text:
A TOTAL of 185 East Lancashire residents or families have had their benefits capped by the government.
Across Britain, almost 33,000 households saw their welfare payments reduced to national average earnings of £26,000 a year for couples and £18,500 for single individuals.
There were 2,292 in the north west, with Manchester the local authority most affected in the region, where 363 have faced cuts since the policy was rolled out last April.
Blackburn with Darwen saw 74 households capped, Burnley 26, Chorley 19 and Hyndburn 34. In Pendle the figure was 17, in Ribble Valley two and Rossendale 13.
Capping benefits so that households no longer get more in benefits than the average family earns is a key part of the Government's long-term economic plan.
Bishop of Burnley John Goddard and Hyndburn MP Graham Jones expressed concern that the cap, while good in principle, could be a blunt instrument in dealing with vulnerable families.
Friday's statistics show that in November almost 150 households nationwide were capped by at least £350 a week; more than 1,000 single people without children were capped; and the top 10 areas (mainly in London) had more than 500 capped households each.
Minister for Welfare Reform, Lord Freud, said: "These figures show that the benefit cap is returning fairness to the system by ensuring that families on benefits can no longer get more money than the average family earns.
"It is not right that some families on benefits were receiving amounts of money that hardworking taxpayers could only dream of and our welfare reforms are working to fix the system.
"We already know that around 19,000 claimants potentially affected by the benefit cap have found jobs."
Mr Jones said: "Labour supports the benefit cap but it can be a blunt instrument in terms of how people across the country are affected.
Bishop Goddard said: "The benefit cap is a good idea in principle but it is a blunt instrument for some vulnerable families."
Blackburn MP Jack Straw said: "The principle of a benefits cap is a good idea. I have had no representations from Blackburn claimants affected. I shall be interested to see if any do in the future."


text:
Quin O Quin Injection
Leo Pharmaceuticals
Composition for Quin O Quin NA Injection
Prescription Required
Primarily used for
Malaria, Cerebral malaria
2 ml in 1 vial
Medicine Overview of Quin O Quin Injection
Uses of Quin O Quin Injection
Quin O Quin Injection is used in the treatment of Malaria and Cerebral malaria.
Side effects of Quin O Quin Injection
Nausea, Abdominal pain, Blurred vision, Changes in color vision, Dizziness, Face redness, Headache, Altered heart rate, Increased sweating, Ringing in ear, Vertigo, Vomiting.
How to use Quin O Quin Injection
Your doctor or nurse will give you this medicine. Kindly do not self administer.
How Quin O Quin Injection works
Quin o quin injection is a weak base that reaches high concentration within the malarial parasite and causes accumulation of toxic heme pigment, which kills it.
In Depth Information on Quin O Quin Injection
Expert advice for Quin O Quin Injection
- Take this medication with meals to minimize chances of stomach upset.
- Tell your doctor if you have any heart problems related to irregular rhythm of heartbeats or any liver or kidney disorder.
- Seek immediate medical attention if you experience unexplained bleeding or bruising as quinine may decrease platelet count in blood (thrombocytopenia).
- You should regularly check the blood glucose levels during the treatment with quinine.
- Tell your doctor if you are or planning to become pregnant or are breastfeeding.
- Do not take if allergic to quinine or any of its ingredients or mefloquine or quinidine.
- Avoid if Patients have prolonged QT interval (disordered electrical activity of heart leading to heart disorders).
- Avoid if Patients is suffering from glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency (a hereditary disorder affecting red blood cells).
- Do not take if suffering from myasthenia gravis (a rare disorder characterized by severe muscle weakness).
- Avoid if Patients has optic neuritis (inflammation of the eye nerve causing visual disorders).
- Do not take if Patients have history of blackwater fever (a complication of malaria), thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (a rare blood disorder) or thrombocytopenia (abnormally low number of platelets in blood).
- Avoid if Patients is suffering from tinnitus (ringing in ears) or hematuria (blood in the urine).
Special precautions for Quin O Quin Injection
Interaction with alcohol is unknown. Please consult your doctor.
Quin O Quin Injection may be unsafe to use during pregnancy.+more
Animal studies have shown adverse effects on the foetus, however, there are limited human studies. The benefits from use in pregnant women may be acceptable despite the risk. Please consult your doctor....
Animal studies have shown adverse effects on the foetus, however, there are limited human studies. The benefits from use in pregnant women may be acceptable despite the risk. Please consult your doctor.
Quin O Quin Injection should be used with caution during lac+more
tation. Breast feeding should be held until the treatment of the mother is completed and the drug is eliminated from her body....
Quin O Quin Injection may make you feel dizzy, sleepy, tired, or decrease alertness. If this happens, do not drive.+more
In some of the patients it may impair driving performence and operate machinary....
In some of the patients it may impair driving performence and operate machinary.
There is limited information available on the use of Quin O+more
Quin Injection in patients with kidney disease. Please consult your doctor....
There is no data available. Please consult doctor before consuming the drug.
Severely interacts with other drugs like
Dixin 3mg/5ml Syrup, Rantac 50mg/2ml Injection, Peptiran 75mg/5ml Syrup, Aciloc 25mg Injection
Patient Concerns
Frequently asked questions for Quin O Quin NA Injection
Frequently asked questions for Quinine
Yes. Quin o quin is used in certain cases to prevent and treat night leg cramps which regularly disrupt sleep
No. Quin o quin is not indicated for use in neurological conditions like restless leg syndrome. It is used in certain cases to prevent and treat night leg cramps
Q. Is quinine an alkaloid/ a stimulant/ a diuretic?
Quinine is an alkaloid obtained from bark of the cinchona tree. It is not a stimulant (i.e. does not stimulate the brain or any mental functions) or a diuretic (does not increase urine output)
Q. Can you take quinine with warfarin?
Taking warfarin with quinine may increase risk of unexplained bleeding or bruising as quinine may decrease platelet count in blood (thrombocytopenia). Please inform your doctor about all medications you are taking currently before starting quinine treatment
No. Quin o quin does not prevent malaria. It is used for the treatment of malaria (caused by parasite Plasmodium falciparum) which is resistant to multiple drugs including chloroquine.
Substitutes for Quin O Quin
No substitutes found for this medicine

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Feb 28: The Federal Circuit: 30 Years Back, 30 Years Forward
•Thirty Years of Federal Circuit Trademark Law (00:55:45)
•Keynote Address (00:54:17)
•Lunch and Paper Presentation: Preofessor Sarah Rajec (00:36:05)
•International Trade Law and the Federal Circuit (01:11:10)
•From the Court of Claims to the Federal Circuit: The Federal Circuit and Government Contracts Law (00:43:25)
8:30 am – 5:00 pm
American University Washington College of Law, Room 603
Presented by the American University Law Review and the Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property
This event will commemorate the 30th anniversary of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The Law Review publishes the only annual book in the country dedicated to the court's decisions, and this year plans to celebrate what is a very special anniversary for the Court.
8:45 a.m. Welcome Remarks
9:00 a.m. Panel 1: The Federal Circuit's Patent Law Jurisprudence
Panelists: Donald R. Dunner, Partner, Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner LLP; J. Michael Jakes, Partner, Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner LLP; Aaron Cooper, Senior Counsel for Intellectual Property, Senate Committee on the Judiciary; Professor Christopher Cotropia, University of Richmond Law School; Paul Schoenhard, Associate, Ropes & Gray LLP
10:30 a.m. Panel 2: Thirty Years of Federal Circuit Trademark Law
Panelists: Douglas A. Rettew, Partner, Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner LLP; Professor Christine Farley, American University Washington College of Law; Marynelle Wilson, Associate, Cloudigy LLP (additional speakers TBA)
11:30 a.m. Keynote Address: The Honorable Pauline Newman, Circuit Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
12:15 p.m. Lunch and Paper Presentation: Sarah Rajec, The George Washington University Law School Tailoring Remedies to Spur Innovation
1:00 p.m. Panel 3: The "Familiar Conversation" of Veterans Benefits Law in the Federal Circuit
Panelists: Martin Hockey, U.S. Department of Justice; Richard Hipolit, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Robert Chisholm, Partner, Chisholm, Chisholm & Kilpatrick; Professor Linda Jellum, Mercer Law School; Paul Schoenhard, Associate, Ropes & Gray LLP; Rory Riley, House Committee on Veterans Affairs
2:45 p.m. Panel 4: International Trade Law and the Federal Circuit
Panelists: Greg Spak, Partner, White & Case LLP; Neal Reynolds, Assistant General Counsel for Litigation, U.S. International Trade Commission; Forrest Hansen, Associate, White & Case LLP; Alexandra Hess, Associate, Hughes, Hubbard & Reed LLP
4:00 p.m. Panel 5: From the Court of Claims to the Federal Circuit: The Federal Circuit and Government Contracts Law
Panelists: The Honorable Jeri K. Somers, Vice-Chair, Civilian Board of Contract Appeals; W. Stanfield Johnson, Senior Counsel, Crowell & Moring LLP; Professor Steven Schooner, The George Washington University Law School (additional speakers TBA)
There is no charge to register; however, registration is required.
CLE accreditation (6 credits) will be applied for – CLE registration, $330
To register, please go to www.wcl.american.edu/secle/registration. For further information, contact: Office of Special Events & Continuing Legal Education, 202.274.4075 or firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Did you know?
The vibrant history of District Six was celebrated in a musical of the same name by David Kramer and the late Taliep Pietersen.
There are many places in Cape Town where you can capture the spirit of a bygone era, but the District Six Museum is where to find the heart and soul of a broken community.
Housed in adjoining buildings in Buitenkant Street, in the inner city, the museum started out as a place for former residents to meet and discuss their anger and sadness, and to decide how best to get back to the strip of land they were born on.
That meeting place, the Methodist Church, evolved into the District Six Museum in 1994. More recently, the museum expanded into the adjoining Sacks Futeran building.
You will be transported back in time reading the 300m-long memory cloth. It captures thousands of first-hand accounts of what life was like in District Six, the horror of forced removals and the subsequent devastation of a community's psyche.
District Six was established in 1867, one of six districts in Cape Town. The area, on the outskirts of the inner city, was vibrant, colourful and crowded.
Residents – freed slaves, black, white, coloured, immigrants, artisans and merchants – owned and rented houses. They lived in harmony and were close to work, schools, places of worship and entertainment.
In 1901 black people were forced out, and as the decades rolled by it became a predominantly coloured community.
District Six was a crowded place. More than 60 000 people lived there, but it was a happy place, until 1966 – when the apartheid government declared it a white area under the harsh Group Areas Act. Bulldozers moved in, and people watched in horror and anger as their homes, and belongings, were destroyed. In a further act of humiliation and dehumanisation, people and their belongings were transported, like cattle, in open trucks to their new homes.
Families were torn apart and dumped up to 30km away, in places like Mitchells Plain and Athlone. Harsh places, with no sense of community, with no amenities, where the wind would whip up gritty sand, blowing it into eyes and mouths, stinging bare legs. Adding to the misery.
By 1982 District Six was a barren strip of land, and so it remained. Empty, a deep scar.
And it is here, in the museum, where people can come and remember their history. It is a place of solace, a place to meet almost forgotten friends and, for some, a place of healing.
Aspeling, Hanover, Tennant, Constitution, Hamilton, Richmond are some of the street name boards on display. On the floor is a map of the area. The museum is not only filled with personal memoirs and mementos, but also with poignant photographs, which tells both stories: one of a happier time, a bygone era and the second one, the brutality of the apartheid state and how a once-proud community was destroyed.
Travel tips & Planning info
Who to contact
District Six Museum
25 A Buitenkant Street, Cape Town, 8000
Tel: +27 (0)21 466 7200
Email firstname.lastname@example.com
How to get here
The District Six Museum is in Buitenkant Street in the inner city. The museum is a few metres away from the public transport hub.There are taxis and buses running regularly in the area.
Best time to visit
The museum is open Monday to Saturday between 9am and 4pm.
Around the area
The museum is in the same precinct as the Castle of Good Hope, the Grande Parade and the City Hall, from where Nelson Mandela addressed South Africa and the world on his release from 27 years in prison.
Tours to do
Consider taking a guided tour of District Six, lead by a former resident. To book a guided walking or driving tour of District Six, call +27 (0)21 466 7200. A minimum of 10 people per group is required.
Get around
The museum has been designed so you can wander in off the street and take a self guided tour, or you can take a tour with a former District Six resident.
What will it cost
R30 per adult, R5 for children and free for South African pensioners and former District six residents
Length of stay
Give yourself three hours to explore the museum.
Where to stay
There are many places to stay in the inner city, many of them within walking distance of the District Six museum.
What to eat
Enjoy a real District Six experience by tucking into bobotie, curries, slow-cooked bredies (stews) at eateries in both the inner city and on the Cape Flats.
Best buys
There are a number of books available on District Six, including Rosa's District 6, by Rozena Maart, The House in Tyne Street by Linda Fortune and Noor's Story, My Life in District Six by Noor Ebrahim. You can buy them at the museum or online.


text:
Like its big bro, this ski expands what's possible in the powder.
Features a symmetrical step on each end that's stable, light and durable.
Like his big bro, the Atomic Backland BC Mini ski has blown up the rulebook for what's possible in powder. Designed by the legend Chris Benchetler himself, the Powder Rocker in the tip and tail combines with a fat 90mm waist width to deliver the flotation of your dreams and killer performance in powder and on soft terrain. We've also added a Step Down Sidewall to take care of business on the harder stuff and make for smoother rides all round.
Ski Technology
Additional information about laminates, sidecuts and more.
Technical Specifications
Additional information about ski technical specifications.


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Topic: Pain from external drain-is this normal?
Hi, my brother diagnosed last week, external drain put in on Friday, it is Tuesday now and he seems worse than 2 days ago. Is in so much pain and says his urine is dark again and bag doesn't seem to be draining easily. Is it normal for him to still be in huge pain? He's taking Dilaudid and I'm thinking that should be working. He might be a candidate for resection but I'm worried about his strength. He's down to 115 lbs already.
thanks for any advice, should we call doctor or go to ER?


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This article, Aburame Clan, is canon and uses Creative Commons licensed content from our mother site, Narutopedia's Aburame Clan article.
The list of authors can be seen in the page history there.
|Aburame Clan
|Aburame Clan
|Aburame Ichizoku
|Literal English
|Aburame family
|Parasitic Destruction Insect Technique
Secret Technique: Insect Sphere
The Aburame clan (油女一族, Aburame Ichizoku; ; ; ) is one of the four noble clans of Konohagakure, and are characterised by their use of insects as weapons. At birth, members of this clan are offered to a special breed of insects such as kikaichū as a nest, residing just under their host's skin. These insects will then live in symbiosis with their host.
The clan members may also carry additional insects in jars or gourds with them on missions. The insects can leave and enter their host's body through various pores. They feed on chakra as a food source, making them quite deadly. The relationship between the shinobi and the insects is mutually beneficial. The host grants the insects shelter and allows them to feed off their chakra, their body becoming a living hive of tens of thousands of these insects, and in return the insects do the user's bidding, allowing the shinobi to perform ninjutsu-like techniques without the use of hand seals or chakra conversion. A major defining trait of the Aburame clan is that all of its known members' eyes are obscured usually by glasses, as well as they wear clothing that usually cover up most of their body.
A female insect can be left on a target, which then can be tracked by smell by the male insect, or scout insects can be sent out and return to tell the host information about the area. For this reason, Aburame clan members are experts in espionage; they can communicate with the insects, and the insects specialize in stealth because they make no noise or motion during combat. In addition to utilizing insects in battle, the Aburame clan also studies insects. In the anime it was shown that they were rivals of the Kamizuru, a clan of bee users, until they defeated them in battle. Even though their insect-related techniques are known only amongst the clan, a select few possess a Nano-Sized, Venomous Insects that is rare even among the clan's members. To date, only Shikuro and Torune are known to possess it.
It has also been shown that they possess the ability to communicate with other bugs and insects, as seen when Shino used what looked like a bee to gather information for him during the Chūnin Exams, and later when Muta asked some worms to investigate what was happening below ground during a reconnaissance mission.
Other Notable Clan Members
- During Pain's invasion, an unnamed member of the clan accompanied Shibi along with Muta and Shino to confront Konan.
- During the Nine-Tails' attack on Konoha, an Aburame was seen alongside Hiruzen and his forces driving the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox out of the village.
- During the Fourth Shinobi World War, a group of Aburame clan members used the Insect Jamming Technique in conjuction with the Hiding in Mist Technique used by Kirigakure shinobi to obscure the vision of Tobi and Madara Uchiha and prevent them from sensing the Allied Shinobi Forces.
- "Aburame" (油女; ; ; ) means "oil woman". It also may be a variation of "Aburamushi" (油虫), which means "cockroach".


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J.W. Anderson Fall 2013
You can always tell in London which young designer is really doing well by taking a rough head count of how many people in the audience turn up at shows wearing their clothes. By that yardstick, Christopher Kane and Mary Katrantzou have lots of real customers, and so does J.W. Anderson, whose fall 2012 windowpane-check sweaters and circle skirts have been everywhere. What they will be picking out next season is interesting to speculate on, since Jonathan Anderson has moved away from where he was a year ago, turning out cleverly tweaked classic Americana like sweatshirts, kilts, and varsity jackets. Now he's intent on pushing his collection into experimental mode, where the garment types become less familiar and more like exercises in discovering fresh forms.
The conceptual edge of fall makes it tricky to describe. Maybe there's something vaguely medical in it—the way dresses and tops fasten in the back like hospital gowns, and the chunky white slip-on shoes recall nurses' standard-issue footwear. But then again, maybe not, because of the fabrics he's using this season: heavy felted wool for dresses, leather for gathered-neck tops, crinkly nylon for wide-legged pull-on pants.
Where did all of that come from? Anderson didn't have a linear explanation, except to say that he and his stylist, Benjamin Bruno, had been working on a lot of abstract techniques with fabric in the studio on Shacklewell Lane, guided only by whether the results seemed genuinely new to their eyes. They ended up messing around, reworking necklines and pockets and laying extra fabric on shoulderlines so they assumed angular, flyaway shapes. Long skirts were sliced open front and back and layered over shorter ones. As for the fur tube tops? That was an idea held over from his menswear collection in January.
The result? Puzzling at first sight, maybe—but not in a way that can be dismissed out of hand. These are the kind of clothes stylists love to photograph—Anderson's work has always had that editorial quality. The fact that they've moved beyond any obvious narrative shows ambition—and the fact that a designer still in his twenties is daring enough to do that is a riveting thing to watch.


text:
To repeat the news: Artem Anisimov blocked a shot in the second and injured his right ankle. He will have an MRI today. He said he knew it was pretty bad "right away" when he didn't feel any "relief" after a few minutes.
Michal Rozsival hyperextended a knee, and John Tortorella said he should be OK. Derek Stepan was benched in the third.
John Tortorella:
"I thought we started off OK. We had a simple gameplan. The ice was so bad we just wanted to get the puck in deep and try to get to the body and create some forechecking. The first half of the period I thought we did a really good job of that. And then we started, and I think this is what turned it, we started making lateral passes, turnovers in the neutral zone and we allowed them to play at about 140 feet. And obviously we had some breakdowns throughout the game."
Did it come too easily early in the game, with the quick goal?
"Well, you know, you worry, and I think it did. It gets good to you, because we played really well the first half of the period. That's the way Atlanta's been winning. They've been scoring some goals, ugly goals, and they find a way. They've got good team speed. But I think it got good to us a little bit in the first period and I thought we gathered ourselves a little bit in the second. But the third goal was a tough one. That hurt us a bit. I think it was a needless pass by Step (Stepan) around the boards on a play like that. (Staal) should have had it but, that one hurt us.
"We crawled back in it, but again, we didn't deserve to win. We didn't deserve to win."
About the timeout.
"It wasn't anything specific. We just weren't playing hard enough. They were outworking us in a lot of different areas. We weren't into the body. And I really felt if they scored another one we're in deep trouble. We didn't play the way we needed to play through the 60, certainly not enough minutes. We had played in spurts, and they capitalized."
"We lost and we deserved to lose. We shouldn't put ourselves in that type of spot (after) how ewe started the game. We shouldn't have let it get out of hand."
On Biron:
"We need some saves there. The third one was one I think that we needed Marty (to stop). The fifth one might have hit a stick, I'm not sure. But in that type of game, if we get a couple more saves, it may be a difference."
On why it got out of hand.
"We didn't play consistently enough in the neutral zone, with our forechecking, in our end zone. There were breakdowns in our end zone. I can go through them all but, basically, we didn't play consistently enough, well enough, in all three zones."
"We've had a little bit of a run here, little, three games, and we talked about it before the game. This was an important game. It wasn't a game where we come off a two or three-game losing streak, it wasn't a division game against Jersey. It wasn't Boston or Toronto. It's a Southeast Division opponent and these are the games where we need to learn how to take the next step and be consistent at to win. And we didn't do that. We did it in minutes through the game, but certainly not through the 60. And that is the next step we're going to have to take here.
"I think we know how we have to play, I really do. I think the past week or so, early in the year, it's been a really good thing because it defined how we have to play. We did not play consistently enough (tonight). That's on us, and we have to find a way to do it better."
"We're not good enough to let down. We're not a good enough team, whether we're healthy or not."
He was asked about Stepan's play flattening out the last few games, and I'm paraphrasing here, because my recorder stopped (because I hadn't deleted any interviews from the last few weeks so I had to rely on longhand):
"Step, no pun intended, was a step slow in everything tonight. We tried to work him through, and in the third tonight we thought we'd let him watch … We'll monitor him the rest of the year here."


text:
Note: This item is more than nine years old. Please take the publication date into consideration for any date references.
Print – Plain Text – Permalink
News Release
Media Contact: TPWD News, email@example.com, 512-389-8030
Aug. 31, 2007
TPWD Launches Shotgun Sports in Schools Pilot Program
AUSTIN, Texas —The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department announced it is this fall piloting a target shooting program similar to its popular Archery in Schools initiative.
The Clay Sports in Schools pilot, designed to introduce 6th through 12th grade level youth to competitive shotgun clay target shooting, will be offered in selected schools throughout the state, beginning with the Wildlife Management and Recreation curriculum in high schools.
"I have no doubts there are some potential international clay target shooters sitting in our classrooms and a program such as this could be the key to discovering those gifted athletes," said Steve Hall, TPWD education director. "The thing about competitive clay sports is you don't have to be the strongest or the fastest athlete to be successful, which means it's more accessible to more kids."
Hall points to the department's Archery in Schools program, where in less than two years more than 300 physical education teachers have received training in archery target shooting and more than 400 students have competed at two statewide competitions.
"Texas has a strong dove and quail hunting heritage," said
Similar programs are growing in popularity in other states, such as Tennessee, where participants are receiving extra-curricular recognition lettering in clay target sports. Some students are advancing toward national and international competition, with an eye toward college scholarships in clay target sports and a possible berth on the U.S.A. Shooting Team.
Texas Parks and Wildlife Commissioner John Parker of Lufkin learned of the Tennessee program about a year ago and believes the concept will be successful in Texas, too.
"I think the potential is there," he said. "We have a dedicated group of folks working together to make it happen and I support the effort enthusiastically."
The Texas Clay Sports in Schools pilot will focus initially on professional educators who already teach hunter education in schools, specifically in the high school agriculture science curricula. TPWD's Charlie Wilson, who introduces newcomers to clay sports through the department's mobile five-stand sporting clays system, came up with the idea for the pilot and received approval from the Texas Agriculture Science administration to implement the trial program at their annual conference this past July.
Pilot schools will be tasked with putting together teams or clubs interested in shooting trap, skeet and/or sporting clays. During the current school year, participants will focus on developing trapshooting skills.
TPWD will be looking to expand shooting range facilities that accommodate the school teams, offering incentives to those ranges that provide access to these young shooters through its federal grants program. At its Aug. 23 public hearing the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission awarded three shooting range grants to facilities that are compatible with youth clay sports recruitment.
In addition to the Clay Sports in Schools pilot, TPWD will continue to support existing youth clay target programs, the Texas Cooperative Extension's 4-H Shooting Sports program, the largest program of its kind in the nation, and National Shooting Sports Foundation Scholastic Clays Program, which already has a successful chapter in Texas.
Looking ahead, TPWD is also planning to launch in 2008 an introductory program to youth clay sports, called Junior Clays. This initiative is a similar after-school program, whereby youth that are relatively new to shotgun sports can enter "hunter class" competitions already held at many of the ranges throughout Texas and sponsored by various state and national shooting sports organizations. The effort will stress opportunities for families new to shooting to come to ranges to enjoy the shotgun sports.
Wilson, who currently reaches 6,000 shooters annually with the mobile sporting clays range operation, has been tasked to initiate the two new programs, with the assistance of regional and statewide hunter education staff and volunteers.
For more information about these programs, contact TPWD's hunter education staff at (512) 389-4999 or toll free at (800) 792-1112; ext. 4999.
Publication — Permission is granted to publish, in whole or in part, any news releases on this page.
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If you have any suggestions for improving these pages, send an e-mail to firstname.lastname@example.com and mention Plain Text Pages.
(5.4.16 i)


text:
on orders $75+
Read 315 Oasis reviews, with an average rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars, to help determine which pet products are right for you.
Oasis was established in the early 1960s in the San Francisco Bay Area by mechanical engineers and scientists who were developing sanitary water dispensers for use in laboratory and medical research animal cages. The group of animals that needed reliable, clean water delivery was very diverse and included mice, rabbits, birds, dogs and chimpanzees. The unique waterers that Oasis invented replaced the old, leaking glass "sipper tubes" and were so succesful that they were introduced to the pet trade in 1964. They were an instant success and Oasis has continued to be the worlds leader in sanitary water dispensers, including new designs and product innovations for all types of pet animals.Oasis products are designed to provide your small pet with the very best feeding experience possible. Their no leak, veratile bottles are the perfect solution for keeping your pet hydrated and happy. Vita Drops are full of revitalizing vitamins and nutrients to keep your small pet going strong for years to come.
Oasiss heavy duty polyethylene "frosted" All Weather bottles have excellent resistance to the suns damaging ultra violet rays, making them ideal for indoor or outdoor pet cages. Each Oasis All Weather bottle features a stainless steel vacuum valve drinking tube, rubber gasket and a double ball point tip for total leak prevention. Heavier walls provide greater resistance to the elements that will cause lesser bottles to crack and warp when exposed to the elements.Pet Mountain is proud to offer you a wide selection of Oasis products, at the very best prices available anywhere! Take a look at all of our huge selection of great deals! Cant find something youre looking for? Let us know! Wed love to help. Be sure to check out our online coupons and discount shipping on all your favorite products.Pet Mountain your have everything, online low price leader for all pet supplies!
Free shipping on all orders over $75, even the BIG STUFF that weighs a ton. No code. No hassle.
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We guarantee that every brand we sell is new and 100% authentic. Shop over 300 trusted pet brands.
We're confirming your subscription now. We want to make sure your email isn't already on the list.


text:
Biomedical engineer Kyle Quinn fends off a frenzied Internet mob after being wrongly identified as a Charlottesville protester.
Internalizing the Internet
January 23, 2013|
Online social networks alter how users see themselves and their world.
January 23, 2013|
Online social networks alter how users see themselves and their world.
December 14, 2012|
The science images and videos that captured our attention in 2012
November 1, 2012|
New noninvasive methods of selecting the most viable embryo could revolutionize in vitro fertilization.
November 1, 2012|
Meet some of the people featured in the November 2012 issue of The Scientist.
November 1, 2012|
Large RNA-protein packets use a novel mechanism to escape the cell nucleus.
November 1, 2012|
From basic research to beneficial therapies
October 24, 2012|
Swapping chromosomes from one human egg to another could eliminate mitochondrial DNA mutations that cause disease.
October 12, 2012|
Keith Campbell, a biologist who was part of the effort to clone Dolly the sheep, has passed away at the age of 58.
October 1, 2012|
Laboratory-raised populations of dung beetles reveal a mother's extragenetic influence on the physiques of her sons.
September 17, 2012|
Mice raised in isolation from their mothers developed cognitive deficits similar to those of babies raised in orphanages where physical contact is infrequent.


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Reviews, reviews, reviews...
FreakScore is a weighted average of all aggregated professional and user review scores.
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This product has a FreakScore of 6.7
out of 10 based on 2076 scores.
The no holds barred world that has had critics up in arms for
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Best Price at Amazon


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LG VX8300 Pictures
LG8300 (VX8300) is the successor of the popular VX-8100. It plays music through built-in stereo speakers or through Bluetooth (it supports A2DP profile for stereo sound via Bluetooth). The VX-8300 delivers internet access through high-speed EV-DO networks and features GPS positioning system. The 8300 also features 1.3-megapixel camera and advanced voice recognition


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Public Policy
Engaging in public policy is a crucial dimension of our efforts to create an enabling environment to improve access to quality medicines and health care. In the U.S. and around the world, current health care systems face genuine challenges, and we strongly believe that there is long-term value to creating systems that are more efficient, stable and performance oriented.
As a highly regulated industry, we believe that public policy engagement, including lobbying, is an important and appropriate role for companies in open societies, if such engagement is conducted in a legal and transparent manner. We comply with all applicable lobbying registration and disclosure laws. To demonstrate our commitment to transparency, we also publicly disclose our Pfizer Political Action Committee and corporate political contributions and grants for health care education on our Web site.
Political Contributions and Lobbying
We believe that public policy engagement includes supporting policy positions that improve our ability to do business in a commercially and socially sustainable manner. We recognize that it is important that our engagement be conducted in a legal and transparent manner.
Our political contributions are guided first and foremost by federal and state campaign finance laws in the U.S. We also have a Corporate Procedure for Political Contributions by Pfizer Inc to make certain that the use of shareholder resources is in strict compliance with election laws and regulations around the world. The procedure restricts the use of such resources to support only federal and state candidates, political parties and political committees.
We recognize that compliance needs to be supported by information. Pfizer reports quarterly on lobbying expenses. In 2010 our total reported U.S. federal lobbying expenses were $13,330,000. We also publicly disclose, twice yearly, the corporate political and employee contributions made through the Pfizer Political Action Committee, a nonpartisan organization that provides opportunities for colleagues to participate more fully in the U.S. political process. A full report on our activities is available in the Lobbying and Political Contributions section of our Web site.
Pfizer has also voluntarily signed onto the European Commission's new register of interest representatives. Through the register, we declared 2010 expenses related to interest representation of 750–800,000 euros. This figure was broadly in line with the expenditures of other companies of similar size and scope.
For more about Pfizer's Political Action Committee Report
View Pfizer Political Action Committee Report.


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The Crisis of Crowding: Quant Copycats, Ugly Models, and the New Crash Normal
512 pages
July 2012
The economic crisis that began in 2008 revealed the numerous problems in our financial system, from the way mortgage loans were produced to the way Wall Street banks leveraged themselves. Curiously enough, however, most of the reasons for the banking collapse are very similar to the reasons that Long-Term Capital Management (LTCM), the largest hedge fund to date, collapsed in 1998. The Crisis of Crowding looks at LTCM in greater detail, with new information, for a more accurate perspective, examining how the subsequent hedge funds started by Meriwether and former partners were destroyed again by the lapse of judgement in allowing Lehman Brothers to fail.
Covering the lessons that were ignored during LTCM's collapse but eventually connected to the financial crisis of 2008, the book presents a series of lessons for hedge funds and financial markets, including touching upon the circle of greed from homeowners to real estate agents to politicians to Wall Street.
- Guides the reader through the real story of Long-Term Capital Management with accurate descriptions, previously unpublished data, and interviews
- Describes the lessons that hedge funds, as well as the market, should have learned from LTCM's collapse
- Explores how the financial crisis and LTCM are a global phenomena rooted in failures to account for risk in crowded spaces with leverage
- Explains why quantitative finance is essential for every financial institution from risk management to valuation modeling to algorithmic trading
- Is filled with simple quantitative analysis about the financial crisis, from the Quant Crisis of 2007 to the failure of Lehman Brothers to the Flash Crash of 2010
A unique blend of storytelling and sound quantitative analysis, The Crisis of Crowding is one of the first books to offer an analytical look at the financial crisis rather than just an account of what happened. Also included are a layman's guide to the Dodd-Frank rules and what it means for the future, as well as an evaluation of the Fed's reaction to the crisis, QE1, QE2, and QE3.
Table of Contents
Foreword xv
Preface xix
Cast of Characters xxiii
CHAPTER 1 Introduction 1
CHAPTER 2 Meriwether's MagicMoney Tree 7
The Birth of Bond Arbitrage 7
The Dream Team 11
Early Success 14
CHAPTER 3 Risk Management 21
The General Idea 21
Leverage 22
Measuring Risk 23
The ρ 24
Economics 24
Copycats, Puppies, and Counterparties 25
LTCM's Actual Risk Management Practices 27
Diversification 27
Operations 28
The Raw Evidence 29
CHAPTER 4 The Trades 37
The Short U.S. Swap Trade 41
The European Cross-Country Swap Trade
(Short UK and Long Europe) 44
Long U.S. Mortgage Securities Hedged 46
The Box Spread in Japan 48
The Italian Swap Spread 50
Fixed-Income Volatility Trades 52
The On-the-Run and Off-the-Run Trade 54
Short Longer-Term Equity Index Volatility 57
Risk Arbitrage Trades 60
Equity Relative-Value Trades 63
Emerging Market Trades 65
Other Trades 67
The Portfolio of Trades 68
CHAPTER 5 The Collapse 71
Early Summer 1998 71
The Salomon Shutdown 73
The Russian Default 75
The Phone Calls 77
The Meriwether Letter 79
Buffett's Hostile Alaskan Offer 81
The Consortium Bailout 82
Too Big To Fail 84
Why Did It Happen? 85
Appendix 5.1 The John Meriwether Letter 89
Appendix 5.2 The Warren Buffett Letter 93
CHAPTER 6 The Fate of LTCM Investors 95
CHAPTER 7 General Lessons from the Collapse 101
Interconnected Crowds 101
VaR 102
Leverage 105
Clearinghouses 108
Compensation 110
What's Size Got to Do with It? 110
Contingency Capital 113
The Fed Is a Coordinator of Last Resort 114
Counterparty Due Diligence 115
Spread the Love 115
Quantitative Theory Did Not Cause the LTCM Collapse 116
D´ej`a Vu 118
CHAPTER 8 The Quant Crisis 123
The Subprime Mortgage Market Collapse 127
What Was the Quant Crisis? 129
The Erratic Behavior of Quant Factors 130
Standard Factors 130
Quantitative Portfolio Factors 133
Causes of the Quant Crisis 134
The Shed Show 137
CHAPTER 9 The Bear Stearns Collapse 141
A Brief History of the Bear 141
Shadow Banking 143
Window Dressing 144
Repo Power 145
The Unexpected Hibernation 148
The Polar Spring 150
CHAPTER 10 Money for Nothing and Fannie and Freddie for Free 155
The Basic Business 157
Where's the Risk? 158
CDO and CDO2 159
The Gigantic Hedge Fund 162
Big-Time Profits 165
The U.S. Housing Bubble 168
The Circle of Greed 170
Real Estate Agents and Mortgage Lender Tricks 173
Home Owners 177
Profits and Politicians 177
The Media and Regulators 180
Grade Inflation 182
Commercial Banks 185
Freddie and Fannie's Foreclosure 186
Why Save Freddie and Fannie? 187
Did Anyone Know? 188
CHAPTER 11 The Lehman Bankruptcy 191
The Wall Street Club 191
Why Was Lehman Next? 193
Business Exposure 196
A Chronology of the Gorilla's Death 202
Double Down in Real Estate 203
Mildly Seeking Capital 207
The Final Days 213
A Classic Run on the Bank 217
Why Let Lehman Fail? 219
Who Was at Fault? 222
Lehman Brothers 222
The Counterparties 224
The Government and Market Structure 225
The Legal Opinion on the Lehman Bankruptcy 225
Who Would Have Been Next? 226
The Spoils of Having Friends in High Places 227
CHAPTER 12 The Absurdity of Imbalance 233
The Long-Dated Swap Imbalance 236
The Repo Imbalance 241
The 228 Wasted Resources and the Global Run on Banks 243
CHAPTER 13 Asleep in Basel 245
Basel I 246
The Concept 246
The Problems 247
Basel II 248
The Concept 248
The Problems 249
Basel and the Financial Crisis 250
CHAPTER 14 The LTCM Spinoffs 253
JWM Partners LLC 253
Platinum Grove Asset Management 258
The Others 259
The Copycat Funds 262
CHAPTER 15 The End of LTCM's Legacy 265
The Bear and the Gorilla Attack 265
November Rain 271
What Went Wrong? 274
Market Insanity 275
Bigger Shocks 281
Market Imbalance 282
Deleveraging 285
Coup de Grace 286
CHAPTER 16 New and Old Lessons from the Financial Crisis 289
Interconnectedness and Crowds 289
Leverage 291
Systemic Risk and Too Big to Fail 293
Derivatives: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly 294
Conflicts of Interest 297
Policy Lessons 298
Risk Management 301
Counterparty Interaction 302
Hedge Funds 304
The Importance of Arbitrage 306
CHAPTER 17 The Flash Crash 311
Background 312
Flash Crash Theories 313
Fat Finger Theory 314
High-Frequency Trader Theory 314
Jittery Markets 315
The Real Cause of the Flash Crash 315
The Waddell-Reed Trade 316
The Computer Glitch 317
Gone Fishing 319
The Aftermath 321
CHAPTER 18 Getting Greeked 323
Members Only 324
The Conditions 324
The Benefits of Membership 328
The Drawbacks of Membership 328
The Club's Early Years 330
Getting Greeked 332
Greek Choices 333
Remain a Club Member and Order Finances 333
Ditch the Club and Keep the Debt 334
Ditch the Club and Ditch the Debt 334
The IMF and Euro Packages 335
The EU's Future 335
CHAPTER 19 The Fairy-Tale Decade 339
I Hate Wall Street 340
The Real Costs of the Financial Crisis 344
An Avatar's Life Force 346
Economic System Choices 349
The Crisis of Crowds 350
The Wine Arbitrage 351
APPENDIX A The Mathematics of LTCM's Risk-Management Framework 355
A General Framework 355
A Numerical Example 357
Measuring Risk 357
APPENDIX B The Mechanics of the Swap Spread Trade 361
The Long Swap Spread Trade 361
The Short Swap Spread Trade 362
APPENDIX C Derivation of Approximate Swap Spread Returns 365
APPENDIX D Methodology to Compute Zero-Coupon Daily Returns 369
APPENDIX E Methodology to Compute Swap Spread Returns from Zero-Coupon Returns 373
APPENDIX F The Mechanics of the On-the-Run and Off-the-Run Trade 375
APPENDIX G The Correlations between LTCM Strategies Before and During the Crisis 377
APPENDIX H The Basics of CreativeMortgage Accounting 379
APPENDIX I The Business of an Investment Bank 381
Investment Banking 381
Capital Markets 382
Equities 382
Equity Cash 382
Equity Derivatives 383
Equity Finance 384
Arbitrage (Proprietary Trading) 384
Fixed Income 385
Government and Agency Obligations 385
Corporate Debt Securities and Loans 385
High-Yield Securities and Leveraged Bank Loans 386
Money Market Products 386
Mortgage- and Asset-Backed Securities 386
Municipal and Tax-Exempt Securities 387
Financing 387
Fixed-Income Derivatives 388
Lehman Brothers Bank 388
Foreign Exchange 388
Global Distribution (Global Sales) 389
Research 389
Client Services 389
Private Client Services (Private Wealth Management) 389
Private Equity 390
Technology 390
Corporate and Risk Management 390
Summary 391
APPENDIX J The Calculation of the BIS Capital Adequacy Ratio 393
The General Calculation 393
An Example 395
Notes 397
Glossary 443
Bibliography 451
About the Author 465
Index 467
Author Information
Ludwig B. Chincarini, CFA, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Finance in the School of Management at the University of San Francisco and a member of the academic council of IndexIQ, with over fifteen years of experience in the financial industry specializing in portfolio management, quantitative equity management, and derivatives. He was Director of Research at Rydex Global Advisors, where he co-developed the S&P 500 equal-weight index and helped launch the Rydex ETF program. He helped build an internet brokerage firm, FOLIOfn, designing its innovative basket trading and portfolio management platform. He also worked at the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and Schroders. He is the coauthor of Quantitative Equity Portfolio Management. He received a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a BA from the University of California at Berkeley.
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|Appendix K
Appendix K - The U.S. Economy Before, During, and After the Financial Crisis
|Click to Download
|Appendix L
Appendix L - The Policy Reaction I: If You're Dodd, I'll be Frank
|Click to Download
|Appendix M
Appendix M - The Policy Reaction II: Basel's Back: Three Strikes and You're Out
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|Appendix N
Appendix N - The Policy Reaction III: The Federal Reserve
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|Appendix O
Appendix O - The Policy Reaction IV: Fiscal Stimulus and Housing
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|Appendix P
Appendix P - A Simple Model of Banks
|Click to Download
Press Release
Connect with Wiley Publicity
Financial markets are not immune to the human tendency to group together. Investors follow popular trends or latch onto profitable new strategies with herd-like single-mindedness. In The Crisis of Crowding: Quant Copycats, Ugly Models, and the New Crash Normal (Wiley; August 2012; $40.00; 978-1-118-25002-0; Hardcover; Ebook), finance veteran and professor Ludwig Chincarini explores how this dramatic overcrowding has yielded terrifying results and contributed to recent financial crises.
"Modern risk-measurement models generally ignore the presence of copycats and the resulting crowded spaces. As a result, a shock to the system can lead to sudden, sometimes large asset price moves, which can cause panic and failure among the institutions involved in that investment space," explains Chincarini. "In the past 20 years, globalization, technology, and increased leverage have made the effects of overcrowding more apparent and dramatic. In fact, market crashes are happening more regularly than in the past."
The Story of Crowding: The Stock Market Crash of 1987
The first crisis caused by modern-day crowding was likely the stock market crash of 1987. The financial industry has popularized dynamic portfolio insurance, which involved protecting investors from losing money on their portfolios. This practice can work quite well if only a small portion of the market pursues these strategies. In 1987, there were too many copycats, too much crowding, and too many models that didn't adequately account for this crowding.
Failure of Long-Term Capital Management in 1998
The next big crisis came 11 years later. In 1994, Long-Term Capital (LTCM) launched their "Dream Team" hedge fund. . They were the new financial juggernauts, and everyone wanted a piece of their amazing performance. Soon other institutions, including the proprietary trading desks of Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Lehman Brothers, and multiple new hedge funds, began to reverse engineer LTCM's strategies, all of which involved leverage. The lucrative relative-value bond arbitrage investment area became saturated with quantitative copycats. Heavily leveraged positions meant that small moves could destroy an entire firm in a short period of time.
In July 1998, one of the large institutions, Salomon Brothers, began closing its copycat positions. In August 1998, the Russian government defaulted on its bonds. The shock occurred as the relative value funds were scrambling to survive. LTCM was on the brink of bankruptcy; many feared that this would shatter the financial system. The Federal Reserve stepped in and coordinated a private solution to prevent chaos.
The Internet Bubble of 2000
In 2000, Internet stocks traded at ridiculous multiples. By April 2000, the bubble began to crash. The NASDAQ dropped by 70%. Yet despite investors' dramatic losses, the after-effects were comparatively mild, mostly because of the limited amount of leverage in Internet stocks. This put some brakes on the stampede to crash.
The Financial Crisis of 2008
Much that should have been obvious after the fall of LTCM could have prevented the crises that followed. Instead, the problems of overcrowding went unchecked so that when the next economic disaster hit, increased leverage, policy mishaps, and an even more crowded trading space resulted in a far bigger collapse in 2008.
From 2000 to 2008, every aspect of the U.S. economy got more involved in a massively leveraged trade: real estate investing. Instead of involving just traders, as most crowding does, the sub-prime lending bubble featured politicians, greedy home buyers, mortgage brokers, real estate agents, banks and investment banks, and quasi-government organizations Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.
Investment banks took outright positions in real estate and also created, sold, and traded derivatives based on housing values. Hedge funds also took various bets on real estate market segments. Insurance companies joined the space by offering insurance to the crowded investors. Rating companies joined the greed train and issued triple-AAA ratings as fast as they could write the three letters and cash the checks. Some homeowners took leveraged investing to new heights by putting zero money down and enjoying a leverage ratio of infinity.
Risk models were glaringly inadequate. They used historical data, which didn't include the enormous amount of crowding and overvaluation that existed by 2008. It was only a matter of time before we saw the worse crash since the stock market crash of 1929: the 2008 financial crisis. The massive exposure to a collapsing bubble combined with leverage and short-term borrowing to create an unprecedented shock to quantitative hedge funds. Known as the Quant Crisis, this destroyed Goldman Sachs's star hedge fund.
The crisis gave us a spectacular show: the historic collapse and rescue of Bear Stearns, a government rescue for Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, hundreds of bank failures, Lehman Brothers' bankruptcy, a market-wide lending freeze, the failure of a whole host of hedge funds (including-John Meriwether's new fund, JWMP), and unprecedented marketplace interventions from the U.S. government and Federal Reserve.
The Flash Crash of 2010
Three years and a depression later, the markets had slightly recovered. On May 6, 2010, between 2:42 pm and 2:47 pm, the Dow Jones dropped by 600 points, then rose 600 points by 3:07 pm, events known as the Flash Crash.
The European Debt Crisis
From 2001 to 2008, banks around the world lent money to Greece, assigning it a risk level very similar to that of countries with more discipline and higher productivity, such as Germany. The crowded space kept Greek interest rates at unrealistically low levels, and the Greeks were happy to borrow to fund consumption–until the crowd realized that Greece was a mess.
Crowded Investment Space Kept Greek Interest Rates Unrealistically Low Until the Crowd Realized It Was a Mess
Part narrative, part quantitative analysis, The Crisis of Crowding is filled with first hand recollections from those on the front lines of the crowding crisis, including several LTCM partners. Featuring insights from key banking and hedge fund authorities, including Jimmy Cayne, Sir Deryck Maughan, Sir Andrew Crockett, John Meriwether, and perspectives from Nobel prize winners Robert Merton and Myron Scholes, it brings the events that led to the current crisis vividly to life, showing how and why the market has evolved in new and dangerous ways, and what can be done about it.
Buy Both and Save 25%!
The Crisis of Crowding: Quant Copycats, Ugly Models, and the New Crash Normal (US $40.00)
-and- Zombie Banks: How Broken Banks and Debtor Nations Are Crippling the Global Economy (US $34.95)
Total List Price: US $74.95
Discounted Price: US $56.21 (Save: US $18.74)


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TWO long-serving members of the 1st Redditch Boys' Brigade Company, based at The Bridge Church, Headless Cross, have been presented special awards in the name of the Queen.
Alexander Sampson and Jack Wheale, both 18, who live in Redditch, have earned coveted Queen's Badges.
The prestigious awards, the highest achievement in the Boys' Brigade movement, were handed over in a ceremony which included the 125th Anniversary of Boys' Brigade in Birmingham, which took place at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens.
The Lord Lieutenant of the West Midlands, Paul Chandrasekharan Sabapathy CBE, made the presentation at the Birmingham Battalion event, which brought together other achievers from Boys Brigade companies from all over the West Midlands - 41 young people in total.
The Redditch Boys Brigade contingent, who joined the 1st Redditch Company in the junior section from the age of eight, have shown dedication, determination and desire in their bid to achieve.
Spokesman Andy Kimberley said: "As Captain of the 1st Redditch Company, these are the first young men I've had the pleasure of following through this tough challenge and I can't think of two lads more deserving of this top award.
"They've both worked really hard and at all stages they have been brilliant ambassadors and role models for the Boys Brigade and earning their Queen's Badges is a deserved reward for their efforts over a long period of time."
The Queen's award is presented in recognition of completing a series of challenging sections which are made up of volunteering at Boys Brigade sessions and in the local community, skills, physical, and coursework.
In recognition for their outstanding work they have put onto their Queen's Badge course they have additionally been invited to separate prestigious events.
Jack was asked as one of 10 from the 41 recipients of the Queen's Badge to be a steward at the Queen's garden party at Buckingham Palace which he said was an amazing day.
Alex was one of two young men from Boys' Brigade England and one of only 10 from BB UK and Republic of Ireland to form an honour guard for the First World War commemoration at Glasgow Cathedral on Monday, August 4, with HRH Prince Charles one of the VIP guest that went through the guard of honour.


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Rinse wakame, soak in cold water to cover for 5 minutes and dice or add flakes directly, no soaking required. Bring water to a boil and add wakame, onion and carrot. Simmer 5 to 7 minutes. Reduce flame to very low. Add puréed miso and simmer without boiling for 2 minutes. Serve garnished with green onions.
Optional Ingredients: tofu, dried tofu, shiitake, maitake, leafy greens, daikon, lotus root, leeks, round or root vegetables, cooked noodles, or mochi.
Eden Hacho, Genmai or Shiro Miso may be substituted for Mugi. You may need just slightly mor miso, 1/2 teaspoon or so, if using one of these.
Per serving - 26 calories, 0 gram fat (14% calories from fat), 1 gram protein, 5 gram carbohydrate, 1 gram fiber, 0 milligram cholesterol, 335 milligram sodium


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We support, repair and maintain all debian flavored Linux boxes. For a list of complete list of debian based Distributions. visit wikipedia Debian Based Distro
The 2 main Debian Based Distros we support are:
We have maintained hundreds of ubuntu desktops and thousands of ubuntu servers throughout the years. making sure we have 99% uptime, availability and reliability.
knoppix is on of those flavors uncommonly used. but is still supportable as we are debian experts.
We work on both Desktop and servers, both command line SSH and GUI types.


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CLOVERLEAF, Texas - Six people were hospitalized after a fire truck and pickup truck were involved in an accident in East Harris County Friday night, according to authorities.
It happened at Hollywood and Brownwood.
Four firefighters in the fire truck from the Cloverleaf Fire Department and two people in the pickup truck were taken to a local hospital. One firefighter in the truck was able to walk away from the accident. All seven people have non-life threatening injuries, according to authorities.
The accident was reported around 7:20 p.m. According to authorities, the fire truck was heading south on Hollywood toward Brownwood.
"The pickup truck apparently ran the stop sign and broadsided the fire truck, causing it to flip over," said Sergeant Richard Delano with the Harris County Sheriff's Office.
Rescuers worked to rescue the two people trapped inside the pickup truck.
Crews used two heavy duty wreckers to turn the fire truck over on its wheels after the accident.
Copyright 2013 by Click2Houston.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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In Remembrance of PFC Sean Doran
19 April 2010 — Star Valley, AZ
On that morning, March 28, 1969, another company was already in contact when we got the word at FSB Jackson to saddle up. We were all upset because we were supposed to have the day down. First & Third platoon were airlifted to the area. Once on the LZ we initially set up a blocking position in a wide open paddy area. Some distance away the other company was in heavy contact, and we watched air strikes on the village. After a while we were ordered to sweep through a hedgerow complex in order to accomplish a flanking movement in support the other company. Third plt was sent to another area way off to our left. First plt was ambushed just as we hit the hedgerow. PFC Sean Doran was pointman on the left side of the formation and he was hit right away, as was Sgt Vincent Moran, both were KIA. PFC Doran was lying on top of a berm as the firefight pursued. Charles Flory was pointman on the right side and I was behind him, maybe 6-8 meters away. Flory was wounded in the scalp and knocked unconscious, but he quickly recovered and crawled to cover. SSG Paul Nelson was also killed that day, making a total of three KIA's and eight WIA's. Once we were in contact, Third plt closed in on our left and it was those guys who put down enough fire to enable the rest of us to withdraw to better cover in a big ditch, which was probably a dried-up canal. Led by Lt Dick Deaner, the Third came to our rescue that day. Late in the battle I remember seeing Deaner and SSG Humiston right up front working their way closer to us and putting down heavy suport fire. They were directly to our left. I remember thinking, "Here comes the Calvary!". Once they took out the enemy positions in the hedgerow, they were able to recover the dead and wounded. Incident remembered by Dennis Kitchin 1st Plt Bravo Co 2/27 Wolfhounds.
Posted by Gerald Maddock 2nd Plt Bravo Co 2/27 Wolfhounds
~ Rest In Peace, Brother ~
~ You Will Never Be Forgotten ~


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Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, known in Japan as Mario & Sonic at the Beijing Olympics, is a sports video game developed by the Sega for the Nintendo Wii and the Nintendo DS. The game features 24 playable evens from the Summer Olympic Games. It was officially licensed by the International Olympic Committee and was the first crossover title to feature characters from both Mario and Sonic The Hedgehog's respective series. It was released on the Wii in November 2007 and the Nintendo DS handheld in January 2008.
Overall, critics praised the multiplayer interaction of the Wii game and variety of events of both versions. However, reviewers criticized the Wii version for its lack of simplicity and its DS counterpart for not offering the same interaction between players. The Wii title was awarded the "Best Wii game of 2007" at the Games Convention in Leipzig. Mario & Sonic sold over ten million units and started a series of related sport video games to coincide with upcoming Olympic events.is a video game for the Nintendo Wii and the Nintendo DS. It feature many events from both the Summer and Winter Olympic games.


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PICKERING Town cruised to a 6-0 victory at home to Glasshoughton Welfare in the Northern Counties East League premier division.
Tony Hackworth opened the scoring with a 21st minute tap-in from Joe Danby's cross and two minutes before the break Danby's shot was saved and Josh Greening rolled in the rebound.
Robbie Hawkes netted the third on the hour after a superb Pikes move and Lewis Taylor struck a minute later.
Danby got on the scoresheet with a 45-yard lob in the 90th minute and then Sam Calvert netted a simple goal in injury time after a back pass mix-up from the visitors.
Tadcaster Albion moved six points clear at the top despite being held to a 2-2 draw at home to Athersley Recreation.
Second-placed Barton Town Old Boys were without a game and they now have four games in hand on the Brewers.
Athersley led 1-0 at half-time, but Carl Stewart scored from the penalty spot and then fired in a second goal to put the hosts in front on 60 minutes.
However, the visitors salvaged a point with a 66th minute goal.
Selby Town went down 3-2 at Worsbrough Bridge Athletic in division one.
Striker Danny Gray put the Robins in front on 16 minutes, but Adam Podmore equalised on 27 minutes and Athletic profited from a 47th minute Chris White penalty.
Mark Willoughby pulled the visitors level on the hour, but White's second goal settled the match eight minutes later.
Knaresborough are one place above Selby in tenth after their 0-0 draw at home to Eccleshill United.
There was no game in Evo-Stik League division one north for Harrogate Railway Athletic, while in divsion one south Scarborough Athletic lost 2-0 at Newcastle Town.
The scorers for Athletic's play-off rivals were Dan Skelton on 16 minutes and Josh Gordon on 67.


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Charles J. Saylors
Charles J. "Chuck" Saylors is the PTA's first-ever male national president. He was elected national PTA president-elect in June 2007 to a two-year term. He was installed as national PTA president in June 2009 and has been a PTA member for almost 20 years.
Saylors started volunteering for PTA when his oldest son Matthew (now 25 years old) was in the first grade at Woodland Elementary in Greer, South Carolina. He and his wife Teresa started volunteering then and they have not slowed down since. The Saylors have been married for 27 years and have four children; Matthew, Jennifer Canova (22), Tyler (13) and William (10). They are also the proud grandparents of Bethany Canova (3), Jennifer's daughter. Teresa is a past PTA president at Taylors Elementary where Tyler and William are students.
Saylors states: "Parent involvement is critical to student success. I would hope that all adults would support PTA and the schools in their communities. To Dads, get involved!"
Saylors has been in the construction industry for over 17 years and is currently Vice President for the Construction Management Division of M.B. Kahn Construction, a national top 10 education contractor. Saylors also serves on a number of national, state, and community boards. He is a trustee for the School District of Greenville County (SC), serving two years as board chair, and is a former board member for Greenville Technical College.
National/State/ Local PTA Positions and Activities:
- National PTA President-Elect (2007-2009)
- National PTA Secretary-Treasurer (2005-2007)
- South Carolina PTA President (2003-2005)
- Former SCPTA Vice President and Treasurer
- Former President, District 1 PTA
- Current Board Member, District 1 PTA
- Former Board Member, Northeast PTA Council
- Former President, Woodland Elementary PTA
Professional/Volunteer Positions and Activities (Non-PTA):
- Member, Council of Educational Facilities Planners International
- Board Member, National Federation of Urban Suburban School Districts
- Trustee, School District of Greenville County (two years as chairman)
- Former Board Member, Greenville Technical College
- Former President and Board Member, Roper Mountain Science Center
- Former Executive Board Member, Blue Ridge Council BSA
- Member and Former Deacon, Hampton Heights Baptist Church
- Former Board Member, Greenville Family Partnership (National Red Ribbon)


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Gabby Salazar
Photograph by Gabby Salazar
Photograph by Rick Stanley
Birthplace: Greensboro, North Carolina
Current City: Easton, Pennsylvania
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
Over the years I have wanted to be an organic chemist, a pastry chef, an ethnobotanist, a tropical ecologist, and, of course, a photographer for National Geographic.
How did you get started in your field of work?
My father gave me my first camera when I was 11 years old and took me to a neighbor's backyard bird garden. I vividly remember taking an image of a blue jay that day through a borrowed long lens. While I was still in school, I pursued photography close to home in North Carolina and often spent weekends photographing birds at sunrise in my backyard.
I traveled extensively with my father on photography trips, mostly in North Carolina, but also in Florida, Tennessee, and South Carolina. I also traveled as a photographer during high school to Minnesota, Maine, Russia, and London. I managed to pay for all of my travels through my photography.
I took my first trip to the tropics when I was a freshman in college through a tropical ecology class. We went snorkeling in Belize and explored the lowland rain forest. I was hooked. It was during that class that I decided I wanted to use my photography to facilitate the public understanding of science and to engage people in tropical conservation.
I love working in the tropics because I find new and spectacular subjects every day. Even the cockroaches can be beautiful!
What inspires you to dedicate your life to conservation photography?
While working in Peru, I spent many hours showing local people images of the wildlife and landscapes I had photographed. People who lived 30 minutes from the jungle or an hour from their community forest reserve had never seen the animals and plants with their own eyes. Watching them discover the beauty in their backyard through my images inspired me to dedicate my life to conservation photography.
I believe that visual storytelling is one of the most effective ways to engage people in science and in conservation. Just as a single photo of napalm raining on villagers can change the course of the Vietnam War, images of threatened areas, cultures, and habitats can change the course of conservation.
What's a normal day like for you?
When I am in the field, I often rise before dawn and spend sunrise to sunset walking slowly through the forest peaking under leaves and exploring with my camera. When I am working with human subjects, I try to fit in interviews in the evenings. I also spend a lot of time talking with local people in an effort to gather all perspectives on the issue I am covering.
Back at home in Pennsylvania, I spend my days designing programs that use art and multimedia to engage people in the science behind issues like climate change.
Do you have a hero and, if so, why is this person your hero?
Sylvia Earle and Jane Goodall are two of my heroes because they are top-notch scientists who have devoted their lives to public engagement and outreach. I think that effective science communication is one of the most significant ways a person can support conservation.
What's been your favorite experience in the field? Most challenging?
When I was working in Tambopata National Reserve in Peru I had the luck of seeing two harpy eagles in one week. Harpy eagles are very rare and are one of the largest eagle species in the world. Observing one flying across the river and another on a nest fulfilled one of my childhood dreams!
One of my most challenging experiences also occurred in Peru. My partner Rick and I were taking photographs deep in the lowland Amazon. We were hiking about 1.5 miles out from our research station when a large wasp stung him on the ear. Rick had never had an allergic reaction before, but suddenly he was short of breath, unable to walk, and his tongue was swelling up. I had to leave him alone in the forest while I ran back for help and Benadryl. I made it back in less than 30 minutes with eight men and a ladder to carry him back to the station. He was still stable and we were able to bring him back to health over the course of a day. Now, I am a certified Wilderness First Responder and I am always prepared in the field!
What are your other passions?
Cooking, reading, hiking, and teaching photography to kids
What do you do in your free time?
I am an avid bird-watcher and take my binoculars out on every walk and even on business trips. I recently interrupted a meeting with a Costa Rican park director to point out a rare hummingbird (he was delighted)!
If you could have people do one thing to help reduce their impact on our planet, what would it be?
Encourage children in your life to unplug their electronics and to get outside! It is critical that we instill a love of nature in the next generation so that they will understand the importance of conservation.
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10 Ideas for Decorating With Artwork
"In Chinese culture, red is the color of good fortune and you see it everywhere — on pagodas, on tugboats in Hong Kong harbor, and on paper lanterns swaying in the breeze. This is my all-time favorite Chinese red, in high gloss — like the lacquered tip of one of Diana Vreeland's fingernails. Red is the great clarifier. A touch of it will add crispness to any room." —Miles Redd
Benjamin Moore Impervo Alkyd High Gloss Brilliant Red 20
"Pompeian red is the red — with a bit of rusty orange — that you see in the background of all those frescoes in Pompeii. Amazing that they've survived for millennia. Red creates a wonderful contrast that brings everything else into focus. It's gorgeous, very Italian and very romantic. It has the glow of the sun in it." —Brian McCarthy
Farrow & Ball Estate Emulsion Blazer 212
An Industrial Chic Bathroom in Los Angeles


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After a long, gray winter, signs of spring are finally popping up in New York City: Brooklyn's magnolia trees have unfurled their gorgeous pink-and-white blossoms; Bryant Park is full of lunchtime picnickers and sunbathers; and in restaurants across town, pastry chefs are unveiling lighter, fresher dessert menus.
At Beauty & Essex, chef Chris Santos's clubby pawn shop-slash-lounge on Essex Street on the Lower East Side, pastry chef Jaime Sudberg said she was excited to be serving up flavors like lemon and blueberry in four new seasonal desserts.
"At this time of year, you want get away from the winter pears and apples and eat something bright," she said.
Sudberg has added pistachio baklava, blueberry crumble, milkshake shots, and a peanut butter crème brûlée to Beauty & Essex's dessert menu, which also features such comfort food items as vanilla doughnuts, chocolate bread pudding, and butterscotch pot de crème.
Click through the slideshow to check them out.
Beauty & Essex
146 Essex Street, New York, NY 10002 (map)
212-614-0146; beautyandessex.com
About the author: Lauren Rothman is former a Serious Eats intern, a freelance catering chef, and an obsessive chronicler of all things culinary. Try the original recipes on her blog, For the Love of Food, and follow her on Twitter @Lochina186.


text: NEW YORK ( Real Money) -- This number, frankly, is terrible. I see nothing good about it. I can't even come up with a silver lining.I am putting this one on the fears engendered in Washington over the Sequester. There simply isn't anything else that was that negative in the month of March. Editor's Note: This article was originally published on Real Money on April 5 at 8:48 AM. To see Jim Cramer's latest commentary as it's published, sign up for a free trial of Real Money. How many times during those days leading up to the sequester did we hear that disaster was about to strike. How many times did President Obama talk about paralysis, danger, loss of jobs? Well we got it. We got all of it. And the president wants higher taxes in the form of reduced deductions. You can't make this stuff up. All bad.


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Marc by Marc Jacobs Jelly Jacquard Lil Riz Tote
Laminated printed "Marc By Marc Jacobs" print bag is super fun with it's huge shape and bright, jelly straps to accent the trendy bag. While all of Marc's bags stun us from the outside, the insides are never left boring! This one is lined with some fun green and black print. The other color has bright green straps and a navy blue top.


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Anaplasmosis is an infectious disease in cattle that infects red blood cells. It is transmitted from animal to animal by biting flies (horsefly, stable fly), ticks and contaminated needles or surgical instruments (dehorners, castration instruments, tattoo instruments).
This disease is typically age related. Calves less than one year of age usually show no symptoms of this disease and are considered mild. Cattle 12 to 24 months of age can show acute signs of the disease, but it is rarely fatal. However, animals that are two years and older will show acute signs of the disease, and mortality rates may be as great as 50 percent if animals are left untreated. Some cattle that do survive without treatment may become carrier animals for this disease. They will serve as a reservoir and be an underlying source of infection for other susceptible cattle in the herd. Animals in the carrier phase usually show no clinical signs and rarely become ill a second time with the disease.
Outbreaks generally occur in late summer and early fall. The incubation period is from 21 to 45 days, with an average length of 30 days. Once the red blood cells initially become infected, the organism replicates itself in order to infect more red blood cells. During this period, the infected animal shows little or no signs of illness. At some point, the infected animal's immune system begins to respond and attempts to attack the invader. When this occurs, the immune system destroys the pathogen but also destroys the infected red blood cells. As a result, the signs of clinical anemia will appear.
Early clinical signs include a rectal temperature of 104°F to 107°F, a decrease in appetite, pale mucous membranes, lethargy, a decrease in milk production and weakness. As the disease progresses, other signs may be noted such as weight loss, yellowed mucous membranes, constipation, excitation, abortion and death. Death is due to a large number of red blood cells being lost. This inhibits the animal's ability to provide adequate oxygen to the tissues, and death occurs due to anoxia (suffocation).
Prevention of this disease can incorporate many factors. Insect control can be difficult, but pesticide applications to the herd may limit the number of potential vectors. Feeding chlortetracycline at the rate of 0.5 mg per pound of cow body weight during the vector season will help prevent transmission of anaplasmosis. CTC may be included in medicated feed, mineral mix or feed blocks.
It also is important to be mindful of contaminated needles or instruments. When performing herd work, change needles often, and keep castration knives, dehorners or tattoo instruments in disinfectant between uses. Vaccines are also available to help with the control and prevention of anaplasmosis. Contact your veterinarian for additional prevention or treatment protocols.
Source: Dr. Tom Troxel, Professor


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Beginning Thursday, June 19, the Friends of The Seattle Public Library will hold a special seven-day auction on eBay (www.ebay.com) featuring rare and collectible books about the Pacific Northwest.
Some of the titles to be featured in the auction include "The Story of Seattle," by Roberta Frye Watt; "The Early Pacific Coast Photographs of Carleton E. Watkins," by J.W. Johnson; and "The Saga of a Mountain: A Legend of Mount Rainier," by El Comancho. Most auction items will start at $9.95.
The Friends also offers books at bargain prices for sale online at www.amazon.com and www.abebooks.com. All proceeds from sales and auctions benefit The Seattle Public Library through grants made by the Friends of The Seattle Public Library.
For more information, call the Friends of The Seattle Public Library at (206) 682-7567 or visit www.friendsofspl.org.


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Hi all,
I am putting the finishing touches to a custom written (pHp) article editor to allow users to publish content on a website.
I have basically finished the project, and I am putting the finishing touches in with jquery widgets, such as a word counter. I would also like people to be able to highlight a section of text, then have some custom tags wrap the text (much like on this forum when you highlight a word in the message box and hit the wrap button).
I would like my own custom tags to be used, such as some entered text rather than predefined ones.
Would someone be kind enought to recommend a lightweight soloution to this problem?
Kind regards and thanks.
I opted to initalize the code via a function and pass in the values - works well. Maintence isnt much of a problem because im using pHp to process the page!
Im sure ill be back later on to pester you some more when I come to add some icons!:blush:
You could probably put the initialisation code in a function and pass in the ID of the <select> and the <textarea> (That would be the simplest, though little bit maintenance-heavy, solution).
The other way to do it would be do have a markup structure like this:

You could then write some JS that loops through all "editArea"s and calls the initialization function and passes in the elements.
Something along those lines anyway
Thankyou for the info kind sir. What is the best way to adapt this code to work with several text areas? I have about 8 in total.
Ah yep, that would have happened because my defauly jQuery include snippet uses a protocol agnostic reference.

The "//" at the start will request the file with the protocol currently being used. Handy if you ever need to include things like the CDN version of jQuery on a site that uses both http and https. Of course when viewed locally without a webserver to host it (i.e. via the file:// protocol) it will fail because it try to use the "file" protocol to request jQuery.
Hi John, ive just uploaded your code to my server and it works online! I tested it local initially and it didnt work for some reason
Im going to have a bash at creating some icons for this code..
Many thanks for your input John. Your solution is good, and the wymeditor looks just what I was after so ill think ill use it!
If you're after an editor, try WYMEditor or something similar. It allows for customisation of quite a few things.
A custom solution wouldn't be too hard either.
This is a little crude but then again it only took 10 minutes and it's super basic. But will get you started at any rate.
<!DOCTYPE html>
<meta charset="utf-8">


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Did you know?
The earliest golf ball was a 'featherie', a hand-sewn pouch stuffed with down and coated in paint.
The Limpopo Golf & Safari Route is a combination of two wonderful pursuits – golfing and game viewing.
The Limpopo Golf & Safari Route takes you and your golf clubs into the heart of the famous Waterberg, a scenic region known for its excellent golf courses, plentiful wildlife and many game reserves. A UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, the Waterberg is a 400 000 ha protected wilderness area.
On the Limpopo Golf & Safari Route you get to play and stay at four of Limpopo's finest golf resorts – Legend Golf & Safari Resort, Elements Private Golf Reserve, Zebula Golf Estate & Spa and Euphoria Golf Estate & Hydro.
First stop is Zebula Golf Estate & Spa, a Peter Makovitch-designed Bushveld Links Course. Here you'll get your first taste of teeing off in the African wild, followed by spa pampering, fine dining and bushveld luxury.
Next is Elements Private Golf Reserve, where the calm bushveld surroundings offer a peaceful respite from a challenging day on one of Limpopo's most beautiful golf courses.
Euphoria Golf Estate & Hydro is your third stop. After a memorable game of golf, head out for sundowners and a decadent dinner at the Sundowner Deck Restaurant, which you get to by cable car! Euphoria also offers game drives as well as various spa treatments.
At Legend Golf & Safari Resort, your last stop, you can play the highest and longest par three in the world – the Extreme 19th, accessed only by helicopter. Legends is in the heart of Big Five country and you'll also get to go on a game drive into the Waterberg wilderness.
Travel tips & Planning info
Who to contact
Limpopo Golf & Safari Route
Tel: +27 (0)78 456 5070
How to get here
The Limpopo Golf & Safari Route package includes all transfers between the golf resorts. The tour operators will also organise transfers to and from airports at extra cost.
Around the area
The village of Vaalwater is the friendly heart of the Waterberg, and is worth a visit for its bistro and art & craft gallery − The Black Mamba.
What will it cost
Seven days, six nights package R14 000 pp sharing
Length of stay
A standard package is seven days, six nights
What to pack
Smart-casual clothing, golf togs, binoculars and camera.


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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 12/9/2013 (1438 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Today, we have some good news and bad news -- and a call to action -- for both investment advisers and investors.
The news comes from a survey just released by the investment industry magazine Advisers Edge (advisor.ca) on investment adviser compensation. One thousand consumers of investment services were asked a series of questions about their knowledge and satisfaction levels with how their advisers are paid.
The release of these results this week was perfect timing for me, as I was writing about the new client relationship model (CRM) being instituted by the investment industry regulators, and how the CRM could result in advisers knowing more about their clients, consumers knowing more about how they pay for investment services and what those services entail.
Back to the recent survey. The good news for both consumers and service providers is the majority of investors think advisers are worth what they're paid, with 63 per cent rating their advisers' value provided as very good or excellent and another 21 per cent as good.
The bad news is there still is a lot of confusion and lack of knowledge about how advisers are actually paid. As many as 35 per cent of consumers reported they were not sure how they paid their adviser.
The call to action to advisers is to make an extra effort to ensure clients understand their compensation model, how much the adviser is being paid and what it costs the client, and be certain the clients understand which services they pay for and which are free.
At the same time, I appeal to the consumers of investment services and advice to ask their advisers more questions and share the responsibility for being fully informed.
The new CRM model is designed to encourage investment firms to design more transparent -- which means understandable -- disclosure of all means of compensation, all consumer costs and all potential conflicts of interest in the activities of investment advice and sales.
The first of these requirements was implemented in March 2013 and resulted in some clearly written explanations of the different models of compensation and how they work. Of course, the shortcoming of any standardized document is it, alone, does not explain to a client which of the models they are using. That's still up to the adviser, but here's a guide.
In general, you could be on a commission and transaction model, where you pay your adviser for transaction services in the form of commissions on mutual funds or trades of stocks and bonds. Funds and other products also pay an ongoing "trailing commission" to the firm to compensate the adviser for servicing the account.
The other general compensation model is fee-based, where the compensation is based on a percentage of the assets in the account, but no transaction fees are charged. Usually, the trailing commissions are turned off by using "F-class" mutual funds or other products.
Over the next two years, the level of disclosure will become even more explicit, to the point of requiring firms to provide the dollar amount (versus percentage) of compensation on future statements.
This may cause a big adjustment for some advisers and firms, but will be business as usual for others -- those who have always disclosed all amounts of compensation. A few advisers have even invoiced their clients directly for all fees, but this is rare.
Another positive (though expensive) step forward will be the requirement for regular reporting of performance on investment accounts. I say "expensive" because some firms have to pay out millions of dollars to develop the computer software to provide these reports.
For 20 years, my team toiled 80 hours a week for two weeks, four times a year, to assist in providing performance information our clients reviewed through their quarterly reports.
For us, having this process automated will be a huge step forward, as it will be for consumers of investment services.
Our only concern is our competitors are being legislated to catch up to us! Oh, well, it's good for all.
Happy Friday the 13th.
David Christianson, BA, CFP, R.F.P., TEP, is a financial planner and adviser with Christianson Wealth Advisers, a vice-president with National Bank Financial Wealth Management, and author of the book Managing the Bull, A No-Nonsense Guide to Personal Finance.


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HOUSTON - Severe weather moved into the Houston area Wednesday, but the worst of it is over.
A flash flood watch is in effect for southeast Texas through midnight Wednesday in anticipation of widespread 2 to 3 inches of rainfall.
About 3 inches of rain was the most the dropped in the Houston area. Katy received 3.16 inches, Brookshire got 3.24 inches, 1.76 inches dropped in Tomball, 1.86 inches of rain fell in Oyster Creek, 1.12 inches fell in Huntsville and Jamaica Beach got 1.76 inches.
The area from Bayou Vista to Jamaica Beach got 1.2 inches of rain in 15 minutes.
"This clearing trend, that will continue," KPRC Local 2 chief meteorologist Frank Billingsley said at 4 p.m. "Most of the heavy rain has moved on out and we are done with it."
There wasn't much flooding in the area, but it looked like there was a stream along a west Harris County road. Mayde Creek spilled out of its banks and caused flooding along Groeschke Road from Saums to near Mayde Creek High School.
The culprit was a potent low pressure system coming in from northern Mexico. As it intensified, it pulled in a Gulf moisture. The moisture, in combination with an abundance of atmospheric energy, resulted in widespread rain and storms.
Because of the weather, the Houston Independent School District canceled all of its outdoor athletic events. All after-school activities were canceled at Kashmere, Lee, Jones, Washington, Milby, Furr and Davis schools. Houston Community College's School of Continuing Education canceled all of its afternoon and evening courses at all of its campuses. All classes at the northeast campus have been canceled for Wednesday afternoon and evening.
While we needed the rain to alleviate our current drought, a little sunshine would be nice now and then, too. We WILL, in fact, get a brief peek of sunshine before the clouds thicken up again and our rain chances spike over the weekend and into next week.
"Sunshine moves in for Thursday," Billingsley said. "It looks like we'll keep it for the better part of Friday, but don't get too used to it."
Look for nice weather Thursday and Friday, with highs near 70 under variably sunny skies. Then, a pattern similar to that which we "enjoyed" the first week of the new year returns -- chilly, damp, and dreary!
The culprit is the same -- a deep trough of low pressure that will set up over the southwest. That low will pick up abundant Pacific moisture, hurl it across Mexico and into Texas. The Pacific air will ride over a shallow layer of cool air that slides into the Houston area on Sunday -- a process known as overrunning. When the Pacific air overruns the cool surface air, it releases its moisture in the form of a chilly rain.
So, fair warning: Early next week look for temperatures to struggle daily against a gray sky, chilly north breeze, and rain to break into the 50s.
Bring out the rain jackets, hats, and umbrellas ... again.
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- Harris County Office of Emergency Management Web site
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Carrie Prejean no longer Miss California
Due to continual breaches of her contract, Carrie Prejean was stripped of her crown as Miss California today. She'll be replaced by Miss Malibu Tami Farrell. FOX News reports:
"This was a business decision, based solely on contract violations," Keith Lewis, executive director of K2 Productions, said in the documents. "After our press conference in New York we had hoped we would be able to forge a better working relationship. However, since that time it has become abundantly clear that Carrie has no desire to fulfill her obligations under our contract and work together."
While Donald Trump initially defended Carrie last month after it was revealed she lied about taking topless photos, he gave the final OK to fire her, according to TMZ:
Trump told us Carrie refused to appear at around 30 events on behalf of Miss California USA. He says Prejean was contractually bound to appear and she just wouldn't do it. He doesn't think her attitude has anything to do with her politics.
Trump said: "To me she was the sweetest thing. Everyone else — she treated like s**t."
Hey, don't blame Carrie for not being nice to anyone. Jesus clearly states in the Bible: "Getteth thou fake tits and fucketh those who do not recognize thine excrement smells as sweet as roses. — Also, never turn down a chance to co-host Fox and Friends. Amen."


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A TEEN raider who took part in a robbery in which two women were terrorised, and told they would be shot, has been jailed for 32 months.
Cannabis addict Paul Freeman, 18, was with a masked accomplice, but was not disguised himself, when the pair burst into Paddy Power bookies, in Accrington.
Manageress Lynn Alderson and her colleague Shirley Gallagher were shutting up shop, and the premises were in darkness, when the robbery happened on October 19.
The thieves escaped with £1,100 and Freeman, who has a previous conviction for robbing a schoolboy of his bike, was arrested three days later.
He denied involvement, even though the attack on the bookmakers had been caught on CCTV. The two women were left traumatised by what happened, suffered sleepless nights and loss of appetite, and had to have time off work, Burnley Crown Court was told.
Freeman, now a new dad, who has a history of anti-social behaviour and flouting court orders, was sent to a young offenders' institution after admitting robbery.
Judge Christopher Cornwall slammed Freeman, of Pendle Street, Accrington, as a bully and told him: "You don't deserve to live within the community. You can't."
Sarah Statham, prosecuting, said just before 10.30pm, the two women were walking out of the shop when two men, one wearing a balaclava, burst in.
Freeman was wearing a cap, but was not disguised and his face was visible.
The man in the balaclava pushed Mrs Alderson and told her: "Give me the money, or I'll shoot you."
She did not know if the robbers were armed, and went to the safe area, switching on the lights so it was all recorded on camera.
Mark Stuart, defending, said: "He was not the ringleader. Of that, there is no doubt."
He said Freeman had spent far too much of his youth either taking drugs, hanging around with the wrong crowd, or committing offences himself.
The barrister said: "He may be a big fish in Accrington, but he's obviously a much smaller fish when he's in Forrest Bank prison.
"If anything is going to work, it may be this first taste of custody"
Sentencing, Judge Corn-wall said: "The money really doesn't matter very much in these proceedings. What matters are people, your fellow citizens, decent people who go out to work and are entitled not to be treated in the way in which you, and the other man, treated them."


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