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Scott Bittle and JEAN JOHNSON
When Americans head for the polls this fall, a lot of people will be voting on just one issue: jobs. But so far, much of the political rhetoric sounds like it could be coming from one job that's pretty much obsolete - a carnival barker. It's awash with sweeping generalizations and vast oversimplification.
There's almost no talk of the enormously difficult, long-term challenges we face on jobs. "Elect (or re-elect) me, and everything will be fine," the candidates seem to say. The reality is that the Great Recession destroyed 8.4 million jobs, and technology and a competitive global economy have changed the rules on what it takes to create and keep good ones here in the United States.
In our book--Where Did the Jobs Go--and How Do We Get Them Back? (William Morrow, $16.99)--we examine some of the myths and oversimplifications voters need to watch for. Political campaigns tend to gloss over the details. We'll see the candidates in their jeans or khakis standing in front of factories shaking workers' hands. We'll hear them praise American workers and entrepreneurship. They'll express their concerns about people who've lost jobs or whose businesses have failed. But that doesn't mean they have solid ideas for addressing the problem.
We need to grasp the depth of the challenge and be open to a whole range of old and new ideas for creating jobs. And we need leaders who will be straight with us. We're deep in the hole already and fighting powerful global trends. We're not going to rev up our economy's job creation capacity in just a few years. Anyone who says otherwise is selling something - usually themselves.
So when you hear candidates say things like this, it's time to ask some tough questions.
Most Americans are deeply unhappy with our tax system, and it is true that job creation can stall when taxes are too high. But after the Bush tax cuts in 2001 and 2003, U.S. federal income taxes are already at historically low levels. Yet between 2000 and 2010, our economy lost about as many jobs as we created. Taxes matter, and tax reform and specific kinds of tax cuts might well be helpful, but just cutting taxes, in and of itself, is not a foolproof recipe for job creation.
Final figures aren't in, but our economy grew an estimated 2.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011--well below growth rates throughout most of the last decade. When growth picks up, unemployment will fall, and job creation will increase. But we're way behind on the jobs front. Not only did we lose millions of jobs in the recession, a growing population means we need to create 100,000 to 150,000 new jobs a month just to keep up. And increasingly, businesses can get their work done with fewer employees. When businesses can reduce costs by using technology or moving jobs overseas--and that's what their competitors worldwide are doing--then those jobs aren't likely to come back just because the economy picks up.
In the long run, our rising national debt is one of the most dangerous problems our government has, and we have to tackle it. Unfortunately, what's needed to control deficit spending--cutting federal programs and raising taxes--slows economic growth and job creation in the short run. On the other hand, letting deficit spending mushroom could up-end the entire economy down the road. Sometimes politicians talk like this is a simple problem to fix. It's not. It's going to be very tough. Some argue that we can let the federal red ink flow forever, but the only honest debate is over how quickly to move.
There's a fierce debate over whether college is a worthwhile investment, given the high level of student debt. Still, there's no question that, statistically speaking, college graduates earn more and are less likely to be unemployed than those without a degree. The real myth is that being better educated automatically makes your job safer in today's economy. Technology and globalization mean some kinds of high-level professional work can be done anywhere in the world. A study by the National Academies reported that Australian radiologists already read MRIs of American patients, Costa Rican accountants help prepare the tax returns of U.S. businesses, and big companies like GE do much of their R&D overseas.
There's no question that offshoring has moved beyond manufacturing and call centers. But a study by Princeton economist Alan Blinder found the key factors in whether work moves offshore aren't wages or skills, but whether the job has to be done in a specific location, and whether it requires face-to-face contact. By that standard, the vast majority of U.S. jobs, about 100 million, aren't going abroad. Still, he calculated roughly one-quarter of U.S. jobs could be done elsewhere, or more precisely, anywhere, including computer programmers, graphic designers, welders, and in a nice touch of irony, economists. These jobs won't necessarily go offshore--often its more trouble than it's worth--but they could.
Lots of people argue that low wages in developing countries means we simply can't compete. Federal statistics show that in 2006, the average American production worker made $25.59 per hour, compared to $2.92 in Mexico and an estimated 81 cents in China. But wages aren't the only factor in a company's decision. If workers in another country earn less, but they're also less productive, it's a wash as far as business is concerned. Businesses also need stable governments, reliable business practices, and reasonably honest legal systems. When you factor all those in, the World Economic Forum still ranks the United States fifth in the world for global competitiveness--at least for now.
Technology both creates and destroys jobs, usually at the same time. Smartphones are killing land line jobs, but they're producing new jobs that never existed before. Could Alexander Graham Bell have anticipated that someone would earn money creating Angry Birds? Technology tends to eliminate a lot of routine, repetitive work (Ask a typesetter if you can find one). Jobs that require problem-solving or communications skills are another matter. But the key question isn't education anymore; it's the nature of the work. Routine tasks that are now conducted by doctors and lawyers--like taking medical histories or poring over documents in discovery--could be automated soon.
Actually, the best evidence suggests that labor markets adjust and absorb immigrants. In Miami, after the 1981 Mariel boatlift of Cuban refugees, unemployment rose briefly when the local workforce swelled by 7 percent. But by 1985, Miami's unemployment was back to normal. Remember, immigrants aren't just workers, they're also consumers. So while they compete with native-born workers for existing jobs, they generate new demand for goods and services--which ends up creating jobs. It's not clear how much native-born and immigrant workers compete directly: a Federal Reserve study found lower-educated native-born workers tend to be in manufacturing or mining, while lower-educated immigrants are in agriculture or personal services.
If big incomes at the top automatically boosted job creation, the fact that CEOs now make 263 times what average workers make (compared to 30 times in the 1970s) should deliver amazing job growth. Instead, the private sector only added 1.1 million jobs between 1999 and 2009. And there's persuasive evidence that countries with smaller income gaps have longer periods of economic growth. But will reducing the income gap actually create jobs? That depends. Let's say we raise taxes on wealthier Americans. Should we use the money to modernize airports, bridges, and the electric grid, which creates jobs in the short run? Or should we reduce the deficit which improves the economy over the long haul?
Americans say federal government is too big, and most economists agree that if government gets too big, it can eat up money that might be better used elsewhere. Experts in the "dismal science" are currently nuking it out over whether we're at this point or not. Whatever the case, we should be honest that cutting government spending does eliminate jobs--it has to. Roughly 2 million Americans work for the federal government--85 percent of them outside of Washington. Then there are all the people who work for Lockheed, Boeing, Raytheon, and other companies with big government contracts. Cutting government spending will eliminate some of those jobs. We need to recognize the trade-off.
The vast majority of Americans work in the private sector--not in government--and there is one type of business that wins the job creation prize hands down. It's not small businesses, as many people assume. It's new businesses. In fact, nearly two-thirds of new jobs in the U.S. economy are created by businesses less than five years old. That's a big hint on how to rev up the job creation engine. Let's figure out how to encourage the innovation, entrepreneurship, business climate, and sheer guts it takes to start a business. It could be one of the most powerful strategies we have.
So you're standing in the voting booth asking yourself which candidate is better for jobs. It's worth thinking momentarily about what the president--any president--can actually do to create jobs. Successful businesses that hire lots of workers need many things--great ideas; skilled, imaginative leaders; trained, conscientious, honest workers; good transportation and communications; a rational, well-functioning legal system, good local government and more. Some of those come from government, and others, businesses have to do on their own. We tend to hold presidents accountable for jobs created or lost on their watch, but realistically, they're usually secondary players. Politicians don't hold all the cards, and frankly, we don't think they should.
So you're standing in the voting booth asking yourself which candidate is better for jobs. It's worth thinking momentarily about what the president--any president--can actually do to create jobs. Successful businesses that hire lots of workers need many things--great ideas; skilled, imaginative leaders; trained, conscientious, honest workers; good transportation and communications; a rational, well-functioning legal system, good local government and more. Some of those come from government, and others, businesses have to do on their own. We tend to hold presidents accountable for jobs created or lost on their watch, but realistically, they're usually secondary players. Politicians don't hold all the cards, and frankly, we don't think they should.


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February 4, 2006
Andreas Klein is a Juilliard-trained, internationally acclaimed concert pianist who's brought to vivid life works by some of the finest composers in history. His magnetic playing has been heard in such famous halls as Berlin's Philharmonic and New York's Carnegie.
Yet with such glowing credentials, the German-born Klein, like many other traveling pianists, is often only as good as the instrument he's paired with.
"It's important to find a good instrument because the best acoustics in a hall don't really help you if the piano is not very good," Klein said during a recent phone interview. "That's a big problem for pianists traveling, because they cannot take their own instrument. You have to play on whatever the presenter gives you, and you have to make friends with the instrument in a quick time, adapt to the situation."
Which makes his concert Sunday at Wabash College all the more enticing. Wabash alum John Failey, Class of 1972, one of the college's first music graduates, donated a new Steinway B piano to Wabash, as well as funded the restoration of its Bosendorfer piano.
Sunday's show, part of the college's Visiting Artists Series, starts at 4 p.m. in Salter Concert Hall in the Fine Arts Center. Seating for the series is general admission, though free tickets are required and may be reserved by e-mailing email@example.com or calling 361-6411 between 8:30 a.m.-12 p.m. and 1:30-4 p.m. Monday-Friday. The box office opens 90 minutes before curtain time. Tickets not claimed 10 minutes before showtime will be released to the general public.
The Steinway will be dedicated—and Failey and his wife, Jill, recognized—during the performance. Failey served as president of the family business, Engineered Cooling Systems Inc. in Carmel, before it was sold last year. This donation is his way of giving back to and staying connected with a music program that gave him so much.
"Wabash before had an older instrument that was pretty well worn out," Failey said by phone recently. "They got a lot of good use out of it, but it made more sense to replace it."
Because the Austrian-made Bosendorfer is so exceptional and fancy, Failey couldn't see the sense in Wabash unloading it.
"Now the college has two fine instruments to use," he said. And a visiting musician with matching caliber. Klein's program Sunday is called "Mozart and His Shadow." There also will be sonatas by Beethoven and Schubert featured.
"The purpose of this program is, first of all, to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth in 1756," Klein said. "But instead of just presenting an all-Mozart program, I thought that might be a bit too one-sided. So I want to showcase the fact that the spirit of Mozart and his artistry transcends to later composers, like Schubert and Beethoven, who were somehow influenced by Mozart — directly or indirectly."
Besides channeling some of classical music's greatest works, Klein also records them. He bought his first tape recorder in the 1960s and used it to monitor his progress during practices. Since gaining knowledge and acquiring equipment, Klein has recorded literally hundreds of concerts and provided master tapes for CD productions in the greater Houston area. He's come to appreciate both sides of the business, but doesn't compare them.
"When I'm playing music, then making music, recreating the piece, especially when you perform it, that's a great enjoyment," Klein said. "That's what I was trained for and really what is at the core of my life. The recording side and the production of music is something where you sit, so to speak, on the other side of the table, and you observe other people performing. You try to capture what they convey with their performance to the listener."
Klein finds keeping an audience captivated one of the toughest challenges for classical musicians today. He said European observers used to be better because they were exposed to the form more than Americans. Now, with technology rapidly advancing toward on-demand anything, attention spans get shorter and shorter. Klein offers sage advice on the matter: "Just get engrossed in listening to one thing."
This article was originally published in the Crawfordsville Journal-Review.


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Serbian Jelena Jankovic, second seed and world number four, outlasted Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro in the finals of the Andalucia Tennis Experience, a new event on the WTA tour. Jankovic, playing in her first final this year, won in three tough sets on clay 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 for her tenth career title.
With Suarez Navarro ranked 32nd and with this being her debut in a WTA final, for Jankovic, this match should have been a walk in the park. Instead, the 19 year-old Spaniard demonstrated that her reaching the quarterfinals of the 2008 French and 2009 Australian Open was no aberration.
After Jankovic opened the match holding at love and Suarez Navarro tied the set at 1 all, the Spaniard made a couple of backhand winners giving her three chances to break. However, thanks to a kind net court winner and forehand errors by Carla, Jelena came out unscathed. Subsequently, Jankovic harassed her rival's forehand and manufactured a break for a 3-1 lead. With Jelena committing two consecutive backhand errors, Carla again had triple break point. With a smoking up the line forehand, the Spaniard provoked a backhand error from the Serb to get back on serve. Disappointingly, in the next game, Suarez Navarro smashed an overhead into the net giving Jankovic back the advantage. This proved to be the difference in Jelena winning the first set.
Suarez Navarro began the proceedings in the second set with forehand and backhand down the line winners. After getting to 40-0, the Spaniard made a series of errors that resulted in Jankovic breaking for 1-0. Yet, Suarez Navarro showed she was no push over and battled back. With Jelena having two game points, Carla made a forehand up the line winner and pressured errors from her opponent for deuce. Encouraged by her home audience, the Spaniard broke when Jankovic's crosscourt forehand went out of bounce. After holding serve for 2-1, Suarez Navarro capitalized on an error filled game by Jankovic to jump ahead 3-1. The rest of the set, the Spaniard dominated on the long points while the errors accumulated from the Serb. Carla served out the set and tied the match.
With momentum and not intimidated by the occasion, Suarez Navarro started the third by hitting a forehand down the line winner to convert double break point. But, in the next game, the forehand was a liability as it cost the Spaniard the lead. Perhaps a tad discouraged, Suarez Navarro's backhand also began to misfire allowing Jankovic to take a 5-1, double break lead. Still, as Jankovic served for the championship, Suarez Navarro's backhand came back to life and with winners, she broke for 5-2. Then, with a forehand winner, the Spaniard saved match point and held for 5-3. With Jankovic serving for the match a second time, Suarez Navarro connected on a backhand down the line winner for deuce, then with an overhead put away had a break point. However, a forehand crosscourt error denied the Spaniard a shot glory. In the end, on Jelena's fifth match point, Carla's return found the net and a relieved Jankovic had her first title of 2009.
For Jelena this victory is a great building block although she did not face a single top twenty rival as Serena Williams the top seed lost in the first round. Russian Dinara Safina will now replace Serena at number one.


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A Voice for the Silent
Penn State bioengineering and premedicine student creates a simple machine that helps children with nonverbal cerebral palsy communicate.
The NCAA aims to showcase the well-rounded nature of their Division III student-athletes, who "pursue their interests and passions beyond the classroom and field of play to discover themselves," "are encouraged to develop into well-rounded adults," and "dedicate themselves to achieving their potential."
If ever a Penn State Altoona student-athlete embodied those ideals, it is Mary Elizabeth McCulloch. Currently a junior at the University Park campus, Mary Elizabeth excelled in all areas during her freshman and sophomore years at Penn State Altoona, becoming one of the top women's swimmers in Lady Lions' history.
While most students' volunteerism takes them to food banks, shelters, or community events, McCulloch's endeavors took her overseas.
Dedication beyond the classroom
But McCulloch's most impressive accomplishments lie in the field of community service. While most students' volunteerism takes them to food banks, shelters, or community events, McCulloch's endeavors took her overseas.
Prior to her freshman year of college at Penn State Altoona, McCulloch spent time as an exchange student in Ecuador. Upon her arrival there, she marveled at the beautiful geography, which includes parts of the Amazon rainforest and Andes mountain range, as well as the Galapagos Islands. But she also saw a contrasting side of the country: a large portion of the country's population which was buried in poverty and despair.
In particular, McCulloch saw many special needs children whose families were unable to care for them. As a result, some are abandoned in churches and cared for in orphanages.
McCulloch worked at one of these orphanages, where she met children with nonverbal cerebral palsy. While the children showed an extreme deficiency in motor skills, she saw a strong desire in each of them to communicate with their caregivers and visitors.
"There were fifteen kids with cerebral palsy at the orphanage where I worked, and every day it became evident that they were coherent," McCulloch says. "They had trouble moving their muscles and getting their brains to tell their muscles what to do, but by sitting down and asking them yes or no questions, they would nod their heads yes or no, and you could learn a lot about these children just by asking a long series of these questions."
Mary Elizabeth developed a concept for an assistive speech device that could allow children with nonverbal cerebral palsy to communicate more efficiently.
A student with a vision
By the time McCulloch returned to the United States to begin her college career at Penn State Altoona, she knew she wanted to devote herself to finding a way to improve the lives of the Ecuadoran kids she met.
"I thought that if I could make something that could ask these questions for me and let the kids be able to respond with more than a 'yes' or 'no,' it would really help them communicate," McCulloch recalls.
At Penn State Altoona, McCulloch—who always wanted to be a doctor— chose bioengineering and pre-medicine as her education tracks. She also joined the varsity women's swimming team, and she quickly emerged as one of the best swimmers on the squad. Still, McCulloch did not forget about the Ecuadorian children.
Using her knowledge of engineering and science, as well as seeking the help of various professors and her father – who himself spent two years as a student at Penn State Altoona in engineering – she developed a concept for an assistive speech device that could allow children with nonverbal cerebral palsy to communicate more efficiently.
The device would correlate different ranges of motion in the children's legs with a large bank of responses from which they could select. These responses would then be conveyed through the device back to the person who asked the question through a small speaker. As her idea gradually transitioned from the abstract to the tangible, McCulloch was eager to return to Ecuador for a trial run.
In the meantime, McCulloch credited swimming with balancing her life and putting things in perspective for her while forcing her to manage her time more efficiently.
"Swimming put structure into every day by making me set certain times to study and to do research for my device," McCulloch explains.
McCulloch's focus while swimming helped her achieve big things for her team. Her two years as a swimmer at Penn State Altoona were highlighted by an Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Women's Swimmer of the Year honor in 2013 and winning three different events at the conference championship. She also set a new school record in the 50-meter breaststroke.
"Swimming put structure into every day by making me set certain times to study and to do research for my device."—Mary Elizabeth McCulloch
On to University Park
After two years at Penn State Altoona, her education track took her to University Park to complete her studies. At Altoona, she posted a 3.93 grade point average. Her studies were, and continue to be, motivated by her desire to make a difference in the lives of the Ecuadoran children she met.
"I need to understand the math and physics basis for the things I want to do. I'm not just thinking about getting a grade; I really do want to go into a third world country to be an engineer and a physician," McCulloch explains. "I need to thoroughly understand engineering, physics, and the technology related to medical devices. "
McCulloch, who has been back to Ecuador as well as on several medical missions to the Dominican Republic though the Hershey Medical Center, credits her parents with helping to keep her focused.
"My parents are one of a kind. They have always been there to help me along the way and give me wisdom and encouragement to do my best."
In September 2013, McCulloch was recognized by the Eastern College Athletic Conference as its Division III Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year. She won the award because of her excellence in swimming, her studies, and her volunteer work, selected over hundreds of other female student-athletes who were nominated. While McCulloch knows that her quest is far from over, she was happy to gain a little bit of encouragement along the way.
"Sometimes you're working so hard and you don't think people appreciate it, so it's nice to know that someone else is saying 'good job,'" McCulloch states. "To attend the ECAC Honors Dinner with Fredina [Ingold, director of athletics at Penn State Altoona] and receive my award really made me appreciate all of the gifts that Penn State Altoona gave me. The encouragement I received from my professors, my coach, and the whole athletics department is a testimony to Penn State Altoona."


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STORM SNOWBOARDS needed a new web page design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 159 designs submitted by 40 freelance designers.
We are a startup company with two patents pending for a revolutionary new snowboard design. We need a cutting-edge, yet professional website design that will communicate the look and feel of who we are and what we will do - which is to introduce the next generation snowboard to the world. Once the website is completed, we will begin a multimedia marketing campaign to introduce our patent-pending design to the world snowboarding community, which will include press releases and direct marketing of our product to industry magazines, newspapers, manufacturers, distributors, retailers, websites, and end users - all of whom will directed to our website. This is a design only contest. I will negotiate for coding after a design has been selected. Please read our company profile for more information about our product.
We are looking for a splashy, yet professional website design that will appeal to everyone - not just the young. Our innovative board design was NOT created for the two million people that currently snowboard - it was created for the twenty million (or two hundred million) that do not. The website will have the following tabs: Home, About Us, Riders, Manufacturers, Investors. The home page content should be simple and uncluttered, and will contain a paragraph or two of text, and then showcase the following three key elements: a video; an animated 3D interactive flash model of our board design; and a pdf of our patents. All pictures must be royalty free. For logo info, please see our winning logo design on this site at: http://99designs.com/contests/9386. Note that the color of STORM in the logo has been changed to blue.
The home page design must be sleek, contemporary, fresh, and innovative - just like our product. We want the site to be appealing to everyone, but still want the, "Very cool" reaction!
Do not want anything too dark, too goth, or too grunge. Colors such as black and red are fine for accents, but must be used sparingly. Pictures are great (love them in fact!), but don't want their use to be too traditional or mundane.


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It's winter over here in Australia, and where I'm living we've had a fair amount of cold days, cloudy skies and rain. But I don't think this cute brooch needs to be only saved for the winter months! It rains in the summertime too, hey? I think it can be gorgeous anytime of year :)
This is a fairly quick and fun project to make; and you don't need a lot of supplies.
You will need:
-White felt
-Beads (I used white, pearly green and bigger blue beads, but use what you have- I think different colours would look interesting)
-Firm plastic for reinforcement- such as an ice cream container lid
-Pin back
-Craft glue
You will also need:
-Beading needle, sewing needle, thread and scissors
Print out your pattern sheet at 100% size. Cut along the lines of the cloud shape that doesn't have the rain drops. Use this to lay on your felt, trace around and cut two out.
Lay your plastic piece over one of the cloud shapes and draw a shape that is around .5cm smaller than the cloud. If your plastic is opaque cut it to size first then trim down. This leaves space so you can still sew your clouds shapes together.
Take your beading needle and your white seed beads and randomly sew them all around on the right side of one cloud. Then, Using the pattern sheet as a guide, sew on the raindrops. I reinforced with a few stitches at the top of the rain drops, threaded beads on to the length I wanted, then threaded a larger bead on. Next, you take the needle through the smaller beads again and reinforce again at the top with a few stitches. Repeat for all of the rain drops.
Take your back cloud (make sure you're doing this on the reverse side of the back cloud) and place your pin back on so you can mark where to cut.
Snip two little cuts and push your pin through the felt.
Now, lay your front cloud face down, and pop some craft glue on where you will stick your plastic down. Place some more glue on top of the plastic, and place the back cloud on top of the plastic. Make sure there's sufficient glue underneath where the pin back sits for strength.
Now, you take a needle and thread and stitch all around the outside to finish your brooch off. Fold your raindrops to one side when you reach sewing up the bottom of the cloud.
Rain hail or shine, it's a tribute to Mother Nature anytime of the year!
I hope you enjoyed this project.
Jules :)
You can find more of Jules here:
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/julesmadden/


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Jennifer Kerns, spokeswoman in Colorado recalls, involved in similar California efforts
Jennifer Kerns, the chief spokeswoman for organizers who recalled two Colorado state lawmakers in September, is now helping to lead similar recalls of five California lawmakers.
Legislators in the Golden State passed an array of gun-control bills this year — some of which Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed — and Kerns said at a news conference Thursday the recall efforts come as retribution for those votes.
Kerns said recall advocates are using a scoring system where the Democratic lawmakers are ranked on how they voted and how much money it would take to initiate a recall election, according to The San Franciso Chronicle.
In the weeks after the successful Colorado recalls of Sens. John Morse of Colorado Springs and Angela Giron of Pueblo, Kerns took a job as the spokeswoman for a California Republican gubernatorial candidate. Throughout the recall campaigns of Morse and Giron, Democrats — and even some Republicans — attacked Kerns as an outsider to the state working to oust the two state lawmakers.
Kerns had previously served as lead spokeswoman for California's 2008 Prop 8 campaign which eliminated the rights of same-sex couples to marry — an initiative that was later ruled unconstitutional by federal courts.
California is no stranger to recalls. Ten years ago voters recalled Gov. Gray Davis over concerns surrounding the state's budget.
Follow Kurtis on Twitter: @kurtisalee


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Which court(s) do you play at? I also have a 11-yo tennis player here. I'm unfamiliar with Challenger level. Mine plays at the Bronze level in Junior Team program at Cupertino Sports Center. Maybe let them try playing once to see? Thanks, Lynn
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This past winter and spring I've found myself in the strange process of becoming an avid naturalist. One thing that's struck me is how grateful squirrels are for easy handouts.
This past winter and spring I've found myself in the strange process of becoming an avid naturalist. One thing that's struck me is how grateful squirrels are for easy handouts.
The natural world teaches us about hoarding as a basic survival strategy that is common across the animal world. The squirrel is looked upon with amusement when he is seen scampering across yards burying nuts in hopes to avoid going hungry in the future.
The problem, according to several articles on the Internet, is that the grey squirrel is a bit thick and while instinct drives him to bury as many nuts as possible, a bigger problem is that he can't remember where he puts the darn things!
Hubby and I delighted in watching the squirrel we affectionately nicknamed Squirrely scurrying across our yard this winter and we began to feed him.
I regret that decision.
Squirrels, or more specifically, grey squirrels, are really quite mad. They will stop at nothing to get nuts and seeds and will chew through steel, plastic, electrical wiring or anything that keeps them from what they regard as tasty little morsels.
Case in point.
One recent morning I opened the curtains to find the little mongrel hanging upside down by his toes from the suet cage stuck to my window, plucking seeds from the suet block and tossing aside the seeds he apparently didn't like. No remorse or hesitation about the waste, not to mention the flagrant theft.
I shooed him away only to have him come back when I was at work and finish off the suet block in less than a week.
I wasn't pleased with our new bully-of-the-yard, eating everything and anything except his own corn log, but I didn't have reason to wage war until recently.
This past weekend Hubby and I planted tomato and pepper plants in our garden. As we were moving the soil around to prepare it for planting, we laughed when we found a few buried walnuts, presumably from Squirrelly, and tossed them into our alley.
Hubby mentioned we should maybe consider purchasing a fence to keep rodents like Squirrelly out. I shrugged off his suggestion saying in the past planting marigolds around the perimeter of the garden has kept predators away for the most part.
Anyway, squirrels like nuts and seeds. They would have no reason to bother a vegetable garden. Right? According to the Internet, the grey squirrel won't remember he buried a few walnuts in our garden plot.
This past Monday when I came home from work Hubby looked sheepish. He explained how he glanced out the window at the garden only to make eye contact with Squirrelly, who froze momentarily with a face full of mud before scurrying away to reveal a freshly unearthed pepper plant. Upon further inspection Hubby found two empty halves of a walnut shell beside a six-inch deep hole where the pepper plant used to be.
"I think he gave you a proverbial squirrel finger," Hubby said after he showed me the crime scene.
I stomped and yelled and shook my fist at Squirrelly while he sat nearby and laughed and chattered with his buddies.
This definitely means war.
Friends and family have many creative suggestions. The best idea, supplied by my dear son, was to sit in the yard all day with a BB gun and have at it. Others delighted in reminding me that I shouldn't underestimate the ingenuity and determination of a squirrel.
Hubby and I talked strategy. We needed a program to counter the awesome squirrel threat with measures that were defensive. What we need is a strategic defense initiative for our garden.
In the middle of our strategic planning discussion the lights blinked several times– making us wonder if the insurgents were mad and taking their frustration out on our wiring.
We haven't come up with a definitive strategy yet, but we decided to go with peace-keeping measures to start.
If that doesn't work, I'll hire a gun.


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See what you win when emotion meets technology.
The display and the most important functions of your smartphone on the touchscreen of your car.
However attractive a car may be on the outside, as a driver, you see it mainly from inside. You spend many hours behind the wheel. That's why everything must be right on the inside. Because that's where you will really appreciate the quality of the design, the materials and the equipment.
You'll find many of the bold design elements of the exterior reappearing on the inside: the wing and blade shapes, for example, are reinterpreted as gently rounded forms that give a protective feeling but also create lots of space.
The inside of an Opel is a very special environment. We pay careful attention to the tactile experience in the car. All of the materials work together to create a harmonious sensation and welcome you and your passengers. Everything you touch has a refined, sophisticated feel. The quality of the materials is evident in such things as the grained, soft-touch surfaces, the textured panels, the quality of the décor, the chrome trim elements, and the feel of operating buttons and switches. Special nanotechnology coatings make fabrics both stain-resistant and water-repellent without compromising their "breathing" qualities.
Get inside an Opel and feel firmly in control yet comfortable and relaxed. The seats give excellent support thanks to industry-best adjustment ranges. The instruments are clearly displayed and the controls are placed within easy reach. The center console is angled towards the driver's position to give you even better view and reach. Everything has its place; practical storage spaces solve everyday needs in the easiest way possible.


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Founded in 1994, PPA International, Inc. quickly became a leader in the computer hardware and peripherals industry. Using cutting edge high speed SMT tooling and plastic injection machines, PPA is able to offer its clientelé quality, time-tested products using the latest in innovation and design technology. .


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Hi Guys,
Recently got a TS12, just wanted some help if possible from fellow synthheads out there who have one of these amazing machines. I have the user guide documents but they read like a japanese vcr instruction manual lol.
Im trying to put on new patches. From what i understand, I can just buy a usb to floppy drive for $10 and some cheap floppys and just put the files on from my pc? Is this right. Just wanna double check before i spend money buying them.
I also understand you need special floppy disks for putting on samples? Is this right? and for patches you just get normal 1.44mb floppy disks?
My demo songs do not play as well. The songs with a $ in front of them do nothing when i press play. Other than this the synth seems perfect. I wonder if something has been damaged or i need to reinitialize it.
Does anyone have some links to patches too. Im really after dx7 sounds and old analog sounds. I have found this site but just wanna know if theres anymore links to good sites. http://www.ts12.net/ts12-ev-specification.html
Hope to chat to some fellow users of this synth soon, Perhaps we can all trade patches soon.
Amazing synth by the way. Ive owned a Polysix, Juno 6, 3 x Yamaha dx7's, Triton Xtreme 76, Roland d70, Roland d20, Roland SUper JX and this is one amazing synth! So much better than a nasty Triton.
Thanks guys!


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A man's wardrobe Mens Suit Hire in Alberton is always incomplete without a men's suit. Men's suits have always enjoyed immense reputation and popularity around the globe. Men's suits always project professionalism and distinctive character and are also worn as a style statement. You can wear a men's suit on different occasions. There are various types of men's suits available in different styles and patterns.
The Dinner suit is the first suit worn, Mens Groom Wedding Suits among all suits these days. It basically emerges as an alternative to dress coats in much the same way as the day lounge suit. The dinner suit can also be made as a part of a black tie suit.
The business suit is the second type of men's suit available. It is preferred mostly by businessmen as a lounge suit. While going for a conference, conducting meetings or any other business activity, the business suit is considered the most suitable business attire for men. A range of choices are available in different styles, colors and fabrics in business suits.
Wedding suits are the next type of suits available in the line of men's suits. Special occasions like a ceremony, marriage party, etc are the times when these suits are worn. They in turn, 3 Piece Suit Wedding Groom provide esteem on such special occasions. A fusion of rare fabrics and classic styles with an elegant touch will describe these suits. Designer suits are another type of men's suits. They are said to be one of the most favorable choices of everybody. These suits can sometimes be quite tricky to buy. As fashion changes, these suits also change from year to year. The designer suits can be found in different styles, materials and colors.
Solid Statements:
If you were to choose a bright color outside the standard brown, black or grey, solid color suits are definitely a break from the norm. Such suits can be found in brown, blue and even bright colors like orange.
The linen suit is quite fashionable, comfortable and accessible thanks to the Italian clothing designers. The linen has proven to be incredibly comfortable, almost like wearing fine sheets, which also makes the many colors and patterns, variations work very well with the suit. These suits are mostly associated with a more relaxed vacation feel and are lighter in color. Beige is one such color.
The tuxedo offers enough variation by its nature to suit any physique and is put into use for special engagements. A tux is worn with a cummerbund and is generally defined by the tails that extend the length of the back of the coat.
You will look and feel good instantly as soon as you put on a suit. The suit forms one of the most classic and essential pieces of any man's wardrobe.
Mens Suit Hire in Alberton ?
Of all the events taking place in your life, marriage is one of the most important events in your life. It is the turning point in your life and you want it to cherish forever. There are many things that you have to keep in mind when shopping for wedding suits for men.
Besides the cuts and style, you must also take into consideration the type of colour and fabric you would like to opt for. It is suggested that before making any decision keep in mind the weather conditions and the time when marriage is going to take place. Opt for the crease free fabric and choose the colours that goes well with your complexion.
Carefully observe the style of the marriage dressings. You should ensure that it goes well with the structure of your body. In most of the cases, the suit coat is matched well in advance with pants to be worn on the most important day of your life. However, in few cases you have to mix and match them in addition.
Another important thing that you have ton take care is to get the pants cut lengthwise. While selecting the shirt, look that it matches with the style and colour of your complete dress. After purchasing marriage dress, now is the time to shop for accessories.
Top Tips When Looking For a Wedding Suit
It is important to look smart for any wedding you attend and a smart Wedding Suit is something you should invest in. Suits have a massive range of style and colour and before making your selection read some Wedding Suit Reviews before you take the plunge and shell out your hard earned cash. If you are considering hiring then it might be a good option to take out accidental suit hire damage insurance, which covers most forms of wedding attire. For the small additional cost this could save you a small fortune as many weddings involve a good drinking session.
The end result of any suit should mean that the man wearing it feels and looks comfortable. This will ensure you enjoy the day.


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by Pete Mazzaccaro
The Bocce Club of Chestnut Hill's annual Fourth of July celebration attracted hundreds of parents and kids to the Water Tower yesterday for a bike parade, pony rides, races, a magic show and more. The festivities kicked off at 9 a.m. with the always colorful bike parade. Contestants earned prizes and everyone got a free event t-shirt.
Do you have a great photo of the Fourth? Send it to firstname.lastname@example.com and, if we'll add it to the slideshow. Be sure to send information about the photo (names, etc) and use "4th Photo" as your email's subject. Thanks.


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First Food
Research shows that babies who breastfeed or receive exclusive access to breast milk for the first six months of life have better health, educational and emotional outcomes. We believe a mother's breast milk is the optimal first food to give children the best start to good health.
Why This Work Matters
All children deserve a healthy start in life. We believe children's health can be improved dramatically by ensuring that more babies benefit from breast milk as their first food experience.
We recognize the importance of breastfeeding to improving the lives of vulnerable children and families. Further, recent medical studies have quantified the potential benefits of increased breastfeeding rates to society and the economy, and the benefits of breastfeeding for maternal health. These are in addition to the undeniable qualitative benefits of breastfeeding for both mother and child.
Our first food strategy aligns with our focus on optimal child development, and builds on the foundation's legacy of supporting access to healthy food and improving maternal and child health.
What We Support
We support a broad-based approach to first food that seeks to accelerate a cultural shift in the acceptance of breastfeeding and recognition of its benefits to children and their mothers.
Our approach emphasizes working with communities where health disparities are most prevalent, and where mothers and children will benefit the most from increased breastfeeding. By supporting community-based approaches to supporting breastfeeding moms, we help advocates learn what works in vulnerable communities.
We support organizations that expand community supports for mothers and families, improve hospital and workplace environments to make breastfeeding easier, encourage new social norms for breastfeeding and strengthen the network of groups working together to increase breastfeeding rates.
We invest in a number of national, state and local organizations across the United States and in tribal nations committed to supporting mothers who want to breastfeed. By funding local efforts, we improve breastfeeding rates in our priority places. And by seeding a national movement, advancing research and advocating for change, we create systems to support mothers in breastfeeding.


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(removed discrimination of critpath packages)
(→Complex features with system-wide impact)
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* Feature Freeze as a hard deadline for complex features, to allow integration and possible mass rebuilds etc.
* Feature Freeze as a hard deadline for complex features, to allow integration and possible mass rebuilds etc.
What must be defined or added into current system:
Define Scope sections more clearly:
Define Scope sections more clearly:
Revision as of 12:36, 28 November 2012
Features, features and features (2012-07-25)
Attendees: mmaslano, mitr, t8m, jreznik
The aim of this proposal is to lower the barrier to propose Features, to avoid situation where unknown/not proposed changes appears later in the release cycle and leads to conflicts/slip and other issues. But also not to flood FESCo with overwhelming amount of Features and let them concentrate more on important complex Features with system wide impact. The community review is part of proposed process.
Categories of features
- "self contained" features
- "complex features" with wide impact
Self contained features
The self contained feature could be one very isolated package or feature with limited scope, for example adding group of leaf packages or coordinated effort within SIG with limited impact outside SIG functional area. Enhancement of one package without impact on other package is also self contained feature.
Public announcement of the new self contained feature will help to co-operate on the feature and extend proposed feature visibility. Feature owners can find help or useful comments. Those features don't have to be thoroughly reviewed by FESCo, which means more time for FESCo on the second category.
- Formal correctness of filled feature template will be checked by Feature Wrangler and Feature will be announced on Fedora devel list.
- No docs process (optional), only release notes advertisement.
- Aggregated list of features will be added to FESCo agenda after a week (or more) on mailing list.
- In case of no complaints (possible breakage/conflicts, coordination needed) on Fedora devel mailing list, FESCo will approve those features without more investigation about the scope etc. Every team on Fedora devel can share their views and escalate feature to FESCo to go through the regular Feature process.
- allow the submission of self contained Features by Features 100% Complete (-1 week for announcement, in case of objections in this time, Feature is postponed to next release and will go through the regular Feature process).
Complex features with system-wide impact
This features are system-wide/defaults changing features or critical path components. They can impact hundreds of packages (upgrade of gcc, glibc, change default from python2 -> python3, UsrMove, etc.). FESCo must have more time to review those features, help feature maintainer with defining the scope or help with contacting other impacted teams.
It might be helpful to have for every feature one FESCo member (shepherd) who will offer his help to maintainer and will communicate status of the feature with rest of the FESCo. Problems like postponing the decision about feature should disappear because someone will be in contact with maintainer.
- Formal correctness of filled feature template will be checked by Feature Wrangler and Feature will be announced on Fedora devel list.
- After a week on mailing list FESCo will discuss the feature on their meeting.
- The feature will be assigned to one of FESCo members, who will help with process in Fedora (like where to ask for different koji buildroot, it can also point out that buildroot will be neccessary).
- The feature can be accepted, but FESCo member will follow on status of the feature until release of Fedora. We should be able to track the real status, better than with 80% which magically grow to 100% during Beta freeze. Also using green, yellow, red instead of % will be improvement.
- The accepted feature will be switched to new state and will be waiting for re-review in case of problem or Beta freeze when is status of features reviewed.
- Fedora QA is noticed (or explicit approval should be required?) to commit to testing of the Feature and/or adjust release criteria.
- Feature Freeze as a hard deadline for complex features, to allow integration and possible mass rebuilds etc.
What must be defined or added into current system:
Define Scope sections more clearly:
- release engineering impact (mass rebuilds etc.) - ticket to rel-engs, to understand impact of proposed feature, to schedule mass rebuilds for more features together etc.
- mass rebuild deadline
- backup solution for contingency plan (remember rewrite of anaconda!)
New Feature Template:
All sections of this template are required for review by FESCo or only for Features to be approved by FESCo?
Required fields: Summary, Owner, Current Status, Scope (list of dependencies), ...
- Who's actually responsible for work on broken things related to the new feature?
- Feature templates - must be all field filled even for self-contained features?
- Add into trac more statuses for tracking features or track the whole process in Fedora Program Management trac not to pollute FESCo trac and allow different teams to access it (for rel-eng, QA acks etc).


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In case you don't remember, there will be three types Glyphs in Cataclysm instead of the two we have now. Blizzard is adding a third category of glyph called a Prime glyph which is really what we think of as Major Glyphs now. These will be the clear DPS boosting glyphs have been the bread and butter of the Major Glyphs in WotLK. In Cataclysm, the Major Glyph category will be the more situationally helpful but generally ignored Major glyphs we had in WotLK. The Minor Glyph Category is so far unchanged.
Prime Glyphs:
- Starsurge
At this point I think the Glyph of Insect Swarm (GoIS) and Glyph of Starfire (GoSF) are no brainers. With a 30% damage boost GoIS was a very strong for most of WotLK and only fell because our DoTs didn't scale well. Since that is changing in Cataclysm, I assume that GoIS will be very strong once again.
I am a little surprised that GoSF hasn't changed, though it still can. When I pick it I am assuming that it actually adds 3 seconds to the duration of MF and scales with haste, instead of just adding an additional tick. If that is the case, then GoSF should be very strong.
The big question is should we go with Glyph of Wrath (GoW) and increase our Wrath damage by 10% or with the Glyph of Moonfire (GoMF) and increase our MF DoT damage by 20%. It's a tough call. Buffing DoTs over nukes is generally not a good idea because nukes tend to make up a much larger portion of our DPS then DoTs do. However, what I'm reading is that our nukes are currently very weak in the beta and that the DoTs are very strong. On top of that there is some synergy between the GoSF and GoMF that shouldn't be ignored. Therefore, I have to go with GoMF right now, but I wouldn't be surprised to see that change by the time Cataclysm is released.
Glyph of Starsurge (GoSS) is the "also ran " of this category. There are a couple of things that make this unattractive from my perspective. First, Starfall has been nerfed quite a bit in the Beta. Reducing it's cooldown is nice, but won't pack the same punch that it does currently on live. Second, Starfall isn't always an ability you want to use on cooldown. If you're saving it for an add phase each time then the cooldown reductions are wasted. Though it is possible that GoSS might allow you to use Starfall every add phase instead of every other add phase assuming the timing is right.
Major Glyphs:
- Focus – unchanged (Increases Starfall dmg by 10% and reduces range by 50%).
- Thorns – Reduces cooldown by 20 sec.
- Barkskin – Unchanged (reduces chance to be crit by melee attacks).
- Entangling Roots – Reduces cast time of roots by 100%.
- Hurricane – Slows movement speed by 50% (up from 20%).
- Innervate – When innervate is cast on a friendly target other than the caster, the caster will gain 50% of inntervate's effect. (up from 45%)
- Monsoon – Unchanged (reduces cooldown of Typhoon by 3 sec)
- Rebirth – Unchanged (res with 100% health)
- Solar beam – Increases the duration of your solar beam silence by 5 sec.
- Starfall – Reduces the cooldown on starfall by 30 sec
If I had to choose my standard three I would probably pick Glyph of Starfall (GoSFall), Glyph of Innervate (GoI) and Glyph of Rebirth (GoR). Unless you are saving it for adds GoSFall is a pretty clear DPS increase for a Major Glyph. GoR is a clear winner for me, because you never want to see your rez target die due to a poorly timed AoE or rez acceptance. Finally, I choose GoI because of all the mana talk that Blizzard is making for healers, and there is talk that Cataclysm will be the return of the Oomkin. If healers need mana and we need mana then GoI is a smart choice.
Glyph of Focus could be very nice in the right type of fight, but I am not a fan of the range reduction. In general, I think it reduces the usefulness of Starfall rather then helps it's damage output. Glyph of Hurricane would also be very helpful in the right situation, but I think there has been only one fight in all of WotLK where I thought it might help. The other Major Glyphs are primarily PvP related, but could have some impact in PvE. However, I expect most of them to be rarely used if at all.
Minor Glyphs:
- Aquatic form – increases swim speed by 50% in aquatic form
- Mark of the Wild – Reduces cost of MOTW by 50% (NOTE: GOTW is gone and MOTW is now group & already costs no reagent)
- Unburdened Rebirth (unchanged) – rebirth no longer requires a reagent
- Challenging Roar – Reduces cooldown by 30 sec
- Dash – reduces cooldown by 20 sec
- Typhoon – reduces cost of the spell by 8%, increases radius by 10 yards, but no longer knocks enemies back


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VMware held its annual Partner Exchange event in the shadow of Disney's Magic Kingdom this year, but the subject matter was anything but kids' stuff. VMware and its partners met up to discuss the serious business of capitalizing on current market demand for virtualization solutions while also laying the groundwork for migrating to the cloud.
In between attending keynote sessions and speaking with VMware executives and partners, CRN found time to capture some illustrative scenes from VMware Partner Exchange 2011, and here we present 10 of the most memorable.


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So I went to a Hockey game in the UK...
As you probably know, (mainly because I don't stop complaining about the time change) work has relocated to me to the UK.
I have been over here since the beginning of January and over the past few months I have been enjoying and immersing myself into the British culture and definitely not spending my time watching hours and hours of Hockey highlights that I couldn't watch live.
This isn't going to be a long complaint riddled dissertation about a Hockey starved expat who stays up until 3 AM to watch the Habs/Devils game…no…this is going to be complaint riddled dissertation about a Hockey starved expat who stays up until 3 AM watching the Habs/Bruins game.
The Devils are boring.
Seriously though. Life hasn't been too terrible from a Hockey perspective because of this fancy new invention called the internet (which apparently is sticking around).
The only thing that I really miss is going to the Bell Centre and watching a live game.
Michel Lacroix giving me Goosebumps, Charles Prevost-Linton making me wish I could pull of a perm, Coldplay putting me into a trance that I can only compare to what I assume doing Meth feels like. The expensive hot dogs, the expensive pizza and the inexplicable lack of Poutine, the meetings with my financial advisers months in advance to work out a budget plan then figuring out I have to take out a loan, sell my condo in that up and coming neighborhood near the Bureau En Gros near Namur Metro that is still being built, selling my certified pre-owned 2002 Dodge Neon that I just bought 3 weeks ago just to buy a can of Molson Ex.
And also the Hockey or whatever.
Good times.
If someone tells me they started serving Poutine I'll be on the next flight back.
I figured I'd be the only Hockey fan for miles so you can imagine I felt just like residents of Tampa when they found out they had a Hockey team just after their Stanley Cup win when I found out that someone I work with and her husband are Hockey fans and go to games on occasion.
It took about 2 months of jokingly talking about going to see a game before we started seriously talking about it. Short story short we bought 3 tickets to see the Coventry Blaze host the Belfast Giants do battle.
Coventry is about an hour north of Oxford, where I've been camping out during my stay here.
It wouldn't be the first time I'd drive an hour to see a Hockey game because for the past few years I have driven from the Miami area to middle of nowhere Sunrise, Florida to watch the Habs play the Panthers. Nice rink, absolute middle of nowhere. Worse than Kanata.
They play in the EIHL aka the Elite Ice Hockey League which is the UK's top Hockey League.
It has 10 teams mainly located in Northern UK of which, along with the two I mentioned above, are the league leading Nottingham Panthers (wasted opportunity to call themselves the Sheriffs) and the Cardiff Devils where Biznasty scored 21 points in 11 games during the lockout. (the most recent one)
I don't want to talk too much about the teams themselves because if you wanted to know you can use that thing called the internet to find out but I will go into it a little bit.
The majority of both rosters are Canadian sprinkled with random European players as well as a few UK talents.
From the one game I watched, the Giants notables were Andrew Fournier (4 years with Plymouth in the OHL, bounced around the ECHL for a few years) and Chad Langlais (U of Michigan, bounced around the minors). Theo Fleury played for the Giants during the 05-06 season. He scored 74 points in 34 games.
For the home team Coventry Blaze, their notables were Captain Shea Guthrie (drafted in the 3rd round by the Islanders in the 2005 draft) and 6'4 Adam Henrich (2nd round pick of the Lightning in the 2002 draft).
The Giants beat the Blaze 4-2 which was a bummer for the home crowd fans in the mostly packed 3,000 seat Coventry Skydome. This was definitely not a bummer for the 40ish Giants fans who came in all the way from Belfast to watch their beloved team. They sat in the away fan section much like you would find at a Football/Soccer game. This was awesome and NHL rinks need to adopt this concept. I was surprised when the arena filled itself but was even more surprised to find that on top the stands being full the team also allows fans to cram up against the glass and watch the game from there. Scary close.
The Blaze fans were fantastic. Not only knowledgeable but frantic, excited and passionate. They individually and collectively pointed out shortcomings and cheered on their team's success. Massive ups to the fans in Coventry, you impressed me more than anything else.
The Blaze fans were fantastic. Not only knowledgeable but frantic, excited and passionate. They individually and collectively pointed out shortcomings and cheered on their team's success. Massive ups to the fans in Coventry, you impressed me more than anything else.
The quality of the game was what you would expect. I'm not going to sugar coat anything, it was far from the best Hockey I've seen but you could tell that the majority of the players there really cared and were playing out of a combination of necessity and love for the sport.
The Giants were the better team without question. They had properly executed plays, a solid system and the talent to pull it off.
The Blaze were a step behind but they held their own. They are definitely aware that Guthrie and Henrich were their two best players that night and did what they could to build around that. The one breakout that didn't involve the defenseman launching the puck from behind his own net to a winger at the far blue line for a tip in then chase resulted in a Guthrie snipe that was the goal of the night.
The Blaze definitely held their own and dominated the early goings of the game but just couldn't keep up with what I assume is a much better Giants team (23 points ahead of them in the standings).
Now enough about the game, hope I didn't lose you. Time to focus on the atmosphere, the qualities that made this game undeniably British and the similarities that unified the game with its North American counterpart.
We walked in during the warm-ups. We spent the first 5 minutes trying to spot former Hab Gregory Stewart, who currently plays for the Giants. Turns out he was scratched which ruined my plan of banging on the glass like a 5 year old for ten minutes hoping to get his attention and show him the Habs shirt that I was wearing. Lame.
After that the first thing I noticed was the rafters. Turns out the Blaze have a history and they're not opposed to honoring it just as any NHL team would, by hanging up banners in their rafters. They had about 15 banners commemorating championship teams and retired numbers.
We did a tour of the rink, past the concessions that sold tea, coffee, hot dogs and curry. Yes, curry, which was a shade of red so loud it would have made Lindy Ruff proud.
We also stepped into the arena Bar…called Crosby's. Definitely not a coincidence. The bar had a good vibe and had a Bob Probert Wings Jersey hanging next to an Islanders Fisherman Jersey. I am not making this up, best bar décor I've ever seen. I challenge you to find a bar with better jerseys hanging in it.
We had accidentally bought my favorite seats (about 15 rows up in the corner) so I was happy when we sat down and took in the end of the warm-up.
Now about the jerseys. They were decked out in sponsorships which was expected but what I thought was a nice touch was the Blaze players sporting patches of their home country on their chest.
When the game was about to start the lights cut out and a light show that I can only compare to Saturday night at Rose Bowl (Disco Bowling for you non-Montrealers) started. After that the game's Emcee skated onto the ice in jeans and got the crowd riled up with the mascot (when I say "Coventry" you say "Blaze")
I went over the game itself above but I want to mention some quirks that I found made the night that much better.
-Halfway through the first period: "Will the owner of a silver Insert Car Name Here please go to the ticket counter immediately." That blew my mind.
-Danish Blaze Goalie Peter Hirsch had a mask that resembled the one that Carey Price wore during the last Heritage Classic. Freaked me out every time he made a save.
-Every time the Giants scored the DJ would play songs appropriate to the situation including "It's The End Of The World As We Know It" and "That don't Impress Me Much".
-Halfway through the second period they played a punk version of The Hockey Song. RIP Stompin Tom.
-There was a surprising amount of NHL merchandise in the stands including: Two Leafs jerseys, two Bruins jerseys, 4 Penguins jerseys, a Rangers jersey, a Sharks jersey, a Red Wings jersey and hat, a Chiefs Hansen jersey and a little kid wearing a Ryan Miller Sabres jersey that I beat up because the Habs played the Sabres last night and I don't mess around.
Outside of the game itself the most entertaining parts of the night were the intermissions. During the first intermission they had a Tug of War. I'm not shitting you here, they actually had Tug of War on the ice.
Within the first 2 seconds half of one team had hilariously fallen down and was being dragged by the other team while feebly trying to get up. I should probably mention that the Benny Hill theme song was playing throughout the duration of the war thus culminating the most British thing I've ever seen in my entire life. It was fantastic, kudos to the Blaze, everyone loved it.
During the second intermission they put on what they called the Duck Chuck.
The Duck Chuck is what the play that Charlie Conway drew up in D2 should have been called. What a waste.
The real Duck Chuck consisted of people trying to throw Rubber Duckies into kiddie pools located on the ice surface. It was very yellow. Nobody won.
The thing that I found the most interesting about the night had to do with a sponsorship angle that I had never seen before.
This would make Michael Yormark drool all over his middle of nowhere arena.
Each Blaze player was individually sponsored. Whenever they mentioned that player in any capacity (goal, assist, penalty etc.) they mentioned the sponsor before and after. I can definitely see some NHL teams doing this and I want a cut if this blog is the reason behind it.
Overall an awesome night in Coventry. I would definitely go back seeing as it only made me want to watch more live Hockey.
Good on the Blaze organization for putting on a good game for the fans, good on the teams for playing for it all given their circumstances.
Oh, and the reffing was absolute horse shit. It's not just a North American thing.


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These are reasons I log onto the seal webcam (www.wanconserv-ancy.org/seal_media.htm) in La Jolla. I take a mental-health break, see what the seals are doing and gain a fresh perspective on my life. Sometimes the seals are there; sometimes not. The tide ebbs and flows. Seals jockey for position. Seagulls strut with impunity around the lounging bodies. I'm a seal voyeur. It's fun. And maybe you are watching at the same time. For official seal cam operators, docents and other nature observers, watching seal behavior is more scientific. Since they log hours consistently, I asked if some would share a highlight so I could learn vicariously. In turn, I now share them with you:
A seal is born — Marilies Schoepflin said, "I watched the birth of a seal. The obviously pregnant seal moved up the beach, distancing herself from the water and other seals. Some female seals formed a loose circle around her. One could see the contractions coming fast and strong. A bluish bubble appeared, the mother seal glanced back, gave one more push, and the pup emerged still in its sack. Carefully, she broke the sack by lightly nudging the pup. Another seal gently checked out the newborn while the mom rested briefly. Soon after, the mom nuzzled her pup, a behavior that promotes bonding. A barrage of sea gulls descended to eat the sack and umbilical cord. When quiet returned to the beach, the pup began nursing." [Visit the website for more still photos.]
Outplay, outwit, outlast — Generally, abandoned seal pups less than 3 days old won't survive, but Jennifer Rogge has been tracking an exception. She said, "I would watch 'Rocky' on the camera at night stealing milk and getting a terrible thrashing from the moms when they awoke to see a strange pup suckling. For five weeks, Rocky's nightly milk raids grew more stealthy, with moms sometimes sleeping through his suckling. Now Rocky is self-reliant and thriving; I frequently see Rocky swimming with a pup half his size. Whether Rocky is a he or she I don't know, but this pup deserves the name for never giving up despite the odds and adversity."
The memory of an elephant — Ellen Shively said, "A rare visitor to San Diego appeared one day at Casa Beach. It was a behemoth next to a harbor seal. When she turned her head, I saw the enlarged snout of a female elephant seal as she slowly moved her bulk onto the beach to join the group of sleeping harbor seals. She flipped sand onto her back with her flippers, a cooling behavior characteristic of this species. A young harbor seal followed close by as she maneuvered her massive body into a depression. After a brief rest, she lugged her body to the water's edge. I was astonished when the young harbor seal followed, the pair heading back into the ocean in lock step. After a couple of laps along the channel, the elephant sea swam away sans harbor seal. Where she came from, what brought her here and what possessed the juvenile harbor seal to briefly accompany her are questions yet to be answered."
Circle of life — According to Schoepflin, "I saw an adult seal listlessly floating in shallow, raising its head up once in a while. Another seal swam close, trying repeatedly to nudge the weak one's head above water while pushing them both towards the beach."
Sharon J. LaDuke said, "The two seals, of equal size, submerged then remerge again and again for the entire 4 hours of my cam operation. What looked like grieving seems at odds with what is known about seals' notoriously solitary behavior."
Schoepflin said, "The next morning on the sand, the healthy seal rested its head on what was clearly the dead seal's body. Over the course of hours, the healthy seal periodically raised its head and opened it mouth, appearing to vocalize (without sound I can only surmise). A cluster of seals surrounded. The next day the dead seal was gone, returned to the ocean by the tide."
— Judith Lea Garfield, naturalist and underwater photographer, has authored two natural history books about the underwater park off La Jolla Cove and Shores. www.TideLines.org; email@example.com


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Equipped with a high resolution 4.8 inch large touch-panel LCD, the fx-CP400 provides clearer images of mathematical data for students, as well as a better way to comprehend the relationships between their equations and graphs since the calculator can display both at the same time. Also, with the touch of a button, the fx-CP400 can switch from a vertical view to a horizontal view, which is convenient for displaying long mathematical formulas on a single line. Both of these capabilities make it easier for students to grasp difficult mathematical concepts.
Hardware Specification:
Software Specification:
|Product Specification


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Play O
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This revolutionary Orgasm enhancing gel has been developed by women for women using a unique combination of ingredients that create a multitude of cooling, warming and tingling sensations all at the same time, heightening sensitivity of the clitoris for more intense and easier to reach orgasms.
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How to Use Play O Gel:
- Unscrew the fresh seal cap and add the pump.
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Use within 3 months of opening.
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text: This creamy body wash is specially formulated for the delicate needs of very dry skin. Infused with Hibiscus extract to smooth and moisturize skin, it also promotes the healing of dry skin with natural antibacterial properties. Fig extract contains anti-inflammatory agents and natural moisturizers to provide nourishment to soften skin.


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The School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences (ACBS) brings together animal scientists, veterinarians, microbiologists and others to offer the strongest possible programs in research, education and outreach. This school was formed in order to offer more integrated research and educational opportunities in the animal and biomedical sciences.
UA Fellowship Awarded to ACBS Grad StudentLearn about award recipient Caroline Geisler and her researchRead More
New NewsletterRead about what is happening at the School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical SciencesView the Newsletters
The University of Arizona ranked No. 67The University of Arizona ranked No. 67 out of 750 higher-education institutions across nearly 60 countries in the 2016 ranking, released Tuesday. Plant and Animal Sciences (32) at UA also placed in the top 100.Read More
ACBS Fall Seminar SeriesView the Fall Schedule
Undergraduate Students in ACBS Microbiology Labs Receive Research AwardsAaron Brussels is the recipient of the American Gastroenterological Association's (AGA) Eli and Edyth Broad Student Research Fellowship.Read More
Student Gain Hands-on Animal Handling ExperienceA demographic change of students majoring in animal sciences and veterinary sciences has made it a necessity for more hands-on experiences with large animals...Read More
UA Race Track Program Basks in Baffert's TriumphAmerican Pharoah, trained by UA alumnus Bob Baffert, is the first Triple Crown winner in decades, and the University's Race Track Industry Program is enjoying some reflected glory from the horse's historic run.Read More
Apply to Graduate Studies ProgramThe School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences houses three graduate majors; Animal Sciences, Animal and Biomedical Industries, and Microbiology.Learn More


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Snaid1 wrote:you could try it and find out for yourself if it works.
I haven't used it so I can't tell you if it conflicts but I would suspect it does.
dragonethan wrote:parts are invisable
enilnoovad wrote:how do you do the zodiac thing? EDIT: nevermind
Davo wrote:http://www.davoonline.com/faq.html
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests


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Well, after testing out various companies, we decided that Printfection had the best product.
Take a look at the online store.
Post below what you are interested in, and we will see about putting in a single bulk buy for everything. Of course, your more than welcome to order yourself from the store. There is a wide variety of stuff. Any clothing that is displayed as black, actually has many other colors to choose from.
I can make add additional styles easily, so if you want something custom about the placement of the logo, or something on the back, etc. Let me know, and I will see what I can do to add it.


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Положение "Донская волна - XI"
Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Paul Richardson suffered an AC sprain in his right shoulder during Sunday's 48-17 preseason win over the Los Angeles Chargers, according to coach Pete Carroll.
"It really was kind of self-inflicted," Carroll said. Richard Sherman Jerseys "He took off for that ball. It was a great deep ball. And he left his feet to go get it and landed on his shoulder. He got crunched pretty good.
"It's an AC sprain, and it's going to be a bit. Russell Wilson Jerseys I don't want to throw a number on it, but he got hurt."
The injury occurred when Richardson made a diving 25-yard reception down the left sideline from Russell Wilson in the first quarter. Doug Baldwin Jerseys But he landed hard on his right shoulder and exited the game.
Richardson had been running with the starters ahead of Jermaine Kearse during training camp. Jimmy Graham Jerseys He had a strong finish to last season and is entering the final year of his contract.
With Richardson sidelined, Kearse and Tyler Lockett are the most likely candidates to take his place in the starting lineup opposite Doug Baldwin. Kearse has started 45 games the past three seasons. Kam Chancellor Jerseys Lockett spent most of the offseason recovering from a broken leg but has looked healthy during practice and is on track to be ready for the regular season. He did not participate in Sunday's preseason opener.


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We hate you.
He's been a turn over machine, Wtf was that bs??
Hate is a strong word....but........Malkin is lazy, makes way too many turnovers and isn't a team player......Blysma blew that game on the short handed PP goal with 28 sec left......Sutter a checking Center and Cook and not Sid or Malkin should have been in......how do you blow that game is maddening......I only hope it is not the turning point the Sens needed......
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PHILADELPHIA - Running a prosperous business is never easy. Running a prosperous wrestling promotion is almost insurmountable. With no shortage of financial hurdles, government regulations and rivals plotting against you from the shadows, making it in the squared circle business can be more of a sojourn in survival than success.
Recently, New Jersey based Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) celebrated their fifth anniversary, a significant landmark for a promotion that is standing tall amid the graveyard of fallen professional wrestling would-haves.
"In the wrestling business, it is a huge achievement," reflected John Zandig, owner of CZW, in a pre-anniversary interview with SLAM! Wrestling in Philadelphia. "Most promotions don't make it past one year. Over five years, we've made a lot of accomplishments; we've done a whole lot more than the average promotion."
For Zandig, the journey for CZW started with a vision of creating a promotion that would push the boundaries of the accepted standard professional wrestling product. It manifested itself into the promotions' doctrine of ultra violent entertainment. As Zandig himself pointed out, pundits were quick to launch comparisons of CZW to another innovative promotion that was shattering conservative concepts of wrestling at that time, called Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW).
"I've heard of us referred to as the bastard step-child of ECW," said Zandig, admitting that he was familiar with ECW, having both attended and watched their shows. "I knew who ECW was, but I didn't really follow it. I would come up with these things and everybody would go 'Paul E (Paul Heyman) already did that.' I was like, Jesus, this guy has done everything. I think me and Paul think alike. I didn't build this because of ECW, I didn't build this to be a step-child of ECW."
The humble beginnings of CZW began in 1998 with Zandig's take charge attitude towards his own career as a wrestler. Only after attending an unnamed wrestling school did he come to a harsh realization of his own in-ring abilities. "I did some indy stuff, watched the tapes afterwards and said 'Oh my God, I don't know anything.' So I decided to get my own ring, my own building, and I'm going to start training myself more."
The New Jersey based facility soon manifested itself into a wrestling school. It was from here that CZW began to present wrestling shows to the public. "The guys coming in, little by little, were overwhelming the talent they had and we did some free shows. The response from the people was they wanted more. I then decided to go from a school to a promotion," Zandig said.
The promotion would remain in its birthplace up until the year 2000, when Zandig was forced to seek out an alternative home base to produce shows. That location would end being nearby Philadelphia.
But any fears of competing against the already entrenched ECW would soon evaporate for Zandig and company as ECW would soon close up shop in early 2001.
"I'll be honest, I think a lot of the ECW fans felt like they got smacked in the face," said Zandig. "They (ECW) went national, they stopped coming to Philly as much as they did, they toned down what they were and I feel a lot of the fans just got disgusted with that. It wasn't intentional, I'm sure Paul was doing what he thought was best for the company."
So, amid the wave of change that was washing through the Philadelphia wrestling scene, did CZW find itself on the receiving end of a mass exodus of ECW refugees?
"When ECW was done, they (ECW fans) were done with wrestling, because they supported them for so long. When they went out of business and left them in the cold, they didn't want to go through supporting another company. Did we get some of them? Yeah, we did get some of them, but not as many as I would have liked to," Zandig said.
But what Zandig did get which has proven crucial to the hardcore following of his promotion by Philly fans, was an invitation to run shows at the famed Viking Hall, otherwise known as the ECW Arena.
It was a move that Zandig was cautious to make.
"When ECW still ran in here, we were offered to run in this building," Zandig recalled. "But I said, 'This is ECW's home, I don't want to do that.' I said when it's time to go to the arena, it's time to go the arena. I'll know when."
Eventually CZW, with a home grown roster, would assume the role of being the new wrestling tenant of the building. It proved to be the right fit as the promotion racked up high attendance numbers for its shows.
But what initially appeared to be a new and lucrative market for CZW would prove to have its own hurdles that would force the promotion to test its resolve in making it in the City of Brotherly Love.
"We came into Philly and everybody and their brother complained and bitched," recalled Zandig. "They called the athletic commission. They came in and said 'John, we don't want this, we don't want that. You can't do this, you can't do this.' They were going to bring in the FBI, they were going bring the SWAT team, they were going to bring in everything because their heads were so filled up with garbage from other promoters who didn't want us to be successful."
Making the promotion susceptible to opposing forces was its own brand of hardcore wrestling. Premiere events like the annual Cage of Death, along with any other shows where tables, light tubes, barb-wire and yes, even a weed-wacker were utilized, only provided ammunition to those who wanted to see CZW fail.
"What we do is controlled chaos," Zandig said, explaining that delivering his product comes with the approval of the athletic commission in Pennsylvania.
"You talk to the athletic commission, you tell them what you're going to do. There's a way of doing things; wrestling is the entertainment business. You need to tell them who's going to be here, who's in charge, they need to know. We do have to give them an idea of what we're going to do."
Of the varied aggressors that CZW faced, the one that stands out the most was the now-defunct California based Xtreme Professional Wrestling (XPW) promotion. Debuting in Philadelphia in the summer of 2002, the group, for a brief time, was successful in driving Zandig's company out of Viking Hall.
"They came in here and I guess they decided to run us out and be the big shots," said Zandig, telling of how the rival wrestling company, in his opinion, blatantly disregarded the proper and safe manner if which to run a show. The end result was a face-to-face meeting with the state athletic commission where new rules were implemented, which severely curtailed the type of hardcore spots that could be presented.
"It was never CZW's fault, but in the eyes of a lot of people here in Pennsylvania, they probably think it was our fault," he said.
Only adding to Zandig's list of annoyances committed by XPW, was the promotion's attempt to acquire talent from CZW.
"They tried to get several guys," Zandig said, admitting his rival was successful in recruiting some members of his roster, including one of the promotion's top names, Justice Pain. "One guy doesn't make CZW. It's everybody together that makes CZW."
But persevere CZW did, and with XPW fleeing the market and eventually collapsing, Zandig and his roster would make their triumphant return to Viking Hall in early 2003. But the damage was done.
"In reality, we lost a lot of our fans. We couldn't give them what we wanted to give them. That hurt us," said Zandig.
In no way was CZW about to close up shop in light of the new restraints placed upon it. Zandig carried on and continued to promote his wrestling product. One particular feature of the promotion that Zandig takes great pride in is the annual Best of Best tournament, featuring the promotion's high-flying, junior heavyweight grapplers.
"It's basically a time for the juniors to showcase their talent. CZW has some of the best juniors in the world as far as I'm concerned," declared Zandig.
One of those junior stand outs that took full advantage of the CZW junior environment is independent wrestling sensation Sonjay Dutt.
"It's like any profession, you're given an avenue, you're given a forum. Once you're given it, it's up to you to do something with it," said Dutt, making it clear that the promotion provided him the platform to build himself into the breakout talent that he has become. "Before CZW, I really had nothing. I worked indies in Virginia and North Carolina, but it wasn't the exposure that CZW had. But when I was given the forum of CZW, I did everything in my power to run with the ball."
But Sonjay did confide in his frustration over the way the promotion as a whole has been ignored by the wrestling media, which in turn has allowed many other talented workers in the company go unnoticed.
"It's not just the junior heavyweights, I think it's pretty much the whole damn company. We have such a great crew here." he said. "When you have that stigma (hardcore), it's always hard to overcome that. But I think it is up to the individual to overcome that. If you look at me, I did everything in my power to overcome that. I'm an example that it can be done."
Those sentiments were backed up by Zandig, noting that on every CZW card, there is more than an abundance of wrestling matches, devoid of any hardcore antics. "We do those matches every month, but that's not what you hear about," he said.
"You hear about Zandig jumping off a building, or Mondo (Sick Nick Mondo) jumping off a truck, or somebody getting lit on fire. You don't hear about all the great wrestling, the high flying, the technical. I think it's time for people to open their eyes and say 'Hey man, these guys ain't just hardcore, look at what they're doing.' We do it all and more people in the world need to know that," Zandig said.
And that is just what CZW is continuing to do. Lead by its flagship outlet "CZW Fake You TV", broadcasted in several northeastern states, Italy, and the new wrestling channel based in the British Isles starting in March, the promotion continues to reach out to the wrestling masses.
But if you think for a second that Zandig is content with his success in survival, think again.
"I want to do four pay per views a year," he said. "Video distribution is coming soon. We're working on our first six DVD releases. We'll be out in the stores nationally. A Combat Zone Wrestling video game; we're negotiating that. We just signed a contract with France, which will be Quebec, France, Belgium and, I think, Switzerland."
Making what CZW has and will achieve is the die-hard roster that Zandig confesses is always striving to set new precedents of in-ring mayhem.
"My guys, I don't have to ask them anything," Zandig said, noting that in some instances, he must restrain some wrestlers from taking unnecessary risks.
"My guys will come to me and say 'John, I want to take a big bump.' There are certain guys who get over certain ways. Some guys will come up and they want to do this big bump, and I'll say you don't need to. But every now and then, you give it to them. The bar is so freakin' high, it's scary sometimes."
To find out more about CZW, visit their website: www.czwwrestling.com.
Corey David Lacroix can be emailed at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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It's hard to remember a time when YouTube wasn't a part of our lives. It seems like every day I receive a link from a friend or family member sharing something fun, poignant or thrilling on YouTube.
My friend Lou at NokOut.com is a YouTube star. She has a series of videos that show her demonstrating the uses of her amazing product, Nok-Out. Looks like Lou is on to something.
YOUTUBE HOW-TOS. My sister introduced me to YouTube as the go-to place for repair how-tos. She was able to repair her clothes dryer using a YouTube video that demonstrated all the repair steps, including pulling the tub to reach the part she needed to replace. I used it when my clothes washer sprang a leak. I was able to make a tentative diagnosis and then decided I was not physically able to make the repairs myself. I called a repairman and didn't have to worry that the repair was unnecessary. — Roberta, EC Blog
HALF A TURKEY, PLEASE. During the turkey sales in November, I bought an extra frozen turkey and had the butcher cut it in half. I also bought a fresh turkey and had that split, too. At home, I cut the legs and thighs like I do a chicken. Then I packaged everything individually for cooking or freezing. — Jane, EC Blog
SUPER GLUE FOR SUPER NAILS. I apply Super Glue with a brush to my fingernails just like nail polish. I work with my hands, fixing things and doing crafts, and have very weak nails. With a layer of Super Glue, my nails look shiny and healthy, and the protection really keeps them that way. — Cathey, email
HANDY GROCERY IQ APP. My husband and I use the free Grocery IQ app on our smartphones. I can scan items at home as I use them up, or I can type in what I need. My husband can add to the grocery list, as well. When I go to the store, I have our complete list, which includes brands I like to buy. It is a really great tool. — Bernice, SC
LIME AWAY THE ODORS. I had an odor problem with my fairly new dishwasher. The inside was stainless steel, and no matter what I did, I could not get rid of the odor. I tried everything in the manual, including vinegar, bleach and cleaner from the supermarket, with no success. A dishwasher repairman finally told me to try Lime-away. I had used this product for years for other purposes, but I never read the back label to see that it was also good for dishwashers and washers. He told me that a food "sludge" can line the walls of the hoses or pipes that takes the water out of the dishwasher, and it may be difficult to remove with regular products. I tried it, and thankfully it worked. Now I do it on a monthly basis to keep it from building up again. — Arlene, VT
Would you like to send a tip to Mary? You can e-mail her at email@example.com, or write to Everyday Cheapskate, P.O. Box 2135, Paramount, CA 90723. Mary Hunt is the founder of www.DebtProofLiving.com and author of 18 books, including her latest, "Can I Pay My Credit Card Bill With a Credit Card?" and "Tiptionary 2."
To find out more about Mary Hunt and read her past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.


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So, what is the most important part of the body for an athlete?
The torso, for core strength?
The hands, so vital in virtually every sport except soccer?
The legs, critical for mobility, balance and speed?
Well, no, the answer is pretty obvious: the brain.
Sure, without generous helpings of strength, hand-to-eye coordination, quickness, agility, balance or some combination of a majority of those traits, an athlete will not excel.


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October 12, 2004
For years we tried to make sure the Wabash College football team always played an away football game during Fall Break weekend. Most of the time we were successful, but there were those rare times when the Little Giants would play a home game with half-filled stands.
When the College joined the North Coast Athletic Conference, we surrendered our ability to manage our schedule. What leverage we had with our new league was used up when Wabash insisted that it would always be able to play a non-conference game the last weekend of the season; a little affair called Monon Bell.
Classes end Wednesday afternoon this week and most students will go home for Fall Break. Not only does the Little Giant football team play a home game, it plays a monstrous game!
Wabash will host the College of Wooster Saturday at 1 p.m. with first place in the NCAC on the line. Both teams come into the game ranked among the top-20 teams in Division III, and Wooster boasts the best small college running back there is — Tony Sutton. Former Crawfordsville High School standout Evan Watson will also suit up for the gold and black.
With few students on campus and the pledge classes not cheering, Coach Chris Creighton, his staff, and the players hope you'll come out to the stadium to enjoy an afternoon of terrific Division III football.
There will be no admission fee. Hot dogs are only a buck, and proceeds go to charity. And I can almost guarantee you'll get a great seat.
Mark your calendar now so that you'll remember you have a date with the Little Giants this Saturday.
Perhaps while doing so, you'll bump into and meet some of our most loyal and prestigious alumni. Members of the Board of Trustees will be on campus for an extended weekend of meetings, which come to an end in time for the big game against Wooster.
The Trustees will be on campus starting Thursday as they begin to put some flesh on the College's next strategic plan. So much has been accomplished at Wabash over the last five years that Board members are anxious to identify those elements of the last plan that were most successful and those that ought not be continued.
The last plan produced scads of new research and internship opportunities, Immersion Learning courses, and helped improve Wabash's commitment to technology.
What will the next plan include? At this point it's hard to tell, but I have a hunch plans will include efforts to better unify the student body, that in turn will improve student retention and graduation rates. We'll see a focus on how Wabash prepares its students for life after college. And I imagine the new plan will include technology woven into everything we do.
So, while the students are away, there's a lot going on at Wabash this weekend. The Board is here, the football team hosts a nationally ranked opponent, and the swimming and diving team kicks off its season with an intrasquad scrimmage Saturday night at 6 p.m.
If you missed our Community Day in September, now's the time to visit Wabash and check out the football team. And the best part of all is that parking should not be a problem.
See you Saturday.
Jim Amidon is director of public affairs and marketing and secretary of Wabash College


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What will we see during the Verizon iPhone announcement event? Just a regular old iPhone but with a CDMA radio? A white iPhone? An LTE iPhone? A world iPhone? Steve Jobs on stage saying Apple is re-re-revolutionizing the Phone? Someone in New York City making a successful phone call?! (Ouch!)
Vote in the the poll up top and give us your full predictions below!


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Delving a bit more into Kossie Gardner's online records, on his World War I draft registration, he states he was born May 24, 1897 in Tennessee. On June 5, 1918, when he completed his draft registration, he resided in Pulaski County, Tennessee with his first wife, Mrs. Ever Gene Gardner.
Interestingly, Kossie Gardner, Sr. may have had a son named Kossie Gardner, Jr. Kossie Jr. was a Nashville-based organist who recorded a couple of LPs in the late 1960's as well as doing session work. His cover of Jimi Hendrix's "Fire" hails from his 1969 "Pipes of Blue" LP, which became a huge hit.
I'm curious to learn if the Gardner family has several of these advertising cards still in their possession.