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Learning Management Systems | News
Sibling's Blended Schools Network (BSN) has joined the Blackboard Partnerships program to make all of its courses, lessons and units available through Blackboard's teaching and learning environment.
"The delivery of the Blended Schools Network content through Blackboard's teaching and learning environment will help create a complete online education solution for schools," according to a news release. Blackboard will also promote and demo the BSN resources as a result of the partnership.
"As many schools are making the transition to new state standards and blended learning environments, it is incredibly important that there are tools that make the finding, curating and sharing [of] content simple and intuitive," said Mark Belles, senior vice president of K-12 at Blackboard, in a prepared statement. "We couldn't be more excited to expand our longstanding relationship with Blended Schools Network to do just that. Together, we will work to help schools and districts have an even better teaching and learning experience and set students up for success."
More information about BSN is available at blendedschools.net. Go to blackboard.com for more information about Blackboard.
About the Author
Joshua Bolkan is the multimedia editor for Campus Technology and THE Journal. He can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com.
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Paul VI Catholic School wanted to develop a laptop program that would equip its students and teachers with the right tools to increase classroom learning, prepare their students for college, and to develop the 21st Century skill sets required by today's employers. Download this White Paper to learn about their comprehensive selection process and how they are using their new laptops to revolutionize the learning process.
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Real Housewives of Atlanta
Rumor Mill: Did Kim Zolciak Fire Sweetie Hughes?
After Kim Zolciak and Sweetie Hughes abruptly stopped tweeting each other over the summer, rumors began circulating that the two were on the outs.
Now Kim's daughter, Brielle, has revealed on her Formspring — a question-and-answer website — that Sweetie (who worked as Kim's assistant) was fired!
When a fan asked if Sweetie lived with Brielle and her family in their new house, Brielle wrote back, "umm shes firedd."
When another user asked if Sweetie did anything wrong, Brielle responded with, "I dont really wanna talk about it and yeah her whole familys been close for 13 years."
Kim has kept mum on the Sweetie issue, but it sounds like something definitely went down. Sweetie was dragged into a bunch of drama on Season 3 of Real Housewives of Atlanta after NeNe Leakes accused Kim of being racist based on her poor treatment of Sweetie, a claim that Kim vehemently denied.
Did Sweetie grow tired of Kim's demands?
Source: Formspring

subset: commoncrawl


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Rx drug information, pharmaceutical research, clinical trials, news, and more
ZAZOLE® VAGINAL CREAM 0.4%(terconazole vaginal cream 0.4%)
Zazole™ Vaginal Cream 0.4% (terconazole vaginal cream 0.4%) is a white to off-white, water washable cream for intravaginal administration containing 0.4% of the antifungal agent terconazole, cis -1-[ p -[[2-(2,4-Dichlorophenyl)-2-(1- H -1,2,4-triazol-1-ylmethyl)-1,3-dioxolan-4-yl]methoxy]phenyl]-4-isopropylpiperazine compounded in a cream base consisting of butylated hydroxyanisole, cetyl alcohol, isopropyl myristate, polysorbate 60, polysorbate 80, propylene glycol, stearyl alcohol, and purified water.
Zazole™ Vaginal Cream 0.4% is indicated for the local treatment of vulvovaginal candidiasis (moniliasis). As Zazole™ Vaginal Cream 0.4% is effective only for vulvovaginitis caused by the genus Candida, the diagnosis should be confirmed by KOH smears and/or cultures.
[Effectiveness and safety of ciclopirox olamine 1% vaginal cream versus terconazole 0.8% vaginal cream in the treatment of genital candidiasis] [2000.04]A multicenter randomized study was performed. One hundred and seventy patients were selected.We conclude that both treatments are effective and well tolerated for genital candidiasis treatment.
Single dose oral fluconazole vs intravaginal terconazole in treatment of Candida vaginitis. Comparison and pilot study. [1992.10]Candida vaginitis develops in approximately one-fourth of women in their childbearing years...
Terconazole for the treatment of vulvovaginal candidiasis. [1990.11]A double-blind, randomized trial was conducted to evaluate the efficacy and safety of terconazole for vulvovaginal candidiasis. Treatment consisted of daily intravaginal application of one of the following regimens: 80-mg terconazole suppositories for 3 days, miconazole nitrate suppositories for 7 days or placebo suppositories for 7 days...
[Terconazole in vaginal candidiasis. A comparative study] [1990.11]The antimycotic action and tolerance to terconazole in patients with vaginal candidiasis, were evaluated in a blind study. The medication was given in vaginal ovules (VO)240 mg, one dose per day, and 80 mg one daily dose for three days; as compared to chlotrimazole, VO 200 mg, daily dose for three days...
Terconazole cream for non-Candida albicans fungal vaginitis: results of a retrospective analysis. [2000]OBJECTIVE: Although it is FDA-approved for use in vulvovaginal candidiasis caused by non-Candida albicans species, terconazole cream has not been been studied in patients with these infections. We sought to assess the clinical and mycological efficacy of terconazole cream in women with non-C. albicans vaginitis... CONCLUSIONS: Terconazole cream may be an appropriate first-line treatment for non C. albicans vaginitis, even in patients who have previously received the drug.
Multi-Center Study of New Medications to Treat Vaginal Infections [Not yet recruiting]
Multi-Center Study of New Medications to Treat Vaginal Infections [Not yet recruiting]
All Rights reserved - Copyright DrugLib.com, 2006-2015


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Hotels in 53038 - Johnson Creek WI
Only hotels in 53038 zip code are listed below. Search for cheap and discount hotel rates in Johnson Creek, WI for your upcoming leisure or conference / group travel. We list the best 53038 hotels and motels so you can review the Johnson Creek hotel list below to find the perfect lodging. Hotels in Jefferson county and area code 920 are also listed.
53038 Hotels/Accommodations
Next: Show All Available 53038 Hotels with Pricing >


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Placement of healthy animals with responsible and caring individuals is one of the Greenville Humane Society's most important goals.
Each prospective owner is required to sign an adoption contract promising to provide proper care and treatment of the pet being adopted. On average, the Greenville Humane Society finds homes for nearly 400 animals per month. That's a lot of success stories!


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to educate, inspire and equip the urban homesteader
Dec 10th – 2nd Annual FARMcurious Underground Holiday Party
Sample delicious homemade creations while you explore your homesteading wish list and learn a new skill! Our second annual Underground Holiday Party will be part DIY food demos, part holiday shopping and all party.
Join us at the super swanky St Regis Hotel in San Francisco for an afternoon of tasty snacks and holiday fun.
3pm – Cheesemaking 101: Making Fresh Chevre for your Holiday Celebrations
4pm – Home-Canned Goods as Holiday Gifts
5pm – Making Backyard (or Farmer's Market) Fruit Wine
6-7pm – Holiday Gift Trade – bring handcrafted food items, body care products or other homemade gifts to trade with others. Read gift trade guidelines here.
Some things you might win in our raffles and contests include:
We'll announce the actual location the morning of the event so be sure to RSVP by reserving your ticket here.


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ELIZABETHTON — After two months of meeting, deliberations and calculations, the Budget Committee reached a recommendation Monday afternoon that the property tax rate for the new fiscal year should be $2.19 per $100 of assessed value. The measure was approved by a 5-2 vote, with Chairman Tom Bowers and Charlie Bayless voting against it.
Now all the committee has to do is recommend the 18-cent increase over the certified rate to the public and the full commission July 29. A public hearing is scheduled on the recommendation at 4 p.m. in the Main Courtroom of the Carter County Courthouse. The hearing will be followed by a reconvening of Monday's County Commission meeting to vote on the Budget Committee's recommendation or select an alternative rate. State law specifies the work must be completed in July.
The committee's proposed rate includes the recommended increase of 37 additional jailers for the new jail and also increases of $1,076,000 for the county and city school systems and $344,720 for the Highway Department and $378,783 more in the General Fund to cover increases in the costs of utilities, insurance and maintenance agreements.
All of those increases amounted to more than an 18-cent increase in the property tax rate. The committee kept the tax rate lower by a one-time hit on debt service. The expenses for servicing the county's debt next year will be $2,889,000, but the committee is only placing 12.6 cents of the property tax rate into debt service. That will raise $991,000.
What makes this funding possible is a healthy fund balance of $8 million that will cover the difference. The committee felt justified in using some of the reserves because of the difficult economic condition of many citizens of the county this year and the better prospects for the coming year, when at least three new companies are projected to be locating in the county.
The complete breakdown of the committee's proposed property tax rate is 98.64 cents for the School System, 95.04 cents for the General Fund, 12.6 cents for debt service and 13.38 cents for the Highway Department. That is a total of $2.1966.
The committee's decision came after three hours of discussions that centered on the funding of 37 new corrections officers for the new jail. That was the number recommended by Jim Hart, the jail staffing consultant for the University of Tennessee's County Technical Assistance Service. Hart has been working on the staffing needs of the new jail since 2009.
While the committee agreed to recommend funding for the 37 additional positions, which totaled $1.3 million, it did not include additional funding to cover increased operational costs for the new jail, which is five times larger than the current jail.
Sheriff Chris Mathes said after the meeting that he did not think there would be a problem with the failure to include increased operating costs. He does not anticipate hiring the 37 additional positions until November. He said the money saved in salaries between now and then should cover the increased operational expenses.
Prior to reaching an agreement on the property tax rate, Mayor Leon Humphrey criticized the committee for not making any cuts at a time when both state and federal governments have been making cuts.
The committee responded by discussing a 5 percent across-the-board cut in the General Fund budget. The measure was defeated by a 6-1 vote. Only Scott Sams voted in favor.
For the second time, Steve Chambers attempted to get funding for the Carter County Rescue Squad cut. This time, he suggested the squad transfer $110,000 of its funding to the school department to pay for two new health science teachers.
Humphrey criticized the targeting of one agency instead of an across-the-board reduction and asked why the Rescue Squad was targeted.
Bowers answered that the Rescue Squad was a private organization and shouldn't receive government subsidies. He also said the Squad sued county residents who did not pay their ambulance bills.
Rescue Squad Director Terry Arnold said the funding was for rescue operations in disasters or lost and injured hikers and hunters. He said if the county did not wish to fund the operations, he would be glad to transfer the responsibilities to the sheriff's department.
Mathes said his staff was not trained or equipped to take on the Rescue Squad's specialized missions.


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A Raleigh man was arrested Wednesday night for making threats against Governor Bev Perdue and several other leaders. Angelos Vangelos, age 46, is charged with at least 29 counts of making threats against an executive officer and two counts of making a bomb threat. According to arrest warrants, Vangelos made death threats against Perdue nine times and also threatened to blow up her home. Vangelos is in jail under a one million dollar bond.
Man arrested for making death threats against Gov. Perdue and other leaders
Tags: Bev Perdue, News
Submitted: Thu, 06/25/2009 - 8:31pm
Updated: Thu, 02/02/2012 - 4:49pm
By: WWAY


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This note is in response to those who feel you cannot run government as a business. I believe you folks are missing the point, which is fiscal responsibility. If you run a business in a manner that is not fiscally responsible, your business will surely be bankrupt in a short while. If you run a government without fiscal responsibility, you will continually be running a deficit budget, looking for "new sources of revenue" (i.e., new taxes) and destroying your government's credit rating. Sound familiar?
Bob Gleason
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Posts Tagged «optics»
International Space Station may get laser cannon to vaporize orbital debris May 18, 2015 at 3:15 pm
It's time to stop getting out of the way and start standing up to space junk — with lasers.
Color-switching nano-laser brings real optical nanotech much closer April 28, 2015 at 8:45 am
A breakthrough makes it possible to tune the color of a nano-scale laser in real time — and that could be the key to making useful, real-world nano-optical devices.
ISS astronauts to test new eye protection for future Mars missions March 27, 2015 at 4:27 pm
Three new technologies will be tested on the ISS over the next year to make sure future Mars pioneers will be able to see where they're going.
Flashing LEDs could create a mesh network for self-driving cars August 20, 2014 at 3:55 pm
Forget radar–it may be possible to create a mesh network for cars with a few flashing LEDs.
New display tech corrects for bad eyesight, makes reading glasses a thing of the past July 30, 2014 at 1:45 pm
A new technology from UC Berkeley could make your glasses obsolete by correcting images on a screen so they appear clear to your busted eyes.
World's first digital laser shapes its own beam, heralds new age of trippy concert lighting February 5, 2013 at 2:45 pm
Though lasers are seen as a sci-fi technology of the future, they're actually pretty prevalent today. However, just because they're prevalent doesn't mean they don't have a significant amount of space to evolve into something more useful than their current state. Now, researchers have developed the first digital laser, which is capable of changing the shape of its own beam.
Future imaging tools could replace lenses with microwave-sensing metamaterials January 28, 2013 at 12:00 pm
Conventional imaging systems typically use a lens to map an object onto a detector plane. They acquire information as pixels, or vectors, and perform software compression after the fact. With the adoption of ever higher pixel densities we will soon reach a point where this kind of strategy is just not going to cut it anymore. A new device that uses metamaterials and compressive sensing for optimal imaging has come to our rescue.


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Lina Daniels was eleven years old when her mother divulged that true love doesn't exist and heartbreak is inevitable. Now a late-twenties struggling writer, Lina is terrified of opening her heart to anyone. She fumbles through life, battling bouts of depression and avoiding real relationships at all costs…until one too many glasses of wine at a New Year's Eve party undermines her resolve.
She ends up in the arms of an irresistible prospect and decides to give love a chance.
The better judgment of her best friends tells her he's not the right guy. But finding the courage to fall in love is only the beginning of Lina's journey. Uncharted risks and bold mistakes open her eyes to a life-changing realization. She may learn her mother was right about the certainty of heartbreak. Yet she may also find that true love does exist, and it makes the heartbreak worthwhile.


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Posts Tagged 'United States'
United States, the last empire?
And Then There Was One Imperial Gigantism and the Decline of Planet Earth By Tom Engelhardt It stretched from the Caspian to the Baltic Sea, from the middle of Europe to the Kurile Islands in the Pacific, from Siberia to Central Asia. Its nuclear arsenal held 45,000 warheads, and its military had five million troops under arms. There had been nothing like it in Eurasia since the Mongols conquered China, took parts of Central Asia and the Iranian plateau, and rode ... Full Story
Bye, Bye American Dream!
Bye, Bye American Dream! U.S. Economic Inequality Is Permanent, Study Finds By Steven Rosenfeld Analysis of two decades of income tax trends also find the rich consume more. A new study by a team of economists in academia and the government has concluded that economic inequality is a permanent—not temporary—feature in the United States, based on an analysis of 350,000 federal income tax returns between 1987 and 2009. "For household income, both before and after taxes, ... Full Story
Is freedom disappearing in America?
4 Freedoms in America That Don't Exist Anymore Freedom seems to exist more in our minds than in reality. January 28, 2013 | If asked why we live in a great country, an American is likely to respond: "Because we are free." Fortunately for the respondent, explanation is rarely required. Freedom is difficult to define, and today it seems to exist more in our minds than in reality. In a 1941 Message to Congress, Franklin Delano Roosevelt tried to explain what it ... Full Story
What to do about Iran
Tomgram: Pepe Escobar, Obama in Tehran? Imagine, for a moment, a world in which the United States is a regional power, not a superpower. A world in which the globe's mightiest nation, China, invades Mexico and Canada, deposing the leaders of both countries. A world in which China has also ringed the Americas, from Canada to Central America, with military bases. A world in which Chinese officials openly brag about conducting covert ... Full Story
Israel targets Obama
Netanyahu to Obama on election: When we say jump, you say how high? By Franklin Lamb Presidential candidate Barack Obama is being targeted by the US Israel lobby from A to Z, (Ackerman, Gary & Aipac to Zuckerman, Mort & the Zionist Organization of America) as no American president seeking re-election has been in the country's 236 year history. Israel's duel ... Full Story
United States on the road to Fascism?
The 14 Defining Characteristics Of Fascism Free Inquiry Spring 2003 Dr. Lawrence Britt has examined the fascist regimes of Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia) and several Latin American regimes. Britt found 14 defining characteristics common to each: 1. Powerful and Continuing Nationalism - Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are ... Full Story
Fascism in America
14 defining characteristics of fascism: the U.S. in 2012 By Gregory Patin , Madison Independent Examiner "When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross." --- Sinclair Lewis, It Can't Happen Here . (1935) In the spring of 2003, ex-corporate executive and political scientist Lawrence W. Britt published an essay in Free Inquiry magazine entitled "Fascism Anyone?" In his work, Britt examined the traits of the two governments that formed ... Full Story
Paul Ryan's Plan For American Decline
By Joe Conason If the foreign adversaries and competitors of the United States imagined a future that would fufill their most ambitious objectives, it might begin with a government crippled by the House Republican leadership's "Ryan budget" released on Tuesday. Followed to its absurd conclusion, this document would lead America toward a withered state, approaching the point where Marxian dreams and Randian dogma converge. Or at least that's the view ... Full Story
GOP budget, poverty for most
Once upon a time, the United States was a prosperous nation with a strong middle class. The middle class had achieved what President Theodore Roosevelt dreamed for the middle class; a living wage that allowed them to take care of their family, buy a house, save some for old age. These people were able to live the American Dream and they purchased the products made in factories in the U.S. They were able to support charities and community activities. Workers shared in the wealth created by their ... Full Story
10 Myths About Iran
And Why They're Dead Wrong Here's the truth about Iran By Jasmin Ramsey March 8, 2012 | As media reports continue to imply that a military confrontation with Iran is closer than ever, rhetoric demonizing the Iranian government is rampant, particularly among Israeli leaders and most Republican presidential candidates—so much so that former Israeli Mossad director Efraim Halevy recently complained that Mitt Romney is "making the ... Full Story


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Posted at: 07/01/2013 10:39 PM
Updated at: 07/01/2013 10:43 PM
By: Steph Crock
(ABC 6 News) -- Starting Monday, millions of students will have to brace for a hike in student loan interest rates because congress couldn't reach a deal to keep the Stafford Loan interest rates low.
Interest rates on Stafford Loans have been bumped from 3.4% to 6.8 % and if the US Senate doesn't act fast, this could hurt students accepting a loan for the upcoming school year. "I originally wanted to go to Auburn which is in Alabama but it was too expensive so I thought it would be cheaper to go here for a year," said RCTC student Heather Gosse.
For students like Heather, every penny counts. "The fact that school is so much money, it just holds a lot of people back," said Gosse. She plans to take out a loan to make up for the out of state tuition next year, so hearing the final bill may be even more, is scary to think about. "Like if do 4 years of college, graduate, and then I can't find a job right away," she said.
"They're saying about $1,000 is what's going to be the additional cost on top of the loan, but still, $1,000 is a lot for a student," said Assistant Director of Financial Aid at RCTC Natasha Thompson.
Which is why some students aren't accepting loans, at least until congress gets this sorted out. "Some people are a little more hesitant to take out the loans just because they are not sure what the interest rates are going to be and I don't blame them," said Thompson.
She says students should still apply for the loan now if they need it, but suggests not accepting it just yet. "If they're deciding to accept this loan, then they will be affected by this interest rate," said Thompson.
However, time is ticking for students who want to make sure they're covered for the upcoming school year. "I don't want to take out a loan but sometimes you just have to in order to get where you want to go," said Gosse.
Subsidized loans, however, still remain the same in that interest does not start accruing on those loans until after the student has graduated. U.S. lawmakers say they hope to reach a deal next week.


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Two charged with drug trafficking
SOUTH POINT, Ohio -- Two people were arrested after the Lawrence Drug and Major Crimes Task Force served a search warrant Wednesday night at the Southern Hills motel, according to a news release.
John Stafford, 45, of the 2200 block of Liberty Street, Ashland, was charged with trafficking in drugs.
Steven Conley, 23, who was staying at the motel, also was charged with drug trafficking. He also was served with an arrest warrant on a charge of robbery in the South Point area earlier this month, according to the release.
Authorities seized 132 oxycodone pills, nine Xanax pills, various drug paraphernalia and $466 in cash.
Participating in the raid with task force members were Ironton police, the Ohio State Highway Patrol and Lawrence County sheriff's deputies.


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Resources for Healthy Sleep
From "The Happiest Baby on the Block," composed by Xakana.
8 Infant Sleep Facts Every Parent Should Know
In order to better understand the how-to's of getting you and your baby to enjoy going to sleep and staying asleep, here are some important principles of sleep that every new parent needs to understand, by Dr. Sears.
Elizabeth Pantley's No Cry Sleep Solution
Tons of information on sleep, sleep and sleep.
(More to come, we swear!)
Group Owner: Nestlé-Free Zone Check it out to learn about or join the boycott.
I Can Has Cheezburger? Love LOLZ Cats? Join the group!
Changing The Sleep Pattern In The Family Bed
Mom of a three year old girl and one year old boy, baby due in Jan, proud wife, wal mart boycotter, passionate republican, never let my kids cio, sahm, educated, luxury lover, traditional, do not consider my family "typical american family" no crap food, little TV, lots of love!


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Science Curriculum at BJU
Ground-breaking Curriculum
The BJU Biology Department has been a pioneer in developing innovative curriculum since the mid-1960s when we first created General Biology as the entry course to replace the then standard starting point of Zoology or Botany. We saw in the 1960s the need to develop a course that integrated all of biology into clearly articulated foundational ideas at the cellular level.
As biology has grown, our curriculum has kept pace. By the early 1980s the complexity of biological concepts required the creation of General Biology II. General Biology I and II are now the standard for biological science majors in most universities. More recently, an increased understanding of life at the cellular and molecular levels has caused a revolution in biological thought and produced what has been called the "New Biology." We responded in 1986 with the creation of a senior-level course, Bio 506 Cell and Molecular Biology.
As the new biology shattered old paradigms, it necessitated an expansion of the conceptual base down to the freshman and sophomore years. We responded by creating a required sophomore-level course, Essentials of Cell Biology, in 1999. General Biology I and II and Essentials of Cell Biology now constitute the core curriculum of the biology and premed/predent majors.
Deep and (eventually) Wide
General Biology I and II courses offered by most universities are a rapid survey of all of biology in a manner that has been characterized as "a mile wide and an inch deep." Dr. Bruce Alberts, past president of the National Academy of Sciences, lamented this problem in 1998: "Far too many of our introductory courses are tedious surveys of an entire field—as if, for example, one could hope to gain any real understanding of all of biology in a single year." His solution was that students needed to "[gain] a detailed understanding of the inner workings of the cell's many marvelous protein machines."
Our core curriculum is specifically designed to produce in you an understanding of biology at the foundational molecular level. We are not content with mere factual recall. You learn at a depth that allows you to apply your understanding to solving real-world science problems. Only after this deep understanding of the conceptual foundation of biology is achieved do you broaden your understanding to include the immense diversity of the biological world.
Solid Science
Ultimately, biology is something you do. It is a way of thinking that you exercise in asking scientific questions in an experimental context. Once again, our curriculum leads the way.
During your very first semester in General Biology I, you learn how to design and conduct experiments. You do several small experimental studies and ultimately a semester project in which the findings are presented in written form as well as orally to the rest of the class, followed by a question and answer time. General Biology II continues this pattern at an even higher level, and Essentials of Cell Biology lab consists almost entirely of experimental modules.
During your sophomore year you take a course in Research Methods and Analysis, and nearly every biology course above that level includes a 3-hour lab focused on experimentation.
During both semesters of your senior year, biology majors in the Cell Biology track conduct independent research under the supervision of our full-time research director. This opportunity is also available to premed/predent majors.
The research director orchestrates an expansive program of undergraduate research which includes opportunities in cancer research in a new lab suite constructed expressly for this purpose. A summer-long research program in biology is also available.
Learn more about Science Education, Biology and Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.


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|The books Sweetheart has read so far...
It came with printable circles for the books we read that year. So I printed off little pictures of the books she has read this year and we added them. (to the year they were published)
Reading big numbers (dates), before and after....lots of good learning with this little activity! Plus, we put pictures of our family on the timeline so she could get a feel for how old a book is
|Ping (which we read in Kindergarten and this year), was written the year before Grandpa was born! (And before Kit Kittredge--American Girl stories help us place them in time too.)
|But the Children's Encyclopedia was written when Little Bit was one!
|Little Bit finished reading her first "real" book this week--a CHAPTER book no less! Now she's reading Green Eggs and Ham.
|Sad and empty.


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Created: 01/11/2013 11:13 AM KSTP.com By: Cassie Hart
A follow-up to a story we first told you about a Golden Valley woman fighting to avoid eviction.
Rose McGee was at the Hennepin County Government Center the day after Christmas for an eviction hearing, and she got it pushed back.
Well on Thursday, she got some good news. Her mortgage company and Fannie May approached her, saying they are interested in modifying her loan.
She says it's a step in the right direction, because she says she was stuck in "dual-tracking." Her bank foreclosed on her home while she was trying to get a loan modification.
The recent news could finally bring her some relief.
"I want to win. It's come to my realization that people are depending on this win and not just for me in the future. This is a win for people who don't even know they will have this issue yet."
She has until a hearing next month to agree on a loan modification.
McGee says people with a similar problem should contact the State Attorney General.


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EARTH Earth (or the Earth) is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets. It is sometimes referred to as the World, the Blue Planet,[20] or by its Latin name, Terra.[note 6] Earth formed 4.54 billion years ago, and life appeared on its surface within one billion years.[21] The planet is home to millions of species, including humans.[22] Earth's biosphere has significantly altered the atmosphere and other abiotic conditions on the planet, enabling the proliferation of aerobic organisms as well as the formation of the ozone layer which, together with Earth's magnetic field, blocks harmful solar radiation, permitting life on land.[23] The physical properties of the Earth, as well as its geological history and orbit, have allowed life to persist during this period. The planet is expected to continue supporting life for at least another 500 million years.[24][25] Earth's outer surface is divided into several rigid segments, or tectonic plates, that migrate across the surface over periods of many millions of years. About 71% of the surface is covered by salt water oceans, with the remainder consisting of continents and islands which together have many lakes and other sources of water that contribute to the hydrosphere. Earth's poles are mostly covered with solid ice (Antarctic ice sheet) or sea ice (Arctic ice cap). The planet's interior remains active, with a thick layer of relatively solid mantle, a liquid outer core that generates a magnetic field, and a solid iron inner core. Earth interacts with other objects in space, especially the Sun and the Moon. At present, Earth orbits the Sun once every 366.26 times it rotates about its own axis, which is equal to 365.26 solar days, or one sidereal year.[note 7] The Earth's axis of rotation is tilted 23.4° away from the perpendicular of its orbital plane, producing seasonal variations on the planet's surface with a period of one tropical year (365.24 solar days).[26] Earth's only known natural satellite, the Moon, which began orbiting it about 4.53 billion years ago, provides ocean tides, stabilizes the axial tilt, and gradually slows the planet's rotation. Between approximately 3.8 billion and 4.1 billion years ago, numerous asteroid impacts during the Late Heavy Bombardment caused significant changes to the greater surface environment. Both the mineral resources of the planet, as well as the products of the biosphere, contribute resources that are used to support a global human population. These inhabitants are grouped into about 200 independent sovereign states, which interact through diplomacy, travel, trade, and military action. Human cultures have developed many views of the planet, including personification as a deity, a belief in a flat Earth or in the Earth as the center of the universe, and a modern perspective of the world as an integrated environment that requires stewardship. Chronology Main article: History of the Earth See also: Geological history of Earth The earliest dated Solar System material was formed 4.5672 ± 0.0006 billion years ago,[27] and by 4.54 billion years ago (within an uncertainty of 1%)[21] the Earth and the other planets in the Solar System had formed out of the solar nebula—a disk-shaped mass of dust and gas left over from the formation of the Sun. This assembly of the Earth through accretion was thus largely completed within 10–20 million years.[28] Initially molten, the outer layer of the planet Earth cooled to form a solid crust when water began accumulating in the atmosphere. The Moon formed shortly thereafter, 4.53 billion years ago.[29] The current consensus model[30] for the formation of the Moon is the giant impact hypothesis, in which the Moon was created when a Mars-sized object (sometimes called Theia) with about 10% of the Earth's mass[31] impacted the Earth in a glancing blow.[32] In this model, some of this object's mass would have merged with the Earth and a portion would have been ejected into space, but enough material would have been sent into orbit to coalesce into the Moon. Outgassing and volcanic activity produced the primordial atmosphere of the Earth. Condensing water vapor, augmented by ice and liquid water delivered by asteroids and the larger proto-planets, comets, and trans-Neptunian objects produced the oceans.[33] The newly formed Sun was only 70% of its present luminosity, yet evidence shows that the early oceans remained liquid—a contradiction dubbed the faint young Sun paradox. A combination of greenhouse gases and higher levels of solar activity served to raise the Earth's surface temperature, preventing the oceans from freezing over.[34] By 3.5 billion years ago, the Earth's magnetic field was established, which helped prevent the atmosphere from being stripped away by the solar wind.[35] Two major models have been proposed for the rate of continental growth:[36] steady growth to the present-day[37] and rapid growth early in Earth history.[38] Current research shows that the second option is most likely, with rapid initial growth of continental crust[39] followed by a long-term steady continental area.[40][41][42] On time scales lasting hundreds of millions of years, the surface continually reshaped as continents formed and broke up. The continents migrated across the surface, occasionally combining to form a supercontinent. Roughly 750 million years ago (Ma), one of the earliest known supercontinents, Rodinia, began to break apart. The continents later recombined to form Pannotia, 600–540 Ma, then finally Pangaea, which broke apart 180 Ma.[43] Evolution of life Main article: Evolutionary history of life Highly energetic chemistry is believed to have produced a self-replicating molecule around 4 billion years ago and half a billion years later the last common ancestor of all life existed.[44] The development of photosynthesis allowed the Sun's energy to be harvested directly by life forms; the resultant oxygen accumulated in the atmosphere and formed a layer of ozone (a form of molecular oxygen [O3]) in the upper atmosphere. The incorporation of smaller cells within larger ones resulted in the development of complex cells called eukaryotes.[45] True multicellular organisms formed as cells within colonies became increasingly specialized. Aided by the absorption of harmful ultraviolet radiation by the ozone layer, life colonized the surface of Earth.[46] Since the 1960s, it has been hypothesized that severe glacial action between 750 and 580 Ma, during the Neoproterozoic, covered much of the planet in a sheet of ice. This hypothesis has been termed "Snowball Earth", and is of particular interest because it preceded the Cambrian explosion, when multicellular life forms began to proliferate.[47] Following the Cambrian explosion, about 535 Ma, there have been five major mass extinctions.[48] The most recent such event was 65 Ma, when an asteroid impact triggered the extinction of the (non-avian) dinosaurs and other large reptiles, but spared some small animals such as mammals, which then resembled shrews. Over the past 65 million years, mammalian life has diversified, and several million years ago an African ape-like animal such as Orrorin tugenensis gained the ability to stand upright.[49] This enabled tool use and encouraged communication that provided the nutrition and stimulation needed for a larger brain, which allowed the evolution of the human race. The development of agriculture, and then civilization, allowed humans to influence the Earth in a short time span as no other life form had,[50] affecting both the nature and quantity of other life forms. The present pattern of ice ages began about 40 Ma and then intensified during the Pleistocene about 3 Ma. High-latitude regions have since undergone repeated cycles of glaciation and thaw, repeating every 40–100,000 years. The last continental glaciation ended 10,000 years ago.[51] Future Main article: Future of the Earth See also: Risks to civilization, humans and planet Earth The life cycle of the Sun The future of the planet is closely tied to that of the Sun. As a result of the steady accumulation of helium at the Sun's core, the star's total luminosity will slowly increase. The luminosity of the Sun will grow by 10% over the next 1.1 Gyr (1.1 billion years) and by 40% over the next 3.5 Gyr.[52] Climate models indicate that the rise in radiation reaching the Earth is likely to have dire consequences, including the loss of the planet's oceans.[53] The Earth's increasing surface temperature will accelerate the inorganic CO2 cycle, reducing its concentration to levels lethally low for plants (10 ppm for C4 photosynthesis) in approximately 500 million[24] to 900 million years. The lack of vegetation will result in the loss of oxygen in the atmosphere, so animal life will become extinct within several million more years.[54] After another billion years all surface water will have disappeared[25] and the mean global temperature will reach 70 °C[54] (158 °F). The Earth is expected to be effectively habitable for about another 500 million years from that point,[24] although this may be extended up to 2.3 billion years if the nitrogen is removed from the atmosphere.[55] Even if the Sun were eternal and stable, the continued internal cooling of the Earth would result in a loss of much of its CO2 due to reduced volcanism,[56] and 35% of the water in the oceans would descend to the mantle due to reduced steam venting from mid-ocean ridges.[57] The Sun, as part of its evolution, will become a red giant in about 5 Gyr. Models predict that the Sun will expand out to about 250 times its present radius, roughly 1 AU (150,000,000 km).[52][58] Earth's fate is less clear. As a red giant, the Sun will lose roughly 30% of its mass, so, without tidal effects, the Earth will move to an orbit 1.7 AU (250,000,000 km) from the Sun when the star reaches it maximum radius. The planet was therefore initially expected to escape envelopment by the expanded Sun's sparse outer atmosphere, though most, if not all, remaining life would have been destroyed by the Sun's increased luminosity (peaking at about 5000 times its present level).[52] A 2008 simulation indicates that Earth's orbit will decay due to tidal effects and drag, causing it to enter the red giant Sun's atmosphere and be vaporized.[58] Composition and structure Main article: Earth science Further information: Earth physical characteristics tables Earth is a terrestrial planet, meaning that it is a rocky body, rather than a gas giant like Jupiter. It is the largest of the four solar terrestrial planets in size and mass. Of these four planets, Earth also has the highest density, the highest surface gravity, the strongest magnetic field, and fastest rotation,[59] and is probably the only one with active plate tectonics.[60] Shape Main article: Figure of the Earth Size comparison of inner planets (left to right): Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars The shape of the Earth approximates an oblate spheroid, a sphere flattened along the axis from pole to pole such that there is a bulge around the equator.[61] This bulge results from the rotation of the Earth, and causes the diameter at the equator to be 43 km larger than the pole to pole diameter.[62] The average diameter of the reference spheroid is about 12,742 km, which is approximately 40,000 km/π, as the meter was originally defined as 1/10,000,000 of the distance from the equator to the North Pole through Paris, France.[63] Local topography deviates from this idealized spheroid, although on a global scale, these deviations are small: Earth has a tolerance of about one part in about 584, or 0.17%, from the reference spheroid, which is less than the 0.22% tolerance allowed in billiard balls.[64] The largest local deviations in the rocky surface of the Earth are Mount Everest (8848 m above local sea level) and the Mariana Trench (10,911 m below local sea level). Because of the equatorial bulge, the surface locations farthest from the center of the Earth are the summits of Mount Chimborazo in Ecuador and Huascarán in Peru.[65][66][67] Chemical composition of the crust[68] Compound Formula Composition Continental Oceanic silica SiO2 60.2% 48.6% alumina Al2O3 15.2% 16.5% lime CaO 5.5% 12.3% magnesia MgO 3.1% 6.8% iron(II) oxide FeO 3.8% 6.2% sodium oxide Na2O 3.0% 2.6% potassium oxide K2O 2.8% 0.4% iron(III) oxide Fe2O3 2.5% 2.3% water H2O 1.4% 1.1% carbon dioxide CO2 1.2% 1.4% titanium dioxide TiO2 0.7% 1.4% phosphorus pentoxide P2O5 0.2% 0.3% Total 99.6% 99.9% Chemical composition See also: Abundance of elements on Earth The mass of the Earth is approximately 5.98×1024 kg. It is composed mostly of iron (32.1%), oxygen (30.1%), silicon (15.1%), magnesium (13.9%), sulfur (2.9%), nickel (1.8%), calcium (1.5%), and aluminium (1.4%); with the remaining 1.2% consisting of trace amounts of other elements. Due to mass segregation, the core region is believed to be primarily composed of iron (88.8%), with smaller amounts of nickel (5.8%), sulfur (4.5%), and less than 1% trace elements.[69] The geochemist F. W. Clarke calculated that a little more than 47% of the Earth's crust consists of oxygen. The more common rock constituents of the Earth's crust are nearly all oxides; chlorine, sulfur and fluorine are the only important exceptions to this and their total amount in any rock is usually much less than 1%. The principal oxides are silica, alumina, iron oxides, lime, magnesia, potash and soda. The silica functions principally as an acid, forming silicates, and all the commonest minerals of igneous rocks are of this nature. From a computation based on 1,672 analyses of all kinds of rocks, Clarke deduced that 99.22% were composed of 11 oxides (see the table at right), with the other constituents occurring in minute quantities.[70] Internal structure Main article: Structure of the Earth The interior of the Earth, like that of the other terrestrial planets, is divided into layers by their chemical or physical (rheological) properties, but unlike the other terrestrial planets, it has a distinct outer and inner core. The outer layer of the Earth is a chemically distinct silicate solid crust, which is underlain by a highly viscous solid mantle. The crust is separated from the mantle by the Mohorovičić discontinuity, and the thickness of the crust varies: averaging 6 km under the oceans and 30–50 km on the continents. The crust and the cold, rigid, top of the upper mantle are collectively known as the lithosphere, and it is of the lithosphere that the tectonic plates are comprised. Beneath the lithosphere is the asthenosphere, a relatively low- viscosity layer on which the lithosphere rides. Important changes in crystal structure within the mantle occur at 410 and 660 kilometers below the surface, spanning a transition zone that separates the upper and lower mantle. Beneath the mantle, an extremely low viscosity liquid outer core lies above a solid inner core.[71] The inner core may rotate at a slightly higher angular velocity than the remainder of the planet, advancing by 0.1–0.5° per year.[72] Geologic layers of the Earth[73] Earth cutaway from core to exosphere. Not to scale. Depth[74] km Component Layer Density g/cm3 0–60 Lithosphere[note 8] — 0–35 Crust[note 9] 2.2–2.9 35–60 Upper mantle 3.4–4.4 35–2890 Mantle 3.4–5.6 100–700 Asthenosphere — 2890–5100 Outer core 9.9–12.2 5100–6378 Inner core 12.8–13.1 Heat Earth's internal heat comes from a combination of residual heat from planetary accretion (about 20%) and heat produced through radioactive decay (80%).[75] The major heat- producing isotopes in the Earth are potassium-40, uranium-238, uranium-235, and thorium- 232.[76] At the center of the planet, the temperature may be up to 7,000 K and the pressure could reach 360 GPa.[77] Because much of the heat is provided by radioactive decay, scientists believe that early in Earth history, before isotopes with short half-lives had been depleted, Earth's heat production would have been much higher. This extra heat production, twice present-day at approximately 3 billion years ago,[75] would have increased temperature gradients within the Earth, increasing the rates of mantle convection and plate tectonics, and allowing the production of igneous rocks such as komatiites that are not formed today.[78] Present-day major heat-producing isotopes[79] Isotope Heat release W/kg isotope Half-life years Mean mantle concentration kg isotope/kg mantle Heat release W/kg mantle 238U 9.46 × 10−5 4.47 × 109 30.8 × 10−9 2.91 × 10−12 235U 5.69 × 10−4 7.04 × 108 0.22 × 10−9 1.25 × 10−13 232Th 2.64 × 10−5 1.40 × 1010 124 × 10−9 3.27 × 10−12 40K 2.92 × 10−5 1.25 × 109 36.9 × 10−9 1.08 × 10−12 The mean heat loss from the Earth is 87 mW m−2, for a global heat loss of 4.42 × 1013 W.[80] A portion of the core's thermal energy is transported toward the crust by mantle plumes; a form of convection consisting of upwellings of higher-temperature rock. These plumes can produce hotspots and flood basalts.[81] More of the heat in the Earth is lost through plate tectonics, by mantle upwelling associated with mid-ocean ridges. The final major mode of heat loss is through conduction through the lithosphere, the majority of which occurs in the oceans because the crust there is much thinner than that of the continents.[82] Tectonic plates Earth's main plates[83] Plate name Area 106 km2 African Plate[note 10] 78.0 Antarctic Plate 60.9 Indo-Australian Plate 47.2 Eurasian Plate 67.8 North American Plate 75.9 South American Plate 43.6 Pacific Plate 103.3 Main article: Plate tectonics The mechanically rigid outer layer of the Earth, the lithosphere, is broken into pieces called tectonic plates. These plates are rigid segments that move in relation to one another at one of three types of plate boundaries: Convergent boundaries, at which two plates come together, Divergent boundaries, at which two plates are pulled apart, and Transform boundaries, in which two plates slide past one another laterally. Earthquakes, volcanic activity, mountain- building, and oceanic trench formation can occur along these plate boundaries.[84] The tectonic plates ride on top of the asthenosphere, the solid but less-viscous part of the upper mantle that can flow and move along with the plates,[85] and their motion is strongly coupled with convection patterns inside the Earth's mantle. As the tectonic plates migrate across the planet, the ocean floor is subducted under the leading edges of the plates at convergent boundaries. At the same time, the upwelling of mantle material at divergent boundaries creates mid-ocean ridges. The combination of these processes continually recycles the oceanic crust back into the mantle. Because of this recycling, most of the ocean floor is less than 100 million years in age. The oldest oceanic crust is located in the Western Pacific, and has an estimated age of about 200 million years.[86][87] By comparison, the oldest dated continental crust is 4030 million years old.[88] The seven major plates are the Pacific, North American, Eurasian, African, Antarctic, Indo- Australian, and South American. Other notable plates include the Arabian Plate, the Caribbean Plate, the Nazca Plate off the west coast of South America and the Scotia Plate in the southern Atlantic Ocean. The Australian Plate fused with the Indian Plate between 50 and 55 million years ago. The fastest-moving plates are the oceanic plates, with the Cocos Plate advancing at a rate of 75 mm/yr[89] and the Pacific Plate moving 52–69 mm/yr. At the other extreme, the slowest-moving plate is the Eurasian Plate, progressing at a typical rate of about 21 mm/yr.[90] Surface Main articles: Landform and Extreme points of Earth The Earth's terrain varies greatly from place to place. About 70.8%[91] of the surface is covered by water, with much of the continental shelf below sea level. The submerged surface has mountainous features, including a globe-spanning mid-ocean ridge system, as well as undersea volcanoes,[62] oceanic trenches, submarine canyons, oceanic plateaus and abyssal plains. The remaining 29.2% not covered by water consists of mountains, deserts, plains, plateaus, and other geomorphologies. The planetary surface undergoes reshaping over geological time periods because of tectonics and erosion. The surface features built up or deformed through plate tectonics are subject to steady weathering from precipitation, thermal cycles, and chemical effects. Glaciation, coastal erosion, the build-up of coral reefs, and large meteorite impacts[92] also act to reshape the landscape. Present day Earth altimetry and bathymetry. Data from the National Geophysical Data Center's TerrainBase Digital Terrain Model. The continental crust consists of lower density material such as the igneous rocks granite and andesite. Less common is basalt, a denser volcanic rock that is the primary constituent of the ocean floors.[93] Sedimentary rock is formed from the accumulation of sediment that becomes compacted together. Nearly 75% of the continental surfaces are covered by sedimentary rocks, although they form only about 5% of the crust.[94] The third form of rock material found on Earth is metamorphic rock, which is created from the transformation of pre-existing rock types through high pressures, high temperatures, or both. The most abundant silicate minerals on the Earth's surface include quartz, the feldspars, amphibole, mica, pyroxene and olivine.[95] Common carbonate minerals include calcite (found in limestone) and dolomite.[96] The pedosphere is the outermost layer of the Earth that is composed of soil and subject to soil formation processes. It exists at the interface of the lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere. Currently the total arable land is 13.31% of the land surface, with only 4.71% supporting permanent crops.[13] Close to 40% of the Earth's land surface is presently used for cropland and pasture, or an estimated 1.3×107 km2 of cropland and 3.4×107 km2 of pastureland.[97] The elevation of the land surface of the Earth varies from the low point of −418 m at the Dead Sea, to a 2005-estimated maximum altitude of 8,848 m at the top of Mount Everest. The mean height of land above sea level is 840 m.[98] Hydrosphere Main article: Hydrosphere Elevation histogram of the surface of the Earth The abundance of water on Earth's surface is a unique feature that distinguishes the "Blue Planet" from others in the Solar System. The Earth's hydrosphere consists chiefly of the oceans, but technically includes all water surfaces in the world, including inland seas, lakes, rivers, and underground waters down to a depth of 2,000 m. The deepest underwater location is Challenger Deep of the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean with a depth of −10,911.4 m.[note 11][99] The mass of the oceans is approximately 1.35×1018 metric tons, or about 1/4400 of the total mass of the Earth. The oceans cover an area of 3.618×108 km2 with a mean depth of 3,682 m, resulting in an estimated volume of 1.332×109 km3.[100] If all the land on Earth were spread evenly, water would rise to an altitude of more than 2.7 km.[note 12] About 97.5% of the water is saline, while the remaining 2.5% is fresh water. Most fresh water, about 68.7%, is currently ice.[101] The average salinity of the Earth's oceans is about 35 grams of salt per kilogram of sea water (35 ‰).[102] Most of this salt was released from volcanic activity or extracted from cool, igneous rocks.[103] The oceans are also a reservoir of dissolved atmospheric gases, which are essential for the survival of many aquatic life forms.[104] Sea water has an important influence on the world's climate, with the oceans acting as a large heat reservoir.[105] Shifts in the oceanic temperature distribution can cause significant weather shifts, such as the El Niño-Southern Oscillation.[106] Atmosphere Main article: Atmosphere of Earth The atmospheric pressure on the surface of the Earth averages 101.325 kPa, with a scale height of about 8.5 km.[3] It is 78% nitrogen and 21% oxygen, with trace amounts of water vapor, carbon dioxide and other gaseous molecules. The height of the troposphere varies with latitude, ranging between 8 km at the poles to 17 km at the equator, with some variation resulting from weather and seasonal factors.[107] Earth's biosphere has significantly altered its atmosphere. Oxygenic photosynthesis evolved 2.7 billion years ago, forming the primarily nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere of today. This change enabled the proliferation of aerobic organisms as well as the formation of the ozone layer which blocks ultraviolet solar radiation, permitting life on land. Other atmospheric functions important to life on Earth include transporting water vapor, providing useful gases, causing small meteors to burn up before they strike the surface, and moderating temperature.[108] This last phenomenon is known as the greenhouse effect: trace molecules within the atmosphere serve to capture thermal energy emitted from the ground, thereby raising the average temperature. Water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane and ozone are the primary greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere. Without this heat-retention effect, the average surface temperature would be −18 °C and life would likely not exist.[91] Weather and climate Main articles: Weather and Climate Satellite cloud cover image of Earth using NASA's Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer The Earth's atmosphere has no definite boundary, slowly becoming thinner and fading into outer space. Three-quarters of the atmosphere's mass is contained within the first 11 km of the planet's surface. This lowest layer is called the troposphere. Energy from the Sun heats this layer, and the surface below, causing expansion of the air. This lower density air then rises, and is replaced by cooler, higher density air. The result is atmospheric circulation that drives the weather and climate through redistribution of heat energy.[109] The primary atmospheric circulation bands consist of the trade winds in the equatorial region below 30° latitude and the westerlies in the mid-latitudes between 30° and 60°.[110] Ocean currents are also important factors in determining climate, particularly the thermohaline circulation that distributes heat energy from the equatorial oceans to the polar regions.[111] Water vapor generated through surface evaporation is transported by circulatory patterns in the atmosphere. When atmospheric conditions permit an uplift of warm, humid air, this water condenses and settles to the surface as precipitation.[109] Most of the water is then transported to lower elevations by river systems and usually returned to the oceans or deposited into lakes. This water cycle is a vital mechanism for supporting life on land, and is a primary factor in the erosion of surface features over geological periods. Precipitation patterns vary widely, ranging from several meters of water per year to less than a millimeter. Atmospheric circulation, topological features and temperature differences determine the average precipitation that falls in each region.[112] The amount of solar energy reaching the Earth's decreases with increasing latitude. At higher latitudes the sunlight reaches the surface at a lower angles and it must pass through thicker columns of the atmosphere. As a result, the mean annual air temperature at sea level decreases by about 0.4°C per per degree of latitude away from the equator.[113] The Earth can be sub-divided into specific latitudinal belts of approximately homogeneous climate. Ranging from the equator to the polar regions, these are the tropical (or equatorial), subtropical, temperate and polar climates.[114] Climate can also be classified based on the temperature and precipitation, with the climate regions characterized by fairly uniform air masses. The commonly used Köppen climate classification system (as modified by Wladimir Köppen's student Rudolph Geiger) has five broad groups (humid tropics, arid, humid middle latitudes, continental and cold polar), which are further divided into more specific subtypes.[110] Upper atmosphere This view from orbit shows the full Moon partially obscured and deformed by the Earth's atmosphere. NASA image See also: Outer space Above the troposphere, the atmosphere is usually divided into the stratosphere, mesosphere, and thermosphere.[108] Each layer has a different lapse rate, defining the rate of change in temperature with height. Beyond these, the exosphere thins out into the magnetosphere, where the Earth's magnetic fields interact with the solar wind.[115] Within the stratosphere is the ozone layer, a component that partially shields the surface from ultraviolet light and thus is important for life on Earth. The Kármán line, defined as 100 km above the Earth's surface, is a working definition for the boundary between atmosphere and space.[116] Thermal energy causes some of the molecules at the outer edge of the Earth's atmosphere have their velocity increased to the point where they can escape from the planet's gravity. This results in a slow but steady leakage of the atmosphere into space. Because unfixed hydrogen has a low molecular weight, it can achieve escape velocity more readily and it leaks into outer space at a greater rate than other gasses.[117] The leakage of hydrogen into space contributes to the pushing of the Earth from an initially reducing state to its current oxidizing one. Photosynthesis provided a source of free oxygen, but the loss of reducing agents such as hydrogen is believed to have been a necessary precondition for the widespread accumulation of oxygen in the atmosphere.[118] Hence the ability of hydrogen to escape from the Earth's atmosphere may have influenced the nature of life that developed on the planet.[119] In the current, oxygen-rich atmosphere most hydrogen is converted into water before it has an opportunity to escape. Instead, most of the hydrogen loss comes from the destruction of methane in the upper atmosphere.[120] Magnetic field Schematic of Earth's magnetosphere. The solar wind flows from left to right Main article: Earth's magnetic field The Earth's magnetic field is shaped roughly as a magnetic dipole, with the poles currently located proximate to the planet's geographic poles. At the equator of the magnetic field, the magnetic field strength at the planet's surface is 3.05 × 10−5 T, with global magnetic dipole moment of 7.91 × 1015 T m3.[121] According to dynamo theory, the field is generated within the molten outer core region where heat creates convection motions of conducting materials, generating electric currents. These in turn produce the Earth's magnetic field. The convection movements in the core are chaotic; the magnetic poles drift and periodically change alignment. This results in field reversals at irregular intervals averaging a few times every million years. The most recent reversal occurred approximately 700,000 years ago.[122][123] The field forms the magnetosphere, which deflects particles in the solar wind. The sunward edge of the bow shock is located at about 13 times the radius of the Earth. The collision between the magnetic field and the solar wind forms the Van Allen radiation belts, a pair of concentric, torus-shaped regions of energetic charged particles. When the plasma enters the Earth's atmosphere at the magnetic poles, it forms the aurora.[124] Orbit and rotation Rotation Main article: Earth's rotation Earth's axial tilt (or obliquity) and its relation to the rotation axis and plane of orbit Earth's rotation period relative to the Sun—its mean solar day—is 86,400 seconds of mean solar time (86,400.0025 SI seconds).[125] As the Earth's solar day is now slightly longer than it was during the 19th century because of tidal acceleration, each day varies between 0 and 2 SI ms longer.[126][127] Earth's rotation period relative to the fixed stars, called its stellar day by the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service (IERS), is 86164.098903691 seconds of mean solar time (UT1), or 23h 56m 4.098903691s.[2][note 13] Earth's rotation period relative to the precessing or moving mean vernal equinox, misnamed its sidereal day, is 86164.09053083288 seconds of mean solar time (UT1) (23h 56m 4.09053083288s).[2] Thus the sidereal day is shorter than the stellar day by about 8.4 ms.[128] The length of the mean solar day in SI seconds is available from the IERS for the periods 1623–2005[129] and 1962– 2005.[130] Apart from meteors within the atmosphere and low-orbiting satellites, the main apparent motion of celestial bodies in the Earth's sky is to the west at a rate of 15°/h = 15'/min. For bodies near the celestial equator, this is equivalent to an apparent diameter of the Sun or Moon every two minutes; from the planet's surface, the apparent sizes of the Sun and the Moon are approximately the same.[131][132] Orbit Main article: Earth's orbit Earth orbits the Sun at an average distance of about 150 million kilometers every 365.2564 mean solar days, or one sidereal year. From Earth, this gives an apparent movement of the Sun eastward with respect to the stars at a rate of about 1°/day, or a Sun or Moon diameter, every 12 hours. Because of this motion, on average it takes 24 hours—a solar day—for Earth to complete a full rotation about its axis so that the Sun returns to the meridian. The orbital speed of the Earth averages about 29.8 km/s (107,000 km/h), which is fast enough to cover the planet's diameter (about 12,600 km) in seven minutes, and the distance to the Moon (384,000 km) in four hours.[3] The Moon revolves with the Earth around a common barycenter every 27.32 days relative to the background stars. When combined with the Earth–Moon system's common revolution around the Sun, the period of the synodic month, from new moon to new moon, is 29.53 days. Viewed from the celestial north pole, the motion of Earth, the Moon and their axial rotations are all counter-clockwise. Viewed from a vantage point above the north poles of both the Sun and the Earth, the Earth appears to revolve in a counterclockwise direction about the Sun. The orbital and axial planes are not precisely aligned: Earth's axis is tilted some 23.4 degrees from the perpendicular to the Earth–Sun plane, and the Earth–Moon plane is tilted about 5 degrees against the Earth-Sun plane. Without this tilt, there would be an eclipse every two weeks, alternating between lunar eclipses and solar eclipses.[3][133] The Hill sphere, or gravitational sphere of influence, of the Earth is about 1.5 Gm (or 1,500,000 kilometers) in radius.[134][note 14] This is maximum distance at which the Earth's gravitational influence is stronger than the more distant Sun and planets. Objects must orbit the Earth within this radius, or they can become unbound by the gravitational perturbation of the Sun. Illustration of the Milky Way Galaxy, showing the location of the Sun Earth, along with the Solar System, is situated in the Milky Way galaxy, orbiting about 28,000 light years from the center of the galaxy. It is currently about 20 light years above the galaxy's equatorial plane in the Orion spiral arm.[135] Axial tilt and seasons Main article: Axial tilt Because of the axial tilt of the Earth, the amount of sunlight reaching any given point on the surface varies over the course of the year. This results in seasonal change in climate, with summer in the northern hemisphere occurring when the North Pole is pointing toward the Sun, and winter taking place when the pole is pointed away. During the summer, the day lasts longer and the Sun climbs higher in the sky. In winter, the climate becomes generally cooler and the days shorter. Above the Arctic Circle, an extreme case is reached where there is no daylight at all for part of the year—a polar night. In the southern hemisphere the situation is exactly reversed, with the South Pole oriented opposite the direction of the North Pole. Earth and Moon from Mars, imaged by Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. From space, the Earth can be seen to go through phases similar to the phases of the Moon. By astronomical convention, the four seasons are determined by the solstices—the point in the orbit of maximum axial tilt toward or away from the Sun—and the equinoxes, when the direction of the tilt and the direction to the Sun are perpendicular. In the northern hemisphere, Winter Solstice occurs on about December 21, Summer Solstice is near June 21, Spring Equinox is around March 20 and Autumnal Equinox is about September 23. In the Southern hemisphere, the situation is reversed, with the Summer and Winter Solstices exchanged and the Spring and Autumnal Equinox dates switched.[136] The angle of the Earth's tilt is relatively stable over long periods of time. The tilt does undergo nutation; a slight, irregular motion with a main period of 18.6 years.[137] The orientation (rather than the angle) of the Earth's axis also changes over time, precessing around in a complete circle over each 25,800 year cycle; this precession is the reason for the difference between a sidereal year and a tropical year. Both of these motions are caused by the varying attraction of the Sun and Moon on the Earth's equatorial bulge. From the perspective of the Earth, the poles also migrate a few meters across the surface. This polar motion has multiple, cyclical components, which collectively are termed quasiperiodic motion. In addition to an annual component to this motion, there is a 14-month cycle called the Chandler wobble. The rotational velocity of the Earth also varies in a phenomenon known as length of day variation.[138] In modern times, Earth's perihelion occurs around January 3, and the aphelion around July 4. These dates change over time due to precession and other orbital factors, which follow cyclical patterns known as Milankovitch cycles. The changing Earth-Sun distance results in an increase of about 6.9%[note 15] in solar energy reaching the Earth at perihelion relative to aphelion. Since the southern hemisphere is tilted toward the Sun at about the same time that the Earth reaches the closest approach to the Sun, the southern hemisphere receives slightly more energy from the Sun than does the northern over the course of a year. This effect is much less significant than the total energy change due to the axial tilt, and most of the excess energy is absorbed by the higher proportion of water in the southern hemisphere.[139] Moon Characteristics Diameter 3,474.8 km Mass 7.349×1022 kg Semi-major axis 384,400 km Orbital period 27 d 7 h 43.7 m Main article: Moon The Moon is a relatively large, terrestrial, planet-like satellite, with a diameter about one- quarter of the Earth's. It is the largest moon in the Solar System relative to the size of its planet, although Charon is larger relative to the dwarf planet Pluto. The natural satellites orbiting other planets are called "moons" after Earth's Moon. The gravitational attraction between the Earth and Moon causes tides on Earth. The same effect on the Moon has led to its tidal locking: its rotation period is the same as the time it takes to orbit the Earth. As a result, it always presents the same face to the planet. As the Moon orbits Earth, different parts of its face are illuminated by the Sun, leading to the lunar phases; the dark part of the face is separated from the light part by the solar terminator. Because of their tidal interaction, the Moon recedes from Earth at the rate of approximately 38 mm a year. Over millions of years, these tiny modifications—and the lengthening of Earth's day by about 23 µs a year—add up to significant changes.[140] During the Devonian period, for example, (approximately 410 million years ago) there were 400 days in a year, with each day lasting 21.8 hours.[141] Details of the Earth-Moon system. Besides the radius of each object, the radius to the Earth- Moon barycenter is shown. Photos from NASA. Data from NASA. The Moon's axis is located by Cassini's third law. The Moon may have dramatically affected the development of life by moderating the planet's climate. Paleontological evidence and computer simulations show that Earth's axial tilt is stabilized by tidal interactions with the Moon.[142] Some theorists believe that without this stabilization against the torques applied by the Sun and planets to the Earth's equatorial bulge, the rotational axis might be chaotically unstable, exhibiting chaotic changes over millions of years, as appears to be the case for Mars.[143] Viewed from Earth, the Moon is just far enough away to have very nearly the same apparent- sized disk as the Sun. The angular size (or solid angle) of these two bodies match because, although the Sun's diameter is about 400 times as large as the Moon's, it is also 400 times more distant.[132] This allows total and annular solar eclipses to occur on Earth. The most widely accepted theory of the Moon's origin, the giant impact theory, states that it formed from the collision of a Mars-size protoplanet called Theia with the early Earth. This hypothesis explains (among other things) the Moon's relative lack of iron and volatile elements, and the fact that its composition is nearly identical to that of the Earth's crust.[144] Earth has at least five co-orbital asteroids, including 3753 Cruithne and 2002 AA29.[145][146] As of 2011, there are 931 operational, man-made satellites orbiting the Earth.[147] On July 27, 2011, astronomers reported a trojan asteroid companion, 2010 TK7, librating around the leading Lagrange triangular point, L4, of Earth in Earth's orbit around the Sun.[148][149] A scale representation of the relative sizes of, and average distance between, Earth and Moon Habitability See also: Planetary habitability A planet that can sustain life is termed habitable, even if life did not originate there. The Earth provides liquid water—an environment where complex organic molecules can assemble and interact, and sufficient energy to sustain metabolism.[150] The distance of the Earth from the Sun, as well as its orbital eccentricity, rate of rotation, axial tilt, geological history, sustaining atmosphere and protective magnetic field all contribute to the current climactic conditions at the surface.[151] Biosphere Main article: Biosphere The planet's life forms are sometimes said to form a "biosphere". This biosphere is generally believed to have begun evolving about 3.5 billion years ago. The biosphere is divided into a number of biomes, inhabited by broadly similar plants and animals. On land, biomes are separated primarily by differences in latitude, height above sea level and humidity. Terrestrial biomes lying within the Arctic or Antarctic Circles, at high altitudes or in extremely arid areas are relatively barren of plant and animal life; species diversity reaches a peak in humid lowlands at equatorial latitudes.[152] Natural resources and land use Main article: Natural resource The Earth provides resources that are exploitable by humans for useful purposes. Some of these are non-renewable resources, such as mineral fuels, that are difficult to replenish on a short time scale. Large deposits of fossil fuels are obtained from the Earth's crust, consisting of coal, petroleum, natural gas and methane clathrate. These deposits are used by humans both for energy production and as feedstock for chemical production. Mineral ore bodies have also been formed in Earth's crust through a process of Ore genesis, resulting from actions of erosion and plate tectonics.[153] These bodies form concentrated sources for many metals and other useful elements. The Earth's biosphere produces many useful biological products for humans, including (but far from limited to) food, wood, pharmaceuticals, oxygen, and the recycling of many organic wastes. The land-based ecosystem depends upon topsoil and fresh water, and the oceanic ecosystem depends upon dissolved nutrients washed down from the land.[154] Humans also live on the land by using building materials to construct shelters. In 1993, human use of land is approximately: Land use Arable land Permanent crops Permanent pastures Forests and woodland Urban areas Other Percentage 13.13%[13] 4.71%[13] 26% 32% 1.5% 30% The estimated amount of irrigated land in 1993 was 2,481,250 km2.[13] Natural and environmental hazards Large areas of the Earth's surface are subject to extreme weather such as tropical cyclones, hurricanes, or typhoons that dominate life in those areas. From 1980–2000, these events caused an average of 11,800 deaths per year.[155] Many places are subject to earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, tornadoes, sinkholes, blizzards, floods, droughts, wildfires, and other calamities and disasters. Many localized areas are subject to human-made pollution of the air and water, acid rain and toxic substances, loss of vegetation (overgrazing, deforestation, desertification), loss of wildlife, species extinction, soil degradation, soil depletion, erosion, and introduction of invasive species. According to the United Nations, a scientific consensus exists linking human activities to global warming due to industrial carbon dioxide emissions. This is predicted to produce changes such as the melting of glaciers and ice sheets, more extreme temperature ranges, significant changes in weather and a global rise in average sea levels.[156] Human geography Main article: Human geography See also: World 7 continents of Earth:[157] North America , South America, Antarctica, Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia Cartography, the study and practice of map making, and vicariously geography, have historically been the disciplines devoted to depicting the Earth. Surveying, the determination of locations and distances, and to a lesser extent navigation, the determination of position and direction, have developed alongside cartography and geography, providing and suitably quantifying the requisite information. Earth has approximately 6,910,000,000 human inhabitants as of April 25, 2011.[158] Projections indicate that the world's human population will reach 7 billion in early 2012 and 9.2 billion in 2050.[159] Most of the growth is expected to take place in developing nations. Human population density varies widely around the world, but a majority live in Asia. By 2020, 60% of the world's population is expected to be living in urban, rather than rural, areas.[160] It is estimated that only one-eighth of the surface of the Earth is suitable for humans to live on—three-quarters is covered by oceans, and half of the land area is either desert (14%),[161] high mountains (27%),[162] or other less suitable terrain. The northernmost permanent settlement in the world is Alert, on Ellesmere Island in Nunavut, Canada.[163] (82°28′N) The southernmost is the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, in Antarctica, almost exactly at the South Pole. (90°S) The Earth at night, a composite of DMSP/OLS ground illumination data on a simulated night-time image of the world. This image is not photographic and many features are brighter than they would appear to a direct observer. Independent sovereign nations claim the planet's entire land surface, except for some parts of Antarctica and the odd unclaimed area of Bir Tawil between Egypt and Sudan. As of 2011 there are 204 sovereign states, including the 193 United Nations member states. In addition, there are 59 dependent territories, and a number of autonomous areas, territories under dispute and other entities.[13] Historically, Earth has never had a sovereign government with authority over the entire globe, although a number of nation-states have striven for world domination and failed.[164] The United Nations is a worldwide intergovernmental organization that was created with the goal of intervening in the disputes between nations, thereby avoiding armed conflict.[165] The U.N. serves primarily as a forum for international diplomacy and international law. When the consensus of the membership permits, it provides a mechanism for armed intervention.[166] The first human to orbit the Earth was Yuri Gagarin on April 12, 1961.[167] In total, about 400 people visited outer space and reached Earth orbit as of 2004, and, of these, twelve have walked on the Moon.[168][169][170] Normally the only humans in space are those on the International Space Station. The station's crew, currently six people, is usually replaced every six months.[171] The furthest humans have travelled from Earth is 400,171 km, achieved during the 1970 Apollo 13 mission
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acrylic prints, tamify acrylic prints, batman acrylic prints, christian bale acrylic prints, city acrylic prints, gotham city acrylic prints, superhero acrylic prints
Mounting Option #1
Mounting Option #2
Bring your artwork to life with the stylish lines and added depth of an acrylic print. Your image gets printed directly onto the back of a 1/4" thick sheet of clear acrylic.
The image is the art - it doesn't get any cleaner than that!
All acrylic prints ship within 3 - 4 business days and arrive "ready to hang" with four aluminum mounting posts (Option #1) or hanging wire (Option #2).
The high gloss of the acrylic sheet complements the rich colors of any image to produce stunning results.
There are two different ways to mount your acrylic print.
Option #1 (Mounting Posts) - Attach your print to your wall with four aluminum mounting posts. The cylindrical cap of each mounting post can be removed, allowing you to thread a small screw along the center axis of the of post and into the wall. When you're finished, simply reattached each cap, and you're done. The mounting posts act as stand-offs and keep your print separated from the wall by 1". All of the required mounting hardware (i.e. posts, screws, and wall anchors) is included with your print. Click here for mounting details.
Option #2 (Hanging Wire) - With this option, your acrylic print is attached to a 1/4" thick black board which has a wooden frame and hanging wire attached to the back. There are no metal mounting posts at the corners. Simply put a nail in your wall, hang your print from the hanging wire, and you're done. Due to the thickness of the black board and mounting frame, your print is separated from the wall by 1.50" Click here for mounting details.
What do I do and just what is Tamification? Tamify is a truly unique painstakingly crafted digital art. I focus mainly on actors and actresses, singers and musicians, and other iconic figures. I prefer to capture moments that are not necessarily the most recognizable image of the subject, but just as memorable; different, yet instantly recollective. I scour all types of media to find a starting point, then, working digitally, I build a brand new image from the ground up. It's an elaborate process from start to finish and involves the building up and destruction of layer upon layer until I get it just right. The end result is something truly unique and original that can only be described as Tamified, (I'm Tam by the way). My...
Our return policy is very simple:
If you're not happy with a purchase that you made on FineArtAmerica.com, for any reason, you can return it to us within 30 days of the order date. As soon as it arrives, we'll issue a full refund for the entire purchase price. Please note - Fine Art America does not reimburse the outgoing or return shipping charges unless the return is due to a defect in quality.
Fine Art America sells thousands of pieces of artwork each month - all with a 100% money-back guarantee.
If you've hesitated to purchase artwork online in the past, why not give us a try? You have nothing to lose!
We take great pride in the fact that 324,616 artists have chosen Fine Art America to fulfill their orders, and we look forward to helping you select your next piece!
Customer Service: 877-807-5901
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Telluride 1-drawer Nightstand
Item #704350
Constructed using solid and durable Northern European spruce, the Telluride Bedroom evokes the rugged richness of distressed solid wood. This engineered reclaimed look conveys an heirloom quality reminiscent of 19th-century craftsman design. Skilled craftsman design and distressing techniques can be found throughout the collection and include...
- Varied plank widths accented with custom distressing that creates the look of reclaimed wood
- Tongue-and-groove construction enables the solid wood components to expand and contract naturally to climate changes.
- Oversized moldings give furniture a grand scale
1-Drawer Nightstand:
- Most components are made using solid, durable Northern European spruce
- Engineered reclaimed look with varied plank widths and saw distressing techniques
- Dark chestnut finish with pounded bronze hardware
- Heavy distressing evokes the depth and character of reclaimed wood
- English dovetail drawer construction for durability
- Full extension ball bearing drawer glides for smooth, quiet operation
- Adjustable shelf to display books and collectibles
- Included Tip Restraint Kit is recommended for use
- 29" W x 20" D x 31" H; Weight: 70 lbs
Collection Name: Telluride
Standard shipping via White Glove* furniture carrier is included in the quoted price. Delivery includes in-home setup and removal of packing materials. Carrier will call or email to set up appointment with delivery window. Please include a daytime phone number in the shipping information at the time of checkout.
Extraordinary delivery requirements may necessitate an additional fee to the carrier.
If you have any customer service questions, order status inquiries, concerns regarding defective product, assembly of furniture or product operation, please call 1-877-858-8045 and ask for the Customer Service Department related to Costco.
Installation of mirror to wall is not included in the White Glove Delivery Service.
*Delivery is available to Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. An additional Shipping and Handling fee will apply to shipments going to Alaska, Hawaii or Puerto Rico. This fee will be quoted at checkout. Additional transit time may be required.
Costco.com products can be returned to any of our more than 600 Costco warehouses worldwide.
How to Return: For an immediate refund (including shipping and handling), simply return your purchase at any one of our Costco warehouses worldwide. If you are unable to return your order at one of our warehouses, please email customer service or call our customer service center at 1-800-955-2292 for assistance. To expedite the processing of your return, please reference your order number.
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Located in the heart of Xiamen major business and leisure district, the newly built Crowne Plaza Paragon Xiamen is the perfect place for the discerning
Find great deals on quality Fujian, China 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 Fujian, China hotels and resorts and plan your Fujian, China vacation today!


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Nandaime, Nicaragua -- Dispensary
The optical dispensary is tasked with finding the best match to the prescription given by the optometrist. From a large library of donated eyeglasses, the dispensary staff picks the best match possible.
This year the dispensary was aided greatly by the computerization of the library inventory under the REIMS system. REIMS stands for Richmond Eyeglass Inventory Matching System, and was developed specifically for this type of remote clinic. Skip Charles wrote the code, using the optical expertise of the late Dr. Phillip Richmond. REIMS was developed for use by Friends of ASAPROSAR (Asociacion Salvadorena Por Salud Rural -- Salvadoran Association for Rural Health). Using this system, the prescription is entered into a laptop on site and the system returns the best possible matches from the inventory.
Reims is free shareware, and any VOSH group or other remote optical dispensary should look into using it. See http://www.friendsofasaprosar.org/reims.html
REIMS is pretty slick, and can be set to prioritize the right eye or the left eye. If bifocals are not available in the best prescription match, it can automatically split the prescription into two pair of glasses, one for distance and the other for near vision. In preparation for this trip, an enormous amount of time was spent by VOSH volunteers stateside in entering the prescriptions of eyewear in the library into the system. Among those taking on this important and seemingly endless data entry task were Larry Ginsberg OD, Jennifer Burney, Stephen Burney, Deb Imondi, and Sarah England. Major Kudos are in order for those who entered the prescriptions into the database before the mission, and especially to Stephen Burney, who was the on site expert in all thing REIMS.
For the 2008 trip, all of the plus single vision and bifocals were in the computerized inventory. For any minus prescriptions, which are much less common, we had to resort to the old method of digging through the boxes of eyewear, organized by power. At the end of the clinic, we were able to run a report, showing how many pair of eyeglasses were dispensed, and in what power, to ease the replenishment process.
From Linda Carpentier: Our mission to Nandaime, what can I say? "What a GREAT Mission". As tough as it was to get there it was without a doubt well worth it. We made a lot of people happy with their new glasses. I may have gotten more blessing from people in this town than ever before. What a grateful place Nandaime is.
We had an awesome group of people working in the dispensary. Deb Imondi, Deb Ervin, Stephen Burney, Brady Hart are seasoned veterans who work so very hard to help so many people. Long hard days with no complaints. That is what these missions are all about. Jessica Barth was new to the mission this year and you would have never known. She fit perfectly with everyone. She was upbeat the entire week and that is sometimes tough to do. Maryann England and Persephone Brown joined us in the afternoons and all of their help allowed us to get done at a reasonable hour. What a unbelievable great group of people.
We added the REIMS inventory system this year and found it to save a lot of time in searching for Rx matches. It will also help us to know what powers we used the most of. This will help a lot for future missions. Another addition was taking all readers and suns from the ODs who were short this year without the students and some fellow OD who could not make the trip. These changes seemed to work out well for everyone since we saw almost the same amount of people as in past missions with less man/woman power.
Thanks Brady for supplying the music for the dispensary, which I think kept us sane (somewhat) and of course for making a 94 year old woman (Do you really think she was 94?) very, very happy.
Linda Carpentier
2008 Optical Dispensary Photo Gallery
NEVOSH trips:
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- EnviroGuy - http://blogs.app.com/enviroguy -
Greenland ice melting marathon in 2010
Posted By Todd B. Bates On February 18, 2011 @ 10:33 am In Uncategorized | Comments Disabled
Ice melting in much of southern Greenland lasted for 50 days longer than normal last year, according to NASA.
That's a record.
The long-term outlook is uncertain, but Greenland ice melting may boost the sea level by up to nearly 2 feet by 2100, according to NASA.
Check out this image from NASA [1]:
Article printed from EnviroGuy: http://blogs.app.com/enviroguy
URL to article: http://blogs.app.com/enviroguy/2011/02/18/greenland-ice-melting-marathon-in-2010/
URLs in this post:
[1] Check out this image from NASA: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=49338
[2] Image: http://blogs.app.com/enviroguy/files/2011/02/greenland_ssi_2010.jpg
Click here to print.
Copyright © 2009 EnviroGuy. All rights reserved.


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"Report of a youth going door to door saying he's selling edible underwear to raise money for a school trip."
Crime Confidential
Coverage of crime and corruption in the Capital Region
Have a tip or story idea? Inform us at | email@example.com
Overheard on the city desk police scanner
5 Responses
Good, I hope they caught that derelict. Selling expired Fruit Roll-Ups and calling them "edible underwear" should be a felony. $50 down the drain.
Probably cheaper and healthier than Girl Scout cookies.
Huh, he might actually get people to buy some. I wish they would stop with the door to door nonsense.
Is this illegal???
Where's the school trip? DiCarlos?


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The strength and durability of aluminum, and the warm sound of wood.
A precision-milled, cast aluminum snare. At 3mm thick, it's one of the thickest metal snares available, and its soft metal provides a warm, round, full-bodied tone similar to a wood shell snare. Its black lacquer-coated shell, tube lugs, and SuperHoop II rims give it an exciting new look.


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As per recent reports, it has been unveiled that a former Intel employee has been found accountable in stealing confidential documents from the company.
It has been revealed that the stolen documents were worth $ 200-$400 million. Biswamohan Pani, who has been accused of the above mentioned allegations, was an employee in one of the chip making firms in Hudson, Massachusetts in 2008.
The case came into notice after Pani offered the resignation letter in May and asked for June 11, 2008 to be his last working day. However, he joined the other company on June 2, 2008, but still has access to the Intel's computer system.
He downloaded the confidential documents, regarding the company's computer processors design and manufacture, during those days that is between June 2 and June 11. Intel became alert and reported the fraud immediately. Moreover, even AMD cooperated in the investigations.
Through the reports of investigations, it was revealed that the company AMD was no where involved in the theft, rather, none of its employees or high officials were Pani's partner in the theft.
The case, was then brought into the notice of US District Court in Worcester, Massachusetts, where the Judge, F. Dennis Saylor after hearing the whole case found the allegations imposed on Pani correct. Therefore, he declared that the man will be imprisoned for 20 years.
However, Pani has pleaded guilty to five courts.
Product Launch
- Samsung signs deal with Amazon.in to sell Galaxy K Zoom handset in India
- GE unveils smart LED light bulb – 'Link'
- Report: iPhone 6 likely to be launched one month earlier than expected
- Huawei officially unveils its new high-end Ascend P7 smartphone
- Samsung launches its 'Galaxy K zoom' camera specialized-smartphone


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PS2 games look like crap on PS3
It was a great idea to make the PS3 completely backwards compatible with all of the previous PS One and PS2 games. Even though almost every game works, Sony didn't do its job really well because they look worse on the PS3 than the PS2.
At this point all Playstation 3s have an extra chip in them to take care of older games which is actually nothing more than a shrunk-down version of a Playstation 2. The video output is still done by the RSX graphics chip on the PS3 and according to this forum thread the problem might be in there. Sony will probably remove the PS2 chip in a later revision of the console and let the PS3's Cell do all the work. So why do previous gen games look worse? We don't really know for sure, but we do know that the examples shown in the video below look pretty ugly.
According to the video the PS3 resized the graphic output of PS1/PS2 games at a low resolution with no filtering causing artifacts and amplifying jagged edges. We also know that it's nothing cable related, even with a high-end HDMI cable, which is the best way to send the signal to your tv, the games still look crappy. Some people have found out that games supporting progressive scan (480P) don't suffer as much, and you can limit your problems by turning it on in the dashboard. The video also says Sony knows about these issues but they refuse to do anything about it because most people won't care too much, but we can't confirm that statement. The image below shows the difference between 480i and 480P on the PS3.
If you're an early adopter and really care about your older games, you'd best keep your PS2 and PS1 around for a little while longer. Once the PS1/PS2 emulator is finished, these problems will probably be over and you can hopefully play your games in an even higher resolution where everything's sharper instead of crappier.


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If Miami is offering a decent contract to be a back up, he should stay here. The guy is not a good starter, but a great back up. If he goes elsewhere and tries to start and flops....he could be out of the league because of how it is. If he decides now that he can have a longer career as a back up, he will do well.
Someone will give him a legit chance to compete for a starting spot. He will go. So would any competitive NFL player or almost any of us under the same situation. We would love to have him here as a backup, and if the game of musical chairs doesn't work out and his options are to be a backup somewhere, I'd say we have a good chance to keep him, but it is highly doubtful that nobody lets him compete to be a starter. Moore has been classy andI wish him the best.
Ideally we would have Moore or another good teaching veteran as a backup who also helps Tannehill develop. Unfortunately, those types of veterans don't appear to be on the market this year. The veterans are either looking for a starting spot or not the cerebral mentoring types. So, I think we'll end up going with Devlin as the backup and rely even more heavily on the coaching staff to help both of them progress.
Watch for the Jets to move on him.
Ryan seems blindy loyal to Sanchez, he will be the starter... Moore would be much more effective though.
The Jets offer the best opportunity to start and they will be making a move at QB. They have to come up with a bridge to the future and Moore is the best available QB to do that.
It's become pretty obvious that Rex had minimal input and that he was stuck with Sanchez. Idzik knows he needs to upgrade at QB which is why Moore, who is already a part of a WCO, makes the most sense. I am sure Rex doesn't want to bet his bleak head coaching future on Sanchez.
Matt Moore has got to know that wherever he goes, the team will probably have, or will soon have a high draft pick rookie pushing him with a F.O. looking to start that rookie sooner than later. No team is just gonna say 'Matt Moore is our franchise QB'. So, knowing that, he might as well stay where he's kinda loved.