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A presentation of district PSSA scores were given at last night's Indiana Area School Board. Curriculum Coordinator Dr. Mark Gross gave a half-hour presentation of the district PSSA scores last night. He said there was mostly good news and some bad.
Schools are evaluated on various formulas and data sets, but it comes down to whether or not schools achieve adequate yearly progress, or AYP. Gross summarized Indiana Area's performance by syaing that overall, the district met AYP, but two schools need improvement:
Both schools must submit a plan to the state Education Department addressing their problem areas.
Despite the shortfalls, Indiana Area scored above state average in every grade, but students have to make set amounts of growth from one test to the next to meet state requirements.
In other news, the girls lacrosse team is now an officially recognized Indiana Area sport. Multiple people turned out last night to support the motion. They now have permission to a schedule through WPIAL and use school facilities. The team consists of girls in fourth through eighth grade.
Progress was made on bringing military recruiters back into the high school after eight years of absence. Principal Wade McElheney said the current plan is for recruiters from all branches to come on the same day and set up in the upper commons.
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Spring is here, and that means many college students are already thinking about summer break, but for many of them receiving financial aid, now is a good time to look towards the next school year.
If students haven't done it yet, officials are urging them to fill out their Free Application for Federal Student Aid or FAFSA as soon as possible before some of the grants and loans run out.
And this year, the automatic budget cuts known as the sequestration, could have a slight impact on a student's financial aid package.
Western Technical College students are paying for college in a couple of different ways.
"I actually pay it myself," said Tyler Grosh, a student.
"Financial aid helps a lot," said Emily Morris a student.
Ellen Kreger, a college access adviser said while just about everyone qualifies for some form of financial aid, about 25 percent of students aren't filling out the FAFSA.
That means those students could be missing out on some much-needed help to pay for college.
"I have heard that students are graduating with around $20,000 in student loan debt," said Kreger. "So it's unfortunate that some of the money could be kind of offset by getting grants and scholarships."
And the longer a student waits to fill out the FAFSA, it could mean receiving a smaller financial aid package.
"Some state loans that are available for students might be available on a first-come, first-served basis, so the sooner they apply, the more opportunity they have to access grants, particularly state grants because those are given out first-come, first-served," said Kreger.
But this year, because of the budget cuts, certain financial aid programs are taking a hit.
Fees to take out a loan through the direct loan program will increase slightly, from 1 to 1.051 percent.
Fees for Direct PLUS loans will increase from 4 to 4.204 percent.
The maximum amount for Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grants will shrink by just more than $2,000 from $5,645 to $3,511.19.
The Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education Grants or the TEACH grants will also shrink by just more than $500 from $4,000 to $3,496.
While these changes seem minimal, these students aren't happy about it.
"Everything helps and if you take away just a little bit, it does make a huge difference in the amount of money that we have to pay for education," said Morris.
But even so, students said taking on the changes is important for their future.
"For me, you can't put a price tag on your dreams," said Grosh.
The Pell Grant Program is exempt from the effects of the sequestration.
For the 2013-2014 school year, the maximum a student can receive in a Pell Grant is $5,645.
Once a student fills out the FAFSA, it can take anywhere from a couple of weeks to a couple of months to receive their financial aid packages.

subset: commoncrawl


text: We had out 4 month check up for DS today, and he only gained 1 lb sense his 2 month, going from percentile 5 to percentile 1. So my doctor has recommended supplementing with formula a few times a day, and we go back in 2 weeks to see how he is growing. I really would like to keep EBing and not have bottles become a regular occurrence. Does anyone have any advice for me to help him gain weight FAST? (I'm already pumping to try and increase my supply)


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Cubs Already Reach Midseason Form
It may still be spring training, but the sCrUBS are already movin' along at their regular pace. I was able to catch that feeling during Saturday's spanking from the, er, lowly San Diego Padres.
Quade is the man for the job alright.
Any man who can sit through a butt-whoopin' like that and not lose his cool definitely has what it takes to sit through another 80 or so butt-whoopins before the long, back-breaking season is over.
Hate me 'cuz I point out the obvious, just don't hate me 'cuz I'm right.
7 Comments
If I could write just half as much great tongue-in-cheek as you, I would be the toast of Tampa Bay…..or a Sport Radio frequent caller.
I always get a kick out of the turning of a phrase or back-handed compliments you give people or teams that truly hit the mark. It is a true gift, and one I am envious of….keep up the solid lashing…the settlers are getting restless.
Stay thirsty my friend ( had to say it).
Rays Renegade
Glad we see eye to eye on that tip, RR. Striving to be the most interesting man in the world is the only way to go.
14-4? Ouch. I don't care if it IS spring training. A spanking is a spanking.
Maybe the Cubs need a La Russa-style beanball war to band together. Or would they start fighting amongst themselves like in Major League 2?
Jane — Indeed. Let's hope the sCrUBBIES get some more!
Prince — I'm leaning towards the second option there, based on recent history.
14-4. Ouch. Hmmm…somehow I am sensing that maybe you don't like the Cubs much. It's awfully subtle but, what can I say? I'm good at reading between the lines, LOL.


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>I took course one with my friend Jen last month. So much fun. Mommy time, no kids allowed- and creativity too? Sign me up! Although the pounds I'd lost in March hopped right back to where they'd been before somehow…………….
Anyway, here is my final cake, from the final class. See those roses? Made, by ME. That's right. Something I totally didn't think I could do, but I did. I also had no idea what to write and the teacher needed us to write something so "I did it" was my best idea (seriously?). (Happy Spring might have been a good thought, like a normal person would write……….but I digress).
Let me now share with you what Mr. Bargains did because he didn't want to ruin the side view of the cake:


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The Vans World Cup, the second event in the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing, starts now! Round 1 is in the water at Sunset Beach. Tune in live now at: vans.com/vtcs
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ALBUQUERQUE — Junior Nimrod Lelei finished 12th in a field of 110 runners on Saturday as the Eastern New Mexico University men's cross country team finished eighth out of 13 full teams in the Lobo Invitational, hosted by the University of New Mexico.
Lelei ran a time of 26 minutes, 17 seconds over eight kilometers for the Greyhounds, who finished with 199 team points. Texas-El Paso, led by individual winner Stephen Samoi, won the meet with 29 points to 75 for runnerup Texas A&M.
Junior Mariana Chavira led ENMU's women, placing 22nd with a time of 24:27 over six kilometers. The Zias were ninth out of 13 full teams with 221 points.
Texas A&M won the women's team title with 35 points, while New Mexico was second with 54.


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Students Vote To Drop 'Redskins' From Sports Teams
By editor • Feb 27, 2013
Originally published on February 27, 2013 11:03 am
Students at Cooperstown Central School recently voted to stop calling their sport teams the Redskins. In turn, an Indian tribe offered to pay for new team uniforms. Host Michel Martin talks about the gesture with Ray Halbritter, of the Oneida Nation.


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A Florida man is on probation after calling dispatchers nearly 3,000 times in a year and a half, even though he didn't need help.
Tampa, Fla., resident Keith Lukas called the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office's non-emergency line 2,927 times between May 2012 and December 2013, according to a press release from the Sheriff's Office.
On the calls, Lukas complained about past treatment from the Sheriff's Office, frequently using vulgar language and treating dispatchers poorly, according to the release. If a dispatcher hung up after determining he didn't need help, Lukas often called back multiple times.
HCSO filed a complaint against Lukas for repeated harassing phone calls, and Lukas pleaded no contest to the complaint in late February, according to the Sheriff's Office. He was sentenced to probation and may not contact the Sheriff's Office unless he has a legitimate need.


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COP18 Hotcoldwetdry Talks Pretty Much End In Failure
Except for those who enjoyed their government funded working vacation, of course. They had a great time…..well, eating, since no alcohol is allowed in the Muslim nation of Qatar. As for the talks themselves, really, when you hold them in the world's 3rd highest "Carbon polluting" nation, it's no wonder they failed. (Reuters) gives it the old college try in trying to rescue the outcome
Almost 200 nations extended a weakened United Nations plan for combating global warming until 2020 on Saturday with a modest set of measures that would do nothing to halt rising world greenhouse gas emissions.
Many countries and environmentalists said the deal at the end of marathon two-week U.N. talks in OPEC-member Qatar would fail to slow rising temperatures or avert more floods, droughts, heatwaves and rising sea levels. (hey, look, hotcoldwetdry!)
Environment ministers extended until 2020 the Kyoto Protocol, which obliges about 35 industrialised nations to cut their greenhouse gas emissions until the end of 2012. That keeps the pact alive as the sole legally binding climate plan.
Problem is, only 37 countries of 194 actually signed on to the extension of Kyoto. Many others offer a non-binding "declaration of intent." Canada, New Zealand, Russia, and even Japan, the nation for which the original protocol was conceived, opted out. For those who committed, that only covers 15% of mankind's CO2 output.
They did agree to
steal raise around $100 billion dollars in aid for developing nations, but there is no framework nor is there any binding commitment to do so.
Britain was a big force in pushing the extension and binding themselves to hosing their economy even more with "green" targets and spending billions. Um, yeah
More snow is expected to fall in the south east (of Britain) from Monday as bitterly cold north-easterly winds continue to bring temperatures as low as 14F (-10C), icy roads and freezing fog.
My bad, I forgot that now cold weather is caused by heat trapping gases.
Fortunately for climate partiers, this means that there will be more United Nations meetings in luxuries vacations spots in future years, where they can talk to their hearts content about reducing Other People's carbon footprints before jumping back in their fossil fueled airplanes. For COP19, it will be in an Eastern Europe nation, to be decided by whomever provides the best party atmosphere, and which will be amusing as hell, since Eastern Europe has had 4 straight miserable winters, with very cold temps and lots of winter weather.
Crossed at Pirate's Cove. Follow me on Twitter @WilliamTeach.
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Even though my father, brother, uncles and grandfather were in the military, I seldom handled guns growing up. That's because unlike many of the other people in my family, I've...Read More
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Dodgers take 3 out of 4 in San Diego starting with Opening Day!
Jake Ross of Gaslampball.com took this picture.
Apr 7 2012; San Diego, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers fan Emma Amaya wears a shirt in honor of former Los Angeles Lakers basketball player Magic Johnson before a game against the San Diego Padres at PETCO Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-US PRESSWIRE
I kept getting texts that I was on TV.
My cousin Edgar's wife Jeannie tagged me on this picture that she took of the TV screen
Magic was at Opening Day in San Diego along with Frank McCourt & his GF. This picture taken by my friend Lorena (LuvtheDodgers23). Notice Frank's GF eyeing Matt Kemp
I was having a hard time with my camera. Jon SooHoo of Dodgersphotog.mlblogs.com told me I bounced the camera too many times. Actually it started working better after I had him look at it. Still, I did not take good pictures from afar but luckly my friend Lorena did so I am sharing her pictures:
Opening Day at Petco. Second time Lorena and I go to Petco Park Opening Day against the Dodgers. First time was in 2009.
SkinnySwag! Dee Gordon. I saw him after the game and I told him I have him in my fantasy Baseball team. He said "I am not doing too well" I said that is OK, to early. Lorena pointed to her heart and said "We Love you!" The following day I saw him again after the game and he had done so good that I stopped him and excitedly I told him "You did great today Dee!" He in turned gave me a hug and told me "Thank you ma'am" that so cute of him.
Clayton Kershaw was fighting the stomach flu but he insisted to Mattingly that he still wanted to pitch on Opening Day. He could only go three innings because of the stomach flu. He also collected the first hit for the Dodgers with a double. his ERA: 0.00 and his batting average: 1.000.
Because of the day off today, Kershaw is starting the Home Openner tomorrow afternoon.
Josh Lindblom came in after Kershaw and collected the win. Javy Guerra got the save. Thanks Lorena for the pictures.
This picture from Jon Soohoo of Dodger fans making the trip from LA to Petco Park. This is before Friday's game.
Lorena and I. 'yeah, I did not noticed before that I closed my eyes.
Reaction of Dodger fans after @skinnyswag Dee Gordon terrories the Padres.
Having a good time in San Having a good time in San Diego with friends. From Top to bottom; Blanca, Lorena, Emma, Rosie and Amanda.
Happy Opening Day Eve! Happy Opening Day Eve! Happy Opening Day Eve! Can't wait to be at Dodger Stadium tomorrow!
12 Comments
Yep OBF! She looks very young.
Thanks Mike! and yes, I will see my Dodger family later on today!
Thanks Jeff. I am all about the love not the hate Jeff🙂
LOL. Got reports from several friends at various states that they saw me on TV. There is also a picture in the La Times. Fun times at the stadium with the win. Only downside was Vin Scully not being there.
I also saw you on TV after Ethier's HR. You are becoming a regular TV star. You were sitting in field level. Do you still have your Top Deck seats?
Yes, I still have my Top Deck seats. Just Opening Day I sat in the field level.
You missed the best part😉 Last night they were showing the replay at the stadium.
Yes, we had great seats in San Diego. We splurge on the road. Next road trip is Seattle. How about you?


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PHILADELPHIA – Michael P. Nusbaum, PhD, Professor of Neuroscience at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, will receive over $2.7 million over the next seven years from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) to understand how a fundamental aspect of molecular signaling in the nervous system, called neuromodulation, modifies sensory-motor integration to enable a single neural network to generate the appropriate coordinated movement in different contexts.
Michael P. Nusbaum, PhD
The specific grant is called the Javits Neuroscience Investigator Award. The grant was established to honor the late Senator Jacob Javits (R-NY), who suffered for several years from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's disease, and was a strong advocate of brain and nervous system research. The Javits award is given to scientists selected by a national NINDS advisory council from a pool of mainstream National Institutes of Health grant applicants within a given funding cycle. The award is given to distinguished investigators who have a record of "cutting edge" neuroscience research and can be expected to be highly productive for the next seven years of the award.
"The Javits Award will enable my lab to achieve a more in-depth understanding of the impact of neuromodulation on motor network operation, and to extend this work in novel directions," says Nusbaum.
Dr. Nusbaum studies how a group of neurons, or a neural network, governs coordinated muscle movements. Specifically, he studies this process in the nervous system of the crab Cancer borealis to completely identify a neural network underlying one type of behavior, in this case, chewing.
"This small system is unusually well-characterized at a cellular level, and over the past thirty years considerable research has shown that this crab chewing network operates on the same general principles as comparable networks in the mammalian CNS" says Nusbaum. "Our hope is that this basic research will help us better understand problems in sensory-motor circuits, and what to target for repair, when motor dysfunction occurs as it does for example after a stroke or spinal cord injury."
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text:
A memory of James
"Maybe a Root Cellar?" said the note tucked into a book—one in a pile destined to get the heave ho. My husband John had been sorting through his books during spring break, adding to the heap of the kids' outgrown winter clothes (and a few sacrificial stuffed animals) headed for the Salvation Army.
Really? Was John's suggestion that this would make a good "column topic" (something of which I am always in quest) for real? What could I write?
The book, entitled "The Language of Nuclear War," written by three Dartmouth students, Eric Semler, James Benjamin and Adam Gross (Harper &Row, 1987), is a Reagan era "dictionary" of nuclear weapons terminology including entries for weapons, strategies, slang, culture and history.
I flipped through the book with the thought that "Dr. Strangelove" is still alive and well in 2013. Especially in recent weeks, as North Korea's Kim Jong Un has directed menacing rhetoric against South Korea and the United States creating a diplomatic quandary.
As has been often reported of late, only a handful of countries have nuclear weapons. Others, such as North Korea and Iran, are said to be actively developing nuclear weapons.
And still, despite policies of non-proliferation as well as efforts to reduce Cold War arsenals, the world is littered with thousands of warheads. (As of December 2012, the U.S. was estimated to have a total of 7,650 warheads with 2,150 of those operational. The rest are in storage or awaiting dismantlement. Russia is estimated to have 8,420 total, with 1,720 operational, according to the Federation of American Scientists.)
The nuclear dictionary offers an obscene look at how language is twisted—indeed mutated—in the nuclear lexicon. In some ways this mutation can be scarier than any X-rated movie. For instance, the "Peacekeeper Missile" (the grim nickname of the MX missile) is a prime example.
And, it is interesting to see how nuclear terms have entered colloquial speech such as the phrase "nuclear winter" which was coined in 1983 to describe the possible aftermath of a nuclear war and has become the setting for a lot of dystopian fiction and movies. Another is the term "ground zero," now used in reference to the terrorist attacks of 9/11/2001.
And, it is strange how memory works—how it sharpens to an idiosyncratic point and floods back with images. The book brought me back to second or third grade, when I was standing next to the radiator in my classroom with James Wormuth. Our marigolds in milk carton planters were on the window sill. He had a library book or encyclopedia and was showing anyone who would look a photo of a mushroom cloud. "It's pretty," I absently said. "That's not pretty, that's an atom bomb," he retorted.
James will always be remembered as the boy in my class who was struck by lightning and died in the summer of his 14th year. I have also always remembered him for setting me straight on the atom bomb.


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Grant McGee
The Lord wanted me to have a job one time.
Let me explain.
Years ago I needed more money for my growing family. So I moseyed on down to the state employment commission to find a job that would bring in wheelbarrows full of cash.
"The Lord said you were coming. He has a job for you," said the energetic young job counselor.
I don't know how long I stared at her before I spoke.
"Me?" I asked. "The Lord actually told you I would be in today?"
"Yes," she said. "He wants you to sell insurance."
So I decided to do it. If The Lord had a job for me I reckoned I'd better take it.
After training and tests and such I was ready to make a million dollars a year selling insurance, at least I thought I would.
Unfortunately this did not happen. Oh, I sold some life insurance policies and got some folks to switch from their insurance company to mine. But I found I was the new kid in the insurance neighborhood and folks generally stuck with their old familiar agents.
I packed it in after 6 months and went back to being a DJ on the radio.
I felt weird every time I walked by the employment commission; ashamed that I had botched the job the counselor said The Lord wanted me to have.
One day I went in to say "thanks" to her anyway.
"We don't know why The Lord wanted you to have that job," she said after I went in and apologized. "Maybe He used you to help someone or maybe you were supposed to learn a lesson. Maybe you're supposed to stay in radio."
And what a relief it was to know I probably didn't tick off The Lord over leaving that insurance job.


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There's a saying in the NFL that there is no offseason.
It's easy to see why. The 2013-14 NFL season isn't even over yet, and draft season is already under way in earnest.
The first big signpost on the road to May's NFL draft was Saturday's East-West Shrine Game, which the East won 23-13.
The game is secondary to the week of practice that precedes it, where youngsters from around the nation show off their skills in front of NFL scouts and coaches.
However, that doesn't mean that the game is meaningless. After all, it offers players a chance to make one last good (or bad) impression on scouts before draft season continues on to next week's Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala.
With that in mind, let's see how Saturday's contest impacted the draft stock of some of the players involved.


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It starts out so innocently. People charge a little gasoline here and a few groceries there. Before long they charge movie tickets, home improvement items, clothes, restaurant meals, and weekend trips to "the card."
There are people who genuinely convince themselves that charging something to a credit card means that they don't have to eventually pay for it. Unfortunately, that bill comes every month and soon people are paying the minimum balance on a card that has a sizeable balance and a daunting annual percentage rate.
The credit card is convenient, but it can get people into serious financial trouble if they are not careful.
Of course, it could be worse. People could have no sense of what they are going to do in the future ...
No. 1: Not planning for the future
If people are asked about their future, they can usually paint a fairly happy picture.
They will be retired, their bills will be paid off, and they will roam the world while living off their perfectly adequate nest egg.
The reality is that many individuals have no plan for the future. They may have desires, but their current habits will never get them to their desired state of living in the future.
Does a financial plan guarantee success? Of course not. However, the mistake that many people make is not having any sort of long-term financial strategy and hoping that things will simply work out somehow.
Thinking that way may reflect the positive outlook of the individual, but it may also mean that they will someday experience disappointment at their lack of serious financial planning.


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Gwen Stefani
Gwen Stefani youngest son is named Zuma Nesta Rock. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)
Maria Carey and her husband Nick Cannon
Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon named their twins Moroccan and Monroe. (Photo credit should read GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP/Getty Images)
Nicolas Cage
Nicolas Cage named his son Kal-El after Superman. (Photo by David Livingston/Getty Images)
Jermaine Jackson
Those wacky Jackson brothers. Jermaine has a child named Jermajesty. Really? (Photo by Francois Durand/Getty Images)
Penn Jillette
Penn Jillette has a child named Moxie Crimefighter. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images for Caesars Entertainment)
The Edge from U2
The Edge from U2 has a child named Blue Angel. (Photo by Sandra Mu/Getty Images)
Michael Jackson Michael Jackson was known for being a bit strange. He named his third child Prince Michael Jackson II (nicknamed "Blanket")(Source: Dave Hogan/Getty Images)
Forest Whitaker
Forest Whitaker has a child named Ocean. (Photo by John Sciulli/Getty Images For City of Hope)
Bono, singer of the Irish rock band U2
Bono, singer of the Irish rock band U2 has a child named Memphis Eve. (Photo credit: JUAN MABROMATA/AFP/Getty Images)
Steven Spielberg
Famed director Steven Spielberg has a child named Destry. (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)
David Duchovny and Tea Leoni
David Duchovny and Tea Leoni named their child Kyd. Really? (Photo credit: TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images)
Courtney Cox and David Arquette
Courtney Cox and David Arquette named their daughter Coco. Apparently, it was a nickname Courteney used to have.(Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Actress Gwyneth Paltrow
Actress Gwyneth Paltrow and hubby Chris Martin named their daughter after a fruit. Her name is Apple. (Photo by MJ Kim/Getty Images)
Jason Lee
Jason Lee named his child Pilot Inspektor. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)
Director Robert Rodriguez
Director Robert Rodriguez has a child named Rocket. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
Categories: Entertainment Photo Galleries


text:
- Admissions
- Academics
- Campus Life
- Athletics
- Cost & Aid
- News & Events
- About Plattsburgh
This graduate assistantship provides a tuition scholarship (in-state rate) and a stipend of $5,320 for the 2013-2014 academic year. The position reports to the Senior Admissions Advisor and requires a work schedule of 20 hours per week beginning on September 23, 2013, and ending on April 19, 2014. The assistantship starts four weeks after the start of the fall semester starts and ends three weeks before the end of the spring semester in order to allow the graduate assistant to work during the winter break. The 20-hour schedule will include some weekend work.
Complete the one-page Graduate Assistantship Form and the Human Resource Services General Employment Application. Be sure to attach your resume, two letters of recommendation, and a personal essay (250 words or less) outlining your skills and abilities to your General Employment Application.
To apply for this position, complete a Graduate Assistantship Application Form by February 15. The application form can be downloaded at: http://www.plattsburgh.edu/admissions/graduate/forms.php.
Jessica Fish, Senior Admissions AdvisorSUNY Plattsburgh
Phone: 518-564-2040
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
The Average Crop Revenue Election (ACRE) Program was implemented by USDA for the 2009 crop year, as part of the 2008 Farm Bill, and continued for the 2010 to 2012 crop years. For 2013, eligible farm operators will again have the option to enroll in the ACRE Program, as an alternative to the current Counter-Cyclical Payment (CCP) Program. The ACRE Program will offer the potential of revenue-based payments, based on yield and price, as compared to current price-only CCP calculations. The official ACRE program information is available at county Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices, and on the USDA FSA website.
The 2008 Farm Bill, which was originally supposed to end in 2012, was extended by Congress for the 2013 crop year. Sign-up for the 2013 farm program started Feb. 19, and will continue through Aug. 2, 2013, at local FSA offices. As part of the farm bill extension, the option to enroll in the ACRE program will also be available for the 2013 crop year. Producers have until June 3, 2013, to sign up for the 2013 ACRE program at FSA offices.
Farmers previously enrolled in the ACRE program for the 2009, 2010, 2011 or 2012 crop years do not have to remain enrolled in ACRE for 2013, and have a choice regarding the ACRE Program for 2013. Similarly, farms that were not previously enrolled in ACRE can choose to enroll in ACRE program for the 2013 crop year. Producers must sign-up for the 2013 Direct and Counter-Cyclical Program (DCP), and must meet all program criteria, in order to be eligible for the ACRE program. New for 2013: No landowner signatures are required for ACRE enrollment on cash rental farm units.
Direct payments will be reduced by 20% for farms enrolled in the ACRE Program for 2013. Direct payments to all growers in the DCP program for 2013 will be reduced by 8.5% due to the federal budget sequester that was enacted earlier this year. Total reduction in direct payments in southern and western Minnesota will usually be about $3-5/crop base acre for corn and soybeans on farm units enrolled in the ACRE program.
The ACRE price guarantee for all crops is the national average price for the previous two years, which is based on the 12-month marketing period for corn and soybeans from Sept. 1 in the year of harvest until Aug. 31 the following year, and June 1 to May 31 for wheat and other small grain crops.
The state yield guarantee for 2013 is the Olympic average state yield for the past five years (2008-2012), with the highest and lowest yield being dropped, and the three remaining yields being averaged. ACRE revenue guarantees cannot vary up or down by more than 10% from one year to the next. In Minnesota for 2013, this will likely result in a corn revenue guarantee of $757.61/acre, a soybean revenue guarantee of $471.24/acre and a wheat revenue guarantee of $298.41/acre.
There are two revenue triggers that must be met before ACRE payments will be made: one based on actual state revenue for a given crop in a particular year and the other based on actual farm-level revenue for that crop in the same year. In order for a farmer to receive a payment under the ACRE program, the actual revenuefor both the state and farm-level must be lower than the corresponding established revenue guarantees for a given year. The actual revenue is based on the actual 12-month average price (Sept. 1 to Aug. 31 for corn and soybeans) for a crop in the year of production, times the actual state average yield, and actual farm yield, respectively. If both revenue triggers are reached, the ACRE payment will be made for that crop on that FSA farm number for the given year.
Following are some key points to consider regarding the ACRE Program for 2013:
Editor's note: Kent Thiesse is a former University of Minnesota Extension educator and now is Vice President of MinnStar Bank, Lake Crystal, MN. You can contact him at 507-726-2137 or via e-mail at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Looks fantastic! cant wait to see the finished article If salford very unfortunatly go broke, I think Fev has to be the first choice to replace them in SL..
I agree wakey 😄😄😄. But on a serious note I don't want us to go in yet as we're not ready at the minute. I want us to go in when were ready which will be in 2015 and then we can have a proper crack at it.
Edited by thundergaz, 21 December 2012 - 06:43 PM.


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Classic Cadillac
- Description
- Features
- Popular Accessories
- Popular Upgrades
As one Pilates practitioner testified, "Only good things happen on the Cadillac." For most practitioners and Pilates instructors, the Cadillac is their favorite Pilates apparatus. Whether you are sitting, standing, kneeling, lying or even upside down, the springs, bars, mat and trapeze of the Cadillac can always be utilized creating the most diverse and intelligent Pilates experience. Whether it's used for a portion of a session or an entire hour the Cadillac is perfect for all clients and users from those needing rehabilitation of an injury to those needing a challenging advanced level repertoire.
Updated with a larger frame and 30 inch mat width for enhanced stability, our Premier Cadillac is beautiful and virtually indestructible.
Customization options are available such as including the Leg Spring Slider and Table Extender (call to order).
Peak Pilates® is elevating standards for quality of craftsmanship and durability with the new eco-friendly bamboo option for the studio line. This item can require a 3 ‐ 4 week lead time. Credit Cards will be charged at the time of purchase and a Peak Pilates Consultant will contact you within 1 business day regarding the details for your delivery.
This product is also available in Natural Bamboo.
For pricing and availability contact Customer Service at 1-800-925-3674 or email@example.com
Note: Peak Pilates does not accept returns for large equipment
Hardwood Options:
Solid Oak:
Peak Pilates is the only major manufacturer to offer premium solid oak standard on all reformer frames, plus a hardrock maple upgrade at an affordable price.
Every Peak Pilates frame receives our seven-step finishing process: three sandings and four coats of environmentally friendly, water-based lacquer.
We utilize mortise and tenon frame joinery, far superior to dowel pins or metal fasteners, resulting in equipment that's crafted like fine furniture and designed to last a lifetime. Laminated oak frame and legs.
Bamboo is classified as a rapidly renewable material and is considered to be one of the greenest materials today.
All Peak Pilates wood equipment, with the exception of our Sports Med Reformer, is available in Amber and Natural Bamboo. Using waterborne lacquers and powder-coated finishes in our manufacturing reduces VOC emissions. Peak Pilates uses select bamboo, harvested and engineered to provide a strong, durable and stable product.
Trapeze and Spring System:
Full trapeze system with padded upholstered trapeze and precision slider.
Our durable, zinc plates springs with tapered ends and swivel hooks are made of the highest quality music wire. The Classic Cadillac comes standard with a set of arm, leg, push-through and trapeze springs, as well as three spring covers.
The Classic Cadillac's table mat is covered with premium Boltaflex vinyl upholstery for superior abrasion resistance and easy cleaning.
Standard with black upholstery. Call (1) 800.925.3674 to order from a palette of 65 custom colors.
Full Trapeze System:
Padded upholstered trapeze and precision slider
Hardwood push-through and roll down bars (optional aluminum bar available, you must call to order
Foot/hand loops (pair)
Sheepskin hanging straps
Adjustable wraparound table strap
Foot strap on the frame
Trapeze strap
Push-through storage strap
Complete Spring System:
2 arm springs
2 leg springs
2 push-through springs
2 trapeze springs
2 safety chains
3 spring sleeves
Accessories Included:
Sheepskin hanging straps
Foot/hand loops (pair
Adjustable wrap around table strap
Complete eight-piece spring set
Peak Pilates Lifetime Warranty:
We are so certain of the durability of our equipment that we are pleased to offer a Lifetime Warranty on all studio equipment
Table extender
Padded Spread Eagle foot plate
Adjustable aluminum push-through bar
Adjustable leg spring slider
Solid maple or bamboo frame
Decrease cadillac table height
Add eyelets to cadillac frame
Over 64 custom upholstery colors available, please call (1) 800.925.3674 for information. Additional charges may apply.
Call (1) 800.925.3674 or e-mail firstname.lastname@example.com for more information or a quote.


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"Thank you for Catholic Answers Live. The material has helped me to become a better fourth grade CCD teacher."
~ Jason, Demarest, New Jersey
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Subscribe to Catholic Answers Magazine
"The Majesty of God is greater."
~ Thomas Woodhouse, Blessed, priest and English martyr; to his examiners who had just described the majesty of Queen Elizabeth as "great"; he was then sentenced to death and disemboweled alive.


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What a week of contrasts — thankfulness and greed. Just hours after we finished our Thanksgiving meal with family and gave thanks to all we have in our lives, people lined up to rush into stores to grab a good deal. Some people fought to get what they wanted. Thanksgiving has become Black Friday or Gray Thursday. Whatever you call it, corporate greed and survival is the focus on a day we're supposed to be reflective and thankful for what we have.
You can't just blame the stores. Shoppers are so desperate to gobble up the doors they line up a week early.
This holiday, the stakes are higher than ever. Stores are desperate to pad their bottom line, as Internet businesses are making it tough for retail stores to keep their doors open. I think some retailers will disappear before the next shopping season if their sales are not good. Stores have all sorts of gimmicks and promotions to get you to shop like Thanksgiving day doorbusters and price matching policies even for Internet stores and prices. That's an unprecedented move as retailers are desperate to keep their doors open.
It's not just corporations looking to keep their doors open, but small businesses as well. The mom and pop stores of the world. The ones opened by your neighbors who live in your community and support it when their business thrives. Saturday, the corporate credit card company American Express, is promoting "Small Business Saturday."
It's a way to get you to support your local business. The ones that are the framework of your community. For every $25 you spend at a participating AmEx small business, you'll get a $25 statement credit. It's a free $25. A nice incentive to support your local stores.
I stopped in a few the other day, and I must say it opened my eyes to the unique gifts and good people behind these storefronts that I buzz by every day. You really can find gifts you won't find anywhere else. You may pay a bit more for your gift, but you get so much more.
Service anyone? When was the last time you got service at a store? It's a rarity at a big business. Free gift wrap and packaging? It's just part of the standard package at a small business. Check one out this weekend. I think you'll be surprised.
I got a surprise from a local business this week — unrelated to holiday shopping. I needed three tire valve caps to keep the air pressure in our tires. I went to Lakefront Automotive Parts in Cleveland to pick up the caps. I like walking in there because the staff is friendly and always willing to help you find what you need. You're in and out in less than five minutes and get service with a smile.
The salesman told me they didn't sell just three caps. They came in a packet of 100. I was willing to accept it and go someplace else. Then, he grabbed the package off the shelf. He opened it up and handed me three. He said, "We'll get you next time. Have a great day."
I offered to pay and he refused. The cost would have been less than a $1, but it didn't matter. It was the gesture that will remain in my mind. He went out of his way to make sure I was a satisfied customer. It's something you hardly get anymore. Such a small thing, but it left a big impression on me. It's the small things in life that leave the most lasting impressions.
Don't forget to Shop a store this holiday that truly is thankful for your business.


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"You guys are great! You're the main reason why I converted. Keep up the good work."
David, San Francisco, CA
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"The Majesty of God is greater."
~ Thomas Woodhouse, Blessed, priest and English martyr; to his examiners who had just described the majesty of Queen Elizabeth as "great"; he was then sentenced to death and disemboweled alive.


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Josie and the *****cats
Kung Fu Hustle (AWESOME film lol)
The Tournament awesome movie
Errr last movie I watched was: Coraline in 3D that was freaky lol
Last movie I watched was Rocky Bolboa. ^^
Pleasantville. Hadn't watch it since High School. Great movie.
Ink heart
G.I Joe and 9
jurassic park (analyse it for h/w)
Last movie I watched was Pay It Forward on T.V last night, it's so inspiring.
Beverly Hills Ninja. Haven't seen it since I was a kid but it's still amusing.
Observe and report,nasty ending >.>...
Trick R Treat. Pretty good for a horror movie. It was amusing watching Anna Paquin be afraid of the fake vampire when her character in True Blood can't get enough of them.
G.I. Joe
Jennifer's Body, it was awesome, but the movie was ok xD
I saw "Zombieland" some days ago.
please don't comment on that ><
I finally saw X-men Origins: Wolverine and short after that 'Knowing' with Nicolas Cage.
well I recently watched the Star trek movies :D (from 7 to 10 the ones with the next generations actors)
Winners and sinners.
Forum Rules


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An Interview with Joshua Drake: Coauthor of Practical PostgreSQLby Jonathan Gennick, O'Reilly editor
Recently, Jonathan Gennick sat down with the coauthor of Practical PostgreSQL to talk about the future of this open source database. In this in-depth interview, Joshua Drake, who is also the cofounder of Command Prompt, and a project leader for Mammoth PostgreSQL, touches on everything from a Mac OS X distribution of PostgreSQL to LXP, the XML application server that runs as an Apache module to XML support in PostgreSQL.
Gennick: How long have you been working with PostgreSQL, and what got you started with it?
Drake: This is an interesting question. In the early 1990s I actually worked with Ingres, with which PostgreSQL has some deep-rooted history. However, as far as what I would consider current PostgreSQL, I started in 1995 with Postgres95. I had been contracted to write a shopping cart for an ISP and needed a database. Incidentally, that is also the time that I was first introduced to PHP (PHP/FI back then).
Gennick: I hear you are working on a Mac OS X distribution of PostgreSQL. Is that true? What are your plans for that? Are others also working on the same thing?
Drake: Well, Mac OS X is only one of our four supported distributions. (By the way, we refer to our distributions as Mammoth PostgreSQL.) We support Red Hat Linux 6.x/7.x, Solaris 8, Mac OS X, and Win32. Our Win32 version is in Beta and will be released shortly. Our hope is to give the Win32 users incentives to test deployments before moving to one of our Unix-supported platforms.
The Mac OS X version has been well received and is actually our most demanded version at this time. The marketing that Apple is doing right now with the "Just Works" slogan is the same as our thought process with our Mac OS X version. We are providing a database with enterprise class features that the Apple heads won't have to worry about. They just install it, and run it. If they need help they can call us.
There are other PostgreSQL distributions for Mac OS X out there, but I only know of two that are actively supported, our's (Command Prompt) and DbExpert's.
Gennick: You have distributions for more than just the Mac; why?
Drake: Market. We could just support Mac OS X or Linux, but it really wouldn't do us or our customers a lot of good. By providing a well-rounded set of support and programming services, plus the multiplatform support for our products, customers are never caught locked into their operating system platform.
Gennick: In Chapter 13 of Practical PostgreSQL, you cover something called LXP. Just what is that? It's not part of the standard PostgreSQL distribution, is it?
Related Reading
Practical PostgreSQL
Drake: LXP is a XML application server that runs as an Apache module. The two main benefits of LXP are true database persistence and rapid development time. Originally LXP was developed internally for our own use; we wanted something that was versatile but not as programmatic as something like PHP or Perl. In other words, we wanted a simple solution to a number of complex problems. OK, we were lazy and did not want to continue coding in languages that required a lot of extra syntax.
LXP currently supports a wide array of features, including:
As a simple example, here is some code to perform a query to a PostgreSQL database and display the results in tabular form (for example, in rows and columns):

<include sql="SELECT employee_firstname, employee_lastname,
phone_number FROM employees">

First Name:
<field name="employee_firstname">

Last Name:
<field name="employee_lastname">

Phone Number:
<field name="phone_number">
As you can see, you can incorporate HTML directly into the LXP code and the parser understands how to deal with it. It is very simple, but extremely powerful. The equivalent code in PHP or Perl would need to be quite a bit more lengthy. An additional feature, which customers have found useful, is the Universal Broker. The Universal Broker was created to allow people to use tools as they are appropriate. For example, PHP. PHP is a great language and we use it in a lot of our development. There are times, when you want LXP to do something that is just better served in PHP. If this is the case, all you have to do is the following:
<include method="uri" src="my_form.php" />
This will process the PHP file directly through Apache and allow you to use PHP (or Perl, Python, Java, and so on) directly from LXP.
The key to LXP is that it doesn't look like a programming language, but it does give you all the benefits of one. Many of our customers are extremely bright and self motivated, but they are not programmers. If you give them a bunch of PHP code they say, "Great... now I have to learn Latin?", but when they see LXP they say, "Hey looks like HTML... no problem". That is a powerful argument for the small business looking to develop an application.
LXP is not currently distributed as part of the community PostgreSQL. However, it is part of Mammoth PostgreSQL.
Gennick: One advantage that PostgreSQL has long held over MySQL--the other open source database--is that PostgreSQL supports transactions and concurrency and related things that people have come to expect in a database. Now that MySQL has transactional support, do you expect interest in PostgreSQL to decline? If not, why not? After all, MySQL does seem to be more widely used.
Drake: We don't see interest in PostgreSQL declining. In fact, we see it growing. We get customers every week calling us about migrating from MySQL to PostgreSQL. To be fair to MySQL, PostgreSQL and MySQL are different products. You really can't compare them as it is almost like apples and oranges. Yes, they are both databases, but only PostgreSQL is an Object Relational Database. MySQL has increased its capabilities of late but there are still significant features it lacks. Here is a brief, albeit incomplete list of the features MySQL does not have that PostgreSQL does:
Some of these have been added with the 4.0 release, which is still in development. I don't want to sound negative about MySQL. It has a strong following for a reason: it is reasonably good at what it does and until about 18 to 24 months ago it really was a better solution (for simple database stuff) than PostgreSQL. However, over the last two years, PostgreSQL has really come into its own and from our experience provides a much better overall solution than MySQL for most database application development.
Gennick: Do you have any idea who has the largest PostgreSQL database and how big it is?
Drake: We are aware of an American Chemical Society database that is over a terabyte. We have several customers that are in the multigigabyte (10GB to 50GB) range and just recently BASF joined the PostgreSQL bandwagon as well.
Gennick: You mention BASF. Are they one of your clients? Why do you say they "joined the bandwagon"? Are they doing something special or unusual with PostgreSQL?
No, they are not one of our customers, but I know that they recently signed a five-year PostgreSQL support contract with a PostgreSQL support company.
Gennick: Do you recall which support company that was?
Drake: Web Commerce Group.
Gennick: What big improvements can we expect to see in the near future with respect to PostgreSQL? When is the next major release scheduled? When will we see PostgreSQL 8.0?
The next major release will be PostgreSQL 7.3, and it's planned for September 2002. However, it is important to realize that the PostgreSQL team follows the, "We release when it's done." motto quite religiously. There are currently no plans for an 8.0. Not that development will stop, just that we will probably be in the 7 series for some time.
In reference to features, we will see the standard items such as:
But there has also been reference to:
Gennick: Schema support, what's that?
Drake: I believe it is the equivalent of namespaces in Oracle. To be honest, I am not yet sure of the benefit.
For reliability reasons we tend to stick with current production-quality source only. That is one of the reasons we waited for 7.2.1 before we released Mammoth. At 7.2 we began testing, and released at 7.2.1. We won't worry about 7.3 until it comes out, then when 7.3.1 hits you will see a new version of Mammoth.
Gennick: It's well-known that the Red Hat Database is a version of PostgreSQL. How different is the Red Hat Database from plain old PostgreSQL.
Drake: This is a better question for Red Hat, however I can point out some obvious traits. The Red Hat Database was originally a 7.1.2 code base. It now lists as 7.1.3, which puts the code at just about 12 months old. The 7.2 series is quite a bit more advanced, stable, and manageable than the 7.1 series. In fact, we delayed our release of Mammoth until the community released 7.2.1 for these reasons.
Gennick: Has Red Hat been successful in its offering of PostgreSQL as the Red Hat Database? And has Red Hat's offering spurred any additional interest in PostgreSQL in general, outside of the Red Hat sphere of influence?
Drake: Again, this is probably more a question for Red Hat. However, I can say we get a lot of people calling us saying, "I can't convince myself to spend $2,300 on PostgreSQL, can Command Prompt help me?". Outside of people noticing us when they review Red Hat DB we don't run into the Red Hat DB often. The marketing team over at Red Hat does not seem focused on delivering mind share for its database product.
Gennick: If you were giving advice to someone just beginning to use PostgreSQL, are there any technology intersections, such as PostgreSQL and PHP for example, that you think deserve special attention?
Drake: Well outside of LXP and reading Practical PostgreSQL from O'Reilly--blatant plug--I believe that PHP and Java both deserve mention with PostgreSQL. It is also important to remember what PostgreSQL is. It is easiest to think of PostgreSQL as baby Oracle. They have a lot of the same features, but PostgreSQL is a lot easier to manage. I would also suggest the following Web sites:
Gennick: Oracle and Microsoft have been hard at work building XML support into their databases. Oracle9i, for example, allows you to easily return query results in XML format. When can we expect to see XML support in PostgreSQL?
Drake: You can process XML results with LXP (or any other Web language) with PostgreSQL and we (Command Prompt) are looking into developing XQuery support for PostgreSQL. There are advantages and disadvantages to exporting your data as XML. Exporting XML directly from the database adds verbosity to the query results, which can make processing them easier, but also adds a lot of unrequired data, thus creating a possible strain on bandwidth (not just Net bandwidth, but i/o bandwidth as well). We find that it is better to export raw tabular data and format to XML for processing through XSLT than to export XML directly from the database.
With LXP 1.0 you will be able to process a query, render the tabular results as XML, and then process them through XSLT to generate whatever output you desire. You could even transform the XML to PDF on the fly and store it back to PostgreSQL as a large object, or bytea.
Gennick: A "bytea"? What is that?.
Drake: It is a data type for binary data. However unlike a large object it is stored within the table row just like the rest of the data.
Gennick: What does Command Prompt do besides the obvious PostgreSQL support?
Drake: Command Prompt--warning marketing lingo imminent--is a managed services firm with a focus on PostgreSQL and Linux custom development. We offer a full enterprise-class product and services line including; A VAR/OEM program, managed hosting (Virtual and Dedicated), custom application programming, tier 3 support, consulting services, and training. We also offer a complete commercial line of products called Mammoth. These include Mammoth PostgreSQL, Mammoth LXP, Mammoth S/ODBC, and Mammoth Browser.
Gennick: What features would you like to see the PostgreSQL community working on?
Drake: I know this will sound like blasphemy but I would like to see stronger support for Win32. There is a large need in the Win32 community for a database that is as capable as PostgreSQL without costing $10,000 to $40,000 dollars.
Gennick: What are some of the problems with the current level of Windows support?
Drake: The largest problem is a limitation on the number of connections that can be made. PostgreSQL on Win32 uses Cygwin, which is a POSIX compatibility layer for Win32. The Cygwin fork() implementation, which PostgreSQL uses, is limited as to how many times it can branch. You end up hitting a connection limit at 63 connections, I believe.
We have done some optimizing and testing with Mammoth PostgreSQL on Win32 and have found it to be very stable, with decent performance as long as we keep the connections at 50 or below.
Gennick: What specific features is Command Prompt working on for PostgreSQL?
Drake: Well, we mentioned previously that we are working on XQuery support. We also have a procedural language called XPL, which is basically LXP but is meant to be called from the database (Like pl/PgSQL), our S/ODBC driver and our cross-platform management tool, Mammoth Browser. We are also working on a replication and load-balancing engine for PostgreSQL.
Gennick: Josh, thanks very much for your time, and for a very interesting interview. I learned a lot from our little chat.
Drake: Jonathan, you're very welcome. It's been my pleasure.
O'Reilly & Associates recently released (January 2002) Practical PostgreSQL.
Sample Chapter 2, "Installing PostgreSQL", is available free online.
You can also look at the Table of Contents, the Index, and a full description of the book.
For more information, or to order the book, click here.
Jonathan Gennick is an O'Reilly Media, Inc. editor specializing in database and programming titles.
Return to the O'Reilly Network.
Copyright © 2017 O'Reilly Media, Inc.


text:
"We started a little slow but held it close for a while. In the end, we just walked too many batters and made too many mistakes in the field," said S-T head coach Cody Fields.
"We hit the ball well, with nine hits, but the Odem pitcher did a good job of scattering those hits."
The Owls struck first with two runs in the top of the first against S-T starter Aaron Hughes. The Bobcats cut the lead with a single run of their own in the third to make it a 2-1 contest.
The Owls screeched loudly in the fourth with a five-run explosion to take control of the contest. The 'Cats picked up another run in the bottom of the fifth to make it a 7-2 ball game. Three Owls were plated in the sixth and four more Odem runners came across in the seventh to finish the visitors.
Odem took advantage of six S-T errors in the game to help in their run production.
Hughes started and pitched five innings, giving up six earned runs and striking out seven Owls. Brandon East pitched two innings giving up one earned run and he struck out one Odem batter. East went 3-4 with an RBI at the plate. Sebastian Hernandez went 2-4 with an RBI and Kyle Nelson was 1-1 with three walks and a stolen base.
"We have two games left that we need to win to end the season on a high note," Fields said.
The Bobcats were in San Diego on Tuesday and will host the Freer Buckaroos in the season finale on Friday night.


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25 U.S. Code § 501 - Acquisition of agricultural and grazing lands for Indians; title to lands; tax exemption
The Secretary of the Interior is authorized, in his discretion, to acquire by purchase, relinquishment, gift, exchange, or assignment, any interest in lands, water rights, or surface rights to lands, within or without existing Indian reservations, including trust or otherwise restricted lands now in Indian ownership: Provided, That such lands shall be agricultural and grazing lands of good character and quality in proportion to the respective needs of the particular Indian or Indians for whom such purchases are made. Title to all lands so acquired shall be taken in the name of the United States, in trust for the tribe, band, group, or individual Indian for whose benefit such land is so acquired, and while the title thereto is held by the United States said lands shall be free from any and all taxes, save that the State of Oklahoma is authorized to levy and collect a gross-production tax, not in excess of the rate applied to production from lands in private ownership, upon all oil and gas produced from said lands, which said tax the Secretary of the Interior is authorized and directed to cause to be paid.
References to this section in subchapter II of chapter 14 of this title deemed to include section 82a of this title, see section 458aaa–10 of this title.
Act June 26, 1936, ch. 831, 49 Stat. 1967, as amended, which enacted this subchapter, is popularly known as the "Oklahoma Welfare Act" and the "Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act".
LII has no control over and does not endorse any external Internet site that contains links to or references LII.


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Poetry Friday: Congratulations to John Agard, winner of the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry 2012Friday, December 21st, 2012
Yesterday it was announced that poet John Agard has been awarded the Queen's Medal for Poetry. And what is especially exciting about this news? Well, apart from the fact that this fine poet's work has been suitably recognised, it's exciting also because much of Agard's wonderful poetry is aimed at young people. The Poetry Archive website, a great place to begin exploring Agard's work, describes him as a "unique and energetic force in contemporary British poetry" – and two of his collections were highlighted in his selection for the Medal: Alternative Anthem: Selected Poems (Bloodaxe Books, 2009), which along with an accompanying DVD brings together performances of some of his best poetry spanning 30 years; and his recent book Goldilocks on CCTV (Frances Lincoln, 2011).
John Agard was born in Guyana in 1949 and moved to the UK in the 1970s. Along with his partner, fellow-poet and often co-author Grace Nichols, Agard has been an important voice for promoting awareness of Caribbean culture in the UK, breaking down barriers and broadening perspectives on poetry (and he is currently one of the Advisors for the Caribbean Poetry Project). The British Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy says:
John Agard has always made people sit up and listen. He has done this with intelligence, humour and generosity. He has the ability to temper anger with wit and difficult truths with kindness. He levels the ground beneath all our feet, whether he is presenting Dante to children or introducing his own (Guyanan) culture to someone who hasn't encountered it before. In performance he is electrifying – compelling, funny, moving and thought-provoking. His work in Education over years has changed the way that readers, writers and teachers think about poetry.
Here he is reciting his superb "Listen Mr Oxford Don", one of the poems on the John Agard Live! DVD created by Pamela Robertson-Pearce to accompany Alternative Anthem:
I recently selected Agard's The Young Inferno in my Top Ten Multicultural Ghost Stories. Goldilocks on CCTV continues the inspired partnership of Agard's poetry with Satoshi Kitamura as illustrator and the contemporary take on fairy-tales is just wonderful! You can read "Pumpkin Biker Cinderella" on the Frances Lincoln Website (go to the "Excerpt" tab), and here's a video of a dead-pan Agard reading the hilarious title poem:
And finally, since our current theme at PaperTigers is Cats and Dogs, do read "Books Make Good Pets" – witty and wonderful!
This week's Poetry Friday is hosted by Heidi at My Juicy Little Universe – head on over…


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Mary "Sandy" Mecham
Services: Have been held.
Mary "Sandy" Mecham, 84, of Tucumcari, a homemaker, died Monday, May 3, 2004, at Plains Regional Medical Center in Clovis.
She was born on Feb. 9, 1920, in Murphysboro, Ill., to Oscar and Mary Watt Lutz.
Family members said she will be remembered as an active sportswoman who always lived life to its fullest.
She was a lifetime Presbyterian. She served as president of Presbyterian Women for many years, taught children and youth and stayed active up to the last week of her life.
She was preceded in death by her parents; a daughter, Carol; two brothers, Ozzie and Robert; and a sister, Helen.
Survivors include her husband, Lee Mecham of Tucumcari; a daughter, Sharon Huffman of Big Spring, Texas; two sons, Gary Mecham of Montrose, Colo., and Patrick Mecham of Elko, Nev.; a son-in-law, Wayne Huffman; two daughters-in-law, Vonda and Melissa; nine grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; and two sisters-in-law, Ruth Lutz and Deede Lutz.
Cremation will take place.
Memorial contributions may be made to the First Presbyterian Church of Tucumcari.
Arrangements are by Steed-Todd Funeral Home of Clovis.


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See.. Eat.. Hear.. FEEL VEGAN. Two days of vegan exploration await you. Nourish your taste buds on scrumptious plant-based food from New York's famed vegan restaurants – the best in the world! Get inspired by world-renowned speakers, champion athletes, and top chefs. Provoke new thoughts with award-winning films and their directors. Discover the vast market of cruelty-free products and services. And much more.
The Seed invites the vegan-curious, vegan-skeptical, and vegan choir to explore what we have to offer today. You'll gain understanding of the endless benefits of a compassionate, healthful, and earth-conscious existence of the vegan & plant-based lifestyle.
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Buy D'Lite Jr. by Rocco (2 pack) for only $19.95
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D'Lite Jr. by Rocco (2 pack)
D'Lite Jr. by Rocco (2 pack)
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Produce infinite lights from thin air! They come and go as you please! A must have for any magician! Easy illusion for beginners, and a standard for your stage show. You are in complete control! Produce a bright LED light from your fingertips whenever you want! Disappears at your command!
Light comes from your EMPTY hand, plucked from space. With two of these, you can pass light from hand to hand, vanish and reappear at your discretion. A staple item in the acts of professional magician world wide! D'Lite is a must have!
Amazingly simple to perform!
As many appear as you want!
Serious magic for ANY skill level!
Illusion intrigues audiences over and over!
Roccos Light from Anywhere, created in 1987 by Roger Mayfarth, D'Lite was designed for stage and close-up use by the world renowned magician, Rocco. Here are just a few of the hundreds of applications: (Please note that some of these require two D'Lites, one for each hand. Check out our Pair Pack!)
Show your hands empty, then pluck bright red lights out of the air, pass them from hand to hand, and make them disappear.
Pretend to put one in your mouth, and pull it out of your ear. Put it back in your ear, only to be found back in your mouth!
Hold an ice cube in your bare hands, and make it glow bright red, at your command.
Play "catch" with a friend. "Toss" the D'Lite back and forth with across the stage or into the audience!
Make a plain white napkin develop a bright red glow, and no one but you knows how.
Take a drink, and pull a red light out of your mouth. Was that a light beer?
How about a light snack?
The puns and effects are almost endless! Highly entertaining. Mesmerize, or make them laugh! The choice is yours. Just a few minutes in a mirror will have you developing your own favorite illusions!
Other Popular D'Lites
D'Lite Red Pair
This is the original D'Lite, red in color, and a pair of them for maximum effects!
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D'Lite Blue by Rocco 2 Pack!
Same great D'Lite effect, now in BLUE!
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D'Lite Color Change by Rocco!
Same great D'Lite effect, but you can change colors in each hand! Switch from RED to GREEN at your will!
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D'Lite Green by Rocco 2 Pack!
Same great D'Lite effect, now in GREEN!
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D'Lite White by Rocco 2 Pack!
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D'Lite Morph by Rocco 2 Pack!
Same great D'Lite effect, now morphs through all the colors of the spectrum in each hand!
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D'Lite DII DVD-Ultimate D'Lite Video
Learn the moves from Rocco himself!
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Very impressive and very easy trick. My 6 year old loves to amaze his friends with this, it gets a lot of attention. Be aware that D'Lite Jr. only comes with one light so make sure to buy 2 to be able to perform all the tricks.
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So, apparently "Mama June" has a better sense of fiscal responsibility that many of our elected officials. Go figure. (People) She may seem like a redneck on TV, but Mama June tells TMZ.com that she's using her hillbilly common sense to put most of the show's earnings in a trust fund for her four daughters and grandda [...]
Jackie Wellfonder
President at Wellfonder Group
Jackie Wellfonder is a proud conservative activist and strategist. She started blogging in 2012 and spreading a common sense message of fiscal conservatism, limited government, and transparent governance. Because of her passion for supporting right of center candidates, Wellfonder started a consulting firm, Wellfonder Group, to help candidates and small businesses maximize their reach via social media and a strategic communications plan. Visit our contact page to send a message and share your thoughts or find out more information!
Latest posts by Jackie Wellfonder (see all)
- Fake Andy Harris Twitter Account Fuels Senate Run Speculation - March 9, 2015
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Red lentil soup with pita croutons
Makes 7 cups - 6 to 8 servings
This fragrant recipe was inspired by an Egyptian soup that is sold by street vendors in Cairo. Served with fried onions and pita croutons, it's a great main course. Red lentils don't retain their lovely salmon color when cooked, but still, they're delicious. Take care not to overcook them; they should be tender, but not mushy.
For the soup
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups finely chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
8 cups vegetable or chicken stock, divided (make stock from cubes, concentrate, or powder)
1 ¾ cups dried red lentils
2 carrots, finely chopped
½ cup coarsely chopped celery leaves
Pinch of red pepper flakes
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
For the garnishes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced
2 Mediterranean or Greek pitas, halved horizontally
6 lemon wedges
Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the cumin and coriander; stir for about 30 seconds.
Stir in 6 cups of the stock, lentils, carrots, celery leaves, and red pepper flakes. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat; cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are tender, about 30 minutes. Stir in the remaining 2 cups stock and the lemon juice. Season to taste.
While the soup is cooking, prepare the garnishes. Adjust the oven broiler rack to 4 to 5 inches from the heating element; preheat the broiler. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until very tender and lightly browned, about 10 minutes.
Place the pita halves on a baking sheet; toast under the broiler until crispy and light brown, about 2 minutes per side. Let cool, then break into 1-inch pieces.
Top each serving with a mound of the cooked onion and sprinkle with the pita croutons; serve a lemon wedge on the side.
Substitute brown lentils for the red lentils; increase the cooking time to about 35 minutes, or until the lentils are tender.
Advance preparation
This soup will keep for up to 5 days in a covered container in the refrigerator. When reheating, stir in vegetable stock or water to thin as desired. Store the pita croutons for up to 5 days in a tightly covered tin at room temperature.
Distributed by LAKANA. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Posted by Kiersten Hay / in Don Giovanni / comments (0) / permalink
By Gianmarco Segato, Adult Programs Manager
For Episode 30, the "Renewal, Rejection, Regieoper" edition, we welcome back opera journalists Joseph So, Catherine Kustanczy and Jenna Douglas. Gianmarco Segato, the COC's Adult Programs Manager is your host.
•To ring in the New Year, two North American companies – Portland Opera and Opera Lyra Ottawa – radically change the look of their seasons…is this the way of the future?
•Recently defunct New York City Opera may be revived, prompting our panel to question the "where" rather than the "why"
•Opera Australia sets the twitter-verse on fire once again, this time for striking two critics off their complementary media ticket list citing dissatisfaction with recent stories about the company
•"Should an opera production be changed if audiences dislike it?" – DISCUSS!
Are you listening? Let us know your thoughts, opinions and suggestions by commenting here or on Facebook, Twitter (@CanadianOpera) or by email (firstname.lastname@example.com).
Posted by Kiersten Hay / in The Big COC Podcast / comments (1) / permalink
By Nikita Gourski
As if you needed another reason: we've listed the Top 10 reasons why you can't miss Don Giovanni, a new COC collaboration with some of our prestigious peers, including Festival d'Aix-en-Provence, Bolshoi Theatre, and Teatro Real Madrid.
Musicians and music-lovers often refer to Don Giovanni as the "opera of operas." Find out why by listening to excerpts from the stunning, genre-melding masterpiece in the Don Giovanni Listening Guide.
The legend of Don Juan originates in traditional Spanish folklore. Each treatment of the myth is different but the story typically begins with Don Juan, a shameless libertine and womanizer, forcing himself on a lady of noble birth and eventually murdering her father. The Don then pursues several other women. He is usually accompanied by a servant who is a wavering figure, sometimes reaffirming, sometimes bristling against his master's dubious ethic. The story culminates with a dinner party, at which a stone statue (of the father killed by Don Juan) arrives at the feast and banishes the Don to Hell.
Collaborating with the librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte, Mozart mixed comedy and tragedy—including elements of horror—to produce a potent, even disturbing combination, which succeeded tremendously at its Prague premiere in 1787. Up until Don Giovanni, operas about the unscrupulous seducer were exclusively comedic.
Mozart gives him only two, notably brief arias, both of which offer little information about the rake's inner life or psychological self. Some modern critics have speculated that Mozart and Da Ponte deliberately present Don Giovanni as a blank canvas, creating a psychological space into which we, as well as the characters, project fantasies, nightmares, fears, and desires. Meanwhile 19th-century commentators like Søren Kierkegaard and E.T.A. Hoffmann became enthralled with the symbolic value of Don Giovanni, explaining him as something more than an individual man, something like a life-force, a principle of desire, or an emblem of the human soul itself, riven with the representative contradictions of the human condition. While the opera withholds any final answers, the persistence of the question explains not only the variety of directorial approaches taken over the opera's performance history, but suggests that Mozart's masterpiece, at least in part, depends on the ambiguous interplay of reality versus appearance, specific people versus universal representations, and physical acts versus their spiritual/aesthetic/transcendental consequence.
Our production is a collaboration between the COC and a group of prestigious peers, including Festival d'Aix-en-Provence, Bolshoi Theatre, and Teatro Real Madrid. It is staged by brilliant Russian director Dmitri Tcherniakov, "an artist whose work is on the edge of the cutting edge" (Opera News). For a full profile and analysis of Tcherniakov's work, read Gianmarco Segato's piece in the most recent issue of Prelude, available online here.
Tcherniakov's Don Giovanni defies the stereotype of a successful Casanova; he is not particularly young or old, nor is he a carefree playboy. Rather, he's a troubled, sometimes unhinged figure with a history—perhaps of some personal trauma, or a growing sense of disillusion—that makes him both invigorating and dangerous. Moreover he lacks any of the outward traits we'd normally associate with physical attractiveness or sexual charisma. Nonetheless, he exerts a powerful magnetism on those around him. The visual representation of the character is inspired in part by Marlon Brando's character in Bernardo Bertolucci's seminal film Last Tango in Paris.
7. it's All in the family
In a radical move, Tcherniakov redraws the relationships of the main characters, making them all part of a single family, which Don Giovanni—an outsider—has married into. This both complicates the relationships among the principals and generates new, revelatory meanings in their interactions. But whether we choose to take the family device literally or interpret it metaphorically, as signifying simply a closed system of human relations, the results make for powerful theatre, pushing the characters into intense emotional territory "often more meaningfully than in a straight reading" (Opera News).
The action is set inside a wealthy bourgeois apartment. The interior gives the impression of a respectable, well-established family. But if the Commendatore (the father, and master of this domain) represents a particular moral code, and his family members uphold a system of values consistent with that, then Don Giovanni is an eccentric force of dissent. He disrupts and rejects the family's hierarchy of values, and, in negating a civilized morality of order and reason, transforms each of the family members for a time, estranges them from themselves, and opens a field of experience that was not accessible to them before—this can lead to moments of intoxicating madness that briefly realize Don Giovanni's utopian vision of absolute freedom.
Tcherniakov expands the opera's 24 hour-time-frame into several months, inserting temporal gaps of days and weeks in between scenes that originally unfold in direct sequence. By opening up the temporal structure of the opera this way, Tcherniakov allows for the possibility of much greater personal change in the characters—we are no longer seeing someone minute-by-minute, but returning to them after a longer period of time, in which their outlooks, motivations, and desires could have changed more substantially than in a contracted time span.
10. catch an Amazing cast
"capable of the most powerful explosions as well as the gentlest covered notes" Toronto Star
"unbelievable mastery of singing… technical ease combined with a remarkable dramatic presence" Le Figaro
"naturally beautiful, superbly trained voice, rich and clear at the low end, smooth and flexible in the middle range and effortless at the top" Opera News
"one of the most sought after lyric tenors in the world" La Scena Musicale
"commands admiration for what she achieves vocally" Evening Standard
To find out more about our upcoming production of Don Giovanni, click here.
Photo Credits (top down): Russell Braun as Don Giovanni in the Canadian Opera Company/Teatro Real Madrid (TRM)/Festival d'Aix-en-Provence/Bolshoi Theatre co-production of Don Giovanni, 2013, TRM. Photo: Javier del Real. Russell Braun Headshot, Photo: Johannes Ifkovits. Jane Archibald Headshot. Kyle Ketelsen Headshot, Photo: Dario Acosta. Michael Schade Headshot, Photo: Harald Hoffmann. Jennifer Holloway Headshot, Photo: Arielle Doneson.
Posted by Kiersten Hay / in Don Giovanni / comments (2) / permalink
Sara Fulgoni in the COC production of Bluebeard's Castle. Photo: Michael Cooper © 2001


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"I have been enjoying your program on my local Catholic radio station for many years and can happily give a large amount of the credit for my continuing spiritual growth to your offerings. You snatched up the banner many had laid aside and are marching bravely forward!"
~ Pamela, Portland, Oregon
"Approaching, do not come with your palms stretched flat nor with fingers separated. But making your left hand a seat for your right, and hollowing your palm, receive the Body of Christ, responding Amen. And having with care hallowed your eyes by the touch of the Holy Body, take it, vigilant lest you drop any of it."
~ Cyril, Bishop of Jerusalem, Doctor of the Church, Saint; on the proper technique for receiving Holy Communion in the hand (circa A.D. 347).