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Go Mobile
Mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets have changed how many of us shop, communicate and bank.
I read a recent study which reported that 73 percent of Internet users have used online banking in the past 3 months and that 35 percent have used mobile banking.
While the growth in online banking adoption has slowed in recent years, mobile banking use, in contrast, has doubled since 2011. Just 18 percent of cellphone owners reported that they used mobile banking in 2011, a figure that jumped to 35 percent in the latest study.
This explosion in mobile banking use is not surprising. Mobile devices have become ubiquitous and their utility has changed how many of us shop, communicate and navigate. This behavioral change has extended to banking as well, as today's mobile apps allow you to check balances, transfer funds, pay bills, deposit checks, find our nearest location and contact us with the click of a button. With all of this convenience in the palm of your hand, it's no wonder that so many people have embraced mobile banking.
Middleburg Bank introduced our mobile banking app for iPhones, iPads and Android smartphones last summer and the adoption of this new technology has been explosive. Since its launch, nearly 4,000 people have downloaded the mobile app. We enhanced the app in December and added the ability to deposit checks into your account simply by taking a picture of it. Since adding that feature, our clients have deposited over 7,500 checks worth nearly $4 million using their smartphones.
We know that security is one of our clients' top concerns when it comes to online and mobile banking so we work with industry experts to ensure a safe and secure environment. None of your financial data is ever stored on the mobile device. The most you can store on the device is your Username. The mobile banking app is simply an access channel to our secure Digital Banking data centers, where your information is protected with state-of-the-art security.
In the unlikely event that you lost your phone or had it stolen, the person in possession would not be able to do anything that would take money out of your account. The mobile banking app only allows users to transfer money between their own accounts at Middleburg Bank or pay a bill to an existing Payee that was created within Online Banking.
If you have not downloaded our free mobile app for your iPhone, iPad or Android device, I encourage you to give it a try. It's secure, convenient and easy to use. With the app on your phone or tablet, you can take Middleburg Bank with you wherever you go.
As always, if you have any suggestions to make your banking experience with Middleburg Bank even better, please send me an email at email@example.com


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Doctor insights on:
Proctalgia Fugax Lupus
Once in awhile, I wake up from a deep sleep with pain in my rectal area. The pain last awhile. Could it be Proctalgia Fugax.? 41yr old female. Common?
Pain in derrière: Do you engage in anal intercourse? Are you frequently constipated? Do you ever notice bright red blood in the bowl before you flush or on the paper when you wipe yourself? Maybe you have hemorrhoids or anal fissures due to some underlying pathology. Speak to your doc about. Sorry this is causing such a pain in the ass, to coin a phrase. ...Read more
Proctalgia Fugax (Definition)
Proctalgia fugax ...Read more
How are proctalgia fugax and levator ani syndrome different?
Time: Both are spasms of the levator ani muscles. The difference is largely semantic related to timing and duration of the pain. ...Read more
What's the difference between proctalgia fugax and levator ani syndrome?
None: They are generally the same thing, just different terminology. ...Read more
For over 5 years I've been experiencing severe bruising pain in my rectum/anus at night. I've googled it and proctalgia fugax comes up. Please advise.
Need exam: There are many things that can cause rectal pain. It would be a good idea to see your doctor and get a rectal exam. Proctalgia fugax has to do with muscle spasms in the pelvic muscles, but you need to make sure that there is nothing more serious going on. ...Read more
What kind of doctor should I see for levator ani syndrome / proctalgia fugax?
See a: colorectal surgeon , first speak to your family doctor , may know some one who handles this type of problem ...Read more
What kind of doctor should I see for levator ani syndrome / proctalgia fugax?
Colorectal and GYN: You should see first a colorectal surgeon to rule out any conditions of the rectum, if negative then a GYN ...Read more
Can you tell me what kind of doctor to see for levator ani syndrome / proctalgia fugax?
Both: Should be diagnosed and treated by a colon and rectal surgeon although treatment is less than ideal and effective. However, a crs will have had the most experience and knowledge. ...Read more
Last night i had a pain which as i searched on the internet is referred as proctalgia fugax. In addition i d a stomach pain. Can they be related?
Internet Medicine: These kind of questions, especially from my patients in the office often make me smile. It is best to tell doctors symptoms rather than 'diagnoses'. Without symptoms and a history explaining what the various possible causes for the symptoms is difficult. It is also best to be seen in person when pain is part of the scenario rather than just hanging out on line waiting for answers that may not .. ...Read moreSee 1 more doctor answer
Can proctalgia fugax be the reason for painful bowel movements? Pain is not severe and doesn't last long.
Probably not: Proctalgia is a spasm of the muscles around the rectum. Generally it is like any muscle cramp (leg, foot) - spontaneous and without any precipitating reason. Pain with a bowel movement is more likely from anal irritation at the rectal orifice. Any more specifics requires a bit of detective work with a good history of when, what makes it better, worse, etc. ...Read more
- Talk to a doctor live online for free
- Proctalgia fugax cure
- Proctalgia fugax pain relief
- Proctalgia fugax cause
- Ask a doctor a question free online
- Symptoms of proctalgia fugax
- Causes of proctalgia fugax
- Proctalgia fugax and ibs
- Alternative treatments for proctalgia fugax
- Talk to a rheumatologist online for free

subset: commoncrawl


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Easy Vegan White Bean Au Pistou
Recipe by Samsara
This is adapted from a recipe in The Dinner Doctor. It's good for colds. Although it's hot, it's intended to be a summer food, making use of fresh summer squash.
Top Review by Ms B.
Excellent soup. With the recent spinach scare, I had planned to use frozen, but couldn't find any in our tiny local market. I decided to sub frozen broccoli, but even that plan got scrapped after I discovered that my yellow squash were bad. :( Finally, I decided to sub both the yellow squash and the spinach for a frozen roasted Mediterranean vegetable blend. This included zucchini, yellow squash, baby carrots, green beans, onions, & peppers. The soup was superb, and Hubby claimed all leftovers. Thanks for posting.
See Discussion:1 Review
Ingredients Nutrition
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1⁄4 onion, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 2 small crookneck yellow squash
- 1 (15 1/2 ounce) can navy beans, drained
- 1 (14 1/2 ounce) can vegetable broth
- 1 (14 1/2 ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
- 1 cup fresh spinach
- 1⁄2 cup inch-long pieces spaghetti or 1⁄2 cup vermicelli, uncooked
- 1 tablespoon pesto sauce
- black pepper, to taste
- 1 cup baby portabella mushroom (optional)
- 2 tablespoons black olives, chopped from can (optional)
Directions See How It's Made
- Place the olive oil in a 4 qt saucepan over medium-high heat. Saute the onions, garlic, and squash for approximately 4 minutes.
- Add the beans, broth, tomatoes, spinach, and the olives and mushrooms, if using. Boil, then lower heat and simmer while covered for 15 minutes.
- Stir in the pesto and pasta. Continue to simmer for about another 5 minutes, until pasta is ready.
- Season with black pepper to taste. Salt probably won't be necessary, as canned vegetables tend to have enough sodium added.


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|Mom of 4 .... 1 boy and 3 girls
|Thought Bubble:
This mom hasn't added any Thought Bubbles.
Last Login: 12/08/11
CafeMom Veteran
BReaSTFeeDeR gave me 5 Java Bucks!
She had this to say:
just wondering if you could spare some energy packs--or anything else for a fellow barista?
NicolesMommy gave me 1 Java Bucks!
She had this to say:
Yah right, LOL!!!! Can't be bothered!!!! It takes too long. How are you doing?
I made a high quality Peppermint Latte for the Doctor and earned 115 Java Bucks and 275 Experience Points.
I got some extra cash from my deal with the Criminal Mastermind! I got 50 extra Java Bucks.
I made a high quality Labor Inducing (Decaf) for the Pregnant Mom and earned 408 Java Bucks and 544 Experience Points.
I made a high quality Black Coffee for the Suspicious Brewers Square Police Officer and earned 53 Java Bucks and 105 Experience Points. I also got a tip of 13 Java Bucks!
The police officer caught me working with the Criminal Mastermind and took 200 Java Bucks as a fine! I guess crime doesn't pay.


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Manchester United 2-1 Bolton Wanderers
Knight (og) 4 Taylor 75
Valencia 33
Manchester United returned to the top of the Premier League, but were left hanging on to the three points by a spirited late rally from Bolton, having earlier looked as if they were going to cruise to victory.
A fifth-minute own goal by Bolton defender Zat Knight and Antonio Valencia's first strike in United colours left Sir Alex Ferguson's men in complete control after half an hour.
And strike duo Michael Owen and Dimitar Berbatov both spurned opportunities to put the game beyond Bolton's reach shortly after the interval.
But Matt Taylor's 75th minute header changed the complexion of the afternoon, and Wanderers had two chances to equalise in stoppage time – usually United's job - Gary Cahill heading straight at United keeper Edwin Van Der Sar in the last seconds.
It was Van Der Sar's first start of the season, in a United line-up shorn of the injured Wayne Rooney.
But that didn't disrupt their rhythm and they were quickly ahead when Owen's header was diverted into the net by Knight as he attempted a clearance.
Centre-back Jonny Evans was denied by a wonder save from Bolton keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen a minute later. And Berbatov's volley was deflected wide by the luckless Owen in the 13th minute.
Wanderers served a warning of their aerial threat a minute later when Kevin Davies headed a good chance wide from Sam Ricketts' cross.
But Valencia doubled United's advantage on 33 minutes, crashing home a right-foot shot at the near-post after a slick three-man passing move.
United dropped the tempo as the second-half wore on and were made to pay when Taylor outjumped Patrice Evra to head home Davies' cross after a thrilling run at the heart of the defence by Mark Davies.
And had Cahill's last-gasp header been directed either side of Van Der Sar, there would have been no way back for the champions.
Tags: Manchester United, Bolton, Zat Knight, Michael Owen, Dimitar Berbatov, Edwin Van Der Sar, Jonny Evans, Patrice Evra


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|Draft Animal Cloning Risk Assessment
|FDA Comment Number :
|Submitter :
|Mrs. Denise Smith
|Date & Time:
|01/03/2007 03:01:07
|Organization :
|Mrs. Denise Smith
|Category :
|Individual Consumer
|Issue Areas/Comments
| I want food from cloned animals to be labeled as such in the grocery store. I want to know which food has come from cloned animals. I think consumers have the right to choose whether or not they want to buy this food and labels are a must. Thank you.


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CableTV.com Recommends that your Best TV Service Option is DIRECTV
Among all the satellite TV and cable companies in Prosperity, SC, independent consumer surveys recognize DIRECTV as the best TV service provider in the area. At CableTV.com, we rate the performance of cable companies and other paid television services available in your area so you can find and compare providers and packages quickly and easily.
Do you need regular access to children's programming, witty comedies, or and Carolina Panthers games? When you choose between TV packages in Prosperity, channel availability is just as important as price—paying a low monthly fee for a package that doesn't include access to playoff games or your favorite shows won't do you much good. Find the best cable company in Prosperity, SC by using our detailed information to compare and contrast your options. In most cases, TV packages come with all the major networks, but they don't always include smaller channels—in fact, availability can vary from one area to another, even with the same TV provider. Luckily, the information we've collected will make it easy to find the channels you want and select the highest rated providers available in Prosperity. We've made it quick and simple to choose an economical TV package that includes everything you need.
When you pick a cable company in Prosperity, SC, you want a provider that you can rely on to meet your needs and provide experienced help if you have any issues. CableTV.com considers the reliability of each cable and satellite companies—as well as how effectively they meet their customers' needs—before making recommendations. With our help, you can rest easy, knowing you'll get the service and support you want from your TV provider.


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- Project Fact
- Public Scoping Meeting
- Frequently Asked Questions
- NCC Exhibit Maps
- NCC Milestone Schedule
- Project Contacts
- Most Recent Mappin
Project Fact Sheet
Project Description and Purpose
The North County Corridor Project (SR-99 to SR-120) is a high-priority project for Stanislaus County, its communities and the growing urbanized cities of Modesto, Oakdale, and Riverbank. The purpose of the project is to ultimately build a west-east roadway that would improve regional network circulation, relieve existing traffic congestion, reduce traffic delay, accommodate future traffic, benefit commerce and enhance safety.
The purpose of this project phase is to identify a roadway alignment for a west-east facility from SR-108 (McHenry Avenue) north of the City of Modesto to SR-120 approximately six miles east of the City of Oakdale. This new roadway would be approximately 18 miles in length from a location on SR-219 (Kiernan Avenue) to a location on State Route 120 approximately six miles east of the City of Oakdale. The project may be an entirely new roadway or incorporated into the existing roadway network and would serve as a bypass for the cities of Riverbank, Oakdale and Modesto. The North County Corridor Transportation Expressway Authority anticipates that the ultimate facility would be planned as a multi-lane, access-controlled expressway/freeway, with interchanges, at-grade intersections, grade-separated railroad crossings, irrigation district crossings, frontage roads, and local street alignments.
Existing SR-108 functions as a "main street" passing through the congested downtown areas of Modesto, Oakdale, and Riverbank, in which the current transportation facility does not provide for efficient, reliable and continuous interregional travel. The trucks, recreational vehicles, and commuter traffic using SR-108 during peak travel times add to the congestion in these urban areas; and a significant increase in local and interregional traffic demand is expected in the coming years.
To plan for the freeway/expressway, the North County Corridor Transportation Expressway Authority was formed. The Authority consists of the cities of Modesto, Oakdale, and Riverbank; the County of Stanislaus; and ex-officio members Stanislaus Council of Governments (StanCOG) and the California Department of Transportation.
The North County Corridor (NCC) SR-108 East Route Adoption was approved by the California Transportation
Commission in May 2010. The adopted corridor provides for approximately 18 miles of freeway/expressway on new alignment from near SR-219 north of the City of Modesto and west of the City of Riverbank to SR-120 approximately six miles east of the City of Oakdale.
Various roadway alignment alternatives will be considered along with the "No Action" alternative during this project study. The proposed roadway would be built in existing unincorporated Stanislaus County and the "No Action" alternative would leave SR-108 in its existing condition.
Public Scoping Meetings were conducted on September 8, 2010, and September 13, 2010. The project team received input from the public on the various alignments to be considered. An initial screening of the alternatives resulted in the alignment alternatives shown in the above map. These final set of alternatives that will be studied in the environmental document was presented to the public at a project information meeting conducted on June 16, 2011. A public information meeting was held on March 6, 2014 to update the public on the project status and alternatives being studied. As the project progresses, there will be many opportunities for members of the public to be involved and provide comments or concerns.
Funding for this phase of the project is being provided by regional transportation impact fees and the state funding that was once part of the cancelled state Oakdale Bypass project.
Project Contacts
Department of Transportation
Caltrans, District 06
Attention: Scott Smith, Senior Environmental Planner
855 M Street, Suite 200
Fresno, CA 93721
(559) 445-6172
or email email@example.com
For general information about this project:
Joy Pinne, Caltrans Project Manager, email at email@example.com or by phone at (209) 948-7854
or Colt Esenwein, North County Corridor Transportation Expressway Authority Project Manager, email at firstname.lastname@example.com or by phone at (209) 525-4184.
For other state highway projects, please contact Caltrans District 10 Public Affairs at (209) 948-7977. Telecommunications Devices for the Deaf (TDD) users may contact the
California Relay Service at (800) 735-2929


text:
Edited press releaseThe Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation will sponsor a two-day workshop for presentations, panel discussions, and strategic planning concerning the welfare and safety of the Thoroughbred racehorse Oct. 16-17 at Keeneland in Lexington.The "Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit" will include discussion on statistics, racing surfaces, safety equipment, medication, economics of racing and breeding, racing office management, and breeding and training practices."Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation is committed to the health and well-being of all horses," said Ed Bowen, president of the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation. "Promoting health and soundness in Thoroughbreds is an important objective. Ultimately, we hope the findings will benefit all competitive breeds."A steering committee composed of prominent individuals in the Thoroughbred industry is developing an agenda and list of participants and presenters for the summit. Steering committee members include Dr. Larry Bramlage of Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital; Dr. Rick Arthur of the California Horse Racing Board; Sally Baker of the American Association of Equine Practitioners; Nick Nicholson of Keeneland; Dell Hancock and Ed Bowen of the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation; Dr. Ted Hill and Dan Fick of The Jockey Club; D.G. Van Clief Jr. of the Breeders' Cup and National Thoroughbred Racing Association; and Dr. Scot Waterman of the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium."We would like the participants to be free-thinking individuals from key organizations within the Thoroughbred industry and other fields of expertise that could have bearing on the issues of welfare and safety of racehorses," Arthur said.The Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation board of directors initiated the effort in 2005. The Jockey Club and Equibase Co. have begun researching existing studies on racing injuries and soundness, and developing pertinent statistical data from race records. "We hope what we learn on behalf of the soundness of the horse will also be beneficial to the overall racing, breeding, and sales aspects of the horse racing industry," said Dan Fick, executive vice president and executive director of The Jockey Club.
Prior to the summit, participants will be provided with the results of the research to be better able to analyze the issues from a variety of standpoints. Presentations will be given the morning of Oct. 16, followed by breakout groups and reports in the afternoon. Participants will meet again Oct. 17 to develop and recommend definitive action.
Racehorse Safety Summit Scheduled for October
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Welcome to the research guide for fish and aquatic sciences. Most resources linked off this guide are available online for CSU faculty, staff, students, or affiliates. Resources not online are usually located in the CSU Morgan Library.
Would you like to set up a research session with the librarian? Contact Jocelyn Boice.
If you are off-campus, connect to the CSU secure server, then you will have access to library resources, online journals, e-books, databases and more. go to https://secure.colostate.edu ; log-on with your EID, then clickon CSU Libraries under Web Bookmarks
More about Secure Access Gateway SSL VPN
More about EZ Proxy
Below are the top ranked and most commonly used databases for this subject area. Most, but not all, of the articles in these databases are scholarly/peer reviewed. For a complete list of databases, see the Find Electronic Resources & Databases page. You may also search by subject on the Databases page, select Fishery/Fisheries.
The databases below will help you find interesting articles like this:
Title: Estimation and Modeling of Electrofishing Capture Efficiency for Fishes in Wadeable Warmwater Streams.
North American Journal of Fisheries Management 30(2): 481 Apr 2010
OR this other article: Bioscience DOI: 10.1525/bio.2011.61.4.9
PNAS doi: 10.1073/pnas.1103097108


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Faith in Action Steuben County is a coalition of congregations, civic groups, and communities united to serve the elderly, assisting them to continue to live independently. We seek to augment, not replace, the individual's existing care structure. This support is provided at no cost to the recipients, by selfless volunteers who give care to people in need.
Donate to FIA
©2017 Faith in Action Steuben County.


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( 2 of 2 customers found this review helpful)
Figure Flattering, comfortable !!!!!!!
By GERTRUDE
from Canada,AB,CALGARY
I love the fabric. Purchased 2 sets, the colors I bought were blue and black.They are figure flattering, I bought medium. I am five foot five tall and this fit me beautifully and looks youthful !!!!!!!!! I am a young 50 years old and wanted to try this line for a while now. My 28 year old daughter wondered why I didn't buy one for her!!!!!!!Looks great with or without the bolero.
Bottom Line Yes, I would recommend this to a friend
2 piece shrug
By ALINE
from Canada,ON,OTTAWA
I only bought one when they were on special...I wish I would have bought every color at the time. I love it but would not pay [$] for another one.
( 3 of 3 customers found this review helpful)
extremely impressed
By ANTOINETTE
from Canada,ON,HILLSDALE
This is the first time buying this line. I was always afraid of the fit - however I bought two sweater sets and a pair of grey pants and they fit perfectly. I would advise when buying go by the measurements of yourself, you may have to buy a size larger - I did.
Excellent value!
By JANE
from Canada,BC,DEEP BAY
I bought this as a showstopper and the value was excellent. Very pretty and well-made. I will probably get another colour too.
great fit and style on this show stopper
By CORAL
from Canada,BC,SURREY
I want to let you know this is the first time i have bought nina leonard i purchased the show stopper in black in a 2xl. It was everything you said it was perfect fit. The armholes are cut just right and the sleeves are the right width for a larger women you have thought of everything.The weight of material lies just where you want it not to long not too short and hangs well without clinging. No women wants to feel uncomfortable and i just want to say thanks lennie i will purchase again the showstopper was a perfect way to get started. I can wear the cami with anything and the shrug i can wear with a dress or any other cami i wish to wear. I love the versitility of this item the value just keeps on giving.Yours sincerly coral in vancouver
Not Impressed
By Lou
from Canada,SK,MOOSE JAW
I was excited to order this showstopper as being new to the Lennie line of clothing my previous purchase was a shrug. It is great and I reach for it often. This shrug and cami set, however, was less than impressive. The arm length was too long for me and the beads weren't sewn on properly. I didn't enjoy the peacock color and the ivory is transparent. They both went back. Since I am new to the line I will try again as I see he is a favorite for many.
Bottom Line No, I would not recommend this to a friend
2 piece shrug:(
By shirl the shopper
from Rockland
I own this is the white after 1st washing the beads fell off the shrug. I am very disappointed in this line..
( 1 of 1 customers found this review helpful)
By ROSAMOND
from Canada,AB,PONOKA
didnt like the gold colour. shape or material


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Nevada State College Pipeline Program
The Nevada State College Pipeline program invites low-income, first-generation, under-represented minority undergraduate students to apply for a program that focuses on the development, verification, sharing, retrieval and utilization of new information and skills.
Instructional workshops consist of two components:
- Training undergraduates in the use of resources available through the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) and
- Certification training on state-of-the-art biotechnology instrumentation.
The skills and knowledge developed in these workshops will be put into practice in an ongoing mentored undergraduate research project investigating the water leaking from the canyon walls below the Lake Las Vegas dam by identifying the microorganisms inhabiting that niche.
More about the Nevada State College Pipeline Program
Biotech Training Offered NSC & UNLV Students Unprecedented Opportunity, Competitive Edge in Job Market
The first component of the program is based on the importance of biology / biotechnology information and informatics in biomedical fields. We have designed a 3-week curriculum that will guide students through the NCBI resources based on courses recently discontinued by NCBI. The second component focuses on molecular characterization by capillary electrophoresis.
Specifically, students will develop analytical skills using four Beckman Coulter PA 800 capillary electrophoresis instruments housed at Nevada State College in a weeklong certification workshop. We will conduct this program twice each year (summer and winter breaks) for 30 students in each session.
Week 1: NCBI Mini-Course
- Day 1: Bioinformatics Quick Start
- Day 2: Making Sense of DNA and Protein Sequences
- Day 3: Unmasking Genes in the Human Genome
- Day 4: Identification of Disease Genes
- Day 5: Project 1: Integrating Week 1 Mini-Courses
Week 2: NCBI Mini-Course
- Day 6: Correlating Disease Genes and Phenotypes
- Day 7: BLAST Quick Start
- Day 8: Entrez Gene Quick Start
- Day 9: Structural Analysis Quick Start
- Day 10: Project 2: Integrating Week 2 Mini- Courses
Week 3: NCBI Mini-Course
- Day 11: MapViewer Quick Start
- Day 12: GenBank Quick Start
- Day 13: Entrez Quick Start
- Day 14: Microbial Genomes Quick Start
- Day 15: Project 3: Integrating Week 3 Mini-Courses


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Midcap Energy Stocks To Buy #2: HollyFrontier (HFC)
Refiners live and die by their margins. If crack spreads are too tight, profits are dwindled down to nothing. Luckily for midcap refiner HollyFrontier (HFC), it's still enjoying pretty juicy margins on its refined products.
That's because HFC's five refineries are all located in the center of the United States, right smack in the middle of West Texas Intermediate crude country. And as we've seen, the WTI-Brent crack spread has been quite rich the last few years. That has helped Holly produce some pretty impressive profits.
And with the WTI-Brent spread recently getting wider, HFC should be able to keep churning out those revenues.
Holly should also keep churning out dividends as well.
Since launching in 2011, HFC has managed to return about $2.2 billion worth of cash back to shareholders via dividends and buybacks. The latest was special 50-cent dividend, in addition to upping its regular payout by 6.7%. HFC stock currently yields 2.6% and trades for a forward P/E of less than 10. As far as midcap energy stocks go, HFC is on its way to becoming a dividend champion.


text:
De Blasio wants to Speed Up Sandy Recovery
Mayor Bill de Blasio is announcing a plan today to help homeowners still struggling to rebuild after Hurricane Sandy.
The Wall Street Journal says 1,500 New Yorkers could be hit with higher property taxes after repairing their homes. Even if a homeowner restored their house to its condition before Sandy, it's expected to increase the value of their home and raise their property taxes.
"For New Yorkers impacted by Sandy, every dollar makes a difference," de Blasio said through a spokeswoman. "By making sure that these homeowners aren't forced to pay higher taxes - on top of everything else they've already dealt with - we can provide them with vital financial relief when they need it most."
Mayor de Blasio will push Albany to provide these homeowners with a tax break. But time is running out, as the city is expected to send out property tax bills in about six weeks. The city controls its property tax rate, but special abatements have to be approved by Governor Andrew Cuomo and the state legislature.
An aide for Governor Cuomo said the governor is open to reviewing the proposal. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver is said to support tax breaks for Sandy victims.
Source: Wall Street Journal
Photo Credit: Getty Images


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Submit News
NASA Mars Rover Curiosity: So Far, So Good
Tiffany Kaiser
November 28, 2011 8:39 AM
Recipient E-mail
Sender E-mail
NASA's Curiosity
(Source: nasa.gov)
After launching Saturday, MSL is in good health and ready to continue its long journey to Mars
NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) spacecraft blasted off towards the Red Planet this past weekend, and a recent signal from the MSL indicated that everything was proceeding as planned.
On November 26, NASA's MSL, also known as
the Curiosity rover
, was sent to Mars via the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. It took off from Space Launch Complex 41 on the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
NASA rover Curiosity is a $2.5 billion nuclear-powered machine meant for the exploration of Mars in hopes of finding evidence of microscopic life. It is the size of a Mini Cooper, and about four times as heavy as the Spirit and Opportunity Mars rovers. Curiosity has a large robot arm, a weather station, a laser that can vaporize rocks at seven meters, a percussive drill, and 4.8kg of plutonium-238.
After separating from the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, officials back on the ground received a signal from the rover that all was well and that Curiosity is on its way to Mars.
"Our spacecraft is in excellent health and it's on its way to Mars," said Pete Theisinger, MSL Project Manager from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California.
It will take about eight and a half months for Curiosity to travel 345 million miles to Mars. When it finally arrives in August 2012, it will be lowered onto the Martian surface in a protective aeroshell via a jet pack and tether system.
Curiosity will then explore
the Gale Crater for at least two years, which is an area that is rich in minerals and may provide clues as to whether Mars had or has life.
"Science fiction is now science fact," said Doug McCuisition, director of the Mars Exploration Program at NASA Headquarters. "We're flying to Mars. We'll get it on the ground, and see what we find."
Curiosity is NASA's most sophisticated Mars rover, and the space agency expects the rover to put about 12 miles on its odometer during this venture. It is also the third space mission to launch since the
retirement of the NASA space shuttle fleet
"Mars really is the Bermuda Triangle of the solar system," said Colleen Hartman, assistant associate administrator for science at NASA. "It's the death planet, and the United States of America is the only nation in the world that has ever landed and driven robotic explorers on the surface of Mars, and now we're set to do it again."
"I mean, if you wanna break down someone's door, why don't you start with AT&T, for God sakes? They make your amazing phone unusable as a phone!" -- Jon Stewart on Apple and the iPhone
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text:
Dodge Repair Questions? Ask a Mechanic for Answers ASAP
HiCustomer welcome to Just Answer!.
It's kind of a tough call at this point. I'd like for you to check right at the starter solenoid for a good crank signal out of the starter relay when it's not cooperating. The relay output has to travel through the Power Distribution Center and out at least one connector to get there and things can happen along the way. The relay itself can be a problem, although it's a pretty rare occurrence. Exchanging the starter relay for another one from a non-critical location might tell you something. Jumpering the circuit right at the relay connectors is also an option. Pins 30 and 87 of the relay (printed under the relay body) will send power straight to the starter solenoid when jumpered together. If it still doesn't get power to the starter, we'd need to take a closer look at the wiring or the PDC itself.
It wouldn't hurt to check for codes stored in your engine controller (PCM). Turn the key off/ on three times and watch the odometer. Any codes stored will be displayed, with "P-done" or simply "done" displayed at the end of the test. If something comes up, write me back.
Ooof. The whole problem may be with the PCM not being awake or a Sentry Key situation. Or either system is OK, but the communication bus is down.
I didn't see anything in your first post that indicated the van would die while driving, it was just a no-crank no-start problem. Let me know if it's something other than that.
Let's check the vehicle communication bus for voltage. Go to the data link connector and find the #2 pin. This would be the top row, second pin from the left if the connector is oriented so that the wider portion is on top. Check it with the key on and your meter set on 20 volts.
A normal PCI bus voltage is somewhere between 1 and 2 volts, made up of multitudes of voltage spikes. The bus is flat dead at rest, so voltage is put ON it to produce a communcation signal, unlike the old CCD bus.
If it's OK right now and working take note of the voltage during a good time like that and compare it to when it's not feeling so well.
The relay click you first described reminded me of something like this, where the starter relay is very briefly energized, then the ground (neutral safety) path is removed. It sounds like a light <tick> rather than the whole click.
Check underhood for signs of battery acid leakage. If it gets bad enough it will seep into a section of harness that runs directly below the battery tray and contaminate the individual circuit insulation of each wire. Voltage from unrelated circuits can bleed across that way and if it gets into the PCI bus... it can get ugly. If you see much more voltage than expected, this might be the first place to look. It requires removal of the tray.
I have to send this as an answer, but don't consider accepting it until we've made some real progress.
Good luck and keep me posted!
Well, it's good to have it back at home anyway lol! What you saw on the bus voltage test and the 1-2-3 key test for codes now is what I'd expect on a working van. It's pretty clear that the bus was down (up?) for whatever reason before, so there's a pretty good chance that engine start was interrupted by the anti-theft system.
Let's try something for the next time that it acts up. Even if the bus goes down, the PCM should still be intact and unaffected by the event other than not allowing the engine to start. Having no codes stored after something like this makes me wonder if the PCM itself may be to blame.
By setting a code of your choosing, we will know better next time after it wakes up whether the PCM is losing memory during the down times. I tend to use the throttle position sensor as my code-of-choice, but pretty much anything will do. Just disconnect the TPS with the key on or running and when you see a MIL illumination with the engine running, we've set the trap. Scan it to see the exact code and then check it again the next time it wakes back up.
A battery disconnect will clear codes, so make sure it doesn't lose battery power between now and then.
Being a newer owner, you won't know what's been done to the van in its past. Look for stuff like aftermarket radio, theft system, remote start, entertainment systems... stuff that requires cutting into the harnesses or running screws into the vehicle at various points. If you find the bus wire to go low (shorted to ground), we might be looking at a harness rub or dangling wire short. A higher voltage might be a voltage bleed from another circuit or an intermittently-bad module on the bus. These things can take some time to sort out, but if you're good with that... so am I.
Talk later, Ed
I'm surprised too! It's my understanding that the MIL might go out after so many successful starts (good trips) but the code should remain for quite some time. But if you haven't even had a no-start event since the P0123 was set... I'm not sure what to say.
Plan B would be to set the same code if you wind up with a no-crank condition again. Do the same thing, then check to see if the code actually set while the engine couldn't be started. That would tell us (somewhat) whether the PCM was active during the down time.
Another thing you can do to get an idea whether the PCM is awake is to listen for a one-second run of the fuel pump at key-on. No cranking required. It should fire the pump if it's awake but it won't keep it energized until it sees the engine turning (cam/ crank signal). No pump operation takes us in the direction of the PCM or its powers/ grounds/ wiring.
OK, I got ya. Check it out to see one way or the other.
Thanks Budman,
Thanks Bud. Good info is always appreciated! I don't use workarounds like this in real life, so it's an ongoing process and your feedback is very useful.. Our scan tools have the depth to tell us if the PCM has recently lost memory, etc., so I'm kinda making up some of this stuff as I go.
It's worth checking, but it doesn't explain why the PCM was a no-respnse at one point. Even in SKIM lockdown, I believe there should be communication possible with the PCM. But it's sure worth checking out because I can't account for every possibility...
Good thought, Bud. I guess all those years of wrenching weren't for nothing, huh?
'Mornin, Bud! That church parking lot seems to be one of its favorites, doesn't it lol?
Losing the TPS code makes it look bad for the PCM. I'm not completely sure as I sit here this morning (day off) whether a short to the 5v power feeds on your major sensors will take this controller completely down. The NGC unit uses two 5v generators and I think it was designed for this purpose... to keep the engine running in the case of an intermittent short. It's one of those things I need to bone up on because it really happens so seldom on the newer vehicles.
Did you trade keys with Chelsea before this happened? It just occurred to me that you may have a separate theft system from the SKIM (grey key) functions. If you use the power lock switch to lock the van as exiting, it sets the alarm. If the unlock switch in the door fails as you manually unlock the van later, the theft system will be activated. Having no lights and horn, that theory seems pretty weak, but I thought I'd include it anyway.
Since there's a possibility that moisture might play a part, create some of your own. Give the underhood a soaking and see if it will act up for you. A hot engine will create some extra steam, which might be good. Close the hood and let it steam-soak for a bit and see what happens.
One last question for now... how many miles does the van have on it?
Thanks Bud. It was a shot in the dark, but I had to ask. If the door alarm (VTSS) was really at fault, there would be all kinds of noise and lights flashing... which you don't have.
I'm leaning pretty heavily toward the PCM at this point as being your problem. It doesn't fit perfectly because I'd expect it to die while driving at least occasionally. But all you have is a no-crank no-start every once in a while. WITH NO CODES.
The loss of the TPS code is one of the major reasons I'm going this way right now. It would be nice to know if the fuel pump humms for a second at key-on and what the PCI voltage is while the van is disabled/ down. But loss of communication alone should cheese off the PCM enough to have it set codes of its own, including SKIM transponder key codes. The PCM almost has to be asleep during these times.
The good news is that it should be covered free of charge under the extended 8 years, 80,000 mile Federal emission warranty. The trick will be convincing your local Dodge dealer to replace it for you based on what we've seen here. They may insist on seeing the van act up and getting a positive diagnosis before releasing a (rather expensive) PCM and we both know the trick is getting the van to act up!
New thought. There was a recall a few years ago for PCM connectors having problems with water intrusion. The weatherpack was getting bunched up during installation on the PCM and might provide the avenue for water entry. In the right place, water could short across circuits and possibly take the bus down or something similar. I don't remember the exact year for the recall, but it's right around the same as your van.
The PCM lives in a rather inhospitable place, just below and to the rear of the left headlamp. If you lie on the ground and slide under the front skirt of the van you will see it tucked up just behind the left wheel well splash shield. I don't know how much you can tell from there, but the recall involved looking at the connectors (4 in all) to see if weatherpack was bunched up in the release tab area. This is the top of the connector, the side you can't see without a mirror.
If you decide to pull the connectors off for inspection, there is a red slide-lock that must be pulled outward from the PCM direction. Then the black thumb release tab will click when pressed and the connector will come off. Be prepared for plenty of road crud in the eyes (lol)!
The recall had us replacing the connector(s) as required if the weather pack was damaged or if there was green groties-type of corrosion within the socket. In the case of groties, it got a new controller.
Regardless (at this point) of whether the recall applied to your van or not, check it out for weather-tightness. A garden hose shot might be the trick... it's off the normal underhood area, so hosing this spot won't affect anything else. It gets a fair amount of road spray while driving, too.
If the bus got shorted to voltage while driving, the SKIM system wouldn't be activated until the next key cycle, either. The engine won't die while driving once SKIM has given the OK to start on the last key cycle. If the loss of bus communication isn't noticed, the next attempt to start will be when the no-start will show up.
Finally... maybe something that makes some sense. It's not perfect either, Bud, but maybe you can help me out here!
Good luck,
OK. Good luck!
Good work Bud! There are repair packages for the NGC connectors. While it will likely come with far more stuff than you actually need, but it will certainly have enough.
All the connectors on the NGC unit are interchangable.. can be plugged in at any location. The way that they prevent this is to color code the connector and the PCM. If you can tell what color the connector is, it would be best to replace it with one that's the same... just so nobody has trouble down the road. The colors are black (C1), orange, white and green (C4). I don't recall the order for the center two and it may be an issue when you go to buy/ order one, so count from the black connector to the green (C1 thru C4). I'm pretty sure the far-front connector is the black/ C1 unit.
All the existing wires and terminals in the harness can be transferred, but it's quite likely one or more terminals may need to be replaced. The kit comes with enough pigtails to replace EVERY terminal in the connector... and then some!
But I have to warn you.. sometimes it's the connector, sometimes it's the module. The NGC connector inserts pretty solidly into the PCM mount, making it difficult to wiggle the connector only. It's going to move the electrical board within the controller box, so that may actually be the problem. If you can't find a thing wrong with the terminals or wiring, it may very well be that you need a PCM (a covered component).
Take another look to be sure that there are no terminals pushed out from near-flush on the controller side and no water/ corrosion present inside the connector mold. Pull on the individual wires to see if a conductor might be broken within the wire insulation. Something like this could be nothing worse than a loss of power or ground to the controller.
A quick look at the PCM terminals a socket would be good, just to see if there's any sign of obvious discoloration/ corrosion/ damage/ moisture. Your PCM may have taken a hit at some time to start this, but it shouldn't matter for warranty purposes. You have no knowledge of an accident or what caused it to have these two damaged connector molds. There's no way to tell for sure if the damage or stalling are even related.
But since you've gotten the engine not only to be in a no-start state, but gotten it to stall, I'd have to say you're 99% of the way to the finish! The stalling, something that hadn't happened before, is the best news I could hope for right now!
Bud, it fits! Gawd I love it when things make sense. That's a B+ wire! Road salt does damage of this sort over time from a small wound like that... eats the wire from the inside out.
The corrosion will stop once you get it sealed, but it probably extends at least an inch in either direction... maybe more. Solder doesn't stick well to "green" wire, so you might have to cut it back a fair distance either way. If there isn't enough wire left at the connector, a pigtail might be the best way to go. You would have to buy that whole kit to get a single pigtail or I could send you one in the mail if you can wait that long. Add in some self-sealing shrink tube and it'll be as good as new!
If that's OK with you, send me a mailing address through the Private Messaging system here at JA unless you're comfortable with having your name and address visible to anyone with access to the site.
To get there, click on dodgerench at the bottom left of this post. It takes you to my profile, where there will be a PM tab that you can click. It's just email from that point. I promise you it will be no trouble and I'll include a brief step-by-step for terminal removal.
Great work Bud! I do love a happy ending :o)
Very kind words, Bud! Don't forget that you're the one that found the problem and will be fixing it LOL! I'm all good with what you posted with your question for payment. Feedback is bonus!
Hearing that you're back on the road and happy is really the best part. If I never had the opportunity to work with great folks like yourself I'd just stick to my day job. The expererience that we had here with a rather unusual problem will help me do better in the future, so I'm thankful as well.
Take care, Bud! Write back any time.


text:
The Mormon Church has apparently given its approval to a proposed change in Boy Scouts rules that would allow gay teens to join and the wingnuts are losing their mind over it. Unsurprisingly, Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality had one of the more amusing responses:
The AFTAH president says there have been cases over the years of boys being molested by homosexual predators in the Boy Scouts.
"Look, this is a church which is outside of Christendom," he explains. "Mormons can change their core beliefs and call it a divine transformation. They did it with polygamy; they did it with racism – and now I'm afraid, I'm very afraid, that they're going to do it with homosexuality."
It's a good thing no churches inside of Christendom have ever done that. Like the Southern Baptist Convention, which was formed to defend slavery. I mean, they haven't changed their "core beliefs" or anything and claimed divine sanction for it. Oh wait, they did. And all those churches that preached and fought against rescinding laws against interracial marriage. And the Catholic Church didn't used to torture Jews and others to force them to convert to Christianity. Oh wait, they did. "Christendom" has changed massively over the centuries, despite the pretenses of ignorant assholes like LaBarbera.


text:
[Date Index]
[Thread Index]
[Author Index]
Re: Reading 16-bit TIFF Images into Mathematica
Not a supported format? See the Help browser under "Import". TIFF appears
there as one of the supported formats (unless, of course, you are using an
older version of Mathematica, where "Import" had not been implemented) .
Tomas Garza
Mexico City
----- Original Message -----
From: "Kari Krueckl" <kkrueckl at scf.sk.ca>
To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
Subject: [mg31308] [mg31278] Reading 16-bit TIFF Images into Mathematica
> Hi,
> I am a Mathematica beginner and am having a little trouble. I am
> scanning 12-bit images that are being converted to 16-bit grayscale
> TIFFs. I need to read the 16-bit TIFF files in Mathematica. I realize
> that this is not a supported format and I am not concerned about
> displaying the image in Mathematica. I only need to some how import and
> manipulate the 16-bit grayscale data from the file. Is there any way to
> extract the data array? Or directly read the file into Mathematica?
> Any help would be greatly appreciated.
> Thank you,
> Kari Krueckl
> kkrueckl at scf.sk.ca


text:
A truly fantastic doctor!
i had been calling the office for a few days, worried about a growth on my scalp and that it was cancer.
Dr Hansen did not hesitate to see me ASAP. he came in at 9am Saturday morning just to see me and thoroughly examined me from head to toe.
I am a totally difficult patient and fuss about everything and he made me feel so very comfortable and relaxed. before i knew it i had 2 moles cut out and 15 moles lasered off my chest and neck. (see after photo!)
I will continue to see him and only him from now on with all my skin and cosmetic needs.
Cannot recommend him enough!


text:
I used a combination of CDBI and Maypole to build an ecommerce website in a small ammount of spare time and that included learning both and setting up a new server for it all from scratch.
The front end uses CDBI and custom mod_perl handlers, the backend uses Maypole and the same CDBI classes and different authentication to the frontend. Many of the underlying modules are re-used and I suspect I could re-use and share a lot more code between the front and back
Using Maypole and CDBI meant I was able to very quickly prototype how I wanted the application to work and populate it with data and relationships before building the front end.
The templates provided are easy to customise, and authentication and authorisation are getting better support with more ready-rolled modules.
If you are using CDBI then it is a no-brainer to use Maypole on top. Otherwise both your application and Maypole may require some extra work.
Fortunately, there is pretty active development and enthusiastic users who know what they want and need, I think that it will quickly overcome some of its current limitation - the Mason View developers have learned from the TT View included at the start and this should feed back to improve the TT views some more. Extensions and improvements to CDBI also allow it to grow as do more recipes, documentations and Maypole CPAN modules.
It might be quicker to ensure the limitations that affect you are fixed or resolved with Maypole than to go your own way.. YMMV of course
I had a chat with Richard Clamp afterwards and we were discussing CDBI. I had a few misconceptions about it, and although I have tried it, it didn't feel like I was getting a benefit from it. Rich said there is a jump in the learning curve that is a bit like learning a second language with CDBI, where a switch gets fl


text:
of Conflict and State BuildingPrinceton UniversityFriday May 18, 2012Corwin Hall Room 127
Breakfast: 8.30am
Introductory Remarks: 9.00 – 9.05 am Kosuke Imai (Princeton) Panel 1: 9.05 – 10.35 am Title: "Patterns of Corruption and Drug-related Crime in Mexican Politics"
Ana de la O (Yale)
Looking Beyond the Incumbent: The Effects of Exposing Corruption on Electoral Outcomes (with Alberto Chong, Dean Karlan, and Leonard Wantchekon)
Vidal Romero (ITAM)
The Enemy at Home: Exploring the Social Roots of Criminal Organizations in Mexico (with Beatriz Magaloni and Alberto Díaz-Cayeros)
Disscussant: Carlos Velasco RiveraPanel 2: 10.50 – 12.20 pm Title: "Observational Studies and Causal Inference: Lessons from the Afghanistan War"
Jason Lyall (Yale)
Dynamic Coercion in Civil War: Evidence from Air Operations in Afghanistan
Can insurgents be deterred during civil war or, alternatively, are they essentially undeterrable, having already decided ex ante to pay the costs of taking up arms? Despite an enormous literature on interstate deterrence, there are surprisingly few studies of whether the lessons of deterrence translate to the civil war battlefield. I draw on a new dataset of airstrikes and shows of force---where bombing runs are simulated but no weapons are released---in Afghanistan (2006-11) to examine how insurgents respond to (threatened) coercion. Matching via a relational database is used to pair bombed and threatened villages with similar locations to isolate the causal effects of both coercion and threats on the location and timing of insurgent attacks. I also examine whether the effects of airstrikes are conditional on the nature of civilian casualties they inflict and underlying population characteristics such as ethnicity or prior exposure to violence.
Jake Shapiro (Princeton)
Cellular Communication and Political Contestation: Evidence from Afghanistan (with Joshua Blumenstock, Michael Callen, and Tarek Ghani)
Lunch:12.30 pm – 1.50 pm
Panel 3:2.00 – 3.30 pm
Title: "State-building, Political Stability, and the legacy of Civil War in Africa"
Michael Gilligan (NYU)
Can Community Driven Development Programs Foster Social Cohesion after Civil War
Leonard Wantchekon (Princeton)
The Institutional Legacy of African Independence Movements (with Omar García-Ponce)
Disscussant: Scott AbramsonPanel 4:3.45 – 5.15 pm
Title: "Representation, Accountability, and the Provision of
Public Goods in Weak States"
Oeindrila Dube (NYU)
'White Man's Burden'? Experimental Evidence on Foreigner Presence and Generosity (with Jacobus Cilliers and Bilal Siddiqi)
Fotini Christia (MIT)
"Following the Food Aid: Experimental Evidence on the Effect of Local Institutions on Governance Quality"
Disscussant: Graeme Blair
Poster Session: 5.30 – 6.30 pm
Dinner (Witherspoon Grill): 7.00 – 9.00 pm


text:
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/9/2012 (1764 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
NEW YORK, N.Y. - Robin Roberts has thanked her viewers for their support as she faces a bone marrow transplant.
The "Good Morning America" co-anchor sent a video message taped from her New York hospital bed for airing on the program Thursday, which is the day she's set to have the transplant.
Declaring that "thoughts are so powerful," Roberts told her audience: "I feel the love and I thank you for it."
Roberts' transplant comes after 11 days spent in the hospital and eight days of chemotherapy to prepare her for the procedure. The donor is her older sister, Sally-Ann Roberts.
In June, the 51-year-old Roberts disclosed that she has MDS, a rare blood disorder.
Her last day on "GMA" was Aug. 30 before she began extended medical leave from the ABC morning show.


text:
The Citizen ST-655 is a neat little feature. This handheld TV has one telescopic antenna that incorporates the CSM (Citizen Super Matrix), technology, a system that upgrades picture quality, which compliments the 2.2IN with 62,400 pixels. The TV reception is very good on the move (The Simpsons is a good example of an excellent picture). This does however depend on your position according to TV antennae and boosters?amplifiers. So, if you are in a car and the terrain is not even, you may find trying to maintain a reasonable picture quite difficult. However, if you are stationary, finding the perfect picture is not hard and the quality is exceptional. The sound is surprisingly crisp and speech is easily recognisable (similar to TV standards). Just remember to take earphones with you if you are watching in the car as the volume will not exceed the sound coming from your engine (WHATEVER car you have!!!). Let's go to the technical side of things. The battery life-span is excellent. Provided with 4 AA batteries, one set lasted me for about 5 hours at least (longer than the projected 3 hours as stated on the package). There is also the option of an AC adaptor and/or a car adaptor which connects to the cigarette lighter. These are all at additional costs. Unfortunately, no A.V. input for camcorder playback although the later models provide this feature for a couple more bucks! So, for the record: Screen Size: 2.2IN. / 5.6cm (33.6mm x 44.6mm) No. of Pixels: 62,400 (130 x 480) Power Supply: AA battery x 4 Dimensions: 82 (W) x 128 (H) x 34.5 (D)(all measurements shown in mm) Weight: 220gr without batteries
I bought a hand held television, because I kept seeing them advertised. I wanted something that I could take out with me, or for when I was sitting in the garden. I decided to buy a Citizen ST655. This little television is really smart, it's got a 2in screen, and the picture quality is excellent. I only paid £59.99 for it, it's good for when you are sitting in the garden on a Saturday afternoon, and you want to watch the sport. Also when you go out for a day trip, you don't have to miss your favourite program. I wouldn't class it, as serious television watching it's more of a fun novelty television.
The one that i'll review is the ST-555/655/955. Citizen or a Casio.... thats the dilemma. Both at Argos both at a decent price, but DONT BE FOOLED.. The citizen are MUCH better for the cheaper price... (compared to the similar price casio, that is..!) Basically the better features include: Better sound. Higher pixel rate, meaning much clear picture. STN display. May sound fancy, but its like having a darker and MORE QUality display. Brilliant for watching at an angle. Yep that may sound like a little extra, but if you are going to pay for it, then you may as well get the better version. In summary, stay clear of the cheap quality casio's and invest in a citizen. You'll be glad you did.


text:
> Lastly, I urge everyone that has not made a donation to consider making
> This is a great software package and I think the effort deserves our
> financial support.
This is one of the reasons I'm considering selling pre-loaded CF cards and
adapters. It'd make m0n0wall even more widespread, and earn some money for
both the project developer(s), and myself.
If I did go that route, I'd just periodically work out how much I've earned
and transfer some as a donation via PayPal.


text:
Handprint Press
sprouted in about 2001, growing off a small, cluttered desk in a small cabin, next to a little cob studio, in a sizeable garden, bounded by creek, forest, and neighbors, human and wild.
The first book off the press was Build Your Own Earth Oven, a sculptor's treatment of traditional earthen building, art, and bread. I (Kiko) had taken an earthen building workshop with Ianto Evans and the Cob Cottage Company, but at the time, I didn't have a place to build a house. So I started building mud ovens, a simple kind of sculpture that also bore wonderful bread. When people saw pictures they wanted their own, so I taught some workshops. I wrote up notes for folks to take home, added pictures and drawings, made a pamphlet, sold 1,000, expanded text and drawings, borrowed $5K from my brother, sent the files to the printer, boom! Hand Print Press.
As I learned about working with earth, new ideas and projects took root in the mud, most of them educational or community-oriented, resulting in two more little books: Dig Your Hands in the Dirt, and Make a Simple Sundial.
All mud, art, and making go back to one idea. I first learned it (as most do) from my mother, who learned not only from her mom, but also at New York City's famous "little red schoolhouse," where learning by doing was the core curriculum (her teacher was "Miss Doing", really!)
In the midst of a long career as an artist, Mom spent several years directing the Boston Childrens' Museum visitors' center, where she helped develop ground-breaking programs for hands-on learning. I spent many Saturdays helping her teach paper-making, weaving with straws, rope-winding, etc. Mom later turned her hand-drawn project notes into a best-selling book called Making Things, A Handbook of Creative Discovery. Nearly 30 years later, Little, Brown let it go out of print, so I picked it up for my own kids' generation. It turned my two-book operation into a real (if small) publishing concern.
In 2010, colleagues and fellow artists Max and Eva Edleson expanded our industry from one to two cottages. Since then, Max has re-built the website, and he and Eva have written and produced Build Your Own Barrel Oven, which introduces another variety of wood-fired oven to feed what seems to be a growing hunger for simple, wood-fired, communal hearths.
Max, Eva, Hannah, and I have taught many workshops where people have come to learn by doing: making bread, building ovens and cob cottages, and regaining a tangible, physical connection to their own lives and their own well-being. And while books can't replace experience, they seem to help. People read, and take away inspiration. We have heard from many who went from having never built a thing in their lives, to building ovens, homes, gardens, businesses, and new kinds of lives, more free from 30 year mortgages, hateful jobs, artificial food, and toxic competition for illusionary goals.
We maintain the site as a way to share our joy in handcraft, art, food, agriculture, community, and culture; to tell stories, take photographs, write, draw, teach, learn, and dream of a world where work and art and community all combine in joy and gratitude and grace.
We work as individuals; each of us takes responsibility for what he or she publishes, but "to publish" means "to make public." That means we're also accountable for what we say. Formerly, when it took lots of money to print and distribute books, publishers took responsibility for the authors they published, and placed themselves squarely between reader and writer. Now, the tools for public speech are so broadly available that individuals publish as easily as posting a blog or youtube video.
Have technology and the internet create a more "free" press? Perhaps. Have technology and the internet further fragmented an already divided public? Probably. Much of what's "published" on the web would otherwise never leave the private realm of personal and family relations. In Greek, the word for private is "idiotikos." It seems to me that private idiocy takes over when individuals can't successfully participate in the healthy public life of a whole community.
Can technology and the internet bring us together to make stronger communities? Or will greed and profit rule the day? We'll see. Meanwhile, we put up our work here to cultivate common soil so all may feed and flourish.
In addition to books, we bake bread, tend the garden, watch our kids, make and build things, teach, and trade with friends and neighbors. We live well, below "the poverty line," but reap rich rewards in time, friends, and freedom.
We hope for a craft economy, that is, a way of life by which we count what we do not in dollars but in beauty, in the goodness of work, food, fellowship, and grace, without need of global trade, global finance, or global war. Despite our participation in those things, we do our best to live by principles of equity and simplicity.
Craft Economy
In the same way that we are more than the books we write, you the reader are more than your money. When you buy a book direct from us, you're supporting Max and Kiko and their families, as well as the folks at Bang Printing (Kim, Perry, Phil, Chris, and Jill, who – among others – cover everything from estimating to printing to warehousing and shipping). The other books we sell either come from folks we know and work with, or are books we have learned from and used ourselves, so what we offer here we see as pieces of a larger work-in-common that aims not only to make ovens, homes, heat and food, but a culture that spawns more freedom and less anxiety. Dollars spent here don't end up with faceless corporations, anonymous investors, uninvolved advertisers, or slick PR or marketing staff.
Chelsea Green Books, which distributes some of our titles, is owned by all their employees and works in a similar spirit.
We're not trying to compete with Amazon and such faceless giants. We've set up this site mostly as a service or a signature, a kind of security for anyone who buys our books and might want to know where and who they come from. And while we'd rather not spend the time in front of a computer, we recognize that every purchase requires a real person, and since purchasing has shifted to the web, we're participating as best we can.
The truth of economy (from the Greek word for "home") asks us to recognize that we don't really make our own lives but receive them as a gift from a source greater than ourselves – no matter how great our "economic growth." The business has been a huge gift to us, from the experiences (and families) that gave us the skills and information to participate in things we love to do, to the fraternal loan that paid for the first print run of the first book. It supports us in making our own homes and shelters, growing as much of our food as we can, raising our kids, and working in our communities. Whatever gifts we offer, whether books or stories or connections, all is thanks, in recognition that the wealth we enjoy is not ours to keep, but to share.
– Kiko
(Web) Site Design
We tried to organize the site to be clear, transparent, and as useful as possible; sort of like a book!
We're hoping to reach more people in more places with useful do-it-yourself and learning-by-doing information while also allowing ourselves, as much as possible, to live rurally, farm, and practice our crafts. If the site saves us and others from using petroleum resources while enriching communication with people who are interested in some of the same things we're interested in, then we'll have succeeded.
We use Dreamhost Web Hosting and WordPress. The bookstore is powered by Shopp, a WordPress plugin.
All feedback is appreciated.


text:
Broadcast and cable news gave GOP free air time for new fearmongering terrorism ad
Research ››› ››› SIMON MALOY
The Republican National Committee's (RNC) new political ad -- featuring clips of Osama bin Laden and other terrorists making threats against the United States and clips of explosions -- has not yet aired as a paid advertisement, but broadcast and cable news networks have already played portions of it several times as part of their news programming -- essentially giving the RNC the opportunity to fearmonger on their airwaves free of charge.
On October 19, the Republican National Committee (RNC) announced the release of a new advertisement, titled "Stakes," that features clips of Osama bin Laden and other terrorists making threats against the United States and clips of explosions, with a ticking clock and a heartbeat playing in the background. According to the RNC press release: "The ad highlights the high stakes America faces in the global war on terror by using the words of the terrorists themselves as they describe their intention towards the United States." On October 20, the RNC announced that it "has purchased advertising time on national cable news outlets to air the ad on television on Sunday, October 22." The broadcast and cable news networks, however, have already played portions of the ad several times as part of their news programming -- essentially giving the RNC the opportunity to fearmonger on their airwaves free of charge.
MSNBC aired portions of the ad at least three times on October 20 -- during the 9 a.m., 10 a.m., and 11 a.m. ET editions of MSNBC News Live. The 9 a.m. edition featured RNC press secretary Tracey Schmitt defending the ad and Democratic National Committee communications director Karen Finney criticizing it. Similarly, the 10 a.m. edition featured conservative radio host Michael Graham and radio host "Lionel" (real name: Michael LeBron), who defended and criticized the ad, respectively. On the 11 a.m. edition, the advertisement was aired during a segment featuring Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) and Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD). Price defended the ad's message, but anchor and MSNBC chief Washington correspondent Norah O'Donnell ended the segment before Van Hollen could offer his response. Portions of the ad were also aired on the October 20 broadcast of NBC's Today during a report by chief White House correspondent David Gregory, who simply noted that the ad "highlight[ed] the threat to America."
The October 20 edition of CNN's American Morning aired portions of the ad three times. Co-host Miles O'Brien, at one point, said the ad "tries to refocus voters on the war on terror," and CNN senior political analyst Bill Schneider compared it to the infamous "Daisy" ad run by Lyndon Johnson's campaign during the 1964 presidential election, suggesting it may not resonate with voters because "voters are fearful, perhaps, that this administration has become too provocative and confrontational." Earlier in the program, co-host Soledad O'Brien also made the "Daisy" comparison, but noted simply that that GOP ad is "an attempt at another powerful message there."
Portions of the ad also aired on the October 20 edition of CNN's Your World Today, which also featured a response from Finney: "Once again, we see that the GOP will truly do and say anything regardless of whether or not it's true. They are so desperate to hold on to power." Later, on the October 20 edition of CNN Newsroom, Schneider again made the comparison to "Daisy," and again noted that the ad may not work because polling shows that Americans do not feel safer because of the Iraq war.
Fox News aired a portion of the ad on the October 20 edition of Fox News Live; anchor E.D. Hill described it as "hard-hitting," and then discussed the ad with House Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-MO), who defended the ad despite claiming that he had not yet seen it. Portions of the ad were also aired on the October 20 edition of Fox News' Your World; host Neil Cavuto described it as "pretty strong stuff" and discussed the ad with Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA), who also defended its content despite claiming not to have seen it.
None of the broadcasts featured any contemporaneous Democratic advertisements.
- Network/Outlet
- Fox News Channel, MSNBC, NBC, CNN
- Show/Publication
- FOX News Live, Today Show, American Morning, MSNBC Live, Your World w/ Neil Cavuto, Your World Today, CNN Newsroom
- Stories/Interests
- Propaganda/Noise Machine, 2006 Elections
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text:
A day of soaking in anthropology brilliance
A few days ago, I got to be in a little of heaven on earth. I got to go listen to an anthropologist genius and crusader, Dr. James McKenna. It was like sitting in the sun soaking in all of it's energy and goodness.
Now a little background….
When my daughter was born 9 years ago, my husband and I didn't really talk about what kind of parents we'd be. We didn't even realize there was such a thing as "parenting styles". I think the most we discussed of what we would do and not do is spanking. We mutually agreed we'd not hit our daughter in any way. More than that, we didn't know what to discuss…I mean having a baby was going to just flow and be easy right?
Well, ofcourse like many new parents we quickly learned that while having a baby was the absolute best thing we've ever done, it was also one of the hardest jobs we've ever done as well. And the more parents we met, the more we realized we were parenting differently than most (aka than mainstream). Yes we had prepared this beautiful new nursery for her and bought her a crib, a swing, a bouncy seat all before she was born, but we instinctively felt that the crib in the other room was too far away from us. And because I also had bought a baby carrier before she was born, I also instinctively felt that she was better on me than in a stroller. And so we went with our instincts most of the time. And the times that we didn't were actually the harder times for us, like when we thought we should be able to put her down for sleep because went to bed earlier than we did and she would instead wake up each time when she realized I was gone. Or another time is when we put her in the swing during dinner only to find that going back and forth to the swing to soothe her was harder than just wearing her through dinner.
Ironically we found that despite the baby gear we had at home and the advice we had received from others, the more we had her on us, the happier she was.
And we went with that. It just made sense that this little one having being in my womb 9 mos, would want to naturally be on me after birth as well. Why should it be differently?
Soon after the first few months, I sought out resources for us because we didn't have friends that were doing things like we were. And I found that there was such a thing as "attachment parenting" and I found that there were studies showing exactly what we were seeing as new parents – that babies need to be close to mama. And in this I found Dr. James McKenna.
Dr McKenna is the truly the world's leading authority in mother-baby sleep research. He currently leads the Mother-Baby Sleep Lab at the University of Notre Dame. His experience goes back to late 1970s when after his baby boy was born, he began to study the behavior and physiology of babies and mothers sleeping together and apart. He has won numerous awards for his work and has made strides in the education of infant sleep. And it was this amazing person that I got to listen to in person a few days ago. Can you just imagine how amazing this was for me?
It felt like going full circle on a wheel that started 9 years ago for me.
And listening to him was so validating. I found myself nodding my head over and over, writing notes like a mad woman and my mind racing to think of ways to share this knowledge in my local community.
Now three more kids later, this is truly what it's all about for me – sharing what I can with the local community of mothers so that they too can get that support they need in mothering and listening to their babies. I find myself now thinking of ways to bring that "utopia!" knowledge to mothers around me so that together we can change the way we view our babies in order to accept and EMBRACE their needs as a wonderful and brilliant design and not as a thing to change.


text:
This article originally appeared in the Summer 2010 edition of PDF's quarterly newsletter, News & Review.
Can something as basic as taking your vitamins ease some of the effects of Parkinson's disease (PD)? This is the question behind the research of Amie L. Peterson, M.D., a movement disorders fellow at Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland, OR. She is looking at vitamin D — found as a nutrient in foods such as fish and milk, in dietary supplements, and most importantly, created by the skin with sun exposure — as a potential therapy to improve the quality of life for people with Parkinson's.
Dr. Peterson's research is funded under the Parkinson's Disease Foundation (PDF)-Parkinson Study Group (PSG) Mentored Research Award, which expects its recipients to focus on "patient-centered research." Dr. Peterson emphasizes that addressing falls and balance is vital to the safety and well-being of people with PD. These problems are not just bothersome, but also dangerous; in fact, they are a major cause of injuries and mortality in later-stage PD. Yet there is no medication available that a person with Parkinson's can take to ease balance issues and reduce his or her risk for falls.
Could vitamin D be the answer? Studies show that people with PD have lower vitamin D levels than do healthy individuals. Furthermore, research among people who have balance issues — but are not living with PD — has suggested that vitamin D supplements may lead to a decrease in falls.
To see if the same finding holds true for people living with PD, Dr. Peterson is conducting a pilot study among 40 such individuals. She will benefit from the knowledge of her mentors, Jay Nutt, M.D., a well-known movement disorder specialist and Fay Horak, Ph.D., an expert on gait and balance. Dr. Peterson will compare vitamin D levels and balance performance among people with Parkinson's disease to see if there is any correlation between the two.
She is planning a larger study to investigate more thoroughly whether people who take a vitamin D supplement versus a placebo find an improvement in balance and strength, and a decrease in their falls.
As Dr. Peterson puts it, "Down the road, if the vitamin D approach works, it could demonstrate a simple way for people with PD to improve daily life and avoid potential injuries. And if it turns out that vitamin D is not the answer, the research will still have improved our understanding of gait, balance and strength, which are sorely under-addressed issues in Parkinson's."
The Mentored Research Award is funded by PDF's Advancing Parkinson's Therapies Innovations Grant, which, in FY2010, totaled $175,000.


text:
On 8/12/05, John Benjamin <john at thebenjs dot com> wrote:
> After configuring captive portal on v1.11 (soekris 4511) I wanted to get
> some feedback from others on these questions I have. Thanks very much! John
> 1) I found that had to add explicit ip address(es) for DNS servers in the IP
> Pass-through of Captive Portal for success. Is this the expected
> configuration? If it is the proper config, then it means that the http
> request has to be resolved first for the captive portal page to load, and I
> don't really understand why this is the case. Can anyone explain this to
> me?
If you're using DNS servers other than m0n0wall itself, then yes, that
is the expected behavior. The typical configuration is to use
m0n0wall's DNS forwarder on the interface you're using captive portal.
> 2) When I assigned a Static IP to the WAN port (a /24, fwiw) I had only
> intermittent success with captive portal working. I believe that this is
> directly related to the DNS question above because when I change the WAN
> config to DHCP it works.
My first guess is when you're using DHCP, you're getting DNS servers
on m0n0wall from the DHCP server, and when you switch to static IP,
you didn't enter DNS servers in the general page. If m0n0wall doesn't
have DNS servers, its DNS forwarder can't work.
> 3) From my searching of previous posts I understand that adding images to
> the captive portal splash page requires an external server. Is there
> nowhere in the local file system to add the 1kb graphic I want on the splash
> page?
Not without creating a custom image. The filesystem runs from RAM and
is hence lost at every reboot, so simply copying an image won't work
(perpetually at least). If you have a FreeBSD box handy, workon.sh
makes it easy to edit an image. You can get it from


text:
This article is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/).
The smoking habits of 9,276 high-school students (15–18 years old) in six cities of Northern Greece were studied using a questionnaire in order to determine the prevalence and possible risk factors for initiation of smoking. We observed that 29.6% of high-school students (32.6% of boys and 26.7% of girls) were current smokers. A percentage of 43.3% had started smoking before the age of 14. Reactive behaviour towards parents' and teachers' advice (40.2%) and the existence of smoking friends (40.1%) were the main reasons of initiation. A well-planned integrated anti-smoking campaign is urgently required, especially among students and teachers.
Most data on the prevalence and the trends of smoking habits have been provided by the USA and only over the last years relevant research has been initiated in other countries, mostly within the framework of the worldwide anti-smoking campaign being carried out under the auspices of the WHO.
In Greece, the Ministry of Health and Welfare has recently implemented an anti-smoking campaign. The need of undertaking this new campaign has been identified by the identification of alarming new data, one of which is the first position of Greece among European Union countries in lung neoplasms in young men (<45 years old) with an annual incidence of 4.1 per 100,000 subjects of the population [
The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and risk factors for initiation of smoking among high-school students in six cities of Northern Greece. There are no recent epidemiological data on smoking habits concerning this age group in Greece and thus there is need for further epidemiological research. We hypothesized that high school students' smoking status could predict future trends. Thus the implementation of proper preventative interventions appears to be obligatory.
This study took place during a school year, from October 2001 to May 2002, among 9,276 high-school students (4,525 boys and 4,751 girls), aged 17.5 ± 1.3 years from six cities of Northern Greece (Thessaloniki 3,097 students; Kozani 2,441 students; Ptolemaida 1,356 students; Florina 1,011 students; Kastoria 771 students and Grevena 600 students).
In Northern Greece, there are several distinctive features concerning geographical and socioeconomic parameters. Population is extensively widespread and students move to bigger towns to study. There are 18 cities with a population of over 15,000 inhabitants. The six cities selectively chosen represent this socio-economic diversity. The most populated of them are Thessaloniki and Kozani. Thessaloniki is purely urban and the second biggest city in Greece, whereas Kozani is a regional urban city. Florina and Grevena have one of the lowest annual incomes per capita in Greece. Florina bases its economy on agriculture, while the basic occupation in the latter (Grevena) is stockbreeding. Ptolemaida is an important industrial area, where 75% of electricity of the country is produced. Finally, Kastoria used to be the main fur-producing city worldwide, with one of the greatest annual incomes per person. Using this selection together with the sample size, an acceptable representation of the Northern Greece population could be ensured.
Apart from Thessaloniki, questionnaires were administered in every high school of the remaining cities (Kozani, Florina, Ptolemaida, Grevena, Kastoria). In Thessaloniki, students from 15 out of 31 high schools (every other one) were included in the study. There is a numeric list (every school has a specific number) for all schools at the city of Thessaloniki and we decided to choose all schools with an even number. Every smoker filled in a questionnaire prepared by the Laboratory for the Investigation of Environmental Diseases, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (
According to the WHO glossary, "smoker" is someone who at the time of the survey smokes any tobacco product either daily or occasionally [
Comparison of frequency and severity of smoking between the two sexes was carried out using the
Based on the analysis of the questionnaires, out of 9,276 high-school students who participated in the study 2,746 (29.6%) have been reported to be smokers. Out of 4,525 boys 1,477 (32.6%) have been stated to be smokers and out of 4,751 girls, 1,269 of them (26.7%) have been declared to be smokers, p<0,001.
Based on data concerning occupational status of inhabitants of these counties according to the last census of Greek population [
We observed that the majority of the students smoked 6 to 10 cigarettes per day (25.4%), whereas 20.7% smoked 16 to 20 cigarettes per day.
A percentage of 36.7 (41.2% of boys and 30.9% of girls) reported that their parents are aware of the fact that they smoke. Taking all participants as a whole, the negative attitude towards parents' and teachers' advice ("reaction") ranks first (40.2%), and the existence of friends who were in the habit of smoking was the second more common (40.1%,
In a study conducted during 1989–90 in 2,032 high-school students in Athens, Patra and Ioannina [
In Budapest, according to a longitudinal study in students 14–18 year old, it was found that in 1995, 36% of them were smokers and 46% in 1999, i.e. an upward trend was observed [
In the USA, it was detected that 20% of high-school students were current smokers in 2007 [
The Global Youth Tobacco Surveillance (2000–2007), a survey that was conducted in 140 countries and 11 territories, concluded that 9.5% of students 13–15 year old smoke (12.1% of boys and 6.8% of girls) [
It has been observed that the sooner someone starts smoking, the higher the cigarette consumption will be later in his life [
The higher prevalence of smoking in boys compared to girls is a consistent finding, not only of the specific epidemiological sample, but also observed in the majority of relevant studies [
Smokers of both sexes answered that they started smoking mainly by reaction ("reaction" means a negative attitude towards parents' and teachers' advice; a kind of "revolution" against their ideas, totally expected behaviour concerning teenagers' psychology) or because their friends used to smoke. Smoking as an attitude belongs to the framework of the physical development procedure of people and is closely related to the fundamental psychological characteristics of adolescence such as: search for new experiences, effort for independence from the parents, access to the group of people of the same age and the need to be accepted by them, search for identity, confirmation of their autonomy and revolutionary spirit [
A contributing factor to the spreading of smoking is the high standard of living. In our study, the prevalence is lower in the poorest cities of Florina and Grevena. This phenomenon has been described in Spanish adolescents where affluence is proportional to the habit of smoking [
Despite that 85.8% of smokers answered that they are not affected by the advertising launched by the tobacco industries, we should not overlook the general effect of advertising on young people. In a recent Cochrane Database review, that included nine longitudinal studies, it was concluded that exposure to tobacco advertising and promotion is associated with the likelihood that adolescents will start to smoke [
The majority of smokers answered that they were aware of the hazards of smoking. It seems that awareness of smoking hazards is inadequate in order to prevent the habit of smoking [
The size of the study sample, the representative socio-economic composition of the sample as well as the fact that the study has shown that the current anti-smoking policy is unsuccessful are considered to be the main advantages of our study. However, the main limitations were the inability to include schools from all geographical regions of the country (due to technical difficulties) and the restricted size of the questionnaire, which promoted the success of the study but at the same time did not illustrate completely either the smoking habits or the detailed psychosocial causes of initiation of smoking.
It is concluded that the prevalence of smoking among high school students in Greece was higher than that of other developed countries. We believe that a well-planned integrated anti-smoking campaign, especially among students and teachers, is immediately required instead of a superficial awareness of the smoking hazards.
We would like to thank the
Smoking prevalence among students in six cities in Northern Greece.
|Thessaloniki n=3,097
|Kozani n=2,441
|Ptolemaida n=1,356
|Kastoria n=771
|Florina n=1,011
|Grevena n=600
|Total n=9,276
|sms %
|sms %
|sms %
|sms %
|sms %
|sms %
|sms %
|477 33.4
|408 35.5
|243 32.7
|172 42.9
|137 27.1
|40 17.2
|1,477 32.6
|525 31.5
|330 27.0
|159 25.9
|123 33.2
|80 15.8
|52 14.1
|1,269 26.7
|1,002 32.3
|738 30.2
|402 29.6
|295 38.3
|217 21.5
|92 15.3
|2,746 29.6
Number of cigarettes smoked per day according to sex.
|Number of cigarettes smoked / day
|Boys (n=1,477) n %
|Girls (n=1,269) n %
|Total % (n=2,746)
|41 +
Reported reasons for smoking initiation.
|Boys (%)
|Girls (%)
|Total (%)
|Their friends smoke
|Because their "models" smoke
|Because they like the idea of a young trendy person smoking
|Because they think it's "cool"
|Because they want to convince themselves and the others that they have grown up