text:
> I am setting up a home server based around an N4000 server. The
> hardware is fixed but I have a choice of either the Debian Linux
> port or HPUX. The server itself has 8x 550MHz processors and 4GB
> ram so if multiprocessor is an issue then that may be the deciding
> issue. Certainly the hardware should handle the load.
What is the load of your home server?
> What I am looking for is current comparable performance data. Most
> of the data that I have been able to find on the web is over 2 years
> old, long predating a fully stable complete Linux port, and was
> often PA-RISC/HPUX vs Intel/Linux. What I am after is data on the
> same hardware.
I suspect it will be hard to find if it even exists.
> What I am concerned about are the issues of stability and
> performance, if the server goes down when I am away from home, which
> happens quite frequently, then the family has no server until I
> reboot it.
> I know linux well, although I have not used debian for some years.
> I've used both SCO and Solaris over the years so the idea of another
> variant of unix doesn't particularly bother me. Are there any
> obvious gotchas that I might have missed?
If your hardware is fixed to PA-RISC and the N4000, and "stability"
and "performance" are your primary concerns, then you likely want to
go with HP-UX. While I don't have concrete examples to give you, my
understanding is that parisc linux has to do things like disable
spaceid hashing in the processor data caches, and that can be a
performance degredation. Also, while the parisc linux port may have
declared "stable" I think that is meant as in "stable" from an
engineering rather than production standpoint. They might even say
something to that effect on their website at parisc-linux.org.
Also, I suspect, but again have no hard data to confirm, that the
performance of code generated with gcc for PA-RISC is not as high as
that from the HP compilers. Running parisc-linux means gcc.
I am in _no_ way trying to disparage parisc-linux, and perhaps I've
read too much into your statement about stability and performance
(particularly in light of it being a "home server"). FWIW, I run
parisc-linux on netperf.org - but then I wouldn't even begin to
describe netperf.org as a mission critical sort of application.
Now, when you are ready to upgrade your home server to Itanium...
rick jones
once MPE/XL, once HP-UX, now Linux, always HP
used to sit across from one of the parisc-linux people
oxymoron n, Hummer H2 with California Save Our Coasts and Oceans plates
these opinions are mine, all mine; HP might not want them anyway...
feel free to post, OR email to rick.jones2 in hp.com but NOT BOTH...


text:
France, 2013, 110 Minute Running Time
Sunday June 22 at 4:30pm
Anne has a very active imagination, only natural for a writer. But in her mid-thirties, she still knows practically nothing of her own family's past. After her mother's death, Anne discovers old photos and letters that convince her to take a closer look at the life of her parents, Michael and Léna. The young couple met in the concentration camps during World War II, later moving to France to start their new life together. Soon, Anne's research into their Jewish history and their ties to Lyon's communist party reveals the existence of a mysterious uncle, Jean, whom everyone seems intent on forgetting entirely. As she gradually closes in on the discovery she didn't know she was looking for, her father grows ever more ill, and may take the secret that kept them apart for so long to his grave. In a journey that stretches from post-war France to the 1980s, Anne's destiny intertwines with her father's past until they form a single, unforgettable story.
DIRECTOR: Diane Kurys
CLICK IMAGE for the Member Newsletter
CLICK IMAGE to submit to the Denver Film Festival. Withoutabox logos are trademarks of Withoutabox, a DBA of IMDb.com Inc. or its affiliates.
CLICK IMAGE to Renew or JoinMembership Updates and Sign Up
CLICK IMAGE for Information
CLICK IMAGE for more information
Site powered by: Luminate

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Factors Leading to the Malfunctioning of Credit Markets in Less-Developed Economies and the Role of Microfinance Institutions in Poverty Alleviation
Ahmed Mohamed Rostom
George Washington University - Economics Department; The World Bank
June 15, 2009
This mimeo discusses the relative significance of Microfinance to the poor in developed Economies. We analyse different vehicles of microfinance to the poor in less developed Countries (LDCs hereafter). The analysis also covers a global overview for Microfinance activity, and the dominant factors leading to the malfunction of credit lending in the LDCs and its contribution to the persistence of poverty. It concludes with an emphasis on the role of microfinance institutions in availing credit and the importance of innovative perspectives in dealing with conventional hurdles.
Number of Pages in PDF File: 15
Keywords: Access to Finance, Micro finance, Poverty Alleviation
JEL Classification: O12, E51
Date posted: December 24, 2011 ; Last revised: October 29, 2014
Suggested Citation
© 2016 Social Science Electronic Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Terms of Use
Privacy Policy
Contact Us
This page was processed by apollobot1 in 0.187 seconds


text:
Miso-Lime Sweet Potato Dip
Makes 2 cups
- 2 medium sweet potatoes (1 ¼ lb.)
- 2 Tbs. white miso paste
- 2 Tbs. lime juice
- 1 tsp. grated fresh ginger
- ½ tsp. grated lime zest, plus more for garnish (optional)
Enter your friends email address below and your name so they know who it's from
Makes 2 cups
1. Pierce sweet potatoes with fork, and microwave 7 to 10 minutes, or until soft. (Or bake 1 hour in 400°F oven.) Cool sweet potatoes 10 minutes, or until easy to handle, and then halve and coarsely chop (leave skins on).
2. Transfer chopped sweet potatoes to food processor, add remaining ingredients, and pulse until smooth, adding up to 2 Tbs. water, if necessary to achieved desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Serve warm or at room temperature, garnished with lime zest, if using.October 2013 p.39
Save and organize your favorite recipes, create shopping lists, and more!
Log in to create and edit shopping lists.
Or click here to pay now and get 2 extra issues
Offer valid in US only.
Canadian subscriptions International subscriptions


text:
If you are planning a wedding this year, you might want to watch this movie or you might want to watch it after the big event has happened. �If you are married, this movie will remind you of the planning that went into your own trip down the matrimonial aisle. �It is a movie with charm, grit, and truth permeating through out it. �The Catered Affair was originally a teleplay, written by Paddy Chayefsky, and also known as Wedding Party. �In 1956, it was turned into a movie by MGM with screenplay by Gore Vidal and directed by Richard Brooks. �The talented cast featured Bette Davis, Ernest Borgnine, Debbie Reynolds, Barry Fitzgerald, and Rod Taylor. �This was Taylor's first film after being signed by MGM and if you listen closely, his Australian accent escapes now and then, which I found fun to hear. �
The movie opens with Tom Hurley( Ernest Borgnine) driving his taxi cab back to the garage after a night shift of work. �He is approached by his good friend and fellow cabbie, Sam(Jay Adler), that another cabbie is going to retire and he wants to sell Sam and Tom his cab along with the desired NYC Taxi Medallion, for the price of $8000. �Tom and Sam, it is revealed, have been saving their money for years to make such a deal and both have $4000 in the bank. �It is agreed that on Sunday, they'll meet with the seller and make the deal. �Tom heads for home and prepares to go to bed as his wife and two kids are getting ready for their day.
Aggie(Bette Davis) is a hard-working housewife. �Jane(Debbie Reynolds) is the Hurley's daughter, I would guess she's in her early 20s, and Eddie(Ray Stricklyn) is their 18 year old son. �As the family goes through their morning routines and Tom grabs a plate of eggs before heading off to bed, Jane announces that she and her boyfriend of 3 years, Ralph Halloran(Rod Taylor), have decided to get married. �Ralph is a school teacher and he has a winter break coming up. �The young couple have decided that they'll have a simple wedding, just �the parents and siblings present, and they've already talked to the Hurley's family priest who has agreed to start posting the banns. �Ralph also has a friend selling a car to someone in California, but the friend can't drive the car out there because his wife is expecting a baby soon, so Ralph and Jane will drive the car to California, and that will be their honeymoon.
At first, Aggie and Tom take the news well. �Tom �congratulates Jane on her sensible thinking. �He shares what another family spent on a daughter's wedding and how outrageous it is �to spend that much money on a wedding! �With his proclamation made, Tom goes off to bed. �Aggie realizes that if only immediate family are to be at the wedding, than she'll have to break the news to her brother Jack(Barry Fitzgerald), that he won't be able to attend the ceremony despite him living with the Hurley's. �Uncle Jack doesn't take the news well, and this starts the wheels in motion for Aggie to become obsessed with giving Jane a big wedding and reception.
We see Aggie convincing Jane to have a big wedding day for future memories to have to hold on to. �We see Aggie going through the $4000 that Tom has saved as if money just grows on trees. �No amount of concern from Tom or Jane is slowing Aggie down from her quest to give her daughter a big wedding and reception. �Will this happening happen? �Will Jane and Ralph just elope? �Will Tom stop Aggie from spending all of his savings which he intended for a new taxi and medallion and business with Sam? �You, the potential viewer, will have to seek this movie out to find the answers!
The Catered Affair is available on Amazon and may appear again soon on Turner Classic Movies. �A tense movie at times, it is also heart-warming with fun moments too. �
Filed under: Movies Tagged: Barry Fitzgerald, Bette Davis, Catered Affair, Debbie Reynolds, Ernest Borgnine, Gore Vidal, Paddy Chayefsky, Richard Brooks, Rod Taylor


text:
Remove Ads x
S0beit 3.5 installer - download at 4shared. S0beit 3.5 installer is hosted at free file sharing service 4shared.
| Uploaded via: 4shared site
Share Add to my account
Is owner
View only
Upload & Edit
Members may only view items in this folder.
Members may view, add, edit and delete items in this folder.
Checked by McAfee. No virus detected.
13 comments Add new comment View all
Wrong code entered. Please, try again.
Enter the code above to post message:
areczek1110 3 years ago Reply Spam SpamCancel
jest dobre : dd
VENDETTA V. 3 years ago Reply Spam SpamCancel
o11013925346 3 years ago Reply Spam SpamCancel
fuck me
Remove Ads x
Download all files from this folder
Download folder as:
This file will be created in your 4shared folder
File name:
Zip as:
Download as B1
S0beit 3.5 installer.exeFile QR Code


text:
Bill Willingham (w) • Brian Denham (a) • Jenny Frison, David Messina (c))An all-new adventure begins as Eisner-winning writer Bill Willingham (Fables) takes Angel down some pretty twisted roads as the group's (and its leader's) fame starts causing tension and testing loyalties. Starting in December, Willingham and new artist Brian Denham present part one of "The Crown Prince Syndrome!" 2 regular covers will be shipped in a 1-to-1-to-1 ratio.
Date Available: 12/23/2009
Copyright © 2012 - 2015 Graham Crackers Comics, Ltd. All Rights Reserved.


text:
Storymoja was formed by a collective of writers who are committed to publishing contemporary East African writing of world-class standard. A reading nation is a smarter nation. To read our own stories helps us understand ourselves and that knowledge empowers. To that end, we source widely to identify good local writers, help them publish and distribute the work locally and internationally. We also commission writing based on interviews with those affected by issues that shape our society.
By the end of 2014, Storymoja had published, in print and/or digital versions:
- Twenty one books for adults under the Storymoja imprint
- 100+ children's books under the Storyhippo and Storykiboko imprints
- We also market and distribute books on behalf of other publishers and individuals.
Our motto is to 'Get a book in every hand.'
Growing Kenya's reading culture is Storymoja's mission as it feeds our business, our personal call as writers, and our patriotic duty. To that end, we organize an annual international literary festival in Nairobi every September and initiated the Start a Library campaign to stock books in schools that do not have libraries, as well as other reading-promotion campaigns.
Key campaigns projects that Storymoja has initiated and/or executed:
- Read Aloud National Record setting day. We intend that Kenya break a world record in reading. On the day of the African child in 2011, over 84,000 children read aloud from the same script to set a national record. In Jan 2013, just before the elections, over 79,000 children participated, reading aloud for peace from an excerpt of Attack of the Shidas , a book that drives the message that unity is strength. The next read aloud day will on Monday 17th June, 2013, in honour of the Day of the African Child.
- Storymoja Festival. In this annual festival held in September, over 5000 people, including international and local writers, thinkers and personalities gather over three days in Nairobi to participate in a range of debates, discussions, talks/interviews, workshops and competitions. The main objective of the festival is to stimulate interest in ideas and books, and to celebrate knowledge. Ben Okri, Vikram Seth, Dinaw Mengistu, Lola Shoneyin, Benjamin Zephaniah, Yung Chang, Ory Okolloh, Wole Soyinka, Kinyanjui Kombani, Joanne Ball-Burgess, Teju Cole, Matthew Shenoda, Kwame Dawes are some of the famous international writers and thinkers who have graced the festival.
- In line with our growth and expansion plan, regional festivals will be conducted in various parts of the country. The premier Storymoja Festival: Careerpedia Edition will be held in Nakuru County from 28th to 30th May 2015.
- Careerpedia is a careers information and mentorship resource that empowers people to plan their future and become productive members of society. It can be experienced in different ways - print, interactive digital platforms, mentorship events, career presentations and workshops. Careerpedia is an initiative by Storymoja, a publishing company with strong experience promoting reading in schools.
- 2008/2009 Nairobi Spelling Bee drew on competitors from 28 primary schools around Nairobi and was aired on Citizen TV. This competition was modeled on the American Spelling Bee and was sponsored by Henkel.
- After the post-election conflict, we worked with a children's psychologist to develop peace workshops based on our book, Land of the Kitchen, that we rolled out to children representatives from the 200 primary schools in Nairobi. Our key partners in the project were UN Habitat and the Nairobi City Council.
- We launched a 'Kenya Get Reading Campaign' in 2007 with a media breakfast at which writers engaged with media representatives to discuss issues inhibiting our reading beyond exams. We persuaded many writers to submit articles that subsequently appeared in various newspapers, publications and online.
- Start a Library. To generate interest in reading, and facilitate greater access to books, Storymoja initiated this campaign in 2012 to encourage the public and companies to donate books to stock libraries in primary schools that do not have such facilities or have too few books for their student bodies. To date, the Start a Library team has installed 11 libraries in primary schools.
- Reading Revolution Campaign. The new knowledge economy requires critical thinking and creative skills, which are best developed through reading books from an early age. This campaign employs reading revolutionaries who make stimulating presentations to parents and teachers, in schools, functions and at events, to challenge and persuade them to bond with children by reading and discussing stories together.
- Writing workshops. We train aspiring writers to improve their craft skills and to develop books and stories. Most of our children's books emanate from these workshops. We train in both corporate and in-house settings. A recently completed six-month workshop involved training eight university students to write contemporary stories now being used in a graphic version to train teenagers on conflict resolution and peace building online.
- Ongoing Storytelling in Primary schools. Our storytelling team regularly visits schools in greater Nairobi to excite them about stories. This is a popular ongoing programme with both teachers and children. We also arrange for author visits and Q&A sessions at schools.
- Cut Off My Tongue on stage. We successfully staged this show, based on the famous book of poetry by Sitawa Namwalie, in Kenya, Uganda and the UK. The book/show tackles issues of identity, tribalism, land, community and love.
- The Matatu from Watamu Drove into the Sea. This is a musical theatre production with an environmental theme – marine conservation – was performed as a pilot in May 2010 with children from a low-cost Government School, Arya Primary in Ngara. Fifty percent of the funding for the pilot production of this musical was covered through the Changamoto Fund.
- Universities Storytelling Competition. IN 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010, we conducted storytelling competitions in 70 tertiary institutions around greater Nairobi. The finals were held at the Storymoja Hay Festival. The competition has helped past winners launch careers in journalism, performance arts – television and theatre, and creative writing. The most famous alumni is Eric Omondi, the comedian, who won our first storytelling competition while still a student at Daystar University. The powerful story he told is now published as a children's book 'In the Land of the Kitchen'
Key Storymoja Personnel
Monity Odera is the Managing Editor. She has many years of experience working in leading educational publishing firms serving the East African market.
Muthoni Garland is the resident writer and lead brand ambassador. She writes and edits children's books, runs writing workshops on behalf of Storymoja for individuals and companies, and makes motivational presentations about the power of reading. Her writing has been published in literary journals and newspapers in USA, UK, South Africa and Kenya, and her novella, Tracking the Scent of My Mother, was shortlisted for the 2006 Caine Prize.
Dawn Makena is the Producer of the Storymoja Hay Festivals, which are organised in partnership with Hay Festivals (UK).
Mumbi Kariuki is the Business Development Manager.
Dorcas Karuana is the Careerpedia Program Manager
Millie Dok heads the Reading Revolution team. She is a published writer of children's stories and an avid reader, particularly of African writers. She is passionate about driving the message that reading widely is critical to children's future success.
James Momanyi is Storymoja's Communications Manager.
Juliet Maruru is the engine behind Storymoja's social media presence. She is a published writer and editor, who teaches and inspires others, especially children.
Samuel Theuri is the Finance and Operations Manager. He is a certified accountant with many years of experience.
To contact the administrator of this blog, please write in to firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
|Training discussion on tips for strength + weight loss, within the Bodybuilding Forum; Hi all, my current weight is 111kg (244 pounds) and i need to get my weight down to around 95 ...
|Thread Tools
|Display Modes
| zoidberg99
Rank: New Member
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 5
tips for strength + weight loss
Hi all,
my current weight is 111kg (244 pounds) and i need to get my weight down to around 95 kg (209) for my BMI to be below 30. i want to gain strength, without putting on mass, and burning fat at the same time. i need to pass a physical, but i need my BMI down befor i can do it. (i have intentions to put on mass later on, but i want to get a solid core 1st)
My current understanding (and workouts) is this > low - med weights with hi reps. im working on my upper body mainly, working with free weights doing mostly compound movements. My cardio is high, trying to do HIT on the tread, bike and rowing machines. ive reduced carbs, sugars and fats, eating salads, fruit, chicken fish and lean red meat. nothing processed (EATING LIKE A CAVE MAN).
Basically, my question is have i missed anything? Is there anything i can do extra, or that im doing wrong, to be on the right track.
Much appreciated,
| EricT
Rank: Heavyweight
Experience: 7-10 Years
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 6,314
I'll leave the weight loss questions to others. As for strength you've go it backwards. Low-med weights with high reps is a bodybuilding thing. Just think about it logically. If you want to get stronger then why would you lift light weights?
| hrdgain81
Rank: Light Heavyweight
Experience: 5-7 Years
Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 3,715
We will need more info inorder to help. post up your daily diet, what you eat and at what times.
post up your workout, what you do and when you do it. the more details the easier it will be to critique.
| verbatimreturned
Rank: Lightweight
Experience: 2-3 Years
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: new york
Posts: 1,372
Same comment as hrdgainer....put up the diet (foods, amounts, times) its the most important thing when dieting IMO and of course it would be nice to see your routine for weights and cardio
| zoidberg99
Rank: New Member
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 5
Ok, ill try my best. one thing you should note is that my diet and exercise routine at present is average, and broad in the sense that i dont do exactly the same every day. (i think thats half the problam)
My diet for most days consist of:
8am. about 50g musli and a piece of fruit w/ skim.
10.30 - 11am. an apple
12-12.30pm. salad (mostly green leafy),& grilled chicken breast, or, grilled fish, or, salad 6" roll w/o cheese from subway
3pm. coffee, white (skim) with sweet'ner.
6.30 7pm. varies, but generally includes veges (steamed - cauliflower, broccoli, carrot, potato, beans and peas) and meat (mince balls, chicken, veal, t-bone steak)
9.30-10pm. sometimes another coffee (about 2 days a week for this one.)
Throughout the day i drink about 4 litres of water (1 gallon)
Now to my routine in the gym. i go there at about 9.30am.
10mins bike, moderate pace
Strech major muscles (quads, calves, hams, neck, lower back, tricept)
15-20 (try to push to 20 when i can) HIT on bike. (20sec 90%, 40sec 60% ect...)
30mins treadmill @ 60% (around 6km/hr)
5mins rowing, cooldown.
as far as weights go, i dnt do anything specific, i realy dnt have a clue in this area.
| WantingMuscle7
Rank: Bantamweight
Experience: 1-2 Years
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: PA
Posts: 686
For weights you could start off with basic compound movements. Examples would be Squats,Deadlifts, and Benching. Since you are unsure on what to do with all the other exercises if you start with these you'll atleast be working a lot more muscle rather than doing just bicep curls. If you do say squats one day either do them first before your cardio or go to the gym two times a day once in the morning for your cardio and once in afternoon or when ever you have time for you weight lifting. I'm sure others can give you tips with the weights to.
| hrdgain81
Rank: Light Heavyweight
Experience: 5-7 Years
Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 3,715
Ok this diet definately needs some work. First lets look at your goals, you are looking to drop a significant amount of wieght (30lbs).
To do this we will need to keep a close eye on your caloric intake. To keep it simple, you will want to track your macronutrient intake (protein,fat,carbs). I would start off rather high for each of them ... in the range of 220g Protein, 200g Carbs, 70g Fat. This will give you about 2200 cals per day. This may seem like a lot of food when you look at it, but you are basicly starving yourself right now. The point is to gradually lower your carb intake as you thin out, then your fats, but never protien, so your body doesnt go into a starvation mode, and shut down fat burning.
Now it is important to eat atleast six times a day, spaced as evenly as you can. you will want to break your meals into even portions also,every meal needs protiens/carbs/fats (you may want to drop carbs after 8pm to stop from storing them as fat) , this will keep your metabolism burning. It is important to note that coffee is not a meal, and fruit isnt either. Alot of people will disagree with me here, but I think fruit all together is a bad idea when dieting. Fruit is comprised of sugar, and I am not fond of eating sugar when trying to lose fat. It may be a good treat here or there, but multiple pieces a day is a bad idea. The only meals that should leave out a
Depending on how quickly you want to drop this wieght there are some more extreme options, but I dont recomend them unless you are in a real bind. If you need more info just ask, we can help you break this down even further if need be.
| zoidberg99
Rank: New Member
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 5
thats helpful, i do have some questions.
By 200g of carbs, thats all carbs inclusive, but more complex prefered?
What do i eat instead of fruit in the middle? salad?
ill think of more questions soon,
thanks, i realy appreciate the help.
| zoidberg99
Rank: New Member
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 5
oh, one more question,
in reguards to weights, my understanding is that if i lift heavy weights, low reps, it will damage tissue, in turn rusulting in repair and increased mass. am i right? is so, i will have to wait for a while, as i need to get my overall body mass down first, it is my major concern in the short term.
FYI, im studying policing and need to get my BMI below 30 to continue training. if i dnt do it now, may have to wait another 12 months b4 i can continue (the missus will kill me )
| hrdgain81
Rank: Light Heavyweight
Experience: 5-7 Years
Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 3,715
yes 200g carbs is for the whole day. You want to eat low gi carbs like whole grain breads, cereals, oat meal, ect. You want to stay away from bleached flower and sugars of all kinds. This will keep your blood sugar stable through the day.
I would say there is no such thing as a "middle meal" each meal should have the same macro breakdown for the most part. (36g Protien, 33g carb, 8g fat) for six meals a day. The carbs will slowly decrease as you thin out, and if hunger becomes a serious issue we can up the fat some what. the only exception will be if you plan on eating late at night. I would take in No carbs for atleast 4hrs before bed.
Now for the wieght training part. Your right, lifting heavey ass wieghts for low reps is best for strength. But because of your situation, and the ridiculous BMI your being tested on, we need to stay away from that. I would use high rep, full body workouts 2 - 3 times a week. This will improve your overall fitness level, preserve some muscle mass, and help burn fat. you may want to look at my journal in my signature, thats what i've been doing for almost two months now.
|Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
|Thread Tools
|Display Modes
Linear Mode


text:
Like most cases that make the Supreme Court's docket, the question posed in Mohawk Industries v. Williams, et al is a smaller piece needed to complete the puzzle in a much larger legal battle. When the court hands down its decision, it will only be ruling whether Mohawk, the country's second largest rug and carpet manufacturer, and temporary employment agencies with which the company worked constitute an enterprise under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (rico) Act.
By itself that doesn't seem like much. But that decision, in turn, will determine if former Mohawk employees were right to sue the company for back wages and damages under RICO, a suit that could cost the company millions and open the door to any number of similar actions taken against other employers, including quick-service restaurants.
Former Mohawk employees allege that the Calhoun, Georgia–based company, which employs 32,000 workers, depressed their wages by illegally employing and harboring large numbers of undocumented workers, a charge the company categorically denies, says Juan P. Morillo, lead counsel for Mohawk.
The complaint was originally filed on January 6, 2004, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia by Howard Foster, a lawyer specializing in RICO litigation with Chicago-based Johnson & Bell. Foster, who was also the counsel behind similar lawsuits against Tyson Foods and Zirkle Fruit Co., a Washington state fruit production and packaging company that settled with former employees before trial, says he's also been contacted by workers from "three very large fast-food chains" making similar allegations against their employers.
"What these people tell me is the restaurants hire huge numbers of illegal immigrants," Foster says. "They do it openly; everybody knows about it. It's sort of the way they do business."
In order to prove the allegations, he has to show the court that the company has a scheme or practice of hiring large numbers of illegal immigrants. One way to do that is through the establishment of the existence of an association-in-fact RICO enterprise with temporary employment recruiters, which former Mohawk employees allege the company used to knowingly accept false documents, recruit undocumented workers at the U.S.-Mexico border, and recycle illegal workers under different names.
While Morillo says Mohawk absolutely denies any such charges, the basis for the company's defense before the Supreme Court, interestingly enough, does not hinge on proving that it did not knowingly hire undocumented workers. Instead, Morillo hopes to persuade the court that the RICO statutes do not apply to this case because of the absence of an enterprise.
He explains that a loss for Mohawk on this point could set a dangerous precedent that would greatly expand the scope of the already broad RICO Act and spell trouble for American businesses.
"They want corporate employers to perform the job duties that immigration officials would otherwise be performing," he says. "We believe that should be the function of the federal government, and not corporate employers."
Anglo Amador, director of immigration policy for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which filed a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of Mohawk, agrees.
"What they're trying to do is enforce immigration law through other channels which are not the channels that are there in the law," he says. "Immigration law and immigration law enforcement are covered by the Immigration and Nationality Act, and that's where the only enforcement mechanism can be found, not on the RICO laws, which were really created to deal with mobsters and things like that. RICO laws are there for a particular reason, and this is not one of them."
Others, however, disagree. Organizations like the Federation for American Immigration Reform (fair), a national, non-profit public-interest group that seeks to stop illegal immigration, say RICO, which was expanded by Congress in 1996 to include "alien smuggling" among its list of offenses, was designed to be a broad legal tool.
"As far as scope, the Supreme Court has been saying for at least 20 years that Congress intended the RICO statute to apply very, very broadly," says Mike Hethmon, senior staff council for FAIR, which filed an amicus curiae on behalf of the Mohawk employees. Further, he says, a defeat for Foster would have an adverse affect on numerous criminal prosecutions brought by the U.S. Department of Justice.
The RICO Act was originally passed by Congress as part of the Organized Crime Control Act of 1970, legislation designed as a means for federal prosecutors to start cracking down on the Mafia. Under the statute, a person or group who commits any two of a list of crimes within a 10-year period and has committed those crimes with similar purpose or results can be charged with racketeering. The RICO statutes also contain a civil component allowing plaintiffs to sue for treble damages, making charges filed under them a serious threat for companies. What's more, RICO charges are filed in federal courts, increasing the cost of fighting them.
"These kinds of cases are expensive to fight," says Elizabeth Gaudio, senior attorney for the National Federation of Independent Business, which counts quick-service restaurant owners and franchisees among its 600,000 members. "And then there's just the additional stigma associated with a RICO charge."
The Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling in the case sometime this month, but even if the court decides in favor of Mohawk, the fight might still be far from over. Morillo says Foster could attack from another angle if the enterprise theory is shot down. And if the court rules in favor of the employees, experts on both sides of the debate agree that the battle will have only just begun.
"A holding that adopts a finding that a business and a contractor or a business and a recruiter constitutes a RICO enterprise would dramatically increase potential exposure to civil RICO liability," Gaudio says. "There's always a concern that once this catches on with the plaintiff's bar there's the possibility of the creep effect. I think there is potential for even smaller businesses, smaller restaurants, even franchisees to potentially be targets of a RICO claim."
Foster, too, believes a win for his clients will open the floodgates to similar suits. "If it's decided in my favor I think that you will see other lawyers around the country really start bringing these cases," he says.


text:
Urban League urges dads to be active parents
Chloe Herring | 8/21/2014, noon
As millions of students around the country returned to school Monday, the Urban League of Greater Miami urged local Black fathers to be involved in their children's education, first by waking up to take them to school.
The Urban League's push was matched by other organizations in over 700 cities across the United States in a movement tagged Million Fathers March. The program originated in Chicago in 2004 by the Black Star Project, an organization that equips minority children with academic resources.
President T. Willard Fair welcomed various father figures like uncles, granddads and stepdads to participate, even making announcements over the radio.
"We recognize there are boys in the community who don't have a daddy but they have a father out there," he said. "The diversity speaks to the fact that they're all men."
Some fathers, unaware of the march, were just excited to see their children reach a major milestone.
"I can't stop smiling," said Tequillan Talley, who had just dropped off his son on his first day of kindergarten at Liberty City Elementary. "We got a special handshake and he couldn't wait to have all the kids see it."
Talley, a single Black father, said his dad was not around to take him to school, but he knew that it was what he had to do for his own child.
The story of Black children left unattended by their biological fathers is all too familiar to Jemarlin Fowles, who was largely raised by his mother's husband.
"I understand where the kids are coming from with no father but we have to reach out to them," said Fowles, a member of the Circle of Brotherhood, which is a Black community service organization for males.
Research shows that students perform better academically and enjoy school when fathers play an active role in their educations. Fowles and other members of the Circle of Brotherhood try to fill the gap created by absent fathers by volunteering their time in local schools.
Fowles said positive involvement and education will steer kids away from the streets, too. He would like to see more men play a role in Black communities.
"Every brother should be a father figure to a kid," said Fowles. "They can be saved."
Twitter @chloeherring3


text:
Offers & Perks
Our fabric softener sheets will not only soften your clothes and control static cling, but they will also leave your dryables softly scented with our Good Home signature scents.
Sheets can also be added to drawers, luggage, bags, anywhere you want to add fragrance.
20 Fabric Sheets - Box
Made in the USA
Place one sheet in the clothing dryer at the start of the cycle.
Dispose of sheet when clothes are dried.
If drying synthetic fabrics, use low-temp setting on your dryer.
If a spot develops from the fabric softener, rub the spot with regular soap and water, then rewash.


text:
Pseudoteaching: What Was Complex Becomes Routine
February 20th, 2011 by Dan Meyer
John Burk and Frank Noschese are running a pseudoteaching meme I encourage you to explore for yourself. Their definition:
Pseudoteaching is something you realize you're doing after you've attempted a lesson which from the outset looks like it should result in student learning, but upon further reflection, you realize that the very lesson itself was flawed and involved minimal learning.
Recall also Deborah Loewenberg Ball:
I think we've all had the experience of giving so much structure and help that the problem becomes a simple routine problem when it wasn't originally.
I don't like to think about my student teaching year but for the sake of the exercise let me describe my PACT lesson, which, if you're in California education, you know is the summative assessment of your worth as a preservice teacher. It was a precalculus class and the objective was an understanding of rose petal polar functions like r = 3cos(2theta). Students will be able graph the family. Students will be able to describe how each coefficient affects the graph. Etc.
As I recall it, I was up at the front of the classroom with a TI ViewScreen showing them graph after graph, asking them to determine what the a is doing to the graph of r = asin(3theta).
Then how does b affect the graph of r = 2sin(btheta)?
Then how do sine and cosine differ?
Then I assessed their knowledge of rose petal functions with a worksheet of graphing problems.
I thought my students understood the behavior of r = acos(btheta) on a deep level but they were only responding to superficial patterns in notation. (My supervisor positively thumped me for that one.) Many of you readers — even the straggling humanities instructors we haven't yet scared off — can see from the graphs above that the petals double when b is even, that the petal length is equal to a but do any of you understand why? Do you know why the graph of r = cos(2theta) has four petals? Could you tell me why the tip of the first sine petal is always on the polar axis? (Not for nothing, the scaffolding in the worksheet also ensures I'm only getting pattern mimicry out of my students.)
Without that understanding, if I attach so much as a negative sign to that function, my students are toast. If I change a coefficient to a fraction, they're toast. If I change sine or cosine to tangent, they're toast. That inflexibility is an outcome of pseudoteaching.
Unless you understand what an algorithm is going to do, it isn't going to make sense to you.
The students have to develop the algorithm themselves. Given a second chance at that mess, I'd get students in groups of three or four and let each student pick a member of the family of the functions — "Okay, you do r = 1cos(2theta). I'll do r = 2cos(2theta). You do r = 3cos(2theta)." Rather than watch me mashing buttons at the front of the room, students would graph their functions by hand and then summarize their findings to each other and then the class. Maybe with a poster — your call. Questions from the teacher would then include everything in the breakdown above, everything I missed six years ago.
25 Responses to "Pseudoteaching: What Was Complex Becomes Routine"
on 21 Feb 2011 at 1:09 pm1 Tom Hoffman
You know, it is kind of shocking that high school students can learn that kind of stuff at all, or that they'd be expected to, or anyone cares.
on 21 Feb 2011 at 1:51 pm2 Pwolf
I've had similar thoughts about the same lesson, but having the kids graph those things by hand from scratch is pulling teeth–then again if I didn't teach this right, maybe I didn't teach plotting in polar well either.
Next time I have to teach this, I'll probably have them match tables of values, functions, graphs, and descriptions of the graphs, kind of like that UK maths resource suggests.
on 21 Feb 2011 at 1:51 pm3 Pwolf
Excuse me, I should say GET to teach this.
on 21 Feb 2011 at 2:08 pm4 Jason Dyer
Rather than watch me mashing buttons at the front of the room, students would graph their functions by hand and then summarize their findings to each other and then the class.
Devil's advocate looming: while the students would get the benefit of the process of exploration, would they understand the "why" part any better? In this specific case at the very least I would include translation between rectangle and polar coordinates and some arrows showing the points of matching.
I know from working with preservice K-6 teachers this semester that pulling out the "why" (even on adding two numbers) is extremely hard and requires nurturing and practice far beyond what explorations provide. I've had decent luck getting them to make algorithm explanations with two columns (a How and a Why) but that's entering into Way Too Much Time Spent To Be Practical in High School Class territory.
Tom: You know, it is kind of shocking that high school students can learn that kind of stuff at all, or that they'd be expected to, or anyone cares.
Get him, boys!
Pwolf: I've had similar thoughts about the same lesson, but having the kids graph those things by hand from scratch is pulling teeth
Jason: I've had decent luck getting them to make algorithm explanations with two columns (a How and a Why) but that's entering into Way Too Much Time Spent To Be Practical in High School Class territory.
The constructivism multiplier, and all that. But I think the students have to see the petal return to the origin a few times. I mean, even if they're looking at a calc-generated table but graphing the points by hand, that's better conceptually than just teaching them "equation turns into flowery-thingy."
on 21 Feb 2011 at 3:26 pm6 Jen
I dunno, as a student, I'm pretty sure that I'd have found "equation turns into flowery-thingy" interesting enough to look at and play with (and maybe get to make my own flowery-thingy, rather than just look at other ones.
Then, about a week later, maybe even on the test, although often later, I'd get the concepts. They'd just sort of dawn on me and all those things the teacher had said that seemed rather pointless (though were clearly important since s/he said them many times) would suddenly come into focus.
So, while I agree that just grinding through isn't likely to stick, then again some grinding and some drawing or at least plotting and lots of repetition may oftentimes lead to delayed onset comprehension.
on 21 Feb 2011 at 7:21 pm7 Sam Critchlow
Some thoughts on the specifics of the graphs etc.: the Grapher built in to most macs has the capability to parametrize a variable (a) via a slider. Parametrizing a and b (perhaps with a step of .5 or .1?) might convey the examples more efficiently than a series of graphs. Better still if there were a way for the students to control the parameters without flipping between the r= and graph screen.
This, of course, does little to nothing to explain the "why". I struggle with the same problem when teaching transformations in rectangular coordinates. Easy to show the various rules of shifts, reflections, etc. and to come up with mnemonics to remember the rules, but difficult for me to explain in a comprehensible manner. Spent hours creating powerpoint slides trying, but given a week most students remembered almost nothing of the "how" let alone the "why".
on 21 Feb 2011 at 8:32 pm8 Alex Eckert
I've always thought you were a little too harsh on your 1st-year-teacher-self, second-year-teacher-self, and as not so subtly stated here, your preservice-teacher-self. Maybe it's all by way of letting others know that even the great Dan Meyer was not so great once (even though I'm sure most of us on here would dispute that).
Personally I don't think you'd be where you are now if you weren't where you were then.
My goal, with teaching in general, isn't so much for them to grasp the why now. It's to grasp an appreciation for searching for the why now, so that when they're my age they can't stand but to go a day without trying to figure out why to something. I can't, and it makes things awfully fun.
on 21 Feb 2011 at 8:36 pm9 Alex Eckert
Ha…just re-read my post and realized how Cypress Hill – esque, circa 1992, my middle paragraph (sentence) sounded….
"How do you know where I'm at if you haven't been where I've been……understand where I'm comin' from???"
on 22 Feb 2011 at 3:56 am10 Laura
@ Jason:
I don't know that Dan is implying that he would toss out these ideas, let the kids "explore," and expect them to arrive at the "why" as a result. I believe in guided inquiry, and carry this out as often as I can/plan with my second graders. Giving the kids time to explore something gives them a frame of reference during the discussion of "why." And I think it's important to remember that understanding is a precursor to articulating that understanding. So…students will be able to understand "why" before they're able to clearly explain the "why."
on 22 Feb 2011 at 5:56 am11 Maria
I love this self reflection. It so mirrors my own struggling reality in the here-and-now. Thanks for the boost in confidence for a newby (whose not so 'new' in the chronological sense).
John and Frank's definition:
Pseudoteaching is something you realize you're doing after you've attempted a lesson which from the outset looks like it should result in student learning, but upon further reflection, you realize that the very lesson itself was flawed and involved minimal learning.
reminded me of Alan Schoenfeld's paper When Good Teaching Leads to Bad Results: The Disasters of "Well Taught" Mathematics Courses which might be of interest here.
Correction on the url:
on 22 Feb 2011 at 8:05 am14 Mark Schwartzkopf
That paper is pretty excellent. Thanks for the link.
on 22 Feb 2011 at 9:53 am15 Frank Noschese
Hi Dan,
Awesome post. We want students to find patterns, but we also want them to be able to transfer the inner workings of those the patterns to new problems. Your polar functions lesson solidly shows how pseudoteaching fails to do this.
Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy #gradskool and speaking schedule to put together this post. The differences between good lessons and better lessons are nuanced, and you've helped bring those subtleties to light.
Many thanks again,
on 22 Feb 2011 at 10:36 am16 Brian Wyzlic
One thing that was repeated a lot during my undergrad courses was "play with it." While this is not something I could say without context to a group that includes high school males, that is what I asked my pre-calc students to do. All my students either had a graphing calculator or could borrow one overnight. Towards the end of class, we went over how to put the calculator in polar form (they already know what polar graphing is, we just hadn't done much with it yet), and we look at a few graphs involving sin and cos. Then they take some time in class to play with it, and their assignment for the night is to play around with polar graphing and find some patterns.
The next day, we have a whole mess of patterns that have been found, and as a class, we can explore why those patterns exist. It works pretty well, though it does not rule out pseudoteaching without the next day exploration.
on 22 Feb 2011 at 11:12 am17 Amy
I explored this on my own as a high school student. As soon as I started drawing out the waves, I noticed that whether or not the wave had point symmetry affected the number of petals, and it was easy to see and explain how the "b" could manipulate that point symmetry.
…. at least that's what I remember, it's been YEARS since I've explored polar coordinates!
on 22 Feb 2011 at 12:45 pm18 Jason Dyer
@Dan: Not disagreeing — I've run polar coordination exploration in class before — just being cautious. It didn't read like a complete lesson to me yet.
So…students will be able to understand "why" before they're able to clearly explain the "why."
@Laura: This is the knotty bit I'd love to unravel: how do you tell when this happens? I've certainly done explorations where students had the patterns down as brainlessly as if I'd just told them a recipe. I'd love to avoid that, but sometimes it's a hard thing to check. The standard approach is to add a wrinkle and recheck for understanding (like mentioned in the example, adding a negative) but that's not foolproof.
on 22 Feb 2011 at 2:20 pm19 Luke Hodge
It seems to me that asking what the parameters a & b do for the functions r=asin(bt) provides a nice visual surprise, still has a little bit of meat to it, and avoids the tedium of graphing by hand.
Plotting points in hopes of a graph taking some sort of form is not an approach (at least not a first approach) that I would want to encourage. I would much rather see if I can figure anything out by looking at the equation first – then pick some nice points to plot.
I think the "why" part of this is accessible if you focus on values of t that minimize/maximize r – which is also a relatively appetizing question. Finding values of t, by hand, which minimize/maximize r is not tedious & very clearly shows why you get the number of loops that you do – it is all about the period & whether some loops will overlap previous loops. I think most people would likely need a hint or instructions to focus on max/mins for r, though.
I think they key here was the end realization: by facilitating performances during which students created (and then probably evaluated), a teacher would be able to accurately gauge understanding, which is the goal–not just performance or knowledge. I think this is where the task analysis folks miss the boat.
I believe students should be in a constant state of production. As one of the "straggling humanities teachers" still following along in the discussion, it's easy for me: students are always writing, revising, conferring, and creating class-wide and personal language arts-based projects. For the example above, I might ask, "What were the students creating with these rose petal formation graphs?"
It's tough to get kids to understand something if the final output is just graphs. Graphs for what purpose? The Teaching for Understanding (TfU) framework calls the steps along the way "understanding performances" because the students understands more deeply with each scaffolded output (from initial inquiry, to guided, to independent).
As you have already pointed out the aesthetic qualities of those rose petals, perhaps an art-based summative output wherein students had to manipulate the equations for intended results (i.e. students sketch first, plan out the art, then have to troubleshoot the math to make it work) might have engendered transfer.
on 26 Feb 2011 at 7:13 pm21 Dave Smith
Thanks all, for a very thought provoking discussion.
I discovered my own psuedoteaching on a big scale one semester when I read the NSTA's wonderful little pamphlet "Ask the Right Questions." In it they suggested using additional wait time after answers, not just after questions, and perhaps even adding in a little gesture to ask for more. I went in full of confidence to the next day's class (upper level college geology class that I was very pleased with – lots of engagement, lots of good answers to my questions, etc). Well, first there was the panic stricken look in the eyes of my students. More?! What do you mean more?! Then there was the uncomfortable pause. Then there was the complete nonsense that came out of their mouths. Then it was my turn to panic (Oh no! They haven't actually learned anything! Now what?!). It really was remarkable – The first couple of words in response to each of my questions were generally a correct short answer, and the next ten or twenty or more words were confused, rambling, or just plain wrong.
What I eventually learned from that experience was that I had to let/make the students do a LOT more talking. Only once students were talking did I have any way to know whether they had any idea what was going on. I began to focus my teaching on data sets. "Here are first person accounts of different kinds of volcanoes, what patterns do you notice?" Yes it took time and so I cut down my curriculum to 6 big ideas in a semester (15 class/lab hours per idea). I did much less preparation for specific class activities and much more lying awake at night thinking "Is this really the most important idea for this unit, or can I get away with leaving them confused for now?"
@Frank Noschese this is why I have been a huge fan of Modeling Instruction (modeling.asu.edu) ever since I first read about it.
Thanks for the journey back into polar coordinates, too. I had to use Excel to generate a table and scratch out a sketch graph before I began to understand what was going on, even though I clearly recall learning how to predict the number of petals once upon a time.
on 26 Feb 2011 at 7:24 pm22 Dave Smith
Just a quick note on graphing by hand. Ever since I took a short course from Win Means at SUNY Albany on Mohr's Circle (a graphical method for working with tensors), I have been much more likely to use sketch graphing and have a much greater appreciation for the potential of a simple sketch to convey useful and even reasonably precise quantitative information. When I realized I did not understand the functions above, I started in with SpaceTime on my iPad, but the finished graph lacked the information to show me how the petals connected to the trig function, especially since it converted all the coordinates to x, y pairs. I grabbed a handy envelope and went to work on a sketched polar plot, going from cos(theta) to cos (2theta) and within 5 or 10 minutes I had the basics figured out.
on 28 Feb 2011 at 6:41 am23 Jovan Miles
Hey Dan, I always read but rarely comment!
Your point about algorithms not making sense to people unless they know what the algorithm is going to do just hit home with me.
I'm currently working as an instructional math coach with 2 alternative schools that serve special education students.
I'm looking over diagnostic tests and noticing a pattern of students simply not knowing what the algorithm is supposed to do…
I'm going to share this post with my teachers and hopefully they'll get something out of it.
I love that you hold yourself to this amazing high standard: that every kid learns at a high level, every class.
I'm an old (humanities) teacher working with a new age group at a new school, and realize just how rarely I am able to get up to that level in my new setting. Whereas before I could convince myself that I was there a lot — now, hardly at all.
I'm looking, instead, at progress-over-time, when I feel like a failure. Here at six weeks into the semester they have certainly learned, even though I could hardly see it unfolding on a daily basis, and had so many pseudoteaching fails along the way.
Thanks for the reminder of exactly what I am striving for.
on 25 Mar 2012 at 7:22 am25 Sue VanHattum
>Could you tell me why the tip of the first sine petal is always on the polar axis?
First cosine petal, right?


text:
By Tom Chartier
When does our government actually function at it's best? Stop laughing! This is a serious question. Ponder it for a moment. The answer is easy. The government functions best when it does nothing! That's right, nothing, nada, zilch.
Should any poor soul actually depend on the U.S. government for anything, well… I got some prime beachfront property for sale in Nevada. When was the last time that any government schemes actually worked? Worked for the taxpayer that is. We all know these schemes work just fine for the "elected officials." I can't think of any that worked for us. Hm… maybe the Tennessee Valley Authority…
Do our schools work? No.
Does FEMA work? Ask the city of New Orleans.
How about Social Security? Will that be there for you when you retire? No way.
Known and very popular cialis coupon which gives all the chance to receive a discount for a preparation which has to be available and exactly cialis coupons has been found in the distant room of this big house about which wood-grouses in the houses tell.
Once in office, "elected officials" spend most of their time raising money
to remain in office. They pass laws that complicate our lives and turn
innocent pursuits into federal crimes. Ayn Rand summed it up. In Atlas
Shrugged, a government official lays it out:
" 'Did you really think that we want those laws to be observed?... We want
them broken... We're after power and we mean it… There's no way to rule
innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack
down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals, one makes
them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes
impossible for men to live without breaking laws. Who wants a nation
of law-abiding citizens? What's there in that for anyone? But just
pass the kind of laws that can neither be observed nor enforced nor
objectively interpreted---and you create a nation of law-breakers---and
then you cash in on guilt.' "
All the while, our "elected officials" are egging on a power-mad president to shred our constitutionally guaranteed freedoms.
When those "elected officials" actually do some work, that's when
they are your biggest threat. The only things "elected officials" care
about are: 1) their golf game at the Burning Bush Country Club and 2) the Military-Industrial Complex that contributes to their campaign war chests.
You, the voter and taxpayer are a means to an end.
Do we really need all the laws they pass? Of course not! Do we have a say about anything "they" do? Of course not!
Before Diebold became the HAL 9000 of U.S. politics, we lived in a Republic. Voters got to decide who would make the decisions. Maybe we still do. But, the only
say we have in anything comes every couple of years when we get to vote
on which buffoons we want to misrepresent us in Congress or the White
Oh sure, a few good eggs slip through the cracks and on occasion a
decent law is passed. But that's the exception not the rule.
Most "elected officials" are as qualified as "Swear Man," the tragic Tourette's Syndrome
sufferer who "lived" in an alley behind a gas station in Los Angeles.
He'd walk down the street barking and yelling obscenities every day.
There's not much difference between Swear Man and the esteemed Senator
"Bull" Horn. Just take a whiff of some of their soapbox flatulence… be
sure to stay upwind though.
Have you ever gotten any satisfaction from writing or telephoning
your Congressman or Senator? If you are a cute sixteen-year-old page,
you may get a response.
I rest my case.
What a hopeless system, eh? We're doomed! Well, maybe. But, like I said, there is one little catch. Democratic Dictatorship
and all, we still have the opportunity every two years to give some of
the bums the good old heave ho! Yup, we can toss them out of their
swank club, The Washington DC Resort and Spa (aka the U S
Capitol Building), onto their keisters to scurry off into mysteriously
chewed holes along the running board. Sadly a few of these rodents pop
out the other side of the Revolving Door on the boards of corporations,
in defense contracting businesses, and in firms that lobby the Resort
and Spa where they served us… oops… I mean, served themselves.
There is a trick to choosing the howler monkeys for whom to vote: Do not
listen to their choreographed cacophony. They'll promise you anything
from a ride on the Space Shuttle to a lifetime supply of Viagra. But
just as soon as the money talks or presidential ambition rears its ugly
behind they are guaranteed to flip-flop. Senator John McCain is a perfect example.
Don't look for candidates who promise to faithfully represent your interests. That's a complete waste of your votes.
Here's what you do: Look for the candidates most likely to gunk up the works!
I know it sounds crazy. But it's not. The Framers of our
Constitution set up the system of checks and balances deliberately to
prevent anybody from doing too much damage… hopefully.
Here it is in the Federalist Papers:
"Ambition must be made to counteract ambition. The interest of the man must be connected with the constitutional rights of the place. It may be a reflection on human nature, that such devices should be necessary to control the abuses of government. But what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself. A dependence on the people is, no doubt, the primary control on the government; but experience has taught mankind the necessity of auxiliary precautions.
"This policy of supplying, by opposite and rival interests, the defect of better motives, might be traced through the whole system of human affairs, private as well as public."
[Federalist 51, James Madison]
Thanks to The Decider-in-Chief, the Supreme Court
he rode in on and his rubber stamp "elected officials," that system of
checks and balances and the Constitution that contains it is "just a goddamned piece of paper."
Master hustler that he is, George W. Bush's primary goal was always to eliminate those bothersome checks and balances. He has spent much time and a lot of your
money appointing radical right wing judges and officials and
campaigning for corrupt Republican candidates he can control. It's
worked for him… but not for you.
So… time to put an end to tyranny and corruption. Kick the
incumbents out! Replace them with new idiots and cretins! And make
damned sure not only that they disagree with each other but also that
their political affiliation differs from that of the Texas Longhorn in
the china shop called the Oval Office!
Remember, your "elected official" doesn't seek office to serve you.
On Election Day, vote for the candidates who will tie up the system
in knots. If enough quarrelsome fools are "elected," the new members of
Congress will spend all of their time squabbling amongst themselves and
never get anything done. Perfect! That was the Founders' plan.
Government at its finest… unable to function!
Elizabeth Gyllensvard edited and contributed to this article.
My fellow Americans, it is with a heavy heart that I must confess. I have transgressed. I have committed the most heinous crime of our great land....
"Imagine what it's like to be a young person living in a country that is not moving toward reform. You're 21 years old, and while your peers in...
Hey there Georgie Boy, long time no speak. From what I've been hearing, you've had a rough time as of late. As always, I'm here to help. So...
If this were a dictatorship, it would be a heck of a lot easier... just so long as I'm the dictator." George Walker Bush, 2000 Was...
Hey there nostalgia fans and potential survivors! Don't you miss the good old days when baby boomers were babies? I sure do. Boy, those were fine...
Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites
monrose said:
Great Post
i really enjoy your post and i would be happy, if i can see more of it.


text:
- Home
- About
About Kitty Hooch Kitty Hooch FAQ About Kitty Hooch Kitty Hooch Story Compare Quality Our Guarantees Kitty Hooch Lifestyle
Kitty Hooch has an interesting story. In 2001 we started our business with $60 in grocery money. Virtually every aspect of our business breaks with the conventional models. We feel the market niche we serve has been in need of quality, value and new ideas. Read about it here and be sure to look at our 110% favorite toy guarantee.
- Photos
Kitty Hooch Photos Cats Catnip People Customers
- Videos
Kitty Hooch Videos Cats Testimonials Catnip Product Demos Back Stage Customer Cats Testimonials Catnip
- Products
- Order
Order Using Our Secure Servers Order Now View Cart Find a local store
Your cat deserves the very best! Just keep an eye on the mail!
- Interact
Interact With Kitty Hooch Testimonials Events Questions/Comments User Settings Facebook Page
When it comes to Catnip both Thor and I are snobs. He won't play or get so excited about anyone else's catnip except for Kitty Hooch! I will never try anyone else's product but yours. We moved away to AZ a couple of years ago. Lucky for us you have web service! Not only that but I have never seen anyone else respond so quickly! You are the best. Thank you for all that you do for the awesome cats in the world! Keep up the good work and have a wonderful day!Jenn H
Mesa AZ
- Wholesale
Kitty Hooch Wholesale Become a Kitty Hooch retailer Refer a pet store Find a store near you View our wholesale site Log in to your wholesale account
Kitty Hooch
Copyright © 2001 - 2015 Kittyhooch LLC
Contact Kitty Hooch
Report a page error
Site design and construction by Eric Laffoon


text:
This scholarly work unfolds the collective wisdom of legal luminaries on a subject of great topical interest.
The book focusses attention on the myriad problems of the weaker segments of the society. Broadly, the following areas have been covered:-
Equal justice for weaker sections: Identification of Backward Classes, Reservation Policy, Protective Discrimination, Problem of Untouchability, etc.
Justice in Litigation: Para Legal workers and justice to the poor, legal aid, Preventive Detention jurisprudence, prison justice, equity and Sales Tax in India, etc.
Protection of Women: Women in the workforce, women in marriage, protection of the rights of women, exploitation of women, legal services for women, dowry, polygamy, female succession, right to maintenance, rape, population control, abortion, etc.
Protection of Children: Vagrancy, beggary and status crimes, social policy for children, children's court system, probation, etc.
Protection of Labour: Protection of the interests of labour, accidents in Industrial undertakings, bonded labour, child labour, etc.
A must book for anyone interested in the subject.


text:
Approach® X40 GPS golf band combines daily activity tracking with Elevate™ wrist heart rate technology. Shows precise distances to greens and hazards on more than 40,000 preloaded worldwide courses.
High-resolution touchscreen golf watch with more than 40,000 worldwide courses; has dedicated Green View button, and shows yardage to the greens plus layups and doglegs.
Feature-packed golf GPS slim enough to fit in your pocket. Loaded with more than 40,000 courses around the world with free lifetime updates.
Run, bike, swim, golf, ski and more with vívoactive® HR, the GPS smartwatch with Elevate™ wrist heart rate technology. It records and displays activity data and features smart notifications.
Play harder, work smarter, live better. vívoactive, the lightweight GPS smartwatch, comes with built-in running, biking, golfing, swimming and activity tracking apps. Use on its own or pair with your smartphone for incoming calls and message notifications.
Site Map • Terms of Use • Privacy • Security • Copyright © 1996-2016 Garmin Ltd. or its subsidiaries


text:
Visual Basic.NET 2008 > Building Custom Windows Controls
Building Custom Windows Controls in Visual Basic 2008
Just as you can design custom classes, you can use Visual Studio to design custom controls. The process is very similar, in the sense that custom controls have properties, methods, and events, which are implemented with code that's identical to the code you'd use to implement these members with classes. The difference is that controls have a visual interface and interact with the user. In short, you must provide the code to draw the control's surface, as well as react to selected user actions from within the control's code.
In this chapter, you'll learn how to enhance the functionality of existing controls, a common practice among developers. You've already seen in the preceding chapter how to inherit an existing class and add custom members. You can do the same with the built-in controls.
There are several methods of designing custom controls. In this chapter, we'll discuss the following:
Table of Contents
W3computing.com Copyright 2011 © All Rights Reserved
|Home | Useful links | Contact us | Privacy Policy


text:
Download citation file:
Grant support: training grant AI-00028, and service research grant RR-00044, U.S. Public Health Service, Washington, D.C.
Presented in part 15 October 1971 at the Upstate New York Regional Meeting of the American College of Physicians.
▸Requests for reprints should be addressed to Jay Grossman, M.D., Allergy-Immunology Service, William Beaumont Army Medical Center, El Paso, TX 79920.
Rochester, New York
The deposition of gamma globulins and complement at the dermal-epidermal (D-E) junction of normal-appearing skin was found by direct immunofluorescence in 54% of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and in only one patient with procainamide-induced lupus. No patients with rheumatoid arthritis or other antinuclear-antibody-positive connective tissue diseases showed this deposition. The D-E junction staining was found only in patients with clinically active systemic lupus erythematosus, but it could not be correlated with specific organ system involvement.
Please read the other comments before posting. Contributors must reveal any conflict
of interest.
Comments are moderated and will appear on the site at the discretion of The American
College of Physicians editorial staff. Please be sure your email address is
updated in your account, otherwise the American College of Physicians will not be
able to contact you about your comment.
Anyone can submit a comment any time after publication, but only those submitted within 4 weeks of an article's publication will be considered for print publication. One month after publication, editors review all posted comments and select some for publication in the Letters section of the print version of Annals. (Not peer reviewed)
Authors: No more than 5
Text: Word Limit 400 (excludes references), 5 references, no figures or tables
* = Required Field
Disclosure of Any Conflicts of Interest*
(applies to the past 5 years and foreseeable future) Indicate any potential conflicts
of interest of each author below, including specific financial interests and relationships
and affiliations relevant to the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript
(eg, employment/affiliation, grants or funding, consultancies, honoraria, speakers
bureau, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, royalties, donation of medical
equipment, or patents filed, received, or pending). If all authors have none, check
"No potential conflicts or relevant financial interests" in the box below. Please
also indicate any funding received in support of this work. The information will
be posted with your response.
Terms of Use
The In the Clinic® slide sets are owned and copyrighted by the American College
of Physicians (ACP). All text, graphics, trademarks, and other intellectual property
incorporated into the slide sets remain the sole and exclusive property of the ACP.
The slide sets may be used only by the person who downloads or purchases them and
only for the purpose of presenting them during not-for-profit educational activities.
Users may incorporate the entire slide set or selected individual slides into their
own teaching presentations but may not alter the content of the slides in any way
or remove the ACP copyright notice. Users may make print copies for use as hand-outs
for the audience the user is personally addressing but may not otherwise reproduce
or distribute the slides by any means or media, including but not limited to sending
them as e-mail attachments, posting them on Internet or Intranet sites, publishing
them in meeting proceedings, or making them available for sale or distribution in
any unauthorized form, without the express written permission of the ACP. Unauthorized
use of the In the Clinic slide sets will constitute copyright infringement.
to gain full access to the content and tools.
Learn more about subscription options


text:
Churrascaria Rodizio restaurant. We have been serving tender, mouth–watering meat, along with delicious seafood and vegetarian dishes since 1993. Our original location is in Cambridge (near Inman Square) and our second location is on Rte 1 North in Saugus. Both locations feature the Churrascaria Rodizio, which consists of perfectly grilled and seasoned meat circulated by our staff and carved at your table.
Both locations have great bars with several big screen TV's. It is a great place to unwind after work, while enjoying a refreshing cocktail and an even better place to catch a game and have some fun!
Over 1.5 MILLION people served!
Website by Community Communications, Inc.


text:
Cleuzia Navessee, '13
Business Administration, Accounting | January 13, 2013
Accomplishment: McClain Internship in Independence, MO
Major: Business Administration, Accounting
House: Shalom
Cleuzia Navessee '13 originally came to the United States from the South African country of Mozambique because she wasn't keeping up with her school work. Her parents sent her to Iowa when she was in middle school to help her get serious about her education.
And 10 years later, it's obvious that they've accomplished their mission.
Cleuzia, or "Kilu" as her friends call her, is now a busy GU student, double majoring in Business Administration and Accounting. She's scheduled to graduate a semester early and recently secured a summer internship with McClain Enterprises in Independence, MO. Graceland's Board of Trustees' Chair, Ken McClain, and his wife Cindy McClain, hire Graceland students each summer for the program.
"This internship is going to be such a good opportunity for me. I don't know exactly what I want to do yet career wise, and this will help me figure everything out. I'm going to gain experience, work with new people and get one step closer to where I want to be," said Cleuzia.
"If you have questions the teachers at Graceland are so willing to help you. Theyll let you contact them at home. They really take the time to make sure you fully understand what youre working on."
Securing the internship shows the progression Cleuzia has made since her arrival in the U.S. 10 years ago. Cleuzia says when she arrived in the States she didn't speak any English, with Portuguese being the national language in Mozambique. On top of her language struggles, she had the culture shock of moving from a sprawling city to rural Iowa. She says her hometown (Fairfield, IA) had a lot more "cows and corn" than she had originally envisioned.
Now fluent in English, and used to small-town life, Cleuzia says she'll have some valuable experiences and marketable skills to take back to Africa. After graduating from Graceland next December, she plans to get her Master's degree in either Business or Accounting. After that, she hopes to gain work experience before returning to Mozambique.
As for now, Cleuzia continues to gain experience working with the Graceland Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) team and participating in Shalom House Council as Intramural Representative. Cleuzia also plays JV soccer.
She says Graceland was instrumental in her acquiring the upcoming internship. The Business Department informed her of the internship opportunity and she was able to have a mock-interview with the Career, Academic, Personal Counseling (CAP) Center the day before her internship interview.
"I'm excited for this chance," said Cleuzia. "I'm willing to do the work. I'm ready to work hard and gain some experience in the real world."
C.H. Sandage School of Business, Business Administration, Accounting


text:
Skyros, Modern Greek Skíros , island, the largest and easternmost of the northern Sporades in the Aegean Sea, Greece. The island has an area of 81 square miles (210 square km). On the island's western coast is found the main harbour, Linariá, while in the north is Skíros, the capital, on the site of the ancient capital. The southern part of the island culminates in Mount Kokhílas (2,602 feet [790 m]). Traditionally the island was a sanctuary of the legendary hero Achilles, and there Theseus, king of Athens, was treacherously killed. In 475 bce it was seized by Athens; when the Romans took it in 196 bce, it was under Macedonian rule. Present-day Skyros is a resort. Pop. (2001) 2,602.
Similar Topics


text:
Ancient Faience Hedjet Crown Amulet, New Kingdom, RARE!
browse these categories for related items...
All Items: Antiques: Regional Art: Ancient World: Egyptian: Faience: Pre AD 1000: item # 924978
Please refer to our stock # GD-450 when inquiring.
Galleria Delvecchio
Guest Book
Here you find a rate ancient Egyptian Faience amulet of the Crown of Upper Egypt. This example is in perfect condition as shown. In a dark green faience, dates to the New Kingdom. Measures 1.4 inches in length. This is a rare amulet, in great condition and nice size!.
Provenance: Gustave Jequier (1868-1946)
Ex. Billy Jamieson (1954-2011)
Authentication: Gayle Gibson, Egyptologist.
Similar amulet is found in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
For reference see: Genesis of the Pharaohs: Genesis of the Ka and Crowns? by Timothy Kendall, American Archaeologist.
Ancient Egyptian was born of "two separate lands, north and south, which became a unified whole at the beginning of the dynastic period". Important in showing the pharaohs role in unification were the crowns that he wore on his head. As this piece, was the tall and conical white crown, (symbolic of Upper Egypt). On the other hand, flat red crown (symbolized Lower Egypt). The king was shown with either the double crown, which is the red crown surmounted by the white crown. This beautiful faience amulet represents the white crown of upper Egypt; protected by the vulture goddess Nekhbet and the god Set. It was the king of Upper Egypt who emerged victorious from the battle between north and south and perhaps this amulet commemorates that ancient victory!


text:
UPDATE: "The Flash" Hasn't Cast Savitar, Says Berlanti
TV, Comic Books
When a book doesn't have any humor in it, it doesn't ring true to me. It's a reason I read little sci-fi for a long while, because it seemed in an effort to be taken seriously, authors eschewed humor. Or maybe most simply weren't funny, it's hard to say. It's something that has plagued comic books in recent decades too. I think it's been improving though.
-Jeff Parker, agreeing with Roald Dahl's assessment (via Matilda) that not having any funny bits in your book is a failing. Fortunately, we have folks like Parker (and Brian Clevinger and Paul Tobin and several others) who are working hard to put the funny back into funny books.
Who's your favorite "funny comics" writer?
Bobby & Peter Timony of Night Owls
Paul Tobin
& Nate Cosby
Peter David's the best but Christos Gage is pretty great.
Peter David, Jeff Smith, Dan Slott, Peter Bagge, Dave Sim (pre-186), Warren Ellis, Thom Zahler…for a start.
Evan Dorkin, created Milk & Cheese and wrote World's Funnest.
I hear Alan Moore can wrote some funny when he was starting.
Brian Clevinger, easily. Though if Gregg Taylor of Decoder Ring Theatre decided to write comics, he'd give Clevinger a run for his money.
I've seen some good recommendations so far. How'bout Roger Langridge?
And hell, seeing as he generally does double-duty, why limit it to writers? Funny drawings are every bit as important as funny writing.
More writers: Paul Dini, Paul Cornell, John Layman, Mark Evanier
More artists: Amanda Conner, Rob Guillory
More writer/artists: Los Bros Hernandez, Sergio Aragones, Jim Woodring, Mike Mignola, Evan Dorkin, Darwyn Cooke
And that's just a few off the top of my head, whose work I've bought recently. Do we want to get into the classics? Kurtzman, Wood, Stanley…hell, I think it's fair to call Groening and Barry "classic" at this point (though it might make them feel old).
Anyone who doesn't answer Michael Kupperman needs to look at themselves, and also look at their choices.
No one has mentioned Sergio Aragones? Seriously? First person I thought of. Anyone who likes good comics owes it to themselves to check out the ongoing series "Sertgo Aragones' Funnies."
There's a whole host of creators who work on the various Simpsons comic series that do great work, as well.
No one's mentioned Mark Waid? Impulse is one of the defining humorous super-hero comics of the modern age.
Also…Busiek, Morrison, Gail Simone, BKV, Fraction, Gage.
Even writers who are not know for being funny can do it often to be worthy of note. Geoff Johns is often close to humorless as a writer, but he was part of the very funny Booster Gold comic and gave us Larfleeze. I don't usually find Bendis to be very funny, but he gave Peter Parker the perfect sense of humor in Ult-Spidey.
Of all the comics writers I am big on now, the only one who doesn't seem to have much of a sense of humor is Scott Snyder. I hope that once he dispatches the Court of Owls, there will be time for that.
Keith Knight has been known to tell a joke or two as well.
And no-shit: Brandon Graham. Everybody knows that and you all omitted him for being the obvious selection. RIGHT?
With all of the writing books out there, I haven't seen much in the way of how to write humor. Anyone have suggestions for resources on humor writing? I have one book, The Comic Toolbox that is excellent, but I would love to have more.
Did you ever read "I Saw It" about the atomic bomb dropping on Hiroshima? Stunning "comic book", but nothing funny about it. Ever read Jack Jackson's graphic novels about the plight of the American "Indian"? Tragic, but wonderful storytelling. Nothing funny about it. How about "Our Cancer Year" by Harvey Pekar? Somehow I didn't get one chuckle. But it was amazing.
Jeff Parker must not have read many good books. He certainly hasn't read much good science fiction, to make such a statement. Because literature — even comics literature — can be artistic, entertaining, educational, and life-affirming. Without the use of humor.
^^^^ this guy needs to lighten up.
Darryl, I'm quite "lightened up", thank you. In fact, I've been made my living as a yoga teacher for 21 years, so I'm a pretty peaceful guy.
But somebody needed to speak up. The title of this column, "Funny books should be funny," is absolutedly wrong. And Jeff Parker's statement that "When a book doesn't have any humor in it, it doesn't ring true…" is painfully ignorant. Someone needed to speak the truth about those erroneous statements. And I didn't see you doing it.


text:
On Eve of Ashcroft's Testimony, DOJ Issues Monitor Guidelines
Are they mere window-dressing, or do they have teeth?
That's the question that came to mind while reading this morning's reports that the DOJ — in advance of today's testimony by former AG John Ashcroft regarding the circumstances of a lucrative, no-bid monitoring contract awarded him by New Jersey U.S. Attorney Chris Christie — issued a set of guidelines for regulating the selection of monitors. The selection of corporate monitors, increasingly used to track companies that enter deferred-prosecution agreements, has recently become a source of controversy among those who believe that political favoritism determines which lawyers get the contracts. (Click here, here and here for past LB coverage.)
According to reports (here and here), the proposed guidelines, issued yesterday in a memorandum sent out by deputy AG Craig Morford, require that monitor appointments be approved by the deputy attorney general and that prosecutors' offices establish committees to help pick candidates. In some cases, it might work that a company nominates a monitor over whom the government has veto power. In others cases, companies and prosecutors might agree on a monitor from among several candidates.
Justice officials didn't include requirements for companies to disclose the amount they pay monitors. But according to the WSJ, an official said if the cost is large enough, companies would likely deem it significant financial information required to be disclosed in securities filings.


text:
Newtown Township Board of Supervisors
Special Work Session – 2002 Budget Hearing
October 15, 2001
MINUTES WERE APPROVED at the regular meeting November 28, 2001. BUDGET MEETING OF 10/15/01: Mr. Weaver moved to approve the minutes of the 10/15/01 budget meeting. The motion was seconded by Mr. Jirele and passed unanimously.
PRESENT: Steve Sanderlin, Chairman; Scott Harp, Secretary/Treasurer; Dick Weaver; Raymond "Skip" Goodnoe; Tom Harwood, Interim Township Manager; Bob Pellegrino, Incoming Township Manager; Elaine Gibbs, Finance Director.
DEPARTMENT HEADS/PRESENTERS: William Wert, Parks and Recreation Director; Robert R. Larason, Vice President of Carroll Engineering; James Bowe, Member of the Capital Planning Committee.
Attached to these minutes are the agenda of the meeting and presentations given by each department head.
Mr. Sanderlin called the meeting to order at 6:05 pm.
Mr. Wert recognized the Parks & Open Space Committee for their contributions to and support of the Parks and Recreation Department, and said they had a productive year. He said that member Russ Strover secured grant monies that were used to plant the 20 trees native to this area in the Tree Grove at Roberts Ridge Park.
Mr. Wert reviewed developments in Newtown's park system this year:
§ The addition of the Tree Grove and provision of driveway access and parking facilities at Roberts Ridge Park.
§ The completion of the Newtown Trail.
§ The enhancement of Chandler Fields by the Council Rock Newtown Little League.
Mr. Wert thanked the Recreation Board for their support. He noted the emergence of a Skate Park Task Force, which continues to research and investigate the costs, concerns, pros and cons of building a skate park facility in Newtown Township. He also recognized the dedication, hard work and creativity of his staff.
Mr. Wert reviewed the statistics for recreation over the last year, noting a 19.48% increase in program offerings, a 5% increase in participation, an increase of 22% in income this year – with two months left. He also noted that, as of October 12th, the recreation component of the budget is operating at 106% self-sufficiency. Mr. Wert said next year's budget targets the recreation component to be 95% self-sufficient.
Mr. Wert reviewed the number of programs offered over the last five years, as well as recreation performance. He noted that 13% of the 411 programs were cancelled due to lack of participation, the lowest cancellation rate since 1997. Mr. Wert said that the number of registrations received increased 5% over last year, and 23% of the 2494 individuals that registered participated in two or more programs offered the Newtown Parks and Recreation. The majority of participation occurs in children's programs. Mr. Wert reviewed the graph analyzing age distribution, which helped the department learn which age categories were doing well and which age categories needed improvement. Mr. Wert reviewed income by recreation division, with summer camps representing 46% of the program receipts. He estimated that program receipts this year would total approximately $290,000.
Mr. Wert recognized the work of the Ad Hoc Community Center Committee, and summarized the committee's recommendations:
§ Assume the lease on the Acme building on Sycamore Street;
§ Appoint a new committee to commence with establishing the community center, and
a permanent community center be deemed appropriate, the site should be on the
21 acres along Wrights Road across from the Newtown
Elementary School.
Mr. Sanderlin asked Mr. Wert about capital expenses. Mr. Wert replied that the cost for backstop improvements were greater than expected and the line item was adjusted to reflect the difference.
Committee member Jim Bowe gave some background, and noted challenges the committee faces:
Mr. Bowe said that, due to the factors above, the General Fund could no longer fund large capital improvement projects. He said that the supervisors would need to consider some options: drop or postpone some capital improvement projects, rearrange capital project timing, seek a new bond issue, or raise millage. These options would address the possible cash flow difficulty with the Sycamore Street project and the ability to go forward with the Municipal Complex project. Mr. Bowe reviewed the list of projects for 2002, noting which projects remain unfunded.
He reviewed options suggested by the committee for the funding of the unfounded projects:
Mr. Goodnoe asked if the township should or should not consider long range funding to cover short term cash flow problems. Mr. Harwood said that this could avoid the need for a bridge loan. Mr. Goodnoe questioned whether there was a consensus concerning the municipal complex expansion; Mr. Bowe said that the committee was just offering options to fund that project. Mr. Goodnoe said he didn't feel there was a consensus on the board supporting the municipal complex project, and said he didn't want the township to go further into debt. Mr. Harp said that the issue would need to be discussed further, and that opinions might change.
Mr. Bowe said that if the township were to build a community center on its own, a millage increase might be necessary. Mr. Goodnoe felt this statement was premature. Mr. Sanderlin said that by stretching debt over twenty years, keeping the payments the same, some additional funding sources could be gained. Mr. Bowe said that a number of scenarios were possible and that the committee had put forth one.
On behalf of the committee, Mr. Bowe thanked Mr. Harwood and Ms. Gibbs for their assistance in the preparation of the budget report.
Mr. Larason reviewed the services to the township performed by Carroll Engineering:
Mr. Larason said that the engineers help implement what the township decides to fund.
Mr. Larason noted that their services are funded through the general fund, recreation fund, special project funds, and traffic and municipal impact funds. He reviewed the projects for 2001, including Walnut & Swamp Intersection improvements, Roberts Ridge Subdivision, accident reconstruction plan, township mapping, ISTEA trail, brake retarder study, assistance to the Planning Commission with the 2001 TIP, the environmental investigations at the Acme and Wrights Road properties. They also helped to select the engineer for the Swamp Road discussions and investigations.
Mr. Larason reviewed the project completions planned for 2002:
§ Linton Hill Culvert
§ Wrights & Durham signal
§ Hemlock & Stoopville pedestrian crossing (submitted for PennDOT permit)
§ Hanover & Richboro Roads crosswalk signal (submitted for PennDOT permit)
§ Richboro Road Trail – from Tyler to the school district
§ Construction management – Sycamore Street project, Bypass closed loop system, Buck & Richboro intersections with the Bypass, completion of the design for Roberts Ridge Basin
§ Impact Fee/CIP studies, Capital Improvement Plan
New projects planned for 2002 included: Twining Bridge drainage and shoulder improvements, township complex improvements, construction management for the Washington Crossing/Linton Hill signal and the Newtown central business district signal coordination, Newtown Trail #2 study, and additional township mapping.
Mr. Goodnoe asked how sophisticated the township's GIS system is; Mr. Larason said that it is very sophisticated, and that they need someone to do data input.
Mr. Harwood reviewed the responsibilities of the department. He said that the township took back 7 miles of roads in 2001, bringing the total number of roads to be serviced for snow and ice removal to 72 miles. An additional ½ mile of road from New Haven will be added for maintenance to the Liquid Fuels funding; the 3.5-mile Newtown Trail will be an additional maintenance responsibility. Liquid fuel funds should total approximately $300,000 in 2002.
Mr. Harwood noted a major staff loss this year, Lou Melchiondo, Supervisor of Roads and Public Facilities for five years; his direction and experience will be missed. Mr. Harwood described the responsibilities for the township grounds, with 133 acres requiring weekly mowing in the summer months. A cost for an additional maintenance person has been incorporated into the 2002 budget. The 2002 budget will be relatively unchanged.
Mr. Harwood described the Code Enforcement Department's services to the community, which include processing and monitoring building, zoning and land development controls, as well as informational services to the community. The township's efforts to create and maintain constructive lines of communication has resulted in increased requests for service from residents, usually related to code enforcement. This is expected to increase. Twenty-four application and permit forms are available on the township's website; this has facilitated the permit process.
Due to the increased demand for services, additional temporary staff were added to Codes; Mr. Harwood said he would like to see this additional staff become permanent. Two new municipal secretaries were appointed this year, along with a temporary assistant.
Mr. Harwood said he expects code enforcement in 2002 to focus on development issues. The township should expect a consistent flow of variance appeals, impervious surface relief, and pressure towards converting older residential neighborhoods to commercial development and uses. The increased demands for services have resulted in a slowdown of application processing. Housing the department continues to be a concern; workspace remains an ongoing problem and a temporary building is proposed for immediate occupancy next year.
Mr. Harwood said that the board would receive a final, marked up version of the budget at the November 14, 2001 meeting, which will be hung by the board at that time. He noted that the emphasis in 2001 was on productivity and customer service in all departments, and accurate staff and enthusiastic services to people. He said that the administration maintains an on-going and open dialogue with the organized labor units. He noted that there had been almost a 100% turnover in staff, which provides an opportunity for training new people effectively.
Ms. Gibbs detailed the many responsibilities of the Finance Department, calling the department the nucleus of the township operations. She described the process for ordering, and said that the township's policy is Best Price for the Best Service.
Ms. Gibbs noted that three of the four office staff have accounting education, and they have freed Elaine to attend to capital issues. Ms. Gibbs said that the township has had difficulty storing and locating documents, and she is investigating two electronic imaging systems that would provide storage and retention of those records that are regulated by State Law. GASB 34 will require new financial reporting requirements in 2004; funding will be requested in the future. GIS will be helpful in analyzing the township's infrastructure, a key piece of the GASB 34 reporting. Ms. Gibbs described the budget preparation process.
Mr. Harwood said they have proposed continued support of street light and hydrant expenses by the General Fund, costing the average taxpayer about $75 a year. They also propose housing the Codes Office in a temporary building alongside the existing Codes Building. Mr. Harwood noted that the Zoning Hearing Board has a budgeted increase in the solicitor's line item for 2002. He said that the HARB's project of the awarding of historic date plaques to historic structures would be continued with the 2002 budget. Mr. Harwood said that the Business Development Council had completed their Resident Packet and township map projects this year.
Mr. Harwood noted that the township receives approximately $200,000 per year from the state to supplement their pension contributions to both the Uniformed and Non-uniformed defined benefit plans. Mr. Harwood said that this year's budget is $30,000 for the education incentive program
In Interfund Transfers, Mr. Harwood said that they are supporting bond payments with $200,000 of general funds, and are proposing another installment of $80,000 for the expansion of Station 55. He reported that the township's strong relationship with the fire company and their expertise has resulted in a fire rating of 5 across the community.
Mr. Harwood said that in the Impact fund in 2002 the principal activity is the payment of debt from prior open space purchases and financing of selected capital items: traffic signals at Washington Crossing & Linton Hill Road and Jefferson & Sycamore Streets, and the Newtown Bypass pre-empt system.
Mr. Harwood summarized the township's generation of income:
1) Real Estate taxes of ten mils, which go to the special funds, park maintenance, fire, rescue and debt.
2) Fees, services and charges are almost 40% of the township's income.
3) About 60% of the township's revenue is from the ½ of 1% earned income tax.
Mr. Harwood noted that the percentages in #2 and #3 above are usual.
Without objection, the meeting was adjourned at 7:30 pm.
Respectfully Submitted by:
Leslie Dunleavy, Recording Secretary 11/15/01


text:
RunCore 32GB Pro IV SSD Home Theater PC Upgrade - Worth it?
During our visit to Hangzhou, China last month to visit RunCore for a product launch and factory tour, they gave us one of their 32GB Pro IV SSDs to take away and have some fun with once we returned home.
Since I believe 'everyone should have an SSD in their system', I decided I would install it into my AMD home theater PC and replace the Western Digital Green 1TB HDD with the SSD for a bit of a speed boost upgrade.
Watch the video below as we show you some of the great features of the RunCore SSD, the setup and installation processes and the all important performance information.
We hope you enjoyed this video article - come back again soon for more!


text:
Better to Receive: The Benefits of Being More Open to Feedback
My recent post on the Feedback Sandwich technique prompted a few readers to ask questions like this:
Most articles on feedback focus on how to deliver it more effectively, but what about when you're the one on the receiving end? Do you have any tips on how to be better at receiving feedback?
Ah . . . that's a good one. And a tough one. Read More →