text:
Skip to comments.Financial Question
Posted on 02/24/2013 7:36:13 PM PST by ducttape45
I am hoping that someone on FR can help me with a financial issue.
Let me state first out that this is not a request for assistance. I don't want to run afoul of any posting rules or guidelines. This is a request to find out if anyone knows of a resource that I can avail myself to in order to help me.
Also, I know how some of what I will share will sound. I know that there could be some personally embarrassing information to follow. I make no excuses for the situation I find myself in, but I am hoping that I can find help in spite of my current situation.
The situation is this: I am living in a house that is somewhere in the process of foreclosure. Where exactly is still a mystery. I am told that it is now up for short sale but I've been kept in the dark on that aspect of what is going on. What I do know for sure is that the investor has failed to make payments on the house and for the last 9 months I've been living here rent free.
The realtor who I deal with told me that she would like to see the house sold to me. The amount owed on the house is somewhere in the neighborhood of $53,000 but it will short sale for $10,000 - $11,000. I have $5,000 in my savings account. All I need is another $5,000 - $6,000 and I can buy this place. And therein lies my problem.
There is no way to say this except to say this: my credit sucks. I won't post my FICO or credit scores, but they are not good. It doesn't help that I had to file for bankruptcy last year and it discharged in September. I actually have no bills to pay on except for utilities. I do have school loans that are under forbearance until September 2014. So I am in a unique position. Unfortunately, no lender will look beyond their rules and regulations to see that.
In their defense I know the rules are there for a reason and after the recent national mortgage meltdown I can't really blame banks for being much more cautious, but I was hoping that someone would see that I could pay a loan back within just 6-8 months tops and bend the rules a bit.
Please, this is a serious request and I would appreciate no flaming whatsoever. While the facts are the most very basic (believe me, there are many more things about the price of the house, the fact that the house was once part of military housing), these are still details that are personal in nature and I share them only in the hopes that someone can lead my in the right direction.
Moderator, if this post is inappropriate, do what you must. Thank you.
Look for private investors. If the house will truly sell for that low you really shouldn't have a problem getting a loan since its much less than the value. Have you tried talking to any mortgage brokers? They may also know of some ways to get you the loan.
I'd think you could find a family member who'd personally loan you $5K, and you give them an interest in the house till repaid. They have a loan-to-value ratio better than 10%, so they're well protected. Make sure it's in writing and run it in front of an attorney to make sure it passes muster.
Your only hope is to find someone else to buy the place, and then sell it to you.
Have any relatives that could to it?
You hinted at it, but it remains unclear to me. What is the market value of the home?
Whatever may occur - one thing is clear. You are already a winner having lived there 9 months rent free.
To rebuild your wealth, do two things, live below your means, and do not assume debt. Trying to buy this house is to assume debt. Forget the house, take the foreclosure or someone buying your house via short sale. If you have a job, you are a step in the right direction. Rent and quietly save. Use the savings to eliminate any other debts you have. The other reason you want to rent during the time you are trying to rebuild your savings and credit is MOBILITY. If a better job is available in another part of the country, you can pick up and go when renting.
I suspect that the immediate equity should be an incentive to one or more person(s) to assist you. you're even allowed a "gift" of $12,000 or so per year (I forget the exact amount), provided you attest to it not being paid back... I think you would be far better off dealing with a trustworthy individual than with a bank.
disclaimer: I am not an expert on any aspect of this, it's just my 2 cents
Wanna warn you that there are some cynical souls here who will criticize you and suggest faults without any basis, tell you that you are whining, and thus and such. Ignore them if they are not helpful.
It it understood that it disappoints to have an opportunity come near but then it looks like you are unable to reach quite all the way to it. However, especially if you have a steady job now in spite of financial troubles in the past, it cannot hurt to advise the bank involved of your interest in the property anyhow. The worst they can do is tell you "sorry," and then you were where you were before. (And some banks are now offering ridiculously easy terms to people who became unemployed then regained employment; the interest cash cow beats the pants off of a portfolio of unsellable houses in a sluggish market.) If you have work (I hope you do, of course) then maybe whoever becomes the new owner may be willing to rent it to you, or enter into a private rent-to-own agreement. Do not be afraid to ask; the worse that can happen is to be told "sorry."
God bless, and good luck.
LOL You want the mafia style. They are it. Their interest rates which they keep hidden could be as much as 164%. Stay away.
All the mortgage brokers turn up their noses. Unless I get a loan over $40,000 they won't give me the time of day.
You might want to see a lawyer about Adverse Possession, laws are different in each state, but generally if you pay all back taxes, liens (other than mortgage), and make some improvements to the property, you may be able to keep it after living there for seven years after filing.
If you have a rental contract, or sometimes even if you don't, most banks have a cash for keys policy where the bank will pay you some moving expenses up to 1,500.00 if you leave the property in good shape.
You can google these solutions for more accurate info based on your location.
Don't completely deplete your savings to buy the place. Bad idea. You need an emergency fund to cushion yourself, unexpected repairs to house or car, unemployment, medical expenses that are not covered. You could find yourself over a major financial barrel with no savings even with owning the place outright. Taxes and inaurance don't go away. Houses are lost to tax sales all the time.
How much was the rent you were paying? That is what you're "buying" in practical terms until you sell the place. How is the job market where you are, and how secure is your employment or income source?
Pay no attention to what the realtor suggests, she's going to suggest whatever earns her a commission. Just discount it as self interest right off the bat, put it out of your mind.
You also need to come to terms with just exactly what put you into bankruptcy. Old habits die hard and a "free" place to live could tend to exacerbate a lack of financial self-discipline.
I wouldn't do it unless I could keep at least two months pay put back in savings, and the combined payment, tax and insurance is less than what you were paying for rent, with a pretty secure income.
are you a vet ? Generally, the Department of Veterans Affairs asks lenders to use the past twelve months of a borrower's credit history to determine their ability to repay any credit obligation they will have in the future.
The housing is just outside the former Grissom Air Force Base in central Indiana. The housing is, well, an interesting story. Back when the housing was built, someone got the plans mixed up. A base in Florida got the housing Grissom was supposed to get, and visa versa, we got theirs. They got the better housing, Grissom got the worst.
The housing section where I live, as built, is not worth much over $12,000 - $15,000. The plumbing is substandard, the wiring is over 50 years old, and there is very little insulation built into the structure. However, when the housing was opened up, the local realty association demanded that any houses that were sold were not be sold for less than $30,000 so their market wouldn't suffer.
Well, folks in Miami county all see how that worked out. Now ALL THE HOUSING in Miami county is undervalued. I laugh in spiteful ridicule because when the realty association pushed through their request I stood up to them and told them they were wrong to their face and they were inviting disaster. I hate to say I told you so.....................
The market value of the home is priced between $10,000 - $12,000 tops. That's all the physical structure is worth. Honestly, I would say the house is worth no more than $7,000 - $8,000 but that's because I have access to the blueprints and I've seen how they were built and maintained. Not good.
I'm looking at this from the aspect that if I can get this house, it will be paid off with a years time and I'll be in the house that is mine, free and clear. No payments, just the insurance and upkeep.
If the houses are all that bad, then you'd really be unwise to get involved in trying to own one. You couldn't sell it again for the amount of money that you'll be paying on it. As time passes, you'll have to spend money to keep the place shored up. It's one thing to try to restore a fine old house that has good bones, but this place, you say, was crappy from the first day. It's going to be a money pit.
This is just a very bad idea. Consider yourself lucky that you've had nine rent-free months to get your life together and refresh your savings, and forget this "deal."
Even if you had the down payment, a bank or mortgage lender still might not place the loan. They do an inspection beforehand, and poor condition, structural problems, or serious building-code violations make them reject loans.
Count your blessings.
Man! Talk about a depressed housing market. That's worse than Detroit. What were you paying in rent? What are the annual property taxes?
I would not buy unless tax values are in line with actual market values. I was reading on other threads that 42 percent of homeowners in Detroit do not pay their taxes. Why should they? The taxes are higher than the home is worth. And the city has no reason to foreclose.
Being that you are in a severly depressed housing market, I have to assume other markets like the local economy and job market are down too. Look. You're already getting a free ride living rent free. Continue to sock away money you would be paying for rent and keep living there rent free. I imagine the bank is happier having you in there to maintain the place rather than having it sit vacant.
I just don't see this as a good buy. And as I've said - you are already money ahead living rent free.
God Bless.
I am not trying to be mean spirited, but you have no business owning a home. If you cannot come up with another $5k, and your credit score sucks, then move out and get your financial act together. Get more of a war chest. Pay off your debts. Pay your bills and do not focus on getting yourself into more debt.
Many of us have been where you are. My wife and I walked away from our first house in 1990. Rates were high and I got transferred. Our daughter was just born.
Two months ago our net worth exceeded one million for the first time.
You can do this. Just take your time and leave within your means.
I am not trying to be mean spirited, but you have no business owning a home. If you cannot come up with another $5k, and your credit score sucks, then move out and get your financial act together. Get more of a war chest. Pay off your debts. Pay your bills and do not focus on getting yourself into more debt.
Many of us have been where you are. My wife and I walked away from our first house in 1990. Rates were high and I got transferred. Our daughter was just born. We had $53 to our name. That's-$5-3, fifty three. We stopped on the way home and had a $100 dinner...just to make sure we were completely broke. And we started again. From zero.
Two months ago our net worth exceeded one million for the first time.
You can do this. Just take your time and leave within your means.
I'm in a job, a very steady job. Have been since June 2004. I've been calling and emailing banks and so far only one been talking to me. I'm gonna looking up some more tomorrow. I'm getting too tired to type. As for an new investor coming in and buying the place, before that happens the place will most like go up for a sheriff's sale, which means I'll have to move out before that takes place.
>>Oh trust me, I love waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay below my means.<<
Me too.
Then I got a divorce ;)
To be able to own the house and get it paid off within just a few months would finally put me in the driver's seat for once. And if/when I purchase it, I already have plans to start remodeling the place, on section at a time, and bring it up to code.
I just need a lender who will work with me.
And I need to get to bed before three keyboards turn into 6. Night gang, and I'll check back in the morning. Thanks for your suggestions.
Let's try it this way: if the lender forecloses on the house, can you approach them separately and ask them if you can continue renting the house from them? Perhaps on a rent-to-buy arrangement? It would be innovative, and mortgage companies aren't known for being imaginative, but on the other hand foreclosed unoccupied houses quickly deteriorate into being of no value at all, and your presence could prevent that from happening. It would give you time to save up an additional $5K,
And while you're saving, remember that whenever you buy a house there are various closing costs—taxes, escrow contributions for six months or a year of taxes and insurance, appraisal costs, filing fees, title searches, owner's title insurance, gouges, cheats, superfluous charges, credit check fees, the lawyers, you name it. These can run into several thousand dollars and they are paid at the settlement. You can't just bring the down payment to the settlement table and expect to walk away with the keys. Few buyers leave the settlement without feeling raped. So you will have to accumulate more than just that extra $5K you need.
First of all, no mortgage company is going to finance a $5,000 loan. You'd have to go to a local bank. Go to your bank and explain it to them. Tell them you'd like to finance $10,000 and will put up $5,000 for collateral. Of course they'll have a lien on the house.
I would think any bank would jump on a loan of $5,000, or even $10,000, for a property worth $53,000. If this doesn't work, sell your car or do whatever it takes to come up with the 5 grand.
Guess I should have read better. I thought you said it was worth $53,000. With the added information I have to ask why would you want to buy it? It sounds like a money pit. I'd spend $5,000 on an RV before I bought the house.
That stinks, I'm sorry to hear about that. A bankruptcy in 2004 should have met the end of credit history by now (over seven years past), and you'd be treated as a clean slate, so there has to be more to the picture. But anyhow, if the reality is you have to move, maybe you might look into one of those ubiquitous rent to own dealies, or just go rent elsewhere. When the good Lord shuts one door, others may open that are better.
Contacting the bank directly means they don't have to pay a REALTOR more money on a property they're already losing on.
Plus, you're currently the tenant and you're less likely to steal all the copper wiring for crack money and flood the basement if you have an interest in the property.
As an aside, if all else fails and you're not able to purchase, you may be able to get them to do "cash for keys." In other words, you move out all your stuff, leave the house "broom clean" and un-destroyed and they pay you a nominal amount $100-$300(?) to turn the keys over to the REALTOR. More people than you can imagine take a hammer to the walls, flood the basements, steal whatever they can (fixtures, wiring etc) before vacating the premises......I would say, it is mostly tenants that do this. They paid the rent and the landlord pissed it away so they are going to "show them," or get their "revenge."
Every day the bank has the property, once it's foreclosed on, it costs them money. They pay REALTORS to do the BPO (Broker's Pricing Opinion) to determine from the outside how much the bank could get for the sale. They have to pay for the trash-out (whatever you leave behind has to be removed and junked - generally be insured contractors).
The lawn has to be mowed/maintained. If there is snow in your area, the driveway/sidewalk etc needs to be cleared. If there is a danger of the pipes freezing; they need to be drained, or if the bank can get more money - the heat/electric needs to be on.......this all costs $$$ $$$ $$$. If the bank feels it is worth it, they may pay for certain repairs, or for the house to be cleaned.
The longer the house sets on the market, the more the bank has to spend, AND it generally means the lower the sales price. If the bank has multiple houses in the same area (doesn't even have to be the same street) that are foreclosures, that brings down the other values as well.
The reason I'm saying this, is because if you are armed with this information, you may be able to manipulate the bank into lending to you.....they may want you buy PMI in with your loan to help insure against you stiffing them on the mortgage.
I haven't done foreclosures (as a REALTOR - and foreclosures, aka REO was ALL I did) in over 10 years now; however, the biggest thing the banks would stress to the homeowner was "call the bank." If you can't make payments "call the bank." If you need to renegotiate terms, or can't make a full payment, "call the bank." I felt like the Grim Reaper when I would o around handing out the notices for the bank.....the only thing I was allowed to tell people was "call the bank." Out of all those times, I only had two instances where the people said they would "call the bank," and only two instances where the house wasn't foreclosed on shortly thereafter.
Take all this with a grain of salt, as I said, it's been awhile since I've dealt with this sort of thing.
I know you cant short sale your house to a relative.
I imagine you cant short sell it to yourself either.
It that were possible, the lender would be better off just taking off most of the amount owed and modify your mortgage down to the short sale price.
Better check it out and see if it is allowed to SS the hse to yourself.
If all else fails, Ive heard that ducttape can fix anything!
I know how that sounds but I still feel (and I can't explain how I feel this way) that this house should be mine. It's not a moneypit. True it needs some work, but for my purposes it is just what I need. As for the fees, the investor is paying all that. That much I do know. I've been told to have $10,000 ready to go and the house in mine. I appreciate all your comments and I will check out that website mentioned in one of the posts.
Anyone else out there with a suggestion or two?
One thing you need to be sure of is the tax situation. Depending on where you live, you may be liable for all of the back property taxes (as the new homeowner) and for all of the closing costs. It might cost considerably more than the sale price. Check with your realtor on this, but you're probably going to need something closer to $15,000 to close.
As far as getting a loan from a relative: I'd go into this as if you were getting a loan from a bank. Give them 10% interest and set the payments with a direct deposit into their account. You may be able to talk someone into it as a true investment, but they've got to see a 10% return to make it worth their while. (And be realistic. Don't set yourself up with too short of a time frame so that they aren't disappointed if you fall through. Make SURE that you can pay it back on time.)
As for your bad credit - going in with 33% down on a secured loan would help a lot. I'd try again. If you're married, put it in your wife's name only.
That's something else you could try. If I were loaning that much money to a friend/relative, I'd be much more comfortable if the property were put in my name. (Plus, they could get a lower interest rate than you can.)
You get a 10 year loan at (say) 5% interest and pay $159 plus taxes and insurance. They pay nothing upfront and use your $5000 as the down payment. You give them $100 a month for helping you out (and saving you at least that much in interest by putting it in their name). When you pay the loan off, they sign over the house to you. It would actually be a boon to their credit and they could write off the interest payments on their taxes.
Here's the sticky part. THEY actually own the house. THEY are responsible for the payments. Their credit and reputation is on the line. So if you screw up, they have the right to kick you out and secure their property and you're out a house and your $5000. (As they should) But they can get renters to cover their butts until they can sell the property and get out on their own.
That's how you sell the idea. They have nothing to lose. If you make good, they make $1200 a year free and clear for the life of the loan. If you screw up, they own a house that they can rent out for only $350 a month and make a profit. They have an investment property.
Personally, I'd do this (depending on the location of the house) if I could afford the payments in case of default.
And yes. It ALL has to be in a notarized contract.
Unless that realtor actually represents you meaning she is contractually obligated to you she is not representing your interests, she is representing seller's interest.
You are being kept in the dark for a reason. Suspicion would be that property would fetch considerably less at auction than the amount she's wanting you to pay.
The whole deal sounds screwy. Don't do it, imho.
Hello ducttape45.
Can't give you my credentials without divulging personal info, but let me say I have a mountain of cred on this topic.
First of all, it seems you want that particular house because it's highly convenient to own it. Looks real good. Good enough to do some very inconvenient things and risk getting into a most uncomfortable situation for both you and your nest egg.
Please take a cold shower. There are better houses, cheaper ones too, and better locations.
Now the assorted advice. Take your pick.
Advice 1. Nice work avoiding rent and building a nest egg. This won't endear you to the bank. ANY bank. They would ask to see your records and notice that you failed to pay rent to anyone. Not that the bank, or any bank, will give you the time of day. "Call the bank" was a great suggestion once upon a time. Today, sterling credit does not get you a loan on a fixer upper REO. Don't waste your time. Banks are obligated to shed their REO, but they don't want to play games with deadbeat tenants and risk derailing the sure thing: foreclosure sale. I repeat, they are obligated to shed the property and would have some splaining to do if they took it off the schedule at the behest of a "tenant." So...forget calling the bank. You haven't credit, you haven't a good track record, your rent payments aren't in escrow. The house wouldn't pass inspection, wouldn't meet the loan-to-value ratio, would make the underwriters laugh.
Advice 2. Hang onto your $5000 and go to the foreclosure sale. There's a good chance nobody else wants that house and you could get it for 5. Don't forget they will want the back taxes. Remember that ultimately your fate may be decided by code enforcement or local tax office. Do you know what is on file at code about the house? What the taxes are? If you go to a sale without doing that homework, you are likely to get shorn if not skinned. And for what? A house that looks convenient to you after months of not paying for it.
Advice 3. Do NOT take your $5k to the sale. Tuck it away for emergencies, or for a security deposit on your next rental, which could be soon. Although in most areas there are laws protecting you, as an occupant, from eviction (as long as you PAY), a new owner could evict you rather quickly, by a phone call to code if he's in a hurry, or by notice he intends to reside there.
Advice 4. Know that the bank has the power to evacuate that house of all your possessions, take them all to a landfill or let the trash hauler distribute them to whomever, and there would be nothing you could do about it. So don't leave home unattended. They would also get your $5k if it's in the house. You are playing with fire. They can strip you of everything you possess and the sheriff will help them.
Advice 5. Broaden your horizons. You have a job and several times more income than I enjoy, but I found a wonderful house and paid cash for it and it's fun fixing it up on a shoestring budget. All you really need to do is think out of the box. Think you can live anywhere else; transfer; shop around; parlay your $5k into ten or fifteen and maybe THEN you can blow five on a substandard house full of warts and see if you enjoy fixing up a house while holding down a job and looking over your shoulder for the code officer.
Advice 6. Borrow the money from some friend who will never forgive you for sucking him into the pit that was only going to cost him $5k which you would pay back, until you couldn't because of repairs, code, utility hikes, taxes...Make sure your friend is disposable, non-violent, and has no lawyer friends or relatives. This house has the potential to cause you a great deal of inconvenience that you probably have not begun to imagine.
Advice 7. Consider that if you do nothing, and if you don't suffer a total cleanout while at work one day, you could stay there rent-free for a few more months. Enjoy this advantage, it is not given to people who have a prayer of borrowing money. No lender would fail to notice it in your records, and it will dog you like a bankruptcy, which by the way they DO notice, no matter how long ago it was.
Advice 8. You can file bankruptcy again in a few years. They know that too.
Advice 9. Stiff the utilities and the credit cards and everything else for a couple of months and you'll have another $5k. Negotiate payment plans later. Laugh at their pain.
That's my .02, neighbor. Unlove the house asap. Get over it. Home ownership is no perpetual honeymoon, and you've done pretty well for yourself as a tenant. Pretty well indeed.
"You are being kept in the dark for a reason."
Nine months of skipping rent makes a person glow in the dark. To a lender, a realtor, a banker, such a person is positively radioactive.
There's also a whole community of flippers known to the average realtor of junk property. Could well be the realtor already has other plans for this place, regardless how concerned and sympathetic she claims to be. (Call me cynical.)
Walk away. The county may have reasons to condemn this property. Other considerations could be feasible but first separate the lot appraisal from the improvement appraisal.
Other people to turn to:
Got any grown children? If they work they might be interested. Offer to put them on the deed. I would recommend you take only ONE child, if you've more than one, into such an arrangement.
Parents? Ex-spouse? Don't laugh, the parent of your heir might be interested.
Neighbor. You say you've a good neighbor. You could tell this person that it is in their interest to purchase a property next door. It's like choosing your neighbor, which is way better than taking pot luck. Ask if they can buy the entire property and give you a rent-to-own deal, maybe with an option (ie, you pay them something to buy the place and give you either a lease-purchase, or a mortgage, or a contract for deed). If it were a contract for deed, it would be very safe for the neighbor; you don't pay, they can toss you out quicker than if they'd given you a lease-purchase or a mortgage. If you do pay as promised, they continue to have a nice neighbor instead of a Pacific Heights experience.
Church. Ask the pastor/whomever of your church, presuming you have one? to buy the place on the same general idea as you'd ask the neighbor. Just because they're a non-profit doesn't mean they can't do business. However, they would need to use their own cash, the place can't be financed.
Credit union.
Again, these are suggestions I make without approval. I personally think only a hopeless sap would lend money to someone with a recent bankruptcy, bad credit, student loans, low income, double vision and a failure to pay rent for 9 months. For a professional lender to do so would amount to criminal behavior.
PS: About the insulation...Indiana may have a weatherization program. In my state you can, if poor enough, get your house fluffed up free of charge.
Have you considered taking the 40,000 loan route, and either a) using the excess to make improvements and/or repairs, or b)repaying the bulk of the loan immediately, or c) some combination of a and b? You would get banged for higher costs on the transaction than on a $6k loan, but it may be worth it to you.
A very good point. When you consider purchasing a property, you always look at the neighborhood and the local conditions. Ask yourself how bad a property has to be before the "condemned" sign goes on the door. Some towns, it has to be falling into the street or the playground next door before they sticker it. Others, any excuse if the right insider wants it. And the property insurance, good luck with that.
Experienced fixer-upperers know this stuff cold. A first time buyer, a minnow in a most Hobbesian sea.
I have seen people arrested and threatened with jail time for failing to demolish their condemned property. Poverty is no excuse either.
There's no way any of the banks will ok a loan of $40,000 on a house that is for sale for only $10,000. I kind of wish they would, I really do.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.


text:
Before you can complete Entrance to Major (ETM), you must complete documentation of at least 40 hours of volunteer or paid education work experience. This work experience must occur with learners of the age group you plan to teach (6th -12th grade), with younger learners in your intended content area (MATH), or with adults with special needs. At least some of the young people with whom you work must be from a different background (e.g., race/ethnicity, home language, culture, socio-economic status) than you.
On Thursday, October 30, WQLN FM, Erie's public radio station, will broadcast from the Reed Union Building as part of its annual Collegiate Challenge fundraiser.
The application deadline for the Spring 2015 embedded study abroad course, Costa Rica: Neotropical Studies (GEOSC 299, or BIOL 499), is October 10, 2014.
Travel to Costa Rica during Spring Break with your instructors and classmates to experience seeing the amazing biodiversity of Costa Rica! The trip includes visiting lowland forests, cloud forests and an active volcano.
The paper she began in May, during a residency in South Africa, first took shape a year earlier, in the Hammermill Building, where Papiya Bhattacharjee hosted three days of discussion about ordered algebraic structures.
Bhattacharjee, an assistant professor of mathematics at Penn State Behrend, is an expert in point-free topology. That's the study of the properties that allow geometric figures to bend or stretch without breaking. It's how computers are programmed to make decisions.
With the Global Soap Project, Derreck Kayongo seeks to create social change. Since its creation in 2009, thousands of lives have been affected, and the project continues to grow each year.
Now, Kayongo is hoping to inspire others to follow in his footsteps.
Penn State Behrend's location is a laboratory unto itself and a rich source of undergraduate research opportunities. Our campus arboretum is home to more than 200 species of native and exotic trees and a member of the American Public Gardens Association.
Doctor of Philosophy, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada, 2011
Doctor of Chiropractic, Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College, Toronto, ON, Canada, 2000
Bachelor of Science with Specialization in Zoology, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada, 1995
Todd is a vertebrate paleontologist from Alberta which is well known for its vast paleontological riches. His research on ancient sharks and rays has provided him with the opportunity to study fossils not only from that Canadian province but also from other regions of North America and Northern Africa. Recently, Todd was granted a Research Associate appointment at the Western Australian Museum through the Australian Endeavour Award where he has been comparing high paleolatitudinal shark assemblages from Canada with those from Australia. As part of his postdoctoral work, Todd traveled to a remote location high in the Mackenzie Mountains of the Northwest Territories with a team from the University of Alberta on a National Geographic funded expedition to collect some of the oldest fossil sharks. This material is currently under study.
Dr. Cook's Teaching Specialties Include:
Comparative Anatomy of Vertebrates
I teach comparative anatomy which involves the study of structure and function of major organ systems and the similarities and/or differences of these systems among various groups of vertebrates in an evolutionary context. This area of biology is of particular interest to me as a vertebrate paleontologist; however, those students who intend to enter the health sciences or attend graduate school will also benefit from this course. Knowing the evolutionary history of particular anatomical structures provides a deeper understanding of our own anatomy.
Dr. Cook's Research Interests Include:
My research focuses on the functional morphology, phylogeny, paleoecology, and paleobiogeography of sharks and rays from Mesozoic and Cenozoic deposits throughout North America, Australia, and Northern Africa. In addition, I am interested in the origin and evolution of the earliest chondrichthyans, as revealed by specimens preserved in exceptional fossil deposits from Northern Canada.
Murray, A. M. and Cook, T.D. 2016. Overview of Late Cretaceous fishes of the northern Western Interior Seaway. In Cretaceous Period: Biotic diversity and biogeography, Edition 1, Chapter 21 (Klosla, A. and Lucas, S.G. eds), New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, 255–261.
Siversson, M., Cook, T.D., Cederström, P., and Ryan, H. 2016. Early Campanian (Late Cretaceous) Squatiniform and Synechodontiform selachians from the Åsen locality, Kristianstad Basin, Sweden, Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 434: 251–275.
Case, G.R., Cook, T.D., and Wilson, M.V.H. 2015. A new elasmobranch assemblage from the early Eocene (Ypresian) Fishburne Formation of Berkeley County, South Carolina, USA, Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 52: 1121–1136.
Newbrey, M.G., Siversson, M., Cook, T.D., Fotheringham, A.M., and Sanchez, R.L. 2015. Vertebral morphology, dentition, age, growth, and ecology of the large lamniform shark Cardabiodon ricki. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica, 60: 877–897.
Argyriou, T., Cook, T.D., Muftah, A.M., Pavlakis, P., Boaz, N.T., and Murray, A.M. 2015. A fish assemblage from an early Miocene horizon from Jabal Zaltan, Libya. Journal of African Earth Sciences, 102: 86–101.
Siversson, M., Lindgren, J., Newbrey, M.G., Cederström, P., and Cook, T.D. 2015. Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian-Campanian) mid-palaeolatitude sharks of Cretalamna appendiculata type. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica, 60: 339–384.
Murray, A.M, Argyriou, T., Cook, T.D. 2014. Palaeobiogeographic relationships and palaeoenvironmental implications of an earliest Oligocene Tethyan ichthyofauna from Egypt. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 51: 909–918.
Cook, T.D., Eaton, J.G., Newbrey, M.G., and Wilson, M.V.H. A new genus and species of freshwater stingray (Myliobatiformes: Dasyatoidea) from the latest Middle Eocene of Utah, USA. Journal of Paleontology, 88: 497–503.
Cook, T.D., Newbrey, M.G., Brinkman, D.B., and Kirkland, J.I. 2014. Freshwater euselachians from the Hell Creek Formation of Montana with a comparison to other Maastrichtian North American localities. Geological Society of America Special Publication, 503: 229–246.
Wilson, A.E., Newbrey, M.G., Brinkman, D.B., Cook, T.D., and Neuman, A.G. 2013. Age and growth in Myledaphus bipartitus, a Late Cretaceous freshwater guitarfish from Alberta, Canada. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 50: 930–944.
Cook, T.D., Wilson, M.V.H., Murray, A.M., Plint, A.P., Newbrey, M.G., and Everhart, M.J. 2013. A high latitude euselachian assemblage from the early Turonian of Alberta, Canada. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology, 5: 555–587.
Case, G.R., Cook T.D., Wilson, M.V.H., and Borodin, P.D. 2012. A new species of the sclerorhynchid sawfish Borodinopristis from the Campanian (Upper Cretaceous) of North Carolina, USA. Historical Biology, 24: 592–597.
Cook, T.D., Newbrey, M.G., Murray, A.M., Wilson, M.V.H., Shimada, K., Takeuchi, G.T., and Stewart, J.D. 2011. A partial skeleton of the Late Cretaceous lamniform shark, Archaeolamna kopingensis, from the Pierre Shale of western Kansas. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 31: 8–21.
Case, G.R., Cook, T.D., and Wilson, M.V.H. 2010. A new genus and species of fossil myliobatoid ray from the Jamestown Member of the Fishburne Formation (Lower Eocene/Ypresian) of Berkeley County, South Carolina. Historical Biology, 2010: 1–6.
Cook, T.D., Wilson, M.V.H., and Newbrey, M.G. 2010. The first record of the large lamniform shark, Cardabiodon ricki, from North America and a new empirical test for its presumed antitropical distribution. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 30: 643–649.
Murray, A.M, Cook, T.D., Attia, Y.S., Chatrath, P., and Simons, E.L. 2010. A mixed freshwater and marine ichthyofauna from the late Eocene Birket Qarun Formation, Fayum, Egypt. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 30: 665–680.
Cumbaa, S., Shimada, K., and Cook, T.D. 2010. Mid-Cretaceous vertebrate faunas of the Western Interior Seaway of North America and their evolutionary, paleobiogeographical, and paleoecological implications. Paleoecology, Paleoclimatology, Paleogeograghy, 295: 199–214.
Cook, T.D., Murray, A.M., Simons, E.L., Attia, Y.S., and Chatrath, P. 2010. A Miocene euselachian fauna from Moghra, Egypt. Historical Biology, 22: 78–87.
Cook, T.D., Wilson, M.V.H., and Murray, A.M. 2008. A middle Cenomanian euselachian assemblage from the Dunvegan Formation of northwestern Alberta. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 45: 1185–1197.
Penn State Erie, The Behrend College | 4701 College Drive, Erie, PA 16563 | 814-898-6000 | Toll-free: 866-374-3378
Website Feedback | Site Map | Login
The Pennsylvania State University © 2016

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Interest Level
Grades K - 2
Reading Level
Grade level Equivalent: 1.7
Lexile® Measure: 280L
Guided Reading: J
- Informational
- Maps and Globes
About This Book
In this playful introduction to maps and geography, step by simple step, a young girl shows readers herself on a map of her room, her room on the map of her house, her house on the map of her street — all the way to her country on a map of the world. Once the reader is familiar with the maps, she demonstrates how readers can find their own country, state, and town — all the way back to their room — on each colorful map.
Easy-to-read text, bright artwork, and charming details give children a lot to search for and will have them eager to help navigate on the next family vacation.
Items Added to Cart:
1 Paperback
2 Hardcover
1 Teacher's Edition
$48.99 Subtotal


text:
Lovely Fairywren
The Lovely Fairywren (Malurus amabilis) is a species of bird in the Maluridae family. It is endemic to Australia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.
It was first described by the ornithologist John Gould in 1852, from a specimen collected by Captain Owen Stanley in Cape York.[2] Its species name is the Latin adjective ămābǐlis "lovable".[3] It is one of 12 species of the genus Malurus, commonly known as fairywrens, found in Australia and lowland New Guinea. Within the genus it belongs to a group of four very similar species known collectively as chestnut-shouldered fairywrens. The other three species are localised residents in restricted regions of Australia: the widespread Variegated Fairywren (M. lamberti), the Red-winged Fairywren (M. elegans) of the southwest corner of Western Australia, and the Blue-breasted Fairywren (M. pulcherrimus) of southern Western Australia and the Eyre Peninsula.[4] A 2011 analysis by Amy Driskell and colleagues of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA found that the Lovely Fairywren was nested within the Variegated Fairywren complex, and was the sister taxon of the Purple-backed subspecies assimilis.[5]
Like other fairywrens, it is notable for its marked sexual dimorphism, males adopting a highly visible breeding plumage of brilliant iridescent blue and chestnut contrasting with black and grey-brown. The brightly coloured crown and ear tufts are prominently featured in breeding displays.[6] The male in breeding plumage has striking azure blue ear coverts, crown and upper back, a black throat and nape, chestnut shoulders and a white-tipped blue tail. The wings are black and the belly white. Non-breeding males are more variable and resemble the female or have a more grey-brown plumage. The female has smoky blue upperparts and tail, with turquoise ear tufts, and dark grey wings, and white below. Both sexes have black bills, brown eyes and flesh-grey feet. Immature birds resemble females but have brown bills.[2]
- ^ BirdLife International (2012). "Malurus amabilis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.1. International Union for Conservation of Nature. http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/106005195. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
- ^ a b Rowley & Russell 1997, p. 165
- ^ Simpson 1979, p. 38
- ^ Rowley & Russell 1997, p. 159
- ^ Driskell et al. 2011
- ^ Rowley & Russell 1997, pp. 43–44
Works cited
- Driskell, Amy C.; Norman, Janette A.; Pruett-Jones, Stephen; Mangall, Elizabeth; Sonsthagen, Sarah; Christidis, Les (2011). "A multigene phylogeny examining evolutionary and ecological relationships in the Australo-papuan wrens of the subfamily Malurinae (Aves)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 60: 480–85. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2011.03.030. PMID 21466855.
- Rowley, Ian; Russell, Eleanor (1997). Bird Families of the World:Fairy-wrens and Grasswrens. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-854690-4.
- Simpson, D.P. (1979). Cassell's Latin Dictionary (5th ed.). London: Cassell. ISBN 0-304-52257-0.
|This Maluridae-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.


text:
iPhone 5 Brings Big Opportunities to Retailers and Manufacturers
In the first 24 hours of its release, more than two million orders were placed for the iPhone 5. These lightning-speed pre-orders quickly struck down Apple's previous record of one million first-day pre-orders for the iPhone 4S last October. While it's very easy to find this impressive, some may find it difficult to see opportunity in another company's achievement. But by further expanding into the wireless accessory segment of the CE marketplace, retailers and manufacturers can translate some of Apple's sales success into their own.
For retailers, one of the most significant changes unveiled with the iPhone 5 is the Lightning connector. Eighty percent smaller than the previous 30-pin connector, the new Lightning connector renders obsolete many of the iPhone accessories consumers own. Although consumers can choose to buy the $29 adapter from Apple to use with their existing iPhone accessories, many will likely opt to purchase new accessories all together. Retailers who understand this potential and prepare by stocking new iPhone 5 accessories will definitely reap the rewards.
The iPhone 5 will also significantly increase the demand for Bluetooth offerings such as headsets, headphones, speakerphones, hands-free car kits and speakers. With the new Lightning connector, manufacturers will have to update their entire selection of docking units, while continuing to try to satisfy consumers who still own older versions of the iPhone. Bluetooth accessories eliminate the docking issue since consumers can use any model of iPhone without having to dock or plug-in a device. Retailers who choose to expand their product offerings to include Bluetooth products and accessories will reach a larger customer base.
In addition, the iPhone 5 is the thinnest and lightestiPhone. With this particular design change, proper protection is more important than ever. If retailers have not already expanded their selection to cases,sleeves and screen protectors, now is the perfect time to add protective accessories to the product mix.
For manufacturers – especially those new to the industry – the market is fair game for creating innovative iPhone 5 accessories. It's an ideal time for these manufacturers to get their foot in the door as consumers will be eager to explore the new accessories for iPhone 5. Manufacturers who can deliver products to the market early will certainly benefit from Apple's design change with bigger profits. This same philosophy can be applied to new and established retailers who can readily provide iPhone 5 accessories. Add-on sales are the driver of sustained profits for retailers. Consumers want to buy new and relevant products, and the retailers that strike now while the buzz is hot will be well positioned to be successful with iPhone 5 accessory sales. Retailers should make sure they have a good assortment of accessories as diversity is the key to making sure they stay competitive and prepared to meet the needs of their customers.
Retailers and manufacturers alike can also improve their profits by working with a distributor who really understands their business, forms a strategic alliance, and can provide assistance with merchandising and inventory programs, promotions, logistics, competitive pricing, flexible payment options, freight programs and more.
The bottom line is that staying ahead of the competition is vital to growth. With the help of a distributor and by taking advantage of all the opportunities the iPhone 5 brings to the market, retailers and manufacturers should see great things this quarter. Retailers and manufacturers who prepare properly, deliver and carry a good product mix, and execute the right salesstrategy, may just break some sales records of their very own.
Jordan Arvin
There is a new company launching in November called domeoproducts.com. They are a company that makes iPad and iPad mini cases. I have seen a couple of pictures of them online, and they looks really high tech. I was wondering what you guys thought about them?


text:
Dobos Torte
Cake Layers:
12 ounce s
unsalted butter, cut into chunks, at room temperature
vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise
2 ounce s
Powdered sugar
eggs, separated
1 cup
granulated sugar
7 ounce s
cake flour, sifted
Chocolate Buttercream:
1 cup
1/4 cup
egg yolk
1 pound
unsalted butter, cut into pieces, at room temperature
12 ounce s
bittersweet chocolate, melted
1 tablespoon
rum, optional
Caramel Topping:
6 ounce s
Cake Layers:
12 ounce sunsalted butter, cut into chunks, at room temperature
1vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise
2 ounce sPowdered sugar
10eggs, separated
1 cupgranulated sugar
7 ounce scake flour, sifted
Chocolate Buttercream:
1 cupsugar
1/4 cupwater
1egg yolk
1 poundunsalted butter, cut into pieces, at room temperature
12 ounce sbittersweet chocolate, melted
1 tablespoonrum, optional
Caramel Topping:
6 ounce ssugar
- For the Cake Layers: Preheat oven to 400°F. Place parchment paper on baking sheets and trace the outline of a 9-inch cake pan in pencil to form 6 marked circles.
- Put the butter in the bowl of a mixer; with a small knife tip, scrape in the seeds from inside the vanilla bean. Beat at medium-high speed for 1 minute. Add the powdered sugar and continue to beat another 5 minutes, until smooth and well blended. Lower the speed and add the egg yolks. Continue to beat for 2 to 3 minutes, until light and fluffy.
- In another mixing bowl, using clean beaters, whip the egg whites at medium speed until they form soft peaks when the beaters are lifted out. Add the granulated sugar, increase the speed, and continue beating until the egg whites form stiff but not dry peaks when the beaters are lifted out.
- Fold the egg whites into the yolk mixture. Gently fold in the flour to form a batter.
- Divide the batter equally among the 6 marked circles, using an icing spatula to spread it evenly within each circle, about ¼ inch thick. Bake in the preheated oven until the cake layers are light golden in color, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and let the layers cool, transferring each one to a 9-inch cardboard cake circle. Set aside.
- To make the Chocolate Buttercream: In a saucepan, combine the sugar and water. Over medium-high heat, bring the mixture to a boil and continue boiling without stirring until the syrup reaches the soft ball stage, 240°F on a candy thermometer. Boil to 240 degrees or soft ball stage.
- Meanwhile, in a mixer at medium-high speed, beat the eggs and egg yolk they are light yellow and form a ribbon when the beaters are lifted out. Reduce the speed and, still beating, gradually pour the hot syrup into the egg mixture. Increase the speed and whip the mixture until it cools to room temperature. Still beating, add the butter, a piece at a time. Then pour in the melted chocolate and, if desired, the rum, continuing to beat the mixture until it is smooth and well blended.
- To make the caramel, put the sugar in a heavy saucepan and cook it over medium heat until it melts and turns a medium amber color, taking care not to burn it. Remove it from the heat and pour the caramel over 1 of the reserved cake layers. Run the edge of a chef's knife through some softened butter to coat it, then use the buttered knife edge to spread the caramel evenly over the layer's surface. Leave the caramel to cool, set, and harden. With the knife, cut across the caramel layer's diameter in 6 equally spaced places to form 12 equal wedges. Set aside.
- To assemble the torte: Set aside half of the Chocolate Buttercream. With the remaining buttercream, spread a 1/8-inch-thick layer on top of one cake layer that will be the torte's base. Transfer another cake layer on top of the buttercream and spread it with another layer of buttercream. Continue layering the remaining cake and buttercream. Use a pastry comb to coat the entire edge of the torte evenly and decoratively with buttercream.
- With a knife, mark the buttercream on top of the torte into 12 equal wedges. Put the reserved buttercream in a piping bag with a decorative tip and use it to decorate each marked wedge. Then take the 12 caramel-coated wedges and lean them decoratively on top of the piped buttercream. Keep refrigerated until serving. To serve, use a sharp knife or cake cutter dipped in hot water to cut the Dobos Torte along its individual marked wedges.
Makes one 9-inch torte, 12 servings


text:
Skip to Content
Need a Personalized Response?
Home > News > Press Releases > Crozer-Keystone Physicians Save Man Who Collapses at Half-Marathon
Published on December 30, 2013
Springfield, Pa.—While getting healthy and in shape is an important goal, doing it safely is just as important. Have you had your yearly check-up? Are you listening to what your body might be telling you? And if you're training for a big endurance event like a marathon, have you consulted a sports medicine physician to make sure your body is ready for the challenge?
For 61-year-old Jack Benning of Barto—a longtime runner who collapsed at the Rock 'n' Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon this past September—the risks of not following these safety measures are all too real.
At the end of the 13.1-mile race, Benning suffered a cardiac arrest and his heart went into ventricular fibrillation (a life-threatening condition that causes the heart to quiver ineffectively, rather than pumping blood through the body).
Thankfully, the physicians of Crozer-Keystone Health System's Sports Medicine Fellowship program, who were coordinating medical care at the race, responded quickly. CKHS fellow Keli Donnelly, D.O., and her team were able to resuscitate Benning on-site, restarting his heart and essentially bringing him back to life so that he could go on to receive follow-up medical care.
"I believe it happened this way for a reason," a grateful Benning said a couple of months into his recovery. Benning noted that during his training, he often ran in the country, where nobody would have been around to help in a medical emergency. If his cardiac event had happened anywhere else, he said, the outcome could have been much different.
In fact, according to the American Heart Association, less than 8 percent of people who suffer cardiac arrest outside the hospital survive. For organized athletic events, where medical help is close by, the survival rate is slightly higher, says David Webner, M.D., director of Running Medicine for Crozer-Keystone Health System and co-director of the CKHS Sports Medicine Fellowship Program.
Either way, the statistics put Benning among a very fortunate minority.Today, Benning says his recovery is going well, and he is enjoying a new outlook on life, which he described as "an appreciation for the fact that there are a lot of good people out there in the world."
With patients like Benning in mind, Webner emphasizes the importance of:
"Early in the season, I had a couple of incidents of pain in the middle of my chest, but I didn't think anything of it. I just thought it was indigestion," Benning said, thinking back on his training for the September half-marathon. "At the time I thought, 'It can't be a problem, I do everything right,'" he added, noting that he doesn't smoke and he eats a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet. "It was sort of a warning if I look at it in retrospect."
Benning recalls that his father had heart disease and he acknowledges today that his heredity puts him at greater risk no matter how healthy his personal choices.
"Don't assume just because you do all the right things this is not brewing in your system," Benning says. "Tell your doctor. See if they can just check you out."
To schedule an appointment or for more information about Crozer-Keystone's sports medicine program, call (610) 328-8830; or visit www.crozerkeystone.org and click on Services, then Sports Medicine.
View More
1120 Township Line Road
Suite 300
Havertown, PA 19083
eNewsletters from Crozer-Keystone Health System help keep you up-to-date on your health and well being. View recent editions or sign up to receive our free eNewsletters.


text:
Advanced Search or
You can narrow your search by selecting one or more of the options below:
Select a Topic
Climate Change
Collection Systems
Energy Efficiency
Operator Resource Center
Resource Recovery Roadmap
Stormwater and Wet Weather
Utility Management
Wastewater Treatment
Water Reuse
Water Security
Watershed Management
Wet Weather
Workforce Sustainability
Home > Access Water Knowledge > H
Symbols and Acronyms
hardness A characteristic of water imparted primarily by salts of calcium and magnesium, such as bicarbonates, carbonates, sulfates, chlorides, and nitrates, that causes curdling and increased consumption of soap, deposition of scale in boilers, damage in some industrial processes, and sometimes objectionable taste. It may be determined by a standard laboratory titration procedure or computed from the amounts of calcium and magnesium expressed as equivalent calcium carbonate. See also carbonate hardness.
hazardous waste Any waste that is potentially damaging to environmental health because of toxicity, ignitability, corrosivity, chemical reactivity, or other reasons.
head (1) The height of the free surface of fluid above any point in a hydraulic system; a measure of the pressure or force exerted by the fluid. (2) The energy, either kinetic or potential, possessed by each unit weight of a liquid, expressed as the vertical height through which a unit weight would have to fall to release the average energy possessed. It is used in various compound terms such as pressure head, velocity head, and loss of head. (3) The upper end of anything, such as a headworks. (4) The source of anything, such as a head-water. (5) A comparatively high promontory with either a cliff or steep face extending into a large body of water, such as a sea or lake. An unnamed head is usually called a headland.
header (1) A structure installed at the head or upper end of a gully to prevent overfall cutting. (2) A supply ditch for the irrigation of a field. (3) A large pipe installed to intercept the ends of a series of pipes; a manifold. (4) The closing plate on the end of a sewer lateral that will not be used immediately.
head gate A gate at the entrance to a conduit such as a pipeline, penstock, or canal.
head loss Energy losses resulting from the resistance of flow of fluids; may be classified into conduit surface and conduit form losses.
headworks (1) All the structures and devices located at the head or diversion point of a conduit or canal. The term as used is practically synonymous with diversion works; an intake heading. (2) The initial structures and devices of a water or wastewater treatment plant.
heat exchanger A device providing for the transfer of heat between two fluids.
heat treatment A sludge conditioning process combining high temperature, time, and pressure to improve the dewaterability of organic sludge.
heavy metals Metals that can be precipitated by hydrogen sulfide in acid solution, for example, lead, silver, gold, mercury, bismuth, and copper.
high-purity oxygen A modification of the activated-sludge process using relatively pure oxygen and covered aeration tanks in a conventional flow arrangement.
high-rate aeration A modification of the activated-sludge process whereby the mixed liquor suspended solids loadings are kept high, allowing high food-to-microorganism (F;M) ratios and shorter detention times.
humus sludge Sloughed particles of biomass from trickling media that are removed in the secondary clarifier.
hydrated lime Limestone that has been "burned" and treated with water under controlled conditions until the calcium oxide portion has been converted to calcium hydroxide.
hydraulic loading The amount of water applied to a given treatment process, usually expressed as volume per unit time, or volume per unit time per unit surface area.
hydraulic radius The cross-sectional area of a stream of water divided by the length of that part of its periphery in contact with its containing conduit; the ratio of area to wetted perimeter. Also called hydraulic mean depth.
hydrocarbon Any of the class of compounds consisting solely of carbon and hydrogen. Usually derived from petroleum.
hydrogen-ion concentration The concentration of hydrogen ions in moles per liter of solution (moles/L). Commonly expressed as the pH value, which is the logarithm of the reciprocal of the hydrogen-ion concentration. See also pH.
hydrogen sulfide (H2S) A toxic and lethal gas produced in sewers and digesters by anaerobic decomposition. Detectable in low concentrations (%) by its characteristic "rotten egg" odor. It deadens the sense of smell in higher concentrations or after prolonged exposure. Respiratory paralysis and death may occur quickly at concentrations as low as 0.07% by volume in air.
hydrostatic level The level or elevation to which the top of a column of water would rise from an artesian aquifer or basin, or from a conduit under pressure.
hypochlorination The use of sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl2) for disinfection.hypochlorite Calcium, sodium, or lithium hypochlorite.


text:
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama's nominee to lead the agency that runs Medicare and Medicaid got rare bipartisan praise yesterday, but she still faced tough questions about health-care reform and a recent controversial decision on Medicare Advantage payment rates.
Testifying before the Senate Finance Committee, which will decide whether to advance her nomination, Marilyn Tavenner said her role would be to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services as a business and as a partner with many health-care entities.
Tavenner, a former nurse and hospital-company executive from Virginia, has been acting administrator of the agency since late 2011.
"We have an $820 billion business to run that a large amount of this country has a stake in, from beneficiaries to providers to hospitals to insurance companies to Congress to the administration to our CMS employees and contractors," Tavenner said. "We need to operate CMS as a business and act like business partners."
In a sign of her bipartisan appeal, she was introduced by one of the nation's most prominent conservative lawmakers and a longtime foe of Obama's Affordable Care Act, fellow Virginian and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor. He worked with Tavenner when she ran the state's Medicaid program.
"If there is anyone that I trust to try and navigate the challenges, it is Marilyn Tavenner," Cantor said.
Committee Chairman Max Baucus, R-Mont., lauded Tavenner's confidence, courage and compassion, while Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine, a former Virginia governor, called her "a proven problem-solver."
But ranking Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah said that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has "not been able to provide satisfactory answers" on various aspects of the state health-insurance exchanges that are a centerpiece of the federal health-care act. Sign-up for the exchanges, which are to provide subsidized private health coverage on Jan. 1, starts in October.
"We still know very little about how the exchanges will operate, what the key operational and implementation deadlines are, and how CMS is monitoring them to determine if things are on track or not," Hatch said.
"There is still much that you will need to do in order to assure members of this committee that CMS is heading in the right direction and that your leadership will help steer the agency through the very turbulent times that lie ahead."
Iowa Republican Charles Grassley pressed Tavenner on the possible leak of the April 1 decision on Medicare Advantage payment rates to a consulting firm. His queries were based on an April 3 Wall Street Journal report that said stock-market gains on April 1 were due to a report by Height Securities, saying that the announcement would favor insurers.
Medicare Advantage provides care for seniors who elect to receive their Medicare benefits through private insurance plans.
Tavenner said she had asked the Office of the Inspector General to be brought in to complement an internal review. "I consider this a huge issue," she said.
Republicans opposed to the Affordable Care Act have blocked earlier attempts by Obama to name a permanent administrator.


text:
Read the full post from top to bottom if you have the time.
Title: The Invasion: Black Knife
About: The Invasion Black knife is a first person shooter video game
The story CENTERS the player named "Brian winters" (Main Protagonist) his goal to get in contact with his family and save earth from hostile invaders known as "Zenocycsts" (Ze-noh-sists) (the main Antagonists) which they (The Zenocycsts) are searching for a small (fist size) rock filled with incredible energy that has crashed on Earth in a medium sized asteroid thousands of years ago. The Zenocycsts first attacks russia , wherein after, the large Zenocycst population scatters around the world and continues to attack and search for the rock. The Player stumbles across friendly military units, citizens, and other international friendly units that will help the player reach his main goal.
Gameplay; Single player campaign: The Game Features modern and advance weapon and item equipment wherein the player may have the opportunity to customize his weapons, primary, secondary and melee. The game also gives the player freedom to interact with objects in the environment (e.g picking up objects, throwing them, use it to smash through fragile materials, break-open locked doors, ETC) The other thing here also is that the player can choose his own ability powers (Telekinesis, pyrokinesis, hydrokinesis, electrokinesis) and passive abilities (see below info) to choose before the main game starts. Each mission gives out a series of objective. The player is then given a minimap and a compass in the Hud where the player is led to his/her main objective.
Plot: (Pls forgive me for the plot is still being developed but I wont hesitate in posting the intro. )
Intro: The game takes place in June 16 2019 wherein 3 Hind Mic 24 gun ships carrying russian soldiers and scientists are almost on its way to north pole that will be researching about an unknown massive spaceship (The mothership of the Zenocycsts) that has crash landed. Dr. Isaac kokarev, a russian geologist expects and welcomes captain Patchenko along with Seargent Grakov (you) in one of the chopper. He then invites captain Patchenko and seargent Grakov (you) inside the small research facility.
Dr.Kokarev explains about the massive mothership that not only 1 has crashed but there are still 2 other motherships according to radio frequencies and russian scientists. He then leads and shows the two of them a dead hostile alien in a morgue cell which they called it a Zenocycst and explained that it was found dead near the facility in the third day after the ship crashed. Dr. Isaac Kokarev then persuades Cpt. Patchenko and Srg. Grakov and a large group of russian assault soldiers (about 20 of them) to get samples from the ship by chipping down or scraping one of the metal sheets of the mothership. Curious, Cpt. Patchenko agrees in exchange for a large amount of money. Isaac agrees and tells them the way to the ship but only before Patchenko, Grakov, and the other Russian soldiers leave, Isaac warns them that the ship can be carrying more Zenocycsts or worse. Moments later the truck arrives near the base camp near the ship. Cpt. Patchenko commands the group to cut down 5 metal sheets from the Mothership, and without hesitation, the group (Including you) approach the mothership. Only when one of the members tried to chip down the outer cover of the ship, the ship reacts and makes a loud horn. Cpt. Patchenko commands the group to hold their ground. As the loud horn stops, Strange blue lights start to come out of the top part of the ship and later identified as hostile scouts (Zenocycst scouts where the zenocycst is mounted on an armored flying hover machine) which started to attack the Russian units. Cpt. Patchenko, Srg. Grakov and 3 other units find and take cover while the rest are wounded and killed.
Pinned down, Cpt. Patchenko then remembers and tells Grakov that inside the main truck (Where they had been transported) is the Marine radio mayday call and asks him to run there and call in for reinforcements while Cpt. Patchenko and the rest will distract the enemies. Cpt. Patchenko warns him that its suicide and that the player must be cautious when approaching the truck alone. Afterwards Srg. Grakov (Player) Dashes to the main truck while Cpt. Patchenko and the rest distracts the enemy. As Grakov calls in for help, Dr. Isaac answers the call, In relief Srg. Grakov explains to Isaac about the situation they are facing, but Dr. Isaac struggles to tell Grakov that the small research facility also has been invaded by ground and air hostiles and they stood no chance in fighting back and that Dr. Isaac is the only one left breathing but greatly wounded after the attack. Isaac tells him that he himself witnessed that the Zenocycst were heading west instead of north (where the mothership is) and that the Zenocycsts must have started to invade Russia after the hour the Zenocycsts left. Grakov hangs up, only to find himself face to face with a Zenocycst, Seconds later the Zenocycst Charges and tackles Srg. Grakov, falls to the ground leaving him unconscious. Hours later, Srg. Grakov wakes up finding himself restrained In a container Knowing that he is inside the main ship. A Zenocycst appears carrying a laser knife alike a dissecting knife and approaches the player (Srg. Grakov). Grakov panics, struggling to break free. The zenocycst lowers the laser knife down close between Grakov's eyes. As Grakov starts to fight back, the laser knife starts to shake and unexpectedly slings through the Zenocycst's head passing through the neck and ending its way through the back, cutting the spinal cord, ends up dead, As Grakov is the one controlling the laser knife. Obtaining his own ability power, Grakov learns how to control it and finds a way out by breaking the container glass. (Grakov, a telekinetic, In this part the player controls everything in his surroundings without touching them. By pressing something on the keyboard)
Using his telekinetic ability, Grakov defeats a few hostiles and finally finds a way out of the Mothership. Yet, more scouts comes out the ship and Grakov finds himself outnumbered and had no choice but to sprint his way to safety. Minutes later, Grakov stumbles and falls down in a huge Ice pit, Injuring his right leg.
Just then a Zenocycst Scout jumps down to the pit (where grakov is) and finding Grakov unable to walk. Grakov's heart starts to beat fast when suddenly veins start to appear in Grakov's upper cheek bone, (see below for info of it) giving Grakov an adrenaline rush, using his telekinesis, Grakov sees an Ice shard, pulls it using his telekinesis and throws it to the Zenocycst scout just before it attacks, slicing its stomach out. Grakov climbs his way back up to the surface, struggles to stand up, walks slowly out in the frozen wasteland away from danger, Looks back at the Mothership (where Hostiles are still searching for him), walks slowly again, and after a moment, kneels down and dies of the cold. (Screen fades to black. Title appears "The Invasion: Black Knife")
And That's where im going to end guys. Though that's still the intro and not the main game.
Now I'm going to talk about more informations about the game.
Question: What are the ability powers?
Answer: There are 4 different types of ability powers. Telekinesis is the ability to manipulate objects in the surroundings without touching it. Pyrokinesis is the ability to control fire in the surroundings (there are plenty of uses when you have pyrokinesis like making a fireball, a flamethrower, making torches, burning up wooden objects barricading the player, E.t.c) Though making fire is impossible with the use of your bare hands only. Using matches or a lighter in the game will help the player make/produce fire. Hydrokinesis of course, is the ability to control water. Not very useful though, but there are still plenty of uses in having hydrokinesis (Like controlling ice, covering the ground with water if the player is falling for his death, etc). And Lastly, Electrokinesis, the ability to produce and control electricity in the surroundings. Accept the fact that this is one of the most useful abilities in the game (E.g hacking electric doors, hotwiring a car faster, adding major damage to hostiles especially zenocycsts, and other.) In multiplayer (If possible) Players are able to choose their own ability power, weapons, passive abilities, and customize their outfits.
Question: What are passive abilities?
Answer: These are the abilities that are permanently attached to the player (such as having good hand-to-hand combat skills and combination, having good accuracy in marksmanship, gives yourself extra health, how fast you can sprint, etc). The player can choose 1-2 different passive abilities after the intro game ends.
Question: Are there going to be human antagonist in the game?
Answer: I don't know yet what I do know is that the whole world will be teaming up (Including China, Japan, Russia, US, UK, Philippines, France, Germany, Scotland, All countries will be teaming up.) But I doubt there will be a few human antagonist.
Question: on what setting/place will the main game start?
Answer: at first, Philippines where brian winters lives, then travels to USA along with Filipino and American soldiers to reclaim the land. And then I dont Know but the game will be ending in north pole.
Question: Will there be romance in the game?
Answer: I think.
Question: How/ from where did people get their ability powers?
Answer: im still working on that
People Needed:
Another designer,
And programmer.


text:
Olympic Development Program
2012/2013 District 1 ODP
In District 1 there will be no tryouts at the district level. Players going to State tryouts will be recommended by their coach, league coordinator, or club director of coaching.
State Try-Out Information (tryout dates) will be posted at a later date on the Cal North Website.
The recommendation form and fee must be in the Cal North office (1040 Serpentine Lane #201, Pleasanton, CA 94566) no later than September 1st.
The following needs to be sent to Cal North:
1. Complete the Recommendation Player Form
2. Complete the ODP Try-out/Registration Form
3. Attach a $110 check made paybalbe to: Cal North ODP
|Age Group
|Birth Dates
For information for Boys: firstname.lastname@example.com
For information for Girls: email@example.com
About the Olympic Development Program
A formal recommendation is the first step in the selection of the State, Regional and National ODP Teams. Currently, there are several boys and girls representing our district as players on these teams.
You may play on an ODP team and your Club or League team at the same time. The ODP Program is open to all District 1 Cal North registered players. Non-Cal North registered players will need to complete a registration form which includes a parent's signature and a copy of your birth certificate. If you are already a member of the State, Regional or National teams, you are not eligible for this process. Your current status automatically entitles you to an invitation to the State Camp. All other players must be selected at the District level to be eligible for an invitation to the State Team tryouts.


text:
Indian Chicken
Total Time
Prep 15 mins
Cook 1 hr 15 mins
When I make an observation that really clicks in my brain, I tend to run with it. This was the case when I first added fresh herbs to a dish prior to serving just like it was when I toasted a few seed prior to grinding them up for Masala. Now, my "big thing" is slow-cooking meat over low heat in a slightly acidic liquid to make the meat very, very tender. This dish is an example of that trend, applied to a simple dish that I make all the time! (By the way; make your own curry powder ... it tastes great!)
Ingredients Nutrition
- 1 ounce cashews (unsalted and toasted)
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1⁄3 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons canola oil
- 8 ounces vidalia onions (frenched or radially-cut)
- 1⁄4 teaspoon red chili pepper flakes
- 6 garlic cloves (minced)
- 4 teaspoons gingerroot (minced)
- salt and black pepper (may substitute white pepper for black)
- 15 ounces garbanzo beans (aka "chick peas", canned are fine)
- 2 tablespoons curry powder
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 6 chicken thighs
- 2 tablespoons butter
- In a blender, powerful enough to pulverize nuts, place the cashews and salt. Puree them into a paste, slowly drizzling in the extra virgin olive oil to form an emulsion. It should soon take on a peanut butter-like consistency. Remove to a bowl and save for later.
- In a skillet with a tight-fitting lid over medium heat, saute the onions and red chili flakes in the canola oil until the onions begin to turn translucent.
- Add the minced garlic and ginger root and continue to saute until the garlic barely shows some color on the edges. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Add the garbanzo beans with any liquid from either the can or rehydration. Stir in the lemon juice, cashew paste from the blender, and curry powder and allow to come to a simmer.
- Add the chicken broth, coconut milk, and chicken thighs and stir to cover the meat. Return to a simmer, lower heat to low, and put on the tight-fitting lid. Simmer like this for 30 minutes.
- With a spatula or pair of tongs, turn over each chicken thigh and spoon the sauce over each piece. Re-cover and simmer for another 30 minutes.
- Remove the lid and whisk in the butter to thicken the sauce.
- Serve with rice. OPTIONAL: You may want to sprinkle some minced green onion over the top just before serving.
Most Helpful
Really good, and strangely enough, the onions almost melted away.... We loved it. Only thing we changed is we used "Lite" coconut milk.... I'm not sure it tasted like "Indian", but in the end, who cares? It tasted "good".
This recipe is right on! Talk about tender. Your not gonna find a dish with more tender meat. I dont eat Indian dishes often but after this one im gonna start eating more often. The dish went well with steamed green beans and i put the chicken over rice. I substituted chicken breasts over the chicken thighs. Cant wait to make it again!
Totally yum. Loved just reading your recipe, the end product is wonderful and I am happy. You're the chef. Lolly


text:
Penn State Introduces Changes to Employee Benefits Plan
Penn State has rolled out a new health program called the "Take Care of Your Health" initiative. Employees who do not participate in the three-part plan will be charged a $100 a month surcharge. This is the first of a series of changes to employee health insurance benefits. WPSU's Kate Lao Shaffner has the story. (photo by Jessica Paholsky)
Additional Links
Visit Penn State's Office of Human Resources website.
Find out more about the "Take Care of Your Health" initiative.
Find out more about Penn State health insurance benefits changes.
What do you think? Be the first to comment!
Post Comment


text:
Registered: 9 January 2009
RE: Gaza density
"If Gaza is in the top 0.5% of countries by density then calling it one of the most densely places on earth is hardly a lie." PJD
RE: Gaza density
"well on Mr Khuttabs figures, Gaza would have to be half empty to be at roughly the same level as Tel Aviv and basically packed into 10% of the Strip to match Mumbai. How ever you slice and d(...)" fredblogs


text:
I have noticed a bit of a trend of Amare hate/concern in recent days. This thread I hope will enlighten some of you on Amare's game and how it works. (some of it may be obvious and other things may make sense now)
Let us look at Amare Pre-Melo and the trade.
1. Amare thrived last year because he played the majority of his minutes at the center position. The reason for his success is because Centers find it difficult to guard Amare. Most centers around the league are hesitant to step out and guard STAT's jumper allowing for wide open looks.
2. If they did step out and try to guard him outside the post he blew by them a majority of the time.
3. The pick and roll was so effective for Amare at the CENTER position because again for the reasons above.
The two videos below show just exactly what I am talking about. Pay particular attention to who he is scoring his jump shots on (mostly centers). Also look at his dunks, most of them come off passes off penetration by guards or by him blowing passed Centers who can't keep up with him.
[FONT='Arial Black','sans-serif']?showinfo=0&iv_load_policy=3&modestbranding=1&nologo=1&vq=large&autoplay=0&ps=docs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen>[/font]
[FONT='Arial Black','sans-serif'][FONT='Arial Black','sans-serif']
Let us look at Amare since then.
This year he's playing his "natural position" at the power forward. This means he is guarded by more athletic more agile, quicker defenders. Now they are up on him distributing his timing on his jump shots. They also move faster from side to side causing him to dribble and turn over.
2.Note the Shaq trade to the Suns a few years ago and how that affected his game.
3. He needs guards who penetrate and kick the ball out to 10-15 feet away.
4. If we look at Amare's shots this year he is really getting the ball in horrible spots. Not in rythm and not in the flow of the offense.
For Amare to be successful as he was last year a few things need to happen:
1. The most obvious reason is he needs a point to set him up and run the pick and roll with him.
2. With Chandler offensive flaws he needs to set picks and screens to get Centers guarding Amare again.
3. Dantoni NEEDS to be smart and sometimes have Amare play the 5 when chandler is resting this causes many matchup problems for other teams.
4. What I think is the most imprtant reason as to why Amare is playing bad is because Chandler has no offensive game unless he gets those lobs and passes 3 feet away from the basket. With him not being a threat Bigs stand away from him and wait for Amare to penetrate. Once we get a proven guard it will free up Amare to be explosive again.
Last edited by CoolRunnings; Jan 23, 2012 at 20:48.
I don't think they are though I just think he figured his shot would go down and with Chandler in the paint he could shoot. He still has a height advantage over most PF but without a PG he is farther from the basket than he needs to be to take that shot.
Also I don't think D'antoni says a damn negative thing to the star players. he is so passive aggressive and with the lack of a solid contract I don't see him trying to argue with the stars over what they should do.


text:
HIV Prevention and Testing > Am I Infected?
I'm so scared!!! Please answer my last post.
(1/4) > >>
Hallo Everyone!Please help me!5 days after the contact I got higher body temperature 37,5 C degrees and I was behaving like complete psycho. I swatted a lot during the nights - about 9 times. It lasted for 6 weeks. Now I feel exhausted and afraid, I Sweet a lot even after a little job I take.I already did 5 tests (all negative).1. Test HIV ECLIA, Modular E170 , Roche - twice 15Th day after the contact and 20Th day after.2. ELISA AG, AB - 27 day after the contact.3. ELISA AG, AB - 42 day after the contact4. ELISA AG, AB - 45 day after the contactShould I still be afraid. Please answer me - I'm getting mad!!!!!!!!!!!! :(Help me, please!!!
Andy Velez:
It's not clear what you mean by "contact." What kind of sexual activity are you referring to?What I can tell you is that neither the presence nor the absence of symptoms will ever tell you anything accurately about your HIV status. And there certainly isn't anything in what you telling us about your symptoms which suggests HIV infection to me. The symptoms which may show up after infection do not go on for weeks and weeks. They last perhaps for a week or two and what you have described does not fit the bill for what they are like. Your negative test results are more than a little encouraging. The average time to seroconversion is 22 days. All but the very smallest number who are going to seroconvert will do so within 4-6 weeks after a genuinely risky incident. So your negative results imply you will continue to test negative.If your symptoms are still going on you should be discussing them with your doctor.Please clarify what the nature of your "risk" was.Cheers,
sikoro,There is no need to include your email address in your post. We answer questions here and not by private email.Symptoms or the lack of symptoms mean nothing when it comes to hiv infection. The only way of knowing your hiv status is by testing. What has happened to make you worry that you have become infected with hiv? We offer risk assessment in this forum - we don't discuss symptoms.The vast majority of people who have actually been infected will seroconvert and test positive by six weeks. Your 45 day test is just over six weeks and it is unlikely to change. You may not even need to test again - depending on your risk. Please tell us what happened.Please read through the Welcome thread at the top of this forum. Ann
Risk Contact: Sex with prostitute (in a night club - this is what we call them in Poland). I was completely drunk and lost erection and condom inside her. And 5 days after it started this fucking higher body temperature, alienation, lack of concentration and night swept! Exactely 6 weeks after the contact my body temp. started to be normal. Some of my friends say that from such a big stress you can get higher. body temp. But for 6 weeks???? For me it seems too enormous coincident!
Symptoms for HIV infections do not come on as early as you have stated. Did your condom come off on withdraw of your penis or did it come off during sex?
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page


text:
Rental Quick Search
Long Term Rentals
Horseback Riding
When you come to Park City, it's time to leave your cares, and your car, behind. Experience the mountains like the miners who founded the city—on horseback. Ride up the mountains and down into the valleys, through the aspen trees and lush underbrush. Can you think of a better way to explore the Rockies?
Explore our Travel Guide to view companies that offer Horseback Riding in Park City.


text:
It will help if you can wrote out the meaning of the symbols.
"A" is a curtate life insurance.
"A-Bar" is a continuous life insurance.
The first lower-right number is an age.
The second is a duration.
Can you say for sure what the "1" is doing? Does it relate to the "A" or to the Age?
Are you sure i/ is appropriate for UDD?
Are you sure you are clear on the difference between a term insurance and an endowment insurance? Your setting 0.02 = i/ * 0.32 is not encouraging. That may be good for the pure insurance portion, but you have entirely overlooked the pure endowment.
Hint: [(i/ )*0.32] less 0.02 = price of continuous pure endowment for 20 years at age 20.


text:
October 5, 2009
- Location Washington, D.C.
- Price Member: $8, General Public: $10
Darwin's Darkest Hour, National Geographic Television's first scripted film, portrays a crisis in Charles Darwin's life, bringing to life the powerful human story of one of science's icons. The premiere screening of this two-hour drama will be followed by a discussion with director John Bradshaw, scriptwriter John Goldsmith, and executive producer John Bredar, moderated by Paula Apsell, senior executive producer of this NOVA program.
This program airs on PBS Tuesday, October 6. See the trailer.
1600 M Street, NW
Washington, D.C., US
Telephone: +1 202 857 7700
Lat/Lon: 38.905653999999998, -77.036534000000003
The inspiring story of students from different backgrounds, learning about each other's world through music.
A showcase of top short films from the popular festival.
Hire a National Geographic speaker for your event.Meet Our Speakers
Book a distinctive setting for your event.Learn About Our Venue
Bring an exhibition to your institution.View Available Exhibitions
Touring floor maps bring memorable education to students.See Our Maps