text:
Profile of the salsa legend, the Queen, Celia Cruz.
by John Child (
A number of the excellent obituaries that appeared in the days immediately following Celia Cruz's passing on July 16th, 2003, highlighted her role as a cultural, political and gender symbol, as doubtless she was. However, those familiar with my work for Descarga.com will not be surprised that I offer a piece spotlighting her incredible body of recorded work, which spanned over five decades. What follows is a revised version of a discographic profile I originally wrote in 1990, including an updated selection of many, but by no means all, of her albums. Although "she was Afro-Cuban music," as Rubén Blades put it, her recording career was characterised by a willingness to modernise the form, as evidenced by her collaborations with Willie Colón, Papo Lucca and Sonora Ponceña, Willy Chirino and Sergio George. In addition, she managed to transcend the Latin music industry's ingrained preoccupation with youth and image, and was having hits and garnering awards right up to the end. In a 1999 interview in
magazine, Whoopi Goldberg said: "If I were going to do a biography movie, that's who I'd want to play. Because she doesn't fit any description. She's not traditionally a Latin beauty, she doesn't sound like anybody else."
Celia was a self confessed stage-aholic, and vowed that she wanted to expire on stage like Miguelito Valdés. While I can forgive her for not realising this ambition, it was unquestionably the sheer joy and strength of her live performances that made the deepest impact on me. I attended virtually all of Celia's UK gigs since her first visit with Tito's Puente's ensemble in 1984, and saw her perform at the 1990 New York Salsa Festival in Madison Square Garden. One memory that indelibly sticks in my mind is of her last UK performance at the Salsa 2000 festival. I was backstage when Celia, physically supported by her husband and musical director Pedro Knight, emerged from her dressing room cabin. I witnessed this apparently frail elderly woman hobbling across uneven terrain and up the steep stairway to the outdoor stage in those improbable high heels she used to wear. I remember thinking to myself: "I wouldn't want my mum subjected to these conditions." I watched as Celia and Pedro passively waited behind the backdrop for the MC to announce her. Then, in the split second it took for her name to be called, she crossed herself and began striding purposefully onto the stage. In that instant, her years fell away and the little old lady before me became utterly transformed and animated into CELIA CRUZ, THE ETERNAL QUEEN OF SALSA. Ironically, the same year she told
The Miami Herald
: "I love living on that stage. Without that, I'd die."
Her passing closes a major chapter in Latin music history.
Cruz, Celia
b. Celia de la Caridad Cruz Alfonso, 21 October 1924 or 1925? (reports vary), Santos Suárez district, Havana, Cuba; d. 16 July 2003, Fort Lee, New Jersey, USA
Described as the "Queen of Salsa" - just one of her several superlative epithets. Ms. Cruz, who steadfastly refused to divulge her age, performed for over five decades. Her family and neighbours became aware of the young Celia's singing ability from listening to her croon lullabies to her younger relatives. While she was training to become a literature teacher, an older cousin entered her in a competition on the talent show "La Hora del Té" on Radio García Serrá, in which she won first prize. Her 1983 biography stated that this contest occurred in 1947, but the sleeve notes to two of her early albums,
Canta Celia Cruz (Celia Cruz Sings)
Cuba's Queen of Rhythm
mention 1935. Interestingly, the biography posted on Celia's official website says she "began singing in amateur contests at the age of 14." So, go figure! But however you square the arithmetic, Cuban-American Ralph De La Cruz comments that Celia was there for the generation of his grandparents, parents and his own, but "didn't belong to any one generation." Adding: "All I know is that my 99-year-old grandmother thought Celia was old." (Quotes from the
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
, 17 July 2003.)
"After I won my first contest, I got signed up for all the others I could," explained Celia. "But even with all that exposure I still didn't intend to sing for a living" (quoted by Carol Cooper in
Village Voice
, 1990). Her father, Simon Cruz, viewed music a dishonourable career for a woman, but was overridden by his wife, Catalina Alfonso. Professional radio work followed. Celia concluded her teacher training and did some classes at Havana's National Conservatory of Music. She eventually switched to singing full-time when a trusted teacher advised her that she would be foolish to do otherwise.
She appeared on
, an album of Afro Cuban cult music on the Panart label. Two of her later best selling albums on Seeco,
Homenaje A Los Santos
Homenaje A Los Santos Vol. 2
contained recordings of sacred songs. Her association with Santería or Yoruba was highlighted in UK media coverage during the '80s, but she claimed to be a practising Roman Catholic and told Carol Cooper in 1990: "I've sung Yoruba religious music, and, yes, I like it, but I stopped singing it because it wasn't commercial."
In addition to radio, Cruz worked with the group Gloria Matancera and in small theatres and cabaret. She befriended Roderico "Rodney" Neyra, later choreographer at the famous Tropicana nightclub in Havana, who helped her get work there as a singer during the club's winter seasons. She toured Mexico and Venezuela with him and his dance troupe, Las Mulatas de Fuego (The Fiery Mulattas). Rodney introduced Celia to Rogelio Martínez (b. 1898, Matanzas, Cuba; d. 13 May 2001, NYC), the director of the popular band La Sonora Matancera. On 3 August 1950, Celia replaced Myrta Silva (b.11 September 1923, Arecibo, Puerto Rico; d. 2 December 1987, San Juan, Puerto Rico), who had returned to her native Puerto Rico, as lead vocalist of La Sonora Matancera on their weekly show on Radio Progreso. Recordings from these broadcasts between 1953 and 1955 collected on
Celia Cruz con La Sonora Matancera
En Vivo Radio Progreso (Vol 1)
(Vols. 2-5 also available) on Barbaro (1995) demonstrate her unstoppable power.
Celia made her recording debut with La Sonora Matancera on a 78 single released in January 1951 entitled "Cao Cao Mani Picao" (later included on
Canciones Premiadas de Celia Cruz
her biggest hit album on Seeco), with the flip-side "Mata Siguaraya" (later contained on
Homenaje A Los Santos Vol. 2
). She made a long list of records during her 15 year tenure with the band. During the '50s, Cruz and the band appeared on television, topped the bill at the Tropicana and toured the Caribbean, South and Central America, and the USA. She made her first appearance in New York at the old St. Nicholas Arena in 1957. Celia and La Sonora Matancera left post-revolutionary Cuba for good in July 1960. "We gave them the impression we were just going on another temporary tour abroad. That's how we got out" (quoted in her 1983 biography). They worked in Mexico for one and half years, during which time they made their fifth Mexican movie appearance. "Castro never forgave me," she said in a 1987 interview. Her music was banned in Cuba and the island's government refused her permission to return home to attend her father's funeral.
A lengthy commitment at the Hollywood Palladium, Los Angeles, in 1961 enabled Celia and La Sonora Matancera to apply for US residency. On 14 July 1962 she was able to dispense with her chaperone (a female relative), when she married the band's first trumpeter, Pedro Knight, who became her manager and on-stage musical director.
Cruz switched to Tico Records - then a division of Morris Levy's Roulette Records - and released a series of 12 albums (excluding compilations) between 1966 and 1972, including seven in partnership with Tito Puente (1923 - 2000) and four recorded in Mexico with the band of Memo Salamanca (issued by Tico in the US under license from the Mexican Orfeón label). A combination of poor promotion and a young Latino audience more interested in styles other than music from the old country, meant that her Tico releases clocked up poor sales. However, by the early '70s, young Latinos "in New York, New Jersey and Miami began to take a new pride in their roots, and salsa became the musical symbol of that rediscovered identity" (quote from Elizabeth Llorente, 1987). Jerry Masucci, who co-ran the successful salsa labels, Fania and Vaya, with bandleader Johnny Pacheco, had his eye on the Tico catalogue and was especially interested in developing Celia's talents. He struck a deal with Levy and Tico became part of the Fania fold.
Cruz was touring in Mexico in 1973 when it was decided that she would sing the part of Gracia Divina on Larry Harlow's Latin opera album
on Fania, a version of The Who's
Celia's outstanding performance at the all-star Carnegie Hall presentation of Hommy on 29 March 1973 served to relaunch her career and connect her with a new younger audience. Her new found popularity was consolidated the following year. The summer of 1974 saw the release of
Celia & Johnny
, the first of a series of six successful collaborations with Johnny Pacheco on Vaya, which went gold. Masucci thought of alternating Celia with other top leaders on his roster, like Willie Colón, Papo Lucca and Ray Barretto, whose bands each had their own trademark sound. He later said, "Celia was always my special project. Everything we cut with her for years, I oversaw completely. Everything was always very carefully and selectively done" (quoted by Carol Cooper in
Village Voice,
Celia made her album debut with Fania All Stars in 1975 on the two-volume
Live at Yankee Stadium
Vol. 1
Vol. 2
) . Bobby Valentín's rearrangement of her '60s track "Bemba Colora" ("Red Lips", originally from the essential
Son Con Guaguancó
on Tico produced by Al Santiago: 1932 - 1996) on volume two was a show stopper with the hypnotised audience chanting the single word chorus "colora" and calling Celia back for an encore. Film footage of this performance was featured in Masucci's movie
(1976). She continued to use Valentín's chart of "Bemba Colora" to close her live shows. Cruz recorded with the Fania All Stars up to 1997 and toured Africa and Europe with them, including her UK debut in 1976. She made many subsequent UK appearances between 1984 and 2000 with the bands of Tito Puente (beginning in 1984) and José Alberto (initially in 1988).
After a gap of about 17 years, Celia reunited on record with La Sonora Matancera on
Feliz Encuentro
on Barbaro (Happy Encounter, 1982). She was the subject of BBC2's Arena film profile
My Name Is Celia Cruz
broadcast on 12 February 1988. During October 1988 a programme in BBC2's
Rhythms of the World
series was devoted to concert footage of Cruz teamed up with Tito Puente's big band (with special guest Johnny Pacheco) recorded at New York's Apollo Theater in 1987.
She joined a reunion of 13 former lead singers of La Sonora Matancera for a series of three concerts by the band in June 1989 in celebration of their 65th anniversary and appeared on the double album,
Live! From Carnegie Hall: 65th Anniversary Celebration
, a recording of the 1 June 1989 concert. In 1989 Celia was awarded an honorary doctorate of music by Yale University. Her second collaboration with Ray Barretto,
Ritmo En El Corazón
(1988), won a Grammy Award. 1990 saw Cruz get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and the main street in Miami's Little Havana, Calle Ocho, added the name Celia Cruz Way.
In 1991, Celia appeared in the Hollywood movie
The Mambo Kings.
The same year, she joined an all-star line-up of vocalists from Ralph Mercado's RMM Records roster, including Oscar D'León, José Alberto, Tony Vega, Tito Nieves and Ismael Miranda, on Puente's
The Mambo King: 100th LP.
She went on to make four albums for Mercado between 1993 and 2000. "I never had a contract with Ralph," explained Celia to Nestor Louis in 2000. "With him it was always a verbal agreement, because we are great friends."
Celia's solo debut on RMM,
Azucar Negra
(1993), covered a spectrum of Latin styles from salsa to Juan Luís Guerra-esque tropical pop. On the 1993 gathering of RMM's leading artists:
Combinación Perfecta,
she was paired with Oscar D'León on the hit track "El Son de Celia y Oscar". Her much stronger RMM follow-up
Irrepetible / Unrepeatable
(1994) was produced in Miami by Willy Chirino (b. 5 April early 50s, Pinar del Río, Cuba; producer / singer / composer since 1973), the creator of the so-called "Sound of Miami", described as "a combination of his Cuban roots, American rock and a touch of Brazil". He joined Celia to provide the lead vocals to the cut "Caballero y Dama". Four years later, Celia reunited with Chirino for another duet, the delightful "Cuba Que Lindos Son Tus Paisajes" from his wonderful
Cuba Libre
on Sony.
Celia took a four year break from recording another solo project because of her involvement with a soap opera. However, she participated in the all-star RMM sets
Familia RMM en Vivo
RMM's European Salsa Explosion
(1995) and
RMM Tropical Tribute to the Beatles
(1996). Mercado also came up with the idea of issuing the compilation
Celia's Duets
(1997), featuring collaborations from the previous 20 years with the likes of Willie Colón, Cheo Feliciano, Angela Carrasco, Willy Chirino, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs and Caetano Veloso.
RMM's recently appointed A&R Director, the prolific arranger, producer, musical director and keyboardist Isidro Infante, handled the musical production of her Grammy nominated
Mi Vida Es Cantar
(1998). The cut "La Vida Es Un Carnaval", composed by Victor Daniel and arranged by Infante, became a UK club favourite. Her RMM parting shot was the live set
Celia Cruz & Friends: A Night Of Salsa
(2000) with special guests Tito Puente, Johnny Pacheco and Cruz disciple, La India. Infante played piano and directed the swinging accompanying band. The album won a Latin Grammy for Salsa Performance at the first annual Latin Grammy Awards ceremony in 2000.
The accolades continued to come thick and fast during the '90s, including Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Smithsonian Institution and Hispanic Heritage Awards; the Presidential Medal in Arts awarded by the Republic of Colombia, and the declaration of 25 October 1997 as "Celia Cruz's Day" by the City of San Francisco. However, one of the most memorable moments in her life must have been when President Clinton bestowed the National Medal of Arts, the USA's highest honour in the arts, in the White House in 1994.
Seeking better promotion for her recordings, Celia signed with Sony Discos. Her first outing for the label,
Siempre Viviré
(2000), was produced in Miami by Emilio Estefan's Crescent Moon, Inc. and Oscar Gómez's Crab productions, and featured a melange of tropical Latin rhythms. In 2001 she performed in
VH1 Divas Live: The One and Only Aretha Franklin
. Unfortunately, the version of the show aired on the UK's Channel 4 over Christmas 2001 deleted Celia's input. The only clue she was in the show was her presence in the finale line-up alongside the likes of Stevie Wonder, Mary J Blige, Jimmy Bosch and, of course, Aretha, performing "Ridin' On The Freeway".
Her much more impressive Sony follow-up,
La Negra Tiene Tumbao
(2002), was co-produced in New Jersey by Pacheco, Infante and the groundbreaking Sergio George. The title track, arranged by George and featuring rapper Mikey Perfecto, and "Hay Que Empezar Otra Vez", co-arranged by Infante and its composer Victor Daniel, are particularly outstanding. The CD achieved the double of a Latin Grammy Award in 2002 and Grammy in 2003.
On 13 March 2003, the Telemundo network broadcast
Celia Cruz: Azúcar!
, a live concert tribute to her at the Jackie Gleason Theatre in Miami, Florida, in which she performed alongside Marc Anthony and other Latin luminaries, to raise money for the Celia Cruz Foundation. The organisation was established in the summer of 2002 by Pedro Knight and her manager Omer Pardillo, to assist low income Hispanic students to study music and help cancer sufferers. The first five grants are scheduled to be awarded on her 2003 birthday.
Celia suffered a stroke in December 2002 and later told
People en Español
that she had a brain tumour. After surgery to remove it at Presbyterian Hospital in New York, she spent most of the following months convalescing at home. However, she found the time and strength to return to the studio in February 2003 to record her final CD for Sony Discos, the prophetically named
Regalo Del Alma
(Gift From The Soul), co-produced by Sergio George and Oscar Gómez. George said her vocals had to be recorded in short segments because she had some trouble remembering lyrics due to her condition. "She's a fighter," George told Augustin Gurza of the
Los Angeles Times
. "It was as if nothing had ever happened. She was just ready to go. It was an incredible experience to see her drive and her energy and her will to want to do it. Nothing would stop her."
On Wednesday 16 July 2003, Ms Cruz died at her home in New Jersey from ongoing complications resulting from the surgery. Pedro Knight, family and friends were at her side, said her publicist, Blanca Lasalle. Her death came two days after her 41st wedding anniversary. In addition to Pedro, she is survived by two sisters, Dolores, in Cuba, and Gladys in New Jersey; and two nieces.
The single "Rie y Llora" from
Regalo Del Alma
had already been released prior to her death.
Selected albums:
with various artists
with La Sonora Matancera:
Canta Celia Cruz (Celia Cruz Sings)
Cuba's Queen of Rhythm
Grandes Exitos de Celia Cruz
La Incomparable Celia
Su Favorita Celia Cruz
La Dinamica
Reflexiones de Celia Cruz
Canciones Premiadas de Celia Cruz
Mexico Que Grande Eres
La Tierna, Conmovedora, Bamboleadora
Homenaje A Los Santos
Sabor y Ritmo de Pueblos
Homenaje A Los Santos Vol. 2
produced by Vicentico Valdés:
El Nuevo Estilo De La Guarachera
with La Sonora Matancera:
Homenaje A Yemaya Vol. 3
Cuba's Foremost Rhythm Singer
Con Amor
with Tito Puente
Cuba Y Puerto Rico Son...
with "The Alegre All-Stars" featuring Puente
Son Con Guaguancó
with Memo Salamanca and Juan Bruno Tarraza
with Salamanca
A Ti Mexico
(c. 1968)
Serenata Guajira
La Exitante Celia Cruz!
with Puente
Quimbo Quimbumbia
produced by Puente
Etc. Etc. Etc.
with Puente
Alma Con Alma / The Heart & Soul of Celia Cruz
(c. 197l)
Celia Cruz y Tito Puente en España
(c. 197l)
with Salamanca
Nuevos Exitos de Celia Cruz
with Puente
Algo Especial Para Recordar / Something Special To Remember
Fania stable (including Vaya, Tico & Barbaro)
with Larry Harlow
Hommy, a Latin Opera
with Johnny Pacheco
Celia & Johnny
with Pacheco
Tremendo Caché
with Pacheco, Justo Betancourt and Papo Lucca
Recordando El Ayer
with Willie Colón
Only They Could Have Made This Album
with Pacheco
(1978; nominated for a Grammy Award)
with Puente
Homenaje A Beny
(1978; Puente's first Grammy Award winner) and
Homenaje A Beny Vol. 2
(1979), Celia performed on three tracks on the first album and two on the second
with Papo Lucca and Sonora Ponceña
La Ceiba
with Pacheco and Pete "El Conde" Rodríguez
Celia, Johnny and Pete
(1980) with Colón
Celia y Willie
with La Sonora Matancera
Feliz Encuentro
with Ray Barretto and Adalberto Santiago
Tremendo Trio!
(1983; nominated for a Grammy Award)
with Pacheco
De Nuevo
(1985; nominated for a Grammy Award)
with Puente
Homenaje A Beny Moré Vol. III
(1985; nominated for a Grammy Award), Cruz performed on six tracks
with Colón
The Winners
(1987, released in the UK in 1988 on Caliente; nominated for a Grammy Award)
with Barretto
Ritmo En El Corazón
(1988, issued in the UK on Caliente in 1989; Grammy Award winner)
Tributo A Ismael Rivera
(1992; nominated for a Grammy Award)
live Cuban radio broadcasts 1951-1956
Celia Cruz con La Sonora Matancera
En Vivo Radio Progreso (Vols. 1-5)
(1995) (
Vol. 2
Vol. 3
Vol. 4
Vol. 5
live '50s Cuban radio broadcasts
Celia Cruz con las Orquestas de Ernesto Duarte, Senén Suárez, Carlos Ansa & Riverside Vol. 4
Azucar Negra
with Familia RMM
Combinación Perfecta
Irrepetible / Unrepeatable
(1994; nominated for a Grammy Award)
Mi Vida Es Cantar
(1998; nominated for a Grammy Award)
Celia Cruz & Friends: A Night Of Salsa
(2000; nominated for a Grammy Award; Latin Grammy Award winner for Salsa Performance 2000)
live material from the '50s
Las Muchas Celias
La Guarachera De Cuba: Celia Cruz Con La Sonora Matancera En Los Estudios CMQ, 1950-1953
Siempre Viviré
(2000; Latin Grammy Award winner for Traditional Tropical Album 2001)
La Negra Tiene Tumbao
(2002; Latin Grammy Award winner for Best Salsa Album 2002 and Grammy Award winner 2003)
Hits Mix
Regalo Del Alma
Selected compilations
anthology of Seeco recordings
100% Azucar! The Best Of Celia Cruz Y La Sonora Matancera
(1997) on Rhino
two collections of material from her Tico period
Lo Mejor de Celia Cruz
(1974) and
A Todos Mis Amigos
collection of hits from her Vaya albums between 1974 and 1977
The "Brillante" Best
Celia Cruz: The Fania Legends Of Salsa, 2-CD Set Plus 24 Page Book
RMM collection of collaborations with other artists
Celia's Duets
anthology of RMM material
Serie 32: 2-CD Set
(2002) on Universal
John Child
Co-host of the totallyradio show
Viva Latina
Contributor to the Descarga Latin music website (http://www.descarga.com), MusicWeb Encyclopedia of Popular Music (http://www.musicweb.uk.net/encyclopaedia/index.htm) and Penguin and Guinness Encyclopedias of Popular Music
] [
Editor's Picks
] [
Power Search
] [
Category Search
Artist Search
] [
Journal Archives
] [
Meet The Writers
] [
About Descarga
© Copyright 2015, Descarga.com. All rights reserved.
Use of any editorial content and/or images originating from this website
is strictly prohibited without the expressed permission of Descarga.com


text:
Found this Part cheaper elsewhere?
Tell Us Here
£ 57.61
( £
69.13 inc VAT )
Found this Part cheaper elsewhere?
Tell Us Here
Available for Trade Customers!Call For Details
This part will be placed on a stock order and the days shown above is the current estimated delivery time to you
You must be logged in for this service
Can't Find Parts your looking for?
Use our Parts Request form to request Vauxhall, Bosch, Elring, Wahler or Febi Bilstein Parts.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
News and Events
Public Relations & Marketing
Tablet computers like the iPad and Microsoft's Surface - with their smooth touch screens and millions of both useful and fun apps - are becoming more commonplace even in the traditionally conservative field of academia.
"Education tends to be a conservative institution, but we're not seeing that at all on the iPad," Apple CEO Tim Cook said on a July quarterly earnings call with investors. "The adoption of the iPad in education is something I've never seen in any technology."
While there are thousands of education-oriented apps for tablet computers and mobile devices, Andrew Madonna didn't see one that enabled teachers to take attendance in their classrooms. So the West Chester University senior created "Attendance."
A computer science major and intern in the University's Demonstration and Application Center, Madonna has hands-on access to new technology through Microsoft and the partners that provide the Center's hardware and software. He had already created a prototype interactive campus map for the Microsoft PixelSense table computer when Microsoft representative Carl Kishel took note of Madonna's skills and offered him the opportunity to work on apps for their upcoming Windows 8 operating system. Kishel focused on education-oriented apps and identified the need for one that addressed classroom attendance.
Nicolette Patete and Andrew Madonna have access to new teaching technology in the University's Demonstration and Application Center and Classroom of the Future.
"Attendance allows instructors with Windows 8 powered devices to easily take attendance and arrange students in groups," Madonna explains. "It lets instructors use photos of the students so they can more easily recognize students and associate faces with names. Instructors can also automatically place students into groups and store those groupings for later."
Madonna was the sole software developer for the app, writing all the code necessary to make the app a reality. The code is invisible to the user, but the app's logo or icon - its graphical identity that makes it recognizable – must catch a potential user's attention and be simple enough to be a tile that launches the app from the start screen, the splash screen, and in the Windows Store. That task fell to another software application training intern: communications studies senior Lauren Glassey, who also created the logo and other graphics for the Demonstration and Application Center.
Microsoft's Kishel came to campus periodically to meet with Madonna and the two also held weekly status meetings over Microsoft Lync. A local Microsoft partner company, Teknikos, examined the app's user interface. "The Teknikos software engineers and user interface designers had a few suggestions for the user interface but were very impressed with what I had done and the progress I had made," says Madonna.
"Windows 8 can also be used with devices other than tablets, such as traditional laptops and desktops running Windows 8. That way, instructors can still use apps even if they don't have the latest device."
As of this writing Attendance is still the only standalone app available in the Windows Store for taking attendance.
Deborah McMullan, the Information Services technology project specialist who oversees the Demonstration and Application Center, notes that "Attendance" is also being used by teachers on field trips, by coaches of sports teams and in such extracurricular activities as karate classes.
The WCU Demonstration and Application Center and Classroom of the Future, which was established this spring, is a site where K - 12 teachers can join those in higher education to sample new and emerging technology and collaborate on innovative ideas about synching technology with the learning environment.
To learn more, visit www.wcupa.edu/dac.


text:
Hello, I am Becky Carlberg, gardening enthusiast from Southeast Oklahoma. I have degrees in Biology from Eastern Oklahoma State College and Oklahoma State University. Teaching, research work, and competing in art shows then followed. I earned my Master�s Degree in Plant Pathology from OSU and continued graduate work on a Doctorate of Botany at the University of Oklahoma.
With my family, we twice had an opportunity to live in Europe. We were in England for five years and then later in Germany for seven years. It was an excellent education for our sons. I returned to gardening, writing and art, became a Master Gardener, as well as an Oklahoma certified Master Naturalist. I am the gardener in charge of the Shawnee Japanese Peace Garden, a member of the Deep Fork Audubon Society, and now call my five acre Backyard Wildlife Habitat and Oklahoma Wildscape outside Shawnee home.
My name is Linda Workman Smith. The first step of my gardening journey began in the hills northwest of Van Buren, Arkansas, where my parents�both from farming families�raised seven children.
This is not to say that I�ve always had a love for gardening although over the years I�ve managed to keep my hands in the dirt. In 2000, my husband�s employment brought us to Shawnee where we settled on two acres west of town. Being unemployed for the first time in many years�and planning to stay that way�I started gardening on a small scale.
I have been a member of the Multi-County Master Gardener Association for several years and thoroughly enjoy being in the organization. I now have many flower beds and I�ve expanded my gardens to include lots of vegetable varieties, several fruit trees, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries and grapes. Every year I try to plant something different. I don�t grow a lot of any one thing, but a little bit of lots of things!
Early Season Vegetable Gardening
By Linda Workman Smith
Greetings fellow dirt diggers: Are you ready to get down and dirty—in the garden?
I collected my soil samples February 19th just in the nick of time, as the next day snow covered my landscape. It has been two years since I had my soil tested. I grow a variety of vegetables—including an asparagus bed—as well as grapes, strawberries, blackberries and several fruit trees. I'm curious to see how feeding requirements for different crops have influenced nutrient levels in my soil. I assembled samples from 7 different areas and took them to the OSU extension office in Shawnee. These will be sent to OSU—in Stillwater--for analysis. Soil testing is the first step in good gardening practice. The test will determine the pH and the quantity of nutrients that may be deficient in soil; it can also prevent unnecessary expense, labor and possible contamination of soil or nearby waterways, caused by applying fertilizers when not needed.
Each winter, most gardeners impatiently await getting back to their vegetable gardens. We gardeners just love getting our hands dirty. The average last spring frost date in central Oklahoma is mid-April. This means that until that date, some vegetable transplants or new seedlings planted outside may need extra protection in the event of a frost. However, many vegetables are quite cold tolerant and can be planted long before the mid-April frost date. Collards, onion sets, garden peas, radishes, spinach, kale, turnips, leeks, mustard, potatoes, Swiss chard, beets, cabbage family, carrots, Bibb lettuce and leaf lettuce are some crops that do best in cooler weather. Planting these cool season crops can provide an early vegetable harvest with extra sweet flavor.
Early spring planting also lets you take advantage of a gardening technique called interplanting; slow-starting or late-maturing plants are planted between or within the rows of early spring vegetables. After mid-April, peppers, tomatoes and eggplant can be planted within rows of lettuce, spinach, radishes and peas that were started 6-8 weeks earlier. By the time hot weather arrives, the early crops are ready to harvest, making room for the warm season plants to grow. Shade tolerant species like lettuce and spinach may also be planted in the shadow of taller crops. Heavy feeders, such as cabbage family members--including cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage and Brussels sprouts--should be interplanted with less voraciously feeding plants. Interplanting is also beneficial in insect and disease control. Pests are frequently crop specific; that is, they prefer plants of one type or family. Mixing families of plants will break up large areas of the pest-preferred crop. Containing early pest damage to a smaller area will help control problems more quickly.
If you are going to grow transplants from seed for your warm season garden, most should be started 6-8 weeks before our last frost date so...anytime now. My biggest problem is starting too early and allowing plants to get leggy before weather permits moving them to the garden. I am forcing myself to be patient; this year I'm shooting for the first week in March.
As always…happy gardening.
Linda Workman Smith
Multi-County Master Gardener Association


text:
Enter your Email Address and click 'Continue' Example: firstname.lastname@example.com For further assistance in retrieving your
password, please call:
(800) 770-3387 Submit Cancel Forgot Password Close /TravelSmith/US/Global/Popups/forgot_password Enter your email address:
false pdp {"scheme":"product1_cr"}
false pdp {"scheme":"product2_cr"}
Rated 5 out of 5 by 1 reviewer.
Rated 5 out of 5 by NearAndFar Must Have For Flights & Weekends I purchased one of these, used it once, and have considered it an absolute essential ever since. I'm a Baggallini fan to start but this tote is the greatest thing they've ever come up with. Its very well thought through and an ideal size. It fits under an airline seat and slides over the handle of another piece of luggage for easy multi-bag movement. Its wonderful as a personal carry-on and holds more than I would have imagined. It also is perfect for a weekend. One section is deeper than the other which allows for bulkier things, jackets, shoes, etc. and opens flat. Everything stays put. The outside zipper compartments are ideal for computer/tablet/reading, snacks, etc., as are the quick grab handles. Its a breeze to walk through an airport with something small enough and light enough that holds so much. I have since bought 2 more as gifts for admirers. One guy I know is even considering one as its better designed than the more manly things he's tried. Mine has been throughout Asia, Europe and Central America as well as a week-long hospital stay. 4 wheels might make it perfect, but I love this bag! July 29, 2014
1-1 of 1
Product:91431-Baggallini Carry-On Rolling Tote


text:
Start Date: Dec 14, 2010
End Date: Jun 30, 2014
We will subject livestock to both mixing and transportation and collect behavioral, physiologic, immunologic, endocrine, and bacterial data. The behavior data will include: agonistic encounters, loss of balance, vomiting, standing, lying, stereotypic behavior, and any other abnormal behaviors (i.e. shaking, jumping, etc). The physiologic, immunologic, and endocrine data will include: heart rate, body temperature, cortisol, epinephrine, norepinephrine, dopamine, immune cell populations, interferon-gamma, interleukin-1, interleukin-12, haptoglobin, alpha 1-acid glycoprotien, and immunoglobulins. The bacterial data will include: DGGE pattern, total aerobes, anaerobes, Enterobacteriaceae counts, and the proportion of antimicrobial resistant Enterobacteriaceae in different compartments of the gastrointestinal tract and in mesenteric lymph nodes. Analysis of these collective data will allow for identification of key processes that create high pathogen loads at slaughter plants. Our approach is a strategy that will 1) use a novel technique to monitor the progression of infection of stressed swine, 2) study the influence of mammalian stress hormones on bacteria, and 3) determine physiologically how a dietary supplement can impair bacterial infection. All three of these approaches will provide novel information on how stress influences bacterial pathogens.


text:
Concerns grow about condemned house in Asheville
Published: Saturday, July 13, 2013 at 1:14 p.m.
Last Modified: Saturday, July 13, 2013 at 1:14 p.m.
ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Neighbors in an Asheville neighborhood are watching carefully a house that's been condemned because the soil beneath it is moving.
Owner Bob Eaton was about to sell his home when he noticed cracks in the driveway. A day later, on July 6, Buncombe County officials condemned the five-bedroom home.
Engineer Marvin Mercer is recommending that the home be demolished when it's safe to do that. Rain is possible over the next couple of days, and that will delay the demolition.
Even with good weather, Mercer says the process wouldn't start until mid-week.
Neighbors below the house are concerned that a landslide will occur, damaging their homes. Mercer says that's unlikely although he understands their concerns.
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.


text:
Reporting from Tuam, County Galway
"You would not talk to them," the locals told me in Tuam near Galway City this weekend, "they were outcasts."
They were speaking to IrishCentral about the mothers and babies secreted away to The Home, an 1840's institution run by the Bon Secours sisters in the town from 1925 to 1961, but this week locals insisted that more and more people want to remember their sad fates now.
One of them is Paul Kanahan, 46. Yesterday he took the long drive to Tuam from his home in County Sligo to visit the site that in the last fortnight has become one of the most controversial in the world.
Inspired by news reports, Kanahan told IrishCentral he made the trip to the unmarked grave site to pay his respects to the Home Babies and reflect on his own experience as a Home Baby from another notorious mother and baby home called Castlepollard in County Westmeath.
An adoptee and now a father himself, Kanahan found his birth mother and sister in 2010 through a series of lucky breaks and with the health of a priest and a Facebook page for adoptees from the Castlepollard Mothers and Babies home.
"I was very lucky," he told IrishCentral. "The local priest helped me locate my birth mother. They used to keep the records in the parochial houses before the HSE's were set up. He suggested my records could still be in the County Hospital in Mullingar.
"I went in with only my date of birth to go on. This is how lucky I was; only one boy was born that day in Castlepollard in February 1968. Talk about a needle in a haystack."
Kanahan is conscious that he was fortunate himself in a way that thousands have not been. That's why he made the trip to Tuam, he said.
"I have no doubt that all the 796 babies – and the mothers who died in childbirth – are all buried around this area. The last place they wanted to put them was in consecrated ground. We also believe there's up to 500 buried in Castlepollard. There's nothing there to show the real truth about the place either."
With a population of just over 8000, the name of Tuam comes from a Latin and Irish word for a burial mound. It's the first irony in a story brimming with them.
Two huge grey cathedrals are the first thing you see of the place, dominating the skyline for miles before you reach the town. Religious sites have been located in Tuam since at least the sixth century, historians believe that a monastery was founded here first and the town grew up around it.
To understand the tragedy of what happened in Tuam over the thirty six years that the building called The Home operated, it helps to visit the controversial unmarked grave site as I did this weekend.
What remains of the seven acre Home (it was abandoned in 1961 and was later demolished) now is a small plot of grass bordered by grey wall in the middle of an out of the way housing estate in County Galway. The local authorities were careful not to build there.
Shielded from the main road by rows and rows of squat council houses, it's the kind of place you have to know about in order to find. Crows use it as a handy perch, a small grotto filled with fresh wreaths only hints at what went on there.
There's a continuity to its obscurity: in the thirty six years it operated The Home was hidden on all sides by an eight foot high wall; the woman who were sent there by their disapproving parents and priests reportedly had their names changed by the nuns on arrival; the children who were born there spent their first years fighting viral outbreaks and malnutrition and shrouded in the same silence and shame that had enveloped their mothers. No one disputes this, it's a matter of record.
Each of these women (and there were thousands of them) gave the lie to the outwardly pious story the nation was telling about itself. They knew it themselves. They were shaming their parents, their religious elders and their community. There was no part of the experience of new motherhood they could welcome.
A quick walk through the town will confirm it. In restaurants and cafes locals' were conversing in small animated groups about what happened, what they had known, and what they hadn't.
"I was 18 the year it closed, I'm 71 now," local Vincent Cunliffe tells IrishCentral. "I remember you'd hear the Home Babies before you'd see them. They made them wear these loud wooden clogs. Sometime you'd see some of the mothers on a Sunday evening. You would not talk to them. Nobody would. They were outcasts."
Time and again the locals speak of the most distinctively Irish part of the mothers' punishment, the silent treatment. They would find themselves literally escorted to the edge of their society, where an unbreakable silence would engulf them for the rest of their lives.


text:
Oh, what a musical!
Even if you don't know Frankie Valli from Vivaldi, it's hard to resist the Broadway smash "Jersey Boys," which has catapulted the music of The Four Seasons back into the limelight. Four blue-collar boys who clawed their way to stardom, these lads sold 175 million records before they turned 30. Now their lives, loves and lyrics are celebrated in this Tony-winning hit.
After being seen by more than 40 million people worldwide, the tuner -- with Des McAnuff's witty direction, Sergio Trujillo's snappy choreography and such songs as "Big Girls Don't Cry" -- has bopped back into San Francisco for an eight-week run at the Curran Theatre.
In honor of the occasion, we decided to take a peek behind the scenes to see how a Broadway blockbuster comes to life. Join us in the wings for a 2 p.m. matinee of one of the biggest hits to come down the New Jersey turnpike since "The Sopranos." Consider this your free backstage pass:
12:39 p.m. Stage manager Larry Baker mans the callboard before the matinee. It's his sixth year on the road, but he's still a huge fan of the show. There are now seven touring companies with about 50 folks per troupe. "This is a great show, and the money is great, but living on the road means making sacrifices," he says. His job is half cruise director, half parent. Not only is he responsible for making sure the show goes off without a hitch, he is on call 24/7. If an actor breaks his ankle at 2 a.m. it's his job to make sure he gets cared for and an understudy is prepped to take his place.
1:05 The Curran has zilch space backstage, which makes running a musical as big and splashy as "Jersey Boys" a lot like staging the Olympics in a bathtub. An army of actors, stagehands, dressers and techies have to squeeze within its cramped dimensions. It's absolute chaos with no room to maneuver and never a minute to spare until the curtain goes down.
The basement is a hive of activity. The costume department manages 9,000 pieces of wardrobe, makes its own vintage-style shirts and does up to 26 loads laundry a day. It's overseen by wardrobe mistress Gerbie Connolly -- who travels with her pet bunny, Peanut Butter.
1:30 The actors straggle into the stage door at an hour before the curtain goes up. This is the start of a two-show day. The cast goes through its paces eight times a week. Quite a marathon.
Baker makes sure the cast and crew feel at home in the Curran. He tells the veterans the 1922 beauty was the site of the classic theater movie "All About Eve" and the young 'uns that it's the birthplace of "Wicked."
1:45 The onstage chemistry sure isn't faked because there's real camaraderie in the teensy dressing rooms. Schlepping from city to city, far from family and friends, the actors bond in their own little backstage tribe. Nick Cosgrove usually plays the famous falsetto Frankie Valli. But today Valli is being played by understudy Miguel Jarquin-Moreland. There's also John Gardiner, who once had lunch with Valli, playing the tough-talking hothead Tommy DeVito. They share the limelight with Michael Lomenda as Nick Massi and Miles Jacoby as Bob Gaudio. Jacoby is a newbie with only seven months in the show. He loves that they always celebrate birthdays during the intermission.
2:08 Talk about the need for speed. The actors dash from one side of the theater to the other during what they call the "basement run" after the opening number. Though the musical has been trotting around the globe since its 2006 Broadway debut, McAnuff's production still purrs like the engine on a muscle car. Props, sets and actors move in a highly choreographed ballet. If you stand in the wrong place, you may get whacked by a piano.
2:16 Jarquin-Moreland drops his pants backstage. Some actors have 17 quick changes. No room for shyness in the wings.
2:20 The show's three actresses play more than 50 parts. Leslie Taylor alone hops through 16 roles, each of which seem to come with its own wig -- one of 70 wigs in the show.
2:22 Gardiner says you can tell how well show will go by the crowd's reaction to F-word in the first few scenes. If they laugh, you're gold. His character, Tommy DeVito, is known for his colorful turns of phrase. After 1,800 performances, he still gets high off the score.
2:34 "Short Shorts" blaring. It's freezing backstage. Jonathan Hadley, who plays producer Bob Crewe, is getting his wig tweaked backstage. He makes a point of seeing the sights on tour. Today he visited the Contemporary Jewish Museum and came back with a yarmulke.
2:52 The boys give their all during what they call the "Big Three," when they sing their biggest three songs, "Sherry," "Girls Don't Cry" and "Walk Like a Man," in a row. Your voice gets a little sore just listening to them reach for those high notes.
3:02 Stage manager Baker hums along with the score. It's the soundtrack of a generation, he says, "music that has played a part in people's lives."
3:20 Intermission. The cast puts its feet up for a few minutes while the audience imbibes and the technical crew exhales. Everybody relaxes in their own way. Jacoby checks in on Facebook. Some grab a smoke in the alley. Others eavesdrop on the audience.
3:35 Places for top of Act 2 -- no rest for the weary. Baker's got tons of war stories. The biggest tech snafu ever? The time in Buffalo, N.Y. when rats chewed through power lines. The show went on anyway.
3:40 Jarquin-Moreland is talking college basketball just moments before going onstage as Valli. Apparently, he has Indiana in the NCAA tournament.
3:45 Quick change in the wings, stage right: Nine seconds from cop to accountant.
3:52 Jonathan Smith, aka Smitty, the conductor, takes a rare break. It's a luxurious two minutes. That's not even enough time for a trip to the bathroom.
4:12 It's time for another big run when the four boys dash through the basement to get from stage left to stage right. All you can hear is the thunder of footsteps roaring past. Now, it's a race to the finish.
4:27 The backup singers stand in the wings, shooting the breeze with each other while keeping one ear on the show for their cue. They never miss a beat.
4:30 The crowd erupts during the musical's explosive finale, the showstopping "Who Loves You." Afterward, the audience is elated, the cast spent. The actors fly off the stage, scrub the those thick layers of stage makeup off their faces and jump into their street clothes.
4:49 Exit stage left. Jersey boys and girls hit the street to soak up a little R & R. This is time to grab dinner, hit the gym or Skype with family and friends back home.
Of course, they can't go very far before heading back to the theater to do it all again. The cast gets three hours off; the crew gets only 90 minutes. The countdown begins to the evening show.
Contact Karen D'Souza at 408-271-3772. Read her at www.mercurynews.com/karen-dsouza, follow her at Twitter.com/karendsouza4 and like her at Facebook.com/dsouzatheaterpage.
'Jersey boys'
Through: April 28
Where: Curran Theatre,
445 Geary St.,
San Francisco
Tickets: $45-$125 (subject to change), 888-746-1799,


text:
Teen killed in motorcycle wreck
Published: Tuesday, October 15, 2013 at 2:56 p.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, October 16, 2013 at 8:55 a.m.
A local teenager died in a motorcycle crash on his way home from school Tuesday, Houma Police said.
Gregory Songe, an Ellender High School student lost control and crashed into a cement culvert about 2:30 p.m. near of Moffet and Calloway roads, authorities said.
No drug or alcohol use is suspected but toxicology tests, required by state law in all fatal crashes, are pending.
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.


text:
JavaFX @ SXSW
By jacki decoster on Mar 06, 2009
The JavaFX team is heading down to Austin, TX next week for South By Southwest Interactive - March 13-17th. Here's a snapshot of the events and activities we'll be participating in:
- Visit the JavaFX App Lounge on the tradeshow floor (Booth #'s
305/307/404/406) where you can see JavaFX in action on both PCs &
mobile devices. You can also come and mingle with the brains behind
JavaFX during the SXSW Booth/Pub Crawl, Sunday, March 15, 2009 4pm-6pm
- We Like Big Apps: Developing for All the Screens of Your Life, Saturday March 14, 2009, 5pm-6pm, Room 10 Join this vibrant panel of creative Java executives and industry luminaries as they discuss the platforms, tools, tips and tricks that offer distinct advantages for web designers and developers who are seeking to stand out from the crowd.
- Eric Klein, VP of Java marketing at Sun moderates this session featuring:
- Peyton Lindley, executive director of UX design and technology, EffectiveUI;
- Bill Maggs, head of developer and partner engagement, Sony Ericsson;
- Nizar Alibhoy, CEO, Telepop
And because it wouldn't be SXSW without parties - you don't want to miss the first ever Fusion Interactive and Film party - sponsored by JavaFX and Whrrl - Monday, March 16, 2009 8pm-10pm @ Red Eye Fly.
If you're going to SXSW you should definitely stop by one of these events & meet the JavaFX team. Hope to see you there!


text:
Is it only me, or does anyone else have issues where the PS3MS is really slow when browsing folders? Even a folder with only 20 files in it takes a long time to appear, usually the first ten appear after 10 seconds or so and then the next ten appear after a few more seconds.
Playing music is also really slow, takes up to a minute to load and play an MP3 file.
Gone back to TVersity at the moment since the PS3MS is so unresponsive as to be unusable.
Any tips for speeding it up? (BTW: TVeristy does not suffer from this performance issue.)


text:
augeydoggy wrote:Thx. Prior to switching to UMS, I totally uninstalled PMS. But I notice that the UMS wrapper.conf (I have UMS installed as a service) already sets the heap as wrapper.java.maxmemory=768, so that may indeed be the solution for other PMS users with this problem, since UMS seems to be working well for me.
Return to General Help and Support
Users browsing this forum: Yahoo [Bot] and 4 guests


text:
LETTER: Secular humanism urges action
Published: Friday, December 28, 2012 at 3:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, December 27, 2012 at 11:36 p.m.
Dear Editor: In his column claiming that the solution to mass killings with assault weapons is "unclear," Robert DeWitt asks, "Without God, from where does morality come?" I would like to offer Mr. DeWitt the answer that my father offered me: secular humanism.
Secular humanists seek truth and ethical action through reason, science, philosophy and social justice. We reject blind acceptance of dogma or superstition, including the idea that humans are inherently good or evil. DeWitt claims that in order to prevent killings, we need to "change the heart of mankind."
These are empty words that will not bring back the thousands of people killed by handguns in America each year or prevent the killing of more people. Please, Mr. DeWitt, abandon your dogmatic rhetoric and seek real change in the form of rational action, such as banning assault weapons and advocating for better mental health care.
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.


text:
- Dora the Explorer (7)
- Team Umizoomi (3)
- The Fresh Beat Band (1)
- Max & Ruby (1)
- Go, Diego, Go! (2)
- Ni Hao, Kai-lan (5)
- The Backyardigans (5)
- Wonder Pets! (3)
- Blue's Clues (2)
- Yo Gabba Gabba! (6)
- More Shows (3)
Kids will love Tyrone's chocolate chip eyes, fruit chew antlers, and peanut butter goodness.
Catch the Backyardigans on Nick Jr.
Place a piece of wax paper on a cookie sheet. Heat the candy melting wafers in the microwave until melted, about 30 seconds to 1 minute, stirring often. Spoon into a resealable bag. Snip a very small corner and pipe antler shapes freehand on the wax paper. (Make two antlers per cupcake.) Let the candies dry until set, for about 5 minutes.
Tint one can of the vanilla frosting green. Spoon 1 cup of the green frosting into a pastry bag fitted with a small star tip; set aside. Spoon 1/4 cup of the remaining frosting into a resealable bag; set aside. Tint the remaining frosting orange.
Trim 1/4 inch on one short side of the peanut butter cookie using a serrated knife. Place the cookies on a wire rack placed over a wax-paper-lined sheet pan. Heat the orange frosting in a microwave-proof measuring cup for 5 seconds, or until it's the texture of slightly whipped cream. (Do not overheat!) Pour the frosting over the cookies to cover completely. Reheat the excess if necessary. Let the cookies dry for about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile frost the tops of the cupcakes with the green frosting. Transfer the cookies to the center of each cupcake. Pipe several patches of "grass" with the frosting in the pastry bag with the star tip.
The trimmed end is the mouth side. Pipe dots of the vanilla frosting for the eyes and attach the mini chips, flat-side up. Add a small dot of vanilla frosting onto the chocolate chips. Cut each piece of fruit chew in half crosswise for the ears and attach at the top of his head. Peel the antlers from the wax paper and place them next to the ears. Pipe red hair at the top of the head. Pipe the nostrils, mouth, and eyebrows with the brown tube frosting. Continue with the remaining cupcakes and ingredients.
This peach-y treat is sure to please your loved one!
This fruity snack is pear-y delicious!
What beats a cupcake? A cupcake topped with Austin!
Bake up Backyardigans by the dozen. Here's Uniqua!
Make way for this Tasha-licious cupcake treat
Making Pablo is a piece of cake
Party Pablo-style! Even his hat tastes delicious
Like magic, these yummy cupcakes will disappear into thin air!
Be like a brave bunny & bake this easy recipe with your little rabbit!
Dora takes the cake. And in this case, she IS the cake!
Surprise party guests with this pair of costume-clad bunnies
What's hiding under that sheet? One fin-tastic treat!
Bake up a perfect party cake for your Peppa fan!
On a mission for an umirrific cake? It's Bot to the rescue!
Bake a cake to look just like your kid's favorite pattern-powered Umi friend!
Shape a cake to look like Geo!
Little guppies will flip for this funny take on dessert!
Bake the cake and top it off with Molly and Gil!
These fetchin' cupcakes will stand out at your little guppy's next party!
Create bakery-worthy cupcakes that look like Max & Ruby
Try this tasty Kai-lan Halloween treat--it will never go extinct!
Turn plain pound cake into bite-sized cake pops that look like Little Fish!
Here's a fresh cake that will take center stage at your next party!
Charm loved ones with Dora's dainty cupcake rings on Valentine's Day!
Roll out the red carpet for the cutest cupcakes around!
Little dragons everywhere will love Rintoo's too cute Halloween cupcake!
Get your party started with Dino Dan & these delicious treats!
Count on your little baker to sort out the candies in this terrific Tolee treat!
Take your little Umizoomi fan for a sweet ride with this easy homemade cake
A simple sheet cake gets the royal treatment with frosting & fruit chews!
A cupcake and a simple ice cream cone turn into an edible microphone!
Bake up Boots with your little kitchen helper!
It's a-Bot time for these yummy cupcakes!
Shape up with these math-minded cupcakes from Geo!
Make way for Milli's mighty good cupcakes!
Make a cake fit for a princess!
Follow these 5 simple steps to make a super sweet treat


text:
Did you know?
The highest peak in the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg is Thabana Ntlenyana, at 3 482m.
South Africa features many mountain ranges, none more impressive than KwaZulu-Natal's 200km-long uKhahlamba-Drakensberg escarpment.
With peaks that exceed 3 000m, the Berg – as it's more commonly known – forms the backbone of the Maloti-Drakensberg Transfrontier Conservation and Development Area between the Kingdom of Lesotho and South Africa.
The uKhahlamba ('barrier of spears' in Zulu) is a biodiverse wonderland of river valleys, mountain streams, rugged cliffs, hiking trails and stunning scenery that attracts thousands of holidaymakers every year, mainly during the hotter summer months: December to February.
In winter the mountains are sporadically dusted with snow, transforming designated slopes into a winter playground for snowboarders and skiing enthusiasts.
The rugged landscape, traversed by gorges and rivers, lends itself to numerous outdoor activities such as kayaking, tube-riding, horse riding, 4x4 trails, hiking, hang gliding, mountain climbing, swimming, canyoning, fly-fishing and more.
Hundreds of caves lie hidden in valley folds and in the sandstone cliffs that typify the Drakensberg. It's on the walls of these caves that a living legacy of the nomadic San people is recorded in the form of paintings. An estimated 600 rock art sites feature in excess of 35 000 images depicting humans, animals and the complex spiritual life of the San over 4 000 years. Other 19th and 20th century paintings are attributable to the Bantu.
The Drakensberg is also acknowledged as a RAMSAR site for its high-altitude wetlands, which lie above 2 750 metres, and for its prolific birdlife.
Worth looking out for are the endangered Cape vulture and bearded vulture, that can be seen soaring from the cliff tops near Sani Pass, Sloggett's ice rat and the eland, a large antelope species successfully reintroduced to the region.
Travel tips & Planning info
Who to contact
Tourism KZN
Tel: +27 (0)31 355 7500
Email: email@example.com
How to get here
The Berg is divided into the southern, central and northern regions. The N3 national road between Durban and Johannesburg is well signposted to access routes for each of these regions.
Best time to visit
The summer months, December to February, are best to make the most of long days.
Tours to do
Tour companies offer bus tours packages that include luxury accommodation at top resorts and hotels.
Get around
If you're planning on exploring via the dirt roads of the region, a 4x4 vehicle is advisable.
What will it cost
The mountains comprise many nature reserves and Parks Board-protected areas, for which permits may be purchased on site for a nominal amount.
Length of stay
A weekend minimum, a week or more would be more beneficial and enable a well-rounded experience.
What to pack
Always pack thick socks, sturdy hiking boots, a woollen cap, jacket and water bottle.
Where to stay
Camping, caravanning, hotels, B&Bs, guest lodges and farm stays are plentiful in and around the Berg.
Best buys
A handmade walking stick, made and sold at the roadside by the locals.


text:
Not everyone has the day off today unfortunately, but if you do and you're reading this, you should probably turn around and get yourself to the grill!
No matter what your mood (for burgers? ribs? steak tacos?), we've got these five different Labor Day menus to pick from. Before you fire up the grill though, make sure to wise up on these 10 essential grilling tips from the Food Lab.
Make room on your plate for classic American fare, as well as dips, salads, other nibbles. And to drink? There's nothing wrong with cracking open a cold can of beer, but here's a list of punches, pitchers, and other refreshing drinks if that's more your speed. And for dessert? Grilled desserts as well as labor-free sweets, and more.
You can find us doing all of the above today. Happy Labor Day, SE'rs! See you back here tomorrow.


text:
|Schwerin, Germany
|High School:
|Sportgymnasium Schwerin
2012 OUTDOOR TRACK (FRESHMAN): Best performance came at the Southland Conference Championships (5/11) in the men's 1500m with a personal-best time of 3:52.03 which was good for seventh all-time … it topped his previous record of 3:54.23 set at the Mount SAC Relays (4/29) that is eighth all-time.
2012 INDOOR TRACK (FRESHMAN): Competed in two one-mile events during the season … posted a personal-best time of 4:15.58 to place sixth in the one mile at the Indoor Southland Conference Championships (2/24).
2011 CROSS COUNTRY (FRESHMAN): Ran in five meets during the season … finished seventh at the Islander Splash (9/23) in the men's 8k with a time of 27:04 … posted a personal-best time of 26:13.6 in the men's 8k at the Southland Conference Championships (10/31) … was the third Islander to cross the finish line at the Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival (10/15) in the 10k with a time of 32:01.2.
HIGH SCHOOL: Ran for Klaus-Peter Weippert at Sportgymnasium Schwerin in Schwerin, Germany … posted times of 1:55 in the 800m and 3:56 in the 15:00m during his senior season.
PERSONAL: Born Philipp Baar on June 16, 1992, in Schwerin, Germany … parents are Holger Baar and Margret Pehns … fluent in German … major is management.


text:
The women's event for the 2014 Amgen Tour of California features some of the world's best cyclists, organizers announced Wednesday.
The field includes U.S. champion Evelyn Stevens of Team Specialized-lululemon, who won the tour's individual time trial last year. Other top competitors are UnitedHealthcare's Alison Powers and Mara Abbott, twice the winner of the Giro d'Italia Femminile, world champion Amber Neben of FCS|Zngine, Tina Pic of DNA Cycling and Robin Farina of Spy Giant Ride.
Tour organizers expanded the women's racing to a second day this year by adding a 1.25-mile circuit course Sunday around the State Capitol in Sacramento. The field of 115 riders will begin after the eight-day tour opens Sunday with a 120-mile Stage 1 for the men.
Then 20 women also will compete Monday in Folsom on the same 12.6-mile individual time trial course as the men.
"We are committed to advancing women's cycling in the U.S. and providing a powerful platform, and there is no better way to do that than showcasing so many talented athletes in two different yet equally exciting race days," race director Kristin Bachochin said in a statement.
Bay Area-based Team Tibco is one of the 20 teams entered in the circuit race.
Contact Elliott Almond at 408-920-5865 and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/elliottalmond.


text:
Houston Havoc was formed to promote the enjoyment of competitive softball and the advancement of young ladies. The Houston Havoc coaches support the girls in their continual quest to become world-class leaders in athletics, academics, and life
We are currently looking for a bracket pitcher to fill our roster for the 2013 season.
Pitcher will get maximum pitching time.
Guaranteed to go to State and Nationals.
Please contact Coach Ray Garza at firstname.lastname@example.com or 832-462-0246.
All inquiries are confidential.
Check us out at www.houstonhavocsoftball.com
ACTIVE is the leader in online event registrations from 5k running races and marathons to softball leagues and local events. ACTIVE also makes it easy to learn and prepare for all the things you love to do with expert resources, training plans and fitness calculators.


text:
September 6, 2005
A disaster relief team in the area is packing trailers Tuesday afternoon, getting ready to head to Columbia, Mississippi. News 12 is on your side to show you how the 25 people from Edgefield County plan to help clean up the lives of the people they encounter.
He's seen what a hurricane can do.
"I retired from the power company, worked with hurricanes for 37 years," said Chief Roger Ellis.
Now Edgefield's fire chief is going to see what Katrina left behind.
"We've been informed that it looks like Hugo in Charleston, with no trees and no electricity," Ellis said.
Michael Medlock is going with Chief Ellis. They're both volunteers for the Edgefield Baptist Association's Disaster Relief Team, a group headed to the Gulf Coast.
"Just mass confusion right now, disaster, trees on everything, power out," said Medlock.
They'll do what they can with this equipment they're taking on a trailer, move trees off the tops of houses, clean yards and debris from areas hardest hit. The big goal is to help people like the elderly who can't do the work and those with no insurance.
The 25 volunteers in this unit have seen the pictures on TV. They know what they're getting in to. But in a situation when there's nothing but loss, they're managing to find the bright side of how they change the lives of others.
The group will stay at a church in Columbia, Mississippi on airbeds. Everyday they'll head to different areas of the coast. And even though they'll only work for three days, everything they do will link the communities there to the community they'll come back home to.
The unit leaves Wednesday morning at 5 a.m. and volunteers are taking a trailer with some food and drinks as well. They've already been told they'll probably be going back in a couple of months.


text:
Separate multiple email addresses with a comma.
Note: Your message must be entered as plain text. Special characters, formatting, and HTML code are not supported.
Executive Education
Alumni HUB,
Events, Resources
Recruiting, Partnerships,
Executive Education
Profiles, Centers,
Fields of Study
Our Philosophy &
Gatterbauer, Wolfgang
Assistant Professor of Business Technologies; Xerox Junior Faculty Chair AY 2016-2017
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Phone: 412-268-8642
Harchol-Balter, Mor
Professor of Computer Science, School of Computer Science and by Courtesy, Tepper School of Business
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Phone: 412-268-7893
Lee, Dokyun
Assistant Professor of Business Analytics
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Phone: 412-268-3702
Monroe, Robert T.
Associate Teaching Professor of Business Technologies; Director, Online Hybrid MBA
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Phone: 412-268-5709
Mukhopadhyay, Tridas
Deloitte Consulting Professor of e-Business; Professor of Business Technologies
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Phone: 412-268-2307
Roehrig, Stephen F.
Teaching Professor of Information Systems, Heinz College, and by Courtesy, Tepper School of Business
Email: email@example.com
Phone: 412-268-8783
Singh, Param Vir
Associate Professor of Business Technologies; Carnegie Bosch Junior Faculty Chair
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Phone: 412-268-3585
Telang, Rahul
Professor of Information Systems, Heinz College, and by courtesy, Tepper School of Business
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
Building Bettie, a sport-utility bike
by Byron on Aug. 27, 2006 at 7:43 AM
Our sport-utility project bike, named Bettie, is being built. You can see Pam making a DIY cushion for Xtracycle's SnapDeck, the boxes for the FreeRadical, and Stokemonkey.
Bettie, is a Bike Hugger project to build a sport-utility bike.…» Read More »


text:
Snyder to retire as library director this fall
Published: Tuesday, August 5, 2014 at 11:56 a.m.
Last Modified: Tuesday, August 5, 2014 at 11:56 a.m.
After a quarter century with the Henderson County Public Library, Director Bill Snyder will step down Sept. 30.
County Manager Steve Wyatt announced Snyder's retirement during the Board of Commissioners meeting Monday. Administrative Librarian Trina Rushing will take over as interim director Oct. 1 while a search is conducted for Snyder's replacement.
Snyder has worked for North Carolina public libraries for more than 42 years, beginning in Wilson County. He worked in Sampson County for 14 years before arriving here.
"This has just been a great place to work," Snyder told commissioners. "But I think after 42 years, I won't say I've run out of ideas, (but) I've run out of fresh ones. I think it's time for another generation to take over."
Snyder recalled being interviewed for his current position by former commissioners Chairman Bill Drake more than 25 years ago.
"Since that time, I don't think I've ever worked with a board of county commissioners that wasn't terribly supportive of the library," he said.
Snyder also praised the support he and the library have received from county administrators, library patrons, library board members and the Friends of the Library.
"Twenty-five years? That's hard to believe," said Commissioner Mike Edney. "Well, you've made us proud, and I appreciate what you've done."
After he retires, Snyder said he will be looking forward to "recouping" and "sitting back a little bit," before delving back into volunteering for Henderson County in some capacity.
Assistant County Manager Amy Brantley said Rushing has "played almost every role you can imagine in our library system."
Rushing, who earned her master's degree in library and information studies from UNC-Greensboro, worked as the county's youth services librarian until she became administrative librarian in 2009.
Reach Axtell at 828-694-7860 or firstname.lastname@example.com.
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.


text:
Translation of "pusher" - English-Polish dictionary
(Translation of "pusher" from the Cambridge English–Polish Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)
Get a quick, free translation!
Create and share your own word lists and quizzes for free!
Word of the Day
the person who sits in the back of a rowing boat and controls its direction


text:
Sewer FlushingUnlike the arrangement at home where you can flush it and forget it, on the road you have to take care of the waste you make. That is why you have a black water tank and why campgrounds offer you a place to flush out your sewage. If you have the right tools and valves, the process is relatively painless.
First, make sure your sewer valve is the right fit and of a high quality. Next, learn how to clean out your tank before you fill it up. Take a practice run, so to speak. Invest in a cleaning wand; it will help you to remove any solid debris which is reluctant to vacate your black water tank. That's all it takes and your sewage system will be ready to use every time you need it.


text:
POSITION: Centre
SHOOTS: Left
BIRTHPLACE: Trail, BC, CAN
DRAFTED: EDM: 1998-99 overall
|Last Game: Apr. 11/09 @ Calgary (0-0-0, 0 PIM, E, 18:33)br /> Career Oilers/NHL Stats: 560 GP 120-218-338 366 PIM
Career Hat Tricks: 1 - Jan. 10, 2006 at Pittsburgh (3 goals)br /> Career Penalty Shots: 0
Season Highs: Goals: 1-16x, Last - Mar. 19 at COL; Assists: 2 - 9x, Last - Apr. 10 vs CGY; Points: 3 - 3x, Last - Apr. 10 vs CGY (1-2-3); PIM: 5, Nov. 23 at Stl
Multiple Games: Goals - 0; Assists - 9; Points - 11
Shootout Goals-Attempts: 2008-09: 0-1; Career: 5-9; 3 SDG)br /> - Scored 17-36-53 with 39 PIM & was +7 in 80 GP.
- 2nd on Oilers scoring list & was 4th in goals and 3rd in assists.
- Won 53.9% of his faceoffs (947-1756) to lead Oilers
- Finished 1st in NHL with 1756 faceoffs & 1st in faceoffs won with 947.
- Has established new Oilers single-season record for most face-offs and face-offs won. Won 7 of 14 faceoffs at PHO (Mar. 26) to establish a new Oilers record for most face-off wins in a season and set the new team record for most face-offs in a season at ANA (Mar.27). Todd Marchant held the previous Edmonton records with 843 wins and 1593 face-offs in 1999-00.
- Won 23 of 32 face-offs (71.88%) vs Calgary (Feb. 21). The 23 face-off wins fell one shy of the team record of 24 (Doug Weight, Mar. 28/99 vs SJ).
- Ranked 11th in TOI among NHL forwards, averaging 21:21 minutes per game.
- Scored points (1-6-7) in 5 of his last 9 games (Mar. 26-Apr. 11).
- Scored points (7-17-24) in 18 of his last 37 games (Jan. 16-Feb. 5 & Feb. 11-Apr. 11).
- Scored PPA at PHO (Mar. 26) for his 332nd career Oilers/NHL point, moving past Craig MacTavish into sole possession of 13th place on Oilers all-time scoring list.
- Returned to the lineup vs MTL (Feb. 11) after missing 2 games (Feb. 7-8) due to lower body injury and registered his 7th multiple point game with two assists.
- Scored two assists vs Dallas for 6th MPG. 2nd assist was his 200th career Oilers/NHL assist.
- Became 14th player in Oilers history to score 300 career points with 1-2-3 at STL (Nov. 29). 300th point was a goal at 2:59 of 3rd period on Manny Legace.
- Played 500th Oilers NHL game vs Detroit (Nov. 20).
- Led Oilers forwards in ice time & has led Edmonton forwards in ice time in 62 of 82 games, including season-high 28:05 vs Anaheim (Dec. 19).
- 8 of his 16 goals & 21 of his 53 points came on the powerplay.
- Had six-game scoring streak (2-7-9; Nov. 26-Dec. 6) ended vs Florida (Dec. 11).
- Scored season-high 1-2-3 at Stl (Nov. 29) & at CBJ (Nov. 18).
Finished the season appearing in a career-high 81 games with 34 points (13G, 21A), and 24 PIM...had seven multi-point games...had three assists and named 1st star on Oct. 17 vs NSH... scored 1st goal of season on Oct. 25 vs VAN...had a goal and two assists on Nov. 19 vs CHI...scored twice on Nov. 22 @ NSH...had a goal and assist on Nov. 25 @ MIN...had 2 assists on Dec. 2 vs CBJ...scored his 1st goal since Nov. 25 on Dec. 29 @ MIN...had a goal and assist on Feb. 11 @ OTT...collected a goal and assist on Mar. 5 @ ANA.
Finished the season appearing in 47 games with 27 points (9G, 18A), -1 and 46 PIM...was T-7th on team in scoring...had four multi-point games...named 13th Captain in Oilers history... scored a goal on Oct. 7 vs CGY...scored 2nd goal of the year on Oct. 10 vs FLA...continued his point streak with an assist on Oct. 14 @ MIN...collected his 4th point in first 5 games with a goal on Oct. 21 vs MIN...posted 2 assists on Oct. 29 @ CHI...left game early on Dec. 7 vs ANA with knee injury...returned from injury on Jan. 20 vs DAL...posted 2 assists on Jan. 25 @ PHX...had a goal and 2 assists and was named 1st star on Feb. 15 vs DAL...had an assist and 20 PIM on Feb. 17 vs MTL...had 2 assists including his 400th career NHL point on Mar. 3 vs CBJ...injured on March 13 @ PIT and missed the remainder of the season.
Finished the season with 36 points (13G, 23A), -29 and 51 PIM...was 5th on team in scoring, T-5th in assists...had five multi-point games...had 16 points in last 22 games of the season...scored a goal and added two assists on Oct. 29 vs. DET...posted an assist and had a season high 26:16 of ice time on Nov. 16 @ CBJ...scored a goal and added an assist on Nov. 23 vs. PHX...scored the shootout winner on Dec. 5 @ DAL...scored a goal and the shootout winner (2nd straight game) and was 2nd star on Dec. 7 @ FLA...scored the GWG on Dec. 11 @ STL... played in his 600th NHL game on Jan. 7 vs. CBJ...scored GTG and was named game's 2nd star on Mar. 11 @ MTL...scored a goal and an assist and was +2 on Mar. 21 vs. SJ...had 2 assists on Apr. 5 vs. MIN.
Finished the season with 53 points (17G, 36A), 39 PIM and a +7 in 80 GP...was 2nd on Oilers in scoring, 3rd in assists and 4th in goals...won 53.9% of his faceoffs to lead the team...finished 1st in NHL with 1756 faceoffs & 1st in faceoffs won with 947...has established new Oilers single-season record for most faceoffs and faceoffs won. Won 7 of 14 faceoffs at PHX (Mar. 26) to establish a new Oilers record for most faceoff wins in a season and set the new team record for most faceoffs in a season at ANA (Mar.27). Todd Marchant held the previous Edmonton records with 843 wins and 1593 faceoffs in 1999-00...ranked 11th in TOI among NHL forwards, averaging 21:21 minutes per game...had 11 MP games and 9 MA games...8 of his 16 goals & 21 of his 53 points came on the powerplay...scored season-high 1-2-3 at STL (Nov. 29) & at CBJ (Nov. 18)... had six-game scoring streak (2-7-9; Nov. 26-Dec. 6) ended vs FLA (Dec. 11)...played 500th Oilers NHL game vs DET (Nov. 20)...became 14th player in Oilers history to score 300 career points with 1-2-3 at STL (Nov. 29). 300th point was a goal at 2:59 of 3rd period on Manny Legace...scored two assists vs DAL for 6th MPG. 2nd assist was his 200th career Oilers/NHL assist...scored PPA at PHX (Mar. 26) for his 332nd career Oilers/NHL point, moving past Craig MacTavish into sole possession of 13th place on Oilers all-time scoring list.
2007- 08:
Despite missing 29 games due to injury, he finished 2nd in scoring on the Oilers with 21-29-50 in 53 games...was +1 with 30 PIM...scored points in 30 of 53 GP & was plus or even in 35 of 53 GP...averaged 22:13 minutes of ice time per game to finish 1st among Oilers forwards & 3rd on the team...led forwards in ice time in 43 of his 53 games, including season-high 26:01 at Florida (Jan. 24)...one of four alternate captains for the Oilers...was 2nd in goals multiple point games (15), 4th in assists & PPG (6)...placed on NHL IRL on Feb. 5 with a left shoulder injury and missed 29 games (Feb. 1-Apr. 3)...underwent surgery on the shoulder on Feb. 6...named to Western Conference All-Star Team on Jan. 10 for his 1st NHL All-Star Game appearance...was scoreless with five shots & was -2 in 17:25 of ice time at Atlanta...won the fastest skater award in the Dodge/NHL SuperSkills competition on Jan. 26, posting a time of 4.673 in the preliminary round to advance to the final, where he beat Brian Campbell of the Buffalo Sabres... reached the 20-goal milestone for the 2nd time in his career with two goals at WAS (Jan. 17)...scored his 100th career Oilers/NHL goal vs NYI (Jan. 7) to become 15th player in Oilers history to score 100-plus goals... moved into 15th place on the Oilers career scoring list with an assist at CGY (Oct. 20)...is five points shy of 14th place held by Dave Hunter (119-171-280... had career-high eight-game scoring streak (6-7-13; Nov. 28-Dec. 11)...the streak was the 2nd longest of the season by an Oiler...also put together a six-game scoring streak (5-7-12; Jan. 5-17)... scored points (5-10-15) in 8 of 11 games (Jan. 5-29), with multiple-point games in six of the eight games... was 5-7 on shootouts & had 3 deciding goals (Nov. 20 vs VAN, Dec. 11 at STL & Jan. 24 at FLA)...registered 300th career Oilers/NHL PIM vs PHI (Oct. 6).
Scored 16-35-51 with 56 PIM and was -22 in 80 GP...4th on Oilers scoring list & was 3rd in goals, 2nd in assists & 2nd in GWG...led Oilers in takeaways with 75...tied his single-season high for games played with 80 (2003-04)... won 50.6% of his face-offs to place 4th on Oilers... scored five GWG, including three of the team's final seven GWG of the season...3rd on Oilers with 11 multiple-point games...scored 200th career Oilers/NHL point with an assist at PHX (Dec. 21) and played in his 400th career Oilers/NHL game at COL (Feb. 3)...twice had nine shots on goal; Jan. 2 vs FLA & Mar. 1 at MIN.
Established single-season career-highs in goals, assists and points, finishing 2nd on Oilers scoring list with 22-51-73 in 79 GP...1st in GWG (5), 2nd in assists (51), 3rd in goals (22) & 2nd in PIM (85)...8th in NHL in shorthanded scoring with 3-3-6, 19th in SHG & 6th in SHA...scored 1st career Oilers/NHLhattrickin3-1winatPIT(Jan.11)...scored4assistsvsDET(Nov.17) toestablishsingle-game career highs for assists & points...all 4 assists came in the 3rd period, tying an Oilers team record for most assists in a period...registered his 1st career 20-goal season when he scored GWG in OT vs CGY (Mar. 16)... scored his 100th career Oilers/NHL assist vs OTT (Jan. 14)...finished tied for 4th place in NHL playoff scoring race & was 2nd on Oilers scoring list with 7-12-19 in 24 games as Oilers advanced to Stanley Cup Final.
Played with Mora IK of the Swedish Elitserien...led Mora and tied for third place in league scoring race with 19-27-46 in 50 games...finished 5th in the Elitserien in goals and was 6th in PIM (117).
Scored 15-25-40 with 73 PIM in 80 games...4th on Oilers scoring list, 6th in goals & 4th in assists...2nd on Oilers in SH scoring (2-1-3)...named Oilers Outstanding Defensive Forward... scored his 100th career Oilers/NHL point with a goal at ANA (Feb. 25).
6th on Oilers scoring list with 12-21-33 in 78 games ...played in the 2003 NHL YoungStars Game at Florida (Feb. 1)...involved in nine GWG (3-6- 9)...tied for Oilers post-season scoring lead with 3-1-4 & 6 PIM in 6 playoff games.
Reached the 20-point mark for 1st time in career, scoring 8-14-22 with 18 PIM in 61 games...2000-01: Scored 9-7-16 with 10 PIM and was +8 in 49 games with Edmonton in his rookie season...15th among NHL rookies in goals (9) and 7th in plus/minus (+8)... scored his first Oilers/NHL goal at DAL (Dec. 13/00)...made his Oilers/NHL Stanley Cup Playoff debut vs DAL in 2001 Western Conference Semi-Final...began the 2000-01 season in Hamilton (AHL) and was recalled from the Bulldogs on Dec. 4...was Hamilton's leading scorer at time of his recall with 10-18-28 with 19 PIM and –7 in 24 games...named to Canadian All-Star Team for the 2000-01 AHL All-Star Game, but did not play due to his call-up by the Oilers...named AHL's Rookie-of-the-Month for November, 2000.
Played four seasons (1996-97 to 1999-00) with Michigan State (CCHA), scoring 50-102-152 with 190 PIM in 155 career games with the Spartans...a 1999-00 Hobey Baker Award finalist, he was also an NCAA All-American & was named CCHA Player of the Year & CCHA Best Defensive Forward...won CCHA scoring title in 1999-00 with 8-36-44.
Earned his 2nd consecutive gold medal with Team Canada at 2004 IIHF World Championships in Prague...tied for 10th in tournament scoring race with 3-4-7 in 9 GP & was +4 with 8 PIM...one of six Oilers to help Team Canada win the gold medal at the 2003 World Championships in Finland...made his international debut, scoring 3-4-7 in 9 GP to finish 3rd in scoring on Team Canada.


text:
FBI interviews Exeter woman about possible sighting of Boston bomb suspects
EXETER — FBI agents were in town Monday to investigate a tip about the two alleged Boston Marathon bombers possibly being seen in Exeter a day before the attack, according to the tipster and another member of the community. Exeter resident Mary Alice LaPoint said two FBI agents came to her home Monday to interview her about a "strange" encounter she had with two men in Exeter on April 14.
Post a comment
You must sign in before you can post comments. If you are experiencing issues with your account please e-mail firstname.lastname@example.com.


text:
Today: Apple's (AAPL) dominant lead in the tablet market shrinks, but iPad Mini's debut puts it on the road to recovery. Also: Netflix (NFLX) and Tesla surge on Wall Street and Instagram transitions to something new.
Apple's tablet market share slides, but weekend iPad sales could help
Apple's tablet dominance with the iPad was challenged like never before in the third quarter of 2012, with Samsung posting the largest market share by a competitor since Apple jump-started the segment with its iconic offering.
IDC reported Monday that Apple's tablet market share dropped dramatically from the second quarter to the third -- the Cupertino tech giant declined from 65.5 percent of the tablet market to 50.4 percent. Apple's share in the second quarter dropped from preliminary estimates as well: IDC originally reported that iPads accounted for 68.2 percent of all tablets shipped in the second quarter.
Hot on its heels was Samsung, which took a giant leap from a 9.6 percent share in the second quarter to an 18.4 percent share in the third; and Amazon, which nearly doubled its tablets shipped from 1.25 million to 2.4 million and increased its share from 5 percent to 9 percent.
"Samsung took advantage of an opportunity in the second quarter," Ryan Reith, manager of IDC's Mobile Device Trackers program, said in Monday's news release, later adding "Its growth to 18.4 percent of worldwide market share during the quarter represents the first time a competitor has attained this level of share since the original launch of the iPad."
IDC posited that Apple took a slide because consumers were waiting for the iPad Mini, which was announced last month and released Friday.
"We believe a sizable percentage of consumers interested in buying an Apple tablet sat out the third quarter in anticipation of an announcement about the new iPad Mini," Tom Mainelli, research director for tablets at IDC, said in Monday's news release.
Apple's retort to questions about iPad sales was announcing a record launch weekend for the iPad Mini, which also included the introduction of a fourth-generation full-sized iPad.
"We set a new launch weekend record and practically sold out of iPad Minis. We're working hard to build more quickly to meet the incredible demand," CEO Tim Cook said in Apple's announcement.
However, Apple needed a disclaimer to claim its record -- the 3 million iPads sold in the first three days of availability matches the total sold when the third-generation iPad launched, so Apple announced that it had set a record for sales of Wi-Fi-only devices. Those units were also not broken down by type between the iPad Mini, fourth-generation iPad and any iPad 2 units sold, while the 3 million total from the last launch included only the third-generation iPad.
Apple's Friday launch was noticeably less jubilant and crowded than previous launch events, as consumers seemed to suffer from fatigue brought on by Apple's shortened product life cycle. Apple still sold 3 million iPads in three days, however, equaling more tablets sold in three days than Amazon sold in three months, according to the IDC report.
That leaves one big question for analysts and investors: Will the iPad Mini be able to restore the iPad's dominance in the tablet market during the all-important holiday quarter?
Analysts expect Apple to sell more than 20 million tablets in the current quarter, with the introduction of an iPad Mini that connects to cellular networks expected to help drive early sales up even more. Still even with 3 million sales under its belt, "There's still a lot of wood to chop in the quarter," Raymond James analyst Tavis McCourt told Reuters. McCourt expects Apple to sell 23 million iPads this quarter.
Even if Apple does reach the stratospheric heights predicted by analysts -- who have issued forecasts ranging as high as 25 million tablets for the fourth quarter, according to reports -- it faces much tougher competition. Microsoft's Surface tablet seeks to battle iPad in the premium-tablet market it has always controlled, and Google's (GOOG) Nexus 7 and Amazon's Kindle Fire HD offer tablets roughly the same size as the iPad Mini with much lower price tags. The Kindle Fire HD launched with just two weeks to go in the third quarter, leaving a lot of room for growth in the fourth quarter, especially with the expansion to foreign markets.
IDC analyst Mainelli thinks Apple will have "a very good quarter," but still sees issues that could keep Apple from climbing back to its dominant position.
"We believe the Mini's relatively high $329 starting price leaves plenty of room for Android vendors to build upon the success they achieved in the third quarter," he wrote.
Apple bull Gene Munster, senior research analyst with Piper Jaffray, believes that this quarter's sales won't tell the whole story, no matter what the result, as the iPad Mini gains greater acceptance.
"The true test," he told Mercury News reporter Patrick May, "will take a few more quarters to play itself out."
Apple stock, which dropped 17.7 percent between the Sept. 21 launch of the iPhone 5 and the end of trading Friday, gained 1.4 percent Monday to close at $584.62.
Tesla, Netflix increase to help tech stocks gain
Apple's gain helped Wall Street increase slightly Monday, with all three of the major U.S. stock indexes advancing, led by the tech-heavy Nasdaq at 0.6 percent. The SV150 index of Silicon Valley's largest tech companies also gained 0.6 percent, pushed along by two companies that have faced titanic doubts in the past year, Netflix and Tesla.
Netflix fought back Monday against activist investor Carl Icahn, who announced last week that he had purchased almost 10 percent of the Los Gatos video-on-demand company. Icahn's investment immediately sparked acquisition rumors that have long floated around Netflix, but the company's board sought to push against any kind of hostile takeover with a "poison pill" maneuver.
The move means Netflix would flood the market with new shares if an individual investor collected more than 10 percent of the company without board approval, prohibiting a takeover without the company's approval. Icahn, whose investment spurred a large jump in Netflix's stock price last week, did not approve of the measure, calling it "poor corporate governance" in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The back-and-forth didn't damage Netflix shares, however, as they moved up 1.7 percent to $78.24, the stock's highest closing price since late July.
Palo Alto electric car company Tesla, which has been a whipping boy for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, stuck to its previously lowered expectations for Model S production in 2012 in its earnings report Monday, while CEO Elon Musk defended his company against detractors.
"Several months ago, I said I thought that the coming several months would be really the test for Tesla. And it's the classic phrase of 'going through the Valley of Death' -- and I feel as that we are through that valley at this point," Musk said.
Tesla posted a third-quarter loss of $110.8 million, or $1.05 a share, compared with a loss of $105.6 million and $1 a share in the second quarter. Investors still think highly of the company, and sent its shares up 8.9 percent Monday to a close of $31.50.
Instagram moves to Web, looks to future with big data thoughts
In consumer Web news, Facebook's most famous acquisition is adding a Web portal, and it is mighty familiar. Instagram, which has flourished as a mobile app, is developing a Web presence that should be available within days, and greatly resembles its owner.
Instagram's Web portal will be separate from Facebook's, and there seems to be no integration between the two as of yet. Facebook purchased the San Francisco photo-sharing service for $1 billion earlier this year, though that price dropped to about $715 million as part of it was paid in Facebook stock that devalued before the deal was complete.
Instagram co-founder and CEO Kevin Systrom also jumped into the public eye with a talk at a GigaOM conference in which he said that the immense use of the service by those in the path of Hurricane Sandy -- 800,000 pictures were posted with the hashtag #Sandy, he said -- that it was obvious Instagram needed some big-data elements.
"Instagram isn't necessarily a photo company, or a communications company as I like to say, we're also going to be a big-data company," he said at the San Francisco event Monday.
Facebook shares gained 0.3 percent Monday to close at $21.25.
Silicon Valley tech stocks
Up: Tesla, Nvidia, SunPower (SPWRA), Workday, Applied Materials, Palo Alto Networks, Juniper, Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), Netflix, EA, Yahoo (YHOO), Apple, eBay (EBAY), VMware, NetApp
Down: Yelp, Zynga, Splunk, Google, Symantec, Adobe (ADBE), Intuit
The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index: Up 17.53, or 0.59 percent, to 2,999.66
The blue chip Dow Jones industrial average: Up 19.28, or 0.15 percent, to 13,112.44
And the widely watched Standard & Poor's 500 index: Up 3.06, or 0.22 percent, to 1,417.26
Check in weekday afternoons for the 60-Second Business Break, a summary of news from Mercury News staff writers, The Associated Press, Bloomberg News and other wire services. Contact Jeremy C. Owens at 408-920-5876; follow him at Twitter.com/mercbizbreak.