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Gates: U.S. Tried to Oust Karzai in 'Failed Putsch'
- By Yochi Dreazen
Yochi Dreazen is a Managing Editor for News at Foreign Policy. He is also writer-in-residence at the Center for a New American Security. His book about military suicide was published by Random House's Crown division in 2014.
Prior to joining Foreign Policy, Dreazen was a contributing editor at the Atlantic and the senior national security correspondent for National Journal. He began his career at the Wall Street Journal and spent 11 years at the newspaper, most recently as its military correspondent. He was born in Chicago, and later attended the University of Pennsylvania. At Penn, he edited the award-winning daily campus newspaper and graduated Magna Cum Laude in 1999 with degrees in History and English. He was hired by the Wall Street Journal immediately after graduation. Dreazen arrived in Iraq in April 2003 with the Fourth Infantry Division, and spent the next two years living in Baghdad as the Wall Street Journal's main Iraq correspondent.
Dreazen has made more than 12 lengthy trips to Iraq and Afghanistan and has spent a total of nearly four years on the ground in the two countries, mostly doing front-line combat embeds. He has reported from more than 20 countries, including Pakistan, Russia, China, Israel, Japan, Turkey, Morocco, and Saudi Arabia.
In 2010, Dreazen received the Military Reporters & Editors association's top award for domestic military reporting in a large publication for a series of articles about military suicide and the psychological traumas impacting veterans of the two long wars. His writing has appeared in the Washington Post, Smithsonian, Tablet and the New Republic and he appears regularly on TV and radio programs such as NPR's Diane Rehm Show and PBS' Washington Week with Gwen Ifill. Dreazen gives frequent lectures about journalism, the wars and current events to both civilian and military audiences.
Dreazen lives in Washington with his wife, Annie Rosenzweig Dreazen, and their beloved Golden Retriever, Charlie.
- yochi.dreazen
- @yochidreazen
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has long accused the Obama administration of trying to secretly engineer his political downfall. Turns out he may be right.
Lost in the political controversy surrounding former Defense Secretary Robert Gates' new memoir is a fascinating account of a failed administration attempt to ensure that Karzai was defeated in the 2009 Afghan elections. Gates is harshly critical of the move, which he derides as a "clumsy and failed putsch" that did significant damage to the U.S.-Afghan relationship.
Karzai's clear distrust of President Obama, regardless of the cause, has contributed to the administration's inability to win Karzai's support for a security pact allowing for a long-term American troop presence in Afghanistan. With talks stalled, senior White House officials say they may withdraw all U.S. personnel from Afghanistan if a deal isn't reached soon.
The central players in the backchannel effort to unseat Karzai, according to Gates, were Richard Holbrooke, then the administration's special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, and Karl Eikenberry, then the U.S. ambassador to Kabul.
Gates writes that Holbrooke regularly spoke about the need to create "a level playing field" that would ensure all presidential candidates were given protective details, transportation to campaign events throughout the country, and the ability to convey their messages to independent Afghan newspapers, radio stations and TV outlets. In reality, Gates writes, Holbrooke didn't just want a level playing field. He wanted one tilted against Karzai.
"Holbrooke was doing his best to bring about the defeat of Karzai," Gates writes. "What he really wanted was to have enough credible candidates running to deny Karzai a majority in the election, thus forcing a runoff in which he could be defeated."
The two men, according to the former Defense chief, held highly publicized meetings with Karzai's opponents, attended their rallies, made a point of being photographed with them, and even offered them unspecified advice. Gates writes that Karzai quickly became aware of the U.S. efforts to unseat him and ultimately cut deals with the country's warlords to win their support in the vote.
The resulting election was dirty, even by Afghanistan's standards. It was marred by violence and large scale, barely hidden, vote-rigging. International monitors later concluded that nearly a quarter of the votes cast were fraudulent. The purported U.S. effort to unseat Karzai that Gates describes also failed: Karzai didn't win an outright majority, but he prevailed in the second round of voting.
"It was all ugly: our partner, the president of Afghanistan, was tainted, and our hands were dirty as well." he writes.
Gates' harsh account of his time in the Obama White House, particularly his ferocious criticism of Vice President Biden, has already prompted a fierce counterattack from current and former administration officials. White House spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden, who lived in Kabul as a senior advisor to Eikenberry during the 2009 elections, says Gates' accusations of a concerted effort to unseat Karzai were "just categorically false."
"The U.S.'s interest was in a stable Afghanistan, with credible democratic elections – not in helping any candidate win or lose," she said.
Stephen Biddle, an Afghanistan expert at the Council on Foreign Relations, said that Gates' account bolsters Karzai's long-held belief that the U.S. government was trying to ensure he lost the election.
"This perception on his part was a major contributor to his growing disaffection with the U.S. ever since," Biddle said. "The result was the worst of both worlds – Karzai was re-elected, and we now looked like we'd attempted to get rid of him and failed. Not good."
Gates closes his description of the purported administration move to unseat Karzai with an account of a tense exchange with the special United Nations Representative for Afghanistan, Kai Eide. The two men were seated next to each other during a meeting of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization devoted to the Afghan elections.
"Before speaking publicly, he whispered to me that while he was only going to say that there was blatant foreign interference in the election, he wanted me to know he had in mind specifically the United States and Holbrooke," Gates writes.


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Printed from at 24-09-2017 at 10:30
©2017 Lortal.eu. All rights reserved.
250 year old,completely renovated, secluded gite, holiday cottage and farmhouse set in 3 acres near Doissat "capital" of French walnut country in the Dordogne. Horse riding, fishing, golf, canoeing, hiking and much more to do locally. Lortal is a spacious traditional Dordogne holiday cottage and farmhouse completely renovated to combine character and comfort with rural views via terraces and poolside. Located in South West France in the Perigord Noir in the "Golden Triangle" of Sarlat / Domme and Bergerac in the beautiful Dordogne valley. Belves, one of the most beautiful cities of France. is only 7 km from Lortal. Belves is a medieval town perched on a rocky spur above the Nauze Valley in Perigord Noir. The Lortal holiday cottage provides the perfect pied-a-terre for a memorable holiday!
On the groundfloor: a large comfortable lounge and good size fully equipped farmhouse kitchen with stairs up to the bedrooms. Also a bedroom (accessing covered terrace, overlooking the grounds, and pool) with ensuite bathroom. Upstairs a master bedroom (with ensuite bathroom), two twin bedrooms with a bathroom (shower, wc.). In total 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms
Available: dishwasher, washing machine, SAT-tv, dvd and cd player, film dvds, music cds, reading books, table tennis table, games, free WIFI internet, 10x 5m private, salted swimming pool.
We are a 4* accommodation. (out of 5*) The stars are an official guarantee of quality service and comfort. The new ratings are awarded by the government only after a thorough visit of the accommodation in question, which is verified by independent auditors.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
my doctor did not charge me "his" fee so this was half what i would have paid.
i had the last pixel in february,was told it would take six months to really start seeing results from the first one in october 09. well, i do feel the skin texture has improved, however the icepick scars remain so i dont feel like it was really worth it even at the reduced price.when viewing the ultraviolet pics however, i can see significant reduction in "sun damage' that has not appeared yet. so if this helps me to age better, it's worth it but how would i know that? people with acne scars want to see improvement from the top,with scars dissappearing or improving at lest 50%. if you have shallow scars this might help you but it doesnt help ice pick scars. apparently it has really helped me not develop "age spots"from years of tanning, im 49, but really since i didnt have them anyway how can they prove it? alot of money for so-so results.


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Changes in the Recruitment and Education of the Power Elites in Twentieth Century Western Democracies
The aim of this paper is to examine the evolution of recruitment of elites and to investigate the nature of the links between recruitment and training of elites and economic development. We show that there was a key shift at the turn of the nineteenth century in the way the Western world trained its elites, with a second shift taking place after World War II, when meritocracy became the basis for recruitment of elites. Although meritocratic selection should result in the best being chosen, we show that meritocratic recruitment leads to class stratification and auto-recruitment. We analyze whether stratification resulting from meritocratic selection is optimal for the development of a country, and show that it is dependent on the type of technological changes occurring in the country.
If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.
|Date of creation:
|Nov 2002
|Contact details of provider:
| Postal: Faculty of Social Sciences, Bar Ilan University 52900 Ramat-Gan
Phone: Phone: +972-3-5318345
Fax: +972-3-7384034
Web page: http://www.biu.ac.il/soc/ec
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Some relief is on the way for air travelers fuming about fees for checked bags -- if they're willing to sign up for a new credit card.
Starting June 1, Delta Air Lines customers using American Express SkyMiles credit cards won't have to pay the $50 in charges for the first checked bag on a round-trip flight.
The perk extends to a cardholder's family, providing perhaps hundreds of dollars in savings per trip.
The bag fee waiver is part of an American Express campaign to tout the benefits of Delta SkyMiles credit cards.
"The best part of all is there is no limit to the number of times you can use it during the year," said American Express vice president David Rabkin. "So, every single time on every single Delta flight, you'll be able to get your first checked bag for free."
The effort will focus on Delta's major hubs, including Minneapolis-St. Paul.
American Express is still trying to sign up folks who carried the Northwest Airlines WorldPerks Visa card. Delta took over Northwest.
But many, perhaps most, WorldPerks credit cardholders did not land with American Express. U.S. Bank boasts most WorldPerks cardholders signed up for a new air travel awards card issued by the bank.
In 2009, Delta and Northwest airlines took in about $750 million in bag fees between them, according to government data. Overall, U.S. carriers collected some $2.7 billion in bag fees last year.


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Gary Franklin, MD, MPH, medical director for the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, joined the State Medical Board of Ohios Chronic Pain Rules Workgroup at its conference call meeting on May 16.
Dr. Franklin is an advocate for guidelines that include a yellow flag warning opioid dose threshold of 120 mg/day morphine-equivalent dose.
Washington states guideline recommends that prescribing physicians and other health care providers obtain consultation from a pain medicine expert for patients with chronic, non-cancer pain receiving opioid doses greater than 120 mg/day morphine-equivalent dose. This is for pateints whose pain and function has not substantially improved during opioid treatment, and is to be done before continuing to prescribe daily doses above 120 mg morphine-equivalent dose. Dr. Franklin refers to this as stopping to take a breath before moving forward.
Dr. Franklin has assessed changes in opioid dosing patterns and opioid-related mortality in Washington states workers compensation system and has concluded that the opioid dosing guideline appears to be associated temporally with a decline in doses for long-acting opioids and in the number of opioid-related deaths among injured workers (injured workers receiving benefits through the workers compensation system).
The Kasich Administration has been particularly interested in using Washington states experience as a model for what might be done here in Ohio.


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== PostgreSQL Weekly News - October 15th 2003 == Folks continue to hammer on beta4 as issues kept trickling in. There are also a couple of open items left to be dealt with, but those should be wrapped up soon, so hopefully we'll see another release in the next few days. Since there aren't too many changes this week, let's spin on through them. Installation tweaks seems to be some of the most prevalent changes, which is no surprise really as the build process gets hammered the most during the beta cycle. Some of those changes include adding quotes around -O settings in the win template, centralizing the optimization defaults into configure.in rather than the template files, adding compile -O flag to configure only for non-debug mode, and removing the "registration" message at the end of install. Other changes this week included a change in logging, changing the word query to statement, and making log_duration print when log_min_duration_statement prints. A fix for improper usage of snprintf() in contrib/pg_dumplo was put in. We now ensure that "--" comments extend to the end of a line. The pg_id program now compiles correctly on Win32. Some NULL regression tests were added. Access to the variable m_preparedCount in JDBC via synchronized functions is now protected to prevent multiple threads using automatic cursors on the same connection from stomping over each others cursor. A core dump when trying to start pg_autovacuum as root was fixed. setRelhassubclassInRelation() was adjusted to not perform actual heap_update when the pg_class.relhassubclass value is already correct which should avoid most cases of the "tuple concurrently updated" problem that was recently reported by Robert Creager. Initdb was modified to determine the number of max_connections first, then set shared buffers, to avoid corner cases where max_connections end up unreasonably small due to shared_buffers hogging too much shmem space. The pull_up_subqueries() function in the optimizer now copies the subquery before starting to modify it. Tab completion in psql was tweaked to use PQEscapeString, ensuring that queries are not messed up by quotes or backslashes in words that are being matched to database names. Documentation oriented fixes this week included a tweak to pg_autovacuum's README, an update to the Solaris FAQ, an update to the Russian FAQ, some extra mentions of using logrotate, a mention of the LOCALTIME/LOCALTIMESTAMP functions when dealing with dates/times, and the addition of sort_mems effects on restore and run time performance. == PostgreSQL Product News == MicroOLAP releases ISQL for Postgres v1.2 http://www.microolap.com/products/dba/pgisql.htm plPerl trigger support available for beta testing http://www.commandprompt.com/entry.lxp?lxpe=285 FireHOL R5 1.159 (Adds PostgreSQL support) http://www.net-security.org/software.php?id=307 == PostgreSQL In the News == Use PostgreSQL and PHP on Windows http://www.sitepoint.com/article/1233 University students in Mexico promote free software http://newsforge.com/newsforge/03/10/15/208238.shtml?tid=19 Oracle offers up database to the little guys http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/53/33299.html MDB Tools project (blog) http://www.araucaria.uklinux.net/blog/2003_10_05_archive.html#106577972238905956 == Upcoming Events == PHP-Con West: Santa Clara, California: October 21-24 Josh Berkus & Erez Ascher, and Steve Lane are giving two presentations on PHP + PostgreSQL http://www.php-con.com/2003/west/ LinuxWorld Conference & Expo 2003 : Frankfurt, Germany : October 27-29 PostgreSQL will have a booth at the LinuxWorld Conference http://www.linuxworldexpo.de/ International PHP Conference: Frankfurt, Germany: November 2-5 Bruce Momjian will be presenting several PostgreSQL talks at this year's International PHP Conference. http://www.phpconference.de/2003/ == PostgreSQL Weekly News - October 15th 2003 == Don't forget to read Elein Mustain's Weekly Summary of the PostgreSQL General Mailing List http://www.varlena.com/GeneralBits/ On the Web: http://www.postgresql.org http://advocacy.postgresql.org
Next: From: Dave Page Date: 2003-10-17 14:41:33 Subject: pgAdmin III v1.0.1 Released Previous: From: MicroOLAP Team Date: 2003-10-09 12:17:41 Subject: MicroOLAP releases ISQL for Postgres v1.2


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Results good for HER-2 positive breast cancer patients using trastuzumabATLANTA -- Researchers in the North Central Cancer Treatment Group (NCCTG) have shown that patients who receive trastuzumab at the same time as post-chemotherapy radiation treatments for HER-2 positive breast cancer have no more risk for major side effects or complications than those who do not receive the drug. Mayo Clinic's Michele Halyard, M.D., presented these findings today, June 5, at the 2006 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting in Atlanta.
This study resulted from NCCTG clinical trial N9831, from which breakthrough treatment findings were presented at ASCO 2005. "The original N9831 study showed that trastuzumab reduced the recurrence of HER-2 positive breast cancer about 50 percent," says Dr. Halyard, a radiation oncologist at Mayo Clinic Arizona and lead author of today's study. "We hoped also to show that trastuzumab did not add complications to radiation treatment, and the current study has certainly proven that, providing good news for many women."
About 25 percent to 30 percent of breast cancers produce an overabundance of a growth-promoting protein called human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER-2). These tumors tend to grow faster and are generally more likely to recur than tumors that do not overproduce HER-2. Trastuzumab is the first identified monoclonal antibody designed specifically to attack this overexpressed protein, and is used as a follow-on treatment to chemotherapy. A monoclonal antibody is a laboratory-engineered protein that helps the body's immune system fight foreign invaders such as cancer.
Dr. Halyard's study looked at the side effects related to adding trastuzumab to radiation therapy. In the 1,460 patients who received radiation in the original N9831 group, there was no significant difference in the incidence of skin reactions, pneumonitis, dyspnea, cough, esophageal dysphagia or neutropenia between those who received trastuzumab (908), and those who did not (552). Additionally, the researchers report that within the group of 1,286 patients who received trastuzumab, those who had radiation (908) were no more likely to have cardiac complications than those who did not (378).
The NCCTG trastuzumab trial was led by Mayo Clinic Jacksonville's Edith Perez, M.D., with Dr. Halyard as a co-investigator. It was a cooperative effort with the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG), the Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG), and the Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB). Study co-investigators included Mayo Clinic Rochester's Thomas Pisansky, M.D.; and Amylou Dueck, Ph.D.; along with Lori Pierce, M.D., University of Michigan; Lawrence Solin, M.D., University of Pennsylvania; and Lawrence Marks, M.D., Duke University.
The study presented is one of several studies resulting from information gained in NCCTG clinical trial N9831. NCCTG is a national clinical research group sponsored by the National Cancer Institute. Research is based at Mayo Clinic. NCCTG consists of a network of cancer specialists at community clinics, hospitals and medical centers in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The group is dedicated to bringing clinical trials with promising new cancer therapies to communities where patients live.
Trastuzumab, trade name Herceptin�, is manufactured by Genentech, which provided some support for this study, along with the National Institutes of Health and the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
For more information on breast cancer research at Mayo Clinic, visit http://cancercenter.mayo.edu/mayo/research/womens_cancer. To find out more about NCCTG and available clinical trials, visit http://ncctg.
To obtain the latest news releases from Mayo Clinic, go to www.mayoclinic.org/news. MayoClinic.com (www.mayoclinic.com) is available as a resource for your health stories.
Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 30 Apr 2016
Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.


text:
Details & Care
A wrapped heel and partially concealed platform support an elegant, open-toe pump in exotic, snake-print leather.
- Approx. heel height: 3 1/2" with 1" platform.
- Measurements taken from size 8.5 and may vary slightly by size.
- Leather upper, lining and sole.
- By kate spade new york; made in Italy.
- Salon Shoes.
- Item #363527


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Two brothers charged in Robeson County murder
Mon, 28 Oct 2013 16:55:45 GMT —
Charles Thomas has been charged with First Degree Murder and Robbery with a Deadly Weapon in the murder of Earnest Schurlock, 34, during a home invasion at his house on Lombardy Village Road in the Shannon area of Robeson County last Friday night.
Thomas' brother Edward Lee Thomas is charged with Accessory After the Fact of Murder.
Schurlock's wife found her husband dead inside a building behind his home, according to Major Anthony Thompson with the Robeson County Sheriff's Office.
Thompson says Schurlock had been robbed and shot.
The Thomas brothers are being in the Robeson County Detention Center.


text: Casey was born in 1981, grew up in Gales Ferry Connecticut and went to Ledyard High School. In 1999 the iMac DV came out. This was the first computer that allowed consumers to edit video. Casey and Van both got a video camera and iMac and figured out how to make movies. Neither of the brothers went to film school or anything like that. They both live in NYC.


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Sure, the Red Sox are coming off a terrible season. But while the AL East figures to once again be a difficult battleground, there are still plenty of reasons for Red Sox Nation to be optimistic.
One reason Boston fans should be excited heading into this season is the surplus of young talent down in the minors. It's unclear who exactly will make it to the big club in 2013, but the future certainly looks bright on Yawkey Way.
Many of the organization's young prospects are already working hard in preparation for a big year. Among those attending the team's rookie development program are shortstop Xander Bogaerts and outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr., both of whom figure to play a major role in Boston's return to the top.
NESN's Naoko Funayama dropped by the Red Sox' rookie camp on Monday. Check out the video above from NESN Daily to learn all about it.
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text:
The Jet Free Evo is a lightweight open face helmet and protective, suitable for use in the city or in the medium-range routes, both
driving a scooter that of a modern naked. Free Evo has a weight of only 1000 grams, thanks to its outer shell of superior design, fiber tricomposite DCA (dyneema, carbon and aramid fibers). The maximum width and maximum comfort in a helmet extremely safe.
The inner shell is in eps molded foams, for the best absorption of the force generated by an impact and also has channels that facilitate the movement of air inside the helmet. Free Evo has a visor fume 'to 50% retractable, easy to operate.
The interior is anti-allergic fabric with Sanitized treatment and are completely removable and washable, while the strap has a quick-release.
Fact Sheet:
Material: Dyneema, carbon and aramid resin + Epossidic
Inside padding: Removable - Washable with Sanitized treatment
Visor: Scratch-proof - Concealed inside the helmet
Buckle: Quick Release with micrometric adjustment
Weight: 950 ± 50g


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Renowned French photographer Leo Caillard recently visited to the beaches of Miami for his latest collection of imagery. Dubbed "Miami Houses," the photography features the iconic lifeguard houses of the city's extensive beachfront, thus depicting huts resembling everything from a classic lighthouse and a stars-and-stripes motif to the signature art deco style that dominates South Beach. Seen here in its entirety, "Miami Houses" can also be viewed alongside more of Caillard's work via his website.
Source: iGNANT


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Some 29 percent of 1,004 respondents ages 18 years old or older to a 2010 poll said they did not own a credit card–around a 10 percent jump from the number of respondents who reported having no credit cards in 2009.
For many people, saying goodbye to credit cards helps them stay out of debt and take more control of their finances.
A 2008 study reinforced evidence from earlier studies that consumers tend to spend more money when paying with credit cards than they do when paying with cash.
Credit cards also alter a consumer's mindset when contemplating a purchase.
A 2012 study published in the Journal of Consumer Research found shoppers who charge an item to their credit card focus on the benefits of the purchase, while those who pay cash focus on the cost.
Story by Daniel Bortz for U.S. News.


text:
|YDS: 5.11b French: 6c Ewbanks: 23 UIAA: VIII- ZA: 23 British: E3 5c [details]
|Larry Stuemke, 1994
|Page Views:
|Submitted By:
|Richard M. Wright on May 27, 2002
|Comments on Arch Crack
|Add Comment
|Show which comments —
By Michael Sharp
Oct 7, 2002
|Great climb. The crack is sustained, yet typical .9/.10 sport climbing. If you are struggling to make the clips, your not in the right place. The transition to the upper face is AWASOME. Great feet and tiny fingers.
By ?????
Oct 5, 2003
|There is a route to the left of arch crack and right of stolen land. The route was established in August and I wish to know rating.
By Anonymous Coward
Oct 14, 2005
|We did the route between Arch Crack, and Stolen Land today. I don't know the name or rating???, but we both thought it was a great climb **.
By climber73
From: Fort Collins, CO
Jul 14, 2007
This route is really fun. Did this after Stolen Land, and it felt totally cruiser.
We did the route between Stolen Land and Arch Crack as well. Felt like 5.9ish. Definitely worthwhile route.
By Dean Cool
From: Boulder, CO
Jun 14, 2013
|This is now the second climb up the hill of the Tabula area.
By Branty
From: Boulder, CO
Jun 5, 2016
|Really fun crack, really fun face stuff above the crack. Awesome route.


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This story from Ed Ruzicka is from my "Why Baton Rouge Is a Cool Place to Live" file:
"After the St. Patrick's Day Parade, when most revelers had left, a small cadre lingered on Becky and Stuart Roberts' porch across from City Park.
"Clarence Freeman was picking out a bluegrass song on his resonator guitar when a stranger with a guitar appeared on the stairs. At his shoulder, a tall dude held a trombone.
"The guitarist started a light, swaying tune. Within seconds Clarence joined in.
"Then came the trombone's uplifting notes. Soon the whole group was tapping feet, nodding, swaying.
"These two troubadours transported us to a place of great beauty and endless possibility.
"I just want to thank them for the joyous gift they gave before merely sauntering off down the bead-laden street."
Penny foolish
Brick Harrell sent me a check.
Don't worry, it wasn't a bribe to get his story in the column (although, come to think of it, that's not a bad idea …).
Brick sent the check to show me he had figured out why Entergy is seeking a rate increase.
The check to him from Entergy is for 2 cents "interest on deposit."
He says if they did this for all their customers, those pennies would certainly add up to a considerable sum (not including handling and mailing costs).
He mailed the check to me because "ain't no way I'm going to walk in the bank and deposit a check for 2 cents!"
Ups and downs
Henrietta Didier, of Rayne, says our mention of directions in Acadiana "reminded me of the 1950s when my husband worked for Amerada Hess Corp. in the Raceland area.
"People would ask me where Raceland was located.
"I'd always answer 'It's right between up the bayou and down the bayou' — and always saw a strange look on their faces."
Exchanging treats
Mike Lukacin says, "A few years ago (make that quite a few), I took some marinated crawfish tails to Pennsylvania.
"Now if I don't bring crawfish my family is not happy.
"In fact, my sister has told me if I don't bring the crawfish, she won't make any pirogies.
"Needless to say, crawfish will be heading north."
Drink and ride
New Orleans taxicab passengers can now buy soft drinks (or, as they're known in New Orleans, "mixers") from dispensers in the cabs.
New Orleans Carriage Cab, which also operates Yellow-Checker Cab, will have the vending machines in some 250 cabs, says owner Simon Garber.
Simon says in 2007, his son Shaun, then 14 years old, gave him the idea. He's been working ever since with patent attorneys and technical people to develop the vending machines.
A dry rain
Jeanie says, "Who would think you would have to use your windshield wipers on a beautiful day?
"Well, I did — just to get all the pollen off the windshield! And my car was parked under the carport."
Nice People Dept.
Butch Peno says, "My wife, Cindy, wears my daughter's opal birthstone ring.
"There is a lot of sentimental value in it, because Jill died in 1994 at the age of 14.
"The band was worn thin and one prong was bent, so Cindy brought the ring to Lee Michaels for repairs.
"When she picked it up, she was told 'No charge.'
"Needless to say, tears flowed. Thank you, Lee Michaels!"
Camping with Tigers
The Big Buddy Program and the LSU Athletics Geaux Givers have a "Touring with the Tigers Spring Break Camp" Monday through Thursday.
The kids will tour Tiger Stadium, lunch with Mike the Tiger (at a safe distance, I assume), and meet with the softball team, cheerleaders, swim team, gymnastics team, etc.
Call (215) 388-9737 or visit http://www.bigbuddyprogram.org.
Special People Dept.
On Friday, Mildred Hopper celebrates her 92nd birthday.
Aging process
Richard Guidry, of Zachary, says, "At my age, if I wanted to keep in touch with my old friends, I'd need a Ouija board."
Spare that egg
Teacher Bertha Hinojosa says her youngest gifted student at Glen Oaks Park Elementary came home after a day of decorating Easter eggs.
His mother asked the 3-year-old, "Did you dye eggs today?" The lad responded, "No, I didn't kill anything today."
The littlest scam artist
Liz Mac says her 3-year-old great-granddaughter got a new purse, and "now all she wants to do is put money in it.
"I gave her some change and a dollar bill on Sunday. On Tuesday she asked for some money, holding her purse open.
"I told her, 'Granny already gave you money.'
"She said, 'I lost it.'
"I asked her, 'Where did you lose it?'
"She looked at me with the cutest smile and said, 'In your purse, Granny!'
"Now, how could I refuse?"
Write Smiley at firstname.lastname@example.com. He can also be reached by fax at (225) 388-0351 or mail at P.O. Box 588, Baton Rouge, LA 70821.


text:
It's been 4 months since my eye surgery, and since October, every night my eye waters like crazyyyyyyy. And when I wake up the next day, my upper lid is swollen 10 times than before. Then it settles back down during the day and the watering occurs again when I'm sleeping. Do you guys think its infected or something..?
My eye won't stop water ever since I had my ptosis eye surgery?
Doctor Answers 1
Tearing after ptosis surgery
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You should see an ophthalmologist or oculoplastic specialist. There are many reasons for eye tearing. It could be because you are not closing your eyes completely and that causes air to get into your eyes, causing dryness and irritation, which in turn causes reflex tearing.
Learn more: http://www.tabanmd.com/ptosis-droopy-upper-eyelid
These answers are for educational purposes and should not be relied upon as a substitute for medical advice you may receive from your physician. If you have a medical emergency, please call 911. These answers do not constitute or initiate a patient/doctor relationship.


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M.A.G airports provide capacity for growth
M.A.G believes that action is urgently needed to maintain the UK's status as an international hub for aviation and provide further capacity for growth.
In November 2012, the Secretary of State for Transport, Rt. Hon Patrick McLoughlin MP established the Airports Commission to examine the scale and timing of any requirement for additional capacity to maintain the UK's position as an important aviation hub, and to identify and evaluate how any need for additional capacity should be met in the short, medium and long term.
As an owner of four airports in the UK (Manchester, London Stansted, East Midlands and Bournemouth) and interests in both London and the UK regions, M.A.G is in a position to offer a balanced national perspective on the issues being debated by the Commission.
M.A.G airports are uniquely placed to meet short-term capacity challenge
In the short term, all of our airports can make a significant contribution to growing the UK economy and improving international connectivity by making the best possible use of the spare capacity we already have on our runways.
For example, Stansted could operate an additional 130,000 flights today without any major investment in infrastructure, while Manchester already has two runways and the capacity to expand from 20 to 55 million passengers a year. East Midlands and Bournemouth can also play their part in serving passenger demand from local markets.
To make the most effective use of this spare capacity, its vital that Government and other parties step forward and play their part. In our responses to the Commission, we have called for a number of well timed policy interventions, such as improving transport links and reforming the structure of Air Passenger Duty to stimulate the take up of existing capacity at our airports.
M.A.G's immediate priority is better use of existing capacity at all our airports. With new runway capacity highly unlikely within the next 10 – 15 years, a clear priority for the Commission and Government policy must be to make the best possible use of existing capacity now.
Stansted could meet the medium-to-long term capacity challenge
The demand for air travel is growing and its expected that airports in the South East will be full by 2030. M.A.G believes that if the UK's is to maintain its position as the Europe's most important aviation hub its vital we plan for the long term.
In the long term, Stansted offers a range of credible, deliverable and flexible long-term options for new runway capacity. In addition to options for one new runway and the development of an effective hub, there is an option to develop new runway capacity at Stansted in a number of steps to meet long term demand. We believe these options are viable and competitive on cost grounds. Stansted's location means that the options for new runways have significantly lower social and environmental impacts when compared to other potential runway schemes in the South East. At the same time, Manchester has the capacity to support a substantial increase in demand for air travel from the North of England over the long term.
In summary M.A.G airports offer unique capacity for growth from the short-term through to the long-term.
To find out more about M.A.Gs position or to read our responses to the Airports Commission, view our Airports Commission Submissions or contact us email@example.com


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Zoe Hughes, Visiting Scholarcontact me at: firstname.lastname@example.com
Zoe with instrument
Zoe deploying instrument in creek
Academic History:
Visiting Scholar at UH. 2010.
Post-Doctoral Associate/Instructor at Boston University. 2004-present
Environmental consultant, Metoc, UK. 2003-2004.
Ph.D. Southhampton University. 2003
Research Interests:
I am a coastal oceanographer who has snuck into the Pennings Lab while no one was looking. I study tidal and wave hydrodynamics, sediment transport and morphodynamics in shallow coastal environments (such as estuaries and backbarrier systems). My link to this group lies in how physics and ecology interact: vegetation and fauna influencing geomorphology and vice versa.
Selected Publications:
Hughes Z.J., 2010. Tidal channels on tidal flats and marshes. In: Tidal Environments. R Davis and R Dalrymple (Eds), Springer, New York. In Press
Argow B.A., Z.J. Hughes and D.M. FitzGerald, 2010. The potential for ice-rafted sediment influx on northern marshes. Estuaries and Coastal Shelf Science. Submitted
Fagherazzi S., D.M. FitzGerald, R.W. Fulweiler, Z.J. Hughes, P.L. Wiberg, K.J. McGlathery, J.T. Morris, T.J. Tolhurst, L.A. Deegan, D.S. Johnson, 2010. Ecogeomorphology of Salt Marshes and Tidal Flats. In: Treatise on Geomorphology, Vol. 12: Ecogeomorphology. D. Butler and C. Hupp (Eds), Elsevier. In Press
Howes N.C., D.M. FitzGerald, Z.J. Hughes, I.Y. Georgiou, M.A. Kulp, M.D. Miner, J.M. Smith and J.A. Barras, 2010 Wetland loss during hurricanes: failure of low salinity marshes. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. doi:10.1073/pnas.0914582107
Hughes Z.J., 2010. Tourism and climate impact on North American Eastern Seaboard. In: Disappearing Destinations. A. Jones and M. Phillips (Eds). CABI, Wallingford, UK. Pp161-176
Georgiou, I.Y., J.A. McCorquodale, J. Schindler, A.G. Retana, D M. FitzGerald, Z.J.Hughes, and N Howes. 2009. Impact of Multiple Freshwater Diversions on the Salinity Distribution in the Pontchartrain Estuary under Tidal Forcing. Journal of Coastal Research SI(54), pp. 59-70
Hughes, Z. J., D. M. FitzGerald, C. A. Wilson, S. C. Pennings, K. Wieiski, and A. Mahadevan 2009, Rapid headward erosion of marsh creeks in response to relative sea level rise, Geophys. Res. Lett., 36, L03602, doi:10.1029/2008GL036000
Argow, B.A., Z.J. Hughes, and D.M. FitzGerald, 2007. Ice raft formation, dispersion and sedimentation on New England salt marshes. In: N.C. Kraus and J.D. Rosati (Editors), Coastal Sediments '07: Proceedings of the Sixth International Symposium on Coastal Engineering and Science of Coastal Sediment Processes. American Society of Civil Engineers, New Orleans, LA, USA, 1: 798-813.
Hughes, Z.J., D.M. FitzGerald, N.C. Howes and P.Rosen, 2007, The impact of natural waves and ferry wakes on the erosion of bluffs, Boston Harbour, US. J. Coast. Res., SI(50) 497-501.
FitzGerald, D.M., M. Kulp, Z.J. Hughes, I. Georgiou, M. Miner, S. Penland, and
N.C. Howes., 2007. Impacts of rising sea level to backbarrier wetlands, tidal
inlets, and barrier islands: Barataria coast, Louisiana. In: N.C. Kraus and J.D.
Rosati (Editors), Coastal Coastal Sediments '07, Proceedings of the 6th
International Symposium on Coastal Engineering and Science of Coastal Sediment
Processes, May 13-17, 2007, New Orleans, Louisiana, p. 1179-1192
Updated 11/2010


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Purely out of curiosity I tried this combination out the other day whilst out walking about. While it certainly isn't a great combination, in good lighting running at ISO 400 (and later in slightly worse lighting going up to ISO 800) it got the job done! In many cases the autofocus still worked fine when I had time to get proper placement. It hunted quite a bit when trying to focus on smaller targets like slender branches and sticks, but hey getting any autofocus at f/8 is good news to me.
I do have a 70-200mm lens and that with a 2x teleconverter would certainly be a better option, but I guess for those without that option or who don't want to carry that weight and don't mind working with one stop less light, this does work! A few samples:
In-camera JPEG, because I forgot it was set to JPEG
D7000 - 55-300mm w/ Kenko 1.4x TC @ 154mm - f/8 - ISO 400 - 1/1600sec
The rest processed a little in lightroom, just fill light and highlight recovery added and exposure decreased if anything
@77mm - f/8 - ISO 400 - 1/1600sec
@420mm - f/8 - ISO 400 - 1/25sec (handheld but braced, several shots taken)
Just a sliver of bark floating down the canal, and it was able to successfully autofocus here
@420mm - f/8 - ISO 640 - 1/125sec


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Personal Life and Relationships
Because my findings about the opposite sex are so eye-opening, I enjoy that these talks usually spark intense water-cooler conversation – and relationship conversations — for weeks afterward! I have also been extremely grateful for the many stories I've heard about marriages that were transformed simply because one spouse learned something life-changing about the other person, and decided to apply it.
Topics include:
- Understanding the Inner Lives of Men
- Surprising Secrets of Highly Happy Marriages
- A Simple Guide to the Inner Lives of Women
- Helping Your Man Understand You (a talk for women)
- Getting Inside the Head of Your Kid (A Talk for Parents)
- The World's Gone Crazy, But I Don't Have To
Understanding the Inner Lives of Men
Based on the research for Shaunti's book For Women Only, and rich with quotes and examples from surveys and interviews with over 1,500 men, this is a candid, and fascinating, talk. It opens the eyes of women to things that they never understood before, and helps and challenges them to support the men in their lives (husbands, boyfriends, sons, even colleagues) in the way that they need. This talk honors men, and is often described as giving men and women a common language to talk about things that men deeply wished women knew. It is geared for singles as well as for married women, and is also a good "crossover" talk for inviting women who are not familiar with church events. It is effective in multiple formats, including:
- A closed-door "girlfriends only" talk, such as a women's conference, retreat or Ladies Night Out.
- An interview with a male interviewer.
- Note: This male-interviewer format has proven to be a unique and valuable format in certain settings, as it is interesting for women to see the validation of these truths coming from the male leader asking the questions.
- As one part of a marriage conference, paired with the men's topic about understanding women.
- As a talk for co-ed or women's-only college chapel service.
- With or without a Question-and-Answer time. (Q&A is extremely valuable for events that have more than 45 minutes available.)
Surprising Secrets of Highly Happy Marriages
Whether you've been together 5 months or 50 years your relationship is sensational or struggling… Learn the little habits that make a BIG difference. The "Only" series opened the eyes of men and women to the surprises they didn't "get" about the opposite sex. Based on Shaunti's brand-new research study and book, The Surprising Secrets of Highly Happy Marriages, in this message Shaunti shares the process of what makes the happiest relationships so happy – the little, unexpected, often overlooked actions that make a huge difference. For example, believe it or not, highly happy couples:
• go to bed mad
• keep score
• boss their feelings around
• have factual fantasies
• don't tell it like it is
• don't look to marriage to make them happy
Single or married, this message is packed with simple, practical, eye-opening surprises that transform any relationship!
Promotion clip for The Surprising Secrets of Highly Happy Marriages
A Simple Guide to the Inner Lives of Women
Believe it or not, it is easier than men ever thought, to understand the woman in their life and make her happy. Based on the research and the findings in Shaunti and Jeff Feldhahn's book For Men Only, including a scientific national survey, this talk demonstrates to men that women are not random and that they can have peace in their home, giving men the simple "how-to's" that they are asking for. And as Jeff says, "Thankfully, its not rocket science. Its just about understanding a few simple things that most guys just don't know." This talk can be given by either Shaunti or Jeff or both together, and is also effective in multiple formats, including:
- An interview format, either alone or in conjunction with the "Understanding Men" topic, as described above.
- A men's conference
- As one part of a couples' conference, paired with the "Understanding Men" topic, above. It can be handled either in a closed-door, men-only format, or in the larger group with the women present.
- With or without Question and Answer time.
Clip from the topic of how women process thoughts related to the book For Men Only
Helping Your Man Understand You
Yes, this is a talk for women about the findings in For Men Only. It lets women in on the secret of what her man probably doesn't "get" about her, and shows her how to respectfully help him understand those truths, in his language. This talk opens women's eyes to things they may not have been able to articulate about themselves, and helps them realize that their husband isn't "just being insensitive" — he probably simply doesn't know these truths. This is effective as either:
- Its own women's event, especially if Understanding men has already been covered in a previous event, or
- As one part of a longer women's event, paired with the topic about Understanding Men, above.
Getting Inside the Head of Your Kid (a Talk for Parents)
For every confused parent, there's a kid who is longing to be understood — and parents will leave this talk — based on interviews and surveys of more than 1,200 teens for Shaunti's book For Parents Only: Getting Inside the Head of Your Kid — feeling like they understand and can relate to their child so much better. What is behind those exasperating 'attitudes,' crazy choices, and desire to question everything the family believes in? The answers — and insight for what to do about it — all relate to what is going on in the inner life of the child. Parents who understand these surprising truths will feel much more able to confidently relate to their kid. (Note: These apply most immediately in the pre-teen and teen years, but parents of younger children — including the speaker — have found them invaluable in laying a good foundation early.) This talk can be given by Shaunti or in combination with Lisa Rice, and is effective in multiple formats, including:
- A stand-alone talk or conference for parents, women or couples
- As one portion of a parenting, women's or couple's conference
- As a talk for parents, at a youth conference
- An interview format, as described above.
- With or without Question and Answer time.
Sample speaking clip on the topic of freedom related to the For Parents Only book
The World's Gone Crazy, But I Don't Have To: The Biblical Secret to Life, Love and Contentment
From stay-at-home moms to globe-trotting executives, young singles to seniors, every modern woman has wondered, "How on earth do I juggle it all?" Shaunti Feldhahn certainly did! A best-selling author, researcher and speaker, as well as a mom to two young, active kids and wife to her husband Jeff, she was wearing herself out, driving soccer runs or chaperoning field trips one hour and jumping on an airplane the next. She, too, wondered how to balance life. It turns out, there is a biblical answer to that question — and one that is wonderfully unique and different for every wonderfully unique woman! Based on her new book and Bible study, The Life Ready Woman, discover the individual blueprint that God has provided every one of us for finding a life of balance, peace and delight instead of the often stressed, torn, am-I-doing-enough life that we often experience today.


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Product Description
Enter the Ringtone Annoy-a-tron. Like our standard Annoy-a-tron, this small device can be hidden anywhere: in a drop ceiling, under a desk, behind a cubicle wall, under a chair. The attached magnets make this even easier! Set the volume and select your ringtone from a selection of five familiar sounds. Then stand back and try to keep a straight face as the people around you search desperately for the phone that's ringing at random intervals throughout the day. One battery will last you up to 4 weeks… or until someone finds the device and smashes it with their Hulk-rage. Hide it well, friends!
WHERE IS THAT PHONE?!?! Pranking device plays ringtones at random intervals
Drive people bonkers looking for the missing phone!
5 settings to mimic frequently-heard ringtones
Adjustable volume can be set from barely audible to super-annoying
Magnets attached so you can hide it in more devious places


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GIGABYTE Z77N-WiFi Mini-ITX Motherboard Review
GIGABYTE paired the Z77N-Wifi motherboard with their latest version of their UEFI(Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) BIOS, a customized version of the AMI-developed UEFI style BIOS template. The UEFI BIOS offers full keyboard and mouse support while using the BIOS pages with enhanced mouse navigation supported by right clicking the mouse - forces page navigation back to previous view if inside a settings pop-up or in a sub-menu page.
GIGABYTE's UEFI BIOS implementation is not the smoothest I've seen, but comes close. There is a minimal amount of lag in clicking around the BIOS. The page layout is well organized and they even include a 3D-rendered version of the BIOS if you want a pretty version to navigate through. The 3D BIOS also contains pop-up information messages on all board devices and subsystems. One thing I am very pleased to see is that GIGABYTE finally gave up on the practice of hiding BIOS features from the user - with this BIOS all settings are visible by default, no more having to click CTRL-F1 to unhide advanced BIOS settings. In addition, GIGABYTE included an in-BIOS screen capture utility. Upon hitting the F12 function key, the current screen is save to a BMP image file on the attached USB drive. No image file is generated if a USB drive is not attached to the system.
3D BIOS page, Advanced page
3D BIOS page, Boot page
3D BIOS page, Onboard Devices page
3D BIOS page, SATA Configuration page
M.I.T page
M.I.T page, M.I.T Current Status page
M.I.T page, Advanced Frequency Settings page
M.I.T page, Advanced Frequency Settings page, Advanced CPU Core Features page
M.I.T page, Advanced Memory Settings page
M.I.T page, Advanced Memory Settings page, Channel-specific Memory Timing Settings page
M.I.T page, Advanced Memory Settings page, Channel-specific Memory Timing Settings page continued
M.I.T page, Advanced Voltage Settings page
M.I.T page, PC Health Status page
M.I.T page, Miscellaneous Settings page
System page
System page, ATA Port Information page
BIOS Features page
Peripherals page
Peripherals page continued
Peripherals page, Intel(R) Smart Connect Technology page
Power Management page
Save & Exit page
Save & Exit page, Save Profiles window
Save & Exit page, Save Profiles window, Select Device window
Save & Exit page, Load Profiles window
Q-Flash page
System Information page
A decent board but has some layout issues.
Would prefer msata - put it on back of board like ASRock.
Would prefer sata sockets to be stacked at right angles not straight up (easier for cable management)
4pin ATX is in awkward place but can live with that.
Would like to see if some of the low profile coolers (fan downward) coolers would fit - would certainly improve cooling for power components, but looks to clash with pcie slot
I've been using this for a little over a month. The dual realtek nic and Wireless-N 2230 cards work out the box using Linux distros running 3.2.38 and higher. They don't work on freebsd.
Performance with the Wireless-N 2230 with the included antennas in AP mode isn't really stable beyond 12 - 15 feet direclty in the line of sight.
The smallest low profile cpu heatsink/fan combos fit but run into the power supplies and cables in your Mini-ITX cases.
Why does Easy Tune Processor Name say i-3 in 2 different windows but other fields conform to an i-5 3570K?
Mostly likely a hardware id glitch with the version of easytune 6 installed for testing. The CPU used for testing (and while these screencaps where taken) was an i5-3570K.
Thanks for pointing this out.
The biggest issue is that it does not have Wake on LAN. For this kind of board a no-go in my eyes!
Don't know how you got the specs but the official Gigabyte website shows that this mobo doesn't support 5ghz wifi. I also personally own this board and it won't detect my 5ghz router while my mac and android devices can.
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Hello, your browser does not support iframes. Please check the links below to visit the hotel.
Welcome to Bed and Breakfast home page: Sabai-Sabai @ sukhumvit hotel, Bangkok - Thailand. hotel promotion!!!starts for 99$ for 2 nights stay @ sabai-sabai sukhumvit hotel in bangkok, Zip: 10110, Bed and Breakfast address: 984/22-27 sukhumvit Rd., pridi banomyong soi 40, prakanong, vadhana, Rating: 5, Hotel phone No: +668-1353-2864, Hotel fax No: 66(0)2255-7592, Hotel rooms: 42, Hotel chain: .
Check our list to find all hotels in this area.


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LONDON, United Kingdom - I didn't want to like the new $2.7 billion Westfield mall in London. I really didn't.
For one thing, I'm American. I've done my fair share of time in malls. For another, this mall happens to be pretty much in my backyard in London's Shepherd's Bush and I had been indoctrinated for months before the opening that it would be a tragedy for local residents. And then there's the name. The Australian developer has gone around the world gobbling up existing malls, building new ones, and calling them all the same thing: Westfield. Pretty un-inventive.
So, I didn't go to Westfield for a very long time. But when I finally did make it there recently, I was completely blown away.
The design is stunning — light and airy, thanks to an atrium which, while not exactly the great outdoors, does make you feel like you are not in a mall.
The food choices were positively overwhelming. The Food Court had us so flummoxed that we were forced to flee — but so much the better because there is also a series of proper restaurants including The Real Greek, Gourmet Burger Kitchen, and The Kitchen Italia, which is what we chose. There was outside seating, but we sat inside near windows which faced onto a wall of ivy and a waterfall and with such a modern feel, we thought we could have been in a mall in California. In dreary London, that is a good thing.
After lunch, I went for a look around the shops and managed to spend £80 without even trying. COS and Massimo Dutti, two of the best value-for-money brands in my mind, were both there — so no more running to Regent Street or Knightsbridge during lunch. There is also a much-needed Apple store, but without the congestion of the Apple store on Regent Street, where the Genius bar is constantly jammed.
Twenty8Twelve, the Sienna and Savannah Miller brand, also has a Westfield outpost, saving jaunts into the congestion charge zone that annoyingly begins where Shepherd's Bush ends. This is only notable because I spent £80 that would not have been injected into the retail economy had the mall not existed. I was not looking for anything and I would not have made the trip to visit any of these stores independently. It was all happenstance.
Since my first visit, I've been back several times and have never walked out empty handed. Judging from the other bag-laden shoppers I see roaming Westfield, neither is anyone else. Admittedly, I see more Next and Marks & Spencer bags than Prada ones, but very few of the stores have been empty and I can't say that about the stores on Bond Street, even at sale time.
There have been reports of friction between Westfield and some tenants over service charges and the like and I've been told that in order to attract the multitude of brands, some major deals were offered to lure the luxury brands. Two years' free rent, anyone?
But regardless, it seems, from my experience anyway, that the concept is a hit. Westfield is continuing with its plans for a mall in East London to coincide with the 2012 Olympics, although the economic climate has led it to postpone other projects in Nottingham, Bradford and Guildford.
The true test for Westfield will come next month, when the sales end. But I think that anyone who has been there will go back. And given that the mall is averaging ½ million shoppers per week since it opened, this bodes well for a successful future. Incidentally, the new cinema, which doesn't even open until later this year, will inevitably draw even more people within irresistible spending distance of all those shops.
I'm curious to know if all is as sunny as it seems. If any retailers reading have shops in Westfield, please let me know if business is booming there or not.
Lauren Goldstein Crowe is co-author of a book on Jimmy Choo to be published by Bloomsbury later this year


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Auction Ends: Feb 27, 2012 09:00 PM EST
Columbus Zoo and Aquarium Package includes The Wilds and Zoombezi Bay!!
- Item Number
- 253
- Estimated Value
- Sold
- 80 USD to sunshine11801
- Number of Bids
- 7 - Bid History
Item Description
Enjoy two (2) tickets to the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium! The winner of this package will also receive two (2) tickets for some summer fun at Zoombezi Bay, two (2) tickets to feel like you are on an African safari at The Wilds, a plush animal, an engraved tumbler, a Columbus Zoo lapel pin and Safari Golf Club golf Balls. The perfect package for any animal lover!
Donated By:
Columbus Zoo and Aquarium


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Cuomo unveils state budget
January 18, 2012
JOE LoTEMPLIOand KIM SMITH DEDAM
PLATTSBURGH — North Country officials liked much of what they heard from Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday about his 2012-13 budget.
"I think it is very good. There are no new taxes or fees, and it looks like he really is trying to contain state government," State Sen. Betty Little (R-Queensbury) said.
To read more click HERE.


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Hillsboro police seek public's help finding 2011 gang shooting suspect
HILLSBORO, Ore. - Police are asking for the public's help finding a man wanted in connection with a 2011 gang shooting in Hillsboro.
Police say Leopoldo Junior Diaz, 26, shot and wounded 15-year-old Luis Solano-Sanchez on March 27, 2011. It happened near the intersection of Cornell Road and Northeast 21st Avenue.
A Washington County grand jury indicted Diaz for attempted murder, assault in the first degree, unlawful use of a weapon and felon in possession of a firearm.
Diaz is described as a Hispanic man who is 5-foot-7 and 132 pounds. He has black hair, brown eyes and several tattoos on his body, including "FG 14" on his chest and a Huelga bird on his left leg.
Crime Stoppers is offering a reward of up to $1,000 for information that leads to an arrest in this case.
You can leave a Crime Stoppers tip online, text CRIMES (274637) and in the subject line put 823HELP, followed by the tip, or call 503-823-HELP (4357) and leave the tip information. Tips can be left in English or Spanish.


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Asher Roth His Dream Lyrics
He leans back from his deck
Asleep in the Bread Aisle Track Listing
1 Lark on My Go-Kart
2 Blunt Cruisin'
3 I Love College
4 La Di Da
5 Be by Myself
6 She Don't Wanna Man
7 Sour Patch Kids
8 As I Em
9 Lion's Roar
10 Bad Day
11 His Dream
12 Fallin'
Rubs the back of his neck
The stress takes effect
Grips the bridge of his nose
Squints while showing emotions he normally won't at fifty six,
He re-evaluates possible regretting some decisions that he's made.
Black is turning Grey patches of his age
Reflecting from the glasses that pass of every page
Passionately day reads
Reading on occasion
Dreaming of the day when he could do the same thing
He's always wanted to write
That's all hes wanted in life
With two daughters,a son,and a remarkable wife
Hes in a bond
Hes has to provide
A family is relying on a Milli to survive
His father died at fifty six
So hes well aware of how vital a father figure is
How big of a responsibility it is
To be a good husband and care for your kids
Never miss an evening, help them with their homework,
Discipline to prevent things when their older
His only son is only twenty one and focus as a poet has only just begun
Papa isn't dumb, he understands what this means
His dream is my dream and my dream is his dream
I close my eyes and I can see(history)
The sacrifices he made for me(history)
Put is aside for his family(history)
So I'ma keep it alive(yeah)
And so he targeted to be the dream guardian
Guarding it from anything and anyone whose harming it
But in his heart he knows the hardest thing is
Giving up his dream and being all about his kids
As he kisses the lips of his misses
For twenty four years going on the twenty fifth
He thinks to himself this alone is a wealth
Better than anything that's bought and then sold on a shelf
Sometimes a dream is all that we have
We have to continue to dream
Once it is lost amongst our thoughts
What really are we?
So he sits back at his desk
Cracking his knuckles and back his neck
Faxing a paper displaying his name
On another application explaining the name
Things that they should know but the things they don't
All the things that distinguish him as an adult
Over the phone he can never expose
The roll that he choose
The roll in his home
And at home he is a leader, a father
He'll prove it by using his son and his daughters
In their life he'll be playing the part of the one who inspires
The one we admire
His only son is only twenty one and focus as a poet has only just begun
Papa isn't dumb, he understands what this means
My dream is his dream and his dream is my dream
Written by: Asher Paul Roth, Miguel Jontel Pimentel, Oren Yoel Kleinman
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group


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Veganize Your Fourth of July Picnic (Including Your Brownies) With These Easy Tips
Wendy's Chewy, Gooey Brownies with Chocolatey Cream Cheeze Frosting
Photo by Wendy Rhodes
For most Americans, Independence Day conjures up thoughts of backyard barbecues and town picnics.
But for vegans, the typical meat-centric picnic basket offers few options to tantalize the taste buds. Whether you are vegan, have friends who are vegan, or are simply trying to eat healthier, here are some quick, inexpensive tips to easily "
These meat-and-dairy alternatives are available at specialty grocers, such as Whole Foods, and can be easily substituted into your favorite recipes so you can enjoy a traditional Fourth of July picnic that will make even non-vegans want to celebrate.
1. Potato salad, macaroni salad, and coleslaw are some of the easiest dishes to
2. Baked beans are often cooked in a pork-based sauce, but vegan baked beans are readily available and easy to find. Amy's, Walnut Acres, and Bush's all offer delicious, canned vegan baked beans. When reading labels, watch out for animal fat or honey, which are not vegan, as well as unspecified "natural flavors," which may be animal-based.
3. Sandwiches can be made with vegan cold cuts and vegan cheese. Selections are readily available and include Tofurky, Field Roast, or Yves deli slices, and Chao, Go Veggie, or
4. Vegan hot dogs, sausages, and burgers are available at most markets, but be certain to check the ingredients for egg or dairy products. Vegan bread and buns are available at Whole Foods Market. Or serve hot dogs and veggie burgers "green style," which means wrapped in lettuce instead of a bun.
5. Pies can easily be made vegan by using a pre-made crust containing no lard or butter and using organic sugar instead of processed white sugar. A simple way to make an egg,
And because no Fourth of July picnic is complete without rich, chocolate brownies, we offer the following recipe, which is so fudgy and moist your guests will never believe it is vegan.
It is easy to veganize a traditional Fourth of July picnic with ingredients from your local Whole Foods Market
Photo by Wendy Rhodes
Wendy's Chewy, Gooey Brownies with Chocolatey Cream Cheeze Frosting
- 8 oz. vegan chocolate chips
- ½ cup plus 2 tbsp. vegan margarine, such as Earth Balance
- 2 ½ cups organic or vegan sugar
- 2 ½ tbsp. arrowroot powder or egg replacer powder, such as Ener-G or Bob's Red Mill
- 2/3 cup soymilk or almond milk
- 1 tbsp. high-quality vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose baking flour
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Melt chocolate and margarine together in double-boiler. With electric beaters, whip egg replacer, soymilk, and vanilla together, then beat in the sugar, then melted chocolate mixture.
Sift together dry ingredients, then beat into wet mixture until smooth, being careful not to overmix.
Spread evenly into 10" x 14" greased
Cream-Cheeze Frosting:
- 1 cup vegan chocolate chips, melted
- ½ cup dairy-free cream cheese, such as Tofutti
Whip the cream cheese with electric beaters until light and fluffy (about 90 seconds), then add melted chocolate and whip one minute longer. Be certain brownies are completely cooled before frosting.
Wendy Rhodes is a freelance writer and award-winning author. Follow her on Facebook and on Twitter @WendyRhodesFL.
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In a legal showdown over Canada's polygamy law that has been 20 years in the making, B.C. Attorney-General Wally Oppal announced charges yesterday against religious leader Winston Blackmore, who has openly talked about having married several young brides, and a rival leader in the religious sect.
The British Columbia government has been debating for years whether polygamy charges should be laid against members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a closely knit community in a remote valley in the southeast corner of the province that encourages multiple marriages as an article of faith.
The Bountiful community has been the subject of several police probes since the late 1980s after allegations of polygamy, sexual abuse, exploitation of children and trafficking of teenage brides across the Canada-U.S. border.
Prosecutors up to this point have refused to proceed with charges, anticipating that provisions in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms that guarantee freedom of religion would overrule evidence of polygamy.
But Mr. Oppal, backed by an opinion from Vancouver lawyer Terry Robertson, believes the police have finally collected sufficient evidence to obtain convictions of polygamy against the two leaders.
"Some people are of the view that people of consenting age ought to have the right to enter into polygamous relationships under religious principles," Mr. Oppal told reporters at a news conference yesterday.
"I disagreed with that," said Mr. Oppal, a former judge on the B.C. Court of Appeal.
The Criminal Code prohibits polygamous practices, he said. "If that section is invalid by virtue of freedom of religion, we should let some court decide that. As far as we are concerned, that is valid law and charges laid are laid under valid sections of the Criminal Code."
He dismissed previous advice to the government to refer the contentious constitutional issue for a court ruling before laying a charge. Courts don't like to give rulings in a vacuum without any kind of facts available to them, Mr. Oppal said.
Mr. Blackmore, 52, was charged with "practising a form of polygamy or practising a kind of conjugal union" with 19 women between May 1, 2005, and Dec. 8, 2006. James Oler, 44, faces the same charge for his relationship with two women between Nov. 1, 2004, and Oct. 8, 2008. The maximum penalty if convicted is five years in prison.
Despite the charges, authorities did not announce any measures yesterday to remove children from the homes of the men.
The charges were welcomed by activists who have pressed the government for such action. Marci Hamilton, a leading scholar on law and religion who has criticized attorneys-general in the United States for not enforcing polygamy laws, said the charges in B.C. could open a door to investigating child abuse in Bountiful.
Prosecutors in Canada and the U.S. have hesitated to press polygamy charges because of what Ms. Hamilton called "weak" arguments about religious freedom. That's left vulnerable children at risk, she said. "It has been put off far too long, far too many children have suffered," Ms. Hamilton, author of God vs. the Gavel, said in an interview from Pennsylvania.
Grant Huscroft, a constitutional law professor at the University of Western Ontario in London, said he anticipated the court will consider the constitutionality of the polygamy law before the two men are put on trial. The process could take several years, he said.
Mr. Blackmore was the FLDS bishop in Canada from 1984 to 2002, when the U.S. leadership replaced him with Mr. Oler. The shift in leadership divided the community of about 1,000 people.
The police came to their homes yesterday morning in street clothes and unmarked cars. Four officers took Mr. Oler and Mr. Blackmore to the police detachment in nearby Cranbrook. Four officers remained behind to speak to members of the community.
Police sought to minimize the impact of the arrests on the community, ensuring that members knew police were not proponents of apprehending children, RCMP Sergeant Tim Shields told reporters. "The arrests were done in a sensitive way, if you can say arrests were done in a sensitive way," Mr. Oppal said.
The RCMP had recommended that the men be released from custody yesterday afternoon on condition they surrender their passports, report to police twice a month and refrain from entering into or performing celestial marriages.
With a report from Wendy Stueck


text: I recently acquired a 17mm f4 lens for Canon FD system. My widest lens for 35mm thus far has been 28mm. I went for a walk in the local nature area and I must say, shooting with a 17mm is a totally different experience. I instinctively spin the focus ring looking for the image to blur and sharpen. But a half turn of the ring makes almost no difference. Everything just seems to be in focus from about 5 feet on. So a certain amount of 'trust' that the exposed image will turn out sharp is required. Also, to get any person-sized object to appear prominently in the image, you must get close.. really close. About 3 feet or less than 1 meter seems to be about right. For smaller objects you need to be damn near on top of them. Remembering to get close enough to objects can be a burden. We have a tendency to shoot from a safe distance and if you do so, most things will just be too small in the final image. Another issue I have is the sky. Around here the sky is rarely interesting. It is a gaping hole in the artistic sense and burning pan in the exposure sense. I really like the way the 17mm works with trees. With other lenses, its is a rare occasion that you have enough room to get the whole tree in frame. And the perspective works well as it can accentuate the size of the trunk, especially nice with massive oaks. Another nice thing about it is that you can single out one tree, its neighbors quickly diminish in size.


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Documents | Photos | Features | Classroom | Links | Listserv | About Us | Search
Publishing Information
Title: Report, Florence, Alabama, June 6, 1934
Publisher: Hopkins Papers, FDRL
Notes: In the Fall of 1933, Federal Emergency Relief Adminstration director Harry Hopkins sent sixteen reporters to investigate social and economic conditions around the country. "I don't want statistics from you," the journalist Lorena Hickok remembers him saying. " I don't want the social-worker angle. I just want your own reactions, as an ordinary citizen." (Bauman and Coode, p. 1) This is one such report.
For a detailed account of the FERA Reports, see In the Eye of the Great Depression : New Deal Reporters and the Agony of the American People, by John F. Bauman and Thomas H. Coode. (DeKalb: Northern Illinois University Press, 1988).


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Name: Valeren Nyssa
Aspect: Air
Motivation: To protect her charge with her life
Concept: Bodyguard
Gens: Valeren XP: Spent/Total: 200/200
Strength ••, Dexterity •••••, Stamina ••••
Charisma ••, Manipulation •, Appearance ••••
Perception •••, Intelligence •••, Wits ••••
Archery 2, Athletics 2, Awareness 4, Dodge 5, Investigation 1, Integrity 4, Linguistics 3, Lore 3, Martial Arts 5, Melee 2, Occult 3, Performance 2, Presence 1, Ride 2, Socialise 1, Stealth 1, Survival 1, Thrown 2, War 2
Compassion ••, Conviction ••••, Temperance ••, Valor ••••
Virtue Flaw Valor
Willpower •••••••
Essence ••••
Personal 13
Peripheral 34
Her sisters, Her Gens
Mertis, Flaws and Mutations Amputee (3pts), Diminished Sense (Partial Hearing), Enhanced Sight, Flight
Arsenal •••
Artifact ••••
Breeding ••
Family ••• (Rhaem, Esera and their father)
Reputation •••
Resources •••
Artifacts: Discreet Essence Armour ••, Elemental Lens •••, Swordsbane Daiklave •••
Arsenal: Dragonfly's Ranging Eye ••• (two dots + essence sight), Lightning Box ••
Health Levels 0*1, -1*3, -2*3, Incap
Soak 9B/7L (2/2 hardness)
Awareness Second Awareness Excellency, All-Encompassing Earth Sense
Dodge Third Dodge Excellency, Threshold Warding Stance, Virtuous Negation Defence, Safety Amoung Enemies, Smouldering Karma Strike, Elemental Defence Technique, Unassailable Body of Air Defence
Integrity Third Integrity Excellency
Lore Elemental Bolt Attack
Martial Arts Third Martial Arts Excellency, Living Shield Technique, Dual Scarlet Blossom Technique, Falling Blossom Form, Purity of Purpose Attack, Undefended Assault Method, Strength of Faith Meditation
Resistance Ox-body Technique
A shogunate era dragon blooded, Nyssa is the 2nd oldest of 5 sisters, the favourite daughters of a prominent Gens in the era (the other being, in age order; Rhaem, cheif general of the Gen's armies; Esera, one the Gen's most skilled young bureacrats; Nimune, an able warrior in training; Io, the baby of the family with ambitions of being a diplomat) and the personal bodyguard of the most senior members. Being only slightly younger than Rhaem, the two of them had been extremely competetive from a young age, often falling out and both exalting within days of their 11th birthdays. While her elder sister became a general she threw herself into becoming the most skilled warrior she could, though it was one of her early missions going wrong that would shape her most. She reacted too late to a suprise attack from a newly exalted anathema while escorting the eldest daughter of the Gen's head on a wyld hunt. Although the sun demon was put down swiftly, her charge was utterly evicerated by their attack and Nyssa was left almost dead having attempted to take the brunt of the golden flame.
Nyssa closed herself off whilst attempting to recover from the wounds and hardly speaking to anyone. It was only through the help of her sisters, especially Io (then still a child, yet to exalt) that convinced her to get back on her feet and she through herself into her duties to an unprecidented degree. The initial months were especially hard, as her right arm (the one with which she both wrote and wielded a blade) was rendered totally useless. Likewise, her hearing would never be the same again, somthing which frustrates her no end when she fails to hear what people say to her. Within her house and beyond she has since gathered a reputation as being one of the most dedicated exalts around, willing to sell her life in a heartbeat should the situation demand it.
Nyssa and her sisters in addition to possessing the blood of the dragons are decended from people of the air and carry with them the prominent large white wings of their people. All five also share the blue eyes and white hair common to people of the air and air dragons alike, Nyssa's cut to shoulder length with two locks draping down, framing either side of her face. Unlike her sisters however, Nyssa bares two other distinguishing markss. Firstly, the solar's attack that has refused to ever heal completely in the form of a long scar across her right eye and the sling in which she holds her useless right arm. The other takes the form of a series of dark blue tatoos that cover her body as a mark of her station as her Gen's foremost bodyguard. Unknown to her and all but the most informed of the ages savants, these markings are infact a carry over from the time when the celestial exalted ruled creation and one of the moons chosen became legend through laying down his life for his mate. Subsequently the practice of tattooing themselves became common amoungst a number of practitioners of Falling Blossom Style and although now considerably rarer, Nyssa proves it at least survives into the Shogunate Era.
=== Comments ===


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All quotes tagged Economic Recession
(2 quotes found)
"Think positively! Pull your finance together as soon as possible during the economic slowdown. Don't wait for things to happen to you. Shave off some extra expenses, refinance that home loan, restructure some of your debts..."
"It would be in your best interest to refinance your home loan right now, making good use of the low interest rates. You would not want to be making high installment payments during an economic slowdown. It is just not sensible to do so."


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Bakery fundraiser supports teacher battling Leukemia
Mon, 15 Apr 2013 00:27:56 GMT —
The Grand Blanc community is pulling together to help a local teacher who is dying of Leukemia leave behind a lasting legacy.
Great Harvest Bread Company sold bread and cookies and other baked goods on Sunday with the proceeds going toward Lisa Hoffman's medical expenses as well as a scholarship fund for Grand Blanc students.
Lisa Hoffman is an elementary school teacher at Myers Elementary School in Grand Blanc.
Family members say the outpouring of support is overwhelming.
Over 600 loaves of bread and 400 cookies were sold between 9 am and 11:30 am according to Bob Hoffman, Lisa's brother.
"Thank you thank you thank you to the people in this area," says Bob Hoffman.
Bob Hoffman says community support like this is the medicine she needs to keep going.
"My goal was to put a smile on her face. That's what I wanted to do. If that was me, I want somebody to do that for me," says Scott Sassack, owner of Great Harvest Bread Company.
The event comes at a meaningful time for Lisa and her family as another big event is right around the corner.
"Her wedding is next weekend. I'm just awestruck by the support the community has given to her," says Bob Hoffman.


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"Whenever I visit my family in the Chicago area, my sister and I make a point of having lunch at Fresh Starts Restaurant in Flossmoor," says Carol De Biase-Ruffe of Arvada, Colorado. "They serve delicious, healthful food — and we're never disappointed. The last time we went there, I ordered a fish entrée topped with tomato salsa."
The restaurant uses tilapia for this dish; we substituted the easier-to-find orange roughy.
- Yield
- Makes 6 servings
- For salsa
- 8 plum tomatoes, seeded, diced (about 2 2/3 cups)
- 1 red onion, diced (about 1 cup)
- 1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons minced canned chipotle chilies*
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- For fish
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 6 6-ounce orange roughy fillets (each about 3/4 inch thick)
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1 pound haricots verts or other slender green beans, trimmed
- Fresh lemon juice
- Additional olive oil
- For salsa:
- Toss all ingredients in large bowl to combine. Cover and refrigerate. (Can be made 4 hours ahead. Keep chilled.)
- For fish:
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle fish with salt and pepper. Place flour in shallow baking dish. Coat fish with flour. Working in batches, sauté fish until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side. Using spatula, transfer fish to baking sheet. Bake fish until opaque in center, about 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cook haricots verts in large pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Drain. Transfer to ice water to cool; drain. Season to taste with lemon juice and olive oil. Divide haricots verts equally among plates. Top with fish fillet and salsa.
- *Chipotle chilies canned in a spicy tomato sauce, sometimes called adobo, are available at Latin American markets, specialty foods stores and some supermarkets.
Related Video
Nutritional Info
- Calories361
- Carbohydrates19 g(6%)
- Fat18 g(28%)
- Protein31 g(63%)
- Saturated Fat2 g(12%)
- Sodium151 mg(6%)
- Polyunsaturated Fat2 g
- Fiber4 g(15%)
- Monounsaturated Fat12 g
- Cholesterol102 mg(34%)


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Unusual June snowfall hits county, other areas of stateJun 19, 2014 From staff reports
The National Weather Service says areas in Fremont County and Wyoming received up to 9 inches of snow this week.
Snow was reported in Dubois and in numerous mountain locations. Summer begins officially Saturday.
The agency says a remote snow measuring device in Sublette County in western Wyoming recorded the most snowfall.
Measuring devices in other areas recorded up to 7 inches in Teton County, 6 inches in Lincoln County as well as Yellowstone National Park and 5 inches in Fremont and Park counties.
Snow also fell in lower elevations, including 3.5 inches in Evanston.
The Weather Service says mid-June snow is unusual but not unheard of in the western mountains of Wyoming but is rarer in lower elevations. As summer begins this weekend, the National Weather Service says more normal weather conditions can be expected.


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Coach (NYSE:COH), a leading American marketer of luxury handbags and other fashion accessories, posted lackluster results in Q2 fiscal 2014, and saw its shares drop by more than 7% since the earnings announcement. [1]
Coach's sales in North America dropped by 9% in Q2 fiscal 2014, with 8% and 13.6% fall in direct sales and comparable store sales, respectively. The significant decline in comparable stores sales indicates that Coach is losing market share to fashion players such as Michael Kors. North America contributes around two-third of Coach's sales, and we believe intense competition in the women's handbags and accessories market in the region will be closely tracked by the market in the coming months. We believe Coach will continue to struggle in the North American market in the near future due to increased competition. [2]
Coach's Transformation Strategy Aimed AT Boosting Sales
- Why Are We Bullish On Coach Inc.?
- Coach Inc.'s Stock Plunges On Its Full Year Earnings Announcement
- Department Store Pullback To Result In Bottom Line Improvement For Coach
- Consolidation Continues In The Luxury Retail Industry
- Another One Bites The Dust In The Apparel Retail Industry
- Why Has Coach Inc.'s Stock Price Shot Up In 2017?
For the past 15 years, Coach has stuck to its 'house of leather' image but now is looking to transform its brand. The company is moving from its core competency of handbags to head-to-toe offerings. Coach has decided to leverage its brand name and expand into footwear, accessories, apparel, jewelry and eye wear categories. The company says it will have new designer products out later this year to reignite interest in the brand, and will increase its retail footprint by close to 9%. Additionally, Coach is focusing on the look and feel of its stores, and marketing to reflect a dual-gender brand. We believe the results of this strategy will take some time to yield results as a full reflection of this new brand image may take a few years. [3]
International Business Represents Long-Term Growth Driver
Coach's international sales fell by 2% in dollar terms. However, it rose by 11% on a constant currency basis. China continues to be a sweet spot for the company as sales grew by over 25% in the region, driven by increased distribution and double digit comparable stores sales growth. The company has major expansion plans in China as it expects to grow its square footage by around 25% in the region during the fiscal year. It also forecasts sales to grow by more than 20% in China during the entire fiscal year.
Coach's sales in the other Asian markets of Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore also continued to grow at a strong rate. The fashion retailer has completed the acquisition of its European joint venture created with Pepe Jeans, and plans to open 50 wholesale and 10 retail stores across the region during the fiscal year.
Japanese sales fell by 2% on a constant currency basis, however, in dollar terms it decreased by 21%. We believe that a weaker yen will continue to pose a headwind to the company's sales in the region in the coming quarters.
Coach also aims to grow its distributor-run business in Latin America, other Asia-Pacific countries (Australia, Thailand and Indonesia) and in the Middle East. Due to these measures, we think the proportion of international sales in Coach's overall sales will increase in the future. [4]
Men's Business Another Growth Driver
The men's business, which grew by approximately 50% in fiscal 2013, continues to be a long-term driver for the company. Coach continued to drive its men's business globally, through new standalone and dual gender stores, and by dedicating more space for a broader men's assortment in existing retail stores. In the second quarter, Coach's sales of men's bags and accessories increased nearly 20% globally. Looking ahead, the company remains bullish about the prospects for its men's global business, continuing to target about $700 million in sales in FY14, up about 20% from last year, and $1 billion in sales in three years. We believe this business will continue to rise at a strong rate in the future and help drive both its North American and Asian sales. [5]
We are in the process of revising our $59.50 price estimate for Coach's stock.
Understand How a Company's Products Impact its Stock Price at TrefisNotes:


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PORTLAND, Ore. (TheStreet) -- There was once a time when the sprawling splendor of the South By Southwest Interactive, Film and Music conferences would have been the event of my year.
It's not anymore, and keeping people like me away from that festival and others like it is the best way for South By Southwest to survive and thrive.
TheStreet's Carlton Wilkinson and Debra Borchardt are both in Austin this week covering the festival, and I wish both of them the best. Carlton, my editor, made it clear that he was going on his own terms, investigating music and people he finds interesting and not trying to be all things to all people. Debra, meanwhile, is poking around the startups and tweeting out Vines and longer-form pieces on the ones that catch her eye.
Though I have little stomach for the latter approach -- getting pitched at and sold to all day is a depressing proposition unworthy of airfare -- even Carlton's strategy doesn't sound like it's without its pitfalls. On three hours sleep, Carlton went to listen to Neil Young's keynote address -- in which Young launched his Pono high-definition digital music service and the $399 PonoPlayer that went along with it.
I'm sorry, but that just sounds insufferable. You've waited hours for a legend of the music industry to drop some knowledge on par with Bruce Springsteen's and Dave Grohl's speeches of the past couple of years only to have him push yet another music player at you? To have a man whose work fans have now purchased on vinyl, eight-track, cassette, CD, DVD boxed set, digital file, Blu-ray boxed set and 180-gram-vinyl now shove yet another format into their faces? It's just too depressing.
All of it. SXSW is just a reminder of the complete and total victory of commerce over creativity. Last year, the SXSW Music and Film festivals drew 25,119 participants and 16,297 participants, respectively. Meanwhile, its interactive portion drew 30,691 participants on its own. Lump in the SXSW Edu conference (4,260 participants), trade show (571 exhibit spaces), gaming expo (147 spaces) and the countless folks on the streets of Austin guerrilla marketing their startup swag and the scales start to tilt heavily in favor of the salesmen.
But the musicians and filmmakers are selling something too, ya know! Yes, art. They're selling art, just as the flat-stock poster makers and music gear vendors are. That doesn't exactly make it a broadening, soul-lifting experience at all times. I used to cover the CMJ Music Marathon in New York and a far more minor Hoboken Independent Music Festival in New Jersey, and the shows had more than their share of music industry and A&R folks on the prowl; uninvited bands handing out samplers and merch; and venue bookers and managers cranking through sets and passing out festival-priced drinks. But, at their core, were the shows. It was the bands trying to sell themselves through their live performances and venues just trying to get people to come back.


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found a new home!
Plenty of my friends are looking
for one too. Find a pet to adopt.
I am already neutered, up to date with shots, good with kids, and good with dogs.
please fill out an application on our website at www.packleadersrescue.com
Timmy meet me 5/30, a East Hartford Pomeranian/Chihuahua dog was adopted! Here's how you can benefit by looking at adoption as an option to buying a Pomeranian/Chihuahua for sale in East Hartford, or seeking a Pomeranian/Chihuahua dog from a breeder in East Hartford.


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You are reading the older HTML site
Positive Feedback ISSUE10
october/november 2003
expressimo audio
Heavy Weight
as reviewed by Robert H. Levi and Dave Clark
Just purchased a VPI Scout and VPI 9 arm? Me too. You love it, dont you? Me too. Want to hear your valuable LP collection sound about 50% better for a 5% investment? Im way ahead of youIve installed the Heavy Weight on the VPI 9 arm and am living the dream. This is the first tweak for a VPI 9 that Ive seen, and it works.
The Heavy Weight, designed originally for Rega arms, was recently redesigned for the VPI 10.5 tonearm. I may be the first on the planet to try it on the VPI 9. The stock counterweight rode way toward the back of the arm to balance my Benz Ruby 2. The larger, beautifully machined Heavy Weight rides just behind the fulcrum pivot, by about an eighth of an inch perfect. The effective mass of the arm is reduced if any weight is moved closer to the center. By turning the Heavy Weight, you can adjust azimuth. I just centered it, set the tracking force, and tightened the setscrew with the provided tool.
In this unipivot design, the result was absolutely dramatic. Pace, weight, air, and tonality improved immediately. Musical colors were bolder and more realistic. The air around instruments increased, as did imaging and texturing. I tried new and vintage vinyl and marveled at the improvements. Blues in Orbit by Duke Ellington (Classic Records CS8241), stunned everyone who heard it. The Scout combo sounded like $10,000, not $1600, with the Heavy Weight! All softness around the edges of the musical notes vanished. Air around the horns increased markedly. The vividness of the instruments was enhanced and more realistic. Tracking, never a problem, appeared to improve. What a splendid tweak!
I recommend the Heavy Weight for the Scout setup, and you should try it on your 10.5, too. Revise, please! DO NOT BUY a Scout with a VPI 9 arm unless you purchase a Heavy Weight along with it. This is the most cost-effective tweak Ive seen in the last forty years, and the best tweak so far in the 21st Century! Robert H. Levi
Recently upgrading my Clearaudio Virtuous Wood MM cartridge to the Shelter 901 MC resulted in some serious thinking on my part. The Shelter is one heavy cartridge compared to the Clearaudio (9.1 grams compared to 4.5), meaning that to get the arm (a modified Rega RB250 from Transrotor) to balance just right, the counterweight ended up at the far end of the arm tube. Problem is, you want to keep the counterweight as close as possible to the pivot point so the cantilever sees a greater degree of control. If the weight is too far back, the result is loose and wooly bass with an overall loss of coherence. What to do? Expressimo Audio came to the rescue, in the form of their Heavy Weight.
Removing the threaded insert to substitute the requisite HeX-Treme End Stub for the Heavy Weight was not an easy task, and resulted in the standard Transrotor threaded insert being thoroughly trashed. A word of advice: Remove the arm from the table before trying to back out the insert, or you may tweak the arm. Once removed from the table, grab a pair of vice grips and go at it. A little elbow grease is needed, and out it comes. On the other hand if destroying the threads is not what you are after (not that you would want to go back to the older unit anyhow, esepcially after hearing the Heavy Weight.) try two nuts snugged up against each other to back the insert out.
The supplied stub from Expressimo Audio is a work of genius. It easily inserts into the arm, allowing plenty of space to move the Heavy Weight to the desired balance point. Since the Heavy Weight is, well, heavy, it ends up rather close to the pivot point, meaning that the cantilever is masterfully controlled as it tracks the grooves in your cherished LPs. If, in your setup, you find the Weight too heavy, there is a large (10 grams) stainless set screw on the bottom that can be removed to lower its mass. In my case it worked fine as supplied, but if your cartridge is not quite as heavy, this is an excellent option.
So what was the sonic result with the Heavy Weight? Bass is much cleaner, with considerably more slam, definition, texture, etc. Heck if doesnt go deeper, too. On some Bill Laswell cuts (check out Book of Exit, Dub Vol. 3), the floor was literally vibrating in sync with his dub-bass stylings. Before, the floor would just rumble, but now I can actually feel the notes. The entire musical presentation is cleaned up, revealing greater pace and coherence. The results are simply mind-blowing. I thought that my turntable setup was good before, but the Expressimo Heavy Weight elevates it to a whole nother level. Talk about control and getting the information out of the grooves! This is a no-brainer.
Anyone who has a Rega-type arm has not heard what it can really do. I know that some Rega arms come with an interpretation of the Heavy Weight, so you may already be getting similar results. I also dont want to start a war with the other manufactures of like products by suggesting that Sal at Expressimo came up with the idea first, though he is adamant that he was the originator way back in 1998 (and has a patent to boot)so who am I to say otherwiseand that the others are possibly poor knockoffs (hey they do look it!), but I do know that Sal has refined the original Heavy Weight, adding a level of damping by means of two O-rings running around its circumference. I can only surmise that the damping of arm resonances is of benefit, and this, along with the option of removing the threaded insert to make the Heavy Weight a touch lighter, is really cool. I cant say whether the Heavy Weight when compared to any of the others on the market is a better deal as I have not heard or tried them, but this Heavy Weight is recommended as all get out. Dave Clark
Heavy Weight
HeX-Treme End Stub
Expressimo Machining