text:
[UPDATED: October 15, 2011]
id's latest PC FPS game was an unplayable mess the first time I started it--the screen only displayed bands of color. I quickly fixed this problem by quitting the PC game, closing all other applications, and restarting RAGE. The second try produced an incrementally better result: I could play the first-person shooter but the stutter was so bad (despite FRAPS displaying a rock steady 60 frames per second). I also got my first taste of the RAGE texture streaming pop-in bug. After a bit of researching about the problem and tweaking I finally solved the texture pop-in glitch.
[DISCLAIMER: As each PC configuration is unique, I cannot guarantee that what worked for me will work for you. I cannot give you tech support if something goes wrong. Follow the steps at your own risk.]
>>>See my "RAGE PC Review" article HERE
[Guide too long for you? CTRL+F for "SUMMARY." It's best that you read the entirety of this RAGE tweak guide though as you might have a more powerful PC and might want to place higher values.]
My initial search for a solution led me to Nvidia's "How To Unlock Rage's High Resolution Textures With A Few Simple Tweaks" article. In it, it details how to minimize the RAGE texture streaming problem. It also laid in direction on how to maximize the graphics. Seeing that my PC only has these specs:
CPU: Core 2 e7400 2.80Ghz
Motherboard: MSI P45 Neo3-FR
Memory: Kingston 2Gb DDR2-800
Videocard: 9800GT
I realized that they were just above RAGE's minimum PC requirements. I then decided to use the guide to tone down my graphics in a bid to reduce the stutter and the texture streaming problem.
The guide discusses how to make a configuration file in RAGE. It lays down instructions how to convert a Notepad file into a .cfg file that users should then place in:
For a system with video card that has 1.5GB RAM, users should be able to use RAGE'S 8K textures and should put this in the .cfg file:
vt_pageimagesizeuniquediffuseonly2 8192
vt_pageimagesizeuniquediffuseonly 8192
vt_pageimagesizeunique 8192
vt_pageimagesizevmtr 8192
vt_maxaniso 4
image_anisotropy 4
You should read that guide first and then come back here to see what I did with the outline parameters.
Done reading? Good. Let's proceed.
Seeing that my video card has only 1GB of memory, I opted to use 2/3 of what was suggested (8192 X (2/3) = 5461.33). The nearest multiple of 1024 to 5461.33 is 5120. I used that and replaced the first four lines with:
vt_pageimagesizeuniquediffuseonly2 5120
vt_pageimagesizeuniquediffuseonly 5120
vt_pageimagesizeunique 5120
vt_pageimagesizevmtr 5120
However, the saved games wouldn't load so I reduced the figure further to 4096, which now works for me. [UPDATE: I've now gone back to using 8192. See "SUMMARY" below for further updates.]
Now for the other parameters.
In RAGE's October 8 update, the game's developers made available several Video options that were previously hidden. These are Vsync, Texture Cache, and Anisotropic Filter. The last renders the lines:
vt_maxaniso 4
image_anisotropy 4
obsolete. (I set the Texture Cache option to Low and tested the game with and without the above lines. There was no difference.)
I also disabled GPU Transcode and removed the following lines from my Rageconfig file (I had previously included these):
vt_useCudaTranscode 1
vt_cudaBudget 10.5
After deleting the above, the game became noticeably smoother; turning around didn't cause me to grimace anymore.
Finally, regarding this line:
"Automatically adjust vt_maxPPF based on the number of available cores."
I find it dubious that the game now automatically detects your system's cores; adding the line:
vt_maxPPF 8
for my dual-core system really upped RAGE's performance level. If it automatically detected my CPU has having two cores, why the performance increase when I added that line?
This used to be my final configuration:
vt_pageimagesizeuniquediffuseonly2 4096
vt_pageimagesizeuniquediffuseonly 4096
vt_pageimagesizeunique 4096
vt_pageimagesizevmtr 4096
vt_maxPPF 8
Following a fellow RAGE player's discovery (Trooper321) that this tweak guide allowed him to play the game with 8K textures, I followed suit and discovered that my system can run the game with those textures. (Nvidia should have been clearer about which cards can run 8K textures---my video card only has 1GB of video RAM.) Here's my final configuration:
vt_pageimagesizeuniquediffuseonly2 8192
vt_pageimagesizeuniquediffuseonly 8192
vt_pageimagesizeunique 8192
vt_pageimagesizevmtr 8192
vt_maxPPF 8
(See Trooper321's RAGE tweak guide HERE)
Copy-paste that into a Notepad file and save it as a .cfg file with the filename "RageConfig" (without the quotes). I'd suggest you play it safe and test the 4K textures first. When everything runs smooth, you can then scale up to the 8192 value. It should, of course, look like this:
The file should be placed here:
Two things though:
1. I left the root directory blank as you could have installed Steam in a directory other than Program Files
2. As has been mentioned, your PC may be more powerful than mine; work your way up the parameter values and see what works for you.
I've also made the following adjustments in the Nvidia Control Panel:
If you're using Windows XP, I would also suggest that you follow the tweaks outlined in Black Viper's Windows XP Super Tweaks. The Indexing Services tweak could also help your RAGE be more stutter-free.
My settings (currently not using anti-aliasing; the game doesn't seem to like Windows XP. Setting AA to 2x results in a barely noticeable stutter that hurts the eyes nonetheless. I'll be purchasing another 2GB of RAM and see if it will help):
Patch of Tech-PC also suggested that upping the Texture Cache shouldn't present a problem for my rig.
Before applying the above, I was dismally playing the game at 640 resolution. Now I can run the game with my screen using the 1024 resolution option. Hopefully this tweak guide will solve the RAGE texture streaming bug for you. Textures popping in should be a thing of the past.
Finally, below is a gameplay video. It got compressed twice so apologies for the quality. The vid also loses audio and video synchronization midway; that should teach me not to play games while the video editor is running.
And no, the video isn't messed up; the character here is dangling by his ankles. ;)


text:
Your financial donation goes a long way towards creating a hunger-free Worcester County. For every $1 received, Worcester County Food Bank distributes $4 worth of donated food.
Ways You Can Help
Donate Online
Donate Now
Donations to Worcester County Food Bank (WCFB) nourish bodies and bring peace of mind to individuals and families across all 60 cities and towns in Worcester County. Make a donation today, and have an impact now.
Donate By Mail
Make your check payable to "Worcester County Food Bank."
Mail it to:
Worcester County Food Bank
474 Boston Turnpike
Shrewsbury MA 01545.
Or Contact Us.
Donate to WCFB's Fund to End Hunger
In partnership with the Greater Worcester Community Foundation, WCFB established the Worcester County Fund to End Hunger, which awards grants to nonprofit organizations that share the vision of creating hunger-free communities and work towards that goal through innovative and sustainable solutions. For more information on how you can support the Fund, please Contact Us.
Additional Giving Options
Give Monthly
Donate Now. Be sure to check the box next to "I would like this donation to automatically repeat each month."
Donate in Honor of Someone
There are two ways to make a donation in someone's honor.
- Make an online donation. Check the box next to "Check here to donate in honor or memory of someone" and follow the prompts to provide us with the necessary information so we can send a tribute letter.
- Mail a check with a note letting us know who the donation is in honor of and to what address we can send a tribute letter.
Double Your Gift with Corporate Matching Gifts
Did you know that many companies match their employee's personal donations to encourage employee giving? Ask your company's human resources department today or use the "Double the Donation" box below to see whether your company is one of them.
Hold a Fund Drive or Special Event on Behalf of WCFB
Whether you're interested in holding a food or fund drive or other special event to benefit WCFB, we appreciate your efforts. If you'd like to discuss, or if you think there's a way we can help, Contact Us.
Planned Giving
Planned giving is for anyone and everyone who wants to make a difference in their community beyond just their lifetime. For more information, start with a conversation with your financial or legal advisor.
And finally -as a member of our caring community- we invite you to come see your support in action by taking a tour of WCFB. Please Contact Us for more information or to schedule a day and time.
On behalf of those we serve, thank you for your support!

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Monday, January 30, 2012
An NCFL Grant to Extend My Wonderopolis World
A few months ago, several of my Dublin colleagues and I received $500 grants for technology that would allow us to increase literacy in our classrooms. The grant was awarded by the National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL) the sponsors of the Wonderopolis web site. NCFL was looking for ways to help teachers use technology in creative ways to increase literacy.
My friend Maria at Teaching in the 21st Century, an ambassador for Wonderopolis before she was even selected as an official Wonder Ambassador, told me I needed to apply. I've been using the Wonderopolis web site in the library for a while now, since she put me onto it and have found it to work well with all of the kids grades 1 - 5 that I have each day. I figured I had nothing to lose and knew I had been wanting/needing to get some iPads for our library so I applied. Lo and behold, not only did I get one, Maria got one and our kindergarten teacher Kitsy got one. It seems the good folks at NCFL were intrigued by the collaboration possibilities of three recipients in one building. In order to seal the deal the three of us had to sit down and come up with a way to collaborate with the iPads to bring Wonderopolis to a new place at Bailey.
It's been an exciting journey so far and I think we've come up with some pretty good ideas with our collaboration. For example, I've been playing with QR codes this year, I've converted my Amazing Library Race clues to all QR codes, I've been placing QR codes in random books with links to web sites or extensions of the books and recently I've been going through the non-fiction section and putting codes that link to Wonderopolis where the Wonder of the Day extends the book.
The three of us have some big plans for using Wonderopolis to create a file of QR codes that link to Wonders of the Day that will connect to the curriculum standards and beyond and I'm working on some sort of Wonderopolis scavenger hunt for my 4th and 5th graders. It's amazing what great professional development comes out of three teachers sitting down and working together for the good of the students in their building. Amazingly we didn't talk about data or statistics or grades, just how the creative and innovative use of technology will increase our students knowledge base and literacy. Can't wait to get started.
Thanks NCFL for your support of good teaching!
Labels: collaboration, NCFL, wonderopolis
4 comments:
It is so exciting to see you spread the wonder throughout our whole school. To hear different students talking about the wonder of the day is fun. I'm excited to be on this journey together especially since we won't have any problems with the air conditioner on the roof.ReplyDelete
Very cool idea about using the QR codes!! Thinking I might have to try this idea out :)ReplyDelete
So exciting to see the great things you'll be doing. Maria is an amazing Ambassador and doing some innovate things with Wonderopolis in her toolkit!ReplyDelete
"Amazingly we didn't talk about data or statistics or grades, just how the creative and innovative use of technology will increase our students knowledge base and literacy."ReplyDelete
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


text:
August 16, 2009-Condor of Bermuda (update)
Condor of Bermuda, Phuket, Thailand
Some boats are iconic. Condor of Bermuda is one of those: beautiful dark mahogany and with yellow trim and condor on the transom; you can't mistake this vessel from any other and even of you've only seen it in photos you never forget it.
I spotted Condor of Bermuda in Yacht Haven the first day I arrived there. The boat is sitting quietly on B dock under a full cover, still stunning and still memorable.
It is one of the more famous racing boats from the IOR era.
Condor of Bermuda was designed by John Sharp for Bob Bell, who still owns her, and was built in the late 70's. It was an awesome and powerful yacht and it was successful right from the early days.
Condor of Burmuda, at Fastnet Rock
In 1979 Bell entered Condor in the Fastnet Race. Peter Blake was steering and with a crew of mostly Kiwi's they had high hopes. Their main competition were Jim Kilroy's Kialoa and Ted Turner's Tenacious and with a new rig on Condor, 10 feet taller than previous, they were eager at the start to compare their speed with the other two, but it was the weather that year that presented the biggest challenge.
Fastnet 1979, as we know, was a brutal race with a deadly and unexpected weather system which hit the fleet sailing across the Irish Sea. It wreaked havoc on the fleet, tossing boats like toys, breaking masts and rudders, and killing sailors; 15 lives were lost and several boats were abandoned or sank.
But on board Condor of Bermuda they were focused on dealing with the severe conditions in which it took all of their seamanship to be able to keep pushing the boat and push they did. Condor was first to finish in the 1979 Fastnet Race and the crew celebrated, ecstatic to have survived the carnage on the Irish Sea and to have finished first.
"We yelled and and danced, shook hands and slapped backs and laughed and smiled. Line Honours – The Record – beaten Kialoa. Perhaps even first on handicap. We put it all aside and began to stow the sails. Our time – 71 Hours 37 Minutes and 23 Seconds. We had beaten the previous record by over seven hours." Chris Windley
Here is a quote from Sports Illustrated:
BOATING—In the most tragic race in yachting history, CONDOR OF BERMUDA, skippered by Bob Bell of Bermuda, set a course record for the Fastnet leg of the Admiral's Cup. The 77-foot sloop finished in 71:25:23, nearly eight hours faster than the old mark. TENACIOUS, with Ted Turner of Atlanta at the helm, won on corrected time in 79:52:22. Fifteen sailors died and 23 of the 306 boats in the race either sank or were abandoned when heavy rains, 75-knot winds and 40-foot waves battered the southwest coast of England.
Click here to read the rest of the story from on board by Chris Windley.
Next Condor headed down under. Peter and his new wife Pippa sailed the boat to the South Pacific as sort of a honeymoon cruise and in 1982 Condor of Bermuda entered the Sydney to Hobart race.
In the closest Hobart race ever in 1982 Condor of Bermuda beat Apollo by 7 seconds, finishing in 3 days and 59 minutes 17 seconds. They came back in 1983 for another first-to-finish in 3:00:50:29 and again in 1986 they were first in an even faster 2:23:26:25.
In 1986 they travelled to the Atlantic and sailed in the Newport to Bermuda Race and again took line honors.
After 1986 Condor of Bermuda dropped out of the international limelight a bit, but the boat continued to sail. There were other episodes including an encounter with a reef in French Polynesia and a subsequent rebuild.
Somehow, after all these years, Condor of Bermuda wound up in Phuket Thailand, still sailing, and still beautiful.
Click here for Wikipedia about Condor of Bermuda.
Fred & Judy, SV Wings, Phuket
PS: A later "Condor" designed by Ron Holland and built out of Carbon, Kevlar, and balsa at Kiwi Boats Penryn UK, (sort of an odd international combination, I agree, but that's what the available information says) was the first sloop rigged maxi IOR boat. At 77 feet, with a tall four spreader rig and huge sail area, and is now sailing in the Whitsundays.
Condor of Burmuda, Sailing at Hamilton Island race week, Whitsundays, Australia
Maxi yacht Condor of Bermuda sailing in the Whitsunday Passge, 1985Location:Whitsunday Passage, QueenslandDate:April 1985Creator:Gale,Ngaire
Labels: crew


text:
[Verse 1 : Game]
Mama told me she had a K for them niggas
Mama told me she go today for them niggas
While my grandmother told me that she would pray for them niggas
They just young black and ignorant
Lusting over models and them Benjamins
Got the game twisted like (what?) licorice
When I was rocking lottos, moving packs up out McDonalds
She was looking for me, pulled up in that Old El Dorado
I was running around with chicks, chasing new black wheels
Why would I do that still? That's what got 2Pac killed
But I use that steel, cause I will do that deal
Screw the muzzle in potatoes of that new Mac Mill
What did I learn? Nothing
My pops smoking sherm, bluffin'
Beating on my moms like her head was a percussion
Tat! Tat! My .45 knocking on your window
She said there would be days like this
Pharrell, drop the instrumental (Yessir)
[Hook : Nelly Furtado]
I know I must go and I don't know my way
Still somehow I know I'll end up where we all came from
(From my mama's womb)
[Verse 2 : Game]
Swisher, crack a 5th up
Hennessy pouring like Niagara Falls
Used to watch Magic, he showed me how to ball
Moms working late night, to get our plate right
Had some older brothers, all we did was smoke and play-fight
Wish I could go back to them days cause streets don't play right
Some niggas hard, other niggas was the Kid N Play type
Didn't stop me from pretending I was Apollo from Rocky
Working on my dip-game, now nobody wanna box me
Pick and choose, stick and move
So many dudes ended up with sleeping bags on late-night news
But not my mama's son, known around the hood for serving customers
She yapping in my ear, but it's louder than the muffler
What I didn't listen to, I wish I would've trusted her
Wish I had a shovel, be digging both of my brothers up
Like "here hug em ma, one last time"
Put a chain on both of them niggas, they get one last shine
[Verse 3 : Game]
Put your Glock down, recognize a king cause it's my town
Word to my mother you can throw up your rock now
Got off the beef shit cause I ain't tryna see my mama in all-black
Right there, crying over hard facts
Now she gotta turn in all her cars and get her house back
Never! She carried me for 9 months, so she can have whatever
Clever, she taught me how to shoot Berettas
Told me that I'd be a king, so R.I.P. to Coretta
If you don't understand that, then refer to my letter
While I sprinkle niggas with platinum from my last album
Got the check, so I signed on the X like Malcolm
Riding through the hood, you hating niggas like "how come"?
That niggas Game got it, heard he selling talcum
Either way, hey playboy, check it, this is the outcome
Why you niggas twisted like the top of a Sidekick?


text:
STOCKTON - St. Mary's Catholic Church, founded in downtown Stockton in 1851, has been suspended in mid-restoration for three years.
STOCKTON - St. Mary's Catholic Church, founded in downtown Stockton in 1851, has been suspended in mid-restoration for three years.
The timing of Father Dean McFalls' departure coincides with an upcoming fundraiser that he believes is critical to moving ahead with repairs.
The annual parish festival is scheduled for Oct. 4-6, and McFalls was counting on it as a step toward long-needed structural repairs.
"My concern is my absence may provoke a lack of enthusiasm for the festival," said McFalls, who has resigned and is no longer allowed to perform as a priest. "The last thing I want is for my departure and the circumstances around it to dishearten our parishioners."
In a letter, McFalls explained his departure and told church members that "a child will soon be born, and I am the baby's father."
St. Mary's, 162 years old and a historic landmark in the heart of the city, needs funding for refurbishing and strengthening the interior of the Gothic-style red-brick church.
The St. Mary's Family Festival is at 203 E. Washington St. A donation of $10 will go to the building fund. And four donated vehicles are among 40 prizes.
"Father Dean was really trying to make progress to repair the building," said Sister Terry Davis, director of communication for the Diocese of Stockton. "It needs retrofitting and engineering. And the cost of that is so great."


text:
Exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light from the sun is the most serious environmental risk factor for skin and lip cancer. Even a few serious sunburns can double your lifetime risk of cancer.
Serious sunburns, especially during childhood and adolescence, can double the chance of developing malignant melanoma, one of the most serious and deadly forms of skin cancer. Unprotected skin can be harmed by UV rays in as little as 15 minutes, yet it can take up to 12 hours for skin to show the full effects of sun exposure.
Cover Up
Adults of all ages – and especially children – should take steps against sun exposure from April through September:
- Use sunscreen rated SPF-15 or higher with both UVA and UVB protection. Remember that last year's sunscreen may not still be effective — check the expiration date on the packaging.
- Apply sunscreen half an hour before you go outside for full effectiveness. More sunscreen tips »
- Seek shade, especially during midday when the sun's rays are strongest and do the most damage. Avoid direct exposure between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., and seek shade under an umbrella or tree.
- Cover up with clothing to protect exposed skin. Loose-fitting long-sleeved shirts and long pants made from tightly woven fabric offer the best protection. Light clothing is not a substitute for sunscreen: a T-shirt only has an SPF of about 4.
- Get a hat with a wide brim to shade the face, head, ears, and neck. UV rays can reach anyone on cloudy and hazy days as well as bright and sunny days
- Wear sunglasses that wrap around and block as close to 100 percent of both UVA and UVB rays as possible. Sunglasses protect both the eyes and tender skin around the eyes from sun exposure.
Over 65?
Protection against sun and heat is even more important for older Mississippians. Drink plenty of fluids, and if your home doesn't stay cool enough, be sure to spend time in air-conditioned places in the heat of the day.


text:
Does art make the walls-Sherwin Williams
Picking colors for a client's home or business can be challenging. You've taken all the appropriate steps to determine the client's needs, the function of each space, the architectural elements, the lighting conditions and all other essential criteria. That just leaves selecting the perfect wall colors. Stumped for creative solutions? Try checking out your local museum for inspiration. Faced with massive walls and priceless works of art, exhibition designers utilize color to synchronize space and art, creating a complete experience for visitors.
Visualizing the story
Just like any other client, the curator has a concept that must be translated into a visual reality. The evolution of a show is a shared process involving the curator, designer and, if available, the artists themselves. Beginning with a checklist of artwork and a layout of the show, the team analyzes the permanent features around which they must work. Most importantly, the "story" behind a show has to be clearly defined: Is it an overview of unfolding historical events? A retrospective of an artist's work? The underlying theme helps drive the palette that is ultimately developed. Additional criteria that often play a role include the size and scope of the show and the relationship and groupings of the objects. With the spatial criteria and mood defined, color becomes the component that ties it all together."
Why not just white?
"Despite popular perception, white is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Jennifer Sonderby, head of Graphic Design at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), explains. The "white cube" aesthetic was developed by Alfred Barr of the New York Museum of Modern Art in the 1930s to present artwork as timeless, eliminating the use of saturated walls, which was popular earlier in the century. Adopted as the norm in exhibition design, this trend works for some situations, but it's not appropriate for every case. In fact, studies have shown that the harsh contrast presented by white walls can cause eye fatigue. Using a color specialist to analyze their space, the SFMOMA developed a custom mix with a slightly warmer cast to use as their basic white."
Nuances are noticeable
Color has the ability to emphasize aspects of art in a way that white cannot. One curator at the SFMOMA prefers using warm gray walls when presenting black and white photographs because the muted color provides less contrast to the art, minimizes distractions and creates a more intimate viewing experience. Similarly, the Baldessari exhibit at the San Francisco Legion of Honor utilized shades of gray, because the designers determined that other colors clashed instead of helping the artist's colors pop.
Subtle shifts in color or undertone can make a huge difference in enhancing the appearance of artwork. While working on a porcelain gallery show, Bill White, exhibition designer at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, discovered that by swapping the existing yellow fabric for mauve, new subtleties emerged from the pieces. Oranges, blues, greens and delicate pink colors now stood out, whereas before, they had not been as noticeable.
Values matter
A designer must also consider the value and saturation of wall colors in relationship to the pieces, since a viewer's perception can be radically influenced by these variations. White often prefers to use de-saturated hues – taking a color from a fabric or painting and graying it down. In this manner, he feels the color doesn't dominate a room or fight with a painting; the eye is aware of it, but not distracted by it. When designing "Artistic Luxury: Fabergé, Tiffany, Lalique" at the Legion of Honor in San Francisco, White selected a deep, muted, historically accurate palette that skillfully defined the separate galleries devoted to each artist, while uniting their work with colors that truly reflected the elegance of the Gilded Age.
Linking spaces
By using a range of colors with a consistent lightness, intensity or hue, rooms within an exhibit can be distinctive, yet flow smoothly from space to space. In an exhibit for Joseph Cornell at the SFMOMA, walls were painted in a monochromatic range of blues. The show opened in the first room with his signature "Cornell Blue," became progressively darker toward the center, then became progressively lighter as the viewer moved to the end, and ended with a paler version of the first room. The changes in value also helped identify shifting themes. Jennifer Sonderby recalls that the combination of low lighting paired with dark-hued walls created quite a statement.
The black and white photography exhibit "Lee Friedlander" at the SFMOMA received a completely different yet equally dramatic treatment. Working with nearly 400 pieces, the designers interspersed vibrant walls in yellow, pink and chartreuse throughout the exhibit to help break up the density of the work and to guide viewers through the galleries.
Experience is everything
Color can also transform a space's proportions and size, whether it's spacious or intimate. Oversized pieces need much more real estate than smaller works, so the gallery space must be manipulated to achieve the correct balance between walls and art. One technique used by designers is to paint a band of color across the top portion of gallery walls, creating the perception of a lower ceiling and a more personal atmosphere.
Translating inspiration
Color can be used to develop a mood, create a cohesive space and provide clear transitions. During your next museum visit, examine how the designers showcase the artwork through their skillful use of color. Take inspiration from the symbiotic relationship developed between the art and the walls and use it to add a distinctive new dimension to your next project.


text:
Accessibility tools
Service tools
Language selector
Navigation path
Left navigation
Additional tools
Brussels, 20 April 2010
Commission acts to bolster citizens' data protection, protect defendants' rights and enhance immigration and asylum cooperation
Citizens expect to have the same rights and sense of security throughout the European Union. Creating a single area of justice and security for 500 million Europeans is a top priority for the European Commission in the next five years. The Commission today presented concrete actions – with set timetables – to boost citizens' ability to work, travel and study outside their home countries. The proposals will enhance citizens' security with better judicial cooperation and increased solidarity through a common immigration and asylum policy. Businesses will also benefit from less red tape and more legal certainty in cross-border transactions. With the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty on 1 December 2009, the EU now has the tools to bring a new balance into policies to strengthen the rights and freedoms of Europe's citizens.
"EU citizens should not face barriers to justice when they leave their home countries. I want citizens to be confident that the EU can protect their rights when they are abroad, whether they are starting a family, planning to retire, resolving contractual disputes or dealing with the results of a car accident," said Vice-President Viviane Reding, EU Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship. "These ambitious proposals will remove bureaucratic obstacles that currently hinder citizens' lives and add extra costs and legal uncertainty to our businesses. I look forward to working with the European Parliament, national parliaments and governments on these measures, as well as citizens themselves."
EU Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmström said: "The programme laid down in Stockholm is a roadmap to a free and secure Europe. Because freedom and security matter to European citizens, it is also an opportunity for Europe to get closer to its citizens. That's why we are going to propose, amongst other things, an entry-exit system for the Schengen area, so that people can cross borders with less bureaucracy and yet more security. We will also introduce tools to fight organised crime more effectively and use the new provisions in the Lisbon Treaty to criminalise cyber attacks and identity theft on the Internet. My aim is also to create a common asylum and migration system based on solidarity."
European leaders endorsed 170 initiatives last December known as the Stockholm Programme. The measures are aimed at creating a genuine European area of freedom, security and justice in the next five years. The Commission has now turned these political objectives into an action plan for 2010-2014.
In the Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship area, the Plan includes the following proposals:
The European Council of 10-11 December 2009 adopted the Stockholm Programme, a comprehensive Plan of EU justice and security policies for 2010–2014.
With the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty on 1 December 2009, the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights has become legally binding on the EU's institutions and on Member States when they act in the scope of EU law. In addition, most Justice and Home Affairs rules and policies will be proposed by the Commission and approved by both the European Parliament and the Council, with the latter voting by qualified majority instead of unanimity, which will streamline the decision-making process.
Side Bar


text:
Custom Antibody Development Services
A partner who puts your needs first.
While we know the ultimate deliverable is a high quality product, we also take great care to make sure your entire engagement with us exceeds your expectations.
Polyclonal Production
We offer a complete portfolio of custom antibody services including peptide synthesis, antibody production, conjugation, purification, labeling and characterization. We'll work with you to create an optimized production schedule that will maximize serum volume and antibody titers.
Download a Polyclonal Order Form
Download Custom Production Packages
Monoclonal Antibody Production
We offer you a full range of production services in diverse rodent strains. You can choose in vivo or in vitro production protocols. And we adapt our protocols for small or large quantities depending on your needs.
Ascites Request Form
In Vitro Antibody Request Form
Hybridoma Development
We generate hybridomas against a large array of antigens. All four phases of development are customizable to suit your needs, with a typical timeframe of 5-8 months. All cell lines developed by Covance are your exclusive property.
Hybridoma Development Request Form
Immunochemistry & Tissue Services
Our team offers you a comprehensive set of custom immunochemistry services including antibody labeling, antibody characterization, purification, immunoassay development, blood & tissue products and antivenin testing.
Immunochemistry Request Form


text:
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) did a great job tracking Santa again this year; but it didn't compare with the early Christmas Eve reports of reindeer poop on the Eiffel Tower and the Empire State building that circumvented modern technology and allowed kids to track where Santa and his reindeer really had been. These sightings are based on help desk reports from the North Pole. As you know, reindeer poop was in demand during the past few years for those folks, who were put on Santa's naughty list. Entrepreneurs even packaged the stuff with poems like this one:
Santa saved a precious gift
and it's especially for you.
Just a little something extra
and it comes from Rudolph, too!
He knows that you've been naughty
instead of being nice.
Once again you're on the bad list
and he's checked it over twice.
Santa hopes this little poem
doesn't throw you for a loop.
All you're getting this year
is a bunch of reindeer poop!
The Elves
Recycled reindeer droppings can be used for mulch, potting soil, pranks, fertilizer, and fiberboard. You can contact the North Pole directly for Reindeer Poop® franchise information. Proceeds from the franchise initiative support Santa's workshop.
While 10 million people from 212 countries had a good time tracking Santa Claus via NORAD, Google Maps and Google Earth, and the Twitter microblogging service, including 24 "Santa cams" around the world that were later put up on Youtube; some small folks were still having fun learning where Rudolph and friends really made pit stops.
I went online to see if there were any web sites dedicated to reindeer poop sightings, as Santa was feeling a bit guilty about some of the splatters, especially the one dropped in mid-town Manhattan at about 11:00 pm EST, flattening the roof of a taxi, plus, the hoof and Claus marks on the forehead of an old lady in Skidmore, Texas; but there were none to be found.
By the time the sleigh reached the New Jersey Pine Barrens, Santa and the reindeer were feeling the side-effects of all those chocolate chip cookies. In an act of desperation, Santa began dropping notes asking kids for nachos and beer, instead of milk and cookies.
You always wondered why the Washington Monument faded in two-tone, right?
Volunteers at the North Pole help desk fielded nearly 195,000 phone calls reporting a need for WINDEX®; over 940,000 e-mail complaints demanding that a pooper scooper be installed on the sleigh; and one from irate House Speaker, John Boehner, who is still tanning himself while it hits the fan.
The root cause analysis?
The 24-hour marathon of "A Christmas Story," interference by Randolph, and Christmas!


text:
LONDON - As Usain Bolt races down the Olympic track, will London's Internet infrastructure be able to keep up?
Let's hope so.
Experts say the network should be able to cope - but they warned of sluggishness during peak times and said an unexpected surge could easily push the system over the edge.
British Olympic Association Chief Executive Andy Hunt has predicted the 2012 Olympics will be the "Twitter Games," and those responsible for London's network of fiber optic cables, phone masts and Wi-Fi hotspots are bracing for a data deluge as the events get under way.
Mobile company Vodafone said it also expected a data tsunami, saying "this summer it's going to be the equivalent of England playing in the World Cup final on Christmas Day, every day for the 17 days of the games."
Network engineers face a one-two punch: One is the influx of smartphone-wielding spectators, many eagerly updating their Facebook status from the Olympic Stadium or keeping up with the medal tally on Twitter. The second is unprecedented flow of video being streamed live to the Internet by Britain's national broadcaster, the BBC.
The combination has the potential to snarl Internet traffic. Olympic planners have already told London businesses to prepare for sluggish service during the games or even interruptions "in very severe cases." Data rationing remains an option, even if those involved played down the possibility.
Nationally, one of the biggest contributors to the Internet surge is expected to be the BBC, which plans to provide live coverage from up to 24 locations besides its three main channels of edited content. The broadcaster predicts that the footage, streamed to computers across Britain, will help generate a terabit (1 trillion bits) per second of traffic at peak times - the equivalent of 1,500 people downloading a feature-length DVD-quality movie every minute.
"It's between five and 10 times their normal output," Blessing said.
He said the unprecedented level of coverage was great news for workers caught behind a desk during the 100-meter dash. But it could be a major headache for an IT staff trying to manage the ADSL2+ connections used by many small businesses in London.
"The problem," Blessing warned, was the potential for "20 people to have 20 live streams on their computers. Twenty live streams at a 1 meg(abits per second) each - that's your entire broadband capacity wiped out."
At the Olympic Park and other venues, the issue is one of concentration. Tens of thousands of athletes, organizers, media and police will be clamoring to make calls, share scores, file photographs and send footage in real time. The BT Group PLC estimates it will see the some 60 gigabits fired across the Olympic network every second, much of that bouncing back and forth between 94 different venues.
To that end, the company has deployed hundreds of staffers and laid thousands of kilometers (miles) of fiber optic cable - in many cases "doubling up" so if one cable breaks, the other picks up the load. A purpose-built top-of-the-line Wi-Fi network - supported by 1,800 access points - will keep Olympic staff connected on the go.
Howard Dickel, who is in charge of BT's Olympic delivery program, said as many as 25 phone masts are being installed across the 500-acre park, part of what he described as mobile telephone companies' attempt to give the area "the maximum capacity that they can provide given the laws of physics."
Keeping Olympic Park spectators communicating might be tougher task. Organizers expect that at peak times around 250,000 visitors, many toting data-hungry smartphones, will be in and around the venue, which is two-thirds the size of Manhattan's Central Park. They won't have access to the Olympic Wi-Fi network, so squeezing out a celebratory tweet or an Instagram photo might prove a challenge, particularly at the 80,000-seat Olympic Stadium.
Both Dickel and Blessing said outside the park much would depend on how well the British squad performed. If there were no surprises, the system would most likely handle the ebb and flow of extra data with little problem. But if a British athlete went for gold in an obscure sport, or if a pole vaulter failed spectacularly, or if some other world event intervened - a terror attack, an earthquake, an Icelandic volcano - then there might be an overload.
Internet service providers have spent the past year and a half bracing themselves. Dickel said BT had brought forward its planned 2.5 billion pound ($4 billion) investment upgrade program.
The chief operating officer of cell phone service provider O2 said his company had devoted 50 million pounds ($79 million) for Olympic-related projects. The Vodafone Group PLC, one of the world's largest mobile phone providers, said it was boosting coverage in public spaces - such as London's central Hyde Park - that are expected to see big crowds.
So far officials said they haven't felt the need to impose limits on how much data Londoners can use.
"Hopefully, no one will notice a thing," Blessing said. "We win if no one notices anything."


text:
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- Supporters of a banned Pakistani charity being tied to last month's Mumbai attacks staged demonstrations in the federal capital of Islamabad and other cities on Friday protesting the shutting of the group.
Activists supporting Jamaat-ud-Dawa chant slogans during a protest in Lahore on Friday.
The group is Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), a popular group that provides social welfare programs to impoverished Pakistanis.
Pakistan banned it after the U.N. Security Council designated the charity a terror organization because of its links to Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, (LeT).
That's the Pakistan-based Islamic militant group India says was behind the killings of 160 people in the Indian city of Mumbai last month. India has blamed LeT for training the attackers who carried out the Mumbai attacks, but LeT has denied responsibility for the attacks.
Pakistan banned Lashkar-e-Tayyiba in 2002 after an attack on India's parliament that brought the two countries to the brink of war, and JuD was formed by the LeT founder after that banning.
About 200 supporters marched in a central Islamabad market area, with protesters chanting that the charity's members are "saviors of the needy" and called the government "cruel" for instituting the prohibition.
"The government has closed offices and schools and hospitals," said Ali Butt, a protester from Pakistan-administered Kashmir. "In so many houses the ovens were burning only because of (JuD). Now they are all deprived."
Wheelchair-bound, Butt said he received aid from the group after the massive earthquake that rocked Pakistani-administered Kashmir in 2005.
"If someone is putting food in our mouths, can they be terrorists?" Butt said, adding, "I can't understand this."
Another protester said that the government should take responsibility for the country's poor if it chose to ban such groups providing help to the needy.
"We wouldn't take help from anyone if we could stand on our own two feet," said Noor Afsar, adding, "Why would we?"
The banning and the placing of JuD leader Hafiz Saeed under house arrest in Lahore sparked protests in that city and Peshawer too. Two hundred people took to the streets in Lahore.
Marchers say there's no evidence linking JuD to terror and said international pressure prompted Pakistan to institute the ban, being seen by some as an affront to Islam.
"Wherever there are Muslims, wherever there are people with beards, people who pray, they are labeled as terrorists," Afsar said.
"Are there not terrorists in other countries? Didn't this happen in our country, at the Marriott Hotel? -- a reference to the September attack in Islamabad that killed more than 50 people and wounded more than 250 others.
"Who did that?"
All About Pakistan • India • Mumbai • Jammu and Kashmir • Lashkar-e-Tayyiba


text:
Creamistry Celebrates Fall with Pumpkin Spice and Everything Nice OCT. 3-NOV. 25
Date(s) – 10/23/2018
All Day
Creamistry locations valley wide are getting geared up for the autumn season with the introduction of their new pumpkin spice flavor. From Wednesday, October 3 through Sunday, November 25, guess can enjoy this popular fall flavor in any of Creamistry's ice cream bases includingSignature Premium, Organic, Vegan Coconut and Vegan Cashew. The pumpkin flavor can be enjoyed in a variety of delicious treats including ice cream and ice cream sandwiches, NitroShakes and custom Creations.
Date: Wednesday, October 3-Sunday, November 25
Time: All day (hours vary per location)
Location: Creamistry stores valley wide (address below)
Creamistry Waterfront
7135 E. Camelback Rd., #151, Scottsdale
Creamistry Scottsdale Quarter
15345 N. Scottsdale Rd., #K-130, Scottsdale
Creamistry Arcadia
4325 E. Indian School Rd., #110, Phoenix
Creamistry Uptown Plaza
100 E. Camelback Rd., #150, Phoenix
Creamistry Gilbert
335 N. Gilbert Rd., Gilbert


text:
Outtake from last year's Christmas card photo: Would you let us be YOUR neighbors?
My last name is Gong, but I'm not Asian.
I think this probably confuses people the first time they meet me; nurses scanning the waiting room for "Mrs. Gong" tend to overlook me, and many people repeat "GONG?" upon learning my last name, as if they must have misunderstood.
That doesn't bother me one bit, honestly, because I spent the first two decades of my life saddled with the maiden name "Cinquegrana," courtesy of my Italian father. I can't claim to have married my husband for his last name, but its lone syllable was a definite selling point.
My last name is Gong, of course, because I married a Chinese-American man. We were married in Manhattan, which is 48% White. We had three half-Chinese children, all born in Oakland, California, which is 35% White. Then we moved to Middlebury, Vermont, which is 86% White – and that figure, from the 2010 census, includes the Middlebury College student body. According to the same census, the state of Vermont is 96% White. That makes Vermont the whitest state in the nation.
I'm not usually aware that our little family is adding racial diversity to the whitest state (although I will occasionally realize that my husband is the only Asian in a room, or that my daughters are in a small minority of brunettes at their preschool). That's due in part to the fact that I'm the whitest member of our family, so I'm arguably the most comfortable in this setting. It's probably also because we live in Middlebury, where the aforementioned college attracts a great diversity of students and faculty -- enough to make it 10% more diverse than the rest of the state.
But I think it's more than that; I think the fact that our multi-racial family is so comfortable here says something special about Vermont. It's funny, but those awkward moments when nurses look over my head as they call "Mrs. Gong?" and people squint at me quizzically when I say my last name – those moments all happened in Manhattan and the Bay Area. Here, our family has been warmly welcomed by fellow Vermont transplants and fourth generation Vermonters alike. I can only describe the experience of my family, of course, but never once has anybody in Vermont commented on our name or our race.
How is that possible, in such a remarkably UN-diverse place? It could be that there are so few Chinese people in Vermont, nobody expects "Gong" to be attached to an Asian – it's just not in their frame of reference.
But I give Vermonters more credit than that. My own theory is that Vermonters pass so little racial judgment because most Vermonters live in small towns. Living in a small town, you learn a lot about diversity. Not racial diversity, per se, but PEOPLE diversity. Simply put: Everybody is a little weird. Your neighbors may be Chinese, or they may have ten rusted-out pickup trucks in their yard, or they may cover their walls with antlers, or they may breed llamas. (Actually, after 18 months in Vermont, I no longer find any of those things weird). My point is, everybody's got something. And it's a lot harder to hide your something in a small town, where you see the same people every day.
This is where I believe the legendary Vermont reticence – some would call it "chilliness" – comes in. I've found most Vermonters to be quite friendly, but they do set boundaries. I wouldn't label this "chilliness" so much as "respect." If you plan to live for decades within the same small community, you'd best learn to respect people, to allow space for their weirdness.
Last month, my husband and I had the enormous pleasure of attending Mike Sommers's one-man show, Vermont Boy in West Oakland, at the Town Hall Theater. Sommers, who grew up in Middlebury, performed a hilarious and moving monologue about his experience moving from Vermont to a primarily black neighborhood in West Oakland, California – not far from where we used to live.
At one point, Sommers's Oakland neighbor asked him if he was uncomfortable being the only "white boy" on the block. Sommers replied something along the lines of: "I'm a Vermont boy; I'm uncomfortable around everybody. I look at white people, and all I see are city folk."
In other words, to live in Vermont is to be weird, plain and simple. Vermonters live in the least diverse, most rural state in the union. Perhaps it's this deep-seated knowledge of their own weirdness that makes Vermonters so tolerant of difference, diversity….weirdness, in others. Everybody's got something.
Faith Gong has worked as an elementary school teacher, a freelance photographer, and a nonprofit manager. Since moving to Addison County in 2011, her work has involved caring for a house in the woods, three young daughters, one soon-to-be-puppy (coming next week!) — and writing for her blog, The Pickle Patch.


text:
Today's your last day to secure Gears of War 4 beta access
Play Gears of War: Ultimate Edition like, now.
Gears headlines
Watch the first 20 minutes of Gears 3 DLC RAAM's Shadow
The opening chapter from the Gears of War 3 DLC RAAM's Shadow has been videoed, and is posted below in three-parts,courtesy of Ve3tro. The campaign takes place before the events of the first Gears, and will last around three hours. It will also include six new multiplayer characters, the Chocolate Weapon Skin Set and an […]
Horde Command Pack for Gears 3 releasing November 1
Microsoft and Epic Games have announced the Horde Command Pack for Gears of War 3 will launch on November 1.
Quick Quotes: Cliff Bleszinski on Gears of War's legacy
"I'd say that we're putting the third game in a series that in many ways helped to define a console generation. Not completely, but if you look at the art style in Gears, and the cover system – I think a lot of games were positively influenced by it. To have that influence on the […]
Jim Brown discusses making maps more dynamic in Gears of War 3
In the video posted below the break, Jim Brown, lead level designer on Gears of War 3, talks to IGN about creating new multiplayer maps for the game, fan feedback, common complaints, weapon balancing, and lot more.
Tuesday Shorts II: Gears 3 controller, Left 4 Dead, Gunstringer demo, The Kore Gang
Here's a second dose of shorts for your Tuesday.
Those who play leaked game builds are "choosing to ruin their own experience," says Fergusson
Gears 3 executive producer Rod Fergusson has compared the leaked build of the game, which was released on torrent sites early last month, to a person showing how a magic trick is accomplished before performing it.
Videos - Gears of War 3 panel at Comic-Con
Three Comic-Con videos for Gears of War 3 from Gamespot are posted below the break. One is a demo of the game with site featuring producer Rod Fergusson, another is a excerpt from the panel, and finally the third one is the entire 54-minute panel featuring Fergusson and Cliff Bleszinski chatting about the series, and […]
Quick Quotes: Cliff Bleszinski on the possibility of adding Kinect to Gears series
"If, in the event there were to be another Gears game, that's something we might explore. But we want to do it right. If I had unlimited amounts of time and a team I could sit down and make a cool Kinect game, and I would love to, but it's a matter of time and […]
Video - Bighead mode shows up in Gears of War 3 beta
Personally, we love big heads. It reminds us of Goldeneye. And we love the Gears series, so seeing big heads running around with high-pitched voices in the Gears of War 3 beta video below makes us smile.
Gears 3 multiplayer beta footage shows punching, gore, folks getting owned
Kotaku has posted a Gears of War 3 video of its time in the multiplayer beta of the game.
Two new Gears of War 3 gameplay videos hit net
Two new gameplay videos for Gears of War 3 have hit the internet. Check them out after the break.
Epic opens doors to new office in Japan
Epic has announced that it's thrown open the doors to its new office in Japan.
Gears latest
Jim Brown discusses making maps more dynamic in Gears of War 3
Tuesday Shorts II: Gears 3 controller, Left 4 Dead, Gunstringer demo, The Kore Gang
Those who play leaked game builds are "choosing to ruin their own experience," says Fergusson
Quick Quotes: Cliff Bleszinski on the possibility of adding Kinect to Gears series
Gears 3 multiplayer beta footage shows punching, gore, folks getting owned


text:
MIDDLEBURY — Middlebury College's decision to donate $9 million toward an in-town bridge project at Cross Street represents the third substantial town-gown partnership to have come to the fore this year.
High on the plateau above the New Haven River overlooking the village of Bristol rests a fertile 11-acre hay meadow with spectacular views of Deerleap Mountain, the Bristol Cliffs, Bristol's downtown and views west toward the Adirondacks. With a thin row of trees bordering the meadow on two sides and high mountains at its back, the site is as picturesque as it gets in Vermont — and that's pretty special.
But the purpose of a site visit this past Monday at this scenic location, wasn't to admire the view and imagine the good fortune that 25 or 30 families might have if a residential neighborhood were established there in the distant future, or in the similarly sized wooded section that borders the meadow on the south side. Rather, the District 9 Environmental Commission held a public site visit to give its members, Bristol residents and others an opportunity to walk the site and learn the details of a proposed gravel pit that would excavate untold hundreds of thousands of tons of gravel for the next 35 or more years.
The questions answered during the site visit were of a technical nature: if the access road goes here, how will the traffic flow; what landscaping will be done to hide the cut into the woods; what will be done to mitigate the noise, gravel dust and visual scars to the land; where will the digging begin, how will it proceed? They talked about 200-foot setbacks and test pits and the steepness of access and egress roads.
But the central question of whether a conditional use permit should be granted to allow the significant parcel to be mined as a gravel pit or left, as some argue the town's municipal plan suggests, as a residential area for future growth was not discussed.
It is, however, the question Bristol residents should reconsider in a public process.
Today's front-page headline is a stunner: Middlebury College pledges $9 million to help the town build the long-discussed Cross Street Bridge. As a gift to the town, it's huge and most generous. But the bigger story is the message behind the gift — it's a new era in town-gown relations that promises a greater degree of cooperation and interaction to the benefit of both.
And that's terrific.
This new era is punctuated by several factors:
• The current generation of students are doers, says Middlebury College President Ron Liebowitz, and the college campus may not be big enough for them throughout their four-year stint. Interaction with the town and area communities allows them to spread their wings, pursue interests off campus, provide valuable services and gain an understanding of community outside the college.
November 30, 2007
By JOHN FLOWERS
MIDDLEBURY — For more than a half-century, Middlebury's quest for a second in-town crossing of the Otter Creek has moved slower than rush-hour traffic along the town's Main Street.
But that figurative and literal gridlock may soon be lifted thanks to a pledge by Middlebury College to donate $9 million toward a new in-town bridge project that would link Main Street to Court Street over the Otter Creek via Cross Street.
College and municipal officials on Monday confirmed to the Addison Independent the donation pledge — made at the request of the town — which will take the form of annual payments of $600,000 over 30 years to cover the interest and principal payments on the bonds that Middlebury will float for construction of the span.
Total cost of the in-town bridge project is being placed at $16 million, with $7 million of that amount associated with related intersection upgrades, road improvements and acquisition of four properties within the project right-of-way. Selectmen will look to other funding sources — including the federal government and local taxpayers — to cover that remaining $7 million.
"What I hope is that this is a step in the evolutionary process in the relationship between the town and college, that both feel more comfortable working with each other collaboratively, to the benefit of both… " Middlebury College President Ronald Liebowitz said of the financial pledge for the bridge, a structure he believes could serve not only as a vital traffic conduit, but also as a metaphor for a new era of town-gown collaborations in tackling common challenges.
NEW HAVEN FARMER Derrick Dykstra is one of many young farmers working to have their voices heard on issues that affect the future of farming. He and other farmers under age 30 spoke at a forum hosted by Rep. Peter Welch in Middlebury Tuesday morning.
Independent photo/Trent Campbell
November 29, 2007
By CYRUS LEVESQUE
MIDDLEBURY — Discussion of a bill before the Vermont House that would create a single-payer health insurance system to pay hospital bills for all Vermonters met with mixed reaction in Middlebury on Tuesday.
The group Vermont Health Care for All played a large role in the discussion of bill H.304, the Vermont Hospital Security Plan, which was held at Ilsley Public Library. State Rep. Topper McFaun, R-Barre, one of three co-sponsors of the bill, said that health care costs are shooting up throughout the country and Vermont has to make major changes to how it pays for its citizens' health care.
"Something has to be done that's more than what we're doing," McFaun said at the meeting, which was called to raise support for the effort. H.304 would create the Vermont Hospital Security Trust Fund, he said, that would be used to pay hospital bills for all Vermonters.
Dr. Deb Richter, president of Vermont Health Care for All, said that a major driver of the growing costs of health care is mounting administrative costs from many different health care providers dealing with many different private insurance companies and overlapping plans. This bill would greatly reduce that growth, she said.
The tidal wave of paperwork was familiar to those at Tuesday's meeting. One woman at the forum brought a stack of dozens of bills from recent emergency surgery to the meeting. Some should have gone to her insurance company in the first place, she said; some were from the hospital itself while others were from an individual specialist, and one apparently charged different rates for the same test on different days.
"I'm spending hours and hours going through these," she said.
Under H.304, the dozens or hundreds of billing addresses hospitals now need to track would be reduced to one: the state.
November 29, 2007
By MEGAN JAMES
HANCOCK — By the time Thomas Fabbioli arrived at the auction of the former Vermont Plywood plant in Hancock two weeks ago, the representative from the bank was packing up to leave.
None of the 40-some people present on Nov. 13 had bid on the plant. So when Fabbioli offered $120,000 at the last minute, the building and 49 acres of land around it became his.
But the equipment was sold separately and the nature of the future economic activity at the plant, which has been Hancock's largest employer since 1925, is not clear. What is clear is that Fabbioli will not immediately employ the 35 people who lost their jobs when on Sept. 6 the Union Bank of Morrisville, the United States Department of Agriculture and the Vermont Economic Development Authority foreclosed on Vermont Plywood.
With the Route 100 plant a crucial engine of the local economy, a lot hinges on Fabbioli's plans. At the plant's peak in 1969, it employed 180 people, and it employed 90 as recently as 2003, when it was owned by Chesapeake Hardwoods.
Vermont Plywood bought the plant in 2004.
As the plywood industry has struggled in the last few years, many in the area have moved with their families out of town, exacerbating an already dire situation of dwindling enrollment at the Hancock Village School, which school officials say they may have to close next year, according to longtime Hancock resident and historian Tom Perera.
"The town doesn't have anything else," said Perera, who attended the auction. "For 82 years, this plant has been supplying work for people. All of a sudden it looked as though it would disappear."
SOUND INVESTMENT JAZZ Ensemble, a revival of a 1930s big band at Middlebury College, runs through a rehearsal in the Center for the Arts last week. The college has a history of big bands dating back to the swing era, but Sound Investment is the first jazz band to be officially credited by the music department in many years.
Independent photo/Trent Campbell
November 26, 2007
MIDDLEBURY — You can't find a more purely American tradition than jazz music, Derek Long believes. The Middlebury College senior first fell in love with the genre in high school, playing tenor saxophone in a jazz band.
"With jazz there's this really interesting dynamic," he said. "On the one hand, you have to work together as a group. There's a sense of community, of sharing a piece of art. On the other hand, there's this opportunity for the individual to shine with the improvisation of a solo.
"That sense of standing up on your own two feet and dealing with whatever comes your way, it's a uniquely American experience," Long said.
But jazz has kind of fallen off the map in recent years, Long said. That's why his band, Sound Investment Jazz Ensemble, is trying to get it off the ground again at the college.
Sound Investment will have its official public debut on Friday, Nov. 30, at 8 p.m. in the Concert Hall at the Center for the Arts. The 17-piece band will present a kind of "jazz odyssey," Long said, playing classics from Glenn Miller and Count Basie as well as more contemporary pieces,
When Long came to Middlebury in 2004, he was shocked to find there was no official jazz band sponsored by the music department; just a student-run organization known simply as Jazz Band.
Subscribe to Online Edition
Online PDF Print Edition
Copyright 2011 Addison Independent | 58 Maple Street, Middlebury, Vt. 05753 | All Rights Reserved
Site Development by Surf New Media


text:
SEO my Website
Budget £20-250 GBP
Looking for the best seo who can deliver fast on time results for a brand new adult website not launched yet however website is complete page 1 results,fast communication , very good english requried! experience in adult seo is advantageous.
72 freelancers are bidding on average £97 for this job
Hi, New technology in SEO ""Get New Heights in Rank with Better SEO Tactics"" Why hire me ? We have completed (90 +) SEO & Internet Marketing Project with Lots traffic and Top 1st page ranking.. Man More
willing to work to rank site at google.. i will Guarantee the Result and ranking within 2- 3 MONTH at top on google page 1 we have done 400 projects, 5 year experience in seo and google adwords. Relevant Skills and More
We have 10+ years SEO experience can do white hat SEO for references please check our reviews 3000+ reviews with Good Rehire Rate we can do white hat SEO as per Google guideline in last 1-2 year Google made many updat More
Get FIRST Page Placement on Google, Yahoo and Bing for your website using White hat SEO practices. Experienced SEO expert, White Hat On-Page and Off-Page SEO, No Hidden Fees, No Setup Fees, and No Long Term Contracts. More
Hi, I'm a ☛ TOP RANK SEO FREELANCER - SEO LEVEL 3 QUALIFIED ☛ PREFERRED FREELANCER BADGE HOLDER ☛ 98% Job Completion Rate ☛ with more than 8 YEARS of PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE. KINDLY MESSAGE ME TO DISCUSS FURTHER TH More
Hello from Europe, We have more information and questions ready to share. Please start chat now for more information, proposal and terms. I am at your disposal! Relevant Skills and Experience If you see our Review More
White hat method manually SEO services for Google/Bing TOP page ranking. Relevant Skills and Experience seo Proposed Milestones £200 GBP - per month
Hello, We are one of the leading SEO Internet Marketing Companies in India. We have more than 10 years of experience in this field. We always try to follow Google's guidelines. We can rank your website on the first More
Hi Sir, We fully aware about Google Panda, Google Penguin, and Google Hummingbird, Panda 4.0. and 4.1 . I will prepare complete strategy . Relevant Skills and Experience How? I rank my clients using safe techniques w More
Hi Sir, We are having 11+ Years SEO experience and TOP RANK SEO FREELANCER . Our SEO technique is always based on the latest search engine algorithms (From the Recent Penguin/Panda hummingbird etc. Updates). We pro More
HIRE ME FOR BEST SEO SERVICE, AND GET YOUR BUSINESS AT THE TOP OF GOOGLE SEARCH Relevant Skills and Experience 700 Great reviews with 5 YEARS + Exp with these skills: SEO, Internet Marketing, Link building, google top More
I am Deepak Kumar, I have more than 7 years of experience & expertise in SEO, We use off-site and on-site SEO strategies to achieve results according to the latest guidelines on search engine ranking. Relevant Skills More
Hi, My name is Ajay Sharma, I am in Seo And Social Media field since 2008. I'm Supplying all kinds of SEO and Social Media Marketing ( SMM ) Services. I promise and guarantee a 100% Satisfaction. Relevant Skills and E More