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by Mike
The View From Here working in partnership with the Arts Council Funded Exclusively Independent has helped launch their website exclusivelyindependent.com
The site will bring all the latest news from the scheme brought to you by Lauren Parsons. Nestled in with the magazine, you can find it in the tabs section above or go to it directly here.
Legend Press, in conjunction with the Arts council England, launched the innovative scheme in 08 entitled 'Exclusively Independent' aimed at bringing independent bookshops and independent publishers together.
"It's a concern that bookshops will clamp down on buying from smaller independent publishers in these hard times, so this provides the chance to showcase raw talent, and appeal to experimental book-lovers who don't want to see the same old titles wherever they go."
Lauren Parsons
Initially based in London bookshops, the reaction has been overwhelming, and the scheme is now featured in a selection of London Libraries.
To highlight independent talent, EI have created a shelf-size display of the best books from independent publishers, selected on a monthly basis by an industry panel; the initiative offers POS, promotional discount and high-profile marketing support to the bookshops.
To kick start the launch, Lauren will post a 'Book of the Day' where each day will be dedicated to titles from the selection. So this will include, Author Info, Images, all publicity to date, as well as quotes from the Publishing company, and those involved.
It should be fun - do pop over there and see what goodies Lauren brings as the scheme continues to gather momentum.


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Barefoot Daydreams Christmas Home Tour 2016Saturday, December 17, 2016
This blog has been pretty dead for the last year and I haven't done a Christmas tour in years but I was determined to get it up this year-- it used to be my favorite blog to share! I comply with my own rule of no Christmas decor before Thanksgiving, but as soon as that turkey is digested, I'm up in the attic untangling lights. The warmth of twinkle lights, the spiced drinks on the stove, and the constant Hallmark movies...the nativity scenes, the carols, the reminders of hope and joy in an otherwise dreary world. It wouldn't be a year without Christmas and I love these tangible reminders of this sacred holiday we celebrate.
Disclaimer: I'm following Nester's lead with the mantra "It doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful." And if you've popped in to our house anytime over the last few weeks {I'm looking at you Chaaron and AnnieLaurie}, you can attest my house is not really this clean. Ever. Rest assured, beyond the frame of each picture, there are moved piles of junk mail and preschool art and unswept floors. Like, really big piles.
Sarah Bohl sees it!}
Thank you so much for stopping by and indulging my Christmas whims! It is absolutely my favorite part of the year but I have also grow weary of the coming chaos. Every year I am determined to be less stressed, and less busy, and less obligated... I am constantly re-arranging priorities so to not get lost in the unimportant details of the season. One year I didn't do a card, this year we're not hosting a party, many years I don't get a blog up, I gave up a cookie swap I used to host...all things I love but aren't worth it when it's at the cost of our sanity, time with the kids, or robs me of the joy this coming birth is supposed to remind me of. So thanks for spending a second or two of your precious time to share in this tour... If you were really here, I'd throw some Russian Tea on the stove for you and force feed you pine bark! Merry Christmas!
Without anymore excuses, come on in!
After the garland and mistletoe, you'll notice the toys I passive agressively leave on the steps in hopes someone will actually take them upstairs {it doesn't work}. Or the giant train table box that is way too heavy to be moved before Christmas. "No, I have no idea what this is kids. It's for Daddy's work..." It's going to be so much harder to lie when my kids can read.
We've been buying the Congressional Christmas ornament since we were engaged in 2006 so we have a pretty good collection at this point! I always hang them on the stair garland and little fingers have so far been uninterested in them.
A peek into the dining room...
With a peek into the kitchen...
A glimpse of step-ladders and baby gates and toy boxes through the fresh cedar garland. I love cedar garland because of how easily it drapes and you can't tell when it's dry!
Next we move to the living room...room of all things Hallmark movies and Christmas lights. It's an old house without recessed lighting so I love the added light of the tree.
Our mantle is covered with boxwood and cedar garland. The boxwood is beautiful but dries out so.fast. Just don't touch it and you'll be none the wiser.
My mom sends me a Wallace Sleigh Bell every year-- a tradition I LOVE. This is our tenth married Christmas so the mantle is filling up. Knock on wood, the toddler hasn't yanked one off yet!
$5 placemat from Target. Boom-- Christmas pillow.
I 100% stole that deer head on the basket thing from my blogger friend April. We were best blog friends back in the day when we actually blogged-- now we just ogle each other's Instagram pics!
And now the tree! We mix mini lights with the big cafe bulbs, both frosted and translucent, and it gives great light. And we are always paranoid about ruining wood floors with leaking tree stands, so a few years ago we put our tree stand in this galvanized tub to contain any leaks. I love the look and the added height...and the kids benefit from the added gift space!
And that's pretty much it-- the bulk of the Christmas pretty is downstairs. I have these signs on the kid's bedroom doors and they have little fake trees in their room. You can see Jack's sitting on the radiator-- did anyone else buy up those little, felt sea creature ornaments from Target??
Or the glass tree truck in the dollar section??
Sparsely decorated but I love the light and view from this angle, coming down the stairs on Christmas morning.
This is our first year with an Elf on the Shelf {Charlotte FULLY embraces his magic and none of his behavioral demands}, so it is still more fun than annoying and we haven't forgotten to move him yet! Any excuses I need to have in my back pocket for when we do?
I'm at the point where I don't need to to buy any new Christmas stuff {seriously, remind me of that when I walk into Target next October}. Here are a few inexpensive ways I add Christmas touches to little corners here and there...
Bowls of plastic ornaments, $1 chalkboards with lettering cut from Contact paper, jars of candy canes...
Christmas tree cuttings in jars and framed pictures from Christmases past...
Free printables from Pinterest...
Set out the gingerbread houses and decorated cookies on cake stands...and voila!
Christmas pretty in progress...
"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6
{Follow along for more Christmas Tours here, or under the very simple hashtag #idhtbptbbchristmas on Instagram.}
{Follow along for more Christmas Tours here, or under the very simple hashtag #idhtbptbbchristmas on Instagram.}

subset: commoncrawl


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Global Travel Coffee Maker Market Report 2020 with COVID-19 Impact Analysis, Outlook and Forecast to 2026 | Presso, Aerobie, Wacaco Minipresso, Handpresso, Ponte Vecchio Lever
Travel Coffee Maker Market (By Major Eminent Players, Types, Applications, and Leading Regions) Segments Outlook, Business Assessment, Competition Scenario, Trends and Forecast by Upcoming Years. The study of the Travel Coffee Maker market report is done based on the noteworthy research methodology that provides the analytical inspection of the global market based on various segments the Industry is alienated into also the summary and Advance size of the marketplace owing to the various outlook possibilities. The report also gives information about the key players of the Travel Coffee Maker Industry by different features that include the Travel Coffee Maker overview of the companies, the portfolio of the product and also the revenue facts from Period of Forecast, As Well. It presents a 360-degree overview of the competitive landscape of the industries. SWOT Analysis has been used to understand the Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and threats in front of the businesses. Thus, helping the companies to understand the threats and challenges in front of the businesses. Travel Coffee Maker market is showing steady growth and CAGR is expected to improve during the forecast period. This is the latest report covering the current impact of COVID-19 on the market.
Get Free Sample PDF Copy (including COVID19 Impact Analysis, full TOC, Tables and Figures) of Travel Coffee Maker Market Report @ www.syndicatemarketresearch.com/market-analysis/travel-coffee-maker-market.html#sample
This Report Covers Leading Companies Associated in Worldwide Travel Coffee Maker Market: Presso, Aerobie, Wacaco Minipresso, Handpresso, Ponte Vecchio Lever, Staresso, La Pavoni, Elektra.
Report Covers Following Questions
• What are the weaknesses and strengths of the key vendors?
• What are the key outcomes of the five forces analysis of the Global Travel Coffee Maker market?
• What are the various threats and opportunities faced by the dealers in the Global Travel Coffee Maker market?
• Who are the Leading key players and what are their key business strategies in the Global Travel Coffee Maker market?
Key Businesses Segmentation of Travel Coffee Maker Market:
On the basis of type/product
<5 Cups Capacity, >5 Cups Capacity
On the basis of the end users/applications
Online Sales, Stores
Travel Coffee Maker Market Regional Analysis Includes:
⇛ Asia-Pacific (China, India, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Australia)
⇛ Europe (Russia, Turkey, Italy, Germany, UK, France, etc.)
⇛ North America (the United States, Canada, and Mexico)
⇛ South America (Argentina, Brazil, etc.)
⇛ The Middle East and Africa (South Africa, GCC Countries, and Egypt)
Do You Have Any Query Or Specific Requirement? Ask Our Industry Expert@ www.syndicatemarketresearch.com/inquiry/travel-coffee-maker-market
Key Highlights of the Table of Contents:
❶ Overview: Along with a broad overview of the global Travel Coffee Maker, this section gives an overview of the report to give an idea about the nature and contents of the research study.
❷ Analysis on Strategies of Leading Players: Market players can use this analysis to gain a competitive advantage over their competitors in the Travel Coffee Maker.
❸ Study on Key Market Trends: This section of the report offers a deeper analysis of the latest and future trends of the market.
❹ Market Forecasts: Buyers of the report will have access to accurate and validated estimates of the total market size in terms of value and volume. The report also provides consumption, production, sales, and other forecasts for the Travel Coffee Maker.
❺ Regional Growth Analysis: All major regions and countries have been covered in the Travel Coffee Maker report. The regional analysis will help market players to tap into unexplored regional markets, prepare specific strategies for target regions, and compare the growth of all regional markets.
❻ Segment Analysis: The report provides accurate and reliable forecasts of the market share of important segments of the Travel Coffee Maker. Market participants can use this analysis to make strategic investments in key growth pockets of the Travel Coffee Maker.
Note – In order to provide a more accurate market forecast, all our reports will be updated before delivery by considering the impact of COVID-19.
(*If you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.)
For More Information Kindly Contact:
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+1 347 535 0815 | Email ID: firstname.lastname@example.com
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I'm scared as hell,
'Cause Squeaky's out of jail.
I can feel her close behind me,
Like the devil on my heels.
They say she's heading for California,
Or maybe for DC;
I'm sittin' here down in Georgia,
Arguing with my family.
The contras called a truce,
But they broke it in an hour;
And now someone's sittin' in the Tower of Babel,
He's givin' them that power.
They stop the war in Bethlehem,
Just to let sweet Jesus pass;
But how much does he really mean,
When they screw him over behind his back?
I can feel 'em closin' in,
And I hope she understands,
That society and me,
Now we aren't necessarily hand in hand.
She's broken all her bonds,
Got no superficial causes,
She gave up all her chances,
To live inside the law.
Squeaky, peace on earth -
Will you tell me what it's worth?
From the inside out I'd let you in
I think that you might understand.
Squeaky, in your mixed-up mind,
You may not be so blind.
From the inside out I'd let you in
I think that you might understand -
That God is in my heart,
But the Devil is in my bones.
And Squeaky, you are not alone.
(Ad lib to end.)


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It came to pass recently that we (and by we I mean just short of 100 volunteers from all over the world!) edited the Free High Schools Science Texts (FHSST) textbooks in the space of 9 days. The situation arose suddenly and unexpectedly. FHSST had been completely idle since mid-2007 when version 0 was released. Our original intention was to ramp up activities during September 2010 to "leisurely" improve the books so that we could announce a much better, version 1, late this year or very early next year. I have included a few quotes from volunteers telling us why they got involved.
I got involved because you asked me ;) But in all seriousness, I love projects like this – I like what they stand for and I am always willing to give of my time and energy for a worthy cause. I can only reach so many children in the classroom, but to be able to reach more in this indirect way is very powerful.
How it came about
I am have a Fellowship from the Shuttleworth Foundation but was originally hired as a project manager to extend FHSST to all grades and subjects, a project we called Siyavula. As part of Siyavula we acquired a full set of workbooks (with teachers guides etc.) for all learning areas for Grades R-9 in English and Afrikaans (about 30 000 pages) which we released under an open copyright licence. We've had a DVD with it all on in Word format that we have been giving to people to try to drive uptake etc. and raise awareness of the benefits of open educational resources. We included a copy of the FHSST PDF files just because there was room on the DVD.
There are two reasons: Firstly I firmly believe that knowledge belongs to all human kind, and that everyone has the right to get the best education available. Secondly I learned about the project from the post of Tom Leinster on the n-category café, which is reason enough for me to take a closer look.
At some point we gave a copy to Beeld, hoping that it would be useful to them as a supplement for their Leer en Presteer section. To the best of our knowledge, they passed it on to someone at Die Burger who passed it on to someone at the Department of Basic Education (DBE). The end result being a series of phone calls to us, completely out of the blue, about the resources and specifically the FHSST books. The DBE representatives were thinking of distributing the material because of the strike but could we check it quickly.
Given that we've released it under an open licence and we can't stop people distributing it, we felt compelled to do our best to improve what went out.
What we did
Figuratively speaking we were caught with our pants down! We were in the middle of reworking the FHSST website and hadn't actually done any work on FHSST in ages. In fact, up until a few days before the call the book compilation hadn't actually worked on the site. Despite this we set out to edit all of the FHSST textbooks in the space of 9 days.
I believe in people helping each other, sharing knowledge for the greater good.
Our goal was simple, have at least two people read every chapter looking for factual errors and small style and grammar corrections and then fix them. Large edits or the rewriting of entire sections would have to wait until we had more time.
At first we planned on running hackathons continuously at the Open Innovation Studio (OIS). This would mean getting as many volunteers into one space where people could edit paper copies of the FHSST books and then hand their edits in to a number of 'LaTeX gatekeepers' who would edit the book source. (This isn't because we don't trust people but rather that we have very few volunteers that are comfortable with LaTeX.)
We identified a list of possible editors and started sending out emails. We had many positive responses but many people couldn't drop their day-to-day activities to come and sit with us at the OIS. We also received a number of expressions of interest from further afield.
Previously we had discussed a.nnotate.com amongst the Shuttleworth Foundation Fellows (see Steve Song's blog on annotate-ipedia) as it could be a super tool for educational purposes. We've never had any time to explore that possibility fully.
The distributed enthusiasm and capacity needed to be harnessed to achieve our goal and we felt that a.nnotate.com would provide a platform to capture edits very effectively. We uploaded all the books onto a.nnotate.com and made a more general call for help. We called for help from scientists and mathematicians for editing capacity. We were fortunate enough to have the call echoed by Mark Shuttleworth himself. We did ask people to help out by coordinating their reading through us to make sure that every chapter got read twice by independent editors. a.nnotate.com would allow a complete free-for-all which we wouldn't mind if not for our deadline.
I'm a supporter of open source software and interested in carrying this over into the academic sphere.
The response to the call was impressive and we were very excited about the amount of enthusiasm and the qualifications of those that stepped up to help. The breakdown of contributor qualifications, those that responded to our information request, is (counting PhD candidates as having an MS):
|BSc (Hons.)
Our average contributor is a PhD candidate in one of Physics, Mathematics or Chemistry. A number of Professors contributed which was also very exciting.
The ability to manage hundreds of potential contributors continuously using a.nnotate.com meant that, with a little coordination, we could hopefully edit everything. The process began at 14:00 on Wednesday 25th August. The editors posted comments at a phenomenal rate and we eventually had to turn some people away because everything had been read multiple times.
One of the biggest costs for schools is up-to-date and accurate textbooks. I believe that having open, freely available textbooks can help avoid these costs.
The total number of annotations in the books as a function of the day was:
|Mathematics G10
|Mathematics G11
|Mathematics G12
|Physical Science G10
|Physical Science G11
|Physical Science G12
This includes responses to comments from those capturing changes in the LaTeX. The huge number of responses would have been completely unmanageable on paper given the time that we had available to us.
Thanks to a phenomenal response we were able to email new versions (version 0.5) of the books to the DBE on the 3rd September. In writing this blog I realised that it was an incredibly stupid thing to even attempt and I'm still amazed that we were able to successfully complete the task, all due to the generosity of volunteers. These books have been featured prominently on the official DBE portal Thutong. This is quite a coup for us, not only did we improve the books significantly as well as capture a large number of suggestions about further improvements and the enthusiastic response from volunteers has raised our enthusiasm levels significantly.
I've benefitted a lot from open-source software and similar community-driven projects. I feel the FHSST project is an ideal way for me to make a contribution.
What comes next?
We've learnt that using a.nnotate.com provides a lot of flexibility and enables discussion around errata in the precise context in the book. The future method of capturing errata for the FHSST books will be to use a.nnotate.com:
- people can see if an errata has already been submitted – without trying to search a forum or database in some obscure way and worrying about using the right keywords etc.
- people can highlight the error visually and add any comment
- annotations accept replies – which is the only requirement for people to have a discussion
We know that the books are not perfect, even after such a massive editing effort but we've got a good few leads on areas where they can be improved. Apart from a more methodical review of the suggestions and comments submitted during the editing marathon we would like to improve the books significantly. There are a few ways we can do this:
- Add more worked examples where the books are light on them – we have received a lot of positive feedback regarding the inclusion of worked examples.
- Develop model solutions for all the non-worked example exercises included in the books.
- Develop teachers' guides so that the books are more teacher- and curriculum-friendly.
- Integrate multi-media online OERs into the online versions of the books. A chapter/section might:
- begin with a Khan Academy conceptual explanation
- have a set of powerpoint slides developed into a slidecast by a South African teacher
- provide the PhET Simulation allowing learners to experiment and play with the concepts before embarking on the worked examples for a particular concept helping develop their intuition
- each exercise will include a shortened url to allow the learner to navigate to the full model solution on FullMarks where learners could find many more problems to practice on
The first step is to complete the model solutions for all the questions in the books. We have revived the hackathons at the University of Cape Town (UCT) and this is where volunteers have started. After ironing out the kinks with volunteers in the same room we've refined the process in such a way that hackathons and remote contributions to this proces can be accommodated. You can read about the first hackathon here and the second one here, or see more photos on our Facebook page.
Ideal Process:
- Access books on a.nnotate.com (links available on http://www.markhorner.net):
- Mathematics Grade 10: http://a.nnotate.com/php/pdfnotate.php?d=2010-10-08&c=SHkkygd2
Mathematics Grade 11: http://a.nnotate.com/php/pdfnotate.php?d=2010-10-08&c=dHbcYbbw
Mathematics Grade 12: http://a.nnotate.com/php/pdfnotate.php?d=2010-10-08&c=M4p01euS
Physical Science Grade 10: http://a.nnotate.com/php/pdfnotate.php?d=2010-10-08&c=3sCc82qY
Physical Science Grade 11: http://a.nnotate.com/php/pdfnotate.php?d=2010-10-08&c=hW2hgnQP
Physical Science Grade 12: http://a.nnotate.com/php/pdfnotate.php?d=2010-10-08&c=enzaEmdn
- Select an exercise in any book that has no solution and no annotation about a solution on FullMarks
- Highlight the question and an annotation window pops up – annotate the question saying that you are working on a solution
- Create a question on FullMarks with the full step-by-step model solution and finalise it (see details a bit later for some guidance on this)
- View your finalised question and answer on FullMarks – copy the url
- Return to a.nnotate.com and add the url you copied to the annotation in the book that you created in step 3
- Log in to www.fhsst.org (this is at the very bottom of the FHSST page)
- Create a short url by going to www.fhsst.org/shorten selecting "Shorten url" option from the menu and pasting the full question url into the box and submitting
- Copy the resulting code from the short url (i.e. just copy XYZ when the short url is www.fhsst.org/answers/XYZ) and add this to the annotation in the book as well
- Return to step 1. and repeat for another question
This will ensure that we have a short code to redirect learners to a full model solution for every question in the book. They will also then be able to see similar questions on FullMarks as well. We have adapted this slightly for the hackathons but always ensuring that the files on a.nnotate.com have the latest information regarding what has been and is being worked on.
|Hackathon Process
|Get a paper chapter assignment from the relevant Siyavula team member so they can manage what is being worked on – do this to help them even if you can follow ideal process.
|Buddy up with someone to discuss any issues which might arise. Some questions may not be clear or the text may have an error or you may just want some input on the simplest way to approach the solution.
|Access to the internet
|Computer but no access to the internet
|No computer
This will ensure that we have a short code to redirect learners to a full model solution for every question in the book. They will also then be able to see similar questions on FullMarks as well.
I'm very passionate about the problem of affordable textbooks (and academic publishing more generally), especially in maths. I came from an underprivileged background and I know there are many brilliant people out there who have no opportunity to flourish due to lack of materials. I also have a friend in a third-world country (PNG) who is a teacher, and I could imagine the benefit he would derive from a textbook scheme as you have organised in South Africa.
Once this is complete we will turn to suggestions and improvements related to the conceptual explanations incorporation, where appropriate, links to the Khan Academy videos and the PHET Simulations. From there we can develop the teachers' guides and submit the books to the formal review process at the DBE for inclusion on the approved books list. Should they be included schools will be able to purchase FHSST textbooks as part of the official procurement process but at approximately 1/5 of the cost of publishers alternatives.


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Biography icon plus
Less likely to operate, unlike other surgeons in the area GP testimony.
Mr Sivaraman maximises non-surgical options with pain management plans, which consider physical, social, and psychological lifestyle factors. He is a strong believer in active conservative management and he is well known for educating and assisting his patients in the decision making process when considering treatment options.
He specialises in spinal surgery for deformity, inflammatory spinal pathologies (ie rheumatoid spine and ankylosing spondylitis), degenerative conditions of the neck and lower back, spinal tumours, infections such as spinal tuberculosis. He was actively involved in the Spinal Tuberculosis Unit at The Royal London Hospital, one of a very few units in the UK seeing a high volume of patients.
Most episodes of lower back pain can be treated non-surgically. Conservative treatment is not the first option if the patient is experiencing bowel or bladder control loss or progressive weakness in legs. These symptoms require urgent action.
A member of the British Association for Spine Surgeons, he performs over 500 surgical procedures and spinal injections per year as a full-time spinal surgeon. He is fellowship trained consultant orthopaedic spine surgeon with excellent training, having various overseas visiting fellowships.
His higher surgical training in trauma and orthopaedics was completed through the prestigious Percival Pott training programme at St Bartholomew's and The Royal London Hospital. He completed his spinal fellowship training at Norfolk & Norwich University Hospital and at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital both under orthopaedic and neuro-spinal surgeons.
Mr Sivaraman enjoys sharing his knowledge by presenting GP lectures and physical therapist lectures, which can be arranged through the marketing team. He has published and presented papers on spinal surgery at international conferences and is the author of a spinal chapter in a medical textbook. He also actively participated in the training of medical students and orthopaedic specialist trainees at St Bartholomew's Hospital and at The Royal London Hospital.
Clinical interests icon plusBack and neck pain, cervical disc replacement/fusion, Coccydynia (coccyx pain), degenerative spinal disorders, inter-spinous devices, minimally invasive spinal surgery, pain management including spinal injections, vertebral compression fracture
Practice locations
Consultant office contacts icon plus
020 7935 7211


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Shocking video footage has emerged of a fish being forced to smoke a CIGARETTE.
The footage has been uploaded to viral site LiveLeak and Youtube and has drawn stinging criticism for its cruelty.
It shows the fish - thought to be tropical and not one found in British waters - posed upright on a plank of wood on a boat with the lit cigarette wedged into its mouth.
Someone can be seen pointing at the fish as the cigarette burns for about 30 seconds before falling from the fish's mouth.
One web user said: "I wanted to love this video of a fish smoking a cigarette, but I couldn't.
"It seemed cruel. And inhumane. Like shouldn't this fish be in the water, not smoking a cigarette?"
Another added: "That's horrible. Let's see if these guys can breathe water, only fair!"
It is not known who filmed the footage or where the incident occurred, but it has been roundly condemned.
One poster said: "Just looking at the fish's obviously scared eyes makes me feel very sad. Poor thing, that must have felt horrible. Animal cruelty is not funny."


text:
Yeah, day before was what I was thinking too (plus that means grads who are working events or tournament stuff can come too). I assume you're talking about the Marriott to the northeast of campus; how many teams actually stay there? I only remember four last year.Fluorine wrote:I know a decent amount of teams stay in the same Marriott hotel the night before. If you are aiming for the day before might be a decent place. Since during the day of comp people have a lot of variability in schedule depending on how many events they are doing. Maybe survey who from scioly wants to participate first?Unome wrote:Either the day or the day before, depends who's interested and what works best.Fluorine wrote: I'm in. I'm guessing it would have to be the day of the MIT comp right
Since you're here, do you know of any good locations for the meetup? (I barely remember anything about the campus, plus don't want to plan for someplace that turns out to be in use)Luo wrote:I'm sorry for my absence. I'm not directly involved with the tournament this year, so I'm not necessarily immediately in the loop when the website is updated or decisions are made. Stephen and Katie are doing an excellent job. Wishing you all a happy new year, and best of luck and skill at the tournament.Unome wrote:Since Luo seems to have disappeared


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Beginning a new series of high quality statues based on Valve's highly popular Team Fortress 2, today sees the release of two replicas of the popular Medic class. Available in either BLU or RED editions, the Medic is ready for action from today.
Are these being made by GamingHeads? I have the Blu Heavy and let me just say its a serious statuette, its very heavy and the accuracy of the model is amazing, there is nothing cheap or badly done about it at all. It was very expensive but totally worth it if you're a fan of TF2.
No, I don't work for GamingHeads!


text:
out with the old
I'm switching servers and hosters and other internet stuff, and subsequently all my images for this blog from posts earlier than mid-2010 are missing. I could slowly try to hunt each one down and repost each blog with the photos reloaded (as I'm doing with the Junk Store blog), but since I'm not really sure what I want to do with this blog and/or website, combined with the knowledge that it is rarely looked upon by anybody other than me, I'm just gonna post some of my favorite photos right here and delete the old stuff. Most of these images are better without any context anyways.
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)


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With the apparent loss of DE Joe Johnson to the Packers via free agency, the Saints are looking for a free agency replacement for one of the league's best rush ends.
Renaldo Wynn, who has played end and tackle for the Jacksonville Jaguars since being drafted out of Notre Dame in the first round five seasons ago, is apparently the Saints' target.
Wynn, 6'3, 280 pounds, an unrestricted free agent, has been talking with the Saints for the past few weeks, and his name was the first to emerge after Joe Johnson agreed to terms with the Packers on March 20.
Wynn will be 28 this September.


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National Application Center :: career details :: Health Educators
Career Details :: Health Educators
Promote, maintain, and improve individual and community health by assisting individuals and communities to adopt healthy behaviors. Collect and analyze data to identify community needs prior to planning, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating programs designed to encourage healthy lifestyles, policies, and environments. May also serve as a resource to assist individuals, other professionals, or the community, and may administer fiscal resources for health education programs.
Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.
A bachelor's degree is the minimum formal education required for these occupations. However, many also require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.
- Plans and provides educational opportunities for health personnel.
- Collaborates with health specialists and civic groups to ascertain community health needs, determine availability of services, and to develop goals.
- Promotes health discussions in schools, industry, and community agencies.
- Prepares and disseminates educational and informational materials.
- Develops and maintains cooperation between public, civic, professional, and voluntary agencies.
- Conducts community surveys to ascertain health needs, develop desirable health goals, and determine availability of professional health services.
Related Careers
- Graduate Teaching Assistants
- Instructional Coordinators
- Teacher Assistants
- Vocational Education Teachers Postsecondary
Important Abilities
General Work Activities
- Communicating With Persons Outside Organization
- Getting Information Needed to Do the Job
- Establishing & Maintaining Relationships
- Implementing Ideas, Programs, etc.
- Communicating With Other Workers
Important Skills
Frequent Work Context
- Job-Required Social Interaction
- Indoors
- Objective or Subjective Information
- Consequence of Error
- Importance of Being Exact or Accurate


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Walsh's Wonderings — The family suitcase
Suitcases are meant to be personal items, an expression of our unique tastes and desires. They're our mobile slice of home, containing as they do everything we feel we need to survive away from it. We'd learn more about people from what they've packed for a two-week trip than we'd ever find out otherwise. This is why buying new luggage is such an important decision.
I was mistakenly sent two suitcases when ordering my latest upgrade online. Upon inspection, my wife decided she'd keep the second one and pay for it because she knew all the time I'd put into researching it. There are two kinds of people in this world: people who respect the individuality of suitcase choice, and monsters.
How are we supposed to play "Baggage Return Roulette" when we can't know whose bag is coming up first? What's next, matching Hawaiian shirts and ordering the same tea? A man's suitcase should be as unique as the stink he's trying to hide with his deodorant stick.
It's already hard to be unique because so many suitcase manufacturers have devolved into similar designs. The wheels in particular have really suffered. I believe in big wheels; they can't be big enough. They should require an air pump and snow chains in winter. My wife is fine with the dainty, Lilliputian wheels that have become standard because they take up less room when trying to cram the suitcase into the car trunk as we race for the airport. However, I'm not taking my luggage on a casual stroll through the Gumdrop Forest. I'm rushing through packed parking lots into terminals under construction because I forgot to look at my airline app to see that they pushed up the departure time. I need the Jeep Wrangler of suitcases, complete with oversized tires, bumpers and a rollover bar.
I didn't sign up to be the "matching luggage family." I want the world to know whose bag required that red "over maximum weight" tag. When I'm punching my wife's suitcase into the overhead bin on a crowded flight, I'd rather it be pink with polka dots and covered in unicorn stickers. I want people to know which one of us is to blame.
My wife and I certainly don't share the same needs when it comes to travelling gear. She prefers the Thanksgiving editions, the bags that have expandable zippers should your trip include multiple shopping excursions. She treats her bags as accordions, rendering her "carry-on" items an exercise in subjectivity. She's looking for a rip in space and time into which she can fit the entire contents of her closet in case it suddenly starts snowing in Miami.
I tend to underpack, preferring my suitcase to remain concave after I've packed in case I see a set of Encyclopedia Britannica's I want to bring home. Of course, after mocking my wife for her overpacking, I inevitably end up forgetting crucial items. I'll spend the rest of the trip sneaking into her bag for toothpaste or shampoo.
My ideal luggage would look like a fisherman's vest on the outside, covered in pockets of various sizes for all the wires and plugs required to run everyday objects these days. It would have a secret compartment where my house keys would magically reappear upon my return home. Most importantly, it would have a scrolling message flashing across the front: "Buy those unicorn stickers for her suitcase!"
You can read more at RobertFWalsh.com, contact him at email@example.com or follow him on Twitter @RobertFWalsh.


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Rooms & Availability at Amaryllis Hotel Athens
Description of Amaryllis Hotel Athens
Situated in Central Athens, the Amaryllis Hotel Athens is a short walk to several Athens attractions, including National Technical University of Athens. This ultramodern hotel is ideally located in the city centre.
Situated within a five-minute stroll from Omonoia Metro Station, the Amaryllis Hotel Athens provides guests with an ideal base when visiting Athens. The hotel also provides luggage storage, a 24 hour reception and meeting rooms.
The rooms at the Amaryllis Hotel Athens offer a private bathroom, a hair dryer and a refrigerator. They all come with a TV.
Guests can indulge in a beverage at the hotel's cosy bar, after savouring a meal in the restaurant.
The Amaryllis Hotel Athens is five minutes walk from Omonia Square, while the National Archaeological Museum, the National Bank of Greece and the National Library of Greece are 20-minutes' walk away. The hotel is set within a 20-minute stroll from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.
Features at Amaryllis Hotel Athens
Map of Amaryllis Hotel Athens


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Harp Tuning Pins, Pack of 6. These tuning pins are meant to fit the Pixie Harp (TM), Heather Harp (TM), and Minstrel Harp (TM). They are approximately 2 5/8 inches long. These pins are hand made so expect some variation in size. The pegs are tapered so to change your tuning pin, remove the string [Description & reviews]
29 Strings Minstrel Harp w/ Case & 2 FREE Play Books
Absolutely beautiful harp!! Incredible detail! Approximately 38″ high. Featuring 29 DuPont hard nylon strings, a range from C below Middle C to C above High C, 24 sharpening levers, engraved and inlaid sheesham frame and a birch soundboard for exceptional sound and strength. Our harps include a 1-year warranty on the frame and a 5-year [Description & reviews]
Sylvia Woods – Teach Yourself To Play The Folk Harp
TEACH YOURSELF TO PLAY THE FOLK HARP Series: Harp Publisher: Hal Leonard Author: Sylvia Woods This is the first book written exclusively for the folk harp that teaches the student how to play the instrument, step by step. Each of the 12 lessons includes instructions, exercises and folk and classical pieces using the new skills [Description & reviews]
You CAN Play the Harp!
By Victoria Lynn Schultz. 101 pages of detailed instructions, illustrations and music for the beginning harp student. $ 23.60 Customer Reviews There are no customer reviews for this item. › Be the first to review this item on Amazon.com v
Roosebeck Prima Balalaika String Set with 1 Ball-End Steel and 2 Straight-End Titanium Strings (Package Of 3)
The Roosebeck Balalaika 3 String Set contains one plain steel string with a ball end, and 2 titanium strings with straight ends. Titanium strings have a translucent purple hue, and a polished smooth feel similar to a nylon string, but they have a slightly brighter tone and increased projection. $ 31.33 Customer Reviews There are [Description & reviews]
Viking Ship Door Harp
Vikings are the symbol of conquest and trade. Their reign reached from Scandinavia to Russia to North America. They even reached the Middle East and Baghdad. However, their reputation of brutes and intrepid sailors is largely modern myth. Is there an adventurer in your life? If so this is the perfect gift. Door harps go [Description & reviews]
Cat Door Harp
Mankind's special relationship with cats goes back nearly 10,000 years, long before Egypt deified them. Today cats enjoy a position of privilege with billions of persons world-wide. Is there a cat lover in your life for whom this would be perfect? Door harps go back to the Chinese tradition of hanging bells around doors and [Description & reviews]
Mid-East Lyre Harp, 16 String
25″, 16 metal strings, with tuning tool, inlaid arms and stars carved on the soundboard add to the beauty of this instrument. Key of D, tuning from longest to shortest: D E F# G A B C# D E F# G A B C# D E Guitar wire can be used to replace the strings. [Description & reviews]
Roosebeck Baby Harp TM, Birch, 12 Strings
Baby Harp TM, 12 Strings (Item Code: HPBY) This functioning harp has an engraved rosewood frame with a birch soundboard. Featuring 12 DuPont hard nylon strings with a range from F above Middle C to High C. There are no sharpening levers. A tuning tool and an extra string set are included. Instruction book sold [Description & reviews]
First Act Discovery FG500 Lap Harp
8 String Wooden Lap Harp $ 24.99 Customer Reviews 20 of 20 people found the following review helpful remember, it's a toy…, September 1, 2009 By Betty Turner "what can I shoot for you today?" (Myrtle Beach, SC USA) – See all my reviews This review is from: First Act Discovery FG500 Lap Harp [Description & reviews]
Design Toscano MD4842 Celtic Heather Harp
MD4842 Features: -Traditional style full 22-string harp.-Fitted with rows of metal tuning pegs and string guides.-Pitch shifters with tuning sets and extra strings. Construction: -Constructed of rosewood and mahogany. Color/Finish: -Hand finished and hand carved. $ 452.87 Customer Reviews 5 of 5 people found the following review helpful gives this harp a tinny and toy [Description & reviews]
Harp Tuning Tool, Small
Replacement tuning tool, small. Required to tune and restring your harp. This fits the smallest of the Mid-East Harps, the HLLA the Lily Harp (TM) and the smaller specialty harps such as the HLRE 8 String Lyre Harp. For larger harps try the Harp HPTN, Tuning Tool, Medium. $ 5.02 Customer Reviews 1 of 1 [Description & reviews]
Harp Tuning Tool, Large
Harp Tuning Tool, Large (Item Code: HPTN-OS) Replacement tuning tool. Required to tune and restring your harp. This fits larger tuning pegs measuring .220-.227 inches (5.6-5.8 mm) in width. Please measure your tuning pegs carefully. $ 5.02 Customer Reviews There are no customer reviews for this item. › Be the first to review this item [Description & reviews]
EMS Christel Harp TM Nylon Case
Nylon case for EMS Christel Harp (TM) with 38 strings. $ 111.92 Customer Reviews It works well enough., February 13, 2013 By Paean "Paean" (Florida, USA) – See all my reviews Verified Purchase(What's this?) This review is from: EMS Christel Harp TM Nylon Case It provides enough protection for my harp for easy trips (around [Description & reviews]
Roosebeck Harp String Set, 36, C – C
36 DuPont hard nylon strings, color coded for easy replacement, red for C and blue for F.Tuning and String Gauges 1:C7.025″Red 2:B6.025″Clear 3:A6.025″Clear 4:G6.025″Clear 5:F6.025″Blue 6:E6.025″Clear 7:D6.032″Clear 8:C6.032″Red 9:B5.032″Clear 10:A5.032″Clear 11:G5.036″Clear 12:F5.036″Blue 13:E5.036″Clear 14:D5.036″Clear 15:C5.036″Red 16:B4.040″Clear 17:A4.040″Clear 18:G4.040″Clear 19:F4.040″Blue 20:E4.040″ $ 49.92 Customer Reviews There are no customer reviews for this item. › Be the [Description & reviews]


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Dear Friend of Santayana,
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is facing the possibility of elimination by the new presidential administration.
The NEH has been extremely supportive of the Santayana Edition. Please contact the president and your members of congress to let them know that you support the NEH.
You can learn about the proposed elimination and plans to stop it here.
Since Herman Saatkamp first began working in 1976 to establish the critical edition of Santayana's works, the NEH has provided funding for research, equipment, and editorial salaries. Presently the NEH is providing $225,000 (and funds to match gifts) primarily for salaries for an editor and student interns through 2018. This is the sixteenth grant the Edition has received from the NEH. Please help ensure it is not the last.
You can call and email today to oppose elimination of the NEH.
The Santayana Edition


text: How Do You Protect Your Mind? "Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."(1 Peter 5:8) Satan attacks the most vulnerable place in us, our Mind. He attacks our thoughts and emotions resulting in depression, pain, suspicion, self-pity, stubbornness, misunderstanding. A person … Continue reading How Do You Protect Your Mind?


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Anthony Navarroli
Trends in Hunting Clothing
By Anthony Navarroli, Jr
Sep 27, 2006, 13:08
Trends: Lightweight Weatherproof Hunting Outerwear The Hunting Weather ProblemWho enjoys hunting cold and wet? How often do we find ourselves hunting in cold or wet weather? Many people spend a lot of money trying to endure these uncomfortable and often dangerous conditions while hunting. There is good news in that advancements in clothing materials have allowed people to stay more comfortable for longer periods of time in tough weather. Many hunters venture out into the woods in their favorite cotton flannels and sweatshirts. What is alarming is that most hunters who wear this material are unaware that they are dangerously flirting with hypothermia. Cotton does not insulate when wet and in fact, pulls body heat away from you when soaked. Fleece burst into the scene as the premium insulating material for outdoor clothing because it is naturally quiet, insulates when wet (unlike cotton and down) and is very comfortable. It is not waterproof by itself rendering it useless in climates where precipitation is likely to be encountered. Fleece can also be rather bulky when used in multiple layers for extremely cold weather. This leads to the need for a more efficient and thinner insulation. Solving the ProblemThe creation of new wonder fabrics are at the forefront of the outdoor clothing industry and are making advancements which were unattainable as recently as ten years ago. For spending long periods of time in nature people need clothing that is lightweight, quiet, windproof, waterproof, durable and breathable. For many companies this has proven to be a much sought after, yet illusive magic formula. Most major manufacturers offer a premium clothing line that allows people to keep more comfortable in the outdoors. A popular material that has dominated the market is Gore Tex from Gore Industries. Gore Industries found a way to manipulate a specific fabric to make it waterproof, windproof and breathable. It is found in almost every manufacturers premium clothing line including footwear. I have owned one jacket with Gore Tex for nearly eleven years. It has never let me down in keeping me dry from skiing, small game hunting, hiking, Bills games and many rounds of skeet and sporting clays. It, however, does not keep me warm. For that I need to use an insulated liner. Until now most hunting clothing companies have focused on keeping a hunter dry, warm and/or scent-free. Most proprietary materials excel in one or two of these categories. That is about to change as Innovative Designs may have come up with the next evolution in outdoor garment material. A New ApproachIDI (Innovative Designs, Inc.) has developed a material that attacks the problem from the inside out. They have an extremely thin and light insulation that efficiently promotes warmth called Insultex. Insultex is an updated version of their Eliotex insulation. In fact, one layer is about a half a millimeter thick is ample insulation to below zero degrees Fahrenheit! Insultex also has the advantage of being naturally buoyant as well. This is great news for those that hunt near water or ice fish. Eight ounces of this fabric can float a two hundred eighty pound person! According to Greg Domian, the Vice President of Sales at Innovative Designs, a three-layer garment is ample insulation for any cold climate in the world! The application of this product in outdoor wear is practically limitless. Insultex is also available in IDI Gear's sleeping bags, rain parkas, as well as lightweight shirts and varying layered jackets, pants and bibs. Companies that license the material use it mainly as a liner for their garments, which makes for an extremely cold weather worthy garment. In fact, Insultex was used to keep United States and Canadian athletes warm for the past two Winter Olympics. Materials used at this level are rigorously tested making this endorsement even more substantial.
Best of all for hunters, Insultex was tested by an independent lab as being an effective scent barrier as long as it is properly fitted and zippered. I am skeptical of anything that claims to be completely scent proof, and in talking with representatives of major companies that deal with scent suppression materials, the best we can presently hope for is drastic scent-reducing capability. Keep in mind that every garment will expel some level of outgas (human scented air molecules). Insultex is empirically proven to effectively contain most human outgases from entering the surrounding air, which allows game to be less capable of detecting human odor. The more effective the material and fit of the garment, the less outgas expelled into the air allowing game to come in closer and innocuous to the hunters presence.The Package ArrivesMy initial impression of the material was skeptical to say the least. My jacket came to me in a very lightweight box. It was so light that at first I thought the box might have been empty. When I opened it, I found a well-made and very lightweight jacket. As far as weight is concerned, use this for a frame of reference: one square yard of Insultex weighs less than a half-ounce! When I took the jacket out of the packaging and checked the seams the stitching looked first rate. Quality YKK zippers are used for their durable, trouble free operation. An additional feature on the model I have is that the sleeves zip off for warmer hunting (or as an added body core inner layer on extremely cold days). The jacket has a soft and quiet micro fleece outer layer with a Mossy Oak New Breakup pattern. A well thought out feature of the garment is the full cut that allows for drawing a bow (or shooting a long arm) and freedom of movement to use a climbing treestand. The pockets are generously cut and make for easy access, even with gloved hands, a feature appreciated by anyone that tried to find a call or range finder with a gloved hand. ImpressionsQuite simply put, the jacket performed out in the field as advertised. It kept me warm during the few cold days we had left and didn't overheat me during a brisk walk in the cool woods with my bird hunting partner, Hogan, the high-powered shorthair. When I spoke to Greg Domian of IDI, he made a point of telling me to be sure to use it in wet conditions as it would excel, and he was right. Recently, we have had some moderate precipitation in our area and the jacket passed this initial waterproof test with flying colors. For the last week of turkey hunting I brought the jacket with me as the weather was in the high forties and rain was on the forecast. I was amazed at how quiet the fabric was. It would be fair to say that the noisiest part of the garment is the outer covering (which was a soft and quiet microfleece) and will vary with each licensed manufacturer's choice of material. The jacket quickly warmed up to the point of needing to unzip the jacket on the climb up the hills. In the future, I'll put the jacket in my pack and wear it once I arrive at my spot; it was that efficient at heating me up! Once I settled in on my spot I zipped up and never felt any discomfort for the entire day. It had rained the night before and it rained a bit that morning so everything around us was saturated, that is except my jacket, which further proved itself as being waterproof. I sat under a tree that continually dropped water on me as the wind blew and I never I got wet. I didn't fill any tags that day but I did have a tom and jake come within thirty feet of me. Unfortunately, they approached from the right at an angle that I could not get a shot off. I moved a bit to try to get into position in case they ventured into my shooting lane but it never happened. They never busted me, even when I moved and is further testament to the quietness of the material as well. Earlier in the morning we encountered about a dozen and a half deer some coming within ten yards and they too never smelled or heard me as I craned my neck to pick out one I hope to meet in the fall. I was in a terrible position with the wind sending my scent right down to them and they never once tripped their flags or gave any other sign that something wasn't right. This was a great test of the scent barrier claim. I plan on using it heavily during the upcoming fall and winter to check the warmth during our harsh winters that frequently drop below freezing and at times, with the wind-chill factor, well below zero. The extra mobility and lighter weight of this material has me excited as I can wear less layers and vent open to stay cooler during the arduous climb to my choice spots with climbing stand and gear in tow. With less layers, it will also make it easier to suit up once at my stand and remain comfortable during the hunt. Final CommentsThis jacket is about perfect as is. The only features I'd like to see added to the jacket would be a detachable hood option for really inhospitable weather and perhaps most importantly, an integrated tag holder on the back of the jacket. I cringe anytime I need to punch holes in a garment, especially one that I am hoping to keep me dry. A simple extra flap of material or a pin sleeve would be greatly welcomed. I'd also like to see a few more camouflage options to tailor fit to your environment. This may be a moot point as other companies license the material for their clothing line. To say that I am extremely pleased with the performance of this garment would be an understatement. I am simply amazed that this thin layer of material can do so much. I plan on ordering the bibs for the long cold winters we routinely have here in western New York. The fact that it will keep you warm, dry, contains scent, and doesn't need any rejuvenation to maintain the scent barrier capabilities. These features make this material an all around winner!Finally, Innovative Design garments are priced very reasonably and are much more affordable than most other competitor's premium clothing lines using other dry and/or scent reduction material technology. Innovative Design stays by your side with a 100% satisfaction guarantee, which is always reassuring. Staying comfortably warm and dry has never been easier or more accessible for hunters. Innovative Design has a real winner in this material and they know it. They are branching out in the fishing, snow sports, camping and even golfing markets. I rarely make product predictions based on hearsay or marketing but I can attest to the effectiveness of this product. I am sure that you are going to see more of this fabric become a prominent staple in all of the aforementioned markets. Visit them at www.idigear.com and check their products for yourself. I am confident you will be just as impressed.IDI Gear is also available at :The Bowhunting Store
© Copyright 2005 by


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Listen to this example of an early childhood student singing the Days of the Week. What a great way to share their learning! It's also an ideal way to show growth and progress throughout the year. Have students compare their avatars from the beginning of the year to the end.
Mother's Day is just around the corner, this would be a perfect way to deliver a talking greeting card!
So how can you take complete advantage of using all of Voki's features? By winning a FREE 1 Year Bundle Subscription! This includes Voki Classroom and Voki Presenter ($49.95 value). Just enter the giveaway and share how #vokirocks!


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Feb. 9, 2009
By Kristen Miller
Staff Writer
DASSEL-COKATO, MN - For its fifth year in a row, the Minnesota Orchestra returns to the Dassel-Cokato Performing Arts Center Sunday, March 15, except this time, with a different conductor.
Sarah Hicks is in her third season as assistant conductor for the orchestra and is the first female to have that title in the history of the Minnesota Orchestra.
Even though fans of Finnish conductor Osmo Vänskä may be somewhat disappointed he won't be conducting this time around, due to scheduling conflicts, Colleen Compton, executive director of the Arts Association, isn't worried.
"I've heard wonderful things about Sarah Hicks," Compton said.
"I think it will be great for the community to see another conductor," she added.
Hicks and the orchestra will perform four different pieces Glinka's Ruslan and Ludmilla overture, Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel prelude; Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain, and Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4.
Symphony No. 4 will be the centerpiece of the show lasting about 45 minutes, according to Gwen Pappas, public relations director for the orchestra.
"It's a beautiful, lush piece . . . an eclectic piece that is well received," she said.
In regards to Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel prelude, those who saw Theatre Sans Fil's rendition of Hansel and Gretal last February at the PAC will recognize this piece, according to Compton.
Compton feels fortunate the orchestra keeps coming back to the PAC, she said.
"They ask to come back," she said.
Some of the reasons Compton believes they keep coming back is because they love the venue; especially the acoustics, as well as the way the orchestra is treated as a whole and individually.
Typically, the orchestra consists of about 100 members and the Performing Arts Center can accompany them with the necessary space including number of bathrooms and dressing rooms available, Compton explained.
The "great refreshments and homemade bars" might have an influence on the orchestra's annual visits, as well, Compton said.
The orchestra's past performances at DC have attracted a large audience including one sold-out show which happened to be the inaugural concert for the Performing Arts Center.
Karen Anderson of Dassel attended Minnesota Orchestra's Scandinavian Christmas concert at Orchestra Hall this past holiday season and found Hicks "delightful."
What Anderson appreciated about Hicks was that she shared background information about the music and songs.
"You know the songs, but you don't know the history behind them," Anderson said.
Anderson also appreciated Hicks' sense of humor.
Since Hicks was born in Tokyo and raised in Honolulu, she made the comment that she is "obviously not Scandinavian" during the Christmas concert, according to Anderson.
Also at the concert, the audience was asked to join the orchestra in a sing-along in which Hicks told them, "Now you can go home and tell your friends you sang with the Minnesota Orchestra," Anderson explained.
Anderson has been to all of the Minnesota Orchestra performances at the PAC and is looking forward to the upcoming March concert.
"It's such a treat not to have to drive to the Cities and deal with the traffic," Anderson said.
Before the Dassel-Cokato Arts Association books the orchestra for the following year, it makes sure there is enough interest and it continues to be affordable for community members, Compton explained.
"As long as the community keeps supporting the orchestra coming back and the orchestra wants to come back, we will have them here," Compton said.
Tickets on sale now
The Minnesota Orchestra will be performing Sunday, March 15 at 2 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center.
Tickets are on sale now for reserved seating adults, $28 and youth, $12 by calling Community Education at (320) 286-4120.


text: This 27-min. discussion by Chris Hedges talks about his latest book based on two years of travels throughout the U.S. The depressing title is explained by a variety of factors including corporate capitalism and the deindustrialization of America. Near the conclusion (22-min.) Chris Hedges talks about the overthrow of the corporate Coup D'etat as being the means to stop the destruction of America. This is a short introduction to the thinking of a Pulitzer Prize winning scholar. His work helps us understand the reality in which we live.


text:
Most homes are built using green lumber, which is just another term for wood that is still wet. The problem is that when wet wood dries it's going to shrink, and when parts of your house shrink it can mean trouble. Nail pops are sometimes caused by wood shrinkage, although this isn't a serious problem. Mold, however, can easily grow on green lumber and infest the wood before it's even used in construction. For more information, take a look at our new article on green lumber.
Tag: health
Toxic Drywall from China
It appears there is no shortage of defective products arriving on our shores from China. Recently, attorneys at Morgan & Morgan filed a class action complaint against the manufacturers / distributors of defective Chinese drywall that has allegedly caused electrical damages and health problems for Florida residents.
Shortages in American made drywall products (between 2004 and 2006) prompted some Florida building companies to import drywall from China. It is thought that the drywall was used in new home construction.
As much as 10 million square feet of this defective drywall may have been used in Florida new homes. The defective drywall supposedly emits sulfur compounds, leading to electrical damages and health problems (including respiratory problems, nose bleeds, headaches, and irritated eyes). The drywall emits a strong sulfur (rotten egg) odor.
More information on the Class Action Lawsuit
Thanks, and be careful what you hang on your walls. Be safe.
John M. Wickline
JW Home Inspections, Inc.


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Have Comment Sections on News Media Websites Failed?
– NY Times
"Many newspapers and online media companies have begun disabling comment sections because of widespread abuse and obscenity. Of course, that vitriol is not meted out equally: The Guardian analyzed its comments and found the 10 most abused writers of the past decade were female and/or black. (The Times moderates comments in an effort to keep them on-topic and not abusive.)
Have comment sections — once thought to be a democratizing force in the media — failed?
From the 'Comments' Section:
"Comment sections have become less necessary and relevant as publishers move audience engagement to social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram — all of which allow for easier moderation and hold greater opportunity to attract new audiences."
"Trolls, jerks, petulant little snotnoses, call them what you will, they haven't a chance of ever running the show or even directing the conversation. Most people know when they are being led and most know the acceptable limits of each publication. I'd rather figure out myself who is kidding who than have a third party decide to shut down the squawk box."
"It's through the comment section that we the readers can talk about how bias your articles are and state the real facts that most journalists leave out of their garbage opinion piece. You're just shooting yourself in the foot by leaving the comment section out because most people will just go to another dime a dozen site that left the comment section in."
…..Read the continuing and thoughtful discussion, with a comments section @ NY Times
The Left's War on Comment Sections
– Breitbart
"The internet was born open but is becoming closed everywhere. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the rush to shutter readers' comments sections at major news organisations. Cheered on by intolerant, snobbish cultural elites, news organisations from The Verge to The Daily Beast have, in recent months, informed their readers to take their opinions elsewhere.
Dozens of progressive blogs and news outlets are following suit, citing "abuse" and "harassment" as the primary reasons they no longer want to hear the opinions of their readers. But that's not what is really going on.
There was a time when comments sections were seen as the next step in a golden age of democratised communication, particularly by the political Left. "For the first time ever, we are thinking aloud, unfiltered by mass media gatekeepers," wrote a former Hillary Clinton advisor in 2008. "Never before has the global discourse been so accessible, recursive, and durable."
In 2009, the former online editor for the Washington Post wrote that despite their problems, readers' comments allowed readers to "complain about what they see as unfairness or inaccuracy" and remind editors that they "do not always agree with journalists about what is important."
The late Georgina Henry, former editor of the Guardian's online commentary pages, wrote in 2010 that "journalism without feedback, engagement, dispute and opinion from below the line no longer feels complete to me." Indeed, the Guardian was once so enamoured of its comments section that it ran a weekly feature, Below the Line, in which "delightful, prolific, or controversial members of the Guardian comment community" were invited to profile themselves."
…Continue reading @ Breitbart
Comments are making the internet worse. So we got rid of them
– WashingtonPost
"In February 2009, large law firms were in crisis. The stock market was in free fall, Lehman Brothers had recently collapsed and rumors of lawyer layoffs and firm implosions were rampant.
At Above the Law, the legal news website I founded in 2006, my colleague Elie Mystal and I were covering the developments closely. In the reader comments, we noticed persistent predictions bubbling up of layoffs at leading law firm Latham & Watkins. These comments led us to investigate further. Before Latham eventually announced its massive, record-setting layoffs, we broke the story — and we owed the scoop, one of our biggest ever, to our comments section.
Reader comments in the early days of Above the Law were a treasure trove of information, insight and humor, advancing our mission of bringing greater transparency to an often opaque profession. Comments were wildly popular; some readers came specifically to read them, and some commenters became Internet celebrities in their own right. "Loyola 2L," a law student who helped raise public awareness about the risks and costs of going to law school in 2007, was named Lawyer of the Year by the Wall Street Journal Law Blog.
Over the years, however, our comments changed. They had always been edgy, but the ratio of offensive to substantive shifted in favor of the offensive. Inside information about law firms and schools gave way to inside jokes among the "commentariat," relevant knowledge got supplanted by non sequiturs, and basic civility (with a touch of political incorrectness) succumbed to abuse and insult. A female Supreme Court justice was called a "bull-dyke." An Asian American woman's column about civility in the legal profession provoked "me love you long time" in response. My colleague Staci Zaretsky, who writes extensively about gender inequality in the legal profession, was told: "Staci, you have plenty of assets, like that fat milky white ass."
So we decided to get rid of the comments section.
* * *
In part, our decision was based on science. Researchers have found that when readers are exposed to uncivil, negative comments at the end of articles, they trust the content of the pieces less. (Scientists dubbed this the "nasty effect.") A study by the Atlantic found that negative comments accompanying a news article caused readers to hold the article in lower esteem. In an increasingly competitive media environment, websites can ill afford to have their content and brands tarnished in this way."
…Continue reading @ WashingtonPost
What happened after 7 news sites got rid of reader comments
– Niemanlab.org
"Recode, Reuters, Popular Science, The Week, Mic, The Verge, and USA Today's FTW have all shut off reader comments in the past year. Here's how they're all using social media to encourage reader discussion.
For a short period at the end of 2014, it appeared that publishers had reached a breaking point in their ongoing struggle with reader comments. Within a few weeks of each other, Recode, Mic, The Week, and Reuters all announced that they were closing down their comment sections. They joined the ranks of other outlets, including The Chicago Sun-Times and Popular Science, that abandoned the practice in favor of letting users discuss stories on social channels instead.
Many news organizations have had comments sections for as long as they've been online. For just as long, many have agonized over the value of the conversations that rage in the space below a story. There's plenty of debate over the issue, as newsrooms struggle with moderation, the value of anonymity among commenters, and, in some cases, the legal issues that arise from what's said in the comments.
I spoke to seven news organizations — Recode, The Verge, Reuters, Mic, Popular Science, The Week, and USA Today's FTW — about their decision to suspend comments, the results of that change, and how they manage reader engagement now.
The Verge
Nilay Patel, editor-in-chief, and Helen Havlak, engagement editor:
PATEL: Comments and community are foundational for the company, and they're foundational to The Verge. So they're really important to us. We didn't get rid of them, and that makes us a little different from everybody else you might be talking to. We want to have a big community, a vibrant community, and find ways to grow and nurture that community over time. That will ultimately lead to our success, particularly in a world where, I think, everyone is super worried about off-platform publishing. We're trying to reset the expectations of our community and rethink how we maintain what's strong about one set of people that are reading one kind of content as our site grows and as our ambitions grow for the site."
….Continue reading @ Niemanlab.org


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Rodent Bait Stations
Rodent Bait Stations
It is advisable to use tamper-resistant rodent bait stations to keep children, pets and non-target animals away from poison rodent bait. The larger bait stations will allow both rats and mice to enter. The smaller bait stations will only permit mice to enter due to its size. These bait stations are designated "mouse bait stations".
Rodent Bait Stations with Tier 1 Ratings
Some stations are classified as Tier 1 by the EPA. A Tier 1 rating has undergone testing by the EPA. Stations that have this rating:
This rating is recommended around larger animals like raccoons or large sized dogs such as Rottweilers. There are two bait stations that are disposable, have bait included and have a T1 rating:
For a quick glance chart of Tier 1 Ratings, click here: Protecta Bait Station Comparison Table
Rodent Bait Stations and Snap Traps
Some rodent bait stations are designed to outfit a snap trap, as well. This is useful when you want to use trapping methods. These tamper resistant bait stations will keep children and pets away from the harm of a snap trap. One benefit of trapping a rodent is the abiltiy to locate the corpse and avoid odors from a dead rodent.
The Protecta Bait Station, Protecta EVO Ambush and Protecta Landscape bait stations will house both rodent baits and the T Rex Rat Snap Trapor Mini Rex Mouse Snap Trap. The Protecta Mouse Bait Staion will hold either rodent bait or the Mini Rex Mouse Snap Trap. The Victor Snap Traps will not fit in these bait stations.
Starting at: $89.50
- Choose:
- (3) Protecta Evo Ambush Bait Stations + Nectus Soft Bait 2G-16 lbs
- (6) Protecta Evo Ambush Bait Stations + Nectus Soft Bait 2G-16 llbs
Starting at: $125.20
Combine Protecta Ambush Rat Bait Stations with Nectus 2G Soft Bait for greater savings. The Proteca Ambush Stations are large enough for both rats and mice.
JT Eaton Nectus 2G Second Generation Rodenticide -16 lbs (656 soft pouches) is a soft bait containing 005% Bromadiolone. Made of oil scented compounds, this is moist, tasty and palatable rodent bait. It is especially suited for rodents which are reluctant to take other baits and for places where there is a source of competing food.Learn More
12 Protecta Mouse Bait Stations
Fastrac Blox -4 lbs, blocks with a center hole cut , so it can be put on rods with this bait station. Learn More


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The Song of the Earth (Das Lied von der Erde)
A Symphony for Tenor, Contralto (or Baritone) and Orchestra Words after old Chinese Poems. English translation by Steuart Wilson. Orchestral Score
New York: Boosey & Hawkes [PN B. & H. 8905], [ca. 1942].
Folio. Original publisher's green printed wrappers. vii, [i], 159 pp.
With occasional markings in blue crayon in an unidentified hand.
Wrappers slightly worn.
First performed in Munich on November 20, 1911, with Bruno Walter conducting.
"[The] internal contradictions [of the eighth symphony] are compounded by the fact that Mahler's own ability to subscribe to its positive vision had been undermined by the crises of 1907, following his daughter Maria's death: crises which bore fruit in Das Lied von der Erde (1908). This orchestral song cycle, based on German versions of ancient Chinese poetry collected by Hans Bethge in Die chinesische Flöte (1907), was as original in form and technique as it was assured in its urgently lucid clarification of the subjective dialectic of the Fifth and Sixth Symphonies."
"Real Chinese music may have inspired the metrical innovations which contribute to quasi-heterophonic passages for solo instruments. In the extended last movement, 'Der Abschied', such passages project stylized images of the natural world as described by the singer 'In narrative tone, without expression'. For tenor and contralto soloists in strict alternation (the second movement permits the contralto to be replaced by a baritone), the cycle's six movements fall into three pairs. The middle pair recall youth and beauty while the first and last present a tensely contested balance between energetic abandonment to existential despair (particularly in the two drinking songs; the ape howling its laughter amid gravestones is a crucial image in the opening movement) and a more controlled attempt to maintain lyrical equilibrium beyond the destructive expressionist 'moment'. The possibility of that balance, of an extended symphony in the conventional manner, was to be the implicit theme of Mahler's last two works, neither of which (like Das Lied von der Erde) he lived to hear performed." Peter Franklin in Grove Music Online.
Item #20016
Price: $100.00 other currencies


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Crowne Plaza Vientiane
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Alt-week peels back the covers on some of the more curious sci-tech stories from the last seven days.
It's not like we're trying to out-weird ourselves, it just, somehow, keeps happening. At least one of this week's offerings (we'll leave it to you to figure out which) will possibly be the creepiest thing we post all year. As for the rest, well it's slightly more palatable. We'll get uncharacteristically pumped about cycling, meet some extra-terrestrial quasicrystals and enjoy some art with X-men credentials. This is alt-week.


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We've been inspired by the idea of six degrees of separation – that all living things and everything else in the world are six or fewer steps away from each other – so listen in as we follow a trail of six podcasts starting with Carol Jones (Editor, AMAculturehive) interviewing the AMA's CEO, Cath Hume.
In this first episode Cath and Carol reveal their early arts experiences and our passion for connecting arts with audiences. Warning: this includes Carol singing (badly) a snippet from an operetta…
And it's party time as we celebrate 25 years of the AMA so Carol asks Cath what changes during that time stand out for her. Cath also tells her what she thinks are the key challenges facing the sector and how the AMA will help meet those challenges.
Cath doesn't get a luxury item and the choice of a piece of music to take to a desert island but she is given a magic wand to make a wish for the next 25 years of the AMA.
In true tag-team talk show style the batons handed to Cath to choose someone that she wants to interview as our 2nddegree of separation and the chain will lead from there. Follow us over the next few months to find out where we end up.
Listen to the first 6 Degrees Podcast here


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Evacuation lifted, no injuries reported in Torrington 5-alarm warehouse fire
Scroll through the story above for complete coverage on the five-alarm fire in Torrington.
On a mobile device? Head to http://bit.ly/1ef16gf.
By Isaac Avilucea
email@example.com @IsaacAvilucea on Twitter
TORRINGTON >> A massive five-alarm fire reduced a tire warehouse to a pile of rubble and ash and forced the city to bow to its rage, causing evacuations and delayed school dismissals, while hundreds of firefighters from around the state tried to save an Albert Street structure.
Scores of city residents were displaced from their homes and diverted traffic was snarled while firefighters battled for more than 10 hours to tamp down the five-alarm fire that broke out early Thursday morning, at 97 Albert St. in a residential area, near the intersection of Route 202 and Taylor Street. Around 7:45 p.m., evacuated residents were allowed to return to their homes.
Firefighters, across 25 departments, used more than 1 million gallons of water, along with another 3,000 gallons of foam ferried in from as far away as Hartford, to put out the flames, which curled through the 20,000-square-foot warehouse, owned by O&G Industries and leased out to Toce Brothers Inc., a shop that sells commercial and regular tires.
The fire, which is still being investigated, melted the roof, leading it to collapse, and destroyed a pickup truck, along with hundreds of tires, and other equipment.
Firefighters on scene rotated shifts, replaced by fresh crews, while police established a four-block perimeter.
Five ladder crews worked from overhead to contain the flames from spreading to a cluster of five homes about 25 feet away from the warehouse, along the east side of the building.
Jon Barbagallo, a regional fire spokesman from Norfolk, said flames were "breaking through the roof," on the north side of the building when the first units arrived on scene.
By 10:30 a.m., most of the walls had crumbled in on themselves, leaving only a skeletal infrastructure standing, while excavator equipment was brought in to knock down remaining walls so firefighters could access smoldering hot spots.
Fire officials reported no injuries, although residents were advised to turn off air conditioners, shut windows and avoid going outside as strong winds carried a thick pall of tar-black smoke, which could be seen from as far as Thomaston. The smoke was so severe that officials passed out breathing masks to members of the media on scene.
The fire was first reported around 8 a.m. by an employee who discovered flames in the building when he went to open it. He tried using a fire extinguisher to put out the flames, but the blaze quickly grew out of control.
Fire officials said at a midday news conference the cause of the blaze was still under investigation, and the state and fire marshal is looking into its cause.
The police's Special Response Team was brought on scene to aid investigators, although fire officials described it as standard procedure for a fire of this magnitude.
Gary Brunoli, chief of the Torrington Fire Department, said the fire didn't appear to be suspicious or intentionally lit. He said firefighters responded within minutes of a 911 call, made around 7:55 a.m. Thursday morning.
Brunoli, classifying the fire as one of the largest fires he had seen in his 23-year career, was asked by a Register Citizen reporter if arson was suspected and he said, "My guess, no."
The wood-beam structure, reinforced with concrete still went up like a tinder box, Brunoli said, because of intense heat from petroleum-based tires.
"More or less, you are burning gasoline," he said. "When it gets heated up, you need a lot of water and foam to take that heat away."
Brunoli said firefighters had contained about 85 percent of the blaze by 3 p.m., but would likely be on scene most of the night and possibly into early Friday morning to disperse flare-ups.
The fire, which completely destroyed the warehouse, erupted several times, sending up plumes of smoke that blocked out the sun at the scene. It was eventually upgraded to four alarms to free up additional resources, with containment as the main priority.
Explosions and popping noises, from bursting air-filled tires, could be heard from the outside of the blaze, and Brunoli characterized the wood-beam structure as a tinder box with an unlimited fuel supply.
Hours into the fire, smoke was still wafting over the city, although it wasn't as thick, and ladders had focused attention on certain spots of the building.
Officials said there are no plans for an air quality test, which is typically initiated by the state's Department of Health, but they're concerned about runoff, from foam and small burnt rubber tire chunks.
Environmental officials responded by setting up absorbent booms in parts of the Naugatuck River, said Dwayne Gardner, spokesman for the State Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
DEEP also worked with the owner of the warehouse to determine if anything hazardous was inside.
Four blocks, including Albert Street, Lewis Street, Baron Street and Wilson Avenue, were evacuated as authorities swept the surrounding neighborhood, going door-to-door to alert residents of the fire.
Ashley Wasilonsky, 19, a Lewis Street resident, said she was awoken by a knock at door from police telling her to evacuate her apartment.
Dressed in a black hoodie and sweats, Wasilonsky was still wiping the sleep from her eyes and didn't even have time to grab a pair of socks before she slipped on her shoes and filed out.
She said an officer told her, "How are you sleeping with all this commotion?"
Officials also sent out a reverse 911 call to the homeowners, and residents were told to grab "pills, pocketbooks and pets."
Evacuees funneled to the Coe Memorial Park Civic Center, Torrington Senior Center and the Armory, but were later moved to the Community Soup Kitchen because other areas were too close to the scene.
Rick Dalla Valle, the city's emergency management director, said few people were at the soup kitchen in the early afternoon because they were still at work.
Students from across the school district, including from Oliver Wolcott Tech and St. Peter St. Francis School, were not dismissed when classes broke for the day, as the fire interrupted bus service in the area, Superintendent Cheryl Kloczko said.
At elementary schools, recesses were cancelled because of concerns about heavy smoke. High school students were let out early, not because of the fire, but because of an abbreviated schedule from parent-teacher conferences.
Southwest School, just blocks from the epicenter of the fire, was particularly hard hit, and about 480 students in all live near or in the vicinity of the fire, said Ken Traub, chairman of the Board of Education.
Those students remained at school until they were picked up by parents, with Kloczko saying administrators would be at schools all night if needed.
"No principal will go home today until every child in their building is home safely," she said.
Health officials recommended people, especially those with respiratory conditions that could flare up from breathing smoke, to stay indoors.
"As with any smoke incident such as this can be a significant irritant to people with underlying health risks," Deputy Director of Health Tom Stansfield said. "Shelter in place is recommended. If you've been evacuated follow the recommendations.
The building, owned by O&G Industries and leased out to Toce Brothers Inc., was a remote storage facility used to store at least 300 tires, co-owner Janice Toce said.
Toce Brothers said its store, at 143 East Main St., was unaffected and still open and operating as normal.
"We don't really know what happened," Toce said. "It keeps on reigniting because of all the tires in there."
The 20,171-square-foot warehouse was built in 1930, on .34 acres, and is at 96 Albert St., according to city records. Its 2008 assessed value is $384,500 and was purchased by O&G in 1982.
Toce Brothers, previously owned by Dominic "Sonny" Toce and his cousin, Joseph, has served the city since 1924, before it was sold it to Russell Barrett, a few years ago. Barrett, who was on scene part of the day, declined comment when he was approached by a reporter.
Joseph Toce is still an employee at the facility and said he didn't see anything suspicious when he arrived around 6:20 a.m. Thursday morning.
"Everything was fine," he said.
He returned to about an hour and a half later and discovered another employee, with a fire extinguisher in tow, emerging from the building.
Four trailers, or about 3,000 gallons of foam, were on scene from several different departments, including Danbury and Hartford, and Brunoli said more was expected in.
Foam, which fire officials said is composed of biodegradable materials approved by the Environmental Protection Agency, was used to suffocate the fire, which likely exceeded more than 2,000 degrees.
Brunoli said the foam was not toxic and would not impact wildlife, but said he was concerned about petroleum run off from the burnt tires.
Brunoli said the foam acts as a bubble around the flames, encapsulating it, and decreasing the flames intensity. The foam ret ardent, about 3 to 6 percent, is mixed with water and doused on the flames, in an effort to suck heat out of the blaze.
An official with inside knowledge of firefighting tactics said firefighters likely used a "surround and drown" measure to ensure the flames didn't spread to other nearby homes.
Brunoli said coordination between departments was key and "mutual aid and response plans seemed to be going well."
At the fire's peak, firefighters were spraying about 6-7,000 gallons of water per minute on the blaze, with a total expected to soar upwards of a 1 million gallons.
Brunoli said exact figures would likely be available at a news conference tentatively scheduled for Friday morning at 8 a.m.
Reach Isaac Avilucea at 860-489-3121 ext. 325.