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XBMC & Broadcom Bring 1080p Decode Upgrade to ill-equipped netbooks, nettops, Apple TVsby Anand Lal Shimpi on 12/29/2009 12:00 AM EST
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tdnelson - Saturday, January 02, 2010 - linkIf only Broadcom Hardware Decoder would work with Adobe Premiere CS4 and AVCHD video, it would save me a lot of money on an editing system. I could just get the BHD and put it in my laptop and have a marginally functional editing system to edit the footage from my Canon Vixia HF20. Instead, my only option now is to buy a new computer with a CUDA supported video card. If I want accelerated rendering, I'll have to buy a Quadro FX. Someday somebody will figure out how to bring HD video editing to the masses at an affordable price. Reply
aleutia - Thursday, December 31, 2009 - linkGreat post. We've always used Zotac Ion boards to run XBMC but the dual core version requires a fan and the single cores are expensive.
The Intel D945GSEJT just has an N270 but it's a) fanless b) has a Mini PCIe slot and c) has a DVI port. You'd still be stuck with mediocre sound.
Has anyone tested this? Reply
office boy - Thursday, December 31, 2009 - linkYou could still get good sound (not trueHD etc but 5.1), There is a S/PDIF header just above the pci slot and ALC662 should do 5.1. Reply
marc1000 - Thursday, December 31, 2009 - linkI guess it's the age of "good enough" really.. LOL! Reply
marc1000 - Wednesday, December 30, 2009 - linkIt was not clear if this card will work on windows. Linux is fine, but a great part of the atom PC's sold are running windows XP (only the absolutely newest of them will run win7). what about support for this OS? Reply
T2k - Saturday, January 02, 2010 - linkAll Atom-based netbooks run Windows 7 just fine, I personally installed it on at least 3-4 diff brands. Reply
stmok - Wednesday, December 30, 2009 - linkYour question will be answered when you click on this link...
=> http://www.broadcom.com/support/crystal_hd/">http://www.broadcom.com/support/crystal_hd/ Reply
marc1000 - Thursday, December 31, 2009 - linkyeah, I found lots of information on their website. It's funny that a media player for Xbox 1 gre "self living".. hehe Reply
JNo - Wednesday, December 30, 2009 - link"We finally have tons of machines that come in these tiny little boxes... that hook straight up to our TVs... Definitely fast enough to browse a bunch of movies or TV shows, but generally too slow to play back high definition video."
Did I read this correctly? I presume you're only talking about devices that fit the traditional PC build (eg nettops)? Seeing as there's mention of Apple TV though, there's loads of other good stuff out there that has been able to decode 1080p for ages...
Even my *year old* WDTV was able to play all but the highest bit rate 1080p files.. and the newer WDTV Live should be even more capable.
Currently have and Xtreamer. It's made by a v enthusiastic korean company. No distributors, just direct sale from internet to keep costs down (€99 or £99). Much more powerful chip than original WDTV and there is now a passive cooled version.
Plays 1080p mkvs no probs. And it can decode DTS and output it either 5.1 or downmixed to stereo over HDMI (or spdif/optical). No more converting. And get this: it can also output DTS-HD MA, DTS-HD HR and Dolby True HD too. Supports BluRay ISO format plus supports multichannel FLAC on movies.
Plus has ethernet adaptor +wireless-n optional adaptor antenna, plus internal 2.5" HDD bay. Can use uPnP, SAMBA, FTP. Uses internet for youtube, flickr, bbc.co.uk, internet radio, has iphone remote app +much more (though this side a little unrefined at moment).
Active forums with developer participation. Google "xtreamer mavvy" for a comprehensive review. Reply
TheNuts - Monday, January 04, 2010 - linkUh, I do not believe either the WDTV or the Xtreamer can passthrough Dolby True HD or DTS-MA (non core) Reply
fangwoo - Wednesday, December 30, 2009 - linkthis will take the slot in most devices that is occupied by the wifi card. lame. Reply
kingtrae - Wednesday, December 30, 2009 - linkI'm really intrigued to know what case that was that was featured in the article near the top. does anyone know? Reply
aleutia - Thursday, December 31, 2009 - linkIt's a T3500 Morex case. $80 on eBay and not a bad form factor though I prefer the World Top (www.wtcase.com) IT-02. Reply
Soulkeeper - Wednesday, December 30, 2009 - linkexcellent news
LTG - Wednesday, December 30, 2009 - linkXBMC has fast forward/rewind modes of 2x-32x which this solution can't support. Try to use them too much and they become more of a "skip" feature than fast forward.
XBMC also has skip forward, and if you're happy with that this will work fine.
If you want true, smooth fast forward and rewind this won't cut it.
If you want to see how it works, just just Fast forward with 720x480 video which will be smooth, and you can see if you care or not.
bjacobson - Friday, January 01, 2010 - linkBandwidth limited I gather--very interesting.
So why can't I just get an Ion board and use that? It does video decoding. Reply
ifkopifko - Wednesday, December 30, 2009 - linkI have read somewhere, that netbooks based on the new pinetrail platform will have limited digital video outputs to 1366x768. So decoding 1080p is fine, but no way to display it anyway. Reply
marc1000 - Wednesday, December 30, 2009 - linkI second your opinion. Reply
Reven - Wednesday, December 30, 2009 - linkJust to confirm, even if I do install this new chip, iTunes still wont have 1080p video right? So its great for streaming native 1080p content off my PC but if I just use it for iTunes video downloads it wont help at all right? Reply
KidneyBean - Wednesday, December 30, 2009 - linkHow is the performance in XP, or Vista, when running 1080p video on Flash 10.1? Reply
icrf - Wednesday, December 30, 2009 - linkI'm guessing that Flash 10.1 doesn't support this chip for offloading the video decoding. That's an extra bit of software support that has to be added to any application.
What would have been nice is if they somehow got this chip to implement some piece of the VDPAU or DXVA APIs. I'm guessing Nvidia can do that because they have some generic vector hardware, but this Broadcom chip is more special-purpose and only supports decoding these kinds of video codecs, which means it can't implement those APIs, only decode functions specific to what it supports. These functions then have to be explicitly supported in every piece of playback software. Reply
Kermee - Wednesday, December 30, 2009 - linkTaken from: http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/flashplayer10/r...">http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/flashplayer10/r...
Hardware video decoding of H.264 content in Flash Player 10.1 is supported on the Broadcom BCM70012 video decoding chipset, found in systems with Broadcom Crystal HD Enhanced Video Accelerator hardware. Driver support is available at www.broadcom.com/support. Reply
icrf - Wednesday, December 30, 2009 - linkI stand corrected. Sorry to mislead. Reply
crim - Wednesday, December 30, 2009 - linkSo, let me get this straight, I can buy Intel's new Pinetrail board and then drop this Broadcom chip into for full 1080p playback ability.... but Pinetrail (D510MO) doesn't have ANY SORT of digital connection. Instead, pretty much the only boards that have this are Ion boards which begs the question "why?" if Ion can already do what Broadcom is trying to do?? The only Intel board you can use this on is the D945GSEJT.... which I guess means that I'm probably going to pick one up even though it uses the slower/crappier single core Atom.... Ugh. I just wish Intel would stop trying to screw us and release the D510MO with DVI or HDMI out on it.... Reply
yuhong - Wednesday, December 30, 2009 - linkI think that is just a limitation of the on-die graphics, which supports only LVDS or VGA output. Reply
Kermee - Wednesday, December 30, 2009 - linkGive it time. I'm sure other board manufacturers will come out with miniITX boards based off Pinetrail (i.e. Zotac, ASUS, etc.) -- Intel got theirs out first for obvious reasons and without DVI/HDMI which I agree with you... is stupid. Reply
mczak - Wednesday, December 30, 2009 - linkThe limitation of no dvi/hdmi output seems to come from pinetrail, not the motherboards (my biggest gripe with pinetrail, long before the no-video-decode). The official specs say lvds (limited to fairly low resolution), and VGA, so it seems to lack TMDS transmitter if true. I can't see how other manufacturers would add digital outputs, short of adding a discrete gpu... This was possible with the old boards at least in theory, since the i945 chipset had sdvo output, which could be used to implement (at the cost of a separate chip) dvi/hdmi. Reply
wkeller - Wednesday, December 30, 2009 - linkI have read somewhere (sorry) a review of a thin MSI netbox with the Broadcom BCM970012, which wasn't good in terms of 1080p and Flash playback. There is a new (better?) version called Broadcom BCM970015 announced recently (and certified for Pine by Intel).
Additionally, we need an available HDMI connector to have a useful upgrade, I think. Both are scarce at netbooks etc. Most netbooks with HDMI already has an ION chip or so. Reply
AmdInside - Wednesday, December 30, 2009 - linkThe AppleTV should actually be powerful enough to do 1080p. It is likely capped by Apple for heat purposes since it already runs so hot when playing back 720p video. Reply
sprockkets - Tuesday, December 29, 2009 - linkAll my worries about no open source drivers for this chip are gone. I didn't think they would be cooperative with their behavior with their wifi cards.
Frankly, whether it be ION or Pinetrail, all I care about is that the system is fanless, and if at all possible, solid state as well. Reply
sprockkets - Tuesday, December 29, 2009 - linkof course, with no digital output over netbook resolutions what's the point for set top boxes? Reply
bjacobson - Friday, January 01, 2010 - linkION has digital out and goes to 2560x1600... Reply
globetreader - Tuesday, December 29, 2009 - linkI am one of the D495GCLF2 user and seriously hoping for a PCI solution to come out...this PCIe is disappointment :( Reply
leonowski - Wednesday, December 30, 2009 - linkThe Nvidia 8400 GS is available in PCI and supports VDPAU in Linux. Contrary to what the other guy says, this does work well to decode 1080p. In fact, resolution doesn't dictate the bandwidth - the bitrate of the video does. Reply
globetreader - Wednesday, December 30, 2009 - linkany pointers for pci version of 8400? Reply
Kermee - Thursday, December 31, 2009 - linkI use a passive-heatsink only Sparkle 8400GS 512MB PCI card. Sometimes they go on sale for $30-35 USD @ Newegg.com with free shipping. It's been well tested for complete GPU-offload via VDPAU on 1080p/1080i/720p (H264/VC1/MPEG2) in XBMC & MythTV 0.22 in Linux. Reply
StormyParis - Wednesday, December 30, 2009 - linkwrong for the broadcomm card, which has to send data back to the vidcard.
right for a vidcard that also does HD decode. Reply
Kermee - Wednesday, December 30, 2009 - linkYou are correct, since you're sending the compressed video to be decompressed to the final device that will display the uncompressed video. So all you need to get to the 8400 GS, via PCI, is the MPEG/H264/VC-1 data which is relatively low bit-rate.
i.e. Compressed H264 Video -> PCI bus -> 8400GS using VDPAU -> Display
However, the Crystal HD is a decoder only. It is not the device which displays the final video. Once the video stream is uncompressed, you need to send it to the GPU for display. That's where PCI bandwidth limitations come into play; you need to send uncompressed video to the GPU.
That's where PCIe x1 (i.e. miniPCIe x1) works because even v1.0 of the PCI-Express specifications supports 250MB/s of bandwidth (or 4GB/s in a x16 lane configuration) before it hits the hub to send to a PCIe GPU. Reply
Calin - Wednesday, December 30, 2009 - linkPCI bandwidth is limited (and shared with many other devices). For 1080p content, you need to send about 6 MB per frame (1920 by 1080, times 24 bits per pixel). This makes for about 180 MB per second, well above the 133 MB per second of the PCI (33 MHz times 32 bits). Reply
mczak - Wednesday, December 30, 2009 - linkShould require slightly less bandwidth. Video is yuv, so 16bit per pixel (every graphic chip since about just forever should handle this, so there's no need to convert that to RGB with the decoder chip), so that's only 4MB per frame, and at the typical 24fps that's "only" ~100MB per second - together with the compressed bits possibly still too much to really work in practice with pci. Reply
mattmc61 - Friday, January 01, 2010 - linkI don't usually nit-pick, but since you are being so detailed about your bandwith considerations, let's remember video is diplayed at 30 fps, not 24fps. 24fps is for the movie theater. Reply
bjacobson - Friday, January 01, 2010 - link3:2 pulldown, which is handled by [not this Broadcom chip]. Reply
mczak - Wednesday, December 30, 2009 - linkoops actually video is planar 4:2:2 so only 3MB per frame, hence it possibly might work with pci. I think though it's about time chips use pcie not pci... Reply
Penti - Sunday, January 03, 2010 - linkIt's 4:2:0 in practice.
So even blu-ray none-reencoded should be fine. It uses half of full RGB uncompressed bandwidth. But PCI systems can just use a 8400GS card.. Reply
Stan11003 - Wednesday, December 30, 2009 - linkPCI and PCI express are two different technology's. PCI-express is good for 250 or 1GB a sec depending the version you are using. Reply
Spivonious - Wednesday, December 30, 2009 - linkExcept 1080p content is always compressed in some way (VC-1, h.264, MPEG-2, etc.) so PCI bandwidth is fine.
Personally, I'm glad it's only PCI-Express. Maybe this way we'll see fewer motherboards sporting the 17 year-old PCI interface. Reply
Zoomer - Wednesday, December 30, 2009 - linkExcept that you have to add the compressed bitstream bw to the uncompressed bw, since PCI's bw is bidirectional and you need to send the decoded stream back for display. Reply
Xean - Wednesday, December 30, 2009 - link1080p has to be send back to GPU in order to display an uncompressed content on the screen. Reply
Xean - Wednesday, December 30, 2009 - link1080p has to be send back to GPU in order to display an uncompressed content on the screen. Reply
jmurbank - Tuesday, December 29, 2009 - linkYes, Broadcom provides the source code to ease the use of their CrystalHD board, but now developers have to add support for it. In Linux, developers have already added Video Acceleration API which is the backend of what nVidia's VDPAU supports. The Broadcom CrystalHD card does not make it any easier. It just complicates things.
There is a big detail that you missed is that the motherboard have to support it. Most motherboards with a mini-PCIe slot does not support any other expansion boards besides what the motherboard manufacture sells. Motherboard manufactures uses a whitelist to make sure their mini-PCIe board is used and not any other product is used.
I recommend call Zotac to make sure that the motherboard that you are showing can support this new expansion board from Broadcom. Reply
theuni - Tuesday, December 29, 2009 - linkA Zotac ION board was actually used in the XBMC for CrystalHD development (to compare vdpau vs. broadcom). It will work just fine. Reply
jmurbank - Thursday, December 31, 2009 - linkThat is still not enough proof. Pictures does provide any proof. Reply
solipsism - Tuesday, December 29, 2009 - linkThe AppleTV uses the Mini-PCIe for the 802.11a/b/g/n AirPort card. Unless you are using Ethernet and/or have enabled the USB port with a WiFi adapter then this is less than ideal. Though I am glad to know that it has that option. Reply
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BLACK Country favourite Maggie O'Hara led Dudley's St George's Day celebrations for hundreds of party goers in Brierley Hill.
The borough's official party took place on April 26 and featured a packed programme of family entertainment.
The day kicked off with a performance from the Sedgley Morris Men before the Halesowen Scout Band took centre stage.
The Dudley Council-organised show was officially opened at 10.30am by civic dignitaries and invited guests and activities continued until 3pm.
On the main stage Maggie O'Hara led a patriotic sing-along and jointly hosted a free tea dance with Avril Watkins at the town hall.
Other attractions included performances from Brierley Hill Musical Theatre, Black Country Gaz, Kingswinford Air Training Corps and the creators of the Black Country anthem - The Empty Can.
Children were entertained by free fairground rides, face painting, craft activities and a birds of prey display while a Great Brierley Hill Bake-Off competition gave visitors the chance to show their culinary skills.

subset: commoncrawl


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I write
this from a chair facing the fresh yellow green of Ohio spring, although
the wind is heavy with sudden heat and the sky is a pale blue that we
usually see later in summer. My tastebuds are tingling from a weekend of
Memorial Day feasts.
I don't know what you had at your house or
picnic table, but those that I frequented held various grilled goods,
coleslaw, potato salad, sliced tomatoes, dips and chips, baked beans and
some sort of decadent summer squash and cheese casserole. The pie crust
gene runs strong in my family, and wild berries are put up each summer
to fill the crusts, so two kinds of pie were divvied up for dessert.
this was consumed out in the aforementioned green. As we ate and
talked, enjoying the company of relatives who travelled in for the long
weekend from various points in the country, bicyclists pedaled past. Two
farmers worked the field. We remembered family who couldn't make the
trip as well as those who never will again. And we were not, are not,
Thanks to my grandpa who milked his Jersey cows and worked
his fields during wartime and another grandfather who served on a Navy
vessel in the Pacific, we could take an after-dinner nap in the wide
open if we had a mind to. Because my father-in-law carried a radio in
Japan, as well as a wristful of shrapnel and half a lifetime of
nightmares, we could listen for birdsong instead of marching feet.
reason for my child's flight to Colorado was to accompany a former
classmate to the Air Force Academy Ring Dance, a gala during which
cadets receive their cadet class ring, if I understood correctly. My
child had her pretty dress and Cinderella slippers, as did other invited
guests, but the young men and women of the Academy were the stars of
the evening. I thank them, and other service people like them, for
making it safe for me to sit in the grass beside my father's grave on
Memorial Day and not fear the planes that pass overhead.
I trust that I won't be remembering any of them this time next year.
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JCP+L, PSE+G Restore Nearly All Customers
JCP+L and PSE+G say they have restored power to nearly all customers who lost service during Hurricane Sandy and the Nor'easter.
PSE+G reports just 19 customers without power as a result of Sandy and 259 customers in Union, Middlesex and Somerset counties. These customers, explains PSE+G, experienced high winds along the Watchung Mountains during the hurricane and the largest snowfall during the Nor'easter. Most of these outages result from localized issues that were not corrected when a system or circuit outage was restored. These include damaged electrical service lines that lead from the pole to a customer's home or business.
JCP+L has 3477 customers still without power from both events according to their outage map, mostly in Hunterdon and Morris counties.
"We're down to the most time-consuming part of the effort – restoring individual homes to service," said Don Lynch, president of JCP&L in a statement. "We thank our customers for their continued patience and understanding. I also extend a special thanks to the other utilities, contractors, police, fire and emergency management officials for their dedicated efforts in keeping public safety a priority and helping us meet the unprecedented challenges of this disastrous storm. They continue to do an incredibly difficult job under very trying conditions."
Not counted are 30,000 customers, mostly in the barrier islands, "who due to significant damage to their homes, cannot receive service at the present time."
Atlantic City Electric has 2,441 outages, mostly in Ocean County. Orange & Rockland is reporting 8 customers remain without service.
Many of JCP+L's customers still without power expressed their frustration on the utility's Facebook page. " JCP&L Management and Board, you are the worst communicators in history. I didn't expect immediate restoration of power. I only want an real estimate of how long it will be and why it isn't happening," posted Jennifer Murphy. " just from reading the above comments it's plainly obvious that there's no way "99%" of customers have been restored. Why is it so difficult to get accurate information?" asks Mark Lotito.
Restoration maps provided to the Governor's office by the utilities.
- Atlantic City Electric calendar
- JCP&L calendar
- PSE&G calendar
The Associated Press contributed to this story


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The resignation of creative director Emma Hill from Mulberry yesterday for "strategic differences" with new CEO Bruno Guillon, has opened up a whole can o' speculation, centring on whether on not the designer might end up at Coach, the American handbag behemoth that is looking to turn itself into a lifestyle brand, and – according to insiders — looking for a name designer to do it, replacing current creative director Reed Krakoff, who resigned earlier this year. Of all the possibilities that have been floated for the post Ms Hill makes the most sense to me, for a number of reasons.
Read more
© The Financial Times Ltd 2016 FT and 'Financial Times' are trademarks of The Financial Times Ltd.


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Combine the oil, vinegar, sea salt and garlic. Stir to blend, add the beans, toss and set aside.
Bring 1 quart of water to a boil, add the pasta and cook over a medium flame for 4 to 6 minutes until done. Place in a strainer, rinse and drain.
Toss the pasta with the beans, olives and parsley. Adjust the seasoning with extra vinegar and/or sea salt, if needed. Serve room temperature or chilled.
Per serving - 130 calories, 4 gram fat (29% calories from fat), 5 gram protein, 18 gram carbohydrate, 4 gram fiber, 0 milligram cholesterol, 376 milligram sodium


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Training Program
Program Description
Residents begin their training within the Yale Department of Pediatrics in order to best facilitate this immersion in medical care at a tertiary children's hospital. With October and November reserved for two of the neurology, child neurology and adolescent psychiatry rotations, residents otherwise continuously complete 6 months of general pediatrics training including 4 inpatient months, one emergency pediatrics month, and a pediatrics acute care month. In March, residents complete their second neurology rotation. The final rotation of the year consists of 3 months on an inpatient adult psychiatry unit at the Veterans Administration Connecticut Mental Health Center where the two Integrated residents have a chance to work together and with other general psyciatry interns. Both research time (a half day a week during pediatrics training) and adolescent Psychiatry begin in this year, beginning the formation of the child psychiatry research identity.
Research Residency Training Schedule, PGY-I


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As I write this post I realize it is time to pause, celebrate, and give thanks. I am now 100 days 'til my 40th birthday. I have learned a tremendous amount as I have blogged the last 300 days towards my 40th and I feel as though I am on the "home stretch". I wanted to take a moment and thank you, my readers, for your support, your insights, and your encouragement. Your presence has been the highlight of this journey for me. Thank you so much! Read the rest of this entry »
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Alison HarrillSeveral recent studies have indicated a role of genetic variation in the predisposition to serious adverse drug reactions (ADRs) and the introduction of low cost genotyping technologies has provided an unprecedented opportunity to define the genetic basis for ADR susceptibility in the clinic. However, the small cohort sizes that are available for genomic association studies may preclude detection of rare allelic variants in the clinic. The ideal model to study these effects would not only improve clinical prediction, but also improve detection of the ADR during preclinical testing. One approach is to use rationally designed populations of genetically diverse as a toxicity screening strategy to mimic the genetic diversity of the human population. We have previously shown the utility of the model to predict quantitative trait loci that underlie susceptibility to acetaminophen-induced liver injury in humans. Recently, we conducted a study using novel anti-trypanosomal drug DB289, for which clinical development was halted due to liver toxicity and renal failure. Using the population-based approach, we detected the potential for kidney stress using sensitive renal biomarker KIM-1. In addition, we have recently shown that a population-based approach could have detected the hepatic liability that caused a novel antibiotic to fail in a Phase I trial. Data will be presented that indicate the potential for a mouse population-based approach to predict the potential for an ADR, to generate hypotheses regarding the toxicity mechanisms, and to determine the genetic basis of ADR susceptibility in man.
Alison Harrill is an Assistant Professor at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in the Department of Occupational & Environmental Health. She is currently a member and project team leader on major pharmaceutical consortia efforts to advance the science of preclinical safety testing, including the Predictive Safety Testing Consortium Hepatic Working Group, the Health and Environmental Sciences Institute's (HESI) Application of Genomics to Mechanism-Based Risk Assessment Technical Committee, and the HESI Committee on Biomarkers of Nephrotoxicity. Dr. Harrill received her Ph.D. in Toxicology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Harrill has received several awards for her translational research that include the Outstanding Published Paper in Advancing the Science of Risk Assessment Award (2009) and Top 10 Abstract Award (2013) from the Risk Assessment Specialty Section of the Society of Toxicology.
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The health of the people is really the foundation upon which all their happiness and all their powers as a state depend. -- Benjamin Disraeli
The public health minor prepares students to pursue careers or graduate study in public health through a solid grounding in the liberal arts, combined with experiential learning.
Public health students select a major in a field of their interest and then build a series of courses that address the key aspects of public health. Throughout, students consult with advisors in order to gain both broad perspectives and information-gathering skills.


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It's a formidable foe, but not an impossible one. Practitioners across the country are counseling clients on how to battle Johne's disease, and together, they're winning the fight. These three veterinarians explain the steps they have taken with producers to beat back Johne's in their herds.
Bird's-eye view in
During his 35-plus years in practice, Vic Eggleston, DVM, saw his share of herds with Johne's disease. But, most of his experience was confined to his own practice area in east-central
Is she infected with Johne's? Helping clients put programs in place can help you find and make better decisions.
Now retired from practice, Eggleston helps dairy producers fight Johne's from a broader view, as project coordinator of the Wisconsin Johne's Disease Demonstration Project. The project, started in 2002, is funded by the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board and the USDA. Its goal is to prove that the
Program parameters
Many producers were eager to enroll in the demonstration project, and nine located in various parts of the state were selected. They were required to have at least 10% of their adult animals test positive for Johne's using a serum enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).
In addition, the herd owners were interviewed and their facilities inspected to ensure that necessary management changes could be made. The herds range in size from 75 to 1,400 cows. Seven are
All enrolled herds were then placed on the following management protocol:
1. Blood samples are collected on all animals during the last third of lactation.
2. Likelihood ratios based on quantitative ELISA results are assigned as negative, suspect, low-positive, positive and strong-positive.
3. Strong-positive cows are not allowed to freshen and are culled, either immediately or at the end of their lactations.
4. Low-positive and positive cows are identified with colored zip ties in their ear tags. Their colostrum is discarded or fed to bull calves only.
5. Suspect, low-positive and positive cows calve in a separate pen from negative animals.
In addition, the following protocol was assigned for calf management in all of the herds:
1. Thoroughly clean the teats of colostrum donors before harvest.
2. Feed 4 quarts of colostrum within four hours of birth (this volume was adjusted for
3. Remove calves from the dam and maternity pen within one hour of birth.
4. Start feeding milk replacer or pasteurized milk at 24 hours of age.
5. If feeding milk replacer, use a formulation that contains at least 20% fat and protein.
Calf housing changes also were made on a case-by-case basis as needed.
Early results
Eggleston says they hope to follow the herds for five to seven years and track their progress. The results to date are quite encouraging.
One of the benchmarks being used to measure success is the infection rate of heifers (at the end of their first lactations) born after the management changes, compared to heifers born 12 months or less before the changes were implemented. A 400-cow herd in the study had a 6.5% infection rate on heifers born before the start of the program. To date, 85 post-program heifers have been tested without a single positive animal. The same herd's overall positive serum ELISA incidence rate has dropped from 13.4% at the beginning of the program to 8.4% today.
In another herd, 10% of their 750 cows tested positive in the beginning, with 5.1% positive heifers born 12 months or less before the changes. Only one heifer out of 96 born after the changes has tested positive at the end of her first lactation, representing an infection rate of less than 1%.
If pointing to one management change that makes the biggest difference in conquering Johne's disease, Eggleston says it would have to be maternity pen management. "I constantly marvel at the ingenuity of dairymen in customizing their facilities to implement our recommendations," he says. "The herds that have been able to successfully segregate their maternity areas have made tremendous progress in a relatively short time period."
If pointing to one management change that makes the biggest difference in conquering Johne's disease, Vic Eggleston, DVM, says it would have to be maternity pen management.
Breaking the stigma
Eggleston says that one of the biggest challenges in tackling Johne's disease is getting practitioners to acknowledge that it is a problem. "In practice, we saw dairymen who switched veterinary practices because they couldn't persuade their veterinarians to help them take on the problem," he notes. "The same scenario repeated itself when we were recruiting herds for this project. Several producers expressed frustration that they could not get their local practitioners to acknowledge that they had Johne's.
"Producers rely on their veterinarians as a reliable source of health information. For a disease like Johne's, we have to be on board and work at it proactively if the problem is ever going to be solved. It's not in our best interest to ignore it, and it is definitely in our best interest to help them fix it."
Eggleston believes that recent funding to certify veterinarians and pay them to do risk assessments has both opened the eyes of practitioners and made their clients more aware of Johne's and the impact it can have. In addition, the local veterinarians serving the demonstration project herds have been "totally cooperative," reports Eggleston. "This project has been a growth experience for all of us, and a fortunate side effect is that in a few years, nine
Accentuate the positive
Don Hansen, DVM, MPVM, has been involved with Johne's disease from the ground up, first as a practitioner in
Hansen has been involved with the NJWG since its inception more than a decade ago. The advice he has to share with practitioners today is hard-won and seasoned with years of Johne's experience.
"It's no doubt that many producers, and sometimes their veterinarians, get hung up on the perceived baggage that the Johne's disease label carries," Hansen acknowledges. "My reply is that, to control Johne's, you are managing against fecal-oral disease transmission. That's a good thing to do whether you have Johne's or not. You'll also be preventing Salmonella, E. coli, rotavirus, coronavirus and Cryptosporidium, plus your dairies will be raising more live calves. What's not to like about that?"
Hansen says the veterinarian is the key influencer on issues like Johne's disease. The more comfortable practitioners are about addressing the disease and the management changes required to control it, the more likely their clients will be to comply. "If the veterinarian supports it, it tends to get done," states Hansen.
This approach also can help facilitate collaboration with others who have a vested interest in Johne's disease. Hansen says that in
Don Hansen, DVM, says, "Johne's is no longer an isolated problem. It's an industry proglem, and every dairy herd in the country needs to worry about it."
Chipping away at the challenge
For herds struggling with Johne's disease, Hansen advocates use of the NJWG's Risk Assessment model. This comprehensive checklist encourages the producer and veterinarian to canvass the operation, identify holes in management and get started on positive changes to bring the disease in check. He recommends tackling the management areas that pose the biggest risk for Johne's transmission first. Often, this is newborn calf management. Then, proceed to the next age group until all of the animals in the herd are addressed. Finally, develop a plan for screening outside animals entering the herd.
"I prefer the approach of 'test and manage,' versus 'test and cull,'" says Hansen. "Ideally, you want every positive animal out of the herd. But that's not economically practical for most dairy operations. A highly infected animal will eventually cull herself. In the meantime, diligence must be exerted to limit her risk as a potential shedder of M. paratuberculosis to young calves. You need to help producers manage that risk."
Even in herds that have eliminated or never had a Johne's problem, Hansen recommends ongoing surveillance. "Johne's is no longer an isolated problem," he says. "It's an industry problem, and every dairy herd in the country needs to worry about it."
In these lower-risk herds, Hansen recommends fecal culturing of environmental samples at least once a year. Some of the best locations to collect such samples are a high-traffic area like the path out of the parlor or the lagoon entrance. If a positive sample is found, the herd should be assumed to be Johne's-positive, and ELISA testing of all individual animals, at the same stage of pregnancy, should be resumed or started to get a handle on Johne's prevalence in the herd.
Because Johne's is a dynamic disease, Hansen stresses continuing education for veterinarians. "Most states have Johne's veterinary certification programs either through their state VMA or department of agriculture," he explains. "The online Johne's certification training offered by the
Looking ahead, Hansen sees Johne's disease as an ongoing -- but not impossible -- challenge for the
Joe Itle, VMD, has found that the herd managers who have become accredited and certified in brucellosis and tuberculosis (TB) eradication programs are the ones who are most receptive to Johne's control.
Fighting a mobile menace
Joe Itle, VMD, is convinced that, above anything else, cattle movement has contributed to the rising incidence of Johne's disease in his area of south-central
"We have high animal density here, and, like almost everywhere else, we've had a good deal of expansion," says Itle, of Dairyside Veterinary Service,
Control or coast?
Itle says the severity of the disease ranges from occasional deaths in older animals who break with diarrhea and clinical Johne's, to 2-year-old heifers that simply lie down and die. Unfortunately, many producers are willing to accept losing a cow to Johne's disease every now and then. "I have some
clients who are fully aware that they have Johne's and are willing to live with it," he explains. "Until their problem affects them more profoundly, there's not much I can do for them. I can educate them about the disease, but ultimately, it has to be their decision to make changes in their management."
On the other hand, Itle has several herds that have achieved Level 4 (certified Johne's-free) status in the Voluntary Johne's Disease Herd Status Program for Cattle. He has found that the herd managers who have become accredited and certified in brucellosis and tuberculosis (TB) eradication programs are the ones who are most receptive to Johne's control. Those programs have exposed them to the tandem concepts of testing and controlling disease via management, both of which also are needed for Johne's eradication. Another one of Itle's client herds is enrolled in the Pennsylvania Johne's Disease Herd Demonstration Project and is making good progress following the program's management protocol.
"A big part of my job is helping those who want the help and protecting them from those who don't," says Itle. "Unfortunately, choosing to ignore Johne's can hurt more than you -- it can hurt your neighbors, as well."
If Itle has a herd with a serious clinical Johne's outbreak, he recommends that cattle traffic stops on and off that dairy until the problem is under control. If replacements are needed in those herds, he encourages sourcing them from Level 4 certified herds.
Eradication reaps rewards
For herds intent on addressing their Johne's problem, Itle has found the use of likelihood ratios assigned to serum ELISA results to be extremely helpful. His basic protocol for large herds is to run a serum ELISA on every cow at dry-off, then confirm the positives with a fecal culture. "Of course we'd like to get rid of every Johne's-positive cow, but that's just not economically practical for most of my clients," Itle relates. "The ratios help us classify the severity of the disease in individual animals
and manage them accordingly. If we get one with a very high S/P (sample positive) ratio, she may not even be allowed to freshen, and under no circumstances -- including pasteurization -- is her colostrum or milk allowed to be fed to calves."
In smaller herds, Itle performs a once-a-year, whole-herd check of second-lactation and older animals. This often is done when he is drawing blood for other disease certification programs.
Itle says many management steps can help prevent Johne's spread, including:
Remove calves from dams immediately after birth.
Do not pool colostrum.
Feed milk replacer instead of waste milk.
Send calves off-site to be raised by a custom grower from newborns to springer stage. Ideally, the grower would raise calves only for one dairy.
For herds that have achieved Level 4 status or are working toward it, Itle counsels them to be extremely cautious when adding new animals to the herd or sending animals to a new facility, such as a newly rented pasture. "One of the problems in this area is manure -- there just aren't enough places to go with it," Itle explains. "So even though it is recommended to only spread manure on ground that will be tilled, it hits a lot of pasture ground, too." If a dairy is renting a new pasture or putting animals into a new barn, Itle suggests collecting environmental samples and running Johne's cultures on them, just as a fecal culture would be performed.
Communication between Johne's-free herds is a role that Itle facilitates with pleasure. "It is very gratifying to put like-minded people together so they can help each other out," he says. "Growing herds need to find sources of clean replacements and herd bulls and are usually willing to pay a premium price for animals that are less likely to be infected." Itle says the sale of bulls has become an additional profit center for many Level 4 herds.
Down the road, the
"I've seen this disease put some herds out of business, and I've seen its positive control actually improve the business of others," says Itle. "It's an issue of awareness and attitude."
The National Johne's Working Group
In 1986, Johne's disease was moved from a subcommittee of the Tuberculosis Committee of the United States Animal Health Association (USAHA) to its own standing committee. The committee determined that more in-depth efforts were needed to study the zoonotic potential of M. paratuberculosis and its possible relation to human Crohn's disease, and to develop a uniform approach for control, herd certification and eventual eradication of Johne's disease. Thus, the National Johne's Working Group (NJWG) was born in 1994.
More than 40 constituent groups, associations and corporations comprise the NJWG. It is a completely unfunded entity. NJWG co-chair Robert Whitlock, DVM, PhD, University of Pennsylvania College of Veterinary Medicine, says, "The NJWG is truly a grassroots effort. At the 2005 NJWG meeting during the USAHA meeting, more than 160 people participated and were not reimbursed by the NJWG or USAHA. That demonstrates the deep level of commitment they have to conquering this disease."
The NJWG's current priorities fall under six active subcommittees:
Program Standards. Responsible for developing the standards that became the framework for the U.S. Voluntary Johne's Disease Herd Status Program for Cattle, a national herd-certification program; a risk assessment model for initial herd investigations; and Minimum Recommendations for Administering and Instituting State Voluntary Johne's Disease Programs for Cattle. Currently, it is evaluating the impact of a model of contract heifer rearing and the transmission of Johne's disease.
Education. Informs producers, veterinarians and agricultural leaders about Johne's disease. Materials are available to help veterinarians, Extension agents and others serve as multipliers of Johne's education. Many are free-of-charge at www.jd-rom.com/main.asp.
Knowledge Gaps. "Helps define and prioritize the knowledge gaps that are perceived to impede the full development of the national Johne's disease program." These include animal level, bacterial and cellular level, economics, national policy, transmission/effectiveness of control and diagnostic tests.
Budget and Strategic Planning. NJWG provides input on allocation of federal Johne's disease funds. It has strongly recommended that the largest proportion of funds possible goes to the states for veterinarian education and certification, state producer education and control programs, and demonstration herd projects.
Laboratory Standards. The necessity to have laboratories approved to conduct both Johne's enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) tests and Johne's fecal cultures was recognized early by the USAHA Johne's committee, and was emphasized to the USDA. The first national Johne's check tests are now an annual effort. A list of certified labs can be found at www.johnesdisease.org/Labs/certifiedlabs.htm.
Demonstration Herds. The number one priority of the NJWG, demonstration herd projects are underway in 15 states, monitored by the USDA/ARS.
Whitlock adds that a group of NJWG volunteers maintains an ongoing effort in the area of Johne's disease in small ruminants and cervids. Judy Stabel, scientist at the
The vaccination debate
Vaccinating for Johne's disease is not an exact science. A vaccine containing a mixture of killed mycobacteria and oil has been available in the
At a symposium during the 2005 United States Animal Health Association's annual meeting, vaccination advocates assert that, particularly in herds with a high level of infection, vaccination used in conjunction with proactive management changes may be the only option to salvage the farm's viability. They argue that more aggressive use of the vaccine in more herds could lesson the overall environmental load of M. paratuberculosis and slow the disease's transmission within herds and from herd to herd.
The vaccine does not prevent infection, but it can reduce the shedding of the organism later in the animal's life. Many advocates theorize that herds may be able to work themselves into a completely Johne's-free status after several of years of vaccinating.
There are also well-documented drawbacks to the vaccine, including:
Vaccinated animals will test positive on blood tests for both Johne's disease and tuberculosis (TB). The true presence of Johne's disease can be confirmed only with a more expensive fecal culture. Confirmation for TB must be performed with a comparative cervical skin test, which may be administered only by a state or federal veterinarian. Given the recent resurgence in bovine TB cases in some parts of the country and the great concern about bringing it under control, this factor alone makes the vaccine a controversial tool.
The adjuvant in the vaccine is highly irritating and can cause severe tissue reactions when accidental administration to humans occurs. For this reason, many veterinarians simply choose not to handle it.
Administration of the vaccine also can cause large lumps -- sometimes as big as a grapefruit or a soccer ball -- to develop at the injection site, usually in the brisket region, which may remain throughout the animal's lifetime. Occasionally, they will become draining, abscess-like lesions.
As with any vaccine, there also is the risk that perceived protection via the vaccine will create a false sense of security, lessening the priority placed on day-to-day disease management. The two camps also debate the vaccine's efficacy and whether or not vaccinated animals can actively shed M. paratuberculosis in their manure.
The Johne's vaccine is widely used in
Johne's resources
Visit the following websites to learn more about Johne's disease.
Designated Johne's Disease Coordinators, by state: www.johnesdisease.org/State/StatePrograms.htm
Johne's Disease Information Center at the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine: www.johnes.org
Johne's information website by the National Institute for Animal Agriculture: www.johnesdisease.org
United States Department of Agriculture Johne's information page: www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/nahps/johnes
National Johne's Working Group educational materials: www.jd-rom.com/main.asp
National Veterinary Service Laboratory approved laboratories for Johne's serology tests: www.johnesdisease.org/Labs/certifiedlabs.htm


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What are some tips for finding a sex-positive therapist?
I've been a fan of your Savage Lovecast for a long time, but I had to write after hearing Marty Klein's awesome talk about the fallacy of "sex addiction". I am 27, and for most of my adult life, I have suffered from complete sexual dysfunction with partners. I was ashamed and thought I was too sexually screwed up to be with a partner because I'm kinky. (I have a fetish for tights and pantyhose.) I was also afraid to seek help out of fear of being labelled "abnormal" or "addicted to porn". I managed to get a little better thanks to an encouraging, kinky, porn-loving, sex-positive female partner. In spite of feeling better, I am still having problems with partners. What are some good resources for finding a sex-positive therapist like Dr. Klein? I have been referred by several people to someone listed as a "certified sex addiction therapist", and I worry this is exactly the kind of unhelpful, sex-negative therapist that Dr. Klein mentioned on your podcast.
> NON-Addict Despite Dumb Intolerant Counsellors' Theories
"If the public knew how little sexuality training most therapists receive, they'd be stunned," said Marty Klein, a sex therapist, marriage counsellor, psychotherapist, and author. "You can get licensed as a marriage counsellor or psychologist without hearing the words clitoris, vibrator, or amateur porn. So 'How do I find a sex-positive therapist?' is a very important question."
Klein advises you start by contacting the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists (AASECT.org). "NON-ADDICT should look for a member in his area," Klein says. "But the group is small, and not all of them will share his sexual values. Here's what he should ask a potential therapist: 'What are your sexual values?' 'How do you define healthy sexuality?' 'Are you comfortable talking about kinky sex?' 'Do you think monogamous, heterosexual, genitally oriented sex is ultimately better than other consensual arrangements?' " The kind of sex-positive therapist you seek will answer straightforward questions like that over the phone before you make an appointment for a session. "And regardless of the answers, if you sense a professional is queasy talking about sex, move on to another candidate."
Klein says there are many ways to find a local, progressive, sex-positive therapist. "He should call his local Planned Parenthood or LGBT centre, a gynecologist or urologist, or the person who teaches sexuality at his local university, or a local divorce lawyer" and ask for a referral, Klein advises. You could even call a priest. "Most clergy send their sexuality cases to one or two local therapists, some of whom are quite progressive."
To hear Klein talk with me about pornography and the "sex addiction" racket, go to thestranger.com/lovecast and listen to Episode 326. Read Klein's brilliant takedown of the sex-addiction industry ("You're Addicted to What? Challenging the Myth of Sex Addiction," the Humanist, July–August 2012). To find out more about Klein and his work, go to martyklein.com/.
I recently caught my boyfriend watching porn. We have talked about it before, and he said he didn't watch it while he was in a relationship. But when I caught him there with his dick in his hand, I lost it. I have never felt so hurt or betrayed. This is my first serious relationship. I can't get over how sick and sad I feel. It feels like he was cheating on me. Should I be as upset as I am? It was interactive porn—it was like he was cybersexing with one of his ex-girlfriends. What should I do?
> Sad And DECEIVED
Was your boyfriend having cybersex with an ex-girlfriend? Or did it only feel like he was? I would make a distinction, SAD, because while all porn constitutes a betrayal of the terms of your relationship, interacting with a stranger and, very likely, a professional online shouldn't feel quite so threatening.
Backing way the hell up: your boyfriend shouldn't have lied to you, SAD, but you shouldn't have been so naive as to believe him. If you can't bring yourself to forgive him for lying—if you can't put yourself in his shoes and try to understand why he might lie about this (shame, fear, a desire to spare your feelings)—then this relationship is doomed. End it and find a new boyfriend. But when your next boyfriend tells you he doesn't watch porn, you're going to look at him and say, "Suuuuuure, you don't."
Ask your new boyfriend to be discreet and limit his porn consumption to an extent where you're unlikely to uncover any evidence of it, as porn upsets you. If your new boyfriend manages to do that for you, SAD, if he's considerate enough to cover his tracks, you should be considerate enough to turn a blind eye on those rare occasions when you do stumble over evidence that your new boyfriend watches porn—just like your old boyfriend did and all your future boyfriends will.
I ended a two-and-a-half-year relationship six months ago. By "ended", I mean my then-boyfriend packed up everything I owned and put it on the lawn—just like in the movies! The reason for this was that he hacked into my email and read some very graphic letters about an affair I'd had in Mexico just weeks prior. My CPOS justifications: 1) We were on a break, and I had been living with friends to escape his anger problems and emotional abuse. I was still seeing him periodically and slept with him a couple times. 2) He wouldn't go down on me. 3) When I tried to break up with him in the past, he threatened suicide. 4) He had many kinks and a history of cheating, and he threatened that if I didn't participate in gang bangs, he would find someone who would.
I didn't feel safe sexually or emotionally with him, and I found an evening of relief from my shitty relationship in Mexico while we were on a break. I felt energized, attractive, and like I was dealing with a healthy adult. That was the catalyst that got me out of the relationship on his terms, and I wouldn't do anything differently if I had a choice. Am I a CPOS?
> My EX Isn't Completely Obtuse
For readers who are just joining us: a CPOS is a "cheating piece of shit", someone who cheats on a partner without grounds. You are not a CPOS, MEXICO. You had grounds: you wanted out, tried to get out, but couldn't get out because your crazy ex essentially took himself hostage by threatening suicide. (Which is an abuser's tactic, folks, please make a note of it.) Your infantile, manipulative, selfish ex wasn't allowing you to go peacefully. Cheating on him and getting caught may not have been a conscious exit strategy on your part, MEXICO, but it was a perfectly executed one.
SEATTLE READERS: We're doing a live taping of the Savage Lovecast for single people only at the Neptune Theater on February 14. There will be free lap dances, a bondage demo with Twisted Monk, music courtesy of DJ TROUBLE, sex advice from me and Mistress Matisse, the Human Cupcake, and much more. Tickets are available through STG. Be there! This event is for single people only. (But since we can't discriminate against coupled people—damn it—it's for everyone!)
1 Comments
Feb 6, 2013 at 2:07pm
As someone who has found an amazing sex positive therapist that I really connect with (the first one I chose too!), here are a couple other tips that might help you find one of your own...
Think about what type of person you would be most comfortable opening up to. Male? Female? Gay? Straight? Age? Race? Religion? Your comfort level is number one, so be as selective as you think you can or need to be.
Age can be important. Select someone close in age to yourself, or if you are much older, look for someone below 40. Not a rule, but generally speaking, younger generations have much more open views, and are more comfortable with sexuality. Likewise with religion and race. Choose someone who will understand you and your life. Talking to someone who reminds you of your Grandmother can be very limiting.
Look for someone who specifically states that they work in or with the LGBT community, that they work with coming out issues, or other obvious sexuality related issues. Even if you aren't LGB or T, people from that community tend to be very well versed in sexuality related issues, and really comfortable discussing them. My guy had this info on his website.
I also appreciated the fact that my therapist had a photo on his website. I liked his face as soon as I saw it. That's not to say I was attracted to him, just that he looked like a really nice person that I could be comfortable opening up to. Never underestimate the power of a visual.
Good luck!


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By James Barrett
Carshalton Athletic's new manager Tommy Williams has demanded more desire and determination from his attackers.
The Robins have suffered back to back defeats in the Ryman League Premier Division – 2-1 at Kingstonian on Saturday and 1-0 to Whitehawk on Tuesday.
Despite the fact that both opponents are vying for the top spot in the table, Williams, speaking after the Whitehawk defeat, is asking for more from his frontmen.
He said: "The boys worked really hard, particularly in the second half, but I felt we needed a little bit more desire to get on the end of things in the box.
"Whitehawk's front players exploit gaps in front of defences well so, to nullify that, I played Michael (Kamara) in holding midfield and thought that he and the defence did well overall.
"I felt our work rate certainly deserved at least a point, as we made them change their shape near the end because we kept and passed the ball well for long periods."
Carshalton turn their attention to the FA Trophy this weekend with a trip to King's Lynn of the Evo-Stik Division One South.
They will have to face them without Harry Harding after the midfielder returned to Bromley.


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Michael A Hoge, PhD
Professor of Psychiatry; Director, Yale Behavioral Health; Director, Yale Group on Workforce Development; Director, Clinical Training in Psychology
Research Interests
Health Services Administration; Health Care Quality, Access, and Evaluation; Psychiatry and Psychology
Public Health Interests
Chronic disease management; Mental Health; Psychiatric Disturbances
Research Organizations
Psychiatry: Psychology Section | Yale Program on Supervision
Research Summary
Dr. Hoge specializes in the development, evaluation, and management of comprehensive systems of care for persons with mental health and substance conditions. His research has focused on severe mental illness and non-hospital alternatives for individuals experiencing acute mental health problems. Most recently his research has centered on workforce development in behavioral health, including recruitment, retention, training, and the performance of individuals providing mental health and addiction services.
Extensive Research Description
- The development of workforce Collaboratives in behavioral health.
- Burnout in the behavioral health workforce.
- Recruitment & retention in the behavioral health workforce.
- The effectiveness of supervision.
- The comparative effectiveness of state workforce development efforts.
Selected Publications
- Hoge, M., Paris, M., Añez, L. M., & Corominas, A. Las multiples caras de la hospitalizacion parcial (The many faces of partial hospitalization). Revista Diversitas: Perspectivas en Psicología, 5 (1), 13-26, 2009
- Stuart GW, Hoge MA, Morris JA, Adams N, & Daniels AS. The Annapolis Coalition Report on the United State's Behavioral Health Workforce Needs: International Implications. International Journal of Mental Health, 38, (1), 46-60, 2009
Mental health care in juvenile detention facilities: a review.
Desai, R.A., Goulet, J.L., Robbins, J., Chapman, J.F., Migdole, S.J., Hoge, M.A. Mental health care in juvenile detention facilities: a review. The Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law 34, (2), 204-214, 2006
Report of recommendations: the Annapolis Coalition conference on behavioral health workforce competencies.
Hoge, M.A., Morris, J.A., Daniels, A.S., Huey, L.Y., Stuart, G.W., Adams, N., Paris, M., Goplerud, E., Horgan, C.M., Kaplan, L., Storti, S.A., & Dodge, J.M., Report of recommendations: the Annapolis Coalition conference on behavioral health workforce competencies. Administration and Policy in Mental Health, 32 (5/6), 651-663, 2005
Curriculum resources for training direct care providers in public sector mental health.
Styron, T.H., Shaw, M., McDuffie, E, & Hoge, M.A. Curriculum resources for training direct care providers in public sector mental health. Administration and Policy in Mental Health, 32 (5/6), 633-649, 2005


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Second to the Aston Martin, one of the most memorable cars in the series of James Bond movies is the Lotus Esprit that crashes into the water and turns into a submersible during a getaway scene in the 1977 movie, "The Spy Who Loved Me." Next month it's going up for auction and expected to fetch a cool $1 million.
The car has been in Long Island, N.Y., since 1989, when a contractor purchased the contents of a storage unit without knowing what was inside. After winning the bid for $100 and opening the unit, he discovered the legendary Lotus. RM Auctions is handling the sale in London, scheduled for Sept. 9.
Building a 'swimming sports car'
The Lotus was built by Perry Oceanographics, which merged into the global company Forum Energy Technologies in 2010, says Rory Satterfield, director of custom products for Forum.
Satterfield says the team of 15 to 20 engineers, designers, fabricators, assemblers and operational crew at Perry Oceanographics in Florida in the 1970s was "well aware of why they were building this 'swimming sports car' and obviously there was considerable excitement being part of a fun and unique project such as this."
Perry also built a second submersible for the movie, Satterfield adds. "It was from the Shark Hunter II series and was used again in another James Bond movie, 'Licence to Kill.'" That sub was auctioned in 2006. A similar wet sub built by Perry was also used in the movie, 'Jaws: The Revenge,'" he adds.
Satterfield doesn't know how much it cost to build the Lotus submersible back in the 1970s, but estimates construction today would cost $300,000 to $400,000. "Today, not only considering the cost increase of manufacturing between then and now, you also have to consider the changes in technologies, specifically control systems, batteries and electronics," he says. "Today's underwater vehicle would have a larger emphasis on safety features."
A deceptively simple design
The Lotus submersible was unique for many reasons, Satterfield says. "It was a wet sub, which means it free floods with water," he explains. The "drivers" or "pilots" in the stunt scenes would have been in scuba gear, he adds, which is why viewers see bubbles escaping from the vehicle.
The sub contained the type of batteries found in a golf cart, supplying power to four electric thrusters that provided a couple hours of duration at a speed of 2 to 3 knots underwater, Satterfield says. "During its initial trials, the submarine wanted to nose dive, due to the shape of the Lotus. The fins you see on the wheel covers were added to stabilize the sub and allow it to track properly."
Satterfield says he's not surprised that the car might bring as much as $1 million. In 2010, the 1964 Aston Martin DB5 featured in the James Bond movie "Goldfinger" sold at auction for $4.6 million. "The Bond franchise is probably the most iconic series of movies," he says.
What's more, the new owner could probably take it out for a spin. "The submarine is deceptively simple," Satterfield says. "So with new batteries, refurbishing or replacing electric thrusters and a bit of elbow grease, there is a fair chance you could get it operable."
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text: [ Is the Big East Imploding? By Jay Walker December 13, 2012 Football schools could be high and dry. Read More Category: National Sports Tags: big east conference, boise state, conference usa, depaul, marquette, providence, san diego state, seton hall, st. johns, villanova Send to a friend! Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Pin it! Reddit This! Share on Tumblr!


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I always liked EK as well and had much success . I really liked Dragon Pharma !
They had some great gear , amazing sales, and near a spotless record of happy customers.mee included.
I still order from them on occasion from their website , but miss having their reps and discussion on their products, Irish was a great rep and a bounty of information. If this is too OT for this forum, feel free to remove, but with the WorldPharma adds everyday, figured i was safe to discuss this
Anyone in the know?
I always liked EK as well and had much success . I really liked Dragon Pharma !
you can still get it from them, they still offer bulk deals
Didn't pay there rent.
Thats sad if thats all it was, i think they were great here. maybe come back one day
They no longer advertise here. Aka this is spam.
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milehigh15 coupon code for 15% off!
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All posts are for entertainment and may contain fiction. Consult a medical doctor before using any medications or supplements. Heavyiron does not advocate readers engage in any illegal activity.
Heavy, if your saying i am spamming, i assure you its not the case, i was genuinely interested in what happened, seems like a good source for a long while.
I for one wish they were back, at least with them, you had some reps that could get an answer, and didnt seem like mods and reps were sweeping anything bad under the floor about them. thats not the case these days, bad UGLs left and right now it seems.
They always seemed to have a large following of happy guys
Site is gone. Anyone know the story. Thanks.
EK is/was one of the best around!
This account and all comments made by account holder are for entertainment purposes only, anabolic steroid use is illegal without a prescription.
Keepin Green.


text:
South Africa's golden hotels and lodges
If there is one overriding theme among these regions, it's the dominance of South Africa. The country, about twice the size of Texas, remains a powerhouse with almost half of the properties on these lists. – Condé Nast Traveler.
Based on the opinions of its discriminating, worldly and well-travelled readers, Condé Nast Traveler's Gold List is an authoritative indicator of world-class quality. Just released is the 2013 Gold List, which reveals that South Africa leads the Africa and Middle East category.
States the Condé Nast Traveler website: 'If there is one overriding theme among these regions, it's the dominance of South Africa. The country, about twice the size of Texas, remains a powerhouse, with almost half of the properties on these lists. In fact, the 7 highest scoring properties in the whole of Africa and the Middle East are in South Africa.'
The 14 South African listings are well known as super-luxurious and well-managed beacons of the local hospitality industry. Six of them are safari camps.
The 14 Gold List South African establishments are:
- Singita Sabi Sand, Sabi Sand Reserve
- Cape Grace, Cape Town
- Mount Nelson Hotel, Cape Town
- Steenberg Hotel, Cape Town
- Table Bay Hotel, Cape Town
- Twelve Apostles Hotel and Spa, Cape Town
- Victoria and Alfred Hotel, Cape Town
- Le Quartier Francais, Franschhoek
- Saxon Boutique Hotel, Johannesburg
- MalaMala Game Reserve, Sabi Sand Reserve
- Singita Kruger National Park
- Lion Sands, Sabi Sands
- Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve, Sabi Sand Reserve
- Londolozi, Sabi Sand Reserve
Condé Nast also assigns those hotels and resorts that have made it on to the Gold List for 5 consecutive years a position in an exclusive category of winners known as the Platinum Circle. Enjoying inclusion on the list this year are Cape Town's Cape Grace, the Table Bay Hotel, and the Twelve Apostles Hotel and Spa. They are joined by 5 properties in and around the Kruger National Park: MalaMala Game Reserve, Singita Kruger National Park, Singita Sabi Sand, Londolozi, and Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve.


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L'Isle-Verte: A massive fire has raged through an old people's home in eastern Quebec, killing at least three people and leaving 30 unaccounted for.
The blaze in the 52-unit complex broke out overnight on Thursday in L'Isle-Verte, about 225 kilometres north-east of Quebec City.
Initial reports said 20 residents had been rescued, but it is unclear just how many more are missing.
Quebec police spokewoman, Sergeant Ann Mathieu, said authorities were trying to determine the exact number of victims and why the fire started.
Acting mayor Ginette Caron said many of those unaccounted for were confined to wheelchairs and used walkers, adding that only five residents in the centre were fully independent. She said some had Alzheimer's disease.
Mario Michaud, who lives across the street from the building, said he noticed the fire shortly after midnight on Thursday.
"I got up to go to the toilet and I saw smoke," Mr Michaud told local newspaper Info Dimanche.
"The fire had started on the second floor. I called 911..
"A woman on the second floor was shouting and she went out on to the balcony. Her son went to get a ladder but he couldn't get to her."
Fire brigade head Yvon Charron called it "a night from hell".
The building was home to more than 50 people and also housed a social agency, a pharmacy and a hair salon.
Several fire departments in the region were called in to help extinguish the blaze, which completely destroyed the building.


text:
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text:
Slime and Reason
You may recall I posted about Oscar & Ewan and their fantastic lasertype awhile back – well, Ewan just hit me up with a look at their latest work, the cover for the new Roots Manuva album, "Slime and Reason". It is stunning.
I asked about the process and Ewan explained they actually had Roots Manuva 3D scanned (from every 45 degree angle) and then manipulated the 3D image to set the bowl in. Then they took their prototype to a sculptor and had a cast made. Finally they created some slime out of hand soap, filled the bowl, and Pelle Crépin snapped some photos. Boom, done.
If you aren't familiar with Roots Manuva, it's time you got familar! Here's one of my favourite tracks off an older album:
Apparently we killed the hotlink file – (here's the Zshare link!)


text:
Confectionery ManufacturerSituation puzzles (sometimes called lateral thinking puzzles) are ones where you need to ask lots of yes or no questions to figure out what happened in the situation. These are good puzzles for groups where one person knows the puzzle and answers the questions.
A manufacturer of confectionery has a work force of thousands of workers. They never strike or demand better conditions. They work up to twenty hours per day and receive no wages except food and shelter. Yet every year a completely new work force is brought in and none of the existing workers are re-employed. Why?
AnswerThe workers are bees in a beehive.
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A WORKSHOP will teach people about the planning procedure for solar farms.
The event organised by the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) Hampshire will run from 10.30am-12.30pm on June 12 at Easton Village Hall.
It will explain the background and policy of solar farms, how the planning application works and how to respond to an application.
It costs £12.50 for members and £15 for non-members and must be booked in advance.
To book, call Becky French on 01962 841897 or email email@example.com.


text:
Dying of Thirst?Science brain teasers require understanding of the physical or biological world and the laws that govern it.
A man is walking through the Sahara desert, and is dying of thirst. His caravan was attacked by a group of brigands. He ran off, and the brigands let him live. He is desperately trying to find water, when he stumbles upon a random town. He goes up to a random man, and pleads for water. The Arab says 10 dollars. The man gladly paid him. The Arab handed him a jug that said H2O2. The man shouts, WATER! and drinks half of the bottle. He says his thanks, and walks off. After about 10 steps he falls to his knees, vomits, and dies. Why did he die?
AnswerThe Arab handed him a jug of H2O2, which is two hydrogen atoms bonded to two oxygen atoms. H2O2 is very similar to H2O (water). However, the extra oxygen atom creates a different substance called hydrogen peroxide. This is the substance we use to doctor our wounds. If drunk, it would make you lose nearly all body fluids. Since the man was dehydrated, he had almost no fluids to lose, making him die 10 times quicker than if he hadn't drunk the substance.
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text: Florence-based Alivar features three lines of furniture for the home: Museum, Gallery and Brilliant. Museum reproduces Modernist classics such as Gerrit Rietveld's Zig Zag chair and Alvar Aalto's Serving Cart, while the Gallery and Brilliant collections are by contemporary designers. Constructed primarily out of leather, metal and wood, Alivar's pieces include upholstered headboards tables and case goods. Founded in 1984, the company sells in over 20 US stores.


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THE sun came out just in time for the Pokesdown and Boscombe Carnival this afternoon.
After a morning of driving rain and high winds, the colourful costumes worn by participants must have inspired the weather to cheer up.
And hundreds of people turned out to take part in the fun as the parade left Pokesdown Railway Station at 2pm.
Leading the procession were members of Samba Panache, including maestro Chris Masters-Bond.
He said: "After the parade has finished, we're off to play at the O2, so it's really brilliant.
"There are 15 of us here today and we're looking forward to starting."
Erica Nash of medieval re-enactment society Wessex Household said: "We all live around the Bournemouth area, so it's really nice to come out and support events like these.
"We've been looking forward to it. We absolutely love taking part in community events as it means we can give something back."
Mark Evans of The Bell in Pokesdown was joined by rescue puppy Lola to watch the parade go by.
The pub owner adopted the husky cross collie after 200 people signed a petition circulated by Sam Rose Lowney, who has worked at the bar for six years and wanted to prove that locals would welcome a four-legged friend.
He said: "I'm loving today.
"It's been brilliant and we're having a great time."
Councillor Phil Stanley-Watts also stopped to watch the procession.
"The weather is shining down on us - it's been a bit stormy, so I'm especially pleased there's sunshine," he said.
"It's a fantastic event, a truly colourful carnival and a lot of people have come out to support it."
The carnival was delayed by three weeks as organisers sought funding for road signs, but thanks to backing from the Coastal BID team, all went smoothly on the day.
All proceeds raised have been donated to pets charity PDSA.


text:
saparris wrote:I left home early to make sure I would have extra time in case I were to get lost.
If I had owned a GPS, I would have had more time to study the subjunctive, the understanding of which would have led to peace among all nations, ample food supplies throughout the civilized world, and the end of global warming.
And I would have been pleased too, because the
subjunctive is such an important concept to you.


text:
Hands On with a Tegra 4i Phoneby Brian Klug on 6/11/2013 2:17 AM EST
- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Mobile
- Android 4.2
- Tegra 4i
22 Comments
Back to Article
GuniGuGu - Tuesday, June 11, 2013 - linkHmm... $300-400 for something pretty similar to the nexus 4 released in Q4 2012?? Reply
Ashwingr8 - Tuesday, June 11, 2013 - link"Brand" is a cool name.. Reply
xdrol - Tuesday, June 11, 2013 - linkYou mean, a cool brand? Reply
sunilzishan - Tuesday, June 11, 2013 - linkTegra 4 iPhone? O.o Reply
thesavvymage - Tuesday, June 11, 2013 - linkthe chip is the Tegra 4i. As he is using the reference platform device, he is using a Tegra 4i Phone. Reply
MrCommunistGen - Tuesday, June 11, 2013 - linkI noticed the same thing. I'm referring to the fact that lots of ignorant consumers call the iPhone 4 the "4i". Ignorant customer walks into a store and says: "I'd like to buy a 4i" or similarly when they ask for a 4GS or 5G. I'm going to kill this rant before it gets started in ernest. Reply
glenricky - Tuesday, June 11, 2013 - linkI think the performance should be on par with Snapdragon 600 right? So actually its not so bad Reply
SetiroN - Tuesday, June 11, 2013 - linkNo. It should be on par with tegra 3, graphics excluded. Reply
Wilco1 - Tuesday, June 11, 2013 - linkIt should be faster than Tegra 3 as it uses A9R4 (~15% IPC improvement) and clocks at up to 2.3GHz. Reply
fteoath64 - Saturday, June 15, 2013 - link"A9R4 (~15% IPC improvement)" coupled with more optimizations like larger (and faster cache 2MB), dual channel LP-DDR2 800Mhz RAM, all of which does about 30% improvement over the stock A9 ref design!. Yes, on Par with S600 but its gpu is going to bull doze most Arm SoCs out there. Integrated i500 modem is also rather flexible. It is a shame, we had to wait until Q1 next year for it. Reply
SetiroN - Tuesday, June 11, 2013 - linkHow nice, a quad core A9 in 2014. Very innovative. Reply
just-me - Tuesday, June 11, 2013 - linkIt's A9 r4, just those ARM folk don't make a big deal by calling it a 800 vs 600 - given its GHz and the r4 changes, you should be looking forward to what it might bring in the perf vs cost vs battery Reply
evonitzer - Tuesday, June 11, 2013 - linkYeah, the change is similar to an Intel Tock. Die shrink, with some IPC improvements and higher clocks (2.3 GHz). I think Arm should try to make a bigger deal out of this, but we'll just have to see how performance is in practice. Should be pretty good. Reply
etamin - Tuesday, June 11, 2013 - linkdie shrink should be a tick in Intel terms Reply
evonitzer - Tuesday, June 11, 2013 - linkYes, I remembered my mistake, but you beat me to the punch. So hard to keep straight! Reply
TheJian - Wednesday, June 12, 2013 - link15-30% faster IPC and 5x the gpus clocked faster...You couldn't be more off.
2x perf of T3, I'm guessing that includes the 2.3ghz vs. old either 1.7 or 1.3ghz. Either way it's a LOT faster even with just the mhz, throw in the IPC and you get a HUGE completely different phone.
"Tegra 4i's new CPU was designed by ARM with help from NVIDIA and sets new standards for efficiency and performance while being 2x the performance of the previous revision of Cortex-A9 found in Tegra 3."
Page 4 of their own doc.
"R4 has 15-30 percent higher performance per clock cycle than the A9s used in chips like the Nvidia Tegra 3, and can be cranked up to even higher clock speeds; the first 4i will run at 2.3ghz while using less power than either the Tegra 3 or Tegra 4."
Also note everyone will get these enhancements as NV had to give them back to arm. NV haters crack me up. It's also 1/2 the size of T3 while doing all this. Some people. It should match or beat S600, so I guess you think that sucks too eh? Reply
syxbit - Tuesday, June 11, 2013 - linkThey're still using single channel memory in 2014? Give me a break.
Pass! Reply
etamin - Tuesday, June 11, 2013 - linkand ddr2 at that Reply
TheJian - Wednesday, June 12, 2013 - linkhttp://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/tegra-4-tegra-...
DDR3 amped up which DOUBLES T3 bandwidth without hurting idle efficiency. In the PC mag article they note they worked on memory perf most. This shouldn't be a problem.
For a hands on report, why no benchmarks or even a comment about perf? It's almost as if there was no hands on at all. Reply
Solrax - Tuesday, June 11, 2013 - linkI'd trade a couple of mm of thickness for better battery life. Reply
max1001 - Thursday, June 20, 2013 - link......
This is a ref design phone. Reply
firewall597 - Monday, June 17, 2013 - linkMY BRAND! Reply


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SOME businesses could collapse if a member of staff were to walk out the door taking their LinkedIn connections with them.
It is an extreme example of a problem that businesses need to consider, according to a Dorset law firm.
Coles Miller says employers need to have a social media policy which everyone concerned understands.
Employers without such a policy could face big legal bills and lose their case if they end up in dispute over such issues, it warns.
Neil Andrews, Poole-based head of the commercial department at Coles Miller, said many companies were encouraging staff to use LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Google Plus.
"In the modern age of social media, people are increasingly communicating through sites like LinkedIn and Twitter.
"They're building up their database of communications through those networking sites," he said.
"They're often encouraged by their employers to do so as it's seen as a vital part of marketing.
"If someone leaves, who has all that 'property'?
"If you're a sales-based business and all your leads are coming through that network, and that network walks off with the employee that's just walked out the door, that can literally be as dramatic as the business being over."
Coles Miller is to host a seminar on the subject, along with marketing agency Intergage and recruitment company TeamJobs.
The event, Social Media, the Wild West of Our Time, will be on February 6, 9.30am to 12.30pm, at the Hallmark Hotel, Durley Chine Road in Bournemouth.
Mr Andrews will speak at the event, along with Coles Miller employment solicitor Amy Cousineau, Team Jobs managing director Jason Gault and Intergage MD Paul Tansey.
Mr Tansey said: "Many businesses are still, understandably, adjusting to life in a socially connected world.
"The importance of social media in sales, customer service, employment, brand and reputation management cannot be overlooked by any modern business but it's a constantly evolving world and it's vital to keep up."
Social media in the courts
A RECENT court High Court judgement concerned three printing firm employees who resigned to set up a competing company.
Whitmar Publications claimed damages and sought an injunction restraining them from using confidential information obtained during their employment.
The High Court upheld Whitmar's application for an injunction pending a full trial of the issues.
Amy Cousineau of Coles Miller said: "The case represents judicial recognition that social media is a business asset worthy of protection and that – in limited circumstances – employers may have ownership rights over LinkedIn accounts established by their employees."
There has been no equivalent case regarding Twitter, but the issue of ownership was raised in 2011, when BBC political correspondent Laura Kuenssberg left to become ITV's business editor, re-naming her account and taking her 59,000 followers with her to the rival station.


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HOUSTON - Renovating a home can be new and exciting, but unanticipated problems can quickly turn the process into a major issue. Angie Hicks of Angie's List offers tips on easing contractor disputes.
"In a recent 'Angie's List' poll, 23 percent of the respondents said at some point during the process they got to the stage where they wanted to fire their contractor," said Angie Hicks.
In that same poll, 46 percent of people wanted to fire their contractor but did not because they had already invested too much money.
14 percent said they had already paid for the project, and another 14 percent were afraid of the repercussions from breaking their contract.
13 percent revealed they were afraid of upsetting the contractor.
Hicks believes once things start to go south it is time to speak up.
"You want to talk about things before you ever get to that point where you have to fire someone," Hicks said.
The Angie's List creator advised to have a conversation in person so both of you can follow through with questions and it can be a collaborative discussion. If that is not possible, try to call and talk it out as soon as you start to feel there is an issue, not when fear and anger have taken over.
"Try not to do this via email and certainly don't put off talking about it," Hicks said. "When addressing a concern with a contractor, the best bet is to have everything at your fingertips."
Settling a contractor dispute once it occurs can make all the difference.
"Have all the documentation on hand. Have any photos of problem areas, even use video if necessary to describe the problems that way you are prepared for the conversation," said Hicks.
After years of collecting reviews about good and bad service providers, Hicks said she has learned that consumers need to be assertive in sticking to the facts. Meanwhile, show that you are willing to compromise and work with the contractor.
She said it can be very productive for the unhappy person to be ready with options of how the issue can be resolved.
If in the end the contractor's response is not what you were looking for, explain what will happen if you are not satisfied with the final product.
Make them aware that you will leave a negative review or file a complaint with the state contractor licensing board.
· Act quickly: If you have a concern or conflict, address it immediately. Waiting may only make the situation worse. If you don't speak up, then you can't expect them to do the job you want.
· When possible, complain in person: It is easy to be ignored if you write a letter or email expressing dissatisfaction, and phone calls can often result in being placed on hold for an exorbitant amount of time. If possible, make complaints in person by visiting your service or health provider's office.
· Complain in good faith: Ever hear your mother say you'll catch more flies with honey than with vinegar? Do not come into the situation angry or thinking everyone is out to get you. Instead, come into the situation thinking your provider will want to work with you to come to a resolution. Be assertive in sticking to the facts, but show that you are willing to work with the other party.
· Document everything: Document every part of the process, including every name, date, time and price that relates to the complaint. Documentation, such as receipts and written estimates, can be crucial evidence when trying to seek resolution. If a job was not completed or the work was performed poorly, take photo and video evidence to help prove your claim. Also, be ready to explain exactly how you want the situation to be resolved.
· Explain the consequences: If the contractor's response is not sufficient, explain what will happen if you do not get action. If you have been a long-time customer, let them know that they will no longer have your business and you will not refer the company to friends and family.
· Report your contractor to the state: Your state's contractor licensing board is a great place to start and will help you check licensing, credentials and provide critical information about the details of the construction process, such as how much a contractor is legally allowed to charge for a down payment. This is also the place you can report your contractor should something go awry. In the case of issues with your health care providers, you should contact your state's medical licensing board as well.
Copyright 2012 by Click2Houston.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


text:
2000 Book Chat Reviews
Reviews of the meeting held on the 1st November 2000
Whispers in the Sand by Barbara Erskine
Retracing a journey originally taken in the mid-nineteenth century from Luxor to Aswan uncovers not only a love story but also a more chilling distant secret of a little glass bottle. Dramatic tales from three eras intertwine to a terrifying climax. Recommended.
Sleeping Cruelty by Lynda La Plante
Political scandal erupts when Tory MP Andrew Maynard is found dead. His friend and supporter, wealthy entrepreneur Sir William Benedict, finds himself being shunned by his so called friends in society so he exacts his revenge! Excellent read.
Angel Light by Andrew Greeley
To fulfil the terms of a legacy Tobias must travel from America to Ireland and resolve not only a longstanding feud but woo and marry a distant cousin within a month! This adult fairytale makes for an unbelievable but readable story written wittily and well.
Dinosaur Summer by Greg Bear
Fifty years ago Professor Challenger discovered the lost world of the dinosaurs in Venezuela and took them north as circus exhibits. Now they are only of passing interest and it is time to take them home. Reasonable read.
Alistair MacLeans Code Breaker by Alastair Macneil
Anti-terrorist organisation UNACO must respond immediately to a sudden and terrifying attack. Under threat from dangerous military minds from the former Soviet Union this pulsating story builds to a nail-biting climax.
Distant Choices by Brenda Jagger
Set in Yorkshire in the mid 19th century the plight of women dependant upon men is the strong theme running through this story. Do they acuiesce to all demands or rebel? An absorbing historical tale that allows contemplation of the opportunities and freedom many women enjoy today.
Beyond Forgiveness by Caro Fraser
Inheriting money from an unknown father causes problems for Abby, especially when it should have gone to his legitimate heirs. Well-crafted story with twists and turns making this a brilliant read.
Downhill All The Way by Edward Enfield
Father of the renowned Harry Enfield, this informative account of his own journey by bike across France, complete with sound practical advice based on past failures. Quite enjoyable.
Home Leave by Libby Purves
Grown-up children of a British Diplomat return to their roots in various parts of the world to try and solve a family mystery and in the process deal with their own family problems. Written in a lovely, colourful way and thoroughly enjoyed.
Cruel Habitations by Kate Charles
A girl's dead body is found in the Cathedral town of Westmead. Eleven years later, those connected with the town and the girl are drawn together in solving the crime. Good plot, writing sometimes cumbersome, but will keep you guessing until the end.
Zennor in Darkness by Helen Dunmore
Love between Clare and her cousin John Williams comes to fruition in the days of his home leave in 1917. Her friendship with DH Lawrence and his wife, help strengthen her resolve to cope with life on her own terms and break out of the closed Cornish community. Well written.
Our Father by Marylin French
This novel explores the secrets of families, the damage a father can do to his daughters and the redemptive power of love. It is subtly written, with well described characters in situations dealt with in a very human way.
Looking Back by Josephine Cox
When Molly's mother disappears, she has to make a heartbreaking choice between the man she has promised to marry or her family who now depend upon her. Her life will never be the same again. Compelling read.
Last Precinct by Patricia Cornwell
Following on from "Black Notice", examiner Kay Scarpetta has become an object of suspicion and criminal investigation. With extraordinary forensic detail this novel keeps you looking over your shoulder! Excellent read.
Biography of Laurie Lee by Valerie Grove
Although gregarious he was a secretive man with a complex character. The eternal 'Peter Pan', Laurie Lee was very attractive to women, having had many lovers. Dogged by epilepsy, mental problems and bouts of heavydrinking, to the outside world he was always cheerful. Fellow veterans have since questioned his experiences in the Spanish Civil War. Well researched.
Meltdown by Max Marlow
Centred on the eruption of a volcanic island and the subsequent ash cloud, which spreads over the Northern Hemisphere, this novel is thought provoking and a little frightening. Written well without the hysterics of a horror story, it sets out to achieve the ecological ramifications of such a problem and the almost believable way in which the nations of the world cannot agree.
The New Confessions by William Boyd
This story follows the life of John James Todd from his childhood in Edinburgh to the Western Front, London, Berlin and Hollywood. Although it appeared well written with good descriptive passages our reviewer found it difficult to follow and could not settle to finish reading it!


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Behold, a cocktail that harks back to the favorite childhood flavors of peanut butter and marshmallows! We often appoint marshmallows to s'more and hot chocolate duty, but Alie and Georgia pair these delicate morsels with creamy and slightly salty peanut butter for a nostalgic concoction that will satisfy your inner camper.
Start with a peanut butter simple syrup by simmering equal parts sugar and water with a generous dollop of peanut butter. Once cooled, combine with marshmallow-flavored vodka and hazelnut liqueur for an extra oomph of nuttiness. Shake with ice until chilled and frothy. Finally, this intoxicating cocktail is played up by the addition of a peanut butter-stuffed marshmallow garnish.
Bottoms up, folks.
Recipe courtesy Alie Ward and Georgia Hardstark
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- 3 ounces marshmallow-flavored vodka, such as Pinnacle or Smirnoff
- 1 1/2 ounces hazelnut liqueur, such as Frangelico
- Ice, for chilling
- 2 marshmallows, for garnish
- 1 teaspoon peanut butter, for garnish
For the peanut butter simple syrup: Combine the sugar, peanut butter and 1 cup water in a saucepan and simmer over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture has thickened, 5 to 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Pour the vodka, hazelnut liqueur and 1 ounce of the peanut butter simple syrup into a shaker filled with ice. Shake well until chilled and frothy. Pour into small up glasses and garnish with a marshmallow that's been injected/stuffed with the peanut butter. Then try not to eat peanut butter from the jar with your hands.
Watch how to make more delicious cocktails.
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