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Los Angeles, America's city of cars, is experiencing a roadblock over a subway line.
A key section of the subway – known originally by its romantic marketing term, "Subway to the Sea," but now by the more mundane "West Side subway extension" or "Purple Line" because it never really reaches the ocean – is being held up with a lawsuit by Beverly Hills.
Because the track is slated to pass 70 ft. beneath the 1927-built, Beverly Hills High School – which itself was built on active oilfields – the tony zip-code is spending millions to fight the project for reasons, it says, of safety.
"Methane gas, toxic chemicals and teenagers don't mix," says the opening line of a PTA-produced video, which blends computer-generated images of exploding fireballs with newsreel footage of an actual methane fire that ignited nearby in 1985 and burned two city blocks for five days.
"But this dangerous combination is on the verge of exploding at Beverly High, turning the school into a mega-disaster."
The city of Beverly Hills, which reportedly has spent $2 million in legal and public relations fees, filed suit last month to force the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to reroute the link 1,000 ft. away, eliminating the need for a tunnel.
The MTA says it has ruled out the alternative route because it would attract fewer riders and is dangerously close to an active earthquake fault, and subway backers are denouncing the Beverly Hills campaign.
"The insanity that has engulfed this city for the last year and a half, [is] the result of this hysterical campaign being run about explosions and migrating methane gas, that were designed to inflame and alarm the public," L.A. County Supervisor, Zev Yaroslavsky, said to The New York Times.
Advocates of the tunnel route say Beverly Hills is just full of rich people used to getting their own way, citing a fierce political battle in the 1960s in which the city blocked a 10-lane freeway link that would have connected nearby skyscrapers in Century City to Los Angeles.
Opponents of the tunnel, meanwhile, are saying, "follow the money," pointing to investigative reports that have traced the influence of developers that stand to benefit from the project. One such developer, Chicago-based JMB Realty Corporation, raised nearly $300,000 for Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who heads the MTA.
According to an investigative cover story in Los Angeles Weekly, the sub-school tunnel would enable the project to run "almost to the lobbies" of two high rises built by JMB, with a third, just a half-block away.
According to the PTA-created video, the Beverly Hills Unified School District is happy to support an alternate route that would avoid the entire problem, and require transit users to walk perhaps two-and-a-half minutes.
Mayor Villaraigosa – who is rumored to be interested in becoming US secretary of transportation if Obama is reelected – says the project is part of his vision to ease the region's stultifying traffic congestion, and says residents are just creating a climate of fear.
There are other snarls as well.
In 2008, Beverly Hills approved $334 million in bonds to help the school district modernize and renovate the high school, which won a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence Award by the US Department of Education in 2004. School officials say the Metro project could seriously hamper plans to build new buildings and drive up construction costs by untold millions.
Both the city of Beverly Hills and the school district have filed separate California Environmental Quality Act lawsuits challenging the subway route under the high school. This should be resolved, after appeals, in about 20 months.
Lewis Hall, a recently elected board member of the Beverly Hills Unified School District, says the school district is discounting MTA's claim that the alternative route would put the subway and the subway station on an active fault. "We claim the evidence is flawed and we have produced our own evidence showing that MTA's science is wrong," Hall says.
"If MTA won't seriously consider the seismic studies submitted by Beverly Hills, showing the alternative route as safe, hopefully a judge will," he says.
The Los Angeles Times has weighed in with two editorials, both supporting the under-the-school tunnel.
One reads: "The Westside needs the 'Subway to the Sea,' and the NIMBYs of B.H. should get on board."
The other says, "Opponents of the planned route under Beverly Hills High are wasting time and money."


text:
A fourth-grade boy died in a fire in his grandfather's Penfield, N.Y., trailer home after helping to save six of his relatives. Tyler Doohan, 8, had returned to the blaze in an attempt to help rescue his disabled uncle, reports the Democrat & Chronicle.
Tyler, his uncle Steve Smith and his grandfather Louis J. Beach died in the inferno this past weekend.
According to the Democrat & Chronicle, citing investigators, Tyler took it upon himself to wake his sleeping relatives once he detected the fire at around 4:45 a.m. on Monday. Two of the people Tyler helped save were children, ages 4 and 6. Tyler's body was found near the bed of his deceased uncle.
"The kid has more guts than I know of," Joseph Breyette, Tyler's uncle, told WHEC-TV. "I mean, to run back in there and go through what he went through to try to save his uncle — what can you say for the kid? He was a great kid."
Breyette also spoke to 13-WHAM about the tragedy.
"It's still hard to grip or even put your hands around it, you know," he said, "I don't know why or what the plan of life is."
WHEC-TV spoke with Richard Stutzman Jr., interim superintendent for Tyler's school.
"Tyler was a very caring young man, always had a smile on his face," Stutzman said. "Actually I just got an email from one of our staff members, who when they heard Tyler had gone back in, or continued to help his grandfather get out of the burning building, they were not surprised at all. That's the type of young man he was, and in my heart and the heart of East Rochester, he's a true hero."
Investigators believe the fire was caused by an electrical problem, according to the Democrat & Chronicle. No foul play is suspected. Some witnesses reportedly expressed concern about the number of people living in the home.
Those who survived the fire were taken to a local hospital where they were treated for non-life-threatening injuries, according to the Democrat & Chronicle.
Follow Mike Krumboltz on Twitter (@mikekrumboltz).

subset: commoncrawl


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Jennifer Aguinaldo
Banks await multibillion-dollar Saudi-Bahrain causeway PPP
Home GCC UAE Emirates launches service to LA
26 October 2008 8:03 AM
By Meed
18 August 2019 10:33 AM
By Jennifer Aguinaldo
Dubai's hotel room inventory across 714 establishments stood at 118,345 at the end of June 2019
14 August 2019 2:33 PM
By Jennifer Aguinaldo
Passenger traffic declined by 5.6 per cent in the first half of 2019 as Dubai International airport's southern runway underwent rehabilitation works
13 August 2019 6:33 PM
By Wil Crisp
Political solution needed to ease tensions in the Gulf and reduce risk to vessels in the Strait of Hormuz
08 August 2019 3:50 PM
By Jennifer Aguinaldo
5G will facilitate the deployment of new technologies such as internet of things, autonomous vehicles, robotics and drones and virtual reality


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new blog discoveries08:57
photos by tales of a junkaholic I'm back from my mini break with my sister, more about that later. But for now here's some blogs I...
photos by tales of a junkaholic
I'm back from my mini break with my sister, more about that later. But for now here's some blogs I come across recently that I'm enjoying.
new blog love...
- http://simetra-junkaholic.blogspot.com/
- http://bellafruitella.wordpress.com/
- http://amyrhiannon.blogspot.com/
- http://nastasiadusapin.blogspot.com/
25 comments
eee I love Artemis' blog :) xoxReplyDelete
- AnonymousSunday, November 28, 2010
Haven't heard of these, but I'll definitely check them out!ReplyDelete
hope you enjoyed your break :) thanks for sharing these gorgeous blogsReplyDelete
Thanks for sharing! I will def. check these other blogs out!ReplyDelete
Hope you had a lovely time with your sister, I will be checking those blogs out very soon!ReplyDelete
love your shirt!!! hope you had fun with your sister!ReplyDelete
yay i love new blogs. always check them out when they're suggested. beautiful photo'sReplyDelete
Scrapbook de la Emma
I've also just recently come across that first blog and it's gorgeous!ReplyDelete
Love your photos are so sweet...ReplyDelete
i love your new discoveries.ReplyDelete
Thank you for sharing these blogs, They looks great :)ReplyDelete
I've been thinking lately that I need to find some more new blogs to look at! Thanks for sharing these.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousSunday, November 28, 2010
Thanks for posting me on your blogs! That meens a lot! love the other blog too! take care!ReplyDelete
I love your floaty white blouse in the sunshine... it looks so warm! I can't wait to leave winter behind...ReplyDelete
Looking forward to discovering these blogs too... thanks for the list! I recently discovered your blog, and I'm enjoying following you.
- Catherine at The Spring
definitely going to check those out ;DReplyDelete
Thanks for the links! Always looking for new good blogs to follow, and am such a fan of yours!ReplyDelete
xo, Anna of green gable
hope you had a sweet time with your sis. i'll make sure to check out those blogs. also, loving your new header. it's sweet as. much love, eri xxxReplyDelete
thanks for sharing! i really enjoy discovering new blogs <3ReplyDelete
Wow, those photographers are incredibly talented!! :)ReplyDelete
Off to check these out now! Thanks for sharing!ReplyDelete
Thanks for mentioning me! I was so supprised as I love reading your blog...and there I was!ReplyDelete
welcome back,
Artemis XXX
@bellafruitella & @tales of a junkaholic ~ you're welcome, loving both your blogs!ReplyDelete
these were very good recs! ThanksReplyDelete
où as tu eu ton haut blanc ?ReplyDelete


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BienfangTracingPaper Rolls
BlickMega GoldenTaklon Brushes
SpeedballProfessionalRelief Ink
BlickPencil Case
10% Off Orders of $45 or More + Free Shipping
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Five generations of chemists in the Blockx family have been working since 1865 to perfect the Blockx Oil Colors. Today they are still ground on stone rollers and mixed with poppyseed or linseed oil, and no additives or fillers whatsoever.
Color Swatches created using heavy application/medium application/50% tint and were applied on acrylic primed canvas (7 oz) material.
Zinc White is the coolest white, and it has a cold, clean masstone and a slightly bluish tint. It has less hiding power and is more transparent than other whites. It dries slowly and is good for painting wet into wet and for glazing and scumbling. Zinc White is neither as opaque nor as heavy as Lead White, its covering power is not as good, and it takes much longer to dry. However, it does not blacken when exposed to sulfur in the air as Lead White does. It is very valuable for making tints with other colors. Unmixed Zinc White dries to a brittle and dry paint film that may crack over the years, so it is not good for frescoing. It is more transparent in acrylic form than Titanium White and is the most commonly used white with gouache. Chinese White is a version of Zinc White appropriate for opaque watercolor techniques.
Zinc White has great permanence and lightfastness.
Zinc White is moderately toxic if ingested and slightly toxic if inhaled.
Though historians are divided on who first isolated the element zinc, they agree that it was first suggested as a white pigment in 1782. Zinc White was accepted as a watercolor in 1834 and was called Chinese White due to the popularity of oriental porcelain in Europe at the time. Ten years later, a suitable oil form was produced. By the early 20th century, it had improved to the point where it was an acceptable alternative to Flake White.
Chinese White, French White, Permanent White, Silver White, Snow White, Zinc Oxide.
iron oxides
FeO or Fe2O3
Mars Black is an opaque black with a strong and cool masstone, a slightly warm tint, and a warm brown undertone. It is not as black as Ivory Black, but it dries more quickly and has three times the tinting strength. Mars Black is normally the only black available in acrylic form and that is safe to over paint. It can be used in all media without reservation and is widely used as an alternative to Lamp Black and Ivory Black.
Mars Black is very lightfast with excellent permanence.
Mars Black has no significant hazards and is the only major black pigment considered non-toxic.
The word Mars refers to the Roman god of iron and war. Mars Black was developed in the early 20th century from inorganic, synthetic iron oxide.
Black Iron Oxide, Iron Black, Magnetic Oxide, Mapico Black, Mineral Black. Sometimes labeled as Vine Black.
inorganic, earth
iron oxide
Fe2O2 or Fe2O3 • H2O
Mars Orange is a bright, extremely light red and appears almost pinkish in contrast with darker colors. It has incredible tinting strength and opacity. The synthetic form of Mars Orange is made from iron oxides and is cleaner, brighter, and denser than its ochre-based counterparts.
Mars Orange has excellent permanence and lightfastness.
Mars Orange has no significant hazards.
The word Mars refers to the Roman god of iron and war. Mars Orange has been manufactured as a pigment since the 17th century.
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With the details of the next big content patch making its way to us in little spills and trickles, I'm sure that a lot of us perked up when they finally released information pertaining to the new set bonuses that we can expect to see on the tier gear that will be obtained from the upcoming raid instance.
While there may be minor variations due to the difference in class mechanics, at their heart, they're all the same; namely, to grant a portion of a tank's life-saving cooldown to his raid.
The protection paladin's set bonus is the only one that doesn't really fall into line with the rest, probably because they already have a cooldown devoted to protecting the raid and their set bonus is geared more towards boosting that already present ability but the other tanking classes all fall into roughly the same boat.
This sparks a lot of questions doesn't it? A lot of tactical thinking has to be done when looking at the upcoming boss encounters for the raid. Given that once that 4pc is obtained, every tank will be able to provide a raid-wide cooldown that can help mitigate or heal the larger damage spikes, how should that ability be used so that it would be in the best interests of the raid?
Should that key tanking cooldown be saved for a big splash on the raid and have other classes (paladins and priests) save their cooldowns exclusively for the tank? Or should the tank still use his cooldowns as his own and look at the bonus benefits to the raid as exactly that, a bonus?
My opinion on the matter is fairly simple.
Given that it's the 4pc bonus, not the 2pc, it's obvious that a lot of the normal boss encounters won't really be designed with having that convenience in mind and as such, you likely won't run into a situation where that "raidwall" style cooldown is needed until the last bit of the instance where a tank could be expected to have completed his 4pc or in some of the heroic modes where bosses might gain a damage spike on the raid that will require such measures.
So until your raid group is nearing the final battle of the new tier or until you start beating your heads against the heroic modes, I wouldn't sweat it too much and use your cooldowns as you need them.
While your priests and paladins (if you have them) can be relied upon to push cooldowns on you as needed, as a tank, there's probably nobody keeping a closer eye on your health as you are and as such, in most cases, you will be the best judge of if and when to pop your big cooldowns to save your life and prevent a wipe.
While there may be situations where you try to make it easier for your raid and save that cooldown for just the right moment where it can do the most good or when more people will be able to take advantage of it, as a whole, I'd recommend just using your cooldowns the same way you always have until you reach the end of the normal instance or the start of the heroic where that extra mitigation on the raid could be the only thing standing between another wipe and a first kill.


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Phase II Trial of Tivozanib in Advanced Hepatocellular Cancer
|The safety and scientific validity of this study is the responsibility of the study sponsor and investigators. Listing a study does not mean it has been evaluated by the U.S. Federal Government. Read our disclaimer for details.
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01807156
Recruitment Status : Terminated (Primary endpoint not met)
First Posted : March 8, 2013
Results First Posted : April 22, 2016
Last Update Posted : April 22, 2016
- Study Details
- Tabular View
- Study Results
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
|Condition or disease
|Hepatocellular Cancer
|Drug: Tivozanib
|Phase 2
Angiogenesis is the formation of new blood vessels. Angiogenesis is driven by cytokines including vascular endothelial growth factor. Tivozanib is an oral medication that inhibits vascular endothelial growth factor preventing tumor from developing new blood vessels.
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of tivozanib on hepatocellular (liver) cancer. Participants in the study take tivozanib daily at a dose of 1 mg for 1month. if doing well the dose would be increased to 1.5 mg per day. Patients are monitored for response using CT or MRI scans every 2months. In addition, patients will have blood draws to evaluate the effects of tivozanib on blood vessels.
|Study Type :
|Interventional (Clinical Trial)
|Actual Enrollment :
|7 participants
|Intervention Model:
|Single Group Assignment
|None (Open Label)
|Primary Purpose:
|Official Title:
|Phase II Trial of Tivozanib in Advanced Hepatocellular Cancer
|Study Start Date :
|March 2013
|Actual Primary Completion Date :
|February 2015
|Actual Study Completion Date :
|February 2015
Experimental: Tivozanib
Patients would receive Tivozanib 1.0 mg/day orally, 3 weeks on, one week off, for one cycle starting day 1. If no adverse event is encountered, patients will continue subsequent cycles of Tivozanib 1.5 mg/day orally; 3 weeks on/1 week off, dosing schedule. Patients will continue on treatment until disease progression, unacceptable toxicity, or patient withdrawal from the study.
Drug: Tivozanib
Oral medication given daily. No placebo.
Other Name: AV-951
- Number of Patients With Advanced Hepatocellular Cancer (HCC) Receiving Tivozanib Who Are Free From Progression [ Time Frame: 6 Months ]Evaluation of disease progression in the patients with advanced hepatocellular cancer (HCC) receiving tivozanib will be made using CT or MRI scan of the organ(s) with the target lesion(s). Response Evaluation Criteria In Solid Tumors (RECIST) criteria 1.1 will be used for objective tumor response assessment. Measurable lesions can be measured in at least one dimension as ≥ 20 mm with conventional CT scan techniques or as ≥ 10 mm with spiral CT scan. Target lesions are all measurable lesions up to a maximum of 5 lesions. Target lesions are selected for their size and suitability for accurate repetitive measurements. The sum of the longest diameter of all target lesions will be calculated and reported as the baseline sum longest diameter (LD). This will be used as a reference to further quantify objective response.
- Response Rate Based on Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) Criteria [ Time Frame: 6 months ]
Measurable lesions: Lesions that can be measured in at least one dimension as ≥ 20 mm with conventional CT scan techniques or as ≥ 10 mm with spiral CT scan.
Non-measurable lesions: All other lesions including small lesions (longest diameter < 20 mm with conventional techniques) and other non-measurable lesions including: pleural effusions, ascites, and disease documented by indirect evidence (e.g. biochemical abnormalities).
Target lesions: All measurable lesions up to a maximum of 5 lesions. Target lesions are selected for their size and suitability for accurate repetitive measurements. The sum of the longest diameter of all target lesions will be calculated and reported as the baseline sum longest diameter (LD). This will be used as a reference to further quantify objective response.
Non-target lesions: All other lesions are identified as non-target lesions and should be followed as present or absent.
Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study. To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contacts provided below. For general information, Learn About Clinical Studies.
|Ages Eligible for Study:
|18 Years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
|Sexes Eligible for Study:
|Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
Inclusion Criteria:
- Patients with measurable, histological diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and whose disease is not amenable to surgical or regional therapy.
Prior allowed therapy:
Surgery including hepatic resection
- Minimum of 4 weeks since any surgical procedure.
- Patients must have adequately recovered from surgery.
Regional therapy
- Includes transarterial chemoembolization (TACE), drug-eluting bead [DEB]-TACE, percutaneous ethanol injection, radiofrequency/cryo ablation, Yttrium-90 radioembolization.
- More than 2 weeks must have lapsed from therapy.
- There must be an indicator lesion outside the treated area or clear evidence of progression in the treated lesion, not amenable for further local therapies.
- Concomitant sorafenib with regional therapy is allowed as long as no evidence of progression on sorafenib.
- Prior adjuvant sorafenib is allowed, if completed more than 6 months prior to disease recurrence.
- Adequate hematological, liver and metabolic organ function.
- Signed informed consent.
Exclusion Criteria:
- Patients with mixed histology or fibrolamellar variant.
- Prior systemic therapy for metastatic disease.
- Uncontrolled hypertension (HTN).
- Symptomatic heart failure.
To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contact information provided by the sponsor.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier (NCT number): NCT01807156
|United States, Georgia
|Emory University, Winship Cancer Institute
|Atlanta, Georgia, United States, 30322
|Principal Investigator:
|Bassel El-Rayes, MD
|Emory University Winship Cancer Institute
|Responsible Party:
|Bassel El-Rayes, Study Principal Investigator, Emory University
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
|NCT01807156 History of Changes
|Other Study ID Numbers:
IRB00061422 ( Other Identifier: Emory University )
WINSHIP2302-12 ( Other Identifier: Other )
|First Posted:
|March 8, 2013 Key Record Dates
|Results First Posted:
|April 22, 2016
|Last Update Posted:
|April 22, 2016
|Last Verified:
|March 2016
Keywords provided by Bassel El-Rayes, Emory University:
Advanced hepatocellular cancer
Additional relevant MeSH terms:
Liver Neoplasms
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular
Digestive System Neoplasms
Neoplasms by Site
Digestive System Diseases
Liver Diseases
Neoplasms, Glandular and Epithelial
Neoplasms by Histologic Type


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Gorgeous New Crane Box Sets are Here!
3 Mar
Nothing inspires me to write a thank you note like a beautiful box of Crane & Co. stationery. We just added beautiful new note card sets to our Crane & Co. collection that will definitely inspire you to write! Here are a few of my favorites. Their clever descriptions are just as fun as the cards themselves!
Let's sip bellinis by the pool, under a shaded palm until the sun sets for the day. With a favorite pen and stationery, of course, the latter courtesy of this engraved correspondence card. Perfect for notes home from St. Tropez or summertime hellos.
A handwritten note is always in bloom. Hellos from faraway spots in the summer. Back to school correspondence in the fall. Thank yous following winter fetes. And overdue updates between friends in the spring, all on stationery with garden-inspired good looks.
A symbol of hospitality, the pineapple was once considered quite the commodity. Had you been a 15th century European king, surely many were delivered to your castle. We like to think they still do — in the form of a thoughtful note to the gracious hostess or new neighbor.
Get off to a flying start in correspondence with these whimsical notes boasting a hand engraved golden pig with wings.
A symbol of victory, palm branches were often given to winners of prestigious games and military battles in Rome. Thus, such an image is the perfect accompaniment to a note of congratulations for a diploma or promotion well deserved.
Enjoy finding your favorite!
Tags: Crane, Crane & Co., Note Card sets, stationery, thank you notes, The Stationery Studio, TheStationeryStudio.com


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Foreign Policy magazine performs an important public service, publishing a compendium of the "top 10 worst predictions for 2009." My favorite?
"If we do nothing, I can guarantee you that within a decade, a communist Chinese regime that hates democracy and sees America as its primary enemy will dominate the tiny country of Panama, and thus dominate the Panama Canal, one of the world's most important strategic points."
—Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.), Dec. 7, 1999
Rohrabacher made this alarming prediction during a debate on the U.S. handover of the Panama Canal. His fellow hawk, retired Adm. Thomas Moorer, even warned that China could sneak missiles into Panama and use the country as a staging ground for an attack on the United States. Well, Rohrabacher's decade ran out this December, and all remains quiet on the Panamanian front. As for China, the United States is now its largest trading partner.
The point here isn't to poke fun at Rohrabacher, or any of the other predictors featured on the FP list. Rather, it's to point out that predicting the future is really hard. And as Ben Friedman and I have harped on, you just can't aspire to any predictive competence without sound theory to guide you. In order to judge that if we do (or don't do) X, Y will happen, you need a theory connecting X to Y. So looking back at our predictions, and comparing them to the results of our policies, is a useful way to test the theories on which we based our policies in the first place.
Putting falsifiable predictions out there is a collective action problem, though: If I start offering nothing but precise point-predictions about what will or won't happen if we start a war with Iran, or how big the defense budget will get, or anything else, I'm going to get a lot of things wrong. And if everyone else keeps offering vapid, non-falsifiable rhetoric, I stand to look like a real jackass while everyone can hide behind the fog of common-use language. As I wrote in the National Interest a while back:
Foreign-policy analysts have an incredibly difficult task: to make predictions about the future based on particular policy choices in Washington. These difficulties extend into the world of intelligence, as well. The CIA issues reports with impossibly ambitious titles like "Mapping the Global Future", as if anyone could actually do that. The father of American strategic analysis, Sherman Kent, grappled with these difficulties in his days at OSS and CIA. When Kent finally grew tired of the vapid language used for making predictions, such as "good chance of", "real likelihood that" and the like, he ordered his analysts to start putting odds on their assessments. When a colleague complained that Kent was "turning us into the biggest bookie shop in town", Kent replied that he'd "rather be a bookie than a [expletive] poet."
Actually, though, it's worse than this. As I wrote in the American Conservative, there's basically no endogenous mechanism to hold irresponsible predictors accountable:
In 1992, the Los Angeles Times ran an article outlining the dynamics of the "predictions" segment of the popular "McLaughlin Group" TV program. Michael Kinsley, who had been a panelist on the program, admitted
"When I was doing the show, I was much more interested in coming up with an interesting prediction than in coming up with one that was true. There's no penalty for being wrong, but there is a penalty for being boring. …Prognosticators have known for centuries that people only remember what you got right. They don't remember what you got wrong."
Foreign-policy analysis works in much the same way. Errant predictions are quickly forgotten. It is the interesting predictions that the media want, and unfortunately interesting predictions in the context of foreign policy often mean predictions of unprovoked foreign attacks, geopolitical chaos, and a long queue of bogeymen waiting to threaten us. (By contrast, after a given policy is enacted, its proponents have to spin it in a positive light, as in Iraq.) Meanwhile, it is the person with the quickest wit and the pithiest one-liner–not the deepest understanding–who winds up with the responsibility of informing the American electorate about foreign-policy decisions.
So it's very good to see that Foreign Policy has interest in holding everyone's feet to the fire. John Mueller does a similar service in The Atomic Obsession, pointing out the many predictions of doom, apocalypse and general disaster that have characterized both the hawkish establishment and the leftish arms-control clique.
If this sort of exercise becomes common, though, watch for foreign-policy commentators not to develop a growing sense of modesty about their predictive power, but rather to take greater care in avoiding falsifiable statements altogether.


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Investor Relations
Santa Cruz County Bank Stock Quote
Market Makers
P.O. Box 1688 (US Mail)
42605 Moonridge Road
Big Bear Lake, California 92315
Katy Ehlers
Michael Natzic
Monroe Financial Partners
100 North Riverside Plaza, Suite 1620
Chicago, IL 60606
Steve Schroeder, CFA
Raymond James & Associates
One Embarcadero Center, Suite 650
San Francisco, CA 94111
John Cavender
StockCross Financial
15 Exchange Place, Suite 615
Jersey City, NJ 07302
Tim Padala
Wedbush Securities
One SW Columbia Street, Suite 1000
Portland, OR 97258
Joey Warmenhoven
Company Contact Investor Relations
Santa Cruz County Bank
75 River St.
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
Mary Anne Carson
Shareholder Relations
831.457.5003 ext 2118
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. How can I buy Santa Cruz County Bank stock?
Our stock is traded over the counter under the symbol SCZC. A broker such as Charles Schwab or Merrill Lynch can place a buy order in the market on your behalf or you can contact one of the Market Makers listed on this page.
Q. How can I find out what my stock is worth?
A quote may be obtained from any quotation service. You will need to enter our stock symbol as SCZC.
Q. I would like to transfer my Santa Cruz County Bank shares to my children. How can I change the registration on the certificate?
The Bank's registrar and Transfer Agent, Computershare Investor Services can provide guidance on the process for a change in registration and the required endorsement on the back of the stock certificate before it is tendered to them for reissue with the new registration. Contact Computershare Investor Services toll free at 800.835.8778.
Q. I lost my stock certificate, how can I obtain a replacement?
Please contact Computershare Investor Services at 800.835.8778 to obtain a replacement certificate.
Q. Can I deposit my Santa Cruz County Bank stock certificate into my brokerage account?
Yes, your broker can add the certificate to your account, and we generally recommend that all stock certificates be deposited with a brokerage to avoid the risk of loss of the certificate.
Q. How can I sell my stock?
There is a market for Santa Cruz County Bank and any brokerage or Market Maker listed under the first tab should be able to assist with a sell transaction.
Q. How can I change my address on my stock certificate?
Please contact Computershare Investor Services at 800.835.8778 with your new address and phone number. Or, if your shares are held in a brokerage account, please notify your broker of your change of address.
Q. What is my tax basis on the 10% Stock Dividend paid on November 10, 2017?
As required by IRS regulations, we have filed a Form 8937 with the IRS in conjunction with the 10% Stock Dividend declared by the Board of Directors on October 17, 2017. Holders of Santa Cruz County Bank stock should consult their tax advisors for additional information or with any questions.
Meet our Founders and Directors
A group of local business people joined to create a bank focused solely on serving the residents and businesses of Santa Cruz County when it became apparent that the last of the local independents were soon to be consumed by large out-of-area bank holding companies. Each of these individuals contributed time, money and talent to the bank's organizing effort. These efforts resulted in the opening of Santa Cruz County Bank on February 3, 2004. Today, these individuals remain involved, serving as the Bank's ambassadors in the community.
Santa Cruz County Bank Founders and Directors:
Richard Alderson
Joseph Anzalone***
Tila Bañuelos*
Victor Bogard
Anthony & Rebecca Campos
Charles Canfield
Kenneth Chappell*
Kate & Fred Chen
Mateo Lettunich
Marshall Delk
George Gallucci*
Thomas Griffin*
William J. Hansen*
David Heald*
Mark Holcomb
Steve John**
Robert Lockwood
William Moncovich
Stuart Mumm
George Ow, Jr.
Louis Rittenhouse
Frank Saveria
Robert*** & Bjorg Yonts
*denotes Bank Directors **denotes former Bank Director ***denotes deceased
Meet Our Board of Directors
William J. Hansen
President and CEO
Hansen Insurance Company
David V. Heald
President & CEO
Santa Cruz County Bank
George R. Gallucci
Retired Banker
Registered Investment Advisor
Former Founding Chairman
Tila Bañuelos
President & CEO
MasMac, Inc.
McDonald's Restaurants
Kenneth R. Chappell
CPA, Partner-Emeritus
Hutchinson & Bloodgood, LLP
Thomas N. Griffin
Director & President
Grunsky, Ebey, Farrar & Howell
Harvey J. Nickelson
Retired Bank CEO and
Community Volunteer


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Between the Vines is a biweekly column on wine and winemaking in the Livermore Valley region. This column was contributed by Salome Garau-Taylor, general manager of Retzlaff Vineyards & Estate Winery.
Winery name: Retzlaff Vineyards & Estate Winery
Owner: Dr. Robert Taylor
About us: Retzlaff Vineyards and Estate Winery is family-owned and operated on 14 acres in the historic Livermore Valley. We produce a variety of fine wines made from organically certified grapes.
Creating an intimate wine tasting experience for our customers and visitors is our goal. We hope to help encourage wine lovers from around the globe to visit the Livermore Valley by offering a delicious and informative experience in our charming tasting room.
The picnic grounds adjacent to the tasting room are surrounded by majestic, 100-year-old California pepper trees. The setting is absolutely lovely and private — a beautiful venue for weddings and special gatherings.
Our wines: Retzlaff was one of only five wineries in the Livermore Valley when it opened its tasting room doors in 1985. A few years later, founder Gloria Retzlaff Taylor decided to begin selling futures on her wine, becoming the first of the valley's wineries to do so. Since that time, the Futures Club has grown to include members from around the country.
Our winemaker and owner, Dr. Robert Taylor, works with his sons, Aaron and Noah, to produce cabernet sauvignon, merlot, our famous cabernet/merlot blend, chardonnay, sauvignon blanc and port. Our newest wine is a rose that Dr. Taylor named Isabelle's Blush after his granddaughter. We also offer of variety of food products, such as Olivina Olive Oils, Salute Sante' Grape Seed Oils, Bistro Blends dressings and dipping oils and more.
Our cabernet/merlot blend ($39) is probably our signature wine. Since our 1989 cabernet sauvignon won the California State Fair Double Gold, all of our reds have been in demand.
Retzlaff's most affordable wine is our delicate and delicious rose, Isabelle's Blush, priced at $16. Our most precious wine, the 2006 family reserve cabernet sauvignon, is also the most costly at $52 per bottle. We like to encourage those who purchase this wine to drink it only with those they love.
Hours and tasting fee: Our tasting fees are $5 per selected wine flight, $10 for group tasting, which includes a combination of flights, bread and dipping oils, and $20 for our premium tasting, which includes light appetizers. Group tastings and the premium tasting require advanced reservations.
Retzlaff's hours are Tuesday through Thursday, noon to 2 p.m.; Friday, Saturday and Sunday, noon to 4 p.m. We are closed on Mondays but are open by appointment.
Location: We are at 1356 S. Livermore Ave., Livermore.
Details: www.retzlaffwinery.com
wine country events


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March 19, 2014
Researchers have long known that people diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are not neurologically typical in terms of the structure and function of their brain. Now scientists have started to connect two unusual sense- and perception-related neurological differences to autism: prosopagnosia and synesthesia.
Up to two-thirds of people with ASD diagnoses appear to also have some form of prosopagnosia, or face-blindness-the inability to recognize even familiar faces. And a recent study found that the rate of synesthesia-an apparent cross-talk among the senses in which a person might taste colors or see sounds- in adults with autism was three times greater than in those who are considered "neurotypical." Learning more about why these two conditions occur at higher rates in people with autism may yield clues to the nature of the brain differences seen in autism as well as how brains typically process such information.
About four percent of the population experience synesthesia, the most common form being when words or sounds trigger an experience of color. Neuroimaging studies of the brains of people who experience synesthesia show a greater degree of connectivity in the brain compared with controls. And it's possible that hyper-connectivity may be part of the neurological differences in autism spectrum disorders as well: One hypothesis is that people with autism have fewer long-range connections and greater short-range connections, which might help explain symptoms such as hyperfocus on details and obsessions.
In November 2013, Simon Baron-Cohen and his colleagues at the Autism Research Centre at the University of Cambridge published the results of a study to assess whether synesthesia occurs more frequently in people with ASDs. Of a sample of roughly 300 people total, the researchers found the rate of synesthesia to be three times higher in those with ASDs compared with neurotypical controls. To make sure that it was true synesthesia that was reported and not more transitory associations, they used something called the Test of Genuineness-Revised, developed by Baron-Cohen, which assesses whether the sense associations stay true over time.
While preliminary, the results suggest that there is indeed a significantly higher prevalence of synesthesia in autism. Why might that be?
"There are two main hypotheses as to why synesthesia occurs," says Roi Cohen Kadosh, a psychologist at the University of Oxford who studies the phenomenon. "One is that there are more connections between different brain regions. The other is that synesthesia might occur because of some imbalance in brain excitation and inhibition, and this may eventually lead to greater connectivity, as a byproduct of the different levels of excitation and inhibition that exist."
It's estimated that as many as 1 in 50 people worldwide have developmental prosopagnosia, a condition occurring since childhood where they are unable to recognize faces of relatives and friends they have seen hundreds or thousands of times. They can perceive parts of faces and describe them, and they can identify emotional expressions on faces, but they can't assemble the perception of a face into a recognizable whole, the information that would tell them who a particular person is.
"Many of the early patients with developmental prosopagnosia were first seen in autism clinics," says Jason Barton, a neuro-ophthalmologist and director of the Human Vision and Eye Movement Laboratory at the University of British Columbia. "It turned out that they didn't have autism at all. It was just that their ability to recognize people was severely impaired."
So while not all people with developmental prosopagnosia have autism, many people with autism-as many as two-thirds according to a study Barton and colleagues conducted-have trouble with processing information about faces. Researchers have suggested a few theories: Does being born with face-blindness skew social development enough to create the symptoms of ASDs? Might it be that people with autism, due to their social difficulties, are less interested in faces, and this leads to the inability to recognize faces? Or is it an underlying neurological difference that those with prosopagnosia and those with ASDs share?
On the prosopagnosia-first-then-autism theory, "Given the number of people we've seen who have developmental prosopagnosia and not autism, we can probably say that is not the case," says Barton. On the other hand, because it's suspected that autism is not truly a single, discrete, disorder, it's possible that face-processing difficulties contribute to autism in some people with it, but not in others.
Barton and colleagues have published several studies on people with autism-in 2004 in Brain, in 2007 in Neurology, and in 2005 in Neurology-that pursue answers to these questions. What they found is that about one-third of people with autism seem to perceive and recognize faces just as do controls without autism. "They were fine no matter which way we cut it-memory, perception or recognition," says Barton. "This makes a very solid case that a substantial fraction of people with autism do have normal face processing."
In the two-thirds that do not, the type and degree of the impairment look similar to people with developmental prosopagnosia. But, significantly, "as far as we can tell, we can't predict which people will have face-processing problems and which won't, from the type of autism diagnosis they have," says Barton. So whether people have what used to be called Asperger's or are somewhere further along the ASD spectrum does not seem to correlate with their ability to recognize faces.
Such clues are tantalizing, but as with all first-stage research, there are more questions than answers. The hunt for answers to how the brain processes sensory information-our world-continues.
Get the latest neuroscience news delivered to your inbox.


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Google's answer to the iPhone 5s has arrived, and it looks promising.
The tech giant last week announced the Nexus 5 and immediately began selling it online. Within minutes, the black 16-gigabyte version sold out on Google Play.
The Nexus 5 starts at $349 for the 16-gigabyte version with no contract. It is also available in white, and a 32-GB version can be purchased for $399.
LIVE DISCUSSION: Join us at 2 p.m. PST as we unbox the Nexus 5
Google's new gadget is built by LG, which also made the Nexus 4, and it's the first device to run Android 4.4 KitKat.
The Nexus 5 sports a 5-inch full 1080p HD display. It features an 8-megapixel rear camera and runs using a 2.3GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor.
Perhaps the Nexus 5's biggest improvement over its predecessor, though, is its ability to connect to high-speed LTE cellular networks. The Nexus 4 could only connect to 4G networks.
BlackBerry shocker: Buyout deal falls apart; Heins out as CEO
Twitter raises price range; IPO becomes more like Facebook's
Apple's Tim Cook says policy against anti-gay bias good for business


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Bringing the number to 12, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (left) announced Thursday her picks for the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction. They include Assistant Democratic Leader James Clyburn, D-S.C.; Democratic Caucus Vice Chair Xavier Becerra, D-Calif.; and Budget Committee Ranking Member Chris Van Hollen, D-Md.
Pelosi urged the committee to conduct its proceedings "in the open," saying that its deliberations must be transparent.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., was the first to announce his appointees on Tuesday, while Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., followed with their picks on Wednesday.
The Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, which was part of the debt ceiling deal reached by President Barack Obama and Republican leaders, is charged with developing legislation that provides $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction by Thanksgiving. The bipartisan, bicameral committee is now comprised of 12 members—six from each Chamber and equally divided between Democrats and Republicans.
Reid said in a statement announcing his nominations that the committee has been given "broad leeway" to examine all areas for deficit reduction, and that the committee's legislation will be given "expedited consideration, with a guaranteed up-or-down vote in the Senate before Christmas."
Pelosi said in a statement announcing her appointees that the Joint Select Committee "has a golden opportunity to take its discussions to the higher ground of America's greatness and its values. It must meet the aspirations of the American people for success and keep America number one."
Pelosi went on to say that the work of the Congress must go beyond the deliberations of the committee.
"Without waiting for the committee to complete its work, we should pass legislation for sustainable job creation," she said in a statement. "Congress should send to the President the long delayed highway and FAA bills, which generate hundreds of thousands of American jobs; and Congress should approve a national Infrastructure Bank to create jobs and improve our competitiveness."
Using Obama's term, Pelosi said a "grand bargain" must be achieved, which "reduces the deficit by addressing our entire budget, while strengthening Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. Our entire caucus will work closely with these three appointees toward this goal, which is the goal of the American people."


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How to convert MKV to iMovie with MKV to iMovie Converter Mac?
MKV (Matroska Multimedia Container) is an open standard free container format, a file format that can hold an unlimited number of video, audio, picture or subtitle tracks inside a single file. When you get some .mkv videos or MKV files and want to import MKV to iMovie for editing, there is a problem.
You can't import MKV to iMovie successfully on Mac, so you need an assistat to help you convert MKV to iMovie so that you can import MKV to iMovie smoothly on Mac.
The assistant is Mac MKV to iMovie Converter. This program allows you convert MKV to iMovie on Mac. Just several clicks, you can convert MKV to iMovie supported video formats like MP4, MOV, DV, HDV etc. What's more, you can also convert MKV to other video formats such as AVI, WMV, FLV, MPG, 3GP, etc.
After converting MKV to iMovie on Mac, importing MKV to iMovie is more easily. All things are done, you can enjoy videos on iPhone, iPod, Apple TV, Zune, PSP, Xbox 360, PS3, MP4 Player, etc.
The follow is a guide that how to convert MKV to iMovie on Mac.
Step 1. Add videos into this Mac MKV to iMovie Converter
To add video files, please click 'Add Video'button and browse to source video files or drag and drop the files in the 'Getting Started' area.
Step 2. Choose the output format and set the destination
After importing MKV video to this Mac MKV to iMovie Converter, you should choose a kind of video formats like ".mp4" as the output format so that you can import MKV to iMovie successfully, then select the location where you want to store converted video files.
Step 3. Start convert
Of couser, if you would like, there are some editig fnctions to allow you make you videos before convert video to iMovie, like add watermark, trim video, crop video. When all things are ready, just click "Convert" button to convert MKV to iMovie on Mac. After conversion, you can import MKV into iMovie on Mac.
tags: import mkv to iMoive, mac import mkv to iMoive, importing mkv to iMoive mac, convert mkv to imovie mac, converting mkv to iMoive mac, mac imovie import mkv, imovie importing mkv mac


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The end of another year0 comments Posted by Matt Grover at 4:15 pm
Well, December 31st has rolled around again, another year over and done with and a new one just about to start.
Almost Christmas...0 comments Posted by Matt Grover at 10:59 am
Floatel0 comments Posted by Matt Grover at 9:54 pm
Another camera gig, but with a twist...
Welcome to...
The Floatel!!!
Yes it's a hotel that floats. It's also shite.
So all the way up to Liverpool, well Nantwich (which I've just remembered is Greg's haunt, which I didn't remember at the time, sorry Greg) for the hotel then onto Liverpool.
Anyway check out these 'beauty' shots of my room, 'key' and view...
Apologies again for the shite quality, well Nokia apologises in spirit. How's me, sat waiting at Oxford services takes your fancy??
No well, Patrick and some kit then.
Anyway, twas a fun day, despite being a shite hotel and getting bugger all sleep the night before the shoot! Now I'm home an fucking knackered, so my bed and sleep beckons.


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O'Neill Boost Drysuit Sizing....
After buying my first Mastercraft this past October, I'm anxious to get out on the water as early as possible next spring. I have been researching drysuits and have narrowed the selection down to the O'Neill Boost and the Barefoot International Seipel drysuit.
I will be primarily using it for slalom skiing and rarely playing around on a wakeboard, but not barefooting. I may go in halves with a friend of mine that I slalom with due to the cost. Since we would be sharing, the ease with which the suit can be taken off and put back on becomes an important feature. Based upon the reviews and forum threads which I have read, the O'Neill Boost seems to be the best choice.
My question is in regards to the best size to purchase. I am 6'2", 175 lbs. My friend is about 6' and around the same weight. The O'Neill sizing chart that typically accompanies the drysuit listing is actually a wetsuit sizing chart. By that chart, a large tall would probably be the correct size. After a fairly exhaustive search, I cannot find any new large tall Boost drysuits out there (only one used one on eBay that looks to be several years old). I'm not even sure if the LT is made anymore. I could order an XL, but I don't want the suit to be too baggy in the midsection.
So I'd be interested in hearing some feedback from anyone who owns a L or XL O'Neill Boost that has a similar height/build. Is the large restrictive in any way for someone 6'2", or does it ride up on the ankles or wrists? Would the XL be too baggy around the midsection and cause too much wind resistance at slalom speeds? Also, does anyone know if there are any LT suits out there? Thanks!
Go with one that fits a guy who is 6'-3" and weighs 225 pounds, that way I can wear it too!!
So, your hoping for an early start huh? You need to get that suite and use it one of these weekends we have 60 degrees, like yesterday.... You may also want to have it ready for January 19th. There is talk of hitting the lake during the BHM Open House that weekend. Weather permitting....
If its not a competition ski boat, its always second best.
2008 MasterCraft X14, LY6, 400 HP
1994 MasterCraft ProStar 205 (SOLD)
Check out the MasterCraft Buckeye Bash on Facebook!
"In my many years I have come to a conclusion that one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm and three or more is a congress." - John Adams
I own 2 different baggy suits, a BFI and a BARE and for what it is worth, if I had to do it over I would buy a tighter fitting one for slalom. The issue becomes trapped air and if you take a good fall, the air has to escape so it will blow out thru the seal and you get wet. That being said, if you make certain to keep the seals higher on your calf (not around the ankle) you will get a better/tighter fit.
As for sharing, while it sounds like a good idea, make sure you have an agreement for who will be paying to replace the seals when they are ripped because it is not a matter of if rather when. The seals are very tight when you first get any drysuit and they stretch over time. As you are putting it off and on, expecially in cold weather where you tend to lose some dexterity, it is very easy to rip a seal. The BFI seals are longer, really tight and fit great but also tend to be more expensive to replace due to the neoprene overlay. If you are not going to be footing in it, scratch the BFI from your list altogether.
Just a tip on keeping your seals in good shape....treat them with 303 protectant and keep them out of the sunlight. When the suit is not in use and is dry, store it wrapped up in a sealed plastic bag. The 303 will also help you slide in and out of the seals when the time comes.
Good luck and hope this helps.
I have a boost and went with the large. I am 5'11 and 175 lbs and wouldn't go smaller due to length. Fits ok to me.
1999 Maristar 210 (sold)
1996 Bayliner 2050
Used Boost with some sizing reference: http://www.ski-it-again.com/php/skii...t&postid=21793
Sharing a dry suit doesn't sound like a good idea to me. In cool weather I put on my suit at home, drive to the lake to ski. Wear it while driving, skiing, driving, skiing, driving, skiing.... Taking it on and off would take too much time and result it being cold.
I was thinking more of a late March/early April start, but if you are going to hit the water in January, you'll earn my respect!
For what it's worth I bought a new drysuit last year. I looked at the Boost also, but went with the hybrid because most of my early season skiing is slalom also. I had a baggy style and the hybrid felt like less drag in the water. No problem staying warm with the hybrid. I believe I bought a L size. I actually went to the dealer and tried them on before buying the suit.
So I guess the real message from me here is to go to the dealer and try them on before deciding what size/style you should get. Fit of a suit is a persoanal preference, not an on-line survey. You don't want to make a $400+ mistake.
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Photos and more coming soon!
Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University women's cross country team is headed to the NCAA Division II National Championships for the fourth consecutive year after placing second overall in the 2011 NCAA-II Midwest Regional on Saturday (Nov. 5) hosted by the Bulldogs at FSU's Katke Golf Course in Big Rapids.
The Bulldog women tallied 106 points in placing behind regional champion Grand Valley State (29 points). Saginaw Valley State took third place (135) and Ashland was fourth (193) as the top four women's squads in the 24-team regional field advanced to the national championships.
Meanwhile, the Bulldog men concluded their 2011 season with a fifth-place finish (191 points) and moved up seven spots in the regional meet from a year ago.
The Bulldog women ran without their top two runners in senior Tina Muir and sophomore Samantha Johnson, who both did not compete due to injuries.
Sophomore Anna Rudd paced Ferris State as she finished second overall in a time of 21:35 on the 6K women's course to claim all-region accolades. The women's individual regional champion was Hillsdale's Amanda Putt, who finished the 6K course in a time of 21:26.4.
Bulldog junior Alyssa Osika took 10th place (22:20.8) and was followed by junior Shelby Janutol in the 16th spot (22:38.8) with sophomore Brittany Anderson coming in 27th (23:05.6). Junior Felicia Slate captured 51st place (23:38.7), freshman Kristie Lesage came in 71st (23:56.0) and junior Jordan McGuire was 122nd (25:06.2).
In the men's race, Bulldog junior Tyler Crossman led FSU with a 29th-place finish (33:19.3) in the 10K men's event. Senior Alex Best placed 30th (33:19.4), freshman Andrew Harper was 37th (33:32.4), junior Ryan Chute took 41st place (33:35.1), senior Steve Neshkoff came in 54th (33:55.5), freshman Spencer Gerber placed 60th (34:03.2) and sophomore David Silversmith wound up 65th (34:10.9).
The men's team champion was Grand Valley State with 20 points. Southern Indiana took second (75) and Ashland was third (88) as the top three men's teams moved on to the NCAA-II National Championships. Anthony Witt of Grand Valley State was the men's individual champion as he finished the 10K course in a time of 31:58.5.
The Ferris women's cross country team was ranked sixth in the latest United States Track and Field/Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division II National Rankings under fourth-year head coach Steve Picucci.
This year marks the second consecutive season in which the Bulldog women have earned runner-up honors at the regional championships.
The Ferris women's cross country team ran to a eighth-place team finish while tying for the highest finish in school history during the 2010 NCAA Division II National Championships last fall (12/4) in Louisville, Ky. It marked the third consecutive trip to nationals for the FSU women.
This year now represents only the sixth time in history the Bulldog women's cross country team has qualified as a team for the national championships as their appearances the last three years (2008-10) were the program's first appearances since 1987.
The NCAA Division II National Championships will be held on Nov. 19 in Spokane, Wash.


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Toyota Car Lottery International Promotions China, Customer Service Department Toyota Motor Corporations, China. 28 Tanfield Road Tiaxiu lio Beijing China PRIZE AWARD NOTIFICATION DEAR SIR/MADAM We are pleased to inform you of the announcement made today, You are among the winners of the TOYOTA CAR INTERNATIONAL PROMOTION PROGRAM Participants were selected through a computer ballot system drawn from 2,500,000 email addresses of individuals and companies from all part of the world as part of our electronic business Promotions Program. As a result of your visiting various websites we are running the E-business promotions for. You/Your Company email address, attached to ticket number 719-226-1319, with serial number 902-66 drew the lucky numbers 05,12,30,11,17,43 and Bonus number 10 , Your INSURANCE Number: FLS433/ 453L /GMSA and consequently you won in the Second Category of the TOYOTA FORTUNE LOTTO DRAW. You have therefore been approved for the payment of the sum of US$1,000, 000, 00 in cash, including a Toyota carmry 2008 model which is the winning present /amount for the Second category winners. This is from the total prize money of US$40,650,000.00 shared among the international winners in the Second category. CONGRATULATIONS!!! Please be informed that your won fund of the sum of US$1,000,000.00 is now with the payee center. Contact our agent and give them your full names so that they will re-insure your winning fund under your full names. Together with the port where your winning car should be shipped to. To begin your claim, please call our claim agent or send email immediately to:- Dr lang wang Foreign Services Manager, Toyota Motor Corporations China, EMAIL: firstname.lastname@example.com PHONE: +8613640824792 Direct Line 1. Full Name: 2. Address: 3. Occupation: 4. Age: 5. Sex: 6. Nationality: 7. Country of Residence: 8. Telephone/Fax Number: NOTE: In order to avoid unnecessary delays and complications, please remember to quote your reference and batch numbers and other information provided above and below in every one of your correspondences to your claiming agent. Congratulations'' once again from all our staff and thank you for being part of our promotions program. Sincerely, Mr. Peter Willson Online coordinator www.Toyota.com.cn
What Is This?This Email with the Subject "CONGRATULATIONS FROM TOYOTA OFFICE CHINA!!!" was received in one of Scamdex's honeypot email accounts on Mon, 04 Jan 2010 23:11:53 -0800 and has been classified as a Generic Scam Email. The sender shows as "TOYOTA"<firstname.lastname@example.com>, although that address was probably spoofed. We recommend that you do not attempt to contact any persons or organizations referenced in this email, as you may expose yourself to scammers and, at the very least, you will be added to their email address lists for spam purposes.


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We've updated our 2011 Sentinel Central Florida Super60, but this time it wasn't without debate and reconsideration when it came to determining the top three players in the area.
What we always have to keep in focus here at Sentinel recruiting -- myself, high school writer Buddy Collings and SentinelVarsity.com website producer Charles King -- is this: We are trying to determine who is going to be the best college football player, not who is the best high school football player in Central Florida.
Our rankings are determined by voting. The three of us compile our own Super60, and then the numbers are added together with the lowest scores and ties of the top 60 players determining the rankings. So take Jeff Driskel of Hagerty, for example. If he was ranked No. 1 on all three lists, he'd get the lowest possible score of 3, making him the top player overall.
This time, however, along with the voting, we decided to debate the rationale of our rankings for the top three players.
So considering all of the data available and combining it with the intangibles, Driskel is our No. 1 prospect in Central Florida. The other players, Dr. Phillips standouts SS Ha'sean Clinton-Dix and RB Dee Hart, were also atop our list at one point or another during our conversations.
"I think picking between Driskel and Hart for (the Sentinel's) Offensive Player of the Year is going to be very difficult," said Collings. "Hart may be the most dynamic playmaker in the state and I can't imagine anybody doing more for his team than Driskel does. But we're ranking college prospects. Tops on that list have to be Driskel and Clinton-Dix. I'd lean to Driskel as No. 1 right now."
Similarly for King, who said his consideration for No. 1 stood with Driskel all along.
All I needed to see was Hagerty win games. Driskel had won just five games coming into his senior season, and it seemed his teammates had made marked improvement with work during the offseason. The Huskies started out a little slow because of some injuries, but they have been on a roll, mostly thanks to Driskel. They are 6-2 and finished district play 3-1.
Hagerty will clinch the school's first ever state playoff berth if Winter Springs defeats Oviedo in a key Class 5A, District 5 contest Friday night. If Oviedo wins, it would make for a three-way tie and a Nov. 8 "Shootout" tiebreaker, likely at Hagerty, considering overall records.
Driskel has it all for a quarterback prospect and that's why he was the target of Florida coach Urban Meyer, who got Driskel's commitment on April 20.
- The body: He's 6-foot-4, 225 pounds, has a gun for a throwing arm, yet he's dead-on accurate most of the time, but doesn't need to throw the ball to win (256 yards rushing yards against St. Cloud is proof) and he's just one tough football player. Rarely does the first tackle attempt bring him down.
- The mind: There is no such thing as a broken play with Driskel on the field. If one option breaks down, he'll make other options. He's smart and not just football smart.
- The heart: He's out there to win, has the desire to be the best that far exceeds most others and his preparation is thorough. He won't rest on his laurels nor take his teammates for granted. He's treated his offensive linemen to dinner at least once this season.
But don't just take our word for it. We brought in good friend Corey Long of ESPN to give us his insight on our top three players.
"There's no doubt that Jeff Driskel is equipped with the total package to be successful in college and beyond. Size, speed, arm strength, attitude. He has it all," Long said. "He blew me and everyone else away at the Elite 11 National Showcase with his ability to make all the throws.I believe we'll be talking about Driskel for a long time.
"He is the best prospect at the most important position."
As for Clinton-Dix, who winds up second in our latest Super60 update, he's a football athlete in the truest sense of the word. The 6-foot-2, 210-pounder is touted as the No. 1 safety in the country by most services and the reason why he's headed to Alabama, but put him on offense and he can score from anywhere, which he's done for unbeaten Dr. Phillips.
He can line up as running back, wide receiver, tight end. On defense, he could play any position with the exception of maybe the down lineman spots. He's 6-foot-2, 210 pounds and has exceptional speed. He also has albatross arms that wrap up tacklers and pick off passes.
"The first thing that you see when you watch Ha'sean is his size and those long arms," Long said. "He looks like he's 6-foot-6 back there. A very intimidating presence and his athleticism is off the charts. Make a mistake in his direction and he's grabbing it out of the air and taking it to the house."
That brings us to Hart, the most exciting football player to come around in some time. He's that kind of player who everyone watches every second he's on the field.
Anything can happen when the ball is in his hands. He's 5-foot-9, 185 pounds, but if you think you can tackle this little man, think again. During one 54-yard TD run against Boone this year, he twisted and juked his way around at least 10 would-be tacklers and does that same thing all the time. He's like some alien runner devoid of gravitational pull.
"What really surprised me about Hart was his receiving ability. Many running backs in the state have put up impressive stats but he is a natural receiver out of the backfield," Long said. "Add that to his other tools and you have a dynamic, versatile talent in the backfield."
For me, Hart is far and away the best high school football player in Central Florida this year. Will he make the best college player? He could wind up a phenom at Michigan, but only time will tell.
I just can't wait to watch all three on Saturdays.
Chris Hays is the Sentinel's recruiting coverage coordinator and can be reached at


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The last holdouts of pagan Europe
Mark Wilson July 14th, 2012
KÄINA, ESTONIA–The little island of Muhu between Saaremaa and the Estonian mainland, had a large prehistoric population — much larger than it has today. The Muhu Estonians built a large fort of stone heaps near the western coast opposite Saaremaa so that they could control the traffic and trade through the Small Strait. The remains of that fortification are seen above. In January 1227, Teutonic Crusaders cornered the last of the pagan Estonians in this stronghold. (They were, in fact, among the last pagans in all of Europe.) Reports say that 20,000 soldiers besieged 2500 Estonian warriors for six days here. All the Estonians were killed save one, who escaped by pretending to be a victorious crusader. Most of the stones of the fort were removed to build the causeway between Muhu and Saaremaa, but the site remains as a ring of earthen walls and a stone monument (below) marking the bloody battlefield.


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The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its latest tax data this month. The report details who contributed how much to federal revenues in 2009. The figures raise the question: why do so many in this country seem so eager to berate the 'one percent' rather than thank them for their extraordinary contributions to federal coffers?
According to the report, those in the top one percent had an average pre-tax income of $1,219,700 in 2009. Of this, they paid $353,000 federal taxes. Despite having earned 13.4 percent of the nation's income, these individuals paid 38.7 percent of federal income taxes that year. To put it more starkly, this group makes less than 16 times as much as the average household but pays more than 40 times as much in federal income taxes.
Sure, the picture looks a little different when all federal taxes are included. With payroll, corporate, and excise taxes thrown into the mix, the top one percent contribute "only" 22.3 percent of all federal taxes. But in raw dollar terms, the average one percent household pays 23 times as much in total federal taxes as the average household—a difference of $337,700. Despite this, some politicians and activists claim with a straight face that our country's top earners don't pay their "fair share."
Consider a world without such individuals—a world in which we have so taxed and vilified the most prosperous Americans that they all elect to follow Denise Rich and foreswear their U.S. citizenship in search of greater economic freedom. French President François Hollande is already learning this the hard way, as many of his country's wealthiest individuals pack up and leave as a result of his proposed tax hike on French millionaires. Indeed, the U.S. itself has seen an eightfold increase in the number of Americans abandoning their citizenship (most, apparently for tax-related reasons). Since U.S. lawmakers have yet to show any ability to curtailing their spending, Uncle Sam would be looking to the remaining 99 percent of taxpayers to make up what would be a massive gap in income tax revenues due to the sudden emigration of the top one percent.
As a matter of simple arithmetic, everyone's federal income taxes would have to go up by at least 63 percent to compensate for this lost revenue should the top earners depart. Such a gargantuan increase in taxes would rather substantially reduce work effort among the remaining 99 percent. The best evidence suggests that the economy loses 52 cents in output (lost work effort) for every dollar increase in individual income taxes. That means Congress would need to nearly double the rates for everyone else in order to cover the revenue gap.
Moreover, there's a major discrepancy between the one percent's financial support of government and its consumption of the resulting services.
If our population lost the top one percent, government could theoretically shrink spending on defense, courts, etc. by one percent to account for reduced need for services. However, since most federal payments for individuals are means-tested (ie. entitlement programs such as Medicaid and food stamps), loss of America's top earners wouldn't translate to a proportional reduction in these areas of the budget. And those payments accounted for more than 60 percent of federal spending in 2010.
Of course, losing the top one percent would mean far more than the loss of hundreds of billions in tax revenue. According to Federal Reserve data, this group also accounts for 30 percent of philanthropic giving. Many in the top one percent are business owners who employ many workers. In fact, nearly two thirds of those making over half a million dollars a year personally bear the risks of owning a company on their own or with just a few other shareholders. And losing the top one percent would translate to the departure of nearly 200,000 physicians—something a nation facing a doctor shortage could ill afford.
Like most Americans, I do not expect to enter the ranks of the top one percent (which in 2009 included one-person households with incomes exceeding $282,900, two-person households above $400,100, etc.). Perhaps I am totally deluded, lacking in class consciousness, or simply a victim of the Stockholm syndrome. But the way I look at it, I'm eminently grateful for those who have worked to attain this lofty status. I wish the current political elite felt the same way.
Update 1:
What You Don't Often Hear About Those 'Greedy' One Percenters is an excellent account of the work ethic within this group.


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Playing better.. I guess..
I have been tearing up the 25/NL table. I am happy with that. I ran my KK into AA last night. I do not think there was any way I was getting away from that hand as the flop came AKJ. Oh well.
I finished 30th or so in a 560 person 10$ MTT. I finished 6th in a 180 person 4.40 SNG. The bankroll is building.
Duggles wrote a nice little piece on my play in the 180 person. I totally disagree with his Poker conclusion though. The situation was this. I pushed in the SB with 11K worth of chips into a guy who had 22K in chips. I had A7o, he had QJc. As Duggle mentioned it was a 60/40 coin flip. I think it is a bad call though. You are risking half your chips when each spot pays exponentially more. I only pushed because I had an M<10 and figured a naked ace was probably better than what the next guy had. I later saw the guy go out in third when he called the big stacks all in with J2h. He is a flushtard and their is nothing else to say. If he had just waited a little he would have outlasted the small stack and made twice as much. I beleive I made the correct move. period. I was right. I lost. I exploited an edge and got called by a moron. Period. End of story.
I have never claimed I am not emotional about my game. Hello? Have you not read this blog before? I usually try not to call people idiots but on occassion I can not resist. I think 6th sucks. I do not care that I beat 174 people. Hell I did not care when I beat 530 people. It still is not first. I play for the ring baby, second place is not for me. I play with some emotion and I think it helps me in some ways because if I am uninterested in the game I play like crap. While it is true I should not expect brilliance in any low limit game I play it can still be aggrevating.
I am officially boycoting the DADI this Wednesday. Even though Mookie agreed to cancel his tourney it is my favorite MTT and I for one think it could be on a different day.


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She's The Real Mccoy
Across the board, the '48 F-1 was the Ford Motor Company's first really new postwar vehicle. it was not until June 1948 that the company would introduce a totally new replacement for their line of passenger cars. Since it's likely no one bought this magazine to read about cars, we'll skip right past all the boring details about stock cars and jump right into discussing alvin McCoy's '48 F-1, which was built by the folks at Vintage Specialties of gettysburg, pennsylvania. The saga of al's '48 began 15 years prior to commissioning Vintage Specialties to complete the three-year build. During this 15-year period, al acquired three different F-1s and then stashed away the best parts until he had the makings of the '48 of his dreams.
The backbone of the ppg Candy apple Red pickup is a Fatman Fabrications' new construction chassis equipped with a Fatman Mustang ii power rack-and-pinion steering guiding 17-inch Foose nitrous wheels suspended from Fatman spindles and stainless steel upper and lower control arms. at the '48's aft, a 9-inch Ford rearend packing 3.07:1 gears twists a pair of 18-inch Foose nitrous wheels. The four meats in between the Foose wheels and the road are bFg g-Force KdW T/as. Working from the rear forward, a stainless steel 20-gallon Rock Valley fuel tank is plumbed with stainless steel lines that supply an lT-1 Corvette engine built by alvin's brother Charles, a general Motors technician. after punching the lT-1 out 0.30 over, the engine was reassembled and power enhanced with Sanderson headers dumping into a custom stainless steel exhaust system fabricated by Will Matthews at Vintage Specialties. For embellishments, the lT-1 features a complement of polished billet goodies from Street & performance, including ball-milled valve covers. Additional underhood detailing includes Taylor plug wires and chrome radiator hoses from Cool-Flex. a custom-made driveshaft from Cook brothers of Scranton, pennsylvania, transmits the power from the lokar-shifted 4l60e automatic tranny to the 9-inch Ford rearend.
Before the '48 could be mated to the Fatman chassis, the crew at Vintage Specialties reworked the cab by recessing and shaving the firewall-and replaced the floorpan and rear wall. The cowl vent and gas filler were shaved as well, getting the major modifications out of the way. From the cab, the focus moved rearward to a pro's pick bed flanked with fiberglass fenders from Fairlane Company. Within the bedsides, the stock floor was redone in red oak with fully polished stainless steel runners and hidden latches, all from dennis Carpenter of Charlotte, north Carolina. getting the '48 ready for paint was a long journey, with no room for error. it was Vintage Specialties' master painter brian phillips who laid down a super-slick, streak-free Candy apple Red paintjob, which no doubt was a major factor in winning alvin's '48 the "F-1 of the year" at Knoxville in 2007.
With the exterior pretty much in hand, the next step was to move inside and take care of the interior. John Sterner at Statler's auto Upholstery in gettysburg stitched everything from the '97 Chrysler lhS seats to the door panels and headliner in optimal leather-and chamois accenting here and there with Skin-Tech ostrich. Working outward from the Dakota digital gauges housed in a billet cluster, a fully chromed ididit steering column is home to a billet Specialties steering wheel. For passenger safety, a Juliano's three-point shoulder harness was installed. behind the firewall and behind the dashboard, a Ron Francis wiring harness connects to wipers from new port engineering. There's also a '50 lincoln radio upgraded to aM/ FM and Mp3 by bob's Radio of oceano, California. no truck of this caliber is complete without air-conditioning. alvin's choice was a Sure-Fit kit from Vintage air. an interesting touch to the door panels was the use of a reproduction F-1 emblem from dennis Carpenter to create the feel of a factory custom.
When we spotted alvin's '48 at the 2007 F-100 Supernationals, he had just rolled in from picking the truck up at Vintage Specialties. he went on to say the completed '48 was the culmination of a 20-year dream and that thanks to his wife patricia and the crew (John and Susie Matthews, Will Matthews, Jamie Matthews, ed gonder, Roy Snyder, Curt plant, brian phillips) at Vintage Specialties it was fulfilled big-time.


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Dec 30 (Reuters) - Netflix Inc raised the salary of its Chief Executive Reed Hastings by 50 percent to $6 million for 2014, a regulatory filing showed, as its stock quadrupled in value this year amidst new programming and a growth in subscriber base.
Hastings will receive $3 million each in cash and stock options for the year, according to the filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission made late on Monday.
Other top executives including Chief Financial Officer David Wells and Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos will also get a pay hike in 2014, it said.
The Internet movie and TV show streaming service has been trying to lure subscribers with original programming.
Its success with a series of programs such as political satire "House of Cards" and dark prison comedy "Orange is the New Black" helped its U.S. customer base rise to 31.1 million streaming subscribers last quarter.
In November, Netflix added four new television series and one miniseries from Disney's Marvel unit, and in December it secured the rights to make new episodes of a spinoff of the "Breaking Bad" television series, available within days to customers in Latin America and Europe, starting in 2014.
Shares of Netflix have risen nearly 300 percent so far this year. The stock closed down 51 cents at $366.99 Monday on the Nasdaq.


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FileHippo App Manager is a great application that will keep your system up-to-date. FileHippo App Manager will scan your computer for installed applications, check the versions and then send this data to FileHippo.com to ascertain if there are any newer releases available. If there are any new releases, these are then neatly displayed in your browser window for you to download*.
FileHippo App Manager is FREE, lightweight and only takes a few seconds to run! The user interface is simple to operate and has had a complete makeover from previous versions. Now you can even choose your favourite colour scheme! The FileHippo AppManager now also supports downloading and installing of updates inside the app, with even more enhancements coming soon. The new look coupled with great new features make FileHippo App Manager a must have in your software library.
As in previous versions, multiple languages are supported, and custom scan locations can be specified. This can be invaluable if you like to install software somewhere other than default locations, such as on a separate drive. The new version of the FileHippo AppManager also introduces scheduled scans, allowing you to check for updates to your installed applications at a set time each day.
FileHippo App Manager will run on any Windows PC running Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7, Vista, XP, 2003 or 2000. The application requires the Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0 client profile, which you can download from here, or the installer will prompt and download it automaticaly.
*Please note that not all applications are supported.
This version has a lot of 'under the hood' fixes:
- Vast improvement in how communication errors are handled
- Better handling of file download errors
- Improved installer
- Improved how settings are preserved when doing an upgrade from a previous version
- Improved how the data for installed applications is collected
- Fixed a bug with custom scan locations, where setting Intelliscan didn't work correctly
- Fixed a bug with proxy passwords not being saved
- Fixed a bug with saving proxy address/username
- Fixed some Windows 10 specific issues
- Fixed a bug which sometimes greyed out the 'Ignore' button for certain updates
- Fixed a bug which sometimes shows a notification popup for 0 updates
- Display options are now saved between scans and remembered after a reboot
- Various other minor bug fixes.