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Supernatural, paranormal, and downright disturbing
Throughout history, human beings have been fascinated by anything they don't understand. That's why babies and adult males disassemble complex machinery without having the foggiest idea of how to reassemble the things they've taken apart. If said reassembled machinery even remotely resembles the original after a baby or adult male have rebuilt it, the occurrence is not supernatural, paranormal or magic. It is a documentable miracle.
History also tells us that sometime in our life we will experience events or visions that are beyond our ability to comprehend how or why they happened. For instance: How a 110-pound woman can make a 175-pound male teenager levitate several inches off the ground by merely lifting him by one ear has been a subject of fascination for some time. This phenomenon usually occurs when 110-pound mothers are displeased with male teenage behavior. The phenomenon is not meant to be understood.
We have also learned that today's magic is tomorrow's science. Even though some things are not scientific or magic, they just are. Today, with the help of our crack team of researchers, the Googlamaniacs, we are going to attempt to separate the supernatural from the mundane and debunk the seemingly unexplainable.
Concerned parents occasionally ask us why their adolescent daughters can name every band member in rock groups like Slip Knot, Fuel, or My Chemical Romance, yet they don't know the name of the vice president of the country in which they live. This is also not a supernatural or paranormal occurrence. Unfortunately, it is . . . well . . . normal.
Every few years we read in the news that a woman does something like lift the front end of a twoto three-ton truck off her husband's chest while muttering, "We have two teenagers and a newborn." These events are easily explained. After extensive research, the Googlamaniacs found one of these women and interviewed her. Their findings revealed that the woman was under stress in the heat of the moment and she didn't verbalize all that was on her mind. She meant to say, "We've been married for 15 years and have two teenagers and a newborn. If he thinks he's going to get off that easy by dying on me and leaving me alone with these kids, he has another think coming." Hmmm . . . nothing supernatural here.
Another seemingly common occurrence concerns teenage boys cleaning their rooms without being hounded to do so. You might think this qualifies as a paranormal experience, but it is an easily deciphered no-brainer. It's a teenager's code for "bad
report card coming soon." We list it under the category of downright disturbing.
A frequent paranormal activity that is of interest to concerned readers is the ability of politicians to make voters promises and fail to deliver with impunity. How do they get by with promising job security, reasonable housing, health care, education, and lower taxes in exchange for a six-figure income and fail to deliver every promise without being sued for breach of contract? That is indeed a supernatural ability.
We cannot possibly leave out the uncanny ability of any woman on the planet to be in a room with five other women all talking at the same time without any one of them missing a word that the other five are saying. They can quote an hour of gossip without forgetting one sentence and who said it. How do they do that? Obviously, they have supernatural talents. Men can be asked to go to the store to buy milk, bread, and cereal, and they'll return only with beer. It happens every time. Another human trait that is downright disturbing.
How do some fathers, without saying a word, convince young men dating their daughters that their life will continue to be healthy and productive if they choose to bring her home early without so much as a smear on her lipstick? They can instill fear in the hearts of the most courageous with nothing more than a look. I believe both telepathy and intuition are instincts that are alive and well. These events are living proof that the existence of the paranormal is in fact, indisputable.
As far as ghosts, telekinesis, premonition, telepathy, and other paranormal and supernatural activities are concerned - they're just part of that system we can't understand.


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Watching Australia v New Zealand women. Slightly scrappy contest with New Zealand having the edge.
Not the best sport to watch on TV. Early morning sun on a blue pitch makes the ball hard to follow.
Watching Australia v New Zealand women. Slightly scrappy contest with New Zealand having the edge.
Not the best sport to watch on TV. Early morning sun on a blue pitch makes the ball hard to follow.
It's great when the sun goes behind a cloud - much sharper than I remember it being on a green pitch. But, yeah, it's harder in bright sunlight. There's a bit of glare.
Goalies on both sides having a good game by the look of it. Could easily have been many more goals.
Last edited by _Ed_; 29-07-2012 at 02:30 AM.
God the Hockeyroos are a shadow of their former selves. Great effort by NZ here though.
WWCC - Loyaulte Mi Lie
The modern conservative is engaged in one of mans oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness." - JK Galbraith
#408. Sixty three not out forever.
This Flynn chick for NZ is well hot.
Yesss gj NZ.
Is it just me or is that blue field huge?
Stoked with that result. Was a pretty frantic game, and quite tight defensively. Think both sides were not as slick as they'd like to be, often the final pass would let them down after some good lead up play. Obviously, Australia a long way off where they were a few years ago.
Who are the favourites for the tournament?
@CowsCorner - 202 followers and counting!
Disclaimer: I am a biased South African. Anything I say is likely to have something in it that ultimately favours the Proteas.
Some decent goals amongst GBs 4 as well. Impressed.
Hope Indians can put up a fight before the Dutch today.
"Cricket is an art. Like all arts it has a technical foundation. To enjoy it does not require technical knowledge, but analysis that is not technically based is mere impressionism."
- C.L.R. James
Really disappointing result for the NZ men today, going down 2-0 to Korea. First ten minutes of the game we were all over them; then, for the rest of the first half we could barely get it out of our half, and Korea scored twice. Second half we were a bit better but the final ball let us down, and we also missed all three penalty corners we won. Makes it that much harder for us to qualify, means we'll have to beat at least one of Germany or the Netherlands, barring some major upsets. Korea looked decent, though not that great I thought - defensively they were very strong, but their main route of attack was to smash it into the circle and hope to find a player (which they did, twice).
Australia vs SA was next and was predictably one-sided, though I was actually reasonably impressed with SA - they've improved a lot in the last few years. First half in particular they kept pace with Aus. Australia were ridiculously good on attack, though defensively I thought they looked a little bit suspect at times, also were very cynical, number 19 in particular (cbf checking his name) who seemed a total thug, always leading/following through on tackles with elbows and shoulders. Got one green card, but should've been yellowed twice tbh.
Anyway, was freaking awesome to watch. So, so fast and skillful. Not just in a straight line either, the way these guys can change direction or spin around and not lose any pace is incredible. Also, just to be a **** and rub in how I'm here and you aren't, here's a couple of photos from the last two days. Think there's a crack in my camera lens, which ****s me off.
Last edited by Meridio; 30-07-2012 at 03:47 PM.
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subset: commoncrawl


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Batu Maung Florist
Choosing an Excellent Online Florist In Batu Maung
We use flowers to express so many different emotions. Shared excitement over life's big events, sadness and regret over a poor decision we made that hurt someone, and thankfulness for something done for us. These are just a few of the reasons we send flowers, but do a good job of highlighting the importance of choosing the perfect online florist. After all, the emotions we wish to convey need to be perfect!
The best advice about choosing an online florist is to make sure that the Batu Maung florist is a real, live floral company, and not just a middleman. There are lots of websites out there that "sell" flowers, when what they really do is take your order, and then forward your order on to a real florist, charging you extra along the way. There are plenty of florists who have their own websites, so seek out these businesses and avoid the "middlemen florists".
Other good advices about choosing an online florist include:
• Choose a company whose website is attractive, easy to navigate, and helpful. It should have photos of the arrangements they can do, and should offer easy ways to contact them via email, online chat and phone.
• When looking for an online florist, try finding local businesses. Simply type the location into a search engine where you want the flowers delivered to, and see which local florists are displayed. Because they have websites, you can order online. And because they are local, you know that your arrangement will arrive on time.
• Choose a company that has a secure payment system, so that your credit card information will be secure. PayPal is one excellent example of an online payment system that is not only well known for privacy and security, but commonly used by millions of people every day.
• Ask about delivery fees. Most florists charge reasonable delivery fees, but some do not, and make a ton of extra money from ridiculously high delivery fees.
Use these tips of advice to find a real, live online florist to help you express your emotions to family, friends, colleagues and loved ones. A red bouquet can say "I Love You", a daisy bouquet can say "I'm thankful for what you did", and a riotous, colorful bouquet can say "I'm so happy for you". But no matter what you want your flower delivery to say, be sure to choose the right online florist.


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The MyPembrokeshire.com Mobile Headquarters! Fully kitted out with mains power supplies and plenty of room in the back to set up shop wherever we might be covering an event!
182 Cup Clio, 2 years old! Brought at the start of March this year.
Aluminium effect sill finishers, Auto front wiper incorporating rain sensor, Automatic activation of hazard warning lights, Automatic headlamp activation, Body colour bumpers, Body colour door handles, Body colour door mirrors, Body colour side rubbing strips, Elec front/rear windows - anti trap + 'one touch', Elec heated + adjust door mirrors, Front fog lights, High level brake light, Laminated side windows, Opening tailgate window, Rear wash/wipe, Roof bars, Wide angle door mirrors. 6 CD autochanger, 6 speakers, Speed sensitive stereo volume.
Engine: 4-cyl, 1998cc, 16v
Max Power: 179bhp @ 6500rpm
Max Torque: 148lb ft @5250rpm
0-60mph: 7.1 sec (claimed)
Top Speed: 139mph (claimed)
12V Accessory socket, 12V socket in rear of vehicle, 4 Lashing eyes in boot, Aluminium effect interior door handles, Boot net, Boot sill height adjustment, Chrome effect boot sill finishers, Combined parcel shelf/retractable boot cover, Driver and passenger footwell lighting, Driver's glovebox with lid, Driver/pass sunvisor/covered courtesy mirrors, Driver/passenger reading lights, Electric front seats, Front & rear door pockets, Front seatback pockets, Height adjustable driver's seat, Height/tilt adjustable front headrests, Illuminated glovebox, Illuminated vanity mirrors, Isofix system on outer rear seats, Leather steering wheel, Lumbar adjustment for front seats, Rear armrest / integral cup holders / storage tray, Rear centre armrest/ski flap, Rear courtesy lights, Rear reading lights, Rear sunblind, Reversible protective boot mat, Split folding rear seat, Tilt/height adjustable steering wheel
No factory options listed.
"Rally S**g" has no photo albums.
|Points for MP Mobile HQ
|Total Votes
|Points for Rally S**g


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NFL Films' Greg Cosell believes USC QB Matt Barkley is a fourth-round talent.
"Number one, he has average arm strength by NFL standards. Number two, his feet are not particularly quick, he has slower feet. And three, he's a little shorter," Cosell said. "So then I go beyond that and think, 'OK, how can he be successful in the NFL when you got certain limitations?' And I think those limitations are the things I notice immediately and it's very difficult for me to look at him as a first- or second-round pick given those limitations and given what I know works effectively in the NFL."
I never really bought into the Cosell love. Though technically versed and someone who understands the game better than most, he just doesn't have any talent or vision as an evaluator. He's okay at breaking down a game and telling you what happened, but not so great at seeing the forest for the trees in the draft process.
I wonder if he is saying this about Barkley after 2011?
Also, Cosell said that EJ Manuel was the only read option QB in this draft. Didn't think Geno Smith was one, and didn't mention Matt Scott. So there's that too. Though to be fair, Mayock made that mistake too.


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For Immediate Release
Remarks by Secretary Eric K. Shinseki
79TH National Convention, Military Order of the Purple HeartSt. Paul, MNAugust 9, 2011
Jack, thank you for that kind introduction, and thank you and Clayton for inviting me to join you this evening.
Let me also acknowledge:
Mayor Christopher Coleman—Thank you and the good people of St. Paul for your hospitality in welcoming us all to your beautiful city.
Thanks also Wally Lind, your Minnesota Department Commander, for hosting this 79th national convention.
William Hutton and Bruce McKenty, your Vice Commanders;
Legislative Director, former Acting Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Honorable Hershel Gober;
National Service Director, Frank van Hoy, and Service Foundation President, James Blaylock;
Ladies Auxiliary President, Karen Haltiner, and Vice Presidents Barb Cherone and Elaine Rey;
Members of the Military Order of the Purple Heart, fellow Veterans, ladies and gentlemen:
I am honored to address your 79th annual national convention. I am thankful to President Obama for giving me the opportunity to serve you and all Veterans.
You don't get many do-over's in life, and for me, this is a do-over. I get to care for the folks I went to war with 40 years ago in Vietnam. I get to care for the youngsters I sent to war as Army Chief of Staff. And I get to care for true giants who saved the world during World War II, and who marched to the guns in Korea in 1950.
Like some of you, I grew up in Vietnam. I went to war with a generation of patriots who were equally tough, determined, courageous, and capable of unbelievable acts of courage and sacrifice. It is sometimes said that we honor the fallen by how we care for the living—the ones who made it home. And that's what President Obama and VA have been committed to for the past two-and-a-half years.
Holding your conference here in St. Paul helps create jobs and provides a much-needed shot in the arm for this great city during a tough economy. VA joins you in this effort. Our infrastructure here in Minnesota is extensive—VA delivers needed care and benefits to 381,000 Veterans, employs 6,376 Minnesotans, and infuses $377 million dollars in wages into the state and local economies each year.
In addition, there are 43,500 Veteran-owned firms—part of the 3.7 million Veteran-owned small businesses across the Nation that are doing their part to win the future for our country. VA is there for them. Next week we will conduct our National Veteran-Owned Small Business Conference and Exposition in New Orleans—a training event that will provide an unprecedented opportunity for both Veteran-owned and service-disabled Veteran-owned small businesses to build capacity, grow their businesses, and connect directly with VA procurement decision-makers. Over 3,400 people are already registered to attend, 1,500 of whom represent Veteran-owned small businesses.
We recently awarded seven of our 15 major T-4 [[Transformation Twenty-one Total Technology] information technology contracts to service-disabled Veteran-owned or Veteran-owned small businesses, and we are requiring the awardees of all the contracts to meet aggressive subcontracting goals for service-disabled and Veteran-owned small businesses on their teams. Historically, Veterans hire Veterans. So, in boosting the number of Veteran-owned small businesses, we do intend to increase Veterans employment opportunities.
Incidentally, 30% of our own VA workforce—over 100,000 employees—are Veterans, and our goal is to up that to 40%.
These are tough economic times, and that's especially true for Veterans. As of June of this year, one million Veterans were unemployed, and the jobless rate for post-9/11 Veterans was 13.3 percent—a particularly hard-hit generation. And, as troops return from Iraq and Afghanistan, an additional one million servicemembers are projected to leave the military between 2011 and 2016.
So last Friday, the President again demonstrated both his unwavering commitment to those who have defended our Nation and his deep concern about the unique challenges facing them, and he took action—announcing four new initiatives to directly impact these conditions:
President Obama handed me two priorities when he offered me this appointment two-and-a-half years ago. First, make things better for Veterans—that's what Friday's job announcement was about—and then, transform the Department of Veterans Affairs so that it better serves Veterans throughout the 21st century.
Pretty strategic guidance—serve Veterans, do it better, transform for the future. He didn't say what or how or when. He expected me to figure that out.
Well, I didn't grow up in VA, and I'm not a clinician, so there was a lot of learning that first year. You watched me struggle a bit in implementing the new 9/11 GI Bill, without any automation tools for what was, in 2009, a massive, brand new program. The new law directed VA to implement it on the fly—and we did.
Everything had to be done by stubby pencil, but we put 173,000 youngsters into college that fall—the hard way. At the same time, we fast-tracked development of IT tools that are, today, administrating the education of over 518,000 Veterans and family members under the new GI Bill program. And when VA's other educational assistance programs are added, that number of Veteran and family member students exceeds 840,000.
This fall, we will expand that GI Bill program to provide vocational training and other non-degree job opportunities for Veterans who want to work, but who aren't necessarily interested in spending four years in a college classroom—another opportunity for Veterans to add value to their communities.
There are clear lessons from implementing the new GI Bill: First, VA is tough and agile enough to implement a new program on the fly. Second, as it does that, it is also innovative enough to simultaneously develop new tools to better administer that new program for the long haul. What that told me is that we have good, dedicated, and creative people who come to work at VA every day. My job is to grow and develop them for long-term leadership responsibilities to this important department and to provide them the right tools, which have been lacking.
Now, the President provided not only strategic guidance—he also provided his personal support; assured the availability of much needed, scarce resources to address longstanding issues; and then allowed me, as Secretary, the freedom to act.
Well, two-and-a-half years ago, there were some of the things you told me and asked me to go to work on: Too many Veterans could not access VA's services and benefits. And when they tried, the claims process was difficult to navigate—some said "near impossible"—creating a massive backlog in disability claims. In fact, some Veterans suggested that VA was waiting for them to die so it wouldn't have to pay them their benefits—pretty strong stuff for a new secretary to hear. But OK, I got the picture. I asked you to give me a chance to try to fix a backlog that had been years in the making. I just needed resources and a little time.
You also told me that it was wrong for any Veteran in this country to be homeless, and I agreed with you. In fact, the President was ahead of both of us on this, based on his insights from his time on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, and he decided to do something about it.
Some of you also told me that VA had an attitude problem—that we didn't always treat Veterans with dignity and respect—and that women Veterans, in particular, were not being well served in many cases. It was not that we were doing anything disrespectful, but that our entire system was heavily male-oriented, so women Veterans didn't feel comfortable or welcomed. OK, we needed to do something about both of these perceptions.
Finally, you felt we were too slow to react to real changes in Veterans lives. An example here might be the impact of rising gas prices or the cost of medications. Three-and-a-half years ago, the beneficial travel rate was 11 cents per mile; today, it is 41.5 cents per mile. And we have controlled co-pay costs on medications to the benefit of all Veterans for the past one-and-a-half years.
In response to our budget proposals to address all these concerns, among others, President Obama increased VA's 2010 budget to $115 billion—a 16% increase over the $99.8 billion budget I inherited in 2009,the largest single-year increase in over 30 years. This year, the 2011 budget grew to $126.6 billion, and the President's 2012 budget request for next year, currently before the Congress, is for $132.2 billion. Very few organizations—public, private, profit, non-profit—have had this kind of resourcing support over the past three budget cycles. And every bit of it is needed to fix longstanding issues in this department.
Thanks to the President, we have a clear direction, predictability in resourcing, and unwavering leadership support. Now, it's up to us to deliver. While there will likely be some adjustment to the President's 2012 budget request currently before the Congress and our 2013 budget proposal, Veterans remain a very high priority with President Obama. I know that personally, and it goes deep with him. That commitment will be reflected in the care and benefits VA continues to provide the men and women who served us in our Nation's darkest hours—and their families and our survivors.
In keeping his promises to Veterans, the President's past budgets have enabled us to address some of the early concerns you asked me to take on when I arrived:
Access: To your concerns from 2009, that not enough Veterans could access VA's benefits and services, we have made measurable progress in outreaching to Veterans who did not know about VA or their earned benefits, or who had lost faith in us some time ago. Streamlining initiatives to improve Veterans' access to healthcare has increased the number of enrolled Veterans by nearly 800,000 in the last two-and-a-half years—a 10 percent uptick.
We will continue to press in this area and to broaden our appeal to women Veterans. With women program coordinators at each major medical center, with over 1,200 providers having received advanced training in women's healthcare, and with our efforts to give women Veterans their own larger voice through a National Women's Summit, we believe we are anticipating the coming surge in women Veterans.
And with two operational campaigns still underway and continuing economic challenges at home, VA's mission is clear and compelling for Veterans' long-term well-being. We, in VA, must be more demanding on ourselves to get every penny and every second of return on the investments we make on behalf of Veterans. And when the last combatant comes home from Iraq and Afghanistan in a few years, DoD's missions may be over, but VA's requirements will still be growing—something that is likely to continue for another decade or more beyond that point. We must be vigilant to not create another Vietnam generation, whose unaddressed medical needs continue to challenge its members, even today.
Homelessness: In 2009, you told me that no Veteran should live homeless in this rich and powerful country. Well, I've never been able to fix a problem that I couldn't see, so we have begun creating a registry of homeless Veterans. We cannot help them unless we know who and where they are, and what they need, so we are working with HUD, Labor, Education, Defense, state and local governments, non-profits, and volunteers to get a reliable registry so we can attack the root causes of the homeless problem.
VA's progress has been significant. Since 2008, VA has helped permanently house over 29,000 homeless Veterans. Another 30,000 have been assisted through the Homeless Call Center, and we have hired approximately 330 homeless or formerly homeless Veterans to provide peer support and to help ease the suffering of other Veterans who find themselves homeless. We intend to reduce the number of homeless Veterans to below 60,000 by June 2012, with the goal of ending this national embarrassment in 2015.
What we have learned over the past two-and-a-half years is that we cannot end Veterans homelessness through street rescues alone. We must develop robust prevention initiatives that protect an "at risk" population that is difficult to define and see. But we know this "at risk" population exists because Veterans lead the Nation in homelessness, depression, substance abuse, suicidal ideation, and are well up there in joblessness as well. Unless we are conducting a full-court press in all these areas, street rescues of the estimated 80,000 homeless Veterans alone will not be enough.
VA is leading the fight against homelessness with all of our substantial capabilities—primary medical and dental care, mental health, substance abuse treatment, education, case management, housing, and jobs counseling. Importantly, street rescues must continue, but they have never defined the entire problem. We are outreaching to states and communities to collaborate at the local level with non-profit partners who know the homeless situation first hand.
We are also conducting justice outreach to support the creation of Veterans courts, which would remand Veterans—those facing minor charges, petty crimes, and repeated substance abuse offenses—to VA for treatment in lieu of incarceration. And we're working with state and federal prisons to afford Veterans being released from prison an opportunity to break the cycle of incarceration—homelessness—incarceration, which plagues many of them. We are committed to ending Veterans homelessness by 2015, and we are after it.
Claims backlog: You asked me to fix the backlog in disability claims, and I have committed to ending it in 2015 by putting in place a system that processes all claims within 125 days at a 98% accuracy level. Of the things you asked me to take on, this one's taking longer to achieve momentum. But we have a host of promising options being piloted today, and expect them to begin paying off in 2012 as we begin fully automating the disability claims process. Our success in automating the new GI Bill program on the fly gives us a measure of confidence that we will soon have the automation tools needed to begin beating the backlog in the short term.
Attitude: Two years ago, you told me that some in VA had an attitude problem. And so, since last December, with input and recommendations from a variety of panels, work groups, and VA senior leaders, we have settled on five core values that underscore the moral obligations inherent in VA's mission: integrity, commitment, advocacy, respect, excellence.
For the past two months, VA leaders have been leading discussions and answering questions about these core values and how we came to settle on these five. Teaching what they mean is important, if we are to achieve the long-term cultural change that assures Veterans that they will always be treated with dignity and respect. This is an educational process that will go on indefinitely--routine reinforcement by leadership for the present workforce and required instruction for all new employees.
Our values are more than just words. They represent our commitments to Veterans, family members, and other beneficiaries we serve. Taking the first letter of each word—integrity, commitment, advocacy, respect, excellence—creates a powerful acronym, "I CARE," that reminds each VA employee of the importance of their role in this department. Now I know at least some will wonder whether this is a cute marketing device to spur conversation. It is not. These core values come together as five promises we make as individuals and as a department to those we serve:
In time, I hope you will see our core values demonstrably at work in our daily conduct of business. You have my assurance that these are promises VA has embraced with serious dispatch.
With your help and support, we've had more than two good years for Veterans. There's still much to be done, but we have momentum in key areas and clear directions for the future. We will not fail to honor the dedication and selflessness of the men and women we serve—warriors like Army Ranger Sergeant First Class Joe Kapacziewski, who was severely wounded by an Iraqi grenade, which shattered his right leg, extensively damaged the entire right side of his body, severing a nerve and an artery in his right arm.
Doctors feared he would never walk again, let alone fulfill his wish of returning to the Ranger Regiment and becoming a squad leader. Then, again, most of us don't fully appreciate iron-will. In Sergeant Kapacziewski's words, "I don't like people telling me I can't do something."
Kapacziewski had been serving with the Rangers since May 2002. When he was wounded in 2005, he was on his fifth combat deployment. After multiple surgeries, slowly regaining use of his right arm, and enduring unimaginable pain, he made the courageous call to have his right leg amputated below the knee, opting for greater mobility and faster recovery with a prosthetic leg.
In March 2007, the leg was removed. Five months later he was running. After six months, he rejoined the Ranger Operations Company at Fort Benning. Ten months after surgery, Kapacziewski completed an Army PT test, a five-mile run, and a 12-mile road march with 40 pounds of gear. In March 2008, one year after his surgery, he became the only amputee ever to assume combat duties in the Ranger Regiment, as a squad leader. He has since deployed four more times, he's been promoted to platoon sergeant, and he's received a Bronze Star with "V" device for helping to save a severely-wounded comrade.
Sergeant Kapacziewski is a member of the "9/11 Generation." More than five million Americans have served in the military during the past decade. Three million of them joined after 9/11, knowing full well that they would be deploying to combat. Their accomplishments are extraordinary—unseating the Taliban, pushing al Qaeda from its sanctuaries, capturing Saddam Hussein, delivering justice to Osama bin Laden, and training Iraqi and Afghan forces to defend their own countries.
The 9/11 generation includes more than a million spouses and two million children of servicemembers, many of whom have lived their entire lives in a Nation at war. More military women have served in combat than ever before. Hundreds of thousands of troops have deployed multiple times. They have all borne a heavy burden on behalf of the Nation. But despite the enormous strains of ten years of continuous operations, our military remains as strong as it has ever been. Sergeant Joe Kapacziewski's 9/11 Generation is defined, just as every previous generation of America's Veterans has been defined, by the virtues of selfless service, sacrifice, and devotion to duty. These men and women who serve and have served, are the flesh and blood of American exceptionalism—the living and breathing embodiment of our National values and our special place in the world.
God bless our men and women in uniform; God bless our Veterans; and may God continue to bless our great Nation. Thank you.
For information contact:National Public Relations Director, John Bircher, 352-753-5535Email: firstname.lastname@example.com on the WebMOPH on FacebookMOPH on TwitterMOPH on YouTube


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Surplus Military Equipment
now browsing by tag
How Local Police Receive Military Surplus – The 1033 Program
In 1990 the United States Congress gave authorization to the Pentagon to begin distributing military surplus items to local and state police departments and law enforcement agencies. The regulations and guidelines for such authorization was laid out in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 1990 and 1991. In this act, Congress granted authorization, under what's referred to as "the 1033 program", to the Department of Defense, to transfer excess military property to both federal and state law enforcement agencies, for the purpose of helping to fight the war on drugs. In 1997, the program was expanded to allow all law enforcement agencies — even those at local, municipal levels — to acquire surplus military goods from the Department of Defense. The program was expanded with the passing of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1997.
With this new expansion, law enforcement agencies were granted the ability to acquire surplus military items which would aid them in carrying out any legitimate police operations — with preference for distribution going to agencies seeking to use such surplus items in order to fight drug trafficking and in assisting in counter-terrorism operations.
In 1995, the overseeing and operations of the 1033 program was placed under the jurisdiction of the Defense Logistics Agency. And, this agency, through the DLA Disposition Service's Law Enforcement Support Office, headquartered in Battle Creek, Michigan, is responsible for overseeing the carrying out of the distribution of such military surplus items to this day.
The military items that have thus far been distributed to various state and local law enforcement agencies through the Defense Department's 1033 program pretty much run the gamut — from armored military Humvees, to fully automatic weapons, state of the art night-vision gear, and pretty much any other sorts of surplus military equipment you can think of.
The program was started by Congress out of a pressing concern that local and state law enforcement agencies, back in the late 1980's and early 1990's, were finding themselves severely outgunned and out-equipped by drug-trafficking organizations. And so, with a great many of the smaller law enforcement agencies in the country also drastically underfunded and possessing little hope of adequate budget increases necessary for obtaining equipment required to match firepower with such clandestine organizations, Congress passed the 1033 program with the aim of allowing law enforcement agencies the ability to acquire military style weapons and equipment at no cost.
To date, around thirteen-thousand different law enforcement agencies throughout the country have participated in the program, and have used the 1033 program to acquire an estimated four-billion dollars worth of surplus military gear.
In most cases, of course, much of the surplus military gear is used as the originators of the program had intended for it to be used — to help law enforcement agencies fight legitimate crime. And, of course, much of it is also used to directly aid the public. For instance, not all of the surplus military items acquired are offensive in nature — in fact, only a small portion of it, around 5%, according to the DLA, are actually weapons, or offensive equipment — the vast majority of the items received by police agenciesm according to the DLA, are things like military surplus blankets, first aid supplies, and other such items. However, critics are now raising concern that some of the items obtained by local police is being misused — that law enforcement agencies are using the surplus military gear they obtain, the critics say, to militarize their agencies and turn offensive military equipment toward control and suppression of the public.
The recent events in Ferguson, Missouri, in particular, has brought into the public eye this militarization of American police agencies. Critics say that the 1033 program is being abused and used by police and law enforcement for purposes other than it was originally intended — that police are using items obtained through the program not in the public interest, not in suppressing crime, but as tools of public oppression. And, one must admit, the images of military-style cammo-outfitted police officers with sniper rifles trained on crowds of American citizens that have been an all too common site in the news recently is quite disconcerting.
Many critics, and probably rightfully so, are becoming increasingly concerned with this apparent militarization of police forces throughout the country. Representative Hank Johnson, a Democrat Congressman from Georgia, has said that he will introduce legislation before Congress this coming September with an aim to curb the practice and reign in this apparent militarization of local police agencies — making it either more difficult for such agencies to acquire things like assault weapons and military style armored vehicles, or, when acquired, to use such items in ways which the original legislation did not intend.


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I think of this trick as virtual tanking… it is really virtual crowd control.
Let's say you are murderizing some Defias in a small town somewhere. Suddenly a second one spots you.
Oh NOES! You are not ready for a second one. And that fire ball looks like it will hurt. No problem!
Hah! Safe. But wait he is coming this way. How about we give him a target again?
That is it. I hop back out and you stop right there and waste a couple seconds trying to cast a fireball.
No, don't come over here. Stand there and cast some more. I am not done with your friend.
I love it when the fall for the same trick a second time…
Almost done with your friend.
Come on over.
Your turn!
LOS interupts are so much fun!
Posts Tagged 'LOS interupt'
Pull school: Virtual Tanking
Posted in Ranged DPS, Tanking, Tips, tagged CC, LOS, LOS interupt on June 22, 2010| 2 Comments »
I think of this trick as virtual tanking… it is really virtual crowd control.


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Wednesday, November 30, 2011
My Camerons In Buckingham, Quebec, Canada In 1861
PG #105 [County of Ottawa]
1861 Canadian Census - Buckingham, Quebec - District 2, comprising the 1st 7th inc?
CAMERON, Allan, b. Scotland, SC (religion), 77, Married
, Nancy, b. Scotland, SC, 73, Married
, Flora, b. Upper Canada, SC, 39, Married ("Married" is an error)
, Richard, Upper Canada, 42, Married
, Ann, b. Upper Canada, 37 (AKA Nancy, wife of Richard; dau of Allan & Nancy)
, Jane, b. Lower Canada, SC, 12, Single
, Donald, b. Upper Canada, SC, 11, single
, Mary A., b. Upper Canada, 9, single
, John A., b. Lower Canada, 7, single
, Colin, b. Lower Canada, 5, single
, Jessie, b. Lower Canada, 4, single
, Richard, b. Lower Canada, 2, single
, Ewen, b. Lower Canada, 1/12, single
The housing was described as 1 log, 1 1/2 stories, two families, being built
My direct ancestors are in bold print.
Here is an enumeration from 1871.
2 comments:
My ancestors include a John Cameron, b. 1823 to James and Jane (Mathews) Cameron of Coleraine, IE. Drouin records show his marriage in 1845 at Notre-Dame-du-Bonsecours to Sally Kesy (Casey) b. 1825 of Buckingham, daughter of James and Elizabeth (Whelan, sp??) Casey. Their child, James Henry, was found in the 1861 census living with Sally's brother Anthony in a log cabin in Ottawa along with his cousin, Catherine Cooligan.
Is there a connection with your line in any way? Buckingham was so small I am presuming SOME connection with identically surnamed individuals.
Thanks you,
J Fulton
- March 1, 2014 at 12:00 PM
- PalmsRV said...
J. Fulton, I do not know of a connection, but agree that with Buckingham being so small, it would be surprising if a connection did not exist. I'm getting some help with my Cameron research through DNA (my brother's) -- have you gone that route? Cathy
- March 1, 2014 at 2:28 PM


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We are sorry, this product is currently not available.
Minted + domino Art Print Challenge: we partnered with design marketplace Minted to find fresh up-and-coming art to feature on domino.com! From the thousands of submissions, we've uncovered 75 brand new pieces, 25 of which are exclusive to domino.
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This watercolor abstract painting was created to explore how the colors in this piece harmonize with each other. Soft teals, and greens sit back while hue's of gold pop next to deep colors of indigo and a touch of red anchors all of the colors leaving you feeling calm with a hint of anticipation. Indigold Color Study inspired it's sister painting Indigold.
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Extended staring at a computer screen inevitably creates fatigue, tension and eye problems. Failing to take short vision breaks is one of the major factors leading to eye strain and eye problems for computer users.
Micro vision break tip: Look up and focus on the furthest object in the distance. Be aware of objects around you in your periphery. Take a deep breath. Relax as you exhale. Blink a couple of times. Shift your vision back to the screen and re-focus. (Three near-to-far shifts per break are recommended. This should take about 5 seconds.)
Mirror tip: If your computer is in a corner or if you work in a small space, place a small mirror on top of your monitor or on your desk. Use the mirror to give your eyes a distant view by looking through the mirror and focusing on objects that you see behind you.
3. Minimize glare on the screen.
You can detect a potential glare problem by turning on the lights in the room that you normally would use - before turning on your computer. If you see any images or reflections on the (turned-off) screen, you've got a glare problem.
To reduce or minimize glare, experiment by:
It may be impossible to eliminate glare altogether, in which case you might consider using an anti-glare screen.
4. Use friendly lighting.
Bright fluorescent lights are a poor choice. Dimmer lights are better. Have a desk lamp for reading and doing other close work at your desk, but make sure it doesn't reflect on the screen.
Most problems are caused by the quantity of the light (not by fluorescence itself). If possible, turn off every other fluorescent fixture and light your desk with a 100-watt bulb.
Standing lamps that direct light at the ceiling provide the best indirect light. If there is no dimmer available, a 3-way fixture is recommended so you can set the light at the most comfortable level.
You also need to light any original copy that you are working from. A desk lamp with an adjustable neck works well. Just make sure that this light doesn't distract you or spill onto your screen.
Hard copy tip: Ideally, you want your copy on the same vertical plane as the screen. Working side to side is preferable to looking from the screen down to your copy and then back up again. Alternate moving the written material that you work from to the left and right of the screen during the day. The eye movements required to shift back and forth from left to right and from screen to copy help reduce visual stress and enhance your visual skills.
5. Blink more often.
Computer rooms are notoriously dry, and this may be one reason why your eyes hurt at the computer. Blinking is your body's natural way of lubricating your eyes and preventing dry eyes. Normally the eye blinks 10-12 times a minute.
Most people do not blink regularly, especially when concentrating intently, or when under pressure. They keep their eyes wide open - fixed - and blinking decreases. Decreased blinking often causes redness, burning and itching of the eyes, particularly for those who use contact lenses.
Blinking lubricates and cleanses the eyes, keeping them moist for clear vision and comfort. Blinking also helps relax the facial muscles and forehead, countering the tendency to furrow one's brow and create tension.
Hydrate by drinking enough water. If absolutely necessary, use a natural eye drop. Similasan or PrimaVu are the recommended brands.
Blinking tip: Move only your eyelids - not your forehead, face or cheeks - when you blink. Make sure you close your eyes all the way without effort and that both the upper and lower lids touch gently. Blink lightly once every 3 to 5 seconds. Or, take 10-20 blinks in this way just as your eyes start to feel dry, tired or itchy.
These five tips should be enough to keep you from feeling eye strain at the computer. It could be very simple to not let your eyes hurt at the computer.
But sometimes these tips are not enough. The causes of the blurred vision and visual stress might go deeper. Make sure you have your eyes checked at least once a year, and make sure that you are using the correct prescription for computer use - it's not always the same as your regular prescription.
The book Total Health at the Computer goes into more depth about healthy computing tips, choosing the right kind of glasses for computer use and quick routines that will stop your eyes from hurting at the computer.
For more information, visit www.bettervision.com.


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Feeling Fresh
Please Note: By clicking a link to any resource listed on this page, you will be leaving the TeensHealth site.
Go Ask Alice!
Go Ask Alice! is Columbia University's health question and answer service. It offers open and frank discussions of sensitive topics.
GirlsHealth.gov, developed by the U.S. Office on Women's Health, offers girls between the ages of 10 and 16 information about growing up, food and fitness, and relationships.
Planned Parenthood Info for Teens
This site from the Planned Parenthood Federation of America has information on relationships and sexual health for teens.


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In Her Homemade Vivarium, Photographer Sharon Core Traverses Painting's Uncanny Valley
Though her sumptuous photographs of food and flower still lifes seem, at first, like straightforward visual feasts, Sharon Core's compositions are the result of a sleight-of-hand wittiness and conceptual rigor. Her photographs are painstaking recreations of still life works by some of the most famous painters of the genre, including 19th-century artist Raphaelle Peale and contemporary artist Wayne Thiebaud. That her photographs are based on photographic reproductions of the paintings she mimics adds a layer of perceptual intrigue to her works.
American, b. 1965, New Orleans, Louisiana


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Dec 14, 2008 at 6:14 am
Beautiful STS - you are going to love it!
Dec 13, 2008 at 5:13 pm
love all those vairs. hopin to someday have a LM vert to match my EM vert.
Aug 2, 2006 at 2:36 pm
lol yea it was inevitable, and good luck. you have a nice ferguson.


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If all goes as planned, Kristen Costantino will transfer within a year from her job in Winter Haven to a position in Atlanta. Costantino, who holds a bachelor's degree, said one of the reasons she wants to leave is the dearth of educationally compatible men in Polk County.
If all goes as planned, Kristen Costantino will transfer within a year from her job in Winter Haven to a position in Atlanta.
Costantino, who holds a bachelor's degree, said one of the reasons she wants to leave is the dearth of educationally compatible men in Polk County.
"One of the deciding factors in the back of my mind was obviously there will be more guys to choose from as far as the dating field goes," said Costantino, 26.
Costantino wasn't surprised to learn of a recent report in The Atlantic magazine that ranked the Lakeland-Winter Haven region as the second-worst metropolitan area in the country for the disparity between women and men with college degrees. The magazine's rankings, drawn from United States Census Bureau figures, show 67.24 percent more local women than men under age 35 have a bachelor's degree.
That places Polk County at 101st out of 102 metropolitan centers.
The only area with a more lopsided ratio is North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, where 82.37 percent more young women than men hold degrees, according to the magazine.
"What actually was surprising is that this area was not ranked as the first-worst in the nation!" Costantino said by email.
The figures reflect a national trend. Census figures indicate women have surpassed men in earning bachelor's degrees each year since 1996, nearly erasing the historical advantage American men held in that realm. The Atlantic survey found a median education gap of 29.7 percent in all 102 metro areas.
It's not clear why the degree gap is so large in Polk County. Whatever the reason, local women interviewed said the effects are apparent.
Costantino, who holds a business degree from Warner University in Lake Wales, said she and some female friends laughed in agreement after seeing a post on The Ledger's Facebook page about the rankings.
"This is something we talk about all the time," she said.
Costantino, a Winter Haven native, said it seems a majority of men she knew in high school have remained in the area, pursuing careers that don't require college degrees.
"I guess right out of high school, people are eager to start making money and living the adult life, and I guess it's easier to settle for whatever job they can get that pays halfway decent," she said. "Winter Haven is a very small town. They're OK with settling for that small-town life. That's all they've ever known."
Tiffany Logan, 24, spent her childhood in Fort Meade and earned a public relations degree from Florida Gulf Coast University. She returned to Polk County and is now executive director of the Downtown Lakeland Partnership.
Logan, now in a serious relationship with a fellow college graduate, said a degree is a requirement for a potential spouse.
"For a while when I dated, especially when I was in college, I knew I wanted to be back in the Lakeland area ... so I'd dated people mostly from around this area and it was difficult," Logan said. "It's definitely more difficult to find someone who matches you on that level of education and career. So I struggled with that for a while."
She said many college-educated young women prefer to date men with degrees. Otherwise, she said, women worry that potential mates might not have the same income levels, job prospects or general ambition.
Logan said some college-educated female friends look to Tampa and Orlando for dates.
"I think having to go outside the county is less of an issue than dating someone who maybe doesn't have a college degree and doesn't plan on seeking one and is just in an entry-level job," she said.
Laura Ward of Lakeland said the 67-percent gender gap in college graduates rings true for her. She said she laughed upon seeing The Ledger's mention of the rankings and sent a link to some friends.
"I think most of my friends — not just women — and I have experienced that to a certain degree, and it validates our frustrations with the local dating scene, or lack thereof," Ward said.
Ward, 25, graduated from George Jenkins High School and earned a bachelor's degree in radio/TV production from the University of Central Florida. She works as an associate producer at NFocus, a Lakeland production company.
Ward is in a relationship with a college graduate. She said he recently conducted a job search, and his top priority was getting out of Lakeland. He found a job in Tampa.
"Most of my friends date men from Tampa or Orlando," Ward said. "There's a feeling that Lakeland is boring, a place to raise your family when you are ready to have one, not a place to spend your 20s."
Keisha Williams of Lakeland is another woman who grew up in Polk County, earned a college degree and continues to live here. The Bartow native holds a bachelor's degree in human resources management from Florida Metropolitan University (now Everest University) and manages her own cleaning company.
Williams said some female friends tend to view local men as unsuitable matches.
"If you find a woman who lives in Polk County who has traveled, the first thing out of her mouth is, 'I don't date in Polk County,' " Williams said. "It's just because the mentality here is so simple."
Williams, 35 and never married, said when she was younger she wouldn't consider a potential mate without a college degree. But she said she has become more flexible.
"As you grow and mature and learn … that list (of requirements) gets shorter and gets down to the things that really matter in life," Williams said. "I would rather have somebody that's caring and concerned, that is a go-getter, that likes to have fun, that is grounded religiously. You can have a doctorate and be a jerk."
And, as she pointed out, serial killer Ted Bundy was a college graduate.
Though she prefers to date college graduates, Costantino said it's wrong to assume any man without a degree is an underachiever. She said many men in Polk County enter fields such as law enforcement or construction that don't require a college education.
Kate Wallace, state advocacy director for the Foundation for Excellence in Education, concurred with that.
Wallace, a Bartow native now based in Tallahassee, said Polk County's economy relies heavily on blue-collar jobs.
She noted that the Polk County School District is the county's largest employer.
"What do teachers tend to be?" Wallace said. "Women."
The school system has 13,817 employees, and 76.4 percent of them are women, according to figures provided by the district. The total includes all positions, not just teachers.
Williams cited another potential factor in creating the degree imbalance: sports. She said too many young males in Polk County, especially black males, pin their hopes on a career in sports. Only a small percentage of high school athletes receive offers to play in college, let alone become professionals.
Williams said she wishes more boys would heed the advice of the late Victor Wright, a Bartow podiatrist: Aspire to become the owner of a sports team, not merely a player.
Logan speculated that the education gap reflects differing attitudes between young men and women raised in Polk County. She suggested that more women take the same path she did, getting a degree and coming back home, while more males who earn degrees pursue careers elsewhere.
"More of the girls had built those bonds and the sense of community and wanted to stay here," she said. "The guys were a little more likely to go off and look for that adventure and look for the big city and get out of their hometown."
The young women said Polk County leaders need to do a better job of attracting young professionals to live here, regardless of gender.
Logan previously worked as a recruiter for an insurance company in Lakeland. She said it proved difficult to lure college graduates of either gender to Polk County.
Logan said the situation is changing. Her job with the Downtown Lakeland Partnership involves promoting the city center, and she said Lakeland has much more to offer college graduates now than in the past.
As one example, she mentioned the Food Truck Rally held monthly around Munn Park.
"People my age and my place in life, they need to realize what Lakeland has to offer," Logan said.
[ Gary White can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com or 863-802-7518. ]


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text: Postpartum Depression & Parity Legislation Deadline MEDIA ADVISORY Jul 25 2001 In Houston, Texas last month, Andrea Yates drowned her five small children in the bathtub of their home. In Chicago over the past two months, four new mothers have committed suicide. Each mother suffered from postpartum depression. Postpartum depression occurs in 10% to 15% of women within three months of delivery. One out of every thousand women experiences postpartum psychosis: a medical emergency in which a mother may harm herself and/or her baby. By one estimate, as many as 200 infants are killed each year, and many more suicides are committed. On July 15, 2001, The Seattle Times published "A New Mother's Cry for Help", the story of Martha Silano, who was hospitalized for postpartum depression, only to discover that her health care insurance plan limited coverage for psychiatric illnesses. She and her husband were forced to deplete savings and use money from parents to pay for a month-long hospitalization, continued therapy, and medication. In the words of Langdon Cook, Martha's husband, such limits are "anti-woman, anti-child and anti-family." For anyone, insurance discrimination puts lives at risk. Under S.543, discrimination against mental illnesses like postpartum depression would be prohibited. Introduced by U.S. Senators Pete Domenici (R-NM), Ted Kennedy (D-MA) and Paul Wellstone (D-MN) to strengthen existing federal law, the bill faces an October 1, 2001 deadline when current law expires. NAMI commends The Seattle Times for its coverage. As the legislative deadline approaches, NAMI also stands ready to work with you to develop other stories on the issue.


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SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA -- My husband and I purchased a second sofa at Thomasville. It was delivered three months later. Upon delivery, we noticed it "wasn't right." The pieces didn't fit together properly and it was poorly made. Not what you'd expect for a custom piece that took 3 months to make.
We immediately contacted Thomasville and were told to call the Claims/Repairs Department, which we did same day. Two weeks went by, no call. We called Thomasville again and were told the same. Yet again, we received no call.
We decided to dispute the charge with American Express. Thomasville flat out LIED to Amex and told them we waited 15 days after delivery to call them. Long story short... this company does not stand behind their product or their customers. Shame on you, Thomasville.
CANONSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA -- Thomasville Furniture is the only store in the Pittsburgh, PA area that sells Hunting House furniture. The manager of the store gave us a written quote for a sofa and loveseat. Buyer beware! The quote was double the price of other furniture stores that sells Hunting House.
We returned to the Canonsburg store to inquire about the high price and the two ladies working at that time would not check the price for us. We were told since the manager wrote the quote the day before it had to be correct. We are thankful we didn't place and order with Thomasville. Be sure once you receive a quote from this store compare the price with other stores. The reviews really helped us making a decision.
CANONSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA -- My husband and I ordered a lovely Stickley leather sofa and 2 upholstered custom made HickoryCraft chairs. The chairs arrived after a 10 week wait along with the sofa. The chairs were not the chairs I ordered. I called the store and was told my sales clerk was with a customer. When she finally called me back, her response was "how did you get the wrong chairs?" Really??? How would I know, I didn't place the order. She then proceeded to evade the issue and then she came to the conclusion that the factory made the mistake and made the incorrect chairs. Then she placed an order for the wrong chairs the 2nd time.
After waiting 5 weeks for what I thought were the correct chairs, I got a call from the sales clerk at Thomasville Furniture and she said that the chairs I want were no longer available. Then she called back again and said that she spoke to the owner of the Thomasville store and the owner suggested that I "re-select" another set of chairs. This would certainly result in costing me more money and I quickly pointed that out to my sales clerk and also pointed out to her that what the owner was suggesting in me "reselecting new chairs" was not of concern to me. I then hung up the phone.
And a few minutes later, my sales clerk called again. This time she said she found another chair that is practically identical to the chair I wanted and would cut me a really good deal on 2 chairs. I told her I would be in the store shortly to look at the chairs. When I got there, she produced a 2 inch black and white picture of the chair that she printed on line. At this point I was so pissed off, I just demanded my money back.
Five days later, I still haven't received my money back. I called the store and was told to call the warehouse because they issue checks. I called the warehouse and spoke to **, and he said he would issue my check as soon as the check I sent would clear. I told him this furniture transaction was put on a credit card 7 weeks ago. So they already had their money paid in full.
He then proceeded to tell me when they get the chairs back that were a mistake in the first place, he would then issue my check. He then told me that they the company would have eat the cost of the chairs. I told him that is not my problem since they were the ones who made the mistake in the first place. Do not deal with these people. I understand that people make mistakes, but to go out of their way to hide it and then make the customer feel like they need to fix the problem and just spend more money in their store because of their own stupidity. Customer service is not an issue for these people.
ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND -- My in-laws purchased Thomasville throughout their marriage. So, we bought two couches, 4 tables and 2 upholstered pieces from a very new Thomasville outlet in Rockville, Maryland. All had problems. The tables arrived first. First thing I noticed was the 'made in China' badges. Then I noticed the VERY heavy finish. Upon further inspection I noticed that the heaviness of the finish was used to cover up imperfections in the machining of the wood beneath. Further, a large portion of the structural woods were fiberboards. There were large drips on the base of one of the pieces.
I called the representative and registered my dismay that the Brand is a town in NC and getting Chinese built products was a disappointment, but that it was more the quality of those products IN CONJUNCTION with the made in China badge that really got me. They took the drippy table back and assured me that the rest of the order would be made in NC including a pending curtain order. Then the upholstered products showed up. One was fine. The other two were covered with a fine/modern plaid. The lines on the front of the chairs were not straight (it had been done fine in the back). These pieces came from NC.
Then the leather couches came. These came from China, despite their promised origin. The leather smelled chemical and within 2 hours everyone in the house had a headache. Upon inspection I noted that the leather had been tanned using formaldehyde. This is a carcinogen that is not new to the tanning process, but is being phased out in many countries due to the health hazard to the workers in the factories tanning the leather and assembling the furniture. If the tanning is executed properly, the formaldehyde should not outgas.
Ours was horrible and our sofas are sitting on the porch. Further the dust cover on on the bottom of one of the sofas was ripped and 2 of the legs were loose. The leather and its finish are so delicate that merely running a fingernail across it scratch the surface. The piping is not straight and there are many loose threads. Interestingly, these couches were purchased to replace 7 year old Ikea leather sofas. 4 kids (including 3 teens) have beaten on these couches and the leather remains unscratched. We paid less than half the price and the sofas were bought from stock.
The curtains we ordered (before receiving any of the local case goods) originally had a $5k price and before the order was finalized were over $10k. Fabric upcharges (30%), measurement upcharges (15%), design upcharges.... I cancelled the order and am now fighting to get my deposit back. There has been no work completed on the curtains, but the sales and management personnel are hanging onto the deposit as though they were going to be stuck with the goods. Unethical, aggressive, dishonest, disingenuous. We may wind up in court.
With over 20 years in industry in strategy, sales and marketing I can only say that the Thomasville Brand is on a dangerous course. Built up over decades, the Furniture Brands guys are driving the brand from 'mid-high price with quality to match to Mid to high price with aggressive sales people & terms and low-end quality. I squarely lay this tragedy on the leadership of the corporation. Take a look at the financials and the writing is already on the wall. 75 years of brand equity will be gone in 5.
PRINCETON, NJ -- I ordered a very expensive dining room set. Upon delivery they slammed all the furniture around. Glass doors slammed. Table etc. after they left I noticed discoloration and scratches on the corner of the table. I had looked all over it but I overlooked it! I called sales at the store. The creepy sales man referred me to their distribution center. He warned me to run after them and relate what happened. Excuse me, but I just spent $$$ at your store. But I did call 2 x and did not receive a call back.
The following day I handed this problem to my husband who again left a message - no call back. He then called the sales associate. Who called the delivery warehouse and asked us for pictures. We sent them. A week later nothing... no reply. So my husband called again and they argued with him it's our fault!! I am fuming. So again my husband called three times the sales representative - still no reply. This isn't over. I want them to take the whole thing back or send a brand new table. I have never been treated so disrespectfully. Something needs to be done about Thomasville! How are they getting away with ripping the consumer off and shoddy customer service???
MIAMI, FLORIDA -- WORSE, OVERPRICED FURNITURE WE'VE EVER BOUGHT!, 2013. "The GUARDSMAN 'protection' policy Thomasville offers (which we paid for) is worthless! Thomasville, please tell your customers the real time your delivery will take. We assume extreme delay on your delivery is due to the company's 'outsourcing.' We also assume the very poor quality of the furniture is AGAIN due to Thomasville 'outsourcing' and if that's the case.... Thomasville's prices should be A LOT LOWER, to represent the current Thomasville product 'quality.'
This is the first time we have ever purchased ANYTHING from Thomasville and it will be the last. Very simple... We purchased 2 chairs (costing in excess of $3000.00) from Thomasville in Dadeland, (Miami) Florida. Delivery took double the time and BOTH chairs broke within the first 6 months of arrival. GUARDSMAN (their protection policy) AND Thomasville have done absolutely nothing and my husband and I currently sit on 3K sinkholes! We will post this consumer review everywhere we can to warn other consumers.
We bought a lot (over $30,000) worth of furniture from Thomasville FL. They said that the furniture would arrive within 30 days. That never happened. We called and called to follow up, their answer was "we will deliver it when it is ready." We tried to cancel but couldn't because they made us sign that delivery date is an estimate and that we must accept the furniture. 6 month later the furniture came missing parts, damaged, and with lots of scratches. We said "we don't want the damaged parts." They said "you can't." They sent a guy with a spray paint bottle to fix it. We couldn't believe this was happening. You will get screwed if you buy from Thomasville.
110 EAST ALLUVIAL AVE FRESNO CA -- Our Thomasville saleswoman had led us to believe that our Thomasville chairs would be made just like quality samples they had displayed at Fresno Store. Customer service was good before delivery, and terrible after delivery. The chairs we paid over $2,000 for were not made the same way. After several attempts to repair, the chairs look even worse than before with crooked seams and poor workmanship. The owner refuses to repair by someone other than the tailor who had tried unsuccessfully several times, and he refuses to replace the chairs. I will not ever buy and don't recommend to anyone else to purchase from the Thomasville store in Fresno, California.
Anyone looking to purchase furniture should completely avoid Thomasville furniture stores and products. Horrible customer service, poor quality and nothing but excuses. We made the mistake of buying from them and 1 year later issues still not resolved.
My daughter got this for her great room. It's horrible! I thought it looked very cheap, but if that was the only problem, it wouldn't be so bad. They spent a fortune and it is always nasty looking. It seems like there is a film on it that shows every mark. Even after immediately cleaning it looks horrid. I personally think there is a problem with the finish. She has used the recommended cleaners, per their website, and other cleaners. No difference. And it was like that from day one. Thomasville doesn't call back and she has yet to force the issue with Home Depot. So sad. She has three little ones under 2.5 years and no time to make these calls and argue with them.
She just bought some cheap brand of oak laminate from Home Depot for her daughter's room for. 99 cents a foot and it looks great!!! We don't even care for oak, but if that stuff was in the great room, she would be thrilled! Thomasville flooring, in the walnut, sucks. Beyond sucks! DO NOT GET IT!!! I can't speak for the other colors, but because they don't care at all, I would boycott them. I have Bruce wood flooring and have had it for years. I love it. Just as dark as my daughters and NO problems like her!
My wife and I recently purchased a Felicity Sunlit Cherry Bedroom Suite from Thomasville Furniture. Our Thomasville saleswoman had led us to believe that our Thomasville furniture would be made in North Carolina, but when it was delivered we discovered that it was all made in China. Thomasville had built its reputation on delivering high quality American-made furniture from North Carolina -- but it appears that those days are now long gone.
The fit & finish of our Thomasville made-in-China furniture was poor. There's really no other way to describe it. Our bedroom suite has a total of 28 drawers. Many drawers weren't centered in their openings; some drawers were recessed in too far, and other drawers extended out too far. After 2 visits from Thomasville's repair people, we still have: 8 drawers not centered in their openings; 13 that extend out too far; and 7 that are recessed in too far. Thomasville's repair people told us that our remaining problems were non-repairable. So I guess we'll just have to learn to live with this poor quality.
When we purchased our furniture, we specifically asked our Thomasville saleswoman what kind of wood was used in its construction. She told us it was "entirely cherry". When we later asked Thomasville's repair people that same question, they looked at our furniture and readily identified over 5 different species of wood -- just one was cherry, and at least 2 were obscure, unidentifiable Chinese hardwoods. What we actually received was quite different from what we paid for. When we brought this to the attention of the management of our Thomasville dealer, they completely ignored our complaint.
At first glance, Thomasville's construction quality appeared to us to be quite good (i.e., dovetail drawers, etc.). But in places where it wouldn't be quite as obvious to a customer, some of the furniture's joints are held together with staples. That doesn't instill much confidence that the furniture will last for more than a few years. We would have expected to find that kind of cheap construction in bedroom suites that cost under $1,500 -- but not in a Thomasville bedroom suite that cost us over $5,000!
My wife's dresser arrived with a large 10" circular hole in the back of the cabinet. Rather than repairing this damage "before" the furniture was shipped, Thomasville's factory instead tried to conceal the damage by screwing a large Masonite panel over the hole. While Thomasville repaired the damaged back panel "after" we discovered it, the point is that Thomasville deliberately shipped severely damaged furniture to a customer with the hope that the damage would never be discovered. That's not what one would expect from a quality "world class" furniture brand.
Thomasville's furniture is shipped with a Chinese "plasticized" finish. In our experience, it attracts dust like a magnet and unlike a quality lacquered or varnished finish it's relatively soft and easily damaged. According to Thomasville's "printed furniture care instructions" my wife and I are not supposed to allow synthetics, rubber, or plastics to rest on the wood finish as they may damage the finish. That, of course, prohibits placing most lamps, clocks, radios, TVs, pens, etc. on top of your Thomasville furniture unless you first modify the bottoms of those products.
Everything at Thomasville seems to now be focused on charging its customers as much as possible, while at the same time cutting its costs as much possible. Even the screws that hold the knobs to the drawers have been cost-cut. Rather than extending the screws into the knobs by at least 3/8", they just barely touch the knob. The cost savings across an entire bedroom set has to be less than a dollar -- and yet amazingly Thomasville still went for it.
After contacting our local Thomasville dealer several times about many of these problems and receiving no satisfaction, my wife and I wrote to Ed Teplitz, president of Thomasville Furniture Industries -- and also to Ralph Scozzafava, CEO of Furniture Brands International. Furniture Brands International owns Thomasville, along with Broyhill, Lane, Drexel Heritage, Henredon, and Maitland-Smith. Neither of them ever responded to us. That pretty much sums-up our Thomasville customer satisfaction experience.


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DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — A mob has ransacked the headquarters of Ivory Coast's most prominent gay rights organization, underscoring the dangers confronting such groups even in the few African countries where homosexual acts are not crimes.
The violence followed days of anti-gay protests in Ivory Coast, which is sometimes considered a safe haven for homosexuals fleeing persecution elsewhere across the continent. It contributed to a growing sense that activists championing gay rights in Africa are under siege, with countries working to strengthen existing laws that criminalize homosexuality. A new law in Nigeria bans all gay associations, and lawmakers in Uganda may well override their president's opposition and approve a bill imposing life prison terms for consenting same-sex partners who engage in repeated sexual acts.
Some human rights activists view the crackdown as a backlash at pressure from the United States and European countries that say they will use their leverage to promote the human rights of gay people around the world. Britain has threatened to cut aid to countries that outlaw homosexuality, and the Obama administration two years ago instructed "all agencies engaged abroad to ensure that U.S. diplomacy and foreign assistance promote and protect the human rights of LGBT persons."
In response, African governments say they will defend their people's religious and cultural convictions that homosexuality is evil and un-African.
The attack in Ivory Coast took place Saturday afternoon but was not publicized until Monday. Nearly 200 people stormed the offices of Alternative Cote d'Ivoire in an upscale suburb of Abidjan, the commercial capital, flinging stones to shatter windows and stealing computers, said Claver Toure, the group's executive director.
Others heaved sacks of garbage over the property's exterior walls and left trash and broken glass at the entrance. Signs hung on walls demanded "Stop the homos!" and "Pedes get out!" The word "pede" is short for pederast or pedophile, and is commonly used in West Africa to insult gay men.
"Everything they could take was taken, and the rest was broken," Toure said, adding that a private security guard was hospitalized with wounds to his face.
Toure criticized what he described as a deliberately slow response by security forces, saying police did not arrive until the French ambassador contacted government officials. Ultimately, he said, about 10 officers came with a half-dozen U.N. peacekeepers.
"When we call, the police need to come right away and protect us because we are Ivorians," Toure said.
Interior Minister spokesman Bazoumana Coulibaly said the government was not prepared to comment because it was still collecting information.
The attack was not unexpected.
In a statement last Friday, the Ireland-based human rights organization Front Line Defenders detailed what it described as "coordinated" attacks against Toure's group last week. It warned that "rumors are circulating that a more virulent attack is envisioned" for Saturday.
On Jan. 20, neighbors gathered outside Toure's home to chant anti-gay slogans and issue death threats against those inside, Front Line Defenders said. Two days later, a mob targeted Alternative's headquarters, placing signs demanding that the organization leave.
Local media reports quoted residents last week expressing fear that the presence of a gay rights organization would jeopardize their children's safety, highlighting the widespread belief throughout Africa that gay people target children for recruitment.
Toure said his landlord confronted him on Jan. 5 after neighbors complained that more than 20 people were staying in his home and that "condoms could be found throughout the neighborhood each morning" — accusations Toure denied.
U.S. Ambassador Terence P. McCulley said he was "shocked and saddened" by Saturday's attack.
"Even if one is not in agreement with the point of view of an organization or its people, we have an obligation in a democracy to support the right of people to organize and express themselves," he said in a statement posted Monday on the embassy's Facebook page. "I hope that Ivorians will understand that these attacks are not consonant with democratic values."
Violence targeting gays in Africa drew worldwide notice earlier this month when President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria signed a law banning gay associations and gay marriage. Dozens have been arrested since then throughout Africa's most populous country.
The new law carries penalties of up to 14 years in prison. But in some northern Nigerian states that also have Islamic Shariah law, a homosexual can get the death sentence just for being gay.
Outside a courthouse in the northern Nigerian city of Bauchi this month, protesters tried to stone seven men accused of belonging to a gay organization, demanding they be stoned to death. A week before in Bauchi, a 28-year-old man was punished with 20 lashes after pleading guilty before a Shariah court to an act of sodomy committed seven years ago. He said he was led astray by a high school principal.
Days after Jonathan signed the law, activists in the neighboring country of Cameroon confirmed that a man once jailed for sending a text message saying "I'm very much in love with you" to another man died after his family removed him from the hospital where he was seeking treatment for a hernia. The family said he was a curse who did not deserve to live.
In Uganda, President Yoweri Museveni has voiced opposition to a bill approved by lawmakers last month imposing life imprisonment for gay sex involving an HIV-infected person, acts with minors and the disabled as well as repeated gay sex acts among consenting adults. The bill, dubbed "Kill the Gays," initially called for the death sentence.
But gay rights activists drew little encouragement from Museveni's letter to legislators, in which he said homosexuals are "abnormal fundamentally because the hormones malfunctioned." And despite Museveni's stated opposition, parliament still could muster enough support to make it law.
While the Ugandan bill criminalizes "promotion" of homosexuality, the Nigerian law makes it illegal to have any kind of gay meeting, potentially rendering illegal the work of rights groups and organizations dealing with the epidemic of HIV/AIDS among homosexuals. That would include programs funded by USAID.
Ivory Coast is generally seen as more moderate on the issue, and Alternative has worked increasingly closely with the government on programs to combat HIV/AIDS.
But Matthew Thomann, an anthropologist at American University who has worked extensively with Abidjan's gay groups, said it would be "naive and dangerous" to portray Ivory Coast as an oasis of freedom.
"We must remind ourselves that the lack of anti-gay legislation in a country like Ivory Coast is not the same as LGBT individuals having actual legal protection or recourse when victimized," Thomann said of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender minorities. "There are high levels of impunity for attacks such as those experienced by Mr. Toure and Alternative."
Associated Press writer Marc-Andre Boisvert contributed to this report from Abidjan.


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Bay Area start-up Lit Motors specializes in creative vehicle concepts. Their most recent project, the Kubo, takes the urban-utility concept in a direction that emphasizes low center of gravity luggage carry, ease of portage, and accommodative ergonomics.
The folks at Lit call it a "pickup truck on two wheels" and by setting the rider further back on the chassis, nearly over the rear wheel, the Kubo creates a centrally located void in the chassis that serves as the cargo holding bay.
The idea is that with additional accessories such as straps, tie-downs, netting and bungee cords, people will be able to easily and effectively transport more of their stuff around town, without upsetting the balance or rideability of the machine.
On November 21st, they launched a Kickstarter campaign for the Kubo, aimed at raising an ambitious $300,000 in just 30 days. As many of you problem know, Kickstarter is an online fundraising platform designed allow individual consumers the chance to invest money in people and ideas that they believe in. If the goal is not met, then the team behind the idea or project gets nothing.
With the Kubo, as the weeks progressed, it became clear that the campaign was not going to meet its goals. By December 21st, Lit had only managed to raise $57k with 166 backers.
The recent failure of Lit Motors to meet their Kickstarter goal, raises big questions about how effective Kickstarter can be for small businesses creating big products.


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Thursday, Sept. 24, 2009 03:40 pm
Life in the Big House
Few Illinois governors seem at home at the Executive Mansion
Now we know. The reason that Rod Blagojevich disdained the governor's mansion in Springfield was to save his kids from, well, the mansion. "Growing up in a big governor's mansion, surrounded by staff is not normal," Blagojevich writes in The Governor. "We didn't want our children growing up spoiled with a sense of privilege and entitlement."
Loth as I am to trust Mr. B's judgment on anything other than hairspray, no one is more informed than he is about the ill effects of a sense of privilege and entitlement. Still, the suspicion lingers that the kids were an excuse.
Blagojevich was the first Illinois governor to treat the mansion as a pied--terre, but many of his predecessors were never able to call that house a home. One of its drawbacks for Chicagoans is that it is so inconveniently beyond the last el stop, but most dislike the house itself. Most occupants have found it, variously, too cold or too old, too public or too official.
The mansion is of course the state's White House, with all that entails. The William Strattons reportedly entertained some 25,000 people a year at official luncheons, teas and dinners during their years in residence, a number that does not count the lawmakers and press and county chairmen who used to drop by to cadge drinks. Shirley Stratton played hostess and majordomo to them all. It is arguable that Illinois governors are underpaid as public servants, but there is no disputing that in the old days their wives were.
Some First Families take to the role of host and hostess, some do not. One who did was the man who was its first tenant — Gov. Joel Matteson. He came into office rich, and he and his wife loved to entertain. Having declared the original governor's house at Eighth and Capitol to be inadequate to that purpose, Matteson pressed the legislature to build the present one.
The Richard Oglesbys also arrived in Springfield having been used to mansion life, wife Emma Oglesby being the daughter of Logan County cattle king John Gillett. The state paid for a half-dozen servants but Oglesby felt obliged to add two more, paid for out of his own pocket, to keep up standards.
A house designed for entertaining fit the Mattesons and Oglesbys, but most First Families have found it less fitted for living. Public duties come at the price of one's private life. There are more state cops on the premises than at the best roadside diners, and the media lurk behind every bush. Roberta and Dan Walker, who would divorce in 1977 after he left office, had noisy arguments in the private quarters that — the tradition of discretion about the gentry's doings being less than British among the mansion staff — were talked about outside it.
For a bachelor, the house is simply too big. Bachelor Henry Horner — whose female guests were obliged to bunk in downtown hotels rather than stay at the mansion and risk gossip — converted one room of it into a library of Lincolniana. Adlai Stevenson II, who led a bachelor's life during much of his time here, used some rooms as an office in preference to his official space in the Statehouse. Pat Quinn probably likes it better than either of them, but then he uses it as a hotel, and he is used to Motel 6's.
If the house makes a poor bachelor's pad, it makes a worse nursery. In 1914 Edward and Elizabeth Dunne brought nine kids to the house that then would have been crowded with a family with two. The Dan Walkers, who had a couple of preteens, set up a pool (above-ground, bought at Ward's) and a rope swing and planted a vegetable garden on the grounds. They were chided for that by editorialists who believed that the dignity of Illinois state government was compromised if the Executive Mansion looked as if the executive actually lived in it.
Some of the bad feeling associated with the house owes less to the building than to the lives lived within it. More than a few governors lost children while living there, and several of the more recent occupants — Stevenson, Kerner, Walker — endured unhappy marriages. It would be a mistake, however, to assume on such evidence that the house is cursed. Healthy, happy families have led healthy and happy lives in the Executive Mansion, in spite of all. "The mansion was a gay place when the Dunnes were in there," recalled Francis Chapman, who knew them. The boys would gather after school to play pool there, and the girls go to dress up for dances with music provided by the University of Illinois Band; it has seen graduation bashes and wedding receptions ("The grand staircase seemed to be made for throwing bridal bouquets," Walker would write) and greeted new babies. Mr. Blagojevich notwithstanding, normal is not a matter of which house a kid grows up in, but how.
Contact James Krohe Jr. at email@example.com.


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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) – Kenny Perry shot a 3-under 69 on Saturday at Shoal Creek to take a one-stroke lead over John Inman after the third round of the Regions Tradition.
Perry is seeking his third Champions Tour major title after winning the Senior Players Championship and U.S. Senior Open in consecutive tour starts last year.
Perry had a 7-under 209 total. He had four birdies and bogeyed No. 16, savoring the warm, sunny weather after two rounds in cooler temperatures.
''I hit the ball beautifully,'' Perry said. ''I was in control of the driver, the irons were nice, I putted OK. Nothing outstanding but I just played very consistent, very steady golf.''
Inman, a two-time PGA Tour winner who coached at the University of North Carolina, shot a 66 after two even-par rounds. He had seven birdies before his first slip-up, a bogey on No. 16.
''I just hit a lot of solid shots,'' Inman said. ''I didn't drive the ball as well as I would have liked, but when I drove it in the rough, I just hit some miraculous shots.''
His big putt was some 20 feet on No. 7.
Steve Elkington, second-round leader Mark Calcavecchia, Jay Haas, John Cook, Jeff Maggert, Olin Browne and Tom Pernice Jr. were 4 under.
Perry's best finish on the tour this season was a fifth-place tie at the Toshiba Classic.
He made nearly matching 12-15-foot uphill putts on Nos. 12 and 13 to take a two-shot lead.
His only bogey on 16 came when his bunker shot went long and he missed the putt, but he bounced back with an 8-footer for par on the next hole.
Perry switched drivers after his first-round 72. The one he used to win both majors last year was destroyed on a flight.
A light rain had been replaced by sunshine by the time the leaders teed off, but for the third straight day they were allowed to lift, clean and place their golf balls.
''Still the scores are high,'' Perry said. ''Whenever you let a pro get his hands on it, the scores really tend to drop pretty low but this golf course is really beating us up with the swirling winds. We had South winds today. We played northwest winds the first two rounds.''
Calcavecchia began the round with a one-stroke lead over Haas, but both struggled.
Calcavecchia had a double bogey on No. 11 on his way to a 74. He lost a six-stroke Saturday lead in the 2011 Regions Tradition, largely thanks to a pair of double bogeys on 12.
''I didn't play well. I didn't make many putts,'' Calcavecchia said. ''Two wrong clubs and a chunk wedge in the water on 11, that's two bogeys and a double. I actually hung in there pretty good for that.''
He said nagging rib problems plagued him for the third straight day, this time starting on the second hole.
Haas shot a 73 to snap the tour's longest streak of par or better at 23 rounds. He had three straight bogeys starting on the second hole and didn't have a birdie until No. 10.
The conditionally exempt Inman's best finish in his first three tournaments of the year was a tie for 15th at the Allianz Championship in February.
He played in 14 events in 2013, mostly through the career victory category thanks to his PGA Tour wins, and didn't finish better than ninth.
He's the younger brother of former PGA Tour and Champions Tour winner Joe Inman. Only three sets of brothers have won on the Champions Tour – Bobby and Lanny Wadkins, Bart and Brad Bryant and Dave and Mike Hill.
The siblings both had successful Saturdays. Joe Inman coached Georgia State into its first NCAA championship since 2007 and his little brother followed with a big round.
''It feels good to get in because I've only played three events this year and I just need to play,'' Inman said.