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Tanya M, New Jersey
- 7/10/2012
About Me
I am a former VP of Human Resources for a financial services firm, turned stay-at-home mom, who recently returned to work after a five-year sabbatical with my boys. I was born and raised in New York, graduated from Cornell (undergrad) and Columbia (graduate) and, after calling the Northeast home for 26 years, am now excited to call a sunny Tampa Suburb (that is conveniently located only 60 short minutes from Cinderella Castle) home! I have been a member of the Walt Disney World Moms Panel since 2009, and am incredibly blessed to have made so many life-long friends. I am an avid runner (thanks largely to the encouragement of my Moms Panel pals and spectacular runDisney races) and have run several of the Disney Marathons and runDisney Half Marathons. I also enjoy baking (especially making crazy cupcakes for my sons' parties and classes), my role as class mom, ice skating and planning vacations for my family and others.
About My Family
I am the proud mom of two beautiful boys who are often mistaken for twins. I purchased Disney Vacation Club before having children. On a whim, I sought shelter under a sales kiosk at Disney's Hollywood Studios during a summer storm. I was able to enjoy a number of wonderful child-free Disney trips before their arrival. Now, as my family's self-appointed cheerleader, I regularly seek out creative, if not terribly typical events to celebrate with our Disney vacations. One summer, for example, we championed the loss of my youngest son's front teeth. Our celebration included breakfast with Chip & Dale, a pair who share a similar "dental dilemma"! My boys are fans of all things Mouse. My little guy prides himself on telling his friends that his first trip to Disney took place inside his mommy's belly!
About My Disney Experience
I have been visiting Walt Disney World for more than 35 years. I've stayed in every type of accommodation -- from a tent at Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground to a Villa at Disney's Beach Club Resort. As Disney Vacation Club (DVC) members, we have the wonderful opportunity to travel to the "World" throughout the year and have also enjoyed Disney's Vero Beach and Hilton Head resorts. I've shared my love of Disney with neighbors, family and even a couple behind me awaiting an oil change! Some of my best planning tidbits have gone to special-needs moms to whom I've suggested take time to enjoy what I have deemed, spontaneous, "Non-Space Mountain Moments," including hula hoops on Main Street U.S.A. and dancing water fountains at Epcot. In addition to an array of planning tips, I try to offer a unique perspective on how to make Walt Disney World an amazing adventure for individuals with a variety of needs and abilities by helping them plan trips that are as magical as they are.

subset: commoncrawl


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Hope College music students will present a "Liederabend" (evening of song) on Tuesday, Nov. 20, at 7 p.m. in Semelink Lecture Hall of Western Theological Seminary.
The public is invited. Admission is free.
The concert will feature singers enrolled in the college's German Diction class. Students in the class learn to transliterate German texts into the International Phonetic Alphabet, learn to pronounce German texts, and study the development of the German Lied. A special feature of this year's class is a series of four Skype master classes with a German tenor in Munich. Each singer performs via Skype for Herr Schuricke in Munich, Germany, during the class, receiving pronunciation and interpretive feedback from a performer with whom Linda Dykstra, who is the course's instructor and an associate professor of music, sang when she lived in Germany.
Dykstra began the Liederabend tradition in 1998 with the institution of the Diction for Singers sequence of classes. It was established to provide a historical performance context for the intimate Lied, as well as an opportunity for the students to perform the repertoire they learn in the class. In keeping with the authenticity of the event, coffee and German tortes are served at a reception following the performance.
Western Theological Seminary is located at 101 E. 13th St., on 13th Street east of College Avenue.


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Fantasy Sportsbook FAQ & Docs
How does it work?
I put up events for you to bet on, you put up your ArrowCash (fake money), and I take your soul when you lose.
Football's the main thing that will be bet on, though obviously it's the off-season at the moment.
How do I bet?
There are a couple of ways.
Option #1. You will go to the Fantasy Sportsbook and select a thread to bet on. Your event must still be open. So you can't bet on an event that has already taken place for obvious reasons. Once you are viewing the thread for a particular event, you will be see a column that says stake. Here you will enter the amount you would like to stake on a particular event.
Option #2. Choose Fantasy Sportsbook in the Top Nav Bar, and then choose an event that is still open. Click on the 'Thread' link and enter an amount to "Stake". Please feel free to PM me with any questions.
Can odds change?
Only in one special circumstance. Odds on Outright Winners of tournaments will change as the tournament progresses. Odds for things such as the winner of the next match in the tournament are correct at the time of posting and will not be changed.
Can I place multiple bets?
Yes you can as long as you have sufficient funds and the event allows you to do so.
What happens when I run out of ArrowCash?
You are awarded Arrowcash for posting in threads.
Points for starting a thread: 10
Points per reply: 5
Points per Character: .10
Can I buy credits?
Again, you can get credits for free by posting in the forums. If you must have lots of arrowcash in a jiffy, you can purchase it.
You will receive 1000 ArrowCash points per $1.00 USD donation to the ChiefsCrowd.com website. Payments are accepted via paypal.
Can I place a bet once an event is closed?
Obviously, No.
Where do you get the odds from?
I check several sportsbooks and offer a general average.
Can I suggest event?
Please do so in the main Fantasy Sportsbook forum.
When will events get paid out?
Events are usually set to be settled the midnight after the event ends and will be seen to as soon as possible after that time. If any events are left outstanding, send a PM to Admin
Oh no! I bet on the wrong thing! What do I do?
Send me a PM
Happy betting folks!


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Eighteen years ago the beautiful landscape and mountains of the Karoo in Sth Africa inspired Elsona into creativity. This led to an amazing discovery of talent amongst the people who lived on their farm.
Today they have come a long way and some 40 wonderfully skilled women and men are providing for their families as a direct result of this project.
The ceramics are all handmade from raw materials sourced locally. They are hand "thrown" on a potters wheel, dried and painted, glazed and fired. There are roughly 8 processes in the production of each piece, which takes approx 6 weeks to create.
Be The First To Review This Product!
Help other Community Projects Worldwide users shop smarter by writing reviews for products you have purchased.


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- Home
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- Public Notices
30 years ago
Jan. 1, 1981
Snow slickened driving conditions on Christmas Eve so that drivers on roadways in the county experienced most hazardous problems, according to Sheriff David B. Craig. Cars sliding into mailboxes, cars and trucks turning upside down and vehicles sliding off bridges dominated the day for state and county workers, as well as wrecker and emergency services.
Robert Perry was elected Master of the Bedford Masonic Lodge No. 158, succeeding R. Michael Day; Mathew Gordon replaced Roy Webster in Milton Masonic Lodge.
Mr. and Mrs. Clifton Liter, Mr. and Mrs. Wilbur Slocum and Mr. and Mrs. Fred Lawson spent two weeks in Hawaii visiting Maj. and Mrs. Melvin E. Liter and Myron Dale Tingle. They visited many sights, ate much and enjoyed themselves to the max. The Lawsons left early on Saturday morning to fly to San Francisco to visit relatives. The Liters and Slocums left later in the day for their return to Ky. Melvin Earl, Cherry and their two sons will live in Hawaii for the next three years.
Deaths: Larry Pepperenger, 32, Smithfield; Robert Jones, 65, Milton; Minnie Jackson, 77, Bedford; Leonard Harmon, 93, Milton; Jesse Chancelor Perkinson, 88, Bedford; Paul Robert Hampton, 3, Clarksville, Ind., son of Robert and Bonnie Martin Hampton.
70 years ago
Jan. 9, 1941
For the first time in the annuals of the courts of the county, no trials can be passed on by a jury of 12 true and tried men, it was announced Monday by Circuit Clerk Robert G. Jackson, following an opinion from the Attorney General's office, at Frankfort. The Jury Commissioners, Ada Lehue, Allie Willis and Carroll Bradley, were appointed at the September term of court by Judge Charles C. Marshall to succeed themselves. This action by Judge Marshall was ruled unconstitutional as under the acts of the general assembly that no jury commissioner can succeed himself. Thus the actions of the commission in selecting jurymen for the January term of court were not in order; consequently the court is left without a panel of jurymen. Proceedings in this branch of the judiciary will continue as scheduled, but trials set for hearing in common pleas court will be continued until the April term of court, it was announced by court officials.
An envious record of straight wins for the Blue Demons through the first part of the season was brought to an in-memorial end on the local hardwood when the Carrollton Panthers dragged the Demons through the mire of defeat Friday night of last week for a 30-18 win. Howard Callis made 12 points and was selected team captain. Up to this time, the team had been alternating captains who were selected for individual games. Jack Tingle hit 3 and Hayward Tingle hit 2.
Weddings: Rosa Pennington to Ollie J. Burrows.
Deaths: Alvin Burton Rich-mond, 66, Corn Creek; James M. Kelly, La Grange; Robert C. Terrell, Danville, formerly of Bedford; Dora Rosetta McDowell, infant daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James McDowell.
80 years ago
Jan. 8, 1931
The Polar Bear Café, until recently owned and operated in the Stanley building by Mrs. Sadie Bare and daughters, has been purchased by Mr. Raymond Wood, who has moved here from Akron, Ohio, and who now has charge of the establishment. Mr. Wood has made several changes in the arrangement and policy of the café, as well as in the personnel. He is now being assisted by his sister, Miss Emma Louise Neville, and his sister-in-law, Mrs. Chester Wood. The café caters to the soft drink, sandwich, cigar and cigarette trade.
The Trimble County High School Blue Demons, in their first game of the New Year, defeated the Sulphur basketball squad here last Friday night easily by 22 to 9.
A furnace has been installed in the Milton Christian Church, and every attendant at service receives a warm welcome, and the Loyal Workers' Class of the Sunday School has presented the church with a hundred new cloth-bound songbooks.
Deaths: John McGuire, 106, oldest citizen in Trimble County, Canip; Margaret McCord, 86, Milton; Florence Allene Strong, Indianapolis, formerly of Milton; Sam Atlas Jr., Shelbyville.
Hilda Parrish is office manager of The Trimble Banner. She is an avid historian and genealogist and a long-time Bedford resident.
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Kia Responds to Public Demand: Soul's Hamsters Return
Those hip-hop hamsters are back. But we'll get to the news in a moment.
People either like or dislike television commercials. There's no such a thing as just okay, all right or average. Black or white, nothing gray.
The first Kia Soul commercial, () became a hit with consumers, said Michael Sprague, the Korean maker's vice president of marketing, in a phone interview, "It generated over three million total YouTube hits and garnered more Facebook fans than any of its segment competitors."
I followed up with the question "Is a social network hit equal to the Washington politico saying that every phone, call, letter or email is tantamount to receiving 1,000 calls?" Sprague's response was, "Yes!" Now that's big time.
The advertising research and creative communities liked it too. It has won major accolades for Kia, whose advertising agency, David&Goliath, created the first commercial. Among the kudos: Nielsen's Top Automotive Ad of the Year, awarded at the 2010 New York Auto Show, and based on direct back from consumers. Next month Kia will receive a prestigious Effie Award. High praise indeed.
Praise however is measured in terms of sales, right? Sprague noted Kia introduced the Soul, their first car truly aimed at GenY during the worst auto year in history, with an economy in the ceramic receptacle, yet the Soul became the market share leader in its segment in only its second month on sale, and sold more cars than its two chief competitors every month thereafter. The campaign exceeded internal sales goals by over 30%." Enuf said.
As a former ad guy I had to find out more 'cause I knew presenting much less selling an idea like this had to be easier said than done.


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Man released from jail by mistake sent back after 2 years of freedom
Don't miss Glenn's interview with Shon Hopwood, an associate professor at Georgetown Law. Hopwood is the lawyer representing Mathew Charles, a man who was released after 20 years in prison for a non-violent drug offense only to be told it was a mistake two years later and must return to finish out another 10 years. A petition to have President Trump commute his sentence has reached nearly 100,000 signatures out of a goal of 150,000 on change.org.
This article originally appeared on Glenn Beck


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I just received my new rice cooker, a 3-cup Zojirushi (the European model: NS-LAQ05) and am extremely happy with it. However, I was wondering whether it would be possible to use it to cook grains as well, such as millet, quinoa, bulgur, barley... But I am not sure about how much water I should use and what programme would be best. This rice cooker has 5 settings: white/mixed rice, sushi, quick, porridge and brown rice. So far I have tried only the white/mixed and brown rice setting.
Noi siamo usciti fore
del maggior corpo al ciel ch'è pura luce:
luce intellettüal, piena d'amore;
amor di vero ben, pien di letizia;
letizia che trascende ogne dolzore.
I use my rice cooker to make quinoa at least twice a week.
I use a brand which doesn't need rinsing and measure one part quinoa to two parts water.
I then use the quick white rice/steam setting (I have a Japanese Sanyo rice cooker).
Your 'quick' setting should work.
I don't usually make millet or barley on their own but add them to rice so I can't answer for these grains.
thank you! I'll try to cook quinoa then. By the way, do you add millet and barley to white or to brown rice?
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|5 years 48 weeks ago
@justbento - strictly site updates
@makiwi - Maki tweets at random


text: Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) is an infection of the female reproductive organs (the uterus, fallopian tubes and ovaries). Normally, the cervix (opening to the womb) prevents bacteria in the vagina from spreading up into these organs. However, if the cervix is exposed to a sexually transmitted infection (STI) such as gonorrhea or chlamydia, it becomes infected. This can allow bacteria to travel up into the internal organs, making them inflamed and infected. If this occurs, the woman's fallopian tubes may be damaged, making it difficult for her to become pregnant.


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Children all across the country are so excited about the special visitor coming to their homes tonight with gifts.
Children all across the country are so excited about the special visitor coming to their homes tonight with gifts.
They know they need to be in bed by the time Santa Claus arrives on their rooftops.
Like most mythological figures, there are varying claims as to the origins of Father Christmas and the modern-day Santa Claus.
Some accounts put the beginning of Father Christmas in pre-Christianity Finland, where he was (and still is) called Joulupukki, or Yule Goat.
This figure was a 70-year-old man dressed in a goat costume who came down from the mountains to demand gifts from children.
The figure later evolved as someone checking on Yule preparations, and then later as someone bringing gifts to children.
Other historical accounts put the origin of Father Christmas in 4th-century Turkey, where he was better known as Saint Nicholas.
This figure had a reputation for giving gifts in secret, like placing coins in shoes left out for him by children.
In medieval Europe, Saint Nicholas became so popular that he rivaled the Virgin Mary.
During this period, he was known as a patron saint for children. Some stories had him wearing a green suit and riding a white horse.
In Holland and Belgium, the incarnation was Sinterklaas, who magically appeared on Dec. 9 to help celebrate a big feast.
This legend introduced the idea of children being rewarded if they were good, and also the idea of Sinterklaas having mischievous "helpers" — little people with Moorish (dark) faces, the forerunners to elves.
Sometime in the 18th century, the UK and the U.S. merged the Father Christmas figure with a Santa Claus figure to create the modern-day icon that most countries celebrate today: a kind, rotund old man with a beard in a red suit trekking across the world to bring gifts to children — either through the front door or down the chimney.
The American professor Clement Moore's 1823 poem, "Twas the Night Before Christmas," introduced the idea of Santa traveling through the sky in a sleigh pulled by reindeer.
Today, some variation of the Santa Claus or Father Christmas figure is celebrated in the U.S., the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, Spain, Italy, Scandinavia, most of Hispanic South America, Brazil, Armenia, India, Andorra, Romania and Turkey.
At the heart of the Father Christmas and Santa Claus figure is the idea that innocence and children are worth celebrating.
That's why tonight and tomorrow we all get to be children, and we all get to be innocent.
Ho Ho Ho (He He He).
Rob McKenzie is a professor of communication studies at East Stroudsburg University.


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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon says an Afghan drove an apparently stolen vehicle onto the ramp area of a British airfield in southern Afghanistan and into a ditch, where it exploded in flames, about the same time U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta's aircraft was landing.
A Pentagon spokesman, Navy Capt. John Kirby, said no one in Panetta's party was injured.
Kirby said the vehicle, a pickup truck, drove at high speed onto the ramp where Panetta's plane was intended to stop. He said there was no immediate indication that the Afghan was attempting to attack Panetta's party, but the circumstances were still being pieced together.
Initial reports said no explosive devices were found in the vehicle or in a search of the driver.
Kirby said the driver was being treated for burn injuries.


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Dr. Adam John Hart-Davis builds and tests some of the most extraordinary inventions from the early Islamic World. From soap to torpedoes, and from water pumps to windmills. Presented by Adam Hart-Davis, Hermione Cockburn and Jamie Darling .
BBC - http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0078vf4
BBC: "Series examining the innovations and inventions of ancient civilisations. Adam Hart-Davis builds and tests some of the most extraordinary inventions from the early Islamic World. From soap to torpedoes and from water pumps to windmills Adam shows the lasting effect the Islamic world has left on the technology we use today. Also, reporter Amani Zain tells us the stories behind the golden age of Islamic discovery." (archived link)
Adam Hart-Davis and Professor Salim T S Al-Hassani at 1001 Inventions Manchester Exhibition back in 2006:
Please click the pictures to enlarge .
"I am absolutely delighted to be involved in this wonderful exhibition of a 1001 inventions..." Endorsements.
"It is super celebration of Islamic brillaiance in the Middle Ages..." Comments
BBC Science Adam Hart Davis presents 1001 Inventions
Copyright BBC 2006
Part1 Run Time: 04:32
Part2 Run Time: 04:38


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SAN FELIPE, Baja California Norte -- I have never heard such a story before, nor do I hope to ever heard one like it again, as two survivors of the sportfisher Erik's sinking 60 miles south of San Felipe on Sunday providing gripping details of the July 3 ordeal and tragedy for 44 anglers and crewmen 60 miles south of San Felipe.
It is a spellbinding story of survival and unnecessary death and, from where some of the survivors sit, gross negligence on the part of the captain and crew.
The worst of all the mistakes was that there were not enough life jackets, just enough for 17 crew members. The only jackets available as the boat was sinking were three or four personal inflatable vests brought by passengers for use on the pangas. If there were more available boat life vests aboard, it mattered little, as they were not given out by the crew, although all 17 crewmen ended up wearing them, two passengers said.
Here are the bullet points of what I learned on Friday evening after the surviving anglers returned home to northern California. They are followed by a condensed interview of survivors and Novato, CA residents Gary Hanson and WON subscriber Jerry Garcia. Others were contacted by WON, but could not be reached.
Highlights of the interviews:
-- There were only 17 life vests available in the melee in which three large waves in 90 mph winds sunk the boat in a matter of five minutes. Only the crew had the Erik's life jackets on. One fisherman told the rest of his group later that a crewman in the minutes before sinking said there were no more life jackets available. All 17 crewmen survived. One of the 27 fishermen died during the swim to shore, and seven more are still missing.
-- The captain, in complete defiance of common sense, said one angler, Jerry Garcia of Novato, ran the boat away from the large waves, not directly into them, in a middle of a storm that began at 11:30 p.m. and continued until five minutes after the Erik sank. The result was that at the crescendo of the storm's power at about 2:30 a.m., in 25 to 30-foot seas, three huge waves in 30-foot seas pounded the exposed port side, filled the stern and the 10 pangas stacked and tied to the stern with water.
-- As the boat was sinking, anglers told, WON, the captain froze, failed to sound any general alarm and only Americans who were on deck and aware of the flooding of the stern rushed to warn their fellow anglers, many of whom were in their cabins at 2:30 a.m. (At least one of the crew, a cook's assistant, insisted in an AP interview that they did warn many fishermen in their staterooms). The captain also did not, even after being asked in the wheelhouse by an American if he had done so, send an SOS or mayday to the Mexican Coast Guard. No flares were sent up. There was no EPIRB on the boat. No flares were shot. Two fishermen spent the night in a panga that had broken free from the sinking Erik, with the pair later joined by 11 more at daybreak. The rest of the crew and fishermen were in the water not only through the night but during the day for 12 to 14 hours before being rescued, or reaching the shore three miles away.
The result is that one fisherman, Leslie Yee lost his life in the long swim to shore with others, and seven others are missing. The search was reported to have been called off, but Mexican authorities continued their search beyond the normal four days for search and rescue missions. Still, their families hold out hope. At the very least they await a dive team from either the U.S. or Mexico to dive on the Erik that is reported to be in 300 feet of water,
The ones who survived, many of whom who live in Northern California, are home now after the ordeal and media circus that produced stories that provided tales of survival and tragedy. Many are outraged and insisted that no one needed to die if basic common sense and basic maritime safety rules of the sea and training were adhered to.
Interviewed by WON were survivors Gary Hanson and Jerry Garcia, both of Novato, as were many of the anglers by other media after the ill- fated 6-day annual Fourth of July trip for 27 anglers.
Hanson, is a retired highway patrolman who served more than 30 years in the San Francisco area. He retired 10 years ago. He and his wife of 22 years Patty have two sons and 1 daughter. An avid fishermen out of Bodega Bay, it was his second trip on the Erik.
"I fished last year in May with the same guys, and again we booked it with Don Lee," said Hanson said of the chartmaster who is among the missing. "I drove down with Russ Bautista, Dennis Deluca and Jim Miller. We all fish together out of Bodega Bay and Russ was the main man, the leader in our group in all things, really.
That Bautista is among the missing is hard to swallow. "You couldn't get on his boat without putting on one of those personal flotation vests when you got on his boat, and I'm the same way. It was safety first with him."
Hanson said the trip was typical at the start. They drove down together from Northern California as a group and like most of the 26 anglers, spent the night at the El Capitan Hotel in San Felipe. The next morning after breakfast they loaded all the gear into Russ' pickup and drove to the dock, but the tide was too low. San Felipe tides typically fluctuate 12 feet. The Erik was sitting in the harbor too far below the dock to load gear, so they returned at 1:20 and a higher tide.
The departure was delayed as a result of the tide, but Hanson said the group soon eagerly settled into a routine, enjoyed a crew- prepared lunch and relaxed on the top deck. They soon received stateroom assignments and unpacked, and began to set up tackle The boat untied at 2 p.m. and headed south to the Midriff, a group of islands off L.A. Bay known for yellowtail fishing from bare-bones 20-foot pangas that were typically stacked right side up on the stern as they always are for travel on Baja motherships for decades. There were 10 of the pangas, five to a side, stripped down for stacking and travel.
The trip was delayed, though.
"We got 20 feet from the dock but the federales arrived and demanded the boat return to the dock, so we made a big circle and we assumed it was all about our paperwork, but no one ever asked for our licenses or passports that were required. The man with the clipboard went straight to the wheelhouse and the captain, and 20 minutes later he left. The rumor we heard then was that there was a storm, and the captain had been warned, but that was all it was, a rumor. And that the captain had told the official he'd been through storms before. It also seemed he was upset, and the word was that he told the federal official he was already behind schedule and didn't to wait. Again, it was all rumor."
That rumor was never substantiated by officials.
Hanson said the afternoon and evening hours were relaxing and uneventful as the Erik moved slowly down the coast at 8 knots and business was as usual as they used the time to get out reels and put them on rods. The 20-foot pangas were all off the stern, stacked, and were uncovered. Hanson said they were cushioned by plastic dock bumpers or floats. All normal, Hanson remembers now, but those typically uncovered pangas and float cushions likely contributed to the sinking, anglers on the Erik contend.
"The water was like a mirror and at 10 o'clock we were going to bed," he said. Some rooms topside were accessible on the the port side. He was not sure about rooms or heads on the starboard side. There was also one stateroom for six people accessible through the bridge. Several fishermen were bunked in the below-decks staterooms. The hatch access on the stern had two entries. One was for staterooms for crew and customers, the other side of the hatch entry led down to the engine room, said Hanson.
Three of the seven listed as missing were assigned to the port staterooms, recalled Garcia, including the chartermaster Don Lee. At least two of the missing men were assigned to the below-deck staterooms. The stern, Hanson said, went down quickly, and the ship rolled onto its port side. "If they were in there, I don't think they made it out. But I just don't know. "
The upper stateroom held Russ Bautista, Pius "Pete" Zuger, Dennis Deluca, Jim Miller and Gary Hanson. "Everyone made it out, including Russell (Bautista) and one of our group saw him out of the stateroom putting his arm through his flotation vest he always had. That was the last anyone saw him, though."
At 11 o'clock as anglers slept as they headed south toward the Enchanted Islands, three miles from shore, the calm conditions changed abruptly. The wind picked as did the seas. It was a quick change, typical of chubascos in the Sea of Cortez that are often deadly for their short-lived violence.
"We continued to go through the weather and we were getting hammered, with 20- to 25-foot waves, I've been through rough water and we had some last year on the trip, but this was substantial and I had an upset stomach. I had just got back to bed, and we took a big hit and the boat was listing badly and was not coming back." That was at around 2:30 a.m.
He added, "Jim Miller had run up and told us the Erik was sinking and we all got out of the stateroom. We went out of the pilothouse and looked back and 40 feet of the stern of the ship was underwater and the pangas were all full of water."
Hanson said Miller and Jerry Garcia had been watching in chairs at the stern and saw three big waves crash into the port side of the boat. Until the big waves, the Erik was self-bailing. But the bigger waves created bigger problems. They filled the 10 pangas with water, and they dislodged the cushions, and it is Garcia's opinion the self- bailing properties of the ship disappeared when the cushions floated away from the shifting pangas and plugged the stern scuppers. But Garcia also said the big waves never should have slammed the port side and stern in the first place.
Said Garcia, "We were taking waves over the port side and the captain should have had the boat right into the wind and waves, directly into them. We would have been taking hits, but we'd have been okay. But he left the boat open to the big waves. At its worst it was like 90 mph, hurricane winds. Garcia said at first the stern did drain, but the big waves lifted up the two stacks of pangas. The floats under them plugged the holes (scuppers) and this time the stern deck didn't drain."
The ship was going down. The pangas were filled, the stern awash. And there were reports, not verified, that the fish hold hatch at the stern near the stacked pangas flipped open and seawater filled it, further weighing down the Erik. Garcia said he yelled at a crewman to warn others. Miller had run for the wheelhouse to warn others.
Garcia saw what other American fishermen also saw that seemed out of place on the high seas. The entire crew was above deck and were wearing new boat personal flotation devices (PFDs), but were not warning customers, nor were they handing out any PFDs.
"They didn't seem too concerned about us, they were worried about themselves. There was no warning to others.," said Garcia.
As with all accounts of accidents, there were disputes. The Associated Press reported that Alejandro Bermudez, 32, an assistant cook on the boat, said the crew did assist passengers.
"The first thing we did was to open the tourists' cabins and shout that they needed to get out," Bermudez said to the AP. "We helped some of them put their life vests on; others already had them on because they were woken up when the boat got on its side." One other angler, Charles Gibson, said in a TV interview when he arrived home, some crew members did attempt to assist.
Nevertheless, the steel-hulled 105-foot boat was going under and was severely listing to port and was sinking stern-down. Garcia is in his late 60's but he was able to get to his nearby storage cooler and grabbed his own personal inflatable vest. A wave hit him and the vest inflated with the moisture, making it harder to put on. He was being helped into it by two men, Richard "Fish Rich" Ciabattari and Mike Kui Min Ng. He had one arm through it and clipped incorrectly when a wave vaulted him into the ocean seconds before the ship sank.
Minutes earlier, Hanson said he was in his vest and underwear after the warning by Jim Miller. He was in the wheelhouse and saw the captain. At the time he was the only crewman he saw not wearing a boat life vest. The captain was trying to go to full starboard to stop the listing.
"I don't even know if the engines were running. The captain, he was at the bridge, just standing there at the wheel. I asked him directly, "Did you call the coast guard?' I know he speaks perfect English. And he said nothing. He was just bug-eyed.
"The guys were all up and around by this time. The crew had life vests but there were none for us. I had my PFD in the bunkroom so I had put it on. I was on the port side and water had come up another 10 feet up the stern. I saw a big cooler and dumped it out and threw it over and jumped in after it and swam as far from the ship as could."
The ship, said Hanson, swung over completely, the third level metal pipe framed awning slamming the water just feet from him, hitting the cooler he was hanging onto.
"I started swimming away from the ship. I pulled the cartridge line and it went off … and then the ass end of the boat went down, and about 60 percent of the stern was down. I could see little lights on the boat itself. Like, people were trying to do something. Jim (Miller) was up there trying to cut the red rafts loose because they were tied down," said Hanson. One of the rafts was cut loose and used later by survivors.
Within seconds, the Erik stood straight up, and went straight down, taking down anything nearby in the suction, including Garcia who had been vaulted off the boat earlier with his misaligned, inflated personal vest on. He was sucked down, deep.
"I was down to my last breathe he told WON. "That life vest is what saved me. It shot me up two feet into the air and I took my first breathe." How far down was he sucked by the sinking boat? ""I have no idea. I don't even want to think about it."
All told, said Hanson, the boat took five minutes to sink after the third wave hit, the pangas filled and Miller ran to the wheelhouse stateroom. There were no crew warnings, said Hanson and Garcia. Only crew were issued boat PFDs, said Hanson and Garcia.
Debris was all over the water, including a slick of fuel that burned the skin of some, although fortunately much of what floated were the 30 to 40 coolers that are traditionally brought on such Midriff trips by crew and anglers.
"All the coolers, plus the water was 85 degrees. That's what saved us," said Hanson.
The ordeal was just beginning as they grouped up, clinging to coolers, the raft and one of the pangas in the pitch black night.
"I was horrified," said Hanson, "This was just surreal. I kept asking myself if this was really happening. It felt like a dream. I heard people yelling. I saw couple of little flashlights moving around. Everyone saw coolers floating around and grabbed them, and one of the pangas was overturned. Two guys were hanging onto it."
Those two men were Pius Pete Zuger and Joe Beeler. Zuger reported to the Associated Press that the panga was heavily loaded with water. Zuger said they clambered aboard and bailed out the 20-foot boat, which had no engine. At daylight, when people could locate the panga, more were brought aboard. The panga, when found near a remote island, eventually held 13 of the group.
Hanson said most of his group were without PFDs and clung to coolers all night. The 17 crewman and 20 fishermen were in various groups, kicking for he shore a remote island three miles away.. Hanson's group consisted of Dennis Deluuca, Charles Gibson, Glenn Wong, Warren Warren Tsurumoto and two crewmen.
Various stories emerged from the ordeal in the water. At night the groups were bigger. At daylight they split up depending on who could team up with better swimmers to reach shore and get help, or they reached the panga containing Zuger and Beeler.
"After four hours in the water," said Hanson, "I fully expected that someone who come, that someone had called for help. Ten hours later in the water I knew nothing had been sent. There had been no communication from the bridge to the crew, No flares, no call for help, no EPIRB, there was nothing, Absolutely nothing."
The Associated Press reported from San Felipe that the captain and crew later said they had no time to send an SOS because the boat sank so quickly. Mexican officials said an investigation will be completed in 10 days.
What was ironic was that the seas and wind quickly diminished and 15 minutes later after the sinking, the water was again, like a mirror.
Hanson and Deluca kicked together for shore, as did others. The group of 13 in the panga used cooler lids for paddles and reached land first, and Zuger and Beeler walked to a home a mile away owned by a family from Chula Vista. They were given food and clothing and the authorities were called. A helicopter soon arrived and the search and rescue was on.
For those in the water, trying to swim to shore, the ordeal took longer. While the warm water kept them alive. The sun beat on them but they made headway in groups. All would have reached shore more quickly but the strong tides and current pushed them away from land.
"We'd get within 150 yards to shore and the tide change pushed us back out, Three times. It was heartbreaking. We never got to shore." What saved many of the men was the arrival of a Mexican panga for one group, and an American Michael Kalicki in a small aluminum skiff. Kalicki's house on the beach was where Zuger and Beeler ended up earlier. He and his father told survivors they picked up, including Hanson and Deluca, that they had heard of the sinking two hours earlier and started looking for survivors in his small aluminum skiff.
Kalicki told them the local village had just gotten the word at 2 p.m. and the rescue was on. It was now 4 p.m. when Hanson and Deluca got into the skiff. It was 4 p.m., 13 ½ hours after they'd entered the water.
For one fisherman, it was too late. Garcia said he, Leslie Yee and Mike Kui Min Ng were "on the cooler" together at night. Garcia and Kui Min Ng were rescued by a pangero.
"Leslie did not make it," Garcia said. "I don't know what happened. I came back to the cooler and Leslie wasn't there anymore. Garcia added that he owes his life to Kui Min Ng. "Mike saved my life more than once. I was cramping all over in my legs as we paddled, and he was a life saver. He massaged my legs several times. I would not have made it without him." A panga rescued Garcia and Kui Min Ng.
One of the first responders appear to have been a retired
Eastern Sierra couple who have a home on the beach at the Punta Bufeo fish camp
in Gonzaga Bay where crewman Rodrigo Romero Fernandez crawled ashore on the aftermoon July 3,
nine miles from where the Erik sank.
Accoding to the Mammoth Times, which was contacted by Doug and
Peggy McGee from their home in
Baja, when the the crewman
reached shore he found a radio and called the Fernandez family who live on the
property of the McGees. A knock in
the door of McGee's home they have had for 25 years by one of the alerted local
residents, Ed Vasquez, set the rescue effort into motion on several levels.
Doug McGee served 20 years as Mono County resere
sherrif's deputy and a search and rescue leader during that time.Peggy was the
June Lake postmaster and also assisted in many Eastern Sierra search and rescue
operations. The McGee's also
alerted the U.S. Embassy. Several boats from the fish camp found several
survivors. It was Vasquez in his skiff who found Leslie Yee, the one passenger
who died.
The media circus ensued in San Felipe. There were the attempts by Mexican officials to provide assistance to a group of men who had lost friends, all their identification, tackle and clothing, even keys to cars. The captain of the Erik was reported to have been arrested, which proved false.
"Never happened," said Hanson. "We never heard that. The federales took him, but if he was arrested we never heard that, and I could care less. The important thing is that there is restitution for the guys and what they lost, and the families of those who still hold out hope. The most important thing, said Hanson is that the media and the public and the families know what really happened on that boat.
"It was gross negligence. The more you dissect it, the more you see that the crew was not trained in anything. No communication to the crew by the captain, not enough life jackets, no radio call, and no attempt by the crew to wake up the passengers. We just want to keep the pressure on, to find the guys, and to make sure people know what happened on that boat and why it happened."
As for Mexico and how the crisis was handled after the rescue, all Hanson would say was that "there were a lot of idiot officials who didn't know anything. The only one who knew anything and told us the half truths was the guy at the U.S. Embassy."
Physically, Hanson and Garcia had minor injuries are healing from severe chaffing from the inflatable life vests that saved their lives but wore holes in their skin. And severe sunburns.
Garcia said he's not going to stop fishing, but he's going to buy another inflatable life vest. "I bought the Mustang model, it was about $180, which I thought at the time were expensive, but now I'm going to buy a $300 version that one has an EPIRB. So that when I go in the water, they will know I'm in the water."
The following were survivors: Charles Gibson, Gary Hanson, Michael Kui Min Ng, Jim Miller, Steven Sloneker, Richard Ciabattari, Lee Ikegami, Gary Wong, Craig Wong, Pius "Pete" Zuger, David Levine, Jerry Garcia, Bruce Marr, Joe Beeler, Robert Higgins, Ross Anderson, Dennis Deluca, Warren Tsurumoto and Glen Wong,
Leslie Yee of Ceres, CA was confirmed dead. His body washed up on the shore of a remote island. Those who remain missing are: Russell Bautista, Mark Dorland, Don Lee, Brian Wong, Al Mein, Gene J. Leong and Shawn Chaddock.
"I don't want to say anything that might take away hope from the families that they might still be alive, on a beach somewhere," said Hanson. "But people need to know what happened on the boat and why it happened. They need to know the truth of what happened on that boat."
For video of Gary Hanson on television, view this link:
One of the best recounts of the anglers rescue efforts is from the Associated Press at http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iNDSxsb07ONgY5oVt_Q3-6tXZmgg?docId=3e045d46adc24ad48571e95d892fd28c


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Posted by Contextual Learning on Friday, February 01, 2013 12:22 AM
by Ingrid Arneson Rasmussen
"A good funeral gets the dead to where they are going, and the living to where they need to be." –Thomas Lynch
During theology school, I took a preaching course on death and dying with Tom Long. Long assigned Thomas Lynch's book entitled The Undertaking: Life Studies from the Dismal Trade. Lynch, a poet and a funeral director in Michigan, shares Long's abiding interest in the way that the living treat the dead.
Unless your internship congregation defies the odds, most of you are likely to witness a funeral this year. Some of you may even lead families, friends, and the occasional funeral crasher through the liturgy for Christian burial. (At my first graveside service, a woman with no connection to the deceased stood up in a pink brassiere and an oversized sport coat and announced that she had brought treats: boiled eggs, yogurt, and Diet Cokes.) Whether we're watching or whether we're leading or whether we're crashing, we're all performing, Lynch would say. And our performance matters.
It's easy to forget this. Of course, we all remember the first time that we stood with a grieving family as the casket was closed and locked. And years from now we'll be able to recall what it felt like to carry the casket up the stairs to the sanctuary that day when the undertaker needed an extra hand. As with most things, though, time and repetition cause the movements to become routine. Some in the church would say it's an act of self-preservation; those of us in the 'business of death' can't grieve the loss of each beloved elder or pause for more than a few moments to remember each saint gone before us.
Lynch would argue that by distancing ourselves from the dead, however, we also distance ourselves from the living. I dare say that he is onto something. I am evermore convinced that our congregations are filled with grieving people—people who are mourning the loss of a job, an irreparable relationship, the end of a childhood dream, the news from the fertility clinic, or the overwhelming feelings of loneliness in the midst of over-programmed lives. Time and time again, Jesus met his friends in their grief; it's time that Jesus' followers follow suit. Lynch, in his honest and cheeky way, helps us imagine how we might do just that.
Feeling ambitious? Read Thomas G. Long's Accompany Them With Singing: The Christian Funeral too.
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exit the interactive proof-checker
Major Section: PROOF-CHECKER-COMMANDS
Examples: exit -- exit the interactive proof-checker (exit append-associativity) -- exit and create a defthm event named append-associativityThe command
General Forms:
exit -- Exit without storing an event.
(exit event-name &optional rule-classes do-it-flg) Exit, and store an event.
exit returns you to the ACL2 loop. At a later time,
(verify) may be executed to get back into the same proof-checker
state, as long as there hasn't been an intervening use of the
proof-checker (otherwise see
When given one or more arguments as shown above,
exit still returns
you to the ACL2 loop, but first, if the interactive proof is
complete, then it attempts create a
defthm event with the specified
event-name and
rule-classes (which defaults to
(:rewrite) if not
supplied). The event will be printed to the terminal, and then
normally the user will be queried whether an event should really be
created. However, if the final optional argument
do-it-flg is
supplied and not
nil, then an event will be made without a query.
For example, the form
(exit top-pop-elim (:elim :rewrite) t)causes a
defthm event named
top-pop-elim to be created with
(:elim :rewrite), without a query to the user (because
of the argument
Note: it is permitted for
event-name to be
nil. In that case, the
name of the event will be the name supplied during the original call
verify. (See the documentation for
verify and
commands.) Also
in that case, if
rule-classes is not supplied then it defaults to
the rule-classes supplied in the original call of
Comments on ``success'' and ``failure''. An
exit instruction will
always ``fail'', so for example, if it appears as an argument of a
do-strict instruction then none of the later (instruction) arguments
will be executed. Moreover, the ``failure'' will be ``hard'' if an
event is successfully created or if the instruction is simply
otherwise it will be ``soft''. See the documentation for
for an explanation of hard and soft ``failures''. An obscure but
potentially important fact is that if the ``failure'' is hard, then
the error signal is a special signal that the top-level interactive
loop can interpret as a request to exit. Thus for example, a
sequencing command that turns an error triple
(mv erp val state)
(mv t val state) would never cause an exit from the interactive
If the proof is not complete, then
(exit event-name ...) will not
cause an exit from the interactive loop. However, in that case it
will print out the original user-supplied goal (the one that was
supplied with the call to
verify) and the current list of


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Late-Model Muscle Cars Duke It Out In Pennsylvania
Mohnton, Pennsylvania, is a quiet little town nestled in the hills around Reading, Pennsylvania, and the locals like the peacefulness of the rural setting. Unfortunately, on the weekend of June 4 through 6, that peacefulness was interrupted by the sound of horsepower emitting from Maple Grove Raceway.
It's not really a problem though, as the locals are used to the weekend sounds, and on this particular weekend, the sounds were from the NMCA Shootout. The NMCA has a multitude of racing classes, and if you have a car, they have a class for you. This year, we teamed up with Tremec transmissions and decided to sponsor the Late-Model Hemi True Street Challenge. This challenge is designed for "true" street cars that are licensed, insured, and capable of making a 30-mile cruise. Each racer was then required to run three back-to-back passes to gain an overall-average e.t. Awards were given to the overall fastest Hemi, the runner up, and the closest averages to 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15 seconds. The event winner received $250, a six-foot-tall trophy, and a custom Champions jacket. The runner up got $100 and a plaque, as did the average e.t. winners.
Each year at this event, the shopHEMI.com Late-Model HEMI Shootout showcases awesome modern Challengers, 300s, Magnums, Chargers, and trucks on the quarter-mile and in the huge NMCA car show, which is presented by HHP and run by the Mopar Owner and Enthusiasts Club of New Jersey. Twenty eight cars entered the Late-Model True Street Challenge, and the diversity made it a fun experience for all. Whether you enjoy racing or the show field, make plans now to attend next year's event, as it should be bigger than ever.


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(CNN) -- Republican lawmakers who suggest there are grounds to impeach President Barack Obama are focusing their energy in the wrong direction, Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana said on Sunday.
Jindal, a Republican, said GOP lawmakers should focus instead on getting rid of Obama's signature health care law and promoting greater school choice for parents.
"Look, I reject that kind of talk," Jindal said of impeachment chatter, speaking on NBC's "Meet the Press."
"The reality is I didn't like it when the left spent eight years trying to delegitimize President Bush, calling to question his election. I don't think we should be doing that to President Obama."
At least three congressional Republicans have floated impeachment this month while speaking with constituents at town halls.
On Thursday, video surfaced of Sen. Tom Coburn responding to a question from a constituent by asserting the president's policies were approaching a legal standard for impeachment. Without using specifics, the Oklahoma Republican pointed to what he called "intended violation of the law" by Obama's administration, as well as general incompetence of some of his appointees.
"I don't have the legal background to know if that rises to high crimes and misdemeanors -- but I think they're getting perilously close," Coburn said, adding Obama was a "personal friend."
Republican Rep. Blake Farenthold told his Texas constituents earlier in August that the House of Representatives "could probably get the votes" to impeach Obama.
And in a video posted online Tuesday, Rep. Kerry Bentivolio of Michigan responded to a woman during a Q&A session that "if I could write that bill and submit it," he said, moving to impeach Obama "would be a dream come true."
That sort of talk, Jindal said, wasn't going to help Republicans push through new policies.
"The reality is one of the great things about this country is we do have a peaceful transfer of power," he said. "I disagree with this president's policies, but instead of talking about impeachment, let's get out there and let's have a legitimate debate, let's fight his policies, let's try to repeal Obamacare, let's try to promote school choice, let's fight against more government spending."
™ & © 2013 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.


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Anthoula Katsimatides from Jackson Heights has been active from the beginning in making sure the memorial at the World Trade Center is designed properly and serves the needs of the thousands of families that were affected. Katsimatides lost her brother, John Katsimatides, in the World Trade Center attacks on September 11. She has been involved ever since, serving in Governor Pataki's Office of Community Affairs, where she heard every suggestion and criticism about the memorial.
As New Yorkers, we want things done at the speed of our city. But the memorial at the World Trade Center in remembrance of September 11 and the museum that goes with it is a national monument. Katsimatides speaks, now eight years removed from that terrible day, with an analytical understanding of a policy expert.
"If you were not closely working in the midst of it all, you cannot possible keep track of what has gone on," she told me. "So much has been done – the difference [between the 9/11 Memorial and the I-35 Bridge] is that it was a bridge, not 16 acres where close to 3,000 people died, and the bridge project did not have to answer to so many stakeholders. There has been so much progress, from way back – now things have calmed down, and individual organizations are working together – it's something so unprecedented."
The World Trade Center Memorial, and the new tower, has a dual responsibility: to first be functional and then to remember history. Other public works projects only need to be functional. Katsimatides credits the governor's office and local officials for trying to be as sensitive as possible in this situation.You might remember how I mentioned that federal stimulus money had a public comment period for how it was to be spent – that comment period was about one week. But the public comment period for this project is constant. Families had many different opinions about the best way to remember their fallen loved ones.
The memorial will have two waterfalls in the footprints of the old buildings, with the names of the lost engraved in the perimeter walls. But even that was debated a great deal. Some families insisted that relatives be listed with their group (firefighters or companies) and others thinking the listing ought to be random or include a person's rank. Because of the emotion involved, there were hard feelings every step of the way. And the press did not hesitate to highlight the unhappiness of the families or the pace of the construction.
"There was such pressure on the powers that be – and people love to judge politicians," Katsimatides said. "They would write (the press) 'how many breaking ground press conferences did they have?' When we laid the corner stone for the Freedom Tower it was a big deal. People were crying when we did that. There were several milestones. When the architect was selected it was a milestone."
It's easy to sit outside of this process and not appreciate the chaos that goes with it. I had an inside peek at what went on with stimulus spending, and it was only a few weeks ago that people were asking me how to get some of the stimulus money for certain programs, and it is not easy. But you cannot blame people for expecting what they feel is coming to them. Americans want a memorial, which is a good thing.
The museum is being directed by the person that helped start the Holocaust Museum. It will house the "Survivor Staircase" that was used by survivors when they escaped. The museum is going to be underground. It is sacred hallowed ground. The last column which was removed was this tremendous piece of steel; it too will be in the museum.
"Meeting after meeting – it took time." Katsimatides said.
The building and the memorial need to be done right from the beginning, because this was one of the greatest tragedies to take place on our own soil (although the Civil War and War of 1812 rank pretty high as well). The memorial, museum, and the new tower will need to serve as a reminder that this happened – and regardless of how far it will eventually slip into our past, it is never any less significant or important.
Pol Position
Conservatives are sometimes characterized as being slightly negative. Even my mother wrote me this week, suggesting that I "wrote the book on negativity." But nobody could ever write the book on negativity - I just do not believe it would ever happen.


text:
liqmat wrote:Not weird. I can't speak for that person, but there are some of us who value the preservation over the money. I know when I visit the Living Computer Museum in downtown Seattle I am grateful someone was crazy enough to think about preserving all those massive mainframes from the 60s and 70s AND keep them running for the museum so visitors can see them in operation. Someone down the timeline will appreciate there was a group of us that kept this stuff going as well. Nothing replaces seeing these artifacts first hand and, if possible, still operational and in motion.
But would you choose someone who you have not had any contact with and just bought a graphics card from you online instead of asking somewhere if someone needs the stuff? Also not responding to me if I send him a message asking about the stuff he sent me seems strange if that is the reason why he sent them.


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With Valentine's Day around the corner, we're hooking you lovely people up with some date-night dishes, plus a ginormous roundup of recipes for two! Stay in and have a little fun...
PER SERVING (1/2 of recipe, one stuffed cutlet with sauce): 271 calories, 4.5g fat, 720mg sodium, 13.5g carbs, 1g fiber, 8.5g sugars, 37.5g protein -- PointsPlus® value 6*
Chicken stuffed with veggies 'n cheese and then smothered in a creamy tomato sauce? Prepare to fall HARD for this dish...
1 large portabella mushroom cap, sliced
Two 5-oz. raw boneless skinless lean chicken breast cutlets, pounded to 1/2-inch thickness
1/8 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
2 wedges The Laughing Cow Light Creamy Swiss cheese
1/3 cup jarred roasted red peppers, drained
6 large leaves fresh basil
1/2 cup Amy's Organic Light in Sodium Chunky Tomato Bisque
1/4 cup fat-free sour cream
1/8 tsp. Italian seasoning
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Bring a skillet sprayed with nonstick spray to medium-high heat on the stove. Add mushroom slices and cook until softened, about 6 minutes, flipping slices about halfway through cooking. Remove from heat and set aside.
Season chicken cutlets with salt, black pepper, and garlic powder. Lay cutlets flat with the length running left to right. Spread a cheese wedge over each cutlet and evenly top with red peppers and basil. Place mushroom slices horizontally over the basil.
One at a time, tightly roll chicken cutlets up from the bottom and around the filling; secure with toothpicks. Place chicken rolls in a baking pan sprayed with nonstick spray.
Cover the pan with foil, and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
Carefully remove foil and return pan to the oven, uncovered, to bake until chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, to make the sauce, combine tomato bisque, sour cream, and Italian seasoning in a microwave-safe bowl. Mix well.
Once chicken is fully cooked, microwave sauce for 1 minute, and then stir well. Remove toothpicks from chicken rolls, plate them, and evenly cover with sauce. Enjoy!
PER SERVING (1/2 of recipe, 1 parfait): 212 calories, 2.5g fat, 742mg sodium, 34g carbs, 3g fiber, 12.5g sugars, 11g protein -- PointsPlus® value 5* They're AMAZINGLY cute and delicious to boot! (Weeeee... a rhyme!) Ingredients: 2 tbsp. (half a 4-serving box) Jell-O Sugar Free Fat Free Vanilla Instant pudding mix 2 tbsp. Splenda No Calorie Sweetener (granulated) 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract 1 cup Cool Whip Free, thawed 1/2 cup fat-free cream cheese, room temperature 1/2 cup raspberries 1/2 cup sliced strawberries 1 sheet (4 crackers) low-fat graham crackers, lightly crushed Optional topping: Fat Free Reddi-wip Directions: Combine pudding mix, Splenda, vanilla extract, and 1/4 cup cold water in a bowl. Stir vigorously until smooth and slightly thickened. Fold in Cool Whip, and then fold in cream cheese. Stir thoroughly, until completely mixed and smooth. Cover and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes. Evenly distribute raspberries between 2 parfait glasses (or any mid-sized glasses). Evenly distribute half of the chilled pudding mixture between the glasses, about 1/4 cup per glass. Repeat layering with strawberries and remaining half of the pudding mixture. Evenly distribute crushed graham crackers between the glasses and, if you like, top each parfait with a squirt of Reddi-wip. Enjoy! MAKES 2 SERVINGS HG Heads-Up: It's important that the cream cheese is at room temperature. If needed, soften it in the microwave for just a few seconds. HG FYI: The recipe method of calculating PointsPlus® values counts the carbs, protein, etc., from fruit -- even though fruit has a value of 0*. If calculated without the fruit, this recipe has a PointsPlus® value of 4* per serving.
More two-serving recipes! These will take you from appetizers to after-dinner drinks... Sassy Wonton Tacos - This impressive restaurant-style starter will definitely win the cook some bonus points... Zazzled-Up Zuppa - Starting with soup is a good way to keep from overdoing it later in the meal -- this one ROCKS! EZ Cheesy Lasagna for Two - Creamy, cheesy decadence... and just enough for the pair of you! Nice. Shrimp & Grits... for Hungry Chicks! - Forget "hungry chicks" -- this rich-tasting dish is loved by ALL hungry humans! Te Quiero Tequila Shrimp - You'll want to have this drunken shrimp dish over and over again! Crispy Creamy Salmon Bake - A fancy entrée that's easy to make! And it'd be great with one of the following sides... Steamy Creamy Squash Packet - A "steamy" side dish is always appropriate on date night... Stuffed 'n Squashed Mushroom Foil Pack - This foil pack gets top marks for both form AND flavor. It's gorgeous! Double Chocolate Mousse Attack - A two-serving dessert that's ready in minutes? How perfect is THAT?! Chilly Chocolate Nutty Banana Pops - This treat is super-simple and can be prepped ahead of time. Yes! Chocolate Coconut Martinis - As sipped on the Hungry Girl TV show, this sweet duo could be the perfect way to cap off a nice dinner! Lava Smash - These fancy sips remind us of walks on the beach in Hawaii... and what's more romantic than that?
Save your pals from overpriced, over-caloried restaurant food -- click "Send to a Friend" to pass these recipes around!
HEY! It's National Cream Cheese Brownie Day, a.k.a. February 10th. Make a batch of these Swirls Gone Wild Cheesecake Brownies and party down!
SmartPoints® value not what you expected? Click here for more info on how the values are calculated, plus more FAQs about PointsPlus® and SmartPoints® values on our website.


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text:
Frederick H. Bealefeld IIImade Baltimore safer. He ascended to the top job in the city's police department at a time when Baltimore was reeling from violence that threatened a return to the dark days of 300-plus murders a year. He immediately brought stability, focus and a no-nonsense attitude that got results. Crime is down, but so are arrests, and — most crucial for any police commissioner — homicides are at a low the city has not seen in two generations. His sudden announcement that he will retire in August, five years after his elevation to commissioner, is without a doubt a blow to the city.
Mr. Bealefeld is a Baltimore cop through and through. He worked his way up from foot patrol to homicide detective to commissioner. He is blunt and plainspoken — his mantra was to go after "bad guys with guns," and his favorite descriptor for criminals is "knuckleheads" — but he is also widely perceived to have implemented a more thoughtful and nuanced crime-fighting strategy than many of his immediate predecessors.
He definitively moved the department away from the zero-tolerance policies employed during then-MayorMartin O'Malley's administration, which had initially driven down crime but which also fostered ill will between the department and the community. But he also worked closely with now-Governor O'Malley's administration, as well as U.S. Attorney Rod Rosenstein and other federal officials, in a way that enabled authorities to crack down more effectively on the small subset of people who were responsible for a disproportionate share of Baltimore crime.
His success speaks for itself. Although Baltimore remains one of the most violent cities in America, crime of all kinds has dropped here during Mr. Bealefeld's tenure. He took over the department midway through 2007, and the city saw 282 homicides that year. In 2011, the number was down to 196, the lowest total since 1977. Violence remains unacceptably high, but the progress, measured in lives saved, cannot be denied.
But not everything has gone smoothly under Mr. Bealefeld's tenure. The news of crime-fighting gains has been tempered by a string of reports of corruption and misconduct by city police officers. Just in the last year, an officer was found guilty of fatally shooting an ex-Marine during a drunken confrontation outside a bar; more than a dozen officers have pleaded guilty in a towing kickback scandal; and an officer pleaded guilty to dealing drugs while on duty, sometimes in the parking lot of the Northwest District. Mr. Bealefeld replaced the head of his internal affairs division after photographs surfaced showing the commander arm-in-arm with the officer implicated in the drug dealing scandal. And just last week, the officer who had led the investigation into the disappearance of North Carolina teen Phylicia Barnes came under investigation on allegations that he misused his police power to search for his own daughter, who briefly went missing. The probe has since widened to determine whether other officers improperly aided him.
Mr. Bealefeld has insisted that such reports were proof that he was cracking down on misconduct rather than evidence of a sudden increase in corruption. But the steady drumbeat of bad news was particularly damaging for a department that has long confronted mistrust in the community — and, crucially, from jurors.
That said, MayorStephanie Rawlings-Blakehad been wise to keep Mr. Bealefeld on when she ascended to her office two years ago, and she was wise to try to talk him out of retirement. The blemishes the department suffered during Mr. Bealefeld's tenure did not outweigh its successes.
But the situation does provide the mayor with a difficult balancing act as she looks for a new top cop. Ms. Rawlings-Blake has promised a nationwide search for the commissioner's replacement but also to consider local applicants for the job. Mr. Bealefeld proved that a homegrown candidate, someone who knows the city and has deep connections to local and state leaders, can make tremendous progress. But the string of scandals also speaks to the possible value in bringing in an outsider.
For the first time in years, Baltimore needs a new police commissioner but not a new crime-fighting strategy. The mayor needs to find someone who can continue the progress Mr. Bealefeld made, while restoring the community's confidence that those who enforce the law are the first to follow it.


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All over town people were enjoying the unofficial start of summer, Memorial Day.
Military memorial services were held at military cemeteries and wreaths were laid on military memorials. Flags were flying and memories were brought to mind as America honored her dead warriors.
Susan Swope and Pip Pullin hosted a BentStar Memorial Weekend Bash & Auction fundraiser sponsored by Sam Swope Auto Group last weekend at their home. The funds from the event go to searching and finding MIAs. In town to help promote the event were Mallory Lewis and her famous sock puppet "Lambchop.â€
"Dr. Patrick Scannon searches for and finds missing World War II aircraft and the MIAs associated with them in Palau,†said Colonel Joseph H. Alexander USMC (Ret.), author and historian. "This was a ferocious battleground nearly forgotten by history, yet more than 200 U.S. aircraft went down on and around the islands. Almost half of those with crew now listed as Missing in Action.†The goal is to bring our POW/MIAs home.
Susan and Pip live in the old Marcus Lindsey Church on East Main Street. This church was built around 1898. It was abandoned and ready to fall down. Susan and Pip remodeled it and made it the place to go. It is now listed as a National Historic Landmark.
The Sanctuary offers 3,645 square feet of event space with exquisite architectural details including a beautiful vaulted hand-crafted wood ceiling. It has the original stained-glass windows and vintage hardwood floors. It is perfect for special events, such as weddings, receptions, meetings, fundraisers and celebrations.
The professionally designed and landscaped garden is surrounded by private fencing and includes a custom –designed pergola, water features, and lush plantings that create a relaxing urban oasis.
Susan and Pip have their own luxurious private home in Marcus Lindsey with its own koi pool indoors. It keeps the cute, large, lazy cat on its toes.
Dinner For Ambassador ShabazzDr. Shaio Woo and John Shaw Woo gave a small dinner party in honor of Ambassador Shabazz last week. She is the eldest of six daughters of Dr. Betty Shabazz and Malcolm X Shabazz.
She graduated from the Unity International School at 17 and entered Briarcliff College, majoring in International Law with a minor in English. Called an "ideas architect†by her colleagues, Ms. Shabazz has written op-ed commentaries and articles for newspapers and periodicals such as the TIMES, Essence Magazine, EL MUNDO and the new forward to her father's classic, the Autobiography of Malcolm X.
Appointed as Ambassador-at-Large by the Prime Minister of Belize, she is an advisor on International Cultural Affairs & Project Development. In the past, she has offered her dedicated participation as a member of the Switzerland-based World Economic Forum's Task Force on the Digital Divide and is a member of the United Nations International School Alumnae. She serves on a number of international boards and humanitarian councils.
Ambassador Shabazz was perfectly charming. Among those enjoying the evening at the headquarters of G-Meals were Terri and Steve Bass, Julie and Bobby Baker, Dr. Renee Campbell, Sarah and Jim Haynes, and Frank and Teresa Bridgewaters.
Bobby Baker BirthdayWhat do you give a successful man who lives in Maui and Glenview, Ky., who was born in 1956, and is having his 56th birthday? Julie Baker solved this conundrum when she presented her husband, Bobby, with a perfectly restored, turquoise and white "two-tone†two door, 1956 Chevrolet Impala. This wonderful automotive icon was on display in the front courtyard of the Baker's spectacular home as guests arrived for a "delicious†party that included raw oysters in cocktail sauce, lobster in garlic aoli, and "hot brown†wontons for appetizers and a lavish "hamburger bar†for the main course.
There to imbibe and help celebrate were Elizabeth and John Lenihan, Sarah Martin and Ted Steinbock, Douglas Riddle and Stephen Lewis, Paula and Britt Brockman, Terri and Steve Bass, John Shaw Woo, Lori and Steve Andriot, Babs and Lee Robinson, and their sons, Alex and Chris. Smiling over it all and having a wonderful time was Julie's mom, Julia Ballard who is a real doll.
Chocolate GoldWhen it comes to partygiving, Penny and Paul Gold are two of the most creative people around. And that includes their talented daughter whose artistry is used to create the invitation for their annual Chocolate Party. Guests, and there are lots of them, are invited to come and bring their favorite chocolate creation. Most everyone goes all out to create the unusual and delicious. An example – white chocolate with truffle oil popcorn, several versions of chocolate covered bacon, and cookies, cakes, truffles and covered strawberries of every description. And then there was the occasional mousse cake from Costco.
Some of those seen heading for a sugar coma and enjoying every minute were Deborah and Bart Greenwald, Linda and Ben Jackson, Cathy and John Yarmuth, Ned Bass and Charon Fowler, Laura Frazier and Harry Dennery, Deborah Sandler and Wayne Perkey, Joyce Jennings, Carol Dehart, Smith and Ann Haynie, and Wende and Tom Schiafano.