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Is the end of "responsible metal detecting" nigh?
30/11/2012 in Metal detecting | by heritageaction | 9 comments
Min-till (minimum tillage) is a low impact farming system that replaces ploughing and enhances carbon retention in the soil. Its been around for many years (over half of western Canada's corn-belt is cultivated that way). Now the UK Government seems set to make it a central element of their strategy to meet carbon emissions targets – see their Green Food Project. Even the likely delivery mechanism seems settled for it says the aim "links with" proposed changes to DEFRA's Environnmental Stewardship schemes. That surely signals farmers are about to be paid not to plough?
It will put archaeologists in a tricky spot. Currently they tend to "accept" (to use CBA's word) metal detecting but only on "disturbed" land (so it can be represented at least as harmless). But if ploughing becomes largely redundant and only the top inch or two of fields are ever disturbed neither archaeologists nor the Government will be able or willing to pretend that using machines that reach down between 9 and 24 inches is harmless!
So watch this space, interesting times are coming. The first thing to look out for will be the reaction of many detectorists when they twig what the Government is planning. Since they are currently petitioning No. 10 to ensure green farming methods are applied they ought to be big supporters of min-till as a way to save the planet. But I suspect, instead, very soon there'll be a sixteenth threat of a recording strike! Anyone care to bet otherwise?
More Heritage Action views on metal detecting and artefact collecting


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text: OK, it's Tuesday night. Don't judge me! Yesterday was one of those why-is-today-so-ridiculously-unproductive days. And today was more of the same. But last weekend was truly awesome. Last Monday was my birthday weekend. And my friends at Dove Visibly Smooth helped me celebrate! To help promote their amazing hair-growth-reducing deodorant, some of your favorite beauty… read all


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Tomorrow, April 10th, 2014 will mark the 35th anniversary of an event that changed my life forever.
When as many as 38 confirmed tornadoes danced the Red River Valley. More destruction from the same weather cell would spill into the next day, affecting parts of Arkansas and Missouri for a total of 59 tornadoes confirmed.
They later called it Terrible Tuesday. Many remember that a mile wide path was carved through Wichita Falls, TX, killing 42 people. But another tornado also came up through the edge of my hometown of Lawton, OK a few hours before. And we lost 3 people too.
I remember it being called an F4 or F5 long ago, but it seems that time has downgraded it in the records to an F3.
They say that particular tornado split into two, possibly three tornadoes after it hit town.
I believe it happened at my house.
I always get emotional when I remember that day. I was 7 and a half, and I remember the day like last week's trauma. The jewel green look of the sky when we were at the Safeway grocery store on Ft. Sill Blvd. The way the air tasted, tingly like a weak 9 volt battery playing in the back of your mouth. The way everyone ignored the weather in Oklahoma and went about their business.
You gotta understand. Tornadoes were no unusual thing. However, usually they were small. Maybe they take out a barn or something. Maybe they never touch the ground. Maybe we get a little excitement, but rarely was it that big of a deal.
People ignored tornado "warnings" all the time back then.
I remember standing at the back glass door, staring at the heavy rain when we got home. Watching the hail come down and get louder and larger.
My mother worked for the American Red Cross at the time. She helped train folks in disaster preparedness. I'd watched every film our local chapter had to offer at the time. We knew well that the safest place in the home was as close to the center as you could get and away from windows. And we had regular drills at school, filing into the hallways, crouching on our knees with our heads face-down towards the floor and wall, our open textbooks held to cover our necks and heads.
On Monday night before, there was a PTA meeting at Will Rogers Elementary School – the school I attended and lived across the street from. Mom and her director gave a presentation to our school and parents about tornadoes, what to look for, where to go, what to expect. The biggest thing I remembered from that meeting was the Red Cross director talking about hail and rain. He held strings of white beads in front of a poster to represent hail as he described the pattern progression of a storm.
He said, "It's not the rain and hail you need to be afraid of. It's when it suddenly stops."
It's because a tornado sucks everything up.
I stood at our back door, watching the rain and hail get harder and larger. Suddenly it was like a switch had been flicked and there was a stunning moment of silence against the jewel green sky. My mom hung up the phone and yelled "Kids, hit the hallway!"
The hallway in our antique home, a house old enough that it still had some of the gas pipes for lighting in the walls, was a tiny 4-5 foot circle that our bedrooms opened to before spilling into the living room. I grabbed my cat Taffy and my little brother's hand and we sat down low. There was just enough room for us and mom. She managed to flip the breaker before the first crash.
They say a tornado sounds like a freight train….
But I never heard it.
I heard my swing set crash through my bedroom window. Nearly every window in the house broke. The sound of glass and boards flying through our home filled my ears. As did the sounds of my little 5 year old brother screaming as he writhed in my hand and tried to get away to run.
"Hang on to him!"
Of course he was scared. I tightened my grip on my brother's wrist, and suddenly my cat bolted from my arms.
And somewhere, in the middle of all the crashing noises, there was a sudden pounding on our front door, just maybe 20 feet away. Mom got to the door to let my friend Francis in, along with her brother and sister, from across the street. We didn't get to play real often, and she was a little younger than me, but Francis was one of my best friends. Her father was in the army and her mother was at work, so the kids were home alone that afternoon.
I heard Francis' sister say over and over, "The table fell on me. The table fell on me!"
One of them was barefoot (or was it two?). And somehow, they made it through the storm and across the street to our house before their home collapsed like a pile of cards.
And then, as they huddled into the tiny circle of our hallway with us, it was over. And somehow, our home filled with debris, none of us were hurt.
"There is no tornado. There is no tornado."
Mom had grabbed our radio. An announcer emphatically urged the public not to panic, that reports of a tornado were false. "There is no tornado. There is no tornado."
Dad had seen the tornado from downtown where he worked, just a few miles away. He raced home. Mom said he kicked in the only undamaged door left in the house. My grandma lived a block away. She saw a board come at her through her hallway and managed to get into the hall closet in time. It would be three days before I saw my cat again, thankfully alive.
Stepping out into the world after that was surreal. Destruction and chaos surrounded our still standing home. We lived on a corner diagonally across the street from my school. Surveying the damage, half the school gym was peeled away and gone. On one side across from our corner, a neighbor's house was missing its entire roof. Francis' house on the other side across from our corner was a pile of rubble. And the house across from us next to hers had completely vanished.
People used to steal our apples all the time. I guess they won't anymore.
Trees, rubble and power-lines were everywhere. The neighbor's old tall tree beside us just missed crashing through my parents' bedroom. Our old sycamore tree looked shaved on one side. The apple tree didn't survive.
Bits of someone else's swing set were in our yard. Unbroken dishes that didn't belong to us had miraculously shown up inside our house. Even food had been blown around. For decades our neighbor had a saltine cracker framed that was put through their ceiling. I heard that it finally fell out one year when her husband was fixing the roof.
The day took on an even deeper experience as it was also Passover night for our family. We weren't Jewish, but our church at the time kept Passover services after sundown on April 10th that year. I forget why it was a day earlier than other Passover services. Some sort of argument about the right way to figure the date.
Normally, children were not allowed at these solemn services. But there would be no babysitter in our home that night.
We were late for the service, but I remember the deacons and other volunteers helping us in. My brother went with my father and I with my mother for the foot washing ceremony. I watched as a woman removed my mother's shoes and washed away the mud and grass from her feet. I watched as the symbolism impressed itself upon her. Tears were in her eyes and suddenly everything felt raw to me.
More tornado sirens would go off that night.
Some of our church members drove up from Texas for the service. I heard that one of the families returned to Texas that night to find their home completely gone. They thanked God they were at services instead. Everyone murmured how we were all indeed "passed over."
I remember sitting in a little diner that night, mom and dad talking, trying to figure out what to do. We couldn't go home to sleep and we didn't really have the money to eat out or get a hotel, but there wasn't any choice in the matter. I remember hearing mom talk about how the mattresses would have to be replaced, that there've been cases of glass being embedded in mattresses by tornadoes. The diner had those little juke boxes on the tables. "Don't Say Goodnight Tonight" was playing at a table nearby. It was really popular back then, but to this day, that song feels like a haunting to me.
To my knowledge, our neighborhood and school district on the edge of town was the only part of town affected. I've often wondered how many people were saved thanks to mom and her director's lecture at our school the night before.
A lot would change after that.
As the weeks would pass, our community would come together to help each other. I remember the American Red Cross bringing relief bags with food and toiletries and the irony of it. Grandpa came and helped my dad fix our roof. The repairs seemed to go on forever. And I remember how a year later, it still seemed like we'd never recover.
Our neighbor who lost his roof fixed up his house and moved away. I can't remember his name, but I remember that he had red hair and had been so kind. I liked him and was angry that the tornado took him away from us. The new neighbors never could compare.
Francis and her family also moved away and I never saw her again. Never got an address; don't even know her last name. It felt like injustice and I've always wondered about her ever since. I remember when the cranes came to clear away the rubble of her collapsed house. I kept hoping she'd come back. But it was like a curse had fallen on our neighborhood. Her home's lot remained empty for a long time. And the empty lot left next to Francis' home (where the whole house had disappeared) remained empty for the longest.
And for years, my brother and I cringed with every swirl of wind, every time the leaves blew into curls, every time a storm pounded our roof. And for years it was hard on our parents too. It took a long time to balance the trauma we all felt. And the financial blow was no small thing.
I would later grow up and move on. But every once in a while, there's a look in the sky and a taste in the air that throws me back into the memories of a serious 7 year old child who would never forget.


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June 4th, 2012
Extreme endurance exercise carries risks
The old adage, "all good things in moderation," may be true, especially when it comes to exercise.
In an article in this month's Mayo Clinic Proccedings researchers looked at an emerging body of papers that point to the fact that even exercise can have diminishing returns.
The authors surveyed more than 50 different studies that followed athletes who chronically trained and participated in extreme endurance events, such as marathons, ultramarathons, Ironman triathlons, and long-distance bicycle races. The studies found that excessive training and competing can cause cardiovascular damage such as scarring and enlargement of the heart and blood vessels, as well as irregular heart beating.
While rare, there have been incidences where runners have actually collapsed from cardiac arrest during long road races.
But the authors were also adamant that these findings should not dissuade people from regular exercise. Lead author Dr. James O'Keefe, a cardiologist at the Mid America Heart Institute, said, "We want people to understand that this in no way detracts from the importance of exercise. Physically active people are much happier than their sedentary counterparts. So much so, that they live up to seven years longer."
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, adults should get at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise, like walking, five times a week, in addition to two days or more of muscle strengthening activity.
O'Keefe said that many people misunderstand exercise and think more is always better.
He points to his own patients - many are athletes who come in and say they are training for marathons, running several hours a day. O'Keefe tells them that it's not good orthopedically.
"It's definitely not good for your heart in the long run. If you want to do it, train up for it, and cross it off your bucket list. This is not a healthy, long-term exercise pattern."
Rather O'Keefe suggests people do a lot of brisk to moderate exercise like walking, jogging, and swimming.
"You can do light to moderate exercise as long as you want. We're genetically designed for that kind of activity. We're just not designed to run 26 miles at a time, or 100, or go on a full distance triathlon for 12 hours as hard as you can go."
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My answer is six and that is probably my average. If the book proves problematic then I've reached eight but that's generally my maximum. I've heard other writers speak of astronomical numbers such as 18, 27, 34 and even fifty odd. I immediately think how do they do that many drafts? But me being a suspicious person, when I hear such amazing figures I often wonder what they consider constitutes a draft. Say, maybe a quick adjustment of a few words here and there, a scan and then start again? Is that what they call a draft? Put the thing away for a week or so, pick it up again, flick through, change another paragraph and that's draft 25 for you? I don't know of course. I can only tell you what my methods are so here goes…
Draft 1 is obvious of course. That's where you get the main storyline down including what scenes to put in, what to leave out and from whose point of view. Last Tuesday I completed the first draft of my work in progress The Grey Silk Purse. Strictly speaking it is not a complete first draft. It is missing one final chapter and the epilogue which is a letter. Both I can't do at this point until I've done heaps more research.
And this is where the 2nd draft comes. I will now go back, look up and check 95 # points of research such as the uniform of staff working in a stationery shop in Newcastle in 1920. In my novel Tomaree. In Crossing Paths I actually don't remember that I had as as many things to check. I managed to do most of my fact-checking as I went along.
Before I generally start writing a novel I have already done a fair amount of research. Whilst writing the first draft I'll check as many points as I can but when fact checking starts to really slow me down that's when I put a # in and move on. With the second round of research I will often have to change the narrative slightly to accommodate facts I have recently discovered. I will also tidy up my prose and check overall length of chapters. Is that scene really necessary kind of thing. With The Grey Silk Purse I have a massive construction problem two thirds of the way through. I will tackle that and will also have to keep a good eye on it in the next draft.
In the 3rd draft I will usually start drilling down, checking my word usage (okay for that particular character or time etc) my paragraphs (are they too long?) I also check how the writing flows. This is a good time to actually really look at any scenes or chapters that still trouble you. Can I do without it altogether or do I need to rewrite? Any extensive rewrites at this stage will have to be checked closely because they will not have been read anywhere near the amount of times of the rest of the work. This is where I often check odd things like the colours of the diaries in The Grey Silk Purse. There are four different diaries that feature in the manuscript and they are all different colours. I will probably check the word count of each diary and that I've got the colour correct for each one (particularly as these are referenced later in the novel).
It is usually around the 4th draft that I like to print the whole manuscript out and work at it on paper, pretending I'm a ruthless editor working through page after page, slowly but very carefully. It's where you really get to see how the manuscript will look in hard copy.
It's funny how many things you can pick up and fix in this different format. You'll find it is very handy when looking at dialogue. I also generally write my edits on the page and then do another draft putting them in to my word document. This will then be the 5th draft.
In this draft I will not only put in my changes but do a global search for a particular word that I think I might have used too much. (This is why it is a good thing to keep your manuscript all in one document!) I've done this with all my novels and it is never the same words that keep cropping up. It is generally different words for different books. When you realise you've got 162 "wondered"s you can then push yourself to find alternatives. (In this 900 word essay I have 13 "check/ed/ing"s. Maybe too many but hey this us what this piece is about.)
The 6th draft (if all is going well) is the final read through. It's a chance to read the manuscript for the umpteenth time. (Because if you are like me you will often re-read it a lot of times before you even start the second draft). You can check every word for typing errors and watch out for those slippery little suckers the closing quotation marks which (for me anyway) have a habit of disappearing at a great rate. Are there any missing? Can you find any more typos? Realistically you will not find them all so that's where a friend can come in handy and do a read through for you. Another pair of eyes will always pick up things you've missed. That's my experience anyway.
And now your baby is ready for an amazing journey. Kiss it goodbye and wish it luck.


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These healthy and low-calorie salads are piled high with all of the favorites: cheese, nuts, veggies, protein, fruit, and of course, dressing.
Beet, Farro, and Watercress Salad with Fig Vinaigrette
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This salad is simply chock-full of all kinds of good stuff--sweet, tender beets; the crisp snap of zucchini; fennel's anise crunch; and chewy-tender farro. You can make it up to two days ahead; just leave out the watercress until shortly before serving.
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Herbed Shrimp with Tomato-Spinach Salad
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Add heartiness to a simple spinach salad by serving herbed shrimp and tomatoes over greens.
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Bacon, Arugula, and Shrimp Salad
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Cobb Salad with Green Goddess Dressing
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Israel's ex-spy chief sees opportunity in Syria crisis
In an interview, former Mossad chief Efraim Halevy says a collapse of the Assad regime in Syria could deal a blow to Iran's regional ambitions and nuclear program
| Jerusalem
Instability in Syria poses stark security risks for Israel, but it also offers a chance to deliver a stinging blow to Iran's regional ambitions and even its nuclear program, Israel's former national security adviser says.
Israel in recent weeks has been consumed by a debate over the wisdom of launching a military strike against Iranian nuclear facilities. But Efraim Halevy, who also led the Mossad spy agency from 1998 to 2002, believes Israel should also focus on exploiting the opportunity to strike Iran politically and diplomatically through the fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad, a staunch ally of Iran.
Mr. Halevy, now a leading intelligence analyst here, said in an interview that Israel should start to look at Iran and Syria as two sides of the same problem.
Q. You've called Syria the Achilles' heel of Iran. What do you mean?
A. Iran has invested enormous efforts in trying to secure Syria as a major partner. The Alawite [Muslim] minority is very close to the Shiites in Iran. The Syrian Army is mainly based on Alawite command and has units that are purely Alawite. This makes the Iranian investment all the more important.
Syria is also the conduit for Iran's arming of the Hezbollah Shiite forces in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza. If the regime falls in Syria and the Iranians are expelled, this is going to be a horrendous defeat for Iran. ...
Q. How does Israel ensure that Iran is defeated in Syria? Wouldn't it backfire if Israel were seen to be involved?
A. Israel shouldn't be directly involved for obvious reasons. Once Israel enters the fray, this becomes an Israeli-Arab or Israeli-Muslim confrontation, which deflects attention from the main issues of Sunni-Shiite, and the Shiite repression of a majority in a foreign country. Israel should promote through its channels with major powers in the world a dialogue between leaders in Western nations and Russia to try to forge a common policy on Syria, which would entail mutual concessions at the American and Russian level.
Q. Recently Israel has been very focused on Iran's nuclear program and the debate over a strike. It is doing enough on Syria?
A. I don't have any evidence that Israel is working on this, but I hope some work is being done. Israel has certain interests in Syria which have to be taken into account. The ultimate resolution of this crisis should not leave an Iranian presence in Syria with a weakened Assad. I don't want to see Iran having its own finger on the button of Syria's strategic weapons. Israel must make sure this does not happen.
Q. You've said that a defeat in Syria would deal a blow to Iran's nuclear program. Why?
A. The issue of Syria and of Iran's nuclear capability are interconnected. You cannot divorce them. Iran's effort to achieve nuclear capability and its effort to entrench itself in Syria are part of the same multifaceted regional problem. One of the mistakes we've made up to this point is to deal with these issues separately.
Q. Not that long ago, many in Israel were quietly hoping Assad's regime would survive because he's predictable in his relations with Israel and is the "devil you know." With reports that Al Qaeda-linked terrorists might be seeking a stronghold in Syria, do you worry that Assad might be replaced with an extremist Sunni regime that is even more hostile toward Israel?
A. I don't think this is in the cards. The way things are at present, any replacement of Assad is better.
Q. Even an extremist Sunni regime?
A. The Sunnis have been oppressed by the Alawites. They are looking for freedom and dignity and all the things of the "Arab Spring." They won't come to power in order to launch an effort against Israel. Their immediate concerns would be to stabilize the situation inside Syria and move as quickly as possible to alleviate the pressure on the society.
Q. There have been a lot of fears that Assad might try to move Syria's arsenal of chemical weapons and sophisticated missiles to Hezbollah in Lebanon. Though everyone is talking about a military strike against Iran, what are the chances of such an Israeli strike in Syria to prevent weapons from falling into the wrong hands?
A. I don't want to preempt Israeli operations or planning. All I can say is that there are certain things, if carried out in Syria or Lebanon, that would be matters of grave concern to Israel, and Israel would not be able to accept.
Edmund Sanders of The Los Angeles Times in Jerusalem interviewed Efraim Halevy for the Global Viewpoint Network.
© 2012 Global Viewpoint Network/Tribune Media Services. Hosted online by The Christian Science Monitor.


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On Sunday at 3:00pm (ESPN) the New England Revolution will be playing in the MLS Cup final for the fifth time since 2002. This despite having the worst owners in Major League Soccer.
I won't pretend to know a ton about the Revs or how the Krafts have done as owners to the franchise, but that article still strikes me as a lets strike at the Krafts and indirectly make the "cheap" accusation type of move. It was a great way to get talked about on afternoon drive sports radio, as the topic was right in the wheelhouse of one of the two shows in town.
I don't know if the Revs can get over the hump and get that first title, but I'll be hoping they do.
Taylor Twellman on the call for MLS Cup – Chad Finn's media column has it sounding like Twellman believes the Revs will have a tough task in front of them to earn their first title.
Finn also confirms that Alex Speier will be leaving WEEI.com and coming to the Globe.
The role seems a bit ambiguous. Finn says Speier will be mostly writing for the BostonGlobe.com website, with some articles also appearing in the paper. He will also not be writing strictly about baseball. While I have no doubts that Alex Speier can write about any sport, it seems a bit strange to me to take the guy who is, in my opinion, the best baseball writer in town, hands down, and use him differently.
In what would be a related move, Finn on the SoSH media forum speculates that John Tomase could be in line to replace Speier at WEEI.com. That would make sense given the history between Tomase and Rob Bradford.
- The Patriots will be playing their last prime-time game of the regular season, on NBC's Sunday Night Football against the San Diego Chargers.
- Boston sports media personality Jennifer Royle, who has done shifts at WEEI, the Boston Herald, and other outlets in town, is contestant on this season of ABC's The Taste.
- J.J. Watt would be a better tight end than Rob Gronkowski? Thanks to Pro Football Focus for setting the advanced stats/analytics industry back 10 years. (Same article, Mike Vrabel playing TE was just a "look-how-clever-I-am gimmick by Bill Belichick.")
- If you've been an overnight listener of CBS Sports radio and used to listening to Damon Amendolara, that will change in January as his show will move to 6-10PM. Amy Lawrence will move into the slot previously occupied by Amendolara.


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Lake Worth church turns 100 years old
Chruch struggling on 100th birthday
This year Lake Worth residents prepare to celebrate the city's centennial.
The Calvary United Methodist Church in Lake Worth will also turn 100 years old this year.
The church was started by five families in 1913.
Les Rabb was a pastor at the church from 1971-1976.
"We are most proud of the fact that it has been a symbol of a message of Christ in this community," said Rabb.
More than 1000 people walk the church campus each week, but it's not enough, the church is still struggling to pay their bills and they are hoping their 100th birthday celebration will help revive them.
Todd Velez is on the centennial vision team and has been planning this celebration for more than two years.
"We've noticed in the past 30 years, church ain't cool," said Velez.
Each month during the centennial celebration the church is planning community events.
To learn more about the events or how to help the church, visit YesCalvary.org.


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Though I have concern that every American citizen has affordable health care, too, I have grave concerns about the opinion that the federal government holds the true solution.
History shows that whenever government oversees personal welfare (such as with Medicare, Medicaid, welfare and Social Security), the program is inept, broken, intrusive, impersonalized, oppressive or often bankrupt.
It is no coincidence that the Congressional Budget Office recently released updated figures revealing how the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, will cost twice as much as the original price tag, from $900 billion to $1.76 trillion between now and 2022.
Many of America's Founding Fathers shared a sentiment that can be summarized in this statement: "That government is best which governs least."
Three perilous previews of state-mandated health care have come to my attention recently.
Veteran journalist Bob Unruh of WorldNetDaily reported just a few weeks ago: "In what is being seen as a preview of a fully implemented Obamacare, government officials in Michigan are demanding that a 9-year-old child follow standard procedure and take a dangerous course of cancer medications that can cause additional cancer -- even though the boy has had three scans indicating an absence of the disease."
Health Impact News Daily added: "Ken and Erin Stieler are the mom and dad of Jacob -- who has been cancer-free since his PET scan in early July. He has had two clean PET scans since then -- the most recent in January. Despite all of this, the Michigan Department of Human Services continues to attempt to prosecute this family for medical neglect. If they succeed they will force Jacob to resume chemotherapy despite the fact that the drugs in question are not FDA approved (either for children in general or for this particular cancer). Moreover, these drugs do not promise anything close to a guaranteed cure. And, the FDA requires the drug manufacturers to disclose that these drugs cause new cancers to form, heart disease in children, failure to sexually mature, and many other serious side effects in some cases."
Listen to the parents fight for their child in the video here.
(My wife, Gena, and I encourage those who are willing to help the parents fight this state mandate by financially supporting the HSLDA's Homeschool Freedom Fund. To do so, go to https://secure.hslda.org/hslda/support.aspx.)
And if you think the federal government never will tell you what to do with your child's health care, then consider passages in the Affordable Care Act under the heading "home visitation programs for families with young children and families expecting children," which would provide (via grants to states) for home visitation programs by government agents to educate parents on child behavior and parenting skills.
Imagine how that health care provision might play out as state officials walk into your home invoking their values and beliefs upon your parenting and children.
There is nothing more intrusive than the thought of government coming into our houses, teaching us how to parent and getting under our skin. And the latter is even a literal intent of federally mandated health care.
Most people don't realize -- even though it was verified recently by even the left-leaning snopes.com -- that an earlier House version of health care legislation (HR 3200), which was reformed and approved into law as the Affordable Care Act (HR 3590), included references to the creation of a national health registry with murky correlations to the tracking of personal information via the implanting of microchips in humans.
The Food and Drug Administration's website explains that "class II" microchips are "subject to special controls," which can be "exempt from the premarket notification" and include "postmarket surveillance." And class III devices are those that "support or sustain human life."
Snopes.com and other pro-Obama agencies were quick to explain the section in the preapproved health care legislation (HR 3200) as nothing more than wording that "simply calls for the creation of a registry that would allow for the Department of Health and Human Services to collect data about medical devices 'used in or on a patient' (including devices which patients consent to have implanted with them during surgery, such as pacemakers) for purposes that include tracking the effectiveness and facilitating the distribution of manufacturer recall notices." (Notice snopes.com's overly verbose explanation and evasive multiuse of "including" but never "excluding" overreaching microchip uses and expansions. Remember that opening legislative doors and leaving them wide-open is the government's specialty.)
But if that section in HR 3200 referred only to a benign registry without universal and intrusive implications (including an ultimate obliteration of HIPAA laws), then why was that section excluded from or changed to "similar language" (per snopes.com) in the final version of Obamacare? And shall we assume that though every other form of government entitlement has expanded, these microchip-registry provisions never will be re-included or expanded in future amendments to federally mandated health care?
And I suppose it is also merely coincidental that Fox News recently reported -- in an article titled "Microchips 'the future of medicine'" -- that Veriteq, the company responsible for the current usage of informational microchips in pets, "was cleared by the FDA for patient identification in 2004 (via its VeriChip microchip). In 2009, the company entered into an agreement to implant its 8-milimeter microchip in Medcomp's vascular access catheters. ... After VeriChip is implanted, it can be scanned to reveal the identification number and checked in a database."
And if all of this is sounding a bit too close in this sacred Easter week to the epic and biblical "mark of the beast" (Revelation 16), without which people in the end times "cannot buy or sell," just know you'll be lumped among conspiratorial camps (like birthers) for suggesting that, too.
I don't care how the Obama administration or the Supreme Court bends the commerce clause of the Constitution; Obamacare is bad medicine for Americans' health care, households, rights and liberties and the American economy.
We need more government officials and a federal government that shift health care back to the free market, personal responsibility and local and community care for one another.


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Lexon recently announced a new line of sustainably powered gadgets that are decidedly down to Earth. That is, they're made from bamboo and maize bio-plastics. And let me tell you, corn has never looked better.
If you're in the market for a new calculator, alarm clock, or FM radio, why wouldn't you want it to be made from corn and bamboo? Especially when it looks this handsome.
Not only are the devices made with sustainable materials, they're powered sustainably too: the clocks grab up energy from the sun and the radio has a fold-out crank to get its juice. From the looks of things, that radio doubles as a portable speaker for MP3 players and the like. Just don't bring it around any pandas. [Core77]


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Police looking for screwdriver-wielding robber
Man brandishes screwdriver at gas stations, McDonald's
Lowell and Chelmsford police are looking for a screwdriver-wielding man who robbed a gas station and tried to rob two other businesses Saturday night.
The Lowell Sun reported that a white man brandishing a screwdriver tried to rob a gas station at 293 Chelmsford St. in Chelmsford about 10 p.m. Police said when the clerk refused to hand over money, the man fled.
Less than an hour later, a white man with red hair and a T-shirt pulled over his face demanded cash from a drive-through worker at McDonald's at Mammoth Road and Varnum Avenue in Lowell, according to police. The employee refused and the man fled, the paper reported.
At 11:10 p.m., a white male with a white mask on his face and a screwdriver robbed the Gulf station at 1299 Westford St. on Drum Hill, at the Lowell-Chelmsford line, Lowell police told the paper.
Gulf employees said the man was about 6 foot 4 inches tall with a thin build. He wore a yellow and brown jacket.
Anyone with information is asked to call Lowell police at 978-937-3200 or Crimestoppers at 978-459-TIPS (8477).


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Slain Brockton woman's children back in family custody
BROCKTON – The four children of a Brockton mother found dead in her Forest Avenue home on Friday are now back in family custody as investigators continue to probe her death.
A judge has granted custody of the children to the family of Florence Beaulieu, 37, according to a clerk at Plymouth County Probate and Family Court.
Beaulieu's mother, Sylvia Saint Louis of Florida, attended a custody hearing in Brockton District Court late Monday afternoon for her four grandchildren, who were placed in state custody after their mother's death.
Beaulieu's family has custody of the children for 90 days, after which another hearing will be held to determine permanent guardianship, according to the court.
Florence Beaulieu was found dead inside her apartment at 124 Forest Ave., reportedly by her daughters, on Friday afternoon. Officials have called her death suspicious.
No arrests had been made in the case by Tuesday afternoon, Assistant District Attorney Jessica Healy said.
"It's still under investigation," Healy said Tuesday.
Healy would not say whether Beaulieu's estranged husband, Jean Michel Beaulieu of Dorchester, is a suspect in the case.
Authorities are awaiting autopsy results to determine the cause and manner of death, said Healy, who urged anyone with information about Beaulieu's death to call Brockton detectives at 508-941-0234.
Beaulieu's mother on Monday said her daughter had endured beatings by her husband during their 15-year marriage.
In court affidavits, Florence Beaulieu detailed a lengthy history of abuse by her husband, whom she met in Florida before marrying in 1999.
Beaulieu, who worked as a certified nursing assistant at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Milton, filed for divorce on April 18.
Last Wednesday, two days before she died, Beaulieu and her estranged husband both appeared in Brockton District Court for a restraining order hearing. The restraining order, which Florence Beaulieu obtained on April 30, was terminated Wednesday at her request, court documents show.


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President Obama, emboldened by his decisive re-election and lessons learned over four years in office, is looking to the renewal of budget talks with Republicans this week as a second chance to take command of the nation's policy debates and finally fulfill his promise to end gridlock in Washington, associates say.
As he prepares to meet with Congressional leaders at the White House on Friday, aides say, Mr. Obama will not simply hunker down there for weeks of closed-door negotiations as he did in mid-2011, when partisan brinkmanship over raising the nation's debt limit damaged the economy and his political standing. He will travel beyond the Beltway at times to rally public support for a deficit-cutting accord that mixes tax increases on the wealthy with spending cuts.
On Wednesday, Mr. Obama will meet with corporate executives at the White House as he uses the nation's fiscal problems to start rebuilding relations with business leaders. Though many of them backed Mitt Romney, scores have formed a coalition to push for a budget compromise similar to the one the president seeks. He hopes to enlist them to persuade Republicans in Congress to accept higher taxes on the assurance that he can deliver Democrats' votes for future reductions in fast-growing entitlement programs like Medicare and Medicaid.
"Every president learns lessons from their successes and failures, and President Obama is no different," said Dan Pfeiffer, his communications director. "There is no question that lessons were learned in the summer of 2011 that will impact his approach to the presidency for the next four years."
And with the election campaign over, the campaign for the Obama legacy begins: Mr. Obama will keep his grass-roots organization in place to "have the president's back," as its members like to say, on the budget negotiations and other issues in the second term. Democrats concede that the network has not been a particularly effective legislative lobby to date. But they argue that when it was activated to pass payroll tax cuts and low-interest student loans, the pressure made a difference.
Ultimately, however, success or failure will depend on Mr. Obama, starting with his attempts to steer negotiations during the lame-duck Congress, which starts Tuesday, to a successful two-part conclusion.
First, that means averting the "fiscal cliff" created by the coincidental combination of expiring tax cuts and unemployment benefits with across-the-board cuts in military and domestic programs that are set to take effect after January 1. Both parties seek agreement on alternative savings that would be less damaging to the economy than up to $700 billion in immediate tax increases and spending cuts.
Second, for the long term, success means consensus on a framework to overhaul the tax code and benefit programs in 2013 to control the mounting federal debt.
Whether Mr. Obama succeeds will reveal much about what kind of president he intends to be in his second term. Beyond the specifics of any accord, perhaps the bigger question hanging over the negotiations is whether Mr. Obama will go to his second inaugural in January with an achievement that starts to rewrite the unflattering leadership narrative that, fairly or not, came to define his first term for many people.
That story line, stoked by Republicans but shared by some Democrats, holds that Mr. Obama is too passive and deferential to Congress, a legislative naïf who does little to nurture personal relationships with potential allies — in short, not a particularly strong leader. Even as voters re-elected Mr. Obama, those who said in surveys afterward that strong leadership was the most important quality for a president overwhelmingly chose Mr. Romney.
George C. Edwards III, a leading scholar of the presidency at Texas A & M University who is currently teaching at Oxford University, dismissed such criticisms as shallow and generally wrong. Yet Mr. Edwards, whose book on Mr. Obama's presidency is titled "Overreach," said, "He didn't understand the limits of what he could do."
"They thought they could continuously create opportunities and they would succeed, and then there would be more success and more success, and we'd build this advancing-tide theory of legislation," Mr. Edwards said. "And that was very naïve, very silly. Well, they've learned a lot, I think."
"Effective leaders," he added, "exploit opportunities rather than create them."
The budget showdown is an opportunity. But like many, it holds risks as well as potential rewards.
"This election is the second chance to be what he promised in 2008, and that is to break the gridlock in Washington," said Kenneth M. Duberstein, a Reagan White House chief of staff, who voted for Mr. Obama in 2008 and later expressed disappointment. "But it seems like this is a replay of 2009 and 2010, when he had huge majorities in the House and Senate, rather than recognizing that 'we've got to figure out ways to work together and it's not just what I want.'"
For now, at least, Republican lawmakers say they may be open to raising the tax bill for some earners. "We can increase revenue without increasing the tax rates on anybody in this country," said Representative Tom Price, Republican of Georgia and a leader of House conservatives, on "Fox News Sunday." "We can lower the rates, broaden the base, close the loopholes."
The challenge for Mr. Obama is to use his postelection leverage to persuade Republicans — or to help Speaker John A. Boehner persuade Republicans — that a tax compromise is in their party's political interest since most Americans favor compromise and higher taxes on the wealthy to reduce annual deficits.
Some of the business leaders the president will meet with on Wednesday are members of the new Fix the Debt coalition, which has raised about $40 million to urge lawmakers and their constituents to support a plan that combines spending cuts with new revenue. That session will follow Mr. Obama's meeting with labor leaders on Tuesday.
His first trip outside Washington to engage the public will come after Thanksgiving, since Mr. Obama is scheduled to leave next weekend on a diplomatic trip to Asia. Travel plans are still sketchy, partly because his December calendar is full of the traditional holiday parties.
Democrats said the White House's strategy of focusing both inside and outside of Washington was smart. "You want to avoid getting sucked into the Beltway inside-baseball games," said Joel Johnson, a former adviser in the Clinton White House and the Senate. "You can still work toward solutions, but make sure you get out of Washington while you are doing that."
The president must use his leverage soon, some Democrats added, because it could quickly wane as Republicans look to the 2014 midterm elections, when the opposition typically takes seats from the president's party in Congress.
In particular, Mr. Obama has to convince Republicans that he would veto an extension of the expiring Bush-era tax cuts for incomes of $250,000 and higher, said John Podesta, a chief of staff to President Bill Clinton who oversaw Mr. Obama's 2008 presidential transition. The top tax rate of 35 percent would increase after December 31 to 39.6 percent, the rate in place during the Clinton administration, raising about $1 trillion over 10 years.
"The Republicans think he caves," Mr. Podesta said, "and he has to disabuse them of that."
What is unclear is whether Mr. Obama might agree to extend the top income-tax rates if Republicans agree to raise revenue from wealthy taxpayers by limiting their deductions instead, as Mr. Boehner suggested last week. The president did not mention rates on Friday in his first postelection remarks on the budget talks, and people in both parties interpreted that as a sign of his bargaining flexibility.


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Even if you're not looking to buy or sell anytime soon, if you're a homeowner or renter in Westchester right now, we've got something to add to your "must read" list for 2014. Better Homes and Gardens Rand Realty has just released their 2013 year-end Real Estate Market Report. The report takes a look at buying and selling trends across Westchester and is a great information resource for all county residents. With the whirlwind ups and downs of the real estate market over the last decade, Rand manages to put the market into perspective.
The report looks at some of the more traditional sales metrics for Westchester like the total number of homes sold, the average selling prices, the median prices, and the price-per-square foot for all major Westchester property types, especially single-family homes, condos, and coops.
The firm's managing partner Joseph Rand compiles and writes the detailed report, answering questions like:
- Why were average real estate prices in Westchester a bit disappointing in the 4th Quarter of 2013?
- How many months does a home priced at $3M+ in Westchester typically stay on the market?
- When was the last time that Westchester had so many quarters of rising sales in a row?
When asked about the state of the real estate market in the region, Joe felt good about both 2013 and the year ahead. "Westchester and the northern suburbs of New York City finished 2013 very strong, with sales up significantly across the region and prices beginning to show the first small signs appreciation. Homeowners in Westchester have some great reasons to be optimistic about home prices as we head into 2014." Rand continued, "Every market cycle sees a shift in demand prior to a similar shift in prices and after nearly two years of sustained increases in demand, we believe that prices are now ready to follow."
In addition to Westchester, the report provides sales and pricing information for the other counties in Better Homes and Gardens Rand Realty's service area, including Rockland, Orange, and Putnam in New York, and Passaic and Bergen in New Jersey.
Better Homes and Gardens Rand has produced the quarterly market report for almost ten years. It is the region's most comprehensive independent analysis of real estate prices, sales and trends.
To download a free copy of the complete report, visit RandRealty.com. To watch the video market summaries for Westchester and the neighboring counties, please visit Rand's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/RandRealty.
Joseph Rand is a Managing Partner at Better Homes and Gardens Rand Realty.


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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Attorney General Michael Mukasey warned Wednesday that organized criminal networks have penetrated portions of the international energy market and tried to control energy resources.
Attorney General Michael Mukasey speaks Wednesday at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
In a speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, he said similar efforts have targeted the international financial system by injecting billions of illicit funds to try to corrupt financial service providers.
Mukasey then vowed to beef up U.S. efforts to fight international organized crime, which he called a growing threat to U.S. security and stability.
The attorney general and top law enforcement officials from the FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Justice Department Criminal Division said a classified threat assessment prompted the creation of a strategy to combat the threat.
It calls for several U.S. agencies and their overseas counterparts to better prioritize their targets, to improve information sharing and to boost cooperation in law enforcement investigations and operations.
"The activities of transnational and national organized criminal enterprises are increasing in scope and magnitude as these groups continue to strengthen their networking with each other to expand their operations," said FBI Deputy Director John Pistole.
Officials declined to discuss specific cases because the information remains classified, and disclosure could jeopardize ongoing investigations.
However, the International Organized Crime Threat Assessment identified eight general strategic threats from international organized criminals:
• The penetration of the energy market and other strategic sectors of the U.S. and world economy. As U.S. energy needs continue to grow, so, too, could the power of those who control energy resources.
• Providing logistical and other support to terrorists, foreign intelligence services and foreign governments, all with interests harmful to those of U.S. national security.
• The trafficking in people and contraband goods, bringing people and products through U.S. borders to the detriment of border security, the U.S. economy, and the health and lives of those exploited.
• The exploitation of the U.S. and international financial system to move illegal profits and funds, including sending billions in illicit funds through the U.S. financial system each year. To continue this practice, they seek to corrupt financial service providers globally.
• The use of cyberspace to target U.S. victims and infrastructure, jeopardizing the security of personal information, the stability of business and government infrastructures and the security and solvency of financial investment markets.
• The manipulation of securities exchanges and engaging in sophisticated fraud schemes that rob U.S. investors, consumers and government agencies of billions of dollars.
• The successful corruption of public officials around the world, including countries of vital strategic importance to the United States, and continuing efforts to find ways to influence -- legally or illegally -- U.S. officials.
• The use of violence and the threat of violence as a basis of power. E-mail to a friend
All About Michael Mukasey • Terrorism


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William Rowlett was born in Chesterfield County, Virginia 13 August 1755 and died in Mecklenburg County, Virginia 2 June 1839. He married his first cousin, Mary Rowlett, about 1779. William lived in Chesterfield County throughout the Revolutionary War, fighting 5-7 tours of duty. He and Mary relocated to Mecklenburg County for about thirty years, and then returned to Chesterfield County for another 20 years. They had lots of kids: Sarah (Sallie) Coleman, Thompson, Peter,
Rebecca (Edwards) Short was married to William Rowlett 7 May 1825, in Chesterfield County, VA. Sometime in the mid-1830's Rebecca and William Rowlett moved back to Mecklenburg County, VA. William Rowlett died 2 June 1839.
Sarah Jane Rowlett was born to Rebecca and William about 1826. The land to which she and her parents moved in the 30's was next to Oak View, the home of James H. Dodson.


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A Very Blackwell Christmas by C.L. Matthews
Shattered Souls (1.5)
Genre: Adult Romance
Release: 12-21-2016
Links: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33190878
Blurb: Everyone deserves a happy ending. Planning a wedding while Gideon heals has been tough, but enjoyable at the same time. Who knew this sort of life would be everything I ever wanted? Our road was rough, but absolutely worth it. Combining everything I love into one, we are planning our Winter Wonderland wedding for just after Christmas. We will start a new year and our new life together in the most beautiful setting I can imagine. Something tells me there are even more surprises for Gideon and I. In fact, I can feel it fluttering in my belly. I couldn't be happier right now. After that nightmare, this dream is so welcome.
Author Info: C.L. Matthews resides in Utah, the state with the best snow on Earth. She's not a fan of the snow, but loves her home just the same. She's known for her swag creations and creative pieces. Her hobbies consist of crafting, drinking coffee until she can't consume anymore, and reading until she falls asleep with a book in her lap. She's happily married to childhood best friend. She got her happily ever after.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/clmatthewsauthor/
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/C.L.-Matthews/e/B01N3PAMJY/
Instagram @clmatthewsauthor
Twitter: @clmatthews121
Cover Design: Emcat Designs
Photography: MH Photography
Models: Julio Elving & Ashley Edmund


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Video: Easton studio turns up the heat on yoga
Ashley Webb starts each of her yoga classes with some words of wisdom for her students.
"We're not here to torture ourselves," says Webb, an instructor at the Open Doors Studios in Easton. "You're giving your body a great gift of an hour and a half of yoga. We're not in a hurry to get anywhere."
But some of her students do feel the heat.
That's because Webb teaches a class called "hot power" yoga, where the breathing and stretching exercises are done in a room of 85 to 105 degrees. Although yoga comes in a variety of forms and focuses, hot power yoga allows muscles to loosen and provide a wider range of motion.
Called "vinyasa yoga," which means to flow, classes vary in temperature and intensity. The temperature of the beginners class hovers around 80, while the power-level class can reach 100 degrees.
"Each instructor comes in and teaches a sequence they want to teach," said owner Richard Lanza, who started Open Doors because of the lack of yoga studios in the area. "Chances are, you're never going to get the same class."
Lanza, who teaches a couple of classes a week himself, said his love for hot power yoga comes from his love of its main ingredient — the heat.
"I love heat," said Lanza. "People who don't love hot, humid weather tend not to like hot power yoga. I just loved the fact that I was sweating so much. I could just feel my body getting rid of toxins."
Bikram Choudhury, who is credited with creating bikram yoga, or hot yoga, opened the first U.S. school to train instructors on hot yoga in the '70s.
Bikram yoga follows a set series of 26 postures, whereas vinyasa yoga follows no sequence. Hot power yoga does the same postures as regular yoga classes, but the heat is said to allow for deeper stretching and relieve stress and tension, Webb said.
Those with back, ankle, knee or shoulder injuries are advised to consult with their physician before taking a class, she said. Pregnant women are discouraged from hot yoga, as it can raise their core body temperature to levels unsafe for the baby.
But for some, hot yoga can help cure an ailment, said Jean Rogers, a student at Open Doors Studios.
"I have rheumatoid arthritis and I have since come off my meds," said Rogers, 59, of Stoughton about the pain medication she had been prescribed for her arthritis. Rogers started doing hot power yoga in November. "The heat has really helped my joints."
Rogers takes beginners classes three times a week and finds the challenge perfect. For everyone interested in yoga, Lanza advises them to start with a beginners class.
"(Hot power yoga) is encouraged for everyone, though there are levels," said Lanza. "People take a class that's not right for them and they write it off and say, 'Yoga's not for me.' People really need to take into account where they need to start."
Yoga "can be as little or as much as you want," said Webb, who started practicing yoga seriously after having her appendix taken out due to stress. "It's a fabulous challenge."
Enterprise writer Brittney Murray can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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One of the best things about Winter is a fresh blanket of pristine snow. And the gear that helps you ride down it. Here are some gifts for the powderhounds in your life.
1. Helmet/Sport Cameras: There are two cameras that are top of the line when it comes to capturing the essence of your kinetics, GoPro and Contour. Both offer many different mounts for many different sports, from snow, to water, to motor. Both do HD and 60 frame per second mode and have long lasting batteries. But the profile of the Contour—and its GPS and its zero-confusion slide switch—make it better for helmet mounted activities, while the GoPro's shape and case make it better for underwater and chest mounted shots as well as the snow. $179 to $349 [GoPro and Contour, Gizmodo GoPro HD Review]
2. Waterproof Cameras: My favorite waterproof cameras come from Panasonic/Lumix by virtue of a great combination of ruggedness and photo quality. The Pentax cameras are rated similarly in terms of freeze resistance down to 14 degrees, but the Lumix is rated to 33 feet underwater, too, for summer adventure at the beach. The Pentax is more pocketable and lighter, for what it's worth. Roughly $200 to $220, discounted. [Pentax/Amazon, Lumix/Amazon]
3. Gloves: There are a lot of wonderful gloves on the market this year. My hands get cold—probably because I take my gloves off all the time to check my phone—and my favorite from last year was the Black Diamond Guide Glove. It's not the dryest glove I've worn but it's got wool liners, so your hands stay warm no matter how damp they get. The outdoor mags are going nuts over these Arcteryx Alpha gloves, which are Gore Pro shell. But I've never tried them. And they cost $275! Hestra makes a pair of gloves with Gore Tex XCR tech (which bonds the outer and inner layers together for a better feel) and really beefy wrist straps. Neat. I'll probably keep using the Guides, myself. $155 to $275. [BD, Arcteryx, Hestra]
4. Base Layers: Patagonia's Capilene base layer system is my gold standard. I use R2s when its in the high 30s and R3s on colder days, and this year they've updated their R4 (the beefiest base layer) to be warmer and quicker drying, by going towards an ultrafine fleece material. Decent for days in single digit temps. I also like Patagonia's Merino base layers, which don't wick quite as well but are even warmer than the synthetic stuff. $45 to $200. [Patagonia]
5. Fleece: Patagonia's high loft R3 fleece is their warmest fleece meant to be layered under a shell, and is made with Polartec Thermal Pro polyester yarn with Polartec stretch materials under the pits and arms. I have an orange one. Love it. $180. [Patagonia]
6. Snowboard: I fell in love with a K2 board last year with a flat profile called the Slayblade. I'll probably keep riding that board, but I'm very interested in local big mountain hero Jeremy Jones' new line of boards with magnetraction (serrated edges good for gripping ice) and blunt noses for shorter profiles and lower swing weight, with a lot of effective carving edge length. There's the Hovercraft, which is 156cm long but by way of width, has the float of a 176cm long board. And then there's the flagship, which is a good all around board for charging hard. $499. [Jones]
7. Hand Warmer: A little something I can imagine would be nice close to your chest on worse days. I could wrap my hands around one when my fingers got cold, too. The best way to stay warm is to stay dry and keep your core insulated nicely, but a little electronic or gas heater can't hurt either. $15 to $28. [Zippo and Sanyo]
8. Skis: When my backcountry ski nerd friend was asked what gear they'd get if they were shopping, he responded by bringing up Black Diamond's Efficient series of touring gear that's designed for lightness and use in "high consequence" ski areas where falling isn't an option. The Quadrant AT Ski Boot has a boa cable tightened liner, four buckles for stiffness, and yet, 40 degrees of ankle movement in touring mode. The Drift skis are wide at 100mm at the waist, for powder, and rockered up front for additional float. $620 and $660. [BD, BD]
9. Solar: Whether charging up gadgets in the backcountry or in a car, I'd prefer the Joos Orange solar battery/solar charger for several reasons: It's tough enough—bulletproof, actually—has 5400 MAh of storage, and is sensitive enough to light to charge in indirect light. And it's only $100. [Joos]
10. Headlamp: For early hikes up the hill or in the glove box in case of roadside emergency, I'd choose a Petzl Tikka2 XP2 Core for its full feature set. Each has red and four white LEDs, and can be programmed by computer to adjust output for the best combination of battery life and brightness, depending on your task. The rechargeable batteries can also be swapped out for AAA cells, too. And each has an emergency whistle on it. $115. [Petzl]
11. Fifty Classic Ski Descents of North America: A coffee table book, of America's best ass-puckering downhill runs, as told by some of the country's best skiers. $60. [Wolverine Publishing]
12. Goggles: The big tech goggle this year is the GPS Zeal optics model with a heads up display that shows temperature, altitude/descent changes, speed and elapsed distance, along with time per run. It's neat, even if the goggles are a little heavy. For a simpler piece of eyewear, I prefer Smith Goggles with the low light appropriate "sensor" lenses because I enjoy riding storms. Of course, goggles need to fit your face and nose ahead of almost any other measure, so its worth trying on the right kind for your face, in a store. $90 to $400 [Zeal and Smith]
13. Apps: There's really only one app for snow these days, and it's The North Face's free ski report app. It's free, so it's not even a good stocking stuffer. But every powder hound needs a good weather app, and The Weather Channel's Max app is my pick for great push alerts, radar, weekend and 10 day forecasts. I love it. The other must is Motion X GPS, because you can load up backcountry maps and save them locally, as well as track your daily runs. Free, $1 [iTunes, iTunes]
14. Winter Tires: If you love someone who spends a lot of time in the snow, and they don't have snow tires, get them some. They'll enjoy driving in the snow more and you'll enjoy feeling like they're a bit safer with snow shoes on their car. [TireRack]
The burning sensation that comes from holiday shopping isn't from rubbing against the unwashed masses at malls: It's trying to pick out presents for everybody on your list. Gizmodo's daily gift guides and best gadgets list are the all-natural, non-smelly cure.


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A Fate Map of the Chick Embryo
(Arizona State University. School of Life Sciences. Center for Biology and Society. Embryo Project Encyclopedia., 2014-02-26)
A 3-D fate map of the chicken (Gallus gallus) embryo with the prospective point of ingression and yolk. The area where the primitive streak will form during gastrulation is shown. The anterior- posterior axis is shown by ...


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In Conversation with Cris MazzaBy Ashley Perez
June 30, 2014
Cris Mazza is the author of more than 17 books, including Various Men Who Knew Us as Girls, Waterbaby, Trickle-Down Timeline, and Is It Sexual Harassment Yet? Her first novel, How to Leave a Country, won the PEN/Nelson Algren Award for book-length fiction. Mazza has co-edited three anthologies, including Men Undressed: Women Writers on the Male Sexual Experience. In addition to fiction, Mazza has authored a collection of personal essays, Indigenous: Growing Up Californian. Currently living 50 miles west of Chicago, she is a professor in the Program for Writers at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Her recent memoir, Something Wrong With Her, told in real time, is about Mazza's experience with sexual dysfunction and her evolution in coming to understand it. Mazza recently reached out to Los Angeles writer Ashley Perez after Perez wrote an essay regarding sexual pain and bondage. The two women discovered they had a lot in common, sat down, and talked very candidly about what they thought they were supposed to feel in terms of sexuality, masturbation, sexual expectations in life and in literature, and the feeling deep down that something is wrong.


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Correspondent Byron Pitts joins ABC News from CBS
Associated Press
The Herald Times
NEW YORK — Veteran correspondent Byron Pitts is jumping from CBS to ABC News, where he will be chief national correspondent and a fill-in anchor for various broadcasts.
Pitts spent 15 years at CBS News, where he covered political conventions and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. ABC News President Ben Sherwood said in a memo to his staff Monday announcing the hire that Pitts "has a unique talent for stories about people and communities facing the longest odds."
In a 2009 memoir, Pitts revealed how he overcame a stutter and said he was essentially illiterate until about age 12. He grew up in Baltimore.
ABC has been making more news lately with departures. Jake Tapper and Chris Cuomo have both left for CNN.


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Our services include Home Theater and A/V Receiver installation, calibration, plenum wire runs, wall plate installation, Mission Hills video projector installation, A/V receiver setup, If you are in the market for an audio video installer in Mission Hills, we are licensed and experienced installers and work in the Mission Hills area for over 20 years serving homes and businesses with consumer and commercial grade audio video equipment for Home Theater and other audio/video equipment installation needs.
Installing an A/V amplifier also known as audio/video receiver is our specialty, we have installed hundreds of home theater systems in Mission Hills California for over 20 years, and our experience goes far beyond installation and integration, we are experienced technicians for over 30 years and know all the ins and outs of an audio/video system installation whether stand alone or integrated to a whole audio/video rack system to serve an entirely integrated whole house entertainment hub. We are professional installers and will plan, design, integrate and calibrate audio and video receivers and components via the latest interconnect technologies. We are experienced installing most major consumer and commercial electronics brands, including the specialty high-end audio video equipment utilized in dedicated home media rooms and structured and centralized multi-channel, multi-output audio video processors. Our customers in Mission Hills California also refer to us as audio/video integrators and contractors.
Experienced Home Theater installer technician, we service, move, set up and install new audio/video equipment for all major brands. We service the City of Mission Hills, California since 1998.
Installing the surround sound system you've been thinking on can be very exciting, but before the final screw is installed there are some common sense and some no so common sense suggestions that an installer should follow for a proper and installation.
We install new audio video equipment and A/V receivers and service existing infrastructure in commercial and residential environments and provide services such as:
Install 5.1 surround system
Set up my new A/V receiver and hook up audio/video equipment.
Dell M.
Calibrate 7.1 surround
Install speakers. Route wires concealed within attic.
Eric P.
Wall cable Fishing
Wall fish speaker wiring and hook up speakers to the a/v receiver Accordingly.
Helen M.
New speaker cable run
Install new speaker wiring to exterior of home, hang outdoor speakers.
Joey R.
Set up new Blue-ray
Integrate to existing surround sound system and calibrate.
Kathy W.
Relocate Surround system
Move audio /video surround equipment to new address and reinstall.
Derrick G.
The central part of your home theater is usually considered to be the largest size TV screen money can buy, although considering the room size is also important to remember. LCD and LED flat panel TV sets are the current state-of-the-art options, and HDMI cables are the wiring of choice for the best possible high definition picture experience. Wiring is best done concealed within walls to ensure an optimal look and realistic Home Theater feeling. We have installed hundreds of Home Theaters in Mission Hills in the past 20 years, including the other part of the equation which is the audio potion of the experience. A/V or audio/video receivers complement the video monitors to help implement a theater looking space. Audio video receivers are installed also with speaker wiring completely concealed in the wall or attic as needed and connected to speakers and sub woofer to provide for the best possible audio and video experience.
Other components are the ever present cable box or satellite reception equipment, not to forget the now very popular movie and music streaming platforms incorporated almost into any imaginable electronics device, from Apple TV, to Blue-Ray players, tablets and dedicated internet connected streaming boxes which operate either wired to the network or wirelessly through the home WiFi network option.
Most consumers enjoy their entertainment programming through either cable or satellite receivers which connect directly to their TV's HDMI input, although some older TV sets are not equipped with such inputs, and it all means a lower quality video watching experience