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Smartphones and fast mobile Internet access have transformed nearly all facets of life, but travel has seen some of the most dramatic changes.
Gone are the days of paper maps and awkward conversations trying to figure out a foreign transit system. Today's smartphones and apps can translate words live on screen, give real-time transportation advice, locate you anywhere in the world, act as your boarding pass, book your dinner reservation, and even help you find a cheap, last-minute hotel room.
In a recent report from BI Intelligence, we explore the market for mobile travel services, dive into travel-related mobile usage, analyze how mobile travelers are attractive to brands and advertisers, and look at some of the barriers to growth in the mobile travel space, particularly the high cost of international data roaming.
Access The Full Report By Signing Up For A Free Trial Today >>
Here's a brief overview of the opportunity in the mobile travel market:
- Tourism is, of course, huge business: Tourism is one of the world's largest industries, responsible for some $6 trillion in direct and indirect economic impacts. Many travel-related apps have audiences in the millions. PhoCusWright estimates that the U.S. mobile travel market could exceed $8 billion in value this year, suggesting a worldwide value larger than $10 billion.
- Mobile travelers are a particularly attractive audience for brands and advertisers: Recent research on mobile travelers has discovered particularities about their demographics and habits that make them quite desirable. For example, business travelers are more likely to actually book their travel on mobile (32% have so far) and consumers who use their mobile devices for travel-related services tend to have higher-than-average incomes.
- Online travel is increasingly going mobile: Not surprisingly, given the increased adoption of smartphones as travel tools, some of the largest online travel companies already report a significant percentage of their bookings via mobile. But opportunities for travel applications go beyond bookings. Advertising revenue will flow to travel apps in part because they are able to ask for and collect location data from users.
- Mobile is also particularly strong for last-minute hotel bookings: Hotel Tonight leverages the last-minute and spontaneous nature of many mobile-mediated travel bookings, Orbitz noted that "over 70% of reservations coming through smartphones are being done within a day of check-in," and Expedia reported that 68% of its mobile hotel reservations are done within 24 hours of the planned stay. Mobile has clearly created a new business opportunity in hotel booking, creating a channel through which to sell rooms that otherwise would remain unoccupied and unsold.
In full, BI Intelligence's report on The Mobile Tourist:
- Explores the market for mobile travel services
- Looks at travel-related mobile usage
- Examines how mobile travelers are attractive to brands and advertisers
- Analyzes some of the barriers to growth in the mobile travel space, particularly the high cost of international data roaming
To access BI Intelligence's full reports on The Mobile Tourist, sign up for a free trial subscription here.
Want to learn more about the mobile industry? Check out our featured articles:
- Mobile Trends for 2020
- Mobile Banking Market
- M-Commerce & Mobile Shopping
- Mobile Wallet Payment Ecosystem
- Mobile Payments Technologies
Get the latest Google stock price here.


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Salmon House on the Hill
Creating Indigenous West Coast cuisine & lifelong memories for over 40 years.
A window-wrapped dining room offers an unparalleled view of Vancouver and Burrard Inlet. The Salmon House is world renowned for its award winning menu and wine list, breath-taking views, sophisticated warm local artisan décor.

subset: commoncrawl


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Just ordered the Model S Performance with the Performance Plus Package. Can someone who has that package give me some feedback as to if the package is worth the additional $6,500? I'd like to know how much it really enhances the overall performance of the car. Thanks.
There are many reports in the Model S discussions. Use volkerize.com to search.
There are more reports at teslamotorsclub.com as well.


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Hard Rock International Announces Plans For A Beachfront Hotel In Daytona BeachMay 2, 2013
Orlando, Fla. – May 2, 2013 – Hard Rock International, in collaboration with Bayshore Capital, announces plans for a Hard Rock Hotel in Daytona Beach, bringing the legendary Hard Rock vibe to one of Florida's greatest vacation destinations. Expected to debut in 2016, in sync with the running of the 58th Annual Daytona 500, the beachfront site will be the largest in the market, currently slated to feature 250 hotel rooms, 100 condominium units with access to all hotel amenities and a signature Hard Rock Cafe.
"The city and county have been working hand-in-hand to rejuvenate the city of Daytona Beach, and we're thrilled Hard Rock and Bayshore Capital have chosen 'The World's Most Famous Beach' as its newest location for expansion," said Derrick Henry, Mayor of Daytona Beach. "The synergies between Daytona Beach and Hard Rock are limitless, and we cannot wait for the brand to open the Hotel and Cafe."
"The gorgeous beach, hot cars, bikes, great hospitality and the sound of rock 'n' roll music together will celebrate Daytona Beach's resurgence," said Henry Wolfond, chairman and ceo, Bayshore Capital. "We feel privileged to be a part of this development and look forward to its opening around the 2016 Daytona 500."
Hard Rock Hotel Daytona Beach will be the brand's fourth hotel in Florida and is currently anticipated to offer two rock star suites; Body Rock® workout facility; Rock Spa®; the world famous Rock Shop® featuring Hard Rock's iconic merchandise and exceptional dining options, including a world-famous Hard Rock Cafe, where its legendary memorabilia and live music would be a favored attraction in Daytona Beach – as it is in Cafes from London to Los Angeles and Buenos Aires to Barcelona. With music at its core, Hard Rock will bring live music and entertainment to the vacation destination. The beachfront property is also expected to feature a pool complete with a bar and grill, where guests can enjoy poolside cocktails.
In addition to premium accommodations with comfortable Sleep Like a Rock® linens, the hotel is currently set to offer more than 28,000 sq. ft. of ballroom and banquet facility space, ideal for hosting meetings and conventions. True to its musical roots, music and pop culture lovers will be treated to music memorabilia lining the walls from local and global icons, including rock 'n' roll legends, hip-hop stars and indie artists alike.
"Hard Rock Hotel Daytona Beach will offer the ability to showcase the brand across a wide array of offerings, including a recording studio for guests to access during their stay," said Nelson Parker, senior director of development, Hard Rock International. "Hard Rock International is excited at the prospect of managing this property. Daytona's sunny beach and history as an iconic vacation hot spot set the stage for a new and exciting Hard Rock Hotel."
Hard Rock Hotel Daytona Beach, along with the growing collection of Hard Rock Hotels, will applaud rock 'n' roll through brand wide programs, from on-site VIBE managers who keep a pulse on the hotel, atmosphere and energy, to the groundbreaking, interactive amenity "The Sound Of Your Stay®" where guests jam out with hands-on music experiences.
The Sound of Your Stay® offers Hard Rock fans three components: Tracks®, where guests receive an exclusive code to download a personal playlist curated by music pros and celebs for the ultimate soundtrack to the hotel experience; Picks®, offering fans a menu of 20 Fender® guitars for an in-room jam session complete with amps and Nixon headphones; and Mix®, where music fanatics match beats and remix like a pro with the in-room delivery of a Traktor Kontrol S2 mixer, a laptop loaded with digital mixing software and Nixon headphones. As a special encore to the amenity program, Hard Rock Hotel Daytona Beach will offer a recording studio for guests to record their own music to take home as a reminder of their rockin' experience.
Internationally recognized as a world-class entertainment and lifestyle brand, Hard Rock Hotels & Casinos offer stylish and contemporary design, unparalleled service and the thread that unites them all – music. Hard Rock's current Hotel and Casino portfolio is located in the world's most enviable resort destinations, as well as urban gateway cities. The dynamic properties cater to the evolving and distinctive needs of today's cosmopolitan, modern travelers, who seek a reprieve from traditional, predictable accommodations, whether for business or leisure travel, and who connect with the authentic and powerful Hard Rock vibe.
This project is subject to the execution of definitive agreements, securing financing and on certain approvals by The City of Daytona Beach and Volusia County.
For more information or to book a stay at any of the Hard Rock Hotels & Casinos, please visit www.hardrockhotels.com.
About Hard Rock International
With a total of 179 venues in 57 countries, including 141 cafes, 18 hotels and 8 casinos, Hard Rock International (HRI) is one of the most globally recognized companies. Beginning with an Eric Clapton guitar, Hard Rock owns the world's greatest collection of music memorabilia, which is displayed at its locations around the globe. Hard Rock is also known for its collectible fashion and music-related merchandise, Hard Rock Live performance venues and an award-winning website. HRI owns the global trademark for all Hard Rock brands. The company owns, operates and franchises Cafes in iconic cities including London, New York, San Francisco, Sydney and Dubai. HRI also owns, licenses and/or manages hotel/casino properties worldwide. Destinations include the companies' two most successful Hotel and Casino properties in Tampa and Hollywood, Fl., both owned and operated by HRI parent company The Seminole Tribe of Florida., as well as other exciting locations including Bali, Biloxi, Chicago, Cancun, Las Vegas, San Diego and Singapore. Upcoming new Hard Rock Cafe locations include San Jose, Ibiza, Chennai, Istanbul and Tenerife. New Hard Rock Hotel projects include Palm Springs, Aruba, Riviera Maya, Abu Dhabi and Shenzhen and Haikou in China. New Hard Rock Casino projects in development include Hungary and Northfield, OH. For more information on Hard Rock International, visit www.hardrock.com, www.hardrockhotels.com, www.facebook.com/hardrock.
About Bayshore Capital
Bayshore Capital finances and builds companies that create value in real estate, financial services and information technology. Our success is based on leveraging our proven strengths and strategic assets: experienced management, deal-making expertise, worldwide relationships, and access to patient capital. The Bayshore team has more than 75 years of cumulative experience and expertise in the real estate and hospitality industries, private equity, asset management, financing, as well as mergers and acquisitions. For more information on Bayshore Captial visit www.bayshorecapital.com.


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Beauty Salons in Melbourne can be found in every suburb. But to check out the best Beauty Salon in Melbourne, visit our website at http://www.bestdayspamelbourne.com.au/ Contact Details:…
Best Beauty Salon in Melbourne for a great hair, s
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Hank Silverberg, wtop.com
WOODBRIDGE, Va. – Longer commutes, fewer jobs and expensive housing are combining to have a dramatic impact on Northern Virginia, and many residents are having trouble making ends meet.
It is not a new phenomenon. But a report from the Commonwealth Institute says Northern Virginia, in particular, is being hard hit. For example, in Prince William, Stafford and Spotsylvania counties there are twice as many workers as there are jobs.
The report says cuts in hours of work, reduced employment opportunities, income losses and rising prices in gas and other commodities have hurt even the those in higher paying jobs.
The report says the region needs 100,000 jobs just to return to the pre-recession employment levels.
For Brian Wilkins, of Lake Ridge, Va., the report was not surprising. To save gas, he works longer hours so he can commute to D.C. fewer days each week, "I work longer hours during the day, made that commute a lot less."
Others, like Debra Hunter of Woodbridge, have made other sacrifices.
"I actually took a worse paying job so that I could work closer to home so my commute won't be as bad."
She used to commute three hours a day to and from Reston, but now she commutes to Fairfax and saves about 40 minutes a day.
The report says 14.8 percent of the commuters in Northern Virginia travel more than 60 minutes to work. The statewide average in Virginia is just under ten percent and nationally it is roughly 8 percent.
Hunter says the jobs in Prince William County don't pay enough for her to make ends meet.
The solution may be more jobs in the exurbs, one of the reasons counties like Prince William and Stafford have been heavily recruiting business and industry that could employ local residents.
The report says supporting a family of four in Northern Virginia without relying on any public assistance required an income of over $63,000 in 2010, assuming one preschool child and one school age child.
Follow Hank Silverberg and WTOP on Twitter.
(Copyright 2012 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.)


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A new downloadable content pack for Mass Effect 3 will be out on July 17 for Xbox 360, Microsoft said today.
Called Mass Effect 3: Earth Multiplayer Expansion, the DLC is totally free according to a blog entry by Microsoft's Major Nelson.
This is likely the map- and weapon-packed "Earth" DLC that was leaked by a Redditor last month.
Content coming soon to the Xbox LIVE Marketplace [Major Nelson]


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Since 1981, Dr. Sidney Bolkosky, Professor of History at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, has interviewed Holocaust survivors. The University's Mardigian Library has been the repository of these interviews. It has been our privilege to provide a forum for those voices, "listening ears," as one survivor notes, and the facilities to record the testimonies. As a University of distinction, the campus has demonstrated its dignity and character because of the respect it has accorded the tapes and the people who made them.It makes me sad to realize how much some people in genealogy are missing. I was talking to a lady at the Maricopa County Public Library when I did a presentation there recently. She was obviously a Holocaust Survivor and was very emotional and bitter about her inability to find information about her family. Unfortunately, when I tried to talk to her, she assumed I could not help and walked away.
This archive represents a gurantee of honest presentation--unembroidered, without dramatization, a scholarly yet austerely moving collection of information and insight. We have been and are engaged in rescuing fragments of fragments of memory. We have done that quietly, without fanfare, but with integrity and quality. Because of that, the project is what it is, does not need any hype or dramatization. It speaks for itself--literally.
Those who have had access to the tapes--including scholars, psychologists, historians, and more than 1,000 students--have found themselves riveted to their tape recorders or VCRs. Now the collection, as it grows, has obtained a potentially larger audience: copies of all the interviews rest in the archives of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum; copies of the videotapes are in the Yale Video Archives and the Holocaust Memorial Center in West Bloomfield, MI. Through the work of many individuals, that audience is now international and unbounded, crossing continents and oceans, disciplines, and professions. There have already been inquiries to the campus from Australia and Munich as well as Ann Arbor and Flint, Michigan. ....
Now obviously, all of this information is not online but there are connections and references to the material, especially the material residing in university libraries around the world. You may not find your particular ancestor, but you may find a neighbor, a friend, or even someone who lived in the same small town or village. You may find what you are looking for where you least expect it. As the professor said, what is available "does not need any hype or dramatization. It speaks for itself--literally."


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Margaret Drickamer, MD
Professor Emeritus of Medicine (Geriatrics)
Research & Publications
A Graduate of Harvard / Radcliffe College and McGill School of Medicine, Dr. Drickamer completed a residency in Primary Care Internal Medicine and is boarded in both Geriatrics and in Hospice and Palliative Care. She has does qualitative research in and writes on both education and ethics.
Education & Training
- MDMcGill University (1981)


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Blog Excerpts
Back in Black: On the Origins of "Black Friday"
November 28, 2013
On Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, Americans kick off the holiday shopping season with a bang. We look back to a Word Routes column by lexicographer Ben Zimmer exploring the origins of the phrase "Black Friday." It is not, as many believe, the day when retailers' balance sheets change from red to black. Continue reading...


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We suck with penalties, the referees have been horrendous and we should have let them score 1 minute ago. This is absolutely ridiculous.
This game is a disaster
9 Responses to "This game is a disaster"
mark Says:
September 27, 2010 at 11:44 pm |
cant win when the other team has 6 extra guys on the field all with the law on their side
Katie Says:
September 27, 2010 at 11:45 pm |
I want to throw up.
bucky Says:
September 27, 2010 at 11:48 pm |
I think a number of people ought to be losing their jobs after tonight. We can start with Mark Tauscher, who was complete dogshit tonight, but it sure doesn't end there. I haven't seen a sorrier performance since I graduated from Northwestern during the Dennis Green era.
Travis Says:
September 27, 2010 at 11:53 pm |
Everyone talks about how great MM is…
Well how fucking great is he? Cause of course your going to do well with a team that has all these talented players. The guy is not a good game planner. Does not call good plays. Makes absolutely unbelieveably most ridiculous decisions a monkey would make. EVERY GAME!
He will challenge any play that brings up the thought of challenging. How about getting someone who has a set of god dam eyes upstairs to look at the dam replays and say.. challenge or no challenge. Don't throw your dam flag cause you wanna be like the friggin refs!
MM, your really pissing me off. Every year. It's the talent on the team that wins you games… It's not you. This team is not coached right. Make stupid decisions, stupid plays especially down the wire. What kind of discipline does this team have? That is your sole responsibility. It isn't the first time. You need to deal with this, but you don't.
We need a big name guy who knows how to coach. Because for F sakes were going to waste our talent. I don't want to see MM in the superbowl, because I don't trust him. I've had it. I've bloody had it.
Kai Says:
September 28, 2010 at 12:00 am |
MM is the Wade Phillips of the NFC North.
DaveK Says:
September 28, 2010 at 12:10 am |
It was amazing the Packers were even in that game. Blocked field goal, punt return for a TD, 20 penalties, James Jones fumbling AGAIN against the f'ing Bears, horrible refs, dropped INT's, red zone holding penalties, etc….
The Bears scored 20 points and all but 3 of them were gifted to them by the Packers.
The Packers need another RB. They need someone other then Matthews to rush the passer. They clearly need a new RT. Ugh….
mark Says:
September 28, 2010 at 12:12 am |
good point Travis but a lot of the calls were bullshit- we outplayed them completely – of course my earlier comment to an older blog still stads–DONT KICK THE FUCKING BALL TO HESTER!!! which of course goes to the coaching.
Dave in Tucson Says:
September 28, 2010 at 2:34 am |
Well, I think Hester is a lot more reputation than actual ability at this point, but I would agree that when you suck at kick coverage, are pinned deep in your own end zone, and the game is on the line, yeah, it's probably a good idea to kick away from Devon Hester.
- Dave in Tucson Says:


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|Agnes and Adolph
Thanks to the remembrances of uncles, aunts, and distant family overseas, we are fortunate to know some of the personal stories and events that breathe life into the bare facts of this couples' existence.
But the best part for me was watching her eyes open wide when I told her that her Grandpa Wally, whom she knows well, was their little boy. Suddenly the fairy tale prince and princess became quite real, and best of all, they became HERS.
In all this, we need to be careful to keep it truthful. I have to admit, there was some disappointment when I discovered that my German ancestral grandfather Nicholas, did not meet his beautiful French bride Dorothea Francine, while fighting in a war in France. Nicholas, in fact, had no military experience - he was a widower with two young boys, and "Dorothea Francine" was actually Franken Dorothea, a poor German woman with a little girl. However, they had their own stories of adventure, determination and struggles with the German government, and building "something" from "nothing." Looking at their lives and challenges in the context of what was happening in their personal lives, their country, and in the world, makes for an interesting story in itself. There is no need to embellish the facts to make their story an interesting one.
Of course, not all family stories are going to appeal to all children, but hopefully the realization that Adolph and Agnes were Alyssa's people, and they have an interesting story, will lead her to wonder about her other ancestors as well - Martin Adams, the Revolutionary War Patriot who was a drummer just like her grandpa; Rebecca Lair, the poor widow with nothing who ended up being a landowner; John Adams, the gold miner in the California Gold Rush; Grandma Lisa, who experienced the Nazi invasion of Norway firsthand, among others. Knowing that these were her people, and their blood flows through her veins will hopefully create a thirst in her for more.


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Discount Bible, Book, and Music Store
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Three new songs will debut in these new Christmas episodes! Jennie Allen and Afshin Ziafat use the theme of "The Gift" and "The Star" to share the gospel.
Episode 1: The Christmas Gift: The class throws a Happy Birthday Party for Jesus when an unexpected guest shows up. The owls learn about loving others, the true meaning of Christmas, and three important lessons about gifts.
Episode 2: The Star (Part 1 & 2): In this special two episode adventure, the class must find Twitch, rescue his parents, and get back in time for the annual Christmas pageant. Along the way, the owls discover three things they can learn about God from the stars He created.
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- Publisher: Owlegories
- Release Date: October 4, 2016
- Language: English
- Height: 0.60 inches
- Width: 5.30 inches
- Length: 7.50 inches
- Weight: 0.15 pounds


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Has AT&T inadvertently announced that the Apple iPhone is to get the iChat instant messaging application? The speculation comes after AT&T sent out a survey over the weekend asking Apple iPhone users about their experiences using the phone in different contexts.
A section of the survey questions users about EDGE performance, asking how well users would rate it when using different applications. One of the programs included in the survey is iChat , along with some other features already included in the Apple iPhone, Phazer.Blast reported.
Does this mean Apple is planning to add iChat to the Apple iPhone? Speculation was rife early last week, days after the Apple iPhone was launched. It's not impossible that the instant messaging application will be added as a firmware upgrade in the near future. We would certainly welcome such an addition ahead of the UK Apple iPhone launch later this year.


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'Days of Rambo Are Over': Military Details Plans for Integrating Women Into Combat Units
Military details plans for integrating women into combat units.
WASHINGTON, June 19, 2013 -- Despite a declaration that "the days of Rambo are over," Special Operations Command has concerns about how women will fit into its elite units as the military makes the transition to having women in combat by January 2016.
Though U.S. Special Operations Command says it will undertake long-term studies of the ramifications of such a move on its forces, Army and Navy plans could have women training for Army Ranger School by mid-2015 and as Navy SEALs by 2016.
The military services, which all presented their long-term plans Tuesday for how they will integrate women into front-line combat units, are all currently developing gender-neutral standards for those units, but U.S. Special Operations Command is not going to change its difficult entry standards, which are both physical and mental.
"The days of Rambo are over," said Maj. Gen. Bennet Sacolick, of the U.S. Special Operations Command Force Management Directorate. "I mean, we're looking for young men that can speak and learn a foreign language and understand culture, that can work with indigenous populations and culturally atune manners.
"The defining characteristic of our operators are intellect," he added. "And when people fail in the special forces qualification course, predominantly they fail because they're not doing their homework."
Sacolick admitted that SOCOM has concerns about letting women into its elite ranks because their units are often small teams working in remote areas. He said the biggest challenge has less to do with how they do on physical tests but in dealing with social and cultural changes.
He said the command is not predisposed to any course of action, which is why it will undertake three studies over the next year to look at the socio-cultural impact of a change before making a recommendation to the Secretary of Defense by July 2015.
One of the studies will focus on "the social implications of integrating women at the team level," another will look at "the behavior and cultural aspects of integrating women into its formations that operate in that remote special operations environment," he said.
The third study will be a survey, similar to the one conducted by the Pentagon ahead of the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell," that will gauge the opinions of Special Operations forces.
"Our formations are filled with quiet professionals," Sacolick said. "We need to know how they feel about integration at the team level. I think that's going be really important."
The military services have similar long timelines that will meet the Pentagon's goal of integrating women in all combat units by January 2016. Each is charting its own path for developing gender-neutral standards for jobs that men and women will be able to do in combat units.
For example, the Marines have settled on five "proxy tasks," like loading an artillery shell into a tank gun, that are representative of hundreds of micro-tasks. This summer they will study how 800 male and female Marines work their way through the drills to come up with a screening test that will eventually be used on incoming recruits who want to serve in infantry units.
Some gender-neutral standards have already been developed for certain frontline jobs and will open up to women fairly quickly. For example, as early as next month, female sailors will be allowed to train to join the Navy's Riverine force that provides security operations in river and coastal areas.
Other combat jobs will still require longer study and review, not only for developing the new standards but also for more mundane things like new lodging and privacy needs that would be necessitated by allowing women into the units.
The service representatives said they are consulting with SOCOM as to how to proceed with allowing women into their special ops units.
But the plans presented Tuesday show the Army could begin to allow women to enter the Army's elite Ranger School after July, 2015 and the Navy could allow women into SEALS training in early 2016.
While the Army has tentatively set plans to allow women to enter Army Ranger School to earn the "Ranger Tab," it does not mean that female graduates will automatically get to serve in the 75th Ranger Regiment. Like their male peers, they will have to successfully meet the unit's own selective standards. The same might hold true for sailors who train to become SEAL's.
Last January, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta lifted the 1994 Combat Exclusion Rule that restricted women from serving in frontline infantry, armor and special operations units and set a January 2016 compliance deadline. The concept of a frontline became blurred in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as women serving in other units also became the targets of roadside bombs and attacks. To date, almost 150 military women have died in those wars.
The services have varying numbers of jobs that have remained closed to women as a result of the rule. While the Navy has 88 percent of its jobs open for women, the Air Force has had 99 percent of its positions open to women for years. Among the jobs closed to women in the Air Force are positions in combat control, tactical air command and control, pararescue and special-operations weather positions.
The stated goal of lifting of the ban was to open all combat jobs to women, but the services were given the option of requesting an exception that would have to be approved by the defense secretary. Though they are tentative in nature and many details still have to be reviewed, the timelines reflect the goal of including women in all combat units.


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Search Results
There are 92 item(s) tagged with the keyword "Republicans".
- Displaying: 1 - 10 of 92
- 1. Tom Morrissey to Speak at Rim Country Republican Club - 5/29/17
Please come to the Memorial Day meeting of the Rim Country Republican Club to hear a presentation byTom Morrissey, Past Chairman of the AZ GOP. The meeting will be held on May 29 at Tiny's Restaurant, Highway 260 in Payson Arizona at 11:00 am. Mr. Morrissey's talk will be about his experiences with the Establishment in our party when he was State Chairman and what really goes on behind closed doors, far from the eyes and ears of the grassroots and true believers.
Click here to read more
- 2. Why I Support Jim O'Connor for AZGOP Chair, and Not Jonathan Lines
#1: My personal experience of Jim O'Connor has been extremely positive. First, he educated me on the serious problems associated with Rep. J. D. Mesnard's National Popular Vote bill (HB2456), which he brought up during last year's legislative session. This was a complex issue, and Mr. O'Connor and I exchanged several emails and telephone calls in the process. I also did independent research. This resulted in an article that I published titled "Stop the National Popular Vote Compact in Arizona." Mr. O'Connor made a very impressive appeal before the House of Representatives against the National Popular Vote leading them to defeat that bill last session. He's prepared to do it again.
Second, as a member of the Mommy Lobby, I deeply appreciated Mr. O'Connor's leadership in LD23 in helping to pass HB2088, which protects students against surveys that gather private, personally identifiable information. He advised his representative in LD23, Heather Carter, "Our 444 Precinct Committeemen are reflecting the opinions of the 70,000 registered republican votes in our district overwhelmingly protecting the rights of parents and children. Please represent these and other republicans who desire to restrain government overreach." She voted in favor on reconsideration, and this bill passed. Mr. O'Connor has stood firmly in support of legislation that honors parental authority and rejects federal control of education in Arizona.Click here to read more
- 3. County and State Party Candidates Should Not Seek Endorsements from Politicians
by Maricopa County Republican Committee Chairman Tyler Bowyer
Many have seen in recent weeks a few endorsements from Public Office Holders of Candidates for those who wish to serve in County and State Party positions. I want to make a statement and say this is absolutely wrong. One of the primary reasons that the Republican Party exists is to hold Elected Officials accountable. Having our Party Officeholders beholden to Elected Officials through endorsements and donations is precisely what's wrong with the GOP today. It should raise many red flags of Party Candidates who seek these endorsements as it is akin to the adage of the "Fox in the Henhouse." This is terrible judgment both on the part of the candidate and the elected official.Click here to read more
- 4. Defending Old Glory - AZ Sen. John Kavanagh Wants Stealing Flag To Be a Felony
Arizona Republican Senator John Kavanagh (LD23) will be introducing a bill during the upcoming Legislative Session that will make stealing the American flag a Class 6 felony. In the following Fox News interview, Sen. Kavanagh explains that currently, stealing the flag is only a misdemeanor theft, akin to stealing a pack of gum from a convenience store. When someone steals a flag from someone's yard, they aren't just stealing something that doesn't belong to them. Not only is the flag a venerated object, but also, when someone displays the American flag, they are exercising their Constitutionally-guaranteed First Amendment freedom of expression. They might be displaying the flag to express patriotism, mourning someone's death, or as a protest. This is an important right.Click here to read more
- 5. Stop the National Popular Vote Compact in Arizona
"Democracy" has a nice ring to it: One Person, One Vote. However, that's exactly what the Founders did not want: Majority (aka Mob) Rule. When Mrs. Powel of Philadelphia asked Benjamin Franklin, "Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?" With no hesitation whatsoever, Franklin responded, "A Republic, if you can keep it." Ours is a Constitutional Republic, but only if we, the people, care enough to participate in keeping it.
Our presidents are chosen through a combination of a popular vote and the Electoral College that represents the states. Each state's entitled allotment of electors equals the number of members in its Congressional delegation: one for each member in the House of Representatives plus two for Senators. This keeps a handful of the most populous states from dominating all the other states. For example, Donald Trump won the popular vote in Arizona. Thus, the Republican party's 11 Electors will vote for president. Had Hillary Clinton won the popular vote, Arizona's 11 Democrat Electors would be voting for president. (In contrast, California has 55 Electors.) See below for two short videos: Do you Understand the Electoral College? and The Popular Vote vs the Electoral College.
Unfortunately, there is a movement across America that is gaining traction called the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. It would distort the procedures of the Electoral College. It would usher in the very "democracy" that the Founders did not want. It is unconstitutional.Click here to read more
- 7. Jim O'Connor Announces Run for State Party Chairman of the AZGOP
I have tremendous respect for Jim O'Connor. In the following press release, you will read about Jim's role in renouncing the National Popular Vote. I was one of the people he patiently educated regarding its problems. Ultimately, a group of us were able to convince our Senator, Sylvia Allen, to back away from supporting it. Jim is true to the Republican platform and has provided leadership in other areas as well, including the passage of HB2088, which protects students against surveys that gather private, personally identifiable information. He advised his representative in LD23, Heather Carter, "Our 444 Precinct Committeemen are reflecting the opinions of the 70,000 registered republican votes in our district overwhelmingly protecting the rights of parents and children. Please represent these and other republicans who desire to restrain government overreach." She voted in favor on reconsideration. Mr. O'Connor has stood firmly in support of legislation that honors parental authority and rejects federal control of education in Arizona.
PRESS RELEASEClick here to read more
- 8. Arizona Sen. Carlyle Begay: "We Must See Ourselves in a Whole New Light"
As noted in a November 24 news article, Senator Carlyle Begay has recently changed from the Democrat to Republican Party. I have never met Sen. Begay, but I've observed him and heard his remarks during the last legislative session. He is a highly intelligent, thoughtful, well-educated man. Both Democrats and Republicans can politicize his decision all they want, but I know that he will be guided by his convictions, not politics, whenever he casts his votes. The welfare of his constituents, many of whose ancestors were the First Arizonans, will rank far above either party. He believes that the time has come for his people to achieve prosperity. In fact, he wants all Arizonans to prosper. Please watch this video. Notice the many terms and phrases that he uses. This is what the Republican Party stands for.
In the following video, you will gain some insight into why Senator Begay is adamant that "change must happen" and why he believes it is the Republican Party that is working to find solutions that will help the people that Sen. Begay represents. He explains that "families living within our rural and tribal communities are in a crisis. Unemployment is as high as 80%. Roads, bridges, and infrastructure are wasting away. Many Native American families are without electricity and clean, running water. Native American students have some of the lowest graduation rates and some of the highest drop-out rates. Native Americans have the highest rates of suicide in the country." Senator Begay desires to work within the Republican Party to build a bridge connecting those who need and want a chance with those who can help provide that chance. The Republican Party is the party of progress, the party of opportunity. It is, now, Senator Begay's Party.Click here to read more
- 9. Mike Richardson - His Fight Against Tyranny Ended May 15, 2015
It is with great sadness that I write of the loss of Mike Richardson. On May 10, 2015, he was posting articles on his Facebook page. On May 15, he was gone. He died from complications following minor shoulder surgery. In a way, his death was much like his life. He never dawdled.
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Vitamin D Deficiency Causes Immune Dysfunction and Enables or Perpetuates the Development of Rheumatoid Arthritis
|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: NCT00279461
Recruitment Status : Withdrawn (Dr. Levy terminated from IU in December 2009. Indiana University has no record that this study was initiated prior to his termination.)
First Posted : January 19, 2006
Last Update Posted : August 4, 2015
- Study Details
- Tabular View
- No Results Posted
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
|Condition or disease
|Arthritis, Rheumatoid Vitamin D Deficiency
|Drug: Placebo in arm A and Vitamin D in arm B Drug: vitamin D 3 for arm A ,and matching placebo for arm B
|Phase 2
Rationale : Low vitamin D levels hinders the ability of the macrophage to produce activated 1-25Dihydroxyvitamin at sites of inflammation. 1-25Dihydroxyvitamin D has important immunoregulatory functions including down-regulation of antigen-presenting cells such as dendritic cells. Under the influence of 1-25Dihydroxyvitamin D, these dendritic cells become tolerogenic ─ as opposed to immunogenic ─ and abrogate an immune response at early stages. Immunogenic dendritic cells play a key role in the development of autoimmune diseases such as Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) by "presenting" self-antigens to the immune system. Vitamin D levels are frequently low in patients with RA. Restoring vitamin D availability to normal levels in patients with RA may induce improvement of disease manifestations through expansion of the tolerogenic dendritic cell subset.
Key Objectives:
- Conduct a double-blind randomized clinical trial, to test the hypothesis that vitamin D administered to patients with active RA has beneficial effects on this disease.
- Determine if vitamin D administered to patients with RA. induces expansion of the tolerogenic dendritic cell subset by analyzing patterns of cell surface marker expression on dendritic cells at different time points during the clinical trial (translational studies).
Study Population: We will recruit early RA patients (not more that 12 month duration of disease)with active joint inflammation cared for at this institution.Participants must be subjects with active RA at the time of inclusion, who are 18 years of age or older and have no history of other autoimmune disorders or other disorders such as cancer or osteoporosis which are also linked to vitamin D deficiency. The eligible patients with active RA should be on treatment for RA with Methotrexate at the time of inclusion. Patients taking anti-cytokine treatments (considered not standard) would be excluded. Other exclusions include hypercalcemia, and a history of renal failure or renal stones.
20-25 participants will be allocated to the Vitamin D Group, Arm A. 20-25 participants will be allocated to Placebo Group Arm B Allocation will be conducted in a randomized, double-blind fashion.
Summary of Procedures : After signing a written consent, all potential candidates will undergo a screening interview with the PI and screening blood tests (a blood sample of 20 ml is required).
RA subjects who qualify to receive the study treatment will be randomized to receive oral vitamin D 2,000 units or placebo daily for 6 months. Patients will be examined on a monthly basis and will be drawn a 20 ml blood sample every 2 months for monitoring purposes for a period of 12 month. The participants within the clinical trial who also participate in the translational studies on dendritic cells, will be drawn an additional blood sample of 40 ml on the first month and at the end of the study to isolate their blood dendritic cells. We will study the expression of different activation markers on dendritic cells from consenting participants using various immunologic techniques. This will allow us to identify and quantify the tolerogenic dendritic cells..
|Study Type :
|Interventional (Clinical Trial)
|Actual Enrollment :
|0 participants
|Intervention Model:
|Parallel Assignment
|Quadruple (Participant, Care Provider, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
|Primary Purpose:
|Official Title:
|Vitamin D Deficiency Causes Immune Dysfunction and Enables or Perpetuates the Development of Rheumatoid Arthritis: Clinical Trial and Investigations on Dendritic Cells
|Study Start Date :
|May 2009
|Estimated Primary Completion Date :
|May 2011
|Estimated Study Completion Date :
|May 2011
Experimental: A,
Arm A: Vitamin D 2,000 units daily all in one capsule for 6 months
Drug: Placebo in arm A and Vitamin D in arm B
Vitamin D3 at 2,000 units daily, all in one capsule, for 6 months and Placebo provided in matching capsule, one capsule daily, for 6 months
Other Name: Vitamin D3 is also called cholecalciferol
Placebo Comparator: B
Arm B: matching placebo one capsule daily for 6 months
Drug: vitamin D 3 for arm A ,and matching placebo for arm B
Arm A 2,000 units of Vitamin D3 in one capsule daily for 6 months. Arm B matching placebo capsule, one daily for 6 months
Other Name: Cholecalciferol
- ACR20 [ Time Frame: Baseline and every 2 months for 6 months ]
- Changes in surface marker expression of blood myeloid dendritic cells [ Time Frame: Baseline and at completion of study on the 6th month ]
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:
This study will involve two groups of patients fulfilling the following eligibility requirements:
- they should have early (not more than 12 month duration) active RA as determined by the diagnostic criteria and active status definitions as described below, and
- they should have at the time of inclusion a 25(OH)vitamin D level below 30 ng/ml.
- All RA patients in this study will satisfy the American Rheumatism Association 1987 revised criteria for the diagnosis of RA. Active disease will be defined by the presence of at least 3 swollen joints, ≥6 tender or painful joints and at least 2 of the following features: duration of morning stiffness 60 minutes, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) ≥28 mm/hour and serum CRP level of at least 2.0 mg/dl (26).
- Only research subjects of either gender who are 18 years of age or older will be invited to participate.
- One group, Group A, will include active RA patients receiving treatment with methotrexate. A concomitant prescription of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), and/or Prednisone ≤ 10 mg/day will be allowed. Treatment with anti-TNF agents, Abatacept or other immunosuppressives constitute exclusion criteria.
- To minimize the impact of pre-existing treatments on the final outcome of this trial, patients taking NSAIDs and/or prednisone will be required to receive unchanged doses of these medications for at least 1 month. No modifications of these treatments will be allowed during the study. In addition to their methotrexate treatment, patients within Group A will receive placebo every day for 12 consecutive months.
- The second group, Group B, will include those patients as described for Group A who instead of placebo will receive oral vitamin D, 1,000 units every day for 12 consecutive months added to their standard RA treatment.
Exclusion Criteria:
- Because cancer and other autoimmune diseases may be more frequent in individuals with a moderate deficiency of vitamin D, subjects with a history of these conditions will be excluded. Because of the remote possibility of vitamin D-induced hypercalcemia, we are aiming at recruiting patients with RA who are otherwise healthy. We will exclude patients who in the past had or currently have cancer (except if considered cured), kidney stones, chronic renal failure, congestive heart failure, arrythmia requiring treatment with antiarrythmics, pulmonary conditions requiring ambulatory oxygen, abnormal levels of calcium or elevated PTH.
- Patients who use Digoxin (drug interaction), or had experienced angina or myocardial infarction in the last 3 years also will be excluded, but patients whose coronary artery disease has been asymptomatic for at least 3 years and who do not have congestive heart failure will be allowed to participate.
- Patients who develop hypercalcemia, kidney stones, elevation of 25(OH)vitamin D> 90 ng/ml also will be excluded.
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): NCT00279461
|United States, Indiana
|Indiana University
|Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, 46202
|Principal Investigator:
|Ernesto N Levy, MD
|India na University
|Responsible Party:
|Ernesto N Levy, Indiana University
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
|Other Study ID Numbers:
No secondary ID at this time
|First Posted:
|January 19, 2006 Key Record Dates
|Last Update Posted:
|August 4, 2015
|Last Verified:
|July 2015
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Vitamin D
Arthritis, Rheumatoid
Vitamin D Deficiency
Immune System Diseases
Joint Diseases
Musculoskeletal Diseases
Rheumatic Diseases
Connective Tissue Diseases
Autoimmune Diseases
Deficiency Diseases
Nutrition Disorders
Vitamin D
Growth Substances
Physiological Effects of Drugs
Bone Density Conservation Agents
Calcium-Regulating Hormones and Agents


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Since February 2008, the collaborative team has used an iterative process to develop retrofit measures that maximize greenhouse gas and cost savings.
Project activities were divided into four phases: Inventory & Programming, Design Development, Design Documentation, and Final Documentation. Workshops, presentations to ownership, and deliverables helped to keep the team on track over the eight-month period. Daily activities included: building walk-throughs, meetings with the operations staff, collecting metered data, and pricing opportunities. The timeline below outlines key outputs from the project development process.
Lessons Learned
In the process of developing specific project recommendations, the team uncovered several key lessons for the retrofit of large multi-tenant commercial office buildings.
Five of the most important are described below – both to help others take on their own retrofit projects and to encourage further research.
Developing robust solutions requires the coordination of several key stakeholders
Developing robust solutions requires the coordination of several key stakeholders. Planning energy efficiency retrofits in large commercial office buildings must address a dynamic environment, which includes changing tenant profiles, varying vacancy rates, and planned building renovations. In the Empire State Building, the project team included engineers, property managers, energy modelers, energy efficiency experts, architects, and building management.
Each of these stakeholders was needed to help build a robust energy model that addressed the building's changing tenant profile and helped the team model the impacts of its energy efficiency strategies. Coordination also included the tenants. Involving tenants and considering their perspective early on is critical because more than half of the energy efficiency measures that will be implemented at the Empire State Building involve working both with tenants and within their spaces.
Maximizing Energy Savings Profitably Requires Planning and Coordination
For an energy efficiency retrofit to be cost effective, the retrofit needs to align with the planned replacement or upgrades of multiple building systems and components. For instance, the Empire State Building had plans underway to replace its chillers, fix and reseal some of its windows, change corridor lighting, and install new tenant lighting with each new tenant.
Since these upgrades were already going to be carried out, the team redesigned, eliminated and created projects that cost more than the initial budget but had significantly higher energy savings over a 15-year period. When these energy savings were accounted for along with the added upfront project costs, the net present value of the energy efficient retrofit projects was better than that of the initial retrofit projects. However, the energy savings are not substantial enough to offset the full capital cost. This means that doing energy efficiency projects well before major systems and components are ready for replacement will likely be cost prohibitive, with a poor net present value. The large volume of existing commercial buildings suggests that there is a tremendous opportunity to reduce energy consumption by existing buildings through energy efficiency; however, capturing these reductions in a profitable manner demands careful planning and coordination to ensure that energy efficiency retrofits align with building replacement cycles.
For many buildings that are not in or approaching major replacements, there may still be a major opportunity to retro-commission the building. Retro-commissioning improves the operation of existing buildings, many of which are typically run to minimize complaints, rather than optimize energy performance and create comfortable working environments. Retro-commissioning can typically reduce energy use between 5 – 15 percent in most existing buildings. Developing a tool or set of tools that can quickly triage a building to determine if the building is a candidate for a whole building retrofit, retro-commissioning or no action until a few years more; will dramatically improve the effectiveness of funds and efforts directed towards energy efficiency retrofits of existing buildings.
Finding the Winning Combination of Business Value and Reduced Energy Consumption
In the Empire State Building, maximizing profitability from the energy efficiency retrofit leaves almost 50 percent of the energy reduction opportunity on the table. The building owner, while still selecting an optimal package of measures with a high net present value, sacrificed 30 percent of profit to deliver more energy reductions and improve the lighting and tenant comfort within the building. Changes in energy prices and/or the cost of energy efficiency technologies may help to better align profit maximization and energy reduction. However, as things stand currently, there is a gap between the socially desirable amount of energy reduction and the financially beneficial amount of energy reduction from a building owner's perspective.
Creating a Replicable Process for a Whole Building Retrofit
Developing the energy efficiency strategies that will be implemented in the Empire State Building took over nine months of intensive building audits, brainstorming charrettes, energy modeling, documentation, and financial analysis. Although the Empire State Building is a very unique building with unusual challenges, the process used to drive deep energy and carbon savings in the Empire State Building can be made much more efficient. Having completed the recommendations for the Empire State Building, the project team recognizes a number of opportunities for condensing the study period exist, these opportunities include: developing experienced teams, creating tools for rapidly diagnosing and categorizing a building (or a portfolio of buildings), quickly developing a "first-cut answer," and developing and using tools to quickly iterate between financial and energy modeling to arrive at the optimal package of measures.
Carbon Regulation Does Not Significantly Affect the Empire State Building Recommendation
The financial decision-making tool helped the team to understand that the recommended package of energy efficiency measures would not significantly change even if there were carbon regulation that leads to higher energy prices over time. Carbon regulation that changed energy prices by less than two percent per year had little effect on the financial performance of the modeled packages. However, if energy prices rise by over 8 percent (associated with a carbon price of approximately $30/metric ton of CO2), a package with all of the energy efficiency measures that were analyzed (as opposed to those that were recommended), rises to NPV neutral instead of NPV negative.
Future Research
After nine months of extensively studying and evaluating the Empire State Building, the project team has discovered several research topics that could help accelerate greater carbon savings across the U.S. and global existing commercial building stock.
The project team realizes many other groups and projects are attempting to address similar issues. To comment on your work in these areas, please email firstname.lastname@example.com, and we will update the research site accordingly.
Capturing Tenant Energy Savings
In existing commercial buildings, capturing many profitable energy efficiency opportunities requires engaging with tenants. In the Empire State Building retrofit, over 50 percent of the opportunities required some level of tenant engagement. Often energy efficiency opportunities that require tenant engagement are not implemented because of numerous real or perceived barriers including split incentives, business interruption, etc.
Research is needed to collect case studies demonstrating the business case for engaging tenants in building retrofits. In addition, best practices and recommendations for engaging tenants could help spur building owners to pursue tenant energy savings potential. In the team's experience, recommendations could include a set of actionable items such as sub-metering, creating green lease rider templates, creating programs to incentivize and engage tenants, etc. that will help owners and operators overcome real and perceived barriers to engaging tenants in energy efficiency projects.
Energy Efficiency Retrofit Measures: Why do some typically make the cut and others don't and what can be done to increase the pool of opportunities?
In a typical energy efficiency retrofit project led by an ESCO, the ESCO focuses on upgrading lighting systems and HVAC controls (1,2).
This focus can usually generates 15-20 percent reduction in a building's utility bills. In the Empire State Building retrofit, the team initially conjured up more than 50 potential energy efficiency retrofit measures. Rigorous energy and financial analyses whittled the list down to only eight measures that will generate approximately 38 percent reduction in the Empire State Building's utility bills. Why did the other 42 not make the cut? Why do most retrofit projects fail to incorporate measures beyond lighting systems and HVAC controls?
Research and case studies are needed to help identify broader sets of measures with commercially viable financial returns and to determine the conditions that will make other measures technologically and commercially viable in a typical building retrofit.
Retrofit Diagnostic Tool
Evidence from the Empire State Building retrofit suggests that without proper planning it will be difficult to realize energy and carbon reductions that pay back initial investments in a timely manner (i.e., NPV positive). For energy savings to adequately compensate for initial capital investments, a retrofit must typically be preformed during the time when the building would replace major systems and components like windows, lighting, and HVAC. Aligning a building's replacement cycle and an energy efficiency retrofit requires planning, particularly if a large amount of the 75 billion square feet of commercial buildings in the U.S. are to receive energy efficiency retrofits in the future.
A diagnostic tool that could determine when a building is "ripe for retrofit" or ready for other types of energy efficiency improvements like retro-commissioning or tune-ups would improve the industry's ability and effectiveness in planning retrofits across the building stock. Such a tool could help the government and many other large building owners determine how to allocate billions of dollars of capital devoted to energy efficiency retrofits—identifying when and where money should be allocated to bring about the greatest financial returns and cheapest carbon reductions.
Optimizing the Empire State Building Retrofit Process
The process of identifying, evaluating and choosing energy efficiency measures for the Empire State Building took over nine months; typical energy efficiency retrofit recommendations take 2-3 months. Many unique project elements contributed to the length of time needed to finalize a set of energy efficiency measures for the Empire State Building. These unique elements included:
- Size of the building and diverse tenant profile;
- Documentation of process to help other owners and ESCOs produce similar retrofits;
- Collaboration and coordination among a project team took that included the building owner, the property management firm, the ESCO, the sustainability advisor, and select tenants;
- Modeling of the energy use of the building and the reduction potential of energy efficiency measures using eQUEST; and
- Evaluation of efficiency measures to reduce energy use in tenant space, and not just in the base building.
Many of these elements contributed to the project's ability to achieve savings that are more than twice that of typical commercial building energy efficiency retrofits. However, to make the Empire State Building process replicable, the process needs to be streamlined. The development of a streamlined process complemented by a set of tools to more quickly identify and evaluate efficiency measures would improve the likelihood that other energy efficiency retrofits could replicate the savings that were identified in the Empire State Building.
What Do You Think…
This list of research topics is a work in progress, and we are interested in hearing input on research and projects that are addressing these topics or other topics that are critical to energy efficiency retrofits in existing buildings. Please send your comments on these issues to email@example.com. As we receive comments on these and other relevant research topics, we will update this site.
1. Hopper, Nicole, Charles Goldman, Jennifer McWilliams, Dave Birr and Kate McMordie Stoughton, 2005. "Public and Institutional Markets for ESCO Services: Comparing Programs, Practices and Performance" Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory: LBNL-55002, Berkeley, CA, March.
2. Goldman, C., J. Osborn, N. Hopper, and T. Singer, 2002. "Market Trends in the U.S. ESCO Industry: Results from the NAESCO Database Project" Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory: LBNL-49601, Berkeley, CA, May.


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Regulators bully banks, banks bully "The Risky", and "The Infallible", they just have a blast.
"Regulators suspect banks have understated possible losses and need a 'material' amount of extra capital"
Of course I favor more capital in the banks, at least for their exposures to 'The Infallible", which are seriously under-capitalized as a result of overly generous capital requirements.
PS. Could these type of capital adjustments not trigger the conversion into zero clause of Barclays' recent $3bn contingent capital notes deal?


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Weekend incident didn�t seriously injure family
BATTLEBORO �A woman told that cheese in the refrigerator was off-limits poisoned her adoptive family by dosing the cheese with bleach and ammonia, sheriff�s deputies said.
Nash County deputies on Saturday charged Tiara Danielle Drake, 24, of the 5500 block of Hubbard Drive near Battleboro, with five counts of attempted murder.
Drake poisoned the cheese on Friday after Evelyn Johnson told her she couldn�t have any and told Drake she could eat another kind of cheese instead, according to sheriff�s Sgt. Eddie Moore.
�When they got up the next day and started eating the cheese and it didn�t taste right, it just went from there,� Moore said.
Evelyn, Craig and Darion Johnson and two children who weren�t named in a sheriff�s report made breakfast using the poisoned cheese. Moore said the cheese was tainted with Ajax powder cleanser, window cleaner and detergent.
Bleach in the Ajax and ammonia in the window cleaner could combine to form hydrochloric acid, a corrosive poison that can cause severe mouth, throat and stomach damage and death in high doses.
�Apparently, they didn�t eat enough of it to be a big concern,� Moore said, explaining that the family members did not suffer permanent injuries.
Nash County paramedics and poison control officials told deputies that those who ate the cheese would be OK after drinking plenty of milk.
Moore said Drake had lived with the Johnson family for several years, though she hadn�t formally been adopted.
Deputies booked Drake into the Nash County Jail in Nashville under a $50,000 secured bond.
The home where the alleged poisoning occurred is near the unincorporated community of Battleboro outside Rocky Mount.


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While Kelly Osbourne won a number of a fans during her exciting stint on "Dancing With the Stars," the star said she knew Donny Osmond would take the crown.
"I was rooting for Donny," she told Access Hollywood guest correspondent La Toya Jackson after the finale on Tuesday night. "He came in every single week and he was so consistent and he worked so hard and he's the nicest guy."
VIEW THE PHOTOS: 'Dancing With The Stars' Season 9: Week 8 Highlights
And Kelly said she's got big things in her future, despite not winning the reality competition.
"I'm only 25, I've got the rest of my life to have a big moment and this was his big moment," she said.
VIEW THE PHOTOS: Keepin' It Real With TV's Hottest Reality Stars!
Still, her time on "Dancing" has changed her life.
"Oh my God, so much," she said. "I look at everything differently now — before everything was frightening, now everything is exciting. To have that change is just amazing."
Related Content from AccessHollywood.com:
VIEW THE PHOTOS: The 'Fierce' Miss Kelly Osbourne
PLAY IT NOW: Donny Osmond Crowned 'Dancing' Champion (November 24, 2009)
PLAY IT NOW: Can Kelly Osbourne Make A 'Dancing' Comeback? (November 23, 2009)
MORE ACCESS ON THESE TOPICS: Kelly Osbourne - Dancing With the Stars - Donny Osmond - La Toya Jackson - Reality TV


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If there's one thing that defines much of Port Townsend, it's being on the water. Wooden boats, fishing, rowing sculls and a host of other watercraft enjoy the waters here year round. This is the home of the Wooden Boat Foundation and all maritime trades. Getting to Port Townsend by boat is the historically correct way of course! From Captain George Vancouver in 1792, boats of all sorts have played a major role in this community. There are numerous marinas and moorage options, both right near downtown or close by.
For those of you that need to launch your vessel, check out the Boat Haven or Point Wilson for their boat launching ramps, and see this web site for all the launches in Jefferson County.
See Recreation Businesses in PT and Boat Charters and Marine Trades for local resources.
Boating - (Location: 48.104012 N, 122.794457 W)
- Adventuress, Sound Experience - Sound Experience is a Puget Sound-based environmental and youth leadership organization that uniquely delivers its programs aboard the 133' historic wooden schooner Adventuress. Day or overnight programs where participants experience the majesty and vulnerability of Puget Sound - and why the future of our marine environment matters to all of us.
- Agate Pass Power Squadron - Safe boating through education.
- Boat Charters - Choose between whale watching, wildlife tours, rowing and sailing -fine ways to enjoy the seeing our Victorian Seaport from the water or just "muck about in boats".
- Boating Safety - US Coast Guard information.
- Local Notice to Mariners - Important information for all boaters.
- Kayaking - Local kayaking and boating information.
- Northwest Boaters Net - Amateur Radio Net sponsored By Pt Ludlow Yacht Club.
- Northwest Maritime Center & Wooden Boat Foundation - Visit us in our new facility in downtown Port Townsend at the end of Water Street. We offer sailing programs for youth and adults beginning at age 5 as well as sailing charters for you, your family or entire family reunion. See boats being built in our Boat Shop, stop by our Wooden Boat Chandlery full of nautical gifts and traditional boat parts and grab a coffee or have a bite to eat in our Aldrich's Galley.
- Point Wilson Sail and Power Squadron - Part of the US Power Squadron. We offer some free boating education classes and some paid classes (for educational materials), We are a member based social organization but our main focus is education for boaters both members and the general public. Meets the third Tuesday at 6PM at the Port Townsend YC.
- Port of Port Townsend - Boat Haven and Point Hudson Marina, Boat Yard/Ship Yard, moorage, hauling and dry dock. Incredible array of marine businesses and services.
- Port Townsend Yacht Club - Baggywrinkle newsletter and more!
- Puget Sound Express - Whale Watching, passenger ferry service, Port Townsend to San Juan Islands and special group events.
- Pleasant Harbor Marina - South of Port Townsend on Hood Canal, 1-800-547-3479.
- Rat Island Rowing and Sculling Club - provides opportunity to youth and adults in the Port Townsend community to learn and improve sweep and scull rowing skills through recreational and competitive rowing programs, and to preserve and celebrate the legacy of traditional wooden racing shells.
- US Coast Guard 13th District Pacific - Regional CG info and contacts.
- NOAA Tide Predictions - For Port Townsend.
- Crossing the Strait of Juan de Fuca - info on winds, buoy data, tides, routes, etc.
- Jefferson County Marine Resources Committee - Protecting and restoring marine habitats in our ecologically rich corner of the world. Voluntary Eelgrass Protection Zone information.


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The City Council this week approved spending up to $1.8 million to renovate the Temecula Community Center on Pujol Street, a public building that for years has been used to host a free Christmas dinner for Southwest County residents.
The renovation will bring the center, which was last remodeled in 1992 after a fire, up to the state's seismic standards. The work also includes replacing the roof and siding, adding a new entry and making the building more "aesthetically pleasing."
The vote at Tuesday night's meeting was 4-0, with Councilman Chuck Washington absent.
Construction is expected to take around 10 months to complete after the bid is awarded, which will mean a relocation of the annual Christmas dinner.
Buck Kemmis, longtime organizer of the dinner, said Wednesday that the city has reserved the Mary Phillips Senior Center in Old Town for this year's event.
"The city has been all on top of it; we've been preparing for this for 18 months," he said.
Talking about the proposed renovations, Kemmis said the building is "well in need of it" and that the city is working to make the building more useful for its year-round purposes.
Greg Butler, the city's public works director, said Wednesday the documents that will be used by companies to assemble their bids for the work will include an option featuring the installation of a solar panel system that would be placed on a carport structure in the parking lot.
That system could add up to $500,000 to the cost, but Butler said the city has its collective fingers crossed, hoping a company will include that system in its bid and the total cost ends up hitting the $1.8 million sweet spot.
When the city built the parking structure at the Civic Center, the bid for that project came in so much lower than anticipated that the city could afford to include a solar panel system.
"We're hoping something similar happens here," he said.
The solar system could end up providing much of the power used by the building, which would help recoup the upfront investment.
To cover much of the project's price tag, the city moved $1.1 million in federal money that they city had set aside to build a public gymnasium in Old Town.
The city moved the money from the gym project, which sports a price tag of around $4 million, because of it can no longer bank federal grant money.


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I have some tree-related questions that maybe you readers can help me with.
Last week, photographer Rob Inglis and I were in downtown Lewisburg when we spotted this tree (above).
What was particularly noteworthy about the tree is it appears to be smaller crab apples on the bottom and larger green apple/crab apples on top. Neither of us had seen anything like that before.
Is it normal for apple trees to be like that? My parents have a crab apple tree, but it's only the smaller red ones. I've never seen a "split" one.
Anyone out there know? What's going on in downtown Lewisburg?!


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|27 Sat
Jul 27 all-day
HIROSHI CALLING, curated by Emi Morita features works of her uncle, Hiroshi Morita alongside photographs of nine photographers based in Toronto: Kathi Adachi, Yosh Inouye, Yuriko Kubota, Jo Nakanishi, Vince Noguchi, Laura Shintani, Sandy Usami, Kathy[...]
Redefining Home
Redefining Home
Jul 27 all-day
Redefining Home: A Story of Japanese Canadian Resettlement in Toronto Redefining Home, a travelling exhibit from Campbell House Museum explores the history of Japanese Canadian through the lives of Harold and Hana Kawasoe. The exhibit[...]
Martial Arts
Martial Arts
Jul 27 all-day
Saturday: Women Aikido/Iaido/Judo/Karate/Kyudo Schedule is subject to change Please see our Martial Arts web page for more detailed information.
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Kurt is the Poké Ball creator who lives in Azalea Town with his granddaughter and her Slowpoke.
In the Johto Games, he reveals to the protagonist that Team Rocket, which had disbanded after their leader was defeated by Red has returned and that they have taken over the nearby Slowpoke Well, where they are cutting off the Slowpoke's tails which they plan to sell for a high profit. He scares off the Rocket Grunt guarding the entrance to the Slowpoke Well (startled the guard accidentally falls into the well), allowing the player to venture inside.
Upon entering the well, the protagonist runs into an injured Kurt, who asks the player to confront Team Rocket in his place. After the Rockets are defeated, Kurt will check on his granddaughter's Slowpoke (the Slowpoke that's holding Mail for Kurt's granddaughter from her father/Kurt's son) before thanking the player and taking him/her (and Slowpoke) back to his house.
Kurt thanks the player afterwards, giving him/her a Fast Ball (his granddaughter will offer to register Kurt's phone number to the player for saving Slowpoke). Kurt will also offer to take some of the player's Apricorns to create some of his special Poké Balls, telling him/her they will be ready for pickup the next day.
Turning Apricorns into Poké Balls
- Fast Ball - Made from a WHT Apricorn. You can get these from the back of Kurt's house. Good for catching fast Pokémon (such ones that flee quickly like the three legendaries Entei, Raikou, & Suicune, those with a high speed stat, or Pokémon that possess the ability Run Away).
- Level Ball - Made from a Red Apricorn. Good for catching Pokémon whose level is less-than-half your Pokémon's level. The greater the difference in levels, the more effective it is.(Enemy is less then the level of us is more good, but if it is less than half or quarters, it'll be the best!)
- Lure Ball - Made from a BLU Apricorn. Good for catching Pokémon that have been hooked on a fishing rod.
- Friend Ball - Made from a GRN Apricorn. Makes the captured Pokémon very fond of you (Pokémon caught with it start off with higher friendship). Good for Pokémon that evolve via friendship even though only golbat is only the Pokémon which evolve via friendship can be caught.
- Moon Ball - Made from a Ylw Apricorn. Good for catching Pokémon that evolve using a Moon Stone (like Clefairy, Jigglypuff, Nidorino, and Nidorina) and their pre-Evolutions (like Nidoran♂ & Nidoran♀).
- Love Ball - Made from a Pnk Apricorn. Good for catching Pokémon of the same species, but opposite gender of your Pokémon.
- Heavy Ball - Made from a BLK Apricorn. The heavier the Pokémon, the more effective it is. Good for really heavy Pokémon (like Snorlax, Onix, and Steelix).
- Main article: Kurt (Adventures)
Golden Boys
- Main article: Kurt (GB)
- Main article: Kurt (anime)
Kurt was seen, as a Poké Ball craftsman, along with his granddaughter, Maizie.


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Via Colori®, The Street Painting Festival, is an upscale signature special event which raises funds for not-for-profit organizations throughout the United States.
Via Colori brings together artists, volunteers and businesses with non-profit agencies in a unique community project to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars each year for important social causes.
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Flights between Canada and the U.S.
All other flights
Air Canada is subject to the U.S.Department of Transportation's Rule on "Non-Discrimination on the Basis of Disability in Air Travel" (14 CFR Part 382) applicable to the services we offer customers with special needs who:
- Are travelling on a flight between Canada and the United States; and
- Have purchased a ticket with an Air-Canada operated flight through a US-based airline (the ticket will then bear the code of the US airline, e.g. United Airlines' UA 7811).
Travel with an Attendant/Safety Assistant
Air Canada may require that you travel with a safety assistant if:
- Because of a mental disability, you are unable to comprehend or respond appropriately to safety instructions from onboard personnel;
- You are affected by a mobility impairment so severe that you are unable to assist in your own evacuation of the aircraft in case of an emergency; or
- You are affected by both severe hearing and severe vision impairments that are such that you cannot establish adequate means of communication with onboard personnel to allow for the transmission of the required safety briefing and to enable you to assist in your own evacuation of the aircraft in case of an emergency.
Note: Neither you nor your attendant or safety assistant may be responsible for a child under 8 years old during the flight.
We recommend that you contact Air Canada Reservations in advance of travel to benefit from special rates* (if applicable) and to request adjoining seats for you and your safety assistant.
*Special rates do not apply to Hawaii.
You will need to travel with an attendant if you are not self-reliant and are severely physically disabled (e.g. paraplegic or quadriplegic) so as to require assistance in getting in and out of your seat.
Please also note that:
- You and your attendant will be seated together.
- For safety reasons, you cannot be seated in an exit row.
- Neither you nor your attendant may be responsible for a child under 8 years old during the flight.
Travel within Canada
An attendant may travel with you at no charge if you are travelling only within Canada on:
- An Air Canada flight
- An Air Canada Express flight operated by Jazz, Sky Regional and Exploits Valley Air
Please note that all applicable taxes remain payable, except the Gander Airport Authority's Improvement fee.
How to book
Here's what you need to do to book travel for yourself and for your attendant:
- First, complete your own booking online, then
- Call the Air Canada Medical Assistance Desk immediately afterward (see contact information at the bottom of this page) so an agent can complete a booking for your attendant on the same flight as yours, and ensure that you have adjoining seats.
- Print a copy of the Air Canada Fitness for Travel formOpen PDF file and
- Follow the instructions on how and when to request medical approval for travel.
International Travel
If you are not self-reliant and need to travel with an attendant on an international flight*, you must:
- print a copy of the Air Canada Fitness for Travel formOpen PDF file and
- follow the instructions on how and when to request medical approval for travel.
* This does not include flights to and from the U.S.
More About Travel with an Attendant
Aeroplan Bookings
If you are travelling on an Aeroplan booking, contact Aeroplan directly to book your attendant's flight, and then, if medical approval is required, call the Air Canada Medical Assistance Desk .
Advance Seat Selection
Advance seat selection is not permitted when travelling with an attendant. Seats are assigned manually in advance of your flight by the Air Canada Medical Assistance Desk with the purpose of accommodating your special needs.
Changing your Choice of Attendant
Should your choice of attendant change prior to travel, Air Canada will accommodate this change free of charge with 48 hours advance notice.
We will, however, make a reasonable effort to accommodate changes made within this time frame. Certain conditions may apply.
Please call Air Canada Reservations for more information.
Travel in Business Class with Executive or Classic Pod Seats
Because of the unique configuration of Business Class Executive Pod and Classic Pod seats, prior authorization must be obtained from the Air Canada Medical Assistance Desk if you are planning to travel in Business Class, and you are not self-reliant and severely physically disabled (paraplegic or quadriplegic) so as to require an attendant to assist in getting in and out of your seat.
The transfer from the wheelchair to the Executive Pod or Classic Pod seat may be done with the assistance of your attendant, or by two Air Canada agents. In all cases, your attendant must be able to assist with your personal needs onboard, and help you in or out of your seat to an exit in the event of an emergency situation or an evacuation.


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Hollywood stars were an unlikely addition at Barnet Council's offices when they took part in filming for a new movie that was released this week.
Keira Knightly, Kevin Costner, Sir Kenneth Branagh and Chris Pine all descended on the North London Business Park in Brunswick Park to shoot scenes for Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit.
Council staff were sworn to secrecy over the covert filming, which took place in October 2012, but with the movie's release this week, details of the A-listers' visit have emerged.
The local authority's offices were transformed into a CIA medical recuperation clinic, named the Walter Reed Army Medical Centre in the film, which stars and is directed by Kenneth Branagh.
In the movie, Chris Pine, who plays Jack Ryan, recuperates at the centre after an injury, and co-stars Keira Knightly and Kevin Costner were also present for the filming.
A 75-foot crane with a 500-ton lift was erected at the council headquarters off Oakleigh Road South to suspend a rig of sprinklers used to shower rain effects down on the set when crews filmed training scenes in the internal courtyard.
Large amounts of water were pumped into the courtyard for the special effects and crews were forced to take extra precautions to prevent any flooding in the below ground basement rooms.
A council spokesman said: "It was exciting to have such big stars in the business park. We were told strictly not to take photographs of them filming but it created a bit of excitement."


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Yesterday's Man?
Koestler: The Literary and Political Odyssey of a Twentieth-Century Skeptic
He began his education in the twilight of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, at an experimental kindergarten in Budapest. His mother was briefly a patient of Sigmund Freud's. In interwar Vienna he wound up as the personal secretary of Vladimir Jabotinsky, one of the early leaders of the Zionist movement. Traveling in Soviet Turkmenistan as a young and ardent Communist sympathizer, he ran into Langston Hughes. Fighting in the Spanish civil war, he met W.H. Auden at a "crazy party" in Valencia, before winding up in one of Franco's prisons. In Weimar Berlin he fell into the circle of the infamous Comintern agent Willi Münzenberg, through whom he met the leading German Communists of the era: Johannes Becher, Hanns Eisler, Bertolt Brecht. Afraid of being caught by the Gestapo while fleeing France, he borrowed suicide pills from Walter Benjamin. He took them several weeks later when it seemed he would be unable to get out of Lisbon, but didn't die (though Benjamin, denied passage into Spain at the French border, took them and did).
Along the way he had lunch with Thomas Mann, got drunk with Dylan Thomas, made friends with George Orwell, flirted with Mary McCarthy, and lived in Cyril Connolly's London flat. In 1940, Koestler was released from a French detention camp, partly thanks to the intervention of Harold Nicholson and Noël Coward. In the 1950s, he helped found the Congress for Cultural Freedom, together with Mel Lasky and Sidney Hook. In the 1960s, he took LSD with Timothy Leary. In the 1970s, he was still giving lectures that impressed, among others, the young Salman Rushdie.
It is difficult, in other words, to think of a single important twentieth-century intellectual who did not cross paths with Arthur Koestler, or a single important twentieth-century intellectual movement that Koestler did not either join or oppose. From progressive education and Freudian psychoanalysis through Zionism, communism, and existentialism to psychedelic drugs, parapsychology, and euthanasia, Koestler was fascinated by every philosophical fad, serious and unserious, political and apolitical, of his era.
Nor were these shallow passions. His belief in communism led him to fight in Spain and travel in the USSR. His Zionism led him to a kibbutz near Haifa. At different times, he advocated the use of violence, whether to bring about a Communist utopia or to create the state of Israel. Even when he turned against his previous causes (and against his previous friends who still believed in them) he did so with real fervor. He is, after all, best known as an anti-Communist, not as a Communist, largely because of his best and most influential book, Darkness at Noon, a fictional account of the interrogation of a leading member of an unnamed Communist party. His involvement with Revisionist Zionism is also probably less well known than The Thirteenth Tribe, a book that argues that modern European Jews are descended from the Central Asian Khazars, and not from the Jews who lived in the Palestine of antiquity—a thesis which, whatever its merits, is…
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We hope that you enjoy The Heart Gallery NYC Photo Exhibit. While the adoptability status of the children featured on this Web site may change daily, please remember that there are many children that need the love and security of a "Forever Family." Please click on each child's photo for more information, and to watch a video of the child.
View children with names I-R here.
View children with names S-Z here.
Back To Children Main


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Pinterest has once again come to the rescue. Anyone who has been on their DIY board knows that it is filled with cool ideas in both the simple and impossibly advanced categories. Whatever level you are at yourself, you can find something fun to do any time of the year.
But with it being winter, you can bet there are even more Christmas themed upcycle projects than ever. Here are five super cute upcycled hacks for the holidays.


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With the ability to mine useful information from mounds of unstructured data, much of which is transient in nature, big data became the big buzzword of the storage industry in 2012 despite the fact that big data is not really about storage.
But, the "data" part makes big data a focus of the storage industry. 2012 saw most of the first- and second-tier storage vendors do something about big data, typically announcing a relationship with Hadoop, the open-source developer of big data with the funny elephant logo, or a relationship with a software company that has a relationship with Hadoop.
Others, however, saw an opportunity due to the fact that Hadoop is limited in scalability, replication and many of the other features that are child's play to storage vendors, and so they focused on extending those features to big data.


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It seems that Carrie Underwood has a heart made of gold.
The star already demonstrated her generosity by her large donation to benefit the Hurricane Sandy relief efforts, and now she's taking time out of her busy schedule to make a surprise hospital visit.
Just had a great visit at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia! @ryanseacrest does some amazing work there bringing music and artists in!
— Carrie Underwood (@carrieunderwood) November 28, 2012
The "Two Black Cadillacs" singer visited the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia this week, warming the hearts of many, including that of Ryan Seacrest. His charity, the Ryan Seacrest Foundation, tweeted their gratitude to Carrie, saying:
Wow, @carrieunderwood, thank u 4 such an AMAZING visit at @childrensphila. This is 1 Wednesday the patients will NEVER forget…u rock!
— Ryan Seacrest Fndn (@RyanFoundation) November 28, 2012
Seacrest created his foundation to inspire ill and injured children to stay positive and to connect with music, which he has learned is a big distraction for families facing difficult obstacles.
"Our foundation's first initiative is to build broadcast media centers, named Seacrest Studios, in children's hospitals across the country, allowing for patients to interact with a state-of-the-art radio/TV studio and meet some of the biggest stars in entertainment," writes Seacrest on his website.
Little did he know just how big a star would be willing to stop by.
-Ashley Quadros, CBS Local


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This House We Dedicate to Thee
31243, Hymns, This House We Dedicate to Thee, no. 245
1. This house we dedicate to thee,
Our God, our fathers' God.
Wilt thou accept and deign to bless
The path our feet have trod?
2. Wilt thou thy servants here inspire
When in thy name they speak?
And wilt thou bless each contrite soul
Who here thy face doth seek?
3. Here may our sons and daughters come
And find that peace which swells
From grateful hearts, when touched by thee,
Wherein thy Spirit dwells!
Text: Henry W. Naisbitt, 1826-1908
Music: Frank W. Asper, 1892-1973. © 1948 IRI


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Opiates are also called opioids or narcotics.
Opiates are sometimes combined with other medicines. For example,
Percocet is oxycodone
combined with acetaminophen.
Opiate pain relievers suppress your perception of pain and calm your emotional response to pain. These drugs reduce not only the number of pain signals sent by the nervous system but also the brain's reaction to those pain signals.
Opiates are usually reserved for the treatment of severe short-term (acute) back or leg pain that has not responded to other medicines. Because opiates are potentially addictive, they are usually
prescribed only for 1 to 2 weeks.
Sometimes opiates are used for people who cannot take pain medicines such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) because they have conditions such as heart, kidney, or liver problems. Or opiates may be used for people who take other medicines that should not be combined with pain medicines.
There is no clear evidence that opiates help either acute or chronic low back pain more than other treatments.1, 2 They seem to help some people, but sometimes the amount of medicine
you need for relief causes side effects that make daily functioning difficult. Further study is needed.
Opiate pain relievers for chronic low back pain should only be
administered by health professionals with experience in chronic pain
management. There is a significant potential for addiction and other
complications from prolonged use of this type of medicine.
All medicines have side effects. But many people don't feel the side effects, or they are able to deal with them. Ask your pharmacist about the side effects of each medicine you take. Side effects are also listed in the information that comes with your medicine.
Here are some important things to think about:
Call 911 or other emergency services right away if you have:
Call your doctor if you have:
Common side effects of this medicine include:
See Drug Reference for a full list of side effects. (Drug Reference
is not available in all systems.)
Opiate pain relievers are strong medicines that can be very helpful in treating pain, especially after an injury or surgery. They are safest when you use them exactly as your doctor prescribes. But there is a risk of addiction when you take them for more than a few days. The risk is lower if you follow your doctor's instructions on how to take them. Your risk is slightly higher if you or someone in your family has a history of substance abuse. If you are worried about addiction, talk with your doctor.
Some of these medicines have acetaminophen in them. Check the labels on all the other nonprescription and prescription medicines you take. Many medicines have acetaminophen. Do not take two or more medicines with acetaminophen in them unless your doctor has told you to. Taking too much acetaminophen can be harmful. If you have questions about this, talk to your doctor or pharmacist.
Opiates may be considered if other medicines and treatments have not controlled pain or are not safe for you. To make this decision, you and your doctor may consider:
Dry mouth is common with these medicines. To help with dry mouth, you can chew sugarless gum, suck on sugarless candy, or melt ice in your mouth. If you continue to have problems with dry mouth after a couple of weeks, call your doctor. Dry mouth can lead to tooth decay and gum disease.
Medicine is one of the many tools your doctor has to treat a health problem. Taking medicine as your doctor suggests will improve your health and may prevent future problems. If you don't take your medicines properly, you may be putting your health (and perhaps your life) at risk.
There are many reasons why people have trouble taking their medicine. But in most cases, there is something you can do. For suggestions on how to work around common problems, see the topic Taking Medicines as Prescribed.
If you are pregnant, breast-feeding, or planning to get pregnant, do not use any medicines unless your doctor tells you to. Some medicines can harm your baby. This includes prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, herbs, and supplements. And make sure that all your doctors know that you are pregnant, breast-feeding, or planning to get pregnant.
Follow-up care is a key part of your treatment and safety. Be sure to make and go to all appointments, and call your doctor if you are having problems. It's also a good idea to know your test results and keep a list of the medicines you take.
Complete the new medication information form (PDF)(What is a PDF document?) to help you understand this medication.
CitationsMcIntosh G, Hall H (2011). Low back pain (acute), search date December 2009. Online version of BMJ Clinical Evidence: http://www.clinicalevidence.com.Chou R (2010). Low back pain (chronic), search date April 2009. Online version of BMJ Clinical Evidence: http://www.clinicalevidence.com.
Last Revised:
February 5, 2013
Healthwise Staff
Medical Review:
William H. Blahd, Jr., MD, FACEP - Emergency Medicine & Robert B. Keller, MD - Orthopedics
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