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Richard the Cat, a.k.a., Pundit of People, remains Home Depot's meme of choice as the brand welcomes spring some out-of-character humor.
The orange feline follows a human family as they pursue scores of DIY projects with questionable results and predictable mishaps. Comedy and social media is a pretty disruptive channel in the home improvement category, according to the brand. Home Depot CMO Trish Mueller credits the origin of the feline meme to an internal meeting last year where she proposed the idea. "Everyone has elves, reindeer, Santa, but one of the biggest things followed in the social space is cats," Mueller told Ad Age. "When I shared this with our leadership team, our CEO got it immediately. We're very lucky we have one of the hippest CEOs out there."
Richard, known for his quick-wit and sarcasm, calls his human family out on Tumblr as "how-to helpless." Richard's Meme Generator invites users to create memes starring Richard, in return for Home Depot gift cards worth up to $200 every week until June 3. The brand arguably took a chance on the meme, as Emery has acknowledged that the two are an odd pair; The Home Depot brand is authentic, innovative and attainable, while Richard's cat-sona is sarcastic, superior and refined.[more]
Home Depot spokesperson Kathryn Emery told brandchannel, "The power of social media is amplification. Social media allows for trending topics, current events or emerging movements to take off and memes have become one of the main conduits to spur the proliferation. We understand the power and simplicity behind this form of content and want to tap into that to help tell our story."
The Onion's faux news article, "Man Buys The Living Daylights Out Of Patio Furniture At Home Depot Spring Black Friday," even elicited a comment from Richard on the man's display of shopping skills, noting, "At least he's good at something."
"We think that humor plays well in social channels and Richard's voice gives our brand an opportunity to step outside that box and talk to new audiences within new channels," Emery said. "We feel strongly that a social strategy grounded in quality (and in this case humorous) content with paid, owned and earned media is the right approach. We look to influencers to help amplify the messages and aim to further engage with our customers. This approach was successful during the Holidays and is a strategy we are continuing for Spring."
On Twitter, Richard engages his over 600 followers with tweets like: "Silly humans, always staring at your screens. You just can't get enough cat videos."
"Our biggest worry is Ricky will be a PR nightmare," Mueller quipped at last year's launch, according to Ad Age. "It's hard to say what this cat will do. Depending on how things go, we may let Ricky hang out around after the holidays and give us some help with other projects."


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Kenji Aoki for The New York Times
On May 26, 2009, Robert Lustig gave a lecture called "Sugar: The Bitter Truth," which was posted on YouTube the following July. Since then, it has been viewed over 4 million times, gaining new viewers monthly, fairly remarkable numbers for a 90-minute discussion of the nuances of fructose biochemistry and human physiology.
Lustig is a specialist on pediatric hormone disorders and the leading expert in childhood obesity at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine, which is one of the best medical schools in the country. He published his first paper on childhood obesity a dozen years ago, and he has been treating patients and doing research on the disorder ever since.
The viral success of his lecture, though, has little to do with Lustig's impressive credentials and far more with the persuasive case he makes that sugar is a "toxin" or a "poison," terms he uses together 13 times through the course of the lecture, in addition to the five references to sugar as merely "evil." And by "sugar," Lustig means not only the white granulated stuff that we put in coffee and sprinkle on cereal — technically known as sucrose — but also high-fructose corn syrup, which has already become without Lustig's help what he calls "the most demonized additive known to man."
It doesn't hurt Lustig's cause that he is a compelling public speaker. His critics argue that what makes him compelling is his practice of taking suggestive evidence and insisting that it's incontrovertible. Lustig certainly doesn't dabble in shades of gray. Sugar is not just an empty calorie, he says; its effect on us is much more insidious. "It's not about the calories," he says. "It has nothing to do with the calories. It's a poison by itself."
If Lustig is right, then our excessive consumption of sugar is the primary reason that the numbers of obese and diabetic Americans have skyrocketed in the past 30 years. But his argument implies more than that. If Lustig is right, it would mean that sugar is also the likely dietary cause of several other chronic ailments widely considered to be diseases of Western lifestyles — heart disease, hypertension and many common cancers among them.
The number of viewers Lustig has attracted suggests that people are paying attention to his argument. When I set out to interview public health authorities and researchers for this article, they would often initiate the interview with some variation of the comment "surely you've spoken to Robert Lustig," not because Lustig has done any of the key research on sugar himself, which he hasn't, but because he's willing to insist publicly and unambiguously, when most researchers are not, that sugar is a toxic substance that people abuse. In Lustig's view, sugar should be thought of, like cigarettes and alcohol, as something that's killing us.
This brings us to the salient question: Can sugar possibly be as bad as Lustig says it is? It's one thing to suggest, as most nutritionists will, that a healthful diet includes more fruits and vegetables, and maybe less fat, red meat and salt, or less of everything. It's entirely different to claim that one particularly cherished aspect of our diet might not just be an unhealthful indulgence but actually be toxic, that when you bake your children a birthday cake or give them lemonade on a hot summer day, you may be doing them more harm than good, despite all the love that goes with it.
Suggesting that sugar might kill us is what zealots do. But Lustig, who has genuine expertise, has accumulated and synthesized a mass of evidence, which he finds compelling enough to convict sugar. His critics consider that evidence insufficient, but there's no way to know who might be right, or what must be done to find out, without discussing it.
If I didn't buy this argument myself, I wouldn't be writing about it here. And I also have a disclaimer to acknowledge. I've spent much of the last decade doing journalistic research on diet and chronic disease — some of the more contrarian findings, on dietary fat, appeared in this magazine —– and I have come to conclusions similar to Lustig's.
Read the entire article here

subset: commoncrawl


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Joseph Phelps Vineyards is a family-owned Napa Valley winery committed to crafting world class, estate grown wines. Founded in 1973 when Joe Phelps purchased a former cattle ranch in Spring Valley near St. Helena, the winery now controls and farms nearly 400 acres of vines in St. Helena, Stags Leap District, Oakville, Rutherford, Oak Knoll District, South Napa Valley and Carneros. Phelps is best known for its flagship blend of red Bordeaux varietals, Insignia, first produced in 1974. Our wines include Insignia, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier, Syrah and a dessert wine called Delice. We offer a variety of wine tasting and culinary experiences by appointment.
Plan a trip to Joseph Phelps Vineyards on our interactive winery map:
Following an extensive renovation of our historic Napa Valley winery, we invite you to experience Joseph Phelps like never before. We offer a variety of tasting experiences and culinary offerings seven days a week by prior appointment. Please visit our website for further details and to make an appointment.View from Tasting Room: We have a spectacular view of Napa Valley overlooking estate vineyards.
Joseph Phelps Vineyards Wine Club
Wine clubs are a great way to stay connected to your favorite wineries.
To join the wine club, visit www.josephphelps.com or call 707-963-2745.
Phelps Preferred offers new releases, rare library wines and limited-production wines to our valued club members at a 20% discount. Phelps Preferred members have exclusive access to our Insignia Futures program and Cabernet Sauvignon Backus Vineyard, Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and many other Joseph Phelps Vineyards wines. Club members may choose one of four levels that include a mixture of white and red wines or reds only. We offer a variety of educational wine seminars, culinary experiences and tastings. Please visit our website for complete details.
The offer listed below is valid for all Napa Valley residents age 21 and over.
10% discount on all purchases. A visit to Joseph Phelps Vineyards requires an appointment.
The Napa Green program is supported by a wide variety of groups including the Sierra Club, the Audubon Society, and the University of California. The Napa Valley Vintners, along with Fish Friendly Farming, the Napa Valley Grapegrowers, the Napa County Farm Bureau and others developed the Napa Green program. Learn more about the program at napagreen.org.
Joseph Phelps Vineyards is certified under the Napa Green Winery Program by the Napa County Department of Environmental Management (DEM) and the Association of Bay Area Government's (ABAG) Green Business Program and completed all the regulatory components needed for environmental sustainability. These components included developing water and energy conservation methods, preventing pollution, and reducing solid waste. In addition to developing sustainable winery practices, this program is set to become the standard for the state of California.
Joseph Phelps Vineyards is certified under the Napa Green Certified Land Program. Joseph Phelps Vineyards has created and implemented a customized farm plan with measured results that addressed all aspects of its property, vineyard land as well as non-farmed land, including practicing soil conservation, water conservation, stable drainage, riparian corridor enhancement, fisheries and wildlife habitat enhancement and long-term improvement and sustainability.
Certification - certification is granted by the Napa County Agricultural Commissioners Office of Pesticide Regulation, the Regional Water Quality Control board, the California Department of Fish and Game, and the National Marine Fisheries Service.
Once a year the rarest new Napa Valley wines become available under one roof at Premiere Napa Valley. Wineries throughout the Napa Valley are given one task to participate: create a one-of-a-kind wine for this event to be purchased by one lucky bidder. This event is only open to select members of the wine trade and the successful bidder is the sole owner of this unique wine.
Joseph Phelps Vineyards
Cases: 5
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon
Vintage: 2018
Release Date: October - 2021
Appellation: Oakville
To purchase this wine or check on availability contact:
Gary's Wine & Marketplace
Saint Helena CA
Adopt-a-School is a cooperative effort by businesses, industry and government to stimulate support of education and public school students.
Joseph Phelps Vineyards has proudly adopted the following school:
New Tech High School


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New restrictions for Michigan's teen drivers went into effect March 30. The changes effect only Level 2 drivers.
Level 2 drivers are now prohibited from having more than one passenger under the age of 21. Exceptions are granted if passengers are the members of the driver's immediate family or if the driver is traveling to or from school or a school-sanctioned event.
A further restriction governs night driving: Level 2 drivers are prohibited from driving between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.
The only exceptions granted are for driving to and from work or with a parent, legal guardian or licensed adult over 21 years of age.
A violation of the Level 2 restrictions under the Graduated Driver Licensing program is a civil infraction and will result in two points on the teen's license. A notice of the civil infraction will be sent to the designated parent or legal guardian.
In addition, the period the teen must have a Level 2 license will be extended for 12 months. The teen will be required to appear for a driver reëxamination with possible license suspension and/or additional restrictions imposed.
A question of the Secretary of State website asks: My Level 2 teen driver has a school-sanctioned event that will necessitate travel after 10 p.m. Can he/she drive unaccompanied under the school-sanctioned event exception?
Answer: No. Level 2 drivers are prohibited from driving between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. to school or a school-sanctioned event unless accompanied by a parent, legal guardian, or licensed adult over 21 years old. Level 2 licensed drivers may only drive unaccompanied (without a parent, legal guardian, or licensed adult over 21 years old) between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. when traveling to or from work.
Changes in the law address what law enforcement officials see as a teen passenger problem as well as a teen driver problem.
Teen passengers often distract a beginning driver and encourage greater risk-taking.
The cash risk for teenage drivers increases incrementally with one, two, or three or more passengers. With three or more passengers, fatal crash risk is about three times higher than when a beginner is driving alone.
While night driving with passengers is particularly lethal for teens, many fatal crashes with teen passengers occur during the day. Law enforcement authorities suggest that the best policy is to restrict teenage passengers, especially multiple teens, all the time.


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Magneto Rebuilders Good & bad
No, not "Greenbat you useless bastard" comments. Instead, any helpful suggestions, bugs, ideas etc. I have very little (i.e, none) experience with forum running, so help is very much appreciated
Post Reply
First unread post • 3 posts • Page 1 of 1
Magneto Rebuilders Good & bad
I'm not sure this posting will be allowed, but under the 'fair-comment' defence in anti-defamation law (yes, I used to be a journalist and had to know all this), I'm having a magneto rebuilt for a second time after a decade of poor hot-starting, not fixed by the first mag-rebuild. I hve been told by Mag-rebuilder no. 2, that mag-rebuilder no. 1 DH Day, who advertise widely, and now charge £400 for a Mag rebuild, apparently didnt replace the original Italian condensor in my Marelli magneto (sent to them to eliminate a poor hot-starting problem!)...
Re: Magneto Rebuilders Good & bad
In defence of the first rebuilder, Poor hot starting for 10 years after a rebuild why didn't you approach the original repairer 10 bloody years ago???
Re: Magneto Rebuilders Good & bad
whilst its slightly removed from actual rebuilders, its well over a decade since i sent my troublesome m21 bsa magneto to kirby rowbotham to have its guts removed and a boyer electronic ignition unit installed. i dont think ive ever had to remove the cover to check it since. it really is fit and forget, starting was massively improved, and running at all speeds was smoother, it also ticked over for the first time since i owned it. and if you didnt know it had one fitted, then you wouldnt notice it.
Post Reply
3 posts • Page 1 of 1


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EVERETT — Lucy was on the job only a few days before she was led into a roomful of grief.
Snohomish County deputy prosecutors and victim advocates were meeting with the family of a woman who'd been killed.
Lucy, a petite Labrador and Golden Retriever mix, roamed among 20 or so people. Over the next two hours she often returned to the same woman — the victim's mother.
"Instinctively, she knew," said the dog's handler, Kathy Murray.
Lucy is a compassionate visitor. She will sit next to a scared child for hours, soaking up the tears. She cuddles and presses her nose into shaky hands. She leans into the hurt.
Lucy is the county's newest courthouse dog. She joins Harper, another dainty Lab, who spends most of her work day at Dawson Place, the county's child advocacy center.
Dawson Place serves more than 1,000 abused children every year. The center provides medical care and counseling for young crime victims and their families. It also houses detectives and prosecutors who investigate crimes against children.
Harper's handler, Gina Coslett, is a child interview specialist at Dawson Place. She's tasked with asking children about crimes they've witnessed or have had committed against them. Coslett often brings Harper, and now Lucy, to interviews.
The highly trained dogs can break the ice when children are asked to talk about sexual and physical abuse. They can close drawers and turn off lights. They hold their own leashes. They can offer the comfort that the child interview specialists must withhold to remain neutral.
Additionally, Snohomish County judges have allowed the dogs, hidden from jurors, to sit with children as they testify in court. Some families also ask for the dogs to be with them as they watch the trials of people accused of killing their loved ones. Lucy also has been spending time at Denney Juvenile Justice Center, including Friday afternoons with teens involved with the county's therapeutic drug court.
Lucy, 2 ½, came aboard after the county's first courthouse dog retired last year. When he came to the office in 2006, Stilson was only the second service dog in the nation used by prosecutors.
The prosecutor's office began looking for the right candidate when Stilson's handler announced that she'd be leaving.
Murray, a legal assistant in the civil division, was interested.
She and her family raised and showed Staffordshire Bull Terriers for about 16 years. Once her two children were out of the house and their last dog passed away, she and her husband decided they weren't going to have any more dogs.
She changed her mind when the opportunity came up to help crime victims. She also felt good about having a dog that she wouldn't have to leave alone at home all day.
Snohomish County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Roe selected Murray to apply for the program. She can do a lot of her job on a laptop and work wherever the dog may be needed. It took about a year for Murray to be matched with Lucy.
The pooch started working in February. She's been training for the gig since she was a puppy.
Harper and Lucy were provided by Canine Companions for Independence, a private non-profit group that breeds and trains dogs mainly for people with disabilities.
Volunteer puppy trainers receive the dogs when the animals are a couple of months old. For about a year the volunteers teach the dogs basic obedience and expose them to social settings, such as malls and restaurants. Then the dogs are sent to a facility for extensive, professional training. The dogs usually are about 2 when they are matched with a handler.
Murray spent a week in Santa Rosa, California, to learn how to work with the dogs. She also learned that the dogs need specialized care, including daily grooming and strict diets.
"A lot revolves around her bathroom schedule," Murray said.
The dogs can't whine if they're in the courtroom, Coslett said. They're expected to be clean, quiet and well-behaved. The handlers don't want to do anything to put the program in jeopardy.
"They take good care of others so we have to take good care of them," Coslett said.
Coslett and Murray took the dogs out to Cascade Valley Hospital in Arlington about a week after the deadly landslide in Oso. Staff there had treated some of the victims. It was the first time the dogs had been in a hospital. They went to work.
Nurses cuddled the dogs, sometimes in tears. The dogs visited with the sick, including an injured girl who'd had an accident at home. Both dogs curled up with the girl on her hospital bed.
The women also took the dogs to visit the west side command center. There they nuzzled volunteers, some of whom hadn't seen their own dogs in days.
Harper and Lucy have become best buddies. They both love having their teeth brushed and playing tug-of-war with toys. Harper perks up whenever Coslett says it's time to see "Lucy Lou."
"It was like they were separated at birth," Murray said.
She and Coslett try to bring the dogs together at least once a day during the work week. The animals' blue work vests come off, signaling them that it's time to play or relax. Earlier this week, the two dogs raced back and forth in Murray's office. Her colleagues worked on, accustomed to canine play time. Her coworkers carry the dogs' special treats and don't seem to mind when Harper insists on closing an open desk drawer.
The dogs curled up next to each other on a couch, two furry bookends.
Coslett is grateful to have a second dog at work again. There were times when she was doing five interviews a day. That was a lot of work for Harper to do alone. The stress can weigh on a dog, Coslett said.
"They love to work but it does take a toll on them," she said. "They need down time."
Lucy is proving to be a good fit for her job at the courthouse.
"She's like an old pro," Coslett said.
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; email@example.com.
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Complete focus is absolutely critical to producing a live episode of TV, a now-retired NBC cameraman told a room full of University of Florida students Tuesday night.
Complete focus is absolutely critical to producing a live episode of TV, a now-retired NBC cameraman told a room full of University of Florida students Tuesday night.
"You can't let your mind drift for a second," Jan Kasoff, a cameraman who worked on "Saturday Night Live" for more than 30 years, told about 50 students Tuesday night in Williamson Hall.
During his second trip to UF, the SNL veteran shared a series of old video clips and gave advice to students looking to pursue careers in telecommunication production.
In the dark auditorium, the students leaned on their elbows and watched videos in awe.
One was an episode of SNL from May 1995. Rod Stewart was the musical act, and David Duchovny was the guest host. Kasoff and four other cameraman were on the floor, filming the live show.
"We were constantly changing positions to capture different angles," Kasoff said.
So, in order to give students a clear understanding of the coordination that goes into a production, Kasoff showed the control room picking from the five different angles being filmed.
The sixth and largest screen is what the TV audience at home actually sees. It's called the air feed, Kasoff said, and in this case it was showing a close-up of Stewart wailing "Leave Virginia Alone." Behind him, the backup band grinned and shared looks.
In the bottom corner, on a smaller-sized screen of the control room, the director, Dave Wilson, yelled "Dissolve!" Then a new image of Stewart faded onto the feed. The transition happened seamlessly.
During the video, Kasoff leaned against the podium, watching the video with a smile. Occasionally, he would twist his head toward the audience to catch their reactions.
"I like to get information to them, things that might help them," he said. "The idea was to show them how a show like SNL is put together."
On screen, Wilson barked orders again ("That's the director's job," Kasoff explained). A mandolin player had entered the fray and had begun playing, and they needed footage.
"The mandolin's playing! Get me the mandolin," Wilson shouted.
Kasoff smiled. Maybe he remembered frantically yanking his camera toward the new musician. Immediately after Wilson's orders, each of the five camera screens included the mandolin solo.
In total, the switch took two seconds.
"But that can be an eternity in TV," he warned. "And once it comes out on a live show, it's history. You can't take it back."
Connor Hachey, a telecommunications production sophomore at UF, said of Kasoff's presentation: "I thought it was really interesting."
Although he dreams of being a screenwriter, he said he'll cherish the cameraman's tips.
"I enjoyed every second of it," he said.


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Company Name: Tech Mahindra
Detailed Description of Job Opening: Tech Mahindra Walkin Drive for Freshers - On 16th & 17th Aug 2016 for Noida location
About Company:
Tech Mahindra Business Services Limited - a subsidiary of Tech Mahindra (a leading provider of solutions and services to the telecommunications industry). Located at Mumbai and Pune, we have 10,000+ employees who work in the advanced 3G (3rd Generation) technology space and provide end-to-end CRM (customer relationship management) solutions for the Three network in the UK and Ireland, as well as Vodafone in Australia.
Required Skills: International & Blended Process
*Candidates should have an excellent communication skills
Educational Qualification: Any Graduates / BE / B.Tech
Location: Noida (Are you looking for Jobs in Chennai, Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune ?)
Today Latest Fresher Job .....Walkin Event for Freshers at Wipro - On 16th to 19th Aug 2016
Walk-in Date: 16th & 17th Aug 2016, Time: 1 PM to 3 PM
Job Last Date: 17th Aug 2016
Walk-in Venue Contact Details:
Tech Mahindra Ltd.
A-6, Sector-64,
A-6, Sector-64,


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A Chance Encounter En Route to Dakar, Senegal
I have a strong tendency to read (ok fine — skim) blogs filled with photos; aesthetically, it's what I naturally gravitate towards, and I'm sure many readers out there likely do the same. Ironically, with this post I'm about to defy most all of my preferences as my camera has… unfortunately found a new home.
It was important to remind myself as my camera went missing (as it is in so many other situations traveling or otherwise) that keeping an open mind and rolling with the punches is vital to staying sane. Had I not have done so at the very start of my trip, I would certainly not have the following story which I'm thrilled to share.
It didn't start well, as I suppose encounters with strangers – especially on planes, in close quarters – at times do not. I "accidentally" placed myself in the seat one to the left (…aisle!) of that assigned to me. That attempt did not last longer than what it took for me to get situated, as the man who was in fact assigned to the seat I was occupying would quickly and abruptly (for the first time, mind you) correct my error. His method was not your standard gentle nudge, but instead an aggressive wave in my face of his ticket stub, and two flight attendants accompanying at his back demanding I — "Please, ma'am, you must move." Of course I did so immediately, and apologized profusely for my error. The dispute was settled cordially; we gave one another a very forced smile and I carried on with my reading.
The silence lasted about 15 minutes, until our plane began its ascent and the same man to my left pulled out a SkyMall purchased green blow-up tray table pillow. Admit it — you know what I'm talking about! It's that outrageously oversized item in SkyMall Magazine that, when you're flipping through the pages, catches your eye and forces you to pause for a few seconds and contemplate: "Seriously, who on earth would ever need or want this." (Photo below if you're not familiar.)
Well, I'd found my guy, and after 3 minutes of watching him work to inflate his pillow, I simply could not hold back my giggles. He of course noticed, and turned towards me with initially a glare of sorts. That is when our conversation began…
Mo (short for Mamadou) was born and raised in the outskirts of Dakar, Senegal. At the age of 13 his family moved to the states for his father's work, and he has lived there more or less ever since. Mo lives and works in Washington DC, with an annual pilgrimage home to Dakar to visit family. When Mo learned that I was Dakar-bound to work with Kiva, his enthusiasm for Kiva was effusive. Not only was Mo familiar with Kiva, but Mo is a lender himself. (I should clarify: Mo is a Kiva lender through his niece, who first joined and began an account for "their family").
To me this was fascinating, an absolutely perfect brain to pick. Not only was I meeting a Kiva lender (awesome…), but moreover I was meeting a Kiva lender originally from the country to which he finds individuals – or groups – to give loans. I was so curious to learn more.
Mo explained, unprompted, how powerful in his mind an organization such as Kiva is: "Kiva successfully illuminates the issues and lives of those in my country for people around the world." He went on to describe his firm belief in the power of loans. They are, in his mind, a method through which "his people" can escape from a culture of dependency (aid, corruption, trade, debt, etc.), into independence, self-sufficiency, and retention of their cultural identities. He emphasized how fundamental this all is to their personal empowerment.
I listened carefully though somewhat perplexedly. I know that Kiva is subject to the same biases and attacks of all microfinance critics. It couldn't possibly be that EVERYONE feels the way Mo feels.
(My questions were incessant. I apologized several times for this, but Mo insisted I continue. If I hesitated in order to give him space to breathe, he'd probe me with: "So… what else??")
I asked what his opinion is of those in or from his county who may feel differently, perhaps averse to Kiva or microfinance, particularly when facilitated through foreign entities. He explained that of course there are individuals who disapprove of the idea of Kiva and other microfinance organizations. But if they think the obstacles which ensnare their country and communities are surmountable without outside help, maybe it's instead the idea – their mindset — which needs righting.
Mo had a cool and perspicacious way about him. He was truly pleasant to talk to — the sort of person you can tell is addressing you directly, not looking astray at distractions nor seeking approval or agreement. His speech is soft and unhurried, and as he explained to me, his love for travel comes from chance interactions such as that which we were experiencing right then and there. Being both snarky and sarcastic, I pointed to his SkyMall pillow – still inflated… — and told him he had "that" to thank.
By the time morning dawned, we were half way through our +/- 9 hour voyage across the Atlantic, and my eyelids were drooping. That's where our Kiva conversation ended.
What started off as a seemingly dreadful beginning to my journey ended up being a most memorable encounter for me. Silly purchases aside, I could not have crafted up a better person to meet than him as I embark on this journey. I have no doubt that the upcoming months will be filled with peaks and plateaus, and at times (as forewarned at our Kiva fellowship training) "troughs of disillusionment." My conversation with Mo, however, made more promising my ardent hope that I find potential in micro-loans. At the very least, this interaction will undoubtedly make the inevitable frustrations a bit more palatable.
*Mo: If you're reading this fellows blog (as I learned you often do) — what a delightful turn of events it was meeting you, and my most sincere thanks for allowing me to share this story. I'm investing in my own green SkyMall tray table pillow immediately upon return to the states!
Anna Forsberg (KF19) is a Kiva Fellow, working with UIMCEC in Dakar, Senegal.


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Pochoir, the French word for stencil, is a method of coloring illustrations for books, journals, and fine art prints. Pochoir printing was at its peak in commercial publishing in the early twentieth-century. At that time there may have been over thirty studios in Paris alone. The manual and time-consuming process of pochoir is best utilized in creating limited edition prints displaying sensuous textures and luxurious colors.
A craftsman known as a decoupeur would cut a few to hundreds of different stencils for each sheet. Then coloristes would apply each layer of color using a separate pompon, a brush of short coarse animal hair. (A drawing of a pompon can be seen in slide 8: Saude's Traite d'enluminure d'art au pochoir, page 59.)


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American craft beer brewers have fallen in love with Belgian-style ales, while almost all classic craft beers were inspired by the ales of England.
But for me, the beers I look to the most from Europe are the lagers and ales of Germany.
American craft beer brewers have fallen in love with Belgian-style ales, while almost all classic craft beers were inspired by the ales of England.
But for me, the beers I look to the most from Europe are the lagers and ales of Germany. More breweries are delving into these wonderful beers, brewing Kolsches, Pilsners and other German-influenced styles.
German beers are brewed to the standards of Reinheitsgebot, the German beer purity law that only allows barley, water and hops as beer ingredients.
But, despite that, there is a nice variety of German-style beers, and this week I'm going to give a little primer of some of the major German styles and some of the best examples to try of each style.
First, I'll start with ales.
Altbiers are a German-style brown ales that are smooth and relatively delicate beers. They are slightly sweet, but crisp and clean. Stronger versions of altbier, called doppelsticke, are basically bigger, sweeter versions of the original style.
A couple of alts worth looking for include the Headwall Alt from Tuckerman's Brewing Company in New Hampshire. The 4.75 percent alcohol by volume (ABV) beer is spot on for the style. If you want something a little stronger, the Uerige Doppelsticke comes in at a robust 8.5 percent ABV. It is a warming beer, more suited for a cold night than a hot summer day.
Kolsches are a lighter style with a mild bitterness, but a light, refreshing, dry and easy drinking beer, made for the perfect summer day. They aren't easy beers to brew. If a brewer makes a mistake in a Kolsch, there is no way to hide the flaw by pumping the beer full of hops or malts.
The best Kolsch you can get is the Reissdorf Kolsch, a 4.8 percent ABV beer brewed by the Braurei Heinrich Reissdorf.. A well-done example of the style is the Harpoon Summer Ale, a 4.8 percent ABV that is easy to find throughout the summer.
German brewers are the masters of wheat beers – they brew some of the best wheat beers being brewed in the world today. There are several styles of German wheat beers – hefeweizens (cloudy, often with flavors of bananas and cloves), dunkelweizens (dark wheat beers), weizenbocks (strong wheat beers), Berliner weisses (sour and tart wheat beers) and kristalweizens (filtered versions of hefeweizens).
Some of the best German wheat beers include the Weihenstephan Hefeweissbier, a 5.6 percent ABV hefeweizen from the Weihenstaephan brewery, as well as the Franziskaner Hefe-Weisse, another hefeweizen from Spaten-Franziskaner in Germanny. If you want to try a sold dark wheat, seek out the Ayinger Ur-Weisse from Brauerei Aying. It is one of the best you'll find.
Germany is famous for its lagers, which are fermented at colder temperatures than ales.
The most famous style of lager is the Pilsner, the style most mass-produced American beers are based on. But, a real Pilsner is so much better – floral, grassy and almost hay-like hops, light and effervescent, flavorful – everything a mass-produced lager isn't.
Two Pilsners that everyone should try include the Das Naturtrube, a 5.9 percent version from Dinkelacker-Scwaben Brau, and the Bitburger Premium Pils from Bitburger Brauerei.
If you want something a little stronger, look to bocks. Bocks are stronger than the typical German lager, more full-bodied and sweeter and hoppier than a pilsner.
Two of the best you can find are the Monchsof Bockbier from Kilmbacher Braurei, a 6.9 percent ABV beer, and the Mahr's Christmas Bock, a winter seasonal from Mahrs-Brau.
And, since Oktoberfest is upon us, the last style I'm going to take a look at is the Oktoberfest. Oktoberfest beers are rich, toasty, malty beers, brewed in the spring to be released for the annual celebration that begins at the end of September and runs through the first week of October.
It's probably the easiest German style to find the United States, and there are many great ones available. My two favorites are the Ayinger Oktober Fest-Marzen and the Spaten Oktoberfest from Spatenbrau.
There are many other great German-styles, but this is a primer that should get you all started.
Norman Miller is a MetroWest Daily News staff writer. Email firstname.lastname@example.com or call 508-626-3823. Check out the Beer Nut blog at blogs.wickedlocal.com/beernut. Follow him on Twitter at @realbeernut or on Pinterest at www.pinterest.com/beernutnorman. Also check out the Beer Nut on Facebook at http://tinyurl.com/bwa2sdn.


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LONDON (Reuters) - UBS AG UBSN.VX has brought back several employees who were put on leave when it unveiled a drastic pullback from fixed income last week, and more could follow, sources familiar with the situation said.
The Swiss bank stopped dozens of traders from reaching their desks in London last Tuesday, when it unveiled an exit from most of its rates and bond trading businesses in a strategic overhaul that will lead to 10,000 global layoffs.
The bankers were placed on special leave until further notice, while in the United States UBS fired several fixed-income employees by phone.
UBS has already brought back a small handful of employees who were on leave, two people familiar with the matter said.
It could also ask more to return or rehire some where needed, said three other sources, including UBS insiders, adding that some desks were now too thinly staffed to operate properly, if they were desks the bank ultimately wanted to keep going.
UBS declined to comment.
Rehiring staff after big layoffs is not unheard of, headhunters said, and UBS had given itself the option of bringing back staff through its special leave arrangement in the UK.
It took that step to ease the way for a formal consultation required under British law, to go over which positions will ultimately be cut.
But its methods have sparked confusion and some anger among some UBS staff still at the bank, even if many are supportive of the Swiss bank's overall strategy.
"It's a good idea," one insider said of UBS's retreat from fixed income to refocus on equities trading and corporate finance advisory, seen as its bigger strengths.
"But the way of doing it has not been good. Turning people away ... looked bad, and now it looks like there were some mistakes in terms of the people who left."
Three sources said there was an emerging market sales and trading desk which only had one senior employee still in place, and that this was one area where staff could be brought back.
UBS's new investment bank boss Andrea Orcel told staff in meetings in the last week that the job-cut process was complex, and that some elements could have been done differently or could need adjusting, two of the sources said.
But he denied, when asked, that the plan had been in any way rushed, adding it had been many months in the planning, a third person said.
"We recognize refinements in execution are almost always inevitable, particularly when you embark on a rapid transformation such as this. However, our course of direction is clear," Orcel said in a memo to staff this week, referring more broadly to the bank's strategy rather than specific staffing changes on the trading desks.
UBS's exit from fixed income, where it had lagged rivals and used up a lot of capital, won support from some analysts now urging peers to consider similar radical moves.
Additional reporting by Anjuli Davies and Aimee Donnellan at IFR; Editing by Alex Smith and David Holmes


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Friday, November 23, 2007
Just a food photo: Beetroot and blue cheese salad
Roasted sliced beetroot, crumbled Finnish Aura blue cheese, (a drizzle of good olive oil, perhaps) and some thyme. Mmmmm...
(Peedi-sinihallitusjuustu salat)
13 comments:
I love the delicate thin slices of beetroot
- 7:27 pm, November 23, 2007
- Dagmar said...
It looks divine!!!
- 12:34 am, November 24, 2007
- Nora B. said...
Hi Pille,
You already know that I love beetroot :-)
This is a gorgeous photo!
- 2:17 am, November 24, 2007
- Farmer de Ville said...
Heckfire! That salad looks incredibly good - simple pleasures are the best...
- Farmer
- 4:07 am, November 24, 2007
- Christina said...
Can't go wrong with beets. Yum.
- 5:03 am, November 24, 2007
That is a combination I would never have thought of. I love beetroot and I love blue cheese so it has to be good.
- 10:09 am, November 24, 2007
Your post made me remember that I have beetroot in the fridge. I am off to cook them now. No blue cheese unfortunately, but I will find something. Love the simplicity of your recipe.
- 10:18 am, November 24, 2007
- Anne said...
Oh, that looks delicious :)
- 6:04 pm, November 24, 2007
- Judy said...
This salad looked so delicious. Since I had beets and gorgonzola, I prepared it for dinner last night. Not a speck was left! Thanks for sharing this.
- 6:39 pm, November 25, 2007
- Kevin Kossowan said...
Nice shot, and I will most definitely steal your idea of slicing them thinly like that.
- 6:46 am, November 27, 2007
Woah! My mouth is really watering now!
- 4:55 pm, November 27, 2007
- swirlingnotions said...
My tummy's rumbling . . .
- 3:06 am, December 07, 2007
- Pille said...
Maninas: food matters – they are gorgeous, aren't they? I used long thin beetroots, so it was quite easy to slice them thinly..
Nora B – I do know your feelings towards beetroot indeed :)
Farmer de Ville – well, if you've got a good blue cheese, and a lovely roasted beetroot, then there's not much more to wish for!
Christina – I quite agree!
Paula – give it a go then!!
VegeYum – simple recipes are often the best. Or at least I'm drawn to them usually..
Judy – you're welcome – and thank you so much for letting me know you enjoyed this! I'll keep gorgonzola in mind next time..
Kevin - feel free to 'steal' that idea :)
Dagmar, Anne, Rebekka, Swirlingnotions – thank you!
- 11:56 am, December 11, 2007


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Day 3 - Hospitality Suites
Comments (2) Visits (19703)
Continuing my post-week coverage of the [Data Center 2010 conference], Wednesday evening we had six hospitality suites. These are fun informal get-togethers sponsored by various companies. I present them in the order that I attended them.
Of the six, my favorite was Intel. The food was awesome, the Snuggies were hilarious, and the magician was incredibly good. I would like to think Intel for providing me super-secret inside access to their Cloud Computing training resources and for the Snuggie!
technorati tags: IBM, LSC29, Intel, Snuggie, APC, Schneider Electric, Margaritaville, CA+Technologies, Cisco, Compellent, Joel Bauer


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About Us
The Korea Branch of the RAS was born in June 1900, when 17 men met to form a branch of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain. These founding members were missionaries and diplomats who were interested in forming a society where they could share and deepen their knowledge of Korea and the Far East. The RASKB has been meeting and growing ever since, only ceasing to function during the Pacific War (1941-5) and the Korean War (1950-3). Its membership soon grew to include gold miners, doctors, adventurers, business people, teachers, men and women, Koreans as well as foreigners.
Click here to read about the early years of the RASKB.
Click here to read a survey of the history of the RASKB's first century.
Today the RASKB has several hundred members in Korea as well as many overseas members and friends. Members are from a great variety of professions and jobs, they include both non-Koreans and Koreans. In addition to free admission to the lectures, members receive discounts on RASKB excursions and books, and a free copy of the annual journal Transactions. Members also receive an emailed newsletter listing upcoming cultural excursions, lectures and other information.
- Brother Anthony, President (email: ansonjae (at) sogang.ac.kr )
- Suzanne Crowder Han, Vice-President
- Hank Morris, Treasurer
- Betsy-Gay Kraft Lee, Secretary
Directions to RASKB:
The RAS Korea office is located on the 6th floor of the Korean Christian Building (Hanguk Kidokyo Haekuan),
Room 611. 136-46, Yeonji-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, Korea.
If coming by subway, take the Dark Blue Line 1 to Jongno 5 ga station (#129). Proceed out exit 2 and continue walking north 100 meters. (Note: The building is just past the Dunkin' Donuts shop and has a Hellas coffee shop in the lobby)
Strongly recommend making an appoint ahead of time by phoning 02-763-9483.


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Sunday School – 10:00 am
Worship Service – 11:00 am
Bible Study – 12:15 pm
Wednesday Bible Study - 6:30 pm
12859 Martin Road Spur
Northport, AL 35473
Watering the Tulips
February 4, 2015
"And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, 'All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.' Amen." – Matthew 28:18-20
This is the work of the Lord's churches. There is no other work. Without a doubt, we must constantly be reminded of this. When a church stops doing the above work, she should stop referring to herself as a church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Simply, the Lord's churches do the work of the Lord. It is to this purpose that we have been called.
Notice clearly, the first part of this mission is to "make disciples". The Greek wording here can mean nothing else! We are to be making disciples – that is our duty. If we are not doing the first part of our mission, we certainly cannot expect to do the next two parts. We are to "make disciples" by preaching the Gospel to them in hopes that the Holy Spirit will open their hearts to believe it (Romans 1:16; Acts 16:14). We are to preach this message to "all the nations" indiscriminately. If we are not doing this, we are not functioning properly as one of the Lord's churches.
When somebody comes to faith in Jesus, we are to baptize that person. They are not baptized in order to get into Heaven. They are baptized because they have borne the fruits of having been saved (Acts 10:44-48). We certainly do not mean to lessen the importance of baptism. Jesus walked from Nazareth in Galilee to John the Baptist at the Jordan to be baptized. This is better than 60 miles! So, baptism certainly must be important. That point should be stressed. Baptism is a prerequisite for church membership (Acts 2:41). It is part of our work, as one of the Lord's churches.
A church should be a place of learning. Evangelism should occur in the daily lives of the membership. And certainly, the pastor may preach an evangelistic sermon from time to time. Without a doubt, the Gospel must ever be the foundation of everything that we do in church capacity. But, every service cannot be set up merely for evangelism. If they are, we are not "teaching them to observe all things that [Jesus] has commanded." Churches are to be places of learning. In the assembly, believers should be given clear, Biblical instructions on how they can serve God in their daily lives – "in to learn, out to serve." If we are not teaching, we are not doing our work. Let it be noted, this "teaching" must be Bible teaching. We cannot get hung up on "pet doctrines". God's people need to be taught truths from Genesis to Revelation. It's all God's Word and must be taught in context.
Today, churches have often become a stench to the unchurched. Hopefully, some of this is due to our godly lifestyles not our hateful attitudes. Without a doubt, some of it is due to churches getting into things that we have not been commissioned to do. If we are spending our time fulfilling the Great Commission, we will not have time for other things.
Watering the Tulips is brought to you by Sovereign Grace Baptist Church in Northport, AL. For more information, please visit www.sovereigngrace.net . "Your App to the Gospel" can be downloaded at iTunes for iPhone, iPad and IPod Touch, Google Play for Android, the Windows Phone Marketplace, and the Windows Store for Windows 8/8.1 based tablets and computers. Please download it today!


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Day-to-day choices for the ethically handsome man
By Matt Lara
While everyone was checking out wild fashion at NYC Fashion Week, I was moving out to the wild, wild west known as Los Angeles. My first excursion out of the world of unpacking and back into the world of enjoyment was a visit to the Fahey/Klein Gallery to see A Shadow Falls by photographer Nick Brandt. Little did I know that a fun afternoon trip would turn out to be a private audience with the photographer himself! I was astonished to hear him explain that it was the gorgeous African wildlife that originally drew him in, and that this was the best way for him to honor it. The work is also available as a book. An excerpt from the introduction:
"For me, every creature on this planet has an equal right to live. Whether human being, Serengeti elephant, or factory farm cow. That is why I take these photographs. I hope that maybe you will see these animals, these non-humans, in the way that I do—as not so very different from us."
App Happy:
According to a friend of mine, I have finally joined the "evil empire" with the purchase of my new iPhone. After figuring out picture-texting and voice activation, I sought out some of the more useful apps for healthy and compassionate ladies and germs:
Vegan Yum Yum has fantastic recipes from their blog, some with photos. I like how you can check off ingredients, which is helpful while in the grocery store.
Dirty Produce from the Environmental Working Group is a quick list of the most highly sprayed crops for when it's difficult to find all organic produce.
Thanks to Chloe at GirlieGirlArmy for Be Nice To Bunnies which lists companies that test their products on animals. So helpful in those giant drug store aisles.
Whole Foods also has a nice app full of recipes I have been flipping through. They are arranged by category including vegan and gluten-free dishes.
Stir Crazy
Okay, I am still learning how to make astounding dishes a la Joshua Katcher (the DB himself). For now, I am a fan of the "dump-and-stir" recipe. This one looks, feels, and tastes special every time I stir-and-serve it. Therefore, I make it often:
Lemony Chickpea Tofu Stir Fry, and Stay tuned for more crazy stirring…
A Real Food Day
A few days after my big move I grabbed lunch with the man behind those naughty candles over at A Scent of Scandal, Ari Solomon. We laughed and chewed for quite a while over some wonderful dishes at Real Food Daily in West Hollywood. According to his recommendation, I am to come back and stuff myself with their nachos with melted cashew-cheddar cheese. That is after my next stop, the brand-new Veggie Grill on Sunset Boulevard!
Now that I'm pretty much all moved, I'm keeping my eyes peeled for a good living space and a good day-job. I'll keep you posted! If anyone out there has any tips, questions, or suggestion about living Ethically Handsome on the West Coast, please leave me a comment below!


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There is currently $5 Trillion invested in Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs), $4.7 Trillion invested in self-directed retirement plans provided by employers (401(k), 457, and 403(b) plans), and $2.3 Trillion invested in traditional pension plans offered by private companies. These numbers are stunning for a number of reasons. First, self-directed retirement plans (IRAs, 401(k)'s, etc.) dramatically dwarf the amounts invested in traditional pensions. This is part of a long-term trend, as employers move away from traditional pensions, but the magnitude of the shift is striking. With the assets in IRA's surpassing the $5 Trillion mark earlier this year, the amount of money in individual accounts is moving ahead of employer-sponsored plans. What's more, it is anticipated that IRA's will continue to grow relative to employer-sponsored plans as people retire and roll their savings from their ex-employer's plan into an IRA. This matters because investors in IRA's have even less help in creating and maintaining their portfolios than investors in employer-sponsored plans.
One encouraging trend here is that the investor population as a whole will pay less in intermediation costs when they invest in IRAs simply because the overhead associated with an IRA is lower than for 401(k)'s and related plans. This is simply a fact of life. Employer-sponsored pensions have additional overhead associated with meeting regulations on record keeping and related administrative costs.
Where do investors who own a piece of the $5 Trillion invested in IRA's get help in figuring out whether their portfolios are well-designed and have an appropriate risk level for their needs? This is an enormously important question.
There is evidence that investors, left entirely to their own devices, often end up with poorly-performing portfolios due to either being substantially under-diversified or because they create portfolios with risk levels that are radically inappropriate to their needs. An important research study that identified these two common issues as key issues in a study of over 400,000 investor accounts also found that investors who get some form of assistance—either by using Target Date funds, online advice, or managed accounts—out-performed investors who go it alone by 2.9% per year. While it should be noted that this study was sponsored by FinancialEngines, a firm that provides online advice (and thus has a vested interest in reaching the conclusion that investors who get help out-perform those who do not), their results are consistent with other analyses that find that the average self-directed individual investor often makes incredibly poor choices and suffers the consequences. In the 20-year period through 2011, individual investors in mutual funds under-performed what they could have achieved with a simple allocation to a stock index fund or bond index fund by more than 4% per year. Much of this under-performance comes from investors trying to choose which sectors are going to do well and moving their money around, as opposed to staying invested in a broadly diversified portfolio. Target Date funds or other consistent investments in a diversified portfolio remedy this particular problem.
The good news with regard to improving investors' portfolio choices in their self-directed accounts is that there are a variety of ways that this can be achieved at little or no cost. Online brokerage firms including Folio Investing, E*Trade, and others provide web-based tools to assist in selecting a portfolio or a Target Date, lifestyle, or asset allocation fund. Note: in the spirit of disclosure, the author is a consultant to Folio Investing. There is also a group of relatively young companies that provide online advice for a fee. Some examples are Wealthfront.com, Personalcapital.com, Jemstep.com, FutureAdvisor.com and Betterment.com. The longest-lived firm in this space is the aforementioned FinancialEngines.com. These firms range in services and costs dramatically. Some charge fees comparable to a human advisor, while others focus on providing low-cost advice and portfolio tracking.
How much of the $5 Trillion that is in IRAs is invested based on any type of advice, whether it is computer-based, human-based, or directed through the investments in a vehicle such as a Target Date fund? ICI, an investment industry trade group, estimates that less than 20% of IRA assets belonging to investors in their 30's are in Target Date funds or other asset allocation funds. Less than 12% of IRA assets belonging to investors in their 60's are in such funds. It is not known how many investors with IRAs also have investment advisors to help them manage their portfolios.
Having described the current state of affairs, I am now going to offer my predictions. These are, of course, largely based on my subjective assessments.
The business of online advice or assistance in portfolio selection is young. Investment advisors provide a range of services beyond portfolio design and the vast majority of individuals who are getting help in their investment choices are choosing either a Target Date fund or a human advisor. I do not foresee a dramatic reduction in the role of human financial advisors. I do, however, see a substantial opportunity for low-cost online decision support and advice for investors who have insufficient assets to attract the interest of an investment advisor. Many advisors simply do not want to handle investors with portfolios below a certain size or feel that they need to charge a higher rate (in terms of the percentage of assets under management) to make managing a smaller portfolio worthwhile. The problem is that managing a $100,000 portfolio is quite likely to be just as time consuming as managing a $1,000,000 portfolio, so the advisor needs to charge more per dollar managed for the smaller portfolio.
There is considerable evidence that investors who get no assistance in choosing their investments have generated lower returns relative to benchmarks than they could have. The future of investing 'help' for investors—especially for the growing number of people with entirely self-directed individual accounts—will be determined by a number of factors. First, there is the question of whether investors can get comfortable with a steady investment in a diversified asset allocation, such as provided by Target Date funds or other sources. Sometimes a solution can 'feel' too simple and, even though some simple portfolios have a long record of outstanding performance, investors may feel more comfortable with the idea that a human or team of humans is regularly re-evaluating the best asset allocations. Second, we have the question of whether investors will feel as though generic asset allocations or online questionnaires can provide them with a suitably tailored portfolio. Third, there is the question of whether people can get comfortable with replacing a living, breathing human advisor with a website in making potentially life-altering financial decisions.
Looking forward, I believe that we will see technology solutions that enable individual investors to make better investment decisions. The research by DALBAR, in particular, suggests that the needed improvements in investor decisions are both fairly straightforward and enormously financially significant. Whether the dominant models of investment help for investors with small portfolios (below $100,000-$200,000) will be entirely automated or have some form of human element remains to be seen. Investors with portfolios in the range of $250,000-$500,000 are more likely to attract the interest of traditional investment advisors, but it is also possible that largely-automated investment help will be attractive due to its very low cost. Investors with assets in the range of $500,000-$1,000,000 are a challenging portion of the wealth spectrum because they are more likely to expect a higher level of service and to feel that an automated solution is not sufficiently customized. For investors with portfolios larger than $1,000,000, I predict that traditional advisors will hold sway for the foreseeable future. My sense is that wealthier people are more likely to put a premium on the 'concierge' element that human advisors can provide. Furthermore, there are many advisors who are actively seeking out and pitching these clients with a range of services. The old saying that financial products and services are 'sold not bought' applies here.
The views set forth in this blog are the opinions of the author alone and may not represent the views of any firm or entity with whom he is affiliated. The data, information, and content on this blog are for information, education, and non-commercial purposes only. The information on this blog does not involve the rendering of personalized investment advice and is limited to the dissemination of opinions on investing. No reader should construe these opinions as an offer of advisory services.


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BELGIUM had to rely on a first international goal from 19-year-old striker Divock Origi to settle a tight and often dreary contest against Fabio Capello's Russia side.
After having disappointed for much of this match at Rio de Janeiro's Maracana stadium, Chelsea's Eden Hazard finally turned on the style to set up Lille striker Origi for a first-time finish two minutes from time.
Belgium's 1-0 win means they have now qualified from Group H, but until the last 10 minutes this had been grim stuff against Capello's hard-working Russians.
Hazard had looked out-of-sorts and Romelu Lukaku toothless, while Marouane Fellaini failed to make the impact he had in Belgium's opening match against Algeria.
Capello, however, will now have real fears over whether he will be able to take his side into the knock-out rounds.
Vincent Kompany made it clear before the game that his team were going to prioritise results over style and so it proved against a Russian side where all 23 squad members play in their home country - only three of Belgium's do.
Russia could count themselves unfortunate after matching Belgium until the final minutes, and nearly drew first blood.
Zenit St Petersburg striker Victor Fayzulin fired in a low curling shot with his left foot, but Thibaut Courtois was able to get a strong arm to it and keep the match scoreless.
Kevin de Bruyne's scorching run took him past three challenges and the former Chelsea midfielder laid the ball off perfectly for Dries Mertens, who tried to find Lukaku rather than shooting and Russian skipper Vasily Berezutskiy came to the rescue.
Mertens then ran at the Russian defence himself twice in as many minutes, but on both occasions he sent his shot whistling a yard wide.
It was not all Belgium, however.
Maksim Kanunnikov cut in from the left and brought a decent save out of Courtois, before Mertens once again beat Dmitry Kombarov, this time via a nutmeg, but once again Lukaku could not get on the end of this cross.
Thomas Vermaelen's match then ended after 31 minutes - he had clashed knees with Vincent Kompany in the warm-up and he was replaced by Jan Vertonghen after left-back.
After being pinned back for a lengthy period, the Russians ended the first half on top.
Fayzulin volleyed over from a corner before Alexander Kokorin missed the best chance of the half, the Dinamo Moscow striker heading wide from the edge of the six-yard box after Denis Glushakov had picked him out beautifully.
The second half drifted ever further into the doldrums, with Russia having half chances when Sergei Ignashevich flicked a header over and substitute Andrey Eshchenko fired in a shot from the right that just missed the far post.
The introduction of Kevin Mirallas for Mertens appeared to change the course of the game.
The Everton midfielder rattled the post from a free-kick before Hazard's incisive run promised another chance for Belgium, but his strike was deflected over the bar.
Finally there was another bit of Hazard magic, weaving his way down the right for substitute Origi - making only his fourth appearance - to slam home first time.


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Transit Treasure brauchte ein neues Bannerwerbung Design und hat einen Wettbewerb auf 99designs gestartet.
Aus 49 Designs von 13 Designern wurde eine Gewinner gewählt.
Transit Shopping Network
The Transit Shopping Network is an online shopping mall designed for users of public transportation. Shoppers are privy to exclusive offers to attract their spending. In addition, shoppers receive reward points redeemable for "cash-back" gift cards.
This shopping mall is designed exclusively for users of public transportation. If you ride transit, these deals are for you, and we want you shopping in our mall.
This ad will be seen by people who use public transit. It needs to encourage them to go to our website to make their online purchases.
I already have a logo which I would like to be included in the ad. The logo can be found at http://www.TransitShoppingNetwork.com
The ad is to be 11 inches high and 46 inches long.
Maintain a transit theme and keep the color scheme in concert with the Transit Shopping Network logo.
It must include our website - http://www.TransitShoppingNetwork/MTA.com
Key messages: shop online at your favorite retailers, 25 million products from over 1,000 merchants
I would like it to include the following national logos: PetSmart, Sears, Starbucks, Target, WalMart, Walgreens, Apple, Toys R Us, Best Buy, Blockbuster.
Include the following pieces of information: up to 60% in discounts, earn rewards with every purchase, redeemable for cash back.
Thanks and good luck!


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UH Board of Regents approves university budget recommendations for the 2007-2009 fiscal bienniumUniversity of Hawaiʻi
Mia Noguchi, (808) 956-9095
External Affairs & University Relations
LĪHUʻE, Kauaʻi — At its monthly meeting held this week at Kauaʻi Community College, the University of Hawaiʻi Board of Regents (BOR) approved the university's budget recommendations of $38.7 million in general funds and $58.1 million in general funds for its operating budget in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2008, and 2009, respectively. The Board also approved recommendations of $268 million and $274 million, respectively, in general obligation bond funds for improvement projects in those years.
In requesting this funding, the university's recommendations focus on four areas of need for the State of Hawaiʻi identified as priorities for the university—increasing the educational capital of the state, expanding workforce development initiatives, assisting in diversifying the state's economy, and addressing underserved regions and populations of the state, particularly Native Hawaiians.
The capital improvements budget includes 23 projects listed by priority, including projects totaling $19 million for addressing health, safety, and code requirements; $112 million for addressing capital renewal and deferred maintenance of UH facilities; $40.4 million for projects addressing critically underserved regions and populations, which includes $35 million for development of the new UH West Oʻahu campus; and the balance focused on planning and development of new facilities at campuses across the system. These figures are totals for both years of the biennium.
The operating budget includes $5.6 million for initiatives related to student learning and success at UH Mānoa; $1.6 million to support the continued development of the College of Pharmacy at UH Hilo; $10.8 million for programs systemwide related to expanding workforce development; and nearly $11 million for projects that address underserved regions and populations throughout the state, including numerous Native Hawaiian programs. These figures are totals for both years of the biennium.
The process of developing a budget request for the 2007-2009 fiscal biennium began in January 2006, and involved the president, chancellors, senior management staff, various systemwide organizations, and processes at each campus. UH system groups and campuses presented their budget needs and requests through an inclusive and thorough stocktaking process focused on the university's obligation to address state needs in regards to higher education.
For more information about the biennium budget process and stocktaking presentations, visit www.hawaii.edu/offices/app/aa/ .
Established in 1907 and fully accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, the University of Hawaiʻi is the state's sole public system of higher education. The UH System provides an array of undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees and community programs on 10 campuses and through educational, training, and research centers across the state. UH enrolls more than 50,000 students from Hawaiʻi, the U.S. mainland, and around the world. For more information, visit www.hawaii.edu .
For more information, visit: http://www.hawaii.edu/offices/app/aa/


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It used to be that being a businessman was a sterling credential on a political resume.
Barack Obama's presidential campaign, and his allies, annihilated that axiom in 2012, morphing Republican challenger Mitt Romney into an outsourcing, job-killing, vulture capitalist who had something to hide by not releasing (more of) his tax returns.
That playbook is now in full effect again. But this time it's being employed by a Republican, Ken Cuccinelli, against a Democrat Terry McAuliffe, best known as a prolific Democratic fundraiser and Clinton ally.
"If you have nothing to hide… then release the documents," a Cuccinelli video says, excerpting McAuliffe himself, urging the Democrat to release his tax returns. On Thursday, Cuccinelli released eight years of tax returns.
The video is full of quotes from President Obama and former Obama adviser David Axelrod to Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi -- all from when they were calling on Romney to release his for the sake of "transparency."
It's just the latest page in the Cuccinelli playbook against McAuliffe. Earlier this month, the campaign released a blistering video, slamming McAuliffe for his involvement in Greentech Automotive. It blasts him for not creating the jobs he said it would and noting that the car plant was essentially outsourced to Mississippi – instead of creating jobs in Virginia.
It even uses this quote from ex-president Bill Clinton, under whom McAuliffe was DNC chair: "I would buy a new car from Terry. But a used car? I am not so sure about a used car." (Beth Reinhard at National Journal has previously written about how Republicans are using the Romney playbook against McAuliffe.)
"Terry McAuliffe is running on a perceived business acumen, and that is his credential to talk about jobs and the economy, which is the core of his candidacy," an operative close to the Cuccinelli campaign said. "That is quickly being taken away from him and discredited, and that will leave him rudderless."
As for the comparison to the anti-Romney strategy, principally used by Super PAC Priorities USA, which ran brutal ads in Virginia, the operative did not shy away from it.
"It's not that the Democrats and Terry made these arguments," the operative said. "It's that they made these arguments a few months ago, which puts them in a very tough position to defend a candidate, who directly opposes a position they took a few months ago. … To the degree that draws attention to Terry and the position that puts him in, all the better."
Democrats see it as nothing more than a way to grab attention and change the subject. Cuccinelli -- whose conservative views on everything from gay marriage and abortion to investigating climate scientists at the University of Virginia have called into question whether he is in step with this state Obama won twice -- has also been under the microscope for his investments in a company called Star Scientific. Cuccinelli's office was representing Virginia in a tax lawsuit Star Scientific filed.
"It's been a month of editorials and front-page stories highlighting Ken Cuccinelli's ethics problems and lack of transparency, so it's no surprise that he's trying to change the subject with misleading attacks," said Josh Schwerin, press secretary for McAuliffe. "Even the most conservative editorial board in Virginia is calling Ken Cuccinelli's attacks an attempt to distract from his ongoing conflict of interest scandal. Ken Cuccinelli has zero credibility when he is refusing to answer questions about why he failed to disclose that he bought stock in a company while he was supposed to be pursuing them for unpaid taxes."
Noticing the Romney strategy, the Richmond Times-Dispatch wrote, "The move serves two purposes: It deflects attention from the Star Scientific flap, and it flips the traditional partisan script."
There's also a question as to whether employing the Romney strategy will work against McAuliffe, because there were two steps to the strategy behind the Priorities USA ads. It wasn't just that Romney was a rich guy, there was also a policy pivot to his support of tax cuts that benefited the wealthiest.
It's a point that even Republican pollster David Winston made to the Washington Post. "It's how you translate it [into] what McAuliffe would do if he were elected," he said. "Here are these interesting points. Now why does this matter in terms of policies?"
As the Times-Dispatch concluded: "This is all mildly entertaining, though it has about as much relevance to issues such as education and transportation as the size of a candidate's hat. No matter. Last week Republicans tried to make political hay out of McAuliffe's decision to skip the Shad Planking, an event about which few voters know and even fewer care. It is going to be that kind of campaign."
This story was originally published on Tue Apr 23, 2013 12:00 PM EDT


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Five days adrift in the Gulf of Mexico without flushable toilets did little to please some 4,200 people aboard the Carnival Triumph.
It's also a blow to the cruise industry and especially to a major player in it, Carnival, even though the passengers are now back on land.
At least in the short run, the event that might go down as the "stench cruise" hits the company's earnings. It also puts pressure on the whole industry to mount publicity campaigns to reassure potential customers that maritime vacations are fun and safe.
But as harrowing as the experience was for passengers, and as publicized as it was by the news media, it's not yet clear whether the incident will change the longer term course of an industry that's been steadily growing its business volume for years.
"It's a short-term blip," predicts Ross Klein, a sociologist who tracks the industry and works at Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. Johns. But "it'll impact the whole industry," he says, and "certainly Carnival more so than the others."
Judging by one online survey this week, some people look at this news and say, "I'll never do that." But that's a setback, not necessarily a reversal for an industry that has been roughly doubling its business each decade, Mr. Klein says.
He notes that the industry was little fazed, in the end, after the highly publicized Costa Concordia disaster a year ago, in which a similarly sized cruise ship ran aground off the coast of Italy, leaving more than 30 people dead. The operator of that ship, Costa Cruises, is owned by Carnival.
Although the latest cruise ship trouble lacks some of the Concordia's drama – no fatalities, no destruction of a costly ship, no focus on allegations of gross negligence by the captain – it has its own potential for affecting the consuming public.
The Triumph's loss of power (caused by an engine fire that was successfully put out on Feb. 10) occurred close to home for the American public and news media. And the reports from passengers during and after the ordeal brought home vividly what the loss of everyday amenities like plumbing and air conditioning might mean when several thousand people are wedged into relatively small quarters.
On Friday, the morning after the Triumph was towed into the port of Mobile, Ala., more details were emerging as passengers commented on their experience.
Passenger Julie Billings told NBC News that the experience "was like post-natural disaster, but stuck on a boat with 3,200 other people, and those poor workers trying to clean up after everyone and deal with everyone freaking out."
Passengers also praised Triumph's crew – roughly 1 in 4 of the people on the ship – for their hard work to make the bad situation bearable.
"They got everyone back," says Dan Askin, senior editor at the online publication CruiseCritic. But it was "obviously a deplorable situation on the ship."
He says such incidents are not common in the industry, although the Triumph case is bringing other past cases into memory, such as a 2010 parallel involving another Carnival ship, Splendor, that had to be towed back to port.
Mr. Askin says the company reported no adverse effect on pricing for bookings in the months following the Splendor incident. The company still bore a cost of about $65 million in compensating affected passengers and being unable to use the disabled ship for a time.
Cruise aficionados will take the event in stride, Klein predicts, while the industry might have a tougher time in the months ahead luring first-time customers.
An online poll, conducted by CruiseCritic from its reader base Feb. 12-13, found most people saying "no" to the question of whether the Carnival Triumph fire would "put you off cruising." Of more than 3,000 respondents, only 11 percent said it would affect their behavior – split between some who "won't book one for a while" and some who "doubt I'll cruise again."
The Triumph incident will be investigated, which in some cases can result in new regulations, Askin says.
Carnival estimated this week that the Triumph setback will cost 8 to 10 cents per share in earnings during the year's first half. That would translate into a hit of as much as $78 million. The company's share price has fallen from about $39 just before the news, to about $37 Friday afternoon. That's nearly a 5 percent dip.
CEO Gerry Cahill was on hand to apologize to customers as the ship docked in Mobile. The company is offering passengers a full refund of their cruise and transportation costs, plus $500 and a "future cruise credit equal to the amount paid for this voyage."
The company has also canceled 14 Triumph sailings, keeping the ship off-line through April 13.
But on Friday, the home page of the Carnival website was about business as usual: "Book your Euruopean cruise early," it beckoned in one headline, "for the dream vacation you'll always remember."
"Quite honestly the industry seems to weather every storm, as a whole at least," Askin says.
Globally, the cruise industry employs some 753,000 people and has "nearly $100 billion in economic impact," the Cruise Lines International Association reports.


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Excellent photo and video quality for its class
Excellent image quality, Fast autofocus
Design is easy to use and comfortable to handle
Undoubtedly a great all-round DSLR
Excellent viewfinder, Fast 6.2fps shooting
Vastly improved autofocus in low-light shooting
Image quality is excellent
Solid build, Ease of use, Decent sensor
Very good high ISO performance
Grip is large and accommodating, offering great control
Image quality is excellent, producing noise-free images
Stabilised sensor, Detail-rich images
Expensive, Sluggish performance
Smoothness, sharpness and - frankly - noise free performance
Excellent IQ at low ISOs
Detail and sharpness
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