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The words "picky eaters" and "kids" are almost synonymous, don't you think? One day, your kiddo loves peanut butter and jelly sandwiches as much as they adore Selena Gomez, and the next, they wouldn't touch any sandwich with a 10-foot pole. Understandably, a predicament like this may make it pretty tough now that school's back in session. Why would your little one actually WANT to eat the easiest, quickest thing you could make them in the morning? That would make things just a little too simple right?
Not to worry, mis amigas. There are plenty of alternatives out there. Take a look at these 5 great lunch suggestions for kids who hate sandwiches:
1. Yogurt with all the fix-ins: I know, most people hear yogurt and they think breakfast or snack time. But bigger-size portions can totally be a satisfying and hearty meal. Try choosing Greek yogurt, which provides protein, topped with grated apple, walnuts, strawberries, and honey. Snag the honey packets from your local coffee shop and avoid the mess!
2. Pitas: I know what you're thinking, but pitas are NOT sandwiches. Totally different. Okay, fine, so they are sort of similar. But using a pita pocket and simply changing the shape of the sandwich may fool your child into enjoying it.
3. Raw veggies and pita chips with hummus: Slice up vegetables of different colors. This way, your little one will enjoy looking at the lunch while eating it. Most of the calories here come from the hummus, and the crunchy chips make it fun!
4. Pasta salad: Make summer last months longer by giving your child pasta salad in that lunch box. Sneak some protein in there by cubing up turkey and provolone cheese, and finish off with a variety of your favorite veggies.
5. Burrito: Use this great trick to keep a burrito toasty straight until lunch: Fill a thermos with boiling water and let it sit in there for about 10 minutes or so. Then dump out the water and replace it with the aluminum foil-wrapped burrito. You (and your child) will be pleasantly surprised when lunch is still warm hours later!
What are your kids' favorite lunches?
Image via gkdavie/Flickr

subset: commoncrawl


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Assistant Biology Professor Receives Three Years of Funding
Biology Department Assistant Professor Adam Siepielski, along with national and international collaborators, were recently awarded three years of funding from the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center (NESC) to assemble a working group to begin addressing the question: "What causes natural selection?"
The natural world is being changed by human activities at a rate faster than at any time in its recorded history. Climate and other environmental changes (i.e., habitat loss, fragmentation, introduced species) have the potential to exert devastating effects on the plants and animals that surround us. To cope with such change, species must either move to places where environmental conditions remain suitable, or adapt to deal with different conditions. In a world in which habitats are fragmented by human activity, the former is difficult, and the latter may be the only option if species are not to become extinct. It is therefore important to understand the conditions under which species will and will not be able to adapt. Adaptation is the product of two different components: selection which is imposed by the environment and the amount of genetic variation possessed by a species that is subject to this selection. Evolutionary biologists have a surprisingly poor understanding of how the environment affects the strength and form of selection. In this project the team will use existing long-term data to examine the way in which the environment determines selection, and hence predict the conditions under which species are likely to be able to adapt.


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|2011-12-30, 12:32
|Link #29
Know who you are
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Resides within the depths of Ned infested Glasgow
But not sure what to make of this, I don't think I really liked how this was "resolved" kinda expected something different, better battle of opinions and something much smarter instead of simply using old troupe of "being true to one's self".
I mean I understand the setting is school of talented students being "interesting" but the chairwoman laid down a rule and they were "supposed" to follow it yet she goes back on that and simply worries about the image of the school?
Seems it's trying to paint a picture of elite school with rules but it's fine to break them if circumstances allow it, which means it's rather pointless having the rules and it should have been established as a school for free spirited and interesting students.
If this will the be the case of following situtaions then I think I might lose alot of interest in this series.
|2011-12-30, 13:36
|Link #30
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2010
It seems more like Kagami is just fairly defeating the twintails' argument. She said it goes against the school's policy of "'learn[ing] and guid[ing] yourselves to the answer by nurturing your minds in order to mature as a person'" and Kagami proved that being a maid doesn't go against that.
The twintails then wanted to expel her because working at a maid cafe harms the school's reputation. With Kagami making her into an idol, she would have a good reputation.
It seems more like this manga will be about Kagami defending otaku culture than it being about "being yourself" to me.
|2011-12-30, 13:46
|Link #31
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: SG
So sorry about that guys..
As for why the word cutter, it's likely because her movements are too sharp..
Next chapter going to be awesome.. XD
|2012-02-04, 12:18
|Link #35
a random Indonesian otaku
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Xanadu
Age: 26
wooow... another interesting manga (should give reputation point for my friend who shared this manga to me)
errr... the main character's design is similar to Negi... nah! forget it... that girl boxer wanna-be (Kanou) reminds me of Kuroneko....
and the plot is very similar with GTO
at first, I think he will only guide female student... but in football arc, he actually can guide that Roboman as well
very promising manga... hopefully they will update more... Kagami's word about rules in chapter 2 still ringing in my head
for pairing... the first girl (girl boxer) will match with sensei perfectly... or maybe the better pair will be chairman and sensei... xD
Spoiler for ch12:
Last edited by ~Yami~; 2012-02-09 at 09:04.
|comedy, school life
|Thread Tools


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This collection of activities is based on a weekly series of space science mathematics problems distributed during the 2012-2013 school year. They were intended for students looking for additional challenges in the math and physical science... (View More) curriculum in grades 5 through 12. The problems were created to be authentic glimpses of modern science and engineering issues, often involving actual research data. The problems were designed to be one-pagers with a Teacher's Guide and Answer Key as a second page. (View Less)
This is a lesson about discovering distant planets using an Earth-based observing technique called stellar occultation. Learners will explore how a stellar occultation occurs, how planetary atmospheres can be discovered, and how planetary diameters... (View More) can be determined using actual light curves from stellar occultation events. Includes adaptations for younger students and those with visual impairments. (View Less)
Materials Cost: $1 - $5 per group of students
In this data exploration activity, students will access, download and graph authentic ozone data for four different locations on Earth. The ozone levels at the four sites are compared and analyzed, and students investigate the cause of changes in... (View More) ozone concentration over time. This lesson uses student- and citizen science-friendly microsets of authentic NASA Earth system science data from the MY NASA DATA project. It also includes related links, extensions, an online glossary and a list of related AP Environmental Science topics. (View Less)
Through the use of satellite images taken during a winter storm over the Central United States in 2000, this lesson provides the opportunity to conduct a case study of cloud coverage. Students will use satellite images to not only estimate total... (View More) cloud cover, but also the cloud cover at four different altitude levels. They will then compare their estimates to the actual data from the CERES instrument. This lesson uses student- and citizen science-friendly microsets of authentic NASA Earth system science data from the MY NASA DATA project. It also includes related links, lesson extensions, an online glossary, and data analysis tools. (View Less)
This is an activity about measuring angular size and understanding the solar and lunar proportions that result in solar eclipses. Learners will use triangles and proportions to create a shoebox eclipse simulator. They will then apply what they learn... (View More) about angular size to predict the diameter and distance of one object that can be eclipsed by another. They will also complete three journal assignments to record observations and conceptual understanding. This activity derives from those demonstrated in the NASA CONNECT television series episode, titled Path of Totality. (View Less)
Materials Cost: $1 - $5 per group of students
This is a lesson about society and space exploration. Learners will survey the public about their different opinions about space exploration and the use of robotics in space exploration. Then they will represent and analyze the results. This is... (View More) lesson 5 of 16 in the MarsBots learning module. (View Less)
Materials Cost: 1 cent - $1 per group of students
In this activity, student teams design small-scale physical models of hot and cold planets, (Venus and Mars), and learn that small scale models allow researchers to determine how much larger systems function. There is both a team challenge and... (View More) competition built into this activity. Experimental findings are then used to support a discussion of human outposts on Mars. The resource includes an experimental design guide for students as well as a handout outlining a method for the design of controlled experiments, and student data sheets. Student questions and an essay assignment are provided as classroom assessments. This is Activity A in the second module, titled "Modeling hot and cold planets," of the resource, "Earth Climate Course: What Determines a Planet's Climate?" The course aims to help students to develop an understanding of our environment as a system of human and natural processes that result in changes that occur over various space and time scales. (View Less)
Materials Cost: $10 - $20 per group of students
This is an activity about the declining strength of Earth's magnetic field. Learners will review a graph of magnetic field intensity and calculate the amount by which the field has changed its intensity in the last century, the rate of change of its... (View More) intensity, and when the field should decrease to zero strength at the current rate of change. Learners will also use evidence from relevant sources to create a conjecture on the effects on Earth of a vanished magnetic field. Access to information sources about Earth's magnetic field strength is needed for this activity. This is Activity 7 in the Exploring Magnetism on Earth teachers guide. (View Less)
This is a brief activity about the mathematics of Mars. By playing this matching card game, learners will gain knowledge of Mars mathematical facts and vocabulary. Note: Find the latest information and updates on Mars missions at the NASA Mars... (View More) Exploration website (see Related & Supplemental Resources to the right). (View Less)
Materials Cost: $1 - $5 per group of students


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Risks of Multiple PregnancySkip to the navigation
Topic Overview
There are pregnancy problems that can be more likely with a multiple pregnancy.
Risks of multiple pregnancy may include:
- Miscarriage of one or more babies (fetuses).
- Gestational diabetes.
- High blood pressure and preeclampsia.
- Anemia.
- Increased chance of cesarean delivery.
- Increased chance of giving birth before 37 weeks (preterm birth), which poses greater risks of illness, disability, and death. For more information, see the topics Preterm Labor and Premature Infant.
- Having a baby born with a birth defect that occurs when something is wrong with the genes or chromosomes. Certain genetic disorders may be more likely to occur in multiple pregnancies.
Multiple pregnancies conceived by the use of assisted reproductive technology (ART) may have a greater risk of certain pregnancy problems. Talk to your doctor about the risks related to your treatment.
Health Tools
Health Tools help you make wise health decisions or take action to improve your health.
Related Information
ByHealthwise Staff
Primary Medical Reviewer Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine
Adam Husney, MD - Family Medicine
Specialist Medical Reviewer William Gilbert, MD - Maternal and Fetal Medicine
Current as ofMarch 16, 2017
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MADRID (AP) — Thousands of people marched in Madrid on Sunday to protest plans to privatize parts of their public health care system, with some questioning the motives behind the government's actions.
The march by employees and users of the system is the year's second large "white tide" demonstration, named after the color of the medical scrubs many protesters wear. Several similar marches took place last year.
Demonstrators thronged main boulevards in the center of the Spanish capital, carrying banners saying, "Public health care should be defended, not sold off."
The Madrid region has proposed selling the management of six of 20 large public hospitals in its jurisdiction and 10 percent of its 268 public health centers. It says these reforms are needed to secure health services during Spain's economic crisis.
But protesters were skeptical.
"This measure is politically inspired and not financial," said mechanical engineer Mario Sola, 47. "If public hospitals were unsustainably loss-making as we're being told, private enterprise wouldn't be interested."
Health care and education are administered by Spain's 17 semi-autonomous regions rather than by the central government.
Many regions are struggling financially as Spain's economy has shrunk due to a double-dip recession following the 2008 implosion of the once-prosperous real estate and construction sectors.
Some regions overspent during boom years, but are now excluded from borrowing on the financial markets to repay their accumulated debts, forcing them to seek savings and even request rescue aid from the central government.
Regional health councilor Javier Fernandez-Lasquetty called the protests irresponsible and said that "everyone has their point of view, but we are all fighting to defend the same thing."
Jose Gabriel Gonzalez Martin, president of Spain's Independent Civil Service Trade Union Center, said many people's suspicions were aroused when former government health officials acquired jobs with private companies lining up to take over medical analysis functions.
"It might be purely coincidental, but some coincidences are surprising," Gonzalez said.


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There has been research done by Steven LaBerge in this area and he has concluded that for the most part, the actual time expired in reality and what the dreamer thought are about the same.
I must be odd as its not like that for me.
In my dreams I often have "no sense of time at all" or experience more time passing by then in real life eg end up thiking Ive been away from physical awareness longer then I have. eg I can have what I think is a 5-10min LD and think Ive been asleep at least that long but then wake myself up and find that only 2-3 mins at the most have passed in real life.
Also If I think of my physical body.. I can get no good awareness of how long its been asleep for or what time it is (that is unless Ive gone into a LD throu a WILD in which I didnt loose awareness at all on dream entry but my dream time is still running different to my real life time).
When im doing astral projection thou.. if Im in the normal earth astral, I can then make a very good correct guess of how much real life time has passed. I have real time awareness then.


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We have a large collection of professional licensed drivers and luxurious Mercedes and modern minibuses located across the South West ready to serve you and deliver the upmost ultimate luxury travel transport solution you so deserve.
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LMCS conference (Modeling and scientific computing software) will take place on April 4 at EDF R&D in Chatou (Yvelines, France).
The purpose of this day is to make the participants benefit from modeling and simulation experiences in various fields using free or commercial software through conferences and moments of exchange.
Claude Gomez and Jocelyn Lanusse from Scilab Enterprises will present, during Modeling and deterministic simulation theme #2, "Scilab software and Modelica" at 11.50 A.M.
Scilab, free software for numerical computation, includes Xcos module, used for modeling and simulation of dynamic systems. Using the integrated Modelica compiler, it is now possible to use Modelica language in Xcos blocks in order to simulate physical systems. The future integration of OpenModelica in Xcos will remove the current compiler limits. Finally, demonstrations of Coselica external module which is based on Modelica language will be given.


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PARIS (AP) — France's Socialist government has unveiled a plan to relax and simplify labor laws in hopes of stemming job losses that are threatening Europe's second-largest economy.
The plan now goes to the Socialist-dominated parliament, and the government is hoping it can be in place by the end of April.
France's leading employers' group and three top unions agreed to the plan in January, and it was formalized into a draft law at a Cabinet meeting Wednesday. Two hard-line unions oppose it, saying it's too generous to bosses and threatens hard-won worker rights.
The plan would offer companies in financial difficulty more flexibility in setting working hours and salaries. The government hopes that will help businesses stay afloat, instead of shutting down factories or moving production to countries with cheaper labor.


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A&E; Networks has release a first look promo for its upcoming "Bonnie & Clyde" that shows the gun-toting duo falling in love, robbing banks and getting sexy. All to the tune, "Bang, Bang, My Baby Shot Me Down."
The four-hour miniseries will air at 8 p.m. CT Dec. 8-9 simultaneously on Lifetime, A&E; and History. Emile Hirsch and Holliday Grainger star as Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker, the outlaws who terrorized the Midwest and South during the Depression. Oddly, the promo says "introducing Holliday Grainger," even though she has "The Borgias" and other credits to her name.
Holly Hunter plays Bonnie's mother, Emma Parker, and William Hurt stars as Frank Hamer, the Texas Ranger pursuing the Barrow gang. Other cast members include Sarah Hyland as Blanche Barrow, Clyde's sister-in-law; Lane Garrison as Clyde's brother Buck; Elizabeth Reaser as P.J. Lane, a writer tracking the gang; Austin Hebert as Ted Hinton, another lawman after the gang; and Dale Dickey as Cummie Barrow, Clyde's mother.
From A&E;: Bonnie & Clyde retells the fascinating tale of the legendary couple whose crime spree enraptured the American public. Rumored to have a sixth-sense to see events before they happened, Barrow was always able to stay one step ahead of the law as they escaped capture time and again. His one blind spot was Parker, who was intent on becoming famous and fed on the alluring media attention, pushing Barrow to commit riskier and more dangerous crimes to generate bigger headlines and make them the most famous criminals of the modern era.
Want more? Discuss this article and others on Show Patrol's Facebook page.


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Beekeepers, vintners rediscover nectar of the gods
September 3, 2013
GROTON, Vt. — Once called the nectar of the gods, the oldest fermented beverage is seeing a renaissance.
Beekeepers and vintners are rediscovering mead, an alcoholic drink made of fermented honey and water. These days, fruits, spices and even carbonation are being added for distinct flavors that aren't a far cry from the beverage favored by the Vikings and ancient Greeks and during the Middle Ages.
"People have been drinking fermented beverages for a couple thousand years so it's just an extension of that," said Mark Simakaski, who with his wife made his first batch while in the Peace Corps in Paraguay and launched a meadery called Artesano in Vermont in 2008.
Mead making has doubled in the last five years, said Chris Webber, president of the American Mead Makers Association, which estimates there are 200 to 250 mead makers in the U.S.
Some of the new mead makers are beekeepers looking to find other ways to sell their honey. Others are former craft beer brewers.
"It is of growing interest," said Tim Tucker, vice president of the American Beekeeping Federation, which has about 1,300 members, many of whom make mead.
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There's even an international mead competition each year in Boulder, Colo.
David Myers, owner of Redstone Meadery in Boulder, attributes the growth in mead to more demand for craft beverages and locally made foods — from small batch craft beers to ciders and artisanal wines.
"I think there's a movement in the American drinking culture for smaller craft artisanal mentality," said Myers, whose business — one of the larger mead producers in the country — is approaching $1 million in sales.
Redstone Meadery, which includes traditional meads and carbonated nectars, is now sold in 32 states.
Demand for local food has been a bonus for Artesano, which sells its products in 85 stores and restaurants around the state and sells out of its 20,000 bottles every year.
"It would be easy just to expand and expand and expand because there's a demand for it, but I don't want to," Simakaski said.
In the back of a renovated old general store in Groton, Simakaski and his wife, Nichole Wolfgang, ferment honey and water in 250-gallon tanks. They may add fruit or spices or both, and then age it for at least a year. The latest offerings include a bourbon barrel aged, a blueberry and a chili cinnamon.
"The mead's amazing because it's not super sweet and being made of honey I would have thought it would be really sweet," said Stephanie Parent, 40, Lyndonville, Vt., who stopped in with a friend for a tasting and music.
Simakaski and Wolfgang used their own honey the first year but now buy from two Vermont beekeepers.
"This year, I'll ferment about 4 tons of honey, so it's a lot. That's like the job of two full beekeepers to make that much," he said.
Historically, the choice of mead as a beverage went by the wayside as grapes and grains became cheaper to produce. But now it's back, out of the Dark Ages.
"Good enough for Zeus, good enough for you" is one of the taglines at Redstone Meadery.


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I just received a book called "The Japanese Skincare Revolution- How to Have the Most Beautiful Skin of Your Life- At Any Age", by Chizu Saeki.
Saeki is "a practicing esthetician and Japan's most revered beauty advisor" and this book is the distillation of her most essential techniques.
There are lots of cool things in it, like face massage techniques, quick fix spa secrets, as well as methods to diagnose your skincare needs.
I love this random tidbit. Hold a mirror above your head and look up. This is what your face looked like 5 years ago. Hold the mirror below your face and look down. This is what you're going to look like 5 years from now. (Ahhh! Please God, no.)
Thankfully, I'm short, so I often look up at others, so they get my 5 years ago face. (So take that tall, leggy people.)
The following was my favorite tip. It involves using Saran Wrap to create a facial sauna.
Why is this photo on a stock photo website????
I improvised on her method a bit. Here's my version. I applied face cream. Put a piece of Saran Wrap over my face. Poked holes where my mouth and nose were. (I didn't poke holes where my eyes were, because I was afraid I would poke my eyes out and I could see through the plastic anyway.)
I wore the mask while blow drying my hair, to maximize the sauna effect.
15 minutes later, I peeled the plastic off.
It took a few minutes for the excess moisture to evaporate, but once it did, I had a little, post-sauna, healthy, detoxed, dewy complexion going on.
I swear I looked a few years younger (and it wasn't just a hallucination, from having just cooked my face in Saran Wrap).
The youthful look lasted all day. The guy at the pizza place even called me "Miss", which never happens any more.
I could be wearing pigtails and skipping down the street, sucking a lollipop and people would still call me "ma'am", so this was a big deal for me.
So from now on, I'm blow drying my hair with Saran Wrap over my face. (Never thought I would utter those words.) Now I'm wondering if I can do a full body sauna with dry cleaning bags. (Joke. I know they're not a toy.)
Don't forget to check out the book.


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羅馬 Family House
Via Bixio 72
注意: 確保所提供的相片準確與否,是酒店集團或個別酒店的責任。Travellerspoint並不為酒店不準確的相片負責。
Family House is located in the old imperial Rome, within walking distance of many of the most important places of the city including the beautiful Basilica of St. Mary Major and St. Giovanni in Laterano, the Colosseum, the Forum and the Opera House. The Family House is in close proximity from the Central Railway Station Rome Termini.
With few subway stops you can reach the shopping centre on Via Veneto, Via Condotti and Spanish.
The hotel, managed by a friendly and professional staff at your service 24 hours a day, offers a warm and comfortable at an affordable price.
Provision on five floors overlooking a courtyard open, with room single, double, triple and quadruple all with TV, air conditioning, heating and private bathroom with shower room. Furthermore, some rooms have a balcony or terrace. The hotel does not have a lift and the entrance and directly on the road.
Hotel Family House offered as standard equipment cabinet, desk, bed or, on request, two single beds, set of towels for each guest (the change of linen every 3 days), hairdryer. Daily maid.
The breakfast is consumed from 7.30 to 9.30 in the morning at a bar nearby.
Supermarket nearby.
Check-In 14 hours - Check-Out hour 10.30
Airport luggage.
I like the following Credit Cards: VISA - MASTERCARD - MAESTRO - JCB - PAY - AMERICAN EXPRESS.
Please note that we will check the validity of the credit card through a pre-authorization.
Cancellation policy: 72 Hours.
你住過這里嗎? 寫一篇評論
注意: 確保所提供的相片準確與否,是酒店集團或個別酒店的責任。Travellerspoint並不為酒店不準確的相片負責。


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Overall impression: I thought Boca Raton had enough lovely white-tablecloth Italian restaurants. But in January, Segreto opened its doors. What sets Segreto apart from similar restaurants is executive chef and partner Rino Vesuvio's decades-long history in South Florida. For 25 years, his Vesuvio's in Pompano Beach served the likes of Billy Joel and Mariah Carey. I hope he'll one day enjoy the same success in Boca, but at this point in its short life, the restaurant still seems to be in search of an audience. We were one of two parties dining on a Sunday night. It deserves to be busier because much of what's served is very good.
Ambience: While the menu and service may be Old World, the decor is surprisingly hip. Even the framed black-and-white photographs of Italy look new. Wood-paneled walls and elegant ceiling fixtures and sconces complete the picture. Along with a good-size dining room and a bar area, a private room offers seating for up to 40.
Starters: Dinner starts with complimentary bruschetta, zucchini and samples of Parmigiano-Reggiano from the oversize wheel. Antipasto Segreto ($12) lengthens the antipasto course. It's a platter for four with grilled vegetables, prosciutto and fresh mozzarella. Spiedini alla Romana ($12) was good, but I like this dish of bread stuffed with mozzarella with a bit of anchovy. Vongole oreganate ($12) features eight baked clams with seasoned bread crumbs.
Entree excellence: The classic Italian menu has sections devoted to pasta, fish, meat and poultry. All of Italy and American-style Italian is represented. Four of us shared four oversize lobster ravioli ($28) in a light tomato-cream sauce. They were truly stuffed with lobster. I was disappointed with chicken scarpariello ($24), because it didn't have any pickled peppers. The sausage was mild, and the overcooked chicken was cut into bone-in cubes that made it hard to determine if they came from the breast or thigh. Vitello parmigiana ($28) started with a veal chop on the bone that was pounded thin, but then overly breaded. It tasted greasy and soggy with watery tomato sauce. A generous portion of rack of lamb with rosemary and merlot sauce ($36) was very good. So, too, was branzino ($39), which was filleted table-side. You have to love this Old World touch.
Service: What a pleasure to be served by well-seasoned, professional staff — so rare these days.
Sweet! Perhaps dining on a Sunday isn't always a good idea. The ricotta cheesecake ($9) was a bit on the dry side. Chocolate Vesuvio cake ($9) had the same problem.
Liquid assets: Nicely chosen wine list with plenty of economical, by-the-glass choices.
email@example.com or 954-356-4632. Read his blog at SouthFlorida.com/sup and follow him on Twitter at @FloridaEats
39 SE First Ave., Boca Raton
561-465-2888, SegretoRestaurant.com
Cuisine: Italian
Cost: Expensive-very expensive
Hours: Dinner Tuesday-Sunday
Reservations: Suggested
Credit cards: All major
Bar: Full service
Sound level: Conversational
Outside smoking: Yes
For kids: Highchairs, menu items on request
Wheelchair accessible: Yes
Parking: Valet on Friday and Saturday


text:
Maybe it's because we need a British PBS series to hold us over until Downton Abbey is back, but we can't wait to see Call the Midwife, debuting this Sunday, September 30, at 8pm EST. The series, already a huge hit in the UK, centers around 1950s East London, where nuns also served as midwives.
Plus: Would You Want a Male Midwife?
Check out the behind-the-scenes clip about working with real-life newborns—and what has grown men on the set wiping away tears. Then tell us: will you tune in? Leave a comment.
Watch Behind the Scenes - Working with Babies on PBS. See more from Call the Midwife.


text:
Patriot Games (US - BD)
Gabe begins to practice his Jack Ryan finger pointing with master Harry Ford
We're back with more Jack Ryan versus terrorist action. This time Jackie's played by a gruff and grimacy Harrison Ford, and instead of malevolent Cold War Ruskies he's fighting the I.R.A., or more specifically an ultra-violent sub-faction of the I.R.A. When Ryan shoots and kills the brother of one of the faction's leaders (played with angsty gusto by Sean Bean) during a political assassination, his family becomes an unlikely target. Once again, our hesitant hero must go forth into the breach and do the right thing.
Patriot Games is my personal favourite among the gracefully aging Jack Ryan series. The first three films in the series— Hunt For Red October, Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger—represents the best of a brand of thriller that came out of the post-Desert Storm era, when war and terrorism weren't quite so close to our doorsteps. These films (along with others, most produced by Jerry Bruckheimer) were slicker then the gritty political thrillers of the '60s and '70s, and less polarizingly violent than those of the '80s. These days that whole September 11th thing has changed the model, and the way audiences look at these films, so in a roundabout way Patriot Games might actually represent the 'apex' of the type—sort of.
There isn't much negative to say about Patriot Games beyond its occasionally episodic and convoluted plot, both things that come with the Tom Clancy political thriller territory. Overall I'd say it's the best of the Clancy films because it has the strongest story, and though I'm sure there are a whole lot of factual inaccuracies in the text, the whole thing feels very genuine. Director Phillip Noyce has a lot of good stuff to work with, and his generally workman like style crafts a tight and unassuming film. There isn't a lot of flash, but Noyce has a really effective grasp of visual storytelling that tells a rather technically detailed tale without too many words or confusion. Noyce's one fully brilliant sequence is the film's biggest action scene, one where SAS takes out an entire terrorist camp. The brilliance is the way the scene is shown, which is all in satellite infrared, creating an eerie, almost sad scene from what one would expect to be a noisy and exciting one.
I tease Ford's super-serious finger pointing, but I also think this is some of his best work. Unfortunately the character ended up defining his entire career for years (with the exception of The Fugitive, which I'd call his last great roll), and he's since become 'that grouchy old dude who use to be cool'. Sean Bean's tumultuous Sean Miller is an effectively pitiable villain, but just like Ford, the popularity of the roll was a mixed blessing, because he found himself playing similar bad guys for the next decade (even Boromir is an angst-ridden pseudo villain). The supporting cast is refreshingly even-handed. There aren't a lot of hams in this sandwich, though the flavour's a bit on the archetype side.
Just like Red October, there isn't a lot of obvious improvement over the DVD release. The general details are moderately sharp, but there's some obvious middle and background detail loss, including blur and line doubling. There is some edge enhancement, but general compression artefacts are minimal. Colours are slightly duller then expect, and skin tones are a bit on the red side. Black levels are generally deep, with a twinge of noise, and contrast is smooth and realistic. I'd probably say this is the weakest of all the Jack Ryan collection transfers, but not by a very blatant margin.
Patriot Games doesn't share a whole lot of specific continuity with Red October, but composer James Horner continues the first film's use of the traditional music of the 'villain's' culture. Red October has a distinct Russian influence, and Patriot Games carries an Irish influence. The suspense cues are a little overdone by today's standards, but work very well. This Dolby TrueHD track isn't a huge improvement on the original DVD release, but it's generally louder, and a little wider in breadth. The dialogue is even, clear and centred, and the lively stereo channels don't over run it. Most of the big surround moments are devoted to the score, as the action is generally not of the bombastic type, but I found myself consistently impressed by incidental noise like passing cars.
'Patriot Game Up Close' is a decent mini-doc that was also available on the special edition DVD release. The director, producer, screenwriter, and some of the actors are all interviewed, and they take us smoothly through the process of making the film, including the hiring of Ford after Alec Baldwin left the project, Ford's input into the project, and the filming of the bigger action scenes. The featurette features behind the scenes footage and photos, is presented in anamorphic, standard definition, and runs about twenty-five minutes.
The only other extra is an HD version of the original trailer.
I still hesitate to call Patriot Games a classic, but I can't deny how invigoratingly entertaining it is. I've seen it about a million times thanks to a healthy weekend television rotation (seriously, it's on like, every Sunday), but I rarely take the time to think about it. In fact, I'm pretty sure just about everyone reading this Blu-ray review has also seen the film on television at one time or another, and you probably skipped to the A/V and extra parts of my review. Or maybe you skipped to this bit, in which case I say again: the A/V is incredibly average, and the extras are nothing new.
* Note: The images on this page are not representative of the Blu-ray release.
Review by Gabriel Powers
YlowBstard66 Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Canada Posts: 661
This is my favorite installment in the Jack Ryan franchise... followed closely by Red October.
Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian
Disc Details
Release Date: 29th July 2008
Discs: 1
Disc Type: Blu-ray Disc
RCE: No
Video: 1080p
Aspect: 2.35:1
Anamorphic: No
Colour: Yes
Audio: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 English, Dolby Digital 5.1 French, Dolby Digital 5.1 Spanish
Subtitles: English SDH, English, French, Spanish, Portuguese
Extras: Making of Featurette, Trailer
Easter Egg: No
Feature Details
Director: Phillip Noyce
Cast: arrison Ford, Anne Archer, Patrick Bergin, Sean Bean, Thora Birch, James Fox, James Earl Jones, Richard Harris
Length: 116 minutes
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text:
Sheriff: 14-Year-Old Was Mother Of Dead Newborn
BUTTERFIELD (AP) - Watonwan County authorities have confirmed that a 14-year-old girl was the mother of a newborn found dead at a home in Butterfield.
The sheriff's office says the teenager had delivered the baby at the home in southern Minnesota within a few hours of calling 911.
Authorities were called at 5:45 p.m. Friday about an unresponsive newborn in Butterfield. The Watonwan County medical examiner pronounced the baby girl dead at the scene.
The 14-year-old girl was taken from the same lower-level duplex apartment to a hospital in St. James, then transferred to a hospital in Mankato. Chief Deputy Jeremy Nachreiner has said her condition was not life-threatening.
The cause of death of the newborn is still unknown. No arrests have been made.
Butterfield is about 45 miles southwest of Mankato.


text:
- Ink & Toner
- >
- Epson
- >
Epson 125 Black Ink Cartridge (T125120)
Item #: 901-T125120
Model #: T125120-S
Brand: Epson
$17.29 Each
One-Time Purchase
Epson 125 Cyan Ink Cartridge (T125220) Epson 125 Magenta Ink Cartridge (T125320) Epson 125 Black Ink Cartridge (T125120) EPSON® 125 T125520 Ink Cartridge, Cyan, Yellow, Magenta, Multi-pack (3 cart per pack) Epson 125 Yellow Ink Cartridge (T125420) EPSON® 125 Standard-Capacity DURABrite Ultra Black Ink, Multi-pack (2 cart per pack) EPSON® T125120-BCS Standard-Capacity Black and Color Ink Cartridge Multi-pack (4 cart per pack)
Epson 125 Black Ink Cartridge (T125120), Standard Yield fast-drying, long-lasting ink delivers vivid, true-to-life photos and laser-sharp text Epson 125 Black ink cartridge is formulated to work with NX125/NX127/NX130/NX230/NX420/NX530/NX625 stylus, 320/323/325/520 WorkForce models and yields up to 265 pages. Cartridge offers the best image quality and reliable printing.
- Only original Epson 125 Ink Cartridges are engineered with the latest fade-resistant technology to last longer than bargain brand cartridges
- Epson ink cartridges dry instantly for smudge resistant prints every time
- Epson 125 Ink Cartridges are specially formulated to deliver photographic-quality prints and laser-sharp text
- Acid-free
- Excellent for double-sided printing, because DURABrite Ultra ink doesn't bleed through
- Package type: OEM, each
- Compatible with: Epson WorkForce 320, Epson WorkForce 323, Epson WorkForce 325, Epson WorkForce 435
- Compatible with: Epson Stylus NX125, Epson Stylus NX127, Epson Stylus NX130, Epson Stylus NX230, Epson Stylus NX330, Epson Stylus NX420
- Quick drying for worry free handling of photos
- Incredible print quality for everyday text documents, plain paper and photo printing on glossy papers
|Yield Type : Standard
|Cartridge Series : Epson 125
|Page Yield (Up to) : 225
|Ink/Toner Color : Midnight Black
|Ink/Toner Pack Size : 1/Pack
|Ink/Toner Cartridge Type : Original
|Supply Type : Ink
|Wide Format Compatibility : No
|High Yield : No
|Multipack : No
|Brand : Epson
|Weight : 0.11 lbs. per Each
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text:
Managed by Gary Koh, CEO of Genesis Speaker and amplifier company, this is the forum to discuss, ask questions and review Genesis products.
Series 2 Midrange
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text:
Carrie's Sweet and Natural Kitchen
Like this entry? Favorite it below!
- Name:
- Carrie
- Location:
- Brooklyn, NY
- Square Feet:
- 116
- Division:
- Rent
- What makes your small kitchen so cool:
- I've cooked in my fair share of, err, let's call them, kitchens with limitations. This one definitely has its limitations, note the extra tiny oven, but the layout makes sense - everything kind of has its place. (As long as I keep my kitchen gadget and cookbook habits under control)
- Describe a challenge you've overcome or a smart resource you've found for your kitchen.:
- I don't know whether it took this kitchen to show me, but pans are really big. I mean, like extremely wide. On what shelf do 12' pans fit? None. So, we suspended ours from a railing that has proved super useful for storing other awkwardly long items too - like my apron, tongs, skimmers, honing steel and giant whisk.
- What's your favorite meal to cook here?:
- Hardest question in the world. It changes seasonally, but if I'm pressed to choose, my favorite meal to cook is anything that includes homemade pasta.


text:
At a mere 1375g, the Dillinger virtually launches you over the steepest and snowiest climbs. When you need to roll fast, tightly spaced center treads do not let Dillinger's unparalleled traction get in the way.
|Manufacturer's Part Number
|Vendor Number
|120 tpi / Custom Studdable / 26 x 4.8
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These tires rock. Last month we received a lot of snow,and now it's melting and turned to ice. Very difficult riding on my regular winter tires so I pulled the plug on a pair of the studded Dillinger 5's and with only two rides on them I'm blown away with the confidence they've given me.I'm riding sheets of sheer ice that I wouldn't be able to walk on. I weigh about 225lbs and I'm currently running them at 7 psi and they roll easily. I haven't tried them in deep snow though. I thought about buying a set of these tires for a while now,but held back due to the (expensive) price.I've heard it said that they are cheaper than a hospital visit from falling.I doubt that my two rides I've had on the Dillingers would have been as much fun on my old tires. Very good tires.
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text:
The U.S. Northeast started digging out on Sunday after a blizzard dumped up to 40 inches (1 meter) of snow with hurricane force winds, killing at least nine people and leaving hundreds of thousands without power.
New York City trucks plowed through residential streets, piling snow even higher at the edges and leaving thousands of motorists to dig their buried vehicles out from mountains of snow.
"I give up," Giovanni Marchenna, 52, of Manhattan said with a laugh.
"Looks like I'll be taking the subway to work until the snow melts," he added, noting he spent more than an hour shoveling snow.
On Monday, additional severe weather may bring more misery, with freezing rain and more snow predicted that would make the trip home for evening commuters even more difficult.
"It will make it a little more hazardous and a little more slick on the roads," said Kenneth James, a National Weather Service meteorologist based in Maryland.
In Boston, Mayor Tom Menino canceled school on Monday after touring neighborhoods throughout the city, where 2 feet of snow fell.
"Our No. 1 priority today is getting to the side streets," he said, saying it was the fifth-deepest snowfall ever in the city.


text:
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece's parliament late Monday approved an emergency bill ratifying dozens of conditions set by bailout lenders, from tougher budget oversight rules to pay scales for spies.
Lawmakers voted 166-123 to in favor of the measures provisionally implemented by Cabinet decision late last year so that Greece could secure a massive new round of emergency loans.
The Democratic Left, a junior partner in the conservative-led coalition government, voted against measures to cut benefits for the long-term unemployed and pensioners under age 65, but the reforms were approved by a narrow majority.
Last month, European rescue lenders approved new installments worth €49.1 billion ($65.5 billion), with €34.3 billion ($45.76 billion) paid out days later and the rest to be transferred to Greece by March. But many of conditions were introduced provisionally and would have expired in 40 days without parliamentary approval.
Greece's economy is being kept afloat by international rescue loans from other eurozone members and the International Monetary Fund, which were granted on condition that the country impose spending cuts and other austerity measures. As Greece has imposed the measures, unemployment and poverty rates have shot up.
Included in the new bill are luxury taxes imposed on owners of large cars, pleasure boats, swimming pools and private jets. The Finance Ministry was also handed greater powers in controlling spending by local government and other government ministries.
Deputy Finance Minister Christos Staikouras argued that the tougher rules would spare ordinary Greeks more austerity measures. "These measures are a concerted and concise framework ... of fiscal rules and methods to tidy up the state and its finances. This tidying up effort is the cornerstone of the necessary reorganization of the country and all its systems," he told parliament.
Opposition parties argued that the government was merely rubber-stamping demands by rescue lenders and rushing them through parliament to avoid a thorough debate and limit dissent among its own lawmakers.
"You come here and pass these (measures) like we're a factory, a washing machine of sin to mortgage the future of this country," said Panagiotis Lafazanis, parliamentary spokesman for the leftist main opposition party, Syriza. "These measures have no legitimacy and will fall flat."
AP Television's Theodora Tongas contributed.


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text:
Governor inks 53 House and Senate bills.
The governor signed 53 more House and Senate bills Tuesday, including three measures pertaining to state employee wages and public officials' salaries, various state budget bills, and several miscellaneous pieces of legislation.
Visitation Modification
Court orders concerning child visitation will be required by Senate Bill 1612 to contain a provision stipulating that the custodial parent has "a duty to facilitate" visitation of a minor child with the non-custodial parent.
The legislation provides that whenever a motion for enforcement of visitation rights is filed with the court, the judge can award reasonable attorney fees and court costs to the prevailing party. The bill also repeals an existing requirement that the court order mediation whenever a motion is filed for enforcement of visitation rights.
"Unfortunately, the visitation rights of law-abiding noncustodial parents are continually trampled because they simply can't afford the court costs of taking the custodial parent to court after every visitation violation," said Sen. Ron Sharp, principal author of the measure. "This bill keeps noncustodial parents from having to go through the hassle and expense of getting a lawyer when the custody schedule isn't upheld by the custodial parent. They can simply fill out a form at the courthouse, detailing the visitation schedule violations, and the court will re-evaluate the visitation schedule and punish the violator, if need be."
Rep. Jon Echols, a family law attorney who was the House sponsor of SB 1612, said violations of court-ordered visitation by custodial parents are growing at an alarming rate, but noncustodial parents typically cannot afford to fight for their rights. He also said that a majority of district attorneys in Oklahoma have a division dedicated to securing child-support payments from noncustodial parents, so he's pleased to see more attention focused on protecting the visitation rights of noncustodial parents.
"Currently, if a noncustodial parent is late on child support, they can face fines and jail time; our state takes not paying child support very seriously," Echols said. "But we need to be just as serious about custodial parents obeying court orders and allowing the other parent to see their children. A common problem we see is that noncustodial parents, after having paid all of their child support and other support obligations, usually can't afford an attorney to fight for their visitation rights."
SB 1612 allows a noncustodial parent to directly file a claim with the district court, similar to completing a small-claims form. The court will then decide whether an attorney is necessary to restore the visitation rights. The legislation provides a template of the form that noncustodial parents can use.
The governor signed the bill and it goes into effect Nov. 1.
Severing Parental Rights
State statutes pertaining to the termination of a parent's child-custody rights will be modified by House Bill 2667, which the governor signed into law effective Nov. 1.
The district attorney will be required by HB 2667 to seek termination of parental rights if the parent is convicted of permitting a child to participate in pornography; rape; lewd molestation of a child under the age of 16; child abuse or neglect; causing the death of a child as a result of physical or sexual abuse or chronic abuse or chronic neglect of the child; murder or voluntary manslaughter of the child's parent; and other crimes.
The new law further requires the DA to file a motion for termination of parental rights within 90 days after implementation of an individualized service plan ordered by the court if the parent has made "no measurable progress" in correcting the conditions that caused the child to be adjudicated deprived. There is no specific time limit under existing law.
Tax Break for Foster Parents
All foster parents will be accorded a $5,000 income-tax exemption as compensation for providing care for foster children, under Senate Bill 1621.
Existing law authorizes a $2,500 deduction for single foster parents and $5,000 for a married foster couple filing jointly. The deduction for married couples filing their income taxes separately will remain at $2,500.
"We need more foster parents in Oklahoma," said Rep. Pat Ownbey, House sponsor of the measure. "Anything we can do to bolster foster parents is good for Oklahoma's child welfare system."
The bill, which was co-authored by Rep. Mike Shelton, coasted through the House and the Senate unopposed and was signed Tuesday by the governor.
DOC Emergency Alert System
The director of the state Corrections Department is empowered by House Bill 2779 to establish, in conjunction with the Information Services Division of the state Office of Management and Enterprise Services, an emergency alert notification system.
The system will notify the public in an emergency such as a prisoner escape or an inmate riot.
According to the department, the cost of the notification system will be minimal, said Rep. James Lockhart, principal author of the legislation.
The governor signed the bill and it goes into effect Nov. 1.
Horse Racing Commission Won't Be Afoot
House Bill 2531 authorizes the executive director of the state Horse Racing Commission to purchase motor vehicles, uniforms and equipment for agency personnel.
The commission has an investigative team of certified officers whose duties are to monitor state race tracks, Rep. Kay Floyd related. Agency personnel have had to use vehicles from the state motor pool and have had to furnish their own equipment, she said.
The agency probably will buy some surplus vehicles "so their officers can do their jobs without being conspicuous," said Floyd, principal author of the legislation.
The governor signed the bill Tuesday and it goes into effect Nov. 1.
Rest in Pieces
Crushers – anyone engaged in the business of crushing or shredding motor vehicles or trailers – will be regulated by House Bill 1516, which the governor signed into law effective Nov. 1.
Rep. Mike Jackson, principal author of the measure, said it is intended to deter fly-by-night operators who skirt the rules. House Democratic Leader Scott Inman and Reps. Emily Virgin, Ben Sherrer, Joe Dorman, Seneca Scott, Kevin Matthews and Kay Floyd all signed on as co-authors of the legislation.
The bill mandates that anyone who intends to operate a crusher business in Oklahoma must obtain a license from the Oklahoma Used Motor Vehicle and Parts Commission and post a $25,000 surety bond. Until now, crushers have been unregulated in Oklahoma, Jackson said.
A licensed scrap-metal dealer who crushes vehicles at his business location will be exempt from the licensing requirement, but any crusher who is an independent contractor employed to crush vehicles for a scrap-metal dealer won't be exempt.
To obtain a crusher license an applicant must "be of good moral character" and have net assets of at least $25,000.
The new law mandates that before a crusher can buy a car or truck or trailer, the seller must provide proof of ownership, such as a certificate of title "that shows no outstanding liens" or a bill of sale from the owner. It will be illegal for a crusher to accept any vehicle from a minor or to buy a vehicle from anyone unable to provide verification of identity.
Within three days of the purchase of any vehicle, a crusher must submit a report to the local law enforcement agency of the town in which the crusher is located or temporarily operating. The report must include:
§ the name, address and telephone number of the crusher;
§ the name, address, race, sex, weight, height, date of birth and identifying number of the seller, as verified by either a state-issued ID card, driver's license or federal government ID card, or by readable fingerprint of the right or left index finger on the purchase document to be retained in the records of the crusher; and
§ a description of the vehicle, the manufacturer of the vehicle, the vehicle identification number, and the date and time of the purchase of the vehicle.
Furthermore, a crusher will be required to hold a vehicle or trailer "in the state and condition in which it was purchased" for at least three days after submitting that report, before the vehicle or trailer can be crushed or dismantled.
A crusher operating without a license, or disposing of a vehicle "which the person knows to be subject to an outstanding lien," can be fined up to $1,000 and/or confined in a county jail for up to six months.
Compacting or disassembling a vehicle known to be stolen will constitute a felony crime.
Selling a vehicle or trailer to a crusher by using a fake ID, or making a false declaration of ownership or lien status, will be a felony offense. A violator can be confined in prison for up to five years or locked in a county jail for up to one year, and/or fined as much as $1,000.
Identifying Sources of Campaign Literature
Legislation that repeals a law pertaining to anonymous campaign literature was signed by the governor and goes into effect Dec. 31.
House Bill 2199 deletes from state statutes a law that decrees, "It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, corporation, partnership, organization or association to cause to be broadcast, written, printed, posted or distributed" a political statement, circular, poster or advertisement that is designed to influence voters "unless there appears in a conspicuous place" either the name and address of the person or of the president, chairman or organization that paid for the communication. A violation is deemed to be a misdemeanor offense.
The existing requirement does not pertain to bumper stickers, pins, buttons and other small items "upon which the required information cannot be conveniently printed." Nor does it apply to skywriting, water towers, or other means of displaying political messages in such a nature that inclusion of the required information would be "impractical."
The statute will be supplanted by state Ethics Commission rules that go into effect next January.
The "Identification of Funding and Authorizing Sources" rules will require material issued by political parties and candidate committees to identify the sources of those materials. Independent and electioneering communications will be required to include the name, street address and telephone number of the person(s) paying for those messages. Violators will be subject to "substantial" fines, Ethics Commission Executive Director Lee Slater said.
Active Duty Personnel Only
Senate Bill 1624 clarifies that the reduced ($15) registration fee for vehicles owned by members of the armed forces is limited to active duty personnel.
Beneficiaries of the concession include active-duty members of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force, the Reserve Corps of the Armed Forces, and the Oklahoma National Guard or their spouses assigned to duty in Oklahoma.
SB 1624 spells out that persons ineligible for the lower registration fee include retired members of the armed forces, inactive members of the Reserve Corps, inactive members of the Oklahoma National Guard, "and other members and former members of the armed forces of the United States who are not on active duty."
The bill was approved Tuesday by the governor.
Child Abuse Investigators Authorized
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation is authorized by Senate Bill 639 to hire up to eight special agents to probe child abuse cases. Currently the agency has one Child Abuse Response Team investigator and a CART forensic interviewer, records reflect.
"We don't have enough investigators" to probe the "huge amount" of child abuse occurring in Oklahoma, OSBI Public Information Officer Jessica Brown said.
SB 639 outlines the qualifications for the investigators. Each one will be required to:
Ÿ have at least three years of experience as a criminal investigator;
Ÿ be certified by the Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training as a law enforcement officer;
Ÿ possess a bachelor's degree;
Ÿ be experienced in conducting forensic interviews of children who have been abused physically or sexually;
Ÿ have experience testifying in child abuse cases; and
Ÿ have completed at least 100 hours of education or training in forensic interviewing of a child.
The OSBI estimates the additional cost of hiring six more agents and providing them with vehicles and other law-enforcement equipment at approximately $596,000. The Legislature appropriated $435,000 to the agency to hire four more CART agents, but the other $161,000 was not allocated, records indicate.
SB 639 passed both the House and the Senate unopposed and was signed Tuesday by the governor.
Justifiable Homicide
House Bill 3510 clarifies the circumstances when homicide is legally permissible.
State law previously authorized an individual to resort to deadly force in self-defense or in defense of "his or her husband, wife, parent, child, master, mistress, or servant…"
HB 3510 states that deadly force is justifiable when the person exercising it "reasonably believes" it is necessary to prevent "death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another or to terminate or prevent the commission of a forcible felony." The legislation defines "forcible felony" as any felony crime that involves "the use or threat of physical force or violence against any person."
The bill went into effect immediately with the governor's signature on Tuesday.
HB 3510 is identical to House Bill 2539, which was among 15 measures the governor vetoed on April 29.
"Current law is not substantively changed" by HB 2539, the governor wrote in her veto message. "Under current law, the defense of another is currently available to any person using reasonable force in aid or defense of any other person who is about to be injured during the commission of any crime. This bill makes no substantive change to current law and passage of this bill serves no significant interest of the citizens of the State of Oklahoma."
House Democrats were irked that instead of voting to override the Republican governor's veto, their GOP colleagues opted to simply copy duplicate language into another bill. In addition, Rep. Kevin Matthews asserted that a Republican majority which consistently embraces right-to-life, anti-abortion legislation conversely supports license-to-kill measure such as HBs 3510/2539.
Money Laundering Penalty Modified
The penalty for money laundering is modified by Senate Bill 1371, which the governor signed.
Under existing law, a violation is charged as a felony, punished by two to 10 years' imprisonment. SB 1371 establishes the penalty according to the value of the proceeds or the item; it ranges from a misdemeanor if the value is $2,500 or less, to a felony if the violation involves more than $2,500. The maximum prison sentence for a felony is doubled to 20 years.
The potential fiscal impact of the proposal will depend upon the number of convictions, analysts reported. "Every person convicted and sentenced to the custody of the Department of Corrections will cost the state approximately $49 per day for each day of incarceration," House members were informed.
Insurance 'Pool' Dissolved
The state's high-risk health insurance pool created in 1995 is abolished by House Bill 3282. "It's no longer needed because of Obamacare," said Rep. Glen Mulready, principal author of the proposal. "No such coverage will be available with an effective date after July 1, 2014," the bill decrees.
The measure went into effect immediately with the governor's signature Tuesday.
House Bill 3293 directs the Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES) to "study and establish a performance evaluation system" that will "effectively link pay and performance while taking into consideration both the relativity of the position to market and the performance of the employee." The legislation gives the Human Capital Resource Division of OMES authority to set pay structures and determine whether targeted pay-band adjustments are necessary.
The legislation establishes the "State Employee Compensation Program" to "attract, retain and reward quality employees with competitive total compensation based on relevant labor markets." OMES will be responsible for coordinating the compensation program, which will establish pay structures with a goal of compensating state employees at a level of at least 90% of salaries for comparable private-sector positions.
Rep. Leslie Osborn, the author of HB 3293, said it will take four years to gradually bring all state employees up to that 90% threshold.
In a related matter, the governor also signed Senate Bill 2131, which identifies 7,714 of the state's lowest-paid state employees who will receive pay increases this year that average $2,592.68 each.
State Officials' Pay Raise Scuttled
Pay scales for statewide elected officials were severed from judicial salaries by House Joint Resolution 1096, which the governor signed Tuesday.
Under existing state law, the governor is paid the same salary as the chief justice of the state Supreme Court, and the paychecks of other elected state officials are pegged to those of other members of the judiciary. Salaries of judges and statewide elected officials alike have not increased since 2006.
Judicial salaries are recommended every two years by the Board on Judicial Compensation and go into effect unless they are rejected by the Legislature. Since judicial salaries have not increased since 2006, the board last September recommended 12% raises for state judges.
Under HJR 1096, the salaries of the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, the three Corporation Commissioners, the State Treasurer, the State Auditor and Inspector, the State Insurance Commissioner and the state Labor Commissioner were decoupled from the paychecks of state judges.
Gov. Mary Fallin said previously that she wanted to derail a pending pay raise for statewide elected officials.
Instead of 12% pay raises for judges, HJR 1096 allows 6% salary increases effective July 1 for district judges (to $131,835 annually), associate district judges (to $121,596), and special district court judges ($111,356). Pay increases for those jurists will cost approximately $2 million, House Speaker Jeff Hickman said. District attorneys also will receive a 6% wage hike (to $129,198 annually), which will cost about $250,000, Hickman said.
All of those raises will be paid from court funds, the Speaker said.
Appellate judges (Supreme Court, Court of Criminal Appeals and Court of Civil Appeals) will not receive a pay raise because there isn't enough money in their court funds, officials said. Members of the Oklahoma Workers' Compensation Commission will not get a salary increase, either.


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Iron Man
What if Oscar Wilde were a superhero?
Also in Slate, Grady Hendrix explains why Iron Man is like Steve Jobs.
To listen to Slate's Spoiler Special about Iron Man, click the arrow button on the player: You can also click here to download the MP3 file, or you can subscribe to the Spoiler Special podcast feed in iTunes by clicking here.
Iron Man (Paramount Pictures) may be the first movie about the conflict in the Middle East and Afghanistan to become a box-office blockbuster. But if it does, it won't be because of its Afghan bad guys or somewhat incoherent musings on the immorality of the military-industrial complex. Iron Man's secret weapon dwells underneath the high-tech robot suit and the whiz-bang special effects: We can win the war on terror, the movie suggests, with the force of Robert Downey Jr.'s personality alone.
Downey plays Tony Stark—a billionaire playboy industrialist who turns himself into a superhero through pure technical ingenuity—as the Oscar Wilde of superheros, a dissipated roué who seems weary of his own charisma. Everything we know about the actor's own checkered back story—the countless drug relapses, the stints in jail and rehab, the mysterious ability to hold onto Hollywood's good will through it all—informs our first encounter with Tony, clutching a Scotch on the rocks in the back of an armored Humvee as he's shuttled to a weapons demonstration in Afghanistan. After showing off his latest ultrasophisticated missile, the Jericho, at a U.S. Army base, he's kidnapped by an insurgent group who torture him till he agrees to build them a Jericho of their own. Of course, equipping your genius prisoner with the means to build a superweapon is a plan with a built-in flaw. Instead, Tony forges a primitive prototype of the Iron Man suit and blasts his way to freedom.
Back at his zillion-dollar compound in Malibu, Tony holds a surprise press conference to announce that Stark Industries will henceforth cease all weapons manufacturing and devote itself to vaguely defined technological do-gooding. Tony's newfound morality doesn't sit too well with his business partner Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges), who has been secretly dealing arms to some dubious types, including Tony's kidnapper Raza (Faran Tahir). Unaware of Stane's treachery, Tony withdraws to his way-cool underground workshop and begins to design the ultimate supersuit, crafted not of iron this time but of gold and red-plated titanium.
This middle section, in which the newly energized Tony tinkers with his emerging superpowers like a kid in shop class, is the movie's finest and funnest hour. But when he starts to actually use those powers, zooming to random corners of Afghanistan to save cowering villagers from evil warlords, the movie's sharp intelligence gives way to a dopey wish-fulfillment fantasy. This is what we'd like our wars to be: a clearly defined moral crusade against a bald, glowering meanie who proclaims his Genghis Khan-like ambition to "dominate all of Asia." (With an eye on potential box-office buzz kill, the movie cannily stays away from the mere mention of the Taliban, the war in Iraq, or domestic terrorism.) Tony's invulnerable, omnipotent, impossibly expensive armor is an almost touching overcompensation for the moment of extreme vulnerability in which our country finds itself.
The movie's central conflict, which is also Stark's internal one, has to do with the ambiguity inherent in waging war. Once he's devoted his life to the creation of ever-more-sophisticated killing machines, how's a billionaire industrialist-turned-superhero to know who's on whose side, whom to arm and whom to disarm, whom to kill and whom to save? Like those '50s monster movies that played out cultural fears of the atomic bomb, Iron Man explores these questions and disavows them at the same time. In one scene, the Iron Man confronts a group of Afghan villagers, unable to distinguish the civilians from the combatants. At once a Terminator-style readout appears on the inside of his mask, clearly labeling each civilian, and with surgical precision, he takes out all the bad guys, leaving the grateful good guys standing. It's a clever and viscerally satisfying gag that got a round of applause at the screening I attended—but it left me with a bitter aftertaste that lasted for the rest of the movie. How much collateral damage have we inflicted by trusting just such "smart" weapons to make moral decisions for their users?
Iron Man doesn't want you to dwell on such things for too long, and Jon Favreau's crisp, bouncy direction makes it easy to avoid doing so. Besides Downey's soulful, mercurial, performance, there's Gwyneth Paltrow as his faithful girl Friday, Pepper Potts—not the most inspiring of feminist role models, but Paltrow plays it straight and smart, and looks sensational in red hair and little black dresses. Jeff Bridges is weirdly but perfectly cast as Obadiah Stane: Laconic and affable to the end, he's The Dude gone over to the dark side. Terrence Howard gets a dull Dudley Do-Right part as Tony's Army liaison, but one scene makes it clear that he's looking forward to suiting up in future installments.
Like Tony Stark, Iron Man the movie has a maddening way of hiding its light (Downey) under a bushel—actually bushels and bushels—of special effects. During the action sequences (especially the disappointing final one, a face-off between Stark's Iron Man and Stane's Iron Monger), this movie could be any expensive summer blockbuster, with exploding tanks and bisected city buses and faceless mega-robots duking it out on rooftops. But when it's idling in neutral, and we're watching Stark putter in his workshop or seduce unsuspecting journalists, Iron Man abounds in that rarest of superpowers: charm.