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Okay, I think I might be the only food blogger on the planet that is not bombarding you with cutesy Christmas food, gift ideas and crafts. Bummer, huh! Life has taken over. BUT, the other day Miss Ava and I spent a little quality time in the kitchen and made some incredible cupcakes! And I mean incredible! Prepare yourself!
I need to point out and give you a heads up that the only thing remotely healthy about these cupcakes is the butternut squash puree. When you take a look at the other ingredients, you will see that this is definitely an indulgent treat!!! Hey, it's the Holidays! Enjoy!
Butternut Squash Cupcakes with White Chocolate Frosting
- 1 cup Butternut Squash Puree
- 1/2 cup Sugar
- 1/2 cup Brown Sugar
- 1/3 cup Canola Oil
- 1/4 cup Milk
- 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
- 1 1/4 cup Flour
- 1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
- 1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
- 1 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
- Dash of Ground Ginger (1/8 tsp.)
- 1/4 tsp. Grated Nutmeg
- 6 oz White Chocolate
- 8 Tbsp Unsalted Butter, at room temperature
- 1 3/4 cup Confectioners Sugar
- 1/4 cup Milk
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line one muffin tin with cupcake papers. Whisk together the butternut squash puree, sugars, oil and milk. In a separate bowl stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and seasonings. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and gently stir to combine. Do not overmix! Fill the cupcake papers 2/3 full and bake for 20 – 25 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to sit in the muffin tin for 3-5 minutes. Then remove and allow to cool on a wire rack.
Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. If you don't have a double boiler you can make your own by simmering 1/2 to 1 inch of water in a small saucepan, cover with a glass bowl. Melt the chocolate in the bowl and stir often. Once it is melted and creamy, remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Meanwhile, blend the butter in a mixer for several minutes until light and creamy. Add the powdered sugar in three increments, blending after each addition. Add the milk and blend to combine. Pour the chocolate into the frosting mixture. I transferred the mixture to the fridge for about 10 minutes to let it get to the proper icing consistency.
Combine the wet ingredients.
This is a great activity for little ones!
Combine the dry ingredients and gently stir into the wet.
This step is important! Find a super cute toddler to help fill the muffin tin with cupcake paper! Can we talk about the apron!!!! It's from Tootlepip and the aprons they make are high quality and the most adorable I've ever seen! Check them out!!
Fill the muffin tins about 2/3 full.
Bake the cupcakes and then allow to cool. In the meantime start on the frosting.
Melt the chocolate over a double boiler.
Combine the melted chocolate with the butter/sugar/milk mixture and blend until smooth.
Ice the cupcakes and ENJOY!!!!!
This recipe will make 12 cupcakes and they won't stick around long!!!!!
Merry Christmas!


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Starting December 2013, we will be serving the Martin, Palm Beach and Port St. Lucie counties in Florida. If you are from the Florida area and would like to learn more about our services, follow the link below to our Florida site:
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This award reflects our businesses' consistently high levels of customer service; an honor bestowed annually on approximately 5 percent of all the business rated on Angie's List.
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
(Meeting is Open to the Public)
Thursday, August 30, 2012
3:30 to 5:00 p.m. +
Meeting locations and contacts are subject to change. For updates, please visit the IQC Web page.
California Department of Education
1430 N Street, Room 3101
Sacramento, CA 95814
Telephone: 916-319-0444
Contact Person: David Almquist
Los Angeles Unified School District
333 S. Beaudry Avenue, Room 11-106
Los Angeles, CA 90017
Telephone: 213-241-0100
Contact Person: Angel Barrett
[The preceding meeting location has been cancelled.]
Dinuba Unified School District
1327 E. El Monte Way
Dinuba, CA 93618
Telephone: 559-595-8359 ext. 203
Contact Person: Marlene Galvan
Grace S. Thille Elementary School
1144 E. Ventura Street
Santa Paula, CA 93060
Telephone: 805-218-3979
Contact Person: Kristyn Bennett
Anaheim Union High School District
501 N. Crescent Way, Magnolia Room
Anaheim, CA 92801
Telephone: 714-999-3527
Contact Person: Julie Spykerman
Los Angeles County Office of Education
9300 Imperial Highway
Downey, CA 90242
Telephone: 562-922-6908
Contact Person: Michelle Herczog
Olympian High School
1925 Magdalena Avenue
Chula Vista, CA 91913
Telephone: 619-656-2400
Contact Person: Lori Freiermuth
Lennox School District
10319 Firmona Avenue
Lennox, CA 90304
Telephone: 310-695-4000
Contact Person: Jo Ann Isken
ABC Unified School District
Academic Services Conference Room
16700 Norwalk Blvd.
Cerritos, CA 90703
Telephone: 562-926-5566 ext. 21136
Contact Person: Carla Herrera
1007 General Kennedy Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94129
Telephone: 415-722-8222
Contact Person: Will Parish
Cesar Chavez / Dolores Huerta Center for Education
324 N. Palm Avenue
Rialto, CA 92376
Telephone: 909-879-6002 ext. 2905
Contact Person: Ed D'Souza
San Francisco Unified School District
Multilingual Pathways Department
Division of Curriculum and Instruction
East Conference Room
750 25th Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94121
Telephone: 415-379-7736
Contact Person: Angie Estonina
650 Redwood Highway
Mill Valley, CA 94941
Telephone: 415-686-7905
Contact Person: Bill Honig
Purpose: Special meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee on the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) to prepare for the September 24–25, 2012 Commission Meeting.
Meeting Concludes
All times are approximate and are provided for convenience only. All items may be re-ordered at the noticed meeting.
Pursuant to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 any individual with a disability who requires reasonable accommodation to attend or participate in this meeting may request assistance by contacting the California Department of Education's Curriculum Framework and Instructional Resources Division, 1430 N Street Room 3207, Sacramento, CA 95814; 916-319-0881.


text:
Man who Indian River deputy shot charged with attempted murder of 2 women in Vero Highlands
INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Sheriff Deryl Loar backs the deputy who is on paid leave while the Indian River County Sheriff's Office investigates its first deputy-involved shooting in more than a year.
"Our deputy did an outstanding job and saved the lives of these three folks," Loar said about the shooting in the Vero Highlands that injured a man accused of domestic violence on Monday. "He's interviewing victims and all of a sudden, the suspect walks up with a shotgun."
The shotgun-wielding man, 26-year-old Christopher Berk of the 400 block of 20th Place Southwest, was being treated for his wounds at Lawnwood Regional Medical Center and Heart Institute in Fort Pierce on Tuesday.
When his treatment's complete, he'll be booked into the Indian River County Jail. He was charged Tuesday with two counts of attempted murder, one count of attempted murder on a law enforcement officer, domestic violence battery and battery.
The deputy, who name was not released Tuesday, went to Berk's home about 11 p.m. after a 911 call, according to sheriff's reports.
Two of the three women there told him Berk had assaulted them and fled in his car, the Sheriff's Office said.
"Our deputy was there within three minutes," Loar said.
Berk stopped his car a short distance away, the Sheriff's Office said. He removed a shotgun and a backpack with more than 50 rounds of ammunition from the car and started walking back home, deputies said.
"The very disturbing thing is he approached that residence with a green and white Sheriff's car in the driveway," Loar said about the armed man.
The deputy was talking with the women in the driveway when they noticed Berk. The deputy ordered Berk to drop the weapon, Loar said. Instead, Berk hid behind a vehicle and pointed the gun at the deputy, according to sheriff's reports.
The deputy fired six shots, three of which struck Berk in the abdomen, arm and leg, Loar said. The injuries were not considered life-threatening, the Sheriff's Office said.
"This was a tragic event that turned into somewhat of a successful ending," Loar said.
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text:
To get started, locate a store near you
*Available at participating locations. Includes (1) 5x7 and (8) mini-wallets of your favorite pose with standard color finish and paper only. Makeover & hairstyling additional. Ages 11 & under only. Shipping may apply. Limit one special per customer or family during each promotional period please. Not valid with any other offer. Offer expires 3/31/13. Due to high appointment volumes at many of our locations you may be contacted for a refundable reservation fee to secure your appointment date and time. If you need to cancel your appointment, the reservation fee will be refunded if it is canceled at least 48 hours before your scheduled appointment time.


text:
Port St. Lucie gives city manager 36 percent pay raise
PORT ST. LUCIE — The City Council gave Greg Oravec a mostly glowing review of his first six months on the job and a 36 percent salary increase, which is a lesser amount than he could have received — at his request.
The City Council last week voted unanimously to boost his pay by $43,500, from $121,500 to $165,000, effective Dec. 20 — at the same time it approved 3 percent across-the-board cost-of-living increases for all employees.
His annual salary could have been boosted to $179,018, Oravec wrote in a memo to council members, based on a contract clause that states it would be "no less than the average of annual salaries for city managers in Florida cities with a population of 100,000 to 180,000." Port St. Lucie's population is about 160,000.
"We have gone through recent reorganizations, still may face many great economic challenges, like Digital Domain, and I have preached placing service above self," Oravec wrote. "Such an adjustment would be too much in light of these factors, and the effort to bring the salary in line with the average of the 14 comparable local governments would be more appropriately considered at an annual evaluation in a subsequent budget year after economic conditions have continued to improve and our team has revealed more of its great potential."
When Oravec was promoted from assistant city manager, the council did not adjust his salary commensurate with his new position. The City Council in March fired former City Manager Jerry Bentrott, promoted Oravec and included in his contract an evaluation tied to his salary and a stipulation that he would not receive a raise until all city workers did.
"Overall, he's done a great job," Mayor JoAnn Faiella told the St. Lucie News Tribune, congratulating him in her written evaluation on a "job well done" and stating she looked forward to continuing to move the city forward.
"He works closely with the council and listens to what they have to say without jumping to any conclusions," Faiella said. "He works closely with the staff and employees with the city to build better relationships with them. ... (He) continues to be an excellent leader, while still growing, learning and interacting with the organization."
Faiella said Oravec exceeded expectations in assisting council members with its policymaking choices, providing information in a timely manner, helping council members make sound decisions, setting long-term goals and informing council of administrative developments.
Oravec needs to delegate more, Faiella and other council members agreed, but she noted a new assistant city manager and special project manager will help prevent him from being overburdened.
Council member Shannon Martin called Oravec a self-starter who is diligent, thorough and enthusiastic in his duties, but mentioned some areas that need improvement. Although he communicates well, she wrote, he should take more time to assess situations before making judgments. She also noted he could be a better listener and his task-driven nature "could discourage participation in personal growth" by department heads.
"So far, I have witnessed and experienced an autocratic and authoritarian management style," she wrote. "Mr. Oravec needs to be better at accepting constructive criticism, especially from council members."
Faiella and Councilwoman Linda Bartz also mentioned wanting Oravec to be more accepting of criticism from the council.
"I would suggest that the city manager learn to recognize gray areas, work on listening skills and the ability to take suggestions without feeling that he is either being attacked or criticized," Bartz wrote.
The only below-average marks Bartz gave Oravec were in managing the staff, for not encouraging "teamwork, innovation and problem-solving," not creating a "friendly and informal relationship," and not having "supportive rather than restrictive controls for their programs."
Now-retired Councilman Jack Kelly, whose last meeting was the Nov. 19 evaluation, said he was completely happy with Oravec's performance.
"He has huge support from his staff and all of the management," Kelly said. "He involves everybody in the city and the volunteers and works well handling the budget."
Oravec "has lived up to all my expectations," Kelly said. "I have found him to be extremely hard working, very honest and his integrity is second to none."
Kelly said he also thinks Oravec should delegate more work, noting "the man never takes any time off ... (and) worked too hard."
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text: Open and delivering 365 days a year, our staff is always standing by, ready to help you with your gift to Plate Cove West, Newfoundland. Place your Plate Cove West, Newfoundland order with confidence quickly, safely and easily. Our checkout process is a breeze! Every order is handled with care Plate Cove West NL Flower Delivery Express® to ensure the highest quality and best service. The end result is a beautiful gift delivered when you want it in Plate Cove West, Newfoundland. In some areas, Plate Cove West NL Flower Delivery Express® uses their extensive network of preferred local florists to provide the highest quality products and ensure timely delivery.


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African Shea Butter
This 1.5 oz container of Shea Butter is a long time supply of wood conditioner for your kalimba. Once a month, take a dab with your finger and wipe it over each face of your kalimba. Let it soak in for 30-60 minutes, then wipe off residual with a clean cloth.
Wood moisturizing helps prevent wood cracking in dry climates, will darken the wood to bring out its natural beauty, and will increase the wood's density, increasing the sustain of the kalimba tones.
Refrigerate after opening for optimal life.
The large 1.5 oz size is available for $8, and the 0.25 oz sample size is available for $1.75
Click To Enlarge
- Item #: SHEA_BUTTER


text:
3M uses cookies on this site Detailed information on cookies and their use can be found in our Privacy Policy. You can customize the cookie-related settings at any time by clicking on Cookie Preferences in the footer of this page.
By clicking "Accept and Proceed" you acknowledge that you agree to the use of cookies on your computer
Accept and Proceed
United Kingdom & Ireland >
Products & Services >
Health Care >
Critical & Chronic Care Solutions >
Wound Management >
Wound Management
3M™ Tegaderm™ Alginate Ag Dressing is an antimicrobial, highly absorbent¹ wound dressing available as a pad or rope that is composed of sterile calcium alginate and an ionic silver complex. It is indicated for use in the management of all moderate to heavily exuding partial to full thickness wounds where wounds are critically colonised (infected) or at increased risk of infection.
Matrix Dressings
1. Greener B, Hughes A, Bannister N, Douglass J. Proteases and pH in chronic wounds. J Wound Care 2005;14:59-61
2. Korber A et al. Successful treatment of therapy-refractory chronic wounds with DerMax. Translated from ZfW Nr 6/06
Acrylic Dressings
1. Brown-Etris M, et al. A prospective, randomised, multisite clinical evaluation of a transparent absorbent acrylic dressing and a hydrocolloid dressing in the management of Stage II and shallow Stage III pressure ulcers. Advances in Skin and Wound Care. April 2008; vol 21: no 4 p 169-174
2. CUST-CAE-05-000003. 3M data on file 2003.
3. Thomas S. Experimental Studies on Tegaderm Film. 3M data on file, 2008.
4. Lloyd-Jones R, Graham K. There's no messing with this dressing! Using 3M Tegaderm Absorbent dressing for managing pre-tibial lacerations in the Nursing Home setting. Poster presentation Wounds UK Conference, Harrogate 2009.
Alginate AG Dressings
1. Major R. Comparison of Tegaderm Alginate Ag (silver alginate II) and Aquacel Ag dressings. 3M data on file 2010
Alginate Dressings
1. Thomas S. Surgical Dressings and Wound Management. 2010. Chapter 11 p245-246. MEDETEC. ISBN 1-84426-834-9.
Foam Dressings
1. Holm D, Zehrer C. In vitro and healthy human studies assess foam adhesive dressing breathability and fluid handling properties. Poster presentation. EWMA, Brussels, May 2011
© 3M 2015. All Rights Reserved.


text:
Continued acceleration in medical care inflation
May 23, 2002
For the fourth year in a row, the rate of medical care inflation was higher than in the preceding year. The consumer price index for medical care rose 4.7 percent in 2001, the highest calendar-year increase since 1994.
Higher price increases for inpatient hospital services and for prescription drugs offset lower price increases for services by physicians, dentists, outpatient hospitals, and nursing homes.
Hospital services charges increased 7.2 percent, following a 6.3-percent rise during the prior year. A main factor behind last year's high increase in hospital services charges is higher labor costs for nurses. Increases in nursing charges have accelerated in recent years due to a growing shortage of nurses. Additionally, restrictions of allowable charges and reductions in some Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements have led many hospitals to attempt to compensate by increasing fees to private-pay patients.
The index for prescription drugs and medical supplies increased 6.0 percent in 2001, compared with 3.6 percent in 2000. In recent years, there has been a large increase in demand for prescription drugs, in part due to increased advertising aimed directly to consumers by pharmaceutical companies.
These data are produced by the BLS Consumer Price Index program. Annual percent changes are December-to-December changes. Details on the calculation of the medical care CPI are in Measuring Price Change for Medical Care in the CPI. For additional information on consumer price changes in 2001, see "Consumer inflation lower in 2001: energy and apparel prices declined," by Todd Wilson, Monthly Labor Review, March 2002.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Continued acceleration in medical care inflation on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2002/may/wk3/art04.htm (visited October 08, 2015).
Recent editions of Spotlight on Statistics
New estimates of personal taxes in Consumer Expenditure Survey
In 2013, the Consumer Expenditure Survey improved its personal tax data.
Trends in long-term unemployment
Long-term unemployment reached historically high levels following the recession of 2007–2009.
Housing: before, during, and after the Great Recession
looks at consumer expenditures on household items, employment in residential construction, prices for household items, and injuries in occupations involved in building and maintaining our homes.


text:
Credits & Info
- Uploaded
- Aug 28, 2011 | 12:53 AM EDT
- Weekly Users' Choice August 31, 2011
- Daily Feature August 29, 2011
If you liked this, check these out!
Author Comments
Rated 5 / 5 stars
Nice work
How about doing Weebl's style?
Rated 5 / 5 stars
Id suggest adding the old styles of Hanna-Barbera and Tex Avery. Could also toss in Superjail and Flapjack bits as well.
Rated 5 / 5 stars
This is it.
Seriously though, that was quite a good idea you had there. And you NEVER went outside the line of your ripoffee's art style.
If you are accepting requests, DEFINITELY do the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic style. Anyone who has done this idea and not included that style should be dragged onto the streets and shot.
Rated 5 / 5 stars
yeah, sweet
go power puff girl version of you. power puff saved the day.
Rated 5 / 5 stars
Now this was one great idea for a flash video! :D


text:
Filipino guest worker faces Saudi blasphemy charges
Catholic World News - October 26, 2011
A Filipino guest worker has been arrested on blasphemy charges in Saudi Arabia.
The 32-year-old man was taken into custody after a supervisor at his workplace reported that the Filipino Catholic planned to dishonor Mohammed. The complaint was lodged shortly after the man had been engaged in a dispute at work.
The bishops of the Philippines have appealed to the Saudi government to release the accused man, and have asked for an objective investigation of the case. They observed that with thousands of Filipinos now working in Saudi Arabia, the case could have enormous impact.
Additional sources for this story
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An appeal from our founder, Dr. Jeffrey Mirus:
Dear reader: If you found the information on this page helpful in your pursuit of a better Catholic life, please support our work with a donation. Your donation will help us reach seven million Truth-seeking readers worldwide this year. Thank you!
Our Fall Campaign
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text:
Clean Tech
Digital Currency
Financial Services
12 October 2015
Licence granted to explore potential for offshore tidal energy
09 October 2015
Isle of Man named 'Best International Finance Centre'
07 October 2015
Is Monaco still working well for the Isle of Man?
05 October 2015
High Net Worth Wallabies
Katherine Ellis is the Group Director - Business Development at Boston Multi Family Office. Katherine leads all of Boston Group's business development and marketing functions. Katherine has 20 years' experience in the offshore market with particular knowledge of luxury assets.
Well this week sees my first year anniversary at the Department of Economic Development, and I'm wondering where has the time gone?!
With a stable and diverse economy, excellent quality of life and a clear and simple tax regime discover why the Isle of Man is the perfect place to locate your business.
We offer a range of support for existing businesses already located on the Island to help them grow and expand.
The Isle of Man sets the new standard for international business centres with solutions for you or your business.
Isle of Man. Where You Canexperience the highest levels of service in aviation management and aircraft registration.
Isle of Man. Where You Can
add new energy to your clean tech business.
Isle of Man. Where You Can
stay well connected.
Isle of Man. Where you canfind a winning base for your e-Gaming business.
Isle of Man. Where You Can
discover a refreshing approach to international finance.
Isle of Man. Where You Can
manufacture the future of your business.
Isle of Man. Where You Can
register under a flag of excellence.
Isle of Man. Where You Can
find therapy for your retail business.
Isle of Man. Where You Can
be part of a high quality destination.
Vision 2020 is an important new initiative in the Isle of Man Government's strategy for growing the Island's economy......
The Isle of Man Government is currently consulting on a new incentive scheme for Isle of Man businesses. We welcome your feedback....
Plans to grow the Manx economy by harnessing the Isle of Man's natural resources to generate renewable energy have taken a significant step forwards.
View all News
14 October 2015
This breakfast event is one of three events being hosted by the Isle of Man Government's Department of Economic Development in association with Corlett Bolton & Co (Corporate Service Provider), Greystone LLC Chartered Accountants, Rossborough Insurance and Paul Kerruish (Aerospace hi-tech industry).
View all Events
31 July 2015
Brian Donegan (E-Business Business Development Manager) discussing the benefits of establishing operations in the Island with CEO of TraxPay, John Bruggeman, at Money Conference in Belfast.
Watch more videos


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Older News
Apr 5 – Rochester Friendly
You will NOT want to miss this one!
Sat April 5 we head out from RMUISC (or Cranberry area) on a big comfy coach bus for a one day Friendly event with the Rochester Curling Club.
This event is designed especially for NEW CURLERS who want to experience a real curling ice and an awesome club atmosphere!
We can take 32 curlers and some fans (it's a 50 person bus). read more…
Feb 25 DCNR Grant Workshop
DCNR Grant Workshop
Feb 25
9:00A – noon
Pine Township Recreation Center (located in Wexford)
Workshop provides information to potential applicants on DCNR grants available for public recreation and conservation projects. All are welcome to attend!
NBC & TESN Curling Schedule Live TV and Online!!!
Feb 16 Olympic Learn To Curl
Sunday, February 16th – Schenley Ice Rink in Schenley Park
1PM – 7PM in Schenley Park
We need help:
loading rocks onto a truck after curling on February 15th (sat night) and after curling on Sunday at Schenley
12-15 volunteers to help with instruction and off ice activities
'The Curling Experience' – Quick 30 minute classes to give folks a short introduction to the sport
Five sheets of outdoor curling ice!!
Please email Dan to let him know how YOU can help!
These Olympic sessions not only earn us MUCH NEEDED BUILDING FUNDS, they also introduce curling to Pittsburghers and potentially increase our membership in the coming years! PLEASE MAKE TIME IN YOUR SCHEDULES TO HELP OUT!!
Contact Dan: firstname.lastname@example.com
Feb 11 Curling Demo – Consol!!
Curling Demo at Consol Energy Center
The PCC has been invited by the Penguins Organization to run a Learn to Curl Session for their corporate sponsors Tuesday Feb 11 5-8P at Consol Energy Center.
What's needed:
Volunteers at RMUISC to load rocks and all equipment into a rental truck
Volunteers at Consol to set up the ice and run the Learn to Curl
Possible opportunities to present our plans for a future home in Adams Township (a table, or distribute pamphlets)
Volunteers to tear down the ice at Consol then at RMUISC to return the rocks and gear to the cage.
Yep – Curling at Consol!!! Volunteers get to curl at Consol and introduce curling to The Pens corporate sponsors!!!
**please note: this event is available only to guests of the Penguins Organization.**


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Burger King Japan Introduces Black Burger
Why? WHY???? So.....the only thing that isn't black is....the actual BURGER??
Why? WHY???? So.....the only thing that isn't black is....the actual BURGER??
Last Tuesday (7/22), a "man" reached across the counter and hit an unsuspecting female employee at a Flint Burger King and the whole thing was caught on camera. I'm pretty sure that's not what they meant by "have it your way."
Tired of feeling guilty eating fries? This could be the answer to all our prayers.
First we told you about McDonald's secret menu items..now it's Burger King.
Somehow I don't get the feeling that the pot pipe in question was ever meant to be a toy for the Burger King kid's meal purchased in southeast Michigan recently.
So what was it doing in the kid's meal box? Find out here.
I'm sure that it's no coincidence that fat people with no teeth love the new Burger King Bacon Sundae! Watch the video after the jump. Watching doesn't have any calories!
Burger King is revamping their menu and adding several new sandwiches made from pork, beef and chicken. A summer bar-b-que theme seems to be happening there. That includes dessert. Burger King will now give you a chance to add bacon...to your ice cream sundae.
Burger King is using Steven Tyler's star power to sell their new spicy chicken strips. The commercial really showcases all of his larger than life rock star characteristics! See for yourself after the jump.
I love a good sundae, but I'm not sure if I could try this one. Burger King has introduced a bacon sundae but it's not on the menu yet, so don't get too excited.
Clowns have creeped me out ever since I saw Stephen King's thriller "It;" Bozo, Ronald, even Krusty. But nothing is creepier than Burger King's 'King' mascot.
Burger King launched a new ad campaign just over a week ago and made the announcement that the King is no longer!
Here's another healthy sandwich that Burger King in Japan has produced. It's called the Meat Monster, which has two ground beef patties, two slices of cheese, three strips of bacon and chicken between two buns...


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Holly (Swank) and Gerry (Butler) are happily married - mostly. But when he dies, she is bereft and unable to cope, until a series of letters that Gerry wrote for her start to arrive, helping her to move on.
Gerard Butler stars in a very good film where he helps a guarded woman get over a tragedy in her past. It's called Dear Frankie - go rent that instead.
Reviewed by Helen O'Hara
Read The Full Empire Review »
Click for the full Empire review and post your own review and rating.


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Ramblings from another nerd on the grid
Gadget Links
Virtual Stuff
Windows Sites
Other Diversions
T-Mobile and Microsoft Windows Vista are pleased to offer you a complimentary trial of T-Mobile HotSpot wireless broadband Internet service.
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I don't have a Mac although I've been tempted on occasion to see how one might work in my life. Are they really better for website and video editing, or anything else for that matter? I have no clue but I have friends that swear by them.
The folks at Wired, or specifically the Cult of Mac blog at http://blog.wired.com/cultofmac/2007/01/running_vista_o.html recently did a review of Windows Vista running on a Mac Pro.
I just couldn't believe the quote, "The Mac Pro is a very fast and capable OS X machine, but it's an even faster Windows Vista machine."
Now granted the Pro in question has "two dual-core 2.66GHz Xeon chips; 3GBs of RAM; and a medium-range NVidia GeForce 7300 GT graphics card."
Windows Vista had better fly on a machine like that. The review is mostly anecdotal so people will tear it to shreds, but what the heck, it's still an interesting data point.
So what does a Mac Pro with two 2.66GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon "Woodcrest" processors, 1GB memory (667MHz DDR2 fully-buffered DIMM ECC), NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT graphics with 256MB memory, 250GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s 7200-rpm hard drive and a 16x double-layer SuperDrive go for??? Click the pic above.
Enjoy the security, performance, and entertainment capabilities of Windows Vista throughout your home. Purchase the Windows Vista Ultimate retail boxed product, and you can upgrade up to two additional PCs in your household to Windows Vista Home Premium for only $49.99 ($59.99 CAD) each.* Order online, and within minutes you'll be ready to upgrade your computers at over 60% off the estimated retail price!*
Full details of this offer is at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/buyorupgrade/familydiscount.mspx. More of the fine print is just below...
How to Order
Once you determine that you qualify for the Windows Vista Family Discount, you can order online to immediately get up to two upgrade licenses for Windows Vista Home Premium—so you can upgrade your household PCs today using the following:
A Windows Vista Home Premium product key (or keys), which you will receive with your Windows Vista Family Discount online order receipt
Your Windows Vista Ultimate DVD, which came in your Windows Vista Ultimate retail boxed product
With digital delivery of your new product key(s) and the software disc you already have, you can begin installing Windows Vista Home Premium on your additional compatible home PCs right away.
Order Now
* The Windows Vista Family Discount is available to customers in the United States and Canada who have purchased the full or upgrade Windows Vista Ultimate retail boxed product. Customers may purchase up to two additional licenses to install the Windows Vista Home Premium Upgrade on other PCs within their household for $49.99 ($59.99 CAD) per upgrade license, a discount of over 60% off the estimated retail price. The price for the product excludes all taxes. You are responsible for any taxes that you are obligated to pay or that we may collect from you. Currency exchange settlements are based on your agreement with your payment method provider. Customers must use the operating systems primarily in their home, meaning the dwelling where they live, by members of their own household; for personal use; and may not transfer the operating systems to others outside their household. Offer may be discontinued at any time. Software licenses purchased through electronic transmission online or over the Internet are not eligible for a refund. View Microsoft's Retail Product Refund Guidelines.
Everyone knows Leonardo Da Vinci wasn't normal. The man wrote in mirror image (backwards) for heavens sake. You can find some of his works on a new website at http://ttpdownload.bl.uk/. I particularly like the study on reflection of the moon and earth. If you hit the M key while looking at the Leonardo Da Vinci Codex Arundel, it will flip the text to a more "normal" view. Experiment with the magnifying glass. Very very kewl indeed.
There are some other rather fascinating works there as well. For more background on the project, see http://www.turningthepages.com/.
One last question... was Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci the greatest painter of all time?
Click the image for today's festivities and some other interesting videos.
A couple of my colleagues sent me email a few minutes ago complaining about my latest post and the screenshot. They said the picture was overlaying the text. Huh? So I investigated...
Hmmmm. It sure looks fine to me. Of course I'm running a 1920x1200 resolution on a 27" widescreen monitor. Hardly pervasive I'm sure. By the way, the monitor I use is on sale for $674. See http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=320-4335 for details.
I then bumped my resolution down to 1280x1024. The post still looked fine at that resolution. Keith scratches head... So I bumped my resolution down to 1024x768. Gag!!! Yep, the post is pretty much hosed at that one.
I actually made a semi conscience decision on this long before those complaints. When I was resizing the screenshot, you lose pixels and clarity as you downsize. At some point, you might as well not even include a screenshot if it's so blurry you can't read the button text.
So, I'll try an accommodate people running at 1024x768, but in this case, you'll need to be at 1280x1024 or higher.
Anyone have any stats on what the pervasive resolution is these days? I've asked my audiences that question a few times recently and the answer I received was 1280x1024 and higher. Majority rules. :)
For the past couple of weeks, attendees of the US "Ready For A New Day" launch tour have been receiving the Launch 2007 Resource Kit. There has been some confusion about two key areas so here's some clarification about both.
First, there are several downloads. There are two for Office Professional 2007 and one for Office Groove 2007. That's a total of three and trust me, it threw me for a loop as well. When you go to download Office Professional 2007, you'll be presented with the screen at bottom. I doctored the image slightly to blank out the key displayed.
Now many of you have been trained so that when you see a page like this, Download 1 and Download 2 are just mirror sites so pick which one suits your fancy. That would be incorrect. Download 1 is Office Professional 2007 CD1. Download 2 is the second CD that contains Office Professional Business Contact Manager for Outlook 2007 and the Accounting Express 2007 software. The Office downloads are a little over 350MG each. The Groove download is a little less than 180MG.
This leads us to the second set of issues around what key to use. I already blogged about that at http://blogs.technet.com/keithcombs/archive/2007/01/20/singing-in-the-wrong-key.aspx. The bottom line, install the downloaded .exe's using the key inside the Launch 2007 Resource Kit. Ignore the email you receive.
After you install the first Office download, you are free to install the BCM and Accounting Express 2007 components from the second download. They aren't required installs and in fact, you can install them individually.
The second CD install of the BCM and Accounting software will install SQL Server 2005 Express and create the databases used for storage of the data. Prior to doing that it'll likely install some fixes to the Dotnet Framework v2.0 components. The install is pretty straightforward. I had no issues on my Windows XP MCE 2005 machine.
In the case of Business Contact Manager 2007 for Outlook, the actual install happens the first time you launch Outlook 2007 after running the installs above. It's a pretty painless process and you can either take the Express or Advanced routes in the install. If you take the advanced route, you can pick registration options, pick the database name, etc. The default values should be sufficient for most people.
I hope this clarifies any remaining questions on what you get, how to download, how to install, etc. The rest of the fun is totally up to you. Belated Merry Christmas !!!
[UPDATE] Ok, I caved. When someone tells me they have 1000's of people running 1024x768, I need to adjust. So I moved the screenshot to the bottom out of the way of the text. Hopefully this is better. Cheers.
High Definition Television is like the lure you cast into the glass waters of an April morning. If you're a Black Bass who's been starving on standard definition cable provider signals all winter, you'll bite that worm as fast as you can.
The lure is a nice juicy long one. It starts with those warm plasma screens in torch mode at the local retailer. All bright and shiny. Maybe you don't bite, but instead you decide to nibble at the DLP buffet. Eventually, it's going to get you, and it's only the start.
Eating at the HDTV buffet is a feast. But as with all things, moderation is the key to longevity... right? Longevity? Screw that, this is battle. Time to chow down.
If you thought the CD ripping and audio battle has been fought and won, you haven't seen anything yet. Let me explain.
How many of you have subscriptions? You probably have more than one. One for your beloved iPod or Zune. One for your television habits. How much do you pay for the television? Do you feel you have a good deal?
I'm a bonehead. I actually pay Charter Communications for their "all you can eat" cable offering. In other words, I pay for a bunch of channels I never use. Part of the reason for this is because my teens like certain shows, and the parental units like others. The channels I actually watch can be counted on my two hands and I have the normal set of fingers. Being the typical American, I watch ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, HBO, SHOWTIME, CINEMAX, HDNET, HDNMV, DHD and some ESPNH.
Last October I purchased my HP DLP HDTV. It's been absolutely great. We love it. When we purchased the HDTV, we of course purchased the HDTV tier of programming from Charter. We also swapped the standard box for the HD DVR at the same time. The SA 8300 HD has been great and I enjoyed extending it with a bigger hard drive.
All of that joy has been shattered.
Charter Communications sends me a letter. Apparently the parent company of the local ABC affiliate wants additional money for the HD feed. I have no idea how much money Belo Broadcasting is asking Charter for in order to supply the feed. I don't really care. Charter refuses to pay Belo, and they drop the HD feed from the HDTV tier. The letter explains we can still get the standard definition channel. Not only is the channel dropped from the encrypted HD tier, they also drop the unencrypted QAM channel which I thought was against FCC regulations.
Charter is going to lose a customer...
Of the channels I listed above, some of them are requirements. ABC is one. Boston Legal, Grey's Anatomy and Lost simple won't do in standard definition. We could probably get by with Boston Legal and Grey's in SD, but there's no way in hell I'm putting up with Lost in SD. Why should I?
What to do?
This is where I get really upset. Now, I have to evaluate the market and make changes. I don't know about you, but I'm a busy person and this is an unwelcome distraction.
If I go with Verizon FIOS TV, then I have to switch to the FIOS Residential plan because they won't put TV on my FIOS Static Business connection. Combine that with the fact I then need to move my web and email services from my house back to a hosting provider and worry about outages, again.
I could keep the FIOS business plan and get my TV signal off DirecTV. I had DirecTV many years ago. I really liked having both the east and west coast feeds of everything. That was before DVR's were invented and you still had a chance to catch your favorite show if you missed the early time zone slot. The problem with the DirecTV HD DVR is it's only 50 hours of recording space. I have over three times that right now and it comes in handy because my wife is a busy person. We routinely have four weeks of shows sitting in the DVR for her to pick and choose from.
So why is High Definition TV evil?
Because even after you pay thousands or hundreds for the set, you are still at the mercy of the cable companies, telcos, and satellite providers. Now those same providers might use the argument that the HD signal is provided free over-the-air (OTA). Don't believe it. Yes, some of those stations are provided. However, ask people in the Seattle metropolis about their OTA. Hell, I live in a flat state and can't get... wait for it.... ABC!!! Isn't it interesting that all of the channels that are over-the-air in my area are UHF except ABC??? All of the UHF stations come in fine, but the ABC VHF signal is borderline and ends up being jerky. You need a rooftop antenna to get good reception. Evil.
So make sure before you get addicted, you know who your dealers are. Don't expect the FCC and the state and local government to clean this up. There seem to be some gray areas and if the ABC fiasco is any indication, you haven't seen anything yet. I have no idea who's at fault. It certainly isn't the consumers fault. Ok, maybe it is. The poppy and coca growing nations wouldn't grow their crops if the US didn't buy drugs. Whew, there's a political debate to step in. Maybe we'll do that one down the road. Not!!!
So it must be my fault I can't get ABC. HDTV is evil.
The week has finally come. Years of development. Years of re-development. Did we get it right? History will tell...
Is Windows Vista the lowest cost, most secure, most intuitive, most manageable, most entertaining and therefore the best operating system Microsoft has ever produced?
Now before you answer the question, consider how well Windows XP has done. Windows XP is rock solid. The security for Windows XP and IE have been dramatically improved since it's release.
Have you tried Windows Vista? Are you planning on buying it on Tuesday? Are you waiting and getting a new computer with Windows Vista on it? Which version are you interested in? Why? Why not?
As many of you are aware, I actually test our stuff to make sure it's working. I signup for my webcasts and test that process. I signup for our live events and test that. I have a TechNet subscription. I do this so I can see what you see and hopefully head off any issues.
So I grabbed one of the Launch 2007 Resource Kits at my show on Thursday and just got around to testing the Office 2007 download. I encountered the following instructions:
Office 2007 Product Download Procedure To install your copy of Office Professional 2007 and Office Groove 2007, please follow these steps: Click on the link below for the product you'd like to download and install - a new window will open. On the product page, click "Try now for FREE!". Log-in to Passport (Windows Live ID). Please provide Registration information and click "Continue". On the download page, click "Download Now". Please use the Product Key provided in the kit you received at the launch event to unlock your product. Disregard the trial Product Key presented on this page*. Product download times will vary. Once the download completes, click "Continue". You will receive an email during the download process – please DISREGARD the Product Key in that email and ONLY use the Product Key provided in the kit you received at launch.
Office 2007 Product Download Procedure
To install your copy of Office Professional 2007 and Office Groove 2007, please follow these steps:
The net net is that the key you received with your kit, is the non time bombed key to use. Sorry for any confusion on this. I guess we decided to leverage the download area which is very very fast. I received the download at 1.8meg per second. Smokin.
Each week for the next couple of months, my team will demonstrate a variety of tools that make operating system and application deployment easier. The demos of course show off how to deploy Windows Vista and Office 2007. However, you can also use the new tools to deploy Windows XP and Office 2003 if needed. If you have not looked at the tools yet, you should spend some time getting familiar with them.
I would recommend starting with the Windows Automated Installation Kit (WAIK) first because it will be core learning that can be leveraged across all of the other tools. I have the download link for the WAIK below. Next, I would look at the BDD tools referenced below because it simplifies many of the steps in a deployment process. You have some work cut out for you, but understanding the mechanics of the new tools will pay dividends for years to come.
Where To Start
First, you should probably bookmark http://www.microsoft.com/technet/desktopdeployment/default.mspx. It's the de facto area for the whitepapers, guides and tools. If you are specifically interested in Windows Vista, then another good area is http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windowsvista/aa905061.aspx. Dig the kewl blue color. Some of the information there is a bit dated in my opinion, but things will get updated over the next few months.
You'll notice a heavy focus from Microsoft on the new business deployment tools. Along with this focus is a heavy emphasis on looking at the roles and responsibilities in a deployment project. To support those projects, we have created a Solution Accelerator called the Business Desktop Deployment (BDD) toolset.
Business Desktop Deployment (BDD) 2007
The main BDD areas is at http://www.microsoft.com/technet/desktopdeployment/bdd/2007/default.mspx.
This Solution Accelerator provides "proven" tools and practices that enable IT professionals to: Create a software and hardware inventory to assist in deployment planning. Test applications for compatibility and mitigate the compatibility issues discovered during the process. Set up an initial lab environment with deployment and imaging servers. Customize and package applications. Automate desktop image creation and deployment. Ensure that the desktop is hardened to improve security within the environment. Manage processes and technologies to produce a comprehensive and integrated deployment. The Solution Accelerator for BDD contains guidance, sample templates, and technology files (such as scripts and configuration files). It presents deployment guidance as feature team guides that thoroughly explain each deployment process.
This Solution Accelerator provides "proven" tools and practices that enable IT professionals to:
The Solution Accelerator for BDD contains guidance, sample templates, and technology files (such as scripts and configuration files). It presents deployment guidance as feature team guides that thoroughly explain each deployment process.
I put quotes around the word proven because as you know, this will really get proven by you in the field. We have of course tested the tools in a variety of environments along with our TAP customers and Partners, but if anyone can break things, you can. Right? :)
You can download the BDD directly at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=13F05BE2-FD0E-4620-8CA6-1AAD6FC54741&displaylang=en. I thought it was interesting you must subscribe to the TechNet Flash to get it. Don't worry, you can always go to the profile center later and turn that off, but it's a very worthy newsletter so you might want to try it for a few months first.
Be sure to pay attention to all of the prereqs so you can grab all of the goodies needed prior to starting. I'm probably going to build a DVD that includes everything then add it to my DVD portfolio.
Windows Deployment Services (WDS) for Windows Server 2003
One of the tools we show in the demos is Windows Deployment Services (WDS). WDS is an update to Remote Installation Services (RIS). Or more accurately, it's a replacement for RIS with the ability to handle the newest versions of Windows PE, Windows Vista and the WIM file format.
WDS provides the following benefits: Reduces total cost of ownership (TCO) and complexity of deployments. Deploys the Windows operating system to bare metal computers. Supports mixed environments including Microsoft Windows XP and Microsoft Windows Server 2003. Provides an end-to-end solution for deployment of Windows operating systems to client and server computers. Built on standard Windows Server "Longhorn" setup technologies including Windows PE, WIM and Image Based Setup (IBS).
WDS provides the following benefits:
If you start to dig around, you'll notice this service is mostly discussed in the context of a Longhorn Server service but it does in fact install into Windows Server 2003.
First, you'll need to download and install the Windows Automated Installation Kit (WAIK) from http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=c7d4bc6d-15f3-4284-9123-679830d629f2&displaylang=en. This download is in a .IMG format. Don't ask me why. I would have put it on the download center in .ISO format. I used WinImage to extract the contents since I've had a license for it for years.
Next, you'll need to make sure you've installed the Windows Server 2003 RIS role. After that, it's a matter of updating the RIS service. You can run the update from the Windows Automated Installation Kit (WAIK) install DVD you created, (see screenshot) or you can install from the WDS directory on the DVD. Be sure to print and read the WDS Step-by-Step Guide. I gave you the online link but for printing purposes, you'll probably want the Word .doc on the DVD. This guide discusses the modes WDS will run in, installation steps, boot image installation steps, etc.
I'll probably do a WDS Screencast very soon on all of the low level details of installation, configuration and use of this service.
I've worked with Kai directly for a number of years. He doesn't get all riled up easily. But he does take security very seriously. If you don't know Kai, you should. He's a Microsoft Senior Security Strategist and knows his stuff. He is routinely called upon by the FBI, Secret Service and Jack Bauer when "stuff happens".
So follow the trail at http://blogs.technet.com/kaiaxford/archive/2007/01/17/people-like-this-just-frost-me-security-considered-a-quot-burden-for-users-quot.aspx and you'll see what I mean. I don't know what it means to "frost" him, but considering he used to be an Army Ranger, I don't want to find out.
One of the most common questions that comes up after our live events is, "Where do I get the slide decks?" Well, the slides and a bunch of other relevant materials are organized at http://www.launchtour2007.com/popup_ITPro.html. The slides I am using for the IT Pro Track are listed in the Microsoft Across America Events section.
I was looking around at my team's blogs and I see Matt Hester has posted some questions and their answers from the Launch 2007 events we did. Being the efficient (lazy) person that I am, I'll just link you right to "Matt's Most Excellent Answers". Now I can play more Xbox360 and a cerrtain game that will not be spoken. :)
As you know, we started our US Windows Vista, Exchange Server 2007 and 2007 Office System launch events last week. If you have not already signed up for one, go to http://www.microsoft.com/business/launch2007/signup/default.mspx and do it fast. Many of the venue locations are already at capacity and beyond wait listing.
Last Tuesday, the MSDN and TS2 teams had some challenges in the morning getting some of the registration systems off and running. This of course created a bottleneck at the registration desks and just like rush hour traffic, it is very hard to clear the backlog. We made some adjustments after that and I think you'll find the registration process was much smoother on Thursday and should be from here on out.
Another thing we learned is that the ink in the Launch 2007 Resource Kit isn't waterproof. That's a huge hint folks. If you want to inspect the kit, don't do it in the rain. The download product key is on the inside and if you get it wet, you may mess up your chances of getting the free download of Office Professional 2007 and Office Groove 2007.
Another thing we learned is that we are pretty good at estimating drop off rates. Usually for a live seminar, about fifty percent of the people that register actually show up. When we do product launches where free software is in play, that percentage is much lower for obvious reasons. With that in mind, we book rooms around those estimates. This is similar to what happens with the airlines. Essentially, you overbook the room by a percentage and if you're good you don't have to turn anyone away. We turned away eleven people last week. By turned away I mean we didn't have a seat. They still got the software. Out of close to ten thousand registrations, I'd say we did pretty damn good.
We learned you have lots of questions. The IT Pro track is a little different than prior TechNet content modules. We have reduced the number of PowerPoint slides to such a small number, it's almost a joke. So now, instead of "Death by PowerPoint" it's "Death by Demos". I think this is very healthy. You get a little over three hours of pure demos and question/answer time.
Questions are very hard to manage in such large crowds so don't be surprised if you aren't called on. Presenters aren't trying to ignore you, just manage the time and keep things moving so they cover all of the ground they are expected to cover. There is another thing to keep in mind about breaks and after the presenter is done. During breaks, we are usually shutting down the prior module virtual machines and starting the VM's for the next module. Doing that and trying to answer questions is extremely difficult, by we try hard. Same thing for after the IT Pro Track has concluded. Usually we have the Develop Track presenter standing behind us wanting the stage. We have several hours left in the day so please be patient in that timeframe around 11:50am - 12:15pm. After we get our stuff packed up and out of the way of the next presenter, we can chat at length.
The last thing I wanted to say about last week is thank you. Thanks for coming. Thanks for being engaged. I had a lot of fun in New Orleans and Baton Rouge. Lots of good questions and several I'll be following up on via email and my blog. I hope you had fun. It certainly looks like the IT Pro Track content is a hit and I look forward to the events coming up. Hopefully Oklahoma City and Tulsa will thaw out.
As you may or may not know, old man winter decided to flex his muscles this week. Considering 2006 was the warmest year on record, I guess he decided to start 2007 off a little differently.
The Dallas metroplex finally got hit in the past 48 hours with a blast of cold Arctic air and dropped the temps from 71 to 31 and below. As usual, instead of a lovely snow, our fair city is getting a dose of rain, sleet, ice and snow. So far, it's been ok but with the huge launch events next week, traveling from Dallas has been very worrisome for the Microsoft crew.
In fact, today might very well be the worst day for Dallas with ice accumulations expected above an inch. Now consider that the temp is currently hovering at 32 with ice pellets expected all day and night. This could very well be a travel show stopper Monday.
With all of that in mind, and having no control on what ice balls old man winter is going to hurl, Charles Van Heusen and I escaped Dallas yesterday afternoon. We got on the phone with American airlines and took the 6:35pm flight from Dallas to New Orleans.
Little did we know what was in store for us...
The flight left the gate on time. They always do. We did the 30 minute de-ice thing out on the runway tarmac. We took off and of course the captain comes on and says the ride is going to be bumpy and First Class passengers Keith Combs and Charles Van Heusen will not be served any "beverages" during flight. Drat. The flight was bumpy as he indicated. It wasn't too bad but Charles is sitting next to me and just a little skittish after his recent trip back from Hawaii. They almost did a "Lost" over the Pacific. After we made it over the cold front, it got gradually smoother as we approached New Orleans.
The approach was interesting. I've never seen a pilot do a spiral in a MD80 but we did. We did one 360 and I looked at Charles and said, "That was pretty kewl". Charles didn't think so of course. He looked like he was going to spew. Then we did another one. By the time we got done doing those circles, it appeared we bled off 10,000 or more feet. I could be wrong about that, but I've never seen an approach like this. The landing was uneventful and we got off the plan in a humid Louisiana 69 degree climate.
As we walked through the empty terminal, we realized the New Orleans football game was on and it was halftime. We also realized at that point we'd be driving right by the stadium they are playing in. Time to boogie.
So we boogie into downtown New Orleans. We have food and drink on our minds so we throw our stuff in the hotel room, and head to our favorite local haunt, Gordon Biersch Brewery. The hotel next door, Harrah's, is finally complete so as we walk the block to it and round the corner, we suddenly realize they've opened the courtyard between the two buildings.
In the courtyard, there are 300 New Orleans fans there to greet us. In fact, the restaurant has rented a bunch of high definition plasma TV's and projectors for the crowd. They have a 20 foot screen setup and of course the crowd is going nuts watching the game. Our arrival is right at the 14:00 minute mark in the fourth quarter.
As you might suspect, the beer, food and drinks are flowing so we wade into the crowd and get into the spirited "Who Dat?" chants. The New Orleans Saints don't disappoint the crowd and coach their way through the fourth quarter for the dramatic nail biting win.
The crowd goes nuts!!!
At a rather quick pace, the restaurant starts to empty as people close their tabs and bolt. I'm thinking, "Where the hell is everyone going?" knowing all to well what the probable answer is. Surely they aren't all going to the French Quarter and Bourbon Street...
Oh yes they are!!!
The city erupted in a blare of honking horns, chants, and general merriment. We avoided Bourbon Street. If you have never been there, last night would have been a good indoctrination into the wonders that is Bourbon Street. We saw some live shots on the plasma screens and I just looked at Charles and grinned. 100,000 people going nuts on screen.
I don't know what the actual number of people there actually was, but it looked like Mardi Gras on steroids. Pandemonium for sure. Guys and girls gone wild. :)
Congratulations New Orleans!!! You deserve it!!!
Although this drive size barely meets my minimum needs (64GB), the thought of booting Windows Vista from solid state memory in the primary SATA slot of my laptop give me goose bumps. I mean think about it... No moving drive heads, lower heat, lower power consumption, etc.
Technology is freaking great. We live in some great times and this is going to change everything you know about boot times, disk speeds, etc. Here's the press release from PQI:
Taipei, Taiwan ~ PQI, the leader in industrial storage solutions has just released two new products to start the new year. PQI's Turbo SATA DOM and Turbo SATA Solid State Disk (SSD) 2.5" 64GB both are PQI patented. The application of SATA technology and specially designed clip-on connector on SATA DOMs provide stability and prevent connectors detaching unexpectedly. The implementation of SATA interface on industrial storage is a world's first. Another breakthrough is the maximum capacity of 64GB on Turbo SATA SSD 2.5" drives. If you are looking for fast and large capacity industrial solutions, PQI's got them! PQI DiskOnModule Manager, Bob Chu states, "With flash storage technology catching up to traditional disc platter storage devices and motherboard designs being more compact than ever, most IDE connectors have been replaced by the smaller and faster SATA interfaces. At the same time, available spaces for device(s) have been reduced dramatically and hence, SATA DOM was developed. SATA interface takes up less space and provide faster transfer rate (up to 100MB/sec) than IDE connectors and maximum SATA DOM capacities will likely reach 128GB in 2007. Apart from the benefits of clip-on feature of Turbo SATA DOM, the SATA connector is designed directionally. Meeting the needs of current motherboard SATA connectors, as they are closely packed together, PQI Turbo SATA DOM is actually available in 2 flavors – left and right directional designs. The left and right directional placement design allows motherboard SATA connectors to be fully populated without interference. As a leader in industrial storage, PQI's experience, long list of customers and excellent customer relations have long been a favorite. Once again, offering the perfect storage solution, PQI's DiskOnModule have come out on top providing performance, capacity and unsurpassed value. For the latest PQI news and product information, please visit PQI at www.pqi.com.tw.
Taipei, Taiwan ~ PQI, the leader in industrial storage solutions has just released two new products to start the new year. PQI's Turbo SATA DOM and Turbo SATA Solid State Disk (SSD) 2.5" 64GB both are PQI patented. The application of SATA technology and specially designed clip-on connector on SATA DOMs provide stability and prevent connectors detaching unexpectedly. The implementation of SATA interface on industrial storage is a world's first. Another breakthrough is the maximum capacity of 64GB on Turbo SATA SSD 2.5" drives. If you are looking for fast and large capacity industrial solutions, PQI's got them!
PQI DiskOnModule Manager, Bob Chu states, "With flash storage technology catching up to traditional disc platter storage devices and motherboard designs being more compact than ever, most IDE connectors have been replaced by the smaller and faster SATA interfaces. At the same time, available spaces for device(s) have been reduced dramatically and hence, SATA DOM was developed. SATA interface takes up less space and provide faster transfer rate (up to 100MB/sec) than IDE connectors and maximum SATA DOM capacities will likely reach 128GB in 2007.
Apart from the benefits of clip-on feature of Turbo SATA DOM, the SATA connector is designed directionally. Meeting the needs of current motherboard SATA connectors, as they are closely packed together, PQI Turbo SATA DOM is actually available in 2 flavors – left and right directional designs. The left and right directional placement design allows motherboard SATA connectors to be fully populated without interference.
As a leader in industrial storage, PQI's experience, long list of customers and excellent customer relations have long been a favorite. Once again, offering the perfect storage solution, PQI's DiskOnModule have come out on top providing performance, capacity and unsurpassed value.
For the latest PQI news and product information, please visit PQI at www.pqi.com.tw.
Gefen is well known in the home theatre ranks for the HDMI switches and gizmos we need for our various "needs". Many early HDTV adopters only had one HDMI port on the back of their HDTV, so the Gefen 2to1 and 4to1 switches became rather popular.
HDTV sales have taken off, and as a result we are seeing a number of interesting offerings come out of CES. Gefen announced some interesting units. At http://www.gefen.com/kvm/news/CES2007-6.jsp, you can see they are planning on shipping a SD and a HD Personal Video Recorder. According to the press release, you can record digital TV and use the box to copy the content in MPEG 4 format to an external USB storage device and take it with you.
The details are vague, but I'm sure someone will get their hands on one of them soon and tell us what you can really record, and what you can't. I'd be happy with clear QAM recording.
In the meantime, checkout the close up photos Doug McKnight snapped while at the Gefen CES booth. Here's the SD PVR front, back, and the HD PVR front. They don't really look like the finished product to me, but we'll see soon enough.
More information is also available at engadget.com.
Let's face it, it's great to be a consumer. What we really need is a hard drive trade in program. Some may say we need a gadget anonymous program.
Anyway, for you hard drive filling maniacs, Hitachi just announced their 1.0 Terabyte 3.5" Deskstar offering. Now you might be thinking that's going to cost an arm and two legs, but apparently the suggested retail price is $399.
We'll see what the street price is when they hit the channel.
See the Hitachi Global Storage Systems site for the drive specs and details.
I really wish more emphasis would be placed on 2.5" SATA and PATA drives. I could use a 500GB 2.5" SATA drive for my laptop. Actually, two would be perfect. Imagine having a 1.0TB laptop. I know, I'm a nerd. :)
I stumbled across something new and kewl. During my journey to find a spiffy picture of the Reclusa keyboard, I noticed we had finally posted the IntelliPoint and IntelliType software that is compatible with Windows Vista. So I installed it and was looking at the properties for my aging IntelliMouse Optical.
In reviewing the properties, I noticed the Wheel button property was linked to something called Instant Viewer. So being the dive first and hope you don't hit a rock type, I clicked the Wheel button and BAAAAAMMMMMM Batman, an Instant View of all of the running applications. It's like thumbnails on steroids.
So in the spirit of kewl pictures, I fired up a bunch of applications to give you a peek. Pretty rad eh? Click the image for a larger view.
Ok, now I really have to save my money. If you look at this demo shot, it appears there are sixteen 50" HDTV's making up the two walls. Just imagine playing Gears of War or Halo 3 on that... Would you need a rack of liquid cooled Xboxes to drive it? I'd probably need to change the bed spread and frame though.
Everyone should have the HP TouchSmart PC in their kitchen.
Like many of you other nerds, I surfed a bit yesterday while I watched the Jets get destroyed. I didn't even bother to watch the Philly game because I knew how it would turn out. I reviewed the CES coverage at engadget. I looked around at the articles on gizmodo.
What am I rushing out to buy? Most of the stuff I see is too expensive for my wallet. Some of the machines that are coming out have high hardware margins written all over them.
I mean after all, you need to be in the big B club to afford one of the new Sharp 108" LCD HDTV's because $70,000 is pocket change for the truly rich, right?
Sure, the OQO Model 2 pictured at right running Windows Vista looks rad, but at what cost? Try about $2000 configured the way I'd order it with an accessory pack. Maybe Microsoft will buy me one.
Sony announced some kewl devices. They always have neat stuff. Their new living room PC is small, white and cute. Their new Micro PC is awesome but expensive as hell. Their new video editing system is rad and the XL3 DVR is way kewl, but at $3300, I'll have to wait for a discount coupon... like forever.
The new HP Microsoft Home Server (pictured at left) sounds interesting, but I'm holding out for a bad ass HDTV recording rig. I'm hoping we'll get some news today on the Windows Vista Digital Cable Tuner offerings from Dell, HP, etc. Then I can finally figure out if I'm going to have to sell my Harley or what.
Oh, and as you might suspect, Microsoft announced a few things. We announced some new services coming to the Xbox family. Namely something we're calling IPTV for the Xbox. I don't recall if Robbie said the current generation Xbox360 would work or if the next gen Xbox360 would be required. I thought I recall him saying it would be up and running next holiday season. Maybe that's a hint. It probably doesn't matter much for me anyway. I'd be surprised if Charter Communications or Verizon will be selling the service in my area.
Anyway, I'm sitting here looking at all of these gadgets and wondering who can afford all this stuff. Beyond my realm for sure.
On Sunday night, join Bill Gates at microsoftatces.com as he keynotes 2007 CES, demonstrating how the company is delivering a new generation of connected experiences. Bill will be joined by Robbie Bach in announcing several new offerings from Windows Vista, Xbox 360, Microsoft TV and more.
The 2007 International CES starts Monday and Microsoft will be there introducing new technologies and demonstrating its latest innovations. Microsoft at CES will follow the action with in-the-moment video from the show floor.
Ok, so you invested in Windows XP Media Center 2005. You've been using a lovely analog tuner for a while and finally purchased a HD tuner and have endured over-the-air programming (OTA) for the past couple of years. Sure, OTA high definition TV is better than nothing, and it sure beats a 120GB HD DVR from the local cable company. But your lust for premium cable channels has been gnawing at you for months... What do you do?
Well, if you haven't been paying attention to the Internet this weekend, then you should check out the post at http://www.windows-now.com/blogs/robert/archive/2007/01/06/exclusive-windows-vista-digital-cable-tuners.aspx. Looks like someone received a nice package from Microsoft (as evidenced by the MS Asset tag).
Robert, we are jealous as hell. Now that we know you have it, tell us how well it works.
[UPDATE] Be careful what you wish for... When you have an exclusive on a product, and engadget points to you, you are going to get "some" traffic. Apparently the windows-now.com server is having some scale issues. I get a "Critical Error: Data Store Unavailable" when I try to go there. Bummer Robert.
Unless you're still partying like it was 1999, you realize it's now the year 2007. A little bit has happened since 1999 and we've been busy producing great products. We're going to give away one of those products at the TechNet events... you might have heard of it...
Microsoft® Office Professional 2007 !!!
What's the catch?
There's always a catch. First of all, you need to come and attend one of our events. How do you attend? Well, you need to go register at http://www.microsoft.com/business/launch2007/signup/default.mspx. Keep in mind the event venues have a finite capacity and we also have a limited number of copies of the product to give away.
Here's the legal language around this:
*FREE copy of Microsoft Office Professional 2007 and Microsoft Office Groove 2007. Offer good only to registered attendees of event on the date they attend, while supplies last. This offer is nontransferable. Limit one item each per attendee. Taxes, if any, are the sole responsibility of the recipient. The free software will be distributed as a downloadable file. To download the software, an access code will be required. The access code must be claimed onsite at event.
*FREE copy of Microsoft Office Professional 2007 and Microsoft Office Groove 2007. Offer good only to registered attendees of event on the date they attend, while supplies last. This offer is nontransferable. Limit one item each per attendee. Taxes, if any, are the sole responsibility of the recipient. The free software will be distributed as a downloadable file. To download the software, an access code will be required. The access code must be claimed onsite at event.
So register, come and have fun!!!
Oh, and for those of you that are developers, you'll also notice the MSDN developer events are strategically placed on the TechNet website as well. They are also doing the same thing, however, you cannot get a copy of the product from each event. Only one per person per event day. Sorry.
[UPDATE] I updated the legal language above. It's still very similar but we added detail around the download (hope you have fiber), and we added Groove 2007 as another product you'll receive. Fyi on the download... I've been downloading Office Beta and RC bits for months and it's far smaller than Windows Vista so don't get too worried about the download.
[Second Update] I updated the registration link since it will scale for more visitors.
Ever get tired of looking up information via an RDP session to the server or on http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/exchange/e2k7help/ when it comes to Exchange Server 2007? Well how would you like your own personal copy fo the Exchange Server 2007 helpfile instead?
Grab the Exchhelp.chm from the Microsoft download center. It's a self extracting archive so you can unzip it to the location of your choice.
This file includes a weath of information including the Getting Started, Planning and Architecture, Deployment, Operations, Security and Protection, Technical Reference and Development sections.
Are you stuck on Windows XP for a while? Are you sick to death of the blue, silver and olive themes? Well, the Zune team created a Windows XP theme that is very nice.
The shaded brown theme is similar to the Zune software colors. Imagine that. If you have not seen the Zune software, click on the thumbnail for a larger view. As you can see, the overall look and feel is pretty dark. I prefer dark colors although I think many of us are used to white backgrounds with black text. A dark background with lightly colored text is a welcome break for my eyes.
The downloadable theme only themes the borders, task bar, start menu, etc. for Windows XP programs. If you want to further alter operating system background and foreground colors, go for it.
To get the theme, either head on over to the Zune website at http://www.zune.net/en-us/meetzune/software.htm or go directly to the download at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=75078.
Oh, and for you Halo 3 fans, the picture of Master Chief on bungie.net matches the Zune theme very nicely. Coincidence?


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Especially with a big bowl of Appetizer Crack and some chips.
If you didn't try appetizer crack, otherwise known as "disappearing appetizer" on the recipe sidebar, you should. It's healthy, low fat, no animal products for my two vegetarian readers, Survival Chick and A.R., and it's unbelievably good. The first time I made it, for Tam and Bobbie and Data Viking, we polished off the bowl. (And it was not a small bowl). If you're watching your carbs, celery sticks make a great transport unit for this stuff.
It was snack food for a recent movie night. And a good movie it was. But like any movie involving guns, things that blow up and action, you just can't help but notice the small details. Out loud.
Sniper setting up on a hill to take out his target.
"The Gun is totally disassembled?"
"The scope is completely off of it, WT. . . ."
"No Free Floating Barrel?"
"Why do all the bad guy guards have short barrelled AR15's? They're going to make so much noise the every cop in the county will be here to arrest all the now deaf people".
Sigh. But the plot was interesting, the acting very good and I was actually silent for a while, until the last action scene.
"Oh come on! M203 doesn't work that way!!"
There's probably a reason guys brave enough to ask me out never wanted to take me to the theater.


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Maison Des Fleurs
- Mumsnet Reviews
- More Information
Your Reviews
"great for families…"
spent a great holiday there last spring,with my 2 nieces 6 and 7 the gite was really beautiful,everything that you could want, with films and games and the pool for the girls, everywhere was spotless, and modern, the owners were so helpful,thanks to their directions we found some beautiful cycle rides, and a wonderful wolf sanctuary, my nieces loved the resident pets, cats several, a rabbit and some chickens, have booked for this spring holiday, it can't come quick enoughRead moreLess
1 person found this review helpful.
Mumsnetter fredahuish1Number of total reviews contributed on Mumsnet1
1 review posted
1 Mumsnetter found it helpful
"Perfect for unwinding…"
The gite is spotless and modern and we felt very at home. Our boys aged 13, 11 and 7 loved the garden and pool and it was very relaxing to know they could play in such a safe environment. The owners couldn't have been more hospitable and helpful. I would definitely recommend this gite for a relaxing, family holiday.Read moreLess
1 person found this review helpful.
Mumsnetter Cowgirl231Number of total reviews contributed on Mumsnet1
1 review posted
1 Mumsnetter found it helpful
"Response from Maison des Fleurs…"
We have been contacted by the owners of Maison des Fleurs wishing to address the points raised in the review below. This 'review' is their response; please discount the star rating as this is a field that must be completed but in this instance is not applicable.
"The comments made in this review are contradictory to those entered in our visitors book by the clients.
We were under the impression that this issue had been resolved, after contact with the clients and confirmation from the tourist office that we were well within our rights to retain part of their damage waiver owing to the condition that the gîte was left in.
The gîte is indeed attached to our house and the pool is 5m in diameter. This information is published on our website and on any advertising. Any remarks about legal action have been taken out of context.
Although the pool's heating system had been tampered with, we would never accuse a client of doing this, or pass judgement on their children's behaviour.
We allow our neighbour's daughter to use the pool when clients are out but make it clear to them that if they have a problem with this they can let us know.
As members of Gîtes de France, our terms and conditions of rental and refundable damage waiver are based on those recommended by the organisation.
In the five years that we have had our gîte this is the first occasion that we found it necessary to withhold part of the damage waiver. In the past we have never charged a client for accidental damage to our property or belongings – we understand that accidents happen."Read moreLess
1 person found this review helpful.
Mumsnetter RachelCMumsnet37Number of total reviews contributed on Mumsnet9
37 reviews posted
30 Mumsnetters found them helpful
"Read the T&C's like a HAWK…"
We went to this gite last year and would not recommend this location to any of our friends, family or work colleagues due to the attitude and conduct of the (English) owners. The owners implied that our family had tampered with certain items, stated that our children's behaviour was 'strange' and that any bad reviews we would write would be challenged legally. If you do go to this gite I strongly recommend that you read in absolute and FULL detail, every single clause of the terms and conditions before going there. I would advise that you take a set of 'On arrival/on departure' photographs and be advised that as the owners live in a building attached to the gite, they will be 'in your space' for the whole time. There is a small pool on site, but the owners reserve the right to allow the neighbour's children/guests to use the pool and will do so without notifying you. The area itself is stunningly beautiful and I would recommend going to this area of France, but not to this particular gite.
You will be required to provide a damage waiver of approx £200 ( up from £130 from last year )Read moreLess
1 person found this review helpful.
Mumsnetter noffty1Number of total reviews contributed on Mumsnet1
1 review posted
1 Mumsnetter found it helpful


text:
To link to this article, copy this persistent link:
(Feb 23, 2009) Former Brazilian President Fernando Henique Cardoso suggested during a meeting of the Latin-American Commission on Drugs and Democracy, which is composed of former presidents of Latin America and other distinguished members of the public, that it is necessary to start to assess the convenience of decriminalizing the possession of marijuana for personal use, given the fact that many countries have already done so. The meeting took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on February 11, 2009.
Cardoso further noted that he personally considers the use of marijuana harmful, even if the user is no longer treated as a criminal. According to Cardoso, decriminalization for personal use alone is not enough. It is necessary to implement several other policies, including programs for prevention and decrease in the use of the drug, he stated, otherwise the decriminalization will only increase the use of marijuana.
A report on the meeting is expected to be forwarded to the United Nations, the European Union, and the United States. It will ask for changes in their policies designed to fight drug trafficking, as at present those policies are failing in Latin America. (Fernando Henrique Defende Estudo Sobre Descriminalização da Maconha, JURID, Feb. 12, 2009, available at https://secure.jurid.com.br/new/jengine.exe/cpag?p=jornaldetalhejornal&id=
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Last updated: 02/23/2009


text:
Life Sciences Tools and Services
Company Overview of Cancer Research Institute, Inc.
Executive Profile
Richard J. Hodes M.D.
Member of the Scientific Advisory Council, Cancer Research Institute, Inc.
|Total Calculated Compensation
|This person is connected to 1 Board Members in 1 different organizations across 1 different industries.
See Board Relationships
Richard J. Hodes, M.D serves as Chief of the Immune Regulation Section of the Experimental Immunology Branch as well as Director of the National Institute on Aging. Dr. Hodes serves as a Member of Scientific Advisory Council at Cancer Research Institute, Inc. Dr. Hodes received his M.D. from Harvard Medical School and completed a research fellowship at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm and clinical training in internal medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital before ...
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55 BroadwayPhone: 212-688-7515
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text: Doodle Moon is one of the best mole whacking game you have ever played. Your mission ? Land on the moon, destroy all the aliens with your best finger, try to save the spaceman, use a pink nurse to help you in your duty and reach the highest ...Read more


text:
Agricultural Development
The middle class around the world continues to grow, and along with this growth comes an increased demand for animal protein. We support educational programming that helps rural farmers increase meat and dairy production to meet growing demand. This helps bring agricultural development and jobs to disadvantaged communities.
Zoetis supports a range of initiatives that teach people how to raise animals and keep them healthy. We also sponsor projects that educate small-scale farmers about animal health and provide the technical support they need to fight hunger, become self-sufficient and sell their agricultural products.
Our efforts to sustain and enhance agricultural development around the world include dedicated partnerships such as:
Global Alliance for Livestock Veterinary Medicines
Zoetis was a key partner in creating and launching the Global Alliance for Livestock Veterinary Medicines (GALVmed), an organization dedicated to improving the health and food security of more than 600 million of the world's poorest people in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and Asia who rely on farm animals for their livelihoods. Today, we support GALVmed in targeting parasitic diseases affecting cattle in East Africa, poultry throughout the world, and zoonotic diseases, such as trypanosomiasis or African sleeping sickness, that migrate from animals to people.
Farmacias PRO Initiative
Zoetis's support for this initiative helps rural veterinary pharmacies in Mexico and several other Latin American countries better serve small-scale rural farmers who would otherwise not have access to medicines or education to help protect their livestock.
Food for the Hungry Partnership
Zoetis implemented this partnership to improve the lives of low-income rural families outside Manila, in the Philippines. Our support has helped the community switch from swine to goat-raising, allowing "backyard" farmers to develop viable ways to feed and support their families. Our commitment continues as we provide instruction in goat-raising technology and help "backyard" farmers develop viable ways to feed and support their families.
Smart Village
Through this partnership, Zoetis works to enhance the capacity of veterinarians who serve small agricultural villages in Egypt that have historically had limited access to veterinary services. We support specialized training for veterinarians at Cairo University, and sponsor educational newsletters for village farmers designed to expand their animal health knowledge and connect them with Smart Village veterinarians.


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'Time to release your list, DOJ'-A A +A
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
TWO Cebuano congressmen yesterday asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) to submit soon the official list of persons allegedly involved in the pork barrel scam, saying that multiple lists will only confuse the public.
The DOJ is still vetting the list it obtained from Janet Napoles, but one version that former senator Panfilo Lacson submitted to the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee has already been made public.
Quick action by the DOJ would "clear the confusion caused by the many unofficial lists being circulated by unknown sources," read a text message to Sun.Star Cebu from Rep. Raul del Mar (Cebu City, north district).
Rep. Gerald Anthony Gullas Jr., whose name appears in the Lacson list along with that of del Mar, also urged the DOJ to get to the bottom of the multiple lists.
"I can say that the only parties who stand to gain considerably from this mess-up are those who are truly liable," Gullas said in a press conference yesterday.
Napoles is facing a plunder case for allegedly organizing fake non-government organizations (NGOs) that then received at least P10 billion in congressional funds.
Amid the controversy, the Supreme Court ruled in late 2013 that the Priority Development Assistance Funds (PDAF), commonly known as the pork barrel, was unconstitutional. The Department of Budget and Management, in its website, said no PDAF has been released since the first half of 2013 ended.
During last night's plenary in the House of Representatives, Congressman del Mar pointed out that only the DOJ's list will be used as basis in the filing of charges
against those allegedly involved.
"Definitely, my name will not be there as I have been careful in the proper use of my PDAF," said the congressman.
Del Mar, who has served in the House for 21 years, began this current term last June 30, 2013. So did Gullas, who replaced his grandfather, former congressman Eduardo Gullas.
Del Mar reiterated his denial of any transaction with Napoles using his PDAF. He also emphasized that he has not met Napoles.
Lawyer Clavel Asas-Martinez, who was congresswoman of Cebu Province's first district from 1998 to 2007, is also in the list Lacson submitted. In a message relayed by her son, Association of Barangay Councils Provincial Federation President Celestino Martinez III, the ex-congresswoman said she neither met with nor transacted with Napoles.
In a related development, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) Camp Crame Director Benjamin Magalong admitted it would be a challenge for them to arrest politicians allegedly mentioned in Napoles's list.
In his visit at the CIDG 7 headquarters, he said they were tasked by the Philippine National Police Director Allan Purisima to serve the warrant against those politicians
involved once the court issues them.
"We have prepared contingency plans in case the warrants will be issued," said Magalong.
"They are well educated and have good disposition. I am sure if ever there will be a warrant, they know what to do and they will cooperate instead of hide. Alam nila kung anong mangyayari if magtatago sila (They know what will happen if they hide)," added Magalong.
In yesterday's press conference, Gullas pointed out he was not even a congressman yet when Napoles allegedly siphoned off public funds for non-existent or dubious projects.
He appealed to the Cebu media, especially to radio commentators, not to judge him on the basis of a questionable list.
"I am utterly shocked that I have supposedly been included in one of the many purported Napoles lists being peddled by unknown sources through the media. The inclusion of my name in one of the lists is outrageous, and makes no sense at all," Gullas said.
"This is my first term ever as a congressman," he said.
The Supreme Court had already blocked the release of the PDAF by the time his term started last year, "thus, the inclusion of my name in any of the so-called Napoles lists is downright inconceivable and impossible," Gullas said. "I promised my constituents trustworthy service, and they are getting honest service (from me)."
Gullas said the members of the House minority, headed by Rep. Ronaldo Zamora, told him that they will hold a press conference in Manila to question the credibility of the list that includes Gullas's name.
"It's just so sad and I get emotional because the damage (to my name) has been done no matter what I say. If you are tagged in a list like that, the public outcry on the previous list is bad in itself," Gullas said.
Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on May 15, 2014.
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the indians are all pissy and think the mexicans are "returning home" thats a big load of bull whoever thinks that should be deported or executed.
its funny because its based off of 300 but its not so funny because its true
I came to the United States in 2001 post 9/11, My father had applied for the L1 visa which was underway, when i arrived here i was 15, all processes were stopped after 9/11, and there was pretty much an imigrant persecution for the next 2 years, I worked various jobs(while going to school) with a fake SSN which meant i paid my taxes but never got them back. I graduated high school here in FL witha 4.25 GPA, BUT couldnt go to college because i was still an illegal, I got a tax ID number and started claiming all of my taxes, my fathers papers arrived after I had turned 21, therefore only my mother fell under the legality umbrella. today I am still an illegal, was accepted into a certain university called embryriddle to major in aerospace science but cant even step foot in there because of my situation, therefore, im stuck working. Furthermore we set up a transportation company with my father in which we emplo
Second of all, wow the arguments on here arefeirce- kudos on punk1n and all others on heredefending the immegrants because they trulyarent the sh/it most people think they arein fact if it wasnt for them we wouldnt havemost of the food on our tables :]
Sure not all of them are hardworking but thenagain you can say the same for all other races :p
Ps. I am not a fan of the 1k character limit either.
Seriously. Take the bullshxt OUT. Why aren't the racist posts being taken out, BUDDY?
Stop with the just Mexican talk because realize there are OTHER countries out there.
Word to atlacatl, soy salvadorena. :)
May the racist and arrogant posters be blocked.
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