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Studio with Separate Kitchen Zone 2 No3
Size25 m²
Floor No.0
- Family/child friendly
- Kitchen
- Washer/dryer
- Lockable room
- Internet/WiFi
- Parking available
- Towels
Accommodation summary
|Brondesbury Villas, NW6 6AE London, United Kingdom
|Property type
|Property ID
|Acceptance rate
|Response time
|A few hours
|Calendar updated
|5 days ago
Modern clean fully equipped studio apartment with separate kitchen situated on the ground floor of this period conversion. The property is situated on a quiet residential road just a short walk to Kilburn High Road, and Queens Park station. Ideal accommodation for a couple with 2 children up to 10 years old or 3 adults, fully tiled walk in shower, Fully Furnished with double bed (192cm long x 140cm wide), baby cot and 1 sofa bed (192cm long x 138cm wide), Wardrobe, Fridge Freezer, Washing Machine, Electric Hob, Microwave Oven, LCD TV (with free view), DVD player, WIRELESS INTERNET, Dining table & chairs, all essentials supplied for a comfortable stay including bed linen, towels, cutlery, crockery, glasses, Cooking utensils. Private toilet, shower and kitchen. Short distance from central London, with numerous transport links (Underground, National Rail, Buses) many local bars, restaurants, supermarkets and leisure facilities can be found within walking distance
Nearest stations:
Queen's Park (0.3 miles)
Kilburn Park (0.3 miles)
Kilburn High Road (0.4 miles)
Local Bus Routes 206, 6, 316, 36 (24 Hour), 187 (24 Hour)
Brent is a suburb in North West London. There are several tube stations located in the district, many of them located on the Jubilee Line which will take you directly to Bond Street Station, which is right by Oxford Street. Oxford Street is the main shopping street in London with shops such as Selfridges and Debenhams. Most attractions of London are within easy reach, such as Piccadilly Circus, Madame Tussauds and Tower of London. Hyde Park is located west of Oxford Street where you will find Kensington Gardens. If you walk through the park you will reach Kensington where you can find the famous department store Harrods's and plenty of museums, for example Natural History museum and Science museum.
An easy journey away is also Camden, which is famous for Camden Market and the wide range of bars and clubs that daily hosts many gigs. Camden is amazing for a day and night out! Around the corner you can enjoy a calmer environment in the beautiful Regents Park, which is also the location for Madame Tussauds.
If you want to enjoy the extensive night life London has to offer, there are also plenty of buses and night buses running 24/7 from all directions in London.
* Disclaimer: All things advertised at the time of booking are available, however availability can vary due to unforeseen circumstances. If this is ever the case, please note that any discounts or refunds will not be available, especially if the booking have been made for the discount price.
House rules****************** PLEASE CONTACT ME BEFORE MAKING A BOOKING IN ORDER TO CONFIRM AVAILABILITY*************************
House Rules:
-No Pets.
-No Smoking.
-Breakages deposit £100 (Pounds).
-Late check-in fee (for checking-in from 21:00): £30.
-Parking Permit is available for £5 daily (weekend and Bank holiday is free)
-If you leave very early in the morning or late at night you will leave keys on the table in the room and your deposit will be refunded via 'PayPal' or bank transfer once the housekeeper has checked the room.
- When booking please include all guests, our occupancy rules are very strict, children should be included in your booking regardless of age, we will not allow any 'over occupancy' due to our insurers requirements.
-Please separate your rubbish and place in the correct bin:
Blue Bin (Recycling) - Paper, Cardboard, Plastic, Tin etc
Grey Bin (General) - General Rubbish, anything that cannot go into Blue or Brown Bins.
If you have any question please feel free to contact me. Thank you for your consideration.
|Price for > 2 guests
|23 NZ$ per guest/night extra
|Check-in after
|Check-in before
|On arrangement
|Check-out before
|Cancellation Policy
Reviews of this property
We spent a week in this very nice little apartment near the Queen's Park station and some bar, restaurant and supermarkets.
The only big problem was the beds, soft and uncomfortable, you could feel the spring underneath, so we did not sleep very well..
But the studio is well insulated from outside noise, he's silent and calm, very good to stay for a journey! Olga answered quickly and with kindness to our emails and the housekeeper, Andrey, informed us.
The one night we spend at Olgas apartment was quite pleasant, its a rather small space in a quiet neighborhood. All the rooms were very clean and nicely furnished, merely the beds were a bit too soft for our liking. In our short time we didn't need to use the kitchen, but I guess it would have easily sufficed for basic cooking. Getting to the city center war really easy by underground, onlz a 3 minute walk from the apartment.
We didn't meet Olga, but her housekeeper, who was rather hard to reach as the bell was misfunctioning, but we managed in the end.
We would probably stay here again if we ever return to London, merely the price is maybe a little high for the small space :)
Studio lived up to its description. Olga always responded fast and was polite. Would definitely recommend!
I would recommend Studio No3 in London, Olga and her people. Contact prior to arrival was very good, Olga immediately responded to e-mails, we exhaustively explaining issues of interest to us. Apartment comfortable even for 3 people, surroundings pleasant and quiet, yet very close to the subway. Well we mention guardian housing - Andrei is a nice, polite, helpful. While were leaving early in the morning, came to pay us a deposit. The next time we want to stay in London in the same place! We also recommend to you!
Polecam Studio No3 w Londynie, Olgę i jej ludzi. Kontakt przed przyjazdem był bardzo dobry, Olga błyskawicznie odpowiadała na e-maile, wyczerpująco tłumacząc nam interesujące nas kwestie. Apartament wygodny nawet dla 3 osób, okolica przyjemna i spokojna, a jednocześnie niezwykle blisko metra. Doskonale będziemy wspominały opiekuna mieszkania - Andriej jest miły, uprzejmy, pomocny. Chociaż wyjeżdżałyśmy wcześnie rano, przyjechał żeby zwrócić nam depozyt. Kolejnym razem będziemy chciały zatrzymać się w Londynie w tym samym miejscu! Polecamy również Wam!
+ Conveniently located (5 minutes walk to the nearest metro station).
+ Clean apartment
- Could not really be blind, so the room was relatively light early in the morning and you could not sleep.
- 1 bed squeaked quite loud
- Sewage smell in the bathroom
+ verkehrsgünstig gelegen (5 Min. Fußweg zum nächsten U-Bahnhof).
+ saubere Wohnung
- Jalousie ließ sich nicht verstellen, sodass der Raum morgens relativ früh hell war und man nicht ausschlafen konnte.
- 1 Bett quietschte ziemlich laut
- Schimmelgeruch im Bad
Very good stay, the apartment is perfectly located 3 minutes from the metro, it is in the center in 15 to 20 minutes, it's very positive. The housing itself is nice, clean and spacious, but it lacks a teapot and covered some more detail but it is and we are very happy overall.
Très bon séjour, l'appartement est parfaitement situé à 3 minutes du métro, on est dans le centre en 15 à 20 minutes , c'est très positif.
Le logement en lui même est bien, propre et spacieux, il manque juste une théière et quelques couverts de plus mais c'est du détail ; nous sommes globalement très contents.
We were very happy with our stay at Olga's studio. It is clean, furniture is modern and in a very good condition. The kitchen is equipped with all necessary tools for cooking, even the coffee was supplied :). The beds are comfortable and spacious. But the major advantage was that it is in the zone 2, near to the center of the city and it takes only 15 minutes to get there. That is not to underestimate since public transportation could be quite expensive. Finally, the neighbourhood is calm and getting back late is not a problem. If we travel to London one more time, we would definately reserve again Olga's studio!
Simple apartment located conveniently near Queen's Park tube station. Bakerloo Line connection to Paddington is 4 stops. Don't expect a lot of luxury. It was nice to be independent of hotel breakfast times with our 2-year old. Simple is the word: only 3 mugs, 3 plates, 3 sets of cutlery. Half of the electric cooking facility did not work. Okay responses: sent an sms with a question about the shower; friendly contact person arrived a couple of hours later to take a look. Tip: on Sundays (10:00-14:00) there's an organic market at the Salusbury primary school, a 5-minute walk.
Great flexibility in arrival and departure times.
Stor fleksibilitet i forbindelse med ankomst og afrejse tidspunkter.
- Quality assured accommodation
- Every host is verified by telephone
- Secure payment via SSL encryption


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Kingsport plans to finish projects in 2013
KINGSPORT, Tenn. - Kingsport is ringing in the New Year with a list of projects they are hoping to complete before the end of the year.
We were told their goal is to finish the road projects they currently have on Cleek Road, Sullivan Street and Rock Springs Road.
The biggest project they are planning to complete is the aquatic center, which is set to open in May.
We spoke to the city manager John Campbell who told us they have a lengthy laundry list, but have no doubts they'll be able to cross a few off. "Looking back on 2012 we were kind of surprised how much staff had been done, but we have a lot more to keep doing, be proactive about it," said Campbell.
We also learned they are in the beginning stages of several connection roads to make travel easier for their residents.

subset: commoncrawl


text: Just signed up and dropped in to say hello! We've had our 2003 Tahoe for going on 3 yrs now and just bought a 2000 Silverado 4dr ext cab 2wd. They are the same color, yeah ain't that cute, his and hers.:great::no: I can't usually leave things alone so I will be around with questions and pics. Scotty


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Oliver Oliver live at Surrender Nightclub
Oliver have found the beating heart inside the dance machine. Whether moving bodies at the world's biggest electronic festivals or hand-crafting digital gems in the studio the producer / DJ duo of U-Tern and Oligee are responsible for some of the funkiest toughest and most diverse dance music today.
10 pm – 4 am
No Cover
Surrender is a premier nightclub known for showcasing the world's best electronic music talent. Our resident DJs include deadmau5, Tiesto, Afrojack, Steve Aoki, Calvin Harris, Porter Robinson, Dada Life, Nero, Bingo Players, and Skrillex. Experience the energetic indoor/outdoor environment, world class sound system, luxurious VIP bungalows and cabanas and unparalleled service. Feel the heart po unding beats and give in to your temptations. We live for the night, Surrender yours.
Las Vegas, NV 89109 (702) 770-7300
Real time stream from our members with confirmed users at local venues!
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Beginners tips for testing web applicaiton
In order to test web applications there are three tools that I use every single time. I use Firefox as my testing browser with foxy proxy plugin, Burp suit as my proxy and Google chrome for searching browsers, as I don't want any Google searches affecting what's in burp suit as the client may wish to see the burp suit logs.
Starting the test
When testing a website I like to spend around 30 minutes just browsing the site as any user would, trying to identify the static pages from the dynamic pages and trying to identify which technologies are being used: PHP, ASP, JavaScript or even Perl. I usually do this process whilst using burp suit. If you have the pro version it will start to identify issues with the site, like XSS, http only cookies and so on. You can also try and force errors from the page; this may give away internal paths or version information. Version information can also usually be found in the headers. There are addition tools you can use like Hoppy or Nikto to help map the web application.
Once I have good idea about the site I start by looking for default pages. For example if it's a contents management site like Word press, Drupal or any other popular site, I tend to download the files and quickly set it up in a Lamp, WAMP or MAMP environment this way I can see what the default settings are as well as how the files are structured. This gives me a good idea of where to look in the application I am testing. Can I access an admin page? Or is there a backup of the default admin login detail? This all needs to be investigated to see what you can and cannot access and help map the application.
If the application is not using a CMS then I start by trying to access common files like robots.txt and then try to view any pages listed in that. If there are not any robots files, I then try default pages like admin.php, account.php so on. At this point you could use the spider feature in burp suit to try and get a much better idea of the application or use Dirbuster to try brute force on any hidden directories.
Once this has all been done you should have a really good understanding of the application. What it does, how it was build and maybe even some small issues to report like internal path, information disclosure etc. Having a good idea of how the application was built, this is an essential to understand as if you trying to exploit an SQL injection. If you know the developers have followed a certain naming pattern, you can take an educated guess they have done the same in their database this will make exploiting it easier if you find SQL injections on the site.
Starting the attack
We have a really good understanding of the site and the inner workings and so it's time to start finding issues with the site.
Login Page
If the website has a login page then I first create an account, during this process I see if I can use a weak password like the character 'A'. If I can then this is an issue and would report it to the client as they should be using at least 9-20 characters with a mixture of upper, lower, numbers and symbols for the password. After I have registered with the site I attempt to login to the site looking for any errors messages. I want to make sure that the errors are not given any information away like "This passwords does not match the username" As an attacker this then tells me that I have a valid username so I can enumerate user.
This is where you can inject into the page; you can find this with an error message, which is the most common place, just like the example below. The reason this is an issue is it lets anyone write anything on your site so it's a great tool to use with social engineer. We could write a message encode it then send it to a customer, they would then ring the number and we could try to get account information from them.
Example Error injection
http://testsite.com/page/sign-in?error=Please call tech support 0800 000 000
XSS (Cross site Scripting)
The first attack I intend to try is XSS. I look for both stored and reflected XSS. The way I like to test for XSS is using the <plaintext> tag I will place this into any form field and if there is a possible XSS it will break the page and turn the HTML into text. This means when you view the page instead of seeing a GUI you see the HTML. You can also use <script>alert ("XSS") </script> there are also lots of other ways to test for XSS. The paces you want to test XSS are post variables, get, cookies variables, and HTTP headers. XSS is mainly used for phishing attacks as well as stealing cookies and a cool tool to check out its beef project. A lot of site setup filtering to prevent this by replacing any dangerous characters, there are ways to get pass these filters depending on how they are setup. An example of this would be if a site was using a script to search the input data and only once you have done this then you could try <script><script >alert ("XSS") </script</script> What would happen here is the script would search for <script> tags but as it only runs once it would remove the first <script> tags leaving the second. There are also lots of ways to bypass filters using encoding or different types of tags like HTML5 tags but this post as well as DOM based XSS attacks.
Example Get XSS with URL encoding:
http://testsite.com/page/sign-in?error= ... /script%3E
Additional Resources:
Broken Authentication
A great way to test broken authentication is to find out the URL for something you should only have access to if you were logged in. If you can then go straight to this page without signing in, this indicates broken authentication. Another problem with authentication is if you can guess the session ID you could potentially gain access by guessing or brute forcing the session ID.
Additional Resources:
SQL Injections
SQL Injections is a massive subject in fact there are dedicated books on it. When testing the application I want to try to get, post, headers and cookies fields. If it's running MYSQL I tend to just use a; or 'to break the code, then I can build on this or use SQLMAP to try to exploit the database. This does depend on what database is being used. There are also two types of injection error based and blind, Error based is easy to exploit where blind does take a bit of skill. Error bases is easy to identify as you get some sort of MySQL error relating to the code you have now broken by placing a 'into the query.
We have a box that allows us to supply a name we are going to supply a ' this will then be inserted into the query below.
Select name from table where name = "$name";
What we do is break this query by supplying the 'so it becomes Select name from the table where name = "'"; this should cause an error as this is not valid syntax.
This is a really basic example of SQL injections
Additional Resources:
Storing Password
If we can we want to try to identify how the passwords or credit cards are being stored in the database. The simplest way to do this is if the application has reset password you can use this and see if you get your password back in plain text. If you do get your passwords in plain text this means they are being stored in plain text or they are using an encryption that is easy to reverse. This is more common than you think it should be. In fact a major retailer in the UK has just admitted they are storing passwords in plain text.
Additional Resources:
I think every site I have tested is vulnerable to this attack method. The simplest way to explain this is overlaying a website on top of another website. This happens a lot on Facebook where users think they are clicking like but they really clicking the box behind that is sending a message to all of your friends.
Additional Resources:
I have never really used brute forcing techniques when testing web applications. I always got told that if you need to brute force then you missed something. If I come across a login page I will maybe try a small amount of brute forcing like admin:admin, admin:password and administrator:sitename But no more than say around ten attempts. I also want to see if I get locked out at all, to see if I can't login after a certain amount of times, as this would be an issue in some situations but most clients accept this as a small risk and don't care about it.
You can use tools like Burpsuit for brute forcing as well as hydra most browser also have plugins that you can use to try and get access to the application.
Additional Resources:
When testing a website we want to make sure that all sensitive data is sent using SSL. And it's using a good chipher so anything above 128 would do. We also want to make sure that the certificate has not expired or there are any other issue with it.
Additional Resources:
Sites that allow file uploads sometimes do not use filtering on the file type, this means that you can upload picture.php that contains a PHP backdoor. You can then view this page by going to www.exmaplesite.com/picture.php from here depending on your back door you can run commands on the box like cat /etc/shadow. There are many web backdoors contained in backtrack as well as a great site called pentestmonkey.co.uk. Another trick you can try is to rename the file, if the site has some sort of filtering in place, for example picture.jpg.php this is because most scripts will search the line for a .jpg extension. It will say does this line contact a .jpg and the answer is yes so this would let you upload the file and bypass any filter as if we tried to upload picture.php it would not find the .jpg and not allow us to upload the file.
CSRF Cross site request forgery
This is a bit of a tricky one to explain but let's see if we can explain it as simple as possible. CSRF is when you are logged into one site for example Amazon and then you are using another website called eveilhcker.com. You click a button on this site that you think will register you to the site and it does but at the same time it makes a request to Amazon on your behalf telling Amazon that you want to buy a book, using the one click buy feature. So what's happened now is that you're registered to evilhacker.com but you also brought a book that you are totally unaware of as it's all happened in the background.
The last stage of the test that I like to run is Nessus this just helps me to identify any other issues that I may have missed. Once this has been done I try and confirm any issues it has found before reporting them to the client.
When we provide the report to the customer we want to make sure that all issues have a really good explanation on how to fix the problems. We also want to make some general recommendations, like making sure CMS are updated and you force the user to use strong passwords.
Other Attacks
There are lots of other attack vectors for application including session fixation, local file includes, remote file includes and Ajax attack to name a few. As this is not a step by step guide if you want to learn more about these types of attack I would recommend web applications the best book I think you can get is the Web Applications Hacker Hand book. If you really interested in learning more about web apps, a course I really recommend is elearnsecurity and their labs on web applications. The people behind the book above also offer a web course but this cost around $7 per hour.
Another really good resource is the OWASP web application security testing cheat sheet
I hope people fine this useful feel free to add more if you think I have missed anything and would love to get any feedback.
I'm an InterN0T'er


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Higher Education & Student Affairs Careers
Involvement on Campus is the First Step...
Without realizing it, many college students develop skills related to careers in higher education and student affairs. Student involvement in academic and social activities on campus as well as experiences as club leaders, RAs, campus government representatives, orientation leaders, research assistants, or work-study students all foster skills relevant to higher education and student affairs. Please use this page to explore the possibilities of a career in higher education or student affairs and contact any of the alumni or staff listed below if you have questions.
Careers in Higher Education
Academic Support
Graduate Programs/Guides
Both ACPA and NASPA provide valuable information about student affairs careers including articles about the field, graduate school preparation and graduate program overviews. The CAS Standards provide a set of guidelines and standards for the programs. As you explore the possibilities, be sure to get involved with some activities on campus, check in with Career Development for help with the application process and talk to people on campus who work in fields that interest you.
- ACPA's Directory of Graduate Programs
- NASPA's Graduate Program Directory
- Additional NASPA Resources
- Student Affairs programs at GradSchools.com
- Council for the Advancement of Standards (CAS) Standards
NU Alumni/Staff
The following Niagara University alumni and staff have volunteered to speak with students about careers in higher education and student affairs. Any additional NU alumni or staff who wish to be added to the list or update their contact information/positions should email firstname.lastname@example.com.
Buffalo State College (Master's)
- David Blackburn - email@example.com - NU Staff
Director, Multicultural Affairs
- Amanda (Chapman) Casali - email@example.com - NU Alumna
Admissions Advisor, University at Buffalo
- Stephanie Currie - firstname.lastname@example.com - NU Staff
Director, Academic Exploration Program, Niagara University
- Antonia Knight - email@example.com - NU Staff
Executive Director, Division of Academic Services, Niagara University
- Stephanie Morris - email@example.com - NU Staff
Assistant Director, Career Services. Education, Niagara University
- Mati Ortiz - firstname.lastname@example.com - NU Staff
Director, Campus Activities, Niagara University
- Piraino, Sarah - firstname.lastname@example.com - NU Alumna
Academic Advisor, Access to College Excellence, University at Buffalo
Canisius College (Master's)
- Josh Coyne - email@example.com - NU Alumnus / NU Staff
Residence Director, Niagara University
- Daniel LaRosa - firstname.lastname@example.com - NU Alumnus
Admissions Advisor, University at Buffalo
- E.J. Gonser - email@example.com - NU Alumnu
Director of Residence Life, NCCC
- Kathryn Marzec - firstname.lastname@example.com - NU Staff
Advisor, Academic Exploration Program, Niagara University
- Bill Newton - firstname.lastname@example.com - NU Staff
Assistant Director, Campus Activities, Niagara University
- Nicole Piorkowski - Former NU Staff
Assistant Director, Involvement Programs, Campus Labs
Kent State University (Master's)
- Ashlee Burrs - firstname.lastname@example.com - NU Alumna
Program Coordinator, Office of Civic Engagement & Diversity, University of Nevada: Las Vegas
Nova Southeastern University (Ph.D.)
- Dr. Kevin Hearn - firstname.lastname@example.com - NU Staff
Vice President for Student Affairs, Niagara University
Slippery Rock University (Master's)
- Sarah Georger - firstname.lastname@example.com - NU Alumna
Program Coordinator, Co-Curricular Activity, Honors Program, University of Delaware
Springfield College (Master's) - M.Ed. in Psychology: Student Personnel Admin Concentration
- Kristy Cragg - email@example.com - NU Alumna
Community Enrichment Coordinator, Rochester Institute of Tech
Syracuse University (Master's & Ph.D)
- Kelly Colangelo - firstname.lastname@example.com - NU Alumna
Youth Minister & Speaker, http://www.kellycolangelo.com/
University at Buffalo (Master's & Ph.D.)
- Dr. Jennifer Herman - email@example.com (Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration) - Former NU Staff
Director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching, Simmons College
- Dr. Teresa Miklitsch - email@example.com (Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration) - NU Alum
Senior Academic Advisor, Engineering/Applied Sciences, University at Buffalo
- Dr. John Sauter - firstname.lastname@example.com (Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration) - NU Staff
Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs, Niagara University
Also M.Ed. University of Vermont (below)
- Christopher Sheffield - firstname.lastname@example.com - (Ph.D. in Progress) - NU Alumnus/Staff
University Planner, Niagara University
- Jessica (Biegaj) Wangelin - firstname.lastname@example.com (M.Ed., Ph.D. in Progress) - NU Alumna
Community Relations Associate for Programming, University at Buffalo
- Dr. Judith Willard (Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration) - email@example.com - NU Alumna/Staff
Assistant to the President for Planning, Niagara University
University of Vermont (Master's)
- Dr. John Sauter - email@example.com (Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration) - NU Staff
Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs, Niagara University
Also Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration, University at Buffalo (above)
College of William & Mary (Master's & Ph.D.)
- Kelly Knox - firstname.lastname@example.com - NU Alumna
Other Programs & Related Experience
- Stephanie Atti - firstname.lastname@example.com - NU Alumna
Work experience through Financial Aid
Academic Advisor, D'Youville College
- Stephanie Cattarin - firstname.lastname@example.com - NU Alumna
Interdisciplinary Studies: Higher Education Administration Focus
Executive Director, Center for Professional Development, Canisius College
- Dina Martin - email@example.com - NU Alumna
Interdisciplinary Studies: Sociology/Student Affairs Focus
Assistant Director, Admissions/Transfer Coordinator
- Bryan Semski - email@example.com - NU Alumnus/Staff
Assistant Director, Admissions
- Michelle Semski - email@example.com - NU Alumna
Interdisciplinary Studies: Student Affairs Focus
Academic Advisor, Bryant & Stratton College


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The Last Windrow: Some things shouldn't be allowed to change
Last week my wife, daughter, nephew and I traveled back to my homeland in northwest Iowa to a cousins family reunion. It was billed as the Bohemian Bash and a group of my cousins put together a traditional Bohemian meal that we first cousins had reveled in during our growing up years. There were potato dumplings, caraway seed gravy, roast duck and goose, pork and all the good things that went with the meal. If the greatness of a meal were ever to be judged by pure weight of the dinner plate, this would rank about No. 1. Now I know what a stuffed bear feels like after gorging itself with food before hibernation.
After a great day of eating and visiting we adjourned to our various abodes, mine being my sister and brother-in-law's residence in South Sioux City, Nebraska. I slept the sleep of the dead that night and awoke to a vastly different weather pattern. A cold front had moved through that night and dropped the temperature about 40 degrees and the northwest wind I knew so well as a youngster was howling outside our bedroom window on Sunday morning. One tends to forget how hard the wind blows on the prairie after living in the deep woods for over 40 years. But, blow the wind did and that was soothing to me.
I wanted to give my daughter and nephew a tour of my old stomping grounds and Sunday afternoon we hopped in the car and headed for the farmland of my youth. We toured my old school grounds and I showed my audience the levee that my Dad and I helped fortify during a flood in the 1960s. My old Little League baseball field was still in place where I collected my first base hit and got bawled out by the coach for overthrowing second base. I never did like that coach and it still rankles me that I saved him a game or two during my career, but he forgot all about those efforts when my errant throw sailed over the cut-off man.
The lay of the land hasn't changed much in my homeland. The gently rolling hills still remain in place. Corn and soybean fields cover the landscape in every direction. The crop was poor in this part of the country this past year, but I could almost hear the plans for 2013 being laid in farmhouses. These farmers never have been quitters and they'll be back in the field next spring with hope in their hearts and seed in the seeder. If you live in the USA, you should be thankful for that type of thinking.
As I motored over the hills and across the flats, there was something that had undergone a radical change. Many of the farmhouses of my youth were no longer present. Each section used to house at least three or four farmsteads complete with a grove of cottonwood trees and a scattering of outbuildings. Now there were no outbuildings and no livestock. Two farmsteads within a mile of our farmhouse were totally missing from the landscape and a cornfield stood in each place where in the 1960s buildings and hog pens were present. Huge piles of uprooted tree stumps had been bulldozed into heaps ready for burning where my Uncle Marvin's farmhouse once stood with the yard light glowing during the milking hour. Next year there will be no trace of this place where I once played tag with my cousins and helped milk a barn full of Holsteins.
Neptune and The Station were no longer in business. One completely gone and the other sitting empty on the corner where we had once filled up our cars and tractors. I pulled our car up to the now vacant pump site and hollered out our car window, "Fill er' up!" to no one but the northwest wind that was howling across a now combined soybean field. It was kind of an eerie feeling to think of all my old neighbors who had visited this place during my growing up years and now were nowhere to be seen.
They say you can never go back, but I would beg to differ with that statement. You can go back in your mind, if you were paying attention in your younger years. We visited my family's old farm site and were allowed to enter the barns that I knew so well. The horse barn still smelled like horses and the milk barn still smelled like cows. I could almost hear that vacuum pump pumping, keeping our milking machines running. My initials were still carved in the concrete floor as were my dad's and my uncle Frank's.
You can go back, but it is not ever going to be quite the same. Time moves on and so do we. As my brother-in-law Bill said, "Where did those good years go?"
Some things shouldn't be allowed to change. Thank goodness those potato dumplings, caraway seed gravy and roast goose stayed the same. That was a blessing.
See you next time. Okay?


text:
Not a lot to worry about here this year: As long as there's garbage, municipal solid waste (MSW) managers will have a job.
The issues you'll face this year, however, are where that garbage is going and how its treatment is changing. As recycling grows, the amount of waste sent to landfills is dropping. So the waste is still there, but it's being handled differently.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Americans generated 245.7 million tons of MSW in 2005, a drop of 1.6 million tons from 2004. Recycling increased by 2%, an increase of 1.2 million tons to 58.4 million tons. Composting rose slightly to 20.6 million tons (a negligible increase over the previous year).
Recycling is on the rise. Single-stream recycling—common in many areas—will continue to increase as cities face higher tipping fees from private landfills, more stringent environmental regulations, and a push toward more "green" processes. Cities are diverting money saved on tipping fees to recycling and composting programs to decrease the number of trucks sent to landfills, thus lowering overall tipping fees.
Waste-to-energy (WTE) will increase, though the number of new facilities will remain stagnant. There's renewed interest in harvesting landfill byproducts, due mainly to the growing appreciation of the link between MSW and energy. Many facilities are meeting their bond maturity, so the "mortgage" has essentially been paid, allowing operators to try out new technologies and invest more in capital equipment. By retrofitting furnaces and implementing other conversion technologies, landfills and other waste facilities can take advantage of tax credits and selling off their energy.
Conversion technologies become more popular in wake of skyrocketing energy prices. Pyrolysis and gasification offer more opportunities for recovering products from waste than incineration. Other benefits include less MSW being sent to landfills and lowered methane and other emissions.
St. Lucie County, Fla., for example, announced last fall that it will build a $425 million plasma-arc gasification facility, eliminating the need for a landfill and generating energy for nearby industry. It will be the first such plant in the nation operating on such a massive scale and the largest in the world.
Rising fuel prices, changing engine standards. The price of fuel—whether it's gas or an alternative fuel—continues to rise, putting a dent in fleets managers' pocketbooks. Emissions standards for model year 2007 on-road vehicles were tightened; 2010 will see more stringent standards. See the "fleets" section on page 33 for more information.
Flow control may change. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1994 that flow control—state or local laws, regulations, and economic incentives or disincentives that direct where MSW should be processed or disposed—violates the "dormant" Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Since that decision, several exceptions to this general principle have developed. These exceptions, and their application to specific circumstances involving MSW, continue to be argued in the courts.
In arguments beginning this month, the Supreme Court will determine the constitutionality of flow control. The verdict, due in June, could cause dramatic changes in where waste is hauled, since hauling across state lines might be cheaper or more efficient for some municipalities. The case, United Haulers Association Inc. v. Oneida-Herkimer Solid Waste Management Authority, dates back more than a decade. The issue is whether the counties can direct trash flow. The local laws were struck down by a federal court but then upheld by a federal appeals court, according to the National Solid Wastes Management Association.
Transfer station siting along rail lines. In the Northeast, private firm Chartwell International Inc. has bought a rail line and the property along it, intending to construct and operate a transfer station there. Due to the siting of these waste disposal and offload facilities, the company believes it is exempt from environmental or site plan oversight, prompting local officials to take the issue to court. Depending on the court's decision, siting of transfer stations and their EPA oversight could take on a whole new meaning.
The placed-in-service window may expire at the end of the year. The Section 45 Renewable Electricity Production Credit (REPC), commonly referred to as the Production Tax Credit, is a per-kilowatt-hour federal tax credit for electricity generated by qualified energy resources. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 extended the credit through Dec. 31, 2007. The REPC originally funded only wind, closed-loop biomass, and poultry waste, but now includes landfill gas and MSW combustion.


text:
Log in
Various state House and Senate committees are addressing the state budget. Last week the Senate Appropriations Committee passed bills calling for a cut in state aid to public libraries of $1.5 million and transferring the money to the arts.
The House School Aid and Education Subcommittee adopted a budget which retains the Governor's recommended budget and holds state aid to public libraries at $10 million, the same as last year.
Upon their return from vacation on April 20, the House and Senate will begin negotiations to reconcile budget differences.
State aid to public libraries is the state funding used to match federal funding to support MeL, the state wide databases and interlibrary loan system. Significant reductions in state aid could put MeL funding in jeopardy.
If you want your voice heard, contact your state Senator or Representative.
Posted by Ann Rohrbaugh at 04/02/2009 09:49:16 AM |
Books for: Kids, Teens & Tweens


text:
Adopted 3/14/78; revised 1/27/98; revised 12/14/99; revised 3/23/04; reviewed 9/25/2007; reaffirmed 10/28/2008; rewritten and approved 1/28/14; reaffirmed 12/3/14
The Royal Oak Public Library is dependent on the trust of its community to successfully achieve its mission. Therefore, it is crucial that all Board members conduct business on behalf of the Royal Oak Public Library with the highest level of integrity avoiding any impropriety or the appearance of impropriety.
Guiding Principles
- Board members shall uphold the integrity of the Royal Oak Public Library and shall perform their duties impartially and diligently.
- Board members shall not engage in discrimination of any kind including that based upon actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, height, weight, condition of pregnancy, marital status, physical or mental limitation, source of income, family responsibilities, sexual orientation, gender identity, or HIV status.
- Board members shall protect and uphold library patrons' right to privacy in their use of the library's resources.
- Board members shall avoid situations in which their personal interests, activities or financial affairs are, or are likely to be perceived as being in conflict with the best interests of the Royal Oak Public Library. If a Board member believes that the potential for such a conflict exists, the member shall promptly inform the Board and the Library Director.
- Board members shall avoid having interests that may reasonably bring into question their position in a fair, impartial and objective manner.
- In connection with their duties as Trustee of the Royal Oak Public Library, Board members shall not knowingly accept gifts or compensation from any individual or organization that does business with the Royal Oak Public Library. Should a Board member receive such a gift or compensation, the member shall promptly inform the Board and the Library Director.
- Board members shall not knowingly act in any way that would reasonably be expected to create an impression among the public that they are engaged in conduct that violates their trust as Board members or employees.
Royal Oak Public Library Policies
- Board members shall not use or attempt to use their position with the Royal Oak Public Library to obtain unwarranted privileges or advantages for themselves or others.
- Board members shall not be swayed by partisan interests or fear of criticism.
- Board members shall not denigrate the Royal Oak Public Library or fellow Board members or employees in any public arena.
- The parking permit issued by the City of Royal Oak to each Board member should be used only when the Board member is involved in library business.
- Board members shall disclose any conflict of interest or potential conflict of interest prior to any deliberation or decision of the Library Board in which a potential conflict exists, and a Board member shall refrain from participating in any deliberation or decision where the Board Member has such a conflict or potential conflict.
To preserve and uphold the Royal Oak Public Library's reputation as an organization of unimpeachable integrity, each Board member shall fully comply with this policy during their tenure with the Royal Oak Public Library. At the start of each calendar year, or at the first meeting following a Library Board member's appointment, he or she shall sign a copy of this policy, to be maintained on file with the Library Director, to signify that the Board member understands its terms and agrees to uphold its Guiding Principles.


text:
Guy's, I think that I've contacted everyone.
I just sent PM for you guys without enough posts.
" Save a tree...........Eat A Beaver!"
I seldom talk to liberals.............................. But when I do, I order fries............
Guy's, I think that I've contacted everyone.
"It Takes A Strong Man To Be Kind", Sgt Nathan Wilson, 5th SFG (1970)
WOLVERINES! One of GUNCO's First Hundred!
Dixon....paypal money sent......thank you
I'll take a CD too. I can pay with Paypal my email is ( geo_martin2001@yahoo. com )
Got the CD today.....It looks great. It's nice to have all that info in one place...
Thanks again TK!
Since my count is not high enough I will try this way. Tried sending message through admin.
I would like to purchase CD. Can you email me @
Last edited by Stiff finger; 01-16-2009 at 03:32 PM.
I can't e mail you until I have 20 posts so....would you mind PM or e mailing me to send you money through papal.
thank you
I'd love to get my hands on one of those cd's as well. Could you email or pm me please?
Received my CD..Thanks,
Already reveiwed most of it and the information is great. I appreciate the fast response and the quality of the material.


text:
We support our patients and their families in their time of need.
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The Good Samaritan Hospital Spiritual Care Division works to promote the physical, emotional and spiritual health of our patients, families, staff, and community. We seek to reflect Good Samaritan Hospital's core values of respect, integrity, compassion, and excellence in all that we do. We intentionally partner with others who share our commitment to building a healthier community.
Within the Good Samaritan Hospital Spiritual Care Division, the Pastoral Care Department and Health Ministries Program work together to promote the sense of health, wholeness, and well-being that all people desire. We do this be offering an array of services for patients, families, caregivers, physicians, staff, and the community.
Content Updated: November 12, 2014
Health Ministries emphasizes the wholeness of body, mind and spirit within the members of local congregations.
Your emotional and mental state can affect your body in many ways.
After the death of a loved one, it is natural to experience many symptoms of grief.
From education to support, you can rely upon the Spiritual Care programs at Premier Health.
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text:
Item copyright: © Australian War Memorial
This item is licensed under CC BY-NC
This item is licensed under CC BY-NC
|ID number
|Collection type
|Object type
|Colour - Digital file JPEG
|Fletcher, Nick
|Place made
|Afghanistan: Uruzgan Province, Tarin Kot
|Date made
|31 January 2011
|Headquarters of the Mentoring Task Force - Two (MTF-2).
One of a series of photographs taken by Nick Fletcher, Senior Curator of Military Heraldry and Technology at the Australian War Memorial, as part of the Memorial's Curators in the Field program. This program continues the Memorial's tradition of documenting Australia's experience of war, through observing the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and collecting records, photographs, oral histories and objects for the Memorial's National Collection. Nick travelled to Afghanistan with the ADF from January to February in 2011, together with fellow staff members Stephanie Boyle, Senior Curator of Film and Sound; and Peter Pedersen, Head of the Research Centre.


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Attacks on the Press 2004: Israel and the Palestinian Authority Territories
With Iraq dominating media security concerns in the Middle East, journalists covering the region's other main flash point quietly faced a familiar array of hazards on the job. The occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip remained two of the most dangerous and unpredictable assignments for journalists in 2004, largely because of the conduct of Israeli troops. Although the situation was not as dire as in other years, like 2002, when fighting was at peak levels, Israel's army and security services continued to commit a range of abuses against working journalists, who faced the possibilities of gunfire, physical abuse, and arrest, in addition to sharp limits on their freedom of movement.


text:
Amazing View to Charles Bridge Luxury Apartment - SN5!
Vendégek száma6
Hálószobák száma1
Méret79 m²
Floor No.
- Konyha
- Mosógép / szárítógép
- Családi / Gyerek barát
- Internet/WiFi
- Kisállat megengedett
- Törölköző
- Mosogatógép
Accommodation summary
|Smetanovo nábřeží, 110 00 Prague, Csehország
|Ingatlan típusa
|Ingatlan azonosító
|Acceptance rate
|Response time
|A few hours
|Calendar updated
|6 days ago
It is suitable for up to 6 people and comprises from one bedroom with 1 double bed, cloak-room, large living room with 2 double sofa beds, bathroom with shower, fully equipped kitchen. Windows face to Prague Castle, Charles Bridge and to the panorama of Lesser Town. This apartment is situated right in the Prague Old Town, just a few steps to Charles bridge.
Moreover the flat offers an LCD TV Sharp 32' full HD / satellite, CD / DVD / radio, modern Italian design furniture, refrigerator, dishwasher Whirlpool, oven, kettle, microwave, toaster, coffee maker, hall with storage space, bathroom (shower) with heated floor, heated towel rails, toilet with bidet, hair dryer ironing facilities, washing machine & dryer Whirlpool, dining bar, extra beds available, bed linen and towels, free Wi-Fi internet, Italian lightening Murano.
Charles Bridge: 0.24 km; Old Town Square: 0.22 km; National Theatre: 0.6 km; Wenceslas Square: 0.8 km
Prague Castle: 1.3 km; Main Railway Station: 1.3 km; Airport: 10.8 km
How to get there:
Public transport: Metro and tram station "Staromestska" is only 5 minutes' walk away.
By Car (from the main highway):
The main highway Dresden-Prague / Wienna - Prague is situated approximately 600 meters from us.
HázirendOn the Check-in:
All guests are obliged to submit photo ID at check-in that matches the guest name on the booking and have to sign the accommodation agreement. We are entitled to require a security deposit at check-in by credit card or cash, to guarantee payment of any incidental charges.
Additional service costs for late arrivals after 9 p.m. is 350,-CZK or 15 EUR.
On the Check-out:
Late check-out possible only if agreed in advance.
All taxes, cleaning fees, bed sheets, linens, towels and all utensils you find are included in the price.
Accepted credit cards: we reserve the right to pre-authorise credit cards prior to arrival.
Public secure underground parking 200 meters from the building (600 CZK approx. 24 EUR/day)
|Ár >4 vendégre
|21 € /fő/éj extra
|Érkezés legkorábbi időpontja
|Check-in before
|Távozás legkésőbbi időpontja
|Lemondási feltétel
A házigazda egyéb ingatlanjainak értékelései
We only spent one Weekend at the Vladislav Attic Duplex Appartment but all we can say is: it was perfect!
It is indeed located in the middle of Prague. There are supermarkets, shopping malls and restaurants right in front of the apartment. We reached everything by foot, so we didn't even have to use our car or the train.
We highly recommend this apartment to anyone who likes to see this beautiful city and spend some valuable time there.
The apartment was really nice and over our expectations and Lubos has been really nice and help us alot with everything. All from taxi to airport and a list of nice restaurants and stuff to do.
The only thing was that they are building a big house just next door and started early in the morning and it was noicy sometimes.
Clean and central apartment, as promised
Plus: Fantastic view, elegant apartment, great location, baby bed and seat available, equipment excellent.
Minus: sleeping room is at the back, but a bar can make it noisy in the evenings.
The apartment also gets quite expensive depending on the season.
My family and I had a nice stay at this apartment. The apartment was quiet and looked just like the pictures. The location was very good if you are into seeing the sights. We parked around the corner in a garage that cost around 20-25 eur a day I believe.
If you are handicapped, please note there is no elevator, and this being an attic apartment, you will have to take about 3 flights of stairs.
What also comes along with attic rooms is small windows. Little more than portholes really. So if you are looking for somewhere with a lot of sun and a balcony, this is not it. On the other hand, it makes it quite cosy and can add to the experience, so it just depends on what you want.
All in all, I would recommend it.
The apartment was very nice and both Kate and Paula were very helpful with everything we needed. Spacious, comfortable and centrally located. The only downside was that the air-conditioning didn't seem to work very well, and so it got rather warm. Other than that, definitely a great place to stay in and wonderful hosts. We hope to stay with them again :)
The apartment is very lovely and is nicely located close to everything. The interior design is very pleasing, whoever the kitchen appliances are somewhat spare; few plates, few cups, few glasses, only one tea towel etc. -But this is only a small problem and it is easy to get around.
The host who greeted us there was very forthcoming and nice and was very informative.
The only reason the apartment doesn't get five stars is that a cleaning lady came during our stay without our knowledge, which made us a bit uncomfortable when we returned to the apartment later that day.
-Had we known, there would have been no problem, and the apartment review would read five stars instead.
Will definitely be returning!
Due to terrible weathter conditons (Carlsbridge was closed, politics recommended strongly tourist should not enter the city due to flood of Moldow) we had no chance enjoying the loft. Sad to say we had no chance on a refund and Wimdu not even did answer our mail concerning the necessary deletion of the booking.
We booked again 1 month later. The appartment has a wonderful view (two windows towards bridge an castle). Beds are not very comfortable, the second room is small and not very cosy. The kitchen is well equipped, they even serve you a dishwasher and coffee machine. And the manager was extraordinary friendly and helpful. All in all it has been a great experience. Nevertheless a little bad taste is left due to WIMDU who did not really care on our emails before and served us with informations on the loft that made it almost impossible to spot the location (they even did not serve us a street number). But thats another story. So far WIMDU 1 Star - Appartment 4
Clean and comfortable appartement - a fantastic location just in the middle of Prague
Perfect, exactly what's offered and what you can see in the photos. I will not search for any other place next time I visit Praga. Location also great
- Minőségbiztosított szállás
- Minden házigazda hitelesítésre került telefonon keresztül
- Biztonságos fizetés SSL titkosításon keresztül


text:
Looking for hearing aids in Paraparaumu? We've got you covered! Over the past few years, Hearing Tracker has helped thousands of people find the high-quality hearing help they need. Browse over 5 hearing centers near Paraparaumu to discover great clinical services and the latest hearing aid models from the world's best hearing aid manufacturers. Hearing Tracker is independently owned and operated.
Hearing Tracker is an independent platform that strives to deliver unbiased information about hearing aids and hearing care. Our platform is generously supported by the following businesses. If you enjoy using our platform, please support them!


text:
|GTA V Latest News | #GTAV | #GTAOnline
2008 New drivers may fix your GTA IV woes
Grand Theft Auto IV - General News | @ 07:46 PM MDT | By Neil
nVidia just released a new set of drivers and they are specifically aimed at GTA IV players. The success you'll have with this software is a bit hit and miss - some users are reporting vast performance increases while others say there is no change. Trying won't hurt, though. nVidia users can get the new drivers here.
A new ATi driver will be released on December 10th and should significantly improve performance for gamers with those cards. Also, another note from Rockstar Games states what we should expect from the coming patch:
Patch Is On The Way
We are working on making a patch available in the next few days. Since Grand Theft Auto IV is a Games For Windows � Live game the patch must be certified by Microsoft before release. The patch is already at Microsoft and we expect a speedy approval. The patch contains a variety of fixes including:
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text:
Looming cuts to farm bill could take a big bite out of food stamps program
National lawmakers are in deep discussion this month over what some are calling one of the largest pieces of legislation they have to tackle.
Congressional leaders are debating over how much they plan on cutting from the $300 billion farm bill, with the largest $80 billion piece of that pie allotted toward spending on domestic food aid. Meaning, the federal food stamps programs will be taking the biggest hit if these cuts are approved.
The Senate is proposing a $400 million cut while the House is seeking to chop $2.5 billion from the food stamp program.
The Idaho Farm Bureau has been negotiating the guidelines of the new bill with efforts to try and minimalize the effects of the cuts.
Idaho Farm Bureau representative John Thompson said cutting this much from the bill will impact a significant amount of people from across Idaho.
"Coming through this recession, a lot of people have depended on that," Thompson said. "But that is also the biggest part of the bill. That is where a majority of the cuts will come from."
The Idaho Food Bank said there are 232,000 Idahoans living on food stamps which they said is about 14-percent of the population. The Food Bank also said cutting this amount of money from the food stamps program will cause 210,000 children across the state to lose their free school meals.
Idaho Food Bank President and CEO Karen Vauk said with more than one million pounds in food they give out across the state each month, this number will be expected to increase if people can no longer maintain assistance from food stamps.
"There is just no way we will be able to fill that gap," Vauk said.
Vauk also said food stamps alone are not enough to keep people fed throughout the month with an average of about $1.50 food stamps provide each person for each meal.
The cuts to the overall bill will also impact farmers across the state who, if the cuts approved, will see drastic cuts to government subsidies and crop insurance. This could add up to a $2.4 billion dollar cut from government farm spending.
Thompson said these cuts will change the way farmers get their funding, and instead of being paid directly by the government, they will need to hope they will be able to dominate the global market in order for their crops to be profitable.
"It's ensuring a domestic food supply exists which is important. It's a national security issue," Thompson said.
However, he also said many of the farmers, instead of being directly by government, will see certain insurance benefits that will ensure they can maintain their farms and compete in the global market despite any harsh weather conditions that might pose as a threat.
Thompson said farmers in the US are subsidized by the government by eight percent, which is enough to barely sustain their farms. Compared to the rest of the world: Canada receives 14-percent, countries within the European Union receive 18-percent, and Japan rakes in a whopping 52-percent from its government.
Although the Idaho Farm Bureau has been hoping to prevent the cuts from happening, Thompson said, realistically they are still inevitable with the current state of the nation's economy looking at making cuts from various other programs across the board.
The current farming programs already in place will expire by the end of this September.
Follow Kaitlin on Twitter: @KaitlinLoukides


text:
When I lived in Allenspark, we used to shoot in Left Hand Canyon, Gold Hill, Nederland. Cann the USFS office and ask them where you can shoot.
How are things in the Peoples Republic of Boulder these days? Is sitting on a couch or chair on your porch still illegal?


text:
Renovating and expanding a 75-year-old facility into a modern, state-of-the-art purification facility while maintaining the flavor of the existing architecture isn't as easy as it sounds, but it can be done.
In 2002, AEC firm Chiang, Patel & Yerby Inc. (CP&Y) was asked to improve the Bachman Water Treatment Plant in Dallas and help the plant comply with the Safe Drinking Water Act.
To meet the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Enhanced Surface Water and Disinfection By-Product Rules, the design included improvements to expand the plant's capacity to serve the growing needs of Dallas Water Utilities' (DWU) customers. Improvements also were intended to enhance plant performance and reliability, and improve DWU's ability to increase capacity over several years.
The project included hydraulic improvements to expand the plant's capacity to 150 mgd, a new low-service pump station, a high-service pump station/clearwells, chemical system renovation, ozone disinfection system, filter renovations, sedimentation rehabilitation, electrical renovations, and an improved supervisory control and data acquisition system.
Luckily, the plant is strategically located in the heart of Dallas. "Dallas' water distribution system literally grew up around the Bachman Water Treatment Plant; therefore, the plant is the most economical of the city's three treatment plants in terms of cost to produce and deliver water," said Edward M. Motley, P.E., D.E.E., senior vice president of CP&Y.
With the plant needing significant improvements and the city needing additional water treatment capacity to serve its growing population, Dallas' staff decided to both renovate and expand the plant. The original plan called for a modest 15 mgd expansion, but CP&Y showed how the plant could be expanded by an additional 20 mgd, bringing the total expansion to 35 mgd and resulting in a 150 mgd plant.
In addition to the expansion, the plant was totally renovated, giving Dallas a modern 150 mgd water treatment plant in the heart of its distribution system. This feat was achieved for only $0.75 per mgd of water treatment capacity.
The biggest challenges were limited space and multiple contracts. The plant is sandwiched between a lake, a park, an airport, and an industrial area. The project was divided into six construction contracts so that as many as five contracts would be concurrent.
As a result, said Motley, the team learned the need for communication. A construction manager was retained to manage the onsite activities, an essential strategy for the project.
The city's main challenges revolved around keeping the plant in service during construction. "Having a construction manager onsite played a huge role in making this a successful project," said Charles Stringer, P.E., assistant director of water operations for DWU. "Also, having good engineering firms producing good plans and specifications added to the project's success. Finally, having two good contractors working on the project made things happen smoothly."
Bachman Water Treatment Plant
Project completion date: May 7, 2005
Total cost: $126.9 million
AEC firm: Chiang, Patel & Yerby Inc.
Location: Dallas
Neat stat: Five contractors worked simultaneously on a small urban site with literally hundreds of interfaces; work was completed with a change order record of less than 3%.


text:
Cowabunga System Daily Update: Tuesday, 01/14/2014
← Cowabunga System Daily Update: Tuesday, 01/14/2014
Learn How to Trade Forex. BabyPips.com Is The Beginner's Guide to Forex Trading. Your Best Source for Forex Education on the Web.
Traders must consider global macro & forex stories influenced by data & politics. Seems daunting but there are signs to notice when correlations disconnect. ...Read More


text:
Log in
Bagels may not often described with the above adjectives, but Sharon Kahn's Fax me a bagel definitely fits the bill. The first in her Ruby, the rabbi's wife series, it is a quick and enjoyable read, with quirky characters and old technology (published in 1998 – can that really be fifteen years ago already – facsimile technology and the necessary accoutrements of a business have come a long way). If you enjoy this title, you'll be pleased to know that we have the rest of the series, which are six in total. Just beware: you may finish reading with a craving for bagels, though you may be as lucky as I was – and coincidentally be offered one. Just in case it wasn't a coincidence, my next read may be about winning the lottery!
Posted by Eleanore Chadderdon at 05/08/2013 08:12:09 AM
Books for: Kids, Teens & Tweens


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A buffer guest is a close friend that you invite to a party ten or 15 minutes before the rest of the guests are scheduled to arrive. This guest or group of guests is meant to 1) make it seem like the party has already begun and good times are to be had and 2) make it less awkward in case someone you don't know particularly well arrives before everyone else.
I invited Jona over as a buffer guest in case Tim or Josh came over early, because I don't really have a lot in common with them
by violentfemme May 02, 2009


text:
Town Square
Rush L.
Original post made by mooseturd, Pleasanton Valley, on Mar 6, 2012
Those still advertising include American Forces Network, Tax Resolution Services, Lifelock, Hillsdale College, Health/Heart and Body, Lear Capital, Allstate and AOL.
Now I think Obama might want to reconsider the American Forces Network. The rest of us might examine who we patronize.
a resident of Amberwood/Wood Meadows
on Mar 6, 2012 at 10:03 am
Stacey is a registered user.
The news last night said AOL pulled their ads too.
a resident of Vintage Hills
on Mar 6, 2012 at 10:18 am
Kathleen Ruegsegger is a registered user.
I have never listened to Rush--never understood anyone's fascination with him in the first place. So, I wouldn't know who was supporting him with their ads (and advertisers just go where there are big audiences anyway).
a resident of Parkside
on Mar 6, 2012 at 12:19 pm
SteveP is a registered user.
A question for you anti-1st amendment folks: Where were you when Bill Maher was calling Republican feamle candidates boobs, c*nt, tw*ts etc? This is the same guy who contributed a cool million to your messiah so he could continue his regime for another 4 miserable years.
When he uttered his insults at multiple targets, did you hear of anyone demanding his advertisers drop him or remove him from the airways?
I know you folks are invested in the leftists double standard, which is why everyone expects this obvious hypocrisy. Your targeted outrage speaks volumes about your slanted values and shallow thought process.
In the end, it's all entertainment, I guess.....
a resident of Amberwood/Wood Meadows
on Mar 6, 2012 at 12:41 pm
Stacey is a registered user.
"Anti-first amendment" is an interesting term to use there, Steve. Slander against a public figure (like Sarah Palin) is considered protected speech under the 1st amendment while slander of a private citizen is not. Rush's speech was not protected under the First Amendment however much you may think Rush was only exercising his rights.
But more to the point, whether the speech is protected or not doesn't make the debasement of the public discourse right. I'm not trying to defend Maher. I don't agree with calling Palin those names either. But I don't watch Maher anymore than I listen to Rush. You can blame the media for not bringing national attention to Maher earlier.
a resident of Parkside
on Mar 6, 2012 at 8:42 pm
Fluke stopped being a 'private citizen' when she became a spokesperson for private, Catholic school sponsored contraception in front of a Dem sponsored press conference. She is now the public face of promiscuous women demanding religious institutions bow to her screeches about her right to free abortifacients.
a resident of Amberwood/Wood Meadows
on Mar 6, 2012 at 9:27 pm
Stacey is a registered user.
I agree that there's some determination still to be made by the courts as to whether she's actually a public figure, but I think you continue to miss the bigger picture: the debasement of the public discourse. It might be your freedom of speech to use crass language, but should you?
a resident of Parkside
on Mar 7, 2012 at 7:57 am
SteveP is a registered user.
Stacey, no, I did not miss the point, hence my bringing up the numerous crude insults hurled my Maher. Rush's inappropriate comments were just the latest example of discourse that has degraded since 2008. He is being made an example of because the he is on the right and the media and the Dems think they now have the high ground. The bigger picture is, this has been going on long before this latest incident was blown out of proportion in the press and in the halls of govt. The bigger picture that you guys are ignoring is the double standard that has existed for years and the fact that it is condoned and persists as long as the media lean left.
a resident of Pleasanton Valley
on Mar 7, 2012 at 8:06 am
mooseturd is a registered user.
Hey, I don't want Rush removed from the air. I just want folks to boycott his advertisers. Rush serves a valuable public service -- electing Democrats.
a resident of Amberwood/Wood Meadows
on Mar 7, 2012 at 8:58 pm
Stacey is a registered user.
I'm not ignoring that double standard at all. I suggested that the media didn't bring national attention to Maher's comments in a post above. And yes, this kind of discourse has been going on for a long time. How will it get turned around if we don't start somewhere? Now's as good a time as any.
a resident of Parkside
on Mar 13, 2012 at 7:59 pm
Nice to see the dem operatives have learned to use computers (illegally): Web Link


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Boycott (Some) Jews?
Mira Sucharov | Posted 05.28.2012 | Canada
Read More: Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Peter Beinart, Diaspora Jews, West Bank, Ariel College, Nir Gov, Settlements, Israeli Academics, Liberal Zionism, Canada News
Peter Beinart's recent New York Times op-ed calling for a boycott of settlement products is predictably generating much pushback. But boycotting the settlements might allow those of us who oppose the occupation a new and more finely honed expression of our Jewish identity.


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I have read some of the past topics about using heat in hives. There never seems to be a complete consensus but many advised against it, but what about nucs? Overwintering nucs seem to be a way to achieve a self sustaining apiary, and that's something I am striving for. I have read that Michael Bush has used heat for his nucs. Does anybody else use a heat source for overwintering your nucs? Anybody use heat tape for wintering their nucs? I have been thinking of boxing them in with solid foam insulation (would have to figure out a top entrance situation) and putting heat tape in a structure under a screened bottom board. I found one at menards that heats to 35 f. That seem to be about right.
FYI I have thought about wintering on top of a production hive, but have decided against it.
Also would it be stupid or wise to o this in my garage? I figure that as long as I keep it dark and only briefly turn on the lights to get to the freezer, the bees shouldn't fly much. I would have to bring them out a few times during nice days for cleansing flights, but it would probably be doable.


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Code Wars: America's Cyber Threat
This CNBC Original Documentary was first broadcast on May 26, 2011. Broadcast again on 10-30, I DVRed it. Trying to get time this weekend to give it a look. Thought I'd share.
In the United States, we are Internet dependent. Our financial systems, power grids, telecommunications, water supplies, flight controls and military communications are all online – making them vulnerable to countless attacks by cyber criminals. The goal could be a 10-minute blackout, an attack on our national security, a stock trading glitch or the theft of millions of dollars worth of intellectual property. The FBI has recently made cyber crime a number one priority, one that costs the U.S. an estimated trillion dollars a year.
CNBC's "Code Wars", hosted by Melissa Lee, takes you onto the frontlines of the war on cyber. Cyber attacks are almost impossible to trace, making cyber crime and acts of cyber warfare the ultimate anonymous crime. So how do we protect our systems whose components are largely manufactured abroad? Can our nation's infrastructure be protected from cyber attacks? And how can the U.S. win a war in which conventional rules of combat do not apply? CNBC tackles the tough questions in "Code Wars: America's Cyber Threat."
CISSP, MCSE, CSTA, Security+ SME


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Heelys (the shoes with wheels), have a new line of shoes coming out this fall – and many of them are designed for women! I was offered a pair for review but, as much as I wanted to try them, I opted to get a pair for my 10 year old instead. (Honestamente, my roller skating and ice skating skills aren't so bueno, so I don't know if I'd be able to get the hang of Heelys.)
Heelys can be worn with or without the wheels, (we will have to take the wheels off if he wears them to school), but most people don't know they come in adult sizes. In addition to the adult sizes, Heelys is introducing three brand new lines – an athletic shoe which will be lighter in weight, shoes made specifically for girls and women with more fashion forward colors and styles, and a street shoe with improved outsoles. (Ahora falta botas picudas con ruedas. Can you imagine? Now that would be chévere!)
For more information you can find Heelys on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, in addition to their regular website.
My 10 year old was super feliz to finally get a pair of Heelys. These are the "Element" style Heelys in Youth size 3. The wheels were easy to install and are easy to take out, too.
It took my son about 30 minutes to get the hang of them. The trick is positioning your feet just so.
Once he knew how to use the Heelys, he didn't want to stop. Here's a little video to give you a taste of the fun.
Now he wants to learn how to do tricks with the Heelys. I'm happy he's found another activity to get him outside and away from the video games.
Disclosure: A pair of Heelys was provided for review. All opinions are my own.


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The legendary band, who celebrated the 50th anniversary of their first gig at a bash earlier this year, says it will return to the stage with four concerts in Newark, New Jersey, and London.
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by Micro Focus
Oct 16, 2012
Today's software development organizations face a triple challenge. They must optimize the quality of increasingly complex software applications to deliver winning solutions that yield a high ROI and drive competitive advantage. To solve this challenge, many forward-thinking companies have turned to automation, recognizing its potential to thoroughly test, rapidly develop and reduce the cost of delivering high-quality applications.
But automated testing solutions are not one-size-fits-all. In fact, 85% of organizations that attempt automation fail because they mistakenly believe that simply buying a test automation product will solve their lack-of-time and lack-of-resource problems. The companies that succeed, on the other hand, realize that an automated functional testing solution is only part a much larger strategic endeavor - one that calls for an initial investment in planning a quality-driven software development process, training quality-related personnel and developing the right test framework before they can achieve the benefits of automation.
Read this white paper to gain practical insights from these companies and learn how you can successfully deploy an automated functional testing process in your own organization.


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Excerpt: "Peyton
Manning has said that, by March, his future in Indianapolis will become
apparent. As the Colts close in on the ability to take Stanford quarterback
Andrew Luck with the first overall pick in the 2012 draft, Archie Manning has
provided the first tangible evidence to suggest that a divorce is coming.
Specifically, Archie doesnt believe that Peyton and Luck will want to be
teammates in Indianapolis.

I dont think itd necessarily be great for either one, Archie Manning told
FOX Sports Radios Zakk & Jack Show on Tuesday. I think Andrews
the type of mature player . . . he can walk right in. I mean, these other three
or four guys that are playing this year, [if] they can walk in and contribute,
Andrew can, too. . . .

We know Andrew well. He comes down to our camp every year. I used to play
with his dad [Oliver]. . . . Im in New York, I heard from him last night.
Peytons also tried to help Andrew and kind of be a friend. I doubt if either
one want to play on the same team.

It wasnt an accident or a coincidence. It was a clear sign that, if the
Colts plan to take Luck, Peyton will be looking for a path out of town. And for
good reason. With the first overall pick worth more than ever this year, Peyton
surely would prefer that the Colts trade the rights to Luck for players and/or
draft picks who could help Peyton win more Super Bowls." Read more...


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<u>The Joys of being a Divorced Dad</u>
Bite my tongue for months to surprise my kids with a trip to Disney for a Christmas present.
Kids excited on the drive back to their house yesterday
My daughter (11) messages me today so I say was your mom excited for you? she says I dont know
lol I knew something going on. We dont like each other much but we dont hate or anything like that so I never expected her text around 8pm saying no way they can go. never expected that. she's probably pissed she cant go ... I even said another all about you to her .... bullcrap
So I smoked a bowl, calmed down and thought about going up to Horseshoe Valley (few hours north)...take them skiing/snowboarding - get lessons ... big toboggan hill there too with a mat you sit on and it takes you up the hill...beautiful
guess I get to save $1500ish ... but the chance for Disney as a kid has gone out the window I think
I do believe I might get drunk tonight...I better stay away from the rye lol
Happy ****ing New Year ... lolj/k I mean it, Happy New Year


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Sometimes you need to muse, meditate, and contemplate something new before jumping in with both feet. Sometimes you're just too darn busy! LOL Either way, however you get to a new tool, talent, or challenge - do it when YOU are ready!
Long story medium, I am SO glad I did finally play with and master MentorMob last fall & it was so easy and the learning curve so gentle I felt I "had it" in less than an hour! UPDATE: Follow MentorMobEDU for all the latest education features & to connect with other Playlisters!
Much different than the Learning Curve of 3 weeks for Second Life, 3 days for Blogger, & 3 hours for Scoop.it! Photoshop Elements? - That's a Life long journey!
So I created this HUGE playlist of Curation Tools for our Mobile, Flipped, & Curated presentation at #ISTE13 to visually share HOW a playlist looks and works and SHARE even more tools! 42 steps of AWESOME!
Enjoy the Playlist!
Create your own Playlist on MentorMob!ISTE AWEsome!
Check out the resources below for links to even more great stuff from and on the Curated Flipped Wikispaces! Speaking of ISTE, I'm still processing & decompressing. The panorama photo above showed the 200+ people who kindly joined us for our panel discussion. It. Was. Awesome! Thank you everyone who showed up to learn with us!
AASL Pre-Conference Workshop
The BIG MentorMob Playlist of Curation Tools is just a small part of a greater set of resources which will be the basis of a half-day pre-conference workshop I'm honored to be part of at #AASL13 called A Library in Every Pocket: Virtualizing Your Library for Mobile Learning with the amazing team of: Michele Luhtala, Joyce Valenza, Shannon Miller, & Tiffany Whitehead! There's still time & space to sign up & join us!
MentorMobbing the Big Apple!
From their blog: "The MentorMob team will be spending the next 13 weeks in NYC participating in the Kaplan/TechStars EdTech Accelerator Program. Woohoo!"
SO Cool! Follow our MentorMob friends and Kristin Demidovich (KristinMMarie) on Twitter
More Resources & Credits
Amazing Curation Resources from and on the Curated Flipped Wikispaces:
Curation/Flipped Best Ideas
Flipping resources
NeverEndingSearch Blog
Springfield Township Library
Photo Credits:
All photos & graphic design by yours truly except for:
AASL Logo - Tweaked with PicMonkey
MentorMob at NASDAQ Chicago by MentorMob
MentorMob Logo by MentorMob


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You turn to Democracy Now! for ad-free news you can trust. Maybe you come for our daily headlines. Maybe you come for in-depth stories that expose government and corporate abuses of power. Democracy Now! covers emerging threats to immigrant rights, civil rights, healthcare, the environment, press freedom and education. Democracy Now! is always free—you'll never hit a paywall. And we produce our daily news hour at a fraction of the budget of a commercial news operation, all without ads, government funding or corporate underwriting. How is this possible? Only with your support. If you and every visitor to our website this month gave just $8, it would cover our basic operating costs for the year. Right now, a generous donor will double your donation to Democracy Now! Pretty exciting, right? So, if you've been waiting to make your contribution to Democracy Now!, today is your day. Please do your part. It takes just a few minutes to make sure that Democracy Now! is there for you and everybody else.
We rely on contributions from you, our viewers and listeners to do our work. If you visit us daily or weekly or even just once a month, now is a great time to make your monthly contribution.
Please do your part today.
Democracy Now! has regularly covered the Afghanistan War since it was launched Oct. 7, 2001. Over the years, we have interviewed dozens of independent journalists, civilians living in the conflict zones, scholars, veterans, and antiwar activists.
We rely on contributions from our viewers and listeners to do our work.
Please do your part today.


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Whether you're making salad dressings, stir fries, baking, or deep frying there's an unrefined oil in this sampler for every occasion. Buttery, award winning Extra Virgin Olive Oil made from a blend of 100 percent green and black olives from centuries old family olive groves in Spain and cold pressed. Highest in healthy monounsaturated fats. Organic Sesame Oil unrefined expeller pressed and lightly filtered. High smoke point. Healthy antioxidants sesamol and sesamin act as a natural preservative in the oil. High oleic Organic Safflower Oil expeller pressed, good source of vitamin E, mild, and versatile. All are bottled in protective amber glass and nitrogen flushed to preserve color and flavor. It's wonderful to have this variety of healthy oils for whatever occasion arrives. pareve.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil - 104340
Sesame Oil - 104640
Safflower Oil - 104500
|16 oz. Oil Sampler
|Item Number
|Package Size
|3 - 16 fl oz
|Package Size Metric
|UPC Code Each
|UPC Code Case
|Non GMO


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Weekly FREE trip giveaways!
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sign in and get ready to save!
SIGN-UP FREE & START SAVINGsign up now
we will not spam you or sell your email address
Weekly FREE trip giveaways!
we will not spam you or sell your email address
Deeply entwined with Arizona history, The Wigwam welcomes you to come and make a little history of your own. Stretching over 440 lushly landscaped acres, the elegantly crafted adobe-and-timber luxury resort provides a rich palette of experiences to suit your every occasion – whether business, romance, relaxation, or frollicking family fun. This TripAlertz deal saves you over 30% with rates starting at just $99/night for up to 2 adults + 2 children (17 and younger) through the end of the year. A 2-night minimum stay is required. Make your reservation NOW and enjoy this favored desert retreat!
(2-night minimum stay required)
The Wigwam was originally built in 1918 as a gathering place for the Ohio-based executives of Goodyear Tire & Rubber who discovered the West Valley of Phoenix as a prime location to grow cotton for rubber production. As the retreat grew in popularity, additional accommodations and amenities were added and in 1929 The Wigwam opened as a full-service resort with accommodations for just 24 guests. In its 80-year history, this Phoenix resort has hosted some of the world's most recognized public figures and sports legends and maintains a reputation as one of the Southwest's landmark resort destinations. Today, The Wigwam continues to be a travel tradition for generations of families across the globe offering an entirely unique Arizona family resort experience where casual elegance meets historic charm. In December 2009, The Wigwam was purchased by JDM Partners, led by sports icon Jerry Colangelo. In January 2011, the resort unveiled the completion of a $7 million rejuvenation project and re-launch under its original name – The Wigwam.
The Wigwam boasts four pools (one with adult/kid zones), dining options, 54 holes of championship golf, tennis facilities, fitness center, Red Door Spa by Elizabeth Arden, golf school, Bocce Ball court, and much much more!
Relax in your expansive (over 480 sq ft) Adobe Traditional room enhanced with southwestern décor, large working desk and sitting area. Accommodations offer 1 king or two queen beds. Maximum occupany: 4
(TripAlertz rate includes up to 2 adults + 2 children 17 and under; additional adults pay $25/night directly to resort upon arrival)
Adobe Traditional amenities feature:
At The Wigwam's restaurants, meals are made to be remembered. Their "farm-to-table" cuisine emphasizes fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables as well as locally produced meats, cheeses, wines and other delicacies.
Food & beverage options at The Wigwam:
Litchfield Park
Litchfield Park is an affluent residential community boasting a small town atmosphere and casual lifestyle recognized by Phoenix Magazine as "one of the best places to live in Arizona." Litchfield Park is a beautiful small city of approximately 5,000 residents located 15 miles west of Phoenix that started in 1916 when Goodyear Tire and Rubber bought farm land to grow Egyptian long-staple cotton to use in tire cords. The project, originally named "Goodyear Farms" was developed by Paul Litchfield (who became company President of Goodyear) for whom the company town was named in 1926. Goodyear had tens of thousands of acres under cultivation. From 1931 to 1944, it was also the test site for Goodyear tires and a well-known docking station for the world-renowned Goodyear blimp.
A city with a rich, rewarding quality of life and tremendous community spirit, exemplified by its winning two prestigious national awards in 2008 - the All-America City and City Livability awards. Ours is a city with relaxed sophistication --- where you will feel at home right away when you stay at our Goodyear, AZ hotel.
The onetime farming community founded by settlers from Illinois was one of the nation's fastest growing cities during the recent growth boom. The city stretches across 176 square miles of beautiful Sonoran desert and includes Lake Pleasant, the state's second largest lake. The Peoria Sports Complex, built in 1994 as spring training home to the San Diego Padres and Seattle Mariners, was the first two-team spring training facility in the country. Peoria boasts other award-winning facilities including the Peoria Center for the Performing Arts and Rio Vista Community Park and Recreation Center. Those attractions along with 35 miles of trails, top-notch schools, well planned residential neighborhoods and an enticing variety of shopping, dining and entertainment options led Money magazine to rank Peoria among its 100 "Best Places to Live" in 2008.
Our Glendale, AZ hotel is lucky to be in the place where the sun sets and nights begin. It is wild and at the same time full of an undeniable allure that begs for discovery and adventure. It is opportunity surrounded by breathtaking views and horizons. And it is also a place established on the ideals of perfection in hospitality. Welcome to Arizona's new West-a region ripe with sweeping vistas, traditional charm and romantic tales of chivalry as well as the cosmopolitan and chic touches of the urban modern world. It is more than a perfect blend of the old and the new, the wild and the tame, the luxurious and the rustic. Arizona's West Valley is, without question, a little bit of everything.
Surprise is where you can connect all aspects of your life- family, work and recreation. This charming community is surrounded by mountain park lands, a regional lake and pristine, open Sonoran desert. Our neighborhoods are clean, distinctive and unique, no wonder why nine out of 10 residents surveyed recommend Surprise as a place to live and start a business! Surprise Stadium is the Spring Training home of the Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals. It's also where our community comes together for free family movie night events, Fourth of July fireworks and much more! In the fall our Surprise Tennis and Racquet Complex hosts a stop on the Champions Tour, attracting tennis legends John McEnroe, Andre Agassi, Anna Kournikova and Jim Courier! This 25-court venue is also open for tennis players of all skill sets to enjoy or take lessons.
Things are different in the desert. The sky is bigger. The stars are brighter. The sunsets stop you in your tracks. It's a feeling that can't be conjured, landscaped or kindled with twinkling bulbs. John Ford knew that. So did Frank Lloyd Wright. Come to Greater Phoenix and you'll understand, too. America's fifth-largest city still has real cowboys and rugged mountains and the kind of cactus most people see only in cartoons. Phoenix is the gateway to the Grand Canyon, and its history is a testament to the spirit of puebloans, ranchers, miners and visionaries.


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The awful, terrible walk that you during the final steps before a major and unexpected gastrointestinal event. The walk is slow and robot-like, as you must keep your sphincter tightly clenched to avoid disaster. Usually takes place once you've reached your home, or if you are in public the bathroom itself.
"I was speed-walking through the grocery store, and once I found the bathroom my body could sense the imminent relief. I nearly lost it right at the door to the bathroom and had to do the clench robot all the way to the stall."
by Keane Cheese November 17, 2013


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Scandal number five: Insider-trading probe of Medicare announcement reveals hundreds of HHS employees had secret info
posted at 11:21 am on June 10, 2013 by Allahpundit
Is this scandal number five or number six? There's Benghazi, the IRS, the DOJ snooping on reporters, Sebelius shaking down health executives for ObamaCare contributions, and now the NSA/PRISM/Snowden mega-clusterfark. This new WaPo story makes six. No, wait — seven. Ed just posted on the State Department covering up misconduct. We're going to need a bigger boat.
Actually, there are two potential scandals here. One is HHS tossing around what was supposed to be sensitive information to a huge swath of employees in-house. The other scandal is who actually leaked it, assuming anyone did. It might not have come from HHS at all but rather from some old-fashioned Beltway congressional/lobbyist incest. As with most of the other Obama scandals, this story is less about O himself than about the foreseeable abuses that result as the federal whale grows. You can have bigger government or you can have more accountable government. The guy who signed ObamaCare into law has made his choice.
Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) told The Washington Post late last week that his office reviewed the e-mail records of employees at the Department of Health and Human Services and found that 436 of them had early access to the Medicare decision as much as two weeks before it was made public…
"In the statistical agencies, where the handling of sensitive information is their bread and butter, they're very serious about confidentiality," said Keith Hall, a former commissioner at the Bureau of Labor Statistics who has spent more than two decades in government. "But in other parts of the government that handle policy issues, there's a whole different level of treatment."
Hall said employees in other parts of the government, including the Medicare office, are not subject to the same types of potential consequences as employees at statistical agencies, who can land in prison for up to five years and face a fine of a quarter of a million dollars for disclosing information early.
Giving hundreds of government employees advance notice of a policy decision "is way too many," said Hall, now a senior fellow at George Mason University's Mercatus Center. "I've done my share of working on policy issues and policy decisions, and you just don't spread that stuff around like that."
A brokerage firm in D.C. announced late in the trading day on April 1 that a decision to boost funding for Medicare Advantage was forthcoming. Shares of Humana and Aetna skyrocketed. Later that day, after the markets had closed, the feds confirmed that, indeed, another $8 billion would be plowed into the program. So who at HHS blabbed? Maybe no one: Per WaPo and this WSJ report from a few weeks ago, the feds seem to be interested in a lobbyist who — ta da — used to work as a health-care policy advisor to Chuck Grassley himself and who now specializes in "political intelligence." (He also had a "role" in writing ObamaCare, per the WSJ, and used to work on health-care legislation with someone who's now a "senior official" at CMS, the division of HHS that made the decision on increasing funding for Medicare Advantage.) The SEC knows he was communicating with at least one current staffer in Grassley's office; the question is whether that staffer slipped the information on the Medicare decision to the lobbyist or whether the lobbyist somehow "guessed" that Medicare funding would be increased based on tidbits of info he gleaned from various sources on the Hill. Even if it's the latter, with no one having directly fed him confidential information, the surge in Humana/Aetna shares based on his analysis is a direct result of his access to government's major players. When a former Grassley advisor and colleague of a bigwig at CMS tells you that he thinks a windfall's coming, you listen. Big government takes care of its alumni.
No wonder those alumni are unhappy about this SEC probe:
The episode is sending tremors through Washington's world of policy experts, lobbyists and Wall Street researchers. The investigation has signaled that federal prosecutors are trying to clamp down on what they see as the capital's loose oversight of market-moving information.
More broadly, it has shaken a city where acquiring and sharing information is a basic tool of business. Some insiders say the traditional ways of operating may need to change.
It "is astounding that so many in Washington view the trading of unreleased government information as simply 'business as usual,'" said William Pewen, a former Republican health-care aide who also was on the Senate Finance Committee.
Task one for the SEC is finding out who leaked the Medicare Advantage scoop. Task two is taking a hard look at movement in Humana's and Aetna's shares in the weeks before the news dropped and seeing if any HHS employees who knew what was coming had any investment epiphanies. As for HHS itself, this is a timely reminder of something that the NSA and Booz Allen are learning today the hard way: The sloppier you are about controlling access to sensitive information, the more certain it is that you'll be haunted by it eventually. Even if no one exploited the Medicare Advantage decision this time, it'll happen going forward if hundreds of people continue to receive sensitive scoops. That's simple probability. And that points to an irony of Scandalmania: Whatever else comes from all this policy-wise, the one guaranteed result is tighter secrecy protocols within a government that already treats as secret too much information that isn't truly sensitive. Information will get tighter, there'll be more disaffected Snowdens trying to leak it, and of course more lobbyists making a buck on their special access to the many Washington secrets that haven't leaked. The cycle of big-government life.
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