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|Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute
Eric Carlson
Kilometer — 1,000 meters Hectometer — 100 meters Dekameter — 10 meters Meter — 1 meter Decimeter — 0.1 meter Centimeter — 0.01 meter
There were two important points of simplicity. Its basic units of weight and capacity were directly related to the fundamental linear unit; the liter was a cubic decimeter and the gram, the weight of a cubic centimeter of water. And, all of its secondary units were multiples or divisions by ten of the basic units. All that it is needed to know is the size of a meter, the relationship between meters and units of capacity and mass, and the meaning of the prefixes. The memorizing of the mass of arbitrary and unrelated units such as miles, feet, and acres was unnecessary. The original basis for the meter, the ten millionth of a meridian, proved to be both inaccurate and continuously changing, but that is unimportant. What is important is that most any length would do as long as it was basic to all aspects of the system and was divided and multiplied decimally.
Since the establishment of the International Conference on Weights and Measures, some changes have been made in the metric system, most of them of interest primarily to scientists and engineers. The Standard of the second has been redefined and prefixes have been added for both multiples and subdivisions to extend the scale of measurement. The prefix "tera" before meter or gram means one trillion, "giga" one billion, and "mega" one million. "Micro" means one millionth, "nano" one billionth, and "pico" one trillionth. At its 1960 meeting, the International Convention, which meets every six years, interpreted the metric system in the System International d'Unites, for which the abbreviation is S.I. in all languages. For all purposes other than scientific and advanced technical work this is merely a change in name. Actually, it is a purification and extension of the metric system to make it truly universal.
Through the years, several systems had developed which were all metric but differed in detail in various parts of the world. The S. I. also formalized the extension of the metric system to seven base units. The basic units of the complete S. I. system are:
|Quantity Measured
|Name of Unit
Length — Meter (m) Mass — Kilogram (kg) Time — Second (s) Electric Current — Ampere (A) Temperature — Kelvin (K) Luminous Intensity — Candela (cd)
|Amount of Substance
Energy has many forms, but all energy is basically the product of force and distance and is convertible form one form to another. Thus, the S. I. system uses one unit for all kinds of energy; the "joule" (J) which is the amount of energy needed to push a distance of one meter against a force of one newton.
When Watt perfected the steam engine it replaced the horse so people wanted to know its capabilities in terms of the horse. So engines were rated in horsepower. When the electric motor was invented, its power was named after Watt. No matter what form power takes, it is a rate of generation or dissipation of energy, so the only unit of power in the S. I. system is called the Watt (W) which represents one joule of energy per second. One horsepower is roughly equivalent to 746 Watts.
There is no international standard liter. One liter is slightly larger than the U.S. quart. Precise measurements of volume in science are expressed in cubic centimeters (cm3) or cubic millimeters (mm3).
The most common unit of mass or weight is the kilogram (kg) which equals about 2.2 pounds. Grams (g) and metric tons (t) are also used.
To the general public, most of the history and all but the more basic units of the metric system are unnecessary. Some background and at least a basic awareness of all the components of the metric system are useful for those of us who will teach it.
What does all this mean to teachers of math? First of all, like it or not, this country will eventually join the rest of the world in using the metric system. Thus, we would be doing our students a disservice by not equipping them with the tools necessary to compete in the world. And even though they would learn the metric system without us, by teaching them in a manner in which they can see the usefulness of it, we can go a long way in eliminating the unfavorable way that our students compare in math with students in the rest of the world.
Besides, it's easier. Not only does the aforementioned simplicity make it easier to teach, but also, the areas of the present curriculum which could be eliminated or at least deemphasized would also simplify our jobs. For example, the customary measures as they are now taught could be relegated to the status of simple mention as a historical footnote, or better, eliminated completely. Also, with the system of fractions and the operations using them, reduction to the introduction of the most basic such as halves, thirds, and quarters with a few simple calculations would be sufficient. Who among us hasn't sighed at the frustration of trying to impart the concept of "inverse" when teaching the division of fractions. Time spent on these areas would be greatly reduced allowing more time for concentration on more useful areas.
Certainly, there would also be drawbacks. The major one, of course, is monetary. The expense of converting all packaging, signs, much machinery, etc. would be astronomical. Along with the cost would be the inconvenience. Most of the population has not grown up learning metrics and therefore might find conversion annoying at best. An argument could certainly be made for just allowing the "creeping conversion" now going on to simply continue. At some future time conversion would be complete with far less disruption and cost.
I am of the opinion that compromise is probably the best route to go. Immediate, legislated conversion would not be practical. Yet, by concentrated education of our youth in the metric system, the next generation would hasten and complete the conversion as they assumed roles of responsibility. That brings us back to our unit.
Third-Grade Competencies (age 9)
By the end of the third grade, students should be able to . . .
1. Identify the centimeter and the meter as units of linear measure; identify the kilogram as a unit of weight (mass) measure; and identify the liter as a unit of volume (liquid) measure.
- 2. Distinguish between models of the meter and the centimeter.
- 3. Use a centimeter ruler (without millimeter markings) to measure line segments and linear objects to the nearest centimeter, and to draw a line segment having a given measure in centimeters to the nearest centimeter.
- 4. Identify the unit name associated with each of the symbols cm, m, kg, 1, (but not necessarily reverse the process).
- 5. Find the weight (mass) of an object to the nearest kilogram.
- 6. Distinguish a liter model from another capacity model at least 50 percent larger or smaller; and use a liter container to measure the volume of a liquid or granular substance.
- 7. Read a temperature (positive, zero, and negative) from a Celsius scale thermometer to the nearest degree; and identify a zero Celsius temperature as "freezing" and a negative Celsius temperature as "below freezing".
Sixth-Grade Competencies (age 12)
At the end of the sixth grade, students should be able to . . .
|Select a unit model for each of the units meter, decimeter, centimeter, liter, and kilogram; and measure lengths to the nearest of millimeters.
________10 cm = 1 cm, 100 cm = 1 m, 10 dm = 1 m, and 1000 m = 1 km.
2. Use a meterstick (or other rule) with millimeter markings to measure line segments and linear objects to the nearest tenth of a centimeter, tenth of a decimeter, and tenth of a meter; use the kilometer to describe experience-related travel distances; and apply the following equivalences:
3. Make a direct reading of the weight (mass) measure of an object to the nearest tenth of a kilogram from a scale; read the measure of a liquid or granular substance in a graduated container to the nearest ten milliliters. 4. State application for each metric unit which they have basic familiarity, from areas such as commerce, industry, science, and the arts. 5. Identify the unit name associated with each of the symbols mm, cm, dm, m, km, g, kg, ml, 1, and degrees Celsius, and, in most cases, reverse the process. 6. State that the linear dimensions of the standard model of a square centimeter and a cubic centimeter are 1 cm by 1 cm and 1 cm by 1 cm by 1 cm, respectively; make a similar statement for the dimensions of the standard models of a square and cubic meter. 7. Recognize and apply the following relationships: 1 meter is a little more than a yard, 1 kilometer is a little more than 1/2 mile, 1 kilogram is a little more than 2 pounds, 2.5 cm is about 1 inch, and 1 liter is a little more than 1 quart. This is the extent of conversions between the two systems recommended for the interim changeover period. 8. Relate zero degree Celsius and 100 degrees Celsius to the freezing and boiling temperatures of water; identify 27 degrees Celcius as "normal" body temperature; and identify temperatures in the human "comfort zone" (about 22 to 25 degrees Celcius). 9. Estimate distances up to 5 meters in whole meters and lengths up to 10 centimeters in whole centimeters. 10. Estimate volumes up to 5 liters in whole liters and estimate 250 millimeters (approximately 1 cup). 11. Compute sums and differences of measures expressed in decimal form such as:
|1.36 m
|4.200 1
+ 2.49 m Đ1.600 1 3.85 m 2.600 1
Ninth-Grade Competencies (age 15)
By the end of the ninth grade, students should be able to . . .
1. Arrange in a greater-to less sequence the prefixes kilo, hecto, deca, (unit), deci, centi- and milli and relate them to the multiplication constants 1000, 100, 10 (1), 0.1, 0.01, 0.001; and read lengths directly from a meterstick or metric tape as decimal measures, for example, 37.5 for 375 mm length, or 2.55 m for 255 cm length.
- 2. Select the appropriate type of unit for a given measurement situation, such as linear unit for length, volume unit for volume, weight (mass) unit for weight (mass), and select a convenient size unit for similar situations.
- 3. Convert from one unit to a larger (or smaller) unit of the same type. For example, 136 cm = 1.36 and 25 m = 0.25 km.
- 4. Relate square centimeter, cubic centimeter, square meter, cubic meter, square millimeter, and cubic millimeter to their respective symbols (cm 2, cm, c, m , mm, and mm ).
- 5. Identify the liter as a special name for 1 cubic decimeter (and also for 1000 cubic centimeters); identify 1 cubic centimeter and 1 milliliter as equivalent; and re-name 1000 kilograms as 1 ton (lt) and vice versa.
- 6. Estimate distances up to 100 meters in multiples of 10 meters; and estimate distances up to 100 centimeters in multiples of 10 centimeters.
- 7. Use referents for varying amounts of weight (mass), such as paper clip (about 1 g) a liter of milk (about 1 kg), or personal weight (mass) (perhaps) 50 kg); and give a meaningful referent for 1 kilometer.
- 8. Convert a combination measurement expression to a decimal multiple of one of the two units used such as: 1 m 34 cm = 1.3m ( or 134 cm) and 1 liter 300 ml = 1.3000 liter (or 1300 ml).
- 9. Convert from smaller to larger (or larger to smaller) square and cubic units, such as: 3000 cm = 0.3 m2 or 7500 mm = 7.5 cm3.
One thing that should probably be avoided is teaching conversion from one system to another. This would encourage thinking in both systems. Conversion tables and some simple ability in the process will probably be necessary but beyond that it would only serve to confuse and complicate instruction in the metric system.
Lastly, evaluation should be an important part of the curriculum. Continuous change and improvement will be necessary to provide a better working system. As we learn what works and what doesn't we can accommodate this into our curriculum. It would also be useful to have students evaluate the curriculum so that we may see, from their perspective, what they feel is effective and what isn't.
In English, the idea of prefixes and base words could become a unit. One could assign interviews or letters to persons in science, business, or government relating to the metric system.
In Industrial Arts, comparisons of the advantages and disadvantages of the American system to the metric system, or how elements of the metric system are already in place are possible topics. There could be an investigation into the decision by General Motors to go metric and its ramifications.
The area of homemaking will be greatly affected by the change to the metric system. Many possibilities exist here. Will all measuring utensils and recipes change? Will sizes of clothes necessitate changes of machines and measuring?
Even in the area of physical education, the fact that the rest of the world competes on fields and in events which are measured in metric means that many traditional concepts will have to change. Will Jose Conseco's towering home run be only 120 meters instead of 400 feet. Will Kareem Jabar be a whopping 220 centimeters instead of a mere 7 feet 2 inches?
To introduce the metric system
To show conversion of units by powers of ten
- 1. Briefly explain what the metric system is and how it came about.
- 2. Show how meters, centimeters, and millimeters can be converted using powers of 10. Use a metric ruler and a meter stick for illustration.
- 3. Have students measure various items such as pencils, books, desks, and other students and decide which unit is most appropriate.
- 4. Homework might be to find and measure at least two items appropriate to each unit of measure; meters, centimeters, and millimeters.
To think in metrics
To measure in metrics
To convert from one unit of measure to another
Make a metric scale drawing
3. The following class assignment would be to make a scale drawing to some appropriate scale such as 1 m to 1 cm or 1 m to 5 cm. Additional assignments might include other scale drawings or maps using estimated metric distances.
- 1. Make a meter stick. This could be done in class with various materials. It could also be an assignment for an industrial arts class.
- 2. Students would be instructed to measure their house or some area of it. (They might practice by measuring the classroom or hallway.)
Another assignment might be the construction of a measuring wheel. The dimensions might be calculated in class while the actual construction could take place at home or in industrial arts.
To understand the size of an atom
To multiply and divide by powers of ten To practice estimation
Materials needed
Film "Powers of Ten" (available from the central A.V. office)
- 1. Review the fact that the metric base unit of length is the meter and show the meter stick so there a concrete display of size.
- 2. Discuss the concept of atoms so that students are aware that everything is made up of atoms. This might lead to discussions of the states of matter or similar things.
- 3. Show the film "Powers of Ten" and discuss.
- 4. Discuss the fact that, in metrics, different units result from multiplying or dividing by powers of ten. Thus a meter divided by ten equals a decimeter which divided by ten equals a centimeter and so on. So, if a meter divided into a thousand parts equals a millimeter, then a millimeter divided into 10 million parts is roughly the size of an atom; or mathematically an atom equals
- ____If the concept of negative powers of ten has been introduced, then it can be shown as 10 m or 10 mm. Remind students that when numbers are expressed as powers of ten and multiplied or divided, the exponents are simply added or subtracted.
- 5. Moving on to a concrete representation of the relative sizes, suppose that a grain of sand is i mm long. Then in the length of 1 grain of sand there would be 10,000,000 atoms or 107. But, because the grain of sand also has width and height, it would be 107 wide and 107 high. Knowing that volume equals length times width times height (v=lwh) then 107 107 107 =1021 or 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 atoms in a grain of sand. This should give students the idea of just how miniscule an atom is. Another way to say it would be to figure a trip to the sun. If the sun is roughly 100,000,000 km away, how far would a journey equal to the length of 1 atom be? (100,000,000 km = 108 km = 1011m divided by 1010 which is the number of atoms in a meter gives us 101 or 10 meters in our journey to the sun.)
- ________A possible assignment might be to have students think of other situations which might lend themselves to estimation, powers of ten and the atom.
Kemp, Albert F. and Richards, Thomas J. The Metric System Made Simple Laidlaw Brothers, 1973
Consumers Association of Canada, "Metrics and Measurements" and "S.I. is Simple" from Canadian Consumer Jan. and Nov. 1972
The World Book Encyclopedia, "Metrics" 1977
The Mafex Teacher's Press "The Painless Metric System" from Metric Idea Exchange, Area Cooperative Educational Services, Nov. 1978
National Bureau of Standards Technical News Bulletin, "The Metric Changeover" Vol. 57, No. 5
For Reading
Donovan, Frank Prepare Now For A Metric Future, Web and Talley, N.Y. 1970 (good for history, advantages, and disadvantages of metrics)
Kemp, Albert F. and Richards, Thomas J. The Metric System Made Simple Laidlaw Brothers, 1973 (good for brief explanations and examples)
Consumer's Association of Canada, "Metrics and Measurements" and "S. I. Is Simple" from Canadian Consumer, Jan. and Nov. 1972 (shows how Canada handled conversion)
Holden, Alan The Nature of Solids Columbia University Press, 1972 (deep, but shows scientific application)
National Bureau of Standards Technical News Bulletin, "The Metric Changeover" Vol. 57 No. 5 Pgs. 103-106 (discusses America's progress toward change)
Kemp, Albert F. and Richards, Thomas J. The Metric System Made Simple Laidlaw Brothers, 1973 (good for brief explanations and examples)
Consumer's Association of Canada, "Metrics and Measurements" and "S. I. Is Simple" from Canadian Consumer, Jan. and Nov. 1972 (shows how Canada handled conversion)
Holden, Alan The Nature of Solids Columbia University Press, 1972 (deep, but shows scientific application)
National Bureau of Standards Technical News Bulletin, "The Metric Changeover" Vol. 57 No. 5 Pgs. 103-106 (discusses America's progress toward change)
Szabo, Dr. Michael and Trueblood, Dr. Cecil R. A K-12 Curriculum Activities Handbook for Teachers The Norhteastern Metric Educational Consortium, 1977 (sample activities for all grade levels in all disciplines)
Evans, Richard, Wixon, Edwin, and Hanson,Susan Make Your Own Metric Measuring Aids Area Cooperative Educational Services (ACES) (excellent for all levels)
These last two plus a number of "Metric Idea Exchange" pamphlets which contain topical articles on the metric system are available from the ACES office at 800 Dixwell Ave. in New Haven. There are also numerous publishers and supply catalogs offering metric materials such as Education Supplements, 163 Westport Ave., Norwalk, Conn. 06851, and Enrich, 760 Kifer Rd., Sunnyvale, CA. 94086. I haven't reviewed these materials.
Also, SNET Co. published a nice little metric conversion booklet but I'm not sure it's still available.
Available from Cooper Group
P.O. Box 728
Apex, N.C. 27502
Metric Packet
National Bureau of Standards Metric Information Office
Washington, D.C. 20234
The United States Metric System
Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
Minneapolis, Mn. 55480
Contents of 1989 Volume VI | Directory of Volumes | Index | Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute


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Former Vikings Mascot Dons Cheesehead Before Border BattleRagnar, the former Vikings mascot who used to appear at home games wearing a horned helmet, donned another piece of headwear ahead of Sunday night's division-title deciding game at Lambeau Field – a cheesehead.
Vikings, Packers Ready To Face Off For NFC North Title At Lambeau FieldTo put it quite simply, Sunday is the biggest Vikings game in years -- a win would give them their first division title since 2009.
Vikings Fans Gearing Up For Border Battle In Green BayThe purple and gold head to Green Bay for the final game of the regular season. The NFC North championship is on the line with both teams tied this season at 10 and 5.
Lambeau Field Needs Volunteers For 2nd Day of ShovelingShovelers will be back at it again getting Lambeau Field clear of snow before Sunday night's showdown between the Green Bay Packers and the Minnesota Vikings. More than 800 shovelers turned out Thursday to help prepare the stadium.
Lambeau Needs Snow Shovelers Before Vikings-Packers GameLambeau Field is looking for shovelers to clear snow ahead of Sunday night's regular season finale between the Green Bay Packers and the Minnesota Vikings. A snowstorm dumped more than 13 inches of snow on Green Bay earlier this week.
Favre To Be Honored During Thanksgiving Packers Game A prime-time game between the longtime NFC North rivals Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers is usually enough to make for must-watch viewing on Thanksgiving.
Rodgers Calls Out Lambeau Fan For 'Prejudicial Ideology'Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was not pleased with the fan at Lambeau Field who shouted during Sunday's moment of silence before the game against Detroit.
Brett Favre Returns To Lambeau For Packers Hall Of FameBrett Favre headed up the Lambeau Field tunnel, a path that he had walked dozens of times.
Tickets For Favre Induction Ceremony Sell OutProceeds from ticket sales to watch Brett Favre's induction into the Green Bay Packers' Hall of Fame on the Lambeau Field video boards will benefit his charity — Favre 4 Hope. Those tickets at $4 a piece went sale at 10 a.m. Tuesday. As of Wednesday, all 67,000 tickets had been sold. The banquet and ceremony will be held in the stadium atrium on July 18. More than 1,600 will attend that sold-out event.
Packers Will Retire Favre's Jersey On ThanksgivingThe Green Bay Packers will give thanks to Brett Favre during their Thanksgiving night game. The Packers announced Monday what had been long expected: Favre's dark green No. 4 jersey will be unveiled on the north facade of Lambeau Field at halftime of the Nov. 26 game against the rival Chicago Bears.
Wisconsin Senate To Consider Right-To-Work LegislationThe Wisconsin Senate is set to dive into what could be a fierce debate on a Republican right-to-work bill after an evening of bitter protests over the legislation at the state Capitol.
Green Bay Packers Inury Report: Rodgers, Lacy Probable For NFC Title GameThe Green Bay Packers listed both their starting quarterback (Aaron Rodgers) and running back (Eddie Lacy) on the injury report as limited participants in Thursday's practice. The team estimated that the two players would have been limited on Friday as well and gave both a probable chance to play on Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks at CenturyLink Field in the NFC championship game. The Packers list four players on their injury report and the Seahawks list seven (two not injury related) on theirs.

subset: commoncrawl


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Gat is back! Many fans were left awestruck in Saints Row: The Third when the beloved Saints member, Johnny Gat, lost his life to protect the player. Now this August Gat will return to fight the alien menace in Saints Row IV.
The new game trailer revealing the return of Johnny shows the main character taking a trip through an alien facility. The place is littered with dead bodies, killing by someone other than the player it is assumed. This is when we come upon the naked, goo-soaked form of Johnny Gat dispatching Zin combatants.
From here once can only imagine what kind of insane carnage is about to ensue. With Gat revived and itching to cause some havoc, Saints Row IV is looking a lot better.
Saints Row IV will be released August 20th for the PlayStation 3, PC, and Xbox 360.


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DC Council makes major policy changes overnight
Virginia and Maryland changed their gas taxes this year. Both proposals included weeks or months of debate, including public hearings before the legislature. DC made a similar change yesterday. The total time from the first news story about it to final vote? Less than a day.
In DC's budget process, the mayor releases a proposed budget. Various council committees hold hearings over a period of weeks on their portions of the budget. Committee chairs then schedule markups, and just before the markups, release a draft of what they plan to change.
If the committee approves the changes, they all go to the council chairman, who then tries to assemble them into a budget. Habitually, the chairman releases his own budget late the night before the council is set to vote on the budget. If unexpected changes come up, that gives little time for residents to contact their councilmembers.
When then-Chairman Gray decided to cut streetcar funding in 2010, for instance, most councilmembers found out that morning. In a very short time, we, other blogs, residents using social media, and others were able to spread the word, which drove 1,000 calls to the chairman's office in just 3 hours. Even so, it wasn't in time to stop the Council from cutting the streetcar program. Instead, after lunch, they had to take a separate vote to restore the funding.
At each phase of the process, new ideas come up, and there is less time to react. There's plenty of opportunity to weigh in on the mayor's budget. But committee chairs don't publicly circulate a draft of the changes they're thinking about before any hearing. Most residents found out, for instance, about Mary Cheh's plan to extend the Circulator to the Cathedral, Howard University, and Waterfront Metro, and pay for it with a fare increase, the night before or day of her committee's vote.
Residents still had time to lobby council to reverse changes, as happened when Muriel Bowser suddenly and unexpectedly sliced funding for a Capitol Riverfront development project in favor of Ward 4 projects. After considerable pushback, Mendelson reversed part of that change yesterday.
But any ideas that come from the chairman have virtually no opportunity for public input. For some changes, those which are changes to the law to support the budget rather than the budget itself, the council has to pass its Budget Support Act twice, so the council could change things on its second reading. Still, that's more difficult; members have already voted for something by that time.
This year, Chairman Phil Mendelson's surprise budget changes went beyond just adding or removing funding for programs. He made some significant policy changes, like the gas tax. Other amendments put new requirements on government agencies' ability to execute programs that already exist. We'll talk about some of those next week.
If the Council restructured the gas tax or made other changes in a standalone bill, there would have to be a hearing, a markup, and two votes. But if the chairman slips a change into the budget the night before the budget vote, it means no hearing, no markup, and virtually no time for residents to weigh in.
Chairman Mendelson is very smart, but he can't think of every implication of a policy. The gas tax switch might be a good idea, but that's not the point. Maybe people have arguments against it that I haven't heard, or Mendelson's staff hasn't heard. Even if it's the right choice, it's dangerous to make even a good move so hastily.
There's a reason the legislative process is supposed to take some time. Residents need an opportunity to see the chairman's final proposal, plus any amendments members plan to introduce, more than a few hours before the vote.
And even a day or two still isn't the right amount for changes that go beyond simply deciding how much money to spend on what programs. Changes like the gas tax shift deserve to at least be part of a committee markup; most likely, changes of such significance ought to happen in standalone bills that get their own hearings and real deliberative thought.
Then again, perhaps it makes the case convincingly to a Congress that often proceeds similarly.
For example, the public has been aware for weeks that the Mayor proposed to reopen a gaping hole in our tax policy that allows wealthy residents to shelter hundreds of millions of dollars of income from any tax. That gaping hole is the tax exemption for out-of-state bonds, aka non-DC municipal bonds. By recreating that tax exemption, the Mayor and the Chairman and every Councilmember deliberately decided to allow a tiny number of millionaires (81, according to DCFPI) to shelter $162 million of tax-exempt interest on those bonds from all DC taxes.
Our government nakedly panders to and pays off the wealthy minority. That is the corrupt RESULT. They accomplished that result out in the open, with weeks of advance warning. That result matters far more than other minor policy changes achieved by secret or corrupt methods. The tax shelter was re-established publicly, in our face, without a single dissenting voice on Council.
(The special wrinkle snuck into that tax shelter by Jack Evans, which may allow the millionaires to demand a REFUND of any bond tax they paid, is an egregious abuse of both process and policy -- but all of Evans's committee members voted for that stealth amendment, when they could have stopped it.)
OTOH, DC is a unitary government and in good ways it means that theoretically we could do really great, innovative stuff, because we don't have to get permission from a state legislature first. (That's the problem in Virginia and New York State for example. In NYS, for NYC to test congestion pricing, they needed state legislative approval and they couldn't get it.)
by Richard Layman on May 23, 2013 3:11 pm • link • report
These last-minute changes are a problem for the Council. They should not accept from their chairman that he makes such large and sudden changes overnight. In fact, they should not accept that that they can be confronted with such sudden changes and demand more time to review his proposal.
If I'm not mistaken, VA did. The gov proposed a bunch of nonsense, everybody freaked out, his plans were changed, and in the end a whole lot of it passed anyway.
VA has a similar problem. They convene only a month of two a year, and then need to ram through a year's worth of laws. Every time this leads to a whole lot of messy law-making with many surprised and disappointments.
DC may be corrupt, but VA lives four centuries in the past, and thinks it can manage a state of 8 million the way a bunch of rich slave-owning farmers ran their agricultural commonwealth.
And democracy has not gained a whole lot either in those 400 years, because they just eliminated the primaries by reducing the number of participants to one. And it's not they came up with nice reasonable candidates.
But I don't actually disagree with your post, which raises good points. Just another way to see the same issue.
VA has a similar problem. They convene only a month of two a year, and then need to ram through a year's worth of laws.
Fair enough, a lot of stuff can pass without people noticing if they aren't paying attention. The transportation bill did take a lot of time though. And its much better than what was proposed (but not nearly enough for what's actually needed).
The difference is that the Council Chair can basically rewrite what he wants and then submit it as the same bill, without going through a committee or amendment process.
Also DC's population is 1/10 the size of Maryland or Virginia. MD and VA are also more diverse.
And I agree that the municipal bonds tax cut (the only place in the country where theyre tax free!) is a disgusting giveaway to millionaires.
DC's Office of the CFO (OCFO) Office of Finance & Treasury (OFT) actually enforces and tracks a "designation policy" for what it calls "negotiated bond transactions. As part of that policy OFT created a category called "DC Retail," by which it gives first dibs on certain bond issues to DC residents.
OFT has not published the tracking data on its website yet, but govt sources made it available during the current budget cycle. In the past two most recent years, OFT reported that the volume of orders with DC zip codes was $288 million and the volume of allotments with DC zip codes was $250 million. It's not conclusive, and it's based on certain loose assumptions, but the data shows that there is a deep supply of DC-issued tax-exempt bonds, and implies that most DC residents who want to are able to purchase them.
To the extent there is a true unsatisfied demand by DC residents for DC bonds, OFT could be required to allot all bonds only to DC residents until the unmet demand is filled.
Check out OFT's segment of the OCFO website here:
OFT links to the "Buy DC Bonds" site which provides a detailed explanation of the "Retail Order period" which gives priority to DC residents:
http://www.buydcbonds.com/Buy%20DC%20Bonds.htm (first graf under "How to Buy DC Bonds - Primary Market")
Another dollar onto the federal gas-tax would be an absolute god-send.
We must be the only first-world country in the world where we still have to subsidize roads, as opposed to roads subsidizing other things.
by Randall M. on May 23, 2013 5:09 pm • link • report
Agree with Green Eyeshade. I just logged into my Vanguard account and would have been able to buy DC Munis with no hoops to jump through.
I suspect this tax has a lot to do with Mamo since it will now be on his monopoly wholesale business.
@Randall M. this will sound like I am nit-picking, which I regret. You are half correct. There will in fact be a second vote on one of the budget bills, which is called the Budget Support Act (BSA) (this year's BSA is Bill B20-199). The BSA contains a great deal of policy meddling, including the repeal of the tax on non-DC munis, the offsetting of traffic fines by online sales tax revenue, the dedication by Jack Evans of a portion of sales tax revenue to the DC Arts Commission, and many other changes in substantive law and the DC tax code.
But the actual appropriations for next fiscal year (FY 2014), i.e., the actual designation of dollar amounts to specific functions and specific agencies, were executed by the Budget Request Act (BRA) (this year's BRA is Bill B20-198). The BRA is done. It gets only one "reading" and one vote. That single vote was yesterday (May 22). The BRA now goes to Congress for its review. There will not be a second vote on the BRA. There are a few changes to substantive law in the BRA, in addition to the appropriations, such as Council's declaration of budget autonomy, and Council's refusal to allow the Mayor to dodge payment of overtime that firefighters already earned.
Council could, if a super-majority were moved to do so, take emergency action to supplement the BRA for FY 2014 at any point during next fiscal year. They just did that for the FY 2013 budget request on May 7, i.e., passed supplemental appropriations mid-way through the fiscal year.
Not to re-argue the whole municipal bond issue, elements of the DCFPI blog were erroneous.
Beyond that, while there were a few millionaires whose investment income is sheltered, there are over 11,000 bond holders in the city. Why is it fair to prosecute the other 10,900 at the expense of the 100 who really benefit?
Further, the issue of bond funds, and the proposed threshold differences made the entire issue much more complicated, by treating people differently based on ambiguous rules.
Ultimately, as I have suggested previously, the whole question of taxes and policy for seniors needs to be examined comprehensively. Councilmember Bonds floated one proposal, which has been discussed here already. They District needs to determine if it wants to be a jurisdiction that attracts and retains seniors and empty-nesters, or if it wants to be a jurisdiction hostile to such residents.
I believe New York City learned a long time ago that the positives of having this demographic in their city far outweighed the negatives. After all, this is generally a group of people that are not a burden on city services, yet contribute significantly in property, sales and other income taxes.
FWIW, Chairman Mendelson is not the only one doing this. So are other councilmembers. But the general point pertains, that new policies should be passed through legislation, not the budget.
FWIW/2, this was the same process followed by then CM M. Brown, and his legalization of "online gaming" with no originating legislation or public hearing process.
And these kinds of new policies should not be able to be enacted without hearings, even if, in the case of the gas tax change, it's actually a good way to do things.
by Richard Layman on May 23, 2013 9:54 pm • link • report
I take exception to this. The gas tax is a perfect example of the very worst of this broken process, the same process you are complaining about. The tax is inserted without hearing, with CM Mendelson explaining that it will be revenue-neutral and stabilize the receipts. In fact, the opposite is true: the receipts will fluctuate tremendously, and in the likely event that the price declines due to decreased consumption or increased supplies, the revenue will decrease.
This would be obvious to anyone that has actually looked at the data: the gas price fluctuates dramatically, while consumption is very steady. Obviously our esteemed City Council Chair did NOT look at the data.
The rash action of discarding a tax that has worked well since the 1930s, replacing it with something that without deliberation, is foolhardy. Mendo lost my vote for this sort of behavior.
We must be the only first-world country in the world where we still have to subsidize roads, as opposed to roads subsidizing other things.
So the Dulles Toll Road users who are paying 52% of the cost of building the Silver Line are "being subsidized instead of subsidizing other things"
Thanks for clearing that up.
2. WRT your point about gas price fluctuation, you are more right than wrong. However, I think it's fair to expect that gas prices will remain at a floor price in excess of $3 per gallon, so that it is likely that this method of pricing will collect more revenue. To ensure it will, it should be set at the right percentage.
Although I tend to believe that with increased oil (and natural gas) production in the US and Canada as a result of fracking that prices are likely to stabilize. BUT they probably won't decrease all that much because prices are set according to global demand which is still steady.
3. And with your point and the general argument, e.g., did the right kind and depth of research get done before this change was enacted, again this is an illustration of why these kinds of changes shouldn't be enacted through the budget process.
by Richard Layman on May 24, 2013 7:00 am • link • report
The new tax is more like a sales or income tax; it is not a use fee. This way of financing maintenance is just all wrong.
It's a long time since I've looked into it. To maintain the system, the charge should be about 10 to 15 cents per mile. To expand the system it should be more.
Granted you have to combine the federal and state tax. Say it's 50 cents/gallon. If you get 24 miles to the gallon, then the tax should be at least $2.40 to pay for adequate maintenance of the system.
So you can see why I favor (even though when I drive it would cost me more money) a higher tax.
by Richard Layman on May 24, 2013 8:49 am • link • report
The gas tax may have been rhetorically and politically described as a user fee, but it is and always has been a tax. And, as Richard notes, for it to really cover costs, it would have to be a lot higher.
At a certain point of density in a city-state like DC, fuel tax receipts won't cover the total transportation network, with so many using metro. Alternate revenue sources are needed; this does not mean that the gas "use fee" should be abandoned.
Of course, no sense abandoning this "use fee"
The issue is, to raise the appropriate amount of money would mean raising the DC gas tax by a dollar. If gas in DC is $1.30 (instead of just .30$) more than in MD and VA, our gas sales go down to next to nothing. We will need revenue from other sources, but they also need to try and optimize gas tax revenues to maximize revenue.
If back room dealing was a disqualifier for statehood, we'd have a lot fewer states. Stop applying an unfair double standard to DC. There are plenty of places as corrupt as DC that have the privileges that statehood affords. There are also plenty of upstanding citizens here who deserve the privileges that statehood affords.
The notion that requiring all income to be reported as ordinary income is would "prosecute" anyone is laughable and defines you as a millionaire-coddler. The millionaires always hide behind the fake argument that innocent retirees and "seniors" will be hurt when in fact the greedy millionaires believe they have a moral right not to be taxed, ever, and that any increase in taxes is a punitive "prosecution."
You also said this wrong thing: "Further, the issue of bond funds, and the proposed threshold differences made the entire issue much more complicated, by treating people differently based on ambiguous rules." There were no written, formal "proposed threshold differences" offered by any Councilmember. Nobody debated it. There was no hearing. There was no discussion of the bond tax repeal when Jack Evans marked up the finance & revenue title of the budget support act. He even made the repeal of the bond tax RETROACTIVE with not a peep of protest from any other Councilmember on his committee (May 8 markup).
Even if "threshold differences" had been introduced, they would not have been unprecedented or shocking. They are known as "income tax brackets." We have several of them (not enough). For example, the cap on deductions starts at the "threshold" of $200,000 of AGI. Is that "ambiguous?" Funny you should imply that tax brackets are too ambiguous to be enforced, OCFO refutes that every time they issue a revenue estimate.
And if you meant that the "grandfather" clause introduced ambiguous "threshold differences," i.e., the cutoff date for which bonds would remain exempt, well the defenders of the tax shelter are the ones who created those ambiguities. Grandfathering previously purchased bonds was purely a fig leaf. Now you are wringing your hands over that fig leaf being too "ambiguous" (unless it was just the tax brackets that you were whining about).
Incidentally, @Andrew on May 23, 2013 8:38 pm, whichever "blog" by DCFPI you were referring to, nobody disputes the following data. No Councilmember or member of the press challenged this data after it was presented in DCFPI's testimony to Council prior to the May 7 vote on the FY 2013 supplemental budget.
In 2010, Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) did NOT, by definition, include any tax-exempt interest because it was excluded from ordinary income under DC tax law.
Federal Tax Returns Reporting Tax-Exempt Interest
all taxpayers, 327,755 returns, total AGI $23.8 BILLION
filers with tax-exempt interest, 18,048 returns, total AGI $5.7 BILLION (5.5% of filers but 24% of total AGI)
Tax-Exempt Interest Filers by AGI
$0-50K........3,020 filers (16.7%); total AGI negative $152 million, $21 million tax-exempt interest (average $7K/filer)
$50K-200K.....8,692 filers (48.2%); total AGI $990 million, $69 million tax-exempt interest (average $8K/filer)
$200K-500K....4,183 filers (23.2%); total AGI $1.3 BILLION, $114.5 million tax-exempt interest (average $27K/filer)
>$500K........2,153 filers (11.9%); total AGI $3.6 BILLION, $170.5 million tax-exempt interest (average $79K/filer)
Filers With at Least One-Third of Income from Tax-Exempt Interest (By AGI)
$0-50K: 338 filers (51.5%); total AGI $3.5 million; tax-exempt interest $12.6 million (avg. $37K/filer)
$50K-200K: 237 filers (36.1%); total AGI $23.9 million; tax-exempt interest $27 million (avg. $114K/filer)
$200K-500K: 57 filers (8.7%); total AGI $17.3 million; tax-exempt interest $74.8 million (avg. $1.3 MILLION/filer)
>$500K: 24 filers (3.7%); total AGI $22.8 million; tax-exempt interest $87.4 million (avg. $3.6 MILLION/filer)
What the above data reveal: of the 18,048 filers in Part One, Part Two shows that only 35% of them had AGI of $200K or more, in ADDITION to their tax-exempt interest income. That minority of 35% collectively received $285 MILLION in tax-exempt interest in 2010, which would have generated tax revenue at current rates (8.95%) of $25.5 MILLION. Also, only a very tiny minority of all filers receiving tax-exempt interest (only 656 out of 18,048, or 3.6%) received a significant portion of their income (one-third or more) from tax-exempt interest in 2010. In that year, an even tinier minority (only 81 out of 18,048, or four-tenths of one percent) received an astonishing $162 million in tax-exempt interest, which would have generated $14.5 million in tax revenues.
Add a Comment
- In defense of "political theater" for Metro
- Should a "historic gas station" keep new housing units from going up in Dupont?
- Where is Falls Church, exactly?
- Is new housing, most of it for low-income residents, worth giving up an acre of park space?
- A developer has agreed to build shorter and less dense than the law allows, but neighbors are still fighting it
- Are public spaces really public when not everybody can use them?
- Think you know Metro? It's whichWMATA week 96


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In the winter of 1996, work began on the development of our first vineyard, Redwind.
Further purchases in 1997 and 2001 saw the development of two new vineyards, Kurrawyba and Manjalda, in McLaren Flat and McLaren Vale.
Working closely with our viticulturist and winemakers, the quality of fruit was such that our first commercial release, the 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon, was awarded Wine of the Year at the prestigious McLaren Vale Wine Show. This wine, coupled with our 2001 Shiraz, was the first to be selected by Dan Philips of The Grateful Palate, for distribution in the United States.
We will continue to produce wines that are testimony to McLaren Vale's great reputation.
Enjoy. View all Shirvington Wines
About McLaren ValeView a map of McLaren Vale wineries
McLaren Vale is home to the oldest Australian vineyard, with grapes planted in 1838. It's a coastal area with the Indian Ocean bordering the west, which contributes a cooling factor that prevents the grapes from getting too hot. In all, the climate is a perfect one for the vines.


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Kai 'Oswald' Joins the WebStack Team
By pelegri on Aug 09, 2009
More good news around the WebStack team: Kai 'Oswald' Seidler, of Apache Friends and XAMPP fame, has joined the team - see Kai's post (German, mock-english). XAMPP is one of the (the?) most popular WAMP Distros (see Google Trend), and Kai will now be able to work full-time on it.
I talked with Kai a few months ago and enjoyed our phone chat a lot but, unfortunately, I was away when he visited Santa Clara recently (photo gallery). One of the topics during the trip was how to leverage the WebStack and the XAMPP efforts; stay tuned for news on that.
Welcome to the team, Kai!


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Say it with beauty.
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
All products click through to their product page at Sephora.
All products click through to their product page at Sephora.
Holiday looks tend to be pretty standard–opaque red lips, black winged liner, probably some shimmer,–but here's something you might not have tried before.
With soft burgundy winged liner and a warm/neutral smokey eye, it's a little less LOOK MOM, CHRISTMAS! and a little more this-non-denominational-holiday-party-is-too-hipster-for-you.
Then again, that's not necessarily a good thing. Either way; I hope you're having a wonderful holiday season so far, whether that means massive extended-family-and-friends celebrations or just a few wonderful days without work! (Or neither, but hopefully it will still involve cookies.)
Conceal and prime, then use an all over eye or blending brush to create a sheer, warm-neutral smokey eye. (This is the Clarins Odyssey palette that reviewed on theNotice last week — it's a great pick for a palette that "feels" warm without actually being too warm.)
Add a bit of shimmer to the middle of the lid to keep it from looking too drab (I love Clarins quads for this), and finish by taking a burgundy or wine-coloured eyeshadow along the upper lashline & into a wing. For an eyeliner flick with a bit more intensity and better wear, use a stiff angled eyeliner brush moistened with a bit of water or setting spray to apply the line.
From there, just polish up the look with defined brows and plenty of mascara!
A quick, silly snapshot of the Bite Beauty Bite Size Discovery Set ($25 USD/$29 CAD), because what are the holidays without a few tongue-in-cheek Photoshop brushes?
I'm three-fifths through these little guys, and haven't found an unflattering shade thus far. The set itself recently sold out online, but the shades themselves are permanent — more photos & swatches when I get a chance. If you can't find all five in-store, the individual shades are well worth picking up, too!
(The Bite Size Discovery Set includes Bite Beauty Luminous Creme Lipsticks in Retsina, Musk, Shiraz, Fig, and Pomegranate, from left to right in the photo above.)
I'll be the first to admit that I'm awful at planning things in advance, as you might have noticed. (Full disclosure; I managed to schedule tomorrow's review for this morning. It was up for a little over three hours, so if any of you are wondering where it went — well, went to go hide behind Nov. 1st for the meantime.)
So, here's one for all of you who want a cool, wearable Halloween look that requires almost no planning. Because, let's be honest, sometimes planning is just one of those things that should (but totally never manages to) happen.
Not just easy to co-ordinate, this look is pretty easy to assemble, too. Start out with a basic face; medium-coverage foundation; plenty of powder and contouring. The lip and cheek colours are up to you (I love a good reddish lip in the fall), as is the brow shape — just make sure to fill them; with a focal point away from your eyes, you'll want to make sure they're still adequately framed.
If you're adding illuminator to your cheekbones, try to pick a powder product to get better wear out of the stars.
Start your eyes with a basic, matte smokey eye, then add a little bit of interest for Halloween's sake. I went with a metallic gold, lining my upper lashline with LUSH Fantasy & taking Fyrinnae Polar Bear through the inner corners. Then, after mascara, I took Fantasy along a few of the tips of my upper lashes, too. (You can see it more in the flash photo, later in this post.)
Another option that's just as easy is to sparkle with pointed intent — pick a loose pigment with a larger particle size of shimmer, then pat it onto the middle of your lids and/or the inner corners. Don't blend it too well, leaving it instead to juxtapose with the matte lid shades, and choose something with coloured reflects (eg. red at an angle or with flash, but unnoticeable straight-on) for extra impact.
From there, grab some lash glue & craft store confetti to take the look from pretty to Halloween-levels-of-awesome. I kind of cheated on both, to be honest; instead of lash glue, I used an Annabelle Glitterama Liquid Eyeliner (glitter liners are my stash secret for when I'm out of proper fixatives) & picked the gold and silver stars out of a rainbow mix of loose stars.
What? It's not poor planning; it's totally innovation.
Okay, so this isn't the look that I'm dying to share with you (that one should be up soon, though; maybe next week?) but it's a look nonetheless! I did a green-and-gold tutorial for She Said Beauty this week, inspired by the image below of Jessica Chastain at this year's Cannes festival. It… well, to be totally honest, it turned out completely different from her look, but I guess that's why they say "inspired," right?
Anyhow; I'm going to go lament the fact that I don't look at all like Chastain (and for that matter, Michael-bloody-Fassbender; it's is extremely unfair that we can't all have faces chiseled out of stone) by eating copious amounts of inappropriate starches (and, seriously, if anyone caught that reference, you can be my new best friend) in the corner.
This round of the Lipstick Bandits is all about layering lip products – one of my favourite pastimes! (Oh, the lives of beauty bloggers. I mean, gosh, how thrilling, right?)
(But no, seriously. I'm really into layering products; it's ridiculous.)
The challenge was to find a red lip colour, preferably a lipstick, then layer a shimmery, sparkly, or glittery product overtop. I had a bit of a swatch fest with Annabelle Rouge Velours Lipstick in Adrenaline as my base colour, but alas…
…I didn't end up going with any of those combinations.
Swatched R-L: Clarins Rouge Prodige Lipstick in Passion Rose, Clinique Lip Smoothie in Strawberry Bliss, Korres Cherry Lipgloss in Rose and Fuchsia, Benefit Ultra Shine Lipgloss in So Frisk Me.
Even after all that (and taking two full photo sets of Adrenaline + Korres Fuchsia), I ended up going with a new find that I can't get enough of – the Bite High Pigment Lip Pencil in Pomegranate. (Review here). After a quick layer of Pomegranate, I layered Stila's Brown Sugar Lip Glaze overtop for a bit of shimmer and shine. In retrospect, though, I should have picked something with larger shimmer particles – the change in texture is obvious, of course, but I feel like the shimmer could have "popped" more!
LEFT: Bite Pomegranate (only) / RIGHT: Bite Pomegranate + Stila Brown Sugar
LEFT: Bite Pomegranate / MIDDLE: Bite Pomegranate & Stila Brown Sugar / RIGHT: Stila Brown Sugar


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In response to the extreme poverty in the townships, Dennis Shaughnessy has established the Ubuntu Fund, which provides seed money to entrepreneurs and emergency food money to South African business students.
One of the founding principles of post-apartheid South Africa, "ubuntu" is a Bantu word that translates loosely into "I am because you are." According to Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu, the word captures a fundamental African belief that a person can only find fulfillment by interacting with and supporting others.
The Ubuntu Fund, which is fueled by donors to Northeastern's Social Enterprise Institute, was inspired, in part, by a student whom Shaughnessy described as one of the top South African students he has worked with since the program began.
According to Shaughnessy, the student (who asked not to be identified) walked and hitchhiked more than 2,000 miles from Rwanda to attend college. He said the student has frequently been homeless and earns food money by hiring himself out to wealthy South Africans to watch their cars at night to make sure they aren't broken into.
For graduation, the student put aside his torn jeans and hoodie for a rented suit.
"He is a very proud man," says Shaughnessy. "He wouldn't let the American students see his circumstances because, as he put it, 'Those are just circumstances; they are not who I am."


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|CHAPMAN v. DECROW
|Detailed Discussion of Maine Great Ape Laws
|The following article discusses Maine Great Ape law. While Maine does not ban the private possession of great apes, the state only issues licenses to keep apes to a select few. The state of Maine controls possession and importation of great apes under its exotic pet law and accompanying regulations.Private possession of great apes in the state is allowed but quite limited. However, state law and accompanying regulations clearly allow the use of apes and other wild animals in exhibitions, wildlife rehabilitation, and research facilities. While these regulations specifically address the caging requirements for great apes, enforcement and inspection provisions are vague. As is true with many states, there is not an overall law that directly addresses the possession of apes or the specific needs of apes in captivity.
|Maine Laws: Chapter 182 'Lands reserved for public uses.'
|Maine: An Act against Sodomy and Bestiality.
|ME - Assistance Animal - Assistance Animal/Guide Dog Laws
|ME - Blue Hill - Local Food and Community Self-Governance Ordinance of 2011
|ME - Breeder - Chapter 701. Rules Governing Animal Welfare
|ME - Cat - Consolidated Cat Laws
|ME - Cruelty - Consolidated Cruelty Statutes
|ME - Dog, Dangerous - Maine Dangerous Dog Laws


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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8
February 1, 2010
The annual Snowsports Industries America trade show, a gathering of the ski and snowboard industries' athletes, retailers, media, and manufacturers, is taking place right now in Denver, Colorado. We've been walking the floors to check out all the best gear for winter 2010-11, including a jacket with doughnut graphics and ski socks covered with eggs and bacon.
February 18, 2004
Hot List
February 26, 2000
First Tracks


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Nutritious Slow-Cooker Recipes
Cooking Light is working with the Partnership for a Healthier America and USDA's MyPlate to give anyone looking for healthier options access to thousands of recipes that will help them create healthy, tasty plates. For more information about creating a healthy plate, visit www.choosemyplate.gov. Find recipes at http://pinterest.com/MyPlateRecipes/.
Protein and vegetables are both key components to this healthy-eating initiative. Our delicious slow-cooker recipes enable you to easily incorporate one or both of these ingredients into a hearty dish that is full of flavor and rich in nutrients.
First up is our Company Pot Roast. Though this delicious meal takes some planning ahead, you'll be glad when you can spend the time before dinner chatting with family and friends instead of busily running around the kitchen. Use leftover meat and gravy to make great roast beef sandwiches the next day.


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We are a family owned business on the Northern Beaches of Sydney with over 30 years' experience in specialist carpet, tile, upholstery, rug & leather cleaning services for both residential & commercial properties. We also offer exceptional flood remediation and water damage services.
What we do?
Contact UsContact Us with any questions, we...
Soft SurfacesFabric Sofas Fabric Chairs Leather Lounges...
Floor surfacesCarpets Tiles Rugs Professionals in an...
30 Years Strong
In 1985, Devine Carpet Care was started by a newly married couple who had just moved to the Northern Beaches. Frank and Raja's business grew primarily from word of mouth as their reputation for quality workmanship spread.
2 children, their marriages and now grandchildren mixed in with an explosive business of carpet, leather, tile and rug cleaning meant the demand was too large, so they sold the carpet cleaning business to an already partner in the business, Mel & Rob Lowe.
30 year strong reputation over 2 generations means Devine are certainly doing it right!
– Thanks for a job well done! Judy S – Thanks for the excellent service! ...,
Thank you . The staff member you sent out was lovely and did a great job. Love having clean carpets again....Amanda M,
Rob and his team mate did a BRILLIANT JOB, we are delighted. With thanks....Helen Q,
30 Years Strong
30 YEARS DEVINE Who would have thought that Devine Carpet Care would be celebrating 30 years in business this month? But they always say from humble beginnings the best things grow and we'd have to agree. With a background in cleaning supplies and machine repairs, Frank Devine in the search for some extra cash, started Continue Reading
Team Devine Expand & Move
Devine Carpet Care and Devine Complete Rug Care are on the move! Due to our excellent reputation and our amazing clients, 2013 was a huge & exciting year for Team Devine with all aspects of the business increasing in size. Due to this, our office and factory space simply became too cramped so the decision Continue Reading
Red Wine – Friend or Foe?
Red Wine Stains on your Carpet Red wine could be your best friend or worst nightmare! We have noticed that on Facebook pages, within the communities we are connected with, there are always lots of posts asking friends and friends of friends what the best way is to clean up red wine stains from carpet. Continue Reading


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Early Music Now program blends Slavic, folk, sacred sounds
Contrasts don't need to be stark to be powerful.
St. Paul, Minn.-based Rose Ensemble, presented by Early Music Now at the Basilica of St. Josaphat on Saturday evening, gave a sumptuous performance of subtle contrasts. The ensemble blended sacred and folk sounds as well as varied vocal timbres, along with Slavic languages and Latin. »Read Full Article


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Zhen Bai
I am a PhD student working in the Rainbow Group, under the supervision of Prof. Alan Blackwell.
My research interests are in the areas of Augmented Reality, tangible user interfaces, human-computer interaction, computer-supported collaboration and design for children. A central theme of my research is exploring design spaces of novel interactive technologies that support people's needs by expanding ways they perceive, interpret and interact with the physical world.
Contact details
Email: zb223 (at) cl.cam.ac.uk
Telephone: +44-1223-763-626


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Hong Kong 3M ESPE Dental Professionals >
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Bonding Products >
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Etching, Priming, Bonding in seconds
Working with Adper Prompt L-Pop adhesives means: Simply 'Squeeze, Fold over, Squeeze'. The adhesive is then immediately ready for application into the cavity. A visible control indicates whether or not the L-Pop system has been activated adequately. New indication: Adhesive for pit & fissue sealants and desensitisation of open root surfaces.
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Class I Clinical Trial (Iowa)2 focus: Postoperative sensitivity
2Denehy, G. E., Cobb, D. S., A Clinical Study of Prompt L-Pop and an Experimental Composite in Class I Cavities in Contemporary Aesthetics and Restorative Practice, Vol. IV, Sup. 1,7 - 10 (2000)
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Contact your authorised 3M ESPE dental distributor.
3M, ESPE, Adper, Scotchbond, Prompt, L-Pop and RelyX are trademarks of 3M or 3M ESPE AG.
Adper™ Prompt™ L-Pop™ Brochure (PDF, 172K)
© 3M 2016. All Rights Reserved.


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CISPA and Protecting Yourself Online 0
What is CISPA?
CISPA, or Cyber Information Sharing and Protection Act, is dead in the Senate after passing in the House of Representatives, reported US News. The bill aimed to protect the U.S. from cyber attacks but it's still, for the most part, a highly controversial bill because, if in case of a cyber attack on the U.S., companies like Google, Facebook, Twitter, can give up its users' information to the government if there is suspicion of involvement. The Electronic Frontier Foundation, or EFF said, "essentially CISPA would override the relevant provisions in all other laws—including privacy laws." Your information could be passed around government without you knowing.
Be Smarter Online
CISPA is a good reminder for those of us who spend a lot of time on the internet, to be more careful. It sounds like a cheesy lecture your parents might tell you but do you really want to others seeing those photos of you when hanging out on the roof of your campus' library or doing something you'll regret later?
Even though the bill is essentially stuck in its tracks, it's important to remember to be smart about what we do online. Not every party you go to has to be shared on Facebook and Twitter. It's easy to curse and complain about a bad day or aim animosity towards somebody you know on the internet but it doesn't mean your status updates and tweets will always go unnoticed. More now than ever, employers are connecting through social networks and when you apply for that job, don't be surprised if they do a little digging on you. Also, privacy can also be a safety issue. You don't want to put sensitive info out into the ether; there are weirdos and stalkers that can easily take advantage of your available data.
Facebook, Twitter, all of the major social networks have privacy settings, use them. Make it so your statuses and posts and pictures are only accessible to friends. And speaking of friends, do you really talk to everybody in your friend's list, all 300, 400, 500 of them? Think about how many of those people were acquaintances and how much you actually know about each of them.
You have a lot of fun and you want to constantly share it with your friends, I get that. I think the internet is a great place; you can do a lot on the internet but there will always be those people who will want to do bad, and if you're not careful you may have a regretful picture floating around the net for everyone to see. It doesn't have to happen, you just gotta be smart.


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July 26, 2012 Enerpath
Awarded Renewal of Small Business Direct Install Contract by NYSEG and RG&E
Redlands, California
EnerPath has been awarded a 3.5 year contract for the implementation of New York State
Electric and Gas and Rochester Gas &Electric's Small Business Energy Efficiency
Program for nonresidential customers with a demand of 100 kilowatts or less.
This contract extends EnerPath's partnership with the utilities that began in
May 2010.
The energy efficient lighting options offered through NYSEG and RG&E's program will now
offer an expanded selection of light-emitting diode (LED) lamps, lighting
fixtures and outdoor lighting, making it possible for small businesses, office
buildings and other eligible facilities to upgrade even more lighting to energy
efficient lighting with little out-of-pocket expense.
In the last two years EnerPath
has enrolled more than 10,000 New York businesses in NYSEG and RG&E's Small
Business Energy Efficiency Program. Each enrollment begins with a lighting
assessment using EnerPath's proprietary auditing software and ends with the
installation of energy efficient lighting by EnerPath's contractors.
Businesses that have taken advantage of
this program are saving more than 86 million kilowatt-hours (kwh) of electricity
and $9.6 million annually on their electricity bills. EnerPath was able to
achieve the utilities' savings goals with a 98% customer satisfaction rating,
and at the lowest cost-per-kwh of any program in
New York State.
Stephen Guthrie, CEO of
EnerPath, expressed the organization's continued dedication to partnering with
NYSEG and RG&E. "The extension of our successful partnership through 2015 will
allow us to help thousands more small businesses enroll in the utilities' money
saving program," Guthrie said. "The addition of new measures into the program
will provide even greater savings opportunities for new customers and previously
enrolled businesses."
In addition to helping small
businesses across New York, EnerPath has been able to support the local economy
with the creation of over 75 green jobs statewide. EnerPath will continue to
manage the NYSEG and RG&E program from its Rochester, NY office.


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Starting in
1946, 41 of the M1a's received further improvements by increasing the
boiler pressure and the addition of circulators to the firebox. The
improved M1a's became the M1b class. The best way to tell them apart
is to look for the circulators on the firebox, above the running boards -
those round objects in a diagonal line that look like wash-out plugs.
The PRR
4-8-2's were considered to be the finest of the Pennsy's steam
locomotives. They were designed as dual service locomotives and were put
to the test hauling passenger trains, general freight, and in the end even
the heavy ore trains, which there were never intended to pull. They
did it all in style!
Copyright ©
Built with Volusion


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This Regime will play judge, juror and executioner and destroy businesses if they can.
RUSH: The Commerce Department has issued their initial estimate for the third quarter GDP: grew at one-and-a-half percent. This is a disaster for this country.
RUSH: Clinton came along and they passed something called the Community Reinvestment Act. And you remember what that did? The federal government forced banks to lend money to people who had no prayer of ever paying it back.
RUSH: A member of Congress finally starts talking about this stuff, and why, why, it blows the roof off the place!
RUSH: This is a standard Democrat tactic, to poor-mouth: "Oh, woe is me, oh, poor me." And Obama's got a fundraising letter saying that it's his birthday next week, and it may be the last birthday he ever spends in the White House, but that's up to you, 'cause you have to send him money.
RUSH: Buchanan's essentially saying: We've reached the point where there are more takers than producers, and they'll continue to vote as takers, continue to be takers. Yet, Romney might win this.
CALLER: I caught you on TV... It was about the time you kept playing that clip of Clinton at Ron Brown's funeral.
RUSH: They look at government in ways we don't. They know that they're not gonna win every election. They know they're not gonna control the Treasury forever. So they're trying to put in place as many irreversible policies, spending policies, as they can.
RUSH: This is actually a really, really good question.
RUSH: You know what's happening to people who appear in Romney ads? They're being harassed.
RUSH: A direct assault on Christians. With economic punishment thrown in including threats from government officials that are in clear violation of the Constitution.
RUSH: See, political correctness means you can't tell the truth.
RUSH: A story out of the University of Colorado at Denver: Some women are deemed too attractive to hire.
CALLER: Stealthily and cunningly stuck in there was a little clause that outlawed these little mom-and-pop shops that sold roll-your-own cigarettes.


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The meaning of "Mahara"
The Mahara project chose "Mahara" as name for its web application. In Te Reo Māori, "mahara" means "to think, thinking, thought" and that fits the purpose of Mahara very well. Having been started in New Zealand, it was fitting to choose a Māori word to signify the concept of the ePortfolio system.
Mahara also has meanings in at least one other language. If it also exists in other languages, please let us know.
In Arabic, "Mahara" stands for "exceptional skill (above and beyond the average)".
In Shona, "Mahara" means "free" / "for free".
The Mahara logo
The Mahara logo is a Māori "rauiri" (single twist). In contemporary society, the single twist (rauiri) "represents the joining together of two people. Even though sometimes people move away, their journey of life will have their paths cross again. The single figure eight represents the path of life, it is the eternity symbol. (The single twist is different to the double or triple twist in that it refers to individual people, where the double and triple twist refers more to the joining of peoples, or cultures)." Source
Background to Mahara
Continued development has been made possible by further support from New Zealand's Ministry of Education and the application of Mellon Foundation funds from the Open Polytechnic's winning a 2007 Mellon Award for Technology Collaboration.
Mahara tune
Josh Woodward wrote the lyrics and composed the Mahara tune for the Mahara project. The tune is licensed under Creative Commons BY-SA 3.0.
You can also download the tune as OGG file.
Strategic Direction of Mahara
Between July 2007 and 2010, Kineo Pacific has worked with Catalyst IT to guide the further development of Mahara. Since then, Catalyst has been the project maintainer and also lead development company that gives the project its direction.
A first guiding principle with the development of the Mahara ePortfolio system is that it is learner centred – a form of Personal Learning Environment. This is in contrast to the more institution-centric Learning Management System (LMS).
Mahara is a stand-alone system that can be integrated into a wider virtual learning framework. We believe the Learning Management System remains a highly useful application for delivering learning. We also believe the overall environment can be enhanced and complemented by a learner-centred personal learning environment such as Mahara. Pan-institutional learner communities can also be encouraged using Mahara.
Mahara's architecture is inspired by the modular, extensible architecture of Moodle. The Mahara team has also been heavily involved in the Moodle community, with recent work mostly focused on Moodle Networks. Similarly, Mahara systems can be networked together as well having single sign-on from Moodle 1.9 upwards. In a sense, we see Mahara as a 'sister' application although the two systems are not required to go together.
Mahara will continue to evolve as a 'pluggable', modular ePortfolio system designed to leverage Web 2.0 web services and built with interoperability in mind.


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Archive for the 'Dixie Highway Band' tag
Coming to a TV near you: The Jeff Jopling Band?
The Jeff Jopling Band on stage at Two Doors Down
The guys in the Jeff Jopling Band have decided: If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.
Jeff Jopling has adapted that philosophy of late. Like many people who turn on the boob tube and see reality TV on every channel around the clock, he's quick to lose interest. From the low-brow mud-and-redneck fests of "Honey Boo Boo" to the talent highlights of less insipid shows like "The Voice," there's only so much you can take, right?
Well, Jopling told me this week, he's about to have to change his mind. Or, as he puts it, "I guess I'll have to either change my opinion of reality TV or change my opinion of myself and begin a period of self loathing."
He's kidding, of course, and whether you like reality TV or not, he and the boys — Jopling, Austin Stepp, Daniel Cromwell and Jerry Sullivan — would like you to assist them in getting their own reality show. (And if you don't like reality TV, think of it this way: Helping the JBB get a show will be a public service by adding a little class and talent to the airwaves.)
Here's the story from Jeff:
Several years ago the younger brother of my college roommate from Maryville College moved to LA. He was a theater grad from UT so he moved out to LA to pursue a career in acting. After years of heartbreak and obscurity, he finally landed a job at a company called Crash Hat Entertainment. This company's main purpose is to come up with concept ideas for new reality TV shows and pitch those ideas to networks. So as he got his foot in the door at the entertainment company, he heard them talking about an idea of a show that they wanted to pitch to the country music networks.
That, of course, caught his attention as he has plenty of experience with country music being from around here. The concept for the show they were mulling over was to follow a country band around — not a band that was really "making it," but rather one that is up and coming. And moreover the interest to the show is to portray the juxtaposition between performing shows at night and then having their respective day jobs.
So my friend told them about us and about a month or so ago they called me and started asking for our information. I sent them pics and videos of us talking and interviewing one another as well as performances and that was all I heard for about another month. Then out of the blue they call and said that they pitched this idea along with about 30 other concepts to their agent at William Morris who submitted them to the networks. Apparently CMT, GAC, Spike TV and (for some reason) the History Channel have all said that they want this show. So out of the 30 concepts submitted this is the only show that got the interest of any networks.
Now the networks all want to see actual footage, so the company is flying out some camera guys to film our show at Two Doors Down on Friday night and then will be joining us all day on Sunday to film us working on the farm and having a band rehearsal and a bonfire. You know … all pretty standard country stuff. They will be here for three days of filming to do a 3-minute trailer to give to the networks, and at that point the networks will begin a bidding war over who wants the show the most.
Jopling stresses that nothing is set in stone until a deal is signed on the dotted line; it's possible the networks see the trailer and decide they hate the concept or don't like the Jeff Jopling Band and pass on developing a series. But the fact the company is flying its crew all the way to Blount County from Los Angeles is a pretty big deal, and the chances of it developing into something big are at least on the table.
"Everyone has been so nice to us about it," Jopling added. "We really found out about this the week of the 11th when we played at Two Doors Down. Austin was telling Jeff and Lisa (Breazeale) about it, and they asked where we were performing when the camera crew was coming to town. At the time we had a show booked at Boomerangs in Madisonville for that night, and Jeff and Lisa had Dixie Highway booked at Two Doors.
"Well, Jeff and Lisa got together with Dixie Highway, and they decided to let us have that night at Two Doors instead so that we could have a bigger hometown crowd at our local watering hole. I really was blown away that the boys in Dixie Highway were so cool as to let us have one of their nights at Two Doors. And it's also really cool that Jeff and Lisa are being so supportive."
As are the rest of us. So show up to Two Doors and give the Jeff Jopling Band some hometown love on Friday night. It's a free show, and the music will get started around 10 p.m. Read last October's cover story on the Jeff Jopling Band here.
Two Doors Down goodness …
If you've never stopped by Two Doors Down, 118 E. Broadway Ave. in downtown Maryville, you're missing out on a rowdy good time. The folks who run the place book live music at least three times a week and sometimes more often, and they've got some good stuff coming up:
- Friday, April 16, Texas bluesman Wes Jeans will rock the house. According to his online bio, he was ranked as one of the "Top Young Gun Guitar Players by Guitar Player Magazine in 2004, and back in 1996, he entered the International Jimi Hendrix Competition in Austin, placing second out of roughly 1,500 other guitarists. His bio states that "Al Hendrix, father of Jimi Hendrix, told Wes, 'In my eyes, you won because you played straight from the heart like Jimi!'" The best part about it — that's gonna be a free show. It starts at 9 p.m.
- Coming up at the end of April — April 29 and 30, to be exact — local Southern rock/country outfit The Dixie Highway Band will be shooting a video at the bar. Co-owner Jeff Breazeale tells us that the band has contracted with a Knoxville production company (still working on figuring out which one) is coming in to shoot the extravaganza, which will be part documentary, part live show. It'll be called "Two Nights at Two Doors," and the band is trying to get as many fans as possible to pack the joint. There will be a $5 cover, and merchandise touting participation in the video shoot will be sold. In addition, several guests will sit in with the band, including Breazeale (who fronts his own outfit, Dixie Werewolves), local harp man Doug Harris and Dale T. Sharp. Local actors David Dwyer and Bruce McKinnon will also be a part of the night's events, and the video will splice interviews with band members into its shots of the crowd and the show. "We want to have a big crowd with everybody dancing and raising hell for that," Breazeale says.
- Finally, Breazeale's annual "Boogie on Broadway" (formerly "Boogie on the Bridge") concert is set for Sunday, May 30. It's an all-day event, and tickets are $10 — but that gets you all the barbecue you can eat and 10 bands performing throughout the day, including the Werewolves, Dixie Highway, The Reigns Band, Nuthin' Fancy, Phillip and Valerie Sharp and others to be named later.
Things we wanted to get to for the June 26 edition of Weekend …
… but once again were prevented from doing so by … by … worms.
Guinea worms, to be exact. Chewing their way out of my kneecaps.
OK, so that's not true (thank God; I have a phobia of parasites, and yet I'm still anxiously awaiting the new Animal Planet series "The Monster Inside Me," which premieres July 1 and documents cases of parasitic invasion in human bodies). But I figured it makes for a better excuse than the stupid economy, which we told you about last week when we had to wrap up Weekend on this here blog.
Anyway, here's what we didn't get to, but you shouldn't forget about:
- The Octopus Project, performing at 10 p.m. Saturday, June 27, at The Pilot Light, 106 E. Jackson Ave. in Knoxville's Old City. We got the following press release on Monday about the band: "Austin's favorite foursome, The Octopus Project, are excited to reveal the track listing and details for their forthcoming Golden Beds enhanced EP, out July 14th (Peek-A-Boo Records). The Golden Beds EP is the follow-up to 2007's spectacular full-length Hello, Avalanche, which earned high praise from such tastemakers as Rolling Stone, Spin, Wired, Magnet, The Village Voice, Pitchfork and Stereogum. The members of The Octopus Project (Josh Lambert, Yvonne Lambert, Toto Miranda, and Ryan Figg) are collectors of sounds – beautiful, noisy, soothing exciting sounds; electronic, acoustic, natural and unnatural sounds. Fast-forward to 2009, and we find our intrepid musicians three albums in, with a plethora of singles, remixes and collaborations under their belts and a worldwide touring schedule that has recently included the UK's All Tomorrow's Parties festival, Taiwan's Spring Scream fest and the Coachella, Lollapalooza and ACL festivals here in the States." Admission to the show is $10; also on the bill is the band Wee Giant and an after-party dance hosted by DJ Megalon Esquire. Check out The Octopus Project online, and read a story we did on the band from 2007 by clicking here.
- If you're of a more spiritual mind, you might consider heading up to Townsend on Saturday, June 27, for "Praise Hymn: A Musical Celebration" that will take place from 4-9 p.m. at the Passion Play Amphitheater, 329 Bethel Church Road. It's free to attend; here are the details: "The Passion Play in the Smokies presents Praise Hymn, a FREE musical celebration of famous hymns, praise songs, and the stories behind them. The collection includes something for everyone — traditional beloved hymns, southern gospel, praise and worship, contemporary and Messianic worship songs. Those performing include the following: The River Fellowship (Seymour), Eye2Sky, Benote Tzion (Daughters of Zion), Mark Pedro, Donnie Richmond, Laura West, Gary and Sabrina Grey, Phillips Savoco, Jay Fox of Greater Faith, Mike Cross, Higher Calling, Chosen, Under Mercy, Andrea Thone and Duane Richardson. The masters of ceremony for the evening are Darrel Frith and Joan Wilder. Angel Food Cafe open for beverages and food throughout the event. This event is open to the public and officially opens the site for the upcoming 2009 season of the Passion Play in the Smokies in which the opening weekend is July 10-11." For more information, visit the Passion Play online.
- Or, you could head south on Saturday, to Vonore — where the Little Tennessee River Music Festival will take place at the Sequoyah Birthplace Museum Amphitheater, located on Highway 360 (just off U.S. 411 South) in Vonore. It's a blues and bluegrass music festival held as a fundraiser for the museum, and it's free to attend (although there is a $5 parking fee. The schedule includes: Gates open at 4:30 p.m. with free admission to the museum and activities on the grounds; 6 p.m., Just Krossing performs; 7 p.m., DreamCatcher performs; 8 p.m., The Dixie Highway Band with Maci Bell will rock out; and at 9:15 p.m., Amy Acklyn closes out the night. Seating is available or just bring a lawn chair or blanket. Concessions will be sold, but no outside coolers will be allowed. For more information, visit the museum online.
Announcing "Old City Live": A free concert series
Just got off the phone with Jay Campbell, owner of Hanna's Cafe and Southbound Bar and Grill in Knoxville's Old City, who just yesterday released a fantastic lineup for a brand spankin' new, absolutely free concert series!
It kicks off July 2 in Knoxville's Old City, in what's known as the Old City Courtyard — the area behind Southbound (located at 106 S. Central St.) and adjacent to Barley's Taproom (200 E. Jackson Ave.). The series is an all-ages affair being billed as "Old City Live," and there are some great local and national acts.
All shows take place at 8 p.m., and there's never a cover. The lineup:
July 2: J.C. and the Dirty Smokers opening for Mic Harrison and The High Score
July 9: Matt Woods' Plan A opening for Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers (VERY COOL! Roger is a former member of The Refreshments)
July 16: Chuck Norris opening for Paul Thorn
July 23: The Grassabillies opening for John Cowan
July 30: Homer Hart opening for The Coalmen
Aug. 6: TBA
Aug. 13: Brendon James Wright opening for Larry Keel and Natural Bridge
Aug. 20: Kata and the Blaze opening for Cody McCarver
Aug. 27: The Dixie Highway Band opening for Blueground Undergrass
Sept. 3: An Evening with The Coveralls: A three-hour show!
Sept. 10: The Dirty Guv'nahs with TBA
Sept. 17: TBA
Sept. 24: Honky Tonks Anonymous opening for Cutthroat Shamrock


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Why not just buy one from Marc?
ZR-1 Specialist
Anybody got a Haibeck chip for a 1991 ZR-1 available?
John Boyd
1991 ZR-1 #473 Red/Black 37k (SOLD)
+The best thing to do is to contact Haibeck and get a E-Prom customized for your car. Especially if you have mods.
I currently have a Haibeck chip in #458. It's for sale and the headers have been removed to be relocated to #473 after a bit.
On the other hand, does anyone have a stock chip for a '91 available???
John Boyd
1991 ZR-1 #473 Red/Black 37k (SOLD)


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My lunch hour will never be the same.
My sister Katie works in the Ferry Building here in San Francisco and every now-and-then, when the stars aline, both our schedules permit a lunch date. Our usual date consists of a wonderful Tossed Cobb Salad and side of fries from Gott's Roadside Tray Gormet (formally known as Taylor's Automatic Refresher). On this particular day my sister had something better in mind.
Unbeknownst be me, Thursday at the Ferry Building is the place to be! Every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday the Ferry Building Plaza is host to the most amazing and abundant Farmers Market. Booths overflow with incredibly delicious smelling flowers, baked goods, organic fruits and vegetables. I mean, it is quite a sight. A real feast for your senses. If for nothing else at all, the people watching is truly amazing. 🙂
Amongst all of this hustle and bustle, Katie had her sights set on the street vendors, and one in particular. I knew this was going to be a memorable experience when finding the end of the order line meant walking halfway down the block. This was my introduction to the wonderful world of Hapa Ramen.
As the front of the line neared, the rich aroma of savory vegetables and stock captivated me. My mouth was watering as I gave my order . . . Slow Cooked Pork Ramen Bowl with a cooked egg. As I sat down with my HUGE bowl of ramen, chopsticks and spoon in hand, my lack of patience got the best of me. I grabbed up the bowl in my hands and took a hug sip.
(Image courtesy of haparamensf.com)
WOW . . . I was blown away. This was one of the most rich and flavorful broths I had ever tasted. I immediately scooped up my chopsticks and went to work. I simply couldn't stop. The ramen noodles were delicate but hearty. The seasonal vegetables and Pork Shoulder were cooked perfectly. Although the portion was enormous, I found myself wanting more when I reached the bottom of the bowl. Simply amazing. Thank you Richie Nakano (chef/owner)and the Hapa Ramen crew for such a wonderful lunch. I will most definitely be back!


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TRUMANSBURG, NY (July 19, 2010) ---Native Music Award Winner Atsiaktonkie (ah-jeeak-doon-gee-ay) will rejoin Alter-Native Folk Rock Band December Wind for two highly anticipated Reunion shows at the 20th Annual Finger Lakes Grassroots Festival located on the Trumansburg Fair Grounds in Trumansburg, NY. December Wind will open up for Merle Haggard on Thursday July 22 at 3:30 PM on the Grandstand Stage, the band also will close show on Friday, July 23 at 12:00 AM on the Grandstand Stage.
Hailing from the Akwesasne (Mohawk) Territory nestled between New York and Canada, December Wind is Atsiaktonkie (lead vocals, guitar), Terry Terrance (bass), Randolph Furnia (lead guitar, vocals), Donnie Sharrow (guitar, vocals), and Billy Lashomb (drums). Prior to departing ways in 2006, December Wind released two highly acclaimed CDs; Sacred Voices (Canyon Records, 1999) and Second Wind (Strong Wind Records, 2005). Atsiaktonkie released his first solo project Four Wolves Prophecy (Strong Wind Records, 2008), which won the 2009 Nammy Award for Best Folk Recording/Album.
December Wind will be selling copies of their album Second Wind, as well as copies of Atsiaktonkie's Award Winning Album Four Wolves Prophecy at the event. Festival-goers are encouraged to stop by December Winds' booth, chat with the band, purchase an autographed CD, and join their mailing list.
"Melodic lead guitars, uncomplicated rock. Lynyrd Skynyrd would have been proud," states Get Ready to Rock Magazine. While Cutting Edge Review writes, "Lyrical traditions play out with earth sweetness and emphasis of pow-wow percussion."
The band will be performing a mixture of 14 songs from their two albums, as well as some new material. A portion of the proceeds from album sales will benefit The Akwesasne Freedom School, which helps preserve the Mohawk culture and language that is diminishing rapidly.
Don't miss the Reunion show that everybody has been talking about. Get your tickets today. For more information or to purchase a CD visit www.atsiaktonkie.com.


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Scribble Your Blogs
Scribble is a great language for writing documentation. Now it's a great language for writing blog posts, too. I've just released a tool called Scriblogify that compiles Scribble documents and posts them as blog entries. Scriblogify is a more polished and automated version of the scripts I've been using for several months to prepare posts for my own blog.


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IKV Devilslayer
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The IKV Devilslayer was a 23rd century Klingon Empire starship, a D7C-class command battle cruiser in service to the Klingon Defense Force in the 2290s. While the Devilslayer was outfitted as a D-7C command battle cruiser, it was easily modifiable with additional phasers into a refit version, the K't'inga-class variant D7L-class command ship. (TOS video game: Starfleet Command)
- No history or fate is established for this vessel as its name was randomly selected for a command battle cruiser-type cruiser vessel by the game software.


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For all the progress the Lehigh Valley has made in the concert scene in the past five years, with the opening of Musikfest Café at SteelStacks, Sands Bethlehem Event Center and, most recently, Allentown's PPL Center, our list of the Top 50 Concerts of 2015 points out a weakness.
The Lehigh Valley still lacks a venue at which to present a large festival that draws multiple big acts and the huge crowds that follow.
That's why the two best concerts we saw out of the 157 shows we attended this year were outside the Valley.
The two-day Gentlemen of the Road tour in June made its first stop in Seaside Heights, N.J., featuring blazing sets by great bands...


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About the Report
In November 2004 the then-Minister for the Environment, the Hon Dr Judy Edwards, unveiled a Master Plan for Perth Zoo which will guide the Zoo and its development over the next 20 years.
The plan is available to view here in either chapters (pdf) or to download as a file (4.7mb pdf).
Download Master Plan
Perth Zoo Master Plan (pdf)
Perth Zoo Master Plan Part 1 (pdf)
1. Introduction
2. A Strategic Approach to Master Plan Development
3. Creating a World's Best Small Zoo
4. Whole of Zoo Planning Issues
Perth Zoo Master Plan Part 2 (pdf)
Proposed Zoo Upgrade and Development
5. Australian Walkabout
6. Asian Rainforest
7. African Savannah
8. Main Lake, Tropical Garden, Pavilion, World of Birds, Nocturnal House and Reptile Encounter
Perth Zoo Master Plan Part 3 (pdf)
9. Main Lawn and Playground
10. Zoo Entrance
11. Café Precinct
12. Education & Conference Rooms
13. Environmental Management and Sustainability
14. Horticulture
15. Behind the Scenes Facilties
Perth Zoo Master Plan Part 4 (pdf)
16. Summary Development Overview
Perth Zoo Master Plan Part 5 (pdf)
Appendix 1 – Submissions Received
Appendix 2 – Table of Figures
This work is copyright. It may be reproduced in whole or in part for study or training purposes if an acknowledgment of the source is included. Such use must not be for the purposes of sale or commercial exploitation.
Subject to the Copyright Act, reproduction, storage in a retrieval system or transmission in any form by any means of any part of the work other than for the purposes above is not permitted without prior written authorisation from Perth Zoo.
Information about this report and requests and inquiries concerning reproduction should be addressed to:
Debra Read, Media and Communications Manager.
Perth Zoo, 20 Labouchere Road, South Perth, WA, 6151
Telephone: (08) 9474 0383
Facsimile: (08) 9474 4420
Email: email@example.com


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It certainly wasn't pretty, but the top-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide used a dominant effort from its defense and special teams' units to pull away from Virginia Tech in a 35-10 victory in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Classic.
The brilliant play of junior receiver Christion Jones masked an average performance from the Tide's offense.
Meanwhile, Virginia Tech's new-look offense sputtered from to start to finish against Nick Saban's defense.
What are the main takeaways from the matchup between Alabama and Virginia Tech?


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Running Digest: Superstar, Dare to Dream!
Race was at 4pm on Saturday. I got the track at 3:20, enough time to warm up and get ready.
I walked towards the registration table and asked for my number, I noticed that my name was highlighted and we all know that means trouble.
The guy on the table asked me to wait while he got someone, he moved to the back of the room and started talking to someone and then another man came.
I was ready to fight, I had entered the race over a month ago and before leaving Seville I made sure to confirm everything was in order.
The first man approached me and told me that my number had been picked up by the race director, he was waiting for me.
He pointed me on his direction and my friends, what happened next made me feel like Mary Katherine Gallagher on Superstar (I don't make out with trees).
As I mentioned last week, I was just going to race to check on my technique and to try not to be the last one to finish.
Now I was feeling the pressure, I didn't want to let my fans down, after all they had traveled from all over the world just to see me.
Everybody was waiting for me, suddenly I was a celebrity, people came to see me.
"He's Leo"-they would say.
They handed me the number and a uniform, yeah, a uniform, they had enrolled me in a club. I went from being a regular mortal racing unattached to feeling like a king.
I was in deep shit, I took the uniform and said to Miss Peach I needed to do something to fix that mess, and by fix I mean lowering their expectations.
"Well, I've been training seriously for 3 months, so I'll be happy with not being dead last and not getting disqualified."
That's what I said to the race director and 2 of the coaches.
"I see what you did there"– said Miss Peach.
I stopped the socializing and started to warm up, wore the singlet they gave me and left Miss Peach taking care of the fans.
She later told me she had felt like Jackie Onnasis, but with clothes but trashier clothes.
I was very pleased with the race, I finished in the top 6, not a single warning and didn't let my fans down.
After the race we were invited to join the club to a gathering, plenty of food and drinks.
They surely treated us like royalty, made sure we were taken care of, plenty of food and plenty of attention, I was tired of smiling.
6 hours later they drove us back to the hotel.
They won't read this post, but thank you all.
I stole all the pics from the website of the photographers, please don't sue me, at least I left the watermark and your info there.


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Greyson Chance Catches Us Up on His Growing Success on 'Ellen'
It's only been a year-and-a-half since 14-year-old Greyson Chance became a viral sensation with his Lady Gaga 'Paparazzi' cover; but in that time, he has come a long way in his young career. The teen caught up with his mentor Ellen DeGeneres today on 'Ellen,' and dished to the audience about his new 'Hold On 'Til the Night' album and how his rise to fame has been.
"It's just so surreal," Greyson told Ellen of his new record, which came out on Aug. 2. "I've been working on this album in particular for a year … It's just been so surreal to actually have it and be able to hold it in my hands."
Before even hitting his most recent growth spurt, the young singer-songwriter's album hit unimaginable heights — No. 2 on the iTunes pop chart just behind the iconic Adele. Greyson credits that incredible success to being hands-on with his fast-growing fanbase. "Being on tour is just one of my favorite things to do in the world," he revealed. "I did an in-store at a Long Island mall. I went to the mall maybe two months before that, and maybe two hundred people showed up. At the time that was huge to me. And then, we went there and security hated us and we had 2,000 girls there."
While in the 'Ellen' studio, Greyson rocked out on his hit single, 'Unfriend You,' complete with a grand piano and smoke. We echo the hostess, who told her protege that she too was proud of his debut album, assuring viewers, "I don't care how old you are, this is a good, good album."
Watch Greyson Chance on 'Ellen'


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A lovestruck Turkish man, who sailed 2,500 miles to track down a British woman he first fell for while she was working abroad, is in custody awaiting deportation after sailing into British waters without a visa or a passport.
Ramazan Noyan Culum, 38, spent seven months sailing to the UK after falling in love with Courtney Murray several years ago.
His infatuation with Ms Murray began when she served him in a restaurant in Cyprus in 2005. His attentions, though unrequited, were persistent — he turned up at her work a few times too many and he was reportedly deported.