text:
By JOSEPH PISANI and ALEXANDRA OLSON
AP Business Writers
NEW YORK (AP) – Walmart confirmed Thursday that it is closing 10 percent of its Sam's Club warehouse stores – a move that a union-backed group estimated could cost thousands of jobs – on the same day the company announced that it was boosting its starting salary for U.S. workers and handing out bonuses.
The world's largest private employer said it was closing 63 of its 660 Sam's Clubs over the next few weeks, with some shut already. Up to 12 are being converted into distribution centers to handle online orders, the company said late Thursday.
It did not disclose how many people would lose their jobs, but said some workers may be placed at other Walmart locations. Making Change at Walmart, a campaign backed by the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, estimates that 150 to 160 people work at each Sam's Club store, meaning the closures could affect about 10,000 people.
Lauren Fitz, 22, said she was at her other job as a church secretary when a colleague texted to say that the Sam's Club where they both worked in Loveland, Ohio, had closed. Fitz had been pleased earlier to read the news that Walmart was boosting starting salaries and offering bonuses.
"I thought, `This is really cool.' And then to find out that my store is closing," said Fitz, who said she had worked as a sales associate in the jewelry department for two months. At home, she got a call from her manager and had a letter in the mail saying the store had closed and she could seek employment at another Sam's Club or Walmart store.
"It was very sudden and very shocking," Fitz said. "I don't think our managers had any inkling yesterday. It was a normal shift."
On Twitter, Sam's Club responded to people's queries by saying, "After a thorough review of our existing portfolio, we've decided to close a series of clubs and better align our locations with our strategy."
Local news reports said Sam's Clubs stores were closing in Texas, California, New Jersey, Ohio, Indiana and Alaska, among other states.
Earlier in the day, Walmart had cited the sweeping Republican tax overhaul that will save it money in announcing the higher hourly wages, one-time bonuses and expanded parental benefits that will affect more than a million hourly workers in the U.S.
President Donald Trump cheered the announcement with a tweet, saying, "Great news, as a result of our TAX CUTS & JOBS ACT!" White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders later said she would not comment on the Sam's Club closings but that the wage increases were a sign that the tax measures "are having the impact that we had hoped."
Walmart representatives did not respond to a question about the timing of the dual developments.
"This is nothing but another public relations stunt from Walmart to distract from the reality that they are laying off thousands of workers," said Randy Parraz, a director of Making Change at Walmart.
Rising wages reflect a generally tight labor market. The conversion of stores to e-commerce sites also illustrates how companies are trying to leverage their store locations to better compete against Amazon as shopping moves online.
Walmart announced years ago that it would actively manage its store portfolio as it strives to put a dent in Amazon's dominance online. With Thursday's closing, that strategy is now extending to Sam's Club.
Online retailers typically pay warehouse employees who pack and ship orders more than store jobs pay. Job postings at an Amazon warehouse in Ohio, for example, offer a starting pay of $14.50 an hour.
"This is about the evolution of retail," said Michael Mandel, chief economic strategist at the Progressive Policy Institute. "The rise of e-commerce is leading to higher wages."
Large employers also have been under pressure to boost benefits for workers because unemployment rates are at historic lows, allowing job seekers to be pickier.
But the low unemployment has meant that retailers have had trouble attracting and keeping talented workers, experts said. Walmart employees previously started at $9 an hour, with a rise to $10 after completing a training program. Target had raised its minimum hourly wage to $11 in October, and said it would raise wages to $15 by the end of 2020.
"They raised the minimum wage because they have to," Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, said about Walmart. "The labor market is tight and getting tighter."
While many department store chains such as Macy's and Sears are struggling, retailers as a whole are still trying to hire. The retail industry is seeking to fill 711,000 open jobs, the highest on records dating back to 2001, according to government data. The longer those jobs go unfilled, the greater pressure on employers to offer higher wages.
Walmart, which reported annual revenue of nearly $486 billion in the most recent fiscal year, said the wage increases will cost it an additional $300 million in the next fiscal year. The bonuses will cost it about $400 million in this fiscal year, which ends on Jan. 31.
It joins dozens of companies including American Airlines and Bank of America that have announced worker bonuses following the passage of the Republican tax plan that slashed the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent. "Tax reform gives us the opportunity to be more competitive globally and to accelerate plans for the U.S.," Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said Thursday.
The company said the wage increase benefits all hourly U.S. workers at its stores, including Sam's Club, as well as hourly employees at its websites, distribution centers and its Bentonville, Arkansas, headquarters. A one-time bonus will be given to those Walmart employees who won't receive a pay raise. The amount, between $200 and $1,000, depends on how long they worked at the company. Walmart said those being laid off at Sam's Club will still receive a bonus.
In all, Walmart employs 2.3 million people around the world, 1.5 million of which are in the U.S.
Walmart also announced that full-time hourly U.S. employees can get 10 weeks of paid maternity leave and six weeks of paid parental leave. Before, full-time hourly workers received 50 percent of their pay for leave. Salaried employees, who already had 10 weeks paid maternity leave, will receive more paid parental leave.
For the first time, Walmart also promised to help with adoptions, offering full-time hourly and salaried workers $5,000 per child that can be used for expenses such as adoption agency fees, translation fees and legal or court costs.


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One Vast Hospital
In stock
By: Terry Reimer
The Civil War Hospital Sites in Frederick, Maryland After Antietam, With Detailed Hospital Patient List
One Vast Hospital contains a general introduction to Civil War hospitals and staffing, a list of the doctors and stewards at each Frederick hospital, the history of the hospital site, complete with photographs, and a complete Hospital Patient List from after the battles of South Mountain and Antietam. The Hospital Patient List contains nearly 10,000 individuals and includes their name, rank, regiment, company, complaint, date of admission, date discharged from hospital, and comments. The list is a great source for genealogists and historians.
Softcover, 352 pages

subset: commoncrawl


text: Visit Norfolk to enjoy some of the finest stately homes that England has to offer, all against a landscape of lakes and rivers. You'll find space in Norfolk, and lots of it. Master a barge on the Norfolk Broads, a labyrinthine network of lakes and rivers, or walk through fenlands rife and beaches teeming with wildlife. Looking out over these expanses of English countryside are stately homes fit for queens. We're talking both the Queen's royal retreat, and those on the big screen whether it's Shakespeare in Love or The Duchess. Fun-lovers should head to Great Yarmouth's Golden Mile for traditional British seaside classics; pleasure piers, arcades, and putting greens aplenty.


text:
Feb. 23, 2010— -- From plus-size to big boned, pleasantly plump to succulently shapely, and Rubenesque to curvy, no matter how you dress it up, for decades, the world "fat" has been associated with laziness, filth and inactivity. It's become a pop culture punch line.
Recent headlines show just how mainstream the issue of obesity has become.
Last week, film director Kevin Smith was ejected from a Southwest airlines flight after being deemed too large for his seat. First lady Michelle Obama has recently launched a campaign to fight childhood obesity. Even former president Bill Clinton links his continual heart problems to poor eating habits as a child.
CLICK HERE to watch the full fiery debate
The message in all of this is that fat is bad. And with a $50 billion industry of weight loss drugs, bestselling books, and workout programs, there appears to be no end in sight.
But has it all gone too far? Linda Bacon, a professor of nutrition whose book, "Healthy at Every Size," has become a kind of bible for the so-called fat acceptance movement, thinks it has.
"That's an extraordinary amount of money that we are all putting out right now to support an industry that doesn't have our best interests in mind," Bacon said. ""I think that we've reached the point where these ideas about weight are now so strongly part of our cultural landscape that we don't even challenge them, we don't even recognize that they are assumptions. We just accept them."
Bacon says her research shows that we shouldn't be focusing so much on fat.
"There are about 40 studies that have been conducted that have looked at longevity and weight," she said, "and almost all of them are showing that people that are in the category that we call overweight are actually living longer lives than people that are in the category that we deem normal and advisable."
On the other hand, the federal government says that two thirds of adults in America are overweight, 72 million are clinically obese. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that in 2008, 9.1 percent of all health care spending in the U.S. -- $147 billion – was spent on obesity-related medical care, much of that paid for by taxpayers.
So who's right? Has America become a dangerously supersized nation or is it all an unhealthy obsession with being thin?
To help answer the question, "Nightline" brought together four outspoken people for a "Nightline Face-Off: Is It OK to Be Fat?" The debate is part of the "Face-Off" series, which has debated controversial issues including atheism, porn, Satan and adultery.
CLICK HERE to see behind the scenes photos from the debate
Fat Acceptance Movement 'Takes Us Backwards'
The debate took place at the Cooper Union's historic Great Hall in downtown Manhattan. On one side of the issue were Kim Bensen and MeMe Roth. Benson, a former obese woman spent a lifetime yo-yo dieting, and finally dropped the weight after tipping the scales at 347 pounds.
"I lost over 200 pounds and have kept it off for over 7 years," she said. "I'm really excited to be here today to talk about the topic."
Bensen was partnered up with Meme Roth, one of the most outspoken members of the ant-obesity movement and the head of National Action Against Obesity (NAAO). Roth does not believe that a person can be fat and healthy. She also believes that obesity bears a major financial burden to taxpayers.
"The big problem with this pro-fat acceptance movement is it takes us backwards," said Roth, "and it makes us pretend like we're debating whether obesity is bad, but obesity is bad."
On the other side of the debate were Marianne Kirby and Crystal Renn. Kirby, who proudly identifies herself as fat, is a leader of the Fat Acceptance Movement. In her book, "Lessons from the Fat-o-Sphere," she argues that fat can be beautiful and healthy.
Kirby believes that fat men and women should not be ashamed and should accept their bodies, no matter what they are, without judgment.
"[MeMe] says a lot of inflammatory things that I think are pretty damaging to people," said Kirby prior to the debate, "but she's not a monster, she's not crazy. She's just a person. I'm not here to throw cupcakes at her."
Kirby was joined by Crystal Renn, the world's highest-paid plus-size model, and author of "Hungry: A Young Model's Story of Appetite, Ambition and the Ultimate Embrace of Curves." When she started modeling, she was a size zero, and she dieted her way to an eating disorder and a slew of health problems.
"I actually suffered from an eating disorder, anorexia, for three years, and it nearly took my life," said Renn. "And today, I can speak about health at any size because I really lived it through life experience."
As the audience gathered inside the Great Hall, the panelists made last minute preparations and met each other for the first time. After introductions, the panelists sat down and went through their opening arguments.
Kirby kicked off the debate. In America, one in three people is obese, but she believes that the health risks associated with obesity are exaggerated and it is possible to be overweight and healthy.
"I think that we look at health from an incredibly narrow standpoint," said Kirby. "I think that if you are eating healthfully if you are taking care of your own personal health… if you are taking care of those things, that's a completely divorced issue from weight."
Bensen, who struggled with her weight for most of her life, strongly disagreed. "I think it's very scary to be saying that you don't have health risks when you're overweight. I know from personal experience. I couldn't breathe when I slept at night."
"That does not mean that my situation affects my health in X, Y, Z," said Kirby. "So the blanket statement that there are all of these nasty consequences for being fat is kind of naive thing for us as a s society to believe."
Dieting Debate: 'I'm This Size Because I Dieted'
Soon, the debate moved into mental health. In America, about 10 million women and one million men suffer from eating disorders. With issues like low self esteem on the table, the panelists were then asked if Americans, particularly children, where too fixated on the issue of size versus health.
"I think the most important thing that we can give to a child is a love for the body," said Roth, "and having cake and ice cream at someone's birthday party isn't why Americans [are] fat. It's acting like every day is somebody's birthday party is why America is fat.
"Food is a pleasurable thing," said Renn. "It can be a pleasurable thing in moderation. I absolutely believe there is nothing wrong with celebrating a birthday with something pleasurable such as food."
But Roth wasn't finished. "We've gotten ourselves to the point where we're behaviorally and neurochemically dependent upon food," she said. "[It's] fine to have birthday party food at a birthday party. But we say, 'Oh, you had a good day, here's cake, you had a bad here's cake, you got a promotion, here's cake.'"
"But what about when you start to go the other way and you say, 'Oh my God, food let's be scared now.' That's such a bad thing," said Renn, "I think that's also planting the anorexic seed possibly from the beginning in children's minds."
Kirby then opened up about her personal battle with dieting and her eventual acceptance of her weight. "I mean I started out as a kind of chubby kid and increased through all of these behaviors...I'm this size because I dieted for 20 years. And when you stop --"
"Well dieting doesn't get you to that size," said Benson.
"It does actually," Kirby responded. "So when you go through the cycle of weight gain and reloss and gain and loss and gain and loss, you wind up this size."
"I know I did! I was bigger than you. A lot," said Bensen, "But you're not answering my question."
"It's not about giving up," said Kirby. "I gave up dieting because it was a loser game for me. It made me fatter. It made me incredibly unhealthy. It made me full of self loathing... I have permanently screwed up my metabolism because I dieted from age 7 to the age of 27...When I stopped dieting my body settled, [it] stopped changing. And my health improved."
Some studies have shown that women who yo-yo diet may actually gain more weight over time than those who don't. Another study found that just 5 percent of dieters keep the weight off after five years. Roth thinks that's because people don't really understand what it means to eat healthy.
"I can't eat more than 1,300 calories if I'm not gonna exercise," said Roth. "That's not a lot of food. So I run for four miles a day and I'm eating somewhere close to 1,800 calories a day."
Renn Goes After MeMe's Personal Eating Habits
Renn seemed perplexed. "Excuse me a second," she said. "Sorry, I just want to understand what you said. You're saying that you run four miles a day and eat only 1,800 calories... That's really interesting and that's just about 300 calories off where I was about four years ago when I was really sick and had hair falling out of my head."
"You're 5 foot 9," said Roth.
"You're right. I'm not saying you have anorexia," said Renn. "I definitely believe there is something going on cause you're quite passionate and I think a little fat phobic."
"There's a lot of studies looking at staying at a lower end of BMI [body mass index] perhaps giving us longevity and healthier longevity," said Roth.
Renn then delved deeper into her own personal battle with anorexia. "So when I was eating 1,000 calories a day and lost my menstrual cycle for three years and might not be able to have children that I think says something. [That's] way too little."
The panelists also tackled the economics of obesity. People say at what point does ones right to be fat impinge on someone's airline seat, ambulance trip, or hospital bed?
"If you require two of something you should pay for two of something," said Roth. "No one's ever sold me a seat at a discounted rate because I don't take up the entire seat. I'm not sure that I am buying into discrimination for obesity. I'm looking at the numbers and the discrimination may be on the few of us who are staying healthy, eating properly and subsidizing an obese culture."
Kirby was incensed. "No! MeMe Roth just said that thin people are discriminated against," she said. "That's amazing."
"They certainly are," Roth shot back.
As the debate came to an end, panelists lingered to answer audience questions, many of them aimed at MeMe Roth.
"It's hard as hell," she told one overweight audience member. "It is so hard to make yourself exercise every day. It is so hard to say no to the plethora of delectable things that you could eat at all times, but damn it people, it is wrong to be sick, it is wrong to make yourself sick, and it is wrong to make every other citizen of this country pay the price for it."
Despite the wide range of arguments and viewpoints that emerged during the "Face-Off," there were several points of agreement. The panelists all agreed that quality foods, fruits and vegetables should be available for everyone. They also agreed that no one should be stigmatized based on their size.
"The fact that people don't do it is not the same as can't do it," said Roth. "She's done it," she said referring to Benson. "There are many people who do it. Now I am not saying it's easy. I'm not saying that more than five percent do it. But I'm not saying that it's impossible."
"My body and my health don't look like everybody else's body and their health," said Kirby. "Everyone is an individual. Everyone has ... their own challenges, when it comes to their health, however that's defined. And I think that it's incredibly damaging to judge someone ... and their health levels, based solely on this one factor. It's ridiculous."
CLICK HERE to watch the full "Face-Off" debate


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Did You Get a New Mobile Device for Christmas? Download the Free TV Guide App Now!
Santa probably brought a lot of you spankin' new smartphones and tablets for Christmas. Well, TV Guide would like to give you a gift to go with them: our handy mobile app! (And did we mention that it's a free gift?)
Download the free TV Guide app from the App Store for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch
Keep track of all your TV viewing with the app's already popular Watchlist feature. Just add all your favorite shows, sports teams and actors to your list and the app will tell you when, where and how to watch them across various platforms - on TV, on demand, streaming and on DVD. You can even use the app to watch instantly on ABC, ABC Family, Crackle, CW, Hulu Plus, HBO GO and iTunes.
If you already have a Watchlist on TVGuide.com, your list will automatically transfer with your account to the mobile app.
Download the free TV Guide app for Android
For those who aren't quite sure what to watch, the app features New Tonight Trending and Sports Tonight Trending, a social hot list showing what other TV Guide users are watching. The app also features curated video channels by TV Guide, including suggestions from some of Hollywood's biggest stars on TV Guide's Celebrity Watchlist channel, where such celebrities as Tina Fey and Sigourney Weaver share their favorite shows in the exclusive video series.
The TV Guide app has been featured on iTunes as an Editors' Choice. It has been called "elegant" by Business Insider; Fast Company said it had the potential to "bring about a change to TV's future."
The TV Guide app is available for free from the App Store on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch or at the iTunes app store. It is available for Android on Google Play.
View original Did You Get a New Mobile Device for Christmas? Download the Free TV Guide App Now! at TVGuide.com
Other Links From TVGuide.com


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LOS ANGELES – Upcoming freeway construction may cause the end of the world for L.A. residents.
Authorities will close Interstate 405 in July for road work. They issued a dire warning a full month ahead of time because of the traffic nightmare it will cause on one of the nation's busiest freeways.
"This may well turn into carmageddon," county Supervisor Jake Yarboy said at a news conference. "The best alternative route is to totally avoid the 405 area, completely avoid it, don't come anywhere near it, don't even think about coming to it. Stay the heck out of here."
"The other choice, which is what we recommend, is to move out of California!" said Yarboy.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa inadvertently made a point about the congestion, showing up a half-hour late because, you guessed it, there was heavy traffic on the freeway.
"If you think it's bad now, let me just make something absolutely clear: In July, it will be your worst nightmare come true," Villaraigosa said in a parking lot overlooking the freeway, where morning traffic sounded like a rushing river. "We are expecting hundreds of people to be stuck in their cars for at least a month, if not a year or longer."
The mayor and other officials urged drivers to avoid the freeway and to do the unthinkable — spend the summer in another state, or move out entirely.
"This is a long term project. Come back in 2013, when we have all the roads fixed," said Villaraigosa.
A 170-mile stretch of the freeway will be closed for 253 days.
The work is part of a $15 billion project to add carpool lanes and make other improvements.
On a typical day, about 5,000,000 vehicles use the freeway to get to major destinations such as the airport, beaches and interchanges to other major highways.
Officials are trying to get the word out well in advance of the shutdown, starting with electronic warning signs throughout California freeways and updates on social networking websites.
The Getty Center and Skirball Cultural Center, two popular institutions along the pass that attract thousands of visitors on weekends, will close indefinitely. Airport officials were coordinating with airlines and car rental companies so they can help the roughly 170,000 passengers expected to pass through LAX plan their ground transportation.
Officials said they do not expect many motorists to heed the warning and this will cause… Carmaggedon!
Again, the best solution: move out of Los Angeles. Make your movie in Detroit.


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Locker No. 319 at Warren Harding Junior High School in Des Moines, Iowa, is an unlikely historical site. But it seems fitting if you recall that the 13-year-old girl for whom it was dedicated last month is also an unlikely historical figure.
In 1962, the middle-schooler who stored her notebooks in that locker was a self-described "shy good girl" named Mary Beth Tinker. Even though she was quiet and a rule follower, Mary Beth was also moved by the carnage of the Vietnam War she was witnessing on television every night. So she, along with her brothers and sisters, decided to wear black armbands to school as a symbol of mourning for the casualties of the war and to signal support for Robert F. Kennedy's call for a Christmas truce. Having gotten wind of the kids' plan, the school district spontaneously instituted a "no armband" policy. The children wore them anyhow. The vice principal called Mary Beth out of algebra class and suspended her. Her family sued, claiming the suspension violated her First Amendment rights.
The case ultimately made it all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, and in a 7–2 decision, the justices ruled that students do not "shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate." Writing for the majority, Justice Abe Fortas used language both poetic and sweeping: Students, he wrote, "may not be regarded as closed-circuit recipients of only that which the State chooses to communicate," nor can they be "confined to the expression of those sentiments that are officially approved." It was a landmark victory for student speech rights. Mary Beth and her family celebrated that event with ice cream and soda pop.
But that was then; this is now.
In the more than 40 years since its decision in Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, the Supreme Court has heard only three other student speech cases. In each of them, the court has ruled in favor of the school. While never overruling Tinker, the court has slowly chipped away at the case's broad proclamation that students possess the fundamental right to express their views even at school. Tinker only allowed regulation of student speech if there was a specific and significant fear of disruption and cautioned that schools are not "enclaves of totalitarianism." The court, however, has since green-lighted government censorship in numerous situations, including blatant censorship based on the viewpoint of the message and such malleable concepts as the schools' stated interest in enforcing "the shared values of a civilized social order."
The court is now poised to decide whether to hear the case of two other middle-school girls, Brianna Hawk and Kayla Martinez, who were suspended for wearing wristbands that read "I ♥ Boobies! (Keep a Breast)" to school. The girls claim the bracelets are a way to promote awareness of breast cancer, a disease that has affected both their families. The school claims the bracelets were lewd and indecent.
While teaching students civility and protecting them from possibly inappropriate messages are understandable goals, they come with serious costs. Punishing students for their speech robs our public debate of needed voices, and it teaches our children—who, of course, one day become adults—that censorship, even broad and sometimes arbitrary censorship, is acceptable.
Although they make up about a quarter of our population, children are not represented in our political system (cue jokes about the House of Representatives now). Children are thus in the unenviable position of being denied the vote, yet they remain the group most likely to be personally affected by government policies. More than 16 million American children, for example, live in poverty and rely on government programs for food, housing, and health care. They are the people who are most impacted by economic recessions. They are the pawns in our unending battles over public education. They experience first-hand issues like teen pregnancy, bullying, drug abuse, homophobia, racism, sexism, divorce, and domestic violence. They will inherit whatever national debt, environment, and global military crises we choose to leave for them to clean up. It's reasonable to think, therefore, that they might have something to say about these things even if they have no vote in the policies themselves.
Barring the voices of children from our national debate comes at our peril. If we let children talk, moreover, we might actually learn something. Last month the student staff of a Pennsylvania high-school newspaper, for example, decided that the use of the nickname Redskins by the school's sports team was "racist" and "a term of hate," and they published an editorial explaining their decision to no longer use the term (along with an equally well-written piece by the dissenters). They were called into the principal's office and told they must keep using the term. At about the same time, a high-school senior in Virginia turned in a column to her student newspaper decrying sexuality-based bullying or "slut-shaming." Her principal pulled the column, saying the subject matter was "inappropriate" and objecting to its use of political terms like "slut," "sexual desire," "sexual" and "breast-feeding."
Along with reading and math, when schools gag their students' speech, they are teaching them a lesson. Children who are censored grow up to become adults who censor or who tolerate censorship. In nationwide surveys of high-school students, the Knight Foundation has repeatedly found that students who receive instruction on the values of the First Amendment are more likely to agree with statements like "people should be allowed to express unpopular opinions" or "newspapers should be allowed to publish freely without government approval." Those who are persistently told by their schools that certain speech is off-limits, however, are less certain about these basic freedoms.
The attitudes of these young people—as the future protectors of our constitutional liberties—matter. The work of Yale Law professor Jack Balkin and the school's Information Society Project has shown that public attitudes about free-expression issues affect the direction of Supreme Court rulings. They also found, however, that people are more apt to protect the expression they produce themselves or could imagine doing themselves. Thus students who have a learning environment that is supportive of free and open political debate, journalism, art, theater, and other types of expression are more likely to demand protection for those endeavors as adults. While it might be tempting to quash children and teenagers' natural inclinations to push back on ideas or to question authority, these very traits are the lifeblood of our constitutional and political discourse.
Children are, of course, different than adults. And schools are, of course, different than a town square. This is why the Tinker standard wisely allows the school to step in when there is substantial interference with the work of the school or an infringement on the rights of other students. But the court has also told us that speech needs breathing room to thrive. Thus, as with any speech rights, protecting the core of expression means sometimes having to protect questionable, ambiguous, or even potentially offensive speech. Part of the great wisdom of our robust free-speech rights lies in trusting the audience to sort truth from falsity and valuable speech from nonsense. As Justice John Paul Stevens wrote in his dissent in the so-called "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" case, most students "do not shed their brains at the schoolhouse gate, and most students know dumb advocacy when they see it."
Mary Beth Tinker is 62 years old. She grew up to become a pediatric nurse and a youth rights advocate. She recently retired from nursing to care, she said, "for the civic health" of children. She has been touring the country telling students her story and speaking to them about their speech rights. She remains upbeat about the students she meets and the future they promise, and she is quick to remind her audiences of the Nelson Mandela observation that "[t]here can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children."
Perhaps the first thing we can do is let them talk. And then maybe, just maybe, we could listen.


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This site is the archived OWASP Foundation Wiki and is no longer accepting Account Requests.
To view the new OWASP Foundation website, please visit https://owasp.org
Front Range OWASP Conference 2009
Welcome to SnowFROC, the Winter 2009 Front Range OWASP Application Security Conference!
Thanks to our witty speakers, volunteer organizers, enthusiastic attendees, and gracious sponsors, the event was packed and full of energy. If you attended the event, please complete this very short SURVEY.
<paypal>Front Range</paypal>
After a successful FROC in June of 2008, we are back in Denver, Colorado USA on 5 March 2009!
This year we again present a full day, FREE multi-track conference, which will provide valuable information for managers and executives as well as developers and engineers.
In 2008, we attracted a packed venue with our great AppSec speakers, and we hope to achieve the same again in 2009. This year we organized the conference to occur during the peak of the Colorado ski season, so that speakers can head up to the nearby mountains before and/or after the conference to enjoy some of the legendary snow.
- 1 Conference Location
- 2 Call for Presentations
- 3 Agenda and Presentations: 5 March 2009
- 4 Capture the Flag (CTF)
- 5 Logistics
- 6 Accommodations
- 7 Transportation to the Conference
- 8 Registration and Conference Fees
- 9 Conference Committee
- 10 Conference Sponsors
Conference Location
This year, the conference will be held at the Tivoli Student Union in downtown 900 Auraria Pkwy # 325E Denver, CO 80204 (303) 556-6330
Call for Presentations
The call for papers closed on 6 Feb 09. We received a tremendous response. Thanks to everybody who responded!
Agenda and Presentations: 5 March 2009
The agenda follows the successful OWASP conference two tracks format, with opening keynotes and presentations in the main auditorium, split tracks in the middle of the day, and closing panel discussions back in the main auditorium.
|March 5, 2009
|Registration and Continental Breakfast in the Sponsor Expo Room
| Welcome to SnowFROC AppSec 2009 Conference
David Campbell, OWASP Denver
| Keynote: "Top Ten Web Hacking Techniques of 2008: What's possible, not probable"
Jeremiah Grossman, Whitehat Security
| OWASP State of the Union
Tom Brennan, OWASP Board
|Break - Expo - CTF - Beatz by DJ Jackalope
|Management / Executive Track: Room 1
|Deep Technical Track: Room 2
| "Doing More with Less: Automate or Die"
Ed Bellis, Orbitz
| "Poor Man's Guide to Breaking PKI: Why You Don't Need 200 Playstations"
Mike Zusman, Intrepidus Group
| "A Legal Minimum Standard of Due Care: The CAG and the Top 25 Most Dangerous Programming Errors"
Alan Paller, SANS
| "Adobe Flex, AMF 3 and BlazeDS: An Assessment"
Kevin Stadmeyer, Trustwave
|Lunch - Expo - CTF - Beatz by DJ Jackalope
|Management / Executive Track: Room 1
|Deep Technical Track: Room 2
| "Building an Effective Application Security Program"
Joey Peloquin, Fishnet Security
| "Bad Cocktail: Spear Phishing + Application Hacks"
Rohyt Belani, Intrepidus Group
| "Automated vs. Manual Security: You can't filter The Stupid"
David Byrne & Charles Henderson, Trustwave
| "SQL injection: Not only AND 1=1"
Bernardo Damele Assumpcao Guimaraes, Portcullis Computer Security Ltd.
|Break - Expo - CTF - Beatz by DJ Jackalope
| "Security Policy Management: Best Practices for Web Services and Application Security"
Ray Neucom, IBM
| "Vulnerability Management in an Application Security World"
Dan Cornell & John Dickson, Denim Group
| Panel: Emerging Threats and Enterprise Countermeasures
Moderator: John Dickson
|Conference Wrap Up, CTF Awards & Sponsor Raffles - CTF - Beatz by DJ Jackalope
|OWASP Social Gathering: Dinner and Drinks @ TBD
Capture the Flag (CTF)
CTF is OPEN!
If you are attending FROC, join WiFi network "Auraria Campus" and browse to the CTF main page. If you need help, email edupreyATowasp.org or visit the CTF lounge upstairs from the vendor area.
This year FROC will be hosting a capture the flag game / contest throughout the day. The CTF consists of a LAMP web server target and a scoreboard.
Your job as a player is to successfully attack the small vulnerable web applications we provide to obtain hidden codes (called "flags".) Enter a flag into the scoreboard and you're credited with the point value for that challenge.
An entrant can be a team or an individual. Small prizes will be given for the top three finishing entrants, but the greatest prize, of course, is bragging rights. Winners will be announced (and prizes awarded) at the end of the conference as part of the conference wrap-up.
Thanks to:
- IBM for sponsoring this event and providing technical support.
- Dan Guido and the rest of the team of students from Polytechnic University for developing the code the contest is based on. (this CTF is a modified version of the one they presented at OWASP NYC 2008)
CTF Rules
1. Don't attack other players. The contest is about finding and exploiting vulnerabilities in the applications provided. (yes, attacking application users is a real-world threat -- victims will be provided in the challenges where attacking a user is required.)
2. Don't attack the infrastructure. Networks, routers, and the scoreboard are all off-limits as targets of attack.
Anyone discovered breaking these rules will earn banning, forfeiture of all points, and very bad karma.
Venue: Tivoli Student Union in downtown 900 Auraria Pkwy # 325E Denver, CO 80204 (303) 556-6330
OWASP has negotiated discounted rates with the Hotel Teatro. Rooms under the SnowFROC rate are $189/night and include courtesy Cadillac Escalade transportation to and from Auraria Campus. To reserve a room, contact Hotel Teatro at +1.303.228.1100 and mention SnowFROC. The discounted rate will be available until Monday, March 2.
Transportation to the Conference
By plane
Denver can be reached by commercial aviation through the Denver International Airport, which is a hub for United Airlines as well as Frontier.
How to get to the venue?
See the Map.
- By taxi: taxi from the airport to venue is about $50 USD
- From hotel: transport from the conference hotel (Hotel Teatro) by limo is free
- By car: there is plenty of parking at the Tivoli. Parking validation will be provided for registered SnowFROC participants.
Registration and Conference Fees
Due to the hard work of our organizers and the gracious support of our sponsors, SNOWFROC will once again be a FREE CONFERENCE!!!
Despite the fact that this is a free conference, we still need you to register to ensure that we don't exceed venue capacity.
Conference Committee
OWASP Conferences Chair: Dave Wichers - Aspect Security - dave.wichers 'at' owasp.org
SNOWFROC 2009 Planning Committee Chair: Kathy Thaxton - kthaxton 'at' owasp.org
Colorado Chapter Hosts:
- David Campbell - OWASP Denver - dcampbell 'at' owasp.org
- Eric Duprey - OWASP Denver - eduprey 'at' exploits.org
Vendor Exhibition Chair: Kathy Thaxton - kthaxton 'at' owasp.org
Capture the Flag Chair: Eric Duprey - eduprey 'at' exploits.org
CFP Chair: David Campbell - OWASP Denver - dcampbell 'at' owasp.org
Conference Sponsors
The following organizations are proud sponsors of this conference:
- Accuvant
- Breach
- Business Partner Solutions
- Denim Group
- Fishnet Security
- Imperva
- Laz
- Lares
- Trustwave
- WhiteHat Security
If you are interested in sponsoring this OWASP conference, please contact Kathy Thaxton at kthaxton 'at' owasp.org.
More information about conference sponsorship is available here.


text:
Nissan recalling nearly 152,000 SUVs to fix brakes
Staff Writer
The Columbus Dispatch
DETROIT (AP) — Nissan Motor Co. is recalling nearly 152,000 Nissan and Infiniti SUVs to fix faulty brake control software that could increase the risk of a crash.
The recall covers some Nissan Pathfinders from the 2013 and 2014 model years, as well as the 2013 Infiniti JX35 and its successor model, the 2014 QX60.
Nissan says that during light braking on rough roads, the antilock brake software could cause longer-than-expected stopping distances.
Nissan will notify owners within 60 days, and dealers will reprogram the antilock brakes free of charge.
Owners can contact Nissan at 800-647-7261.


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Stephen Vogt was drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in 12th round of the 2007 draft. Since the draft, Vogt has been able to steadily work his way up through the ranks of the Rays' system, all the way up to AAA Durham; where he currently resides. (This year with Durham, Vogt has posted a .269 batting average, with 9 home runs and 43 RBI's.)
Earlier this season Vogt received a taste of what it's like to play in the big leagues, as he spent 10 games with the Rays. Things didn't go as planned for Vogt, however, as he went hitless in all 17 of his at-bats; though he did put the ball in play in all but 2 of them.
Although his short stint in the Majors didn't go all that well, Vogt still has a good shot of making it back to the big leagues in the near future, if he can continue to post decent numbers. (Something he's been able to do fairly consistently throughout his baseball career.) He certainly has the work ethic, and determination to make it happen.
Stephen Vogt–utility man in the Tampa Bay Rays' organization–took the time recently to answer some of my questions:
1.) At what age did you first become interested in baseball? Who was your biggest baseball influence growing up?
I was always interested in playing baseball from a very early age. I loved playing anytime, all the time. My father and brother helped me the most at a young age.
2.) Who was your favorite baseball player growing up? Why?
Barry Bonds was my favorite player because I was a huge Giants fan and [he] is one of the greatest hitters of all time. Every time I went to watch him play it was the most exciting moment, whenever he stepped in the box.
3.) You were drafted by the Rays in the 12th round of the 2007 draft. What was that process like for you? Where were you when you found out? Initial thoughts?
I was a senior in college and was hoping to just get a chance to play. I was at my parents house with some friends and my wife just waiting to see my name pop up on the computer and fortunately it did.
4.) You made your MLB debut on April 6th of this year. How did you receive the news that you'd been called up? What do you remember from that game?
I was told by our hitting coach in AAA, Dave Myers, that I was going up and I immediately began to shake and just have an overwhelming excitement come over me. I remember getting my name announced with all the great players of the Rays and Yankees and thinking how honored I was to be there. My journey through baseball had so many twists and turns that I was just humbled and honored to be there.
5.) After spending 10 games with the Rays you were sent back down to AAA Durham. What aspect of your game are you currently working on most to hopefully help speed up your journey back to the big leagues?
I am working mostly on my quality of at bats. I learned a lot about hitting in my short stint in the big leagues to know how much more detailed everything has to be. At bats are much different than AAA.
6.) Playing at the Triple-A level, do you feel any more pressure to perform well in every game then you did in the lower ranks of the Rays' organization, when you weren't just a phone call away from 'The Show'?
The only pressure you feel is the pressure you put on yourself. I have to just relax and play the way I know how.
7.) Favorite thing to do on an off day during the season?
Nothing! Honestly the pool and a nice BBQ'd steak for dinner are what make me happy on off days.
8.) Favorite food?
Steak and potatoes.
9.) Favorite TV show?
White Collar and Saved by the Bell.
10.) Lastly, what advice would you give to kids who are just starting out that dream of playing professional baseball one day?
You have to love the game and be dedicated to working everyday to be the best you can be. In a professional season you will get worn out and tired and the love of the game and hard work will get you through any tough times you may have. Also, family will keep you focused on the goal. Without my wife Alyssa's support I would never be where I am today.
Big thanks to Stephen Vogt for taking the time to answer my questions.
You can follow him on twitter: @SVogt1229


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Reindeer dogs from Alaska's cranky hot dog vendor
Anchorage, Alaska — There's no shortage of hot dog stands hawking that spicy, oh-so-Alaska treat, the reindeer dog, in downtown Anchorage. But only one of them has consistently long lines.
M.A.'s Gourmet Dogs is owned by a guy with an attitude and seven types of tasty grilled dogs — including one with a little bit of Rudolph in it. The reindeer meat, too lean to hold together alone, is mixed with pork and beef. It's the hands-down crowd favorite, every bite delivering a pleasing crunchy pop.
This is Michael Anderson's hot dog stand, a mobile feast beneath a big green umbrella near the corner of Fourth Avenue and F Street, parked outside the Federal Building. He's been selling dogs downtown for 22 years during Alaska's summer tourist season, even on the rainiest days, and he's such a draw that an adjacent competitor started using a green umbrella too.
Just remember: Anderson has been called the "hot dog Nazi" more than once, a reference to the "soup Nazi" on the old "Seinfeld" TV series. The soup Nazi was a cranky soup vendor with lots of arbitrary rules, and Anderson has his own rules of engagement posted on a sign: End all cellphone talk at the counter, end all conversations with other diners when it's your turn, wait to order until "the wienie behind the stand asks for it," and finally, step to the right "and pay for this abuse." Signed: "XX00. M.A."
In other words, there's no time for indecision when you deal with this no-nonsense proprietor. Local customers probably make up 80 percent of Anderson's clientele as they grab a dog for lunch while taking a break from downtown office jobs, and they'll warn tourists what to expect. But many locals also think his is the best of several carts on the avenue, precisely because of his antics.
"If you think I'm mean, that's fine because it'll get you through the line quicker," Anderson said. "Then they can get their food and go back to work."
He's also known for playing games. On Maybe Mondays, maybe he'll be there or maybe he won't, giving Facebook followers an early heads-up about absences. If he's not working, people who show up will see a sign saying he's gone fishing. Toppings Tuesday will offer regular customers a surprise garnish. Sauteed garlic and bell peppers were a recent offering. And on Fridays, you can expect to see him in a kilt.
Besides the reindeer dogs, he offers beef, Polish, Italian sausage, Louisiana hotlinks, bratwurst and chicken linguica, a type of smoke-cured sausage. One of his specialty toppings is onions caramelized in Coke. Meal combos with chips and a drink are $7.75; the dogs alone are $6. There are no tables, but there's plenty of room to stand around, plus steps and planters to sit on.
There's even a real dog at the hot dog stand: Vivo, a 16-month-old lab-shepherd mix. He gets one beef dog a day, reminding Anderson with a little bark if he forgets.
Anderson has a suggestion box, too — or at least that's what it says on the nearby trashcan.


text:
Top Stories: Markets May Pause, Jobless Claims Rise, Clinton In Myanmar
Good morning.
Our early headlines:
-- Signs Signal Pause In Stock Market Rally.
-- Jobless Claims Pop Above 400,000.
-- Obama, Presidents Clinton And Bush To Mark 'World AIDS Day'.
-- Meth-For-Sex Charge Lands Former Sheriff In Jail Named For Him.
Other stories making headlines include:
-- "Clinton Pledges Improved Burma Ties If Reforms Continue." ( BBC News) [Burma is also known as Myanmar.]
-- "Early Results In Egypt Show A Mandate For Islamists."( The New York Times)
-- "More Charges Set" For Insider Trading Probe. ( The Wall Street Journal)
-- "Grammy Nominations: Adele And Bruno Mars Snag Nods In Top 3 Spots." ( The Record)
Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


text:
[This article was contributed by the SQL Azure team.]
The flexibility of SQL Azure database allows you to work with a myriad of applications from familiar Microsoft products to other programming languages such including PHP and Java . MSDN has written an article on some of the consideration guidelines that developers should be aware of when connecting to SQL Azure Database. I suggest that everyone read this article, just to be familiar with some of the basics.
Click here for the article on MSDN.


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Dumbarton Oaks Garden
Dumbarton Oaks is located in residential Georgetown. The original Federal-style house was purchased by Mr. and Mrs. Robert Woods Bliss in 1920. After buying the property, the Blisses altered it significantly, renovating and expanding it to include the Music Room and, eventually, the Museum. They worked with Beatrix Farrand to transform the land surrounding the house into terraced gardens and vistas.Read More


text:
We're sorry. We were unable to find any results for this page. Please give us a call for an up to date product list or try our Search and expand your criteria.
Some RV makes are not available at all locations. For details, contact the AC Nelsen location nearest you. We make every effort to show current and accurate data. Any price/listing may not show the most current transactions or may show an occasional data entry error. Inventory listed is subject to availability and prior sale, and prices are subject to change at any time. All prices plus government fees and taxes, any dealer document preparation charge, any finance charge and any emissions testing charges. Payment amounts *with approved credit. Prices subject to change, only prices that are contracted are final. Every effort is made to ensure accuracy for pricing and and equipment included on the units as the manufacturer has the right to change standard equipment and options at any time.


text:
After decades (yes, plural, it turns out) of maintaining a ridiculously out-of-date website on one host, I've switched over to WordPress.com.
Lots of traffic is probably looking for the Kafka resources and other things I had on the old site. I haven't moved it over yet, but will get to it eventually.
In the meantime, here's one of my favorite YouTube videos:


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On Sunday morning, Harriette Thompson, the 91-year-old marathoner, finished the Rock 'n' Roll San Diego Marathon in 7:07:42, the fastest time on record by a woman age 90 or older.
"I feel wonderful," Thompson told Runner's World Newswire. "I feel very relieved and I feel very anxious to take a shower and then fall into bed."
Thompson said she wasn't able to train as much as she would have liked because she recently finished up radiation treatment to treat squamous cell carcinoma on her legs, but she surprised herself.
More From Runner's World
"I found that the first 13 miles were very easy and then around mile 17 it became a little harder," she said. "I'm almost as surprised as everybody else."
Thompson's time was well under the previous fastest time in the women's 90-and-over division, 8:53:08, run by Mavis Lindgren at the 1997 Portland Marathon. The oldest female marathon finisher on record is Gladys Burrill, who ran the 2010 Honolulu Marathon in 9:53:16 at the age of 92.
Thompson's brother passed away in February from lymphoma, and since her marathon debut at 76, Thompson has run every year on behalf of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and Team In Training, generating more than $90,000.
"All I do is write a letter and [my friends] are all very generous," she said.
Thompson says she's looking forward to taking a shower and getting a good night's rest. Monday, she will celebrate her 67th wedding anniversary with her husband, Sydnor, 90, back in North Carolina.
Thompson said that, when she exercises, she just feels better. Her words of wisdom for other runners? "Sleep a lot and drink a lot of water."
Thompson said she doesn't think age should be a barrier for beginning exercise.
"You're never too old to do it," she said. "I started my first marathon at 76."
When asked if she has any other marathons planned, Thompson says she'll be back in San Diego next year "if I'm still here."
"I'll try and do better next year and be in better shape," she said.
Hannah is a former Social Media Editor for Runner's World. Hannah started running in February 2012 with a Couch-to-5K program and less than seven months later ran her first half-marathon. You can follow Hannah on Twitter @byHannahMcG.


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What's the largest engine in the world? Well, it depends from how you look at it. Thankfully, we have dedicated Jalopnik readers to help us finding the right answers.
So here we go, with everything from heavy oil burning monsters to steam turbines and some renewable energy thrown in for good measure.
10.) The Largest Production Motorcycle Engine
Dewalt 20V Max Cordless Drill & Driver Kit
#1 Best-seller
Comes equipped with an LED which goes on when the trigger is pulled. You'll a clear view of whatever you are drilling or screwing with minimal shadows.
How big: 2.3 liters
How powerful: 140 horsepower
You would expect this trophy to land at an American company like Harley Davidson, and yes, Boss Hoss Cycles indeed makes choppers powered by GM small- and big block crate engines. If you don't think a Chevy big block crammed into a bike counts, the largest "proper" motorcycle engine is the British Triumph Rocket III's water-cooled three-cylinder producing 150 lb·ft of torque.
Suggested By: 472CID, Photo Credit: Wikipedia
9.) The Largest Current Production Car Engine
How big: 8.4 liters
How powerful: 640 horsepower
Congratulations Chrysler! Nobody else is crazy enough to put a 8.4-liter V10 into a production vehicle, but you've done it again. Naturally, General Motors comes to the rescue if you need even more, with the Chevrolet "572" 9.2 V8 crate engine.
Suggested By: in a mini let them mock me, as I dragon it, Photo Credit: saebaryo
8.) The Largest Radial Aero Engine
How big: 127 liters
How powerful: 5,000 horsepower
Say hi to the Lycoming XR-7755! Gamecat235 knows what happened to this baby:
It was meant for the B-36, but after they produced two, it was dropped in favor for a different design. I almost included it in my B-36 write up, but decided against it as it was just one more esoteric fact.
Make sure to read his full story.
Suggested By: Gamecat235, Photo Credit: Consolidated Aircraft Corporation
7.) The Largest Wind Motor
How big: 505 feet in diameter
How powerful: 8,046 horsepower
Siemens makes almost everything in connection with electricity, but the SWT-6.0-154 must be one of their largest products yet. It also keeps pandas alive, sort of. Read all about it here!
Suggested By: BigHarv, Photo Credit: Siemens AG
6.) The Largest (By Length) Steam Locomotive Engine
How big: 85 feet 3.4 inches long
How powerful: tractive effort was 135,375 lbf (11,281 ft-lb)
Union Pacific Railroad's 4000-class 4-8-8-4 articulated steam locomotives, commonly known as the 'Big Boys' were built between 1941 and 1945. 25 went into service, with the last ride ending in 1959. By that time, diesel power replaced steam, bu.
Suggested By: f86sabre, Photo Credit:hugh llewelyn
5.) The Largest Locomotive Engine
How big: 83 feet 6.5 inches long
How powerful: 4,500-8,500 horsepower (3rd. generation)
I can't explain the "Big Blow" better than Union Pacific themselves:
It was very inefficient and used highly sensitive fuel oil and there are stories of them melting bridges when parked running on top of them. The last ride was in 1969.
Suggested By: My X-type is too a real Jaguar, Photo Credit: Wikipedia 1,2.
4.) The Largest Industrial Turbine Engine
How big: You will need a nuclear power station to hold it
How powerful: 2,346,788 horsepower
This is the 1750 MWe ARABELLE turbine generator, which converts wet steam from a French nuclear generator into electricity. The blades alone weigh 176 pounds. That's a lot of rotors from the French.
Suggested By: wankelwanker and BigHarv, Photo Credit: Alstrom
3.) The Largest Rocket Engine
How big: 18.5-feet for the engine, 363 feet tall with the full rocket
How powerful: 190 million horsepower
When you want to go to the moon, you need a big engine. The Saturn V was the biggest they ever made.
Suggested By: John Coctostan and f86sabre, Photo Credit: Boeing
2.) The Largest Car Engine Of All Time
How big: 28.3 liters
How powerful: 300 horsepower
Yes, there are some cars with larger airplane engines out there, but this Fiat is the real deal. According to Team DAN, this is what you need to know:
Built in the winter of 1910/11 by Fiat to take on the Blitzen Benz, it featured a four cylinde 28.3 litre engine (190x250mm). Two of these cars were built. Number 1 was purchased by the Russian Prince Boris Soukhanov late 1911, but after the Russian revolution it went to Australia where it was fitted with a Stutz engine until it was crashed in 1924. Number 2 was retained by Fiat, but was scrapped in 1920, only the engine being kept.
Suggested By: TheBaron2112, Photo Credit: Fiat
1.) The Largest Marine Engine
How big: 89 feet long and 44 feet wide, 1,820 liters per cylinder, 10,920 to 25,480 liters total
How powerful: 107,389 horsepower
The Finnish Wärtsilä-Sulzer RTA96-C powers the largest vessels in the world. It's a two-stroke turbo running on heavy fuel oil and it can be configured with six to fourteen cylinders. Brian, The Life of had this to add:
Consuming more than 39 barrels of oil per hour, it costs $34/minute to run. Wow!
Wow indeed!
Suggested By: Brian, The Life of , Photo Credit: Wärtsilä
Welcome back to Answers of the Day - our daily Jalopnik feature where we take the best ten responses from the previous day's Question of the Day and shine it up to show off. It's by you and for you, the Jalopnik readers. Enjoy!
Top Photo Credit: NASA via Bryan K


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A juicy burger glazed with a sweet soy reduction, topped with cheese, kimchi, and quick pickled carrots and cucumbers.
Note: You can cut matchsticks by hand or use a mandoline. Alternatively, grate cucumbers and carrots on the large holes of a box grater or in a food processor fitted with the large grating attachment.
Recipe Facts
- 1 small cucumber, seeds removed, cut into thin matchsticks (about 1 cup, see note)
- 1 small carrot, peeled, cut into thin matchsticks (about 1 cup, see note)
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- 18 ounces freshly ground chuck
- 1 recipe bulgogi-style marinade, or 1/2 cup store-bought bulgogi sauce
- 4 slices American cheese
- 4 burger buns
- 1/2 cup chopped kimchi
- 1/4 cup thinly sliced scallions
Combine cucumber, carrot, 1 teaspoon salt, sugar, and vinegar in a medium bowl and toss to combine. Set aside.
Divide meat into four even piles and shape into burger patties about 1/2-inch wider than burger buns. Season generously with salt and pepper and set aside.
Light one chimney full of charcoal. When all the charcoal is lit and covered with gray ash, pour out and spread the coals evenly over half of coal grate. Alternatively, set half the burners of a gas grill to high heat. Set cooking grate in place, cover grill and allow to preheat for 5 minutes. Clean and oil the grilling grate.
Place burgers directly over hot side of grill and cook until well charred, about 2 minutes. Flip patties and brush with sauce. Cook on second side until well charred, about 2 minutes longer, brushing with sauce occasionally. Flip burgers again, transfer to cooler side of grill, brush with more syrup, and continue to cook, brushing with sauce occasionally, until patty registers 125°F to 130°F on an instant read thermometer for medium rare, about 5 minutes total, or 135°F to 140°F for medium, about 6 minutes total. Top each burger patty with 1 slice cheese, then transfer to a large plate and tent with aluminum foil.
Toast buns directly over hot side of grill until browned, about 30 seconds.
Place bottom buns on a cutting board and top with burger patties. Top each burger with chopped kimchi, pickled carrots/cucumber, and scallions. Drizzle with more sauce. Close sandwiches and serve.


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Walk number 28 in Charles Fleming's Secret Stairs East Bay winds around the fine homes and hills of Piedmont along the valleys of Wildwood and Bushy Dell creeks. Here's the route, shown on the Google Maps topo base.
The first and last part of the loop is in the watershed of Wildwood Creek while the rest is in the Bushy Dell Creek watershed. (They run down Lakeshore and Grand Avenues respectively, separated by Warfield ridge, and combine down at Lake Merritt where their names are sunk in bronze by the pergola.) Geologically, the walk covers the uppermost part of the big Pleistocene alluvial fan and the edge of the Franciscan bedrock block that underlies most of Piedmont.
We start at the Lakeshore-Winsor split in the stream valley and make our way toward the divide. On Portsmouth Road the high ground of the bedrock zone stands out ahead.
At the far end is a steep climb to Wildwood Avenue, where we can look back across the stream valley to the ridge topped by Calmar Avenue, on the Oakland side of the city line.
Turning the other way, we look over the valley of Bushy Dell Creek. Once a large formal garden, this part of the valley was filled and leveled for its current use as a sports complex. It appears never to have been a quarry, unlike Dracena Park to the north or Davie Tennis Stadium to the south.
We turn upstream along the creek, where the land is relatively untouched. Just above this spot is the site of what was reputed as a sulfur spring.
The geologic setting doesn't really give much support for the presence of a proper sulfur spring like the one in Walnut Creek, but after all this time the question is moot. Certainly I didn't notice any odor. The grotto was very pleasant anyway, and there's real bedrock all around. It's mapped as Franciscan sandstone of the Novato Quarry terrane.
The route goes farther up and takes a loop past a pair of boulders.
Take a close look at these: they're genuine Oakland-style blueschist, globs of old ocean crust that have been carried tens of kilometers down into the earth along a subduction zone, then spat back out, possibly more than once. (The details are at the bleeding edge of California geology.) The one boulder displays good color and mineralogy:
The other has some nice slickensides to show us.
Coming back downstream and past the baseball diamond, we pass the entrance to the football field. The view looks down the valley toward the lake and downtown.
Near here we can see more exposures of the sandstone bedrock, but soon afterward the route returns to the alluvial fan. The two substrates make subtly different topography, but that can be hard to see given the heavily landscaped landscape.
Palm Drive offers a picturesque farewell view of the Bushy Dell Creek valley.
Again we cross the divide between the two watersheds at Wildwood Avenue. The near valley is accentuated by glimpses of the higher hills.
I never get tired of this stuff.
Here's the route in more detail.


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|Novosoft Office Backup - Data Backup Software
Automatic data backup to DVD, CD, USB, HD DVD, Blu-ray, FTP or SFTP
Novosoft Office Backup - Data Backup Software
Office Backup is a backup software designed for automatic backing up data of PCs running Windows operating systems. It allows you to protect important data from loss or damage by regularly creating backups and storing them to secured storage media or servers. And then, if something happens to your PC, you will be able to restore all information in a matter of minutes.
With Office Backup you can perform both files-based and image-based backup of your HDD. The program has a simple Wizard-driven interface and can be easily utilized by users of all levels of computer expertise. It provides an easy way to enable backup compression, encryption, and to schedule tasks to take place automatically. Supported OS include Windows 7/Vista/XP/2000 and Windows Server 2008/2003/2000.
NEW! Grand premiere! Novosoft Office Backup 4 is officially released! The latest version of the popular office backup utility features the handy expansion of cloud backup features (explore backup to Amazon S3 and manual-registration-free Cloud Storage by Novosoft) and the hottest advanced backup options (MSSQL backup, Outlook hot backup, support of Volume Shadow Copy for MS Exchange backup, and more).
For details, feel warmly welcome to check the News.
In addition to FTPS and DiscHub, Office Backup supports backing up to the following media and servers:
Since some features of the utility are aimed at experienced IT users, we have decided to divide its functions into two separate editions: one tailored for needs of Home Users and another for IT Professionals.
Copyright 2004- Novosoft LLC


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Defining "Fair" in Trail Races
Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! Download the app.
Editors' Choice: June Blog Symposium on what constitutes an unfair advantage
Are pacers an unfair advantage? Photo by Big Stock Photo.
Editor's Note: The original version of this piece appeared at Run More, Talk Less and is our top pick among entries into the June Trail Runner Blog Symposium: "What constitutes an "unfair advantage" in a trail race, and what—if anything—should be done to even the playing field?"
In commenting on a recent pre-Western States 100 interview on iRunFar with Dave Mackey, Nick Clark and Ian Sharman, I mentioned how I'd love Clarkie and Mackey to go for broke and make it happen. Why? Because they are guys with real jobs and families (spouses and kids).
I was counter-commented with, "Running coaching is a real job too, just not with a steady paycheck." Yes, it is. I should know, I have that one … as well as a real job, i.e. one that requires a certain number of hours every week at an office. In this country, that means at least 40 hours a week, plus a commute, which can easily take 10 hours, typically daylight hours, out of your potential running time each day.
What is the advantage of either not working (or having a significant other or parent to support you financially) or working from home? You can get however many hours of sleep you need and get out the door for a run whenever you feel fit—and for however many hours/miles your training calls for. For the rest of the world, it is either 4-5 a.m. wake-up calls and stumbling in the dark, late-night runs after dinner settles, or a quickie at lunch hour.
But is it an unfair advantage?
Absolutely not. It is each of our individual choices what to do in life—whether to work full-time regular hours, or live off scraps that maybe a sponsor provides while you're in peak, or a spousal salary, or a loan you hope to repay in the future. We might opt to run a business that allows us fewer and more flexible working hours, but it might also entail insanely more hours, like Devon and Nathan Yanko's new bakery.
Then we must take into account families, and, in particular, families with kids—those snot-and-tears munchkins who demand more of our presence, by far!
I should know, too, as I began my running journey when my kids were aged five and 10. I had no sleepless nights by then, and though I was bound to their school activities and sport practices, I was still able to get runs around baseball and soccer fields while still watching them and being "present." But even then, quality was often missed, as well as trails. Long runs began at 4 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, to ensure being home by late morning.
Is it unfair, then, to be single or married without kids? Absolutely not. Again, these are choices we make.
Are pacers in the later stages of an ultra an advantage? Ask Karl Meltzer. The king of 100-mile races prefers to run alone and advocates for it. Beyond simple safety, consider that a runner with a pacer has an extra pair of eyes to navigate the course. Some set the pace (literally), some remind to drink/eat, some even lend their flashlights, as happened to a runner at the San Diego 100-Miler. Would that runner have finished in the same time/place otherwise?
Sometimes, though, a pacer can be disadvantage. It is an extra worry: "Is my pacer having fun?" What if a pacer led you off course? What if your pacer is not fit for that amount of miles/time/terrain, and you feel guilty leaving them behind? Whatever it is, advantage or not, if it's allowed, it is fair. Let's live with it.
Same goes for crew. While I prefer to run by myself, and have become efficient utilizing aid stations and my drop bags, a crew is totally beneficial. It is an advantage, but is legal, so indeed a fair one.
What else could be construed as an advantage?
A GPS device that allows you to make correct turns.
An iron stomach is an awesome thing.
High VO2max as well.
Feet that don't blister easily.
Kidneys that don't fail.
A clear mind to make right choices while you run.
So, after all, what is unfair? Anything that is forbidden by race management!
Drugs, first and foremost. I don't care where you stand in "normal" life on use of some of them, but if a race follows USATF or RRCA rules, get a list. Despite Trail Runner's recent article on marijuana use on the trails, it is still illegal in most trail races. All those blood-doping drugs are as well.
When your pacer carries stuff for you and gives it to you (and without which you would have slowed down or stopped), including but not limited to fuel, water, salt, clothes, lights … unless the race explicitly permits such "muling" from pacers.
Cutting the course. Big no-no!
Using personal crew away from aid stations.
Using something stashed ahead of time at certain points.
Frankly I am not sure if much can be done besides what is being done. Nor do I want to think about it. I pride myself on being "old school," and just wish quietly we stay old school forever.


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Native Plants
Search for native plants by scientific name, common name or family. If you are not sure what you are looking for, try the Combination Search or our Recommended Species lists.
Vitis mustangensis
Vitis mustangensis Buckley
Mustang Grape
Vitaceae (Grape Family)
Synonym(s): Vitis candicans, Vitis candicans var. diversa, Vitis mustangensis var. diversa
USDA Symbol: vimu2
USDA Native Status: L48 (N)
A common and easily recognized grape with a white, velvety surface on the lower side of the leaves. A vine climbing over shrubs and into trees and often shading their leaves. Leaves in two forms: one form unlobed or shallowly lobed, and the other form deeply lobed, with the latter less common and on rapidly growing shoots. The lower surface of the unlobed leaves often concave. Grapes up to 3/4 inch in diameter, few to the bunch, ripening in August and September to dark purple, and usually bitter, even irritating, but popular with makers of homemade wine.
From the Image Gallery
Plant CharacteristicsDuration: Perennial
Habit: Vine
Leaf Retention: Deciduous
Size Notes: Climber, stems up to about 50 feet long.
Bloom InformationBloom Color: White , Red
Bloom Time: Apr , May , Jun
DistributionUSA: AL , AR , LA , OK , TX
Native Habitat: Woodlands' edge, Opening, Thickets, Stream, river bank, Fence rows
Growing ConditionsWater Use: Medium
Light Requirement: Part Shade
Soil Moisture: Dry
Soil Description: Limestone-based, Clay, Clay Loam, Medium Loam, Sandy Loam, Sandy
BenefitUse Ornamental: Twines on fences & other plants, Fruits ornamental
Use Wildlife: Fruit-birds, Fruit-small mammals
Conspicuous Flowers: yes
Fragrant Flowers: yes
Mr. Smarty Plants says
Edible plants native to Austin, TX
August 05, 2009
Hello, I am a chef from Buenos Aires Argentina visiting Austin, Texas and would like to learn about native, edible plants in the region. Please let me know if there are any native, edible plants...
view the full question and answer
Grapes Grown from Seed
July 21, 2006
Can mustang grapes be grown from seed? If so, how is the best way and when is the best time to do it?
view the full question and answer
From the National Organizations DirectoryAccording to the species list provided by Affiliate Organizations, this plant is on display at the following locations:
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - Austin, TX
Pineywoods Native Plant Center - Nacogdoches, TX
Brackenridge Field Laboratory - Austin, TX
Patsy Glenn Refuge - Wimberley, TX
Nueces River Authority - Uvalde, TX
Stengl Biological Research Station - Smithville, TX
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department - Austin, TX
Texas Master Naturalists - Lost Pines Chapter - Bastrop, TX
NPSOT - Austin Chapter - Austin, TX
Jacob's Well Natural Area - Wimberley, TX
NPSOT - Williamson County Chapter - Georgetown, TX
Herbarium Specimen(s)NPSOT 0095 Collected April 14, 1987 in Bexar County by Harry Cliffe
BibliographyBibref 354 - Native & Naturalized Woody Plants of Austin & the Hill Country (1981) Lynch, D.
Bibref 318 - Native Texas Plants: Landscaping Region by Region (2002) Wasowski, S. & A. Wasowski
Bibref 281 - Shinners & Mahler's Illustrated Flora of North Central Texas (1999) Diggs, G. M.; B. L. Lipscomb; B. O'Kennon; W. F...
Bibref 291 - Texas Wildscapes: Gardening for Wildlife (1999) Damude, N. & K.C. Bender
Search More Titles in Bibliography
From the ArchiveWildflower Newsletter 1993 VOL. 10, NO.6 - Saving Trees and Plants at New Center Site a Big Job, Director's Report, Wildflo...
Additional resourcesUSDA: Find Vitis mustangensis in USDA Plants
FNA: Find Vitis mustangensis in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Vitis mustangensis
MetadataRecord Modified: 2017-11-09
Research By: LAL


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We are also proud to introduce a Bike Map for the Medford campus to help you avoid the nastiest uphill climbs and improve your biking experience here at Tufts. Whether you bike for fun, to save time, save money, reduce your carbon footprint, or simply exercise, we think you'll find something here to interest and help you.
Happy Spring! (It's about time, right?)


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DON NOBLE: Tuscaloosans past and present should pick this up
A novel called "Leaving Tuscaloosa" is simply irresistible to a resident, past or present, of Tuscaloosa. Bennett, who grew up in Tuscaloosa and has had a long career as a lawyer, law professor and judge, now lives in Chapel Hill, N.C., and has studied fiction writing with Lee Smith, among others.
He begins the novel, his first, with a map of Tuscaloosa so the reader can follow the action, from University Boulevard (which he calls Main Street) to 15th Street, to Hackberry to Queen City. Some action takes place in what he calls the Red Elephant restaurant on 10th Avenue — not yet Paul W. Bryant Boulevard —which was The Corner. Kids neck in the cemetery down the street. The railroad tracks play a large part, and the black section of town, called Cherrytown, south across the tracks, is the center of the action.
Throughout the long hot days and nights of this novel the local paper mill fills the town with its "pulpy smell" like "the breath of a disease." This intensifies the general feeling of suffocation and decay.
Set in 1962, this is a race novel, and a lot of what happens and the characters who perform the actions seem, at least at first, familiar, from the evening news and many Southern novels.
"Leaving Tuscaloosa" is a cut above the average, however. As the story progresses, the reader is drawn in by a large cast of mostly damaged characters who become increasingly complicated and interesting, and the novel moves from predictable to something like inevitable, from events that are disturbing and violent to a climax that approaches the tragic.
For a first novel this is a real accomplishment.
The action begins with a carload of bored white boys on a Friday night, driving around and drinking beer and up to no good. Their stupid prank, throwing an egg at a black preacher walking along the road, turns catastrophic. The preacher dies of a heart attack.
The teen who threw the egg, a high school pitching ace, Richeboux Branscomb, called Bo, is not an evil, racist kid. He is himself depressed, lives with his depressed, unhappy mother and his violent stepfather while his shallow, materialistic, remarried father — who left after Bo's sister Leigh died of leukemia — pursues further wealth developing a golf course and housing development just across the Black Warrior River in Northport. At the close, Bo is described as "a boy with a not-quite-dead spark of humanity."
As a younger boy Bo had had a black friend, Acee, but in Deep South, Faulknerian style, the friendship had to end at puberty. Acee Waites, we are told, also has a dead sister, Annie, who died of diphtheria, and early in the novel his older brother, Raiford, becomes a fugitive after killing a deputy in self-
Intelligent, impatient, and angry, Raiford was emerging as a charismatic civil rights leader out in rural Tuscaloosa County, organizing and demonstrating. Raiford, however, is more Black Panther than Martin Luther King Jr. Acee, also intelligent but, additionally, artistic — he works creating metal sculpture with a welding torch and might have a future as an sculptor — has been chosen by Preacher John Gryce as The One. Preacher Gryce believes Acee should become a preacher, a Moses who can lead his people to freedom right there in Tuscaloosa. This is a terrible and mortally dangerous commitment.
Keeping Raiford from being lynched is the heart of the novel. The chief deputy, a giant named Sugarman Starnes, is violent and sadistic to a frightening degree, the apotheosis of meanness, but Bennett also gives him a tortured childhood in which his grandmother beat him regularly with "a harness strap." Starnes has a limp, carries a whip handle, has no regard for the niceties of law and makes Simon Legree look like a social worker.
It may all sound at first like melodrama but it has more depth than that. Even though the material seems used sometimes, this novel finally poses the important question, especially for Acee: stay home and give his life to the movement or leave Tuscaloosa?
This review was originally broadcast on Alabama Public Radio. Don Noble is host of the Alabama Public Television literary interview show "Bookmark" and the editor of "A State of Laughter: Comic Fiction from Alabama."
Author: Walter Bennett Publisher: Fuze Publishing Pages: 313 Price: $16.95 (Paper)


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You know better than to judge a book by its cover. Sizing up a person by his or her shoes, however, might at times be justified. A new study found that people deduce certain characteristics of strangers with better-than-chance accuracy based solely on their footwear. One group of study participants completed a personality survey and provided pictures of the shoes they wear most frequently. A second group then viewed the pictures and rated the shoes' owners on various characteristics. Their guesses were accurate regarding age, gender, income and attachment anxiety. For instance, the volunteers perceived correctly that shoes with visible brand names most often belonged to men and stylish shoes to women with high incomes. They also figured out that people who provided pictures of the shoes on their own feet were more emotionally stable. The findings were published in the August Journal of Research in Personality.
But take heed: "Some shoe characteristics did correlate with the shoe owners' personality traits and personal characteristics, but observers picked up only on about half of these cues," says Angela Bahns, assistant professor of psychology at Wellesley College and one of the study authors. Shoes may help form a first impression, but avoid assuming too much—you might end up shooting yourself in the foot.


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Cassis is a charming village by the sea with merchants offering an array of beach wear and everyday fashions, souvenirs and plenty of delicious sea food. Durade! Durade! Durade! Most notably, Cassis is best known for its white wine. The beautiful turquoise waters offers an opportunity to enjoy a bit of the Mediterranean by boat for day trips to the Calanques, rentals for kayaking along the rocky shore lines or just taking casual dips in the water. Cold at first but once you're in, its hard getting out from a sea swim with the ease of a rolling tide. Like to hike? There's plenty of that. There are miles and miles of guided trials. For a stunning view drive or walk up to Cap Canaille, the highest coastal cliff in France.
I had the opportunity of visiting this bustling village for 4 days during the last week in August. Yes, its taken me months to update my blog. But I've been out of touch and then I just got really busy and then tired from being busy. 1st off, I didn't have internet for over a month when moving into a new apartment. Just the internet I had on my iPhone. (Thank you instagram! You've been my photography outlet!) Then I started a job in the evenings and then school started and is every weekday for 5 hours each day and yada, yada, yada.. excuses, excuses. I mean, how long does it take to upload a post? For those that have a blog… you understand it takes nearly an hour at least! Include your editing of photos and formatting, it can't take hours. Frankly, after an 1/2 of constructing a post, I need a break. But with my 4 day weekend and a cold virus to fight through, I'm updating my web journal now…finally. Next post? Aix En Province BABY!


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Cooking Gifts for Mom
(Family Features) From those irresistible homemade cookies to favorite meals that always warm the heart; no one knows their way around the kitchen quite like mom. While thinking of what to give your favorite lady for Mother's Day this year, consider gifts that allow her to tap into her inner foodie, chef or baker.
Everyone knows the best gifts are those that keep on giving. Cook for the Cure, a 13-year partnership between KitchenAid and Susan G. Komen(r), has raised more than $9.5 million for the fight against breast cancer. In 2014, KitchenAid will donate $450,000 or more to Komen through the Cook for the Cure program, regardless of sales. The Cook for the Cure product collection, ranging from pink stand mixers and blenders to pink food choppers and hand blenders, is an easy way to give thanks to mom, and raise awareness towards a cause that affects so many women.
For other gift ideas that help support the cause, visit www.KitchenAid.com and https://cookforthecure.kitchenaid.com/.
Simply Adorable Serveware
Featuring artwork by PBS cooking show host Jacques Pepin, the Pass the Plate serving platter generates a $5 donation each time one of these individually numbered platters is passed and registered online. Plus, participants can also track its travels. With its fresh and cheery design, this unique serving piece makes sharing even more fun. A great gift for mom, the platter ($24.95) is available at Villeroy & Boch stores or by calling 1-888-886-8318.
Blending Style with Power
With its roomy, 60-ounce patented diamond pitcher design and stainless steel blades, the 5-Speed Diamond Blender in Raspberry Ice creates a powerful vortex to thoroughly blend everything from soups to smoothies. Automatic Soft Start technology pulls ingredients into the blade rather than splattering them outward, keeping them together for controlled blending. This colorful blender ($179.99) offers stir, chop, puree, liquefy and pulse options – everything mom needs to create her favorite dishes.
An Essential, Everyday Tool
If some of her best culinary creations include savory sauces and delicious dips, Mother's Day is the perfect opportunity to treat mom to an upgrade. This 3.5-cup Food Chopper in Cranberry is convenient for everyday use and takes up minimal space in the kitchen. With two speed settings and one-touch chop and puree options, this chopper ($49.99) is ideal for creating a scrumptious salsa, creamy hummus or tangy pesto sauce.
Timeless Kitchen Addition
Add a pop of pink to mom's kitchen with a classic gift that will last for years. With a 5-quart capacity bowl, the Artisan Series stand mixer can handle multiple batches of dough, while its 10 speed settings allow cooks to knead, mix and whip a variety of foods and ingredients. With additional attachments that can make everything from pasta to ice cream, this mixer ($429.99) let's mom bake to her heart's content.
Handy Little Helper
Whether you need to blend up a milkshake or puree cooked vegetables directly in the pot, this 2-Speed Hand Blender in Cranberry gets the job done with ease. Two speeds provide blending control for more delicate foods, such as smoothies and baby food. The blending arm twists off for quick and easy cleanup. This hand blender ($59.99) comes with a 3-cup BPA-free jar with lid, so mom can blend away, safely.
(people photo)
Photo courtesy of Getty Images