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Red Meat Scare
There I was, minding my own business. Just getting my talk ready for PaleoFx, washing clothes and chasing Keystone around the house on my mobility breaks. Then…the Meatpocalypse began. It started benignly enough. A few folks posted links to Facebook and twitter about a new study claiming "RED meat will kill you. DEAD."
"Ah, this will blow over." I thought.
But the terror grew. Bacon panics broke out in the civilized nations that consume this Nectar of the Swine. People lost the ability to think for themselves! Would the sun come up tomorrow? Bet your bottom dollar!…oh, wait. I was drifting into a coma, tired of the fight…tired of doing this…ALL…OVER…AGAIN. We've been down this road before, but a lie said frequently enough becomes truth, I so guess we need to dispel this myth. And I'm sure this will not be the last time.
Nutritional McCarthyism
Somewhere along the line "red meat" became the Red Scare of the nutritional world. It has saturated fat (gasp!) and comes from an animal! Case closed. Except that we can't seem to hang much of anything on the saturated fat villain and if you put meat in a nutrition analyzer, you find it's one of the most nutritious foods you can eat. The fact you can live on meat exclusively and indefinitely seems to get lost in the shuffle. And please, please do not bring up cultures that eat a lot of meat yet are quite healthy. That would require talking about "mechanisms" and doing legit metabolic ward studies. Crazy talk! I mean, things Like the Nurses Health Study already "showed" that the more meat and fat women ate the healthier they were, right? Folks really want to believe in this "meat=bad" idea, despite all the evidence to the contrary. Don't fall for it.
Several people have already provided succinct, accurate criticism of this piece, so I do not want to belabor that part. I have bigger chicharrones to fry. The Blog, Constantly Varried had the aptly titled Red Meat: Here we go again while CavemanDoctor had a more sciency title.
Please check those out but the take-aways are:
1-Nutrition data was collected via Food Frequency Questionnaires. Yes, folks just had to remember what they thought they ate.
2-Confounders galore. The higher meat consumption group tended to be overweight, smoked and was less active. Apparently they did not get a Paleo cohort in that mix?
3-Correlation does not equal causation. Now…I hesitate to even include this and here is why: Some epidemiology CAN be done in such a way that we can find a correlation that is worth pursuing some kind of mechanistic validation. But this "study" is so poor, so lacking in rigor that the correlation/causation argument (although valid) gives this waste of paper more credibility than it deserves. I'll make that clear by actually debunking a carbs=cancer piece in just a moment. But first I want to address something many folks have been quipping via Facebook and twitter: "Well, these results would be different if they used grass fed meat…"
Yosemite Sam captures my response to this reasoning perfectly:
Here is what folks need to understand, in crystal clarity: This study SUCKS. It was a waste of time and money, the study design is atrocious and it elucidates NOTHING that has not been (poorly) investigated previously! Folks, if you see "retrospective cohort" it should not be taken with a grain of salt, it should be taken with several hits of LSD so that you have a valid reason for perpetuating this fantasy. Think I'm being biased so I can "sell books promoting my pro-carnivorous position?" Well, check out this paper which claims to link starch with increased rates of recurrent breast cancer.
If you read through that piece you find that those folks are doing the SAME dumb "science" as in the current Red Meat Scare. They are ascribing differences in cancer rates with as little +/_ 3 grams of carbs PER DAY. From Food questionnaires! Now, I definitely lean towards the low carb side of things, I feel we have some nice potential mechanisms of causation with insulin resistance and cancer but it would be appalling to bandy this around as "proof" that starch causes cancer. Not because I do not think a mechanistic link exists here, but because this "study" is not worthy of lining a bird cage. I hope the similarities here are obvious and it also explains why I tend to not redistribute crap like this, even if I can spin it to my benefit given my biases. It's not ethical, it's not scientific. Said another way: we do not need to cheat to win this fight. We have plenty of evidence that low carb interventions crush low fat interventions, particularly in the sick and obese. So, even asking "would the outcomes be different with grass fed meat" is giving this study far more credit than it is due, Capiche? If we did the same study, used GF meat and found "great results" it would mean little as the data collection and basic study design are fundamentally broken. Similar to the starch piece, we can't pick and choose what we want to validate.
Leave it to the Media
This CNN piece actually has a bit of sanity at the end of the article in which they reference Staffan Lindeberg. In stark contrast to this piece from Harvard in which the seemingly ever clueless Walter Willet can't connect the dots to our ancestral story. The piece mentions our hunter gatherer past, recommends a diet of fruit, roots, meat and veggies, vilifies soda and fruit juice…but then the implementation looks little like the supposed prescription.
Time for a change
It's time we went beyond protein, carbs and fat. It's time we pit several competing dietary paradigms against each other in a metabolic ward, cross-over designed clinical trail. American Heart Association recommended diet vs vegan, vs Paleo. The time of shuffling the deck of cards trying to find a magic protein, carb, fat ratio needs to stop. That studies like the Red Meat and starch= cancer pieces get funding is an abomination. We need clinical trails and investigations of mechanism.
I'll leave you with a few papers that build on the idea that Lipopolysacharide (LPS) is a player in metabolic derangement. In the first paper we see the effect of LPS on innate immunity via the SOC-3 gen.
The second paper looks at the effects of SOC-3 on leptin sensitivity. Here folks, we have a testable mechanism that seems to tie together quite a number of issues, from autoimmunity to metabolic derangement.
I know this stuff seems complex and some of it certainly is, but the main thing to consider in all this is "what type of study was performed?" The ketosis piece I linked to was a clinical intervention in obese humans. That's solid stuff. These retrospective cohort "studies" are a waste of time and honestly, it's how the dominant paradigm fights to maintain control of the conversation. They generate, cheap, easily manipulated tripe in which the data can be bent to meet the desired conclusion.
See y'all at PaleoFX.


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Bear agrees. Bear suggested rue Royal. He's good at suggestions.
The good news is I had to clean up my studio to find stuff.I haven't seen this bare table in perhaps years.
Sorry about computer but yes, I too wanted macbook last summer but conceded that I needed lots more stuff & couldn't afford it all on a mac. Maybe next time. Happy with what I bought & the miracle of major memory. Wow.
Glad you will be going back so soon...it was fun to see Bear again. I thought maybe he was hibernating at the wrong time of year. Perhaps I missed some posts (quel horreur) this summer...
ciao-meow, C.
Hi Carol ~ Cafe de la Marie ~ now that's where I went because I heard via the grapevine that the beautiful Catherine Deneuve lives close by and takes her morning coffee there~ well after coffee & waiting and more coffee I think the waiter thought I had been stood up so I left feeling a tad embarrased ~ can you & Bear keep a watch out for me svp
Breakfast in Paris?! I swoon. Sorry for the computer trouble but glad (for me too) that all is better now. Carol, can I carry your paints around for you in dear Paris?...if not maybe I should nanny bear while you are busy with the camera and macarons? I am here to help. Hee hee. I wish. Truly you are always a dear to take us along for the delicious, sumptuous ride.
For me, one of the joys of reading other people's blogs is what they choose to share, in a virtual sense.
Your cafe scenes and some of the delicious food that you photograph and paint are enticing and enchanting to look at. I sometimes think I put on 2 pounds just reading them.

subset: commoncrawl


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The UC Davis Institute he heads took in millions from auto and oil companies in the years prior to his appointment by Gov Schwarzenegger. At last month's Board Meet, Sperling spearheaded a proposal to cut the number of zero emission vehicles required by the ZEV program. Spirling has been a major proponent, along with the automakers and oil companies, of shifting the program's emphasis from near-term battery electric cars to decades-away hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. A one-time supporter of electric cars, he says in the article,
"I lost funding [for the institute] from the Detroit car companies for many years, and I realized I should not be taking those policy positions unless it was really well-grounded," he said.


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Worst Dressed At The 2013 Golden Globe Awards (VIDEO)
Last night were the 2013 Golden Globe Awards! The night was amazing filled with amazing fashion and stunning red carpet looks. Some of the best looks of the night were Incase you missed the Golden Globes last night we've put together a gallery of the worst looks of the night. Who do you think was the worst dressed of the night?
[brightcove id=2093808409001 type=videoPlayer autoplay=0]


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Latest Article|September 3, 2020|Free
::Making Grown Men Cry Since 1992
2 min read
Put on your broomstick skirt and take out a loan to buy dinner—in honor of the International Folk Art Market, it's Culture Shock, Santa Fe-style.Tuesday, July 14, is Bastille Day, or as my dad likes to call it, French Fourth of July. If you haven't already made plans, the Santa Fe Art Institute offers a forge demonstration by artist and blacksmith Tom Joyce . He'll be hammering away from 10 a.m. to noon at his studio as part of the 2009 Visiting Artist and Lecture season, and the demonstration will serve as a fundraiser for SFAI. $50 will get you in to see one man, one hammer and one hot piece of metal. Coffee and pastries, too! The night before (Monday, July 13), Joyce will give a lecture at Tipton Hall on the College of Santa Fe campus at 6 p.m. For more information and directions, go to sfai.org. Another Jewish Voice Santa Fe presents Seven Jewish Children: A Play for Gaza , a 10-minute work by world-renowned playwright Caryl Churchill on Sunday, July 12. Directed by Maura Dhu Studi, the performance will be followed by a discussion. In lieu of admission, donations to Medical Aid for Palestinians will be accepted. The evening starts at 7 p.m. at El Museo Cultural de Santa Fe (1615-B Paseo de Peralta). See anotherjewishvoice-santafe.blogspot.com for more.And it's opera season in Santa Fe ! Will I follow in the footsteps of the inimitable Steven Robert Allen and attempt to review opera, or will I just snarkily tell you about it in an attempt to obscure the fact that opera freaks me out? It's too soon to tell about the former, so for now let's stick with the latter. Donizetti's comedic The Elixir of Love takes the stage on Friday, July 10, and Wednesday, July 15, while Verdi's La Traviata is featured on Saturday, July 11. All shows begin at 9 p.m. at the Santa Fe Opera, and tickets range from $28 to $188. See santafeopera.org for directions, tickets and more.


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How a Man After God's Own Heart Leads: Lessons from King David
Leadership these days is tougher than ever it seems. Times are hard and organizations are stressed. Employees are stretched and budgets are tight. Loyalty is rare and everything is changing a rocket pace.
One job of a successful leader is to encourage those who look to him or her for leadership. Leaders are to "rally the troops," so to speak, and keep people moving forward. This becomes especially more difficult during stressful times in an organization, but even more important.
I've studied and written a great deal about King David—before and after he was appointed king—because he appears to have been a great leader in his time. Perfect? Well, of course not, but he was a "man after God's own heart." God used him to lead His people during some difficult times.
One great example of motivating a team during crisis comes from the writings of David in Psalm 3. At the time of this writing, it is believed that David was hiding out from his own son Absalom. His encouragement kept his troops focused and gave them strength they needed in desperate times.
If you don't know the story, you can read the full context in 2 Samuel Chapters 11–19. In short, David's sin (I told you he wasn't perfect) led to a family turmoil, which led to David's son attempting to take over the kingdom. David fled for his safety, but an army went with him. In spite of being outnumbered, David kept his troops encouraged and they eventually returned to power.
If you are a leader struggling to gain victory or you feel overwhelmed in your current situation, this story may motivate you. (It does me.)
Let's walk through Psalm 3 in The Message Version:
Verse 1-2 God! Look! Enemies past counting! Enemies sprouting like mushrooms, Mobs of them all around me, roaring their mockery: "Hah! No help for him from God!"
There will be times in any leadership position where the odds seem to be against you. In those times a leader may feel there are more negative voices than positive voices—both outside and even inside the organization. (Remember, what you feel is not always reality, but it's you're perceived reality at the time.)
Verse 3-4 But you, God, shield me on all sides; You ground my feet, you lift my head high; With all my might I shout up to God, His answers thunder from the holy mountain.
The leader, regardless of the naysayers, must remember the vision and the resolve of his role within the organization. In this case, of course, David wasn't unrealistic. He knew the situation was gruesome, but he also knew he had a testimony with God and that God had placed a special calling on his life. Great leaders know their calling.
Verse 5-6 I stretch myself out. I sleep. Then I'm up again—rested, tall and steady, Fearless before the enemy mobs Coming at me from all sides.
David took action. An important action under the circumstance. He went to sleep, placing everything in God's hands. It was as if he said, "God, when I get up—it's all you again!" Leaders must know their limits, their strengths, and be willing to rely on help from others. Christian leaders ultimately rely on the power of God.
Verse 7 Up, God! My God, help me! Slap their faces, First this cheek, then the other, Your fist hard in their teeth!
David woke up with a passion that exploded inside of him. He had a new resolve. He had experienced a revival in his heart. He was ready to move forward with God's plan. I can almost imagine those around David thinking, "What got into him last night?" Great leaders, in spite of their challenges, have a contagious enthusiasm about moving the vision of the organization forward. A team will rally around a leader with conviction. You may need to take a break, get re-energized, and come at the plan again with renewed fervor. That's what good leaders do.
Verse 8 Real help comes from God. Your blessing clothes your people!
David assumed his rightful place as a leader and began to invest in others. As David looked to God for his strength, his people could look to him to lead them. Now, ultimately, in the days of grace, each of us respond and are accountable to God directly, but God uses leaders to instill vision and values, and encourage others to move forward, even during dark days.
Fellow leader, are you in a tough situation right now?
Maybe you lead a church, a business, a non-profit, or even a family, but if what or who you lead has fallen on hard times, follow the example of David.
Lead your team to victory!
With God on your side, who can be against you?
Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/Vinco Computer / EyeEm
Ron Edmondson pastors Immanuel Baptist Church. Find out more at: http://www.ronedmondson.com/about


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The Ohio Historical Society has invited me to present Cemetery Records and the Family Historian on Saturday, June 28 from 10:00am-noon at the Ohio Historical Center in Columbus. I will be speaking on the value of cemetery research, how to evaluate tombstones (yes, you have to evaluate them!), and accessing and using cemetery records.
Cost is $15 for members of OHS or the Ohio Genealogical Society, $20 for non-members. The workshop is limited to 20 participants.


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Semester Online Adds Baylor, Temple, Southern Methodist
New partners join program allowing students to take semester of credit-bearing online undergraduate courses from top universities.
July 30, 2013
Semester Online, a program that will offer for-credit online courses to undergraduate students, announced this week that Baylor University, Southern Methodist University and Temple University have joined its initiative as Charter Affiliate partners.
As participants in Semester Online, undergraduates at Baylor, SMU and Temple will engage in rigorous online courses taught live from a consortium of top colleges and universities. These include Boston College, Brandeis University, Emory University, Northwestern University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of Notre Dame and Washington University in St. Louis. Duke University, which originally announced plans to participate, withdrew from its contract with 2U.
"Semester Online's teaching institutions provide distinctive course offerings for undergraduates in an online learning experience that matches the rigor and richness of on-campus classrooms," said Ed Macias, chair of the Semester Online consortium and Provost Emeritus of Washington University in St. Louis, in a statement.
[ Udacity goes beyond simply placing a camera in the classroom. Read Udacity: Creating A More Engaging MOOC.]
Students who participate in Semester Online courses at Charter Affiliate partner schools will combine the online courses with their regular on-campus classes. They will receive full academic credit for courses they complete through Semester Online, which will count towards the completion of their degrees.
The company behind this initiative is 2U. Since it was founded in 2008, 2U has transformed on-campus classes into Web-based courses and provided educational solutions for adult learners, primarily for graduate school programs. 2U will provide the technology, infrastructure support and instructional design for Semester Online.
Because the undergraduate market is sensitive, 2U took the time to plan a program that it anticipates will be successful with younger students. With Semester Online, the company intends to target students aged 18-24, the typical age of undergraduates who live and study on college campuses. 2U hopes to provide a high-quality online education to a younger audience, in particular to students who need to take time off for health reasons or want to travel abroad.
"We think we will build international and abroad opportunities with Semester Online," said Chip Paucek, co-founder and CEO of 2U, of the program's global reach.
Semester Online is set to launch this fall with eleven online courses. Additional courses for the spring 2014 semester will be announced in September. Students participating in Semester Online through Baylor, SMU and Temple, as well as future Charter Affiliate partners, may register for classes after they receive administrative approval from their universities.
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Learning the vi Editor/Vim/VimL Script language
Vim script (aka Vimscript, or VimL) is a full feature scripting language, meaning it can solve almost any text processing problem.
Statements[edit | edit source]
Assignment[edit | edit source]
To set a variable use:
let variable = expression
To set a built-in setting you have two options:
set setting = expression " (use the regular command for changing a setting) let &setting = "expression" " (treat the setting as a special kind of variable)
Data types[edit | edit source]
There are five datatypes:
Number[edit | edit source]
A 32 bit signed integer.
String[edit | edit source]
A NULL terminated string of 8-bit unsigned characters (bytes). Strings can be created by either ''' or '"' quotes. When using strings quoted with the double quote '"' the text is interpreted i.e. "\n" becomes a new line while strings quoted with a single quote ''' are not interpreted, i.e. '\n' means just that, a backslash and an n. The following two strings are identical:
let String_1 = "C:\\WinNT" let String_2 = 'C:\WinNT'
Any other datatype can be converted into a string using the string () function.
Funcref[edit | edit source]
A reference to a function. A Funcref can be created from a string by the use of the function function.
let Function_1 = function ("MyFunc")
List[edit | edit source]
An ordered sequence of items.
let List_1 = [
\ "a",
\ "b",
\ "c"]
A list can be created from a string by the use of the split function.
let List_2 = split ("a b c")
Dictionary[edit | edit source]
An associative, unordered array: Each entry has a key and a value.
let Dictionary_1 = {
\ 1: 'one',
\ 2: 'two',
\ 3: 'three'}
Objects[edit | edit source]
VIM also supports object oriented programming by combining Funcref and Dictionary to an Object:
let mydict = { \'data': [0, 1, 2, 3]} function mydict.len () dict return len (self.data) endfunction mydict.len
for more information see Object oriented programming
Control Structures[edit | edit source]
The existence of control structures is the main difference between vi's ex commands and vim's scripting language. They make the difference between a simple command set (vi) and a full features script language (vim).
condition[edit | edit source]
if condition operations elseif condition operations else operations endif
loop[edit | edit source]
while[edit | edit source]
while condition operations endwhile
for[edit | edit source]
For loops are available from vim 7 onwards. They iterate over List or Directory structures.
for var in list operations endfor
exceptions[edit | edit source]
try operations catch /pattern/ error handling operations finally clean-up operations endtry
Subprograms[edit | edit source]
Simple Subprograms[edit | edit source]
Like most Shell-Languages all subprograms are stored in separate files which you load either with the source or runtime command. The difference lies in the use of a search path. runtime uses a search path and allows wildcards to find the sub-program while source needs the full path. The following commands do the same - provided that "~/vimfiles" is part of your runtime search path:
runtime setup.vim source ~/vimfiles/setup.vim
For both commands need to add the .vim
extension. Since runtime supports both a search path and wildcards more than one match is possible. If you want runtime to load all the matches - and not just the first hit - use runtime!.
Functions[edit | edit source]
function f ( parameter ) operations endfunction
New with vim 7 is the autoload option for functions. If you name a function Filename#Functionname or Directory#Filename#Functionname then the function will be automatically loaded on first call. The file containing the function must be placed in one of the "autoload" runtime directories and be named "Filename.vim" or "Directory/Filename.vim". This option is especially useful for functions which you don't always need on in Object oriented programming.
Commands[edit | edit source]
command Command Command
Command are often used as shortcut for functions and subprograms:
command C -nargs=* call F ( <f-args> ) command C source ~/vimfiles/s.vim
Object oriented programming[edit | edit source]
Vim 7 now allows object oriented programming. However, in order to make it real you need to combine several features, namely Dictionaries, Funcrefs and the new function autoload.
The following example class is taken from the gnat compiler plugin for vim. The actual functions implementations have been removed as they are not needed to understand the concept. If you like to have a look at the full version you can download the plugin from vim.org site.
Step by Step walk-through[edit | edit source]
We add our new class to a autoload script. That way the class is available when and only when needed:
if exists ("g:loaded_gnat_autoload") || version < 700 finish else let g:loaded_gnat_autoload=1
Each function we define need to be defined with the "dict" attribute. Apart from that they are just normal scripting functions.
function gnat#Make () dict ... return endfunction gnat#Make function gnat#Pretty () dict ... return endfunction gnat#Pretty function gnat#Find () dict ... return endfunction gnat#Find function gnat#Tags () dict ... return endfunction gnat#Tags function gnat#Set_Project_File (...) dict ... return endfunction gnat#Set_Project_File function gnat#Get_Command (Command) dict ... return ... endfunction gnat#Get_Command
The most important step is the composition of the object. In most OO languages this happens automatically - But with vim we have to do this ourselves. For best flexibility the use of a so called constructor function is suggested. The constructor is not marked with "dict":
function gnat#New ()
The constructor creates a dictionary which assigns all the object functions to one element of the dictionary:
let Retval = { \ 'Make' : function ('gnat#Make'), \ 'Pretty' : function ('gnat#Pretty'), \ 'Find' : function ('gnat#Find'), \ 'Tags' : function ('gnat#Tags'), \ 'Set_Project_File' : function ('gnat#Set_Project_File'), \ 'Get_Command' : function ('gnat#Get_Command'), \ 'Project_File' : ,
We optionally can now add data entries to our object:
\ 'Make_Command' : '"gnat make -P " . self.Project_File . " -F -gnatef "', \ 'Pretty_Command' : '"gnat pretty -P " . self.Project_File . " "', \ 'Find_Program' : '"gnat find -P " . self.Project_File . " -F "', \ 'Tags_Command' : '"gnat xref -P " . self.Project_File . " -v *.AD*"', \ 'Error_Format' : '%f:%l:%c: %trror: %m,' . \ '%f:%l:%c: %tarning: %m,' . \ '%f:%l:%c: (%ttyle) %m'}
If needed additional modifications to the object are also possible. At this stage you can already use the OO-way:
if argc() == 1 && fnamemodify(argv (0), ':e') == 'gpr' call Retval.Set_Project_File(argv(0)) elseif strlen(v:servername) > 0 call Retval.Set_Project_File(v:servername . '.gpr') endif
The last operation of the constructor is the return of the newly created object.
return Retval endfunction gnat#New
It is also possible to defined additional non dict functions. These functions are the equivalent to the "static" or "class" methods of other OO languages.
function gnat#Insert_Tags_Header() ... return endfunction gnat#Insert_Tags_Header finish endif


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Justin Bieber accepts the award for favorite pop rock album for "Believe" at the 40th American Music Awards in Los Angeles, California, November 18, 2012. [Photo/Agencies] |
Teenage pop star Justin Bieber will not face charges for an alleged altercation with a man who was taking photos of him at a suburban shopping center in May, Los Angeles prosecutors said on Wednesday.
Related: Judge tosses Bieber paparazzo chase case
Deputy District Attorney Mara McIlvain said in a report there was "insufficient evidence for proof beyond a reasonable doubt" that the Canadian singer scuffled with paparazzo Jose Hernandez-Duran before leaving the shopping center with his girlfriend, actress Selena Gomez.
The photographer accused Bieber, 18, of leaving a van to kick him in the abdomen and punch him in the face. Officials called to the scene in Calabasas, 30 miles west of Los Angeles, found no apparent injury or trauma to the photographer.
Related: Justin Bieber's car crash drama
A later doctor's evaluation indicated "minor swelling" to the photographer's right cheek and "redness" on his lower abdomen but labeled the injuries "superficial".
McIlvain's report indicated that Bieber became frustrated when photographers obstructed his vehicle as he attempted to leave the shopping center. He then left the vehicle, charged at Hernandez-Duran and fell after taking a swing at his camera.
Witnesses told investigators they could not determine if Bieber had struck Hernandez-Duran, who kept on taking photos of the singer after the incident. They said the photographer was approached by a lawyer soon after the run-in.
McIlvain said there were no photos of a scuffle between Bieber and Hernandez-Duran, even though many photographers were present.
Bieber's publicist could not immediately be reached for comment.
The pop star swept the American Music Awards on Sunday, winning three, including the top prize of the night, and performed live during the show.


text: Lake Tahoe Summit Held Amidst Progress, Crticism Katie Orr Monday, August 19, 2013 | Sacramento, CA Listen / Update RequiredTo play audio, update browser or Flash plugin. Sand Harbor State Park, Nevada, the site of the 17th Annual Tahoe Summit, on Monday August 19, 2013.Katie Orr, Capital Public Radio The lake is now clear to a depth of about 75 feet. And Gore says if progress continues future generations will be thankful. "If they come to the shores of Lake Tahoe and they see the water all the way down 75, or 100 feet, and they look at the majesty of the lake and see the clear skies. And they see communities in renewal and millions of new jobs being created in renewable energy," he said. Gore was present at the first Tahoe summit when then-President Bill Clinton authorized more than 400 million dollars for restoration projects. Senators from California and Nevada are supporting a renewal of that funding. The two states are also in the process of renewing a bi-state agreement to manage the lake. A plan already approved by Nevada allows for the consideration of economic development as well as environmental concerns. A similar plan is making its way through the California Legislature and has Governor Jerry Brown's support, despite a legal challenge by environmentalists. "This has been a good process," Brown said. "And I think what we're going to get is better than what we have and so we're moving forward. That's all you can ask." Brown is joined in his support of the plan by Democratic Senators Harry Reid and Diane Feinstein and Nevada's governor. But Nevada has threatened to pull out of the agency if its development conditions are not met. The Sierra Club's Laurel Ames said challenging the bi-state renewal agreement in court was the only way to fight the plan. "It increases urbanization substantiality. And it increases the storm-water run-off to the lake," she said. "It's just generally an irresponsible plan." Hundreds of people attended the summit, which was held at Nevada's Sand Harbor State Park on the lake's east shore. Follow us for more stories like this CapRadio provides a trusted source of news because of you. As a nonprofit organization, donations from people like you sustain the journalism that allows us to discover stories that are important to our audience. If you believe in what we do and support our mission, please donate today. Donate Today


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Alexandria Wearing a polo shirt and sunglasses with a T-shirt tied around her waist, St. Stephen's & St. Agnes girls' lacrosse coach Kathy Jenkins roams the sideline during the first half of the Saints' May 3 home game against Holy Child.
As Jenkins shouts instructions, the Saints continue scoring, eventually building a 15-2 halftime advantage. In the second half, Jenkins stands the collar on her shirt and the Saints go into "turtle" mode, passing the ball around the field and chewing up clock rather than running up the score.
It was business as usual for St. Stephen's & St. Agnes in the sense that its 15-2 victory against Holy Child was the kind of dominant effort for which Jenkins' Saints are known. But while the performance was commonplace, it carried greater significance for the 61-year-old Jenkins, who earned the 600th victory of her 37-year career. After the game, players gathered around Jenkins and hugged the coach who has become an icon since co-founding the girls' lacrosse program at St. Agnes School in 1976.
"I just loving doing it," Jenkins said. "I try to not think about the 600th win. I'm more about how the girls are doing and having a great experience and playing. It's great. Today they came really enthusiastic. They were very excited for me, which is really nice. I don't like to think about myself, I'd really rather think about the team and my passion for the sport."
Jenkins' passion for girls' lacrosse helped bring the sport to St. Agnes, which merged with St. Stephen's School in 1991. She joined the St. Agnes faculty in 1971 as a 20-year-old from Erie, Pa., with a background in basketball. Five years later, she co-founded with Alix Fellows a girls' lacrosse program that would grow into of the nation's best. At first, however, Jenkins had to recruit athletes at St. Agnes to try a new sport.
"She's very inspiring as a coach. She's tough on you, but it's a good kind of tough. You want to play for her and you want to represent her."
— SSSAS junior Carly Reed
One of the athletes who played for the Saints during the program's infancy is West Potomac head coach Lori Cochran.
"I think I was in the eighth grade … when she decided to start a lacrosse team and she was pretty much just trying to recruit all the athletes," Cochran wrote in an email. "We had no clue what it was but she said she would get us some sticks. I vividly remember the first day on the field with my really cool wooden stick and she was standing next to the goalie cage in a Lilly Pulitzer pink and green skirt with matching headband, and had a rule book in her hand. She was reading what a 'crease' was and that we couldn't cross over it.
"We weren't really sure what was going on but we all thought it was so cool to be a part of something totally different."
Nearly four decades later, Jenkins' teams have produced 24 conference tournament titles, 21 league championships and six state titles, and Jenkins has been inducted into the U.S. Lacrosse Hall of Fame Potomac and Virginia chapters.
"I feel like the school has been unbelievable in the backing and support I've gotten and all of our teams have gotten," Jenkins said. "It's a great school academically and athletically. My four children went here. They had great opportunities and I feel like they learned how to be a student and an athlete. I feel like the school gives so much that I've never wanted to leave.
"I think I'll be on my deathbed when I leave."
This year, SSSAS improved to 19-3 with a 17-4 victory against National Cathedral on May 8. The Saints' three losses came against Bryn Mawr, Vero Beach and Georgetown Visitation.
"Our three losses this year, [our players] were devastated," Jenkins said. "It was really hard to pick them up. I say, 'You know what, you played hard out there … you learn from your losses,' but I have never seen a team so devastated because no team really wants to be the one to lose those big games."
Part of the reason the Saints take losses so hard is because the players want to win for Jenkins.
"She's very inspiring as a coach," said junior Carly Reed, the program's all-time leading goal scorer. "She's tough on you, but it's a good kind of tough. You want to play for her and you want to represent her. … Everyone knows she's a great coach, so as a team we have to go out and prove how great of a coach [she is] and how much she's taught [us]."
Jenkins' teachings stick with her players after they leave the program. Her knowledge helped Cochran as a player, and now it's helping her as a coach.
"She was awesome from day one," Cochran wrote. "She was passionate about the girls as individuals and loved her job. She and Mrs. Fellows had a blast on the field every day. They worked really well together. As a coach now myself for the past 12 years, the one thing I have realized from her was to be consistent. Every day she was up, positive, serious and committed. You can't come one day and be moody or just joking around all the time, because the coach needs to set the tone for the team.
"Consistency is the key to success. We would run the same drills, same routines every day the first couple of years. We knew what she expected from us and what we could expect from her."
Along with coaching the girls' lacrosse program, Jenkins teaches fifth-grade physical education and coaches middle school tennis, basketball and lacrosse, and high school tennis. She said she would like to continue coaching for "four or five more years."
"I'm 61, so I would like to stay as long as I can and as long as I'm able," Jenkins said. "I think it's what keeps me young and keeps me going. I look forward to coming here every day and being with the team."


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Open omlettes are one of my favourite quick and easy dinners. Mr Ladybird loves them too, even for breakfast.
For one of these you'll need:
2 eggs
handful of baby spinach, roughly chopped
few cherry tomatoes, quartered
Goat's fetta (but you can use any sort of cheese really)
- Heat the oven grill.
- In a bowl, season and whisk the eggs. Heat a dash of olive oil in a small, not-stick pan and pour in the egg mixture.
- With the heat still on, throw in the baby spinach, chunks of fetta and arrange the tomatoes.
- When the omlette starts to firm up, take it off the heat and put it under the grill until it turns golden brown.
- Slide onto the plate, and enjoy!
Ladybird x


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TechRadar Verdict
This clever software makes website building even easier
- +
More behind-the- scenes infrastructure
New ecommerce tools
A good deal of assistance is provided
- -
Lack of ability to create custom rollovers
Why you can trust TechRadar
Serif made its name by introducing DTP to people who, at that time, couldn't afford PageMaker. With WebPlus, it does the same thing today for people who can't afford Dreamweaver. WebPlus also takes a lot of the complication - that is, HTML - out of web design, although you can still get your hands dirty with a bit of hard coding if you really want to.
WebPlus is based very much on the desktop publishing paradigm, although it's clearly geared towards electronic rather than paper pages. Many of the tools are similar, with lines, simple graphics, artistic text and text frames, but there are also web-specific ones such as HTML and Java fragments, HTML tables and sound and video clips.
The interface now relies heavily on tabbed dockers down the right-hand side of the screen, so you can get at a huge range of attributes without having to dive deep into the menus. A good deal of assistance is provided in the form of professionally designed colour schemes and style sheets, and there are even a number of templates for complete sites. If you're really pushed for time, you can call up a template and simply modify it with your own text.
Despite it being intended for newcomers to web design, parts of WebPlus 10 have become quite complex in themselves. It's good, then, that Serif has one of the best documentation teams in the business - the online help and user manual are exemplars of clarity, providing design tips as well as full explanations of complicated concepts.
New to version 10 are ecommerce tools, Smart Objects and the source pane. If you want to include the ability to sell goods or services from your site, you now have the basic tools to do it. You can directly add PayPal facilities - or rivals RomanCart or Mal's - to a page using a wizard.
The program adds extra pages to your site with all the appropriate buttons and graphics on them for your visitors to use. And you can even specify the style for these pages, so they don't stick out like sore thumbs from the rest of your site.
Serif has provided more behind-the- scenes infrastructure in WebPlus 10 and is offering a series of Smart Objects, such as mailing lists, polls and custom blogs, which it hosts free of charge on its servers. You can add these facilities to your pages through more wizards and include things such as RSS feeds for news tickers, or you can even create your own feed to push news that is specific to your interests out to other sites.
Simple navigation
This version of the program also takes most of the effort out of creating navigation bars - the menus which control routing through your site. Rather than having to create them button by button, you can now specify the structure and let the program add new buttons, corresponding to new pages as you add them to your site. Navigation bars can be positioned horizontally or vertically, to fit with your design style.
One of the things sadly missing from WebPlus 10 is proper provision for designing individual rollovers so you can create your own animated buttons or image slices. You can use the pre-designed buttons and cut-ups, of which there are plenty on the separate Resource CD, and you can import graphics from Serif 's sibling product, DrawPlus 8, but that means extra expense. It would be good to have an applet within WebPlus, so you could do the whole thing in the one application.
Once you've become more familiar with web-design, you'll probably want to tweak your pages to achieve exactly the effects you're after. If you are well-versed in HTML, you'll be able to add your own code directly. While earlier versions of WebPlus enabled you to include HTML snippets in your pages, version 10 offers you complete HTML pages, so you can see and edit custom code pages directly.
In many ways, WebPlus is getting more like the heavyweight webdesigners it once tried to undercut. While still not as big and butch as Dreamweaver or Fronall thattPage, and still easier to use than either, there's certainly a steeper learning curve to negotiate now. Serif still approaches the market with the maxim, "Why shouldn't non-coders be able to do the fancy things web users expect from professional sites?" With WebPlus 10, it has provided many useful extra tools that will encourage newcomers to create their own presence on the web, and it still comes at an attractive price. Simon Williams


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The Human Cost of Stuff: In Depth
- Growing Up in a Kenyan Slum Taught Me the Real Value of Stuff
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Growing Up in a Kenyan Slum Taught Me the Real Value of Stuff
It was only after experiencing the abundance of stuff in the United States that Simon Okelo learned to value life with less, the way he grew up.
I grew up by the main road through Manyatta, the slum neighborhood of Kisumu, Kenya. My mother and other women from our community struggled to put food on their own tables. But they started a feeding program in our home for children orphaned by HIV/AIDS, which was rampant in Kisumu in the 1990s. The program eventually became Young Generation Centre, an orphanage that still serves the community.
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My mother became a businesswoman to cover the household's expenses. She built a mud-walled building and rented rooms, dug a well to get water to sell, sold groceries, and supplied milk and bread to shopkeepers. Her many businesses ensured that we were all fed and clothed. There were no extras, but I never felt deprived, because we were surrounded by people who had very few possessions.
The municipal water supply to our area had been disconnected during road construction years ago. Most wells had water in the rainy season but dried up completely during droughts. That's when neighbors holding jerry cans lined up to our well, one of the few local sources of drinking water. Each family was limited to a 20-liter container, but we sometimes had to close the well for hours while it refilled. When that happened, those who had secured water earlier returned to share it with people stuck in line. Seeing people waiting for a well to refill taught me patience. Seeing them carefully sipping water showed me how to enjoy basic necessities as if they were gems.
A pair of brown shorts
When I was 13, I transferred to a private school, paying for my tuition by selling milk and other goods around Manyatta. I made two cents for each packet of milk, which meant I had to sell seven crates a day to pay the $300 per term fee. I managed to sell 20 crates each morning, earning more than I needed for my own tuition, so my siblings were able to attend better schools as well.
But being in a place of such abundance destroyed my ability to get satisfied. My consuming in America became propelled by the abundance of goods.
On school assembly days, girls glowed in neat light-brown dresses, and boys stood at attention in long socks and chocolate-brown shorts. I was the only one who looked out of place, wearing the grey shorts that were the uniform of my previous school. I avoided walking in front of girls, as they giggled at the hole in the back of my shorts that displayed a sliver of my "full moon."
One day my classmate Robert handed me a pair of brown shorts, an extra pair he had. I was so eager to try them on that I ran home, dashing between pedestrians and bicyclists. Drenched in sweat and excited to show off my new clothes,
I jumped into the shorts and went to where my mom and the orphanage matron were making dinner.
"What do you think?" I asked.
They smiled, and had a close look. My mom said, "They look good on you, but if you work hard, you will get your own." She didn't want me to become reliant on charity. I walked away, disappointed and ashamed. Her words echoed in my mind that night as I lay in bed, trying to sleep.
The next day I gave the shorts back to Robert. I worked even harder selling milk, and I returned to school after the holidays with a new pair of brown shorts. I felt proud as I washed and pressed my new shorts every evening to wear the next day.
In 1994, when the World Cup was held in the United States, I was dangling on a neighbor's window frame, watching the only TV in our neighborhood—an old black-and-white model. It was the first time I had seen the wealth of the United States.The beauty and enormous size of the stadiums and the amazing variety of foods shown during the commercial breaks made me aware of what we lacked.
I took up boxing at 12 to help protect my sisters from the gangs that roamed our neighborhood. That skill earned me a college scholarship, a rare opportunity for a youth from Manyatta. At the end of my business studies in Nairobi, I returned to Kisumu to manage the orphanage, which cared for hundreds of kids by then. I organized music events and worked as a DJ on the side.
Leading projects at the orphanage led to my next job as Africa field director for an international NGO. On a trip to Liberia in 2009, I met Rebecca, a young American woman working on a hospital project in Ghana. We spent six months evaluating the possibility of building health clinics in Liberia and Kenya. It took a little more time for us to evaluate the possibility of being together forever. We fell in love, and we were married in 2010.
An American consumer
We moved to the United States and spent our first year there in an affluent Seattle suburb, where I had to make big adjustments. I felt uncomfortable, especially when I went running at a local soccer field, which I thought was nicer than Kasarani, the home stadium of Kenya's national soccer team. Most of the other people using the running track did not smile or wave when I greeted them.
I got a green card and a job as an over-the-phone medical interpreter. Rebecca and I bought a house. I was officially an American consumer.
Suddenly, I was earning what seemed to me a vast amount of money and living in a country where everything was abundant and accessible. On weekends I went to Costco to stock up on food and clothes. Anything that was on sale was irresistible. Even if I needed only one gallon of milk, I had to buy two, because Costco packed them in pairs. Where my neighbors in Manyatta had to wait long hours for water, I could choose between whole, 2-percent, skim, soy, and rice milk. But being in a place of such abundance destroyed my ability to get satisfied. My consuming in America became propelled by the abundance of goods. I soon felt I was drowning in options.
The brown shorts I bought with the money I earned at 13 gave me joy and pleasure. I felt great as an older teenager in my only pair of tight, dark-blue jeans and my green-striped shirt. I had one pair of shoes, but they were uniquely mine, and every step in them gave me confidence. In Seattle the joy and confidence these clothes gave me were replaced by the daily chore of deciding what to wear from the many beautifully-colored shirts in my closet. I didn't feel connected to my clothes like I did when I had few to choose from and worked hard to get what I had.
I eventually realized that I had to adjust to my new ability to be a consumer.
Relearning "enough"
Visiting Manyatta every year and trying to find a balance between my two homes changed my consumption habits over time. These days, as I push the large cart through Costco, I imagine what people in Manyatta are experiencing at the moment I'm about to spend excessively.
After Rana Plaza:
Let's Bring Humanity Back Into Our Stuff
Instead of being attracted by anything that is on sale, I find myself thinking how fortunate I am to be in a place where there are so many options. I also feel lucky that I am likely the only person from Manyatta in any Costco store in the world at that moment. Such reminders make me appreciate my purchases and use them sparingly, because I find joy in simplifying my lifestyle. I don't aim to match the living standards in Manyatta or to live up to the expectations of society in Seattle—I actively practice being conscious about my choices.
Memories of my childhood help—like my neighbors enjoying a cup of water after a long wait, taking each sip as if it were the most delicious and expensive drink in the world. Like them, we could savor our possessions, share what we don't need, and take pleasure from others' enjoyment. Consuming just enough.


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Audi has put the next stage of its R18 project to the test: The latest version of its new diesel race car, which will appear in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, was test-driven for the first time in the USA.
The "Evolution 2" Audi R18 is the result of the findings of previous test drives and wind tunnel testing, with a particular focus on improved aerodynamic efficiency and cooling of the interior of its V6 TDI engine. It clocked up its first test kilometers on a proving ground in Florida last week, as the 12 Hours of Sebring were held.
The Audi R18 made its first public testing appearance after the 12-hour race in Sebring. Since then, internet forums have been abuzz with comments and discussions concerning the new, enclosed LMP1 race car. The comments on the photos and videos of the vehicle range from "magic" to "looks like a stealth airplane" and "sounds like a jet."
Two "Evolution 2" R18 vehicles (chassis numbers 101 and 102) were put to the test during the four days of testing in Sebring, together with an R15 TDI as a reference vehicle. All ten Audi racing drivers were involved in testing the three vehicles, clocking up thousands of test kilometers to generate important findings relating to vehicle setup, aerodynamics, tires, cooling, and reliability.
The two R18 vehicles set off on their return journey to Europe as airfreight. Starting Monday, they will be dismantled and thoroughly analyzed at Audi Sport in Ingolstadt.
The Audi R18 will make its next appearance on the famous racetrack in Le Mans, when the definitive design of the vehicle for the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2011 will be unveiled at the official testing day on April 24. The R18 is scheduled to compete for the first time in the 6-hour race in Spa-Francorchamps on May 7. This year's 24 Hours of Le Mans will take place on June 11/12.


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When Eric was just 10 years old he used to dream of becoming a professional musician, to make his own records and tour around the world. When he first started playing his saxophone in 5th grade he really had no idea what all that even meant. Well, after having performed in over 60 different countries, recording 10 solo CD's and playing on hundreds of other records, films, television shows and commercial jingles, Eric has definitely exceeded those musical goals he set for himself way back then.
After graduating high school in 1976, Eric went on to study at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA. There he studied with the legendary saxophone teacher, Joe Viola. It was Joe that taught Eric how to really practice. Joe introduced Eric to the books of Marcel Mule, Pierre Londeaux, Sigmund Rasher and many others. Under Joe's wing, Eric practiced at least 4 hours every night. There were also jam sessions going on all the time where the students could get together and play for hours. Eric ended up returning to Orange County, CA after being at Berklee for 2 years to try and pursue his career. When he left Berklee, he had achieved the highest proficiency rating given by the school. In 1995, Eric was awarded the Berklee Distinguished Alumnus Award for outstanding achievements in contemporary music.
After moving to Los Angeles in 1980, Eric auditioned for famed New Orleans trumpeter Al Hurt. He got the gig, moved to New Orleans and played with Al and his band for about a year. "We would play at Al's club in the French Quarter during the week and almost every weekend we'd travel to a different city to play. It was my first time seeing most of the country." When the band ended Eric returned to L.A. and began the slow climb into the world of professional music. He played in every situation he could. A spot opened up in the Disneyland Band and it was there that Eric met many of the studio musicians that he still works with today.
While the Disney Band was a full time job, Eric would still play jobs at night in a lot of the clubs around town. It was during one of these club gigs with bandleader John Novello that Eric was about to get his first big break. While playing at a club in North Hollywood, Eric looked up from the stage to see jazz legend Chick Corea walk through the door. Chick had been one of Eric's very favorite all-time musicians. "When I looked up and saw Chick walk in I thought I must be hallucinating!" Chick was a friend of John's so Eric figured he was there to see John's band. But unbeknownst to Eric, Chick was looking to add a sax player to his famed Elektric Band with bassist, John Patitucci, drummer Dave Weckl, and guitarist Frank Gambale. Not only did Chick stay for the whole night but he sat in during the 2nd set. "We played one of Chick's standards, "500 Miles High". Thank God I knew that tune!" Eric said that his wife Lee Ann happened to be there that night and could see the excitement in his eyes. "It was an incredible thrill to be on stage playing with one of my all time musical heroes." Afterwards they talked and Chick told Eric how much he liked his playing.
The real bombshell, however, didn't hit until the next day. While Eric was sitting in the Disneyland Band break room the phone rang. "The bass player answered it and said it was for me. He had an odd look on his face and when I asked who it was he said it was Chick Corea's manager. I totally froze!" Eric finally made it to the phone and the manager told him that Chick wanted him to join the Elektric Band.
Needless to say, Eric didn't stay in the Disney Band long after that. The Elektric band went on to record 6 albums, won 2 Grammys and traveled to every corner of the globe. After the Elektric Band's "Light Years" CD was released, Eric was offered his first solo record contract with GRP records. "It was a dream come true for me. Playing with Chick and getting signed to my own deal, what more could I ask for." Chick produced Eric's first record, "Voices of The Heart" and it was recorded live at Mad Hatter Studios in L.A. His next 2 CD's, "Round Trip" and "Crossroads" were produced by Eric and his long time friend and bass playing giant, John Patitucci. Of the two, Crossroads was a recording that reflected where Eric's musical head was at. "John and I wanted to make a record that people would talk about years later. We didn't think about anything except the music. I still have people come up and tell me that Crossroads is their favorite record of mine… mostly musicians!" It was during that time that Eric became one of the most recorded sax players in contemporary jazz. He played on over 50 GRP records alone including records by Lee Ritenour, Dave Grusin, David Benoit, Don Grusin, Dave Weckl, John Patitucci, GRP All-Star Big Band and The Rippingtons. Eric juggled being a member of Lee Ritenour's band, David Benoit's band, Chick's Elektric band and his own band.
In 1991, Eric decided to call upon two musicians whom he had always wanted to work with, Jeff Lorber and Russell Ferrante of the Yellowjackets, to write with and produce his "Oasis" CD. "At the time I didn't personally even know Jeff or Russell and I was hoping that, when I called them, they wouldn't say, 'Eric who?'" It ended up being a great collaboration and one of Eric's most successful records. It made it into the top 5 on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz Charts and 2 of the tunes made it into the top 10 of the National Contemporary Jazz Radio Charts. Eric went on to record two more records for GRP; "One Touch" and "Street Dance", both produced by Jeff Lorber.
It was around this time that Eric became interested in writing his first instructional book, "Comprehensive Jazz Studies & Exercises" published by Warner Bros. Publications which is now Alfred Publishing/Belwin Jazz. Eric spent 3 years writing this 200 page book and was inspired by Chick Corea and the members of the Elektric band. "Each member of that band was a prolific writer. Not only music but instructional materials as well. I always wanted to own a book that combined a ton of things to practice and woodshed with some melodic and harmonic things that would really help my improvising." Alfred publishing went on to publish 2 more books written by Eric. "The Ultimate Jazz Play Along" is a "music minus 1" book for all instruments with 12 original tunes to work on and improve your improvising. It also comes with an audio CD to play along with. The 3rd is called "The Music of Eric Marienthal". It's a collection of Eric's transcribed solos from various records over the last 20 years. This book comes with a "lesson on CD" which takes the listener through the fundamentals of playing, practicing, improvising and much more. Eric has also filmed 3 instructional videos, also published by Alfred Publishing; "Play Sax From Day One", "Modern Sax" and "Tricks Of The Trade".
In 1997, Eric was signed by legendary jazz guitarist Lee Ritenour to record for his new label, i.e. Music. Lee produced Eric's "Easy Street" CD and the title track, which features Rick Braun on trumpet, made it to #2 on the National Contemporary Jazz Radio Charts. That same year Eric was voted to be among the top 3 alto sax players in the Jazziz Magazine Reader's Poll along with Phil Woods and David Sanborn. Eric's 2nd record for i.e. Music, "Walk Tall", was a tribute to one of his musical idols, Cannonball Adderley. "Cannonball has always been a huge inspiration to me and I was so thankful that Lee was into letting me make that record". Produced by Harvey Mason, the single, "Here In My Heart", stayed at #1 on the National Contemporary Jazz Charts for 3 weeks and the Cannonball classic, "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" made it to #5.
Currently, Eric is signed to the Peak Records label, owned by Rippingtons founder Russ Freeman. "When Russ asked me to join the Rippingtons, he also offered me a deal with his label and I jumped at it. Playing with the Ripp's has been incredibly fun for me and the band is awesome!" Eric's first 2 recordings on Peak were "Turn Up The Heat" and "Sweet Talk". The later of which featured the title track that was co-written by Eric's 14 year old son, Robert. "Rob plays guitar and wrote this song which was originally more of a folk song. After I put my two cents in it turned into more of a smooth jazz tune and I don't think Rob will ever forgive me!"
Eric's newest CD is his 3rd for Peak entitled "Got You Covered". It's an amazing collection of some of Eric's favorite tunes and was recorded live in the studio. "Of all 10 of my records, this is my favorite. It features Russell Ferrante, Peter Erskine, Russ Freeman, Chick Corea, Dave Carpenter and Luis Conte. Most of the record was recorded live all together and all at the same time. It was so refreshing to record this way and the music sounds just like we played it." The record has a very heartfelt, mostly acoustic sound and it's one that Eric is obviously very proud of.
For the past 7 years Eric has been the musical director of an annual fundraising concert for High Hopes. High Hopes is a non-profit organization in Orange County, California that works with people who have suffered traumatic head injuries. With the help of guest artists such as Lou Rawls, Patti Austin, David Benoit, Brian Culbertson, Rick Braun, Vesta Williams, Jeff Lorber, David Pack, Lee Ritenour and many more, these concerts to date have raise well over a half million dollars for this charity.
Among all the different bands that Eric has been a part of, one of his favorites is the Gordon Goodwin Big Phat Band. Gordon is a very prominent, Grammy winning composer in Los Angeles and the Big Phat Band is among the most popular Big Bands in the world today. Eric is the band's lead alto sax player and obviously loves being there. "This is about the only band I've ever been in that has as much fun traveling together as we do playing together! The audiences always go completely crazy during our shows and they know most of the music we play." The band is made up of some of L.A.'s top studio musicians. The Phat band's 3rd record, "The Phat Pack" was recently released in June, 2006. According to Eric, it's the best record Gordon's ever made.
These days Eric is touring and recording continuously. Besides playing with his own band and the others that he is a part of, Eric gives Master Classes and performs with High School and College bands around the country. "I love being able to work with students and help them improve. There's no better feeling than to help a player achieve their goal."


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Orlando is home to Walt Disney World, a sprawling theme park and holiday destination which covers several square miles just to the southeast of the city of Orlando. First built back in 1971, it has expanded significantly over the years to cope with demand, comprising of a plethora of hotels, parks, amusement rides and restaurants. The Floridian city is also home to other major attractions such as SeaWorld and the Universal Studios complex, while it's also a great place to go shopping and enjoy a meal with the family, whatever type of cuisine you're into.
Ideal car
In the resort and surrounding area, you should drive with care. A small car is perfect for cautious driving, which is often the norm all over Florida.
Driving in Orlando
Road Driving Side
Urban Speed Limit
Rural Speed Limit
Motorway Speed Limit
Important things to note
The I-4 Interstate is more or less the best and easiest route to take when heading to Walt Disney World. You might need to vouch for traffic though.
In the Disney World resort, most of the road signs are purple and have directional signs in the shape of black Mickey Mouse ears, but are pretty easy to read.
There is an on-site car care centre should you run into trouble while driving, while the golf courses can only be accessed by car.
Highlights & Hotspots
The best place for shopping is Disney's Boardwalk, which is close to the Downtown Disney part of Disney World. Here, you're sure to find plenty of exclusive boutiques and souvenir shops where you can buy everything from electronics to high fashion and jewellery for your next big night out.
For thrill-a-minute rides, the best theme park is the Magic Kingdom. As the oldest part of the resort, it has rides that will please visitors of all ages while the sense of whimsy that comes with many of the rides will keep everyone entertained for hour after hour.
SeaWorld Adventure Park is a massive marine park which has rides, aquariums, pools for whales and dolphins and more besides. Unlike Disney World, it is a pretty laid-back place to spend a morning or afternoon.
The Universal Orlando Resort is a good alternative to Disney World. It has the famous Universal Studios where you can see TV shows and films being shot, while there are rides to enjoy, not to mention a nightclub and restaurant complex for the adults.
Airport Information
Orlando International Airport is the busiest in the state and one of the largest. It is located to the southeast of downtown Orlando, making it an easy commute for visitors staying downtown or in the city centre.
Top Car Hire Locations in The USA
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text: Energy | 03. May 2010 | posted by Jan Oliver Löfken Energy question of the week: Can modern freight ships sail using wind power? Rising fuel costs are urging shipowners all over the world to find ways to deliver cargo across the seas more economically. In the 1920s, the German Aerospace Center's predecessor institute developed Flettner rotors. Some 80 years later, a cargo ship is again sailing with rotating cylindrical sails. But is this change worth it? Cylinder rotors should reduce marine diesel consumption by a third Because of the lack of space and the extra crew required, classic masts and rigging have no future on modern container ships. However, the Hamburg company SkySails has already demonstrated that a steerable spinnaker set forward of the ship's bow can save fuel. And today, a cargo ship is sailing with rotating cylinder sails. On the deck of the 'E-Ship 1' there are four 25-metre high Flettner rotors that will power the 130-metre long freighter on its test voyages between Emden and Borkum. The developers, wind turbine manufacturer Enercon, intend to prove that Flettner rotors can save about a third of the vessel's diesel consumption. "I am convinced that this ship is the first serious step towards the transformation of energy in shipping," says E Ship project manager Rolf Rohden. He and his team are awaiting the test voyages with great excitement. With its maximum speed of 17.5 knots (32.4 kilometres per hour), Enercon intends to use the 'E Ship 1' to transport its wind turbines to customers overseas. The main power for the 22.5-metre wide ship still comes from its conventional engines, each of which develops an output of 3500 kilowatts. But, on long journeys, the 'E Ship 1' could save about one third of its diesel. Four towering Flettner rotors will power 'E-Ship 1'. Photo: Enercon, Upper photo: DLR archive in Göttingen. DLR's predecessor participated in development The technology behind the 'E-Ship 1' was first developed in the 1920s. With the rotating sails invented by Anton Flettner, a crosswind streaming past a revolving cylindrical sail causes a zone of low pressure to form on the forward side of the cylinder. As a result, the whole ship is pulled forward. Flettner was not the only one to be involved in the invention of this new form of ship propulsion. Several years earlier, Ludwig Prandtl, the Director of the Aerodynamic Test Institute at Göttingen (AVA), had laid the technical foundations. At AVA, the oldest predecessor institute of the modern-day German Aerospace Center, he experimented with rotating cylinders in order to improve the lift of aircraft wings. Prandtl, the 'father of airflow research', however, saw no practical use for such cylinders. It was only later that Flettner suggested using them for ship propulsion. After numerous wind tunnel tests of rotors at AVA, in 1924 the 'Buckau' sailed on a number of test voyages with two Flettner rotors and, in 1926, even crossed the Atlantic. But because coal-fired power plants being cheap and efficient back then, and introduction of diesel engines, innovative sail propulsion sank into oblivion. It was not until the early 1980s that the French oceanographer Jacques-Y ves Cousteau had the research ship 'Alcyone', which is equipped with two Flettner rotors, constructed. Active on the high sea despite high superstructures The rotors, which are highly visible, are not the only high-tech components on the 'E-Ship 1'. The underside of the ship is coated with silicone-based paint to reduce losses through friction by creating a very smooth surface. With their long experience in the field of fluid mechanics, the Enercon engineers have optimised the design of the rudders and propellers. On the test voyages, the ship inspection authority, Germanischer Lloyd, will examine and report on all components and – if successful – will confirm the seaworthiness of the freighter. After certification, the wind turbine manufacturer will transport gondolas and rotor blades for up to 20 wind turbines overseas with the 'E-Ship 1'. Further information: 100 years of German aerospace research: Ludwig Prandtl: "Father of modern aerodynamics" 100 years of German aerospace research: Historical Images: Untersuchungen an Schiffen (in german) The DLR Energy question of the week in 'The future of energy' Year of Science The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) has given the Year of Science 2010 the motto 'The future of energy'. For this reason the science journalist Jan Oliver Löfken will this year answer a question on the subject of energy in his blog each week. Do you have a question about how our energy supply might look in the future? Or do you want to know, for example, how a wave power plant works and how it can efficiently generate electricity? Then send us your question by email. Science journalist Jan Oliver Löfken will investigate the answers and publish them each week in this blog.


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April 1, 2013
His Holiness Irinej, Archbishop of Pec, Metropolitan of Belgrade-Karlovci and Serbian Patriarch, in capacity of the administrator, visited the Diocese of Middle Europe for the second time in the last two months.
His Holiness arrived in Frankfurt on Wednesday, 27 March, at the airport where he was welcomed by bishop's deputy, protopresbyter-stavrophor Milan Pejic and the head of Frankfurt's church protonamesnik Simon Turkic. Following the arrival, Serbian Patriarch visited a new church building of our Holy Church in Frankfurt. The clergy of the Diocesan deanery for South Germany and many believers gathered at the church to welcome the Patriarch.
After the cordial reception, the Patriarch continued his visit with his entourage to Himmelstier, the seat of the Diocese of Middle Europe.
On Thursday, 28 March, after morning service, His Holiness addressed the gathered priesthood before their Sacrament of confession.
In morning hours, after submitting their reports of the diocesan dean on life and the work of the parishes and church-school congregations in the Diocese of Middle Europe in the previous year, the clergy participated in the discussion on many issues regarding life and work of the parish priests in modern conditions.
On Friday morning, Serbian Patriarch served the Holy Liturgy of Presanctified gifts with the concelebration of local priests.
At 10 a.m. the working session of the Diocesan administration committee of the Diocese of Middle Europe began.
Source: Serbian Orthodox Church


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Archery is the skill and training needed to draw back a bowstring and let fly missiles to pierce the enemies' eyes and throat.
Perk | Level | Description |
Overdraw (Rank 1-5) | -- | Bows do 20% more damage.(+20% per additional rank) |
Eagle Eye | 30 | Pressing Block while aiming will zoom in your view. |
Power Shot | 50 | Arrows stagger all but the largest opponents 50% of the time. |
Quick Shot | 70 | Can draw a bow 30% faster. |
Bullseye | 100 | 15% chance of paralyzing the target for a few seconds. |
(Rank 1-2) | 40 | Zooming in with a bow slows time by 25%. (50% at Rank 2) |
Critical Shot (Rank 1-3) | 30 | 10% chance of a critical hit that does extra damage. |
Hunter's Discipline | 50 | Recover twice as many arrows from dead bodies. |
Ranger | 60 | Able to move faster with a drawn bow. |
Tip For Being A Savvy Archer
Save Arrows
Changed your mind about firing off that nocked arrow? Simply put away your bow to cancel it. Arrows can be precious in dire situations! Arrows can also be recovered off of your slain adversaries to further keep your character in healthy supply.
Do you want to take out monsters with one shot safely from a distance? This requires a stealthy type of character. The first objective of this build is to achieve 40 points in Sneak to get the Deadly Aim perk (Sneak attacks with bows do 3x damage). To easily get Sneak points you can get the Thief Stone blessing (all stealth skills increase 20% faster) in The Guardian Stones you can find it on your way to Riverwood after fleeing Helgen.
You can spend your additional Stealth perks to make your character more un-detectable, but more damage is the idea. The rest of your points should be spent on Archery, mainly the Overdraw Perk (adds more damage to bows) and the Critical Shot Perk (adds critical hit damage). Optional Perks are Eagle Eye (zoom aim for easier aiming) and Power Shot (to stagger opponents).
The only way to increase Archery skills quickly is through trainers. Faendal from Riverwood can start you off with basic training and Aela of The Companions from Whiterun can teach you advanced Archery skills.
If you happen to pick up a magical item which increases your Archery skills as loot in one of your adventures. Immediately disenchant it in an Arcane Enchanter (Farengar has one in Dragonsreach). Enchant your other apparel (amulet/ring) with that enchantment. Even without any Perks to the Enchanting skill, enchanting an item using a Grand souls assures 13% additional Bow damage to the item being enchanted.
Alchemy can also add Bow Damage in the form of poisons use the Alchemy Lab to create one (Farengar also has one in Dragonsreach and Arcadia in Whiterun). The easiest Health Damage poison you can make is a combination of Skeever Tail/Void Salts, another one is Ectoplasm/Troll Fat.
And finally add Smithing and Echanting to make a high damaging (plus effects like Burning) Bow to the already ridiculous equation of damage you can dish out.
The combination of the above and maxing out the mentioned skills makes you a long distance killer!
One tactic you can employ with this build is to grab a follower, it could be a Tank or a Mage. Fire off one shot against the enemy if you get to kill the target you still remain undetected. However if the target survives your initial shot and alerts companions your follower immediately rushes to the enemies, hold your ground and remain in Stealth mode. While they are engaging your follower in combat, pick them off one by one from afar with Sneak Attacks.
Easy Level
South of Falkreath is a house that belongs to woman named Angi. She will train you for free as long the player does not act hostile in the conversation and asks her for practice. This is not the normal pay gold training. Angi will actually have the player shoot targets. The player must ask Angi for practice after each session and there are a total of 4 sessions. The first entails shooting three targets at close range (hitting each target will grant a point in this first session only). The next requires the player to shoot all three targets in under 8 seconds, the third session requires the player to shoot a long range target. The fourth and final session requires the player to shoot all four targets in under 8 seconds.
Note that the last 3 sessions only grant one point per session. Also, aim a little bit under the target for a guaranteed hit.


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Curtis Mayfield
If there's a hell below [12 inch] (1970)
Curtis Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American soul, funk and rhythm and blues, singer-songwriter and guitarist from Chicago, Illinois.
Mayfield is probably best known for his anthemic music with The Impressions and for the soundtrack to the blaxploitation film Superfly.
Perhaps because he didn't cross over to the pop audience as heavily as Motown's stars, it may be that the scope of Curtis Mayfield's talents and contributions have yet to be fully recognized.


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WASHINGTON — People discharged from the military under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" since November 10, 2004 who had only received one-half separation pay following their discharge but who otherwise would have received full pay now will be entitled to that full separation pay, according to the terms of a settlement agreement reached Monday between the American Civil Liberties Union and the federal government.
"It makes no sense to continue to penalize service members who were discharged under a discriminatory statute that has already been repealed. The amount of the pay owed to these veterans is small by military standards, but is hugely significant in acknowledging their service to their country," said Joshua Block, staff attorney for the ACLU Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Project, in a statement.
Richard Collins, a former staff sergeant in the Air Force who served for nine years before being discharged under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," was the lead plaintiff in the case, which was brought as a class-action lawsuit — entitling all members of the class to the same treatment.
"This means so much to those of us who dedicated ourselves to the military, only to be forced out against our will for being who we are. We gave all we had to our country, and just wanted the same dignity and respect for our service as any other veterans," Collins said.
The case impacts approximately 181 honorably discharged veterans who had their separation pay cut in half because of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, according to the ACLU. In order to be eligible for full separation pay, a servicemember has to have served at least six years.


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Final Four: UMBC beats Brownsville to retain title |
By GM Timur Gareev and WIM Luciana Morales | |
April 14, 2010 | |
UMBC's half-a-point-gap over UTB came thanks to a more fortunate victory over Texas Tech-Maryland scored 3-1 whereas UTB succeeded with a minimal advantage as they scored 2.5-1.5. While in the final round UMBC and UTB were competing for the championship, Texas Tech faced UTD to decide the third place. Let's take a look at what happened game-by-game in the last round: Kritz chose the Chebanenko variation of Slav defense, 4...a6. 4350 Gareev seized the initiative after an original pawn sacrifice in the middle game. Black had to accept an inferior endgame in order to ease the pressure. Due to an inaccuracy by White, Kritz got a chance to exchange rooks and secure a draw. However, after two consecutive blunders, Leonid missed his chances and had to submit. Here are the annotations, by GM Timur Gareev himself: 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 a6 5.c5 Bf5 6.Bf4 Nbd7 7.e3 g6 8.Nh4! 8...Be6 8...Bg4 is a more viable option 9.f3 (9.Qb3 e5! 10.Bg3 exd4 11.exd4 Qe7+) 9...Be6 10.g4 Bg7 11.Bd3 with a slight edge for White 9.h3 Bg7 10.Bd3 b6 10...0-0 11.Bh2?! b6 12.b4 (12.cxb6 is better) 12...bxc5 13.bxc5 Ne4! 14.Nxe4 dxe4 15.Bxe4 Nxc5! 16.dxc5? Qa5+ 17.Ke2 Rad8 18.Qc2 Qb5+ 19.Kf3 f5 20.Kg3 fxe4 21.Qxe4 Bd5 22.Qc2 Qb4 0-1 Kacheishvilli-Gareev, Mesa, Arizona 2008 11.cxb6 11.b4 gives a solid edge 11...0-0 (11...a5 12.b5!; 11...Nh5 12.Ne2) 12.Rc1 and White is ahead. 11...Qxb6 12.a3! First used in Lenderman-Ramirez, World Open, Philadelphia 2009 12...c5 12...Qxb2 13.Na4 Qb7 14.Rb1 Qa7 15.Qc2 White has strong compensation. 13.Na4 Qa5+ 13...Qa7 14.dxc5 Nxc5 15.Nxc5 Qxc5 16.Be5 0-0 17.Rc1 Qa5+ 18.Bc3 Qb6 19.Nf3 with advantage for White. 14.b4 cxb4 15.0-0 0-0 15...bxa3 16.Qc2 Ne4 17.Nf3 Qd8 18.Rfc1 0-0 19.Rxa3 Bf5 20.Nh4 e6 21.Nxf5 gxf5 22.Nc5 white has initiative 16.axb4 Qxb4 17.Qe2 Ne4 18.Nf3 Qb7 19.Rfb1 Qa7 20.Ra3 Obtaining the b-file 20...Nd6 Resulting in a difficult endgame for Black. Better was 20...a5 21.Rab3 Rac8 22.Rb5 followed by Qe1 putting pressure and getting a pawn back (22.Ba6 Rc6 23.Bb5 Rcc8 24.Bxd7 Bxd7 25.Rb7 Rc1+ 26.Kh2 Qa8) 21.Bxd6 exd6 22.Nb6 Nxb6 23.Rxa6 Qc7 24.Raxb6 Rfb8 25.Qb2 Rxb6 26.Qxb6 Qxb6 26...Qc3 27.Qb3 Qa5 28.Qb4 27.Rxb6 Ra1+ 28.Kh2 Bf8 29.g4 Ra3 30.Bf1 h6 31.Rb7 Preventing the Be7-f6 maneuver. 31...Kg7 32.Kg3 g5 33.Bb5? White has played a flawless game up until this point. The idea of Bb5-d7 along with knight transfer to g3 secures a winning edge. White can be putting significant pressure as long as the rooks are on the board. Rc7 is the necessary step. 33.Rc7 Rb3 (33...Kg6 34.Bb5 f5 35.Bd7 Bxd7 36.Rxd7 fxg4 37.hxg4 Kf6 38.Nh2 followed by a knight transfer to f5-h5) 34.Ba6 Rb8 35.Ra7 Kf6 36.Bb7 Be7 37.Bc6 Rb6 38.Ba8 Rb8 39.Ng1 Black has to counter threats against the d5 pawn. Knight transfer to g3 will create tactical possibilities giving white the decisive edge. 33...Rb3 34.Bc6 Rxb7 35.Bxb7 Now Black has a much easier time defending. 35...Be7 36.Ng1 Bd8 37.Ne2 Ba5 38.Kg2 h5! 39.gxh5 Kh6 40.h4 40.Ng3 f5 40...gxh4 40...Kxh5 41.hxg5 Kxg5 42.Nf4 with significant practical chances for White. 41.Nf4 h3+ 42.Kg3 Be1 43.Bxd5 Bxd5 44.Nxd5 h2 45.Kxh2 Bxf2 46.Nf6 46.Kg2 Bh4 47.Nf4 f5 48.Kf3 Bg5 49.e4 fxe4+ 50.Kxe4 Bf6 51.d5 Kg5 Black easily holds a draw. 46...Bh4 47.Ne4 Be7 48.Ng3 Bg5? This move loses time. 48...Bh4! 49.Nf5+ Kxh5 50.Nxd6 Kg4 51.Kg2 f5 followed by f4, Black secures a draw. 49.Kg2 49.Kh3 f5 50.d5 f4 51.exf4 Bxf4 52.Ne2 Be3 53.Kg4 Bf2 54.Nc3 Bd4 55.Ne4 Be5 56.Ng5 Kg7 57.Kf5 Bb2 58.Ne4 Ba3 59.Kg4 Kh6 60.Ng3 Kg7 with unbreakable defense. 49...Bh4 50.Nf5+ Kxh5 51.Kf3 51.Nxh4 Kxh4 52.Kf3 Kg5 53.Ke4 Kf6 54.Kd5 Ke7 55.Kc6 Ke6 56.e4 f6 57.d5+ Ke5 58.Kd7 Kxe4 59.Kxd6 f5 draw 51...Bd8 52.Nxd6 Bc7? This final blunder allows White to pick a second extra pawn. 52...Kg6 53.Ke4 Kf6 (53...Bg5 54.d5 Bd8 (54...Kg7 55.Ke5 Kf8 56.e4 Ke7 57.Nc4 Bf6+ 58.Kf5 Bg7 59.e5 Kd7 60.Nd2 Ke8 61.Ne4 Kd7 62.d6 Ke8 63.Ng5) 55.Nc4 Bg5 56.d6) 54.Kd5 Ba5 55.Nc8 Kg7 56.e4 Bc3 57.e5 Bb2 58.Nd6 Kf8 59.Ne4 Ke7 60.Nf6 Bc1 61.Ke4 Bg5 62.Nd5+ Kd7 63.Kf5 Bd8 64.Nf6+ Kc6 65.d5+ Kc5 66.d6 Kc6 67.Ne4 Kd7 68.Ng5 Ke8 (68...Bxg5 69.Kxg5 Ke6 70.Kh6) 69.Nh7 Kd7 70.Ke4 Kc6 Black manages to hold the position. 53.Nxf7 53.Nxf7 Kg6 54.Ne5+ Bxe5 (54...Kf6 55.Nd3 Ba5 56.Ke4 Bd2 57.Ne5 Ke6 58.d5+ Kf6 59.Nc6 Be1 60.Kd3 Bg3 61.e4 Bd6 62.Kd4) 55.dxe5 Kf5 56.e6 with a simple winning pawn endgame. 1-0 Paraguayan GM Axel Bachmann faced GM Giorgi Margvelashvilli on third board. 4351 Giorgi played an active variation of Caro-Kann and strived for an even game. Axel centralized his pieces and accumulated an edge so Giorgi was forced to give up a pawn to secure counterplay. Despite the extra material Bachmann did not manage to convert. Opponents agreed for a draw after black demonstrated his ability to hold the defense and actively counter white's advances. The game between Sasha Kaplan and Max Cornejo ended in a draw after a double-edge fight. 4354 Kaplan faced Accelerated Dragon and worked towards an aggressive set up in the opening. Max received chances for counterplay and seized the initiative in the middlegame. In a time scramble, Cornejo offered a draw with an exchange down. Kaplan assessed the situation on other two boards and agreed having only 8 seconds left on the clock (time control was 1 hour 30 minutes plus 30 seconds increment). Meanwhile, Erenburg was putting pressure and strengthening his positional advantage against last year's MVP Mauricio Flores. 4353 Mauricio lost a pawn and had to give up another one to fight for counter play. Sergei's technique proved decisive in offsetting any attempts to seize the initiative by black. Erenburg exchanged the queens and converted the extra pawns in a rook endgame. The match between Texas Tech and University of Texas in Dallas ended in a draw as well. Marko Zivanic and Davorin Kuljasevic agreed for a draw after Davorin equalized comfortably with black. IM Gergely Antal and IM Puchen Wang reached peace after repetition of moves in a materially unbalanced position. In the fourth board Bercys managed to break through Waters' defense and win the game. Texas Tech board two IM Gabor Papp played an interesting game against International Master Daniel Ludwig. IM Papp came out aggressive against Ludwig's Sicilian Najdorf. Gabor achieved a significant advantage after the opening, which allowed him to win a pawn. The game reached an endgame where Gabor used a few tactical subtleties to convert the extra material with ease. The draw in the match secured Texas Tech the third place. 3rd place: Texas Tech 2nd place: UTB 1st place: UMBC NOTES AND SHOUT-OUTS This year's President's Cup featured six International Grandmasters, ten IMs, one WGM and two WIMs. As opposed to previous years, the competition revolved around the UMBC and UTB confrontation. Our new coach Ronen Har-Zvi's involvement in preparation gave our team extra strength and motivation to compete. This year's final four was one of the best organized collegiate tournaments. UTB chess program director Russell Harwood put in his best effort to create a great atmosphere for guests and locals. On the first day, a dinner would welcome all the action figures and their coaches. The seating arrangement allowed for people to interact with members of other teams. Local media and even the crew of a renowned national TV program followed the event with attention every round. The ever humorous IM Almeida provided live commentary of the games to a loyal audience every round. Rusty expressed his gratitude to IA Frank Berry for conducting the tournament in an impeccable way and to Luis Salinas for facilitating the Monroi transmission. Most competitors expressed their fascination with campus and the kindness displayed by everyone around. UTB/TSC President Juliet V. Garcia honored the participants and especially the UTB team members with her presence and motivating words. We would like to thank the UTB officials for their unconditional support as well as the visitors, who came by to show some Scorpion pride. Overall our team, UTB, was in good shape and motivated. We came very close to win the first place in this tournament and thus, improved the third place obtained last year in the President's Cup held in Dallas but there's certainly room for development. In the meantime, we need to go back to the college student life. No more ICC games or chess exercises for a while. Hasta la vista! Check out more photos on the flickr gallery and see details on the ChessLecture.com Tournament of College Championship, set for July 31-August 3 in conjunction with the US Open. |
The Final Four, arguably the strongest in the
history of collegiate chess, ended in a thrilling duel between the University
of Maryland Baltimore County, the defending champions, and University of Texas
at Brownsville, the home team. Both teams defeated Dallas and Texas Tech in the
previous rounds but while Maryland only needed a draw to win the tournament,
UTB was striving for a victory. Two draws on the third and fourth board left
all the excitement to the top boards. Gareev came victorious in his clash with
Kritz giving UTB the lead. However, Erenburg confidently transformed his
positional advantage against Flores into the decisive win securing a tie in the
match and the victory in the tournament.


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Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Eggplant Parmigiana & Garlic Bread In The Kitchen
Saturday, August 28, 2010
-Snapshot Of The Week-
"You never have sex the way people do in the movies. You don't do it on the floor, you don't do it standing up, you don't always have all your clothes off, you don't happen to have on all the sexy lingerie. You know, if anybody ever ripped my clothes, I'd kill them."
-Ms Julianne Moore
Friday, August 27, 2010
This Pure Girl Moment Brought To You By Tiffany's
What girl doesn't like a little flash? A little sparkle? A little razz-ma-tazz? I first learned about the store Tiffany's, after watching that classic Audrey Hepburn movie "Breakfast at Tiffany's" when I was a young girl. One of my favorite parts was when they went into Tiffany's and could only afford to spend $10 so they had the cracker jack box ring engraved. The man working the counter tells them, "Well, it is rather unusual, Madam, but I think you'll find that Tiffany's is very understanding." What a nice chap eh? Today I want to share some of my favorite Tiffany's items that don't quite fall under the $10 price cap but they do fall under squeal with glee and forget your own name!
Above is the priciest ring at Tiffany's. It's an "Imported Tiffany Diamond Ring" and costs $6,930,000. Could you imagine walking around with that hum-dinger on your hand? Probably break it right off.
This leafy beauty is called the "Jean Schlumberger Four Leaves Ring" and comes in at $9,350 which is relatively tame compared to it's little friend above.
I included this sparkly set because it's my dream wedding band and engagement ring set (if I had money coming out the rear and a fella that would quit dragging his feet in the nuptials department) It's the "Tiffany's Novo" wedding set and costs $13,300… and would look perfect on my dainty finger.
Now for some necklace ogling. This delicate piece is called the "Lucida Diamond Pendant" and will cost ya $220,000.
I love a little colour in my jewellery and green is flattering on everyone so you can't miss with this stunner. It's called "Tiffany's Green Tourmaline Pendant" at $105,000.
I'm not a flashy person but something about this necklace grabbed my eye and now I just can't look away. It's elegant yet fierce with it's sharp points. It's called the "Tiffany Majestic Diamond Necklace" and will take you for a cool $1,650,000.
For the girly girls like myself, this drop necklace is perfect. It's just so dang feminine and pretty. It's called "Tiffany's Morganite Swag Necklace" and will set you back $20,500. I'd sell my car for this necklace, heck I'd sell my soul for this pink beauty.
These Moroccan inspired earrings immediately caught my eye. They seem like the perfect Summer accessory. They're called "Paloma's Marrakesh Earrings" and cost $1,800.
And lastly, because I'm a sucker for anything Christmas and this was just so darn cute I'm including this "Christmas Tree Charm Bracelet." To get the charm and the chain together it will cost $4,550.
What are your thoughts on expensive jewellery? Would you spend the dough if you had it or would it be better spent somewhere else? I think I'd go for one or two pieces I really loved and bring them out on special occasions… or when I need a pick me up.
As much as I wish this wasn't true, Tiffany's has no affiliation with Reckless Bliss and thus I receive no compensation to sing their praises. I'm just a gal who enjoys a good diamond every now and then.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Giveaway Winner!
It's time again to announce a lucky winner from my latest giveaway. The winner of this giveaway will be receiving a handmade bib necklace and two handmade flower brooches from the Etsy store Feltluv. And the winner is….
Deanna who said she would like to see more, "designer fashions. I'm a new follower so I'll check it out more and give you better feedback."
Congrats to Ms Deanna and thanks a bunch to all the people who entered. Stay tuned for more giveaways coming soon!
Saturday, August 21, 2010
-Snapshot Of The Week-
"I don't know what it means to be a sex symbol. When I look myself on a magazine cover I don't see it as me, but as someone painted, fluffed, puffed and done up."
-Ms Jennifer Aniston
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Le Boudoir
Monday, August 16, 2010
It's Giveaway Day!
Hello all my beautiful followers! Today I am rather pleased to offer you all another great giveaway just in time for the premiere of the new look of Reckless Bliss. "Oooh! Ahhh!" Amber from the adorable new etsy shop "Feltluv" has been kind enough to offer up some great accessory pieces she hand makes. Amber specialize in crafting felt based embellishments tailored to make any outfit, casual or formal, absolutely perfect. Let's first have a look at some of her creations:
These fun designs are perfect for women and kiddies alike. Check out her store for even more purdy items. As an added bonus, for the entire week this contest is open if you make a purchase from Feltluv and mention Reckless Bliss you will receive a free gift!
Up for grabs in this contest is a small bundle that includes the beaded felt bib necklace and two, count'em TWO flower brooches that you see below.
This necklace is all hand beaded with TLC.
Too cute!
The brooches are like your grown up "best friend necklaces." Remember those from the good ole' days of juice boxes and jungle gyms? One for you and one for your bestest friend forever. Or maybe one for you and one for your daughter to match and be tooth achingly sweet? Any way you swing it, these brooches are the bees knees.


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PLA award winners represent excellence in public libraries
For Immediate Release
Fri, 02/08/2013
Amy Sargent
Manager, Marketing
Public Library Association (PLA)
1-800-545-2433 ext.5024
CHICAGO - The Public Library Association (PLA) has announced 11 2013 award winners honoring the best in public library service, innovation and outreach.
The Allie Beth Martin Award, sponsored by Baker & Taylor, recognizes a public librarian for demonstrating a range and depth of knowledge about books and other library materials and for having the distinguished ability to share that knowledge. This year's award of $3,000 will be presented to Bill Kelly, branch manager, Cuyahoga County (Ohio) Public Library, for his creative and effective efforts to deliver personalized readers' advisory through a unique blend of customer service and technology.
The Baker & Taylor Entertainment Audio Music/Video Product Award includes $2,500 in audio music and video products for the circulating collection of the selected recipient. This year's winner, Ada (Ohio) Public Library, currently has no CD collection, so intends to use the award to start a diverse collection that would benefit all its users, with special attention paid to attracting young adult visitors.
The Charlie Robinson Award,sponsored by Baker & Taylor, honors a public library director who, over a period of seven years, has been a risk taker, an innovator and/or a change agent in a public library. This year's award of $1,000 is presented to Sari Feldman, executive director, Cuyahoga County (Ohio) Public Library, for her tremendous contributions to the advancement of public library service based on community impact, innovation and collaboration.
The Demco New Leaders Travel Grant provides funds to new public librarians to enable their attendance at major professional development events. This year's grantee, Natalie Bazan, library director, Hopkins District (Mich.) Public Library, will receive a $1,500 grant to attend a PLA continuing education event. She hopes to focus on programming showcasing funding strategies and the effective use of technology to share library resources.
The EBSCO Excellence in Small and/or Rural Public Library Service Award honors a public library that demonstrates excellence in service to a community of 10,000 people or fewer. This year's $1,000 award recognizes the Cross Plains (Texas) Public Library for its outstanding efforts to offer rich programming and services for its users through resourceful collaboration and creativity.
The Gordon M. Conable Award, sponsored by LSSI, honors a public library staff member, a library trustee or a public library that has demonstrated a commitment to intellectual freedom and the Library Bill of Rights. A $1,500 award and commemorative plaque will be presented to Christine A. Kujawa, Central Dakota Library Network system librarian and head of circulation services, Bismarck (N.D.) Veterans Memorial Public Library, to honor her unstinting work in leading intellectual freedom education and advocacy on local, state and national levels.
The Upstart Innovation Award, sponsored by Upstart, a Demco company, honors a public library's innovative or creative service program with a $2,000 honorarium. This year's winner is Waukegan (Ill.) Public Library for their "Bus to Us" field-trip program, which brings hundreds of elementary school children to the library for engaging, curriculum-guided visits. The program not only provides significant educational opportunity, but also improves awareness of the library and its services.
The Polaris Innovation in Technology John Iliff Award honors the life and accomplishments of John Iliff, early adopter and champion of technology in public libraries. This award provides a $1,000 honorarium to a library professional or library that has used technology and innovation as a tool to improve services to public library users. The award recognizes Teresa Kiser, director, Public Library of Anniston-Calhoun County (Ala.), for her steadfast commitment to funding and completing the digitization and preservation of a nationally renowned collection of 30,000 images capturing the Anniston community in its development.
The Romance Writers of America Library Grant is designed to provide a public library the opportunity to build or expand its romance fiction collection and/or host romance fiction programming. This year's $4,500 grant is awarded to the Hazel W. Guilford Memorial Library in Aurora, N.C.The library will use the funds to rebuild their romance collection, which was greatly impacted by flooding from Hurricane Irene and is one of the most circulated genres at the library.
PLA also offers two awards for feature articles contributed to its bimonthly journal, Public Libraries. This year's first place winner ($500 prize) is Jamie LaRue, director, Douglas County (Colo.) Libraries. His article, "Last One Standing," which appeared in the Jan/Feb 2012 issue of Public Libraries, explores opportunities available to public libraries related to the rise of e-books and self-publishing.Herb Landau, executive director, and Heather Sharpe, community relations manager, both of the Lancaster (Pa.) Public Library, received an honorable mention and a $300 prize for "The Library Lover's Art Auction" from the Sept/Oct 2012 issue, which provides a close look at the library's first art auction, from inception to the live event.
PLA President Eva D. Poole, along with the award sponsors and PLA members will recognize all of the award winners as part of the PLA President's Program and Awards Presentation, 1 - 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, June 30, at the 2013 ALA Annual Conference in Chicago, Illinois.
PLA award winners are chosen by the PLA Award juries and the Public Libraries Advisory Subcommittee. For more information on PLA Awards and to volunteer for jury or committee appointments, visit www.pla.orgor contact the PLA office at (800) 545-2433, ext. 5PLA.
PLA is a division of the American Library Association. PLA's core purpose is to strengthen public libraries and their contribution to the communities they serve, and its mission is to enhance the development and effectiveness of public library staff and public library services.