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A9 TV; 22 August 2011
I told Gaddafi right at the outset. That he would be crushed and humiliated and brought down. Then he will now be brought to heel and they will probably hang him, and maybe his sons, too. Nobody listened. But if he had come to Turkey and entered into negotiations, Turkey could have resolved the matter very well. There would have been no upheaval. Nobody would have died. Nowhere would have been bombed. Business and life and all fine activities in the world of worship would have assumed the most excellent form. But he refused, and this is the result. They will now either capture him or else he will kill himself. Something will happen.
Now Assad in Syria is not heeding me, either. He is going to have a huge trouble, as well, and Allah knows the truth. They refuse to listen. Yet Turkish-Islamic Union is a union full of love and warmth, a most fine one. It is a system that will please everyone, but they are so arrogant. He imagines he is very powerful.
The way of the Mahdi will put them right. That is no problem. I mean, if any errors are being made, it will correct them. Hazrat Mahdi (as) and the Prophet Jesus (as) will design the whole world. Both Hazrat Mahdi (as) and the Prophet Jesus (as) are expert architects. Both are also expert artists, with a fine knowledge of art. They will give it the most beautiful appearance. As you know, Hazrat Khidr (as) is also an architect, a teacher, insha'Allah. He also has an excellent understanding of art. Imagine a picture of the world in the 2030s. You will be amazed at the speed. "When did these districts appear?" "When did this beauty appear?" and "How quickly this all happened," you will say.2011-09-11 21:27:26


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STUDENTS at St Joseph's Catholic College learnt a hard lesson yesterday when they watched a road safety presentation.
Although Year 11 students at the school in Ocotal Way have regularly taken part in the Safe Drive Stay Alive scheme, it was the first time that the road safety partnership organisers – including members from Wiltshire and Swindon Council's, Wiltshire Police and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue – visited the school to deliver the session.
Ian Hopkins, the road safety development manager with Wiltshire Fire and Rescue, said: "It's a road safety demonstration aimed at the most vulnerable drivers on the road, which are young people who are aged between 16 and 24.
"It's to help make them aware of the dangers on the road and how they can stay safe.
"We offer it to about 7,500 students around Swindon."
The presentation involves dramatic video clips and testimonials from people who have been involved in life-changing accidents with vehicles, and the relatives and friends of people who lost their lives in road traffic collisions.
From left, crash victim Simon Johnstone, Callum, Steve Jugg of Wiltshire Fire Service, Sophie, Joe, and Plesney
The demonstration always has a significant impact on students, like 15-year-old Daniel Gil.
The Year 11 student said: "It was very hard-hitting. I have been very lucky that nobody I know personally has ever been involved in a car accident.
"The whole experience was a bit like having a freight train hit you.
"I think it's something every young person should watch because they need to be aware of what they are doing on the road."
Giorgia Ley and Debra Mumbi-Peterson also felt that it was very useful for young people to watch.
Giorgia said: "It showed how even the simplest thing, like putting on a seatbelt, could save your life."
Debra said: "I think it's really important that young people watch this because we are all going to be driving in the next few years and it's important to know."
Liz Vincent, the PSHE and citizenship co-ordinator at St Joseph's said: "We show the demonstration to our Year 11 students every year.
"And it's really valuable because very soon so many of them could be turning 17 and learning to drive.
"We teach road safety in every year because it is so important for young people to know how they can stay safe.
"This presentation wasn't just about how to behave as a driver, but also about how your actions as a passenger can have an impact."
For more information about the programme visit www.facebook.com/SDSA.Wilts.

subset: commoncrawl


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Talking to the Experts: Fabiola Gaines on Soul Foodby Toby Amidor in Cookbooks, September 18, 2011
Good old soul food is famous for excess fat, salt and sugar. Thank goodness for soul food expert and registered dietitian Fabiola Gaines, who told us how to lighten up soul food without compromising taste.
Q: What inspired you to write The New Soul Food Cookbook for Diabetes, especially for diabetics?
Several years ago, the American Diabetes Association asked my partner and I to sit in on a cultural diversity committee. They came up with this recipe card that wasn't appropriate for the African American population with type 2 diabetes– the recipe was for sweet potato pie with raisins. In the typical African American cuisine raisins are not included in sweet potato pie. We became a critical part of choosing recipes for this project, and the American Diabetes Association asked my partner and I if we would be interested in writing the first African American cookbook. Both of our fathers died of complications from diabetes and the book is near and dear to our hearts. It was important that we show that soul food is not bad but needs a facelift.
Q: Could you describe what soul food is?
Soul Food is the food your grandmother and mother cooked for the family. It is food that brings you warm thoughts of home and family. Soul food is associated with the African American culture especially in the southern states. It also means great food that will "stick to your ribs," as my mother used to say.
Q: Which traditional soul food dishes may appear to be healthy but really aren't?
Collard greens with ham hocks, chitterlings and pig feet just to name a few. Collard green can be made healthier by using smoked turkey necks instead of the ham hocks. It will reduce the fat in the greens by over 50 percent. The chitterlings and pig feet should be eaten on a limited basis because of the amount of fat they both contain. In my family we usually eat chitterlings during Christmas or for special occasions. It is difficult to tell folks not to eat these foods because they are a part of the African American tradition. I would suggest limiting the frequency of their consumption and portion size.
Q: Soul food is one of the most mouthwatering cuisines I've ever tasted. What are some tips to lightening up this type of food and still keeping it tasty? What are some of the most requested dishes to lighten up?
It is important that we look at reducing the fat, salt and sugar in soul food dishes. The chronic disease rates are skyrocketing in the African American community and food is the culprit. Here are some tips we use in lightening up the soul food recipes.
- Increase use of herbs and spices.
- Use smoked turkey necks or breast in seasoning beans and greens.
- Limit frying of meats. Try pan frying, grilling, baking and broiling instead.
We must get the African American population back in the kitchen to improve the overall health of our families. When we cook at home we know how much fat, salt and sugar we use in the foods we prepare.
Q: Many diabetics may be reading this article and think that they could never touch soul food without going off their diet. Could you explain how these recipes fit into a diabetic diet? Also, can non-diabetics use these recipes?
The recipes are made for the whole family but also fit into the meal plan for diabetics. Each recipe calculates the carbohydrates and for the old school diabetics the exchange list comparisons. We are teaching diabetics to carbohydrate count which will expand their food choices. By reducing the fat, salt and sugar in the cookbook recipes individuals can have healthier soul food that tastes great.
Q: Could you share with us one of your favorite recipes from your book.
My favorite recipe is Aunt Dorothy's Tea Cakes. This recipe brings me fond memories of my aunt. She was a wonderful cook and baker and I have a host of recipes she shared with me.
Aunt Dorothy's Tea Cakes
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Serves: 12
Serving size: 1 tea cake
1/2 cup reduced-fat margarine
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup egg substitute
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
1/4 cup molasses
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Heat the oven to 375˚F. Cream the margarine and sugar together. Add ¼ cup egg substitute and mix well, then add another ¼ cup and mix well.
Combine the buttermilk and molasses. In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Alternately, add buttermilk and flour portions to the margarine mixture until all the portions are added.
Drop the batter by spoonfuls onto a nonstick baking sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes.
2 1/2 carbohydrates
1/2 fat
Nutrition Information
Calories: 187
Calories from fat: 36
Total fat: 4 grams
Saturated fat: 1 gram
Cholesterol: 0 milligrams
Sodium: 175 milligrams
Total carbohydrates: 34 grams
Dietary fiber: 1 gram
Sugars: 18 grams
Protein: 4 grams
Fabiola Gaines, RD, LD, is the president of a non-profit nutrition practice Hebni Nutrition Consultants, Inc. located in Orlando, Florida, and co-author of The New Soul Food Cookbook for People with Diabetes. She is currently working with the American Cancer Society on a new book to be released fall 2011.


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1) I really wonder who John Tortorella's tentative, scared guys are. Marian Gaborik? Michael Del Zotto (he doesn't look tentative to me, but he made some woeful mistakes)? Brad Richards, who was demoted off the No. 1 line and terrible on the power play? Brian Boyle, who except for a game or two, hasn't been nearly the player he was last year?
2) And I really wonder how anybody's going to take anybody's jobs if the Rangers only have 12 forwards until Ryan Callahan gets back.
3) I will say this, you can't imagine not having Dan Girardi's 29 minutes until you don't have them. Same for Ryan Callahan. Girardi is a guy who missed two games in his career, with a ribcage injury just before an all-star break, and he missed those two kicking and screaming that he wanted to play. So this "banged up" injury, or injuries, he has must be pretty bad.
4) The four-minute PP could have been a game-changer, and how many of the five losses might have been different already if one of those important power plays (3 for 35) had been cashed in? The only line that did anything during the four minutes was the kids, J.T. Miller and Chris Kreider, with Taylor Pyatt, and Marc Staal and Anton Stralman at the points. The big guys did zilch. And Richards back at the point, and Stepan for that matter, were awful.
5) The big line was pretty awful on both Devils goals in the first, even if Michael Del Zotto's cough-up was the one that really caused the first one. It followed a Gaborik giveaway that created a scrambly D-zone situation.
6) Props to Arron Asham for his six minutes worth of PP drawn.
7) Very impressed with J.T. Miller. Was involved, laughed about getting decked on his first shift, had a great deflection that Martin Brodeur ate up (thought you'd like that). Confident.
8) Equally impressed with Chris Kreider's speed and shot … again. That goal was a laser. And, just to be fair, it was a pretty cool pass from Richards.
9) It's fair and easy to blame Nash for the David Clarkson goal. It was his fault, no doubt about it. But if you've ever lost a puck in your skates, you know how helpless a feeling that can be. Not making an excuse. Just stating …
10) I also didn't mind Darroll Powe at all. Kid's a bundle of energy. Kind of like Benn Ferreiro was his first couple of games. I think Powe's got enough track record to be better and more consistently so. Could be a good one.
12) The Devils still block lanes with sticks and skates. I remember other Rangers coaches saying it isn't just their neutral-zone trap or their goalie. They clog the center of the defensive zone with sticks. Passes don't get through. Shots don't get through. Their defensemen stay around the front of the net, and their forwards collapse down low. And they DON'T slide on the ice trying to block passes or faraway shots.
13) Brodeur was pretty damn good. That save on Carl Hagelin from Nash was vintage. I know, it hurts you when I write that. Sorry. How bad would it have been if he scored an empty-netter, too?
14) The Rangers, who spent time working on faceoffs Monday — working on wingers and defensemen helping out the center when there's a "tie" off a faceoff — won 32 and lost 26. So there's that.
15) Unrelated, but did you see that Brandon Dubinsky fought Mike Richards again. That's hockey.
My Three Rangers Stars:
1. Chris Kreider.
2. J.T. Miller.
3. Anton Stralman.
Freedom Prime's Three Rangers Stars:
1. Chris Kreider.
2. J.T. Miller.
3. Michael Del Zotto.
Sioux-per-man's Three Rangers Stars:
1. Chris Kreider – first goal – even if his eyes where closed.
2. J.T. Miller – I want to see more of this. I don't care who's job he takes.
3. Brad Richards – Maybe he should center the two above, why not learn from one of the best.
Your poll vote for Three Rangers Stars:
1. Chris Kreider (25.83 %).
2. J.T. Miller (25.42 %).
3. Carl Hagelin (7.5 %).
Photos by Getty Images.


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The Miracle of Electricity in the Body
Conclusion: Allah Pervades All Places
There is a purpose behind the creation of everything on Earth. Allah reveals this in the Qur'an:
Did you suppose that We created you for amusement and that you would not return to Us? (Surat al-Muminun: 113)
We did not create the heavens and Earth and everything between them, except with truth . . . (Surat al-Hijr: 85)
There is also a purpose behind every detail in human creation. Our eyes, ears, noses, all our cells, the ion channels in our cells, the nucleic acid sequences in our DNA, the connections in our nervous network, the spaces between the neurons, the fatty sheath that surrounds the nerves, the enzymes that accelerate activities and countless other details—all have been created to serve a specific purpose.
Our Lord surrounds and enfolds us everywhere, as is clearly revealed in verses of the Qur'an:
. . . We are nearer to him than his jugular vein. (Surah Qaf: 16)
Both East and West belong to Allah, so wherever you turn, the Face of Allah is there. Allah is All-Encompassing, All-Knowing. (Surat al-Baqara: 115)
The details and incomparable creations considered throughout the course of this book are just some of the signs of the existence of our Lord and of His dominion over His creation. Everyone can interpret these signs to the extent of his or her conscience and intellect.
Confronted with all these details, some people are unable to understand the wisdom in Allah's creation, even though they may have studied it close up, researched it and written books about it. These people are referred to in the following terms in the Qur'an:
They do not measure Allah with His true measure. Allah is All-Strong, Almighty. (Surat al-Hajj: 74)
The exemplary behavior of the faithful is revealed thus:
. . . Those who remember Allah, standing, sitting and lying on their sides, and reflect on the creation of the heavens and the Earth: "Our Lord, You have not created this for nothing. Glory be to You! So safeguard us from the punishment of the Fire." (Surah Al 'Imran: 191)
The knowledge, artistry and superior intellect of Allah that we encounter in every square millimeter of the human body contain very important messages. The importance of evaluating this information is revealed in the words: . . . Only those of His slaves with knowledge have fear of Allah . . . (Surah Fatir: 28) It is utterly meaningless to think that human beings have no purpose when there is such a detailed and purposeful creation all around us, including our own bodies. Of course there is a reason for people's presence in this world. Every second we live and breathe and all these countless details have been bestowed upon us as a blessing. Since such beauty and delicacy have been brought into being, then they must have significance for us. These messages remind us to appreciate Allah as we ought, come to know the Lord Who created us, see His mercy on us, and to fulfill our duties as His servants by rendering Him due thanks.
Has man ever known a point of time when he was not something remembered? We created man from a mingled drop to test him, and We made him hearing and seeing. We guided him on the Way, whether he is thankful or unthankful. (Surat al-Insan: 1-3)
They said "Glory be to You!


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BlackBerry Torch 9800 Review: Keeping RIM's Flame Aliveby Brian Klug on 9/1/2010 7:00 AM EST
- Posted in
- Torch
- Smartphones
- BlackBerry
- Mobile
41 Comments
Back to Article
brianmc - Wednesday, September 01, 2010 - linkWhen are you going to review this line of phones? Reply
StealthX32 - Wednesday, September 01, 2010 - linkAgreed. Especially since your sister site Dailytech keeps touting them as the "fastest Android smartphone". Reply
Anand Lal Shimpi - Wednesday, September 01, 2010 - linkI'm actually working on that right now :) I've had the Epic 4G for a little while now and I'm just in the middle of writing up the review :)
Take care,
Anand Reply
synaesthetic - Friday, September 03, 2010 - linkReally interested in hearing your thoughts, Anand. I've been staring very hard at the Samsung Vibrant as my old myTouch 3G is just too slow!
I haven't flashed it to Cyanogenmod 6 yet (will probably do that today or tomorrow) so I'm not sure what speed boosts I'll get there, but the Vibrant/Galaxy S's AMOLED is just stunning! Reply
linccsdfd - Wednesday, September 01, 2010 - link
is my love
this is a very good ! Reply
FATCamaro - Wednesday, September 01, 2010 - linkYeah, I've been waiting patiently for something to push iphone4 off the top of all the charts. Maybe the Galaxy S will do it. Then it only needs a better display, camera, and apps to catch up. Reply
bplewis24 - Wednesday, September 01, 2010 - linkSince when has the iPhone4 been at the top? Reply
FATCamaro - Wednesday, September 01, 2010 - linkNot at everything, but a lot of important factors like below.
Performance isn't too bad either. e.g.
http://images.anandtech.com/graphs/droidx_07191023... Reply
sammsiam - Wednesday, September 01, 2010 - linkThe Droid X comes with 8GB built in memory for OS & Apps and an additional 16GB microSDHC card. It supports upto 32GB cards for a total of 40GB possible.
see this site:
www.motorola.com/Consumers/US-EN/Consumer-Product-and-Services/Mobile-Phones/ci.Motorola-DROID-X-US-EN.alt Reply
Brian Klug - Wednesday, September 01, 2010 - linkI had it down in my own table right, it just didn't get copied over somehow. Same for the EVO 4G. Fixed!
-Brian Reply
Kamen75 - Wednesday, September 01, 2010 - linkRim needs two different BB lines to meet the needs of the two different types of customers they are selling to. They should have a BlackBerry Professional version of there os for corporate clients and then a "fun" version to sell to the average consumer. These two os's only need differ on a few security points and each gets a different ui, one to look business like and one to look flashy and bright. Underneath they would be the same os and run the same apps. Their current middle of the road, one size fits all approach is turning all customers away.
Add in some decent hardware and you would have a competitive BB again. Two year old hardware specs impress nobody. Reply
Zensen - Thursday, September 02, 2010 - linkthat's what themes are for...
RIM just needs to work on better tools for developers since what they've managed to do on the business level is second to none and I feel the overall improvement of OS 6 has done just enough to grab enough of the spotlight to be fresh yet familiar without being burdened by the lower specs that have dogged it since the its release.
There are still quirks in the OS 6 model that needs addressing such as in the social feeds but nothing that can't be solved via updates and UI changes. OS 6 has thrown away utilitarian menus and brought it up to speed with the other Operating systems. It hasn't leaped over like a triple axel but it's more like a combination of moves that will culminate in a much more successful Blackberry phone in the eyes of the average consumer, hopefully dispelling some of the noise that RIM can't do a touchscreen phone to save themselves.
I'm glad anandtech have finally covered this phone. Good or bad you can rely on these guys for great technical review without putting in ridiculous remarks or bias towards a product that reviews like engadget have seemingly perfected. Reply
zorxd - Wednesday, September 01, 2010 - linkI am disapointed that Acanac fell into the Apple marketing trap which is PPI. Who cares about PPI? Do you really think that it's better to have a 1" 320x480 display than a 4" 480x800? The first one have higher PPI.
Apple started to talk about PPI (even before pixel count) when they realized that the competition was going with larger displays. Larger display, with the same resolution, means lower PPI, even if it's better.
What looks sharp is not PPI. It's pixel count. Just hold your 4" 480x800 farther away if you think that pixels are too big. A 1x1 pixel 1000000000000 PPI display is useless.
So please, stop making graphs about the useless metric which is PPI and start comparing what we actually care about: brightness, size, resolution, etc. Reply
raulr - Wednesday, September 01, 2010 - linkHave you actually looked at the iPhone 4 display. It really is quite fantastic. And especially since this review is about the Torch, your display size argument is pointless since the torch is both physically smaller and lower resolution. The point they were making is that the Torch display, while not bad, really doesn't stack up with the current generation of devices. Reply
zorxd - Wednesday, September 01, 2010 - linkThe iPhone 4 display is one of the best, I agree. Why? Because it has the highest resolution. The PPI have nothing to do with that. The iPhone display would be even better if it was larger, even if that would mean lower PPI.
Of course, the phone would probably get larger too, which is a downside.
What I mean is that the highest PPI is never, or at least should never be an priority for any consumer.
The iPhone display would suck if it was 2" instead of 3.5". Reply
MacTheSpoon - Wednesday, September 01, 2010 - linkHe is right, though -- nobody cared about PPI before Apple started their marketing. Now suddenly it's the standard by which screens are judged. Weird.
I have looked at the iPhone4 screen and while it's nice, it's nowhere near as nice as all the marketing and buzz make it out to be. I cannot read all that sharp yet incredibly tiny web page text without a magnifying glass. I'd say it's about 20% as nice as all the hype. A large screen that lets you see more of your web pages in an actually readable way is certainly nice, too, probably a little bit nicer -- and yet for some reason the iPhone4 gets a pass on this readability issue from all the reviewers, just as Apple hoped. Honestly, having seen the iPhone4 screen, its main benefit is in browsing photos, which look really smooth, but who uses their phone mainly for browsing photos? Not that many people, I'm sure.
I believe that the whole PPI thing came about because Steve Jobs realized his 320x480 screen was getting long in the tooth compared to other phones but a) didn't want to change the dimensions of the current iPhone and b) wanted to make the existing iPhone layout and apps easy to port by simply doubling the screen resolution. So he pushed the PPI angle hard and zombie reviewers got in line. Reply
bplewis24 - Wednesday, September 01, 2010 - linkGreat post.
Brandon Reply
synaesthetic - Friday, September 03, 2010 - linkLots of people care about PPI, just not so much on smartphones.
I hope Apple's obsession with PPI and the Retina Display pushes the trend into *laptops,* so I can finally stop seeing 15.6" laptops with 1366x768 horrible LCDs. Reply
Jabroni444 - Wednesday, September 01, 2010 - linkI'm confused by conflicting statements in this review. Half way through the conclusion he says, "I've described the Torch as anywhere from a quarter to a half generation behind - I think that's the best way to describe performance." But, the last sentence is, "The Torch is what RIM should have launched years ago in their stead."
Combined with the fact that the Torch both statistically and measured performance wise is no better than the iPhone 3GS or other last-gen phones I don't get the quarter to half generation behind comment.
I'm not sure whether even hardcore RIM users are going to be able to accept weak attempt at getting up-to-date. Reply
tech6 - Wednesday, September 01, 2010 - linkA very balanced review. This device isn't for techno snobs or people who like to show off apps - it's still a business communication device. While anecdotal, I know a number of BB users which looked at Apple and Android but decided to go with the Torch instead. Without exception they are happy as it gives them the new functionality they wanted but without leaving the BB strengths and advantages behind. Reply
s44 - Wednesday, September 01, 2010 - linkRIM's release of this at price parity with the much more advanced Samsung phone indicates that they're more interested in gouging their captive user base than advancing their platform. Reply
Sivan - Wednesday, September 01, 2010 - linkI don't full agree with the dichotomy of business vs. consumer mapping onto keyboard vs. touch form factors.
Even Brian notes how easy it is to use the keyboard and trackpad instead of the touchscreen. A lot of users value this ease of use especially for messaging or interacting with the device efficiently. Those are not necessarily business users. A touchscreen is not a requirement for a fun BlackBerry, I'd argue that just making BlackBerry 6 available on the venerable Bold line would make most BlackBerry users very happy.
That form factor is also much more battery efficient, the smaller screen (no need for touch) as well as more internal space for a battery, and the immediately availability of the keyboard the trackpad are the small details that make the traditional BlackBerry appealing regardless of whether one is a business user or not. Reply
jah1subs - Wednesday, September 01, 2010 - linkWhat are the other devices promised for BB OS 6 upgrades? Reply
deputc26 - Wednesday, September 01, 2010 - linkI believe the OS version should read 2.2 not 2.1 Reply
King Krapp - Thursday, September 02, 2010 - linkI spy Hyperbole and a Half in the background... nice. Reply
7Enigma - Thursday, September 02, 2010 - linkSuck it Trebek! Reply
Makaveli - Thursday, September 02, 2010 - linkAnand,
Why didn't you install the Youtube player off the app world.
i'm on a 9700 Bold And I never open youtube links directly in the browser its all done by the app.
Also it would be cool if you could do a browser test with Opera Mini since most people use this over the default browser. Reply
ibex333 - Thursday, September 02, 2010 - linkThis new blackberry phone really doesnt sound like much of an improvement over older BB phones...
With phones avaialble like the Droid G1 or the Droid X I dont understand why anyone would want to own a Blackberry unless security is the main concern. I got my Bold 9000 because back then, it was one of the very few phones that had such a nice keyboard and looked so professional and pleasing.
Now, Droid phones are so much better in just about every way IMHO. The #1 reason for this, is hacks.... What can possibly beat playing GBA, SEGA, SNES and other older console games on your phone with perfect speed, sound and great controls via a full featured keyboard and WASD buttons? And if that's not enough, you can install thousand of other nifty apps, where the number of these apps will only increase becuase developing for Droid will in the near future be as easy as developing for Linux if it isnt that way already!
Android is every geeks dream, and I cant see Apple or Blackberry RIM even touching this wonderful platform when it comes to sheer fun factor and the multitude of possiblities. Yes, I am an Android fanboy, and iPhone and Blackberry should just go in a quiet dark corner, curl up in a fetal position and just.....die.... Reply
wolrah - Thursday, September 02, 2010 - linkYou had a complaint about a lack of easy 2G/3G switch on the CDMA Android devices. I don't think this is a real issue due to how CDMA 3G works. It's the same radio in a similar operation mode, so it's not like GSM where there's an entire different radio being fired up when you use 3G. The battery savings are not likely to be notable. Reply
strikeback03 - Friday, September 03, 2010 - linkIn looking for ways to improve the battery life of my HTC Diamond, I found lots of people saying that the constant switching between 3G and 1x is what caused the excessive battery usage. Though in admittedly limited testing I didn't see a difference.
I would imagine you can get a widget for Android to lock the device in 2G mode, should you need that functionality. Reply
lewchenko74 - Thursday, September 02, 2010 - linkGreat Review. The best of the Torch reviews so far. I really wanted to love this phone, but I don't. It concerns me greatly that the tech under the hood seems to be a generation behind, even if the software experience is generally OK.
To put it into perspective, it would be like buying a Palm Pre today - with a decent WebOS but ageing computing power so to speak. You just wouldnt do it.
Im a current HTC Hero owner and cant wait to get rid of it. I was hoping the Torch may be enough, but its not.
Im glad you informed us about BIS as well. I didnt realise it contributed so much to the performance degradation of surfing the web. There really ought to be an option to browse with BIS disabled. For me, that is one of the phone's biggest flaws. Plus in the UK you normally pay about £5 more to have Internet and BBM enabled on blackberries per month too.. paying more for less it would seem, especially as most contracts these days are unlimited texts, thus rendering BBM almost useless. Reply
Zensen - Saturday, September 04, 2010 - linkI dont think you'll read this again but doesn't your plans in the UK also include extra data?
Without BIS, you dont get the secure emails, the 'unlimited' internet and BBM. I dont ever notice the slowness when it comes to emails and BBM but i can understand the 'slower' response due to the encrypting and compressing of the data through RIM servers.
Having said that, blackberry plans here also come with extra data that doesn't use the RIM servers and as such runs quite well using an alternative browser such as opera mini. I'm not sure if BIS can be turned off within the blackberry browser itself but I always assume when i change browsers im using my data plan and not BIS. Reply
bwj - Friday, September 03, 2010 - linkIt doesn't seem right to me that you test all phones with 50% brightness setting, while acknowledging that some phones are much brighter than others. Wouldn't it make more sense to set every phone to the same absolute level of brightness? 200 nits would be convenient. Reply
dusteater - Friday, September 03, 2010 - linkWell, I dumped RIM for one reason. The BB Tour. I have been using BB's for 6+ years and always loved them. Then came the Tour, which obviously had no quality control during manufacturing. The phone is so poor, I am on number 5. It has killed any confidence I had in RIM as a company able to produce a working phone. So, I will not buy the 9650 Bold like they want me to. I shouldn't have to buy the "fixed" version one year later.
Off to WP7 for me. Reply
spunlex - Friday, September 03, 2010 - linkJust wondering if you will be adding a shoot of the light box using your D80 any time soon. Reply
djc208 - Friday, September 03, 2010 - linkBB is the only company that was making non-camera smart phones. But even most of their newer devices, this one included don't seem to have non-camera versions.
I've been seriously considering a smart phone but for the same price point I'd much rather have an Android device. But then I'd have to remove/destroy at least one camera (in many cases two) and void any warranties. This would have been a decent option if it was available as a non-camera version. Reply
Zensen - Saturday, September 04, 2010 - linkWhat's tricky here is that pressing the hangup button is often my way of getting out of applications and back to the launcher. In a call, when I wanted to look something up, I hit this and was disconnected - like what is supposed to happen.
Is this a good or a bad point? it starts off like its about to be a negative then you finish it off by saying this is whats suppose to happen... ERR DUH!? lol
I also use the disconnect button to get out of applications ASAP but i mean the point of the hang up button is to... you know... hang up calls lol. so I'm not sure why you stating this at all. it's pretty damn obvious
Also i'm not quite sure if the speakerphone test is really as accurate as you try to make it but it is an interesting test nonetheless. It's nice to know the screen isn't as bad as people are making it out to be and as for the text messaging. im pretty sure threaded smses and the distinction of sms and mms has been around a lot longer than iphone and android. You make it sound like iphone and android created this approach.
Good to see this blackberry excels as a phone with signal attenuation. Even as 'spartan' as the keyboard is to you, unless you trying to say its simple because thats what it is, nothing flash nor does it seem to come across as harsh and rough around the edges.
I wonder if the clarity of the phone calls, volume etc have anything to do with how long you can speak on the phone otherwise its definitely not as long as the 9700 but again the battery is a lot smaller than the storm too which is surprising.
You're right about the camera, without even using it i could see how having touch for autofocus would have been great here. the hd video doesn't worry me too much but RIM took forever to put a camera on their phones to begin with so to have LED flash and a higher megapixel camera with movie is pretty good :P Still the lack of it in these times is sorely missed.
The pictures actually look quite decent on the torch, not heavily vivid as the iphone 4 looks nor as red as the nexus 1 or desaturated as the palm pre. The palm pre looks the worse when it comes to detail.
I like the HTC evo as most i think it looks more natural though leans towards the warms.
The droid 2 looks decent when it comes to blacks but its exposure is stronger and lacks a colour cast of sorts
I wonder how accurate to the still life it really is when taken by these smartphone. is the yellows more greenish as the torch and the droid seem to lean towards (but then you see the dark warm yellow of the book below which seems normal) or is it a far warmer studio shot that the rest seem to lean towards?
the strong vivid (saturated) shots of the iphone 4 will appeal to those who want it to be as eye popping as possible but its hardly realistic. the HTC evo 4, droid 2 and the torch probably rank as the ones i enjoy the most with the droid 2 and torch looking decidedly more sharper than the evo 4 which seems to have had some noise reduction applied to it.
I think the torch photos were dragged down quite a bit by this review as i think its one of the better cameras of the ones reviewed here.
great review though! Reply
Disorganise - Saturday, September 04, 2010 - linkIf only there could be an android version... I use blackberry for work and they're great at what they do - be even better if the corporate policy hadn't turned off the memory card so now you can't listen to mp3s :(
I've been wanting a combo touch screen/physical keyboard phone for ages and want it to be android based. The droid 2 looks good but I'm not sure about having to flick the phone to landscape to use the keyboard - ditto the galaxy s pro; plus I live in Australia so it'll be 3 or 4 years before they hit our shores - if ever.
I like this torch -it seems to have everything except the OS. Theoretically the OS shouldn't matter (it should be transparent) but reality is that it *has* to be more restrictive with the customisations you can make and the apps you can install, simply to keep it's high security perception.
I agree with one of the previous posters - RIM could consider two distinct lines; the business phone that connects to BES etc, and a consumer phone that does not. The consumer phone could be android base and run on the same hardware - eg you have torch 9800 and torch android. this only works if RIM want to sell devices of course Reply
Zensen - Saturday, September 04, 2010 - linksure if they want to make more sales, slap on a android os but again that is fragmenting their business and pulling unnecessary resources away from their primary business and OS. Also the QNX OS that they have acquired.
other manufacturers do this for sure but look at the fragmentation that is happening with Android - that surely isn't a good sign.
But yes, they would certainly sell more phones to consumers if they marketed it as a multimedia device and something not sorely for business users. But to take away BES makes it just another me-too android phone and how is that differentiating between their other phones. Will these android include BIS and thus BBM and push email?
I can't see how they can't just make a multimedia device and a business device in one?
Unless there's a need for a no frills business phone then yeah a higher priced multimedia device running OS 6 would be great. this was soo close, yet so far from competing in that realm. Sony tried valiantly to produce a walkman phone and a camera phone. nowadays they are just combined.
One things for sure, they will open themselves up a lot more if they joined the android party. What's stopping them from taking advantage of the windows phone 7 operating system as well... Reply
vision33r - Sunday, September 05, 2010 - linkAndroid sucks for enterprise and iPhone also too. Nobody makes a better enterprise phone than Blackberry. Even Microsoft's own Windows Mobile isn't good enough as enterprise managed devices. Reply
tipoo - Sunday, November 28, 2010 - linkInteresting to note that the Marvell Tavor PXA930 has a maximum reccommended clock speed of 800MHz, 200MHz higher than whats in the Torch/Bold. Odd that they aren't using it to capacity. Reply


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|Product Description
Harken Mini-Maxi and Maxi travelers bring the ease of dinghy traveler adjustment to large offshore boats. Cars ride on two rows of recirculating Torlon® ball bearings and roll freely under high, non-vertical loads. Custom configurations or cars for horizontally curved track available on request.
End controls feature energy-absorbing bumpers and come in several configurations.
Use for:
Mainsheet systems and Self-tacking jibs.
Part Number: 3070


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Harvest Goddess in Jade Necklace. Meditation Beads.
A pewter harvest goddess charm dangling at the end of a jade rosary necklace representing the Sabbats, Seasons and the Maiden, Mother and Crone trio.
A handmade necklace of genuine amethyst and the soft glow of pearls.
A beautiful way to celebrate the pagan path with meditation beads in south african blue stone combined with silver and pewter accents.
A beautiful genuine amethyst meditation necklace for those of the Pagan path.Tags: jewelry, handmade, necklaces, beaded, rosary, season, amethyst gemstone, prayer beads, meditation beadAdded 7 Years Ago from Artfire


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You exercise your body to stay physically in shape, so why shouldn't you exercise your brain to stay mentally fit? With these daily exercises you will learn how to flex your mind, improve your creativity and boost your memory. As with any exercise, repetition is necessary for you to see improvement, so pick your favorite exercises from our daily suggestions and repeat them as desired. Try to do some mentalrobics every single day!
One of the things you notice about creative people is that they are extremely prolific thinkers. They produce tons and tons of ideas both good and bad. A creative thinker is constantly rethinking and recombining ideas into different permutations.
To be a creative thinker, try to force relationships between seemingly unconnected ideas, and don't be afraid to record an idea that you're not sure is correct. You can always come back to it later and combine it with something else to get a new idea. Go for quantity in your ideas and try not to censor yourself.
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Giants stumble behind Hudson in Philly finale
Error, passed ball lead to unearned runs in right-hander's solid start
PHILADELPHIA -- The significance of the Giants' 2-1 loss on Thursday to the Philadelphia Phillies remains to be seen.
It'll go down as a game to be forgotten, a footnote to an otherwise encouraging 5-2, two-city trip, if the Giants sustain their recent improvement.
Or it'll be remembered as the first spot of corrosion if Cole Hamels' remarkable pitching puts the hitters in a slump or if the mistakes that generated Philadelphia's pair of unearned runs proliferate among the Giants.
Left fielder Michael Morse likely spoke for his teammates by saying, "This is a great road trip for us. Nobody's hanging their heads about losing this one."
Chances are good that the Giants indeed will shrug off this defeat, since they'll have no time to dwell on it. The National League West leaders begin a three-game series on Friday against Los Angeles, their traditional rival and, currently, their closest pursuer in the division race.
"We need to head home feeling good about where we are," manager Bruce Bochy said. "It's going to be a good, exciting series. This is what you play for. ... It's good for baseball. Even though it's July, it's a series that will get a lot of attention."
Hamels (5-5) commanded most of the attention, as well as his deliveries, during this Citizens Bank Park matinee. He threw an astonishingly high percentage of strikes -- 90 in 116 pitches -- while striking out 10 and allowing six hits in eight innings.
Giants right-hander Tim Hudson, formerly of the Atlanta Braves, watched Hamels' skills unfold while they competed in the NL East. This time, Hudson saw a left-hander who was unusually effective.
"I don't ever recall his fastball being as good as it was today," Hudson said. "His fastball had some juice on it."
As a result, Philadelphia's one-run margin almost seemed like a rout. All of the Giants' hits were singles as they moved just four runners into scoring position.
Yet this still was a winnable game for the Giants. But their typically reliable defense lapsed. Catcher Buster Posey committed a first-inning passed ball that helped the Phillies open the scoring, and Morse dropped Ben Revere's fifth-inning fly ball that went for a two-base error and led to the go-ahead run.
Posey mishandled a pitch to Chase Utley, advancing Jimmy Rollins to third base and setting up Marlon Byrd's RBI single.
Hudson shouldered the blame for the lapse, revealing that he didn't throw Posey the assigned pitch. The right-hander explained that the Phillies happen to be proficient at stealing signs, prompting him and Posey to alter their signals. Yet when Posey called for a cutter, Hudson threw a split-fingered fastball.
"I pulled a 'stooge' move," said Hudson, who dropped to 8-7. " ... That wasn't one of my prouder moments. I crossed him up and it cost us a run."
Morse, who has committed just two outfield errors this season, had Revere's popup in his glove, but he lost control of the ball after a long pursuit. "I tried to run as fast as I could," Morse said.
Morse and the rest of the Giants must continue to accelerate for the next two months.
Chris Haft is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his blog, Haft-Baked Ideas, and follow him on Twitter at @sfgiantsbeat. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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J.Lo rules the world...or worlds, really: TV, music, movies, beauty, fashion—you know, kind of everything. Jane Fonda talks to her friend Jennifer Lopez about life, love and learning from her hugest year yet.
In one year, Jennifer Lopez has managed to go from superstar to megastar to ultimate-supreme-giganto star, all thanks to a little thing called American Idol (oh, and her new album, Love?, and her new clothing line for Kohl's and, yes, even her very public split from Marc Anthony). Former neighbors from the Bronx must have seen this coming when they nicknamed her The Supernova as a child.
So how did she go from Jenny From the Block to blockbuster? Lopez, 42, got her first break at 22, dancing as a Fly Girl on the hit TV show In Living Color. In 1997, her starring role in the acclaimed Selena sealed the deal: She had most definitely made it. Then, in 1999, Lopez released her first album, On the 6 (remember "Waiting for Tonight"?), and that was it: She'd officially become a triple threat.
And who could forget her jaw-dropping fashion moment in 2000, the cut-down-to-there green Versace gown that's so famous it's actually on display at the Grammy Museum in L.A.? Since then, she's only continued to gain steam: more movies, more albums, plus fragrances, that clothing line and—cuteness!—her three-year-old twins, Max and Emme.
Lopez's friend Jane Fonda has a theory about what keeps her on top: "Jennifer's uniqueness lies in her combination of extraordinary beauty, intelligence and street smarts. She's a fantastic role model. She owns it." Listen in as Fonda and J.Lo chat about her career, her children and her tumultuous love life.
JANE FONDA: Jennifer, hello! Let me remind readers that we made Monster-in-Law together. But most people don't need reminding, because even though the critics didn't like it, it was number one at the box office.
JENNIFER LOPEZ: Yes, and it's a cult favorite now. People always tell me that they loved when we slapped each other! [Laughs.]
JANE FONDA: And the last time I saw you, you so generously presented me with a UCLA Icon Award. That moved me very much.
JENNIFER LOPEZ: Aw, thank you.
JANE FONDA: You are so busy. American Idol, next year you're in What to Expect When You're Expecting with Cameron Diaz, you just sold a new show to Fox, you have a clothing line and a million different perfumes. You seem to feel very comfortable with being powerful. Is that a fair assessment?
JENNIFER LOPEZ: That's funny. I'm very comfortable with being productive. I like doing things, and I like creating things. As far as being powerful, I guess I'm comfortable with it. It's not really how I think of myself.
JANE FONDA: When you're that busy, if one or two things get out of whack, it can be really stressful. How do you deal with that?
JENNIFER LOPEZ: For me, when it's work stuff, I don't take it as seriously. I always feel like this is the type of career that ebbs and flows—you have to kind of ride the waves and sometimes you even fall under the water. But for the most part, I feel like I can handle it.
JANE FONDA: What does stress you?
JENNIFER LOPEZ: More personal stuff stresses me out.
JANE FONDA: And do you have a technique for overcoming this stress?
JENNIFER LOPEZ: I do a lot of praying. You know, I went to 12 years of Catholic school! I'm also very into positive thinking. The minute I feel nervousness or anxiety or fear, I go, "No, no, that's not a thought that I need to have right now. Everything's great, everything's good, you're going to be fine."
JANE FONDA: Let's get to American Idol. As you have said many times, it's shown a completely different side of you to fans. Did you expect that?
JENNIFER LOPEZ: It's so funny. I felt like people already knew me! I didn't realize that they didn't until I was on the show. I just thought, Oh, they're going to see me like they've always seen me, because I've always been the same. But when I got on the show, I realized, Wow, they really didn't get to see that side of me.
JANE FONDA: What do you like most about doing it?
JENNIFER LOPEZ: I love working with the singers. I love just finding them. This week, Scotty McCreery's album is number one! And we discovered him.
JANE FONDA: I'm so impressed with the savvy tips that you give to the contestants.
JENNIFER LOPEZ: Thank you so much. It's such a great exchange, because in helping the contestants, you grow yourself in a weird way. You're watching them, going, "You know what? I do that sometimes."
JANE FONDA: Did you have anyone giving you advice when you started out?
JENNIFER LOPEZ: When I first started in music, Puffy and I were together and he mentored me. He let me know what the music business was like, and that was something that I took with me. I didn't think about it at the time, but then I realized later I'm quoting him!
JANE FONDA: I see you out, and you often seem to be surrounded by a posse of women. Do you have many close women friends?
JENNIFER LOPEZ: Oh my God, my girlfriends are everything to me. They celebrate with you, they cry with you, they hold you when you need to be held. They laugh with you. They're mean with you! They're always there, and it's just a priceless thing to have.
JANE FONDA: That's impressive, because women can be very jealous of someone like you.
JENNIFER LOPEZ: I'm not one of those types of women, and the women that I attract are not that type. We stand up for other women and we root for other women. Some of my friends, like my friend Arlene, I've known since I was seven. She's with my kids right now.
JANE FONDA: Is it possible for someone like you to have a new relationship out of the public eye? Or maybe it doesn't matter.
JENNIFER LOPEZ: No, it matters, especially at the beginning of a relationship. I think to give something a chance, to really get to know somebody, you want to do it out of the public eye. You know the media—they want to rush everything. They want to give their seedy opinions without knowing all the facts. So can I [be private in a relationship]? Yeah. I think so. When I'm ready to do that, I will. But I'm not thinking about that right now.
JANE FONDA: What have you learned from all of your past relationships that prepares you better for a new relationship?
JENNIFER LOPEZ: I think that I've finally learned the biggest lesson of all.
JANE FONDA: What is it?
JENNIFER LOPEZ: You've got to love yourself first. You've got to be OK on your own before you can be OK with somebody else. You've got to value yourself and know that you're worth everything.
JANE FONDA: And not settle for less.
JENNIFER LOPEZ: And until you value yourself enough and love yourself enough to know that, you can't really have a healthy relationship.
JANE FONDA: I agree. We talk about falling in love. What's wrong with that sentence? Falling. When you love yourself, you don't fall. You stand on two feet.
JENNIFER LOPEZ: That's right. Standing on two feet, seeing everything straight and right and clearly. You're absolutely right. So what should we call it? Walking in love? I don't know, we have to find something else! We've got to redefine that.
JANE FONDA: As a three-time divorcee myself, I think what's most important is being brave enough to learn from the failures. Can you talk about that a little?
JENNIFER LOPEZ: I just think when it's easy, it's great. But when something bad happens is when you really learn. It causes self-examination, it causes you to take a look at yourself. You naturally start analyzing. It's not that you're wrong; it's that sometimes you just need to make adjustments. Change your way of thinking, change your way of doing, change your way of choosing.
JANE FONDA: I read that you once fired a manager who told you to lose weight. Do you think your attitude of "I'm happy being curvy" has had an impact on girls?
JENNIFER LOPEZ: Many people have told me it has, and that's something I'm proud of. I was just so infuriated that somebody said you couldn't have a little extra meat on you—because I was by no means fat! That was so mean and closed-minded. I was like, "No, this is who I am, and this is the type of woman that I grew up with, and it was beautiful and there's no reason to be anybody but myself."
JANE FONDA: Do you still get pressure from people to have your body look a different way?
JENNIFER LOPEZ: No, I don't get that now. I think people know better. [Laughs.]
JANE FONDA: How has your style evolved through the years?
JENNIFER LOPEZ: The things I liked when I was, like, 16 and in the Bronx—jeans, cut-up T-shirts—I still like. But I've been exposed to so much now from traveling the world and seeing couture clothes. I used all of that when I created my new line for Kohl's. My style has come from everything, from where I started to where I am today.
JANE FONDA: When I did The Oprah Show, she flashed a picture of you and asked the first word that came to mind, and I said "street-smart." But afterward, I thought I should have added "gorgeous." Your skin is amazing. Any secrets? Don't tell me you just wash your face and moisturize.
JENNIFER LOPEZ: I really do! And I've just started using these treatment masks—they're like paper masks, from SK-II [Beauty editors' note: They're $90 for six at shop.sk-ii.com]. They're moisturizing masks and age-defying, and I love them.
JANE FONDA: A number of women in Hollywood, like Kate Winslet and Salma Hayek, are speaking out against plastic surgery. What are your thoughts on that either way?
JENNIFER LOPEZ: Honestly, I'm not going to make a judgment on it because I don't have to yet. I mean, I'd like to think I'll feel great about myself and age gracefully, but then I think, Well, what if I do want a little bit of something? I'm open to being open.
JANE FONDA: You've said that when the twins came, you experienced a new kind of love. Can you talk about what you meant by that?
JENNIFER LOPEZ: Anybody who's had children knows this feeling of deep love. It's a selfless love, an unconditional love. And it makes you kind of examine everything that has happened. You're going, "Wait a minute, this is how pure love is supposed to feel." They made me really, really see and feel what it should be.
JANE FONDA: I've read that you bring your children with you when you go on location. Have you thought about how you're going to manage that when they get older and they start into serious school?
JENNIFER LOPEZ: They just started school, three days a week, and so I have to travel without them here and there. I think it's really important for them to be with me, and they're surrounded by family when I'm not there.
JANE FONDA: I love that. I read that instead of having nannies, now you have your mom, sister and best friend to help you look after them.
JENNIFER LOPEZ: Yes, yes. My cousins help me, my best friend. It takes a village—you do really learn what that means once you have kids. But I like to wake up with them, I like to put them to bed, and even if I have to go back to work after I spend that couple of hours with them between dinner and when they go to bed, I'll do that.
JANE FONDA: Your not-for-profit, the Maribel Foundation, helps women and children by linking top medical specialists to patients in inaccessible locations. Why is that cause so important to you?
JENNIFER LOPEZ: My sister and I are so in love with our children, and we wanted to do something for [others]. We opened our first clinic in Puerto Rico a year ago, and we're opening another one in Panama. It's something that we plan to do for a very long time.
JANE FONDA: Jennifer, I'm proud and honored to be your friend and to know you. Thank you for letting me interview you.
JENNIFER LOPEZ: Thank you! The feeling is mutual. You know how much I look up to you.
JANE FONDA: Bye, honey!
Jane Fonda is an actress, entrepreneur and philanthropist.
"This Is Who I Am"
Huge news, dolls: The December Glamour is almost here--it's our annual Women of the Year issue and it hits newsstands November 8!--and we've got your glimpse into all of the empowering, star-studded, super-juicy stuff inside, starting with our cover star. Jennifer Lopez has the honor, and she's dishing on everything from her new Kohl's line to her love life. Read all about it, plus see what she's wearing and snag STF's version of the look for less!
On what she's learned about love and relationships:
"I think I've finally learned the biggest lesson of all. You've got to love yourself first. You've got to be OK on your own before you can be OK with somebody else. You've got to value yourself and know that you're worth everything. And until you value yourself enough and love yourself enough to know that, you can't really have a healthy relationship."
On the possibility of a new relationship out of the public eye:
"I think to give something a chance, to really get to know somebody, you want to do it out of the public eye. You know the media—they want to rush everything."
On her style:
"The things I liked when I was, like, 16 and in the Bronx - jeans, cut-up T-shirts - I still like. But I've been exposed to so much now from traveling the world and seeing couture clothes. I used all of that when I created my new line for Kohl's [read more about that in our exclusive STF interview!]. My style has come from everything, from where I started to where I am today."
Speaking of her style, let's talk about her cover look!
The nautical trend is having a major moment this fall and Jennifer's giving it a super-sultry new spin in these photos. A sailor-style pants has brass button details that feel totally polished, but the slim silhouette and sexy top give it a fresh feel, especially thanks to that pop of red. The whole thing is topped off with anchor-adorned jewelry and chains that would look as chic on a yacht as they would the city streets. Shop our version for much less:


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It's Monday and we're meatless once again. Not for good but for today and every Monday– eating less meat has benefits to your health and to the environment, so we've decied to join in on Meatless Monday. Giving up meat doesn't mean giving up flavor or satisfaction. A meatless meal doesn't mean you'll be hungry an hour after eating; you don't have to give up variety, taste or texture, and you won't be condemned to a day of lettuce and tofu. We're eager to share our favorite meat-free recipes that are so satisfying, you won't miss the meat.
Ratatouille is a French dish (not to be confused with the popular Disney movie about little Remy-the-rat who dreams of becoming a chef) that hails from Provence and is composed of eggplant, tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, zucchini, garlic and herbs—all simmered in olive oil. Ratatouille can be served hot, cold or at room temperature, either as a side dish or as an appetizer with bread or crackers. Some variations of ratatouille involve grilling the vegetables instead of cooking them on the stove-top. Sometimes the vegetable mixture is served in a pie crust, sometimes over fish and sometimes it's turned into a soup. In Kelsey Nixon's twist on ratatouille, she layers the traditional vegetables onto a puff pastry shell with homemade onion-tomato jam. The result is a light-yet-filling dish that makes use of all of the vegetables in season right now. Pair the tart with a green salad for the perfect Meatless Monday meal, or make the tart any day of the week as an appetizer or side dish; it goes well with grilled fish, chicken or beef, too.
Kelsey Nixon's Ratatouille Tart With Caramelized Onion-Tomato Jam
1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
Flour, for dusting
1/2 to 3/4 cup Caramelized Onion-Tomato Jam, recipe follows
3 Roma tomatoes, sliced 1/4-inch thick
1 Japanese eggplant, sliced 1/4-inch thick on a mandoline
1 yellow squash, sliced 1/4-inch thick on a mandoline
1 zucchini, sliced 1/4-inch thick on a mandoline
1 to 2 roasted red peppers, julienned
2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
3 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano, divided
1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese
Caramelized Onion-Tomato Jam:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 Vidalia onions, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
10 Roma tomatoes, cored, seeded and roughly chopped (about 2 1/2 pounds)
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
For the Caramelized Onion-Tomato Jam:
In a high-sided saute pan with a lid, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions, season with the salt, cover and cook until they are wilted and soft, about 10 minutes. Remove the lid and cook the onions until they are golden and caramelized, stirring often, about 20 minutes more.
Stir in the garlic and saute 1 to 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook an additional 10 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients, bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Stirring consistently, cook until the tomatoes breakdown and the jam becomes thick, about 20 minutes. Yield: 3 cups
For the Tart:
Roll the puff pastry out on a floured surface to a rectangular shape, about 12 by 10 1/2 inches. Transfer the pastry sheet to a parchment-lined baking sheet. With the tines of a fork, dock a 1/2-inch border around the edge of the sheet and dock the center of the sheet a few times as well. This will prevent the dough from rising as it cooks.
Spread the Caramelized Onion-Tomato Jam evenly over the pastry, leaving a small border around the edge of the pastry. Layer the tomatoes, eggplant, yellow squash and zucchini in overlapping rows, or in whatever pattern you like. Sprinkle the roasted red peppers around the tart. Drizzle the assembled tart with a little olive oil, making sure to brush a little on the edges, season with salt and pepper and top with half of the fresh oregano.
Bake until the pastry is golden brown and puffed, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle with the goat cheese and the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons oregano before serving.
Makes 6-8 servings.
Try it out and tell us what you think with a recipe rating and review.


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Thinking of You Faith Cards
- Set of 8 (2 of each)
Butterflies in Yellow Sky
Front: Just a note to send you cheer...
Inside: ...and to say you're thought of today.
Scripture: The joy of the Lord is your strength. Nehemiah 8:10
Small Pink Butterflies
Front: You're on my mind...
Inside: ...and in my heart.
Scripture: The Lord watches over all who love Him. Psalm 145:20 NIV
Birds in Pink Sky
Front: Sometimes you need a friend...
Inside: ...to remind you how special you are. Hope you know others are thinking about you.
Scripture: God loves you...He chose you to be His own. 1 Thessalonians 1:4 NLT
Orange Flower
Front: Sending a little smile your way...
Inside: ...and an extra prayer to brighten your day!
Scripture: For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, "Do not fear; I will help you." Isaiah 41:13 NIV


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It will be revealing about the state of liberalism and the condition of the Democratic party if there are none. It wasn't pleasant in 2005 for conservatives and Republicans to oppose a nominee—in this case a close friend—of a president they supported. It certainly wasn't pleasant to seem to give any comfort to the president's critics. Still, to use a corny but apt expression, it was the right thing to do. And a willingness to do it was a sign of the health of American conservatism.
American liberalism shows no such sign of health. Liberals are pretending not to recognize that Hagel is manifestly unqualified. A few have the wit to argue in excuse that associate justice of the Supreme Court is a lifetime appointment while secretary of defense is not. On the other hand, the damage an incompetent secretary of defense could do over the next four years is very great.


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My Sister Mary
My sister Mary, was born 19 Feb 1960, Burbank, California. She passed away 15 Sept 2009, Glendale, California. She was the daughter of Earl Henry Bremmer and Josephine Pearl Blanco. She is the sister to; JoAnne, Larry (deceased), Erlene, Mark, Robert, Earl Bremmer.
Her brother, Larry passed away in 2000, her mother, passed away in 2001, her father passed away in 2005, they are all buried in Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills California.


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Size 11 are in 14 gram tubes and size 8 in 14 gram tubes
Qty - 10 Grams (approximately 140-150 beads depending on finish)
The rocailles have a 4.1mm diameter with a 1.6mm hole.
The 8/0 pressed seed beads from Matubo are a very regular and consistent shape and size. The large hole enables a thicker thread or several finer threads to be passed through the hole than is possible with other seed beads.
Qty - 10 Grams (approximately 320 beads depending on finish)
Size - 3.1mm diameter with a 1.2mm hole.
Qty - Approximately 10 grams.
Approximately 65 to 75 beads - Depending on finish.
Size - 6 x 6 x 3mm
Qty - 50 Beads
Size - 6 x 6 x 2mm
(Free patterns available when you purchase a CzechMate product) Click here
Qty - 25 Beads
Size - 6 x 6 x 3mm - 0.8mm Hole
Like the rest of the CzechMates, they have a large hole and rounded edges to minimise damage to thread. They have the same distance between the holes as the rest of the CzechMates to maximise your design options.
Qty - Approximately 7 grams.
Approximately 100 beads - Depending on finish.
Size - 6 x 3 x 2mm
Size - 4 x 11mm
Qty - 70 Beads
Approximately 8 grams - Depending on finish.
Size - 6 x 6 x 2.3mm
Qty - 60 Beads
Approximately 7 grams - Depending on finish.
Size - 3 x 10mm - 0.8mm Hole
Qty - 30 Beads
Size - 6 mm
Qty - 50 Beads - New Increased Pack Size From 30.
Size - 5 x 8mm
The DiamonDuos are 5x8mm and have a lovely facetted top. The versatile diamond shape means they nestle beautifully together to create textured mosaic patterns. The parallel holes, which are 4mm apart, are ideal for bead-weaving and multiple thread passes.
All Patterns are available to download on completion of your order. You will receive an email with your order details and if you click on (download) next to the items description you will be able to download the pattern to your computer.
Size - 8mm
The new candy bead is a 2-hole low cabochon with a round base and an 8mm diameter. This versatile shape combines very well with seed beads and other beads. It can be used for simple stringing or incorporated into complex designs. Thanks to its low curvature is easy to sew round and join together it is also highly suitable for use in embroidery.
A range of beads in the Tweedy finish.
All kits contain the pattern and all the beads needed to make the project, some colous may vary slightly.
Qty - Approximately 8 grams (Approx 175 beads, depending on finish)
Size - 2 x 4mm
The miniduos from Matubo are 2 x 4mm two-hole beads which are ideal for multi-row jewellery. They are the same shape as the superduo but 20% smaller with a 0.8mm hole. The miniduo shape means it can be used with the superduos as well as separately. They are pressed glass beads which gives a very uniform shape and size and come in a large range of colours and finishes.
Qty - 50 Beads
Size - 6x3x3mm
Size - 6 x 8mm
The 2-hole triangular Tango beads have 2 6mm sizes and an 8mm side and are 3mm high with 3mm between the holes. Its versatile 2-hole design allows many geometric shapes and configurations including cubes and pyramids. It also pairs perfectly with many other Czech 2-hole beads.
Qty - 7 grams ( approx 520 beads depending on finish)
Size - 3x1.15mm
New Toho demi round 8/0 seed beads have the same diameter and hole size as the round 8/0 seed bead but thinner. The 8/0 demi round seed beads are 3x1.15mm .
The demi-rounds have been developed by Toho in collaboration with Starman to create a new concept in seed beading. This is made possible by the quality glass cane and precision cutting of Toho manufacturing.
Qty - 25 Beads
Size - 2x8mm
New Preciosa Tee beads - 2x8mm structural beads which, when strung, interlock. The T-shaped design allows these beads to be used to create a variety of 3-D structures to give interest and texture to your designs. It works well with seed beads and small beads such as the 4x6mm Preciosa pellet bead.
As well as stringing, the tee beads can be used for kumihimo, crochet and sewing techniques such as embroidery.
Qty - 40 Beads
Size - 3 x 10mm
The new CzechMates beams are 3x10mm and have 3 holes.
Qty - 20 Beads
Size - 7mm
The new CzechMates cabochons are 7mm in diameter and have 2 holes.
Size - 3 x 6mm
The new Prong beads are 3x6mm. They have 1 hole and are designed to be used with the CzechMates. Like the CzechMates, they have a large hole and rounded edges to minimise damage to thread. Combine them with the CzechMates to maximise your design options.
Qty - 5 Grams ( Approx 890 Beads )
Size - 2.2 x 0.9mm
New Toho demi round 11/0 seed beads have the same diameter and hole size as the round 11/0 seed bead but thinner.
Size - 6x5mm
New 2-hole 6x5mm Nib-Bits from Matubo are a distinctive wedge shape which is ideal for circular shapes and edging. They can be positioned in a variety of configurations to form many different patterns. They also work well with other multi-hole beads including the 2-hole CzechMates crescents and the Arcos par Puca beads.
Size - 3 x 8mm
The 3x8mm 3-hole Cali beads from Bead Master can be used as spacers or to create more structural jewellery pieces. Their double-convex rounded surfaces allow seed beads to nestle between them and offers many creative opportunities. They are designed by the renowned designer Patty McCourt.
Size 2 x 3mm
These 2x3mm glass Czech Glass Faceted Micro Spacers look like a tiny fire polished shaped bead and are suitable to use as spacers in your beadwork
Qty - Approximately 14 grams.
Approximately 1500 beads depending on finish.
Size - 2mm - 0.8mm Inner Hole
Approximately 540 beads - Depending on finish.
Size - 3mm - 1.1mm Iner Hole
Qty - Approximately 10grams.
Approximately 2500 beads - Depending on finish.
Size - 1.5mm - 0.7mm Inner Hole
Approximately 170 beads - Depending on finish.
Size - 2.5mm x 5mm. 2 x 0.8mm holes
Qty - Approximately 5 grams.
Approximately 1000 beads depending on finish.
Size - 1.6mm diameter - 1.3mm long
0.8mm Inner Hole
Qty - 100 Beads
Size - 5 x 3mm.
Qty - 20 grams.
Approximately 290 beads depending on finish.
Size - 4.1mm - 1.6mm Inner Hole
Size - 4mm
Size - 5 x 7mm
Copyright © 2017 The Half Moon Bead Shop. All rights reserved.


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Fla. deputies: Boy finds gun, shoots family friend
Published: Wednesday, February 20, 2013 at 8:55 a.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, February 20, 2013 at 8:55 a.m.
CALLAWAY, Fla. — Authorities say a 3-year-old Florida Panhandle boy found a .38-caliber handgun under the mattress in his parents' bedroom and shot a family friend in the forehead.
The shooting happened Tuesday in Callaway. The News Herald of Panama City reports 18-year-old Emily Allen told deputies she was lying on the bed when she heard a "loud bang." That's when she saw the child standing next to her with a gun.
Allen told investigators she only realized she'd been shot when blood started running down her face.
Deputies say Allen was expected to be ok.
The child's mother was in the other room. His father told deputies he kept the loaded gun between the mattresses.
Sheriff's investigators are working with the state attorney's office to determine whether charges will be filed.
Reader comments posted to this article may be published in our print edition. All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged.


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on orders $75+
Fish Mate makes the highest quality fish and pond products. Always innovative and coming up with the best designs, their aquarium and pond products are sold in over 30 countries. At Pet Mountain, we like selling their products because customers love them. Its easy to see why, they are hyper focused on product quality and the best design. Their manufacturing plants are strictly regulated so they can maintain industry leadership. Their Fish Mate Gravity Uv + Bio Pond Filters are a perfect example of what we mean. They combine revolutionary design, with perfect U.V. clarification and biological filtration, to ensure crystal clear, purified water for your aquarium, all day, every day. Easy-to-replace U.V. tubes placed over the water eliminate issues of safety, scaling, quartz tube replacement and frost damage that is common in other similar products. With a low maintenance design and a high efficiency U.V. chamber, its a very popular product. This same approach is used for all other Fish Mate products. Be sure to check them out!
As a preeminent Fish Mate supplier, Pet Mountain works closely with the manufacturer to ensure that we carry the right inventory at the lowest possible prices. With our ability to buy in bulk and work with the supplier on discount programs and special promotions, we can offer you unbeatable specials and the best customer service in the industry, guaranteed. Ready to save up to 60% on Fish Mate Filters, Sterilizers and Feeders? Choose from our big selection. Youll find everything you need to keep your pet happy. Cant find something? Let us know; wed be happy to help. Be sure to check out our online coupons and discount shipping on all your favorite products.Pet Mountain your have everything, online low price leader for all pet supplies!
Free shipping on all orders over $75, even the BIG STUFF that weighs a ton. No code. No hassle.
We want you to be happy with all your purchases at PetMountain. If not, we will make things right.
We won't be beat on price. Always shop with confidence with our low price guarantee.
We guarantee that every brand we sell is new and 100% authentic. Shop over 300 trusted pet brands.
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Note: This item is more than nine years old. Please take the publication date into consideration for any date references.
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News Release
Media Contact: TPWD News, email@example.com, 512-389-8030
May 19, 2008
Party Boat Operator Licensing and Inspection Reg Goes Into Effect June 1
AUSTIN, Texas — A regulation requiring inland party boat operators to be licensed and their vessels inspected goes into effect June 1. A party boat operator license is required of operators of charter vessels more than 30 feet long and carrying more than six passengers on inland waters.
Operators who hold a United States Coast Guard Operator of Uninspected Passenger Vessel (OUPV) License, often referred to as a "6-pack license," or a Master's license issued by the USCG, are exempted.
"Game Wardens will be working throughout the summer to bring all party boats into compliance," said Maj. Alfonso Campos, chief of marine safety enforcement for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. "The focus of the regulations is the safety of the passengers. Any party boat operators that have not been contacted are encouraged to call TPWD to make arrangements for operator licensing and inspection of their party boats."
A "party boat" is defined as a vessel operated by the owner or an employee of the owner, and rented or leased for a group recreational event for more than six passengers.
The regulation does not apply to a boat that is less than 30 feet in length, a sailboat, a livery (uncaptained rental) vessel, any vessel used for training or instructional purposes while it is not being used as a party boat.
Most fishing guides will not be affected.
"Basically, anyone who is operating a head boat or charter boat on navigable coastal waters should already be covered by their captain's license and federal certificate of inspection, if applicable," said Campos. "This regulation is really aimed at making our lakes and reservoirs safer for everyone."
The licensing process involves documented on-the-water experience, independent study and completion of an approved boater education course and a proctored exam, as well as a fee of $125.
Vessel inspections, also $125 and performed by a game warden or authorized inspector, are required annually.
For complete information and party boat operator license and vessel inspection applications, visit the TPWD Web site.
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(5.4.16 i)


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Last night I loaded my hot Italian into the Beast and drove over to Club Lucky for takeout. We loaded up on pasta e fagioli, giambotta, and homemade pasta, fired up the Beast, and got halfway back to my place when the vehicle coughed, choked, and rolled to a stop next to a crowded restaurant patio.
So I dumped my Italian into a cab with our dinner, called for roadside assistance, and settled down to mull the situation over and field advice from the peanut gallery while awaiting the tow.
The engine had died in a way that suggested it wasn't getting fuel. I knew I was low on gas—the gauge was in the red—but I wasn't on empty yet, so my first thought was that I might have a blocked fuel line or a dead fuel filter, neither of which I was equipped to handle by myself on a dark Chicago side street. The thing I kept coming back to, though, was this: what if I'm just out of gas? The last time that particular embarassment hove into my harbor, I was 18 and the Beast was fresh off the showroom floor. But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense to me that a 19-year-old fuel gauge might not read true. Occam's Razor strikes again.
So I hopped into a cab and went for a gallon of gas. Sure enough, with a little go-juice and a few pumps of the throttle, the Beast fired right up again! So I called my insurance company, cancelled the roadside assistance call, and went home to eat.
But I'd be a bad blogger indeed if I didn't try to find a larger lesson here.
See, one of the reasons we get to enjoy pasta e fagioli on a Saturday night—instead of howling at the moon or getting whacked over the head with the jawbone of a Frenchman by some other savage—is because we spent hundreds of centuries creating an intricate societal infrastructure that enables each of us to reap the benefits of other people's specialization. That way, if I want some pasta e fagioli, I can simply order take-out instead of farming the wheat, slaughtering the veal, stoking the oven, and doing the million other things whose emergent result is ambrosia in a bowl. In fact, you could probably make the argument that, without specialization, producing pasta e fagioli would be not merely difficult, but impossible.
Now anybody can specialize... but a key element in actually reaping the benefits of specialization is trust. If that fennel sausage is available at the market but I fear a mortal case of salmonella poisoning, I'm probably still not going to get my fagioli. And, if I rely on a faulty gas gauge to tell me how much I've got in the tank, all the positive visualization in the world is not going to get me to my destination.
Two thousand years ago, commerce flourished from the Baltic Sea to the Nile, and from the Bosporus to the tip of the Iberian peninsula. Dig into those architectural strata in Syria, and you will find shards of pottery manufactured in Brittania, over two thousand miles to the northwest. Yet, over a period of only a couple of hundred years, commerce vanished across the entire region, and what had been the Roman Empire fell into a benighted mess that didn't rise to a similar level of sophistication for over a thousand years.
What happened?
The short answer is that, for a number of reasons, the Roman army lost the ability to protect the trade routes that crisscrossed the far-flung empire, as well as the manufacturing centers that sustained them. Specialists of one region came to understand that they could no longer rely on the specialists of another to make good on their promises. The assumptions that underlay the empire were no longer demonstrably true. In short, trust vanished, and all of western civilization crashed as a result.
Let's point out, though, that we are talking about a particular kind of trust. This isn't the kind of trust we have in a politician to say the things thatr make us feel good. It isn't the kind of trust that we bestow on institutions that help us maintain our cherished illusions.
Rather, this is the kind of trust I like to have in my gas gauge: that the measurement it reports reflects the actual state of the universe—as encapsulated within my gas tank—with sufficient fidelity to get me home. It's the kind of trust a soldier must have in the weapon he brings into combat, or that a patient must have in the surgeon holding the knife. Jerk the rug out from under these fundamental assumptions, and you'll find you have no transport, no medicine, and no defense at all against the savages at the gates of civilization beyond what you and your own children can muster.
And, when civilization is crashing around your ears, nobody makes good Italian take-out.
Okay, you ask, but so what? I got home, didn't I?
I did... but I got home by questioning a fundamental assumption, by testing my trust against immutable reality! If I'd held tight to the assumption that my gas gauge was reporting reality, I'd have spent half the night at the mercy of a tow-truck operator, and I'd have missed my fagioli. As it worked out, I still didn't get any fagioli—Debra ate it all—but the giambotta she saved me was delicious.
In how many spheres of our national life do we find ourselves making critical decisions based on information provided by trusted sources, only to discover that the facts on the ground were not at all as reported? Many of us were disappointed to read in the New York Times that the President and his men sent us to war on false pretenses... but who, to borrow a phrase, is watching the watcher? If the New York Times purports to be a gauge that measures the level of truth in the national tank, then what are the consequences when that gauge goes out of calibration?
I've tried hard to keep this piece within neutral lines, and I'll finish in the same vein. Ultimately, does it matter whether the President's story, or that of the New York Times, more closely reflects reality? Of course it does! But my point here is that in the final analysis it is not the President's ass, nor the collective posterior of the New York Times, that will be waving in the wind if we decide national policy on the basis of false assumptions. Rather, it will be our butts—yours, mine, your children's and your neighbors'—that will wind up in the sausage grinder if we get the big stuff wrong.
So, when in doubt, check for yourself! Above all, view certainty with a jaundiced eye... because whether absolute reliance on a faulty source of truth costs you the lives of your children or just a really great bowl of soup, you're going to find that having somebody to blame is a pretty unsatisfyng alternative.


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Kevarrius Hayes moving from Live Oak to Gainesville
Published: Friday, July 12, 2013 at 6:01 a.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, July 11, 2013 at 10:52 p.m.
The campus tour was nice.
Riding around in a golf cart with his mother and high school basketball coach, Kevarrius Hayes nodded with enthusiasm each time their defacto chauffeur, Florida assistant basketball coach Matt McCall, pointed out something new.
"Those would be your dorms. And right there, those are the buildings where you would study medicine. I know you really want to do that and would love what we can provide you here."
The workouts helped get a better look inside the program.
Sitting in the Gator fitness room, Hayes watched as Casey Prather, Dillon Graham, DeVon Walker and Dorian Finney-Smith did full-body weight training. Not just beach-friendly bench presses and curls. All over.
Soon after, Hayes saw players go through a variety of basketball drills. They weren't simplistic, and the focus was multilayered. Everything was designed to improve in more than just one area.
You didn't just drive. You drove, spun and shot. You didn't just get to the correct defensive spot in the post. You got there, you kept your position and you guarded your man for the entirety of the possession.
"All they went through in all they did ... I could see what the goals were," Hayes said. "It was about becoming better and more complete in game situations. It made total sense."
Then there was the visit to coach Billy Donovan's office.
Well, that was, in Hayes' own five syllables "intimidating." It's not often an admittedly bashful kid from Live Oak has an attentive audience with a man who has two national championship rings and nearly 500 career victories.
While Hayes has lived a short life that only saw him eligible to get a driver's license on March 5, he's lived in four different places since elementary school. And in the last 19 months, he's really grown up.
Not that he was ever immature. That's hardly the case.
But circumstances helped the teenage boy evolve into a young man capable of thinking out decisions even when every bit of adrenaline and euphoria in his 190-pound body was telling him to spring out of his chair and tell the future hall of fame coach exactly what he wanted to hear.
It was in 2011 when Verrice Hayes was told she and her Army Reserves unit would be deployed to Kuwait soon after the new year.
She wasn't sure how long she'd be gone, and well, the potential danger of a tour never really strays too far from the consciousness of a soldier, despite the Hooah attitude bred into them from the first time they put on a uniform.
No longer with Kevarrius' father, Kevin Jordan, Verrice didn't want to uproot her only child, who had lived in two separate parts of Jacksonville, Bridgeville, Pa. and Live Oak since 2008 and needed stability and continuity while she was gone. After all, while popular enough with his classmates that he would eventually be elected the president of the sophomore class at Suwannee High School, he also acknowledges he didn't play on a basketball team as a seventh-grader because he was too shy to try out in his new town.
So, with the approval of the Florida High School Athletic Association, Kevarrius moved in with the Bulldogs' coach, Jeremy Ulmer, in January of 2012.
There, he had many of the same responsibilities he had at home with his mom, though he jokes "cleaning dishes was easier because (Ulmer) has a dishwasher."
Kevarrius said there were nights he would lay awake worrying about his mother, and across the world, she missed her son. Her biggest joys came when SHS game tapes would arrive, courtesy of a cousin.
"That helped a little bit," said Verrice, a 14-year reservist who also spent two years on active duty ending in 2009.
They weren't able to communicate as often as either would have liked, but when they spoke on the telephone, the conversations always were positive. And after about six months, the Internet at her cubicle in the Middle East got up to full speed and they were able to keep in touch almost daily through Facebook.
"It got easier then," said Kevarrius, whose mother transitioned from being enlisted to an officer four years ago. "I missed her the whole time, but about then is when I began really missing her, so it was great to be able to talk with her more often."
All the while, Kevarrius was becoming more and more comfortable with a body that sprouted from 6-foot-2 as an eighth-grader (when he threw down his first dunk) to 6-6 as a freshman to 6-8 now.
Blessed with outstanding speed and hands that can cup a basketball as if it were a softball, he continues to be a work-in-progress offensively. But, according to Team Nike Florida assistant coach Ed Hall, that part of Hayes' game will come. What he already has can't necessarily be taught.
"He's one of those kids who is so good he doesn't really even know how good he is," said Hall, who has coached Hayes for three summers. "He does things every day in practice where we just kind of look at each other and ask 'did he really just do that?'"
Hall said perhaps the best example came at the Boo Williams Nike Invitational in late April in Newport News, Va. There, with Donovan an interested spectator in the stands, Hayes ran down a fast-breaking guard, leaped and grabbed the shot attempt, and in one motion threw an outlet pass to a teammate.
"He did something nobody else there could have and most wouldn't have even thought to try," Hall said.
Those kind of plays became almost the norm at Suwannee, where Hayes finished his freshman year averaging 5.8 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.7 blocks before boosting those numbers to 11.3 ppg, 15 rpg and five bpg as a sophomore.
But he seemed to save his best for mom.
On Jan. 25 of this year, tour completed, Verrice arrived home and made her way to the gym, unbeknownst to anyone.
She arrived five minutes before tipoff to see Ulmer and most of her son's teammates gathered in a huddle on the floor. Having injured her meniscus in Kuwait, Verrice walked with a slight limp and asked where Kevarris was.
A member of the coaching staff pointed to the locker room, where a few seconds later, she opened the door and saw Kevarrius. And then he saw her.
"We hugged each other really hard," Verrice said. "There were a lot of tears."
Unfortunately for the opposition, Hamilton County, with tears came motivation in the form of 15 points (on 7-of-8 shooting), 20 rebounds, 10 blocked shots and two steals in a 70-58 win for the Bulldogs.
"I'll never forget that night," Kevarrius said.
Nor will he forget June 11, when he sat in Donovan's office, half in awe, half intrigued.
"It was so nice, and coach Donovan was so nice, so humble," Verrice said. "We were there 45 minutes to an hour and (Kevarrius) got to ask a lot of questions. He had a huge smile on his face the whole time."
Donovan's answers made Hayes pretty certain UF was where he wanted to spend his college years. But, in great part because of a prior conversation he'd had with his mother, Kevarrius held off on committing.
"We had already talked about how people were going to call and I wanted him to make sure he thought everything out before making any decisions," Verrice said. "It was a big choice."
During the next week, Kevarrius received texts from coaches at Alabama, Kansas State and Mercer gauging his interest, but in his mind, his future kept coming back to one place.
So, six days later he told his family and then Donovan he was going to be a Gator in the 2015 class.
"It seems perfect for me," Hayes said. "Just a perfect fit. I'm so happy."
Reader comments posted to this article may be published in our print edition. All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged.


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Free UK Standard Delivery On Orders Over £90
Coming Soon
While we share a love of flying we all have many other interests outside aviation. We are delighted to announce that coming soon will be a premium range of clothing and gifts for other hobbies. You will be able to browse and buy from our new product offerings in areas such as Driving, Cycling, Golf, Fishing, Marine or Railways gifts and clothing to name just a few.All in stock and supplied with our award winning service levels.
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Meatless Monday is a global movement, a way of life. It's not a campaign to turn everyone in the world vegetarian or vegan; in fact, many involved are meat-lovers. Eating less meat has been proven to reduce the risk of disease, curb obesity and has important environmental impacts, too. Will you join us in giving up meat, just for one day a week?
If you haven't tried arepas, get or make yourself some as soon as possible. They're popular in Columbia, Venezuela and other Latin American countries but widely available in the US at Latin American restaurants, and they're ubiquitous at New York City summer street fairs. They're thick, round corn cakes that are either baked, grilled or fried. They can be split in half, like an English muffin, and stuffed with just about anything — cheese, meat, eggs, seafood, beans, roasted vegetables — or they can be left whole and eaten on their own. I like mine stuffed with mozzarella cheese; it gets all stringy when you bite into or break the arepa in half.
If you're not near Venezuela or a NYC street fair right now, arepas are easy enough to make at home. Mark Bittman's arepas are made with a thick cornmeal batter that's studded with whole corn kernels. Once they're cooked, you can slice and stuff them with beans, grilled vegetables, cheese (queso, Monterrey jack, cheddar or mozzarella all work), or you can top them with any of the aforementioned fixin's and eat them with a fork.
Makes 8-12 arepas
1 cup yellow cornmeal, finely ground
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup grated Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter, plus more for serving, optional
1/2 cup fresh sweet corn kernels or frozen kernels, thawed
1/4 cup chopped scallion
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1 small serrano or jalapeno chile, seeded and minced, optional
3 tablespoons corn, canola, grapeseed or other neutral oil
Cooked black beans or vegetables or sour cream for stuffing, optional
Put cornmeal in a large bowl with salt and cheese. Put milk in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until steam rises, then add butter and stir until melted. Remove from heat and stir into cornmeal mixture until a thick batter is formed. Fold in the corn kernels, scallion, cilantro and chile, if using.
Let batter rest until it thickens into a soft dough, about 15 minutes. Gently form 3-inch to 4-inch balls from mixture and flatten with palm of your hand to a 1/2-inch-thick disk. (You can cover and refrigerate disks for a few hours if you like.)
Heat oil in a large skillet and cook arepas, working in batches, until golden brown, about 5 minutes, then flip and cook for another 3 minutes on other side. When all arepas are cooked and cool enough to handle, carefully slice them through the middle. If desired, serve with butter or stuff with beans, vegetables or sour cream.
More Meatless Recipes from Mark Bittman:
- Potato and Corn Tacos
- Zucchini Pear Soup
- Pasta With Winter Squash and Tomatoes
- Tomato Soup
- Pasta With Lavender
- Beets With Garlic Walnut Sauce
- Paella With Tomatoes


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LAFAYETTE — Lafayette-based home health company LHC Group reported third-quarter earnings of $6.3 million, or 36 cents per share, compared to a loss of $38.0 million, or $2.08 per share.
The 2011 results included a $45 million after-tax charge related to the company's settlement of a whistleblower lawsuit with the U.S. Department of Justice. LHC had $158.9 million in revenue, although Hurricane Isaac lowered that amount of revenue by around $571,000.
In a news release, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Keith G. Myers said the company posted solid operating results despite the significant impact of Hurricane Isaac and ongoing uncertainties in the regulatory environment.
Stock analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of 37 cents per share on revenue of $159.9 million.
The company lowered its 2012 guidance to per-share earnings of $1.45 to $1.55 on revenue of $635 million to $645 million. The company had originally projected earnings of $1.45 to $1.65 per share on revenue of $640 million to $660 million.