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Maine's largest daily-newspaper group has outsourced its circulation customer-service work to Honduras, letting five Maine-based employees go, reassigning another, and allowing one to retire early.
The workers, some of whom were part-time, were paid at rates that for full-time workers were between $445 and $542 per week, depending on their seniority, according to Kathy Munroe, administrative officer for the Portland Newspaper Guild, the union that represents most of the paper's non-management employees.
A call to the circulation number posted on the websites of MaineToday Media, the corporate owner of the Portland Press Herald, Maine Sunday Telegram, Morning Sentinel, and Kennebec Journal newspapers reached a customer-service representative who confirmed he was in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. He was very cordial, even spelling the city's name for me. Another rep there told me there are 14 people there who cover around-the-clock hours solely waiting for calls from MaineToday clients. When asked about his hours and wages, he referred questions to the MaineToday human-resources department in Portland, which referred questions to owner/editor/publisher Richard Connor. Through his assistant, Connor declined to comment.
San Pedro Sula has several call centers, which appear to be based in its high-tech Altia Business Park, where online marketing materials boast about large numbers of English speakers (including numerous English-language schools) as well as high-reliability phone and Internet connectivity to the United States.
The move follows a consolidation within the MaineToday papers that shifted all circulation handling to South Portland, from locations in Augusta and Waterville. Though there have been other intra-company consolidations and transfers, this is the first outsourcing at the company that Munroe is aware of. "I take it personally when I hear about outsourcing," Munroe says. "We're hurting for jobs right here."
She says the company followed the provisions of the union contract, so there will not be a grievance from her organization related to the outsourcing, but "I'm hoping that there's a clamoring from subscribers."


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Residence 38H is a two bedroom, two and a half bathroom residence with a northwest corner exposure. The generous open layout features an island kitchen, laundry room, and private outdoor terrace overlooking the city skyline of midtown Manhattan, including the Empire State and Chrysler Buildings. The primary suite features a large walk in closet and over-sized primary bath with double vanities. Ceilings over nine feet with floor-to-ceiling windows allow for maximum openness and natural light.
Designed by Meier Partners Architects, the residence interiors are a striking contrast to the black glass exterior, reflecting a white color palette. Living spaces are immersed in natural light radiating through the floor-to-ceiling windows. White oak floors are found in all residences and open kitchens boast white Calacatta Lincoln marble counters, Dornbracht fixtures and Gaggenau appliances clad in custom-crafted Italian white lacquer. Each residence is equipped with a built-in Crestron smart home system that regulates temperature, lighting and the motorized window shades. These functions can be seamlessly controlled by residents through any iOS or Android device.
One United Nations Park is situated in a prominent Manhattan location on First Avenue between East 39th and East 40th Streets. Brought to you by the renowned Soloviev Group, this iconic 43-story tower is clad in black glass, a Soloviev trademark. The 43-story, 460-foot high residential tower is comprised of 148 one-to-four bedroom condominiums on the top 16 floors. Located just south of the United Nations Headquarters along the East River, residences feature breathtaking views of New York City and the riverfront. One of its most distinguishing features - a clear glass cut-out on the 28th and 29th floors - lights up at night and is visible from across the river. The western facade is defined by a glass screen that provides privacy for residence balconies while still allowing abundant natural light to fill the interior space.
Residents of One United Nations Park will enjoy the highest level of service from the moment they arrive. Whether entering from First Avenue through the grand East Atrium adorned in travertine, or the discreet direct entry from the onsite parking garage, the building has been carefully designed for the ultimate convenience and luxury. The amenities suite has been designed with soaring ceiling heights and naturally lit spaces to promote residents health and wellness, including a 70 indoor lap pool with steam and sauna and expansive fitness center with private training studio. Residents can also enjoy thoughtfully curated entertaining spaces featuring a billiards and games lounge, catering kitchen, private dining, screening room, playroom, and an exclusive club lounge for condominium residents. Concierge Services provided by LIVunLtd.
The complete Offering Terms are in an Offering Plan available from Sponsor: 685 First Realty Company LLC c/o Solow Realty & Development Company. File No. CD17-0048
Building Features 43 Floors148 Units
Unit Features
$3,674,700 / $2,021 per ft²
Sold: Mar 09, 2023
2.08% above ask / 143 Days to Sell
2 Beds / 2.5 Baths / 1,818 ft²
Total Monthly expenses: $5,808
Maintenance: $2,703 / R.E. Taxes $3,105
Exclusively listed with: Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group
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Starved Rock an impressive natural monument outside Chicago
While Ice Age glaciers were flattening out north-central Illinois, the melt-water was carving a magnificent series of small canyons through sandstone bluffs along what is now the Illinois River.
Starved Rock State Park is a gorgeous monument to the power of ice and water, 3,200 tree-covered acres in Oglesby, Illinois.
The massive parking lot at the Visitors Center is testament to the tremendous popularity of Starved Rock, about two hours west of Chicago. Consider visiting on a weekday to avoid some of the crowds, or make a trip during colder months, when ice formations decorate the canyons and their waterfalls, and the fireplace is roaring at the huge but cozy Starved Rock Lodge.
At the Visitors Center, travelers will find a small museum that tells the history of the region, including the legendary tragedy that gave the park its name. Although there is no archeological evidence for the incident, Illiniwek Indians reputedly sought refuge from an enemy tribe atop a 125-foot-tall sandstone butte on the river and starved to death there while besieged.
Today, a path and series of staircases take visitors to the top of the rock for tremendous views of the river and the nearby Starved Rock Lock and Dam. (And don't worry, there are plenty of places to eat in the park when you descend.)
The park lodge, built in the 1930s and well-maintained, is the jumping off point for a variety of guided boat or trolley tours throughout the year, including a Fall Colors tour, a Christmas Lights tour in late December and a Discover the Eagles tour in January and February, when bald eagles frequent the area. (Although the eagles seem to get all the love, my favorite park avian is the American white pelican, one of the biggest birds in North America.)
The lodge also offers a variety of dining options including a cafe, bar and very good fine-dining restaurant.
Almost 13 miles of well-marked trails lead to 18 canyons. The park is stretched out along the river with parking lots at trailheads all along the way, so it's just a short hike to many of the most-scenic park destinations.
Just across the Illinois River is the Illinois Waterway Visitor Center, operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The center has displays about the lock and dam and its role in assisting commercial river traffic.
Nearby, visitors can enjoy the charming and historic little town of Utica, with several wineries, food and drink options and the LaSalle County Historical Museum.
Also nearby, the city of Ottawa celebrates its role as the site of the first Lincoln-Douglas debate with a number of memorials to the event, including murals and a larger-than-life statue of the larger-than-life statesmen.
For more information, visit starvedrockstatepark.org or enjoylasallecounty.com.


text:
Send this image as a digital e-Card.
It's fun, free and easy. Enter a friend's e-mail address and other required info, and they will receive an e-mail linking to this Maine Memory Network Image.
We will not share this information.
Item: 100362
Title: Civil War soldier, Rumford Center, ca. 1861
Contributor: Greater Rumford Area Historical Society


text:
This article is more than 1 year old
Trojan poses as Adobe update utility
Be careful what you invite in
Miscreants have begun creating malware that overwrites software update applications from Adobe and others.
Email malware that poses as security updates from trusted companies is a frequently used hacker ruse. Malware posing as update utilities, rather than individual updates, represents a new take on the ruse.
Vietnam-based anti-virus firm Bkis said the tactic is a logical follow-on from earlier approaches where viruses replace system-files and startup-program files.
Nguyen Minh Duc, director of Bkis Security, writes that the recently detected Fakeupver trojan establishes a backdoor on compromised systems while camouflaging its presence by posing as an Adobe update utility. The malware camouflages itself by using the same icons and version number as the official package.
Variants of the malware also pose as updaters for Java and other software applications.
Duc explains: "From analysis, we found that malware is written in Visual Basic, faking such popular programs as Adobe, DeepFreeze, Java, Windows, etc. In addition, on being executed, they immediately turn on the following services: DHCP client, DNS client, Network share and open port to receive hacker's commands." ®


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Anyone who's ever worked in a convenience store or watched Clerks knows that the job is hard, not very rewarding, and there's always a chance of running into a robbery scenario. One Chinese convenience store has gotten robbed so much that the store clerk who works there is no longer fazed when she gets robbed.
Located in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region in Southwest China, this 24-hour convenience store has been robbed three times since October. According to Beijing TV News, the first time the store was robbed, a man came in with a knife and a paper bag, ordering the female store clerk to open up the cash register. The second time the store was robbed, the same female clerk just stood to the side while the thief plundered the register and stole some cigarettes.
The third time the thief came by, the store owner was prepared. The register was locked and there wasn't a way for the young store clerk to open it. Coming in again with a knife in hand, the thief attempted to steal from the register while the young clerk stood to the side playing on her mobile device. According to Chinese media and the police, the young lady was focused on her mobile game. During the whole endeavour, she stared at her phone doing whatever she was doing without looking at the robber.
While to the police it might have seemed like the store clerk might be in cahoots with the robber, they actually were able to remove her from the suspect list. Instead, the actual suspects were a boyfriend and girlfriend couple that was subsequently arrested. As it turns out, one of the them was a former employee of the convenience store who had quit after being robbed once at knife point.
Online in China, the video of this calm and collected store clerk has spread like wildfire with many netizens asking to find out what kind of mobile game she was playing and some questioning why she didn't just call or text for help under the guise of gaming. Whatever the case may be, this young store clerk has now made internet history in China as "Unperturbed Sister."
视频: 一个月被打劫三回 收银员练成"淡定姐":劫匪面前淡定玩手机 [Youku]
Kotaku East is your slice of Asian Internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am.
Eric is a Beijing based writer and all around FAT man. You can contact him @firstname.lastname@example.com or follow him on Twitter @FatAsianTechie.


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After Stephen Colbert bid farewell to Jon Stewart on "The Daily Show" Wednesday night, it was John Oliver's turn to revisit his old stomping grounds Thursday and say goodbye as his new show, "Last Week," premieres on HBO this Sunday.
Stewart lured Oliver back by using a fake British correspondent — Oliver's former gig.
"A British correspondent?" Oliver exclaimed as he stormed the scene, outraged. "She's from bloody Southern California!" "We had to get you over here somehow," said Stewart. "Would you like to sit down and catch up?"
The two were genuinely happy to see each other. Stewart even made the Brit feel at home by offering him some tea.
"You look great," Stewart told Oliver, who replied, "I know I do, Jon, well you remember how I looked four months ago when I left here." As for why he looks so good, Oliver says, "Remember, I am only doing one show a week now! And you know what that means? I get to go outdoors every day and see the um — what's it called again? — sun!"
He continued, "And then instead of being stuck in the office, I'm spending time with my um ..." "Dealer!" Stewart offered, to which Oliver replied, "wife."
"And I've been doing that thing where you lie down on a cushion and everything goes black for eight hours!" adds Oliver, to which Stewart proclaims "Peyote!"
"Sleep!" Oliver corrected.
"So, you like it over there at HBO, huh?" asks Stewart.
"Are you kidding me? Paid cable is amazing!" Oliver proclaims. "No advertisers, you can do whatever you want!" Oliver pointed out that "THIS ["True Detective"] is one of HBO's hit shows. I watched the whole season eight times and I have no idea what he's talking about!" "I'm telling you Jon, HBO will let me say whatever the f--- I want! Wait, what's that bleeping noise?" "Oh, we here at basic cable bleep out the cursing," Stewart reminds him.
"Oh, you poor, sad f---," Oliver replies perfectly. "HBO lets me curse my f------ a-- off. And the nudity, Jon! I am pantless in my first three episodes."
"I get it, I get it!" Stewart says. "HBO is a wonderland of expletives and a forest of dongs." "Oh, you've seen 'Games Of Thrones' then?" Oliver deadpans, to which both exclaim, "Booyah!" "That reminds me," says Oliver. "I'm late for my hot giraffe-oil massage with Peter Dinklage." Watch the full, funny clip below:


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A liberated mink writes a thank you letter
Source Leadfingertip's Blog
In the past few weeks animal lovers have been breaking into mink farms and setting hundreds of minks free. One of the cute, little animals wrote a thank you letter to his liberator.
"I am writing this letter as a free mink. It is still hard to believe I no longer live in a cage. Few days ago, on an early morning, the humans came. It was earlier than usual, and these humans were different. They were dressed in black and wearing masks. We paid them little attention. Usually they give us food and water. But not these humans. They started opening the cages and setting us free. I could not believe my eyes. There was great excitement among my brothers and sisters as well.
When one of the humans opened my cage I rushed out without hesitation. I ran as fast as I could and never looked back. I wish I had stopped and thanked that human. He saved me from pain, stress and torture. He saved my life for if it was not her I would have either gone mad or died of a terrible infection or disease.
In the nature we are free, we run and swim and life feels great. But living in a tiny cage was very hard and depressing. Many of my brothers and sisters went insane. They ran in circles for hours, biting the metal bars of the cages or fighting each other. Many went as mad as hurting themselves. It was very sad. I saw my friends biting their paws and tails to the bone. They could not control themselves anymore. When someone got sick others also got sick. We are not used to living together in such small and crowded places and many of us died of infections and diseases.Thank you for setting me free from this awful prison. I cannot describe how happy I felt when I saw the sun for the first time in my life. The green grass under my paws feels much nicer than the dirty, cold metal bars of the cage floor. I can run freely and I can rest when I get tired. Then I can run some more or take a nap in a burrow that I discovered the other day.
I hope that many other humans will have the courage to set free all my brothers and sisters who are locked up in such horrible places. Because no one deserves a life full of pain and suffering. With all my heart I thank you."
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very pawsome letter,
little mink.
more people care about you
than you think.
we work hard
every day.
so that the concept
of fur will
go far away.
and minks can
be minks.
live safe lives
and play
Karen Lyons Kalmenson
November 2, 2013 11:55 am
I really have a problem with this trend of setting minks free. Perhaps someone should start a mink sanctuary where they can be taken care of without posing any harm to wildlife?? These little creatures (akin to weasels and ferrets) are quite the killing machines and will cause problems with native animal populations. (And cats, too!) Totally irresponsible.
November 4, 2013 6:11 am
The domestic monks cannot survive in the wild. Setting them free is like killing them! They need to go to a sanctuary where they are not caged, but fenced into a proper set up to enjoy the rest of their after being spaded and neutered like I did with a couple of mink rescued off of a horrible abusive farm. I also made sure to give them their distemper and rabies vaccines. Do it right or don't do it at all!!!
November 4, 2013 6:18 am
The photo you are using to represent a mink…is not a mink. It is an Ermine. If you are going to be sticking with the tools of a domestic mink, I can provide you with one.
November 2, 2013 3:18 pm
Il faut assurer la protection de ces jolis animaux, ils ne doivent pas etre tués pour leur fourrure.
Duane Thamm permalinkNovember 3, 2013 5:50 pm
Great thing these rescuers have done. Brought some pride back to humans. Setting these beautiful creatures free is the right thing to do. Now someone needs to put a bullet in the leg of the people who run these farms. Notice how abortion clinics are less prevalent since action was takin. Same courage should be taken on animal offenders. Cheers to all the good people who love minks!!
mike permalinkNovember 3, 2013 10:22 pm
what about all of the endangered animals they kill? Does anyone thing about the risk they pose as invasive species? Yes, i understand that the industry of rasing animals for coats sucks but you can't just go and let them all go into a place the don't naturally exist…For each mink you are releasing, you are killing dozens if not hundreds of other creatures. Many of them endangered. So thank you to all of those who are carelessly releasing mink to kill our endangered species and pose a direct threat to our ecosystems.
Ernst Mecke permalinkNovember 4, 2013 9:02 am
Certainly a very nice-looking mink. BUT: To release large numbers of minks (or other predators) at one point in the landscape will result in catastrophe for (a) the local wildlife (as the minks with their hunger will simply kill and eat whatever they can find and manage to overwhelm) and (b) the minks themselves (as they are by far too many to survive on the wild food available in the area).
I am certainly no friend of fur farms (and in Finland, where I live, there are many), but I do recommend a different course of action: in Finland there have been a few fur farms which have switched to the breeding of rabbits with good fur; rabbits manage to live in groups (thus, no need to keep them in single cages – one can even provide some area to run free for a while) and are anyway adapted to spending long times in very narrow burrows; they live on a vegetarian diet (anyway no suffering imposed on their food – while minks live on, e.g., herring), which also means that their excreta are very much less of an environmental problem compared to those of minks and foxes; after taking the fur one can also eat them (i.e. more use to be had per suffering individual).
I am no friend even of rabbit farms, but if one wants to at least reduce the suffering resulting from the production of fur then it may be a more realistic course to recommend to the public that they should ask for rabbit fur instead of fur of minks, foxes, or similar predators.
Comments are closed.


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I think we need a list of BFB codes for the Cube 3 for reference. There is a wiki for G-Code for RepRap but there are a LOT of differences from the Cube 3. http://reprap.org/wiki/G-code I don't know a lot about them so I'm hoping other people will make additions and corrections.
Code Description Example M101 Undo Retract M103 Retract M104 Snn Pn Tool 1 Temp - P ? M104 S215 P1 M106 Pnn Fan ON - Device ? M106 P100 M106 Snn Fan ON - Power 0-255 (255 = 100%) M106 S255 M107 Fan OFF M108 Snn Set Extruder Speed M108 S7.0 M227 Pnn Snn Gnn Fnn Set Retraction - Prime - Suck - G ? - F ? M227 P450 S450 G450 F600 M551 Pnn Snn Command used for extruder 1 (left) prime when at the waste bin. P is amount primed. S is speed of extrusion. M551 P700 S35 M552 Pnn Snn Same as above but for extruder 2 (right) M552 P700 S35 G1 Xnn Ynn Znn Fnn Move X Y Z F = movement speed G1 X-2.495 Y-1.747 Z0.3200 F1800.0 G4 Pn Pause n seconds G4 P7
This is only a handful of entries. I will update it as I get more info. Please contribute whatever you can.


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Paleontologists working in Queensland, Australia, have uncovered the biggest find yet of diprotodons, a pre-historic marsupial that's also known as the "mega-wombat". Scientists hope that the discovery of these 50 distinct skeletons may shed some light behind the reason for this species' extinction.
It was scientists from the Queensland Museum in Brisbane who uncovered the fossils, which are believed to be between 100,000 and 200,000 years old – and they're calling it a "paleontologist's goldmine". The diprotodon was a marsupial herbivore about the size of a rhinoceros and boasting a backward-facing pouch so large it could fit an adult human.
The fossils of the mega-wombat were discovered in a large concentration, allowing paleontologists to better speculate about what these megafauna were doing, how they behaved, and what their ecology was like. A preliminary theory is that the diprotodons were trapped in boggy conditions while taking refuge from dry conditions.
It also appears that they were getting picked off by crocodiles.
What's particularly interesting about these animals is that they may have rubbed elbows with indigenous peoples living in Australia about 50,000 years ago. It's thought that human hunting may have contributed to their demise. Other theories postulate climate change.
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One specimen was particularly massive for a diprotodon, boasting a jawbone 28 inches long (70 cm). The gravesite also revealed other animals, including lizards and crocodiles. In fact, the scientists are fairly confident that many of the diprotodons were ripped apart by these crocs, as they found shed teeth within their skeletons.
You can read more about this discovery at the BBC.
Top image via The Standard. Inset artwork composed by Peter Trusler.


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"She's just a really good liar. She goes after people who are very trusting, and exploits that. She really had me going-my first instinct is not to Google someone when I meet them."
We've all known variations on the personality type: the pathological liar so desperate for attention that she writes herself love letters at camp, alludes to much older, never-seen boyfriends in Junior High, and is always the star of some manufactured crisis. In this way, the story of Kari Ferrell isn't so different from any (sociopathic?) "grifter"; it's unclear whether the using is cold-blooded or so deeply ingrained as to have become an alternate reality, and either way, the user ends up walking away with a trail of broken hearts, debts and confusion wherever she goes.
Kari Ferrell - whom the New York Observer terms "the hipster grifter" is interesting largely because she seems to have used the tropes of the hipster counterculture to achieve her ends - becoming every alternative emo boy's dream girl. She claimed to have jobs with music companies, to love their bands, and even scored herself the cred of a job at Vice. No wonder she left a chain of bewildered young artists behind her!
In some ways, Farrell puts one in mind of "Clark Rockefeller," the crazy person/scam artist who built a life by being what people wanted him to be - in his case, a blue-blooded society guy. Farrell's hipster-girl seems just as designed to blend in, to create a sense of comfort, even in this age of the automatic Google. Take one ex's words,
She acts very warm and super-interested in what people have to say...and she has lots of offers for things. She's really into music and knows a lot about music. She'll say, 'I work at GoldenVoice, I can get you into that show. Anything you want to go to, I can get you on the list.'
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Take this description:
It's likely that when Kari Ferrell walked into the Vice magazine offices in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, last month to interview for an administrative assistant job, they thought they'd hit the jackpot. Ms. Ferrell-petite, 22 years old, of Korean heritage-had a huge tattoo of a dragon across her chest and a cute pixie haircut. She was talkative, funny, charming, adorable. She had a tattoo on her back that read "I Love Beards." She told them she'd been working for the New York office of the concert promotion company GoldenVoice, which puts on huge rock festivals like Coachella near Palm Springs, Calif., and that she'd moved to New York from Utah just a few months earlier. They hired her on the spot.
The article doesn't get into it explicitly, but the fact that she's Korean-American is intriguing; as anyone who's been to a Williamsburg art opening knows, for a lot of these dudes, having an Asian girlfriend is some kind of weird fetish (to the point where one Chinese American friend of mine remarked once, "I can't go near those hipster neighborhoods. These guys just want to date an Asian, doesn't matter who, and it's racist and weird and really uncomfortable." Another friend adds, "It's obviously rooted in some racist stereotype of the 'exotic' or 'submissive' - I don't even want to know what.") Vice has never made any bones about its love of hot Asian women - see any "Dos" - so Farrell chose her targets well. One has to note that after writing a note to a stranger at a bar reading, "I want to give you a hand job with my mouth,"she signed it "Korean Abdul-Jabbar."
Wrote Jaemin Kim in a HuffPo article in February,
Asian-American women suffer a stunning exception to hard-fought notions about racial equality applied to other minority groups. It is a societal norm to reduce an Asian woman to a sexualized stereotype, a one-faceted "thing" that is exclusively an object of desire...Reducing Asian women into a sexual object is not funny, it is not flattering. It is perilous. We can see this when Asian women are subject to race-targeted sexual violence. The racist nature of the crimes go unrecognized and unpunished, as if there is nothing wrong with choosing a rape victim because she is Asian.
Farrell is by no means emblematic of Asians, Asian women, women, Straight-Edge ex scenesters, adopted children, administrative assistants, or even other con artists: she's clearly a deeply disturbed person who, however immoral, was seeking love and attention. She wreaked havoc on a lot of lives and left a lot of people feeling not just hurt, but humiliated. She seemed so harmless! They all seem to suggest. And why would they think that? To quote Kim, "unlike any other racial group in America today, Asian women routinely are dehumanized in popular culture as sexualized, meek and voiceless objects." Surely Farrell knew this too?
The Hipster Grifter [New York Observer]
Related: Asian Girls And The Guys Who Fetishize Them [Hyphen]
Tokyo Undressed [Vice]


text:
Women on the Verge
Season 6 Episode 602 | 14m 15s | Video has closed captioning.
Two short films focus on women at a precipice. 'Crushed In Space; offers an animated look at unrequited love. In 'Gwen', a woman gives it her all at a county fair cook-off.
Aired: 03/13/19
Problems Playing Video? | Closed Captioning


text:
Republicans Worried About March Primary, but Not November Election
Republicans running for lieutenant governor demonstrated in their debate Monday that they are concerned about their March primary, not about how their positions might sound in November.
DALLAS — The Republican candidates for lieutenant governor do not seem worried about Democratic challengers and independent voters, or particularly concerned about whether their public conversations and debates fuel the Democrats' election-year motif of a war on women.
If they were, they would not be talking like this. You would not have seen what you saw during the debate early this week as they all raced to the conservative end of the pool, hoping to win the hearts of the Republican voters they will face in the primary election in March.
Instead, you would have seen a quartet of Republicans trying to win a primary without blowing their chances of winning over the more moderate voters who will come out in November.
If this election goes the way of other recent Republican primaries, the candidates' first encounter will be with a small and conservative bunch. Fewer than two of every 25 Texans will be voting in the primary. General elections draw larger turnouts with different voters. The Democrats will be there, of course, along with political moderates, independents and the sometimes-engaged voters who might be drawn out by a noisy race for governor.
Judging from their responses, the Republican candidates are thinking about the first cohort and not the second. All believe, with varied degrees of enthusiasm, that creationism should be taught in public schools. All four, talking about a recent case in Fort Worth that got national attention, said state law should be rewritten to override a family's desire to remove life support from a clinically dead woman until her child can be delivered. And each underscored his position on the issues by saying that abortions should not be allowed except when the life of the mother is in danger; that is a break from a more conventional Republican position that would allow exceptions in cases of rape and incest.
Maybe they will regret it, but that is a bet against the political judgment of four candidates with deep experience. Each has several elections under his belt. Two have lost high-profile races (and three will be putting a loss on the board before the year is half over). They are wily, cautious, paranoid, nervous, wary and able to understand the numbers in a poll.
Each is tuned, in other words, to catch any inkling or whiff of a change in the electorate. They know the comments they are making now can and will be used against them in the November race against the Democrat, state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, but they do not seem to care.
Their positions could play in other races, not that that is their problem. Attorney General Greg Abbott, a Republican, will probably face State Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, in the governor's race. Neither officially has a party nomination, but they are already clashing, and the conversation of the last two weeks has established gender as part of the debate.
A candidate in a competitive two-party state has to keep an eye on that second contest, to make sure not to become so extreme in pursuit of the primary nomination that the moderates and independents jump ship in November.
The four debaters on display this week — Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, state Sen. Dan Patrick, Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson and Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples — have a lot to worry about. Three will be out of the race soon. At least two will be out of the race really soon — when the March 4 votes are counted. They are thinking about whether there will be a runoff and, if there is one, who will be in it. After the debate, three candidates were feeding reporters a variation of, "As you can see, this is a two-man race between me and the lieutenant governor."
Van de Putte, a state senator from San Antonio, does not appear to be on their minds. In a general election, clips from their debate could become material for attack ads for her campaign, or for Davis' offensive against Abbott.
The Democrats hope this is a powerful weapon, persuasive to people who might otherwise not vote, or vote for Republicans.
If Monday's discussion was any indication, the Republicans are not fretting about anything other than their fellow Republicans.
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Sorry NBA Jam fans, that tweet teasing a sequel was a fake
EA Sports confirms tweet teasing new entry in the over-the-top basketball franchise was "unauthorized."
EA Sports confirms tweet teasing new entry in the over-the-top basketball franchise was "unauthorized."
EA Sports teases return to the arcade-style pro basketball series.
Konami's coin-op beat-'em-up title leads Sony's monthly online sales chart; inaugural PS Vita top-selling list topped by puzzler Escape Plan.
EA Sports' arcade football game leads Sony's monthly sales chart; NBA Jam, Mortal Kombat collection, Infamous: Festival of Blood, and Sonic CD round out top five.
Naughty Dog leads the pack with 12 nominations for AIAS-organized honors, joins Portal 2, Skyrim, Batman: Arkham City, and Zelda: Skyward Sword as Game of the Year candidates.
The end of the year is upon us once again, and it's time to decide the best games of 2011! Check out our nominees now, and vote in the Readers' ...
How EA can improve its next basketball sim by looking at its own franchises and the world of basketball.
We take to the court for some more NBA Jam action.
The arcade classic returns in downloadable form and we had the chance to try it out.
Competing sports labels re-up multi-year partnerships with professional basketball league for sim, arcade titles; NBA 2K11 sells 5 million.
Publisher says it will return with a new pro hoops game in fall 2012; NBA Jam: On Fire Edition due for XBL, PSN in October.
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New Tylenol cap aims
WASHINGTON — Bottles of Tylenol sold in the U.S. will soon bear red warnings alerting users to the potentially fatal risks of taking too much of the popular pain reliever.
The unusual step, disclosed by the company that makes Tylenol, comes amid a growing number of lawsuits and pressure from the federal government that could have widespread ramifications for a medicine taken by millions of people every day.
Johnson & Johnson says the warning will appear on the cap of new bottles of Extra Strength Tylenol sold in the U.S. starting in October and on most other Tylenol bottles in coming months.
The warning will make it explicitly clear that the over-the-counter drug contains acetaminophen, a pain-relieving ingredient that's the nation's leading cause of sudden liver failure.
Overdose concerns
"We're always looking for ways to better communicate information to patients and consumers," says Dr. Edwin Kuffner, vice president of McNeil Consumer Healthcare, the Johnson & Johnson unit that makes Tylenol.
Overdoses from acetaminophen send 55,000 to 80,000 people to the emergency room in the U.S. each year and kill at least 500, according the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration.
Acetaminophen can be found in more than 600 common over-the-counter and prescription products used by nearly one in four American adults every week, including household brands like Nyquil cold formula, Excedrin pain tablets and Sudafed sinus pills.
About the label
Tylenol is the first of these products to include such a warning label on the bottle cap. McNeil says the warning is a result of research into the misuse of Tylenol by consumers.
The new cap message will read: "CONTAINS ACETAMINOPHEN" and "ALWAYS READ THE LABEL."
The move comes at a critical time for the company, which faces more than 85 personal injury lawsuits in federal court that blame Tylenol for liver injuries and deaths. At the same time, the Food and Drug Administration is drafting long-awaited safety proposals that could curtail the use of Tylenol and other acetaminophen products.
Much is at stake for McNeil and its parent company. Johnson & Johnson does not report sales of Tylenol, but total sales of all over-the-counter medicines containing acetaminophen were more than $1.75 billion last year, according to Information Resources Inc., a retail data service.


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LUBEC — A fishing-industry building on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places is half-submerged in water near a Canadian island, and conservationists fear it could disintegrate before legal tangles are resolved.
The Jan. 4 blizzard tore the brine shed from its mooring at McCurdy's Smokehouse off Lubec and it was blown to nearby Campobello Island in New Brunswick, the Bangor Daily News reported .
The shed is among five buildings that comprise the last traditional smoked-herring facility in the U.S., and an organization called Lubec Landmarks has worked for almost 25 years to preserve it.
Lubec Landmarks President Rachel Rubeor said legal tangles, including salvage rights claims by some Canadian citizens, could doom the building.
"The bureaucratic nonsense is hampering us big time," said Rubeor, who said vandals with chain saws are threatening to dismantle the building.
A spokesman for U.S. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, said the senator's staff has worked to facilitate communication among organizations across all levels of government on both sides of the border "to help save and possibly preserve this historic landmark."
The shed's remains, which include significant portions of its roof, flooring and fireplace plus some side walls, floated under the bridge between Lubec and the Canadian island.
"It is just a miracle that it didn't hit the bridge. It just sailed right through the pilings," said Lubec Town Administrator Renee Gray.
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LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Do not call it a comeback and don't even think of it as a farewell tour.
After more than four decades making music and a 2010 tour, Fleetwood Mac will hit the road again next year. But it won't be its last tour, singer Stevie Nicks vowed, dismissing any notion that the band could be packing away their instruments in the near future.
"It's never going to be a final tour until we drop dead," Nicks told Reuters. "There's no reason for this to end as long as everyone is in good shape and takes care of themselves."
The 34-city tour with dates in the United States and Canada will begin on April 4 in Columbus, Ohio, and finish up on June 12 in Detroit.
The tour coincides with the 35th anniversary of the blockbuster 1977 album, "Rumours," which landed the group four hit singles and sold more than 40 million copies worldwide. The album will be reissued with unreleased studio and live recordings, Fleetwood Mac said.
After frequent changes to the lineup since the band formed in London in 1967, the 2013 tour will feature Nicks, guitarist Lindsey Buckingham, and founding members Mick Fleetwood on drums and John McVie on bass.
Touring again is "a big deal," said Nicks, 64, who is known for her floor-length blonde hair and frilly outfits.
"I don't want a Fleetwood Mac tour every year or year and a half. That's why people get so excited. ... All of a sudden the world is on edge and that's what gets you out there."
For Nicks, who recently finished a two-year solo tour promoting her 2011 album "In Your Dreams," making music and being on the road is her life.
"If you never stop, you don't lose your energy," the "Landslide" singer said of keeping pace with a demanding tour schedule when each band member is into their 60s. "Even when we stop, everybody is still doing a lot of stuff."
Like Nicks, Buckingham has his own solo career, and Fleetwood has a restaurant in Hawaii and a U.S. vineyard as well as his own music gigs.
Fleetwood and McVie are both founding members of the band, and Buckingham and Nicks joined the group in 1974.
Singer and songwriter Christine McVie, who wrote the big hit "Don't Stop" that was on "Rumours," joined the band in the early 1970s after marrying John McVie, but retired from touring after the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. She still contributes on occasion to studio efforts.
Although the band will not kick off the tour until April, Nicks said the anxiety-filled grind begins months before during rehearsals when band members hammer out which songs to play.
Of the 22 songs Fleetwood Mac will play during a concert, 11 will be hits, such as "Dreams," "Don't Stop" and "Hold Me," Nicks said.
For herself, it is a daily routine of vocal exercises and primping that can take hours.
"It's overwhelming in a good way, but it's still overwhelming," Nicks said of the process. "By the third day (of rehearsals) you start to calm down and get into your role. At first, everybody is nervous and not knowing what they'll do."
But a decade removed from their last studio album "Say You Will," Nicks admits it may be time for another Fleetwood Mac release, adding that she and Buckingham had spent time writing songs together recently.
"Personally, I think we feel better than before," Nicks said. "We're not doing drugs and stuff like that ... You don't know what you'll do when you're not doing this."
(Reporting by Eric Kelsey, editing by Jill Serjeant and Philip Barbara)


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Even if you have been a bad taxpayer, California is willing to give you a break.
Voluntary Compliance Initiative 2 (VCI 2) is an opportunity for taxpayers who underreported their California income tax liabilities, through the use of abusive tax avoidance transactions (ATAT) or offshore financial arrangements (OFA), to amend their returns for 2010 and prior tax years and obtain a waiver of most penalties.
Filing period: August 1, 2011 to October 31, 2011
Applicable tax years: 2010 and prior
You are eligible to participate in VCI 2 if you (or one of your related entities):
- Filed a tax return that underreported your income or tax liability through the use of an ATAT or OFA.
You are eligible even if you:
- Are currently under FTB examination for an ATAT or OFA.
- Are currently under administrative protest or appeal for an ATAT or OFA.
- Participated in the IRS's Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Initiative.
You must take the following steps to participate:
- File a completed Participation Agreement form with us between August 1, 2011 and October 31, 2011.
- Attach the form to your amended return to report all income from all sources, without regard to the ATAT and including all income from the OFA.
- Pay all tax and interest by October 31, 2011. See payment options for more information.
Participation in VCI 2 will allow you to avoid:
- The cost of litigation.
- Certain penalties and the associated interest.
- Criminal prosecution.
You can avoid the following penalties under VCI 2:
- Noneconomic Substance Transaction Understatement Penalty
- Accuracy Related Penalty
- Interest Based Penalty
- Fraud Penalty
If you are eligible but do not participate, you will be subject to the full range of penalties and interest, and may be subject to criminal prosecution.
The Large Corporate Understatement Penalty (LCUP) and the Amnesty Penalty cannot be waived under this initiative.


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It's been a minute, but Alicia Keys is back in the spotlight. Mature and demure, Scarlett's new bosom buddy (holla!) gets her grown & sexy on.
This feature originally appeared in Complex's October 2007 issue.
Spend some time with Alicia Keys and you just feel good. Not like trailer-for-Garfield 2 "I Feel Good" good, but red-wine-and-kush good. Calm good.
The road towards her recent projects—the soon-to-be-released third album, As I Am1, and the late-summer flick The Nanny Diaries with Scarlett Johansson2—hasn't been all gravy, though. She's still the strikingly beautiful chanteuse who blew up the popscape, but the 27-year-old native New Yorker speaks of harder days past with measured, mellow tones. (If you ever need a second career, ma, we suggest phone sex.) Two years on the road, a burgeoning acting career that began with an impressive femme-fatale role in the otherwise overly indulgent Smokin' Aces, and some vaguely alluded-to "personal issues" all added up to Ms. Keys needing a breather. Badly.
We have to say, though, that she doesn't seem all that vulnerable in person. She just seems happy, and as smokin' as her film debut (thank you, Aces costume designer). Ms. Keys sat with Complex to discuss personal drama, how far she's come as an actress since rolling with Heathcliff Huxtable3, and setting the record straight about her business partner Kerry "don't call him my boyfriend4" Brothers. And we ended up fallin' all over again.
I know you intended to take some time off between albums. What's been your focus the past few years?
We toured for two years, 'til 2006. I came home and I did the film [Smokin' Aces], I went on my pilgrimage to Africa right after that, and then had some family things come up. And then boom, now it's 2007.
When you started the recording process, what were your initial ambitions with it?
I was already hearing very different melodies and musical progressions. It kind of scared me a little bit because the things I was writing were reflecting my mood and I wasn't in a very good headspace. I was extremely worried—a lot—very tense, and just began being judgmental of myself.
How so?
You know, when you're not in a good space, you're kind of extra hard on yourself about things that are unnecessary. So on top of whatever I was dealing with, I was creating more hardship because I was being so judgmental about everything. And it was obviously time for me to take some time to figure out what the fuck was going on with me.
Sounds deep.
I'm usually so solid—I'm not the chick that breaks down, I'm not the one who loses it and wilds out, that's not my thing. I was trying to hold in these emotions, so as to not trigger any type of unusual behavior. But it was inevitable. It just came to the point where even people who I'm so good at hiding from—
I'm not the chick that breaks down, I'm not the one who loses it and wilds out, that's not my thing.
They knew.
Yeah, they were like, "Something's not right with you." And I was pretty crazy.
What kinds of stresses were you going through?
When you're planning a schedule for an album, you're planning things a year and a half in advance, and saying yes to things a year and a half in advance. And when I confirmed to do [Smokin' Aces], the smart thing would have been, "I can do that, but I gotta have at least a week off, just so I can kind of get my head together." That's not what I did.
After all that, though, the end result is a hot album. You worked with John Mayer—
That boy is so talented, man. We actually got a chance to get to know each other a little before getting to work together. It was more of a friendship, as opposed to, like, "OK, we're just gonna write out of the blue." And it just flowed easy. I love the song ["Lesson Learned"].
And you also worked with Linda Perry?
I did work with Linda Perry, which was crazy—it's rare that I collaborate with people, because I feel too vulnerable collaborating with people—
From the standpoint that you want it to be your vision, your—
Vulnerable from the standpoint that I'm opening my soul right there. That's why I tend to not collaborate so much. But this time, after I realized that I was damn near on the verge of my first breakdown, and I realized I needed to get the hell out of town and clear my head, I went to Egypt.
Oh, word. How was it?
It was such a miraculous experience for me. I looked at the Great Pyramids and I almost broke down. It showed me so much about myself and the way that we can build anything from nothing, and it can be something that lasts thousands of years. I crawled to the top of the pyramid and I just sang at the top of my lungs right there. People walking in acted like I was crazy; I didn't care, it was just so poignant for me. And when I came home, I wanted to abandon all that stuff about me feeling too vulnerable to collaborate with people. Forget that.
Looking into what's been going on with you recently, there's just not much on the gossip tip. Which is disappointing on one hand, but admirable on the other. How do you avoid all that?
I got the script, I read 30 pages, and I threw it in the trash.
If I'm in L.A. and I go to Mr. Chow's, yeah, I'm gonna have my picture taken and it's gonna be somewhere. But if I'm in L.A. and I go to this spot on the corner of wherever the hell, that nobody even knows about, I'm gonna have a wonderful dinner, and I'ma go home, and I'm chillin'. It's a bunch of choices of where you want to be.
You're sitting here telling me that you felt like you were on the verge of a breakdown, but anybody hears "Alicia Keys on the verge of a breakdown" and it becomes this big deal. Somehow, you just take care of your business and it slides under the radar.
What kind of life is that to have to be running around and hiding here and there? I'm fortunate not to have that, and I want to keep my lifestyle.
Let's talk about acting, and your role as assassin Georgia Sykes in Smokin' Aces. How did that part come about?
Joe [Carnahan], the director, came to my show in Cali and he was like, "Listen, I got this part, and it's perfect for you. It's not no soft-ass part, and it's not some girlfriend, either. It's someone with substance." Then he was like, "And she's an assassin." I was like, "OK! That's interesting." I got the script, I read 30 pages, and I threw it in the trash.
Really? Why?
I was like, "There's like every stereotype ever in there. And what's this gay shit, too?" So maybe two weeks later, my agent called me and said, "Read it all the way through, you'll be feeling it." So I dug it out and I read it. And the more I read, the more that I got it. I was like, "Wow, there's nothing people will expect from me less than this." And that's what I wanted when it came to film. I don't want to be the singing, piano-playing "girl role." I want to be something that's not who I am.
Did you have any reservations or concerns that playing a gay character was going to spawn rumors?
Well, my character wasn't the gay character, my partner was. But there was kind of a—
There was originally a whole scene where I confronted her about it, and said, "I feel like you're kind of pushing up on me, what's going on?" They left that out; they wanted it to be very ambiguous, which is cool. I figured that people would probably run with it, and there was a little misconstruing about it, but at the end of the day, it wasn't a big deal.
Romantically speaking, what are some of the things that make you feel appreciated?
I like spontaneity. I like to do things just because the thought came in your mind. I like to maybe go to the planetarium, crazy late at night. I love when a dude is cool with going to the museum with me. Especially if it's an interesting exhibit, I'm not just trying to go see—
Dead dinosaurs?
I was gonna say something else, but let me not be crass.
I like to discreetly woo.
Crass is good.
I was saying I don't want to go and just see dead white people.
Oh, OK. [Laughs.]
And you dragged me back into it and now it's gonna be a damn quote in the magazine! [Laughs.] So I like things that feed your mind. Or a night where we go see flamenco dancing, or hear Arabic singing or something, you know what I mean?
I do. You've probably had your moments where you've done your own wooing, though.
I like to woo silently, discreetly. I like to discreetly woo.
Now, are you alluding to your boyfriend, Krucial Keys?
No. See, I never talk about my personal relationship, which is why I'm not in the gossip rags. The person who people do think that I am involved with is a gentleman named Krucial, who is my production partner.
So that's all rumors—
But his name isn't—everybody calls him Krucial Keys because we have a company together called Krucial Keys, because my name is Keys and his name is Krucial. So there, I've diffused all of those issues right there.
Speaking of rumors, someone sent me this news blurb; you can tell me if it's true. "Akon says one perk of fame is having beautiful women throwing themselves at him. He told Britain's Nuts magazine, 'Yeah, that happens all the time. Alicia Keys, Beyoncé; I'm pretty lucky in that respect.'
[Laughing.] What do you think the answer to that question is? It's very possible that that was misquoted, but in the event someone did say that, that tells you all you need to know.
1. John Mayer: The album includes a collabo with Mayer, idol to tweens, octogenarians, and kitty-loving virgins alike. [BACK]
2. Scarlett Johansson: From Jeremy Piven to Scarlett is an upgrade, but we can't see dropping $10 on some nannies. Unless they hug it out...with their husky-ass voices.... Could you, uh excuse us for a moment. [BACK]
3. The Cosby Show: In Season One, Keys (nee Cook) attended Rudy's party and went for a ride on the Cos's knee. No sexual harassment suit. [BACK]
4. Bizzy Bone: In a recent Complex, Bizzy Bone professed his love for Keys saying he would "suck her dry." In unrelated news, Keys has gone into hiding. [BACK]
(STYLING) Wouri Vice for Epiphany Artist Group Inc. (HAIR) Tippi Shorter for Epiphany Artist Group Inc. (MAKEUP) Ashunta Sheriff for Dior/Epiphany Artist Group Inc. FIRST IMAGE: Top by Emporio Armani / jeans by Guess / ring by Stephen Dweck / shoes by Guiseppe Zanotti. SECOND AND NINTH IMAGES: Top by Gianfranco Ferré / Pants by D&G / Ring by Stephen Dweck. THIRD AND FIFTH IMAGES: Top and skirt both by D&G / shoes by Sergio Rossi. FOURTH AND TENTH IMAGES: Top by Emporio Armani / jeans by Guess. SIXTH, SEVENTH, AND EIGHTH IMAGES: Dress by Herve Leger.


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Things are going really well in our household since Puppy E came home several weeks ago. And it's not just good luck — we did plenty of preparation ahead of time to get the dogs accustomed to the routines, sounds, smells, and general presence of a baby in the house. But there's a lot more to it than that, too. The biggest success factor, in our opinion, is to make sure that the dogs feel calm, relaxed, and safe in every single interaction with the baby.
The other day, a friend was bragging to me about how good her dog is with little kids. Several toddlers had been over at her house, and decided to play with her dog. The dog tolerated their ear tugging, tail pulling, and wrestle moves, my friend boasted, even though he was clearly unimpressed. According to my friend, the dog was looking to her, like: Mom, I know I have to tolerate this, but I am really unhappy. What struck me about this story was that my friend chose to observe and allow this behavior to continue even though her dog was uncomfortable, rather than intervening on his behalf.
What my friend didn't realize is that on that day, she sent a message to her dog: you are on your own. Luckily, her dog is laid-back enough to have tolerated this particular interaction with these children without acting out. But there is no telling whether a day will come when he decides he has had enough and, fairly, tells the children in no uncertain terms to back off –– or worse. If the dog did growl, snap, or bite, he would most certainly be blamed. Called aggressive. But in reality, he had looked to his people the whole time to help out, but no one paid any mind. Can you really blame the guy?
It is our responsibility to be our dogs' guardians. It is our duty to keep them safe and happy, and protect them in situations that make them uncomfortable. Even when the children are our own, we must look out for the dogs –- as well as the kids.
A new baby coming home creates a lot of excitement in a household. Dogs, accustomed to living in a house with no tiny humans, may be nervous or over-excited when the new human first moves in. Obviously, this is understandable. But it is during those moments of over–arousal that dogs tend to make poor choices or act un-gently. And and un–gentle dog, even if it is super friendly, can spell trouble for a tiny human.
So in our house, we were especially careful about one thing. Before the dogs were allowed to interact with Puppy E at close range, they had to be totally over it. We did not want any tap-dancing paws, fast–wagging tails, or excited puppy kisses. We wanted total boredom. And we got it. How? Simple. When the baby first came home, we kept the dogs busy with plenty of enrichment activities. Lots of walks, stuffed bones and kongs to chew on, puzzle toys to play with, and slow, controlled–based exercises in the presence of the baby. Things like sit-stays and down-stays. After a few hours for Chick and a couple days for Doodlebug, they thought the baby was the most boring thing in the world. A total non-issue. And that was exactly what we wanted.
So now, all of our interactions are monitored. If either dog shows the slightest sign of being nervous or too excited, we gently invite him to walk away. The message? If you are nervous, you don't have to stay. The dogs both seem to appreciate this, and now enjoy spending time in the presence of Puppy E without feeling any pressure to stay or to go. As Puppy E gets older and becomes mobile, new challenges will pop up. But we are betting that by setting up the relationship between the dogs and baby correctly from the start, we will be better able to face these challenges gracefully.
For more about preparing your dogs for a new human addition, check out our Preparing for Baby Mini-Series: