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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — An engaged couple and five children killed in a weekend house fire in southern Kentucky died from smoke inhalation, investigators said Tuesday as they worked to determine the cause of the blaze.
Trooper Shane Jacobs said those who died in the blaze Saturday in the community of Gray were 27-year-old Jesse Disney; his fiancée, 22-year-old Nina Asher; her three children, 3-year-old William Gray Jr., 2-year-old Camden Gray and 8-month-old Abigail Gray; and family friends who were staying over, 2-year-old Paiten Cox and 2-year-old Brielle Cox.
Investigators were trying to determine the cause of the fire and have said it could take some time before the cause is determined. Jacobs said autopsies were done Monday and that neither arson nor foul play were suspected.
The blaze shook the rural community of Gray in the foothills of Appalachia near the Daniel Boone National Forest and the Tennessee and Virginia state lines.
At the J&G Market convenience store, just up the road from the home, a large empty bubble-gum bucket bore a sign seeking donations to help offset the funeral costs. And Vankirk-Grisell Funeral Home in Corbin planned to donate services to the family of the Cox children.
Funerals are scheduled for Disney and the Cox sisters on Thursday. Arrangements for Asher and the other children were pending Tuesday.
Knox County Magistrate Giulio Cima, who represents the Gray area, said the two visiting children were bathed and fed a hot meal on Friday night.
"There's a lot of things that happen in this world that you can't answer for," Cima said. "This is going to be bad for that family for a long time."
A phone number could not be immediately located for the Cox family.
Cima's brother, Gino, is Jesse Disney's uncle. Gino Cima tried to rescue the adults and children from the fire, but was unsuccessful.
"He's lucky he got in and got out," Giulio Cima said.
The two firefighters who pulled the children from the charred house sat near a tree in the front yard afterward, looking despondent, Giulio Cima said.
"This right here is probably the worst thing that happened in this county in years," Cima said. "But we're going to get through it."
On Monday, charred photos, books, children's art, broken glass and pieces of the collapsed roof littered the lawn outside the house near Disney's relatives. Another of Disney's uncles, Bobby James Disney, picked through the remains after speaking with arson investigators.
"It's heartbreaking, losing those kids like that," Bobby James Disney said. "Those kids are helpless."
The area contains the homes of so many family members that it's nicknamed "Disneyland."
Follow Associated Press reporter Brett Barrouquere on Twitter: http://twitter.com/BBarrouquereAP


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Here's the weekly roundup of what the national media are saying about the Eagles. After a Week 3 loss, the Birds, and specifically Michael Vick, took a lot of heat.
The links:
Former NFL VP of Officiating Mike Pereira ripped Vick for his comments about the officials and said the Eagles always complain more than any other team:
"Well, I thought it was ridiculous," he said. "It actually took me back, it took me back to my job in New York when I worked for the league, and it was a constant complaint by the Eagles, whether it was [Donovan] McNabb at quarterback or whether it was Vick. They clearly complained more than any other team."
"He's a quarterback that's on the move, he's going to get hit more," Pereira said. "Yes, there are a couple that may be missed but the fact that a ton of them are missed and that he's hit late all the time is absurd. And he comes out and kind of does the mea culpa yesterday but at the same time what did he say? 'I was being too candid.' Well, that doesn't sound to me like much of an apology. And also the damage is done. I don't want to be the referee that goes in there now next and works with him. If he calls a roughing the passer penalty for a hit on Vick everybody's going to say, 'Well, Vick taunted him into that.' If he doesn't [call it] there's going to be more criticism. So I think it was a bunch of bull and it didn't sit well with me and it still doesn't."
The Eagles have dropped to 16th in Don Banks' power rankings on SI.com:
What a weak act that was by Michael Vick in the postgame last Sunday. Yes, you were complaining about not getting late-hit penalty flags, Mike, not merely just pointing it out to the unaware. Otherwise Vick wouldn't have felt the need to backtrack the next day and try to make the story go away. I actually saw referee Jeff Triplette bend over and help Vick to his feet after the hit No. 7 took from Giants defensive lineman Chris Canty, and I can't recall that kind of QB treatment from the guys in stripes too often. An air of entitlement might be making a comeback in Philly.
Banks names the Eagles as one of five playoff contenders already in trouble:
The Eagles appear to already be in crisis mode, but when aren't they? Philadelphia is only one game behind the rest of the division, and this week's visit from San Francisco should provide a relative breather for an Eagles defense that has been forced back on its heels. But it's imperative that Andy Reid's club gets to .500 and stabilizes a bit, because tough road trips to Buffalo and Washington await in Weeks 5-6.
Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times says Andy Reid picked the wrong quarterback:
Three games into the season, it is clear that they made the wrong choice at quarterback. Vick is not their guy, and will never be their guy, and all the $100-million contracts and Nike endorsements and video game excitement and commissioner's love won't change that. Vick is not their guy because he can't stay upright long enough for them to climb on his shoulders. He can't stay on the field enough to lead them down it. He can't stay healthy enough to make anyone other than his own team absolutely sick.
This offseason, in giving Vick a contract with a guaranteed $40 million, the Eagles traded young arm Kevin Kolb to the Arizona Cardinals. After three games this year, both the Cardinals and Eagles are 1-2, with Kolb owning a 93.7 passer rating while Vick has thrown for a 87.7. Oh, yes, and one more difference. Kevin Kolb has actually played in all three games, while Vick has missed parts of two of them and is currently suffering from a severely bruised hand that could cause him to miss another month.
SI.com's Peter King named Kurt Coleman and Casey Matthews his Goats of the Week:
Bad enough that Brandon Jacobs ran past a slow Matthews on the Giants' first score of the day, a wheel-route touchdown toss from Eli Manning that gave the Giants a 7-0 lead. But with the Giants stuck at their 26 late in the quarter on third-and-two, Manning threw a short pass to the left flat to Victor Cruz. Coleman came up to him at the Giants' 35, had a clear shot at a tackle, but went high at him -- around the chest -- and Cruz burst through him, shucking him off and going for a 74-yard touchdown. There were other Philadelphia defensive deficiencies later -- one at the goal line by Nnamdi Asomugha -- but Matthews and Coleman led the way in digging a huge hole for the Eagles.
The Eagles are 17th in ESPN.com's power rankings:
The Eagles got a huge break when Michael Vick's right hand ended up not being broken.
Alex Marvez of FoxSports.com says the Eagles look like one of the losers from the offseason after a 1-2 start:
The self-proclaimed "Dream Team" has gotten off to the same kind of poor start that the Miami Heat did in the early days of LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade playing together for the first time. Not only is Philadelphia 1-2, it has become quickly evident that the Eagles erred by not bettering the offensive line during their wild offseason personnel spree. Michael Vick can whine about the officiating all he wants, but the oft-injured quarterback should focus the brunt of his anger on the five players in front of him who are doing a shoddy job of protection.
Brian Billick has the Eagles 16th in his FoxSports.com power rankings:
Eli Manning matched a career-high four TD passes and snapped a seven-game INT streak. Was it Manning or was it the Philly defense? Cullen Jenkins, Trent Cole and Jason Babin are providing consistent pressure, but the young linebackers continue to struggle.
Jason Whitlock of FoxSports.com says Vick is right:
You can't simply explain away Vick's complaints by pointing out he is more prone to leave the pocket than Manning and Brady. The rules governing hits on quarterbacks are primarily driven by the huge financial investments owners make in the position and the position's importance in supporting television interest.
Vick has a second $100 million contract, and I'd argue that he's the league's third-best individual television draw after Manning and Brady. Vick is worthy of protection. We should not dismiss his complaint as whining.
Elliot Harrison of NFL.com has the Eagles 18th in his power rankings:
Bottom line: The starting quarterback is hurt. The standings say 1-2. Last place in the NFC East. Six turnovers in the past two weeks are the six biggest reasons this club has lost two straight, and frankly, that will sink any good team in the parity party going on in the NFL right now. Kurt Coleman, that was a terrible tackle attempt on Victor Cruz. Freaking horrific.
You can follow me on Twitter or become a fan of Moving the Chains on Facebook.

subset: commoncrawl


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The surface of Titan
The landing of the Huygens probe on Titan, Saturn's largest moon, in January 2005 was one small step for The Open University's Professor John Zarnecki and a giant leap for the history of space exploration. Not only was Huygens the most distant probe to land anywhere in our solar system, but the stunning images and data sent back by the probe have helped to paint a picture of an exotic new world. With its methane seas, volcanoes and cliffs of ice, Titan bears a striking resemblance to our own early Earth.
For Professor John Zarnecki, one of Huygen's six principal scientists, the landing on Titan was a moment he had been building towards since his inspirational boyhood encounter with the first man in space, Yuri Gagarin, 50 years ago.
Destination Titan, a BBC / Open University co-production, follows Zarnecki's journey through the twists and turns of a distinguished career in space academia, to the surface of the world over a billion miles from Earth. First at the University of Kent and latterly at The Open University, Professor Zarnecki devoted years to the Titan project without any guarantee that would have a happy outcome – a terrific and inspiring combination of hard science and calculated risk taking.
In charge of the probe's 'Surface Science Package', Professor Zarnecki's team was faced with the task of designing the first contact with the surface of Saturn's mysterious moon. The first-ever pictures from Titan adorned the front pages of newspapers around the world, but the inside story of this extraordinary mission remains largely untold.
John Zarnecki said: "The images from the surface of Titan, and the data from our own instrument, easily made the 15 years of hard work, occasional frustration and sometimes blind panic immediately worthwhile.
"That day, back in 1988, when we first toyed with the idea of putting in a bid to build an instrument to land on Titan, it was beyond my wildest dreams that the day would come to pass when it would all come true."
Featuring previously unseen footage and exclusive interviews with those involved, Destination Titan tells the moving story of one man's personal space odyssey, and of the small team of scientists who made this mission happen. Drawing on unprecedented access and detailed research, the programme will tell the warts and all inside story of this major planetary mission, and discover just what it takes to be a successful space scientist. Destination Titan offers a real insight into the team-work that goes into such a complex and ambitious scientific endeavour – not just the magical, revelatory moments but the daily slog, the frustrations and the need to make-do-and-mend with available resources.
Destination Titan is broadcast on Sunday 10 April, 22.00hrs, BBC Four.
Editor's Notes
Destination Titan is a co-production by the BBC in partnership with The Open University.
John Zarnecki, Professor of Space Science at The Open University, is available for interview.
Destination Titan is produced in partnership between the OU and the BBC and is the work to date of independent film-makers Stephen Slater and Rich Edwards, working with Chris Riley.
John Zarnecki's work on Cassini-Huygens eventually won him the inaugural Sir Arthur Clarke Award for individual achievement.


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Creating change in government overview
Rapid, positive large-scale change is possible in government organizations. Explore ways to harness employees' ingenuity, passion, and organizational ties to make change happen.
Introduction: The dreaded "c" word
By Tiffany Fishman
Positive, large-scale change in government is possible if you view the workforce through a different lens. Take a fresh look, and you'll discover some surprising ways to make government more effective.
Intrapreneurship in government: Making it work
By Elizabeth Arnold and Shani Magia
Intrapreneurs are employees who don't let bureaucratic barriers stop them from driving constructive change. Here are some strategies that successful intrapreneurs employ to make a difference in government, plus a look at how some of the best leaders foster intrapreneurship in their organizations.
The secret to successful change
By William D. Eggers and Chip Heath
Successful change involves resolving political leadership's and the bureaucracy's different appetites for change.
What Darwin can teach government: Harnessing "positive deviants" to help solve vexing problems within your organization
By Emily Malina and Kara Shuler
Like a species, a workforce can go through an evolutionary process, driven by individuals with unusual but favorable behaviors on the far right of the normal distribution—"positive deviants." Over time, organizations can nurture positively deviant behavior to overcome systemic challenges.


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Dasein Women s Fashion Designer Mini Ring Tote Handbag PursePurple Purple -
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The unique mini tote that is your show stopper look. Pair with the little black dress, the perfect pump, a great pair of jeans and those timeless fashion icons and you never go wrong. Simplicity and versatility are the common thread


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Has your business changed since you first created your social media profiles?
Are you considering a rebrand of your company's existing social identity?
With the right preparation, it's possible to manage your social media rebranding efforts without losing a significant number of subscribers along the way.
Should You Rebrand Your Social Profiles?
Before we review the process of rebranding your social media profiles, consider whether a rebranding is truly right for your company.
According to Luke Brassinga of Likeable Brands, "True rebranding involves updating a company's goals, message and culture."
If you're only conducting a rebrand because you like the sound of a new name better, your end results may not be worth the extra effort and potential for losses involved in the rebranding process.


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Best Places to Go in 2013
Condé Nast Traveler
Top 5 Best Places in the World to Visit in 2013
January 1, 2013
Wondering where to plan your first trip of 2013? Lisa Gill was on the Today show this morning talking about the best places to go this year; here are her full picks.
The new Nashville offers two things worth traveling for: a hot, trendy new food sceneand its famous, funky music scene. The "haute southern" cuisine is flourishing in Nashville at restaurants like The Patterson House and The Catbird Seat. Not to mention some of the tastiest and most creative cocktails we've ever tried. At night, you can't walk two blocks without coming across some incredible live music, from bluegrass to brass bands, zydeco to country.
Where to stay: Try the Hutton Hotel for a sophisticated yet modern atmosphere, with rooms starting at $197.
Read the full article online.
Watch the video from the Today show.
7 Affordable Destinations for 2013
January 21, 2013
If you're determined to take a trip this year but don't want to break the bank, we've rounded up (and road tested) seven top-value vacation destinations for 2013.
Competition between new and existing hotels means deals for us. Dining is increasingly haute; but mom-and-pop eateries and funky food trucks offer budget alternatives.
Read the full article online.
Yahoo! Travel
Destinations to Watch in 2013
December 11, 2012
We've looked into the 2013 crystal ball and found destinations to dazzle in the year ahead.
In 2013, Nashville will throw open its arms in a great big country embrace. A new events center, a museum, a hotel, and multiple restaurants offer plenty of reasons to make the trip to Music City. And as a BudgetTravel.com pick as one of the 10 best budget destinations for 2013, you can do it all for less.
Read the full article online.
Budget Travel
10 Best Budget Destinations for 2013
November 27, 2012
Year after year, friends and family of the Budget Travel staff inevitably ask us the same question: "Where's the coolest and most affordable place to go next?" Luckily, we work hard to get at the right answers for them.
This spring, a brand-new, $585 million, 118,000-square-foot convention center will open downtown, which will in turn help fuel the city's ongoing hotel construction boom. To meet the needs, over 1,000 rooms are currently under construction, with five new hotels potentially slated for the SoBro (South of Lower Broadway) neighborhood alone—a move that is expected to drive average daily rates down in the city. But growth in Nashville isn't solely related to real estate. In a city known primarily for its "hot chicken" and "meat and three sides," chefs are helping to transform Nashville into a new culinary powerhouse, along the lines of Charleston, with all the requisite James Beard nominations and placements on top American restaurant lists.
Read the full article online.
Business Insider
13 Places You Need to Visit in 2013
January 2, 2013
We looked at major developments, cultural trends, and global festivals to find the hottest places to travel around the world in 2013.
...Nashville, Tennessee, will continue to build on its reputation as "Music City" with a new convention center and music-related museums. ABC's drama "Nashville" brought Music City into the national spotlight this year, but Nashville has been on the tourist radar for years.
Read the full article online.


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- Incorruptible Corpses (1)
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- Marian Apparition in Zeitoun – 1968 – 1970 (1)
- Padre Pio (St Pio of Pietrelcina) – 1887 – 1968 (1)
- Saint Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin (1)
- Statue in Akita (1)
- The Miracle of Lanciano – 700 AD (1)
- The Miracle of the Sun (1)
- Therese Neumann (1)
Popular Posts
Francesco Forgione, later known as Padre Pio, canonized as Saint Pio of Pietrelcina, was an Italian Roman Catholic Capuchin priest who is n...
The Miracle of the Sun is an alleged miraculous event witnessed by as many as 100,000 people on 13 October 1917 in the Cova da Iria fields ...
Incorruptibility is the name given to the situation in which a dead person does not decay after death. The orthodox church consider it essen...
The apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes began on 11 February 1858, when Bernadette Soubirous, a 14-year old peasant girl from Lourdes admitte...
In the city of Lanciano, Italy, around A.D. 700, a Basilian monk and priest was assigned to celebrate the Eucharistic sacrifice in the Lati...
A Marian apparition is an event in which the Virgin Mary is believed to have supernaturally appeared to one or more persons regardless of t...
Joseph of Cupertino is an Italian saint. He was said to have been remarkably unclever, but prone to miraculous levitation, and intense ecsta...
Saint Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin was an indigenous Mexican who according an phantasm of the Virgin Mother as Our Moslem of Guadalupe in 1531...
Therese Neumann was a German Catholic mystic and stigmatic. On March 10, 1918, Therese Neumann was partially paralyzed after falling off a s...
In 1973, Sister Agnes Katsuko Sasagawa in Akita, Japan had visions of the Virgin Mary. On June 28, 1973, a cross-shaped wound appeared on th...
Friday, 25 November 2011
Joseph of Cupertino
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Quick Links
About North Lauderdale
North Lauderdale is a compact city, in the center of Broward County, which is in the center of South Florida, an area that – at least economically speaking – is the center of the Americas. This pivotal location makes North Lauderdale a community rich in diversity. Our 42,000 residents have come from all over the world to secure a place in the sun, stake a claim in South Florida's vibrant economy and build a future for their children. And as you'll see, our future looks promising. .
Please direct all website technical questions and/or suggestions to:
Mitch Williams


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Debt is also a useful indicator of a community's financial health. One long accepted general warning signal for potentially burdensome debt to a municipality is the debt margin percentage. The State of North Carolina closely monitors all debt incurred by municipalities. Overall net debt should not exceed 8 percent of the assessed taxable valuation. The Town of Mathews is well under that percentage. As of June 30, 2015 our assessed valuation was $3,527,790,551. Eight percent of the assessed valuation totals $282,223,244. The Town's debt at the close of FY15 was $8,722,299 providing a debt margin available of $273,500,945.
Fund Balance is defined in general terms as "the cumulative difference of all revenues and expenditures from the government's creation."
A suitable fund balance provides a source of working capital to meet cash flow needs, offers a cushion against revenue shortfalls and unanticipated expenditures, provides an accumulation of funds that some municipalities use for capital projects and contributes to a favorable bond rating.
The Town of Matthews Board of Commissioners adopted a fund balance policy on March 10, 2003. The Board of Commissioners adopted a revised policy on November 25, 2013. Fund Balance information can be found in the Town's Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports.


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Moroccan Rapper Jailed, Charged for Anti-Police Song, 'Dogs of the State'
RABAT, Morocco (AP) - A Moroccan court denied bail on Wednesday to a rapper charged with attacking the image of the security services in a song about police corruption.
Mouad Belghouat was arrested March 29 after Morocco's National Security agency filed a suit against him, and he is now being tried for insulting state employees and official institutions, a charge that could lead to a prison sentence.
The rapper, also known as El-Haqed, or "the enraged," writes songs about corruption and social injustice and is involved in the pro-democracy February 20 movement.
He also has written songs attacking King Mohammed VI for his vast wealth and high ranking on the Forbes magazine lists.
The police accused Belghouat of posting a song on the Internet accompanied by photos insulting to police, including one showing an officer with the head of a donkey.
The judge denied a defense request for bail after the prosecutor argued that the rapper presented a risk to the public order. The case was adjourned until April 16.
Belghouat's lawyer said the montage accompanying the song was posted by someone else and the whole case is just a political attack on a well known activist.
"In the song, Mouad accuses certain policemen of corruption. This isn't a scoop. Everyone says so and international organizations confirm it," Larbi Chentoufi told The Associated Press. "El-Haqed is in front of the judges for his opinions."
It is the second time the rapper, who comes from a sprawling slum in Casablanca, Morocco's largest city, has tangled with authorities.
Belghouat was jailed for four months last year for getting into a fight with a regime supporter in the gritty, low-income suburb of Casablanca where he now lives. His supporters say the charges were trumped up.
He was released on Jan. 12 in a case that mobilized the country's activist community.
Morocco was swept with pro-democracy demonstrations like many other countries in the Middle East last year, but the king managed to defuse popular anger with a series of reforms.
Belghouat has continued his activist work in poor neighborhoods. The song he is charged for, called "Dogs of the State," is addressed to the police.
"You are paid to protect the citizens, not to steal their money," says one lyric. "Did your commander order you to take money from the poor?" says another.
The song asks the police to arrest the wealthy businessmen who have divided the country up for themselves.
Morocco, a popular tourist destination for Europeans, has one of the highest discrepancies between rich and poor in the Arab world, according to international development agencies.
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President Barack Obama said on Friday that Lawrence Summers and Janet Yellen were both highly qualified to be the next chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve, but stressed that there was a ``range of outstanding candidates'' for this vital job.
Continue Reading Below
"Frankly, I think both Larry Summers and Janet Yellen are highly qualified candidates. There are a couple of other candidates who are highly qualified as well. I'll make the decision in the fall,'' he told a press conference.
The term of current Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke expires on Jan. 31, 2014 and Obama's remarks made quite clear that he will not serve a third term, even though Bernanke has not said anything in public about his future plans.
Read what the president said Friday about new measures to the government's surveillance programs to restore confidence.
Summers, a former top Obama economic advisor, has come to be viewed as the leading contender for the job, but the president insisted that he had not made up his mind.
"I think the perception that Mr Summers might have an inside track simply had to do with a bunch of attacks that I was hearing on Mr Summers preemptively - which is sort of the standard Washington exercise - that I don't like,'' Obama said.
The president has spoken behind closed doors in defense of his former White House National Economic Council director after around 20 Democratic senators signed a letter that was sent to him in support of Yellen as the next Fed chief.
Obama also spelled out that whoever gets the job ought give equal weight to tackling inflation as to seeking full employment, the two sides of the central bank's dual mandate, but he argued that unemployment was currently the more pressing concern.
"Right now, if you look at the biggest challenge we have, the challenge is not inflation. The challenge is we've still got too many people out of work, too many long-term unemployed.'' Obama also talked about the need for a sound dollar, which was how Summers frequently talked about the U.S. currency while he was U.S. Treasury Secretary under President Bill Clinton.
Yellen is viewed as somewhat more dovish in her monetary policy preferences than Summers, in terms of how she would weigh the need to keep inflation in check versus run a relatively looser monetary policy that would generate more employment.
On the other hand, the substantive monetary policy differences between them are not seen as terribly large.


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Bake and Destroy by Natalie Slater
One part vegan, one part punk rock, and entirely awesome. That pretty much sums up this new cookbook from vegan mastermind Natalie Slater. Whether you're craving a chocolate whoopie pie or a bowl of mac n' cheese, whether you're vegan or just cutting back on the meat, whether you're a rocker or more of a folky-sway-along type, these recipes promise to shake you out of your routine and give you some tasty ideas for dinner and dessert.
Quick Facts
• Who wrote it: Natalie Slater
• Who published it: Page Street Publishing Company
• Number of recipes: Around 80
• Recipes for right now: Banana Bread French Toast Cupcakes, Pistachio Whoopie Pies, Venus Chocolate-Pumpkin Muffins, Shepherd's Pie Pizza, Thai Dagwood Sandwich, Salt & Vinegar Kale Chips, Stuffin' Muffins
• Other highlights: Obviously, Bake and Destroy is about way more than just vegan baked desserts (that threw me off at first, too!). While my eyes are immediately drawn to Slater's frosting-topped cupcakes and nibble-worthy muffins, her savory recipes for pizzas, casseroles, and sandwiches are plenty tempting.
Envelope, consider yourself pushed. Slater is not playing it safe with these recipes. She creates vegan versions of favorite foods like mac n' cheese and pulled pork — and then pushes it a little further. The idea of an Indian Buffet Pizza (topped with lentils, cilantro chutney, and fried cauliflower) or Nacho Cupcakes (savory muffins topped with guac, olives, and vegan cheese sauce) might sound very (very) bizarre...at first. But I found that these recipes and their envelope-pushing kin grew on me after a while. I mean, why not serve easy, utensil-free nacho cupcakes at a football party? Or use a pizza crust as a vehicle for whatever savory toppings we can imagine? Whatever else, Slater definitely proves once and for all that vegan food does not have to be bland or boring!
I also really appreciate Slater's use of normal, natural ingredients in her vegan recipes — it's a pet peeve of mine when recipes of this kind make up for the lack of eggs and butter with strange-sounding ingredients or hard to find alternatives. Nothing like that here. Vegan margarine is about as "weird" as it gets.
• Who would enjoy this book? Vegans tired of the same old, same old; cooks of any dietary persuasion looking to add a few meat-free dishes into the line-up
Find the book at your local library, independent bookstore, or Amazon: Bake and Destroy by Natalie Slater
• Visit the author's website: Bake and Destroy
Apartment Therapy Media makes every effort to test and review products fairly and transparently. The views expressed in this review are the personal views of the reviewer and this particular product review was not sponsored or paid for in any way by the manufacturer or an agent working on their behalf. However, the manufacturer did give us the product for testing and review purposes.
(Images: Emma Christensen)


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The problem with most BI vendors is that they rely on query-based analysis that restricts people to linear exploration within a partial view of their data. Qlik's Associative engine lets you combine any number of data sources so you can freely explore across all your data and instantly pivot your thinking based on what you see. The result: Powerful insights you miss with other tools.
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With Qlik Sense® Cloud, everything is ready to go to get analytics up and running fast. Analyze your data and collaborate in a shared, secure online environment.
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From the development page:
- Movie player based on MPlayer and mplayer2. It supports a wide variety of video file formats, audio and video codecs, and subtitle types. If you are wondering what's different from mplayer2 and MPlayer you can read more about the changes.
Install mpv from the official repositories or mpv-gitAUR from the AUR. Alternatively install cmplayerAUR or cmplayer-gitAUR Qt5 frontend which provides its own mpv.
System-wide configuration is located in
/etc/mpv/mpv.conf, whereas the user-local settings are stored in
~/.mpv/config. The complete list of options is located here.
MPV_HOME variable as you like in your shell configuration file. A predictable choice is
An example configuration:
# default configuration that applies to every file [default] # try to use high quality opengl output, with standard opengl, classic xv, and wayland as fallbacks # note: opengl has numerous quality/performance trade-off options. # as per the mpv(1), "opengl-hq" is just an alias for "opengl:lscale=lanczos2:dither-depth=auto:fbo-format=rgb16" vo=opengl-hq,opengl,xv,wayland # use alsa for audio output, choose pulse, or oss4 as fallback ao=alsa,pulse,oss # prefer using 5.1 channels audio (defaults to 2 - see mpv --channels=help) # mixing is handled by libavcodec unless using "--af-add=pan" (see below) channels=5.1 # scale the subtitles to the 3% of the screen size sub-scale=3 # set the window title using the media filename (see Property Expansion section of mpv(1)) title="${filename}" # add black borders so the movies have the same aspect ratio of the monitor # for wide screen monitors vf=expand=::::1:16/9:16 # for non wide screen traditional monitors, alternative to the above item #vf=expand=::::1:4/3:16 # disable screensaver stop-screensaver="yes" # execute a command every 30 seconds # useful to disable a non-standard-compliant screensavers and to work around buggy behaviours # BE WARNED: to avoid dangerous commands is your responsibility #heartbeat-cmd="xscreensaver-command -deactivate &" # stop xscreensaver # custom heartbeat frequency in seconds #heartbeat-interval=600 # correct pitch when speed is faster or slower than 1.0 af=scaletempo # allow to seek in a file which is still downloading whilst watching it # from manpage:"this switch has no effect in the typical case" (usually done automatically by demuxers) # idx=yes # allow to increase the maximal volume to 600% #softvol-max=600 # skip displaying some frames to maintain A/V sync on slow systems framedrop=yes # profile for up-mixing two channels audio to six channels # use --profile 2chto6ch to activate [2chto6ch] af-add=pan=6:1:0:.4:0:.6:2:0:1:0:.4:.6:2 # profile to down-mixing six channels audio to two channels # use --profile 6chto2ch to activate [6chto2ch] af-add=pan=2:0.7:0:0:0.7:0.5:0:0:0.5:0.6:0.6:0:0
See another example at https://github.com/mpv-player/mpv/blob/master/etc/example.conf.
Hardware Decoding
You can reduce the CPU usage (and extend mobile battery life) by enabling GPU hardware decoding for common video codecs. Unlike mplayer, and mplayer2, mpv has both VDPAU and VAAPI built-in! To enable hardware decoding, add "--hwdec=<method>" to the mpv command line, where <method> is one of "auto", "vdpau", "vaapi" or "vaapi-copy". To make this persistent, add the line "hwdec=<method>" to the config file. Any video output (--vo) can be used with "vaapi-copy", which, however is expected to have the worst performance because it requires the decoded video to be copied back from the GPU to the main system memory before being sent again to the video driver for display. Better performance is had using "--hwdec=vdpau"/"--hwdec=vaapi" with either "--vo=opengl" (preferred) or "--vo=vdpau"/"--vo=vaapi" respectively. While the opengl output should generally be of better quality, the "--vo=vdpau" may give better frame timings when using "--hwdec=vdpau". Using the "--vo=vaapi" option may use less power than "--vo=opengl" (saves around a watt and a half with Intel Ivy Bridge). If hardware decoding can't be used, mpv will automatically fallback to software decoding.
Key bindings
System key bindings are configured via
/etc/mpv/input.conf. Personal key bindings are stored in
Available keybinds and configuration are explained in the manual pages.
Automatic resuming from where you left off
The default key to quit saving the video advance state is
Q. This behaviour is controlled by the
quit_watch_later string in the key bindings configuration file.
Quick aspect ratio change
Append to your
F1 set aspect 1.3333 F2 set aspect 1.6 F3 set aspect 1.7777 F4 set aspect 1.85 F5 set aspect 0
Now you are able to change the aspect ratio with
F1 to


text:
By Marty Graham
SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - San Diego Mayor Bob Filner admitted on Thursday to behaving inappropriately toward female staff members but indicated he would not resign, saying he wants to prove he is "capable of change."
He was responding to calls for his resignation made at a news conference by a former city councilwoman and two lawyers who said at least one woman has accused the mayor of dubious behavior. The former councilwoman said Filner, 70, had sexually harassed female staff members.
The two attorneys, Marco Gonzalez and Cory Briggs, declined to provide details and said the alleged harassment did not rise to the level of criminal behavior. They said the woman or women who made the accusations wanted to remain anonymous.
The allegations threaten Filner's tenure less than a year after he was elected to lead California's second-largest city of 1.3 million residents.
"As someone who has spent a lifetime fighting for equality for all people, I am embarrassed to admit that I have failed to fully respect the women who work for me and with me, and that at times I have intimidated them," Filner said in a written statement and video message.
Filner said that residents of San Diego have "every right to be disappointed" in him.
"I only ask that you give me an opportunity to prove I am capable of change, so that the vision I have for our city's future can be realized," he said.
Filner did not say he would resign over the accusations.
The former councilwoman, Donna Frye, who had served from 2002 to 2006, said she had spoken with one of the alleged victims. Frye tearfully called on the mayor to resign.
In his statement, Filner said that "when a friend like Donna Frye" is compelled to call for his resignation, he is "clearly doing something wrong."
"I have reached into my heart and soul and realized I must and will change my behavior," he said, adding that he is seeking professional help and that he and his staff will undergo sexual-harassment training.
(Editing by Alex Dobuzinskis, Edith Honan and Philip Barbara)


text: The Public & Media Relations Department won the first-place TAMI Award for Internal Communications for its employee newsletter and weekly employee email at the Texas Association of Municipal Information Officers (TAMIO) Conference in Richardson. In addition, the City website (GarlandTx.gov) and Garland Power & Light financial report both received an Award of Honor. Judges liked the "City News" feature and the layout of the "How Do I" tab on the City website, as well as the overall design and layout of the GP&L financial report. The TAMI Awards is the leading recognition program in Texas honoring excellence for municipal communication strategies. TAMIO is an affiliate of the Texas Municipal League (TML), which represents approximately 98% of Texas' urban population through its more than 1,000 member cities and towns. TAMIO actively seeks to advance and promote the active cooperation and exchange of information and ideas among Texas cities; provide professional development for public information and communications managers who work in municipal government or similar agencies; provide relations assistance where possible to municipalities and TML; and promote recognition outside the organization for achievement in communication with residents.


text:
Wiggins making a strong case
MORE: Is Wiggins the best?
LAS VEGAS -- Players have been in Las Vegas for the 2012 edition of the LeBron James Skills Academy since Friday. They've drilled, they've watched USA Basketball practice and on Sunday they got to play games and much of the action was high level. From top to bottom the camp roster is stacked and guys such as 2014's No. 1 and No. 3 ranked players, respectively, Andrew Wiggins and Noah Vonleh, were backing up their status while others such as 2013 point guard Wesley Clark were using it to boost their reputations.
2014 stars shine
The debate has raged about whether Andrew Wiggins is the No. 1 player in the class of 2014 or the No. 1 player, regardless. Sunday, Wiggins put together another pretty convincing argument that he's the best prospect in the land regardless of class.
The 6-foot-7 wing from Huntington (W.V.) Prep was chatted up by LeBron James prior to tip off and then went to work.
He's a freakshow athlete, but everybody knows this. He's also a slasher and high level transition finisher.
Now, Wiggins is also becoming a much more accomplished ball handler and proficient shooter. What's most impressive about Wiggins handle is that he dribbles for function, not fashion.
The best players never need more than one or two dribbles once they are inside of 25 feet and that's all he ever needs to create a shot or get to the rim. It happens so quickly, defenders are helpless.
Also impressive was the No. 3 player in the class of 2014, Noah Vonleh. His jumper was on point from deep, he attacked rebounds with two hands above the rim and he posted defenders with ease.
There are times where he will float to the perimeter and settle some, but he's got the skill to play facing the hoop.
Around the basket, though, it's curtains for most defenders trying to contain him. He has power, good skill and is a clever low post scorer who has counters for just about anything.
Vonleh isn't too far along in the recruiting process and said that he would likely cut things down a bit more after the summer. Also, as with Wiggins, the rumor mill has been suggesting that Vonleh could ultimately end up a class of 2013 prospect. But Vonleh has denied that.
Clark brings it
It would be unfair to call Wesley Clark an unknown headed into Sunday's action. Perhaps it would be more fitting to call the 6-foot point guard from Romulus (Mich.) High a bit overlooked.
The three-star guard was solid all spring with The Family, but teammates James Young and E.C. Matthews (who are both at LBJ as well) have gotten the majority of the coverage. If Clark keeps playing like he did on Sunday, though, he's going to be getting a lot more attention.
A competitor on both ends of the floor, Clark wasn't backing down from anybody and played as well as any point guard here. He defended, got into the paint and made plays for others at will and then scored it when he needed to.
Nichols to cut list
Class of 2013 big man Austin Nichols is the object of plenty of attention from college coaches. It's easy to see why.
The four-star power forward from Memphis was terrific on Sunday. He will get to the rim and dunk in traffic, runs the floor extremely well and can step out and make some jumpers facing up.
A wiry kid, he's also not afraid to get inside and mix things up and plays with a physical edge to him.
On the recruiting front, Nichols listed Duke, Florida, North Carolina, Memphis, Missouri, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia. However, he's planning to cut his list down to five or six programs within the next month or so.
Quick hitters
After a quiet game during the afternoon session, recent UCLA pledge Zach LaVine picked it up during the evening session. The 6-foot-4 guard has one of the best first steps in the class of 2013 and is an extremely confident scorer. When he gets out in transition, he finds ways to get to the rim and he can rack up points quickly.
Power forward Julius Randle was operating quite a bit from the wing on Sunday and was doing a lot off the dribble. Because of his power and quickness, he tends to get by his initial defender, but sometimes runs into a crowd around the rim and forces some things. But, for the most part he does what he wants, when he wants to. Physically, Randle looks to be in the best shape he's ever been in.
Donte Clark is a scorer. If he sees the ball go through the net a few times, the four-star shooting guard really comes after defenders and stays in attack mode. A streaky shooter, he's an athletic driver who doesn't waste dribbles.
Slender big man Kentan Facey made a good impression on Sunday. At 6-foot-8, he can run the floor, is quick around the rim and has good length and athleticism. He's gotten offers from Connecticut, Providence, St. John's, Rhode Island, Duquesne and Drexel. Others showing recent interest include Virginia Tech, Georgetown, Florida, USC, Colorado and Maryland.
Kuran Iverson picked up exactly where he'd left off at the NBPA Top 100 Camp. The 6-foot-8 small forward was making plays off the dribble, hitting some shots and doing a little bit of everything. Right now he's looking like a potential five-star prospect and he listed Florida, Memphis, Connecticut, Oklahoma State and Seton Hall.
California big man Marcus Lee was strong during the evening session. At times, the 6-foot-10 leaper can be passive on the offensive end and get pushed around some because of his lack of strength but that wasn't the case on Sunday. Lee was active around the rim, looked to score, contested shots and competed on the glass.
Parker Jackson-Cartwright looks like the type of point guard who would be a lot of fun to have as a teammate. A vocal leader and true floor general, he is all about getting his teammates involved, competing and he plays with a high level of skill. Yes, he is a bit small at around 5-foot-8 or so, but he plays with the ferocity of somebody much bigger and stronger and never backs down. He's not the leaper that Missouri point guard Phil Pressey is, but some of what he does is very similar to a younger Pressey.
Click Here to view this Link.


text:
Bruce Schneider
In this presentation from The Computer-Based Math™ Education Summit 2011, Bruce Schneider, Professor at the University of Toronto, shares how a computer-based curriculum in his large introductory statistics courses provides his students with hands-on problem solving experience.
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text:
Sections of Bender Road and Church Road are closed for construction. These closures will remain in place until late October and late November.
Closures are also expected on Card and Olenick later this fall at dates to be announced. Please watch for detour signs.
Visit the Lebanon Farmers Market in front of Town Hall from 9:00 AM to noon on Saturday, September 29.
Lebanon Youth Basketball sign-ups are now active.
Join us for the 3rd Annual Trick or Trunk event on Saturday, October 27 from 5:00 to 7:00 PM at the field between Lebanon Middle School and Lyman Memorial High School.
Meeting Cancelled
-- No resources available --Upload Minutes/Agendas


text:
- Mobile Site
- Maps
- Contact Us
Returning students are those who have previously attended HCC but who did not attend HCC the past semester. Making the transition from high school to college can be an easy process. Entering college for the first time requires some paperwork. The checklist below will help you keep track of what is to be completed.
Admission status updated: _______________
Complete and send in the scholarship application. (Priority deadline for Scholarship application is Feb. 15th)
Date scholarship application mailed: _______________
Date FAFSA completed: _______________
Date Student Aid Report (SAR) recieved by HCC: _______________
If you are seeking a degree from HCC then... request a completed official copy of your high school transcript and all other College/University that you have attended to be mailed to the Admissions Office.
Date High School transcript requested: _______________
Date College/University transcript requested: _______________
Complete registration process as instructed by the Admissions Office. In most cases this will mean attending an Enrollment Day.
HCC requires a minimum Reading competency for all classes and certain classes require a minimum English or Math standard. If you submit ACT scores, you may not have to take additional placement tests, call Admissions Office for more information.
Date ACT/SAT completed: _______________
If applicable, Testing Appointment date & time: _______________
Using your HCC username and password, the following services are right at your fingertips: email, online courses, book information, schedules, transcripts, account balance and more
* - Denotes steps that are optional.


text: Dr. King discusses the prevalence of racial issues in society. Discrimination and segregation still occur but through means in which the government has not declared unconstitutional. One of the main problems discussed was housing discrimination. Many African Americans were forced to live in slum housing in bad areas because they were not able to buy a house in the "white neighborhoods." Dr. King states that this type of social injustice cannot continue if the nation wants to progress.


text:
expressed on
this message board are solely those of the
individual author. No endorsement of such opinions by the editors,
Sportnetwork or Sale Sharks can or should be inferred.
Did anyone spot any evidence of the new scrum laws coming into effect over the weekend?
Of course that depends on whether the refs hold 9's to the straight put in going forward. I do fear they will not, even though that wold be one of the easiest aspects of the game for them to judge.
I had a similar game once where I was skipper and we had a young female ref. She was very clued up on the laws, but a stickler for them on a very windy day. After a number of lineouts failed to complete, myself and the other skipper had a word and we all 3 agreed to be tolerant to wind affected throw ins, and from that point on both teams enjoyed an excellent game refereed with ample common sense.
Surely you were right to do so though Flumpty with the result being that the players need to start doing the right thing in order for the game to progress!
It's not for the ref to ignore things in order to make the game flow, Clutch likes that argument but I've always hated it. Why have laws if they can be ignored, and in most cases the infraction is to stop the opposition competing for the ball (lots around the ruck as well as the set piece that refs also ignore).
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text:
Pelham man arrested in theft of jewelry
December 12. 2013 9:35AM
PELHAM - A Pelham man was arrested Wednesday afternoon on a felony warrant for receieving stolen property in connection with a Thanksgiving day burglary.
Damon Bonnell, 36, was out on bail from a previous Pelham arrest. In that incident, police said he was found hiding inside the trunk of a vehicle.
The Thanksgiving day burglary on Nancy Avenue resulted in the theft of $35,000 in jewelry and a 9mm handgun, according to police. Pelham and Salem detectives found the stolen jewelry at a pawn shop in Salem.
After issuing a warrant for Bonnell, detectives learned he was wanted on other warrants in Massachusetts and one for a parole violation from the N.H. Department of Corrections.
Bonnell surrendered Wednesday without incident. Detectives are still investigating the whereabouts of the stolen firearm.
Bonnell was taken to the Salem Police Department to be processed on the warrant.


text:
Details about this Driver
|Download driver for: SONY VGN-NS295J/L
|Supported System
|Windows 7, Windows 10, Windows XP, Windows 8, Windows Vista, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2003
|File Size
|2375 kb
|VAIO Power Management Update driver for SONYVGN-NS295J/L
This utility updates the VAIO Power Management software to version188.8.131.5240 to resolve an issue where the VAIO Power ManagementService does not start
Efficient Method to Update Sony Drivers
Way to Update Drivers with Device Manager
- Driver updates for Windows 10 and many devices (such as monitors, printers, and video cards) are automatically downloaded and installed through Windows Update.
- While it's likely you already have the most recent driver, if you're having trouble with a device, you can try fixing it by updating the driver or reinstalling it. Here's how:
- Select the Start button, type Device Manager, and select it from the list of results.
- Expand one of the categories to find the name of your device, then right-click (or tap and hold) it, and select Update Driver Software.
- Select Search automatically for updated driver software.
- If Windows doesn't find a new driver, you can try looking for one on the device manufacturer's website and follow their instructions.
- If these steps don't work, try reinstalling the driver: Open Device Manager, right-click (or tap and hold) the name of the device, and select Uninstall. Restart your PC and Windows will attempt to reinstall the driver.
To update driver for SONY VGN-NS295J/L using Windows Update.
You can check Windows Update any time to see if it's found updated drivers for your devices, especially if you recently installed a new device. Then, you can install the updated drivers. Here's how:
- Open Windows Update by clicking the Start button. In the search box, type Update, and then, in the list of results, click Windows Update.
- In the left pane, click Check for updates. If there are any available updates, click the links to see more information about each update. Windows Update tells you if an update is important, recommended, or optional. Each type of update might include drivers for SONY VGN-NS295J/L.
- On the Select the updates you want to install page, look for updates for your SONY VGN-NS295J/L, select the check box for each driver that you want to install, and then click OK. There might not be any available driver updates.
- On the Windows Update page, click Install updates. If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation. Windows Update will tell you if the updates were successfully installed.
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text:
Charlotte - Save the Date (Photo)
Charlotte - Save the Date (Photo)
from 75.00
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text:
staychicfashion Canvas Ballet Slippers Split-Sole Dance Flat Gymnastics Yoga Shoes for WomenUS8.5 =EU41|White White
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PLEASE MEASURE the length of bare foot and compare with Amazon's offical size chart before ordering. If feet are fat, you can take bigger size.You can also email us your feet length, we will suggest the size.
Ballet & Dance


text:
Appraisal of Guidelines Research and Evaluation (AGREE)AGREE is an international collaboration of researchers and policy makers who work together to improve the quality and effectiveness of clinical practice guidelines by establishing a shared framework for their development, reporting and assessment.
IDSA Handbook on Guideline Development
Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE)A systematic approach to grading the strength of management recommendations can minimize bias and aid interpretation of expert-created medical guidelines. The IDSA began to employ the use of the GRADE system in new guidelines and guideline updates initiated after October 2008.
GRADE Online Learning Modules (presented by McMaster University)
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text:
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Fuente Academica provides full text (including PDF) for more than 200 scholarly Spanish language journals. Includes a few titles in Portuguese and English.
Subjects: Comparative Literature, Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Spanish


text:
Acting Agriculture Secretary Chuck Conner says the farm bill passed by the Senate fails to strengthen the farm safety net, relies on budget "smoke and mirrors" and continues to send subsidies to people among the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans.
Other than that, Conner told reporters, he hasn't found much to like about the Food and Energy Security Act of 2007, the name given the new farm bill that cleared the Senate by a 79-14 vote on Dec. 14.
Although all of the nation's farm organizations have endorsed the Senate-passed bill, Conner called it "fundamentally flawed," using almost the same words former Secretary Mike Johanns did when describing the farm bill the House approved by a similar margin last July.
"The House and Senate need to address the concerns that matter to farmers the most," said Conner. "We have heard from farmers all across America in over 50 Farm Bill Forums since 2005, and most have made it clear there must be an end to income subsidy payments for the richest people in the country.
"Farmers understand that a program that takes tax dollars from middle income America and transfers those dollars to the nation's wealthiest few is bad policy, and damages the credibility and the purpose of farm programs."
Conner, who served as staff director for the Senate Agriculture Committee when it passed Freedom to Farm in 1996, was referring to the Senate's refusal to adopt Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar's amendment limiting to $750,000 the adjusted gross income a farmer could report from any sources and continue to receive farm subsidies.
The Senate bill, which was drafted by its Agriculture Committee in September and October, would reduce the AGI limit from the current law's $2.5 million to $1 million in 2009 — unless two-thirds of the AGI is from farming — and to $750,000 in 2010. The House bill sets the limit at $500,000 unless 75 percent of the income is from farming.
The Bush administration has been recommending a more draconian AGI limit of $200,000, citing Internal Revenue Service data that shows only 71,800 farmers or 3.6 percent of those reporting a profit or loss from farming had adjusted gross incomes of more than $200,000 in 2004.
Conner acknowledged that supporters of the Klobuchar amendment and the amendment offered by Sens. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., and Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, placing a "hard cap" of $250,000 on farm program payments failed to receive the 60 votes needed for passage.
"A majority of the Senate voted twice for tougher payment situations out there," he said.
"Unfortunately it didn't meet the super-majority threshold vote, but I will tell you that there's very, very broad support out there in the countryside at the grass-roots level."
The AGI limit is one of the issues that must be addressed by a House-Senate conference committee before Conner would recommend the president sign a new farm bill. The second: the "tax increases" in the Senate bill.
"The start for getting this farm bill back on track obviously has to be a farm bill that is not about taxes, not about budget gimmicks — the physical side of the equation," he said. "And again, it is painful for me to think that Congress has proceeded down that track of taxes and basically misrepresenting the true cost of this bill.
"I'll just start with the two because they're fundamental. Two simple things: get the fiscal side of this thing right and fair and honest, and secondly take the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans off the taxpayer dole here. And you're on a great path toward getting a farm bill done very, very quickly.
For their part, House Democrats have said the House bill closes tax loopholes that have permitted foreign corporations to transfer their U.S. earnings offshore and avoid paying U.S. taxes on them. In the Senate, Democrats have said their bill is fully paid for and actually costs $2 billion less than the president's farm bill proposals.
Conner told reporters he is "fully aware" that farmers face uncertainties and deserve a safety net for the risks they take to continue to produce food and fiber for the United States and a good portion of the world.
"Yet I believe this farm bill fails to strengthen the safety net, and it increases taxes to generate $15 billion in revenue used to grow the size and scope of our federal government. This is the first time a farm bill has relied on tax increases since 1933.
The secretary also defended the administration's decision not to recommend adjusted gross income limits for payments for conservation programs in the new farm bill. "I will just tell you that this was a close call for us in terms of whether or not we applied the $200,000 limit to them," he said.
"At the end of the day, we made that decision because we thought if there's great conservation benefits provided through these programs that the general public benefits from, and if we can secure those benefits from virtually any American, any size farmer, any person regardless of wealth, that that's probably good for the general public. And so we left that alone."


text:
19 Aug 2013 11:20:10 AM
Numbers Confirm That WAY More People Receive FOX Sports 1 Than FUEL TV
(That awkward moment when you realize you jumped ship way, way too soon.)
I imagine that after receiving the ratings numbers for Fight Night 26: Shogun vs. Sonnen this morning, Dana White calmly asked everyone to get the fuck out of his office, closed the door, threw on some Rage and did the following…
It would be hard to blame him if he did, because early figures for the UFC's debut on the FOX Sports 1 network are nothing short of astounding. According to a press release sent out this morning, Saturday's main card at the TD Garden averaged over 1.7 million viewers, shattering the UFC's previous FUEL ratings like they were Corey Hill's leg:
Read More DIGG THIS
FOX Sports 1, driven by UFC FIGHT NIGHT: SHOGUN VS. SONNEN, posted an average audience of 1.71 million viewers in prime time (8:00-11:00 PM ET), a more than 10-fold increase compared to that which SPEED, FOX Soccer and FUEL TV combined to deliver on the comparable night a year ago (141,000). Among younger demographics the comparisons are even more significant. FOX Sports 1 viewership was over 25 times greater than SPEED/FOX Soccer/FUEL TV among both Adults 18-49 and Men 18-49, and 40 times greater among Adults 18-34 and M18-34.


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There are strong relationships between SmarterMeasure™ scores and academic success, retention, engagement and satisfaction. Read more
Several accrediting agencies require their member schools to document how they determine learner readiness. Read more
Hundreds of schools use SmarterMeasure™. Find out which ones with this partial client list. Read more
What do our clients think about the assessment? Read these unsolicited testimonials to find out. Read more
Students can access the assessment directly from learning management systems. Read more
Learn how SmarterMeasure is helping enhance the student experience and retention rates at some client institutions. Read more


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This is a really strange time in the NFL: year -- probably the deadest, with lots of coaches and front office people taking vacations. OTAs are done, the top draft picks won't start signing for a few more weeks, free agency is pretty much over. Yet, we're deceptively close to the time when everybody springs into action. Rookies report to Lehigh in 32 days.
A couple of situations have resolved themselves this week, most notably, the Rams re-signing safety O.J. Atogwe, meaning Eagles fans who wanted to hand him zillions of dollars because they once heard somebody on ESPN say he was pretty good can stand down.
Also, a former Ram, quarterback Marc Bulger, signed with Baltimore. Some folks had felt that if the Eagles ever did get another team to give them a draft pick for Michael Vick, they'd move to bring in Bulger to back up Kevin Kolb. I was never sure this would have been a great idea, with Kolb an unestablished starter and Bulger very used to starting. Now it absolutely isn't going to happen.
If some team loses a QB in training camp and gets interested in Vick, I believe Jeff Garcia can still be revived from the NovaCare tank where he is kept frozen in carbonite. But given that poll this week in which Vick repeated as America's most hated athlete, you really have to wonder if the call is ever going to come.
There will be a supplemental draft for guys who weren't eligible for the regular draft for some reason or another, on July 12. You get a player by "bidding" a draft pick for next season; if your pick is the highest bid, then you forfeit that pick in 2011. An Eagles source says that as usual, there won't be any high picks expended in this year's supplemental draft. If the Birds get involved, it will be way toward the bottom.
As Tommy Lawlor points out in this Igglesblog piece, the Eagles already have 13 drafted rookies and at least a few underafted guys they like (Chad Hall, Martell Mallett, etc.) Where the heck would they put the guy they would have just spent one of next year's draft picks acquiring? That's the season the NFL is talking about expanding, not the rosters.
Lawlor does a good job of explaining why the Eagles probably aren't very interested in BYU running back Harvey Unga.
Over at the National Football Post, Andrew Brandt examines what the rookies drafted by the NBA tonight will get, vs. the financial setup for NFL draftees. One problem in comparing NFL salaries with those of any other team sport is that none of the other sports has a 53-man roster, of course.


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Checking in on the… Ivy LeaguePosted by rtmsf on January 30th, 2009
David Zeitlin is the RTC correspondent for the Ivy League.
For those who are unfamiliar with the Ivy League, its regular season is unlike any other. For starters, it is the only league without a conference tournament, thus making it the only league whose regular-season winner gets an automatic invite to the NCAA Tournament. The debate has long raged over the merits of having a conference tourney and while I don't really want to get into that timeless argument, I will say that I appreciate the uniqueness of the Ivy League and firmly believe that the best way to crown a champ is over 14 games, not over three in the final week. That said, teams that stumble early are often dead by midseason. The Ivy League schedule is structured in a way (for academic and travel reasons) so teams play back-to-back games every Friday and Saturday. As you might expect, many seasons have been lost in single weekends alone. The dreaded weekend trip to Penn and Princeton, for example, has been a virtual death sentence for many NCAA Tournament hopefuls.
But the winds of change have swept through the Ivy League. Penn and Princeton, which combined to win every league title from 1989 to 2007, have recently been passed by Cornell as league bully. And as the Ivy season begins its Friday-Saturday routine tonight, the Big Red look to be clear-cut favorites to win the league's "14-game tournament."
They will, however, be tested. Here is a look at all eight Ivy teams, their projected order of finish and a case for why they will or won't be dancing in March:


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CORE, Champions of Rolla Education, the Rolla Public Schools foundation, is in the midst of its annual membership drive, Tracy Phenix, president of the CORE Board of Directors, told the Rolla Board of Education Thursday night.
CORE, Champions of Rolla Education, the Rolla Public Schools foundation, is in the midst of its annual membership drive, Tracy Phenix, president of the CORE Board of Directors, told the Rolla Board of Education Thursday night.
"Our 2013 Membership Drive is underway, with a goal of increasing both individual and corporate memberships," Phenix told the board. "CORE hopes to continue to increase their support of enrichment programs and activities in each of the Rolla Public Schools, impacting students at every grade level."
Phenix said CORE each year provides about $100,000 worth of enrichment to the children in Rolla schools.
Founded in 1991 by former Superintendent of Schools Dr. D. Kent King, the foundation continues to operate with this mission statement: "In order to encourage the highest educational standards in the Rolla Public Schools and to increase community pride in those schools, the Rolla Public Schools Foundation (Champions of Rolla Education or CORE) is established to provide financial support for enrichment programs and activities where no other source of funding is available."
Phenix said of the phrase "no other source of funding": "That's the key." CORE sponsors enrichment activities for which the district has no money available. These acitivities include trips to places like the St. Louis Science Center, the St. Louis Zoo, Powell Symphony Hall, the Missouri Capitol and the Governor's Mansion, the Laura Ingalls Wilder Home and art museums.
In addition to trips to other cities, CORE also finances local field trips, as well as competitions, festivals and other cultural and educational events.
Phenix had photographic slides to show to the board, depicting children on those trips.
Phelps County Bank is a generous donor, and Brewer Science and Panera provide grants in partnership with CORE to teachers for specific uses.
CORE hosts an annual honors banquet for high-achieving students, honors teachers during a special appreciation week and administers several scholarships.
Phenix noted CORE will help with memorial contributions.
Membership levels are $50 for individuals, $75 for couples or families, $250 for corporations and $25 for school employees.
For more information, call 458-0100, the Administration Building, or log onto http://rolla.k12.mo.us/community/core/
In other business or discussion:
The board watched the Monthly Board Report via streaming video from the Missouri School Boards Association. In this month's report, the state budget and the Legislature's effort to cut taxes was a major topic.
Jim Moody, the MSBA's government relations consultant, said the school foundation formula is dramatically underfunded and a tax cut will not help that. In fact, he said, the previous tax cuts by the Legislature have not led to significant job growth, the reason for the tax cuts.
Moody also noted that in the past, the Legislature has sought to fully fund the school foundation formula, but "that consensus has disappeared."
The Monthly Board Report can be viewed by the public at http://www.msbanet.org/monthly-msba-board-report.html/ .
n The board noted spring break will be March 25-29.
n Board meetings in April will be April 4 and April 18.


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I got this Choke Hazard 2 from minibull design a few months back as a gift for a friend, but I was making stoves at the time and gave him a choice. I have one of these for myself and really like it. It has never been used and all the parts and instructions are here with the original bag. The only thing I have done is added rubber bands to keep the simmer ring on. Other than that it has been on a shelf this entire time. I really don't need two so I am letting this one go.
The quarter is for a size reference.
Asking 20 Shipped Con-US


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Gringo! takes the legendary, award-winning Great Battles of the American Civil War game system into a new historical era - the fascinating, challenging battles of the The Mexican-American War, 1846-8. The game rules are simpler (GBACW 4.3) with reduced Command Rules (for the smaller armies); they also include extensive rules for street fighting and the square formation.
The game's cast of characters include the stolid, bayonet-oriented General Zachary Taylor, the boiled-in-oil, head throwing General Pedro Ampudia, the never-speaking, inept duo of American division leaders, Twiggs and Pillow, the cast of well-dressed characters characters that riddled the Mexican Army, the mercurial, wily, and sometimes quite capable Generalissimo Antonio de Santa Anna, and the most complete, detailed Order of Battle information in one source.
The battles included are (1) Buena Vista, the classic battle of the war with Taylor's decimated army making a valiant stand against Santa Anna and a force three times Taylor's on a battlefield reminiscent of a lunar landscape; (2) Monterrey, spectacular street fighting with the Americans launching a three-pronged assault against, into, and through the beautiful city of Monterrey, complete with the huge fortifications, high peaks, crowded city blocks, bull rings, cathedrals filled with ammunition, even a telegraph system, and the San Patricio Battalion in The Black Fort; (3) Cerro Gordo, Scott's first meeting with Santa Anna on the dangerous mountain roads leading towards the heart of Mexico; (4) El Molino del Rey, where Santa Anna makes a last, well-entrenched stand outside Mexico City; and (5) Chapultepec, a mini-battle in which the gringos have to scale the precipitous heights of this immense fortress guarding the roads into the Mexican capital. Also includes Stonewall (pre-nickname) Jackson, hidden mines, wall-scaling, and those courageous Mexican cadets.
Gringo! is easily the most playable, colorful, and challenging of the GBACW series games to date. Most of the battles can be played in one sitting, and none are larger than one map.
Designer: Richard H. Berg
Game Features
Historical Background
On March 1, 1845, the United States, under the banner of Manifest Destiny, which expansionist sentiment referred to as the right of the U.S. to "spread over the entire continent," annexed Texas as a state knowing full well that such a move could mean war. The situation was further exacerbated when the U.S., and Texas, claimed her southern border as the Rio Grande River, whereas Mexico contended it was much farther north at the Neuces River. Thus, purposefully provoked by the government of U.S. President James Polk, Mexican troops, on April 25, 1846, crossed the Rio Grande into what they still considered Mexico. General Zachary Taylor, sitting in the area with a small army as a further threat to Mexico, stole a march on the advancing army and attacked it at Palo Alto. The Mexican War was on, especially when the U.S. Congress officially declared it so on May 13, 1846. By May 24, Taylor had attacked and taken Monterrey, but then got stripped of most of his regulars for Scott's southern invasion. His depleted army was then surprised by Santa Anna at Buena Vista, where the two armies fought to a tactical draw, which meant a Mexican strategic defeat as Santa Anna was forced to withdraw to the capital. In the meantime, Winfield Scott landed a large army of regulars at Vera Cruz and marched inland, defeating the Mexicans at Cerro Gordo, Contreras, Churubusco, and, finally, El Molino del Rey (of which Chapultepec was a part), capturing Mexico City on Sept. 17, 1847. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the war on Feb 2, 1848.
|One hour per turn
|42-125 yards per hex
|50 men per strength point


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Plan Your Free Online Education at Lifehacker U: Fall Semester 2014
Your education doesn't have to stop once you leave school. We've put together a curriculum of some of the best free online classes available on the web this fall for our latest term of Lifehacker U, our regularly-updating guide to improving your life with free, online college-level classes. Let's get started.


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Next Meetup
What we're about
Hello There!!!
Are you new to the area and looking for friends? Have you lived here for a while but your friends aren't as adventurous, social, or active as you? Have you noticed that you are starting to lose your friends to marriage, moving away, etc...? Well you've come to the right place to meet other young professionals that you can have a good time and network with! Our meetup events range in many activities such as themed parties, hikes, dinners, bowling, happy hours, networking events, kayaking, comedy nights, museums, beach days, etc. Most of our meetups will be in the OC but parts of LA will be included as well. We pride ourselves in having quality organizers that plan well thought out events and make people feel welcome. Please make sure you upload a head shot photo of yourself and answer the profile questions so we may know a little bit about you.
There is a $4 membership fee that helps support and plan larger events for the group (reservation fees, material/equipment, annual group fees paid to meetup.com by organizers, etc). Please use Paypal and send $4 to firstname.lastname@example.com as a "Gift to Friends and Family". If you don't have a paypal it only takes a moment to create it on a mobile device or computer.
firstname.lastname@example.com (Those are Zeros)
Venmo: (Another payment option)
Username: @Manuel-Hernandez-41
Email address:
(Those are zeros)
If you do RSVP "yes" for an event, please make sure you attend or you may be removed from the group.
No show policy: If organizers continue to see a person not showing up to events, that person will be sent a warning after TWO no shows. And, if the member does not show again, he or she will be removed from the group. (To clarify: 2 no shows will lead to a warning. 3 no shows will lead to a removal from the group.)
We look forward to seeing you at an event soon!!


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The live view button. It's right there on the back of the camera.
I don't remember the Hy6 implementation.
I think this discussion turned in to something else then people explaining why they still have or dont have their medium format camera in their bag. I dont mind, but i think people are kind of missing the point. hey emilmedia looks like your thread has gone viral
Best modern MF MUP implementation (based on my personal preferences) of the current cameras is the Hassy H (whether with Phase, Leaf, or Hassy back). It's a dedicated hard button with no other function/side-effect which is in reach of a usable finger when held in a normal comfortable position.
Dont think I have ever handheld a camera and used mirror up, that's time to reach for the tripod. you obviously have steadier hands than me.But as you say everyone's different
Those 35mm skin tones look complete crap compared to a Leaf!!!! What camera is that???Attaching a 4.7 MP crop from my Leaf AFi-II 12 80MP back.
@ Fred,It really appears you not at all comprehend MFDB, yet you go through all this effort to argue DSLR is better. It is fine to prefer one or the other, but begs if you have sour grapes of an experience or something? Perhapse you can share of it?The only problem I encountered with Medium format digital was with lack of design and implementation of ZD, but even that one under certain conditions brought me image quality that made my jaws drop, something I not see with DSLR. Come on, Leaf through a good dealer is stellar. I have not trief calling my gent at night yet but I have a feeling he would answer. Look at their project manager Yair who is all over net and providing email and other support to all users, and dealers like Capture Integration, Digital Transitions etc who are online here and even helping customers outside their market. Support and sales for DSLR are compkete junk in comparison.My dealer in Hong Kong even gives help outside warranty, and helped narrow and test focus problem with Mamiya sytem I did not even purchade from them. Want to figure out why I upgraded??And no I am not trying justify the $£ I spent, rather important for me in spending that much of my private hard earned cash was I knew Leaf would deliver quality for my passion photography, thanks to Gavin in HK and his team, and Yair. I have not regretted it, though I sure could use thst $ at very current. I am thrilled of what my system is capable to deliver.Perhaps you would share your real story, because your writing in no way seem correspond to others experiences with medium format digital, nor to your stellar work with film. Or do you have some of similar to your film work stellar work with MFDB for us to see???In all respect.Best regards,Anders
If someone is looking for wonderful skin tones both high end MFD and high end 35mm digital.. namely the D800 and D600 (with the Canon 1d x right behind them but lower res) are just what you need.
I thought we read that this gent you linked concluded different http://www.photigy.com/nikon-d800e-test-review-vs-hasselblad-h4d40-35mm-against-medium-format/He upgraded his Hassy instead of going with D800 E
Here's a shot I had with fingers in it, that I took when I had the phase DF and aptus 12. Lenses on my current camera AFi-ii 12 seem to be a bit sharper, but have a look.
Pardon my trolliness SIGMA POWER !!
The Sigma seems sharper on a pixel basis. Cheers,Bernard


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Itinerary Planner
Start planning your stay in the Glencoe and Loch Leven area, make your selections of where to stay, places to eat and things to do and watch your holiday come alive before your eyes.
Also ideal to use to create a shortlist if you can't decide straightaway how you want to spend your time in the area.
There has currently been no items added to your itinerary. Use the + Itinerary button when viewing an item that you want to add.
- Plan
- 14 Things to do in Glencoe before you Die
- Glencoe and Loch Leven Video
- Itinerary Planner
- Discover Glencoe Map
- Getting Around
- Getting Here
- Webcams
- Seasons
- About Glencoe and Loch Leven
- Mountain Safety
- Photo Gallery
- Flora and Fauna
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- Highland Weddings
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What's On
Short Guided Walk with the NTS Rangers every Thursdays from May to September 2018
Glencoe Short Guided Walk Every Thursday May to…
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Segway Sun downer Tour with Glencoe Activities Monday & Fridays All Summer
Come join us on a memorable Segway tour up through…
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National Trust presents . . . an exhibit by Hamish MacDonald
Celebrating a decade of Hamish MacDonald Prints. E…
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Tunna playing live at the Clachaig Inn
Tunna "tun-ah" – lots of, a load of,…
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Open Music Sessions at the Clachaig Inn
Impromptu live music sessions harnessing the loc…
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Black DH track is back - Open at weekends at Glencoe Mountain Resort
The Black DH track is back! Open at weekends only …
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XC trails up on Plateau - Open Weekends
XC trails up on Plateau are also now o…
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2017 Glencoe Marathon : Register soon or just Cheer on the Runners
Annual #GlencoeMarathon Register: http://glenco…
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Historical Land Rover Safari Tour with the Glencoe Rangers
Historical Land Rover Safari Exploring the most…
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Nature Nippers Pre School Nature Group with the Glencoe Rangers
Nature Nippers is a pre-school nature group for un…
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3 night Special - Loch Leven Holidays
Enjoy 3 nights in one of our loch view chalets for…
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£30/night discount for stays 2+nights! - RiverBeds luxury wee lodges with hot tubs
Stay two nights or more, and enjoy a £30 a night …
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New Property - The Steadings Cottage B&B
New modern Bed & Breakfast in Kinlochleven. Perf…
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Segway with the Family - Family Ticket (4) just £120 - Glencoe Activities - fun for all the family!
Segway is a wonderful, family activity. Everyone …
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10% Discount for Stays of 3 Nights or more - Strathassynt Guest House
Book direct via www.strathassynt.com and receive a…
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One or Two Person Occupancy - Glencoe Mountain Cottages
We appreciate that a cottage can be expensive for …
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Reduced rate for longer stays - Rowan Brae Studios
Staying more than 1 week (7 nights)? Price reduct…
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West Coast Seafood at its best with Daily Specials - Lochleven Seafood Café
Bookings highly recommended on 01855 821 048 for o…
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Free Night Offer - Fern Villa Guest House
Stay for 3 consecutive nights between 1st November…


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Five years ago, I moved back to the US after spending eleven years in Europe as a craftsman. My plan in moving back was to build my own house and to do it using energy saving measures, and I started studying about ecological design and sustainable practices. Then I realized that the most sustainable practice is to fix up an existing home. Now I'm a BPI certified energy auditor, and I help others fix up homes to use less energy. The nice thing is that it isn't hard to make a big difference.
Recently, I've started looking at how what I do for people here in America is done in Europe, and it has been very enlightening. I knew that houses in America are built entirely different from how they are built in Europe, so I figured that the way we test houses for efficiency must be different. What I discovered was that not only do we use a different ruler (CFM as opposed to liters per second) but the standards are vastly different.
Here we (try to) convert our blower door numbers from CFM50 to CFMn in order to say how many ACHn a building has. In Europe, they don't worry about ACHn, but only consider ACH50. We think that a house that has 0.35 ACHn (roughly 7 ACH50) is in very good shape. In Europe, the Passivhaus standard is 0.6 ACH50!
This might help explain why the average American uses twice as much energy as the average Western European (even though the standard of living is higher for the average Western European). Personal habits are certainly a factor, but the buildings we live in also play a huge role. Here we build houses that will last as long as our mortgages, knowing that our grandchildren will more than likely be living in a different state. In Europe they build houses that last for centuries, knowing that they will likely be passed on from generation to generation. European houses built hundreds of years ago are still better than houses we build today. Why are we so far behind? Because we have been spoiled with cheap energy.
I pay six cents per kWh for electricity in KY, but it costs more than three times that in Western Europe. That means that the same money spent on energy efficiency takes more than three times as long for me to get back in savings. The cost of energy will certainly increase at a faster rate here than it will in Europe, and we will pay for our care free attitude toward efficiency sooner or later. It is time for us to take our heads out of our asses, stop using stud walls, and recognize that our fundamentals of home building are grossly insufficient.
There, I said it. Comments?
Views: 1106
You can thank the US taxpayers for cheap energy. The US government subsidizes energy prices keeping rates low. It's just yet another way of the government playing "robin hood". If the government stopped subsidizing energy costs the bottom 40% of income earners that currently pay ZERO in income taxes would have to suddenly pay the real cost of energy. Those voters would make their opinion known on election day, no politician wants that.
Yes, because in Europe, they don't play Robin Hood. Do they? Taxes don't keep energy prices low, it is a lack of taxes which keep them low. Or do you have some information that I'm missing?
People in the US pay income taxes that the government uses to subsidize energy companies. Entire wars are fought overseas with the US taxpayers getting the bill in order to keep foreign energy cheap.
The energy companies are exempted from paying taxes much more so than being the recipient of funds from tax payers. Subsidies are things like ethanol which accounted for $0.04 per gallon at the pump, and not enough to sway anyone's vote. (BTW, that subsidy has been eliminated.) Yes, we do wield our might oversees to keep oil prices low and this is costly. I just don't see the connection you make between people not paying taxes and how their vote would be swung to the Tea Party if we stopped doing that.
Why else do you think the US pays billions to fight foreign wars? This keeps oil prices artificially low in the US. Not to get into a big political discussion, but if we didn't have a source of cheap foreign oil energy prices would certainly rise.
No arguments from me on that, and I can also understand why you wouldn't want to get into a big political discussion.
Comparing the US to the EU is probably a bit too broad to get a real picture. Both demographic areas are broad and have diversity within them.
It would seem your experience is in Germany. I have only read of techniques there but never seen them first hand. I think your experience is unusual and quite frankly I am jealous but will not hold it against you.
My wife is form Denmark and I have been there several times over the years. Even though the share a border there seem to be differences in construction. My brother in law is an Electrician so I have had the chance to walk some homes under construction while I was there. I am not saying plaster is not used but I saw homes with drywall.
Block construction is also the norm in DK About every 25 years this means ripping the mortar out between the blocks and refitting them with new. With as cold and wet it is there the maintenance needs to be done. My brother in law just had this done last year and said that it is normal.
The radiant floor heat used in homes there comes from an outside source. The city pumps hot water to be used in a loop and monitors how much is used and bills accordingly. Most of the older homes have forced air electric heat but this is rarely used. Every home that I have been to has a pot belly stove that is a major source of heat within the home.
They do not use gas and think that we are odd for having it in our home.
They do not have 110 electric and think we are odd for have two voltages within the home
I loved the article and it was proactive and made me think. I believe it important to bring as much to the table as we have to offer. I think with your experience you are in a position to improve the process with the material we use here. I don't think we should build houses the same in Kentucky as we do in California. Nor should we build exactly as Germany or Denmark here in the US.
We have different processes, materials, and culture. I would focus on improving the process rather than changing the material and culture.
I had the pleasure of attending a training session taught by John Tooley below is his philosophy copied and pasted from the link provided
Doing something right the first time trumps everything when it comes to building homes. The simple materials we have used for the last 100 years, when used correctly, will render very efficient homes. Until we abandon the "silver bullet" new product approach to energy efficiency, we will never affect the masses. Better products do not improve the process of building houses, improving processes improves processes John Tooley
Yes, I love that municipal hot water they're starting to use. I saw a new system just installed when I was visiting Italy (where I used to live) last summer. I'm not sure how the billing works, but essentially you don't get to use the water, just the heat from it that you extract with a heat exchanger. It's a small box with 6 lines coming out: 2 for the municipal supply and return, 2 for heating supply and return, 1 for domestic water in, and 1 for domestic hot water out. There are no gas lines, no high tension electric, no intake or exhaust vents, just 6 pipes. The only electric that it consumes is for the control panel and a pump that comes on when the thermostat calls for it. Centralizing the water heating plant and super insulating the distribution lines makes it very efficient if the distribution area is localized. Often the source of the hot water is a biproduct of electricity generation, so it's all gravy. I've never visited Denmark, but I've met many wonderful folks from there and hope to have the opportunity to visit in the near future. Thanks for your remarks!
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