text:
Hang tight!
Recipe by Thyra
"This is a creamy soup that is satisfying as a main dish, especially when accompanied by buttered sourdough toast."
Watch video tips and tricks
8 cups water
6 large potatoes, peeled and sliced paper-thin
1 onion, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped, with leaves
salt and pepper to taste
4 cups half-and-half
2 tablespoons margarine
2 (11 ounce) cans condensed cream of Cheddar cheese soup
This is the best and easiest base recipe for the soup I wanted. I substituted a few cups of chicken broth for part of the water, and I diced the potatoes instead of slicing and mashing. I also added carrots, garlic to taste, and shredded cheddar. I also chopped up a package of pre-cooked bacon and added it. It was a hit. Everyone had 2 to 3 bowls of it!!
Didn't have too much of a cheese flavor. It needs more flavor and too be creamier.
22 Ratings
I used half of all the liquids for a thicker, heartier soup. Overall, it's a very easy and tasty soup to make.
Great, basic, easy to make with whatever you have on hand! We used cream of mushroom soup b/c it was available & just added various shredded cheeses. For extra seasoning we used half a powder packet of Lipton's Onion & Mushroom soup. So good & will make again.
I added 4 carrots to the soup as well. It made a good, hearty meal. It also freezes quite well to store all the left overs. I truely enjoyed this soup. Thank you
Based on the original recipe, I have to give one star. A potato cheese soup, in my mind should A) be thick like mashed potatos, and B) have a cheesy flavor. This had neither. I took the advice of other reviewers and halved the liquid, but I still had to add some cornstarch to thicken it something more resembling something you eat, not drink. I also had to add a lot of seasoning to make this flavorful, and add shredded cheese to the final product. This was really disappointing.
Very good soup, but fairly thin if made the way it is written. I would half the cooking liquid next time, for a thicker soup. Otherwise very good. Takes alot of salt to season. Cannot really taste the cheddar soup, but it thickens it.
I've made this several times for potlucks and it always gets rave reviews!!!
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
Easy Potato Cheese Soup
Serving Size: 1/11 of a recipe Servings Per Recipe: 11 Amount Per Serving ** Calories: 362 ** Calories from Fat: 152
Get the season's best recipes for holiday feasting.
Holiday cookies, cakes, pies, and breads. Get recipes and inspiration.
Get time-saving recipes to save your busy life.
See how to make a creamy, green garlicky potato soup.
See how to make a comforting, creamy potato and leek soup.
See how to make this hearty and satisfying soup.


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BACKGROUND: Which of the following two sales pitches is more likely to convince you to spend money: "Buy one, get one free" or "Buy two and get 50% off"? The two are the same, but most consumers would find the first offer more appealing. Now a physicist at Loyola College in Baltimore has applied his math skills to all sorts of sales pitches -- from houses, credit cards, insurance, and zero-percent financing -- in a new book, The Two-Headed Quarter: How to See Through Deceptive Numbers and Save Money on Everything You Buy.
THE CONCEPT: Sales pitches are designed to manipulate or trick consumers with numbers, taking advantage of the fact that many of us are uncomfortable with numbers -- and yet we trust them. Depending on how the figures are presented, you might believe you are saving money, when in fact you are paying the same, if not more. Three years ago, physicist Joseph Ganem looked at credit-card solicitations offering low introductory rates. He factored in the transaction fees detailed in the fine print and concluded that consumers would pay about the same under the new card as they would using their old card.
BIG NUMBERS ARE BETTER: People respond positively to very big numbers, so an internet provider might run a promotion offering 1025 hours of free Internet access. The small print reveals the offer is only good for 45 days. There are 1080 hours in 45 days, so customers would have to use their Internet access nearly 24/7 in order to take full advantage of the offer. Similarly, a food label that says a product is "90% fat free" will be more appealing than one that says it has "10% fat." People also lend more credence to exact numbers, preferring "50%" to the less specific "half." But it's easy to confuse precision with accuracy, such as with food packaging. Compare a soft drink that has 39 grams of sugar and 140 calories per serving to a fruit drink with 31 grams of sugar and 120 calories. But the serving size of the soft drink is 12 ounces, while the fruit drink is only 8 ounces. So ounce for ounce, the soft drink has fewer calories and less sugar than the fruit drink.
LOSS AVERSION: Human beings are psychologically averse to losses, so sales pitches are often framed to turn a loss into a perceived gain: for example, zero percent financing. If a car costs $15,000, and you pay cash, you receive a $2000 rebate. The car actually costs $13,000. If you need to borrow to buy, you pay $15,000 but get zero percent financing for three years. The car still costs $13,000; the extra $2000 is essentially a finance charge paid up front. But people can be led to believe it is a gain, and will be more likely to buy the car.
The American Mathematical Society and the Mathematical Association of America contributed to the information contained in the TV portion of this report.

subset: commoncrawl


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About this blog:
The Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music has created this site to invite feedback about some of our current projects. We hope that this conversation will be a way to renew and enliven a shared vision of the church's mission in the world.
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To post a comment, your first and last name and email address are required. Your name will be published; your email address will not. The first time you post, a moderator will need to approve your submission; after that, your comments will appear instantly.
Our rules for posting are fairly simple. Express yourself with courtesy, civility, and respect for others, whether or not you agree with them.


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Suggestion Box Comments and Responses
James A. Gibson Library
Suggestion Box Comments and Responses
December 10, 2013
COMMENT – I suggest you lend laptop chargers by themselves rather than forcing a student to take the entire laptop case with charger. This can increase the risk of damaging the laptop because if a student just needs a charger, s/he will not be using the laptop.
RESPONSE - Thank you for your comment. We have investigated providing laptop chargers for loan in the past, but determined it was unfeasible due to purchase costs and the numbers of possible laptop chargers on the market. In addition, the multi-chargers (laptop chargers with multiple connectors) have many small parts, are expensive, and would not be durable enough in this environment. -- Jonathan T. Younker, Head, Library Systems and Technologies
November 25, 2013
COMMENT – Is it possible to know where the laptops from last year went? There used to a lot of them. Can we bring them back to add to the new ones? There are not enough of them. Thank you.
RESPONSE - Thank you for your question. The laptops that were replaced were over 5 years old, and had hardware, software, and battery life issues, and are now in the Brock University-mandated redeployment process.
Those laptops were extremely labourious for Library Systems staff to maintain for everyday use. Prior to them being pulled out of circulation, roughly half of all laptops were in the repair queue at any given time. Due to limited budgetary resources available to the Library, it was not possible to replace with the same number of new laptops. -- Jonathan T. Younker. Head, Library Systems and Technologies
November 25, 2013
COMMENT - There should be a return slot in the Circulation Desk for Reserves instead of a basket.
RESPONSE - Due to the declining number of circulating materials, the reserve return slot was not replaced when the desk was recently renovated. Library materials can always be returned directly to Circulation Services staff. Ian Gordon, Head, Circulation Services
November 7, 2013
COMMENT – Other universities have much later regular library hours. 11 pm is so early, some people do not have typical schedules and need later hours available. Thanks.
RESPONSE - We appreciate your input and recognise the importance of this matter. We know students would like the Library to be open more hours, although we have found most leave between 10 and 11 pm. Also, given the costs associated with extending hours throughout the entire while we have undergone several years of budget cuts, have made it very challenging for us to extend hours throughout the entire year. We do offer extended hours during the final exam periods. Starting December 2, we will be open until 2:00 am.
You might want to consider moving to the Plaza Building when we close. Social and study space is available 24 hours a day.
Thank you. -- Deb Kalvee, Associate University Librarian, Services & Facilities, email@example.com
October 31, 2013
COMMENT - I do not feel comfortable to leave a reserve book in that basket. I think the library has to find a solution. It's not secure.
RESPONSE - Users that are hesitant to drop off Reserve materials into the Reserve basket located on the Circulation Desk are more than welcome to hand these materials directly to Circulation Desk staff. -- Ian Gordon, Head, Circulation Services
October 16, 2013
COMMENT - Please do something for the dead and live flies especially on the 6th floor. They are everywhere and I have told the staff a few times about the issue.
RESPONSE - We have contacted Custodial Services and Facilities Management again to address this troublesome seasonal issue. They are working double duty to vacuum up flies and FM expects to put down some traps.
-- Deb Kalvee, Associate University Librarian, Services & Facilities
October 11, 2013
COMMENT - We need more laptops specially when it is really busy like the month of October.
RESPONSE - Thank you for your comment. Unfortunately, due to the current economic climate and budget pressures, we were only able to purchase and deploy 25 new laptops in our laptop loan program. While some university libraries, like McMaster, have completely eliminated their laptop loan program due to costs, staffing levels and support implications, here at Brock we consider this is a valued service, and one that we are committed to maintaining – even if it does mean scaling back the program. Thanks. -- Jonathan T. Younker, Head, Library Systems and Technologies
October 3, 2013
COMMENT - In the Graduate Study Room, people are claiming desks without actually being there. They put down a book and a pencil case and then leave. Today when I went to work, all spots were filled with only 10 people being in the room. Very frustrating!
RESPONSE - Thank you for your comment. It is getting busy everywhere, and we are starting to see this behaviour too. We understand your frustration. We have just taken a couple of steps to remind users to show more consideration towards others in this regard. In future, if you find encounter this again, please contact ask for Donna Grant, Learning Commons Manager or me. -- Deb Kalvee, Associate University Librarian, Services & Facilities, email@example.com.
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Play football and score a touchdown with Touchdown Run NFL
Given that football is very popular, it can only be assumed that a football mobile game would be popular as well. Touchdown Run NFL is an incredibly simple yet addictive game with two-dimensional graphics for mobile devices.
The installation goes quickly and easily. Touchdown Run NFL is very light on the resources and doesn't require unnecessary permissions. The gameplay is fast, fun, and time-consuming. It will remind many users of the handheld games of the eighties. It is simple yet entertaining. The general method of gameplay is quite simple: draw with your finger a safe route for the receiver … Read more


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Mt. Abram asks for support from Greenwood for $300,000 grant
Greenwood selectmen Tuesday agreed to provide a letter of intent as the first step to help Mt. Abram apply for a $300,000 state Community Development Block Grant. If approved, the grant would aid in a solar panel project, roadway and parking improvements, and energy plant extensions at the resort.
After the letter is received, the state program will decide whether to invite Mt. Abram to apply for the program.
If that happens, Greenwood residents would have to approve a formal application for the program because the funds would be channeled through the town.
The town could also run some financial risk if Mt. Abram did not meet all the requirements for an approved project.
Mathew Eddy, a consultant with Eaton Peabody of Augusta, is advising Mt. Abram as the resort works to develop its property. He presented the grant proposal to the board.
The solar project would make Mt. Abram energy self-sufficient and reduce operating costs, Eddy said.
The total estimated project cost to which the grant would be applied is $600,000, he said.
"The primary risk to the community is the creation of permanent jobs," he said.
Approximately one job would have to be created for every $30,000 of grant money. If enough jobs are not created, he said, the grant program could require the funds be repaid.
He said there are five current part-time jobs, and if approved the grant would create five permanent, nine-month jobs, "hopefully to grow to year-round." Other jobs could be a combination of part-time jobs that would be full-time equivalent jobs.
Eddy said precise details on the job creation plan would be available at a town meeting held to consider the proposal.
"They have to show they can create those jobs. Ifthey don't create those jobs, you could conceivably be at risk to pay the money back, and we don't want you to be in that situation."
But, he said, an arrangement could be made under which Mt. Abram would guarantee "to cover that if they fail to create the jobs, so the incentive is theirs."
He said the resort could lower its grant request if the job creation goal does not seem feasible.
"We know we'll have five jobs, what we're looking for is how to figure out the other five."
He said the solar panel project would require two or three people for maintenance.
Applications for the program begin March 1. The funds are not available until July 1.
Written background provided to selectmen described Mt. Abram's recent and future development activities and plans:
"Mt. Abram is poised to both expand its core ski business and expand to provide year round recreation activities. Most recently, the mountain utilized an energy efficiency grant to upgrade its heating plant (self sustaining, wood pellets grown and harvested on site) and its snow making equipment, which includes substantial energy savings. The mountain has private equity commitments to install (permits in hand) a net meter solar panel system that will help it achieve true energy self sufficiency.
"Projects to upgrade overall operations include: Expand snow making ponds ($160,000); Development of a public water supply and fire suppression system ($300,000); Roadway and parking system improvements; Energy plant extension ($150,000); Howe Street improvements ($1 million; infrastructure project planned for next year); Trail system development ($150,000); Commercial timeshare condo units ($ unknown); Transit program ($250,000 annually); Solar panels ($1.2 m; $120,000 equity commitment, $500,000 private financing committed, $195,000 REAP application, $145,000 gap). This application focuses on solar panels, roadway and parking improvements, and energy plant extension."
When the resort gets to some of the further development, such as the trails and condos, "the job creation will be more substantial over time," Eddy said.
In response to a question from Selectman Arnie Jordan, Eddy said the resort would like to do paving improvements and drainage work on Howe Hill Road from the mountain to the Route 26 intersection. The funding would come from additional grant money, applied for in another phase next year, he said. "We would not be asking the community to put any money into it," he said.
That application could involve an income survey on the Howe Hill Road to determine if at least 51 percent of the permanent residents qualify as low to moderate income.
Eddy said the resort wants to leverage more money "so they can really do what they want to do."


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- Musician's Friend Best Selection, Price & Service. Guaranteed.
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Need Help? Ask our Experts or call 800-449-9128
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The American Special Stratocaster Electric Guitar features include an alder body with gloss urethane finish,...
Backpacker portable acoustic guitar with steel strings and a padded carrying bag.
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December 13, 2013
70? 75? 65? How about one uniform speed limit across Texas highways? That's what legislators are proposing at the capitol.
Legislators are saying they don't want one speed limit during the day and another at night.
They're proposing 75 miles per hour be the new uniform speed along Texas highways.
State Representative Gary Elkins says the new speed limit would alleviate congestion on the roadways while still being safe.
Legislators say the bill would mostly apply to divided highways like Highway 6 I-35 and I-45.
Ultimately though, they say the Texas Department of Transportation will have the say so as to where the speeds are increased.
"This is all about moving traffic at a uniform speed and it's been proven over and over again that uniform speeds are better than various speeds," said State Representative Gary Elkins of Houston


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Baldwin Square Single Dummy Lever with Contemporary Square Rose
The angular shape of the Baldwin Square lever is a simple form with contemporary appeal. Available in finishes such as Polished Chrome and Satin Nickel as well as its solid brass construction, ensure this lever will remain looking beautiful for a lifetime. Featuring the Contemporary Square Rose which further adds to the modern look and feel of the already beautifully designed lever.
Single Dummy: Baldwin's dummy levers have no latch or locking mechanism. Typically dummy levers are used as merely a pull on the inactive side of a double door. This is a single dummy so comes with only one side for use on interior or exterior.
- Solid forged brass construction built to last a lifetime.
- To personalize your look, this Contemporary inspired design is available in 3 finishes.
- Shown with Contemporary Square Rose, can be customized with other Reserve roses.
- Limited Lifetime Mechanical Warranty and Limited 25 Year Finish Warranty.
Baldwin Reserve combines Baldwin's legacy of quality and craftsmanship with advanced technology to deliver a personalized blend of styles that are more accessible to builders, designers and homeowners. Baldwin Reserve offers a range of Baldwin's most traditional, contemporary and rustic styles as well as new authentic Baldwin designs inspired by today's design trends. Mix and match Baldwin Reserve. Personalize your home with a custom configuration that combines Baldwin's legacy of craftsmanship with a custom look for every architectural style.
Additional Baldwin Links
- View Manufacturer Warranty
- Shop All Baldwin Products
- Shop All Baldwin Square Collection Products
Our SKU: Baldwin HD.SQU.L.CSR
This product is listed under the following manufacturer number(s):
- Baldwin HDSQULCSR260
Polished Chrome - Baldwin HDSQULCSR150
Satin Nickel - Baldwin HDSQULCSR112
Venetian Bronze
*Denotes a finish or option that has been discontinued
Product Specifications
Installation Instructions | |
Specification Sheet | |
Drilling Instructions | |
Collection | Reserve |
Configuration | Leverset |
Function | Single Dummy |
Handing | Left |
Lever Length | 4.25 |
Material | Brass |
Product Class | Residential |
Projection | 2.3125 |
Rose Height | 2.5625 |
Rose Width | 2.5625 |
Series | Square |
Theme | Contemporary |


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About CorpInfo
Industry Focus:
Financial Services, General - Applicable to All, Government, Healthcare, Manufacturing, Media & Entertainment, Nonprofit, Professional Services- Company Website: http://www.corpinfo.com/
CorpInfo is an award winning IT consulting and services firm providing collaboration technologies, infrastructure solutions, and managed services to corporate clients since 1983.
CorpInfo is a Microsoft Managed Partner, which positions us as one of the top Southern California Infrastructure Partners. This relationship, when combined with CorpInfo's proven program management methodology and expertise in complementary technologies, provides clients with comprehensive solutions that meet their business objectives.
As a trusted advisor and strategic partner, CorpInfo helps clients prioritize their technology objectives and create a roadmap for future initiatives. Our clients are some of the region's leading organizations.
CorpInfo provides Microsoft technology solutions in the following areas: unified communications and messaging, SharePoint, consolidation and virtualization, directory services, security, desktop deployment, and cloud solutions.
Partnership Highlights
• As a Microsoft Managed Partner, CorpInfo is one of the top Southern California infrastructure partners
• Member: Microsoft Partner Executive Board
• Business Forecast Panel Participant - Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference: one of three partners to discuss how to leverage technology to bring value to clients
• Charter Member: Cloud Accelerate Partner
• Charter Member: Hyper-V Cloud Accelerate Program
• First Southern California Desktop Optimization Partner and one of the first "go-to" partners for Microsoft Business Desktop Deployment program
• Microsoft Southern California Partner of the Year 1999
• Southern California Enterprise Accounts Partner Excellence Award
• Microsoft Partner Award "Winning on Value" for innovative use of Microsoft Online Services
• Partner Award for Best Practices and Excellence in Competency for the quality of Architecture Design Sessions
• Southern California International Association of Microsoft Channel Partners (IAMCP) Partnering for Success Award
Recent Reviews
Great Company!
- 4.0
Reviewed by:CTH-Encore Reviewed on:4/16/2012
CorpInfo Does a Great Job!
- 5.0
Reviewed by:HealthAdvocates Reviewed on:4/9/2012
IT Managed Services
- 4.5
Reviewed by:KGBG Reviewed on:4/9/2012
The views and opinions submitted and expressed here are not those of Microsoft.
Professional Services Offered by this Company
Competencies & Certifications
- Microsoft Partner
- Gold Communications
- Gold Devices and Deployment
- Gold Messaging
- Silver Collaboration and Content
- Silver Management and Virtualization
- Silver Server Platform
- Silver Small Business


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Quick Tips - most recent to oldest updated
Quick little tips about stuff
This section contains short little posts and links to other websites with "quick tips" that don't really need a whole post about them. In some cases they more or less replicate what is in online documentation but are used to bring attention to little known functions etc that my regular readers may not know about; or for quick personal reference.
Post sort order: Post Date (Newest First) | Post Date (Oldest First) | Alphabetical | Date Updated
Change the timezone on CentOS
Posted September 14th, 2011 in Linux/Unix/BSD and Quick Tips (Updated May 17th, 2012)
I recently needed to set up a CentOS 5 box and completely forgot how to set the timezone. There's apparantly a nice easy text GUI for doing it in RHEL but I couldn't find the same thing on the CentOS box so here's how to do it. It should also work for most Linux systems.
Which version of CentOS or RHEL is running?
Posted May 1st, 2012 in Linux/Unix/BSD and Quick Tips
The uname -a command will tell you which kernel version of Linux is running but doesn't give you any information about the distribution or distro version number. This quick tip shows how to do this for CentOS / Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
Literal tab character on the command line on Linux BASH
Posted September 23rd, 2011 in Linux/Unix/BSD and Quick Tips
So you need to put a tab on the command line when using BASH on Linux, Mac, BSD? How to do it? The tab character is usually used for command completion etc so typing in a tab won't render one on the command line.
Using find to locate all zero length files
Posted August 4th, 2011 in Linux/Unix/BSD and Quick Tips
A little while ago I posted how to use the Linux/Unix/OSX find command to locate files bigger or smaller than a particular size but didn't cover how to find zero length files. This is shown here.
Searching Gmail by date
Posted June 3rd, 2011 in Applications and Quick Tips
This is a quick post for my own reference to show how to search Gmail by date range. I often write little tips like this for myself so I have somewhere easy to reference them as I forget this sort of stuff all the time :)
How to refresh the projects file tree in NetBeans
Posted May 6th, 2011 in Applications and Quick Tips
This issue has been bugging me for a while and I just worked out how to solve it: if you're using NetBeans and add some files to the project outside NetBeans (like copying and pasting in Finder/Explorer) then they don't show up in the list of files in the projects tree view.
SilverStripe: Escape raw values for a SQL query
Posted August 9th, 2010 in Quick Tips and SilverStripe
This is just quick little post for self reference to show how to escape values which go into a raw SQL query in SilverStripe; I find myself never being able to remember this and having to always look it up.
PHP Quick Tip: Check if URL aware fopen wrappers are enabled
Posted July 19th, 2010 in PHP and Quick Tips
PHP supports opening remote URLs (e.g. http://www.example.com/something.htmnl) using the fopen and similar functions. It is possible to disable this function in the PHP configuration so this quick tip shows how to check if it is possible to open remote URLs.
OSX Quick Tip: Prevent .ds_store files being written on network shares
Posted June 28th, 2010 in OSX and Quick Tips
When using network shares (e.g. from Samba or Windows servers) on OSX .DS_Store files will be written out when accessing directories. This post shows how to prevent this from happening.
Find all symbolic links with the find command
Posted June 25th, 2010 in Linux/Unix/BSD and Quick Tips
This quick tip shows how to find all the symbolic links under a particular directory using the "find" command from the command line on UNIX based systems such as Linux, OSX and BSD.
OSX Quick Tip: How to remove automator services
Posted June 22nd, 2010 in OSX and Quick Tips
The Automator in OSX allows you to create processes, services, folder actions etc. Once you have created a service in Automator there doesn't appear to be a way to delete it in the Automater app.
Fix "the operation can't be completed because you don't have permission to access some of the items" error on OSX
Posted June 20th, 2010 in OSX and Quick Tips
I run my webserver and file server from a virtual machine with the files shared using Samba (yes, now that I'm running on OSX I should really share the files with NFS but that's for another day). When trying to copy files from the Mac to the Samba share I was getting the error message "The operation can't be completed because you don't have permission to access some of the items".
Netbeans Quick Tip: How to use tabs not spaces
Posted June 18th, 2010 in Quick Tips
If you are like me and you prefer to have tabs and not spaces for code indentation and are using Netbeans, it uses spaces by default. This quick little post shows how to use tabs instead.
Netbeans Quick Tip: Syntax Highlighting and File Extensions
Posted June 16th, 2010 in Quick Tips
If you have some random file name extension (such as .ss for SilverStripe templates) which Netbeans doesn't know about, it's easy to configure it to use the correct syntax highlighting.
OSX Quick Tip: Show all files in the Finder including dot files
Posted June 14th, 2010 in OSX and Quick Tips
The default behavior of the Finder on OSX is to hide UNIX files such as /usr /var etc and dot files (e.g. .htaccess). This quick tip shows how to enable (or disable) showing these files.
Skype Quick Tip: Disable "Mood Messages"
Posted June 12th, 2010 in Quick Tips
So I just installed Skype a couple of days ago on my new Mac Mini and I keep getting these notifications that I have a message only they aren't really messages, just some stupid "Mood Message" things.
SilverStripe Quick Tip: Enable Akismet spam filter
Posted May 23rd, 2010 in Quick Tips and SilverStripe
Any page on a SilverStripe website can have comments on it and can easily be passed through the Akismet spam filtering service to check if it is spammy. This quick tip shows how to enable Akismet in SilverStripe after you've got an API key.
SilverStripe Quick Tip: Enable comment moderation
Posted May 19th, 2010 in Quick Tips and SilverStripe
By default SilverStripe comments do not require moderation i.e. all comments are automatically approved and displayed on the site. This quick tip shows how to enable moderation in a SilverStripe install so the moderator has to approve all comments before they are visible.
PHP Quick Tip: use __DIR__ instead of dirname(__FILE__) from PHP 5.3
Posted May 13th, 2010 in PHP and Quick Tips
The traditional way of getting the directory the current file is in with PHP is to use dirname(__FILE__). From PHP 5.3 there is a new magic constant__DIR__ which is the equivilent of this function call.
SilverStripe Quick Tip: Comments in Templates
Posted May 11th, 2010 in Quick Tips and SilverStripe
It's funny how we programmers don't tend to read documentation (well I often don't tend to anyway - at least not cover to cover) and turn to search engines to find the answers to our questions. When looking for something quite different from what this post is about I stumbled across the SilverStripe templates documentation page and discovered how to put comments into a SilverStripe template that will be stripped out of the published site. So here's a quick tip to point it out to those of you who use SilverStripe and may not already know this.


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Founded in 1892, West Lothian was originally laid out by Willie Park Jnr as a nine-hole course. The course was completely redesigned in 1975 by Fraser Middleton over an area of 148 acres and was opened in 1979. Now, West Lothian offers superb views over the Firth of Forth. The membership prides itself on the quality of the greens and fairways which are kept well manicured and maintained. The course is fun to play while retaining its challenge for golfers of all standards and is well worth the visit.
18 holes, 6249 yards, SSS 69, par 71
For Accommodation and information, please call:
0845 859 1006
Monday to Friday 9am - 5pm
Saturday and Sunday - closed
*Calls may be recorded


text:
Brandon Roth is a multimedia journalist for CNY Central.
MANLIUS -- Halloween is scary enough, but for your pets all that candy can be downright dangerous.
Dr. Jennifer Goetz of the Manlius Veterinary Hospital says chocolate poses the biggest problem for dogs.
"Chocolate is very toxic to dogs and generally the darker the chocolate the more toxic it is," she says.
The number of reported dog poisonings from chocolate more than doubled last year nationwide.
To help your four legged friend stay safe this Halloween, Dr. Goetz suggests keeping the candy as far away as possible.
"Put the candy away. It actually should go up and beyond the cupboard door because a lot of dogs will actually counter surf and get up on the counter and hunt it down because it smells so good," she says.
Candy wrappers, sugar free sweets and raisins can also pose dangers for pets and should be kept away.
Click here for more information on how to keep your pet safe this Halloween.


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All Unite To Create an "Opening Day for the Giving Season"! Over 10,000 partners from more than 40 countries engage supporters as online donations skyrocket on #GivingTuesday... View and Share › View More
#GivingTuesday Takes Over ... #GivingTuesday took over Times Square on December 3rd! Watch the #GivingTuesday Google+ hangout-a-thon here ! View and Share › View More
Why Tuesday Is the Best Day Ever SixDegrees.org has teamed up with the Case Foundation, the Network for Good and CrowdRise to celebrate #GivingTuesday with a call to kick off the holiday season by fundraising for your favorite charity. You'll help that nonprofit qualify to win matching funds and other prizes. View and Share › View More
#GivingTuesday Global - UNDP An overview of UNDP supported volunteering opportunities around the world - sign up in your country now! View and Share › View More
Celebrate #GivingTuesday | The White House Celebrate #GivingTuesday with the White House! Sharing the giving spirit from the White House... View and Share › View More
WHAT WE ARE READING by Heidi L. #GivingTuesday may be over, but that doesn't mean the giving needs to end. The holiday season has kicked off with the inspiring movement that is doing good for the world with the hands of helpers across the nation and the world! Celebrating all the "unselfie" behavior , here are some stories inspiring us to continue "unselfie" efforts throughout the holiday season! View More New Users Create Account Existing Users Sign In Make the most of each action Safely connect and share to as many networks as you like. Submit content of your own and earn your way towards rewards at different point levels. Once you have shared successfully, points earned will be available next time you sign in, share, or submit new content. Visit the community homepage New User? Create an Account Have an Account? Sign In I agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.. Sign In with Social FacebookSign In with Facebook TwitterSign In with Twitter Sign In with Email Email Address Password Sign In New User? Create an Account I agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.. Sign Up with Social FacebookSign Up with Facebook TwitterSign Up with Twitter Sign Up with Email Email Address Password Confirm Password Birthday Register Have an Account? Sign In Complete your member information below to register with the community. Your email address will be used to recover any account details after signing up. Member Information Name Email Address Postal/ZIP Code Country Please choose... United States Canada Afghanistan Aland Islands Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island Brazil British Indian Ocean Territory Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia Comoros Congo Congo, The Democratic Republic of the Cook Islands Costa Rica Cote d'Ivoire Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France France, Metropolitan French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guernsey Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Heard Island and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq Ireland Isle of Man Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jersey Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macao Macedonia Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands Netherlands Antilles New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Palestinian Territory Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Pitcairn Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Reunion Romania Russian Federation Rwanda Saint Bartelemey Saint Helena Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Martin Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Svalbard and Jan Mayen Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States Minor Outlying Islands Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela Vietnam Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands, U.S. Wallis and Futuna Western Sahara Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe Birthday Finish Share to Channels Connect a Channel Blogger Drupal Facebook Facebook Page LinkedIn LiveJournal Movable Type Tumblr Twitter WordPress Channel Name A Connect a Channel Share Cancel Sign Out Channel Name This share is being posted to selected channels and will appear shortly unless otherwise noted. Return to Site Share0 Earn 35 points 0 total shares
December 3rd - #Giving Tuesday #UNDIAPARADAR by Carolina C. As an #EMPOWER WOMEN activist and a friend of the family of Juan Carlos and Gloria, we gave a big hug to the opportunity to improve their day in the struggle against poverty! View More Share0 Earn 35 points 0 total shares
Smells Like Team Spirit for Unilever Colleagues by Christine C. For the Unilever Marketing Communications team, food is a part of their daily lives. Not in the way it is for most people, though, as this team works for the company -- and #GivingTuesday Founding Partner -- that makes many of the beloved brands found in most every home: Lipton, Hellmann's, Ragu, I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!, Magnum, Breyers and many more. On #givingtuesday, the team volunteered at the Community Kitchen & Food Pantry in Harlem to help fill the cupboards and refrigerators of the low-income New Yorkers who come to select fresh produce and packaged food items themselves in a supermarket-style setting. The Pantry helps provide food for more than 40,000 meals a month. The Unilever team starting by forming a hyper-efficient assembly line packing bags for seniors who were victims of Hurricane Sandy and still in need of assistance. They then took to refilling the pantry's shelves while helping clients pick and pack their groceries. Unilever, which just launched a sustainable-living initiative called Project Sunlight (projectsunlight.us) aims to help create a #brightfuture. Today, this team stocked and packed and filled in hopes of doing just that. View More Share2 Earn 35 points 2 total shares
Everyone Is Talking About #GivingTuesday by Heidi L. #GivingTuesday has exploded nationwide and around the world, gaining over ten thousand partners worldwide and over thirty-three hundred #GivingTuesday Social Media Ambassadors! Across the world the #UNselfie behavior has been trending on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram! View More Share173 Earn 35 points 173 total shares
#GivingTuesday at the Adaptive Design Association by Adaptive Design Association The Adaptive Design Association (ADA) started 15 years ago in New York City with our founder, Alex Truesdell, and a clear mission—to make sure that every child with a disability receives the custom equipment required to make school work more inclusive and rewarding, play time more fun, social networks wider, and perceived differences negligible. Nine-year-old Max's wheelchair, for example, is burdensome in the school lunchroom. It doesn't fit at the side or end of the cafeteria table, and if it did, his elbows would still be four inches below the tabletop. So Max eats lunch at a low table in the corner of the cafeteria, isolated from his classmates. Until a custom-made seat built by ADA that slips over the bench at any cafeteria table provided the extra back, lateral, and foot support he needed. Now, Max eats with his friends. To make sure Max and other children get the adaptive equipment they need, we have always had a 'Never Say No' policy. No child is denied custom equipment because of an inability to pay. Every day is #GivingTuesday at ADA. Most of our equipment is made using Tri-Wall cardboard (a strong, low-cost, sustainable material) and simple hand/power tools—both of which are easily available even in countries where access to advanced technology may be limited. As part of our #GivingTuesday initiative we partnered with Team Red, White and Blue (Team RWB) and LRN for a day of productive fun for a good cause. Team RWB is a non-profit that helps veterans transition into civilian life. LRN is a global knowledge service provider that helps companies implement positive and principled corporate policies. Fourteen volunteers, including veterans from Team RWB and employees of LRN, spent a day at ADA being introduced to basics in cardboard carpentry and building 15 child-sized perches (Perches are simple cardboard seats that look like foot rests). The ones fabricated on #GivingTuesday will be donated to a school in east Harlem for use by K-2 nd graders in Special Education during Circle Time. Along with building equipment, we hold classes to teach therapists, parents and other interested parties who may wish to build custom equipment themselves. We have helped set up Adaptive Design Centers at six schools in NYC. In collaboration with various agencies we have centers in Ecuador, Nicaragua and Guatemala. These centers function independently, with ADA providing expertise and support when needed. Our vision includes a day when there are self-sustaining ADA centers all over the world serving local populations using locally-sourced materials so that no child who needs adaptive equipment has to go without it—ever! www.adaptivedesign.org facebook.com/adaptivedesign View More Share8 Earn 35 points 8 total shares
On #GivingTuesday, Aetna Employees Give Back! by Judith Lackey On #GivingTuesday and every day, Aetna employees always find a way to give back. They are compassionate about the array of charitable accomplishments and this past Turkey Drive proved their enthusiasm. With the generous support of #aetnaemployees, 120 turkeys and over $2,400 were donated to Foodshare in assisting families sit down to a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. The dollars will help feed families throughout the year; as one in five children in our community lives in a home where they cannot be sure where the next meal is coming from. Way to go #aetnaemployees! View More Share7 Earn 35 points 7 total shares
It's GAME ON for #GivingTuesday! by Howard Brodwin Over 60 Nonprofit Sports Organizations are on board with this year's #GivingTuesday initiative including Right To Play, Tiger Woods Foundation, Pitch in for Baseball, Street Soccer USA, US Lacrosse, Stoked, Girls on the Run, and many others. Sports fans can #GiveAnAssist on #GivingTuesday through donations, volunteering, coaching, fundraising or simply spreading the "Give An Assist" message throughout the holiday season. We've got all of the details and links to each organization's campaign at http://www.GiveAnAssist2013.com View More Share8 Earn 35 points 8 total shares
#GivingTuesday Link-Up Honors Postpartum Progress by speppel In honor of # GivingTuesday , Bloganthropy wants to encourage bloggers to get involved and write about their favorite opportunities to give back to the community around them, around the nation and even around the globe. As many of you know, Debbie from Element Associates is also the co-founder of Bloganthropy and our agency donates time, money and resources to many non-profits as well as sponsoring the Bloganthropy Awards... View More Share10 Earn 35 points 10 total shares
People Are Talking About #GivingTuesday by Heidi L. People are talking about #GivingTuesday across the nation. Share what you are giving for #GivingTuesday and invite your colleagues, friends and family to do the same . A simple "I am giving to _____________ on Dec 3rd for #GivingTuesday" is incredibly powerful. Use hashtag #UNSelfie and #GivingTuesday. View More Share27 Earn 35 points 27 total shares


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Unity Community |
I use Sprite Manager to create my objects - can I use this to create the elements for the scrolling scene?
Hello mangoblue,
This is being developed for the next update - object scrolling will offer scroll functionality for any GameObject.
Okay thanks - when's the next update out?
Hoping to have 1.1 ready for testing next week and for submission soon after that.
Scratch that - Found some time today and finished the implementation.
I've sent some PMs to a few users regarding testing 1.1. If you would like to beta test, send me a PM with the invoice # from the asset store, and I'll get the package for you. =)
Here's the changelog:
- Separated the default shader from the ScrollLayer script
- Added Object Layers! Disable Auto Billboards and enable "Object Layer"
- Object Layers scroll the transform and ignore any textures on the object
- They can also scroll groups of objects, and work with physics
- Fully compatible with most sprite/2D game management systems
- Object Layers scroll in world space (relative to the parallax camera), as opposed to UV space
- Object Layers can also be enabled and disabled through the API using the isObjectLayer property
Last edited by Thinksquirrel; 10-20-2011 at 12:29 PM.
Version 1.1 has been submitted and should be released shortly!
Also, some good news: I have also decided to keep the product at its introductory price, $20.
Access denied. You may need to login below or register to access this page.
Thinkscroller can't be found in the asset store and the link given on the first page doesn't work. Hope the asset store gets fixed so I can buy this at the $20.
The Thinksquirrel.com website should be working now, it had a hiccup earlier. Let me know if you're still getting access denied errors.
My apologies,
I've contacted the Asset Store team. Hopefully everything will be sorted out within a few days.
Thinkscroller is back up on the Asset Store, and version 1.1 has been released.
Thanks v1.1 is a nice update.
I'm using Object Mode with 2D Toolkit and all seems happy. One feature request for Object Mode is to have a reset method to call. Eg:
which just resets the X and Y of the Objects to their start X and Y.
I can easily do it with Tags and looping through a GameObject[]. But as I'm already using Thinkscroller and calling "Parallax" for others things it would be convient to have a Object Reset call every time I restart a level of the game.
Just sent you a PM with a pre-release patch - let me know how that works out! I'll include this along with some minor bugfixes for the next release.Thanks v1.1 is a nice update.
I'm using Object Mode with 2D Toolkit and all seems happy. One feature request for Object Mode is to have a reset method to call. Eg:
which just resets the X and Y of the Objects to their start X and Y.
I can easily do it with Tags and looping through a GameObject[]. But as I'm already using Thinkscroller and calling "Parallax" for others things it would be convient to have a Object Reset call every time I restart a level of the game.
While I really like the tool, I've found that it's almost doubled my loading time for my app and the ram use on my android phone has jumped from about 60mb to almost 120mb. :/
Hm... I'll check this out - sounds like something's leaking. Are you using the default setup or object scroll layers?
I'm using a scroll layer, and it's the only thing I have parallaxing. It's set up just as it was in the example except I'm using the ScrollWithTransform so that the layer will parallax with my character.
Hm. I'm unable to track this down - wondering if it's a device issue.
The mesh is only updated once on Awake (or just loaded if that's turned off) - I'm wondering if SetTextureOffset() is causing some unnecessary allocation. Try this checklist:
1) If you're using the textures from the Asset Store package, make sure they're compressed in the texture import settings - the default project doesn't use compressed textures.
2) Try disabling the main parallax component to see if memory usage still increases.
Also, what device are you using? And is this memory increase over a period of time or only on load?
It's a Samsung Galaxy S, no increases over time from what I can see. I'll check out the texture thing now and report back
Definitely had to do with the texture compression, not sure as to why it nearly doubled my ram usage though. Interesting. Thanks for the fix man!
No problem, and good to hear! I'll make sure it's compressed by default for the next version, as other people may run into that issue.
Awesome to hear I also have a question about the Parallax manager script. When I hit "replay" at the end of my game, the level is reloaded, but each time it reloads a new Parallax Manager spawns? Just wondering if there's a way to avoid this.


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Thanks for sharing these pictures of Priestokolen. I have been looking fir this view everywhere. This covers hiw it appears from down below. Thanks!
This picture shows the main parking lot at the Mar Elias Educational Institutions. These institutions have been organized and built by under the guidance of Abuna Elias Chacour who came to Ibillin as a young priest in the 60's. This picture is taken from the steps of the Church of the Beatitudes on the Mar Elias campus. The building on the left is the middle school. The Ibillin Greek Catholic Church is on the top of the hill opposite the campus in the middle of the old part of Ibillin.
Schönes Denkmal. Eigentlich hoffte ich ja seit 1979, Zeitzeuge dieser neuen faszinierenden Technologie zu werden, aber daraus wird wohl nichts :-(
P.S.: wehe, sie schwebt nicht - ich prüfe es gelegentlich nach ;-)
he was the hero. he was born in thessaloniki (selanik) and died in istanbul.
he was all at the same time.
very nice . in izmir thirdest big city of turkey where I lived for a while. there were so many israeli people. on district called "karataş". sometimes I see them and say them "shalom" . anyway it is good news that museum will be made over there.


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Results 1 to 5 of 19
Thread: WDYT of Madeleine Peridot?
Hybrid View
August 17th, 2012 03:44 PM #1
WDYT of Madeleine Peridot?
What do you berries think of this name, Madeleine Peridot. A peridot is the jewel of August, and it's pronounced peh-ree-doe. I don't know why, but this name just works for me. I like the Madeleine spelling, not Madeline. Anyway, I just wanted to see what other people thought! You can be as honest as you like.
August 17th, 2012 03:52 PM #3Senior Member
- Join Date
- Jul 2011
- Posts
- 6,375
August 17th, 2012 05:01 PM #5
Keep going, Berries. Any more?
August 17th, 2012 05:03 PM #7Senior Member
- Join Date
- Aug 2012
- Posts
- 343
I think it's gorgeous as well! So pretty!
August 17th, 2012 05:06 PM #9A Teen who loves to:
• talk about names• hear other people's favorite names• get critique on my favorites
Please check out my 2013 Celebrity Babies List!


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Archive for the 'Mela Basant Da' tag
Basant festival Brings Colors of Happiness
As the fields of mustard crop and the Amaltas trees start taking a yellow hue; as the chilly winds get replaced by cool breeze, the sky in northern India suddenly witnesses an eruption of colour. The scene is magical—hundreds of four-sided blocks of fields in all possible colours, shapes and sizes, dancing against a blue backdrop! This is the onset of the spring season or "Basant", which heralds hope. And what better way to welcome the season of colour than by flying kites?
Traditionally, the 5th of the lunar month of Magha (which falls between mid-January to mid-February) is celebrated as Basant Panchmi. The day is especially popular in north-west part of the Indian sub-continent and areas now falling into East and West Punjab . Suddenly, the rooftops in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Lahore in Pakistan come alive with people of all age groups, their eyes and necks angled skywards.


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320 search results for Hall H
Photo Results
Best and Worst of Comic-Con 2013
'Veronica Mars,' 'Community,' Loki, Vin Diesel and more
Best and Worst of Comic-Con 2013
'Veronica Mars,' 'Community,' Loki, Vin Diesel and more
Comic-Con 2013 brings out Kristen Bell, Vin Diesel and 'Kick-Ass 2'
Simon Pegg and Nick Frost also bring 'The World's End' to the Con
All Results
Scarlett Johansson, Superman, and three different ends of the world in our Runners-up for 2013
We 're exhausted from looking back, and we're only halfway through
2014 Sundance Film Festival Premieres slate includes Michael Fassbender, Ryan Reynolds and 'The Raid 2'
Big stars and impressive directors for premiere slate
'Breaking Bad,' Netflix hit it big with WGA nominations
By submitting 'Orange Is the New Black' as a comedy, Netflix got 5 nominations
Video: James Gunn, Karen Gillan talk evil and wrestlers in 'Guardians of the Galaxy'
Formerly bald 'Doctor Who' actress gets her red back; Chris Pratt 'to be the biggest movie star in the world'
Interview: Brandon & Adam talk 'The Amazing Race'
Beard enthusiasts share some ribald tales from the road
Magnolia - Blu-ray Disc
Paul Thomas Anderson's story of intertwining lives on a single day in San Fernando Valley
The Philadelphia Experiment - DVD
This science fiction thriller was inspired by a mythical real-life event, the WWII era disappearance of an entire naval vessel during a radar-cloaking test. In 1943, David Herdeg Michael Pare and Jim Parker Bobby DiCicco are sailors stationed aboard a Virginia battleship. Their vessel is undergoing an experiment conducted by brilliant scientist Dr. Longstreeet (Eric Christmas), who is attempting to render Allied craft invisible to radar. The ship becomes briefly invisible, but the test is a disaster and most of the crew are horribly killed. However, two crewmen are missing. In 1984, Herdeg and Parker emerge in the Nevada desert, having somehow traveled through time. Longstreet, still trying to perfect the device after 40 years, is running another experiment that pulls the missing sailors into the present. Realizing what's occurred, Herdeg and Parker flee, fearing for their lives. Fugitives, they befriend a skeptical modern woman, Alison Hayes (Nancy Allen). An effect of time pulls Parker back into 1943, leading to a bizarre reunion between Herdeg, still trapped in the future, and Parker, now a senior citizen. The film was followed by a sequel nine years later. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
The Client - DVD
A sterling cast headed by Oscar-nominated Susan Sarandon makes this slick thriller one of the better adaptations of a John Grisham bestseller. Mark Sway (Brad Renfro) witnesses the suicide of a Mafia lawyer, who confesses that the Mob was behind the murder of a U.S. senator. Mark's brother is traumatized into a coma by the incident; gangster Barry Muldano (Anthony LaPaglia) is soon on Mark's trail, and in desperation, he arrives at the office of recovering alcoholic lawyer Reggie Love (Sarandon). With the Mob after them, and a ruthless federal attorney (Tommy Lee Jones) trying to force Mark to reveal what he knows, Love battles to guarantee the safety of her client and his family. The relationship between Reggie Love and Mark Sway is the center of the film, adding considerable character development to plot's routine elements. Director Joel Schumacher helmed another Grisham adaptation, A Time To Kill, in 1996. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
'Brooklyn Nine-Nine' creators Mike Schur and Dan Goor talk
Their new FOX comedy with Andy Samberg and Andre Braugher isn't a mockumentary
Big Question: What was the first R-rated film you saw?
Judd Apatow, Mark Duplass, Paul Scheer and more reminisce about a movie lover's milestone


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TITLE: Congenital Aural Atresia
SOURCE: Grand Rounds Presentation, UTMB, Dept. of Otolaryngology
RESIDENT PHYSICIAN: Elizabeth J. Rosen, MD
FACULTY PHYSICIAN: Arun K. Gadre, MD
SERIES EDITORS: Francis B. Quinn, Jr., MD and Matthew W. Ryan, MD
material was prepared by resident physicians in partial fulfillment of
educational requirements established for the Postgraduate Training Program of
the UTMB Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery and was not
intended for clinical use in its present form. It was prepared for the purpose
of stimulating group discussion in a conference setting. No warranties,
either express or implied, are made with respect to its accuracy, completeness,
or timeliness. The material does not necessarily reflect the current or past
opinions of members of the UTMB faculty and should not be used for purposes of
diagnosis or treatment without consulting appropriate literature sources and
informed professional opinion."
Congenital aural atresia is a term used to refer to a spectrum of ear deformities present at birth that involve some degree of failure of the development of the external auditory canal (EAC). Often, the malformation will also involve the tympanic membrane, ossicles and middle ear space to varying degrees. While associated abnormalities of the auricle are common, the inner ear development of these patients is most often normal. The challenge to the otologist is to restore the sound conduction pathway through the atretic EAC and malformed middle ear to the normal cochlea.
The incidence of congenital aural atresia is approximately 1 in 10,000 to 20,000 live births. Unilateral atresia occurs three to five times more commonly than bilateral atresia. Males are more often affected than females and in unilateral cases the right ear is more commonly involved. This anomaly most often occurs sporadically although cases of autosomal dominant or recessive inheritance have been reported. Aural atresia has been reported to occur in association with hydrocephalus, posterior cranial hypoplasia, hemifacial microsomia, cleft palate and genitourinary abnormalities. It has also been described as part of various syndromal abnormalities including Treacher-Collins, Goldenhar's, Crouzon's, Mobius', Klippel-Feil, Fanconi's, DiGeorge, VATER, CHARGE and Pierre Robin (1,2,3).
Congenital aural atresia occurs as a result of abnormal development of the first and second branchial arches and the first branchial groove. Development of the external ear begins during the fourth week of gestation as six mesenchymal proliferations enlarge to form ridges known as the hillocks of His. These hillocks, which surround the first branchial groove or primitive meatus, fuse to form the primitive auricle by the third month of gestation.
The EAC develops from the first branchial groove beginning in the eighth week of gestation. Epithelial cells from the meatus proliferate forming a solid core of cells, known as the meatal plug. This core of cells migrates medially toward the outgrowth of the first branchial pouch, which will eventually form the middle ear cleft. The meatal plug contacts the middle ear cleft by the ninth week of gestation. This solid core will then recanalize to form the epithelial lined EAC, but not until the sixth or seventh month of gestation.
Ossicular development begins in the fourth week and, at this time, the malleus and incus appear as a fused mass. Separation into two distinct ossicles typically occurs by the eighth week of gestation. The first branchial arch, Meckel's cartilage, contributes to the development of the head and neck of the malleus and the body and short process of the incus. The second branchial arch, Reichert's cartilage, leads to the development of the manubrium of the malleus, the long process of the incus and the stapes suprastructure. By the sixteenth week of gestation, the ossicles are of adult size.
Inner ear development from the otic placode begins during the third week of gestation. Invagination of the otic placode to form the otic vesicle is apparent by week four, and by the sixth week the semicircular canals have taken shape. The utricle and saccule have formed by the eighth week. Development of the cochlea begins during the seventh week, and by week twelve the complete two and a half turns have formed. The membranous labyrinth is entirely developed by fifteen weeks gestation and ossification of the surrounding otic capsule is complete by twenty-three weeks gestation.
The nerve of the second branchial arch is the facial nerve. Its development begins with the differentiation of neuroblasts from the acoustico-facial primordium between four and five weeks gestation. The course of the nerve is completely formed by seventeen weeks. However at this time, the nerve is located in a more anterosuperior position. The eventual migration of the facial nerve to its normal adult position is dependent upon the normal development of the tympanic ring and mastoid.
From this summary of otologic embryology, we can see that completion of development of the external ear occurs rather early in gestation while the recanalization of the EAC occurs later. Therefore, a severely deformed auricle is likely an indicator of associated EAC, middle ear, facial nerve and possibly inner ear anomalies. In contrast, aural atresia in the presence of a normal auricle most likely represents a later arrest in development and has a higher likelihood of normal middle and inner ear structures (1,4,5).
Several different classification or grading systems for congenital aural atresia are present in the otolaryngology literature. Altmann's classification, first reported in 1955 but still widely utilized today, divides atresia into three groups based on the clinical assessment of the severity of the malformation. Group I atresia is characterized by a small EAC, hypoplastic temporal bone and tympanic membrane (TM), a normal or small middle ear cleft and normal or mildly deformed ossicles. Group II includes those cases with an absent EAC, an atretic plate, a small middle ear space and fixed and malformed ossicles. Group III is characterized by an absent EAC, a severely contracted or absent middle ear space, and absent or severely malformed ossicles.
De la Cruz made modifications to Altmann's classification system so that cases are categorized into major and minor malformations. The minor category is characterized by normal mastoid pneumatization, normal oval window, reasonable oval window-facial nerve relationship and a normal inner ear. The major category is comprised of cases with poor pneumatization, abnormal or absent oval window, abnormal course of the horizontal facial nerve and inner ear anomalies (1).
Yet another classification system was introduced by Schuknecht in 1989. This system divides atresia cases into four types based primarily on intraoperative findings and the type of surgical repair required. Type A atresia is limited to the cartilaginous EAC and is addressed with meatoplasty. Type B atresia is characterized by narrowing of both the cartilaginous and bony EAC along with a small TM and mild deformity of the malleus and incus. This type of atresia most often requires canalplasty, possibly with ossicular chain reconstruction (OCR) as well. Type C atresia cases have complete EAC atresia but a well-pneumatized middle ear and mastoid. The TM and ossicular malformations are more severe than in type B and there is a higher likelihood of facial nerve anomalies. Canalplasty and OCR will be necessary to correct type C atresia. Type D atresia involves complete EAC atresia and poor middle ear pneumatization. In these cases, associated facial nerve or inner ear anomalies often preclude surgical intervention (3).
Probably the most clinically useful classification system was introduced by Jahrsdoerfer in 1992. This system establishes a score (up to 10) based upon findings of high resolution CT scans of the temporal bone. The parameters of an open oval window, width of the middle ear cleft, facial nerve course, malleus-incus complex, mastoid pneumatization, incudostapedial continuity, round window patency and auricle appearance are assigned a value of one point. The presence of a stapes is given a higher priority and assigned two points. The final score has been used to predict the likelihood of successful atresia surgery. A score of 8 out of 10 correlates to an 80% chance for restoration of hearing to normal or near-normal levels defined as speech reception thresholds (SRT) between 15 and 25 dB. Cases with a score of less than or equal to 5 are generally not considered for surgical intervention (6,7).
Patient Evaluation
The first step in the evaluation of a patient with congenital aural atresia is to obtain a complete history and perform a thorough physical exam. Given that the majority of these cases will be discovered in the newborn, the history is focused on the details of pregnancy. It is important to ask about prenatal care and to determine if the mother was exposed to infections, drugs or alcohol during pregnancy. Parents should also be questioned about any family history of ear deformities or syndromal anomalies. Physical examination will, of course, involve a complete head and neck exam. Specifically, the degree of microtia is assessed and the severity of EAC atresia noted. In cases of EAC stenosis, attempts should be made to visualize the TM and ossicles and their presence and position documented. Additionally, examination of overall craniofacial development is necessary to assess for the presence of associated branchial arch anomalies.
Next, accurate audiologic evaluation in the newborn period is mandatory. Infants with any degree of ear anomaly should be marked as high-risk for associated hearing loss and have auditory brainstem response (ABR) testing before leaving the hospital. The initial priority in cases of unilateral atresia is to evaluate the auditory function of the unaffected ear. Normal hearing in one ear will allow for essentially normal speech and language development. However, the incidence of both conductive and sensorineural hearing loss in the nonatretic ear is greater in patients with unilateral atresia than in the general population. Therefore, it is essential that any auditory dysfunction in the "normal" ear be diagnosed early on so that appropriate amplification can be implemented if necessary. If surgical repair of unilateral atresia is considered later on, audiologic testing to confirm normal cochlear function in the involved ear will be necessary.
In cases of bilateral aural atresia, early evaluation with both air and bone conduction ABR testing is necessary. The bilateral conductive component makes testing somewhat more difficult by creating a masking dilemma. Evaluation of ear specific cochlear function is possible by measuring the Wave I response ipsilateral to the stimulation. Patients with bilateral atresia should be fitted with bone conduction hearing aids as early as possible to optimize speech and language development.
Once auditory function has been established, either via the unaffected ear in unilateral atresia cases or with bone conduction aids in bilateral cases, further evaluation is not necessary until the child has reached the age of 5 or 6 years. At this time, a high resolution CT scan of the temporal bones in both the axial and coronal planes is indicated. This study will allow evaluation of middle ear pneumatization, ossicular anatomy, inner ear morphology and the course of the facial nerve. This is the most useful study to decide if a patient is a candidate for surgery and to predict the likelihood of successfully reestablishing normal hearing as discussed previously. An indication for obtaining a CT scan earlier would be those patients with congenital aural atresia that present with a draining ear or acute facial palsy, which could indicate an underlying cholesteatoma (1,2,4,5).
Surgical Repair
There are two absolute requirements for a patient with congenital aural atresia to be eligible for surgery: 1) normal inner ear morphology demonstrated on CT scan and 2) normal cochlear function demonstrated by audiologic testing. A score of 5 out of 10 or less by the CT scan grading system may be considered a contraindication to atresia surgery because these patients are not likely to have an appreciable hearing improvement and are at higher risk for surgical complications. Patients with a score of 6/10 are considered "marginal" candidates, 7/10 "fair", 8/10 "good", 9/10 "very good" and 10/10 "excellent."
Once the decision to operate has been made, the timing of repair must be planned. Patients with auricular malformation should undergo microtia repair first to avoid scar tissue formation compromising the local blood supply. Most authors agree that this process should begin around age 5 to 6 years at which time costal cartilage is sufficiently developed for harvest and optimal development of the mastoid process has occurred. Opinions vary, however, as to whether atresia repair should be performed between Stages 2 and 3 of microtia repair or 2 months after the final stage of microtia repair.
There are basically two techniques for atresia repair—the transmastoid approach and the anterior approach. According to most authors, the transmastoid approach is not used as frequently but may be a preferable option in some cases. This approach begins with drilling the mastoid to allow identification of the sinodural angle, which is then followed anteriorly to the antrum. The lateral semicircular canal is identified and used as a landmark. The facial recess is opened and the incudostapedial joint (if present) may be separated. The atretic plate is then carefully removed. Ossiculoplasty and tympanoplasty proceed in the usual fashion and the newly created EAC is lined with a split thickness skin graft. The main disadvantages of the transmastoid approach are the creation of a larger defect that must be skin grafted, prolonged healing of the cavity and the presence of a mastoid bowl that requires lifelong maintenance.
The anterior approach, popularized by Jahrsdoerfer, is the most common method of atresia repair utilized today. In this technique, drilling begins at the atretic plate just posterior to the temporomandibular joint and inferior to middle fossa dura. Dissection proceeds medially following these two landmarks to the epitympanum where the fused malleus and incus can be identified. The safest area to drill is anterosuperiorly because the facial nerve is consistently located medial to the ossicles in the epitympanum. The most likely area to encounter an aberrant facial nerve is while drilling posteroinferiorly so this should be performed only after identification of other landmarks. Care must be taken not to drill directly on the ossicular mass to avoid trauma to the inner ear. The atresia plate is thinned and removed and any fixation of the ossicles to the atretic bone is lysed, either sharply, or, perhaps more safely, with the carbon dioxide laser.
Next, continuity of the ossicular chain must be assessed and if found to be intact, no manipulation is indicated. Cases in which the incudostapedial joint consists of just a fibrous attachment or is altogether absent warrant ossiculoplasty with a PORP. Unstable or absent suprastructure of the stapes requires reconstruction with a TORP. Both of these statements assume a mobile stapes footplate, which is most often the case. In those rare patients with a fixed footplate, some type of fenestration procedure will be necessary along with ossiculoplasty.
A temporalis fascia graft that had been harvested earlier and allowed to dry is used to recreate the TM. Optimally, the new TM will be centered on the ossicular mass to maximize hearing results. If a PORP or TORP had been used for ossiculoplasty, placing a small piece of cartilage between the table of the prosthesis and the fascial graft will help to minimize chances of extrusion. Finally, a split thickness skin graft, .012-.015 inches in thickness and approximately 6x6cm, is harvested for lining the new EAC. Most authors report using a donor site of the upper inner arm, but alternatives include the upper thigh or buttock. The skin graft is placed into the EAC, overlapping the TM facial graft medially. Care must be taken to ensure that all bone is covered with skin and that the skin graft edges are not folded over on itself. The ear canal is then packed with Nu-gauze or Merocel sponges impregnated with antibiotic ointment.
The native or reconstructed auricle is often located anteroinferior in relation to the newly created EAC. The auricle can be repositioned by undermining soft tissue and possibly excising redundant postauricular skin. An external meatus is then created by excising skin, subcutaneous tissue and cartilage from the auricle. Alternatively, an anteriorly based flap of conchal skin and cartilage can be incised and folded into the new EAC to line the anterior portion of the canal. The lateral edge of the skin graft is brought through the meatus and sutured to the skin edges and this area is packed similarly to the medial EAC. The postauricular incision is closed in the usual fashion, possibly with the addition of some tacking sutures to the periosteum to maintain the posterior position of the auricle and to keep the meatus widely open. A mastoid dressing is applied.
The mastoid dressing is removed on postoperative day 1. The timing for removal of the EAC packing varies between authors, some recommend removing it altogether at 10 days to 2 weeks. Other recommend removing and replacing the meatal packing at 2 weeks, starting antibiotic ear drops at that time then removing the entire pack at 3 weeks. Frequent visits are required after packing removal to address any granulation tissue formation and to remove any desquamated skin (1,2,4).
The hearing results reported in the literature after surgery for congenital aural atresia are somewhat difficult to interpret because of different classification systems used to describe the atresia preoperatively, different criteria for selecting surgical candidates, different definitions of a "successful" outcome and different time periods of patient follow-up after surgery. However, the majority of authors consider a successful hearing result to be 25-30dB or less after surgery. Using this definition, the percentage of cases with a successful outcome reported in the literature varies from 12-71% (8). Unfortunately, the majority of these papers are citing the hearing results obtained in the early postoperative period. An important concept to be familiar with when counseling patients about this surgery preoperatively is the stability of the hearing results over time. This issue was addressed by Lambert in 1998 by comparing early postoperative hearing levels (<1yr postop) to levels after longer follow-up (1-7.5yrs, avg 2.8yrs). He found that 60% of cases had hearing levels of 25dB or better and 70% were at 30dB or better in the early postoperative period. This diminished to 46% and 50% with longer follow-up. Additionally, he found that nearly one third of cases required revision surgery, most often for restenosis of the EAC or lateralization of the TM. After revision surgery, hearing levels of 25dB or less were achieved in 50% of cases and levels of 30dB or less in nearly two thirds of cases. He also commented that of those patients with an exceptional result after primary surgery (hearing level 10-20dB) 83% maintained this outcome over longer periods of follow-up (9).
The most frightening complications of atresia surgery are facial nerve injury and iatrogenic hearing loss, however canal restenosis, TM lateralization and chronic infection are much more common. The rate of EAC restenosis is also variable in the literature, ranging from 8-50% of cases. These figures have been found to correlate to the initial severity of the atresia with more severe cases having a higher likelihood of restenosis. If the restenosis is mild a recurrence of the conductive hearing loss is unlikely and the patient may be observed. More significant narrowing will cause epithelial trapping and predispose the patient to infection; these cases typically will require dilation or revision canalplasty. If restenosis is limited to the lateral soft tissue portion of the EAC and is caught early it may be responsive to injection with steroid solution.
A lateralized TM presents with a gradual worsening of the hearing level and can occur up to 12 months after surgery. This problem has been reported to occur in 5-26% of cases and is best prevented by meticulous technique at the primary surgery. Taking care to create a good bony annulus upon which to anchor the graft, anchoring the graft medial to the malleus as well as using a silastic button to hold the fascial graft in place will all help to prevent TM lateralization.
Chronic infection of the newly constructed EAC may occur as a result of the lack of normal keratin migration in the skin-grafted canal and the lack of production of protective cerumen. Buildup of keratin debris and trapping of water can lead to epithelialitis and chronic otorrhea. This problem can be minimized by creating a widely patent meatus and addressing any canal restenosis. Patients should be counseled on aural hygiene and recommended to return for microscopic debridement once or twice a year (1,3,4,9).
The facial nerve follows an aberrant course in 25-30% of cases of congenital aural atresia. It is typically anterolaterally displaced in comparison to its normal course. The bend at the second genu tends to be more acute and the nerve crossed the middle ear in a medial-to-lateral direction so that at the level of the round window, the nerve may be lateral to the middle ear space and encased in atretic bone. Most reports in the literature say that in the hands of experienced surgeons the incidence of facial nerve injury is 1.0-1.5%. The majority of injuries reported were temporary palsies that had return to normal function over several months. Facial nerve transection and permanent dysfunction is exceedingly rare. In a review of over 1,000 surgeries for congenital aural atresia, Jahrsdoerfer and Lambert report only 10 cases of facial nerve injury. In their review, they noted five situations in which the facial nerve was most susceptible to injury: 1) making the skin incision; 2) dissecting in the glenoid fossa; 3) during the canalplasty; 4) transposing the facial nerve; and 5) dissecting soft tissue in the preauricular area. Careful study of the preoperative temporal bone CT with mapping of the facial nerve course is of paramount importance to avoid this devastating complication. Intraoperative facial nerve monitoring and improved imaging techniques both help to avoid nerve injury (10).
High frequency sensorineural hearing loss has been reported to occur in up to 15% of patients undergoing atresia surgery. This occurs either as a result of transmission of drill energy to the inner ear while removing atretic bone, direct drill injury to the ossicles or traumatic manipulation of the ossicles. Although the first mechanism is largely unavoidable, the others can be prevented by using meticulous surgical technique around the ossicles. Although the hearing loss generally occurs in the 4,000-8,000 Hz range and does not affect the speech frequencies, cases that have experienced a loss in speech discrimination have been described (1,3,4,9).
The management of the patient with unilateral congenital aural atresia remains controversial in today's literature. Historically, the teaching has been that a patient with normal hearing in one ear is capable of normal speech and language development. This idea, along with the potential complications of atresia surgery and the unpredictability of hearing results after surgery, have lead many authors in the past to recommend against surgery in unilateral atresia cases. However, recent research has shown that children with unilateral hearing losses do suffer from auditory, linguistic and cognitive impairments that can have a negative effect on their education. Additionally, a unilateral hearing loss causes difficulty with sound localizaton and speech recognition in the presence of background noise. These impairments, along with improved methods of patient selection using high resolution CT and improved surgical techniques with more predictable hearing results after surgery, have lead some authors to begin recommending surgical repair of unilateral atresia.
If surgery is elected for the patient with unilateral atresia, the second issue of controversy is the timing of repair. Many authors would recommend postponing any surgery until the patient is old enough to participate in the decision making process and understand the potential complications and limitations of repair. More recently, several authors are recommending unilateral atresia repair at the age of 5-6 years after microtia repair, as in bilateral cases. These authors emphasize the importance of appropriate patient selection for unilateral repair, primarily reserving surgery for those patients that have favorable anatomical findings on CT scan and whose parents have realistic expectations for surgery and understand the demands of postoperative follow-up (8,11).
Nearly every report on congenital aural atresia begins by saying that it is among the most difficult and challenging surgeries for the otologic surgeon. That being said, in the hands of experienced otologists, repair of this deformity can be performed safely and with predictable results. The goals of atresia surgery are to restore functional hearing, preferably without the requirement of a hearing aid, and to reconstruct a patent, infection-free external auditory canal. Successful accomplishment of these goals, in the face of such an operative challenge, can make atresia repair one of the most rewarding surgeries for the otologic surgeon.


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How is your Agent Marketing your Property? |
I'm going to chat today about marketing your property Mr. & Mrs. Seller. Of course the most important number one thing is to price it to generate offers in today's market. The second most important thing is to consider what exposure your agent will give your property. (Here is where I am going to get BLASTED by some "traditional agents"…) |
Of course everybody needs a yard sign presence on the property. Am I going to send out postcards to your neighbors? Nope. I will get on the phone and call them telling them we have a home on the market in their neighborhood and ask them who do they know that might want to move in? A nice personal conversation is better than an anonymous postcard that usually gets thrown in the trash. I will also get on the phone and call agents who have registered that they are interested in your property through a program in the local Multiple Listing Service called "Reverse Prospecting". The agent specifies they are interested in; say a 3 bedroom, 2 bath Condo in Downtown. When I have a listing that meets their criteria the agent's name pops up and I get on the phone. Do most agents do this? Nope. I even have called agents who are listed in my reverse prospecting that deny they are in there… Am I going to hold open houses? Not unless the seller absolutely insists on in. Statistically Open Houses don't sell homes; they are traditionally used by listing agents to find buyers that aren't represented. I will do a Broker's Open for the trade, and will show by appointment only. Would you want someone you don't know cruising through your home possibly casing the joint to rob you? And you DO only want qualified buyers who are ready, willing and able to purchase your home don't you? Am I going to pull newspaper ads about the property? Nope. I will market heavily online to give my listing international exposure, as that is where 87% of buyers look first.
That is a lot more eyeballs of potential buyers than a once a week three line ad buried in the Sunday Real Estate section of the local paper. My feed goes out to dozens of Real Estate web sites online including Century21.com, Trulia, Zillow and many more. Among other additional websites I also post to Craigslist as allowed by their terms of use; this cannot be posted every day. Usually 48 hours apart, but sometimes Craigslist holds off for three days between postings. "350 million – People on Facebook Every time you turn around you hear the term "Social Media" these days. What is Social Media? It is the next generation of how people use the Internet to convey information and communicate. It's an interactive "give & take" form of communication. People post content and others comment and respond to the posts. Think it's just kids playing online? Think again: A full 25% of the users on these sites are aged 35 to 44, which in other words is the age group that dominates the social media sphere. Only 3% are aged 65 or older. Do people 35 to 44 buy homes? You Betcha! Social media:
BUT! (And I have a big Butt!) Real estate sales, no matter where the warm bodies are generated, is and will always be an in-person service business. Pro-active is getting out there in person, networking, calling and meeting people: talking it up! Re-active is printing a few flyers, mailing postcards and praying to the Real Estate Gods that the phone will ring or somebody will walk into the office by chance. So Mr. and Mrs. Seller, do you think it is important in this day and age to hire an agent that has a command of these Internet tools to market your home? As well as being a pro-active agent and getting out there in person and on the phone to promote your home? Or do you want one that is going to just send out postcards and "Hope" somebody will buy your property? Aloha from the Hawaii Real Estate Biz!
Tag-Archive for ◊ Promotion ◊
• Tuesday, April 20th, 2010
Category: Buyers & Sellers Tips
| | 53 Comments


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(Photo by Muffet used under a Creative Commons License)
Story No. 1 – Burn Ban: Henderson County Commissioners' Court extended the burn ban again this week. The ban has been in effect since April with commissioners renewing it every two weeks. There was one important change this week: residents can use propane grills and smokers to cook outdoors now. Charcoal is still a no-no.
Why it is important: Area residents might think the drought is over because of the recent rains. Wrong! Henderson County is still near the top of the Keetch-Bynum Drought scale. You don't want to pick up a $500 fine for burning a pile of leaves or grilling a burger the wrong way. Plus, if you start a fire and it gets out of control, you are the one liable for the damages to your neighbor's property.
Learn more: The Henderson County Fire Marshal's Office has the ordinance posted online.
Extra: Fire Marshal Darrell Furrh announced this week indictments and arrests were made in two separate arson cases around Cedar Creek Lake. Read about that here.
Story No. 2 – County Offices Move: Henderson County government offices began moving into the new Annex (the old Prosperity Bank Building) this month. Departments already calling the Annex home include the Tax and Auto Office, Veterans' Affairs, the IT Department, the County Treasurer and the County Auditor. Next week, Commissioners' Court will begin holding its meetings in Room 100 of the Annex. Meetings will still be held on Tuesdays at 9 a.m.
Why it is important: You don't want to get lost when you have to pay your taxes.
Learn more: Here is a story from June 2010, when the county closed on the bank building, as a reminder of how we got to this point.
Story No. 3 – Domestic Violence Awareness Month: October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. County officials and domestic abuse survivors gathered on the Courthouse Square in Athens Tuesday to mark the occasion.
Why it is important: Because Henderson County has a very real, but very quiet domestic violence problem. In the past year, local agencies (Crisis Center, HELP Center, Family Peace Project) have assisted 897 new domestic violence victims or children of victims in Henderson County alone.
Learn more: Here's the Athens Review story of the proclamation signing. The Texas Council on Family Violence has a very informative website.
Story No. 4 – Edom Festival of the Arts: The annual Edom Festival of the Arts will be this weekend, Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The festival features art, music, fun for the kids, and great food.
Why it is important: This event is nearly 40 years old and is the biggest art festival in the area; there's nothing else like it in this part of Texas. Also, your Saturday alternative is that honey-do list.
Learn more: Check out the Edom website.
Story No. 5 – Texas Rangers: The Texas Rangers lead the American League Championship Series 3-2 and are just one game away from their second straight World Series appearance. The Rangers will play the Detroit Tigers in Game 6 Saturday night with Game 7, if necessary, scheduled for Sunday night.
Why it is important: Two reasons. First, win or lose, the Rangers are what everyone will be talking about Monday morning and you don't want to be left out. Second, the other option is the Cowboys and does anyone really think they will beat New England Sunday?
Learn more: Check out the Texas Rangers website or the Official site of Major League Baseball.


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Ghost Recon – Future Soldier: Arctic Soldier DLC Set to Drop in July
Are you ready? Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon – Future Soldier's launch is getting closer by the day. If you aren't already excited about the tactical possibilities this upcoming game has to offer, its publisher/developer Ubisoft is sweetening the pot by dropping some tasty nuggets regarding the first DLC Future Soldier players can look forward to.
Titled "Arctic Strike," the downloadable content package packs some new maps which, just going by the title of the DLC, has a snow setting. Ubisoft did not disclose how many maps we can look forward to, though. We're sure that detail will be released as the DLC's release date draws closer. The new maps take players through Moscow streets and the wild reaches of the Arctic Circle. Don't mistake this DLC for the run of the mill flimsy publisher attempt to milk a few more dollars from a game's fan base. Ubisoft really does players justice with this content pack since it also includes a new multiplayer mode. What's more, you also get a new co-op map for "Guerilla Mode." Players also get to beef up their arsenals with the pack's six new weapon choices.
The game's multiplayer modes pack a lot of action balanced with tactics. This is not a gun and run title. Thankfully. The multiplayer modes look awesome but Ubisoft's been a bit mum on each mode's details. No worries-as Ghost Recon – Future Soldier gets closer to its launch date, expect Ubisoft to release more details and probably a trailer or two. If you don't know what the big deal is about this title, get yourself up to speed by checking out the live-action 25-minute film Ghost Recon: Alpha on Ghost Recon's Youtube channel.


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Welcome to VIA
(Volleyball Institute of America)
VIA-LA is a nationally recognized volleyball training program.
VIA-LA offers year-round volleyball training for every age at all levels. During the USA Volleyball Junior Olympic season our teams compete locally, regionally and nationally.
VIA-LA is dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in the sport of volleyball for the volleyball athlete. VIA-LA is a member of USA Volleyball Bayou Region's Junior Olympic Program and the AAU Volleyball Program.
The purpose of VIA-LA is to provide the most advanced standardized volleyball training and competition for all interested team players.
The goal of VIA-LA is to offer the most comprehensive, state-of-the-art volleyball learning system through introduction, evaluation, performance testing, training, and instruction. This system will meet the needs of both the individual athlete and each team, while providing unequaled value for the volleyball athlete's time and money invested. All of our athletes benefit from our technical, physical and mental training which we call our TRIAD of Excellence.


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The Big Draw takes place throughout October each year, offering drawing events for people of all ages and abilities across the UK and in many other countries.
This year The Big Draw Day is on Saturday 9th October but thanks to Albion we can celebrate the love of drawing early with their highly addictive online drawing game - Draw and Fold over.
Go on, give it a go.
(All information sourced from the Campaign for Drawing Website)