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What Kind of Survivalist are You?
Posted on Pakalert on October 12, 2011
Generally speaking, there is mostly only one stereotype for a survivalist or prepper out there in the mainstream. Most of the general public think of a survivalist or prepper as one or some of the following
A gun nut
Someone who hates the government and is ready to do battle
Someone who desires to be alone or to only be with their own kind
Someone who believes the end-of-the-world is eminent
A hoarder of food and supplies
A delusional crackpot
A religious extremest
A misfit of society
As in all walks of life, there are all types of folks. Sure, there are those that fit into one or some of the categorical stereotypes. I have lived long enough to learn that there are an amazing number of differing mindsets.
People are a product of many influences their parents, their upbringing, their own life experiences of both good and bad, their jobs, their friends, their enemies, their exposure to the marketing machine of the system, their conviction to their own beliefs, on and on The point being that someone cannot or should not be stereotyped because of one or a few traits that others may see in them. The real them may be quite different from what you may think.
Having said that, what Im getting at is that there is not one stereotype of a survivalist or prepper. Sure, you could say that many share similar ideals, but every survivalist or prepper is different in their own way.
For example, there are those in the survivalist / prepper community that are hard core. They are really into firearms, dont tread on me, vocal about their liberties, ready to survive in the woods with buried stashes of food, etc. Thats all fine and good. No quarrels here However these are not necessarily the qualifying traits of a survivalist, at least in my opinion.
There are those that consider themselves survivalists in the sense that they are determined to survive the uncertainties of today relative to the modern world that they live in. In other words, they may not have trained to survive in the woods foraging for edible wild plants, or they may not own a firearm, but they may be honing their own unique adaptability skills, building a base of food and supplies for emergency, and becoming more informed about the risks of the world they live in.
You may stereotype the last example to be more of a prepper than a survivalist, but I disagree with that notion. Someone who is preparing or has prepared for risk and uncertainty is doing so to survive the things that may be thrown at them.
The media that Ive seen in the mainstream, when portraying survivalists, or exemplifying them in TV shows, or interviewing them in real life, is nearly always tilted towards the extreme. This leads others to think that what they are seeing or hearing is the typical survivalist. Well, either Im a one-of-a-kind survivalist while all others are hard core, or the media has purposefully sought out the hard core while ignoring the numbers of preppers who fit in with society and are privately building a base of self support and self sufficiency as they recognize that they are ultimately responsible for their own lives.
So, I encourage you to not stereotype the definition of survivalist to the extreme. Instead, consider that there are many that are simply taking charge of their own lives and preparing themselves for uncertainty.
Black Blade: I see a "Survivalist/Prepper as someone who takes on personal responsibility and a view to preparation for survival as a form of insurance. For myself that would be economic insurance as I prep in case of long term unemployment for any reason or natural disasters. It'smore a matter of hope for the best but prepare for the worst.


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You missed it This great deal for Slurpamatic is over. But don't despair, we've got more great deals every day.
Kids have inbuilt BS detectors and aren't afraid to call you on your insistence that the Easter Bunny can deliver globally overnight. Thankfully you can still blow their minds with this honestly cool deal. You'll get the amazing Slurpamatic set that includes a Magic Cup, a Spoonstraw and three reusable Magic Ice Cubes. Did we mention the included registered delivery? Now for a real brain freeze, you get all that for just $22 (usually $62). Simple enough for the kids to use, the Slurpamatic works without ice or a blender. All you need to do is freeze the Magic Ice Cubes, insert them into the cup, add your favourite beverage and shake. It's perfect for juices, soft drinks and more. And while it may not be actual magic, today's deal is a real cheap trick.
Enjoy By May 9, 2012
buy before time's up. or else kitteh gets it.
*'lower price' discount may not apply to multiple purchases, select your options to see your final price. By purchasing, you agree to the deal fine print and the LivingSocial terms and conditions.
By clicking 'Buy Now!', I agree to the Terms and Conditions and the Privacy Policy.

subset: commoncrawl


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[[File:Mr.McReary-GTAIV.jpg|right|thumb|Mr. McReary with his wife, [[Maureen McReary|Maureen]], at [[Oleg Minkov|Oleg Minkov's]] apartment.]] '''Mr. McReary''' was the father of [[Derrick McReary|Derrick]], [[Gerald McReary|Gerald]], [[Patrick McReary|Patrick]], [[Francis McReary|Francis]], and [[Kate McReary]], and husband of [[Maureen McReary]]. He was the [[Boss]] of the [[Irish American Killers|Irish Mob]] until he committed suicide in 2000. Packie mentions that he used to abuse his boys, but left Kate alone. Maureen states that he is most likely in "Hell". In one mission, there is a portrait above Maureen McReary's fireplace that shows what Mr. McReary looked like. When Patrick and [[Niko Bellic|Niko]] hang out, Patrick may open up to Niko, and tell him that he and Gerry were molested by their father. He calls his father a 'pervert' and condemns his memory to "the seventh circle of Hell".Maureen is extremely upset over his death. == Trivia == *There is a portrait in [[Oleg Minkov|Oleg Minkov's]] apartment above his fireplace of Mr. McReary and Maureen McReary as seen in the mission [[Wrong is Right]]. This is because in the files, the model fireplace is attached to the picture frame, so when used in Oleg's apartment, the picture went with it. {{Navboxes |title= Navigation |list1={{characters|state=collapsed}} {{Gtaiv characters|state=collapsed}} }} [[Category:Characters|McReary, Mr.]] [[Category:Characters in GTA IV|McReary, Mr.]] [[Category:Characters in HD Universe|McReary, Mr.]] [[Category:Deceased Characters|McReary, Mr.]] [[Category:Gang Leaders|McReary, Mr.]]
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From left, in order of their campus visits, are Steven Angle,
William Covino and Rosalie Ambrosino
Provost candidates to visit UTSA March 20-24
By David Gabler
Assistant Vice President for Communications
(March 16, 2006)--A search committee seeking a new provost at The University of Texas at San Antonio selected finalists to meet with faculty, staff and students March 20-24 in public forums at UTSA.
In the past few days, two of the candidates withdrew from consideration. Neal Smatresk and Anthony Garro have withdrawn from the interview process. Garro has accepted a provost position at a university in the Northeast. Smatresk has decided to continue in his position of vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
Today's headlines
- La Prensa Foundation is newest member of UTSA Lone Star Society
- UTSA alumna Jordan Kaufmann wins $50K for new stent-graft start-up
- UTSA begins new way-finding sign installation this summer at Main Campus
- USA Today: UTSA long jumper Tyler Williamson rescues three-year-old boy
Article tools
Each candidate will visit UTSA to meet with faculty, staff, students and San Antonio community members.
The candidates are (in order of campus visits):
- Steven Angle, dean of the College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, University of California, Riverside
- William Covino, dean of the Dorothv F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters - Multi Campus, Florida Atlantic University
- Rosalie Ambrosino, interim provost and vice president for academic affairs, and vice president for student affairs, University of Texas at San Antonio
"The 18 members of the search committee worked with great dedication in this process to find candidates for provost," said James McDonald, chair of the UTSA Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Search Committee and professor and chair of the Department of Anthropology. "We encourage the university community to participate in the open forums this month with these outstanding candidates. We started with a strong pool of distinguished applicants, and are confident that a finalist will serve as a steward for UTSA's mission to move to the next level and premier research university status."
UTSA President Ricardo Romo will choose one of the candidates to succeed Guy Bailey, who left UTSA last December to become chancellor of the University of Missouri - Kansas City. "The UTSA community is indebted to Jim McDonald and the search committee for their work in nominating five outstanding candidates for this crucial position at the university," Romo said. "Each of these individuals is distinguished for his or her exemplary academic credentials; dedication to teaching, research and service; and breadth of administrative experience."


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Missy Fleming is passionate. Passionate about life, family, friends and cupcakes. The tattooed retro-queen of Auckland baking runs Miss Melicious, a boutique tea shop in Te Atatu, where she has fans lining the pathway to buy her quirky treats. Colleen Thorpe talks to Missy about the release of Miss Melicious Cupcakes
You haven't always cooked cupcakes ... what is your background?
I have a background in fashion and sales and years and years of volunteering in events.
What started your affair with cupcakes?
Living in Melbourne and visiting the markets there. There were always heaps of fabulous cupcakes and I just couldn't get enough of them.
Tell us about Miss Melicious cupcakes (boutique tea shop).
It's a place where people can come to immerse themselves in our quirky world of cupcakes and sweet treats.
It's not a normal cafe/tea rooms, we want people to experience the whole thing, being surrounded by our knick-knacks and sweet things.
What is the difference between a cupcake and a muffin?
Butter vs frosting! Muffins are usually eaten with butter or on their own where cupcakes have frosting. Muffins are usually more towards the savoury, even the sweet ones.
What is the one most important thing to remeber when making cupcakes?
Make sure to read the recipe and cream the butter and sugar, make sure you have fun.
What is your favourite cupcake?
Can't ever choose between Boston cream and Watermelon.
Tell us about your tattoos.
They are my life mural. I add to them when time and money allows but they all tell a story.
What is your first memory of food?
Baking scones and cakes with my mum and making play-dough cakes at kindy (and yes, I did try and eat the odd one!).
What was in your school lunch?
Pretty normal really - sandwiches, fruit, yoghurt and juice.
Have you a guilty pleasure?
Shopping - I love shopping, and not just clothes, which are one of my biggest passions. I have to admit as I answer this question I can see six bags of shopping that I haven't even unpacked yet!
What is your secret ingredient?
Vanilla bean paste. The taste is just so different to essence when you are baking.
What three New Zealand foods are top of your list?
St Andrews Lime Curd (I could eat a whole jar on my own), Evil Child Hot Chocolate, Elliott's Kiwi juices.
Tell us three things about yourself that people may not know or may be surprised to learn.
I'm a nail biter.
I love organised fun - especially board games. I love them so much if no one will play with me I will play them on my own.
I am addicted to reality TV shows. I record all of them and watch them into the night, it doesn't matter what the subject is - I love them all.
Miss Melicious Cupcakes
Penguin, $30


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Synaptics Surges 12%: Raises FYQ4 Revenue View on Mobile
Shares of touch sensor controller maker Synaptics (SYNA) are on fire in late trading, rising $4.63, or 13%, to $40.50, after the company raised its outlook for the fiscal Q4 ending this month to a range of $227 million to $230 million versus a prior forecast of $190 million to $205 million, well above the consensus of $199 million.
Gross margin is projected to be 50%, above the average 48.7% estimate on the Street, according to FactSet.
The company said its "updated outlook is being driven by higher than expected revenue from mobile products, reflecting strong demand from a broad range of leading-edge designs across multiple mobile customers."
Synaptics will report full results on August 1st, after market close.


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In 2002, the U.S. Secretary of Education and the Chinese Minister of Education signed a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding for a joint research and development project, known as the U.S.-China E-Language Project. The Chinese Minister noted that the project was the largest government-to-government education initiative "since the normalization of relations between the two countries in 1979."
The bilateral partnership set forth the development of a technology-driven approach to foreign language learning that integrates gaming, immersion, voice recognition, problem-based learning tasks, and other features that made it a significant research and development pilot project for study. Both countries agreed to develop the E-language application as parallel systems. The Chinese Ministry of Education developed an application to teach Chinese to Americans. ED created content scripts that could be used to develop an application for Chinese students to learn English. These content scripts were put into the public domain in an effort to encourage the private sector develop an application for Chinese students to learn English. The scripts are available in the public domain.
In 2007, the William and Flora Hewlett foundation led an effort based on the scripts and approach to build an E-language application for Chinese middle school students to learn English. The application is called The Forgotten World.
ED conducted an evaluation of The Forgotten World as it was implemented as a supplementary activity in middle school classrooms in western China to teach the English language and American culture to eighth-grade students. The evaluation was conducted in five treatment schools and five comparison schools during the 2009–10 school year and included approximately 3,500 students. The evaluation showed statistically significant positive results of using The Forgotten World for the lower performing students along with the positive effects on student motivation. Almost all of the teachers in the treatment schools (95 percent) who participated in the project reported that their use of The Forgotten World changed the way they think about teaching. The evaluation report is available online. This evaluation represented the conclusion of the US-China E-Language Evaluation Project.


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Excerpt: "ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper is out with latest 2013 NFL Draft Big Board. Here are a few notes of interest as they might ultimately impact the New York Giants.
-- Notre Dame linebacker Manti T'eo dropped from No.2 to No. 6 on Kiper's board after an unimpressive BCS Championship Game against Alabama. Still highly unlikely to be around when the Giants pick at No. 19.
-- Kiper has offensive guard Chance Warmack of Alabama ranked No. 5, way out of reach for the Giants.
Here are the guys Kiper has ranked 15-25, guys you might consider to be in range for the Giants at No. 19." Read more...


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Transgenic Mouse Generates Human Single Domain Antibody VH Fragments
Crescendo Biologics announces the Crescendo Mouse using antibody fragment technology that allows the efficient generation of high-quality fully human single domain antibody VH fragmentsfrom a transgenic mouse. VH fragments are next-generation antibody-based therapeutic proteins that have applications beyond the scope of full length antibodies. They are the smallest antibody fragments that retain the ability to bind antigens specifically and with high affinity and, when generated in the Crescendo Mouse, human VH have biophysical properties that make them highly attractive drug products. VH fragments can be formulated for topical delivery, are highly amenable to modular engineering of bispecific and multivalent products, have superior tissue penetration characteristics, and are simple to manufacture in microbial systems.
Key to generation of VH fragments in the mouse is Crescendo's proprietary triple knock out (TKO) background, which is completely devoid of all endogenous immunoglobulin chains, and therefore enables in vivo maturation of human VH single domains uncontaminated by association with any light chains. B cell development within the Crescendo Mouse is driven from a construct introduced into the TKO background that combines human V- D- and J- genes, together with murine constant and regulatory regions, to generate heavy chain only antibodies. The power of the mouse immune system is consequently fully harnessed to drive B cell development and maturation, leading to a diverse repertoire of fully-human VH domains with superior stability and solubility.
The Crescendo Mouse responds robustly to immunisation with target proteins and in vivo B cell maturation yields diverse human VH domains, from all VH families, which have also undergone somatic hypermutation. Because the antibody response following immunisation is entirely encompassed within the VH domain, Crescendo has been able to develop a fully integrated discovery process utilising in vitro display to comprehensively mine and rapidly identify VH drug candidates directly from immunised mice. Purified VH fragments have been shown to bind immunogen with high affinity, exhibit very high thermostability and have excellent expression levels. These data indicate that B cell maturation in the Crescendo Mouse is driving selection and optimization of matured human VH domains, with all of the properties that make them highly potent, drug quality antibody-based therapeutics.
Crescendo Biologics, +44 (0) 1223 497140, www.crescendobiologics.com
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Acquire/Inquire: Realms Revealed
March 1 - 29
To inquire–to engage in the intentional act of discovery–is the vital cord that connects the work of Deborah Barlow, Marcia Goodwin, Doris Weiner, and Denyse Wilhelm.
The objects, books, and memories they have acquired are the results of lives lived in purposeful inquiry, provoking and sustaining their work. Walk into any one of their studios and see possessions that are intensely personal: a Chinese wedding basket, peridot tinted vintage glass, Javanese puppets, or shards of pottery. In the work of these four artists, elements of nature, culture, mysticism, choreography, and music are transformed into visual ideographs that are dimensional, vibrant, ambient, and atmospheric.
This exhibition is curated by James Montford, director of Bannister Gallery
Reception: March 1, 5:00–8:00 p.m.
Hall space Gallery: Silvi Naci
A woman devoured by nature is a recurring theme in the work of Silvi Naci and represents her way of thinking about beauty, mortality, and life cycles. Naci's interest lies within the tension between different factors, their reaction with each other, and the resulting changes in their natural state


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In the past, IMAP Year Two School Service Personnel had to complete a portfolio to satisfy their IMAP requirements. Though the portfolio concept had the best intentions, it was felt by former IMAP School Nurses, Social Workers, School Counselors, Scorers, Mentors, Administrators, Directors, Supervisors and the Indiana Department of Education that the portfolio caused a great deal of stress and anxiety and took a great deal of time and energy from the beginning educator. In addition, the results of the portfolio did not really establish whether new school service personnel were ready for their five-year Proficient Practitioner License.
The assessment tool in the box below will be completed by your Director or Supervisor and is the replacement for the portfolio. Your Director/Supervisor has been observing you on a regular basis and is the best person to ascertain how you have developed as school service personnel.
As the candidate, you are responsible for printing a copy of this assessment and giving it to your Director/Supervisor. You and your Supervisor will meet to determine your developing, progressing and proficient areas for each standard. As Year Two IMAP School Service Personnel, you should be at the 'proficient' level for at least five of the seven standards to complete your IMAP requirements. It is recommended that you and your Director go through this document at least once prior to the final evaluation at the end of the year. This will give you a chance to see which areas need improvement before your final evaluation. Please feel free to share this page with your Director/Supervisor so he/she may review his/her responsibilities.
Once you have successfully completed the IMAP assessment (five out of seven standards at the proficient level), your Director/Supervisor will give you an IMAP completion letter. You will submit this letter with your application materials for your five-year proficient Practitioner License.
If your Director/Supervisor has determined you are not 'proficient' in at least five out of the seven standards, you can renew your IP license for another two years. You will enroll in IMAP for the next school year and complete your IMAP requirements at that time.
|Second Year School Service Personnel IMAP Forms
|IMAP Assessment Tool Year 2 - School Services (Use this version if you want to save and update the tool later)
|IMAP Assessment Tool Year 2 - School Services
|Building Level Administrators'/Principals'/Directors' Responsibilities


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Free Your Feet
But First…
Don't get us wrong, we're proponents of freeing your feet when the weather warms up. We just want to suggest maybe taking into consideration that your feet have been stuck in socks, slippers, shoes and boots all winter. Dry, cracked heels, rough bits on the sides of toes, toenails in need of brightening or plain old stinky feet could all benefit from some LUSH TLC before you jump into those sandals.
You could go all the way like we do, and give your winter-weary feet a soak with a Geo Phyzz Bath Bomb, then treat them to a deodorizing Volcano foot mask to truly deep cleanse, get them feeling soft and smelling fresh.
Stepping Stone, our pumice foot scrub made for softening heels and callouses, is also a good place to start. Our exfoliating Ocean Salt scrub will certainly help brighten your feet and polish off all the tough bits as well. Use Lemony Flutter on the toenails and cuticles to soften and brighten them, or use our pink peppermint Fair Trade Foot Lotion all over to freshen and moisturize your poor, tired dogs.
For daily up-keep, pepper some antibacterial T for Toes or The Greeench deodorant powders some into your socks, sandals or directly onto your feet to conquer the bacteria that cause stinky feet.
Really, you've got a lot to choose from when it comes to LUSH foot-care. If you still can't decide where to start your foot reparation, walk those poor soles into one of our shops and we'll be happy to help you!


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Generation Y vs. Boomers In Canada: Is It Really Tougher For Millennials To Get Ahead Today Than Past Generations?
Data and graphics compiled by Jeff Fraser; text by Daniel Tencer.
It's a common assumption that when it comes to careers and the economy, young Canadians aged 18 to 30 have it tougher than previous generations: Job security is harder to come by, the cost of living is higher and the government's social safety net less generous.
But is it true? To find out, The Huffington Post Canada dug through decades of data to measure just much tougher it is to get started in life today for the Millennial Generation than it was for the Baby Boom Generation, that large group now in their fifties and sixties.
The data paint a picture of a new generation that in some ways is better off than its predecessors — day-to-day consumer goods have come down in price, sometimes by huge percentages. But on the larger costs, and on earnings, the picture is considerably more negative: While the small stuff keeps getting cheaper, the large costs that eat up so much of people's earnings over a lifetime are growing.
This chart shows the quantity of various disposable products that could be purchased with an hour of minimum-wage pay. In 1979, the average minimum-wage worker in Canada earned $3.11 per hour, and in 2012 the average minimum-wage worker earns $9.99 per hour. So for example, in 1979, an hour of minimum-wage pay could have purchased 6.76 lbs. of apples at 1979's average price of $0.46 per lb., whereas in 2012 an hour of minimum-wage pay could purchase 6.24 lbs. of apples at today's average price of $1.60 per lb. Nominal food prices for 2012 are national averages determined by Statistics Canada. Nominal food prices for 1979 are calculated by deflating modern prices using consumer price indices for specific food items. Sources 2012 retail prices: Pintprice.com, GasBuddy.com, Audit Bureau of Circulations, Statistics Canada: Canada Food Stats 1979 retail prices: Audit Bureau of Circulations, Statistics Canada: Canada Food Stats
These charts show the breakdown of household consumer spending by category, as well as the total average income and spending for a Canadian family. To get an idea of how much consumption has increased, consider that in 1978, spending on consumer expenses other than food, shelter and clothing accounted for 39.3 per cent of family income; in 2010, it makes up 42.8 per cent of family income. "Spending" refers to consumer spending, which includes all annual expenditures except personal taxes, insurance payments, pensions, gifts and charitable contributions. "Income" refers to market income, which includes all non-government income, i.e. employment earnings, capital gains, savings interest, rent and pensions. Income and spending are weighted averages across unattached individuals and families of 2 or more. Income and spending are not adjusted for inflation, i.e. 1978 values are given in 1978 dollars and 2010 values are given in 2010 dollars. Sources Total consumer spending and spending breakdown: Statistics Canada: Survey of Household Expenditures, Statistics Canada: Family Expenditures Survey Income and income taxes: Statistics Canada: Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics, Statistics Canada: Survey of Consumer Finances
This chart shows how many hours of minimum-wage pay would need to be saved in order to afford various consumer goods. In 1979, the average minimum-wage worker in Canada earned $3.11 per hour, and in 2012 the average minimum-wage worker earns $9.99 per hour. So for example, a 19" colour TV cost $690 or 221 hours of 1979 minimum-wage pay; today a 19" colour TV costs $98 or 10 hours of 2012 minimum-wage pay. National average minimum wage is calculated using a population-weighted average of provincial minimum wages. Prices used are catalog prices on items considered to be in the mid- to low-price range for the product. The cost of a bachelor's degree refers to the average cost of a four-year program. 2012 retail prices: GasBuddy.com, Sears, Walmart, Chevrolet, Toyota, Future Shop, Statistics Canada: CANSIM database 1979 retail prices: ThePeopleHistory.com, TVHistory.tv, Statistics Canada: CANSIM database Minimum wage: Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, Statistics Canada
This chart shows what percentage of the population is disadvantaged in terms of education, income, overwork or unemployment. A family which lives in "low income" makes less than half of the median Canadian income, after taxes and basic household needs are taken into account. This is Statistics Canada's Low Income Measure (LIM). Where an age range is specified, the total population is taken to be the population of Canadians within that age range. The percentages of unemployed and overworked Canadians are determined with respect to the labour force, rather than the population as a whole. Individuals who are retired, studying or otherwise not seeking work are considered to be "not in the work force" rather than unemployed. Sources Educational attainment, working hours and unemployment: Statistics Canada: Labour Force Survey Low income: Statistics Canada: Persons in Low Income
As of 2010, the cost of shelter — mortgage or rent, plus utilities and maintenance — ate up 28 per cent of average household spending, compared with 21 per cent in 1979. The cost of transportation, including automobiles and fuel, takes 21 per cent of the household budget, up from 17 per cent in 1979.
Taxes paid by Canadians have also grown in that time. In 1978, the average household tax burden amounted to $9,000 in 2012 dollars; by 2010 that number had jumped to $12,000. (The tax burden peaked in 2000, at $13,500 on average.)
Some things, however, have become more affordable. In 1979, the price of a typical coffee maker was about $37 (in 1979 dollars); today the price is closer to $24. Put another way, it took 12 hours working at minimum wage to buy a coffee maker in Canada in 1979, at the average minimum wage, but by 2012 it took only 2.5 hours. (The average minimum wage across Canada in 1979 was $3.11.)
But perhaps the biggest change has come in the cost of education. Tuitions vary pretty widely across Canada, but the average cost of a four-year bachelor's degree went to $22,324 in 2012, from $2,568 in 1979 in unadjusted dollars. In 1979, it took 800 hours of work at minimum wage to earn a bachelor's degree; by 2012 that had risen to 2,200 hours. A medical degree that on average would have taken 1,000 hours to pay for in 1979 now takes some 4,700 hours to pay for.
"In most cases, a minimum wage job is no longer enough to cover tuition," said David Macdonald, an economist with the left-leaning Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).
Macdonald said the jump in Canadian tuitions largely began in the 1990s, when the country's politicians were heavily focused on deficit reduction and the "deregulation" of university education became a popular move.
"Almost every single province" began to raise tuition rates on an annual basis, Macdonald said. While some have since pulled back, as in Newfoundland and Labrador and in Quebec in particular, in many places the tuition costs continue to rise.
According to research Macdonald carried out with colleagues at the CCPA, post-secondary education costs grew at nearly triple the inflation rate between 1990 and 2011.
Those rising costs have discouraged some students from seeking higher education, the report states. But an equally important effect, Macdonald said, is that students now graduate burdened with much more debt than in the past.
A recent survey from the Bank of Montreal found that most students expect to graduate with more than $20,000 in debt, and more than a fifth are anticipating debt of more than $40,000.
While those numbers are dwarfed by the sort of student debt seen in the United States, the added financial burden has an impact on students' lives after graduation, Macdonald said.
Indebted students "are less likely to own a house, to make investments, and they will put marriage off," Macdonald told The Huffington Post Canada. Saving for retirement also has to be put off, he added.
In an Abacus survey carried out this fall for the Huffington Post Canada, 32 per cent of millennials chose student and personal debt as the largest or second-largest challenge facing their generation from among the most-cited challenges in the survey. Twenty-four per cent identified the cost of education as one of the top two challenges.
And while costs may be rising, millennials don't appear ready to give up on their ambitions. The Abacus survey found that 73 per cent of millennials who do not own a home plan to do so. But as millennials age, those who still do not own a home begin to lose hope about fulfilling that desire.
Among those aged 21 to 23, 76 per cent believe they will be able to own a home by age 31. Among those aged 28 to 30, that number falls to 48 per cent.
"Owning [your] own home is very important to most millennials in Canada. But higher student debt levels, sky-high housing prices and changes to mortgage rules make that dream much harder to achieve," Abacus CEO David Coletto said.
But Macdonald said the biggest challenge for Generation Y is the same one identified by Canadian millennials surveyed by HuffPost — getting a job. Fifty-seven per cent of respondents ranked finding quality jobs among the top three most important issues facing the generation today.
And a university education isn't the guarantor of a good career it once was, so many graduates end up as a "barista at Starbucks," he added.
"They're employed, but they're not climbing up a career ladder," Macdonald said.
HuffPost's data show that the youth unemployment rate, which measures those aged 15 to 25, saw a major spike to around 15 per cent during the 2008 financial crisis and continues to hover there to this day.
But from a historical perspective, that is not an unusually high unemployment rate: It went well above 15 per cent during the recession of the early 1990s, and is well off its modern record high of 19.2 per cent in the early 1980s.
One silver lining to the education picture is high school: The proportion of Canadians over 25 without a high school education has dropped by more than half, from 36.4 per cent in 1990 to 17.1 per cent in 2010.
Yet a high school diploma today is hardly a guarantor of success in the workforce, as most are well aware. So Canadian millennials now face a new financial obstacle in life: While their predecessors struggled with the costs of housing and transportation and food, millennials find themselves struggling with the cost of education as well.
And that marks a change in the standard of living that all the cheap coffee makers in the world couldn't make up for.
— Abacus Data has focused research on the Canadian Millennial. Read more here.
What do you think about this story? Join the conversation below or tweet us @HuffPostCanada with the #AskingY tag. We may feature your comments in an upcoming post. You can also check out our Tumblr, and our dedicated page for more from the Asking Y series.


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To put the cock in front of the cabin is when one brings something they don't want onto themselves by their own actions. Simialr to waving the red flag at the bull, this could take the form of setting someone else up with an irresistable insult accidentally or leading someone on inadvertantly.
Jenny was pissed last night because I kept trying to have sex with her, but she really put the cock in front of the cabin when she came over to talk at midnight wearing nothing but stilleto heels, crotchless panties, and a lobster bib.
by Mr. Quackers5380 November 20, 2009


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Robber wears Halloween mask
A Salinas gas station was robbed at gunpoint by a man wearing a Halloween mask early Wednesday.
Police said the gunman entered the Arco gas station in the 100 block of North Main Street shortly after 3:30 a.m., demanded money, took cash and ran west on Rossi Street.
Attempted break-in foiled; suspect at large
Three Watsonville residents were arrested after an attempted break-in at a Royal Oaks home and a fourth remains at large, Monterey County Sheriff's deputies said.
Two people were confronted by a homeowner who caught them apparently trying to enter the Maher Road home through a bathroom window Tuesday, according to the Santa Cruz Sentinel. Two other people were waiting in the driveway in a green Chevrolet Trailblazer. When confronted by the homeowner, the first two got into the waiting car and drove off.
A deputy responding to the call spotted the car on San Juan Road and initiated a traffic stop. When the car pulled over, 18-year-old Jimmy Moreno took off, deputies said. The other three people remained in the car.
Olwaldo Toscano, 21, Marcial Castillo, 18, and a 17-year-old were arrested on suspicion of burglary, deputies said.
Moreno, who has a tattoo of a barcode on his left cheek, is still being sought.
— Staff and wire services


text:
forum: Food & Drink
#31 Sat 19 Apr 08 9:32pm
- Member Occupation family support practitioner
- From suffolk
- Member since Wed 17 Oct 07
Re: What beer is in your fridge?
Becks for a saturday night with spicy food, and adnams broadside for a pre sunday lunch tipple.(preferably in Southwold)
#32 Sat 19 Apr 08 10:01pm
- Forum champ Occupation Administration for an Awesome Company!
- From Arequipa, Peru
- Member since Tue 16 Oct 07
Re: What beer is in your fridge?
My favourite beer is the beer that's in your refrigerator not mine. Sorry I never acquired a taste for beer.
The funny thing is everybody used to tell me to force myself to drink it because I would acquire a taste for it.
I'm sure you could acquire a taste for cow manure too if you forced yourself to eat it.
But I do like Hunter's Dry. I got that in South Africa. I'm not sure exactly what kind of drink it was but it was good.
#33 Sun 20 Apr 08 1:41am
- Forum champ Occupation Duty Free Lancome and Fragrance sales
- From Greater Vancouver
- Member since Mon 23 Oct 06
Re: What beer is in your fridge?
I will look out for La Chouffe, hopefully it's available though? I won't forget what it looks like, We only have a small liquor store near us that only carries the "usual", maybe I can ask the ladies if it's possible to order it in. They know me there and we chit chat quite often
Cheers everyone!
#34 Sun 20 Apr 08 7:02am
- Member Occupation culinary arts student
- From Thessaloniki GREECE
- Member since Sat 19 Apr 08
Re: What beer is in your fridge?
A Murphys' stout is always in my fridge but there's also Fisher Bud and Golden Carolus
#35 Sun 20 Apr 08 3:09pm
- Member Occupation School - Future chef
- From Glasgow
- Member since Thu 14 Feb 08
Re: What beer is in your fridge?
Miller and Carlsberg .. The odd Kronensburg as well
#36 Sun 20 Apr 08 3:12pm
- Member Occupation Engineer
- From Lancashire
- Member since Tue 11 Mar 08
Re: What beer is in your fridge?
minerva wrote:
Hi Steve,.......Mead is something I get when I visit the family, & although its desperately expensive comparatively speaking, it is wonderful in summer desserts. Have you tried making syllabub with it?
Not done anything with it but drink it !, Its actually part of the "honeymoon" as we know it, something like you drink mead for a month after getting married (mead having honey in it etc)...
If I stumble across a few bottles and find drinking it too difficult I might make something with it...
#37 Sun 20 Apr 08 3:35pm
- Forum champ Occupation Experimental learning
- From Surrey UK
- Member since Sat 18 Aug 07
Re: What beer is in your fridge?
Just picked up some Peroni, its soooooooooooooo nice.
#38 Sun 20 Apr 08 8:29pm
- Forum champ Occupation Why is the Rum always gone???!
- From out to lunch
- Member since Sat 07 Jan 06
Re: What beer is in your fridge?
bcrain... if you get a chance try some Zubr from poland.. Really nice beer although it can sneak up on ya being 5.8%
whatever anyone does don't try St. Peters Winter Ale.. It tastes like tree pruning tar smells.
Only a fool argues with a skunk, a mule or a cook. { cowboy saying}
#39 Mon 21 Apr 08 3:19am
- Forum champ Occupation Duty Free Lancome and Fragrance sales
- From Greater Vancouver
- Member since Mon 23 Oct 06
Re: What beer is in your fridge?
Ashen, I think there's a Dutch or German beer I bought as a single can and it was 7% Have you heard of Old English I have never bought it but i think it's more for the "effect". But I will look for the Zubr, that's easy enough to remember.
#40 Wed 23 Apr 08 3:18pm
- Member
- From Stavanger, Norway
- Member since Fri 25 Jan 08
Re: What beer is in your fridge?
Right now I have a couple of Heineken :-) But I also drink Tuborg from time to time but over the years I have gotten more and more into the wine
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures


text:
From an easily-available parts-breakdown illustration,* it seems that it's the thumb-stud on the magazine's follower, that actuates the pistol's hold-open latch.
So, my first question is: Does the magazine still have its follower's thumb stud?
Next, if the stud is there, does the bottom extension of the hold-open latch properly contact the follower's thumb stud? (Remove the left grip, and watch.)
Third, is the path of the pistol's slide clean and lightly lubricated?
If the hold-open works properly when you retract the slide by hand over an empty magazine, I would suspect either dirt or a too-strong recoil spring.
If the hold-open does not work properly when you retract the slide by hand, I would suspect either that the hold-open latch is broken, or that the magazine is.
In my personal experience, although not with anything like your particular pistol, I have found that difficulties like the one you describe are more often magazine-related, than they are ammunition-related.
*Fir the diagram, click on: http://stevespages.com/ipb-browning-buckmark.html
For the manual, click on: http://stevespages.com/page7b.htm, and look in the "B"s.
(No, I am not that Steve.)


text:
Cubase vst-vst Remote Control Devices HTML version
Operation Manual by Ernst Nathorst-Böös, Ludvig Carlson, Anders Nordmark, Roger Wiklander
Quality Control: Cristina Bachmann, Heike Horntrich, Sabine Pfeifer, Claudia Schomburg
The information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commit-
ment on the part of Steinberg Soft- und Hardware GmbH. The software described by this document is sub-
ject to a License Agreement and may not be copied to other media except as specifically allowed in the
License Agreement. No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced or otherwise transmitted or re-
corded, for any purpose, without prior written permission by Steinberg Soft- und Hardware GmbH.
All product and company names are ™ or ® trademarks of their respective owners. Windows, Windows 95,
Windows 98 and Windows 2000 are trademarks of Microsoft Inc.
© Steinberg Soft- und Hardware GmbH, 2000.
All rights reserved.
- 2 -


text:
Career Services is partnering with Goodwill Industries to present a "Dress for Success on a Budget" fashion show at 12 p.m. today in the RJ Wills Lecture Hall, located on the second floor of the Campus Center.
Participants will learn about appropriate attire for job interviews, the workplace, and the classroom.
Clothing from Goodwill Industries will be modeled to show how one can dress for success without spending a fortune.
All PTC students, faculty and staff are invited to attend.
Pulaski Technical College


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text: Samsung Laptops Price in India are compared from Leading Online Shops and are listed according to the Lowest Price in this page. Popular and Latest Samsung Laptops are listed in this page accompanied by Best Deals and Offers available as on 2017 May 30th. Always visit PriceDealsIndia.com if you want to purchase Samsung Laptops at Best available prices.


text:
When Infiniti launched the G37 in March, they announced it will be a big competitor for the BMW 3-Series Coupe. It is more than normal for Infiniti to also target the 3-Series Convertible. And they will starting 2009 when the company will unveil the G37 Coupe-Convertible.The G37 Coupe-Convertible will have the same design elements as the Coupe version. Under the hood there will be a 3.7 liter V6 engine with an output of 330 hp and a peak torque of 269 lbs-ft.http://www.topspeed.com/cars/car-news/infiniti-g37-coupe-convertible-to-be-unveiled-in-2009-ar36650.html
The chicks should dig it...
=================================No, Brian, it's a foreign car, the "T" is silent. Sweet, I'm getting an Audi!
that looks PIMP!
The main difference between the Japanese and American auto industries is that the Japanese government does what it can to help its automakers succeed, whereas in Washington, no one gives a damn about Detroit.-Angus MacKenzie
That's hot. So there's a G Sedan, G Coupe, and now a G Hardtop 'vert. Now all we need is a high-performance version.
__________2011 M56S | 2007 Z4M Coupe | 2014 Q5 TDI | 1993 MR2 Turbo | 1994 Sentra SE-R NeoVVL


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Couple indicted, charged with making meth in Canfield
Authorities described the lab as a one-pot operation.
Authorities described the lab as a one-pot operation.
G. Shannon McColor Jr., 27, is facing two charges of aggravated robbery with firearms specifications.
Police said Jayquawn Manigault made a phone call to a relative from the bank, which was able to trace the call.
Police said the woman placed her dead mother in a bed and did not notify anyone as the body decomposed.
A shootout between police and Dempsey, 25, a suspected car thief, happened on state Route 11 on Sept. 26 after a car chase.
Passengers took to Twitter to upload pictures and messages after a plane skidded off a runway at LaGuardia Airport in New York.
The lawyer has filed a motion to suppress a statement the man made to police after being arrested.
Revenue is down as compared to 2014.
Police say the fatal shooting happened during a drug deal.
Freshman Kaden Smith put together a solid first year for the Golden Eagles by averaging almost a double-double per game.
Tampa police saved "Cabela" after finding her shot multiple times and tied to railroad tracks. The dog is said to be stable.
Tampa police officers made a horrific discovery when responding to shots fired in the Sulphur Springs area Wednesday night.
The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is ending its iconic elephant acts.
The judge made no ruling in the case, but it is now under review by the state.
The body was discovered near a bridge in Dayton after the snow melted.
A southwest Florida man put his dead neighbor in the bed of his pickup truck and drove to his lawyer's office.
Inventor John Sylvan said the single server pods are not being used as he intended.
A fight over snow shoveling in Eastlake, Ohio turned into an assault charge.
A semi-truck lost control and hit a man changing a tire along I-80 in Lackawannock Twp.
Pelini was most recently the head coach at Florida Atlantic before resigning from the post amid controversy.
The bill, approved by a vote of 316 to 101, authorizes $7.2 billion in federal subsidies for passenger rail.
On Wednesday, authorities released search warrants in which detectives raised questions about the initial accounts of the heist.
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Harry Potter: Lose some weight before you hug me, Ron.
Ron Weasley: Unicorn Turds.
Ron Weasley: Unicorn Turds.
by voldemort's nipple March 12, 2009
unicorn turds are unicorn's sparkly, flourescent, rainbow turds which, when cut open, reveal my little ponie's magical paradise!!!!
often used in place of an expletive
often used in place of an expletive
"Oh unicorn turds!"
by wowohmygod February 12, 2010
sparkly substance that is projected from the anus of the unicorn
by kamkampeacewins February 12, 2009


text:
Town Square
Major City Issues Should Go to the Voters
Original post made by George, South of Midtown, on Sep 30, 2007
I am not suggesting that most contentious issues should go to a vote, but there needs to be a mechanism to take the really big ones away from the Council, at least as a final solution. The Council already has the ability to put an issue to the vote, but I would like to see an additional tool, whereby the citizens can take control.
I think we should be able to circulate petitions to put specific issues on the ballot. It should be a high bar, in terms of percentage of qualified voters (but not absurdly high). Maybe this mechanism already exists, and I am not aware of it. Note: I am not talking about recall elections.
Any thoughts?
Comments (49)
a resident of Palo Verde
on Sep 30, 2007 at 6:25 pm
Democracy is an unjust form of government since 51% can do anything they want to the other 49%. We are a republic ruled by laws. What we need is a good court that will throw out these wild schemes that violate individual rights.
a resident of Adobe-Meadow
on Sep 30, 2007 at 8:50 pm
The city spent $250,000.00 on a dysfunctional website. I think the public would have thought TWICE about approving this highway robbery.
There would be a lot less waste. Did you know that many many many successful ecommerce websites (whose goal is to sell stuff) cost much much much less than a quarter of a million dollars. And to make things worse, the ecommerce websites actually WORK!!!
a resident of South of Midtown
on Sep 30, 2007 at 9:49 pm
It costs money to place every issue on the ballot - lots of money. I'm happy to leave these decisions to our City Council, that's why we elected them.
Perhaps we need to vote on whether the City should spend the money to place every petty issues on the ballot.
a resident of University South
on Sep 30, 2007 at 10:08 pm
The cost of elections is a laughable reason why they shouldn't take place. It's funny that you only rarely hear of this reason, and almost always from someone who doesn't like what is on the ballet.
As to Joanna's point, I completely agree. If there were real open debate in our town, I'm quite certain that a $250,000 website would never have happened. In fact, I can hearby pledge that for $250,000 I can not only build a great website for the city, but I can build a secure and auditable online voting system for it to use as well.
Personally, I like the idea. Another thing to note: "Democracy" does not mean "51% rule", or "tyranny of the majority". It is rather a flexible concept of rule by the people, with or without representatives. George's interesting and original post simply asks that we consider changing some of our government decisions from the power of the elected few in the council, to a vote of the people.
Were this admittedly unlikely scenario to happen, there is a broad spectrum of options that we as a community could choose from, to hopefully meet our own town's needs.
One end of the spectrum: Vote on any decision affecting over $1000 of city money, resources, or staff. I think this is crazy and would require far too many votes and far too much information for each voter to understand (myself included).
Middle spectrum: Any decision affecting over $10,000 of city money, resources, or staff must be posted in a public, searchable, indexed way (i.e. on the web in a decent format). Anyone can object to any item and if they get some small number of co-signers, cause it to be brought up on the ballot. That number could be anywhere from 10-100 people, but must be small enough to not require paid lobbyists.
Other end of the spectrum: Vote on any spending / taxing decision affecting over $200,000 of city money.
Catch my drift? These are only the thoughts of a non-political-scientist, non-MBA carrying engineer, who would like to see our town *better* than it already is. I think this is possible...
a resident of Ventura
on Sep 30, 2007 at 10:48 pm
Noah - you can't be serious. I mean, $200,000 is not small change, but in a budget of tens of millions? You want to vote on hiring 3-4 people? Vote on rennovating two floors of office space? Vote on installing and/or replacing a bunch of streetlights? Vote on the legal strategy of pursuing a lawsuit, or settling one?
Personally, I would dread the thought of having to vote more than we already do. The propositions in state elections have mostly been a waste, and though I don't have the data on this, it seems to me that more and more of them fail. Tons of money is wasted in misinformation campaigns by outsiders and political schemers whose cares are narrow and whose grasp of unintended consequences is tenuous. Then, they end up in the courts anyway.
I am a very well educated and politically active individual, but I don't have the expertise to cast an informed vote on many of these issues, nor do I have the time to develop the expertise. That's why I like being able to elect people whose qualifications I find satisfactory, and whose job it is to gather the information, sit through all the hearings, consult the experts, weigh the options, hear all of our opinions, and provide leadership.
If you don't like the results, use your vote to remove the officials responsible, and urge people to vote with you. OR, better yet, use other political means. We can certainly influence politics in between elections by communicating with officials, mobilizing people and resources, and working in a grassroots way.
I just can't believe that we'd get better government, overall, by having more votes on more issues.
a resident of Los Altos
on Oct 1, 2007 at 7:15 am
The problem with putting issue after issue to the vote of the populace, instead of to the vote of the elected person,is that then we end up with, frankly, many uninformed people making emotionally reflexive votes on single issues. This brings in a mish mash of reforms, sometimes completely at odds with each ohter, like what happens with the extreme number of initiatives at the ballot box.
You need to instead elect people who have the same philosophy you have about the future of this town ( growth freeze, or many more houses?) and what it will look like, and what the job of the Council is ( infrastructure, or national policy?)..then trust them to do the homework necessary to fulfill their promise to work toward whatever you elected them to do.
a resident of University South
on Oct 1, 2007 at 7:23 am
Maybe we shouldn't actually vote on all the issues SkepticalAl mentions, but I bet if Noah could design a voting website, he also could design an audit-able site where citizens could express opinions on each city council vote. If Noah and the rest of us had been polled, we'd never have spent the 240k on the website. Somebody knowledgable like Noah would have pointed out the absurdity of it and shamed the council into squashing the idea. And I bet we'd never have spent $7 million on the unusable bicycle underpass. We'd likely not have over a third of our employees earning 100k a year with gold plated benefits to go along.
The council seems insular and responsive only to various interest groups in town. A mechanism where more people could communicate to the council seems like a good thing to me. It doesn't have to be a binding vote...but a polling system - one that couldn't be gamed - seems like a good idea to me.
a resident of South of Midtown
on Oct 1, 2007 at 7:49 am
I want to reiterate that I am talking about rare, high impact, issues, such as ABAG. The hurdle to qualify for the ballot should be high enough that only an aroused public could get the job done. This means that the everday stuff that the Council handles, even if controversial, would not go to a vote.
a resident of University South
on Oct 1, 2007 at 8:51 am
Maybe we shouldn't actually vote on all the issues SkepticalAl mentions, but I bet if Noah could design a voting website, he also could design an audit-able site where citizens could express opinions on each city council vote - and maybe be polled.
If Noah and the rest of us had been polled, we'd never have spent the 240k on the website. Somebody knowledgable like Noah would have pointed out the absurdity of it and shamed the council into squashing the idea. And I bet we'd never have spent $7 million on the unusable bicycle underpass. We'd likely not have over a third of our employees earning 100k a year with gold plated benefits to go along.
The council seems insular and responsive only to various interest groups in town. A mechanism where more people could communicate to the council seems like a good thing to me. It doesn't have to be a binding vote...but a polling system - one that couldn't be gamed - seems like a good idea to me.
a resident of Community Center
on Oct 1, 2007 at 9:58 am
Here is something for folks to chew on--I will be curious how it affects what people think should be taken to a ballot of the voters, -vs- handled by officials we elect to carry out the people's business. This is a current matter in Palo Alto that has gotten some press, and is being examined by the Parks and Recreation Commission, of which I am a member.
It is the dog leash law in town.
There is on the books an ordinance, voted by the people in 1955, which prohibits dogs off leash in Palo Alto. Period, with a couple of very tight exceptions. In order to change it, a proposed amended law has to go back to the voters, it cannot be changed by City Council.
I will not comment or provide my own opinions on the dog leash matter one way or the other in this forum, since it is a matter we are revewing at the Commission. I do offer it as fodder for discussion around the question posed at the start of this string around what matters go to the voters, and what matters we should look to our elected and appointed officials to deal with on behalf of the electorate.
a resident of South of Midtown
on Oct 1, 2007 at 10:19 am
If there are enough dog owners to qualify a measure for the ballot, I would be fine with that. I think they would find out that the majority of PA citizens want to retain the current law, but that is not the point. My point is that it should take a major effort to qualify a measure for the ballot. However, it should not be near-impossible. I think you would find that only one or two measures would make it to the ballot each year.
The Parks and Rec Commission was created, initially, to handle dog issues...the Council was tired of listening to that stuff all the time. The PRC has only advisory powers...the Council makes the binding vote. However, you guys on PRC mostly only get to hear from the dog owners, who are always there to complain. There is a silent majority out here, who do not want dogs off leash. I can envision a situation where the dog owners wear you guys down, and the Council hides behind your recommendation to allow dogs off leash. In other words, pressure politics wins the day. Luckily, only a vote will be able to overturn the original decision from 1955.
a resident of Community Center
on Oct 1, 2007 at 10:26 am
I appreciate your thoughts about the dogs off leash question, thank you for those. It is a thorny issue, not one that leads to a solution that will satisfy everyone, no matter how it is decided.
I welcome hearing what others think about the dog leash issue, and my reason for mentioning it here has more to do with what sorts of things should be a vote of the people, and what sorts of things are better handled by our city council and humble commissioners such as myself when it is called for. That is what I perceive to be the topic on this thread, and the dog leash issue illustrates one approach to what should be included and require a vote of the people.
a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Oct 1, 2007 at 10:27 am
Thank you for your comments, I always appreciate them.
My feelings on this one, the dog law being part of this, is when something is voted on over 50 years ago, the validity of the vote after a large number of years is questionable to say the least. To begin with, those who actually voted are not likely to remain affected by it, if they are still in Palo Alto. Secondly, lifestyles and what has become the norm for most residents is very different. Lastly, Palo Alto itself has changed dramatically in the last 50 years particularly in the size of population.
Looking at the demographics of PA 50 years ago and the reason why a certain law was passed then is very different to what would happen if the law was to be voted today. It is always a good idea to revisit old laws as a matter of policy as I am sure that there are many statutes on the books that would be laughable now if they were enforced.
Revisiting old laws would not be taking liberties with the original voters wishes, just making them fit today's world just makes good common sense.
a resident of Midtown
on Oct 1, 2007 at 10:42 am
The dog leash issue illustrates well the point made above that the council (and apparently the PRC) is more likely to listen to special interests and ignore the greater public will in matters of benefit to the special interests.
With all due respect to Paul Losch, who is usually a very thoughtful commentator on this forum, I doubt if many people in Palo Alto think the current dog leash law is a "thorny" issue. My impression is that most people don't think about the issue much and if they did, would conclude that they're very happy with the situation.
That Paul Losch would characterize the issue as "thorny" perhaps reflects the pressure put on him in his position as P&R Commissioner by a few zealots among the many dog owners in Palo Alto.
It will be a shame if this turns into the latest political brouhaha in town, sapping energy that could better be focused on the infrastructure disaster and budget issues.
a resident of Old Palo Alto
on Oct 1, 2007 at 10:50 am
I was bitten by an unleashed dog last week on Ocean Beach in San Francisco. The dog's owner was very apologetic, and claimed believably that this had never happened before. It came right out of the blue, she says, and she had no ability to stop the attack.
A stitch on my leg, a tetanus shot and a couple of weeks will leave me with only a scar and a new fear of dogs. I'm a 170 lb 50 year old male. This could have been tragic were the victim a small child (who seem plentiful in all the same places that owners like to take dogs).
Let's not re-open the leash law issue. What we have in Palo Alto is working well. I don't understand the argument on the other side. Are there really a lot of self-centered dog owners in Palo Alto who think "their" dogs aren't like all those other bad dogs who bite people?
a resident of Charleston Gardens
on Oct 1, 2007 at 11:13 am
George, what you are proposing i.e. putting issues on the ballot that would otherwise be voted on by the City Council, would require amending the City Charter.
I have a copy of "Charter Amendment - 2005". The process to change the City Charter is long and protracted. First, you would have to prepare your Charter amendment, then you would have to hire a lawyer to vet your amendment. Then, to put your amendment on the ballot, you would have to collect around 6,000 signatures on a written Petition. This cannot be done over the internet because there is no way to verify the actual registered voter's signature, or their address as a resident of Palo Alto.
A group of Palo Altans looked into amending the City Charter in an attempt to reduce the size of City Council from 9 to 7. They realized the bar was set so high that it was almost impossible to achieve.
Good luck.
a resident of South of Midtown
on Oct 1, 2007 at 11:20 am
Thanks for the information. A Charter change SHOULD be a difficult thing to do. 6000 validated signature is a steep climb, thus there would need to be signficant public support. I could envision that other Charter changes (that are generally popular) could be bundled together (e.g. the 9 to 7 reduction on the Council), thus sweetening the pot. However, this is just speculation on my part.
Question: Is the Council allowed to put Charter changes to a vote?
a resident of Midtown
on Oct 1, 2007 at 11:26 am
The leash law was done by popular vote? And can only be changed by popular vote?! The leash law?? That's pretty loony.
To the point of George above, that this protects us from the Council caving in to special interests - what a shame. If our Council is truly so weak (and perhaps it is) then we should look at reform there. An elected Mayor, accountable to the electorate, would help.
Direct democracy in most situations is expensive and cumbersome. We should focus our energies on how to get our elected officials to do their jobs well, not on doing their jobs for them.
a resident of another community
on Oct 1, 2007 at 11:43 am
When I first moved to CA many years ago, I was truly surprised at the size of the election booklets that arrived prior to every election. I couldn't quite grasp why voters had to vote on so many initiatives, because I thought that was the job of the elected officials. I also resented the amount of studying I felt I needed to do (above and way beyond other states' elections) prior to the election.
Giving more small issues to the voter to decide, while I like the idea in some respects, I think is a bit much. I'm not saying the current system is perfect, but it works well enough to keep the city running along and gives me something else to gripe about. I much prefer that situation to having yet another issue to educate myself about in order to make an informed vote... otherwise, I won't vote on the issue. This could allow special interest groups who "get out the vote" to slant elections in their favor. Moreover, I think this would blur the bigger picture of problems that need to be addressed.
What I would sincerely prefer, is a more diverse city council whose members are not beholden to any special interest group and who are not afraid to confront the hard, practical problems that this city faces as a result of the enormous growth of the area. Budget, infrastructure, emergency services (incl. stanford hospital), sales tax revenues, .... if they can solve these problems first, then thinking about changing the leash law seems like very small potatoes.
a resident of another community
on Oct 1, 2007 at 11:51 am
It seems that all this talk and much of the talk on this forum is how to control or stop poor leadership and huge wastes of the taxpayer/citizens money.With poor service or no service to show/give the citizens. Would it not be better to stop the poor leaders and hold them accountable for there GROSS MISMANAGEMENT of PUBLIC FUNDS? Would making more laws or regulations stop or control the leaders who do not follow the rules in the first place. These leader laugh at you/me,laugh at how feeble and powerless you/we are in not being able to control there actions or make them accountable for there actions /behavior.. To stop them.. They do what they want,when they want and nothing you say can or will do anything about it. They do not even give you/me the time of day. How many answers do the citizens get? How many times has the City of Palo Alto failed to even talk or explain anything to the public? How many times have they told you the public that this PUBLIC GOVERNMENT is none of your business. How many times have they gone to court to prove this to you/us. Address the ones making the problems first, do not just address the problems that these ones have made. Am I wrong or does this not feel/ appear to be a cold war going on between the CITIZENS/PUBLIC and the LEADERS of this CITY. City Counsil included. If you have worked for this CITY and not placed yourself on the special intrest list{this means selling your soul} you will feel as I do that DOMESTIC TERRORISM is alive and doing very well in the CPA. It also pays well. Human rights a long with fair play are just nasty little secrets that must be kept from the public. Make a mistake as an employee and your gone. Little harmless ones seem to get you the most punishment. Make a huge mistake,make this mistake for many years,hurt many people with this mistake,waste huge amounts of money with these mistakes,try to cover these mistakes up and you will get at least a second,third or more chances. Maybe a bonus and promotion also. Why have rule,regulation and laws when the leaders choose not to follow them and there is not a thing you can or will do about it? There comes a time and place where/when the citizens need/must stand up for the truth and the law. Seems we like to go after Presidents for ilegal actions in are United States of America but are local governments can run uncheck doing all the harm they can to the Citizens of the United States of AMERICA. The City of Palo Alto has turnned into a tranning ground for leaders of Domestic Terrorism. Cancer spreads if not stopped until the host can no longer support the disease any longer. Then in this case they go on to other city's or organization to infect them. Get the law/rule book out and hold the criminals accountable. Do not buy the "No Comment" BS that is being given to you, STAND up and FIGHT. You can not fight the worlds problems or your local ones from behind your computers keyboard alone, you must step out into the real world. You have the POWER, do not let these "Leaders" take it away from you or make you feel that you have none. Take this CITY back from the forces that have taken it away from you.... The PUBLIC/CITIZENS
a resident of South of Midtown
on Oct 1, 2007 at 12:05 pm
I think you are overstating the case about direct democracy. I clearly stated that it should be a high hurdle. Council can continue going about its business...on 99.9% of the issues it faces on a daily basis. However, fundmantal issues, ones that will have a profound effect on life in Palo Alto for decades to come, deserve the consent of the governed.
I already mentioned the historical housing issue. The Council simply caved in to special interests groups, with very little thought about homeowners. The uproar caught them by surprise. They were forced to go to the ballot, where they were soundly defeated.
The ABAG housing proposal (3500 new housing units in PA) was not even on the radar screen when we elected the current Council. I can envision that our Council will get caught up in Green Fever, and make a quick decision in favor of ABAG. Clearly, this would profoundly change the character of Palo Alto, not to mention a big burden on infrastructure. Do we want to leave such decisions up to the current Council?
The leash law sounds trivial, and I don't have very strong opinions about it, other than that the current law seems fine to me. However, it IS a lifestyle issue that will affect all of Palo Alto. Those people in 1955 were probably upset with dog bites, and dog poop (some things never change)...thus they took it to a vote.
A sunsetting provision on initiatives, to the effect that such laws passed by the people, should, automatically, be put on the ballot every 15 years or so, makes sense to me.
a resident of Duveneck/St. Francis
on Oct 1, 2007 at 12:37 pm
Paul, I am not a dog owner. I AM interested in the leash law and support keeping this law. If it were to be voted on again, then I would get involved on the side of the law.
a resident of Palo Verde
on Oct 1, 2007 at 12:43 pm
Mr. Losch,
You asked for comments re dog leash law.
In my opinion the dog laws in our town need to be tightened.
For instance:
a) A 6-foot leash length should be specified. (The code does not specify a length.) The other day I saw a dog owner with a reel-type leash let the dog out 20 or 30 feet so it could poop next to a front doorstep.
b) Dogs should not be allowed to defecate or urinate on private property (other than the dog owners). Having a plastic bag for poop should not give a dog owner the right to enter your property.
c) The definition of "barking dog" is much too restrictive--continuously and incessantly for a period of 10 minutes within a 15-minute period.
The San Jose code is much better--use it as a model.
a resident of Barron Park
on Oct 1, 2007 at 12:43 pm
Many thoughtful statements. Thank you one and all - especially Paul who always makes good points. Too many things to vote on would cause the system to sink of its own weight. The voter would lose interest in trying to keep up with information needed to make informed decisions as noted above.
I think all laws, regulations, ordinances, etc. should have a Sunset Clause (date always to be determined) unless there is an overwhelming argument against it. The leash law is a case in point. Having said that, I think the leash law should be retained.
a resident of Midtown
on Oct 1, 2007 at 1:15 pm
I wonder if anyone knows the history of the 1955 Dog Leash Ordinance.
It would be instructive to know why this was passed by the voters rather than by the council. Was this a case where the Council refused to act because it was held hostage by some vocal (special interest) dog owners?
Maybe someone has access to the old Palo Alto Times Archives from this period to see what circumstances led to the vote on the Leash Laws. If it turns out that the vote on the Leash Law was overwhelming after a refusal by the Council to act, thats evidence that the 1955 Council was every bit a feckless and beholden to special interests as the current one is.
a resident of Midtown
on Oct 1, 2007 at 1:20 pm
I'm onboard with R Wray. If anything the dog laws need to be stricter. i'm very tired of dogs ruining my landscaping because the owners are too lazy or arrogant to prevent them from urinating and deficating on my plants - which I spend a lot of money on.
I got into a shouting match with one woman whose mutt had trampled and pee'd on my newly planted annuals a month ago. She seemed to think there was nothing wrong with it at all: "Well he has to go somewhere", she said.
a resident of Community Center
on Oct 1, 2007 at 1:26 pm
Thanks for the comments on the leash law, I am sure there will be more threads on that, as we will be dealing with it at the Commission in the coming months.
Out of respect for the original poster, I hope that it served to illustrate his question about what should be put to the voters and what we should be looking to our elected and appointed officials to address in their responsibilities to the City. One thing that I will note is the notion of sunsetting certain laws or types of laws, which merits further investigation. Sometimes "settled law" becomes more of a hindrance to current realities, not as useful precedent to follow. It is something commonly talked about when people are nominated for the supreme court and other judgeships, and can apply in comparable fashion at the municipal level.
a resident of Charleston Gardens
on Oct 1, 2007 at 1:33 pm
George you ask: "Is the Council allowed to put Charter changes to the vote." The quick answer is "yes".
However, when a group of citizens approached individual members of the City Council about placing a Charter Amendment change on the ballot which would reduced the number of City Council persons from 9 - 7. The response was underwhelming.
The following suggestions were made privately by individual members of the City Council. They would also like to place the following Charter Amendment changes on the ballot:
1)Reduce the number of City Council persons from 9 - 7.
2)Have an elected Mayor for a term of 4 years, allowing him/her to run for re-election.
3)Elect individual members of City Council by District.
and, the poison pill:
4)Repeal the successive two term limit for City Council persons which would allow them to run for re-election any number of times.
These could be bundled in such a way as you would have to vote for all or none of them. It is unlikely that any future City Council will place any Charter Amendments on the ballot which might affect their authority.
a resident of Southgate
on Oct 1, 2007 at 1:42 pm
Paul Losch says, "... I am sure there will be more threads on that, as we will be dealing with it at the Commission in the coming months."
Is it Ok to ask WHY we will be dealing with the leash law? I have heard no outcry that there is something wrong with the current situation. The current law was passed by voter initiative, so would require a voter initiative to change: This is very expensive, so one might ask if is this something that the city should be spending time and resources on? What's going on here? This sounds like the result of someone with an agenda.
Would MR. Losch care to comment? Does anyone else know why city officials are looking into changing these laws. Something seems not quite right.
a resident of University South
on Oct 1, 2007 at 1:51 pm
Anyone who thinks we should loosen our leash laws needs to read this story (again if you didn't see it last winter when it ran in the Weekley). It concerns a small child that was nearly killed in Palo Alto by a dog that "had never done anything like this before. Story here: Web Link)
a resident of South of Midtown
on Oct 1, 2007 at 2:03 pm
Anna, "Maybe we shouldn't actually vote on all the issues SkepticalAl mentions, but I bet if Noah could design a voting website, he also could design an audit-able site where citizens could express opinions on each city council vote - and maybe be polled."
And who would be expressing opinions? And thus, who would end up being polled? The same small crowd that posts on PA Online? Probably.
Bad idea.
I favor a smaller Council, and an elected Mayor, for one BIG reason - to get things done! Polling, as suggested, would simply ramp up the Palo Alto process.
We need ACTIVE leadership in this community (and neighboring communities). Currently, we're only now waking up to the need for speed.
Polling? I've had enough of polling. It's time for leadership.
a resident of Midtown
on Oct 1, 2007 at 2:06 pm
JW, I LOVE that charter amendment package (even the term limit appeal). In a small town, it is hard to find good Councilors (not to mention mayors), so keeping them on (at the voters' pleasure of course) seems smart to me. I'd take that package in a heartbeat. How can that deal get done?
George, sorry, I was reacting more to the leash law and other comments re direct democracy. I cautiously agree that irreversible, large-scale decisions like major land use plans (including an order of magnitude increase in BMR units) might be worthy of plebiscite. That's a character of the town issue.
a resident of Duveneck/St. Francis
on Oct 1, 2007 at 2:07 pm
A smaller council and an elected mayor are great ideas? will it ever happen here in PA? I doubt it.
the "elite" who run this city will never go for it---it is one of their perks--you get elected to the city council, you get to "play" mayor for one year--without any responsibilities or accountability. You get to push your "agenda" for the year, while ignoring major problems facing the city and you get to have no end of photo ops,
The city council has become a good old boys network. Remember a few years ago, there was an empty seat--instead of appointing some new blood/a fresh face, they dug out Laine Wheeler. Now they have Larry Klein on the council again. This year there was talk of Fazzino making another run.
What a joke our council is.
a resident of University South
on Oct 1, 2007 at 2:12 pm
The hope is that the prospect of citizen input, via poll or otherwise, into actual City Council Actions might encourage more people than the usual forum commentators from making their views known. It would be a much more direct pipeline into the council, and focused directly on the issues to be addressed at each council meeting.
Such direct input might also make the council more responsive to a broader cross-section of the community than the current vocal interests.
I don't disagree with your smaller council, elected mayor ideas, but I hardly think they're mutually exclusive with making citizen input to City decision-making more efficient and useful.
Say Hello to Mike of College Terrace when you run into him, by the way.
a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Oct 1, 2007 at 2:25 pm
I am pleased to see that Paul Losch says that leash laws are going to be on topic again.
I hope that this means that rather than relaxing the strict laws at present, there is instead more availability to dog owners to off leash their dogs legally in the right places at the right times. There has been a lot said on the subject of dog runs at the city parks and if there is going to be an increase in the number of dog runs, the size of the dog runs and the times available for dog owners to use facilities and share the parks, then I am all for it. I would also like to see dog classes arranged by the city rec. dept. These classes would be for anyone interested to learn about dog ownership, training dogs and also how to approach dogs for those who are nervous. I see young children in charge of dogs, and young children afraid of dogs, both would find such a class useful. I also think dog ownership classes should be mandatory with each dog licence issued.
Lastly, I think, as someone above said, that long leashes should be banned. They are a nuisance.
a resident of South of Midtown
on Oct 1, 2007 at 2:30 pm
Our community is pretty efficient in getting its inputs to Council when important issues arise. I've seen great turnouts (hundreds) in Council chambers on all sorts of issues.
The City Council has been pretty good about applying polls, but has overdone that practice a bit, in recent years. Polling is far more efficient than online feedback, as the latter has no controls for objectivity, or multiple votes from the same person.
I think that those who are now lookig for more ways to get "community feedback" are well-intentioned, and passionate about their political views.
What I fear is that the same, rather small, crowd of "regulars" and the small peripheral groups that they influence, would be the ones feeding back to Council.
I wonder if those who are pushing for more feedback would be interested in a grass roots campaign to residents wh oordinarilyy *don't* pay yattention to these matters - like parents with small children and a job, or residents who have recently bought in to Palo Alto (especially in the Southern regions of our city, where the real growth is) to hear what they have to say about improving their commuting plight via more infill housing growth, or their opinions about the state of Palo Alto services.
I don't see a need for more polling. What we really need is more efficieent ways to engage the residents of this community about issues that impact their daily lives - includingn the costs AND benefits of proposed developments.
There is a lot of ignorance in Palo Alto; most of it coming from a lack of time.
So, the real challenge: "how do we get people involved, in a far more broad way than heretofore?"
I think the answer to this is more active community associations, and better outreach from the city. We don't have enough of the latter, performed in ways that give a far more accurate view of the realities than those spun by the press, or small groups of hobby horse politicos whose influence is, thankfully, on the wane.
Our city, and our region, needs to wake up, and grow up.
a resident of University South
on Oct 1, 2007 at 2:40 pm
Perhaps I did not make myself more clear. My proposal for a "poll" would be an online poll that would have safeguards to prevent multiple votes, or votes from non-residents from fouling the results. This is easily technologically feasible: many corporations do it already for proxy solicitations and the like. The process has been vetted by the SEC and works well.
I agree 100% that lack of time and ignorance is a major reason we don't get more participation from some residents. I doubt if most young parents have time to go down and listen to the blowhards at the local community association. But I bet they might be willing to express their opinion in an online poll (or other opinion expression mechanism) if they thought the Council would actually see it.
I've been to community association meetings, and they're full of the same activist types that haunt these boards. A "grown up" city might move beyond the 19th Century modes of citizen involvement into something more in tune with the realities of 20th century life...
a resident of South of Midtown
on Oct 1, 2007 at 3:07 pm
Anna, We're in somewhat more agreement. ;) Although, I wonder if providing a polling opportunity would result in sufficient feedback. "If you build it, will they come?" is a question worth asking.
I say build it, and see...
a resident of University South
on Oct 1, 2007 at 3:59 pm
"Anna" of University South neighborhood says:
I've been to community association meetings, and they're full of the same activist types that haunt these boards.
Which community association meetings are you referring to?
a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Oct 1, 2007 at 4:12 pm
The way to get people to become interested in these issues is to actually talk to them. In the past week, I have spoken to neighbors, friends at Church, parents at sports fixtures and people at school. In many cases, I have not had to bring the subject up, they have. I always tell people that I am not telling them who to vote for, but I don't think I have invaded their space, just been helpful.
People tend to want to be informed, often they don't know where to start.
If each of us spoke to our neighbors and friends, it would make a big difference.
a resident of Palo Alto Hills
on Oct 1, 2007 at 5:48 pm
I am new to this forum. Did I miss something or was this topic about Major Issues going to the public for them to vote on. How did it become a dog leash debate. With all the problems this City has I do not see how all this talk is about dogs and there leashes? Lets get real. The only person who seems to make any point about what has happened to this City is the Fireman? What is wrong with the people who live in this town.
I moved here a short time ago. Now I am finding that most people who live here are lost some where. Do you not have elected officals to run this City. Who elected them? Who do they answer to. If you elected them do you not have some say in what they do and how they do it?
Ignorance is the one thing that seems to be alive and well in this City.
a resident of Meadow Park
on Oct 1, 2007 at 5:56 pm
Welcome, DNU. You'll enjoy getting to know our little circus here.
The Council (and School Board) are not well regarded and the city, generally, not well run. I think those are givens. The questions revolve around what can be done about it. The question is gets harder because of a meaningful group of people (many of whom have been here a while) who don't want to change anything, an over-hang of noblesse oblige, and hard time finding quality folks who want to step up try to run the place.
It's still a good town (Stanford, foothills, good neighbors, great weather), but city government is nothing to write home about, I'm afraid.
a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Oct 1, 2007 at 8:16 pm
Where is the discussion of how democracy is not 51% rule? For a bond to pass it has to get 2/3 or 66% to pass. The minority rules in that case.
a resident of Palo Verde
on Oct 1, 2007 at 10:12 pm
There is no difference in principle between 51% or 66% or even 99.9%. Socrates was one man democratically committed to death unjustly.
a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Oct 1, 2007 at 11:17 pm
I have been thinking about the possibility of forming a group of concerned citizens who aren't happy about what is going on in this city.
They would gather signatures to create ballot measures on major issues in this city.
Like: Limiting high density developments in residenal areas or putting a moratorium of a few years on them to determine the affects the current ones have on traffic.
Another issue: Some people have unlimited rights to do with their property what ever they like and others are not allowed to do anything reasonable. This could be complex issue ,but the final result would be a clear precise defined what the rules are.
Another major issue is what to do with the large "Flood Zone" that exists in the city. Will we become or are we a "Little New Orleans"?
Sitting around waiting for the heavy rains that are bound to come?
We needed a election on the Alma Plaza. Thousands of shoppers will be affected by the conversion of this shopping center to housing.
Another major issue is how to solve the housing/jobs inbalance. More housing or less commercial office buildings which produce no real tax or income to the city. There is lots of vacant land West of El Camino that could be used for housing and much of it is walking/biking distance to Stanford Industrial Park or the Stanford shoping center and hospital.
One of the greatest disasters on voting on an issue was the postcard voting on the storm drain parcel tax. Not sending in your postcard turned out to be a "YES" vote for the tax. I recall that only about 6000 people turned in a yes vote ,but it passed (out of a possible 25,000 residents.
There are a lot of reasons we need to vote on major issues.
Entrenched incumbents have a great advantage.
The establishment chooses people who think the way they do and they get the support of all the local newspapers as they are in some way connected to businesses in the area and they advertise in the papers. The newspapers have almost always been against ordinary residents and find phony reasons to run them down.
The elected people really don't represent the residents. They pretend to when running for office then go on to be wined and dined by the developers and ignore neighborhood issues.
Even when elections are held there is misinformation or withheld information. The 800 High St high density development was approve by an election, but the voters weren't told that the big electrical substation across the alley was going to be moved out of the area as the developers told the city council members and was mentioned at some of the meetings. This move is being planned and is going to cost the ratepayers of the city between $5,000,000 and $10,000,000.
I only saw it mentioned once in the newspapers and I guess plans are in progress, in what seems like secretly, by the city and Stanford. It's not clear how downtown is going to get power from a substation over on Stanford land. Overhead powerlines or undergrounding?
The existing substation site will be used for low cost rental housing for the low paid people who work downtown I guess. A 500 sq ft unit will cost someone about $500,000 to build. Hope us taxpayers aren't going to have to pay for this. The contractors who build it will probably be making about $300,000 per unit in profit. Maybe about $50,000 per unit, goes into underground parking space for the low income people who will live here.
Does anyone know the process of getting issues on the ballot? I know a lot of signatures are required. What else is needed? If enough ,only a few, signature gathers are recruited in each neighborhood it could be feasable.
a resident of Charleston Gardens
on Oct 2, 2007 at 12:51 am
rick, good luck, but it ain't gonna happen. why? because all your initiatives are negative ones. it's a turn-off...
a resident of Charleston Gardens
on Oct 2, 2007 at 5:51 am
Well, George, it looks like you may get your wish. Two bond measures may go on the ballot next year. Council voted last night to go forward with the Library facilities bond measure and presumably the new Public Safety Building will also be on the ballot.
Of course, we will also have another School Bond measure on the June ballot.
a resident of South of Midtown
on Oct 2, 2007 at 6:04 am
Bond issues are a subset of the type of initiative procedure that I am talking about. Can you imagine what would happen if we left such taxing and spending authority up to a vote of the Council?
a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Oct 2, 2007 at 12:48 pm
Hate Negativity thinks:
Preparing for the coming flooding is a negative measure
Limiting high density housing in a single family residental neighborhood is being negative.
Allowing housing on undeveloped lands near jobs is negative.
Taxing commercial properties for the city services they get now and pay almost no taxes to the city is negative.
Building low cost houses maybe a half mile from downtown to reduce the cost by maybe one half is negative thinking.
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Cherries and Berries
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Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength . . .
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Meeting Other New Parents
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One more week to vote!
Don't forget to cast your ballot online. Voting ends May 29th. Stay tuned for the results in the July 21st issue of the Palo Alto Weekly.


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To learn more or to make an appointment call the nurse research team Heart Line at 1-866-330-1687.
The Promoting Heart Health in Rural Women Study is funded in part by the National institutes of Health.


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I've been reading the recently released second edition of Differentiate or Die by Jack Trout, and there are some powerful (and timeless) messages there for all brands. Although the entire book is geared toward commercial brand differentiation, some of the comments relate directly to higher education marketing.
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