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The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History will reopen its doors to the public Friday, Nov. 21, providing a new look at the almost 200-year-old Star-Spangled Banner—the flag that inspired the national anthem. The museum has constructed a custom-designed display for the flag, which recently underwent an extensive conservation treatment. The gallery is part of a two-year, $85 million renovation of the building's center core, which has dramatically transformed the museum's architecture.
"The Star-Spangled Banner is one of our nation's most treasured objects, a symbol of what this country stands for," said Brent D. Glass, director of the museum. "Its new surroundings are part of a strategic plan to ensure the long-term preservation of the flag, to revitalize the museum and help future generations experience what it means to be an American."
The Star-Spangled Banner Preservation Project was made possible by major support from Polo Ralph Lauren. Generous support was provided by The Pew Charitable Trusts, the U.S. Congress, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the American Express Historic Preservation Fund. The conservation project is part of Save America's Treasures—a public-private partnership administered by the National Park Service and the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities.
"I was honored to be asked to help on the project to preserve the Star-Spangled Banner," said Ralph Lauren. "It has always been an inspiration to me, and I wanted it to continue to be an inspiration for generations to come. I am thrilled to see it displayed in all its glory; a constant symbol of what makes America great—our ideals, our courage and our faith in the future."
The new Star-Spangled Banner Gallery lies at the heart of the museum, the focal point of the dramatic five-story sky-lit atrium. An architectural representation of a waving flag—made up of 960 reflective tiles—frames the entrance to the gallery. As visitors enter, a companion exhibition sets the scene for a dramatic historic event: the Battle of Baltimore during the War of 1812, when this young nation survived an assault by the British.
A special enclosure, fronted by a 35-foot floor-to-ceiling glass wall, will protect the fragile wool and cotton flag while providing maximum visibility to visitors. The chamber's lighting, mechanical, security and fire prevention systems, as well as the table upon which the flag rests and the new gantry (movable bridge) that museum staff will use to inspect the flag, are designed to work together to ensure long-term protection of the flag. The room has separate environmental systems maintaining a constant temperature of 68 to 72 degrees Fahrenheit and relative humidity of 50 percent. All support structures and mechanisms will be hidden from public view so that the flag appears to be suspended in the chamber.
The 30-foot by 34-foot banner will be displayed at a horizontal orientation and, in order to reduce stress to the textile, at a 10-degree angle of elevation. Low light levels will protect the flag, yet are dramatic enough to evoke an atmosphere of the "dawn's early light," similar to what Francis Scott Key experienced Sept. 14, 1814, when he wrote his famous lyrics. The first stanza of the national anthem is projected prominently on the wall above the Star-Spangled Banner. A tactile image of the banner and an interactive projection of the flag allow visitors to investigate key details about the flag, its history and how it was made. Upon leaving the viewing chamber, additional exhibits convey specific stories about the making of the Star-Spangled Banner: its meaning as a family keepsake, the efforts of the Smithsonian to preserve the flag for more than 100 years and how Americans have used the Star-Spangled Banner, both the flag and the song, to express diverse ideas of patriotism and national identity.
For a limited time, the exhibition will also include one of only three signed manuscripts of Key's lyrics of "The Star-Spangled Banner," on loan from the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
The construction of the new Star-Spangled Banner Gallery was coordinated with the renovation of the museum itself. The museum contracted with the architecture firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP and Turner Construction for the overall planning, design and construction. New York based design firms Chermayeff & Geismar and C&G Partners provided the exhibition design for the new Star-Spangled Banner gallery.
Companion Book and Documentary
"The Star-Spangled Banner: The Making of an American Icon," published by Smithsonian Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, tells the dramatic story of the flag that inspired the national anthem for the first time in lavishly illustrated form. The book explores the broader meaning of the American flag in American life and was co-authored by current and former museum curators Lonn Taylor, Kathleen M. Kendrick and Jeffrey L. Brodie with a foreword by Ralph Lauren.
The History Channel, a donor through financial contributions and in-kind gifts, will release a new one-hour special touching on the flag's colorful history, including the specialized conservation treatment undertaken by the museum and the new high-tech flag chamber. "The Star-Spangled Banner: Saving the Flag" will air Nov. 29, at 7 p.m. ET/PT.
The National Museum of American History collects, preserves and displays American heritage in the areas of social, political, cultural, scientific and military history. Documenting the American experience from Colonial times to the present, the museum looks at growth and change in the United States. The museum is located at 14th Street and Constitution Avenue N.W., and is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily, beginning Nov. 21. To learn more about the museum, check http://americanhistory.si.edu. For general Smithsonian information, call (202) 633-1000; (202) 633-5285 (TTY).
Homepage photo of computer rendering of the Star-Spangled Banner gallery courtesy of the National Museum of American History.


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BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union on Tuesday provisionally agreed to open membership talks with Serbia by January at the latest, acknowledging Belgrade's efforts to improve relations with breakaway Kosovo and push through overall reforms.
Ireland's Deputy Foreign Minister Eamon Gilmore said that the unanimous recommendation would be put to a summit of government leaders on Friday where it is overwhelmingly expected to be endorsed.
The EU ministers meeting in Luxembourg also proposed negotiations for closer ties with Kosovo, a possible step on the way of membership talks. Serbia hopes that the talks will pave the way for foreign investment and unblock access to the bloc's pre-entry funds.
Serbia's neighbor Croatia will join the EU on July 1 as the bloc's 28th member.
A vital breakthrough came April 19, when Serbia and Kosovo reached a historic agreement to normalize relations between the Balkan rivals and end years of acrimony.
"Both countries worked very hard in recent months on the normalization of their relations," said German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle. "We welcome this and it deserves a positive European response," he said.
Kosovo, a former province of Serbia, declared independence in 2008. Over the years, Belgrade has said it would never recognize the sovereignty of Kosovo, which is considered by Serbia's nationalists to be the cradle of the country's medieval statehood and religion.
Kosovo has been recognized by more than 90 countries including the U.S. and 22 of the EU's 27 members.
Membership negotiations can take years, since any new EU nation has to bring reams of legislation into line with EU standards, from farm policy to human rights and legal issues.
Serbia has already made several reforms to clear the way for the start of negotiations.
After starting out as a largely western European group, the EU has steadily expanded east and into the Balkans to bring in several nations that were once dominated by communist regimes.

subset: commoncrawl


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Go into any commercial gym and you will see rows and rows of cardio machines, treadmills, stair machines, and ellipticals. Over the years, the "Cardio" area in commercial gyms has grown while the free weight area has shrunk. Given that more space is given to cardio machines, cardio must be the answer to losing weight […]
Looking at the world today, it is easy to see that as humans we are at odds with a lot of things…religion, politics, race and yes, even nutrition. The fact is we are humans and humans hold beliefs. And while beliefs are comforting in a way, they can also be very limiting. If we hold […]
Life comes down to choices and habits. For the most part you can take a look at a how a person spends their time to see what is important to them. In health and fitness, you can see it in how people prioritize their daily habits. If someone wants to have a lean appearance, you […]


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I hope this doesn't come across totally self absorbed but here are some more maternity pictures!
I love Diana...she made me look so much better than I was feeling.
As I waited for her to arrive at my house for this shoot, I second guessed myself.
"Why am I doing this? I feel fat and unattractive, is this really the best time to be photographed?!"
Somehow, she made me feel so much better.


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House Transportation & Infrastructure chairman calls for privatizing air traffic control
WASHINGTON (Sinclair Broadcast Group) - During a hearing on Capitol Hill, the Republican chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure called for the privatization of the nation's air traffic control operations.
"Previous efforts to reform the FAA and modernize the system teach us that the only way to realize these benefits is to get the government out of the way. As President Reagan said, 'government is not the solution to the problem; government is the problem,'" Chairman Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Pa., said.
The committee wants to build a new, "21st-century aviation system for America" that will improve the quality of air travel.
Shuster's proposal would turn over air traffic control operations to a nonprofit corporation. The plan would fund the new corporation through fees assessed for air traffic services. It will also look to free operations from government dysfunction and the annual appropriations process.
President Donald Trump agrees with the chairman's stance. He has expressed an interest in placing operations under an "independent, non-governmental organization."
Democratic members of the committee are in opposition to Shuster's proposal. They feel if financial decisions are made by a corporation it will create hardships for air traffic controllers.
Ranking Member of the House Committee Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., suggested removing the Federal Aviation Administration from the budget altogether and paying for the program using a trust. He said this would protect the FAA from sequestration and government shutdowns.
"I do not believe that privatizing the ATO (Air Traffic Organization) is the answer," DeFazio said.
Privatization of air traffic control has been debated for years. Internationally, nearly 60 countries have transferred their air traffic control out of government operations.
Air safety was also the topic of discussion at an international delegation in Brussels between the U.S. deputy secretary of Homeland Security and European Union officials.
"Participants provided insight into existing aviation security standards and detection capabilities as well as recent security enhancements on both sides of the Atlantic related to large electronic devices placed in checked baggage," the delegation said in a joint statement.
The discussions were an effort to share information about potential threats facing air travel with European Union officials. Talks did not result in the widening of a U.S ban on laptops. A small ban does exist for flights from 10 cities in the Middle East.
The White House defended President Trump's choice to share classified information with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov regarding a potential terror threat from the Islamic State group involving the use of laptops on aircraft. European Union officials have been eager to discuss the details since news of the threat broke earlier this week.
The International Air Transport Association, representing 265 airlines, asked both the U.S. State Department and EU to oppose the ban. In its letter, the IATA claimed the change would cost airline passengers nearly $1.1 billion in lost time.
Homeland Security officials have previously met with executives from American, Delta and United to discuss expanding the ban to flights arriving from Europe.
Leaders from the delegation agreed to continue their discussion next week in Washington.


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HOUSTON (AP) Matt Schaub threw two touchdown passes, Arian Foster ran for 111 yards against Buffalo's NFL-worst rushing defense and the Houston Texans beat former top pick Mario Williams and the Bills 21-9 on Sunday.
Andre Johnson caught eight passes for 118 yards and Foster scored for the fifth straight game for Houston (7-1).
Williams had a sack and five tackles in his return to Reliant Stadium after he signed with the Bills (3-5) in the offseason. The Texans made Williams the No. 1 pick in the 2006 draft and he's still Houston's career sacks leader (53).
Schaub won for the 10th time in 11 starts. He completed 19 of 27 passes for 268 yards and threw multiple TD passes for the second straight game.
Online:http://pro32.ap.org/poll andhttp://twitter.com/AP-NFL


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Of course, the one issue about designing this is how to actually get it IN fabric. Many of you mentioned reservations about Spoonflower simply because of the expense of $18 per yard fabric.
It's really a cost vs. time issue here. I can upload a design this morning to Spoonflower, which is a print-fabric-on-demand company that anyone can design for, and have fabric ordered and on its way to me immediately.
Contrast this to traditional fabric designing - I can design something and hand it off to a big fabric design firm, and I might see those prints ready to sell in 6 to 8 months to coincide with the spring and fall Quilt Market.
So I think the best approach is multiple options. I'll design and quilt on the stuff, and you will always have the option of the Spoonflower panel, or the option to make it yourself, or draw it on fabric yourself. Easy peasy!
With that little aside out of the way, let's switch gears to the Free Motion Quilt Along! It's the end of November and the last week of Quilt Busting Designs. This week we're going to blast through the sashing of your quilts with Spiral Ornaments:
Difficulty Level - Beginner.
Design Family - Edge to Edge.
So now that we've finished up with 4 great Quilt Busters, have you been able to blast through a few projects on your list in time for the holidays?
Just remember that if you quilt a little every single day, you will see not only enormous improvement in your quilting ability, you'll also see a lot of progress with every quilting project you have in progress.
Let's go quilt,
Leah Day


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As you can see above in the 1st photo, the left and right edges of the greenish swatch are too tight and the top edge bows. (These are tunisian crochet swatches, see mini photo tutorial below.)
The simple, obvious solution for regular (non-tunisian) crochet is to add a turning chain or two to loosen up the row edges, and it works. Diagonal lines created by increasing or decreasing crochet stitches need room to flex and breathe. This is especially important for fashion crochet! Some elegant garments depend on truly angular edges that drape for their dramatic flair.
Maybe you knew this already. If so, please tell me if you found advice like this in crochet books or sites because I like to alert crocheters to sources of great information.
What about corner-start tunisian crochet? I'm currently designing a triangular wrap in which you begin at the bottom corner of the wrap and steadily increase at each edge to create a big triangle. In tunisian (a.k.a. "afghan crochet"), there is more than one way to add stitches at the beginning and end of a row. The most common usually works fine, except in cases where you are increasing a lot (that's the greenish swatch in the 1st photo).
The way I think of it is that adding stitches repeatedly is like creating a vector which has a momentum. A small momentum can be absorbed by the stretch of the fabric, but a greater momentum needs room to fully expand. Shell stitches have this momentum too.
A way to look at it geometrically is that when we crochet a square with the same number of stitches in each row, the rows stack up and stitches fill their little slots. When we (rarely) crochet a diamond shape in which each row increases for awhile then decreases to a point, each added stitch at the edge is launching off on a diagonal angle.
Here's a way to steadily increase stitches in tunisian simple stitch that helps the added stitches do their shaping job (like the bluish swatch in the 1st photo). Stay tuned for a wee photo tutorial when we get to the left edge. I've been experimenting with it this week, using different gauges and fibers. I like that:
- it has enough flexible drape for fashion designs
- it's substantial enough to support an added edging later
- the left edge and the right edge have equal tension and look equally nice to me (a tricky thing for tunisian crochet!)
To increase 1 stitch at the beginning of a forward pass, chain 1, insert hook in first vertical bar and pull up a loop to create the added stitch; then continue across the row, pulling up a loop in each vertical bar across. So far, so what, right? No surprise maybe? Some crocheters already increase by working into the very first vertical bar instead of skipping it. I recommend that you chain 1 first. It gives a more flexible edge, especially if you will be adding more increases to this edge in each row. It seems to control the tension of the 1st stitch. To my eye, the chain melts into the diagonal edge and adds a little substance.
To increase 1 stitch at the end of a forward pass, I borrowed a stitch from macrame called a Half-Hitch Knot; in knitting it's known as the Simple Cast-on (or Backwards Loop Cast-on). In my testing, two half-hitches added to the hook at the end of the row work great as one increase. If you add only 1 half-hitch, it will be a flimsy, loopy edge. I'm unable to find a video that would show you how to do a half-hitch while happily crocheting along, so until I create one I hope my 3 photos help. It's cool. I enjoy crocheting half-hitches. I like what they look like.
How to make a Half-Hitch: Your goal is to add a loop onto your hook that has a twist in it so that it stays on your hook. All I do is instead of doing a usual yarn over with the strand of yarn from the finger controlling the tension of the yarn, I yarn over with the strand behind my tension finger. I "scoop" it from the palm of my hand. I know, sounds weird, and a little video would clear it up instantly! In photo 1 of 3, I added two loose half-hitches to the hook at the end of the forward pass. In the 2nd photo I simply tightened them. Aren't they cute?
How to crochet the return pass with the half-hitches: yarn over and pull through both half-hitch loops on hook (1 increase stitch worked off of hook), yarn over, pull through two loops on hook at a time until one loop remains on hook. In the 3rd photo you can see what the two half-hitches look like now that I've pulled the yarn through them to begin the return pass.
How to crochet into the half-hitches in the next row: when you get to the end of the row of your next forward pass, insert hook in the 2 far left loops of the half-hitch pair. To add another stitch to this row, make another pair of half-hitches.
When half-hitches are used to augment a widening left edge, you can see how they'll blend into the edge in a slightly bumpy, pretty way, and match the look of the chain 1 edge on the right edge. It's easy to add a nice edge too (pictured is just a quick slip stitch + chain 1 edge.)
I hope that you'll try this and let me know what you think. If you've learned about this elsewhere, please tell me about it.


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For Release: Wednesday, November 14, 2012
DEC Announces Nov. 17 Opening Of Southern Zone Regular Deer And Bear Hunting Seasons
The 2012 regular deer and bear hunting seasons open at sunrise on Saturday, Nov. 17, in New York's Southern Zone, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Joe Martens today announced. The big game season closes at sunset on Sunday, Dec. 9.
"Hunting is the most effective and efficient tool to maintain wildlife populations at levels that are compatible with our communities and natural resources," said Commissioner Martens. "With an exceptionally mild winter and strong deer and bear populations throughout the state, hunters have good prospects for a successful season."
The Southern Zone Regular Deer Season is New York's most popular hunting season, with participation from approximately 85 percent of New York's 550,000 licensed deer hunters. Harvest during this season accounts for nearly 60 percent of the total statewide deer harvest. The remainder occurs in the Northern Zone, on Long Island, and during special seasons when only archery or muzzleloading firearms may be used.
With an earlier start to the bow season in the Southern Zone and a special Youth Firearms Deer Hunt over Columbus Day Weekend, some deer hunters have already enjoyed a fruitful season. Likewise, black bear hunters have begun the year with harvests during bow season in the Southern Zone comparable to 2011. However, with scarce apples and little acorn or beech nut production this year, bears may den early, particularly if we get snow in November.
Following the regular deer and bear seasons in the Southern Zone, late bowhunting and muzzleloading seasons will open at sunrise on Dec. 10 and close at sunset on Dec. 18. Hunters taking part in these special seasons must possess either bowhunting or muzzleloading privileges.
In the Northern Zone, the regular deer and bear hunting season opened Oct. 20 and will close at sunset on Dec. 2. This zone generally includes the Adirondacks, Tug Hill Plateau, Eastern Lake Ontario Plain and the Champlain and St. Lawrence Valleys. A late archery and muzzleloading season for deer will be open in portions of the Northern Zone from Dec. 3 to Dec. 9.
Hunters should be aware of several important programs and recent changes as they prepare for the 2012 regular hunting season.
- New CWD Rules Prohibit Importation of Whole Deer Carcasses from Pennsylvania: With the discovery of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in a captive white-tailed deer in Pennsylvania, DEC has issued an emergency rule to restrict importation of wild deer carcasses and parts from Pennsylvania. This rule is intended to protect New York's deer from newly identified potential sources of CWD. See "CWD Regulations for Hunters" for more information.
- Rifles authorized for Cayuga County: New legislation now allows use of rifles for big game hunting in Cayuga County. See "Rifle, Shotgun, and Bow Areas" for other areas where rifles can be used.
- Mandatory Antler Restrictions: Mandatory antler restrictions (bucks must have at least 3 points on one side) are now in effect in WMUs 3A, 4G, 4O, 4P, 4R, 4S, and 4W during all seasons for all hunters 17 years and older. Mandatory antler restrictions also remain in effect in WMUs 3C, 3H, 3J, and 3K. For hunters not in the mandatory AR area, consider voluntary protection of young bucks. With such a mild winter this past year, we expect over-winter fawn survival was exceptionally strong and anticipate that hunters may see more yearling (1.5 years old) bucks afield this fall. Through most of New York, hunters can take a buck of any age, but an increasing number of hunters are voluntarily choosing not to take young, small-antlered bucks. We encourage hunters who are interested in seeing and taking older, larger bucks to consider working with local hunting clubs and neighboring landowners to cooperatively and voluntarily reduce their harvest of young bucks. See Antler Restrictions in New York for more information.
- Bear Hunting Areas: Beginning in 2011, bear hunting was expanded to include portions of eastern New York from Westchester to Washington County. See Deer and Bear Hunting Seasons for more bear hunting areas.
- Crossbows: Crossbows may be used during the regular deer and bear hunting seasons and during the late muzzleloading seasons. Visit the web page on the rules for hunting with a crossbow and to download the required Certificate of Qualification.
- Junior Hunters: Junior Hunters (14 and 15 years old) can hunt deer and bear with a firearm when appropriately accompanied by an experienced adult. See the Junior Hunter Mentoring webpage for program requirements and to download the Mentored Youth Hunter Permission Form.
- Harvest Reporting: Hunters are required to report their harvest of deer and bear within 7 days. Failure to report harvested deer or bear is a violation of NYS Environmental Conservation Law. Hunters may report via our Game Harvesting reporting system or by calling the toll-free automated reporting system at 1-866-GAME-RPT (1-866-426-3778).
- Black Bear Tooth Collection: Successful bear hunters are asked to submit a tooth of their bear so DEC can age the bear and monitor bear population dynamics. Visit Black Bear Tooth Collection for instructions.
- Venison Donation: Hunters are encouraged to participate in the Venison Donation program (the website can be found in the right hand column of this page). By filling your permits and donating your deer, you help accomplish the needed deer management and you can feed less fortunate families.
Although safety-conscious hunters have significantly reduced the number of firearms-related injuries, studies show that individuals wearing hunter orange clothing are seven times less likely to be injured than hunters who do not wear the bright fluorescent color. Hunters are encouraged to review hunting safety tips and pay careful attention to basic firearm safety rules that can prevent hunting related shooting incidents
- Point your gun in a safe direction.
- Treat every gun as if it were loaded.
- Be sure of your target and beyond.
- Keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot.
- Remember to wear Hunter Orange.
Hunters interested in getting the most up-to-date information about deer and bear management in New York are invited to join an e-mail list. The latest updates on New York's fish and wildlife can also be sent directly to those who subscribe to Field Notes, another free online e-mail list provided by the Division of Fish, Wildlife and Marine Resources.
For specific descriptions of regulations and open areas, hunters should refer to the 2012-13 Hunting and Trapping Regulations Guide. Hunters are urged to review all regulations and safety tips contained in the guide.


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When you are looking for the best debt reduction lawyer, taking the time to make sure that you are choosing the right person to work with is very important. Before we get into more information regarding debt , we will cover the basics as to what it really takes for your to make sure that you choose the right lawyer if you need to consolidate your loans or if you find yourself in a situation needing legal help with your finances.
Our original Article:
Finding the right lawyer can be a difficult task especially if you do not have any prior experience. In fact, you will have to consider certain conditions prior to finding the right lawyer for your task. On this note, many lawyers often give free consultation to see if they match your need. Even if you are going for a basic legal advice or other serious matter, never take the issue of finding the right lawyer lightly. Is your quest after finding a lawyer that delivers with top-notch professionalism? Are you willing to hire the best lawyer that stands the test of time? Reading through the rest part of this article will help you effectively.
Always determine the type of lawyer that you need. Take your time to know the actual prospect of your need prior to hiring a lawyer. In case your prospect is into business, then look for a professional in that area. You will be able to get the best result as required.
Recommendation is a big factor that should not be underestimated when looking for the right lawyer. Ask from your family, friends, agents or relatives. You will surely get one or two referrals. Contact the listed lawyers and ask of the term of their service. This will help you narrow your list to a successful option.
Finding a lawyer with insurance coverage dictates high professionalism. Always ensure to hire a lawyer that has insurance coverage against any damage. You will be safe in time of trouble. Reputation is also a great factor that you can look at prior to selecting the right lawyer. Always go for a lawyer that is highly reputable in the public.
Finally, budget is also a great factor that can help you select the right lawyer for your need. Always hire or select a lawyer without breaking the bank. You will always have the need to be happy at the end of the whole process.
About.com Resource: http://moneyfor20s.about.com/od/gettingoutofdebt/a/A-Guide-To-Debt-Settlement.htm


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NHIAA Roundup: Gabriel stars as Trinity stays unbeaten; Bedford, Merrimack notch triumphs
February 01. 2013 11:51PM
Mabor Gabriel collected 29 points and 12 rebounds as the Trinity High boys' basketball team remained unbeaten after 10 games by posting a 72-50 victory over visiting Alvirne on Friday night.
The Pioneers rallied from a six-point first-period deficit with a 28-point second quarter to take a 41-37 lead into the locker room at the half. Tyler Livingston netted 18 points for the Broncos.
Bedford 65, Manchester West 36: At Bedford, Cam Meservy and Sam Thomas combined for 36 points and Bedford moved above .500 at 6-5 in Division I. Meservy finished with 19 and Thomas had 17. West's Zach Jones, who made 13 free throws, led all scorers with 21 points. The Bulldogs owned the first half, 38-18.
Merrimack 65, Bishop Guertin 54: At Nashua, the Tomahawks out-gunned the Cardinals by 20 points in the third period. Eric Gendron and Shayne Bourque netted 24 and 18 points apiece. BG was paced by Jeff Lunn's 22. Both teams are 8-3.
Exeter 67, Winnacunnet 58 (OT): At Exeter, Tyler Russ had 24 points as the Blue Hawks (4-7) rallied past the Warriors (4-6).
Lononderry 65, Pinkerton 55: At Derry, the Lancers (4-6) outscored the Astros (2-8) 16-9 in the fourth quarter to pull away for the win. Taylor Simpson paced three Londonderry players in double figures with 17 points.
Salem 59, Timberlane 29: At Plaistow, senior point guard Michael Felix had 11 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists as Salem improved to 3-7 in Division I. The loss dropped Timberlane to 0-11.
Hollis/Brookline 66, Goffstown 62 (OT): At Goffstown, the Grizzlies' last-chance bid to win the game in regulation bounced off the rim, and the bigger Cavaliers went on to out-point the hosts 10-6 in the extra session. Marcus Haynes led Goffstown with 18 points.
Littleton 56, Lisbon 42: At Lisbon, Nick Whipple tossed in 18 and Josh Bogardus had 16 points and 15 rebounds to help Littleton improve its Division IV record to 12-1. Mike Heath led Lisbon (9-4) with 20.
Lebanon 62, Coe-Brown 56: At Northwood, Andrew Langdon scored 22 points and handed off six assists, but the effort fell shy as the Black Bears suffered their third loss of the season. The win moved the Raiders to 8-3.
Gilford 59, White Mountains 43: At Whitefield, Josh Joyce tossed in four 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 23 points to help Gilford raise its Division IV record to 11-1. White Mountains dropped to 3-9.
Girls' basketball
Manchester Memorial 49, Manchester Central 41: At Manchester, after missing five games because of a high ankle sprain, the Crusaders' Allie Hartford scored 19 points including a trio of 3-point field goals at the South Porter Street gym. Sophomore Makenah Grissom had a double-double of 15 points and 12 rebounds, and Danielle Fletcher, who missed four games because of a concussion, tallied nine. Catherine Johnson scored eight for the Little Green.
Alvirne 55, Trinity 30: At Hudson, Sandra Purcell made eight 3-pointers as the Broncos (10-3) cruised past the Pioneers (4-8).
Milford 84, John Stark 20: At Milford, Dina Pitsas of the Spartans (8-4) outscored the Generals (3-9) with a game-high 22 points.
Conant 53, Raymond 47: At Raymond, freshman Madison Springfield poured in 22 points and the Orioles improved their Division III record to 14-1. The Rams, who played sticky defense throughout, received double-figure efforts from Amanda McGee (14), Bobbi Olivier (12) and Brittani Norris (11). Raymond is 3-11.
Hollis/Brookline 51, Goffstown 47: At Hollis, Jen Vacmon dropped in several free throws as time wound down to help the Cavs rally to 9-4. Ellie Flaum led H/B with 26 points. Nine different Grizzlies, led by Rosalie Edmunds (10 points), scored. Goffstown is 9-3.


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Empowering Excellence in Government through Great People.
We lead and serve the Federal Government in enterprise human resources management by delivering policies and services to achieve a trusted effective civilian workforce.
Find out more about Federal compensation throughout your career and around the world.
Staffing to align with your agency's mission
Manage your retirement online.
"...The Director of the Office of Personnel Management shall serve as the Suitability and Credentialing Agent..." ~Executive Order 13467, as amended
"...primary executive branch service provider for background investigations..." ~Executive Order 13467, as amended
OPM's Human Resources Solutions organization can help your agency answer this critically important question.
Developing senior leaders in the U.S. Government through Leadership for a Democratic Society, Custom Programs and Interagency Courses.
Visit this federal site to search for our regulatory notices, proposed and final rules.
See the latest tweets on our Twitter feed, like our Facebook pages, watch our YouTube videos, and page through our Flickr photos.
Holding successful mid–year and end–of–year performance appraisal discussions requires preparation. For example, developing a comprehensive written appraisal narrative can be extremely helpful when preparing for the face–to–face appraisal review. Appraising officials can use the following checklist as a tool to help them prepare for employee appraisal reviews.
Have all the necessary tools close at hand before starting to write the appraisal narrative, including:
Become familiar with the appraisal form and review how to derive the summary rating (e.g., numerical formula, percentages, and numerical weights). Take the time to review the employee's elements and standards, knowing which elements are critical, non-critical, and additional, and how to measure employee performance. Finally, review all the documentation. When writing the narrative, consider these points:
Responsibilities and Duties. Review employee responsibilities:
Performance. Include performance data for the entire appraisal period, not just the most recent information. The appraisal narrative should address:
Review Developmental Needs. In addition to the information in the narrative, prepare to talk to the employee about developmental needs. Identify skills and competencies that may enhance or improve the employee's performance. Look into a variety of ways of improving skills, such as classroom or on-line training, professional conferences and workshops, details to other work units or to positions with higher responsibilities, or on-the-job training. Enter the appraisal review with this information on hand, but during the review, be sure to ask the employee for input on development needs. If employees participate in creating their own development plans, those plans likely will be more successful.
The final preparation step is to set aside a time and a place to meet with the employee. When scheduling the appraisal interview, make sure to:
When the supervisor takes time to prepare, conducting the appraisal interview can be less complicated, less stressful, and more successful at providing the employee valuable feedback on performance.


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Critical relief efforts are still going on in Florida, Texas, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and elsewhere to recover from September's series of hurricanes and earthquakes — and this week there's a way for you to support those efforts just by listening to music !
From October 3rd through 9th, AccuRadio is donating 100% of its profits to a variety of hurricane and earthquake relief charities.
Listening by you and your colleagues will raise additional money for relief efforts because the more listeners AccuRadio has, the more ad revenues it will generate, and thus the more it will be able to donate.
So enjoy the music while you help a very worthy cause!


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Style # 209798
With a sharp neckline and waist-cinching buckle detailing, this bebe dress is sure to inject your closet with sexy polish-cool. Try it with a pair of simple black or nude pumps to achieve a powerful workweek look.
- 100% lyocell
- Center back to hem: 36" (91 cm)
- Spandex lining
- Dry clean
- Imported
- Model is 5'9" and is wearing a US size S
Contrast Shoulder Wrap Dress is rated out of 5 by 2.
Rated 3 out of 5 by SabrinaB from Nice but a little too formal This dress was a little more formal than I was hoping for. I ordered a size small and it was too big, I should have ordered an XS but unfortunately it was final sale. Order a size down.
Date published: 2013-06-21
Rated 5 out of 5 by kara007 from Amazing!!!! Very Comfortable! Amazing material! Very smooth leather! Many compliments I received for wearing this!
Date published: 2013-06-07


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Noctua NH-D14 Review
One improvement most of us make to the system we have or a new system that is being built is the cooling system for the processor. Whether it is to just drop the operating temperatures to a level much lower than the OEM solution is capable of on your stock clocked processor or so you can try to reach some righteous clock speeds to improve performance, keeping the CPU cool is the ultimate goal. There have been many designs over the years, some successful and some, well, not so successful. The current crop of successful coolers are all tower-style heatsinks that use heatpipes connected to the contact plate and run through a large fin array to maximize the amount of surface area available. Bigger fin arrays and more and larger heatpipes seem to be the current trend. Noctua has one of the top performers in its NH-U12P SE 1366 that compares favorably with one of the other "King of the Hill" contenders, the Thermalright TRUE. Noctua is not only known for its cooling performance, but for the fact that its solutions offer performance without the noise penalty commonly associated with high end air cooling, thanks in part to the Vortex Notches used on its fans to smooth out the airflow, help build static pressure, and reduce the acoustics.
The Noctua NH-D14 makes use of the tower design, but instead of a single tower, it has two large fin arrays interconnected with a total of six heatpipes to increase the cooling performance. That's one additional fin array and two more heatpipes than the NH-U12P is equipped with. Instead of two fans of the same dimension, you get a single 120mm NF-P12 and single 140mm NF-P14 FLX used in a push/pull configuration. If the results delivered by the NH-U12P are any indication, this cooler should eclipse the performance of Noctua's previous top-of-the-line cooling solution.
Closer Look
I received the NH-D14 with packaging that was not the final revision, so I have chosen not to show that as a representation of the final product. Suffice it to say that the cooler was packed in a foam enclosure that was more than adequate for the task. The first impression of the NH-D14 is that this thing is huge! It measures 160mm tall (just over 6.25 inches) and 140mm wide (just over 5.5 inches), and with the fan on the front, you get just over 6 inches in depth. That's a lot of real estate to cover on a motherboard. The NH-D14 is shipped pre-assembled with the fans and mounting brackets for the SecuFirm2 mounting kit installed. The fan used to push air into the heatsink is the NF-P12, with the NF-P14 used in the middle to force air through the second tower. Notice that the 140mm fan blows air under the fin arrays to offer additional cooling to the motherboard components.
The base of the NH-D14 is smooth and contains some fine machining marks – something visible in the right light, but nothing that would impact cooling performance. There are a total of six heatpipes that run from one fin array through the contact pad and out to the second fin array. This arrangement should offer exceptional load capacity, allowing you to push the limits of your hardware.
This heatsink is just as imposing when you remove the fans. The two towers are just massive, each one almost as large as the fin array on the TRUE. The front of each tower has a total of four vibration dampers to keep the fans from vibrating against the fins of the tower. These are much thicker than those used on the NF-P12 and look like they will be more effective, long term. The heatpipe termination looks much better than some heatsinks I have seen. The top view shows the toothed surface of the fin array. This gives a substantial boost to available surface area to improve cooling. Six large heatpipes carry the thermal load from the contact surface in the fins to be dispersed. The mounting brackets to attach the NH-D14 to the SecuFirm 2 mounting assembly are pre-installed, so you have one less thing to install, which of course lessens the install time.
Some say that size matters when it comes to performance. To give you an idea how large the NH-D14 is, I've compared it to the TRUE and Noctua NF-P12. No matter which way you look at it this thing, it is absolutely massive! Left to right, you have the Noctua NF-P12, the NH-D14 and the TRUE!
Impressive? Yes! But that's not all that comes as part of the package!


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The "Little Dudes" Photo Series
I happened upon JD Hancock's series of vivid and entertaining photos titled, Little Dudes, while perusing Flickr's Creative Commons archives for iPhone related imagery. His iPhone + miniature people photos are a humorous blend of technology and old fashion railroad model figures doing everyday things like picnicking, playing golf, swimming, and watching movies...
Makes me think I need to make a trip to the hobby store to pick up a few miniatures and get started with the even bigger canvas of the Retina display iPad!
See No Vader, Hear No Vader, Speak No Vader
More photos over at JD Hancock's Flickr page, including his equally entertaining photo compositions using Star Wars stormtroopers as models.
(Creative Commons Images: JD Hancock)


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Hi, All.
Reading Paulo's mail, I was thinking of ask Takashi or localization
team to copy current translation for PT to PT-BR (as I don't have
write access to git).
After shortly someone uploaded half-popluated translations for PT-BR
to Pootle without announce. But unfortunately the PO was derived from
old POT and have many difference (many of them are results of
changes to POT extractor of Etoys though). And translations itself
seems older as long as timestamp is correct.
You could review POT-Creation-Date and PO-Revision-Date in header of POs.
"Project-Id-Version: eToys\n"
"Report-Msgid-Bugs-To: \n"
"POT-Creation-Date: 2007-11-16 10:19-0000\n"
"PO-Revision-Date: 2008-01-14 04:19+0000\n"
"Last-Translator: Paulo Drummond <email@example.com>\n"
"Language-Team: \n"
"MIME-Version: 1.0\n"
"Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8\n"
"Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit\n"
"X-Generator: Pootle 1.0.2\n"
"X-Launchpad-Export-Date: 2007-12-03 23:40+0000\n"
"X-Etoys-SystemVersion: etoys2.3 of 1 December 2007 update 1820\n"
"X-Etoys-Domain: etoys\n"
"Project-Id-Version: eToys\n"
"Report-Msgid-Bugs-To: \n"
"POT-Creation-Date: 2007-10-31 23:57-0000\n"
"PO-Revision-Date: 2007-10-15 09:27+0000\n"
"Last-Translator: \n"
"Language-Team: \n"
"MIME-Version: 1.0\n"
"Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8\n"
"Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit\n"
"X-Generator: Translate Toolkit 1.0.1\n"
"X-Etoys-Domain: etoys\n"
We need to consolidate them and synchronize it to the latest POT and
make header up-to-date. Could you please disucss and tell us which
one (current PT or uploaded T-BR) is good for base of later PT-BR
effort (or how to merge them etc)?
And I think we want to work in more coordinated way...
At least please sign up at http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Pootle#Sign-up if
you haven't yet.
Thank you !
On Jan 19, 2008 10:51 AM, Paulo Drummond <email@example.com> wrote:
[quote]Hi Jecel and Korakurider


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Intel Third Generation Core i7 3770K Review
Each year, or shortly thereafter, Intel seems to deliver on its Tick-Tock cadence, which signifies either a micro architecture change or process change. This time we have a Tick in the cadence with a shift to a 22nm manufacturing process for this launch of the Third Generation Core series processors code-named Ivy Bridge, and specifically the Core i7 3770K enthusiast SKU. With this launch, Intel is releasing a total of fourteen new processors spread amongst the mobile and desktop segments. Nine of these are dedicated to the desktop segment, with the Core i7 3770K and 3770, and Core i5 3570K, 3550 and 3540, along with low power variants, the Core i7 3770T and 3770S, and Core i5 3550S and 3540S. To go with the Third Generation parts, Intel has launched four new chipsets for the desktop market: Z77, Z75, H77, and B75 with the Z77 chipset targeted squarely at the enthusiast and power user. Process improvements are not the only change in Ivy Bridge, with an upgrade in the integrated GPU and integrated memory controller. Let's see how this new processor will perform in relation to the tried and true overclocking-friendly Second Generation Core i7 2600K.
Closer Look:
Built using the 22nm process for both the CPU and GPU, the Third Generation Core i7 3770K Ivy Bridge processor is the enthusiast SKU for this line up. The Core i7 3770K is a quad-core processor that supports hyper threading and Turbo Boost 2.0 technologies and features a GPU-shared 77 watt TDP. Base clock speed for this offering is 3.50GHz with Turbo Boosted speeds up to 3.90GHz for a small speed boost over the Sandy Bridge Core i7 2600K. The integrated HD 4000 GPU sports an increase in Execution units from the 12 on the HD 3000-equipped 2600K to 16 - a 33% boost over the prior generation. Clock speeds on the HD 4000 graphics are a dynamically managed 1150MHz and utilizes shared system memory. The four CPU cores use a dynamically shared 8MB L3 Cache utilizing Intel Smart Cache technology. The Core i7 3770K is designed to fit in the LGA 1155 socket, with a total of 1.4 billion transistors on board with a die area of 160mm2. DDR3 memory is supported in a dual-channel configuration at 1600MHz.
The Z77 chipset is built for the Ivy Bridge lineup and supports performance tuning to go along with the K-SKU processors. The block diagram shows 16 PCIe 3.0 lanes broken down into 1x 16x, 2x 8x, 1x 8x+1x 4x+1 x 4x with Intel Thunderbolt supported. Three independent displays are supported with one as VGA and the others using DP or HDMI 1.4. Up to fourteen USB ports are available with a maximum of four being USB 3.0. Intel-integrated Gigabit LAN connectivity is used and has been a prominent feature on many of the latest Intel-based motherboards released lately. A new management engine firmware is used with the 7 Series chipsets, with Intel Extreme Tuning as a supplementary feature. DDR3 speeds of up to 1600MHz are officially supported while motherboard manufacturers are listing speeds of up to 2666MHz (OC). Connectivity to and through the Z77 PCH is through DMI (Direct Media Interface) 2.0 and FDI (Flexible Display Interface) pathways that carry both data and the integrated graphics information. Intel's Rapid Storage and Responsiveness technologies are supported to improve the user experience. Six SATA ports are supported from the Z77 PCH with a maximum of two being SATA 6Gb/s with RAID support. An additional eight PCIe 2.0 lanes are dedicated through the Z77 PCH.
Intel has sent us out a package the includes the Intel Extreme DZ77GA-70K motherboard and Third Generation Core i7 3770K processor to see just what Intel has to offer the mainstream user and enthusiast with the drop to a 22nm process and the introduction of its latest chipset motherboard.
Let's see what the DZ77GA-70K has to offer the enthusiast.


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LONDON (AP) — French President Francois Hollande wants to talk about his country's work with the U.K. on a new combat drone, a multibillion-pound deal which could see France help build new nuclear power plants in the U.K., and thorny questions about his British counterpart David Cameron's contentious relationship to the European Union.
Just don't ask him about his love life.
Quizzed during a news conference at an English air base whether his reported philandering had turned France into an "international joke," the 59-year-old French leader deadpanned.
"I'm afraid I decline to answer," he said.
British journalists had been looking forward to Hollande's appearance, which comes less than a week after the French president officially ended his relationship with Valerie Trierweiler following a report that he was having an affair with glamorous actress Julie Gayet.
Instead they got an all-too-sober discussion of the enduring relationship between France and Britain, which bore fruit Friday in the form of a nearly $200 million agreement to develop an armed combat drone, approval of an investment deal for nuclear power in Britain which Hollande valued at 16 billion pounds (more than $26 billion), and 15 million pounds earmarked for joint investment on space-related programs.
They also agreed on developing an undersea drone — intended to counter mines — and more logistical support for the French military mission in Central African Republic. British and French soldiers are due to hold a joint training exercise later this year, and Cameron said the British military would take France's VBCIs — eight-wheeled infantry tanks — for a test drive with a view toward buying some.
There was considerably more daylight between the two leaders on the subject of Europe. Cameron has said he wants to renegotiate key parts of the European Union treaties as a prelude to an in-or-out referendum in Britain. Hollande said treaty change "is not a priority for the time being."
The leaders addressed Syria, too — including a comment from Hollande that between 600 and 700 Britons or U.K. residents had traveled to the Middle Eastern country to fight in its civil war. British intelligence bosses had previously put the figure vaguely at "hundreds."
Hollande and Cameron were speaking at an aircraft hangar at England's Brize Norton air base. The two later retired for drinks and grub at a local pub, The Swan Inn.


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Mysterious shed antlers always create some buzz and these magnificent pickups have whitetail hunters chattering away!
We don't have all the details in quite yet, but it appears that a lucky shed hunter from northern Wisconsin found these nontypical antlers near Rib Lake. That's just outside of Wausau in the north-central part of the state. It's an area where hunters see big bucks each year so it's no surprise this giant lived there.
This buck's rack has at least 19 scorable points and, allegedly, grosses more than 254 inches. Wow! If the buck lives until this hunting season, he could easily grow a rack that would challenge to be the Wisconsin state record nontypical.
The current Wisconsin pickup record is a 33-point buck scoring 237 7/8, found in Brown County in 1914 by Lewis Bissell. So this mysterious rack could shatter a record that has stood for almost 100 years!
Stay tuned! We will bring further updates on this incredibly huge buck as more details become available.


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Arizona Driver's Licenses for Undocumented Immigrants Heads to Court
Phoenix – The first major immigration battle of President Barack Obama's second term focuses on whether the federal government or state officials have the authority to decide who is legally in the country.
Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer issued an order in August denying driver's licenses for young immigrants who are protected from deportation and have received work permits under the new policy. U.S. District Judge David Campbell heard arguments Friday in a lawsuit seeking to block Brewer's action.
Immigrant groups argue that Arizona's interpretation of the policy is unconstitutional because the state allows some immigrants with work permits to get driver's licenses, but it won't let immigrants protected by Obama's policy pursue any benefits because the state doesn't consider them legal residents.
"States are prohibited from creating their own immigration classifications, and that is exactly what Arizona is doing here," said Jennifer Chang Newell, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union, in the hearing.
Brewer's lawyers claim Obama's policy isn't federal law and that the state has the authority to distinguish between immigrants with work permits who are on the path toward permanent residency and those benefiting from Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. The state has asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit.
The state's lawyers argued that Arizona is not violating its own policy by refusing to grant licenses to the immigrants in the deferred action program, because the youths haven't been granted legal protections by Congress.
"They have no hope of lawful status," said Douglas Northup, the lead counsel for the governor and the state Department of Transportation. He noted that Congress had the opportunity to pass immigration reform for young immigrants many times in recent years and choose not to do so.
Campbell said he would issue a ruling within the next few weeks.
Arizona's refusal to view those in the deferred action program as legal residents has become the most visible challenge to Obama's announcement in June that it would protect some young immigrants from deportation. The Department of Homeland Security has said immigrants with work permits issued under the policy are lawfully present in the U.S.
The federal program allows undocumented immigrants to apply for a two-year renewable work permit. Qualified applicants must have come to the U.S. before they turned 16, be younger than 30, have been in the country for at least five continuous years, be in school or have graduated from high school or a GED program, or have served in the military.
Arizona's policy allows anyone with lawful immigration status to obtain a driver's license, and more than 500 immigrants with work permits have obtained Arizona driver's licenses in recent years. But Arizona officials have said they don't want to extend driver's licenses to those in the new program because they don't believe the youths will be able to stay in the country legally, a nod to a widely held belief among conservatives in Arizona that a judge will eventually rule the administration's policy unconstitutional.
"The Obama amnesty plan doesn't make them legally here," Brewer said shortly after the program was unveiled.
Her tough stance has been cited by immigrant advocacy groups as evidence that Arizona's refusal to grant the young immigrants driver's licenses is a discriminatory policy that violates the U.S. Constitution's equal protection clause.
Immigrant rights advocates filed their lawsuit in November on behalf of five young-adult immigrants who were brought to the U.S. from Mexico as children. They were granted deferred-deportation protections under the Obama administration's policy but were denied licenses in Arizona.
The three groups leading the lawsuit are the ACLU, the National Immigration Law Center and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund.
The lawsuit seeks class-action status that would let all other young immigrants in Arizona benefiting from the deferred action program to join the lawsuit. Roughly 80,000 immigrants in Arizona are eligible for the program, according to state estimates.
A similar lawsuit was filed in Michigan after officials there initially decided to deny young immigrants licenses, but the case was dropped when the state changed its policy last month.
At least 38 states have agreed to give driver's licenses to immigrants benefiting from the Obama policy, but Nebraska and Ohio officials have also balked.
Dulce Matuz, president of the Arizona Dream Act Coalition and a plaintiff in the case, said finding a job without a driver's license can be difficult because some online applications and interviewers require a license.
"Gov. Brewer wants to dismiss our human dignity. She wants to dismiss our dreams," Matuz said after the hearing.
Based on reporting by The Associated Press.
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Reporter's Journal
Older, Yes, but Sharp as a Tack
A Group of 'SuperAgers' Volunteer in a Study to Help Understand the Aging Brain
CHICAGO—As soon as the crowd of chatty octogenarians and nonagenarians shuffled away from the bar, Alex Karczmar, wearing brown-and-white wingtips, sidled over. It was 4:30 in the afternoon, and the 96-year-old was ready for another glass of red wine.
Mr. Karczmar and the others are part of a group of 42 people over the age of 80 identified by Northwestern University researchers as having excellent cognitive function and memory capability typical of those decades younger. The researchers have been studying the group of so-called...


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No charges against man who punched another outside of the Flagler Tavern in New Smyrna Beach as police decide it was self-defense and injured man does not remember the fight.
A punch that put a 28-year-old in the hospital with a skull fracture was thrown in self-defense, and no charges will be filed against the man who threw it, police said.
New Smyrna Beach police, in consultation with the State Attorney's Office, last week closed the investigation into the altercation outside the Flagler Tavern on Flagler Avenue.
"This case will be re-opened if/when the victim (Frank "Beau" Svancar) can provide a statement to the incident," Investigator Nicki Diffin wrote in her final report. "At this time, the victim does not recall the fight on Flagler Avenue."
According to the incident report and witness statements, in the early morning hours of Feb. 24, Svancar was talking "inappropriately" to a woman identified as Cassandra Ann Andella, 21, in the parking lot of the tavern. She asked him to leave her alone and pointed out her date standing near-by.
That man, identified as Zachariah H. Brooks, 28, and Svancar got into a heated argument during which, witnesses told police, Svancar punched Brooks twice in the face, the report states. Brooks responded by punching Svancar once in the face, fracturing his eye socket, nose, skull and causing a "bleed in the brain."
Witnesses backed up Brooks account of the fight, the report states.
Messages seeking comment on the status of the case left on Brooks' cellphone were not returned.
The report says when and investigator tried to interview Svancar at Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach on March 5, his mother, Cheryl Svancar, said her son believed he had been in an automobile accident while texting and driving.
"He does not remember a fight taking place,"she told the investigator, according to the report.
Initial reports that Svancar was attacked by seven or eight black people proved to be untrue.
As of March 13, Svancar was moved to a facility that specializes in brain injuries in Jacksonville, the report states.
Cheryl Svancar said, "My son is doing remarkably well and making a good recovery."
She said she expects her son will be in a position to talk with investigators in the near future.
The report concluded the incident has been ruled self-defense.
"They said this was a case of mutual combatants, I guess you could call that self-defense," Cheryl Svancar said. �


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1 September
Don't forget to come to my music night tomorrow night (1 September) in our gorgeous cocktail bar.
Entertainment starts at 7:30 with me and my friends.
I have worked my final shift as a receptionist today as I am sadly leaving The Oriental to persue my music and studies. I have loved working here and want to say a massive thank you to all the staff and guests I have met. It has been a real pleasure and a hotel that I adore. I will still be running music nights on the first Thursday of every month so I hope to see you at those events.


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Three charged in robbery with airsoft pistol
Saturday, May 25, 2013, at 5:35 a.m., Beaumont Police responded to a robbery at the Express Mart No. 10 at 2210 Interstate 10. Upon arrival, officers found that two men had come into the store, and one was armed with what looked like a revolver. The subjects demanded money and cigarettes, and then left the store and got into a small white pickup which was parked outside.
Officers put out the vehicle description on radio, and the vehicle was quickly located in the area of Calder near E. Circuit. There were three subjects in the truck, and two of the subjects matched the description of the suspects. An airsoft pistol that looked like a revolver but can shoot only plastic pellets was found inside the bed of the truck.
The suspects were arrested and taken to the station for questioning, and then transported to the Jefferson County Jail. All three subjects were charged with the robbery: Randy Deshawn Kelly, 21; Artis Jermaine Brown, 21; and Christopher Domique Flannigan 18.


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BOSTON (AP) — The recipe for successful investing sounds pretty simple: have reasonably good timing over the long haul and avoid big mistakes. That's what helps professionals build a worthy track record. For average investors, it's advisable to set the bar lower. Construct a balanced portfolio of low-cost mutual funds, make regular contributions to invested savings, and stick with it until it's time to retire.
The problem is that many investors seem to think they're better than that and can beat the stock market. Yet research consistently shows that it's a fool's game.
The latest findings are from Morningstar Inc., which compared the performance numbers that mutual funds posted with the returns that the investors in those funds actually obtained over multiple years. It's typical to see gaps between the figures. That's because investors move cash in and out as markets rise and fall, and consequently don't experience the same results as the funds they invest in.
Funds posted an average annualized return of 7.1 percent over the past 10 years, through the end of 2012, Morningstar found. But the returns that investors actually realized were a full percentage point lower: 6.1 percent. Those totals factor in all stock funds and bond funds that Morningstar tracks, as well as both individual investors and institutional shareholders.
If the percentage point gap between the figures seems modest, you may be underestimating the impact of compound interest. Small differences really add up over time.
Gaps between fund returns and what Morningstar calls "investor returns" can vary widely, but the investors almost always underperform. Over the past 5 years, funds posted an average annualized return of 2.0 percent to 1.5 percent for their investors. Over 3 years, the gap was smaller: 7.6 percent for funds to 7.4 for investors.
The findings confirm that fund shareholders are often their own worst enemies.
"When people don't hold on to funds for long, you're generally going to have a bad result," says Russel Kinnel, Morningstar's director of fund research.
Fear and greed often take over, particularly when stocks are veering wildly up and down. Many investors latch on to a hot stock or fund too late and miss most or all the upside. When the market declines, they bail out and don't participate in the eventual rebound.
With stock prices currently near five-year highs, it's instructive to consider lessons learned a dozen years ago. When technology stocks and Internet funds surged in the late 1990s, investors piled in. But many got in too late, and reeled when the tech bubble burst.
There are examples of funds whose investors have outperformed the funds themselves. That occurs when a shareholder invested in the fund when it delivered its strongest returns, and didn't keep cash in the fund when it was underperforming. But those instances are comparatively rare.
The more volatile a fund's returns are, the more likely its investors won't enjoy the full returns of the fund. One example is Fairholme Fund (FAIRX). It's long been one of the top-performing large-cap value stock funds because of the high-conviction approach of its manager, Bruce Berkowitz. Fairholme typically invests in just a couple-dozen stocks, and in recent years invested heavily in financial services stocks, such as AIG and Bank of America.
The fund's performance has been extremely erratic the last two years: a 32 percent loss in 2011, followed by a nearly 36 percent gain last year. The rollercoaster ride hasn't been particularly good for investors, despite Fairholme's 10-year average annualized return of 11 percent through the end of January. Over that period, its investors averaged 3 percent, or nearly 8 percentage points less, according to Morningstar's calculations.
"The better you know yourself — what you're good at, and when you get emotional — the better you're likely to do as an investor," Kinnel says.
If you know you're prone to making rash short-term moves, it can be worthwhile to check how a fund's posted returns differed from the results investors experienced. If there was a sizable gap, it means the fund's investors have, on the whole, had poor timing. That could increase the chance that you won't fare well either.
To assess the gaps between a fund's past returns and its investors' results, click on the performance tab for individual funds listed on Morningstar's website. An "investor return" page provides data on the gaps.
How much of a gap is too big? There's no hard rule. One option is to consider that the average gap for all funds has been nearly a percentage point over the latest 10-year period. Anything larger than a percentage point gap in a fund's 10-year results may suggest some additional diligence is warranted.
Be careful, however, in reading too much into a fund's gap over just a few years. Cash flows in a given period can be affected by factors that have little to do with investors' decisions. Examples include a fund that closes to new investors for a period of time, or one that launches after a period when stocks have fallen sharply, and few investors are buying.
Says Kinnel: 'There can be quirks, so it's important to look at the big picture."
Questions? E-mail investorinsight(at)ap.org


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Minimum is a picture book for grown-ups. My version is the minimalist one, a small, square, grey linen-covered hardback with glossy pages. Nearly every page has a single black and white or color image. Some of the photographs are double spreads. Some pages are blank. The idea of the book is 'just enough but no more.' That is John Pawson's philosophy as well.
Pawson is an architect famous for minimalist interiors like the Calvin Klein store on Madison Avenue and for buildings like the Novy Dvur contemplative monastery in the Czech Republic. His aesthetic is rich and extremely spare—a Pawson home has no clutter, no stuff, no tiny detail unattended to, from faucet shapes in the kitchen to custom sofas with shelves in the salon. The look is very appealing—and there are ceiling-to-floor, nearly invisible cabinets to hide what you can't part with so my library will be safe when I win the lottery and hire him to design my NYC penthouse.
Minimum has minimal text so I didn't read it as much as absorb it—visually. Pawson opens the book with an extended essay that defines "minimum" as "the perfection that an artifact achieves when it is no longer possible to improve it by subtraction." He didn't invent this concept but he works it in all his designs and the results are arresting and oddly peaceful. Pawson admires Zen, Thoreau, Mies van der Rohe, early Tadao Ando, design by Shiro Kuramata, Shaker furniture and Stonehenge. He plays with texture and light. Much of his design empties color but his whites and naturals are infinitely nuanced and never flat.
The photographs in the book range from a solitary standing stone against a storm-blackened sky in Orkney to a 1984 black and white image of a black and a white shaved head in profile by Robert Mapplethorpe. I'm guessing it is simpler to reflect on the images in the full size book—they are very small in this version and some of the black and white shots seem dark and muddy. But the point is made.
Reduce a thing to its essence and it invites imagination. Space is conducive to creativity. Focus is sharper when the fuzz of clutter is removed. Pawson doesn't believe in austerity; he pares things down to reach illumination. "The excitement of empty space" trumps the "paraphernalia of everyday life" for him every time.
I want to believe that kind of simplicity is an achievable goal and that the elegance and power of stripped-down surroundings can emerge from the messy quotidian. Probably a life's work. Minimum gives you good examples. Extraordinary discipline might just clear out your tchotchkes and allow your innate, unfettered genius to shine through.
Minimum John Pawson | Phaedon Press Limited 2000


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I made some changes on the ScummVM Code (Pull Request #413) and now ScummVM is compilable with the newest DevKitPPC, LibOgc and LibFat. All my tests was successful, but I think that more people should test my changes.
If somebody like to test my binaries, here are the download links:
-> ScummVM 1.6.0: http://www.mediafire.com/download/4ktylh8b479wtdf/scummvm-1.6.0-wii-b3.zip
-> ScummVM 1.7.0: http://www.mediafire.com/download/q2rbziq01emciqa/scummvm-1.7.0-wii-b2.zip
-> ScummVM 1.9.0: http://www.mediafire.com/file/y01mvf9yadu9bq9/scummvm-1.9.0-wii-b3.zip
-> ScummVM 2.0.0: NEW! http://www.mediafire.com/file/4dyerl33kbom89p/scummvm-2.0.0-wii-b2.zip
When your tests are done, please post your results in that forum.
Please save your "apps/scummvm"-folder! This is NOT an official release!Last edited by AReim1982 on Wed Dec 27, 2017 9:34 am; edited 13 times in total
Excellent! Thanks a lot!
Great to see someone working on the Wii port.
Everything seems to work fine.
However, there are still 2 bugs remaining.
First, a mouse cursor bug in FM-TOWNS games: http://sourceforge.net/p/scummvm/bugs/6108/
The second one affects the Tinsel engine as mentioned here: http://sourceforge.net/p/scummvm/bugs/6345/
- Discworld 1 CD crashes with this message: assertion "handle"< g_numHandles" failed : file "engines/tinsel/handle.cpp", line 329, function: byte* Tinsel::LockMEM(Tinsel::SCNHANDLE)
- Discworld 2 codes dump: 8010c0a0->8010c0a0->807ef224->807f7be8->807f8e88->80808218->80190ef8->8081ac80->8081b2c4
I hope you'll find a solution one day, but anyway thanks for the work.
I know there were recent commits to fix Tinsel's engine on BE systems... Is this binary based on Master, or on the 1.6.0 branch?
quote: Originally posted by StrangerkeI know there were recent commits to fix Tinsel's engine on BE systems... Is this binary based on Master, or on the 1.6.0 branch?
It should be based on 1.6.0 (both the filename and the NEWS file seems to suggest that at least) which obviously doesn't contain the Tinsel fix yet.
quote: Originally posted by StrangerkeI know there were recent commits to fix Tinsel's engine on BE systems... Is this binary based on Master, or on the 1.6.0 branch?
You're right, it seems based on 1.6. I compiled it with the master branch and the 2 dw games are working. This is great news, thank you!
thank you AReim1982 for this build.
I tried some games (classics like Indiana Jones and Day of The Tentacle), works great so far. I must retry with an old build, because it seems that your build takes some time before launching a game from USB (I though it has crashed the first time)...
BTW one really annoying bug is still there : when using mass add (by pressing UP on the D-Pad to change "Add" to "mass add"), scummvmwii makes a code dump everytime when scanning folders
I have at least 15 games (USB storage), and it's really a pain to add them, one by one. You'll make my day if you can fix this
Yes, it's a bit slow when accessing sd, or usb. I think it has to do with the changes made in wii-fs.cpp.
The n64 backend fs might be interesting to look at. There are also unoffical wii versions, with the posix opendir etc from latest devkitppc.
Thank you for testing.
The function: stat has a very poor performance. I did some more changes on the code. Now my binary should be more faster.
The download link of my newest binary is on the first post.
Keep on testing...
Thanks, this build works much better when accessing USB (and probably SD). When I'll have time, I will try with Monkey Island 3 which is really hard to play because there is a lot of stuttering (from USB...it works great from SD)
I don't know if this can help, but I took a screenshot of the code dump when trying to use "mass add" (it happens after validating the master folder to scan)
Now I fixed the broken massadd feature. You can download my latest binary here:
-> http://www.mediafire.com/download/4ktylh8b479wtdf/scummvm-1.6.0-wii-b3.zip
Thank you for testing.
Thanks, mass add feature is now working without any code dump
i have tested the new binary of your build (scummvm-1.6.0-wii-b3.zip).
wii 4.3e
sandisk sdhc card
nintendo wiimote plus (old one without problems in homebrew).
new nintendo wiimote plus (this one makes problem with older homebrew that is not compiled with latest DevKit libraries).
nintendo gamecube wired controller.
all controllers working without problems.
i have tested the loading from usb fat - partition.
this is working without issues.
thanks a lot for the work!
Wow very excited for this build, and very happy that the mass add feature which was broken in 1.5 has been resolved. Going to test sometime in the next couple of days and will post my results.
I have about 20+ games I've recently gotten a hold of that I need to add and it should make it much faster now that mass add is fixed. Can't wait and can't thank you enough for continuing to support the Wii port.
I'm finishing setting things up and had a quick question regarding this Wii build. Does it support MP3, FLAC, or both for compressed audio?


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The Federal Reserve's surprise decision to refrain from scaling back monetary stimulus provided a respite to investors in emerging markets, where currencies are in the midst of their worst rout in two years.
"It gives everyone some breathing time," Denise Simon, an emerging-market fixed income manager at Lazard Asset Management, which oversees $147 billion, said by phone from New York. "It certainly takes some of the immediate pressure off the more vulnerable countries. Emerging markets will continue to correct on the upside as the result."
The Brazilian real and Turkish lira jumped more than 2% and JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s index for dollar-denominated bonds in developing nations posted the biggest rally in almost three months yesterday, after the Fed said it will keep buying $85 billion of debt a month. Companies and governments in Colombia, Chile, Turkey, Brazil and Mexico announced plans for overseas bond sales a day after the Fed kept its stimulus program intact, driving down yields on emerging-market debt.
Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke held back from paring monetary stimulus to support economic growth, soothing investors who had dumped emerging-market assets since May as higher U.S. interest rates sparked capital flight. A group of the 20 most traded emerging-market currencies lost 7.4% between May and August, the most in two years.
The decision came at a time when economic data from China to Brazil are showing signs of improvement and helps countries most dependent on foreign financing such as Brazil and India, Simon said.
Rupee, Real
The Indonesian rupiah led gains in Asian currencies today and Indonesia's Jakarta Composite Index advanced the most in almost two years.
The rupee strengthened 2.6% against the dollar at 9:22 a.m. in London and Thailand's baht appreciated 1.1%. The Malaysian ringgit increased 2.7%. The Jakarta Composite Index jumped 4.7% and India's S&P BSE Sensex Index added 3.4%.
The real led the rally in developing-nation currencies yesterday, gaining 3.2% to 2.1860 per dollar and up 9.1% in September, poised for the biggest monthly advance since October 2011.
Brazil's Ibovespa climbed 2.6%, extending its gain from a four-year low reached in July to more than 20%. JPMorgan's bond index advanced 1%, bringing its rally this month to 3%.
Copyright 2014 Bloomberg. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.


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CIO Reveals Secrets to HIE
John Lynn is the Founder of the HealthcareScene.com blog network which currently consists of 10 blogs containing over 8000 articles with John having written over 4000 of the articles himself. These EMR and Healthcare IT related articles have been viewed over 16 million times. John also manages Healthcare IT Central and Healthcare IT Today, the leading career Health IT job board and blog. John is co-founder of InfluentialNetworks.com and Physia.com. John is highly involved in social media, and in addition to his blogs can also be found on Twitter: @techguy and @ehrandhit and LinkedIn.
Inspira Health Network is a community health system comprising three hospitals in southern New Jersey, with more than 5,000 employees and 800 affiliated physicians. It is an early adopter of health information exchange technology. In this Q&A-style paper their CIO and Director of Ambulatory Informatics share secrets to their successful Health Information Exchange implementation.
One of the most impressive numbers from their HIE implementation is that they were able to get 600 providers using the portal and 36 EMRs connected. Plus, they were able to get their HIE up and running in 4 months while many of the public HIEs were still working on their implementations. As I've written about previously, I see a lot of potential in the Private HIE. So, it's great to see a first hand account from a CIO about their private HIE implementation.
Here are some of the other benefits the CIO identifies in the paper:
- Ties the Physician Community to the Organization
- Helps Meet the Meaningful Use Patient Engagement Requirements
- Helps Address Care Coordination Requirements
- Paper, Postage, and Staff Resource Savings
- Improve Patient Length of Stay
Check out the full Q&A for a lot of other insights including rolling out the HIE to doctors who have an EMR and those who don't. I also love that the CIO confirmed that the biggest technical challenge is that every EHR vendor has interpreted the HL7 standard differently based on the technical limitations of the application. This is why I'm so impressed that they were able to get 36 EMRs connected.
I hope more CIOs will share their stories of success. We've heard enough bad news in healthcare IT. I want to cover more health IT success stories.


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The 30-year-old running back agreed to terms with the Texans today. He will likely become the starter for a team that struggled at the position last season after Domanick Williams -- formerly Davis -- missed the year with knee problems.
Green had 266 carries for one-thousand-59 yards last season after returning from a torn right quadriceps in 2005.
The move reunites Green with former Packers head coach Mike Sherman, who is the Texans' offensive coordinator and assistant head coach.
With Green out, the Packers are left with Vernand Morency, an inexperienced but quick back who was obtained for Samkon Gado in a trade with the Texans last season. Morency gained 434 yards on 96 carries last year.


text:
A Neosho man sustained moderate injuries Wednesday afternoon in a one-vehicle crash just north of Neosho.
A Neosho man sustained moderate injuries Wednesday afternoon in a one-vehicle crash just north of Neosho.
Eric W. Jackson, 18, was traveling southbound on Lime Kiln Road in a 1997 Subaru Legacy, when his vehicle ran off the right side of the roadway and struck a tree.
Jackson was transported for treatment to Freeman Neosho Hospital by private vehicle.
He was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash, the patrol report noted.
• • •
A Thursday morning crash sent one Neosho woman to the hospital with minor injuries.
Christina L. Testerman, 34, was traveling eastbound on River Road, one mile south of Joplin, when the 2004 Chevrolet Impala she was driving ran off the left side of the roadway and struck an embankment.
Testerman was taken by ambulance to Mercy Hospital in Joplin.
She was not wearing her seatbelt at the time of the crash, the patrol report noted.
• • •
No injuries were reported when an Arkansas man accidentally backed into a Missouri State Highway Patrol patrol car during a routine traffic stop on Interstate 49, three miles south of Joplin.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol said the incident happened at 7:24 p.m. Christmas Day as a 2004 Dodge Ram pickup driven by Donald W. Brake, 44, of Springdale, backed into a 2012 Dodge Charger patrol car that was parked in the roadway.
A patrol report indicated damage to the patrol car was minor, and repairs were estimated at $500 or less.
• • •
A Joplin woman suffered moderate injuries in a two-vehicle crash that took place at 6:23 p.m. Christmas Eve on Missouri Highway 86, 50 feet south of Joplin.
Lonna J. Lewis, 79, was taken by ambulance to Joplin's Freeman West Hospital for treatment.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol said the crash happened as a southbound 2001 Honda Civic driven by Denesa M. Boman, 19, of Joplin was stopped in traffic and was rear-ended by a 1998 Ford Taurus driven by John T. Lewis, 80, of Joplin.
The Lewises were not wearing seat belts at the time of the crash, but Boman was, a patrol report noted.


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There seems to be a bit of irony in the naming of a political fund apparently aimed at taking on Republican gubernatorial candidate BRUCE RAUNER.
Paperwork was filed with the State Board of Elections last week to form The Republican Fund for Progress and Jobs, which is an independent expenditure political action committee. The chairman and treasurer is STEVEN SHEARER of Peoria, former chief of staff and campaign manager to state Rep. AARON SCHOCK, R-Peoria.
This is apparently a group that will gather money from anti-Rauner forces, particularly labor unions � as was recently tipped in Capitol Fax.
As an independent expenditure group, the new PAC can raise unlimited amounts, but it cannot make direct contributions to candidates or coordinate expenditures with candidates.
Well, just about a year ago, Shearer had lambasted ads being run in central Illinois against Schock by an Ohio-based group called Jobs and Progess Fund. That group didn�t have to disclose donors, and Shearer stopped just short at the time of accusing Rauner of sponsoring the ads. He said the ads were about the possibility that Schock would run for governor from potential opponents, such as Rauner.
Rauner at the time said he had �nothing at all� to do with those ads. Schock later withdrew from consideration of running for governor.
The new PAC showed no money on hand as of Friday. Any donation of more than $150 will have to be itemized on quarterly reports, and any donation of $1,000 or more will have to be reported within days after being deposited.
Rauner, of Winnetka, last week announced he had raised $4 million in the final quarter of 2013. Of that, $1 million came from Rauner himself.
Rauner spokesman MIKE SCHRIMPF responded to the PAC filing by saying, �The government labor union bosses and other PAT QUINN allies have made it clear they intend to fund efforts to try to hijack the Republican primary. They know Bruce is the only real threat to their stranglehold on Springfield. Bruce is fully prepared to defeat them and transform state government for the good of taxpayers, workers and schoolchildren.�
Lost somewhere in there is the acrimony Quinn has generated from some government employee unions who opposed the pension reforms he just signed. But it�s also clear that Rauner would not be the unions� guy, as he pushes for things like replacing defined benefit pensions with 401(k)-type plans for many public workers.
The other GOP candidates for governor are state Sens. BILL BRADY of Bloomington and KIRK DILLARD of Hinsdale, and state Treasurer DAN RUTHERFORD of Chenoa.
Food fight
U.S. Rep. RODNEY DAVIS, R-Taylorville, had a news conference at Pana Junior High School on Dec. 6, introducing legislation called the School Nutrition Fairness Act to require the White House and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to abide by the same standards that schools serving breakfast or lunch have to follow.
Urbana lawyer ERIKA HAROLD, who is taking on Davis in the March 18 Republican primary in the 13th Congressional District, called the move a �gimmick.�
Davis said he had heard from educators across the district that new nutritional regulations were leading to �increased costs, decreased participation, and in some cases, hungry children.�
He said the National School Lunch Program in the 2012-13 school year set calorie ranges and weekly limits on grains and meat consumption. He said that during a House Committee on Education & the Workforce hearing in June, the General Accountability Office testified that a majority of eight school districts that agency�s staff visited said the requirements were leaving some students hungry and made it difficult to plan menus. Some said they had to add items like ice cream, butter and cheese sauce to meet the standards, but that �did not improve the nutritional value� of the meals.
�In order to demonstrate to the executive branch the problems that these regulations are imposing on our school districts, I think the White House and USDA (cafeterias) should have to abide by� the same rules, Davis said in a statement the day of the Pana event.
The Washington Times, in an editorial last week, picked up on Davis� idea, noting that �world-class chefs put nine different fattening pies on the Thanksgiving Day menu� at the home of the president. The headline was, �Hypocrisy on the White House menu.�
The editorial said Davis thinks �the president could use an extra helping of humble pie,� and the newspaper asked: �Will the Obamas put their mouths where our money is?�
Harold said last week that she thinks Davis� legislation represents �government by gimmicks,� which she said frustrates voters.
She said she�s visited many schools, and nutritional standards are not something that administrators or students raised with her.
�But if there is a serious problem, then I would expect serious legislation to actually address the problem, and not un-serious attempts to score political points,� Harold said.
On Friday, Davis issued another news release noting that the U.S. Department of Agriculture published a final rule to permanently eliminate grain and protein limits.
Davis called it a �good first step,� but added, �we�ll continue to work with the administration and the USDA to ensure that schools have the flexibility and certainty they need� to serve good meals �that will actually be eaten� and comply with regulations. Davis spokesman ANDREW FLACH said more flexibility to comply with calorie ranges � also recommended by the GAO � is still needed.
Davis� statement Friday also noted that Davis is a co-sponsor of H.R. 1303, legislation to prohibit the secretary of agriculture from promulgating rules applicable to school lunch and breakfast programs that establish a maximum quantity of grains, meat or meal alternatives that may be served in any school meal.
Flach called the Davis legislation announced at Pana �a commonsense policy change that would send a message to the administration and the USDA, who have been dragging their feet on providing some much-needed certainty and flexibility on this issue.�
Harold noted that the USDA news release issued last week said that based on public feedback, the agency made a number of updates to meal standards, including additional flexibility in ranges for grain and meat amounts already there on a temporary basis since 2012. The release said USDA had promised to make �meat and grain flexibility permanent,� and according to an official there, �We have delivered on that promise.�
Harold said it is unclear to her how Davis� proposed legislation �has any impact whatsoever on polices the USDA already had in place and flexibility the USDA already agreed to make permanent.�
Harold, meanwhile, never received a response to her request for several debates with Davis. She has now set up a series of six town hall forums she is conducting as a candidate. Voters, she said, �deserve substantive engagement, and I�m committed to doing that regardless of whether Representative Davis is willing to step on the same stage with me.�
Harold, who was Miss America for 2003 and is a graduate of Harvard Law School, is joined on the March 18 GOP ballot by Davis and MICHAEL FIRSCHING, a veterinarian from Moro.
The town halls, running 6 to 8 p.m., include one in Litchfield Tuesday at the VFW Hall, 215 Ryder; and one Feb. 5 at Springfield�s municipal Lincoln Library, 326 S. Seventh St.
Contact Bernard Schoenburg: 788-1540, email@example.com, twitter.com/bschoenburg.