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Famous for its fishing and even more famous for its seafood restaurants, Porto Santo Stefano is not that old. It began to take shape in the 15th century under the Republic of Siena, but was constantly under siege from pirates until the Spanish fortified it a century later.
Today Porto Santo Stefano wears this young (in comparison to the rest of the Maremma) but colourful history on its sleeve.
The countryside that surrounds the seaside town is dotted with fortresses and towers built by the Spanish to keep an eye on their many enemies. Beautifully conserved, these relics can be visited all year round.
Sure, Porto Santo Stefano doesn't hold the same appeal as, say, Montemerano with its gorgeous medieval essence, but its locals are proud anyway, and far too busy admiring their incredible sea panorama and even better culinary reputation to care what others think.
But Porto Santo Stefano isn't all good food and great views.
Look a little closer and it's hard not to notice the crumbled walls and ravaged corners. These reminders of the heavy shelling the town suffered during WWII, wounds that are yet to be healed.
Luckily, the odd hole here and cracked facade there doesn't take away from the overwhelming charm of Porto Santo Stefano.
The town is a working port and with that comes great restaurants, beautiful boats and blissful afternoons spent walking up and down the boardwalk admiring the kitsch knick knack stores and watching the fishermen bring in their afternoon catch.
Porto Santo Stefano is the departure point for all ferries and most private cruises to Giglio Island and Giannutri Island. You can buy your tickets from the various booths at the port.
As its name suggests, this fortress was shaped by the Spanish in the late 16th century. It is the symbol of Porto Santo Stefano's proud military history.
Built and rebuilt, this battle-worn church is a little worse for wear, but is home to a beautiful statue of St Stephan himself.
Fourteen tanks filled with hundreds of different plant, fish and mollusk species including moray eels, sharks, sea horses and other fascinating creatures.
Porto Santo Stefano's boardwalk is extremely popular, especially in the summer, mostly because it boasts the best views of the town, the sea and the arriving boats.
Museums and activities
This small museum in the Fortezza Spagnola captures both the ancient Roman and Etruscan history of the area and the traditions of the local shipbuilders and fishermen.
It's not hard to find a diving school in the port if that's what you're itching to do. And you should. The underwater wonders will leave you speechless.
Palio Marinaro dell'Argentario
While Monte Argentario hosts a range of cultural and religious-themed events throughout the year, none of them are quite like the Palio Marinaro.


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BBC iPlayer comes to Mac and Linux via Flash streaming
There's some interesting developments in the progress of making the BBC's iPlayer available to more than just those people running Windows XP. The BBC announced that they are partnering with Adobe to make a streaming version of the iPlayer based on Adobe's Flash player which will make the service available to people running Mac OSX, Linux and Windows.
This solution won't bring exactly the same experience that current Windows XP based users of the iPlayer get, users will simply be able to play the files whilst they are connected to the internet whereas the full iPlayer allows people to download shows and keep them for up to 30 days. It is still definitely a step in the right direction though, the use of Flash for the video format was a no-brainer really as it is the most cross-platform solution out there.
Previously I've blogged about whether Flash was a viable alternative for the iPlayer so it's good to see that my thoughts weren't really off-track. It will be interesting to see how Adobe moves in future, will they try and enable some kind of DRM system in order to try and get the BBC to drop the Windows Media DRM system that the main iPlayer system uses? or will the BBC forego the use of DRM altogether and make the transition to a Flash based iPlayer even easier?
Head in The Clouds...
The BBC also announced a deal with WIFI network The Cloud to offer access to all of their online content without the user having to pay a subscription to The Cloud. This makes the Flash-based streaming iPlayer even better news in that you will be able to watch BBC video content without paying for WiFi access at your local coffee shop, oh, except if you're on an iPhone as there's no Flash player!
Joking aside though, I wonder if the BBC will choose to make content available using the H.264 video codec and make use of the latest Flash Player 9? If they did then this could allow the content to be published and made accessible on devices that can't run Flash player. That's just one more reason why the BBC needs to drop the Windows DRM based iPlayer as it's just profoundly inaccessible.
Tags: bbc,iplayer,flash,drm,wifi
Originally published on 2007-10-16 09:56:25 by Rick Curran
Last edited on 2010-02-13 03:33:56 by Rick Curran
Permalink: http://suburbia.org.uk/blog/2007/10/16/095625.html
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subset: commoncrawl


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Dark Souls II - Design A Shield
Namco Bandai wants you to create a piece of equipment for the upcoming Dark Souls II.
Popular shield design contest returns offering players another chance of Immortality in Dark Souls II
NAMCO BANDAI Games Europe announce announces that a DARK SOULS™ II shield design contest will begin today on the game's official Facebook page at www.facebook.com/darksouls.
Channel your inner medieval craftsman and create the best shield design; showing off your skills as a warrior artist. Then, submit your works of art, and watch the votes tally up from every corner of the globe from fellow Dark Souls II fans.
The submission and voting period for shield designs will begin on April 15th and run through May 13th. Beginning May 14th no further submissions will be taken and the contest enters into a "voting only" phase until May 20th. On May 20th the shield designs that receive the most fan votes will be submitted for a final round of judging by the Dark Souls II development team at FromSoftware in Japan. The FromSoftware development team will select the final six winning shield designs to be included within the final Dark Souls II game. The winners will be announced at San Diego Comic Con taking place from July 18th through the 21st.
The six lucky winners will be able to engage in battle with their friends online while proudly bearing the shield of their own design. Other players will also be able to carry the shields designed by their compatriots into battle.
Information aboutDark Souls II
SP/MP: Single + MP
Setting: Fantasy
Genre: Action-RPG
Platform: PC
Release: Released


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Mike Kepka/San Francisco Chronicle Giant palm trees stand at the main gate of the Sonoma Developmental Center, which houses about 500 patients. The police force at California's developmental centers failed to order a single hospital-supervised rape examination for any alleged sexual abuse victims between 2009 and 2012.
Patients at California's board-and-care centers for the developmentally disabled have accused caretakers of molestation and rape 36 times during the past four years, but police assigned to protect them did not complete even the simplest tasks associated with investigating the alleged crimes, records and interviews show.
The Office of Protective Services, the police force at California's five developmental centers, failed to order a single hospital-supervised rape examination for any of these alleged victims between 2009 and 2012. At most police departments, using a "rape kit" to collect evidence would be considered routine.
The procedure, performed by specially trained nurses, is widely regarded as the best way to find evidence of sexual abuse. Without physical evidence, it can be nearly impossible to solve sex crimes, especially those committed against people with cerebral palsy and profound intellectual disabilities.
In the three dozen cases of sexual abuse, documents obtained by California Watch reveal that patients suffered molestation, forced oral sex and vaginal lacerations. But for years, the state-run police force has moved so slowly and ineffectively that predators have stayed a step ahead of law enforcement or abused new victims, records show.
State officials responsible for the police force would not comment about specific abuse cases but emphasized that patient protection is the state's top priority. Officials also said they have ordered retraining for officers and added new procedures to better protect patients – moves that occurred after earlier California Watch stories.
Much of the alleged sexual abuse in the California institutions has occurred at the Sonoma Developmental Center, where female patients have been repeatedly assaulted, internal incident records show. In one case, a caregiver was cleared by the police department of assault and went on to molest a second patient.
In another case from August 2006, caregivers at the Sonoma center found dark blue bruises shaped like handprints covering the breasts of a patient named Jennifer. The patient accused a staff member of molestation, court records show. Jennifer's injuries appeared to be evidence of sexual abuse, indicating that someone had violently grabbed her.
The Office of Protective Services opened an investigation. But detectives took no action because the case relied heavily on the word of a woman with severe intellectual disabilities. A few months later, court records show, officials at the center had indisputable evidence that a crime had occurred.
In Jennifer's Room
A young developmentally disabled woman just wanted to be left alone. What happened next shattered a family.
Help us do more.
Jennifer was pregnant.
By that time, her alleged attacker had vanished.
For the parents of the 32-year-old patient, the reaction has been disbelief and anger. They are now raising a 5-year-old boy who Jennifer is incapable of mothering. The child is precocious and strongly resembles his maternal grandmother.
"Every time, I just imagine her being raped and screaming and crying for me," said the woman's mother, whose name is being withheld to protect Jennifer's identity. "It just kills me."
The Office of Protective Services has not collected physical evidence to back up cases such as Jennifer's. In situations involving developmentally disabled patients, DNA and other physical evidence are even more important because statements from alleged victims often are treated as unreliable. Some have IQs in the single digits and cannot speak.
Detectives at city and county police departments are trained to send sexual assault victims to an outside hospital for the specialized rape examination. But the doctors and nurses at the state's developmental centers – in Sonoma, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and Tulare counties – were not trained in dealing with sexual assault victims, records and interviews show.
California Watch shared details of the developmental center sex abuse cases with two outside police detectives who specialize in such assault investigations. The detectives said they were dismayed by the state's actions.
"How can you do a sexual assault investigation and not do an exam?" said Roberta Hopewell, a detective at the Riverside Police Department and president of the California Sexual Assault Investigators Association.
According to interviews with former detectives and patrol officers at three of the state's developmental centers, the Office of Protective Services did not assign its own detectives to cases that should have been investigated – nor did the force seek expert help from outside law enforcement.
One former patrol officer said administrators were afraid of bad publicity.
"They didn't want anything to get out, so they handled it internally. They call the shots," said Joe Guardado, a former patrol officer at the Porterville Developmental Center in Tulare County who retired in 2010.
In September, California Watch presented its findings about the handling of sex abuse against patients to officials at the state Department of Developmental Services, which operates the five centers and oversees the Office of Protective Services, its 90-member police force.
Terri Delgadillo, the department's director, declined interview requests. Instead, the department issued a written statement saying the state is working to protect patients and ensure they receive justice. That includes hiring "nationally recognized law enforcement experts" to train police officers and detectives to better handle sex assault cases, the department said.
"In addition, training was provided to ensure that referrals for sexual assault examinations are completed by thoroughly trained personnel, and that investigations are conducted appropriately and timely," the department said.
Studies of crimes against the developmentally disabled have found that as many as 80 percent of women in this population are sexually assaulted during their lives. Many victims suffer repeated attacks.
In a series of stories this year, California Watch has reported that sworn officers at the institutions routinely failed to conduct basic police work in cases with criminal implications, including stun-gun assaults on multiple patients and a suspected homicide.
The facilities have documented hundreds of cases of abuse and unexplained injuries, almost none of which have led to arrests. Despite its sloppy record, the force managed to collect more overtime pay than other police agencies its size.
About 1,600 patients live at the five centers, which operate like board-and-care hospitals for patients whose conditions are so challenging that they cannot live with their families or in group homes. The population at these centers has been slowly declining. This year alone, the number of patients has dropped more than 10 percent.
Investigating sex crimes against this vulnerable population falls to the Office of Protective Services, a unique police force that operates round-the-clock in these institutions.
But the detectives and patrol officers have been unprepared to undertake such cases, internal case files show. The records indicate officers have lacked the skills to competently question sex abuse victims, particularly the developmentally disabled.
Detectives at times closed investigations when patients appeared to get the dates and times of assaults wrong, even though the disabled frequently struggle with precise chronology.
At the Sonoma Developmental Center, which houses about 500 men and women, two patients accused a caregiver of forcing them to perform oral sex on him.
The Office of Protective Services was first alerted in February 2009. "Client reported to staff that she saw (the caregiver's) genitals and was asked to perform oral sex for a dollar," the records said. "Client reports that she did."
Mike Kepka/San Francisco Chronicle A placard marks the Corcoran Unit at the Sonoma Developmental Center, which has been the site of many of the sexual abuse allegations at the state developmental centers.
However, the Office of Protective Services quickly closed the case, the records indicate, because the suspect was not listed as having worked in the patient's unit, called Corcoran, on the day of the alleged abuse. The accused caregiver did often work in that unit, though, internal records show.
Months later, the mother of a second patient alerted the center that her daughter had said she had licked the same caregiver's penis.
But by then, the accused caregiver was gone. He is not identified by his full name in state records. The center's incident log noted that the psychiatric technician suspected of the abuse was "no longer employed" but "did work on the unit."
Sexual abuse cases reviewed
Earlier this year, Leslie Morrison, head of the investigations unit at Disability Rights California, examined dozens of case files in which a patient accused a center employee of sexual abuse from 2009 to mid-2012. Morrison performed the review at the request of the state Department of Developmental Services. She said these cases involved only patients capable of speaking and therefore able to report an assault.
Disability Rights, a protection and advocacy organization, has access to full patient files under state and federal law. Many of these records are confidential, but California Watch was able to obtain through other sources some of the documents provided to Disability Rights.
California Watch's parent organization, the Center for Investigative Reporting, has sued the state for additional abuse records that can shed more light on these and other cases. A superior court judge ruled that the state should open its records, but the state is appealing.
Morrison said she found 36 cases in which victims likely should have received a rape kit medical exam and interview with a trained nurse. But, she said, the Office of Protective Services investigations were incomplete and at times deeply flawed.
"We're not sure they have the training to do these very delicate, sensitive interviews," Morrison said.
Mike Kepka/San Francisco Chronicle Leslie Morrison, head of the investigations unit at Disability Rights California, examined the state developmental centers' sexual abuse case files from 2009 to mid-2012 and found 36 cases in which the victims likely should have received a rape kit medical exam and interview with a trained nurse.
Disability Rights argues that outside law enforcement and forensic nurses – who have years of experience interviewing victims and identifyingphysical evidence – should have taken over the institutions' sex crime cases.
"You're better off referring it to the specially trained people whose job it is to do that and only that," Morrison said.
The Department of Developmental Services now agrees, according to its written statement.
Gov. Jerry Brown in September signed legislation requiring that the centers report alleged sex assaults against patients to outside law enforcement. The new law, SB 1522, "will ensure developmental center investigators and outside law enforcement agencies work collaboratively to investigate unexplained injuries or allegations of abuse," the statement said.
The centers have a long history of sex abuse against patients, which California Watch reported in stories earlier this year.
In one case from early 2000, police records show, a female patient at the Sonoma Developmental Center accused a male caregiver of sexually assaulting her during a bath. The institution then assigned two men to bathe the patient, even though the facility employed many female caregivers.
Both caregivers allegedly raped her on July 6, 2000, during bathing.
Developmental center officials did not report details about the assaults to the Office of Protective Services. Four days after the second alleged rape, the police commander at the Sonoma facility received an anonymous tip about the incident. Officials launched an investigation, but no arrests were made.
Early struggles in Jennifer's care
Few cases are more disturbing than that of Jennifer, the former Sonoma Developmental Center patient who suffers from bipolar disorder and attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder, in addition to severe intellectual disabilities, the patient's medical records show.
For most of Jennifer's childhood, her mother said, doctors struggled to pinpoint what drove her daughter's outbursts. When angered, she would scream and slap herself and anyone else within reach. Other times, she was sweet, even overjoyed when surrounded by her parents and siblings, her mother said.
Jennifer lived peacefully enough in one group home until she was about 14. Her behavior turned unstable, and the teenager was regularly moved among privately run homes in the community that proved ill-equipped to care for her.
"She started (going) from group home to group home to group home," her mother said in an interview. California Watch does not identify victims of sexual assault or their immediate family members.
Patient advocates had told her mother that the best way to diagnose and treat her daughter's behavioral conditions would be to admit her to an institution. She would be observed at all times, they told her; developmental center staff members are far more experienced at prescribing drugs to tame disorders.
Her mother said she was wary and resisted the advice – initially. But she also was exhausted from years of strain overseeing Jennifer's care without a complete diagnosis. She relented in 2002, and Jennifer, then 27, moved into the Sonoma Developmental Center.
"To have her on the right course of medication, that was the only reason to have her there," Jennifer's mother said.
At the time, the Sonoma center housed about 850 patients and was the nation's largest institution for the profoundly developmentally disabled. Built more than a 100 years ago in wine country, it is an open campus, flush with green lawns and walking paths.
Mike Kepka/San Francisco Chronicle A patient named Jennifer was impregnated by an unknown assailant while living at the Corcoran Unit at the Sonoma Developmental Center in 2007. Under state law, sexual intercourse with a patient lacking the intellectual capacity to consent is considered rape.
From outside, Sonoma's residences resemble single-family homes more than dormitories, featuring front stoops and yards. Patients lounge together on porch swings.
Sonoma administrators assigned Jennifer to the Corcoran Unit, a peach-colored building tucked in the center's far eastern end. Its red tile roof is covered with dead leaves and branches from the towering oak tree that shades the residence's main entrance.
Everything was fine for a few years, the mother said. Her daughter came home many weekends. At times, however, her mother noticed injuries.
Bruises were not necessarily alarming. Jennifer would occasionally hurt herself. At one point, Jennifer cut her scalp badly. The Sonoma caregivers explained that she had been banging her head against the wall, her mother said. The center put Jennifer in her own bedroom, padded the walls and fitted her with a helmet.
Injuries, then pregnancy
In 2006, the patient's injuries changed. Bite marks broke her skin and bruises surfaced on her back and breasts. Court records show Jennifer accused a Sonoma caregiver of touching and bruising her. She showed the center's employees and her mother the resulting injuries.
The mother said someone clearly had been grabbing Jennifer's breasts with violent force. The bruises were unlike anything she had ever seen on her daughter.
"I can tell if a bruise was an accident because she bruises easily; I bruise easily," she said. "That's not a big deal. But I could tell when a bruise is really not a bruise, you know what I mean?"
A social worker at the Sonoma center told the mother that the Office of Protective Services had investigated the matter thoroughly, but detectives couldn't prove Jennifer's allegation that the caregiver had bruised her.
"Of course, it's her word against his," Jennifer's mother said. "Nothing was done."
Records show the institution's doctors, nurses and caregivers overlooked or ignored her pregnancy until Jennifer was well into her second trimester. Jennifer's disabilities make her incapable of giving consent to sex. Her mother discovered Jennifer's swollen belly during a weekend visit at her family's home in July 2007. Under state law, any sexual intercourse with a patient lacking the intellectual capacity to consent is considered rape.
Jennifer's son was born by cesarean section in October. No one was arrested in Jennifer's rape.
"I was a hands-on mom, and I fought for my daughter's security," Jennifer's mother said. "And I still wasn't able to protect her. Who protects these people?"
The month that Jennifer gave birth, the Office of Protective Services received a letter from a whistle-blower that named a janitor as the alleged rapist, but didn't inform the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office about the lead for three months, according to court records from a lawsuit Jennifer's family filed against the state.
By then, the accused janitor had fled the country, court records said.
Regardless, the institution's officers did not attempt to gather physical evidence through a sex assault examination that might have supported criminal prosecution of Jennifer's assailant. And the center's internal records show that patients have continued to allege sex abuse in the unit where Jennifer lived.
Her family settled a civil lawsuit with state Department of Developmental Services for $100,000. Jennifer now lives in her own apartment. Like all California residents with developmental disabilities, Jennifer is entitled to and receives services from the state.
Her mother and family members and have hired a caregiver to take care of her. They are all women.
Few sex crimes referred for prosecution
Statewide, the Office of Protective Services referred just three sex crime cases to county district attorneys for prosecution since 2009, said Morrison with Disability Rights California. In those cases, officers did not collect any physical evidence to determine whether crimes occurred. Just one of those cases led to an arrest.
In one incident from January at the Sonoma Developmental Center, caregivers noticed that two female roommates appeared to have injuries suggesting abuse – bruises on their faces and arms. The caregivers told the Office of Protective Services, but there was no detailed investigation.
In May, another employee of the center caught a longtime caregiver, Rue Denoncourt, exposing himself to one of those female patients in a bathroom. The colleague reported the incident to the Office of Protective Services, which then notified the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office.
The sheriff's office interviewed Denoncourt, who confessed to exposing himself and sexually abusing the victim's roommate, forcing her to touch him while he masturbated.
Even after Denoncourt admitted to the abuse, records from the state Department of Public Health show neither the sheriff's office nor the Office of Protective Services sent the victims to receive sexual assault examinations. If evidence of other assaults was available, it was lost.
No investigation took place into the bruises that were discovered on both women in January, although the health department raised suspicions about Denoncourt in its report.
Denoncourt pleaded no contest to a lewd conduct charge in August and is serving an eight-month prison term. The Sonoma County sheriff and district attorney declined to comment for this story.
Allegations of interference
Three former members of the Office of Protective Services allege that administrators and other employees at developmental centers have interfered with abuse investigations.
Pete Araujo, a former investigator at the Fairview Developmental Center in Orange County, said his commander refused to approve sex assault exams for victims. Araujo said his superiors provided no explanation for denying the exams, and no one within the force challenged the decisions.
"Their word was final," said Araujo, who is now an investigator for the California State Lottery Commission. "They were the managers."
Employees at the institutions have delayed notifying police of alleged sexual abuse for days, said Greg Wardwell, a 20-year veteran patrol officer and sergeant at the Sonoma center. The lost time can leave physical evidence open to contamination and witnesses vulnerable to coercion.
Wardwell, who retired in March 2011, said center administrators did not punish employees for withholding information about abuse.
"It's very frustrating at the point that someone is genuinely victimized and you didn't find out about it for four or five days," Wardwell said. "There is no sanction at the point that somebody sits on the information."
The Department of Developmental Services did not respond to the officers' allegations of interference.
Policy hinders investigations
The Office of Protective Services' own policy has made it difficult for officers to order sexual assault exams. For patients to receive an exam, the guidelines require that "a sexual assault occurred within the preceding 72 hours and there is potential for recovery of physical evidence of the recent sexual assault."
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The "and" is underlined and italicized in the written policy.
Experts on sex assault investigations said using the words "potential for recovery" threatens to shut off an investigation before it starts. Detectives cannot determine what evidence is present before a medical exam.
"That latter part shouldn't even be in there," said Linda Ledray, a forensic nurse and director of the Sexual Assault Resource Service in Minneapolis. "I mean, that's crazy."
Kim Lonsway, research director for End Violence Against Women International, agreed that the Office of Protective Services' sex assault policy could undermine investigations.
"The tone of this is the exams are going to be the exception rather than the rule," Lonsway said.
Further, the 72-hour time limit is outdated, said Hopewell, the Riverside police detective. Hopewell said physical evidence sometimes is recoverable two weeks after an assault. She will request a medical exam even in cases in which a victim was attacked two years earlier, because scars can be shown to support allegations.
Delgadillo, director of the state Department of Developmental Services, implemented the Office of Protective Services' first policy on investigating sex assault four years ago. The department had no specific guidelines for police on investigating sex abuse before 2008, only that they be required to complete a state minimum of four hours of training.
Experts said many cases are hampered because some investigators, administrators and even family members distrust allegations by the intellectually disabled. Detectives investigating sex crimes against the disabled often need special training in the nuances of extracting evidence from these types of patients. Such training has never been offered to the state police force.
"Even if it is reported, the victim is often not believed or is thought to be fantasizing or to have merely misinterpreted what occurred," Joan R. Petersilia, a criminology professor at UC Irvine, wrote in a 2001 study of disabled victims. "This leaves the person with a disability continually vulnerable to victimization, because perpetrators come to learn they may victimize them without fear of consequences."


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Lacrosse news straight to your inbox.
Tuesday August 6th, 2013 1:07am
Saturday was moving day at the Hawaii Lacrosse Invitational, and after a tsunami warning subsequent to the Saturday night earthquake off the coast of British Columbia briefly threatened Sunday's game, it looks like things will go off as scheduled.
Prior to the tournament, a scan of the rosters would've led any lacrosse fan to expect a repeat of last year's championship game in the offing as Wimmer, an American all-star team, and Dirty Lacrosse, a Canadian/Iroquois all-star team, came back to the islands with impressive firepower.
That came to bear Saturday as both teams won their respective groups and if each gets past its semifinal matchup Sunday at 12:30 Hawaiian time (6:30 Eastern), they'll square off two hours later.
Jump down for some observations, but first, some info.
Men's Open
Aloha 5, Tokai 3
Beer Hunters 8, Chushikoku 2
Barbary Coast 6, Kanto 1
Olympic Club 12, Northwest 4
Ladner Pioneers 8, Samurai 7
Mercury 8, Hokkaido 2
Dirty Lacrosse 17, Dakine 1
Wimmer 15, Aloha 2
TW21 12, Tokai 4
Olympic Club 8, Beer Hunters 7
Dirty Lacrosse 11, Barbary Coast 4
Samurai 6, Hokkaido 1
Wimmer 10, TW21 1
Tri City 12, One Love 1
Wimmer 12, Squamish Nation 2
Wimmer 8, Hawaii 1
Grand Masters
Easton 6, Elemakule 4
Canada West 4, Tri City 2
Easton 6, Canada West 5
1. Wimmer
2. Team Aloha
4. Tokai
1. Ladner Pioneers
2. Samurai
3. Mercury
4. Hokkaido
1. Dirty Lacrosse
2. Barbary Coast
3. Kanto
4. Dakine
1. Olympic Club
2. Beer Hunters
2. Northwest
4. Chushikoku
1. Wimmer
2. Tri City Canada
3. Squamish Nation
4. One Love
5. Hawaii
Grand Masters
1. Easton
2. Tri City Canada
3. Canada West
4. Elemakule
11:30 Grandmasters Championship
Easton vs. Tri City
12:30 Open Semifinals
Wimmer vs. Lander Pioneers
Dirty Lacrosse vs. Olympic Club
1:30 Master Championship
Wimmer vs. Tri City
2:30 Men's Elite Championship
The highlight game on Saturday was Dirty Lacrosse's 11-4 comeback win over Barbary Coast that was, believe me, closer than the score indicated.
With an attack composed of Easton Lacrosse employees Cort Kim, Henry Fitzpatrick and reigning MLL Rookie of the Year Matt Gibson, Barbary Coast built a 4-1 lead about midway through the first half on a quick inside dip-and-dunk from Fitzpatrick, a nice doorstep finish from Kim and a good underneath move from Gibson, to go with a transition goal.
Dirty Lacrosse goalie Evan Kirk and a defense that featured Mike Kiekebelt, Kyle Sorensen and Andrew Suitor (an NLL fighter that's still learning the field game; edit: Suitor did indeed play college lacrosse; the "learning the field game" comment is attributable to his Dirty teammates, but I didn't make that very clear) didn't panic and waited for the offense to hit its stride. Jamie Lincoln helped force the issue, going to the goal out of the box for an easy goal that turned momentum and helped Dirty erase the deficit by halftime.
The key sequence that sparked Dirty's second half run came when they converted two man-down goals after Stephen Keogh was called for unnecessary roughness after a big hit sent a Barbary Coast middie to the ground (Mark Matthews, who was wearing IL's helmet cam, had a great view of the hit, so be on the lookout for that video in the coming weeks).
Wimmer has yet to be tested beyond the midpoint of the first half, as evidenced by things like Paul Rabl playing with a longstick, Wimmer masters goalie Adam Messick roaming the crease as an attackman and Brett Queener scoring a one-handed between-the-legs goal on the doorstep with his goalie stick.
As a result, it's hard to read much into what a potential cahmpionship showdown will look like, especially defensively. That said, Rob Pannell has looked strong going to the goal and Steele Stanwick has been content to sit back and throw incisive passes to cutting middies, and Braedon and Gary Gait have done a nice job roaming the inside (Braedon played one full game with his offhand) — not many surprises there. Terry Kimener, Drew Snider and Matt Casey have been good in taking a lot of runs offensively, and Kyle Hartzell and Eric Martin have taken their share of shots, as well.
WIth five teams in attendance, the presence of Japanese lacrosse players at the tournament, which I think is awesome. I've noticed two universal generalizations — one, they're aggressive in their desire to learn (check ILGear next week for video of Anthony Kelly tweaking Samurai's face-off guy's pinch and pop technique; I also watch Gibson explain his swim dodge in which he lets a defender poke through the hole between his arm, stick and body, runs toward him then swims over him) and two, they're incredibly well organized. Not only do all teams go through extensive line drills and six-on-six pregame, but I watched a Chushikoku practice between their two games Saturday.
I've been really impressed, in general, by their quickness and ball movement, but the two areas that need the most improvement are in the physical side of the game (i.e. they don't really hit and, as a result, don't go that aggressively into groundball scrums) and in their shooting. Often, a good alley dodge off ball movement leads to an eight-yard shot that either goes into the ground a yard in front of the crease or doesn't have enough heat to challenge the goalie.
Of the teams in attendance, Samurai has been the most impressive, scoring a win over a Hawaiian team and finishing second in their group.


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So, I am reading all these links and trying to understand it all. This one I forwarded to my mom, as she's at an age where she's trying to decide if she should start drawing on her SS now or defer (higher monthly payments the longer you defer). From the sound of the article, it sounds like maybe it'd be better for her to start now just to get at least some of her money before major SHTF. But, I wanted to ask those of you who are much more versed in this all. If a person is eligible for SS now and has an option of starting monthly payments now at a lower amount a month, or waiting a couple years but drawing more each month, would it be better to start now and put the money in a (safe) savings account (or under the bed?)?
Jenna ~ mommy to Sophia Elise (1/06), Oliver Matthew (7/07) and Avery Michael (3/10)
Wading slowly and nervously into this homeschooling thing.
KerryAnn @ CookingTF dot com - Nutrient dense foods your kids will LOVE! Real Food Cooking School and Lactofermentation Classes now live! Use coupon code "CTF" for 20% off.
In addition to the above links, I check http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/BreakingNews.html every afternoon. I've never looked at anything else on his site (disclaimer- I don't know if the rest of the site is legit or not), but this particular page is just a link to the day's headlines about the economy from different newspapers, mostly MSM but it has other sources mixed in as well. Quite eye opening.
i like to puddle around the free OL stuff on the WSJ:
and b/c I'm always interested in RE (which being probably the biggest expense, and necessary, for most households can reveal alot of info):
for opinion, i like david brooks:
and i also like baseline scenario:
re: drawing on SS now or wait, I can't tell you how many people I know that have died this past year, almost all dying within the 1 y about (just before/just after) retirement. None was expected.
I also like Jim Kunsler , but he's kinda dark (I just am very amused at his writing style).
Jenna ~ mommy to Sophia Elise (1/06), Oliver Matthew (7/07) and Avery Michael (3/10)
Wading slowly and nervously into this homeschooling thing.
The forums are tinfoil central and there's very little moderation so it's a free-for-all and people can be quite aggressive. Still, I do learn a lot.
The thing about tin foil is it's outside of the box thinking and while it tends to be wrong, it does offer a new perspective that often changes the way I think about something.
Urban Survival is another interesting market/financial/what's happening in the world read. He updates M-F and usually Sat. as well. Personally, I can't start my day w/o reading the update.
I think we all know we probably won't have great-great granchildren. Technological advances can't make up for lack of family, replace values and morality, reduce violence and abuse, My point is, we are not well and we are not going to get better.
I just finished Kunstler's new book "World Made by Hand". It's a fictional version of PO/War/Plague/etc. It was a good read and I enjoyed it quite a bit.
No, we don't all know that. I sure don't.
And, violence, abuse and "immorality" have been around for a very, very long time. They're not modern. And they aren't due to technology.
thanks for your thoughtful post. You articulate many of the similar thoughts that i have been pondering. Very interesting re: Bush's purchase of land with aquifer rights.
... thanks for the link on Jim Kunser... very interesting. Funny how , to me now, he does not seem quite a tin foil as he sounded last fall.
Ok I looked all thru this thread for the link to the article by Kunstler, the one mentioned here? the one where he is not too tin foily? Where is it?
No, we don't all know that. I sure don't.
And, violence, abuse and "immorality" have been around for a very, very long time. They're not modern. And they aren't due to technology.
Wife to dh, Mommy to my heavenly angel, J (06), and my earthly angels, S (07) and E (10)
I still believe we can do good things, but it will have to be pretty radical. We can't just hang on desperately to the status quo and live in denial. I think Obama realizes this and I think he freaks a lot of people out with his messages of change, especially the kind of change that is going to cause a lot of discomfort before it the good is felt. Maybe like boot camp, this can create focus and discpline and give people a greater cause and bring us together for real, not just in cyberspace. Just my two cents. We need to get off our butts and get to work just like in the old days, lol. Especially the young people. Put them to work. I hope the infrastructure rebuilding helps achieve some of these things.
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New Mexico Telegram » Economy, Featured, Presidential » Martinez backs away from Romney's "47 percent" comments
Martinez backs away from Romney's "47 percent" comments
The controversial comments by Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney on the "47 percent" of Americans who do not pay taxes (which is itself not exactly true) have been the talk of political observers over the past day.
Gov. Susana Martinez was asked about Romney's comments and whether she agreed by the Associated Press:
Asked about the video at a news conference on prison reform in Albuquerque, Martinez said New Mexico has a lot of people at the poverty level.
"But they count just as much as anybody else," she said.
The state has a strong safety net for those at or below the poverty level, and "that safety net is a good thing," the governor said.
Martinez is a very popular first-term governor in New Mexico and cited by many as a rising star in the Republican Party.
The Democratic Party of New Mexico responded to Martinez's comments.
New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez quickly attempted to distance herself from her Party's presidential nominee, Gov. Mitt Romney 's"47%" moment today. But she is conveniently forgetting her very own record – or lack thereof – on creating jobs here at home in NM, refusing to expand medicaid or help the NM education system. With 22% of our state living below the poverty line, this is more of the same rhetoric from Gov. Martinez, and it once again fails to match her own record and actions when it comes to bringing opportunity to all New Mexicans.
The progressive news source Talking Points Memo says that Martinez piled on to the criticism of Romney.
A Martinez spokesman said that she may campaign in Nevada and Florida, but since New Mexico is not on the radar of either campaign as a swing state, voters in New Mexico may not see Martinez and Romney onstage together in a rally in Albuquerque any time soon.
Filed under: Economy, Featured, Presidential · Tags: Mitt Romney, Susana Martinez
2 Responses to "Martinez backs away from Romney's "47 percent" comments"
[…] interesting turn of events Tuesday as Gov. Susana Martinez backed away from Mitt Romney's comments on the "47 […]
[…] Gov. Susana Martinez backed away from Romney's comments and noted that the 47 percent Romney referred to were a key voting bloc in New […]


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The Daily Platter is the blog of St. Mary's Food Bank Alliance, located in Phoenix, Arizona.
Keep up to date with the latest news at St. Mary's Food Bank Alliance with our quarterly newsletter. Read the summer edition here!
Join our email newsletter and help fight hunger in Arizona.
2831 N. 31st Avenue | Phoenix, AZ 85009 | (602) 242-FOOD (3663)


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Lionel Shriver is famous for two things: her prize-winning novel about motherhood, We Need to Talk About Kevin, and her personal obsession with diet and exercise. Big Brother conflates the two in being about a woman's reaction to her brother's obesity.
Pandora is the middle-aged middle child in a middle-class Midwestern family, unexpectedly rich owing to her invention of a doll. She doesn't like the publicity, but loves her "big, lobotomised" house in Iowa, her craftsman husband and his two teenage children. She also loves her big brother Edison, a handsome jazz player who left their dysfunctional family for a life playing jazz in New York. But when he invites himself to stay for a couple of months, she fails to recognise him at the airport.
Edison has ballooned into the kind of fat person who overspills airline seats, gets shoved into alcoves in restaurants, eats obsessively and has opted (in one of many choice phrases) for "suicide by pie". His egomania, mendacity, dated 1950s slang and poor hygiene notwithstanding, Pandora continues to love him, even when he breaks her husband's most precious creation and blocks the toilet with gigantic turds. She cleans up, and decides to save her brother's life.
Part of the fascination of this horridly gripping tale lies not only in its upmarket rendition of Stephen King's tropes, but in its portrayal of fragile family dynamics. "What is wonderful about kinship is also what is horrible about it: there is … no natural limit to what these people may reasonably expect of you." While their television-star father is a bore, Edison is a monstrously entertaining creation, as is Pandora's over-controlled and controlling husband, Fletcher. Initially polite, he makes no secret of his distrust and contempt, escalating to a challenge: if Edison loses 58 per cent of his weight, and returns to 163lb, the health-obsessed Fletcher will eat a chocolate cake in one go.
Few subjects can be as topical as this one, and enjoyable as her novel about cancer (So Much for That) was, Shriver has written her best novel yet in Big Brother, inspired by her own brother's death from obesity. Although still prone to hectoring, she examines America's "alarmingly large underclass", in which obesity "had become a social issue on top of a personal one", with surprising compassion. The novel's journalistic tendency includes some ponderous Americanisms, but we are compensated for that by a multitude of well-chosen details about what it feels like to be fat, then thin; loved, then not.
Pandora's tale takes us on a rollercoaster ride, structured into three sections called "Up", "Down" and "Out", before an entirely literary twist at the end. Brace yourselves for some disgustingly visceral episodes – but who would have thought that a novel about a diet could be so moving, and so suspenseful?
Amanda Craig's novels include 'Hearts and Minds' and the recently reissued 'A Vicious Circle' (Abacus)Reuse content


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"The Best Political Team On Television"?
I think that, for the foreseeable future, CNN needs to retire the slogan above, and not bash any bloggers or Fox News for accuracy, after putting this out on the air:
Let us count the errors:
- Sarah Palin spells her first name with an "h" on the end.
- She was Vice-Presidential candidate, not Presidential.
- That is most certainly not Sara(h) Palin in the picture.
- In fact, that's not even a woman in the picture.
And these folks want us to trust them to give us the news?
I don't think so.


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Idm, not Idk. oops!http://soundcloud.com/thesecession/keen-pre-mix
Just trying to get some fresh ears on this track before I give it the final mixdown. Critiques are very welcome, and I will return the favor if you post a track!If you're a fan of this genre, follow me on facebook! http://www.facebook.com/The.Secession.Music
Great track man! I love the ambient feel created by all of the instrumentation. Looks like I need to find more Glitch to listen to. Thanks for introducing me to it. And keep the great tunes coming!
You might like this then http://audiojungle.net/item/i-remember/687184


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Stella Maris InnStella Maris Inn
91 Washington St.
Newport, Rhode Island
Map This Location
Phone: 401-849-2862
Email: Use the online form to contact this property
Website: http://stellamarisinn.com
Renovated French Victorian mansion (1861). Private baths in all rooms. Decorated with antique furnishings. Features wraparound porch, extensive gardens, rooms with water views and garden views. Four rooms with working fireplaces. Located alongside the Bay in the Point section of Newport. Continental breakfast featuring home-baked breads and muffins. Free parking available.
Listing Category: Listing in Travel Guide, Listing on Web
Region: Newport County
Guide Category: Stay- Accommodations
Discounts: AAA
Method of Payment: ATM available, Cash, Personal checks, Travelers checks
Restrictions: Deposit required, No pets, Smoke free facility
In-room facilities: Bath, Fireplace, Free local calls, Hairdryer, Wi-Fi
Seasonality: Other
|Open Season:
|Memorial Day - Columbus Day
|Function Space Available:
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text:
Thursday, February 13, 2014
textPlus Offers Up Valentine's Day Calling For Free
Marina Del Rey-based mobile communications app and service provider textPlus will be offering up free calling through its app for Valentine's Day, according to the company. textPlus said it will let users call friends and family on Friday, throughout the US and Canada, via either its iOS or Android apps. textPlus develops mobile apps which let users text or call people, and is well known for its free texting services. textPlus is venture backed by Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers, Matrix Partners, Upfront Ventures and The Raine Group. The company is led by serial entrepreneur Scott Lahman.


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Death metal is often described using the vocabulary of violence and war—some songs thrash and mangle, others tear and rip. But few albums truly evoke a sense of carnage like Aeons Black. These Swedish veterans have honed their take on Floridian-styled death metal into a monster of an album that rumbles and churns like a stampeding army, yet sacrifices none of Aeon's trademark focus on memorable, pit-stoking riffs. The result is one of the best death-metal albums of 2012, the strongest album of Aeon's career, and a near-essential purchase for anybody with even a passing interest in the genre. CLARKE READ
Check out "Aeons Black" off Aeons Black below:


text:
A few shorter pieces are wrapped up with the bundle for piecing out the sides.
Then we understood what he meant by piecing the map together.
And suddenly he knew, if she was to persist in "piecing on," she was right.
You understand I am piecing here bits of disconnected statements.
"No, you won't," Sarah shook her head, piecing her own knowledge slowly into comfort for me.
Eating between meals is deplored and is referred to as "piecing."
But by piecing it out here and there, and by interpreting his motions I am able to get at something.
And try as I will, I cannot succeed in piecing it completely together.
They had very comfortable apartments and spent the day there piecing out the torn letter so it could be read.
That was done by a great deal of piecing, not to say puffing, of her frame.
c.1200, "fixed amount, measure, portion," from Old French piece "piece, bit portion; item; coin" (12c.), from Vulgar Latin *pettia, probably from Gaulish *pettsi (cf. Welsh peth "thing," Breton pez "piece, a little"), perhaps from an Old Celtic base *kwezd-i-, from PIE root *kwezd- "a part, piece" (cf. Russian chast' "part"). Related: Pieces.
Sense of "portable firearm" first recorded 1580s; that of "chessman" is from 1560s. Meaning "person regarded as a sex object" is first recorded 1785 (cf. piece of ass, human beings colloquially called piece of flesh from 1590s; cf. also Latin scortum "bimbo, anyone available for a price," literally "skin"). Meaning "a portion of a distance" is from 1610s; that of "literary composition" dates from 1530s. Piece of (one's) mind is from 1570s. Piece of work "remarkable person" echoes Hamlet. Piece as "a coin" is attested in English from 1570s, hence Piece of eight, old name for the Spanish dollar (c.1600) of the value of 8 reals.
PIECE. A wench. A damned good or bad piece; a girl who is more or less active and skilful in the amorous congress. Hence the (Cambridge) toast, may we never have a PIECE (peace) that will injure the constitution. ["Dictionary of Buckish Slang, University Wit and Pickpocket Eloquence," London, 1811]
"to mend by adding pieces," late 14c., from piece (n.). Sense of "to join, unite, put together" is from late 15c. Related: Pieced; piecing.
"to mend by adding pieces," late 14c., from piece (n.). Sense of "to join, unite, put together" is from late 15c. Related: Pieced; piecing.
Related Terms
all in one piece, come up smelling like a rose, knock off a piece, mouthpiece, museum piece, tear off a piece, think-piece
[second sense, US underworld use since about 1930]


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Your Cat, Your Life
The Scoop
Cat News, Politics
Meow-Out-Loud Humor
Cat Chic
Gear and Glam
Your cat loves a clean toilet -- don't we all? Catster's singing Cat Lady, Sarah Donner, explains why.
Cat Breeds
Foods & Treats
Health & Care
Behavior & Training
Cats & Cleaning
Cat of the Day
Photo Comments (1)
Photo Comments (3)
Photo Comments
Photo Comments (2)
Valentine Tag
Jacqui (Squeak) tagged me for the Valentine's Day Tag.
1. Do you have a valentine?
No, I prefer humans to cats!
2. If not, do you wish you did? Is there anyone particular? Or would you rather be single? Why?
Maybe someday, I had a tough time on the streets and my foster mom thinks that's what made me not like other cats. Single is just fine for me!
3. What's your favorite love song? Who sings it?
Not sure if I have one! I listen to whatever my new family wants!
4. What would be a perfect Valentines Day for you?
I am in a home that's all my own, and I am safe and warm...
Since I'm not on Catster much since I've been adopted, I'll just say"If you're reading this, you are tagged! Happy Valentine's Day!)
Hi everyone! Just wanted you to know that I like my new family! I get to run up and down a hall and I still have a nice window. I have a girl that carries me around, and I sleep on the couch while the kids do their homework. My foster mommy is helping me write this since I'm living a few blocks away. She's going to come visit me and bring me a present. A Starchaser with a light up ball! I can't wait for her to see me in my new castle! I'll make sure she updates everyone with new pictures when she comes to see me soon! Thanks for all of your support! I'm so glad I found a home, and I purray that all other kitties do too! Oh, and my name is still Gracie!!!!
I'm in my new castle and I'm honored that all of you care so much. Mommy cried. Today was bittersweet. I am DOTD and it's also one month exactly since Ava went to the bridge. My new family hasn't called yet to talk to mommy, but she's still thinking of me and hoping that they are loving me. I'll make sure my new family calls soon. I hope all kitties are lucky enough to find a home to live in. They all deserve that chance. Thank you to all of you who sent messages: Muppet, Rani, Sweets, Teddy, and Samoa. Thank you for the rosettes, Rani, Hooch, Family of Kitty Pryde and Indiana, Muppet, and Family of Napoleon and Colorado. Mommy loves you all and so do I!!!!
Copyright © I-5 Publishing, LLC. All rights reserved.
Visit Dogster


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Health center revenue climbs
Jim Hingtgen of Denman & Company in West Des Moines presented the Jefferson County Health Center annual audit report for fiscal year 2013, during the monthly meeting of the board of trustees Oct. 28.
"You had a very good last two years," Hingtgen said.
The health center had a 15 percent increase in its gross revenue up from $34.4 million in FY 2012 to $39.4 million in FY 2013.
Hingtgen said the greatest part of the health center's revenue comes from patient services. The net patient service revenue increased 11 percent from $22.2 million in FY 2012 to $24.7 million in FY 2013.
A breakdown of the 2013 patient service payor mix shows: Medicare paid 55 percent; commercial insurance paid 35 percent; Medicaid paid 9 percent; and patients themselves paid 1 percent.
The health center had total expenses of $27.1 million, an 11 percent increase from $24.4 million the year before.
Hingtgen told the trustees the health center is providing more services, so an increase in expenses is expected.
Part of the increased expenses was due to salaries. Salaries increased by 7 percent from $8.1 million in the prior year to $8.6 million in FY 2013. Hingtgen said the increase was expected because the health center created more jobs to cover its increased services.
The health center's total assets increased from $55.2 million in the prior year to $59.6 million in FY 2013. Hingtgen pointed out the property and equipment assets increased because of the new addition on the north end of the clinic building.
The health center's liabilities and net position totals stood at $59.8 million for FY 2013 compared to $55.2 million for the year before.
The health center's long-term debt decreased by $710,000 from the prior year, and Hingtgen said it would continue to go down as long as the health center makes payments on its current debt and does not incur any new debt. He added being able to pay for the new addition construction with cash is a good situation to be in.
The audit findings showed the health center spent more than it had budgeted in FY 2013. The auditing firm recommended, should this occur in the future, the trustees amend the budget.
Hingtgen added Denman & Company had no difficulties working with the health center's financial personnel while performing the audit.


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If you're a people person with a flair for numbers and an interest in risk management, a career in insurance could be the path for you. The Insurance program will give you the opportunity to develop your knowledge in policies and legislation, fraud awareness and client management to achieve a rewarding career in this thriving industry, bringing peace of mind to clients of all types.Back to Top
Program Description (Laptop program)
NOTE: Students enrolling in this program are required to purchase their own laptop. For specific hardware and software requirements for this program click here.
This program is designed to provide students with a broad exposure to business with a specialization in general (property and casualty) insurance. Students will study a wide range of subjects including accounting, fraud awareness and prevention, leadership and career development, economics, client management, marketing, business mathematics and more. Graduates will have the opportunity to earn eight credits (out of 10) towards the internationally recognized Chartered Insurance Professional (CIP) designation. As part of the program, students will register with the Insurance Institute of Canada (IIC) for the CIP courses/exams at an additional cost.
You will learn how to:
- Determine the function and role of general insurance in business and society.
- Adhere to insurance industry principles by analyzing the uses, coverage, riders, contracts, policies and legislation associated with general insurance.
- Adhere to principles, processes and procedures used in adjusting losses, settling claims and explaining and completing documentation specific to general insurance.
- Evaluate the factors affecting the acceptance and underwriting of general insurance risks.
- Use computer skills and software to complete tasks, such as reports; correspondence to clients; internal memos and emails; spreadsheets; and client- and business-focused presentations.
- Apply accounting, economics, mathematics and marketing principles to insurance business situations.
- Develop knowledge of general insurance principles, customer service skills and interpersonal communications.
- Discuss the relationship between basic economic principles and business.
- Discuss the legal system and legislation affecting business in general, and property and casualty insurance business, specifically.
- Apply marketing techniques used by insurances companies, brokers and agents.
- Apply a variety of negotiation strategies and skills for effective communication with peers, clients and supervisors in the insurance industry.
- Discuss the issues and concerns regarding business corporate responsibility in an insurance environment.
Admission Requirements
- Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) or Mature Student Status
- Grade 12 English (C or U)
- Grade 11 mathematics (C, M or U)
Career Options
- Appraiser.
- Broker or agent.
- Claims adjuster.
- Customer service representative.
- Loss control specialist.
- Risk manager.
- Underwriter.
Graduates of this program typically work in high-demand areas of insurance, but should be prepared to enter the insurance industry in a variety of entry-level to junior positions, leading to the higher positions listed above.Back to Top
Course List & Descriptions
Semester 1
- Accounting I (ACCT 1200)
- Business Computer Applications I (COMP 1209)
- General Education Elective (GNED 0000)
- Human Resource Management I (HRM 1200)
- Principles And Practice Of Insurance (INSR 1200)
- Introduction To Business Management (MGMT 1209)
- Marketing I (MKTG 1200)
Semester 2
- Communications For Business I (COMM 2204)
- Business Computer Applications II (COMP 2209)
- Macroeconomics (ECON 1200)
- Automobile Insurance (INAU 2200)
- Essential Skills For The Insurance Broker & Agent (INSR 4200)
- Business Mathematics (MATH 1202)
Semester 3
- Client Management (CLNT 3200)
- Business Communications II (COMM 3202)
- Fraud Awareness & Prevention (FRAD 4200)
- General Education Elective (GNED 0000)
- Insurance Against Liability (INSR 3200)
- Underwriting Essentials (INUW 3201)
Semester 4
- General Education Elective (GNED 0000)
- Business Development (INBU 4200)
- Leading Issues And Trends In Insurance (INSR 3203)
- Leader And Career Development (LEAD 4202)
- Essentials Of Loss Adjusting (LOAD 4201)
- Property Insurance (PROP 2200)
Courses and course descriptions are subject to change.Back to Top
Program Costs
|Compulsory Ancillary
|Program Incidental
|Total Fees:
Please note: fees are based on the 2016-2017 academic year and do not include textbooks. For more information please see Other fees to consider.Back to Top
Laptop Learning
Students enrolled in laptop programs will enjoy an exceptional learning experience with the use of technology. The advanced technical skills and knowledge that employers look for in graduates will provide students with a decided advantage when entering the workforce. Please pay close attention to the hardware and software requirements of your program as the requirements are not the same for all laptop programs.
How laptop learning works:
- Review your specific program page for hardware and software requirements.
- Acquire your own laptop from a vendor of your choosing including all of the hardware and software components listed below.
Please note: Some software may be included in tuition fees for some programs. Please ensure that you are required to buy software before making a purchase.Back to Top
Laptop Requirements
Minimum Recommended Hardware
- Laptop: Personal computer (PC) not a Mac
- Operating System: Windows 7, 8, 8.1 or 10 (if available)
- Processor: Intel Core i5 or better (Not AMD)
- Memory: 4 GB of RAM (8 GB preferred)
- Hard Drive: 250 GB or larger (Solid State Drive (SSD) preferred)
- Warranty: 3 years parts and labour (On-site preferred)
- Other features: 2 USB ports
Software Requirements
- Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
- Microsoft Office 2013
- Internet Explorer
- Mozilla Firefox
- Acrobat Reader
- Real Player
- Windows Media Player
- Adobe Flash Player and Browser Plug-in
- K-Lite Codec Pack
- Sage AccPac 5.5(Year 2)
Opportunities For Degree Completion Or Additional Credentials
Qualified graduates may apply to the bridge program for the Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) program at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT).
Graduates of this program may consider further studies in any Business program option and would qualify for advanced standing in any of the following programs:
- Accounting - Business.
- Accounting - Business Administration.
- Entrepreneurship and Small Business - Business.
- Human Resources - Business.
- Human Resources - Business Administration.
- Marketing - Business.
- Marketing - Business Administration
- Operations - Business.
- Operations Management - Business Administration.
Graduates may also be eligible to apply their academic credits toward further study through Durham College's partnerships with many Canadian and international colleges and universities.
- Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) – University of Ontario Institute of Technology
- Bachelor of Commerce in Entrepreneurial Management - Royal Roads University
Please visit the Transfer Guide for more information.Back to Top


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Use of 'retarded' as derogatory term is offensive and demeaning
There are 6655 comments on the Chicago Tribune story from Jun 26, 2008, titled Use of 'retarded' as derogatory term is offensive and demeaning. In it, Chicago Tribune reports that:D ear Amy: My family is not sure what to say to people who routinely use the word "retard" or "retarded" to mean someone or something is stupid.
Join the discussion below, or Read more at Chicago Tribune.
United States
#1 Jun 27, 2008
I used to use thr "R" word frequently. Then, I went to school to become a teacher, and met students whose abilities run the gamut. If I hear a student saying that word, I simply remind them not to use the "R" word in my classroom. One of my biggest student-enforcers of this rule was one who is on the Autism spectrum. I have a feeling that hearing it come from him helped drive home the message that they were being offensive when using that word.
United States
#3 Jun 27, 2008
Teacher, you are right on!
My daughter has autism, and her brother has routinely shut down his adolescent friends when the R word comes up. He says, "Please don't say that word around me, my sister is autistic." Even the biggest A holes immediately shut up. At his eighth grade graduation, he was given a good citizenship award, for which his father and I were very proud.
The use of this type of language (or race baiting) is a pathetic attempt for an insecure loser to feel better about himself/herself at someone else's expense -- and who better than the special ed. kid?
I once saw a kid on the autism spectrum (high-functioning) wear a shirt that said, "I'm autistic -- what's your excuse?"
#5 Jun 27, 2008
I'm not the biggest Abby fan in the world, but at least when she prints a letter from a reader who points out that she gave less than stellar advice, Abby admits she's wrong. Amy can't even do that! Has she ever admitted she was wrong?
#6 Jun 27, 2008
Using the "R" word in a sentence is not "race baiting." That's a ridiculous comparison. Why can't people just admit their kids aren't perfect and not make the rest of us play their little denial games? I don't think it's funny that the kid with "high-functioning" autism had a shirt that basically made autism an excuse. So, he's going to go through life getting treated special and getting away with things because somewhere along the way his parents couldn't accept that he wasn't perfect and had him "diagnosed?" Great.
#7 Jun 27, 2008
I wasn't actually aware that people who are autistic or have Down's Syndrome were referred to as retarded any more. I thought we were using the terminology of mentally or developmentally challenged.
#8 Jun 27, 2008
In these days of PC all words have lost their meaning. To take any ignorant statement at face value is to be ignorant yourself. I try to use all words precisely & am often misunderstood. Its just blather,ignore the ignorant.
#10 Jun 27, 2008
Retarded is like Gay -
neither word should be used in common converstaion to denote Stupid.
Kids learn when told - and things get better slowly over the years.
When adults lash out at people trying to be sensitive to other's feelings and teach their children to do the same, what does it say about those adults?
That they can't be bothered to think about anyone but themselves, and they seem to live a life full of anger.
#16 Jun 27, 2008
Feelings are nothing more than your personal interpretation of an event. "Others" as you put it need to toughen up a little and quit taking everything so personal.
I'm bitter this morning because I've interpreted this day as crappy.
""Trying to be civil!""
Since: May 08
Central Florida
#24 Jun 27, 2008
Offense is in the ear of the listener. I am Italian, when I hear certain words they become offensive to some (they do not bother me). There are derogatory words for almost anybody or anything - that is the world around us.
What you need to do is educate the children that it is a word that is stupid, and does not necessarily mean them. The word "retarded" long ago transcended meaning "mentally disabled" and has become pop culture slang. Is it offensive? To some. To others? It is silly.
So educate your children on how this word is used, do not force others not to use it, no matter how ridiculous it may be.
#25 Jun 27, 2008
Political Correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical
minority, and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end.
#27 Jun 27, 2008
I've heard that people with leg problems hate the word "Lame": their POV is that it's derogatory. It's used all the time to mean "stupid", as in, "That show was lame last night!" or "you're so lame!"
Thing is, it's all over the place, EVERYone says it. I have no idea if the word "lame" is ever going to get the same respect of being a negative word that retarded has gained.
#28 Jun 27, 2008
One of these days we will not be able to speak without offending someone... the truth is people choose to be offended. Whether it is because of the N word, the R word, the S word... WHATEVER!! I am of Hispanic descent, and I've heard my share of derrogatory words flung at me and they do not faze me one iota. Why? Because I am more intelligent and mature than the person stooping to such idiotic tactics in a futile attempt to offend my heritage! Think about it...
#31 Jun 27, 2008
Not that I've ever noticed.(Makes a person feel sorry for Amy's daughter, doesn't it?)
Maybe someone should write to her, and point out that "R", I believe it was, didn't suggest dumping water on the guy's *head*.
#32 Jun 27, 2008
ok, another group of idiots has joined! Welcome Connecticuters.......
United States
#35 Jun 27, 2008
I use the term retarded all the time, but I follow it with "no offense".
#36 Jun 27, 2008
LW1. Although the LW writes about something that is unfortunate, she would be doing her children a favor if she would teach them one of Buddha's four noble truths: Life is suffering. Or as Scott Peck said "Life is difficult. Once we truly see this as a great truth, once we truly know that life is difficult, then life is no longer difficult. Because once it is accepted, the fact that life is difficult no longer matters."
Most people refuse to accept this truth and moan about it more or less incessantly. What makes life difficult is the process of confronting and solving problems is a painful one. Yet it is one that parents would do well teaching their children. Because problems not only call forth our courage and wisdom, problems actually create our courage and wisdom. This is the reason that schools pose problems for children to solve.
As Carl Jung so elegantly said "Neurosis is always a substitute for legitimate suffering". Thus it is when people avoid the legitimate suffering that results from dealing with problems, they also avoid the growth that problems demand from us.
The LW1 would help her children become stronger, more tolerant human beings if she taught them these lessons rather than expecting the impossible: having everyone else behave in the way that she wishes them to behave. This is simply an exercise in frustration and teaches her children only to resent life's unfairness.
#37 Jun 27, 2008
LW1: If someone refers to your loved one as a retard or tard, counter them with the term "downs syndrome." If they say it more than once, counter more than once,(although why subject yourself to deliberate ignorance is beyond me).
You can't change other people. You can only change how you deal with them.
Some will be receptive. Your correct terminology may even encourage them to educate themselves to the condition.
Some will continue to be the real retards or tards.
See? There are people who actually deserve the terminology.
United States
#38 Jun 27, 2008
"When adults lash out at people trying to be sensitive to other's feelings and teach their children to do the same, what does it say about those adults?
That they can't be bothered to think about anyone but themselves, and they seem to live a life full of anger."
You said it, Pam. And to all these people who think it's okay because of the multiple meanings of the word "retarded," when someone calls somebody a "RE-tard," come on, you know exactly what they mean. This isn't about "being PC," it's about being decent.
#39 Jun 27, 2008
So, what you're saying is: "buck up and quit being a baby."
#42 Jun 27, 2008
Well, I feel better! Sorry for the rant.
BTW, I don't know why I keep coming up under different cities when I post. I guess I'm just a child of the world.
Angelique, feel free to comment on the frustration those of us raising disabled children face when dealing with the rest of the world.(smile)
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text: Posted November 22, 2011 Man so many people pissed off. I'm happy. Carolina has scored 225 points this year. They scored 196 all of last season. They had 17 total touchdowns last year. They have 25 this year. They average 400 yards of offense per game compared to 258 last year. Thats a significant difference. The most intriguing stat, carolina had 95 punts last season, they have only 42 this year. Rivera is doing a hell of a job rebuilding this offense, I cant wait to next year to see how he rebuilds the defense. 2 people like this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites


text:
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, the C-SPAN viewers of America rarely have seen the Senate in applause such as they saw it a few minutes ago, but also it illustrates how well we have worked together on a bipartisan basis to try to address the significant crisis confronting our country's financial system.
We have seen, over the last 2 weeks, a coming together. Both of the candidates for President of the United States are here tonight. We had unprecedented cooperation between the majority leader and the Republican leader and our designees, Senator Gregg and Senator Dodd, who did a superb job bringing both sides together to craft a package we could proudly pass [Page: S10293] tonight for the American people on a bipartisan basis.
This is a big moment in the Senate. This is the kind of vote we were sent by our people to cast, and I wish to express my pride and my gratitude to Members, my pride in the institution, and my gratitude for Members who wrestled with this very difficult challenge and who have helped us come together with a package we believe will address the Main Street problems facing America as a result of the credit crunch.
Right in the middle of the heat of a Presidential election, we have been able to put that aside and come together and do something important for our country. I think it is one of the finest moments in the history of the Senate. I congratulate all Members of the Senate for participating in this, and I obviously urge that it be supported.
I yield the floor.


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On this unseasonably warm, spring day, we're taking you back to the cold, snowy winter. Andrew and Eleanor hosted their wedding at a private Chicago club downtown, and they worked with Bill from Heffernan Morgan to transform the ballroom there into a winter wonderland. The pillars in the ballroom were completely covered in ivy with candlelabras hanging off the branches. Green trees were used to create a unique stage for the ceremony. Later that evening, during dancing, Frost made it snow inside the ballroom; this is probably one of the most unqiue things I have ever seen a decor company do. The guests loved it, and it really created a festive winter spirit.
Below are just a few of our favorite images from this wedding. A big thanks to Linda Alpert, their wedding planner, who truly made this day come together.
Venue: A private Chicago club
Event Designer: Affairs with Linda, Linda Alpert
Flowers: Heffernan Morgan Designs
Lighting: FROST Chicago
Cake: Take the Cake
Music: Chicago Catz


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Wawona Campground
Get your copy
The Yosemite Guide contains information about camping, trip planning, activities, scheduled events, and hours of operations for different facilities and services.
- Denotes which Yosemite Valley Shuttle Stop when you see this icon.
Wawona campground is set near the southern entrance to Yosemite.
Wawona campground is one of the alternatives to the packed campgrounds of Yosemite Valley. Yosemite Valley is about 25 miles from Wawona. Finding a nicely shaded spot can be a challenge along with finding a really flat campsite.
Wawona campsites are open year round with the exception of Horse sites which are open approximately April to September. Non Horse campsites at Wawona campground are first come first served after September and until April in Loop A (about 20 sites).
Several sites are situated along the South Fork of the Merced River. Campsites tend to be a bit more spacious than the Yosemite Valley campgrounds.
Reservations are required from April to September and are available by clicking the reservation icon to the right.
Horse site reservations are required and available only by calling 877/444-6777.
Campsites 69 and 70 are suitable for wheelchairs. Picnic tables at these sites have extended tops. These campsites are limited to people with disabilities.
Wawona has 93 campsites, 1 group sites (13 to 30 people) and 2 horse sites. There is a limit of 6 people per campsite.
Campsites can handle RV's up to 35 feet. No trailers in the group site and 27' trailer in the horse sites.
There is a fire ring, table and a bear proof food storage locker [33"(D)x45"(W)x18"(H)] at each site. Nearby are flush toilet restrooms and potable water.
A dump station is neaby on Forest Drive east of Wawona about a mile away during the summer months.
The famous Mariposa Grove of Sequoias is about 10 miles away and boasts the famous "Grizzly Giant" sequoia. Crowds tend to get pretty big after 9 or 10 in the morning so try to get there early to avoid the crowds. Click here for a video of the Grizzly Giant.
Wawona-Mariposa Grove Shuttle Bus
The free Wawona-Mariposa Grove shuttle bus shuttles passengers between Wawona and the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias spring through fall. The bus picks up and drops off passengers at the Wawona Store, South Entrance, and at the Mariposa Grove Gift Shop. The Mariposa Grove Road closes several times each day from spring through fall when the parking lot becomes full. Visitors arriving on the shuttle bus are guaranteed access into the Mariposa Grove even when the parking lot is closed (as a result of being full).
Wawona to Yosemite Valley Shuttle Bus
This free bus departs daily from the Wawona Hotel at 8:30 am and from the Wawona Store at 8:35 am. Return trip departs from Yosemite Lodge at 3:30 pm. Operates approximately Memorial Day through Labor Day.
A small grocery store is in nearby Wawona.
Pets are allowed and must be kept on a leash. Pets are not allowed in the group site or the horse sites.
About 27 miles north northeast in Yosemite Valley is Half Dome Village stop 13b, (click for a fantastic map from the National Park Service) offers several restaurants including a Pizza Deck (some of the best Pizza I have ever had and should be a stop on everyone's trip to Yosemite), Ice cream shop/ coffee bar, A Taqueria, a Dining Pavilion (Buffet style), A small bar that serves an excellent local draft selection located next to the Pizza Deck. Also at Half Dome Village is a mountaineering shop and mountaineering school, a store and gift shop, an amphitheater, a public pool, showers and a Lounge that has open WIFI access.
Raft and Bicycle rentals are next to Half Dome Village at the Half Dome Village Recreation Center get off at Shuttle Stop 13a.
Road conditions can change at any time. Please check road and weather before arriving at (209)372-0200 for conditions inside Yosemite, and 1-800-427-ROAD for conditions outside the park. Highway 120 over Tioga Pass from Lee Vining and the Glacier Point Road are closed seasonally.
Entrance Fee to the park is $20 per private vehicle.
Yosemite Village about 45 minutes away boasts several restaurants, a store and gift shop.
Degnan's Cafe features smoothies, coffee, baked goods and an internet kiosk. The cafe is usually open from April to September.
Degnan's Deli - sells deli sandwiches, salads, vegetarian and gourmet food, snacks, lattes and other beverages. The deli is open daily from 7am to 5pm.
Degnan's Loft - This Yosemite Village restaurant features pizza, salads, soups and appetizers - all served in this family-style loft restaurant located above Degnan's Deli. Wine and beer are also available. Open Spring to Fall. Open 5 to 9 pm Mon-Fri and
Village Grill - serves an excellent variety of grilled items, such as cheeseburgers, grilled chicken, veggie and salmon burgers. Don't pass on one of the Milkshakes. Open 11 am to 5 pm daily.
The country store at Yosemite Village is well stocked with groceries and has an excellent gift shop.
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text: I have a wonderful factory finish on this car, with only 115K miles on it, but I acquired it "pre-dented" on the hood lip, just above the grille. You can tell the quality of the paint, since some of it chipped off at the end at the hit, plus there's a few spots under the headlight that is now bare metal. I am not finding any aftermarket spray cans of Dupli-Color for this year/color at any of the local auto parts stores here (it seems to be a common color for late 90's Sevilles and Devilles). Would anyone here know of a distributor that carries it, or is there some special order that can be placed at a dealer?


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CANADA FX-C$ hits strongest in more than a week after U.S. data
* C$ at C$1.0209 vs US$, or 97.95 U.S. cents
* C$ touches one-week high after U.S. jobless claims
* U.S. dollar broadly weaker
By Andrea Hopkins
TORONTO, April 25 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar hit its strongest level in more than a week against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday after U.S. data showed a fall in new jobless benefit claims, briefly tempering broader fears about tepid U.S. economic growth.
"We traded all the way down to C$1.0201, so it's been a very strong morning, a lot just based on U.S. dollar broad-based weakness," said Camilla Sutton, chief currency strategist at Scotiabank.
"All in all it's a broadly weaker U.S. dollar day, we don't have a lot of data from Canada."
The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell last week by a surprisingly large 16,000 to 339,000, offering reassurance the bottom is not falling out of the labor market despite signs of slower growth.
The unexpected strength boosted risk-on sentiment, sending U.S. stock markets to a positive open. While the U.S. dollar pared some losses, it was weaker against most currencies as investors worried about a recent disappointing run of economic news from the United States, Germany and China. Continued...


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3 Recommendations
carolineoncrack's recommendation
A great product for giving your hair shine and some conditioning. Salon Glaze won't weigh the hair down like traditional serums.
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AGD's recommendation
this is an at-home salon-style glossing treatment.
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carolineoncrack's recommendation
Ever want to replicate that just-stepped-out-of-the-salon shine in your hair? This clear glossing and conditioning treatment enhances your natural color.
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text:
Organic Cotton Cocktail Dress
2 Recommendations
hapa_lee's recommendation
There's something about simple & organic cotton that go so well together - according to designers. All of that is fine by me - simple dresses are easier to pair with the accessories that make the outfit pop, and the dresses go through more fashion seasons. This little front bow dress will be sure to last through the ages of my closet.
My Collections:
lillianb's recommendation
Again, organic and green design warms my heart, because it appears to actually look fashioanble. Again, this is a dress I'd buy even if it wasn't organic. Seriously, look at it: big bow in the front, sleeves to keep you a bit more covered, this mini dress is absolutely adorable.
My Collections:


text:
I have bought this template for WP, but it transposh doesn't work with it. Does anyone know why? What actually doesn't work is editor, and I don't have any idea why.
Ok, here is account I bought template from. Do I need to start a new topic or this one is ok?
Hi Komex, thanks for posting from the buyer account, the appropriate support forum for the mentioned theme can be found here.
Or, you can interact directly with the author here. The link takes you to the item's Comments section, where you can also browse previous posts for additional information and/or troubleshooting.
Just leave the author a quick comment and he'll gladly point you in the right direction. Good luck.
Tnx a lot


text:
Jones oversees the athletic training for UAB's 16 varsity sports and is the head athletic trainer for the football squad. In his Assistant Athletic Trainer role at UAB, Jones worked with the football team, including the program's trip to the 2004 Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl.
Jones previously served an Associate Athletic Trainer at the UAB Sports Medicine Clinic from 1999 to 2000 and as a Staff Athletic Trainer at the University of Cincinnati from 1998 to 1999, where he worked with the Bearcat football, swimming and diving teams.
Jones earned a B.A. in secondary education in 1996 and a master's degree in health education from UAB in 1997.
He joined the Blazer football team in 1993 after transferring from Jones Community College in Ellisville, Miss. He was among the first scholarship classes in the history of UAB football and is a Blazer letterman. As a graduate student, he worked with the Blazer football and volleyball teams. He serves as chairman of the Public Relations and Governmental Affairs Committee for the Alabama State Association of Athletic Trainers and, in May 2008, was elected to the Alabama Board of Athletic Trainers.
PERSONAL: A native of New Augusta, Miss., Jones has two daughters: Kerrigan and Mackenzie.


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6 Easy Steps to Lose 10 Pounds Healthfully (Page 5)
Pictured Tool: Slimware melamine dinnerware
Task #4: Keep an Eye on Size
In the world of football-sized burritos and snack packs that serve six, you constantly need to ask yourself: Is that portion actually one serving?
Tried-and-True: Follow a recipe and divvy it up among the number of plates it says it serves. If you're making a simple meal—lean meat, side of whole grains and some vegetables—you can use the "divided plate" rule of thumb to help you eat in the right proportions. Divide your plate into three sections: make half of it vegetables, one quarter a whole-grain, such as brown rice, and the other quarter a lean protein, such as chicken, fish or tofu.
New tools: Plates that "tell" you how much to eat. Slimware melamine dinnerware helps remind you of recommended portion sizes with correspondingly sized "food placement areas" (think: flower or swirl, not the divided plates you use at barbecues) for protein, a whole grain or other carb and vegetables. Use a souped-up kitchen scale, like Escali's Cesto Portable Nutrition Tracker, to find out precisely how many calories are in your serving. Put your snack on the scale and, pulling from its database of common foods, the Cesto calculates its calories. This is particularly great for healthy-yet-higher-calorie snacks, like almonds, dried fruit or cheese—for which a small margin of error can easily result in consuming 100 (or more!) extra calories.


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A Point of Personal Interest
This post is going to reveal more about me than I usually share in the blog-o-sphere, but oh well. It's for a good cause.
When I was an undergraduate at Yale, I ate breakfast at the Yankee Doodle Coffee Shop, affectionately known as "The Doodle," every Friday. Some of my favorite college moments were sitting in the twelve-stool diner, eating my $2 deliciously fluffy scrambled eggs with an English Muffin, and chatting with the owner and operator Rick Beckwith, whose grandfather first opened the Doodle 58 years ago. I never competed in the doodle hamburger eating competition because I knew I had no shot at coming close to the record of 26, or 27, or 28. But I dream about those eggs.
And now, because of "financial considerations" the Doodle, which has been open since 1950 in the same spot, is closed. The Yale-funded gentrification that swept Urban Outfitters, J. Crew, and Au Bon Pain into New Haven has now robbed the city of one of its real treasures (and yes, New Haven haters, there are treasures in the city).
But hopefully the Doodle will not remain closed forever. There's a movement afoot to Save the Doodle.
All of which is just to ask that any of you who have any connection to Yale, have ever eaten at the Doodle while passing through New Haven, have ever had a favorite coffee shop drive out of business by the big chain stores, please help save the Doodle. And then, when it reopens, make a little trip to New Haven and try the scrambled eggs.


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Holgar The Horrible Linguist
Ever wonder why the English language is so messed?
Everybody knows that baby rabbits are called "bunnies," but did you know that they're also called "kits" or "kittens?" This is because the English language was invented by an 11th-century drunk named Olgar. The story goes that after calling juvenile rabbits "bunnies" for no reason whatsoever, Olgar drank a flagon of mead and either changed his mind or confused cats with rabbits, calling them "kittens." Either way, we're stuck with it now thanks to that soused norseman.
Although he invented one of the most-spoken languages on Earth, Olgar was notoriously inconsistent in his naming practices. He had four names for juvenile codfish, including "codling" (sensical), "hake" (possibly a drunken hiccup), "sprag" (?), and "sprat "(did you mean "sprag," Halgar?)
Halgar was also maddeningly thrifty with certain definitions. For instance, the word "set" has over 400 definitions in the Oxford English Dictionary. i.e. "I was all set to set the table with my new poker set, but my dogs set upon me and set about eviscerating me."
So the next time you wonder why there is a difference between "fewer" and "less" but no similar distinction for "more," or why the letter "O" can be pronounced four different ways, shake your fist at the memory of the drunk viking Holgar. He doesn't care.


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The two-day strike of government doctors from January 15 to press for their several demands, including wage hike, would cripple the healthcare service in the state-run hospitals.
Dr Ranjit Kumar, the secretary-cum-spokesperson of the Bihar Health Services Association (BHSA), said: "Increment in the salary of doctors of the government hospitals across the state is one of our main demands."
The general secretary of the BHSA, Dr Ajay Kumar, said: "We have been demanding adequate manpower in the hospitals for a long time but the state government has not taken our demands seriously. So we have decided to go on a two-day strike."