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The clock is ticking; if you haven't already filed your 2012 tax returns, you have less than a month left to get the return filed on time with the IRS. Even if you find yourself waiting until the last minute, don't get sloppy because mistakes can be costly, in more ways than one. Mistakes on a return could lead to an IRS audit, and mistakes while preparing to file your return could also lead to identity theft.
Tax time is the peak season for identity theft, but the experts at Grinnell Mutual, IDentity Theft 911 and LifeLock have some easy-to-follow tips to keep your information safe.
1. Passwords
With the rise of the digital age came the emergence of online financial services. The key to keeping your financial information secure is a strong password. I'm not talking about adding a number to an otherwise easy password, I'm talking about a password that uses a combination of upper and lower case letters, numbers and special characters. Don't reuse the same password across all of your banking sites, either. If one site is compromised, then a savvy hacker could have instant access to all of your finances.
2. Secure storage
Piggybacking on the secure password tip is the need for secure storage. While the cloud provides convenient access to stored files regardless of your location, IDentity Theft 911 recommends a "password-protected or encrypted external drive or disk, and store it in a secure location, such as a safe-deposit box or a locked safe. If you store it on your computer, make sure the drive is encrypted." Honestly, I don't even own a safe-deposit box and I don't ever see myself purchasing one just to store an external hard-drive, but you can get creative and hide a drive in your house. For an offsite storage solution, have a backup copy at a trusted relative's house.
3. Know the IRS
LifeLock is active on social media; earlier this month the company sent out the following tweet, "Tax Tips: Remember, the IRS never initiates contact with taxpayers by email or social media." LifeLock also advises taxpayers to know what the official IRS website is — IRS.gov and that's it. Hackers can easily setup a spoof site that looks official but isn't, catching unwary consumers off-guard.
4. Research your tax professional
Another tweeted tax tip from LifeLock is on the topic of tax preparation. If you're planning to hire a third-party, "always vet your tax preparation company w/the Better Business Bureau by visiting your state's BBB website." Grinnell Mutual takes this advice further, recommending that taxpayers also verify the preparer with the IRS Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR). "Email the IRS at email@example.com with the full name of the individual or company and their address to confirm they're a legitimate operation."
5. Go electronic
Filing an electronic return and opting for direct deposit of a tax refund is not only easy but it is also another great way to avoid identity theft during tax season. Thieves are on the lookout for tax refund checks, not just for the value of the check but also because of the information it holds.


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Tampa Bay pitcher David Price named MLB 2K13 cover athlete
Tampa Bay Rays pitcher David Price was selected the cover athlete for 2K Sports' Major League Baseball 2K13. Price is the third consecutive Cy Young winner to be bestowed the honor, following Detroit's Justin Verlander (2012) and Arvada West graduate Roy Halladay (2011).
"It's a dream come true to appear on the cover of MLB 2K13," Price said in the release from 2K Sports.
2K Sports is also bringing back its Perfect Game Challenge for the fourth-straight year. The competition offers fans a chance to win $1 million.
From 2K Sports:
Since 2010, 2K Sports has awarded $3 million in prize money to players exhibiting the highest caliber of skill in throwing a perfect game in MLB 2K. Last year's Perfect Game Challenge achieved record participation numbers, with nearly 1 million attempts made and more than 1,000 perfect games registered. The contest was won by 21-year-old Christopher Gilmore, who prevailed in an eight-person tournament at the MLB FanCave in New York City. Complete details of this year's contest will be announced at a later date.
MLB 2K13 is slated for a March 5 release date for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

subset: commoncrawl


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bwg brauchte ein neues Logo Design und hat einen Wettbewerb auf 99designs gestartet.
Aus 102 Designs von 42 Designern wurde eine Gewinner gewählt.
Brandable Logo, Web2 Feel, Crisp design, Catchy, Rememberable, fresh.
Hi Guys,
Our company are going to be launching 'Shortfilms.com' which will enable members to upload there 'short films' for other people to view online. It's a similar concept to YouTube but focused more towards the budding film producer / people which have a passion for creating short films, rather than clips of random celebrity mishaps or blog rolls etc.
We are looking for an extremely brandable logo which people will instantly associate with our site.
We want something whereby if we decided in the future not to use the words "Shortfilms.com" in the title, that we'd have a logo strong enough for people to recognize and associate with our site e.g. If you see the 'NIKE SWOOSH' without the word 'NIKE' displayed you'd instantly know it was 'NIKE' - Obviously this comes with good branding but thats what we plan to do.
Please note:
The site is not live at the moment, its currently being parked while in development.
- Brandability
- As well as the word 'Shortfilms.com' - We want a strong symbol / hook which people will recognize e.g Nike have the SWOOSH - McDonalds have the M / tag line I'm lovin it - YouTube have the Redbox with Tube in it (I'm sure you get the idea).
- We want a brandable Logo, Web2 Feel, Crisp design, Catchy, Rememberable, fresh looking but not to busy.
- Logo Colour - You have a blank canvas to work with. All we ask if possible is that the colour could fit on a white or black background as we're undecided on the final background colour as yet. (not a biggy)
- You have a blank canvas to work with so do your best guys.
At this moment in time i cannot think of any dislikes. If however i do think of any i will notify the users submitting designs.
Finden Sie heraus, wie ein Designwettbewerb funktioniert, oder lernen Sie mehr über unsere Logo-Design-Angebote.


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If you are desperately looking to buy a particular hair product today that is no longer made, don't worry, we do our best to find the products still available on the market and offer them to you here at low prices.
Here are the discontinued hair products that we have in stock today. There can be limited quantities available on some products, so please hurry up, order now before they are sold out.
The Invoice Factoring Company provides 6 free quotes from invoice factoring companies so you can compare bids. Don't miss the opportunity to get the best rates by comparison shopping. Get Quotes now at www.theinvoicefactoringcompany.com or call at +1.5083887590
Are you looking for high efficiency expedited staff training? Do you want to improve your excel knowledge and save your countless hours and decrease errors? If the answer is yes, then http://www.staffcontrol.com/ is here to help, it offers MS excel classes & location training in the Chicago area (Downtown, North, North-East, North-West and West Suburbs, including Schaumburg, Hoffman Estates and Naperville).All instructors are working professionals.
Courses of all levels are available: introductory to advanced. Also you can get customized training experience by submitting a request or give a call at (312) 818-5503.
Have you been looking for a discontinued beauty product? Im sure you know the feeling. Youve been using a hair care product for years, and then suddenly you cant find it anymore. It often happens that you grow attached to a hair care product, only to find that the manufacturer has discontinued this item. HairCareAndBeauty.com carries a wide assortment of discontinued hair items, including discontinued Sebastian hair products, discontinued Goldwell hair products, and so many more. It is very difficult to get used to using a new beauty product, and were here to help you find the product you are looking for.
HairCareAndBeauty also carries a large assortment of discounted salon beauty items. Matrix Biolage is one such brand that can be very expensive in salons, but is now made affordable online. If you own a salon, and find that you are spending a lot on hair care supplies, you should definitely look into purchasing your salon hair care products online.
If youre a beauty lover, you may want to check out the Tigi products we carry. This includes Tigi Catwalk products, Tigi Bedhead, and so many more cheap Tigi items. Tigi hair products usually have funky packaging and a delicious smell, and you dont have to settle for off brands when you can buy authentic Tigi hair products for cheap. The Redken brand also discontinues many of their products. We carry original Redken Glypro and so many more. And of course, Sebastian is known for constantly discontinuing their best products, including the discontinued Sebastian Molding Mud, discontinued Sebastian Wet Gel, and so many more Sebastian products. If you are looking for any of these hair products, do not despair. www.HairCareAndBeauty.com is happy to reunite you with your favorite product.
Do those extra pounds weigh on your mind? You are not alone. A majority of people today struggle with issues of unwanted flab and weight woes.
Yacon Molasses Syrup is a weight loss product that has caught the imagination of experts like Dr Oz. It is basically a medium that changes your metabolism to make your body burn fat faster so that you are able to shed weight in a rapid manner. The good thing about Yacon Molasses is that it does not ask for any significant changes in your diet or lifestyle. It is also a 100% natural product without any side effects. This is why Yacon Syrup has become extremely popular among the people around the world these days.
Taking good quality pictures of jewelry for most is an unsolved mystery. However, there are some simple techniques used by the professional, which even amateur photographers can use to obtain dramatic results with minimal effort. The following examples show the basic setup that should allow anyone to achieve results they can be proud of. These images were all taken using a Canon Digital Rebel camera with a 100MM lens.
The basic setup we used included an EZcube light tent to soften the shadows and eliminate glare, while providing a clean and clutter free background. We used TabletopStudio lights as the primary light source, equipped with true color daylight balanced compact fluorescent bulbs. We also used a special Diamond dazzler LED bulb to light up the diamonds and faceted gems in the example images on this page.
The keys to good jewelry photography are sharpness, lighting, exposure, and in the case of gemstone photography, creating some sparkle. More details: http://hozhonigallery.com/articles/take-ph...of-jewelry.html
If you're interested in becoming a truck dispatcher or you simply would like to update your skills as a dispatcher to offer a better level of service to your company or future employment opportunities, Aiksphere Technologies is pleased to offer an official truck dispatch course.
With our truck dispatch course you will learn to use many types of trucking software such as:
* AikSphere Exceeder Dispatch Software
* PC Miler for all mileage and route planning
* Load boards for freight acquisition
* AikSphere ACE/ACI for border crossing
* Satellite Tracking
In addition, you will learn Safety & Compliance, Border Crossing, Communication Skill and operation management. We offer you the advantage of learning some of the most popular truck dispatch software. For more information on our truck dispatch training course contact us today at 905-495-9559
You must be very familar with forums because there're so many on the internet about different topics. But do you ever thing of starting your own forum and run it on your own?
Before you launch a forum, you need to choose a forum script, it is better to start with a free forum script. Make sure that it is able to move information to another forum script should you want to change later. A good free script that does allow you to transfer your information is Phpbb forums. This is the script that many web hosts offer as part of their packages as well. When you want to change to a paid forum script, Vbulletin forums are also good and it comes with a migration tool for phpBB, which will allow you to easily transfer all your forum information without losing anything.
If you don't know how to do it, you could ask for help for free from this forum: www. theforumsforum. com.
Taiwan, in the western part of the Pacific Ocean, is a friendly and surprisingly beautiful island with plenty to offer: from beautiful cities to sublime countryside and wonderful friendly people, you can find everything that you want in a holiday in Taiwan.
If you are planning a trip to Taiwan, here's the list of 10 must go destinations:
1. Taipei
2. Green Island
3. Sun Moon Lake
4. Taroko Gorge
5. Hualien
6. Kenting
7. Maolin
8. Lugang
9. Tainan
10. Hehuan
For more details of the best places in Taiwan, please go to http://taiwanguides.com
The beautiful beach of Boicucanga in San Sebastian, northern Litoral Paulista, is considered the largest shopping center in South Coast state and has all the infrastructure for tourists, with excellent inns, hotels and restaurants. On the north side of the beach empties into the Rio Boicucanga, which focuses fishermen who still live by fishing on site.
Boicucanga became the largest shopping and the south coast of São Sebastião services center with plenty of shopping, leisure, housing options, relying on a Sub-Prefecture, bank branch and ER.
Known by the most spectacular setting of the sun beaches of the North Coast, Boicucanga can not miss in your script! On the north side of the beach where the Boicucanga River flows, concentrated small boats of local fishermen, who still live by fishing, keeping the tradition of their ancestors.
For those with an adventurous spirit, Praia Brava Boicucanga is undoubtedly a thrilling ride. Access is only by sea or by climbing the hill track that is home. Of very strong waves, usually frequented by the most experienced surfers beach.
Boicucanga this just 170km from the capital SP, with easy access from the Rio-Santos highway. Located between the beaches and Maresias
Camberley. It's also very close to other beaches in the area that are worth visiting: Bar Sahy, Juquehy, Barra do Una and Whale Beach suitable for children to have calmer waters.
For more information about Pousada Boicucanga visit our website.
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Last month, I had the privilege of going down to Atlanta and attending the annual Asian American Hotel Owner's Association (AAHOA) conference, an event which included everything from a lively trade show to a question and answer session with former U.S. President George W. Bush.
There are few greater success stories in the lodging industry than AAHOA, which in some 20 years has grown its membership to 11,000 strong and car- ries more clout than many hotel executives care to admit. And no group has been more vigilant about standing up for the rights of franchisees against the big brands.
However, in my opinion, the group often takes it too far and there's no better example than the Industry Issues panel during the conference. The panel, which was moderated by franchise attorney Robert Zarco, featured a number of brand executives,including Choice's Steve Joyce, Wyndham's Eric Danziger, Hilton's Bill Fortier, Marri- ott's Liam Brown, Bob Morse of IHG and David Kong of Best Western.
But these execs represented little more than lambs on their way to the slaughter. As if the line of questioning wasn't enough as Zarco flatly asked the group "what they could do for franchisees who run out of funds for improvements" and why they
need to impose such "unnecessary" upgrades, the tone of the session was flat-out hostile. Zarco seemed determined to whip the membership into a frenzy with each question, which resulted in cheers during the questions and booing and catcalling during many of the responses.
From my perspective, this is not how you gain credibility as an organization. If this was a one-time thing, I might give AAHOA a pass, but the same thing occurred at last year's event in Chicago. I'm not here to hold a pity party for the brands, all of these execs have faced tough questions before and they've handled themselves capably. But what does this do to the relationship between franchisees and franchisors, the industry's two most important groups? There was a time when the franchisors seemed to turn a blind eye to the franchisees but, by all accounts, that is no longer the case. More often than not, we hear that franchisors have been lenient on brand standards and are trying to work with owners. Not to mention, as several executives stated during the panel, it's often other owners who are compliant that urge the brands the loudest to come down on those not in compliance. After all, the value of the brand, and their re- spective assets, ultimately depends on it.
As a group, AAHOA has made consid- erable progress with gaining a louder voice on Capitol Hill and affecting real change, but the group has higher aspirations. With that in mind, any political leaders who witnessed the "ambush" on the brand executives might not be inclined to take this group as seriously.
Franchisees may not be satisfied with the returns they're getting on their investment these days, but that's not necessarily the fault of the brands. The fact of the matter is it's a tough time for any business to thrive.
I'm not saying the brands are beyond reproach. But let's be honest: Any meaningful dialogue with the brands isn't likely to take place in a public forum. AAHOA's leadership needs to find a way to make the brands accountable but do it more constructively and, ultimately, that could help take the association and entire lodging industry to another level.
AAHOA Needs To Back Off Brand Execs During Annual Event
Last month, I had the privilege of going down to Atlanta and attending the annual Asian American Hotel Owner's Association (AAHOA) conference, an event which included everything from a lively trade show to a question and answer session with former U.S. President George W. Bush.


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Duel: Blade & Magic Pro
- Publisher: Chen Hao
- Genre: Role Playing
- Released: 30 Aug, 2010
- Size: 15.5 MB
- Price: FREE!
- App Store Info
DescriptionDuel: Blade & Magic tops RPG games worldwide and cracks 10K concurrent users!
Oct 11 - Some of you may have experienced having problems logging in or received the 503 message. We sincerely apologize for this given the heavy traffic. We will try to get this resolved asap.
Welcome to Duel: Blade & Magic MT (Multi-Task), a RPG fighting game where you battle friends and monsters alike. This MT version is specifically made for iOS4, allowing you to benefit from iOS4 superb features such as multi-task. You'll get 5,000 coins to start and invite more friends to get more coins to purchase weapons and other items.
Game highlights:
-Unlock more than 30 Pets from Quests to fight alongside you.
-Spectacular animated fighting scenes, see your characters in full screen action against other players and over 30 monsters!
-Choose from two character classes: Warrior and Witch, each has their own unique skills and items!
-Characters has extensive weapon, armor, and skills to choose from. Character appearance will also change accordingly when different items are equipped!
-Duel fighting mode: Fight other players for experience.
-Quest mode: Explore 50 quest missions for coins and items.
-Arena mode: Challenge players for prize money.
-Honor Badges, collect badges to show your friends and enemies your achievements!


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INGERSOLL, Ont. - Few policy differences emerged at the first all-candidates meeting for the seven men and women running to replace Dalton McGuinty as Ontario Liberal leader and premier, but Kathleen Wynne surprised the audience by promising to appoint herself as agriculture minister.
"This is such an important issue for us as a province, not just as a party, not just as a government, that I think the premier needs to take this on," Wynne told party faithful gathered in the gym of a youth centre in Ingersoll, about 30 kilometres east of London, Ont.
"So as premier I would appoint myself as minister of agricultural and rural affairs for at least a year."
The candidates faced a series of vague questions selected and posed by Liberal insiders and focusing mainly on rural issues, jobs and health care, with everyone promising to do more to win back rural support, especially among people angry over wind farms, which cost the party seats in the 2011 election.
Several candidates, including Gerard Kennedy, said the government seemed out of touch to rural Ontarians, especially on energy issues, and had to work hard to rebuild their trust.
"We get it, we understand that Mr. McGuinty has stepped down because he knows you want to see a changed agenda, not a fundamentally different one, but one that Ontarians can relate to in a fresh way," said Kennedy, who lost the 1996 leadership to McGuinty.
Sandra Pupatello, the only candidate beside Kennedy who no longer has a seat in the legislature, talked about her experience in opposition as well as government, and said mistakes had been made since the last election, when the Liberals fell one seat short of their third straight majority.
"Since moving from majority to minority, something happened along the way to the government," she said.
"It's really important that we reconnect, that we re-engage with the party members that we had and the new ones that we've brought along. It is about listening to rural Ontario."
Glen Murray talked about turning around finances in the city of Winnipeg when he was the mayor, and vowed to change the tax system to give the middle class a break.
Charles Sousa and Hardiner Takhar talked about their business experience and said they too had plans to spur job creation and economic growth.
Eric Hoskins admitted he hasn't been in politics very long for a leadership candidate, but said his experience as a medical doctor and co-founder of the charity War Child Canada would help guide him as premier.
"I entered this leadership race because I believe that my experience inside and outside of politics _ yes I'm not a veteran, been in politics provincially for three years, but I'm not a novice either _ gives me the necessary experience and perspective to lead this party and the province forward," said Hoskins.
There was polite applause from the 150 people attending the meeting, but an equal number of protesters gathered outside to complain about wind farms, a local landfill project and the legislation that freezes teachers' wages.
With signs declaring "Rage Against Green Energy" and "Stop Wind Power," dozens of local residents chanted out front of the debate hall, while teachers and members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees protested out back.
Saturday was the first chance for most people to hear what the would-be premiers have to say, and for the candidates to highlight the differences from their competitors, all of whom served in McGuinty's cabinet at one time or another.
The leadership hopefuls are trying to win over potential delegates who will be the ones that actually vote for the new Liberal leader at a convention in Toronto Jan. 25-26.
Delegates will be selected at meetings across the province the weekend of Jan. 11-12, just two weeks before the convention.
McGuinty surprised everyone on Oct. 15 with his decision to resign and prorogue the legislature, a move that killed planned committee hearings into the costly cancellation of two gas plants, as well as a rare contempt motion against his embattled Energy Minister Chris Bentley.
Also on HuffPost


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Keeping your campus connected and engaged.
CampusGroups lets you create a private community platform for your departments, student organizations, teams, and any other groups on campus. With powerful tools for communication, events, membership, payments and more, CampusGroups is where group leaders make things happen.
Trusted by today's leading institutions
CampusGroups powers over 40,000 organizations worldwide.Discover Why
All the tools you need to manage & engage your campus community


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Your basket is currently empty
Arran 19 Year Old 1996 vintage Island single malt Scotch whiskey. Single cask sherry butt #1607 bottled June 2016 for our exclusive Burns Malt® series.
Arran Distillery
Arran Single Malt Whiskey
Arran Distillery was commissioned by the Isle of Arran Distillers in 1995 and lies amid stunning scenery just to the south of Lochranza on the northern tip of the Isle of Arran. This distillery has four stills, dunnage warehouses, a visitor centre offering distillery tours and a distillery café. Arran distills both un-peated and peated malt spirit and matures its whiskey in sherry, bourbon, port and wine casks in order to produce an ever-evolving and expanding range of whiskies including Arran single malts such as Arran Machrie Moor and The Illicit Stills, and Arran blended scotch.


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Boot camp bashings
So not only do bootcamps not work & seem to produce fitter reoffenders, they now bash the teens sent there as well? Unbelievable...
Teenagers assaulted, abused at boot camp
Troubled teens sent to government-run boot camps were abused and assaulted by military personnel tasked with turning their lives around.
Two military staff have been through formal disciplinary proceedings, one step below a full court martial, over treatment they meted out to teens on the camps.
...it's interesting to me that this story didn't really get much attention, because it has all the ingredients doesn't it? Military personnel charged with bashing troubled teens who are forced to participate in boot camps has all the necessary news hooks, but it didn't really get noticed.
I think it's because it's not really the news people want to hear. NZers want to hear these troubled teens are getting a little roughed up, because in the minds of the sleepy hobbits, that's what these kids need, bit of discipline and they'll fly straight. Having to be confronted by their short term knee-jerk redneck bullshit boot camps not working, and the word assualt getting banded about, is outside the talkradio paradigm they are simplistically viewing this in.
Boot camps don't work. Boot camps actually create fitter reoffenders and now we have Military staff assaulting these teens. The whole messy, smelly, infected thinking that generates social policy like this doesn't demand much accountability, and that's why news that these boot camps are sinking quickly get ignored.
National have seized upon the uneducated rump desires of their voter base to punish these kids without bothering to check if such puritanical populism even works.
It's a Banana Republic with an extra side order of banana's.


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Time to add a new book to our 2019 reading list!
Did your hometown make the list?
Following a hard-fought attempt to become America's first Black governor, she's revising her plans.
The signs are about a lot more than just internet memes.
The tub is my safe space to get away from the world with a glass—or two.
Despite Kelly's anger, Gayle tells us how she remained calm.
It's now or never.
The single gay father is teaching us an important lesson.
This is bigger than a celebrity.
Warning: You're likely going to feel all mixed up.
This list represents every color of the rainbow flag.
Those two are onto something.
The influential doll spent the day at the O Mag offices.
And how to try them yourself at home.
Don't let the tiny needles fool you.
How many have you read?
Leave your back up flats at home!
Tyler Perry's character dropped by / to say heller!
Here's the tea on CBD, THC, and the plant formerly known as marijuana.
We've got you covered. Literally.
Hat hair, don't care.
...and then some.
A few green things we think are just great!
They each fit into a new genre: cli-fi.


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On Thursday evening, May 23, 1985, I participated in a debate with renowned evolutionist/humanist Delos McKown. The setting was the Tracey Larkin show on Alabama Public Television. The audience was composed of the people of Alabama. The show aired at 6:30 p.m.
I had received a telephone call the day prior to the television show, asking if I might be willing to meet Dr. McKown in order to discuss the proposition: "Scientific creationism should be taught in public schools in America." I gladly accepted the invitation. Dr. McKown, of course, was no stranger to me. He is well known in evolutionist/humanist circles. At the time, he was the chairman of the department of philosophy at Auburn University, and wrote often for anti-creationist publications such as the humanist journal Creation/Evolution. In fact, he had just released his novel, With Faith & Fury (1985), published by the humanist publishing company, Prometheus Press of Buffalo, New York, in which a "fundamentalist preacher" tangles with an evolutionist, and, of course, loses. Actually, Dr. McKown is no stranger to "fundamentalism," as he once was a minister for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). For reasons known only to him, he gave up his belief in God and opted for belief in evolutionary humanism, which he now promotes with a vengeance. The students who come from his classes at Auburn are quick to speak of his anti-God stance.
In this article, I would like to mention a few of the items that were discussed in the debate. But prior to that, I would like to explain the title of this article, and the reason for its publication. In the last 60 seconds of the debate, the host, Mr. Larkin, was concluding the evening's discussion when he remarked to Dr. McKown that the creationists seemed to be making a good bit of progress in their efforts to set forth the scientific evidence for creation. Dr. McKown exploded in a burst of inflamed rhetoric and stated in no uncertain terms that indeed, creationists were making a good deal of headway—but due only to the fact that our nation is filled with (and this is a direct quote) "logical illiterates and scientific simpletons."
I was stunned, to say the least, that a man of the supposed caliber of Dr. McKown would resort to name-calling of the worst sort in a feeble attempt to try to substantiate his position. But more than that, I was shocked and insulted (as were a number of others with whom I have spoken who watched the debate). I was shocked, in that it seemed incredulous to me that a man who is in every sense of the word a public servant (a professor at a state-supported university), and whose salary is paid by my taxes, could go on public television and verbally insult the people of the state that he purportedly serves. I was insulted, in that I knew quite well that the epithet Dr. McKown used to label all of the good people of the United States did not fit and was, in fact, a slap in the face to every educated person in this country.
I would like to examine Dr. McKown's false and baseless assertion that creationists are making progress in having the scientific evidence for creation taught in public schools simply because our nation is composed of "logical illiterates and scientific simpletons."
As the debate opened that Thursday evening on May 23rd, Dr. McKown fired a salvo intended to leave the audience with the impression that "all" scientists of any repute are evolutionists. He quoted from a booklet published by the National Academy of Sciences that sought to present evolution as a scientific fact and creation as "strictly religious." He suggested that this material was accepted by "all scientists" as representative of the case. You can imagine his surprise (and it was physically evident during the debate as he stuttered and stammered in an attempt to respond) when I reminded him that the National Academy of Sciences had been slapped with a multimillion dollar lawsuit because of the publication of that very booklet, which was not representative of all of its membership, and which was published without prior knowledge of most of its members.
I hastened to remind Dr. McKown that "all" scientists are not now, nor have they ever been, evolutionists. In fact, a quick look at great scientists of both past and present generations will quickly defuse such an erroneous idea. Such scientists as Sir Isaac Newton, Johannes Kepler, Robert Boyle, Lord Kelvin, Louis Pasteur, Matthew F. Maury, Michael Faraday, Clerk Maxwell, John Ray, Carolus Linnaeus, Werhner Von Braun, Walter Lammerts, and others were (or are) creationists. And the list could be extended greatly (see Morris, 1982). Further, what difference would it make even if every scientist were an evolutionist? Truth is not determined by popular opinion or majority vote! And anyone even vaguely familiar with the history of science can offer instance after instance where "the majority" of the scientific community had "voted," as it were, on a particular issue, only to be proved wrong soon thereafter. The scientific community told British medical doctor Edward Jenner that his smallpox vaccine would not work. But it did. The scientific community told Austrian medical doctor Ignaz Semmelweis that it was fruitless to worry about "germs" as a cause of mortality among medical patients. But it wasn't. And so on, and so on. "All" the scientists were wrong. Popularity does not guarantee correctness!
Dr. McKown then tried to suggest to the viewing audience that the only view that should be presented in public schools was the evolutionary scenario. I quickly reminded him, however, that he had put himself at odds with his mentor, Charles Darwin, as well as the great defender of evolution, Clarence Darrow. Darwin stated in the "Introduction" of his 1859 publication, The Origin of Species:
I am well aware that there is scarcely a single point discussed in this volume on which facts cannot be adduced, often apparently leading to conclusions directly opposite to those at which I have arrived. A fair result could be obtained only by fully stating and balancing the facts on both sides of each question (1956, p. 18, emp. added).
I am well aware that there is scarcely a single point discussed in this volume on which facts cannot be adduced, often apparently leading to conclusions directly opposite to those at which I have arrived. A fair result could be obtained only by fully stating and balancing the facts on both sides of each question (1956, p. 18, emp. added).
It was Clarence Darrow who stated in the famous 1925 "Scopes Monkey Trial" that it was "bigotry" to teach only one theory of origins. [Of course, Darrow was referring to the teaching of only creation, but his statement is true nonetheless!] I asked Dr. McKown what would be wrong with allowing students to have all the evidences, so that they then could make up their own minds? He recoiled in shock at such a suggestion, and stated that teaching evidences for creation would be like putting astrology back into astronomy, or the stork back into obstetrics, etc. He stated that if we put the "so-called evidences" (to use his term) for creation into the public schools, our students quickly would see that they had been sold a bill of goods."
I hastened to mention to Dr. McKown that our students in public schools already have been "sold a bill of goods," in that they are being given only one side of a two-sided issue. My point was this: creationists have an impressive arsenal of evidence that establishes the conclusion that the creation model fits the available scientific facts far better than the evolution model. The one-sided indoctrination of students in this materialistic philosophy in the tax-supported schools in our pluralistic, democratic society is a violation of academic and religious freedoms. Furthermore, it is poor science and poor education. To remedy this intolerable situation, creation scientists simply ask that, excluding the use of the Bible or any other religious literature, only the scientific evidence that can be adduced in favor of creation and evolution be presented thoroughly and fairly in public schools. After students have had an opportunity to weigh all the data, consider each alternative, and examine the implications and consequences of each position, then they should be challenged to decide for themselves which one is more credible or rational. That is good education, and good science. But, as Norman Macbeth, the Harvard-trained lawyer, stated in his book, Darwin Retried, evolutionists (and this certainly describes Dr. McKown) are almost irrationally fearful of creationists today, and are determined to stop them from presenting creationism at all costs. Furthermore, Macbeth observed, the evolutionists "are not revealing all the dirt under the rug in their approach to the public. There is a feeling that they ought to keep back the worst so that their public reputation would not suffer and the Creationists wouldn't get any ammunition" (1982, 2:22). Here is a good example. I pressed Dr. McKown with this point:
If evolution is scientific, then by definition it must be falsifiable, since one of the criteria of a good scientific theory is that it potentially can be falsified (i.e., it must be possible to devise an experiment or set of studies, the failure of which would disprove the theory). My question to Dr. McKown was this: Is evolution falsifiable? Dr. McKown knew exactly where my question was leading, and he had no choice, if he wanted to retain the "scientific" nature of evolution, but to say "yes." Indeed, he said that evolution was falsifiable. But once again he put himself at odds with the mainstream of evolutionary thought. Evolutionists Ehrlich and Birch wrote, for example:
Our theory of evolution has become…one which cannot be refuted by any possible observations. Every conceivable observation can be fitted into it. It is thus "outside of empirical science" but not necessarily false. No one can think of ways in which to test it. Ideas, either without basis or based on a few laboratory experiments carried out in extremely simplified systems have attained currency far beyond their validity. They have become part of an evolutionary dogma accepted by most of us as part of our training (1967, p. 352).
Our theory of evolution has become…one which cannot be refuted by any possible observations. Every conceivable observation can be fitted into it. It is thus "outside of empirical science" but not necessarily false. No one can think of ways in which to test it. Ideas, either without basis or based on a few laboratory experiments carried out in extremely simplified systems have attained currency far beyond their validity. They have become part of an evolutionary dogma accepted by most of us as part of our training (1967, p. 352).
Sir Karl Popper, the eminent philosopher of science, stated in his autobiography, Unended Quest: "I have come to the conclusion that Darwinism is not a testable scientific theory, but a metaphysical research programme.... It is therefore important to show that Darwinism is not a scientific theory, but metaphysical" (1976). H.S. Lipson, the renowned British physicist, noted: "In fact, evolution became in a sense a scientific religion; almost all scientists have accepted it and many are prepared to 'bend' their observations to fit in with it" (1980, 31:138).
These statements are a far cry from those of Dr. McKown. He wishes us to believe that evolution is scientific and therefore falsifiable. His own evolutionary colleagues, however, are not so quick with their answers, and in fact, strongly disagree with him. Numerous other statements made by Dr. McKown could be examined and refuted, but I would like to examine here his statement that creationists are making great strides in having the scientific evidence for creation taught because people are "logical illiterates and scientific simpletons." Such a statement not only is untrue, but also is unbecoming a man of the supposed intellectual stature of Delos McKown.
First, creationists are making great strides in this battle. Consider, for example, the following. In a center-column, front-page article in the June 15, 1979 issue of the Wall Street Journal, there appeared an article by one of the Journal's staff writers commenting on how creationists, when engaging in debates with evolutionists, "tend to win" the debates, and that creationism was "making progress." In 1979, Gallup pollsters conducted a random survey, inquiring about belief in creation versus evolution. The poll had been commissioned by Christianity Today magazine, and was reported in its December 21, 1979 issue. This poll found that 51% of Americans believe in the special creation of a literal Adam and Eve as the starting place of human life. In the March 1980 issue of the American School Board Journal (p. 52), it was reported that 67% of its readers (most of whom were school board members and school administrators) favored the teaching of the scientific evidence for creation in public schools. Glamour magazine conducted a poll of its own and reported the results in its August 1982 issue (p. 28). The magazine found that 74% of its readers favored teaching the scientific evidence for creation in public schools. One of the most authoritative polls was conducted in October 1981 by the Associated Press/NBC News polling organization. The results were as follows:
"Only evolution should be taught" 8%
"Only creation should be taught" 10%
"Both creation and evolution should be taught" 76%
"Not sure which should be taught" 6%
Thus, nationwide no less than 86% of the people in the United States believe that creation should be taught in public schools. In August 1982, another Gallup poll was conducted, and found that 44% of those interviewed believed not only in creation, but in a recent creation of less than 10,000 years ago. Only 9% of the people polled believed in atheistic evolution.
On November 28, 1991 results were released from yet another Gallup poll regarding the biblical account of origins. The results may be summarized as follows. On origins: 47% believed God created man within the last 10,000 years (up 3% from the 1982 poll mentioned above); 40% believed man evolved over millions of years, but that God guided the process; 9% believed man evolved over millions of years without God; 4% were "other/don't know." On the Bible: 32% believed the Bible to be the inspired Word of God, and that it should be taken literally; 49% believed the Bible to be the inspired Word of God, but that it should not always be taken literally; 16% believed the Bible to be entirely the product of men; 3% were "other/don't know" (see Major, 1991, 11:48; John Morris, 1992, p. d). Two years later, a Gallup poll carried out in 1993 produced almost the same results. Of those responding, 47% stated that they believed in a recent creation of man; 11% expressed their belief in a strictly naturalistic form of evolution (see Newport, 1993, p. A-22). Four years after that poll, a 1997 Gallup survey found that 44% of Americans (including 31% who were college graduates) subscribed to a fairly literal reading of the Genesis account of creation, while another 39% (53% of whom were college graduates) believed God played at least some part in creating the Universe. Only 10% (17% college graduates) embraced a purely naturalistic, evolutionary view (see Bishop, 1998, pp. 39-48; Sheler, 1999, pp. 48-49). The results of a Gallup poll released in August 1999 were practically identical: 47% stated that they believed in a recent creation of man; 9% expressed belief in strictly naturalistic evolution (see Moore, 1999).
In its March 11, 2000 issue, the New York Times ran a story titled "Survey Finds Support is Strong for Teaching 2 Origin Theories," which reported on a poll commissioned by the liberal civil rights group, People for the American Way, and conducted by the prestigious polling/public research firm, DYG, of Danbury, Connecticut. According to the report, 79% of the people polled felt that the scientific evidence for creation should be included in the curriculum of public schools (see Glanz, 2000, p. A-1).
The amazing thing about all of this, of course, is that these results are being achieved after more than a century of evolutionary indoctrination.
Second, this is the case, not because the majority of people are "logical illiterates or scientific simpletons," but because the majority of people recognize what Dr. McKown and a few of his humanistic colleagues refuse to recognize—viz., the evidences from every field of science in support of creation are overwhelming. For example, when I reminded Dr. McKown that the fundamental, foundation cornerstone of all of biology is the law of biogenesis (which states that all life comes from preceding life of its kind), and that we know no known exception to it in nature, he replied, "That's not right." I asked, "Can you disprove it, or give me an example that violates it? Evolution, of course, violates it hundreds, thousands, or millions of times." Of course, he was completely unable to provide any such an example. That is no surprise. The law of biogenesis is a scientific law; his evolutionary scenario is an imaginary philosophy that he is trying to pass off as "science." When measured against true science, it pales into insignificance.
I also reminded Dr. McKown of the laws of genetics that ensure basic "kinds" remain within their own groups. And I reminded him of the laws of probability, which absolutely exclude the possibility of spontaneous generation and/or chemical evolution. I find it of special interest that Dr. McKown attempted to use the common evolutionist ploy that says, "But you creationists have a miracle in the camp, while we evolutionists use only that which is based in nature and is therefore scientific." Amazing, is it not? The evolutionist asks us to believe that: (a) inorganic gave rise to organic; (b) Nonliving gave rise to living; (c) amoral gave rise to moral; and (d) unconscious gave rise to conscious. Yet creationists are the ones with the miracle!? And while we were on the subject, I also reminded Dr. McKown that science is not defined as "naturalism" in the first place. "Science" comes from the Latin word scientia, which means "knowledge." To assume that knowledge can be acquired solely on the basis of naturalism is the height of intellectual snobbery, and more important, is wrong. Of all people, a philosopher of the stature of Dr. McKown should know that!
Likewise, I mentioned to Dr. McKown the two most fundamental laws of science, the first and second laws of thermodynamics. The first law, which states in simplified form that neither matter nor energy may be created or destroyed, strictly forbids the Universe having created itself. And the second, which states in simplified form that all things are "running down," strictly forbids the evolutionary process on a universal scale from occurring; things are running down, not building up.
Piece by piece, this type of evidence was presented to Dr. McKown. And as the program came to an end, I suggested to him that it was not because people were "illiterates and simpletons" that creationists were making such inroads into the evolutionary establishment, but because sane, rational people can use a little common sense and a lot of good science and quickly come to the conclusion that evolution is both bad science and bad philosophy.
Why do evolutionists continually refuse a hearing for the scientific evidences for creation? There may exist two possibilities. First, it may be that evolutionists consider that students are too ignorant, too illiterate to be exposed to these competing ideas of origins. They must be "protected from error" and carefully indoctrinated in "correct" ideas by those who consider themselves to be the intellectually elite, the sole possessors and guardians of truth. Second, having engendered this fragile tower of hypotheses piled upon hypotheses, where fact and fiction intermingle in an inextricable confusion, it may be that evolutionists are aware of the fact that the notion of evolution will fare badly if exposed to an open and determined challenge from creation scientists and that if this is done, the majority of our students will accept creation as the better of the two concepts of origins. Whatever may be the case, it is urgent that inquiring students be exposed to all of the evidence and all of the arguments on each side of the question, so that these two alternative concepts of origins can compete freely in the marketplace of ideas!
Bishop, George (1998), "The Religious Worldview and American Beliefs about Human Origins," The Public Perspective, pp. 39-48, August/September.
Darwin, Charles (1956 edition), The Origin of Species (London: J.M. Dent & Sons).
Ehrlich, Paul R., and L. C. Birch, (1967), "Evolutionary History and Population Biology," Nature, 214:349-352, April 22.
Glanz, James (2000), "Survey Finds Support is Strong for Teaching 2 Origin Theories," The New York Times, p. A-1, March 11.
Lipson, H.S. (1980), "A Physicist Looks at Evolution," Physics Bulletin, 31:138, May.
Macbeth, Norman (1982), "Darwinism: A Time For Funerals," Towards, 2:22, Spring.
Major, Trevor J. (1991), "In the News—National Beliefs Polled," Reason & Revelation, 11:48, December.
McKown, Delos (1985), With Faith and Fury (Buffalo, NY: Prometheus).
Moore, David W. (1999), "Americans Support Teaching Creationism as Well as Evolution in Public Schools," [On-line], URL http://www.gallup.com/poll/releases/pr990830.asp (Princeton, NJ: Gallup News Service).
Morris, Henry M. (1982), Men of Science: Men of God (San Diego, CA: Creation-Life Publishers).
Morris, John D. (1992), "Do Americans Believe in Creation?," Acts and Facts, p. d, February.
Newport, Frank (1993), "God Created Humankind, Most Believe," Sunday Oklahoman, A-22.
Popper, Karl (1976), Unended Quest (Glasgow, Scotland: Fontana Books).
Sheler, Jeffery L. (1999), Is the Bible True? (San Francisco, CA: HarperCollins).


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Here's a little sneak peak to a project I've been working on...
April 26, 2012
April 24, 2012
Better Pasta Bolognese
I will admit, before 10 years ago I had never heard of Bolognese. In our house, like many other families, it was called Meat Sauce. It was my favorite version of "spaghetti." Most versions are basically browned ground beef with garlic and onions, then various canned tomatoes and dried Italian seasoning. Simple and good. Since then, I've been introduced to Bolognese. There are many different recipes for bolognese ranging from very simple with few ingredients to many with a slew of meats to create a very sophisticated flavor complex. My version is someplace in between. It is special, but simple - similar to the good ole Americanized "Meat Sauce," but with a couple more enhancements to add depth of flavor.
Pasta Bolognese
my version of a classic
1/4 pound of pancetta, diced
1 pound of ground beef
2 tablespoons of olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 cup of onion, small dice
1/4 cup of red wine
1 teaspoon of tried Italian herbs
2 bay leaves
1 large can of crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
1/4 cup of cream
1/4 cup of parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
1 pound of pasta
In a sauce pan, cook pancetta, rendering fat. When almost crispy, remove the pancetta and set it aside leaving the fat in the pan. Add the ground beef and cook it until it has browned. Add olive oil and onion, cook for 3 minutes then add garlic. Cook for 30 seconds, then add red wine. Cook for 3-5 minutes on medium until the onion has absorbed the wine. Add herbs, tomatoes and tomato paste. Cook for 10 minutes until simmering. Lower heat and add cream. Cook for another 2-3 minutes at a low simmer. Remove from heat and stir in cheese.
In the meantime, begin boiling a large pot of salted water. Cook pasta until it is almost done - be careful not to over cook it. Remove it from the water and place it directly in the saucepan. Stir to coat. Serve garnished with parmesan.
April 22, 2012
Lemon, Garlic & Thyme Roasted Chicken on a Sunday night
This past week and weekend has been sunny and hot in New England. Then today, out of no where, it was 50 degrees and rainy. All day. And it will continue to be cold and rainy all week. After a week of grilling out and eating fresh, a real meal sounded good - I jumped at the chance to make us a comforting dinner on a Sunday night.Roasted Chicken
with lemon, garlic & thyme4 chicken breasts, split
1/2 cup of olive oil
2 lemons, juiced
1/2 cup of white wine (optional)
6 cloves of garlic
10 sprigs of thyme
1 tablespoon of sea salt
1/2 tablespoon of cracked pepper
Place chicken breasts in a baking dish. In a bowl, combine olive oil, lemon juice, white wine and garlic. Place thyme sprigs on top of the chicken breasts. Pour mixture over the chicken. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the breasts. Cover and marinate for 1 hour or more, if you have the time.
Bake chicken covered in foil at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken breasts. Remove from the oven, let sit for 10 minutes before serving.
Chicken breasts in my baking dish. Notice the mini bottle of white wine - I've been buying them to use in my cooking because we never have a bottle of white around the house.
Juicing the lemons, seeds? What seeds?
I like to pour the marinate over, then season. If I season them first, then the marinade just washes it away.
Ready to go into the fridge for an hour - if you have the time. If not, just go ahead and put them in the oven.
Put the chicken under the broiler for 2-3 minutes if they skin has not browned enough.
This is perfect - I love how the lemons get roasted, too.
I served them with mashed potatoes and drizzled the sauce over. Be sure to squeeze a little bit of the roasted lemon over, too - it has an amazing flavor after cooking in those garlicy juices.
Labels: Dinner, Recipes, springrecipes
April 20, 2012
Creative Layer Cakes : Share Your Photos!
I'm always so interested in what you are cooking and baking... Hey- I need inspiration, too. So, I'd like to invite you to a Share Your Food Photos on My Community. I'd like to make this a weekly thing!
Here's how it will go : You submit your photo via My Community (you can upload a photo when you reply to the Conversation). Describe the elements you used in your recipe, and how your family and friends enjoyed it. I'll select one (or more...) of the submissions to feature here on the blog the following week. I might even ask you to share the recipe!
This week, I'd like to see what Layer Cake combination you can come up with. As you remember from last week, I posted about my Vanilla Pound Cake with Lemon Curd, Whipped Cream, Berries & Black Plums... What combination can you come up with? Be creative, or classic - whatever your family will love.
Please share your photos by Monday morning on this conversation thread. I can't wait to see what you've been up to.
New to food photography? Here are a couple of Food Photography Quick Tips that will help your layer cake look its best.
Labels: food photos, photography
Food Photography : Quick Tips
Natural Light : Take your photos by a window and turn off all overhead artificial lights.
White Curtain : Hang a white curtain over the window. This will soften the light and any harsh shadows. You'll be surprised to see that your photo is actually lighter than if you didn't use the curtain. No curtain? Be creative, use a sheet or tea towel.
No Flash : Turn off your flash! Food taken with a flash will look greasy and have major shadows.
LEFT : This is what my 'set-up' looked like when I was creating the Spring Header. Notice the white curtains.
Labels: food photos, photography
April 18, 2012
Scones, Scones, Scones... I'm fool for Scones | Quick Blueberry Lemon Glazed Scones
By now you've all tried the Cranberry Scones with Orange Glaze, right? Several times? Me, too. Several times. Yesterday morning, I wanted more.
I had no cranberries. No oranges for the glaze.
However, I did have some blue berries and a lemon...
Fresh Blueberry Scones
with a lemon glaze
2 cups plus 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
12 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, diced
2 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup cold heavy cream
1 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
4 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
In a mixer, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt using the paddle attachment. Cut the cold butter into 1/2 inch pieces. Add the butter to the dry ingredients and mix on low until the butter is mixed in and is the size of peas. In a separate bowl, mix together eggs and whipping cream with a fork. Turn the mixer on low and slowly add the cream and egg mixture. Turn off the mixer once added. Fold in blueberries .
Put some flour on the counter. Turn the dough out onto the floured surface. Add some flour onto the top of the dough, then pat it out into a disk - about 8-9 inches in diameter. Cut the disk into 6 pieces like a pie.
Separate the pieces and put them on a silpat or parchment lined baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-17 minutes.
To make the glaze, stir together orange juice, zest and powdered sugar.
April 17, 2012
Flowers & Herb Planter | DIY Gift Idea
I know I am not the first to think of this... but I don't see it that often. Maybe it is just something I've never done, combined the two- flowers and herbs. Normally, I plant them separately. But I like this idea... and I think my herbs will have better luck outside on my steps than they do, often neglected, inside.
Talk about a great Mother's Day gift - she's pretty and productive, just like Mom herself.
Labels: flowers, gift ideas, mothers day, Occasions
April 16, 2012
Everyday | Living Well Everyday | Mr. Darcy
If you are a regular follower or you've read the "About" section of this blog, then you know that I write about Occasions- more specifically, Everyday Occasions.
What does exactly does this mean?
It means not waiting for 'special occasions' to celebrate life. Everyday we have the opportunity to live well.
It means not waiting for the next period in your life to live thoughtfully and purposefully. It means enjoying and recognizing little moments on a daily and sometimes hourly basis.
It means that instead of sleeping in, getting up early for a sunrise walk. Or instead of getting up early, sleeping in and stopping for an extra large latte and scone and not feeling guilty about it.
It means opening a bottle of wine on a weeknight and staying up past your (self-instated) bedtime to chat like you used to when you were dating. It means using real vanilla beans in your morning coffee or in the whipped cream on the apple crostada you whipped up on a Wednesday night.
It means whipping up an apple crostada on a Wednesday night. It means folding your towels just right so they fit in the linen closet neatly.
Sometimes living well takes extra effort.
Sometimes it takes less effort.
It means making the bed not because it will make your room look tidy, but because it will feel good to get into that night.
It means having seasonal flowers planted in pots on your front steps and a wreath on your front door that makes the house look cheery when you come home from the grocery store everyday.
It means putting a single flower on your bedside table (or beside the rocking chair in the nursery) so you can smell it when you wake up.
I believe the art of living well is found in between the big moments- those little opportunities we have to make life special.
April 13, 2012
Planted Pansies Centerpiece | Spring Centerpiece | Mother's Day Centerpiece
It is no secret that I like planted flowers indoors - I love that they are seasonal, last longer than cut flowers and are usually much less expensive. Do you know how much it would have cost me to make a floral arrangement to fill this pewter bowl- especially if I had it done at a floral shop. Hundreds. Hundreds! For $12 I made this very sweet and seasonal centerpiece that would great for Mother's Day... or any other occasion like a Tuesday?
Use potting soil to fill the container. After a couple of days the flowers should be transferred to a pot, as this bowl doesn't have any drainage. It will work great for about 5-7 days, though.
Start by placing the flowers around the perimeter of the bowl, then fill in with soil. Pack them in tight for a full effect.
Use moss to cover any exposed dirt... not a lovely sight on the dining table.
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Office 2007 end of support roadmap
Office 2007 reached its end of support on October 10, 2017. If you haven't already begun to upgrade your Office 2007 environment, we recommend you start now.
This article provides recommendations, information, and links to help administrators and IT Pros in large enterprises plan their upgrades to Office 365 ProPlus.
- If you're a home user who wants to upgrade from Office 2007 to the latest version of Office, see How do I upgrade Office?
- If you're an admin at a small business or organization who wants to help your users upgrade to the latest version of Office, see Upgrade your Office 365 for business users to the latest Office client.
We also recommend business and enterprise customers use the deployment benefits provided by Microsoft and Microsoft Certified Partners, including Microsoft FastTrack for cloud migrations and Software Assurance Planning Services for on-premises upgrades.
What does end of support mean?
Office 2007, like almost all Microsoft products, had a support lifecycle during which we provided bug fixes and security fixes. This lifecycle lasts for a certain number of years from the date of the product's initial release. For Office 2007, the support lifecycle was 10 years. The end of this lifecycle is known as the product's end of support. Office 2007 reached its end of support on October 10, 2017, and Microsoft no longer provides the following:
Technical support for issues
Bug fixes for issues that are discovered
Security fixes for vulnerabilities that are discovered
Because of the changes listed above, we strongly recommend that you upgrade as soon as possible.
What are my options?
Since Office 2007 has reached its end of support, you should explore your options and prepare an upgrade plan to either of these latest versions of Office:
Office 365 ProPlus, the subscription version of Office that comes with most Office 365 enterprise plans.
Office 2019, which is sold as a one-time purchase and available for one computer per license.
A key difference between Office 365 ProPlus and Office 2019 is that Office 365 ProPlus is updated on a regular basis, as often as monthly, with new features. Office 2019 only has the same features that it had when it was released in October 2018.
This article provides guidance on upgrading to Office 365 ProPlus.
What is Office 365? What is Office 365 ProPlus?
Office 365 provides subscription plans that include access to Office applications and other cloud services, including Skype for Business, Exchange Online, and OneDrive for Business. Office 365 ProPlus is the version of Office that comes with most Office 365 enterprise plans. Office 365 ProPlus includes the full versions of Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook, OneNote, Publisher, Access, and Skype for Business installed on your client computers.
Unlike Office 2007, Office 365 ProPlus uses a user-based licensing model that allows people to install Office on up to 5 PCs or Macs and on their mobile devices. There are also differences in how you deploy, license, and activate Office 365 ProPlus compared to Office 2007. For more information about Office 365 ProPlus, see the following information:
Review what's changed since Office 2007
To learn about some of the changes since Office 2007, review the following articles: Changes in Office 2010, Changes in Office 2013, and Changes in Office 2016 for Windows.
For information about the new features available in Office 365 ProPlus, see What's new in Office 365. For Office 2019, see What's New in Office 2019.
Review the system requirements for Office 365 ProPlus
Before upgrading to Office 365 ProPlus, verify that your client computers meet or exceed the minimum system requirements.
In addition, you should review the system requirements for your Office server workloads. For more information, see Exchange Server Supportability Matrix and System Requirements for Office server products.
Plan for Office 365
Because Office 365 ProPlus comes with most enterprise Office 365 plans, you should review your current Office 365 capabilities as part of planning an upgrade to Office 365 ProPlus. Prior to deploying Office 365 ProPlus, for example, you should ensure that all your users have Office 365 accounts and licenses. For more information, see Deploy Office 365 Enterprise for your organization.
Assess application compatibility
Before deploying Office 365 ProPlus, you may want to test your business-critical VBA macros, third-party add-ins, and complex documents and spreadsheets to assess their compatibility with Office 365 ProPlus. For more information, see Assess application compatibility.
To help with assessing application compatibility with Office 365 ProPlus, we recommend using the Readiness Toolkit for Office add-ins and VBA. The Readiness Toolkit includes the Readiness Report Creator, which creates an Excel report with VBA macro compatibility and add-in readiness information to help your enterprise assess its readiness to move to Office 365 ProPlus.
You can download the Readiness Toolkit for free from the Microsoft Download Center. For more information, see Use the Readiness Toolkit to assess application compatibility for Office 365 ProPlus.
Assess your infrastructure and environment
To decide how to upgrade to Office 365 ProPlus, you should evaluate your infrastructure and environment, including the following:
Number and distribution of your clients, including required languages.
IT infrastructure, including operating systems, mobile device support, user permissions and management, and software distribution methods.
Network infrastructure, including connections to the Internet and internal software distribution points.
Cloud infrastructure, including existing Office 365 capabilities, user licensing, and identity.
Your assessment of these components will influence how you want to upgrade. For more information, see Assess your environment and requirements for deploying Office 365 ProPlus.
Review new Group Policy settings
As with any new version of Office, there are new Administrative Template files (ADMX/ADML) for Group Policy settings. All Group Policy settings for Office 365 ProPlus are now located in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Office\16.0 and HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Office\16.0.
You can download the Administrative Template files (ADMX/ADML) for Group Policy settings for Office 365 ProPlus from the Microsoft Download Center for free. The download includes an Excel file that lists all the Group Policy settings and the new policy settings for Office 365 ProPlus.
Choose how you want to deploy Office 365 ProPlus
You can deploy Office 365 ProPlus from the cloud, from a local source on your network, or with Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager (or another software distribution solution). Which option you choose depends on your environment and business requirements. Deploying from the cloud, for example, minimizes your administrative overhead, but could require more network bandwidth. Deploying with Configuration Manager or from a local source, on the other hand, offers more granular control over the deployment of Office 365 ProPlus, including which applications and languages are installed on which client computers.
For more information, see Plan your enterprise deployment of Office 365 ProPlus.
Choose how often to update Office
With Office 365 ProPlus, you can control how frequently your users receive feature updates to their Office applications. For more information, see Overview of update channels for Office 365 ProPlus.
Plan for additional languages
You can install language accessory packs after you've deployed Office 365 ProPlusin one of its base languages. There are two ways to install language accessory packs:
Have your users download and install the language accessory packs that they need from the Office 365 portal.
Use the Office Deployment Tool to deploy the appropriate language accessory packs to your users.
For more information, see Overview of deploying languages in Office 365 ProPlus.
Special considerations
The Office Customization Tool is not used as part of the Office 365 ProPlus installation. Instead, you can customize the installation for your users with the Office Deployment Tool. For more information, see Overview of the Office Deployment Tool.
Removal of InfoPath from Office 365 ProPlus. InfoPath 2013 remains the current version and therefore isn't included in Office 365 ProPlus. When you upgrade an existing installation of Office 2007 to Office 365 ProPlus, InfoPath is removed from the computer. If your users still need to use InfoPath, the 2013 version of InfoPath is available for installation on the Software page in the Office 365 portal.
Related topics
For articles about planning, deploying, and managing Office 365 ProPlus in an enterprise environment, see Deployment guide for Office 365 ProPlus.
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SKF appoints Christian Johansson new CFO
2015 April 14, 14:00 CEST
Gothenburg, 14 April 2015: Christian Johansson has been appointed Senior Vice President and CFO of AB SKF.
Christian Johansson is currently CFO of Gunnebo AB and will start his new position no later than October 2015. Born in 1963, Christian holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Stockholm University. His previous roles include senior positions within Alfa Laval, ABB and Volvo.
Alrik Danielson, Chief Executive Officer, says, "Christian has a solid financial background, extensive international experience and wide industrial knowledge. He will be a strong addition to our Group Management."
Aktiebolaget SKF
For further
information, please contact:
Media Hotline: +46 31 337 2400
Press Relations: Theo Kjellberg, +46 31-337 6576; +46 725-776 576; email@example.com
Investor Relations: Marita Björk, +46 31-337 1994; +46 705-181 994; firstname.lastname@example.com
SKF is a leading global supplier of bearings, seals, mechatronics, lubrication systems, and services which include technical support, maintenance and reliability services, engineering consulting and training. SKF is represented in more than 130 countries and has around 15,000 distributor locations worldwide. Annual sales in 2014 were SEK 70 975 million and the number of employees was 48 593. www.skf.com
® SKF is a registered trademark of
the SKF Group.
™ BeyondZero is a trademark of the SKF Group


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Compuware Corp., a takeover target last year, held out for a better offer and never got one. Now a pair of private-equity funds are giving it a second look.
Vista Equity Partners LLC and Thoma Bravo LLC are reviewing the company's finances, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The interest doesn't mean a sale is imminent, and no active talks are underway, the people said, asking not to be named discussing private information.
Still, companies such as Compuware that sell software to businesses have the potential to generate high profit margins, making it a potential turnaround opportunity, one of the people said. Compuware's margin on earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization is just more than 16.4 percent, compared with an average of 23 percent at 13 of its U.S. peers, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
The Detroit-based company spurned an offer from activist shareholder Elliott Management Corp. in January 2013 and said it would evaluate any credible bids. None materialized, and it has instead focused on cutting costs and selling or spinning off units including cloud-computing business Covisint Corp., which conducted an initial public offering in September.
Compuware reached an accord with Elliott this year that staved off a fight for control of the board, as Chief Executive Officer Bob Paul continues to try to show shareholders that he can increase returns without a takeover. Compuware's management is continuing to operate under the assumption that no deal will be done because even after several companies expressed interest in the past year, nothing has come to fruition, two people said.
Compuware has "no active buyers interested in the company," according to Lisa Elkin, a spokeswoman. "The CEO continues to focus on accelerating growth, profitability and shareholder value," she said in an email. Representatives for Elliott, Thoma Bravo and Vista declined to comment.
Bain Capital Partners LLC and Golden Gate Capital Corp., which explored a deal last year, have decided not to bid, according to the people familiar with the situation. Bain and Golden Gate were viewed as the frontrunner because they could combine the company with its larger peer BMC Software Inc., which the group bought for $6.9 billion in May.
Compuware hired Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in 2012 to help it review Elliott's bid, people familiar with the situation said at the time. The New York-based bank is still working with Compuware as a financial adviser, the people with knowledge of the situation said. A spokesman for Goldman Sachs declined to comment, as did representatives for Golden Gate and Bain.
Elliott offered to buy the company early last year for $11 a share, valuing the company at about $2.3 billion, and advocated for it to combine with BMC, which was also put on the block after receiving pressure from Elliott, Paul Singer's New York-based hedge fund. Compuware closed at $10.56 Thursday in New York, down about 6 percent so far this year.
San Francisco-based Vista, which manages almost $8 billion in committed capital, invests largely in software and tech-enabled businesses, according to its website. Thoma Bravo, based in Chicago, manages about $4 billion in assets.


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DefinitionRashes involve changes in the color or texture of your skin.
Alternative Names
Skin redness or inflammation; Skin lesion; Rubor; Skin rash; Erythema
ConsiderationsOften, the cause of a rash can be determined from its visible characteristics and other symptoms.
A simple rash is called dermatitis, meaning inflammation of the skin. Contact dermatitis is caused by things your skin touches, such as:
- Chemicals in elastic, latex, and rubber products
- Cosmetics, soaps, and detergents
- Dyes and other chemicals in clothing
- Poison ivy, oak, or sumac
Seborrheic dermatitis is a rash that appears in patches of redness and scaling around the eyebrows, eyelids, mouth, nose, the trunk, and behind the ears. If it happens on your scalp, it is called dandruff in adults and cradle cap in infants.
Age, stress, fatigue, weather extremes, oily skin, infrequent shampooing, and alcohol-based lotions aggravate this harmless but bothersome condition.
Other common causes of a rash include:
- Eczema (atopic dermatitis) -- tends to happen in people with allergies or asthma. The rash is generally red, itchy, and scaly.
- Psoriasis -- tends to occur as red, scaly, itchy patches over joints and along the scalp. Fingernails may be affected.
- Impetigo -- common in children, this infection is from bacteria that live in the top layers of the skin. Appears as red sores that turn into blisters, ooze, then crust over.
- Shingles -- a painful blistered skin condition caused by the same virus as chickenpox. The virus can lie dormant in your body for many years and re-emerge as shingles.
- Childhood illnesses such as chicken pox, measles, roseola, rubella, hand-foot-mouth disease, fifth disease, and scarlet fever.
- Medications and insect bites or stings.
Many medical conditions can cause a rash as well. For example:
- Lupus erythematosus
- Rheumatoid arthritis, especially the juvenile type
- Kawasaki disease
Home Care
Most simple rashes will improve with gentle skin care and avoiding irritating substances. Follow these general guidelines:
- Avoid scrubbing your skin.
- Use as little soap as possible. Use gentle cleansers instead.
- Avoid applying cosmetic lotions or ointments directly on the rash.
- Use warm (not hot) water for cleaning. Pat dry, don't rub.
- Eliminate any newly added cosmetics or lotions.
- Leave the affected area exposed to the air as much as possible.
- Try calamine medicated lotion for poison ivy, oak, or sumac as well as other types of contact dermatitis.
Hydrocortisone cream (1%) is available without a prescription and may soothe many rashes. If you have eczema, apply moisturizers over your skin. Try oatmeal bath products, available at drugstores, to relieve symptoms of eczema, psoriasis, or shingles.
When to Contact a Medical Professional
Call 911 if:
- You are short of breath, your throat is tight, or your face is swollen
- Your child has a purple rash that looks like a bruise
Call your health care provider if:
- You have joint pain, fever, or a sore throat
- You have streaks of redness, swelling, or very tender areas as these may indicate an infection
- You are taking a new medication -- DO NOT change or stop any of your medications without talking to your doctor
- You may have a tick bite
- Home treatment doesn't work, or your symptoms get worse
What to Expect at Your Office Visit
Your health care provider will perform a physical examination and ask questions about your medical history and symptoms. Questions may include:
- When did the rash begin?
- What parts of your body are affected?
- Does anything make the rash better? Worse?
- Have you used any new soaps, detergents, lotions, or cosmetics recently?
- Have you been in any wooded areas recently?
- Have you had any change in your medications?
- Have you noticed a tick or insect bite?
- Have you eaten anything unusual of late?
- Do you have any other symptoms like itching or scaling?
- What are your underlying medical problems? Do you have, for example, asthma or allergies?
Tests may include:
- Allergy testing
- Blood tests
- Skin biopsy
- Skin scrapings
Depending on the cause of your rash, treatments may include medicated creams or lotions, medications taken by mouth, or skin surgery.
Many primary care providers are comfortable dealing with common rashes, but for more complicated skin disorders, a referral to a dermatologist may be necessary.
Anderson BE, Marks JG Jr. Plant-induced dermatitis. In: Auerbach PS, ed. Wilderness Medicine. 5th ed. Philadelphia, Pa:Mosby Elsevier;2007:chap 57.
Cydulka RK, Garber B. Dermatologic presentations. In: Marx JA, Hockberger RS, Walls RM, et al, eds. Rosen's Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice. 7th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Mosby Elsevier; 2009:chap 118.
Armstrong CA. Examination of the skin and approach to diagnosing skin diseases. In: Goldman L, Ausiello D, eds. Cecil Medicine. 24th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2011:chap 444.
Werth VP. Principles of therapy of skin diseases. In: Goldman L, Ausiello D, eds. Cecil Medicine. 24th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2011:chap 445.


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A forum about Atari 16/32 computers and their clones. This forum is in no way affiliated with Atari Interactive.
Moderators: Mug UK, moondog/.tSCc., [ProToS], lp, Moderator Team
hercule12 wrote:68 views! Has anyone bought one?
Dal seems pleased with it, anyone else buying one?
Zogging Hell wrote:I'd like one but cash is short at the moment sadly
hercule12 wrote:68 views! Has anyone bought one?
Dal seems pleased with it, anyone else buying one?
tenox wrote:Zogging Hell wrote:I'd like one but cash is short at the moment sadly
And I tried to make these cheaper. The goal was < $100. Didn't work for couple of reasons: quality and quantity
tenox wrote:And I tried to make these cheaper. The goal was < $100. Didn't work for couple of reasons: quality and quantity
dbsys wrote:hercule12 wrote:68 views! Has anyone bought one?
Dal seems pleased with it, anyone else buying one?
I ordered one and will report.
tenox wrote:Just stumbled upon this as a better solution to the cable:
Found one on ebay.de: lite pricey but may be a worthwhile:
tenox wrote:Excellent question! I have looked through the user manuals of all these models and they all include have the settings that make the difference. These are 1:1 and custom expansion, H.Size, Fine, Sharpness and Black level. Interestingly Dal's NEC monitor doesn't have these but still works perfectly. I'd bet any of these types will work fine. I got my SXi by a chance. It will probably work same as well on FX. So far I actually haven't found what is the difference between FX and SX. It may be worth to research that.
Just to give you an idea: TT High with the adapter on my NEC looks EXACTLY same as ST High with custom resolution on Steem from a PC connected via DVI port of the same monitor. I flip VGA/DVI source and there is absolutely no difference in quality.
Any other monitor with 1:1 expansion will look same as good. If you don't have 1:1 and say best you can do is aspect scale, it will be usable but the display will be slightly anti aliased.
dbsys wrote:First off, I got my ECL2VGA adapter today. Second, I was able to acquire a NEC 1990 SXi off ebay Germany last weekend and it arrived today too. Hooked both up to my TT and immediately had a 1280 x 960 resolution displayed upon boot up. Wow!
I was trying to tweak the NEC advanced settings to the best of my knowledge, but still have a flickering display. There are plenty of parameters and I am a bit overwhelmed, to be honest.
@tenox: Since you have done most of your testing with your NEC and found, that this monitor is a very good choice, would it be possible for you to publish your settings for those who have a NEC or will have one soon?
That would be great! Thanks.
tenox wrote:Awesome, happy to hear it arrived safely
Yeah, NEC 1990 has a ton of settings. It's partly why I love it so much. You will love it too once you get it right
OK so let's do this:
1. Figure out if flickering is not caused by cabling. If you ordered the short VGA extension cable then, temporarily remove it and connect the adapter directly to the monitor port in TT. Try a different VGA cable. You can also tap, bend and twist the cables a little bit to see if the flickering changes in any way. If it does it definitely is cabling.
2. Factory reset NEC. And more than once. I often find that auto adjust doesn't always pick up the TT signal correctly. I often factory reset 2-3 times. Pick the best auto adjust after factory reset.
3. Adjust H.Size. Mine is 1792. Immediately afterwards adjust Fine. My fine is around 79% but it may vary.
4. Set brightness and contrast to 100% both.
5. Set Black Level to around 19% and sharpness to 21%.
You should almost never touch H.Size, Fine once set correctly. Same for brightness and contrast.
It takes a bit to play with Black Level and Sharpness. If not set correctly they will cause vertical black bars to appear on white background.
Once all set correctly it should work just perfect, no flickering and artifacts.
Let me know if this helps.
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The CE-IV is a great small, portable MP3 player. This is lighter than the average MP3 player on the market today. This unit comes with a radio tuner, an available SD memory card slot allows even more storage and noise canceling earbuds. While the CE-IV boasts a large number of quality features, the only one really missing is a list function. With a 1GB drive and an SD expansion slot, the CE-IV needs a means of quickly navigating through the loaded songs.
The design of the player follows Alienware's unique style. While most company's are mimicking Apple's sleek iPod design, Alienware went their own way. The CE-IV has an octagonal shape common to many alien artifact mythos. They work their logo into a glowing eyed button as the center of the player. The Hub has a uniquely alien look that I find fun.
Alienware's new line of CE-IV digital audio players give you easy access to all your favorite songs in MP3 and WMA formats anywhere and anytime. Each CE-IV player:
* Is available with your choice of either 512MB or 1GB of built-in memory.
* SRS WOW HD Represents the first digital audio player in the United States to feature SRS WOW HD™, which provides a treble control for a cleaner, crisper listening experience of high frequency sounds. WOW HD also features improved TruBass technology, providing an even richer, more superior bass sound enhancement to digitally compressed music, even through the smallest of ear buds!
* Includes Digital Rights Management (DRM) technology so you can easily download and listen to songs from the top online music download sites.
* Secure Digital Provides an SD™/MMC memory expansion slot that allows you to pack even more music into the player.
* Lets you listen to your favorite stations at the push of a button with a digital tune FM stereo radio with station presets.
* Features a graphic LCD display with ID3 compatibility that shows artist and track info.
* Makes great music sound even better thanks to a multi-preset EQ.
* Stylishly showcases unique design elements such as Alienware's alien head logo with glowing eyes.
* Is sleek and lightweight, measuring 3.1 x 2 x 0.7 inches and weighing in at just 1.3 ounces.
* Alienware CE-IV Ear Buds Is packaged with special Alienware noise-reduction earbuds that filter out unwanted background noise and let you crank up the music without disrupting those around you.
* Will be available with a fully integrated HUB Docking Sound System. The HUB is loaded with a bottom-firing subwoofer and variable bass control and gives you the flexibility to connect virtually any audio device.
The HUB Docking Sound System
Alineware HUB
Simply connect your Alienware CE-IV digital audio player or virtually any other audio device to the HUB docking sound system and get ready to hear your favorite tracks like never before. The HUB is loaded with a bottom-firing subwoofer, variable bass control, and SRS WOW™ technology to make your music sound better than ever.
* Support for virtually all digital audio players and other audio devices
* SRS WOW SRS WOW™ with controls for TruBass, Focus, and 3D
* 2.1 Channel Sound
* Stereo speakers plus bottom-firing subwoofer
* 30W RMS output power
* Electronic volume control
* Headphone jack
* Auxiliary input
* A/V line output
* Remote control (battery included) to let you control the HUB from across the room
* 3-way power: AC/DC/batteries
* Accessories include: AC adapter and desktop cradle


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"Is Your App on Windows Phone?" – Ends December 31st
Thinking of jumping in and writing a Windows Phone application (or maybe you already have)?
Take a look at the "Is your app on Windows Phone?" promotion, running through December 31st:
When you're ready to develop, head to the App Hub to get the (free) tools to create your masterpiece.
Have fun developing!


text:
Just Married Neon Sign
You are proud of this new beginning.
Great wedding gift as well.
Measures: 14" Wide x 7" Tall x 3" Deep
Standard 110 volt neon power supply
Hanging hardware & chain included
Indoor use only
Light Decor/Home Decor/Home Design/Neon Message/Neon for Home/Handmade/Artwork
Made in MIAMI, FL
By Bright Neon Signs
All of our products are handmade
by expert makers.
No reviews yet
Each week, expert artisans from across the country become makers on CustomMade.
Every maker has a story. Be a part of Bright Neon Signs's story by placing an order, leaving a review, and seeing your review appear here.


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Flat rate ground shipping available on orders less than 1lb for $3.95 and $7.95 over 1lb. Receive free ground shipping on orders over $49 with use of code and shipment inside the continental United States.
Cannot be combined with other offers. Additional restrictions may apply.
5 (3)
100% Polyester
This information is shown as a guide only and not a guarantee.Actual fitting may vary.
Do you think your friend would like to know that DDS has this item? Just fill in the following information and we will let them know!
Fit: True to size
It's a very pretty skirt that adds some fun color to your ballet attire. It has really noticeable tags but that is easy enough to fix. I have the teal and yellow one and it's definitely more teal than yellow (I wish it had a little more yellow) but I still like the look.
Age: 19 to 21
Was this review helpful to you? YES (
Gorgeous skirt but it was a little shorter than I had expected. That doesn't stop me from wearing it though
My 10year old daughter love this skirt so we bought 2 more in other colors.
Looks nice the first time you wear it. Then when it gets dirty and you have to wash it, the color comes off, because it's been tye dyed! The fabric is stiff, and there is no rubber on the waistband holding it up. I had to cut mine up and then sew it back on to fix it! This skirt does not run true to size, sometimes it's too big or too small.
Age: 19-21
At first, i got the skirt in lilac/pink size M/L but i got it returned because i felt that the color was too light. The length was okay and the material felt alright. The second time i ordered turquoise/royal in M/L, it was so big! This is stated in the Q&A section: M/L - 12" long, 42" wide. When i measured this skirt, it was 15" long. The previous lilac/pink one was definitely 12". The material was not as good as lilac/pink. I'm gonna have to return this skirt.
Age: 15-18
I've always had a thing for tie-dye, ever since I was about four and I got a vibrant little dress from a tie-dye artist in the French Market in New Orleans (which is still at the back of my closet!) Anyway, I have the purple and mulberry wrap skirt, and I was a little worried they would be tacky shades of purple and pink, but they are beautiful! I'm 5'8", 150 lbs. The medium fits quite well. A little bit short, but they didn't have the next size up and I actually really like the way the medium falls on me. There's a woman at my studio who has about four of five of them, all in different colors, and I really like all of the ones I've seen up close, especially the royal/turquoise and the orange/burgundy. Also, the hair tie is a nice addition. Sometimes I'll wear it just casually when I want to tie a ribbon into my hair, and it's very pretty.
I wanted the Mirella navy chiffon skirt ( I love the black one I own) but it was out of stock, with no in-stock date. The phone sales person recommended this brand. I was excited when I first opened the package and saw the pretty tie-dye effect. I really wanted to like the skirt, BUT, there is so much NOT to like.
What I did NOT like:
SIZE: I ordered a SMALL and it is too big (and this skirt came in sizes, unlike my other one, my Mirella chiffon skirt) I ended up wrapping around too much which gave it a strange, uneven effect. I wore it twice in the same day for 2 different classes and I was adjusting it constantly and re-centering it on my waist.
FABRIC: too thin and see-through, (yes, despite the pattern, you can see through) wrinkles easily so when you pull it out of your bag it is a bit unsightly (Mirella does not wrinkle this easily) And the fabric feels waxy and stiff, so does not drape well.
PRICE: $5 more than Mirella and so not worth it.
Would not recommend.
I have the pink/black, and the royal/turquoise. They are indeed beautifully made, and I spent far more than DDS's pricing for them. Since I'm a traditionalist, I usually wear a black skirt, but if you aren't hung up on all black, then you'll love these skirts.
Age: 30-39
I would like to know the length(front / back) and the width (except the tie) of Watercolour Adult Wrap Skirt for LXL and also want to check if only white/black color is available for LXL cause I want some other color for bigger size.
The front of this shirt at the overlap is measured to be about 14". The lowest part of the back measures 16". The full length of the shirt is 50" from edge to edge. Yes, the black and white color is the only one that we carry in the L/XL size.- DDS Customer Service (07/06/2015)
Sign in before answering this dancer's questions.
Was this Q & A helpful to you? YES (
I would typically go with a medium because my waist, weight, and height fall into that category, but my girth and hip more importantly are closer to the large size. I hope it covers my backside- if not I won't be able to get it.
P/S - 11" long, 40" wide
M/L - 12" long, 42" wide- DDS Customer Service (02/15/2014)
We're sorry this item is temporarily out of stock. Would you like to order it anyway?


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In the FCS Huddle: Big South could come north again to Monmouth
The conference carousel refuses to stop spinning across college football.
Monmouth has been taken for a ride it didn't want. The private university along the Jersey Shore learned on Thursday that the Northeast Conference has denied its application to be an associate member in football going forward.
The next stop for Monmouth? Perhaps the Big South Conference.
Monmouth basically brought on its problem and kind of surmised the NEC's decision in the last month. The Hawks had been an NEC football member since 1996, but their administration announced in mid-December a move to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Association beginning with the 2013-14 academic year.
It's a clear upgrade in basketball and other sports for Monmouth, but the problem for the football team is that the MAAC doesn't sponsor football. Monmouth reapplied with the NEC to remain as an associate member in football, field hockey and bowling, but the NEC only accepted the field hockey team, presumably to keep enough members for an automatic qualifying bid to the NCAA tournament.
Monmouth, which won an outright NEC title in 2006 and shared four other crowns after joining the conference behind coach Kevin Callahan, will have its ties with the NEC severed in June, but free agency is here. The Hawks, 5-5 this past season, may have to spend at least the 2013 season as an FCS independent, and they surely have to fill some holes left in their schedule.
"When Monmouth University decided to accept an invitation to join the MAAC, they did so with full knowledge that the MAAC did not sponsor the sports of football, field hockey and bowling," NEC commissioner Noreen Morris said in a statement.
"Monmouth subsequently submitted an application to be an associate member in the NEC in each of those three sports. The NEC Council of Presidents evaluated the associate membership requests separately, and in doing so made their decisions relative to the long term stability and interests of the conference. We look forward to continuing our partnership with Monmouth in the sport of field hockey, and wish Monmouth success in the sports of football and bowling as they seek new partnerships in those sports."
Monmouth, having already started to look elsewhere in football, released a statement that read: "Recently the Northeast Conference Council of Presidents voted on and made the decision to decline Monmouth University's application to join the NEC Football league as an associate member. We are disappointed in this decision in light of the fact that Monmouth has always been an exemplary member of the conference, both on and off the field, particularly in the area of securing an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I playoffs. On the other hand, we knew this was a possible outcome so we have been actively pursuing a new home for MU football and we anticipate a positive outcome in the near future."
The conference options for Monmouth football are few. Monmouth was an outside candidate for CAA Football when it sought new membership last year, but the leap was just a bit much and the conference went the way of Albany from the NEC and Stony Brook from the Big South.
The Patriot League also is pursuing expansion, and Monmouth will chase any possibility there. But Monmouth may not be a strong enough fit academically, and Patriot League football is just moving to the scholarship level this year.
So the answer could come from the Big South. Stony Brook may not have been a great fit geographically, but it brought a Northeast footprint to the conference, not to mention great football. The Seawolves won at least a share of the title in its final four seasons in the conference, and won FCS playoff games - the first in Big South history - in each of the past two seasons.
Monmouth was not at the NEC limit of 40 scholarships this past season, but it's a capable program, having defeated CAA teams (Villanova, then Rhode Island) in the last two seasons. With an upgrade in its football facilities - which appears likely considering what the Hawks have gotten out of their multi-purpose recreational center which opened in 2009 - they make for a strong fit for the Big South.
Despite the loss of Stony Brook, the Big South will still have an automatic playoff bid. But now that it has fallen to six schools, and scheduling has gotten tougher, the Big South needs to expand again.
Enter Monmouth.