text: Many people think of sharks as frightening, sharp-toothed predators, far from being in need of our protection. In fact, people are more inclined to believe that we humans need protecting from these creatures. This couldn't be farther from the truth: shark populations worldwide are in danger of collapse due to fishing pressures stimulated by the global demand for shark fin soup. Every year, fins from tens of millions of sharks are used for this traditional, non-nutritional meal. Many species have been depleted nearly to the brink of extinction. As predators at or near the top of marine food webs, sharks help maintain the balance of marine life in our oceans. Shark populations must be protected from the practice of overfishing. The National Aquarium and its partners, including the National Wildlife Federation and Oceana, are advocating on behalf of legislation that will close loopholes in current legislation that bans shark finning. We welcome your support! Why Sharks Need Our Help Unlike many fish species, sharks are slow to mature and have very few offspring, making them vulnerable to overexploitation. The sandbar and sand tiger sharks are two species in our mid-Atlantic waters that have faced great fishing pressure. The sandbar shark, which utilizes Delaware Bay as a pupping ground, can take up to 14 years to mature, has a gestation of 11–12 months, and gives birth to 6–10 pups. The females breed only every other year. These young sandbar sharks are closely tied to the health of the marine ecosystem. Research shows that the massive depletion of sharks has cascading effects throughout the ocean's ecosystems. In Maryland, the depletion of sharks has caused an increase in cownose rays in the Chesapeake Bay, which threaten the oyster industry. In the 30 years the National Aquarium, Baltimore, has been open, sharks have gone from a commercial fishery the federal government declared underutilized to the brink of extinction. In that time, hammerhead shark populations in the Atlantic have decreased by nearly 93%. Since 1986, all recorded shark populations in the northwestern Atlantic, with the exception of mako sharks, have declined by more than 50%. Scientists warn that continual overfishing of sharks has decimated the population, which continues to dwindle and cannot sustain the current rates. The International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species estimates that 30% of open ocean sharks are threatened with extinction. What We Can Do Recently, the National Aquarium took a stand to support the 2010 Shark Conservation Act, but we need to do more. Current federal and Maryland laws banning shark finning control shark handling practices, but do not restrict the number of sharks killed just for their fins, or the substantial market for shark fins that creates economic incentives to overfish sharks for their fins. One of the most effective ways to protect sharks is to eliminate the market for fins by prohibiting their sale. California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington have all banned the possession, sale, trade, and distribution of shark fins, and now it's our opportunity to lead. With our support, the Maryland Legislature has introduced bills (Senate Bill 465 and House Bill 393) that would ban the possession or distribution of shark fins in the state. This legislation will establish Maryland as the first state on the East Coast ensuring we are not contributing to the supply and demand of shark fins. The National Aquarium's shark expert, Andy Dehart, will be testifying at both hearings in February, and the Aquarium's Director of Conservation Laura Bankey and Director of Government Affairs Mark Yost are working closely with our partners to support the legislation as it moves through legislative channels. What You Can Do Let your state representatives know you care about sharks, and all the species in the marine ecosystem that depend on them! Our partners at Oceana have initiated an online advocacy campaign to support the shark fin ban in Maryland. Sign our letter today, and help save the sharks! Tags: atlantic-ocean, ban-shark-finning, legislation, maryland, national-wildlife-federation, ocean, oceana, overfishing, shark, shark-fin, shark-fin-ban, shark-finning, Animals Categories: Animals, Conservation Previous Post Next Post


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Arzel Zoning has been manufacturing an industry-leading zoning system for over 35 years. Designed to solve comfort issues people face in their home or business every day, our products offer superior quality, reliability, ease of installation, and the industries ONLY lifetime warranty.
The systems use a medical grade pump which pushes air into PVC tubing, opening and closing the dampers when called by the various zones. There are no electric motors on the dampers to cause excess noise due to vibration in the duct work. A soundless system is what makes our products ideal for all retrofit and new constriction.
Each panel and damper was designed to ensure a simple and quick install while minimizing clean-up afterward. An Arzel® zoning system can typically be installed within one day in a retrofit application. The installation time would be even less with new construction applications because of fewer obstacles.
Reliability is also a priority because Arzel® knew that less callbacks meant less wasted time and increased profits for the contractors installing the systems. Our products are second-to-none and each part is backed by an industry leading lifetime warranty. Along with the extensive line of stock products, Arzel® also offers custom products that will fit any retrofit application.
The AirBoss® is perfect for larger residences or light commercial applications and can control up to eight zones. It has the flexibility to control single or multi-stage equipment, including heat pumps
The MPS™ series is designed for controlling single-stage, heat/cool, or heat pump equipment. It is a simple and straight forward zoning system ideal for both new construction and retrofit residential applications. It provides basic comfort control in two or three zone applications.
The HeatPumPro™ is the industry's first zoning solution designed to maximize heat pump and dual fuel system performance. SmartStaging™ controls equipment capacity based on either thermostat demand or variable load requirements. Zone weighting matches cfm output to available duct capacity, minimizing bypass requirements. Available in 2- 3- and 4-zone configurations.
The AloneZone™ is a stand-alone panel that provides an economical solution to the overconditioning of a specific area without interfering with equipment control. The AloneZone™ operates by monitoring the HVAC equipment's mode of operation and closes dampers in the controlled area once its thermostat set point is reached.
Now you can open up your retrofit market when using IntelliZone™1 or Harmony™2 controls that interface with ECM motors. The Zone Interface Panel will integrate those controls with our reliable, insertable, air-driven dampers. Available in 4- and 8-zone configurations.
An Arzel ® Zonocity™ zoning kit will provide multi-thermostat control to create individual comfort zones and complete the comfort package for contractors looking to add zoning to SDHV (Small Duct, High Velocity) systems. Available in 2- and 3-zone configurations.
Includes: zoning panel, trunk dampers and tubing.
The Arzel® ZVI-Control™ allows you to interface zoned cooling with zoned hydronic heating. Be the only contractor to quote one heating and cooling thermostat per zone without worrying about the details on how to interface the controls. The ZVI-Control™ simplifies the control wiring to eliminate the usual wiring headaches.
The FACT™ option allows you to control the introduction of fresh air into the HVAC system. You can bring in a fixed amount of air with any equipment operation or only when outdoor conditions are favorable. The FACT™ system helps improve indoor air quality without increasing energy consumption during extreme conditions.
The SmartSlave™ Zone opens and closes dampers to regulate temperature and ventilation in zones not requiring control of the equipment. The SSZ™ compares the thermostat call to the current equipment output. If they match, it will provide air to the zone. Otherwise the zone will not be served. The SSZ™ acts as a slave to the system, not any particular zone.
EzySlide™ Dampers eliminate the need to take down or redesign the existing ductwork. The insertable design gives the dampers incredible flexibility and offers a solution for whole home comfort in the retrofit market.
Round EzySlide™ Dampers are stocked in sizes from 4 to 16 inches. Rectangular EzySlide™ Dampers are available in sizes from 4 to 40 inches wide and 20 inches tall.
The Regidamper® allows for easy damper installation in previously difficult situations. Using UL registered plenum rated tubing the airline is fished back through the ductwork and the damper slips easily into your register boot. Instead of the standard Arzel ® actuator, the Regidamper® features a patented low-friction air cylinder. The Regidamper ® works with standard Arzel® EzySlide™ Dampers, so you can mix and match damper types to fit any zoning applications.
This unique damper can be easily applied to counterflow slab applications as well as being installed through a round duct takeoff making retrofit zoning a snap! Just make an access hole in the trunk and insert the dampers into each run. The dampers are held in place by Arzel's patented Internal Damper Clamp.
The low cost, low tech solution to control bypass air. Arzel's weighted-arm, barometric damper floats open as the static pressure increases. It is recommended for systems with 2 or 3 zones where the zones are relatively equal in size.
Round Barometric Dampers are available in sizes from 8"-14". Rectangular Barometric Dampers are available in six rectangular sizes.
Monitors static pressure within the ductwork. Provides non-modulating control for systems with vastly different size zones or higher static supply pressures. Uses any EzySlide™ damper. Available on AirBoss® control panels.
The ModuPASS™ allows you to dial in a stable maximum static pressure. It provides more even static pressure control and is specifically designed for variable speed (ECM) blower applications. The ModuPASS™ allows you to adjust your pressure range from .05" wc to 1.0" wc. Available in 8", 10" and 12" kits. Also available is the Universal ModuPASS® as a stand-alone modulating bypass control to retrofit an existing electro-mechanical zoning system with a variable speed (ECM) blower.

subset: commoncrawl


text: From Jenn Dittmar, National Aquarium Animal Rescue stranding coordinator In recent posts, we introduced you to five Kemp's ridley sea turtles that have been in rehab with us for three weeks now. On December 22, we welcomed six additional Kemp's ridley sea turtles rescued by the New England Aquarium. We now have a total of 11 sea turtles in rehabilitation! Taking care of animals in rehabilitation requires a lot of work! We'll do our best to keep you posted on their progress and give you a glimpse into the hard work it takes to care for these animals. Next to routine medical care, a healthy diet is a must for animals in rehabilitation. We feed all our animals--whether they are in rehabilitation or a part of our permanent collection--restaurant-quality food to ensure it is the highest quality. Kemp's ridley sea turtles are carnivores, and in their natural environment they typically enjoy a varied diet consisting of crabs, shrimp, barnacles, mussels, clams, squid, fish and jellies. Eating a variety of food items is essential to a balanced diet for a Kemp's ridley sea turtle, so we provide just that. Twice a day, National Aquarium Animal Rescue staff and volunteers prepare foods such as capelin (a lean fish), squid, mussels and shrimp for the turtles. Crabs are also offered as a special treat for the turtles. Though they are a treat, crabs provide a significant source of calcium for the turtles. Calcium plays a very important role in reptile health, which we monitor through routine blood tests. Here you can see how we prepare food for the turtles. On this particular day, I prepared capelin, squid, shrimp and soft-shell crab. You can see that we chop the whole food items down to bite-size pieces. At this stage of rehab, the turtles are eager to eat when food is offered. To accurately track their diets, we calculate the amount of food each turtle should receive daily and then keep detailed records of how much food they actually eat. Here you can see a meal being weighed out, then the final result after all the turtle meals have been prepared (only five turtles were being fed for this particular feed). If you look closely, you can see the little red dots on the tray, which are multivitamins. Feeding hungry turtles can be challenging, especially with several turtles sharing a pool, and I like to compare it to a well-choreographed but improvised ballet! Feeding all those hungry mouths, along with providing health care can be expensive; we certainly can't ask a sick or injured turtle for proof of insurance before deciding to admit it for rehabilitation. You can directly help feed or care for an endangered sea turtle by making a tax-deductible donation to National Aquarium Animal Rescue. Tags: feeding-turtles, kemps-ridley-sea-turtles, sea-turtle-diet, sea-turtles Categories: Animal Rescue, Animals, News Previous Post Next Post


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Countdown for World Travel Awards launched at ATM
Count down for the Maldives Travel awards have been kicked off on www.visitmaldives.com by Hon. Ahmed Adeeb Abdul Gafoor, Minister of Tourism, Arts & Culture today. The countdown was launched at the Maldives stand at the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) which is being held in Dubai from 6-9th May 2013.
Maldives is gearing up to host the World Travel Awards Indian Ocean Gala Ceremony at Paradise Island Resort & Spa, on the evening of the 12th of May 2013. A colourful event with performances by local artists will be covered live on VTV.


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Toyota trucks can be a double-edged sword when it comes time to purchase one. With a great track record for reliability, as well as a certain level off-road savvy even in stock form, its fair to say that some of Toyota's dependabiliy is priced into the new units. In need of a truck to travel to races, go camping and hit the trails, we found that purchasing a used unit was probably the best and most cost-effective bet. Besides, if we could find one with low miles, it should still be a great off-road vehicle for years to come.
After a search on Auto Trader and Craigs List, we came across a good deal for a used 2002 Toyota Tacoma with just over 80,000 miles. The truck featured the 3.4-liter V6 motor and was priced at about $10,000, which worked within our budget and was a fair price considering most trucks we found in that range had over 100,000 miles or had four-cylinder engines. It was a 2WD TRD (Toyota Racing Development) version of the truck, and although we wouldve preferred 4WD, it wasnt absolutely necessary for our needs. Besides, the truck was in good condition and was pretty hard to pass up.
The Tacoma we bought was a TRD version, meaning it came equipped from the factory with monotube gas shocks, aluminum wheels and a sticker noting its off-road capability. Even though the shocks were better than average, at this point they had seen their fair share of action and were too soft for any real off-roading. We wanted to upgrade the truck into a capable off-road vehicle that could still be a daily driver, but we also wanted to do so within a reasonable budget. So the plan was to upgrade the suspension, upgrade to more capable off-road tires, swap out the wheels and maybe even squeeze a little more power from the V6 engine.
We contacted Bilstein and decided to use its replacement shocks for the rear. We also had heard and read of many Toyota owners using the popular Bilstein 5100 shocks on Tacomas. We soon found that we needed to go to Race Car Dynamics out of El Cajon, Calif., to get them. For the Tacoma, RCD actually holds the patent on the 5100s. So Bilstein makes the units to RCDs specifications but doesnt sell them direct you have to go through RCD for that. Aside from the 5100s being a great gas monotube shock, the units RCD offers have the ability to increase the front ride height to one of three different positions stock, 1 inch, or a full 2.5 inches. Note: The 5100s are only for use with the six-lug Tacoma wheels.
Although the Tacoma comes with decent aluminum wheels that are unique to the TRD version of the truck, we thought it time for a change. We decided upon the KMC Enduro wheel in black, which would give the truck a clean, blacked-out appearance that we thought would blend in nicely with the black wheel guards on the truck.
With our tire tread about dead, we also needed to get new rubber. Since we werent doing a big lift, we decided to stick with the stock wheel size but find a good all-terrain tire something that would provide good on- and off-road characteristics since this truck is a daily driver and weekend warrior. We went with General Tires Grabber AT2 all-terrain tire. The tires feature a 5-row tread pattern with deep grooves, which are designed to provide great off-road traction in wet or dry conditions while still retaining a quiet ride during regular highway driving perfect for our needs. The tires meet the severe snow service requirements for RMA and RAC, and they include a 60,000-mile limited treadwear warranty.
Easy Breathing
When it came to the engine, we chose to remove our restrictive stock airbox and replace it with a K&N air intake, deciding to use the 57 Series Generation II for our Tacoma. By removing the stock air box, the K&N intake is designed to more efficiently flow air to the engine, thereby providing an increase in power and torque. K&N claims the estimated horsepower gain is 9.45 hp @ 4842 rpm, and the intake is currently legal in all 50 states (yes, even California). The filter is also washable and reusable. Most importantly, its a pretty inexpensive upgrade.
We tackled the installation of the air intake and found it to be pretty straightforward. The included step-by-step instructions from K&N are easy to follow, and it only took us a few hours from start to finish. Once installed, we definitely noticed a little extra pep in power, especially when really getting on the gas. The engine also has a little more growl, as the stock airbox that helps reduce engine noise is replaced by a more direct air intake. The increase in sound is mostly noticeable when really getting on the gas, and overall its not so loud that it makes daily driving a nuisance. Although we didnt notice much difference driving around town, fuel economy did improve for us between 1-2 miles per gallon on long drives.
Suspension, Tires & Wheels
For the suspension, tire and wheel installation, we turned to our friends at Off-Road Warehouse to help get everything dialed. With all the proper tools and equipment, they were able to knock it out in a few hours. Off-Road Warehouse has four locations in Southern California San Diego, Temecula, El Cajon and Escondido. We actually worked with their newest shop in Temecula a previous build (Project Dodge Ram Mega Cam KORE Suspension), and they were happy to work with us again. Although our build is relatively minor in terms of what ORW is capable of handling, they tackle everything from simple maintenance (such as checking on a stock Jeeps wobble, which came in while we were there) to full-blown pre-runner builds and beyond. Check out their site for more information about the parts and services they offer at http://www.offroadwarehouse.com/.
Lenny De Taranto and Brian Carta helped us with the installation, removing the old wheels, shocks and struts and getting the new units installed. One thing that surprised us a little was the realization of what kind of stock shocks were on our four-door TRD. We were under the impression that all the TRD Tacomas featured Bilsteins straight from the factory, but we learned that the four-door units utilize a different gas shock from Tokico. Although they still had a little bit of life left, they clearly had seen their share of miles and were ready to be replaced.
With Brian working on installing the tires on the new wheels and getting them balanced, Lenny got to work on the suspension, installing the Bilstein replacements in the rear in place of the stock Tokicos. He pulled out the Tokicos in front, removed the springs (which still had plenty of life) and installed them on the new Bilstein 5100s. Since we werent putting larger tires or bigger wheels on the truck, we decided upon setting the 5100s in the middle position, giving the front of the truck one inch of lift. Going up to the last highest spot at 2.5 inches wouldve been fine, too (we might adjust it later), but we are happy to get a minor lift on the front end for a little more wheel clearance and a more aggressive look.
Once the wheels were balanced and installed and the new suspension was in place, Lenny went to work aligning the front end. After just a few hours, all the parts were installed and we were set.
With the all-terrain General Tire AT2s, KMC Enduro wheels and the front end lift, the truck just had a whole new look and feel it really was an overall tune-up in appearance and performance. We even pulled off the TRD stickers on the rear side panels of the truck bed to finish off the new clean look. Weve very happy with the off-road performance of the Bilsteins, as the truck tackles bumps and ruts with ease, and the on-road ride of the truck is much improved as well its not too firm (rattling you to death on the freeway) or too soft like our old, battered Tokicos.
The AT2 Generals are a good pairing with the setup, as they provide great off-road traction in the muddy and soft dirt conditions weve encountered, and although they have the aggressive tread for an all-terrain tire, they are relatively quiet on the road (a minor hum is to be expected). We were not sure about replacing the wheels, but after seeing the final product were very happy with the decision. The KMC Enduros are the perfect compliment to finish off the tune-up build. All in all, we were able to upgrade our used truck within a reasonable budget, and we couldnt be happier with the result.
Thanks to Off-Road Warehouse for its help in the installation and assistance in the build. Also, thank you to the companies who contributed to the story: General Tire, Bilstein, K&N and Race Car Dynamics.
Off-Road Warehouse
General Tire
KMC Wheels
K&N Filters
Race Car Dynamics


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A meson is a sub-atomic, non-elementary particle composed of a quark and an anti-quark.
All mesons are unstable and fluctuations in the meson field were observed at the terminus of the Barzan wormhole, creating instability in the wormhole and causing its terminus to shift between the Delta Quadrant and the Denkiri Arm of the Gamma Quadrant. (TNG: "The Price")
While scanning for the crash landed runabout USS Yangtzee Kiang in the Gamma Quadrant, Lieutenant Jadzia Dax noted that the warp eddy had traces of meson particle emissions, which made it a Starfleet power reactor. (DS9: "Battle Lines")


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Future Femme Short Sleeve Tee
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Shipping & Delivery time
Orders are processed and shipped within 7 days. Please note we do not ship on weekends or holidays. Shipping times may vary, but we do our very best to get your orders out as quickly as possible.


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JoAnn Greco
JoAnn Greco writes frequently on the built environment, and is a contributing editor at PlanPhilly.com.
It's the sort of image, imbued with loss and layers, that architecture buffs drool over. A wheelchair sits center stage, its orange vinyl back echoed by a round tabletop that leans against a wall, painted in a familiar shade of institutional green. A mattress, flattened and grimy, lies tossed onto a floor that's littered with fallen plaster. In the foreground, an overturned metal trashcan speaks volumes. A mirror reflects the whole sad scene.
It's romantic, it's nostalgic, it's wistful, it's provocative. It's about time, nature, mortality, disinvestment.
Pursuing and photographing the old is an addictive hobby. Dozens of blogs and online galleries share strategies for entry and showcase ever-bulging collections of moss-covered factory floors and lathe-exposed school buildings.
There's no shortage of theories as to just why these images (in this case, a long-shuttered mental asylum) fascinate us. They "offer an escape from excessive order," says Tim Edensor, a professor of geography at Manchester Metropolitan University who studies the appeal of urban ruins. "They're marginal spaces filled with old and obscure objects. You can see and feel things that you can't in the ordinary world."
Len Albright, a 31-year-old Princeton post-doctoral student who's tagged along with ruin explorers in Chicago, Cleveland, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh, believes the experience is "more about the sense of ownership than anything else."
He describes the derring-do involved in scaling urban ruins. "There's this whole strategy for figuring out how to get in," he says. "They start by hiding in the tree line at the edge of the property, checking for security guards. Then one of them dashes to the wall of the building. He starts looking for unlocked doors or busted out windows. There's a lot of creeping and crawling, almost like a military operation."
But for Matthew Christopher, the man who snapped the photograph described above, it was — at least in the beginning — more about curiosity. Only as he stood amid the eerily silent hallways and peeling ceilings of a similarly crumbling institution did he truly understand its role in the history of mental health. "When I visited the abandoned Philadelphia State Hospital, and then some of the others, I was able to connect the dots, to see the progress of treatment through the years," Christopher says. "Architecture and the ethos of the times became linked for me."
Reading about the field couldn't compete with actually seeing the buildings and complexes firsthand. "I realized this was real, not abstract," he says. Christopher became so intrigued with that first experience ten years ago that he switched from studying mental health to photography, eventually shooting some 300 abandoned asylums, schools, and factories.
"It was a case of that old cliché, 'a picture speaks a thousand words,'" he says. "When I'd try to talk about the presences that seem to linger in these places, people would look at me like I should be in an asylum myself. When I showed them pictures — they'd suddenly get it."
A long artistic history backs him up. Renaissance painters romanticized Greek ruins. Piranesi's etchings memorialized Roman antiquity as it was being torn up. Photographer Eugene Atget sought out whatever bits of a rapidly-disappearing Paris he could find in a post-Haussmann era.
Now, Christopher has his own portfolio in the form of a website, abandonedamerica.us (subtitled "an autopsy of the American dream"), and he's studying fine art photography at Rochester Institute of Technology.
As part of a disparate cadre of urbanists who have embarked on the road to ruins, he's opened himself to some flack.
Critics accuse photographers like him of objectifying empty buildings as pretty stage sets filled with juxtapositions, fading colors and dramatic light. Those who are driven by the frisson of scampering around abandoned places, on the other hand, are often lambasted as criminal trespassers. Edensor thinks such invectives give these intrepid romance-seekers short shrift. "In the best photography, there's a silent comment on economic disinvestment through an attempt to capture the sensations and memories that remain," he says. "The conscientious explorer, on the other hand, seeks to create a relationship with the past, to produce a history that's not been museumized or curated by experts."
The two factions have, at times, gone to war. Urban explorers view photographers as passive watchers, unwilling to get their hands dirty. "Explorers move away from the porn metaphor, because it's all theirs to experience — not to watch," says Albright. "You poke your head into a hole, climb up a ladder, peer under a desk. You're trying to put together a story."
But photographers say they too put up with the slight dangers that come with the territory — Christopher has the Tyvek suit and breathing apparatus to prove it. More seriously, he contends, explorers can seem selfish, interested only in their own jollies.
"I'd like the viewer to step back just a bit and to see the horror story that's implicit in the image," he says."These pictures document physical conditions that are the direct consequences of failed economies."
With their more rebellious stance, explorers would probably issue a big meh to that idea, posits Albright.
"I've interviewed people who have been to the same building 20 or 30 times, they just love it so much," he says. "But when I asked them if they'd like to organize a cleanup or a preservation effort, they'd be indifferent. They might think that's fine for someone else to do ... after awhile, though, they'd be off to hunt for the next abandoned building."
All photos courtesy of Matthew Christopher.
In places where most child cares and schools have closed, in-home family daycares that remain open aren't seeing the demand — or the support — they expected.
Some renters and homeowners are getting financial assistance during the economic disruption from the coronavirus pandemic. What about landlords?
Will COVID-19 change how cities are designed? Michele Acuto of the Connected Cities Lab talks about density, urbanization and pandemic preparation.
There's a fatal history behind the claim that African Americans are more resistant to diseases like Covid-19 or yellow fever.
We must prepare for a protracted battle with coronavirus. But there are changes we can make now to prepare locked-down cities for what's next.


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Frazer Mennonite Church (Frazer, Pennsylvania, USA)
The Frazer Mennonite Church (Mennonite Church USA) is an outgrowth of Diamond Rock in an early Amish settlement two miles north of Malvern, Chester County, Pennsylvania. The Weaverland Missions Committee in 1908-1909 revived this work, and the first service was held on 1 May 1910. In 1917-1918 a frame church was built along the Lincoln Highway, west of Malvern. The 1955 membership, many of non-Mennonite extraction, was 115; Mahlon Witmer had the bishop oversight, Marcus Swanenberg, Milton G. Brackbill, and C. Ralph Malin were the ministers, and Irvin J. King the deacon.
The congregation celebrated its 100th anniversary with a special service on 9 May 2010, and a Bible school reunion was held on 12 June 2010. A major celebration was held on the weekend of 15-17 October 2010.
On 20 April 2013, Frazer Mennonite Church was released from membership in the Lancaster Mennonite Conference and became an associate member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The congregation had expressed "preliminary affirmation" for a general membership statement that "welcomes into membership all persons who profess faith in Christ and all who desire to walk with Christ in order to grow and trust in God, in following the light of Scripture and in living Jesus' way," without naming or singling out gays for exclusion. The congregation requested membership in the Atlantic Coast Conference after it became clear that Lancaster Mennonite Conference would not support the church's position.
Brown, Lowell. "Welcoming Stance Affects Church Transfer Request: Atlantic Coast Approves Pa. Congregation's Move From Lancaster Conference." Mennonite World Review (13 May 2013): http://www.mennoworld.org/2013/5/13/welcoming-stance-affects-church-transfer-request/.
Additional Information
Address: 57 Maple Linden Lane, Frazer, Pennsylvania
Phone: 610-644-3397
Website: Frazer Mennonite Church <br/>
Denominational Affiliations:
Lancaster Mennonite Conference (until 2013)
Mennonite Church USA (2013-present)
|Ira D. Landis
|Richard D. Thiessen
|Date Published
|May 2013
Cite This Article
MLA style
Landis, Ira D. and Richard D. Thiessen. "Frazer Mennonite Church (Frazer, Pennsylvania, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. May 2013. Web. 6 Apr 2020. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Frazer_Mennonite_Church_(Frazer,_Pennsylvania,_USA)&oldid=64176.
APA style
Landis, Ira D. and Richard D. Thiessen. (May 2013). Frazer Mennonite Church (Frazer, Pennsylvania, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 6 April 2020, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Frazer_Mennonite_Church_(Frazer,_Pennsylvania,_USA)&oldid=64176.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, p. 382. All rights reserved.
©1996-2020 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.


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Out of every team to win the world cup this English team has the most foreign born players.
A fair few teams have had XI home born players in their international tournament winning teams (WC, Champs Trophy, T20 and the mini world cup):
West Indies 75, West Indies 79, India 83 (though I may be mixing together some subcontinental places for all Asian teams), Australia 87, Pakistan 91, Sri Lanka, 96, India 07, Pakistan 09, Australia 09
Teams that had a foreign born player regardless of how long they lived in the country they played for:
SA 99 Benkenstein and Elworth - Zimbabwe, NZ 00 Twose - England and Styris - Australia
Australia 03 Symonds - England, WI 04 Browne - England, Aus 06 Symonds again Aus 07 Symonds, England 2010 Lumb, Kieswetter, Pietersen - South Africa, Morgan - Ireland
What are everyone's thoughts on this? I've heard a fair few arguments either way, namely that it doesn't matter where you are born but where you live now, or who you represented first at a youth national level, or how long they have lived in their host country.
For me personally it hollows England's victory a bit to have a fair few players in the team that represented South Africa and Ireland at different levels. I'm not trying to tear into England here but get a bit of debate going over where this kind of team make-up may be heading in the future. Besides everyone knows that it was the English bowlers who did most of the match winning in the final.


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Evening Star Hotel, Surry Hills, NSW
The Evening Star Hotel in Surry Hills is conveniently located near Central station and several bus stops. It has great meals and spectacular deals! Pop in for a beer and join us for a delicious meal from our diner, then enjoy a relaxed game of poker........ Perfect combination!
Evening Star Hotel runs the following events:
Tuesday Night Poker 7:30pm - QueenSix
Location: 360 Elizabeth St, Surry Hills, NSW, Australia


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This application is for individuals only. If you would like to work at the NPH orphanages with a group of people, please contact us
for possibilities. If you are interested in facilitating a medical brigade, please download the Medical Brigade Application form
and Medical Brigade Policy.
The completed application should be submitted in English or Spanish. Using the online form below will speed the application process, however you may also download the Volunteer Application as Word document
(English /
and submit it by mail or e-mail to the local fundraising office
closest to your home. Once we have received your application, we will acknowledge it within two weeks.
Due to the isolated setting of the NPH homes and the stress of volunteering internationally, it is important for us to know about an applicants ability and health prior to beginning service. This information allows us to make a well-based decision in the interest of the NPH home and the applicant and helps us to support the volunteer during his or her service at NPH. All information is kept confidential.
If you live near a local fundraising office,
they will be made aware of your application and may be asked to conduct an interview. Expect the application process to take at least two months.
If accepted, you will be contacted to discuss available volunteer positions. At this time we will ask you to submit a completed Health Statement
(English |
with your doctor's signature.


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Now that you have browsed A.J. Dohmann Chrysler's inventory of new RAM, Dodge, Jeep and Chrysler cars, please take a minute to view our comprehensive inventory of Used cars in Morgan City. Every pre-owned vehicle that comes to our greater Morgan City car dealership undergoes a detailed inspection to ensure the quality of our used cars. Come visit us at 802 Robinson Dr and see for yourself!
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Ecole des Ponts ParisTech
Bridges between Science and Society
The École des Ponts ParisTech is a French Grande École which trains high-potential engineers and future high-level managers with a scientific and technical background who will be called on to tackle the major challenges of society today and in the future.
The École des Ponts ParisTech offers in addition to civil, environmental and mechanical engineering, which have historically made it prestigious, excellent courses in varied fields nowadays, ranging from applied mathematics to economics via industrial engineering.
It offers four major types of programmes: engineering courses, masters, doctoral courses and specialised post-graduate programmes: Advanced Masters and MBA.
Additionally, the École des Ponts ParisTech has developed a dynamic research activity around 11 laboratories, which are very often shared with other higher education institutions, research organisations and companies.
It is accessible to students and researchers of many nationalities and is a human-sized institution with a multi-cultural and multi-disciplinary atmosphere.
The École des Ponts ParisTech is ISO 9001 certified.


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Jennifer McDaniel brauchte ein neues Briefpapier Design und hat einen Wettbewerb auf 99designs gestartet.
Aus 69 Designs von 10 Designern wurde eine Gewinner gewählt.
Logo design for business cards and stationery that will integrate well into future website design.
Partners... a Project Management Boutique
I want a creative yet professional design for my company's name and tag line that I can use on business cards, stationery and eventually as a logo on a website. I'm young and energetic, professional and efficient. I want my image to be projected as such on all printed materials. While I do like "girly" design elements, my target clients are predominantly male. I want to portray myself most importantly as professional but would like a design that's a little hip, a little trendy.
The name of the business is "Partners". The tag line is "...a Project Management Boutique". I don't have a set color scheme in mind. I like ocean-y colors... blues, greens. I like dark chocolate brown. But don't feel limited by those colors, though. The word "boutique" lends itself to french flair and I like that. My personal style (decorating-wise) is a mix of modern and traditional. I like things clean and not too cluttered. But again... really, I'm just interested to see different designer's takes on what my logo could look like.
No red-white-and-blue. Nothing that could be tied to political themes or parties. No pink. No TOTALLY feminine designs. I am a woman but my clients will predominantly be men. No TOTALLY fancy fonts that are hard to read. The tag line shouldn't be as big as "Partners" but not so small that it's completely secondary. No over-the-top "busy" designs.


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City Directories
This article originally appeared in "Directories" by Gordon L. Remington, FASG, FUGA in The Source: A Guidebook to American Genealogy
City directories are primarily useful for locating people in a particular place and time. They can tell you generally where an ancestor lived and give an exact location for census years. They are also useful for linkage with sources other than censuses.
There are usually several parts to a city directory. The section of most interest to the genealogist, of course, is the alphabetical listing of names, for it is there that you may find your ancestor. The other parts of a directory are equally important, however, as they will help you utilize the information contained in the alphabetical listings more efficiently. Street directories and ward boundary descriptions will be discussed in detail later in the chapter. There are also sections listing government offices, churches, civic and fraternal organizations, and businesses. These sections may be separated or combined.
Whenever you use a directory, however, it is important to refer to the page showing abbreviations used in the alphabetical section of the directory, usually following the name in each entry. Some abbreviations are quite common, such as h for home or r indicating residence. There may even be a subtle distinction between r for residents who are related to the homeowner and b for boarders who are not related.
Some city directories list adult children who lived with their parents but were working or going to school. Look for persons of the same surname residing at the same address. If analyzed and interpreted properly, these annual directories can tell you (by implication) which children belong to which household, when they married and started families of their own, and when they established themselves in business. In cases where a specific occupation is given, you can search records pertinent to that occupation.
There may be a page at the beginning of the alphabetical section that gives changes, additions, and deletions'usually due to removals, but sometimes due to death. Some city directories also give special facts'separate listings for African Americans or places of birth and death, for example, but such notations are usually for one year only and are not the norm.
Beginning in the late-nineteenth century, but more regularly in the twentieth century, city directories have often contained a 'reverse' street directory, listing streets alphabetically, then the names of the people residing at each address. This is an important tool for identifying persons of different surnames residing at the same address. Another kind of 'reverse' directory'by telephone number'has also become part of modern directories.
Once an ancestor has been found in a city directory, there are several ways the information can be used to gain access to, or link with, such sources as censuses, death and probate records, church records, naturalization records, and land records.


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Track Your Order
You can track your order by providing your email address and order number. Please note: You can check the status of orders placed online within the last 30 days. Any tracking information will not be provided until after midnight ET of the day your package ships.
totes»isotoner takes respect for human rights and compliance with laws very seriously. We select business partners that share our commitment to ethical practices and agree to operate under our standards of business conduct, including our Factory Workplace Code of Conduct. Each factory that manufactures product for totes»isotoner must understand and agree to operate its factory in compliance with our Code of Conduct.
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We deliver powerful search engine optimization (SEO) strategies that increase brand awareness, website traffic and sales with higher rankings for keywords that convert. With a focus on technical SEO, data-driven content marketing and link acquisition, we go beyond on-page optimization and instead focus on long-term, sustainable results that increase search engine visibility and ROI.
We don't just focus on rankings. We build brands, drive traffic, generate leads, and increase sales.
We believe in conversation.
At eyeball, our New York SEO team works closely with you to maximize working search strategies, benefit from changing trends and achieve business goals. Our SEO services include a team of experts dedicated to ensuring your site is constantly optimized with white-hat SEO best practices, responds positively to algorithmic changes, and continues to attract, engage and convert your target audience.
Why is SEO Important?
Typically, 40-60% of website traffic comes from search engine organic (not paid) listings, but it can easily account for as much as 75% of traffic.
Search engines, like Google, enable people looking for your brand, products or services to find your site, and more specifically, find the right page on your site.
But if your site is not optimized, search engines can't find or properly understand what your site is about, and you miss out on incredible opportunities to drive targeted traffic, build credibility, and increase revenue. Moreover, SEO provides unmatched exposure and exceptional ROI compared to other advertising and marketing channels.
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THE IMPORTANCE OF OIL CHANGES It is not always easy to keep on top of, but it is a proven fact that keeping up to date with your Oil changes is one of the least expensive, most effective ways to keep your engine running at peak performance. It also has a very important role is extending the life of your vehicle. Take care of your vehicle, and you will be rewarded with more extended miles on your older vehicles. Let's break it down into a few more details on exactly what changing your engines oil actually does; When? – Every vehicle is different, but one thing is clear nowadays, MOST vehicles do not require a change every 3,000 miles like all auto repair shops used to recommend. So, our advice would be to check your vehicles owner's manual or ask any of Wilhelm's customer service advisors for recommendations. Why? – It keeps the engine clean and the Oil lubricates the moving parts of the engine. Where ... read more
STAY SAFE FOR MONSOON SEASON Arizona is known for its long Monsoon season. Rising temperatures throughout the summer always seems to bring extra risk of them. These are scheduled to last all the way through September. During this time, it's important for you and your vehicle to stay safe. In this blog, we will discuss little tips to help you and your car stay in tip-top shape throughout the summer Monsson season.The most obvious problem we see in our shops at this time of year associated with the Monsoon season is water damage. Any flooding can cause major damage to your engine if you expose it to the water. Driving through flood waters is a risk that needs to be avoided wherever possible. Our Arizona roads aren't the best when it comes to drainage systems to here are a few recommendations we have if you are driving during a storm; ALWAYS keep your headlights on – Most importantly this helps your visibility to other drivers and helps your view too. SAFETY ISSUES- Have your safety is ... read more
We have all been there where our car or trucks check engine light comes on. It is one of the worst feelings you can experience especially if it is completely out of a blue. Some people will put off addressing their check engine light in faint hope that it just disappears like some kind of miracle. Has anybody ever had that feeling? Well latest reports from the annual CarMD Vehicle Health index reinforces what most of us already know. That hope of it disappearing is just making it worse. The longer you leave a check engine light repair unattended, the more damage it can cause potentially. It can cause you to get less miles per gallon and cause greater damage to your vehicle down the road. It is important to get out of that mindset of fear and go address the problem as soon as you can get scheduled. Here are some common check engine light repairs that you may ... read more
One of the most common questions when asked about general auto repair and maintenance is, "How often should I change my oil?" Changing your oil is very important to your vehicles general maintenance and you should do it regularly. Your car is a big purchase. Behind your house, it is your next biggest investment so it's vital you take good care of it and keep it well maintained. A well-maintained car can end up saving you thousands of dollars in the long run. Keep it running long after your final payment and you will save a LOT of money. You may have heard different time frames for when you need to change your oil. The most common one used to be every 3,000 miles or every 3 months (whichever was first). Nowadays, vehicles technology is far advanced and general oil quality is much better than it used to be meaning your average oil change will last longer. So, the real answer is that there is no real set standard. However, we can tell you some things ... read more
Today's cars, light trucks, and sport-utility vehicles are high-tech marvels with digital dashboards, oxygen sensors, electronic computers, uni-body construction, and more. They run better, longer, and more efficiently than models of years past. But when it comes to repairs, some things stay the same. The following tips should help you along the way: Do your homework before taking your vehicle in for repairs or service. Read the owner's manual to learn about the vehicles systems and components. Follow the recommended service schedules. Keep a log of all repairs and service. When you think about it, you know your car better than anyone else. You drive it every day and know how it feels and sounds when everything is right. So don't ignore its warning signals. Use all of your senses to inspect your car frequently. Check for: Unusual sounds, odors, drips, leaks, smoke, warning lights, gauge readings. Changes in acceleration, engine performance, gas mileage, flu ... read more
In 2017, Wilhelm will continue our annual Pet Food Drive. We have once again teamed up with Chuck Waggin' Pet Food Pantry during the month of November as a perfect way to give back to our animals who need help getting through the holiday period. Here's all you need to do; Bring in two cans of non-perishable pet food items and Wilhelm will give you $15 off any service or repair at any of our seven locations valley wide. This is our fourth consecutive year running our Pet Food Drive, and you have helped make it a major success. Overall, it is our 18th annual food drive! Just last year, we donated almost 100 pounds of pet food to shelters. In 2016, we donated even more!!! With your help, we are looking to exceed last year's total! Absolutely anything you can give will help us reach our goals together. Give us a call if you want to hear more about our offer and please help spread the word for a good cause. Philianthropy has always been a key part in our 89-year-old business a ... read more
It has been a great month with regards to giving back to the community and our customers have really come through. Throughout the last couple of weeks, we have been running a couple of charity events simultaneously. The first one we ran was to do with helping out those victims of Hurricane Harvey. Times like this is where we all need to stand together and I feel our customers have helped out tremendously. We partnered up with local printing company ABD and "We support Texas" to provide 7 drop off points across the valley. All Wilhelm customers who donated anything from the list we eligible for $10 off any service or repair. There was an overwhelming response. Here are a few pictures from around the stores of our guys with Dave Delvecchio, who is the president of ABD and put the whole thing in place. We would like to take this chance to thank anybody who donated and huge Thanks to Dave and his team for putting this whole thin ... read more
With the record temperatures upon us, many of you will be thinking about getting out of town within the next month or so. We put together a checklist for you of things you will need to take care of before setting off. Here are a few minor maintenance issues to have a look over before you get going. Check your tire pressure – Easy to do but vitally important. Depending on the distance you are planning to go, lots of highway miles can really add heat to your tires, (especially in 115 degree + heat). Most vehicle manuals recommend going slightly higher than usual if you are planning a long trip. It is better to be on the safe side of things. It's always worth having a spare tire too just for peace of mind more than anything. Lots of newer cars do not carry a spare and have all "run flat" tires. Battery Maintenance – Battery maintenance is huge in the heat of Arizona in the summer. Double check your battery is charged otherwis ... read more
When our venture into the hybrid market started back in 2014, we committed to a lot of different things. One of these areas we choose to focus on saving energy throughout the company as a whole. Once we decided to go into the hybrid market we also saw the importance of becoming a "greener" company. Our recent blog topics touched on how we can help "Save The World" by switching over to a Hybrid or electric vehicle. Obviously that's a stretch but with the world struggling with pollution and the constantly talked about topic of global warming, we thought we would get involved and that was a big focus for our design team when we broke ground for our newest location over in Happy Valley. Performance Tune up To help with this we contacted ... read more
There are certain things you just cannot handle in the Arizona summer heat. AC in your car is certainly one of them. If you are travelling to and from work every day, it is vital your car AC system is in good standing. With 100 degree + temperatures just around the corner (sorry to remind you), having your cars AC inspected and blowing cold can be the difference between a smooth, comfortable commute to work and a disastrous journey. Here we worked with Mike from our Happy Valley store to discuss the main issues with your AC system, how you can prevent it, and what to do when it does go wrong. The first thing he touches on is the cabin filter. One thing you may not know is your cabin filter can affect your allergies. A lot of the newer vehicles are now using charcoal filters, which do a much better job of filtering the air from outside. The charcoal filters catch the dirt and retain it so it does not affect your allergies. The picture below shows the difference between filters as Mike ... read more


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Job opportunities for early childhood administrators, teachers, other center staff, home based providers, and a variety of other early childhood related positions in New York.
To view details about a job post, click the job title. To apply, follow the application instructions in the post.
Viewing: Assistant Teacher (5) Jobs Sorted by: Date Posted (new - old) Total: 5


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2020 Honda CR-V EX-L 2WD
Dealership Information
Curttright Honda
Kevin Curttright
4618 W Owen K. Garriott
Enid, OK 73703
Visit Curttright Honda online at www.curttrighthonda.com to see more pictures of this vehicle or call us at 580-233-8670 today to schedule your test drive. Listed equipment may not match actual equipment on vehilce, please make sure before purchase.
- Child Safety Door Locks
- Driver Airbag
- Driver Multi-Adjustable Power Seat
- Fog Lights
- Front Power Lumbar Support
- Front Side Airbag
- Passenger Airbag
- Passenger Multi-Adjustable Power Seat
- Power Windows
- Run Flat Tires
- Side Head Curtain Airbag
- Telescopic Steering Column
- ABS Brakes
- Cruise Control
- Front Heated Seat
- Vehicle Anti-Theft


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(AP) Dem on trial seen as part of old Chicago politics
By MICHAEL TARM
Associated Press
The grizzled Chicago Democrat has compared himself to a virile hog, likened a then-chief prosecutor to a Nazi and bragged about directing government investigators to kiss his posterior.
William Beavers' you-can't-touch-me bravado will be put to the test as the former police officer-turned-politician beats a path _ well-worn in Illinois _ to a federal courthouse for testimony at his tax-evasion trial this week.
The combative Cook County commissioner stands accused of diverting more than $225,000 from campaign coffers to feed a casino-gambling habit and for other personal use without reporting it. Jury selection began Monday, and opening statements are expected later this week.
With his booming voice and devil-may-care persona, the 77-year-old Beavers is seen by many as an artifact of old-school Chicago politics.
Beavers also is accused of failing to declare that he took more than $68,000 in campaign money and put it in a city fund to double the monthly pension he got for his years as an alderman to more than $6,000.
He pleaded not guilty to four tax-related counts, each of which carries a maximum three-year prison term.
There's a bit of deja vu at Beavers' trial. It's taking place in the same courtroom as that of disgraced former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. The judge is the same, as are many of the defense attorneys and some of the prosecutors.
Blagojevich is serving a 14-year prison sentence on multiple corruption convictions, including charges that he tried to sell President Barack Obama's vacated Senate seat.
One question that Beavers' cases raises, says Tom Gradel, a professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, is whether Chicago politics is no longer as corrupt as it was in his heyday.
Politicians, he said, operate "on the borders between what's acceptable and criminal" and are good at adapting.
Other much-younger Illinois politicians have recently found themselves in legal trouble. Last month, 47-year-old Jesse Jackson Jr., once viewed hopefully as a new-age politician, resigned from Congress amid an investigation of his campaign finances.
One of Beavers' attorneys is Sam Adam Jr., who was Blagojevich's lead lawyer at the Democrat governor's first corruption trial. That trial ended with the jury deadlocked on all but one charge, leading to a second decisive trial.
Adam's penchant for showmanship and delighting in verbal brawls meshes well with Beavers' public image.
Beavers' most famous rhetorical flourish came several years ago when he offered a favorable estimation of his own influence by calling himself "a hog with big nuts."
He's hardly proven a wilting flower since his February indictment.
Within minutes of entering a not guilty plea, he walked down to the lobby of Chicago's federal courthouse and accused then-U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald of using "Gestapo-type tactics" to win convictions. Fitzgerald, who was responsible for the indictment of Blagojevich and dozens of other Illinois politicians, retired over the summer to enter private practice.
Beavers has said he was indicted in an act of retribution by investigators for refusing to wear a wire against another county commissioner, John Daley, the brother of former Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley. U.S. District Judge James Zagel barred defense attorneys from broaching that allegation at the trial.
Zagel did say they could argue Beavers eventually paid back the money in question and amended his returns after he learned he was under investigation. However, Zagel said that claim would only be admissible if it came from Beavers' mouth on the witness stand.
As he left court Monday, Beavers told reporters he would testify. "No question about it," he said.
Gradel, for one, doesn't think Beavers' gushing confidence will play well with jurors.
Follow Michael Tarm at http://www.twitter.com/mtarm


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A new year, a new 'do — and a new official portrait.
Michelle Obama's new official White House portrait was unveiled Wednesday, replete with the bangs she has called her own take on a "mid-life crisis."
In the more intimate new photo by Chuck Kennedy, the first lady is seated in a relaxed pose against a green upholstered chair and a green wall.
U.S. & World
Compare the new shot with the official portrait taken in 2009, and the new one is much softer. Her hair is a softer black, she is lit by softer light and her famously toned arms are contained in a long-sleeved seamed black top.
The 2009 photo, taken by Joyce Boghosian, showed the first lady standing somewhat stiffly at a table. In it, she was wearing a two-strand pearl necklace and a watch.
This time around, she is wearing a single strand of pearls, and her engagement and wedding rings are visible.
Below are the new portrait and the 2009 one:
Official White House Portrait by Chuck Kennedy
Official White House Portrait by Joyce N. Boghosian


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Daniel Suelo: living in a Moab cave without money for over 10 years
Check out these two short videos about Daniel Suelo, who has lived without money in a cave near Moab, Utah for over 10 years. It's an interesting study in economics, homelessness and personal philosophy.
The first one's above; the second one's here.


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The song appeared on the album Pop and originally began life during the Zooropa sessions.
It was performed live for the first time during the PopMart tour opener in Las Vegas on April 25, 1997. It also appears on the soundtrack to the 1998 film City of Angels, a Hollywood remake of Wim Wenders' Wings of Desire - and the best selling album released in the U.S. during 1998.
25 November, 2014
US-CoverI got the US-version (meaning made in the USA)...It has the same sleeve as above with the same image on the CD-itself..has the same tracks too...Brilliant Single !!!
01 January, 2011
cover???????i believe this is the uk promo cover!! still a superb tune and indeed a cool sleeve!!!


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We offer a number of other products besides lapel pins. Did you know that you can also make your pin in to other types of jewelry? In some cases it is only a minimal cost to take your pin and modify it in to cufflinks, charms, pendants, earrings, money clips, key chains and a wide variety of other options. You can also split your order into any of the items mentioned above, just ask us how.
|Tie Bars
|Stick Pins
|Zipper Pulls
|Money Clips
|Key Chains
|Golf Ball Markers
|Golf Divot Tools
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We received the lapel pins today, they look great! They are going fast and we hope to order more soon.
Thanks again for the fast delivery.
Don B.
I was so busy with our event last month that I forgot to get back to you and tell you how much of a hit our custom pins were. Thanks a million for getting them here on time. They came a day early, so I had time to package them in gift boxes and make them look really nice. We are thinking of a re order soon, I will be in touch when we get there.
The lapel pins look great!,
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I gave your name and number to a friend of mine that is looking for
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I was worried that I cut it to close to our deadline, but you really came through and we were able to give the attendees a very nice memento to take home. Thanks for everything."
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Every Step of your process was Professional. It has been a pleasure working with you on our lapel pins."
We received our pins last week and could not be happier. We have ordered in the past from other suppliers, but have never had the service that we received from you. Your price was great, but more important, your service was outstanding. We will be back."
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"Just received our pin order today and could not be more impressed with the quality…
Your attention to detail and customer service made our experience very enjoyable. We have already recommended you to other clubs in our area. Thanks again for going above and beyond."


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A student and instructor of Okinawa Kenpo Karate and Kobudo. Thoughts on Karate, Tai Chi, ACL Reconstruction and the Challenges of Parenting.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Anonymous...or Not?
The phone rang at midnight. Late night phone calls startle me. I immediately think there is something terribly wrong. I rushed to answer the call.
I did not recognize the voice on the other end of the phone. After a long pause, a person began talking but did not disclose their name. The person asked me a series of questions. I did not respond other than to ask "Who are you?"
I was about to hang up the phone but the next question froze my hand to my ear. The caller made a specific reference to a post I wrote on this blog.
The caller knew who I was but I had no idea who they were.
I hung up the phone.
How did the caller connect my blog to the dojo phone number? After hours of online searching, I figured out how the person found the phone number.
A setting was automatically changed which listed my site URL on the public profile page. In a few clicks and searches, I was able to connect the blog-dojo-organization-instructors-work information. I corrected the setting.
When I started my blog, I decided to be semi-anonymous. Yes...Michele is my real first name but I try to be cautious about disclosing too much information. It was months before I told family members about my site. I am sure their are nuggets of information scattered throughout blog posts and comments which could connect all the pieces.
Are you anonymous? Do you blog using your full name? Is it even possible to be semi-anonymous or anonymous? Has anyone tracked you down through your blog? In the age of social networking and instant connections...does it even matter?
7 comments:
- Noah said...
Sorry to hear about your scare--that would be pretty frightening! I'm afraid that, with enough digging, anyone with any online presence can be tracked down so there really isn't a whole lot you can do about that short of not having any online presence at all. Leaving as few breadcrumbs to lead back to your personal information as possible will always be helpful, though, and I hope it keeps the stalkers out of your hair!
- June 27, 2011 at 2:49 AM
- Michele said...
Thanks for commenting Noah!
The phone call was surprising. Luckily, it only happened once.
- June 27, 2011 at 6:30 AM
- Charlie on the PA Turnpike said...
I am anonymous. I've used a pseudonym since I began blogging in 2002.
Like you, my first name is Charlie, and also like you I have told few people even in my own family of my blogging endeavors. One of the two big reasons I maintain anonymity is because I've posted considerably on political issues, and I heard of someone making a scene in front of a blogger's family at a restaurant because of differing opinions. An equally important reason is that my employer would not likely appreciate my hobby.
In recent years I've blogged less because of the changes in my career and family issues. In my real persona I post links in Facebook to my social network on malware, data security and tips to ensure FB privacy lapses (as you're unfortunately now familiar).
I believe that once you are 'known' by others, it is almost impossible to become anon again, unless you reinvent your persona and cut all ties (or at least most ties) to your 'public' self.
- June 27, 2011 at 8:41 AM
- Sandman said...
Yikes! Sounds scary!
I don't blog anonymously. - I don't post my last name, but I have pictures and videos of myself traing on the blog. I do think very carefully about what I post and stay away from any controversial topics.
- June 27, 2011 at 8:51 PM
- Bob M said...
It was creepy and wrong for that person to call you without identifying himself.
But while most people will respect your wish to remain anonymous, ultimately I don't think anything can guarantee our anonymity on the web. As a locksmith once said to me, locks are designed to keep honest people out of your home.
- June 27, 2011 at 9:42 PM
- Charles Hobby said...
I conduct anonymous blogging because I tend to over edit anything written under my real name. I've always admired the people willing to blog under their real names. But that's not for me.
- June 28, 2011 at 9:41 AM
- Michele said...
Thank you for your comments!
The phone call seems to have been an isolated incident...I hope. It did make me wonder if I should continue with this blog. I think Charlie made a good point..."once you are 'known' by others, it is almost impossible to become anon again".
Thanks again! Michele
- June 29, 2011 at 6:59 AM


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New King Dedede Screens Reign Down on Super Smash Bros
Nintendo has just announced King Dedede will again be back in Super Smash Bros. on the Wii U and 3DS. Get a look at the new and improved pugilist penguin in a series of screenshots.
We've now got a roster of more than twenty different fighters confirmed for Super Smash Bros. Due out later this year, the fighter will be available on both the Wii U and 3DS (and 2DS), though the art styles will be slightly different.
Dedede should be a familiar face to you Smash Bros. veterans, but if you haven't been formally introduced, Dedede is Kirby's main nemesis from that franchise. Thus far, only four new combatants have been shown off, with the rest of the roster focused on returning favorites. Dedede's screens show off his massive mallet, as well as how well he gets along with other royal families.
We still don't have any idea when to expect Super Smash Bros. on either system, but hopefully Nintendo won't make us wait until E3 2014 to find out.


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Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) for Cameron Parish, Livingston Parish, Lafayette Parish, Lafourche Parish, St. Mary Parish, St. Tammany Parish, or Terrebonne Parish may also be viewed from the LSUAgCenter.com
For more helpful information, look under Resources and Related Links.
For mapping questions, contact the FEMA Mapping Information eXchange (FMIX) – 1-877-336-2627.
Click your state for county/parish flood risk specific information.
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Indian companies have raised a meagre Rs 1,205 crore through initial share sale in the past financial year but IPO market may see a revival in the current fiscal (2014-15) on the back of revival in demand.
According to a report by Prime Database, nine firms had raised a total of Rs 6,289 crore through initial public offer (IPO) in 2012-13 as against Rs 1,205 crore garnered in the past fiscal.
"The new fiscal 2015 is expected to see a revival of the IPO market. There is a lot of pent up demand as far as issuers are concerned with numerous companies in dire need of equity infusion," Prime Database Managing Director Prithvi Haldea said.
"There are also scores of companies where private equity firms or other institutional investors are desperately looking at an exit," he added.
Interestingly, there are over 900 companies that have made announcements of their IPO intentions.
Presently, however, there are only 14 firms, planning to raise Rs 2,796 crore, which are holding market regulator SEBI's approval.
Also, as many as four companies intending to garner Rs 2,700 crore through IPO are awaiting SEBI's approval.
Besides, a strong government post-elections would completely revive investor sentiment and with it the IPO market in the second half of this financial year, Mr. Haldea said.
The secondary markets are already buoyant and the bull run is expected to continue, a pre-requisite for revival of the primary markets, he added.
"Moreover, globally too, the IPO markets have been very active for several months now, and global investors will have an appetite for Indian IPOs too. It is hoped that several unlisted PSUs will also finally enter the market during the year. This includes Rashtriya Ispat Nigam, HAL, Mahanagar Gas, Cochin Shipyards etc," Mr. Haldea noted.
There was a lull in the equity market in the past fiscal as there was only one big ticket IPO. Just Dail, search engine service provider, was the only big IPO that raised Rs 919 crore.
"The market has not been IPO-friendly for last three years due to variety of factors like overall poor sentiments, secondary market volatility, promoters not getting the valuations they think they deserve, apprehensions of regulator's views on valuations and lack of appetite for equity of big-time issuers from the infrastructure," Mr. Haldea said.
In addition, the government has also not carried out a single divestment of an unlisted PSU in the last two years.
The last PSU IPO was that of NBCC in March 2012.
The 2013-14 fiscal year, however, continued to witness a flurry of activity on the SME (Small and Medium Enterprise) platform. There were as many as 37 IPOs which collected a total of Rs 286 crore in past financial year, while 24 IPOs raked in Rs 208 crore in 2012-13.


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Albalate del Arzobispo
Easter week in Albalate del Arzobispo
Practical information
- When?: To be confirmed
- Where: Albalate del Arzobispo
- More information : http://www.rutadeltamborybombo.com/
- Category: Festivity of International Tourist Interest
Albalate del Arzobispo, in the province of Teruel, is one of the nine villages that make up the Route of the Tambor and the Bombo (drums).
During the Easter week celebrations, the sound of drums can be heard in every corner of these villages in the south of the Aragón Region. The most long-awaited moment of the celebration in Albalate del Arzobispo is the "rompida de la hora" (breaking of the hour), at midnight of Maundy Thursday/Good Friday. Hundreds of these drums come together in the square and, at midnight, they begin to beat in unison, filling the night with an incredible sound. On the morning of Good Friday there are the Stations of the Cross, where the drums accompany the figure of Jesus Christ through the streets of the village. On that same day, at dusk, the Santo Entierro procession is held. All the religious brotherhoods take part, preceded by the unmistakable sound of the tambores and bombos, which lead the way.
Easter week is one of the most heartfelt and deep-rooted fiestas celebrated in Spain. This commemoration has centuries of history and tradition, remembering the passion and death of Jesus Christ. The streets of the majority of Spain's cities, towns and villages become the stage for religious fervour and devotion, combining grief and meditation in memory of Christ's death. Music, art and colour come together in magical processions - solemn parades in which crowds of people accompany religious images on their route through the streets.
Practical information
- Date: To be confirmed
Contact details
Tel. +34 978812001


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|No more boxes on the floor!
|Yup, all this yarn had to be shelved. There were TONS of it. Literally.
|We spent a whole week just unpacking yarn...
|TNNA bound in just a few weeks, can you believe Spring yarns are coming soon?
|This crazy thing survived the move. A little bit of an anachronism in our new modern digs.
My favorite part is my outlet, that sits at waist height in my office. Is that weird? I'd show you a picture, but it's really boring.
A much more exciting addition, a forklift!
Anyway, goodbye, Lowell!! It's been grand!


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CANCELED - High school students and college transfers are invited to learn more about a career in physical therapy.
POSTPONED - The first-ever SAU film festival is this spring! Make plans to attend this two-day festival that features film screenings and workshops!
CANCELED – It's On Us is partnering with St. Ambrose University to host one of five tour stops as part of the Spring 2020 National Training Tour.
Beginning at sunset, St. Ambrose University opens its observatory to the public for a night of stargazing. Venus will be by far the brightest object in the sky tonight, easily visible in the west for a few hours after sunset.
For 5th and 6th graders | Learn signs of chemical change, solve problems with chromatography, identify mystery powders, create electric batteries, and participate in many other exciting hands-on chemistry activities.
Students will explore engineering and robotics through the use of LEGO Mindstorms NXT robots.
This camp will introduce students to the concepts and practices and through daily workshop sessions combined with visits to international companies in the Quad Cities area.
Participants will design CO2 dragsters, build the cars from wood, test the initial designs in a wind tunnel, improve the cars, and race the finished product.
Includes daily individual or group lessons, an improv/composition class, and ensemble play! On the last day, campers will perform for friends and family.


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Customizing SMF > Building Your Community and other Forum Advice
Forum SEO is a myth
(1/56) > >>
Last year I posted an article on a site about the mythology of trying to search engine optimise forums. I'm reposting because I think it's an interesting point for discussion.
--- Quote from: Arantor ---I have said publicly that trying to 'optimise' a forum is futile. Here's why I think that's the case.
1. You're Trying To Game The System
Let me get this straight. You're trying to attract the attention of, amongst other things, one of the most powerful companies in the world, which is staffed with Smart People, probably smarter than both you and I combined in many cases. You're trying to attract their attention, and do so by gaming a system built by Smart People.
It's like going to the doctors, and suggesting a diagnosis before you get there. And at the clinic, the doctor is likely going to ignore your diagnosis (especially if they have any sense), and evaluate you themselves, before making a recommendation.
You know what? That's what Google does, mostly. Sure, you can help them a little, but by and large it isn't your site's SEO they're evaluating, and it definitely isn't the prime factor they rank you on. It's the site as a whole. Length of time it's been there, responsiveness of pages, and its content.
2. SEO works on carefully crafted content.
Now, unless you're weird, your average public forum is filled with juicy content that's contributed by the members, not the staff. And unless you're going to sit and mercilessly edit content, or beat your community members with a big stick, odds are quite strongly that it won't be the keyword-laden, search engine "optimised" masterpiece that the SEO experts recommend you should have.
I wonder why that is. Is it because you have no control over it?
On a blog, where you're the sole author, you can control the content, the presentation - every aspect of the page from the opening DOCTYPE to the closing </html>. But on a forum, odds are you just don't have that flexibility. Sure, you can modify the layout, the code, whatever, but the most important thing for search engines is the one thing you have little real control over: content. And content is utterly king for search engines.
You can adjust your page to have header tags (H1 through H6), you can adjust the link follow elements, you can do all the so-called tricks, but since you're only affecting a tiny percentage of your content, it actually makes very little difference.
3. Sitemaps are next to useless on a forum.
A sitemap, for those who aren't really aware of it, is a list of URLs a crawler should visit. Not a "must index these pages" list. Nor even a "only these pages kthx" list. But simply a "here's what we think you'd be interested in" list.
Now, on a smaller website, or website where the content is more finely controlled, you probably would want a sitemap. You get to set relative priorities of pages, plus a 'how frequently updated this page is' factor. This does actually help a search engine, for the kinds of sites that that applies to.
Note I said "for the kinds of sites that that applies to". A forum is not one of those kinds of site. A forum, by nature, has a totally dynamic, primarily user driven update schedule. It's not like a blog where the author writes as and when he feels like it, or even on a schedule.
You will also likely know that a crawler is quite capable of traversing links by itself; it doesn't need to be told the list of pages it should index, and where it's dynamic and likely to change from one day to the next, adding a sitemap just means you're building an ever changing list of links, which an engine is smart enough to find for itself without your help.
There is only, and I do mean only, one reason you might consider a sitemap, and that is if you've managed to hide a board from general view but still want it indexed without it being linked any other way. If you create a sub-board (or child board) of a parent, such that the parent is not available to the public but the child board is, the child board can be browsed and indexed, but won't show on the board index.
This, however, isn't standard practice, meaning that it's the sort of thing you don't actually need to do on the vast bulk of forums out there.
4. Pretty URLs doesn't help.
At this point I know that I'm going to be near lynched by claims of B-B-B-BUT THE SEO GUIDE SAID... It's crap. It's absolute, utter crap.
Well, what are pretty URLs? The idea is that the URL contains key words relating to the page at hand, so search engines rank it higher. It's also easier to remember if you're going to type it in.
Search engines generally don't use the URL itself in any kind of ranking, or if they do (Google, at least, is known not to use the full URL at this time in ranking though it can consider the domain on its own, but all that may change) it won't be significant at all.
Now before we get into the 'but every little helps' argument, let me put this forward first. Since Google has stated page load speed is actually a factor in the ranking process (albeit not a huge one, but likely more important than the URL), and that pretty URLs on a forum is not a small calculation (though, SlammedDime's SimpleSEF mod does it surprisingly fast), you'd probably be better off dropping the pretty URLs for the performance boost.
That said, there is one possible argument for pretty URLs on a forum, but it's pretty weaksauce: click through. When you're on the Google-or-Bing-or-whatnot page of results, you'll see the URL of the page, and if it's short, and it looks nice, there is a tiny fraction of a percentage of an outside chance that you'd click on it where you wouldn't otherwise. Most seasoned net users, however, don't care.
Now, other sites DO use pretty URLs. And it works for them. Why? Why not forums?
Let's have a quick look - off the top of my head, Facebook and Wikipedia both do. But, curiously, it's not for search engine ranking reasons (and anyone that tells you it is, is BS'ing you) In both cases, it's because articles are likely to be actually typed in by users directly.
For example, http://www.facebook.com/arantor is a prime example. It's a pretty URL.
Or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meat_Loaf (which is reachable through http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meat Loaf in most browsers) Again, it's memorable.
So why wouldn't this approach work on a forum? After all, what's stopping this page from being index.php/Chit-Chat/Forum-SEO-is-a-myth ? Well, partly [here] don't have any pretty URLs mods installed, but if it did, I know full well it wouldn't generate that as a URL.
As I've said earlier, a forum is typically, mostly, community generated, which often means little regards to the normal SEO stomping grounds of things like titles. I won't dwell on it but on the forum community here, titles such as "Help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" are not uncommon. As you can imagine, that's not very SEO friendly.
That's the first thing: the page's title will be directly tied to its URL, and if you have a meaningful title, you have a meaningful URL. The majority of forums do not produce meaningful thread titles.
The second thing is what happens if you get a duplicate? Well, on a conventional blog or other site, duplicates of names are much less common, but on any decent sized forum it starts to become very common - and you would get into the realms of having index.php/board/topic, index.php/board/topic2, index.php/board/topic3, which isn't very meaningful either.
So already you've drifted off track in terms of having a meaningful URL. What both the pretty URL mods do for SMF (this software) is embed the thread's id number into the URL. This has three effects.
Firstly, it makes the thread URL unique, which is great.
Secondly, it means an expensive trip to the database is avoided because you have the id number handy and don't have to look it up like you do elsewhere, which means site performance isn't degraded as much.
Lastly, but by far most importantly, it makes the URL unmemorable. Which sort of makes it pointless because the whole idea is to have MEMORABLE URLs.
And seriously, how often do people type URLs in? Well, on social services, and linking to their friends, not that uncommonly perhaps. But general forum links? Very, very often you won't type the whole URL in, you'll either copy/paste it or you'll just use a URL shortening service - either way, the pretty URL phenomena just doesn't work on forums.
Closing thoughts
I hear a lot of people saying how effective these tips are, and I'd love to actually collect stats on whether it does actually have an effect or not, because I believe that forum growth is IN SPITE of the above, not because of it.
Why? Well, if you're putting that time and effort into the site to check SEO, to check all these things work, you're making more content and content is really the key. If you're actively pushing the site, you'll grow, not because you played some voodoo magic to game a system built by people smarter than you.
--- End quote ---
Honestly, I don't care about SEO or anything like that on my blog. It just a waste of time, but a good way to get easy money by people who "believes" in SEO magicians...
青山 素子:
Your ideas are intriguing to me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.
Seriously though, I agree with your points. It's near impossible to massage user-contributed content in places like a forum unless one is willing to heavily re-write ever post a user makes. Should one actually try doing that, I think they will find out quickly that people don't appreciate such things.
I especially agree with the notes on "friendly urls". Using something such as that is expensive (in computation time), so it should be avoided. As for the readability and "friendlyness" of them, let's make a few real-world examples.
First, the standard SMF URL:
Here, you only really have to remember the topic ID number. It's not as easy to memorize as some things, but it's not super-humanly difficult.
Now, a sample "friendly" URL:
I think that perhaps this might be easier to memorize than some of the more common topic titles, but you suffer a bit here from the length and time. Four hours later, if you try to pull the page up on a different computer you not only have to still know the topic ID, but now you have to try and remember the words too! Was it Britian or England? Eat or Consume? Of course, if the rewrite is working correctly (pulling only the ID at the end), the following should take you to the same topic:
This means, of course, that the software will need to find some way of signaling to a search engine that such a URL as the above is not the correct URL either through the fairly-new canonical link tag in the page header, or via redirect to the "correct" URL. Of course, this means more computation time is spent making sure that the URLs are preserved instead of, you know, serving the page.
As for blogs, the canonical URL usually has a date in front of it to prevent URL collisions, which make "friendly" URLs on blog posts an oxymoron as you then have to also remember the year and month of the post and possibly the day as well.
On the topic of using heading tags the right way (in other words, not sprinkinlg h1-h6 in random areas you think are important but as actual outline elements), I support taking the time to do so if it is possible. Anything that can help the search engine distinguish between content and wrapper should be encouraged. This is especially important if you have the advantage of getting quality content-filled posts and topics.
I have seen incidents where start up companies would pay well over $1,000 for SEO services. I can understand this to a limit for product sales or distribution and, if the site content was well written. But for a basic forum site? No way.
That one came from arantor.org last year but most of the thoughts I have about the 'way of things' tend to appear on Innovate, not Imitate, and interestingly enough I recently posted again on the same matter, though much less forum-specifically. (Here's the second article, off InI, more about SEO being uninnovative in general)
Thing is, though, the same is true of blogs... the majority of them that have nice long 'friendly' URLs are invariably far longer than I could ever be bothered to type, I'd just copy/paste it again. The one difference with blogs is that you can pass in just the year/month and often get a list of topics from that period which could be useful for narrowing it down - assuming you found the right month/year to start with.
--- Quote ---I have seen incidents where start up companies would pay well over $1,000 for SEO services. I can understand this to a limit for product sales or distribution and, if the site content was well written. But for a basic forum site? No way.
--- End quote ---
Yup... how do you optimise something you have no real control over? Even a huge forum with masses of content can do little more than nibbling at the edges.
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This section contains information about the Library's collections of manuscripts. Please use the list below to read summary descriptions of areas of the collections which may be of interest. For further information, email firstname.lastname@example.com or consult the manuscript databases in our online catalogues section.
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Parkinson's Disease as a Punch Line: Michael J. Fox on 'Curb Your Enthusiasm'
"Curb Your Enthusiasm" will poke fun at Michael J. Fox's Parkinson's.
May 19, 2011 -- Larry David pushes the boundaries of comedy more than usual in a new season episode of "Curb Your Enthusiasm." With the help of Michael J. Fox, who will play himself, the show pokes fun at Parkinson's disease.
Fox, who has lived with Parkinson's disease since 1991, told TV Guide that the episode has Larry David believing that "I'm being symptomatic just to annoy him -- a whole passive-aggressive thing. He's complaining because I'm shuffling and making noise upstairs. It's very funny."
This isn't the first time Fox has reprised a role that plays off his Parkinson's symptoms. In "The Good Wife," he played a lawyer who used his neurological disorder (tardive dyskinia) to sway the judge and jury.
His new role, however, can't but raise question: When is it OK to use Parkinson's as a punch line?
Showing the struggles of a character who lives with Parkinson's can raise public awareness of the disease and reduce some of the stigma surrounding it. But does it help -- or hurt -- those living with Parkinson's when these symptoms, such as the uncontrollable jerky movements of dyskinesia, become the butt of a TV joke? Parkinson's experts say probably yes.
"It has long been recognized that humor can help those suffering from chronic conditions better cope with their diseases, and any chance to increase awareness of Parkinson's disease among the general public is important," says Dr. Cheryl Waters at the Neurological Institute at Columbia University Medical Center.
"Who best to represent Parkinson's in a humorous light than an actual comedian with the disease? I truly hope this won't offend patients with Parkinson's," she says.
Even if it is portrayed in an "irreverent" light on the show, Dr. Joseph Jankovic, director of the Parkinson's Disease Center at Baylor College of Medicine, says the "benefits outweigh the negative.
"If this series can increase awareness about the disease and help identify more individuals with some of the symptoms Mr. Fox displays -- great!" he says.
Sharon Kha, of Tucson, Ariz., says that in some ways only Fox -- or someone else with Parkinson's -- could poke fun productively. Kha is not a doctor, but she has plenty of experience using humor to cope with and teach about Parkinson's: She is a PD patient herself, and for the past three years has used educational (and often humorous) raps to help others cope.
"It's never nice to poke fun at sick people, but when we can poke fun at ourselves, it has the effect of whittling down the disease to a more manageable size," she says.
Making Fun vs. Making Light
There's a stark difference between using humor to lighten stigma and using it to make fun of those with PD, however. For instance, in 2006, radio host Rush Limbaugh raised hackles in the Parkinson's community when he accused Fox of "exaggerating" his symptoms during a political ad on stem cell research on his radio show.
"This is purely an act," Limbaugh says, flailing his arms around in mimic of Fox's dyskinesia."Either he didn't take his medication or he's acting." In fact, jerky movements are a sign of taking medication. When patients don't take their medication, they tend to have difficulty moving, not difficulty staying still.
But experts see Fox's role in "Curb Your Enthusiasm" as an opportunity for advocacy and as a way to respond to this kind of misinformed mocking.
"Who better to convey what the personal experience of this disease is like? It seems particularly appropriate as a follow-up to the Rush Limbaugh incident where Fox's symptoms, which are very much real, were portrayed as a fabrication," says Dr. David Standaert, director of the Center for Neurodegeneration and Experimental Therapeutics at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. "Over 1.5 million in America have PD, and their symptoms are real, too."