text:
Kendrick opens spring in a groove at the plate
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Howie Kendrick has gotten off to a hot start this spring, but he refuses to make too much of the numbers. The Angels' second baseman is batting .533 with a 1.000 slugging percentage through his first four games, and he said Wednesday that the numbers don't really count.
"It is what it is," said Kendrick of his gaudy statistics. "I feel good that my timing is there, but the main goal is to see a lot of pitches. If we get the hits, that's great. Obviously you want to swing and get hits, but really the important thing is just being able to see as many pitches as you can."
Kendrick, a career .292 hitter, is a candidate to bat second in the Angels' lineup this season, but he said he doesn't really worry about where he hits. Kendrick just wants to be in the lineup, and he knows that the Halos are deep enough that there won't be an easy out anywhere in the batting order.
The 29-year-old is a career .257 hitter as the No. 2 hitter, but he's been much more successful in the sixth (.309), seventh (.314) and eighth (.327) slot in the lineup. Wherever he hits, Kendrick just wants to make sure that he's the same player from the start of April all the way through October.
"Just to be consistent. That says a lot," said Kendrick. "If you're consistent, that means you're going out every day and giving 100 percent. You're out trying to help your team win the game. I think consistency comes from staying in the game and doing what I need to do to either get on base or move runners. If I can stay consistent and healthy throughout the year, I'd say that's just my main goal."
The second spot of the Angels' order is coveted because it means batting behind Mike Trout and in front of Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton, a prime spot to see fastball after fastball. The Angels are also considering third baseman Alberto Callaspo and shortstop Erick Aybar as table-setters.
Kendrick raved about the Angels' talent around him, saying that the team is full of diverse threats that both get on base and hit for power. Manager Mike Scioscia, speaking before his team's game against Team Italy on Wednesday, said that Kendrick is in a great groove to start the spring.
"Once Howie gets going after his first couple at-bats of the spring, he really feels good about it," Scioscia said. "He's comfortable using the whole field. He's hitting the ball from the left-field line to the right-field line and occasionally out of the park. He's in a good comfort level right now."
Spencer Fordin is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


text:
Noonan knows value of playing hard all spring
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Buried under all the storylines of the 2013 Spring Training saga of the then-defending World Series champion San Francisco Giants was a very rare Arizona story.
Infielder Nick Noonan had already been sent to the Minor Leagues but was recalled late in Spring Training just to fill a roster spot for an away game. He hit then, he hit the next day, and by the time Opening Day rolled around, there was Nick Noonan in a Major League uniform.
He lasted 62 games in The Show before being sent back to Triple-A Fresno, but he got a long look, and the 24-year-old is getting one again now that Marco Scutaro's back is keeping the veteran off the field and the Giants are left to figure out how to replace him.
"It was crazy there for a couple of weeks," Noonan says now, reminiscing on that whirlwind of last year when, in the words of Giants manager Bruce Bochy, he "came out of the woodwork." Noonan says he learned that you can never give up on winning a roster spot, no matter how bleak it might look, but you also can't assume you've won anything even if you've been crushing the Cactus League.
"Just knowing that nothing's set until the last day is humbling, too," Noonan says. "You never know what's going to happen -- if you're going to make the team or not make the team. You just have to go out and play until the last day.
Noonan said the experience of last year has altered his approach this spring, in the best of ways.
"It eases the mind a lot, for me, at least. Just go out there and play until the last day, and they'll make a decision. If you do well, good things are going to happen. It's obvious."
Doug Miller is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @DougMillerMLB. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Posted 5 years ago
(1 item)
These cards are from my 88 year old mothers house. They have no writting on them, no numbers, no letters, no aces, no jokers but there are 52 cards. There are all four suits. The box is folded, dried out brown glue on the sides, and opens only from the top. No Tax Stamp. Some of the cards are stained and it seems to be from the glue on the box. They are not plastic coated and seem to be made of heavy paper. The corners are square, the sides not painted, the fronts are the same decoration as the box. I think they are from the 1800's but just cannot find anything matching these in the Encylopedia of Cards. Thanks in advance for any help you can give.


text:
SYRCL issues notice of intent to sue Army Corps
November 16, 2012
The South Yuba River Citizens League has issued a notice of intent to file suit against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for failure to comply with new Endangered Species Act requirements for protecting three species of endangered Yuba River fish: spring-run Chinook salmon, steelhead and green sturgeon.
In 2006, SYRCL and Friends of the River sued the federal government to demand better protection for the Yuba's endangered fish, according to a Wednesday SYRCL news release.
That effort bore fruit when, in February 2012, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) released a formal decision, called the Biological Opinion, finding that two Army Corps of Engineers dams — Englebright and Daguerre Point — on the Yuba River are jeopardizing the survival and recovery of these three anadromous fish species.
The Biological Opinion required the Army Corps to take specific actions to reduce harm and threat of extinction to the fish.
"We are deeply disappointed with the Army Corps' inaction and YCWA's determination to roll back the Biological Opinion."
— SYRCL's Executive Director Caleb DardicK
According to the news release, the Army Corps has repeatedly stated it does not intend to comply with these new requirements. Last week the Yuba County Water Agency filed a 60-day notice of its intent to file a lawsuit against NMFS and the Army Corps over the Biological Opinion.
Recommended Stories For You
Both YCWA and the Army Corps disagree with the Biological Opinion and have challenged it on legal and technical grounds.
"We are deeply disappointed with the Army Corps' inaction and YCWA's determination to roll back the Biological Opinion," said SYRCL Executive Director Caleb Dardick. "These two factors combine to threaten the survival of these endangered fish."
SYRCL issued a notice of intent to file suit in order to be able to return to federal court in 60 days should attempts fail to persuade the Army Corps to drop its opposition to the Biological Opinion's requirements and begin implementing them instead. Along with the notice letter, SYRCL has requested a meeting with the major stakeholders to explore collaborative solutions.
"Although the Army Corps claims that the Biological Opinion requires actions that are outside of their authority, NMFS took care to enumerate the many laws and regulations that give the Corps the necessary authority," said Christopher Sproul at Environmental Advocates, lead counsel for SYRCL.
"SYRCL's letter of notice is not a lawsuit, and in fact, SYRCL is interested in a collaborative resolution that will bring the Corps into compliance with the Endangered Species Act and put Yuba fish species on a path to survival and recovery."
NMFS said the Yuba River provides one of the best opportunities in the state for restoring salmon and steelhead. The Biological Opinion imposes detailed requirements for securing fish passage past Daguerre and Englebright Dams.
For example, the Army Corps must commence implementing some form of upstream fish passage past Englebright by March 2014 and must secure long-term fish passage past Englebright by January 2020.
They must also secure long-term improved fish passage past Daguerre within five years.
The Biological Opinion imposes several other important fish protective measures as well.
Recommended Stories For You
Trending In: Local News
- Grass Valley police: Spray painted, stolen vehicle leads to arrest
- Sierra Nevada snow causes huge, fatal crash
- Never again: Nevada City filmmaker produces series on incarceration of Japanese during WWII
- Nevada County murder suspect Maurice Rogers seeks to toss evidence
- Local food producers, Nevada County chefs combine to create culinary fare at Bounty of the County


text:
Topic: Introduction
A very close friend was diagnosed with cc 3 years ago last July - the tumor was found in her bottom lobe of the liver. The bottom lobe was removed. At the time there was no evidence of the cancer having spread and it was determined that no treatment was necessary. My friend continued to go for liver scans with no issues, until this past October. While doing the liver scan they caught the bottom part of her lung and found a concern. After a few weeks of testing it was determined that cc was in both lungs with the largest spot being about the size of a penny. Surgery is not an option and at this time she is currently going though chemotherapy. Prior to the scan and through all of this, she has not exibited any outward signs of being sick, as a matter of fact, she had a cold a few weeks prior to the scan and recovered with no issues. Outside the side effects of the chemo, you wouldn't know she as so ill.
Her last visit with her doctor, she didn't come away very encouraged and a scan of the lungs and abdomin are scheduled for the 21st of this month to determine if the chemo is working.
My question is in preparation that the chemo isn't working - what are her alternatives and is she treating at the correct cancer center? We live in southeastern Wisconsin and she is currently treating at Froedert Hospital in Milwaukee. Does anyone have any suggestions on other options if she decides to look at alternatives?


text:
NEW YORK ( TheStreet) -- I'm typing this review on the coolest piece of hardware in the market today, the Google Pixel. If you can afford to spend $1,299 or $1,449 on a laptop, this should be your next productivity device.Google's ( GOOG) other current laptops are among the least expensive in the market: $199, $249 and $449, respectively. But just like Volkswagen makes $19,000 cars, it also owns Bentley, Lamborghini and Bugatti, enabling you to spend well over $200,000 on a car. This Google Pixel, as it is called, is the Bugatti of laptops. Let me tell you what it does that no Apple ( AAPL) MacBook or Microsoft ( MSFT)Windows 8 laptop does at ANY price, often well above $1,449. Let's start with the screen. The pixel density is relatively similar to a MacBook with Retina display. However, the screen differs in two ways: First, the aspect ratio. It was at the iPad introduction in January 2010 that Steve Jobs proclaimed that your computing device isn't a TV, and therefore shouldn't have the TV's 16:9 aspect ratio. Apple then proceeded to make their laptops with 16:9 or 16:10 aspect ratios to this day. Whoops. Apple's laptop department may not have paid any attention to what Steve Jobs said about aspect ratio, but Google's laptop skunkworks department did. The Google Pixel has a display as wide as a typical 12.1 inch laptop, but it's taller, forming a 3:2 aspect ratio just like the iPad, therefore yielding a screen size of 12.9 inches. You have to see this in person how superior this makes your typing/web experience. I'm in heaven typing this very page! Unlike ANY MacBook -- retina display or otherwise -- the Google Pixel is touchscreen. You may not want to use this for most tasks, but it does come in handy in all sorts of situations: Zooming in and out on a map, moving something around, etc. Many Windows 8 laptops and tablets are also touchscreen, but unlike them, the Google Pixel is not an epic disaster in the interface department. Windows 8 has an interface experience that has been almost universally panned, and the mediocre sales results (no lift from Windows 7) reflects this disaster.
- Log In
- Newsletters
Access insights and guidance from our Wall Street pros. Find the product that's right for you.
- Action Alerts PLUS
- Daily Swing Trade
- Income Seeker
- Quant Ratings
- Real Money
- Real Money Pro
- Stocks Under $10
- Top Stocks
- Trifecta Stocks
- Real Money Pro Portfolio
- Chairman's Club
- Compare All


text:
We offer what you need to achieve success. Come explore and find out why so many students have decided to call one of the colleges in the Alamo Colleges District the pathway to their future.
Not sure where to start? Our Career Assessment Tool can help.
Alamo Colleges Education Services is a secure portal connecting Faculty, Staff & Students to Academic Resources, Email, and other Online Resources.
Support Contacts Helpdesk (210) 486-5000
Lib Guides
Online Catalog
Off-Campus Access
Library Instruction
Student Resources
Academic Calendar
Student Life
College Map
The Assessment Center provides testing services that meet the various needs of the student population. Services include test administration of the TSI Exam for college placement and for Texas Success Initiative(TSI) requirements, CLEP (credit by examination) and external (non-Alamo Colleges District) correspondence testing.
The TSI Exam is a computerized placement test that is the state of Texas approved instrument for assessing a student's readiness to enroll in an entry-level freshman course. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board recognized the need for students to meet necessary skills in Reading, English, and Math to attain college success. Results of the TSI Exam test helps academic advisors identify students' academic strengths as well as areas where a student might need more development to succeed in college. It is very important that students do their best in order to have an accurate measure of their academic skills, thereby placing them in the right courses.
For First time in College students, before you request an appointment and pay for the TSI Exam you must perform the following:
Note: Please do not pay for the TSI Exam without receiving an appointment confirmation email from the Assessment Dept. Any payment made prior to receiving a confirmation email is non-refundable.
For Transfer students, before you request an appointment and pay for the TSI Exam you must perform the following:
A picture ID is required of all testers.... NO EXCEPTIONS.
For appointments, please visit the TSI Exam test section of this website.
After Testing Resources
Once you have completed your exam the following websites are available with information in interpreting the results of the TSI Exam:
Alamo Colleges - Common Entry Requirements
Alamo Colleges - Common Entry Requirements
UPDATED: Students are allowed to retest on the next available test date. This includes retesting all parts, one or multiple parts.
For all second or subsequent retests, we recommend the student retest after 2 weeks or after they have attended a formal college test prep intervention program (e.g. PASS) to improve their current test scores.
CLEP exams are computer-based tests that provide an opportunity for students to obtain college credit courses in areas that they may have attained college-level proficiency. This is a 90-minute test and after completion, students have the option of submitting or not submitting their CLEP scores to be posted in their college transcript. This exam is available to Northeast Lakeview College students and members of the surrounding community.For more information and to schedule your appointment, please visit our CLEP website.
Protoring Procedures for External TestingThe Assessment Center at Northeast Lakeview College continues to serve the community by providing proctoring services for students taking courses at other higher educational institutions.It is the student's responsibility to make arrangement with their school to use Northeast Lakeview College as a proctoring site.The student's external or correspondence exams will be administered according to the prescribed regulations set by the home institution regarding use of notes, books, calculators, time limit, passwords and items necessary to proctor.The student or home institution will be responsible for all postage and external handling fees. Northeast Lakeview College will not be responsible for any postage expense.Testing Fee:Testing fee is $20.00 per testTesting Instructions:
Address:Northeast Lakeview CollegeAssessment CenterStudent Commons Bldg., RM 2271201 Kitty Hawk Rd, Universal City, TX 78148
Please note: Students requesting an exam proctor for courses offered within the Alamo Colleges District will need to make arrangements through the Academic Testing Center. Click here for further information.
Special Testing Needs: Students with documented disabilities may qualify for testing accommodations on the TSI. Documentation must be presented to the Disability Support Services (DSS) Office in advance. For more information regarding documentation requirements, students may call DSS at 210-21ALAMO (210-212-5266) Local, 1-844-20ALAMO (1-8440202-5266) Toll Free, visit the office in the STCM 222H, or visit the DSS website) to access the brochure "Guidelines for Documenting Your Disability."
1201 Kitty Hawk Rd. Universal City, Texas 78148 (210) 486-5000


text:
I can't believe LP games won't be in HD, sure wish I could have stayed with Directv!
'); var yuipath = 'clientscript/yui'; var yuicombopath = ''; var remoteyui = false; } else // Load Rest of YUI remotely (where possible) { var yuipath = 'http://yui.yahooapis.com/2.9.0/build'; var yuicombopath = 'http://yui.yahooapis.com/combo'; var remoteyui = true; if (!yuicombopath) { document.write('
I can't believe LP games won't be in HD, sure wish I could have stayed with Directv!
A lot of people feel the same way about Comcast's policy of only 1 HD game/night.
IMO, they shouldn't be able to charge the same price for an inferior product. All other carriers have full HD for $180, Comcast shouldn't be able to charge more than $125 or something.
Good news is the Broadband portion is basically high def, so you could hook your laptop up to the TV and get much better quality.
Are you sure they're not in HD? I had LP on Comcast (in Seattle, but I assume it's a similar set-up nationwide) two years ago and there were often two sets of channels, one with games in HD and one in non-HD.
No, not sure, like I said I just switched to Comcast and so far have just seen the preseason games. However, on my channel list I only see one group of channels, starting at channel 471, for NBA LP games. Also, on the screen it indicates that HD is not available in all areas, but I sure don't understand why Atlanta would be one of those areas! I agree, should not cost the same, but again, don't understand why it would not be available here. So far I have not even seen one LP HD channel, but again, only preseason...
Just google something like "League Pass comcast HD" and you'll find dozens of threads complaining about this.
I live out here on the West Coast and have Comcast. Has NBALP been offered to Comcast Customers back East?
One week out of the regular season....for whatever reason, I still cannot get NBALP through Comcast...it simply hasn't been offered yet. I even wonder if I will be able to get the Early Bird special this close to the start of the season.
Ash from Army of Darkness: Good...Bad...I'm the guy with the gun.
EDIT: By most I mean Dish/DirecTV/Mediacom
The free trial on league pass is finally on from yesterday until the 7th of November.Quick question though:Why when i press on the free trial button,takes me to the billing information page where it specifically asks me for cardholder name and number etc?Thing is i can't skip it.Any suggestions?
For me, the channels become available 10/30-11/06. That's DirecTV though, the channels will just be unlocked on my guide.
When will I be able to log in to League Pass Broadband? I thought that they used to have a library of old games that I could watch. Whenever I try to login, it just sends me back to the order page....Is the broadband page only available when the season starts, or do I need to contact them??
If anyone is wondering about the Xbox 360 app, it came out about a week or so ago, and I've been using it in conjuction with league pass broadband. I have to say, if you're a Pacers fan who lives out-of-state and happens to have a 360, it's a must buy. The games all play live in HD. Also - because the Pacers aren't much of a national draw, and don't have very many nationally televised games, I practically have access to every Pacers game this season on my xbox. If you have a decent broadband connection and an xbox I would highly recommend getting the app and paying for LP.
Never half-a** two things. Whole-a** one thing.
how can I download and install this app in xbox?
I subscribe LP every yr. it's very inconvenient to connect a laptop to a plasma TV.
Never half-a** two things. Whole-a** one thing.
I'm experiencing the same. Wish I could remember my old username and password or email but that might not make any difference
How are you accessing LP Broaband? When I try to log in, it tells me it is not available until the regular season starts.
What do you mean other options?I was talking specifically about the free trial.
Anyway, Ι contacted them and got a reply really soon i must admit.Apparently i had chosen paypal last year,(i honestly don't remember it ) and since there is no paypal option this year you have to enter credit card information.I replied to them i get there is no paypal option and you have to fill in the credit card details cause the free trial will transform to a full subscription if you don't cancel it prior to the end of the free trial period.What i don't get though why there is a mandatory option for a credit card since it is a FREE trial to which he answered me the same thing as in the previous e-mail like he's a robot or something.
Last edited by Johanvil; 10-27-2012 at 04:55 PM.
My LP on Xbox was activated last night. Really excited about this because I am a regular LP subscriber and Xbox live subscriber. And so far, they haven't blacked out the local Bobcats games. Hope they don't fix that.
I just signed up for LP broadband choice. Apparently I will be able to watch all the games of the 5 teams I select. I just signed up and haven't selected five teams, although i've already been billed. Anyone know where or how I select the teams?
*removed* Just keep politics and religion completely out of it, please.
You don't have to select all 5 at once. You'll do it in the app that lets you watch games. Probably have to wait until opening night. You may not be able to select the Pacers until Wednesday night.
I always select less that 5 in case I decide to follow a different team later in the season.


text:
Find a trip
Other trips you might like
Have you considered?
Private Departures
Customer Feedback
Discover our latest brochures available online now, with hundreds of adventures to choose from.
Be the first to hear about great new tours, competitions, special offers and unique departures.
Gift Vouchers
The perfect gift idea for any occasion. Send gift vouchers and create fantastic memories with vast trips and experiences to choose from.
Serengeti Lodge Safari TL
Visiting: Tanzania
Trip Duration 8 Days
Small Group: View Private Departures
Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater
Enjoy a safari adventure across the vast national parks and conservation areas of Tanzania's Great Rift Valley. We observe the birdlife around Lake Manyara, search for the 'Big Five' in the Serengeti and walk among primeval baobab trees in Tarangire. We also take a game drive through Ngorongoro, the world's largest volcanic caldera.
Tour Highlights
- Serengeti - The most iconic and prolific national park in Africa
- Great Rift Valley and Olduvai Gorge - Spectacular geological features and the "Cradle of Mankind"
- Ngorongoro Crater - The world's largest complete caldera home to rhino, leopard and giraffe
- Tarangire - Herds of elephants and tree climbing lions in baobab dotted plains
Itineraries on some departure dates may differ, please select.
1Join tour in Arusha
2Drive to Manyara National Park; Afternoon Game Drive
3Game drives in the Serengeti National Park
4Game viewing in the Serengeti National Park
5To Ngorongoro Conservation area and Karatu
6In Ngorongoro Crater; return to Karatu
7Drive to Tarangire National Park; Afternoon Game Drive
8Return to Arusha
Trip notes
Each departure date has its own dedicated trip note, detailing all you need to know about that trip. Whether you've already booked, or weighing up your options, please choose carefully the relevant itinerary for you.
We have the following different versions of the Serengeti Lodge Safari trip available at present.
Please select a date:
Why Book this trip
This classic Tanzanian safari explores some of the best game parks in East Africa whilst staying in idyllic locations. The Serengeti is the best place in Africa to see every animal you could hope for; including some unlikely candidates such as Honey Badgers, Leopard Tortoise, Wild Dogs and Corey Bustards.
|Included meals
Accommodation4 nights Standard Lodge
3 nights Standard Tented Camp


text:
Make a paper mache mask
This is a simple and fun paper mache mask for kids to make. They can use it as part of a costume for a party or to play with around the house.
What You Need:
- Balloon
- Strips of newspaper
- Paper mache glue
- Paper
- Scissors
- Rubber band
- Hole puncher
- Markers
- Paint
The balloon will be your mask, so blow it up to the size of your child's face.
Coat the balloon with two to three layers of newspaper strips soaked in paper mache glue and let it dry completely
Once dry, cover it with two to three more layers of plain paper strips (soaked in the paper mache glue) and again, leave to dry completely. Using plain paper makes it easier to paint on than the newspaper strips.
Pop the paper mache balloon (after the glue has dried) with a needle.
Use scissors to cut the paper mache ball in half.
Draw the mask face features such as a nose, eyes and mouth.
Make two small holes on the sides around the ears area using a hole puncher and put a rubber band through the holes securing with a knot.
Paint the mask and it's ready to be used.
Related art and crafts activities for kids:
- Egg carton spiders
- Make your own boomerang
- Australian flag collage
- Woven placemat
- Easy no sew pillows
- Make an ocean headband
- Box hand puppet


text:
SITE ALERT: FREE Play By Play Of ALL UFC PPV Events!
MMAScoops.com Privacy Policy
Dana White Talks
Conor McGregor & more!Dana White recently spoke to UFC.com about
the contenders in the UFC Featherweight Division. Here is what he had to
say… "Especially with all the excitement in that division with Conor
McGregor, Cub Swanson and Frankie Edgar – that division is so exciting that
people are talking about freaking Nik Lentz and Dennis Bermudez. I told Cub
and Frankie, 'Don't worry about anything you hear with all the Conor
McGregor talk and all the other stuff. You worry about Cub Swanson and you
worry about Frankie Edgar.' Believe me, the fact that people are arguing
over who should get a title shot in the 145-pound division isn't a bad
thing. It's a good thing."
VIDEO: Dave Bautista's MMA Debut Fight
Posted on 07 Oct 2012
by MMAScoops.com Staff
Check out the MMAScoops.com forums now!!


text:
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Marvin Redpost v. Stanley Yelnats
Any iconoclasts feel like knocking something over?
20 comments:
- Janssen said...
My vote for best Wilder book is Farmer Boy.
- 11:10 AM, July 20, 2011
- Alphabetty said...
I love Marvin Redpost. Some really real and touching stuff in those little books in addition to lotsa laffs.
- 11:19 AM, July 20, 2011
I'll chime in with Paterson's 'Jacob Have I Loved'.
- 11:20 AM, July 20, 2011
- Roger Sutton said...
Paterson's Rebels of the Heavenly Kingdom gets overlooked, too.
- 11:31 AM, July 20, 2011
- Laura said...
- This comment has been removed by the author.
- 12:00 PM, July 20, 2011
- Laura said...
Suzanne Collins has gotten a lot of (well-deserved) press for the Hunger Games trilogy, but I think her series for younger readers, the Gregor the Overlander books, makes similar points in really creative ways for younger readers. And they have gotten no attention at all.
- 12:02 PM, July 20, 2011
I'll second Autumn Street. It's one of my all-time favorite children's books. I'm always surprised that more people haven't heard of it.
I'll add "Figgs & Phantoms" over "The Westing Game" for Ellen Raskin.
"Words of Stone" over "Olive's Ocean" for Kevin Henkes.
"The Wright Brothers" over "Lincoln: A Photobiography" for Russell Freedman
"McElligot's Pool" over "The Lorax" for Dr. Seuss.
- 12:13 PM, July 20, 2011
- Peter D. Sieruta said...
As much as I (and everyone else) loves E.L. Konigsburg's FROM THE MIXED-UP FILES...., I think JENNIFER, HECATE, MACBETH... has a tighter plot, better pacing, and packs more of an emotional wallop.
- 12:20 PM, July 20, 2011
I love Autumn Street, too, and though I only read it once I have thought about it again and again. But if you want a masterpiece of humorous middle-grade fiction, Lowry's best book is Anastasia Again. It's a perfect example of the form.
- 1:34 PM, July 20, 2011
- Kristin Cashore said...
Could not agree more about The Long Winter. Just thinking about it, my hands hurt from twisting hay.
- 2:35 PM, July 20, 2011
- Shoshana said...
This may be a writer's sentimentality talking, but I'll take L.M. Montgomery's persistent scribbler Emily over Anne, much as I love them both.
- 2:38 PM, July 20, 2011
Kristin, you think about twisting the hay? I always worry that I would have broken the coffee grinder that ground the grain for their one daily bisquit apiece. As I recall it was constantly in use during the last months before the train with supplies finally in. But (I hate to start this fight again) I have never felt Roger grasped the magnificence of the early Little House books enough. Long Winter is Great, yes, but so are the books that come before it.
- 3:16 PM, July 20, 2011
Frances Hodgson Burnett's A Little Princess, rather than The Secret Garden, and Noel Streatfield's The Painted Garden over all The Shoes books.
- 8:27 PM, July 20, 2011
- Rosanne Parry said...
Last week I heard David Laskin speak about his book The Children's Blizzard, an account of the blizzard of 1888. His research was extensive and one of the things he discovered was repeated accounts of the all things the Wilders did to survive in The Long Winter--the twisting of hay, grinding wheat in coffee mills, eating seed wheat. That her entire family survived was pretty amazing. It made me realize in retrospect how well Wilder managed to be honest and meticulously detailed without being morbid. That's not so easy.
- 11:41 PM, July 20, 2011
All Alone in the Universe over Criss Cross.
A Drowned Maiden's Hair over Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!
The Outside Shot over most of the rest of the Walter Dean Myers oeuvre.
- 3:50 AM, July 21, 2011
- laura said...
Zilpha Keatley Snyder's The Changeling over The Egypt Game.
Seconding Jacob Have I Loved for Katherine Paterson.
I far prefer The Hobbit to The Lord of the Rings.
- 5:06 PM, July 21, 2011
Hey, Anonymous, I couldn't agree more about A Drowned Maiden's Hair. I think Criss Cross is wonderful, but I could be persuaded about All Alone in the Universe.
And Roger, The Exiles are brilliant. I wonder if they don't get the love because of the book burning in the first book. SHE BURNT THE BOOKS. I think maybe we can't do that even in fiction. I loved the book but haven't been able to re-read it because I was sickened by the HORROR. The second is my favorite.
- 3:11 AM, July 22, 2011
- eshinrichs75 said...
I love When the Wind Blew over many of Margaret Wise Brown's other titles.
- 2:26 PM, July 22, 2011
- gail said...
I agree with Laura about Gregor the Overlander. I think that series is very good at what it is supposed to be--a kids' adventure/questing-type story. I actually prefer it to The Hunger Games.
- 7:20 PM, July 25, 2011
YES to The Changeling and A Drowned Maiden's Hair as the best of those authors' books.
And while I like many of the other Little House books, The Long Winter wins by a mile. Elizabeth, I will never think of it again without worrying that I would've broken the grinder. Because I certainly would've.
- 5:24 PM, July 26, 2011


text:
Just like the stars in the sky, traveling around the Corn Belt you cannot escape the hum of dryer fans on grain bins full of corn. The planting process challenged your patience, the maturity challenged your patience, and dry down challenged your patience.
With drying costs that are less expensive relative to other wet harvest years, many farmers have thrown in the towel and moved ahead harvesting corn with several more points of moisture than they would like.
That has necessitated firing up the heaters on the grain for the first time in two years. But drying corn with an attitude in October will also require patience.
Grain drying in October requires a special constitution. Many of the typical rules of thumb have long expired and success may require some creativity along with care and persistence. That is the advice of Ken Hellevang, quality specialist at North Dakota State University.
Aggravating the issue is the variable moisture throughout the field and in the grain as it enters the bin. Hellevang says, "Drought conditions usually lead to large variations in moisture content at harvest time, with ranges of from 15 to 25 percent in the same field. In fact, kernel moisture content, size and test weight likely will vary on an individual cob as well.
With varying moisture contents in the field, adjusting the combine for conditions will be more difficult, which may contribute to more fines in the corn."
Fines will spoil faster since they can absorb more moisture, and they are created not only with aggressive harvesting but also when they are put into a bin. Since they will impede airflow, the air will travel around a core of fines and they may never dry properly.
Another issue is with the moisture variability in the corn, and it will enter and leave a dryer with variable moisture. Helevang says a dryer may take out 6 points of moisture, but if the corn is going in from 15 percent to 25 percent moisture, it will come out in a range of 11 percent to 19 percent.
He says the use of a fan will help more moisture from wetter to drier kernels, but without airflow the moisture migration will not occur. To help balance the moisture content, he recommends running the aeration fans longer than is required to cool the grain. The moisture may not equalize fully, but it will become more uniform.
If the corn is stressed and has a low test weight, the shelf life is shorter than normal; subsequently more diligence is needed in the drying and storage process. He suggests drying low test weight and stressed corn a percentage lower in moisture content than normal because of greater variations of moisture content in the grain mass and increased kernel damage and broken cobs, which could magnify storage mold problems.
October drying
With temperatures dropping steadily with the season, the air holds less moisture and will absorb less as it surrounds the corn, whether it is in the field or the bin. The result is much slower drying rates. Hellevang says harvested grain can be stored at higher moisture if it is kept cool with aeration:
- The allowable storage time doubles for each 10 degrees that the grain is cooled. Corn at 22 percent moisture can be stored for 190 days at 30 degrees, but only 60 days at 40 degrees. Aeration fans should be operated to cool the grain to near freezing as quickly as possible. The grain can be cooled later to 20-25F for winter storage.
- Corn can be dried with an airflow rate of 1.35 cubic feet per minute per bushel from 21 percent to 15 percent in about 36 days under normal October conditions of 47F and 65 percent relative humidity.
- With normal November conditions of 27F and 73 percent relative humidity the corn will dry to 18 percent moisture in 70 days.
- Warming the air 5 degrees permits drying the corn to about 15 percent moisture, but it still will take about 52 days.
- Adding more heat will cause the corn to be dried to lower moisture content while shortening the drying time by only a couple of days.
- Drying speed is primarily related to the airflow rate and final moisture content is related to the air relative humidity which is reduced by adding heat.
- Corn can be cooled to 20-25F for winter storage and dried in the spring. The drying fan should be started in the spring when daily average temperatures are about 40F.
The 2013 corn crop may be a challenge to dry because of great variations in moisture from kernel to kernel. Drying may reduce the overall moisture, but not the variation, which can only be resolve with airflow through the grain.
Because of the cooler air in October, reduction of moisture will take longer, since the cooler air moving through the bin will absorb less moisture. The grain can be kept over winter at a higher than desired moisture, if it is cold, but will present issues that need to be addressed when the air warms up in the spring.
Source: Farmgate blog


text: 26 September 2012 Undercover: behind the scenes of our Lib Dem Special Issue Featuring Martin Rowson's sketch of Nick Clegg and Vince Cable. Print HTML One of my favourite things about working for a print magazine is choosing the front cover every week. There's still something weird (in a good way) about sending an image to the printers in the New Statesman offices on a Wednesday, and then walking past it in the newsagent the next day. Every autumn, the NS does three issues with extra content, timed to coincide with the party conference season. This year, we decided to use a flap on all three issues, so that we could have an illustrated cover with no words. It gives us a chance to commission something beautiful without worrying about putting "sells" all over it. For the Liberal Democrat issue, we turned to Martin Rowson, a Guardian editorial cartoonist and longtime NS contributor (you can read about his first commission for the NS in my piece here). He has drawn Nick Clegg as Pinocchio for some time now, and we wanted to riff on that. We also knew that the position of the cover flap, down the left-hand half of the page, provided the opportunity for a "reveal" - who was pulling Clegg's strings. Here is Martin's rough outline sketch for the cover, which shows how he traces the basic positions of the figures. He also told us at this point that he planned a rich, "Disney workshop" background colour, which would work with the Lib Dem colour, yellow. At this point, we had a chat about whether the strings trailing under the flap would ruin the "reveal", and what Vince Cable's Geppetto should be doing. We decided he should be cutting, rather than pulling, Cleggochio's strings. So Martin went away, wished upon a star, and came back with this painting: ... which I hope you'll agree is absolutely beautiful. All that remained for the finished cover was adding a few details - that's "Lords Reform" burning on the fire there, and Jiminy Cricket has what looks to me very much like a Bullingdon waistcoat on. And here's the version with the flap (as you can see, the finished colour has ended up moving from orange to yellow a little): › In pictures: Two Spanish crises in one - anti-austerity protests and separatist strife Martin Rowson's artwork for the NS cover. Helen Lewis is deputy editor of the New Statesman. She has presented BBC Radio 4's Week in Westminster and is a regular panellist on BBC1's Sunday Politics. Subscribe from just £1 per issue More Subscription offer 12 issues for £12 + FREE book LEARN MORE Close This week's magazine


text:
Is the Air Any Cleaner?
Smoke-Filled Rooms are in Washington, D.C., But Cigars Survive Behind Closed Doors
Long before the 1920 presidential nomination of Warren Harding in a smoke-filled room, cigars were the incense of politics. A good cigar was the fragrant closure to every formal dinner in Washington, D.C. It was the always welcome gift. It was, most of all, the gentlemanly bonding commodity--one that transcended politics and veiled party differences in sweet-scented clouds of civility.
No more.
"We cigar smokers in Washington are like druids," mourns comedian Mark Russell. "There aren't too many people in our church."
Aram Bakshian, the wit and bon vivant whose cigars spiced the White House air when he wrote speeches for Republican presidents Nixon, Ford and Reagan, glumly predicts that Hillary Rodham Clinton will deliver the cigar's coup de grace in the capital. "She is to the cigar what Carry Nation was to fine brandy," he sighs.
In fact, political party is no predictor of a first lady's enmity to the superior stogie. Barbara Bush, too, was a powerful foe. Marlin Fitzwater, George Bush's amiable press secretary, remembers loitering happily in a hallway during the last Republican convention along with George Bush Jr., both puffing contentedly on their stogies, when Barbara hove into view. Without a word, both men thrust their lighted cigars into their pockets, where they remained, smoldering gently, until she was safely out of sight.
Despite smoking's traditional and noble after-dinner role in Washington, in 1991 it was declared illegal in White House offices--along with other Washington offices. Even Fitzwater was driven outdoors to kiss his dusky companions--to the Rose Garden if he wished to smoke alone, to the driveway if he wanted to be waylaid by the press.
These days, visiting smokers in the Rose Garden are asked to extinguish their smokes immediately. (There were exceptions made during the Israel-Palestine treaty-signing ceremony in September. Perhaps the staff decided it was not a good time to declare war.) But in the White House driveway stands a big stone planter filled with sand, which serves as a sort of Ashtray of Shame for those few staffers and members of the press who brave the glares of their peers to creep outside for a puff.
The truth is, Washington--a town where the sum total of wisdom is always shouting with the majority--has become a seething hive of nouveau priggishness. It is the home of the movement to declare nicotine a drug, and to drag all tobacco under the leather wing of the Food and Drug Administration. It is the roost of more than 200 fiery organizations squawking "nonsmokers' rights," including the hypermilitant Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) run by John "Sue the Bastards" Banzhaf.
The town's prevailing smoke-free zeitgeist is so strong, in fact, that a man I know, who was recently sucking an unlighted cigar outside an outdoor café on Capitol Hill was harangued by three separate passersby and kicked by another.
"A man could get killed these days lighting a cigar in a restaurant," says columnist Art Buchwald, who used to inhale his cigars before he gave them up a few years ago.
There are a few sparse flickers of light around the capital city. The Ritz-Carlton is smoker-friendly enough so that trial lawyer Richard Ben-Veniste, who made his reputation with Watergate, chose it as the site of his wedding last January.
"We enjoyed not only a very nice cabinet of cigars smoked in public, but we had three of Doc Scanlon's band, female singers dressed up as cigarette girls, handing out cigars in big bunches." At the joyful event, politicians on both sides of the aisle, free at last, puffed away unfettered.
The lobbyists, you see, have had a devastating effect on Capitol Hill. At this writing, Sen. Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey was pushing to make the Senate a "smoke-free zone," in an amendment to an appropriations bill. (The Senate cafeterias have smoking and nonsmoking areas. The far grander Senate Dining Room has no restrictions, perhaps because it has its own ventilation system.) In the House of Representatives, the Speaker has banned smoking in all public areas including corridors, terraces and restrooms--except for a recently designated indoor smoking area on the second floor inside the Rayburn Building. Theoretically, for now, congressmen may do as they please in their offices.
"But now that it's not politically correct to smoke, a lot of them smoke cigars in secret," says Jack Brady, a wise old bird and cigar lover, who for years was chief of staff to the House Foreign Affairs Committee. One congressman admitted as much after a recent dinner. "Unless you're from a tobacco state, it behooves you to hide your cigars. Voters hate that fat-cat look. Notice how [cartoonist] Herblock always shows sleazy pols sucking on fat cigars?"
Some faces that God made to have a cigar stuck in them: Reps. Dan Rostenkowski and Barbara Mikulski--to name two--don't fulfill their destiny. Others do, and then quit or kind of quit. Rep. Barney Frank is believed to still smoke cigars away from the public eye. Sen. Howell Heflin was recently told by his doctor to lay off and now walks around the office with an unlighted cigar clamped in his jaw--inhaling happily as his staff smokes like chimneys around him. Sen. Ted Kennedy claims to have given up cigars cold about two years ago.
"We ask the people who used to bring Senator Kennedy his cigars not to bring them anymore," says aide Melody Miller, primly. "He realized that to continue smoking in the light of his involvement with health issues would be hypocritical.
Hypocrisy, of course, is no stranger to the capital--and neither is the unlighted-cigar ploy. Bill Clinton was photographed in the Oval Office chewing an unlighted cigar in June while waiting for the House to vote on his tax bill. This kicked off the predictable round of wisecracks about how he still doesn't inhale.
The president's ambassador to Japan, Walter Mondale, loves a good cigar. But he was careful never to be seen smoking one when he was running for vice president with Jimmy Carter. Once his goal was achieved, though, he avidly followed Tip O'Neill's wise counsel: "Enjoy the good cigars, Fritz. They're about all that damn job's good for."
Perhaps the prettiest fandango of hypocrisy in Washington is danced around the Cuban question. It's been going on ever since Jack Kennedy stocked up on Cubans before imposing the trade embargo. The reason so many weary pols attend embassy dinners in Washington when they'd rather have their feet up at home is that they know that fine Cuban cigars will be passed at the end.
"And there have always been Cuban contraband cigars around Washington at a high level," chuckles Jim Wright, former Speaker of the House and, more recently, author of Worth It All: My War For Peace.
As he knows full well, Cuban cigars have always made peerless gifts among pols: "Many years ago, when I was mayor of Weatherford, Texas, I'd go to Cuba, where I had a source that would make up a batch of cigars with the name of the recipient on the wrapper. I'd give them to about 25 people in Weatherford that I cherished as good friends. And later, Tip O'Neill and Bob Byrd (West Virginia senator) were big cigar fans, too. Whenever one went anywhere, he always brought back a box for the other."
Wright didn't utter the word "Cuban" in that context--but everyone on the Hill knows that junketing solons have always bought Cubans for one another from anywhere they're obtainable. (Some have even gone to the trouble to redecorate them for the trip through customs with Swiss--Swiss!--bands.)
A perhaps apocryphal tale is told of Al Haig, during one of his periodic fits of presidential ambition, puffing in public on what was plainly an excellent Cuban cigar. "Et tu, Al?" cried a supporter. "You of all people--the law--abiding champion of democracy-smoking a Cuban?"
Haig, it's said, eyed the immaculate ash with great satisfaction: "Yep. This is my way of burning Castro's crops to the ground."
There are still a few oases in the capital's smokeless desert. At the classic pols' restaurant, the Monocle on Capitol Hill, there is "no formal policy" on cigars, says Nick Selimos, the worldly-wise maître d'; they may be smoked at the bar and even at tables in smoking areas--presumably by pols who outrank any protesters. At Duke Zeibert's downtown, where pols meet lobbyists, cigar smoking is now banned at table and "discouraged" at the bar, but aficionados do assemble there and the aroma of a fine Macanudo sometimes scents the quiet evening air.
Meanwhile, in a city where smoking is actually forbidden by law in most office buildings, some of the leading law firms have set aside secret, air-purified smoking rooms with built-in humidors. For many lawyers, it has become the only place to rendezvous with their slender brown sweethearts. As antismoking fervor grips the city, more and more spouses feel empowered to ban cigars within the sacred precincts of the home.
One result has been a rash of canine purchases, as men resort to the after-dinner cigar walk. Charlie Powers, a former deputy assistant secretary of Transportation, recommends a small, spry dog with its own agenda, like the Jack Russell terrier he now cigar-walks every night near his home in Alexandria, Virginia.
Occupants of spacious houses often set aside special smoking rooms. Mark Russell, for example, has a small, serene room he has fixed up with Japanese furnishings in his attic, far from wife Ali's sensitive sinuses. But on the whole, as Marlin Fitzwater says gloomily, "about the only safe haven left in Washington is your own car."
Indeed, even the fine, formerly all-men's clubs like the Cosmos and the Metropolitan are tightening the noose on a day-to-day basis, limiting areas where smoking is permitted ever more stringently. Even the National Press Club--which used to offer a respectable house-brand cigar and where you could barely fumble your way to a dry Martini through the spicy, blue haze around the bar--now frowns on the cigar, and is declaring more and more areas off-limits to all smokers.
These days, the Washington smoker must be a maverick. "After all," says Judge Loren Smith of the U.S. Court of Appeals, whose own favorite smoke is an Ashton or a Henry Clay, "smokers today must have the personality and will to break with the prevailing ideology--so of course they are more interesting than nonsmokers." He himself became a legend at an out-of-town meeting on election law. Others in the elegant, white-carpeted room in which it was held, watched in disbelief as he repeatedly declined an ashtray for use with his eight-inch cigar, which he calmly smoked until seven inches of perfect ash bedecked its end.
"I was testing something Clarence Darrow used to do," he explained afterward. "Darrow used wire in cigars to keep the ash from falling. I had inserted a straightened-out paper clip before I lit up. It worked very well."
When I talked to Smith, he had just returned from a seminar in New Mexico, where a highlight had been a visit to an historic pueblo, in whose smoke room the most sacred ceremonies were held--"where smoking was a specific activity to bring people together."
Something about cigars has always pleased the judicial mind--at least the male one--at the highest level. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Ginsburg turned down the chambers formerly occupied by Justice Clarence Thomas because of the still-lingering fragrance of his beloved cigars, which he puffs daily. Chief Justice William Rehnquist is a smoker, and Justice Antonin Scalia is an occasional, but ardent, cigar buff.
Most enjoy the ceremony as much as the cigar. As Judge Smith observes, "Cigar smoking adds an element of civility to life. When you remove any civility, you make the process less decent and humane."
Alas, as cigar smokers increasingly find, the civility these days is all theirs. Roll Call, the Capitol Hill newspaper, reported a sorry turn of events when Rep. Jim Traficant, the Ohio Democrat, proposed a bill that would block any smoking whatsoever in federal buildings.
Log in if you're already registered.
Or register for Cigar Aficionado today—it's free.
Registration allows you to:
Keep track of your favorite cigars in your personal humidor.
Comment on all our stories.
Ratings & Reviews
Search our database of more than 17,000 cigar tasting notes by score, brand, country, size, price range, year, wrapper and more, plus add your favorites to your Personal Humidor.


text:
BP Comment Quick Links
|Strength of Schedule Report
October 18, 2011
BP Podcast
Episode 69: An Imaginary Lizard On A Desk
We couldn't do a show last week for a variety of reasons, but we make it up to you with nearly three hours of fun. We preview the World Series with Anthony Andro of Fox Sports SouthWest and Deadspin founder Will Lietch. We talk a ton of prospects. Our special guest, Rafael Rojas, gives us some fascinating talk about baseball in Venezuela. We have a listener of the week with rock star Riley Breckenridge. We even deliver not one, but two Nots. We hope you enjoy, and somehow make it all the way through, as this show was a lot of fun to do.
Note: We do alert you to the presence of the occasional adult language and subject matter. Don't say we didn't warn you.
Up And In Episode 69: "An Imaginary Lizard On A Desk"
Download Here (162 MB; 2:57:57)
Contact Information
Email Us: firstname.lastname@example.com
Table Of Contents
0:00 Hello everyone, we are back, and appreciate your patience
4:12 Housekeeping
5:15 Let's check the mailbag!
27:24 Quick playoff wrap
33:56 The Cubs and Red Sox create some awfully fun drama
47:44 Rangers World Series Preview w/ Anthony Andro (@aandro), Fox Sports SouthWest
56:19 Cardinals World Series Preview w/ Will Leitch (@williamflietch), New York Magazine and Deadspin founder
1:12:21 Our World Series picks (like it matters)
1:13:51 Let's talk about Athletics prospects
1:21:20 Let's talk about Yankees prospects
1:26:18 Let's talk about Mets prospects
1:30:02 Let's talk about Twins prospects
1:34:23 Let's talk about Brewers prospects
1:40:15 Special Guest Rafael Rojas (@rafaelrojasc) on the good and the bad of baseball in Venezuela under the Chavez regime
2:09:55 Listener Of The Week: Riley Breckenridge (@rileybreck), professional rock star
2:33:38 Not Jim Leyland and Not Nolan Ryan on the ALCS and World Series
2:35:45 Musical Guest: The Scrams (@thescrams)
2:36:50 What Are You Drinking?
2:39:41 Pop Culture Moment: Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans and loving Werner Herzog
2:51:28 The Week Ahead
Music is by The Scrams, courtesy of the artist, all rights reserved.
Kevin Goldstein is an author of Baseball Prospectus.
8 comments have been left for this article.
BP Comment Quick Links
Tanana Republic
Hey, the Mets nearly merited for minutes of podcast time based upon their prospects!
Oct 18, 2011 16:29 PM
Mr. Cthulhu
Kevin, on the idea that a guy "could be" hot. Is the small chance that a guy could be hot, worth the risk of allowing a sub-par player to take the field? I know that wasn't your point, just curious at what point you would actually bench a more talented player in favour of a perceived hot streak.
Oct 18, 2011 19:01 PM
Kevin, for some reason the RSS feed version is 1.6 GB. I'd like to think that us non-iTunes people just get an extra 10 hours of you and Jason, but I imagine there was some technical error.
Oct 19, 2011 15:41 PM
Not a subscriber? Sign up today!


text:
Amtrak Guest Rewards membership gets you more. You'll earn points with every trip — two points for every dollar spent on Amtrak travel, no matter the price. You'll gain access to exclusive promotions and access to over 1,000 partners.
Free Amtrak travel starts at just 800 points, so members will reach that free ticket fast. Or if you'd rather redeem for a hotel stay, a car rental or a gift card, there is a wide variety of reward options to suit your needs. To find out more or to join today, visit www.AmtrakGuestRewards.com.
Amtrak Guest Rewards is a free program that allows you to earn points for your Amtrak travel. Once you've enrolled, provide your member number when making your reservation and you will begin earning points for your travel. Members earn two points per dollar spent on Amtrak travel. You can also earn Amtrak Guest Rewards points when you transact with program partners and provide them with your member number. Amtrak Guest Rewards points can be redeemed for free Amtrak travel, hotel stays, car rentals and more.
To join the program and start earning free travel and much more, visit www.AmtrakGuestRewards.com or call 1-800-307-5000. You will receive an Amtrak Guest Rewards member number which allows you to begin earning points immediately. Always provide your member number when making a reservation.
And, if you enroll online and travel within the next 90 days, we'll jump-start your new account with 500 bonus points. See you onboard soon.
Visit www.AmtrakGuestRewards.com and click on "Forgot Password." The email you receive will include your member number. Or call 1-800-307-5000.
Absolutely. As long as you receive a member number before your tickets are issued, you can add it to your reservation by calling 1-800-307-5000. If you have already traveled, complete the Missing Point Request Form. Or send the ticket stub with your name and member number to: Amtrak Guest Rewards, PO Box 14368, Philadelphia, PA 19115. Requests must be received within 120 days of travel. Retroactive points will not be granted for travel occurring more than 21 days prior to enrollment.
If you have created a profile on Amtrak.com to speed your booking process and review your reservations, your user ID to log in is your email address. To check your Amtrak Guest Rewards point balance, review your point earnings and redemption history or to redeem points for travel, you must log in to the Amtrak Guest Rewards web site with your Amtrak Guest Rewards member number and password.
Contact Bank of America® customer service at 1-888-704-9515.
You may contact the Amtrak Guest Rewards contact center at 1-800-307-5000. Agents are available to assist you daily from 5:00 am until midnight, ET.


text:
Low Cost, 3.3 V, CMOS Mixed Signal Front End (MxFE®) for Broadband Applications
Features and Benefits
- Low Cost 3.3 V CMOS MxFE® for Broadband Applications
- DOCSIS, EURO-DOCSIS, DVB, DAVIC Compliant
- 232 Mhz Quadrature Digital Upconverter
- 12-Bit Direct IF DAC (Txdac+®)
- Up To 65 Mhz Carrier Frequency DDS
- Programmable Sampling Clock Rates
- Analog Tx Output Level Adjust
- Dual 12-Bit, 29 MSPS DirectIF ADCs with Video Clamp Input
- 10-Bit, 29 MSPS Sampling ADC
- 8-Bit Sigma-Delta Auxiliary DAC
- Direct Interface To AD8321/AD8323 or AD8322/AD8327 PGA Cable Driver
Product Categories
RF & Microwave
Product Details
The transmit path interpolation filter provides an upsampling factor of 16 x with an output signal bandwidth up to 5.8 MHz. Carrier frequencies up to 65 MHz with 26 bits of frequency tuning resolution can be generated by the direct digital synthesizer (DDS). The transmit DAC resolution is 12 bits and can run at sampling rates as high as 232 MSPS. Analog output scaling from 0 dB to 7.5 dB in 0.5 dB steps is available to preserve SNR when reduced output levels are required.
The 12-bit ADCs provide excellent undersampling performance, allowing this device to deliver better than 10 ENOBs with IF inputs up to 70 MHz. The 12-bit IF ADCs can sample at rates up to 29 MHz, allowing them to process wideband signals.
The AD9878 includes a programmable sigma-delta DAC, which can be used to control an external component such as a variable gain amplifier (VGA)or a voltage controlled tuner. The AD9878 also integrates a CA port that enables a host processor to interface with the AD8321/AD8323 or AD8322/AD8327/AD8328 programmable gain amplifier (PGA) cable drivers via the MxFE serial port (SPORT).
The AD9878 is available in a 100-lead LQFP package. The AD9878 is specified over the extended industrial (–40 °C to +85 °C) temperature range.
Comparable Parts Click to see all in Parametric Search
Comparable Parts Click to see all in Parametric Search
Product Lifecycle
At least one model within this product family is in production and available for purchase. The product is appropriate for new designs but newer alternatives may exist.
Product Details
For evaluation of all Analog Devices High Speed DAC components you will need to purchase or loan a Data Pattern Generator (DPG).
ADI has always placed the highest emphasis on delivering products that meet the maximum levels of quality and reliability. We achieve this by incorporating quality and reliability checks in every scope of product and process design, and in the manufacturing process as well. "Zero defects" for shipped products is always our goal.


text:
Notes from the music beat ...
"The Other Life" isn't just Waylon "Shooter" Jennings' new album. It's a movie, too.
And it's the way the son of country greats Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter hopes to pursue all of his projects in the future.
"Y'know, we didn't know we were going to do this ('The Other Life') movie until we were halfway done with the album," says Jennings, 33, who worked on the film with director Blake Judd. "Now, knowing what we want and what we were able to pull off with a certain amount of money and having a team in place to do it, I'd really like to go into something with that idea from the ground floor.
"I would like to approach most records like that, really, just encompass all media and make it richer. It's a lot of work, but it's very rewarding."
The Los Angeles-based Jennings describes "The Other Life" film -- which won an award at Cincinnati's HorrorHound Film Festival -- as "six music videos strung into one long thing," an idea that was inspired by the nine inch nails' "Broken" short film he bought as a teenager. So far the individual pieces are being rolled out one at a time and the entire film is being screened at his shows, but Jennings says he may wait before releasing the project commercially.
"I want to hold onto it as long as we can," explains Jennings, who recorded songs for "The Other Life" with Patty Griffin and Black Oak Arkansas' Jim Dandy Mangrum. "I just love the idea of letting people see it but not letting them take it home. It's like in the old days when you'd see a movie in a theater and you'd have to go home and explain to your friends what, like, '2001: A Space Odyssey' was about.
"I'm trying to maintain that kind of vibe around it. It's a really cool piece and I'm very proud of it, so I want to keep it as special as I can."


text:
I'm tired of blogging about the ephemeral lately, so let's take a look at a classic. Saul Bass, designer of some of the most memorable and iconic main titles for films in the 20th century, the golden (and really, the only) era in which pre-digital celluloid ruled. Ian Albinson, editor-in-chief of the web site Art of The Title has put together a short montage — just 1:44 — of some of Bass's best work. You can get to this by clicking on the image above. It's smooth, refreshing, imaginative work.
As Albinson notes, "To celebrate the release of the long-awaited book Saul Bass: A Life In Film & Design by Jennifer Bass and Pat Kirkham, I put together a brief visual history of some of Saul Bass's most celebrated work. The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) will also celebrate the life of Saul Bass with a film screening and talk on Monday, November 14, 2011, at 7:00 p.m. This special event features the New York premiere of Saul and Elaine Bass's Academy Award-winning short Why Man Creates (1968), newly preserved by the Academy Film Archive, as well as a rich selection of title sequences, commercials, and corporate campaigns."
The event is past, but the book is a real keeper; read all about it here.


text:
Review: As described and on time. Can't ask for more than that.
24 Mar 2010 by James O.
View all Reviews
0 Basket
24 Mar 2010 by James O.
View all Reviews
fast delivery very pleased Read more
paul loft
Hose arrived quickly and was exactly what I needed Read more
Karen, Birmingham
Great service Read more
patricia galer
Easy to find and order items. Received quickly at a good price. Read more
Very good service Read more
Jamila Mulla
Product was exactly as described. Fast delivery. Would use again Read more
Best price I found. Delivery a little slow but happy with product. Would definitely recommend. Read more
Karen Winter
I ordered a cooker hood filter for Zanussi which is not the branded version and it fits Read more
Ro B
Quick service and good products at the right price. Read more
andy dziegiel
Quick and easy to order. Arrived when due. No problems or delays. Read more
N Thomas


text: Cover by ADI GRANOV Written by NICK SPENCER Penciled by SCOT EATON FEAR ITSELF TIE-IN Armies are mounting against the Avengers on every side, and even the Gods have turned their backs on Earth. With humanity facing it's gravest threat yet, Steve Rogers and his Secret Avengers will make some hard choices about what's just in times of war. And even as they do, a new danger of a different kind emerges-- one that confronts them not in the name of evil or fear, but freedom and liberty. 32 PGS./Rated T+ Cover price $3.99.


text:
When Macaron Parlour opened their Upper West Side store last month, they added a number of new menu items including at least two huge winners. The first, the Kitchen Sink Cookie ($2) combines coconut, oatmeal, cranberries, bananas, chocolate chips and Oreos. It's incidentally vegan, but despite the absence of butter and eggs, it's moist and chewy with an impressive range of textures.
Also worth noting is the Chocolate Cake with Salted Caramel Buttercream ($5 slice). Soft, rich, chocolate cake is surrounded on all sides by copious amounts of salted caramel buttercream frosting. And let me be clear: they don't skimp on the buttercream! All their macaron experience goes to good work here: a frosting that melts on your tongue, leaving the caramel and sea salt to linger.
A third item is not new, but it has a new, longer name that I suspect is designed to be easier for non-francophiles to deal with. In what might be a page from the Dominique Ansel Bakery Marketing Playbook (Ansel cleverly renamed his Kouign Amann pastry the "DKA" so intimidated customers wouldn't have to worry about pronouncing the complicated French name), Macaron Parlour renamed their Chocolate Fleur De Sel cookie the "The Chocolatey, Chocolate Chip Fleur de Sel Cookie" ($2).
The cookie is an exceedingly rich chocolate creation that features a large percentage of dark chocolate and a touch of sea salt. A cookie for serious chocolate fans.
About the author: Native New Yorker Niko Triantafillou is the founder of DessertBuzz.com his photographs of desserts and pastry chefs have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and Dessert Professional Magazine. He is an unabashed foodie nerdling. Follow him on Twitter at @DessertBuzz.


text:
Sign Up
Mashape Blog
Rumors aboard Mashape's spaceship
List of fun and interesting APIs to try out!
Chris Ismael
on May 10, 2013
Here are some APIs that crack us up here at Mashape, as well as those that we like to show off to friends 🙂 API # Title Link 1 Portrait 3D API provides software developers with a technology to create animated facial models based on photos.
2 Yoda Speak API Turn your sentences and webpage into Yoda-speak!
3 ERMAHGERD Translator API This translates text to ERMAHGERD.
4 Gender Guesser API Guess whether a first name is of male or female gender in the USA.
5 l33t sp34k API Want to sound like a hacker? Translate text to and from l33t…
Continue Reading


text:
The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and Des Hasler part ways, effectively immediately.
DISCUSS: http:/...
48 hours ago
Wigan Warriors will be hitting TV screens across the North West in a bid to
The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and Des Hasler part ways, effectively immediately.
DISCUSS: http:/...
48 hours ago
#NRL Teamlists are in for the Preliminary Finals with Darius Boyd, Tevita Pangai Junior and Daniel T...
2 days ago
Grand Final Days are locked in at Suncorp and Leichhardt next Sunday - find out more plus all the #N...
4 days ago
The tenacious North Queensland Toyota Cowboys ended the season of the Parramatta Eels last night, ca...
4 days ago - 2 Likes
The 2017 Penrith Panthers #NRL campaign is over with Brisbane Broncos coming up with a gritty 13-6 w...
6 days ago
Andrew Jackson previews the first #NRLFinals Prelim between @Storm and @brisbanebroncos 🔍 https://t.co/OkxrxCtihe… https://t.co/wQOSYkXG6N
Castleford, Hull and Huddersfield sides all added. 👥 https://t.co/JMznf8o9ud #superleague #Super8s https://t.co/jsS9XAcE0h
Last night the @NZWarriors crowned Roger Tuivasa-Sheck their 2017 Player of the Year. 🏅 https://t.co/MyWMx6XpBY… https://t.co/jdpOWcGfgO
ICYMI we've begun compiling the Ins & Outs for the 2018 #NRL Season. 🔄 https://t.co/wl5lcLIdLb https://t.co/qkDGeL96e1
8 hours ago | Andrew Jackson
8 hours ago | Robert Crosby
20 hours ago | Tim Costello
17 days ago | LeagueUnlimited Media
42 hours ago | Tim Costello
Join our mailing list for all the latest news and views from the world of Rugby League.


text:
DURHAM, N.C.—Right about the time Duke senior Mason Plumlee was lining up for the opening tip at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Thursday evening, Illinois junior Tyler Griffey found himself alone under the basket at Assembly Hall.
There wasn't an Indiana Hoosier anywhere close to either big man. Shortly after Griffey made the layup that gave his Fighting Illini a stunning two-point win against the top-ranked Hoosiers, Plumlee led his fourth-ranked Blue Devils on a first-half onslaught that was as impressive a 20-minute stretch as any team in the country has authored this season.
The timing for these two events happening 740 miles apart—Griffey, in Champaign, Ill., and Plumlee in Durham—was pretty incredible.
Just as yet another No. 1 team was feeling the instant pains of an upset loss, another contender for the top spot—a repeat contender—was making quite the statement. Duke scored 58 points in the first half against N.C. State, en route to a 98-85 win.
"We've been there (at No. 1) twice before," Plumlee said postgame after hearing about Indiana's loss. "We don't go by rankings. We just know that, right now, our last two wins have been so good because everybody's playing, and everybody's playing well. We're just focused on us. We can't worry about Big Ten or Big 12, Kansas or Indiana. I mean, we'll watch the games, but we're so focused on us, and I think that's what's helping us get better right now."
Both of Duke's stars had huge games against N.C. State. Plumlee finished with 30 points and nine rebounds. Seth Curry had 26 points, including 18 in the first half. And point guard Quinn Cook finished with 21 points after going 4-for-4 from beyond the 3-point arc in the first 20 minutes.
What a first half it was, by the way. Duke shot 64.3 percent on 2-point attempts (9-for-14) and 58.8 percent from beyond the 3-point arc (10-for-17).
"I thought in probably the first eight or 10 minutes," Wolfpack coach Mark Gottfried said, "they were just sensational."
But those 58 first-half points aren't the sole reason the Blue Devils just might be the perfect No. 1 team for this wonderful, crazy season of college basketball. Their flaws, as hidden as they might have been during this offensive masterpiece, just add to the resume that fit its anything-goes nature.
Like most teams across the country, Duke is dealing with injuries. Versatile senior big man Ryan Kelly (foot) is out indefinitely. Reserve big man Josh Hairston (arm) didn't play Thursday. Curry only occasionally practices because of a couple lingering issues with his legs. Plumlee said it's gotten to the point that a student manager had to lace 'em up this week just so there were enough bodies to run practice.
Duke lost two of its first three games after Kelly's injury, but the Blue Devils have figured out how to replace his production.
"We can't start any better than we have in the past two games," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "We would love to have Ryan back, but we have learned to play with this group. I am not saying we are a great team, but we are a good team now with this group."
Duke's defense, while solid in the first half (State shot 43.2 percent from the field), was lacking in the final 20 minutes. Gottfried's team just couldn't miss. When Scott Wood drilled a 3-pointer with 1:08 left to cut Duke's 21-point halftime lead to just eight, N.C. State had made 19 of its 24 second-half shots.
That's a blistering 79.2 percent, folks.
Duke, Louisville, Michigan, Kansas and Indiana have all taken turns at the No. 1 spot in the polls lately, only to quickly lose and drop in the rankings. In the second half Thursday, it was as if the Blue Devils knew they had a shot at the top spot and were trying to get the inevitable loss out of the way early.
Of course, that's not really true.
But the Blue Devils did show, with their wonderfully harmonious combination of strengths and flaws, that they're the ideal team to ascend to the No. 1 spot next week.
That would be one of the few things about this season that would actually make sense.


text:
Leading by example
Brian McIntosh is the kind of good-natured person who is often heard saying, "What needs to be done? Just tell me." Driven by the JDRF mission to find a cure for type 1 diabetes (T1D), he is always the first one to step in when help is needed. He motivates others by demonstrating the value of service to his community.
Listening to Brian talk about JDRF, you would think that he has a personal connection to T1D—a family member or close friend who lives with the disease. But until he became involved with JDRF's Greater Missouri/Southern Illinois Chapter, he did not. In fact, he knew very little about the disease. Brian says, "Without having a direct tie to T1D, I was truly ignorant as to the effects it has on a family." That changed a few years ago, when the chapter approached him, first through Lamar Advertising Company—where Brian works as the real estate manager and was able to provide public service advertising for JDRF—and again later to volunteer in the JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes. He agreed, and as he learned more about the complexities of T1D, he gradually became more involved with JDRF. Now, he says, "I love seeing the developments in research and have found a passion for it. I enjoy seeing the difference the medical advancements make in the everyday lives of the people who live with T1D."
As an advertising professional, Brian understands the power of publicity. Not only does he arrange outdoor advertising space for JDRF events, he also talks to everyone he runs into about our organization and our mission. He attends and works at every special event. He recruits participants, volunteers, and sponsors. Jennifer Cotner-Jones, the chapter's special events coordinator, says, "He is the perfect example of stewardship. We have made great strides in this community because of his ambition and passion for JDRF."
Brian is currently a member of the General Leadership Council. He gives more time than anyone would expect from him. But for Brian, it is all part of teamwork. He says, "I can truly say it's an honor to work with such dedicated people. I absolutely enjoy every aspect of what we do."
As Brian meets more people who live with T1D and sees the strides that JDRF-funded research is making, he becomes even more dedicated to our effort to find a cure. He says, "A cure would mean an end to constant monitoring of blood-sugar levels, insulin injections, and blood tests, and allow families to live normal lives. Until then, anything we can do to improve the lives of those living with T1D is fantastic!"


text:
Quarter Scale Clown Prince of Crime In The Flesh...
Enterbay's massive Quarter Scale HD Masterpiece Joker action figure is arriving soon and we have for you an early look. Available for pre-order at many fine retailers, such as BigBadToyStore.com and ToyWiz.com, the figure features the likeness of Heath Ledger as the Crime Prince of Crime from The Dark Knight. Check out the full review in the video below and check out new photos of this figure HERE!
Video by Jorge Pelaez
Review Sample Courtesy of Enterbay
To insure your action figure collection, get in touch with Collectibles Insurance, the official insurance company of the Figures.com network. Say "Figures.com" to get 5% off your first term premiums.
To buy action figures, take a look at BigBadToyStore.com, Toynk.com, BriansToys.com, ToyWiz.com, and MonkeyDepot.com.


text:
Get the Recipe
New Englanders have a reputation for being thrifty and austere. Those early settlers were a tough lot. Nearly half of the settlers who arrived on the Mayflower died that first year from exposure and starvation. The ones who survived did so in part because they learned to grow crops native to the New World, like corn.
Yankee cuisine grew up around making do with what you had and while at times it is deceptively simple, it can also be intensely satisfying. Such is the case with Spider Cake, which thankfully does not include any actual spiders. This arachnid-free cake is an easy, cornbread-like skillet cake that used to be prepared in an old fashioned short handled pan known as a "spider." Old cookbooks have this cake appearing as early as the 1800s.
The outside of this cake gets golden brown and slightly crisp in the oven while the inside stays tender. One of the unique attributes of the Spider Cake as opposed to your garden-variety cornbread is the thin stripe of creamy custard that forms in the center of the cake as it cooks. Serve it with butter and a touch of maple syrup or a dollop of your favorite jam for a easy and homey breakfast.
Get the Recipe
Spider Cake (New England Skillet Corncake) »
Got a favorite classic American dessert recipe you'd like to see featured here? Email us with the subject: "American Classics."
About the author: Alexandra Penfold is mild-mannered children's book editor by day, food ninja by night. Never one to skip dessert she's the Brownie half of Blondie & Brownie and a Midtown Lunch contributor. You can follow her on Twitter at @blondiebrownie.


text:
Make it Fiber Rich
One of the most effective ways to lose weight is to control hunger. The best way to control hunger is to feel full. Fiber is the most fulfilling macronutrient we can find. Beginning your day with a fiber-rich meal can help you get more fiber throughout the entire day. A breakfast filled with slow burning/high fiber/lower glycemic carbohydrates, such as steel cut oatmeal or bran cereal, 2 to 3 hours before exercise, may burn more body fat and enhance your performance.
Lower glycemic/high fiber carbohydrates tend to regulate blood sugar levels which can prevent early exercise fatigue. Aim to get 25 to 50 grams of fiber-rich food daily. Some of the highest fiber breakfast foods are steel cut oatmeal, bran cereal, berries, ground flax seeds and nuts. Be sure to increase your fluid intake while increasing your fiber intake to keep everything moving smoothly.
More: 3 Tips to Add Real Fiber to Your Diet
Make it High Protein
Choosing proteins earlier in the day increases satiety and may reduce hunger throughout the day. Higher protein breakfasts take longer to break down, allowing us to feel fuller longer. Protein rich breakfasts also reduce ghrelin, our hunger hormone, which increases our satiety.
According to a University of Missouri study published in "Obesity" in 2011, it took only 15 to 30 grams, (an egg has approximately 7 grams), of protein in breakfast to jumpstart the metabolism, prevent mid-morning sugar crashes, and manage overeating all day long. Protein is a great way to start your day. Choose healthy, lean proteins daily such as lower sodium smoked salmon, organic greek yogurt, nitrate free chicken sausage or turkey bacon, organic scrambled tofu, beans, natural nut butters or hot quinoa.
A study in the International Journal of Obesity found that people who eat eggs for breakfast lose 65 percent more weight than those who eat bagels for breakfast. Eggs have gotten such a bad reputation over the years for increasing cholesterol. We now know that isn't true. Make sure to choose omega-3, pasture-raised eggs.
- 2
- of
- 3


text:
Topic: Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM)
Hi, most of the following information are from uptodate.com/patients .
Additional info.is available through cancer.gov/cancerinfo/treatment/cam.
Alternative medical systems such as:
1.Acupuncture with electrical stimulation has been found to be useful in treating nausea and vomiting from chemotheraphy.
2.Hypnosis -studies have suggested it may be useful for controlling pain;nausea and vomiting prior to chemotherapy(anticipatory emesis).
3.Spirituality-studies have shown that religious involvement and spirituality are associated with better health outcomes,including long life and low anxiety.
4.Massage therapy-a study done by Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center of 1,290 patients found that pain,anxiety,fatigue and nausea decreased by 50% in patients who received massage,benefits lasting upto 48hours.
Alternative cancer treatments (ACTs)such as:
1..Dietary treatments such as Gerson regimen and Kelley-Gonzalez regimen etc did not show convincing evidence significantly prolong the life of cancer patients.
2.Selected vegetables -in 2 small studies,patients received traditional medical treatments as well as the Sun's soup improved survival; but the studies were small and had weaknesses in study design,further studies is needed.
3.Herbal medicine such as green tea,essiac,ginseng,mistletoe and St.John's wort.none of these herbals have proven to cure or improve cancer in reliable clinical studies;Survival was improved with sho-saiko-to (a chinese herbal mixture) in chronic hepatitis patients who are HBsAg negative.
4.Nonherbal supplements such as melatonin,shark and bovine cartilage, hydrazine,thymus extracts failed to demonstrate positive impact of survival.
In a double-blind study of breast cancer patients,there was no benefit from the use of coenzyme Q in self- reported cancer treatment-related fatigue.
the antitumor efficacy of shiitake mushroom extract was tested in an open-label study for 62 men with prostate cancer for 6 months and was concluded by the authors that the extract alone was ineffective.There was also no credible evidence to support lycopene intake may reduce the risk of cancer.
High dose of intravenous vitamin C is widely used by practitioners of CAM for the belief that antioxidant such as vitamin C can prevent cancer and retarding the oxidative damage done by free radicals; however there is little evidence to support an important role for vitamin C in cancer prevention.
General recommendations by uptodate.com are:
Get reliable information through your healthcare team(doctor,nurse, dietitian, pharmacist) and government-sponsored web-sites about the safety,risks and benefits of the CAM treatment and choose the person providing CAM with care;
The safety of CAM treatments should always be considered. And being "natural" does not mean that a product or treatment is safe.
I hope the info. helps.


text:
WHEN THE SOLD-OUT Tam Jam brought rock 'n' roll back to Mount Tamalpais last month, it was the first high-profile rock concert in the Mountain Theater since the Summer of Love in 1967. It now looks like it won't be the last.
The eight-hour show, a benefit for Mount Tamalpais State Park, went so smoothly that park officials have given organizers the green light to start planning a second Tam Jam for next year, with the possibility of making it an annual event, perhaps over two days.
On June 22, a picture-perfect early summer day, a well-behaved crowd of 3,750 filled the 1930s-era stone amphitheater near Tam's East Peak for the inaugural Tam Jam, drawn by the novelty of the occasion and the afternoon's lineup of bands — Galactic, Cake, Nashville's Mike Farris and the Roseland Rhythm Revue, the Taj Mahal Trio and Marin's Danny Click and the Hell Yeahs.
"From the state parks' perspective, we thought it was very successful," said Supervising Ranger Ryen Goering, noting that rangers wrote one citation for marijuana smoking, but had no other problems.
Tickets for the show, produced by the 100-year-old Tamalpais Conservation Club, were priced at $50 to $100. Because there hadn't been a concert of this magnitude in the Mountain Theater in 46 years, organizers said their main goal was to prove that a rock show was viable in such a remote location at a time of year when the fire danger is high. They weren't sure if it would actually make money, but after a detailed accounting, they ended up in the black, raising $25,000 for the state park.
"We went into this thinking at best we would break even this year," said Tamalpais Conservation Club President Larry Minikes. "We're so pleased that we're able to give money to the park this year."
Because the production team has to bear the expense of bringing the stage, sound system and other infrastructure equipment up the mountain for the show, Executive Producer Michael Nash said it might make more sense financially for the next Tam Jam to be a two-day event.
"It would be fun to do that, but the question is, would we raise sufficiently more money to make it worth the effort?" he said. "If we feel we would, then we'll proceed that way."
A two-day rock extravaganza would be the first on the mountain since the legendary Fantasy Fair and Magic Mountain Music Festival on June 10 and 11, 1967, when some 10,000 young rock fans each day overflowed the 4,000-seat Mountain Theater to hear such seminal bands as the Doors, the Jefferson Airplane, the Byrds. Moby Grape, Steve Miller (then a resident of Mill Valley) and Marin's homegrown Sons of Champlin, plus pop and soul acts like Dionne Warwick and Smokey Robinson and the Miracles.
It was the first outdoor rock festival in history, preceding Woodstock, Altamont and the seminal Monterey Pop Festival just a week later, which overshadowed it, reducing it to a footnote of the hippie era.
"I can't imagine having 20,000 people up there," Goering said. "That amount of people probably denuded the area, creating a resource issue and a law enforcement issue as well."
In its aftermath, state officials formed a citizen commission that established guidelines essentially barring rock concerts with amplified music in the Mountain Theater, officially known as the Cushing Memorial Amphitheater. The only large public productions that have been allowed are the six performances of the annual Mountain Play.
But Tam Jam was evidence that rock fans have learned how to behave at festivals over the decades, and have become better educated about protecting fragile environments like Mount Tamalpais.
"We were initially worried, based on past experiences, but we had less problems with this concert than with the Mountain Play," Goering said.
He was one of seven state park rangers and administrators on the site during the show, including Marin District Superintendent Danita Rodriguez.
"It went very smoothly," she said. "Everybody had a good time. It was well run. Overall, we're very pleased."
Contact Paul Liberatore via email at email@example.com


text:
Detail Images
Current Color
Free 2-Day shipping on orders over $50*
Select style & size:Select options
6 Reviews
Your comfy home away from home.
If you've ever lain awake in your tent on a sweltering night, then the Kelty Salida 2-Person 3-Season Tent has your name written all over it. The Salida's mesh walls provide you with plenty of fresh air so you don't baste in your own sweat, while the waterproof fly (which has a roomy vestibule, by the way) is easy enough to put on that you can go to sleep under the stars and throw it on in a hot minute if it starts to drizzle.
Setting the Salida up is simple, too, seeing as it only uses two DAC Pressfit poles and has color-coded clips to prevent confusion. Guyout points provide some easy reinforcement if you're looking for more space, while internal pockets hold your gear, and roof loops hold a gear loft if you pick one up. Even the Tent Cube storage bag is thoughtfully designed, so you'll be able to pack up the Salida, which weighs under 4.5 pounds, quickly and get back on the trail in no time flat.
- Polyester walls with mesh panels
- Polyester fly with a PU coating
- Nylon floor with taped seams and a PU coating
- Single door and vestibule
- Two DAC Pressfit aluminum poles and color-coded clips
- Gear-loft loops and internal pockets
- Guyout points
- Noiseless zipper pulls
- Item #KEL002U
Tech Specs
Gearhead Help
Tech Specs
- Reviews
What do you think about this product?
Have questions about this product?
Great value light weight tent!
This is a great value for a light weight tent. It's quick to setup and doesn't take up to much space in my backpack.
Great light weight tent
- Familiarity: I've put it through the wringer
Love this tent. Have taken everywhere from the Smokey Mountains to Yellowstone National Park. Holds up great in the rain and set up is a breeze. (takes 5min or less) Pretty light weight and a roomy enough vestibule for a pack and boots. Easily fits two if you are pretty comfortable with your tent mate but better for one person if you prefer a little space.
Best Tent!
- Familiarity: I've put it through the wringer
Best tent I've ever purchased!
Great tent, great price
- Familiarity: I've used it several times
Lightweight, not ultra-light. Weight savings come from one door and no vents. Materials are very durable. Upgraded the stakes to Kelty no-bendums. I carry 8 (4 for tent body, 4 for fly and guy lines). The tent comes with 4 guy lines, I carry 7 (4 for poles stabilization and 3 for tent body). The back of the fly should be guyed out to prevent condensation from dripping into the tent. Tent comes with a rectangular stuff bag, I use it for storage. I carry the fly and tent body in a Kelty medium compression bag (color Chili), and the poles and stakes separately to save space in my pack. Excellent for one person who wants to store their gear in their tent. Great for a couple, will be cramped for two large people. A very good tent for the price.
Kelty Tents: Salida Tents
Check out our award winning Salida tents
Home away from home
Rae Lakes
Easy set up
- Familiarity: I've used it several times
This is a great backpacking tent. Super light weight and with the fly off it allows for some awesome star gazing. This tent is also a great beginner tent for my son to use on scouting trips, or for sleepovers in the backyard. With just a little help he is able to set up the tent. He is 8 years old, which shows just how easy this tent is to assemble. My only complaint is that the stakes bend if the ground is too hard.
With two adults, it's a snug fit. With two adults and a boxer, it was a bit too much. I think my dog needs his own tent.
Comfy for 1
- Familiarity: I've used it once or twice and have initial impressions
I took this tent on my first weekend beach camping trip. It is spacious for one person but it only has one door so I probably won't use it to go camping with another person--it'll make it feel claustrophobic I think. This was my first time setting up a tent, but my friend's tent was slightly easier to set up with only one person. Her Kelty tent had a locking clip that hooked the 2 poles together at the top so the frame was standing up on it's own. Pretty nifty
Is a footprint included?


text:
18''H x 48''W x 20''D
Built tough with UV gelcoat finish and stainless steel lockable latch and hardware, the Stow 'n Go Dock Box is sure to hold up in the harshest marine environments. Gas shock lifts keep the lid open on rocking docks and in high wind areas and allow for a slower, more controlled closing. These fiberglass molded dock boxes are constructed with a smooth interior finish which helps prevent splinters when storing and retrieving your boating accessories.


text:
Treasuries Are Ignoring the Cliff
Why aren't Treasuries moving on fiscal cliff news?
On Wednesday, the S&P 500 opened down 13 points on comments from Erskine Bowles claiming it was likely the U.S. would "go off" the fiscal cliff. But we quickly rallied on comments by the president and congressional leaders that talks were making progress. The S&P finished up 11 points....680 more words left in this article. To read them, just click below and try Real Money FREE for 14 days.
There's no substitute for a trading floor to get great ideas, so Jim Cramer created a better one at Real Money and blogs there exclusively. We then added legendary hedge fund manager, Doug Kass, with his exclusive Daily Diary and best investing ideas. Staffed with more than 4 dozen investing pros, money managers, journalists and analysts, Real Money Pro gives you a flood of opinions, analysis and actionable trading advice found nowhere else, and allows you to interact directly with each expert.
Already a Subscriber? Please login.


text:
California American Water's proposal for a privately owned desalination plant could be facing a rocky road, according to three prominent public officials.
Following the well-publicized collapse of the public-private partnership at the core of the failed regional desal project, Cal Am decided to pursue building, owning and operating its own desal plant as part of its new water supply proposal filed with the state Public Utilities Commission on Monday.
Cal Am is partnering with two public agencies — the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District and the Monterey Regional Water Pollution Control Agency — on the aquifer storage and recovery and groundwater replenishment projects that make up nearly half of the proposed new water supply.
But the desal plant would be solely owned by Cal Am in violation of Monterey County's ordinance requiring that they be publicly owned. Cal Am officials have argued the ordinance doesn't apply to the company because it is exclusively regulated by the PUC, whose general counsel Frank Lindh has produced an opinion backing that premise.
However, county Supervisors Dave Potter and Jane Parker and Carmel Mayor Jason Burnett all expressed concern that the absence of public ownership and ongoing oversight in Cal Am's proposal could result in a legal challenge and a potentially lengthy delay for the project.
"I have said forever that if Cal Am doesn't find a public agency as a partner, there's going to be a problem," Potter said. "I know they hope they can get the Board of Supervisors to drop public ownership, but I told them I don't think they can win that fight. To say the county should walk away from the reason for the ordinance — public health and safety — is not a good idea. If they think they're going to litigate this, then I think they're going down the wrong path."
Parker said, "My feeling is the county passed the ordinance for a reason, and I think it fits in with my idea that the greatest public transparency possible is the way to go. I don't see any reason to throw it out."
Burnett, the newly minted mayor who is also the newest member of the Monterey Peninsula Regional Water Authority, said he has already engaged in discussions about the potential for a public partnership, and noted that Cal Am has shown a willingness to cooperate on other aspects of the water supply project.
"Overall, I think Cal Am's proposal is good," Burnett said. "But the public ownership portion is of concern. I see this as a divisive issue that will likely lead to more delay, and that's not good. I'm interested in seeing if we can address that. I think this is a good starting position for Cal Am. It's a good start."
Cal Am spokeswoman Catherine Bowie said company officials know there are discussions about a potential partnership but that she's not aware of any formal proposal. She said company officials are open to workable proposals as long as they don't slow down the process of getting the project on line in time to provide a source of water for the Peninsula by the end of 2016. That's when a state-ordered cutback in pumping from the Carmel River takes effect.
"We're certainly not eager to repeat the mistakes of the past," she said. "The issue for us is the deadline — 2016 is a real date."
Bowie stressed that the public will have an opportunity to participate in the PUC review process and that local organizations such as WaterPlus and LandWatch Monterey County are expected to be parties to the proceeding.
Potter said a privately owned desal plant would give Cal Am a "black eye" before the state Coastal Commission, where he served for years, and predicted the commissioners would not look favorably on converting a public resource to a private commodity.
He suggested that Cal Am could consider a limited public partnership that would give the county enough of a "level of comfort" to allow the project to move forward. While Potter dismissed the idea that the county would be involved, he suggested Cal Am could partner with the pollution control agency and consider locating the desal plant on the agency's 600-acre site.
Monterey City Councilwoman Libby Downey said she talked to Potter and Burnett about proposing a public partnership with Cal Am that would have the water management district build the desal plant, but a planned meeting with the company earlier in the week never happened.
Downey said she would still prefer public ownership but the community may need to get behind Cal Am's current proposal for now because it is most likely to meet the deadline. She said the parties could work on other alternatives as a fall-back in case Cal Am's project is delayed.
"I think we're caught between what we want and reality," she said.
Burnett said he believes a public partnership could offer access to better financing, and wants to see a full "apples-to-apples" comparison of private vs. public financing for the project. He said he expects plenty of discussion about public ownership and oversight in the coming days, and that the Peninsula water authority can work with the water management district to be a "fair judge" of the water supply proposal.
The authority is next scheduled to meet May 10.
LandWatch executive director Amy White said her organization doesn't understand why Cal Am isn't pursuing a public partnership, but noted there are other important issues still to be resolved, including water rights.
Jim Johnson can be reached at 753-6753 or email@example.com.