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News Release
Media Contact: TPWD News, firstname.lastname@example.com, 512-389-8030
Oct. 24, 2007
Young Hunters Get First Shot During Special Weekend
AUSTIN, Texas — Passing the hunting heritage, as well as a rifle or shotgun, on to the next generation of hunters are what the upcoming special youth-only seasons are all about, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
TPWD has set aside this weekend, Oct. 27-28, as special youth-only seasons for white-tailed deer, Rio Grande turkey and waterfowl in the North and South Duck Zones, to encourage adults to share the hunting experience with the next generation of hunters.
"This special weekend is an opportunity for families to devote some time afield with the kids and pass on Texas' hunting heritage to the next generation," said TPWD wildlife division director Mike Berger. "We're seeing an abundance of wildlife across the state this year and there's never been a better time to get a youngster involved in hunting."
During the statewide special youth-only hunting weekend, licensed youth 16 years of age or younger will be allowed to harvest white-tailed deer and Rio Grande turkey.
A Special Youth Hunting License ($6) is required and may be purchased wherever hunting licenses are sold, as well as online and by phone at 1-800-TX-LIC-4U for an additional convenience fee. General season bag limits for the county hunted apply during the youth-only weekend.
Hunting for ducks, mergansers and coots during the youth-only season will be limited to youngsters 15 years of age or younger. Bag limits under the Hunter's Choice experimental program apply.
"With the cooler weather, we're anticipating near record numbers of ducks migrating through Texas this fall and habitat conditions are prime," said Berger.
Berger noted that TPWD has made an extra effort to open as much public hunting land as possible to youth hunting on department-managed lands. Youth who are hunting on TPWD lands must be accompanied by a supervising adult 18 years of age or older who possesses the required Annual Public Hunting permit, a valid hunting license and any required stamps and permits.
Youth hunts for either sex white-tailed deer are scheduled during the special weekend season on 21 public hunting units covering about 325,000 acres, mostly in East Texas. Youth waterfowl hunts are available on many public hunting units.
The Annual Public Hunting Permit is a $48 permit, valid from Sept. 1 through Aug. 31 of the following year. The permit allows an adult access to designated public hunting lands in the TPWD public hunting lands program. Hunting is allowed for small game, turkey, white-tailed deer, exotics, predators, furbearers, and fishing without having to pay daily permit fees and in most instances, without having to be selected in a drawing.
Along with the appropriate Texas hunting licenses and stamps, permit holders may take youth under age 17 hunting free of charge on these public hunting lands.
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- Treatments
- Botox
- Pictures
- 46 year old female with...
46 year old female with crows feet, loss of lip volume with smokers lines, heaviness of upper eye lids
*Treatment results may vary
150 of 1977
Was this photo helpful? {{ voteCount + ' other' + (voteCountOthers == 1 ? '' : 's') }} found this helpful
Before: Deep forehead lines, heaviness upper eye lids due to brow drooping, puffiness lower lids, thin lips with smokers lines, deep marionette folds. After: Botox injections to her forehead and around the eyes. Note lifted eye brows and less heaviness in the upper lids due to the Botox injections. Juvederm injections in her lips and lip lines, marionette folds, and around her lower eye lids to camouflage the puffiness.

subset: commoncrawl


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Bacon wrapped, Goat cheese and almond stuffed Dates
This is the last of the "Stuff It!" party posts. I've actually never seen or eaten a date before making these little guys. Two weeks later, I've already made 3 batches. These have the perfect combination of salty and sweet, chewy and crunchy. I got hubby to help assemble them. They're loosely based on a recipe from Allrecipes.
Bacon wrapped, goat cheese and almond stuffed dates – makes ~32
1 pkg pitted dates
4-5 oz goat cheese
~32 almonds
thick cut bacon
Cut the bacon in half and set aside.
Slice dates in half, and open them up. Scoop a small amount of goat cheese into the center of the dates (I used a teaspoon, hubby used his fingers). Place an almond in the goat cheese and close the halves of the dates.
Wrap a half-slice of bacon around the outside of the date. Secure each one with a toothpick. We found it was best to fill all the dates first, then wrap them all. Arrange in a baking dish or on a baking sheet with sides to catch any grease.
Broil for about 5 minutes on each side or until bacon is cooked. We also threw these on the grill the second time around. They took a little longer, but were still delicious.
Remove toothpicks before serving.
Note – I am submitting this in Joelen's TGIF Martini Mixer blogging event. Check out the details here.
9 Responses to "Bacon wrapped, Goat cheese and almond stuffed Dates"
Now I think bacon wrapped dates are amazing… but stuffed with goat cheese & almond?! Yum! I wish I knew of this before my Tapas party last weekend 🙂
These are absolutely amazing!
wow sooooo good, recently had something like these (maybe minus the goat cheese?) at a reception. but i love goat cheese. need to buy me some dates 🙂
Yay for goat cheese! It really does make them better, doesn't it?
Okay, so I had these babies at a party in rural Massachusetts this weekend, and I have no idea who made them (they were part of a HUGE spread and like 100 people brought food), and I'm wondering, given your proximity, whether or not I may have possibly eaten your delights unknowingly?
Aleta – it was not me, although it sounds like a great party. These always get gobbled up anywhere we take them!
do you think these would be good at room temperature?
I am going to an outdoor concert next week and wanted to bring some finger food!
These are awesome at room temperature. We've made them a ton. You can make them and refrigerate for a couple days before grilling/broiling, you can also go ahead and cook them just leave them at room temperature. I prefer them at room temperature actually.
Would you imagine using some milder-tasting cheese like Brie tasting good?


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Parking Only American Mission Anglicans - Sign Women Raglan T-Shirt
Product Color:
Product information
The Women Raglan T-Shirt Parking Only American Mission Anglicans - Sign is a sporty version of the popular favorite t-shape. It provides comfort and control over most weathers and can also be worn underneath a t-shirt or a shirt for extra protection. The sporty raglan design gives it a more casual approach.
Put Parking Only American Mission Anglicans - Sign on the finest combed jersey which feels soothing against your skin. Shoulder-to-shoulder taping guarantees long life and a good fit. Reactive fabric to ensure no bleeding of colors. Anglican Mission In The Americas Women Raglan T-Shirt is available in 10 different color options. Heather Grey: 80% Cotton/20% Polyester, Remaining Colors: 100% Cotton.
Sku: TR2HGBL00025050909090048YGBL00000


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The last time I was visiting my sister, I decided to thank her and her roommates for graciously hosting me, by making them a delicious home cooked meal. They live in a townhouse with an amazing, gorgeous kitchen, which much to my dismay, was "hardly ever used." As I opened and closed each cabinet, thinking about what I would make, I noticed a lack of kitchen tools. In the end I made salmon wrapped in bacon, mini baked potatoes with prosciutto bits and salad. I was awfully worried about the dessert, especially considering there were very few kitchen tools and only a few pots and pans. In the end I found the following recipe for carrot cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. No special tools are required, not even a mixer (luckily the girls had cupcake tins!) and the recipe is simple yet tasty. If I want to make a dessert but have no tools nearby I make this. For the recipe,
Carrot Cupcakes with Cream-Cheese Frosting
From Martha Stewart
For the Cupcakes:
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons orange juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cups shredded carrots
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup shredded coconut, plus more for garnish
For the Icing:
8 ounces cream cheese (room temperature)
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 tablespoon vanilla extract
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Make the cupcakes: In a bowl, combine sugar, vegetable oil, orange juice, vanilla extract, and eggs.
- Stir in baking powder, baking soda, allspice, and salt. Add flour; mix.
- Stir in carrots, walnuts, and coconut.
- Oil a standard muffin tin or line with paper cups; distribute batter evenly.
- Bake until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean, 25 minutes.
- Make the icing: In a mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, and vanilla extract.
- Whisk until smooth.
- Let cool before frosting. Garnish with toasted shredded coconut.


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March 1, 2013
Operation Shark Fin targets illegal gill netting and long lines along lower coast
AUSTIN — Operation Shark Fin, a four-day, around-the-clock Texas Parks and Wildlife Department law enforcement effort along the lower coast aimed at disrupting trans-national criminal organizations engaged in illegal commercial fishing and other activities in the Gulf of Mexico, the Rio Grande, and Lake Falcon has resulted in the seizure of 17,500 feet of long lines, two vessels and 15 citations or arrests.
More than 50 state game wardens and 10 TPWD patrol vessels participated in the intensive operation, which began Monday and concluded at 12 a.m. Friday.
"TPWD game wardens are committed to protecting our natural recourses across the state," said Special Operations Chief Grahame Jones of the TPWD Law Enforcement Division. "Operation Shark Fin focused on the lower coast border region where commercial fishing vessels from Mexico known as "launchas" enter our state and federal waters illegally. The "launcha" crews use gill nets and long lines to catch whatever they can, including many shark species and red drum."
During the special operation, game wardens made contact with 65 vessels, 5 vehicles and 206 people.
Wardens seized two "launchas" from Mexico (one on the Gulf of Mexico and one on Lake Falcon) and the U.S. Coast Guard seized a third vessel on the Gulf. In addition, wardens seized 17,500 feet of long lines in the Gulf, 6,300 feet of gill nets in the Rio Grande and Lake Falcon and 19 abandoned crab traps in the lower Rio Grande.
"In many cases," Jones said, "Mexican waters have been overfished. Because of that, we are now seeing an increasing number of vessels from Mexico illegally fishing in Texas or federal waters."
At one point during the operation, game wardens assisted the Coast Guard, South Padre Island Police and the Cameron County Sheriff's Office in the search for the body of a man believed to have jumped from the Queen Isabella Causeway connecting Port Isabel and South Padre Island. Wardens also assisted one disabled vessel during the operation.
Citations or arrests included four for sport fishing violations; two commercial fishing violations (possession of headed/tailed snapper, fillets seized from shrimp boat); two drug-related arrests; three alcohol-related arrests; and two local warrant arrests. In addition, two juvenile runaways were located.
Fish recovered from illegal long lines and gill net included Atlantic sharpnose sharks, black tip sharks, and red drum.
"TPWD is extremely appreciative of the long-term efforts by the U.S. Coast Guard in combating illicit commercial fishing activities in the Gulf," Jones said, "particularly commercial vessels from Mexico which routinely fish state and federal waters using illegal long lines and gill nets."
Sharks, the most common target of these vessels, are harvested not only for their meat, but also for their fins. Shark fins, used for soup, are considered some of the world's most expensive seafood and high demand for it supports a world-wide black market.
Arrests in gill netting or long line cases are rare. When commercial fishermen from Mexico are caught in the act in Texas or U.S. waters, the only charges that can be filed are misdemeanors punishable by fines. However, the illegal fishing equipment and vessel can be seized.
Marine interests spotting gill nets or long lines in Texas waters are urged to call the Operation Game Thief hotline at 1-800-792GAME (4263), contact a game warden or notify the U.S. Coast Guard.
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(5.4.16 i)


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Home > Communities > Technical Activities > Second Life
This page is for users who are new to or unfamiliar with Second Life (SL). It explains how to get started using Second life, including types of equipment required, bandwidth and settings requirements, and download instructions. Learn how to create an account, adjust graphics preferences for your computer, navigate the Second Life features, and more.
SL will run on most newer computers, but the software's full graphic richness and high frame rate are can only be viewed on a relatively powerful machine. SL needs as much Internet bandwidth as possible (preferably wired); it uses the CPU heavily and benefits from multicore chips; and a high-end graphics card can make the SL environment look like an architectural rendering. Nevertheless, even on a lower-powered machine, SL can function effectively.
IEEE staff should keep in mind that SL voice chat is not available from within the IEEE network. In addition, setting up accounts in SL from within the IEEE network might not work reliably. A solution to this common problem is to set up an account from elsewhere and forego voice chat while at the office (or altogether).
Second Life's performance is strongly affected by the settings on the Graphics tab in the Preferences menu.
To access Preferences, click "Mode" and choose the "Advanced" option (you may be required to quit and then restart Second Life). In the horrizontal menu that appears in the upper left, click "Me" and choose "Preferences." In the Preferences menu, click the "Graphics" tab in the left-hand menu, then click the "Advanced" button located in the bottom right-hand side of the menu.
In terms of system response, the most important control is the "Draw distance" slider, which determines how far away from your avatar objects are rendered (or "rezzed"). If you set the number low, only nearby objects are rezzed, but the system is more responsive; if you set it very high, a much larger area is rezzed, but it can greatly reduce the speed of your SL performance. Experiment with the graphics settings to find the best balance for what you're doing at any given time.
When you arrive at a new location in SL, let things rez for a few moments. After the textures and objects around you have loaded, moving around will be smoother and things will generally make more sense.
When you attend a meeting or event, it's a good idea to show up a little early so that everything will have rezzed and you can interact smoothly when the event begins.
1. Go to IEEE Region in Second Life Maps and create a free account (click the "Join Now" button). As part of your registration, you will choose a name and create an avatar; you will be able to modify the avatar once you're in Second Life.
2. Download the Second Life Viewer and install it.
3. Launch the Second Life application and the login screen will appear. Select "Advanced" from the "Mode" drop-down. Type in the name and password you chose earlier and click Login.
Welcome to Second Life!
When you first arrive "in world" (Second Life) as a new user, it is a good idea to run through the tutorials provided to learn the basics.
There are many locations to visit in Second Life. You can use the Search command to help find what you're looking for.
The IEEE Region in Second Life Maps lets you teleport to IEEE Island (your Second Life Viewer must be installed for it to work). Once you are on the page, click "Visit this location" under IEEE region to teleport to IEEE Island.
IEEE Island currently takes advantage of shared-media displays (live web sites), which require Viewer 2. Viewer 1 will be fully supported soon.
There are three ways to get around:
Walking allows for low-speed, random exploration. IEEE Island has a lot of sidewalks for random browsing (including a full-perimeter boardwalk), soon to be enhanced by more displays of various types all around the Island.
Flying is faster than walking and allows quick, direct access to upper floors and other locations, as well as an aerial perspective. Many of the rooftops on IEEE Island are interconnected and are being landscaped so as to create yet another interesting path by which which a visitor might go from building to building, as well as a virtually endless series of private meeting areas for small and large groups.
Teleporting instantly takes you to a new location, similar to clicking on a URL. Getting around islands in Second Life can be confusing because there is often no way to tell where you are and what your options are. IEEE Island is addressing this with a system of island-wide, click-to-teleport, "you are here" maps that will allow a visitor to move quickly from point to point. This navigation and teleport system is scheduled to be fully implemented by year end 2011.
You can do a lot of things with Second Life. Some examples:
Meetings — IEEE Island has numerous locations specifically designed for gatherings of all sizes. Various IEEE groups hold regular meetings on IEEE Island. Residents assemble in a location, and SL's integrated voice chat, text chat, instant messaging, and logging offer them a useful multichannel communications environment with the additional ability to display media of all kinds to the group.
Lectures, presentations, events — IEEE Island has several locations where groups can assemble and display media for all to see. The new Auditorium and the adjacent outdoor Lecture Center are set up for large lectures; they have stages, many seats, and multiple large media screens on stage. A virtual world can be used to hold certain kinds of events — for example: parties, live performances, physical-world/virtual-world hybrid events — that wouldn't make sense in other online environments. IEEE Island hosted part of National Robotics Week 2010, where there were competitions for robot-building (exhibits are still open to the public) and dozens of visitors made their way to the Island.
Machinima — A resident can screen-capture the action in SL as video, import the video into editing software, and turn it into anything from a quick presentation or an educational video all the way to a feature film. Machinimatography is the process of creating videos within a virtual environment. In SL, controllable sets, actors, lighting, objects, and so on offer a powerful creative environment in which to create video content.
Live content display — With a few limitations, web pages can be displayed with full interactivity in Second Life. This opens the possibility of an alternative interface for a large web site, with web changes automatically reflected.
3D data visualization — Complex data might best be rendered in 3D. An avatar could literally walk through a representation of data, perceiving inter-relationships and patterns that would be opaque in a 2D representation. SL offers a relatively simple, flexible environment in which to experiment along these lines.
Education and tutorials — A building can be designed to walk a visitor through a specific learning process, with choices and various outcomes — in effect, using the familiar forms and cues of architecture to structure a cumulative learning experience.


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Quality CareFind out why Mayo Clinic is the right place for your health care. Make an appointment.
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Mayo Clinic offers appointments in Arizona, Florida and Minnesota and at Mayo Clinic Health System locations.
Subscribe to Housecall
Our general interest e-newsletter keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics.
We're well into the new year and if you made a resolution to lose weight you may find yourself being tested. So, what's new this year that might help you?
In late 2013, new guidelines on the management of obesity were jointly released by The Obesity Society, The American Heart Association and The American College of Cardiology.
A standardized process was used and many different research studies were reviewed to arrive at evidence-based recommendations for weight management. In other words, there's a lot of scientific proof behind these guidelines, not just what some people believe might be the best way to lose weight.
Guidelines on the management of obesity have not been updated since 1998, so what's new about this report? Well, in some ways not a lot. The guidelines reaffirm that calories count and the best treatment program to help lose weight should include tried-and-true lifestyle changes in diet, physical activity and behavior change for at least 6 months. In other words, there's still no magic bullet for weight loss.
Some parts of the guidelines deserve highlighting. One is that there are health benefits from weight loss of as little as 3 percent to 5 percent, which should be encouraging to you. Beyond that amount, the greater the weight loss, the greater the benefits.
They also note there's not one best diet for weight loss. This is more good news in that you can choose a diet that appeals to you. However, the diet should be nutritionally adequate, sustainable over time and help manage other risk factors if present, such as high blood pressure or high cholesterol.
Another feature is that a weight loss program can be delivered electronically. Some commercial programs are also an option. Finally, the guidelines mention that a long-term (at least one year) maintenance program is the best way to keep weight off. For further information on these new guidelines, talk to your health care provider.
Donald Hensrud, M.D.
Mayo Clinic does not endorse companies or products. Advertising revenue supports our not-for-profit mission.
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We comply with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information: verify here.


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http://s283.photobucket.com/albums/kk31 ... 081554.flv
So here is what my typical distance drive looks like. I take a Wraith and give it some anny for a long gradual turn. Not really the most accurate way to throw but on holes like this (the basket is on flat ground at the top of this hill) all out distance is more important to me.
It looks to me like I need to get my hips and legs involved earlier. I could be wrong but it appears I use more leg power right after the hit than I do before it. It's cool to see myself throw, I never really knew but I have a sort of hybrid straight reach, into the bent elbow right before I start my pull. I also pull through very high on these anhyzer shots.
Anyway any suggestions are appreciated. I'm always working on my game.
By the way, Sorry for the watermark on the video, I took it with a cell and it's frustrating trying to find a decent free converter.


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Video: Introducing the Crutchfield Labs
Steve Kindig has been an electronics enthusiast for over 30 years. He has written extensively about home and car A/V gear for Crutchfield since 1985. Steve is also a volunteer DJ at community radio station WTJU, where he is a regular host of the American folk show "Atlantic Weekly," as well as the world music program "Radio Tropicale."
More from Steve Kindig
Heads up!Welcome to this article from the Crutchfield archives. Have fun reading it, but be aware that the information may be outdated and links may be broken.
Steve, Crutchfield A/V Editor, gives us a tour of the Crutchfield Labs. He talks about why we built the Labs and how they can help us find you the right gear.
Video Transcript
Steve: I'm standing in Crutchfield Labs. And Crutchfield has always been about researching products and passing that information along to our customers. But with Crutchfield Labs, we've expanded the space that we have dedicated to it and the resources quite a bit so that we can dig even deeper into products and provide a lot more information to our customers.
So most of the Crutchfield Labs area is brand new but this research area is really a core of what Crutchfield Labs is about. And these guys have been doing product research for years. What they do is when we get new equipment in, they take the stuff out of the boxes and measure it and turn it on make sure that it does everything that it's supposed to do. And then they enter that information into our database so that when you go to our website you'll see some information called Hands-On Research. And that's the information that these guys have entered.
So this section of the Crutchfield Labs is our TV viewing area. And we've set this up so that we can take one video source and feed that signal to all four of these TVs at the same time so we can do head-to-head comparisons between different TV brands.
So in this part of the labs we've got several demo stations set up and they're there for a couple of reasons. First our sales advisors, tech support guys, writers, really anyone who wants to, can come down here and check out some of the gear that we have set up. It's a great opportunity to get hands-on experience with products that we sell, and makes it a lot easy to answer customers when they have questions. We also have a couple of stations down here where we can do more involved, more scientific measurements and we use those to supplement our subjective reviews when we're looking at equipment.
So this is the Home A/V listening room in the lab and this is actually my favorite part of the lab. I've been spending a lot of time down here. And what we've got set up in here is we have actually two systems in this room. We have our two channel stereo music listening set up at this end of the room and then at the other end we have a multi-channel surround sound set up. We were able to build new walls down here and we had access to the ceiling joists so we were able to do some pretty serious structural sound proofing. Much more of the sound is kept in the room and it worked out really well. We took measurements both before and after we did the soundproofing treatment and it made a huge difference.
So Crutchfield Labs isn't just about home audio/video. We also have another listening room right next door for car audio/video. And you'll be seeing a lot more videos and articles based on research that we've done here in the lab coming soon.


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Energy Price Outlook
Oil prices are likely to hold within their relatively sideways direction in the near-term, as support from a weaker dollar is countered by uncertainty over the fiscal cliff. WTI had a nice bounce early in the session yesterday but fell back to close near the day's low. Today's trade will continue its focus on negative factors such as the lack of progress in fiscal cliff negotiations, recent signs of weakening economic data, and the potential that oil inventories remain elevated compared to their five-year average. The upside will focus mainly on the inability of WTI to break below the two-month consolidation bottom at $84.05, the potential of the Chinese economy to recover, and on the debt deal struck with Greece last week.
WTI settled 18c/bbl higher yesterday while Brent finished 31 cents lower. The market gained support early in the session due to the marginal recovery in the two Chinese PMI figures over the weekend. Support was also applied by weakness in the dollar caused by follow-through from last week's debt deal with Greece. Oil prices fell around mid-morning in the wake of the ISM manufacturing PMI number, which fell to 49.5 from 51.7, with weakness caused by preparations for the fiscal cliff. The employment component fell to 48.4 from 52.1 which suggests that Friday's employment report could show a contraction in manufacturing jobs. WTI peaked at $90.33 before turning lower yesterday and held at the previous high made on Nov 19th at $89.80 on a closing basis.
The effects of the fiscal cliff are still evident in the oil market as well as other risk assets. It's likely that in true Washington style, the White House and Congress will delay a decision in order to show their constituents that they're fighting for them. It's frustrating for the markets because the negative effect that the uncertainty is offering could have all been avoided if there was action taken earlier in the year. Artificial pressure is thus forced onto the market, which in the current instance is being countered by weakness in the dollar.
European finance ministers eased the terms on emergency aid for Greece last week by cutting the rates on bailout loans, suspending interest payments for a decade, and giving Greece more time to engineer a bond buyback. The action has been positive for the euro and thus negative for the dollar, which is mainly an inverse gauge of the euro due to its composition. The two-way tug of war may continue in the near-term, as support from dollar weakness will be countered by the adverse consequences on the economy from the fiscal cliff.
Natural Gas
January gas futures settled 3.0 cents higher yesterday, as the focus turned to cold weather once again. CWG said that normal temperatures could be seen in the Northeast and Midwest from Dec 13th-17th. The focus on colder temperatures ran counter to events last week which began discounting the 60 and 70 degree temperatures being seen in the Midwest currently.
A secondary focus was likely given to technical factors, which sees key support between $3.52 and $3.57. The 200-day MA offers support in NGF3 at $3.52, the 50-day MA on the continuation chart is at $3.54, and the bottom of a bullish flag continuation pattern currently sits at $3.57. These three levels are backed up by a developing bullish divergence on the daily stochastics (chart below), and by a favorable seasonal pattern that began with yesterday's close. Between Dec 3rd and Dec 20th, the market has gained 5.3% on average, although only 11 of the last 20 years saw rallies. In years where the injection season ended before Nov 9th as it did this year, the average increase is 11.0%. Prices advanced in 3 of those 4 years.
Prices are expected to bounce in the next few days, with technicals leading the way. Key resistance levels will be at $3.60 from the Nov 12th low and at $3.78 from the low on Nov 16th and we believe that prices may reach the latter level within a week or two. The biggest worry we have is the weather, which is still signaled by NOAA's 6-10 day and 8-14 day forecasts as being above-normal in most of the country except for the northern tier. The degree day numbers from last week suggest a draw of 65 bcf in our view, which would be more than the 51 bcf withdrawal shown by the 5-year average. However, given the high temps in the Midwest currently, along with last week's surprising build of 4 bcf, we don't necessarily believe that Thursday's number will be very bullish.
Global Economic & Dollar News
» China's Nov MFG PMI was 50.6 vs. 50.8 expected and 50.2 previously.
» China's Nov Non-MFG PMI was 55.6 vs. 55.5 previously.
» The U.S. Fiscal Cliff Talks didn't produce anything positive over the weekend. House Speaker Boehner criticized Treasury Geithner's proposal as being not serious and said that negotiations have gotten almost nowhere. Congressional staffers said that things don't appear favorable behind the scenes just as they don't in public.
» ISM MFG PMI was 49.5 in Nov vs. 51.4 expected and 51.7 previously. New orders were 50.3 vs. 54.2 previously while employment was 48.4 vs. 52.1. The group said the decline was partly the result of companies reducing activity before the fiscal cliff.
Energy News
» Morgan Stanley said oil prices are likely to fall through the end of the year before possible gains next year.
Upcoming Energy Events
Tue - API Inventories (4:30pm EST)
Wed - ADP Payrolls
Wed - EIA Weekly Oil Inventories (10:30am EST)
Thu - Natural Gas Inventories (10:30am EST)
Fri - U.S. Non-Farm Payrolls
Dec 12th - OPEC Meeting
Dec 12th - FOMC Meeting and Press Conference
EIA Inventory Preview
The EIA may report a drop in oil inventories this week as the five-year average suggests, however, it should be much smaller than the 2.9 MB average decline. EOX anticipates a drop of 0.5 MB this week, as this year's trend in December should be somewhat counter to that which is typical. Issues related to LIFO accounting typically cause refiners to reduce inventories late in the year when prices advance as the year progresses. Inventories typically fall 13.5 MB between the w/e Nov 30th and Dec 28th, according to the five-year average. Rising prices haven't been an issue this year, and may help keep inventories elevated as a result. Rising domestic oil production is another factor that's likely to keep inventories buoyed this week, as output has increased 1.33 mb/d in the 12 weeks since the 772 kb/d drop caused by Hurricane Isaac. Imports have trended near the low-end of the recent range, but there's little incentive for refiners to increase them, with stocks currently more than 40 MB above the five-year average and refinery margins low.
Refinery utilization usually surges this week before reaching a small peak and declining through year-end. Given low profit margins, however, we don't anticipate a very large increase. It's safe to say that gasoline will build this week, but distillates have still been slow to increase. Gasoline demand is usually steady at low levels at this time of year, while distillate demand usually increases starting this week. We anticipate gains of 2.0 MB and 0.5 MB respectively.
Natural gas stocks may fall 65 bcf according to our estimate, as heating degree days were a fairly high 160-165 according to NOAA. Such a reading would cause our model to predict a draw of 85-90 bcf, however, it has underestimated increases in production for most of this year. Our estimate of 65 bcf is more than the five-year average would suggest is typical for this week, but we don't necessarily expect a bullish market reaction on Thursday. A quick look at temperatures in Chicago showed them 1.07 degrees above normal during the survey week, which may reduce heat demand. We're also wary about expecting a bullish number after last week's 4 bcf increase.
*The API convergence figures are the amounts that EIA data need to change in order to match the previous day's API figures
Grains Commentary
Published Monday morning, 12/3/12
The overnight trade is starting the month of December with renewed hopes that December of 2012 will give a Christmas present like the December of 2011. The beans are already +20, meal has gained $5, oil has posted gains of 70 points, corn is pushing 10 higher and wheat is also +10-12.
The weekend finally saw some wheat business that will be done out of the US as Egypt purchased 230.0mt of US wheat for LH Jan FH Feb, what is interesting about this is that given the time frame for shipment there very easily could be additional wheat business heading to the US shores. We would also point out that the US is nearly 600.0mt behind what the USDA is projecting. The USDA will issue S&D figures on Tuesday the 11th and what everyone is expecting is to see a modest increase in the overall bean CO, wheat CO while the corn CO is projected to be virtually unchanged.
The month of November PMI figure out of China also lends to some early support with it coming in at 50.6 vs. 50.2 last month; this is a 7 month high. This also seem to have lent to the $index being weaker which is assisting in nearly all commodity markets. The Crude oil is back over $90, natural gas is up .02, sugar is up .36, cotton is up .19, gold is up $6, RBOB is up 2.90, the DCE closed higher in all markets, the Matif markets are all higher while the MDEX finished lower.
The OI in corn fell by 8089, wheat was down 9222, beans increased by 3331, meal was up 5991 and oil increased by 4634.
The SA weather could give both the bulls and the bears something to discuss, there is no doubt that Argentina is too wet and 1-1.5m corn acres have been lost and the forecast remains wet, these acres will not go to beans but rather go idol. Brazil for the most part is doing very well and record production should still be achieved given today's forecast.
The basis levels at the Gulf are on fire in the beans where the best offer going home on Friday was +$1.20F, do the math and that puts cash beans at nearly $15.60. The corn basis is also improving as it traded into the upper +.80's on Friday. The bean oil markets in SA are improving as well which is pushing additional business into the US where we already have the entire sales for the calendar year on the books.
The January options have 3 trading weeks left or 18 calendar days and from what we have seen in the 1st 12 hours of trading for the week these January options still could have some life left in them. The SF along with the CF are hovering around the 18% level, both off the lows of 17% last week but from a $ cost are still very inexpensive with so much time left. The CG could also be something to monitor as they are now under 20% and with the critical January report that will be released on January 11th these options could have tremendous value, we would point out that over the past 4 months ADM has aggressively sold the nearby corn option premium...at any level, they have not sold any CG yet so be somewhat cautious with this. The gamma vs. Vega remains something to monitor in corn as the deferred are still significantly higher than the nearby. The BO has eased off over the course of last week and is now getting to parity with beans, for those who think the massive fund short will be chased out by years end the BOF calls on a $ value won't hurt than badly. The meal remains at a premium to the beans and oil, possibly look at 1x2 call spread and even possibly sell some puts against it with futures for the bears or under hedge it for the bulls. The wheat premium are inching higher and are pushing back into the mid 20's with corn so much at a discount there could be some interesting corn/wheat plays to look at such as buying the CG 8 call vs. selling WG 950 call for near even $.


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Sep 20, 2012
Connected content & community: Chicago Integrated Communciations Forum recap
This week's Chicago Integrated Communications Forum played to a packed house and featured speakers from a wide variety of perspectives, including:
Suzanne Fanning, WOMMA
Barbara Rozgonyi, Wired PR Works
Ed Garsten, Chrysler
Tim Albright, Jive Software
Amanda Mitchell, Allscripts
The broad topic of integrated communications was broken down into three segments – context, case studies and community.
The context for the day was set by Suzanne Fanning, of the Word of Mouth Marketing Association, in her discussion of the shifting marketing landscape, and imperatives for organizations today. She noted that social engagement – real interactions with our audiences, is "no longer a hobby," and backed that up with the fact that over the next five years, marketing expenditures on social engagement are set to triple.
Suzanne's presentation offered a great framework for a successful word of mouth marketing program. Key characteristics of a good program are:
- Credible: honest & authentic messages
- Social: brands encourage, listen to and respond to conversations
- Repeatable: the capability to do it all over and over again, to become a "talkable" brand
- Measureable: ability to define, measure & evaluate success
- Respectful : the brand behaves in a transparent and trustworthy manner.
Ed Garsten from Chrysler followed Suzanne, and in his presentation, he charted Chrysler's evolution from "story sellers" to story tellers. Developing your organizations' thought leaders is an important component of making this transformation, he noted, and he offered some guidelines for thought leaders to abide by:
- Forget the past
- Look beyond "now" (as soon as something's in the "now" it's in the past!)
- Use your life experience to grow NEW ideas, don't just adapt old or existing ones.
- Rules? What rules? There are no rules. Write new ones.
Ed noted that we all belong to the "media" now, and discussed how the Chrysler team has evolved from simply selling the company story to using video, text and social media to effectively become reporters embedded within Chrysler, charged with telling the company's own stories. These stories, Ed noted, are self-contained, tightly edited stories that other media can use.
Tim Albright from Jive Software and Amanda Mitchell from Allscripts teamed to give us perspective into the value of developing an online community within a space the organization controls, steering away from the term "social media," and instead, discussing the aspects of running a social business.
Allscripts uses Jive to power a customer community that has delivered real benefit to the company. In addition to increasing loyalty, Allscripts has also gained efficiencies in support – the community is a great resource for people with questions, and that frees up the company's support teams to handle more complex issues.
One insight Tim and Amanda offered about successful communities related to human behavior. Social media encourages normal human behaviors of interacting and seeking community. Psychological levers and game dynamics (e.g. rewards, recognition, reinforcement) can increase participation in a community, and can bring an element of "fun" to the community.
It was a great conversation, and we've just scraped the tip of the iceberg in this blog post. Here are the presenter's decks:
Author Sarah Skerik is PR Newswire's vice president of social media.
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Mastering Turbulence: The Essential Capabilities of Agile and Resilient Individuals, Teams and Organizations
272 pages
July 2012, Jossey-Bass
Rapid and disruptive change threatens the adaptive capacity of organizations, along with the individuals and teams leading them. Based upon over a decade of global research and consulting, Joseph E. McCann and John W. Selsky outline five capabilities highly agile and resilient systems must possess. They must be: Purposeful, Aware, Action-Oriented, Resourceful, and Networked. In addition the authors illustrate how these capabilities can be assessed across four levels—individuals, teams, organizations, and their business ecosystems.
The goal is to develop these capabilities in tandem so that the individual, team, organization and ecosystem have High AR—not just greater agility or resiliency, but both high agility and high resiliency.
- The authors outline balanced development strategies for creating High AR that can be used to master turbulent environments for competitive advantage and sustained performance
- Includes cutting-edge concepts and examples that take readers from the latest advances in neuro-science and executive wellness to global supply chains and innovation strategy
- Contains illustrative examples and vignettes from leading organizations including Mayo Clinic, Microsoft, Starbucks, Southwest Airlines, TECO Energy, Shell Oil, Walmart, and others
Most important, McCann, and Selsky deliver a unique and practical perspective that helps organization leaders make sense of the dynamic world in which they operate.
Table of Contents
List of Figures, Tables, and Exhibits xi
Foreword xiii
Preface xv
Acknowledgments xxiii
1 Turbulence Crossing the Channel 1
2 The Origins and Consequences of Turbulence 17
3 Not A, Not R—It's AR 35
4 Being Well and Acting with Purpose 55
5 Building and Sustaining Awareness 85
6 Designing for Action 107
7 Being Resourceful 129
8 Engaged Networking 155
9 Bringing It All Together 175
Appendix: Assessing Agility and Resiliency 197
References 207
Name Index 221
Subject Index 225
Author Information
Joseph McCann is an internationally acknowledged scholar, consultant, author, and speaker. He is a former dean and professor of management at three business schools, and serves as executive editor of HR People & Strategy.
John W. Selsky is an associate professor of management at the University of South Florida, Lakeland, Florida. He is a well-published author in the areas of collaborative strategy in turbulent environments and cross-sector partnerships.
Both Drs. McCann and Selsky are graduates of The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.
"McCann and Selsky make the case that mastering turbulence is an 'ART'—a rich mix of agility, resiliency, and transformability. As resilience becomes the new sustainability, McCann and Selsky lead the way in showing why and how individuals, teams, organizations, and sectors must strike the right balance between being faster and becoming fitter, for instance, by shifting from competitive strategy and fastest growth to collaborative strategies and collective well-being. Mastering Turbulence is a must-read for anyone striving to navigate our hyperconnected world."—Angela Wilkinson, director, Futures Directorate, Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, Oxford University
"Turbulence in flight is the difference between falling
and flying. We have come to fear turbulence in our quest to control
and make our challenges seem manageable. McCann and Selsky
demystify turbulence and gently guide us into a mindset to use it
to help our organizations become more resilient, adaptive, and
innovative."—Richard Boyatzis, Distinguished University
Departments of Psychology, Cognitive Science and Organizational Behavior, Case Western Reserve University; and coauthor of the international best-sellers, Primal Leadership and Resonant Leadership
"This book integrates theory and practice beautifully. The concept of adaptation is linked rigorously to a theory of turbulent environments. The result is practical advice that has the ring of experience and truth."—Larry Hirschborn, principal, Center for Applied Research (CFAR)


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One thing is for sure: There will be no commentary on American values, on a culture that profits from death, celebrates injustice, practices torture, wages endless wars, spies on its citizens, forecloses on cancer patients, its streets littered with broken dreams, hungry children, food laced with poison, beauty ripped open to make a buck, citizens dying from lack of health coverage while lawmakers enjoy the best in the world, and the list goes on and on.
The president of the United States rains death on the innocent on a regular basis, sending drones to foreign lands that kill defenseless children, 178 at last count. Where is the outcry about that? Author Chris Floyd says "The reality of children being torn to shreds by drone bombs at the order of a Democratic president is no less evil than children shredded by ... the worst psychopathic child-murderer."
Every week the president selects with impunity human beings he wants to murder. Few will call him mentally deranged, or troubled, as the stars of the show almost always are. Fewer yet will ask why. No media will stand at the site of a Pakistani child killed by an American drone and ask why. No one will say, as a recent study confirmed, violence is contagious. Violence begets violence.
No one will call John Boehner mentally ill because he is fighting to make his employers, the filthy rich and the filthy polluters, even richer at the expense of the sick and the elderly. His proposed cuts to Medicare will plunge thousands to the brink of despair and early graves.
President Obama, not to be outdone, is now offering to sacrifice Social Security so the rich can get richer, not because Social Security is part of the problem. His spokesperson, Jay Carney, said just last month, "Social Security is not currently a driver of the deficit. That's an economic fact."
We elect these guys of our own free will!
To many, Boehner and President Obama represent the best that "soap and education" have to offer for so-called civilization. For the president's "achievements" Time magazine named him Person of the Year at this time of greatest poverty since the Great Depression.
Who but a psychopath would want to create even more poverty? Our leaders refuse to address poverty, to come up with policies that feed hungry children, that provide jobs, and violence is the standard mode of operation.
In Waco, Texas, in 1993 President Bill Clinton sent tanks of flaming death into a compound, killing 82 Americans, including children. Bill Clinton now parades around the world posing as a humanitarian and makes a fortune. His secretary of state, Madeleine Albright, said famously about U.S. sanctions in Iraq resulting in the deaths of 500,000 Iraqi children that "the price was worth it."
Albright is not alone. The U.S. Army in Afghanistan says it is acceptable to kill children. And Albright recently received the nation's highest honor, the Medal of Freedom. But a medical doctor in New York who started a foundation to help the victims of the sanctions was dragged out of his house at gunpoint to face a prison sentence.
According to Sarah Sloan of the Iraqi Sanction Challenge it is Albright who "should be on trial in front of an international war crimes tribunal instead of receiving an honor."
Many Americans profit from carnage here and abroad, including members of Congress who take money from makers of assault weapons and drones and then vote against banning assault weapons and drones.
At the age of 20 the killer had already decided his life was hopeless. He would never get the multimillion-dollar contract for hitting a little white ball with a wooden stick or walk the red carpet. So he takes it out on his mother and the young who represent everything he is not: hope of a life where dreams come true. His dad is an executive at GE, a war-mongering company that pollutes, outsources jobs, makes billions, pays no taxes and gets government handouts, values mainstream media is paid to defend and promote.
So when one of their own kills, he's mentally ill. If a person of color had shot up that school, he'd be called a terrorist. His mother lived off a huge yearly divorce settlement. His older brother is a successful businessman, and then there's Adam, a recluse, living with his mother, armed to the teeth, taking her son target shooting, probably feeling like a failure in a town teeming with success.
He stopped communicating with his father when his dad remarried a couple of years ago. What's it like to be a nobody in a somebody world? When that nobody is a child of privilege from a broken home, the result I think is arrogance mixed with feelings of abandonment and dependency. In his case a lethal mixture. And instant fame.
So one day soon another young man filled with rage, fueled by dreams of grandeur, inspired by Adam's rampage and by the violence of his government, will wake up and say, "This is the day. Today is it. Today is when I go and kill and let me try for more than 26. I will star in the latest episode" of the series that includes a young man who entered a mall in Portland, Ore., "on a mission to kill as many as possible"; a man on an Indian reservation who killed three, wounded his own young daughters and died in a shootout with police; the man who gunned down patrons at a coffee house in Seattle.
And we all remember the big rating-getters: Columbine, Virginia Tech, the movie theater in Colorado. Anywhere, anyplace, anytime. We mourn the victims, none more than the children and the hero teachers who defended them with their lives, but we vote for people who attack the teaching profession and would like to replace the passion of these teachers with robotic subject material. Caring about others is the highest of human virtues but the most threatening to those who value nothing but money and the influence it buys.
Given our obsession with wealth and violence and the ruined lives it leaves in its wake, it's not surprising that 34 Americans are shot to death every day and that some experts estimate one out of three American children are abused. Our response is to reward enablers like the president of Penn State with a million-dollar payout.
This is not a peace-loving nation that honors the innocence of children. My heart breaks at the sight of those parents and the horror they are experiencing, and the little children who survived will carry this memory the rest of their lives. But it also breaks for my country that just refuses to examine its values. As long as the silence continues, the carnage will never rise above the level of entertainment. In America, the show's the thing.


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Less than a week removed from officially ending his time with the Lakers, Metta World Peace stepped foot Friday on the set of Hallmark Channel's "Home and Family" at Universal Studios as if nothing changed.
World Peace maintained his gracious personality. In between segments, various actors thanked him for his four seasons with the Lakers, who he helped guide to the 2010 NBA championship, raised funds for mental health charities and kept everyone laughing along the way. At no point did World Peace sound bitter surrounding the circumstances that led to the Lakers waiving him through the amnesty provision.
For one, World Peace said he feels "blessed" he signed with the New York Knicks to a two-year deal worth $3.2 million, including a player option his second season. The former Ron Artest grew up in the Queensbridge section of New York and played at St. John's University. He also called the Lakers "smart" for waiving him, a cost-cutting move that saved them as much as $15 million in luxury taxes.
"If I was the franchise (player), it's different," World Peace said in an interview with this newspaper. "But not being the franchise (player), they have to make a decision. They made a good decision."
Shedding ties with World Peace didn't give the Lakers additional cap flexibility to acquire another player. The Lakers replaced him by signing former USC standout Nick Young to a two-year deal at the veteran's minimum.
He's considered a vast offensive upgrade to World Peace, whose 9.94 points in four seasons with the Lakers came on 40.2 percent shooting. But World Peace's absence coupled with Dwight Howard's departure to the Houston Rockets left the Lakers vulnerable on defense.
World Peace downplayed that reality.
"Things weren't clicking," World Peace reasoned for the Lakers' first-round sweep to the San Antonio Spurs. "I always knew Dwight was going to Houston because things weren't clicking. Once Kobe (Bryant) said he can come back for three years, I knew Dwight was going to Houston."
How did he know?
"It's about clicking," World Peace said. "Dwight doesn't want to be the guy. Dwight had flaws like anybody. But Dwight just wanted to be comfortable. He wasn't comfortable."
Meanwhile, World Peace remained one of the few bright spots of an otherwise disappointing Lakers season.
His improved conditioning contributed to him averaging 12.4 points, his highest output with the Lakers. But he became limited when he returned 12 days after having surgery to treat torn cartilage on his left knee.
World Peace averaged only six points a game and shot 25 percent in the playoffs.
"I thought I was going to finish my career as a Laker," World Peace said. "Sometimes it doesn't work that way."
Shortly after hearing about his departure, World Peace called general manager Mitch Kupchak and asked if he could serve as an unofficial coach to any of the current players. World Peace said Kupchak granted him access to the Lakers' facility to train should he retire, giving him an avenue to fulfill that job description.
But those plans quickly changed.
World Peace narrowed his choices down to three scenarios. He talked with former Houston Rockets teammate Yao Ming about playing with his Chinese Basketball Association team in Shanghi. World Peace insisted he considered playing arena football out of curiosity. He then talked with the Knicks this week.
What about the Clippers?
"I'm the biggest Lakers and Clippers fan ever. But I didn't want to," World Peace said. "I loved Chris Paul and Matt Barnes. But I was avoiding his calls. (Barnes) was going to convince me to play with the Clippers."
World Peace sounded different about the Lakers, though.
His defining moment came with his Game 7 performance of the 2010 NBA title against the Boston Celtics. He had 20 points and five steals.
Instead of taking credit, World Peace sounded more interested in calling the late Lakers owner Jerry Buss "a winner" and praising the inspiring speeches from former Lakers guard Derek Fisher.
"I enjoyed deferring to my teammates and enjoyed not looking good for the benefit of the team," World Peace said. "Without Kobe, Pau (Gasol), Phil (Jackson) and Derek, I don't win a ring. It's that simple. I don't care what anybody says that I won Game 7. That's not true. Without those guys, I wasn't going to win."
Had that happened, World Peace may not have had the same platform to benefit mental health charities. He publicly thanked his psychologist in the Game 7 post-game press conference. World Peace then auctioned off his championship ring, raising more than $600,000 to benefit mental health charities.
To benefit his foundation Xcel University, World Peace recently penned a children's book and will sign copies of them next Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Grove. World Peace also plans to make similar inroads in New York, including hosting a comedy show Sept. 12.
"Without the Lakers, I wouldn't have a platform," he said. "It helped my brand in helping people."


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found a new home!
Plenty of my friends are looking
for one too. Find a pet to adopt.
I am already spayed and up to date with shots.
Delilah, a Great Falls Calico kitten was adopted! Here's how you can benefit by looking at adoption as an option to buying a Calico for sale in Great Falls, or seeking a Calico kitten from a breeder in Great Falls.


text:
Posted 6 years ago
(54 items)
My grandmother found this in the bottom an old trunk while cleaning out her mothers house years ago with original (?) box. Stamped 18CT, maker on box seems to have been located in England, but no standard hallmarks appear on it. Beautifully made pin; bezel set rose cut sapphire and two rose cut diamonds in a tube bezel setting. Yellow gold base with white gold accents beside the sapphire. Assumed to have been obtained as payment for services sometime during the war, guessing it's age to be somewhere between 1910 and 1920? Any info/comments on maker or piece welcome!


text:
Henry Vilas wrote:Francis Di Domizio wrote:Exactly what would he have to defend in court? His right to free speech? They are all disgusting or offensive topics, but barring violations of the law, I'm not sure why he should have to defend himself in court over them.Stebben84 wrote:I think this guy would have a hard time in court trying to defend those.
The First Amendment's protection of free speech only applies to government efforts to suppress said speech. He worked for a private company. The First does not apply.
True, but I don't believe an employer (barring contractual restrictions, which have not been mentioned in any article) has the right to limit speech outside of work.


text:
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Read the full story here Web Link posted Thursday, July 11, 2013, 7:59 AM
Town Square
Pleasanton bank robber sentenced to 4 years in prison
Original post made on Jul 11, 2013
Read the full story here Web Link posted Thursday, July 11, 2013, 7:59 AM
Comments (7)
a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Jul 11, 2013 at 8:50 am
4 years is all he got for MULTIPLE bank robberies?! Does this have anything to do with our prisons being full, in no small part due to the flood of illegal aliens we have in California who commit crimes at 3 times the rate of citizens? This guy should have received 4 years for EACH bank robbery.
a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Jul 11, 2013 at 10:52 am
Only 4 years for all these bank robberies? This is not appropriate or reasonable. And chances are he will not be paying the restitution money back... so how does this light sentence deter others from robbing banks?
a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Jul 11, 2013 at 11:15 am
If you scale this guys sentence so it's the same time per amount stolen that Bernie Madoff got, 150 years for stealing $65 billion, this guy should have gotten 30 minutes of jail time for stealing $28K.
a resident of Livermore
on Jul 11, 2013 at 11:24 am
(Post removed by Pleasanton Weekly Online staff as irrelevant to this thread.)
a resident of Pleasanton Valley
on Jul 11, 2013 at 12:24 pm
mooseturd is a registered user.
Aw cummon now. This is non-violent crime and with just a bit of counseling he will be a law-abiding contributing member of society.
a resident of Birdland
on Jul 11, 2013 at 12:49 pm
This is sad....he will only serve about 18 months of this sentence or less with time served credits while he waited for trial. Then probation and he out to do it again.
a resident of Ridgeview Commons
on Apr 25, 2017 at 6:53 am
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Central Oregon population is soaring with former Californians
By Tim Hunt | 9 comments | 676 views
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The European Union says it will move ahead with measures to better protect dwindling bee populations after the 27 nations in the bloc failed to agree on a common stand.
EU Consumer Commissioner Tonio Borg said Monday that his agency will propose restricting the use of three pesticides as of Dec. 1 for two years unless decisive new information becomes available.
Environmentalists welcomed Borg's promise to act despite the mixed messages from EU nations. Borg said that bees, which pollinate crops and produce honey, contribute more than 22 billion euros ($29 billion) a year to European agriculture.
Major chemical producers were against Borg's proposals.


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Archive Holdings
Below you will find the general organization of the archives. We are in the process of validating the contents of the archives and converting to EAD finding aids.
A. History of the College
A-1 Thomas Berkshire's History
A-2 Historical Sketches
A-3 College Seal, Charter, Constitution and By-Laws
A-4 General History (College and Non-college)
B. Board of Trustees
B-1 Minutes and Actions
B-2 Correspondence, Member Lists, Reports and Contributors
B-3 Reports: President to Board and North Central to Board
B-4 Board Committees
C. The Presidency
C-1 Nineteenth Century Presidents
C-2 J. Knox Montgomery Sr.
C-3 Robert N. Montgomery
C-4 Glen McConaugha
C-5 Harry Manley
C-6 William Miller
C-7 John Anthony Brown
C-8 Arthur DeJong
C-9 Samuel Speck
C-10 Anne Steele
D. Administrative Offices
D-1 Vice President
D-2 Financial
D-3 Physical Plant and Campus Buildings
D-4 Public Relations
D-5 Affiliate and Government Reports
D-6 Personnel Office
E. Academic Offices
E-1 Academic Dean
E-2 Auxiliary Academic Programs
E-3 Registrar and Admissions
E-4 Faculty
E-5 Student Academic Work
E-6 Computer Center
F. Instructional Offices
F-1 General Education and Divisional Organization
F-2 Departments
F-3 Interdepartmental Programs
F-4 Library and Archives
F-5 Calendar and Curriculum
G. Student Offices
G-1 Dean of Men
G-2 Dean of Women
G-3 Student Affairs: Counseling & Testing, Orientation, Placement
G-4 Dean of Students
H. Celebrations, Anniversaries and Events
H-1 Inaugurations
H-2 Farewells, Retirements, Memorial Services
H-3 Anniversaries
H-4 Founders Day
H-5 Centennial
H-6 Commencements, Honorary Degrees
H-7 John Glenn Celebration
H-8 Annual Events
H-9 Special College Events
I .Wartime Experiences
I-1 World War I
I-2 World War II
I-3 Since 1950
J. Campus Publications
J-1 Campus Information
J-2 Student Publications
K. Student Government
K-1 Student Council/Senate
K-2 Community Council
K-3 Judiciary Board
K-4 Centerboard
K-5 Class Organizations
K-6 Student Honor Senate
L Social Regulations
L-1 Dancing
L-2 Tobacco
L-3 Alcohol
L-4 Drugs
L-5 General Regulations
L-6 Student Handbook
L-7 Association of Women Students
M. Student Organizations
M-1 Departmental Organizations and Honoraries
M-2 Literary Societies
M-3 Special Interest Groups
M-4 Scholastic Honoraries
N. Social Clubs
N-1 Men's Interclub
N-2 Women's Interclub
N-3 Rushing
N-4 Independents
N-5 Fraternities and Sororities
N-6 Non-club and General Social Life
O. Cultural Events
O-1 Chapel and Convocation
O-2 Artist-Lecture Series
O-3 Art Shows and College Art Collection
O-4 Fine Arts Festival
O-5 Motion Pictures and Plays
O-6 Miscellaneous Music Programs
O-7 Woodrow Wilson Speakers
O-8 Miscellaneous Speakers
P. Sports
P-1 History of Athletics
P-2 Schedules/Budgets
P-3 Songs and Yells
P-4 Baseball
P-5 Basketball
P-6 Football
P-7 Swimming and Diving
P-8 Track, Golf, Tennis, and Cross Country
P-9 Wrestling
P-10 Women's Sports
P-11 Intramurals
Q. Alumni
Q-1 Class Notes and Letters
Q-2 Alumni Associations
Q-3 Reunions
Q-4 Individuals
- Agnes Moorehead Collection
- Agnes Moorehead Papers located at the Wisconsin Historical Society
Q-5 Alumni Data
Q-6 Directories
R. Assimilate Colleges
R-1 New Concord Academies
R-2 McCorkle College
R-3 Ohio Central/Iberia College
R-4 Franklin College
S. Presbyterian Church
T. Local History
T-1 New Concord and Union Township
T-2 Bloomfield and Highland Township
T-3 Rix Mills and Rich Hill Township
T-4 Otsego and Monroe Township
T-5 Zanesville and Muskingum County
T-6 Other Muskingum County Townships
T-7 Cambridge and Guernsey County
T-8 Cemeteries
T-9 Genealogy
T-10 Miscellaneous Ohio History
U. General History
V. Rollin Allen Collection
V-1 Allen Gamily Biographical
V-2 Correspondence
V-3 Diaries
V-4 Genealogy Research
V-5 Museum Records
V-6 Writings
V-7 Local history
V-8 Memorabilia
V-9 Photographs
Special Collections Holdings
Special collections have records in the Muskingum Library Catalog and show a location code of MUSKINGUM
SPECIAL COLL. These items are library use only. Contact a Librarian if you would like to use an item for the special collections.


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THIRD Division United FC have one foot in the quarter-finals of the Spring Cup after seeing off second division Bradford United Reserves after their first leg meeting at Clarendon Academy finished 4-0 in favour of the hosts.
Daniel Wosik's goal earned United a half-time lead. Jakub Koman made it 2-0 early in the second period before Bradford had the chance to get on the score sheet but the missed a glorious chance to get back in the game when Tim Bruton had his penalty saved by keeper Lucas Bareja.
United then made Bradford pay for the penalty miss with Shavon Allen, playing his first game since suspension, added number three and the substitute will hope that he killed off any hopes of a Bradford fightback when he doubled his tally to give United a 4-0 win on the day.
The winners of the tie will meet Lacock.
The Lamb Reserves 1(3) Trowbridge Rangers 1(7)
THE all-third division affair saw Lamb Reserves with a mountain to climb if they were to keep the hopes of Spring Cup glory alive when they hosted local rivals Trowbridge Rangers at their Whaddon Lane base.
Lamb who trailed their guests 6-2 from the first leg, were always going to be up against it but although they exited the competition they can take heart from their performance which saw claim a creditable 1-1 draw against their in-form guests who earned a 7-3 aggregate win.
Ryan Underwood gave Lamb a half-time lead, but they had to settle for a draw after Adam McLaughlin netted a second half equaliser for James Goddard's side who face Westwood News for a place in the semi-finals.
The Stiffs 2(2) Polenez Westbury 4(5)
AFTER losing the first leg of their first-round clash 1-0 with the Polenez Westbury at the start of the month and having suffered a 2-0 loss in their league meeting last weekend, it was always going to be something of a tall order for The Stiffs to progress to the quarter-finals.
Ade Giles' side, however, showed plenty of desire and driven on by an impressive display from Dave Carroll they gave themselves a chance.
But despite Carroll's first-half double turning things around Polenez fought back in the second half to win 4-2.
Sebastian Koszycki erased Stiffs advantage before Michal Koszycki swung the tie back in favour for Polenez.
Further goals from Koszycki and Modul Abraham won the game for Polenez to earn them a 5-2 aggregate success and they will face Trowbridge Town Reserves next weekend looking for a place in the last four.
Trowbridge Wanderers Reserves 3(7) Heytesbury 4(4)
HEYTESBURY arrived at Lambrok Road trying to overturn a four-goal deficit from their Spring Cup first leg clash against Division Two stablemates Trowbridge Wanderers Reserves and after a stunning first-half showing, what, before kick-off looked to be a mission impossible was anything but as Kieran Edwards side had bagged three goals to get themselves back in the tie.
However the villagers were unable to complete the job as Wanderers fought back in the second period and, although losing 4-3, their 4-0 lead from the first leg was good enough to earn them a 7-4 aggregate win to set them up with a quarter-final tie away at Zeals this Saturday.
Craig Sheppard kept the tie alive when he headed Heytesbury ahead on 15 minutes and they were given more hope a minute later when Brendan Hind drove in from 20 yards.
A second from Hind in the 38th minute put the villagers 3-0 up and an unlikely turnaround was on the cards.
A shell-shocked Wanderers were forced into a change of formation at the interval and Matt Rusling's side were vastly improved in the second half and knowing the importance of the first goal they raised their game.
All Heytesbury' good work of the first 45 minutes was undone early in the second period as goals from Will Browning, who scored a sublime strike from 25 yards and Mike Ritson whose 25-yard free kick eluded everyone, made it 2-3 to swing the tie back to the way of Wanderers.
Heytesbury's heads may have been down but they kept plugging away and scored a fourth on 62 minutes when Brendan Hind scored from the penalty spot to complete his hat-trick and give the villagers a 4-2 lead on the day.
Any hopes the visitors to Lambrok may have had of leaving Trowbridge with a quarter-final spot disappeared when Steve Jackson tapped in a fourth for Wanderers.
Westwood News v Worton & Cheverell - tie awarded to Westwood News
WITH Worton & Cheverell only able raise eight players for their Spring Cup first round tie away at Westwood News, Paul Sperring's side opted to withdraw from the competition rather than take a depleted side to Bobbin Lane.
Westwood News will host third division Trowbridge Rangers in the quarter final tie.
TROWBRIDGE & DISTRICT LEAGUE ROUNDUP, STATS AND PICTURES IN THURSDAY'S GAZETTE & HERALD AND FRIDAY'S WILTSHIRE TIMES AND FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @gazsport and @WTSport


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Season 1
Timothy Olyphant ("Damages", "Deadwood") stars as a modern day Western hero based on the character created by legendary crime novelist Elmore Leonard from his short story, "Fire in the Hole." Deputy Marshall Raylan Givens (Olyphant) is exiled to his hometown of Harlan County, Kentucky, after the shooting of a Miami drug cartel hit man raises debate over Givens' renegade style of law enforcement. Unfortunately it isn't long before the people he left behind begin to surface in the most unexpected ways. Givens' new job pursuing prison escapees, fugitive con men and a corrupt local sheriff has never been more intense. Find out what makes Givens' wild west, gun-slinging actions Justified in this thrilling first season!
Season 2
Timothy Olyphant (Justified, Deadwood) returns as US Deputy Marshall Raylan Givens, the modern-day gunslinger who serves up renegade justice. Based on the character created by legendary crime novelist Elmore Leonard, and raising the stakes of the electrifying debut season, Raylan faces his most daunting adversaries yet. Chaos ensues in Harlan County when two opposing criminal forces come head to head in a battle to the death. Corruption, deceit and treachery are rampant and Raylan is caught in the crosshairs of a town under siege. Includes all thirteen action-packed episodes, including the explosive season finale, Raylan is back and serving up justice, one bullet at time.
Season 3
In the non-stop, gun-slinging third season of the highly acclaimed hit series, Deputy US Marshal Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant) must wield his brand of renegade justice against modern crime like never before. Surrounded by dirty politicians, drug cartels, murder frames, hidden fortunes and multiple criminal forces warring for control - including archenemies Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins, "The Shield") and Dickie Bennett (Jeremy Davies in his Emmy-winning role), a mystery man named "Limehouse," a lethal mob enforcer newly arrived from the Motor City and in a final shocking showdown, his own father - Givens finds himself in everyone's cross hairs.
Season 4
The Emmy Award-winning Justified returns for its fourth season with U.S. Marshall Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant) picking at the thread of a cold case over 30 years in the making and unraveling a riddle that echoes all the way back to his boyhood and his criminal father's bad dealings. Meanwhile, Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins) finds his own criminal grip on Harlan County loosening due to a Pentecostal preacher with a penchant for theatrics and a knack for manipulation. Developed by Graham Yost, Justified is based on the works of crime novelist Elmore Leonard, including Leonard's short story "Fire in the Hole."
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Harrison Ford Collection - Very Limited Release
The Wire - Complete [24-Disc Box Set]
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Mother's Day 2013
Fair Trade Moms are strong, determined, and the heart of their families. Every coffee bean, cacao pod, and rose they harvest is filled with love. This love fuels their drive for a better future for their kids and their communities. This Mother's Day, take a moment to celebrate moms around the world by filling your cart with delicious Fair Trade Certified products and spreading the word about the simple way that you can make a difference.
Moms are the backbone of farming families, and with Fair Trade these women are empowered to emerge as leaders within their communities. They now serve as board members of cooperatives, lead workers' committees and are making strides to improve education opportunities for their children. When you buy Fair Trade you're helping ensure that moms get safe working conditions, protection from hazardous chemicals, and paid maternity leave.
Enter the contest below for a chance to win a two outfits from prAna: one for you and one for your mom (or another mom, or someone who acts like a mom, you get the picture). That's four awesome items, to be exact. Just login with Facebook or register your email below to see all the ways you can enter the giveaway!


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We all have problems with procrastination. This is particularly difficult for people who work at home, where many diversions can get us off track.
Check out this video for a good explanation of why we procrastinate and some techniques for conquering this challenge.
Posted in: Your Career, Your Workplace
Tags: distractions at home, don't procrastinate, efficiency, hyperbolic discounting, managing procrastination, overcoming procrastination, Pomodoro technique, present bias, procrastination, productivity, stop procrastinating, temporal discounting, use deadlines, why we procrastinate, working from home


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Incidentally, Second hand NI licences are regularly sold (quite legit) on KVR and there's some great deals there compared to the retail prices.
Komplete is certainly not "one, large, versatile soft synth", it is a whole load of remarkable things. If it's on sale it is way more instruments and versatility than Alchemy.
So now that my day job is finally calming down, It'll be time to start writing again, I'm looking to add a few pieces of software to my current rig in order to broaden my pallette of sounds a bit. So I guess I'm looking for suggestions on a few things:Reverb VST: I've been using the 'Perfect Space' convolution verb and a few others that come in the box with Sonar 8. They can be tweaked for ambient quite easily, but I've been using them now for 5 years and I'm looking for something with a different sonic character. I've also downloaded Audio Damage EOS, which is pretty cool, but it feels a bit like a one trick pony. I'm looking for something really expansive, with long reverb tails, etc... any suggestions? Maybe I'm missing a technique?Soft Synths:I use Sonar 8, and Windows 7 64 bit. So obviously, I'd like to use something compatible. I find Sonar 8 is good with most probgrams, tho on occasion it just doesn't like certain synths.I have Omnisphere, I love it, but kind of tired of it at the moment, again, looking for something with a different character. I find alot of the patches in Omnisphere are too huge sounding, it seems like they went a little crazy trying to give every patch this massive sound that takes up all frequencies from 20hz-20000hz, I often fix this with EQ, but I often find alot of the built in sounds unusable.I'm trying to be fiscally responsible with this one, which will likely mean only buying one, large, versatile soft synth. So I'm trying to decide between:NI Komplete Camel Audio AlchemyOther suggestions? <- I'm sure there are a tone of other options out there, I haven't been able to do a bunch of research on it, please offer suggestions!I've realized that, using Omnisphere for the last year or so, that I'm more of a preset tweaker than a sound designer. So something with usable presets would be nice. This brings me on to my next question...Can anyone suggest a good book or something on sound design? I have an immense respect for guys you can take a simple sine wave and use oscillators and such and turn it into a gorgeous soundscape. Anyways... I'd like in on some of that.


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Chester Gregory (James Early) and Adrienne Warren (Lorrell)
in "Dreamgirls,†playing February 25 through April 4, 2010, at the
CTG/Ahmanson Theatre.
Photo Credit: Joan Marcus
"Dreamgirls" Opens March 2 At The Ctg/Ahmanson Theatre
A new, ground-breaking production of "Dreamgirls," directed and choreographed by Robert Longbottom, arrives at the CTG/Ahmanson Theatre, opening March 2, 2010, and playing through April 4. Previews begin February 25. (Opening was previously announced for February 26.)
With music by Academy Award nominee Henry Krieger, lyrics and book by Tony and Grammy Award winner Tom Eyen, and additional material by Willie Reale, "Dreamgirls" introduces actress Moya Angela as Effie White and features, as The Dreams, Syesha Mercado as Deena Jones, Adrienne Warren as Lorrell Robinson, and Margaret Hoffman as Michelle Morris with Chaz Lamar Shepherd as Curtis Taylor, Jr., Chester Gregory as James "Thunder" Early, Trevon Davis as C.C. White, Milton Craig Nealy as Marty Madison in a cast of 26 that also features Tallia Brinson, Felicia Boswell, Patrice Covington, Ronald Duncan, Talitha Farrow, Brittney Griffin, James Harkness, Robert Hartwell, Eric Jackson, Chauncey Jenkins, Jared Joseph, Nikki Kimbrough, Brittany Lewis, Douglas Lyons, Kimberly Marable, Jarran Muse, Amaker Smith and Marc Spaulding.
Co-choreography for "Dreamgirls" is by Shane Sparks, scenic design by Robin Wagner, costume design by William Ivey Long, lighting design by Ken Billington, sound design by Acme Sound Partners, media design by Howard Werner for Lightswitch and is produced by John Breglio for Vienna Waits Productions. For more information, please visit www.dreamgirlsonstage.com.
"Dreamgirls" tells the rags-to-riches story of an up-and-coming 1960s singing girl group and the triumphs and tribulations that come with fame and fortune. The original Broadway production of "Dreamgirls" opened December 20, 1981, at the Imperial Theatre and won six 1982 Tony Awards. "Dreamgirls" closed on Broadway August 11, 1985, after 1,522 performances. The original Broadway production was directed by Michael Bennett and choreographed by Bennett and Michael Peters. "Dreamgirls" was adapted into a motion picture by DreamWorks Pictures and Paramount Pictures, and opened in December 2006.


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Quins fly-half Nick Evans knows his men are in the Premiership's last chance saloon.
Director of rugby Conor O'Shea's men visit Sale Sharks tonight, knowing they must win to remain in the Premiership play-off race.
Evans delivered a faultless kicking display as his 17 points helped Quins to a 29-6 Amlin Cup win at Stade Francais last Friday.
And the 33-year-old former All Black number 10 wants a repeat performance in Manchester.
"Most of our games are pretty much like a cup final now," said Evans, whose side has won a major trophy in each of the past three seasons.
"We have to get the results and the wins. The team that loses the Sale game will fall off the pace."


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Any wound is defined as a "sports injury" if it involves the muscular-skeletal system, which includes the muscles, bones and surrounding tissues, according to information published by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The most common are sprains and strains, shin splints, Achilles tendon injuries, compartment syndrome and knee problems.
Because of its structural complexity and weight-bearing responsibilities, the knee is the joint most commonly afflicted, spurring more than 5.5 million people to visit orthopedic surgeons each year. While the majority of sports injuries do not necessitate surgery, rehabilitation is always needed to repair and restore a body part to its normal function. Alternative therapies are available in the Los Altos community - gentle therapies designed to strengthen the body while soothing the spirit.
Natalia Gabrea Tejada, who runs Hiruko in Los Altos' Loyola Corners shopping district, offers the ancient Chinese practice of a simplified tai chi and qigong class. She said the exercises improve health and wellness, promote balance and coordination, reduce stress and increase knee and back strength.
"What we find a lot here in our classes is hips, knees and shoulders - and back problems - that's chronic for all of us," Gabrea Tejada said.
According to Gabrea Tejada, studies conducted by the National Council on Aging and the American Association of Retired Persons espouse the benefits of tai chi and qigong.
Qigong "stimulates and balances the flow of qi, or vital life energy, along the acupuncture meridians (energy pathways)," wrote the Burton Goldberg Group, which compiled the information found in "Alternative Medicine" (Future Medicine Publishing, 1999). "Like acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine, the qigong tradition emphasizes the importance of teaching the patient how to remain well."
"It's based on gentle movement and deep breathing," Gabrea Tejada said. "I saw this as something that I really wanted to provide for the community. I know from my research that this is very helpful."
When Marilyn Anderson began participating in the tai chi and tae kwon do classes two years ago, her only previous form of exercise was walking, and she was having difficulties with balance.
"I didn't know I was as stiff and had lost a lot of physical flexibility," Anderson said of her first classes.
Anderson said she noticed an increased level of energy, "right from the beginning. And tai chi has helped with breathing and stress reduction."
Virginia Wick also noticed a reduction in stress when she started classes in February and recommends the classes to friends.
"You just generally feel better overall," Wick said. "It just helps you be at your peak."
Another local entrepreneur offers an equally gentle alternative to physical therapy.
Pilates studio owner Vera Szepesi opened Esprit de Core in Los Altos two months ago and said that 80 percent of her rehabilitation clients are there for post-rehab back injuries.
"Just moving - and learning to know that they can move without pain, by their state of mind - that's beneficial," Szepesi said.
Many doctors refer their patients to the studio, and many insurance plans cover the therapy sessions, Szepesi said. Instructors will modify the exercise programs for individual injuries and offer one-on-one attention to clients to ensure they don't add insult to injury.
Szepesi bemoaned the drug commercials that encourage people to pop a pill in order to exercise.
"To mask the pain - you'll just re-injure yourself," Szepesi said. "You're doing yourself a disservice."
A newsletter from the NIH offers similar advice.
"Whether an injury is acute or chronic, there is never a good reason to try to 'work through' the pain of an injury," the Handout on Health reports. "When you have pain from a particular movement or activity, STOP! Continuing the activity only causes further harm."
Szepesi said many of her clients combine several alternative therapies for their injuries, including chiropractics, acupuncture and energy-stimulating treatments.
For Anderson, who can now touch her knees to her nose, exercise at Hiruko will remain a life-long commitment.
"It's perfect for me - for teens, adults - we all hang together," she said.


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Artist :: Fred Benaglia
Thomas James
Thomas James is an Illustrator who has worked with The New York Times, WIRED, Pentagram, Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, and many others. You can see his portfolio at thomasjamesillustration.com.
Latest posts by Thomas James (see all)
- Submit Your Art to Win $50! - September 22, 2017
- Pick of the Week for JAZZ - September 22, 2017
- Pick of the Week for SHOES and This Week's Topic! - September 5, 2017
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SWINDON Town Ladies defeated Southampton 3-1 in the South West Combination League after dominating throughout.
Town created chances from the off and took the lead through Kirsty Shell following a good pass by from Amy Baker.
The score remained at 1-0 until half-time, when Swindon lost Michelle Rich due to injury.
Nevertheless, Rich's withdrawal did not prevent the hosts continuing to threaten after the resumption and Shell did not take long in getting her second.
Saints pulled a goal back with their only chance of the game, but Swindon were keen to press home their advantage.
Shell was once more involved as she was brought down for a penalty and Catherine Reid converted from the spot.
Town are at home to basement battlers Gloucester on Sunday at Fairford Town's Cinder Lane ground (2pm).
Title rivals Swindon Spitfires and Swindon Supermarine played out an enthralling 2-2 draw in the South West Women's Football League Eastern Division One.
With the Webb's Wood Stadium pitch unplayable, the game was switched to Spitfires' home at the Elms.
Supermarine took the lead on 32 minutes when Hayley Huckin broke down the right and crossed to the far post for Alice Smith to knock over the line.
The equaliser arrived shortly before the break as Kayleigh Reeves won the ball and crossed for Emily Sparkes to slot home.
Spits went in front for the first time after the break with Natalie Haigh's free kick into the six-yard area being headed in by Hannah Gulliver.
The lead only lasted a couple of minutes, though, as Jenny Jones unleashed an unstoppable long-range drive to level.
Keeper Tamsin Kellet thwarted Marine's Mel Bristow in a one-on-one with a quarter of an hour left to keep the score at 2-2.
Spitfires Reserves opened up a three-point lead at the top of the Wiltshire Women's League after thrashing Lavington 12-0.
On the scoresheet were Katie Wadey (4), Caroline Hook (2), Amanda Martin, Emma Pinkney, Megan Whitaker and Annabel Martin.
Keeper Shona Hanlon was given a run-out up front in the second half and bagged a couple of goals.
Spitfires Under 15s were knocked out of the South Wilts League Cup by Southampton Saints as they lost 5-1.
The Swindon side took the lead on the half hour mark when Daniella Granato forced the Saints keeper to spill the ball and Serenn Sanghera slotted into the empty net.
However, Southampton were dominant in the second half and scored five goals without reply.


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Not Worried About the Fiscal Cliff
I continue to hold the minority position that fears over the fiscal cliff are becoming way overblown as each day passes. If the so called fiscal cliff is triggered, yes, the stock market will probably plunge and consumers and CEOs may decide they want to curtail spending. But those occurrences don't frighten me because I've found that it's impossible to make sound investment decisions against a backdrop of "what if" scenarios. One of my investment mandates is that I do pay attention to the economy and its trends.
I am seeing a shrinking pool of attractive equity valuations, unsustainable low interest rates, a bond bubble, and an unemployment rate that we would like to see go down. But I also see an improving housing market, financial institutions that are in significantly better shape today than they were in 2007 and 2008, and healthier consumer balance sheets. Last week, I met with my banker to refinance my home and I qualify for the fast track approval for the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) option. My banker tells me it will take up to 90 days to wrap this up because they are refinancing like crazy. In most cases, he's seeing monthly payments decline by 15% to 25%. In some cases, household mortgage payments are declining by more than 30%. ...422 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.
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Dry-Erase Calendar Decal
- Free Shipping
- Overview
Never miss a deadline with this peel-and-stick calendar decal.
- 40" wide x 27" high
- Our peel-and-stick decals are easy to apply, reposition and remove.
- Decals make a fast, no-fuss alternative to messy paint and stencils.
- Self-adhesive backing removes without any surface damage.
- For best results, mount to a smooth surface.
- Dry-erase pens not included.
- Dimensions + Care
* 39"w x 25"h
* Adhesive: self-adhesive
* Base paper: wall decal is 100% vinyl
* Wipe with a moist cloth
- Shipping Info
This item will arrive in 3-5 business days. Please proceed to the Payment & Review page of Checkout for a precise delivery estimate.
- Tip 1: Clean tough marker spots on this dry-erase wall decal using a vinegar-and-water mixture. Mix white vinegar and water and then use a lint-free cloth to wipe the board down. If necessary, use a spray bottle to spray the mixture directly onto a tough marker spot and wipe it away. Allow the board to dry completely. Alternatively, you can use hand sanitizer and a paper towel to scrub away stains from old markers.
- Tip 2: Color-coordinate important due dates by creating a system, assigning specific colors each occasion. For example, mark all school-related dates in blue, all sports-related dates in green, all holidays in red and all work-related deadlines in orange. Create a key on the calendar so that it's easy to remember and reference for everyone in the family.
- Tip 3: Use the large, empty space on the right-hand side of the calendar decal to list important details like phone numbers and shopping necessities. It's also a great place to jot down notes while you work, so that you can reference them later as you complete important assignments.
- Tip 4: Decorate the wall space around the decal with fun items like photographs, posters and string lights. This is a great way to add some personality to the wall decal and help it blend into your room's design theme. Make sure that you do not overcrowd the calendar, as that can create visual clutter that overpowers the important details.
- Tip 5: Transform this simple wall decal into a decorative art piece by adding ornamental frames and borders. Take a vintage art frame that is slightly larger than the calendar and hang it securely on the wall so that it borders the decal. Or, choose decorative tape in a fun pattern and add it to the edges of the decal. This will create visual interest while giving the calendar a pop of color and some personality.