiver/decoder 26 is connected to microprocessor 24 to receive control and command signals from a command center (not shown). A data storage unit, such as a memory 34, is connected to microprocessor 24, as is real time clock 40. A central station (as distinct from the command center) is connected via telephone line 38 through modem 36 to microprocessor 24, and a unit price code (UPC) scanner (not shown) is connected via lead 32 to microprocessor 24. Additionally, microprocessor 24 provides outputs to phase lock loop (PLL) tuning synthesizer 37 to control the tuning voltage for RF tuner 10, and microprocessor 24 provides control signals to video media player 42 and RF switch 12.
In the event the household being monitored contains a plurality of television receivers, it is desirable to operate all household television receivers through individual secondary household collectors. The secondary collector circuits are similar to that shown in FIG. 1, except the secondary collector circuits do not employ telephone modems 36. The secondary collector circuits are connected to the primary collector circuit (FIG. 1) through communication lead 30. Lead 30 is employed to receive channel identification and other data for storage in data storage unit 34 for eventual transmission to the central station via modem 36 and lead 38 of the primary collector circuit.
In operation of the apparatus thus far described, information concerning television channels viewed, time-of-day, and/or auxiliary units (such as VCRs) in operation is stored in data storage unit 34. Thus, the viewing and purchasing habits of the viewer may be recorded through microprocessor 24 in conjunction with data storage unit 34. When it is desired to substitute commercials, the command center provides a command signal through receiver/decoder 26 to microprocessor 24 to operate video media player 42 and switch 12, causing the video media player to provide prerecorded commercial messages through switch 12 at switch 22 to the television set connected to the output 27. Also, command signals from the command center may be used to operate character generator 16 to generate preselected messages from data storage 34 to the television receiver. For example, the microprocessor 24 may cause the display of survey questions concerning the commercial messages. The remote control, which may include a keyboard (not shown) connected to IR receiver 28 may be used to generate information as responses to the survey questions and/or provide other data for storage in data storage 34 through microprocessor 24. For example, specific information as to the identity of members of the viewing audience may be inputted to microprocessor 24 from the keyboard.
In some market research areas it may also be desirable to learn the buying habits of the viewer. In this regard, the UPC scanner connected to lead 32 may be used by the participant to scan the UPC codes on purchased articles for purposes of identification of the actual products purchased by that person. This information may also be inputted to data storage unit 34 by microprocessor 24.
Periodically, such as once each day, a central station connected to lead 38 may operate through modem 36 to connect to the microprocessor to transfer data in data storage unit 34 to a central computer for correlation with other data for market research purposes. For example, lead 38 may be an ordinary telephone line and the modem may include dial in/out apparatus whereby the central computer may connect to the microprocessor 24 via an ordinary telephone system.
In the use of the apparatus, the command center sends command signals to the participating users which are received through receiver/decoder 26 for operation as heretofore described. The command center may, for example, be part of the broadcast station carrier. Alternatively, the command center may be a separate broadcast facility generating sub-carriers for that specific purpose. Yet another alternative is that the command center may be connected via telephone lines, as in the case of the central station, for downloading command signals directly to the participating receivers. In any case, the command center will ordinarily be a local command center serving a geographic area also served by local television broadcast stations, or cable systems. The central station, on the other hand, may be one station operating nationally capable of connecting via telephone lines to household participants in all geographic regions being surveyed.
The present invention concerns signal substitution of television commercials for commercials actually broadcast by the broadcast station. The purpose of this signal substitution is to test the effectiveness of new commercials prior to their introduction to the general public. The effectiveness of these test commercials may be measured by the actual purchasing habits of the viewer. Hence, valuable market research information can be gained from knowing the viewing habits of test audiences, their purchasing habits, and their reaction to test commercials.
Signal substitution occurs through the apparatus shown in the left portion of FIG. 1. When a television commercial to be substituted out is received through RF tuner 10 and RF switch 12. A command signal received on a sub-carrier via receiver/decoder 26 provides data to microprocessor 24, which in turn sends a command signal to RF switch 12 and operates video media player 42 to immediately substitute the desired test commercial for the broadcast commercial. The desired test commercial signal is forwarded through signal matching circuit 44 to RF switch 12. Switch 12 switches off the television broadcast signal from RF tuner 10 and switches in the signal from signal matching circuit 44. FIG. 1 shows that demodulator 14 separates the video and audio portions of the signal, and that this separation occurs downstream of signal matching circuit 44. Thus, both the video and the audio portions of the test commercial signal are matched to the levels of the broadcast commercial. The test commercial signal is forwarded to the TV set in the same manner as the broadcast commercial would have been had it not bee substituted out. The video media player may, for example, be a video disk player containing a plurality of test commercials which are addressed and substituted in for selected broadcast commercials on command from the command center. A video cassette player may also be employed. Upon conclusion of the test commercial, microprocessor 24 operates RF switch 12 to return to the signal broadcast by the broadcaster.
Signal matching circuit 44 is shown in greater detail in FIG. 2 and employs, as an output from the video media player 42 a voltage controlled attenuator comprising an N channel JFET 50 as a variable resistor to control the attenuation level. Resistors 52 and 54 and capacitors 56 and 58 operate in conjunction with JFET 50 to provide accurate attenuation. The output of the voltage controlled attenuator is provided to IF amplifier 60 and as one input to RF switch 12. IF amplifier 60 provides signal amplification of the 61.25MHz intermediate frequency (IF) for the video detector 62. The IF frequency of 61.25MHz matches the RF output of typical video cassette recorders and video disk players, thereby eliminating the need for mixers and filters to shift incoming signals to the IF signal frequency. The IF amplifier may be a LM1823 integrated circuit comprising a five-stage gain controlled amplifier with a typical gain of 35dB and an automatic gain control range of 55dB.
Video detector 62 is a synchronous detector employing a limiter amplifier to remove amplitude information from the incoming signal and provide a signal to a phase locked loop (not shown). Adjustment of the detector for maximum detector performance is obtained through the phase locked loop of the video detector 62. The output of video detector 62 is buffered to provide an isolation of the detector from the load. Baseband amplifier 64 receives the output from video detector 62 and serves to increase the video signal to a level suitable for peak detection by the peak detector comprising diode 66 and capacitor 68. The peak detector is designed to provide a DC voltage corresponding to the amplitude of the video signal vertical sync/blanking pulse. During the sync/blanking pulse, diode 66 conducts charging capacitor 68 to the voltage level of the sync/blanking pulse. When the video signal drops below the level of the sync/blanking pulse, diode 66 ceases conducting, thereby isolating the charge on capacitor 68 from the input signal, thereby causing it to hold the voltage of the sync/blanking pulse. The RC time constant of the peak detector is chosen so that no significant decay of the voltage of the capacitor will occur, yet the capacitor voltage is allowed to follow changes in the sync/blanking pulse level.
The output of RF tuner 10 is provided to RF switch 12, and through IF amplifier 70, video detector 72, baseband amplifier 74 and a peak detector comprising diode 76 and capacitor 78. In essence, the operation of RF amplifier 70, video detector 72, base band amplifier 74, and the peak detector comprising diode 76 and capacitor 78 is identical to the IF amplifier 60, video detector 62, baseband amplifier 64 and the peak detector comprising diode 66 and capacitor 68 described in connection with the channel connected to the video media player. The outputs of the two peak detectors are provided as an input to difference amplifier 80 to provide an error signal on lead 82 to the gate of JFET 50. The signal on capacitor 78 is provided to the non-inverting input of difference amplifier 80, while the signal on capacitor 68 is provided to the inverting input of difference amplifier 80. Also, the inverting input employs a DC bias voltage input 84 to bias the JFET 50. Preferably, both the inverting and non-inverting inputs of difference amplifier 80 have voltage gain factors of about 10 to ensure that the JFET 50 will quickly lock and track the signal level on the capacitor 78. The N channel JFET 50 requires a negative bias voltage to operate. A positive voltage might severly damage the transistor. Consequently, it may be convenient to clamp the error signal channel 82 to ground through a suitable diode 86 to prevent the error signal from rising more than the junction voltage of the JFET. A diode 88 may also be employed in channel 82 to prevent unwanted feedback from the JFET into the difference amplifier 80.
The present invention thus provides apparatus for substituting prerecorded television commercials for commercials being broadcast by a television station. The apparatus employs prerecorded test commercials which are selectively played by a video media player at the location of the television receiver. The apparatus is effective in operation and provides good signal substitution without perceivable changes in signal levels.
This invention is not to be limited by the embodiment shown in the drawings and described in the description, which is given by way of example and not of limitation, but only in accordance with the scope of the appended claims.
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Up to 32,527 Apple Macs are infected with a trojan that has enslaved their machines into the massive Flashback botnet.
The attack exploited a nasty but recently patched Java hole to install the FlashBack Trojan on Apple OS X machines.
Apple released the important patch to close the Java security holes this week, trailing Oracle's patch issued in February, and Microsoft which also identified that attackers had built exploit kits and were bypassing the platform's sandbox.
The Java exploit was the latest evolution of Flashback which targeted Mac through Adobe Flash in 2011.
Russian security firm Dr Web claimed the Backdoor.FlashBack botnet had infected more than 550,000 machines, mainly in the US, the UK and Canada.
About 6 per cent of infections were located in Australia, but a recent update on Twitter by Dr Web analyst Sorokin Ivan suggested the number of infected machines had tipped 600,000.\
It should be noted that while the attack demonstrates the vulnerability of Mac machines to security threats, it pales in comparision to WIndows threats. Some botnets contained millions of infected Windows machines.
The number of compromised web sites infected with the trojan was unclear but thought to be large. Dr Web said "sources" had claimed up to four million pages were compromised by the end of last month.
It said dlink.com was reported on Apple forums to have hosted the malware.
Intego researchers said the malware had attempted to steal user names and passwords however Ivan refuted the fact, and said its goal was to hijack search traffic.
Dr Web said in a post that an executable was saved on compromised machines which downloaded and executed a payload from a remote server.
It searched hard drives for:
If those files were not located the trojan would ping a list of control servers and would enable load balancing to distribute requests.
To count the number of infected machines, analysts at the Russian security firm located a unique identifier for each victim sent to the servers and sinkholed (pdf) the traffic to their boxes.
Mac users should apply the Apple Java patch, while those who suspect their machines were infected can follow F-Secure's removal instructions via Terminal.
Copyright © SC Magazine, Australia
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subset: commoncrawl


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Newsweek magazine and the website The Daily Beast have just released the 2011 College Rankings. For the second straight year, Newsweek assessed the nation's colleges and listed the top 25 in categories ranging from most service-oriented to best weather.
University of Georgia landed spots in four of the 25 categories, and doubled its placement on the rankings in 2011, moving from two in 2010. The University made the top 10 in two categories namely: Most Beautiful (No. 8) and Healthiest (No. 10). UGA also placed 12th in the category 'Future Politicians'. In the ranking of cheapest universities, UGA was rated 19th. Institutions were first ranked according to tuition. Then Newsweek considered student financial aid. For UGA, in-state tuition at the time of the rankings rounded out to $18,000 a year, and 93 percent of students received financial aid.
The University of Mary Washington is placed in the top 25 on a list of "best food" at colleges and universities, rated at number 19, with a "best campus dining" score of 5.3 out of 7. Other Virginia schools on the list include Virginia Tech and James Madison University.
Carson-Newman College is America's leading community service-dedicated higher education institution, according to Newsweek/The Daily Beast's 2011 College Rankings. It is ranked 2nd overall in "Most Service-Oriented" schools.
Swarthmore College is ranked first among schools for activists, 5th for international students, 7th for brainiacs, 15th for most rigorous, 23rd for return on investment, and 24th for horniest.
* Suggested Reading:
Fiske Guide to Colleges 2012
Sierra Club's Cool Schools 2011
Washington Monthly College Ranking 2011


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Summer 2010 Faculty Seminar: Neuroscience Comes to the Honors College
When the first President Bush declared the 1990's the "Decade of the Brain", the idea was "to enhance public awareness of the benefits to be derived from brain research". It worked. Two decades and hundreds of articles and books and PBS specials later, the American public is inarguably much more aware of the fascinating work being done by neuroscientists worldwide. But were those "consumers" equipped to deal with the science? Are the scientists?
These were the questions underlying the sixth annual Honors College Faculty Seminar, held from August 16-18 and led by Professors Bill Falls and Donna Toufexis, of UVM's Department of Psychology. Both Falls and Toufexis are biobehavioral neuroscientists and part of UVM's impressive cluster of scientists from across the campus who are conducting cutting-edge research on the brain. Both of them are endowed with a strong philosophical streak, a propensity to ask tough questions about the kinds of research they and others do on the brain. When the Honors College approached them to organize a seminar on neuroscience, they jumped at the chance to engage non-scientists in the discussion surrounding the science. The seminar that arose from their planning, "Neuroscience beyond biology and medicine: the role of neuroscience in non-science disciplines," was organized around the following questions: How is the human brain unique from the brains of other species? How is the human brain organized and how does human behavior emerge from this organization? How does the evolution of the human brain provide new insights into the arts and humanities, as well as theories of business and law? What is the relationship of the brain to emotion and how might this influence cognition? What are the neurophysiological underpinnings of creativity, culture, religion and ethics? Does neuroscience provide an opportunity to create testable hypotheses in the arts and humanities?
On the first day of the seminar, faculty participants from across UVM (from Philosophy to Mathematics, to Anthropology, to Psychiatry, to Community Development and Applied Economics, to Engineering) spent the day learning some of the science. In presentations from members of UVM's neuroscience group and in the anatomy lab itself, where faculty participants held and prodded actual human brains, it became clear that science has some very powerful instruments for mapping and describing the brain and brain function.
But back to the first question: is science equipped for that knowledge? That conversation - many different versions of it - consumed the next two days. If neuroscientists can understand how the brain forms and stores memory, for instance, can it then be said that science has cracked open the mystery of memory? Will we, in other words, know everything we need to know about memory - not just how we remember, but why? The answer is, of course, no, and it is the reason why the Decade of the Brain will likely never be over. Science itself, as one of the participants said, can't tell us all the answers. In order to get to the areas of the brain that you can't see under a microscope - memory, consciousness - you need the right questions, and philosophers, artists, historians, anthropologists (just to name a few) are the ones who will ask those questions. Science needs those questions, and in turn, the philosophers need the scientists to help them ask the questions. Indeed, if this faculty seminar came to any conclusions over the three days of exceedingly stimulating conversation, it was about the absolute necessity of a fully integral interdisciplinarity as we go forward into the next decades of the brain. Neuroscience, it was decided, can indeed shed some interesting light on things like creativity, culture, religion, and ethics. But from those disciplines come some similarly powerful rays of thought for the scientists. The seminar concluded by looking forward to enhanced conversations across campus between what C.P. Snow a long time ago termed "the two cultures."
Last modified September 29 2010 01:55 PM


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Formula One's Refinancing Term Loan Rises in Initial Trading
April 19 (Bloomberg) -- Formula One's $1.38 billion term loan used to refinance the company's existing credit facilities rose in initial trading.
The loan maturing in 2017 first changed hands at 99.75 cents on the dollar after being sold to investors at 99 cents, according to information provider Markit Group Ltd.
The auto-racing series owned by CVC Capital Partners Ltd. cut the interest margin on the loan by 50 basis points to 450 basis points more than the London interbank offered rate after lenders offered more than the company had sought, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point.
The term loan is part of $2.27 billion in new credit facilities Formula One put in place to refinance the existing $2.92 billion in loans maturing in 2013 and 2014.
To contact the reporter on this story: Patricia Kuo in London at email@example.com
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Faris Khan at firstname.lastname@example.com


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2 arrested after shot fired at employee of Denver garden store; fleeing suspects crash Jeep
Denver police arrest 2 after brief manhunt
DENVER - Two men have been arrested after police say one of them shot at an employee at a west Denver gardening center.
The drama began about 11 a.m. Thursday when two men walked into Dardano's Flowerland at 1205 W. Evans Ave., said Denver Police spokesman John White.
The men asked for a male employee by name and when the worker appeared, one of the men fired a shot at the employee but missed, White said.
The two men jumped into a Jeep and took off, triggering a police pursuit that ended when the Jeep went out of control and crashed into a building near South Clayton Street and West Dakota Avenue, White said.
The men ran from the wreck. Police quickly apprehended one man and caught the other one soon afterward.
Police identified the suspects Thursday afternoon as as Samuel Edelem, 35, and Daniel Gomez, 33.
White said the two men face attempted murder charges.
Dardano's website describes it as "Colorado's 1st Supermarket Garden Center." It grows and sells bedding plants, among other things.


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I am a dorset based location photographer specialising in family photography from a family portrait shoot all the way up to weddings with everything in between. I am passionate about capturing special times and preserving memories through photography. As a mum of 2 young children I am inspired all the time to pick up my camera and record special moments, I want everyone to be able to have affordable photography in a fun and relaxed style.
Please feel free to navigate around my website, the galleries show my 'style' of photography, and you'll find testimonials in my guestbook. If you like what you see please get in contact with me. I work in a location of your choosing whether it be a family shoot at the park or a childrens party at the local village hall. I'll edit your photographs and you will receive a disk within a week of your shoot.


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Just 11 miles from all Washington, D.C. in southern Maryland, this hotel is located off of exit 7A on the Capital Beltway and offers a complimentary scheduled
The Comfort Inn at Andrews AFB offers affordable accommodations in Clinton, MD, approximately 15 miles from Washington National Airport and 1/4 mile from
Find great deals on quality Clinton, Maryland hotels & resorts, or indulge at one of our luxury resorts. Take advantage of the many amenities that can be included with your stay such as in-room internet access, wifi, room service, fitness center, pool, hot tub, steam room, and shuttle services to and from the airport. Browse our Clinton, Maryland hotels and resorts and plan your Clinton, Maryland vacation today!


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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.—The rain-plagued Daytona 500 has been rescheduled for 7 ET tonight because of continuing rain at Daytona International Speedway.
The race was rained out Sunday and postponed until noon Monday. But rain as of 10 a.m. today forced NASCAR to reschedule it again, pushing it back to tonight.
Heavy rain Sunday forced the first postponement of the Daytona 500 in the race's 54-year history, and NASCAR is hoping that the weather eventually cooperates today.
The National Weather Service is predicting an 80 percent chance of rain until 6 p.m. ET today and then 30 percent throughout the evening. Although NASCAR and track officials are hopeful it will take only two hours to dry the track once the rain ends, it could take at least three hours because of the humidity.
NASCAR president Mike Helton said the change in the Monday start time was announced to keep fans from coming to the track and waiting all day. NASCAR, track officials and broadcast partner Fox made the decision jointly, Helton said.
The engines are expected to be fired at 7:02 p.m., Helton said.
"We believe this is a reasonable expectation," Helton said. "We also believe in the modern world with the technology that we have to interpret weather, forecast it and try to stay on top of it in a reasonable amount of time, that having everyone sit around and wait for several hours up until a point that we have more confidence that we can run the race, (it) was more prudent to do it this way."
Daytona president Joie Chitwood said if rain persists, the race could start later than 7 p.m.
A Fox Sports spokesman said the race would be televised on Fox no matter what time it starts.
Neither Chitwood nor Helton would give an exact time the race must start Monday night.
"We'll wait until the last possible minute that we would not run the race," Chitwood said Sunday night. "We want to exhaust every opportunity of getting the track dry and running the race."
If rain washes out the race on Monday, Helton said racing Tuesday at the track is an option. Sprint Cup teams are scheduled to practice at Phoenix International Speedway on Friday.
"Tuesday is an option," Helton said. "We're focused on today right now."
The first open weekend that NASCAR could return to Daytona is Easter weekend April 7-8.
NASCAR had moved the date of the Daytona 500 back to Feb. 26, a week later than last year, to avoid potential conflicts with the Super Bowl in case the NFL expanded to an 18-game schedule. It also eliminated an off week in March early in the season that NASCAR officials believed hurt the sport's momentum.
When the green flag finally falls, Carl Edwards will start from the pole with Roush Fenway Racing teammate Greg Biffle starting beside him on the front row. Tony Stewart, last year's Sprint Cup Series champion, will start third with Kenseth, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Regan Smith completing the first three rows.
Danica Patrick, making her Sprint Cup Series debut, will start 29th.


text:
Conference 2014 ~ November 5-9, 2014 ~ Denver
All requests for refunds MUST be submitted in writing to the national office and RECEIVED no later than 11:59 PM CST by the dates listed below. Telephone requests WILL NOT be honored. Written requests for refunds will be processed as follows:
•Received by October 14, 2014 – Full refund, less a $50 per person administrative fee
•Received October 15 through October 29, 2014 – 50% refund, less a $50 per person administrative fee
•Received on or after October 30, 2014 – No Refunds
Written requests via e-mail may be submitted to:
Written requests via mail may be submitted to:
National Collegiate Honors Council
1100 Neihardt Residence Center
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
540 N. 16th St.
Lincoln, NE 68588-0627
Written requests via fax may be faxed to:
Refunds will be issued approximately 4-6 weeks after the conclusion of the conference.


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Lecture: "Paradigms of Cultural Diversity and Social Inclusion"
Wed, November 16, 2011 • 12:30 PM - 2:00 PM • Hackett Room, SRH 1.313
Rosaleen Howard will review some recent policy and planning measures taken by governments in Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Mexico (with various degrees of input from the indigenous organizations, the universities, and NGOs) with regard to the cultural and linguistic heterogeneity of their populations. The measures include constitutional reforms, in some cases by Constituent Assembly, and the passing of new Laws of Education Reform and Language Rights. They also include innovations in institutional structuring, as a means to provide new frameworks for implementing policy and legal reforms. Professor Howard will examine the discourses of policy planning emerging from each of the countries in question.
Rosaleen Howard is the head of Spanish, Portuguese, and Latin American studies at Newcastle University in the United Kingdom. She is a Fall 2011 Visiting Scholar at LLILAS.
For more information, contact Paloma Diaz at 512.232.2415.


text: I think my Wii might be in a damaged state. When I previously had Homebrew installed before I updated, I remember to have used IOS 249 alot for installations and stuff. I did something in Dop-IOS after I updated, but not so much that I think it could be severe. Anyway, the point is that the Hackmii won't let me install thorugh the bannerbomb because of vulnerable IOS. Is there a way to fix this without any Homebrew at all?


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Discussion in 'Spain' started by richo, Aug 31, 2011.
Well honestly all the league is now is to serve Real Madrid's and Barcelona's interest.
I agree with the comment you made. I am actually one of those that come from a family that has supported Barca for multiple generations. Just to Explain my self: My Father was born in Tarragona and grew up loving Barca just like myself and my kids. My Mother was born in Monterrey MX, hence why i follow this team also. I do hate when people come up to me and my family and say "love your jersey" or "we love barca too". In the US you will get a bunch of band wagon jumpers (my wife being one of them, she roots for ManU). As for latin america, they only grow up idolizing the big two. This goes back to my comment about the mexican league being wealthy because they also buy into tv rights for barca and r. madrid games to be televised.
Ah, you're officially off the hook!
Now, how about also supporting a Texan MLS team as well?
No offense. But the Premier League is a 2 team race between Utd and City. Chelsea and Arsenal ar not consistent enough to win. In Germany Bayern have already won the league and in Italy Inter's start have ruled them out of any contention. In Spain Valencia are just one point behind Barcelona and if they win or draw against Real Madrid next week will stay in the top. Realistically I understand that they won't win the league, but in La Liga Real and Barca have lost more points compared to what City and United have lost in the Premier League.
Every time I try to watch a MLS game, I find my self bored. I have tried to go to both Dallas and Dynamo games and I just don't feel fulfilled. Now San Antonio has a team for next year, but from what i have read into is that it is not going to be that big (they will be playing out of a high school stadium for there first year).
But that's something you can only say now - 3 months into the season. At the beginning of the season Chelsea were rated 2nd favorites after Man United.
Obviously as the season progresses, contenders will drop out of the race.
So you're basically arguing:
Bayern in 1st place as expected = boring;
Inter in 17th place = boring.
You can't have it both ways. If there was any chance that Barca could be in 17th place, even this early in the season, this thread wouldn't exist.
Maybe I'm alone on this one but, frankly, seeing Valencia in 3rd place is almost getting as boring as seeing Barca and RM way ahead of anyone else. I don't see anything interesting there because I know Valencia will be 20+ points behind come May. We can't say the same thing about Dortmund, Napoli, AZ, Montpellier etc. Maybe those teams will fall way behind the leader too. But the key word there is "maybe"
I don't think they are contributing much money though. Domestic TV revenue is at the root of the problem. People always say "well, Barca and RM would still be the top 2 even with fair distribution of TV revenue". Well yeah, no shit! But the issue is the degree of dominance and clubs going bankrupt. I also wouldn't be surprised if the lack of parity has led to players from other clubs leaving La Liga. I mean it can't be much fun playing for one of the "cannon fodder 18".
I can understand the attraction from overseas fans though. Watching Barca is kind of like playing Playstation on "amateur" mode. The ball always sticks to players' feet like glue, passes go right where you want them, you have most of the possession, you can dribble around defenders with ease, and you usually win 5-0.
And so do the Liga Refs...
How is the fair? (TV Right Monies)
Graphic Source: as.com
As a former Spanish resident, I do root for Barca, but mainly just when they are playing the dreaded Madrileños. Aside from el clásico, I support the teams from where I lived, and I´ve been encouraging others to do the same. So in Spain VIVA GRANÁ Y REAL MURCIA
In costa rica- los tiburones de PUNTARENAS
la liga hasnt been interesting for a few yrs now, other than the two big clubs nobody cares or watches the rest of the teams...
I only turn in to watch "El Classicos" otherwise the league has been dead for many years. It's not possible for the others to compete when they get so little TV revenue.
I have always dissliked Serie A but even that league is more fun now in terms of competition. In Spain you you know that for the comming 15-20 years it will only be a battle between Barca and Real.
La Liga is the most un-interesting league in the world. It pains me to say it but its true.
Both Real Madrid and Barcelona are to blame. And with Real madrid possibly 10 points ahead of barca today, this league is officially over half way in.
I dislike both RM and Barca so much.. I wish they both magically disappear.
I would rather be the french league at this point.
I'm new in this phorum.
As a Ream Madrid supporter I'm very happy seeing my club with 10 points ahead Barcelona.
I wish It could be all the years like this one, although I understand there's no more interest on the competition.
But there's still a great incentive
Second round match between Barcelona an Madrid will be played in Barcelona, and it's possible that if Madrid has enough points, it'll be champion on this match...Or even better, if Real Madrid got the championship the match before the one against Barsa, the Barcelona player should do "El pasillo" to Real Madrid player...as they did a few years ago...[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-zGCbdmlrg"]Pasillo - Real Madrid vs Barcelona - YouTube[/ame]
Barca and Madrid are the two best club sides in the World.
The rest of us saw last night the quality of the rest with the performances of Valencia ,Atletico and Athletic in the Europa league.
I suspect all three would be serious contenders in any other League.
Barca expect miracles as 20 years ago?
But the Real is flying high with Ronaldo's goals.
It is difficult to draw conclusions, the chance of the game great, anything is possible
No longer interesting?? The Europa League and Champions League are totally being dominated by Spanish clubs!
La liga is the best league atm but its not the most entertaining. How many people here tune into any club outside of the big 2 and Valencia. Not many after that.
La liga has 2 elite clubs. Either Barcelona or Real Madrid win. Not to mention predictable el classicos. and derby matches. Then, Valencia sits right beneath them.
EPL is probably the most interesting in my opinion since there is a level playing field amongst the top level clubs. There are a lot of hyped built around derby matches which can go either way. EPL usually has 2-3 realistic title contenders. Then the remaining 5-6 clubs are battling it out for a champions/europa league births. Usually. Tottenham, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and now City.
In all honesty, $$$ dictates the strength of any sports league. Outside of the 2 clubs. There isn't much revenue. Also, teams like Valencia, Sevilla, Atletico Madrid, etc.. can't keep good players. Once they get a promising player, they will be bought up by the top world clubs.
Bilbao is going to get eaten up this Summer.
Does anyone know where I can get barca and RM budget reports?
I want to see how much debt they're in, and if their assets cover it all.
Personally I think it's very wrong for any entertainment company to operate on a margin, where they siphon wealth away from entrepreneurs/manufactures who can really grow the economy and create jobs.
Interestingly I saw a statistic during the MLS Cup final showing that teams like L.A. and New York have salary budgets that are 8 times higher than the smallest MLS teams. Doesn't sound much better than La Liga. Well I guess La Liga is probably still a bit more lopsided than that even, but considering all the talk you hear about MLS being so "pro-parity" .... it would seem the facts tell a different tale!
Of course the imbalance in salary budgets doesn't translate to a great imbalance on the field of play in MLS because players are paid based on how popular their name is first and foremost, not their footballing ability.
The league is interesting. Without Barcelona and Real Madrid, they have interesting teams: Atletico Madrid, Valencia, Betis Sevilla, Sevilla, Malaga, Athletic Bilbao. In England I consider these clubs as interesting: Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea. Spanish football is much more nicer and interesting, much more talent and creativity.
Spain has 4 teams in the Champions League knock-out stage.
Germany has 3 clubs.
England has 2 clubs.
Italy has 2 clubs.
Players which scored 5, 6 and 7 goals on one match:
Seven goals:
Kubala (Barça): 10/02/1952 - Barça 9 - Sporting 0
Bata (Athletic): 08/02/1931 - Athletic 12 - Barça 1
Six goals:
Zarra (Athletic): 19/11/1950 - Athletic 10 - U.E. Lleida 0
Mundo (Valencia): 28/03/1943 - Valencia 8 - Betis 3
César (Granada): 22/03/1942 - Granada 7 - Castellón 3
Five goals:
Morientes (Real Madrid) 10/02/2002 - Real Madrid 7 - Las Palmas 0
Alen Peternac (Valladolid, Croatia NT) 19/05/1996 - Real Oviedo 3 - Valladolid 8
Bebeto (Deportivo) 01/10/1995 - Deportivo 5 - Albacete 0
Pichi Alonso (Real Zaragoza) 25-02-1979 - Real Zaragoza 8 - Espanyol 1
Krankl (Barça) 14/01/1979 - Barça 9 - Rayo Vallecano 0
Clares (Barça) 28/11/1976 - Barça 6 - Valencia 1
Uriarte (Athletic) 31/12/1967 - Athletic 8 - Betis 0
Puskas (Real Madrid) 22/01/1961 - Real Madrid 8 - Elche 0
E. Martínez (Barça) 14/02/1960 - Barça 8 - Las Palmas 0
J.G. Pepillo (Real Madrid) 07/02/1960 - Real Madrid 11 - Elche 2
Merodio (Athletic) 11/01/1959 - Osasuna 1 - Athletic 8
Hermida (Celta de Vigo) 13/01/1952 - Celta de Vigo 7 - At. Tetuan 0
Kubala (Barça) 18/11/1951 - Barça 6 - Celta de Vigo 1
Zarra (Athletic) 04/03/1951 - Athletic 7 - Real Sociedad 1
Muñoz (Real Madrid) 30/01/1951 - Real Madrid 7 - U.E. Lleida 0
Navarro (Barça) 11/09/1949 - Barça 10 - Club Gimnàstic 1
Echevarria (Real Oviedo) 21/12/1947 - Real Oviedo 7 - Real Madrid 1
Alsua (Real Madrid) 02/02/1947 - Real Madrid 7 - Castellón 4
Zarra (Athletic) 01/01/1947 - Athletic 6 - Castellón 0
Echevarria (Real Oviedo) 17/10/1943 - Real Oviedo 6 - Espanyol 0
Alday (Real Madrid) 28/02/1943 - Real Madrid 7 - Espanyol 0
Zarra (Athletic) 14/02/1943 - Athletic 8 - Real Oviedo 1
Campanal (Sevilla) 25/01/1942 - Sevilla 6 - Espanyol 0
Raimundo (Sevilla) 28/09/1941 - Sevilla 10 - Real Oviedo 0
Campanal (Sevilla) 29/09/1940 - Sevilla 11 - Barcelona 1
Vergara (Osasuna) 16/02/1936 - Osasuna 6 - Espanyol 1
Bata (Athletic) 17/11/1935 - Athletic 7 - Betis 0
Pombo (Real Racing Club) 30/12/1934 - Real Racing Club 6 - Athletic 0
Urtizberea (Real Sociedad) 19/03/1933 - Real Sociedad 8 - Real Racing Club 0
Vict. Unamuno (Athletic) 19/03/1933 - Athletic 8 - Valencia 2
Iraragorri (Athletic) 27/11/1932 - Athletic 9 - Real Betis 1
This is very true! It's not that the lower spanish teams are bad, they can beat the best teams from any other country they just cant beat Real and Barca. But then again who can beat those two besides each other and maybe a couple teams here and there who could maybe "compete" with them. As the past 3 years have shown us this competition between Real and Barca has only made the other spanish teams much stronger, even stronger than top English, Italian, german teams. I love the spanish league and love watching the creativity and passing styles they have. This is why everyone is splurging on spanish players now even on the ones that are not on the national team, the best players in the world are all coming from spain. So yes and no at the same time. The competition is harder with Barca and Real but don't mistake that for spain teams being weak when they're killing everybody in Champions and Europa.
When we observe these results, it's clear which league is better.
Champions League: 2012
Porto - PSG 1-0
PSG - Porto 2-1
Arsenal - Schalke 0-2
Schalke - Arsenal 2-2
Olympiacos - Arsenal 2-1
Malaga - AC Milan 1-0
AC Milan - Malaga 1-1
Real Madrid - Man. City 3-2
Man. City - B. Dortmund 1-1
Ajax - Man. City 3-1
Man. City - Ajax 2-2
Real Madrid - B. Dortmund 2-1
Man. City - Real Madrid 1-1
B. Dortmund - Man. City 1-0
Chelsea - Juventus 2-2
Shakhtar - Chelsea 2-1
Juventus - Chelsea 3-0
Manchester Utd. had problems against Braga, 3 goals in the last 10 minutes, Braga had 1-0 until 80th minute. Hard victories against Galatasaray, Cluj, defeat against Cluj and Galatasaray.
Chelsea had a lot of problems in the last season against Napoli, Benfica, Barcelona and Bayern.
Europa League: 2012
Liverpool - Udinese 2-3
Udinese could score at the end against Liverpool in Udine.
Liverpool - Young Boys 2-2
Anzhi - Liverpool 1-0
Maritimo - Newcastle 0-0
Brugge - Newcastle 2-2
Newcastle - Maritimo 1-1
Bordeaux - Newcastle 2-0
Tottenham - Lazio 0-0
Panathinaikos - Tottenham 1-1
Maribor - Tottenham 1-1
Lazio - Tottenham 0-0
English clubs have problems against many teams here. They can say that Premierleague is the most important, but club reputation is much more important.
Levante entered in the further stage of Europa League. In Spanish league they are only solid team, not easy to beat. Best English team Man. City can't win against others.
Valladolid and Betis Sevilla were close to take the points against Real and Barcelona. Imagine Valladolid and Betis in the Champions League. They would take a lot of points against others.
Italian teams are also becoming much stronger, French, German, Portuguese league are also very good. We can see some surprises from Ukraine, Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Turkey.
Valencia is in the knock-out stage, but they are on 10th position in Spanish league.
Malaga needs 20 points to catch Barcelona, but they walk through the Group Stage very easy. They will play in semi-finals I think, with good draws.
Beside those clubs from my previous post, I can find some other complicated Spanish teams: Levante, Getafe, now Valladolid seems hard to beat, Real Sociedad, Celta Vigo, Deportivo. I don't think that those teams in the bottom are very bad, they only play in very stron league.
I see a lot of boring English style teams: Swansea, Stoke, Liverpool, West Ham, Norwich, Sunderland, Southampton, Wigan, Reading and QPR. They are really hard to watch.
I enjoyed during the Celta Vigo matches and they are on 15th position now.
I just follow my impressions, players in English league have bigger financial value, but they don't show this value on the court. I could follow: Man. Utd., Man. City, Chelsea, Arsenal, sometimes Everton, Tottenham, Newcastle, Liverpool, Aston Villa mostly because of their good tradition, reputation, only 3,4 teams are interesting to watch.
I would rather watch Inter, Juventus, AC Milan, Roma, Lazio, Napoli than English teams.
Same thing is with the Spanish teams, I remember one match between Getafe and Bayern, this match was so exciting, it finished with a lot of goals, dramatic moments, it was Europa League, or previous UEFA Cup. I like to watch PSG, Lyon, Marseille, atmosphere in St. Etienne, Bordeaux, Rennes, Lille, Montpellier. These matches could offer nice football.
In Germany I watch: Bayern, Borussia, Stuttgart, Leverkusen, Schalke, HSV, Werder, Wolfsburg.
In Portugal: Porto, Sporting, Benfica.
In Netherlands: Ajax, Feyenoord, PSV, Celtic in Scotland. There is much bigger offer outside England, much more talent, quality, atmosphere, decorations, songs, emotions, when I watch English league, sometimes I ask myself: Why am I watching this game, it's boring. Long balls, errors in passing, hard fouls somwhere in the middle, where we can't see any importance, a lot of arrogance, egocentrism of players and coaches.
In Stoke City the most important thing is when Rory Delap takes the ball and hits the ball with his hands, even though we don't see to much advantage.
Nobody can pay the atmosphere in Bilbao, Sevilla (Betis, Sevilla), Barcelona, Madrid, Deportivo, Celta, Valencia, Napoli, Marseille, Paris, Lisbon, Porto, Munchen, Dortmund, etc.
Painfully long post Gilbertsson but very informative and a joy to read (at least for me).
Real Madrid are NOT "killing everybody" in Europe. I have no idea how they got appointed as one of the top 2 teams in Europe when they haven't reached a CL final in some 10 years.
I understand that upsets happen so the CL final isn't always going to be between the best 2 teams. But you have to at least make the final occasionally if you want to be considered one of the top 2 teams in Europe.
Separate names with a comma.


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What did/does the Borg say to the kazon whenever they cross paths?
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January 24 2013, 02:24 AM
Cat-lovin', Star Trekkin' Time Lady
Location: In many different universes, simultaneously.
Re: What did/does the Borg say to the kazon whenever they cross paths?
Guy Gardener wrote:
Usually they say... "We are the Borg. We will assimilate your biological and technological distinctiveness. Your culture will adapt to serve us. Resistance is futile."
"We are the Borg. Your biological and technological distinctiveness is disgusting. Get lost."
Dream wrote:
"How the HELL did you manage to take over Voyager while we keep getting our asses kicked?"
The Borg didn't have Seska (I could see her trying to take over the position of Borg Queen...).
Melakon wrote:
What always surprised me is the Borg going after single passenger crafts, like that guy in Hope and Fear.
If the ship has interesting technology, who cares how many people are on it?
"Let's give it to Riker. He'll eat
For some great Original Series fanfic, check out the
Valjiir Continuum!
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Video:How to Make Taco Casserolewith Abby Feldman
Taco casserole is a delicious meal that's great for family dinners and get-togethers. Here's an easy recipe for taco casserole that's sure to please.See Transcript
Transcript:How to Make Taco CasseroleIf you're looking for the perfect Mexican meal that you can chop and change to your taste, look no further. Hi, Abby Feldman here for About.com, and today we've got some tips for how to make a zesty taco casserole.
Taco casserole is a fast and easy way to do dinner if you've got a lot of mouths to feed. It's a great dish because you can customize the quantities and ingredients to suit your family and friends' tastes and appetites. Let's get started.
Ingredients for the Taco CasseroleTo make taco casserole, you'll need the following ingredients:
- 1-1/2 pounds of lean ground beef
- 1 teaspoon of chili powder
- 1 teaspoon of dried leaf oregano
- 1/2 cup of taco sauce
- 1 can of tomato sauce
- 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- a dash of Tabasco sauce
- 6-ounce bag of corn chips, slightly crumbled
- chopped onion
- chopped tomato
- grated cheese
- chopped lettuce
Cook the Taco CasseroleFirst, cook your ground beef in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the taco sauce, tomato sauce, chili powder, garlic salt, oregano, and Tabasco sauce. Stir occasionally until the beef is cooked through and the onions are soft. Now drain the grease from the pan.
Next, spray a 13-by-9 inch casserole pan with cooking spray. Spread about half of the cooked meat mixture on the bottom of the pan to cover it. Then, add a layer of crumbled corn chips over the top.
Spread the remaining meat mixture on top of the corn chips and top with chopped tomato, onion, and chopped lettuce. Sprinkle the top with a cup of grated cheese. Finally, make one more layer using the last of the crumbled corn chips.
Bake the Taco CasserolePop it in the oven and bake it at 350 degrees for 12 minutes. You'll know it's done when the cheese is melted and bubbling and the edges are slightly browned. When the taco casserole is ready to serve, garnish it with black olives or green onions. Serve with salsa, sour cream and a slice of fresh lime.
Variations for the Taco CasseroleIf you're looking for a side to serve with the casserole, rice and beans or guacamole will go down a treat. If you want a healthier option, the lean ground beef can be substituted with ground pork, ground chicken, or poached chicken breast. Also, try using different types of cheese, or just half cheddar cheese, half Monterrey Jack cheese.
For variety, you can use corn tortillas in place of the crumbled corn chips. Feel free to experiment with other ingredients until it hits the spot.Like other casseroles, taco casserole leftovers can be frozen and kept until you are ready to eat it for lunch or even another dinner.
We hope these tips have helped you make a crunchy and gooey taco casserole. For more Mexican food recipes and tips, please visit us on the web at About.com. Thanks for watching.
About videos are made available on an "as is" basis, subject to the User Agreement.


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Richard lll : The King in the Carpark C4 Monday
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06-02-2013, 10:21
Forum Member
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: East Midlands
Posts: 4,776
Originally Posted by
As with any Medieval church there were a large number of graves, they would have known there were graves there but avoided disturbing them unnecessarily for a range of reasons. If there was a garden the feet could have gone when something was planted, they would have just have been a few more bones of many found in the area.
I'll buy that.
Expect that if there are more excavations on the site then a jumble of bones and perhaps even bodies that would have been buried in coffins should emerge. If there are very few bones from the site - i.e it was disturbed regularly over the centuries after the monastery was demolished, my "they knew it was there all along" conspiracy theory holds water!
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The upgrade is also part of an attempt to deal with delays in the new LCS class ships or at least the ones equipped for mine hunting. So for the last six years the navy has been hustling to refurbish its existing Avenger class minesweepers. The Avengers got new engines, new sonars, improved hydraulics, and new mine destruction systems.
The 3,000 ton LCS ships are designed for minesweeping (and a lot of other jobs) but the 1,400 ton Avengers specialize in minesweeping. Built mostly of wood and very little iron the fourteen Avengers entered the fleet between 1987 and 1994 and all are still in service. The upgrades will enable the Avengers to remain in service at least until 2016 and probably until the end of the decade.
These 72.3 meter (224 foot) long ships draw only 4.8 meters (15 feet) of water, enabling them to operate close to shore. They are armed with two .50 cal. (12.7mm) machine guns, two 7.62mm machine guns, two 40mm grenade launchers, and have a crew of 84. The four original diesel engines in each Avenger have never been very reliable. With the new engines the Avengers can still move at up to 27 kilometers an hour. Normally, however, the Avengers move much more slowly (3-4 kilometers an hour) when searching for mines.
Four Avengers operate out of Bahrain, in the Persian Gulf, and four out of Sasebo, Japan. The rest are based at San Diego, California. Five years ago, most of the Avengers were based at Ingleside, Texas. The Texas Congressional delegation thought they had scored a coup when they forced the navy to base its mine hunting ships at this Texas base. But this was the last place the navy wanted it's mine hunting ships. That's because the most likely places mine hunters would be needed in wartime are at the major ports on the east and west coasts, not in the Gulf of Mexico. But the Texas Congressional delegation made keeping the minesweepers, (and all the local jobs and business for Texas firms) right where it is, a major issue. Eventually, however, logic and military necessity prevailed and all the Avengers were shifted to Pacific and Persian Gulf bases.
The navy also had a dozen smaller Osprey class coastal mine hunters (900 tons displacement, crew of 51), but these were all given away to foreign navies and replaced by the LCS (which has been delayed) and new minesweeping helicopters (which are on schedule).
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Daily Archives: January 5, 2012
Am I fighting the good fight or…a loosing battle?
Every year at the new year I reassess myself. What I am doing, where I am heading, where the things I do are heading . So this came to my mind as I was looking through some forums seeing what others are doing, what they have questions on, what their opinions are.
Here at The HDR Image I heavily promote a style of HDR, "As the Eye Sees" It's my interpretation of what I think HDR is for. I want my HDRs to go beyond what my camera sees and make my image look like what my eye sees and really nothing more than that. It's a fairly realistic and natural style. But I also know that people like and have different styles and I am surely open to artistic intent and support that 100%. But I wanted people to know that there is another way to do things that maybe they didn't realize COULD be done because the example put forth by most are not what I preach.
As I looked around at different forums and blogs in HDR areas, really very few were interested in my style. Most loved more outrageous styles. Or, if they didn't, they didn't offer an alternative, they merely said. HDRs suck.
Keeping a Blog going is based on readership. For pure HDR type websites that offer tutorials and not just images. I rank about 3rd depending on how you would rate things. My readership has risen exponentially in the past year and I am thankful for everyone of you that read me regularly. But I still lag far behind the other two. The leader, you know who he is, has readership in one day that equals half my YEAR. In a recent post he did, before the day was even through he had 120 comments while I struggle to get 1 or 2.
So my question to you is; Am I fighting the good fight to promote my vision of things or am I loosing the battle and turning people away? Do people come look and then go "Eh, that doesn't look like "HDR" I like the other stuff and they go elsewhere. Should I do more articles on how to do Grunge or Painterly styles and give the people what they want?
Am I shooting myself in the foot? I just don't know.


text:
Aust Ch Ibiza Callas Soprano
Sire: Barmauds Mr Rumpole (imp UK)
Dam: Aust Ch Statuesque Tapestry
'Strider' has obtained his final points and has qualified as an Australian Champion, our first here at Ibiza Whippets.
He took his last CC in Sydney at the St George District K C Show under Mrs Danielle Dryburgh, a Whippet Specialist judge.
We thank all the judges that have awarded him his eight "Best of Breeds" & "Challenge Cerificates", four of which were obtained over two weekends and six of which were awarded under Sighthound or Whippet Breed Specialist judges !!
He is a blue fawn, brindle parti-coloured and was born 21st July 2004. Sired by the beautiful import 'Broom', he is out of "Best In Show" winning 'Nikki', owned by Allen Anderson, who also co-owns Strider and was showing him in Adelaide during early 2005.
He consistently wins his classes and has proven to be quite a "show dog", taking Challenges and "Best of Breeds" since a young age. He has won Classes "In Group" , beaten "Best In Specialty Show" winners and at the Royal Melbourne Show 2005, he won "1st Junior Dog" under a leading Israeli judge, qualifying him for 'CRUFTS' England in 2006, the most presigious European Dog show!! although unfortunately we didn't have the time to get there..
Sisiter 'Maria'- Ibiza Callas Maria is a beautiful solid blue brindle and became a mum in February 2006 having had the "KAMINIA" Litter.
He is displaying some of his parents wonderful traits so we look forward to seeing what the future holds for him as a producer.
|Barmauds Mr Rumpole (imp UK)
|UK Ch Fullerton Dream Mover
|UK Aust NZ Ch Nevedith Rare Rogue (imp UK)
|Silkstone Kiss of Fire
|BISS Barmaud How Sweet It Is (exp Swe)
|UK Ch Khabaray Single Malt at Dumbriton
|UK Ch Fullerton Agile Star at Barmaud
|Aust Ch Statuesque Tapestry
|Statuesque Fleete Feet
|Aust Int Swd Fin Dan Nor NZ Ch Statuesque Personalised
|Aust Ch Oakway Barn Dance
|Aust NZ CH Statuesque Visualisation
|Aust Int Swd Fin Dan Nor NZ Ch Statuesque Personalised
|Aust Ch Statuesque Res Anibrow


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Introduce yourself to an alien race distinguished between good and evil goddesses. Due to their treacherous deeds, the evil goddesses are banished to Earth.
They are trying to escape their banishment through collecting personality crystals that come from girls with whom they've had sexual contact with.
These crystals are used to power their "Sun Ship", which will allow them to return back to their home planet.
It is up to the goddesses Natsumi, Reiko, and Mei to protect Earth from theses treacherous bunch and stop the evil goddesses from returning to their home planet.
Thus, the fight between light and darkness begins.
Both sides of goddesses are equipped with powers to battle, but their strongest arsenals are their retractable penises... flooding the enemy with pleasure is the only sure way to triumph...
Brace yourself for a blast of futanari...
Episode 1 Star Jewel OVA Star☆Jewel
Episode 2 Star Jewel OVA Star☆Jewel
Star☆Jewel (OAV)
Alternative Titles
Japanese: STAR☆jewel スタージュエル
Type: OVA
Aired: Dec 8, 2011
Producers: Zyc
Genres: Hentai, Yuri
Duration: 41 min. per episode
A war is being fought between the goddesses of dark and light. While the former try to steal the jewels from innocent women, leaving lifeless husks, the latter hunt the evildoers. Both types of goddesses are equipped with powers to fight, but their strongest weapons are their retractable penises - flooding the enemy with pleasure is the only sure-fire way to win.


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COLUMBIA — State officials are touting a U.S. Department of Commerce report that ranks South Carolina's economy as the 12th fastest growing in the nation.
Gov. Nikki Haley and state Commerce Secretary Bobby Hitt say that's proof the state's successfully growing its economy through manufacturing jobs.
The federal agency's Bureau of Economy Analysis released states' gross domestic product earlier this month. The report shows real GDP increased in all states except Maine.
South Carolina's production across all industries grew by 2.7 percent in 2012, equal to North Carolina. North Dakota ranked first at 13.4 percent growth, followed by Texas at 4.8 percent.
South Carolina's manufacturing sector grew 8.5 percent from 2011, ranking 17th highest nationally and first among East Coast states.
South Carolina's GDP per capita ranked fourth-lowest, at less than $32,000.
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In our Own Backyard: Elmer Livingston MacRae, Greenwich's Own Artist
Elmer Livingston MacRae
Am. 1875-1953
Gay Head, Martha's Vineyard
Oil on canvas
40 x 30 in.
Framed:47 x 36 ¾ in.
Signed and dated lower right
This month Abby M Taylor Fine Art has chosen to shine the spotlight on one of our own local artists, although the term "local" seems not to fully describe the importance of the artist Elmer Livingston MacRae. He was one of the founders and the first Secretary-Treasurer of the American Pastel Society, a charter member of the Greenwich Society of Artists where he served on their council, and most importantly a founding member of the Association of American Painters and Sculptors which organized the famed Armory Show of 1913, an International Exhibition of Modern Art at New York City's 69th Street Armory. This Exhibition showcased the art of such European artists as Paul Cezanne and Marcel Duchamp which was a radical departure from the previously known Realist and Impressionist work. MacRae served on a number of committees that organized this ground-breaking exhibition that would change the face of American art. Without MacRae's tireless work the show could conceivably not been the ultimate success that it was.
MacRae studied under John Twachtman, Carroll Beckwith, Robert Blum, and H. Siddons Mowbray at the Arts Students League in New York City. Many of these students visited the Bush-Holley House in Cos Cob, Connecticut to continue their studies in outdoor landscape painting under John Twachtman and J. Alden Weir, who taught summer classes there. MacRae himself is known to have spent two summers at the school in the 1890's. In 1896 MacRae settled in the village of Cos Cob. At the boardinghouse of Edward and Josephine Holley which had become the unofficial headquarters for the Cos Cob Art Colony MacRae met Emma Constant Holley, the daughter of the owners of the Holley House. In 1900 Elmer Livingston MacRae married Emma and settled permanently in the house that he had come to love. For the next two decades Elmer and Emma together ran the boardinghouse that drew many artists and writers and that served as a setting to showcase MacRae's works. Amongst the best known visitors were the artists Childe Hassam, Theodore Robinson and Ernest Lawson.
Elmer Livingston MacRae painted Gay Head, Martha's Vineyard the year before the landmark International Exhibition of Modern Art held at the 69th Street Armory in New York City in 1913. This painting is a major work by MacRae in its size, scope, subject and technique where he is clearly pushing the bounds of Impressionist painting. Works from this time frame depicting this subject are very rare, and MacRae himself painted possibly just once in this location. The beautiful clay cliffs depicted in Gay Head, Martha's Vineyard are located close to Aquinnah, a town known prior to 1998 as Gay Head on Martha's Vineyard. In this painting the cliffs as well as Jungle Beach below them are ablaze in pastel shades of reds, blues, greens, and yellows that delineate the various clays, sands, and gravels composing the sedimentary layers left by the receding glaciers. MacRae has painted these cliffs in quick almost agitated broken brushstrokes. This dramatic new color palette coupled with the distinct application of paint represents a further step into Impressionism from MacRae's formerly solid style of painting. The abstract brushstrokes, softly toned images, and overall composition reflects the influence of MacRae's teacher and mentor John Henry Twachtman, who taught outdoor landscape painting at the Bush-Holley House. They are also suggestive of a concurrent movement towards a more modernist approach on the part of MacRae. Like many other former Impressionist artists MacRae had been enthralled with Japanese art and woodcuts. Their flattened perspective and asymmetrical orientation can also be seen in the placement of the cliffs towards the front as well as the right side of the canvas as well as the situating of the Elizabeth Islands in the distance towards the upper part of the canvas. MacRae's predilection for painting en plein air or in the open air still remains in this exquisite painting that is full of natural light and gentle atmospheric effects with their shifting transient qualities. A later version of Gay Head, Martha's Vineyard dates from 1915 and is appropriately in the permanent collection of the Greenwich Historical Society which is headquartered at the Bush-Holley House in Cos Cob, Connecticut.
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