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Sep 2-6, 2015
Program Starts at 9:30 AM on Day 1
The School of Ancient Wishdom
Medium of instruction: English
Laughter and Silence Retreat
|A new self-awareness program has been developed by Madan Kataria MD, based on an age-old Indian wisdom stating that life is like a house with five rooms, those being - self,family, work, social and spiritual.
If your life is to be balanced, every room needs to be well cared for and in order.
The Laughter and Silence Retreat is slightly different from the popular Indian silent meditation, Vipassana, where complete silence without even eye contact is strictly observed for 10 days. During the Laughter and Silence Retreat, while observing periods of silence, unconditional periods of laughter will periodically be interjected throughout the day.
|Seriously contemplating the condition of each room in your life during periods of silence, while at the same time listening to your thoughts and journaling all that surfaces during those periods, will allow you to develop fresh, new insights about how to effectively deal with events in your personal, professional, social, as well as spiritual life.
During intervals of complete silence, you will self-examine each room, then break the silence with short periods of laughter and discussion. The goal of the program is to assist you in living a more balanced, happy, healthy, and peaceful life.
Silencing your tongue and mind on a regular basis will raise your consciousness, allowing it to absorb truth, not only that which surrounds you, but also that which lies buried within. Happening slowly in stages, over a period of time, practiced periods of silence will allow you to evolve to a higher plane where truth will be readily seen and more easily lived. Your house, you life, will then be in order.
A Typical Day
During the 5-day retreat, every morning there will be an orientation session with Dr. Kataria, detailing the importance on the focus room of the day. For 30 minutes in the morning, afternoon and evening the group will gather together to practice laughter meditation. In between those times, total silence will be observed. You will observe your breath, while contemplating the condition of the room of the day. During that time, every thought that enters your mind should be written down. Those intervals of silence must be completely without the use of computers or cell phones.
For two hours every evening, the entire group will gather together for a dialog program, sharing experiences of the day, known as "parallel learning". No one will be teaching during this time, but you will be learning to listen to yourself. Not only are you your best teacher, but you will also be learning from the experience of others.
Dr Kataria will also share:
Five Principles Of Inner Spirit Of Laughter - Over the years, yogic laughter helped me discover the principles of the inner spirit of laughter.My personal stories,based on my belief systems of sensible and virtuous living will hopefully motivate and inspire you to cultivate a more positive mental attitude, and will enable you to glide through the challenges of life with a smile on your face.
Five Spiritual Laws - Laughter Yoga has an uncomplicated spiritual component without involving religion that has given it even more credibility. Spiritual laws have been demonstrated through some very interesting stories which will help you look inward and generate a higher level of spiritual thinking, genuineness, compassion and sensitivity toward everyday situations and people.
A Brief Overview of the Concept
Focus and Concentration
During intervals of complete silence, you will self-examine each room, then break the silence with short periods of laughter and discussion. The goal of the program is to assist you in living a more balanced, happy, healthy, and peaceful life.
Silencing your tongue and mind on a regular basis will raise your consciousness, allowing it to absorb truth, not only that which surrounds you, but also that which lies buried within. Happening slowly in stages, over a period of time, practiced periods of silence will allow you to evolve to a higher plane where truth will be readily seen and more easily lived. Your house, you life, will then be in order.
Contemplation is an active thought process used during the silence retreat, allowing your mind to recognize its current actions and behavior. During that active thought process, your mind will be able to focus more clearly, enabling you to develop specific plans, strategies and commitments necessary for those changes to occur, thus improving the overall quality of your life.
Mindful Awareness
The mind has a sly way of slipping into the past, projecting into the future, while trying to avoid the present. The past is past – the future has not yet happened, so how can life, itself, be enjoyed if you are not clearly present in this very moment? During the silence retreat, learning to observe your breath will bring you more fully into the present. Placing awareness on your breath will allow you to become one with the moment, as you more fully experience the beauty of life as it truly and currently exists.
All great thinkers and philosophers have created their best while in silence.
Silence creates an introspective mood, allowing you to get in touch with the real you, your true self.
Realizations will come to you, enabling you to know more about yourself and your relationship with others. Ideas about what\'s going on with your life and how to handle those situations will come to you. Silence will allow you to hear your own voice without being contaminated by the voice of others. During silence, everything will stand still. You will no longer be doing, instead you will be looking dispassionately and objectively at your life. Unlike the false mind, your true mind, your true self, will be open to the truth and realities of life.
In silence, your inner voice will be heard more clearly. In silence, problems will be solved. In silence, there will be room for contemplation and introspection. In silence, new projects will be developed. In silence, there will be no distractions. In silence, there will be no fear. In silence, answers will be found. In silence, there is only love.
Why Spiritual Retreat
We all want to be happy and do not want any pain or suffering. We all have different needs and desires, which if unfulfilled, lead to a stressful situation. As we try to achieve these goals, many times we find ourselves very frustrated and helpless, which hampers the accomplishment of happiness, and creates anxiety and constant nervous tension. It is then that people invoke a higher intelligence or a higher force like spirituality to help them cope with their inabilities and accept reality. Spiritual practices help us to tackle problems and face them with equanimity. We can take the ups and downs of life in our stride and no longer yo-yo between extremes–climb peaks of happiness and then plummet to depths of despair. It helps us cope.
Spirituality is all about working smart, not working hard. One has to put in a lot of effort if working with lower intelligence as it has limited abilities and skills. On the other hand, spirituality is all about working smart and getting maximum results with minimum efforts. With a spiritual approach one can attain everything that one ever wanted with minimum effort. This is how universal intelligence works. Instead of toiling and struggling, one needs to flow effortlessly. It's like walking with the wind assisting you from behind. All one has to do, is to align oneself with spiritual laws and laws of nature and let these forces glide you to happiness.
Spirituality helps to create new ideas, new visions, creativity, and intuitive abilities to reach our aspirations. It helps build a magnetic aura around you that attracts people towards you. It creates an energy that gives a sense of security, power and fearlessness.
Better Emotional Intelligence Handling emotions is perhaps the most difficult of all human abilities. We spend almost 75 per cent of our time trying to sort out the varied and complex emotions, while the other 25 per cent is spent in emotional reactions to the situation and the people around us. Negative emotions, literally drain our energy and affect the quality of our lives. Since it is difficult to manage these reactions with a logical mind, you need to resort to a process that will help you to rise above all that is depressing. This is where the spiritual approach is helpful as it has the power to alter the negativity of the mind to a positive pattern.
I have personally used this approach to spread the laughter mission worldwide. With hardly any resources or any great assets, I managed to set up thousands of Laughter Clubs in over 100 countries. It was spirituality which helped me cope with all obstacles that came my way. It is indeed a powerful tool which helps in realization and fulfillment of one's dreams and aspirations.


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Free Crochet Pattern from Lion Brand Yarn, formatted for input to refreshable Braille displays or Braille software
Crochet Bracelet
Lion Brand® Martha Stewart Crafts
Pattern Number: L10105E Martha Stewart Crafts Mambo is the perfect yarn for bold, colorful accessories that are lightweight and comfortable to wear. Crochet this bracelet in any shade to complement or coordinate with your wardrobe.
SKILL LEVEL: Beginner (Level 1)
SIZE: One Size
About 14 in. (35.5 cm) circumference
CORRECTIONS: None
5600-595 Martha Stewart Crafts TM/MC Mambo Yarn: Flamingo
Bright pink with white binder
Quantity needed: 1 Skeins
Estimated Price: $ 4.39
Lion Brand Crochet Hook - Size S-35 'Speed Hook' (19 mm)
Quantity needed: 1
Estimated Price: $ 6.99
With 2 strands held together, chain 10.
Fasten off.
Knot ends.
Hide ends by tucking them under other strands with your fingers.
Every effort has been made to have the knitting and crochet instructions accurate and complete. We cannot be responsible for variance of individual knitters and crocheters, human errors, or typographical mistakes.
We want your project to be a success! If you need help with this or any other Lion Brand pattern, e-mail support is available 7 days per week by mailing email@example.com.
For over a thousand free patterns available in versions for the vision-impaired, visit our website http://www.LionBrand.com
To order, visit our website http://www.e-yarn.com or call: (800) 258-9276 any time!
Copyright ©1998-2011 Lion Brand Yarn Company, all rights reserved. No pattern or other material may be reproduced -- mechanically, electronically, or by any other means, including photocopying -- without written permission of Lion Brand Yarn Company.
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In the first weekend in India, 'Dhoom 3', has collected Rs 189 crore approx, from Hindi, Tamil and Telugu versions (Rs 19 crore from regional sectors). Taking into account the Hindi version, it managed to garner around Rs 170 crore, which is way higher than 'Chennai Express' which had made Rs 139 crore.
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See the top 20 most helpful scuba gear reviews
Average Customer Review: based on 81 reviews.Rating: Hanger
When the average hanger just doesn't cut it, rely on the Super Hanger. We know your gear is often heavy and wet. So, we built the Super Hanger sturdy, with high quality non-corrosive materials. It holds more weight, so your valuable stuff won't end up on the ground
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Original UK BC hanger redesigned for easier use
Underwater Kinetics was the first dive company to provide divers with a series of hangers designed specifically for diving equipment. The hangers had to be non-corroding, non-staining, sunlight resistant and strong enough to support the weight of wet dive equipment while remaining reasonably priced. The inspiration for the unusual shapes of these hangers came from divers who wanted to get their equipment off the floor, out of the sand and up the air for drying after a rinse in fresh water. The hangers turned out to be so rugged that most diving retailers used them to display equipment in their stores.
The hanger designed for holding a BC and regulator has been redesinged for versatility and ease of use. The original design required the diver to remove the dust cap of the regulator and screw the first stage onto the hanger. The purpose of this was to make sure that the regulator did not fall off. In the new design of the BC hanger an inverted T-hook is provided for draping the regulator hoses from the hanger while still providing resistance to slipping off onto the floor. The 'shoulder tips' of the hanger are hooked upward to prevent the BC from sliding off as it would on a conventional hanger. In addition the hanger utilizes strong I- beam construction and is non-corroding as well as non-staining.


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During Prohibition, some people could still obtain alcohol legally, only not through the local pub or liquor store.
They got it from a pharmacy. People would go to a doctor for a prescription to consume liquor for, ahem, "medicinal purposes," wink, wink.
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text: The most unusual locale in the Engadin Valley! Dine in one of the Engadin's oldest buildings and enjoy traditional local fare. Here you can sample all the culinary delights the Engadin has to offer – Capuns, Maluns and more. All homemade of course and complemented by fresh bread baked in a wood fired oven and exquisite wines from our extensive cellar. A visit to the Dorta is a must-do for a perfect Engadin holiday.


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|Fred Hoiberg
Courtesy: cyclones.com
Release: 04/28/2010
Fred Hoiberg – a favorite son and native of Ames, a Cyclone basketball legend, a 10-year NBA veteran and former executive with the Minnesota Timberwolves – was introduced April 28, 2010 in front of a packed audience in the Jacobson Athletic Building as the 19th head men's basketball coach in Iowa State University history.
In five years, The Mayor has resurrected his alma mater into a force on the national level, orchestrating the biggest turnaround in Big 12 history in 2011-12 and guiding the Cyclones to four-straight NCAA Tournament appearances (2012-2015) for the first time in school history. Hoiberg was the fastest coach to 100 wins in school history and his 115 wins are the most in a five-year span.
Following the 2013 season, the Iowa State Athletics Department affirmed the success of Hoiberg by agreeing to a 10-year, $20 million deal to keep Hoiberg on the bench at Hilton Coliseum through 2023.
The 2014-15 Cyclones replaced a pair of All-Americans and didn't miss a beat, finishing 25-9 overall and tying for second place in the Big 12 with a 12-6 mark. The 25 wins tied for the third-most in school history as Hoiberg guided the team to its second consecutive Big 12 Championship title. The Cyclones led the Big 12 in scoring (77.9) for the third season in a row.
Iowa State earned its 17th NCAA Tournament appearance and Georges Niang became the fourth player under Hoiberg to earn All-America honors. Niang, along with teammates Monté Morris and Jameel McKay earned All-Big 12 honors. McKay was named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, giving the Cyclones an individual award winner for the fourth consecutive season.
Iowa State defeated nine ranked teams in 2014-15 and a nation's-best 18 top-25 foes in the last two seasons.
Hilton Coliseum built on its reputation as one of the toughest venues for opposing teams to visit. The Cyclones rode Hilton Magic to a 15-1 mark to improve to 62-5 at home the last four seasons. ISU was second among Big 12 teams averaging 14,295 fans per game in 2014-15 and has 37 sellouts in the last four seasons.
The 2013-14 season, Hoiberg's fourth in Ames, was an incredible ride that Cyclone fans will never forget. ISU went 28-8 overall, earned championship trophies at the Diamond Head Classic and Big 12 Tournament and advanced to the school's fourth Sweet 16. With an 11-7 record (tied for third in the Big 12) in conference play, Iowa State posted its third-straight 10-win season in league play.
Iowa State again reloaded after losing three starters from 2012-13's NCAA Tournament team. Hoiberg brought in a talented trio of players in graduated senior transfer DeAndre Kane, JUCO transfer Dustin Hogue and Morris to play alongside stalwarts Niang and Melvin Ejim. Together, along with the development of sharpshooters Naz Long and Matt Thomas, Iowa State posted one of the best seasons in school history.
The season was filled with excitement. The program opened the season winning a school-record 14 games in a row. Iowa State defeated a program-record nine teams ranked in the Associated Press top-25 and became the first school in Big 12 history to have five different players earn Big 12 Player of the Week honors.
Much of the team's success can be attributed to Ejim and Kane and the duo was handsomely rewarded for their efforts. While Hoiberg has been lauded for his success with transfers, it was his first four-year player, Ejim, that was named the Big 12 Player of the Year. Kane took home honors as the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, the third-straight Cyclone to earn that honor. The duo also earned numerous All-America nods, with Ejim being named a Capital One Academic All-American as well.
The Cyclones beat North Carolina Central in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The win came at a cost, as All-Big 12 Third-Team pick Niang suffered a broken foot in the game. The Cyclones rallied as one in the next round, beating North Carolina on a Kane buzzer-beater, to advance to the Sweet 16. The Cyclones fell to Connecticut at Madison Square Garden the following weekend.
Despite losing its top-three scorers from 2011-12, Hoiberg led ISU to a fourth-place finish in the Big 12 (11-7) and a 23-12 overall mark in 2012-13.
Led by four All-Big 12 performers, including Big 12 Newcomer of the Year Will Clyburn, the Cyclones earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament, defeating Notre Dame in the second round. ISU defeated three ranked teams and posted the sixth-best all-time winning percentage in Hilton Coliseum at 16-1.
Picked to finish eighth in the 2011-12 Big 12 preseason poll, Hoiberg's Cyclones responded by tying for third in the Big 12, amassing 23 wins overall and going 12-6 in league play, a +9 conference-win improvement from the previous season.
Hoiberg significantly upgraded the talent in the Sukup Basketball Complex and his team produced one of the finest seasons in school history. The Cyclones earned a berth in the 2012 NCAA Tournament, ending a six-year drought, and appeared in the Associated Press' top-25 for the first time since 2005. The Cyclones dethroned defending national champion Connecticut in the second round of the NCAA Championship before falling to No. 1 seed and eventual national champion Kentucky.
Other highlights of the 2011-12 season were: two wins over top-10 opponents (Kansas and Baylor) and tying the school record for most conference home victories with eight.
At season's end, the awards and honors poured in. Hoiberg was named 2012 Big 12 Co-Coach of the Year and four Cyclones earned all-conference recognition, the most since 2001. Royce White was named All-Big 12 First-Team as well as the National Newcomer of the Year by the Basketball Times after leading the team in scoring, rebounding, assists, steals and blocks.
Perhaps the biggest accomplishment in Hoiberg's successful tenure at ISU is the re-birth of "Hilton Magic." Fans are coming out in droves to watch the Cyclones play, selling out Hilton Coliseum 37 times, averaging over 14,000 fans per game and ranking in the top-25 nationally in the last three seasons. Hoiberg has strung together 22 and 21-game homecourt winning streaks in his time as the Cyclone mentor.
With an exciting, up-tempo style, Hoiberg's squads have ranked among the nation's top-10 in scoring in two of the last three seasons.
Building teams surrounded by outstanding shooters has also become a Hoiberg trademark. The top-five single-season 3-pointers made totals have been achieved under his watch, including a school- and Big 12-record 346 treys set in 2013, as the Cyclones led the nation in 3-pointers per game at 9.9. Eleven of the top 13 single-game 3-pointers made efforts in school history have also occurred in the five-year Hoiberg era.
One of Hoiberg's top shooters, Tyrus McGee, became the first Cyclone to lead the nation in statistical category when McGee made 46.4 percent of his 3-point shots in 2012-13. In 2013-14 and 2014-15, Monté Morris followed McGee's lead and became the next Cyclone to lead the nation in a stat category. As a freshman, Morris shattered the NCAA record with a 4.79 assist-to-turnover ratio. He followed that in his sophomore campaign with a nation's best 4.63 ratio.
Hoiberg has coached 12 players who have earned All-Big 12 recognition, including Niang, who became the eighth Cyclones in Big 12 history to earn first-team all-league honors by the conference coaches. Ejim and Kane were on the first team in 2013-14, making them the first Cyclone teammates to earn top-team honors in the same season since 1986. In 2011-12, Royce White was a first-team selection in addition to earning honorable mention All-America honors and being picked 16th in the 2012 NBA Draft.
In his first season with the Cyclones (2010-11), Hoiberg inherited a team unanimously picked to finish last in the Big 12 with just two returnees from the season before. The rookie coach wasted little time implementing his system and instilling his philosophies, as the Cyclones raced out to a 13-2 start, the second-best beginning by a first-year Cyclone coach with two losses.
Hoiberg's Cyclones surprised many in his rookie campaign, finishing the year with a 16-16 mark, the first .500 or above record by an Iowa State team since 2005-06. Basketball Times recognized Hoiberg's work in his first season, naming him the 2011 National Rookie Coach of the Year.
The Cyclones have also excelled in the classroom in The Mayor's term in office. In 2013-14, Ejim joined Hoiberg as the only Iowa State players to be named a first-team Academic All-American.
Three of the best cumulative semester GPAs in the program's history have been obtained under Hoiberg. For the first time in school history, the Cyclones as a team achieved a cumulative 3.0 GPA in the spring semester of 2011. The Cyclones had a league-best four players earn Academic All-Big 12 honors in 2011-12, including three members on the first-team (Scott Christopherson, Melvin Ejim, Bubu Palo).
Hoiberg spent the 2009-10 season in his first year as Vice President of Basketball Operations for the Minnesota Timberwolves, a role in which he oversaw day-to-day operations of the basketball program including college and pro scouting, salary cap management and NBA Draft preparations. Prior to that, he worked three years as the club's assistant general manager.
It was Hoiberg's play at Hilton Coliseum in the 1990s, however, that endeared him to Cyclone fans. One of the school's most-admired competitors, Hoiberg averaged 15.8 points and is the school's third all-time leading scorer (1,993 points).
Part of Hoiberg's introduction to Cyclone basketball was as one of the school's first ball boys. In a game against Windsor in 1986, then ISU-star Jeff Hornacek landed on Hoiberg, sprained his ankle and missed the rest of the game. "Injuring the best player in school history wasn't how I wanted to be remembered," Hoiberg said later. Rest assured, his personal story soon turned for the better.
The versatile and heady guard/forward, who grew up in Ames, was called "The Mayor" by his teammates. As his popularity skyrocketed on campus and in his hometown, people started calling him simply "Fred" or "the Mayor" and you knew who they were talking about. That nickname was, apparently, appropriate evidenced by the fact he received multiple write-in votes in the 1993 Ames mayoral race.
The Cyclones won 78 games and played in three NCAA Tournaments in his career. Hoiberg's sweet stroke from long distance may have been his calling card, but his overall game was outstanding and fundamentally sound.
He played in 126 career games (the first three years for Coach Johnny Orr and the last one for Coach Tim Floyd) with the Cyclones and was a major contributor each year.
As a rookie, he earned AP Big Eight Freshman of the Year honors after scoring 12.1 ppg and establishing a school record with 34 consecutive made free throws. That Cyclone club made the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1989.
In his second season, Hoiberg's role changed slightly and he was the top rebounder (6.3 rpg), despite standing just 6-foot-4, for another post-season team.
Hoiberg averaged 20.2 points per game, ranked in the conference's Top 10 in seven categories and was named second-team All-Big Eight as a junior.
In his senior season and second year as team captain, he led the Cyclones to a then-school record 23 wins and the NCAA Tournament's second round. Hoiberg averaged 19.9 ppg on the way to All-America and first-team all-league honors. He was named co-Big Eight Male Athlete of the Year.
Hoiberg had many memorable games as a Cyclone. He poured in 32 points, including a remarkable 17 straight in the second half, of a 69-65 upset of third-ranked Kansas in 1995. Later that season, Hoiberg tallied a career-best 41 points in a conference win over Colorado. His three-point play (layup and then the game-winning free throw) with 9.4 seconds left helped ISU defeat second-ranked Oklahoma State 84-83 in overtime in 1992.
The contributions that Hoiberg made to both his school and home city have been recognized many times. His jersey #32 was retired by ISU in 1997 and hangs in the rafters at Hilton Coliseum. Hoiberg was inducted into the Iowa State Letterwinners' Hall of Fame in 2005 and recognized as part of the men's basketball program's All-Century team in 2008. On Feb. 9, 1997, Mayor Larry Curtis proclaimed it to be "Fred Hoiberg Day" during a Cyclone game.
Hoiberg was a second-round NBA draft pick (52nd overall) by the Indiana Pacers in 1995. He was also chosen #1 overall (by the Cedar Rapids Silver Bullets) in the 1995 CBA draft that year, but he joined the Pacers (where he played four seasons) to begin a decade long NBA career.
He also played for the Chicago Bulls (four years) and Minnesota Timberwolves (two years) and scored 2,944 points in 541 regular-season games. Hoiberg connected on a league-best 48.3 percent of his three-point shots in 2004-05 with Minnesota. But, his pro career ended abruptly at the age of 33 after undergoing open-heart surgery to repair an aneurysm in his aortic root. Hoiberg considered a comeback but, ultimately, accepted an administrative post with the Timberwolves.
Hoiberg readily admits his experiences in the NBA – playing for coaches such as Larry Brown and Larry Bird at Indiana, Tim Floyd in Chicago and Flip Saunders and Kevin McHale with Minnesota – helped shape his coaching beliefs.
As a prep, Hoiberg starred in both basketball and football at Ames High School. He was named Iowa's Mr. Basketball as well as Gatorade's State Player of the Year in football as a quarterback. Hoiberg led the Little Cyclones to the 1991 state high school basketball championship and averaged 38.1 points in six tournament games. In 2012, the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) inducted Hoiberg into its national Hall of Fame.
Hoiberg earned his finance degree from Iowa State University in 1995. He was a first-team academic All-American as a senior, a second-team pick as a junior and a three-time honoree on the Big Eight All-Academic team. There was certainly an academic background in his family as both of his parents – dad (Eric) at Iowa State and mom (Karen) in elementary school – had teaching careers.
Fred and his wife, Carol, met in high school and attended Iowa State together. They are the parents of four children (Paige, Jack and twins Sam and Charlie).
Hoiberg Career Highlights
Iowa State Player (1992-95)
Iowa State Head Coach (2011-)
Post-Playing Career Honors And Awards
Fred Hoiberg Coaching Ledger


text: Savor the joys of a customized tailor-made tour of England. With your private guide, search out famous curiosities at London's British Museum. Hear stories of Egyptian mummies and the hieroglyphics on the famous Rosetta Stone. Pass by the crowds at the London Eye to soar straight upwards on the iconic wheel for a stupendous city view. Journey over hills and dale ...s of the charming British countryside and follow in the footsteps of Wordsworth, Beatrix Potter or Charlotte Bronte. Make stops for high tea promising hot scones topped with ruby red, strawberry jam. On the charming isle of Jersey, stroll along a windswept beach to the sounds of crashing waves and sea birds, then step into the warmth of a friendly pub. Or, come face to face with colorful parakeets, striped lemurs and flying foxes at the celebrated Durrell Wildlife Park. Whatever your desire—whether it's steering an Aston Martin through the curvy Cotswalds, cheering at a Wimbledon match, glimpsing the Royals or exploring mysterious Stonehenge, let our knowledgeable experts plan your perfect England tour.Show More


text: That's right, Deschutes Brewery is coming to Nebraska for the first time, October 15 to 18. We've arranged a few small gatherings to introduce ourselves and share our passion for craft brewing. Come out and try a few of our favorite brews like Black Butte Porter, Mirror Pond Pale Ale, Chainbreaker White IPA, and Jubelale and chat with some of our crew. Woody, our giant wooden bar on wheels, will also be cruising around so honk if you see him!


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Smarter, Faster, Endpoint Management!
Can you manage thousands of endpoints on multiple platforms from the same console? Do you know exactly what assets you have at all times, understand who, how and why are people using them? Can you distribute software and fixes to each of them, maintain control and compliance reports for roaming equipment while at the same time reduce the amount of energy your endpoints consume?
On February 1st, IBM announced the availability of the new, IBM Tivoli Endpoint Manager, for managing and securing physical and virtual endpoints. Built on BigFix technology, Tivoli Endpoint Manager combines endpoint and security management into a single solution that enables companies to see and manage virtually all endpoints — servers, desktops, roaming laptops, and specialized equipment such as point-of-sale devices, ATMs and self-service kiosks.
Value to Customers: Continuous Visibility and Control for all Endpoints
IT organizations are constantly seeking ways to manage complexity and reduce costs, while providing services to end users that increase productivity and business efficiencies. IBM Tivoli Endpoint Manager, built on BigFix technology, contributes to those goals – by allowing clients to consolidate previously disparate functions and processes in endpoint management and security to maximize efficiencies, reduce risk and costs and provide quality services to end users no matter how distributed or complex the environment.
Tivoli Endpoint Manager delivers value from the smallest of companies to the very largest organizations. A single Tivoli Endpoint Manager management server is capable of managing up to 250,000 endpoints. The solution can be installed in a matter of hours, and provides customers with a fast ROI.
Interested in learning more?
Check out Jim Resch, IBM Technical Sales Specialist, describe how great IBM Tivoli Endpoint Manager really is.
And if you want to talk directly to our customers, visit us at Pulse. Come see for yourself how companies of all sizes are leveraging Tivoli Endpoint Manager, built on BigFix technology to achieve unparalleled visibility, control and automation.
Take a moment to share your experiences, knowledge and questions around endpoint management
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?about=&gid=90033
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/BigFix/56240210919?v=app_23798139265


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Fernando Verdasco is looking all kinds of shirtless in the latest issue of Hola! magazine.
Seriously, the bod is sick and the faux-hawk looks long gone. But sometimes Nando can look sexy and other times can be straight on cheese. I'm getting Versace ad sprinkled with a dose of International Male here. You? Though, to be fair, the styling isn't so great either.
But really you have to give Nando some props - just think about where he started.
(images courtesy of verdasco-online, scans via socialitelife)
Friday, July 31, 2009
PHOTO OP: Nando featured in Hola! magazine
11 comments:
- AnonymousJuly 31, 2009 at 6:15 PM
The one in the red bathrobe...make me unsee it. Please.ReplyDelete
- SouLKidJuly 31, 2009 at 6:43 PM
he looks great.ReplyDelete
A lot of the pictures were highly questionable but overall everything was fine. The one with the aviators was hot, ridiculous and cheesy but hot. Then I got to the last one...oh my. All I can think of is, "Oklahoma where the wind comes sweeping down the plain."ReplyDelete
- AnonymousAugust 1, 2009 at 1:08 AM
Also featured in the UK HELLO magazine..not so many pics though.ReplyDelete
He does it for me! (female and 35-48 age group)
I'm still not seeing the sexy. Although he's def improved, I just don't think I can take him seriously... To me, he'll always be faux hawk + layers of cheese.ReplyDelete
Btw Rich I'm totally seeing versace too - all the white + unbuttoned shirts, on a boat...
- mercedes20August 1, 2009 at 5:05 AM
I can't wait to see him in cincy this year. Definite improvement over last year!ReplyDelete
- cristinaAugust 1, 2009 at 8:26 AM
omg. hot! i guess cheese works on me. lolReplyDelete
- AnonymousAugust 2, 2009 at 6:12 PM
Fern is hot. He's always been hot. Even during his sorta skeevy blonde moment. He can put his chorizo in my paella any day of week. ;)ReplyDelete
Thanks for the pics!
- AnonymousAugust 3, 2009 at 6:36 AM
Hmmmm... not impressed. Rafa is soooooooooo much hotter!!!!ReplyDelete
Why Rafa doesn't do such things, his fans are waiting. :P :)
This hair is a big improvement over anything else I've seen.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousAugust 15, 2009 at 12:25 PM
Does anyone know where these shirts can be bought in the UK?ReplyDelete


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May 24, 2016
OCALA, Fla. (AP) -- A Haitian woman who traveled to Florida to
have a massive tumor removed from her mouth is on her way home.
Thirty-eight-year-old Lorette Pierre travels back to Haiti on
Monday and will see her husband and six children for the first time
since March.
Pierre had a four-pound tumor jutting from her mouth that made
eating and breathing nearly impossible. Doctors at Halifax Medical
Center in Daytona Beach were able to remove the tumor and
reconstruct her lower jaw.
She's now showing off a smile that hasn't been seen for years.
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A nice map indeed. The font for the region names is a little hard to read but otherwise very nice.
Hello there.
So I have been lurking on the forum for quite a while now, but this post right here is my first one. I have decided that it is about time to post something and I am quite satisfied with my latest creation (although still pretty anxious and self-conscious; not to mention far more better maps already posted here).
The map shows the continent of Voseria, as it is known to its inhabitants. At the bottom we can also see a little bit of the southern part of landmass, which is simply known as the South and the three cities on its northern edge (Blac'el'lat, Rozzhkar and Iszkelet) are known collectively as the Free Cities of the South. Main players in Voserian politics are Azavert and Ellyria, but I think you can figure it out by just glancing at the map.
Voseria is part of a conworld I have created as a setting for my stories and if I had to put a label on it, I would say it's dark high fantasy. For those of you who have read "The Witcher Saga" or have played the games - you'd feel right at home.
Map itself was created using overlordchuck's tutorial (really great work, mate) and Schwarzkreuz's brush set (also great work). Cartouche (if you can call it that) in the upper left-hand corner was driving me crazy and I sort of gave up and settled for this ugly thing.
And a little explanation of symbols used. Star is a capital, circle is a big/important city, square is a fortress, diamond is an important place (neither a city nor a castle).
All critique is welcome, especially the constructive one. Also, as a guy with English as second language, it is customary that I apologise for my usage of it. So yeah, sorry for my English.
overlordchuck's tutorial: http://www.cartographersguild.com/tu...ing-chuck.html
Schwarzkreuz's brush set: http://www.cartographersguild.com/ma...-no-1-3-a.html
Last edited by arois; 05-14-2013 at 10:35 AM. Reason: Adding missing link.
A nice map indeed. The font for the region names is a little hard to read but otherwise very nice.
Agree with Allerion, the big labels are hard to read and ihmo doesnt fit with the town names. I liked your political borders, but it looks a bit shine/ strong dunno how to tell right, it it a bit smooth i guess it will be better.
A dont know right about your rivers collors, all the time that i zoomed it i saw roads >.< maybe coz the color, no named rivers and you not using roads in you map.
Nice choice in the brushes and your coasts shape is really amazing! And nice work with your islands... i always have problens with it


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June 1, 2016
Dozens turned out on Friday night to get a lesson in dancing from a reality TV star.
Abby Lee Miller from Lifetime's "Dance Moms" was on hand at the Pat Gray dance academy to teaching dancing to youngsters. The reality show follows Miller and her students and their parents through conflicts as they rehearse and prepare for dance competitions.
"I'm in town for a friend's wedding," Miller said. "So, I was able to kill two birds with one stone. I came here tonight to teach a master class to the senior level and junior level. And it's kind of like my legs and feet, tricks of the trade, what I look for when I'm judging."
Newscenter 11 will have more with Miller on Sunday evening on Newscenter 11 at 10:00.
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As cities rush to solve major problems with water infrastructure, newer technologies are being touted by city agencies as cheaper, cleaner solutions. In two different local projects, the Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati (MSD) and a City Council task force are looking into green ways to solve the city's water needs.
On Wednesday, CityBeat covered some of the benefits and downsides of green water infrastructure. According to the report reviewed Wednesday, green water infrastructure is cheaper and does create a boon of jobs, but it faces some funding and education problems. However, it was unclear how the green ideas would translate into Cincinnati.
Tony Parrott, executive director of MSD, says despite the challenges, green infrastructure is clearly the cheaper option. The organization is partnering with local organizations to adopt a series of new projects — among them, green roofs, rain gardens, wetlands — to meet a new federal mandate that requires MSD to reduce the amount of sewer overflow that makes it into local rivers and streams.
"That is a very costly mandate," he says. "Our belief is that green infrastructure and sustainable infrastructure will allow us to achieve a lot of those objectives a lot cheaper than your conventional deep tunnel systems or other gray type of infrastructure."
Of course, conventional — or "gray" — infrastructure still
has its place, but adopting a hybrid of green and gray infrastructure
or just green infrastructure in some areas was found to be cheaper in
MSD analyses, according to Parrott.
Plans are already being executed. On top of the smaller projects that slow the flow of storm water into sewer systems, MSD is also taking what Parrott calls a "large-scale approach to resurrect or daylight former streams and creeks that were buried over 150 years ago." This approach will rely on the new waterways to redirect storm water so it doesn't threaten to flood sewers and cause sewer overflow, Parrott says.
The programs are being approached in a "holistic way," according to Parrott. MSD intends to refine and reiterate on what works as the programs develop. However, that comes with challenges when setting goals and asking for funding.
"We think that if you're going to use a more integrated approach, it may require us to ask for more time to get some of these projects done and in the ground and then see how effective they are," Parrott says.
If it all plays out, the ongoing maintenance required by the green approach could be good for the local economy, according to Parrott: "With the green and sustainable infrastructure, you're creating a new class of what we call green jobs for maintenance. The majority of those jobs are something local folks can do as opposed to the conventional process." Additionally, the green jobs also tend to benefit "disadvantaged communities" more than conventional jobs, according to Parrott.
The argument is essentially what Jeremy Hays, chief strategist for state and local initiatives at Green For All, told CityBeat on Wednesday. Since the green jobs require less education and training, they're more accessible to "disadvantaged workers," according to Hays: "They require some training and some skills, but not four years' worth because it's skills that you can get at a community college or even on the job."
While MSD fully encourages the use of rain barrels, recycling will not be a top priority for MSD's programs. Instead, that priority goes to the Rainwater Harvesting Task Force, a City Council task force intended to find ways to reform the city's plumbing code to make harvesting and recycling rainwater a possibility.
Bob Knight, a member of the task force, says there is already a model in place the city can use. The task force is looking into adopting the International Green Construction Code (IGCC) in Cincinnati. The code will "prescriptively tell" architects and engineers how to design a rainwater harvesting system. In other words, IGCC would set a standard for the city.
Deciding on this code was not without challenges. At first, the task force wasn't even sure if it could dictate how rainwater is harvested and recycled. The first question Knight had to ask was, "Who has that authority?" What it found is a mix of local agencies — Greater Cincinnati Water Works, MSD and Cincinnati Department of Planning — will all have to work together to implement the city's new code.
The task force hopes to give its findings to Quality of Life Committee, which is led by Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls, by the end of November.
In-person early voting is underway in Ohio. Find your nearest polling booth here.
The final debate for Ohio's U.S. Senate seat is tonight. Democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown and Republican challenger Josh Mandel will meet in Cincinnati to continue a feisty exchange of ideas and sometimes insults. In the last debate, the candidates drew sharp contrasts on policy, which CityBeat covered in-depth here. The final debate will be tonight at 7 p.m. on all Ohio NBC news stations, including WLWT.com. In aggregate polling, Brown is currently up 5.2 points against Mandel.
Want to see what a biased headline from a local newspaper looks like? Here you go, from Business Courier:
Romney win would boost economy, economist says. Strangely enough, the article says re-electing President Barack Obama could also lift the economy, which makes the misleading headline even worse. Unfortunately for the newspaper, Obama is currently leading by 2.1 points in
Ohio against Mitt Romney, and the state will play a pivotal role in the
election. Romney is leading by 0.6 points nationally.
A group is trying to convince Cincinnatians to vote no on Issue 4. The initiative, which is on 2012's ballot, would extend City Council terms from two to four years. Supporters of Issue 4 say it lets City Council focus more on passing laws and less on campaigning, but opponents say it makes it more difficult to hold City Council accountable.
Ohio Supreme Court Justice Robert Cupp is distancing himself from a TV ad put out by the Ohio Republican Party that depicts his Democratic opponent, William O'Neill, as sympathetic to rapists. Liberal blog Plunderbund called the ad "tone deaf," referencing recent instances of Republican senatorial candidates turning rape into a legitimate issue. The Republican Senate candidate for Indiana, Richard Mourdock, recently said during a debate, "I think that even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen." Previously, the Republican Senate candidate for Missouri, Todd Akin, told reporters when discussing pregnancy caused by rape, "If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down."
CityBeat looked at some of the benefits and downsides of green water infrastructure yesterday. Basically, it's going to produce more jobs and economic growth, but it's going to require long-term commitment and education. Later today, CityBeat will be talking to some city officials of how that green infrastructure can be adopted in Cincinnati.
Hamilton County's budget is tight, and that means no wage hike for county workers anytime soon, according to Hamilton County Commission President Greg Hartmann.
Gov. John Kasich is taking his time in filling an open Board of Education seat. Rob Nichols, Kasich's spokesperson, says, "We just want to get the right person." But state law requires the seat be filled within 30 days, and the seat has been vacant for a month.
An Ohio judge said provisional ballots cast in the wrong precinct and polling location must still be counted.
Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble beat Wall Street expectations, easing concerns from skeptical investors.
Huntington National Bank is relaunching its credit card business in a move that will produce 250 new jobs, and Greater Cincinnati is expected to land some of those jobs.
Ohio is getting a little love from Airbus. The aerospace company will be getting more of its parts from Ohio manufacturers. Cincinnati-based GE Aviation is already Airbus' biggest U.S. supplier.
A new health care report found health providers often
cover up mistakes in fear of retaliation. The report also found health
care has been slow at embracing the "culture of safety."
Apparently, strict parents raise conservative kids.
Ohioans might not give it much thought outside of paying the water bill, but better water infrastructure can make cities more efficient, healthier and cleaner. That's why Green For All, a group that promotes clean energy initiatives, is now focusing on cleaner, greener water infrastructure.
A little-known green conference took place in Cincinnati Oct. 15-17. The Urban Water Sustainability Leadership Conference was in town on those three days, and it brought together leaders from around the U.S. to discuss sustainable water programs for cities. The conference mostly focused on policy ideas, success stories and challenges faced by modern water infrastructure.
For Green For All, attending the conference was about establishing one key element that isn't often associated with water and sewer systems: jobs. Jeremy Hays, chief strategist for state and local initiatives at Green For All, says this was the focus for his organization.
Hays says it's important for groups promoting better water infrastructure to include the jobs aspect of the equation. To Hays, while it's certainly important for cities to establish cleaner and more efficient initiatives, it's also important to get people back to work. He worries this side of water infrastructure policies are "often left out."
He points to a report released by Green For All during last year's conference. The report looked at how investing the $188.4 billion suggested by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to manage rainwater and preserve water quality in the U.S. would translate into economic development and jobs: "We find that an investment of $188.4 billion spread equally over the next five years would generate $265.6 billion in economic activity and create close to 1.9 million jobs."
To accomplish that robust growth and job development, the report claims infrastructure would have to mimic "natural solutions." It would focus on green roofs, which are rooftop areas with planted vegetation; urban tree planting; rain gardens, which are areas that use vegetation to reduce storm water runoff; bioswales, which are shallow, vegetated depressions that catch rainwater and redirect it; constructed wetlands; permeable pavements, which are special pavements that allow water to pass through more easily; rainwater harvesting, which uses rain barrels and other storage devices to collect and recycle rainwater; and green alleys, which reduce paved or impervious surfaces with vegetation that reduces storm water runoff.
The report says constructing and maintaining these sorts of programs would produce massive growth, especially in comparison to other programs already supported by presidential candidates and the federal government: "Infrastructure investments create over 16 percent more jobs dollar-for-dollar than a payroll tax holiday, nearly 40 percent more jobs than an across-the-board tax cut, and over five times as many jobs as temporary business tax cuts."
Hays says the jobs created also don't have barriers that keep them inaccessible to what he calls "disadvantaged workers": "A lot of these jobs that we're focused on in infrastructure, especially green infrastructure, are much more accessible. They require some training and some skills, but not four years' worth because it's skills that you can get at a community college or even on the job."
Beyond jobs, Green For All supports greener infrastructure due to its health benefits. Hays cited heat waves as one example. He says the extra plants and vegetation planted to support green infrastructure can help absorb heat that's typically contained by cities.
Hays' example has a lot of science to stand on. The extra heating effect in cities, known as the urban heat island effect, is caused because cities have more buildings and pavements that absorb and contain heat, more pollution that warms the air and fewer plants that enable evaporation and transpiration through a process called evapotranspiration. The EPA promotes green roofs in order to help combat the urban heat island effect.
Hays says green infrastructure also creates cleaner air because trees capture carbon dioxide and break it down to oxygen. The work of the extra trees can also help reduce global warming, although Hays cautions that the ultimate effect is probably "relatively small."
But those are only some of the advantages Hays sees in green infrastructure. He says green infrastructure is more resilient against volatile weather events caused by global warming. With green infrastructure, storm water can be managed by systems that collect and actually utilize rainwater to harvest clean water. Even in a world without climate change, that storm water management also reduces water contamination by reducing sewer overflow caused by storm water floods, according to Hays.
However, green infrastructure is not without its problems. Hays acknowledges there are some problems with infrastructure systems that require more year-over-year maintenance: "The green and conventional approach is more cost effective over time, but the way you have to spend money is different. So we need to look at the way we finance infrastructure, and make sure we keep up with innovative technologies."
Specifically, green infrastructure relies less on big capital investments and more on ongoing maintenance costs. Hays insists the green infrastructure saves money in the long term with efficiency and by making more use out of natural resources, and the Green For All report supports his claim. But it is more difficult to get a city or state legislator to support long-term funding than it is to get them to support big capital expenditures, Hays says.
Education is also a problem. To a lot of people, the green infrastructure on rooftops and other city areas might seem like "pocket parks," says Hays. But these areas are nothing like parks; they are meant to absorb and collect rainwater. If the public isn't educated properly, there could be some confusion as to why the supposed "pocket parks" are flooded so often. Providing that education is going to be another big challenge for public officials adopting green infrastructure, according to Hays.
So what, if anything, is Cincinnati doing to adopt these
technologies? In the past, city legislators have looked into rainwater
harvesting systems, but not much information is out there. On Thursday, CityBeat will talk to city officials to see how Cincinnati is moving forward.
In-person early voting is underway in Ohio. Find your nearest polling booth here.
A City Council committee approved $13.5 million that will be going to Over-the-Rhine development. Of that money, $6 million will go to the second phase of the Mercer Commons project, which is being developed by Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation (3CDC). The rest will help 3CDC redevelop 18 different buildings that are mostly around Washington Park. City Council will vote on the funding today.
Cincinnati's unemployment rate dropped to 6.9 percent, but the drop was mostly attributed to people leaving the labor force. Between September 2011 and September 2012, Cincinnati's labor force has actually shrunk. Still, more people were employed in September 2012 than were employed in September 2011.
The Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority is asking Cincinnati for $8.5 million to secure a Jordan Crossing shopping center project at Bond Hill. The funds would pay for the demolition, site preparation, marketing and redevelopment of the project.
In the second wave of interim results from an ongoing investigation into Ohio schools' attendance data reporting, State Auditor Dave Yost found no evidence of attendance scrubbing in schools with levies on the 2012 ballot. The investigation included Cincinnati Public Schools, which means CPS was found to be clean. In a statement, Yost said, "I'm surprised and pleased. To have zero incidents of 'scrubbing' is encouraging news." The full findings for both interim reports can be found here.Clifton is set to get a neighborhood grocery store soon. The neighborhood has been without one since January 2011. City Council's Budget and Finance Committee helped spur the new project with a tax abatement program.
The Hamilton County Board of Commissioners held a budget hearing yesterday, but not much new information came out. Board President Greg Hartmann insists public safety is a priority, but he says the sheriff's office will have to deal with some across-the-board cuts. The cuts won't include closing the jail, decreasing courtroom security or eliminating contracts with townships for patrols. The board has two more public meetings on Oct. 29 and 30.
The controversial billboards accused of attempting to suppress voters are being taken down by Norton Outdoor Advertising, the Cincinnati company that hosted the billboards. Meanwhile, P.G. Sittenfeld and Lamar Advertising Company, a different billboard company, are putting up 10 billboards that read, "Hey Cincinnati, voting is a right not a crime!" The new billboards are supposed to encourage voting.
The University of Cincinnati has a new president: Santa Ono. The official promotion was unanimously approved by the UC Board of Trustees. Ono has been serving as interim president since Aug. 21, when former President Greg Williams suddenly resigned due to "personal reasons."
The Cincinnati Enquirer is being accused of age discrimination in a recently amended lawsuit. In the lawsuit, eight former employees claim they were fired and replaced with younger, less qualified employees.
A new rumor is going around that says it's possible to tamper with voting results, but fact checkers and election officials are saying it's not possible. The rumors started due to the Romneys' investments in an electronic voting company.
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency is celebrating its 40th anniversary. Here is a list of some of the department's accomplishments: The amount of rivers meeting aquatic life standards went from 21 to 89 percent between the 1980s and today, carbon monoxide in the air is down 80 percent since the 1970s, sulfur dioxide is down 71 percent, lead is down 95 percent and 99 percent of community public water systems now meet health standards, up from 85 percent in 1993.
Miami University says it will discipline two students responsible for putting up an offensive flyer about getting away with rape in a coed dorm bathroom.
Metro revealed its plans for an Uptown Transit District. The district, which will cost Metro $6.9 million, is meant to better suit the needs and growth of Uptown.
Two Democratic state lawmakers are planning legislation to slow down the privatization of the Ohio Turnpike. Gov. John Kasich's administration is currently paying $3.4 million to KPMG, a private consulting and accounting firm, to study whether leasing the turnpike to the highest private bidder would benefit the state. Kasich says he could use the money saved for transportation projects all around the state. But northern Ohio residents do not seem happy with giving up a valuable asset they helped invest in, especially if the revenue from the Ohio Turnpike goes to regions outside of northern Ohio.
There's more evidence sushi sucks. Popular Science has an article and graph showing how raw food kept primates stupid.
With 1,500 people leaving the labor force in one month, Cincinnati had a seasonally unadjusted unemployment rate of 6.9 percent in September, according to new data released today by the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services. The city's unemployment is still above the unadjusted rate of 6.4 percent for Hamilton County and Greater Cincinnati.
For Cincinnati, that's a 0.7 percent drop from August's unemployment rate, which was revised upward to 7.6 percent. However, most of that drop comes from the 1,500 people who left the labor force, which combines the number of unemployed people looking for work with the amount of employed people. About 400 less Cincinnatians were employed in September than they were in August.
The new numbers show Cincinnati's labor force was actually smaller in September than it was in September 2011. Back in September 2011, the labor force was made up of 144,800 people. In September 2012, it was 144,500. Still, more people are working in September 2012 than they were in September 2011; in that time frame, the employment number went up from 131,200 to 134,500.
Both Greater Cincinnati and Hamilton County also had mixed numbers. They both saw their seasonally unadjusted unemployment rates drop from 6.8 to 6.4 percent between August and September, but both saw their labor forces and employment numbers shrink as more people quit looking for work and left the work force.
However, Hamilton County and Greater Cincinnati had their labor forces and employment numbers grow between September 2011 and September 2012, effectively making the gains throughout the year positive.
One bright spot for Cincinnati is its seasonally unadjusted unemployment rate remains below the U.S. rate of 7.6 percent. It remains above Ohio's unadjusted rate of 6.5 percent, however.
The unemployment numbers are calculated through a household survey. The unemployment rate measures the amount of unemployed people looking for work in contrast to the total labor force. Since the numbers are derived from surveys, they are often revised in later months. The state and federal numbers are typically adjusted to fit seasonal employment patterns to give a more consistent rate.
In-person early voting is underway in Ohio. Find your nearest polling booth here.
Ohio's unemployment rate dropped to 7.0 percent in September despite employers cutting 12,800 jobs. The rate is much lower than September's national unemployment rate of 7.8 percent. Ohio actually lost jobs in manufacturing, construction, education, health services, government and other sectors, with some gains in professional and business services, information services and trade, transportation and utilities. The new rate is a big improvement from the 8.6 percent unemployment rate in September 2011. This is the last state unemployment rate Ohioans will see before the Nov. 6 election.
The second debate for Ohio's U.S. Senate seat took place last night. As usual, Democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown and Republican challenger Josh Mandel held back no punches. Each candidate mostly focused on attacking his opponent's integrity and record, but the men also discussed a multitude of issues — the economy, China, Obamacare, foreign policy, gay rights and more. Check out CityBeat's in-depth coverage of the debate and the policy proposals espoused by the candidates here.
The final presidential debate between President Barack
Obama and Mitt Romney will take place next Monday. The debate will cover foreign
policy. Presumably, the debate will focus a lot on Iran, but Foreign Policy
has an article focusing on five bigger threats to U.S. national
security. Although the debate could be important for substance,
political scientists say debates typically have little-to-no electoral
impact. In aggregate polling, Obama is up 2.4 points in Ohio
and Romney is up one point nationally. Ohio is considered a must-win for Romney, and it could play the role of 2000's Florida.
To make the debate more fun, CityBeat will host a party at MOTR Pub in Over-the-Rhine Monday. Come join the CityBeat team to watch the debate and live tweet. Councilman Chris Seelbach will also show up and talk for a bit. If you can't show up, feel free to tweet about the debate at home with the hashtag #cbdebate. For more information, check out the event's Facebook page.
Ohio Senate Democrats are demanding an investigation into a voter fraud group. The Democrats say True the Vote (TTV), a conservative group, is unnecessarily intimidating voters. TTV claims it's just fighting voter impersonation fraud, but the reality is that kind of voter fraud doesn't seem to exist. A study from the Government Accountability Office found zero cases of voter impersonation fraud in the past 10 years. Another study from News21 found 10 cases since 2000, or less than one case a year.
Meanwhile, a local group is trying to encourage Muslim voters to get educated and vote.
The Cincinnati Police Department is trying to improve relations with the LGBT community. As part of that effort, the city hosted a LGBT public safety forum and named the first LGBT liaison yesterday.
A federal appeals court struck down the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which forbids the recognition of same-sex marriage at a federal level. The ruling was praised by Ian James, spokesperson for FreedomOhio, in a statement: "The federal DOMA forbids allowing governmental recognition of civil marriage. The demise of the federal DOMA will not resolve Ohio's ban on marriage equality. For this reason, we will soldier on, collect our petition signatures and win the right for committed and loving couples to be married so they can better care for and protect their families. That is ultimately why marriage matters and we look to have this issue on the ballot as soon as November 2013."
With a week left, the United Way of Greater Cincinnati fundraising campaign has only met 70 percent of its goal. The campaign acknowledges it's been a tough year, but campaign chairman David Joyce says he has been "heartened" by support.
The University of Cincinnati is committing to giving Cintrifuse $5 million initially and $5 million at a later point. Cintrifuse is a "startup accelerator," meaning a company devoted to helping startup businesses get started.
Ohio health officials urge caution as they monitor a meningitis outbreak.
Ohio's heating assistance program for low-income households is starting on Nov. 1. Qualifying for the program is dependent on income and the size of the household. For example, one-person households making $5,585 or less in the past three months or $22,340 or less in the past 12 months are eligible, while four-person households must be making $11,525 or less in the past three months or $46,100 or less in the past 12 months. For more information, check out the press release.
Kentucky is pitching into development at the Purple People Bridge. The state is boosting a $100 million hotel and entertainment project on the bridge with a $650,000 grant.
The Boy Scouts' "perversion files" were released, and some of the sexual molestation cases involve Cincinnati.
Science finally has a breakthrough to care about. Scientists invented a strip that ensures pizza and coffee won't burn a person's mouth.
For a full hour Thursday night, Democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown and Republican challenger Josh Mandel continued their feisty fight for Ohio's U.S. Senate seat. For the most part, the debate centered on the candidates' records and personal attacks, with policy specifics spewing out in between.
Apparently, the barrage of attacks is not what the candidates had in mind before the debate started. Throughout the debate, both candidates asked for substance, not attacks. At one point, Brown said, "I appreciate this clash of ideas. That's what this debate should be about." At another point, Mandel said, "We need less attacking, and we need more policy ideas to put people back to work."
These comments came well into the debate. By that time, Mandel had criticized Brown for "Washington speak" so many times that an exasperated Brown quipped, "I don't get this. Every answer is about Washington speak."
Brown also launched his own attacks, which focused on Mandel's dishonesty on the campaign trail, which previously earned Mandel a "Pants on Fire" crown from Cleveland's The Plain Dealer, and Mandel, who is also Ohio's treasurer, missing state treasurer meetings to run for political office.
But Ohioans have seen enough of the attacks in the hundreds of campaign ads that have bombarded the state in the past year. Voters probably want to hear more about how each candidate will affect them, and the candidates gave enough details to get some idea of where each of them will go.
On economic issues, Brown established the key difference between the two candidates' economic policies: Mandel, like most of his Republican colleagues, believes in the trickle-down theory. The economic theory says when the rich grow, they can create jobs by hiring more employees and expanding businesses. In other words, proponents of the theory believe the success of the rich "trickles down" to the middle class and poor through more job opportunities. Belief in this theory is also why most Republicans call the wealthy "job creators." Under the trickle-down theory, the wealthy are deregulated and get tax cuts so it's easier for them to create jobs.
On the other hand, Brown says he supports a middle-out approach, which focuses on policies that target the middle class. That is how sustainable employment and growth are attained, according to Brown. Under the middle-out approach, tax cuts and spending policies target the middle class, and the wealthy own a higher tax burden to support government programs.
Some economists, like left-leaning Nobel laureate Paul Krugman, say the trickle-down theory should have been put to rest with the financial crisis of 2008. After all, deregulation is now credited with being the primary cause of 2008's economic crisis. In that context, more deregulation seems like a bad idea.
Still, Brown's contrast to Mandel holds true. Brown has
repeatedly called for higher taxes on the rich. In the debate, he touted his
support for the auto bailout and once again mocked Mandel's promise to not
raise any taxes. These are policies that do end up benefiting the middle class
more than the wealthy. The auto bailout in particular has been credited with
saving thousands of middle-class jobs.
On the other side, Mandel told debate watchers to go to his website and then offered some quick talking points: simplify the tax code, end Wall Street bailouts and use Ohio's natural gas and oil resources "in a responsible way." How Mandel wants to simplify the tax code is the issue. On his website, Mandel says he supports "a flatter, fairer income tax with only one or two brackets, eliminating almost all of the credits, exemptions and loopholes." A study by five leading economists suggests a flat tax model would greatly benefit the wealthy and actually hurt the well-being of the middle class and poor. That matches with the trickle-down economic theory.
Another suggestion on Mandel's website says, "Help job creators. Reduce capital gains and corporate taxes, and allow for a small business income deduction." The small business portion would help some in the middle class, but an analysis from The Washington Post found 80 percent of capital gains incomes benefit 5 percent of Americans and half of all capital gains have gone to the top 0.1 percent of Americans. So a capital gains tax cut would, again, match the trickle-down economic theory.
What all this means is on economic issues the choice of candidates depends mostly on what economic theory a voter believes. Brown believes in focusing economic policies that target the middle class, while Mandel mostly supports policies that generally support what he calls "job creators" — or the wealthy.
On partisanship, both sides once again threw out different ideas. Although he was asked for three ideas, Brown only gave one: fix the filibuster. The filibuster is a U.S. Senate procedure that allows 41 out of 100 senators to indefinitely halt any laws. The only way to break the filibuster is by having a supermajority of 60 senators — a rarity in American politics. Brown said if this rule was removed, a lot more could get done in Congress.
Mandel had different ideas for stopping partisan gridlock in Washington, D.C. He touted his support for No Budget, No Pay, which would require members of Congress to pass a budget in order to get paid. He also expressed his support for term limits, saying lifelong politicians only add to the partisanship in Congress. Then, in a strange twist, Mandel's last suggestion was to stop bailouts, which has nothing to do with partisanship or gridlock in Congress.
Then came Obamacare. Brown said he was "proud" of his vote and continued supporting the law, citing the millions of Americans it will insure. Meanwhile, Mandel responded to the Obamacare question by saying, "The federal government takeover of health care is not the answer."
The fact of the matter is Obamacare is not a "government
takeover of health care." Far from it. The plan doesn't even have a public
option that would allow Americans to buy into a public, nonprofit insurance
pool — an idea that actually has majority support in the U.S. Instead,
Obamacare is a series of complicated reforms to the health insurance industry.
There are way too many reforms to list, but the most basic
effect of Obamacare is that more people will be insured. That's right, in the
supposed "government takeover of health care," insurance companies actually gain
more customers. That's the whole point of the individual mandate and the many
subsidies in Obamacare that try to make insurance affordable for all Americans.
Mandel made another misleading claim when he said Obamacare "stole" from Medicare, with the implication that the cuts hurt seniors utilizing the program. It is true Obamacare cuts Medicare spending, but the cuts target waste and payments to hospitals and insurers. It does not directly cut benefits.
The one area with little disagreement also happened to be the one area with the most misleading: China. It's not a new trend for politicians to attack China. The Asian country has become the scapegoat for all economic problems in the U.S. But in this election cycle, politicians have brandished a new line to attack China: currency manipulation. This, as Ohioans have likely heard dozens of times, is why jobs are leaving Ohio and why the amount of manufacturing jobs has dropped in the U.S. In fact, if politicians are taken at their word, it's probably the entire reason the U.S. economy is in a bad spot.
In the Brown-Mandel debate, Brown repeatedly pointed to his currency manipulation bill, which he claims would put an end to Chinese currency manipulation. Mandel also made references to getting tough on China's currency manipulation.
One problem: China is no longer manipulating its currency. There is no doubt China greatly massaged its currency in the past to gain an unfair advantage, but those days are over, says Joseph Gagnon, an economist focused on trade and currency manipulation. Gagnon argues the problem with currency manipulation is no longer a problem with China; it's a problem with Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland and Saudi Arabia. If the U.S. wants to crack down on currency manipulation, those countries should be the targets, not China, he argues.
In other words, if currency manipulation is a problem, Mandel was right when he said that countries other than China need to be targeted. To Brown's credit, his currency manipulation bill targets any country engaging in currency manipulation, not just China. The problem seems to be the misleading campaign rhetoric, not proposed policy.
The debate went on to cover many more issues. Just like the first debate, Brown typically took the liberal position and Mandel typically took the conservative position on social issues like gay rights and abortion. Both touted vague support for small businesses. Each candidate claimed to support military bases in Ohio, although Mandel specified he wants bases in Europe closed down to save money. As far as debates go, the contrast could not be any clearer, and the candidates disagreed on nearly every issue.
The final debate between the two U.S. Senate candidates will take place in Cincinnati on Oct. 25.
In-person early voting is underway in Ohio. Find your nearest polling booth here.
In case you missed it, CityBeat is hosting a party
for the final presidential debate at MOTR Pub in Over-the-Rhine. There
will be live tweeting, and Councilman Chris Seelbach will be on-hand to discuss this year's key issues. Even if you can't come, make sure to live tweet during the
presidential debate using the hashtag #cbdebate. More info can be found
at the event's Facebook page.
A new study found redistricting makes government even more partisan. The Fair Vote study says redistricting divides government into clear partisan boundaries by eliminating competitive districts. In Ohio, redistricting is handled by elected officials, and they typically use the process for political advantage by redrawing district boundaries to ensure the right demographics for re-election. Issue 2 attempts to combat this problem. If voters approve Issue 2, redistricting will be taken out of the hands of elected officials and placed into the hands of an independent citizens commission. The Republican-controlled process redrew the First Congressional District, which includes Cincinnati, by adding Warren County to the district. Since Warren County typically votes Republican, this gives an advantage to Republicans in the First Congressional District. CityBeat previously covered the redistricting reform effort here.
Democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown and Republican challenger Josh Mandel will face off in another debate for Ohio's seat in the U.S. Senate today. The two candidates met Monday in a feisty exchange in which the men argued over their records and policies. Brown and Mandel will face off at 8 p.m. The debate will be streamed live on 10TV.com and Dispatch.com. Currently, the race is heavily in Brown's favor; he is up 5.2 points in aggregate polling.
Cincinnati is moving forward with its bike sharing program. A new study found the program will attract 105,000 trips in its first year, and it will eventually expand to 305,000 trips a year. With the data in hand, Michael Moore, director of the Department of Transportation and Engineering, justified the program to The Business Courier: "We want Cincinnatians to be able to incorporate cycling into their daily routine, and a bike share program will help with that. Bike share helps introduce citizens to active transportation, it reduces the number of short auto trips in the urban core, and it promotes sustainable transportation options."
Cincinnati's school-based health centers are showing promise. Two more are scheduled to open next year.
Echoing earlier comments by Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted, Ohio Senate Republicans are now talking about using the lame duck session to take up a bill that would set standard early voting hours and tighten voting requirements. Republicans are promising broad consensus, but Democrats worry the move could be another Republican ploy at voter suppression. Republicans defend the law by saying it would combat voter fraud, but in-person voter fraud isn't a real issue. A recent study by the Government Accountability Office found zero examples of in-person voter fraud in the last 10 years. Another investigation by News21 had similar results. Republicans have also justified making voting tougher and shorter by citing racial politics and costs.
A Hamilton County judge's directive is causing trouble. Judge Tracie Hunter sent out a directive to hire a second court administrator because she believes the current county administrator is only working for the other juvenile judge. The county government is trying to figure out if Hunter has the authority to hire a new administrator.
This year's school report card data held up a long-term
trend: Public schools did better than charter schools. In Ohio, the
average charter school meets slightly more than 30 percent of the
state's indicators, while the average traditional public school meets 78
percent of the state's indicators, according to findings from the
education policy fellow at left-leaning Innovation Ohio. The data for
all Ohio schools can be found here.
Some in the fracking industry are already feeling a bit of a bust. The gas drilling business is seeing demand rapidly drop, and that means $1 billion lost in profits. CityBeat wrote in-depth about the potential fracking bust here.
Ohio student loan debt is piling up. A report by Project
on Student Debt says Ohio has the seventh-highest student loan debt in
the nation with an average of $28,683 in 2011. That number is a 3.5
percent increase from 2010.
What if Abraham Lincoln ran for president today?
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind could soon be reality. Scientists are developing a drug that removes bad memories during sleep.
In-person early voting is underway in Ohio. Find your nearest polling booth here.
The second presidential debate between President Barack
Obama and Mitt Romney took place last night. The general consensus from the
media is Obama won. Although the victory will likely inspire an Obama
comeback narrative for some political pundits, keep in mind political
scientists say debates typically have little electoral impact. But
debates can reveal substance, and The Washington Post has an
article "footnoting" the policy specifics from the debate. As of today,
aggregate polling shows Obama up in Ohio by 2.2 points and Romney up
nationally by 0.4 points. Ohio is widely considered a must-win for
Romney. Obama and Romney will have their final debate next Monday. CityBeat will be hosting an event at MOTR Pub in Over-the-Rhine during the debate. More info can be found on the event's Facebook page.
The Ohio Department of Education released its remaining
school report card data today. The data is meant to give Ohioans a clear
picture as to whether schools are improving. The data was delayed due
to an ongoing investigation into attendance rigging at Ohio schools. In
the new report card data, Cincinnati Public Schools was downgraded from
"Effective" in the 2010-2011 school year to "Continuous Improvement" in
the 2011-2012 school year. The new mark is still positive, but it is a
Down goes Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted's early voting appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. With the Supreme Court refusing to take up Husted's appeal, Ohio must allow all voters to vote on the weekend and Monday before Election Day. Husted also sent out a directive enforcing uniform voting hours for the three days. On Saturday, booths will be open 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. On Sunday, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. On Monday, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
It seems City Council action was not enough to get Duke
Energy to budge on the streetcar. The local energy company says it wants
an operating agreement before it starts construction work. On Sept. 24,
City Council passed a funding deal that shifted $15 million from the
Blue Ash airport deal to the streetcar and established $14 million
through a new financing plan. The city says it will get the $15
million back if it wins in the dispute with Duke. The city claims it's
Duke's responsibility to pay for moving utility pipes and lines to
accommodate for the streetcar, but Duke insists it's the city's
The University Board of Trustees is expected to approve Santa Ono as UC's new president. Ono has been serving as interim president ever since Greg Williams abruptly resigned, citing personal reasons.
The Horseshoe Casino is really coming along. Casino owners are already booking meetings and events for spring 2013.
Cincinnati Children's Hospital announced a big breakthrough in combating muscular dystrophy. The hospital claims it successfully installed a device in a patient with Duchenne muscular dystrophy that allows the patient's heart to pump blood to the body in the long term.
With Gov. John Kasich's recommendation, Ohio universities will have cheaper, quicker options for students. A new provision will require 10 percent of bachelor's degrees from public universities to be completable in three years instead of four.
Ohio's attorney general wants help in solving an unsolved
double homicide in Cincinnati. Attorney General Mike DeWine has recently
fixated on cold cases — previously unsolved cases that could be solved
with new information and tools.
Scientists found an earth-sized planet orbiting the star nearest to our solar system.
In the first of three debates for Ohio's seat in the U.S.
Senate, Democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown and Republican challenger Josh
Mandel agreed on little and clashed on a lot. Each candidate mostly focused on the opposing candidate's record, but the debate today did move to substantial differences in policy at some
The debate started with opening statements from a noticeably feisty Brown, who criticized Mandel for calling his vote for the auto bailout "un-American." On the other side of the aisle, Mandel began his opening statement with a joke about shaving before he turns 36. The joke was the last time either of the men spoke with a light heart.
The candidates blasted each other mostly for their records. Mandel touted Ohio's and the nation's higher unemployment rate since Brown took office in 2006, energy prices and the U.S. debt. He also said the Senate had not passed a budget in three years, although Congress has actually passed budget resolutions in that time.
Brown fired back with claims Mandel had filled the state treasurer's office with cronies. He also criticized Mandel for running for four different political offices in seven years. In his closing statement, Brown said Mandel is "too concerned about running for his next job" to be trusted.
On substance, Brown and Mandel criticized just about everything about each other. Brown claimed Mandel signed away his "right to think" by agreeing to lobbyist Grover Norquist's pledge to not raise taxes while in office. He said the pledge makes it so if Mandel does take office, he'll never be able to close tax loopholes for big corporations.
Mandel defended the pledge by saying, "I'm proud to stand
for lower taxes in our state and lower taxes in our country." He added, "I will
do everything I can to advocate for lower taxes across the board for the middle
class and job creators as well."
The term "job creators" is typically used in politics to reference wealthy Americans, who Republicans claim create jobs through the theory of trickle-down economics. The economic theory states that wealthy Americans will hire more lower-class Americans if they have more money and freedom, essentially creating a trickle-down effect on wealth from the rich to the poor. Although Republicans still tout the theory, some economists, including Nobel Prize winner Paul Krugman, say the financial crisis of 2008 and the deregulation that led to it prove trickle-down economics do not work.
The candidates also debated their positions on the auto bailout. Mandel said he would not have voted for the auto bailout if he was in the Senate in 2009. In his defense, he cited the experience of Delphi workers, who lost part of their pensions as part of the deal auto companies made with workers after the federal bailout. Mandel then said, "I'm not a bailout senator. He's the bailout senator."
Brown responded by saying, "These are real jobs and real people." He then cited examples of people helped by the growing auto industry. Brown's arguments are backed by economic data, which has repeatedly credited the growing auto industry for the nation's growing economy. In the first quarter of 2012, the auto industry was credited for half of the nation's economic growth.
When he was asked about higher education, Brown established the key difference between the candidates in terms of economic policy. Brown said his policies in favor of government investment in higher education are about supporting the middle class to create growth that starts in the middle and spreads out, while Mandel supports tax cuts that emphasize a trickle-down approach. Mandel did not deny the claims, and instead blamed Brown's policies for the high unemployment rate and debt issues.
The men continued to show similar contrasts on the budget, taxes and economy throughout the entire debate, but there seemed to be some common ground regarding energy independence. When the topic came to hydraulic fracturing — or "fracking" — Brown said becoming energy independent would have to involve all possible energy sources. In substance, Mandel agreed, although he also praised fracking regulations recently passed by the Ohio legislature and Gov. John Kasich.
As far as energy issues go, the agreement stopped there. When Brown was asked about President Barack Obama's alleged "war on coal," Brown said there was no war on coal and claimed there are more coal jobs and coal produced in Ohio than there were five years ago. Mandel disagreed and claimed there is a war on coal. He added if Obama is the general in the war on coal, Brown is Obama's "lieutenant." Brown previously supported federal regulations on mercury that some in the coal industry, including the Ohio Coal Association, claim will force coal-fired power plants to shut down. The regulations go into effect in 2015.
On abortion, Mandel proudly claimed he was pro-life, while Brown said, "Unlike Josh Mandel, I trust Ohio women to make their own health care decisions." Brown also criticized Mandel for not establishing exceptions for rape, incest and the health of the mother in his anti-abortion stance.
Many more issues, from term limits to Middle Eastern culture, were covered in the debate. The candidates drew sharp contrasts in all these areas with Brown typically holding the liberal position and Mandel typically holding the conservative position. But despite the feisty language and deep policy contrasts, when the debate ended, the candidates smiled, shook hands and patted each other on the back. They will meet again in Columbus on Thursday and Cincinnati on Oct. 25.


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The following is an industry press release...
Nelsonville, Ohio – The Wayne National Forest will be conducting a voluntary forest-wide recreation use visitor survey from October 3, 2013 through September 30, 2014. The national survey is designed to determine how many people visited the forest and the recreation activities in which visitors participated while they were there.
Forest users may see Forest Service employees talking with visitors as they leave the Wayne National Forest's developed recreation areas, such as campgrounds, trailheads, picnic areas, beaches, boat launches, and general forest areas (lakes, rivers, and roads). If the location is an interview site, there will be a "Recreation Use Survey Ahead" sign posted, and the interviewers will be wearing bright orange vests.
Responses to the recreation survey are voluntary and completely confidential. Names are not written anywhere on the survey. The basic interview takes approximately six minutes. The visitor will be asked for information regarding what type of recreation activities they participated in, the number of people in the group, length of their visit, satisfaction with facilities and services offered, amount of money spent during the visit, etc. Forest planners and local tourism officials will use the survey results to determine future recreation needs for the public.
"The survey is entirely voluntary. We encourage visitors to participate in the interviews with us," said Anne Carey, Forest Supervisor. "We welcome the opportunity to talk with people who visit their national forests and appreciate them taking a few minutes to participate in the interviews."
For more information, contact the Wayne National Forest at 740-753-0101 (Athens), 740-373-9055 (Marietta), or 740-534-6500 (Ironton) or visit the following website:http://www.fs.fed.us/recreation/programs/nvum


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Newark, NJ -- Newark, NJ, Mayor Cory Booker is prepared for a food stamp challenge.
The mayor's week starts Tuesday. The North Carolina woman's began Sunday.
Booker tweeted a picture of a receipt of the purchases he made Saturday at a Pathmark store in neighboring Irvington. The vegetarian mayor's grocery list included pink and black beans, corn and red delicious apples.
Other city officials around the country have taken part in similar challenges, including Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter this past April.
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Although the weather is cold and soggy in London, excitement for the imminent 2012 Olympics is hotting up in America. But whilst Americans prepare for a summer supporting their athletes, and there are high hopes for some gold medal wins, many are lamenting this year's uniform design.
On Tuesday, Ralph Lauren released pictures of the Opening Ceremony outfits to almost universal horror. Whilst the classic American designer, famous for his polo horse logo, claims that the uniforms "embody the spirit of American athleticism and sportsmanship," other commentators were quick to disagree. The New York Post complained, "Our Olympic heroes will be headed off to London this month – looking as if they're decked out for a Hamptons lawn party." The New York Daily News was similarly scornful, and with a burning critique that nearly had me choking with laughter on my Earl Grey at their… Read more