text:
SANDY - Yura Movsisyan doesn't remember much about his troubled childhood in a faraway land, except the sound of shots being fired and rockets being launched, and the things he loved but couldn't enjoy, such as playing soccer.
"Imagine right now, Afghanistan or Iraq," he said. "Same thing. You were one bullet away from not being alive. That's pretty much what it was."
That's why his stunning emergence for Real Salt Lake - the striker has scored seven goals in nine games since unexpectedly entering the lineup, including back-to-back 90th-minute miracles to boost his team in to the Major League Soccer playoffs for the first time - means so much to him. It's proof that Movsisyan is repaying his family the best way he knows how, for all of the painful sacrifices it has had to endure.
"We came over to have a better life," he said. "And this is a dream come true for me, for my parents to see me not just play, but be successful and make a name for myself."
That is something for which Movsisyan prayed desperately, when he was a young boy living with his parents and two brothers in war-torn Azerbaijan.
Ethnically Armenian, Movsisyan hates to even speak the name of the nation in southwestern Asia with which his people have fought over the years. "Put that I'm Armenian," he said. "That's what I want people to know. That's all I am." Yet the misfortune of living in enemy territory during and after a savage war obviously is what shaped his childhood.
Movsisyan was born in 1987, the year before ethnic and territorial tensions in the neighboring former Soviet republics turned violent.
The conflict escalated into war when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 and many of its weapons found their way into the hands of the combatants. By the time a cease-fire was negotiated in 1994, some 30,000 people had been killed and hundreds of thousands displaced.
"It was just awful," he said. "It was something that you'd never, ever want to remember. It was just a disaster, for my family. It was day to day. Live to live, basically. It was difficult time, and my parents basically risked their lives every day to give us a better life."
His father, Sergey, struggled to find work amid the ethnic tensions and discrimination, and Movsisyan recalled not being allowed to play organized soccer because of his heritage. He learned to love the game mostly by watching teams such as Arsenal and Real Madrid on television, and played almost exclusively in his bedroom with his older brother, Movses, who later took a job that freed Movsisyan to play soccer.
"It was difficult enough for me not to be able to play soccer or not to be able to go out on the street and be a free kid like anybody would enjoy," he said. "A lot of kids here take everything for granted. But back where I come from, where we lived, you don't have all those freedoms. You don't get to choose who you take to prom. You don't have all that stuff."
Even after the cease-fire, though, trouble remained.
So when Movsisyan was 12 years old, he said, his family fled Azerbaijan and emigrated to the United States. They landed in an Armenian enclave in Pasadena, Calif., where Movsisyan played organized soccer for the first time and soon became a star.
"You could definitely tell that the potential was there and the ability was there," RSL's Tony Beltran said.
Beltran was playing for the area's powerful Arsenal FC club team when Movsisyan arrived, and his father later helped arrange for Movsisyan - clearly in need of a challenge to develop his talent - to join the team after the boys played against one another. The boys fast became good friends, with Movsisyan occasionally staying with Beltran before and after games and workouts.
"He fit in very well with my family and my friends," Beltran recalled. "Everyone knew him and everyone loved him and everyone knew he was a great player."
Quickly proved it, too.
After a standout career at Pasadena High School, Movsisyan enrolled at Pasadena City College, where he scored 18 goals in 19 games of his only season before entering the 2006 MLS Draft. The Kansas City Wizards made him the fourth pick, though a stockpile of strikers limited his opportunities until RSL traded for him midway through last season -shortly before he was officially granted political asylum, clearing the way for his pursuit of a green card and, ultimately, American citizenship.
Even this year, though, Movsisyan was hardly an all-star from the start.
He had made only a handful of starts and battled a knee injury before fellow striker Fabian Espindola sprained his ankle two months ago, doing a back-flip to celebrate a goal against the Los Angeles Galaxy that was ultimately disallowed. Movsisyan replaced him, scored almost immediately, and has never looked back.
"I just feel like I knew it would happen one day," he said. "I knew one day it would start, but I'm glad that I peaked at the right time - to help us go to the playoffs and help us in the playoffs."
Now, he will enjoy having his parents and brothers in the crowd when RSL plays Chivas USA at the Home Depot Center on Saturday, in the second game of its playoff series with the Goats. And he will try to keep his hot streak going, not only to help his team win, but to continue to honor the gift his family has given him.
"I don't think a lot of people would have put their money on me to make it pro in this league and to be successful," he said.
RSL at Chivas USA
PLAYOFFS - Leg 2
Saturday, 8:30 p.m., Fox Soccer Channel
Yura Movsisyan file
Position: Striker
Age: 21
Height: 6-0
Weight: 180
College: Pasadena City College
Coach Jason Kreis says: "The staff has been upbeat and confident that he was going to turn into something special. I don't think he's a finished product, and I think it's important for everybody to understand that. He's been very, very good, but he can be even better."


text:
"I wish I'd known grown birds would peck the wee ones"
Joe had two answers to my
question about what he wished he'd known about chickens when he
first started. He wrote:
"I wish I knew about baby chicken leg problems like spraddle leg. By the time we realized something was horribly wrong, too much time had passed to be able to fix it.
"The second is more related to the picture. I wish I knew how hard integration of baby chicks was. When it was time to start raising generation 2, we figured the maternal instinct would make it easy to let them adopt the new babies. By the time we realized that the grown birds would peck to death the wee ones, we had to learn about segregation.
"We hadn't allowed for a coop design to have two partitions inside the hen house. I was able to split the yard, but every day I have to haul the little ones back into a cramped makeshift coop area for the night till they get bigger. This would be much easier if I had built the henhouse with a removable partition and two doors.
"Thanks for the great product, we love having low maintenance clean water for our birds thanks to a DIY kit!"
Want to be notified when new comments are posted on this page? Click on the RSS button after you add a comment to subscribe to the comment feed.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Invalid login/password combination. You may wish to try over or reset your password
We could not find any active order with id or e-mail mentioned. Try again
Titan Backup is an easy-to-use and complete solution for home and small offices, designed for secure backups of your important data. It can make automatic backups of your important files and documents, virtually on any type of storage media including CD/DVD-RW, removable devices, network drives and remote FTP servers
Secure, Automated, Easy-to-use backup solution of all your photos, music, emails, settings and important documents. Data can be easily lost: your hard drive can suddenly fail, a virus can wipe files from your computer or your computer/laptop may be stolen. Backup can be considered as an 'insurance' for your data


text:
By Tom Pedulla, USA TODAY
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. The Miami Dolphins completed a climb Sunday that was matched in its improbability only by the New York Jets' shocking fall.
Miami capped one of the great turnarounds in NFL history by capitalizing on three Brett Favre interceptions to down the Jets 24-17 and capture the AFC East one season after finishing with the league's worst record at 1-15.
ROAD TO THE SUPER BOWL: Playoff seeds, times
11-WIN PATS HEAD HOME: Win in Buffalo not enough
"To be wearing these hats against all odds, this is what hard work does for you," said defensive end Vonnie Holliday, pointing to caps that celebrated the franchise's first divisional title since 2000. "You can turn it around. You can."
Resurgent Miami takes an 11-5 record into its opening-round playoff game against the visiting Baltimore Ravens after winning its last five games and nine of its last 10. The 10-game leap matches the 1999 Indianapolis Colts for the greatest in NFL history. "I think we were the only people giving ourselves a chance," running back Ronnie Brown said. "Everybody believed in one another."
BOX SCORE: Dolphins 24, Jets 17
The Dolphins were expected to take small steps forward after master rebuilder Bill Parcells was hired as executive vice president in charge of football operations after last season. He gave former Dallas Cowboys offensive line coach Tony Sparano his first head coaching opportunity.
Their rebuilding effort gained momentum when a restless Favre unretired and was acquired by the Jets, which led them to release Chad Pennington. Miami quickly signed Pennington, and he made a huge difference, in the last game and throughout a schedule that brought one surprising victory after another.
He outplayed Favre when it mattered most, completing 22 of 30 passes for 200 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. "Bringing in somebody with his kind of stripes, his kind of leadership, was just what the doctor ordered," Sparano said.
Pennington's famous counterpart did much more to harm the Jets down the stretch than to help them. He looked every bit his 39 years in producing two scores with nine pickoffs while New York dropped four of its last five games to finish 9-7.
It was a dramatic demise for a club that as recently as Nov. 23 looked to be the class of the AFC after it jolted the previously unbeaten Tennessee Titans 34-13 on the road, right after beating the archrival New England Patriots 34-31 in overtime.
The 18-year veteran appeared to be playing hurt in a finale that could bring a sad end to a memorable career. He was seen on occasion shaking his right hand as if to bring new life to an arm that sometimes appeared to dangle awkwardly from his side. He said he will have an MRI on his throwing shoulder today.
Favre went 20-for-40 for 233 yards and one score against Miami. He did not make a connection beyond 27 yards and finished with a 45.1 passer rating to Pennington's 113.2. His three interceptions were thrown directly to defenders, including one that rookie defensive end Phillip Merling returned 25 yards for a score that allowed Miami to build a 14-6 advantage late in the second quarter.
Favre, who was legendary in Green Bay for rallying the Packers in the fourth quarter, came up woefully short in his attempt to do that for New York. After a blocked punt positioned a 48-yard field goal by Dan Carpenter that ultimately supplied the final score, Favre took the Jets from their 25-yard line to the Dolphins 29, where they were looking at first-and-10. A short pass into the left flat that was intended for Chansi Stuckey landed in the waiting arms of cornerback Andre Goodman.
"Really the hardest part of it is the finality of it, especially when you expected to go on," Favre said. "It's a tough pill to swallow, but I had a blast working with these guys."
Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Read more.


text:
Christina Aguilera loses clothing line
Christina Aguilera's been axed from a fashion label after slating celebs who push their own clothing ranges. The singer was due to launch her own line with company Basic Box, but her multi-million contract was terminated after she called celebrity lines "tacky".
Probably for the best, considering Christina Aguilera's strange taste in everything. Her clothing line would've probably been something along the lines of an eye patch and pirate hat. With a talking parrot. And treasure. Argggh! I'm a pirate!
And for no good reason, here's a gallery of Christina Aguilera looking terrible with black hair. Unfortunately for her, only Black people and Asians can pull off having black hair. White people just end up looking like goths which, unless you're an idiot, is a bad thing.


text:
Source: TeleGeography.
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) is set to finally launch mobile number portability (MNP) for the countrys GSM subscribers today, writes local newspaper THISDAY. The NCCs director of public affairs Tony Ojobo says that MNP will lead to improved quality service and increased competition among operators. MNP is free for subscribers, who are permitted to port their numbers once in a 90-day period. The regulator will now work towards implementing the service for Nigerias roughly three million CDMA mobile customers. TeleGeographys GlobalComms Database notes that the introduction of MNP in Nigeria has encountered numerous delays since it was first announced by the NCC in 2006. Further deadlines of 2009, December 2012, 25 March 2013 and 1 April 2013 came and went, and at the start of the month operators told the NCC that they required three additional weeks to enable them to complete their preparations.
Source: Telecom Paper.
Source: Telecom Paper.
Orange Espana has announced the launch of commercial fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) services in the area around the La Vaguada shopping centre, at the same time unveiling a new portfolio of tariffs for its fibre-based services. In terms of its new offering, customers can sign up for a connection providing 100Mbps downlink speeds, unlimited national fixed line voice calls, 1,000 minutes per month for calls to national mobile numbers and 300 minutes for calls to 60 international destinations; the package will cost EUR25.95 (USD33.94) per month. In addition, Orange has confirmed it will offer a tariff offering the same call allowances, though with a lower downlink speed of 25Mbps, for EUR15.95 per month. Following the expansion of its FTTH network to La Vaguada, Orange has said that around 40,000 homes in Madrid now have access to its fibre services, while noting that a further 58,000 premises in Catalonia and Asturias are also within its fibre footprint.
As previously reported by CommsUpdate, last month Orange Espana and Vodafone Spain unveiled plans to invest up to EUR1 billion on the construction of a joint fibre-optic network. Under the terms of the agreement, the two operators will each deploy street-level fibre in complementary geographies, and while the fibre will be owned independently it will share the same technical specifications to ensure compatibility as a single network, with each partner having guaranteed access to the whole infrastructure. Commercial services over the new infrastructure are expected to be introduced from January 2014, and some 800,000 premises are expected to be able to connect to the network by March 2014, with that figure rising to three million and six million by September 2015 and 2017, respectively. In total, the fibre-optic network will cover 50 of Spains major cities when complete.
Venezuelas dominant broadband operator CANTV has announced that starting Monday 15 April it will upgrade its DSL internet access speeds, doubling its standard 512kbps (download) package limit to 1Mbps, while a faster premium speed of 4Mbps will be offered in a new consumer/small business plan, Aba Mega Productivo, twice the speed of the existing 2Mbps Aba Super Productivo. The 4Mbps package is priced at VEF500 (USD79) a month including VAT compared to VEF400 for the 2Mbps connection. The move comes seven months after CANTV doubled its entry-level DSL package speed from 256kbps to 512kbps, as reported by CommsUpdate in September 2012. Venezuelan newspaper El Mundo reports that CANTVs latest DSL upgrade programme will take around three months to complete, while the company has also announced a current investment budget of VEF514 million for fixed broadband infrastructure; the Ministry of Science, Technology & Innovation says that in the past six years CANTVs internet infrastructure investment totals VEF1.9 billion.
CANTV reportedly has a total of 1.9 million fixed internet subscribers, up from 1.8 million at the end of December 2012, according to data from the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation. The state-owned telco is focused on expanding broadband coverage to the farthest corners of the country, and backs up this claim with the statistics that in 2012 the number of subscribers grew by more than 500% in remote areas such as the Amazon region, while the user bases in more populous regions Miranda and Distrito Capital increased by 80% and 90%, respectively.
Armenian operator ArmenTel, which offers fixed telephony, broadband internet and mobile services under the banner Beeline, has trimmed the cost for connection to its fixed telecoms network and for other one-off charges. In a press release, ArmenTel says it is cutting the costs of a fixed line installation from AMD12,000 to AMD2,400 (USD33.09 to USD6.62), while the charge for a temporary installation of a core line (i.e. for less than one month) has been cut to AMD1,800 from AMD9,600. The new rates for residential and business users took effect from 1 April 2013, with ArmenTel acting CEO Karen Shahnazaryan, saying that the telco is able to cut the prices thanks to its investment in innovative technologies.
According to Tuoi Tre News, Vietnamese cellcos MobiFone and Vinaphone have increased the cost of their respective unlimited 3G data plans to VND50,000 (USD2.4) per month, up from VND40,000. The operators say that the higher price is necessary to offset declining revenues as a result of subscribers using smartphone apps to make free calls and send free messages. The cellcos also say that they are forced to strictly adhere to government regulations, whereas apps such as Viber, Wala, Zalo, Line, WeChat and WhatsApp are managed by foreign companies and are not subject to the same conditions.
Myanmar authorities will begin selling low-cost Sim cards from 24 April. Some 350,000 Sim cards will be allocated monthly across Myanmar and sold by regional governments, not by Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications (MPT), Eleven Media reports citing MPT chief engineer mobile Htay Win. The CDMA 800 MHz Sim cards will be sold for MMK 1,500 each, and customers have to use at least MMK 2,500 per month to keep the account active. If customers do not recharge within fifteen days of running the balance down to zero, the service may be terminated. The fees for outgoing calls remains the same at MMK 50 per minute. MPT has been selling CDMA Sim cards for MMK 500,000 in recent years.
The head of Ukrainian competition watchdog AMKU, Rafael Kuzmin, has stated that cellcos Kyivstar and MTS Ukraine have agreed to reduce intra-national and roaming rates by 20%-25%, according to a report by BizLigaNet, cited by Telecompaper. The news follows pressure from AMKU, which has asked the operators to fulfil rate obligations within the next ten days, and to implement the recommendations on roaming rates within 30 days, having threatened them with a maximum fine of 10% of annual revenues.
Spains antitrust authority has reportedly fined the countrys three largest mobile network operators a total of EUR120 million (USD159 million) for charging too much for SMS messages. The Comision Nacional de la Competencia (CNC) levied the penalty after ruling that Movistar, Vodafone Spain and Orange Espana abused their dominant position in the wholesale markets for access and origination and for termination of short messages in their respective networks. With all three operators cited as having a monopoly position in SMS and MMS termination services in their respective networks, the CNC noted that the market for SMS termination services was unregulated between 2000 and 2009 (the period investigated by the watchdog). As such, the CNC claims, the trio were freely able to price the termination of SMS at very high levels, which in turn allowed them to pass these costs to consumers in the shape of higher retail prices for SMS and MMS services.
No new regulatory measures are to be introduced however, with the CNC noting that it did not consider such action appropriate as there was only evidence of overpricing in the period to 2009 and not more recently. Further, it argued that telecoms regulator the Comision del Mercado de las Telecomunicacinoes (CMT) is better positioned to design the ex-ante regulation of these markets.
As per the antitrust agencys ruling, Movistar faces the largest fine EUR46.490 million while Vodafone Spain and Orange Espana will be required to pay EUR43.525 million and EUR29.950 million respectively. All three operators are expected to appeal the ruling.
Over half of UK homes and businesses can now access fibre broadband as the Openreach rollout has passed more than 15 million premises. That means were on target to reach 19 million by the end of spring 2014, about 18 months ahead of the original rollout schedule.
Openreach chief executive Liv Garfield said: This is a significant milestone and one that our engineers can be proud of. They have worked through many months of appalling weather to bring the benefits of fibre to cities, towns and villages and this is making a genuine difference to how people live their lives.Fibre broadband can play an important part in stimulating and supporting an economic recovery. Our investment, together with that of our partners, is helping to generate thousands of jobs and give small businesses the speeds that were previously the preserve of larger ones based in cities. The run-up to Easter saw the project team working flat-out as we hit our biggest ever week; a whopping 324,000 premises passed. By the end of spring 2014, well have completed one of the most ambitious programmes weve ever taken on, with two-thirds of the UK enjoying one of the most extensive fibre networks in the world. But we wont stop there. As well as deploying fibre as part of a £2.5bn investment, were working with councils and devolved authorities to take fibre even further afield. Weve signed 18 BDUK contracts so far, from Hampshire to Cumbria, and Rutland to the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, and there are plenty more to come.
Source: Openreach.
The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Bahrain (TRA) has released the latest update of the retail price benchmarking study of telecommunications services in Arab countries. The study was commissioned by the TRA on behalf of AREGNET (the Arab Regulators Group). It was undertaken by Teligen, an independent consulting firm specializing in tariff comparisons. The main insights of the study are:
Source: Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Bahrain (TRA).
Two thirds of Hungary's smartphone owners state that applications constitute an organic part of their smartphone according to the research carried out by Magyar Telekom among smartphone and internet users.
As partially known already from earlier researches, 38% of Hungarian internet users aged 14-69 have smartphones, equaling about 1.7 million people. 80% of them also use smartphones to access the internet. The current research underlines that 80% of Hungarian internet users realize that smartphones are differentiated from traditional phones by running an operation system, and 70% are also right about seeing the difference in the availability of applications.
1.3 million users state that they already downloaded applications, on average 16 - the most popular apps are music players, followed by calendars, email and community apps, and naturally games. Top ten apps include weather, photo and video recorder and player, as well as map and navigation apps. The research outlines that smartphone owners mostly look up information about applications in the AppStore or on the internet - however many enquire with friends and acquaintances. Women and those aged 14-18 are less active in checking individual applications.
Majority of those paying for applications only purchased 1-2 apps, 25% of them bought 3-5 apps and 6% of them purchased more than 10 apps. iPhone owners are clearly on top of the statistics, men and those with higher education background, as well as the more affluent are somewhat more active in this domain. Smartphone owners using apps on their phones clearly found prefer payment methods where against paying a smaller amount the given app can be tested and further payment is only needed for further functions.
Mobile phone applications are also ever more popular among small and medium entrepreneurs: shop owners, those working in catering trade and real estate agencies start to realize possibilities inherent in this new communication channel.
Source: Cellular News.
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said that the long-delayed launch of mobile number portability (MNP) will take place on 25 March 2013, writes PM News. The regulators head of Media and Public Relations, Reuben Muoka, reportedly told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that during the initial phase, only subscribers of the countrys GSM mobile networks will be able to transfer their numbers to another operator. As soon as the GSM takes off, it will not be long before CDMA also begins its operation on MNP, the NCC official was quoted as saying. He added that the introduction of MNP in Nigeria is expected to increase competition in the mobile market, in which South Africa-owned MTN is the largest operator by subscribers by far, with a market share of 42.1% at the end of 2012 (corresponding to 47.44 million customers).
TeleGeographys GlobalComms Database notes that the introduction of MNP was first considered by the NCC in the third quarter of 2007, but the commission has been waiting for the conclusion of SIM registration before it officially launches the service. The NCC announced in October 2011 that it had selected a consortium of three companies Interconnect Clearinghouse Nigeria, Saab Grintek and Telcordia to set up and implement number portability for the first five years, and having already pushed back the expected launch date on various occasions, in December 2012 the regulator said it was set to begin testing the system in order to address any problems ahead of a planned launch in the first quarter of 2013.
Uruguay's telecoms regulator Ursec has awarded spectrum to mobile operators Claro and Movistar for a total of USD 64.2 million, El Pais reports. The licenses cover the next 20 years. Claro and Movistar will use the spectrum to provide 4G services across Uruguay. Movistar won four spectrum blocks in the 1900MHz frequency band, and Claro received two blocks in the 1900MHz band and two blocks in the 1700/2100MHz band.
State-owned operator Antel did not participate in the bidding process but will have to pay USD 38 million for reserved spectrum. Antel will receive one spectrum block in the 900MHz frequency band and four blocks in the 1700/2100MHz band.
Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries (RIL) is said to have finalized Samsung as a partner to source the Korean conglomerate's long-term evolution (LTE) technology platform for its much-talked about bundled data & voice services over high speed 4G networks across the country.
The game-changer deal that is set to shake up the Indian telecommunications market is not just restricted to Samsung's technology but goes far beyond as Samsung has agreed to offer entry-level 4G smartphones at a little over $100 (about Rs 5,500) for use with RIL's voice and high-speed internet services, said a source close to the deal. A 3G-enabled Samsung phone can be bought for around the same price today. The entry-level smartphones are likely to be sold with data packages starting at as low as Rs 100, said the source, adding that even high-end smartphones will be made available at minimum down-payments and the equated monthly installments (EMIs) will be incorporated in subsequent bills at a 0% interest rate.
Source: The Time of India.
(04/03/2013) Commission President José Manuel Barroso today called on Europe's digital businesses, governments, training and education sectors to join a Grand Coalition for Digital Jobs to address up to 900 000 job vacancies expected to exist in Europe in Information and Communication technologies (ICT) by 2015. Despite the current levels of unemployment, the number of digital jobs is growing by more than 100 000 per year. Yet the number of fresh ICT graduates and skilled ICT workers is not keeping up.
Source: European Commission.
Vodafone New Zealand has commercially launched LTE services. The service is live now in parts of Auckland, and Vodafone will expand it to more suburbs every week. LTE services will go live in parts of Christchurch in May, and parts of Wellington in August or September. To get the LTE service, customers pay an extra NZD 10 on top of their existing plan while on higher value plans the upgrade is included.
The LTE network uses equipment from Nokia Siemens Networks in the 1800MHz band. NSN supplied its Single RAN and Flexi Multiradio Base Station, as well as upgraded 2G, 3G and 4G networks with its Mobile Switching Center Server and Multimedia Gateway. In addition, the company provided its Circuit Switched FallBack voice system that enables the LTE network to transfer customers to 2G and 3G networks in order to make and receive voice calls on 4G smartphones.
© Copyright 2017, ITU
The information presented within this blog comes from various organizations around the world. ITU encourages users to seek more detailed information from the original source through the links provided.
Links to third-party websites are provided for the convenience of all users. The ITU is not responsible for the accuracy, currency or the reliability of the content on these third-party websites. ITU does not offer any guarantee in that regard nor does ITU endorse the third-party organizations, their sites or content.


text:
Silver Metal Stereo Handsfree
Availability: In stock
Shipping: Economy and USPS Priority available
Condition: Brand New
Returns: 90 Day No Hassle ReturnsDetails
Order Soon! Only 3 left in stock
Order in the next 54 minutes and your order will ship today!
- Accessory is brand new in original retail packaging
Package Contents:
- Brand New Cell Phone Accessory
- 90 Day Money Back Guarantee
- Free unlimited 365 day support


text:
In addition to the material weaknesses discussed in appendices II and III, we found two significant deficiencies in internal control as described below. Also, the significant deficiency in fiscal year 2009 regarding verification procedures for data input for the Troubled Asset Relief Program equity investment and direct loan valuations is no longer considered to be a significant deficiency as of September 30, 2010.
Internal control deficiencies were identified at certain federal entities accounting for the majority of the reported balances for loans receivable and loan-guarantee liabilities. The deficiencies, for the most part, involved credit subsidy estimation and related financial reporting processes. The issues and the complexities associated with estimating the costs of lending and other loan-related financing activities significantly increase the risk that misstatements in agency and governmentwide financial statements could occur and go undetected. Further, these control deficiencies can adversely affect the federal governments ability to support annual budget requests for these programs, make future budgetary decisions, manage program costs, and measure the performance of lending activities. A previously reported control deficiency relating to mortgage-backed securities was resolved in fiscal year 2010.
Deficiencies were identified in certain controls over spreadsheets used by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to prepare its Statement of Social Insurance, including the lack of robust controls over spreadsheet changes and inputs that may result in output that varies from managements intentions. HHS, which administers the Medicare programs, contributes the majority of the amounts reported on the consolidated Statement of Social Insurance. Such control deficiencies could result in misstatements to the consolidated Statement of Social Insurance.
From Treasury.gov
File Viewing Tools


text:
Turns out, an apple a day does not keep the doctor away. But seven might.
The University College London studied the eating habits and health of more than 65,000 people, and recently published the finding that seven servings of fruits and veggies a day cut death risk by 42 percent compared with eating less than one serving a day — as opposed to a 29 percent reduction in five-a-day eaters.
What does this mean? Grub some plant-y things As if your life depended on it!
But stay on track and keep things colorful using the simple trick of eating a rainbow a day. This does not mean chasing water vapor to the end of a horizon; just look for the color fruit or veggie you haven't eaten yet and gobble it up like you're in a video game. The more you chomp, the longer you'll be around. Pretty delicious strategy, if you arm yourself with these handy recipe suggestions:
Strawberries – Strawberries & Cream
Tomatoes – Caprese Salad
Red peppers – Stuffed Red Peppers
Radishes – Glazed Radishes
Red apples – Apple Carpaccio & Goat Cheese Salad
Oranges (duh) – Honey Cinnamon Oranges
Sweet potato – Spicy Sweet Potato Chips
Carrots – Carrot Soup
Mango – Mango Lassi
Pineapple – Grilled Pineapple
Yellow peppers – Roasted Peppers with Endive and Provatura
Lemon – Green Smoothie (with Lemon)
Pears – Pear and Polenta
Asparagus – Shaved Asparagus Salad
Spinach – Power Packed Spinach Salad
Kale – Kale Recipes So You Don't Die (we called the "not dying" part months ago)
Brussels sprouts – Tons o' Brussels sprouts recipes for your mouth
Green beans – Green Beans AND Broccoli, together at last
Cucumber – Greek Feta and Cucumber Salad
Avocado – Chocolate Avocado Pudding (OK, and here's an Avocado Edamame Salad)
Blueberries – Blueberry Peanut Smoothie
Blue corn – Blue Corn Enchiladas
Red cabbage – Red Cabbage and Green Apple Slaw with Buttermilk Dressing
Eggplant – Alton Brown's Eggplant Steaks
Cauliflower – Cauliflower Gratin
Jicama – Crunchy Jicama and Mango Salad with Chile and Lime
Mushrooms – Stuffed Mushrooms
OK, who's starving right now? For fruits and vegetables? We thought so.
Long live vegetable eaters,
Alie & Georgia


text:
A New Era
On the 31st March 2016 I left my 3 day a week job at Writers' Centre, Norwich after nine great years – so I no longer have a salaried position, or any excuses for not updating my website. This is really a holding post – I shall polish something up – very soon I promise. And pictures.
It's been a busy year, developing the new show Doctor Zeeman's Catastrophe Machine with the help of several brilliant people and money and time from Arts Council England, Writers' Centre Norwich, Norfolk County Council and Norwich Arts Centre. It was my plan to do a less personal show than Whistle, which I finished performing at the end of 2014 after 5 years and 60 performances.
In July 2015 I met up with the extraordinary Ross Sutherland www.rosssutherland.co.uk to begin the torturous business of turning my ragbag of poems and wide ranging ideas into a coherent show. Ross saw the potential in the personal story, persisted and persisted until I realised he was right, and he was very right indeed. This meant the script was a long time in showing itself, consuming every spare minute I had and keeping everyone else waiting. Producer Melanie Abrahams at ontilt.org kept a cool head.
In the meantime, a Catastrophe Machine needed to be built – it turned out my ideas defied the laws of physics and defeated two machine builders. Who'd have thought a catastrophe machine could be problematic? The laws of physics mean nothing to Paul Finlay though, and with: a looted washing machine, an old bicycle, two windscreen wiper engines, some electronic wizardry, brass handles, plywood, varnish, paint and a luminous moon – a catastrophe machine was born!
Andre Barreau and Karen Hall, the visual team from Whistle, set about the visuals with about 3 weeks to spare and worked literally day and night to get some magic onto the screen. Tom Clutterbuck, tech wizard remained the Duke of Calm as I randomly wandered about the stage for the first time on 7th May at Wells Next the Sea. I have since wandered about at The London Roundhouse and a sold out Norwich Arts Centre as part of the Norfolk & Norwich Festival. Pasco and his team at Norwich Arts Centre have been great throughout the whole project.
We've one or two more regional showcases to do and then we're going to ask for more money, develop some of the ideas further and take the show on the road.
The book is a different thing to the show, and was published by the marvellous Cinnamon Press in March www.cinnamonpress.com
And Shed with Gatehouse Press and beautifully illustrated by Natty Peterkin is due to arrive any day now. www.gatehousepress.com


text:
His hard body is pressed against my back, and I can't look away from our reflection in the mirror. One of his hands leaves my breast and vanishes, unseen but not unfelt.
I never thought I'd bury my brother.
Brian Hatcher has a lot of nerve, I thought I'd never see his face again. He left the police force to join the Iron Tornadoes, the very gang my brother was investigating.
I hate him.
I should hate him.
I want to hate him.
He has turned his back on everything he used to stand for. Yet I want him, even though he's turned into a stone cold biker.
©2014 Olivia Rigal / Lady O Publishing (P)2016 Olivia Rigal
hooked on books
"Stone Cold"
A quick read. There's a cliffhanger. I hate this current publishing trend of dissecting a story into parts.
"Not sure"
Not sure I'll buy book two and that the story is full enough for me. Maybe the connection between the two needs to be built up more? It's more like an outline of a book the actual book. Why is she so hot for the H? Even though he treats her like shit most the time? Maybe we need more flashbacks to recreate what was there? And why is the other guy so enamored with her? The story just needs more for me. Too many why's for me.
Report Inappropriate Content
If you find this review inappropriate and think it should be removed from our site, let us know. This report will be reviewed by Audible and we will take appropriate action.


text:
Resurrection: Myth or Reality?
By: John Shelby Spong
Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism
By: John Shelby Spong
By: John Shelby Spong
Or search Amazon.com for books related to GLBT people and Christianity.
Other Articles By Derek Miller:
Freeing Jesus:
Freeing Jesus:
Liberating the Gospels was the seventh book that I read by Spong, and each time I pick up a new one, I am continually amazed at the incredible honesty, truthfulness, and excitement that each book holds.
What Easter is All About:


text:
Sega is taking their Yakuza series from the back alleyways to the graveyard with Yakuza: Dead Souls. Originally titled Yakuza Of The End, Dead Souls will be available next March for the PS3. Not only will all of the Japanese DLC be included with the North American version, but also a new mini-game called Pachislot. As four of the series' most prominent characters battle it out with the living and dead, I'm pretty sure this is the only game (ever) that pits you against both the Japanese mafia and shuffling, undead hordes.
Yakuza: Dead Souls features gunplay for the first time in the Yakuza series, where everything from pistols, machine guns and rocket launchers can be employed against the zombie invasion. Just remember to save some ammo in case you run into something even more terrifying than the zombies! With all the depth and story of a Yakuza title, plus the addition of exciting shoot-outs and previously unplayable characters Ryuji Goda and Goro Majima, Yakuza: Dead Souls is worth dying for.
Official Site: Sega.com – Yakuza


text:
Welcome to Rains County Appraisal District!
Within this site you will find general information about the District and the ad valorem property tax system in Texas, as well as information regarding specific properties within the district.Rains Appraisal District is responsible for appraising all real and business personal property within Rains County. The district appraises property according to the Texas Property Tax Code and the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practices (USPAP).
Rains Appraisal District is responsible for the fair market appraisal of properties within each of the following taxing entities:
|Rains County
|City of Emory
|Rains ISD
|City of Point
|Miller Grove ISD
|Rains Co. Emergency Dist. #1
|City of East Tawakoni
|Lone Oak ISD
|Alba Golden ISD


text:
Recently Browsing 0 members
No registered users viewing this page.
2/26 GDT - Red Wings 2 at Canadiens 1 (OT)
Started by
Rate this topic
320 posts in this topic
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new account
Sign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now


text:
The University of Arizona
The University Of Arizona Press
Main Library Building, 5th Floor
1510 E. University Blvd.
P.O. Box 210055
Tucson, AZ 85721-0055
Our offices are located on the fifth floor of the Main Library building, to your right as you exit the elevators.
Our office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mountain Standard Time, Monday through Friday. (Arizona does not observe Daylight Savings Time.)
Our 800 number, for orders only, is 1-800-621-2736. (This number will not reach departments other than the order desk.)
Our returns address is
University of Arizona Press
11030 S. Langely Ave.
Chicago, IL 60628


text: Evan Davis: the best nerd on TV The Dragons' Den host could teach us all a thing or two... Comments Written By 5:13 PM, 15 March 2007 The fundamental basics of economics are harder to grasp than a dog in a bathtub. This means that you would need to be extremely intelligent to understand the subject in such depth that you can carve out a successful career from presenting its complexities to the public. In turn, you'd need to exude extraordinary character in order to do so without coming across as a bit of a smug, know-it-all git. This is where we find Evan Davis, at the crossroads where brains meet charm (the corner of Vorderman Street and Lynam Avenue, perhaps). There is something about Evan that raises him above TV's other boffins. He doesn't fit the nerd mould so snugly as, say, Declan the lovable BBC Breakfast stock exchange geek, or the guys on Working Lunch, who discuss the FTSE with the same enthusiasm most reserve for recounting the arrival of their first born. He's different. He looks like a live-action version of Popeye who has been forced to wear a suit. This is precisely why he isn't the BBC economics editor any more but a bona fide television personality, thanks, of course, to his job presenting the excellent Dragons' Den. He's the guy who wanders haplessly around the Dragons' basement like a servant occasionally called upon to offer up another sacrificial lamb to his masters. Then, as yet another poor inventive soul is spewed out in the Dragons' wrath, it is Evan's job to explain to them where they went wrong and why their idea hasn't been invested in - why it is that their dreams are smashed into a thousand pieces. This is no easy task. Luckily, Evan has perfected a constant wonky grin, an overwhelmingly pleasant aura of niceness that suggests he's being permanently drip-fed morphine. It's truly infectious. He could tell you that there were only five minutes left until the sun exploded and that he was going to spend it explaining the ins and outs of neoclassical economic theory to you, and you'd still forgive him. You can tell that he delights in his job, too; an important factor in appreciating the work of anyone. I recently saw him explaining the foibles of premium-rate telephone line competitions, and his eyes were rolling around his head like he never wanted it to end, such was the joy involved. You sense he'd derive the same levels of happiness from reading aloud his supermarket receipts. Evan Davis is the best nerd on TV. Any man who looks as though you're viewing him through the eyes of a fish yet can hold your attention unreservedly while explaining some of the most potentially boring topics in the universe is doing something right, right? Like this? Share it. Facebook Twitter Google Tumblr Pinterest Blogger Reddit VKontakt Print Email


text:
Interview: Barbet Schroeder
Now in his mid-60s, film-maker and self-proclaimed iconoclast Barbet Schroeder is busier than ever. His new feature, Inju, The Beast In The Shadow, will be in competition at Venice and will screen in Toronto, just a year after his documentary Terror's Advocate, about controversial lawyer Jacques Verges, screened in Cannes. And he is now preparing A Very Simple Crime, which reunites him with writer Nicholas Kazan, with whom he collaborated on 1990 Oscar winner Reversal ...
Restricted Content
Registration is required to read the entire article and to gain access to other restricted areas of the website


text:
It only takes a minute to get started. Fill out our simple sign up form and login to the website.
This step is noncompulsory but will drastically enhance your chances of getting interest from other over 50s members on the site. Introduce yourself, your interests and attach any nice photographs of yourself.
Use our website's sophisticated search to encounter over 50s members who fulfill your criteria. Or just flip through listings and encounter people that take your fancy.
Discovered someone who looks interesting? Send a note to them or just a wink and wait for their response. With a little luck you'll be on your way to finding that special someone for you.
It's quick and simple


text:
Valentine's Day 2 for 1!
Don't miss out on our Valentine's Day Deal!! Grab that special someone and join us in the sky with our Buy One Get One FREE offer! Purchase a 3000′ Discovery Tandem and let us take care of the next 3000′ feet – this is a savings of $199.00! If you are purchasing this from our online store, all you have to do is type in the secret word: CUPID Call 706-398-3541 to purchase via phone or email us at email@example.com. We look forward to flying with you!


text:
Villeroy & Boch Aveo bath
- Product range:
- Villeroy & Boch
- Supplier:
- Paterson
Villeroy & Boch baths are made from Quaryl® – a unique material that combines the properties of quartz and acrylic.
The Quaryl® casting process enables many design possibilities like rounded forms or precise straight lines.
Its flush-mounted functional elements like whirlpool jets can be fitted absolutely flush and, in part, invisibly. It retains its colour indefinitely due to Quaryl® which offers full-body colouring.
The bath's non-porous surface repels dirt and is easy to maintain.
Baths can be produced with steep sides which enable a good inside depth despite its comparatively small outer dimensions.


text:
Woking 1-on-1 with each and every client LLT Group does not simply product a myriad of graphic designs for your review. The first phase in any relationship is to truly understand your Nashville TN business and learn about the industry, the competitors and your overall goals. Do you want to expand past Aurora IL? Or do you simply want to expand in Nashville TN? Graphic design is not just digital artwork around a name, it is your local and national identty.
While our firm may have came up near the top for 'graphic design Nashville TN' we are more than just a web page in this digital age. We are familiar with businesses within Nashville TN and because of this are able to provide the best graphic design insight possible. Graphic design must be made flexible to grow and alter as your company does and that is exactly what our team aims to accomplish. Information is the most important step in translating visions into graphic design and branding. By studying businesses in Nashville TN and pairing that with award winning graphic designers on staff, LLT Group is able to provide amazing graphic design Nashville TN.
Graphic design should be the first step on your journey to financial and business success whether in Nashville or outside of Nashville. Complete brands can only be built off of thoughtful graphic design. Brands such as McDonalds, Microsoft and Apple are the pinnacles of brand management. And where did their graphic designs stem from? An 'M', a window and an apple. Call us today to hear our graphic design ideas for your Nashville TN business.


text:
This Kind of Love, the 62-year-old's first album of original material since 2000, is inspired by Brazilian music and will be released on 29 April.
Albums released on Hear Music, the label set up by Starbucks last year, are played repeatedly in its shops.
Its CDs are sold in the chain's cafes as well as by other retailers.
This Kind of Love follows two albums of cover versions from Simon, whose hits include You're So Vain and Nobody Does It Better.
"You don't have to be singing bossa nova or samba to get the essence of Brazilian music," she told US magazine Billboard.
"There are songs that fit no one rhythm or generic type or song progression."
McCartney's Memory Almost full, released through Hear Music in June, has sold more than a million records worldwide.
Other artists to have released CDs on the label include Simon's former husband, singer-songwriter James Taylor.
What are these?
Most Popular Now | 56,514 people are reading stories on the site right now.";


text:
Rules of Polyimide Use
Polyimides are a class of polymers which are versatile, robust, and used in a wide variety of applications. They can be highly resistant to variety of chemicals and temperatures up to 400 C, depending on the formulation. Polyimides are generally used at SNF in either of two forms.
Kapton Tapes
The ubiquitous "Kapton" tape is an adhesive-backed, cured polyimide film. "Kapton" is the DuPont brand version and similar tapes are available under other trade names. Various types of tape are available and selection should depend on your application. In general, the main considerations are usually the temperature and vacuum requirements. Make sure the tape selected is rated for the conditions your substrates will be subjected to. Not only are different polyimide films rates for different temperatures and vacuum applications, but more importantly, so are the adhesives used. An ordinary acrylic adhesive, for example, will char and become nearly impossible to remove, if subjected to the kind of high temperatures that polyimides can usually withstand. Many adhesives contain low molecular weight organic volatiles which can off-gas - and this can interfere with vacuum processing. Silicone-based adhesives are generally rated for higher temperature and some vaccum applications.
Kapton and polyimide tapes are considered to be in the same class as photoresist -- and so are generally banned from use in tools in which resist-coated substrates are not normally allowed.
When in doubt about whether Kapton tapes are allowed in certain tools, contact the Special Materials Committee at specmat@snf.
Spin Coated Films
Polyimides can also be applied to substrates through spin-coating, followed by curing. A wide variety of coating formulations are available. In general, they vary by viscosity (allowing you to target different thicknesses), solvent used (at SNF, we prefer NMP or other less hazardous chemical solvents), and functionality (for example, photopatternable polyimide or KOH-etch resistant polyimide.)
To bring in a new polyimide formulation, obtain an MSDS and send it to specmat@snf. Cured polyimide films are allowed in tools which normally allow wafers with photoresist. (If you plan to process polyimide films in a tool which does not normally allow processing of wafers with photoresist, you should in addition submit your process flow as part of your SpecMat request.) Polyimide coating may be done in the litho area as follows:
- Uncured polyimide is soluble in NMP but not very soluble in acetone. Excess acetone can be used to clean up polyimide which may, for example, have dripped onto a benchtop, but be aware that polyimide can clump up in acetone, plugging vacuum lines. Dried polyimide is difficult to remove -- it is not dissolved in the usual solvents. So take care to clean up all surfaces and labware after processing.
- Spin coating may be done only on headway2. Spin chuck and parts should be cleaned up
as soon as possible after coating (see warning about acetone above). Personal or dedicated wafer handling
tools must be used (do NOT used the general, shared litho cassettes.)
- The Blue M oven should be used for curing the resin (do NOT use the singe or YES ovens.) Except where specifically allowed, do not use the hot plates for curing resins at temperatures above 200C.
- Only cured polyimide is allowed in tools in the white area of the lab. A specmat request must be submitted to process wafers with cured polyimide in tools other than gold-contaminated equipment.
Document Actions


text:
Deftones bassist Chi Cheng dies at age 42
Listen to Deftones on iHeartRadio
Chi Cheng, a founding member of the Sacramento-based rock band the Deftones, has died. Deftones vocalist Chino Moreno confirmed the news on his Facebook page.
Cheng had been in a semi-conscious state since a 2008 car accident left him badly injured, although he had shown signs of improvement in recent years.
Deftones publicist Gina Blackmore posted a statement on the website OneLoveforChi.com, sharing that Cheng was taken to the emergency room early Saturday morning and his heart "just suddenly stopped." She added, "He left this world with me singing songs he liked in his ear."
Remembering his friend and bandmate on his Facebook page, Moreno simply said "Rest in peace Chi Cheng."
Chi Cheng was 42.
Photo Credit Getty Images


text:
Journey - Greatest Hits
he Diamond is an apt name for albums certified for 10 million + sales by the Recording Industry Association of America. The hardest substance on earth: insoluble, impervious to penetration, secure in itself. "The formation of natural diamond requires very specific conditions," Wikipedia says. The aim of this feature is to define what made Cracked Rear View, Come On Over, Boston and The Lion King soundtrack not just sales benchmarks of their respective artists' careers, but inexplicable loci at which shrewd marketing and the inscrutability of mass market taste met to produce high-quality entertainment no one breathing could escape. This column will also study why artistic peaks like Rumours, Born in the U.S.A., Thriller, Can't Slow Down, and Hysteria deserved their sales. Each entry in this series will pose the question: why should we separate art from commerce?
It may be hard to believe in this fragmented world of music we (now) live in, but there was a time when a) there weren'Äôt 19 different radio formats, and b) in a large swath of the U.S., the dominant one was AOR: Album-Oriented Rock. I grew up there, in the Rust Belt (and also in its companion, the Corn Belt), during AOR'Äôs prime, the early 'Ä�80s. My partner, a native Los Angeleno, is often stunned when I find myself singing along with a verse of, say, a Survivor song caught from a passing car or in a chain store; he'Äôll ask me, completely incredulous, 'ÄúHow do you know that song?'Äù
"Um, because it was a top 20 single," I reply.
"Really?! Not out here it wasn't."
Well, of course it wasn'Äôt, because a) he grew up listening to the nation'Äôs heritage modern-rocker (then more a new-waver), the world-famous KROQ, and b) the top 40 stations in Los Angeles were a lot poppier'Äîby which I mean, a lot less rock'Äîthan the ones available to my teenaged self. Not only was AOR king in the Midwest of the (especially early) 'Ä�80s, but the top 40 stations were often much more rock-spiked, as well; stations such as Chicago'Äôs 50,000-watt blowtorch WLS-AM were doing a kind of rock/top 40 hybrid years before the likes of Pirate Radio in L.A. and Dallas/Fort Worth'Äôs Eagle (KEGL) did so at decade'Äôs end.
Survivor'Äôs just the tip of the iceberg, too. I know far more of the REO Speedwagon songbook (such as it is) than can possibly be considered healthy (see also: Loverboy and Billy Squier, Dizzee Rascal'Äôs good taste in sampling 'ÄúThe Big Beat'Äù notwithstanding). Foreigner were Gods to many of my Midwestern peers. Rumor has it there'Äôs a small, locked cabinet in the back of my brain familiar with selections from the Night Ranger catalog. (More than just 'ÄúSister Christian,'Äù I mean: 'ÄúSentimental Street,'Äù anyone?) Asia, Styx, .38 Special: this is what my early-teenage diet of Culture Club, Duran Duran, and Prince was spiced, liberally, with. But none of 'Ä�em were bigger than Journey.
Yes, Journey was big all over the U.S. for the first two-thirds of the 'Ä�80s, but understand that by the time the San Francisco quintet first tasted Billboard top 10 pop success (with 'ÄúDon'Äôt Stop Believin'Äô'Äù and 'ÄúWho'Äôs Crying Now,'Äù from their justifiably monstrous 1981 #1 album Escape), songs of theirs such as 'ÄúLights'Äù (which peaked nationally at #68 in 'Äô78) had already been Midwestern prom mainstays for nigh on three years. They may have been from the Bay Area, but Journey'Äôs true home was the Midwest. It'Äôs through that prism that I hear their 1988 Greatest Hits, an album that as of 2006 has been RIAA-certified as having sold an astounding 14 million U.S. copies.
Obviously, the key to much of Journey's appeal is the golden throat of Steve Perry. Far more than a Springsteen or a Mellencamp, Perry's voice is truly that of the Everyman: pleading, needful, strong, and a writer of poetry that, while occasionally awkward, just gets the core of humanness (and, more to the point, adolescence). How much more universal can lyrics get than these?
It'Äôs been a mystery, and still they try to seeThose are from 1981'Äôs 'ÄúWho'Äôs Crying Now,'Äù and a prime example of Journey'Äôs appeal; if you get it, you get it. Mock these as clich√© if you must, but Perry'Äôs lyrics nonetheless nail the core of a part of us all'Äîthey'Äôre simultaneously surface and deep, and legions upon legions of 'Ä�80s kids felt it.
Why somethin' good can hurt so bad
Caught on a one-way street, the taste of bittersweet
Love will survive somehow, some way
Perry certainly wasn't the only crucial factor in Journey's success. Neal Schon, the only member of the band present for their entire run from 1974-1987, is a superb meat'n'potatoes guitarist, capable of both sturdy rhythm licks and searing solos, while Jonathan Cain was on board as Journey's keyboardist for Escape-Frontiers-Raised on Radio, and anyone who's ever heard "Separate Ways" is aware of his prowess (plus, he rocked the keytar in concert at least a year before Eddie Van Halen did the same). (Honestly, all Journey's drummer and bassist have ever needed to do is keep the beat, and they've had a number of capable players do just that.)
During the grim, early part of the 'Ä�80s, with unemployment high and the world changing in hard-to-grasp ways (computers?), many people in the Rust Belt wanted'Äînay, needed'Äîmusic that both reassured them and understood who they essentially were. More than the Midwest'Äôs own REO and Styx, more than the Southern-fried .38 Special, more than the Anglo-American Foreigner (who came close, mind you, most notably with 4'Äôs glorious one-two punch of 'ÄúUrgent'Äù and 'ÄúWaiting for a Girl Like You'Äù), Journey were all things to lots of people. They unwittingly caught a moment in time and preserved it for millions of fans, now in their 30s and older. I seriously doubt that many of today'Äôs teenagers are keeping Greatest Hits in print, but would place my own money on the bet that this album will likely never leave print; not only will legions of adults keep wearing out their copies and needing new ones, but I expect Journey to come back into vogue eventually'Äîtruths as universal as those they presented never die. And they never stop runnin'Äô'Äîor believin'Äô'Ķ
By: Thomas Inskeep
Published on: 2007-04-24
Comments (16)


text:
Research Details
Can Housing Mobility Programs Make a Long-Term Impact on the Lives of Poor Families and the Health of Middle-Class Communities: A Policy Simulation
Housing mobility programs enable families living in high-poverty neighborhoods to relocate to lower- poverty neighborhoods using tenant-based subsidies. Recent research indicates that these programs improve participant outcomes on a number of economic and social outcomes. This paper applies policy simulation to a stylized representation of a housing mobility program to give a sense of scale and proportion for what a "full scale" mobility program might entail. Results indicate that this system model reaches steady-state fairly quickly, that rates of concentrated poverty decrease more quickly than those for system-wide poverty, consistent with the notion of a housing mobility program as primarily a tool for poverty deconcentration. Destination communities absorb a substantial number of mobility in- movers without suffering substantial adverse demographic impacts, indicating that the "carrying capacity" of these communities may sufficient to support large-scale mobility initiatives. Middle-class flight per mobility family is moderately high and almost independent of housing mobility program intensity; selected sprawl-related social costs are relatively small. Sensitivity analyses show that the model behaves in predictable ways in response to changes to structural parameters. A "worst-case" scenario of parameter values still generates modest poverty reductions with moderate levels of poverty in destination communities but very high rates of middle-class "flight".
Publication Year: 2005
Type: Working Paper
Working Paper Number: 33
- View Full Text (.pdf)
Adobe .pdf files require the Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Download and install the Adobe Acrobat Reader.


text:
A Magical Farm Where Nature Rejoices...
Frog Holler is a fully-functional farm with gardens of organic flowers, fruits and veggies, including a delicious array ranging from varieties found in Grandma's garden to the exotic. Imagine 100% organic produce straight from the garden to your table. This fully-renovated 3-bedroom 1920's farmhouse features a kitchen equipped for your most spectacular meals and beautiful views from every window. Be greeted at your kitchen table each morning by large Koi fish from their window-side pond!
- Wifi
- Restaurant Onsite
- Pets Allowed
- Property Size 1 units
- Conference Facility
- Kids Allowed
- Nearby City Waynesville
- Nearby Water N/A
- Open Dates May 2 to Oct 32
- Coffee Maker
- Microwave
- Rock Climbing
- Horseback Riding
- Shopping
- Hiking
- Wildlife & Nature
- Sailing
- Fitness Programs
Nearest Airports
- Asheville Regional Airport (AVL) / 26.1 miles
- Greenville Spartanburg International Airport (GSP) / 63.4 miles
- McGhee Tyson Airport (TYS) / 59.5 miles
* Not all airports listed here may be open to public use, or service commercial flights
Message this property
By clicking 'Submit' you are agreeing to our Terms of Service
Vacation Request Successfully submitted. Thank You!


text:
I have been avoiding Seaside Heights for a few years now. Ever since I stopped working as a private security guard I haven't had the desire to go there. I don't even like to go to that town for work. Well, recently I went to Seaside to check out a job that needed servicing. When I got into the town I had a bad feeling. I turned the corner one block from my destination, and saw a police car following me. I knew I wasn't doing anything wrong.
A minute later I saw lights flashing behind me. I pulled over, and asked the officer what I had done. He said nothing, and that my vehicle wasn't registered. He advised me that the camera system on the car had run my plate. I searched my paperwork to find that the dealership I purchased my truck from hadn't taken the time to renew my registration. The officer went back and talked to his supervisor about not towing the vehicle. I only received a ticket.
Don't you just love it when people don't do the things that they belong doing?


text:
When we were little, my Mom would buy us a candy bar every Friday night. One of my most favorite things was being with my sisters watching TGIF on our bean bags eating our special treat. My favorite candy bar to pick was M&M's. I still could eat them everyday! When I saw this recipe from Ashton from Something Swanky I was so excited to make it. It was DELICIOUS! It turned out so good that I had to call the college sisters' Steph and Lauren to take the rest away to their college roommates.
M&M Monster Dip
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup Butter, room temperature
1/2 cup Peanut Butter (at least)
1 to 2 cups of Powdered Sugar (even more if you really want it thick)
3 Tablespoons of Brown Sugar
3 Tablespoons of flour
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 cup of oats (more or less depending on desired texture)
2 cups of Plain M&Ms
1 cup of Milk Chocolate Chips
Whisk the cream cheese, butter, and peanut butter until smooth.
Whisk in the powdered sugar, starting with 1 cup (or 2 cups if you already know you want a thicker dip– I used only one cup because I like it gooey and not so thick).
Whisk in the brown sugar, flour, and vanilla.
If you want a stronger peanut butter taste, add in more by 1/4 cups.
Using a wooden spoon, mix in the oats, M&Ms, and chocolate chips. Add more oats if desired to make it thicker.
I served mine with vanilla wafers. Something Swanky used graham crackers and pretzels.
Recipe from Something Swanky


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/).
Mountaintop mining and valley fill (MTM/VF) coal extraction, practiced in the Central Appalachian region, represents a dramatic landscape-scale disturbance. MTM operations remove as much as 300 m of rock, soil, and vegetation from ridge tops to access deep coal seams and much of this material is placed in adjacent headwater streams altering landcover, drainage network, and topography. In spite of its scale, extent, and potential for continued use, the effects MTM/VF on catchment hydrology is poorly understood. Previous reviews focus on water quality and ecosystem health impacts, but little is known about how MTM/VF affects hydrology, particularly the movement and storage of water, hence the hydrologic processes that ultimately control flood generation, water chemistry, and biology. This paper aggregates the existing knowledge about the hydrologic impacts of MTM/VF to identify areas where further scientific investigation is needed. While contemporary surface mining generally increases peak and total runoff, the limited MTM/VF studies reveal significant variability in hydrologic response. Significant knowledge gaps relate to limited understanding of hydrologic processes in these systems. Until the hydrologic impact of this practice is better understood, efforts to reduce water quantity and quality problems and ecosystem degradation will be difficult to achieve.
Mountaintop removal mining and valley fill (MTM/VF) coal extraction, practiced in the Central Appalachian region of the eastern United States, represents a dramatic change to the landscape. Post mining topography, vegetation, landuse, soils, and runoff pathways can be severely altered during the mining process and subsequent reclamation. While surface mining is used to mine metals, minerals, and oil, it is often associated with coal, accounting for 40% of coal mined globally and accounts for two-thirds of coal production in the US and Australia [
Mountaintop removal mining (MTM) operations of the Central Appalachian coalfields. The EPA [
Significant progress has been made in understanding the impacts of MTM/VF on downstream chemistry and ecological conditions. A recent review by Griffith
Investigations into contemporary MTM/VF operations have involved hydrologic modeling or quantifying catchment outlet streamflow responses to precipitation inputs. These studies show an overall increase in baseflow in MTM/VF impacted catchment [
MTM/VF has become an increasingly polarized issue nationally and particularly in the communities in which it is practiced. Local citizens, environmental advocacy groups, and regulators have expressed concerns over the long term impacts of MTM/VF on downstream water quality, public health, and safety. After several devastating floods in southern West Virginia, public concerns were raised about the potential of MTM to exacerbate flooding in coal region communities, which typically abut streams and rivers in narrow valleys due to the region's steep topography. Industry has countered these concerns by emphasizing the economic benefits of the coal industry [
In short, there is a lack of data to inform our understanding of how hydrologic systems are responding to this drastic and permanent landscape-scale change. Thus, the overall objective of this paper is to aggregate the existing knowledge base of the hydrologic impacts of MTM/VF to identify areas where further scientific study is critically needed. The organization of this paper is as follows:
Small catchments (<10 km2) and hillslopes are the primary experimental unit for many hydrologic studies because inputs and outputs (
Conceptualization of forest headwater catchment hydrologic processes. Water is added to the catchment as precipitation (
The primary input to headwater catchments in the Central Appalachian region is precipitation primarily in the form of rain and a transient snowpack. Losses are from evaporation and transpiration (evapotranspiration, Et), streamflow and groundwater. Et in this region accounts for, on average, 47% of annual precipitation [
Runoff can take a variety surface and subsurface flowpaths from the hillslope to the stream channel that ultimately control the timing and magnitude of runoff. Because of high hydrologic conductivity in soil macropores [
The consequences of landuse/land cover changes on streamflow have garnered much attention over the past few decades [
Forest harvesting usually increases runoff by reducing canopy interception and transpiration (e.g., [
Agricultural practices and urbanization can have profound effects of streamflow. The conversion of mature forests to agricultural land changes the amount of water lost through Et, increasing available water for runoff. Further exposure of bare soils and compaction can lead to rapid routing of runoff to stream channels, often as Hortonian overland flow [
Similar to these landuse/land cover changes, surface mining alters the catchment water budget by altering flow paths. Ferrari
MTM/VF is a special form of surface mining adapted to mountainous terrain in which the forest, topsoil, and overlying bedrock is removed using explosives and heavy machinery to gain direct access to deeper coal seams (
The process of MTM removes vegetation, soil, and uses explosives and heavy machinery to gain access to deeper coal seams. Overburden is placed in adjacent headwater stream valley creating valley fills. The picture below shows the critical elements of a MTM/ valley fill (VF) operation in a headwater catchment in southern West Virginia (WV): (
MTM is permitted under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) of 1977 [
Conceptual model of runoff flow paths in a MTM/VF headwater catchment: (
The primary objective of reclamation since the passage of SMCRA has been on slope and soil stability to prevent soil erosion from the mine surface [
Because MTM/VF operations create two distinct landforms, each with unique physical and hydrologic impacts, the following sections discuss the impacts of traditional surface mining and the individual and combined hydrologic impacts of the MTM/VF (
Hydrologic impact studies of surface mining and MTM/VF in the eastern US.
|Reference a
|Year b
|Mining Method
|# of catchments
|Spatial Scale c
|Time scale/ study duration
|Key hydrologic observations
|pre-SMCRA surface mining
|HW to MS: 55.4 & 111.4 km2
|3 months
|Show that spoil piles act as reservoirs for groundwater storage.
|pre-SMCRA surface mining
|HW: 55 & 111 km2
|12 months
|Surface mine impacted watersheds maintained flows while forested catchments went dry during extreme draught conditions.
|pre-SMCRA strip mining
|HW: 0.67–2.2 km2
|4 years
|Greater flow variability, less storage, larger peakflows in mined catchments.
|pre-SMCRA strip mining
|HW: 0.66–1.8 km2
|Single storm event
|During a major storm event, surface mined watersheds had smaller peak discharges than adjacent, undisturbed catchments.
|pre-SMCRA surface and underground mining
|BA: 2442 km2
|25 years
|Streamflow is maintained during extended dry periods in mined catchments after streams in unmined catchments have ceased flowing, which the authors attributed to storage of water in underground mines, spoil piles, and strip pits.
|pre-SMCRA strip mining
|HW: 0.70–1.5 km2
|4 years
|Storm flow volumes were unchanged but peak flows increased by 36% in mined catchments. This effect was most prominent during smaller events; higher magnitude peaks were unaffected.
|post-SMCRA surface mining
|PS: 78 Infiltration tests on 5 reclaimed surface mines
|30 minutes tests on reclaimed mines 1–4 years old
|Infiltration rates on newly reclaimed mine soil were an order of magnitude lower than undisturbed soils. Infiltration rate recovered through time the extent of which appeared to be controlled by overburden lithology.
|pre- and post-SMCRA contour mining; small scale MTM operations
|HW: 1.74–11.2 km2
|8 years
|Total flow increased in mine-impacted catchments, particularly during low flow conditions. Authors attributed this to decreased ET losses from deforestation and the storage and slow release of runoff from mine spoil.
|West Virginia
|pre-SMCRA strip and underground mining
|HW: 4.66–20.07 km2
|3–5 years
|Synoptic discharge measurements revealed the importance of underground mining in rerouting subsurface water. A rainfall-runoff model indicated increased ET losses and decreased runoff in surface mined catchments.
|West Virginia
|pre- and post-SMCRA strip mining; underground mining
|HW: 12.6–21.8 km2
|3 years
|Peak stream discharges from mined basins were smaller than those from unmined areas, and mined basins had lower high flows and higher low flows than the unmined basins.
|post-SMCRA surface mining
|HW: 0.11 & 0.32 km2
|3 & 11 years in each catchment
|The extent of infiltration rate recovery of reclaimed surface mines will control the storm hydrograph and drainage network evolution. Where recovery occurs, saturation excess overland flow becomes primary runoff mechanism.
|West Virginia
|PS: 8 ha spoil pile
|14 years
|The spoil pile contained highly permeable spoil channels that are variably oriented and interconnected which created a pseudo-karst hydrologic setting.
|post-SMCRA contour-area and haul-back mining
|HW: ~0.12–0.2 km2
|5–6 years
|Mining and reclamation activities caused more frequent higher daily flow volumes. Peak flows on mined lands decreased with reclamation but were still greater than pre-mining flows.
|HW: 4.1 km2 mine spoil area with 2 VFs
|multiple scales/4 years
|Identified 3 distinct but interconnected zones of water stored in mine spoil: slow moving water in the spoil interior and more rapidly moving water in the valley fills at lower elevations.
|post-SMCRA surface mining
|HW: 0.32 km2
|4 years
|In spite of an increase in infiltration rate, little change is observed in total runoff from a reclaimed surface mine indicating contributions through throughflow and return flow. Dye tracing revealed a developed macropore network.
|West Virginia
|MTM (VFs not considered in model)
|HW: 9.9–26.1 km2
|3 modeled storm events
|Peak runoff increased 3%–21% in surface mined and timbered catchments based on hydrologic modeling. This significance of this additional input was lessened downstream.
|West Virginia
|Headwater: 0.49–5.67 km2
|storm event/2 years
|During larger storm events, the mined catchment produced more unit runoff than the forested catchment. Double peaks were observed in the heavily mined catchment during intense storms.
|West Virginia
|3 catchments: 0.49–5.67 km2
|daily & monthly/2 years
|Total unit flow in mined catchment was approximately 2× greater than forested catchment, with greatest differences occurring dry periods. Unit flow during high flows was similar between the mined and forested catchment.
|West Virginia
|HW: 0.49–3.03 km2
|single storm event
|Return interval in forested catchment varied from 10–25 years compared to <2 to >100 years in mined catchments.
|HW: 1.4–6.5 km2 (theoretical catchments)
|2 storms; summer 2001
|Highly variable model outcomes, with surface mining either increasing or decreasing flood potential. However, the author concludes that, on balance, MTM/VF is likely to increase flood potential.
|post-SMCRA strip mining
|Headwater: 0.03 & 2.7 km2
|event-annual/3 years
|Mined/reclaimed catchment show 2.5× higher storm runoff coefficients, 3× greater total runoff volume, and 2× higher peak hourly runoff rates than the forested catchment.
|pre- and post-SMCRA strip mining
|MS: 187.5 km2
|310-year periods: 1971–1981, 1982–1992, 1994–2004
|Estimations of flood response showed that the rate at which flood magnitude increases due to increased mining is linear, a response synonymous with urbanization rather than deforestation.
|pre- and post-SMCRA strip mining
|Meso-scale: 127.2 &187.5 km2
|multiple scales /57 years
|Floods in the mined catchment showed higher peak runoff and shorter centroid lag than the forested catchment but less total stormflow volume due to water lost through underground mine workings.
|loose dumped mine spoil
|PS: 6 test cells: ~ 1 acre
|12 storm events / 15 month study period
|Loose-dumped spoil of varying composition generally produced low discharge volumes (12% of rainfall), small peak discharge rates (between 2.5 × 10−5 and 3.0 × 10−3 m3/s), and long discharge durations (6 days on average).
|pre- and post-SMCRA strip mining
|Headwater: 3.0–27.1 ha
|15–61 storm events /3–8 years
|Calculated curve numbers (range: 68–92) for three mined watersheds were generally higher than estimates from engineering methods (range: 65–79).
|West Virginia
|BA: 1011 km2
|annual /16 years
|Statistically significant mean annual streaflow change not detected
|West Virginia
|pre-SMCRA surface mine to MTM/VF
|HW to BA:6.4 & 1011 km2
|storm event to annual/41 years
|Characterized streamflow changes over lifetime of MTM/VF practice (1969–2010). Significant changes in streamflow variability and baseflow at different spatial & temporal scales.
Notes: a References based on streamflow, runoff, hydrologic response, water balance, and watersehd studies only; b publication year; c PS-plot scale; HW-headwater: up to 101km2; MS-meso-scale: 101 - 103 km2; BA- basin-scale: >103 km2.
Surface mining for coal in the Appalachians began in the mid-20th century and continues today. Much of the mining in the early part of this period constituted small contour and strip mine operations that disturbed areas less than 400 hectares. In contrast, MTM in the coalfields of southern West Virginia, southwestern Virginia, and eastern Kentucky, and Tennessee in the 1980s disturbed areas on the scale of thousands of hectares [
The post-SMCRA reclaimed surface mine is characterized by herbaceous grasses and groundcovers growing on heavily compacted mines soils [
During the mining process (
Infiltration rates of minesoil can be an order of magnitude lower than undisturbed forest soils [
While impact of surface mining and reclamation on streamflow has been explored for nearly as long as the practice of surface mining in Appalachia, studies are relatively few in number. Early investigations on the impact of surface mining used a paired catchment approach (e.g., [
In a study of the impact of surface mining on headwaters of the New River in Tennessee from 1972 to 1985, Dickens
More recent studies of surface mining following the implementation of SMCRA observed different results than the aforementioned studies. In a study of three headwater catchments undergoing surface mining in Ohio, Bonta,
Few studies attempt to assess the impacts of surface mining at the basin scale (>100 km2). McCormick
Few studies explore the role that valley fills play on controlling water storage and release. Much of our understanding of contemporary valley fill behavior comes from studies of unconsolidated spoil piles associated with pre-SMCRA surface mining operations. While limited inference about valley fill hydrology can be made, the scale and construction methods of contemporary valley fills drastically differ from spoil piles from early surface mining operations. The size of modern valley fills varies, but the largest have volumes of over 150 million m3 and are >3 km in length [
Multiple methods exist for constructing valley fills but the predominant technique used in the rugged topography of Appalachia is the durable rock fill technique where spoil is end-dumped from the mine surface in lifts (
The storage and slow release of water from surface minespoil described by Dickens
The most complete picture of valley fill hydrology comes from a series of investigations of water movement and storage in a large minespoil area at the Star Fire Mine in eastern Kentucky [
Assessing the hydrologic impacts of MTM/VF is difficult because it is a two part system, each with potentially contradictory effects on the storage and movement of water. While post-SMCRA reclaimed surface mines generally produce rapid, higher magnitude runoff response to storm events, valley fills appear to act as storage reservoirs that dampen storm responses and sustain baseflow but the physical processes controlling runoff generation in these systems is not clear.
The U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) study of extensively mined (0.5 km2; 44% MTM/VF), partially mined (5.7 km2; 40% MTM/VF), and forested (1.4 km2; no MTM/VF) subcatchments of Ballard Fork in southern West Virginia offers the most complete picture of hydrologic impacts of MTM. Messinger and Paybins [
Messinger [
Wiley and Brogan [
Due to the dearth of gaged headwater catchments in the MTM region, several studies used hydrologic models to explore the impacts of MTM. In response to extreme flooding in May and July of 2001, the Governor of West Virginia created the Flood Advisory Technical Taskforce (FATT) to investigate the possible impacts of logging and surface mining. Using Natural Resource Conservation Service curve number approach, the study found that surface mining (including MTM) and harvesting increased peak flows between 3% and 21% but the significance of this additional input was lessened in the furthest downstream reaches in the modeled catchments [
Few studies have addressed the hydrologic impact of MTM at larger scales. Long term studies of the Tug Fork watershed (4040 km2) in West Virginia, Kentucky, and Virginia from 1947 to 1978 [
A review of existing literature highlights significant variability in the hydrologic responses of MTM/VF-impacted watersheds at the headwater and downstream scales. Despite mixed results, it is evident that individually and collectively, mountaintop mines and valley fills exert important controls on catchment hydrology, namely in runoff altering flow paths.
Existing research on the hydrologic impacts of MTM has documented a range of potential impacts to the storm hydrograph and seasonal flow regimes but also reveals considerable variability in hydrologic responses to storm events, extent of disturbance, and stage and method of reclamation. Currently we lack the data to understand the cause of this variability.
These critical questions remain unanswered and little progress can be made in understanding and quantifying the hydrologic impacts of MTM until the volume and type of data necessary to understand the variability observed in the existing literature is collected. The following section expands on the knowledge gaps identified by Zegre
At present, all investigations into the hydrologic impacts of MTM have been measured at the catchment outlet or have relied on hydrologic models in gaged and ungaged catchments. The limitations of conducting controlled scientific investigations in drastically disturbed areas (see Bonta [
In order to understand the full range of hydrologic consequences of this practice, future research needs to focus on catchment processes that control the storage, transport, and flowpaths of water. Geochemical and isotopic approaches should be incorporated into hydrometric studies to discern geographic sources of runoff in addition to its magnitude and duration. How these processes change in response to differing climatic inputs, extents of disturbance, reclamation techniques, and alteration to catchment structure and organization will provide insight into the variability observed in the hydrologic studies to date. Isotopic and geochemical tracers have been applied in catchments disturbed by urbanization (e.g., [
As Wiley and Brogan [
The hydrologic impact of MTM operations in the context of the heterogonous landscape of the region remains uncertain. Is variability normalized by the landscape scale disturbance of MTM or does the displacement of mountain ridges augment preexisting hydrologic differences caused by topography, geology, and legacy land disturbance?
Surprisingly little is known about the hydrologic processes responsible for movement and storage of water in the context of multiple episodes of land disturbance in the Central Appalachian coalfields. While the MTM region lies between long-term forested experimental catchments at the Fernow Experimental Forest (northern WV) and the Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory (NC), the information gained from those sites is limited due to differing climatology, geology and historical and current landuse in the Central Appalachian coalfields. Work in the greater Central Appalachian region has shown that stormflow is dominated by subsurface flow [
The Forestry Reclamation Approach has gained traction as a potentially viable reclamation technique amongst industry and regulators [
Disturbance thresholds to detect measurable changes in streamflow have not been established for MTM or traditional surface mining. Forest harvesting studies suggest that 15%–20% of a catchment needs to be disturbed to detect changes in streamflow [
Runoff thresholds for precipitation depth, duration, and intensity, and valley fill/catchment moisture conditions would also aid in understanding the hydrologic response of MTM-impacted catchments (
Investigations into the hydrologic impacts of MTM predominantly occur at the headwater scale. While this scale is an appropriate experimental unit and represents the scale of disturbance, it is also necessary to understand the downstream consequences of this practice. Zégre
To the extent of our knowledge and extensive literature search, longitudinal studies of catchments undergoing MTM-related disturbance do not exist. Such studies are necessary to understand how hydrology changes in response to ongoing mining and reclamation. In addition, long-term (e.g., decades) studies are needed to assess how reclaimed landscapes, including morphology and vegetation, and hydrologic processes evolve over time. For example, Ritter and Gardner [
MTM/VF displaces as much as 300 m of overburden from Appalachian ridge tops to access deeper coal seams and therefore represents a substantial change to the size, shape, organization, slope, and drainage network of the catchments where it occurs. To date, quantifications of the change to catchment topography from MTM/VF operations remains scarce and, to the authors' knowledge, no study connects this structural reorganization to hydrologic change.
The importance of catchment topography and drainage structure in controlling hydrologic response has been a focus in contemporary literature. McGlynn
This issue is confounded by the addition of drainage structures such as rock-lined channels from the mine surface to the valley bottom or sediment retention ponds at the base of valley fills. Therefore, discerning the hydrologic effect of topographic reorganization from other impacts of MTM will be difficult. This process must begin with a quantification of the extent and magnitude of topographic and drainage network change in MTM/VF-impacted areas. The proliferation of high resolution LiDAR-based topographic models of Central Appalachian coalfields will be critical in this step.
MTM represents a dramatic and likely permanent landscape-scale disturbance with important local and regional impacts. Despite its scale, extent, and potential of continued use, key knowledge gaps regarding hydrologic consequences of this practice exist. Water storage and movement in these disturbed landscapes exert important controls on the well documented downstream water quality issues associated with MTM/VF. The culpability of surface mining operations in extreme flooding events in the Appalachian coalfields is still being debated amongst citizens, industry, and regulators. Thus, hydrologic studies of the impacts of MTM/VF play a critical role in elucidating the consequences of this mining practice.
Most investigations into the hydrologic impacts of surface mining involve traditional contour and strip mining techniques that occur at smaller scales and do not consider the role that valley fills have on hydrology, presenting additional uncertainties. Studies to date demonstrate that since the enactment of SMCRA, heavily compacted mine surfaces have decreased infiltration capacity and tree growth and consequently produce flashier, higher magnitude runoff responses to storm events. While minespoil studies provide insight into the potential hydrologic controls of valley fills, no studies specifically address valley fill hydrology. Previous studies dealing with hydrologic impacts of MTM operations have been successful in establishing a range of possible responses of this practice, but these studies underscore catchment heterogeneity and response variability limiting understanding of the downstream consequences and warranting further investigation through controlled experiments.
MTM's expected proliferation in the coming decades coupled with the adjacency of communities to streams and rivers in the Central Appalachian coalfields makes understanding the hydrologic consequences of this practice necessary. The observed hydrologic effects of MTM/VF present landowners, policy makers, engineers, and water resource managers with many difficult questions about how to manage the altered landscapes created by this mining progress. Such progress will ultimately depend on expanding the number of hydrologic studies in the Central Appalachian coalfields region and concentrating research efforts on the physical processes that control hydrologic response in these disturbed systems.
Funding for this research was provided in part by NSF EAR Award 1042683; Oak Ridge Associated University (ORAU) Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award; West Virginia University Senate Research Award; and Hatch Act Formula Fund. We are grateful to Jane Lefevre of West Virginia University Davis College for graphical assistance on
The authors declare no conflict of interest.


text:
It's that time of year when the tropics heat up and you know what that means – there's the potential for hurricanes. Hurricane season runs through November 30 with activity peaking in September, so it's never too early to be prepared.
At South Atlantic Bank, we take these storms very seriously and have plans in place in the event of a weather emergency. Our number one priority is the safety of our customers and employees.
You may also want to review the following websites for tips on how to prepare your home and family for a hurricane.
NOAA Hurricane Preparedness
City of Myrtle Beach Hurricane Preparedness Plan
Red Cross's Hurricane Safety Checklist
Horry County Emergency Management