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Medications for Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis are constantly changing, and it's often difficult to keep up with the latest treatment developments. In this Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America program, Dr. Edward Loftus, Jr., of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, discusses current and future treatments for Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis and how they may work for you. He talks about exciting advances in the development of biologic medications – which target the chemical mediators of inflammation that trigger Crohn's and colitis flares – and other medications that may be available in the future.
Similarities and Differences Among Crohn's, Colitis and IBD
Dr. Loftus:
Crohn's disease causes inflammation in various parts of the gastrointestinal tract. It can affect anywhere from the mouth all the way down to the anal area. Oftentimes the inflammation is a full thickness inflammation, and this can result in a variety of symptoms depending on the location and severity of the inflammation. This could include diarrhea, abdominal pain, fatigue, but even symptoms in other organ systems, such as joint aches or pains.
Ulcerative colitis, on the other hand, is a bowel condition that affects the colon only, and it only affects the innermost layer of the bowel, the mucosa. Various parts of the colon can be affected, but it's going to localize itself to the colon. This can result in symptoms such as rectal bleeding, diarrhea, and urgency, such as a pressing need to use the restroom, and it can also cause fatigue, sometimes abdominal cramping and some of these extra-intestinal manifestations that I alluded to with Crohn's disease.
And if you combine these two conditions, it turns out that maybe as many as 1.1 to 1.5 million people in the United States have these conditions.
IBD are the inflammatory bowel diseases, Crohn's and UC, whereas IBS, irritable bowel syndrome, is something completely different. IBS is really something to do with the way our nervous systems in the gut are wired, almost as if there is a hypersensitivity in the gut. So some of the symptoms are similar. You can get diarrhea and abdominal pain, but you can also get constipation. The symptoms tend not to be accompanied by findings such as anemia or pain that wakes you up at night or blood in the stool. Certainly blood in the stool you would never attribute to IBS.
What Are the Most Common Treatments for Crohn's Disease?
Dr. Loftus:
You could categorize five general classes of treatments. The first class would be the aminosalicylates, sometimes called 5-aminosalicylates or 5-ASA medications. And this would include an old standby that's been around for 60 years, sulfasalazine, also known as Azulfidine, and then agents that are derivatives of that.
The newer 5-ASA agents are mesalamine, which is basically 5 ASA by itself. There are several products. There is one called Asacol, which is a pH-dependent release molecule that releases in the ileum [end of the small intestine] and in the colon. There is Pentasa, which is a time-dependent release in the small intestine and in the colon. And then you have mesalamine given topically in medicated suppositories. The brand name for that is Canasa. Mesalamine enemas come in generic form, and there is an older form that many of us are familiar with called Rowasa.
There are several other 5-ASA derivatives. One is called balsalazide, or Colazal, and this is a capsule released in the colon. And then there is olsalazine, or Dipentum, which is also orally administered but then delivers into the colon. So there are a wide variety of 5-ASA agents, and they all contain the same active ingredient.
Antibiotics are another general classification. We think that antibiotics work because they decrease the levels of bacteria within the gut, not killing a specific bug, but reducing bacterial levels so there is less stimulus for the gut immune system to react to. The two antibiotics we use most frequently are metronidazole (Flagyl) and ciprofloxacin (Cipro), but there are other antibiotics we use as well.
Steroids are a nonspecific modulator of inflammation. The most commonly used one is prednisone given orally, but we use other types. Hydrocortisone can be administered as a suppository or as a medicated enema. There is a specially derived steroid called budesonide (Entocort) which is sometimes used in Crohn's disease. Because of the way it's designed, most of it is metabolized in the liver before it has a chance to cause side effects in the rest of the body.
Immunomodulators would include medications like azathioprine (Imuran or Azasan), 6-mercaptopurine (Purinethol), and methotrexate. The idea here is that the immune system is dysregulated, and if we can tamp down the immune system a bit, it will result in decreased inflammation. We most commonly use these medications in people who are having trouble weaning off of steroids or every time they wean off steroids, they have a flare-up of their condition.
Biologics are antibodies or antibody derivatives, so these are what we call monoclonal antibodies. These are basically biotechnology engineered molecules that are directed specifically against a particular substance in the inflammatory pathway. The first example of this in IBD was a medication called infliximab, or Remicade, and this was directed against a specific molecule called tumor necrosis factor (TNF) alpha. Now there are two additional medications, adalimumab (Humira) and certolizumab pegol (Cimzia), which are now approved for use in Crohn's disease. Infliximab, on the other hand, is approved for both Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.
There is a fourth biologic agent that became available earlier this year for Crohn's called natalizumab (Tysabri), which is directed against a specific adhesion molecule. Adhesion molecules are molecules that are expressed on white blood cells or along the lining of blood vessels that enable the white blood cell to home in on areas of inflammation, then get out of the blood vessel and migrate to where it needs to go.
The inflammatory cascade is incredibly complex so these various drugs are targeting various parts of that inflammatory cascade, and some are more effective than others. Ideally, we would like to find the root cause for what's triggering this whole response, and to date we haven't found it.
Risks and Benefits of Standard Crohn's Disease Medications
Dr. Loftus:
When I am talking to people with ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, there's this constant balancing of the benefits of medications with potential risks. In general, as the effectiveness of a medication increases, the chance of having a side effect increases too.
The 5-ASA agents are pretty safe and well-tolerated. The occasional person has an allergic reaction to them. They might get a rash. Rarely will we see kidney complications, and it's usually recommended that, if you are on a 5-ASA medication, to have kidney function monitoring perhaps once a year. Rarely, you might see something unusual like pancreatitis with those agents.
The antibiotics are generally well-tolerated. The occasional person might be allergic to them. Sometimes they can cause worsening diarrhea, so we always have to be careful and individualize the antibiotic treatment.
Steroids are beneficial in the short term. They are our fire extinguisher for flares, but people can gain weight, they get insomnia, their face [swells] up. They can get acne. They get very moody or angry or anxious. And then there are the long-term side effects. Steroids can leach calcium from the bones, cause osteoporosis and high blood pressure, and make blood sugar control more difficult if you have diabetes. If a person can't wean off of steroids without having a flare-up, then usually the next step is to use the immunomodulators like azathioprine or 6-MP. But these medications aren't free of side effects. You have to monitor blood counts for low white blood cell count, and about three percent of people can get pancreatitis with these agents. All told, if you took a group of a hundred people and put them on azathioprine, maybe 15 of them wouldn't be able to stay on it because they would experience these side effects. There is some controversy about whether azathioprine and 6-MP and, to a lesser extent, methotrexate are associated with lymphoma. It's a controversial area, but there are some studies suggesting a very weak link with lymphoma, and I always hate to bring that up because the benefit of the drug far outweighs that theoretical risk, which is less than one in 1,000, but that risk is potentially out there.
Finally, with the biologics there is a risk of reactivating certain dormant infections. And there is a risk of other unusual infections, such as fungal infections, and that same potential risk with lymphoma that still remains controversial. It's hard to tease all of that out because: A, is the disease itself associated with lymphoma; B, is it related to another medication; or, C, is it related to the drug itself?
Natalizumab (Tysabri) is the one biologic agent that was actually initially approved by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) for multiple sclerosis, and after it was on the market for a few months, it got pulled off because there were three people in clinical trials (out of roughly 3,000) who developed a very unusual but severe neurologic side effect called PML, or progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy. So the drug was pulled off the market temporarily, and then they reintroduced it in a restricted program where as long as you are not on another immune suppressing medication you can get this medication. For some patients who have not responded to the anti-TNF medications such as Remicade or Humira this might be a good option.
Not All Alternative Treatments for Crohn's and Colitis Are Safe or Effective
Dr. Loftus:
There have been some interesting studies that show that up to 50 percent, perhaps even more, of patients with IBD seek complementary and/or alternative therapies.
Now, which alternative or complementary therapies should we recommend? Many patients with IBD are at risk for vitamin and mineral deficiencies, so at a minimum, at some point somebody should be checking them for fat-soluble vitamin deficiencies. Fat-soluble vitamins are A, D, E and K. Crohn's patients are at risk for vitamin B12 deficiencies. Both UC and Crohn's patients are at risk for iron deficiency. Many of these deficiencies can be easily treated.
Another popular alternative therapy is fish oil, and I see that many people are on that, but we should all realize that in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) they recently published two large, very well designed trials of fish oil in Crohn's disease and could not demonstrate any benefit. In other words, it did not prevent people from having flares of their Crohn's disease. So there are often these initial flurries of enthusiasm for alternative medications, but when you study them rigorously, it doesn't always hold up.
I think there are things that are more holistic things like relaxation techniques or breathing techniques, for some people, prayer – these are fine. I get concerned when people are using herbal supplements. That whole industry has a lot less regulation, and we have heard in the last couple of years about things that are contaminated from China or other places. I think there is a quality-control issue with some of these supplements that I would be very, very concerned about. In most cases these complementary, alternative substances have not been rigorously studied, so it's hard for me to recommend them.
Now having said that, some of them are interesting and make sense – the probiotics, for example. There are actually animal models where genetically engineered mice where given a certain probiotic, and they don't get gut inflammation. So that sounds like a really promising area of research. The problem is that the treatment trials that have been done to date have not shown convincing evidence that they actually work.
If you are not ingesting unknown substances into your body, it's probably okay, and if you want to try them, that's fine, but when you start getting into herbal supplements, I would just be very cautious.
Ulcerative Colitis Treatments Emphasize 5-ASAs
Dr. Loftus:
Essentially, most of the treatments are the same [for ulcerative colitis and Crohn's]. In ulcerative colitis there is much more of an emphasis on the use of the 5-ASA agents. All of the 5-ASA agents have FDA approvals for ulcerative colitis and not for Crohn's disease, and there is a reason for that. So I think there is a heavier emphasis on 5-ASA medications and perhaps less of an emphasis on antibiotics. And the only biologic that's currently approved for ulcerative colitis is infliximab, or Remicade. There is a sense that if it comes to surgery, surgery for ulcerative colitis is going to be a more definitive answer for somebody than surgery for Crohn's disease, because with Crohn's disease there is the risk of recurrence after surgery.
But having said that, there are issues with having surgery for ulcerative colitis, too. Some people develop problems with their J pouch. If they have one of these pouch surgeries, they could get pouchitis (inflammation of the ileal pouch).
Those are the main differences [in treatment for ulcerative colitis]: more 5 ASAs, infliximab for the biologics, and then more consideration for surgery.
Future Treatments for Crohn's and Colitis Will Be More Targeted
Dr. Loftus:
If you look at the pipeline now compared to ten years ago, there have been a huge number of developments. There are many different types of molecules being studied for Crohn's disease. There are more anti-TNF molecules. There are more of these adhesion molecules, and some may be more specific for the gut. There are molecules directed against an inflammatory substance called interleukin 12/23, another one against interleukin 17. There is one against what we call a co-stimulatory pathway, and this drug, abatacept (Orencia), is already approved for rheumatoid arthritis. There was an interesting study where you actually had blood filtered, and they took out activated white blood cells. The trial for ulcerative colitis looks like it was a negative trial, but I don't believe the results from the Crohn's disease trial have been published yet.
So these are some of the types of treatments that are out there in the pipeline, and I think there is a lot of room for hope. If you look at examples of other diseases where there have been breakthrough discoveries, oftentimes the discovery for what causes the condition comes out of left field, and you wouldn't have necessarily predicted it based on the research. This whole area of biologics is very promising, and if we can target these important inflammatory molecules, that's going to be an important area. Obviously TNF has been an important molecule, but there are other biologics in the pipeline.
I think we always worry we are missing something really obvious. You look back over 50 years, and these diseases were much less common. It's interesting watching over different parts of the world where they never saw IBD, and now they are starting to see it. As a country becomes more industrialized and more like a Western country, they start seeing more IBD. So is it something else entirely? Is there an environmental trigger that we are missing? Is it in the food? Is it in the water supply? Is it a toxin? I don't know, but I always worry about that in the back of my mind.
There are many challenges ahead with the treatment of Crohn's and colitis, and certainly no one medication has universal benefit. But with the right approach, with a doctor who is familiar with the condition, a particular medication or combination of medications may be helpful in controlling symptoms. And the good news is that in the last year we have seen lots of new treatments, and then we look in the research pipeline, and there are even more treatments in the pipeline.
Information About Treatments for Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis
To learn more about new and upcoming treatments for Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, listen to the entire Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis Treatments: What's New and What's on the Way webcast.
For more information on Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, visit the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation Web site, and check out these HealthTalk resources:


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I travel all over the country—and the world—speaking about creation/ evolution and the authority of the Bible, and I get asked a lot of questions. Of course some people just refuse to believe the Bible no matter what and are unhappy with the message. Other people ask me about arguments creationists shouldn't use. They ask questions about Noah's Ark, distant starlight, and cavemen.
I love answering these questions and encourage people to ask about things they don't understand. I tell folks there isn't a question they could ask that I have not asked myself. After all, for many years I was a theistic evolutionist. As I came to understand God's Word was true and completely inconsistent with that position, I needed answers to many questions.
I still remember my excitement at discovering that God's Word provided what I needed to know. And I want others to feel this excitement also.
What About the Millions of Years?
I've noticed a pattern. Deep down, many people are afraid to trust the Bible's history because it contradicts the prevailing evolutionary view. I suppose the most common question I get is "Dr. Tommy, why do you say Christians can't believe the earth is millions of years old?"
I explain that I never say Christians can't believe in millions of years but that they shouldn't. Unfortunately, in my experience, many Christians do accept millions of years. I often point out that once I thought the earth was billions of years old, although I obviously now know I was wrong!
What I do say is this: Christians who accept this view are inconsistent! By rejecting the plain meaning of Genesis and replacing it with the secular teaching of millions of years, Christians actually undermine the message of the Cross.
Genesis is real history. God created everything in six ordinary days and called all He had made "very good." In that perfect creation there was no animal or human death. But Adam and Eve were real people who disobeyed God. Because their rebellion brought suffering into this world and death to all their descendants, Jesus Christ—as "the Last Adam" (1 Corinthians 15:45)—died on the Cross, conquering death by His Resurrection.
If death has been here for millions of years, then it was not the result of the first Adam's sin. The death of the Last Adam—Jesus—makes no sense. What did Jesus die for, if not to pay for the consequences of man's sin? If a Christian believes in evolution and thinks millions of years of death are recorded in the fossil record, how can he explain the meaning of the Cross?
After I point out that millions of years requires death before sin, most people say, "Wow, I never thought about that before!" I have even gotten this response from solid Bible-teaching pastors who had just never considered the age-of-the-earth issue in that light. At one time in my life, neither had I.
What About Dinosaurs?
Kids love dinosaurs. But most parents don't have biblical answers about dinosaurs. So parents and kids come to me with all kinds of questions: Are there dinosaurs in the Bible? Did people and dinosaurs walk the earth together? Were there dinosaurs on the Ark? What happened to the dinosaurs?
I guess you can see why I try always to have a dinosaur talk at my conferences.
Sure dinosaurs were real. They were created on the sixth day of Creation Week along with man, so men and dinosaurs walked the earth together. Noah took representatives of each kind of air-breathing land animal on board the Ark, so dinosaurs were on the boat.
I then quickly review all the physical evidence of men and dinosaurs existing together. If there is time, I point out many of the historical references to dinosaurs. (But in these older historical documents the creatures are not referred to as dinosaurs because the word dinosaur did not exist until 1841.) The parents usually say, "Man, I wish I had these answers when I was a kid!"
The Urban Legends
On the flip side, people often share "sure-fire" proofs of the Bible that don't stand up under scrutiny. I call these "urban legends in the church." Many Christians accept these proofs but, as appealing as they are to some, the proofs have no basis in history or science.
Lots of folks come to me excited "how wonderful it is that NASA proved the Bible to be true!" Then they tell me about how NASA was doing some calculations during the Apollo program and found the missing time from the sun standing still for Joshua and going backward for Hezekiah. They are so disappointed (and sometimes annoyed) when I tell them it isn't true.
I point out that there is no mathematical way to discover missing time solely by calculating backward. There must be a fixed point of reference before the "missing time" to detect any supposed discrepancy.
Another legend bites the dust. Another "legend" that comes up all the time is the story that Charles Darwin recanted on his deathbed. Supposedly Darwin felt so great a remorse about his awful ideas that he renounced evolution and became a Christian. So evolution can't be true, right?
Well, it never happened. Darwin never recanted. He never renounced evolution, and he never came to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Darwin supposedly survived several months after this rejection of his own ideas, but he never wrote of this. He never spoke with his family about this, and after his death his family continually denied it. While it would be nice if it were true, we must acknowledge history.
Amazingly, many Christians get mad at me when I point out flaws in their beliefs or give evidence that their favorite hobby horse is not true. If they have heard these things for years, who am I to correct them?
Well, we must always strive to be as accurate as we can. We don't need to shore up our faith in the Bible with faulty arguments. God's Word is truth, and every fact from history and science will be consistent with God's Word. We can bank on that.
Are There Answers?
Lives change when people finally get answers to their questions.
Everywhere I go people seek answers. And it is life changing when people finally get answers to their questions. It was true for me years ago. I struggled with many of these same issues.
That is why all of us at Answers in Genesis—the parent organization behind Answers magazine—work to provide answers to questions that cause people to doubt God's Word. Whether going to a conference a thousand miles from home, preparing new articles for our website, making a new DVD, speaking to patrons at the Creation Museum, or writing for Answers magazine, our mission is to be a source for sound biblical answers to the questions of the day.
As for me, all I can say is, "Boy, I wish I had these answers when I was a kid!"

subset: commoncrawl


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All our tracker items are still on sf.net.
We have so many tracker items that it's hard to get a good overview of were we are and where we want to go.
The new tracker implementation on sf.net has better support for milestones than the old one, so I'm thinking I'd like to make a pass through our open items and divide them up.
I'm thinking we could split them like this:
- 3.0 - for the items we'll include in version 3.0
- 2.16 - for the items we'll include in version 2.16
- 2.14.2 - for them items we'll possibly include in 2.14.2 (maybe we'll decide not to release 2.14.2 at all)
- Future - for items that we may eventually implement, but it's not on our agenda in the near future
- Limbo - for items that are not likely to be implemented at all, but we'll keep them around just in case things change
The good thing about the new milestone system is that once 2.16 is released, we can mark it done and open 2.18.
The 2.16 milestone will then disappear from most of the UI but it still remains available if you really want to see those old items.


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ALL_DIGITAL = TruePORTB_PULLUPS = OnTRISA = %111111TRISB = %00000000TRISC = %00000000TRISD = %00000000TRISE = %111----------Arduino Controls----------arduino:If PORTA.2 = 1 And PORTA.3 = 1 ThenGoTo Forward_Slow ElseIf PORTA.2 = 0 And PORTA.3 = 1 ThenGoTo Left_Slow ElseIf PORTA.2 = 1 And PORTA.3 = 0 ThenGoTo Right_SlowElse If PORTE.0 = 1 And PORTE.1 = 0 Then GoTo Grab_Ball ElseIf PORTE.0 = 0 And PORTE.1 = 1 Then GoTo Back_Slow Else GoTo Rotate_Right EndIfEndIf GoTo main'----------Drive Controls----------Forward_Slow:High PORTD.0Low PORTD.1High PORTD.2Low PORTD.3Clear PORTDGoTo main Right_Slow:High PORTD.1High PORTD.2Clear PORTDGoTo mainLeft_Slow:High PORTD.0High PORTD.3Clear PORTDGoTo mainBack_Slow:Low PORTD.0High PORTD.1Low PORTD.2High PORTD.3Clear PORTDGoTo mainRotate_Right:Low PORTD.0High PORTD.1High PORTD.2Low PORTD.3DelayMS 500Clear PORTDGoTo main
I'm not famliar with using Basic on a PIC, but the '877A boots up with Port A pins all set to analog, and need to be changed for use as digital pins. I don't know if "ALL_DIGITAL = True" actual does this for Port A. In any case, you might try using one of the Port B or C pins for the input. Also, there is no indication in your code what the various configuration fuses are set to, nor what the oscillator setting is. Maybe the compiler takes care of that automatically, I don't know. Is this a Picaxe, or what?
A circuit diagram would help.The 16F887 code seems to be some kind of combinatorial logic that needs combinations of input pins to do anything.Are all the pins that are defined as inputs connected to something?
Test the arduino and pic individually to make sure that they behave as expected, then connect them together.Otherwise, you don't where the problems are.
Rather than diving head first and writing pages of code, just try a simple program with one switch in and one led out.
QuoteRather than diving head first and writing pages of code, just try a simple program with one switch in and one led out.This is always the proper way to proceed with new programs. Get the basic, simple stuffworking first, and then build around that.
just tried it an hour ago, and it doesnt work.. tried both active low and active high..


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I moved to the Selinsgrove, PA area (Central Susquehanna Valley) in January 2007. I am active in both the Bucknell Institute for Lifelong Learning (BILL) and the Susquehanna University Institute for Lifelong Learning (S.U. IFLL). I offered a one-hour program for the S.U. IFLL based on my 2010 11-day trip to the Galapagos Islands; and I offered a six week (1 1/2 hr classes) on the Active Human Body for BILL. In other words I'm staying busy with many opportunities, biology seminars, athletics, lectures, theater, etc. at the two universities. Also, I live close to my daughter Leslie's family and enjoy many opportunities to be involved with them and especially my two granchildren's school and outside activities.
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text: Released during the 1992-93 "Three-Peat" championship season, the Air Jordan 8 was the last sneaker Michael Jordan wore before retiring (the first time). The elimination of Nike branding on the inside and outside of the shoe was major, as it affirmed that Jordan brand was strong enough to stand on its own. The sneaker's double straps, which resemble bunny ears, earned the AJ 8 a proper nickname: "Bugs Bunnies."


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Arrives in 3-7 Business Days
The Tobey/Slater/Blair/Crawford series builds essential skills one at a time by breaking the mathematics down into manageable pieces. This practical building block organization makes it easy for students to understand each topic and gain confidence as they move through each section. Students will find many opportunities to check and reinforce their understanding of concepts throughout the text. With this revision, the author team has added a new Math Coach feature that provides students with an office hour experience by helping them to avoid commonly made mistakes. With Tobey/Slater/Blair/Crawford, students have a tutor, a study companion, and now a coach, with them every step of the way.


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amethyst wedding band
- Wallpaper: amethyst wedding band
- Wedding Ring
- February 15, 2015
- 1500 x 1499 | 750 x 425 | 210 x 140
Not all women desire huge gleaming stone on their ring finger but finding the perfect strong in the wedding band is not a cakewalk. Among other colored gems like sapphire, Tanzanite, Morganite, Ruby, etc amethyst wedding rings are making their own place.
A shift from the much coveted diamondsAmethyst wedding ring sets aren't yet counted in the same league as diamond sets but it doesn't mean that they are any inferior. Diamonds only became more accessible in the late twentieth century and even before that when diamonds were the rare, costly gems, people got married and had a much wider range of gemstones to choose from. Colored gemstones have been cherished for their symbolism and visual appearance for centuries and rings with amethyst are symbolic of purity, protection and sincere love. In the last few decades, colored gemstones have ignited the interest of couples for anniversary and engagement rings. Thanks to its romantic lavender shade and options in light green hues, Amethyst is becoming a famed choice too.
Amethyst and Diamonds for the perfect indulgence and poisePrincess cut amethyst and diamond ring in silver and white gold looks heavenly. A big Amethyst stone in the center in round or princess cut outlined by small diamonds or diamonds on the side of the ring look sophisticated too. Rings with message inscriptions are also a big hit among couples. Amethyst rings white gold, palladium, silver, platinum and white gold are largely sought by many as the spot free, glowing white appearance of these metals complements the stones.
Is it romantic enough?A perpetual confusion about choosing matching and non-matching bands is felt by almost all couples. While matching bands are extremely romantic, non-matching are no short of beauty and the love that the bond signifies. These wedding bands are for an eternity, and symbolize the pure union of love that stays together in sickness and health, in poverty and wealth and strengthens with the changing seasons. The couple is supposed to wear these for as long as the matrimonial bond lasts so being practical is integral while choosing the right wedding band and perfect gemstone for it. Amethyst is low cost and is not too tacky and is durable too so wearing it daily will have lesser damage on the ring than other stones. Women's and men's amethyst wedding band designs are also quite contemporary that will allow them to wear it during distinct occasions and atmosphere (workplace, holidaying, etc).
Lavender or green?Choosing the right shade in amethyst wedding jewelry can be quiet confusing due to the wide availability of diverse shades. Lavender and green amethyst ring stones and contemporary-vintage ring designs are vastly available with several designer jewelry ranges and also online. There is no denying that the opaque to transparent shades of amethyst rings stones are divine and also suitable for regular wear as they are quite sturdy. So splurge and surprise your Significant other with the perfect ring with this marvelous stone.
The oustanding image is part of amethyst wedding band has dimension 1500 x 1499 pixel. You can download and obtain the amethyst wedding band images by click the download button below to get multiple high resolutionversions. Here is crucial information about Wedding Ring. We have the resource more image about Wedding Ring. Check it out for yourself! You can acquire amethyst wedding band and see the Amethyst, the stone of protection for preserving the matrimonial bond in here.


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CBS apologizes for Vietnam segment on 'The Amazing Race'
CBS has apologized for a segment from an episode of "The Amazing Race" in Vietnam that was filmed at the site of a crashed American B-52.
Host Phil Keoghan opened Sunday's show by apologizing for "insensitive parts of last week's episode."
On Thursday, Vietnam War veteran and American Legion National Commander James E. Koutz sent a letter to CBS, asking for an apology for "its disgraceful slap in the face administered to American war heroes" during the network's March 17 broadcast of "The Amazing Race." According to MSN.com, Koutz said in a release "The show is called 'The Amazing Race,' but I call it 'The Amazing Gall.'"
"In a broadcast reminiscent of Tokyo Rose, reality game show contestants visited a 'B-52 Memorial' in Vietnam, which featured the wreckage of a B-52 bomber shot down during the war. What wasn't shown were the U.S. crewmembers that were killed or the grieving American families that were left behind." Koutz wrote. "The Department of Defense is encouraging Americans to honor and commemorate our Vietnam War veterans for the sacrifice that they made 50 years ago. We only wish that the network that once gave us Kate Smith -- famous for her rendition of 'God Bless America' -- would return to its great roots and not be so eager to broadcast anti-American propaganda."
The episode featured contestants going to a B-52 Memorial -- the wreckage of an American bomber shot down during the Vietnam War -- to find a clue in their televised round-the-world journey.


text: If you are looking for a good old fashion American made knife, a Case 125th Anniversary Smooth Olive Green Bone knife is just what your looking for. With eight traditional patterns to choose from anyone can find what they need in a size right for them. Each one is engraved with the anniversary logo on the handle and a celebratory stamp on the main blade's tang, marking Case's lifetime of achievements in American hand-crafting. See all eight right here at www.knifecenter.com.


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Dwight Howard believes his dunk rating of 8 in NBA Jam doesn't reflect reality. Neither does jumping from the three point line to eye-level with the shot clock to throw down a 720-degree behind-the-back slam, but who's counting?
Howard's 8 DNK in the Wii version of the arcade classic got the Orlando Magic center (and NBA Live 10 cover star, pictured) a little ticked off at EA Sports, reports ESPN. The publisher has smoothed things ou, boosting Superman's throwdownability to a perfect 10 for the PS3 and 360 version, due for release Nov. 16. (The game will not update its rosters or ratings on the Wii.)
"They gave me an eight for dunking ... an eight! They did me kind of dirty on that," Howard told ESPN's Jon Robinson. "I won the dunk championship and I get an eight?"
He has a point there.
Howard's also not a big fan of his 3 speed rating. He squawked to EA Sports about the dunk number; the publisher confirmed it'll be boosted to 10 for the next release. "I'll see if they keep their promise," Howard said.
Dwight Howard Complains About 'NBA Jam' Dunk Rating, Gets It Increased To Ten [ESPN, thanks Koi]


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Spartans win WSSA Championship 49-48 over Tartans
Attachments: (for pdf files: right-click to save or click to open)
1961 Walkerville Forster Sr. Boys Basketball Match
Did you know that?
Anyone at any age can become an organ and tissue donor. The oldest organ donor on record was over 90 years of age and the oldest corneal donor was 102 years old.
Only patients who have suffered brain death in hospital can become organ donors because vital organs must be maintained artificially by a ventilator so they can be transplanted. However, only those whose hearts have stopped and cannot, therefore, be artificially supported by a ventilator (the heart and lungs have stopped working), can become tissue donors. Most religions support organ donation as an act of kindness.
Organ donation does not preclude an open-casket funeral. When clothed, the body shows no outward sign of surgery.
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John Kerry on the U.S. Military
"You know, education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq." --John Kerry
"American soldiers [are] going into the homes of Iraqis in the dead of night, terrorizing kids and children, you know, women, breaking sort of the customs of the ñ of ñ the historical customs, religious customs." --John Kerry in 2005
"[American troops in Vietnam] personally raped, cut off ears, cut off heads, taped wires from portable telephones to human genitals and turned up the power, cut off limbs, [blew] up bodies, randomly shot at civilians, razed villages in fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan, shot cattle and dogs for fun, poisoned food stocks, and generally ravaged the countryside of South Vietnam in addition to...the normal and very particular ravaging which is done by the applied bombing power of this country. ... There are all kinds of atrocities and I would have to say that, yes, yes, I committed the same kind of atrocities as thousands of other soldiers have committed...." --John Kerry in his 1971 testimony before Congress
Statement of John Kerry Responding to Republican Distortions, Pathetic Tony Snow Diversions and Distractions
Washington--Senator John Kerry issued the following statement in response to White House Press Secretary Tony Snow, assorted right wing nut-jobs, and right wing talk show hosts desperately distorting Kerry's comments about President Bush to divert attention from their disastrous record:
"If anyone thinks a veteran would criticize the more than 140,000 heroes serving in Iraq and not the president who got us stuck there, they're crazy. This is the classic G.O.P. playbook. I'm sick and tired of these despicable Republican attacks that always seem to come from those who never can be found to serve in war, but love to attack those who did.
I'm not going to be lectured by a stuffed suit White House mouthpiece standing behind a podium, or doughy Rush Limbaugh, who no doubt today will take a break from belittling Michael J. Fox's Parkinson's disease to start lying about me just as they have lied about Iraq. It disgusts me that these Republican hacks, who have never worn the uniform of our country lie and distort so blatantly and carelessly about those who have.
The people who owe our troops an apology are George W. Bush and Dick Cheney who misled America into war and have given us a Katrina foreign policy that has betrayed our ideals, killed and maimed our soldiers, and widened the terrorist threat instead of defeating it. These Republicans are afraid to debate veterans who live and breathe the concerns of our troops, not the empty slogans of an Administration that sent our brave troops to war without body armor.
Bottom line, these Republicans want to debate straw men because they're afraid to debate real men. And this time it won't work because we're going to stay in their face with the truth and deny them even a sliver of light for their distortions. No Democrat will be bullied by an administration that has a cut and run policy in Afghanistan and a stand still and lose strategy in Iraq."
For The Patriot's comprehensive coverage of John Kerry, click here.
To sign a petition to have John Kerry indicted for treason, click here.


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Sustainability Initiatives
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The octagon's first "Super Saturday" bash, UFC 51, in 2005 signaled the promotion's strategic and big aspirations.
The UFC strives to be combat sports' equivalent of the NFL in the U.S. Now, as two NFL teams clash for the Lombardi Trophy each February, UFC fighters hope to achieve the can't-miss magnitude of say, the Super Bowl, in the cage the night prior.
These annual Super Bowl weekend events have produced some legendary UFC fights for Las Vegas crowds. MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) now takes a look at the top 10, including Saturday's UFC 156 headliner between featherweight champion Jose Aldo and former lightweight titleholder Frankie Edgar.
10. Randy Couture def. Mark Coleman – UFC 109 (Feb. 6, 2010)
In a 205-pound bout between two former UFC heavyweight champions, Couture won the octagon's first contest featuring two enshrined UFC Hall of Famers. "The Natural" submitted the godfather of ground and pound, Coleman, with a second-round rear-naked choke. It was Coleman's final bout after 14 years of fighting. It was also Couture's final of 18 main events, a UFC record.
9. Jon Jones def. Ryan Bader – UFC 126 (Feb. 5, 2011)
Jones cruised past a respected Bader, winner of "The Ultimate Fighter 8," on Super Bowl Saturday like he did two years prior against Stephan Bonnar. The difference? Beating "Darth Bader" netted him a promised title shot. Commentator Joe Rogan informing Jones he had the opportunity to become the youngest champion in UFC history the following month (he did) is one of the greatest post-fight interviews in fighting history. Stopping Bader in two rounds launched Jones' unprecedented win streak in which he defeated five consecutive ex-UFC champions.
8. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira def. Tim Sylvia – UFC 81 (Feb. 2, 2008)
All the years Nogueira spent accumulating mileage on his brain and body in the Japanese PRIDE organization made "Minotauro" a legend as a late-fight spoiler. Beat up the resilient Brazilian every way possible, and you'd still get caught in his submission grips. The story was familiar by the time former champion Sylvia racked up 10 minutes worth of punching points on the jiu-jitsu black belt in their UFC interim heavyweight title fight. But in the third round, Nogueira's magic caught Sylvia in a guillotine choke. The win made Nogueira the only fighter in heavyweight history to hold belts in the UFC and PRIDE.
7. Carlos Condit def. Nick Diaz – UFC 143 (Feb. 4, 2012)
Condit needed the most leg kicks (68) in octagon history to get the judges' nod following 25 minutes with Diaz. "The Natural Born Killer" counted on his output to frustrate the Stockton, Calif. native, who's known for his ability to engage opponents in head games. Vying for the UFC's interim 170-pound belt (because champion Georges St-Pierre was on the shelf), Condit, the former WEC welterweight titleholder, got past the former Strikeforce welterweight champ in a razor-thin, high-level five-round headliner.
6. Evan Tanner def. Dave Terrell – UFC 51 (Feb. 5, 2005)
Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez likens teammate Terrell's loss to Tanner as "watching Superman get killed." Terrell was a highly touted new-breed fighter: a ravenous submission artist with enough talent standing to notch a 24-second KO of Olympic wrestler Matt Lindland. But in less than five minutes, Tanner's will and experience undercut the Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu black belt's seemingly preordained championship, and he stopped Terrell with systemic ground and pound for a TKO win.
Tanner never defended his belt and lost it to Rich Franklin four months later, which then set up Anderson Silva's currently uninterrupted and unparalleled middleweight title reign. Tanner is the octagon's lone deceased champion. Upsetting Terrell for the vacant 185-pound belt is his finest career moment.
5. Frank Mir def. Brock Lesnar I – UFC 81 (Feb. 2, 2008)
Lesnar debuted in the UFC in his second career fight against former UFC heavyweight champion Mir – which is something we shouldn't expect again anytime soon, if ever. Lesnar's crossover appeal from pro wrestling, his hulking frame, and an NCAA Division I national champion combined for his dramatic entry into the UFC heavyweight fray. However, submission specialist Mir snagged Lesnar's leg for a first-round kneebar. It didn't occur without controversy; referee Steve Mazzagatti halted Lesnar's successful bull-in-a-china-shop start with an infraction warning, which opened the door for Mir to recover and submit the future two-time UFC heavyweight champion.
The bout set up the headlining rematch at UFC 100, the UFC's largest PPV to date.
4. Jose Aldo vs. Frankie Edgar – UFC 156 (Feb. 2, 2013)
The superfight is upon us. This weekend, it's the first time a former lightweight champion ventures into a weight class that wasn't available in the UFC prior to 2011 as Edgar meets featherweight champ Aldo.
Edgar is one of the greatest lightweights ever after beating B.J. Penn – the man he took the title from and later defeated a second time. Aldo is the most dangerous, dynamic and decorated 145-pound fighter in the world, and he angles for his fourth consecutive UFC title defense and sixth overall (including the WEC). "Scarface" toys with the idea of moving up to lightweight and attempting a two-division title run should he beat Edgar, a fighter who hopes eventually to do the same.
This is the biggest 145-pound fight in history, and it's based on the weight of Edgar's lightweight credibility and Aldo's four-year, 11-fight undefeated streak in Zuffa.
Super Bowl Saturday is when Edgar broke on the UFC scene in his octagon debut against Tyson Griffin six years ago. He vies to break onto a new scene – as the UFC featherweight championship – here.
3. Georges St-Pierre def. B.J. Penn II – UFC 94 (Jan. 31, 2009)
UFC welterweight champ St-Pierre vs. then-lightweight titleholder Penn was first and foremost a fight between rivals. St-Pierre is the maniacally detailed high-performance champion. Penn was the unhinged prodigious talent attempting to be the first fighter to simultaneously hold UFC belts in two weight classes by righting a controversial decision he lost to St-Pierre in a non-title affair three years prior. It was the rarest clash between two current titleholders.
The fight stands out because fighters such as Penn, who had no issue challenging larger opponents at the elite level (and winning), became outdated thanks to divisional rulers such as St-Pierre. The larger man of equal skill typically beats the smaller man, a now-conventional wisdom Penn helped defy in the way Royce Gracie did in the early UFC days. It's also the first bout deemed worthy of the documentary hype series, "UFC Primetime."
2. Chuck Liddell def. Randy Couture III – (Feb. 4, 2006)
The Liddell-Couture trilogy defined the UFC. Couture is one of its most distinguished legends. Liddell, based on the strength of knocking out Couture twice to seize their series, became the UFC's face and a future hall of famer too during the octagon's initial rise to American mainstream popularity. The adversaries were always mutually respectful, but their matchup reached its immense heights because each UFC titan was bigger than a need for a grudge. Liddell and Couture were the first two UFC stars competitive and popular enough to warrant three octagon-establishing bouts.
1. Anderson Silva def. Vitor Belfort – UFC 126 (Feb. 6, 2011)
Silva is MMA and the UFC's standard. "The Spider" is the greatest championship finisher ever, and he's gone the distance just twice in his seven years destroying UFC opposition. Nothing exemplifies that more than front-kicking Belfort in the face in the first round. Knocking out the UFC pioneer and Brazil's first major MMA star sent Silva's popularity soaring in his native country, further elevating his American notoriety.
Silva stepped his foot down into true international superstar territory with the poster-worthy knockout, which remains his prized highlight in a career known for its operatic reel.
(Pictured: Anderson Silva)
* * * *
Danny Acosta is thewellversed.com's MMA editor. Listen to his "Acosta KO" segment on SiriusXM Fight Club (Sirius 92, XM 208) every Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. ET (1:30 p.m. PT). Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @acostaislegend.


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They're already writing it up. The Republican point man in the Senate? St. John of Tucson.
The lawmakers are considering abandoning a requirement in the Senate bill that would compel several million illegal immigrants to leave the United States before becoming eligible to apply for citizenship.
The lawmakers are also considering denying financing for 700 miles of fencing along the border with Mexico, a law championed by Republicans that passed with significant Democratic support…
The plan under consideration would allow 10 million or 11 million illegal immigrants to become eligible to apply for citizenship without returning home, up from 7 million in the original Senate bill. To be granted citizenship, they would have to remain employed, pass background checks, pay fines and back taxes, and enroll in English classes.
Flashback to November 9th, Hugh Hewitt interviewing Tony Snow:
HH: All right, now, I want to talk about immigration, as obviously, the President is a pro-regularization Republican, as I am, once the fence got passed. Now, it's all about regularization for me. However, a lot of conservatives are worried that he's just waiting to do the deal with Senator Reid and Speaker Pelosi, that is an amnesty deal, and that the fence will never get built. So question number one…
TS: No, the fence is going to be built. I mean, we've already made a committment to that.
HH: Did you see Mickey Kaus…Yeah, but no, the legislation is passed. It is up to the executive branch to get it built, and they're not trusting the idea that it will show up. I want to move on, though, to the…
TS: Whoa, whoa, wait. I'm not letting you leave it at that, because what you do is you part by saying you guys are a bunch of liars, but I want to leave it at that.
HH: No, I'm not.
TS: Well, I'm not going to let you leave it at that. We're going to get the fence built.
HH: I'm not calling you a liar at all. I'm saying that the public does not believe the fence is going to happen. In fact, the doubt is…
TS: Well, wait. Let me tell you something. The public needs to know, I'm telling you right now, the fence is going to be built. But I'm also telling you if you take a look, because we did a lot of work on this, too, the public also expects the rest of the stuff to get done.
The best chance of wringing a few concessions out of this will come from the House, where the Dems will want to give something to the blue dogs to placate their home districts.
Meanwhile, in Long Beach:
Police sought the public's help Saturday as they searched for a "known thug" who shot two police officers during a traffic stop Friday on a bustling downtown street…
[Chief Anthony] Batts described Gallegos as a "known thug" and said his first arrest was in 1990 in Long Beach on a firearms violation. He was deported in 1994, he said.
"He may have been deported several times," Batts said.


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Monday, October 27, 2014
Polls agree Tory will win Toronto race. Will voters?
These numbers have been steady for some time. Since the beginning of September, Tory has averaged no lower than 40.4% and no higher than 46.4%. He has led since the end of July.
For Chow, she has been stuck since the beginning of August with between 22% and 26.7%. She lost the lead in July and fell to third at the end of the next month. She never recovered.
All of this stability might be showing the effects of a long race. After months and months (and months) of campaigning and debates, people have made up their minds.
There has been a little more variation for Ford (29% to 34%) and Chow (21% to 25%) but those are marginal differences. Rarely do we see numbers clustered together so closely.
If we look at just the final three polls, we'd see a range for Tory of between 42% and 44%, Ford between 31% and 34%, and Chow between 21% and 25%. That would suggest a clear 1-2-3 finish for the three candidates. But let's extend that further, taking into account the margin of error for the highest and lowest results for each of the candidates.
When we do that, the ranges for Tory extend to between 39% and 47%, with Ford between 28% and 36% and Chow between 18% and 28%.
There are a few different scenarios in those ranges: a huge Tory victory by a margin of almost 20 points, or a close result with a margin of just three. Chow could finish in third place by a large degree, or potentially could narrowly edge out Ford for second.
If anything is going to skew these numbers, it could be turnout. It is always woefully low in municipal races, and I suspect that it might not be too high today either. If it was a closer race or if Rob Ford was still on the ballot, there could potentially be more interest. But as it stands, Doug Ford is not in range to win and Tory is not the kind of 'exciting' candidate that people will turn out in droves to vote for. On the other hand, the mayoral campaign has been so present in the lives of Torontonians for the last year that perhaps they will turn out in large numbers anyway. We'll see.
If turnout is determinant in the outcome, it seems that Tory should still have an advantage. Ipsos Reid gave Tory 51% support among likely voters, a gain of nine points over his standing among all eligible voters. Mainstreet Technologies gave him a boost of two points to 44%. Both pollsters agreed that Ford would take the biggest hit, dropping him by five to six points. For Chow, it was a bit of a wash. All signs point to a Tory victory today.
Though only a few firms were active during the race, polling in the campaign seemed omnipresent. In the end, they all agreed on the final outcome and were more or less in line throughout the last year. Will they be vindicated or could a surprise be in store tonight? Only a few hours remain before we'll find out and Toronto's long ordeal will be over.
24 comments:
This is about as close to a guarantee as I've seen in a long time.ReplyDeleteReplies
And the majority of votes will show that "Anybody But Ford" was viable.Delete
This campaigned showed an ABF campaign was not viable; Chow offered herself as the ABF candidate and was rejected. It will take the right candidate to defeat Ford. That is the lesson; AB Movements are inherently weak-their message is one of negativism and because they are against not for anything policies are not as developed or thought-out. They only hold positions that are juxtaposed against something else and so, they lack fresh ideas, innovation and insight. Consequently only a charismatic candidate is suitable to lead ABMs- Olivia Chow is not charismatic, as a result she was pushed to the side.Delete
This should serve as a lesson for the Left in Toronto; two elections in a row their candidate has been defeated. The Left needs to understand the University-Cabbagetoiwn-OLP-ONDP cabal does not have the democratic legitimacy to foist their candidate upon Torontonians. They need to develop a better mechanism to pick their candidate other than the order coming down from up high (the premier's office).
This election should serve as an impetus for Toronto to join the 20th century and develop a municipal party system.
"cabal"... *rolls eyes*Delete
No way would I support a municipal party system in Toronto. The party systems at the provincial and federal levels are bad enough, thank you very much. I think Toronto works just fine without one. Rob Ford started his term with a majority of councillors on his side, but ended his term as a distinct minority voice. That is how it should have been, and this is something that would not have been possible if Toronto had had a party system.Delete
Sorry bede but ABF carried the day !Delete
No it did not. Chow was the original ABF candidate she was third! It took a candidate who was more than simply an ABF candidate to win-that was John Tory.
The important thing is 73% of Torontonians voted for a conservative. Bad news for the Liberals.
a cabal is a secretive political clique or faction...much like the crowd who encouraged Chow and Smitherman to run.
wrong bede. Any candidate was an ABF candidate. Chow ran a poor campaign and paid the consequences. Tory did a good job and had the image to succeed.Delete
But the really great thing is the Ford Nation lost !! And that's superb !!
I don't know what's in the water where you live but, it makes for some strange logic. "Any (sic) candidate was an ABF candidate". No Peter, Doug Ford was not an ABF candidate, if all candidates were ABF (except a Ford) the vote would split and F would be elected. For ABMs to work one candidate must have primacy vis a vis the other AB candidates otherwise it's just an election.
I'm glad you think Toronto works well, I think it does not. Taxes are nearly double the tax rate in Vancouver! Toronto has 2 subway lines, Vancouver has 3 lines and building a fourth, although admittedly not all of them are underground. Parks in Toronto are good but, I could mention a few cities with better park systems.
As for your Ford analogy that is one way to look at it but, a party may have forced Ford out sooner to preserve their electoral chances. Ford held on for a year and a half, this caused confusion and at the end of the day although his powers were limited he was still the Mayor and face of Toronto.
Given the high numbers at the advanced polls, I'd expect a high turn out today. Tory may be bland, but the people's desire to get rid of Ford and move on from the last four years is not.ReplyDelete
- Anonymous27 October, 2014 12:29
My projection is Tory somewhere around 52-56%, Doug Ford 18-24% and Olivia Chow 19-24%ReplyDelete
Interesting article about polling in rabble.ca by Quintin Zachary Hewlett, titled, 'Missed call: The influence of cell phone culture on accuracy in political polls'ReplyDelete
Éric, I know you don't like links, so don't post if you'd rather... (http://rabble.ca/news/2014/10/missed-call-influence-cell-phone-culture-on-accuracy-political-polls#.VE5VEoF-N8M.facebook)Replies
An interesting article, but it has a few factual errors:Delete
1) Telephone polls do include cell phones.
2) Polling did not 'almost universally' predict a PC victory in the last Ontario election, but rather a Liberal victory. Only question was whether it would be minority or not. The IVR polls he criticizes were the ones that called a Liberal majority.
Yes, the first point seems to be a pretty common misperception. The second is harder to explain, if one was paying attention to the polls in that election...Delete
But good to see more people asking the questions, etc. in a thoughtful manner...
There was a bit of an upset last week in the Mayor's race in Winnipeg when Bowman ended up unexpectedly winning by a large margin. Could we see another surprise in Toronto tonight? Probably not as likely, since there's been so much more polling in Toronto and the likelihood of a major error is lower, but it's possible the margins could be different than what the polls are showing.ReplyDelete
John Tory will win, but for us political junkies its more than just who wins.ReplyDelete
I wonder if the today's result will match the polls. Can Doug Ford really motivate a third of the city's electorate to the polls? Will traditional Olivia Chow supporters vote strategically or vote with their hearts? Can John Tory win in every region of the city? How will council look like?
The mayoral races in nearby municipalities such as Mississauga, Brampton, Richmond Hill and Markham will be interesting to watch too. The local politics and dynamics of those cites may produce some interesting results.
My prediction is a surprise win by the weird clown that's running. Not Doug Ford - the actual clown.ReplyDelete
I can see Doug Ford pulling out an upset. Taxes are far too high in Toronto. A $7,000 per year property bill is normal! That is a higher tax rate than Vancouver and, three times the taxation levels of Calgary or Edmonton. The median income in Toronto is about $73,000 per year.ReplyDelete
I predict the PCs will win all four Alberta by-elections. Some people think Calgary-elbow could go to the Alberta party but, I don't think this affluent neighbourhood will turn down a powerful cabinet minister just so it can "make a point". The Alberta party, Liberal party ANDP and Wildrose all lack strong organisations outside a handful of ridings. The PCs have a proven track record of getting their voters to the polls. Hence, a PC sweep.
9:30 PM TorontoReplyDelete
Tory 40.3 %
Ford 33.7%
Chow 23.1%
Try shoo-in !!
well, unless the advance poll results were very different, looks like Tory slightly underperformed and the others slightly overperformed. likely due to the sense of Tory being a shoo-in at the end of the campaign.... left some voters less motivated as they were unconcerned.ReplyDelete
i think the advance poll numbers will swing the results back towards the 308 average
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4790 W. 16th Street, Indianapolis, IN 46222
(800) 822-4639 (317) 492-6700 Mon-Fri, 9a.m.-5p.m. ET
Jul 2, 2020
September 10, 2012 | By Bruce Martin
Jeff Gordon could have made the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup the easy way by winning the Federated Auto Parts 400 on Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway. But when Gordon's No. 24 Chevrolet was a handful at the beginning of the race, he was forced to grab the final wild-card position the hard way – by finishing far enough ahead of Kyle Busch to make it in on points.
With the top 10 drivers in points after the race qualified for the Chase, the final two wild-card positions were awarded to two drivers in positions 11-20 with the most victories. Gordon's Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kasey Kahne had a firm grasp on one of those wild cards with two wins.
Both Gordon and Busch had one win this season, and Busch entered the race 12th in points. If Busch maintained that points position, he would have been the wild card. Instead, Gordon overcame adversity to finish second at Richmond while Busch finished 16th, one lap down to race winner Clint Bowyer.
That was enough to move Gordon into 12th by just three points over Busch. Both drivers have one win this season, so Gordon clinched the wild card.
Four-time Brickyard 400 winner Gordon will attempt to win his fifth Cup championship when the Chase begins Sunday, Sept. 16 at Chicagoland Speedway.
"I went from last week to being the most disappointed I've ever been to finish second to the most excited I've ever been to finish second," Gordon said after the Richmond race, which was delayed by rain and stopped for rain and ended at close to 1:30 a.m. Eastern time Sunday. "Wow, what a race for us. We just flat out missed the setup at the beginning. Luckily Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) and the engineers got together and found the tools that we could utilize to make the car better. The biggest thing is that rear bar; we just had to get rid of it. We did that. We cut the chain. Our car really started coming to us right then. We finally got some drive-off.
"You can look at this race. All the things that have gone for us this year, everything went right for us tonight. We had some guys stay out there on tires on basically that last caution that really cost them good finishing positions. We came in and got tires at that time. We were able to drive up through there. I had a good race car."
Once Gordon's car improved, he drove through the field in an impressive effort to make the Chase.
"Alan called a great timing for that last pit stop because Tony Stewart was ahead of us," Gordon said. "We short-pitted it, and it worked us getting out ahead of Tony and run Mark Martin down at the end.
"It was amazing. I still can't believe we actually did it. I know how proud Rick (Hendrick, team owner) is to have all four teams into this Chase. That was a big goal of ours. It's pretty amazing to know we accomplished that."
Gordon is the final "Brickyard Legend" to enter the 2012 Chase for the Championship. The others include four-time Brickyard 400 winner and five-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson, who is seeded second behind Denny Hamlin, and two-time Brickyard winner and three-time Cup champion Tony Stewart of Columbus, Ind., the defending Cup champion, who is seeded third. Also, 2003 Brickyard 400 winner Kevin Harvick will start the Chase ninth, and Gordon is seeded 12th.
Other drivers with strong connections to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway include fan-favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr., whose father won the second Brickyard 400 in 1995. He is seeded seventh. And former United States Auto Club (USAC) standout Kahne, who lived in Indianapolis while he was an open-wheel star, is the 11th seed.
Gordon earned the final wild card by the narrowest of margins, right down to the last calculation.
"We discussed prior to the race that we weren't going to talk about it until that final run," Gordon said. "Even in that final run, they just kept saying, 'Go get that next one, all right, go get that next one.' We were going through a bunch of cars there because there were guys on old tires. We were passing cars. I didn't know what position we were in. I didn't know what was going on. I knew that it looked like some guys were staying out because of how slow they were running. Alan got pretty animated when he said, 'You got to get the 55 (Martin Truex, Jr.), you have to get the 55,' and there was 10 to go.
"I kind of had an idea that that would get us in, but he didn't ever say it. I'm assuming, yes, they were calculating it some way, somehow."
While Gordon's Chevrolet excelled at the end, Busch's Toyota never got better. That left Joe Gibbs Racing driver Busch out of the Chase.
"We missed. That's it. Plain and simple," Busch said. "We handled it the right way. There's no right way to handle this situation."
Gordon's reward came after a tense night of delays – first to start the race because of rain and then a lengthy red-flag period just shy of the halfway point of the race.
"I was not very smiling and happy at that rain delay, the one red flag," Gordon said. "I was pretty ticked off that we got that far behind. I'll be honest: For me as a race car driver, when you have that kind of start to the race, you don't have a lot of hope you're going to get it turned around.
"I went to Alan. He never wavered. He was confident. They were looking at the data from what we had, to our teammates, even Tony. We had just done the rear bar. They were pretty confident that was going to get us close to our teammates. He was right. I still had a little doubt in him, though.
"I felt like I won the race tonight. When that was over, they told me I was in the Chase, we made it, I mean, I was ecstatic. I was going nuts. To me, after you have that kind of effort, fall back, then come up there and finish second, almost win the race, make it in by one point, man, I don't see any reason why we can't go over these next 10 races and be a real threat for the championship.
"Man, that was an awesome effort. I tell what you, I'm so fired up to get this Chase started, I don't care where we are starting points, we're in it. Man, that was so much fun there at the end to be able to drive up through there. They did it. I mean, Alan is such a great crew chief, and he never gave up. He kept me fired up, this whole team, we never got out of it as bad as it looked and we made this car good enough to go up there and run up front and almost win the thing. That was amazing."


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Last June, Northern Spark promised the Twin Cities its first European-style nuit blanche, or "white night" festival, and what did we get?
As it neared 2 a.m., the view from the open-air observation deck 30 stories up the historic Foshay Tower was of a night sky dyed orange from streetlights and of darkened skyscrapers speckled fluorescent green where the lights still glowed in empty offices. A giddy crowd watched red taillights stream down Interstate-94 and saw the sleepy neighborhoods beyond spangled with white porch lights left burning through the night.
It was one of many magical moments from last year's all-night art festival, and even at that late hour, when bars and clubs were pushing patrons out the door, revelers gladly joined the long line in the Foshay lobby, content to wait 30 minutes or more just to experience that view. Yes, there was an art installation up there, too — a sound collage of Twin Cities radio stations — but glittering Minneapolis stole the show.
Over 20,000 people participated in that first-ever Northern Spark festival, packing the Stone Arch Bridge during the opening ceremony at dusk and then fanning out across Minneapolis and St. Paul to visit as many of the 100 art projects as they could before dawn — or sleep — brought their white nights to a close.
This year, the nuit blanche that kicks off at dusk June 9 won't be quite as sprawling. Due to scheduling conflicts with events planned for St. Paul, all of this year's art projects will take place within five zones in Minneapolis: downtown; the area around the Stone Arch Bridge; the University of Minnesota campus; the Walker Art Center campus; and parts of south and southwest around the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis College of Art and Design and the Midtown Greenway.
Northern Spark spokesperson Tom Loftus said festival organizers are planning a big return to St. Paul in 2013, but in the meantime it means our city will be even more densely packed with art projects this year: The slightly expanded festival schedule includes 120 projects by about 200 participating artists.
Planning ahead is essential to make the most of the festival. The festival website (northernspark.org) lists projects by artist name, time and location, and includes interactive maps to help design a personalized after-dark excursion. Northern Spark also plans to make a smart phone app with maps and project information available for download before the festival, Loftus said.
Organizers are also trying to boost the festival's social media profile, offering new ways for participants to interact via Twitter and even win prizes for tweeting about the festival — including a pass to the front of that long, long Foshay Tower line. The idea is to use social media for real-time feedback from patrons on the night's best events.
"It will give festival-goers a sense of what projects are really trending," Loftus said.
A survey of last year's festival-goers indicated nearly one-third of them traveled that night by bicycle, and organizers aim to boost their numbers this year by promoting their partnership with Nice Ride, the city's bike-sharing system. Most festival events are within easy walking distance of Nice Ride stations.
Last year, only a couple of mobile food vendors set up for the night, and where they did the lines were discouragingly long. This year, at least 10 food trucks will spread out across the festival to satisfy late-night cravings.
Northern Spark is free and open to the public, so there's no need to wait for an invitation, but festival organizers are planning to issue one, anyway. Starting June 2, the phrase "think and wonder, wonder and think" — the theme of this year's festival — will be illuminated in 8-foot-tall letters on the Stone Arch Bridge.
"It will be sort of like our Bat-Signal to the Twin Cities," Loftus said.


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Simon Aronson has been a respected creator of innovative card magic for over 25 years. Combining his strong background in mentalism with his extensive knowledge of card magic, Simon has created a host of blockbuster card miracles that aren't knuckle busters! The Aronson approach diabolically blends subtleties, stacks, sleights, mathematics, gaffs, thinking on your feet and much more, to produce strong, clean, impossible looking "hands off" magic that leaves your spectators shaking their heads and uttering, "But you didn't do anything!"
In these DVDs, Simon has selected his favorite creations for you. The performances are fun, friendly and utterly fooling. The explanations are done in Simon's typical style: clear, in depth, and full of the tips, subtleties, and explanations of why Simon has chosen a particular approach. It's like a session with Simon that lets you share in his creative thinking.
Volume 1 includes:
Do you own this product? Write a review.


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In Freetown recently, I came face to face with something that made me a believer: a trash truck.
A believer in what? That depends on what or whom you credit with the appearance of the trash truck. A newly buoyant national government? A streamlined UN better supporting national needs? Aid? Whatever your preferred church of social service causality, the point is that I was sitting in Freetown's legendary traffic, I saw a trash truck.
A picture of a gleaming white sanitation truck will never make it onto a postcard, but it's possibly the thing most worth writing home about. When I first came here two years ago, Freetown rid itself of trash by collecting it in piles at the end of major (and narrow) streets and burning it. There are still a few major piles to be found at strategic locations, but they're tended by trucks – and presumably, workers with nifty new jobs – and the trash is taken away.
You may be asking yourself, Is she seriously writing about trash collection? I get that this has the potential to sound a little snotty, as if the recently returned adventure tourist is pleased to see that the natives have finally discovered sanitation. But that would be too cynical a read even for me. And it would be wrong, for reasons that suggest perhaps this whole peacebuilding thing, which I'm here investigating for the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, has its merits.
Earlier this week, I spoke with Philip Dive, the joint strategy officer at UN country headquarters and, de facto, HQ's peacebuilding point man. Peacebuilding is a word with as many definitions as people you ask, but Dive's take sticks out: He thinks of peacebuilding as a process of normalization, of taking situations so abnormal they demand attention – 70 percent of youth are illiterate! – and fixing them so that, basically, they don't. (Ever read a news story headlined, "Seventy percent of youth can read and write!" Me either.)
Dive doesn't use "abnormal" normatively. There's not judgment in it, the same way that my noticing trash collection is not an invocation of the colonial continuum of progress toward civilization. And that's just the point. When you come to Freetown – which you should, for the beautiful beaches and the delicious food and the people and the fantastic hand-dyed fabrics and expert tailors – you won't notice the trash collection. Because to you, it's normal.
Here's another sign it may be working: When I told a bank teller downtown that I was writing on peacebuilding in Sierra Leone, he cringed. Another reporter looking for the brink-of-war-again story, his face seemed to say.
He told me he works a 12-hour day, with an hour's commute on either end. He's busy, and often, he's tired. "We don't need anyone to tell us not to go to back to the bush," he said, cufflinks clinking against the counter as he counted out my leones -- doing what bank tellers everywhere do, normally.
--- Jina Moore blogs at Jinamoore.com.
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Know more about this business than we do? Cool! Please submit any corrections or missing details you may have.Help us make it right
Be the first AL.com user to add photos or videos of Church of The Good Shepherd Episcopal
Church of the Good Shepherd Episcopal can be found at Spring Ave Sw 3809. The following is offered: Churches. The entry is present with us since Sep 9, 2010 and was last updated on Nov 14, 2013. In Decatur there are 48 other Churches. An overview can be found here.


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The Artist
Show Schedule
Jane produces museum quality objects dart in
the form of glass display cases, miniature greenhouses, and
miniature conservatories. Constructed of glass, combining
1/8" double strength clear with accents of stained art
glass, Lady Jane uses the "Tiffany" method of foil
and solder. The structures are 1/12th scale (1
inch = 1 foot) and are available with or without contents.
They may be used to display your most treasured collections
in an elegant, attractive, highly visible setting -- in a
dust free environment. Or they may be decorated as miniature
room settings.
Jane now offers secure online ordering!
the following pages you will view some of the outstanding
one-of-a-kind display cases of Lady
Jane which are now in Private Collections or Museums, as well
as many of her standard dislay
cases that she has decorated for display. Custom designs
may be ordered. All orders are filled on a first come, first
served basis.
Jane displays at shows throughout
the country where pieces may be ordered, or purchased on an
available basis. Orders are also accepted via the Internet,
telephone, or by mail.
are always welcome at the Studio, by appointment
only! If you are in the general Tampa Bay area, please
consider stopping by. Visitors will get to see some of Linda's
work that does not appear on our Website, such as Glass Windchimes,
Suncatchers, Dichroic Glass Jewelry, decorative plates and
stepping stones ! You will also have the opportunity to visit
June Schuette's Miniature Museum right next door. It is one
of the finest Private Collections of Miniatures in the U.S.Her
collection features several of Linda's major
pieces, such as the Crystal Palace, Rainforest and Contemporary
House, as well as significant works of Rik Pierce, Scott Hughes
and many others. Please contact us at least 24 hours in
advance. 941-776-2769 or E-mail
appreciate your interest in Lady Jane. If you would like to
be notified of site updates, please subscribe to our email
update list (below).
Lady Jane
12240 Doris Road
Parrish, FL 34219
Privacy Policy
© 2012 Anne
Gerdes Web Design


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COVID-19 UPDATE: We are delighted to be able to open our gates again but we have revised our opening hours which are Wednesday to Sunday from 10am until 4pm. Nick will be on hand to help with small requests but if you have lots of questions, or require detailed advice, please call or email BEFORE you visit. We have been overwhelmed by the support, encouragement and appreciation we have received during the closed period. We thank you all greatly. Dismiss


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Steven Kasher Gallery is proud to present Weegee: Naked City in conjunction with two major specifically-focused Weegee exhibitions, Weegee: Naked Hollywood at MoCA andWeegee: Murder is My Business at the ICP. With over 125 Weegee prints we explore the full emotional and satirical and aesthetic ranges of Weegee's photographs of New Yorkers and other urbanites. The exhibition features multiple prints from each of Weegee's basic subjects: Song and Dance, Drink, Party, Spectacle, Circus, Love and Sex, Crime and Disaster, Citizens, Celebrity, Art and Weegee Himself. The exhibition will also feature audio and film recordings of Weegee's voice, one of the great guttural Jewish New Yorkese hybrids of spoken English.
The exhibition takes its cues from the title of Weegee's first book, Naked City, which became a bestseller, made Weegee famous, and transformed him from a journalist into an artist. It was a title with many implications. The city and its citizens exposed. The bare truth. A city that fills you with hungers, lusts, passions. A city ready to frolic. A city that makes you think bad thoughts.
No other photographer has ever portrayed a city with Weegee's level of intimacy, amorality, and complicitness -- and humor. He strips the citizens bare, all of them, poor, rich and middling. There is no looking down or looking up: he is too mixed up in everything he sees, too much part of the shenanigans, too compromised, too desperate for publicity and pay, too much the obsessive Peeping Tom. Ultimately, we feel innocent while looking at Weegee's naked city. Shame and pride are banished as we confront in our own bad and good natures, in a bald light, in the raw.
The influence of Weegee and of Naked City are incalculable. William Klein's New York and Robert Frank's The Americans are unthinkable without it. Diane Arbus wrote: "He was SO good when he was good. Extraordinary!" Daido Moriyama, greatest of all Japanese street photographers cites Weegee (along with Warhol) as his major influence. Warhol's major subject is the tabloid imagery that Weegee pioneered and epitomized.
Weegee has authored eight books: Naked City (1945.); Weegee's People (1946.); Naked Hollywood (1953); Weegee's Secret of Shooting with Photoflash as Told to Mel Harris(1953); Weegee's Creative Camera (1959); Weegee, by Weegee: An Autobiography (1961);Weegee's Creative Photography (1964) and The Village (1989).
There have been over 30 monographs on the artist, including the recent publicationsNaked Hollywood: Weegee in Los Angeles (MoCA, 2011) and forthcoming Weegee: Murder Is My Business (ICP, 2011). Past publications include: Capa, Cornell, and John Coplans.Weegee the Famous (1977); Stettner, Louis. Weegee. (1977); Coplans, John. Weegee: Täter und Opfer: 85 Fotografien. (1978); Nothhelfer, Gabriele. Bildinterpretationen zu Fotografien von Weegee. (1978); Talmey, Allene. Weegee. Photo selection by Marvin Israel (1997); Coplans, John. Extra: Weegee at Wolf. (1980); Arthur Fellig Alias Weegee: New York Photographs, 1935–1950. (1981); Coplans, John. Weegee's New York: 335 Photographs, 1935–1960. (1982); Martin, Peter. Weegee: Credit Photo by Weegee the Famous. (1984); Laude, André. Weegee. (1989); Porter, Allan. Weegee, 1899–1968. (1991); Marshall, Joseph. Weegee the Famous and the New York Milieu. (1993); Weegee:The Photography of Arthur Fellig (1899–1968). (1995); Barth, Miles. Weegee's World.(1997); Coplans, John. Weegee: Naked New York. (1997); Zuckriegl, Margit. Weegee's Story: From the Berinson Collection. (1999); Purcell, Kerry William. Weegee. (2004); Keller, Judith. Weegee: Photographs from the J. Paul Getty Museum. (2005) plus many more.
Weegee's photography can be found in scores of museums and private collections worldwide. Weegee's work currently resides in the permanent collections of J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles; Museum of Modern Art, New York; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Museum of Modern Art, Oxford; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; International Center of Photography, New York and more.
Weegee: Naked City will be on view from January 12 through February 25, 2012. Steven Kasher Gallery is located at 521 W. 23rd St., New York, NY 10011. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 11 am to 6 pm. For more information or press requests please contact Christiona Owen at 212 966 3978 or firstname.lastname@example.com.


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A Place in the Country: Acreage Owner's Guide. This on-line resource has been adapted to include resources and contact information for families interested in living on an acreage in Lancaster County, Nebraska
Table of Contents
- What You Need to Know as a Nebraska Landowner
- List of Contacts for Lancaster County, Nebraska
- Assessing the Rural Life
- Knowing Your responsibilities
- Make a Plan
- Exploring Horticulture
- Evaluating Drinking Water
- Protecting Surface Water Quality
- Handling Waste Water
- Understanding Soil Resources
- Controlling Pests - Weed Management
- Controlling Pests - Insect Management
- Keeping Animals
- Living with Wildlife
- University Extension Resources
- We want to hear from YOU!
Source: Adapted for Lancaster County, Nebraska from A Place in the Country: The Acreage Owner's Guide (EC97-2506C).


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Moustakas to return to action Wednesday
KANSAS CITY -- Third baseman Mike Moustakas, who has been battling a left calf strain, will return to the Royals' starting lineup on Wednesday against the White Sox. Moustakas was injured running the bases on Aug. 12 and has played just one game since.
Manager Ned Yost said that Moustakas would have been available Tuesday, but he elected to start Jamey Carroll in his place and lead off against left-hander John Danks.
"He's getting better," Yost said of Moustakas. "Right now, we're just trying to get that leg healed. We're facing tough lefties and thought we'd give him an opportunity to heal up and have him available to come into the game late or pinch-hit."
Moustakas is batting .306 (26-for-85) since the All-Star break with 13 RBIs. He'd hit just .215 previously.
"He's a valuable part of this team and he's been swinging the bat well," Yost said. "This leg injury affects him in his speed a little bit. It doesn't really affect him at third, but we want to get him healed, so we're trying to take every opportunity to give him every break we possibly can and use him against right-handed pitching right now."
Center fielder Lorenzo Cain is eligible to come off the disabled list in five days, but said he has no real timeline at this point. Cain was placed on the DL on Aug. 10 after he aggravated an oblique strain in batting practice the day before.
"It's coming along, I've been working hard, but it's very uncertain if I'll be ready in five days," Cain said.
So far, Cain has been restricted to just strength and conditioning, but he has not starting swinging the bat or throwing.
"If I can get healthy enough to run at full speed and play defense at full speed, that will be good enough for now, then I can ease my way back into hitting," Cain said.
In his absence, Jarrod Dyson and Emilio Bonifacio have been splitting games in center field.


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Mullacott Park, Devon is perfectly located in South West England; one of the UK's many holiday destinations. Be inspired by the adventures on offer and the local attractions to explore. Booking a privately owned caravan or lodge on Mullacott Park would be an ideal start to your holiday.
Holiday Caravans Direct are reaching out to owners across the UK to join our fantastic holiday community; so that we can provide guests with a superb choice of caravans and lodges across the UK's finest holiday destinations.
For owners and agents on Mullacott Park, Holiday Caravans Direct can help you to provide the perfect holiday for guests in your caravan or lodge – it's the smart way to earn money from your caravan whilst it's empty.


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Who are we?
We are a professional non-profit association that is dedicated to building a testing community that views the role of testing as skilled, relevant, and essential to the production of software products.
We also encourage and promote the use of the principles of context-driven testing to help choose testing objectives, techniques, and deliverables for each specific testing situation recognizing that there are no best practices only good ones in each context.
We value a scientific approach to developing and evaluating techniques, processes, and tools. We believe that a self-aware, self-critical attitude is essential to understanding and assessing the impact of new ideas on the practice of testing.
We are willing to question commonly held beliefs and principles about software development so as to improve the craft of software testing. For example, could it actually be cheaper to fix a bug later in the project lifecycle? Can a test be useful and valid without a predetermined result?
Why Join?
AST was founded with the intention to improve the state of software testing and the lives of testers by raising awareness through events, education, and community. Each member benefits from different aspects of their membership – below are some things you can benefit from as a member.
Member Benefits
- Professional Affiliation
- Code of Ethics
- Industry Activism
- Community of Professionals
- Events
- Education (Black Box Software Testing courses)
- Discounts and Privileges
- Blog syndication
Professional Affiliation
By becoming an AST member, you show an affiliation with an organization and people devoted to the discussion of issues in software testing, particularly the philosophy of testing and its practical grounding. Your membership also demonstrates your dedication to improving the practice of software testing both personally and professionally by framing it in the art and science of critical thinking.
Code of Ethics
As an AST member you must agree to a Code of Ethics. By doing so you are demonstrating your support for the principles shared by our members both nationally and internationally in regards to software testing. In addition your agreement with these ethics shows a current or prospective employer your commitment to the advancement of software testing as both a thoughtful craft and a professional, technical discipline.
Industry Activism
As a member you can make a difference in the future of software testing and in its social issues by joining a Special Interest Group (SIG). A SIG is a group of members who share a desire to pursue a specific, significant long-term activity in an area of interest to the Association and the lives of testers. You can be a part of the research, support, and advancement of a cause that you believe is most important in testing. If the topic you are most interested in is not currently addressed, we will help you form a SIG or Committee so you can lead change in that area.
Some examples of topics currently being addressed by Committees:
- Tester Education
- Standards and Professional Practices
Community of Professionals
As a member you will be joining a community of some of the best-known, passionate thinkers and practitioners in the business, each of whom considers themselves as much a student as they are an expert.
As a member you will part of an elite and active community of testers who are passionate about the most important challenges in our field and are interested in resolving (or at least improving upon) them. As a member you will be given the opportunity to collaborate, innovate, and advance software testing. Through networking opportunities you can discuss and learn more about issues that matter to you.
As a member you can attend our large yearly conference (CAST) or one of our many smaller workshops. While the larger conference is most well known the workshops are historically where many of our industries advancements occurred. The discussions from both events are designed to promote collaboration and produce new content for the testing community to share, framed by a Creative Commons License.
As a member you can discover untold knowledge from both the biggest and the smallest events. Below are some events that we supports or sponsor:
- Conference for the Association for Software Testing (CAST)
- Workshop on Heuristic and Exploratory Techniques (WHET)
- Workshop for the Teaching of Software Testing (WTST)
- Software Testing in Financial Services (STiFS)
As a member you are able to participate in our critically acclaimed Black Box Software Testing (BBST) online educational series. Each BBST course is 4 weeks in duration, and taught completely online allowing you to participate from anywhere in the world. The purpose of these courses is to gain a deeper level of learning about software testing than what you could find elsewhere. As a student will have the opportunity to practice, discuss, evaluate, review, and provide feedback on not only your work but also other student's work. This deep level of participation and interaction makes these courses challenging, educational, and unique.
Discounts and Privileges
- Ability to attend our online testing courses (Black Box Software Testing)
- Significant discounts for the annual conference (CAST)
- Preferential placement in training
- Ability to contribute content and be published
Blog Syndication
As a Regular Member you can have your blog syndicated on our website. This provides additional exposure for your blog and ideas, further advancing our industry. It also provides you a single location for staying current with the most current information from top academics and practitioners.
Slack Channel
As a member you will have the opportunity to join our Slack Channel where you can collaborate, ask questions and generally meet fellow members. You'll also be privvy to upcoming events and announcements before anyone else!


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Exciting news. Our app has a new name – Healthily. Learn more
As many as 20 tradespeople a week could be dying from asbestos damage to their lungs, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) says.
Even though asbestos is now banned, people working in the construction industries, maintenance or demolition could still come into contact with asbestos dust, putting their health in danger. Exposure to asbestos is a risk, whether tradespeople are working on domestic or industrial premises.
The HSE estimates that tradespeople could encounter asbestos 100 times a year. It has launched the "Beware Asbestos" campaign, which aims to stem the rising number of asbestos-related deaths.
Diseases caused by contact with asbestos include mesothelioma (a type of cancer that affects the membrane around the lung) and asbestos-related lung cancer .
Many asbestos-related deaths are among tradespeople, such as electricians, builders, plasterers and plumbers, or people working in construction industries like shipbuilding or insulation. The death rate among this group is increasing.
It can take 20-50 years for mesothelioma to develop, so it is usually diagnosed when it is already at an advanced stage. People who worked in construction decades ago may still develop mesothelioma when they are much older.
There is no link between mesothelioma and smoking, but smokers who have also been exposed to asbestos have a greater risk of lung cancer than smokers who haven't.
According to the HSE, many workers, especially tradespeople, assume they're not at risk, because asbestos was banned many years ago. However, as asbestos remains in many buildings, it is still a risk to workers, even today.
Asbestos is likely to be present in any building constructed or refurbished before the year 2000. An estimated half a million buildings contain it.
If a building containing asbestos is repaired or maintained and the asbestos fibres are disturbed – for instance, by drilling or cutting – they can easily be inhaled as a deadly dust. Opening a window or drinking a glass of water will not protect you against the dangers of asbestos.
"We need to educate tradespeople about how asbestos and its dangers are relevant to them. We want them to change the way they work so that they don't put their lives at risk," says Steve Coldrick, director of the HSE's Disease Reduction Programme.
You can find out more on the HSE web pages on asbestos, where there is also a free asbestos web app to help tradespeople identify where they could come into contact with asbestos in their day-to-day work.
HSE has the following advice to workers who may be exposed to asbestos:
Tom King, 64, developed mesothelioma after exposure to asbestos in his job as a carpenter.
He renovated domestic houses, which involved knocking ceilings and walls down to convert houses into flats. He removed any asbestos found during the work and threw it into skips for removal. He had no training on how to handle it.
"I wasn't aware of the danger of asbestos," says Tom. "If I'd known about it, I would have put a mask on, or I would have refused to handle it."
After experiencing chest pains and breathlessness, he went to visit his doctor, who referred him for a chest X-ray and other lung tests. Tom was diagnosed with mesothelioma.
There is no cure for this asbestos-related cancer. However, treatments including chemotherapy , radiotherapy and surgery can prolong life and improve symptoms.
You may be able to claim compensation if you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma. Macmillan Cancer Support has more information on financial help and compensation for people with mesothelioma.
Mesothelioma UK offers information and support through their free helpline. Call 0800 169 2409 or email Mesothelioma UK. They also have information on legal issues and lists of support groups for people with asbestos-related diseases.
Important: Our website provides useful information but is not a substitute for medical advice. You should always seek the advice of your doctor when making decisions about your health.