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We're in the midst of the holiday season, so we're trying really, really hard not to be grumpy Grinches. But, please, someone tell us why a show with only three singers remaining has to last 120 long minutes? Is Fox so lean on original programming that it couldn't fill the time? Can we launch a congressional investigation?
Oh, but wait. They're starting things off with a tribute to the shooting victims in Newtown. Former contestants, all clad in white, have returned to join the finalists on a rendition of "You Are Not Alone." Our grumpiness has suddenly melted.
This is a very touching. Where are the tissues? It's hard not to get choked up, especially when the camera pans across a children's choir (also dressed in white) and the names of the victims are flashed in the background.
"You are not alone," the singers sing. "We are here with you. ..."
It's a lovely way to open a show, but it doesn't take long for all the bombast and seizure-inducing laser lights to return. We're reminded that a $5 million recording contract is at stake tonight, and yes, IT'S TIME TO FACE THE MUSIC!!!!
Then we get our first hint of how they'll pad this thing out. Our co-hosts
Mario Lopez and Khloe Kardashian tell us that there cameras in the hometowns of the finalists -- Carly Rose Sonenclar, Tate Stevens and Fifth Harmony. Actually, the girls of the latter group are from several locales, so they've got a lone camera in San Antonio, the home of one of them. (Way to put out, Fox).
Our three acts are required to sing three songs apiece tonight (again, we have two freakin' hours to fill). They'll start with a song they performed earlier in the season. And away we go ...
Carly Rose Sonenclar ("Feeling Good")
Our little teen titan wears a hat, black leather pants and thigh-high boots for this jazzy encore performance. As usual, she commands the stage and there isn't a false note to be heard. L.A. Reid says Carly has topped herself. Demi Lovato is impressed, insisting that Carly's going to inspire a lot of girls to follow their dreams. As for Simon, he says Carly sang it better than she did before. "I like your competitive spirit," he adds. Coach Britney raves: "It's shocking how bright your star is. We're going to win this!"
That segment is followed with a live feed from Carly's hometown of West Chester, NY, where someone is holding a bunch of cupcakes and the mayor says Carly's talent "is truly a gift of the gods."
Tate Stevens ("Anything Goes")
Mr. Likable is rocking a white cowboy hat for this country ballad. That makes sense. But what's the cast of "Jersey Shore" doing in the audience? Tate throws everything he has into the song, which will do nothing to dissuade his legion of voters. "When you do right-down-the-middle country, you are right on," Britney says. "I'm still obsessed with you," says Demi, who calls this "a stadium performance." Simon is stunned to be agreeing with Demi, his sparring partner.
Now cut to Belton, Mo., where Tate's boss says he doesn't expect to see the singing cowboy return to work. (That's probably a good thing since Tate has continually left the impression that going back to the job would be a fate worse than death). Oh, and there's the mayor, who claims he plans to emblazon Tate's name on the local water tower. Wow, they know how to do it up in Belton.
Fifth Harmony ("Anything Can Happen")
Our alleged underdogs re-do the song that put them in the finals -- a song we heard just last week. That's not surprising, but it's somewhat of a surprise to see them go right back to the fanciful Alice in Wonderland tea party staging. As they say, if it aint broke, don't fix it. L.A. calls it "magical" (an adjective we heard last week). He says that Fifth harmony has gone from being the underdog to the ones to beat (Not sure we agree). Britney calls it "spectacular, girly and just fun." Demi says. "I really believe that they're a group."
From there, we go to Ally's church in San Antonio where the hordes are cheering their throats hoarse for this magical girl group.
Round 1 is over. Now, it's on to a round of so-called "surprises":
Carly Rose and LeAnn Rimes ("How Do I Live Without You")
Carly, now in purple leather pants, starts things off before being joined by LeAnn, who seems to stumble over the opening line (Or did she?). It's hard to say because we can barely understand anything coming out of her mouth. Le Ann's raspy wailing isn't a great match with Carly's silky smooth tones, which has us wondering: Why is LeAnn here, anyway? Is this the best, most viable talent "X Factor" could round up? There are no judges' comments for this segment, which is just as well. You don't want to have to tell LeAnn that a 13-year-old just wiped the floor with her.
Tate and Little Big Town ("Pontoon")
Is Tate's wife watching? He seems to be having a lot of fun with the two statuesque women in this four-person group. We have no idea who these people are, but it doesn't matter. His fans undoubtedly do. It's a little catchy and quirky ... and totally forgettable.
Fifth Harmony and Demi Lovato ("Give Your Heart a Break")
Another repeat performance for the girls (Is that cheating?). Only this time it's with the singer who had a hit with it. And why not? Demi doesn't have anyone to mentor. She fits right in with the girls and has a fun moment when she goes down to the judges' table to sing to Simon. Very cute. "It pains me to say this, but Demi Lovato, you were sensational," Simon says. "That is what I call pop perfection."
Now, let's move on to Round 3. Time for some final impressions:
Carly Rose ("Hallelujah")
Oh, she just had to do it, didn't she? A reality TV staple that has been performed a million times. In fact, it was just done Monday night on "The Voice" for that show's tribute to the Newtown victims. Carly sings it beautifully, as you would expect her to. In fact, she absolutely soars on the latter part of the song. Still, we wish she had sung something upbeat at some point in this competition. L.A. calls it an "angelic" moment and credits Carly for resisting the temptation to oversing it. Demi and Simon agree, and Britney, who is actually awake tonight, says, "That song alone is worth 5 million bucks, so you should get out your checkbook, Simon."
Tate Stevens ("Tomorrow")
They've got Tate on a lighted staircase (Don't fall, dude!). More easygoing country goodness. Right in his wheelhouse. We see a CMA trophy in his future -- or at least one of the countless awards they hand out to country music singers these days. Britney likes it, but doesn't go overboard (as if not to allow Tate to overshadow her girl). Demi actually says she's almost crying because she's gonna miss seeing tate perform on stage. Simon says he genuinely believes that within a year, we'll be hearing about Tate's success on the record charts.
Fifth Harmony ("Let It Be")
Let's go to church, shall we? The girls bring on a gospel choir to help them out on this Beatles classic. But why have another "group" on stage when you're supposed to be THE group? Maybe to provide the harmony that Fifth Harmony doesn't deploy. Once again, they basically trade off solos. It's good, but certainly not extraordinary. They might have just sealed their third-place finish. "The Beatles are great," LA says, "but you did that song a lot of justice."


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Taking the bite out of the flu bug can be as simple as getting the flu shot. Although not full proof, research shows that people who get the shot are 70 to 90 percent less likely to contract the flu.
For the past 15 years Ruth Bailey has gotten the shot. Her main reason?
"To keep from getting the flu! I don't want it!" Bailey said.
Spread through coughing, sneezing or even sometimes just talking, the airborne virus can cause fever, headaches, dry coughs and muscle aches. Although present in the body, doctors say it can take up to four days for symptoms to occur. Even during this time they say the virus can be spread.
Doctor Linda Pollock works at Greater Meridian Health Clinic. One myth she says many people have about the flu is that it can be caused by the flu shot.
"But that's not possible because this is not a vaccine that has a live virus. This is a killed virus," said Dr. Linda Pollock, Greater Meridian Health Clinic.
Another thing Dr. Pollock says people should know is that children with the flu should not be given aspirin.
"Years ago it was discovered that giving children aspirin when they have a viral illness is associated with a condition called Reye Syndrome. It can cause mental status changes in the child and liver damage and perhaps some longtime neurological problems," Dr. Pollock said.
Most people who get the flu recover in one to two weeks. However, some people will develop life-threatening complications. That's why doctors say it's good for everyone to get the flu shot, especially the elderly and anyone who suffers from a chronic illness."
This is a recommendation, which Ruth Bailey says she takes seriously.
"The shot stings just a little, but it's worth it!" said Bailey.
wtok.com: Extended Web Coverage
Influenza Vaccine
When to receive the influenza vaccine
Source: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/flu/fluvac.htm ( The Center for Disease Control Vaccine Information Web site)


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Dear developers,
I have a problem with server: no create thumbnails for videos.
I tried with this settings:
- Transcoding settings - Misc Engines - dcraw Thumbnailer to top of this category
- under Navigation/Share settings tab checked "Generate thumbnails", "Use MPlayer...", "Image thumbnails", set seeking position to 2 seconds and "Alternate video cover path" to a standalone folder (for generate thumbnails to here)
- with and without administrator mode
but nothing happened. On my TV I can't see any video preview.
How can I set my server to optimal settings for generate thumbnails?
- My spec: P4 2,8GHz HT, 2 GB RAM, Win7 32bit, Server version: 1.70.1
- my device is Samsung D5500 TV
- use default MEncoder for transcoding


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CORPUS CHRISTI - Throughout the summer of 2011, GoIslanders.com will look back at the best moments and athletic performances from the 2010-11 school year.
Every Thursday, we will bring you one of the top 10 individual performances, with Tuesdays bringing the year's top 10 moments. Be sure to keep tabs on GoIslanders.com throughout the summer to celebrate all the great moments.
Top Performance #6 - Patrick Kimeli qualifies for NCAA Championship
Islanders cross country runner Patrick Kimeli had a remarkable 2010 season. It included many victorious moments and outstanding performances, but it was his performance at NCAA South Central Regional on Nov. 11 that qualified him to run in the NCAA Championships.
Kimeli started out the race strong running with the lead runners, but soon fell to the middle of the pack. His training and techniques are what helped him get in a late kick, returning him back into the top 10, with a finish of seventh. With a time of 30:27.8, he was the third individual in the race to qualify for the championships.
Patrick represented Texas A&M- Corpus Christi at the NCAA Championships in Terre Haute, Ind., where he placed in the top half of the NCAA Championships field with a time of 31.13.2.
Kimeli was also the Southland Champion in cross country, becoming the third runner in school history to take home an individual title. He topped the field at the Championship on Oct. 28 with a time of 24:47. He was named Southland Male Athlete of the Year for his efforts.
Top Performances:
June 16 - #10: Nikki Dunn battles the elements at Rio Verde Invitational
June 23 - #9: Jammer and Scott Go Off Against UTPA
June 30 - #8: Justin Reynolds Scores 26 in Home Finale
July 7 - #7: Mirna Cicak knocks off No. 1 player from defending Southland Champion Northwestern State
July 14 - #6: Patrick Kimeli qualifies for NCAA Championship
Top Moments:
June 21 - #10: Women's Tennis Defeats SFA to Give Them Fourth Loss of Year
June 28 - #9: Softball's Crazy Comeback Wins
July 5 - #8: Baseball's walk-off win over UTSA and comeback win over SFA at Southland Tournament
July 12 - #7: Men's Hoops Knocks Off Houston


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More Information
Chat about Walker family murders Sunday on Twitter
Published: Friday, December 7, 2012 at 2:28 p.m.
Last Modified: Friday, December 7, 2012 at 2:28 p.m.
Herald-Tribune reporter Shannon McFarland will be having a conversation Sunday on Twitter from 2-3 p.m. about the latest developments in the Walker family murders.
Follow her on Twitter at https://twitter.com/shanmcf and use the hashtag #wmurders.
Reader comments posted to this article may be published in our print edition. All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged.


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20 CFR 404.1512 - Evidence.
|Updated to:
|April 2013
Title 20: Employees' BenefitsCHAPTER III: SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION PART 404: FEDERAL OLD-AGE, SURVIVORS AND DISABILITY INSURANCE (1950- ) Subpart P: Determining Disability and Blindness : Evidence 404.1512 - Evidence. (a) General. In general, you have to prove to us that you are blind or disabled. Therefore, you must bring to our attention everything that shows that you are blind or disabled. This means that you must furnish medical and other evidence that we can use to reach conclusions about your medical impairment(s) and, if material to the determination of whether you are disabled, its effect on your ability to work on a sustained basis. We will consider only impairment(s) you say you have or about which we receive evidence. (b) What we mean by ?evidence.? Evidence is anything you or anyone else submits to us or that we obtain that relates to your claim. This includes, but is not limited to: (1) Objective medical evidence, that is, medical signs and laboratory findings as defined in ? 404.1528 (b) and (c); (2) Other evidence from medical sources, such as medical history, opinions, and statements about treatment you have received; (3) Statements you or others make about your impairment(s), your restrictions, your daily activities, your efforts to work, or any other relevant statements you make to medical sources during the course of examination or treatment, or to us during interviews, on applications, in letters, and in testimony in our administrative proceedings; (4) Information from other sources, as described in ? 404.1513(d); (5) Decisions by any governmental or nongovernmental agency about whether you are disabled or blind; (6) At the initial level of the administrative review process, when a State agency disability examiner makes the initial determination alone (see ? 404.1615(c)(3)), opinions provided by State agency medical and psychological consultants based on their review of the evidence in your case record; See ? 404.1527(e)(2)-(3). (7) At the reconsideration level of the administrative review process, when a State agency disability examiner makes the determination alone (see ? 404.1615(c)(3)), findings, other than the ultimate determination about whether you are disabled, made by State agency medical or psychological consultants and other program physicians, psychologists, or other medical specialists at the initial level of the administrative review process, and other opinions they provide based on their review of the evidence in your case record at the initial and reconsideration levels (see ? 404.1527(f)(1)(iii)); and (8) At the administrative law judge and Appeals Council levels, findings, other than the ultimate determination about whether you are disabled, made by State agency medical or psychological consultants and other program physicians or psychologists, or other medical specialists, and opinions expressed by medical experts or psychological experts that we consult based on their review of the evidence in your case record. See ?? 404.1527(f)(2)-(3). (c) Your responsibility. You must provide medical evidence showing that you have an impairment(s) and how severe it is during the time you say that you are disabled. You must provide evidence, without redaction, showing how your impairment(s) affects your functioning during the time you say that you are disabled, and any other information that we need to decide your claim. If we ask you, you must provide evidence about: (1) Your age; (2) Your education and training; (3) Your work experience; (4) Your daily activities both before and after the date you say that you became disabled; (5) Your efforts to work; and (6) Any other factors showing how your impairment(s) affects your ability to work. In ?? 404.1560 through 404.1569, we discuss in more detail the evidence we need when we consider vocational factors. (d) Our responsibility. Before we make a determination that you are not disabled, we will develop your complete medical history for at least the 12 months preceding the month in which you file your application unless there is a reason to believe that development of an earlier period is necessary or unless you say that your disability began less than 12 months before you filed your application. We will make every reasonable effort to help you get medical reports from your own medical sources when you give us permission to request the reports. (1) ?Every reasonable effort? means that we will make an initial request for evidence from your medical source and, at any time between 10 and 20 calendar days after the initial request, if the evidence has not been received, we will make one followup request to obtain the medical evidence necessary to make a determination. The medical source will have a minimum of 10 calendar days from the date of our followup request to reply, unless our experience with that source indicates that a longer period is advisable in a particular case. (2) By ?complete medical history,? we mean the records of your medical source(s) covering at least the 12 months preceding the month in which you file your application. If you say that your disability began less than 12 months before you filed your application, we will develop your complete medical history beginning with the month you say your disability began unless we have reason to believe your disability began earlier. If applicable, we will develop your complete medical history for the 12-month period prior to (1) the month you were last insured for disability insurance benefits (see ? 404.130), (2) the month ending the 7-year period you may have to establish your disability and you are applying for widow's or widower's benefits based on disability (see ? 404.335(c)(1)), or (3) the month you attain age 22 and you are applying for child's benefits based on disability (see ? 404.350(e)). (e) Obtaining a consultative examination. We may ask you to attend one or more consultative examinations at our expense. See ?? 404.1517 through 404.1519t for the rules governing the consultative examination process. Generally, we will not request a consultative examination until we have made every reasonable effort to obtain evidence from your own medical sources. However, in some instances, such as when a source is known to be unable to provide certain tests or procedures or is known to be nonproductive or uncooperative, we may order a consultative examination while awaiting receipt of medical source evidence. We will not evaluate this evidence until we have made every reasonable effort to obtain evidence from your medical sources. (f) Other work. In order to determine under ? 404.1520(g) that you are able to make an adjustment to other work, we must provide evidence about the existence of work in the national economy that you can do (see ?? 404.1560 through 404.1569a), given your residual functional capacity (which we have already assessed, as described in ? 404.1520(e)), age, education, and work experience. [56 FR 36954, Aug. 1, 1991, as amended at 65 FR 11875, Mar. 7, 2000; 65 FR 34957, June 1, 2000; 68 FR 51161, Aug. 26, 2003; 71 FR 16444, Mar. 31, 2006; 75 FR 62680, Oct. 13, 2010; 76 FR 24806, May 3, 2011; 77 FR 10655, Feb. 23, 2012]


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Prior to the Gold Rush, an estimated 4 to 5 million acres of wetlands were present in California. Now, more than 95 percent of the historic wetlands and more than 90 percent of the riparian corridors have been destroyed or grossly modified.
In some years, 60 percent of the entire Pacific Flyway and up to 20 percent of North America's waterfowl population winters or migrates throughout California. Nowhere else in the world do so many waterfowl winter on such a small wetland base. Ducks Unlimited has recognized the combined Central Valley and San Francisco Bay area as one of five highest habitat priorities in North America.
California also has other regions that are important to waterfowl. Northeast California's Great Basin habitats stage massive flocks of snow geese and pintails during their spring migration. The Sonoran Desert's Salton Sea and lower Colorado River region winters large numbers of waterfowl and play an important role in supporting Pacific Flyway ducks and geese.
To date, Ducks Unlimited has implemented more than 1,300 conservation projects conserving more than 719,000 acres of wetlands and associated uplands in California alone.
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President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp Act into law.
First duck stamp, designed by Pulitzer-prize winning editorial cartoonist, Jay N. "Ding" Darling, issued.
Prairie drought peaks.


text:
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North Port Police's top dog headed to national competition
Published: Monday, August 26, 2013 at 1:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Sunday, August 25, 2013 at 4:40 p.m.
NORTH PORT - North Port Police Officer Keith Bush and police dog Tomy will represent Florida, southern Georgia and southern Alabama as the Region 1 team in the United States Police Canine Association's National Patrol Dog Field Trials.
The competition will be from Sept. 30 to Oct. 4 in Charles County, Md.
In May, Bush and Tomy won several awards in the Region 1 trials, including seventh place for the Overall Top Dog Award, second place in the Two-Man Team Inter-Departmental Award (with Venice Police Officer Chad Walker and VPD dog Atlas) and fourth place in the Search Award category.
In March, Bush and Tomy placed second in the Toughest Dog Team competition in Boynton Beach.
Reader comments posted to this article may be published in our print edition. All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged.


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India: The deepening downward spiral
Asia Pacific Economic Outlook, September 2012
The economic outlook remains weak, growth is decelerating, and consumer and business confidence are plummeting. Perhaps the only aspect of India not under a persistent cloud is the Indian landmass itself. According to recent estimates, the country is likely to receive 10 percent less rain this year than usual, and floods and droughts caused by an erratic monsoon are threatening to decimate agricultural production.
The outlook for the Indian economy remains weak, growth is decelerating, and consumer and business confidence are waning. In addition, the monsoon has been erratic, leading to floods in some parts of the country and droughts in others. The Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC) lowered its growth estimate to 6.7 percent for the current fiscal year. Despite the revision, the PMEAC's projection seems optimistic, and GDP growth could end up even lower. Meanwhile, inflation remains sticky, and the government's woes arising from a high fiscal and current account deficits continue to loom large. In all, India's leading indicators cloud the outlook for the economy, and policy uncertainty clouds it further.
As of this writing, India has received 10 percent less rain this year than it usually does. Moreover, the variation in monsoons across states is expected to have a significant impact on grain production, and farm output may experience a contraction this year. The sowing of key crops is behind schedule owing to a delayed monsoon, and the resulting losses to farmers on the summer crop are unlikely to be reversed even if the monsoon were to pick up in the coming weeks. Moreover, consumers may have to bear double-digit food inflation for many more months. In addition, a poor monsoon will also result in lower farm incomes and squeeze the spending capacity of a majority of India's rural consumers. The PMEAC expects the agriculture sector to grow by a mere 0.5 percent this fiscal year. With over 15 percent of the country's GDP and the income of nearly 50 percent of the population dependent on agriculture, a weak monsoon does not augur well for India's growth prospects.
Meanwhile, retail price inflation fell marginally to 9.9 percent in July 2012 compared to last year. Yet inflation remains at extremely high levels. In July, the consumer price index for vegetables and edible oils recorded an increase of 27.3 and 17.4 percent respectively over the previous year. Moreover, the prices of food grains pulses rose sharply during the same period. Meanwhile, inflation measured by the wholesale price index declined to 6.9 percent in July, down from 7.3 percent in June 2012. The marginal decrease in retail and wholesale inflation is unlikely to prompt the Reserve Bank of India to cut the interest rate in its next monetary policy meeting. In all likelihood, the bank will probably keep interest rates on hold during its next policy meeting in September as the possibility of rising food prices due to a weak monsoon cannot be ruled out.
However, the high-interest-rate environment has hurt Indian companies, which have higher interest payments. In addition, higher crude prices, rupee depreciation, and rising power costs have impacted corporate performance. A study conducted by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) estimates the net profit margin of Indian companies to have contracted to 5.4 percent for the quarter ending June 2012, the second-lowest quarterly margin in the last decade. Yet the outlook for the coming quarters is much better, and CMIE expects the profitability of companies to improve. Recognizing the importance of kick-starting the manufacturing sector and boosting domestic investment, the finance minister has urged public sector banks to cut lending rates. Moreover, the finance minister has also asked banks to consider lowering rates on consumer credit in a bid to boost consumer spending. While some bankers feel that there is some room to cut lending rates, India's top public sector banks have witnessed a broad-based deterioration in asset quality during the April–June quarter. As a result, banks will likely be cautious and selective if they reduce interest rates in the near term.
India's economy is operating below its potential, and its inflationary environment does not bode well.
Policy measures are also presenting challenges to the Indian economy. Fortunately, the government has made some headway with regard to its foreign direct investment (FDI) policy. The finance ministry approved 49 percent FDI in the insurance and pension sector, up from the current ceiling of 26 percent. However, before the bill comes up for parliamentary approval, it first needs to be approved by the cabinet. In addition, the central government is likely to approve FDI in multi-brand retail in September 2012. Under the proposed bill, state governments will have the right to decide whether or not they will allow FDI in the retail sector in their respective states.
India's economy is operating below its potential, and its inflationary environment does not bode well. Furthermore, a weak monsoon is making matters worse and is likely to have an adverse impact on the economy. Growth forecasts have been lowered, but the economy could be tipped downward if the government fails to implement market-friendly economic policies.


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Serving the cities and communities of the East Valley.
View the District 2 Interactive Map
Apache Junction - Incorporated under the laws of the State of Arizona on November 24, 1978. It has a "Council-Manager" general law form of government where the City Manager is appointed by the City Council. The Council consists of seven members elected at-large, on a non-partisan basis.
Carefree - Conceived in the mid-1950's by business partners K.T. Palmer and Tom Darlington as a master-planned community. The motto of Carefree is "Home of Cowboys and Caviar, Where the Old West Meets the New."
Cave Creek - Named for Cave Creek, the small stream that originates in the hills to the northeast and flows southwesterly for 25 miles before reaching the vicinity of Paradise Valley.
Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation - Located within Maricopa County about twenty-three miles northeast of Phoenix. The desert landscape is contrasted by the Verde River, which flows north to south through the reservation. Thirty miles east of Fort McDowell, the Four Peaks rise from the desert floor to an elevation of more than 7,000 feet. The community was created by Executive Order on September 15, 1903.
Fountain Hills - The idea for the community began in 1960 when founder, Robert P. McCulloch, purchased 4,500 acres of land from Page Land and Cattle Company. Their vision was to include a memorable landmark, a fountain, recognized as one of the world's tallest fountains.
Gilbert - In 1902, the Arizona Eastern Railway asked for donations of right of way in order to establish a rail line between Phoenix and Florence. A rail siding was established on property owned by William "Bobby" Gilbert. The siding, and the town that sprung up around it, eventually became known as Gilbert. Gilbert was incorporated on July 6, 1920.
Mesa - Mesa enjoys the best in a variety of amenities including parks within easy walking distance from home, a variety of sports facilities that cater to athletes young and old, highly rated golf courses for every skill level, a diversity of special events and community festivals, and Mesa's ever-popular Chicago Cubs Spring Training baseball.
Paradise Valley - During the late 1800's, cattle grazed in the area surrounded by the McDowell Mountains to the east and Camelback Mountain to the south. In the 1880's, the Rio Verde Canal Company turned this open grazing area into irrigated farmland. In 1889, the Rio Verde Canal Company sent three surveyors to this area who were so taken by the beauty and tranquility of the desert landscape that they named this area Paradise Valley.
Phoenix - Phoenix is the capital and the most populous city of Arizona and the county seat of Maricopa County. It was incorporated as a city on February 25, 1881. Its physical location is along the banks of the normally dry Salt River.
Scottsdale - Incorporated in 1951, the City is known as "The West's Most Western Town". Scottsdale is the sixth largest city in Arizona. Scottsdale's McDowell Sonoran Preserve, in the city's northern reaches, is the largest urban wilderness area in the United States and features more than 60 miles of trails through diverse and scenic desert terrain.
Salt River Pima - Maricopa Indian Community Scottsdale - A sovereign tribe located in the metropolitan Phoenix area. Established by Executive Order on June 14, 1879, the Community operates as a full-service government and oversees departments, programs, projects and facilities.


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News 12 at First at Five / Monday, Aug. 20, 2012
AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Two United States senators and one U.S. congressman traveled to Augusta Monday morning to talk about oncoming defense cuts.
"There is no question that providing for the common defense is the most mandatory function of government but to treat that as just as expendable as everything else we're doing -- lobster institutes in Maine -- that's crazy," exclaimed Congressman John Barrow, D-Ga.
Huge cuts loom over the Department of Defense, and they'll likely be felt here at Fort Gordon.
"Any reduction in military spending is going to have its impact," said Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga.
But the three lawmakers who spoke Monday want to stop the bleeding. Chambliss, Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., and Barrow gathered at the Augusta Museum of History to explain their mission to a room full of soldiers and community leaders.
"We need to make sure that the Pentagon pays its fair share with spending reductions," said Sen. Chambliss, explaining that there is fraud and abusive, wasteful spending to cut from the DOD.
He explained those particular cuts will have to happen. After debt ceiling negotiations last year, the DOD will face $487 billion in cuts.
But a process called sequestration in that agreement could more than double that amount if Congress fails to act and reduce spending by $1.2 trillion over the next 10 years. Sequestration would trigger automatic cuts across the board. Chambliss says the DOD would face an additional $492 billion cut because of sequestration.
"We realized how painful [sequestration] was going to be. That was intended to make Congress do its job. But as usual, Congress ain't doing its job, and so it looks like what they set up as a discipline tool is going to be a disaster for our military," explained Congressman Barrow.
The lawmakers said it would mean the U.S. military would transform to the smallest ground force since 1940. Chambliss estimates that about 160,000 Army soldiers will be laid off if sequestration happens. He says many possibly would be fired at Fort Gordon. Undoubtedly, he says the impact on Fort Gordon and the surrounding community's economy would be "huge."
Military contractors will likely downsize, too. Chambliss says Lockheed Martin has already indicated it will lay off thousands if sequestration happens.
One report estimates the loss of 2 million jobs overall, and it's all because Congress has yet to come up with $1.2 trillion in cuts.
They have until Jan. 2, 2013, to do so.
"This problem hasn't gone away. It's looming right down the road," Barrow said.
Chambliss says there are four solutions to the approaching disaster. He says Congress can let sequestration take its course, which he says some congressional Democrats desire. He says Congress can officiate the cuts. He says another option is a short-term fix, but he says that doesn't solve a problem that will continue to come up. He recommends what he calls a "grand bargain." He says the grand bargain will include cutting spending and reforming entitlement programs like Medicare and Social Security, while reforming the tax code as well.
Chambliss says military health care programs and programs for wounded warriors will not be touched by sequestration if it does occur.


text: We do like Halloween here at SFFWorld. So much so that it's become a tradition for us to make polite suggestions as to what we would recommend as good reads or watches as we approach 31st October. In this thread the Horror enthusiast Randy M., archivist of all things Horror-related here at SFFWorld, makes his personal suggestions as to what's what. Feel free to add comments, points and suggestions as we approach the end of the month. Last year's comments are HERE. Happy Halloween 2012! Mark


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Christmas in Zoar – Enjoy an American artisan craft show, holiday crafts, carolers, Christmas music, food, historic building and home tours, wagon rides and a festive tree lighting. All this takes place on Main St (Rte 212) in Zoar, Ohio on Saturday, December 4th and Sunday December 5th. For more information call 330-874-2646.
Zoar is about a 25 minutes drive from Whispering Pines Bed & Breakfast so why not make it a day of fun in Zoar and a quiet, relaxing evening stay at the Inn.
I'll look forward to seeing you soon,
Whispering Pines Bed and Breakfast ——————————-


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Women's Nike Futura Embroidery T-Shirt
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"Dancing With the Stars" unveiled a Season 17 cast this morning that includes cancer patient Valerie Harper, a "Glee" star, two "Saved By the Bell" alums and a former NFL wide receiver.
The cast was announced on ABC's "Good Morning America."
Harper, 74, was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer earlier this year, and given three to six months to live. Amid new reports that she is close to remission, Harper said on "GMA," "I'm moving in the right direction. So as my husband said, 'Let's just buy time, Val.'"
Harper recently filmed a movie role and joined a reunion of "Mary Tyler Moore Show" actresses on TV Land's "Hot in Cleveland."
"Dancing With the Stars," which has seen its ratings decline and audience grow older in recent seasons, is shaking things up this time around. The cast includes personalities known to younger MTV viewers (Snooki!) and fans of the ABC Family hit, "Pretty Little Liars" (Brant Daughtery). There are also three new pro dancers.
The biggest change is that the show will now air just once a week, without a separate results program. The season begins Sept. 16 (8 p.m., ABC).
Here are the Season 17 cast members (in alphabetical order), along with their pro partners:
-- Elizabeth Berkely Lauren. Film and stage actress known for her roles in "Saved By the Bell" and "Showgirls." (Pro partner: Val Chmerkovskiy).
-- Corbin Bleu. Actor/singer in Disney's "High School Musical." (Pro partner: Karina Smirnoff).
-- Brant Daughtery. Plays Noel on ABC Family's "Pretty Little Liars." (Pro partner: Peta Murgatroyd).
-- Bill Envall. Comedian/recording artist. Was part of the "Blue Collar Comedy" concert films. (Pro partner: Emma Slater, making her debut on "DWTS").
-- Valerie Harper. Actress best known for her iconic roles on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and "Rhoda." (Pro partner: Tristan MacManus).
-- Keyshawn Johnson. Former NFL wide receiver who played for the Jets, Buccaneers, Cowboys and Panthers. Now an ESPN studio analyst. (Pro partner: Sharna Burgess).
-- Christina Miliana. Actress/singer/TV personality. Social media correspondent on "The Voice." (Pro partner: Mark Ballas).
-- Bill Nye. Mechanical engineer known as "The Science Guy." (Pro partner: Tyne Stecklein, making her "DWTS" debut).
-- Jack Osbourne. Son of rock star Ozzy Osbourne. Currently a correspondent for "Fuse News." (Pro partner: Cheryl Burke).
-- Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi. Star of MTV's "Jersey Shore" and "Snooki & JWoww." (Pro partner: Sasha Farber, making "DWTS" debut).
-- Leah Remini. Actress best known for her role in the sitcom "The King of Queens." (Pro partner: Tony Dovolani).
-- Amber Riley. Plays Mercedes Jones on "Glee." Currently working on her debut solo album. (Pro partner: Derek Hough).
Contact Chuck Barney at Facebook.com/BayAreaNewsGroup.ChuckBarney, or Twitter.com/chuckbarney


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Frequently Asked Questions
In progress:
Frequently Asked Questions
In progress:
This is an old revision of the document!
DXF has no concept of scale, and you have to select a scale when you export DXFs. The laser software (EasyCut) assumes a millimetre scale. In other words, a DXF will contain a unit-less dimension of 1.0; and that could be 1 inch, 1 metre, 1 foot, or 1 millimetre for all the DXF format and/or reading software knows. No scale issues have been seen when using MM for export from various CAD packages.
Select every line and choose Tools > Unite lines. The "unite lines" feature will close loops by connecting lines. If loops are closed then the software automatically figures out what shapes are nested (one inside another) and cuts them from the inside-to-outside correctly. No need to manually order nested cuts.
Often you can find a great design on a site like Thingiverse that is made for a material you don't have or don't want to buy. Opening the design up and editing all the slot widths is often impractical and time consuming. If you don't mind resizing the whole object you can do just that to make it fit your material.
Box Generator generates arbitrary finger jointed boxes in SVG format. Use Corel to convert the SVG to DXF.


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Jon and Janet Gibbens say their ducks improve not just the food growing in their garden but their lives as well.
The Gibbenses have built a system that automatically filters the pond water in which their ducks -- Ella, Emma and Eva -- swim to irrigate their lettuce, celery and other garden greens. The plants get water rich with nutrients. The ducks get their pond cleaned. And the Gibbenses get fresh vegetables, plus duck eggs and an unexpected way to relax.
"I work really long hours at a startup. My weekend is my time to decompress. Sitting out here and watching the animals gives me that," says Jon Gibbens while showing a visitor his backyard on a Sunday. "There is something that happens to your heart with animals. If they are kind to you, you decompress."
The couple's property in San Jose's Burbank neighborhood is home to many animals. The blue-black Cayuga ducks share the backyard with chickens and Leo the bunny. Indoors, a cat named David and four guinea pigs happily coexist.
"It's my small-scale urban farm," Jon Gibbens says with a laugh.
The duck pond project -- hatched in November -- is the newest addition. The Gibbenses' water system is similar to many popping up around the world. Before launching it, the couple had learned the ins and outs online from an Australian friend who already had a filtration system for his duck pond. Similar systems in Florida and Portland, Oregon, are going strong.
"Duckponics" or "quackaponics" -- whatever the farmers choose to call this symbiotic system -- could be the next urban-chicken-coop movement for backyard farmers to latch onto.
"The people who like chickens will like ducks," predicts Janet Gibbens. In some ways, ducks are superior to chickens for urban farmers: They are quieter and don't scratch at grass, and they keep laying their eggs over a longer time span. Oh, and their pond water can help nourish the garden. Chickens are not water-savvy; they could drown in a pond.
Here's how a duckponics system works:
Ducks spends 80 to 90 percent of their day in a pond, eating, generally doing what ducks do and excreting waste. All of the leftovers from duck-style living -- including dropped food and other waste -- become potential plant nutrients in the water. Throughout the day, the water is pumped to a bed of sand or gravel (but not soil), where the plants are growing and the water is filtered. Then the cleaned water flows back into the duck pond.
Hydroponics is the technique of growing plants without soil, in water or sand or another medium with liquefied nutrients added. Aquaponics is a similar growing technique, but with the nutrients pulled from a fish tank or pond. Duckponics uses pond water, and duck eggs are a bonus you don't get with hydroponics or aquaponics.
Since the Gibbenses' duck-pond water is completely recirculated, they need to replace only the water lost to evaporation from the pond. So the duckponics garden depletes less water than the farm's traditionally grown edible plants.
The Gibbenses started with chickens, and loved raising them, says Janet Gibbens. But when she and Jon saw an aquaponics display at a local fair, they were soon sold on that idea. They added an aquaponics system on the property to nurture their sweet tomatoes with fish-tank water.
The idea to launch a duckponics system came while the Gibbenses were touring an edible garden where they met a gardener who irrigates his plants with duck-pond water. Then, the Gibbenses did a thorough Web search and hooked up with other people who were doing duckponics.
The common complaints about ducks -- that they smell bad and their ponds are hard to clean -- are solved with the system's filtration. The operation of the pumps and filtration material keep the pond clean. "It's not koi-pond clean," says Jon Gibbens, "but it's duck-pond clean."
In the morning, when the ducks are released from their coop (known as Duckton Abbey), they can't wait to get back in the water.
They have bonded with the Gibbens family, as well as one another. "They are very much a family. They follow each other. If one goes, the others waddle behind, and we love to watch them," says Janet Gibbens.
"It's really helped us build community," she adds, and not just among the animals. "Whenever the neighbors have visitors, they want to come for a tour. It's really been a great way to get to know everyone."
Five things to know
about raising ducks
1. Make sure you like duck eggs. Jon Gibbens recommends sampling some from a specialty market before diving in.
2. Be informed about caring for ducks. Feeding three ducks costs about $35 a month. They need a safe coop at night, and when you go on vacation, you'll need a pet sitter. "It's a commitment," Janet Gibbens says.
3. Plan for at least three female ducks. If you have only two, and something happens to one, the other could die of heartbreak.
4. Build your pond and the aquaponics system before you get the ducks. They grow fast.
5. Ducks and chickens can cohabitate, but don't let chickens near a duck pond. They'll drown.
Online resource: The Gibbenses' website, www.jgibbens.com, offers step-by-step videos on their duckponics system.
-- Leslie Griffy,


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Clarifying the record on generics, biosimilars
Clarifying the record on generics, biosimilars
01.31.13 | By
Earlier this week, FOX Business ran a segment about the biopharmaceutical marketplace. Unfortunately, the reporting blurred the line between generic versions of innovative small-molecule medicines and the future availability of biosimilar versions of innovative biologic therapies. It's a distinction that warrants clarification.
As we have written in the past, the marketplace for traditional small-molecule medicines in the U.S. is a delicate balance of incentives for innovation and long-term, affordable access. This is unlike any other sector of health care - there are no generic doctors or hospitals - and frankly, it's a system that works well for patients and our health system overall.
Biopharmaceutical innovation is robust - as reflected by the more than 5,000 potential medicines in the biopharmaceutical pipeline - and government and independent data show that spending on prescription medicines has grown at historically low rates for quite some time now.
For example, last January the CMS Office of the Actuary reduced its prior year's estimate of drug spending by more than half, and IMS Health reports that for the past five years, spending on prescription medicines has grown at an average of just 3.3% annually. Looking ahead, IMS projects growth will remain at historically low levels, averaging 1% to 4% per year between 2012 and 2016. And it's important to keep in mind that retail spending on prescription medicines accounts for a small share - about 10% - of overall healthcare spending.
What's more, evidence increasingly shows that appropriate use of prescribed medicines can reduce spending on other medical services. Based on these findings, CBO recently adopted a new approach to scoring that will credit Medicare policies that increase use of medicines with savings on other program costs.
Rx Drug Lifecycle - A Careful Balance
The dynamics that makes these realities possible is reflected in the prescription drug lifecycle, meaning that investment and research into new medicines conducted by biopharmaceutical research companies leads to the availability of generic drugs after a period of time. For a great graphical representation of the lifecycle for non-biologic medicines, check out this animated video.
As we conveyed to FOX Business, for biologics, the Affordable Care Act included a provision that created a pathway for the approval of biosimilars - biologics that are similar to innovative biologics. This provision enjoyed broad bipartisan support in both chambers of Congress.
In simple terms, it created a new lifecycle specific to biologic therapies. The new biosimilars pathway strikes an appropriate balance between promoting increased competition through the development of biosimilars and providing necessary incentives for continued innovation of new therapies through a 12-year period of data protection for innovative biologics.
This isn't to say that the increased competition created by the pathway will have the same effects on costs as traditional generic drugs. The science of biologics, the unique genetic engineering and manufacturing challenges inherent in producing a therapeutic protein, the need for clinical studies to understand the safety and effectiveness of each biologic and biosimilars, create a different set of underlying forces that will yield its own market subtleties. Time will tell, but the tenets of the framework are the same.
Patient Safety Must Come First
In the meantime, as the FDA implements the biosimilars pathway, PhRMA believes the agency must ensure that patients have access to safe and effective biosimilars, which will require clinical data to demonstrate biosimilarity. And given the limits of current scientific knowledge and for reasons of patient safety, we cannot envision a biosimilar product or class of products for which comparative clinical studies would be unnecessary for approval.
Lastly, as states consider legislation specific to biosimilars substitution, we believe it essential that patient safety be the utmost priority.


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WASHINGTON — Retail sales dropped in October for the first time in three months as Hurricane Sandy took its toll on auto sales, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.
Retail and food-service sales were down 0.3 percent last month, compared with September. Analysts had expected Sandy, which paralyzed much of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, to cause a drop in spending by consumers.
But October's decline was more than the 0.2 percent expected, suggesting that consumer spending slowed for other reasons than the storm.
"The weakness in the sales report was not enough to confirm that it was not simply a weather-related dip, but the components suggest that there was more going on than just Sandy," said Steven Ricchiuto, chief economist at Mizuho Securities.
He noted that sales of building materials dropped 1.9 percent in October from the previous month, and that there were downward revisions to auto sales from the previous two months.
Location, ST | website.com


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K-pop superstar Park Jae-Sang — known to everyone but his mom as Psy — returned to Seoul, South Korea, yesterday to put on a thank you show for fans, free of charge.
The concert, held in front of City Hall forced the government to shut down several streets as some 80,000 screaming Psy-heads took over the city center.
The "Seoul Style" performance was live-streamed to millions of others across the globe via YouTube.
"I did not get here because I was worthy of it. I'm here because of all of you," Psy told his adoring compatriots. "I'm just a fat man with two kids."
"Gangnam Style," Psy's biggest hit to date, recently became the most popular song in the UK, and is currently sitting comfortably at number two in the US.
[photos via AP, video via Reddit]


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Hungary Spooks Markets with Comment Favoring Weaker Forint
Hungary surprised markets this week with comments seeming to favor a weaker currency. Remarks to this effect by a government official gave a sneak preview to what monetary and exchange-rate stance Hungary may pursue under him as the central bank governor, said traders in the Hungarian forint and economists following Hungary.
Economy Minister Gyorgy Matolcsy, who is widely tipped in the local press as the leading candidate to head the central bank from March, said Thursday that keeping the forint strong between 2002 and 2010, when the Socialists–the biggest opposition grouping to the current governing Fidesz party–were in power, was a mistake.
"Under the orthodox economic thinking, it looked rational to draw loans in low-interest euros and Swiss francs to amass most of the state debt in a foreign currency, … to keep the forint strong because that would rein in inflation and let the budget deficit widen above 3% of gross domestic product. These decisions proved catastrophic after the crisis," Mr. Matolcsy said in a book review he wrote for political weekly Heti Valasz.
The comments sent the forint tumbling. The currency weakened at "a panicky speed," a trader said, about 3% by Friday afternoon from Thursday morning, nearing the psychological level of 300 forints to the euro. It considerably underperformed its regional peers, the Polish zloty and the Czech koruna.
"These comments are a shock to me … I would have thought Matolcsy would have understood" that a weak currency has a negative impact on Hungarian consumption, offsetting the positive effect on exports, because of the high level of foreign-currency debt held by Hungarian households and companies, said Nomura economist Peter Attard Montalto.
Even if it's not Mr. Matolcsy who will be at the helm of the central bank next, the remarks still show what lies ahead, he added.
"Either way, the person there will be doing the government's and Matolcsy's bidding in a 'strategic partnership' to boost growth," Mr. Attard Montalto added. The Nomura economist was referring to Mr. Matolcsy's comments in December that "strategic cooperation" is necessary between the central bank and the government.
Hungary has no exchange rate target, Gyula Pleschinger, state secretary at the economy ministry, told The Wall Street Journal Friday. Mr. Pleschinger also said that a weaker forint cuts both ways.
A weak forint is beneficial to exporters while, at the same time, is negative for the numerous Hungarian households that hold mortgages tied to a foreign currency, mostly the Swiss franc, Mr. Pleschinger said. A weaker forint is also negative for the state budget since it increases the government's interest payments on state debt held in foreign currencies, he added.
Mr. Pleschinger's comments supported the forint somewhat but failed to quell the concerns.
Markets became deeply worried as they took the endorsement of a weaker forint into account with earlier comments from Mr. Matolcsy that the central bank could inject cash into the economy in the fashion of the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank. They now fear Hungary will loosen its monetary policy even further and would tolerate a weaker currency. That could drive inflation higher and would fail to help achieve sustainable economic growth, they said.
"The risk of a new unconventional central bank policy is probably the most significant idiosyncratic risk in 2013 for Hungarian assets," said Morgan Stanley economist Pasquale Diana in a research note about Hungary, titled "Hungary: Another Year of Living Dangerously?"
Embarking on a monetary policy that markets and investors find risky may backlash.
"The irony of this is that the appointment of a [government] loyalist [to head the central bank] could actually limit the room for rate cuts by leading to a rise in Hungary's risk premia and a selloff in local assets, thus forcing a tighter policy stance," said Capital Economics analysts William Jackson and Neil Shearing.


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As Regional Grows, so does our need for volunteers.
Regional Medical Center welcomes and values volunteers who come to the hospital each day. These are the volunteers who give of their time, patience, talent and smiles to employees, patients and visitors for the sheer joy of helping others. The hospital has many opportunities for adults as well as high school students to work within a variety of hospital settings. The goal of our volunteer department is to provide assistance wherever needed in the hospital. We do not perform medical or nursing duties. Instead, our dedicated volunteers bring an extra touch of friendliness and comfort to the patients and visitors of Regional Medical Center.
No special skills are required, though they are appreciated. We work with our volunteers so their assignments closely match interests, skills and experience. Most volunteers come in once a week for 3-4 hours. Our wide range of placements and shifts ensure we can arrange a volunteer schedule that's convenient for you whether you prefer weekday mornings or afternoons.
Volunteers provide patient comfort in more than 20 different service areas at Regional Medical Center. Volunteers are involved in the emergency department, Surgery and Pre-Surgical Area, Front Desk, and other departments.
The Volunteens
The Volunteen program is open to high school students ages 14-18 or entering 9th grade in the fall. Students who volunteer at the hospital are able to serve their community while also getting a glimpse of the health care environment.
Learn more about Volunteens


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Are you aware of any research being done on diet and its affect on children w/ autism? If so, what has been learned?
"Got Questions?" is a new weekly feature on our blog to address the desire for scientific understanding in our community. We received over 3000 responses when we asked what science questions were on your mind. We answered a few here and the Autism Speaks Science staff will address the other themes we received in this weekly post.
To date, there have only been a few published rigorous clinical trials examining the efficacy of dietary treatment (specifically, the gluten-free, casein-free diet) for improving symptoms of ASD. These have been negative or inconclusive, but were based on very small samples. More recently, Dr. Susan Hyman at the University of Rochester reported the results of a double-blind, randomized trial in which children who were on the diet were challenged with foods containing casein and gluten. Dr. Hyman examined factors such as attention, sleep and the stool of 22 children with ASD both challenged and unchallenged and found no benefit from the diet. Dr. Hyman stressed that her findings don't rule out the possibility that there may be subgroups of children who benefit. Autism is a very heterogeneous condition. More research is needed.
December 21, 2010 at 10:41 pm
Dr. Hyman's research was terrible. She excluded all children w/ immune problems, celiac disease, gut problems etc… That is EXACTLY the population that could benefit from dietary intervention. Hyman did a dietary intervention on healthy children who did not need a dietary intervention! So no surprise she found no difference in the groups.
Hyman's diet allowed any kind of junk food, artificial ingredients, artificial dyes…as long as they did not have casein or gluten. That doesn't work. Dr. Hyman also fired Karyn Seroussi, a long term ASD nutrition expert, author and ASD parent because Karyn wanted to fix these deficiencies in the study.
December 23, 2010 at 3:06 pm
I have completed a study of more than 500 individuals with autism and found the cause for autism is related to a number of nutrients that are lacking in the diet that are required for good brain health. This research is based upon identifying the chemicals required for the proper development of the brain and the availability of the needed nutrients from the foods being eaten. There is a clear lack of the essential nutrients in the diets of those with autism. It has been further demonstrated that when the nutrients are provided, the symptoms disappear.
January 23, 2011 at 3:13 pm
Is calorie counting better then low fat diets?


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"Sports Illustrated Swimsuit: 50 Years of Beautiful" (9 p.m., NBC): This special hosted by Heidi Klum celebrates five decades of a publishing institution. Included: Interviews with Kate Upton, Tyra Banks and Christie Brinkley, and music from Tim McGraw, Enrique Iglesias, John Legend and Lady Antebellum.
"Archer" (10 p.m., FX): Pam's cocaine addiction is getting way out of hand, so Archer attempts to stage an intervention. Unfortunately, the plan goes awry when someone shows up uninvited.
"Inside Comedy" (11 p.m., Showtime): Host David Steinberg returns for a third season of this show, which has fellow funnymen and women chatting about the pleasures and pitfalls of their craft. First up on the guest list are "Tonight Show" host-to-be Jimmy Fallon and comedian/actor Zach Galifianakis.
Also on Monday:
Contact Chuck Barney at Facebook.com/BayAreaNewsGroup.ChuckBarney, or Twitter.com/chuckbarney


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It's an old horror story, one so distant that few people in the 49ers' organization today are likely to remember the grisly details.
But the last time San Francisco traveled to the Georgia Dome for a playoff game against the Atlanta Falcons, it wasn't a pretty experience. In fact, the 20-18 loss the 49ers suffered on Jan. 9, 1999 turned out to be a certifiable nightmare that had lasting repercussions for the franchise.
In what proved to be his final playoff game, quarterback Steve Young threw three interceptions a week after throwing a game-winning touchdown to Terrell Owens in a thrilling 30-27 victory over Green Bay.
Tailback Garrison Hearst, who had set a club rushing record with 1,570 yards during the 1998 regular season and added 128 more in the Packers victory, badly fractured his left ankle on the first play from scrimmage. He would miss the next two seasons as a result.
The 49ers not only lost Hearst to injury but backup Terry Kirby as well and finished the game with just 46 yards rushing, 28 of those by Young simply scrambling for his life.
Then there was the heart attack incident very few people even know about, but it's what former coach Steve Mariucci remembered most vividly about that awful day.
"We're on defense in the middle of the game and Rodney Knox (a 49ers media relations rep) comes up to me on the sideline and says, 'Coach, we have a situation -- Chris Doleman's mom had a heart attack in the stands,' " Mariucci recalled.
Doleman, a future Hall of Fame defensive end who led the team with 15 sacks that year, couldn't understand why Mariucci was frantically waving his arms at him to come out.
"I never made any defensive substitutions, so Chris couldn't figure out why I was waving him to come out," he said. "I finally got him to come over and told him about his mother, who had been taken to our locker room. I don't know if anyone's ever told this story, but he rode in the ambulance to the hospital with his uniform on -- pads and all -- and then came back and finished in the game. Crazy day."
The only good news to come out of that day, Mariucci added, is that Doleman's mother survived the heart attack and is still living to this day.
Most people remember the Hearst injury as one that discombulated the offense from the start. As the 49ers started the game deep in their own territory, Hearst followed a left tackle Derrick Deese block and found open space in the left flat, but while making a cut, inexplicably went down in a heap.
"He wasn't even tackled," said Mariucci.
Hearst said many times subsequently he felt he might have scored on a long play, or at least run a long way. Instead, he would endure seven surgeries and a tenuous two-year rehab to get back to the playing field, a stretch during which the 49ers went 10-22.
"We've talked about it many times whether he would have scored," said Deese. "He'd already gained about 10 yards when he went down (actually 7). It would have been a great way to start the game, but all of a sudden our game plan's out the window."
The Falcons were a good team in '98. They won the NFC West with a 14-2 record while the 49ers were 12-4, but San Francisco had beaten them fairly soundly in late September, 31-20. But playing inside the Georgia Dome, Atlanta was buoyed by its home fans and a fast start and managed to hold on in the late going.
Neither Deese nor Mariucci see the 49ers team suffering the same kind of fate Sunday the 1998 team did 14 years ago. Both believe San Francisco will win.
"The Georgia Dome is going to be rocking and it could create some communication issues for the offense," Deese said. "When you go on the road, I was always taught you pack your defense and your special teams because the crowd can take the offense out. But they can't take this defense out."
Mariucci, meanwhile, thinks the offense will be just fine and that the defense could dominate.
"The 49ers run the football so well and so differently than other teams in the league and Atlanta's run defense hasn't been all that good," Mariucci said. "The Falcons have a lot of offensive weapons but they're going against a defense with six Pro Bowlers. Atlanta could have problems running the ball and if that happens, they'll have trouble protecting Matt Ryan. So I give the advantage to the 49ers."


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Christopher Storm was a high school freshman running track when doctors found an abnormality in his heart. Part of the muscle was thicker than it should have been, making it harder for it to send blood to the rest of his body.
The condition, known as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, is one of the most common causes of sudden cardiac death — when the heart abruptly stops beating.
Storm's disease was caught on an electrocardiogram (ECG), a test of the heart's electrical signals, done by volunteer doctors who visited his school.
"There was nothing — no lightheadedness, no reason for me to believe that anything was wrong," Storm, now 17, said almost two years after that test.
He believes it may have saved his life, but the idea of screening all young athletes for heart conditions is still controversial among medical experts.
Italy and many other European countries already screen teen and adult athletes before they play sports, and some researchers have also called for regular testing of U.S. kids and teens. But so far, data haven't definitively shown that screening could reliably weed out only the most at-risk kids and do so at an affordable price.
Based on Italian data, British researchers have calculated that close to 800 athletes like Storm would have to be kept out of sports, even given available treatment options, for every death prevented.
Not only that, but "you tell them that they're basically walking around with a ticking time bomb," said Dr. Anders Holst, from Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark, adding that the vast majority will be scared unnecessarily.
Sudden cardiac death kills an estimated 100 to 1,000 children in the U.S. every year — an estimate that's so wide because reliable records of the deaths haven't been kept.
Because many young people with heart conditions never have symptoms, the diseases typically aren't caught until after a tragedy.
Most doctors acknowledge that screening isn't a perfect solution. Although an ECG can run as low as $10, costs add up when millions of kids are screened. Part of the reason is that some results generate false positives, suggesting abnormalities in hearts that are actually healthy. In one study, 7 percent of all ECG-screened athletes needed additional testing, which can add up to $2,000 per person.
Even if more invasive tests confirm underlying problems, it's usually impossible to tell which kids would have died as a result and which would never have had any trouble, researchers said.
The evidence supporting ECG screening comes largely from Italy, which implemented a program to screen all teens and adults in organized sports in 1982.
After 20 to 25 years of collecting data, Dr. Gaetano Thiene from the University of Padua Medical School and his colleagues say they've shown that screening and disqualifying some athletes saved lives.
In the Veneto region, the number of young athletes dying of sudden cardiac arrest fell from 1 in 28,000 each year to 1 in 250,000, according to a 2006 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
But many doctors question whether the Italian results can be applied to the U.S. population.
For one, ECG screening is less accurate in non-Caucasians, according to Dr. Charles Berul, chief of cardiology at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
The rate of sudden cardiac death in Americans is also lower, matching that of Italians who have already passed screening tests.
The early Italian figures "might have just been a blip to begin with," said Dr. Anne Dubin, a pediatric cardiologist at Stanford University and the Children's Heart Center in Palo Alto, Calif. "Or it could be that there are certain genetic rhythm problems that are inherent in Italy that we have here but not to the same extent."
Other European countries have followed Italy's lead and implemented ECG screening for young athletes. A study group for the European Society of Cardiology determined the evidence warrants such tests.
Danish cardiologists broke from the European Society of Cardiology on screening, Holst said. He went on to compare ECGs to prostate-specific antigen tests for prostate cancer. U.S. and European doctors intuitively thought PSA tests would save lives long before there was much evidence, he said. Yet recent reports, including one from a U.S.-wide trial, have suggested the harm of over-treatment may not be worth any small potential screening benefit.
Finding answers
Researchers would need a "gold standard" trial — in which young athletes are randomly assigned to have ECGs or not — to determine if screening is worthwhile, Holst said.
That would require a huge number of athletes and decades of follow-up.
"It's not feasible in my view," he said.
Cardiologist Dr. Robert Myerburg from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine doesn't support waiting for that persuasive data.
"I think we ought to implement (screening)," he said. "Some number of deaths can be prevented as we're going along, as we're doing the research."
Organizing a federal screening program probably isn't realistic in the U.S., Myerburg said, but individual states can start screening high school athletes, he suggested.
Dr. Joseph Marek, a cardiologist from the Midwest Heart Foundation in Oakbrook Terrace, Ill., who directs the screening program that tested Christopher Storm, said communities can sponsor in-school screening if local cardiologists are willing to volunteer to save money.
Without them, adding an ECG screening program to a traditional history and physical would cost $117 per athlete, or about $69,000 per "quality" year of life saved, according to the National Institutes of Health. The bar for cost-effectiveness is typically considered to be $50,000 per quality life-year saved.
Using a lower ECG price, Stanford researchers said screening could be cost-effective. According to their model, if the 3.7 million student-athletes deemed to be potentially at risk were screened, 183,000 would be referred for further testing. One in six of those would get results confirming a heart problem. The cost would be just under $43,000 per life-year saved.
Depending on the particular abnormality, treatment can include heart medications, surgery or exercise restrictions only.
For Storm's condition, doctors placed an implantable cardioverter defibrillator and pacemaker in his chest to keep his heartbeat regular.
He's allowed to exercise as long as his heart rate stays below 155 beats per minute. He can't run competitively but plays pickup basketball with his friends, who let him stay on one half of the court.
"The biggest thing for me is, I'm always hearing about the athletes who collapse on the court or on the field … from the exact same thing that I have," Storm said.
The American Heart Association recommends only a physical and medical history for kids starting sports.
"I certainly understand the desire to want to do something, but we need to be cautious about that," said Dr. Jonathan Kaltman, a medical officer at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute in Bethesda, Md.
"We need to be able to confidently say that we're doing more good than harm before launching a screening program that's going to affect many, many lives."


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OND - Led by former Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann, 7 Walkers will again return to close out the State Bridge summer on Friday, as they did in 2011.-
"2012 has been a fantastic success. State Bridge has made an impact on fans, media, and performers that any small venue dreams of, but so few experience," said State Bridge owner Doug Mood. "Besides a unique setting, our secret has been a dedicated staff and others who helped build the venue - people driven by a history with State Bridge, plus vision, passion and chance to make it manifest."
Kreutzmann can barely contain his enthusiasm for 7 Walkers, his new band with voodoo guitarist Papa Mali, legendary New Orleans bassist George Porter Jr. of The Meters and multi-instrumentalist Matt Hubbard.
"I can't believe how much fun I'm having playing with these guys," said Kreutzmann, who never missed a gig in the Dead's 30 years together. "We're making art together and having the best time."
The band's latest album features a batch of brand-new originals co-written with Robert Hunter, lyricist for Grateful Dead and Bob Dylan, a guest performance by Willie Nelson and a some smokin' instrumentals. A self-proclaimed "open love letter" to the city of New Orleans, the end result is a fiery and funky collection of tunes that quite brilliantly capture a unique collaboration between two very different musical shamans.
7 Walkers formed in 2008 after Kreutzmann's girlfriend tipped him off about Papa Mali. "She said, 'You've got to check this guy out,' and she put one of his records on," Kreutzmann said. "I listened and I said, 'This cat's for real. I love this music.'"
A short while later, Kreutzmann and Mali met at an Oregon festival, hitting it off immediately and jamming for hours. They quickly hatched plans to make more music together. The original 7 Walkers lineup included bassist Reed Mathis, who performs on most of the alums tracks. When Mathis returned to his regular duties with the Bay Area jamband Tea Leaf Green, the band recruited George Porter, a founding member of New Orleans' iconic Meters, to take over responsibilities on bass.
For both Kreutzmann and Papa Mali, 7 Walkers, whose name is borrowed from one of the band's songs, is something of a dream come true. Kreutzmann has New Orleans in his DNA, literally. His mother was born there, and he's always been partial to the city's music throughout his career.
"I have a real feeling for that music, and I get along with the folks down there really well," he said. "This music comes from the Tchoupitoulas, the Mardi Gras Indian tribes. They're playing tribal rhythms, and somehow it connects with my spirit. Plus, I get to play with the No. 1 New Orleans bass player."
The first band Papa Mali ever saw performing live was the Meters, and witnessing Dr. John work his voodoo magic back when Mac Rebennack had just become the Night Tripper also had a huge effect on him.
"I am thankful that I spent a great deal of my life in New Orleans," Papa Mali said. "My music certainly reflects it. Much, if not most, of my musical development occurred there. I often played with some of the best talent that the city had to offer, starting in the early '70s and continuing even now."
With nearly all of the band's songs co-penned by Papa Mali and longtime Grateful Dead lyrist Hunter, 7 Walkers is an electrifying hybrid of classic Bay Area rock and New Orleans funk. Kreutzmann calls it "swampadelic."
al elements. I'd like to thank many people, but I'll name just one here: Scotty Stoughton," Moog said.


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Affordable Dentures - Pensacola, P.A.
Yiqian Dong, DDS, PhD
(850) 478-5605
8102 North Davis Hwy, Suite 14, Ferry Pass Plaza, Pensacola, FL 32514
Get Directions View Map 30.510536,-87.21919,Pensacola,8102 North Davis Hwy, Suite 14,Ferry Pass Plaza,Pensacola,FL,32514
Office opens at 7:30 a.m., Monday through Friday to serve you.
Our practice proudly provides Affordable Dentures® and related denture and tooth extraction services. We are located in Pensacola, FL and opened in 2003. Each year, we treat more than 3,000 denture patients who travel from Pensacola, Fort Walton Beach, Destin and many other communities in the surrounding area.
Yiqian Dong, DDS, PhD, is a general dentist and the practice owner of this location. She earned her Doctor of Dental Surgery degree at University of Rochester and her PhD from University of Florida, College of Dentistry, Department of Oral Biology. Based on many years of valuable dental experience, Dr. Dong and her staff are proud to offer professional, compassionate care to patients that visit this practice.
Dr. Dong's dental center has an on-site dental lab that fabricates new dentures and provides repairs and relines, often with same-day service. Being able to provide dentures in a day is a significant advantage, especially for patients who have traveled far distances. The on-site lab also eliminates the need to use outside commercial labs, which helps keep our fees low.
Our highly skilled lab technicians have crafted thousands of dentures. Their training and experience are assets to Dr. Dong's practice and give you the confidence that your denture is being fabricated locally in Florida.
This practice offers the following services:
Payment, Insurance & Financing Information
Method of Payment
Payment for service is required after you see the dentist and a treatment plan is approved based on your clinical needs. This practice accepts: Cash, Check with valid ID, Mastercard, Visa, American Express, Discover.
Financing is available through CareCreditSM, a Synchrony Bank company.* To pre-qualify for credit, click on the link below and complete their on-line application form. CareCredit's approval response is provided quickly.
Some practices require a minimum treatment fee to use this service. Please contact the practice you would like to visit for more information regarding their specific CareCredit policies.
*Subject to credit approval. Minimum monthly payments required.
Click here to apply for Care Credit.
Insurance Information
The following Medicaid plans accepted: Argus, Dental Health & Wellness, DentaQuest and MCNA.
If you have dental insurance through a carrier not accepted at this practice, an appropriate dental walk out statement will be provided so you can file your claim directly with your insurance carrier.
Be assured you will save money by filing the claim yourself. Affordable Dentures fees are so low, the total cost for the services you will receive at this location are likely less than the co-pay you will be required to pay at most other general dentistry practices. The practice staff can help you calculate the costs so you can make the best decision.
Medicaid Accepted
Medicaid is accepted at this practice. You will need to provide proof of coverage. Prior authorization for services may be required before treatment can commence.