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Tuesday's Wall Street Journal carried an article by Yochi Dreazen and John McKinnon about Move America Forward, "a media-savvy outside advocacy group that has become one of the loudest — and most controversial — voices in the Iraq debate": "Some conservatives return to old argument." (Click here for a synidicated version of the article that appeared in the Portsmouth Herald yesterday.)
The article profiles the organization from an unfriendly perspective, raises questions concerning its tax-exempt status, and identifies its principals, including Howard Kaloogian, "a Republican former state assemblyman seeking the congressional seat of former Rep. Randy 'Duke' Cunningham, who resigned recently after admitting to taking bribes from defense contractors." Here are two sentences full of sinister innuendo:
Move America Forward has no discernible formal ties to the White House or the Republican National Committee, and the group says it operates independently from the Republican Party establishment. Still, the organization provides a clear benefit to the administration by spreading a pro-war message that goes beyond what administration officials can say publicly.
Well done! Major E. writes to the Journal from Washington to comment on the article:
Dear WSJ: Thank you for writing about Move America Forward, and its co-founder Hon. Howard Kaloogian. I met him in Baghdad during the Voices of Soldiers tour several months ago. He and several radio personalities sacrificed treasure and risked personal safety just to hear what the soldiers on the ground had to say.
As a reservist who was on the ground in Iraq for most of this year, I am one of many who are frustrated with the media's relentlessly negative coverage of Iraq, which often fails to include a troop perspective at all. Well, Howard Kaloogian impressed me by not only wanting to know what the troops have to say, but by coming all the way to Baghdad to do so. I thank Howard for his dedication to serving the troops and being honest about Iraq's danger to the US, and think he would make a fine congressman. Since he was not interviewed for your article, I encourage readers to learn more about him at Kaloogian for Congress.
I also served as a weapons of mass destruction analyst during the run-up to the liberation of Iraq, so I not only appreciate Howard's efforts, but also those of his organization to offer a voice of reality regarding Saddam's regime and the danger that Iraq posed to the US. There is no question that WMDs have been found in Iraq–just not 'weaponized,' meaning ready for a conventional military employment, so the press feels justified in saying that there are none.
But out of almost two tons of reported enriched uranium discovered there, how many pounds would Al-Qaeda need to set off a dirty bomb in a major US city or port and achive the devastation and economic paralysis it seeks? The answer is just a few, so the "weaponized" distinction is a red herring.
Similarly, the press trumpets the 9/11 Commission's finding that no "operational" link existed between Saddam and Al Qaeda. Again, word games. The thinking goes that even though Saddam supported AQ with sanctuary, safe meeting places and training grounds, that he did not send Uday and Qusay on 9/11 flights makes the relationship "non-operational." Still, it would be just as accurate to say that Saddam and AQ had a key relationship where the former provided indispensable support to the latter, so I am glad that Move America Forward is speaking out.
Very Respectfully,
Major E.
Washington, DC


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24 Sep 2013 11:49:32 AM
Power Play: Five MMA Techniques That Hockey Players Should Learn Before the 2013-14 Season
(Sunday's brawl between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Buffalo Sabres. 8 out of 10 for effort, 2 out of 10 for technique.)
By Jared Jones
While the NFL's fascination with MMA-style body slams has only become apparent in recent years, the NHL's obsession with violence dates back to the earliest days of the sport. Although the history of the Canadian military would suggest the contrary, the NHL is definitive proof that our neighbors to the north are just as bloodlust-driven as we are — they simply know how to channel their aggression a little better is all.
Case in point: The NHL preseason began all of 10 days ago and there have already been over 70 fights according to the NHL Fight Log. Also, the NHL has a Fight Log. With voted winners and a ratings system and everything. While most of these fights serve their purpose of firing up a crowd when the action is at a standstill, they also feature some absolutely dogshit techniques that have not evolved one iota since those aforementioned early days.
With all this in mind, we here at CagePotato have taken it upon ourselves to do the responsible thing and point out a few effective MMA moves that will not only elevate the level of hockey fights in general but help a handful of NHL players really drive home the notion that they are not to be tangled with on the ice. Enjoy.Read More DIGG THIS

subset: commoncrawl


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Lisa Marie Presley Forges Her Own Path
She was born rock 'n' roll royalty with all the good (money, instant fame) and bad (your entire life is under constant scrutiny, obsessive fans asking whether you can sing like your daddy).
But though she's been famous since birth, Lisa Marie Presley is only now coming into her own as an artist at age 44 after surprising many people by starting her music career in her mid 30s with her slick debut album, "To Whom It May Concern" in 2003.
The album, produced by pop/ rock hitmaker Glen Ballard (Alanis Morrisette, Sheryl Crow) contained salty language and an underlying surliness as Presley, who co-wrote every song, seemed to be flipping a metaphorical bird at anyone questioning her motives or talent.
"To Whom It May Concern" peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard charts and sold gold. She followed that two years later with "Now What," toured some and then seemingly disappeared from the music scene for the rest of the decade.
Now Presley has returned to recording with her new album, the Americana-tinged, musically stripped down "Storm & Grace" released in May and is hitting the road. But the singer/ songwriter/ mother of four didn't just wake up one morning and decide to make music again. The album follows an intense time in her life.
"It was more of an awakening period and deconstruction of a lot of stuff going on around me that I needed to get rid of," the singer said during a telephone interview from the home outside of London she shares with her husband, guitarist and musical director Michael Lockwood, and their 4-year-old twin daughters Harper Vivienne Ann and Finley Aaron Love.
"Then it was the process of elimination. (We) sold the house, got rid of everything and everyone. ... I just really wanted a completely different setting and life and to see if I could be inspired again."
Part of that big life change was a trip to London, where Presley hooked up with a cadre of very English songwriters including Richard Hawley of Pulp, singer/ songwriter Ed Harcourt, songwriter Sacha Skarbek and Fran Healy of Travis. What was supposed to be a short trip across the pond to write and get away from the people and problems she was jettisoning turned into a full move to a home in suburban London.
"In the past when everyone was going to Nashville and writing this and that, I could never do something contrived like that or preconceived," she said.
However, Presley found that working outside her comfort zone with the "very, very, very English" songwriters worked.
"Richard Hawley is kind of a little bit the Johnny Cash/ Leonard Cohen of England and Ed Harcourt is kind of like the Jeff Buckley/ Tom Waits kind of guy. So they were all kind of oddly alternative," she said, noting that she also wrote with electronic artists and rock artists.
While she was writing and recording demos, Presley's new music was given to Oscar- and Grammy-winning producer T-Bone Burnett, who was impressed enough to helm the production, bringing with him his stable of talented musicians to give the album an authentic singer/ songwriter vibe and a rootsy, mostly acoustic sound.
The result is "Storm & Grace" - what Presley calls the truest representation of her as a singer/songwriter. And the album has received the best reviews of her career.
"People think it's easier for me, but to get critical acclaim and great reviews, that's what I need. It lets me know that it's going beyond (being Elvis Presley's daughter),"she said.
"The recognition as a singer/ songwriter for me is the most important thing. I know there's a lot of other stuff attached to my life but for me I'm working and I'm doing something ... and (that) means everything to me."
With Burnett at the helm, Presley - whose smoky alto singing voice doesn't have much range but has quite a bit of personality - sounds more confident and comfortable on toe-tapping tracks such as the bouncy opener "Over Me" and the lightly soulful "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet."
Presley admits that her first two albums were a bit defensive lyrically and musically constructed to fit into the slick, overproduced pop/ rock sounds of the day. Despite her pedigree, Presley said she also allowed the music industry to put her through the pop star-making machine, picking out clothes and advising her to play up the sexy in photo shoots rather than establish her as an artist.
But she also admits that at the time she purposely worked against following in her father's massive footprint.
"The first two records kind of blew through (Elvis fans/ critics' expectations) because they were so NOT what a typical Elvis fan might have been expecting of me, which was a little bit on purpose, just to make sure I had my own footing," she said.
"I didn't want to sign with (Elvis' longtime label) RCA, I didn't want to do a song with him, I didn't want to ride on any coattails so I did the complete opposite and that was good and bad because it alienated some people and it made me a little bit misunderstood and conflicted, which is not unusual."
But she is more comfortable in her own skin now, and her video "I Love You Because" that premiered Oct. 18 on CMT is a duet with her father and features him and her four children.
Now Presley is hitting the road in short runs, which she says is the best way right now to balance her strong love of touring and being a good mother to her twins (she also has two grown children: daughter Riley Keogh, an actress currently filming "Mad Max: Fury Road," and son Benjamin.)
Presley said there won't be another seven-year wait before her next album and tour, and though her life has been reconfigured and she is in a much happier place, she knows life is a journey not a race.
"It's in progress. It's a mid-life crisis in progress," she said, laughing.


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Under Armour officials say that its strong second-quarter earnings report Tuesday is proof that the sports apparel company is giving customers what they want.
But the Baltimore company saw a hit to its profit margins and admits the operations side of the business needs some work.
"As a team, we are committed to getting our operational capabilities to the same level of execution and leadership as our brand and product, so that we can fully benefit from the demand of our consumer," CEO Kevin Plank told analysts during a conference call Tuesday.
Sales of Under Armour apparel and shoes are so good that the company announced it was raising expectations for revenue and profit for the year. Even a new running shoe is doing well, a year after the company decided to revamp its footwear line because of lackluster sales.
The company expects sales for the year to come in the range of $1.42 billion to $1.44 billion, an increase of 33 percent to 35 percent from 2010. It forecasts operating income in the range of $155 million to $160 million, an increase of 38 percent to 42 percent from last year.
Under Armour had previously anticipated year-end net revenues in the range of $1.37 billion to $1.39 billion and operating income in the range of $149 million to $153 million.
The performance fits into the company's goal to double revenue to more than $2.1 billion by 2013.
But Under Armour also reported a decline in gross profit margins for the quarter, as it had trouble managing growth and predicting what products, and how many, consumers would buy. Gross margins — profit before accounting for shipping costs, employee salaries and other operating expenses — dropped to 46.3 percent, compared with 48.8 percent a year ago.
Under Armour had expected the company's gross margins to decline a percentage point for the full year, but now expects them to drop by 1.6 to 1.8 percentage points.
The margins were hurt in part by the company's underestimating the amount of product it needed to manufacture for its retail customers, said CFO Brad Dickerson. Under Armour paid the retailers penalties for not delivering enough goods.
The company's factory outlet stores were also selling far more overstock at deep discounts than the company had anticipated, also hurting margins.
The margin situation was further exacerbated by the company's decision to move its hat and bag business in-house, losing licensing fees. Still, net revenues from accessories during the second quarter increased 266 percent to $32 million from $8.9 million last year.
To try to improve operations, Under Armour has brought on a vice president of sourcing with more than 28 years of global sourcing expertise and a senior vice president of planning with more than 18 years of planning and supply-chain experience.
"First and foremost, our brand and product have never been stronger," Plank said during the conference call. "But managing [a] 42 percent [growth rate] …it's not going to be a straight line."
"We're not satisfied with our operational execution," he said during the call.
While thinner margins meant profits were lower than they might have been, Under Armour's soaring sales ensured that its total bottom line still grew healthily.
For the quarter, net revenues increased 42 percent to $291.3 million, compared to $204.8 million last year. Net income increased to $6.2 million, or 12 cents per share, for the quarter ended June 30, compared to $3.5 million, or 7 cents per share, a year ago.
Plank said Under Armour will increase its marketing efforts in coming months as it relaunches parts of its footwear line. Fall campaigns will feature NFL quarterback Tom Brady, Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton and ultimate fighter Georges St. Pierre among others.
The company has spent months revamping the footwear line after disappointing sales. But a running shoe released earlier this year has been received well by consumers.
"We are building credibility with runners in the same way we did with football and baseball players," Plank said.
The company will also redesign its "store-within-a-store" concept with its retail partners, including Dick's Sporting Goods.


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Elsevier welcomes the Finch report
Elsevier welcomes the Finch Report on broadening access to academic research. We are glad that so many members of the academic community - universities, funders, libraries, scholarly societies, and publishers - have been able to collaborate constructively to find a way forward. The recommendations identify real opportunities, as well as risks, and how they are implemented will be essential in ensuring sustainable models for scholarly communications. We look forward to working with other stakeholders to encourage their successful implementation and to enable even wider dissemination of research in the future.
We are particularly excited about our industry's initiative to provide free walk-in access via UK public libraries as part of a balanced package of initiatives. We're also glad that Finch recognizes that publishers need to be able to charge to recoup the investments that enable them to deliver value. The report concludes that licensing and gold open access publishing are the primary sustainable mechanisms to focus on. Green open access is not by itself a sustainable model and must be done in harmony with the business model under which an article is published, whether licensing or gold open access.
Some of the details that policy-makers will likely be considering are the actions needed to ensure the UK enjoys access to the 94% of material published elsewhere, and the actions needed to ensure others have the widest access to the 6% of articles authored here in the UK. Policy-makers will also likely want to assess the very different costs, risks and benefits for UK PLC associated with the mechanisms identified to achieve these objectives.
So what comes next? Well, access debates have been rather emotionally charged for the last 10 years. The Finch Report points a way forward that could enable different stakeholders to work together constructively to widen access. Change would be required from all stakeholders, and we would all get further, faster by working together. We're confident that everyone is willing to step up and embrace this opportunity for positive change. We are delighted that both STM and the Publishers Association have signaled that the report has been well received across the spectrum of their membership, so publishers, including Elsevier, are clearly ready and willing to play a constructive role.
Publishers will be looking at forthcoming policy announcements from partner organizations in the UK and hope to see a similar willingness to work closely and constructively together. We might anticipate, for example, new policy announcements from the Higher Education Funding Councils or Research Councils UK in the first instance, and in due course we look forward to the government's official response to the Finch Report. International discussions are also underway, and it will be interesting to learn how stakeholders in other countries embrace the roadmap offered by the Finch group.


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FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Lost amidst the shuffle of the most hectic MLS offseason in recent memory was perhaps the most impressive showing in the brief history of the New England Revolution's academy program.
The Revolution's youth teams took the competition by storm at the recent U.S. Soccer Development Academy Winter Showcase, compiling an overall record of 5-1-0 against some of the nation's top clubs. Led by offensive catalyst Dominik Machado (one goal, three assists), the Under-18 squad won all three of its matches, while the Under-16s received a string of quality performances to go 2-1-0.
A vast improvement over the Revolution's early showings on the national stage, the recent Showcase performance serves as a tangible example of just how much the program has grown since forming in 2008.
"I think our discussions as a staff a few years ago when I first came on board revolved around trying to win our first showcase game or getting into the playoffs and win a playoff game," said Director of Youth Development Bryan Scales, who has helped turn both the U18s and U16s into perennial postseason teams. "[The Winter Showcase] was one of those events where we had a lot of experienced players who've been through these events before, who we've had in the program for two, three or four years and they played well in big games."
The current presence of experienced players in the Revolution's youth program is no coincidence, but rather the result of a carefully designed process put in place years ago. When assembling the squads in past years, Scales and his staff made a concerted effort to bring on some of the youngest talent. Not only did that approach allow the younger players to develop against older, stronger opponents, but it also increased the amount of time they could spend in the academy system.
"When I first came in, we as a staff wanted to take a gamble and take a chance on a lot of younger players," said Scales, who oversaw the expansion of the Revolution's youth program to add an Under-14 team this year. "That 1996 age group with guys like Danny Apajee, Zach Herivaux and Stevie Duncan; those guys have been in our program now for three years. So when they first came in, they were very, very young and they were thrown into the mix right away … All of that programming has been great for their development.
"It's only the halfway point of the season, so we don't want to go overboard with [the Showcase results], but it certainly is a good measuring stick at this stage to see how the progress is going."
Another good measuring stick is the presence of Revolution players in national team camps and Academy Select games – stand-alone games played during showcases to highlight players in the national team pool. Within the past year, four Revolution youth players – Guy Kabala, Amadu Kunateh, Declan McCabe and Christian Sady – have spent time in U.S. National Team youth camps, while Sady and goalkeeper Austin Aviza participated in their respective Academy Select games at the recent Winter Showcase.
"There's no doubt that as we methodically move through the process from year to year and our academy continues to mature, we expect to have more players in the Select games, or called into national team camps, or voted as some of the top players in the division," said Scales. "I think that's a byproduct of the hard work that happens in training, the scouting that goes on throughout the year and the maturity and the development of the players that come through the program. We're proud of that."


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2 Jan 2015 07:56:49 AM
No Holidays for the Injury Bug: Tarec Saffiedine, Costa Philippou Pull Out of Upcoming Fights
(#TheTimeIsNow…to throw this poster in the damn garbage pile.)
While we at CagePotato decided to take the day off yesterday to spend time with our children, the UFC injury plague was hard at work on January 1st, steady knockin' fighters off of main cards. Here's the latest casualty list…
- UFC welterweight Tarec Saffiedine has been forced to withdraw from his scheduled UFC Fight Night 60 main event against Matt Brown on February 14th due to a groin injury. The UFC will have to hustle to find a decent replacement opponent for Brown, because no other fight on the lineup screams "headliner." We're not trying to be a dick or anything, but when your event is so weak that a Tarec Saffiedine injury destroys it, maybe you deserve whatever happens to you?
- Thanks a rib injury, middleweight vet Costa Philippou has pulled out of his UFC Fight Night 59: McGregor vs. Siver main card bout against Uriah Hall. The UFC is currently looking for a short-notice replacement opponent for Hall. UFC Fight Night 59 goes down Jaunary 19th in Boston, and…oh my God…this is terrible. Folks, I regret to inform you that Jose Aldo has decapitated Conor McGregor and is using his head as a football. We'll let you know when Dennis Siver gets a new opponent. Stay tuned for up-to-the-minute reports on Jose Aldo's impending murder trial.Read More DIGG THIS


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Our wilderness is under an unprecedented attack from Trump and anti-conservationists in Congress. Help us fight back.
The Wilderness Society applauded the U.S. Senate today for passage of legislation to upgrade Pinnacles National Monument to a national park. The bill, which will make Pinnacles the nation's 59th national park, advances to President Obama for his signature.
With the release of its Final Environmental Impact Statement for the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, the federal Bureau of Land Management today set a balanced course for the future of the western Arctic, allowing oil and gas exploration while protecting special areas within the NPR-A.
The Wilderness Society issued the following statement from Doug Walker, Governing Council Chair and Peter Dykstra, Pacific Northwest Regional Director at The Wilderness Society:
Formal protests were filed by conservationists and community groups against the Bureau of Land Management's plans to lease lands in the heart of one of Colorado's vital eco-tourism regions. In legal documents filed today, The Wilderness Society, Colorado Environmental C
The Wilderness Society today applauded Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and President Obama for holding a public hearing on the permanent protection of Rio Grande del Norte in northern New Mexico.
The following statement is from Alan Rowsome, director of conservation funding for The Wilderness Society, on President Obama's speech today on the fiscal cliff.
Statement from The Wilderness Society President Jamie Williams on the re-election of President Barack Obama..


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M173, New February 2006
High tunnels are low-cost, passive, solar greenhouses that use no fossil fuels for heating or venting (Figure 1). High tunnels can provide many benefits to horticulture crop producers:
Many warm-season (frost-sensitive) vegetable crops can be grown in a high tunnel. Cucurbits are a large, diverse group of warm-season plants in the Cucurbitaceae family. Cucurbits include many popular vegetables such as cucumber, gourd, cantaloupe (muskmelon), squash, pumpkin and watermelon and are an important dietary source of fiber, minerals, beta-carotene and vitamin C.
Figure 1
High tunnels are plastic-covered, solar greenhouses that can be used for early-season cucurbit production.
Table 1
Groups of Cucumis melo.
Athena muskmelon.
Charentais cantaloupe.
Personal-size (mini) seedless watermelons.
Galia muskmelon.
Athena, left, and Galia 152 muskmelon flesh.
Prescott cantaloupe.
Figure 2
Muskmelons and watermelons vary in shape, size and color.
Cantaloupe or muskmelon (Cucumis melo L.) and watermelon (Citrullis lanatus var. lanatus) are annual plants with a trailing vine growth. Cucumis melo has several botanical subgroups (Table 1). In the United States, reticulatus and inodorus are commercially grown, while the remaining groups are grown for niche or local markets.
The cantaloupe fruit that most Americans are familiar with is not actually a true cantaloupe. A true cantaloupe has no netting on the rind, is often warty, and many will not abscise or slip from the vine when mature (Figure 2). True cantaloupes are widely grown in Europe and include varieties such as Charentais, Prescott, D'Alger and Petit gris de Rennes.
A muskmelon (Cucumis melo var. reticulatus) has a pronounced netting on the fruit, is aromatic, and slips from the vine when mature (Table 1). Most wholesale markets prefer an oval to round muskmelon with medium to heavy netting and slight ribbing, while some local markets prefer lightly netted, deep-ribbed types. The terms muskmelon and cantaloupe are often used interchangeably in U.S. markets.
Galia melons are green-fleshed, aromatic muskmelons with a golden-yellow, netted rind (Figure 2). Galia melons are adapted to warm, dry climates and are often called desert melons. Rainfall during flowering and fruit formation significantly lowers the quality of Galia melons.
Watermelons are classified as seeded diploids or seedless triploids. Seedless watermelons have higher production costs but may be profitable as an early-season crop in a high tunnel. A seedless watermelon is a cross between a diploid (two sets of chromosomes), seeded variety and a tetraploid (four sets of chromosomes) line. The resulting plant is sterile with three sets of chromosomes. Seedless cultivars must have pollen from a seeded, diploid cultivar to set fruit. Mini seedless watermelons (less than 6 pounds) are becoming popular with consumers as single-serving melons. Melons and watermelon are second only to bananas in total U.S. per capita consumption of fresh fruit. Melons are low in fat and sodium, have no cholesterol, and provide many essential nutrients such as potassium. Watermelons are an excellent source of lycopene, which is credited with reducing many forms of cancer.
Both melons and watermelon are native to Africa and thrive in a warm, dry climate with a long growing season. The optimal growing temperature for melons and watermelons is 70 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit.
Cucurbits have palm-shaped leaves that are lobed (watermelon) or nonlobed (cantaloupe). Leaves are arranged in an alternate pattern on the vine. The vines are angular and hairy with several lateral branches that in turn have many secondary branches. Vines can reach a length of 30 feet for some cucurbit varieties.
Figure 3
Watermelon leaves, left, are lobed with branched tendrils while muskmelon leaves, right, are nonlobed with simple tendrils at each leaf axis. Tendrils are used by the vines for climbing and anchoring.
Melons and watermelons have modified, threadlike leaves called tendrils, which the vine uses for anchoring or climbing (Figure 3). Tendrils can be branched (watermelon) or simple (muskmelon). Both cucurbit crops have strong taproots that can be deep on nonirrigated melons but generally are shallow but horizontally extensive when the crop is adequately irrigated.
Figure 4
Melon flowers, left, are brighter yellow and yield more nectar than watermelon flowers.
Cucurbit flowers are diverse in color, shape and size (Figure 4). Cucurbits have a monoecious flowering pattern, which means male and female flowers are separate on each plant. Melons have male (staminate) flowers and a mix of female (pistillate) and perfect (both male and female organs) flowers. Watermelons typically have staminate and pistillate flowers. Staminate flowers appear first and are followed by emergence of more staminate and pistillate flowers. Generally, 12 to 15 staminate flowers are produced for each pistillate flower.
Figure 5
Mini seedless watermelons are similar in size to muskmelons (3 to 6 pounds).
Table 2
Seeds required for transplant production (Graded transplants).
There are many productive cantaloupe and watermelon cultivars that can be grown in a high tunnel (Figure 5, Table 3). Choose a suitable cultivar for your market outlet. Purchase high-quality, vigorous seed for transplant production. High-quality seed means faster germination and vigorous growth. One ounce of muskmelon seeds contains 950 to 1,200 seeds while one ounce of watermelon seeds contains 300 (large-seeded cultivars) to 650 (small-seeded cultivars) seeds (Table 2).
Table 3 includes suggested varieties of muskmelons, cantaloupes, honeydews and mini seedless watermelons for high tunnel production.
Table 3
Potential melon and mini watermelon cultivars for high tunnel production.
Galia 152
Early Dew
Honey Orange
This list is not intended to include every cultivar that may perform well in a high tunnel.
Figure 6
Transplants increase early yield of melons in a high tunnel.
Figure 7
Use healthy, vigorous transplants for early melon and watermelon production in a high tunnel.
For early production in a high tunnel, melons and watermelons should be established as transplants. Transplants increase uniformity and earliness of the crop while reducing seed costs (Figure 6). Quality transplants begin with quality seed. Choose a suitable cultivar and melon type that has consumer demand in your market outlet (Table 3).
Various containers can be used to germinate and grow cucurbit plants. Generally a transplant container or cell 1 to 2 inches in diameter is optimal for melon and watermelon. However, using a larger cell size may increase earliness. One seed can be placed in each container cell, one-half inch deep using a standard potting or germination mix. Seedless watermelon seeds are planted with the radicle tip pointed up or flat, which helps the seed shed the seed coat. After seeding, water the seeds and place in a warm room (85 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit) for about three days to accelerate germination. Do not overwater seedless triploids. Seedless watermelons should be germinated at 90 degrees for 48 hours. After 10 percent of the seeds have emerged, the temperature can be lowered to 70 to 80 degrees (day) and 65 to 70 degrees (night) for growth and development.
Depending on prevailing weather, transplants should be regularly watered. Watering should be done in the morning allowing leaves to dry before evening, which reduces the risk of disease. Three times a week, a 200 ppm nitrogen solution can be applied to the growing transplants (Table 4). Four to six weeks are required for growth of melon and watermelon transplants. One week before transplanting, reduce fertilization and watering to harden or condition the plants for transplanting within the high tunnel. A good melon or watermelon transplant should have two to four true leaves, short, thick stems and a healthy root system (Figure 7).
Table 4
Ounces of fertilizer per 100 gallons of water.
Figure 8
Plastic mulch on raised beds accelerates melon growth in a high tunnel.
The soil within the high tunnel should be tilled, fertilized and formed into a raised bed before transplanting (Figure 8). Raised beds (4 to 6 inches high by 20 to 32 inches wide) increase the average soil temperature and improve root zone aeration and drainage while providing a larger volume of soil for root growth.
For early melon production, plastic mulch is more effective in warming the soil than organic mulches. Plastic mulch and drip irrigation should be applied to the raised beds at least two weeks before transplanting. There are several plastic mulches to choose from. Black plastic is the preferred plastic mulch for cucurbits because it warms the root zone and both reduces weed germination and soil moisture evaporation. The soil temperature during the daytime is about 5 degrees Fahrenheit warmer at the 2-inch depth under black plastic than in nonmulched, bare soil. Clear plastic mulch warms the soil more than black plastic but does not suppress weed germination. Infrared (IRT) mulch is intermediate between clear and black with the added benefit of reducing most weed emergence. Reflective or metallic mulches repel insects such as aphids but generally keep the soil cooler. White or white-on-black mulch is used to cool the soil and can be used for summer or fall cucurbit plantings within the high tunnel. All plastic mulch should fit tightly over the raised bed to maximize heat transfer from the mulch to the soil. Embossed plastic (embossed with a diamond-shape pattern) mulch fits tightly over the raised bed and expands and contracts without losing tautness. Transplants can be lost from heat necrosis that occurs when heat funnels out through the planting hole when the plastic mulch is not tightly fitted over the raised bed.
In a high tunnel, melons and watermelons are spaced 24 to 36 inches between plants within each row, and the rows are spaced 40 to 48 inches on center. On a square foot basis, this is nearly double the plant density of field-grown melons and watermelons. The ability to grow the plants vertically by trellising and the dry (no rain) environment make higher plant populations feasible within a high tunnel. Thus a commercial high tunnel (2,500 square feet) can accommodate 200 to 300 cantaloupe or watermelon plants.
Each transplant is planted about 1 to 2 inches deeper than the surface of the transplant root ball. The planting hole on the plastic mulch can be perforated by hand or using a bulb planter. Immediately after transplanting, a starter fertilizer solution containing nitrogen (200 to 400 ppm) and phosphorus should be applied to each transplant to reduce transplant shock.
Planting date varies with geographical region. Soil temperature is a reliable index for determining when to plant within a high tunnel. Melons and watermelons can be transplanted when the soil temperature at the 2-inch depth is at least 60 degrees Fahrenheit.
Figure 9
Row covers protect melons from frost damage and chilling injury.
Row covers are used to increase the average minimum temperature within the crop canopy. There are two types of row covers. One type is polyethylene plastic with perforated holes for ventilation, and the other type is a spunbonded fabric. Spunbonded row covers (0.5 to 1.25 ounces per square yard) are recommended for high tunnel Cucurbit production (Figure 9). Unlike polyethylene row covers, spun bonded row covers do not produce extremely high air temperatures during the daytime and are more effective at retaining heat for frost protection during the night. In addition, spunbonded row covers are lightweight, which makes them easy to place on or remove from the crop canopy.
Row covers should be applied immediately after transplanting in the spring and can be kept over the crop for several weeks depending on temperature within the high tunnel. In Missouri, row covers are left on the plants for about three weeks and are removed when the melons and watermelons begin to flower in mid-April. They are not completely removed from the high tunnel but held in reserve if a frost or freeze threatens the crop.
Before planting cucurbits within a high tunnel, the soil should be sampled and analyzed to determine pH, organic matter content and nutrient levels. The optimal pH range for cantaloupes and watermelons is 6.0 to 6.8. If the soil pH is below optimum, liming may be performed. If necessary, lime should be applied as far in advance of transplanting as possible.
Before transplanting, 7 to 11 ounces of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet should be applied to the raised beds. Based on a soil test, all the required phosphorus and half of the required potassium should be applied before transplanting and mulch application. If the soil within the high tunnel is high in organic matter (at least 3 percent), a lower rate of preplant nitrogen can be applied. Thoroughly incorporate the fertilizer in the top 4 to 6 inches of the soil. Applying water-soluble fertilizer through the irrigation system is referred to as fertigation. If no fertilizer is applied before planting, fertigation should begin immediately after transplanting in the high tunnel. However, if preplant fertilizer is applied, fertigation can be delayed for two weeks. Fertilizer can be applied through the drip irrigation system over the remaining 10- to 12-week growing season. Table 5 gives a suggested fertigation program for high tunnel melons and watermelons. If preplant potassium is applied, potassium fertigation commences three weeks after transplanting. Adequate potassium fertilization is crucial for melon crops because potassium is correlated with melon sweetness.
Fertilization rates should be based on the total effective mulched area. Measure the width of the raised bed covered with plastic, and multiply by the row length. This product is multiplied by the number of rows within the high tunnel, which equals the total effective mulched area per high tunnel.
Table 5
Suggested nitrogen and potassium fertigation schedule for high tunnel melons and watermelons.
Figure 10
Drip irrigation and black plastic mulch improve melon and watermelon yield and quality.
Because high tunnels exclude natural rainfall, the water requirements of the crop must be supplied by drip irrigation. Drip irrigation is a method of applying water slowly to the root zone of the growing crop by using small, collapsible tubes called drip tape (Figure 10). Drip irrigation has many advantages, including less water use and the ability to supply nutrients to the crop over the course of the growing season. Drip irrigation also helps the crop to grow evenly, reduces weed emergence and keeps the foliage dry, which prevents many diseases.
One drip line (8 to 10 mil thickness; 4 to 12 inch dripper spacing) is placed 3 inches from the center of the bed. The drip line should be buried 1 inch to prevent damage by mice and expansion and contraction of the tube during the growing season. Lateral movement of water from the drip tube may be about 10 to 12 inches on either side of the tube in heavy soils and 8 to 10 inches in light soils.
Irrigation can be scheduled based on using a soil moisture sensor (tensiometer or moisture blocks) or systematically applying an even quantity of water each week. Tensiometers work effectively in sandy soils, while gypsum blocks are effective in heavy soils.
Generally one inch of water (per acre equivalent) is applied to melons and watermelons each week. During periods of hot weather and a heavy fruit load, 1.5 inches per week can be applied. For example, if a grower is using a medium-flow drip tape with a flow rate of 0.40 gpm per 100 feet, and the mulched row width is 30 inches, the crop should be irrigated 6.5 hours per week to deliver one inch of water to the crop (Table 6). Because plastic mulch reduces soil moisture evaporation, it is important not to overwater the crops. Excessive irrigation during the latter stages of fruit ripening can lower sugar levels and cause fruit cracking.
Table 6
Hours required to apply 1 inch of water to a mulched, raised bed.
Note the swelling at base of the flower. This will develop into fruit. Cantaloupe can produce two types of flowers.
Perfect flowers having both male and female parts.
Staminate flowers having only male parts.
Figure 11
Melons and watermelons require cross-pollination to set fruit.
Melons and watermelons have separate male and female flowers on each vine. Male flowers appear at least a week earlier than female flowers. Female flowers are easy to distinguish from male flowers by the presence of a swollen base below the flower petals (Figure 11A). Flowers open after sunrise and remain open for only one day. Since melon and watermelon pollen is heavy and sticky, it does not move with wind currents. Thus, physical movement of pollen is necessary before a fruit is set on the vine. Pollination of the first flush of female flowers is crucial because these flowers can develop into large, early fruit.
Nectar-collecting bees (honey bees, bumble bees, solitary bees and mason bees) are common vectors of cucurbit pollen. Research has revealed that each female melon flower must receive at least eight bee visits to set a marketable fruit. Research at MU has revealed that having sufficient bees for pollination will increase average fruit weight of muskmelons within a high tunnel. Bumble bees (Bombus impatiens) can be purchased and placed within each high tunnel two to three weeks after transplanting. Use insect screen to retain the bees within the high tunnel. Honey bee colonies can be placed close to the high tunnel to encourage entry. Planting high nectar yielding plants such as Brassica sp. (mustards) close to the high tunnel may increase native bee density within a high tunnel. Melons that are poorly pollinated are smaller while improperly pollinated watermelons are often lopsided or bottlenecked.
If feasible, hand pollination of cucurbits may be performed. In midmorning select a recently opened male flower. Carefully remove the petals surrounding the male stamens (pollen-producing organs). Identify a recently opened female flower, and gently brush the stamens against the flower 10 to 15 times. Research indicates that hand pollination is most effective between 6:00 and 9:00 a.m. Hand pollination requires patience and may be effective only 50 percent of the time.
Seedless watermelons produce sterile pollen and thus require pollen from a seeded cultivar before setting fruit. A seeded cultivar can be planted as a single row parallel to the baseboards of the high tunnel. Also, the seeded cultivar can be interplanted with the seedless cultivar with every third plant within the row a seeded cultivar. Icebox watermelon cultivars (7 to 10 pounds fruit) are effective pollenizers for early yield of seedless watermelons. It is important to synchronize appearance of male flowers on the pollenizer cultivar with female flower opening on the seedless cultivar. The icebox pollenizer should be seeded seven to ten days later than the seedless watermelon cultivar, since they flower earlier than most watermelon cultivars. If a standard-sized seeded melon is used as a pollenizer, it should be seeded three to four days before the seedless watermelons are seeded. Watermelons and melons will not cross-pollinate when grown within the same high tunnel.
Many melon cultivars produce extensive vine growth. Pruning the vines may be necessary if the melons are trellised. Pruning is performed to achieve a balance between vine growth and fruit set. Pruning increases average fruit weight while reducing the number of unmarketable (cull) fruit.
Each melon vine produces a primary stem or leader with many secondary branches or laterals. A suitable pruning treatment for high tunnel muskmelons to retain the primary stem and one of the first laterals while pruning all additional laterals up to and including the eighth leaf node. All secondary branches after the eighth node can be left unpruned on the plant. This method of pruning permits the vine to be easily trellised either by a nylon net trellis or by using strings and vine clips as in greenhouse tomato production. Prune off any misshapen fruit or fruit that was not pollinated.
Figure 12
Trellising increases marketable yields of high tunnel melons.
Training melons and watermelons to grow vertically is referred to as trellising and is one of the advantages of growing melons in a high tunnel. Most melon cultivars and personal size (less than 7 pounds) watermelon cultivars are amenable to trellising. Trellising improves light interception by the crop canopy, makes harvest easier, improves pollination and reduces damage to the vines during harvest. Trellising is necessary if the high tunnel is used to grow crops in addition to melons, since melon vines will overrun other plants if not trained.
Various types of trellises can be used for high tunnel melons and watermelons (Figure 12). Using a trellis with a plastic (nylon) net (6-inch by 7-inch openings) that is about 72 inches high is a suitable trellis for pruned and unpruned vines. The trellis must be supported by a tensile wire, which runs parallel to the row and slightly higher than the trellis. This wire can be secured to the frame of the high tunnel or attached to posts at each end of the row. The mesh trellis is in turn secured to the wire. The vines gradually grow up the trellis, using their tendrils to cling to the mesh trellis, but they will require training to keep the growth vertical. Assume the static load on the wire will be about 10 to 12 pounds per linear foot.
Another form of trellis is an option when each vine has been pruned to one or two stems. Tie a length of nylon twine to a tensile wire 6 to 7 feet off the ground and secure it to the ground using anchor pins. The primary stem of the muskmelon plant is secured to the twine using plastic vine clips. As the vine continues to grow, it is clipped to the vertical twine. If the vine grows taller than the height of the trellis, it can be trained from the top down on another length of twine. Woven wire fence or livestock panels can also be used as a trellis for cucurbits.
Figure 13
Mesh bags tied to a trellis protect and support melons as they ripen.
Fruit may require support as it grows on the trellis. Some muskmelon cultivars have fruit with rigid peduncles (fruit stems) and may not need support. Small, mesh bags (onion sacks), cheesecloth or nylons can be used as slings to support the fruit (Figure 13). The bags can be tied to the trellis or the support wire. The bag should allow light penetration and not hold moisture. When the fruit is ripe, the bag can be cut from the trellis.
Mini seedless (or seeded) watermelons can be trellised in a high tunnel. If so, the fruit must be supported. Other types of watermelons (large, seeded or seedless) can be grown without a trellis and left to vine throughout the high tunnel.
Table 7
Average yields of cantaloupes and mini seedless watermelons within a high tunnel. Columbia
Figure 14
Marketable yield of Galia muskmelon and mini seedless watermelon. Columbia, Mo., 2005. Each plot contained four plants.
Figure 15
Muskmelons slip from the vine when mature. Watermelons, however, do not slip and are harvested when the tendril closest to the fruit dries.
Melons have several yield flushes requiring harvest three to four times a week during peak production, while watermelons tend to ripen evenly and the bulk of the fruit can be harvested in relatively few harvests (Figure 14). Melon and watermelon fruit are ready to harvest 45 to 60 days after flowering. Research at MU has shown that Galia muskmelons are very high yielding when grown in a high tunnel (Table 7). Muskmelons yield more fruit per plant than watermelons in a high tunnel. Melon harvest in a high tunnel is four to five weeks earlier than field-grown melons and watermelons in Missouri.
Muskmelons develop a distinct abscission zone between the fruit stem and the fruit (Figure 15). As muskmelon fruit ripens, the color changes from green to yellow, and the fruit produces an aromatic odor on the blossom end. On some cultivars, the netting becomes more pronounced at maturity. High tunnel muskmelons for local markets should be harvested vine ripe or "full slip," the stage at which the fruit detaches from the vine with slight pressure. To prevent overripening, Galia melons should be harvested when the fruit changes color to a bright yellow. Galia melons produce a strong floral odor and easily detach from the stem. Muskmelons will ripen after harvest, but the sugar content does not increase. The sweetness should be at least 11 degrees Brix, and the fruit should weigh 3 pounds or more. Specialty melons can be sold at a smaller weight (1 to 2 pounds).
Charentais melons and honeydew melons do not slip from the vine at maturity, and honeydews do not produce an aroma as they ripen. Charentais fruit will change color from a gray/green to creamy white. The leaves closest to the fruit stem will also begin to develop a pale color. The fruit must be harvested before it begins to split. Ripe melons can be stored for almost two weeks at 34 degrees Fahrenheit and 95 percent relative humidity. Honeydew melons and other specialty melons should be stored at 45 degrees and 90 percent relative humidity.
Watermelons do not slip from the vine or emit an odor when ripening. Other indicators of maturity include increased "waxiness" of the rind, drying of the tendril closest to the fruit and a dull, muffled sound when the watermelon is thumped, depending on the variety. Watermelons should be cut from the vine rather than pulled, leaving about an inch of stem. The stem can be trimmed on the day of sale, giving the melons a fresh harvest appearance. Harvest early in the morning when field heat is low and the fruits are most turgid. Watermelon sweetness should be at least 11 degrees Brix. Watermelons should be stored at 50 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit and 90 percent relative humidity.
Figure 16
Melons are boxed for wholesale markets or sold by count in farmers' markets.
Demand for melons and watermelons is increasing. Muskmelons are sold individually in farmers' markets (Figure 16). Most wholesale markets sell melons in corrugated bins or 1-3/4-bushel boxes that contain 15 to 18 melons per box and weigh about 60 pounds. Muskmelons weighing more than 6 pounds are considered large; medium-size melons weigh 4 to 6 pounds and small melons weigh less than 4 pounds. Watermelons are sold individually or in bins containing about 60 watermelons. Use only clean bins or boxes for packing melons and watermelons.
Order publications online at http://extension.missouri.edu/explore/shop/ or call toll-free 800-292-0969.


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NanoBio: PCR
From OpenWetWare
A. Primer design for PCR
- For typical Biofusion construction, you want a PCR product which has an XbaI site upstream of your part, and SpeI, NotI, and PstI sites downstream of your part.
Then, the forward primer should be of the form:
5' CCTTTCTAGA (15-20 bp of the coding strand) 3'
and the reverse primer should be of the form:
5' AAGGCTGCAGCGGCCGCTACTAGT (15-20 bp reverse complement) 3'
- Design considerations. Make sure that:
- The Tm of each primer is between 55-65 °C
- The Tm of both primers are very similar, i.e., within ~2 °C
- Either primer will not form a stable internal hairpin structure, i.e., ΔG <-3 kcal/mol
- The forward and reverse primers do not combine to form a stable hairpin structure or dimer
- The genomic DNA to be amplified does not contain any EcoRI, PstI, SpeI, XbaI, or AarI sites
- The insert for the forward primer does not begin with TC (or else a DAM I site (GATC) is formed, and XbaI cannot cut)
- If possible the 3' end of each primer should end with a GC
- An easy way to design primers is to use Vector NTI.
- Find the genomic DNA sequence that you want to amplify as your part at yeastgenome.org and save it into Vector NTI.
- Highlight the sequence that you want as your part, and select Analyses -> Primer Design -> Amplify Selection.
- Under the Primer tab, set "Before" and "After" to 0 bp. Adjust the Tm, primer length, GC content, et c. as noted above. Also click More>> and insert the flanking sense and anti-sense sequences (given at top) in the boxes "Attach to 5' terminus of Sense primer" and "Attach to 5' terminus of Anti-sense primer". Lastly, click "Apply" then "OK."
- Three possible sets of designed primers will appear in a folder on the left side of the screen, ranked by their score. Usually, the best possible score is 171. The lowest score that I (Caroline) have successfully used is ~120.
- Double-check your primers by highlighting a given sequence, then right-clicking and selecting "Analyze".
- For more information, check out Vector NTI's user manual, Chapters 8 and 20.
- Order 25 nmol DNA oligo with standard desalting from IDT.
- Note: if it is not possible to make a good set of primers with the flanking regions described above, try changing the first 4 bases - which are external to the restriction site - of each primer, i.e.
5' AAGGTCTAGA (15-20 bp of the coding strand) 3'
- Note: if it is not possible to make a good set of primers with the flanking regions described above, see if using a different set of flanking regions improves the primers. For example, you can also use a PCR product that has the EcoRI, NotI, and XbaI sites upstream of your part, while the SpeI site is downstream of your part. In this case, the forward primer would be of the form: 5' CCTTGAATTCGCGGCCGCATCTAGA (15-20 bp complement to coding strand)3' and the reverse primer should be of the form:
5' AAGGACTAGT (15-20 bp complement to coding strand) 3'.
- Note:
B. PCR from yeast chromosomal or plasmid template
Both are known to work. My two cents (Caroline): Using Vent (condition A) works for most (>90%) parts. However, there have been few parts for which I couldn't get pcr products using condition A. I have been able to pcr out these difficult parts using Pfx (condition B) -- Pfx has worked for *all* pcr reactions I've tried.
Condition A: Vent polymerase
- Resuspend each primer in Tris buffer pH 8.0 or distilled water to 100 µM.
- Mix:
- 5 µL 10x ThermoPol buffer
- 0.4 µL 25 mM dNTPs
- 0.5 µL 100 µM forward primer
- 0.5 µL 100 µM reverse primer
- ≤1 µL plasmid DNA or 2 µL genomic DNA
- 1 µL Vent DNA polymerase
- distilled water to 50 µL total volume
- PCR program:
- Start: 95 °C for 2 min. (melt)
- Cycle 95 °C for 0.5 min (melt)
- Tm minus 5 °C for 0.5 min. (anneal)
- 74 °C for (# bp/1000) min. (extension) - no less than 0.5 min.
- No. of Cycles: 30
- End: keep at 4 °C forever
Condition B: Pfx Polymerase
- Resuspend each primer in Tris buffer pH 8.0 or distilled water to 100 µM.
- Use Stratagene's Pfx kit.
- Mix:
- 3 µL primer mix (10µM of each primer)
- 0.8 µL template DNA
- 25 µL 10X PFx amplification buffer
- 3 µL 10mM dNTPs
- 2 µL 50mM MgSO4
- 30 µL 10X PFx enhancer buffer
- 34.2 µL water (to 100 µL)
- 2 µL PFx DNA polymerase
- PCR Program
- Start: 94 °C for 5 min. (melt)
- Cycle 94 °C for 15 sec (melt) (cycle start)
- 55 °C for 0.5 min. (anneal)
- 68 °C for 3.5 min (extension) (cycle end)
- 68 °C for 7 min
- No. of Cycles: 35
- End: keep at 4 °C forever
C. Gel analysis and purification of PCR products
- Run the PCR reaction on an appropriate percentage agarose gel and purify using Qiagen's PCR purification kit. Elute with 30 µL or another volume depending on the band's brightness.


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Manhunt photos of accused Boston Marathon bomber show other side
July 19. 2013 8:32PM
BOSTON (Reuters) — A Massachusetts state trooper said he released photographs of accused Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, including one with a red dot of a sniper rifle's laser sight on his forehead, to counter a "fluffed and buffed" image of him on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine.
State Police Sgt. Sean Murphy took the photographs during the manhunt for Tsarnaev, the younger of two brothers accused of killing three people and wounding more than 260 at the Boston Marathon on April 15 by detonating two pressure-cooker bombs. The elder brother was killed during a late-night shootout with police three days later.
Murphy, a police tactical photographer, said he decided to release the images in response to the portrait of Tsarnaev on an upcoming cover of Rolling Stone, saying the picture of him with shaggy hair and a light beard glamorized "the face of terror."
"What Rolling Stone did was wrong. This guy is evil. This is the real Boston bomber. Not someone fluffed and buffed for the cover of Rolling Stone magazine," he said in a statement carried by Boston Magazine, which published more than a dozen of his pictures on its website on Thursday.
Boston Magazine said later on Thursday that Murphy had been "relieved of his duty" hours after releasing the photographs and the status of the sergeant's duty would be reviewed next week.
Massachusetts State Police declined to comment on whether Murphy had been suspended. In a statement, spokesman David Procopio said only that the release of the photographs of Tsarnaev's capture was unauthorized.
A day earlier, Boston officials reacted angrily to the portrait of Tsarnaev on the cover of Rolling Stone's August issue, over the headline: "The bomber: How a popular, promising student was failed by his family, fell into radical Islam and became a monster."
Boston Mayor Thomas Menino called the cover "a total disgrace," and the drugstore chain CVS Caremark Corp. refused to sell the magazine.
Tsarnaev pleaded not guilty in court last week to all charges in a 30-count indictment. He faces the possibility of the death penalty if convicted.


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University of Vermont
2012-2013 Catalogue
Neuroscience Program
Contact InformationNeuroscience Graduate Program Office
University of Vermont
Given Building D401B,
89 Beaumont Avenue
Burlington, VT 05405
Director: Rae Nishi, PhD, Professor, Anatomy and Neurobiology
Program Assistant: Hallie Davis-Penders
Phone: (802) 656-1178
Fax: (802) 656-8704
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
The Neuroscience Graduate Program (NGP) is a Ph.D. granting program that has nearly fifty faculty mentors across nine departments and three colleges. NGP provides a broad-based, health-oriented curriculum together with rigorous training in multidisciplinary research and opportunities for public outreach. Graduates of the program are prepared to enter a variety of science-related careers in addition to traditional, tenure track academic positions.
- Colleges and Schools: College of Arts and Sciences. College of Medicine. Graduate College.


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How To Declare Independence From Bad Social Media [4]Break free from the people and habits that are bringing you down on social networks.
Go on. Rise up and declare independence from:
1. Privacy Concerns
Either get on the ball and vow to truly understand the privacy settings (and implications) of the social networks you have presence on, or get off the social networks. Your privacy and personal information is far too precious to take for granted.
2. Annoying People
When you first joined Facebook, you probably said "yes" to every friend request. You may be regretting that enthusiasm now, as you read yet another thinly described brag session from someone you remember vaguely from high school, or when you cringe at the foul language used by a former co-worker.
You don't have to sit there and suffer. I recommend hiding people rather than unfriending them. The latter just carries with it too much baggage for my sensibilities. On Twitter, you may have found that your initial enthusiasm has you following far too many people. Unfollow 'em. I could be wrong, but unfollowing doesn't seem to carry with it the same kind of connotations that unfriending does.
[ Get more social media tips. See 10 Ways To Get Noticed On Pinterest [6]. ]
3. Oversharing
While you are declaring independence from annoying people, make sure you are not being annoying yourself. Oversharing is one of the most oft-committed social networking sins. Ask yourself: Do you share every meal, every pound lost (or gained), every ache, every pain on Facebook and Twitter? Do you think people want to know the details of your root canal, along with photos? If you can answer yes to any of these questions, you are likely oversharing. Take it down a notch -- or 10.
4. Social Ruts
You're more than likely using Facebook and Twitter. Maybe you have also gotten sucked into the product and recipe black hole that is Pinterest. Don't stop there. Innovations are happening all the time, and you often don't know how useful (or just interesting) something will be until you try it. You say you don't "get" Vine, for example? Make (or watch) just one six-second video of your kids or pets and I predict that you will not only be hooked, but that the ideas for how the videos can play out for marketing and branding purposes [7] will start to flow immediately.
5. Professional Suicide
Too many people still pooh-pooh social altogether. It's your choice, of course, but if you have a job or plan to have a job in the future, you need to be on social. Yes, I said it. It doesn't matter if you work as a developer or a marketing executive or a customer service representative. If you work in the business world, HR professionals and hiring managers will Google you [8] at some point in the candidate vetting process. If you are on social and your presence is littered with questionable photos and posts, you won't get the job you are after. If you have no social presence whatsoever, you are very likely not to get the job. Social presence is just part of the resume for most jobs these days, and it will not be long before it is a requirement for all professionals.
Follow Deb Donston-Miller on Twitter at @debdonston [9].
White Papers


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RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A subsidiary of the nation's second-largest cigarette maker Reynolds American Inc. is funding a national recycling program to reward do-gooders for cleaning up tobacco waste and turn cigarette butts into pellets used to make items such as plastic shipping pallets, railroad ties and park benches.
New Mexico-based Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Co., the maker of Natural American Spirit cigarettes, is teaming up with TerraCycle Inc. for the program. It aims to snuff out one of the most littered items in the U.S. that yields about 135 million pounds of cigarette butts annually and get tossed on roadways, thrown in the trash or put in public ashtrays.
"You don't have to walk or drive very far to see that smokers often discard cigarette waste in ways that litter the environment," Santa Fe's head of sales and marketing, Cressida Lozano, said in a statement. The cost of the company's sponsorship that will be officially announced Thursday was not disclosed.
Through the Cigarette Waste Brigade program, organizations as well as people over the age of 21 can collect cigarette waste and send them to TerraCycle through a prepaid shipping label. Once received, participants will get credits that will be donated to Keep America Beautiful, a nonprofit community action and education organization. They'll receive about $1 per pound of litter, which equals about 1,000 cigarette butts.
TerraCycle, based in Trenton, N.J., will then recycle the filters into pellets used to make a number of items, including ashtrays. The paper and tobacco also will be composted. The company took nearly two years to develop the process to recycle cigarette butts, which are comprised of paper, tobacco, ash, and a filter made from cellulose acetate.
TerraCycle CEO and founder Tom Szaky said the program provides a solution for the filters that are properly disposed of in an ashtray or can, but still end up in a landfill.
Szaky said that the company is committed to "recycling waste that others deem worthless or unsavory." Recycling cigarette litter will promote the idea that "everything can and should be recycled," he said.
Cigarette waste accounted for 38 percent of all U.S. roadway litter, according to a 2009 study done by Keep America Beautiful.
The study also found that cigarette butts were the most common litter item collected at sites including retail areas, storm drains, loading docks, construction sites and recreational areas.
Additionally, more than 1 million cigarettes or cigarette butts — enough to fill nearly 58,000 packs — were removed from American beaches and inland waterways in 2011 as part of the Ocean Conservancy's annual one-day International Coastal Cleanup. Cigarette litter represented about 31 percent of the total debris collected, making it the most-found item as part of those efforts.
"Trash is really too valuable to toss, so we need to find alternative ways to up cycle and change trash and repurpose it," said Nicholas Mallos, a marine debris specialist with group.
In 2003, Keep America Beautiful launched a cigarette litter prevention program, and it has grown to include more than 800 programs in 49 states and Washington, D.C. It was developed with funding from the nation's largest cigarette maker Philip Morris USA, which is owned by Richmond, Va.-based Altria Group Inc. The program also has received additional funding from Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Reynolds American, maker of Camel and Pall Mall cigarettes.
The new cigarette program builds on other recycling efforts by TerraCycle, which encourages consumers to collect difficult-to-recycle materials through programs funded by companies within specific industries. For example, Frito Lay Inc. funds a program to recycle used chip bags and Kraft Foods Inc. sponsors a program to collect plastic containers from dairy products. For most programs, participants receive credits that can be donated to various charities and causes.
TerraCycle: http://www.terracycle.com
Santa Fe Natural Tobacco: http://www.sfntc.com
Michael Felberbaum can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/MLFelberbaum.


text:
NEW YORK (AP) — Facebook's stock is soaring after the social networking company reported stronger-than-expected results for the fourth quarter, fueled by strong mobile advertising revenue.
Facebook Inc., which turns 10 next week, said Wednesday that more than half of its advertising revenue now comes from mobile. That's a big milestone considering it only started showing mobile ads in 2012. Investors fretted at the time that it wouldn't be able to evolve into a "mobile-first" company. The quarter's results are a sign that it has.
At the end of 2013, more than three-quarters of Facebook's 1.23 billion users — 945 million — logged in using their mobile devices at least once a month.
Baird Equity analyst Colin Sebastian said key user metrics and engagement trends — that is, how much and how often people use Facebook — remain healthy. He noted that advertising revenue accelerated for the seventh consecutive quarter.
"Looking ahead, we expect further growth from video ads, Instagram, and global monetization," he wrote in a note to investors. The analyst has an "Outperform" rating on Facebook's stock. He raised his target price to $65 from $54 in light of the results.
Menlo Park, Calif.-based Facebook's stock is up $7.48, or 14 percent, to $61 in late afternoon trading. It hit a record high of $62.50 earlier.


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Mar 25, 2012 at 1:41 pm
Nice cars man... I don't see many of the 70s style Chevelles around, and I really like that Pontiac!
Mar 9, 2012 at 10:21 pm
Dude, dig the cars! Nice Pontiac! Thanks for the compliment! It took like forever to restore!
Log in to post comments.
jrdeleon1 doesn't have any garages in his coolbox.
jrdeleon1 doesn't have any videos in his coolbox.


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$! gives you the pid of the last run process. You often see it used to log the process id to a file like
If you are piping one command to another then $! will give you the process id of the second command since it is the last. As in
How do I get the process id of the first command?
echo $! > programname.pid
command1 | command2 &


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The Honors Capstone Class
The Honors Capstone (HON 498) is a 3-credit class offered both fall and spring semesters. It is designed like a "writers' workshop" to provide a supportive environment for the discussion of ideas, plans, and research strategies. It is the place to refine your capstone project through suggestions and feedback from fellow Honors students.
Where can I find more information?
You can download and print the Honors Capstone information booklet. In it, you will also find a copy of the Capstone Initiation Form.
Honors Capstone Overview
The Honors Capstone:
- is a mentored independent research or creative project
- can be done in conjunction with the department in which you are majoring
- requires a public presentation to Honors guests, faculty, and students at an on-campus conference usually held on the first Saturday in May
- should display a high level of intellectual ability and creativity on a specific subject or area
- should demonstrate general abilities valued in any college graduate:
- ability to communicate effectively in speech and writing
- ability to think critically and constructively
- ability to locate and evaluate information
- ability to recognize and respond to ethical issues
- ability to place one's work in the broad context of human effort
When do I begin planning?
It's important to begin generating ideas for your project in your junior year. The more time the project has to develop, the more mature your work will be. Being aware of deadlines associated with your research is also important. You may need to apply up to a year in advance to have research approved by CU's Institutional Review Board.
Where do I find ideas?
Consider your past classes, outside reading, hobbies, places you've visited, or independent research you have already performed. Other ways to get ideas for your capstone project include speaking with other students and getting a feel for what their interests are, meeting with faculty in your department to discuss their research interests, and attending undergraduate poster sessions and research days. If you're still stuck, stop by the Honors Office for a look at past capstone project titles.


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According to a report by FoxSports.com, the Phillies are one team interested in acquiring catcher David Ross, who was released by the Reds Monday. Ross, 31, has hit .223 with a .310 on base percentage in seven major league seasons. He was hitting .231 with a .381 on base percentage in 52 games for the Reds.
Ken Rosenthal is the one reporting this, and he is usually on top of things as far as the Phillies are concerned. Haven't heard back from anyone in the organization, but Ross would make some sense. They could keep him in the minors and then bring him up when the rosters expand in September. Despite Carlos Ruiz's struggles at the plate this season, I doubt they'd send him to Triple A this late in the season, particularly considering how well the Phillies starters have pitched lately. Then again, I could be completely wrong about that.
Rosenthal is saying that the Red Sox are also interested in Ross, so take all of that for what it's worth.


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UC Davis Medical Group ranks among top-performing physician organizations
Measures include clinical quality, technology use and patient experience
UC Davis Medical Group ranks among the Top Overall Performing Physician Organizations in California for 2012, the Integrated Healthcare Association announced in September.
The award recognizes physician organizations that have excelled in meeting 49 key outpatient performance measures related to clinical quality, meaningful use of health information technology and patient experience in 2011.
Nearly 200 organizations, representing approximately 35,000 physicians who care for some 10 million insurance group members, participated in the program. UC Davis was one of 47 organizations to receive an award based on the performance criteria.
"The award reflects the commitment of our faculty and staff to deliver the highest quality and safest care for our patients."
- Allan Siefkin, chief medical officer, UC Davis Medical Center
The recognition places UC Davis Medical Group among the top 25 percent of participating physician organizations in the state," said Dolores Yanagihara, director of IHA's Pay for Performance program director.
"Our goal is to recognize the efforts of practicing physician groups that have excelled on a common set of performance measures, from the appropriate use of antibiotics to fostering childhood immunizations, using health information technology and creating patient-centered systems of care."
"The award reflects the commitment of our faculty and staff to deliver the highest quality and safest care for our patients," said Allan Siefkin, chief medical officer at UC Davis Medical Center. "Tracking our performance against established quality and efficiency benchmarks and comparing our outcomes with other practicing physician groups is one of the many ways that we assess our continuous quality improvement efforts."
Report card for improving patient care
Established in 2011 by IHA and California health plans, the Pay for Performance program features a common set of performance measures, a public report card and health plan incentive payments to improve patient care in California.
To identify top performers, IHA collected data on 49 measures related to clinical processes and outcomes, patients' ratings of care and compliance with meaningful use requirements. Physician groups whose overall performance score surpassed a comprehensive performance threshold based on the top 25 percent score for each for the 49 measures were designated as top performers.
The clinical quality measurements assessed processes and outcomes in the areas of prevention and diabetes, as well as cardiovascular, musculoskeletal and respiratory conditions.
Patients' ratings of the care they received included communication with providers, timely access to care, coordination of care, and overall ratings of the care experience with physicians and others in the medical group.
Recognizing the essential contribution of information technology in coordinating processes of care, IHA also measured physicians groups' compliance with meaningful use requirements, a set of criteria that demonstrate effective use of electronic medical records.
National benchmarks contribute to score
IHA noted that its assessment tool uses many of the standardized national benchmarks available, including data from the California's Patient Assessment Survey, which is derived from the national Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems Clinician and Group survey tool, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology.
The Pay for Performance program is the largest non-governmental physician incentive program in the United States with seven health plans contributing data and providing incentive payments, including Aetna, Anthem Blue Cross, Blue Shield of California, Cigna Healthcare, Health Net, United Healthcare and Western Health Advantage. Kaiser Permanente for Northern and Southern California contributes data for the public reporting component of the program only.


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I have 2 50cc scooters and live in the mountains in VA. One is a 2008 ATM50-A the other in a 2012 CY50-A. Both Chinese bikes with the GY6 motor.
Most hills don't give either bike a problem. The ATM50-A will start slowing down going up steep hills hits about 10MPH then the motor sounds like the RPMS raise up and then pick up to 15MPH till I get to the top of the hill. On flat land the bike will do about 43MPH. The CY50-A will handle most of the hills at about 20MPH but there are a couple of hills when start climbing them I have to get off and walk the bike up them. The motor never makes the sound of the RPMS rising, RPMS just drop and bike quits moving. Never had this problem with the ATM50-A.
Both bikes
Spark Plug Autolite 4194
93 Octane Fuel with 1oz to a gallon of Turbo 108
Stock Carb
Stock Coil
Stock CDI
New CVT Belt. Even with the stock belt I didn't have any problems.
Thank you all for any help.


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Last week Google updated the satellite imagery for Beijing. This week Google have added road maps to Beijing and Shanghai (thanks Google Earth Blog). Google Maps have also added driving directions for both Shanghai and Beijing in Ditu (the Chinese version of Google Maps), so there is no reason for any of the athletes to get lost on the way to the stadium. Today Google have also added a number of new 3D buildings of the venues in Beijing to Google Earth.
With the Olympic Games due to start in Beijing tomorrow this is your last chance to familiarise yourself with the city and the amazing venues that have been built to host the games. Here are a few Google Maps mash-ups dedicated to Beijing and the Olympic Games.
2008 Olympic Venues (broken link removed)
This mash-up from Earth Swoop shows a number of the Olympic venues in stunning 3D using the Google Earth browser plug-in.
Beijing Olympics Venues Map (broken link removed)
This is my attempt at creating a mash-up of YouTube videos of the Beijing Olympic venues with the Google Earth browser.
Beijing Live Music (broken link removed)
This is map showing venues in Beijing that play live music. The venues are grouped into categories; rock, bar, jazz and classic. Clicking on a tag opens an information window that shows the venue's name and address.
The Worldflicks map shows Flickr photos and Youtube videos from the Beijing National Stadium on a Google Map satellite view of the stadium.
Some Other China Maps
A few sites on the web are cataloguing interesting sights and views that can be found in China.
GoogleSightseeing.com - China - GoogleSightseeing tells you the stories behind the satellite imagery on Google Maps. This link will take you to all posts labeled with China by the bloggers at GoogleSightseeing.com
Wikimapia - China - Wikimapia is a unique, user-driven Google Maps explorer that allows you to view annotations of satellite imagery. Click the boxes on the map to read wiki-style descriptions. Be sure to zoom right in to see what the description is about and if you have something to add or would like to add your own wiki-descriptions for China go for it! Wikimapia is a great way to explore and learn more about the geography of China.


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WILMINGTON, Mass. — The Bruins have scored one power play goal in each of their last six games, and have moved back into the top half of the league's man-advantage rankings as of this morning to 13th with a success rate of 18.1 percent.
But that doesn't mean head coach Claude Julien and his staff are done tinkering with the personnel.
Last Friday's trades with Atlanta and Toronto gave Julien some new players to work in, and today the club spent some time during practice at Ristuccia Arena ironing out its five-man units.
Gone from the power play were Gregory Campbell and Brad Marchand, who had been adding a gritty element to one of the groups. Instead, one unit featured Dennis Seidenberg and Steven Kampfer at the points with David Krejci and Milan Lucic up front and a rotation of Michael Ryder and Nathan Horton joining them at forward.
The other group featured Zdeno Chara and Andrew Ference (filling in for the absent Tomas Kaberle) on the blue line with Patrice Bergeron, Mark Recchi and newcomer Rich Peverley as the forwards. Peverley mostly worked the left half-wall.
"He's got a pretty good shot. He's got the quick release. And just watching him this morning on the power play, he seems to be moving the puck well and making good decisions," said Julien about the former Thrashers' potential contribution to the man-advantage. "We'll get a better idea in those games coming up, but that's what you get from him. I think we like the way he's got that quick release."
Twelve of Peverley's 34 points and six of his 14 goals this season have come on the power play.
"In Atlanta, we kind of didn't have set positions," he said after his second practice with the Bruins. 'I played with [Andrew] Ladd and [Nik] Antropov and we were kind of all over the place. Antropov preferred being in front of the net. It was kind of a rover thing, and sometimes I'd end up on the half wall over there. We had some pretty good defensemen in [Dustin] Byfuglien and [Tobias] Enstrom. So it looks like it's going to be the same thing here with some great defensemen."
Peverley said the overall approach of the Boston power play is similar to what the team was trying to do in Atlanta.
"I think it's pretty similar. A lot of power play concepts are just getting the puck back to the D men, especially when you've got Chara back there to shoot the puck and get to the net," he said. "I think it's probably no different here either."
It might be a risk for Julien to mess with success, but Peverley comes over from the eighth-ranked power play in the league. He might be able to get Boston's man-advantage to the next level now that it's back among the top 15.


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- Item Code:
- Flex:
- Stiff
- Frame:
- H.M. Graphite, SONIC METAL
- Shaft:
- H.M. Graphite, X-FULLERENE
- Weight / Grip Size:
- 4U (Ave.83g) G4,5
3U (Ave.88g) G4,5
- Stringing Advice:
- 4U 19-24 lbs, 3U 20-25 lbs
- Colour:
- Black/Magenta
Made in Japan
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Product Reviews
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Showing 1-4 of 4 reviews
mahdi taghdissi hadi pour
mahdi taghdissihadipour on 06:51 15 November 2013
i love YONEX very very much but i love my voltric 7 more than nr 800 but thanks from YONEX group
Thinking before you buy this racket!
Lk Hiu on 07:52 12 November 2013
This is a good racket, but unfortunately the frame is too fragile, in the case have failed to use less than two months on the fracture,can I have try send back to yonex malaysia for claim it,regrettable I fail to claim it for yonex malaysia.
ishan CHOPRA on 05:33 05 April 2013
i used vt 3 and arc 009 dx but it is awesome . i bought a 4u model which improved my game significantly and will look forward to string it with bg 66um after i break my bg 65 . this raquet is awesome and much better than z force . though z force is much better in smashes and is much powerful . but nanoray 800 is another class . it is much quicker and smash is good if you are set with the racket . smashes are much more delightful if hit properly . i will definately use it till a good replacement comes . i will not get a z force as it is better
nanoray 800
Sharath Kulamarva on 06:44 20 January 2013
its not as i expected ,i mean it aint "worth" the pay i feel (played for 2 months and still using).
i loved my voltric 5 more than NR800 , looking forward for VT-ZF-88 :)
0 of 1 members found this review helpful.


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Notre Dame GameDay: Irish-Boston College pregame report
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Three hours before kickoff here, they were just pulling the tarps off the Notre Dame Stadium turf. It is cold. It is rainy. It is windy. It is entirely unagreeable weather, and thus it remains to be seen if that will matter -- particularly for a team married to the pass game as Notre Dame is.
What should brighten up the day a bit: A pregame ceremony on the field for cancer-stricken Boston College linebacker Mark Herzlich. Charlie and Maura Weis are donating $5,000 to Uplifting Athletes, a non-profit populated by current college football players benefitting those with rare diseases. Notre Dame will then match that with a $5,000 donation toCoaches vs. Cancer.
And then Irish receiver Barry Gallup, Jr., will present Herzlich with a framed No. 94 jersey.
Slight downgrade in bowl officials visiting for the Boston College game. Gator Bowl representatives will be on hand, but no bad jackets from the Bowl Championship Series contests after a few made the trip for the USC game last Saturday.
Still not sure why it took so long in the first place, but since he became a starter versus Washington, freshman linebacker Manti Te'o leads the Irish in tackles with 18.
He isn't quite Spike Lee or Will Ferrell, but he is the Norm: Expected to attend the Notre Dame-Boston College game is former "Cheers" star George Wendt, who was on campus for a book signing Saturday.
Boston College cornerback DeLeon Gause changed his jersey number from No. 9 to No. 6 for Saturday's game, to honor slain Connecticut player Jasper Howard. Gause and Howard, who wore No. 6 for the Huskies, played against each other in high school and later became friends.


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OKLAHOMA CITY—The Oklahoma medical examiner's office says eight of the 20 people killed during last Friday's tornadoes and subsequent flooding either drowned or probably drowned.
The agency said Wednesday that one person died of asphyxiation and 10 died as a result of blunt force trauma or head injuries. The cause of death was not yet determined for one victim.
Storms that swept through the Oklahoma City area on Friday generated an EF5 tornado and violent flash floods. The tornado was the widest one ever recorded at 2.6 miles.
Oklahoma emergency officials have said many of those who drowned were swept away while taking shelter from the tornado in storm drainage ditches.


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Mexico restricts US live hog imports due to piglet virus
Mexico said on Tuesday it has restricted imports of live hogs from the United States because of the deadly piglet virus that has spread north of the border.
Imports of U.S. hogs would be reviewed on a case by case basis, said Mexico's Agriculture Ministry, which also said the virus has not been detected in Mexico.
The action does not affect shipments of U.S. pork to Mexico, it only affects live animals, U.S. officials said on Tuesday.
"The Agriculture Ministry has taken several measures to protect the Mexican pork-rearing industry and to prevent this illness from entering the country," the Ministry said.
It added that pigs that had been imported from the United States prior to May 17 would be quarantined and closely observed. It is checking all lots of U.S. pigs imported in the past three months.
According to USDA data, the United States exported 26,793 live hogs to Mexico in 2012, a 206 percent increase from a year earlier. This year, U.S. livestock producers exported 3,758 hogs to Mexico in the first four months, down 34 percent from a year earlier.
Mexican economy ministry data shows Mexico imported 28,624 pure-breed hogs from the United States in 2012, worth $8.65 million.
Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (PEDV), a swine virus deadly to young pigs, and never before seen in North America, has spiked to 199 sites in 13 states in the United States.
Most often fatal to very young pigs, the virus causes diarrhea, vomiting and dehydration. It also sickens older hogs, though their survival rate tends to be high.
However, the virus does not pose a health risk to humans or other animals and the meat from infected pigs is safe for people to eat, according to federal officials in the United States and livestock economists.
U.S. livestock exporters learned of the restrictions last week after Mexico notified the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service it was changing its regulations over the import of U.S. swine, said Tony Clayton, president of the Livestock Exporters Association of the USA.
Now, U.S. hog producers will need a permit issued by Mexico in order to export live swine into the country, as there are no longer any regulatory guidelines for them to follow. However, no U.S. exporter has yet been denied a permit, Clayton said.
"Any time we lose a market, we are concerned," he said.
The pig virus is spreading rapidly across the United States and is proving harder to control than previously believed.
Swine veterinarians, investigators with the U.S. Agriculture Department and others are trying to determine how the virus is spreading from farm to farm and state to state. Currently the focus is on the nation's livestock transportation system.
PEDV is spread most commonly by pigs ingesting contaminated feces. Investigators are studying physical transmission, such as truck trailers marred with contaminated feces, or a person wearing dirty boots or with dirty nails.
While the virus has not tended to kill older pigs, mortality among very young pigs infected in U.S. farms is commonly 50 percent, and can be as high at 100 percent, say veterinarians and scientists who are studying the outbreak.
The strain of the PEDV virus that is making its way across the nation's hog farms and slaughterhouses is 99.4 percent similar in genetic structure to the PEDV that hit China's herds last year, according to the U.S. researchers.
After PEDV was first diagnosed in China in 2010, it overran southern China and killed more than 1 million piglets, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Emerging Infectious Diseases Journal.
No direct connection has been found between the U.S. outbreak and previously identified outbreaks in Asia and Europe, say scientists and researchers.
The value of total U.S. exports of live swine, which are typically exported for breeding and improved genetics, was about $32.3 million in 2012, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service.
China has been the biggest importer of such live breeding swine, buying around $17.1 million worth, followed by Mexico and Russia.
The demand for such live animals, whether young hogs or baby chicks, is part of a bid by emerging markets to snap up millions of live animals raised by U.S. farmers as breeding stock - and capitalize on decades of cutting edge agricultural research in America.


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The Walrus Says
More letters to the North Pole via Jamestown
Postmaster Charlie Burns (unedited):
"Dear Santa Claus,
"I am very happy it is x-mas again. I still believe in you 100%. I am improving in school my teacher says. One of my friends does not believe in you 100% please write me a letter about how you deliver all those presents in one night. I will show him it and make him believe in you 100%.
(There is a key accompanying each of the items on the following list. A star for 'really want', a triangle for 'would be happy with', and a zero with 'don't really need.')
1. (star) Cell phone with camera and itune
2. (triangle) A red with white strips soft surf boar
3. (star) A 150 ccs Yamaha ATV with 4 wheel drive.
4. (triangle) You know how last year you gave me a bag of yagi oh cards well this year I would like a bag of hotweels cars.
5. (star) Lots of remote controlled vehicles with shocks and 4 weel drive.
6. (big star) A high powered gas dirt bike with HUGE shocks
7. (triangle) Aplay station with good games
8. (star) A BB gun with lazer pointer and scope.
9. (two stars) A red, white and blue trick bike with MEGA shocks and pegs.
10. (zero).......dirtbike accessories and gear.
11. (triangle) A car drawing kit with stencils
12. (star) A wide screen plazma TV
(no number) "(star) a good slik slidding sled
your fan Nicholas
P.S. if anyone else gives you presents then tell me that in the letter."
"Dear Santa,
"Here are a few things that I would like for Christmas
l. Power Rangers S.P.D. Delta Squad Megazord
2. Episode 3 Star Wars Revenge of the sith for PS2
3. Star Wars Saga edition lightsaber battle game.
4. Video now XP 5. Chicken little for PS2 Thanks, Kenzie"
"Santa please a violin I want it Ulia"
If you're looking for a sensible and utilitarian gift, and at the same time help out the Jamestown Community Chorus, check out the special tote bags for sale at Jamestown Hardware.
The canvas bags are available as white tote bags or black briefcase style carriers. They're only $10 and with the distinctive RISings logo on the side identifies you as a music lover.
If they're out of them at the store, call B.J. Whitehouse, 4231574.
Patty Vandal and Charlie Masso finished the lyrics correctly. "To each his own, I found my own, my one and only you."
John A. Murphy commented, "I know the fantastic Ink Spots did a beautiful rendition of this song, but I haven't heard it for a while." John guessed, "I found my own true love." Close, but no cigar.
John Doty says it looks like we're in for another winter of slipping and sliding on North Road in front of the dump. He said the water drainage problem still has not been corrected, and we can look forward to glaciallike conditions again this year. Go slow.
*** "I don't want her you can have her she's too ? ? ?
Pets tend to see Christmas decorations in a different light than we do. Dr. Joshua Hatch of the Jamestown Animal Clinic explains this in his Pet Tip of the Week.
"Fluffy and holiday decorations don't mix all that well. Both cats and dogs tend to find Christmas trees, holiday lights, decorations, and candles as play things that may well end up bringing them straight to their doctor's office.
"Tinsel and string can get eaten by pets and require surgery to remove so keep them out of Fluffy's reach or avoid them all together. Hang plastic and inexpensive ornaments on the lower half of trees so you won't have glass on the ground or bleeding paws or lips. Make sure candles are put well out of your pet's reach (paws and tails) to avoid that burnt-hair smell.
"And finally, you can use bitter apple spray or citrus sprays in the water at the base of the tree and on the ornaments and decorations themselves to discourage your pet from playing with those potential hazards."
Anyone know where we can buy a real dill pickle? The kind we used to buy from the barrel and it dripped on our shirts all the way home.
What is on islanders' wish lists for Christmas?
Andy Brown at Baker's would like "peace and quiet and a piece of land in Maine."
"A stereo for my car," replied Katie Westall.
At BankNewport, Marlene Murphy said she misses her dog and would like the sounds of a new canine around the house.
Her husband Bill's helicopter is still in the system.
Jean Ceppi would welcome an in-ground swimming pool.
Diane Wright responded quickly, "A maid."
Mary Murphy at BankNewport said she wants "my brother (Robert Leach Jr.) to come home safely from Iraq."
Kaan Kurt is hoping for a skateboard.
Mike Harpool would like to have his own room.
"Uggs," replied Molly Conlon working the counter at Baker's.
Carolina Breakell said getting into college is at the top of her list.
"A trip to California to see my daughter," Laura Brown said.
Working with Laura at the deli counter at McQuade's, Sandy LaPlant is wishing for a healthy and happy grandchild due Feb. 1. HO! HO! HO!
What is it about a little snow that drives Rhode Island radio announcers bonkers?
The Jamestown Rotary Club is in its annual fund-raising drive. It's an organization of our neighbors who put much effort into the community and is well worthy of our financial consideration.
Can we expect a raccoon to be added to the livestock at the Christmas Pageant?
Mary S. Wright e-mailed telling us islander and Jamestown Community Chorus director B.J. Whitehouse, along with one of his third-grade students, were named winners of the Magnificent Education: Out of This World Teacher Contest.
B.J., a music teacher at Wilbur and McMahon School in Little Compton, and Andrea Desilets were cited during a surprise assembly at the school on Dec. 6.
Andrea nominated B.J. as her "out of this world" teacher for his special involvement in the school community.
With the contest sponsored by the Feinstein Imax Theatre, Andrea's award included a field trip for her whole school to the theater to see "Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon." B.J. won all sorts of goodies, including a day at a Providence spa. We'd like a picture of that!
If you're wondering what happened to that bright light that used to bounce off the clouds above Schooner Avenue this time of year, it's moved to Intrepid Lane.
The Rafanelli family has changed residences but not the great Christmas display that drew hundreds of decoration admirers to their street each year and helped guide Santa and his sleigh to Conanicut Island on Christmas Eve.
Under the tutelage of Artistic Director Matt Rafanelli the new house has blossomed into another Christmas spectacular. The front is decorated with white lights and a manger scene and the back yard populated with Christmas characters, including four snowmen, four Santas, a reindeer team complete with Rudolph, Mrs. Claus, multi-colored lighted trees, and lighted candy canes.
Matt had help from brother John and dad Tony, and it took four days to set up, with work still in progress. HO! HO! HO!
The Jamestown Baseball Association is still looking to field a 13to 15-year-old travel team to play, possibly in the Newport League.
The association has to have some idea of how many potential players are out there. Parents of interested players are asked to contact Tony Rafanelli at 4233953. "We would need to field a team of a minimum of 12 dedicated players," Tony said.
The association will be holding its informational sessions for parents starting next month. Stay tuned.
*** Be true!
We welcome your contributions to this column — birthdays, anniversaries, and other good stuff. You can call us at 423-0383 or 829-2760, e-mail us at jtnwalrus@ hotmail.com, or drop the item off at the Jamestown Press office, 42 Narragansett Ave.