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The Origin of Birds and Flight
Imaginary Dinosaur-Bird Links
As you saw in earlier chapters, it's impossible for birds to have evolved from dinosaurs, since no mechanism can have eliminated the enormous physiological differences between the two groups. Despite this, evolutionists still raise the scenario of birds being evolved from dinosaurs in various ways. They frequently resort to news reports, using pictures of reconstructions and sensational headlines regarding these so-called dino-birds, as if they represented the true facts. These accounts are intended to convince people feathered dinosaurs once lived on Earth.
This scenario is presented persistently as it were a proven fact. All objections, criticisms and counter-evidence are totally ignored, clearly indicating that this is deliberate propaganda intended to impose dino-bird myths on society. The biased fossil interpretations we shall examine in the following pages reveal their hollow, deceptive nature.
The claim that birds evolved from dinosaurs is actually opposed by a great many paleontologists or anatomists who otherwise support the theory of evolution. As you have seen, two renowned ornithologists, Alan Feduccia and Larry Martin, think this scenario is completely erroneous. This is set out in the textbook Developmental Biology, taught in U.S. universities:
Not all biologists believe that birds are dinosaurs... This group of scientists emphasize the differences between dinosaurs and birds, claiming that the differences are too great for the birds to have evolved from earlier dinosaurs. Alan Feduccia, and Larry Martin, for instance, contend that birds could not have evolved from any known group of dinosaurs. They argue against some of the most important cladistic data and support their claim from developmental biology and biomechanics. 170
Many evolutionist publications refer to the thesis that birds evolved from dinosaurs as if it were based on solid evidence and accepted by the entire scientific community. They try to give the impression that the only subject up for debate is which species of dinosaur birds evolved from. Although Martin earlier supported the dino-bird claim, he eventually realized in the light of his research that it was invalid, and abandoned his former ideas:
Every time I look at the evidence formerly discovered and then make a claim about the origins of the theropod, I saw its inaccuracy. That is because everything shows its inadequacy. The truth of the matter is that…I seriously suspect that they have the same features with birds and don't think that there exist striking features supporting that birds are of theropod origin. 171
Feduccia admits that concerning the origin of birds, the theory of evolution finds itself in a state of uncertainty. He attaches no credence to the deliberately maintained dino-bird controversy, which is in fact groundless. Important information is contained in his article, "Birds Are Dinosaurs: Simple Answer to a Complex Problem," published in October 2002 in The Auk, the journal of the American Ornithologists' Union, in which the most technical aspects of ornithology are discussed. Feduccia describes in detail how the idea that birds evolved from dinosaurs, raised by John Ostrom in the 1970s and fiercely defended ever since, lacks any scientific evidence, and how such an evolution is impossible.
Feduccia is not alone among evolutionists in this regard. Peter Dodson, the evolutionist professor of anatomy from Pennsylvania University, also doubts that birds evolved from theropod dinosaurs:
I am on record as opposing cladistics and catastrophic extinction of dinosaurs; I am tepid on endothermic dinosaurs; I am skeptical about the theropod ancestry of birds. 172
Despite being an evolutionist, Dodson admits the unrealistic claims of the theory of evolution, and has come in for severe criticism from his evolutionist colleagues. In one article, he responds to these criticisms:
Personally, I continue to find it problematic that the most birdlike maniraptoran theropods are found 25 to 75 million years after the origin of birds . . . .Ghost lineages are frankly a contrived solution, a deus ex machina required by the cladistic method. Of course, it is admitted that late Cretaceous maniraptorans are not the actual ancestors of birds, only "sister taxa." Are we being asked to believe that a group of highly derived, rapidly evolving maniraptorans in the Jurassic gave rise to birds, as manifested by Archaeopteryx, and then this highly progressive lineage then went into a state of evolutionary stasis and persisted unchanged in essential characters for millions of years? Or are actual ancestors far more basal in morphology and harder to classify? If the latter, then why insist that the problem is now solved? 173
Alan Feduccia sets out an important fact concerning the dino-birds said to have been found in China: the "feathers" on the fossils said to be those of feathered dinosaurs are definitely not bird feathers. A considerable body of evidence shows that these fossil traces have nothing at all to do with bird feathers. He says this in an article published in The Auk magazine:
Having studied most of the specimens said to sport protofeathers, I, and many others, do not find any credible evidence that those structures represent protofeathers. Many Chinese fossils have that strange halo of what has become known as dino-fuzz, but although that material has been "homologized" with avian feathers, the arguments are far less than convincing. 174
Citing Richard O. Prum, one of the supporters of the dino-bird claims, as an example, Feduccia goes on to mention the prejudiced approach so prevalent on the subject:
Prum's view is shared by many paleontologists: birds are dinosaurs; therefore, any filamentous material preserved in dromaeosaurs must represent protofeathers. 175
Latest Research Has Dealt a Severe Blow to Feathered Dinosaur Claims
The fossilized structures referred to as dinosaur feathers were shown by Theagarten (Solly) Lingham-Soliar, a paleontologist from Durban-Westville University in South Africa to be nothing more than decayed connective tissue. Professor Lingham-Soliar performed an experiment by burying a dolphin in river mud, semi-permeable to air for a year. The reason a dolphin was selected was that its flesh is easy to analyze. At the end of this period, the professor examined the dolphin's bunches of collagen—which constitutes connective tissue in the bodies of most living things— under a microscope. According to him, the decayed collagen in the dolphin's body bore "a striking resemblance to feathers."1 The German magazine Naturwissenschaften commented that: "The findings throw serious doubt on the virtually complete reliance on visual image by supporters of the feathered dinosaur thesis and emphasize the need for more rigorous methods of identification using modern feathers as a frame of reference." 2 With this finding, it emerged that even a dolphin could leave behind traces of apparent feathers. This once again showed that there are no grounds for regarding extinct dinosaurs with "feathers" as proto-birds.
1. Stephen Strauss, "Buried dolphin corpse serves science," 11 November 2003; http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20031111/UDINO11/TPScience/
2. Ibid.
According to Feduccia, one factor that invalidates this preconception is the presence of these same traces in fossils that have no relationship with birds:
Most important, "dino-fuzz" is now being discovered in a number of taxa, some unpublished, but particularly in a Chinese pterosaur and a therizinosaur, which has teeth like those of prosauropods. Most surprisingly, skin fibers very closely resembling dino-fuzz have been discovered in a Jurassic ichthyosaur and described in detail. Some of those branched fibers are exceptionally close in morphology to the so-called branched protofeathers ("Prum Protofeathers"") described by Xu. That these so-called protofeathers have a widespread distribution in archosaurs is evidence alone that they have nothing to do with feathers. 176
Feduccia recalls that various structures found around these fossils and thought to belong to them, were later determined to consist of inorganic matter:
One is reminded of the famous fernlike markings on the Solnhofen fossils known as dendrites. Despite their plantlike outlines, these features are now known to be inorganic structures caused by a solution of manganese from within the beds that reprecipitated as oxides along cracks or along bones of fossils. 177
The fossil beds preserve not only an indefinite structure such as dino-fuzz but also bird feathers. But all the fossils presented as feathered dinosaurs have been found in China. Why should these fossils have not emerged from anywhere else in the world—Feduccia draws attention to this intriguing state of affairs:
One must explain also why all theropods and other dinosaurs discovered in other deposits where integument is preserved exhibit no dino-fuzz, but true reptilian skin, devoid of any featherlike material (Feduccia 1999), and why typically Chinese dromaeosaurs preserving dino-fuzz do not normally preserve feathers, when a hardened rachis, if present, would be more easily preserved. 178
Feduccia states that some of these creatures portrayed as feathered dinosaurs are simply extinct reptiles with dino-fuzz and that others are genuine birds:
There are clearly two different taphonomic phenomena in the early Cretaceous lacustrine deposits of the Yixian and Jiufotang formations of China, one preserving dino-fuzz filaments, as in the first discovered, so-called "feathered dinosaur" Sinosauropteryx (a compsognathid), and one preserving actual avian feathers, as in the feathered dinosaurs that were featured on the cover of Nature, but which turned out to be secondarily flightless birds. 179
Peter Dodson, on the other hand, says, "I hasten to add that none of the known small theropods, including Deinonychus, Dromaeosaurus, Velociraptor, Unenlagia, nor Sinosauropteryx, Protarcheaeopteryx, nor Caudipteryx is itself relevant to the origin of birds."180 He means that these creatures cannot be the ancestors of birds because the earliest known bird, Archaeopteryx, lived long before the Cretaceous Period.
In short, the fossils portrayed as feathered dinosaurs or dino-birds either belong to certain flightless birds like today's ostriches, or else to reptiles possessed of a structure known as dino-fuzz which has nothing to do with actual feathers. There exists not a single fossil that might represent an intermediate form between birds and reptiles. Therefore, the claim that fossils prove that birds descended from dinosaurs is completely unrealistic.
1) The Alleged Intermediate From: Mononychus
Mononychus is one of the fossils used as a vehicle for evolutionist propaganda and depicted with feathers in the 26 April 1993 edition of Time magazine. It was later realized, on the basis of further evidence, that this creature was not a bird.
One of the best-known fossils in the alleged dino-bird chain is Mononychus, discovered in Mongolia in 1993 and claimed to be an intermediate form between dinosaurs and birds. Although not the slightest trace of feathers was found in this fossil, Time magazine reconstructed the creature with feathers on the cover of its 26 April, 1993 issue. Subsequent evidence revealed that Mononychus was no bird but a fossorial (digging) theropod.
The fact that this fossil had a bird-like breastbone and wrist bones led evolutionists to interpret Mononychus as an intermediate form. Biased interpretations and support from the media gave the impression that some proof existed to back this up. However, the anatomical features depicted as evidence are also found in other animals, such as moles. These inferences represent no evidence at all and they have only led to misinterpretations.
Writing to Science News, Richard Monastersky reports, based on observations, why this fossil cannot be classified;
Mongolian and U.S. researchers have found a 75-million-year-old bird-like creature with a hand so strange it has left paleontologists grasping for an explanation. . . Paul Sereno of the University of Chicago notes that Mononychus had arms built much like those of digging animals. Because moles and other diggers have keeled sternums and wrists reminiscent of birds, the classification of Mononychus becomes difficult.181
In addition, this fossil is at least 80 million years younger than Archaeopteryx—which totally undermines any proposed
2) Bambiraptor Feinbergi, Depicted with Imaginary Feathers
Evolutionist media immediately give certain bird-like features to biased interpretations. The fossil Bambiraptor feinbergi, claimed to be an intermediate form between dinosaurs and birds, was depicted as a feathered reptile in media illustrations. However, there is no evidence that this creature ever had feathers.
In 1994, another dino-bird claim was made on behalf of a fossil called Bambiraptor feinbergi, estimated to be 75 million years old. Found in the Glacier National Park in northern Montana, the fossil is 95% complete. Evolutionists promptly claimed that it represents an intermediate form between dinosaurs and birds. When the fossil, belonging to a dinosaur, was introduced as an alleged dino-bird, the report admitted, "Feathers, however, have not yet been found."182 Despite this reservation, the media drew the animal as a feathered creature, and the missing details were added using plenty of creative imagination.
The most evident objection to this so-called missing link is again, an error in dating. This alleged intermediate form fossil is 75 million years younger than Archaeopteryx, itself a species of flying bird. This fossil is therefore a specimen that demolished the ancestral relationship claimed by evolutionists. In the same way that this fossil provides no evidence for evolution, it also demolished the ancestral relationship claimed by evolutionists. According to Ohio University professor of zoology John Ruben:
A point that too many people always ignored, however, is that the most birdlike of the dinosaurs, such as Bambiraptor and Velociraptor, lived 70 million years after the earliest bird, Archaeopteryx. So you have birds flying before the evolution of the first birdlike dinosaurs. We now question very strongly whether there were any feathered dinosaurs at all. What have been called feathered dinosaurs were probably flightless birds. 183
Evolutionists use a few bird-like characteristics as grounds for their preconceived interpretations. Yet the effort of building a line of descent based on similarities is full of contradictions that evolutionists cannot explain. Whenever evolutionists construct an alleged evolutionary relationship between clearly different living things based on similar structures, they immediately close the subject by describing it as "parallel evolution." They claim that living things with similar complex organs but with no ancestors in common, evolved independently. However, since they cannot account for the origin of these complex organs in even one living thing, their statements that these organs supposedly evolved several times presents a serious predicament.
Alan Feduccia states that certain similarities between birds and dinosaurs do not show any evolutionary relationship between the two groups:
Bambiraptor is a small dinosaur, but it does have a number of birdlike features, as do many other forms. However there is nothing special about hollow bones, as some mammals and frogs have them. The problem, of course, is that Bambiraptor is some 80 million years beyond Archaeopteryx, and yet is claimed to be the dinosaur most close to bird ancestry. That alone should be a red flag, and a warning that the situation is far more complicated than suspected. 184
3) Confuciusornis Sanctus: Identical to Modern Birds
Two paleontologists, Lianhai Hou and Zhonghe Zhou, researching at the Vertebrate Paleontology Institute in China in 1995, discovered a new species of fossilized bird, which they named Confuciusornis sanctus. This was presented to the public as the earliest flying dinosaur, even as evidence for how hands used for grasping turned into hands used for flight. According to Alan Feduccia, however, this fossil is one of the frequently encountered beaked birds. This one had no teeth, and its beak and feathers share the same features as present-day birds. There are claws on its wings, as with Archaeopteryx, and its skeletal structure is identical to those of modern-day birds. A structure known as the pygostyle, which supports the tail feathers, can also be seen.
In short, evolutionists regarded this fossil as a semi-reptile, the earliest ancestor of all birds, of a similar age (about 142 million years) as Archaeopteryx and, bearing a close resemblance to present-day birds. This clearly conflicts with the evolutionist theses that Archaeopteryx is the earliest ancestor of all birds. 185
This is also definitive proof that Archaeopteryx and other archaic birds are not intermediate forms. These and similar fossils show no evidence that different bird species evolved from earlier ones. On the contrary, it proves that present-day birds and certain unique bird species similar to Archaeopteryx lived at the same time. Some of these species, such as Confuciusornis and Archaeopteryx, are extinct, but a few have survived to the present day.
What is in the heavens and in the Earth belongs to Allah. Allah encompasses all things. (Surat an-Nisa, 126)
4) Protarchaeopteryx Robusta and Caudipteryx Zoui: Vehicles for Biased Interpretations
Caudipteryx zoui , Protarchæopteryx robusta
The fossils Protarchæopteryx robusta and Caudipteryx zoui do not belong to dinosaurs, but to extinct flightless birds. The efforts to portray these creatures as dinosaurs is an example of evolutionists' eagerness to produce evidence.
In the summer of 1996, farmers working in the Yixian Formation found three separate turkey-sized fossils, so well preserved as to give genuine evidence of bird feathers. At first, Ji Qiang and his colleague Ji Shu-An concluded that these fossils must belong to a single species. Noting their surprising similarity to Archaeopteryx, they gave the creature the name Protarchaeopteryx robusta.
During his research in the autumn of 1997, Philip Currie concluded that these fossils belonged to two different species, neither of which resembled Archaeopteryx. The second species was given the name Caudipteryx zoui. 186
The discoveries of the Protarchæopteryx robusta and Caudipteryx zoui fossils were depicted as evidence that birds evolved from theropod dinosaurs. 187 The popular press stated that these fossils were definitely the so-called ancestors of birds. One commentator even wrote that the dinosaur-bird link was "now pretty close to rock solid."188 However, this certainty was again, only a biased interpretation.
According to evolutionist claims, Caudipteryx and Protarchaeopteryx were small dinosaurs whose bodies were largely covered in feathers. But on their wings and tails were longer and more complex feathers, arranged like those in present-day birds. However, it is no surprise that these creatures should have feather arrangements similar to modern birds', because their feathers are symmetrically shaped, as observed in present-day flightless birds.189 Therefore, the creatures in question are flightless birds, not dinosaurs.
In severely criticizing the dino-bird dogma, Larry Martin and Alan Feduccia stated that these fossils were flightless bird species like the modern ostrich. 190
But adherents of the dino-bird theory are reluctant to accept this because they want to classify the creatures as dinosaurs, even though this fossil provides no support for evolutionist claims. Indeed, this fossil represents a new contradiction to evolutionists' alleged ancestral relationships.
According to the evolutionist scenario, these dinosaurs and modern birds both have a special bone that lets them bend their wrists. Again according to evolutionist claims, this feature enabled them to move their forefeet in a wide manner, to catch fleeing prey with their long arms and gripping talons. This allegedly powerful beating movement represented an important part of the wingbeats the today's birds use to fly. However, such interpretations are scientifically invalid, because flight consists of far more complex actions than just wing beating:
Any forward beating movement gives rises to a counter impulse that propels the bird backward. For the purpose of flight, the main flight feathers are arranged at such an angle as to push the air back and propel the birds forwards. As in planes, the wings have a special aerofoil shape, which causes air to flow faster over the upper surface than the lower. This, according to the Bernoulli principle, reduces air pressure on the upper surface and creates lift. This is the main factor in take-off, but there is also the question of Newton's Third Law—the reaction to the air being propelled downward.). 191
While refuting the theory of evolution's dino-bird claims, the world of science also confirms that living things are perfectly created. The attitude of evolutionist scientists clearly reveals that they are blindly devoted to the theory in question.
In addition, the structure of a wing hypothesized to catch prey is very different from that created for beating in flight. A feathered wing is no advantage to a bird using its wings to catch prey, because a feathered wing's broad surface will only increase air resistance and make movement more difficult. If, the bird flapped for hunting, as evolutionists maintain then its wing structure should help the bird move forward by pushing air back. Therefore, it would be a greater advantage for the bird's wings to let air pass through them, like a sieve or flyswatter. Thus evolutionist accounts are full of illogicalities that conflict with their own claims.
In addition to its feathers, Caudipteryx has a series of other features showing it to be a bird—such as that it was carnivorous. Caudopteryx was portrayed as a theropod since it was first unearthed, it was thought to be a carnivore.192 But there were no teeth in its lower skull and lower jaw, and the first two fossil specimens contained the remains of crops that birds use for digesting plant materials.193 Organs such as the crop are found only in birds and not in any species of the theropod family. 194
Protarchæopteryx and Caudipteryx are therefore extinct birds. The only reason they are referred to as dinosaurs is because that's what evolutionists want them to be.
5) Sinosauropteryx: Another Fossil Subjected to Speculative Claims
Today's evolutionists have entirely abandoned their claim that the creature was feathered. But a dogmatic approach towards evolution and accepted preconceptions make such errors inevitable.
With every new fossil discovery, evolutionists speculate about the dinosaur-bird link. Every time, however, their claims are refuted as a result of detailed analyses.
One example of such dino-bird claims was Sinosauropteryx, announced with enormous media propaganda in 1996. Some evolutionist paleontologists maintained that this fossil reptile possessed bird feathers. The following year, however, examinations revealed that these structures so excitedly described as feathers were actually nothing of the sort.
One article published in Science magazine, "Plucking the Feathered Dinosaur," stated that the structures had been misperceived as feathers by evolutionist paleontologists:
Exactly 1 year ago, paleontologists were abuzz about photos of a so-called "feathered dinosaur" . . . The Sinosauropteryx specimen from the Yixian Formation in China made the front page of The New York Times, and was viewed by some as confirming the dinosaurian origins of birds. But at this year's vertebrate paleontology meeting in Chicago late last month, the verdict was a bit different: The structures are not modern feathers, say the roughly half-dozen Western paleontologists who have seen the specimens. . . . Larry Martin of Kansas University, Lawrence, thinks the structures are frayed collagenous fibers beneath the skin—and so have nothing to do with birds. 195
About the speculative claims regarding feathers and Sinosauropteryx, Alan Brush of Connecticut University had this to say:
The stiff, bristlelike fibers that outline the fossils lack the detailed organization seen in modern feathers. 196
Another important point is that Sinosauropteryx had bellows-like lungs, like those in reptiles. According to many researchers, these show that the animal could not have evolved into modern-day birds with their high-performance lungs.
6) Eoalulavis Hoyasi Shares with Wing Structure of Modern-Day Birds
The wing structure in Eoalulavis hoyasi is also present in certain present-day flying birds. The feathers on this bird's wing contain a small bunch of feathers attached to the "finger". When the bird wishes to slow down or descend to earth, it decreases the angle of the wing to the horizon. This allows air to flow over the wing's top surface and to stop without falling.
Another fossil to demolish evolutionist claims was Eoalulavis hoyasi. This, estimated at some 120 million years old, is older than all the known theropod specimens. Nonetheless, wing structure in Eoalulavis hoyasi is identical to some modern-day flying birds. This proves that vertebrates identical in many respects to modern birds were flying 120 million years ago.197 Any suggestion that theropods, which appeared after this creature, were the ancestors of birds is clearly irrational.
This bird's wing has a bunch of small feathers attached to the "finger." Recognizable as the alula, this structure is a basic feature of many birds alive today and consisting of several feathers that permits the bird to engage in various maneuvers during flight. But it had never before been encountered in a fossil bird from the Mesozoic. This new bird was given the name Eoalulavis hoyasi, or "ancient bird with an alula."198 Its presence shows that this bird, the size of a chaffinch, was able to fly and maneuver as well as modern-day birds.
The alula functions like the wing flap on an airplane. When the bird wants to reduce its speed or landing, it increases of its wing to the horizon. The drag produced by this wing position helps the bird to slow down. But when the angle between the direction of the air flow and the wing surface gets too steep, turbulence over the wing increases until the bird loses the lift necessary to maintain flight. Like an airplane under similar circumstances, the bird is in danger of stalling in midair. The alula now enters the equation. By raising this small appendage, the bird creates a slot between it and the main part of the wing, similar to what happens when a pilot deploys a craft's wing flaps. The slot allows air to stream over the main wing's upper surface, easing turbulence and allowing the bird (or plane) to brake without stalling. 199
Birds 120 million years ago were using the same technology as that employed present. This realization added yet another insuperable difficulty facing the theory of evolution.
7) Unenlagia Comahuensis: A Dino-Bird Based On Artists' Imaginations
Conjectural Drawing
Fernando E. Novas of the Argentine Museum of Natural Sciences in Buenos Aires and Pablo F. Puerta of the Paleontology Museum in Trelew announced a new fossil, said to be 90 million years old, in the 22 May, 1997, edition of Nature magazine, under the caption "Missing Link."200 They named this fossil Unenlagia comahuensis, meaning "half-bird from north-west Patagonia." This fossil, discovered in Argentina's Patagonia region, consisted of more than 20 pieces of the creatures leg, rib and shoulder bones. Based on these fragments, artists drew a creature complete with a neck, jaw and tail—and subsequently announced that this fossil was an intermediate stage in the transition from dinosaurs to birds.
However, Unenlagia comahuensis is manifestly a dinosaur, in many respects. In particular, certain features of its skull and the bone formations behind its eyes closely resemble those of theropods. There is also no evidence at all that it bore feathers. Evolutionist scientists, however, claimed that by raising its forearms, it could make similar movements to those used by birds for flying. But clearly, these prejudiced guesses and assumptions cannot be regarded as definitive proof.
On account of its different features, Lawrence M. Witmer of Ohio University describes this creature as a genuine "mosaic". 201
Alan Feduccia also states that Unenlagia comahuensis cannot be a missing link between dinosaurs and birds, emphasizing that it lived 55 million years after Archaeopteryx. 202
As Feduccia stressed in a 1996 article written together with several other authors in Science magazine, almost every dinosaur said to resemble the bird dates back to long after the emergence of the first true birds.203 This creates the problem that scientists refer to as the time paradox.
8) Dromaeosuar: The Dinosaur That Evolutionists Were


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Best Dressed Producer in (food) Televisionby Fay in View All Posts, December 17th, 2008
The people populating your typical set for a Food Network show generally wouldn't be winning a lot of fashion awards. The crew has a lot of running around to do, and let's be honest, we didn't get into this line of work to wear suits and skirts every day. But one notable exception to this rule could be found on the set of Ask Aida Season 2: Executive Producer Irene Wong. It doesn't matter that the set is an obstacle course of fat cables, Irene will be wearing heels. Tall heels. I rarely seen her in pants, let alone jeans. Fabulous dresses, killer boots, hair perfectly in place. In short, Irene brings the style and puts the rest of us to shame (she's the Susie Fogelson of the set).
As an example contrast this pic of Irene on set (pic on the left) with with a shot of a more typical wardrobe choice (pic on the right)…
Personally, I think the sneaker selections of Executive Producer Bob Larson and myself are pretty sharp and certainly practical, but I think Irene made us all feel pretty slobby that day.
~ Fay

subset: commoncrawl


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Try your luck and either eat like a king or get a taste of the breadline at a Love Kingston Day fundraiser.
Kingston College's Arthur Cotterell Theatre will be the setting for Rich Man Poor Man, a dinner and dance-style event with a difference.
Rather than choosing their courses before arriving, guests draw straws to see who gets to eat a sumptuous gourmet meal and who enjoys dinner courtesy of Kingston Foodbank.
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Following the success of the inaugural Rich Man Poor Man event last year in support of the foodbank, organiser Tessa Kind has this time teamed up with Love Kingston to raise cash for all five of the campaign's charities.
Fear and Loathing, from Kingston College, are among the bands playing the event
She said: "Last year was the first time I heard that there was a Foodbank in Kingston.
"I was upset that in our supposedly wealthy borough there was a need for basic food donations to be handed out to families in crisis.
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"I am thrilled to have been asked to get involved in Love Kingston Day and I'm really looking forward to this next event."
Rich Man Poor Man starts at 7pm and finishes at 11pm on Friday, February 14.
For tickets, email email@example.com


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Atlanta–based Storefloors has named Barbara Leonard director of business development.
Leonard joins Storefloors after working with RYA Design Consultancy in Dallas as business development director. She brings over 14 years of marketing communications and business development experience to Storefloors, focusing on the retail architectural and design industry. Prior to joining RYA, Leonard directed and managed marketing and business development for the Hillier Architects' Dallas office.


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source GAIA package: Sx_MilitaryTimes_M6201410301080021_5675.zip Origin key: Sx_MilitaryTimes_M6201410301080021 imported at Fri Jan 8 18:18:13 2016
Fighter, rescue or remotely piloted aircraft pilots hoping for an opportunity to retire early or take other voluntary separation measures in the coming drawdown are going to be disappointed.
But security forces, munitions specialists and financial managers in both the officer and enlisted ranks will be more likely to qualify for voluntary force management programs.
A list of career fields and ranksthat will be eligible for those programs, obtained by Air Force Times, provides a window into the Air Force's priorities and needs. The Air Force is preparing to cut as many as 25,000 airmen over the next five years to deal with the sequester's across-the-board budget cuts, and has unveiled a slate of voluntary programs — such as 15-year retirements, time in grade and limited active-duty service commitment waivers, voluntary separation payments, and an expanded Palace Chase program allowing airmen to serve out the rest of their time in the National Guard or Air Force Reserve — and involuntary programs to start trimming the ranks this year.
According to the charts, there will be no year groups for officers who are fighter, rescue or RPA pilots or combat systems officers who will qualify for voluntary force management programs.
The Air Force is currently struggling to hold on to those pilots. The Air Force has offered staggering $225,000 retention bonuses to get fighter pilots to stay for nine more years instead of bailing out to become airline pilots. The attrition rate for RPA pilots remains much higher than those of other pilots, and their ranks are undermanned. And rescue pilots consistently end up on the Air Force's list of the most stressed career fields.
Special tactics, combat rescue and air liaison officers — all of whose field are also stressed and dealing with high operational demands — will likewise be shut out of the voluntary programs.
But in the officer ranks, voluntary separation or retirement programs will be available for 14 other career fields, regardless of year group. Those include officers in the airfield operation, weather, cyberspace operations, aircraft maintenance, munitions and missile maintenance, logistics readiness, security forces, public affairs, personnel, chemist/biologist, contracting and financial management/cost analysis career fields, as well as members of the line of the Air Force-judge advocate and nurse corps.
On the enlisted side, most of the voluntary separation or retirement options will be available for senior airmen, staff sergeants, tech sergeants and master sergeants. Voluntary programs will be available for senior airmen in 119 career fields, staff sergeants in 116 career fields, tech sergeants in 96 career fields, and master sergeants in 100 career fields. Senior master sergeants in only 47 career fields will be eligible for voluntary programs, as will chief master sergeants in 43 career fields.
But as with the officer ranks, airmen in many of the most crucial enlisted career fields — jobs that continually land on the stressed lists — will find voluntary separation or retirement programs off limits to them. Airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance superintendents and operators, as well as airborne crypto language analysts, will not be eligible for those programs in any ranks. The only airborne ISR managers who will be eligible will be chief master sergeants.
Airmen in other heavily stressed fields — tactical air control party; combat control; command and control battle management operations; fusion analysis; survival, evasion, resistance and escape; pararescue; special operations weather; and explosive ordnance disposal — will likewise be ineligible at all ranks.
And airmen who maintain remotely piloted aircraft, fighters such as F-22s and F-35s, helicopters, and bombers will have either no voluntary options available, or will find those programs only open to one or two ranks.
But other enlisted career fields will have voluntary retirement or separation options available for multiple ranks. Those include airmen in the flight engineer, airborne mission systems and airborne operations, flight attendant, nuclear weapons, munitions systems, security forces, and financial management and comptroller career fields.
Security forces, for example, have been overmanned since 2011 and facing extremely high retention rates. The increased competition has meant many security forces airmen have had to retrain into other jobs and face tough competition for re-enlistment slots. And security forces airmen are making up a greater percentage of airmen involuntarily separated through date-of-separation rollbacks.


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Umberto wrote:Bar keepers friend will take most patina and rust off carbon. I don't believe the oxalic acid solution in that product is strong enough to do any etching or real damage. It's pretty effective.
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Investing is not all that different from choosing a spouse. At some point in every man's life, he has to make a choice: Does he go for the alluring but volatile young vixen who ultimately will put him in an early grave, or does he take the more rational course of action and choose a mature, dependable companion to spend his life with?
(Women face similar choices themselves; to marry the handsome but unpredictable young buck or the more stable — if somewhat boring — workhorse.)
It's nice if you can have it all, of course; romance and stability in a partner.
For investors, much the same can be said about stocks. Sexy "glamour" stocks — and the heartburn they often bring — are best left to shorter-term traders. Bonds offer stability but nothing in the way of excitement. If you are looking for something in the middle — predictable, long-term wealth building — dividend-paying equities are likely your best option. They allow you reach your financial goals while still managing to sleep at night.
Today, I'm going to recommend five boring stocks with sexy yields.


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Dooley grades: Homecoming failure
Published: Saturday, November 9, 2013 at 3:51 p.m.
Last Modified: Saturday, November 9, 2013 at 7:18 p.m.
Offense F
First half: Another new look for the offensive line wasn't a good look as Florida struggled to block on running plays. Tyler Murphy's internal clock must have been broken.
Second half: Florida had a nice drive to get back into the game and another once the Commodores were way ahead. But don't let the yardage fool you.
For the game: The four turnovers were the difference in the game. They gave the Commodores short fields time and time again.
Defense F
First half: Vanderbilt can't run the ball, at least according to the previous eight games, but did so against Florida. The Gators with another bad start.
Second half: When Florida had to have a stop, the Gators instead gave up a long touchdown drive. That's a recurring theme.
For the game: While the defense didn't give up a lot of yards, they gave them up at bad times. The defense was awful in the red zone.
Special teams F
First half: A missed field goal and three awful penalties on kick returns contributed to a terrible first half for the Gators.
Second half: Solomon Patton almost broke a kickoff return. And again the Gators had a chance to punt inside the 10 only to see it land in the end zone.
For the game: Not a great day for the special teams and we didn't mention Marcus Roberson muffing an early punt. OK, now, we did.
Overall F
Florida looked like a team that didn't care Saturday. It wasn't like Vandy had to play over its head to win this one. All it had to do was not mess up. That's bad, especially at home.
Reader comments posted to this article may be published in our print edition. All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged.


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A great pair of cowboy jeans, these Ariat M4 Fashion Boot Cut Jeans will do the job for you for days spent riding, cowboyin', or simple casual wear. Made with a durable cotton denim, this jeans are comfortable with its relaxed fit through its waist, hip, and thighs. The durable hardware and loop lock anchored belt loops will keep the jeans in good shape even through strenuous activity.
Style(s): 10008402
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Color: Indigo
Product Weight: 2 lbs


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POLICE in Gloucester want to hear from anyone who can identify two people officers need to speak to in connection with the theft of a pushchair in the city before Christmas.
A man and a woman entered a shop specialising in baby and toddler merchandise on St Oswald's Retail Park between 5.45pm and 6.05pm on Tuesday December 17.
The woman removed a double Britax buggy worth £350 from the display and walked out of the shop without paying.
Anyone who recognises either person captured on CCTV should call 101, quoting incident 354 of December 17.


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Women's Arthritis Roller Coaster
Menstrual Periods & Arthritis
Medical Author: William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR
Why do many women with arthritis feel worsening symptoms before and during their monthly menstrual periods? During the course of any day in caring for women with arthritis, it is not uncommon for a number of them to complain of a monthly regular worsening of their joint pain, stiffness, and swelling. This is not just a coincidence.
Many forms of arthritis and rheumatic diseases are known to occur more frequently in women than in men. Moreover, it is not unusual for the initial presentation of these conditions to occur following a pregnancy. Why?
Researchers are finding that the immune system is influenced by signals from the female reproductive hormones. It seems that the levels of hormones, such as estrogen and testosterone, as well as changes in these levels can promote autoimmunity. "Autoimmunity" is a condition whereby the immune system (which normally wards off foreign invaders of the body, such as infections) turns and attacks the body's own tissues, such as skin, joints, liver, lungs, etc. Autoimmune diseases typically feature inflammation of various tissues of the body.


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To bee or not to bee – SMWC freshman has a sweet hobby
November 14th, 2012 | SMWC
For Mallory Tanis, what started as a research project quickly turned into a calling. Five years ago, Tanis, now a freshman at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (SMWC), dusted off her father's beekeeping gear, put on a protective suit and got to work. "I was always fascinated with beekeeping," said Tanis, a music therapy major from Lapeer, Mich. "I still am fascinated. Bees are incredible; they keep me constantly intrigued."
Tanis's research project gave birth to her very own small business – Mallory's Busy Beehive. From candles to honey to custom designed gift baskets, this entrepreneur has created quite a buzz in Michigan and beyond. "I sell the bulk of my honey to restaurants," Tanis said. "Café Muse, near Detroit, Mich., uses my honey on their grilled cheese sandwich, which was featured on Oprah!"
When she was first starting out, Tanis was just amused by the little things about her bees. Now, she loves watching her "employees" social behaviors and learning more about the life of a colony. "Bees can only sting once," she said. "They sacrifice their lives for the colony. That's so much dedication for such a little thing."
Tanis harvests her honey in the fall, from four hives with about 60,000 bees in each one. In the winter, she preps each hive with sugar water. In the spring and summer she adds more bees, many of which she gets from Canada, and lets nature take its course. Since the whole community benefits from pollination, Tanis keeps hives all over Lapeer – on local farmland and near bulk stores. "The whole community has been very encouraging," she said. "I'm very appreciative of all the support I've received."
While she is at SMWC, Tanis' father and younger brother will help her tend the bees, so production at Mallory's Busy Beehive will remain in full swing. In fact, Tanis will be adding a line of beeswax lip balm to her inventory soon. "The wax is unpasteurized so it retains all the nutrients," she said.
In just her first semester, Tanis, an SMWC Saint Mother Theodore Guerin Scholarship winner, has a created long list of extracurricular activities. Beekeeping, however, will always rank high on the list. "I'll keep doing it my whole life, but only as a hobby," she said. "It's a great stress reliever."
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Simply scroll down to find the most comprehensive list of available Townhouses in Tierrasanta. A membership with Westside rentals means access to over 25,000 listings in Southern California with a friendly call center equipped to handle any questions you might have. Enjoy great customer service and thousands of exclusive Townhouses with Westside Rentals.


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Bai Ling arrested for stealing batteries
Airport police arrested actress Bai Ling (Lost, Revenge of the Sith) after she stole two celebrity magazines and a pack of batteries from a gift shop at Los Angeles International Airport (mugshot above), according to the AP:
The items had a total value of $16, said Sgt. Jim Holcomb of the airport's police department. The 41-year-old actress was detained by a store employee who summoned police, Holcomb said.
First rule of celebrity shoplifting: Steal something big. That way, when you get busted, people don't go, "Damn, what an idiot." If you're caught boosting a Ferrari, that's totally understandable and, also, hardcore. Stealing batteries? Everyone thinks you're crazy. Or an emotionless robot like in Star Wars. What was its name? Oh yeah; Hayden Christensen.
UPDATE: E! News reports Bai Ling blames "huge problem of breaking up [before] Valentine's Day." I guess she just needed the warm fuzzy feeling of ganking some Duracells. It all makes sense now.


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DETROIT - It was kind of like watching one of those Hollywood football movies.
Everyone played their roll and the Lions pretty much dominated the Vikings -- well, at least they made all the exciting plays for the camera -- but somehow the Vikings were still in it at the end of the game. The end had to be dramatic otherwise no one would want to go see that movie.
In reality, Lions fans would have loved to see a comedy instead -- like the Chiefs game. Yet, winning games like the one this past Sunday, on the road and close, just ups the status of this Lions team.
I can't see this team losing to the Cowboys. The Lions not only look better on paper, but they just look better. The jerseys look better, too. Dallas has that stupid star all over the place. We get it, you're from Texas.
It's fitting that the Tigers will be facing America's baseball evil empire while the Lions face "America's team," which stands for "everyone with a brain hates them." Yeah, it's true, a lot of people don't have a brain.
It should be a weekend of battling evil. A revolt. What's more American than that? Unfortunately, America as a country could probably associate better with the Yankees. But I will avoid getting too political in a little sports rant.
The city of Detroit has the opportunity to really upset a lot of sports fans across the nation this weekend. Man, I hope it happens. I'm not sure if I am more excited to see the Lions win or the Cowboys lose. Same goes for the Tigers and Yankees, because let's face it, the Yankees probably have just as many bandwagon fans as they do haters.
Be opportunistic.
Here is my own personal theme song for the weekend which I would like to share with you.
Pennywise -- "Come Out Fighting"
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Teasergle IILogic Grid puzzles come with a handy interactive grid that will help you solve the puzzle based on the given clues.
Five online friends, two guys (Asthma and Checkers) and three girls (Jaymee, Miss Sissy, and Warbucks) like to spend time on the same brain teaser oriented site, Teasergle. Each of them like to solve different types of teasers (Language, Logic, Math, Riddle, and Trick) and each of them likes to write different types of teasers (Language, Logic, Math, Riddle, and Trick). One day, they each wrote a teaser, taking a different amount of time to do so (10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes, 40 minutes, and 50 minutes). The same day, they also each solved a teaser, taking a differing amount of time to do so (1 minute, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 4 minutes, and 5 minutes). Using the clues below, can you determine which friend likes to write what category of teaser, solve what category of teaser, and how long it took them to write one and solve one?
1. Three people liked to write the same kind of teaser that they liked to solve.
2. Three people took ten times longer to write a teaser as they did to solve one.
3. Jaymee took longer to solve her teaser than the girl who spent 50 minutes writing her teaser.
4. The group follows the generalization that guys don't like language and girls don't like math, so no girl wrote or solved a math teaser and no guy wrote or solved a language teaser.
5. Trick teasers are always written the fastest and language teasers take the longest to solve.
6. Logic teasers take more time to write than math teasers, which take more time to write than language teasers.
7. Two people liked to write the same kind of teaser that they liked to solve and took ten times longer to write their teaser as they did to solve a teaser.
8. Asthma wrote the riddle teaser.
9. The five people are the girl who took 30 minutes to write a teaser, the person who took 3 minutes to solve a teaser, the person who wrote and solved a math teaser, the person who solved the riddle, and Miss Sissy.
AnswerAsthma took 20 minutes to write a Riddle teaser and 2 minutes to solve a Riddle teaser.
Checkers took 40 minutes to write a Math teaser and 4 minutes to solve a Math teaser.
Jaymee took 30 minutes to write a Language teaser and 5 minutes to solve a Language teaser.
Miss Sissy took 10 minutes to write a Trick teaser and 1 minute to solve a Logic teaser.
Warbucks took 50 minutes to write a Logic teaser and 3 minutes to solve a Trick teaser.
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JEROMESVILLE -- Hillsdale Local Schools board of education members tabled approval of student handbo
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Bentley University International Student Distant Learning - Hybrid and Online Course Policy
International students attending Bentley University on the F-1 Visa have special regulations binding on them for online and hybrid classes. The Department of Homeland Security requires F-1 students to maintain a full course of study, and the course of study must lead to the attainment of a specific educational or professional objective. A full course of study is defined as a minimum of: 12 credit hours for undergraduate and 9 credit hours for graduate students. F-1 students can count only one 100% online/distance learning class or three credits of online/distance learning course per semester toward the full course of study requirement [8 C.F.R. 214.2(f)(6)(i)(G)]. If you meet this criteria and would like to have access to the hybrid option, please visit the Office of Graduate Student and Academic Services after the add/drop period has passed.
For hybrid courses, international students are required to maintain physical presence in these classes at least partially. Partial "physical presence" will be interpreted as a minimum of two in-class attendance per hybrid course per semester (suggestion may be attendance at the first and last class sessions). *Please note that hybrid classes where students have the option to either participate online or in-class will be considered 100% online classes if students chose not to be physically present. Failure to comply with the regulation [8 C.F.R. 214.2(f)(6)(i)(G)] will be a violation of a student's F-1 status. Below is the actual immigration regulation regarding online / distance learning courses:
3.20.7 Distance education limits
No more than the equivalent of one on-line/distance education class or 3 credits per session may count towards the "full course of study" requirement, if the course "does not require the student's physical attendance for classes, examination or other purposes integral to completion of the class." If the student's course of study is in a language study program, no on-line or distance education classes may be counted toward the full course of study requirement.
8 C.F.R. § 214.2(f)(6)(i)(G)
(G) For F-1 students enrolled in classes for credit or classroom hours, no more than the equivalent of one class or three credits per session, term, semester, trimester, or quarter may be counted if taken on-line or through distance education in a course that does not require the student's physical attendance for classes, examination or other purposes integral to completion of the class. An on-line or distance education course is a course that is offered principally through the use of television, audio, or computer transmission including open broadcast, closed circuit, cable, microwave, or satellite, audio conferencing, or computer conferencing. If the F-1 student's course of study is in a language study program, no on-line or distance education classes may be considered to count toward classroom hours or credit.


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Back when I was fiddling with MS Excel Visual Basic, there was a command called DoEvents() which was very important to me. I am searching for something similar for Python. That is especially PyScripter IDE.
What is DoEvents?
When I made loops in VBasic, which I would expect to run on for minutes at a time, I would throw DoEvents() in there at some point of the loop. That way, whenever the IDE reaches that command, it will actually respond to GUI interaction, etc, anything that has come up to that point since starting the code. That means, if I leave out this command, Excel will stay unresponsible until the very end of the program run. With the command included though, I can click and move and interact with the Excel (and thereby, the IDE too) windows.
I have now run into an unprecedented event in that I have sucessfully stressed Pyscripter IDE enough, so it does not respond to my clicking anymore while running my awesome code. My OS thinks, the IDE may have crashed, and suggests me to close it, as it does not respond. I can assume in the background, the IDE is actually fine and running my code (changing my files, that is why I can see it from outside the IDE). I assume, if I wait long enough, it will finish and respond again. I never waited that long though, as I needed to interrupt execution, which was also not possible. If I run the same code in command-line btw, it will run just fine.
Maybe this is a IDE specific question, maybe other IDEs have similar flaws, maybe you have never had that same problem and just wonder what I am talking about, but really, I just need a DoEvents() kind of "pause and lets do what else is on the plate before continuing the ongoing code execution" type command.


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Please try searching or browsing the Online Document System, or searching the entire NSF website using the search box in the upper right corner of this page.


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Monsanto's going all in, Will You?
Monsanto's going all in, Will You?
Your Donation Today Will be Matched 2 to 1
Breaking: At the end of last week, Monsanto's new front group, the GMA dumped in an additional $3.7 million in an illegal contribution. And just last night, Monsanto poured in another $540,000. We have 7 days left to win GMO labeling in Washington. A new poll shows the race to win Yes on 522 to label GMOs is getting too close to call and we need your help!
If you think labels don't matter, consider the fact that the FDA is on the verge of approving GMO salmon, the world's first genetically engineered animal that will appear on your plate unlabeled if we don't win GMO labeling today!
Can you make a donation to support the fight against Monsanto to win GMO labeling? Every dollar counts!


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three kinds of beets photo by lsimon
Aren't they lovely? I have been enjoying this photo of beets from our garden for a few months now, and I wanted to share it. Last year we grew red, Chioggia, and golden beets. A full packet of seeds for each variety. We love beets, but that is a lot of beets.
We introduced our neighbors to beets, and they liked them. I hope you like them too.
This year we found a packet of mixed seeds. The varieties were not named. They were long and skinny red ones, round red ones, bright red ones, and goldens.
The deep red ones cook up the same rich color. By themselves, the bright red ones turn grayish pink (yuck). They take on the dark red color when cooked in liquid with dark beets though. The goldens are beautiful on their own, or with a blush if roasted next to the reds.
Usually, I can only buy the dark red round beets in the grocery store. And they are very good quality.
Storing fresh beets
The very small beet leaves you see in mixed salad greens are harvested before the root develops.
The greens you get with beetroot are too strong flavored and tough for my liking. Cut off the tops, leaving a few inches of the stems intact. Compost the greens if you are able.
Store roots in a plastic bag in the veggie drawer of your fridge. They will keep for a few weeks.
What to do with beets?
With a laugh, and the wave of her hand, my mother-in-law would say, "throw them away." I say, no way.
Most often, we roast or pressure cook them. Then serve them warm or cold, plain or dressed. We cook extra, keep in the fridge, and serve for up to a week.
I have also grated them fresh on a salad. Tasty, crunchy, and very messy.
Simple Roasted Beets
Scrub the beets, leave the stem ends on, and do not peel. Put in an oven safe pan. Add about 1 cup of water and cover with foil. Cook in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes to an hour.
Small, young beets take less time. "Mature" beets take longer to soften up. Pierce the beets to the middle to make sure they are tender.
When they are tender through and through, cool them enough to handle. Slip the skins off the beets. Cut into wedges, or slices, or dice.
Pressure cooked beets
In the hot summer, I like to quickly cook beets in a pressure cooker rather than heating up the oven for an hour. Start out the same as for roasted beets. Scrub the beets, leave the stem ends on, and do not peel.
Put beets into a pressure cooker, add 1/2 to 1 cup water. Bring to pressure and cook for 10-15 minutes. Here, again, the size and age of the beets will effect how long it takes to tenderize them.
Cool cooker and release pressure. Check for tenderness. If needed, cover again, bring to pressure and cook longer. When done, drain off the water. Cool the beets and proceed as for roasted beets.
Enjoy a fall or winter salad
Layer salad greens, cooked beets, refreshing mandarin oranges, sliced sweet onions, and chopped walnuts. Top with Orange Mustard Vinaigrette.
Or try greens, golden beets, dried cranberries, sliced red onions, pecans and Crystal Dressing.
Nutritionally speaking
See the World's Healthiest Foods site for all the goodness in beets. P.S. They are loaded with folate.
What do you do with beets?


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A NEW poll shows Tory defector Douglas Carswell's support is not as strong as first thought - but is still more than double that of his Conservative rivals.
Mr Carswell's resignation from the Conservatives has triggered a crunch by-election in Clacton, for which he will stand for the UK Independence Party.
A poll of 700 voters by Survation published on Sunday showed Mr Carswell had a 44 point lead.
But a more extensive poll by Lord Ashcroft published today shows the lead is 32 points.
The new poll showed Mr Carswell ahead with 56 percent, the Conservatives on 24 percent, Labour on 16 per cent and Lib Dems on 2 percent.


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When passing hors d'oeuvres at a cocktail party, it's not unusual for someone to say "go on, take two." But it's a different story when the subject is a 147-foot motoryacht. That was the essence of a conversation between yacht builder Guillaume Roch and businessman Herbert Baum that led to the formation of Sunrise Yachts. Baum had asked Roch the best way to build the yacht they had been discussing, and Roch said, "Build two," to which Baum replied, "Then that's what we'll do." Oh, and build an 8,500-square-meter (about 91,500-square-foot) facility in the Antalya Free Zone in southern Turkey.
The Sunrise 45-meter is a long-range, full-displacement yacht offering luxury and accommodation for 12 guests. Conservatively powered, with a prodigious fuel capacity, she offers a trans-Pacific cruising range of 5,000 nautical miles at 12 knots, or the possibility of logging an entire summer of coastal voyaging without having to call at a fuel dock. For comfort, she's equipped with electric/hydraulic, gyro-controlled fin stabilizers.
Her systems include a class-approved power-management and monitoring system and the latest technologies for antivibration, acoustic, and thermal insulation and isolation. She has an air-conditioned control room and a double-insulated generator room that should keep her whisper quiet at anchor or dockside.
On the lower deck four double staterooms surround a center lobby equipped with a 'fridge and an icemaker to make it easy to grab late-night refreshments. Forward on the main deck is a palatial master suite with a separate office, an oversize walk-in closet, and a full-beam head. Dining and entertainment spaces on the main and upper decks are notable for their spacious, airy, understated decor. The sun deck offers another guest dining area served by an outdoor barbeque as well as a pantry and food lift from the galley. There's also a six-person hot tub surrounded by a sunpad, a variety of seating and sunning areas, and a wet bar.
Watertoys include a 20-foot tender and a pair of PWCs that stow in a transom garage, and a 16-foot tender nestled behind oversized bulwarks forward on the main deck.
For more information on Sunrise Yachts, including contact information, click here.
This article originally appeared in the August 2008 issue of Power & Motoryacht magazine.


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Teen Thursdays - Yonkers Public Library - Riverfront
Hours: 3-5pm
Ages: TW,TE
1 Larkin Center - 914-337-1500
Yonkers, NY 10701
Description: Hang out with Z, the teen librarian, create arts & crafts, play board games/PS3, take quizzes, enter a monthly raffle, and win small prizes at Bingo...and more. Something different every week. Open to tweens and teens, ages 12-19 in the Teen Scene.


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Motorola SPICE Video clips
Motorola SPICE is a touchscreen phone with an upward sliding mechanism that reveals a full QWERTY keyboard. At the heart of this device from Motorola is Android 2.1, and it is packed with all of the standard features like Bluetooth, WiFi, aGPS etc. It also sports a 3 megapixel camera with video capture capabilities.


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International Golf Travel Market (IGTM), the world's premier global event for golf tourism suppliers, buyers and media, is gearing up for more than 10,000 meetings over four days,
24 Oct 2011
The Helitech Conference kicked off with a popular and highly informative session on offshore wind farms. "Offshore wind farm projects are getting larger and being located in
03 Oct 2011
midem 2012 will play host to the first midem festival, an exciting innovation to be staged in partnership with France's concert producer Alias. French music festivals Les
CALL FOR ENTRIES NOW OPEN midem today announces the launch of a brand new marketing campaign competition which will reward the most innovative and creative use of music in
28 Sep 2011
RUSSIA TO BE GUEST OF HONOR AT THE BOOKEXPO AMERICA GLOBAL MARKET FORUM 2012 Massive literary and professional program, with 50 Russian writers and as many editors in preparation …
07 Mar 2011
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Council looking to address parking in Arcata
ARCATA- The Arcata City Council is considering funding a parking study that could address parking issues within the city. On Wednesday's council meeting the Chief of Police will present options to the city to address the parking needs of residents, businesses and visitors.
"There have been parking issues for many years in the city," said Vice Mayor Michael Winkler.
The city has met with community members before to address issues and problems with parking. Winkler said the majority of complaints surround overflow parking from Humboldt State University, parking downtown and preferential parking, which only allow permitted residents to park in certain areas.
If the council adopts the proposed study it would cost $125,000. Winkler said the study would solve problems within Arcata. "The police department is there to do law enforcement. They're not experts on parking," he said.
Bob Stewart is an Arcata resident and said he has experienced problems with parking in Arcata before. Stewart said he has trouble backing out of the parking spots closest to the plaza that back into traffic.
Stewart said he does not have trouble finding parking, but said he could imagine out of town drivers do. "We know where to go," he said.
Employees at the businesses downtown need to park blocks down from where they work or move their car every two hours to avoid a ticket.
Tim Silva works downtown and said parking used to be a problem when he worked early mornings. Silva said downtown employees get their share of parking tickets.
"I think it's something you come to expect," said Silva.


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The Louisiana Department of Education's claim that a federal judge lacked authority to halt the state's voucher program in Tangipahoa Parish is likely to succeed on appeal, a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday.
U.S. District Judge Ivan L.R. Lemelle, of the federal district court in New Orleans, ruled Nov. 26 that the state's voucher program frustrates the parish school district's ability to comply with its federal desegregation order by depriving the district of needed state funds and disrupting the student population projections on which the order is based.
The state had argued that a federal court cannot interfere with a state's financial decision-making because of state sovereignty granted under the 11th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
On Monday, the appellate court panel ruled that the state has a "strong likelihood" of winning its appeal on those grounds and granted a stay of Lemelle's ruling, pending a final determination in the case.
The panel's opinion is not binding on the group of 5th Circuit judges that will ultimately decide the appeal, the panel noted in its opinion.
All three members of the appellate panel agreed that Lemelle should have refrained from ruling in the Tangipahoa Parish case, pending the outcome of a separate state court proceeding challenging the constitutionality of the voucher program's funding mechanism.
In the state case, 19th Judicial District Judge Tim Kelley ruled Nov. 30 that the voucher program's use of state Minimum Foundation Program funds violates the Louisiana Constitution's dedication of those funds to public education.
The voucher program allows students from eligible families to leave public schools rated as "C", "D" and "F" schools under state accountability program rules and instead attend private and parochial schools at taxpayer expense.
The state has appealed Kelley's ruling to the Louisiana Supreme Court.
While 5th Circuit Judge James Dennis said he would have sent the Tangipahoa Parish case back to Lemelle to await a final outcome in the state court case, Circuit Judges Edith Jones and Catharina Haynes instead moved the federal case forward toward a hearing.
The two-judge majority ruled that the state is likely to succeed in overturning Lemelle's order because "a district court is not free to interfere in state spending decisions simply because raising and lowering funding levels may have some incidental impact on a federal decree."
The evidence that the Tangipahoa Parish School Board presented at hearing was too general and speculative to demonstrate enough financial harm to support halting the voucher program, Jones and Haynes wrote in the panel opinion.
In addition, the 50 voucher students in Tangipahoa Parish who rely on the program for this year's tuition would have to change schools midyear if the state were not allowed to continue funding the program pending appeal, the majority said.
Dennis disagreed, noting in his dissent that the temporary emergency stay the appellate court issued in December had allowed the state to pay its next tuition installment for those students.


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Courtney Stodden Is So Fresh-Faced And Alive
Courtney Stodden really wants you to believe the paparazzi are always camped out at her house as she comes walking home from Starbucks each morning – Sigh. The life of a star, amirite? – so here she is wearing the least amount of make-up possible because virtually everyone looked at her before pics and went, "What the fuck happened?" Which is why I'm also going to assume she's making the most natural faces I've ever seen anyone make in their life. What pretty, non-surgically-altered young girl doesn't look like she's trying not to swallow her tongue in the middle of a seizure? I feel like I'm back in high school. "Hey, guys, let's hide under the bleachers and watch the girls stroke out! It'll be rad," we used to say.
Photos: GSI Media


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For those of you who are beginning to realize that the summer is winding down and you haven't gone on a vacation yet, here are some Armchair Travel suggestions in fiction that will at least take you away with a good read:
The Library Catalog can provide you with the escape you need. Have a yen to go to China ? Enter the words CHINA FICTION in the search box and you are on your way ! We've even created booklists to help:
European Sagas India Travel To: Scandanavia Orient
Additional suggestions are available on these great Web sites:
Find this article at


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Topic: My 46 brother has CCC. 2 kids. CHEMOSAT?
My brother was diagnosed with CCC. On December 19th 2012 his left liver was removed surgically. After the surgery the result was R0, no cancer left.
Now, a recurrence has developed and has been found thru CT and MRT. HE will start Chemo this Friday with Gemcitabin 1000 mg/qm + Cisplatin 25 mg/qm.
My brother is only 46 years old, extremely healthy, very active non-smoker. He has two kids. His son is only 3. He owns a company and employs 12 employees.
The doctors gave him 6 months to 3 years.
We have found out about the CHEMOSAT system. Has anyone heard about this to treat CCC? He has an appointment todat to review this option.
Does anyone know of a clinical trial that could be appropriate for him if CHEMOSAT does not apply?


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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 5/2/2013 (1656 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Free Press ★★★
★ Bryan Little, C, Wpg.: Potted the winner in OT, going topshelf over Scott Clemmensen on a smart feed by Zach Redmond with the Jets on the man advantage.
★★ Zach Redmond, D, Wpg.:Keeps getting better and better with each shift. Picked up two assists in just his third NHL game. Makes smart decisions, doesn't panic and will be difficult to take out of the lineup now.
★★★Mike Weaver, D, Fla.: Battled from the opening draw to the final horn. Finished with just over 24 minutes of ice time and registered four hits and three blocked shots.
FIRST-PERIOD SCORING 1. Florida, Huberdeau 3 (Shore, Weaver) 18:12
Penalties — Mueller Fla (tripping)
8:56, Enstrom Wpg (hooking) 9:54.
2. Winnipeg, Wheeler 4 (Enstrom) 2:28
3. Florida, Fleischmann 3 (Campbell, Versteeg) 3:52 4. Winnipeg, Stuart 1 (Redmond, Burmistrov) 12:21
Penalty — Versteeg Fla (holding) 17:30.
No scoring.
Penalties — Slater Wpg (hooking)
9:08, Weiss Fla (tripping) 14:59.
5. Winnipeg, Little 2 (Redmond, Hainsey) 4:44 (pp) Penalty — Kuba Fla (tripping) 2:50.
Shots on goal by
Florida 7 5 6 1 — 19
Winnipeg 3 14 2 2 — 21
Goal — Florida: Clemmensen (L,0- 1-1);
Winnipeg: Pavelec (W,3-4-1).
Power plays (goals-chances) — Florida: 0-2;
Winnipeg: 1-4.
Referees — Dennis LaRue, Dean Morton. Linesmen — Darren Gibbs, Vaughan Rody.
Attendance — 15,004 (15,004).
The Jets entered Tuesday's game having generated the most points by defencemen in the NHL and got five more last night courtesy of Mark Stuart (1G) Zach Redmond (2A), Toby Enstrom (1A) and Ron Hainsey (1A).
Blake Wheeler's second-period goal was the 200th point in his NHL career. Wheeler now has 78 career goals and 122 assists in 333 NHL games.


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Waltham Forest ladies' promotion bid suffered a blow on Saturday as they were held to a frustrating 2-2 draw against lowly Ashford in Division 2SE.
The result leaves Forest third in the table, two points behind Brentwood and needing a win when the teams meet on Saturday to climb into second place.
Forest squandered a number of chances in the first half with Katherine Abbie missing an open goal and Jenny Field unable to convert a handful of one-on-ones with the Ashford keeper.
The second period started in similar fashion but Forest found their finishing touch, scoring two goals within five minutes of the restart.
The first was a penalty flick won by Abbie and netted by Lucy Butcher. Abbie then turned scorer as she tapped in the second from close range to make it 2-0.
Forest started to tire as the half wore on and Ashford took full advantage, pulling one goal back before finding a late equaliser to rescue a draw.
The men's team suffered a surprise 4-1 defeat to Harleston Magpies Seconds in East Premier B.
The Magpies hadn't won in eight matches going into the game but some sloppy passing cost their opponents dear.
Ed Jackson scored the consolation.
Forest entertain Bishop's Stortford on Saturday.


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NEW YORK, September 22, 2003 - Saira Shah first visited Afghanistan at age twenty-one and worked there for three years as a freelance journalist, covering the guerilla war against the Soviet occupation.
Later, working for Britain's Channel 4 News, she covered some of the world's most troubled spots, including Algeria, Kosovo, and Kinshasa, as well as Baghdad and other parts of the Middle East. Her documentary Beneath the Veil, which she made with producer/director Cassian Harrison and cinematographer James Miller, was broadcast on CNN.
Shah lives in London and is a freelance journalist. She was born in Britain of an Afghan family, the daughter of Idries Shah, a writer of Sufi fables. The Storyteller's Daughter is her first book.
Ms Shah read at the Asia Society in New York on September 22, 2003, and was interviewed by Asia Society shortly before her reading. Here she discusses, among other things, the different media she has worked with, her experiences in Afghanistan, and the themes that appear in The Storyteller's Daughter.
You have worked primarily with news and documentary films, but with the publication of The Storyteller's Daughter you have established yourself in an entirely new medium. Which would you say you are more comfortable in, and will you focus your future projects in one more than the other?
The strange thing is that when I did start writing, I actually found it in some ways the hardest thing I have ever done. But in other ways, it felt like this magical, exciting new thing that was just right for me. So the answer is that I would love to write more. I would even like to leap further and perhaps write novels. I have just got the bug!
As far as documentaries are concerned, I would have liked to carry on doing them half time, and then writing half time, but a really tragic thing happened, which is that my friend and business partner, James Miller, was killed earlier this year. Now I feel that it is not that I have ended my television career, but that it has ended me. I do not feel that I want to work with anyone else, and in television, you have to work with other people. So I would just like to try and write for the moment.
That said, I do intend to finish the documentary about children in the Gaza Strip that I was making with James. It was a grueling decision to make, that I would finish it, but I think it is the right thing to do. We are not filming anymore, we are editing it, and it is really his film, so it is a little tribute to him. It has been quite tough working on it in his absence, but I know it is the right thing to do.
In many ways though, I actually feel like just crawling under a rock, to be honest, and disappearing for a while. At the moment, I am a bit crazy, and I feel I need to get my head a bit together, and eventually return to writing.
Although your book confronts what you view as the frequently irreconcilable differences between East and West, it seems that you are pitching your story to an audience only in the West. Is that the audience you had in mind when you were writing?
Yes I guess it is. But let me say as well that I use the East/West dichotomy playfully as a metaphor in a way. So when I talk about my Eastern side and my Western side, in a way it is a metaphor for the kind of fact-finding literal part of your brain and the storytelling, creative part of your brain. Of course it would be a sweeping statement to say, "The West is like this" or "The East is like that." I suppose it is slightly playful as well because the book is about myths and stories, and the role of myths and stories, and the use of metaphor.
As far as audience is concerned, certainly most of the audience is Western and I did have them in mind since I was writing after the US-led military invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001. All of a sudden the Taliban were out, and there was massive Western involvement in Afghanistan, a place they did not really know very much about. So the book was in a part a response to that.
I really feel quite passionately that the Americans have the wrong assumptions about what they should be doing there. It is almost as though they are solving the wrong problems in Afghanistan (for instance, chasing endlessly after the Taliban, or Osama bin Laden). These, it seems to me, are the wrong sorts of problems to be trying to sort out in Afghanistan.
I suppose as well that I was writing The Storyteller's Daughter after Beneath the Veil, which was made while the Taliban were still in power. When Beneath the Veil came out, it seemed fine, but then suddenly after September 11th, it was shown again and again on American television. I realized very quickly as I was watching it that while it was a good piece of work, I would have changed things in it if I had made it after September 11th.
In some ways, then, I really did feel that in this book I was trying to write to the West, almost like a letter to the West. On the other hand, I hope people in the East will enjoy it as well.
You mention, several times in the book, what you describe as the essential traits of "Afghanness," or "Afghaniyat," and these frequently consist of things like valor and honor, but also hospitality and generosity, all of which exist in what you alternately describe as patriarchal or martial Afghan society. To what extent do you think your experience in Afghanistan confirmed certain stereotypes of the place and its people?
It depends partly on what you want to see and I think the experience definitely opened a number of new things to me. Hopefully that is there in the book as well.
Initially, I went out looking for the myth: I wanted to find that the Afghans were a certain way, I wanted to find that they were martial, noble, generous, courageous, macho (the machismo that I had previously been exposed to was in a very acceptable form, although when I actually went there, I also saw it in its rather unacceptable form). Of course, this is a cartoon, if you like, which is probably one of the functions of a myth: to hold up these values so that people can aspire to them (or not).
My father was also, of course, just drawing me a crude cartoon map in a way. So when I went out there, I could compare it to the image I had, and the two images sort of merged together. I always saw the myth as a medieval map where sometimes it says, "Here be monsters" and sometimes the shape of the country is completely wrong, and occasionally, all of a sudden, it is absolutely right! So these myths did help me in a lot of ways, although in some ways they made things harder for me because I was trying to make this country conform to the shape of the myth (which is not really what myths are about now in any case).
How much did Afghanistan fit in with the myth? As much as a medieval map with "Here be monsters" and mountains and so on accords with the real world; in some ways, helpful, in some ways, completely different. When you encounter the real thing, you get increasing layers of subtlety; in fact, one of the things I had to let go off reasonably early was the myth and the romance that goes with it, so that I could experience a different kind of romance, perhaps of a more grown-up variety.
To be fair to my father, I don't think he ever intended me to take the myth literally. I think that was entirely my doing. I wanted this kind of romantic vision. This is the exile's condition, though, isn't it? If you grow up outside the place that you think of as your home, you want it to be impossibly marvelous.
There is also the question of how Afghan I am. When I was growing up, I had this secret doubt -- which I couldn't even admit to myself -- that I was not at all an Afghan because I was born in Britain to a mixed family. I would think, "I have grown up in Britain, maybe I am not really an Afghan, but if I am not really an Afghan, then maybe I'm a traitor!"
I had to work through all this nonsense, and soon realized that in some ways I am not Afghan, and in some ways - if loving a place and understanding some things about it count at all - I am an Afghan. It is much more subtle; reality is much more subtle than the myth.
Next: "There was basically a complete lack of interest in Afghanistan. Nobody wanted to know about the Taliban."


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Engineered Arts design and production engineer Marcus Hold works on a nearly completed RoboThespian robot in Penryn, England. The Cornish company, operating from an industrial unit near Falmouth, is the world's only maker of commercially available life-sized humanoid robots. Now in its third generation, the fully interactive and multilingual RoboThespian is sold around the world to science centres and visitor attractions, but increasingly to academic research groups and universities where they are used as research and development platforms.
© The Financial Times Ltd 2016 FT and 'Financial Times' are trademarks of The Financial Times Ltd.


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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 30/11/2012 (1722 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Manitobans who have recovered from the effects of caffeine and carpal tunnel syndrome after attempting to write a novel in one month are gathering Dec. 7 at 7 p.m. at McNally Robinson to celebrate.
At what's billed as a Thank God it's Over event, local National Novel Writing Month participants will discuss their challenges and share some samples of their new works.
According to event organizer Andrew Balfour, local participation in the annual November literary madness has grown so much that the province is now split into regions. In addition to 1,432 Winnipeggers, 102 other writers came from Southern Manitoba and 39 from Northern Manitoba.
-- -- --
Former MP and public policy professor David Walker has drawn on his experience in politics and academia to write a political thriller, which he will launch Dec. 4 at 7 p.m. at McNally Robinson.
Walker's novel, Wild World, is the first of what's intended to be a series. It deals with a Canadian university researcher and an American anti-terrorism expert who are caught up in a web involving arms dealers, counter-intelligence and a terrorist plot. Walker spent nine years in the House of Commons after being elected in 1988, and was a professor of public policy and urban studies before that.
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Canadian rock musician turned writer Dave Bidini (Writing Gordon Lightfoot, Tropic of Hockey) brings his trademark narrow-brimmed hat to Winnipeg this month for a series of events.
He will lead a day-long master class in non-fiction for the Manitoba Writers' Guild on Dec. 9, perform seasonal readings at the Millennium Library at noon on Dec. 10 and take part that evening in a reading and conversation as part of the guild's In Dialogue series.
Bidini will be joined by writer and artist hannah_g, co-director of the artist-run centre aceartinc, for the In Dialogue event, starting at 7:30 p.m. at the Free Press Café.
For tickets to In Dialogue or to register for the master class, call the Guild at 944-8013.
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It's a sign of the digital times. The Canada Year Book, Statistic's Canada's longest-running and most popular publication, has produced its final printed copy.
From here on in, anyone wanting to access the year book's wealth of data can search online on the StatsCan website, a spokesman for the federal department says. The year book started as an almanac in 1867. The last edition, which came out in November, can be ordered at www.statcan.gc.ca or by phoning 1-800-267-6677.
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Winnipeg writer Jodi Carmichael is hoping to increase understanding of Asperger's syndrome with her illustrated chapter book Spaghetti is NOT a Finger Food.
Her book, illustrated by Sara Ackerly, follows a boy named Connor on his typical day as he tries be as cool as the other kids and accidentally leaves a trail of hilarious destruction. The book, published by California-based Little Pickle Press, will be available as an ebook through Amazon starting in December, but by March will be available on all electronic platforms.
Once the book is fully available, Carmichael plans a launch event as a fundraiser for the Asperger's Society.


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Jodi Jerich – Executive director, Arizona Corporation Commission
As executive director of the Arizona Corporation Commission, Jerich oversees a state agency that has 300 employees and a $27 million budget. She came to the commission after serving about three years as director of the Arizona Residential Utility Consumer Office, a state agency that advocates for consumers on electric, gas, phone, water and telecommunication issues. The commission is responsible for granting or denying utility rate adjustments, enforcing transportation safety and public service requirement. Jerich is an attorney and a member of Phi Beta Kappa.
Surprising fact: "I have never eaten a peanut butter and jelly sandwich."
Biggest challenge: "My parents gave me good advice: "Don't ignore a challenge; instead, set a course to conquer it."
Fifty Most Influential Women in Arizona Business – Every year in its July/August issue Arizona Business Magazine features 50 women who make an impact on Arizona business. To see the full list, read the digital issue >>