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Sea Ice and Polar Oceanography Group
Dr P. Wadhams
Dr N.R. Davis, J. Wilkinson, M. Doble, N. Hughes, A. Kaletzky, Y. Aksenov, Capt. L. Brigham, F. Cottier, R. Hall, M. Huddleston, I. Jonsdottir, Miss A. Howells, Y. Faugere
The Sea Ice and Polar Oceanography Group continued to seek to understand the physical processes occurring in ice-covered seas of the Arctic and Antarctic, with special relevance to their influence on climate and climate change. During 1997-1998, research was undertaken on a wide variety of projects, with funding from the European Commission, Natural Environment Research Council, and US National Science Foundation.
The group was involved in four major projects funded by the European Commission during the year. Three of these were with the Science and Technology Directorate (DGXII) and one with the Transport Directorate (DGVII).
With DGXII, the first project comprised the second phase (1996-1999) of the European Subpolar Ocean Programme (ESOP-2), funded by the EU under the MAST-III initiative, in which Dr Wadhams is a principal investigator. The project is coordinated by Dr Eystein Jansen (University of Bergen), and seeks to understand the nature of the thermohaline circulaton in the Greenland Sea and the mechanism for deep-winter convection. Deep convection is a process whereby surface water becomes more dense through cooling and local ice formation (which involves rejection of salt back into the water column), and, losing stability, overturns in the form of convective plumes that sink into the deep ocean. The convection ventilates the deep waters of the Greenland Sea, helps to sequester carbon dioxide, and helps to drive the global thermohaline circulation, or Global Conveyor Belt. It has been found from tracer studies that convection has slowed in recent years and is now no longer reaching the deep ocean; at the same time, local ice formation has diminished within the central region. The critical area is known as the Odden ice tongue, a protuberance from the main East Greenland ice edge. ESOP-2 sets out to understand the critical air-sea-ice thermodynamic and dynamic processes responsible for the changes, which may have a worldwide climatic impact; for instance, models predict that that a cessation of convection will lead to a large-scale cooling of northwest Europe after 2100, as the Gulf Stream weakens. During the year, the group worked on data collected within the Odden by an in situ cruise that was run in March 1997 aboard the RV Jan Mayen. Results of the analyses of ice samples were used to construct a salt flux model (Wilkinson), whereby ice-physics data and satellite imagery are combined to estimate the rate of deposition of salt in the upper ocean over the Odden region through the winter season, and hence the rate at which the water becomes more dense and approache the condition for convection to begin.
During the year, results from the first phase of ESOP were assembled into a special issue of Deep-sea research part II: topical studies in oceanography, edited by P. Wadhams, L. Miller (Institute of Marine Research, Bergen) and J.-C. Gascard (Pierre and Marie Curie University, Paris). The issue contains 19 papers and is scheduled for publication in spring 1999. Collaboration among the partners in ESOP-2 involved a mid-term workshop at Villefranche in October 1997, attended by Dr Wadhams and Jeremy Wilkinson (Research Associate), and a data workshop at Bergen in May 1998, attended by Dr Wadhams. The final science workshop was held in Bologna in October 1998, also attended by Dr Wadhams and Wilkinson.
The second project was the 'Ice State' programme (1996-1999), coordinated by Helsinki University of Technology (Professor Kaj Riska) with Dr Wadhams as a principal investigator. This seeks to understand the relationship between sea ice mechanical processes and the resistance offered by an ice sheet to ship passage. A classification scheme for ice resistance forces is sought, based on parameters that can be observed in remote-sensing data, and giving the level of risk experienced by an ice-strengthened ship in given ice conditions, an 'ice state' equivalent of 'sea state' for ocean waves. Again, much of the year was spent analysing data collected during a 1997 field experiment in the Gulf of Bothnia called ZIP-97 (Zooming in Ice Physics), which dealt with the scaling problem in calculating ice forces. Again a mid-term science workshop was held on 9-10 October 1997, hosted by Dr Wadhams at the Møller Centre, Churchill College. Martin Doble (Research Associate) worked on the evaluation and testing of algorithms to compare statistical features of SAR (synthetic aperture radar) satellite images with those of ice draft profiles from submarine upward looking sonars, and on the investigation of similarities in fractal dimensions between datasets, and attended a further projct meeting in Bergen in February 1998. In June 1998, he attended a longer workshop in Helsinki, dealing with relationships between satellite and submarine data. Yevgeny Aksenov (Research Student) worked on the analysis of thermally and dynamically induced local ice deformations.
The third project, which began during the year, was AMOC, the acoustic monitoring of ocean circulation in the Arctic. The aim is to model the propagation of under-ice acoustic energy across the Arctic Ocean as a way of monitoring the evolving temperature-salinity structure (due to global change) and the changing ice thickness. Both types of change affect the transoceanic travel time for such pulses, either through affecting sound speed or by changing the depth at which upwardly refracting sound is reflected off the sea ice bottom. Data used in the project include ice profile data collected during submarine voyages in the Arctic. Project development nvolved research workshops in Bergen on 19-20 March and 25-27 June 1998, attended by Dr Wadhams and Arthur Kaletzky (Research Associate, who joined the Group during the year to work on this project). The partners in the project are the Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Centre (Bergen), the St Petersburg branch of the same centre, and the Max-Planck-Institut für Meteorologie (Hamburg).
The fourth EU project was 'Ice Routes,' under the Transport Programme, coordinated by Earth Observation Sciences Ltd (Farnham). The purpose was to devise improved techniques for real-time classification of ice types from SAR images, for use in a future ice management and forecasting system. The Institute was a partner in the programme, with Dr Wadhams as principal investigator and Richard Hall and Lawson Brigham also involved. Meetings were held at Farnham in November 1997 and Bergen in March 1998, with a final meeting in Tromsø and Trondheim on 3-9 July 1998, attended by Capt Brigham. The project was completed during the summer of 1998.
NERC funded two projects during the year. The larger was the analysis and interpretation of ice thickness and along-track oceanographic data collected by Dr Wadhams aboard HMS Trafalgar in the Arctic during August-September 1996. Dr Norman Davis was the Senior Research Associate in this project. The datasets comprise upward-looking sonar profiles of ice thickness, sidescan sonar imagery of the ice underside, and along-track temperature and salinity data. The interpretation of the data shows that during the summer of 1996 there was a considerable reduction in the ice thickness in the Eurasian Basin of the Arctic Ocean and the Greenland Sea, relative to any previous data set. The results are being archived to begin a NERC ice thickness data archive. During the year, the group received further data from the Hydrographic Office, Taunton, comprising submarine ice thickness profiles from cruises in 1991 and 1994. The analysis of these will assist in determining the rate of change of mean ice thickness in the Arctic during the past decade.
The second project was for the deployment and use in Antarctica of the OSCR-II (Ocean Surface Current Radar) system, a shore-based HF radar system that maps surface currents over a 1 km grid out to a range of 50 km using Doppler shift. The intention was to mount the system near the Italian base at Terra Nova Bay, Ross Sea, and use it to map currents in the coastal polynya there, in cooperation with an Italian oceanographic programme, in order to determine the physics of heat loss and ice production in the polynya. In the event, the radar system, owned by NERC and maintained by Southampton Oceanography Centre, was not made available in the intended season, and the field programme was rescheduled for November 1999.
The US National Science Foundation supported a project whereby the submarine data from the British cruise in 1996 are compared with complementary data collected by a US submarine during the same period in the SCICEX Program, a five-year US programme whereby one civilian research cruise is carried out per year into the Arctic by a US submarine. The US boat in 1996 covered the western Arctic and the North Pole, and thus slightly overlapped the British boat, which covered the Greenland Sea and Eurasian Basin up to the Pole. Our statistics are being compared with similar statistics generated for the US cruise by Dr Terry Tucker of the US Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL), Hanover, New Hampshire. The aim is a mutually validated joint dataset covering the entire Arctic for the summer of 1996. Nick Hughes joined the group as a Research Associate to work on this project.
During both 1997 and 1998, the group was partners in the two phases of INTERICE, a project to carry out sea ice physics research on a laboratory scale using the 20 m-long ice testing tank of HSVA (Hamburgische Schiffbau-Versuchsanstalt GmbH), Hamburg. The European Commission has designated this a European Large Facility, and invited bids for coordinated experimental projects, for which all travel and maintenance costs are covered for the participants. The INTERICE group, a group of mainly university laboratories from several European countries, made a successful bid. The first phase, during 1997, was coordinated by Dr Hajo Eicken, Alfred-Wegener-Institut für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Bremerhaven. Finlo Cottier (Research Student) carried out measurements of brine drainage channel development and properties in young sea ice sheets, and Richard Hall (Research Student) carried out measurements of wave velocities in frazil and pancake ice. Dr Wadhams was appointed coordinator of INTERICE-II, on the departure of Dr Eicken to the University of Alaska. A new experimental programme was carried out during the autumn of 1998, again involving brine channel measurements by Finlo Cottier, and wave-ice measurements by Dr Wadhams.
Dr Wadhams, the Reader in Polar Studies and leader of the group, gave invited lectures at the following meetings during the year: 'Cryospheric processes and climate,' at the 'Physics of climate conference,' Royal Meteorological Society, held at the Royal Society, 29-30 October 1997; 'Ice thickness changes in the Arctic Ocean,' the keynote address at the 13th International symposium on Okhotsk Sea and Sea Ice, Mombetsu, Japan, 2-6 February 1998; and 'Ice-ocean interaction and convection in the Greenland Sea,' the guest address for the National Research Council of Iceland, at the 'International workshop on environmental and climate variations and their impact on the North Atlantic region,' Reykjavik, 23-27 September 1998.
Dr Wadhams was an invited participant at the planning meeting for the new Japanese-US International Arctic Research Centre, Fairbanks, Alaska, 8-12 March 1998. He was an invited rapporteur at the NATO 'Advanced research workshop on the fresh water budget of the Arctic Ocean,' Tallinn, Estonia, 26 April-1 May 1998. He became co-editor of the conference proceedings and hosted a further meeting of rapporteurs at the Institute in October 1998. He attended a meeting of the WCRP International Programme for Antarctic Buoys, Naples, 10-13 May 1998, and was made coordinator of the programme from January 1999 onwards, when all data will be stored at the Institute. Dr Wadhams was also appointed to the Council of the Italgas Prize Committee, Turin, to develop a European conference on sustainable development.
Dr Wadhams gave a poster at the ACSYS conference on 'Polar processes and global change,' Orcas Island, Washington, 3-6 November 1997; attended an IANZONE/ASPECT meeting at Biosphere 2, Tucson, on 1-5 December 1997, on implementation of the SCAR ASPECT programme ('Antarctic sea ice processes and climatic change'); and gave two papers at the European Geophysical Society meeting, Nice, 20-24 April 1998.
In November 1997 Dr Wadhams hosted a workshop on strainmeter design, held at the British Antarctic Survey, aiming at a development programme for a new generation of glaciological sensors.
Dr Wadhams was a lecturer on a voyage of the Russian nuclear icebreaker Sovetsky Soyuz from Murmansk to the North Pole, July 1998, and collected along-track video data for comparison with SAR imagery for ice type analysis.
Huddleston completed a PhD thesis on 'Modelling the sea ice thickness in the Greenland Sea.' The thesis was submitted in July 1998 and was approved for the award of a PhD. Huddleston proceeded to a research position in climate modelling at the Hadley Centre, Meteorological Office.
Hall (Research Student on a NERC CASE studentship sponsored by Earth Observation Sciences, Farnham (Dr Neil McIntyre)) continued his research on remote sensing and classification of ice types in the Greenland Sea and Kara Sea, concentrating on the signatures of the developing forms of young ice. Part of his work formed a component of our contribution to the EU 'Ice Routes' project.
Cottier continued PhD research on the physics of brine drainage channels in sea ice and their influence on thermal properties and salinity distribution, with support from the Isle of Man Department of Education and from private sources. Together with Hall, he visited the National Institute of Polar Research, Tokyo, April 1998, with support from the British Council, to renew contacts made during a previous visit in 1997.
Aksenov continued PhD research with support from the EU 'Ice State' programme on sea ice mechanics. As well as working on results from ZIP-97, he visited Helsinki University of Technology for discussions on results and laboratory experiments.
Ingibjorg Jonsdottir continued PhD research on the historical statistics of sea-ice distribution around Iceland. She spent October 1997 to June 1998 based at the Icelandic Meteorological Office, Reykjavik, working on the collection and evaluation of historical sources on the sea-ice history of Iceland, and on sea-ice monitoring techniques currently in use around Iceland, especially involving remote sensing. This research included several ice reconnaissance flights with the Icelandic Coast Guard. She gave papers on the sea-ice history of Iceland at the ACROSS Conference in Reykjavik, 26-28 March 1998, and at the ACSYS Conference in Seattle, 3-7 August 1998. She gave a paper on sources for sea ice information at the 'Climate and history' conference in Norwich, and presented a poster at the 'North Atlantic climate impacts' workshop, Reykjavik, 23-26 September 1998.
Capt Lawson Brigham continued his PhD research on the ice cover of the Kara, Laptev, and East Siberian seas. His work contributed towards the EU 'Ice Routes' project and the International Northern Sea Route Programme (INSROP). He presented a paper on 'Recent environmental change in the Russian maritime Arctic' at the NSF 'Arctic change' workshop in Seattle, 10-12 November 1997. He attended the first IASC-SCAR joint symposium in Tromsø on 'Polar aspects of global change,' 24-28 August 1998, and presented a paper with Dr Wadhams entitled 'Sea ice variability and implications for the Northern Sea Route.' Brigham also attended the following: 'Harmonization of polar ship rules' meeting, Hamburg, 27-31 October 1997; ACSYS conference on 'Polar processes and global climate,' Orcas Island, Washington, 3-6 November 1997 (with Dr Wadhams); workshop on 'Operational sea ice monitoring by satellites in Europe,' Helsinki, 5-6 February 1998; US Arctic Research Commission meetings (as advisor), Washington, 23-25 February 1998; INSROP working group meetings, 16-17 March 1998 in Oslo; NATO 'Workshop on the freshwater budget of the Arctic Ocean,' Tallinn, 25 April-2 May 1998; and ACSYS workshop on 'Operational sea ice charts in the Arctic,' Seattle, 5-7 August 1998.
Yanice Faugere (CNRS, Marseille) visited the Institute during 1997-1998 on an EU exchange scheme to carry out a design study for a new type of rugged long-lasting satellite-tracked drifter for data gathering on polar pack ice, continuing a project begun in the previous year by Karine Thoral.


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USDA Releases Official Workplace Policy on Marijuana, Highlights State and Federal Law ConflictJune 25, 2014
In a memo obtained by NORML, released in late May, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) clarified their drug policy in light of the growing number of states legalizing marijuana for medical and recreational use.
In response to inquiries regarding the department's policy for employees in states that approved recreational or medical use of marijuana, the USDA strongly reaffirmed that their drug testing policies concerning marijuana are still very much in effect, regardless of state law changes.
The memo states that, "use of Marijuana for 'recreational' purposes is not authorized under Federal law nor the Department's Drug Free Workplace Program policies." It then elaborates that, "accordingly, USDA testing procedures remain in full force and effect."
This policy is largely still being enforced due to marijuana's current status as a Schedule I drug at the federal level. The USDA described their current ongoing policy by stating that "USDA agencies test for the following class of drugs and their metabolites: (a) Marijuana, Opiate (Codeine/Morphine, Morphine, 6-Acetylmorphine) and PCP; and (b) Cocaine, Amphetamines (AMP/MAMP, Methamphetamine, MDMA). These drugs are listed in the Controlled Substances Act (CSA)…as Schedule I and Schedule II drugs, respectively. Schedule I drugs are substances, or chemicals defined as drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. They are considered the most dangerous of all the drug schedules and invite potentially severe psychological or physical dependence."
Citing the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA) Medical Review Officer Manual for Federal Agency Workplace Testing Programs, the USDA also made clear this policy applies equally whether marijuana is being used for recreational use or medical purposes:
"State initiatives and laws, which make available to an individual a variety of illicit drugs by a physician's prescription or recommendation, do not make the use of these illicit drugs permissible under the Federal Drug-Free Workplace Program. These State initiatives and laws are inconsistent with Federal law and put the safety, health, and security of Federal works and the American public at risk. The use of any substance included in Schedule I of the CSA, whether for non-medical or ostensible medical purposes, is considered a violation of Federal law and the Federal Drug-Free Workplace Program."
"The USDA's stance on testing employees for marijuana use, regardless of the laws of the state in which they live, is unfortunate," stated NORML Communications Director Erik Altieri, "Patients will be denied effective medicine and individuals will be denied civil liberties being given to their fellow state citizens. This situation highlights the fact that the existing, inherent conflict between state laws seeking to legalize and regulate cannabis for recreational or medical purposes and federal policy, which classifies the substance as illicit, are ultimately untenable. To resolve this conflict there must be a change in marijuana's federal classification. Without such a change, we will consistently have a lack of clarity and ongoing conflict between public sentiment, state law, and federal policy."
You can read the full USDA memo here.
New York State Legislature and Governor Come to Agreement on Medical MarijuanaJune 19, 2014
New York State lawmakers announced today that they have come to agreement to approve a limited pilot program for medical marijuana in the Empire State.
An agreement was reached to amend the bill to include provisions demanded by Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo, including provisions that prohibit the smoking of marijuana. Instead, the amended measure is expected to only allow for non-smoked preparations of cannabis (such as oils). The compromised measure also reduces from the original bill of the number of qualifying conditions, as well as the total number of state-licensed producers and dispensers that will be allowed. (A final draft of the compromised language has not yet been made public.)
The pilot program will be overseen by the State Health Department and would last for seven years, with the option to reauthorize the program after that period has expired. After final approval, the State Health Department will have up to 18 months to establish regulations and authorize entities permitted to dispense it. The governor, upon recommendation by the state police superintendent or the state health commissioner, would have the authority to suspend the program.
NORML will keep you updated as this situation evolves.
The Fear of Pleasure: Why CBD-Only Legislation is Not a Real SolutionJune 17, 2014
Most of us were caught off-guard by the rush of states this year that approved the limited use of CBD-only marijuana extracts because these traditionally conservative states had heretofore rejected the medical use of marijuana. So it seems worth a moment to consider how this occurred, and what it means on a grander scale.
But first, a little recent history.
Throughout this year's state legislative season, a total of 10 states enacted laws seeking to provide limited access to medical marijuana products that contain high levels of CBD and virtually no THC for qualified, typically pediatric patients suffering from severe and disabling seizures: Alabama, Florida, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah and Wisconsin.
On one level, this unexpected embrace of the medicinal qualities of marijuana by states that previously rejected the concept must be seen as a favorable development. These serendipitous adoptions reflect a degree of compassion not obvious in the previous legislative debates in those states.
But it is far from certain that these laws will actually help the young patients they are intended to help.
First, such products are primarily only available in a handful of states like California and Colorado and none of these new state laws create a viable in-state supply source for such products. Further, even if a patient from out-of-state could find these products in California or Colorado, it would be a violation of federal law (and also likely state law) to take the medicine back to their home state.
And while some of these laws attempt to establish CBD research projects at their major universities or research hospitals, recent experience demonstrates that few universities or research hospitals are willing to enter this confusing field while marijuana remains a federal crime, and those that may be willing to take the bait will face a steep and long learning curve before the first patient will have high-CBD extracts available.
This legislative rush to CBD-only extracts also suggests (1) the degree to which elected officials are influenced by popular media, (2) their willingness to pick and choose the science they like (while ignoring the science they do not), and (3) the strong puritanical impulse that remains a factor with many elected officials.
And it all relates to the "Gupta Effect". When CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta's report highlighting how high-CBD marijuana products control debilitating seizures among children suffering from Dravet's syndrome (the most severe form of childhood epilepsy) went public, few Americans had even heard of cannabidiol. Most people were familiar with THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the primary psychoactive ingredient in marijuana that principally accounts for the "high" that marijuana smokers enjoy, but had zero idea that CBD even existed.
Dr. Gupta, who had previously uncritically accepted the federal government's consistent claim that marijuana had no legitimate medical use, when confronted with actual children whose lives had been transformed following their use of high-CBD marijuana extracts, understandably felt misled by the government's anti-marijuana propaganda, and went public with two special programs introducing the importance of high-CBD extracts in reducing or eliminating seizures in these children.
In the second program Dr. Gupta made it clear that while CBD appeared to be the primary therapeutic ingredient for this class of patients, he also made the point that some level of THC was also required, because of what he termed the "entourage effect." Without the THC, the CBD would either be less effective, or in some instances ineffective.
It's embarrassing that so many of our elected officials would get their scientific understanding of the medical properties of marijuana from a popular television doctor, instead of conducting their own research into the available science, before moving legislation forward. But better they be motivated by a celebrity doctor than continue to ignore the benefits of medical marijuana altogether.
Of which there are a myriad.
The marijuana plant is one of the most studied biologically active substances of modern times. A search on PubMed, the repository for all peer-reviewed scientific papers, using the term "marijuana" yields nearly 20,000 scientific papers referencing the plant and/or its constituents, nearly half of which have been published just within the past decade. In addition, more than 100 controlled trials, involving thousands of subjects, have evaluated the safety and efficacy of cannabis and/or individual cannabinoids.
Most recently, a review of FDA-approved marijuana plant trials conducted by various California universities concluded, "Based on evidence currently available the Schedule I classification (for cannabis) is not tenable; it is not accurate that cannabis has no medical value, or that information on safety is lacking." The best summary of this research can be found in the publication Emerging Clinical Applications for Cannabis and Cannabinoids, available on the NORML website. So the basic research is available for all who care to learn.
But few elected officials appear to be aware of this considerable body of science. Rather, the common refrain is to claim they cannot support the medical use of marijuana because the only evidence is "anecdotal". These officials prefer to remain ignorant because it reinforces their preconceived notion that medical marijuana is a hoax perpetuated by those who simply wish to get "high".
So what this latest rush to approve CBD-only marijuana products demonstrates, more than anything else, is the degree to which our public policy can frequently be influenced by a strong strain of puritanism that remains alive among our elected officials. If it feels good, it must be bad!
These many state legislators were willing to show some compassion by allowing the medical use of marijuana by these poor children suffering from multiple, disabling seizures, so long as the marijuana did not make them feel "high" (i.e., feel better!). These legislators are against pleasure, and if the use medical marijuana includes the feeling of pleasure, then it cannot be approved.
Excuse me, but is that not the purpose of using medicine when one is ill – to feel better?
Admittedly, for some of these puritans, the association of the word "high" with the use of marijuana may lie at the heart of the problem for them. Marijuana has long been demonized by conservatives, law enforcement, and many in the medical community, and that has spilled-over to the marijuana "high".
If they understood that the marijuana "high" makes the user feel better, and that seriously ill patients almost always want (and need) to feel better, perhaps they could overcome their fear of medical marijuana. But for now at least, it is clear that in their view the marijuana "high", like marijuana itself, is something to be avoided by responsible Americans, even if that precludes the use of medical marijuana by seriously ill patients.
It is time we moved beyond the notion that pleasure is bad, and stopped treating the marijuana "high" as something to be avoided, when it makes patient feel better. For them, feeling better and feeling high is often the same.
US House Votes to Prohibit DOJ From Interfering With State Medical Marijuana or Industrial Hemp ProgramsMay 30, 2014
After a long debate that had the US House of Representatives in session until after midnight, the lower chamber of Congress cast a historic 219 to 189 vote to restrict the Department of Justice and the Drug Enforcement Administration from using taxpayer funds to interfere in state-sanctioned medical marijuana programs in the 20+ states that have enacted them.
This measure was co-sponsored by Rep. Sam Farr (D-Calif.), Reps. Rohrabacher (R-Calf.), Don Young (R-Alaska), Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), Tom McClintock (R-Calif.), Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), Paul Broun (R-Ga.), Jared Polis (D-Colo.), Steve Stockman (R-Texas), and Barbara Lee (D-Calif.). You can read the full text of the amendment here.
170 Democrats and 49 Republicans voted in favor of the amendment, 172 Republicans and 17 Democrats voted against it. You can view the full vote breakdown here.
"It would be hard to overstate the importance of tonight's vote," said NORML Communications Director Erik Altieri, "Approval of this amendment is a resounding victory for basic compassion and common sense."
Added NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano, "This vote marks one of the first times since the passage of the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 that a majority of the members of a chamber Congress have acted in a manner that significantly alters federal marijuana policy."
"The conflicting nature of state and federal marijuana laws has created an untenable situation," co-sponsor Rep. Blumenauer said just before the House debate. "It's time we take the federal government out of the equation so medical marijuana business owners operating under state law aren't living in constant fear of having their doors kicked down in the middle of the night."
The House also approved amendments that prohibit the DOJ and DEA from using funds to interfere with state sanctioned industrial hemp cultivation.
In February, members of Congress approved language (Section 7606) in the omnibus federal farm bill authorizing states to sponsor hemp research absent federal reclassification of the plant. Since then, five states — Hawaii, Indiana, Nebraska, Tennessee, and Utah — have enacted legislation authorizing state-sponsored hemp cultivation. (Similar legislation is pending in Illinois and South Carolina.) In total, more than a dozen states have enacted legislation redefining hemp as an agricultural commodity and allowing for state-sponsored research and/or cultivation of the crop
These amendments were made to the 2015 Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations Bill, which now must be approved by the Senate and then signed by President Obama.
NORML will keep you updated on this evolving situation.
House to Vote on Budget Amendment to Defund Medical Marijuana RaidsMay 16, 2014
In the coming days, members of the House of Representatives are expected to debate and vote on budget appropriation legislation for the Department of Justice. Representatives Rohrabacher and Farr will be introducing an amendment to this measure to prevent any of the department's funding from being used to interfere with medical marijuana programs in states that have approved them.
Twenty-one states — Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington — as well as the District of Columbia have enacted laws protecting medical marijuana patients from state prosecution. Yet in all of these states, patients and providers still face the risk of federal sanction — even when their actions are fully compliant with state law.
It is time that we allowed our unique federalist system to work the way it was intended. Patients, providers, and their state representatives should have the authority to enact laws permitting the medical use of cannabis — free from federal interference.
Please write your members of Congress today and tell them to stop using taxpayer dollars to target and prosecute state-authorized medical marijuana patients and providers. For your convenience, a prewritten letter will be e-mailed to your member of Congress.

subset: commoncrawl


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Program Description:
This program includes two courses. These programs provide students with training and certification in the techniques required to start an IV infusion as well as withdrawals of blood for testing. The IVT course teaches information on puncture techniques, anatomy and physiology, fluid and electrolyte balance, management and care of the site (both pre and post insertion), and Universal Precautions. IV Therapy venipuncture skills include: equipment, site selection and preparation, order of draw, and appropriate care after procedure. The Blood Withdrawal course also covers the techniques for blood withdrawal, including the selection of equipment, order of the draw, site selection and preparation, and after-withdrawal care. Students will attend laboratory practice to perform a minimum of three successful blood withdrawals and three successful IV starts. Failure to perform all laboratory practices will leave a student ineligible for a certificate of completion.
In keeping with the new policy instated by the California BVNPT,this is a self contained four day course. There is no home study prior to this course and homework is not required.
Upon the completion of this course, the LVN will receive a certificate of completion. The certificate will include the course title, date of completion, licensee's name, address, telephone number, license number, and a provider code issued by the board. The licensee is advised to retain the certificate in a secure location. After completion of the course and proof of CA LVN licensure, a copy of the certificate will be submitted to the board and the licensee will be listed as certified in intravenous therapy and blood withdrawal. The licensee will also receive a copy of a CE certificate for 36 CE hours. For non-licensees, the certificate will be issued once California licensure is provided to school.
This course available to California Licensed Vocational Nurses, graduates of a California BVNPT vocational nursing program, and Registered Nurses for remediation only. Only licensed LVNs will qualify for continuing education contact hours. Prelicensure VN graduates receive a certificate only after licensure is obtained and documented.
Provider is approved by the BVNPT - approval # IB - 2783
ACMP is an approved CE provider by the Vocational Board of nursing.


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AnonD-97702, 14 Jan 2013Where's HTC and LG? did I missed read?LG got quite a number of innovations showcased but it was not featured on this website. Also, Apple-related products are plenty even Apple itself is not there! but all these Apple-related innovations are not in this website. There are quite plenty of vendors who created very creative Apple accessories
Anonymous, 12 Jan 2013Sammy smart? That's not the right term, sneaky is more appropriate. fine, its ur opinion..
but for many consumers they are smart, but for pipol who dont know the tech history will just say anything against samsung
Anonymous, 12 Jan 2013Hahaha another sammy fanboy. So what you think about s2plus? A worthy phone to be in that even... morewhy shudnt it be in that event? is it ur event haha. dont buy it. i wont buy it too, the point is the variety of pipol in the market
name., 11 Jan 2013Xperia z and zl ?. yes.im a sony user.and also a sammy user.Samsung galaxy s3 has already done... moreMost of my colleagues in AYC as a contractor company for Aramco uses variants of Samsung devices like Galaxy Nexus, Mini, Young, Note and S3. We would call ourselves a wolves that prefer to use Sammy devices and ate iPhonesand Sony.
Am asking why my three bosses in Aramco uses S3? They have lots of money to buy iPhone, Sony or HTC devices but they choose Samsung? Are they/we a brainwashed tech geeks?
CES was was flop show this year for mobiles. Not many announcements and 4k is far fetched story as of now. Hope MWC brings some cheers
I'm not so thrilled about plastic design myself, but having said that I've dropped my phone quite a number of times and each time I was glad that it was made of plastic. It really does lessen the impact.
AnonD-100372, 13 Jan 2013I'm still wondering whether nokia 808's pureview camera or xperia z's 13MP camera is better. anyone?I know a lot of people, me included, dont really care. The 808 is 18mm thick over the camera part (and even the rest of it is 14mm thick despite of its tiny 1400mah battery), yes 18mm, then who really cares? Lumia 920 is still fat and unreal huge for its display and battery size, but at least it is a phone, so a comparision with the 920 would be welcome.
ZTE to bring a Firefox OS smartphone to Europe this year : http://bit.ly/VTsASf
Phil Schiller dismisses rumors of Apple making a cheap iPhone : http://bit.ly/13q05if
Meet BlackBerry Link, the replacement for BlackBerry Desktop on BB10 : http://bit.ly/V1AQBE
BlackBerry 10 software demonstration at CES : http://bit.ly/X3EbuP
Sony may follow HTC and give up on low-end smartphones : http://bit.ly/WBhZI0
JAKE, 12 Jan 2013when Nokia launches Lumia 920 with different colors many were complaining why nokia needs to p... moreI though ipod touch and S3 came out with more colors before 920.....
Thats why i like so much GSMArena , while i faced an internet and connctions problem during the few last days in my city wich were CES is running and am really thinking about it , i could get all what i need in one perfecte artical like this , so Thank you so much GSMArena keep moving. .
I'm still wondering whether nokia 808's pureview camera or xperia z's 13MP camera is better. anyone?
abey, 12 Jan 2013But polycarbonate is also a plastic in the end, right? Actually, in the end, they are all just atoms. I say they are all the same, no?
AnonD-73681, 12 Jan 2013Agree!But polycarbonate is also a plastic in the end, right?
when Nokia launches Lumia 920 with different colors many were complaining why nokia needs to produce such color. now look what's happening, Samsung even iphone are making different colors of their mobile. The King still leads the Fashion.
Anonymous, 12 Jan 2013Xperia God Z is the winner on this event. S-plus is the clown. S4 is the illusionist. And I wo... moreAgree!
Anonymous, 12 Jan 2013Hahaha another sammy fanboy. So what you think about s2plus? A worthy phone to be in that even... moreAlcatel is not so unknown buddy, it's a company that never's been on the lead, but has for long been part of the phones' history. It has a tradition already, unlike sammy.
AnonD-100078, 12 Jan 2013Are you freaking kidding me? Have you lost your brain? Xperia S is a trash can comparing to GS... more*Rolling On The Floor Laughing*
You didn't get how Exynos 5 works right? It's a quad-core design that doesn't have 8 cores, just like Tegra 4 doesn't have 5.


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Abby Emmitt has had both outstanding softball and bowling careers while at Augusta High School.
At one time, Emmitt considered going to Kansas Wesleyan to bowl because she didn't think she was good enough to play softball at the next level.
One visit proved she was wrong about that. And she's fine with that.
Emmitt visited Evangel University, an NAIA school in Missouri, and the softball coaches had her pitch one session. That was all it took for them to want her, and Emmitt said yes. She signed a letter of intent to join Evangel next year.
"When I went there, the only thing I did was pitch," Emmitt said. "They didn't see me field ground balls, hit or do anything else. My pitching, they saw that and said, 'Yeah, let'd do that.'"
Evangel is a Christian school, which made her decision easier.
"It's a Christian college, so my faith is a big part of it," Emmitt said. "…And I really liked the campus."
While Emmitt was an outstanding bowler, softball is her true sports love. She's played it since she was young, and she's excited that all that hard work has led to her achieving her dream of playing in college.
"It's hard work, but it's worth it," Emmitt said. "It was always a dream of mine, but I never thought I actually had what it took until some people told me I did."
One of those people was coach Shane Steinkamp. He wasn't surprised that Evangel's coaches liked what they saw in her after just one visit.
"She can go in and make a wave and a flash. When she throws, she has that opportunity to do some great things. She brings some talent to the table on pitching mound. But it's just a tribute to her and the type of kid she is and the type of player she is," Steinkamp said.
"He's always helped me out with everything we've been working on, and building me up, not tearing me up. It just builds up my confidence," Emmitt said of Steinkamp.
Steinkamp has helped Emmitt transform into a better all-around player with multiple roles. She's been a starter, a closer, a first baseman—where she has great hands for fielding—and a hitter in the lineup after not hitting earlier in her career. Steinkamp said it's been fun watching her grow and blossom into the type of player to help the program thrive.
"She's taken on many different roles for us, and she's been successful in each role she's had, which has played a huge part in our success," Steinkamp said.
In college, she may just stick to pitching, but anything is possible. But her arm is such a strong cannon. Her power has complemented her fellow Oriole pitchers, who focus on off-speed stuff.
"Abby's going to come right at you with power and speed, not finesse," Steinkamp said.
Emmitt, who said she'll study Elementary Education in college, has done everything she has despite needing knee surgeries in her career.


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Photos of Larryblakeley
(Contact Info: larry at larryblakeley dot com)
Important Note: You will need to click this icon to download the free needed to view most of the images on this Web site - just a couple of clicks and you're "good to go."
National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the U.S. Government, established by the National Science Foundation Act of 1950, as amended, and related legislation, 42 U.S.C. 1861 et seq., and was given additional authority by the Science and Engineering Equal Opportunities Act (42 U.S.C. 1885), and Title I of the Education for Economic Security Act (20 U.S.C. 3911 to 3922).
History of Budgeting (see Budget Internet Information System)
NSF - Computer, Information Sciences
The excitement of computer science is not only within the discipline itself. Advances in computers have led to leaps in almost every academic discipline and changed the very nature of our everyday lives. At the National Science Foundation, the Directorate for Computer and Information Sciences and Engineering (CISE) promotes basic research and education in the computer and information sciences and engineering, and helps maintain the nation's preeminence in these fields. Such technologies affect nearly every facet of modern life from agriculture to manufacturing, health and education.
The Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE)
CISE is within the National Science Foundation.
CISE provides federal funds for basic research and education in computer science, information science, and computer engineering.
The Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering has three goals:
1. To enable the U.S. to uphold a position of world leadership in computing, communications, and information science and engineering
2. To promote understanding of the principles and uses of advanced computing, communications and information systems in service to society
3. To contribute to universal, transparent and affordable participation in an information-based society.
To achieve these, CISE supports investigator initiated research in all areas of computer and information science and engineering, helps develop and maintain cutting-edge national computing and information infrastructure for research and education generally, and contributes to the education and training of the next generation of computer scientists and engineers. CISE is organized in four divisions.
CISE's formation:
Excerpt from Funding a Revolution: Government Support for Computing Research, National Research Council Report (1999)
Chapter 4: The Organization of Federal Support: A Historical Review, pg. 125 - 126
"Computer research support at NSF took on its current form in 1986. That year, NSF director Erich Bloch announced the creation of a new directorate entirely for computing, the Computer and Information Sciences and Engineering (CISE) Directorate (CSTB, 1992, p. 223). To lead the new directorate, Bloch recruited Gordon Bell, a pioneering system architect at Digital Equipment Corporation, who had been pushing NSF for several years to increase funding for computer science. Bell, like others in the computer industry, was still concerned that universities were not training enough Ph.D.s in computer science to continue advancing the field. He believed that the creation of CISE could help alleviate this problem.
Unlike the more recent organizational changes in computing at NSF, CISE was more than a change of name and bureaucratic position. Much like the creation of OCA, CISE consolidated all the computer initiatives in NSF into one entity. The Division of Computer Research was combined with the computing portions of the Electrical, Computer, and Systems Engineering Division. CISE also absorbed the Office of Advanced Scientific Computing and the Division of Information Science and Technology. Monetary support for computing exploded immediately. CISE's 1986 budget was over $100 million, almost three times the Division of Computer Science's budget in 1984. CISE constituted 7 percent of the entire NSF budget as opposed to 3 percent in 1985. In addition, attaining the level of NSF directorate symbolically marked the end of the uncertain position of computing within NSF. Computer science was formally on a par with the biological sciences, the physical sciences, and the other directorates of NSF."


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Fairmont Mountain Bungalows is the perfect place to hold your next event. It was designed to be extremely flexible, enabling the meeting planner to customize the experience that is most appropriate for the event.
Fairmont Mountain Bungalows in Fairmont, BC has over sqft of combined meeting space for any occasion. Key highlights include:


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ASRC Federal - Vistronix is a national security solutions provider specializing in transforming big and complex data sets into mission critical intelligence. Ingesting, processing, and exploiting Big Data is at the core of everything we do: Cyber & SIGINT Operations, C4ISR & Multi-INT Processing, and Enterprise & Open Source Analysis. As a national security middleweight, we have a passion for our customers' mission and value ingenuity, agility, speed, and the ability to think and deliver at scale. For more information, visit www.vistronix.com.
ASRC Federal - Vistronix is currently seeking an experienced System Administrator for a role on one of our subcontracts. This full time position affords the successful candidate the opportunity to work in an engaging, high-tech development environment, working with an excellent team and customer base.
This project operates, manages, and monitors the health and status of Record Message Systems and world-wide customer communications/hardware and software applications, troubleshoots and performs corrective action on LAN/CAN/WAN/Messaging devices, networks, systems, and related problems/issues, provides technical expertise for the optimal performance of complex large scale computer integrated networks/messaging systems, to include the processing, management, and monitoring of the distribution of Record and CRITIC Messages.
Top Skills Required:
Preferred Skills:
This position requires an active Security Clearance.
Positions require a Top Secret security clearance, based on current background investigation (SBI), as well as the favorable completion of polygraph. Clearance and polygraph processing will be completed by the U.S. Government.
ASRC Federal and its Subsidiaries are Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action employers. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, gender, color, age, sexual orientation, gender identification, national origin, religion, marital status, ancestry, citizenship, disability, protected veteran status, or any other factor prohibited by applicable law.
Software Powered by iCIMS


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Musicians aren't in it for the money or the sex or drugs (and just occasionally the rock'n'roll).
Million-selling records and gold-plated swimming pools are all very well, but the most important thing is awards, that they keep as a door prop for the bog in their LA mansion.
It might be that the music 'season' is winding down, with festival season over there's column inches to fill and Christmas shelves to stock ... but we do seem to be beset by ceremonies rewarding the doyens of the music industry.
Your dad's Christmas shopping list aka the Mercurys nominees are just out, the first of a ragbag of prizes to be dished out before the year is done. The legendary Barrowland Ballroom has announced a hall of fame, where a plaque will be carved for the likes of Big Country and Paul Weller.
If you've been paying attention you'll have noted that there's no UK Hall of Fame.
So here's my plan. Let's find an abandoned building, (the government seem hell-bent on providing us with a choice). Invite bands and record labels to provide us with memorabilia – Hendrix's guitar, Mark E Smith's Glastonbury trousers, Jacko's original nose – and in return they get invited to the glittering award ceremony.
For a couple of grand in payola, we'll even do a blue plaque. Deal?


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Gift Vouchers
Can't decide what to choose for that special present?
Send a beautiful Sylvia Kerr Jewellery gift voucher, perfect for Christmas!
Select a voucher or multiple vouchers, to the value of your gift.
If you would like these sent directly to your recipient, simply leave the following in our NOTES Box at Checkout:
Recipient's Name, Full Postal Address and a personal message.
The message will be hand written by our team within one of our exclusive Sylvia Kerr Jewellery gift cards to ensure that distance is no barrier to expressing your sentiment.


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What I SHOULD be doing currently is going to BED! Which is, incidentally, what I plan to do after hitting "Publish Post." So there ya go.
Thanks, Farley, for the awesome linky party and the awesome background, as usual!
Thanks for the shout out!!!! :) I love that frickin teacher of the year, too!!
A Teeny Tiny Teacher
I LOVE both of those blogs!!! and thanks so much for linking up!!! oh & I love you 2!!!ReplyDelete
THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENT on the whole Halloween thing. I was rolling!!!! Pablo thanks you, too. You made me feel instantly better and I showed my husband how easy it was to do that. :)
A Teeny Tiny Teacher
Hi Gayla. I posted on your Mrs. Cockrell's class blog too, but wasn't sure what you'd check first. I received your Holly Bloggy Christmas gift today. Thanks so much I can't wait to open it.
I'm your newest follower too. Merry Christmas!
First Grade Found Me
Me again. I hope your blog really takes off! I'm giving you the Liebster Award. Happy Blogging!
First Grade Found Me
My class is full of tooting this year? I'm with you...what's up with that? Welcome to the blogging world. Cute blog!
First Grade Delight
Thanks, Chrissy!! I saw your comments on my class blog first--I guess I don't have this one set to email me when someone comments! Thanks so much for the award and for the follow!! I added your button to my sidebar--first button!! :D
Thanks, Delighted--I am going to check out your blog now!! And yes with the toots! LOL. I told my teammates about it, and they said it's just my class--how lucky, huh?!
Kristin, just saw your comment, too--i am SO GLAD I could cheer you up a little! Mean people suck!


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Petco.com Reviews
- Other Clothings:
- Average: 4.6
- High: 5.0
- Type:
- Pet Care Websites
- Brand:
- Petco
Read 28 Reviews
REVIEW SNAPSHOT®by PowerReviews
Best Uses
Most Liked Positive Review
Makes shopping easy for my pets!
I really enjoy shopping online at Petco.com for my pets. I have shopped many times on their website in the past and have had no problems so far. I have a busy schedule and...Read complete review
I really enjoy shopping online at Petco.com for my pets. I have shopped many times on their website in the past and have had no problems so far. I have a busy schedule and Petco.com really helps me in ordering all the things I need for my pets with convenience and helps me save a lot of money too. Their website offers something for all kinds of pets. Placing an order and checking out on their website is a simple and easy process. I have observed that the prices at the Petco on line store are the same as you would get in the store. However they do have clearance and sale items that are probably not available in the store. I have purchased a lot of items such as leashes, toys, collars, tags, brushes, shampoos, conditioners, flea and tick treatments and a lot of other things for my dog. The products have always arrived on time, well packaged and are of great quality. I do recommend this site for shopping for all of your pets' needs. Give it a try and you won't be disapponited.
Most Liked Negative Review
fish are not always healthy
I have been disappointed with many things about my local Petco, from rude employees to simply not enough of them, as well as a lack of product on the shelves, and take a...Read complete review
I have been disappointed with many things about my local Petco, from rude employees to simply not enough of them, as well as a lack of product on the shelves, and take a long time to get restocked or replaced, especially in aquatics and reptiles. I spent almost a year asking when they would get the earthworms and I was always told they were out (they said they had them inside the refrigerator) and then I completely find out they don't ever have them and had not for a bery long time!
We also purchased many fish from this particular Petco and they never seemed to last very long, and fish we obtained from other sources and retailers lasted much longer and/or are still alive.
Finally, we had a snake, which ate live feeder fish (rosy red minnows) and we got them from here weekly. We gave the snake it's weekly feeding (it was about a year old) and it doed due to being fed sick fish). I returned to find that after I had bought that feeding the fish were put under observation. So perhaps they did not find out until later that those fish were sick, but ultimately that killed our snake.
Reviewed by 28 customers
Displaying reviews 1-10
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Comments about Petco.com:
The website is set up pretty well and it is easy to navigate. Although I want to support the little guy, pet I really has some great delas. I just signed up for their rewards program. You get 5% back on everything you buy. They also seem to have lots of sales. The other day cat toys were buy 3 get one free. They send emails almost every day. Last week I had get $10 off 50 and on Friday the 13th get $13 off $63. If you think about how much food and litter are it really is worth it to spend the $50 for the discount. Also, if you refer a friend you both get some money towards a purchase. If you sign up for repeat delivery you get a discount. I also feel they carry everything I have ever wanted. I live in NYC so unfortunately the mom and pop shops are very limited in space and as a result in what they carry. Same goes for the supermarkets. Petrol seems to have everything. As far as customer service goes, I do think everyone has always been friendly.
Comments about Petco.com:
I have the highest regards for Petco stores and Petco.com. I do however have a major issue with their website. Petco.com offers many sales, deals, free shipping, percentage off your purchase, a dollar amount off your purchase. Many incentives to shop their site. These fabulous deals are only available for a limited time or a weekend sale or a daily deal. Whenever these promotions are offered their site is slow to process your order. I have been at the checkout ready to confirm my purchase and the site takes forever to process. I have to call the company to settle my order. Frustrating since I want to make a purchase and move on to other things. For this reason I shop less and less at Petco.com to avoid the hassle.
Ease of Use
The site is easy to navigate. Products are displayed in categories that are easy to find. The only issue is the processing of an order once you are checking out. This only occurs when they offer a promotion for a limited time, especially the one day deals.
Product Selection
I shop their natural and organic brands. They offer a wide variety of products at reasonable prices. I would like to see a few more natural brands added to their already great selection.
Product Pricing
Competitive pricing. When they offer free shipping it further enhances the deals they offer I also appreciate an incentive for shopping their site. You get rewarded for your purchases.
Customer Service
Each time I have contacted a representative they are professional, knowledgeable and ready to assist me with my questions and concerns.
Shipping and Returns
I have never had to return and merchandise from Petco.com. Every order I have received has been delivered in a timely manner and the packages have always arrived in excellent condition.
Comments about Petco.com:
I really like this site as it saves me a ton of time having to drive twenty miles to the actual store. Virtually everything in the store is on the site and you get discounts and sale ads as well as promo codes for different items. Free shipping on a $49.00 or more purchase with additional 15% off. It's a really good site to use if you aren't close to a store or happen to be very busy.
Ease of Use
It's very easy site to navigate and the checkout process is simple. You must register first.
Product Selection
Everything in the store can be ordered online and either shipped or can be picked up or retuned at the store.
Product Pricing
I think the pricing is very competitive and don't feel I'm paying more than on other pet product websites. You will certainly pay more going to to most other online pet product websites.
Customer Service
I've had nothing but good experiences with Petco.com customer service.
Shipping and Returns
It's very easy to return to the site or you may return it to the store itself.
Comments about Petco.com:
I like the option to use pal points, etc. but of course you can't use coupons if you are applying Pals rewards (like $5 off), which makes it usually not worth it. They often have coupon codes available or free shipping over $49+ or so. Lots of options too - more brands than other pet stores, I think. The most annoying this is trying to get shipping updates. Several times I've ordered products that "ship next day" and I don't hear anything for 2+ days, then I'm told it shipped. All the order says is "Items in progress," which isn't very helpful; I wish they had some more details or stages on there. Then they send it UPS which can be kind of slow.
Ease of Use
You have to search all over again once you add something to your cart, which is annoying if, like me, you just want three different types of cat food. The search options are NOT user friendly.
Product Pricing
Pricing is pretty good, and usually there's a discount of some kind - even if it's negligible - but you're more likely to find serious markdowns in store than online.
Comments about Petco.com:
We live a couple of hours away from the closest petco so I have never shopped in the store however I shop online every month. The first time I shopped on petco.com I was looking for a medium dog igloo house. I found a couple local but only in large and extra large sizes. I started searching online and came across petco.com. I found the dog house that I was looking for at half the price with free shipping. When I ordered the dog house I also signed up for the rewards program. I earned $10 off my next purchase so I got back on to use up the $10. I was going to order dog food and in the process I learned about the automatic shipping. I was amazed that I could order the dog food the we normally buy and two bags of treats for $62 with free shipping and if I was to buy this at the local pet shop the dog food alone is $69 a bag and the treats are $7 a bag. I will continue to use petco.com as long as I have animals.
Product Selection
They carry everything that I have ever needed.
Product Pricing
Much cheaper than any other pet store I have found.
Customer Service
I have never had an issue.
Shipping and Returns
I have never had to return anything and shipping is very quick.
Comments about Petco.com:
Petco.com is an online superstore for finding everything your pet could ever need.
It is a very easy website to use and navigate, and every product is categorized by type of animal.
When you come to the front page, you can see categories such as: dog, cat, fish, small animal, ferret, reptile, bird, etc. Then there is a section for flea and tick prevention/control, a category all about food, and then the SALE section.
I find that the website is easy to use and find just what I need. Since we own a dog, I always head straight to the dog section and a drop down pops up showing further narrowed down categories.
The prices are usually competitive with other pet supply stores, and shipping is free on $49+. We have a PetCo nearby, so I can either shop online and find if what I need is carried then buy it at the store, or just order and have it sent straight to me.
The only slight problem with the website, is that I would say it's a bit too busy. The main page has a LOT going on, almost too much. While it is very easy to find what you need, the main page is cluttered with a lot of other links that are distracting.
Overall though, it is a fun store and you can get anything you would need and more for your pet.
Comments about Petco.com:
I live in a rural area that has no real pet store, so having petco.com has been a huge relief and a real lifesaver for me to be able to find the hard to get pet items that I need to keep my pets happy. The best thing that I have found about petco.com has to be the sheer volume of items and selection of items that they have, it is really amazing. Anything and everything that you could possibly ever think of for any type of pet that you have can be found here, they have it all and it is always for a super reasonable price. The website has a great and easy to use search function which makes it fast and easy to pull up what you need, or you can also search for things by animal type. The shipping has always been really fast and the price is very reasonable too, and it is usually free shipping if I order enough items. Customer service is great and very helpful, they have an online chat from the website which is nice and makes it quick to talk to someone without having to get on the phone and wait on hold for a while. The site is very user friendly and makes finding anything that you need for your pets quick and simple.
Comments about Petco.com:
Usually I do most of my pet shopping at PetSmart and Petsmart.com. Recently though I have noticed that Petco has been having some really good online deals and sales so I have been buying from them more often. My science diet food I purchase for my dogs goes on sale more at Petco.com and they also have great deals on other pet merchandise such as leases, clothing, and beds. The shipping is quick and easy and I will be shopping from them more often if these great deals continue!
Ease of Use
The website is really easy to use. All of their products are categorized perfectly so you can easily find what you are looking for.
Product Selection
Petco and Petco.com offer pretty much any and everything you would need for your pet.
Product Pricing
Petco and Petco.com offer reasonably priced items and recently petco.com has been having really great sales and deals on a lot of their items.
Customer Service
I have never had to use the customer service online but their employees in store are always friendly.
Shipping and Returns
Shipping is always fast and items can be returned to your local store.
Comments about Petco.com:
Petco.com is a fantastic website. They have a huge selection of products and I usually find the prices to be at least a little better then they are in the store. Understandably, there is also a much greater selection on almost everything then youl would find in the store.
Product Selection
If it is made for your pet of any kind, they have it on this site. I was searching for some fun toys for our cat and was shocked at the amount of cat products that existed! Everything from the ordinary and useful (food, litter, beds) to dresses, hats, shoes. Your cat can live in comfort and in style thanks to Petco.
Product Pricing
The prices on the site tend to be very good. Many times they are cheaper then what the item sells for in the store. There is also a 20% off coupon when you join their mailing list and they often email coupons for anywhere from 10%-25% off of your order.
Shipping and Returns
Shipping can add up, but you are able to get free shipping quite frequently through coupons or by spending a certain amount. Shipping is usually fast.
Comments about Petco.com:
My dog's favorite food and treats are available at Petco and Petco.com. I tend to prefer to shop online and have used the latter store frequently. It has all of the same choices for the most part as the store however they do claim to be separate businesses - don't ask for the sale price of one place in the other. Online will send coupons and often do have slightly lower prices with their incentives. You can collect their rewards through both the mortar store and online and redeem them in either.
Another feature of the site is to set up automatic delivery for things like food, treats, litter etc that you use and order on a regular basis. To do this you have to lock in a payment method but can also get a price break on some items. Shipping is often very quick, within a couple days.
When I can't find a better price elsewhere I will use petco.com for my dogs' needs. It's a fairly easy site to manage, even if the Pals Rewards section is a bit confusing. I have never had to use basic customer service so I cannot comment on that.
Displaying reviews 1-10
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Here we go guys, I'll be updating to 180 over the next couple of days to catch up on missed updates. It's all been translated, just needs a little bit of editing……. Sorry for the delay – don't worry, I will catch up to all missed chapters. Stay tuned 🙂
Also have some exciting news to share soon……people who are in tune with the community might already have heard. I'll update people more when plans get solidified 😀


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The first time a potential buyer walks into your house is one of the most influential moments in their decision process, so your preparation is of peak importance. Here are three tips for sellers to maximize your showing potential, courtesy of Trulia.
1. Check the computer view
Before the buyer ever steps foot in your house, they'll likely have seen at least one kind of online advertising, so make sure you're aware of what they'll see. Take test photos of the interior and exterior of your house, and look at them on your computer. Does your living room look cluttered at screen-viewing size? Does the reflection in your bathroom mirror make the room look bigger, or smaller? Get a buyer's perspective by using the buyer's media.
2. Walk through with an outsider
Do a walkthrough of your home with someone you trust. Tell them to be honest with you about what they see, hear, and smell€"chances are there are defects you've lived with so long that you just don't see them anymore.
3. Curate your curb appeal
Walk past your house. Look at it from across the street. Walk up your front steps. Inspect your driveway, walkway, decks and patios. Make note of any cracks, stains, overgrown shrubbery, or bare spots on the lawn. These are high-priority fixes if you don't want the buyer to get a bad impression before they even get in the front door.
Sometimes it only takes a little effort to make a big difference in how a buyer sees your home; an expert agent can help you prioritize repairs, decide whether to remodel, and recommend professionals to help you get everything done. For help getting your home ready to sell, contact Michelle Balog at 415.810.7890 or firstname.lastname@example.com.
Check back next week for three more showing tips for home sellers.
Source: Trulia Pro
Climb Real Estate provides this information to the public and our clients and does not guarantee its accuracy. Climb Real Estate does not necessarily represent the seller nor the marketing company in any way. For buyer representation, contact Climb or learn how to buy new developments.