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Tallahassee, FL (AP) -- An Escambia county man is the latest Floridian to contract meningitis from a tainted steroid shot.
State health officials said Monday that the 55-year-old man is the 18th person in the state to contract fungal meningitis. The nationwide outbreak of this rare disease is linked to patients seeking pain relief received contaminated steroid injections.
The injections all came from contaminated lots of steroids made by the New England Compounding Center in Massachusetts. An investigation of how the medicine became tainted is underway.
Three people in Florida have died from fungal meningitis after receiving the shots. Officials say the incubation period of the disease is 7 to 81 days after receiving the shots.
Nationwide, 297 people have contracted meningitis in 16 states and 23 have died.
Tallahassee, FL (AP) - October 19, 2012 - The number of confirmed fungal meningitis cases in Florida continues to grow.
Florida health officials announced Friday that there are now 17 confirmed cases in the state connected to the use of contaminated steroids used for back pain.
There are four new confirmed cases. Three of the people suffering from fungal meningitis are from Marion County and the other person is from Escambia County.
The state reported earlier this week that three people have died as a result of the fungal meningitis outbreak. Nationwide the death toll has risen to 20 people.
Meningitis is caused by the inflammation of protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord. Tainted spinal injections would directly put germs into that part of the body.
St. Petersburg, FL (AP) -- A third Floridian who contracted meningitis from a tainted steroid injection has died.
State health officials said Wednesday that the 78-year-old Marion County man received the injection on Aug. 28 and died earlier this week.
Also, a 13th Floridian has contracted meningitis due to the contaminated steroid.
People in 15 states have been affected by the tainted medicine from a Massachusetts compounding pharmacy. Federal health officials say 15 people have died.
Meanwhile, another Marion County meningitis victim has filed the first lawsuit in Florida against the Massachusetts pharmacy that distributed tainted steroid injections.
Vlinda York's attorney filed a lawsuit this week against the New England Compounding Center.
York was treated at the Marion Pain Management Center with two tainted steroid injections in August.
Tallahassee, FL (AP) -- Two more Floridians have been diagnosed with fungal meningitis after receiving contaminated steroid injections.
The Department of Health said Tuesday that a 74-year-old woman who was treated in Marion County and a 79-year-old woman who received the injection in Escambia County are the latest cases.
So far, 12 people in Florida have contracted fungal meningitis. Two of those people have died.
This outbreak of fungal meningitis has been linked to steroid shots for back pain. The medication, made by a specialty pharmacy in Massachusetts, has been recalled.
People in 15 states have been affected. Federal health officials say there have been 212 cases of fungal meningitis, including 15 deaths.
Tallahassee, FL - October 13, 2012
Florida now has ten confirmed cases of fungal meningitis.
The Florida Department of Health confirmed Saturday that Escambia County has a case of fungal meningitis associated with contaminated steroid injections from the New England Compounding Center.
A 47-year old man who received treatment from Pain Consultants of West Florida in Pensacola was injected with one of the tainted shots.
Six facilities in Florida have received and used the contaminated injections. Florida Surgeon General and Secretary of Health Dr. John Armstrong says they do not anticipate "more patients will be affected" as the investigation continues.
Health officials say the number of cases nationwide have sickened at least 184 people, including 14 deaths across 12 states. The outbreak has prompted calls for tighter federal regulation of compounding pharmacies.
Orlando, FL - October 11, 2012 - An 83-year-old in Marion County is the second person in the state to die from a national fungal meningitis outbreak.
Florida Department of Health officials on Thursday said that the man, who was not named due to health privacy laws, developed meningitis after he was injected with one of the contaminated lots of steroid medicine from the New England Compounding Center.
A 70-year old man from Marion County died in July, before the discovery of the contaminated medication.
State Surgeon General and Secretary of Health Dr. John Armstrong says there have been seven cases of meningitis in Florida so far, with the latest person diagnosed identified as a 48-year-old man from Marion County.
Armstrong says health officials have identified 735 of the 775 people in Florida who received contaminated injections.
Tallahassee, FL (AP) - State health officials say they've confirmed the first Florida death linked to a national meningitis outbreak.
The Florida Department of Health reported Tuesday that a 70-year old man died in July, before the discovery of the contaminated steroid medication authorities have linked to the infection. Officials say there are now six total cases in Florida, all in Marion County. More than 100 cases have been reported nationally, with about a dozen deaths.
Gov. Rick Scott said earlier Tuesday that authorities had contacted nearly 700 of the 1,185 patients linked to facilities that got tainted medicine in Marion, Miami-Dade, Orange and Escambia counties.
Health officials say as many as 13,000 people may have received tainted shots, and about 17,700 single-dose vials sent to 23 states have been recalled.


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iHeartRadio @ Lollapalooza 2013: Robert DeLong
Robert DeLong played on the first day of Lollapalooza, flew to Los Angeles for a set and then flew back to Chicago for more Lollapalooza action! He talks to Kennedy about discovering his Wikipedia page and being more than a DJ.
Listen to Robert DeLong on iHeartRadio

subset: commoncrawl


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NC GreenPower
Green power is electric energy generated using environmentally friendly renewable and reusable resources, such as solar, wind, biomass and water. You can contribute to the advancement of these technologies through Duke Energy and NC GreenPower, a non-profit subsidiary of Advanced Energy.
Corporate Sponsorships
Supporting NC GreenPower is a cost-effective way for companies like yours to send an ongoing positive message that can improve customer and employee loyalty, earn community respect, and be recognized for supporting a statewide effort to protect the environment. For more information on how your company can benefit from providing a corporate sponsorship for NC GreenPower, please visit the NC GreenPower website.
Sign up today to build a greener future!
Three Ways to Enroll
- Contact your Business Relations Manager.
- Complete the online application.
- Or call 1-800-943-7585.
More Information
Duke Energy offers two products under the NC GreenPower Program:
NC GreenPower
Allows customers to make a monthly contribution toward one or more blocks (100 kilowatt-hours per block) of energy for $4 per block. The amount will be added to your monthly electric bill. These blocks of energy are produced from wind, solar or biomass sources.
NC Renewable Energy
Offers an alternative for large volume consumers who purchase at least 100 blocks (10,000 kWh) each month at $2.50 per block. The amount is added to the monthly electric bill. This product features energy produced from a wider range of sources.
- Participation in the NC GreenPower Program is completely voluntary.
- You must have a North Carolina Duke Energy electric account for monthly contributions to be charged to your bill. If you are a customer of another electric utility in North Carolina and want to participate in the NC GreenPower Program, please contact your local electric company.
- NC GreenPower Program contributions will be itemized and shown as an additional amount on your monthly bill.
- Nonpayment of NC GreenPower Program contributions may result in removal from the program.
One-Time Contributions
If you'd like to make a one-time or direct contribution to NC GreenPower, please contact NC GreenPower directly. Duke Energy will collect NC GreenPower contributions from our customers and disburse ALL contributions to Advanced Energy monthly.


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Transmission is a free, lightweight BitTorrent client. It features a simple, intuitive interface on top on an efficient, cross-platform back-end.
Transmission sets initial preferences so things "Just Work", while advanced features like watch directories, bad peer blocking, and the web interface can be configured with just a few clicks. Macworld put it this way: "It's fast, it's extremely lightweight, and â" even though it's available for a variety of platforms â" it behaves just as you'd expect a Mac program to."
Transmission supports full encryption, file selection, a web-based interface, groups, peer exchange, automatic port forwarding, webseeds, watch directories, tracker editing, global and per-torrent speed limits, and more.
Its code is freely available online and is licensed under either the GNU Public License v2 or the MIT License. The development team welcomes anyone who is interested in contributing code, documentation, translations, or other help.
Required OS: not specified
Tags: bittorrent , download , torrent , p2p , beta , file , share , client
99 Opinions
I was definitely skeptical about making the change from Azureus--with its feature-galore repertoires. However, implementing PeerGuardian with Transmission..its safe to say I will be removing Azureus from my machine ;)
Only gripes I have is I wish there would be a Filter for showing "Currently Active" Transfers..and not just ones that are "Seeded". Also, a prompt of what files to select from a torrent a la Azureus would be nice, instead of adding it, then using the Inspector to uncheck what you don't want.
I just upload the new 0.81 version of the software, and there's no problem any more.
Furthermore, my speed is better than with the earlier.
Nice !
Beautiful app! Clean and speedy! Just the way that mac'ers love! It has few features but I think it's designed for quick downloads from open torrents! I use this!
The new version has eliminated any need for any other torrent clients on my mac.
buggy! has crashed already three times.
I love the versatility of this Torrent utility. And all of the information accessible.
it is a very sleek client, however it doesn't support encrypted transfers, which mean that seeding at very important trackers such as oink is no possible. very nice client, but it does lack important functionalities. easier and more pleasant than azureus, utorrent is still however the best by far (damn it!)
I was excited to hear that a Mac version of uTorrent was in the works, but now that Transmission can do selective file downloading, it really doesn't matter much. Transmission is, in my opinion, the best bittorrent client for any platform, with its clean, unbloated interface.
Now that the latest version has downloading of individual files this is the perfect bittorrent client on the mac. I find it much faster than Azureus for downloading. It uses less resources and is much more intuitive to use. Great work!
Page 6 of 10. 99 entries.


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Joe Heck
Republican Congressman from Nevada
Joe Heck is the official "Silver Fox" of the 112th Congress' many freshmen sex monsters. How does he preserve that handsome gray streak so well? You non-silver people will never know.
Gawker Staff Rating: 4.1
James Lankford
Republican Congressman from Oklahoma
James Lankford is the new standard-bearer for ginger sex in the United States Congress. He and his family members are all reds, man. He's probably never met a non-ginger in his life. Wouldn't you like to be his first?
Gawker Staff Rating: 4.2
Frederica Wilson
Democratic Congresswoman from Florida
Who got what out of this past election? Republicans got a ~60-seat gain in the House of Representatives. But Democrats got some crazy hat lady from south Florida! Frederica Wilson, we believe, is the only member of Congress who actually has a theme. "Who's Frederica Wilson?" someone might ask. "Oh she's um... you know... hats. The hat one," you'd respond, solving everything. But does she wear her trademark "hats" in bed? There's only one way to find out.
Gawker Staff Rating: 4.4
Hansen Clarke
Democratic Congressman from Michigan
Hansen Clarke is the first U.S. Congressman of Bangladeshi descent! Would you have sex with him?
Gawker Staff Rating: 4.6
Blake Farenthold
Republican Congressman from Texas
Blake Farenthold isn't merely a fat person. He's a fat person who wears rubber duckie pajamas to parties! All he needs to do is snap his fingers and BAM, the paid lingerie models coming a-flockin'.
Gawker Staff Rating: 5.2
Ben Quayle
Congressman from Arizona
Ben Quayle is a weird Scottsdale porn-scribe who seems very dumb. But his father was a vice president, and Ben will be rich forever, so you might as well have babies with him.
Gawker Staff Rating: 5.4
Adam Kinzinger
Republican Congressman from Illinois
Adam Kinzinger may just be an "okay" looking guy when he wakes up in the morning. But then he soaks his hair in gallons of gel for an hour or two, making him oiliest "catch" in Illinois politics since Abraham Lincoln.
Gawker Staff Rating: 6.0
Kevin Yoder
Republican Congressman from Kansas
Kevin Yoder is the poor man's Marco Rubio, substituting Latino spice for Kansan, uh, wheat or whatever. He likes to lay back in his leather chair during legislative sessions, tune out, and just chill. That's how cool he is. He's going to be a great congressman.
Gawker Staff Rating: 6.3
Kelly Ayotte
Republican Senator from New Hampshire
New Hampshire voters flocked to the polls in November to elect Kelly Ayotte as Queen of the White Mountains. Was it because they found her attractive? That's sexist! But maybe some of them did.
Gawker Staff Rating: 6.4
Sean Duffy
Republican Congressman from Wisconsin
Former Real World star Sean Duffy somehow leveraged his 15 minutes of fame from 20 years ago into a congressional seat this year. How did he trick his district's voters into doing this? Just look into his dreamboat reality teevee eyes.
Gawker Staff Rating: 6.9
Cedric Richmond
Democratic Congressman from Louisiana
Cedric Richmond made history this year by becoming the first African American to represent Louisiana's 2nd District in a whole two years. Is he the next Barack Obama? No. But maybe you think he's attractive!
Gawker Staff Rating: 6.9
Marco Rubio
Republican Senator from Florida
Conservatives adore Marco Rubio, and hope he'll become president one day. But isn't he already the president of sex? Assuming he has gone through puberty and is just a very diligent shaver, then yes, basically.
Gawker Staff Rating: 6.9
Jaime Herrera Beutler
Republican Congresswoman from Washington
Jaime Herrera Beutler's election was the most exciting news for Washington state since Kurt Cobain killed himself. What promise! What burdens. She's only 32, and will probably get sexually harassed within like a week.
Gawker Staff Rating: 7.0
Rand Paul
Republican Senator from Kentucky
Hey ladies! Rand Paul is likely to kidnap you. How great would that be? Imagine getting two fistfuls of that curly hair, while kidnapped in his libertarian love den. Oh, Rand. Rand!
Gawker Staff Rating: 8.2
Kristi Noem
Republican Congresswoman from South Dakota
Kristi Noem is so hot that top House Republicans created a new, prominent leadership position for her, the random freshman from South Dakota, within a day or two of the election. She has the traditional South Dakota "mama grizzly" look: hot face with an old mop thrown on top for hair.


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Car crashes into house in Houma
Published: Thursday, January 9, 2014 at 12:30 p.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, January 9, 2014 at 10:28 p.m.
Residents near downtown Houma awoke to a surprise Thursday morning as a Toyota Camry careened into a house on West Park Avenue, tearing through siding and leaving pieces of wood and insulation strewn across the property.
About 8:35 a.m. Sonje Simms lost control of her Camry on West Park and crashed into the side of a home on the bayou side of the street near the intersection of Morrison Road, according to Houma Police Department spokesman Lt. Dana Coleman.
Simms, 41, was cited on careless operation of a vehicle. The cause of the crash remains under investigation, Coleman said.
No one was injured in the accident, Coleman said. The home sustained visible damage to the exterior and interior portion of the wall. The Camry had been removed from the site of the crash by 11 a.m.
Janet LeBlanc, who has rented the house for six years, awoke to a loud bang and shuttering walls.
"I didn't know what the heck it was," LeBlanc, 62, said. "My stove is bent, my bathroom and shower tiles are all cracked. What a mess."
The Camry plowed through the kitchen wall, toppling the contents of her refrigerator all over the stove and damaging electrical connections to the house. LeBlanc is left with a new view of the street through a hole several feet wide where her refrigerator once stood.
LeBlanc said there was easily "several thousand dollars" in damage to the home, but she could not touch or move any of the wreckage pending an inspection by insurance agents. She expects to be without electrical and telephone connections until crews can inspect the damaged utility boxes.
Staff Writer John Harper can be reached at (985) 857-2209 or email@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.


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Dear Editor:
As the 2013 ski season winds down, we want to thank the staff and drivers of the Snowmass Village Shuttle for another winter season of outstanding service. We certainly are lucky to have such a wonderful public-transportation system in our town. Thanks again, and have a great offseason.
Ned and Jan Cochran
Melton Ranch, Snowmass Village


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Bryan Baker">
Alexander Drive is going to four lanes, but construction won't be complete until 2012. (March 29, 2011 / WRDW-TV)
News 12 at 6 o'clock / Tuesday, March 29, 2011
AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Last December, Alexander Drive was two-lanes and clogged with cars that weaved beyond orange cones, passing mounds of dirt on their way through the popular cut-through to Riverwatch Parkway or Washington Road.
There was then, just a few months ago, one entrance into the Kroger shopping center, behind some businesses like Five Guys, Moe's, and Sport Clips, making life difficult for travelers-through and people who patronize some of those businesses.
Things have changed.
"Now it seems like the flow has gone back to normal," says Five Guys General Manager Donna Rigdon.
Those two lanes have been transformed to four, and there are new entrances into the busy plaza, just in time for the Masters.
For Rigdon, it's hard to forget the past few months.
"I've had to come out here and actually direct traffic, because they'd want to park on this side of the building and people would be parked here and couldn't go any farther and didn't know it till they saw a big sign that said, 'We're closed.'
"Multiple wrecks, because people were wanting to turn where Rite Aid was. And instead of waiting in line they'd come out and hit them head on."
So now, Alexander drive is a go -- at least the part you can see from Washington Road.
There's still more dirt to move to make it a straight shot to Riverwatch Parkway. During Masters week traffic won't be able to enjoy the new Alexander Drive. It's the same as the past two years, you'll only be able to exit the road, but little by little, construction will get done, and everyone will have a green light.
The construction to Riverwatch is expected to be finished by next year's Masters.


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jute 1
1Rough fiber made from the stems of a tropical Old World plant, used for making twine and rope or woven into sacking or matting.
Example sentences
- There were different weaves in jute and blends of jute with cotton and silk.
- I go back and find some odd things like rope and natural jute twine packaged for the crafts market.
- Then, like magpies, they hurry back to their workshop loaded with wisps of lace and coils of steel mesh, strands of silk and ropes of jute.
2The herbaceous plant that is cultivated for jute fiber, with edible young shoots.
- Genus Corchorus, family Tiliaceae: several species, in particular C. capsularis of China and C. olitorius of India.
Example sentences
- This is more so in the case of small & medium Farmers who are involved in conventional cultivation of common products like rice, wheat, coconut, jute or sugar cane.
- Natural products from jute and banana fibre are being promoted with much hype, especially in urban setups where there is a demand for anything biodegradable.
- Some paper, however, is made from such plants as cotton, rice, wheat, cornstalks, hemp, and jute; very high quality 'rag' paper is still derived from cotton rags.
2.1Used in names of other plants that yield fiber, e.g., Chinese jute.
Example sentences
- For the Sahara Cup, it was the Chinese jute cap, T-shirt, chinos, towel set and socks; for the McDowells event, it will be a leather pouch for golf balls and a leather wallet.
- Gunny bags account for about 90 percent of the total production of Chinese juteand kenaf textile mills.
- The Chinese jute growing and manufacturing industry reached its zenith in 1985.
Words that rhyme with juteacute, argute, astute, beaut, Beirut, boot, bruit, brut, brute, Bute, butte, Canute, cheroot, chute, commute, compute, confute, coot, cute, depute, dilute, dispute, flute, galoot, hoot, impute, loot, lute, minute, moot, newt, outshoot, permute, pollute, pursuit, recruit, refute, repute, route, salute, Salyut, scoot, shoot, Shute, sloot, snoot, subacute, suit, telecommute, Tonton Macoute, toot, transmute, undershoot, uproot, Ute, volute
For editors and proofreaders
Syllabification: jute
Definition of jute in:
Jute 2
A member of a Germanic people that may have come from Jutland and, according to the Venerable Bede, joined the Angles and Saxons in invading Britain in the 5th century, settling in a region including Kent and the Isle of Wight.
Example sentences
- Britain is a mongrel country of Britons, Celts, Scots, Picts, Romans, Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Vikings, Normans, Jews, Huguenots, members of the Empire and Commonwealth, and many more groups.
- I would suggest that concentration on teaching the Romans, Angles, Saxons, Jutes and Normans in Britain is more likely to achieve her objective.
- Across the North Sea, new Germanic tribes were settling: Angles, Jutes, Saxons.
Jutish adjective
- Example sentences
- He probably travelled overland along the Aude - Carcassonne Gap - Garonne - Gironde route to the Atlantic, and then sailed on local shipping to explore the sources of British tin and Jutish amber.
- The Jutish territories around the present city of Southampton were seized by Cædwalla, king of Wessex, c. 686, presumably to acquire excellent harbours and access to the sea.
- Their high king, Vortigern, finding himself beset on all sides by barbarian invaders, hired Anglo-Saxon and Jutish mercenaries from Denmark and north Germany.
Old English Eotas, Iotas, influenced later in spelling by medieval Latin Jutae, Juti.
For editors and proofreaders
Syllabification: Jute
Definition of jute in:
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= trending


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Industry Interest Sought for North Carolina Offshore Wind Energy
December 19, 2012
The U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced on December 12 it is publishing a Call for Information and Nominations to gauge the offshore wind industry's interest in acquiring commercial wind leases in three areas offshore of North Carolina. It is also requesting comments regarding site conditions, resources, and other uses within the subject areas.
In consultation with the North Carolina Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force, BOEM identified three areas on the Outer Continental Shelf offshore of North Carolina where commercial wind energy leasing could take place, totaling 1,441 square nautical miles. One area is located six miles from Kitty Hawk, and two areas are located seven and 13 miles from southern Wilmington. Each of the three areas has been designated to attract commercial offshore wind development while also protecting sensitive habitats and resources and minimizing space use conflicts. The call and a Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Assessment were published in the Federal Register on December 13, and BOEM will accept public comments for 45 days. See the BOEM press release and the call in the Federal Register.


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Create a Basic Stick Figure for Fashion Drawing
Draw an oval to represent the figure's head and then draw a dashed line of symmetry.
The line of symmetry, or balance line, runs down right through the center of the stick figure's head and continues to the bottom of the stick feet. The line of symmetry serves a number of functions in both figure and fashion drawing.
To establish a line of symmetry, draw a simple stick figure. Then draw a dashed line straight through the middle of your figure.


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Move, resize, zoom your application windows effortlessly.
Zooom is a Mac desktop utility that redefines how you can resize, move and align your application windows - making you faster and more productive.
To use Zooom, the general rule is that you hold down a set of modifier keys (which you can of course change if you wish) and then click somewhere within a window to initiate a drag or resize action.
Required OS: not specified
Tags: resize , move , mouse , utility , productivity , desktop
10 Opinions
I love this tool. However:
- It does not handle all applications (Transmission comes to mind) (the developer was contacted, though his response was prompt, nothing changed, that was at least a year ago).
- It causes weird bugs, involving window activation and drag and drop. When zooom/2 was running, sometimes switching to app would show the window, but wouldnt update the menubar, nor allow focus. Othertimes, drag and drops would refuse to complete when I release the mouse, I would have to right-click or press escape after switching to the source application.
All in all, good tool, but the I suspect the use of private apis to be the cause of the weirdness.
Apple, publish apis to do this, please =)
When switching from Linux/X11 to OSX there is one thing I (and probably many) missed: proper window resizing/movement.
I found this application and am very happy with it since I bought it. Whenever I now use a OSX installation without Zooom/2 installed I miss it! That's why I bought several licenses for other people's OSXs that I use from time to time: boss, co-workers, friends, family, etc.
This utility is fantastic. It replaced MondoMouse on my machine, which was broken on Snow Leopard.
Zooom2 is very solid and configurable and the developer is very reponsive.
I hate it to have to use an add-on for such basic functions, osx should be able to do what zooom2 does out of the box. Anyway, without it osx would haven been unusable for me. It is great to have an easy way to maximize, move and resize windows. Anyone used to x-window (where you can easily create your own bindings for ths) or even ms-windows need this.
This application is amazing! Like the others that have posted, I have tried Mondo Mouse and I know there have been some attempts at creating this type of functionality over the years, but this guy has got it right!
Once you try it, you gotta be buying it!
This is, hands down, an essential mac application. I cant tell you how many times ive tried to 'apple+shift' move windows on other macs and even pc's!! Bought it literally 10 seconds after downloading demo. A++++ (in ebay terms)
This is probably the best $15 I've spent on my mac yet. Combine it with a Kensington Expertmouse and it's mousing heaven.
I love this app too. Though on my Mac having it installed caused iWork Papers to crash constantly. Uninstalling prevented this from happening and reinstalling made it happen again....
I must say that I absolutely LOVE Zooom. One of the most useable UI add-ons for OS X.
And I've tried the competing products, such as MondoMouse and others, but I definitely must say that Zooom beats the competition.
The developer is literally ferreting the support forum for Zooom and if you buy this app, you will feel that you're really taking part of something that is clearly 'alive'!
As a suggestion for those curious in Zooom, I would recommend trying Zooom together with USB Overdrive, or a similar app that can re-program your mouse's buttons. By this method, you can for instance, have your windows moved by pressing and holding down the middle-mouse button! And hear this: THAT is super neat!
Zooom is very stable and a well executed application. Once you start using it, you wont turn back!


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With Shebooks, female writers get an e-format of their own
S.F. producer of e-books specializes in short works by women - and for themJuly 13, 2014
Photo: Cristina Taccone
Even with a best-selling novel under her belt, Laura Fraser, a San Francisco journalist and author of "An Italian Affair" and other books, was finding it increasingly hard to make a living as a writer.
To continue reading this story, you will need to be a digital subscriber to SFChronicle.com.
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text:
About the Book
A mix of Tony Hawk and Brian Welch comes together in skateboarding legend Christian Hosoi, who reveals everything about his rise, fall, and redemption, in this amazing tell-all—from being named the greatest skater of all time to bottoming out on drugs to finally finding redemption through God.
Fans of Slater Kelly's Pipe Dreams and Brian Welch's Save Me From Myself, and followers of Tony Alva, Jay Adams, and Steve Caballero, will be captivated by this extraordinary, star-studded story, a gripping read that ranges from the heart of the 1980s skateboarding scene to the inside of a prison, from Hollywood parties to intense prayer sessions.
Hosoi: My Life as a Skateboarder Junkie Inmate Pastor takes readers to the heart of one little-known world after another—and he portrays them in all their gore and glory for all the world to see.
Raised at the legendary Marina Del Rey Skatepark—where his father was the manager and the Dogtown and Z-Boys crew were his mentors—Christian Hosoi never questioned that he would become a full-time skateboarder. But no one could have predicted his meteoric rise to the apex of a burgeoning sport—or the spectacular way he would crash and then create himself anew.
A professional skater by thirteen, known for his rock-star flair and dramatic aerials, Hosoi was at the top of the world before he was twenty, engaged in the rivalry that would shape years of skating: Christian Hosoi vs. Tony Hawk. At the height of his celebrity in the late 1980s and early '90s, Hosoi was the highest-paid skateboarder in the world and made the most of his celebrity status, counting Hollywood's elite as his friends. But the kid who first got stoned at age eight later found himself smoking meth full-time. And as Hawk walked away with every accolade, Hosoi went underground.
In January 2000, he was convicted for trafficking $65,000's worth of methamphetamine across state lines. In this gripping memoir, Hosoi recounts the crushing reality of his prison sentence and the day he made the phone call that would save him—to his now-wife, Jennifer. She guided Hosoi toward Christianity, to the faith that sustained him in prison, welcoming him into a new life when he was released nearly five years later.
In the summer of 2009, Hosoi won the gold medal in the X Games Legends Competition. He won gold again in 2010. And now Hosoi's classic skateboard designs are flying off the shelves once again.
Packed with interviews from skateboarding stars past and present, Hosoi is not only a tell-all about fame, fortune, and failure—it's also a strong testimony to the power of faith and the gift of change.
Educator and Librarian Resources
Critical Praise
"Christian was my biggest competition, and when he was on fire, he was unbeatable. I have great reverence for him. We had a blast. We were paving a path with no idea where it would lead." — Tony Hawk
"Christian is responsible for transcending the underground skateboarding lifestyle into a mainstream sport. He is the sport's first rock star." — Danny Way
"Christian and I gained the whole world, then lost everything that makes life worth living, and found victory on the other side. Christian's amazing story will help multitudes find their true identity." — Brian "Head" Welch
"Only one thing soars higher than Christian skating vert and that's his love and commitment to God. If you dare drop in on Hosoi's life, you're in for a gnarly ride!" — Stephen Baldwin
"Check out Christian Hosoi's new book, as in go get it now!" — SkateBible Blog
"I've always said that Christian had the best style of skateboarding-ever. It's amazing how similar our lives have been. It's good to see him overcome everything that he has." — Jay Adams
"Christian is one of the very few greats and one of the most important skateboarders in skate history." — Stacy Peralta
"Skateboarding is a monster nobody can control, but Christian was one of the few skaters that forever changed the way people skate. As skateboarding's rock star in the '80's, Christian was everywhere. It's like we turned around and he was gone." — Grant Brittain
"Somehow in all the autobiographical mix of self-deprecation and aggrandizement, his true desire shines through: "My hope and prayer is that you also meet the One and Only"." — Publishers Weekly
"...a tell-all biography documenting his rise to dominance, his subsequent incarceration, and recent return to the sport that made him a legend - all told by Hosoi himself." — Hypebeast
"The man who invented the Christ-Air is telling his story in his new book. Even if you've seen the documentary, Rising Son, the book is a must read. It offers lessons from specific stories and info from his riveting life." — Mass Appeal
"Christian Hosoi was…carving full sentences into the cement with his perfect runs. He was the one with the swagger to pull off women's jeans, hair extensions, and the blasphemous nickname 'Christ.' Tricks are for kids. Hosoi was trying to see the sun." — ESPN's Grantland
Product Details
- Imprint: HarperOne
- On Sale: 06/12/2012
- Pages: 336
- List Price: 10.99 USD
- BISAC1: BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Sports
- BISAC2: BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Religious
- BISAC3: RELIGION / Christian Life / General


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As president of Quinnipiac University for the past 23 years, John Lahey has played a vital role in educating the public about the story of the Great Hunger. Through his appearances as Grand Marshal of New York's St. Patrick's Day Parade in 1997 and the Great Hunger Lender Family Special Collection at Quinnipiac that came into existence soon afterward, Lahey has championed the need for the history of An Gorta Mór to be accurately and completely told. Quinnipiac's trove is one of the most extensive collections of art and literature in America devoted to Ireland's Great Famine.
Lahey recently wrote a letter to The Wall Street Journal in response to a column by William McGurn, "My Wild Irish Woes," which asserted that Great Hunger memorials emphasize defeat rather than pride, and explained his need to clarify his disagreement with McGurn's stance. "I'm an educator, so I think accurate historical facts and explanations of events and history are important," said Lahey. "It's a fact of the Famine that the story wasn't told accurately, it wasn't told in a balanced way. The Irish were citizens of the UK, and clearly the [English government] showed a callous disregard for human life and basically used a tragedy that wasn't of their making, in the sense that it was the potato failure itself, and allowed it to be used for land reform and other economic and political desires on their part. They allowed a million and a half people to die of starvation and another two million plus to leave, and basically decimated the country. None of that was really told; as you can imagine, no art was produced, reporting that or commemorating that at all. . . . So it's really just beginning something that really should've been done 150 years ago, that under more normal circumstances would've taken place and so that's why it's important to do it now."
Lahey's roots are in Knockglossmore, a town outside of Tralee in Kerry. His paternal grandfather, Daniel Lahey, was born there and emigrated to Canada and then to New York City. His grandfather was a stonemason and brought the trade to America, where Lahey's father worked as a bricklayer in New York. Daniel Lahey married Agnes Roche from Cork. Lahey's mother's family were Griffins, from County Clare, all areas that were affected deeply by the Great Hunger.
In 1997, when Lahey was asked to serve as Grand Marshal of the St. Patrick's Day Parade in New York City, he decided to use the platform to speak about the Famine. "I read Christine Kinealy's book, This Great Calamity, in 1995. When you see the painstaking detail that she went to in terms of the research and talking about the food and the shipments on the boats and the records, you see that for a five year period of time, in fact, very little was done to ease the suffering, the ports were not closed. . . . Food was shipped out of Ireland in increasing amounts in the years of the Famine. … [When] I was approached to be Grand Marshal of the St. Patrick's Day Parade in 1997, I wanted to make the Great Hunger the theme of the parade that year. I didn't think my own Irish life was all that interesting; a lot of the Grand Marshals talk about themselves, but being the educator I am, I wanted to use that opportunity and that platform to talk about the Great Hunger, so I did. … From January 1 to March 17, all the Irish organizations, the county organizations, the AOHs, they all have their annual events and they invite the Grand Marshal. Literally, I think there were almost 200 invitations. So, I went and I talked."
Lahey's speeches brought the issue of the Great Hunger to the attention of Murray Lender, a Jewish immigrant whose father fled persecution in Poland, came to New Haven, and started a bagel business that became Lender's Bagels, a multi-hundreds-of-millions-of-dollars company that was ultimately sold to Kraft approximately 15 years ago. "While I was giving all these speeches [as Grand Marshal], he came to me and said, 'John, it's just amazing to me, this story of the Great Hunger.' You could tell that he associated it with persecution of the Jews and other ethnic groups, African Americans, Native Americans, in this country, and he said, 'I'll give you a gift for the library but it's got to be for the Irish Great Hunger special collection. You go out and tell me what you need to do and collect the art and get the research materials and the books and periodicals, and I and my brother, Marvin Lender, we'll take care of it.'"
With this outside help, Lahey began collecting materials for the Quinnipiac collection of Famine works. "[Rowan Gillespie's] The Victim was my first piece. I literally carried it back on the plane [from Ireland] with me, I wouldn't let it go. It is such a powerful piece; the facial expression captures everything about the suffering and pain. Later in that same summer, we went back to Ireland, to a Westport art show and I saw Margaret Chamberlain's sculpture of people with psychological problems and I could just tell that she was an artist who was able to capture the torment, and I commissioned her to do the original piece The Leave-taking.


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Lincoln Brewster
Born in Fairbanks, Alaska in 1971 to young parents whose marriage did not survive guitarist/singer/songwriter Lincoln Brewster first showed his musical ability at age one and a half, keeping remarkably good time with a pair of broken drumsticks during his mother Cheryl's band practice. By age seven he was playing drums, guitar, and mandolin. His mother eventually remarried, but their home life was plagued by domestic problems and alcoholism. It was a tough life for a young child, but Lincoln's musical talents continued to grow in spite the tumultuous environment. He was an eager student, and Cheryl often took him for lessons from guitarists who played the local clubs. Without fail, these impromptu instructors were always impressed with Lincoln's ability. At the age of 12, Brewster had formed his first band, " Lincoln and the Missing Links" and by the time he was 14, he was writing and recording his own compositions. He did a few radio commercials and started making demos.
By 19, through a series of connections in Los Angeles, he had the opportunity to sign a major record contract but found that his personal life was spinning out of control. Christianity provided for Brewster the tools and the solace he needed to continue not only making music, but to make it in a way that celebrated his newfound faith. He became a much sough-after session musician, touring with Journey's Steve Perry for well over a year. It wasn't long before God revealed what His next plan was for Lincoln. He and Laura moved to Nashville to help build The Oasis Church. It was a leap of faith, and for the first two months they were there, they slept on the church floor while they looked for a place to live. They spent three years in Nashville, preparing for whatever God had in store next. During that time, Lincoln also toured with GRAMMY Award-winning Christian music artist Michael W. Smith. Lincoln Brewster also signed a recording contract with Integrity Music and released a self-titled debut album in 1999.
He has since released Live to Worship in 2000, Amazed in 2002, All to You... Live in 2005, and Let the Praises Ring – The Best of Lincoln Brewster in 2006 that featured the song "Everlasting God." Lincoln attained his first #1 Christian radio hit when the song "Everlasting God" from Let the Praises Ring hit the top of the chart and stayed there for 4 weeks. At the same time, his song "Love The Lord" climbed to #3, giving him two songs in the top 20 at the same time. When asked about the radio success, he says with a smile, "It's not why I do it or what it's all about, but it does feel encouraging."
In the fall of 2008, Lincoln Brewster released, Today is the Day, a 10-track studio album. The project offers new songs ranging from meditative worship ballads to rocking praise such as the title song, which Lincoln co-wrote with Dove Award winner Paul Baloche. Other guest writers include Glenn Packiam of New Life Worship and Mia Fieldes of Sydney's Hillsong Church . Today is the Day reached #1 in the Christian and Gospel genre on iTunes in September 2008. In addition to guest songwriters, Lincoln is joined vocally on the album by two of Christian music's top talents – Grammy Award winner Israel Houghton and renowned Hillsong worship leader Darlene Zschech.
Lincoln knows he is blessed. "I'm truly grateful to be able to do what I do. I know I don't deserve it, but I am committed to doing my best with what God has put before me."


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- Aug 28:
- East Bay snake scammers strike again, this time in Hayward
- Aug 23:
- Fake tree trimmer tricks elderly Hayward woman, accomplice steals more than $17,000
- Snake scam: Fake Union City employee uses infestation ruse in burglary
- Aug 21:
- Oakland: Phony utility workers steal $5,000 worth of cash and jewelry from elderly residents
- King City police warn of phony IRS scam
FREMONT -- A ruse known as a "snake scam" has slithered its way from Union City to Fremont, police said Monday.
Fremont police were asking residents to be on alert after receiving reports on Saturday of a woman dressed as an animal control employee going door to door looking for a poisonous snake on the loose, police said.
The scheme is the latest in a series of East Bay home burglaries in which perpetrators pose as city employees. In recent weeks, scam artists have knocked on doors pretending to be utility workers in Oakland, tree trimmers in Hayward, and now animal control workers looking for snakes in Union City and Fremont.
Though the disguises are different, the scam works mostly the same way: the phony employee takes everyone from the home into the backyard to distract them while his or her partner goes inside and steals cash and jewelry. In one case in Hayward, $17,000 in items was stolen.
In Fremont, one home was burglarized on Moore Drive in the Cherry-Guardino area and a similar snake story was reported by homeowners in the Hillview-Montecity area of Niles, police said.
One of the suspects is described as white or Hispanic, about 5 feet tall, with a medium to heavy build and a pierced tongue. She was wearing a hat, dark colored gloves and a tan short-sleeved shirt with patches on the sleeves. She may be driving a silver Land Rover, police said.
Fremont city workers are required to carry a city-issued photo ID, and most drive city vehicles, police said. Authorities are asking anyone with information on the case or who may have captured the women on private video surveillance to contact police at 510-790-6900.
David DeBolt covers breaking news. Contact him in Richmond at 510-262-2728. Follow him at Twitter.com/daviddebolt.


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Congratulations to Kelly Kirkendall-Heller, of Delhi, who successfully named the marching band's jam for Oct. 18.
The correct answer was "Dance to the Music" by Sly and the Family Stone.
As a result of providing the correct response, Eldridge was entered into the weekly drawing and won a $50 Visa Gift Card from Cinfed Credit Union!
To enter, watch the video clip from the Blitz 5 Tailgate each week and enter your guess for the song the band is playing.
Click here to enter your guess for this week's jam!
You have a new chance to submit your guess each week.