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Student Life
Make time for a full life!
Of course, Westminster students are serious about their studies. But they are equally serious about having a good time and keeping their schedules packed with all kinds of extra-curricular and social activities. Our beautiful, safe campus is a fantastic environment for student life.
(The Student Handbook is a great starting place to find information about services, policies, the Student Code of Conduct, and final exam schedules- and The Forum campus newspaper keeps everyone in the loop on a weekly basis.)
Small wonder that Westminster students need the assistance of their very own Campus Concierge to make sure they don't miss out on any of the action!
Student Life Policies


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5' Deconstructed Shelter Arm Sofa
- No Longer Available -
Inspired by the unadorned beauty of their grandfather's 19th-century wing chair – liberated from its velvet upholstery and the frame exposed – the Van Thiels replicated the Old World artistry in the Shelter Sofa. A distressed walnut frame, accented with nail tacks, is complemented by the texture of burlap and fabric. This is furniture for the ages.
Show Details +
- Circa 1930s France, with a low, sculptural rectangular form and clean profile
- Built by hand with a kiln-dried, corner-blocked solid walnut frame
- Deeply tufted seat cushion, visible whipstitching and nail tacks
- Two layers of burlap cover the back and the rail below the seat
- The walnut frame and legs are smoothly sanded and given a matte finish to look as they would before the final stain and polish; nicks, imperfections and natural variations in color are to be expected
- 2 seat cushions/2 back cushions
- Seat cushions are a down-blend fill; a thin foam core wrapped with 80% feathers and 20% down
- Fabric is treated for stain-resistance
- 60"W x 31"D x 26"H
- Clearance needed for delivery: 26". Learn more.
Fabric: Antiqued Linen
Back to Product Details
Shown in sand Belgian Linen.
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David Steere and Trevor Robinson: How Live Mesh P2P Syncing Works
- Posted: Jul 11, 2008 at 1:14AM
- 25 comments
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Love it !
Bye Bye FolderShare (at least when this P2P will be activated) because I still cann't select 'don't sync with this device' with live desktop)
From my testing here with the new bits, it is not sending directly over the LAN yet.
Live Mesh's pub/sub model is conceptually a push model -- each device has a notification queue, the device can create subscriptions, and when a subscription generates an event (or another device or part of the Mesh needs to reach the device), that event is posted to the queue and the device gets it.
Because Live Mesh is designed to work across any network topology, we can't always ensure that the cloud will be able to push a notification down to an arbitrary client -- it might be behind a firewall, or NAT, or who knows what. So instead, we have each client open up a single long-lived HTTP connection to the server. If there are no new notifications, the request times out after 60 seconds, and then the client opens a new one. When a new notification comes in, the cloud sends down in response to that open request from the client. You might have heard this technique referred to as Comet or full-duplex AJAX.
Comments have been closed since this content was published more than 30 days ago, but if you'd like to continue the conversation, please create a new thread in our Forums, or Contact Us and let us know.


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Payment Plans with Affirm
Affirm allows you to spread your purchase over time with fixed monthly payments. Just select financing with Affirm at checkout
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Talk or chat with one of our friendly experts and ensure you order the right product for your needs. Average call wait time is less than 1 minute
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Choose Affirm at checkout and pay over 3 or 6 months with rates as low as 0% APR.* Offer expires October 2nd
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Keep Your Home Cool with a Residential Portable Air Conditioner
Are you tired of trying to keep your home cool without overtaxing your central air conditioning unit? Does your space not include access to a central cooling unit, causing you to rely on inefficient coolers and fans to keep you cool as the temperatures heat? Fortunately, you have other options. With residential portable air conditioners, it's easy to cool any room in your home without raising your utility bills or placing additional pressure on your central cooling unit.
Portable air conditioners are simple units that are used to cool small areas in the home, and multi-functional units can be used to heat the home in the winter months. These units work by pulling in warmer air, then moving it through the unit and subsequently cooling it. The air is then blown out the front of the unit, and the remaining warm air is vented outside the room through the exhaust hose.
Portable air conditioning units are available in two options: dual hose or single hose units. Single hosed AC units vent the hotter air through a single exhaust hose which is connected at the back of the machine. Dual hosed AC units have two venting hoses, one which works by pulling in air to be cooled, while the other works by venting out warm air.
With residential portable air conditioners, your home is more energy efficient, and you can save money each month on your utility bills. These units are portable and can be moved to any space in your home, making it easy to stay cool anywhere in your home, even in sweltering temperatures.
Portable air conditioners are used for a variety of reasons, and one of the main benefits is the portability of the unit. Homeowners turn to portable air conditioners to compensate for an inefficient central AC unit, to cut costs for cooling the home, or when a home owner's association limits the use of window units. With these valuable tools, no part of the unit protrudes outside the window, providing you with the freedom you need to cool your space how you choose. You can stay within the rules and regulations of your HOA without sacrificing your comfort with home portable air conditioners.
Portable air conditioners are more efficient when homeowners follow a few simple tips and tricks.
- Close off the space you are cooling in order to make the unit more effective.
- Turn your unit on early to ensure that your space is cooled before you get home.
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- Choose a unit that is multi-seasonal, and works to heat your home in the winter months.
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Thursday, October 24, 2013
Laing Middle School of Science and Technology students, all 669 of them, took part in the first school wide STEM BLITZ of this year. Thanks to donations from parents, The Post and Courier and connections with the Moultrie News, the students were surprised with eight sheets of newspaper and one meter of masking tape and tasked to make a table. The table had to measure eight inches high and be able to hold a heavy book. This is the first of several such "surprise" projects (STEM BLITZ) that are meant to open the door to discussions with students on ways to approach a challenge.
As background, the businesses in the greater Charleston region often comment on the lack of potential employees with important "soft skills" such as problem solving, ability to work in groups and effective communication skills.
In response to the feedback from local employers, Laing Middle School of Science and Technology is in its second year of implementing a whole school STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) initiative. This means that every subject, even English Language Arts (ELA) and Social Studies, are approached with the engineering design process in mind.
The engineering design process is as follows:
Define the Problem
Do Background Research
Specify Requirements
Brainstorm Solutions
Choose the Best Solution
Do Development Work
Build a Prototype
Test and Redesign
STEM projects and the use of the engineering design process are meant to enhance the understanding of curriculum standards as well as teaching crucial skills for the workforce. For example, in sixth grade social studies students studying Mesopotamia and ziggurats (a type of temple) used the Sketch-up App to make their own ziggurat. This hands-on creativity makes education fun and reinforces the subject matter. Later in the year, in ELA, the students study alternative energy and write a paper on the type of alternative energy that appeals to each particular student. The engineering design method integrates perfectly with the steps of the writing process.
The staff and administration of Laing would love to partner with the community and put this "show on the road" to teach other schools how to implement this model of teaching real world skills to our future workforce. If you are interested in learning more, please contact our STEM coach, Mel Goodwin, PhD at email@example.com.
© 2016 Moultrie News an Evening Post Industries company. All Rights Reserved.
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CANCELLED: PowerPoint Basics
- When:
- http://www.ubalt.edu/alc
- Description:
Cancelled due to low enrollment, email email@example.com for tutoring or other assistance with PowerPoint.
Designed for first-time users, this free, 90-minute workshop offers basic instructions for Microsoft PowerPoint and how to create simple files.
- Contact Name:
- Achievement and Learning Center
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- email@example.com
- Contact Phone:
- 410.837.5383


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The mention of hospital food doesn't typically tantalize one's tastebuds.
That is until now.
"I do think in this day and age of hiring executive chefs, times are changing from the stereotype that hospitals are perceived as not such a great place to eat, but now their food is more palatable and presentable," UPMC Altoona's Executive Chef Keith Auker said in a written statement. "The executive chef is there to add that special touch to the food and diets that have restrictions by using fresh herbs and vegetables. Not overcooking their food, implementing progressive cooking techniques, keeping food as fresh as possible."
Article Photos
Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski
UPMC Altoona executive chef Keith Auker prepares a gluten-free dish of crab cake and vegetable-saffron rice in the hospital's kitchen.
Auker, 45, of Schellsburg, who started in February, is the first executive chef hired at UPMC Altoona hospital.
A 1985 graduate of Bedford High School, Auker retired from a more than 26 year Navy career in 2011. From 2004 to 2011, he was the executive chef and household manager for the superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., where he was responsible for formal entertaining of high-level government officials and distinguished visitors, according to a hospital press release.
Before that, he was a personal chef for a European four-star admiral in Italy for five years.
Auker earned his certification as an executive chef from the American Culinary Federation. He got his household manager certification from the Starkey International Institute in Denver and from the International Wine Guild, his wine cellar manager certification.
He also has won awards such as the Meritorious Service Medal in honor of his service to the Naval Academy superintendent. The award is one of the highest a sailor can receive, the release said.
Before coming to the hospital, Auker was the executive chef and manager at the Arandale Lounge and Ballroom at the Bedford Elks Country Club.
In the Navy, he learned skills he applies at the hospital, such as leadership, he said.
Auker, who spoke highly of those he works with at the hospital, said he believes an executive chef is a link between the culinary staff and the dietary staff and nutrition director.
"Chefs cook and make menus; dietitians make sure they are nutritional and healthy," he said. "The executive chef makes sure the staff has the tools and knowledge to complete their mission to prepare their food properly. The executive chef brings out the best in his staff and fine tunes the skills and the working knowledge that already exists."
The hospital is implementing a host or hostess program, he said. A trained staff member personally takes menu orders and delivers it to patients.
"We have upgraded the way we prepare and present our food to our patients by using different cooking techniques, fresh herbs and vegetables and proper garnishing, most important making sure our patients don't have to work to eat their food by ensuring food is bite size, moist and easily digested," he said.
As the person in charge of patient menus, Clinical Nutrition Manager Dona Baughman has worked closely with Auker since he was hired.
Auker has "been very instrumental in helping us develop new recipes for the patients so that it tastes good, but it still meets our guidelines for salt and fat and all those types of things," she said.
Baughman praised his food, joking that it is so good, her waistline is suffering.
He has made the food look more appealing, too, which is important in particular for patients who might not have an appetite, she said.
Auker started his own initiative to offer gluten-free items in the cafeteria, Baughman said.
"He has been wonderful. I mean he has been a very positive edition to our team so I'm looking forward to more changes and us working together more," she said.
The cafeteria has become more popular and received positive reviews there and at staff luncheons, Baughman said.
"Food and service takes a lot of TLC, and here at our hospital all of our staff takes pride in all they do," Auker said. "What I stress to my kitchen is that we give back to our community and to the nurses and doctors who deserve to be treated with five-star service because they dedicate their life to provide a service to ensure we stay healthy, live longer through their skills as doctors and nurses.
"The bottom line is we all have service hearts and here at the hospital we are working for a purpose."
Mirror Staff Writer Amanda Gabeletto is at 949-7030.


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Lidstrom, kindl and bertuzzi on the ice for Wings practice in El Segundo
Ansar Khan @AnsarKhanMLive
Lidstrom skated for a few minutes before leaving the ice. Doesn't bode well for next two games. Hasn't practiced in more than 2 weeks
Ansar Khan @AnsarKhanMLive
Wings practicing with these lines: 51-40-26, 11-43-93, 20-8-44, 96-48-39. Datsyuk working in on top two lines. Nyquist in transit from Hou
Helen St. James says the same thing... she is a "little" worried about Nick... IMO i think the earliest we see him is Saturday at SJ
Mlive link: http://www.mlive.com...dstrom_ska.html
Edited by HockeytownRules19, 12 March 2012 - 04:03 PM.


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Celebrity Central / Top 25 Celebs
Rosario Dawson
- 1980s
Squatting into Home
Dawson – a mix of black, Cuban, Puerto Rican, Native American and Irish – is raised in Manhattan's notorious Lower East Side neighborhood. With her family, the six-year-old moves (or "squats") into an empty building that doesn't have electricity. "I grew up living in a squat. My mother moved us in there because we couldn't afford the rent in the building we were in," Dawson tells the Toronto Sun in 2005. "There was no running water and no plumbing so my mother learned to be a plumber. My dad worked construction so he fixed up our rooms for us."
- 1995
Laughing on a Stoop
Screenwriter Harmony Korine and director Larry Clark spot a 15-year-old Dawson laughing on a stoop in her neighborhood. They cast the young New Yorker in the gritty, controversial teen drama, Kids (left), opposite Chloe Sevigny. "It was quite a shock to be put in that project," she tells the Chicago Sun-Times in 2001. "It was more of a shock to see it afterward and realize what it was. I don't think I thought about it as much when I was doing it. I was like, OK, this is a cool script. It made waves in the industry, and it definitely opened doors for me."
- 1998
Teaming with Spike Lee
Dawson appears in Spike Lee's (right) He Got Game, with Denzel Washington. She plays basketball star Jesus' (Ray Allen) girlfriend Lala. "It's an amazing thing to be able to have that one moment where you see your whole life change. Like very drastic," she tells the Knoxville News-Sentinel in 2000. In 2002, she reteams with Lee for The 25th Hour.
- 2001
Dawson Purrrs as Pussycat
With Usher and Vanessa Williams, Dawson costars in the hostage drama Light It Up. Then in April 2001, she nabs her highest-profile role to date in the live-action adaptation of Josie and the Pussycats. She plays bass player Val with Rachel Leigh Cook and Tara Reid (left). "It was a great experience working on the film," Dawson, 21, tells WWD. "It's given me more attention than I've ever had before and given me much more of a voice."
- 2002
Slated for Blockbusters
Dawson costars in Eddie Murphy's The Adventures of Pluto Nash and is cast in Men In Black II opposite Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones (right). "I thought it was some really sick, mean joke that they were just all pulling on me," the 23-year-old recalls to USA Today when she learns she was cast in MIB II. "I wouldn't put it past anybody in this crew." When the film is released, it makes more than $87 million its opening weekend.
- 2004
Nabbing the Hunk: Jason Lewis
Having previously been linked to teen heartthrob Joshua Jackson and rapper Jay-Z, Dawson begins dating Sex and the City hunk Jason Lewis (left). "He is a wonderful man and I'm very happy," she tells the New York Post in 2004. "I have a stupid grin 24/7." They date until late 2006.
Nude in Alexander
Dawson plays the wife of Alexander the Great (Colin Farrell) in Oliver Stone's Alexander (right). The epic, which also stars Angelina Jolie and Anthony Hopkins, is critically and commercially maligned. But Dawson looks at the bright side of appearing nude in the flop: "In 80 years I will be able to look at that and say, 'I had a pretty nice rack back then.'"
- 2005
Uzis & Mohawks, Oh My!
Dawson appears in the film adaptation of Frank Miller's noir series of graphic novels, Sin City. She plays an Uzi-toting prostitute, sporting a mohawk and a barely there leather-and-fishnet ensemble. "She was like, 'Hell yeah, I'll wear it,'" director Robert Rodriguez tells PEOPLE. "You have to have a lot of confidence to carry that off." The film also stars Jessica Alba, Josh Hartnett, Clive Owen (left) and Bruce Willis.
Singing for Rent
Dawson plunges into her first musical role in Rent. In the big-screen adaptation of Jonathan Larson's Tony-winning musical, the native Lower East Sider joins a cast of actors from the original Broadway play. "It was really weird. [Original cast members] Anthony [Rapp] and Adam [Pascal] (right) were constantly looking at me," she tells L.A.'s Daily News. "But they said, 'It's really weird. You kind of remind us of Daphne [Rubin-Vega, who originated the role of Mimi] in the way you're figuring it out...there's something about it just fitting and being right.'"
- 2007
Cult Followings
After starring in Kevin Smith's Clerks ll and cocreating the comic book Occult Crimes Taskforce, Dawson stars in Death Proof, Quentin Tarantino's half of the goretastic double feature Grindhouse. With costar Rose McGowan, Dawson appears nearly naked on the cover of Rolling Stone. "If you're on the Rolling Stone cover, you're really not allowed to wear clothing," McGowan tells the Houston Chronicle. "Those are the rules, pretty much. A guy can just be in a T-shirt and jeans, but if you're a girl, that's how it goes."
Photo Credits
BIOGRAPHY (top to bottom): Kobal Collection/Wireimage; Sean Gallup/Getty Images; Everett Collection; Everett Collection; Rick Mackler/Globe; Everett Collection; Miramax; Revolution Studios
- Name
- Rosario Dawson
- Date of Birth
- May 09, 1979
- Birth Place
- New York, N.Y.
- Relationships
Mathieu Schreyer, boyfriend (2008 to present)
Jason Lewis, ex-boyfriend (July 2004 to Nov. 2006)


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I disagree. honestly I'd say they were the victim of exactly that pretty often last season.
There were a lot of times the Wings were outnumbered around their own net, and opponents had several good whacks at a loose puck without even being touched.
See: Jimmy Howard's 40+ save game against LA. Countless rebounds knocked away by Detroit's defensemen. Helped Howard win the game for them.
Either way, I honestly haven't seen that any more than I have seen it since 2007. Hasn't kept the Wings from winning games like other things that I have noticed.


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Police in Topeka say a woman reported missing from a nursing home was rescued more than 15 hours later from mud along the Kansas River.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports police were uncertain how long the woman - described as in her 70s - was stuck along the river before she was found around 9 a.m. Monday.
The nursing home reported the woman missing about 3:30 p.m. Sunday after she failed to return from church services. Police were trying to find out how she wound up along the south bank of the Kansas River, where a passer-by spotted her from a bridge Monday morning.
Emergency crews pulled her from the mud and took her to a hospital for treatment. Authorities said the woman uses a walker.


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on January 31, 2013 - 6:48 AM
Most high schools will soon release grade point averages and an official rank in class for juniors.
Your rank in class and your weighted grade point average will give you an accurate assessment of how you compare to peers at your high school. Understanding this is important when researching colleges and refining your college list.
• College list. Use the GPA and the rank in class as well as the most recent standardized test scores to determine whether the current colleges on your list should be considered: reach, target or safety.
There is no right number of colleges to apply to, but students should make sure they are being realistic as they categorize each college. Use a college guidebook and look at the acceptance rate, the middle 50 percent range of the test scores of accepted students as well as the GPA listed.
The GPA is the least reliable measure because high schools across the country vary so dramatically in their course offerings. At some schools, Advanced Placement courses have a maximum 6-point value (A) and a school just down the street could offer a 5 for an A in the identical course.
By now you know that nothing is more important than the rigor of a student's curriculum and their performance. Colleges want to see students taking the most challenging courses where they can be successful. So all the accolades, fabulous community service commitment, soccer trophies, etc., are more often tie-breakers than major acceptance factors. Keep this in mind as your students register for courses for their senior year.
• Campus visits. Start making arrangements now to visit the colleges that you're certain will stay on the list. Focus your travel on reach and target schools, so you can decide if they are truly worthy of applying. If possible, make maximum use of teacher workdays and spring break for traveling to see colleges that are further away. Group colleges by location and be realistic, especially if you'll be dragging younger siblings, about everyone's campus visit tolerance.
• Test prep. Juniors have received their results from the October PSAT and many schools now offer either the ACT or the PLAN. Compare the scores using a concordance chart and select a test, but just one. I do not recommend prepping for both ACT and SAT. Identify need areas and get organized about test-prep plans; purchasing test-prep books, doing an online program, attending a class or hiring tutors. Look at the upcoming test dates for the SAT (March 9, May 4 and June 1) and the ACT (Feb. 9, April 13 and June 8) and decide which give you the most test-prep advantage.
Lee Bierer is an independent college adviser based in Charlotte, N.C. For more information, visit www.collegeadmissions strategies.com.


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Instructional Technology Available for Checkout
The following resources are available for checkout through the CTE.
- Three Personal Response Systems ("Clickers") Personal Response Systems allow instructors to ask questions and provide instant feedback using "clickers" and a portable receiver.
- Three Mimio Smart Board Recorders A combination of hardware and software allows the instructor to capture whiteboard notes and/or turn the whiteboard into an interactive smart board.
- Two Remote Presentation Mice A wireless remote mouse allows the instructor to move around the room while presenting information.
- Digital Recorder A voice recorder that allows you to record notes and lectures in high-quality stereo sound. The recorded audio files can then be easily transferred to a computer by plugging it directly into your PC.
If you need assistance in learning how to use any of the equipment, CTE staff are always willing to help you.
Center for Teaching Excellence
TLC Building
400 N. Capitol, Suite 324
Lansing, MI 48933
Phone: (517) 483-1680
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Additional contact information »
Open Hours
Monday - Thursday: 8:00 am - 6:00 pm
Friday: 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
To send an APPLEGRAM online,
fill-out the Applegram form.


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6 Petty Things That Start Wars in Every Office
#3. Potlucks
When it comes time to celebrate a company-wide achievement, most businesses will opt to do so in a way that requires an absolute minimal outlay of cash. Sharing profits with employees hurts America, everybody knows that. One of the more common solutions to this quandary is to hold an office-wide potluck, where all of the weirdos you would normally cross the street just to avoid saying hello to in public whip up their very finest casserole and haul it into the office, expecting you to eat it.
When it comes to the potluck, most traditional offices will splinter off into three groups: the people who actually care about what they bring, the people who bring whatever is within arm's reach at the moment they remember they're supposed to bring something and the conniving heathens who bring nothing, but eat anyway.
It's that last group that's going to get the most scorn, which is perfectly understandable. Ass, gas or cash, nobody rides for free, bitch. If you're eating, you should be sharing; that's how a potluck works. Everyone can agree with that, and will eventually rally together as a unified front (albeit temporarily) to make sure these people are trapped, tagged and monitored like the wild animals they are.
The real tensions arise between the people who agree that they should at least bring something, but don't put a ton of thought into it, and the people who act as if a potluck is the community's one opportunity to eat for the entire year and therefore must make it an event. They'll put up with you bringing a plastic container of grocery store cookies for a while, but eventually, mandates will start coming down from on high about who should bring what. It will be noted that the last potluck consisted of this one person's elaborately staged tray of deviled eggs surrounded by 25 bags of plain Ruffles potato chips and that this cannot be the case in the future.
Over time, the grip on the potluck menu will be tightened to the point where everyone in the office just decides that eating at all is too much of a logistical nightmare to worry about at the office.
#2. Burned Microwave Popcorn
Microwave popcorn is a staple in any office. It provides all of the action and adventure of going to the movies, except for the part where you're watching your hopes and dreams die in front of you, as opposed to watching Tom Cruise pretend to be into chicks or whatever. But microwave popcorn is a tricky beast. If you don't heat it long enough, you're left with a quarter ounce of useless unpopped corn in the bottom of the bag. But heat it too long, even just a few seconds, and you've got a bag full of foul-smelling nastiness.
Unfortunately, you won't know this until you've opened the bag and the acrid smoke from the scorched corn rises into the air and permeates every inch of the building. At that point, there is nothing you can do. You're about to be the most hated person in the building for like 34 minutes or however long it takes for that smell to clear out.
It will probably be a while.
Meanwhile, hate-tinged words directed at the person responsible for putting those noxious fumes into the atmosphere will start springing up like fires in a riot. It will start with little whispers and "What's that smell?" type of queries. Everyone knows exactly what that smell is, but pretending that some detective work is needed to figure it out is a welcome distraction from the rigors of doing actual work and worrying about important things.
Once the offending smell is identified as popcorn, the radicals start coming out of the woodwork to make absurd claims about how popcorn should just be outlawed at the office altogether if people can't handle the privilege responsibly. This grassroots movement will inevitably die out with a supervisor sending a company-wide email reminding everyone that burned popcorn smells like death and that they should be mindful of not giving everyone lung cancer with their scorched kernels.
And then someone burns another bag of popcorn a few days later and the cycle starts all over again.
#1. Failing to Reset the Timer on the Microwave
Speaking of the microwave, if you want to whip the OCD types in your office into a frenzy, heat something up in the microwave and take it out before the timer reaches zero. It doesn't matter how much time you leave on the clock. There is somebody stalking around your office who is of such fragile mind that something as simple as seeing "0:01" on a microwave timer is too much for them to handle. At first, they'll just hit the "Clear" button and reset the timer on their own. Why? Because this is what a sane person would do, and at first, they are perfectly sane.
But slowly, it's going to wear on them to the point that you not resetting the microwave timer and the boss making everyone work on Sunday are travesties of equal magnitude. Eventually, Post-it notes will start showing up on the microwave, imploring you to make sure there is no time left on the microwave timer, because "your mother does not work here." That's always the go-to point in a situation like this. Your mother doesn't work here, so you need to clean up your own messes. It's a perfectly valid point, except for one thing ... your mother wasn't a neurotic control freak who demanded that everyone around her be in full compliance with all of her bullshit tics and quirks, which is exactly what this maniac is doing.
"There are kids in China who would kill to have those seconds on their microwave! Or to have a microwave! Or food to put in it!
Or to not work 14 hours a day building microwaves!"
Nevertheless, this person will eventually rally enough people around his or her cause until, suddenly, your company has a problem with using the microwave. Memos will be sent, notes will be posted and everyone will be expected to fall in line.
It's enough to drive you crazy, if you let it.
Adam hosts a podcast called Unpopular Opinion that you should check out right here. You should also be his friend on Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr.
For more from Adam, check out 5 World Leaders Who Were Accused of Being the Antichrist and Closeted Badasses: 6 Famous Wusses That Would Own You.


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Bird Netting
Product Actions
Additional Information
Bird Netting Protects Your Fruits and Berries
- Netting protects your garden from hungry birds
- 5/8" mesh excludes even small birds
- Earth-friendly, non-toxic and humane pest control
Use soft, no-tangle Bird Netting to protect your fruit trees, berry bushes and vegetable rows from bird damage. The tough poly mesh is fine enough to keep birds out, yet it allows good air circulation. Can be easily cut to size with scissors and lasts several seasons.
- UV-stabilized polypropylene
- 5/8-inch mesh
- Black color
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We're proud of the fact that this item is shipped to you directly from our warehouse in Vermont, by one of our 250 employee-owners. In-stock items are packed with care and shipped within the next business day to ensure prompt delivery to your home and garden!


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Living with a genetic or rare disease can impact the daily lives of patients and families. These resources can help families navigate various aspects of living with a rare disease.
These resources provide more information about this condition or associated symptoms. The in-depth resources contain medical and scientific language that may be hard to understand. You may want to review these resources with a medical professional.
If you would like to submit a question, please contact GARD


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Little Washington, Va., hosted some big stars recently.
Newlyweds Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, who got married on Sept. 9 in South Carolina, stayed south of the Mason-Dixon line for a mini-honeymoon at Virginia's Inn at Little Washington on Saturday night, PEOPLE confirms.
Nestled in rolling hill country an hour and a half west of the nation's capital, the tiny town – population: 150 – of "Little" Washington is home to a luxurious Inn operated by Chef Patrick O'Connell.
At the Inn's restaurant, O'Connell serves up elegant French inspired fare that features locally grown food and a 14,000-bottle wine cellar, which has helped it win five James Beard Awards. Every night, guests chose from a five to 10 course dinner.
The renowned establishment houses just 18 rooms, all designed by former British set designer Joyce Evans, as well as three luxury "cottages" that allow guests total privacy. One of those cottages, the Claiborne House – a 3,200-square-foot hideaway that boasts two bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths, a living room, dining room, media room, library and two-story veranda overlooking a private garden – rents for $2,450 a night.
Dressed comfortably in dark skinny jeans, gold sandals and a cream silk blouse, Lively, 25, sat with Reynolds, 35 at secluded table near the garden, the Washington Post reports.
The pair spent the night, then headed back to New York City, where Lively began filming Gossip Girl on Monday morning.
Blake Lively & Ryan Reynolds Take a Mini-Honeymoon in Virginia
Eric Charbonneau/WireImage


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Market leading online auction software to conduct tax lien sales online. Highly intuitive for both County and Auction Participant. Customizable and easy to deploy.
A sophisticated software process to apply for County Tax Deeds via the internet. Dramatically reduces staff time, automates documentation, and provides up to the minute processing of tax deed applications and quotations.
Conducts judicial and non-judicial sales of foreclosed and tax-defaulted properties via the internet. Proven and robust platform allowing real-time administration, case management and control.
Effective tax deed management software providing multi-agency County access and internal process improvement. Streamlines administrative process whilst greatly increasing efficiencies of operation.


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The RideSafe® Travel Vest is a restraint that is worn by the child like a vest. It is designed to provide upper torso restraint while vehicle's normal lap belt can't. It locates vehicle's lap belt in better position on lower side of the hips and thighs, and shoulder belt on the child's shoulder but not on neck by preventing belt being loose. It also reduces the loads transferred to the child in a crash
Lap & Tether belt mode Certified FMVSS213 RideSafer 2
RideSafer 2 has two different use modes, one use mode as a harness/vest when secured with a lap belt and top tether and a second use mode as a vehicle belt positioner when used with a vehicle lap and shoulder belt.
RideSafer2 provided in a small and large size for children 30 to 60 lbs. and 50 to 80 lbs. respectively. The harness use mode, used with the vehicle lap only belt and top tether, for both size vests is limited to use with children weighing 60 lbs. or less.
RideSafer2 tested and certified to the dynamic test requirements specified in FMVSS 213, the RideSafer is also designed to and complies with all of the other applicable requirements of FMVSS 213 for a harness including product labeling, webbing requirements, buckle release force, and instruction manual.
Lap-Shoulder Belt mode Tested to FMVSS213 RideSafer 2 & RideSafer 3
The RideSafer 3 has only one use mode, use as a vehicle belt positioner and is used only with a vehicle lap and shoulder belt.
RideSafer 3 provided in a small and large size for children 30 to 60 lbs. and 50 to 80 lbs.
When used as a vehicle belt positioner, secured with a vehicle lap and shoulder belt without a top tether, the primary function of the webbing harness system is to position and maintain the position of the lap belt low on the hips and maintain the position of the vehicle shoulder belt on the shoulder of the occupant.
The sewn webbing of the RideSafer 3 also provides the support structure for the laminated fabric panels of the vest , the laminated fabric panels are included for ease of use and to reduce the crash forces transferred to the occupant.
RideSafer 3 has dynamically tested under the dynamic test conditions prescribed in FMVSS 213 as part of their due care procedures. RideSafer3 uses the description "Tested to FMVSS 213" to advise the public that the product has been tested
RideSafer™ is the smartest alternative to a booster seat you should carry for your child. It has IMPROVED CRASH PERFORMANCE, RESTRAINT, PORTABILITY, COMFORT, CONVENIENCE AND ACCEPTANCE.
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Editor, why do you allow Ed Gurowitz to comment on court rulings when he has no knowledge and information to substantiate his claims? Or better yet, a legal background. He makes false claims and then he uses the rest of his column to berate a citizen who is fighting to fix some really illegal taxing problems.
I thought the Bonanza checked editorials for accuracy before allowing them to be published. The Bonanza is allowing false and misleading information to be fed to the public and confusing the issues. It a rather simple issue — are illegal taxes legal?
Saying Mr. Katz lost and he should go away is the equivalent to telling the blacks and other minorities to get lost, you failed in the 1900s and you don't deserve Civil Rights. Mr. Gurowitz should be screaming bloody murder for the ruling Judge Flanagan passed down.
Flanagan's ruling is basically telling the citizens living in the state of Nevada that they don't have a right to protest illegal, unfair and phony taxes. Tell that to the Village League to Save Incline Assets see how they respond.
The courts make mistakes Ed, and sometimes they get it right. When they fail like they did in the Katz case there are remedies — a higher court! Ed, why do you think our court system is set up the way it is, just to bleed the public out of their money? Much like IVGID does!
Ed have you not seen lower court rulings reversed?
Frank Wright
Crystal Bay


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Big rims, wheels.
Damn! Look'a dem dukies on that whip.
από Slim Nasty 30 Ιούλιος 2003
Trending Now
Can you define these popular missing words?
Top Definition
To modify a forum database into FUBAR.
Jake dukied the forum and now the forum is dead.
από midgetchucker 8 Οκτώβριος 2010
The term used for a Duke fan.
Only considered offensive when spelled Dookie.
Only considered offensive when spelled Dookie.
Yeah, I'm a Dukie, what?
από Dana S. 8 Νοέμβριος 2005
A big poop!
Dont go in the bano I just took a smelly dukie!
από Ben Affleck 11 Αύγουστος 2003
An original-oldschool old-timer construction worker's term for lunchbox. During this era, dukies were made from tin, and the thermoses had glass liners in them.
As horseplay and pranks were overlooked on the job in the old days, a man's dukie was definitely off limits, as much as his vehicle, home and family, by (honor). Now, a guy wouldn't hesitate to steal your lunch or your meds, let alone your wallet or your phone if he had half a chance.....so much for (union brotherhood).....
από worldhead 12 Νοέμβριος 2009
An extra disgusting-brand of crap. Possibly causing one to lose a pound or two.
"Dude, I dropped a pound and a half with the trout I just dropped."
"Flush the dukie man, and light a match!"
"Flush the dukie man, and light a match!"
από Hadraniel 10 Ιανουάριος 2005
A word synonymous with, hella, too, a lot,
What is that a bug? It's dukie big
από MacDose314 30 Σεπτέμβριος 2009
An endearing nickname for a loved one.
Dukie, be careful when you go skydiving - I'd hate for you to get hurt.
από kaen! 28 Απρίλιος 2004


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Celebrity Central / Top 25 Celebs
Mark Wahlberg
- Late 1980s
Boston Legal
The youngest of nine kids, Mark Wahlberg grows up in Boston's working-class Dorchester neighborhood. Though big brother Donnie, of New Kids on the Block, tries to look out for his little brother, Wahlberg steals cars, sells pot and is charged with assaulting a man with a wooden pole, which results in the 17-year-old serving a 45-day prison term. "I wanted to be the cool guy in the neighborhood, to be what I thought was a badass," he tells NPR years later.
- 1991
Feeling Funky
After a brief stint with NKOTB ("Going to vocal lessons and doing the choreography just wasn't my thing," he says), Wahlberg forms his hip-hop group, Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch. Brother Donnie produces some tracks, and their single, "Good Vibrations," tops the Billboard Hot 100. "We just wanted to do an album together, just us," Donnie tells PEOPLE at the time. "Any Top 10 success is just icing on the cake." Adds Mark, "This record has brought us back together."
- 1992
Grin and Bare It
With his music career already on the decline, Wahlberg – still going by Marky Mark – gets another shot at fame by flexing his fab abs in a series of provocative Calvin Klein ads, some costarring a topless Kate Moss. "He was a pleasure," the designer said of his tough boy muse. Wahlberg's willingness to bare almost-all gains him an international following and lands him on PEOPLE's 50 Most Beautiful.
- 1994
Screen Test
Wahlberg jumps into the movies, teaming up with Danny DeVito in the comedy Renaissance Man. "[Director Penny Marshall] basically told me that I was already acting and wasn't fooling anybody, so why don't I give it a shot?" he later tells NPR. The budding actor racks up film credits with 1995's Basketball Diaries, costarring Leonardo DiCaprio, and the 1996 thriller Fear, opposite Reese Witherspoon.
- 1997
'Boogie' Down
Hello, Dirk Diggler! Wahlberg earns raves for his, ahem, very big role as a well-endowed porn star in the 1970s-era film Boogie Nights. "I'm not a huge fan of the adult film industry," Wahlberg later tells Charlie Rose. "But I read [the script] and it was just phenomenal."
- 1998
Lover's Lane
After starring together in 1998's The Big Hit, Wahlberg and actress China Chow step out as a couple. "I asked her out, and she said no," he says of their early romance, with the actress later crediting her then-beau for pulling her through the laborious shoot.
- 1999-2002
Most Wanted
Now a bona fide movie star, Wahlberg lands roles in a string of big hits: Three Kings, The Perfect Storm (with George Clooney), Planet of the Apes, Rock Star (with Jennifer Aniston) and The Truth About Charlie. In total, the films earn more than $445 million at the box office.
- 2003
Daddy Duty
Wahlberg's tough-guy image softens a little when he and girlfriend Rhea Durham welcome their first child, daughter Ella Rae. "[Fatherhood] changes your life for the better," he tells PEOPLE. "I want to do some great work now, some interesting movies, and then be going to school plays and soccer games."
- 2004
Boys' Club
The actor turns executive producer, loosely parlaying the story of his life into HBO's megahit Entourage, a sexy series about a rising Hollywood star and his three best buddies. "My assistant wanted to film my friends around me, because he just thought it was hilarious," Wahlberg tells The New York Times of the show's concept.
- 2007
Oscar Calling
For his performance as a Boston detective in Martin Scorsese's The Departed, Wahlberg earns his first Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations. "Marty encouraged me to push the envelope, especially in scenes with the other guys," Wahlberg tells Variety. "After a take, he would ask if everybody was all right. Then he'd whisper for me to do a little more. I loved that."
Photo Credits
BIOGRAPHY (top to bottom): Getty; Bernhard Kuhmstedt/Retna; Globe; Everett; Everett; Ron Galella/WireImage; Everett; Sunset Photo and News; Mike Guastella/WireImage; Warner Bros.
- Name
- Mark Wahlberg
- Date of Birth
- June 05, 1971
- Birth Place
- Boston, Mass.
- Relationships
Rhea Durham, wife (2001 to present)
Jessica Alba (briefly dated in 2004)
Jordana Brewster, ex-girlfriend (2000 to 2001)
China Chow, ex-girlfriend (1998)
Reese Witherspoon (briefly dated in 1996)
- Children
Ella Rae, daughter (9/2/03)
Michael, son (3/21/06)
Brendan Joseph, son (9/16/08)
Grace Margaret, daughter (1/11/10)


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For weeks now, upwards of 100 staff members have been preparing a days-long sumptuous house party for George's parents the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the extended family.
Darren McGrady, who worked for the Windsors for 15 years – the last four of which, until 1997, in the employ of Princess Diana and her young sons – says nothing much will have changed from his days behind the carving station and in the kitchens.
The festivities begin on Christmas Eve, by which time the guests will have arrived through the front door, as all "packages and parcels would come to the back and be brought through the kitchen," says McGrady, author of Eating Royally.
Courtesy Darren McGrady
At around 4 p.m. guests enter the white Drawing Room for tea. The next stop is the red Drawing Room, where the staff has already laid out the presents on trestle tables for each family member.
What do you get those who have practically everything? Novelties and gimmicks.
"The crazier and the more quirky is what they love. It's not about something really amazing or a Cartier watch," McGrady says. Young William once received a Winnie the Pooh-themed china set.
"Diana got upset once because she bought cashmere sweaters and she thought that would be nice, but they don't do that. Prince Philip would get a peppermill with a light on it and he would think that was hilarious."
After the gift swap comes time for the first major change of outfit for Kate and the other guests prior to the meal. Normally, at 8:30 p.m., this involves "something festive, some game, like pheasant or venison, and roasted wintery vegetables, like parsnips."
Breakfast on Christmas morning is a full-on fry up for the men – bacon and sausage, kippers and kidneys, juices and cereals. The women will normally have fruit and perhaps a boiled egg taken to their rooms on trays.
Courtesy Darren McGrady
The church service follows at St. Mary Magdalene. On her first Christmas as a member of royal family, in 2011, Kate (with William) joined the Queen for a morning service at 9 and then again at 11, when the entire family parades to the church.
The head chef, accompanied by some of his team, carve the first of two 25-lb. turkeys at the buffet in the dining room, with the Queen first in line. "At the end of the carving, it's the one time of the year that she would give the head chef a drink, and he will toast [the family] with 'Happy Christmas.' "
There is also a buffet of foie gras, boar's head, venison and salmon trout. "Once everyone has sat down with their meat, the butlers will come around with their Brussels sprouts with fresh roasted chestnuts and roast potatoes."
Dessert is two Christmas puddings and brandy sauce, mince pies and hard butter.
The dining room table seats 22, just enough space for the adults and older children. Anyone younger remains in the nursery, "until," notes McGrady, "they can hold conversation and hold knives and forks correctly."
After lunch the family will watch the Queen's annual address to the nation, which airs at 3 p.m. U.K. time, before adjourning either to the Saloon, where the Queen's favorite jigsaw puzzles are laid out, or else to exercise on the 20,000-acre estate.
Courtesy Darren McGrady
In the evening a cold buffet is held in the Dining Room. "All the food from lunch goes back out for the buffet. And there will be mixed salads and hot new potatoes. And they have the [sweet] mince pies and put the brandy butter inside."
The following morning, after a big breakfast to mark the British holiday of Boxing Day, the men go shooting. Kate and the women might also go, or at least for lunch.
That evening's three-course dinner might kick off with Gleneagles pate or a fish course, followed by tenderloin steaks with a whisky mushroom cream sauce. Dessert might be bread-and-butter pudding or a trifle.
"We would also do a big silver tray of sliced meat from the Christmas buffet menu – venison, or some fish," says McGrady.
Guests generally start to head off on Dec. 27, with Kate and William likely to visit her family, while Sandringham is prepared for the next round of the Queen's relatives and friends, who come to stay for New Year's.
For more on the royals' Christmas, pick up PEOPLE's special double issue, featuring the best and worst of 2013, on newsstands Friday.


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Thank you for stopping by the Weather Watch 12 Blog! The roller coaster fall temperatures experienced in Milwaukee will continue this week. Temperatures may approach record highs to start the week. In today's blog we discuss the spring-like feel to December, and look ahead to when cooler weather returns to the area.
To put the current warm-up in perspective, the average high in Milwaukee is now 38 degrees with an average low of 25! Morning lows will not even dip below the average high until Wednesday morning.
The flood of warmth is being pushed into the nation's mid-section with a huge storm system along the West Coast. The warm weather will peak on Monday in southeastern Wisconsin with highs in the 60s! Check out the NAM computer model temperature forecast shown below.
This model is pushing mid-60s in southern Wisconsin! Right now our forecast is low 60s, but any peeks of sun will push temperatures higher! The record high for December 3 in Milwaukee is 64 degrees set in 1998.
By Monday evening the first of 2 cold fronts will near the area. Ahead of cold front number 1 rain showers will be possible in southeast Wisconsin Monday afternoon and evening.
As the first cold front clears the area, temperatures will drop to the upper 40s for highs on Tuesday. The HPC surface forecast map below is valid at 6am Tuesday. Notice on the map below the first cold front is east of our area, with the second front just pushing into northwest Wisconsin.
As the second cold front arrives late Tuesday, chilly air will return pushing daytime highs to around 40 on Wednesday. A better chance of highs returning to the 30s is possible in days 6-10 of the forecast. We will update these colder trends in future Weather Watch 12 blogs.
For the latest weather information watch WISN 12 News, and for updates throughout the day follow me on Twitter @jnelsonweather
Have a great day!
Jeremy Nelson


text: Setting Time Zones (4) tv-g Play video Select your TV provider to log in to have full access to videos Select your TV provider See all providers Don't see your TV provider? Learn more You can access this video on the free HISTORY® app. *You must verify your TV provider towatch this video on the App Your Parental Control settings do not allow you to view this content. Setting Time Zones (4 min) tv-g Time zones regulated how towns kept time so railroads could stay on schedule.


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After You're Hired
Adjunct Faculty Check-Off Sheet
Welcome to the Westminster College teaching faculty. You will soon discover that Westminster provides you with the support services you need to be successful.
Mandatory Orientations
Orientation I
After receiving your assignment, you will be contacted to schedule your first Orientation. During the orientation you will:
Orientation II
All adjunct faculty new to Westminster College should attend this orientation, offered before the beginning of the fall, spring, and summer terms. During this time you will meet with Deans; Student Services Directors; Library, Writing Center, and Faculty Technology Center Managers; and with the Adjunct Faculty Coordinator.
Thanks! You are part of a great team of people that make Westminster College such an exemplary school.


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2 bedroom 2 bath villa at Grand Bear Resort. Close to amenities. Furnished.
Copyright 2010 Midwest Real Estate Data LLC. All rights reserved. The data relating to real estate for sale on this web site comes in part from the Broker Reciprocity Program of the Midwest Real Estate Data LLC. Listing information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.
Copyright 2015. All rights reserved.


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The 7 Most Mind-Blowing Places Science Has Discovered Life
"The way I sit for hours looking at things I hate makes me cool."
But there are places even more toxic to joy and life than the YouTube comment section (and the commenters who manage to reproduce there). These life-forms put every human who has ever claimed to be "extreme" to shame. After all, they manage to survive ...
#7. In a Lake of Boiling Asphalt
Scientists discovered millions of simplistic life forms trapped in a toxic hell of asphalt and oil fumes, but were too sophisticated to make a joke about traffic.
Fixed that for ya, smart people.
Pitch Lake is located in Trinidad and Tobago, and we're fairly sure it was imported direct from hell. About 150 square miles of asphalt, 250 feet deep and bubbling with hydrocarbon fumes seeping from oil reserves, it's like Mother Nature is passive-aggressively petrochemically polluting herself. And like a boyfriend exploiting the silent treatment to play Modern Warfare 3, humanity sucks out the asphalt to help pave roads over the rest of the island.
The moral: Don't start a fight with a people holding construction equipment.
But even in the incredibly heavy-handed metaphor of Pitch Lake, life flourishes, because there are 10 million organisms living in it. Sorry, that's 10 million organisms per gram of it, just chilling out in the Death Jacuzzi. The environment is so ludicrously lethal that the discovery was reported in Astrobiology, because it had nothing to do with normal life on Earth. These things eat petrochemicals and breathe metal, making them more Transformer STD than Terran life form. Though, in fairness, that wouldn't be the lowest form of life to screw up the Transformers in the last decade.
Bacteria didn't film Bumblebee pissing on a man.
This isn't just one new species; it's a whole community of bacteria and ancient archaea just hanging around in the modern world. Because when you can relax in a pool of liquid road soaked in gasoline, you can live wherever you want. We might have a few billion years of natural selection on our side, we but haven't evolved balls big enough to deal with that.
#6. Frozen in Ice and Time
Lake Untersee might sound like a comical foreigner's description of where you find fish. In reality, it couldn't be more hostile to properly evolved life if it were The Jersey Shore. The Antarctic lake has been iced over for at least 100,000 years. Its only inflow is from fresh-melted glacier water, which sounds lovely and expensive if you bottle it, but the lake receives less nutrition than a runway model.
Deep-breathing exercises double as lunch.
The same lake has no outflow. It only loses water when it freezes and then sublimates off into the atmosphere. Untersee's only interaction with the rest of the universe has to happen through a membrane of permanently solid ice that has cut it off from the rest of nature since nature was still making itself up on the fly. Fortunately for science, this means life didn't bother evolving there, and instead stayed the way it was to begin with -- even allowing teams of scientists to find and research stromatolites in the lake. If you're asking "What the hell are stromatolites?" then you should be more respectful of your ancestors. Everything's ancestors. Stromatolites are mounds built by the microorganisms that dominated the first 3.5 billion years of life on Earth, aka most of it, and now only survive in environments utterly inimical to modern life, like frozen alkaline lakes and bits of Australia.
"I still say we should have gone to Antarctica."
The environment is so ludicrously alien to life as we know it that they sent a NASA team with SETI backup. The reports don't mention the special forces with flamethrowers, possibly because that's just standard procedure for projects aiming to release life encased in Antarctic ice since the dawn of being. NASA is interested because life in Lake Untersee supports the possibility of life on Enceladus, a frozen moon of Saturn. Untersee is so stupidly hard to live in that even rocket scientists say, "If life can exist here, it can exist anywhere!"
Wilfried Bauer
Not exactly New York. In that it's clean and you won't get stabbed.
#5. At 400,000 Times Earth's Gravity
Nature is pretty good at being insane, but when you absolutely positively have to pervert the laws of everything in awesome ways, you gotta go humanity. Possibly impatient at the continued lack of Godzilla, Japanese scientists threw a bunch of bacteria into an XL-80 ultracentrifuge and turned all the knobs up to 11. Then, they turned them way past that to 400 kg. That's not 400 kilograms, that's 400,000 times Earth's gravity. It's an acceleration of 3.9 million meters per second squared -- one second of which would take you to 1 percent of light-speed if everything in the universe (including the nature of the universe itself) wasn't getting in your way.
And the life form they were testing didn't just survive. It grew.
At this point you should be hearing ominous music and people ignoring a lone researcher's desperate warnings.
The simpler the life form, the more it can adapt to survive things that would kill higher organisms. That's why reality shows still have thousands of applicants despite being fatal to the human brain. Parococcus denitrificans doesn't even notice gravity changes up to 74,000 gravities, while our good friend Escheria coli keeps breeding right up to 400 kilogravities. They didn't just survive, they continued breeding in a new "pellet" form, with hordes of ultragravity-tolerant bacteria crushed together by the incredible pressure. All this time, Pac-Man has been tougher than we ever gave him credit for.
Holy shit, he's their king.
On the upside, Saccharomyces cerevisiae also survives at increased gravities, so at least we'll have beer as we fall into the gravity well of a massive body. (We've had nights like that.) The results show that, as well as planets, life might survive on non-hot brown dwarf failed stars. Though that's already been proven by the STD colonies on Tila Tequila.
#4. Irradiated Thin Air
In the time it takes you to get used to a new house, bacteria can evolve to suit it and spawn new species specifically tuned for your bathroom. Which you should probably clean, you filthy person. The most incredible examples of that are Bacillus isronensis and friends, which researchers found about 20 miles straight up by lofting a hot air balloon equipped with cryotubes. Which sounds like steampunk, except it's actually doing something useful.
Lady Clankington's Little Death Ray
Though they're not the only ones. (NSFW)
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and colleagues discovered three new species adapted for the stratospheric lifestyle. The bacteria have evolved enhanced tolerance to ultraviolet radiation and consider thin air more than enough live on. And in. The most incredible part is how they got up there in the first place: The researchers hypothesize that they're the action movie heroes of the micro-organic world, riding the blast wave of massive explosions to get where they need to be. Volcanic explosions, reverse lightning strikes from thunderclouds, the heat plumes from forest fires -- these things commute via natural disaster.
Oh man, I missed the volcanic eruption. Now I have to wait until the Midwest catches fire again.
That's a big deal. There's a "panspermia" theory, which says that life is like GameFAQs: It might be really hard for the first person to unlock a new level, but once they do, it's much easier for others to use that instead of starting from scratch. The idea is that the building blocks of life can be fired from planet to planet by cosmic disasters and asteroids. Even if living organisms can't survive the process, the Lego of life they're made of can be carried around, especially since we've now seen living things surviving tectonic explosions and hypergravity.
Another possibility is the bacteria ascending through gravito-photophoresis, which is a transport for bacteria and an intelligence test for humans (did you read the word or just skip over it?). Gravito-photophoresis is the elevating effect of a shaft of light in a fluid medium -- the sunlight heating a column of air, which lifts anything small enough as it goes. Those heavenly rays of sun through the clouds might artistically elevate your soul, but they can assume bacteria's bodies, too.