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How to Track Spot Instance Activity with the Spot-Notifications Sample Application
Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) Spot Instances provide a way for customers to acquire
computing resources at a significantly lower cost than they would pay for On-Demand or Reserved
instances. Spot Instances are especially useful for computing tasks that involve
extended processing but that are not time critical. Spot is also
useful to add computing resources to a task to speed up processing.
With Spot Instances, the customer specifies the price, or "bid", they are willing to pay
for a
type of EC2 instance,
such as a High-CPU Medium (
c1.medium). Then, if the Spot Price, which Amazon sets
based on Amazon's supply of excess capacity and demand for that capacity, is
below the customer's bid price, the customer acquires the instance. When the
Spot Price increases above the customer's bid price, the customer loses the
capacity. For more background information about Spot Instances, see the
AWS website
The Spot Notifications sample application demonstrates a way to monitor information about your usage of Amazon EC2 Spot Instances. Note, this application doesn't create or otherwise manage Spot Instance requests. However, the ability to manage Spot Instances is available through the Amazon EC2 API. For more information about managing Spot Instances programmatically, see the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) User Guide as well as the AWS developer guides for Java, .NET, and PHP.
As distributed, the application enables you to monitor the following.
Amazon EC2 instances currently running in your account, including, but not limited, to Spot Instances.
The current set of Spot Instance requests associated with your account.
The current set of Spot Instance prices within a particular region.
Whenever the status of any these changes, the application sends a notification using Amazon Simple Notification Service (Amazon SNS). For example, if a new EC2 instance launches in your account, the application sends a notification.
The application monitors activity within a particular AWS region. The region is specified in the source code (see below). However, note that Spot requests and Spot Instance pricing are specific to a particular Availability Zone (AZ). Because regions contain multiple AZs, Spot Instance pricing can vary across a region, i.e. the same EC2 instance type could have different Spot prices in different AZs.
Because of the number of different types of EC2 instances and because regions contain multiple AZs, the number of Spot Instance price points is large. To manage this complexity, the application enables you to specify which EC2 instance types and AZs to monitor for Spot Instance price changes and how large a price change is required in order to trigger a notification.
The following sections provide an overview of how the Spot-Notifications application is designed and describe how to build, configure, and run the application.
Design Overview for Spot Notifications
The application is designed around the idea of a monitor. Each monitor tracks a separate type of data related to Spot Instances. Each of the monitors uses the EC2 API to retrieve information about the current state of your EC2 resources, such as Spot prices, and persist that information in a SimpleDB domain. The monitor then periodically retrieves this state information and compares it to the information that was stored previously. If any of the state information has changed, the monitor sends a notification.
The application includes three monitors: Instance, SpotRequest, and SpotPrice.
Instance Monitor
The instance monitor tracks all Amazon EC2 instances associated with the account
being monitored--not only Spot Instances. The instance monitor sends a
notification whenever the state of one of these EC2 instances changes. So, for
example, if you choose to terminate one of these EC2 instances, you will receive
a notification when the instance transitions to the
shutting-down state and a
second notification when the instance reaches the
terminated state.
SpotRequest Monitor
The SpotRequest monitor tracks Spot requests (as opposed to Spot Instances) and
sends a notification whenever the state of one of your Spot requests changes. For
example, when you first create a Spot request, it enters an
Open state.
Therefore, you would receive a notification whenever you create a new Spot
Request. Similarly, if you cancel a Spot Request, it will transition from
Cancelled--and again you would receive a notification.
Here is an example of a notification for the transition from
Open to
111122223333 sir-aca7a011 Amazon.EC2.Request.StateTransition
FROM: open TO: cancelled
Your Amazon EC2 Spot Request has had a state transition.
Consider a scenario in which you create a Spot request and it is subsequently fulfilled. The Spot request would move through the following states.
Open ->
Pending ->
Running ->
This results in your receiving four notifications.
SpotPrice Notifications Monitor
The Spot Price monitor sends notifications if the prices for Spot Instances
changes in a way that you have specified as being significant. For example, you could configure the application to
notify you if the Spot price for
t1.micro instances in the
us-east-1b AZ changes by more than 20%. More information about
specifying Spot price ranges and thresholds is provided later in this article.
Implementation of Monitors
From an implementation standpoint, the application defines an abstract
Monitor class.
public abstract class Monitor extends Thread
Monitor class is defined in
Each specific monitor, such as the SpotRequest monitor, is implemented in a
class that derives from
public class SpotRequestMonitor extends Monitor
Each of these derived classes is defined in a corresponding subfolder.
At program start, the main function for the application reads a configuration
file, Notifications.properties (described below), to retrieve the list of
monitors. It uses reflection to instantiate each of the monitors and then calls
start method on each monitor.
// Get the list of monitors. String monitorListString = NotificationsConfiguration.getProperty("monitors"); String [] monitorList = monitorListString.split(","); ClassLoader classLoader = NotificationsApp.class.getClassLoader(); // Loop through all of the monitors in the particular list. for (String monitorName : monitorList) { try { // Dynamically load up the class based on the properties. // Ex: spotprice.class=com.amazonaws.codesamples.notifications.monitor.spotprice.SpotPriceMonitor String mainClass = NotificationsConfiguration.getProperty(monitorName.trim() + ".class"); Class> tmpClass = classLoader.loadClass(mainClass); // Create a new instance of the monitor class. monitors.add((Monitor)tmpClass.newInstance()); } catch (ClassNotFoundException e) { Logger exLogger = Logger.getLogger("com.amazonaws.codesamples.notifications"); exLogger.log(Level.WARNING, "Class "+monitorName+" not found. Caught Exception: "+e.getMessage()); } } // Loop through and start all monitors. for (Monitor monitor : monitors) { monitor.start(); }
start method in turn makes a call to the
run method exposed by
each of the monitors, which starts each of them asynchronously.
run method in each monitor contains an infinite loop (
while( true))
that sleeps for a length of time. Upon waking, it determines if the timeout
specified in Notifications.properties has elapsed. If so, it calls the
method which executes all the tasks associated with that particular monitor. For
example, in the case of the SpotPrice monitor, the
monitor method would
determine if there have been any significant changes in Spot Instance prices by retrieving
the current set of pricing data and comparing it to what was stored in SimpleDB. If the
pricing data have changed, the monitor generates a notification.
run method records the current time so that it can calculate when it should next run
the monitors. Then, before going back to sleep, it executes the
updateConfig and
updateMonitorSpecificConfig methods. These methods read from the Notifications.properties file
to update the configuration information used by the application.
This makes it possible for you to change the behavior of the application without
having to restart it. Note, however, that if you want to change which monitors are running, you must
restart the program because it is only at startup that the main method enumerates which monitors to run.
public void run () { while (true) { // Run all of the actions. if (isTimeOutExceeded()) { monitor(); // Update the last load time. lastDate = Calendar.getInstance(); } // Update configuration. updateConfig(); // Update Monitor specific config. updateMonitorSpecificConfig (); // Sleep for a period of time. try { // Note we are using the minimum of the user configured sleep timeout and // our default thread sleeping period (e.g. CONFIG_SLEEP). Thread.sleep(Math.min(CONFIG_SLEEP,seconds*1000)); } catch (InterruptedException e) { // Don't need to handle } } }
Data is Stored in Amazon SimpleDB
Each monitor uses a separate SimpleDB domain to store the information that it tracks. For the three included monitors, the application creates the following three Amazon SimpleDB domains.
- Amazon_EC2_Notifications_instance
- Amazon_EC2_Notifications_spotrequest
- Amazon_EC2_Notifications_spotprice
The monitors store and retrieve information to and from SimpleDB using a set of utility functions that are defined in
In addition, each monitor implements a set of conversion methods that translate the data between the format in which it is stored in the domain and the data structures that are used by the monitor. For example, for the Spot request monitor, these methods are implemented in:
The Spot Request monitor implements the static method
createSpotRequestFromAttributeList which reads
from its SimpleDB domain and converts the data into Spot Instance requests.
public static SpotInstanceRequest createSpotRequestFromAttributeList (List
attributeList) { //Create a new request. SpotInstanceRequest request = new SpotInstanceRequest(); // Loop through all of the attributes to set the SpotInstanceRequest appropriately. for (Attribute attribute : attributeList) { // Set the appropriate attribute based on the name of the attribute. if (attribute.getName().equals(SPOT_REQUEST_ID)) { request.setSpotInstanceRequestId(attribute.getValue()); } else if (attribute.getName().equals(INSTANCE_ID)) { request.setInstanceId(attribute.getValue()); } else if (attribute.getName().equals(AVAILABILITY_ZONE_GROUP)) { request.setAvailabilityZoneGroup(attribute.getValue()); } else if (attribute.getName().equals(LAUNCHED_AVAILABILITY_ZONE)) { request.setLaunchedAvailabilityZone(attribute.getValue()); } else if (attribute.getName().equals(LAUNCH_GROUP)) { request.setLaunchGroup(attribute.getValue()); } else if (attribute.getName().equals(PRODUCT_DESCRIPTION)) { request.setProductDescription(attribute.getValue()); } else if (attribute.getName().equals(BID_PRICE)) { request.setSpotPrice(attribute.getValue()); } else if (attribute.getName().equals(STATE)) { request.setState(attribute.getValue()); } else if (attribute.getName().equals(TYPE)) { request.setType(attribute.getValue()); } } return request; }
Note that if the application exits, the most-current state information continues to persist in the SimpleDB domain. When the application is restarted, each monitor compares the state information at the time it restarts to what is stored in the domain and generates appropriate notifications for any differences detected.
How to Change the Domain Names
The names of the Amazon SimpleDB domains are configurable by changing a static string in the source code. The prefix text for the domains is specified in SDPublisher.java:
static final String NOTIFICATIONS_DOMAIN = "Amazon_EC2_Notifications_";
The suffix text, such as "spotrequest", is provided by the Java file that implements the monitor itself.
Notifications via Amazon SNS Topics
Each monitor is also associated with an SNS topic. When the monitor detects a change that requires a notification, it publishes the notification to the associated SNS topic. The SNS topic for each monitor is specified in Notifications.properties. You can specify a different SNS topic for each monitor or use the same topic for all your monitors. You will need to create these Amazon SNS topics yourself using the AWS Console, the AWS Toolkit for Eclipse, or programmatically using one of the AWS SDK for Java.
Similarly to SimpleDB, the monitors interact with Amazon SNS using a set of utility functions defined in
How to Change which Region to Monitor
The Notifications application monitors only a single region. By default, the app
monitors us-east-1. To monitor a different region, add a call to
setEndpoint to
the code that creates the Amazon EC2 client. The call is shown in a comment.
Uncomment the code and edit the
setEndpoint call to use your desired
// Setup clients for Amazon EC2, Amazon SNS, and Amazon SimpleDB. ec2 = new AmazonEC2Client(credentials); // Set the region endpoint. If none is specified, // the region defaults to us-east-1 // ec2.setEndpoint("https://eu-west-1.ec2.amazonaws.com");
The code that creates the Amazon EC2 client is in the
init method that is called
by the constructor for each monitor. The
init method is also responsible for instantiating
NotificationPublisher and the
private void init() throws IOException { // Get credentials from AwsCredentials.properties file. AWSCredentials credentials = new PropertiesCredentials( NotificationsApp.class.getResourceAsStream("AwsCredentials.properties")); // Setup clients for Amazon EC2, Amazon SNS, and Amazon SDB. ec2 = new AmazonEC2Client(credentials); // Uncomment the call to setEndpoint below to specify a region. // If none is specified, the region defaults to us-east-1 // ec2.setEndpoint("https://eu-west-1.ec2.amazonaws.com"); publisher = new NotificationPublisher(); sdb = new SDBPublisher(getMonitorName()); // Update the configuration. updateConfig(); // Set the last refresh to the current time. this.lastDate = Calendar.getInstance(); }
For more information about setting regions, go to AWS Region Selection in the AWS SDK for Java Developer Guide.
Irrespective of the region that you are monitoring, the SimpleDB domains that store the Spot Instance data are always provisioned in the us-east-1 region.
Configure, Build, and Run the Application
Because the purpose of the application is to help you monitor and manage resources in your AWS account, you'll need an AWS account in order use the application. Also, you will need the AWS SDK for Java because the application accesses AWS through the class library available in the SDK. Instructions for setting up an AWS account and the SDK are available in the AWS SDK for Java Developer Guide.
We recommend that you also install the Eclipse Development environment and the AWS Toolkit for Eclipse. With the Toolkit, you can view the Amazon SimpleDB and Amazon SNS resources that the Notifications application creates and uses. For more information, go to the Getting Started Guide for the AWS Toolkit for Eclipse.
Configure the Application for Your Environment
Before you run the application, you will need to configure it for your AWS account. The applications uses two configuration files:
- AwsCredentials.properties
- Notifications.properties
These files are located in the following directory:
This file specifies the AWS credentials that will be used by the application.
The file contains a line for an Access Key ID and a line for a Secret Key. These lines are shown with sample credentials below.
In the file, specify AWS credentials that have sufficient permissions to run the application. The credentials you use should be permissioned to access Amazon EC2, Amazon SNS, and Amazon SimpleDB.
Although your root credentials would have sufficient access, we recommend that you do not use your root credentials in the AwsCredentials.properties file. Your root credentials provide complete access to your AWS account including your billing information. You should always keep your root credentials as secure as possible and use them only when necessary.
So instead of using your root credentials, we recommend that you create an IAM user with only the permissions necessary to run the Notifications application.
When you create an IAM user, you have the option of permissioning it with pre-made permissions templates. For the Notifications application, use the following templates to specify permissions for Amazon EC2 and Amazon SNS.
- EC2 Read Access
- SNS Full Access
There is no pre-made template for Amazon SimpleDB. For this service, use the IAM policy generator to specify the following custom policy for SimpleDB.
In this file, you specify non-credential parameters that customize the behavior of the application for your environment.
########### General Configuration ##############
# Define the account id associated with the notifications daemon
On this line, replace the example account number with your own account number. You can find your account number on your AWS account credentials page.
Your account number is located in the upper-right corner of the page, just below
Sign Out link. It will have a format similar to the following example:
On your account credentials page, the account number is shown with hyphens for readability. Delete the hyphens before inserting the number in Notifications.properties.
If you are using IAM user credentials, the account number is the same as the root account from which the IAM user was derived.
########## General Configuration ##############
# . . .
This line specifies which monitors should be loaded by the application at start-up time. You cannot change the set of monitors while the application is running; instead, you would need to change this setting and then restart the application.
These first two settings are applicable to all the monitors. In addition, each monitor has its own section in the Notifications.properties file. Each monitor-specific section specifies the following properties. (The snippets below are taken from the Spot request section of the file.)
Path to the Java Class that Implements the Monitor
# Define the path to the class to load
Amazon SNS topic for the Monitor
# Define the topic you would like to have notifications published to
The monitor sends notifications to this topic. You must create this topic. You can create it using the AWS Console, Toolkits, command-line tools, or API.
By default, the file is configured so that all the monitors use the same SNS topic. However, you can specify the SNS topic that a given monitor uses in the Notifications.properties file. By creating separate SNS topics for each monitor and specifying those topics in Notifications.properties, you can route different types of notifications to different topics. This approach can be useful if you want to use different SNS "endpoints" for different types of notifications. For example, if the state of one of your EC2 instances changes, you might want to receive the notification through email, but if there is a significant change in Spot Instance pricing, you might want to receive the notification as a text message (SMS).
We recommend that you set a display name for your SNS topic. The display name appears in the "From:" field for email notifications and SMS messages. A display name is required for SMS messages.
The AWS Toolkit for Eclipse does not enable you to subscribe to an Amazon SNS topic using the SMS protocol. However, you can subscribe to SMS from the AWS Management Console. For information on using SMS with Amazon SNS, go to the Amazon SNS Getting Started Guide.
Refresh Period
# Define the refresh period in seconds you would like for the instance.
This is a time period in seconds that specifies how frequently the monitor should retrieve new data.
Each monitor also defines a default refresh interval, which the monitor uses if no refresh interval for that monitor is specified in Notifications.properties.
The interval is defined by the REFRESH_DEFAULT static variable and retrieved by
getRefreshDefault function.
private static final int REFRESH_DEFAULT=5;
public int getRefreshDefault() {
return REFRESH_DEFAULT;
Logging Level for the Monitor
# Define the logging level.
For a description of the possible logging levels, see the log4j.Level reference page.
Logger's Name in the Logger Hierarchy.
# Defines the namespace that we will set the logger level for.
The application uses the Apache log4j logging library. For more information about log4j, go to the Short Introduction to log4j in the log4j online documentation.
Spot Price Monitoring Specifications
In addition to the standard monitor configuration options, for the Spot price monitor, you need to specify which type of Amazon EC2 instances to monitor, which AZs, and the magnitude of change required in Spot price in order to trigger a notification. The corresponding lines in Notifications.properties have the following syntax:
spotprice.threshhold.AVAILABILITY ZONE.INSTANCE TYPE.PLATFORM=MAGNITUDE OF CHANGE
You can omit any of AVAILABILITY ZONE, INSTANCE TYPE, or PLATFORM. However, if you do specify them, you should do so in the order shown.
The Notifications.properties file contains several sample configuration lines.
You can specify the magnitude of change in three ways. By specifying "ANY" (text is not case sensitive), any change in Spot price will trigger a notification. We do not recommend this configuration because it tends to generate a lot of notifications.
If you specify a pair of numbers that represent currency, you will receive a notification if the Spot price moves into or out of this range. For example, if the pair of numbers is $0.05 and $0.10, the application will send a notification if the Spot price increases from $0.07 to $0.12.
If you specify a pair of percentages, the monitor determines whether the Spot price has fallen more than the first percentage or risen more than the second percentage. If either of these is true, the application sends a notification.
In addition to specifying the magnitude of change that will trigger a
notification, the lines in this section also specify whether the change applies to a
particular class of Spot Instances. In the following example, a notification is
sent only if the price change occurs for Spot Instances in the
availability zone, running on
m1.small class Amazon EC2 instances, and running
the Linux operating system.
Availability Zone
The AVAILABILITY ZONE specifier is formatted as:
For example:
Note that the set of AZs for your selected region may not follow
a canonical ordering of letters. For example, the
us-west-1 region might have
us-west-1b and
us-west-1c, but not
To see which AZs are available for a given region, go to the following page in
the AWS Management Console:
Here's an example
Also, the mapping between AZ names and actual datacenters (DC) may vary from one account to another.
For example,
us-west-1b may map to a given DC for one account, but a
different DC for another account. Therefore, if your configuration for the application specifies
AZs, the configuration may not work as expected if you move it to a different account.
Instance Type
The INSTANCE TYPE is specified using the "API name" for the type of the Amazon EC2 instances to use for the deployment.
Examples are
t1.micro for Micro instances or
m1.xlarge for Extra Large instances. For
a list of instance types and corresponding API names, see the Amazon EC2
detail page.
This specification is either the string "Linux/UNIX" or "Windows". If you omit this constraint, the application will monitor all Spot Instance irrespective of platforms.
How to Build and Run the Application
The application download includes an ant build file (
build.xml) that you can use to build the application.
You will need to configure the class path in the ant file so that the paths to the AWS class
libraries match your environment.
To build the application, type:
ant build
This will invoke the build target from the ant file.
As part of the build, the AWSCredentials.properties and Notifications.properties files are copied to the build output tree.
The application caches the configuration from Notifications.properties in a SimpleDB domain which is, by default, called AMAZON_EC2_Notifications_EC2_NOTIFICATIONS_CONFIG. Before running the application, you should create this domain using a utility that is provided with the application.
To run the utility to create the configuration domain, type:
ant ConfigUploader
This invokes the ConfigUploader target to run the utility.
To run the application, type:
ant NotificationsApp
This will invoke the NotificationsApp target from the ant file.
If you are using the Eclipse IDE, you can create a new Eclipse project for the application based off of the ant file. From the Eclipse File menu, point to New and then click Project.... In the New Project wizard, select Java Project from Existing Ant Buildfile.
When the applications first starts, you may receive some logging diagnostics as the application creates the SimpleDB domains that store the Spot Instance data.
For more in-depth information about Amazon EC2 Spot Instances, the features and uses, go to the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) User Guide.


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Retailers should have access to be plenty of table grapes to meet consumer demands through the dreary days of winter thanks to better weather during Chile's growing season this year compared to last.
In addition to a return to normal volumes, the Chilean table grapes are just in time to fill any gaps created by an early end to the grape deal in some areas of California this year.
John Pandol, a partner in Pandol Bros. Inc., Delano, Calif., said the California harvest usually runs into early December. No so this year.
"We stopped picking Nov. 17," Pandol said Dec. 26, adding that less than 5% of California's crop is left.
Earlier in December Pandol and other U.S. importers said they thought the Chilean grapes would peak in late January. That may hold true, but the Chilean Fresh Fruit Association expects that peak period to last a little longer than it did for the 2011-12 season.
Tom Tjerandsen, the association's managing director for North America, said he "expects to have promotable volumes through April 10," when the marketing agreement cuts off grape imports from Chile.
"Since last Tuesday (Dec. 18) there has been a lot of concern regarding the weather in the blueberry and cherry areas and what impact it would have on the grapes," Tjerandsen said.
"Now most people are saying it didn't impact the grapes at all and we should be back to normal volumes this season."
The Chilean Fresh Fruit Association is aggressively promoting table grapes through social media, retailer display contests and point-of-sale materials, Tjerandsen said. He said retailers can download materials for free on the association's website or obtain them through their merchandising representatives.
Both Tjerandsen and Pandol said they anticipate solid prices for the Chilean deal, though neither expects to see wholesale numbers stabilize until February. Pandol predicted an f.o.b. in the "high teens" when the market settles down.
"If it gets below the high teens, the Chileans will stop shipping," Pandol said.
Mark Greenberg of Capespan North America, St. Laurent, Quebec, noted in a weekly report that the first Chilean table grapes of the season arrived in the U.S. Dec. 15. Greenberg was expecting prices for the end of December to be in the $34-$36 range for sugarone and thompson seedless.
The first shipment of popular Chilean flames was a little light, Greenberg's report said. He anticipated prices of $34-$38 for the red seedless flames.
Greenberg and Pandol are both watching Peru's table grape production, as is Tjerandsen. All three said Peru's export volumes to the U.S. are so low that the South American country's impact on the table grape deal is not expected to be too dramatic.
"It is the new sexy thing, though," Pandol said. "Timing is the key for Peru. The question is will they challenge Chile. We haven't seen any yet."
Pandol said Peru ships about as many seedless grapes in its entire season as the Golden State does in a week.

subset: commoncrawl


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Hello everyone. We have a big week here in lil' 'ole Cedar Key. Independence Day is always a good time in the key: lots of folk, lots of fish, lots of flashing lights and lots of family time – all great reasons to spend time near the Gulf Coast and with the key- life-way of thinking.
Hello everyone. I hope everybody has a great Father's Day weekend planned. The weekend is gonna be hot, but nice. Those little heat showers may be an issue but the mornings will be good to go, I feel.
Our water temps are rising and the grass flats are growing back really nice. Some of our spots for trout have grass a few feet deep. That's awesome to see, because a month ago they were still behind on growth.
Hello everyone, hope all is well and y'all are getting to enjoy the weather this week – it's darn close to perfection. The fishing wasn't far from the same.
The conditions haven't changed much over the past few weeks – the water temps have risen to high 70s. But, the brown water is still here and not going anywhere soon.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will be holding a public hearing at the Tommy Usher Center in Chiefland, on Tuesday, April 1, at 6:30 p.m. on proposed deer hunting rules for the north Florida region.
Federal land agencies across the country are celebrating "W50", the fiftieth anniversary of the Wilderness Act, signed into law Sep. 3, 1964, as the result of a long fought effort to formally designate federal lands as wilderness.
Cedar Key's own, Captain Danny Allen of Southern Salt Charters, is pictured at the 23rd Annual Outdoor Expo in Tampa talking about fishing and fishing season in Cedar Key and the "do's and don'ts" as well as giving pointers and insight on when to plan a Cedar Key trip for fishing and sightseeing.
Capt. Danny made the full day trip to Tampa to educate folks on Cedar Key and its fishing heritage as well as to promote visiting Cedar Key.
Venomous invaders from the South Pacific and Indian oceans are in the Cedar Keys area to stay, according to a scientist from the University of Florida.
Cedar Key Beacon fishing columnist Capt'n. Danny Allen and his hometown are the starts in a nationally televised show on the Pursuit Channel and NBC Sports Network on Feb. 12 and 26.
An ongoing Cedar Key dolphin project is revealing a few new discoveries and, as a result, is leading to more questions, according to Stefanie Gazda, a University of Massachusetts doctoral candidate in charge of the study.
Hey everyone, grab the women and kids strap 'em down – this week's weather is going be off, to say the least. It's gonna blow, do a little raining off and on, mix a little cold air in-between – not much to speak of for fishing weather.
Copyright © 2017
The Cedar Key Beacon is your source for local news, sports, events, and information in Levy County and Cedar Key Florida, and the surrounding area.


text:
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. - On Christmas Day, University of Alabama fan Don Buckhannan received the best present of his life.
"[I] had no clue what was about to come," said Buckhannan.
A video of Buckhannan receiving tickets to the BCS National Championship game has been viewed more than 9.2 million times on YouTube.
"I was very much excited about the hat, so yeah, hot diggity dog, I liked this hat," he said.
But his son Daniel had hidden the tickets inside of the hat.
"I knew what an extremely hard ticket this is to get and we've never been to a bowl game, much less a national championship game. I saw that and I immediately knew what my son had done for me," said Buckhannan. "We're pulling for Bama. Win or lose we're going to have a blast."
"Well, I was very excited. My wife [was] a little less excited because she knew what I paid for the tickets," said Daniel Buckhannan. "But no, I was very, very excited to just get to come to a game like this."
The video has turned the father and son into celebrities. Crimson Tide fans said hello to the pair as they tailgated outside Sun Life Stadium ahead of the game. They also appeared on ESPN and ABC's "Good Morning America."
"It's surreal. There's no words to describe how crazy it is," said Daniel Buckhannan.
Copyright 2013 by Local10.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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text:
New Line Of Building Toys Inspired By The Animated Series...
Construction toy company KNEX Brands announces its partnership with Twentieth Century Fox Consumer Products to create a new line of building toys inspired by the popular animated comedy series, Family Guy.
The partnership combines the KNEX building system with the most iconic characters and elements from Family Guy, including Peter, Stewie, Brian, the Griffin Family station wagon, Stewies time machine and more, bringing them from the television screen to the construction aisle for the first time. The KNEX Family Guy building sets will feature the quality and attention to detail for which KNEX is known, assuring that the Family Guy buildable figures and accessories will be instantly recognizable to fans.
The new KNEX Family Guy building sets will be available at major retailers in the Spring of 2014.
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text: Resources Mayo Clinic products and servicesBook: The Mayo Clinic A to Z Health GuideBook: The Mayo Clinic DietRequest an Appointment at Mayo Clinic MultimediaNews from Mayo Clinic Aug. 11, 2017 Share on: FacebookTwitter References Brooks DC, et al. Classification, clinical features and diagnosis of inguinal and femoral hernias in adults. http://www.uptodate.com/home. Accessed Dec. 27, 2015. Ramsook C, et al. Overview of inguinal hernia in children. http://www.uptodate.com/home. Accessed Dec. 27, 2015. Groin hernia: Inguinal and femoral repair. American College of Surgeons. https://www.facs.org/~/media/files/education/patient%20ed/hernrep.ashx. Accessed Dec. 27, 2015. Inguinal hernia. National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse. http://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-topics/digestive-diseases/inguinal-hernia/Pages/facts.aspx. Accessed Dec. 27, 2015. Treadwell J, et al. Surgical options for inguinal hernia: Comparative effectiveness review, No. 70. Rockville, Md.: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; 2012. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK100633/. RelatedHernia truss: Can it help an inguinal hernia?Symptom CheckerGroin pain (male) Inguinal herniaOverviewSymptoms & causesDiagnosis & treatmentDiagnosisTreatmentClinical trialsPreparing for your appointmentSelf-managementMore aboutIn-DepthExpert AnswersMultimediaResourcesNews from Mayo Clinic Advertisement Mayo Clinic does not endorse companies or products. Advertising revenue supports our not-for-profit mission. Advertising & Sponsorship Policy Opportunities Ad Choices Mayo Clinic Store Check out these best-sellers and special offers on books and newsletters from Mayo Clinic. The Last Diet You'll Ever NeedNEW! Mayo Clinic Guide to Integrative MedicineStop Osteoporosis in its TracksMayo Clinic Health LetterThe Mayo Clinic Diet Book Diagnosis & treatmentRequest an AppointmentDiagnosisTreatmentClinical trialsPreparing for your appointment CON-20157227 Patient Care & Health Information Diseases & Conditions Inguinal hernia


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Last year, as the drought raged across the nation's fertile heartland, experts warned about the possibility of corn reaching $10 per bushel. A year later, one bank is forecasting a very different scenario to unfold by the 2013 harvest – a return to $4 corn.
AgriMoney reports that the bank Macquarie's forecast reflects an "increasingly negative outlook" after the USDA shocked investors with its June 28 "Acreage" report. In the report, corn acreage was estimated at 97.4 million acres, 2.1 million more than originally anticipated by analysts.
"As it now looks more likely that we will have a large U.S. corn crop, the bearish outlook becomes more certain," said Macquarie analyst Chris Gadd.
The bank is forecasting Chicago corn prices to average $4.50 per bushel in the October to December quarter, and Gadd warned that values could fall.
"We are likely to test significantly below this ($4.50-a-bushel) level in the October-to-November period," he said.


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Cordless Phones
Corded Phones
Personal Care
Home Appliances
Home Ventilation
Cameras & Camcorders
Business Systems
Fax & Printers
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS4K
Brand New
Includes One Year Warranty
+ View Larger Image
No Longer Manufactured
Product Details
Panasonic DMC-TS4
Lumix 12.1 MegaPixel Digital Camera features a
LEICA DC Vario-Elmar Lens
with 4.6X optical zoom. This camera features
GPS Function
with Altimeter, Barometer, and Compass . This camera lets you recoed Full HD video in AVCHD/MP4 format with 9.3x intelligent zoom. The MEGA O.I.S. helps prevent blurring caused by shaky hands when shooting.
The DMC-TS4 supports
Venus Engine
which offers up to ISO 1600 at full resolution. The lumix camera is waterproof, shockproof, freezeproof and dustproof. This camera also features an enhanced iA mode that includes Face Detection to deliver clear portraits.
DMC-TS4 Features:
12.1 Mega Pixels
3.0" Full Touch Screen Display
5x Optical Zoom
Mega O.I.S.
- Optical Image Stabilizer
28mm Wide Angle
DC Vario-Elmar Lens
1080 Full HD Movie Recording
3D Photo Mode
Water Proof - Up to 40ft
Shock Proof - Up to 6.5ft
Freeze Proof - Up to 14°
Dolby Digital Sound
GPS Function with Altimeter, Barometer & Compass
YouTube & Facebook Ready
Performance Features:
Focusing Area:
- Normal: Wide/ Tele 30cm - infinity
- Macro / Intelligent AUTO : Wide 5cm / Tele 30cm to infinity
AF Metering:
Face / AF Tracking / Multi (23pt) / 1pt / Spot
Normal / AF Macro, Zoom Macro / Quick AF On/Off(On in Intelligent Auto), Continuous AF(only for motion picture) / AF Tracking
AF Assist Lamp:
White Balance:
Auto / Daylight / Cloudy / Shade / Incandescent / White Set / White Balance Adjustment
Program AE, Manual
Exposure Compensation:
1/3 EV Step, ± 2 EV
Auto Bracketing (AE):
1/3 -1EV step, Max +/-1EV, 3 Frames
Light Metering:
Intelligent Multiple
ISO Sensitivity:
Auto / i.ISO / 100 / 200 / 400 / 800 / 1600 / High Sensitivity mode (ISO 1600-6400)
Continuous Shooting Mode:
- Full-Resolution Image 3.7 frames/sec, High-speed Burst Mode: approx. 10 frames/sec
Still Image Scene Modes:
- Portrait / Soft Skin / Scenery / Panorama Shot
- Night Portrait / Night Scenery / Handheld Night Shot / Food
- Baby1 / Baby2 / Pet / Sunset / High sensitivity
- Glass Through
Self Timer:
2sec / 10sec
Color Mode:
Standard, Black&White, Sepia, Vivid (in P / M mode), Happy (only in iA Mode)
Recording Format:
- Still Image: JPEG (DCF / Exif2.3)
- 3D Image: MPO
- Motion picture: AVCHD, MP4
Mode Dial / Mode Button:
Intelligent AUTO, P, M, Sports, Snow, Miniature Effect, Beach&Snorkeling, Underwater, SCN, 3D Photo
AVCHD (Continuous Recordable Time):
Approx. 100 min (GFS, FSH), 110 min (GS, SH)
MP4 (Continuous Recordable Time):
Approx. 100 min (FHD)
AVCHD (Actual Recordable Time):
approx. 50 min (GFS, FSH), 55 min (GS, SH)
MP4 (Actual Recordable Time):
Approx. 50 min (FHD)
Image Quality:
Fine/Standard (3D mode: MPO Fine / MPO Standard)
Convenience Features:
Unlimited Consecutive Shooting:
1.7 frames/sec
Intelligent Exposure:
Digital Red Eye Correction:
Show Histogram :
Copy / Title Edit / Text Stamp:
Standard Features:
Playback Mode:
Normal Playback, Slideshow, Filtering Playback (Picture Only, Video Only, 3D, GPS Area, Altimeter Log, Travel, Category, Favorites), Calendar Playback
OSD Language:
English, Spanish
Recording Media:
- Built-in Memory
- SD Memory Card
- SDHC Memory Card
- SDXC Memory Card
- Auto
- Auto/Red-eye Reduction
- Forced On
- Slow Sync./Red-eye Reduction
- Forced Off
- Micro HDMI, AV Output (NTSC), USB2.0 High speed
- Li-ion Battery Pack (3.6V, Minimum: 940mAh)
Battery Life:
310 pictures (CIPA standard)
F3.3 - 5.9 / 2-Step (F3.3 / 10 (W), F5.9 / 18 (T))
Continuous Shooting Mode:
- Full-Resolution Image, 3.7 frames/sec Max. 6 images
- High-speed Burst Mode: approx. 10 frames/sec (recorded in 3M for 4:3, 2.5M for 3:2, 2M for 16:9, 2.5M for 1:1), Max. 100 images / Time Lapse Shot
Thumbnails/Zoomed Playback:
12,30-thumbnails / Max 16x
Calendar Display:
Set Favorites:
DPOF Print Setting/Set Production:
Yes / Yes
Auto Retouch
Cut Animation:
Video Divide:
PictBridge Support:
Single / Multi / All / Favorites / DPOF
Shutter Speed:
Approx. 60 - 1/1300 sec
DMC-TS4 Includes:
PHOTOfunSTUDIO 8.1 Advanced Edition / Adobe Reader
Battery Charger
Battery Pack
AV & USB Cables
Hand Strap
The Panasonic DMC-TS4K has lots of exciting features for all customers. Also don't forget to purchase a PremiumStore extended warranty for future protection of the Panasonic DMC-TS4K. PremiumStore sells the Panasonic DMC-TS4K as a Brand New item. These are just a few of the reasons to buy a Panasonic DMC-TS4K from PremiumStore today!
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This highly practical and innovative accessory has been specially designed for use with the complete range of Savanah Slatted Bath Boards. Easy to attach to any of their slatted bath boards, the handle adds an extra dimension of security and peace of mind at bath time. It also provides extra safety, support and stability for those with limited mobility when getting into and out of the bath.
Savanah Slatted Bath Board Handle Features:
Savanah Slatted Bath Board Handle Specification:
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And, of course, the fine print:
Get free shipping on your next order when you spend over $100. The discount will be automatically applied to your purchase; no promo code required. The subtotal of your purchase must be $100.01 or greater after any promotional discounts have been applied. Additional fees such as tax or shipping and handling do not apply toward your minimum subtotal requirement of $100.01. Offer applies to standard shipping only. Certain items that require additional shipping and handling are excluded from this promotion and do not apply towards your $100.01 subtotal minimum. Offer subject to change.
Captain Ahab may have gone down with his ship, but you can keep his crazy vengeful spirit alive with this grey Moby-Dick t-shirt. The crew-neck is handmade from 100% cotton and features a white ink quote pulled from Ahab himself across the front.
Women's version of this tee can be found here.
This product ships from the maker within 5 days, via USPS
If you're not happy with this item for any reason, you may return it for a full refund within 14 days.


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New Mama Bottom Spray is a cooling, soothing perineal mist that helps ease discomfort of postpartum vaginal soreness and swelling, episiotomies and hemorrhoids. Made with all-natural ingredients, including astringent witch hazel, antibacterial lavender, and cooling peppermint pure essential oils. Relief is a spray away, mist as often as you need it, especially after bath or toilet use. The clever inverted sprayer means it sprays easily upside down!
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Made in the USA. Take it with you along with your peri-bottle. Shake well and spray down there as often as needed especially after urination and bathing.
- 100% natural herbs and oils
- Handy inverted mister sprays upside-down
- Use as often as needed both during pregnancy and following childbirth
- No artificial preservatives or parabens
- Use with Mama Bottom Balm for even more soothing relief
Water, Hamamelis virginiana (witch hazel) leaf extract, Cucumis sativus (cucumber) fruit extract, Kosher vegetable glycerin, Lavandula angustifolia (organic lavender) flower oil, Mentha piperita (organic peppermint) leaf oil
Sold by Baby Earth


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Climb Safe: How Sketchy is a Sharp-Edged Carabiner?
To help make more climbers safer climbers, Rock and Ice has teamed up with Black Diamond Equipment to present the Climb Safe series. These articles aim to answer some of climbing's most common gear-related questions. Here, Kolin Powick, Black Diamond's Director of Quality, investigates sharp-edged carabiners.


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Tightening the purse strings of a controversial fund that enables top officials to spend as they please drew congratulations from the Marin County civil grand jury, but the panel concluded more must be done to eliminate the taint of political patronage.
The jury, in a rare follow-up to a report issued earlier this year on the Board of Supervisors' discretionary fund, said reform spearheaded by Supervisor Steve Kinsey represented "steps in the right direction" and a "good faith effort" at reining in a freewheeling program that has triggered more than a decade of controversy. Supervisors call it a vital community service, but critics blister it as a "slush fund."
"County officials are making a genuine effort to improve (fund) operations, increase transparency and accessibility, and lessen the influence of individual supervisors over grant distributions," the jury said.
The county board in March, bowing to a number of earlier jury recommendations, gave the program a facelift, tossing it to the county administrator while continuing to control who got grants. The budget was capped at $300,000 a year and grants were limited to $10,000. Supervisors must "sponsor" all grant proposals considered by the administration under a system in which "geographic equity" will ensure each supervisorial district gets a fair share of the funds.
"The opportunity for individual supervisors to direct grants to their favorite causes has not yet been eliminated," the jury noted this week.
The panel, which was under the impression the county board would return $530,000 in unspent funding from the account to the county treasury "for appropriate one-time countywide needs," issued its latest report as supervisors dipped into the fund to allocate a record $250,000 on Tuesday. About $258,000 remains in the account but may be spent before the fiscal year ends next month.
The board's spending came as officials distributed carryover money they had built up over the years, funding projects benefiting education, children, the elderly and a variety of civic groups. No carryover funding will be allowed next year.
Supervisor Susan Adams, the top spender this month with a $102,000 allocation, was absent Tuesday, but County Administrator Matthew Hymel noted her big beneficiaries were Senior Access and Community Institute for Psychotherapy, two groups that otherwise were in line for county budget funding. The staff intends to determine how both agencies "might fit in" for annual funding in the future, he said.
Representatives of groups that received grants from supervisors rose to speak, including a delegation of Novato high school principals and a School Fuel foundation official who saluted the board and expressed heartfelt thanks for Supervisor Judy Arnold's $95,000 in grants to Novato school, education and parent projects.
Supervisor Steve Kinsey, who allocated just $2,220 from his account, said the projects financed by colleagues were "completely in line with the entire board's goals" and asserted the discretionary fund has merit even though it "is a much maligned program in the press."
No mention was made of the jury's report despite its praise for top officials.
"The grand jury congratulates the Board of Supervisors and the county administrator for the steps they have taken thus far," the jury said. "It is clear to us that the supervisors have made a good faith attempt not only to create greater clarity and transparency for the fund but also to struggle with the issue of eliminating, or at least lessening, the influence of individual supervisors over the process."
The jury cautioned that because supervisors must "sponsor" grant requests considered by the administration, they still exercise control of the account. "We also believe that steering monies to their favorite causes leaves the supervisors open to legitimate criticism from the community," the jury said.
In that light, the panel recommended that officials combat "the potential for political patronage" by giving priority to countywide projects with a focus on emergency or one-time grants "and not for ongoing recipient programs." It said officials should provide and publicize objective and explicit funding and eligibility criteria and related information. The jury called for an annual report summarizing the number of applicants, broken down in categories, including those who were rejected, along with the reasons, range of grants and related information.
The jury "noted some confusion" on the county board about the "approximately $530,000" fund surplus jurors said would be returned to the treasury. "Several supervisors, contrary to our understanding, believe they will continue to have an individual claim on the reserve fund," the panel reported.
Finally, the jury noted it goes out of business in two months and encouraged next year's panel "to monitor the extent to which our suggestions have been incorporated."
Contact Nels Johnson via email at firstname.lastname@example.com. Follow him at twitter.com/nelsjohnsonnews


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AFC Wimbledon defender Warren Cummings says this weekend's League Two six-pointer against Aldershot will be a dog-fight.
The Shots come to Kingsmeadow propping up the table on goal difference from Barnet and Wycombe (all on 13 points), with the Dons just above on 17 points.
Home form has been the Shots' achilles heel having won just once in nine attempts, while their away form of two wins, two draws and four defeats is keeping them in touch with their fellow strugglers.
As for the Dons, they go into the game on the back of a demanding trip to Exeter City, sandwiched by two journies to York, as well as Monday night's FA Cup replay and extra time.
But Cummings is in positive mood. He said: "We have won two games in a row, which I don't think we have done all season, and we can take that into Saturday to give us a lot of confidence.
"Yes, we've had a gruelling schedule, so it has been a difficult period but we have five days to recover and get ready for Aldershot.
"That's going to be a really difficult match because we're both in a dog fight.
"But if we apply ourselves in terms of the work rate and football intelligence, then there is no reason why we cannot get another positive result."
Dons face Aldershot on Saturday, and then host Southend on Tuesday.


text: Review: 'Experience the Beatles with Rain' was a two-hour nostalgia fest By Autumn D. F. Hopkins April 23, 2013 Story Share CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The second to last show of the Clay Center's Broadway in Charleston played Tuesday night to an almost packed house. "Experience the Beatles with Rain" was a two and a half hour trip back in time.While Rain -- a spot-on Beatles cover band -- played everyone's favorite tunes, two giant screens flanked the stage reeling through period appropriate news clips, sound bites of Beatles interviews and psychedelic visuals. It was all a bit overwhelming at first.However, it was quickly easy to see the large crowd had come to immerse themselves in the experience. Far enough from the stage and with the aid of all the special effects it was easy to temporarily lose one's self and slip back in time. In fact, it all felt uncannily real.The concert began on the set of The Ed Sullivan Show with four bright-eyed mop-topped young men playing early songs like "She Loves You," and "I Wanna Hold Your Hand."In between the time periods and minimal set changes, old commercials and songs played across the large screens. When the curtain rose, the audience had been propelled forward to 1965 as the Beatles conquered Shea Stadium. Songs like "Day Tripper" and "Help" filled the auditorium as clips of the Shea Stadium audience looped across the monitors, complete with the original fans fainting, screaming and being dragged off by security.As the curtain fell again and commercials for cigarettes, hair relaxers, detergents and shampoos filled the screen members of the present day audience could be heard nervously giggling and whispering "I remember that!"When Rain again took the stage they had morphed into the Beatles of the Sgt. Pepper era. Some albums, like Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, are meant to be taken as a whole. This is probably the hardest of the Beatles albums to pull off because any cover band can play a song or two but to re-create the experience of the album without playing it in its entirety is difficult. With the help of special effects and some prerecorded instrumental back up, Rain was able to accomplish this feat pulling the audience in and creating that special feel with only a few of the more well-known songs like "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" and "When I'm 64."The special effects did go a touch overboard here with a sheer screen that came down in front of the band and across which bubbles and kaleidoscope patterns played. Also they took the lyrics a bit too literally. The audience does not need to be spoon-fed actual images of rocking horses and marshmallow pies to get the song.After intermission a more worldly and serious version of the band took the stage. Proclaiming peace and celebrating the Summer of Love, Rain launched into "All You Need is Love" and "Strawberry Fields," complete with Nehru jackets and droopy moustaches. That was a short set and quickly moved into what was easily the highlight of the evening an acoustic set that included "Blackbird," "Here Comes the Sun," and transitioned into a fantastic version of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps." This set really highlighted the skill of the musicians. Not hidden behind special effects and fancy lights, the audience was treated to some quality renditions of classic songs.After this the band moved forward in time again to some of the more rock 'n' roll numbers like "Get Back" and "Revolution."Rain played two encores. The first included "Give Peace a Chance" and "Let it Be;" the second consisted solely of "Hey Jude." Both were huge crowd pleasers.Rain did an excellent job of showcasing what made the Beatles the enduring legend they are today. They skipped some notable crowd pleasers in favor of some of the lesser-known songs and this gave the show a unique feel unlike other Beatles' cover bands, which often skew to the most well known well-loved crowd pleasers.Overall this was a fantastic show full of great technical skill and entertaining special effects. The enthusiasm of the audience reflected just what a wonderful evening it was. Story Share Story Share Trending Now 1 'Heroin(e)' spotlights women helping combat Huntington's drug crisis 2 Deer in 8 WV counties found dead from EHD 3 New company planning $73M synthetic fuel plant in Greenbrier County 4 WVU pulls away from Kansas for 56-34 win 5 WVU law professor announces run for Congress Appeals court backs EPA's veto of Spruce Mine Previous Story Water projects in Kanawha announced Next Story


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Drunk drivers kill hundreds yearly; the person killed, not the car or beer. A person kills with a gun, (and some say) the gun killed?
I'm a law-abiding citizen with guns. Why do I need to say why I need them? Why don't you tell me why I cannot have guns (of any kind)?
I don't care how many miles traveled or how many countries Mrs. Clinton visited; the Benghazi tragedy, that cost our ambassador and three other Americans their lives, even after months of warnings and requests for protection is inexcusable and a sign of incompetence.
Hey, ranters: 50 words or less. Either you can't count, don't know how to be concise or you can't follow directions. Anything longer, send a letter to the editor and put your name on it.
… Republican state legislatures in states won by President Obama are now working to change the rules in their states so electoral votes are allocated by congressional district. … Republicans are shamelessly doing everything they can to subvert our democracy by gerrymandering districts and then changing the rules!
I see that Zack Bonahoom had another one of his tired essays in the newspaper. Everything he says has already been printed in other articles in the paper. He just wants to hitch his wagon to Mitch Harper. Face it kid, you lost. The voters said no thanks.
Now is the time for Christians to speak out. Dennis Kruse, a state senator, has filed legislation that would put prayers back in our schools. Please write to the rules committee to let them know that more people want prayers back in schools than people who do not.
Whether a deal is struck or not with City Utilities and Aqua (Indiana), our city councilmen are doing a disservice to the public that they all represent. They are more than willing to write a blank check! … I think a judge should decide the matter for the simple fact our councilmen, due to their own political agendas, are incapable.
Replace all "conflict managers" with a trained and armed police officer at every school. Additionally, everyone must pass through a metal detector at the main school entrance. You can't board an airplane or enter a courthouse without scanning — why not schools?
Salt and snow crews: Please remember Winchester Road, especially around Wayne High School.
It is your right to stop your car in respect for a funeral procession going the opposite direction. However, not everyone feels the same way you do. If you wish to stop your car, please stop out of traffic so the rest of us can be on our way. It is not a law that you have to stop traffic for a funeral going the other way.
Now, not only are we going to grade teachers on their students' test scores. We will also grade them on how well they do at the firing range. Can't we get a grip on this hysteria?
No matter how close you get to my back bumper, I'm probably not going to speed up.
If there is a second season of "Last Resort," I will wait for the DVD to come out to watch it; wa-a-a-a-ay too many advertisements!
Hillary accepts full responsibility for Benghazi but "What difference does is make!" What a joke! We have four dead Americans, and we need answers!
New Mexico State Rep. Cathrynn Brown … (introduced a bill stating) a woman who has an abortion after being raped would be charged — along with her doctor — with evidence tampering. … You never hear stuff like this from people of moderation … , it's always from the far right.
To contribute to The News-Sentinel's anonymous sound-off forum, email comments of 50 words or fewer to firstname.lastname@example.com or send mail to: The Rant, The News-Sentinel, 600 W. Main St., Fort Wayne, IN 46802.


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Christina Chambers
After less than a year in Llanview, Christina Chambers (Marty) has been let go. Chambers's last air date has yet to be determined, but the inside word is it won't be for a couple of months. The actress joined OLTL last November in the popular role originated by Susan Haskell, but after a year of front-burner action, fans didn't warm up to the recast.
"Christina Chambers's talent and professionalism have been a wonderful asset to ONE LIFE TO LIVE. I thank her for her commitment to the character of Marty Saybrooke and wish her the best of luck as she returns to the West Coast full time," said OLTL Executive Producer Frank Valentini."
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Hi, I was raised Christian but it never made much sense to me and I gave up my religion. Anyway, I have been looking into Buddhism for awhile, and I follow the teachings of The Buddha, such as the eight fold path and five precepts, and I am open to the idea of karma and reincarnation.
So here is the man part of my question: Some people say in order to consider yourself a Buddhist, you have to fully accept everything in the religion, and some say you are a Buddhist as soon as you start the path by following the Buddha's teachings, and growing and learning through life. Which one is right?


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Naomi Wolf: A Firsthand Look Inside Guantánamo Bay
Naomi Wolf takes readers inside the infamous Guantánamo Bay military detention camp in an article for the Times.
What we know now is that torture, and all manner of human rights violations—violations of US and international law—definitely took place at the prison (much of it described in Michael Ratner and Ellen Ray's harrowing Guantánamo: What the World Should Know). What Naomi Wolf (The End of America: Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot gives us here so viscerally is a firsthand account of the prison itself. Although it's obviously been scrubbed clean, sanitized for the numerous visiting journalists, we are left with a portrait of inhumane conditions, evidence of humiliation tactics, and lies and disinformation up and down the chain of command.
As the military handlers made pleasant jokes about the heat, I took in a low-tech vision of Hell. This was the site of the first scenes from Guantánamo, where men sweltered in kennel-like cages. These were the cages themselves: about 50, each about 8ftx12ft, an aisle down the centre for guards to move in, a slab of corrugated iron on top of each cell, and a pipe with a funnel at groin level, in which to urinate; open to the elements; no walls, no true shade. Concrete floors. There had been buckets for defaecation, MC1 Dwight told us; but the prisoners had thrown the faeces at the guards. There was a communal shower, now crumbling — but the prisoners had not liked to shower in groups, naked.
The scene was being reclaimed by nature: vines and brambles were swallowing the wire, twisting around the doors. At 10am the humidity was so intense that sweat was pouring down our faces. The temperature was close to 40C. I went into a cell; grinding heat, drenching humidity, pure exposure to the sun. It was as if you were being cooked in a man-sized convection oven. "Look out!" shouted Petty Officer Dwight. "Banana rats!"
I looked up and shrieked, staggering to my feet: climbing across the wire walls and on to the roof of the cell was a 40lb rodent, with a long wiry tail, the size of a bulldog. Another one scurried along the base of the wall, a baby on its back; a third made itself at home in the undergrowth of the neighbouring cell — big, grotesque creatures with no fear. I imagined what it must have been like to try to sleep in that black heat, these animals slipping in and out of the cages with their great claws and teeth.
Behind the cages was the interrogation hut — a plywood shack painted with a red cross. A one-man cage stood near by. From Human Rights Watch reports and documents in Michael Ratner's book Guantánamo: What the World Should Know, I knew that this was the notorious isolation cell. Prisoners in a detention camp are so cowed by the sight of the isolation cell and those held in it that they become compliant, since isolation is far more damaging psychologically to many prisoners than anything else.
"This is the isolation cell?" I asked Petty Officer Dwight. "Yes," he said. Then he advised us that the detainees themselves had requested it. "They asked that other detainees who were disruptive and disturbing them be taken here for a 'time out'. This was a 'time-out' area … if someone was to act up and they needed a 'time-out'."
It was the first of many times I would look at PO Dwight — a decent guy whose true passion was hairstyling — and wonder if he believed what he had been trained to say. But he gave this, and other "facts", with a kind of innocence. He took us into the interrogation rooms. About 25 chairs were stacked in a corner — unusual chairs for a military setting. The seats were padded; the structure itself was made of a bamboo material; and, oddest of all, each of the arms of the chairs curled into an elaborate spiral. I leant in more closely: on each chair's arms was a clear mark from what appeared to have been several layers of gaffer tape. I looked at the legs of the chairs, where a prisoner's ankles would be: the same apparent gaffer-tape marks.
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text:
Italian Meatball Calzones Recipe
- 1 package (12 ounces) frozen fully cooked Italian meatballs, thawed
- 2 cups pizza sauce
- 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
- 3/4 cup ricotta cheese
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh basil
- 1 egg white
- 2 teaspoons water
- 1 package (15 ounces) refrigerated pie pastry
- Additional pizza sauce, optional
- 1. Heat meatballs according to package directions. In a large saucepan, heat pizza sauce; stir in meatballs. In a small bowl, combine the cheeses and basil. In another bowl, whisk the egg white and water; set aside.
- 2. Unroll one pastry onto a greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan. Spoon half of meatball mixture onto half of the pastry to within 1/2 in. of the edges. Top with half of cheese mixture. Fold dough over the filling, forming a half circle. Moisten edges with water; press with a fork to seal. Brush top with egg mixture. Repeat with remaining pastry, meatball mixture and egg mixture.
- 3. Bake at 400° for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Cut each calzone into three wedges. Serve with additional pizza sauce if desired. Yield: 6 servings.
Nutritional Facts
1 slice: 559 calories, 32g fat (14g saturated fat), 84mg cholesterol, 694mg sodium, 45g carbohydrate (7g sugars, 2g fiber), 22g protein.
Reviews for Italian Meatball Calzones
Average Rating
"I didn't really care for this too much. One problem was that the heated sauce and meatballs seemed to melt the pastry dough while I was still assembling them. So before they even went into the oven there were already large holes on the crease. The flavor was okay, but I think I would have preferred pizza dough rather than pie crust."
"GREAT Recipe! Instead of adding fresh basil to the cheeses I used a tablespoon of dried italian seasoning....delicioso!"
"This was just okay, not one I will make again. I loved the ease of using the pastry dough though to make the calzones and I may try that idea again with regular pizza ingredients inside."


text: The hyperlinks to institution Internet sites are provided solely as a convenience to users of the IDFPR Internet site. IDFPR has made a limited effort to determine that these links function properly. However, linked sites are not under the control of IDFPR, and IDFPR is not responsible for the contents of any linked site, or any link contained in a linked site. Even if you access an institution's site by means of the link provided by IDFPR, you are responsible for confirming the identity and authenticity of any institution you visit and transact business with online. The inclusion of a link does not imply or constitute an endorsement by IDFPR of the institution, its ownership or management, the products or services it offers, or any advertisers or sponsors appearing on the institution's web site.


text:
|Date / Time
|Thursday December 29, 2016 @02:54AM
|More Than One-Third of Schoolchildren Are Homeless In Shadow of Silicon Valley
|Sunday August 24, 2014 @08:58AM
|Magnitude 6.0 Quake Hits Northern California, Causing Injuries and Outages
|Saturday August 24, 2013 @05:48PM
|Wildfire Threatens Water and Power To San Francisco
|Thursday May 09, 2013 @08:25AM
|San Francisco Abandons Mobile Phone Radiation Labels
|Sunday April 21, 2013 @07:24PM
|Walking Distance from Wired: Kevin Kelly Surveys the Tech Scene
|Friday September 14, 2012 @07:32PM
|Mammoth Tooth Found In Downtown San Francisco
|Tuesday July 24, 2012 @12:35PM
|San Francisco Poaching Tech Talent From Silicon Valley
|Tuesday June 05, 2012 @01:08PM
|Finding the Downside In San Francisco's Tech Boom
|Saturday February 11, 2012 @11:35AM
|San Francisco Enlists Bus Cameras For Traffic Law Enforcement
|Thursday February 02, 2012 @09:24AM
|Sensor Networks In San Francisco Finds Parking Spots
|Tuesday December 06, 2011 @01:36PM
|Physical Models In an Age of Computers
|Thursday September 29, 2011 @08:43AM
|IBM Launches Parking Meter Analytics System
|Wednesday May 18, 2011 @09:20AM
|Judge Orders Former San Francisco Admin Terry Childs To Pay $1.5M
|Thursday March 31, 2011 @07:26PM
|San Francisco Opening Computer & Video Game Museum
|Saturday January 29, 2011 @11:18AM
|Golden Gate Bridge To Eliminate Tollbooths
|Wednesday November 03, 2010 @03:53PM
|Land of Lisp
|Thursday June 17, 2010 @05:20AM
|San Francisco Requires Cell Phone Radiation Warnings
|Thursday April 29, 2010 @08:39PM
|Juror Explains Guilty Vote In Terry Childs Case
|Wednesday April 28, 2010 @06:06PM
|Rough Justice For Terry Childs
|Friday April 11, 2008 @03:04PM
|Cities Tampering With Traffic Lights To Generate Revenue
|Friday February 29, 2008 @10:49AM
|University of San Francisco Law Clinic Joins Fight Against RIAA
|Thursday August 30, 2007 @03:17PM
|San Francisco Free Wi-Fi Plan Fails
|Wednesday October 25, 2006 @11:58AM
|If Not America, Then Where?
The price one pays for pursuing any profession, or calling, is an intimate knowledge of its ugly side. -- James Baldwin


text:
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Dear Editor,
As much as I dislike pointing out the obvious, there is such an inappropriate comparison given by Bruce Wilson in his column about recycling(I think that is what it was about) that I had to comment. Trees and hayfields? Apples and oranges.
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text: You are entitled to your opinion, but I violently disagree with your assessment of Christopher Nolan. For my money, he is the best director alive. Not just for his Batman films, but I am a huge fan of Inception and The Prestige as well. His films are beautifully shot, thought provoking, extremely clever, and open to interpretation. Honestly, as much as I love Batman, I am anxious to see where he goes next, besides his producing credit for the new Superman reboot.This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote


text:
A Novi High School scholar-athlete is "super excited" about attending the inauguration of President Obama on Jan. 21 in Washington, D.C.
Ziyang Huang, 15, a sophomore with a 4.0 GPA, will travel to the Capitol to attend the Presidential Inauguration Conference Jan. 19-23.
"I will not only be witnessing the second Inauguration of President Barack Obama, but I will be learning about politics and how it affects the people around me," said Huang, who was born in Shanghai, China, in 1998.
"I feel this will prove very valuable to me in my future because I have always thought that politics was simply a game of convincing people to do as one wishes," she said. "I hope there's more to it."
She said she hasn't determined what she wants to do with her life, but it will involved fighting for human rights.
Watch a report on today's News at Noon.
"What I truly want to do is help the human rights' situation in China," said Huang who has a sister, Zijin, 12. Her father, Changhe Huang, is a professor of physics at Wayne State University and her mother is Jiangping Wang.
"We could do more for those (in China) who don't have the necessities of daily living," she said. "I also want to help with the Chinese democratic movement."
The teen is a published poet and member of her school's varsity swimming team. Her classload includes advanced placement U.S. history, French 3, International Baccalaureate mathematics (pre-calculus), chemistry, sociology and English.
Huang was invited to attend the inauguration because of her past participation with the Junior National Young Leaders Conference.
During the five-day program Huang is attending, the High School Presidential Inaugural Conference will provide scholars with a deeper understanding of the history behind the electoral process and the rich traditions surrounding the Presidential Inauguration.
"This event will provide (students) with a chance to become more familiar with and attuned to the president who will govern the United States over the next four years," said Marguerite Regan, dean of academic affairs for the Presidential Inaugural Conference.
�Inaugural Scholars will attend a special viewing party and luncheon, where they will watch on large-screen televisions the grandeur of the inaugural parade, as the president, vice president and their families make their way down Pennsylvania Avenue from the U.S. Capitol Building to the White House.
To further commemorate Inauguration Day, scholars will attend an exclusive Gala Inaugural Celebration just for them.
�"We certainly hope this will inspire the next generation of leaders," Regan said.
For additional information on the High School Presidential Inaugural Conference, visit www.inauguralscholar.com/hs.
Contact Jerry Wolffe at 248-745-4612 or firstname.lastname@example.com or follow him on Twitter @JerryWolffe1 or on Facebook.


text:
Perfect Cases Wall Mounted Football Display Case
This uniquley designed wall mounted display case is the perfect way to protect and display your autographed football. This case is made so that the top hinges open for easy access inside. This display case is made with UV Protected, double strength glass and mirror and accented with real wood moulding. This display case is made with mirror on the back to enhance the look of what you want displayed. We also use no acids in our display cases to prevent signature fading. This display case also includes an acrylic holder for your football.
Upgrade your display case with our personalization feature. We can laser engrave right on the front panel. Engraving is done on the inside of the front panel for the most professional look. Dimensions are 12 x 9 x 8
Upgrade your display case with our personalization feature. We can laser engrave right on the front panel. Engraving is done on the inside of the front panel for the most professional look. Dimensions are 12 x 9 x 8
How long will my items take to ship?Most of the items we sell will ship within 1-2 business days from the date ordered. Every item on our website will tell you how long it takes to ship under the availability section when that item.
Once an item leaves the warehouse, Regular Ground shipments will be in transit for 2-5 business days & expedited shipments will be in transit for 1-3 business days.
You can click the "Estimated Delivery Dates" link next to the add to cart button on each product page to get an idea of when your merchandise will arrive to you.
How much does shipping cost?Our shipping charges are automatically calculated by our shopping cart after you enter your shipping information. Our shipping rates are based on the total cost of merchandise in your order:
|Order Amount
|Regular Ground Cost
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*To obtain the shipping costs to Hawaii, Alaska, APO addresses & also for expedited shipping, please add your items to the shopping cart, enter your shipping address and use our shipping calculator for current rates.
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text: Lawsuit targets DEP, DHHR over Crude MCHM By Ken Ward Jr. February 7, 2014 Story Share CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A new legal action accuses two state government agencies of "collective dereliction of their duties" in not taking steps that could have prevented the Jan. 9 Elk River chemical leak that contaminated drinking-water supplies for 300,000 West Virginians.The emergency petition, filed with the West Virginia Supreme Court, says the Department of Health and Human Resources and the Department of Environmental Protection ignored state laws and rules that required them to protect drinking-water supplies.The 36-page petition also says state officials ignored warnings that such an incident was possible and did not adequately respond to public concerns after the leak of the coal-cleaning chemical Crude MCHM from the Freedom Industries' tank farm."Despite several clear warnings that West Virginia residents in the Kanawha Valley were at imminent risk of toxic exposure, respondents refused to take the actions necessary to protect the public health and the environment as required by statutes and regulations," says the petition, filed Friday.Lawyers Jennifer Wagner and Bren Pomponio, of the public-interest law firm Mountain State Justice, and Michael Becher and Joe Lovett, from the group Appalachian Mountain Advocates, filed the petition.The petitioners are two nonprofit groups, Covenant House and the West Virginia Coalition Against Domestic Violence, that serve needy and in-crisis members of the community, and two area residents, Monique Watkins and Virginia Gardner.In a statement, Covenant House, said, "This is a time of crisis. Our system has failed us. Our water supply was compromised. The public trust breached."This has affected every person in our community, and it has impacted the low-wage worker and homeless populations disproportionately," the statement said."Every day, more than 200 people count on Covenant House to help find housing, to take a shower, do their laundry, secure food and clothing, or some other emergency subsidence," the statement said. "It is a significant hardship for the low-wage worker to pay for bottled water to drink, to bathe their children in, and to cook." Named as respondents in the petition were DEP Secretary Randy Huffman, DHHR Secretary Karen Bowling and Dr. Letitia Tierney, the commissioner for DHHR's Bureau for Public Health.Officials from the agencies did not respond to requests for comment.Among the specific allegations in the petition:• Public health officials failed to require adequate emergency response and source-water protection plans for the Elk River water supply. • The public health bureau did not maintain and update a comprehensive hazardous-materials list that includes materials frequently used in West Virginia and appropriate emergency-response procedures.• The DEP did not require Freedom Industries to submit pollution-control and groundwater-protection plans for its tank farm, despite its location, 1.5 miles upstream from the public water intake, and did not properly inspect the site to ensure its safety. • The DEP has not kept the public informed about the cleanup of the Freedom Industries' site, leaving citizens with little information about "whether the spill site poses an ongoing threat to the Elk River and to the downstream drinking-water intake."• The DEP is violating its duty to protect the existing uses of the Elk River, including its use as a public drinking-water supply.The petition notes that a 2002 DHHR report documented a variety of potential threats to the Elk River water supply, concluding that it was "highly susceptible to contamination" and identifying the Freedom site as a source of "large volumes of potential contamination.""Although the [public health bureau] recognized the serious risk of potential spills of contaminants into the source water, including from the Freedom Industries site, it did not take any further action as recommended by the report, including determining the actual risk and consequences of a spill from the chemicals stored at the Freedom facility or other coordination with government agencies," the petition says.Also, the petition notes that the state government has never acted on a 3-year-old recommendation by the U.S. Chemical Safety Board to create a new chemical-accident prevention program.The petition asks the Supreme Court to order the DHHR and the DEP to show why the agencies should not be forced to implement the chemical-accident prevention program, require water-protection plans from public water systems, properly monitor the impacts of the Jan. 9 leak and report information from that monitoring to the public. The lawsuit does not ask for monetary damages."Even weeks after the spill, the public has not received any information about the safety of their water except unsupported and general statements about a one-part-per-million safe threshold," the petition says. "Many affected residents still feel unsafe drinking or cooking or bathing with their water and a survey of legislators revealed that none of the legislators who responded were drinking tap water in the affected area."The chemical spill and its impacts were avoidable and should have come as no surprise to respondents," the petition says. "Respondents have been advised on numerous occasions to take steps to prevent just such a disaster, and they were aware of the risk to the water supply and other threats to the public health of residents near chemical facilities in West Virginia."However, despite their clear duty to act, respondents chose to ignore clear recommendations and their own statutory and regulatory requirements to prevent the disaster," it states. "Further, in the wake of the spill, respondents have failed to meaningfully and accurately disseminate information and otherwise study the impacts of the spill on public health and the environment."In order to prevent similar disasters in the near future, respondents must be compelled to comply with their statutory duties to protect the lives, health, and livelihoods of West Virginians from chemical exposure."Reach Ken Ward Jr. at email@example.com or 304-348-1702. Story Share Story Share Trending Now 1 Former State Police captain now chief in Winfield 2 WVU seeking improvements during off week 3 Innerviews: Dual-identity surgeon riding high in horse racing world 4 Huggins, WVU tap South Florida hoops talent 5 Man charged after motorcycle pursuit early Sunday Tap water sampling finds MCHM in some homes Previous Story With school water issues ongoing, health link denied Next Story


text:
A woman has died in hospital following a road crash on Canvey Island.
The elderly pedestrian, who lives locally, was struck by a blue Ford Focus at the junctions of Mitchells Avenue and Gains Close shortly before 10am yesterday.
The 83-year-old woman was taken to Basildon University Hospital by paramedics with a head injury but died there a few hours later.
The female car driver, in her 30s, was uninjured.
A section of the road was closed for five hours while forensic collision investigators carried out their enquiries at the scene in an attempt to find out the cause of the crash.
Police are renewing their appeal for witnesses.
Any witnesses to the fatal crash are urged to call Essex Police's Serious Collision Investigation Unit on 01245 240590 or email firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
Remember the photos of Keira Knightley, a beige catsuit and a Ducati 750SS that we showed you last September? Of course you do. The slinky brunette was filming a new ad for Chanel's Coco Mademoiselle perfume that will appear on television on the 21st. Here's video of Keira talking about that ad and clips from it.
Clips from the ad can be seen in this E! video, but we warn you, the bits that don't include Keira are extremely annoying.
All this is intended to reference or at least play off Marianne Faithfull's "The Girl on a Motorcycle" but sadly this ad appears to further gender role stereotypes rather than subvert them. That film's trailer is below.
Shots from the commercial's Paris filming, plus screencaps from the video are included in the gallery below.


text:
I've noticed a pretty scholarly bent here on Dhammawheel.
And since that is the case, I wondered just how much of the sutta-s everyone has read. I'm trying to read them all but, sigh, there is a lot of material to cover. Still, making progress.
To what extent have you pursued this avenue of study and how far do you plan to go? Why?
Inquiring minds want to know.
I find them inspiring to read and informative, and also a very good defense against the arising of wrong views. Additionally there is a lot of really good information there about the actual practice of mediation and contemplation. Key stuff.
Of course I plan to read all of them.


text:
Here's Another Master Multitasker [VIDEO]
A few days ago, I brought you this master multitasker. (Click the link to watch the video) He could juggle two Rubik's Cubes while solving a third with his other hand. I thought that was a master multitasker. Well, I hate to admit it, but I could have been a bit premature in that judgement. Now, don't get me wrong, the Rubik's Cube man was very impressive and he's definitely a talented multitasker. But, I think I found somebody who overshadows his Rubik's Cube skills.


text:
LGBT parents may already be familiar with the online literary mag and primary publisher of LGBT family fiction in the U.S., Rainbow Rumpus, aimed at younger children. But the company has now expanded to gain the attention of teens and tweens with the recently launched Rainbow Riot, a new web-based magazine featuring topics on and by youth, including art and video. This is hardly Teen Beat. This is from their release:
Rainbow Riot is published by Rainbow Rumpus, a Minnesota-based nonprofit that has been publishing an award winning online magazine for children and grown-ups for over five years. The Riot site is linked to the Rumpus site so young readers can explore the content of both magazines.
"We launched Rainbow Riot in response to feedback from the hundreds of youth that read the online magazine," said Laura Matanah, Rainbow Rumpus's executive director. "Teens wanted their own site so we created a whole magazine just for older youth."
Response to the site has been tremendous. "Ur issues r the best thing i do online," wrote a 14-year-old reader. Another shared, "I like being able to see my artwork on the site."
April's issue of Rainbow Riot features an interview with Avery Klein Cloud, who was raised by two moms and discusses the process of making a documentary about her life during a period when she was searching for her birth mother and going through a "racial identity crisis." It also includes an interview with a young adult with a gay father who created a video project to explore what it means to "come out" as the child of one or more LGBT parents.
"We're excited for the Rainbow Riot site to bring our teen fiction to a wider audience," said Matanah. "The site as a whole will help us achieve our vision of a world where kids and teens with LGBT parents are safe, welcomed, and powerful."
Teens and young adults are encouraged to submit photos, artwork, writing, and video to Rainbow Riot. Contributions can be emailed to this here.


text:
If you take a personality assessment and are told that you don't fit, is there anything you can do to get back in the game? There are a couple of things you can do. They might not work, but they're your best shot at saving your opportunity.
(1) Ask the hiring manager if he or she has ever hired anyone who didn't do well on the personality assessment, but turned out to be a winner anyway. What you're trying to do is to get him to remember a person who's very successful in the organization but didn't do well on the test, and then see you in that same category--possibly someone who could really contribute to the organization, despite failing the test. It's the exception to the rule.
(2) If you were a close fit according to the test, but not enough, ask the hiring manager to call your references. Your references will tip the scale the other way when they tell him why you were a great hire for them because of your work ethic, knowledge, skill sets, contacts, or whatever it is that makes you special. Offer to have your references call, or give their numbers to the hiring manager. Encourage him to speak to them, so that he can see why you're such a fantastic candidate and why he doesn't want to miss the chance to hire you, because you will add to his team, add to his organization, drive his profitability, and do whatever it takes to make the company successful.
If you are successful with these strategies, ask for the next step. Press hard: "Based on this evidence, can we move forward?" "Can I have your commitment that we can get to the next step?" Or even give him an out: "Would you consider hiring me on a probationary basis? If I'm not performing after 90 days, then you can fire me." They would anyway, naturally, but you're providing a necessary psychological freedom right then to make a positive decision to hire you. Of course, when you get into the organization, you'll need to run faster and jump higher than everyone else to prove yourself, but then you'll get to keep your job.
Peggy McKee has over 15 years of experience in sales, sales management, sales recruiting, and career coaching. Her website, Career Confidential is packed with job-landing tips and advice as well as the practical, powerful, innovative tools every job seeker needs to be successful.
Check out the latest Career Insider eNewsletter - December 9, 2010.
Sign up for the free weekly Career Insider eNewsletter.


text:
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Friday that fraudulent versions of the wrinkle treatment Botox, which is made by Allergan Inc and also used to treat headaches, underarm sweating and overactive bladder, are being sold in the United States. Full story
For the next generation of doctors to develop a better bedside manner, it's important to spend some time in a stable. Full story


text:
The Dairyland Initiative will be offering a workshop on Designing Supplemental Positive Pressure Ventilation Systems for Calf & Heifer Barns on Feb. 20 at the Sheraton Madison Hotel, Madison, Wis.
View the schedule and details in the online Brochure at The Dairyland Initiative website.
Participants will learn to design systems to deliver appropriate volumes of fresh air to calves without causing drafts, with specifications created using the Dairyland Initiative's Positive Pressure Ventilation Tube Calculator spreadsheet available only to workshop participants. Optimal design of naturally ventilated calf barns will also be covered.
The workshop will be presented by Dr. Ken Nordlund, with assistance from Dr. Becky Brotzman, Dr. Arturo Gomez, Tom Bennett and Chris Eisele of the Food Animal Production Medicine section in the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine.
Cost is $325, which includes the Positive Pressure Ventilation Tube Calculator spreadsheet, future updates and support, recognition on the Dairyland Initiative website as a trained PPVT consultant, and lunch and breaks throughout the full-day program.