text:
By Lawrence Hurley
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A federal appeals court on Friday rejected a legal challenge by Texas and Wyoming to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, in a 2-1 vote, said the states and various industry groups did not have standing to sue because they could not show that they had suffered an injury or that a ruling throwing out the EPA plan would benefit them.
The decision comes after the same court upheld the EPA's first wave of greenhouse gas regulations in 2012, and is another win for the EPA, which has a strong track record in the courts in challenges to its rules, particularly those targeting greenhouse gas emissions.
"The states and industry groups trying to block EPA from curbing carbon pollution under the Clean Air Act are on a long losing streak," said David Doniger, climate policy director for the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Friday's decision concerned a challenge to the EPA's efforts to make states include carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases when they issue permits to industrial facilities setting limits on various types of pollution they emit.
Under the Clean Air Act, states have a cooperative relationship with the EPA in regulating air pollution.
Texas and Wyoming objected in part to the tight deadlines the EPA imposed on them for coming up with new regulations to include greenhouse gases. The agency said in December 2010 that it would have to intervene, effectively taking over the issuing of greenhouse gas permits in the affected states, because the states had failed to act.
Texas in particular regularly fights the EPA over regulatory actions. Greg Abbott, the Republican attorney general now running for governor, has been an outspoken critic of the Obama administration and the EPA.
In Friday's decision, Judge Judith Rogers said the states had failed to show how voiding the rules in question would "redress their purported injuries."
Without the states updating their permitting programs, "construction of a major emitting facility could not proceed," Rogers said, adding that the Clean Air Act is clear that states have to issue permits "for each pollutant subject to regulation under the act."
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality called the ruling "disappointing" and said it will consider future action.
"The EPA has effectively re-written the Clean Air Act to impose its new standards, imposed severely restrictive timelines on the states to implement its new requirements, and then twisted the Act to immediately impose its agenda on Texas," TCEQ Chairman Bryan Shaw said in an emailed statement.
In a landmark 2007 ruling, the Supreme Court said carbon dioxide was a pollutant that could be regulated under the Clean Air Act.
Judge Brett Kavanaugh wrote a dissenting opinion to the latest case, saying states should have been able to use their old regulatory schemes, which do not take into account greenhouse gases, until they had time to update them.
In other notable rulings in recent years, the Supreme Court has upheld the EPA's authority to use the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gas emissions in two high-profile cases, while the D.C. Circuit has turned away at least four challenges.
Frank O'Donnell, president of the non-profit group Clean Air Watch, said Friday's ruling strengthens the hand of the EPA as it starts to implement President Barack Obama's climate action plan. Obama in June directed the agency to write rules to curb carbon emissions from the country's fleet of existing power plants.
But O'Donnell said Texas and other states opposed to federal environmental regulations are likely to drag their heels when forced to comply with EPA timelines.
"I predict they will be late filing their plans, due in 2016 under the scenario the president set forth, and will dare the federal government to intervene," O'Donnell said.
Texas has sued the EPA many times, most recently in a bid to challenge a practice in which environmental groups sue the agency to force it to issue or speed up regulations.
(Reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Additional reporting by Valerie Volcovici; Editing by Ros Krasny, Vicki Allen, Bill Trott and Eric Beech)


text:
By Piya Sinha-Roy
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - When it comes to hosting an awards show, Patton Oswalt has a few tricks up his sleeve that include keeping a celebrity-filled crowd on edge.
The Virginia-born Oswalt, 45, has forged a career in comedy, with roles in TV sitcoms "The King of Queens" and "Two and a Half Men," and films such as 2011's "Young Adult" and last year's "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty."
With his comforting, friendly and often neighborly vocal tone, Oswalt is also a regular voice actor and stand-up comedian. On Saturday, he will host the Film Independent Spirit Awards, a laid-back luncheon held in a tent on the beach in Santa Monica, California, the day before Hollywood's Oscars night.
Oswalt spoke to Reuters on hosting duties, the industry of independent film and how to break the ice with nominees.
Q: What's all this about you handing out live birds instead of the Spirit award bird statuettes to winners?
A: Oh, good lord, no. We just did that as a goof on the commercial. Why would I give a live, fragile animal to a boozy actor at a beach? That'd be terrible, no!
Q: The Spirit Awards are the day before the Academy Awards and a lot of those actors are going to be on edge as they are also nominated for Oscars. Are you going to put them at ease?
A: It'll be a combination of me being genuinely excited to be there and them being genuinely buzzed from the alcohol that they're serving that I think will relax everybody, that's what I'm hoping for at least.
Q: You're up against some tough hosting competition this year after Tina Fey and Amy Poehler slayed the crowd at the Golden Globes and Ellen DeGeneres is back for the Oscars. How are you feeling about that?
A: Really confident. Of all those people, I'm the prettiest girl. I don't really think I'm going to have any problems.
Q: You're known for often speaking your mind and calling out celebrities on Twitter. Is there anyone at the awards that you're hoping to throw a few jibes at?
A: Oh, yeah, there's people there. I hope they understand that it's my job to warm people up; I don't think anyone's going to take anything too personally. Oh, wait a minute. We're talking about actors. God knows what's going to happen.
Q: How are you planning to break the ice with the nominees?
A: The most that I'd say, especially if I'm talking to someone like Robert Redford or Bruce Dern, I say "Hey, look, thank you." And they can see from my pasty (repertory)-theater skin that I'm just a guy that watched a lot of those movies and I'm just happy to get to see them in real life and thank them in person for all the amazing work they did.
If it's somebody new and upcoming, I just go, "Look at all the horrible mistakes I've made. Please don't do what I do," and then I mysteriously walk away while sipping my Scotch.
Q: Just to make them more on edge about their career?
A: Exactly. I want to go "Hey, one small step and this is you," and then I point to my face. And then I just burst into tears.
Q: What's the strangest thing you're going to try and do?
A: I'm going to go commando.
Q: You've had your own success in independent film such as "Young Adult," how have you seen the industry change?
A: It's been pretty profound. I think the main thing that has changed is that now I think indie films have to do a little less begging especially in terms of getting distribution or just getting seen. If a filmmaker is simply concerned with getting their work looked at so that they could build their career off of that, if the initial film doesn't sell to a distributor or entice a studio, they can go, "You know what, everyone's got a screen in their pocket now, and I can reach them somehow." And the good stuff does bubble up.
Q: You were also in Ben Stiller's anticipated December film "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty," which failed to score any big awards nominations. Were you disappointed?
A: I was just disappointed in terms of, I thought Ben Stiller did an amazing job directing it and I thought he should have gotten some recognition for that. I also thought it should have gotten way more recognition in terms of cinematography, and in terms of his writing ... this was a really good crowded year, and it really tells you something when a movie that good gets lost in the shuffle. So it's frustrating for that movie but I think it's good overall for the health of cinema.
Q: What are your Oscar plans, will you be attending?
A: I don't think I get to go to the Oscars yet, I'm not a member of the Academy. I'd love to be someday, fingers crossed. Oscars day is going to be pajamas, pizza, wine and a big screen TV and my Twitter feed, that's all it's going to be.
(Editing by Eric Kelsey and Paul Simao)

subset: commoncrawl


text:
its ok thought i did something wrong ya alright.
hey sorry about that shit i didn't mean too or meant it in an ugly way i am just leaving the family here i fucking hate the drama and the troll thing name calling erugh...........
check yo inbox got mail
that show I don't watch at all and i don't know why but hey you are funny ahahahahaha
yo pc havin' some technical issues, eh...huston we have a problem... smash it up jk lol
Lol, try it again....zero inbox mgs
should be inbox. forgoten how to use this bloody thing. lol
On my visitor page or my inbox??
Yo, welcome!
How's it goin' Hitcher?
I may be a girl but a Tomboy at heart, lol.
I like bike chains, sports, video games, hangin'
with the homies, and rarely get allong with girls, xD.
Now, tell me a little bit about yourself?
im alright thanks. nah just saying hey, not many of my fellow offspringers
talk to me since i've not been on for a couple of years.
just a shout out i suppose. hope to talk soon mate.
I'm never here anymore
there's no tomorrow


text:
By Clare Kane
MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's three biggest mobile operators are teaming up to launch a service they hope will help them better compete with the likes of WhatsApp, Viber and Skype, which are luring customers with the promise of free phone calls and messages.
The Joyn service from Telefonica's Movistar, France Telecom's Orange and Vodafone will offer free messaging, enhanced call features and in some cases free calls.
The move comes amid a sharp fall in the number of paid-for text messages sent in recession-hit Spain, where the unemployment rate stands at one in four and where WhatsApp is the best-selling application on Apple Inc's App Store.
The service has become so well known that the local government on the southern island of Tenerife has said officials should use the application to cut mobile bills.
Joyn, which allows users to send video and pictures while on a smart phone, is available for Android phones and will shortly launch for Apple's iPhone.
More telecoms companies in Spain and globally are expected to offer the service, which will be implemented across operators in Germany later this year and in several European countries in 2013.
"This is the beginning of something that will cross most operators in most countries," said Graham Trickey, senior projects director at telecoms organization GSMA.
Telefonica and Vodafone have lost hundreds of thousands of clients in Spain this year since they stopped subsiding smartphones, a policy Vodafone recently reversed.
Cash-strapped consumers are spending less on traditional telecom services, a boon to Internet-based services like WhatsApp and Skype.
The number of paid-for text messages sent in Spain dropped to 1.5 billion in the second quarter of 2012, from 1.9 billion in the same period the year before, according to the country's telecoms regulator.
Operators are keen to maintain customer loyalty, even if they are not making money from them. And Telefonica, Vodafone and Orange could charge for some Joyn services in future.
"It's possible that in the future we could launch new added-value services that could be paid for, for example better quality videocalls," a spokeswoman for Orange Spain said.
(Editing by David Holmes)


text:
Why David Foster Wallace Couldn't Finish
The Pale King reveals the secrets of boredom.
Also in Slate, Matt Feeney explores boredom in The Pale King.
One small tragedy that follows on the big tragedy of a great writer's suicide is that the act undercuts whatever he was writing at the time. By killing himself before he has turned in his book, the author implies not only that he hasn't finished it, but that he despaired about finishing it, that he found it unfinishable. So yes, The Pale King is unfinished, and yes, it may have been unfinishable. But these weren't reasons to despair—not that we know why David Foster Wallace despaired. (He had a history of horrific depressions.) Incomplete or not, The Pale King is whole enough, a fully imagined, often exquisitely fleshed-out novel about a dreary Midwestern tax-return processing center that he has caused to swarm with life. By the time you're done, you may want to know more about the fates of particular characters, but you won't need to know more. He may have been planning to tell us more, but he may not have been. According to an introductory "editor's note" by Michael Pietsch, who edited the manuscript that Wallace's wife and agent found after his death, three notes in Wallace's desk suggest that we were never going to get anything like a traditional plot or ending: "One note says the novel is 'a series of setups for things to happen but nothing ever happens.' … Still another suggests that throughout the novel 'something big threatens to happen but doesn't actually happen.'"
What does happen is a series of bravura literary performances—soliloquies; dialogues; video interview fragments; short stories with the sweep and feel of novellas; a searching political discussion in a stalled elevator; a cringingly self-congratulatory postmodernist pseudo-memoir, replete with footnotes, from an unpleasant character who calls himself "David Foster Wallace" but isn't quite the author; and more. These add up to a vivid group portrait of people who work at or live near the Internal Revenue Service Regional Examination Center in Peoria, Ill. The events of the novel occur during the Reagan administration. That is, they occur at a time when the IRS, to the dismay of some, was about to be automated and also, more controversially, to be turned into something more like a for-profit business than a simple arm of government, with an attendant reduction of interest in the niceties of social justice. This is an old-school bureaucracy on the brink of the computer revolution and privatization. Having announced that the novel will address these changes, I should say that Wallace never really gives us a clear sense of how they will affect his characters. In the end, he's less interested in the history of the agency than in what it must have felt like to work there at the end of the era that came before ours.
Each of these set pieces is complete in itself, though some are broken up and scattered the length of the novel. Each is steeped deeply in the personality of its narrator or protagonist, as if each character deserved his or her own genre as well as his or her own voice. More revision might have smoothed the surfaces of these pieces slightly, but most of them feel done to me. We don't know what order Wallace would have published them in. They were arranged after his death by Pietsch, who took his cues from other notes in the desk that described the novel as having a " 'tornado feeling'—suggesting pieces of story coming at the reader in a high-speed swirl." Pietsch gets credit for the book's carefully constructed ramp up to that feeling, but it's Wallace's explosive inventiveness, his stylistic variability, that give the tornado its propulsive force. This is what 360-degree storytelling looks like, and if it doesn't come to a climax or end, exactly, that may not be a defect.
Anyway, Wallace had to find some way to keep us reading a novel about boredom, which is not an easy emotion to dramatize, obviously, but one he accorded enormous social significance. For one thing, boredom has a political dimension. As the character who is called "David Foster Wallace" (but isn't) explains in a thumbnail account of the IRS and the Peoria center, the reason few Americans know about the important changes made in the mid-1980s, "changes that today directly affect the way citizens' tax obligations are determined and enforced," is that tax policy and administration is "dull. Massively, spectacularly, dull":
It is impossible to overstate the importance of this feature. Consider from the service's perspective the advantages of the dull, the arcane, the mind-numbingly complex. The IRS was one of the very first government agencies to learn that such qualities help to insulate them against public protest and political opposition, and that abstruse dullness is actually a much more effective shield than secrecy.
Boredom, then—produced by a superabundance of unnecessarily technical information—is what stands between us and the truth. Being incapable of dealing with tedium long enough to get to the other side of it isn't just our undoing, though. It's also, for Wallace, our character flaw, proof of American callowness. It's the flip side of needing always to be entertained, which Wallace equated with the infantilizing machinations of pop culture. Our fatal addiction to distraction is a condition Wallace diagnosed in many forms over the course of his career, particularly in his epic and, I should add, often much more boring novel Infinite Jest. (I should also add that Infinite Jest is brilliant and at other times enthralling; it's one of the memorable American novels.) In Pale King—which is shorter and almost never boring—Wallace breaks boredom into its component parts: routine, repetition, pointless formalism, frustration, claustrophobia, the fear of being alone with oneself, the experience of being overwhelmed by irrelevant detail, the nagging sense of being inadequate to the task, the endlessness of it all.
As that list suggests, just because Wallace thought it necessary to tolerate boredom doesn't mean he thought it easy to do so. He may have had a cultural critique to advance, but he was still a novelist, and a very funny one at that. So some of the shorter pieces here amount to case studies in endurance. One very short chapter is a list of "syndromes/symptoms" associated with having been required to examine tax returns for more than 36 months in a row: "Chronic paraplegia, Temporary paraplegia, Temporary paralysis agitans, Paracatatonic fugues," and so on. You aren't required actually to read this list—it's more a typographic joke than a text to be parsed. Another chapter is a brief news item about a tax return examiner who died at his desk on a Tuesday and went unnoticed till Saturday night. A three-page chapter consists of the cumulatively droll repetition of sentences like these, meant to describe a day at the tax center: "'Irrelevant' Chris Fogle turns a page. Howard Cardwell turns a page. Ken Wax turns a page… 'Groovy' Bruce Channing attaches a form to a file." Phantoms visit those who concentrate too hard for too long on tax returns. One such ghost natters on wittily about philosophy and literature to a tormented young examiner whom one doubts has read Pascal's Penseesor La Rouchefoucauld's letters to Horace Walpole, so he probably didn't just hallucinate his visitant into being. Extreme boredom, in Wallace's hands, is more than just an existential condition; it's a conduit to the supernatural.
At another level, though, braving boredom is, for Wallace, the last remaining form of heroism. One hero of Pale King, insofar as there are any, is a low-level IRS employee named Chris Fogle who describes at great but entertaining length the epiphany that turned him from a college-student "wastoid" in the late 1970s into a sober accountant with a sense of having been called to his profession. Fogle's monologue has the chastened intensity of one of Philip Roth's late-in-life recantations, and Pietsch has tellingly placed it at the heart of the novel.
Fogle relates what has to be the most unusual conversion experience in confessional narrative. It begins with an amphetamine called Obetrol under whose influence he homes in on "the little embedded strings and clots" on his dorm room wall that "painters tend to leave when they're paid by the job and not by the hour," which leads to the druggy revelation that "if you really look at something, you can almost always tell what type of wage structure the person who made it was on." Obetrol introduces Fogle to the sensation of being self-aware, "doubled," he calls it, such that some time later, while wasting time watching As The World Turns,he is able to see himself well enough to realize that the repeated announcement, "You're watching As the World Turns," is horribly, literally true: "It was beyond being feckless or a wastoid—it's like I wasn't even there." Fogle's sense of vocation is awakened a few days later, when he mistakenly wanders into an Advanced Tax seminar whose Jesuit accounting professor is delivering a powerfully persuasive summation on the last day of class. His message also happens to be the novel's Big Message.
Heroism, this father tells his students, "by which I mean true heroism, not heroism as you might know it from films or tales of childhood … is you, alone, in a designated work space. True heroism is minutes, hours, weeks year upon year of the quiet, precise, judicious exercise of probity and care—with no one there to see or cheer." The man of courage in the age of prolixity sifts relevant from irrelevant data. He stanches their anarchic flow. "Yesterday's hero … penetrated, tamed, hewed, shaped, made, brought things into being. Yesterday's hero generated facts," the accounting professor proclaims. "Gentleman, the heroic frontier now lies in the ordering and deployment of those facts."
This is Wallace in full prophetic mode, announcing and denouncing the advent of the Internet (even though the Internet hadn't been named in Fogle's time). The author's observations about the indispensability of sitzfleisch may be as apt for novelists as they are for IRS employees, but, luckily for readers, it is the employees themselves who advance them, with surprising plausibility. Wallace's organization men aren't the bumbling, malign time-servers we expect to see in contemporary literature and cinema, where we are usually treated to a knee-jerk hatred of big institutions. Though we know that the obsolescence of these men (it is mostly men) is upon them, they don't know that, and they care deeply about what they do, have thought hard about it, and talk about it uncommonly well. The Jesuit father appears to be a former IRS official. In the chapter involving the stuck elevator, three top brass at the regional examination center trapped in that small, dark space—the lights have also gone out—hold an impromptu, graduate-level civics seminar on the Republican tax revolt, the rise of corporations, and the phenomenon of politicians who run against the government. Maybe it's the 1960s that has made people hate the government, one of them speculates. Perhaps it's the elevation of the corporate principle of "individual reward without individual obligation" ("the worker's obligations are to the executives, and the executives' obligations are to the CEO," and so on up to the stockholders: "It's a fugue of evaded responsibility"). In any case, their position at the helm of a tax-return center allows the officials to see "civic attitudes close up" ("there's nothing more concrete than a tax payment"), and they grasp that "that something queer is going on in terms of civics and selfishness in this country."
Of course, Wallace could never not make fun of his own high-mindedness, nor does he let the IRS bureaucracy come off as an unequivocal force for good. (This is the 360 degree view.) "David Foster Wallace" has a delightfully nasty riff in which he depicts the Peoria office as a place of "squat, institutional ugliness" and stupendous inefficiency. "Wallace," who gets suspended from college for selling his services as a term-paper-writer and lands a job as an entry-level tax-returns examiner, devotes his impressive analytical faculties to the logistical difficulties he experiences just getting from the airport to the center. The traffic around the place is so bad it becomes darkly comical—at one point we see employees struggling to get to the center from distant parking lots by trudging along a strip of grass that's so narrow they slip and fall into ditches. At fault is awesomely terrible parking lot design, engineered by the IRS. "Wallace"'s efforts to get himself processed as a new employee subject him to even more outrageous, if amusing, snafus.
The character who embodies the virtues and horrors of bureaucracy and yet, appealingly, seems equally uneasy with both, is Claude Sylvanshine, one of the most layered creations in the book. Sylvanshine is simultaneously a high-level and a low-level bureaucrat, and, as his name seems to suggest, a man trapped in the forest looking for light between the trees. A special assistant to an important human resources director, he gets sent to the tax center to lay the groundwork for big changes—probably layoffs—yet he's stymied by a repeated failure to pass the CPA exam he needs to advance in the IRS's ranks. The reason for this, despite his command of office politics and administrative esoterica, is an inability to concentrate, and the reason for that is a marvelous disorder: Random-Fact Intuition, whose victims are cruelly haunted by irrelevant data. Here is Wallace on the kind of random facts that disturb such people, also called "fact psychics": "The middle name of the childhood friend of a stranger they pass in a hallway. The fact that someone they sit near in a movie was once 16 cars behind them on I-5 near McKittrick CA on a warm rainy October day in 1971."
These minutiae, of course, are also the novelist's material. Sylvanshine is a man being destroyed by the mad plenitude of his world and his inability to make the right kind of sense of it. (At 8 years old, Sylvanshine had data on a medical condition that would ultimately kill his father—his "liver enzymes and rate of cortical atrophy" —but "didn't know what these data meant.") As such, he strikes me as a stand-in for the author. Sylvanshine has the panicked hyper-acuity of a man who can never process information fast enough. So does Wallace's prose style. At the end of the Jesuit's stemwinder to the accounting students, he concludes dramatically: "Gentlemen, you are called to account." Neither Sylvanshine nor Wallace can force themselves to "account" as they may have felt called to, Sylvanshine because of his disorder, Wallace—well, who knows why. Maybe the material defeated him. Then again, maybe it didn't. Maybe his failure to tie things together was a reasonable response to an age so overrun by facts that their neat integration seemed nearly impossible, and even—for Wallace—dishonest.


text:
Rachel Sue Ellen Fonda, age 43, of Ardmore, passed away Friday, March 8, 2013, at her home. Memorial services will be at 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 30, 2013, in The Chapel at Griffin-Hillcrest with David Decker and Johnny Nipp officiating.
Rachel was born May 2, 1969, in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
She attended and graduated school in New Mexico. She was always working to improve herself and always put her son first and provided the best she could for him. For all who knew her the best, they would know the struggles she has gone through and everything she had done to get to today. She will not be forgotten and will be remembered as a caring, fun and social person. May she rest in peace. Rachel moved to Ardmore in 1992, then moved to Denver, Colorado, for a year, but returned to settle in Ardmore. She attended Murray State College in Ardmore. Rachel began working at Walmart for the past two and a half years. She enjoyed reading books, listening to music, taking her dogs for a ride at the lake and spending time with her granddaughter.
She was preceded in death by her parents.
Rachel is survived by her son, Gaige Taylor Burnes, of Ardmore; and two granddaughters, Aiyanna Burnes and Sunny Burnes, all of Ardmore.
Condolences may be left at www.Griffin-HillcrestFH.com.


text:
There is a feeling of calm confidence that comes with having a place of your own, isn't there? And we here at Quoizel think there is a feeling of order and satisfaction that comes from having the appropriate light fixture. Here is how to choose a light fixture that compliments the architecture and interior design of your house.Define the style of your existing architecture. Choose a term that describes that style, be it Mediterranean, English, French, contemporary, etc. Once you have found the right term, research online to get even more specific. (For example, styles of English architecture include Georgian, English country, Edwardian, etc.) Type in your specific search term to get specialized results.
- Write down words that describe how your interior feels. Is it warm, calm, energetic, feminine, or masculine? What other words can you think of to describe your home?
- Think of what purpose you need the light to serve. Do you need soft light to dine by or bright light to cook or clean by? Specify dimmers for almost every light in your house so you can change the mood of a space with lighting.
To find the light fixture that is right for your home, visit Quoizel at www.quoizel.com


text:
MONTGOMERY | Gov. Robert Bentley has set a goal of raising teachers' pay by close to 10 percent over three years.
MONTGOMERY | Gov. Robert Bentley has set a goal of raising teachers' pay by close to 10 percent over three years.
Bentley has already recommended that the Legislature approve a 2.5 percent cost-of-living raise for the 2013-2014 school year. He said he intends to propose a similar amount for the 2014-2015 school year and another raise for 2015-2016.
"My goal is to have close to a 10 percent pay raise by the end of three years. I think it is reasonable," he said in a speech Tuesday to retired teachers in Montgomery.
Bentley said he believes the goal is achievable because Alabama's economy is recovering from the recession and businesses are creating new jobs.
"I truly believe we are right now on the verge of seeing our state create more jobs than we have created in decades," he said.
House Speaker Mike Hubbard, R-Auburn, and House budget committee Chairman Jay Love, R-Montgomery, said the governor had never mentioned the goal to them.
"That's a great goal," Hubbard said. But, he said, "it's going to be hard to do the 2.5 percent" for the first year.
He said Alabama's tax revenue for education will be smaller than legislators originally anticipated because of rising retirement costs and an increase in federal payroll taxes that started in January.
Alabama gives a state income tax deduction for federal taxes paid, and the federal increase will result in Alabama collecting $60 million less, he said.
That affects public schools because income taxes are the largest source of revenue for education.
Hubbard said legislators also want to make sure that any raise is sustainable in future years and won't result in midyear cutbacks in education spending.
The pay raise issue will be among the first issues addressed by legislators when they return from spring break. Love's Ways and Means Education Committee is scheduled to discuss the education budget on Tuesday and possibly vote on it Wednesday.
Love isn't saying what he will recommend ahead of Tuesday's meeting, but he said he will encourage his committee to approve a fiscally conservative budget.
If educators get a raise, it would be the first increase of Bentley's term and the first since they got 7 percent for the 2007-2008 school year.
Henry Mabry, the executive secretary of the Alabama Education Association, said the teachers' organization would like to see Bentley achieve his goal, but it doesn't appear financially possible.
The reason, he said, is the Legislature has approved new tax credits for parents who enroll their children in private school rather than a public school rated as failing. The tax credits will come from money now going to public education.
Mabry said the tax credits could curtail school funding by $50 million to $365 million a year, depending on how many families use them.
"With full implementation of this thing, there is no way to do these raises," he said.
AEA is challenging the tax credits in court.
Bentley has not proposed a raise for state employees for the new fiscal year because he said tax revenue for the state General Fund budget is still lagging from the recession. Hubbard said state employees deserve a raise, but he agrees with the governor that it's not possible.


text:
(Model years 2004 - 1926 including exotics and classic cars)
Oldsmobile Book Values: 2004 and older Oldsmobile models include the Alero, Bravada, Aurora, Intrigue and Silhouette. 2003 Oldsmobile book values range according to trim and engine-sizes, while Classic Oldsmobiles prices range by model (e.g., Delta 88, Vista Cruiser, Cutlass, F-85). You'll still see the 2002 Olds Intrigue on the road, along with the Oldsmobile Alero coupe. Oldsmobile is still a division of General Motors, and Oldsmobile was founded in 1897 by Ransom E. Olds as a luxury car division -- originally called Olds Automobiles.


text:
Kelly: Hey, Gabe
Gabe: hey kelly
Gabe: how are you?
Kelly: Fine! How are you?
Kelly: Still shaken from the crime you witnessed?
Gabe: i'm somehow managing to keep it together
Gabe: i've got a lot of inner strength
Gabe: but also it was very shitty
Gabe: of that stupid woman
Gabe: but i think she will get caught
Gabe: so that is good
Kelly: That is good.
Gabe: it's hard to drive around
Gabe: in a completely smashed truck
Gabe: with smoke pouring out of it
Gabe: i think? or maybe everyone is too JADED now
Gabe: because it's the 90s
Kelly: Hahah maybe
Kelly: It at least might be a hard thing to ignore
Kelly: If you are a police officer
Kelly: And it matches the description of the truck you're looking for
Gabe: "you're not the truck that smashed into someone five minutes ago are you?"
Gabe: "no sir, this truck has always been like this"
Kelly: hahaha
Kelly: "Oh, this? I know, I've been meaning to get it fixed."
Kelly: "Thanks officer"
Gabe: "well, i'll just be on my way!"
Kelly: At the very least I hope she reads Videogum.
Gabe: she's going to be very embarrased
Gabe: at this week's monsters' ball
Gabe: when her comment "that was me!" gets lowest rated
Kelly: hahahaaaaaa
Kelly: Speaking of very embarrassed, did you read about the Twilight fan who is marrying the cardboard cutout of Edward Cullen for her masters thesis
Kelly: I am very embarrassed
Kelly: That I did not nail down that cutout first
Gabe: hahahaha
Gabe: well, you aren't an artist
Kelly: That's true
Gabe: i love that she is raising money for this
Gabe: great cause
Gabe: is all of the damage from hurricane sandy repaired? ok good
Gabe: let's give this fucking dumb dumb some money to marry a cardboard edward cullen because of Las Vegas
Kelly: Hahaha
Kelly: I honestly don't understand what the message is
Kelly: Which might be on me
Kelly: But I thought at first it was about how Edward Cullen was a fantasy that could never be attained
Kelly: Which is so true
Kelly: But then also
Kelly: It's about how "female fandom gets dismissed"
Kelly: which is, I don't know, what?
Kelly: What is this art.
Gabe: well, what is any art
Gabe: but also
Gabe: if you want to make the argument that female fandom gets dismissed
Gabe: whatever that argument even means
Gabe: i would not start with twilight
Gabe: i feel like twilight is the footnote to your argument
Gabe: where you have to "admittedly, it is not always dismissed, as in the case of this case."
Gabe: *I know how to write smart*
Kelly: Hahah yes right
Gabe: also, i understand that edward cullen is a fantasy that can never be attained
Gabe: but also isn't that basically ALL FICTION?
Gabe: it's all made up, does she know that?
Gabe: she should marry a cardboard cut out of The Berenstain Bears
Kelly: Hahah
Kelly: Especially fiction about things that literally do not exist
Kelly: No one will ever find the perfect vampire edward cullen to turn them into a vampire
Kelly: So they can have a baby and it marries a werewolf someday
Gabe: NO SPOILERS
Gabe: just kidding, twilight is itself a spoiler
Gabe: IN THAT IT RUINS EVERYTHING
Gabe: lololololol
Kelly: hahaha EWWWWWW lol
Gabe: here are a few things i don't understand:
Kelly: 1. Math
Gabe: 1. why a cardboard cut out
Gabe: 2. why marriage
Gabe: 3. how is that art
Gabe: 4. what is this
Gabe: 5. why are we talking about it
Gabe: 6. who is president
Gabe: 7. how many fingers are you holding up
Kelly: hahah
Kelly: I would like to add
Kelly: 8. What is she raising money for?
Kelly: 9. She says she is planning a honeymoon. Is she going to GO ON the honeymoon?
Gabe: oh yeah
Gabe: why does she need money?
Kelly: What is this quote about: "A few of my ex-boyfriends found out and they're surprised I'm taking things this far, but they've always known I'm a massive romantic"?
Kelly: "Well, I am surprised you're marrying a cardboard cutout for school, but you have always been a massive romantic." -ex-boyfriends
Gabe: "i like long walks on the beach and marrying card board cut outs for art class."
Gabe: a few of her ex-boyfriends found out
Gabe: but some of them are in for a big surprise
Gabe: although not that big, since she has always been a massive romantic
Gabe: doesn't she mean hopeless romantic?
Gabe: she should go back to WORDS SCHOOL
Kelly: YEAH!
Kelly: And marry a cardboard cutout of the DICTIONARY
Gabe: hahaha
Kelly: "It's a beautiful, escapist fantasy, and I'm living it"
Kelly: whaaaaat are you taaaaalking abooouuuut!
Gabe: i feel like this is actually an art instillation
Gabe: about confusion and stupidity
Gabe: and she is getting an A+
Kelly: Maybe it's an art installation about how blogs react to certain types of stories and this is just blog bait and now we're a part of the art
Kelly: :-/ :-/ :-/ :-/ :-/
Gabe: maybe i am an artist and i have been using you for my art the whole time like in that neil labute play and now i am a thesis
Kelly: !!!!!!!! :( :( :( :( :( :(
Kelly: NOW I'LL NEVER KNOW IF ANYTHING ISN'T ART
Gabe: life is art, kelly, grab it with both hands
Gabe: my piece is titled "You're Fired" (mixed media, 2008-2014)
Kelly: :( it's beautiful.
Kelly: Well, you know, I think the real triumph of Lauren Adkins project is that she's got us talking about art.
Gabe: hate her or hate her
Gabe: she's getting a reaction
Gabe: of confused and annoyed mild-hatred
Gabe: that's all an artist can hope for
Kelly: Mmhm
Gabe: that and fulfilling their kickstarter goals


text:
High Museum of Art
1280 Peachtree Street NE
Atlanta, GA 30309
(404) 733-4444
Nurture your child's inner artist with a visit to the High Museum. They have a program especially for toddlers every week, called Toddler Thursdays. This pre-school art program offers kids the opportunity to create their own masterpieces and take their creations home to share with their parents. It's perfect for an afternoon trip and also a great alternative to the playground. Open every Thursday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Leapin' Lizards
185 Sams Street
Decatur, GA 30030
(404) 537-3030
Nothing excites a toddler more than uninterrupted playtime; if they could, they would play all the way up until they fall asleep in a heap of exhaustion. Leapin' Lizards is filled wall-to-wall with inflatables, obstacle courses, play kitchens, indoor playgrounds and great snack options. It is absolutely ideal for birthday parties and other celebrations. There is so much to do here that your child will definitely ask to return so that they can fully experience everything. Hours: Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
ABC Early Learning Academy
420 Ponce De Leon Avenue NE
Atlanta, GA 30308
(404) 541-0700
Ideal for working moms that have a lot on their plate – but still want a trusted place for their infants or toddlers where they can learn, play and interact with other children – ABC Early Learning Academy is a nationally accredited center for learning that accepts children as young as six weeks. In total, there are three Atlanta locations, with Eagles Landing and Stone Mountain rounding out the remaining two. When your child is here, you can put your mind at ease and know that their hearts and minds are well taken care of. Call for operating days and times.


text:
Philadelphia Information Locator Service
Agency Information
Public Health and Charities, Department of[Record group 81]
Agency Function
- This agency has ceased to function. Its powers and duties are performed by the Department of Public Health and the Department of Human Services.
- Agency History
- Organized by an Act of April 8, 1903 in order to centralize the direction of all of the City's health and charitable agencies. This reorganization transferred to the Department the Bureau of Charities from the Department of Charities and Correction (that Department was abolished and its Bureau of Correction transferred to the Department of Public Safety) and the Board and Bureau of Health from the Department of Public Safety. The Board of Examiners of Plumbers was formed within the Department by an Act of 1911 which required the examination and licensing of plumbers. Under the terms of the City Charter of 1919 the Department was reorganized as the Department of Public Health and its Bureau of Charities transferred to the Department of Public Welfare. The Bureau of Charities' control of City hospitals was retained by the Department of Public Health, however, through its newly-organized Bureau of Hospitals.
- Archival Records
- 81.1 Annual Reports (1903-1913, 1915)
81.8 Medical Inspection of Schools. Annual Reports (1912)
Links to related information...
PhILS Home
-->City Agencies
---->Current Agency Information Sheet. (Graphical version of this page)
Send your comments to firstname.lastname@example.com
Last updated on July 9, 1999


text:
ROCK FALLS – Gary A. Hall, 69, of Rock Falls, died Monday, April 22, 2013, at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria.
He was born June 12, 1943, in St. Louis, the son of Russell and Lorain Elizabeth (Shields) Hall. He was a 1961 graduate of Newman Central Catholic High School in Sterling, and later attended St. Ambrose College. Gary married the love of his life, the former Sheryl Wechsler, on Jan. 11, 1964, in Sterling.
Gary was the owner and operator of Hall's Autobody (later named Hall's After Collision) in Rock Falls from 1967-2003. He was a member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church and a member of the choir. Gary was a past member and president of the Rock Falls Rotary Club; past member and president of the Rock River Auto Body Club; a past member of the Rock Falls Chamber of Commerce; a member of the Sterling Family Moose; past member of the Optimist Club; past member of the TD Club at Newman; and was a past honoree by the Sterling-Rock Falls Elks Club as "Man of the Year."
Gary enjoyed golfing, boating with his family, and writing poetry, as well as his favorite pastime, singing karaoke, or Garyoke as his family referred to it. His main focus in life was his love for his family, and his wife Sheryl, whom he worshipped.
Surviving is his wife, Sheryl; their children, Scott (Patty Stombaugh) Hall, Curt (Kendra) Hall, and Kelly (Rodney Kohn) Martinez; his brother, Doug (Jane) Hall of St. Petersburg, Fla.; 11 grandchildren, Justin and Tanner Hall, Drew, Hailey, Courtney, Cody, Brady, and Tyson Hall, and Desirae, Savanah and Brynlee Martinez; two stepgrandchildren, Logan and Luke Kohn; two great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents; stepparents; a nephew, Jeff Hall, a sister-in-law, Sharon Simpson; and a brother-in-law, Brian Wechsler.
Visitation will be from 1 to 5 p.m., with the rosary recited at 12:30 p.m., Sunday at McDonald Funeral Home in Rock Falls. Celebration of the Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10 a.m. Monday at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Sterling, with the Rev. Bruce Ludeke officiating. Burial will be at Oak Knoll Memorial Park in Sterling.
In lieu of flowers, a memorial has been established.


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puppy doesn't bark
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[12 Posts]
Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 6
Posted: Sun 03 Aug 2008, 08:51
Post subject:
puppy doesn't bark
Subject description: no audio
Hi all,
I'm new to Puppy (and the whole Linux scene).
I'm setting up Puppy 4.0 on an old laptop using the live CD
After some tuning everything works fine. Expect I have no sound at all.
When I run the Alsa Sound Wizard Puppy says :
"No supported PnP or PCI card found".
Then I can probe legacy ISA sound cards.
Then I chose sb8 Sound Blaster Pro (acording to the manual of the laptop there is an sound blaster pro on board).
Puppy then try's all the DMA and IRQ combo's
After that puppy changes my modprobe.conf with snd-op13sa2
But when puppy tries to play a sample : I hear nothing
and I get a message that the ALSA mixer is ready to use.
but when playing something using the alsa mixer or some other multimediaplayer I get no sound at all.
Anyone who can help me ?
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Joined: 17 Apr 2008
Posts: 12
Posted: Sun 03 Aug 2008, 11:11
Post subject:
I'm having the same problem. This sound card works with DSL but I'd much, much, much rather use Puppy. Puppy is so much more polished than DSL it's not funny. I'm prepping this pc for my 10 year old cousin. He played around with it last night and he was happy. I'm just trying to put the finishing touches on this old desktop. I'll post back with more info later on today so you can see what kind sound card I have.
"aplay -l" results:
aplay: device_list:204: no soundcards found...
I typed "alsaconfig" in the terminal window and I get "command not found"
Typed "alsaconf" and got the configuration wizard but I can't hear any sound.
I ran the audio configuration wizard after installing puppy on the hard drive but my sound card doesn't have sound.
I'm running it again and will post what it says.
No support Pnp or PCI card found
Would you like to probe legacy ISA sound cards/chips?
Please select the drivers to probe:
I leave all drivers checked and select OK
Shall I try all possible DMA and IRQ combinations?
Probing opl3sa2
Configuring snd-opl3sa2
Do you want to modify /etc/modprobe.conf?
OK, sound driver is configured
Starting sound driver: snd-opl3sa2
When dsl was installed on this same pc it used a sound blaster driver: sb
I'll run the audio configuration again and make sure only the sound blaster option is checked.
By the way, this is an old pc with an AMD K62/300 and 256mb. It's a mini tower and it only have 3 pci slots. The pci slots are filled by: video, network and usb. The only way I could install a pci sound card is if I remove the pci video and install an isa video. Of course the sound card is an isa card. I took the card out but couldnt' read the chipset very well.
I tried snd-sb8 for my sound card and no sound
I tried snd-sb16 for my sound card and no sound
I'll removed the sound card again and see if I can see what chipset is on it.
I'm going to boot with a dsl cd.
dsl system stats says:
soundblaster pnp cards found (this is not a creative labs sound card)
ISAPnP reports i/o 0x220, irq 7, dma 3
Last edited by pcdoctor on Sun 03 Aug 2008, 14:11; edited 8 times in total
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Joined: 18 Aug 2005
Posts: 977
Location: BC Canada
Posted: Sun 03 Aug 2008, 12:52
Post subject:
try running alsaconfig in a terminal window.
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Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 6
Posted: Sun 03 Aug 2008, 14:15
Post subject:
"aplay -l" results:
aplay: device_list:204: no soundcards found...
Same here. Puppy is great but this sound thing is driving me nuts.
try running alsaconfig in a terminal window.
Probably a stupid question but "How do you do that ?"
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Joined: 17 Apr 2008
Posts: 12
Posted: Sun 03 Aug 2008, 15:18
Post subject:
stopthecar wrote:
"aplay -l" results:
aplay: device_list:204: no soundcards found...
Same here. Puppy is great but this sound thing is driving me nuts.
try running alsaconfig in a terminal window.
Probably a stupid question but "How do you do that ?"
I had to type "alsaconf" in the terminal window to run the audio configuration wizard.
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Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 6
Posted: Sun 03 Aug 2008, 15:34
Post subject:
That works, but you could also run the sound wizard from the menu.
Menu -> Setup -> Alsa sound Wizard.
Anyhow the result is the same.
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Joined: 25 Jul 2008
Posts: 46
Posted: Fri 08 Aug 2008, 03:27
Post subject:
yeah same problem for me..
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Joined: 27 Aug 2008
Posts: 56
Location: Freedonia
Posted: Mon 22 Sep 2008, 01:55
Post subject:
I had the same problem; the "wizard" always picked the first choice on the list. I finally found by experiment that you can use the mouse to uncheck all the options except the one you want, and force it to try the right one. HTH, HAND.
Registered Linux user #470359
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Joined: 20 Jul 2008
Posts: 53
Posted: Mon 22 Sep 2008, 09:07
Post subject:
stopthecar wrote:
"aplay -l" results:
aplay: device_list:204: no soundcards found...
Same here. Puppy is great but this sound thing is driving me nuts.
It isn't totally Puppy's fault, but it is Linux in general. Linux has terrible sound support. Much of it just doesn't work.
I have tried four devices and thusfar only the Sound Blaster Live MOSTLY works in all the Linux distributions I tried.
The Sound Blaster X-Fi can be "forced" to work in Ubuntu Hardy (it works in Gutsy too), and I had pretty good results there.
As of now I have an Echo Mona sound device. This sound device is SUPPOSED to be supported by Linux. However, Puppy recognizes the card, but no sound. Ubuntu doesn't even recognize the card.
I tried to follow four different guides to get this sound card to work in my Linux distributions to no avail.
I am speaking to the developer of the ALSA driver for my Mona device, but things are SLOW going.
What I am getting at is to prepare you for a very rough road trying to get sound working in Linux.
There are a handful of cards that are known to work without major setup headaches, but I have not tried them as of yet, with the exception of the Soundblaster Live.
Of course my application of using Linux for a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation), is very sound in/out intensive, so a regular SB Live will not do. I have heard that the M-Audio Delta line is automatically recognized by most Linux distributions. I don't consider M-Audio very high end (for use in a serious pro DAW application), but then again, then next rung up that is recognized automatically are the cards made by RME. However, these cards are VERY expensive. Both M-Audio and RME support their products via a Linux driver, so that is a big help. Again, I have not tried these cards as of yet, but there have been many success stories.
With onboard computer sound, I have had luck with SoundMAX. All of the Dell machines I have at my job use SoundMAX and these on-board sound devices are automagically detected by Linux and I have had no problems using them.
On-Board sound issues are another matter to deal with. Fortunately most of my machines I can pull the sound card out of and replace it. If you have a desktop machine and your on-board sound doesn't work, you can turn it off and install an SB Live instead.
All in all, I hate to be the harbinger of bad news, but I am 4 months using 3 different Linux distributions now (Ubuntu Studio, Puppy, Dynebolic), and I have yet to find a "studio based" sound device that works.
I consider myself to have an above average understanding of computer operation and I was able to handle most issues with Linux through the associated distributions on-line forum support, but I will say that while other issues were solved in a couple of messages, my sound problems are on-going.
Sound is probably the worst issue you will face when dealing with Linux.
As of now I am still using Windows XP for my DAW (sound intensive) applications as well as certain games. However, I am using mostly Ubuntu and Puppy for regular tasks such as emailing/internet surfing and any game that I want to play that I don't require sound.
So, I am not going to sugarcoat it. Be prepared to have a very silent world in Linux for a very long time.
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Joined: 09 Oct 2008
Posts: 10
Posted: Thu 09 Oct 2008, 12:38
Post subject: Sound paradox
Hey Folks, the Sound Card VIA1617A works under puppy Linux and Ubuntu but not with Teenpup 2008.
Tried the Sound Wizard. Not sure what else is left to be done. Any suggestions? Thanks
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Joined: 26 Mar 2007
Posts: 12
Location: Stratford, Ontario, CAN.
Posted: Wed 15 Oct 2008, 12:39
Post subject: no sound
Subject description: on-board sb8 not recognised after 4.10 upgrade.
Greetings all, I seem to be having the same difficulty as other in that my sb8 onboard isn't getting picked up by alsa now that
i have upgraded to 4.10. I booted in ram from 2.16 and got sound up and working and then copied the modprobe.conf file and rc.d/rc.d.alsa.start files to usb drive hoping to just swap the files but they look totally different in 4.10, so, now I'm stuck. I should add that 4.10 loads sb-16 into alsa but It doesn.t work and when I force sb-8 it says no device found.
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Joined: 09 Oct 2008
Posts: 10
Posted: Wed 15 Oct 2008, 16:47
Post subject: Re: Sound paradox (SOLVED)
palden wrote:
Hey Folks, the Sound Card VIA1617A works under puppy Linux and Ubuntu but not with Teenpup 2008.
Tried the Sound Wizard. Not sure what else is left to be done. Any suggestions? Thanks
Ahh, my solution is so simple i wonder if this should here. During and after booting, if there is this strange buzzing sound, then that means there is a fault when initializing it or something. Just reboot the computer till it gets right. Normaily one reboot should do. (Tune up the volume and there should be no buzzing sound during and after booting up.) Though still sound problem but at least this gets (SOLVED) because there is a solution: Reboot. Hope this helps.
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Featured News - Current News - Archived News - News Categories
by Alicia Wainwright
Emily Spina, a senior at Starpoint High School, has been writing novels since she was 13. Now, her dream of being a published author is becoming a reality, as her novel, "Book of the Legion," is currently available as an e-book on both www.amazon.com and www.bn.com.
"Book of the Legion" is the story of an unlikely group of teenagers who are thrust together by an old prophecy. They must then defeat a collection of demonic spirits known as The Legion. The action-adventure story follows them as they mature and grow closer to each other. Written with a Christian viewpoint, Spina notes that this tale is one that will appeal to "all ages," and to fans of many different types of literature. The book has a "little bit of everything - action, a little romance, and mystery."
The 30-chapter novel was her first full-length novel, and she already has the sequel written. Her sequel, "The Five," will be released as an e-book by the end of 2012. She is also currently writing the second book of a trilogy titled "The Machine." As a well-rounded writer, the upcoming trilogy will have some similar themes to her work in "Book of the Legion," but will also have a more "sci-fi" plot than her previous work.
"Book of the Legion" sells for $2.99 on both retailers' websites. And for those who don't own a Kindle or Nook, you can go to www.amazon.com and download a free application that will allow you to purchase "Book of the Legion" by Emily M. Spina on your Kindle Cloud Reader, PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, Blackberry, Android, or Windows Phone 7. Just search "kindle store" "free kindle reading apps."
Spina, pictured, began writing at a young age, but before she put her words on paper she would tell stories out loud to her younger sister. "My ideas just kept getting longer and more complicated so eventually I decided to write them down," said Spina.
In her spare time, this young author is also a dancer and instructor with the Harmony Polish Folk Ensemble and sings in her school's select choir. She is also a youth reporter for NeXt in the Buffalo News and has a television program, a comedy variety show that she co-writes with her sister and is produced by her father, titled "That Variety Hour," on LCTV 20.
Despite adversities, Spina has continued working hard towards her academic and professional goals as a writer. Spina's aunt, Manya Metzler, notes that this spring, Spina underwent a difficult back surgery that she believed would make her unable to find a summer job to support her college career. Spina has continued to advertise her book and work on her upcoming trilogy, and managed to find a part-time job at Kohl's. However, Spina recognizes that she still has some physical "limitations at her job" because of the surgery, so she hopes to sell some more copies of her debut novel to further support her education.
The ambitious young woman will attend University at Buffalo Honors College in the fall. She plans to major in linguistics. But no matter what the future holds, she will always be an author.
She said, "I think that having a job outside of writing is beneficial to writers, actually. The more you see of the everyday world, the more you have to write about."
Clearly, Spina's courageous and creative approach to her future and career have benefited her writing, academics and extracurricular involvement. Purchasing the story can help support this young author pursue her dreams.
Additional reporting by Alex Muto.


text:
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text:
CLAAS will use the Agritechnica to present a completely new SCORPION series developed together with Liebherr, the technology leader in professional materials handling. Manufactured by Liebherr, the new SCORPION is currently being tested in the field and will be available in an extended model range from January 2018.
CLAAS and its sales partners guarantee to continue the familiar reliable service and replacement parts for all CLAAS SCORPION on the market, now and in the future.
Kramer-Werke GmbH has been producing CLAAS agricultural telescopic loaders since 2005, and will do so until the end of 2017, which CLAAS sells under the global CLAAS SCORPION brand. Two years ago, CLAAS and Kramer-Werke agreed to end their partnership in the development and production of agricultural telescopic loaders by the end of the current year.


text:
Is anyone else amazed at how long Microsoft's Windows XP has hung in there as the OS of choice on the desktop? Users -- and a good many government agencies -- stubbornly clung to XP for years beyond its planned lifespan, ignoring Vista all together and shunning Windows 7.
I know because I was one of them, only grudgingly upgrading my gaming machine at home because I wanted access to the latest Direct X textures, which Microsoft smartly (read: frustratingly, for me) kept away from XP.
Even the pending end-of-service date of April 2014 didn't push too many people over the fence, an amazing accomplishment given that XP is over 10 years old. Microsoft even had to push the end-of-support date back several times, though I think this is the final one.
Windows 8's new look makes sense, if you can stand the shock
Good old XP was like a rock, stable and unchanging, and people didn't want to let go of it to drift into the flashy waters of Vista and Windows 7. For me, XP was intuitive. Making small changes to things like the screen saver made sense. Making large changes like updating drivers was similarly easy. I don't even think anyone taught me how to use it. It was easy to figure out.
In the end, it just plain worked, which for a program whose primary job is helping users run other software, is a pretty good advantage.
But the times, they are a-changin'. Net Applications has released data showing that, for the first time, Windows 7 is more popular than XP -- although Win 7 took the lead in the United States some time ago.
The margin globally is razor thin, with Windows 7 gaining 42.76 percent of users and XP holding onto 42.54 percent. But in the United States, Win 7 holds 49 percent to XP's 23 percent. Still, that 23 percent stake represents a lot of users who have held onto an OS despite two new versions of it coming out.
Those numbers should slowly increase for Win 7, though XP could briefly become No. 1 globally again in October when Windows 8 is released, if Windows 7 users upgrade and XPers hold firm.
In the October issue of GCN, I will be reviewing Windows 8, with a keen eye towards features geared for government. I'll also make a decision on whether the new OS is ready for government service. One positive factor in its favor is that Microsoft is going to sell it for a very good price, under $50 if you are upgrading from an existing version of Windows (XP, Vista or 7), so costs should not be a factor.
It will come down to Windows 8's ability to capture the magic of XP while avoiding the pitfalls of Vista.
About the Author
John Breeden II is a freelance technology writer for GCN.
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As for me, the main reason why I am still on with XP is the difficult bridge between it and Win7. Reformatting the hard disk to upgrade to Win7 from XP is why many are still keeping their XP. I think if Win8 provides a simple cross over from Xp many like me will join the early que.
Lots of PCs out there not connected to IP universe, that will be running XP for another decade. There are as many PCs outside the enterprise world as in, and as many people without broadband access as with. As long as it keeps working, for people on a budget, and with dialup or slow DSL, OS upgrades only occur when machine is replaced. For a home user without kids, a PC can last a decade.
I have been stuck with XP way to long as a government user. Personnally, I do not believe the cost arguement at all. XP is not stable, has memory limitations, make distributed folder sharing very difficult, and has a poor network stack. I administer my children's school network and moved to Windows 7 almost immediately after it was out. Administration of Win7 was so much easier with a massive improvement in security. The reduced cost of administering Win7 more than covered the cost of the upgrade.
If Microsoft wanted XP users to upgrade to Windows 7, they would have made it easy to do so. Doing a clean install and upgrading/reinstalling all applications manually may work for simple systems with few applications... for more advanced systems, the barrier is too much, especially for the technically non-savy person to attempt this. Vista is better because there was an upgrade path set out by Microsoft and not suprisingly, the numbers reflect this. This was all by Microsoft's design, so I'm always amazed why folks think this is newsworthy or unexpected...
In the past alternate versions of windows were dogs. If that holds up Windows 8 doesn't sound promising. I didn't hear much good about Vista. Windows 7 on the otherhand was reported to be better than XP in most ways just not enough better that I could easily justify paying well over $100 to upgrade.
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Wildlife Management
OverviewFrom the earliest wildlife surveys led by George Melendez Wright, wildlife biologists have worked to preserve wildlife species in National Parks. At the heart of the National Park Service's mission is its founding mandate to "conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein" in an unimpaired condition so that they might be enjoyed by present and future generations. We have come to understand that conserving wildlife means conserving the whole native system of which it is but a part. Wildlife is managed in concert with the other natural resources of a park in order to maintain all the components and processes of naturally evolving ecosystems, including the natural abundance, diversity, and genetic and ecological integrity of the plant and animal species native to those ecosystems.
Whenever possible, natural processes are relied upon to maintain native plant and animal species and influence natural fluctuations in populations of these species. However, active management may become necessary:
Although not always apparent to visitors, wildlife management activities occur in nearly every unit of the National Park System. The Wildlife Management Program is available to provide scientific input to parks on wildlife management plans and to provide service-wide policy guidance on appropriate management activities. Climate change, habitat loss and fragmentation in areas surrounding parks, and introduction of exotic species confound the challenges to successful wildlife management.


text: Get a clean, close, comfortable shave with this 'Pure Badger White Shaving Brush And Razor Set' from Kent. This elegant shaving set consists of a modern shaving brush with genuine pure badger bristles, a matching white-handed Mach 3 razor and a sleek gunmetal black stand. All yours for just $159.95.


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Counseling for HIV InfectionSkip to the navigation
Treatment Overview
During counseling, a qualified counselor helps you cope with or change your thoughts, feelings, or behaviors regarding HIV infection. Your family and caregivers may also benefit from counseling.
- Counseling is usually short-term (8 to 20 visits), but it may take months or years.
- You may seek short-term therapy more than once if the HIV infection progresses.
Sessions may be individual or as part of a group.
There are several types of counseling:
- Interpersonal therapy focuses on current relationships.
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy identifies irrational or faulty thinking and helps to change problem behaviors.
- Psychodynamic therapy focuses on unresolved childhood and teenage experiences and their impact on your current thoughts and feelings.
The choice of counseling is based on your individual needs, background, and symptoms.
Why It Is Done
- People who are infected with HIV have a greater risk of developing depression.
- Counseling helps you deal with the emotional aspects of the disease.
- Grief counseling can help you deal with end-of-life issues, if needed.
How Well It Works
The effectiveness of counseling varies. Some people respond very well. Others find minimal relief. Studies suggest that counseling can effectively treat people who have HIV and who also have problems with depression.
Counseling sometimes includes becoming a member of a support group. Support groups are often good places to share information, problem-solving tips, and emotions related to HIV infection. The organizations listed in the Other Places to Get Help section of the topic Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Infection often sponsor support groups for people who test positive for HIV as well as for their caregivers and friends. Contact one of these organizations to find the support group nearest you.
What To Think About
Select a therapist who is trained and experienced in treating people who have HIV infection.
Counseling may be expensive, depending on the type of therapy and the provider. Check with your health plan to determine whether coverage for counseling is provided.
For more information, see the topic Depression.
Complete the special treatment information form (PDF) (What is a PDF document?) to help you understand this treatment.
Current as of: March 3, 2017
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Sara Jaye Weiss/Startraks
The Trump legacy continues to grow.
Donald Trump, Jr. and his wife Vanessa are expecting their fourth child, he announced via Twitter on Wednesday.
"Vanessa & I have some good news. We are expecting baby [number] 4 in the fall!!! Kai, Donnie, and Tristan can't wait!" Trump, 34, writes.
"They'll be 13 months apart. Irish twins!"
The couple — who wed in 2005 — are already parents to daughter Kai Madison, 5 next week, and sons Donnie John III, 3, and Tristan Milos, 7 months.
— Anya Leon


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SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. (AP) – NCAA champion Max Homa beat Max Orrin 5 and 3 and the United States won the first six singles matches Saturday in the Walker Cup to take an 8-4 lead over Britain and Ireland at historic National Golf Links of America.
Homa, coming off his senior season at California, won the par-4 14th with a par and finished off the Englishman with a birdie win on the par-4 15th.
The U.S. rallied after Britain and Ireland took a 2 1/2-1 1/2 in the morning foursomes matches.
"I told them to believe in themselves,'' U.S. captain Jim Holtgrieve said. "I told them to enjoy the moment. … They're really good friends. They fought for each other and you could just feel it after we were down after the morning that GB&I played well. I think one group was 5- or 6-under par. … They fought back today and they fought back with really good courage.''
The biennial amateur event, first played in 1922 at National Golf Links, will close Sunday with four morning foursomes matches and 10 afternoon singles matches.
"Nothing changes,'' Holtgrieve said. "It's match play, 8 to 4. It's still my message tonight when we get together is going to be the match is still even. We still need 5 1/2 points. … It's match play. This thing is not nearly over.''
Alabama teammates Bobby Wyatt and Cory Whitsett, California players Michael Kim and Michael Weaver and Oklahoma State's Jordan Niebrugge teamed with Homa to sweep the first six singles matches, and Alabama's Justin Thomas earned a halve in the seventh.
Wyatt beat England's Neil Raymond 2 up, Kim edged England's Callum Shinkwin 2 and 1, Whitsett topped England's Jordan Smith 1 up, Niebrugge beat England's Garrick Porteous 1 up, and Weaver topped U.S. Amateur champion Matthew Fitzpatrick, also from England, 3 and 1.
"Any time you look up and see the team is doing well, it's certainly encouraging,'' Wyatt said. " For me personally, it doesn't really change the way I'm playing, but it definitely gets you a little more excited just to know that everyone's playing well and doing what we want to do, which is win matches.''
Thomas halved with England's Nathan Kimsey, and Ireland's Gavin Moynihan beat Stanford's Patrick Rodgers 2 and 1 in the final match.
"America was in control most of the way,'' Britain and Ireland captain Nigel Edwards said. "We didn't hole putts, shaving the edges a lot. Having said that, 8-4 is not an insurmountable lead. We're good at foursomes. We're good players. We're good at singles. So, game on tomorrow.''
Edwards was asked what he would tell his team.
"Hole more putts,'' he responded. "Well, to be fair to them, you know, they haven't played as well as they would have liked to have played. That's pretty obvious. Having said that, one afternoon doesn't make them bad players. They've been good players all year and they've been good players for a number of years. So we'll just refocus and perhaps this is what we need to kick up our back side to get us moving forward.''
In the morning foursomes, Wyatt and Whitsett rallied to halve with Kimsey and Orrin, and Rodgers and Thomas earned a full point, beating Moynihan and Ireland's Phelan 2 and 1. Fitzpatrick and Raymond edged Niebrugge and Nathan Smith 1 up, and Porteous and Wales' Rhys Pugh topped Weaver and Todd White 3 and 1.
"Getting that half was big,'' Wyatt said. "We never led, and just to be able to eek that out and make it as close as we possibly could, and then the afternoon I think it was a little bit of boost for the whole team, especially for me to kind of get the pressure off of you and just get out there and play the best you can. Fortunately, we were able to get it done.''
The matches are named in honor of former USGA President George Herbert Walker – President George H.W. Bush's grandfather and President George W. Bush's great-grandfather. George W. Bush attended the matches Saturday.
In the last matches, Britain and Ireland won 14-12 in 2011 at Royal Aberdeen in Scotland for the team's first victory since 2003. The U.S. leads the series 34-8-1.


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You are here: Root > By Topic > Web DevelopmentGo directly to another tag
A web-framework using Armed Bear Common Lisp as a Java Servlet.
CL-HTTP is suite of an HTTP 1.1 compliant and SSL-capable tools for creating Web applications written in ANSI Common Lisp that includes: A Sophisticated Server, A Programatic Client, A Caching Proxy, ...
CLAWS has switched to Haskell but the code repository still contains the Lisp files. Before the switch to Haskell CLAWS was the Common Lisp Application Web Server, a framework for developing web appl...
Core Server
Continuations + Parser Combinators + Generic Streams + Javascript Generator + HTML generator/parser + several RFC implementations + Unified client/server javascript components + Indivisible working UN...
Form input validation for Webactions
A form input validator for the Webactions framework.
HT-AJAX, an AJAX framework for Hunchentoot
HT-AJAX is a small AJAX framework for Hunchentoot web server that allows transparent calls from Javascript in web pages to the server side Lisp code.
KPAX - A Common Lisp Application Framework
A web application framework written in pure Common Lisp. Can run standalone, behind Apache/mod_lisp, or with portableaserve.
Lavlet Lisp HTTP server and server pages
An HTTP server and dynamic pages engine modeled after JSP/Servlet/Tomcat and ASP/IIS.
Lisplets are Java Servlets that forward their requests, and gather their response headers, using s-expressions over sockets. They enable easy integration of Common Lisp or Scheme into a Java-based web...
Common Lisp GUI using AJAX and Comet. Aims to create a GUI framework similar to GTK+ and QT for Common Lisp. It differs in that it uses the browser to render the UI elements.
A toolkit for dynamic Lisp websites.
UCW extension package for event based AJAX web programming. THIS PROJECT SUPERSEEDED BY "CORE SERVER"!!!
UnCommon Web
UnCommon Web (UCW) is a continuation based Common Lisp web application development framework. UnCommon Web provides developers with the illusion that web pages are nothing more than function calls. ...
Weblocks is an advanced web framework designed to make Agile web application development as effective and simple as possible.
Wispy Lisp
A framework for creating fully dynamic, standards-conforming web applications. The programmer is intended to "code in a unified [Lisp-based] meta-syntax that subsumes html, css, javascript, sql, and l...
CL-AJAX is Richard Newman's Common Lisp library to allow for remote invocation of functions through Javascript. Quoting John Wiseman's writeup: ... lets you use Lisp to leverage the XMLHttpReque...
Simply put: `cl-terrace' is the VC part of a hypothetical MVC web application framework written in Common Lisp.
Cl-wdim is "a Common Lisp web framework based on persistent CLOS".
The lisp-cgi-utils is a software package for developing CGI scripts with Common Lisp. It implements a very basic HTTP/CGI interface (sending headers, getting GET/POST and environment variables) and of...
A repository of source code, components, demos, documents and other material related to web programming with the UnCommonWeb application framework.


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Wind blown dried out fields is the first thing you see when driving West on Highway 70 into town. That doesn't bode well for business when the main source of income for the average Crowell family is farming or raising cattle.
There is one big issue hanging over everyone's head.
"The biggest complaint is the lack of rain," said Crowell Mayor Gayle Simpson, "you know the drought. We have a real concern with our water, that its not going to be sufficient for us to get through."
Mayor Simpson is being proactive and has started some water restrictions, but more may be needed very soon. The worst drought in decades has taken its toll on all crops and it doesn't stop there.
"(Farmers) are getting ready to take their cattle to the sale, even though they are not ready and prepared to sell their livestock they are going to be forced to without water, "said Chamber of Commerce Secretary Carolyn Henry.
We've seen that issue across other Texoma towns, but in Crowell city leaders also have a fear that has hit many rural towns in the past few decades. Folks are picking up and leaving.
"Since the last census it looks like we have lost about 200 people and yes that is a concern," said Mayor Simpson. "There's just not a lot of work opportunities for the younger people here."
The mood, however, is not grim. There is a big source of hope on the horizon and it has the whole town excited.
"I think everybody around here is looking forward to the possibility of maybe having a wind farm in the county," said Crowell Police Chief Rusty Moore.
Secretary Henry said, "They would look beautiful on our farm land."
"That would help the community with both money and jobs," said Mayor Simpson.
No concrete plans for a wind farm are in place yet, but city officials believe new power lines coming to town could later translate to wind power in Crowell and Foard County. A power substation is just about done a few miles southwest of town and this is the main reason city officials are excited for the possibility of wind power.
The hope is that a wind farm would bring more jobs and hence would bring families to Crowell and kids to their schools. Crowell schools may be the brightest light in town. Superintendent Steven Pyburn has only been on the job since July 1st, but he knows that the previous administration left him in a great position.
"We should be able to weather the financial cuts that were set out by the state legislature with no problems," said Superintendent Pyburn. "The students at Crowell will not be affected at all."
If Crowell schools stay the course, it wont be a bad thing. The district is currently recognized by the Texas Education Agency. Also, in 2006 and 2007 US News and World Report Magazine tagged Crowell High School as one of the best high schools in America!
Despite a shrinking population, changes are happening downtown too. A new restaurant is opening soon just down the street from the new Fire Hall Museum. The museum, which is run by relatives of the founder of Crowell, has some incredible items from the 19th century and early 20th century. Its places like this that have city leaders convinced that the town will not only stop losing citizens, but will soon begin to grow again.
"One of our coined phrases is that we do things the pioneer way together," said Secretary Henry, "and we do work very very well together in our community."
Tune in Tuesday at 10pm for full story: Issues Facing Your Town: Crowell Edition.