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NEW YORK, N.Y. – J.C. Penney Co. confirmed Friday it's eliminating an additional 2,200 jobs as the struggling department store chain slashes costs after a year of plunging sales and mounting losses.
According to Joey Thomas, a company spokesman, those being axed work in back-office administration in stores and district offices. He noted that the cuts translate to an average elimination of two positions per store.
The cuts come as Penney lost $4.3 billion in revenue for the year as a strategy launched in early 2012 by CEO Ron Johnson to scale back most sales in favour of everyday prices has failed to resonate with shoppers. The pricing strategy is a key element of Johnson's bigger plan to reinvent Penney's business that also includes installing shops filled with hip new brands to replace racks of clothing.
Penney reported last month its quarterly loss widened to $552 million, or $2.51 per share. Revenue slid by a quarter to $12.98 billion.
Results for the full year were even more staggering. Penney lost $985 million, or $4.49 per share, for the fiscal year, compared with a loss of $152 million, or 70 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue dropped 25 per cent to $12.98 billion from $17.26 billion.
The latest blow to struggling Penney: One of its biggest shareholders confirmed Wednesday in a regulatory filing that it's sold more than 40 per cent of its stake. The move by Vornado Realty Trust, whose Chairman and CEO Steve Roth sits on Penney's board, is perhaps the biggest indicator yet that investors are losing patience with the turnaround strategy.
Johnson said in New York State Supreme Court last week that the Plano, Texas-based company had eliminated 19,000 jobs since he came on board. That figure came up while he was testifying in a trial that pits Penney against rival Macy's Inc. over a partnership over the Martha Stewart brand.
When Johnson joined the retailer, Penney employed 134,000 people. That means the company has cut about 16 per cent of its workforce since then. The company operates 1,100 stores.
"As with any reduction in force, we do our best to absorb those impacted into other positions if they choose to do so," said Thomas in an email to The Associated Press. He noted that affected workers were given 30 days notice, so their last day would not be effective until April 6. Those who are eligible for benefits will receive a severance package and outplacement assistance.
Penney's shares closed Friday up 29 cents, or nearly 2 per cent, to $15.11. In the days after Johnson announced his vision for a new Penney in late January 2012, investors drove shares up 24 per cent to $43, but shares have lost 65 per cent of their value since then.


text: College report: Karetnick with Ivy champions Freshman Morgan Karetnick (Greenwich) was on the winning 200 freestyle relay (1:30.49) and also took third in the 100 butterfly and was with the 200 medley relay as the Princeton women's swim team won its 21st Ivy League championship. Lauren Church (Greenwich) set a Penn record in the 200 backstroke was also a member of Penn's 400 free relay that set a school record during the Ivy League championship. Chris Church (Greenwich\/St. Luke's) of Dartmouth was the recipient of the Skillman Award from the College Squash Association. It is presented to the senior male player who demonstrated outstanding sportsmanship during his entire career Faraz Khan (Brunswick) finished his freshman season with an 18-4 record with the Rochester squash team. Ollie Koo (Greenwich\/Westminster) leads the Bowdoin men's hockey team in scoring with 15 goals and 17 assists. The Polar Bears defeated Williams to win the NESCAC title and earn a berth in the NCAA Division III tourney. Defenseman Nick Trepp (Brunswick) had a goal and five assists with the Colby hockey team (7-15-3). Freshman Billy Murphy (Brunswick) has seen action in 13 games with the Lafayette basketball team (18-14). Fundraisers: Teufel at County Sports Commission event Mets third base coach Tim Teufe, a Greenwich native, will be the featured speaker for the Fairfield County Sports Commission's 6th annual fundraising breakfast on Tuesday April 23 at 7:30 a.m. at Continental Manor in Norwalk. Sirius Satellite Radio sports talk show host Chris (Mad Dog) Russo, a New Canaan resident, will be the emcee. For more information and to purchase tickets priced at $60, contact Tom Chiappetta at 203-984-4806 or email at firstname.lastname@example.com Herzlich at CT Challenge event New York Giants linebacker Mark Herzlich is the featured speaker for the CT Challenge Speaker's Series event March 21 in Fairfield. Herzlich, who is a cancer survivor, will give his talk "From Cancer to the Super Bowl" at the Roger Ludlowe Middle School at 7 pm. Advance tickets are $8 for adults, $5 for students, and all tickets at the door priced at $10. To purchase tickets visit www.ctchallenge.org\/herzlich. Proceeds from the event benefit CT Challenge programs for cancer survivors and the Center for Survivorship, which opened in Fairfield in October of 2012. Ripken Baseball: Online registration Registration for the 2013 Cal Ripken baseball season in Greenwich is presently being conducted on-line at the Cal Ripken Website: GreenwichCalRipken.Org Local golf: EWGA luncheon The Fairfield County Chapter of EWGA (Executive Women's Golf Association) is hosting a luncheon to kick off the golf season on March 17 at the Mill River Country Club in Stratford. The cost is $45 per person and includes sit down lunch and cash bar. Registration begins at noon. The meeting and networking with fellow women golfers in your community will enable golfers to learn about the various programs available. The luncheon will feature a fashion show and guest speaker PGA Professional Brian Crowell, head pro Glen Arbor GC in Bedford Hills For more information contact Heather Studwell at firstname.lastname@example.com. For information about the Fairfield County Chapter, visit www.ewgafairfield.com Bruce Park women The Bruce Women's Golf Association will kick off its 2013 season at the Griffith E. Harris Golf Course on Tuesday April 9 at 8:30 a.m. A continental breakfast will be served followed by open golf. Nine and 18 hole players are welcome. Dues for 2013 remain at $75 for all members. For information about joining the BWGA, contact Roni Tiedemann at 203-661-6868 or Beverly Jomo 203-324-9960. Women's softball: Meeting scheduled The Greenwich Softball Organization will hold an organizational meeting for the Women's Softball League March 18 at 6:30 p.m. in the Mazza Conference Room, Greenwich Town Hall, 101 Field Point Road, Greenwich. Interested new teams must attend this pre-season meeting. Industrial teams are comprised of employees working full time at a company's Greenwich location. This company must sponsor the team. Industrial teams may supplement their employees with town residents. Resident league teams are comprised of Greenwich residents and players who were past residents for at least five years and qualify for "exempt status." League organization, rules, fees, eligibility, and playing nights are among the many items discussed at the meeting. For more information about adult softball leagues in Greenwich and other recreation programs visit www.greenwichsoftball.org Skateboarding: Skatepark is open The Greenwich Department of Parks and Recreation announced the Greenwich Skatepark is open on weekends from 12:30-6 p.m. and on weekdays from 3:30 -6 p.m. The Skatepark is a fun, safe, supervised park for youths 6 years of age and older is located at Roger Sherman Baldwin Park next to the Arch Street Teen Center. Annual Memberships ($175) and 10-day passes ($60) are available to residents at the Town Hall, Parks & Recreation Office between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. An annual membership entitles the cardholder to use the park whenever it is open, and receive discounts on classes and competitions and 10-day passes may be used by the cardholder whenever the park is opened. Day Passes ($10) and Monthly memberships ($25) may be purchased at the Skatepark. It will entitle the member to use the park. All skaters 17 years or younger must have a parent or guardian sign the waiver release form before they can skate. Full pads are required. For more info call the skatepark at 203-496-0912 or visit www.greenwichct.org Youth golf: Clinics scheduled The Greenwich Department of Parks and Recreation announced registration is underway for youth golf clinics for ages 6-10 that will begin at the Bendheim Western Greenwich Civic Center on Fridays starting April 5 for five weeks. The course fee for the session is $100 and will be run by John Czarnecki. There will be three sessions. Session 1 will be from 3:45-4:30 p.m., 4:30-5:15 p.m. and from 5:15 to 6 pm. For more information, or to receive a registration form, go to the Bendheim Western Civic Center, call 203 532-1259, visit www.greenwichct.org or email the coach at firstname.lastname@example.com To submit an item for the local sports roundup, please email the information to email@example.com

subset: commoncrawl


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Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: February 22, 2011
Genre: Young Adult/Dark urban fantasy
Pre-order DBH at Amazon
DBH at Goodreads
Ari can't help feeling lost and alone. With teal eyes and freakish silver hair that can't be changed or destroyed, Ari has always stood out. And after growing up in foster care, she longs for some understanding of where she came from and who she is.
Her search for answers uncovers just one message from her long dead mother: Run. Ari can sense that someone, or something, is getting closer than they should. But it's impossible to protect herself when she doesn't know what she's running from or why she is being pursued.
She knows only one thing: she must return to her birthplace of New 2, the lush rebuilt city of New Orleans. Upon arriving, she discovers that New 2 is very...different. Here, Ari is seemingly normal. But every creature she encounters, no matter how deadly or horrifying, is afraid of her.
Ari won't stop until she knows why. But some truths are too haunting, too terrifying, to ever be revealed.


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Gina was the third wife that I'd interviewed. By the time I began putting the book together, I knew that she fit into the Voiceless Wife category. At first glance, her story may seem similar to Jasmyne's. She knew she shouldn't have married Bryan, but wed anyway and sought counseling through marriage ministry. However, her story is a tad bit different. Whereas Jasmyne seemed to heed advice from people she trusted, Gina never told anyone how she felt. Her mother, father, and best friend never suspected that she knew Bryan wasn't the man for her.
Concept: Gina began our interview by saying, "I knew I shouldn't have married Bryan as soon as he proposed," so I wrote the story around that idea. I wanted to show the reader how we can have a suspicion about a person, and even if they do something blatant, we ignore those feelings and proceed with our own illusion.
With this narrative, I wanted to also illustrate how we keep relationship secrets due to something I've talked about on this blog before: shame. Gina didn't want anyone to know that she'd given up her dog, her weekly visits with her mother, or her relationship with her best friend, simply to please Bryan.
I have to add that this wife's story is one of my "favorites" because of the bloody kitten scene. I don't want to spoil it for people who haven't read the book, but the imagery of the animal gasping for its breath stayed with me for quite a while. This part of her story is true.
Similar to Jasmyne's chapter, I created the part about her stomach twisting and turning in knots. The reason I continue to use this analogy is because intuition is oftentimes described as a gut feeling. If you're familiar with chakras, then you know the yellow one is associated with your stomach and trusting what you feel. This is a message I felt important to continue.
Commentary: What stood out to me is the progression of abuse. Bryan slowly pulled her away from her loved ones, including her dog. He never physically hurt her, but rather imposed psychological abuse. He was jealous of everyone she interacted with, but it wasn't obvious to her until after the experience. This is common. When you're in a situation with a person who's mentally abusive, then it might not be as apparent, especially if you're ignoring instincts.
The other part of Gina's story that intrigued me was the shame she carried. The shame grew at the same rate as her instincts about the relationship. This fit into another reason I felt compelled to write this book. There are many women who keep the details of their marriages secret because they believe they're the only ones going through horrible situations. I'm not suggesting that we tell everyone, everything about our unions. I'm just saying perhaps it's time to be a little more authentic in how we present ourselves to our friends and family. And if those people can't be trusted, seek counsel that is aligned with who you are and what you believe. There are ways to discontinue the abuse and the loneliness that accompanies maintaining this type of secret.
Let me know what you thought about Gina and Bryan, what I've said here, or anything else that you felt was important. Next month, we'll delve into many readers' favorite character, Mrs. Little.
The Unhappy Wife is on sale here.


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New York art museum to display video games
Are video games a form of art? New York's Museum of Modern Art thinks so, and starting in March several games will become an integral part of the museum's collection.
The museum, known by the acronym MoMA, has purchased 14 video games, and expects to soon increase its collection to 40, according to Paola Antonelli, senior curator with the museum's Department of Architecture and Design.
This will be "a new category of artworks in MoMA's collection that will grow in the future," the museum said in a statement over the weekend.
The initial games, which the public can see starting in March 2013, features classics like Pac-Man (1980), Tetris (1984), Another World (1991), Myst (1993), SimCity 2000 (1994) and The Sims (2000); as well as vib-ribbon (1999), Katamari Damacy (2004), EVE Online (2003), Dwarf Fortress (2006), Portal (2007), flOw (2006), Passage (2008) and Canabalt (2009).
For Antonelli, video games are certainly art, "but they are also design, and a design approach is what we chose for this new foray into this universe. The games are selected as outstanding examples of interaction design."
The exhibit is aimed at emphasizing "not only the visual quality and aesthetic experience of each game, but also the many other aspects, from the elegance of the code to the design of the player's behavior," she wrote on the museum blog.
The games are also chosen based on "a combination of historical and cultural relevance ... innovative approaches to technology and behavior, and a successful synthesis of materials and techniques in achieving the goal set by the initial program."
The wish list for the next tranche of games includes Spacewar! (1962), one of the earliest video games ever; Pong (1972); Super Mario Bros (1985); and Street Fighter II (1991).
If the game is short, visitors can play it "in its entirety."
For games that take longer to play "an interactive demonstration, in which the game can be played for a limited amount of time, will be the answer.
(c) 2012 AFP


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Peierls Foundation, Inc. Grants American Indian College Fund $100,300 for Scholarships
February 7, 2011
Denver, Colo. — The Peierls Foundation, Inc. has announced it is granting the American Indian College Fund (the Fund) $100,300 to support American Indian student scholarships.
Richard B. Williams, president and CEO of the American Indian College Fund, said, "The dedication of the Peierls Foundation to American Indian education provides hope for American Indian students who might not otherwise be able to afford a college education. A college education helps not just the recipient, but his or her family and entire community. The generosity of the Peierls Foundation is helping to change the face of Indian Country through education."


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St. Theresa School closes in South Lake Tahoe
St. Theresa School effectively closed for the second time in its history Monday, with word that research is already being conducted into alternative possibilities for education.
The private Catholic school has been facing enrollment declines for some time, which ultimately led to its recent closure, said Beverly Sass, parish secretary for the neighboring St. Theresa Catholic Church.
"It's been heavy hearts and sad faces for the last several days around here," Sass said.
School staff could not be immediately reached by phone or email for comment. However, a church newsletter helped explain the situation.
"The low enrollment of students at our school over a period of several years," the newsletter read, "and the current & trending demography of the Tahoe area, raise serious concern about the sustainability of a parish school, and raise serious concern about how an accumulating operating deficit by our school will impact the financial health of the parish as a whole."
A phone message at the school mentioned research into a private independent Catholic school, but a call to the provided phone number was not returned either.
"The diocese (of Sacramento) having announced the closure of our school, is an alternative possible?" the newsletter continued. "There are many parents of our present youngsters, staff members, and members of the community at large who are exhaustively studying possibilities of what we still might be able to offer here on the grounds of our parish, continuing what we hope can be schooling for our children centered on Christian identity, Catholic education, and high quality academics."
On Tuesday, the school parking lot was empty, and the front doors were locked.
St. Theresa School originally opened in 1960 with 120 students before closing in 1969, according to the school's website. It reopened on Aug. 31, 1994, with 121 students.
About 50 students were enrolled in the school this past year, Sass said.
James Tarwater, Lake Tahoe Unified School District superintendent, said the district will make room for any students transferring from the K-8 Catholic school if that's where they decide to go.
"My bottom line is they are Tahoe kids," he said. "Wherever they want to go, I'll support them."
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SANAA, Yemen >> Security forces closed roads, put up extra blast walls and increased patrols today near some of the more than 20 U.S. diplomatic missions in the Muslim world that Washington had ordered closed for the weekend following warnings of a possible al-Qaida attack.
The closures came with a call for Americans abroad to take extra precautions throughout August, particularly when using planes, trains and boats, though some veteran expatriates shrugged off the warnings.
"I have been here long enough to know where and where not to go," said Brian Edwards, a professional basketball player from Detroit, Michigan, who has lived in Egypt for nearly six years. "I feel generally safe."
Some warned, meanwhile, that such security measures are not sustainable.
"It sets a precedent," said Shadi Hamid, an analyst with the Brookings Doha Center. "What happens if you keep on getting credible threats?"
The countries with closure orders covered much of the Muslim and Arab world, from Mauritania in the west to Bangladesh in the east.
The State Department said 19 diplomatic posts will remain closed through Saturday "out of an abundance of caution." State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the decision to keep the embassies and consulates closed is "not an indication of a new threat."
Diplomatic facilities will remain closed through Saturday in Egypt, Jordan, Libya, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, among other countries.
In recent days, U.S. officials have said they have received significant and detailed intelligence suggesting a possible attack, with some clues pointing to the al-Qaida terror network. The State Department said the potential for terrorism was particularly acute in the Middle East and North Africa, with a possible attack occurring on or coming from the Arabian Peninsula.
"The threat was specific as to how enormous it was going to be and also that certain dates were given," Rep. Pete King, R-N.Y., who chairs a House panel on counterterrorism and intelligence, told ABC on Sunday.
King said he believes al-Qaida "is in many ways stronger than it was before 9/11 because it has mutated and it's spread in dramatically different locations." The terror network's Yemen branch, known as al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, "is the most deadly of all the al-Qaida affiliates," King said.
In Jordan, a counterterrorism official said available information pointed to a potential threat to U.S. interests in the Arabian Peninsula, specifically in Yemen, and that this prompted the temporary closure of U.S. missions across the Muslim world. He spoke on condition of anonymity as he wasn't authorized to discuss the issue with journalists.
In Yemen's capital, Sanaa, security was beefed up Sunday around the U.S. Embassy building and the nearby Sheraton Hotel where U.S. Marines stay.
Police set up a checkpoint at an access road leading to the embassy, asking some drivers for identification before letting them pass. Soldiers typically guard the area around the embassy, but on Sunday they were spread out in a wider radius. Cars were prevented from stopping outside the Sheraton, where two armored vehicles sat out front.
A Yemeni security official said the request for extra security came from Washington. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.
Extra security also could be seen near U.S. embassies in Bahrain, Iraq and Jordan.
In the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, troops set up new blast barriers last week to block several streets leading into the city's already heavily fortified Green Zone, home to the sprawling U.S. Embassy and Iraqi government offices. Troops also intensified searches of those entering the Green Zone, opening car trunks and frisking male passengers.
In the Jordanian capital of Amman, a Jordanian security officer said bomb squads searched the perimeter of the U.S. Embassy while additional security vehicles were deployed in the area, including troop carriers with special forces trained in counterterrorism. Security also was tightened around the homes of U.S. diplomats in Amman, said the officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.
The State Department, meanwhile, urged U.S. travelers to take extra precautions. Expats appeared to take the warnings in stride.
Rebecca Proctor, a magazine editor in Dubai, said she had heard of the threats, but wasn't going to change her routine. She said she spent the day in meetings around the city, despite warnings from a friend not to visit tourist areas or speak English in public.
"I'm not going to stay inside and huddled up," said Proctor, who is from New London, Connecticut.
In Amman, San Francisco native Wendy LeBlanc, an education consultant, also said she wasn't changing her routine.
"Right now, the biggest threat here is a stray bullet from celebratory gunfire," said LeBlanc, referring to the custom in parts of the Arab world to shoot in the air to mark important occasions.
The decision to close the U.S. diplomatic missions on Sunday — a work day in most of the region — came almost a year after an attack on a U.S. diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya, that killed the ambassador and three other Americans.
Some argued that heightened security measures could give al-Qaida an inadvertent image boost.
"The closure of some U.S. embassies sends a wrong message to the world that al-Qaida is still strong," said Qais Mohammed, an engineer from Baghdad. "I think that adopting balanced and fair policies toward the Arab and Islamic world is the best way to safeguard U.S. embassies and interests in the region."
Laub reported from the West Bank. Associated Press writers Jamal Halaby and Dale Gavlak in Amman, Jordan, Sameer N. Yacoub in Baghdad, Michael Casey in Dubai, Aya Batrawy in Cairo and Max J. Rosenthal in Jerusalem contributed to this report.


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Riot Games, the developer and publisher of hit PC moba game League of Legends, has made some interesting moves over the past week relating to a domain name related to Project 425.
According to Fusible, domain name Project425.com was privately registered through the registrar Melbourne IT sometime in the mid-2000s; however, it wasn't until November 2008 that it was uncovered via the Whois record that Riot Games President Mark Merrill was the domain name's owner.
Every year Merrill continued to renew the domain name, but this past week it was transferred to the internet brand protection company MarkMonitor and, instead of being renewed on an annual basis, was renewed through March 2015. A copy of the Whois record clearly shows Riot Games as the owner.
Currently the secret of Project 425 is hidden behind a password-protected website which is interesting considering many of the other Riot Games' owned domain names, such as InstituteofWar.org and onslaughtgame.net, don't point to any location.As it is now, League of Legends is the most played game in the world, but you don't stay on top by being content. Could Project 425 be the future for Riot Games?
It should also be noted that in April 2012 it was discovered that Riot Games also registered several domain names for related to League of Legends Supremacy. As a senior LoL community member pointed out, Riot Games owns several seemingly random domain names, so I will remind you, that Project 425 is nothing more than speculation at this point.


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Bags: Also find bags for the bedside, belongings and post-mortem.


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Is it asking too much for California white wines to taste dry?
It happened again. I got another email from a winemaker who was not happy that I called his white wines "sugary sweet" when, in fact, "All three of these wines are very dry" (as he wrote), and one of them was "a lot drier than the industry average."
This is not the first instance of this sort and I suspect it won't be the last. It raises important questions, one concerning the sensation of sweetness, and the other concerning the language critics like me use to describe that sensation. If you think about it, this is some of the most important information we can provide: where a wine falls on the dry-sweet continuum. If for no other reason, that determines what food to pair wine with, and accompanying food is wine's supreme duty.
I think a lot of white California wines taste too sweet. What does that mean? Well, the most obvious sweet taste is sugar (or honey), so when I review a white wine that tastes like fruit juice — lemonade, limeade, pineapple — that's how I describe it. Fruity-juicy sweet. That does not mean I have performed a technical analysis of the wine to measure exactly what the residual sugar is. I suppose I could buy some little kit that does that, but does my job include technical analysis of wine? Where would that stop? I could send my wines out to a lab for a stripdown on brettanomyces, TCA levels, etc. but I don't see where that would make me a better wine writer. No, my job is to describe the wine the way it smells and tastes to me, as a normal human being, so if it's "a little too sweet and sugary for comfort" (as I described one of the winemaker's white wines), that's what I write.
This brings up the issue of language. We wine writers do have to be careful not to make claims we can't prove. Thus, instead of writing, "This wine has tons of new oak," if I don't know the precise oak percentages, I'll write, "Smells very new oaky" or something like that. There's a big difference. The former is a factual statement, while the latter is simply my considered opinion. You can't sue me for stating an opinion, last time I checked.
How can a white wine taste overtly sweet when the residual sugar is .04% or .07%, as the winemaker in question told me his were? Most wine textbooks say the human threshold for perceiving sweetness is about 0.8%. I have spent the better part of my career trying to understand this anomaly. There are many reasons, in theory, why a "dry" wine can taste sweet. One is that the taster may have an unusually acute sensitivity to even the slightest amount of residual sugar, which for me is not the case. I don't seem to have a freakish sensitivity to anything, including TCA, for which I am happy. High alcohol too can make a wine taste sweet and glyceriney. Insufficient acidity may permit a very fruity wine to taste cloying. Caramelized oak barrel staves or, even worse, phony oak infusions also can give a sense of sweetness. There are probably other factors that could account for the impression of sweetness in a technically dry white wine, and I invite people to comment on them.
At any rate, I admit to being very intolerant of white wines that taste sweet. If you read my reviews and you come across a statement that a wine "tastes sugary sweet," let me explain right here, that doesn't mean I've measured the residual sugar. It just means what it says: to me, it tastes sugary sweet.
If you're a white wine and you want to be a little sweet, then for crying out loud, be Chardonnay (or, forgive me, Viognier). If you don't want to be Chardonnay, then at least be dry and scoury and minerally, not a jellied fruit bomb. If you want to be an off-dry white wine (and there's nothing wrong with that), then be off-dry and don't be ashamed to admit it. And, of course, you can always be a full-blown dessert wine. These are California's four choices in white wine. Anything whose image is dry when it's really sugary sweet is not going to get a very good score from me.
I am a bit confused when I get to the last paragraph. You say that you are intolerant of white wines that taste sweet, which I understand – but then are you saying it is okay for a Chardonnay to taste sweet and also Viognier? — So basically, aside from some things made in much smaller quantities, is your problem with Sauvignon Blanc?
Adam Lee
Siduri Wines
I was just having this conversation in the shop the other day….I don't think it's just white wines either. There were 4 of us tasting a very high end domestic Pinot Noir, 2 California wine buyers, (and drinkers) and 2 French wine buyers, (and drinkers). The first thing that came out of the French wine buyers mouths, "Wow, that's sweet", the California wine buyers just looked at us like we were nuts and argued about what the percentage of residual sugar might be. Thing was, didn't matter what the percentage….tasted sweet to us.
I would like to know the textbook that says the sensory threshold of sugar is above 0.7% residual. I would also like to know the winemaker that leaves 0.7% residual in a wine for any reason other than for its affect on flavor. (Maybe they think they are the only ones in on the Kendall-Jackson "secret winemaking technique.")
A teaspoon of sugar will add about 0.3% residual sugar to a wine. So next time you have a nice dry wine, pour a glass and then dissolve a teaspoon of sugar in the remaining wine in the bottle and see if you can tell the difference.
Beyond intentionally leaving residual sugar, low acidity, sugars extracted from oak, and high alcohol all add to the sweet profile of domestic wines. For someone whose tastes were developed on good Chablis and decent White Burgundy, American Chardonnay is cloying and tiresome most of the time.
Well, boys and girls and dear friends, because so far, all the commenters are friends, wine has no obligation to be anything. It does not have to taste austerely dry to be good Pinot Noir (see Dehlinger Pinot Noir, which is high in alcohol, high in glycerin, high in sweet oak, high in grape sweetnees and yet is well-received).
Alsatian Pinot Gris is not uniquely a dry, minerally, austere wine. I am with Adam Lee on this, Steve, it sounds like you really only want SB to taste dry. The fact of the matter is that Rombauer Chardonnay is very high in RS and tastes sweet. Yet, it is also clean, fruity and balanced. In some vintages, I like the wine and in some I do not, but when I have liked it, I have intentionally chosen to serve that admittedly sweet Chardonnay with
Thai or Indian dishes, where I find I like it better than many Rieslings. And I personally like Riesling more than any other grape.
There are a lot of sweetened wines in this world that have been sweetened in a way that I do not much prefer, and, you and I are like the "French" in that regard. We do find some wines to be cloying, out of balance, hard to use with food. But, I am guessing from your comments that you do not object to offdry as a style so much as wines being offdry without adequate balancing elements.
So, Steve, my answer to your question is "yes, it is too much". We need to accept wine on its own, and if it differs from the norm, we need to judge whether those differences work or do not work for each of us and to explan why.
Interesting topic indeed, and as others have pointed out, not limited to white wines!!!!
I think Morton has hit the nail on the head with his explanation – many winemakers intentionally leave some RS in their wines to help the fruit 'pop' – both for its affects on aromas and taste.
Other reasons why a wine may have some RS – stuck ferments; stopping ferments early in hopes of it finishing in barrel (and this not happening); winemakers adding back concentrate to add flavor (!!!).
I too am not a fan of most whites with 'perceived' RS . . . but as others have also noted, this will vary from pallate to pallate . . . and a little bit of RS is not a bad thing if it works to 'balance' the wine.
Looking forward to hearing frm others . . .
Agree with you, Steve, that far too many CA white wines taste too sweet.
Regarding the question of sweetness perception in wine, I found an interesting paper by George Vierra on the Web: http://bit.ly/4wd4wm
I see a new comment from Morton, and I think the following needs to be added.
As someone whose tastes were developed on decent Chablis and good White Burgundy (note the intentional difference from Morton on this), I find most top-notch CA Chards to be anything but cloying and tiresome. How many times do we need to find wines like Marimar and Gary Farrell and Freestone and Ramey and Hudson and Pfendler and Bjornstad and Londer and ………………….. to be made in clearly dry and balanced styles before we stop hearing the same tiresome rant about CA Chard?
Sorry to be so tiresome Charlie, but it is also tiresome to a wine buyer when 9 bottles out of 10 taste like they are made from the same recipe of malolactic, diacetyl, oak, and alcohol. And it is unfortunate, but I do not have samples given to me, I have to pay for them; so I can only afford to drink good Chablis and decent White Burgundy.
I have a bunch of ideas, some of which have been mentioned:
Oak – Carbohydrates are extracted from oak.
Complex sugars – Perhaps when tests for RS, only simple sugars fermented by S. Cerevisiae are measured. If winemakers inoculate with a given yeast strain, it may not be capable of fermenting every sugar as might occur in an ambient yeast scenario.
Fruity/sweet esters – This could follow from choice of yeast strain if particularly fruity esters are produced.
High alcohol – The viscosity gives the impression of sweetness.
All those things are possible, and very likely true to some extent in most wines. They are also true in White Burgs.
And none of that deals with the point made earlier that there are lots of CA Chards that are not excessively sweet but are balanced, rich and, yes, dry.
Morton, why not try some from the list I mentioned. You might be pleasantly surprised unless you are unmistakenly wed to Chardonnays with the tight and restrained fruit of Chablis. Nothing wrong with that, but it is a stylistic preference and does not mean that all CA Chards are overripe, overoaked, and overdone.
Balance is mentioned by several people above but I think it deserves more attention particularly the role of the various acids in wine.
Acid has a large impact on how RS is perceived. Lower acid levels will increase the perception of sweetness, higher will lower it. To taste this first hand, there is a simple experiment one can do with a few bottles of Coke.
Take two bottles of Coke (Mexican with cane sugar works best). Each will have roughly 9 tablespoons of sugar in them. Neutralize the acid in one of them with baking soda. I don't remember the exact amount so start with a little and taste.
Both will still contain the same amount of sugar, but the Coke without the acid will taste very sweet – more or less like just plain sugar in liquid form. The PH of Coke is 3.4 – in the same range as many wines.
If you can find yogurts from around the world, you can taste the same thing. Recipes will have the same amount of sugar but different levels of acid with very different resulting perceived sweetness.
Terry Thiese commented in a video one time about sweetness. There is the sweetness of a Twinkie which he called Yuck. And then the delightful flavor of an apple. I enjoyed his comparison, probably to simplistic for your readers.
This is one of the contributing factors to why I dig the Matthiasson white so much…
Thanks for the post. In general, wines from California are too sweet. The problem is that in the U.S. we don't think about how well a particular wine goes with food. A wine that seems dry, by itself, often tastes much different with food. We don't grow up drinking wine with food, so wine that is too sweet appears normal to us.


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Nothing. Yesterday's Bloomberg News poll is getting a lot of publicity, mainly for its purported finding that respondents approve of President Obama's immigration decree by a 64-30 margin. But the poll had numerous other findings that cheered Democrats, as indicated by Bloomberg's own headline: "Obama Leads In Poll As Voters View Romney As Out Of Touch." And, in fact, in yesterday's survey supposed likely voters favored Obama over Mitt Romney by a remarkable 13 points, 53-40.
This result is obviously an outlier, but that hasn't prevented it from being widely repeated and commented upon. The obvious question is, why is it an outlier? Anyone who follows polls knows that the answers you get depend on large part on whom you ask, so the first question always is, what was the composition of the respondent pool?
For purposes of comparison, take a look at Bloomberg's March poll. Just three months ago, Bloomberg found Obama and Romney locked in a 47-47 tie. Does anyone seriously believe that Obama's stumbling campaign has produced a 13-point gain since March? Of course not. The difference lies in the composition of the sample.
In March's survey, Bloomberg did not ask respondents to indicate whether they were Republicans or Democrats. Bloomberg did, however, ask the generic Congressional preference question, which is a fair proxy. The March respondents (including leaners) favored Republican candidates 46-44. The respondents in yesterday's poll, on the other hand, favored Democrats 48-41. So there was a nine-point swing in favor of Democrat-leaning respondents, which, combined with the margin of error, accounts for the poll's skewed result. In June, Bloomberg did ask the party affiliation question; Democrats (again, counting leaners) outnumbered Republicans 38-33. (In the Rasmussen survey, by way of contrast, 33.4% of likely voters say that they are Democrats, compared with 35.7% who describe themselves as Republicans.)
Why did Bloomberg over-sample Democrats in yesterday's poll? It may have been largely random, but the fact that the survey was done on a Friday-Saturday-Sunday-Monday cycle no doubt contributed. If you telephone people on the weekend, you will over-sample Democrats, because Republicans go out more, on the average.
If you run a bad poll and produce an outlying result, you can get lots of publicity, especially if your results favor Democrats. But you can't prove anything with a bad poll.
Bloomberg's 64/30 finding on the immigration question is of course infected by the poll's bad sample. But that particular question suffered from other defects as well. This was the question:
President Obama announced that the U.S. would halt the deportation of some illegal immigrants if they came here before age 16, have been in the country for five years, have no criminal record, are in school or have a high school diploma or have been honorably discharged from the military. Do you agree or disagree with this new policy?
As many others have already noted, this question misrepresents Obama's announced policy, at least implicitly, in several respects. First, the only age mentioned in the question is 16. Respondents were not told that persons up to age 30 are eligible for the president's amnesty. Second, Bloomberg's question gave the impression that no one convicted of a crime would be eligible for the amnesty. But that is not correct. In fact, under the administration's guidelines, an illegal resident can have two misdemeanors on his record without being disqualified, and more than three if they were on the same day and part of the same act. Moreover, the executive branch has discretion to determine what is a "significant" misdemeanor offense. And, finally, the question makes no reference to the important procedural question, i.e., whether it was proper for Obama to implement a policy of selective non-enforcement of the immigration laws with no Congressional action.
All of that said, I don't doubt that the administration's policy, in substance, would command majority support. That is, after all, why Obama cherry-picked this particular partial amnesty, in order to enhance his reelection chances. But it is impossible to determine what the actual public support for Obama's policy might be on the basis of the flawed Bloomberg poll.


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DFW NORML Interviews B-Real and Sen Dog from Cypress Hill
Posted on: January 17, 2013
DFW NORML had the privilege of sitting down with Cypress Hill while they were in Austin, Texas performing for a full house. B-Real and Sen Dog discussed their thoughts on the U.S. finally seeing the light of legalization in Colorado and Washington. Their upcoming events, best and worst medication and more. Special thanks goes to […]


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Let's get nasty: 49ers vs. Seahawks
RENTON, Wash. - Packers-Bears. Steelers-Browns. Cowboys vs. anybody in the NFC East.
Those are long-standing NFL rivalries.
Add to them 49ers-Seahawks, with a history of nastiness emanating from the college ranks for their coaches, and a hefty animosity built up in annual doubleheaders in their division. Now they meet for a spot in the Super Bowl.
Are those hard feelings for real?
"I think so, but it'll always be that way when you have two good teams in the same division," 49ers receiver Anquan Boldin said. "You play each other a couple times a year and if you're good enough, possibly three times a year. It was the same way when I was in Baltimore playing against Pittsburgh. You respect each other as foes, but there is really a dislike."
It's a healthy thing, really, because it makes for even more uncompromising action - on the field and on the sideline.
One of these teams will emerge Sunday from ear-splitting CenturyLink Field headed for New Jersey to play for the sport's biggest prize. The other will carry into the offseason even more loathing for this opponent.
"There is no love lost; there is no love found," said Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman, who will find himself lined up often against Boldin in the NFC championship game. "It's going to be intense. It's going to be physical. I don't know if there are going to be handshakes after this one."
That almost goes without saying with the coaches. When 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh was at Stanford - where, incidentally, Sherman played after being recruited by current Seahawks coach Pete Carroll when he was at Southern California - he ran up the score in a 2009 win at Los Angeles that prompted Carroll to ask him at game's end: "What's your deal."
Harbaugh's deal has always revolved around being a hard-edged player and coach. His teams embody that attitude, and it certainly has worked in San Francisco. The 49ers are 41-13-1 in his three seasons in charge, are in their third straight conference title game, and back down from no one.
That can make for some uncomfortable moments, whether it's Harbaugh's overzealous handshakes and back slaps after wins or his team playing up to (and sometimes beyond) the whistle.
Carroll claims the acrimony between them is overblown.
"For whatever reasons, you guys have had a field day with this," Carroll told reporters Thursday. "We have not been friends over the year, we just know each other through the games. We have a very confined relationship.
"I have great respect for Jim. That's it - you guys have had a blast with it."
Carroll's Seahawks aren't exactly wallflowers, either. Defensively, at least, these are the NFL's two most physical and intimidating units.
That, in turn, can lead to ill will.
"I don't hate anybody," All-Pro cornerback Sherman said. "So I don't think (there's) hate. But passion, definitely. There will be some passion, some dislike - some strong dislike. But there will be some intensity. It's playoff football.
"So even if we weren't two teams that are familiar with each other ... there's going to be a lot of intensity, a lot of chippiness, and a hard-fought game."
Where might this antipathy show most?
Try whenever Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch - his nickname, "Beast Mode," says it all about his style of play - meets up with All-Pro NaVorro Bowman and his fellow linebackers, the best group in the NFL.
Or when Boldin, among the best clutch receivers in football, uses his physicality against Sherman, safety Earl Thomas, a fellow All-Pro, and the rest of the game's top secondary.
All of the matchups for Sunday are familiar to both sides, of course. And when division foes meet for the conference title - each team won at home this season - the results hardly are predictable.
Since the 1970 merger, there have been 15 third meetings in conference championships, 10 in the AFC, including the Seahawks losing to Oakland when Seattle was an AFC franchise in 1983. The 49ers beat the Rams in such a meeting in 1989. In 10 of those games, the host won.
What can be forecast for Sunday: hard feelings all around, even if 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis tones it down slightly.
"There's no question there's a lot of hostility between us," Willis said, "but at the end of the day they're another football team. So, there's always going to be dislikes. They're an opponent of ours and we want to win.
"If we weren't in this race right now there'd be no doubt that if they were playing against someone else, I would wish them well because it's in our division. But it's us playing, so there's not going to be any like at all there."


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Israel Hits Gaza, Gaza Hits Israel? Shhh!
Last week, the Washington Post ran a headline typical of the Western liberal media:
"Israel hits Gaza Homes." The sub-head said: "Children and women killed." All good journalists will defend this headline as no more than describing what happened in the seemingly endless clash between Arabs and Israelis. They will argue that when Israel its homes in Gaza, it is news. When Hamas rockets rain down on Israeli cities and towns-and homes, schools, and hospitals, it is not news. It happens ever day, so it becomes like a weather report. Thousands of Hamas rockets have been fired at Israeli homes. Thousands. This coverage brings to mind the old French saying: This animal is very wicked; when you attack it, it defends itself.
The late Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick saw all this coming. Her seminal article in the pages of Commentary Magazine in 1989-now twenty-five years old-was prophetic. "How the PLO was Legitimized" showed how Yasser Arafat's PLO ((Palestine Liberation Organization) used the tools of international diplomacy to "dumb down" international law on the targeting of civilians and the deliberate use of terrorism as a tactic for pushing one's way to power.
Amb. Kirkpatrick's article begins: "Some leaders win power through inheritance, some through elections, some through civil war or coup d'état. Yasir Arafat and the PLO are trying something different. They are attempting to come to power through international diplomacy-reinforced by murder. And they have nearly succeeded."
Reading Kirkpatrick's article, which shows the long march of the PLO through the institutions of the UN in the 1980s, is like reading that other tortured rationale for homicide, Roe v. Wade (1973). In fact, these might be called parallel paths to the acceptance of mass killing of innocents.
Domestically, the U.S. Supreme Court removed the protections afforded to unborn human beings by classing the child in the womb as a non-person under the law. In international law, the conventions against piracy and terrorism were amended, in effect, to say that if you were engaged in a struggle of "national liberation," you could legitimately target civilians in airliners, pizza parlors, hotels, beaches, schools, kindergartens. Or hospitals.
The PLO had done all of that for twenty-five years prior to its admission to international forums. The PLO's asymmetric warfare continued unabated after it changed its public face to the PA. What the PLO did, quite simply, was to subcontract terrorism.
Today, the PLO is headed by Mahmoud Abbas, the loyal lieutenant of Arafat, who died in 2004. For a quarter of a century since 1989, the PLO/PA has gotten diplomatic recognition as a legitimate voice of the Arabs living in Gaza and Judea and Samaria, on the West bank of the River Jordan. Promising to give up terrorism, the PLO has been showered with foreign aid, from the United States, from the European Union, and from the UN. America alone has provided billions in assistance to the PLO/PA.
For what? The PLO continues to teach a genocidal ideology in the schools it controls. It continues to lionize as "martyrs" suicide bombers. Abbas attends ribbon cuttings for public squares and schools named for these mass murderers. In PA-controlled regions, the flaming Twin Towers of the World Trade Center were jubilantly celebrated on 9/11. People fired their AK-47s in the air, danced in the streets, and gave candy to their children when thousands of Americans were murdered in Manhattan and in the Pentagon.
Still, administrations of both parties have treated the PLO and Mahmoud Abbas as if he were a true "peace partner." Most recently, the PLO has bedded down with Hamas. Hamas won the "elections" in Gaza in 2006. Hamas is the Gaza branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. It is openly and unapologetically committed to the eradication of Israel.
The PLO, meanwhile, simply soft-pedals its own genocidal objectives. It has yet to remove from its charter and its seal the words and symbols that show its ultimate goal: They want a Palestinian state stretching from the Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea, a contiguous territory with no Israel and no Jews. The Nazi goal of World War II-creating a Judenrein-a region with no Jews-in Europe would thus be achieved in the Mideast. And we Americans would be helping to pay for it.
Policy "experts" from our State Department pretend not to see this PLO/PA eliminationist objective. They pretend that Jerusalem in not the undivided capital of Israel. Israel is thus the only state in the world that is denied the right to name its own capital. When Germany reunited in 1990 and named Berlin-Berlin! -as its new capital, our State Department quietly packed up its bags and moved the U.S. Embassy from Bonn to Berlin.
The Obama administration should have used the PLO's forming a coalition government with Hamas as the necessary pretext for cutting off all U.S. aid to the PLO/PA. After all, we have listed Hamas as a terrorist organization.
But no. The State Department's weaselly circumlocution tells us that because Hamas has only contributed "technocrats" to the running of the coalition, we can continue the charade. And we can continue to pay for this game of charades.
Secretary Kerry should read Hannah Arendt's classic work: Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil. There, he will learn that Adolf Eichmann was really just a technocrat, too. He was concerned mostly with transportation and housing and railroad schedules. The mere fact that he sent millions to their death at Auschwitz is almost incidental to his life story-as he saw it.
Liberals used to understand all this. Hannah Arendt's reports from Jerusalem originally ran in The New Yorker. From those reports, literate liberals understood that eliminationist anti-Semitism is a real force in the world and must be confronted and not cosseted.
The continued bias of our media, the continued treatment of the PLO as a legitimate party to Mideast negotiations, is a source of wonder. When we look back to the 1930s, we ask ourselves: "How could they be so blind?" When we look to our own media and State Department mumblers and bumblers, we have our answer: That's how!


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17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Wednesday, August 21, 1912: Went to Watsontown this afternoon.
Her middle-aged granddaughter's comments 100 years later:
Watsontown was about one and a half miles east of the Muffly farm. Why did Grandma go there?
Since school was going to start in a few days, maybe she went to Watsontown to shop for school supplies . . . or maybe she went there to run an errand for her mother or father. . . or to . . .
I've previously shown you photos of downtown Watsontown, so today I'm going to show you some of the industries.
Watsontown was a small, but bustling industrial town at the time that Grandma was writing the diary. Over the last forty years or so, Watsontown has had lots of struggles as industries have moved abroad, but it currently seems to be on an upswing.
A hundred years ago the major industries were the Watsontown Door and Sash Company (later it was the Philco plant and now Moran Industries is located on the site), the Watsontown Boot and Shoe Company, and the Watsontown Steam Flour Mill.
Just outside of town were two brick Companies—Watsontown Brick and Keystone Brick (later Glen-Gery).


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Hello folks! My name is Corey Arnold and this is my law blog. I'm a pre-law student who's researched a variety of legal topics and I'll present my research here for your pleasure. I'll also be soliciting posts from fellow students of mine who can bring something to the table. If you're interested in contributing to the site, please email me at [email protected] Thanks for checking the site out!
Legal Eagles: Hiring The Best Defense lawyer
Some matters and circumstances in life simply dictate that you need to use a lawyer. It can be as simple as a single legal document you require suggestions on, or complete blown representation in court. Whatever the case could be, no pun planned, you might not be familiar with dealing with attorneys. Keep reading to learn a few things.
An excellent suggestion to remember if you're thinking of hiring a legal representative is to take your time and make your search thorough. You shouldn't impulsively work with an attorney just since you require one right away. There are a lot of lawyers out there, that you have to be selective to obtain the best one for you.
It is essential to consider the specialty of a lawyer your are hiring. You wish to ensure you hire the attorney you need. You do not want to work with a lawyer that concentrates on criminal law to do your estate planning. Picking a legal representative that specializes in whatever location of law you require, will guarantee you get someone who has a lot of experience in that location and can do a good task.
Don't pay a high retainer fee. Make sure they'll reimburse any cash not utilized. If possible, choose a legal representative who just requires a little retainer and charges you more later.
Remain a paper trail. Document all conversations and meetings with your lawyer. Bear in mind of all questions asked, as well as their responses and record all plans and conversations of costs and charges. Lawyers are only human and make mistakes. Give yourself a layer of protection with extreme record keeping.
If you need a lawyer, you need to make sure you discover one that is in the proper jurisdiction. Most of the time you will have the ability to find a lawyer that is licensed to work in the state you reside in. Ensure they are certified to exercise law within your state.
When you hire a legal representative, see to it they're simple to connect with. You have to make certain you can get in touch when you require them one of the most. I had a lawyer once who disappeared for a month! Checking reviews can assist you find a criminal defense lawyer, who is an excellent communicator.
Know simply precisely just how much chance cost you are quiting when choosing to litigate. Any case takes time, and simply just how much time depends a lot on the ability of your attorney. If you pick a young lawyer to save cash, you could find that the case takes numerous even more weeks than if you had gone with somebody more experienced. Those weeks can be numerous hours of lost pay! Do your research below and ensure the math exercises for your choices.
Legal representatives are in some cases a need in life. You could have to consult one for simply a couple of minutes or have one stand close to you in court for days on end. Despite your scenario, you need to know a couple of ideas and tricks about discovering an excellent one and handling them. Hopefully, this article has actually done simply that for you.


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Business owners must consider the potential impact of earthquakes and related hazards on buildings, employees and operations. Planning for how you will respond during and after an earthquake, and taking steps now to reduce potential damage, is crucial to a successful and speedy recovery. It is important that the private sector understands the risks, makes plans, and takes action to ensure safety and stay in business.
Most businesses have not taken measures to protect their assets, employees and operations from earthquake damage. During an earthquake, buildings — or their components or contents — can collapse, topple, break apart and be left inoperable or unusable. Businesses can temporarily lose the ability to generate income when earthquakes damage private property or public roads, utilities and facilities.
For basic information about earthquakes and related hazards, please see Earthquakes 101.
Getting started
Emergency management agencies in British Columbia, California, Oregon and Washington and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and some county and other local agencies provide earthquake resources for business owners. Actions that can reduce the impact of an earthquake include:
- Develop a business continuity plan.
- Conduct an audit of general earthquake vulnerability and a hazards risk assessment.
- Establish a contingency plan.
- Conduct a non-structural assessment of your business, including inventory.
- Hold regular drop, cover and hold on drills for employee safety.
- Encourage employees to have family plans and emergency kits.
- Seismically retrofit buildings or occupy/rent buildings that are built to earthquake code.
- When considering a site for a new business, evaluate the site for hazards, such as risk of liquefaction and proximity to faults; locate near lifelines, such as transportation, power and water; and build to earthquake codes.
Agencies, guides and other resources
- FEMA: Preparedness Planning for Your Business, Emergency Management Guide for Business and Industryand FEMA QuakeSmart Toolkit
- California Emergency Management Agency: Businesses, Utilities and Non-Profits
- Washington Emergency Management Division: Is Your Business Ready?
This guide from the Institute for Business and Home Safety helps businesses identify, plan for and reduce the impact of disasters and provides guidance on insurance, disaster supplies and ways to make your business more disaster-resilient. National Earthquake Report
What Businesses Learned From The Nisqually Earthquake. This document is designed to help businesses decide where to spend their resources to protect their business from the next quake. Most recommendations are what businesses affected by the Nisqually earthquake decided to do to protect against the next event.


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The Luminary Award is awarded to those to inspire others
One Scouts from each team once a year will earn this award for extraordinary achievement
The Luminary Award is an award presented to a Scout from each team once a year who demonstrates the qualities of a Scout to an extraordinary level.
Traditionally, luminary means a person of brilliance or extraordinary achievement, a person who is an inspiration to others, or also the two brightest bodies in the heavens observed from Earth – the Sun and the Moon.
A luminary in our Scout Programs is indeed a Scout who is an inspiration. There are no special criteria for this award, only a consistent demonstration of the qualities of a Scout. According to our Scout Code, a Scout is:
Trustworthy;A Good Person;A Good Citizen;A Good Friend and Brother or Sister to all Other Scouts;Honest and Respectful; Responsible and Caring;Loyal and Ready to Help.
A luminary consistently demonstrates these attributes. A luminary demonstrates good character and regularly earns recognition for going above and beyond giving their best on Challenges. Those who earn The Luminary Award must consistently prove they are guiding lights for the rest of our Scouts, leading by example and demonstrating all the attributes of a true Scout.
Our luminaries burn so brightly, they allow us all to follow them to living a life of purpose.


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I have always been fascinated by the topic of Success. So much that I decided to do three (3) years of research on success and leadership. I interviewed leaders at the top of their organizations to find out what they considered to be the traits that led to their success, and the Challenges they had to overcome. Then I was lucky enough to have the findings published in the Journal of American Academy of Business Cambridge (JAABC), as well as other books.
These days when I go around to speak or attend conferences and events, I take the opportunity to find out what success means to individuals. Listen to Miko Branch Founder and CEO of Miss Jessie's as she shares her definition of success. Miko is recognized as Pioneer for transforming the haircare industry for natural and curly hair.
Brian Tracy asked the question "Does Being Rich Make You Successful?" Responses came in many forms from those responding "YES–But", to the more common "No' responses giving their reasons why.
Thinking further about this Pest-like Lusted phenomenon that defies many, I heard of an ailing executive rolling in the $$$, who had an incurable condition. He was asked the question to which he replied that he would give all his money in exchange for life.
Isn't that crazy? What most dream and become obsessed about, those who have it would exchange it for life's normal everyday living.
Define Success
Personally, I believe it is important to define what Success Means to you. It's no Coincidence. How will you know when you have achieved it? Defining it helps you to visualize your expectations, whether it is to be 'rich', get an education, start a family, land that dream job, or become that all time successful entrepreneur. Whatever your goal for success, take the step today to achieve it.
Now its your turn. Do you believe being rich makes you successful? Can't wait to hear your take.
Need help with taking that next step in your career? Let's Connect


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A few years ago I tested the idea of tropical Thanksgiving – and loved it. After a wonderful week in Puerto Rico the idea of escaping the cold during the holidays and doing something different has stuck with me. That is how my husband and I ended up in the tropics again during Christmas.
Saint Lucia is a tiny island in the Southern Caribbean. Volcanic in origin, the island is more mountainous than most and framed by two magnificent peaks, Gros and Petit Piton, that steeply raise out of the ocean near the town of Sourfiere. They are the island's hallmark and a truly magnetic sight – you first see them on the approach from the plane and you just can't avert your eyes! The Pitons anchor St. Lucia like two giant sails, as if the island were a boat sailing through the Caribbean.
Over several centuries since the first European settlers arrived, the island has changed hands many times between the French and the British. Their feud and competition for St. Lucia made it known as the "Helen of the Caribbean" or "Helen of the West Indies." The British took definitive control in 1814 and today English is the island's official language – and traffic moves on the left. But the French have left their mark, too. The majority of the population is Catholic and speaks French Creole (Kwéyòl) known as patois. Read the rest of this entry


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sudo yum install jboss-as
sudo yum install jboss-as
Start the JBoss AS 7 system service
Start the JBoss AS 7 system service
sudo service jboss-as
sudo service jboss-as
Connect to the JBoss AS 7 management console (system instance)
Connect to the JBoss AS 7 management console (system instance)
sudo jboss-cli -c
sudo jboss-cli -c
Revision as of 19:23, 16 June 2012
JBoss AS 7 in Fedora Marketing Flyer
This is the brainstorming area for text for a flyer focused on AS 7 in F17.
Java and JBoss AS 7 on Fedora
Fedora 17 provides a comprehensive Java application development suite featuring Java 7, JBoss Application Server (AS) 7, Eclipse 4, Apache Maven 3 and Thermostat.
JBoss AS 7 is a fast and lightweight Java EE 6 application server and OSGi runtime. JBoss AS is the most widely adopted open source Java EE implementation.
- Composed of best of breed open source components, including Hibernate, Infinispan, JGroups, JBoss Modules and Weld.
- Blazing fast start up attributed to a highly optimized boot process, concurrent classloading and concurrent service coordinator.
- Classloading done right. Showcases a preview of Java modularity to attain true application isolation. Hides server implementation classes from the application and only loads classes your application needs.
- Lightweight and scalable as a result of an aggressive memory management policy.
- User-focused, centralized administration. Manage a multi-server topology (domain mode) or an independent, development server (standalone mode) from a single control point.
- Thoroughly tested with Arquillian, a component model for creating robust tests that execute inside the server runtime.
- Java EE 6 (Web and Full Profile) and OSGi compliant (Fedora packages not yet certified)
New in Fedora 17
- Java 7 runtime (JRE) and development tools (JDK) provided by OpenJDK 1.7.0, the open-source reference implementation of the Java Platform
- JBoss Application Server (Web Profile in standalone mode) makes its debut as an official package in Fedora (jboss-as)
- Effort underway to package the fully-compliant Java EE 6 Web Profile (JPA 2 provided by Hibernate expected soon) and compliant OSGi runtime
- Add-ons to the Web Profile such as the Java Messaging Service (JMS) provided by HornetQ
- A systemd system service (jboss-as) to control a standalone instance of JBoss AS
- A commandline interface (jboss-cli) to the JBoss AS management console
- A script (jboss-add-user) to create management and application users for JBoss AS
- A script (jboss-as-cp) to create a unique instance (i.e., server configuration) of JBoss AS in userspace
- JBoss AS container adapters and a JMX-based test protocol for the Arquillian testing platform
- Apache Maven 3 (mvn), with optional resolution of system jar files (mvn-local), and an integration of Maven with rpmbuild (mvn-rpmbuild)
- Early release of the Eclipse 4.2 (Juno) Platform and Java IDE
- Thermostat monitoring and instrumentation tool for the Hotspot JVM, with support for monitoring multiple JVMs on multiple hosts
- Additional JBoss development tools being packaged for the GSoC project to create a Fedora JBoss Spin.
Get started with AS 7 in Fedora
In a terminal, install JBoss AS 7 using yum
sudo yum install jboss-as
Start the JBoss AS 7 system service
sudo service jboss-as start
Connect to the JBoss AS 7 management console (system instance)
sudo jboss-cli -c
Stop the JBoss AS 7 system service
sudo service jboss-as stop
Create a user instance of JBoss AS 7
jboss-as-cp -l $HOME/jboss-as-instance
Start the JBoss AS 7 user instance
JBOSS_BASE_DIR=$HOME/jboss-as-instance /usr/share/jboss-as/bin/standalone.sh -c standalone-web.xml
Connect to the JBoss AS 7 management console (user instance)
jboss-cli -c
Learn more about Fedora
Get involved with the Fedora Java SIG
fedoraproject.org/wiki/SIGs/Java fedoraproject.org/wiki/Fedora-JBoss-Spin


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Way to go Griz. Love the out take at the end.
To me it seems the tri-glide system would be the most difficult to adjust.
Way to go Griz. Love the out take at the end.
To me it seems the tri-glide system would be the most difficult to adjust.
"Don't speak unless it improves the silence." -proverb
DIY Gathered End Hammock
DIY Stretch-Side Hammock
Stretch-Side "Knotty Mod"
DIY Bugnet
Superb video Grizz. Can't wait to see the next one.
Light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it." -Terry Pratchett
Premium Quality, Fresh Roasted Coffee
I didnt recognize you without a bridge. Great video, but I need the type that uses bloodwood dowels.
Peace Dutch
Visit Dutchwaregear on facebook (and like it)
Check us out on Twitter @dutchwaregear
Thanks Grizz! Great video, especially for visual learners!
Please keep them coming!
Very nice easy to understand video. Now I know I want to stay away from Tri Glides. It also never dawned on me that you could roll back the end of a channeled hammock to attach your lines. I do trust my stitching in my Claytor but I did find it informative.
Nice video,, thanks for sharing...
Great addition to the forums. Wish I had this video when I was first changing out suspensions. You make it so simple.
Exercise, eat right, die anyway -- Country Roads bumper sticker
Fall seven times, standup eight. -- Japanese Proverb
I would dearly like to log some miles and shoot some vid with Shug. Had hoped to pull that off with the Northern Hang in a couple of weeks but I had to back out of that gig.
All this is predicated on the assumption that the hammock is hanging loose. I don't think you can easy crank up the tension using the triglides, and that actually is a good thing.
Everyone else...thanks for the appreciation. The vids are labors of love, but we like it when others like 'em too.
The difficulty I see with the tri glides is that to take up or let out slack, you have to deal with the webbing rotating around the tree and any binding that may result. Still a nice system, especially for gram weenies.
"Don't speak unless it improves the silence." -proverb
DIY Gathered End Hammock
DIY Stretch-Side Hammock
Stretch-Side "Knotty Mod"
DIY Bugnet
You make a fine, fine instructional video.
Thanks a bunch
"Every day is a new day to a better future"
"Of all the things that matter, that really and truly matter, working more efficiently and getting more done is not among them." ~ Mike Dooley
"What if I told you that you couldn't have anymore of anything... No more friends, no more money, no more anything, until you first got happy with what you have?"~ Mike Dooley
"The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing." ~ Socrates


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Fun Facts About NFL's "Ice Bowl"
Where and When?
January 1, 1967 at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin
What was the significance of the game?
What was the final score?
What 2 famous future NFL Hall of Fame coaches were pitted against each other?
Tom Landry (Cowboys) and Vince Lombardi (Packers)
The game became known as the "Ice Bowl" because the field was a sheet of ice and the air temperature at game time was -13 Fahrenheit. What extraordinary measure had been used to try to keep the field playable?
Warming it with an underground electric heating grid. Packer coach Vince Lombardi had purchased a system of heating coils that were implanted six inches under the field. The coils were intended to keep the ground warm enough to ward off freezing. In "When Pride Still Mattered," a biography of Lombardi, author Dave Maraniss suggested that the problem came about because of the tarpaulin covering the field. The warm air under the tarp formed condensation, which froze immediately upon exposure to the extremely cold air.
How did Cowboy receiver Bob Hayes help the Packer defense throughout the game?
He kept his hands in his pants. Varying accounts exist of whether Hayes kept his hands in his pants only when the Cowboys were running the ball, or for all plays for which he wasn't the receiver. But whatever the account, Hayes was the Cowboys' best receiver, he frequently kept his hands in his pants, and this would let the Packer defense know they didn't need to worry about him for the play.
How cold were conditions that day?
All of these (CBS sportscaster Frank Gifford said, "I think I'll take another bite of my coffee", An official tore the skin off his lip when his metal whistle froze to it, The halftime show was cancelled when the marching band scheduled to play found that its instruments were unplayable). After several officials had problems with their whistles, the officiating crew stopped using them and relied only on voice commands. At least Gifford was in a broadcast booth, and the halftime musicians got to go home early.
Which uncharacteristic miscues by the Packers led to the first 10 points for the Cowboys?
Fumbles. The warm-weather Cowboys eventually adjusted to the cold better than the Packers did. After Green Bay had built a 14-0 lead on two Bart Starr passes to Boyd Dowler, the Cowboys' George Andrie recovered a Starr fumble and ran it seven yards for the Cowboys' first touchdown. Later in the second quarter, the Packers' Willie Wood fumbled a punt and the Cowboys recovered, leading to a field goal that sent them into the warm locker room at halftime trailing only 14-10.
How did Cowboys' halfback Dan Reeves figure in the touchdown that put his team ahead 17-14?
He threw a pass for the touchdown. Reeves, later a successful NFL coach, threw a 50-yard halfback option pass to Lance Rentzel in the end zone, giving the Cowboys a 17-14 lead on the first play of the fourth quarter.
A month after the game, Vince Lombardi announced his retirement from coaching, making this the last game he coached in Green Bay. For what Packer player was this the last game he played in Green Bay?
Fuzzy Thurston. After playing for two seasons for the Baltimore Colts, Thurston played the remainder of his NFL career from 1959-67, for Green Bay. Hornung was picked up from Green Bay by New Orleans in the 1967 expansion draft, but retired before ever playing for the Saints. Kramer and Starr retired from the Packers and the NFL in 1968 and 1971 respectively. Besides Thurston, this was also the last game in Green Bay for receiver Max McGee and kicker Don Chandler, two other players who played vital roles in the Packers' title teams.
The Packers won the game on Bart Starr's quarterback sneak. The play called in the huddle was "31 Wedge." As the "31 Wedge" play was written, who was intended to carry the ball?
Chuck Mercein. The play was designed to be a handoff to Mercein. This is another moment from the Ice Bowl for which accounts differ as to what actually happened. David Maraniss writes in, "When Pride Still Mattered", that Starr fearing Mercein slipping before he could take the ball, decided to keep the ball himself but didn't tell anyone else. Accounts by Jerry Kramer and others described Starr announcing a quarterback sneak in the huddle. No matter what though, as written in the Packers' playbook, the "31 Wedge" play was designed to be a handoff to the fullback, who on that play was Mercein.
In the famous photograph of Bart Starr's winning touchdown, Chuck Mercein can be seen with both hands in the air. He later said that he was not signaling a touchdown. Why did he say his hands were in the air?
To show that he did not push Starr. It would have been illegal to assist Starr by pushing him, so Mercein threw his hands in the air as if to say "look ref, no hands!"
What was later shown to have happened on Starr's touchdown that could have changed the game's outcome?
Jerry Kramer was offside. In a frame by frame analysis of that play, Kramer can be seen lifting his hand while the ball remains on the ground awaiting the snap. Even Kramer wrote "I wouldn't swear that I wasn't actually offside on the play." Many Packer fans argue though that Donnie Anderson made it into the end zone on the previous play (the officials spotted the ball about two feet outside the end zone though). In fact, Jethro Pugh, the Cowboy blocked to make room for Starr's score, supported this theory, saying that most of the Cowboys thought Anderson had scored.
The dramatic ending of the game helped provide the name of the book that Jerry Kramer and Dick Schaap wrote, based on Kramer's diary of the season. What was the book's title?
Instant Replay. The replays of Starr's touchdown, and of Kramer's block on the play, helped make Kramer much more of a celebrity than linemen usually get to be. "Instant Replay" was released the following year and became one of the best-selling sports books in history. In the locker room after the game, Kramer dissuaded center Ken Bowman, also instrumental in the block, from joining him on camera for a television interview. Kramer argued that he was old and that Bowman's day of glory would come. Little did Bowman realize how rare such recognition is for a center, or that after that season's Super Bowl, he would play in exactly one more playoff game in his career.
VIDEO: The Story of the Ice Bowl
Special thanks to funtrivia.com and wikipedia.com


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Bombers open on ugly note
CC hit hard, gets no help from no-names
NEW YORK — By the time Brett Gardner fouled out to Will Middlebrooks and ended the game, most of the seats at Yankee Stadium were empty.
On what began as a sunny 62-degree afternoon, the vast majority of the sellout crowd of 49,514 left after the Yankees fell behind or when rain started to fall in the top of the ninth inning.
For the first time since their 1982 start was postponed five days because of snow, the Yanks lost an opener at home. For the first time since 1961, the Yanks lost a season opener at home by six or more runs.
"It was ugly out there weather-wise. That got the crowd out of it," new Yankees infielder Kevin Youkilis said.
Ugly day. Ugly start.
These no-name Yankees hope it's not an ugly year.
Jon Lester and the Boston Red Sox gave new manager John Farrell an 8-2 win Monday. Newcomer Shane Victorino led a revamped Red Sox lineup with three RBI and Jackie Bradley Jr. walked three times and scored twice in his big league debut.
"It got kind of raw, in a sense," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said.
The Yanks' order was filled by Gardner, Robinson Cano, Youkilis, Ichiro Suzuki and a bunch of no-names and castoffs: Eduardo Nunez, Vernon Wells, Jayson Nix, Lyle Overbay and Francisco Cervelli.
A two-run single in the fourth by Cervelli, the No. 9 hitter, was the only production for an offense more Murmurers' Row than Murderers' Row without Derek Jeter, Mark Teixeira, Curtis Granderson and Alex Rodriguez.
"You're talking about some of the best players in the game. It's going to be a little different," said CC Sabathia. "But we know what we have to do and who's not here. That's not an excuse. We had injuries last year, the year before. We had the guys step up to get the job done. There's no reason why we can't do it again this year."
Sabathia (0-1) dropped to 0-2 with a 7.43 ERA in five opening-day starts with the Yankees.


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We make a variety of racks to the specifications of your needs. Our motto, "Your racks, your way." Click above for details on models & colors.
Did you know that you can turn that bone-yard into usable barrel racks again?
With the use of our unique rotoblasting technology, we have developed a way to save on labor, costs and materials in the production of wine barrel racks.
Detailed wine barrel rack drawings, inch by inch.
Your racks, your way. -Topco Team


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Fill your sanctuary with the color of Advent using these contemporary paraments designed to match our popular Comtemporary Advent Candle Banner Series. All paraments feature high-resolution digital printing on poplin fabric with matching lining and interior lining for added structure. Go here to see the complete set.
This white Christmas Pulpit Scarf is 18" wide x 44" tall and features a single candle graphic. Designed to use during Christmas week.
Check out Worship Connection to see all the ways you can worship during this season of hope.
Care Tips…
Follow care instructions included with your order.
Did you know...
Christians use Advent wreaths as part of their spiritual preparation for Christmas. After all, Christ is "the Light that came into the world" to dispel the darkness of sin and to radiate the truth and love of God (cf. John 3:19-21).
The four candles represent the four weeks of Advent. The purple candles in particular symbolize the prayer, penance, and preparatory sacrifices and good works undertaken at this time. The progressive lighting of the candles symbolizes the expectation and hope surrounding our Lord's first coming into the world and the anticipation of His second coming to judge the living and the dead.
The light again signifies Christ, the Light of the world. Some modern day adaptations include a white candle or Christ Candle placed in the middle of the wreath, which represents Christ and is lit on Christmas Eve.


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Happy Happy Birthday Birthday!
It's time to put on your party clothes and fancy shoes: for our first Soup of the Day for 2013, we're celebrating a birthday book's book birthday! Got that?
And I'm doubly, even triple-y excited because it was written by one of my favorite author/poets, Liz Garton Scanlon, and beautifully illustrated by Brooklyn-based artist Stephanie Graegin, who did such a brilliant job that it's hard to believe it's her very first picture book. You know how much I love featuring "first books." 🙂 I totally agree with Kirkus, who called Stephanie "an up-and-coming artist to watch" in their *starred review*. Hooray!
But more about Happy Birthday, Bunny! (Beach Lane Books, 2013), right after we suit up for the festivities.
First, please select a party hat, with or without bunny ears:
As the book says, we must have fancy shoes. Choose between these adorable lambs wool bunny slippers,
or these soft leather rabbit and carrot shoes. Cute, no?
Here at Alphabet Soup, we believe in bibs. Try this one on for size:
And we definitely want to make lots of joyful noise today. Feel free to sing, dance, play your accordion and shake shake shake your
Okay, lookin' good! Let's party!
* * *
♥ Serving up Happy Birthday, Bunny! ♥
(I'm all ears.)
Since I was born in the Year of the Rabbit, my wittle whiskers happily twitched just seeing the title. In this sweet story, we're invited to a toddler-ish bunny's birthday party. She endears herself to us immediately with her earnest, ingenuous questions as she delights in each and every part of the experience.
What are these and what are those?
Fancy shoes and party clothes!
Someone's knocking — who is here?
Peekaboo, it's Nana, dear.
Getting dressed, decorating, setting out food, greeting guests, singing, chatting, dancing, blowing out the candles, opening presents, taking pictures, and reminiscing are all joyfully played out through simple rhyming text and winsome, digitally colored and assembled pencil-and-ink washes. Liz and Stephanie have lovingly captured the innocent wonder and ears-up excitement of the quintessential child's birthday party set aglow with the warmth of family and friends.
Stephanie's nattily dressed rabbits and woodland animals are emotive, animated and wonderfully charming without being too cutesy, and her pictures have a tender, old fashioned, timeless feel about them. Little ones will enjoy pointing to the bunnies, owls, foxes, beavers, raccoon, and skunk, as they learn about, re-experience and/or look forward to their own birthdays. Who doesn't love a big yummy cake and being the center of attention? Beat by beat, the lilting cadence of Liz's carefully honed couplets sets just the right pace for all the action, making this a fun, classic read aloud eager munchkins will ask for again and again.
In addition to the glowing review from Kirkus, Happy Birthday, Bunny! has also garnered another well deserved *starred review* from Publishers Weekly, who said, ". . . it's pure celebration, and readers will share wholeheartedly in the pleasure." Tippity top!
* * *
♥ Let's Eat! ♥
Bibs on and spoons ready? Ears and whiskers clean?
Please join me now in congratulating Liz and Stephanie, our favorite bunny girls of 2013. The Alphabet Soup kitchen helpers had fun cutting out carrot flowers to decorate the soup bowl and are still debating over whether the flowers themselves or the scraps taste better. While they are still munching on both, feel free to dip deep and slurp your good wishes with gleeful gustatory gusto. And since you just happen to look extra fetching today, we'll even pretend it's your birthday too!
With our soup, a special Ensalad Petite Bouquet,
and Orange Blossom Carrot Salad:
Yes, I can hear you panting for dessert.
In honor of Liz, Yoga Pose Cupcakes,
and in honor of Stephanie, Chocolate Groundhog Cupcakes (her birthday is on Groundhog Day):
Because it's your birthday too, hare's a big piece of carrot cake :):
When you're done wrapping your lips around that, help yourself to some bunny cookies
and balloon cookie pops.
What would a party be without presents? Hare's a little something for you to take home:
Now my furry friends, you know the drill.
Hop on over to your local indie or click through to your fave online bookseller to snatch up a copy or two or three hundred of Happy Birthday, Bunny! If you go to a brick and mortar store, wear bunny ears or dress up as one of bunny's forest friends. While you're waiting in line, play the accordion or strike your tambourine to get the other customers in a good mood while you tell them all about the book. Don't forget to bring the cashier a cupcake and a balloon, and say the secret password "Honey Bun" if you'd like a discount.
* * *
written by Liz Garton Scanlon
illustrated by Stephanie Graegin
published by Beach Lane Books, January 2013
Picture Book for ages 2-5
Cool themes: birthdays, celebrations, parties, babies, rhyming stories
* * *
- Liz Garton Scanlon's Official Website and LiveJournal Blog, Liz in Ink
- Stephanie Graegin's Official Website and Tumblr
- Heads up, lucky Austin-area peeps: Liz will be reading and signing books at Book People on Saturday, January 26, 2013 at 2 p.m.
- More Soup of the Day posts here.
*Spreads from Happy Birthday, Bunny! posted by permission of the publisher. Text copyright © 2013 Liz Garton Scanlon, illustrations © 2013 Stephanie Graegin, published by Beach Lane Books/Simon & Schuster. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2013 Jama Rattigan of Jama's Alphabet Soup. All rights reserved.