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14 ways to sound like a longtime Orioles fan (even if you're not) [Pictures]
With the Orioles playing like gangbusters and clinching their first playoff berth since 1997, we foresee a number of Johnny-come-lately fans. And that's fine; after 14 years of misery, we're all for new blood at the ballpark to share in the onrushing good fortune. So, in the name of camaraderie and all-for-oneness, we offer 14 ways -- one for each of the soon-to-be-behind-us miserable years so many of us have endured -- newbie fans can sound like the veterans they wish they were.
Copyright © 2018, The Morning Call


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Water drips out of the side of my Lennox GCS12 AC/heater unit that sits on the roof. The leak makes a large puddle on the patio.
The unit was installed new in July 2005, three years ago.
Week before last, the company that installed it came out for the twice a year maintenance service and changed the filter. I told him about the leaking. He checked it out, and i thought he said there was no problem.
But the puddle kept returning and i can see the dripping coming out of the side of the unit.
So last Monday i called them to say this was still happening. I was given an appointment for Wednesday between 4 and 6. At 5:30 no one had come and i called. I was told i didn't have an appointment on Wednesday, my appointment was from 4 to 6 on Thursday. I had stayed home from work on Wednesday. Apparently they wrote my appointment down for Thursday even though they told me Wednesday.
I needed to be at work on Thursday. but, i took the afternoon off because i need to have the AC fixed. It was stressful to miss work and not be able to get work done, and to rush home through the traffic.
I got to my home exactly at 4. The phone was ringing, it was the technician calling, asking if i was there and if he could come over. Then, we talked about the problem, on the phone, and he remembered when he was out the week before, and he said he had tried to fix the problem by sealing the leak when he was there but apparently it didn't work.
So then he said the drain pan was cracked. He said there was no point in him coming over that day because he needed the drain pan part which would have to be ordered, and also the labor would take a while. I was upset about having to take time off from work just to be told he couldn't fix it until some time in the future. I missed work two days in a row because they gave me appointments and then no one came.
He said he would call the office and call me back and tell me how much this would cost. He called back and said that usually it costs $750 but since i'm a regular customer, they will do the repair for $475, and he will let me know when the part comes in.
I did not feel good about this, so today, i called another company and they came out to to look at the unit. The man said the other guy had wrapped duct tape around the drain pipe, which he had to peel off. He said the drain pan was cracked. He said this is a very unusual unheard of repair in newer models, the pan is made of plastic and is made to last many years. He said that the cause of the crack appeared to be that whoever installed it did not provide any support for the drain line. The drain line, as i could see, was hanging in the air, it was not laying on the roof but was suspended about 4 to 6 inches above the roof. He said when water is in the drain line, it can get heavy and the weight of the drain line pulling down has cracked the drain pan. He said that proper installation would've involved putting two by fours under the drain line so that its weight would be supported.
He also said there was no P trap attached to the the parts and that a P trap needed to be installed.
He also said that the return duct had come loose and was hanging free and was sucking hot air from my attic, instead of whatever it's supposed to be doing. He said the return duct needed to be reattached.
So the needed repairs included a new drain pan, repair or alteration of the drain line so that it would either lay on the roof or be supported by 2x4s, installation of a P trap, and re-connecting of the return duct. He said that just replacement of the drain pan with parts and labor would be $375. But he said the additional work, installing the P trap, reconnecting the return duct, fixing the drain line so that it was supported, would bring the cost up higher, he wasn't sure what, but guessed it would be around $700 total.
He said he recommended that i not have his company do the work. He said that the problems were all the result of improper installation, that i should not have any of these problems with this almost new unit, and that in the 10 years he's been working for this company, he's never seen a cracked drain pan since they've been using plastic. He said that's why the part has to be ordered, they don't keep them on hand because it's not a common repair.
He said the damage to the drain pan is not from normal wear and tear, and is not from any kind of misuse. It's unrelated to maintenance or lack of.
So, now, i'm waiting til Monday to call the company that installed the unit and ask them to fix it at their own expense and to make it the way it's supposed to be when installed properly.
Because i know nothing about any of this, i am posting here in hopes of having some other opinions about the likelihood of a cracked drain pan on a Lennox 12GCS installed in 2005, and whether this is a failure that a customer should have to pay to have fixed. The guy from the second company said that Lennox has a 5 year warranty on parts, but that this is only if they are defective, and that it's probably not a defect in the plastic, in fact, he said there was no sign that the plastic was defective. He said it appeared that the weight of the drain line pulling down on the pan caused it to crack.
If approaching the company who installed the unit is the right thing to do, i would like pointers on how to ask in a respectful way that invites the company to do the right thing, and i am nervous about the fact that i don't have any technical knowledge about this, and if they tell me that this is a normal wear and tear problem, i don't know what more i can say. I plan to say that i wanted to get a second opinion so i had this other company look at it, considering how new it is, i wanted to double check on having such an expensive repair, and tell them what the other company said--he put it in writing on the invoice for the service call.
The guy from the second company said if the first company won't agree to fix it, i should call Lennox and ask them for help in solving the problem. He said they are a good company and they could either intervene with the company that installed the unit, or they could pay to have another company fix it.

subset: commoncrawl


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Over the last few weeks we have witnessed the rallying cry from our elected leaders, both locally and nationally, for the need for more restrictive gun control (smaller magazine clips, banning certain "assault" weapons, etc.). The liberal left seems to hold the patent on exploiting current events to further their political agenda, and they're following the playbook step by step to further erode our right to bear arms, guaranteed to us in the Second Amendment. Some of the pro-gun control letters published in The Sun question why any hunter would need a so called "assault weapon" to go hunting, or they claim that our forefathers only intended the amendment to be about muskets and single shot rifles, because that's what was around back then.
But they miss the whole point of the amendment. It says not a word about hunting, nor the type of gun allowed. It says "the right to bear arms shall not be infringed," and that amendment was enacted to enable the citizens of this country to protect themselves and their property from a tyrannical confiscatory government, should one arise in the future, and I think we're getting there.
Now, I've never been to a gun show before, nor have I ever bought a gun, but I think I see where all this is going, and I plan to attend the next gun show in this area to fully exercise my Second Amendment right as much as I can afford. And if the throngs of people flocking to gun shows around the country is any indicator, I'm not alone in my summation.
I think it was Thomas Jefferson who said "An armed populace are called citizens, an unarmed populace are called subjects." I choose to be the former, not the latter.
And who said the Democrats can't stimulate the economy?
Mark Wilson, Fallston


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June 25. 2014 2:21PM
Fitzwilliam teen hurt in rollover expected to recover
Union Leader Correspondent
— A teenager seriously injured in a rollover crash on Old Turnpike Road Tuesday afternoon is expected to make a full recovery, police said Wednesday.
Jeffrey Roy, 17, of Fitzwilliam was ejected from the driver's side window of his 1995 Toyota pickup truck, said Fitzwilliam Officer Jeffrey Clark.
Clark responded to the crash about 3 p.m..
Roy was close to home and returning from his job when the crash occurred, Clark said.
"He had lost control of his vehicle on the dirt road due to excessive speed, started to fishtail and started to yaw, a sideways skid, and then rolled over," Clark said. "He was ejected, out the open driver side window, no seat belt."
Roy complained of hip and leg injuries and was taken by ambulance to Cheshire Medical Center in Keene with serious injuries.
Clark said that according to a medical update Wednesday Roy has no broken bones, but was "pretty banged up."
He is expected to recover.
Police estimate the teen was traveling 55 to 60 mph in the 30 mph zone.


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What I am fighting for - you...
January 01, 2013, 12:52:07 AM »
I have found no other place on the internet that has such intellectuals as you... It just happens to be that you all are more enlightened to fact and information than everyone else out there.
Previously, I bowed-out with the acknowledgement that it takes just as much to convince you all things you don't understand or may not have came across as it is for you to lesson theists on the ideas you have on atheism - your own opinions derived from the facts. The fact is, your opinions on other matters means you must be at least privy to the facts and information that I have came across to arrive at the same opinions....
But I don't have time to bore you with details - I'm racing the clock. And that clock is global warming..
We can agree (or should agree) that global warming is not only a natural process but a man-made problem. It is easy now for me to say this - in recorded history, at a certain level of CO2, we arrived at an ice-age. We have passed that level - and no ice-age. We passed that level back in 2010. Still no ice-age. That means that we need to prepare for the unknown, and since our scientific models, at least as far as I've seen, are based not only on prediction but mostly on the past - we should say we don't know wtf is going to happen...
But I have given you a time-frame. It is 25-50 years. The fact is, global warming is accelerating. If we lose the microbials in the ocean like we seem to be, we can soon say good-bye to most oceanic life. If that happens, say good-bye to other species. If the oceanic life that controls our climate goes into chaos, guess what will happen to habitats on land? That's right - it will lead to land-life chaos, and unspecified die-offs, including humans...
But how do we fix this? Believe me, we can reverse global warming - and if we do so, we could buy the earth the time it needs - not one year, but thousands of years - to correct itself with an ice-age. The fact is, it is my posit that it takes a long period of time to arrive at an ice age. Our assignment should be that we allow the earth this time...
But that requires a shift in priority, and money and other issues has us strapped to things that aren't as threatening. It has us distracted. It has us stopped from providing solutions.
So because of that, because our governance is run by money, we have to make money irrelevant. We have to take it out of the equasion. But that requires we change our governance. Don't worry - alas! A civil unrest and societal and economic collapse just at the right time to allow our society to change - which will, in the end, allow us to undertake things like creating nanotubes out of CO2 and reverse our levels of it in the atmosphere...
This gives you a unique opportunity, which I have left details of at globalrevolution2013.wordpress.com. Things are possible.
If you look to what is possible, and what you want out of the future, in totality; instead of what is reality for today, or what you want just for today - you will see that it is possible to not only solve our societal problems, governance problems, and then lastly global warming - that we can give ourselves, and our race, a fighting chance.
The fact is, I'm fighting against things that threaten our society, and fighting for a new form of society, to - in exchange - fight for our environment. If you see it all I congratulate you - you must have came across the collective information that I have.
If you want to make jokes, poke fun at science, or poke fun at the amount of societal problems we face today, then by all means - bash me. But just know that I gave you a way out - an answer to all your problems if you just want to realize and see it - where others just gave you something you can laugh at. I'm not laughing at people's general stupidity, and Einstein should have came up with an equasion for general and spatial stupidity rather than just general relativity...
We are dealing with a level of stupid never before seen. If it happens in your lifetime - laugh at the people who are saying 'God is judging us', or 'God is burning us', or 'We are damned'. How convenient to blame your own stupidity on your false deity. The fact was, we should have nurtured and protected our environment instead of destroying it and wondering 'what is in it for us'.
This is where I deviate from you. All this time, most people are introverted, only thinking about their own feelings, their own ideals, and their own opinions. All this time, I have been thinking extroverted - what is in it for the rest of you, my surroundings, my people, and their lives. Yet I have not many moments to see any of you come to my aid, in defense of what I defend. That makes you ignorant and worthless IMHO...
"If you find yourself reaching for the light, first realize that it has already touched your finger."
"If I were your god, I would have no reason for judgement, and you have all told endless lies about me. Wait - you do already. I am not amused by your ignorance, thoughtlessness, and shallow mind."
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Re: What I am fighting for - you...
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January 01, 2013, 11:39:36 PM »
Welcome back to the forum, jeremy.
While global warming / climate change is an interesting topic, the Introductions board is for just that: introductions by new / returning members. Start a thread on the Science subforum if you like; that would be the appropriate place for it.
Live a good life... If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones. I am not afraid.
--Marcus Aurelius
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Incoming 1Ls / Re: How should I decline the other schools?« on: April 15, 2013, 10:23:47 AM »
All you have to do is write an email saying you are withdrawaing you application. Go on the school website and you should it should say to whom you are supposed to send this email to. This isnt a big deal dont waster your time writing a whole letter explaining why you are not going there because they really dont care.


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Sorry, but specific product you requested is not currently available. Hopefully you can find another option below.
This is a 100% pure wool that has rich solid colors. A great value for all your wool projects!
What about yarn that have the same look and feel? Find more yarn with a smooth / uniform texture, felts, and is machine dyed.
We provide endless possibilities for you including yarn, knitting gifts, needles, kits, sale yarn, free knitting patterns, and more!Jimmy Beans Wool is Your Local Yarn Store... Online!


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- Shows
- Classes
- Hire Us
- Get Involved
- About Us
Vacation ComedyClinics: Level B (Ages 11-13)
Vacation & Summer ComedyClinics (Ages 11-13)
See "Current Youth Classes" for upcoming class sessions (dates) and to register online.
Spend your vacation at New England's premiere comedy school. Our professionally-trained instructors represent some of Boston's best and most experienced improvisational comedians. We create a fun and supportive environment within which students can explore, develop, and succeed. While improvisation is best known for the power to amaze and entertain through hilarious performances, the fundamentals of the art also set forth a creative process leading to support, engagement, trust, and applied risk-taking off-stage as well as on.
Using our unique approach to theater, students learn improvisation skills that not only make them better performers, but provide life-long tools they can use every day. We teach students to have confidence in their own point of view, accept "mistakes" as gifts, become inspired team players, and communicate their ideas more effectively. Whether students are ready to take the first step onto the stage or looking to take their robust performing experience to the next level, ImprovBoston has something for everyone.
A Week of Laughs
Over the course of 5 days, aspiring comedians ages 8-17 will explore the unique process of improvisation using ImprovBoston's "5 pillars" as a guide. While exercises and activities will vary across the 3 age groups (8-10, 11-13, 14-17), exploration is rooted in Support, Trust, Risk-Taking, Confidence and Fun (the 5 Pillars). Each day, students dive into an exciting array of expertly crafted theater games, improvisational exercises, ensemble-building activities and performance opportunities.
With our industry-leading artists as their guide, students build the performance skills necessary to deliver an impressive and hilarious end-of-session show for friends and family. Our students will play many of the same performance pieces you've seen the professionals demonstrate on shows like Who's Line Is It Anyway and at ImprovBoston over the last 30 years. Even more importantly, our staff supports students as they discover the many benefits of improv off-stage—new friendships, stronger communication skills, confidence in imagination, applied creativity, collaboration, and openness to new ideas (to name a few). At ImprovBoston, the art of improvisation is as much a joyful process as it is a hilarious product.
Rates & Details
See "Current Youth Classes" for upcoming class sessions (dates) and to register online.
Groups By Age: Our programs break down into three age groups: 8-10, 11-13 and 14-17. Students must meet the minimum age by the first day of the session in order to register for that age group.
Experience: While certainly welcome, no previous comedy or theater experience required for any of our youth or teen ComedyClinics.
When: Each session runs Monday-Friday from 10AM - 3PM at our theater complex in Central Square. See "Current Youth Classes" below for available dates.
The Show: Each week-long ComedyClinic session concludes with a show that Friday at 2PM.
Returning Students: Many of our students attend vacation ComedyClinics several times a year. The beauty of improvisation is that it's never the same twice. Returning students will build on existing skills and challenge themselves with the guidance of our comedy professionals. Each week offers new opportunities for friends, personal growth and laughter.
Lunch: Lunch and snacks not provided. Please pack a lunch and nut-free snack with your student(s).
Extended Day Options: We offer Extended Day Care from 9AM – 10AM and 3PM – 4PM. With the supervision of ComedyClinic staff, students enjoy a variety of non-improv activities such as board games, drawing, group games, etc. Simply select the option when you register.
Cost: Tuition is $325 for our one-week programs.
New "Sibling Rate"! When at least 2 students register TOGETHER for the same week, you save $25 per child! (NOTE: Rate can apply to siblings or friends but registration and payment must come from one buyer for the discounted rate.)
Financial assistance may be available. High School students with improv experience may also apply for our youth internship program. Email firstname.lastname@example.com for more information.
See upcoming session dates at "Current Youth Classes" and register online.
Prerequisite: None (No previous experience necessary)
Maximum Number of Students: 14


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"New Frontiers" in horticulture and gardening — March 22-26, 2009 Las Vegas
The International Master Gardener Conference will be held in the bright light city of Las Vegas...But it won't be about the gambling or shows but rather about plant selection, proper soil management, water conservation and pest management in addition to sharing new knowledge about the "green technologies" for horticulture. There are also many workshops and a variety of tours being planned including: Hoover Dam, Grand Canyon, Ethyl M Cactus Garden and Living Machine, Red Rock Canyon, The Desert Rose Garden and so on. Plan on attending in 2009. For details go to their website at: http://www.unce.unr.edu/imgc/


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STOCKTON - The City Council tonight will begin a discussion about what to do with the vacant city auditor's position following the departure of F. Michael Taylor, who founded the office 18 years ago.
STOCKTON - The City Council tonight will begin a discussion about what to do with the vacant city auditor's position following the departure of F. Michael Taylor, who founded the office 18 years ago.
The options are to hire another full-time auditor or contract from now on with an outside firm. City Manager Bob Deis recommends in a report that the council contract out under a trial basis until the council ultimately decides.
"There is an immediate need to conduct a complex, time-intensive risk assessment and internal control audit," Deis said, also listing high-priority risk areas that need to be addressed sooner than later.
Accounts receivables aren't managed. Cash isn't reconciled. The city's purchasing system has lax control and pays for services without making a contract. The city's assets lack controls, Deis said.
Taylor retired Sept. 7 from Stockton under criticism he didn't weigh in more firmly over the years to raise questions about the city's spending patterns. Under the city charter, the auditor answers directly to the City Council.
With the departure of Taylor, who earned $121,000 last year, Assistant Auditor Jim Henthorn, who took home $101,00 in 2011, also found a new job. Two others filling out the office have been placed to work in other city departments.
Deis performed a survey of cities and found a trend is to contract out for internal audits. Two years ago, Modesto made that transition, he said.
Using the auditor's $500,000 annual budget, Deis estimated Stockton could pay a firm to conduct 10 audits a year, more than those Taylor produced in each of the last two years.
Contracting with a large audit firm has advantages, Deis said, because it can call upon staffers with a particular expertise or experience needed for each city or area of focus.
Contact reporter Scott Smith at (209) 546-8296 or firstname.lastname@example.com. Visit his blog at recordnet.com/smithblog.


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Date: April 28, 2008
Priests for Life Comments on
Giuliani Communion Issue
Washington, DC – Rudy Giuliani, in response to
Cardinal Egan's statement that he should not have received Communion
because of his support of abortion rights, said that his faith "is a
deeply personal matter and should remain confidential."
Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests
for Life, responded, "The Catholic faith is not simply about one's
private and confidential relationship with God. It's public,
as evidenced by the fact that Mr. Giuliani received Communion in
public. Mr. Giuliani's support of legal abortion is also
public. That's why Cardinal Egan's remarks are entirely
appropriate, as is his expectation that Mr. Giuliani abide by those
Fr. Pavone continued, "In this election cycle,
we are challenging all public officials who support legal abortion
to admit exactly what it is. We have posted on YouTube a video
demonstration of the two most common abortion procedures (www.YouTube.com/frfrankpavone),
as described by abortionists. We respectfully ask Mr.
Giuliani, and everyone else who thinks abortion should be legal, to
tell us whether, when they say 'abortion,' they are talking about
the same thing that these videos depict."
Priests for Life is the nation's largest Catholic
pro-life organization dedicated to ending abortion and euthanasia. For more
information, visit www.priestsforlife.org.
Press Releases


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Hospice numbers point to a problemBy PETER WHORISKEY and DAN KEATING
The Washington Post
December 29. 2013 9:55PM
Hospice patients are expected to die: The treatment focuses on providing comfort to the terminally ill, not finding a cure. To enroll a patient, two doctors certify a life expectancy of six months or less.
But over the past decade, the number of "hospice survivors" in the United States has risen dramatically, in part because hospice companies earn more by recruiting patients who aren't actually dying, a Washington Post investigation has found. Healthier patients are more profitable because they require fewer visits and stay enrolled longer.
The proportion of patients who were discharged alive from hospice care rose about 50 percent between 2002 and 2012, according to a Washington Post analysis of more than 1 million hospice patients' records over 11 years in California, a state that makes public detailed descriptions and that, by virtue of its size, offers a portrait of the industry.
The average length of a stay in hospice care also jumped substantially over that time, in California and nationally, according to the analysis. Profit per patient quintupled, to $1,975, California records show.
This vast growth took place as the hospice "movement," once led by religious and community organizations, was evolving into a $17 billion industry dominated by for-profit companies. Much of that is paid for by the U.S. government — roughly $15 billion of industry revenue came from Medicare last year.
At AseraCare, for example, one of the nation's largest for-profit chains, hospice patients kept on living. About 78 percent of patients who enrolled at the Mobile, Ala., branch left the hospice's care alive, according to company figures. As many as 59 percent of patients left the AseraCare branch in nearby Foley, Ala., alive. And at the one in Monroeville, 48 percent were discharged from the hospice alive.
Bessie Blount, whose father received hospice care from the Monroeville outfit, and left after about a year, she said. About three years later, her father, Chocolate Blount, 91, is still alive.
"He has good days and bad days," she said.
$150 a day
The work that the hospice nurses, aides and counselors do, often in the most trying circumstances, is demanding, emotionally and physically. It typically allows patients to die at home or in other familiar surroundings — and for families of the dying, the comfort it offers can provide enormous relief.
But the survival rates at AseraCare are emblematic of a problem facing Medicare, which has created a financial incentive for hospice companies to find patients well before death.
Medicare pays a hospice about $150 a day per patient for routine care, regardless of whether the company sends a nurse or any other worker out on that day. That means healthier patients, who generally need less help and live longer, yield more profits.
The trend toward longer stays on hospice care may be costing Medicare billions of dollars a year.
In 2011, nearly 60 percent of Medicare's hospice expenditure of $13.8 billion went toward patients who stay on hospice care longer than six months, MedPAC, the Medicare watchdog group created by Congress, has reported.
Some of those patients simply outlived a legitimate prognosis of six months.
But much of the data suggests that the trend toward longer stays is a response to the financial incentive.
Consider the difference between the nonprofit and for-profit hospices: While the average nonprofit serves a patients for 69 days, the average for-profit hospice serves a patient for an average of 102 days, according to MedPAC.
Moreover, multiple allegations have arisen from former hospice workers who say that the businesses took in people who weren't in declining health. Four of the 10 largest hospice companies in the United States, including AseraCare, have been sued by whistleblowers alleging that patients were receiving care they didn't need. The Justice Department has joined several of these lawsuits, including the one against AseraCare and Vitas, the nation's largest hospice provider.
Jim Barger, a Birmingham, Ala., lawyer who has filed several of the suits, said the root of the problem is that a company profits when it admits patients who aren't dying, and it is the hospice itself that helps determine whether a patient is dying. While two doctors certify a patient for hospice care initially, the patient must periodically be reapproved for hospice care. The reapprovals typically are done by hospice physicians.
"Honestly, it makes me ill," Barger said. Because of the lawsuits, "defense firms make money and my firm has made money. I'd like nothing better at this point than for my job to become obsolete.
"It must be strange to be told you're dying, and then not die."
$25,000 per patient
For five years, Medicare's watchdog group has been recommending that the payments to hospice companies be revised to eliminate the financial incentive for improper care, but Medicare has not yet done so. To ensure that patients are appropriately selected for hospice care, Medicare relies on strict medical documentation requirements, a spokesman said.
In 2009, Medicare added a requirement that the physician, in recommending a patient for hospice care, must include a brief narrative explanation to support a life expectancy of six months or less.
In 2010, the agency added a requirement that a physician or nurse practitioner determine a patient's continued eligibility for hospice in a face-to-face visit.
Next year, the agency will limit the use of vague categories when describing the ailments of hospice patients, specifically prohibiting the use of "debility" and "adult failure to thrive" as primary diagnoses.
And all along, Medicare has capped the average amount of money a company can make on a patient — currently about $25,000 — which amounts to about 180 days of routine care.
Opposed to changes
The hospice industry is opposed to fundamental changes to the payment system. Jonathan Keyserling, senior vice president of health policy at the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, an industry group, said that the current payment system is sound and that tampering with it could have unintended consequences. He noted that two doctors certify a life expectancy of six months for hospice patients.
As for the whistleblowers, Keyserling said that they, too, have financial incentives.
"I don't know what motivation might prompt a whistleblower suit, but obviously there is a monetary reward — the larger the program, the larger the reward," he said.
Keyserling and others in the industry attribute the rise in the number of hospice survivors to changing patient demographics, not fraud: A larger portion of patients today have diseases whose outcomes are harder to predict. That's because the portion of hospice patients suffering from cancer, a disease that has a more predictable course, has shrunk, they said.
But according to The Washington Post's analysis, the growth in the average duration of hospice care stems less from the decline in the proportion of cancer patients than from another trend. Patients suffering from a non-cancer ailment began staying longer on hospice: Their average stay in hospice care grew from six weeks to almost 11 weeks on average between 2002 and 2012.
Finding patients
Hospice "outreach specialists" and "community education representatives" seek out patients in a variety of ways: They solicit doctors and hospitals who might regularly deal with the terminally ill; they make connections at nursing homes, assisted-living developments and Meals on Wheels groups. They show up at the "health fairs" held at senior centers with, for example, machines that test blood pressure. For families struggling to take care of a loved one, they offer the promise of extra help.
At AseraCare, officials gave advice to their recruiters on how to close a deal with families that are "not ready yet" for hospice, according to a company presentation for Alabama employees. It instructed recruiters to "focus families" by stressing the urgency of a decision, and saying things like "We only have 10 minutes left."
At Odyssey Healthcare, one of the nation's largest hospice companies, representatives earned bonuses if they met their goals for new patients, according to that complaint. The case led to a $25 million settlement with the company.
At Vitas, a division of Chemed, a company that also owns the Roto-Rooter plumbing service, the corporate culture encouraged staff members to admit as many patients as possible, regardless of whether they were eligible for hospice care, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit said the company paid bonuses based on the number of patients enrolled. One former manager said the company philosophy was "sign everybody up," and medical staffers felt pressured to admit patients regardless of whether they were appropriate.
And at Angels of Hope hospice in LaGrange, Ga., audio recordings cited in the complaint described how some salespeople found patients: by cruising neighborhoods, looking for elderly people with disabilities.
"How do you solicit patients?" a marketer is quoted as saying. "You see somebody sitting on the front porch in a wheelchair and you hit the brakes."
Allegations denied
AseraCare denied the allegations outlined in the lawsuit initiated by whistleblowers at the company.
"AseraCare provides an important and valuable service to patients and their families facing difficult end-of-life decisions," the company said in a statement. "Our policies and programs comply with the Congressional intent of the hospice benefit to reduce the stress and anxiety of the end of life of a loved one."
"Doctors for each patient in question determined that the patient needed hospice care, and expressed their clinical judgment by signing the required physician certifications. Other independent and well-qualified physicians reviewed the charts of these patients, and overwhelmingly agreed with the original conclusions that these patients were entitled to receive the hospice benefit."
The company declined to identify the doctors who certified the patients in Alabama.
A spokesman for Angels of Hope similarly denied the allegations made by the whistleblower, as did representatives of Vitas.
"The Department of Justice's allegations are unjustified, and we will continue to defend ourselves vigorously," Vitas said in a statement. "It is important to emphasize the Justice Department's statement that 'The claims asserted against Chemed and VITAS are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
"VITAS follows the rules. We are widely recognized for regulatory compliance programs that exceed industry standards and regulatory requirements."
Beginning in 1983
Medicare began paying for hospice care in 1983, following a resurgence of interest in end-of-life care, sparked in part by the publication of "On Death and Dying" by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross.
"We can give families more help with home care and visiting nurses, giving the families and the patients the spiritual, emotional, and financial help in order to facilitate the final care at home," Kubler-Ross testified to the Senate Special Committee on Aging in 1972.
The government benefit, while costly in itself, promised other compensating savings for Medicare: Patients would be choosing home care rather than expensive end-of-life medical treatment.
The treatment of a hospice patient typically focuses on treating pain and symptoms, rather than grasping at a cure. The hospice patient, who is most often living in a private residence or nursing home, receives visits from nurses, aides, social workers and others.
The benefit was quickly embraced by Americans and continues to grow, with Medicare paying for hospice care for more than 1.2 million people annually. In 2000, Medicare spent $2.9 billion on the hospice benefit. By 2012, that figure has risen fivefold, to $15.1 billion.
But as more Americans have taken up hospice care, a profound change has been underway: Big businesses have moved in.
When Medicare paid its first hospice benefit, the vast majority of hospice-care providers were nonprofit groups. Over the past decade, however, the for-profits have come to dominate the industry.
In 2000, 70 percent of hospices were run by nonprofit organizations or government agencies. Today, nearly 60 percent are for-profit companies, and they may account for an even larger share of patients.
The profits appear to be substantial.
The profit margins as measured by MedPAC, the Medicare watchdog, climbed to 8.7 percent in 2011.
The per-patient operating profit has risen from $353 in 2002 to $1,975 in 2012, according to the analysis of California data.
The returns have attracted some prominent financial firms, whose analysts have run the numbers and decided to invest. Among the private investment companies that have put down bets on hospices in recent years are Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., KRG Capital Partners and Summit Partners.
The vast majority of those profits flow from the U.S. government and Medicare, which makes an estimated 85 to 90 percent of all payments to hospices.


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Duck Dulac
Makes 1 serving, about 1½ cups
Julienned Duck Breast in a Sauce of Leeks, a Medley of Crimini, Shiitake, Portobello & Oyster Mushrooms and Duck Glaze with a Hint of Tamari and Sesame Oil. Served with Basmati Rice.
½ tablespoon Chef Paul Prudhomme's Poultry Magic®
½ tablespoon Chef Paul Prudhomme's Meat Magic®
12 ounces julienned duck breast
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, in all
¾ cup duck glaze, in all
¼ cup caramelized leeks
6 oz mixed mushrooms (crimini, shiitake, portobello &
oyster mushrooms, or your favorites)
6 oz (¼ inch dice) Chef Paul Prudhomme's Hot Andouille
1 tablespoon tamari
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
how to prepare
Combine the Magic Seasoning Blends® in a small bowl and set aside.
Season the julienned duck with the Seasoning Mix.
Heat a 10-inch skillet over high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of the butter. When the butter sizzles, add the seasoned duck, andouille sausage and cook, stirring frequently, until browned, about 4 minutes. Add ¼ cup of the duck glaze and deglaze the skillet. Add the leeks and mushrooms and cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes. Add the tamari and the remaining glaze. Lower heat and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter and the sesame oil. Stir well and remove from heat.
Serve immediately, accompanied by basmati rice.
Copyright © 2006 by Paul Prudhomme


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Police charge contractor with stealing jewelry from Nashua homeowner
March 19. 2013 11:25AM
NASHUA - A Franklin man is accused of stealing more than $1,500 in jewelry from a Nashua home where he was installing hardwood floors. The theft occurred about two years ago, police said.
Shawn Cornell, 32, of 672 Central St., was arrested Monday morning and charged with one count of theft by unauthorized taking, a Class A felony.
The jewelry was reported stolen on May 10, 2011.
Lt. Michael Moushegian said Cornell pawned the jewelry, resulting in transaction reports being generated and which are tracked by police.
What's next: Cornell was released on $550 cash/$10,000 personal recognizance bail pending his arraignment in 9th Circuit Court, Nashua District Division.


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|« Back to calendar
|« Previous Event | Next Event »
Need help understanding a pattern or picking up a dropped stitch? Come on by and start your Knit Clinic Card! You'll receive 1 stamp with each $2 admission to Knit Clinic. When the card is filled, use it as a $30 credit towards yarn, needles, or notions!
Crocheters are welcome too, I guess...


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eTekhnos needed a new web page design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 25 designs submitted by 12 freelance designers.
Hickory Sticks Intl.
Hickory sticks collects and sells antique wood shaft golf clubs and balls. Our clubs were all made prior to 1934 and have been restored to museum quality.
Uses for the fine clubs include as decorative pieces, wall hangers, as an investment and a chance to own a piece of golf history. A gift for the hard to buy for person (spouse, boss etc). Of the hundreds of thousands of wood shaft clubs made only a fraction remain. Most are in the hands of collectors or museums.
Internet buyers, golf memoriabelia collectors, rare gift buyers, antique golf collectors. Retail outlets etc.
Current live website needs entire new look and page design. Project is for new homepage and internal products page.
Our current web-site is http://www.hickorysticks.net I like the layout OK but it is too slow to get to the product and what we are selling. It needs to feature the clubs images and what we will include in the products page and easily get visitors to get right to the products page and allow folks to examine the history of golf and Hickory Sticks only if interested.
I also like the layout and colors of our brochure (attached)
The main categories are for the site and the order they are listed are as follows:
A. Products
B. About Hickory Sticks
C. History of Golf
D. Tournaments
E. Photo gallery
F. Contact us
Home to include main buttons, intro text found on current site but reduced to not be so long. Images of the clubs to be featured – see attached. Small Section for famous customer testimonial or quote. will provide later.


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NetWellness is a global, community service providing quality, unbiased health information from our partners. NetWellness is commercial-free and does not accept advertising.
Saturday, September 5, 2015
Vascular Surgery
Carotid Arteries
I had an ultra sound performed on my carotid arteries last week and the report came back 30% blockage in the left and 55% on the right. How serious is this?
This probably does not require any intervention, but you should be evaluated by a vascular surgeon.
Jean E Starr, MD
Clinical Associate Professor of Vascular Surgery
College of Medicine
The Ohio State University


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Angel's Psychotic All-Holes Assistant
Length: 01:00:07
Actors :
- Angel Smalls,
- Small Hands
- Categories :
Petite Angel Smalls visits Buttman's studio, but nobody answers the bell. Radically tattooed Small Hands shows up to sneak her in the back door. He makes the hot-assed cutie smell sex toys from previous porn shoots and dominates her, slapping natural tits, spanking, choking, having Angel blow mirror-mounted toys. The aggressive stud grips her hair for a slobbery blow job. He fucks Angel's bald twat on a transparent chair and drives his big dick up her heavily lubed butthole. An orgasmic anal carry-fuck leads to ass-to-mouth cocksucking. Intense, all-holes penetration leaves Angel giddy. She sucks/strokes thick jism onto her face and slurps up the surplus. Small Hands departs as Angel learns why Buttman's been tied up...


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ADDISON COUNTY — A Mount Abraham Union High School junior who had a strong all-around season on the mound, at the plate and in the field is the Addison Independent Player of the Year and leads the Independent's 2011 Baseball All-Star Team — one that for the first time ever does not include a senior.
Player of the Year Tommy Nelson had an excellent season for Coach Jeff Stetson's Eagles to earn top honors, including notching four pitching wins for a team that won five games. The Eagles failed to make the program's sixth straight appearance in a D-II final, but their victories included one at Vergennes and another on the road in the D-II postseason. Two of Nelson's classmates join him on the Independent team.
Coach George Ringer's 8-11 youthful Commodores ended up with the strongest finish. VUHS, with probably the most balanced of the local lineups, won three of its final five Metro games to earn a Division II home game, and then won two more to make it to the semifinal round before falling. Two Commodore underclassmen earned spots on the Independent squad.
First-year mentor Tim Mitchell's Otter Valley nine — also a young group — won seven times, including a first-round D-II playoff victory on the road. Two sophomores who comprised a fine battery made the Independent team.
Coach Doc Seubert's Tigers — yes, they were young, too — won just four times, but picked up a rare win at Mount Abe late in the spring and then knocked off D-II's No. 2 seed in the first round of the playoffs. Two Tiger juniors and a sophomore round out the Independent stars.
Selections for Independent all-star teams are made based on observation, statistics and consultation with the coaches. Congratulations to the following:
TOMMY NELSON, MOUNT ABE JUNIOR, PLAYER OF THE YEAR. Notes: Compiled a 4-4 pitching record for a 5-12 team in the Metro Conference with a 3.72 earned-run average, striking out 32 in 37.2 innings ... Tossed a complete-game one-hitter in the Eagles' playoff win at Mill River, allowing only an infield single ... At the plate batted .372 with an on-base percentage of .491, scoring 12 runs and driving in seven ... Excelled at third base and at shortstop, ended up spending most of his time at third.
Stetson's Quotes: "He has a very hard fastball that has real good movement on it ... By the end of the season he really started to throw his curveball for strikes ... In my lineup my No. 3 hitter is my best hitter, and he hit third for me all year ... He was our best infielder anywhere I put him. He's got a strong arm, good hands, decent range ... He was probably the most intense and competitive guy that we had on the team ... He really wanted to do well and wanted us to do well."
MARSHALL HASTINGS, MUHS JUNIOR. Notes: Three-year starter at second base for MUHS who enjoyed another fine season ... Hit .388 and created 25 runs, scoring 13 and driving in 12 ... Drilled four doubles, reached base at a .444 clip, and stole 10 bases in 10 attempts ... Showed great range and soft hands in the field ... Became a strong team leader.
Seubert's Quotes: "He is very committed to performance. He's a real student of the game ... He turned several nice double plays this year, and he's great on fly balls over his head ... He's the animator of the team and had several motivational moments throughout the year when we were down ... Marshall was one of our captains and really took on that responsibility. He owned it."
COLLIN CURLER, VUHS JUNIOR. Notes: Played errorless ball at shortstop while handling 66 chances, recording 29 putouts and 37 assists ... Showed plenty of range and an accurate arm ... Tied for the team lead by scoring 15 runs and drove in five while batting .316 after a slow start ... Threw seven innings in relief and earned two saves with an ERA of 2.57, striking out seven while allowing six hits and three walks.
Ringer's Quotes: "Collin started slowly this year from an offensive standpoint, but really picked it up in the second half ... Once on base, Collin is a very smart baserunner ... Defensively, I would rate Collin with anyone that I saw this season ... He has remarkable range ... Collin loves the game as much as anyone I've coached, never gives up, and is a very positive teammate."
THOMAS ROBERTS, OVUHS SOPHOMORE. Notes: 15-year-old catcher who keyed the OV offense and led all local players with a .429 batting average, 15 RBIs and 19 runs ... Worked hard on his defense and became adept at blocking balls in the dirt ... Decent thrower who came up big in an extra-inning win vs. Springfield by catching one runner stealing and picking another off first.
Mitchell's Quotes: "Thomas is a catcher that any coach would love to have on his team ... You could probably count his passed balls on one hand ... He takes a lot of pride and he works extra hard in stopping passed balls ... He finds a way to put the bat on the ball ... He led the team at the plate, not so much with power, but his ability to put the ball in play and advance baserunners."
IAN SHAW, MOUNT ABE JUNIOR. Notes: Won the second base job in the preseason and ran with it, hitting .375 with pop — four doubles, a triple and a homer — and on-base ability, reaching at a .475 rate out of the leadoff spot ... Scored 13 runs and drove in seven ... Showed plenty of range and made a number of spectacular plays in the course of the season.
Stetson's Quotes: "He developed himself into a very sound second baseman this year ... He made some outstanding plays ... He played every inning out there and did a nice job ... He became a nice leadoff hitter this year and developed some pop in his bat ... He was a real nice player for us this year."
PATRICK FOLEY, MUHS JUNIOR. Notes: Slick-fielding first baseman who beat up Metro pitching to the tune of a .391 average and a .481 on-base percentage ... Scored 12 runs, drove in five, drilled four doubles and also laid down four sacrifice bunts ... Compiled a fielding percentage of .972 while digging a few errant throws out of the dirt.
Seubert's Quotes: "He handled a lot of bad throws and made a lot of nice plays at first base ... He swung the bat as well as I've seen him swing the bat ever this year ... He really kind of emerged this year, settled us a first base and stepped into that No. 2 spot ... He's a stabilizer out there, he really is ... Pat's a quiet leader. Pat commands respect from his teammates."
IAN CAMPBELL, MOUNT ABE JUNIOR. Notes: Another first baseman who feasted on Metro mound offerings ... Batted .378 with an on-base percentage of .440, scored 12 runs and drove in four ... Popped three doubles and a triple ... Solid first baseman fielding grounders and handling throws.
Stetson's Quotes: He's a very good first baseman ... He really was the vocal leader, making sure everyone knew the situation ... He was a pleasant surprise at bat this year ... In our lineup the No. 2 hitter means a guy who is going to put the ball on the bat a lot and move the runner along, and he was a good solid no. 2 hitter for us."
TYLER PROVENCHER, MUHS SOPHOMORE. Notes: Helped MUHS on the mound, at the plate and in the field ... Compiled a 4-2 pitching mark, earning all four of the Tigers' wins, including a complete-game effort at No. 2 Fair Haven in the playoffs, striking out six and walking none ... Batted .327 with 11 RBIs, stroking six doubles and scoring five times ... Played well at shortstop when not on the mound.
Seubert's Quotes: "Tyler went deep every time he pitched ... Nothing bothers him. That's a great attribute for a kid ... He just keeps playing hard the whole time ... He believed in himself and he believed in his teammates ... He hit the ball. He was consistent all year in making contact ... He just swings a good bat ... He's a mainstay, for sure ... He's just a gamer."
BRETT PATTERSON, OVUHS SOPHOMORE. Notes: Solid pitcher with a fastball, change-up and curve who won three of his final four decisions, including OV's road playoff game, to finish at 3-3 ... Allowed no more than three runs in any of his final four starts, including a one-hitter vs. Woodstock ... Struck out 48 batters in 40 innings, including a season-high 13 vs. Windsor ... Batted higher than .300 ... Named team MVP by Mitchell.
Mitchell's Quotes: "Brett was my No. 1 pitcher this year and his performance was better than his 3 - 3 record indicated ... As a sophomore, he's one of the toughest around. I've coached him for the last four years and watched him improve every year, physically and mentally ... He's not at his peak point yet, but it's going to be a pleasure to watch him when he is."
DEVIN HAYES, VUHS SOPHOMORE. Notes: After missing the first few games to injury, came on strong on the mound, at the plate and in the outfield ... Led VUHS with a 3-2 pitching record ... Didn't beat himself, issuing just five walks while striking out 21 in 26.2 innings ... Batted a team-best .368 with a slugging percentage of. 526 by drilling three doubles and a homer... Scored six runs, drove in eight and batted .583 with runners in scoring position.
Ringer's Quotes: "He had an immediate impact when he joined the team ... He took a lot of strain off the pitching staff ... He came up with some big games offensively ... He played very consistently in the field ... He was very level-headed. He was bulletproof ... I was very confident having him out there."
Andy Kirkaldy is at [email protected]


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NEW YORK – The NHL and the players' association stuck to their word and made quick plans to get back to the bargaining table.
After all-day negotiations Saturday, the sides agreed Monday to resume talks today in New York. Both sides said the discussions over the weekend were good, creating some optimism that perhaps a deal could soon be reached to save the already truncated hockey season.
The NHL and union hadn't met since Oct. 18 when each side turned down offers. NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly and players' association special counsel Steve Fehr got together by themselves Saturday in an undisclosed location and held productive talks.
"We had a series of meetings over the course of the day and had a good, frank discussion on the most important issues separating us," Daly said Sunday.
He and Fehr talked on the phone several times during the week and reached enough common ground to make face-to-face meetings possible.
Fehr echoed Daly's encouraging remarks after Saturday's get-together that lasted well into the night.
"Hopefully we can continue the dialogue, expand the group, and make steady progress," Fehr said.
It wasn't immediately determined Monday whether today's bargaining session would be conducted by just Daly and Fehr or if a larger group – perhaps including NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr – would also take part.
The lockout entered its 51st day Monday. So far, 327 games – including the outdoor Winter Classic – have been called off, and the NHL says a full season won't be played.
No new formal proposals were made Saturday, but it is believed the issue of payments of existing player contracts was a big part of the discussions.
"I'm not in a position to talk substance about agenda or expectations," Daly wrote in an email to The Associated Press.
A major point of contention between the NHL and the players' association has been the "make whole" provision, which will ensure that all current player contracts will be paid out regardless of any changes made to the split of hockey-related revenues or contract language.
The NHL appears ready to cover more of the costs of those deals as opposed to making them part of the players' share of revenue in future years. In its most recent offer last month, the NHL said it would honor the current contracts in deferred payments, but those would be included in the players' share of revenues.
The union balked at that offer.
Sanderson tells all in book: At Toronto, Derek Sanderson recalls mixing cocktails in a salad spinner and consuming four bottles of Soave Bolla wine before noon "just to get square."
Then there were the pills and drugs and the women the former Boston Bruins star partied with.
Sanderson tells it all in a new book, "Crossing the Line: The Outrageous Story of a Hockey Original."
"I'm different," Sanderson said. "I have found that I really am different. There's nobody like me. And not that it's good or bad."
Written with Kevin Shea, the book goes from a spur-of-the-moment cash purchase of a Rolls-Royce to sleeping under a bridge and stealing bottles of booze.
Known as the Turk, Sanderson won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL's top rookie in 1967-68. He played for the Bruins, Philadelphia Blazers (WHA), New York Rangers, St. Louis Blues and Vancouver Canucks before ending his NHL career with a brief stop in Pittsburgh in 1977-78.
He had 202 goals, 250 assists and 911 penalty minutes in 598 NHL games.
In his heyday, he could score, kill penalties and fight.
Away from the ice, the flamboyant Sanderson partnered with Joe Namath in a bar before starting his own string of restaurants. He would not bat an eye at gathering a group of friends — including three actresses and two Playboy Bunnies — and flying them to Hawaii on the spot.
The conditions were they had to leave with nothing more than the clothes on their back and they couldn't phone anybody.


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News Posts
Glowing Shark Patterns Get Brighter in Deep Water
by AMNH on
A team led by Museum researchers has found that glowing sharks can see one another's colors, and that the patterns they produce become more clear in deep water.
Get to Know a Dino: Microraptor gui
by AMNH on
This bizarre, bird-like dinosaur appears to have four wings, but could it really fly?
Flapping Before Flight
by AMNH on
New research shows young birds flap before they're ready to fly and offers clues to reconstructing flight's origins in modern birds' ancestors, extinct dinosaurs.
Paleontologists Gain New Insight to "Telescoping" Crocodile Eyes
by AMNH on
Fossils of a 13-million-year-old extinct crocodilian suggest that South American and Indian species of crocodiles evolved separately to acquire protruding, "telescoped" eyes.
Research Shows Vital Links Between Lemurs and Fruit Trees
by AMNH on
A new study led by a Museum researcher has uncovered a close connection between the diversity of Madagascar's lemurs and the abundance of their food resources.


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Pitching, power a potent blend for Giants vs. Mets
SAN FRANCISCO -- For the Giants to achieve their ultimate goal of winning their third World Series in five years, they'll need Buster Posey's dramatics and Matt Cain's dominance.
They received both on Friday night at AT&T Park, which largely accounted for their 4-2 triumph over the Mets.View Full Game Coverage
SAN FRANCISCO -- For the Giants to achieve their ultimate goal of winning their third World Series in five years, they'll need Buster Posey's dramatics and Matt Cain's dominance.
They received both on Friday night at AT&T Park, which largely accounted for their 4-2 triumph over the Mets.View Full Game Coverage
Posey's two-run homer off reliever Carlos Torres broke a 2-2 tie in the eighth inning. The drive also ended a stretch of 93 at-bats without a home run for Posey, who hit 24 in 2012 and 18 in 2010, when the Giants captured the Series.
Friday's homer, Posey's eighth of the season, extended his hitting streak to five games and concluded his second three-hit effort in less than a week. Both facts suggest that Posey, who has been bothered by stiffness in his lower back, is beginning to find his form at the plate.
"He's been hitting the ball hard. He just hasn't gotten it up in the air," manager Bruce Bochy said. "Tonight he did."
Cain hadn't pitched since May 21, when he strained his right hamstring and hit the disabled list for the second time this season, but he displayed none of the dullness that such a layoff might have induced. He lasted seven innings, allowing two runs and three hits after maintaining a perfect game for four innings and a no-hitter through five.
This was the type of performance that became routine for Cain in 2010, when he yielded one unearned run in three postseason starts, and 2012, when he won San Francisco's clinching games in the first two postseason rounds.
"[Posey and Cain are] leaders on our team," said closer Sergio Romo, who pitched a perfect ninth inning for his 19th save. "And today they showed why."
Posey and Cain received help as the Giants became the first team in the Major Leagues to win 40 games, a level they didn't reach last season until July 6 -- and their record was a dismal 40-46. They're currently 40-21, having won three in a row and 11 of their last 14.
Brandon Hicks and Brandon Crawford combined to generate the Giants' first pair of runs, both off Mets starter Jon Niese.
"We had quite a quinella with those two," Bochy said.
Hicks tripled and scored on Crawford's sacrifice fly to open the scoring in the fifth inning. After Daniel Murphy's two-run homer off Cain put New York ahead in the seventh, Hicks and Crawford enabled the Giants to pull even in their half of the inning with the team's specialty, the two-out run. Hicks walked to prolong the seventh, advanced on a wild pitch and scored on Crawford's single up the middle.
"That was my mistake. I shouldn't have let Crawford get anything to hit," Niese said. "Both those runs, I made mistakes, and he put together some good at-bats. With him being the only lefty in the lineup, I shouldn't make those mistakes."
That set the stage for the Giants' eighth, which Torres opened by issuing a four-pitch walk to Angel Pagan. Pagan reached second base on Hunter Pence's groundout. Up came Posey, who redirected a 1-0 fastball into the stands in left-center.
Posey, who loathes basking in his feats, described his homer in typically spare fashion.
"Fortunately, I got a good pitch I could handle, and it went out," Posey said.
Of Posey's eight homers this season, four were hit at AT&T Park, four on the road. But any similarity between the two locations ends there, as he has batting averages of .191 at home and .326 on the road.
Asked about the disparity, he said, "Baseball's weird."
Nothing was weird about Cain's effort. It was pure hardball, defying the potential effect of missing two starts.
"He threw that first pitch 93 [mph], and it's like, 'OK, he's here,' " Romo said. "All of a sudden, we're in the sixth inning with no hits."
Cain, who attributed his effectiveness to fastball command, savored the ability to join the fun after a second stint on the disabled list.
"It felt great," Cain said. 'It stinks when you're sitting there and you're watching the guys playing well. You want to be a part of it. You want to be able to help out."
Curtis Granderson drew a leadoff walk in the fifth, ending Cain's chances of duplicating the perfect game he threw against Houston on June 13, 2012. His no-hit prospects vanished with Ruben Tejada's infield single led off the sixth inning. Tejada hit a grounder to deep shortstop that Crawford fielded before making a wide, two-hop throw to first base.
"The thing with Craw is, he has so much range," Cain said. "It would have been a ground ball into left field with most other shortstops."
But Cain wasn't at all upset as the zeros disappeared from the scoreboard.
"It was a nice game to be a part of," he said.
Chris Haft is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his blog, Haft-Baked Ideas, and follow him on Twitter at @sfgiantsbeat.


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Sweet Talk
We have a few rules we try to instill in our kids. One is to be respectful, especially to adults. This came easily to our daughters. The boys are trying. One way the boys "follow" this rule is to add a formal title when talking about adults that make them mad. For example, there is a coach Mikias refers to only as 'Coach Grumpy'. Jemberu refers to certain teachers as 'Mrs. Bossy' or 'Miss Meany'. We are still working on this.
Jemberu does not gush about his feelings for us. When I tell him I love him, he usually say, "I already know that."
But if the mood is just right, if he is tired and cuddly or maybe has a touch of a cold, his sweet words come out and they are lovely.
Walking up the stairs to put my sleepy boy to bed recently, he wrapped his arm around my waist and said, "You are the best mom in the world."
He went on, whispering, "The day I met you and dad was the best day of my life."
I began to choke up. I said, "Oh Jem, I love you so much. You know, you are so special, you are my baby. You'll always be Mumma's baby."
He ripped his arm from my waist, put his hands on his hips, looked me in the eye and said, "Oh okay, Mrs. Meaner, you are a big jerk!"
He threw himself into his bed crying. I asked him what was wrong.
"You just called me a baby! You think I am always going to be a baby! That is SO mean!"
I sat on the side of his bed and tried to explain. I told him that the youngest child in a family has a special place. That even when he is grown up, I will always love him like I do now. That I was just trying to show him how important he is to me and that I will always be there for him.
He edged closer to me, wiped his tears on my shirt and wrapped his arms around me.
I said, "That's the best thing about being a family. We always love each other and take care of each other. Jem, you will do the same thing for me. When I am old and need your help, you will help take care of me."
Jem let go of me and looking alarmed said, "No way. I do not like old ladies."
I should have quit while I was ahead.
(note: Prior to writing this post, I asked Jemberu once again who will take care of me when I am old. He responded, "Me and Addis (our dog) unless Addis is already dead.")


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GREENVILLE, Ill. -- Eureka traveled to Greenville to take on the Panthers in a conference double header, but they were unable to slow down the Panther offense in either game. Greenville won the first game 12-2 with Tyler Pilcher getting the win. Dillon Reel pitched the majority of the second game for Greenville, who won 16-6 in eight innings.
In the opener, the Panthers had three innings with three or more points. Greenville had sixteen hits out of thirty-two at-bats. Four players had two RBI's (Dylan Bone, Tim Osborne, Jared Storment, and Tommie Brown), and Osborne added a triple.
Eureka's offense picked up in the second game, but they still could not keep up with Greenville, who recorded an eight run inning in the fourth. This inning saw numerous errors from Eureka, while the Panthers recorded four RBI's. With six at-bats, Bone batted .500 including 3 RBI's and a home run.
These two victories put the Panthers at 6-8 (3-1 SLIAC). Conference play continues with a three game series at home against Westminster, beginning with an afternoon matchup on Friday, March 28.


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Ray PolkFree Agent
Free Safety
Ht: 6.1 | Wt: 205
News | Stats | Stat vs. Team | Targets | Injury | Depth Chart | Roster
|Jaguars | Roster moves made
Sun, 25 Aug 2013 12:45:42 -0700
The Jacksonville Jaguars cut LS Jeremy Cain, OG Mark Asper, P Ken Parrish, CB Lionel Smith, LB Maalik Bomar, LB Jeremiah Green, DE J.D. Griggs, DE Paul Hazel, LS Luke Ingram, WR Jamal Miles, FS Ray Polk and OT Roderick Tomlin. CB Jeremy Harris (back) was placed on Injured Reserve.
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|| Source: The Florida Times-Union - Ryan O'Halloran
|Jaguars | Ray Polk claimed
Wed, 24 Jul 2013 13:25:44 -0700
The Jacksonville Jaguars have claimed FS Ray Polk off waivers from the Seattle Seahawks.
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|| Source: The Florida Times-Union - Ryan O'Halloran
|Seahawks | Make roster moves
Tue, 23 Jul 2013 11:19:07 -0700
The Seattle Seahawks signed TE Michael Palmer (Giants) Tuesday, July 23. Terms of the contract were not disclosed. In a corresponding move, the Seahawks released FS Ray Polk.
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|| Source: KFFL.com
|Seahawks | Several UDFAs agree to terms
Sat, 27 Apr 2013 21:54:13 -0700
The Seattle Seahawks agreed to terms with undrafted free agents WR Matt Austin, OT Alvin Bailey, DE Kenneth Boatright, LB Ramon Buchanan, LB John Lotulelei, SS Ray Polk, G Jordon Roussos and RB Dominique Whaley Saturday, April 27.
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|| Source: KFFL.com


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PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. -- Pace University athletics will be holding its first alumni and friends golf challenge to benefit the university's sports programs on Monday, April 28, at Pelham Bay Gold Club in the Bronx.
This event is an opportunity for alumni and friends to support the academic and athletic growth of student-athletes.
The event will begin with registration at 11 a.m. followed by putting contests and a continental breakfast before the shotgun start at 12:30 p.m.
The event will have a barbecue dinner, drinks and awards presentations after the challenge. All golf outing participants will receive a gift package for their support of the athletic programs at Pace University.
The price for the challenge is $149 per individual and $550 per foursome. The course will also include contest prizes, beverages and refreshments.
In addition to the upcoming event, Pace athletics honors alumni and former basketball player Todd Ziogas for his current success as UBS senior vice president of wealth management.
Ziogas credits his success to the opportunities found at Pace and hard work.
"Pace has a great long history and has many graduates out there willing to help, said Ziogas.
"It takes work, but trying to leverage those graduates can be your best asset."


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What do my target prospects value?
Are they looking for instructions on how to build something?
Do they crave inspiration?
Are they in need of inspiration?
Are they seeking comfort?
Do they just want a good laugh?
• Use an assortment of weapons. It's hard to get anyone's attention using one channel. Use a combination of online and offline strategies and tactics such as recording a radio interview and putting it on your website. Put your web address on your business cards, mention it in your voice mail greeting, and include it in every one of your offline ads.
• Find out what people are talking about. Then write a press release that ties you, your book and your writing to the story or topic. Just pick up any national newspaper or visit online news sites to find out what subjects are hot.
• Consistently and continuously market your books and your writing. One-shot attempts won't get you anywhere, so any chance you get jump on it.


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Welcome to Neo Baile, a new take on the traditional sounds and aesthetics of Brazil's Baile Funk (or Funk Carioca) that challenges the established order to create something new, exciting and forward thinking.
We are extremely proud to present The Sound of Neo Baile compilation, featuring 14 unreleased and exclusive tracks from worldwide producers that reinterpret the love-it-or-hate-it Brazilian Baile Funk sound. The compilation has been put together by two of the movement's most knowledgeable players: Sao Paulo-based Funk na Caixa aka Renato Martins and London-based Sean Casey aka Bumps, founder of Club Popozuda.
The Sound of Neo Baile features established names such as DJ Comdrade aka Xao, whose Favela Trap album made a major dent in the burgeoning scene at the end of 2012, Sao Paulo-based MC Gi, one of the forerunners of the scene, and Rio-based Maga Bo, who has been producing Brazilian-flavoured bass music since the early 00s. Alongside these are upcoming artists you'll most definitely want to keep an eye on including Ophex from Lithuania, Ckrono & Slesh from Italy, Gato Preto from Mozambique, Chuck Upbeat from Moscow and London-based Bumps, one of the compilers. As a bonus the compilation also features the first lady of Funk, Deize Tigrona, on a track entitled Prostituto that fuses Tecnobrega and Trap rhythms.
1. Guto de Almeida - Vai Danada
2. Maga Bo - No Balanco da Canoa (Bumps' Neo Baile Remix)
3. Ophex - Gostoso
4. DJ Comrade - Xão Trap
5. MC Gi - Chega Mais (Carlos Nuñez Remix)
6. Chuck Upbeat - Cicadas' Dance
7. Miam Vandale - Dança Gostosa
8. La Bombacion - Baile Funk
9. MC Dedê - Real Funk Do Povão (DJ Comrade Remix)
10. Bumps - Bumporzão
11. Ckrono & Slesh - A Patricinha
12. ViA The Robots - Shtusha Kutusha
13. MC Kacho - Bole Rebole
14. Gato Preto - Saca Me Desse Banzé
* BONUS * 15. Deize Tigrona - Prostituto


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Witty kitties
Pets are simply lovable. And felines are one of my favorite kinds of pets. Bouncy, hyperactive, overly-pampered, persistent and yes, very cute living fur-ball that has an endless act of vanity.
To be a cat burglar, you need a good and loud runaway car driver.
The case of a over-soft sofa.


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A water plan is being put together, but it is not a new study, it is a collection of all previous tests done and data complied.
A water plan is being put together, but it is not a new study, it is a collection of all previous tests done and data complied.
When completed it will be the first comprehensive water plan for the Indian Well Valley. The plan is still in the fact and data gathering stages. Ultimately, the plan will be presented to Kern County Supervisors complete with solutions, and how to implement the solutions.
The Kern County Planning and Community Development Department and First District Kern County Supervisor Mick Gleason invited the public to the first public workshop to discuss water resources within the Indian Wells Valley. The Indian Wells Cooperative Ground Water Group is not spending any resources on the project or plan. It is providing technical information.
While there are dozens of studies done on water in the IWV — the first more than 100 years old — but there is no one place that houses all of the studies into a single comprehensive source, said Lorelei H. Oviatt, director of the Kern County Planning Department.
Oviatt said that Kern is interested in a "comprehensive approach" to the plan, not just the comments or complaints of individual parties or water users.
Gleason opened the presentation, describing a little background on the plan and its impetus and set down a few ground rules of how the meeting would proceed.
Gleason said that the water plan was one of three issues of importance to the residents brought up at the Ridgecrest Chamber of Commerce February Economic Outlook Conference. He said the residents of the IWV expressed concern on three issues that the public wanted to learn more about and to develop; the three were water, trails and supporting the Navy 's mission in the valley.
He explained to the audience - standing room only at the Inyokern Senior Center - that the meeting was about water and the plan.
He also explained that the any state or federal elected official with any interest or stake in the area, including Rep. Kevin McCarthy and State Sen. Jean Fuller, have been notified and "want to be a part of your future."
The meeting was an introduction of the preliminary findings from data being gathered by Todd Engineers, an objective third-party consultant company.
The next steps will are to finalize the review of the data collected, finalize the groundwater findings and then determine what solutions can be sought.
Gus Yates, senior hydrologist for Todd Engineers, presented his initial findings to the crowd. He explained that the presentation will center on his findings thus far through the data collected.
"If you have anymore information, I encourage you to provide it," Yates told the crowd. He added that the idea of the plan is, "A switch from, 'What's the problem?' to 'What to do about it.'"
He opened his discussion by explaining the basics of the water balance of the IWV groundwater system. Both water coming and going out of the groundwater table were equal. He explained that more than one hundred years ago, the groundwater table was balanced with the amount being outflowed or lost through transpiration and evaporation, but was recharged, or inflow, with mountain front recharge off the Sierra Nevada eastern slopes.
As the valley developed, Yates explained, the inflow was balanced with the outflow. As the humans and agriculture inhabited the area, there was some additional inflow via wastewater and irrigation but not in the same ratio as the water being taken from wells in the valley.
Closed system hypothesis
An open system would mean the valley's groundwater is being replenished by both run off from the eastern Sierra Nevada and from the Kern Plateau via subsurface systems such as fault line fractures. A closed system would mean the valley is being recharged entirely with front range runoff from the Sierra Nevada.
Yate said he believes that based on the data he has reviewed that the valley is a closed system. He explained in a closed system. The water storage is expected to decline. Yates said the basin is in "overdraft." This means the system is gone beyond its balance.
Yates had several discussion points about his hypothesis. One was that the local well levels continue to decline. Another point was that for water to travel from the Kern Plateau to the IWV it would take a path of least resistance. He said he has found that the path of least resistance is surface streams and rivers, which are not present in IWV. The hypothesis of a closed system was then opened up to discussion in the audience.
Oviatt explained that Yates has not finalized a plan or report but is throwing his theory out there in the hopes of finding additional information to support or nullify his theory.
There will be a technical meeting in September and a complete report out for public review of Oct. 11. John George, supervising planner for Kern County Planning, said by phone Thursday that the plan will available Oct. 11 on its website. George explained the department is still trying got determine a venue for the meeting and where hard copies of the plan will be available.
The Kern County Planning Commission will have a "Resource Opportunity Plan" link on its website soon. The link will lead to transcripts of Wednesday's meeting as well as the plan when it is completed in October. George added that is also unsure when exactly, what time of day, the plan will be published on Oct. 11.
A technical workshop that will examine the more intricate details of the hydro- and geological aspects of water in the IWV is set for September.
A complete plan will be set for publication on Oct. 10. The plan will be presented to the Kern County Board of Supervisors on Dec. 10.


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I just got off the phone with Los Osos quarterback Richard Brehaut, who dazzled at the Elite 11 quarterback camp in Mission Viejo over the past four days. Brehaut, who verbally committed to UCLA in May, dazzled an Elite 11 staff that included Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer, Bengals wide receiver and Barstow native T.J. Houshmandzadeh and USC quarterback Mark Sanchez with his accuracy – winning the camp's Golden Gun Award in a competition between 12 of the best high school senior quarterbacks in the nation.
"It was one of the best experiences of my life," Brehaut said. "Just meeting all these guys and hanging out with them for a few days was awesome. I'm definitely proud of the way I competed."
Brehaut set the camp record for accuracy points today with a score of 27, besting the previous-best mark of 24, which he tied Wednesday. Brehaut, the MVP runner-up to Georgia commit Aaron Murray, was also named the quarterback most likely to fit in any college system and the player most likely to start first in college.
Look out for a longer story detailing Brehaut's week in Friday's Sun and Daily Bulletin.


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Why Being a Minneapolis Wedding Photographer Rocks
Through my time studying photography at Minneapolis Community and Technical College I met many hopeful photographers. Some were young and ambitious; others were older and more seasoned but looking for refinement in the latest digital photography techniques; while still others were looking to break out of their mundane office careers and into a professional photography role. But we all had the same goal in mind, to go pro as Minnesota photographers.
Even since photographing a wedding for my cousin back in 2010, I've pursued a profession as a Minneapolis wedding photographer. Here are my main reasons for sticking with it and why I love wedding photography so much.
Minneapolis has the Best Wedding Venues
The Walker Art Center, one of the best Minneapolis wedding venues.
Be it the rustic Woods Chapel of Long Lake, MN; the trendy Walker Art Center of Minneapolis; to the James J. Hill Reference Library of St Paul, Minnesota. The Twin Cities have some of the best wedding venues in the Midwest. There is truly a Minneapolis wedding venue for every person and each venue can be tailored to fit the personalities of the bride and groom.
For example, I have photographed multiple weddings at Como Park and Pavilion in St. Paul Minnesota, and they have all be extraordinarily different. One was in October with the beautiful fall colors surrounding the lake, while another was in the summer and had a completely different backdrop and feel, as most shots were taken by the waterfall and across the lush green hills surrounding the park.
I also love how venues are constantly improving and changing. There is a new wedding venue in Eden Prairie called Green Acres. It's the oldest barn in Eden Prairie, now completely restored as an event center. It is unlike any other barn venue you have seen. It's mix of rustic elements with a modern quirk, perfect for almost any style of wedding!
Award Winning Minneapolis Wedding Photographer Inspiration
Image courtesy of Minneapolis wedding photographer, Dan Oksnevad Photography.
Minneapolis is home to some amazingly talented photographers. It's one reason I got started in the first place. Dan Oksnevad leads the Minneapolis wedding photographer scene and was my original inspiration for getting my studio going. Several years ago, I attended a wedding he photographed, and I loved how seamlessly Dan and his wife Annalise worked. Anna hung back with a long lens, while Dan would move around with two cameras capturing unique perspectives of the wedding ceremony. I have been to other weddings where the photographers would get in the way of the guests, stand obnoxiously in the isle, or even hold up bulky lighting rigs and constantly exasperate the bride and groom with a similar effect to being in a lightening storm. Dan Oksnevad Photography is a cut above the rest, in both his style, presentation, and talent. Much respect.
There are also many other great Minneapolis wedding photographers in the area. If you grab a copy of Minnesota Bride Magazine you can find some amazing wedding photography, which I think rivals the best of Orange County and New York City. I hope to one day be listed amongst the Minnesota Bride Best of Winners, so I can frame a copy of the magazine to hang on my studio wall.
Arts in Minneapolis
One reason I love working in Minneapolis is because the art scene is incredible. For starters we have countless, breathtaking art museums and galleries. The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, the Walker Art Center, the Wiseman Art Museum, and the Minnesota Museum of American Art are the main ones, but there are also so many little galleries around the Twin Cities that are gems displaying the work of Minneapolis artists. It doesn't end there. The Twin Cities have so many musical artists, dance studios, and other art forms as well!
There is a huge collective of photographers in Minneapolis, with nationally recognized professional associations such as the MNPA – Minnesota New Photographers Association and the Minneapolis Photographic Society – members of the Twin City Area Council of Camera Clubs and the Photographic Society of America.
Support for Wedding Industry
Brides of France in Edina Minnesota is one of the best shops in Minneapolis to buy your wedding dress.
There is a lot going on in the wedding industry here in Minneapolis. We have amazing publications like the aforementioned Minnesota Bride Magazine and MSP Mag's Wedding edition; and tons of fabulous events like The Wedding Fair (put on by the Twin Cities Wedding Association) and the Twin Cities Bridal Show and Wedding Expo.
There are a ton of awesome vendors as well, such as the Wedding Shoppe of St Paul, Posh Bridal Couture of Wayzata, L'Atelier Couture of St Paul, and Brides of France in Edina, MN. Each seems to offer the glamorous big city fashions, with a "Minnesota nice" personal touch.
As a Minneapolis wedding photographer there are many gear resources as well. I often find myself hanging out at West Photo on University Ave in Minneapolis, chatting with other photographers and the knowledgeable staff as we browse the latest gear and "shop talk". National Camera Exchange is good as well, and the locations are plentiful around the Twin Cities, however I find the chain to lack the local expert touch of West Photo.
In summary, being a Minneapolis wedding photographer simply rocks! I don't plan on ever leaving the Twin Cities, and quite frankly, I can't image being a photographer anywhere else!


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Selling this as it just doesn't get enough use and I've got a house move to pay for.
It's a size 54 (geometry chart below), comes with Easton EA 50 post, Ritchey WCS Alu bars, 1 x 9 speed Xenon, R500 wheels and decent brakes, tyres etc. Pics are included below. There is a small crack in the paint behind the headtube (I thought this might be a crack but I've been riding it for months and it hasn't changed at all).
Looking for £350 delivered.
Geometry here:
Photos here:


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Women's Dress Sale
Athleta Women's Dress Sale
Enjoy the Athleta women's dress sale and get a number of great styles that you will love. Find dresses on sale in easy wear designs that are perfect for vacationing, or just looking the part. Enjoy soft fabrics and decorative designs that make our selection even more appealing. Save on popular wrap dresses, court dresses, swim dresses, maxi dresses and more. Athleta dresses are versatile essentials that are perfect day or night. Whether strolling along the beach, enjoying an activity, going out with friends, our dress fashions highlight style and substance at its best. Athleta women's dress sale offers your favorite dresses at incredible prices.


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A 15-year-old girl is incarcerated in a Chicago mental hospital in 1981 and kept there for three years because she won't wear a dress. A Winn-Dixie truck driver is fired from a job he held for twenty years when his boss learns that he wears women's clothes at home. A small-time hustler in Falls City, Nebraska, is raped and then murdered when he's discovered to be physically female. A woman bleeds to death after a Washington, DC, hit-and-run accident when, after finding male genitals under her clothes, paramedics stand by laughing.
M or F? For most of us that's a simple question, decided while we were in utero. Checking off that box–at the doctor's, on the census, on a driver's license–takes scarcely a thought. But there's an emerging movement of increasingly vocal people whose bodies or behavior unsettle that clear division. They're calling themselves "transgendered": It's a spongy neologism that, at its broadest, absorbs everyone from medically reassigned transsexuals to cross-dressing men to women so masculine that security guards are called to eject them from women's restrooms. Fellow travelers include intersexuals (once called hermaphrodites), whose bodies are both/and rather than either/or. The slash between M/F cuts painfully through these lives.
And so they've started to organize. Brought together by the Internet, inspired by the successes of the gay rights movement, and with national sympathy gained from the movie Boys Don't Cry, intersex and transgender activists are starting to get a hearing in organizations ranging from college campuses to city councils, from lesbian and gay rights groups to pediatric conferences. And, like the feminist and gay rights movements before them, the new sex-and-gender activists may force us to rethink, in life and in law, how we define and interpret the basics of sex.
A first clue to how zealously the M/F border is guarded–to how sex is literally constructed–comes at birth. One in 2,000 infants is born with genitalia ambiguous enough to make doctors hem and haw when parents ask that first question: boy or girl? Since the late 1950s/early 1960s, standard medical procedure has been to lie and obfuscate. Rather than explain that the child is "a mixture of male and female," writes Anne Fausto-Sterling, author of Sexing the Body, medical manuals advise physicians to reassign the child surgically to one sex or another, telling parents only that "the gonads were incompletely developed…and therefore required removal." A large clitoris may be cut down; a micropenis may be removed and a vagina built; a testis or testes are sliced out–sometimes over the parents' explicit objections.
Now some of those children have come of age and are telling their stories: severe depression, sexual numbness and a longtime despair at having been folded, spindled and mutilated. The leader of this nascent movement is Cheryl Chase, who in 1993 organized the Intersex Society of North America. ISNA opposes reassignment surgery on intersex infants and advocates raising intersex children as social males or females, educating them about their bodies and letting them choose at puberty whether they'd like surgical assistance or a shift in social sex. ISNA's cause was helped when Johns Hopkins sex researcher and PhD John Money, who wrote the intersex silence-and-reassignment protocol, was profoundly discredited. After a child he called "John" was accidentally castrated soon after birth, Money advised his parents to have him undergo surgery to construct a vagina, raise him as "Joan" and give him female hormones at puberty. Money reported this involuntary sex reassignment as fully successful. But in 1997, both a medical journal report and a Rolling Stone article revealed that the reassignment had been a disaster. Despite the insistence of parents, doctors, psychologists and teachers, "Joan" had always insisted that she was "just a boy with long hair in girl's clothes." In adolescence, John took back his manhood.


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Professors at RIT call Erika Mesh a perpetual student. For the past 17 years, the undergraduate software engineer turned computing and information sciences doctoral student has called RIT her second home.
Mesh earned her bachelor's degree in software engineering in 2002 and after nine years in the industry and starting a family, she decided to follow her passion in academia full-time.
For the New Orleans native, her first memories of RIT came in the form of an admissions videotape that she received when applying to colleges in 1996.
"The 1980s-style video was a horrible collection of guys in boring labs with pocket protectors," said Mesh. "Once I actually came to visit the campus, I realized that RIT was amazing and I would be treated like a real person and not just a number."
As a member of the second graduating class of software engineers, Mesh has seen a significant change in computing education at RIT. You can even find her in photos at the groundbreaking for the computing college. After graduation, she spent nearly five years at Harris RF Communications, designing embedded systems for military radios, and four years at PAETEC, working on online sales support software.
"While I was working I got involved with the Industrial Advisory Board for the software engineering department," said Mesh. "One day while talking with Professor Scott Hawker, I decided that I wanted to come back and work on my master's full time."
What started as a one-year hiatus from work for a master's degree turned into a full-time doctorate degree when Mesh was accepted into the Ph.D. program in 2012. She was awarded a Graduate Research Fellowship from the National Science Foundation in 2013. Her research focuses on the software engineering processes that other research scientists use when designing scientific software.
"While many research scientists, such as chemists or biologists, leverage software to analyze large data sets, they are often not trained in the best practices of software engineering that can prevent software bugs," said Mesh. "These bugs can have devastating effects on the data, often delaying work and sometimes resulting in the retraction of research."
Using basic software testing techniques, such as unit testing and source control, these bugs can be detected and prevented. By learning how scientists use software, Mesh hopes to offer a Scientific Software Process Improvement Framework that acts as a set of guidelines to help scientists make effective decisions about how they write their software.
"We can also start to change software engineering education in a way that helps bridge the gap between research scientists and computer science," said Mesh.
At home, Mesh enjoys spending time with her husband, Nate, who is also a 2002 software engineering alumnus, and their 4-year-old daughter, Fiona. When not buried in research, Mesh serves as the chair of the Graduate Student Advisory Committee, where she hopes to find ways to get graduate students more integrated into the future of RIT. She also finds time to relax with Bucky, her off-the-track thoroughbred horse.
"Ideally, I'd love to teach after I finish the doctorate program," said Mesh. "If you are a perpetual student like me, academia is the perfect environment because whenever a 'What if?' question pops into your head, you get to go look into it."


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Deserializing Proxy-Classes
Hi everyone,
I'm running hessian 4.0.7 on a jetty server in Java. The services that are sent across by hessian all extend the HessianServlet.
In one case a method returns an interface "Service" whose classes by definition do not necessarily implement Serializable. That's why I build a proxy via the lang.reflect.Proxy class, using another HessianServlet/-Proxy as invocationhandler. If I try to send this proxy via network, hessian will give me an Exception that the deserializer can not handle this. I understand that it is a problem if the send data appears to be of a class that is not serializable, but is there any possibility to find a workaround?
I solved the problem by building the proxy on the client side, but this makes it difficult to maintain compatibility with the framework/api I'm working with.
Fun fact: The whole thing works locally without problems, as it seems that the proxy never goes through the in-/output of hessian. Is this something special to hessian or Java?
Greetings, Jan
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text: The Revolution 11/14/2013 Listen to THE REVOLUTION with Jim & Trav The Official Radio Program of Outdoor Channel 11/14/2013 - Jim and Trav have a mixed bag of outdoor goodies for listeners this week! So tune in for some fall turkey tactics, an upland game hunting forecast with Bob St.Pierre of Pheasants Forever, predator management tips with Geoff Nemnich, a review of the new book "Colorado's Biggest Bucks and Bulls," plus an Extreme Huntress contest finalist. Join the Revolution this week!


text: Make an Appointment Locations Main Hospital Washington, District of Columbia 20010 1-888-884-BEAR (2327) Montgomery County Outpatient Center Rockville, Maryland 20850 301-765-5400 or 800-787-0243 Languages Spoken English Chinese Departments Sleep Medicine Pulmonary Medicine Cystic Fibrosis Center Infant Apnea/ BPD Program Board Certifications American Board of PediatricsAmerican Board of Pediatrics/PulmonologyAmerican Board of Pediatrics/Sleep MedicineNational Provider ID: 1013081264 Disclosure This faculty member (or a member of their immediate family) has a working relationship (i.e. consulting, research, and/or educational services) with the companies listed below. These relations have been reported to the health system leadership and, when appropriate, management plans are in place to address potential conflicts. Outside Interests Jazz Pharmaceuticals


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Nights In
As part of our ongoing Inside Man guide to guy style, Valspar Paint, Apartment Therapy, and the GQ Design Group are posting about sophisticated color for men. These rooms are soft, sexy, and use the right lighting to bring out the best in the wall colors. It's a layered look that balances color and texture with a sharp sense of style.
The Nights In Guy's HomeWall colors set the stage for a room's style, but a look isn't complete without a few furnishings and textures that bring out the best in your walls. Warm up a room with rugs, lux upholstery, and pillows that make you want to kick back on the couch. Turn up your style an extra notch by using dimmable light sources in a few places around the room; it creates a more flattering light and ups the cozy factor.
The Nights In Guy's PaletteAs a leading color authority, Valspar Paint's commitment to style leads them to develop the kind of colors that convey a sophisticated masculine point of view. Blue-gray and beige are classic guy colors; just think of seersucker and canvas. The addition of a pale violet shakes things up, adding softness and a bit of an edge at the same time. If you want to make a dark color stand out, use a contrasting light wall. Vice-versa if you're trying to enliven a room with light-colored walls.
Want More?Check out GQ's Nights In style guide at gq.com/theinsideman, and read more posts on guy style at theinsideman.apartmenttherapy.com.
We've teamed up with Valspar Paint to create The Inside Man, a special feature dedicated to daily (Monday - Friday) posts from Apartment Therapy and GQ about men's color conundrums and style questions. From sofas with cup holders to brilliant bachelor pads, we're focusing on the decor dilemmas men often bring to us.
Photos: Evan Thomas, Sarah Rainwater, Wes and Kayla Schwartz / Apartment Therapy
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< New Lawyer for Eastern Washington
Sep 23, 2013 18:27
Category: General News
Category: General News
Investors Looking for Direction with Federal Reserve Policy
NEW YORK (AP) - The stock market is mixed in early trading as investors look for more clarity on the direction of Federal Reserve policy. They may get that today after a handful of Fed officials speak. The central bank this week shocked markets by leaving in place an $85 billion bond-buying program. Most economists had expected the Fed to begin trimming its buying with the economy improving.