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Some of you may remember reading this entry before. Because of some glitches in my blog, it was deleted. However, I thought that it was an important one, for a variety of reasons, so I'm reprinting it.
All names in this entry have been changed.
Some days in rehab were good. Some weren't so good.
Rehab Fun
As I said in my previous post, we found ways at Ottawa Rehabilitation Centre to make the days fun. When the work day of physiotherapy, occupational therapy, life skills training, and appointments with social work, neurological testing, and vocational planning were over for the day, we had some time for ourselves. Sometimes I used it in constructive pursuits like practicing my hand-writing or practicing trying to get my scooter turned around in the elevator without hitting a wall. I never missed visiting with the therapy dogs if they were in the centre; I loved their visits.
One weekend when, for some reason, I ended up staying on the ward and a lot of other people happened to be around, we all watched "Galaxy Quest" one afternoon. It's an amusing movie, but not die-laughing funny. Alison, however, got the giggles, and she and I laughed until we could barely breathe. We should have been asked to leave, except that everyone else found us so funny that no one really cared about the movie.
One of the patient's families sponsored a ward Christmas party for all of us. That was the night that we found out
that Helene could tow three people in manual wheelchairs behind her large electric wheelchair. We also discovered that running over bubble wrap in a wheelchair was just as satisfying as popping it with your hands.
Not-So-Fun Days
So there were fun days at rehab. But there were decidedly not-fun days too. One night, we all went down to Arts and Crafts again, to paint plaster Father Christmas tree ornaments. The volunteer instructed us that Father Christmas' robe and hat were to be red or green, the cuffs on the robe, the pom pom and trim on the hat, and Father Christmas' beard were to be white, and his face was to be flesh-tone.
"Screw that," I said to Nick and Angela. "I can barely write my name legibly. I'm not fooling around with colour changes on itty-bitty areas. My Father Christmas is going to be all green, and he's going to like it."
Nick and Angela saw nothing wrong with this. The volunteer disagreed with them.
"That area is supposed to be white, dear." she said when she came to check on our table. "Would you like a brush to use with the white?"
"No, thank you," I said. "My Father Christmas is going to be all green."
"But that's not the way it's supposed to be, dear. See mine, up at the front?"
Nick and Angela were looking at me. "I see it," I said. "But I can't paint those little bitty areas. Everything is going to end up green anyway. I might as well just paint him green."
"I could help you to paint him the right colours. Would you like that?"
I was getting annoyed. "No, I wouldn't like that. I want to paint him green. But that's obviously a problem, so *you* paint him whatever colour you want. I don't care anymore." I tossed my figure on the table and pushed my chair back. "Catch you later," I said to Angela and Nick as I wheeled away. Nick painted the rest of my Father Christmas green and brought it to me later, but I didn't go back to Arts and Crafts.
Another bad day that springs to mind is the day that I got so frustrated with the brain avm and the stroke and the way that everything had turned out that I threw my cane at the wall. I'd been practicing my walking, and nothing about it in particular was even going wrong. I'd just – had enough.
And, of course, there was the day that I left. I heard that a particular nurse was going to be representing the nursing staff at my discharge conference and for the first time since I was a toddler, I threw a screaming, crying tantrum. She had misrepresented me to a group of doctors during a case conference when I was there, and that amounted to throwing me under the bus, as far as I was concerned. I was not giving her the chance to do it again.
I've had twelve years since the brain AVM surgery and rehabilitation to reflect on whether my perception of her actions was correct. I'm convinced that if I could go back, I'd do the same thing – less emotionally, with more of an appeal to staffing pressures that the centre was under. But I'd stand by my conviction that the only way that woman was coming near my discharge meeting was if she read my other day nurse's notes and was not allowed to comment on what she thought.
Sometimes stroke changes peoples' personalities. The old, timid me would not have stood so firmly on this, to the point where when the centre said, "Nursing won't be present at your discharge meeting, then," I said, "That's fine."
It was quite a move toward me growing a spine. It's too bad it took a brain AVM and a stroke to get me there.


text: Picture of the LnL and it's primer setup screwed into the subplate. You can see half the primer punch setup. Picture of the Dillon Setup on top of the same plate. You can see how big it is in comparison. It has ample primer punch movement because it's 5X bigger.

subset: commoncrawl


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Despite his 24 years of age, Brad Turcotte, the founder of Houston's brand-new Compadre Records, is already something of a music-business veteran. He's a local representative of the new breed of music-biz pro, trained in classrooms and armed with several years of internships, a few high-profile jobs (radio promotion for Cory Morrow, among others) and the connections that come with same.
Compadre's first release, Texas Road Trip, is a themed collection of works by Lone Star State country artists about, well, you guessed it, driving. While the concept is not the most original, Turcotte scores some points by scratching deeper in the Robert Earl Keen catalog than "The Road Goes On Forever" and coming up with "Swerving in My Lane," as well as unleashing unreleased material by Jack Ingram, Clay Blaker, Rodney Hayden and Kevin Fowler. The theme also could be interpreted as a personal one for Turcotte, as the album dwells at the end of a five-year journey from lonely music-loving teenager to twentysomething label head.
While a freshman at Baylor, the San Marcos native knew he had made a mistake. Waco was "a downer." The young roots music fanatic couldn't interest his classmates in going to concerts with him, either in Waco or on the road. He was forced to go it alone, and lonesome at one such event, he had an epiphany.
"I saw Lee Roy Parnell and had a revelation," he says. "It was like a power of light hit me from the stage."
Turcotte knew that music was to be his life. Accepting that his musical skills were limited, he decided to get in the biz side. The very next day Turcotte applied to Middle Tennessee State University's music-business program. On arrival at MTSU, however, Turcotte got the hebegeebees. Murfreesboro, Tennessee, offered even less in the way of city lights than the Waco metro area. So Turcotte headed the 30 or so miles up I-24 to Nashville, more on a sightseeing trip than anything. There, he discovered that Belmont University, a small Baptist college housed around an old plantation on a magnolia-fragrant hilltop near Music Row, also offered a music-business program.
He applied and was accepted, with a scant two weeks to go before the semester started. Belmont's proximity to the Row afforded Turcotte ample opportunity for internships, of which he took full advantage. His time in Nashville taught him one big lesson and many smaller ones -- the major lesson being the one about "who you know" vs. "what you know."
"But then when you get back to a place like Houston, it comes full-circle again," he says. "It's more what you know down here, and that's what helped me to get this record out, you know, knowing who to call, what to give 'em and what to say."
On account of his age, Turcotte was timid even to make the acquaintance of many of the artists he would be releasing on Texas Road Trip. "I was afraid to meet the guys until I had the contracts signed. A lot of these guys have been around and are kinda sour on the business, and I was afraid that at 24, they would just see me as some kid who didn't know what he was doing."
While the scope of Texas Road Trip suggests that Compadre will be just another Texas music label, Turcotte's label's motto boasts otherwise. "Defining roots music" is the banner under which Turcotte marches, and he is among the dwindling few here in the Lone Star State who remember that roots music is more than just non-Nashville country.
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For starters, it bothers him that what we have come to know as "Texas music" is just country that Nashville has passed over. Turcotte remembers a time -- not so long ago, in fact -- when Texas music, like Americana, was also composed of blues, zydeco, conjunto, jazz, rock and many other genres. In addition to being a devotee of Texas country's bluesier side (Parnell, Delbert, et al.), Turcotte is "really into folk," he says. "I like John Gorka. I'm looking for someone who's gonna be like John Gorka, someone I can send on World Cafe. I'm more into -- I hate to say Americana, because Americana covers everything -- but folk, certainly."
Compadre has started small. The budget for Texas Road Trip was tiny, and Turcotte is running the whole operation out of his Galleria-area town home. Neither can he afford to devote the time that he would like; he's also attending South Texas College of Law. But as Lao-Tzu once said, "The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." A great many would-be record execs stumble on that first step, but something tells us that Turcotte will be around for the long haul.
Scuttlebutt Caboose
Sonny Boy Terry will be hosting two big events this month. The first is his own birthday, No. 42 for the Ohio-born blues harp ace. On Saturday, September 8, Terry and friends will throw down at Cosmos Cafe, and you know Terry is a man with a lot of friends. On his last album, last year's Breakfast Dance, Terry was joined by Harry Sheppard, Grady Gaines, Joe Hughes, Adam Burchfield, Allison Fisher, Roberto Zenteno and "Snit" Fitzpatrick, among many other Bayou City luminaries. So if even a few of the above show up, expect an all-star revue of Houston blues and jazz. Terry's other event is the rescheduled Gulf Coast Harmonica Rumble, which nearly met its end at the hands of Tropical Storm Allison. (For an extremely erroneous weather forecast, along with the lineup for the show, see Playbill, by Aaron Howard, June 6.) This one, barring another grand deluge, will be at Dan Electro's on September 21 London jungle explorer and drum 'n' bass pioneer L.T.J. Bukem will be ambiently rat-a-tat-tatting away at Club Hyperia on September 12 Jesse Dayton's long, long, really long-awaited Hey Nashvegas! will hit the racks on September 25. In contrast to his cowboy jazzy album (Raisin' Cain) and his self-described "too many words" album (Tall Texas Tales), this is Jesse's all-star-cast CD. Jim Lauderdale, the Dixie Chicks, Flaco Jimenez, Mickey Raphael and Mandy Barnett all dropped in on these mid- to late-'90s Nashville and Austin sessions Sugar Hill Records has dusted off the Gourds' 1990s EP Gogityershinebox, slapped on five new cuts (covers and traditional tunes) and renamed the finished project Shinebox, due in stores September 11. Among the covers are tunes by Townes Van Zandt ("Two Girls"), Billy Joe Shaver ("Omaha") and David Bowie ("Ziggy Stardust"), which figures to rival their take on "Gin and Juice" (also included on Shinebox) in the sonic adventure department Last week in this space, we reported on the encroachment of bluegrass and other traditional Appalachian styles on the Billboard country charts, and if anything, those observations should be amplified. Of the Top 30 albums, six can be described as either bluegrass, pure Appalachian or Appalachian-informed, supplemented by five more in the rest of the Top 75. Two of the top three (the O Brother soundtrack and Allison Krauss's New Favorite) are as Smoky Mountains as corn likker. Bear in mind that, in contrast to the singles chart, which measures airplay, the album chart represents sales. The singles chart finds only two of the aforementioned among its number (the Dixie Chicks, whom we know are a stretch, and Nickel Creek), so perhaps some country radio hotshots should consider playing a little more of what their listeners are buying.


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Save the date Nov. 3
Updated 5:16 pm, Friday, November 1, 2013
Birding festival: Fair Park Municipal Complex, 1204 Fair Park Blvd., Harlingen, 956-423-5565, www.rgvbf.org. The Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival features a variety of field trips for beginners, families and those who have been before, as well as workshops, lectures and guided trips, all focusing on a variety of regional birds and more. Fees vary. Wednesday through Nov. 10.
Art fundraiser: The Art Center of Corpus Christi, 100 N. Shoreline Blvd., Corpus Christi, 361-884-6406, www.artcentercc. org. The annual ¡Caliente! A Night in Old Buenos Aires raises funds for educational outreach, art and other programs. The event features live music, art demonstrations, dancers, painting, an open air market and more. $75 online. 6-9 p.m. Thursday.
"Branson on the Road": Granbury Resort Conference Center, 621 E. Pearl St., www.granburytx.com. Live music and dancing to bluegrass, rockabilly and gospel music. $10-$15 advance purchase only. 2-4 p.m. Nov. 17.
Lifestyle Channel
- Getting your goat yoga in the Texas Hill Country
- Time Inc Staff Reacts to T+L's Destination of the Year VRTaLTIME
- Breathtaking Views of Hallstatt Lake, AustriaTaLTIME
- TSA PreCheck Members Upset as Wait Times Get LongerBuzz60
- The U.S. Just Got Knocked Off The Number One Spot for National ImageTaLTIME
- Flamingos of Lake Bogoria, KenyaTaLTIME
- Seokchonhosu Lake, South KoreaTaLTIME
- Lantern Festivals of ThailandTaLTIME
- Mount Bromo, IndonesiaTaLTIME
- Dongchuan Red Land, ChinaTaLTIME
November events: Cultural and entertainment districts, Fort Worth, www.fortworth. com. Series of events includes the grand opening of the Sundance Square Plaza, the Kimbell Art Museum Renzo Piano Pavilion opening and the AAA Texas 500 NASCAR Tripleheader weekend. All event information is online. Through Nov. 27.
Discount days: Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Gardens, 8525 Garland Road, Dallas, www.dallasarboretum.org. The center is offering several discounts through the end of November, including a "buy one, get one free" admission, Senior Thursdays, ticket discounts at Tom Thumb stores and half-price daytime parking.
North Pole Express: Grapevine Vintage Railroad, 705 S Main St., Grapevine, www. grapevinetexasusa.com. Rides aboard the train include the reading of a Christmas story, a trip through the Winter Wonderland to the North Pole, where a Christmas show is performed. $25. Noon-7 p.m. Nov. 29-30; Dec. 1; and Fridays-Sundays through Dec. 22.
Traveling exhibit: Tarleton State University, Dora Lee Langdon Cultural and Education Center, 308 E. Bridge St., Granbury, 817-559-2288. A rare photo exhibit, "The Cynthia Ann and Quanah Parker Exhibit: A Woman of Two Worlds and a Man In Two Worlds," will be on display. Opens Saturday. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays; 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturdays through Dec. 18.
Ansel Adams exhibit: Baylor University, Martin Museum of Art, Hooper-Schaefer Fine Arts Center, 60 Baylor Ave., Waco, 254-710-1867, www.baylor.edu/martinmuseum. "Ansel Adams: Distance and Detail" contains 29 images by the artist best known for his black-and-white nature photos. Various events are also scheduled in relation to the exhibit. Historic film footage will be shown at 3 p.m. Wednesdays-Thursdays. Through Nov. 14.
Birds in Art: Rockport Center for the Arts, 902 Navigation Circle, Rockport, 361-729-5519, www.rockportartscenter.com. The exhibit features artwork in several mediums, including paintings, paper works and sculptures. Featured artwork includes that of three Texas artists. Free. Through Nov. 16.


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Lenovo Launches Miix2 Windows 8.1 Tablet Powered By Bay Trail-T SoC
Subject: General Tech, Mobile | October 16, 2013 - 05:26 PM | Tim Verry
Tagged: Windows 8.1, tablet, miix2, Lenovo, Bay Trail-T
Today, Lenovo launched a new tablet called the Miix2. The successor to the original Miix, the Miix2 is an 8-inch Windows 8.1 tablet powered by Intel's new "Bay Trail-T" Atom processor. The tablet measures 8.5" x 5.2" x 0.32" and weighs 350 grams (~12 ounces).
The Lenovo Mix 2 has an 8-inch 1280x800 IPS display that supports 10-point capacitive multi-touch. There is a 2MP front webcam and a 5MP rear camera. A Windows button sits below the display when in portrait mode. A detachable cover can be fitted to the side of the tablet and act as a stand when in landscape mode. The $20 cover also comes with a capacitive stylus.
Internally, the Miix2 features a quad-core Intel Bay Trail-T processor, 2GB of RAM, up to 128GB eMMC storage, support for up to 32GB of micro SD external storage, Wi-Fi, and 3G in select countries. The eMMC storage options include 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB. The company claims up to 7 hours of battery life for the Miix2.
The new Bay Trail-T powered tablet will come pre-loaded with Microsoft's Windows 8.1 operating system (the full x86 version) and a full license of Office Home and Student 2013 productivity suite.
The specifications are not amazing, but serviceable. Hopefully Lenovo introduces an alternative SKU with an active digitizer, a higher resolution display, and physical keyboard for business users. For now though, Lenovo has a decent consumer-level Windows 8.1 tablet for $299 that will be available at the end of October.
What do you think about the Miix2?
Fujitsu Launches New Touch-Enabled Mobile Lineup
Subject: General Tech | October 14, 2013 - 12:37 AM | Tim Verry
Tagged: tablet, msata, Intel, haswell, fujitsu, Bay Trail-T
Fujitsu recently launched several new mobile devices for business users running Intel's latest Haswell and Atom chips. The "All New In Touch" portfolio includes three new Lifebook notebooks and two Stylistic slate-style tablets. All of the new devices are 14" or smaller, have long battery life (according to Fujitsu), and will be available later this month.
Specifically, the lineup includes the following devices:
- Lifebook T734
- Lifebook T904
- Lifebook U904
- Stylistic Q584
- Stylistic Q704
The Lifebook T734, T904, and U904 are notebooks powered by Intel's Haswell processors. They come with Windows 8.1, DDR3 memory (up to 12GB on some models), several storage options, backlit keyboards, and high resolution displays. The 734 can be fitted with an optical drive or second battery pack. The 13.3" T904 has a 2560x1440 IGZO rotatable/convertible display with touch and pen support while the 14" U904 has a 3200x1800 IGZO display.
The Fujitsu Lifebook U904.
All of the notebooks come with Windows 8.1, touchscreens, and enterprise-friendly security features.
Beyond the touchscreen-enabled notebooks, Fujitsu is launching two new tablets under its STYLISTIC brand: the Q584 and Q704. The Q584 is a 10.1" tablet with 2560x1600 display, smart card shell, and dockable keyboard. It is semi-ruggedized and is dust and water proof. It is powered by an Intel Bay Trail-T (quad core) processor clocked at 2.4GHz and either a 64GB or 128GB mSATA SSD. Other features include a 2MP front and 8MP rear camera and Wi-Fi, NFC, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, and LTE radios.
The Fujitsu Stylistic Q584
The Stylistic Q704 steps the specifications up a bit to a 12.5" semi-ruggedized tablet powered by up to an Intel Haswell i7 vPro CPU, 8GB of LPDDR3 memory, and 256GB mSATA SSD. It has a 1920x1080 resolution display, 2MP front and 5MP rear cameras, and a smart card shell or dockable keyboard. Radios include Wi-Fi (dual band 802.11n), LTE, Bluetooth 4.0, and GPS.
The Stylistic tablets will come pre-loaded with Windows 8.1.
The entire Fujitsu lineup should be available later this month at various (not yet specified) price points. For business users, the new devices are worth a look (pending reviews that verify the battery life claims).
Intel's Bay Trail (-T) can ARM Wrestle. Leaked Benchmarks.
Subject: General Tech, Processors, Mobile | July 5, 2013 - 03:50 PM | Scott Michaud
Tagged: qualcomm, Intel, Bay Trail-T, Bay Trail
Bay Trail is still seasons away but engineering samples are, and this should be no surprise, already in use at least for research and development purposes. Someone, somewhere down the line, decided to run a benchmark which was posted online. AnTuTu, the benchmark utilized, measures a spread of factors including memory, integer performance, floating point performance, 3D performance, and so forth. Unfortunately it does also include some non-CPU/GPU factors in its score, albeit barely, so best take it with a grain of salt.
The Droid Guy compiled it with a few scores from competing, ARM, devices.
Image Credit: The Droid Guy
The Silvermont-based chip, clocked at an... actually quite modest 1101 MHz, received a synthetic score of 43416. To put that in comparison: arguably the fastest ARM processor on the market, the Qualcomm's Snapdragon 800, tends to find itself with a score around the 30,000-32,000 range which is about 27-31% slower than Intel. The very popular albeit soon deprecated Nexus 7, powered by the Tegra 3, scores 12726.
Personally, I am getting a little flashback of the Intel vs. AMD battle about 8 years ago. We seem to be close to a Conroe (Core 2 Duo) vs. AMD Athlon 64 FX point between Intel and ARM. Intel eclipsed the AMD Athlon 64
FX-57 (update: I meant FX-62) and kept throwing more money at research than AMD could possibly afford. Unless ARM can severely undercut Bay Trail, Intel could follow past trends and simply bury their competitors with tens of billions in capital investment until their products are so far ahead that consumers default to Intel products.
If history repeats itself, this leaves Qualcomm and others in a difficult position. The solution seems to be either to tread water in a price point that Intel ignores or to collectively dump money into ARM and run the "out-research Intel" treadmill. Remember, this is a company who will dump twice AMD's revenue into their Research and Development year-over-year to keep ahead. Unlike Intel's GPU efforts, which did not seem like a problem that cash could solve alone, they know how to make processors.
I would not make business decisions under the assumption x86 will keep Intel hobbled indefinitely.
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Nicki Minaj Fills 'Pills N Potions' Video with Bunnies, Skin and the Game
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A sneak peek of Nicki Minaj's new video for 'Pills N Potions' last week unveiled a visual filled with a self-dispensing Pez rabbit, shots of the Game's tattoed frame and silver animated tears running down the YMCMB rapper's face. Now, the complete Diane Martel-directed video arrives and as the snippet conveyed, it's full of color and quirkiness.
Nicki gets plenty of solo camera time and even gets close with her co-star the Game, who plays her love interest. While the two are not necessarily acting out a story, the body language says it all — there's problems in the relationship just like the song details. The trippy visuals (which add to the "pills and potions" lyrics) include a car that turns into colorful ooze, liquid mercury coming out of Nicki's eyes and bunnies bopping to the beat.
There's also more than a few eye-catching moments of the Queens, N.Y.-bred MC. She sings to the camera while wearing an oversized feather coat and gladiator heels in one shot and goes topless with tape covering her breasts in another — a visual we're all too familiar with.
Produced by Dr. Luke and co-written by Ester Dean, 'Pills N Potions' is the lead single off Nicki's upcoming third LP, 'The Pink Print.'


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SKYY Wilde Ginger
Drink Type: Martini
1 oz. SKYY Infusions Ginger Vodka (more SKYY Infusions Ginger Vodka drinks)
Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake well and strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a slice of fresh ginger.
Inspired by Olivia Wilde in Butter
SKYY Vodka's specialty cocktails will be enjoyed at the 2011 Toronto Film Festival's official and additional buzz-worthy star-studded events including HELLO! Canadas 5th Anniversary Red Carpet and Gala, NOW Magazines After Gala Party, Alliance Films Studio Party, OnexOne Concert, in partnership with DIESEL, Nikki Beach and Tribute Magazines Late Night Festival events


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WINNIPEG - The young up-and-comer went from jeers to cheers in just two CFL starts.
In his first crack at starting last year, Winnipeg quarterback Alex Brink was booed off the field. In his second, he almost led the Blue Bombers to a comeback victory over the defending Grey Cup champion Montreal Alouettes.
"Part of being a professional is having an opportunity to prove yourself," Brink said Monday. "Last year, after the first start I had, I felt like I had definitely put myself in a hole in that regard. So, I've been fighting a little bit of an uphill battle.
"But I felt like I had a good camp and have been progressing, and I've been able to show in the limited time this year that I can be an option and be a good player in this league."
Brink completed 24 of 40 passes for 326 yards and one touchdown, with two picks, in the 32-26 loss to Montreal on Friday. He had 20 yards on five carries, but was stopped twice trying to score the winning TD from the Montreal one on the last two plays of the game.
But the outing could have been disastrous for Brink, who had two passes picked off after they were tipped by defenders.
"I still felt in the first half, I was seeing things well," he said. "Two tipped balls that got picked were kind of freak plays that happen throughout the course of a game, which were unfortunate and put us into a tough situation. At the same time, I thought I was making good decisions with the football. I was going to the right places at the right times. In the second half, we got into a real nice rhythm and were going down the field a little bit more making plays.
"It makes me feel good to know where my comfort level's at on the field. At no point did I feel flustered or out of place or anything. Even after a couple of turnovers and we were backed up in the second quarter and everything, I always felt like I had control of the game and when I had to make some good throws, I made some throws."
NO RETURNS: Tim Brown has become the man of no punt returns. The Bombers will hand those duties over to either receiver Clarence Denmark or back to cornerback Jovon Johnson, who relishes that role.
"We just didn't perform as well as we needed to back there," said Bombers head coach Paul LaPolice, adding that Denmark's 13-yard punt return average is the highest on the team.
BROWN BACK: Veteran defensive tackle Doug Brown, who missed the last game with a shoulder injury, practised Monday. A number of other Bombers sat out of practice with nagging hurts, including MLB Marcellus Bowman, DB Alex Suber, WR Cory Watson and LG Brendon LaBatte, but are expected to practise Tuesday.


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As the weeks passed and little Sophie — a 2-year-old Maltese poodle — healed from her coyote-inflicted neck wounds last month, the calls began pouring in from around the country.
The staff at Rancho Santa Fe's Helen Woodward Animal Center had never seen anything quite like it — one animal attracting such widespread attention.
On Friday, animal center spokeswoman Jessica Gercke told me no fewer than 60 people have applied to adopt Sophie.
"Shepard Smith mentioned her on his evening segment on Fox News, and we just got swarms of calls coming in from all over the country — Washington, D.C., West Palm Beach," Gercke said. "I think they said the calls came in from 11 different states."
It might be the first time the nonprofit animal shelter will have to convene a special committee to decide who gets to adopt one of its animals.
"At this point, we're asking them to write a 300-word essay about why their home would be the best for Sophie," Gercke explained, adding that the essays have already started coming in. Someone handed her one in the lobby the other day, and others are arriving electronically from out of state.
"We'd like to unite Sophie with her family on Valentine's Day," said Gercke, and if that happens, it will have been a little more than a month since Sophie was almost killed by an East County coyote while protecting her family's other Maltipoo, a 7-month-old puppy.
"The coyote went for the puppy," Gercke recalled of the previous owner's explanation when she dropped the dogs off at the center. "The family turned around and saw Sophie jump in front of the puppy — (the coyote) grabbed her on the neck, but the family came running out and they were able to scare it off."
Last week, Sophie was still healing, but well out of harm's way under the care of the center's adoptions veterinarian, Stephanie Oba.
"The thing that's extraordinary is that you take a breed like that, so gentle and kind, and imagine her taking on a coyote — I think it speaks to us as far as her instincts," Gercke said. "It moves people to see a creature do something so heroic.
"We think of animals as being kept creatures, and then we get to see them do things we don't know if we would even do," she added.
Another explanation for why Sophie's story has spread so quickly is that, all over North County, countless pet owners have lost dogs and cats to coyotes.
"It certainly is a story that seems to be resonating with people and moving people," Gercke said. "I have taken her to a couple of media events, and when I walk through the lobby, people will stop me and ask, 'Is that Sophie?'"
No matter who ends up with the 15-pound hero, Sophie has set plenty of records around the Helen Woodward center since she arrived Jan. 12.
"We do have animals who have received some national acclaim, and we'll get little notes of encouragement, but as far as getting so many people calling and asking to adopt a dog, we've never had that happen," Gercke said.


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Manuel Santos (John Rust (
Additional contact information Manuel Santos: W. P. Carey School of Business Department of Economics, http://wpcarey.asu.edu/Directory/stafffaculty.cfm?cobid=1039501
Working Papers from Department of Economics, W. P. Carey School of Business, Arizona State University
This paper analyzes the asymptotic convergence properties of policy iteration in a class of stationary, infinite-horizon Markovian decision problems that arise in optimal growth theory. These problems have continuous state and control variables, and must therefore be discretized in order to compute an approximate solution. The discretization converts a potentially infinite dimensional fixed-point problem to a finite dimensional problem defined on a finite grid of points in the state space, and it may thus render inapplicable known convergence results for policy iteration such as those of Puterman and Brumelle (1979). Under certain regularity conditions, we prove that for piecewise linear interpolation, policy iteration converges quadratically, i.e. the sequence of errors en = |Vn - V*| (where Vn is an approximate value function produced from the nth policy iteration step) satisfies en+1 = Le2n for all n. We show how the constant L depends on the grid size of the discretization. Also, under more general conditions we establish that convergence is superlinear. We illustrate the theoretical results with numerical experiments that compare the performance of policy iteration and the method of successive approximations. The quantitative results are consistent with theoretical predictions.
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text:
Tony Romo Cyst Removal Will Keep From Training, Says Cowboys
Cowboy's quarterback Tony Romo will miss at least three weeks of practice after undergoing surgery last month to have a cyst in his back removed.
The Texas team announced on its website Tuesday that the quarterback would not be joining his team for training later that day. Romo was scheduled for a live press conference to discuss his absence on Tuesday afternoon.
"Romo underwent surgery last month to remove a cyst from his back. The procedure will likely keep him out of the next three weeks of OTA practices and possibly the three-day minicamp in June," the Cowboys news blog informed. "The Cowboys are confident their starting quarterback will be ready for training camp when the club leaves for Oxnard, Calif. on July 19."
The Cowboys were quick to go on the defense and suggest that Romo's absence would be unlikely to have a strong negative impact on Cowboy fans.
"It could look absolutely awful for the Cowboys that their $100 Millon Man is on the sideline, and it could still amount to absolutely nothing," Cowboys writer David Hellman said.
Romo said Monday that he decided to have the cyst removed because it was causing him severe backaches.
"I'd rather be 100 percent, not 96 percent. It's done and it's made me feel better," he told the Dallas news.
Romo also reiterated that his absence was not likely to affect training camp.
"If this was the regular season and I had to play next week, I could," he told the newspaper. "This is just about being smart. That's why I did it now. This will have no effect on training camp. No way will it have an impact. And I still think there's a good chance I'm on the field for minicamp."
The player remained healthy through all of last year.


text: recently when i've been serving, first or second serves, the muscle in my hand near my thumb and pointer finger knuckles has been hurting. I don't know if its because my racket my be too heavy, although i haven't had this problem before, or maybe i'm just hitting through the ball wrong. Has anyone else had this type of problem? if so, what did you do to fix it?


text:
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We ship via Australia Post within Australia.
We offer $ 8.95 flat rate (or capped) post Australia Wide. These orders are sent via Australia Post Standard. Extra is charged for Registered Post or Express Post.
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We post items either through Australia Post as a standard parcel, or as Express Post. Neither option includes insurance. We have posted many items through Australia Post over the last couple of years - most via Standard Post - and loss of anything in the mail is very very rare.
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Express Post - Next Day delivery (when ordered on a business day, if ordered Friday - then the following Monday)
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Australia Post Standard mail is generally reliable. However, while the majority of parcels get to their destination on time, there will always be the odd exception that takes eight days to cross from one side of Australia to the other, or takes ten days to get to Newcastle.


text:
The ipacctd is intended for IP accounting. divert(4) and corresponding
ipfw(8) rules are used for obtaining IP packets.
WWW: ftp://ftp.wuppy.net.ru/pub/FreeBSD/local/ipacctd/
make generate-plist
To install the port: cd /usr/ports/net-mgmt/ipacctd/ && make install cleanTo add the package: pkg install ipacctd
cd /usr/ports/net-mgmt/ipacctd/ && make install clean
pkg install ipacctd
PKGNAME: ipacctd
SHA256 (ipacctd-1.47.tar.gz) = 18e39f39fb9c559b3174dfc29cdd9e64d133fdb8ba2ffba8a5af47ac6ba4a86e
SIZE (ipacctd-1.47.tar.gz) = 15413
There are no ports dependent upon this port
===> The following configuration options are available for ipacctd-1.47:
DOCS=on: Build and/or install documentation
===> Use 'make config' to modify these settings
Number of commits found: 22
- Add LICENSE
- Switch to options helpers
MASTER_SITES cleanup.
- Replace ${MASTER_SITE_FOO} with FOO.
- Merge MASTER_SITE_SUBDIR into MASTER_SITES when possible. (This means 99.9%
of the time.)
- Remove occurrences of MASTER_SITE_LOCAL when no subdirectory was present and
no hint of what it should be was present.
- Fix some logic.
- And generally, make things more simple and easy to understand.
While there, add magic values to the FESTIVAL, GENTOO, GIMP, GNUPG, QT and
SAMBA macros.
Also, replace some EXTRACT_SUFX occurences with USES=tar:*.
Checked by: make fetch-urlall-list
With hat: portmgr
Sponsored by: Absolight
- Do not violate stagedir
- Remove @dirrm from plist
Allow staging as a regular user
Approved by: portmgr@
Remove trailing whitespaces from category net-mgmt
According to the Porter's Handbook (220.127.116.11.) default options must be added to
OPTIONS_DEFINE. This policy has been implemented only recently that's why we
have many ports violating this policy.
This patch adds the default options specified in the Porter's Handbook to
OPTIONS_DEFINE where they are being used. Ports maintained by
email@example.com, email@example.com and email@example.com have been excluded.
Approved by: portmgr (bapt)
Add NO_STAGE all over the place in preparation for the staging support (cat:
For some unmaintained ports:
- fix format for pkg-descr
- convert to OptionsNG
- remove logic for older versions of python which we no longer support
- remove option for old versions of FreeBSD
- unconditionally set PORTDOCS
- etc.
Reviewed by: jgh
Reassign skv@ ports to the heap
Feature safe: yes
Fix problem introduced in r302141. The directory for the unpacked source
files is unversioned, so it conflicts with the name of the rc.d script in
WRKDIR after SUB_FILES is applied.
Move the rc.d scripts of the form *.sh.in to *.in
Where necessary add $FreeBSD$ to the file
No PORTREVISION bump necessary because this is a no-op
In the rc.d scripts, change assignments to rcvar to use the
literal name_enable wherever possible, and ${name}_enable
when it's not, to prepare for the demise of set_rcvar().
In cases where I had to hand-edit unusual instances also
modify formatting slightly to be more uniform (and in
some cases, correct). This includes adding some $FreeBSD$
tags, and most importantly moving rcvar= to right after
name= so it's clear that one is derived from the other.
The vast majority of pkg-descr files had the following format when they
had both lines:
Author: ...
So standardize on that, and move them to the end of the file when necessary.
Also fix some more whitespace, and remove more "signature tags" of varying
forms, like -- name, etc.
A few other various formatting issues
- Get Rid MD5 support
Begin the process of deprecating sysutils/rc_subr by
s#. %%RC_SUBR%%#. /etc/rc.subr#
Fix a few "bad example" problems in the rc.d scripts that have been
propogated by copy and paste.
1. Primarily the "empty variable" default assignment, which is mostly
${name}_flags="", but fix a few others as well.
2. Where they are not already documented, add the existence of the _flags
(or other deleted empties) option to the comments, and in some cases add
comments from scratch.
3. Replace things that look like:
to just use %%PREFIX%%. In many cases the $prefix variable is only used
once, and in some cases it is not used at all.
4. In a few cases remove ${name}_flags from command_args
5. Remove a long-stale comment about putting the port's rc.d script in
/etc/rc.d (which is no longer necessary).
No PORTREVISION bumps because all of these changes are noops.
Update to 1.47
PR: ports/94485
Submitted by: Eugene Grosbein <eugen xxx grosbein.pp.ru>
Approved by: krion@
Rewrite startup scripts to use RC_SUBR
SIZEify (maintainer timeout)
Say hello to the new "net-mgmt" category. There are probably more
ports that belong here than the ones I have identified and moved in
this, first, pass.
Approved in principle by: marcus
Servers and bandwidth provided byNew York Internet, SuperNews, and RootBSD
No vulnerabilities have been reported in the past 14 days
* - modified, not new
All vulnerabilities


text:
RAWALPINDI – Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Minister for Interior Affairs Chaudhry Nisar Ali on Wednesday visited the District Headquarters Hospital and inquired after the health of police personnel injured by stone pelting and physical brawl by unruly activists of the Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) on June 23.
They took round of various wards of the allied hospital, presented bouquets to the injured and interacted with them. Nisar handed over the cheques to the victims on behalf of the chief minister. Narrating the ordeal to the CM, an injured said he was ruthlessly beaten up by the activists with nailed-batons but he avoided retaliation.
Shahbaz appreciated the professionalism of the police force especially its policy of maximum restraint to use force against political workers, which caused injuries to the cops. He directed the hospital administration to ensure provision of best possible medical care to the injured and prayed for their early recovery.
At least 86 policemen were injured after the law enforcement agencies showed maximum restraint to use force against PAT workers who breached security cover and reached Islamabad airport despite imposition of section-144 in the city. (Courtesy: Daily Times)


text:
Forgot your password? Enter the email address you signed up with and we will send you a link to create a new password.
Your password reset has been submitted to the address provided.
Standard character mark
Providing remote, real-time temperature monitoring for temperature-controlled items to prevent spoilage, or the distribution of product that has deviated outside of its acceptable range
Business in Lancaster, OH


text:
Need Advice? Ask Your Question
Questions & Answers
Category: Pregnancy Tests
Asked by angielee
Q: dont know if im pregnanti have taken 2 of the dollar tree brand pregnancy test. both looked negative for the first 10 mins. then i took apart and saw a blurred pink from start of test to the control line(where the positive should show up) its pink and very blurred, almost like it was smudged. has anyone had this with these tests before. i dont know if im pregnant, my af is late.......
This question was asked Jun. 10, 2012 3:17pm
Category: Pregnancy Tests
Answer This Question Report this question


text:
The Senate has repealed an exemption that allowed chicken farmers to call their product organic even if the chickens never ate organic meal, as long as the farmers could prove there was a shortage of the feed.
The repeal had the support of the organic foods industry, environmental groups and Bush administration officials.
Rep. Nathan Deal (R-Ga.) had persuaded his colleagues to allow companies to label their products as organically fed if they could prove to the Agriculture Department there was a shortage of organic meal. Deal's aides did not return calls.


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Welcome to the online exhibition of John MacKay Shaw: The Man Behind the Collection! This exhibition was curated and designed by the students in Dr. Teri Abstein's Spring 2014 Museum Objects class. The John MacKay Shaw Childhood in Poetry Collection within the Florida State University's Special Collections includes over 22,400 books that Shaw collected throughout his lifetime. Shaw wrote his own poetry for his children and established friendships with famous childrens literature authors.
Get to know the man behind the collection by exploring our online exhibition that documents Shaw's early life, biography, his life after donation, and legacy.
FSU Libraries and Museum Studies


text:
There's a good chance that you've already seen the incredible footage: a tornado forming on the west side of Springfield, MA at the outset of a storm that killed four people earlier this week (video above).
The video has been featured on "The Early Show," "Good Morning America," and other national news shows but few are aware of where the dramatic footage originated. It turns out that it came from Springfield CBS-affiliate WSHM.
The Meredith-owned station was doing live tornado coverage from the Monarch Tower in downtown Springfield when a tornado took shape nearby. The station's rooftop camera captured the dramatic video as chief meteorologist Brandon Butcher warned viewers about the severity of the storm happening outside.
"It was certainly a surreal experience being on camera and looking out your own glassed-in building windows at the same time," Butcher told TVSpy via email. "The tornado was actually rattling debris against our glass during the coverage, and sucking wind up the elevator shafts and forcing stairwell doors shut."
"All sorts of damage all around us, but as you see in the video, the tornado seemed to curve around us somehow."


text:
Sure if you don't mind, I actually did start with a children book. ;0) Thank you!
Jamie Yates, CPhT wrote:
Hi Stephanie, you'll do fine! You can definitely open it in word, and just make sure you keep saving your work as the rtf file and not a word file. If you've picked something that is a little difficult for a first timer then release it and choose something easier. I can put up a short children's book for you to get started on, if you like. It won't be today but I could do one tomorrow. And yes, once you submit the book for approval, Carrie or someone else will look it over and either approve or reject it.-- Jamie in Michigan Currently Reading: While My Pretty One Knits by Anne CanadeoEarn cash for answering trivia questions every 3 hours: http://instantcashsweepstakes.com/invitations/ref_link/49497See everything I've read this year at: www.michrxtech.com/books.html <http://www.michrxtech.com/books.html>
To unsubscribe from this list send a blank Email to bksvol-discuss-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx put the word 'unsubscribe' by itself in the subject line. To get a list of available commands, put the word 'help' by itself in the subject line.


text:
Baylor Nursing Professor Named Certified Neuroscience RN of the YearMay 2, 2007
Dr. Jacquelin Neatherlin, a professor in Baylor University's Louise Herrington School of Nursing and an expert in neuroscience nursing, has received the Melanie Minton Certified Neuroscience Registered Nurse of the Year award, presented May 1 at the annual meeting of the American Association of Neuroscience Nurses in Orlando.
"I am really excited about this award for many different reasons, but mainly because the award is named in memory of a dear colleague and friend of mine," Neatherlin said. "Melanie helped in starting the certification exam and served on the initial board of trustees for the American Association of Neuroscience Nurses. When she died a couple of years ago, the award was named in her memory. I am honored to receive it."
A Baylor alumna, Neatherlin has taught at Baylor's Louise Herrington School of Nursing for the past 16 years. In addition to teaching, she has practiced neuroscience nursing in hospital and clinical settings. Before coming to Baylor, she taught at the University of Virginia Health Science Center and the University of Texas School of Nursing Health Science Center in San Antonio. She also spent 11 years as a Clinical Nurse Specialist at three different locations. As a Clinical Nurse Specialist, she instructed nurses how to take care of patients with neurological and neurosurgical problems, spoke to patients about their diseases and served as a consultant throughout the facilities where she worked.
Her research includes such issues as head trauma to the elderly, vulnerable subjects in neuroscience nursing and school-based management of chronic childhood asthma. She speaks nationally and internationally and has served as chair of the Test Development Committee for the Certified Neuroscience Registered Nurse exam.
Neatherlin received a plaque for the award.
More News ...


text:
Best of the Bond Market for September 5th, 2012
PIMCO: Bill Gross's monthly investment commentary is out – Last month's "dying cult of equity" Investment Outlook elicited a lot of excitement, but somehow failed to impress readers with its main point: Returns from both stocks and bonds will be stunted.
Bloomberg: – High-yield municipal debt proves to be the "safest". – City and state securities rated below investment grade are beating the market on an absolute basis and when adjusted for volatility, according to data compiled by Standard & Poor's and Bloomberg. It's a reversal of 2011, when the bonds proved the riskiest.
Public Investor: – Pension bonds – bad idea that won't die. – Some states and cities are increasing their use of borrowing to finance pension fund shortfalls, even though the practice has been disastrous for most governments who have used it in the past.
Sun Sentinel: – Fort Lauderdale commission to vote Wednesday on pension bonds. – A divided commission on Wednesday is expected to approve borrowing up to $340 million to reduce the city's pension liabilities, a move officials say will free up money in the city's operating budget to cover other expenses. The city hopes to save millions of dollars a year over the 20-year life of the pension obligation bonds, but critics say the bonds are being used to gamble in the stock market and on other financial investments.
American Banker: – Wells Fargo likes to live dangerously. – Wells Fargo & Co. takes greater risk on its investments in stocks and bonds than competing lenders, according to a CreditSights Inc. report.
LeveragedLoan: Leveraged loans are on a roll – up 1.12% in August and 6.94% year to date
New York Times: – Lehman Brothers sold Stockton CA. dubious bond deal. – Jeffrey A. Michael, a finance professor in Stockton, CA., took a hard look at his city's bankruptcy this summer and thought he saw a smoking gun: After reviewing an analysis of the bond deal and watching a recording of the Stockton City Council meeting where Lehman bankers pitched the deal, Mr. Michael concluded that "Stockton is entitled to some relief, due to deceptive and misleading sales practices that understated the risk."
Learn Bonds: – 50 shades of gray for Penthouse bond holders. – Penthouse bites off more than it can chew with $500 million bond issue. Standard & Poor's have downgraded Penthouse bonds to CCC, meaning they think it's unlikely the interest will continue to be paid.
Bloomberg: – Dallas Cowboy's; you're welcome. – The Dallas Cowboy's new stadium was paid for by using muni bonds issued for sports structures. It's one of 21 NFL stadiums built in the last 25 years using tax free public borrowing. It's estimated such schemes will cost the treasury $4 billion throughout their lifetime.
Bond Buyer: – Michigan locals are seeing more stability. – A growing number of local governments in Michigan are beginning to see glimmers of fiscal stability for the first time in years, according to a new report by the University of Michigan.
WSJ: California muni bond investors like school bonds – California school bonds are drawing investors because the school districts, unlike municipalities, are considered to be the responsibility of the state. Since 1991, when the California Legislature created a more rigorous oversight regimen for school districts, none have defaulted on bonds, market observers said.
Reuters: – U.S. corporate bond new issues. – The following are lists of upcoming high-grade and high-yield corporate bond offerings in the United States. The information was gathered from Thomson Reuters U.S. new issues team, and other market sources.
Banks continue to be strong #munis buyers in 1H12 as bank deposits grew by $356B compared to bond fund inflows (taxable & exempt) of $188B
— Muni Market Advisors (@Muni_Mkt_Advis) September 5, 2012
Gross:Leaked ECB plan is unlimitd in amt yet conditionl regarding fiscal policy. Shud be a curve steepner w uncertainty as to futr Euro ylds
— PIMCO (@PIMCO) September 5, 2012
Romney tax plan represents major theoretical risk to state & local sector & would create secular credit & term spread widening #MMA_Outlook
— Muni Market Advisors (@Muni_Mkt_Advis) September 5, 2012


text:
A former Lorain Municipal Court deputy clerk was sentenced Friday to one year in prison and ordered to repay the court system $31,000 she stole while on the job.
Sierra Dozier, 26, will also be under federal supervision for three years after her release from custody, according to U.S. Attorney for Northern Ohio Steven Dettelbach's office.
Dozier pleaded guilty to a federal mail fraud charge in November but continues to face theft in office, theft and drug charges in Lorain County.
Although Dozier and her attorney had urged U.S. District Judge Patricia Ann Gaughn to spare her prison and instead place her on probation, federal prosecutors pushed for a prison sentence in the case. Dozier, they contended, undermined public faith in the justice system.
"Dozier secretly used her position of public trust to enrich herself," Assistant U.S. Attorney Antoinette Bacon wrote in court documents filed last month. "She slowly, secretly stole money paid to the Lorain Municipal Court, and doctored court records to cover her tracks. The Lorain Municipal Court, law enforcement and the citizens of Lorain will feel the ripple effects from her crime for years to come."
Dozier was arrested during a May 2013 raid on the Columbo Lane home in Lorain that she shared with her now-husband Julio Osorio. Lorain police found six pounds of marijuana and $862 in cash during their search of the house.
They also discovered Lorain Municipal Court documents, including traffic citations, checks payable to the court and clerk's office envelopes.
Dozier later admitted to police and a representative from Lorain County Prosecutor Dennis Will's office that she would steal from those who came to court to pay fines, court costs or bonds. When she received a check, according to an FBI affidavit detailing the conversation, Dozier would put the check in her drawer and then take out cash.
Sometimes she converted cash bonds to personal bonds and then stole the money that someone put up to get a defendant out of jail.
According to the FBI and prosecutors, she also altered court records to prevent defendants from losing their driver's licenses or other repercussions so they wouldn't notice their fines and costs hadn't been paid.
Lorain police had to briefly suspend arresting people on Lorain Municipal Court warrants after Dozier's arrest because of the problems she created, something Bacon noted. She also said the problem of collecting money owed to the court continues to be an issue.
"It is difficult to collect on outstanding fees and fines levied prior to Dozier's termination, as people continue to report to the Court that they paid Dozier and they must be one of the unidentified victims of her scheme," Bacon wrote. "At this point, the Court has little option but to trust those representations."
Lorain Clerk of Courts Lori Maiorana, who fired Dozier last year, did not return a call seeking comment Friday.
In her own court filing, Dozier wrote that she had nothing to do with the drugs found in her home and that being arrested gave her a "sense of relief."
"I worked there for seven years. I was never at peace with what I was doing," Dozier wrote.
"Needless to say having your guilty conscience eating you alive was not enough to stop me so something had to give."
Dozier also wrote that she was stealing between $200 and $300 a week from the court, which she used "for diners (sic) out and recreation outings mostly."
But she also wrote that she took steps to make sure that the defendants she stole from weren't negatively impacted.
"I had taken measures to make sure that the people wouldn't incur legal consequences or penaltie(s) from my taking the money since they had actually paid their fines," Dozier wrote.
Vicki Ward, Dozier's attorney, did not return a call seeking comment Friday.
Contact Brad Dicken at 329-7147 or email@example.com.


text:
RIO DE JANEIRO, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Workers at Petrobras' Landulpho Alves Refinery (RLAM) outside Salvador, Brazil, plan to slow operations at the 323,000-barrel-a-day plant until Tuesday morning to protest an explosion that injured three workers on Sunday, a union official said on Monday.
Workers, who had already decided not to accept relief for their shifts and to work strictly to rule, agreed to extend the protest which began Monday morning until early Tuesday, Cedro Silva, a director of SindipetroBA, the union representing workers at RLAM, told Reuters.
The slowdown will not stop crude processing or fuels output at the refinery but will reduce output and efficiency by a small but significant amount, he said. (Reporting by Jeb Blount; Editing by James Dalgleish)


text:
What has your charity done in Haiti?
In order to prevent disease in the aftermath of the earthquake, UNICEF led the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene cluster to ensure that as many people as possible were reached with safe drinking water. They also conducted two immunization weeks during the course of the year. To help protect children, UNICEF worked to identify, register and reunite these children with parents and caregivers, and has also begun creating child-friendly spaces for young children. To create a sense of normalcy in a child's uprooted life, UNICEF helped reopen schools as soon as possible, providing tents for temporary schools; and has begun to open semi-permanent schools. In addition, in October UNICEF launched a new nationwide "All to School" campaign targeting children in camps, slums, and neglected rural areas who had never before had access to education. UNICEF supports therapeutic feeding centers to ensure that there is no increase in levels of acute malnutrition in children under five. UNICEF also works to build capacity to ensure that norms and legal frameworks better promote children's rights was also accelerated, from training and deploying more social workers through to upgrading legal frameworks to create a protective environment for children. Throughout the year, UNICEF also played a role in coordinating more than 430 partners.
What are the outcomes (immediate results) of your efforts in Haiti?
At the height of the emergency UNICEF and its partners were reaching 1.2 million people with safe water, and since January they have installed more than 11,300 latrines. UNICEF and its partners have immunized nearly two million Haitian children against the big six vaccine-preventable childhood diseases: Measles, DTP (Diphtheria, Tetanus, Whooping Cough (Pertussis)), Rubella, and Polio. In addition, UNICEF supports therapeutic feeding centers which treated more than 11,250 children with severe acute malnutrition. Through schools and centers, some 720,000 children are receiving support in a nationwide "All to School" campaign in 2,000 schools, while 94,800 children are benefiting from daily opportunities for sports and recreational activities in a network of 369 UNICEF-supported child-friendly spaces. UNICEF's cholera response is expanding to support a network of 72 cholera treatment centers, and more than 865,000 bars of soap have been distributed, focusing notably on 1.5 million children in 5,000 schools and 30,000 vulnerable children living in residential care centers.
Based on your outcomes thus far, has your charity adjusted its course of action to improve the results?
To continuously improve its responses, UNICEF seeks to assess strengths, weaknesses and lessons on a real-time basis through 'after-action review' exercises involving key program, coordination, operations and planning and monitoring staff.
Is your charity planning to continue to provide assistance to Haiti in the coming months and years? If so, please explain your plans.
UNICEF has been in Haiti since 1949, and will remain a partner in Haiti for the long-run. UNICEF is committed to ensuring that all Haiti's children can enjoy their right to survival, health, education and protection. Building on its experience before, during and after the emergency, UNICEF will continue to focus on meeting the many humanitarian needs that remain in earthquake-affected areas, extending response efforts in 2011 to reach those who have not yet been reached, and tackling endemic poverty and disparities throughout the entire country—so the vision of a Haiti Fit for Children can progressively take shape. While much has been achieved under difficult conditions, UNICEF acknowledges that there is much more to be done to address long-standing inequities that have left many Haitian children impoverished and without access to basic services. Recovery and development need time and this should not be forgotten. It is very clear—the year 2010 was probably the worst year in living memory for most Haitian adults—but UNICEF is working hard to make sure that it is the hardest year that Haitian children will ever have to bear. As long as a single child still lives in a tent or goes to bed without enough food, or gets sick from a preventable disease, or is denied the chance to go to school - as long as any child in Haiti needlessly suffers - UNICEF will stand by the children of Haiti. In partnership, with sustained support and a collective vision, UNICEF will ensure that children born today not only survive, but thrive in a Haiti Fit for Children. To take action on behalf of the children of Haiti visit www.unicefhaiti365.org
What do you anticipate will be the biggest challenges facing the people of Haiti in the years to come? Do you have suggestions for how to address these challenges both via your own organization and through the efforts of others?
UNICEF knows that it is important to remember that it is the deep disparities in access to these basic social services that contribute to the vulnerability of children and communities in Haiti, leading to the persistent escalation of environmental, social and economic shocks into full-scale disasters. Therefore, extending UNICEF's assistance to marginalized areas, where disparities are the starkest, will be critical to credibly supporting the Government's decentralization plan and realizing the rights of every child. The past year is evidence of the recurrent humanitarian needs in Haiti, with the cholera outbreak and various floods since September undermining the response and setting back families' recovery from the earthquake. UNICEF remains committed to ensuring that the three priorities (Children's Nutrition; Education and Protection) which were established in the aftermath of the earthquake, stay at the forefront of planning and programming in 2011, as they remain the key to transformation of the nation and of children's lives. UNICEF is also committed to adapt its humanitarian and recovery response to any and all emerging needs but also to invest in the structural deficiencies in Haiti that make these emergencies more difficult to overcome and challenge sustainable recovery.
Have you been able to coordinate and pool your efforts with other organizations?


text:
Dell Inspiron 15z Core i5 Ultrabook @ $600 with free shipping
Subject: General Tech | August 9, 2013 - 01:16 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: deals
Today's deal is a Dell Inspiron 15z with an i5-3337U, 6GB DDR3-1600 with a 500GB 5400 RPM SATA HDD and 32GB mSATA SSD. The screen is 1366x768 and is not a touchscreen but you can upgrade to one if you customize it at Dell though the Skullcandy audio with WaveMaxx 4.0 is a nice touch for those on the go. If you are looking for a Win8 ultrabook a serious discount this is certainly worth consideration.
Top Deal
- Dell Inspiron 15z Core i5 Ultrabook for $599.99 with free shipping (normally $1,009.99 - use coupon code $DV71DP?2FJ0DR).
Additional Deals
- Dell Inspiron 17R Core i7 Laptop w/ 8GB RAM, 1TB Hard Drive & Backlit Keyboard for $649.99 with free shipping (normally $1,019.99 - use coupon code P$XLG1LB$SVWWJ).
- Dell Inspiron 660 Core i3 Mini Tower w/8GB RAM, 1TB Hard Drive for $399.99 only (normally $599.99 - use coupon code 6TG3Z?43?3K?V1).
- Dell Inspiron 15R Special Edition 15.6" Core i5 1080p Laptop w/ 2GB Radeon HD 7730M, Backlit Keyboard for $599.99 with free shipping (normally $899.99 - use coupon code 3J836$$3GHW127).
- LG 55LS5700 55" 1080p 120Hz LED HDTV for $1,099.00 with free shipping (normally $1,699.99).
- Tek2Go USB Desktop Aquarium for $$27.00.(normally $36.45).
Source: LogicBUY
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Jean Nouvel's Agbar Tower. Barcelona's new symbol... not for everyone
Complex metalwork at Agbar
Photo by theartwolf.com
Desolation row... Forum of the Cultures
Photos by theartwolf.com
T4: Terminal of lost souls... or bags
Eisenman's infamous Ciudad de la Cultura, (image February 2006)>
Natural hill, artificial hill : 374 millions... and rising
Photo by theartwolf.com
Calatrava: Science's Museum, Valencia
Acebo y Alonso: Museistic dichotomy
Photos by theartwolf.com
por G. Fernández - theartwolf.com
A few weeks ago I read with surprise and happiness about the exhibition of Spanish contemporary architecture that the MOMA will held in the next months. But, in the last days, such happiness has been gradually turning into worry since I had the opportunity of reading the complete list of the works exhibited. Works that are certainly as bright and colourful as the most popular contemporary architecture is expected to be, but which raise many suspicious and unanswered questions that I will try to disclose.
Without doubt, it is really difficult not to take interest in Spanish contemporary architecture. The economical, emotional and cultural boom caused by the end of Francisco Franco's dictatorial regime, and the subsequent democratic changes, added to some punctual events such as the so called "Effect 92" (Olympic Games in Barcelona and the Universal Exhibition in Seville, both held in 1992) have turned Spain into a first class contemporary artistic atelier. The multicultural, even multinational character of Spain, added to the climatic and landscape variety, has created a broad spectrum of architectural answers, some of them certainly more brilliant than others.
In this context, no other Spanish city proves to be more interesting or paradigmatical than Barcelona. After the economical and cultural boom resulted of the Olympic Games of 1992, the Catalonian capital turned into the arrowhead of the Spanish architectonical avant-garde, and, with the only possible exception of London and some interventions made in the German cities after the fall of the Berlin Wall, into the most interesting "collection" of contemporary architecture in Europe.
For example, have a look at one of the stars of the MOMA exhibition: Jean Nouvel's Agbar Tower, a spectacular steel and glass kaleidoscope that formally resembles to... well, choose the comparison by yourself (yes, even a sexual one). It is true that the building has an undeniable beauty, but it is also even more true that some questionable aspects have accompanied it.
As in almost all the much-hyped architectonical works created in recent years, the publicity machinery that preceded its construction attended to proclaim the two greatest contributions that this colourful tower would bring to the city: the possibility of the birth of a new symbol to Barcelona, replacing Gaudí's works such as the Sagrada Familia or "La Pedrera"; and a revitalizing boost to a quite depressed city district
Nevertheless, the result was quite questionable: in a city with the gothic splendour of its stunning Cathedral, the organized city planning by Ildefons Cerdá -possibly the most important urban city planning of the 19th century- and the organic, even mystic taste of Gaudí, it is really hard that such a phallic extravaganza achieve the category of symbol, at least in such a short time. On the other hand, a short visit to the kaleidoscopic Tower was enough to certificate my worst fears: such "revitalizing boost" is currently inexistent, and the building seems absorbed, selfish and self-indulgent, with no dialogue between it and its less fortunate neighbours.
Of course, the night view is fabulous, and the postcards sellers are surely very happy with this architectural trick by Jean Nouvel.
Another much-hyped architectonical intervention is the showground created for the "Forum de las culturas" (Forum of the Cultures) in 2004. Apart from polemical questions, both economical (even with the astronomical price of the tickets the event was an economic disgrace) and ecological (some groups criticise its impact on the Mediterranean surroundings) a simple analysis to the current situation of the Forum raise a very repetitive question: And now, what? What to do with an apparently useless showground, which includes a very beautiful building by Herzog & de Meuron? Two years after, this question is still unanswered, and the appearance of the showground is the living picture of the desolation.
The monstrosity signed by Peter Eisenman that is currently being built in the suburbs of Santiago de Compostela is the result of the architecture competition organized by the Xunta de Galicia (Galicia's Government) aimed to create a "cultural district" for the Galician people. Wow! Sounds nice, so... is there any objection to a project with such laudable aim? Well, yes, there is. Of course there is.
The first point criticized since the very first was the controversial location of the project, emplaced in a hill on the outskirts of Santiago, absolutely disconnected with the historic and cultural center of the city, establishing itself as a selfish and introverted "neocity", completely apart of the medieval Santiago.
From a formal and constructive point of view, the project also presents reprehensible aspects. Of course, all opinions about forms and appearances are equally respectable and debatable, but the truth is that there is no coherence between the organic exterior image of the buildings and their internal space, very homogenized by the false roofs. Constructively, along with the disproportionate scale of many elements, there are a lot of controversial solutions, such as the library's roof, finished with a 2 inches wide quartzite layer, increasing the weight of the 8000 square meters structure. We have also hear a rumour about Eisenman's original and ridiculous idea of placing a useless column in the middle of the stage in the Opera House, an idea that could only be blocked when a group of architects convinced him not to do that, using the argument of that "sometimes you cannot see the forest for the trees".
Another controversial point: the functionality of such a magnificent work. Does a city like Santiago de Compostela really need such "culture container"? Obviously not. Nevertheless, the dimensions are quite notorious: the Music Theatre exceeds 15000 square meters (3,7 acres) in area, as does the building called "New Technologies". The Library is a gigantic (42 meters tall and 11000 square meters -2.7 acre- in area) walnut shell. Interestingly, Galician journalist and writer Ramon Chao wrote a few years ago that he had tried to donate his private library to the Culture Department of Galicia's Government, and that he never received an answer. This weird issue can be used as an example of the also weird politics made during the Government of Manuel Fraga: first, we build a much hyped Museum, aimed to attract the attention of journalists and politicians. Then, let's see what we can put into it.
The final point is without doubt the most polemical and shameful, and possibly not reflected at the MOMA's exhibition: the endless and unstoppable rising of the project budget, initially estimated at €132 million (almost $150 million), but which has been unstoppably rising to €374 million ($450 million). But, in the very unlikely case that the project could be finished in its original shape and dimensions, many architects estimate that the final number could exceed an astonishing €500 million (almost $600 million). This number is enough to discredit Eisenman, his project and the crazy politicians that have defended such architectonical madness.
Of course, not all Spanish architectural scene is so negative. In recent years, many young architects have created a new and sensible architectonical trend that has flourished in many interesting buildings.
For example, one of my biggest and nicest surprises while reading the first news about the MOMA's exhibition was the inclusion of the Art Center of A Coruña, signed by Acebo y Alonso, arguably the most promising Spanish architects under 40 years old. The building, shown left, is, under its simple and even anodyne appearance, a brave experimentation aimed to combine in a same container two different functions (Conservatory and Provincial Museum). A glass skin covers the Conservatory and surrounds the concrete skeleton leading to the Museum.
Even some works initially criticised by many architects have brought more positive than negative results. Here we can talk about Santiago Calatrava and his best known work, The City of Arts and Sciences of Valencia. It is true that Calatrava's personal interpretation of architecture -an often flamboyant mix of Engineering and Architecture- is not well accepted by many architects, but the final result was quite admired by neighbours and tourists; a building with a reasonable budget that -unlike Nouvel's Agbar Tower- has revitalized a quite depressed zone
And that is all for now. As you can see, there are enough great architectonical projects to keep the faith on the Spanish architecture... Even though many users of the much hyped Barajas Airport Terminal 4 in Madrid (Richard Rogers and Antonio Lamela) are still looking for their bags.


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Developed by Sune Frankild, Albert Pallejà, Kalliopi Tsafou, and Lars Juhl Jensen from the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research.


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December 14th, 2013 by Gripped Magazine | Posted in Events, Events, Ice, News
A day at Bozeman,
Photo Rafal Andronowski
The road to Hyalite Canyon get a little busy
Getting stuck in the ditch, or pulling others out, appears to be an integral part of the experience
The main parking lot for Hyalite gets full!
A climber prepares to head up the curtain.
Jeff Thom leading The Big Fat One, WI3, by Unnamed Wall in Hyalite Canyon
Looking down Hyalite Canyon
An unknown climber on a mixed line right of Elevator Shaft, Hyalite Canyon
An unknown climber on Panama Canal, M9, at the Bingo Cave


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Lorne Steinberg is President and Portfolio Manager of Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. His focus is global equities and value stocks.
Top picks:
Shinhan Financial
Shinhan Financial is a South Korean bank trading at a steep discount to fair value . Unlike some other countries in the region, such as India, South Korea is running a current account surplus due to its export-based economy. As the economy recovers, bank earnings are poised to rise and valuations should return to a more normalized level, significantly above the current share price. We also own another Korean bank, KB Financial.
BP remains in the penalty box due to ongoing legal issues related to its Macondo well disaster. Nonetheless, this company has outstanding global energy assets, and is poised to resume growing its reserve base over the next few years. Earnings and cash flow are growing and the dividend yield is 4.7%.
Hosiden is another compellingly cheap Japanese company in the electronics business. It is involved in a number of niche markets and has been consistently profitable over the years and has no debt. As for valuation, it is trading for less than its net cash! Japan still offers so many ridiculously cheap values.
Disclosure: We own it in Steinberg Value Equity Fund, and therefore I and my family own it.
Past Picks: January 30, 2013
Hewlett Packard
Then: $16.40; Now: $28.29; Total return: 76.68 per cent
Then: $47.63; Now: $62.96; Total return: +36.50 per cent
Shibaura Electronics
Then: ¥1129.00; Now: ¥1691.00; Total return: +54.53 per cent
Total return average: +55.90 per cent
Market outlook:
As we enter 2014, valuation levels are substantially higher than one year ago, and bond yields are on the rise. However interest rates still remain low by historical standards which should give equity investors some comfort. This is definitely a stock picker's market, as many sectors such as REITs and utilities no longer offer much value. We expect Japan and Europe to be the outperforming markets this year, while Canada will probably remain a laggard due to our bearish outlook for commodity markets.


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Printable View
Wow. In that photo she looks a little like Carrie.
I am on her side with regard to the treatment they received.
I am on her side as well. It seems to me that if all the contestants brought 6 family members/friends, that it must have been something from the show. Otherwise the number would be different for each person. At the end of the day, they were all a part of the show, no matter how small a part, it was still a part, and they should have been on the stage. CBS should have given her money for another dress if they wouldn't let her wear the one's she had already bought.
As for the stage size, I find that absolutely ridiculous. They knew the number of contestants well before they constructed the stage. Of course they could have made it large enough to fit all the contestants. Seems like a bunch of malarkey to me.