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Why is Doug Gottlieb Picking Cal as a Top Ten Team?Posted by Andrew Murawa on October 23rd, 2013
It's the time of year where everybody and their brother are locking in their picks for the upcoming college basketball season. You've got All-America teams and conference projections and Top 25s. And it is all good fun. And I get it, you don't want to have roughly the same picks as everybody else; at some point you want to go out on a limb and say, "Hey, this may be completely wrong, but I've got a hunch about Player A or Team B." And that's cool. And that's fun. But. Doug Gottlieb, who is more often right than he is wrong and has probably forgotten more about the sport than I'll ever know, picked California 10th – in the nation, mind you, not the conference. And now I'm completely befuddled and I'm looking at the Golden Bears and I'm thinking to myself: "What the hell is he seeing that I am missing?"
Now, don't get me wrong, there is clearly plenty of talent on that roster. Point guard Justin Cobbs returns for his senior year. Freshman Jabari Bird is one of the most highly regarded rookie wings in the nation. There's a pair of returning upperclassman starters up front in Richard Solomon and David Kravish. And there are plenty of other interesting pieces, like versatile sophomore wing Tyrone Wallace, and talented, if oft-injured shooter Ricky Kreklow. And Bird's not the only freshman expected to make an impact, with Jordan Mathews likely to step right into a big role and seven-footer Kameron Rooks coming along far more quickly than had been previously expected. And, perhaps most importantly, head coach Mike Montgomery is a wizard who routinely gets the most out of his teams. But 10th? In the nation? Huh?
This is a Cal team that lost the reigning Pac-12 Player of the Year in Allen Crabbe. Cobbs, while a talented veteran, has been erratic at times at the head of the offense. It's true that Wallace is athletic and skilled and has great upside, but last time we saw him he was shooting 22% from three and just 53% from the line. Those upperclassman big men? I like the duo, but within reason; they combined to average 16.8 points and 13.7 rebounds in 55.7 minutes of action last season, not exactly setting the world on fire. And those freshmen? Yeah, well, they're freshmen. There's a lot of potential on this roster for good things, but as of right now, it is hard to say this team projects as significantly better this season than the Cal team from last year that wasn't even in the "others receiving votes" section of the final Top 25 poll, or the previous season when they clocked in at #24 in the final poll after getting bounced in a 54-point First Four game.
Still, maybe Gottlieb knows something. After all, his brother, Gregg Gottlieb, is a trusted assistant on Montgomery's staff. I don't want to throw my lot in with the message board posters who break out the "he only picked Cal that high because his brother is on the staff" comments, but maybe Doug has heard great things from the offseason workouts and practices. Maybe Bird is ready to step in and drop 20 a night. Maybe Rooks is going to be a force on both ends of the court from day one. Maybe Mathews is going to blow up. Maybe Wallace has found a jumper. Maybe Kreklow is going to be healthy. Maybe things are going to suddenly click to the tune of 16 points and 10 boards a night for Solomon. But for my money, that an awful lot of maybes for me to buy Cal as a top 10 team.


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Among the many hundreds of Italian vines there is a pecking order. Some are more important than others. Often, the ones in power don't shy away from letting the subjacent ones know who is on top.
In Italy, Nebbiolo and Sangiovese are the Chairman and the CEO. But not just any Nebbiolo or Sangiovese. The Nebbiolo must come from the Langhe, preferably Barolo or Barbaresco. And Sangiovese, while prolific, must be from the right neighborhood, Montalcino. Everywhere else is the other side of the tracks.
If you are Montepulciano or Nero d'Avola, what are the chances you'll make it to the ruling class? You might have breeding and pedigree, but location is paramount. You have to come from the right place. And knowing one's place in Italy's viticultural society is vital to one's status.
Let's look at the ladder of dominance, from the perspective of a common grape, Trebbiano. Known for its ubiquity over its rarity, this grape was written off years ago for being light and thin and acidic, possessing little character. Yes, there are a few producers in Abruzzo who have been able to coerce nobility out of their plantings, like Pepe and Valentini. They'll make it to Baron or Count, but never to King or Queen.
"It's the way of the world," a cellar master in Abruzzo once told me. "You are born where you are born and you live the life you were meant to live. Kings and millionaires don't always have the greatest life." The cellar master was a humble man, a peasant, who rose up in his village to commandeer the cellar of a small estate. But he never forgot who was in charge of the land. "We don't own these vines, those belong to the wealthy land owners," he once remarked as we were walking the vineyards. "They are down at the beach, eating fresh seafood and playing bocce ball in their swim shorts. They take long naps; they put on three or four kilos in the month of August. And when they come back for harvest they are sluggish from their leisure. Just like their crus, the important wines we make for them in their small French barrels." It took me years to understand what he was driving at. Now it is very clear.
Even if you have the blood of royalty in your grape line, like Sangiovese or Nebbiolo, this isn't an automatic shoo in to the board of directors. That is the realm of executive platinum class, the Barolos, the Brunellos. And all the rest fall in place after, like a seating or an org-chart.
What about a wine like Vino Nobile (di Montepulciano)? Isn't it almost as great as a Brunello? To some yes, but to those who set (the rules of) the table, they don't get a place at it.
So even if you come to the areas regarded as the highest level of status in regards to producing wines from grapes, one still might not have access to the executive dining room. Piero Antinori said in an interview with Charlie Arturaola at Vinitaly, "My family in the 14th century started to produce wine." In 26 generations one can get a leg up on the latecomers, not only in their embrace of the land and the vines, but also in the upper stratum of the society. A cowherd from Ragusa has many generations of uphill struggle to arrive at a point even remotely near a family with that track record.
And so it goes with the hundreds of lesser players, from Barbera to Canaiolo, Vermentino to Grillo and Cococciola to Nero d'Avola.
My last trip to Sicily was a revelation in the class structure of grapes, wine and men. Even in the contradas around Etna there was a pecking order that I didn't know existed. A winegrower I was with, as we passed a winery would say, "He's from Tuscany, he's not from here." If a winemaker was from 90 minutes away in Central Sicily, he was also considered an "outsider." If the class structure has drilled down to the contrada level, one can only imagine the dramas being played out in Barolo and Montalcino.
Back in Abruzzo, with the cellar master, after we had picked and eaten some fresh figs on the property, he remarked to me, "They think they're going to live forever. If they own 200 hectares in Abruzzo or the top vineyard in Piedmont, they all will have the same fate as you and me. This they cannot buy their way out of."
As he led me to a table outside, near his beloved vines, the breeze from the sea cooled as it rolled up the hill. His wife had set a table with fresh vegetables, and a bottle of fresh white, a Trebbiano from Abruzzo, was opened.
"What they have obtained in this world is great, but what they can never buy is health, humility, simplicity, happiness. Yes, their beds are softer and their pillows have more feathers in them, but that won't assure them of restful dreams, or that they will even wake up in the morning."
What I have learned over the years from the cellar master, my guru from Abruzzo, is to know your place, in the vineyard, at the table and in the universe.
My old pal the cellar master, he knows his place. And I will gladly sit at his table and take my place. Anytime.
written and photographed by Alfonso Cevola limited rights reserved On the Wine Trail in Italy
wine blog + Italian wine blog + Italy W

subset: commoncrawl


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[Updated at 8:45 p.m. ET] An Egyptian-American man behind the inflammatory film "Innocence of Muslims" on Wednesday was sentenced to one year in federal prison after admitting to violating the terms of his probation from a 2010 bank fraud case.
Mark Basseley Youssef also was ordered to serve four years of supervised release after his prison term. The sentencing by Judge Christina Snyder came in a Los Angeles federal court after a hearing Wednesday in which Youssef admitted using an alias, which prosecutors said violated his probation.
The amateur filmmaker from Cerritos, California, was identified in initial news accounts in September as Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, the name used in the bank fraud case. But the probation revocation case lists the defendant as Mark Basseley Youssef, which the filmmaker stated in court is his legal name.
In a plea deal, Youssef admitted to using a name other than his legal one; possessing a driver's license under the Nakoula name; possessing a fraudulent driver's license; and falsely telling his probation officer last month that he hadn't used the name of Sam Bacile, a name he allegedly used in making the controversial film.
While on probation, Youssef was prohibited from using any other name without consent of his probation officer.
Youssef's attorney, Steven Seiden, told reporters Wednesday that his client pleaded guilty in part because he wanted to save all parties the expense of going to trial. Prosecutors agreed to dismiss four other charges.
Youssef garnered international attention following protests against the "Innocence of Muslims" film throughout the Muslim world. The amateurish film portrays the Prophet Mohammed as a womanizer, buffoon, ruthless killer and child molester. Islam categorically forbids any depictions of Mohammed, and blasphemy is an incendiary taboo in the Muslim world.
The film was initially implicated in a violent demonstration in Libya that left the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans dead on September 11.
U.S. officials initially said the attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi and a nearby U.S. annex came as protesters outside the consulate rallied against the online video. But the Obama administration now says the incident was a terrorist attack, occurring 11 years to the day after the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York's World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
Still, the film, backed by hardcore anti-Islam groups in the United States, prompted protests in Egypt, Yemen, Tunisia, Morocco, Sudan, Iran, Iraq, Israel and the Palestinian territories when an Arabic translation of the film's trailer was released online a few weeks before the anniversary of September 11.
Youssef had been on probation since being released from federal prison in June 2011 after serving 21 months in the bank fraud case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Dugdale said in court Wednesday that the new sentence was appropriate, asserting Youssef's use of aliases was part of "a long-running pattern of deception," and that the film's actors and actresses "had no idea he was a recently released felon."
Cast and crew members have said they didn't know that they were shooting a film having anything to do with Islam or the Prophet Mohammed. The prophet's name was dubbed in after the film was shot, some of them have said.
Seiden said Wednesday that Youssef admits to being the film's writer, and that he might also have been a "cultural consultant" on the film.
His internet freedom is being taken away. Where's Anonymous now that he needs them?
An innocent man.
Why is this article not on the "front page" so the world (especially the Muslim world) can see it?
I don't think he did it. I think he's a patsy
I watched a pretty far-fetched "Truther" type video last weekend called ROMNEY EXPOSED. There's a pretty interesting theory about this dude and the film at 28:44.
The filmmaker says the CIA's fingerprints are all over the film and its extremely quick production, dissemination, and effectiveness in stirring up a Tehran-like incident in Benghazi via the Egypt uprising.
If you're still reading...re the Petraeus resignation today may be connected.
Petraeus was too tight with Romney. He was considered for VP and let things go awry in Benghazi. google" Romney campaign, CIA Mormon Mafia both responsible for Benghazi attack" Then "Benghazi Mormon Knot" and "Mormon Fingerprints Investigation"
Can we say "conspiracy theorist" boys and girls?
Some Lawer sheeeeees.?pnm,.
Call the cops,.pnm,.
He violated his probation so he should be punished. He is being punished because he made this film.
And Islam wins another one–Idiots–
Where is a picture of this guy?
Brilliance! Let's all commit acts strictly listed as a no-no in parole papers and plea deals.


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City of Aurora, Illinois, Selects Harris Corporation's 700/800 MHz OpenSky Digital Radio System for Public Safety Radio Network
Aurora Chooses State-of-the-Art Interoperable Radio System to Improve Public Safety Communications for Large-Scale Incident Coordination and Day-To-Day Activities
LAS VEGAS, NV/BOSTON, MA, — Harris Corporation (NYSE:HRS), an international communications and information technology company, has been selected by the City of Aurora, Illinois, the second largest city in the state, to implement an IP-based (Internet Protocol) 700/800 MHz OpenSky(r) communication system for its first responders. The OpenSky system will improve in-building and outdoor coverage for law enforcement and other public safety personnel across Aurora's 40 square miles, and the neighboring City of Naperville, Illinois, which has also purchased an OpenSky system.
"The taxpayers of Aurora have entrusted us to find a digital radio system that not only meets the communication needs of first responders, but also provides the best long-term value for their money. OpenSky meets both those requirements," said Ted Beck, chief technology officer, City of Aurora. "We worked closely with both Naperville and Harris to design a network that is ideal for our public safety personnel, and we can't wait to have it operational and benefiting our community."
The Cities of Aurora and Naperville are part of the Northeastern Illinois Communications Consortium (NICC), which also includes Grundy County, Will County, the City of Elgin, the Village of Plainfield, the Naperville Park District and the Northwest Central Dispatch Center in Arlington Heights, Illinois. Naperville and Aurora are the first cities in the NICC to purchase the OpenSky system. Other NICC members are currently evaluating their radio options.
"Through its unique partnership with Naperville, Aurora is getting one of the most advanced communications networks available to help its first responders communicate better, and ultimately, protect the citizens of the region," notes Chuck Dougherty, president, Harris Public Safety and Professional Communications. "We're very proud to have worked so closely with Aurora and Naperville to design this system, and the benefits they receive from their new interoperable communication system will be immeasurable."
The OpenSky digital communication network in the City of Aurora will have five sites, allowing for 40 simultaneous talkpaths. The Aurora Police Department, as well as the Naperville Police Department, will utilize 'hot' standby IP switches to provide redundant reliability in the radio system's configuration. Aurora will use Project 25 (P25) Phase 2-ready, multi-mode radios capable of operating in 700 and 800 MHz frequencies on OpenSky, P25, STARCOM, EDACS® and mutual aid communication systems.
OpenSky is interoperable with networks in the region based on APCO P25 standards through NetworkFirst®. NetworkFirst is a powerful, cost-effective IP-gateway that enables communications networks to interoperate, and will allow DuPage County's OpenSky emergency telecommunications network to seamlessly work with the State of Illinois' STARCOM 21 digital communication system, as well as other mutual aid channels used by police, fire, EMS and emergency management.
OpenSky technology offers digital voice and packet data communications using a high-performance IP backbone network. OpenSky's high-quality digital voice trunking capabilities and packet data communications features directly address the needs of both utility and public safety users, and OpenSky is capable of expanding to meet future requirements. In addition, OpenSky networks are based on the widely-accepted IS-732 protocol to support mobile applications with end-to-end TCP/IP connectivity, simplifying application-to-network integration.
Harris Public Safety and Professional Communications is a leading supplier of assured communications® systems and equipment for public safety, federal, utility, commercial and transportation markets, with products ranging from the most advanced IP voice and data networks, to industry leading multiband, multimode radios, to public safety-grade broadband video and data solutions. With more than 80 years of experience, Harris supports over 500 systems around the world.
About Harris Corporation
Harris is an international communications and information technology company serving government and commercial markets in more than 150 countries. Headquartered in Melbourne, Florida, the company has approximately $5 billion of annual revenue and 15,000 employees — including nearly 7,000 engineers and scientists. Harris is dedicated to developing best-in-class assured communications® products, systems, and services. Additional information about Harris Corporation is available at www.harris.com.


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The Cleveland Cavaliers have agreed with Mike Miller on a two-year, $5.5 million deal, according to multiple reports.
The free-agent sharpshooter played alongside LeBron James for three seasons on the Miami Heat from 2010-13, helping them win back-to-back NBA titles before signing a free-agent deal with Memphis last summer.
James announced last week he was returning to play in Cleveland and ESPN.com reported Tuesday that it was James' persistence in recruiting Miller to play for the Cavs that steered the shooting guard in that direction.
Miller, 34, averaged 7.1 points over 82 games for the Grizzlies last season, shooting 48.1 percent from the field overall, including 45.9 percent from 3- point range.
He averaged 5.4 points in 139 games for the Heat and holds career averages of 11.8 points on 46.2 percent shooting -- including 40.9 percent on threes -- in 913 games with Orlando, Memphis, Minnesota, Washington and Miami.


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Osprey portrait in pen and ink.
The osprey family has been quite busy lately. The young birds have been practicing for their first flight.
The parents had been flying around the tower trying to entice the fledglings to take wing.
Then the heat came. We had seven straight days over 108 and it peaked at 116. It was way too hot in the nest tower!
This was the incentive to motivate the young osprey to fly. After the first day of extreme heat, they fled the tower.
Down along the river in the shady oak trees is where they took refuge.
When the heat settled down, back to the tower they went. After, being in the tree I thought they might not return to the tower. As it turns out they weren't entirely ready to give up the nest.
They still want to roost there at night, and they know this is where they get fed. They are like teenagers that still depend on mom and dad.
The parents seem to debate each other whose turn it is to take care of the noisy offspring. They rarely go into the nest anymore unless they are dropping off a fresh fish meal.


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Report fails to settle concerns over oil spill risk to Ogallala Aquifer
The question of how an oil spill from the proposed Keystone XL pipeline might affect the Ogallala aquifer was raised again this month, in a report the U.S. State Department will use to help it decide whether to approve or reject the controversial project.
The report concluded that a spill would have little effect on Nebraska's primary source of drinking water, because the oil would spread less than a thousand feet within the High Plains/Ogallala aquifer. The impact on the aquifer would be "local," not "regional," said the report, which was prepared by the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and HDR Engineering, an Omaha-based consulting firm.
Scientists interviewed by InsideClimate News agreed with the report's conclusions that an underground spill probably wouldn't travel far and that a single accident wouldn't damage the entire aquifer. But they also said the report didn't take into account other important factors:
Some of the chemicals found in the primary type of oil the pipeline would carry are trade secrets, so it's impossible to know how they would behave in the aquifer. The report analyzed the effects of only a 42,000-gallon spill, even though far larger spills have plagued U.S. oil pipelines in recent years. A 2010 accident in Michigan dumped more than a million gallons of a type of oil known as dilbit into the Kalamazoo River. In 2011, a pipeline leaked 63,000 gallons of oil into Montana's Yellowstone River. The DEQ's study was generic, rather than specific to Nebraska's geology and hydrology. The actual risks would vary, the scientists said, depending on where the spill occurs in the aquifer, the location of nearby wells and other site-specific factors.
"The DEQ report provides a general and generic assessment of the potential impacts from a hypothetical spill," said John Stansbury, a civil engineering professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln who has pushed for detailed studies about the pipeline's environmental impacts.
"The bottom line is that a thorough and adequate study of the impacts has not been done [to date], and that includes the DEQ report."
The DEQ's conclusion that the impact of a spill would be localized didn't reassure local ranchers and farmers. More than 85 percent of Nebraskans rely on the aquifer for their drinking water, and virtually everyone along the route depends on it for their families, crops and livestock.
"We have the cleanest, purest water in America," said Bruce Boettcher, who raises organic cattle in Holt and Rock counties. The land has been in his family for five generations and he intends to pass it down to his three children.
"People have a connection to the land and the water because the water is so close to the top of the ground. We live in it. It's right here; we see it every day. We don't want it disturbed."
TransCanada, the company that hopes to build the pipeline, told the DEQ in a letter last October that it will "provide an alternate water supply for any well where water quality was found to be compromised by a spill." But landowners say that's simply not feasible.
Susan Luebbe has 1,200 head of cattle on her ranch, and each one drinks 15 to 30 gallons of water a day. Where would the "alternate" water source come from, she asks. How could TransCanada transport tens of thousands of gallons per day on rural roads that are often unpaved, through blizzards and harsh weather conditions?
"It's a total joke," Luebbe said. "They can throw that [offer] out there, but they don't know what ranching is like in Nebraska."
Richard Kilmurry said some of his cattle drink from streams that are connected to the Ogallala aquifer, but TransCanada hasn't offered to replace contaminated surface water. "If your water is never going to be useable again, it pretty much renders your land useless," he said.
TransCanada did not respond to requests for comment for this story. In a news report earlier this month, the company said it welcomed the DEQ's conclusions, and president and CEO Russell Girling called the report "a rigorous and comprehensive review."
The groundwater study is just a small part of the 2,000-page report, which was designed to examine how the pipeline would affect Nebraska communities and natural resources. It concluded that "Construction and operation of the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline, with the mitigation and commitments [TransCanada] has identified, could have minimal environmental impacts in Nebraska."
The authors said TransCanada would be responsible for any spill cleanup and the company's commitments "such as funding for a public liaison, liability insurance, and private well testing, provide for additional protection of Nebraska's interests."
Pipeline opponents say the study is incomplete and tainted by conflicts of interest: HDR, the consulting firm hired by the DEQ, has worked on previous TransCanada projects. DEQ spokesman Brian McManus said the agency reviewed HDR's record and doesn't believe it creates a problem.
The agency's report is one of the last hurdles TransCanada faces in its years-long effort to get the pipeline approved in Nebraska. The project originally was routed through the Nebraska Sandhills, a particularly sensitive region over the aquifer. Under pressure from landowners and environmentalists, TransCanada moved it out of that area in November 2011. But the project still faces opposition from landowners and environmental groups, who will hold their fourth large protest outside the White House on Feb. 17.
The company is now waiting for Gov. Dave Heineman-who supports the pipeline-to sign off on the route. Heineman has until February to submit the report, along with his comments, to the U.S. State Department. The federal agency has ultimate authority over the Alberta-to-Nebraska section of the Keystone project because it crosses an international border.
Groundwater Concerns
The Nebraska portion of the Keystone XL is now slated to pass through 12 counties and 163 rivers and streams. Ten of the counties have no oil pipelines at all. The southernmost counties-Saline and Jefferson-contain a Kinder Morgan pipeline and a TransCanada pipeline that began operating in 2010.
Although the new route avoids the Sandhills, it still crosses areas with permeable
soils and shallow groundwater, the same features that make the Sandhills vulnerable to contamination. The groundwater along much of the 274-mile route through Nebraska lies 20-50 feet beneath the surface. And 13 miles of the line crosses land where the aquifer is less than 10 feet underground.
Boettcher said the fear of groundwater contamination is why he continues to oppose the pipeline, even though the new route is now 15 miles from his land. "This water is just as valuable for me as for my neighbor 15 miles apart. I'm staying in this fight because [Keystone XL] is still going through fragile soils, wet ground and wet lands, and is still crossing high water tables."
Groundwater experts say it's virtually impossible to restore a contaminated aquifer to pristine conditions, although it can be cleaned up to meet federal drinking water standards. The time and cost required for such a cleanup depends on the location of the spill, the composition of the spilled oil, the amount of oil released, the movement of the groundwater and the location of nearby water wells-details that the DEQ report didn't analyze.
TransCanada has told the DEQ that it will test drinking water and livestock wells within 300 feet of the route before operating the pipeline. In the event of a spill, that baseline data could help determine whether oil had seeped into nearby wells.
Landowners like Luebbe are wary of staking their futures on TransCanada's promise. "How do we know they're testing for what's actually in [the oil]?" she said, since some of the dilbit chemicals are trade secrets. "I just don't trust them."
One of the landowners' biggest concerns is that a slow leak would go undetected because so much of the Keystone XL runs through remote areas. TransCanada has run newspaper ads assuring Nebraskans that its leak detection technology will quickly alert the company's control center in Canada of any accidents. But InsideClimate News recently reported that the leak detection systems used on most of the nation's pipelines rarely detect spills smaller than 1 percent of the pipeline's flow, which for the Keystone XL would be hundreds of thousands of gallons per day. An analysis of federal data showed that smaller spills are more often detected by the general public or pipeline workers than leak detection systems.
What Happens to Dilbit in an Aquifer?
The lack of information about a major type of fuel the Keystone XL would carry- diluted bitumen, or dilbit-has been a sticking point for years. Although the Keystone XL would transport a small amount of conventional crude oil from North Dakota, the bulk of its contents would be bitumen, a particularly thick oil from Canada's oil sands region. Much of that oil will be shipped as dilbit, a combination of bitumen and light liquid chemicals used to dilute the bitumen so it can be transported in pipelines.
There have been no independent studies on how dilbit behaves when it spills into an aquifer.
Landowners fear that a dilbit spill would be more devastating than a spill from conventional crude oil, as was the case during the 2010 Kalamazoo River spill. There, the dilbit initially floated on top of the water, but as the light chemicals evaporated, the bitumen sank to the river bottom. Emergency responders had to improvise new cleanup methods, and that work still isn't done. In October, the Environmental Protection Agency asked Enbridge to dredge an additional 100 acres of the riverbed.
Barbara Bekins, a hydrologist with the U.S. Geological Survey and an expert on aquifer contamination, expects dilbit to behave much more like regular crude if it is spilled into an underground aquifer.
Bekins has spent years studying an aquifer near Bemidji, Minn., where 450,000 gallons of light crude oil spilled in 1979. Initial cleanup efforts removed about three-quarters of the oil. In 1983, the U.S.G.S. began using the Bemidji aquifer, which isn't used for drinking water, to study how oil is remediated through natural processes. Almost 80,000 gallons remain in the surrounding soil and aquifer more than 30 years later.
After the Kalamazoo spill, the light chemicals in the dilbit evaporated because the dilbit was exposed to sun and wind. In an underground aquifer, however, sun and wind aren't factors, so Bekins said the thick bitumen would stay close to the point of release, while the lighter chemicals slowly dissolve into the groundwater. In regions where the water table lies deeper underground, the light chemicals would initially remain stuck to the rocks and soil above the water table. But over time, rain would wash them down into the groundwater.
Nebraska's DEQ used a computer model to analyze how dilbit would affect the Ogallala. They chose to focus on benzene, a cancer-causing agent found in all crude oils.
Stansbury, the University of Nebraska civil engineer, said that was a reasonable decision because benzene dissolves readily in water. Other chemicals found in dilbit are unlikely to travel as far as benzene, though he cautioned that it's hard to be sure since some chemicals are considered trade secrets.
The DEQ's computer model showed that in the case of a 42,000-gallon spill, it would take about three years for a plume of benzene to move 1,000 feet. The plume would have a concentration of 5 parts per billion, the upper limit of the EPA's safe drinking water standards for benzene. The plume could continue to spread further than 1,000 feet, they wrote, but by then the benzene concentration would be less than 5 parts per billion.
Dave Miesbach, a Nebraska DEQ water specialist who worked on the report, said some people mistakenly assume that an aquifer acts like an underground river or lake. But water in the Ogallala aquifer moves only about 300 feet a year on average, because it is trapped in tiny empty spaces between rocks, sand and gravel, and is sometimes blocked by impermeable layers of clay.
Bekins said the DEQ's findings are similar to what scientists discovered at Bemidji. There, the benzene plume grew for the first 10 years, then stabilized. The total area impacted never reached more than 660 feet long, 490 feet wide and 33 feet deep.
The water outside that zone is safe to drink, she said, and benzene levels in the contaminated area continue to drop as the benzene is consumed by naturally occurring bacteria that feed on petroleum products.
Stansbury said the science from the Bemidji spill-along with the modeling the DEQ did on the impact of a 42,000-gallon spill-offers general insight into how an oil spill would impact the Ogallala. But he said the study would have been much more valuable if it had assessed the impact of a worst-case scenario spill, one much larger than 42,000 gallons-and if the agency had modeled the effects along specific parts of the route, taking into account the location of drinking wells, the local geology and other factors.
Stansbury's colleague at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Wayne Woldt, has tried for years to get funding for such a study. But Stansbury said it has become "harder and harder to get money from truly unbiased sources."
Funding from industry or environmental groups could be seen as tainted by conflicts of interest, he said. And the research needed for the Ogallala is too specific to attract funding from the National Science Foundation, which supports more general, big picture projects. The EPA sometimes supports such projects, he said, but its budget has been tightened in recent years due to budget cuts.
The EPA did not respond to questions about its funding.
Jane Kleeb, the director of Bold Nebraska and a prominent pipeline opponent, said that given the importance of the Ogallala aquifer, no decision should be made about the pipeline until scientists conduct a detailed study like the one proposed by Stansbury and Woldt.
"I don't think that's too much to ask given that agriculture [contributes] 17 billion dollars a year for our state's economy, which obviously needs water to exist," said Kleeb, whose group has led Nebraska's pipeline opposition. "We as American taxpayers pay EPA and other federal agencies. So [they] should be able to find the money in their budgets to fund these studies."


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OSLO (REUTERS) - Olympic champion Usain Bolt responded to last week's surprise sprint defeat in Rome by storming to a world-leading time of 19.79 seconds over 200m at the Bislett Diamond League meeting on Thursday.
The Jamaican world record holder, surprisingly beaten over 100m by American Justin Gatlin in Italy, streaked away from the field to win comfortably on a chilly night in his first competitive race over the distance this season.
"I need to work on my curve, as my coach has said, but overall it was a good race," said the 26-year-old who is the first man to break the 20-second mark this year.
"Under better, warmer conditions... (I could do) a 19.50 race, easily," he told a news conference.
Bolt said his confidence was high ahead of the Jamaican trials, starting on June 20, where he needs to be in the top three in the 100 to qualify for the world championships after the country's automatic entry went to titleholder Yohan Blake.
Ever the showman, Bolt appeared to have put the loss to Gatlin out of his mind as he rubbed his arms and pretended to shiver while standing at the blocks before the start.
But once down to business, the six-times Olympic gold medallist showed he had recovered from the hamstring injury that dogged him earlier this season with a meeting record, having said earlier in the week he was in shape to go below 20 seconds.
Home favourite Jaysuma Saidy Ndure was second in 20.36 in a field lacking any other Jamaican or American athletes. European champion Churandy Martina of the Netherlands was disqualified from the event for a false start.
"I thought I could take him," said Norwegian Saidy Ndure."All the way to 150 I thought I could catch him... But then he accelerated."
Olympic champion Meseret Defar shook off Kenya's Viola Jelagat Kibiwot and fellow Ethiopian Genzebe Dibaba over the last 200m to win a fast women's 5,000 in a world leading 14:26.90 - the fastest time since 2011.
"I felt very comfortable throughout the race. I knew I had the shape. I think I'm in world record shape, but was not confident to try it," the 29-year old said.
Kenya's 18-year old Conseslus Kipruto followed up on his Diamond League victories in Shanghai and Eugene by again beating London Olympic gold medallist Ezekiel Kemboi in the 3,000m steeplechase in 8:04.48.
The Bislett "Dream Mile" was won by Djibouti's Ayanleh Souleiman with a time of 3:50.53.
Russian Olympic and world high jump champion Anna Chicherova suffered her first defeat of the season when she finished third with 1.95 metres behind compatriot Svetlana Shkolina who cleared 1.97 on her third attempt.
The event had been billed as a match-up between Chicherova and former world champion Blanka Vlasic, who missed last season after Achilles surgery, but the Croatian was a disappointing fifth after failing to clear 1.90.


text:
Services on Demand
Related links
- Cited by Google
- Similars in Google
South African Journal of Education
On-line version ISSN 2076-3433
Print version ISSN 0256-0100
VOS, D; VAN DER WESTHUIZEN, Philip C; MENTZ, P J and ELLIS, S M. Educators and the quality of their work environment: an analysis of the organisational climate in primary schools. S. Afr. j. educ. [online]. 2012, vol.32, n.1, pp.56-68. ISSN 2076-3433.
The prevalent organisational climate in primary schools in the North West Province was determined in order to formulate management strategies to increase the organisational climate. For this purpose, a quantitative research method, founded in post-positivistic points of departure, was applied. In the process, the Organizational Climate Description Questionnaire - Rutgers Elementary (OCDQ-RE) was applied in order to determine the behaviour of principals and school educators. The investigation indicated that the behaviour of the principals and that of the educators contributed only to an average degree to the establishment of a more effective organisational climate in the primary schools investigated. Furthermore the exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses indicated that certain items in the original climate questionnaire, which were grouped in the directive behaviour of the principal, were viewed by the respondents in South Africa as supportive but, in some instances, also as restrictive.
Keywords : educational environment; effective schools; improving organisational climate; improving school climate; management styles; Organizational Climate Description Questionnaire (OCDQ); organisational climate; primaryschools; school climate; teacher morale and attitudes.


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Difference between revisions of "Homeless Library Patrons"
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==News and reports==
==News and reports==
''(reverse chronological order; most recent stories first)''
''(reverse chronological order; most recent stories first)''
[http://hhptf.org/article/371/chip-ward-on-the-chronically-homeless Chip Ward on the "Chronically Homeless"]

[http://hhptf.org/article/371/chip-ward-on-the-chronically-homeless Chip Ward on the "Chronically Homeless"]

Revision as of 14:06, 3 January 2008
This page lists both print and online resources concerning homeless patrons in libraries.
News and reports
(reverse chronological order; most recent stories first)
Library collaboration is a win for everyone: Ex-homeless people on staff aid patrons and the needy By Jennifer Lin - December 28, 2007 story in the Philadelphia Inquirer concerning the Free Library of Philadelphia joining with Project HOME to employ homeless
Chip Ward on the "Chronically Homeless"
John Gehner, Coordinator of the Hunger, Homelessness & Poverty Task Force (HHPTF, <http://www.hhptf.org>) of ALA's Social Responsibilities Round Table
April 2007
America Gone Wrong: A Slashed Safety Net Turns Libraries into Homeless Shelters on AlterNet.com, with comments; see the original post at TomDispatch.com
April 2007
Finding a Home in the Library: Services for the Homeless by Joshua Jackson on WebJunction.org - Author's description: This paper provides a cohesive background on library responses to homeless users and a framework for developing better library services to this population.
December 2006
America's Libraries and the Homeless from ALA's Public Information Office (PIO)
March 1999
Policies and guidelines
ALA Council Document 61. Library Services for the Poor from the ALA Policy Manual
Guidelines for the Development of Policies and Procedures Regarding User Behavior and Library Usage - Adopted by the Intellectual Freedom Committee, January 24, 1993; revised November 17, 2000; revised January 19, 2005
Homeless patrons page at the Library and Information Science Wiki (LISWiki.org)
Services to Poor and Homeless People from ALA's Office for Literacy and Outreach Services (OLOS)


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Quinta das Vistas Palace Gardens is a prestigious new hotel in Madeira, which opened in May 2002. It has been created from a prominent manor house superbly positioned on the brow of a hill with fabulous panoramic views over the mountains, the ocean and Funchal's city centre.
The Quinta das Vistas has spacious and elegantly decorated public areas throughout that invite you to while away the hours in an enjoyable and relaxing atmosphere.
Spend some time on the magnificent panoramic terraces and enjoy cocktails and snacks - or sample the delights of the Quinta das Vistas gourmet restaurant where there are a variety of delicious regional and international dishes at your bidding.
Surrounded by 12.000 sq. m of centenary gardens featuring fountains, a pond with swans, a pavilion, a mini-golf course (9 holes), this elegant Quinta is setting new standards with regard to high quality accommodation and services on the island of Madeira.
The stylish interior decoration of the public areas reflects the luxury and elegance of life in Madeira in the old days.


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For some reason I'm skeptical that the one thing keeping newspaper readers from switching to E-Ink readers is the form factor, but that doesn't make this semi-transparent E-Ink newspaper display concept any less cool.
The key word, of course, is concept, but flexible/foldable displays aren't anything new. Nor are interactive content or E-Ink. It's bringing these concepts together in a workable package that might take some time. Meanwhile, though, here's how it would ideally work (without all the wobbly images):
I like it! Except what's with all this New York Times business? Show me what Garden and Gun looks like on this bad boy. Then we'll talk. [Cargo Collective via Design Boom]


text:
Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.'s U.S. unit is facing a proposed class action lawsuit from three Galaxy Note 7 customers, according to a filing in a federal court in Newark, N.J.
The complaint against Samsung Electronics America Inc. seeks to represent a nationwide class of Note 7 customers in Nevada, Pennsylvania and California.
The world's top smartphone maker last week permanently ended sales of the fire-prone Note 7 smartphone less than two months after its launch.
Order custom essay Samsung Faces Potential Class Action in U.S. Over Note 7 with free plagiarism report
Samsung announced the recall of 2.5 million Note 7s in early September following numerous reports of the phones catching fire in what could be one of the costliest product safety failures in tech history.
A spokeswoman for Samsung Electronics America declined to comment on the pending litigation.
The complaint, filed on Oct. 16, alleges that the consumers discontinued using the phones after the recall, but were asked to wait days or weeks for a replacement phone.
The complaint states that the consumers continued to incur monthly device and plan charges for phones they could not use.
The case is re: Waudby vs Samsung Electronics America, U.S. district court, district of New Jersey, Newark, No. 16-cv-07334-CCC-JBC
(Reporting by Abinaya Vijayaraghavan in Bengaluru; Editing by Don Sebastian)
Did you know that we have over 70,000 essays on 3,000 topics in our database?
Cite this page
Samsung Faces Potential Class Action in U.S. Over Note 7. (2018, Aug 04). Retrieved from https://phdessay.com/samsung-faces-potential-class-action-in-u-s-over-note-7/


text:
U.S. Senate campaigns wrapping up with furious final push
They met voters in diners and breakfast stops, at baseball games, and even at a landfill.
Two Democrats and three Republicans are seeking their parties' nominations and a spot on the June 25 ballot that will decide who will become the state's junior senator. The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Town elections will also be held in many communities, including Bridgewater, Easton, Hingham, Marshfield, Middleboro, Milton, Raynham, Rockland, Scituate, Stoughton and West Bridgewater.
The Senate race is to fill the seat vacated by John Kerry, who resigned to become secretary of state. The term will run through 2014.
The race has been overshadowed by the April 15 bombings at the Boston Marathon, which led to the suspension of candidates' campaign activities for a week.
Polls show a large number of voters either undecided or not strongly committed to a candidate. Turnout is expected to be low.
The Democratic race is a match-up between two veteran congressmen: Edward Markey of Malden, first elected to Congress in 1976, and Stephen Lynch of South Boston, who is in his 12th year in Congress.
Markey has been endorsed by a number of prominent Democrats and has been holding a lead in the polls.
Paul Watanabe, a political science professor at the University of Massachusetts at Boston, said Markey is strongest with voters who identify themselves as Democrats, who are the most likely to vote in a party primary.
"The lower the turnout, the better for Markey.
For Lynch to win, Watanabe said he needs to bring out unenrolled or independent voters.
"That is where his hope lies, but unenrolled voters are not likely to vote in a primary," Watanabe said.
Markey completed a three-day "Get Out The Vote" campaign tour of the state on Sunday. It did not include any stops on the South Shore, which includes communities Lynch represents or has represented.
Lynch held two campaign events in the area on Sunday, one with campaign volunteers preparing a canvass of Abington, and the other at a Little League Opening Day parade in Dedham.
All three of the Republican candidates planned area events for today.
Michael Sullivan, a former U.S attorney and Plymouth district attorney, made an appearance in his hometown of Abington on Sunday and spent part of the afternoon working the phones at his campaign headquarters in Weymouth. He planned to hold a rally at 5:30 p.m. today at the headquarters, 50 Finnell Drive in Weymouth.
Businessman and former Navy SEAL Gabriel Gomez of Cohasset planned to spend much of today on the South Shore, with stops at the Duxbury Senior Center and restaurants in Marshfield, Norwell and Hingham. He was also to visit police and fire stations in the area. He planned to conclude the campaign with a 6 p.m. barbeque at the Plymouth VFW on Seven Hills Road.
State Rep. Dan Winslow of Norfolk, a former district court judge, was to visit Craig's Cafe on Hancock Street in Quincy this morning.
Fred Hanson may be reached at email@example.com.
READ MORE about the race.


text:
Last name: LEHMAN LEMNAH
All you have to know about the last name LEHMAN LEMNAH
Last name frequencyLEHMAN LEMNAH : This last name is indexed 9 times on Geneanet!
Variants of last name
The spelling of names may have changed over the centuries. Knowing these names variants will help you build your family tree.
Geneanet, how it works?
Geneanet is a website which allows everyone to start or to go furtther in their family tree.
Search a name
Discover your ancestors and build your family tree step by step through billions of data included in our members' family trees and through civil records.
Most popular first names
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Most indexed places
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Available collections for this name
- Family Trees


text:
Just in time for Halloween comes House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel - henceforth known as Count Rangula - with a bill that would suck more blood from American taxpayers.
Like Dracula, the vampire, Count Rangula is cagey about his intentions, luring his victims (us) with promises of "reforming" the tax code.
Raise your hand if you believe we are not turning enough income over to government. Raise your other hand if you think government is too small and spends too little.
Tax revenues are at a record high and the deficit is shrinking under the Bush tax cuts. Since the policy is working, why does government require more of our money? Why can't they live within our means? Why do we allow government to get away with the fiction that everything it does is right and noble, and if we resist paying for it, we are unholy and uncaring?
Why don't politicians ever ask us if we have enough money? Why don't they focus on the waste, fraud and abuse that so permeates government, no matter which party controls the White House and Congress? They can start by reforming Social Security and Medicare, but won't because of the demagoguery that surrounds every attempt to fix these soon-to-be bankrupt programs.
Predictably, Count Rangula promises to "fix" a tax code that everyone hates and few understand. He includes just enough enticements, hoping we will buy the rest. But, according to The National Taxpayers Union, "...on balance, (the bill) is likely to extract more money from our economy and small businesses. That means fewer jobs, less income growth, and bigger government."
Count Rangula proposes to rid us of the dreadful Alternative Minimum Tax, which was designed to make sure the super rich pay at least some taxes but, because of the failure to index the measure for inflation, it has crept into the middle class. But he effectively resurrects the measure using a different name, which would affect millions of Americans. He also would boost the standard deduction, but simultaneously erode other popular write-offs, such as mortgage interest and charitable giving.
The NTU reports Count Rangula's claim that "91 million families" will benefit from his tax scheme, but that number includes a spending giveaway to millions receiving the Earned Income Credit, which are households that currently pay no taxes. According to The Heritage Foundation's J.D. Foster, there are a few "roses" in the proposed legislation. Among them is a reduction in the corporate income tax rate from the current 35 percent to 30.5 percent. It needs to be lower, because the U.S. corporate tax rate is among the highest of the industrialized nations, and high tax rates hurt the ability of American businesses to compete internationally. But the proposed lower rate is at least a move in the right direction.
Count Rangula's fangs come out when he proposes a 4 percent surtax on married filers with adjusted gross incomes above $200,000 (4.6 percent for higher earning taxpayers). While recognizing the benefits of lower corporate tax rates, he simultaneously proposes rate increases for individuals and small businesses. And the surtax applies to AGI, not taxable income.
There's plenty more not to like and more thorough analyses will be forthcoming when details of the measure have been fully digested. The measure is unlikely to pass in an election year, but it gives taxpayers an indication of where Democrats will take us if one of their own wins the White House. They will spend more and tax more, much more.
While Republicans surrendered the spending issue when they controlled Congress, they still have the tax issue. They'll need it to repel Count Rangula. Garlic, a cross, sunshine and a stake may not be enough.
Write Cal Thomas at Tribune Media Services, 2225 Kenmore Ave., Suite 114, Buffalo, NY 14207; e-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com.


text:
In Stock Now — 5 Available
Condition: New!
Free Shipping Available
Key features:
- Touchscreen: Yes
- Battery Compatibility Fitting: Canon LP-E6
- Model: EOS 5D Mark IV
Please also consider:
- Sony Alpha A7 IV Mirrorless Digital Camera with 28-70mm Lens
- Black
- Fujifilm X-T30 II Mirrorless Digital Camera
- Body only, Silver
- Sony Alpha A7 III Mirrorless Digital Camera
- Body only
- Ricoh GR III Street Edition Digital Camera
- Nikon Zfc Mirrorless Camera with 16-50mm Lens
- Fujifilm X-Pro3 Mirrorless Digital Camera
- Body only, Dura Silver
Please note that many of our devices are import versions and may not come with a local charger. In those cases, a plug adapter will be included in the box. The item may be inspected for quality by Expansys staff prior to shipping.
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV Digital SLR Camera Description
The Canon EOS 5D Mark IV is the eagerly anticipated successor to Canon's best selling EOS 5D Mark III. The 5D MKIV offers several significant improvements including a new 30.4MP CMOS full-frame sensor, an upgraded AF system, 4K video recording plus 4K Frame Grab, ISO 100-32000 which is expandable to 102400, 7 fps continuous shooting, Wi-Fi with NFC plus GPS, improved weather-sealing and much more.
30.4 Megapixel Full-frame CMOS Sensor
Shoot captivating stills wherever you are, day or night. 30.4-megapixel resolution delivers extraordinary detail.
Improved focusing
With 61 points the 5D Mark IV has the same number of autofocus (AF) points as the 5D Mark III, but the AF system has been given a refresh and made similar to the one in the flagship Canon EOS 1DX Mark II. Of the 61 points, 41 are the more sensitive cross-type, with 21 of those being cross-type with maximum apertures as small as f/8. There are also 5 points that are dual cross-type at f/8. Having more cross-type points makes the 5D Mark IV better than the Mark III at detecting subjects, and making the system sensitive down to f/8 means it works better when teleconverters are used to extend the reach of telephoto lenses. Anti-flicker technology combats variations in brightness under artificial lighting.
Engineered to perform
In pursuit of the perfect moment, the EOS 5D MARK IV can shoot continuously at 7fps. Its viewfinder and user interface are highly customisable, with intuitive touch-screen operation offering new levels of camera control. Add weather-proof sealing and you have a DSLR that's at home in just about any environment you can think of.
Cinematic 4K video
Record your movie moments using the power of EOS 5D Mark IV's incredible sensor to add detail and extra refinement to every scene. With options to record in high-resolution 4K1 as well as Full HD for frame rate options including 60p slow motion, the world of DSLR film making just got better.
A feature taken from the EOS-1D X Mark II, EOS 5D Mark IV users can shoot 4K movies and save any frame as a beautifully detailed 8.8-megapixel still image straight to memory card as a JPEG file.
Exceptional low light capture
Low light performance is improved at every ISO setting, with much reduced digital noise and a maximum sensitivity of ISO 32,000 (expandable to ISO 102,400). Be confident of superb image quality even when shooting in poor light.
Stay connected
There's other data in the EOS 5D MARK IV's files too. Built-in GPS tags images with your location as you shoot them. IPTC metadata can also be embedded. With in-camera RAW processing it's easy to produce client-ready JPEGs, and Wi-Fi and NFC connectivity makes it simple to send or share them, using either FTP/FTPS networking facilities or your smartphone.
At a glance:
- 30.4MP CMOS full-frame sensor with Dual Pixel AF
- 4K motion JPEG video + 4K Frame Grab
- 61-point AF system with 41 cross-type sensors
- Dual Pixel AF (sensitive to -4EV)
- ISO 100-32000 (expandable to 102400)
- 7 fps continuous shooting
- Dual Pixel Raw
- 150,000-pixel RGB+IR metering sensor
- 1.62M-dot 3.2-inch full-time touchscreen
- Wi-Fi, NFC + GPS
- Built-in bulb timer interval timers
- Improved weather-sealing
Shipping Weight: 2.10kg
Technical Details
- Touchscreen: Yes
- Battery Compatibility Fitting: Canon LP-E6
- Model: EOS 5D Mark IV
- GPS: Yes
- Vari-angle monitor : No
- Megapixel Banding: 30 to 30.9 megapixels
- Monitor Size: 3.2"
- Charger Included: Yes
- MegaPixel (Effective Resolution): 30.4 megapixels
- Sensor Size (WxH mm): 36 x 24 mm
- Lens Fitting : Canon EF
- Compatible storage media (card not supplied): SDXC, CompactFlash, SD Card, SDHC Card
- Continuous Shooting Speed (fps): 7fps
- Exposure Modes: Program, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Picture Modes, Manual
- ISO Speed Range: 100-102400 (expanded)
- Metering Modes: Evaluative, Partial Metering, Centre Weighted, Spot
- Exposure Compensation: Yes
- Built in Flash: No
- Flash Modes: E-TTL
- Auto Exposure Bracketing: Yes
- White Balance Modes: Auto, Preset, White Balance Bracketing, Custom
- Connection Type: USB 3.0, HDMI
- Focusing Modes: One-shot AF, AI Servo AF, Manual
- Audio Recording: Yes
- Movie Mode: Yes (with Sound)
- Tripod Thread: Yes
- Video Out: HDMI
- Body Dimensions (WxHxD) mm: 150.7 x 116.4 x 75.9mm
- Weight (g): 890g


text:
Three development leases with a combined capacity of 4GW are to be awarded, with full proposed sale notices published today.
The announcement has come at a time when the US is experiencing "record domestic oil and gas development", acknowledged secretary of the interior Ken Salazar.
Competitive bidding for outer continental shelf (OCS) sites will focus on a 112,799 acre (456 square kilometre) zone off Virginia, judged to be appropriate for more than 2GW in capacity. A single lease will be awarded for this area.
A second 164,750 acre zone off Rhode Island and Massachusetts is to be divided into north and south sections. The north section has been earmarked for more than 1GW, while the south section is judged to be capable of supporting a project of 350-1,000MW.
Environomental review completed
In July, the DoI announced completion of a preliminary environmental assessment paving the way for the auctioning of commercial leases for wind developments in federal waters off the north-eastern United States.
The Rhode Island/ Massachusetts wind energy area comprises some 164,750 acres (667 square kilometres), south of Martha's Vineyard and east of Block Island.
Developers express interest
Last year, eight companies said they were interested in bidding for offshore wind development leases within the Rhode Island/ Massachusetts wind energy area. They are:
- Deepwater Wind New England
- Energy Management
- enXco
- Fishermen's Energy
- Iberdrola Renewables
- Mainstream Renewable Power
- Neptune Wind
- US Wind


text:
Farmland – Photo by Sam Beebe, Ecotrust.
The cost of farmland — and food – continues to spiral upward. The global land grab is in full swing, and the consequences of this grab are just beginning to emerge. In that context, it is important to reconsider the whole basis of the matter: our relationship to land.
I encourage everyone involved with food and farming to weigh the matter carefully, for there is a world to gain from the steady, ongoing establishment of community farm trusts to hold farm land and make it available to qualified farmers with provisions for equity. To me that seems the wisest course of action over the long term for so many of the community agrarian initiatives active now in North America.
Back in 1988-89, when Trauger Groh and I were writing the first book about CSAs (Farms of Tomorrow: Community Supported Farms, Farm Supported Communities) we could not help but recognize the matter of land as a key point.
Land — and the way we relate to it — has been the crucial issue for centuries, and will remain so. From a long discussion in Chapter 2 of the book, here are a few relevant passages advocating the development of community farms and land trusts in this context:
"For the farms of tomorrow, land cannot be used as a commodity or a tradeable good, like a car or a pair of shoes that are produced, sold, used, resold, and finally used up…the farms of tomorrow must be based on a new approach to land. The land can no longer be used as collateral for debt. It should no longer be mortgaged. It must be free to serve its original purpose: the basis of the physical existence of humanity…
"…The land has to be liberated out of the insight and actions of citizens who recognize the essential need. Specifically, local land suitable for agriculture must be gradually protected by land trusts. To do this, every piece of farmland has to be purchased for the last time, and then, out of the free initiative of local people, be placed into forms of trust that will protect it from ever again being mortgaged or sold for the sake of private profit…"
"Non-profit land trusts may then make the land available to qualified people who want to take it into ecologically sound uses. Such arrangements will give the right of land use to individuals or groups, either for the time they are willing or capable of using it, or in a lifelong contract…
"…This is something that cannot be legislated or otherwise imposed in any way upon humanity. Every step of progress will have to arise out of the insights and the free initiative of the people."


text:
A Nexus 8 tablet may be with us as soon as the middle of the year and it might ditch Qualcomm in favor of an Intel Bay Trail-T processor.
That's according to DigiTimes, which spoke to sources from the 'upstream supply chain', although we've found these particular information providers very hit and miss in the past.
The source claims that this new focus on an 8-inch tablet is in response to disappointing sales of the new Nexus 7.
Bit by bit
The source goes on to say that Asus, the company which currently makes the Nexus 7, will probably end up making the Nexus 8 too and that while an Intel processor is certainly possible, Qualcomm is still in the running too. If it does end up packing a Bay Trail-T processor then you can expect 64-bit quad-core performance.
No other details have been revealed, but the source states that additional information is likely to be available after February, which suggests that an MWC unveiling is probably not on the cards.
This isn't the first time we've heard rumors that Google might be working on an 8-inch Nexus tablet, but what was once thought to be the Nexus 8 turned out to be the LG G Pad 8.3 Google Play Edition.
A device which could give the actual Nexus 8 a run for its money given how impressed we were by the standard version of the LG G Pad 8.3.
- Need a couple more inches? Check out the Google Nexus 10.


text:
You know how much we hated when that talentless treacherous tardclown known as Jay Leno betrayed Conan O'Brien and stole The Tonight Show from him, the same way he betrayed David Letterman. That's why we are featuring this clip of Conan and David Letter making fun of Leno, in tonight's Late Night show. Enjoy!
Stay tune for the whole clip tomorrow.


text:
NitroDesk has long made clients for Microsoft Exchange. They have a client for Android and clients for specialized Android devices, like the Nook and Kindle Fire. Having used the HTC EVO 4G for quite a while, the TouchDown email client was a lifesaver, taking the "work" out of work email.
When I got my iPhone, the built-in mail client was able to connect to my Exchange mailbox and receive messages and appointments, but it wasn't a terrific experience. Honestly, I'm not a fan of single-stream email or a consolidated inbox. I contacted NitroDesk so that I could review their TouchDown for iOS product, and it worked seamlessly for receiving email on my iPhone.
Some of my co-workers had gotten iPhones after the release of iOS 6, but they weren't able to connect to Exchange. The errors they received said that the connection was unavailable, but the messages didn't contain any details or troubleshooting information. After showing the TouchDown interface to a co-worker, she asked about its pricing and functionality. I let her know that we, as a company, didn't sponsor mail clients for smartphones, but she was willing to go out of pocket for the app — $19.99 (USD) — if I would work through the setup with her should any problems arise.
Configuring TouchDown on her iPhone produced an error, as well, but the message included more information about the issue — that it was unable to read an Exchange policy set on the mailbox. When I searched Google for this particular error message, the first item on the list said the problem was a setting on the Active Directory user object, allowing it to inherit security permissions from its parent object. I enabled that setting, and mail started landing immediately. TouchDown's descriptive error helped solve the issue for all of the people in my organization who wanted to get mail on their iPhones. Since smartphones are becoming increasingly popular, that setting was configured on all user objects with attached mailboxes, just in case.
The TouchDown application
Like the built-in email application, TouchDown will provide badge notifications of unread items if enabled. For users who separate corporate and personal email, it's nice to have a choice about the email in both accounts. I was also very impressed with NitroDesk's support team, who were helpful throughout the entire review process. Overall, the TouchDown application doesn't have one standout feature — the experience is very much like Microsoft Outlook, or at least as much like Outlook as one can hope for on an Apple device.
Using mail in TouchDown
The default folder in TouchDown is the inbox (Figure A).
Figure A
TouchDown's inbox.
When you configure your email, you can choose how many days of email history to keep in the application. The default is three days for messages. You can also decide which folders in your mailbox that TouchDown should sync. This is a pretty great idea, since there might be folders related to projects or other items that you don't need on a mobile device. Simply turn off synchronization on these folders by completing the following steps:
- Access the Settings option (the tools icon) at the bottom of the TouchDown app
- Select the option labeled Synchronized Folder
- Change the Off slider to On for each folder you want to include (Figure B)
Folder synchronization in the TouchDown application.
You can switch folders by selecting the folder name at the top left of the display. From the drop-down menu, select the folder that you'd like to switch to.
Other options at the folder level include:
- Filters: Apply one of the following filters to the current folder
- All
- Unread
- Read
- Flagged
- With Attachments
- High Importance
- Tags: Apply tags or Outlook Categories to messages in the current folder
- Diagnostics: View diagnostics recorded by TouchDown
- Change Pin: If configured for your mailbox, TouchDown will support Pin-based device wiping
- Reset DB: If there are problems with the TouchDown database on your device for a folder, you can reset it here
The folder list also contains the New message button, which opens a dialog box for composing new email (Figure C). By default, a signature is included to let recipients know that the message was sent from a mobile device.
Figure C
Composing a new message in TouchDown.
There are several actions you can take with messages, including:
- Forward: The new message icon on the lower-right corner of the selected message window is used to forward the message
- Reply | Reply All | Forward: The option next to the Forward option displays a menu of options for replying or forwarding
- Flag: The flag option allows selected messages to be flagged
- Delete: The trash bin icon deletes the selected message
- File: The folder icon allows you to select a folder to file the message into
- Display Recipients: The people icon at the top of the selected message shows the recipient list
- Tags: The tag icon at the top of the selected message allows tags or categories to be applied
- Security: The lock icon displays information about the message being encrypted or signed
Using Contacts
Contacts available within your Exchange environment can be added to the contact list on your device. Information within the contacts folder will be displayed in the Contacts folder in TouchDown (Figure D). Items in the folder can be tagged and edited right from the application.
Figure D
TouchDown's Contacts view.
Using TouchDown's calendar
TouchDown's calendar feature is much more like Microsoft Outlook than the built-in calendar application on iOS devices. It allows you to view items in a list, by day or by week, to get a good idea of what's coming up (Figure E). A view of the month is available on the left in landscape mode or at the top in portrait view.
I've noticed that some appointments have trouble syncing to the application. However, this typically goes away during subsequent attempts.
Figure E
Touchdown's calendar.
Using tasks
If you use tasks in Microsoft Outlook, these tasks can also be used and viewed in TouchDown. The following options are available for tasks:
- Create a task
- View existing tasks
- Apply tags/categories
- Filter tasks
- Sort tasks
Using Notes and Documents
TouchDown also supports notes from Exchange. This feature is only available when used with Microsoft Exchange 2010. I don't use the notes feature in Exchange and have found that there aren't too many options for them — notes can be viewed, created, and tagged.
Another view available is for documents stored in Exchange. This feature seems interesting, but it isn't something I would think of just with Exchange. If documents were able to connect to a SharePoint environment, I think it would be a much more useful feature.
Settings and configuration
There are a ton of configurable settings for the TouchDown application (Figure F).
Figure F
TouchDown settings and configuration options.
You can configure the following features within the application:
- Account: Specify account options and connection settings
- General: Enable email push settings, email history, email size, calendar history, and a kill code
- Categories: Add or edit the categories available for items in your mailbox
- Notifications: Enable or disable badges and other notifications for mailbox items
- Email: Settings for managing email, including move to any folder, signatures, font styles, and confirmations
- Calendar: Settings for zoom level, appointment reminders, statuses, week start/end, and workday start/end
- Contacts: Filing settings, add to phonebook, Global Address Search
- Synchronized Folders: Select the folders in your mailbox that should be available in TouchDown
- SMIM settings: If your organization uses SMIME settings, these can be configured here
I've been using TouchDown on iOS for a while, and I really like the organization of the application. Being able to get my corporate mail on my iPhone separately from my personal mail with the added security of IT controls is also pretty great. My organization doesn't use remote wipe features as of yet, but this may be something we evaluate in the future. For organizations that need this capability, NitroDesk has a nice implementation. Because of the ease of use of the application and level of support provided at all levels, I'll be using this application for a long time.
Have you used TownDown for iOS? Share your experience in the discussion thread below.


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The IRS denied a proposal to grant 501(c)(3) status to Yorba, a nonprofit organization that develops open source software for the Linux desktop. In a blog post yesterday, Yorba spokesperson Jim Nelson disclosed the full text of the IRS rejection letter. He fears that IRS policy has evolved to broadly preclude nonprofit open source software developers from obtaining 501(c)(3) tax exemptions.
In the United States, the 501(c)(3) classification is typically granted to a certain class of nonprofit organizations that are engaged in activity that can be considered charitable, religious, scientific, literary, or educational. Many prominent open source software organizations hold 501(c)(3) status, including the Apache Foundation, the GNOME Foundation, the Mozilla Foundation, the Free Software Foundation, and the Wikimedia Foundation.
IRS scandal
The IRS was at the center of a major controversy last year following the release of internal memos revealing that the agency systematically applied a disproportionately aggressive standard of review to organizations that matched certain keywords. Targeted organizations faced greater difficulty obtaining 501(c)(3) status. Interest in the scandal has largely centered on the question of whether prominent political groups were unfairly treated, but the same internal IRS memos that defined the policy also oddly singled out open source software.
IRS personnel responsible for reviewing 501(c)(3) applications were instructed to elevate cases involving open source software to their supervisors, resulting in extensive delays in the review process and frequent rejections. In the wake of the controversy, a New York Times report highlighted how nonprofit organizations that develop open source software may, in fact, receive harsher treatment than many of the other targeted categories.
Luis Villa, a lawyer and well-known open source community member who currently serves as deputy general counsel at the Wikimedia Foundation, told the Times about two nonprofit open source software organizations that were denied tax-exempt status because their use of a targeted keyword triggered a harsh response from the agency.
"As soon as you say the words 'open source,' like other organizations that use 'Tea Party' or 'Occupy,' it gets you red-flagged," he told the Times. "None of the groups have been able to find the magic words to get over the hurdle."
Yorba's rejection
In theory, it might make sense for the IRS to closely review applications from organizations that develop open source software in order to make sure that they aren't actually for-profit companies that sell commercial support or monetize their software with other services. If that were the standard of review, there would be no cause for concern. Unfortunately, it looks like the IRS is applying a much more dubious standard.
The Yorba Foundation was originally founded by former Google employees who wanted to give back to the open source software community. The organization makes open source software applications for the Linux desktop, including a photo management application called Shotwell and a mail client called Geary.
Yorba develops its applications completely in the open, with community participation. The software is distributed under the terms of the relatively permissive LGPL. Yorba doesn't sell any services or monetize its software; it relies largely on donations in order to fund its operations.
In the rejection notice to Yorba, the IRS flatly denied that Yorba's unambiguously nonprofit open source development qualifies for 501(c)(3) status. One of the main points raised by the agency is the possibility that some third party could potentially use Yorba's software for commercial purposes.
"You have a substantial nonexempt purpose because you develop software published under open source compatible licenses that authorize use by any person for any purpose, including nonexempt purposes such as commercial, recreational, or personal purposes," the letter says.
One of the key facets of open source software licensing is that there are no restrictions imposed on specific fields of endeavor—open source software can be used by anyone for any reason. As such, a software license that prohibits commercial use is, by definition, not an open source license. However, the question of whether a piece of open source software is developed for commercial purposes is distinct from whether it is ultimately used commercially by some of its users.
It isn't impossible to understand where the IRS is coming from. Consider a company like Canonical, a commercial software vendor that includes one of Yorba's applications in its own product. If Canonical makes a donation to Yorba that funds development of that software and consequently benefits Canonical's business, it isn't unreasonable to question whether it's really fair for that donation to be tax-deductible.
But the reality is that very little charitable work happens in a vacuum. There are always peripheral effects that benefit a range of other parties and interests. If a nonprofit organization uses donated funds to purchase resources that support its cause, you don't dismiss the effort as non-charitable simply because somebody else profits.
The fact remains that the nonprofit organization in question is motivated by the goal of advancing its cause and not the peripheral commercial benefits. Linux desktop applications like the ones made by Yorba play a role in making Linux a viable option for underprivileged schools and other environments that might not otherwise be able to provide access to computers.
As Nelson points out in his blog post, the widespread use of the Apache server software in the enterprise doesn't invalidate the fact that the purpose of the Apache Foundation, as the steward of software that can be used by anyone, is distinctly noncommercial. The Apache Foundation routinely receives donations from major commercial software vendors, ranging from Microsoft to Red Hat, and nobody questions the validity.
In addition to contending that the possibility of commercial usage makes open source software fall outside the boundaries of 501(c)(3) status, the IRS also shockingly asserts that open source software has no intrinsic educational value. In its rejection notice to Yorba, the agency claims that "anything learned by people studying the source code is incidental." While I may have been able to see at least a hint of logical basis for the agency's concerns about commercial usage, its opinion about the educational value of open source software defies all reason.
I gravitated toward the Linux desktop as a teenager specifically because access to source code, and the ability to participate while receiving mentorship and support from the community, provided me with a great opportunity to learn. The educational value of open source software is directly responsible for enabling my career—in both tech journalism and software development. For software developers who lack the means to obtain a college education, open source software offers an extremely valuable learning opportunity and path into the industry.
Considering Yorba's situation specifically, I'd make the case that there's clear and obvious educational value in much of the software that it has written. Its photo management application, called Shotwell, is arguably among the largest and most widely used pieces of real-world software written in the Vala programming language. Someone who wants to learn Vala and see how a large, complex Vala application is structured would benefit significantly from studying the Shotwell source code.
If you still have doubts, I encourage you to read a blog post by Valentin Barros, a computer science student who was mentored by Yorba employees while he implemented face detection in Shotwell as part of the Google Summer of Code program. He specifically credits Yorba's high quality standards and code review process as things that helped him grow as a professional programmer.
Long-term implications
It's not yet clear how broadly the policy will be applied or what it means for existing 501(c)(3) nonprofits that clearly don't pass the new standard, but the position expressed by the IRS in its rejection notice to Yorba doesn't bode well at all for new organizations that want to follow in the footsteps of the Apache Foundation or the Free Software Foundation.
Some open source software nonprofits that launch to support software development are able to later expand and formalize their existing commitments to broader, more obviously charitable goals. For example, the GNOME Foundation is increasingly focused on its Women's Outreach program, a laudable initiative that aims to help an under-represented group participate in open source software development and thus enter the software industry.
But newer organizations, such as Yorba, may not have the opportunity to grow to the size where they can really maximize the social good of their pursuits if they are denied access to 501(c)(3) status and the incentives that it creates for donors to contribute funding.
Granted, not all nonprofit organizations need 501(c)(3) status. The Fedora project, for example, opted against forming an official charitable foundation, because it didn't want to constrain the manner in which its patron Red Hat could financially support the project. The existing protections that are already in place naturally discourage abuse and understandably make it impractical for nonprofit open source organizations that have strong ties to commercial software vendors to operate under the 501(c)(3) umbrella. Is it really necessary for the IRS to push further?
Yorba will certainly be able to continue operating without the 501(c)(3) designation. The organization can receive money from supporters, but it is treated as income rather than a donation—Yorba will pay income tax, and the donor will not be able to get a tax deduction. This makes it a lot harder for the organization to collect large donations. The end result is that IRS policies could discourage the formation of new open source nonprofits that are devoted to public service and vendor-neutral industry-advancing collaboration, instead forcing such organizations to adopt business models and focus on monetization to the detriment of the community.
It took the IRS four years to issue Yorba's rejection, consistent with the poor treatment and delays seen by other organizations that were targeted by the IRS keyword watch list. Beyond the problems with the reasoning that the IRS provides for rejecting Yorba, the manner in which it has singled out prospective charitable organizations by blind keyword matching rather than the merits of the individual case seems deeply discriminatory.
I'd like to see the IRS adopt a more nuanced policy that will properly award 501(c)(3) status to community-driven nonprofit open source development. In light of the positive social impact that such organizations have to offer, excluding them from 501(c)(3) status seems unreasonable and misguided. Surely, existing policies that mandate strict accounting for nonprofits are sufficient to prevent any possible abuse.


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I have created this page as a place to share media reports regarding The Mormon Tabernacle Choir and other selected stories of interest regarding The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This is not intended to be a comprehensive listing , but will include articles I think are noteworthy. The page was originally created in November 2007 but never made it out of the "draft" bin. I decided to just dust it off and put it on the shelf as a "work in progress". You can help build this page by submitting links! Be sure to check back often!
More About Mormon Temples. For easy access and to reach my larger visiting audience I have created a dedicated page from one of my most frequently downloaded posts. This page is designed to more fully answer latter-day saint temple questions and offers an opportunity for in-depth temple study. Additionally, this information is intended to allay any possible fears, concerns or misconceptions. Readers are invited to discover new insight, respect, reverence and understanding for this beautiful and sacred subject. A 2002 documentary about temples called "Between Heaven and Earth" is included on the page. The entire length is 44 minutes – however it has been broken down into five sequential segments. Return visits to this information is now easily accessible.


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In which Dr Aust does some heavy breathing into a headset.
A week or so back, thanks to the wonders of internet-based communication technology (aka Skype) I joined the guys from Greater Manchester Skeptics for their podcast Just Skeptics (Episode 12, apparently). It is now out – if you're interested, you can listen to it here, or here, or even download it (free, of course) from the iTunes store.
You'll have to excuse the heavy breathing, which I'm embarrassed to say was me. I'd never used a microphone headset before – I'd only installed Skype a day or two earlier – and I think the microphone distance needs adjusting. Or perhaps I'm just a heavy breather.
Anyway, if you do fancy checking it out, you can first hear us talking about "Charity mugging", the phenomenon whereby you can't walk twenty metres in a British town centre in the daytime without being accosted by someone trying to sign you up as a charity (direct debit) donor. Until the podcast I hadn't heard that these "Chuggers" are often out-of-work actors.
We also discuss mad chemists, that hardy stereotype of the man in the white coat with the mad staring eyes. This was inspired by the UK Government's "Crazy Chemist" anti-drug campaign – the one that got the Royal Society of Chemistry so hot under the collar.
And finally, at 24 minutes in, you can hear me having my "Soapbox" where I poke fun at Alternative Medicine. It's not terribly original stuff, and will probably be fairly familiar to regular readers, but hopefully you might find some of it amusing. This segment is followed by a discussion of similar themes, which runs for most of the rest of the podcast. It concludes with the Richard Feynman reflexology story that you may remember from here.
Anyway, let me know what you think, especially if you stick it out all the way through.
PS Listening to the podcast I now notice a couple of minor factual inaccuracies on my part, notably giving the wrong name for something… ah well. Shows that talking off the cuff is not as easy as one might think. Try to spot the slip(s), if you like.


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Welcome to NaturesPet.com's gateway page for Flint River Ranch Super Premium Pet Products.
Our Distributor Number to be used when calling or inquiring FRR for all orders and questions is N996.
Due to serious medical issues we are unable to continue selling all products except Flint River Ranch Super Premium Pet Foods
and Pet Products until further notice. We hope the situation will improve in the long term and we can relaunch our full site.
In the interim, for you to order your Flint River products you have several options: You can simply call Flint River Ranch toll free
at 1 800 354-6858, or click on any link on this page and you will be redirected to our Flint River replicated site where you can order on line or
you can call us at 201 796-0627 and we'll be happy to help.
Our best recomendation is to call Flint River Ranch at 1 800 354-6858 because each customer has a unique customer number and password and without that it is more
difficult to order through the replicated site.
We appreciate your loyal business over the last fourteen years and hope you will continue to order your Flint River Ranch products
directly through us. If we can be of any help please let us know, we value your business.
Jack Zambelli
Simply click on any graphic link to visit our Flint River Ranch only site and learn more about FRR.
Or Click Here To Order Or View Product Assortment
Our Distributor # is: N996 Please use this number when ordering Flint River Ranch's Toll Free Order Number: 1-800-354-6858
Flint River Ranch would like to reaffirm that all of their formulas and ingredients are safe. They purchase all of their ingredients from
major US suppliers, and their ingredients are subjected to USDA testing. Their lamb is from free-range ranches located in New Zealand.
Flint River Ranch Dogs and Cats have a healthier shiny coat, healthy skin and a higher
energy level. Flint River's natural,
holistic ingredients also have a positive effect on allergic reactions, dental disease, degenerative organ disfunction,
and feline urological syndrome (F.U.S.), often caused or enhanced by low-quality ingredients and chemicals that are common
to most other dog and cat foods.
Proper diet not only is important for humans, it is the most basic aspect of a pet's lifestyle. Flint River Ranch has been
formulated to help your companion animals heal holistically through properly balanced nutrition. The secret to Flint River Ranch's
great nutrition is how many nutrients are present in the food and how efficiently they are utilized when digested.
One of the things that makes Flint River Ranch exceptional in the industry is that they only use high quality human-grade
ingredients. This is in sharp contrast to well over 95% of pet food manufacturers, including Science Diet, Iams, Eukanuba,
Nutro, Purina One and Pro-Plan, which all use pet-grade meats, grains and other ingredients.
Pet-grade food is food which is deemed unfit for human consumption by the FDA. Pet-grade grains include those which are
moldy or rancid, while pet-grade meats include those termed "4D," which refers to meat and other products derived from an
animal which arrived at the slaughterhouse either dying, dead, diseased or disabled. From these 4D meats come the by-products
which are also used in these foods. By-products are a mix of such items as chicken feet, chicken heads, duck heads, beaks,
fish heads, hides, hoofs and intestines.
These ingredients are commonly found in many "premium" pet foods, even though they have essentially no nutritional value.
It is not surprising that these items are deemed unfit for human consumption. The question is:
In addition to rejecting pet-grade foods and by-products, Flint River Ranch uses no artificial colors or flavors,
and no ethoxyquin, BHA or BHT, propyl gallate, propylene glycol or other chemical preservatives. Perhaps the most notable
of these, ethoxyquin, has been the subject of a great deal of debate, as ethoxyquin is classified as a pesticide.
While ethoxyquin is allowed in pet-grade foods, the maximum amount of ethoxyquin allowable by law in human-grade food
is five parts per million, or the equivalent of 0.0005 of 1%. If ethoxyquin levels in food exceeds that amount, the food
is then deemed unfit for human consumption. Because ethoxyquin is cheaper than many other chemical preservatives, it
is used in the vast majority of pet foods you see in grocery and pet supply stores.
What sets Flint River Ranch apart from the rest?
More and more pet owners are becoming aware of just how important
nutrition is for the health of their dogs and cats.
This trend in "health" oriented pet foods can be seen on television
every day. Many well known "large commercial" pet food
brands are attempting to convince us through their advertising that their
products are "natural" and "healthy." However, when
you closely review their labels a very different
picture is unfolds. Their colorful, glossy bags with pictures
of healthy, lean cuts of meat and tons of fresh
vegetables contain some very questionable ingredients
like animal by-products and chemical preservatives like BHA, BHT and Ethoxyquin.
What this really amounts to is a lot of hype and marketing sizzle and nothing to do with producing
a high quality, all natural pet food.
Flint River Ranch Pet Foods do not come in fancy bags with
pretty pictures on it. FRR does not spend millions
advertising their product on national television.
What Flint River Ranch does is produce only high quality, human grade
pet foods with all natural ingredients. In fact, the food is so good that the Whole Dog
Journal has consistantly rated Flint River Ranch as one of the top
ten dry dog foods.
Flint River Ranch products are successful because FRR creates satisfied
customers who see their pets health improve, their coats
become shiny and their energy levels increase. These
same satisfied customers tell their friends and family
about Flint River Ranch. Perhaps you may even be reading this information
now because someone recommended this wholesome,
natural food to you. However, no matter how you found Flint River Ranch your companion animal will thank you for doing so!
Top Breeders, care about their pets and know that you do too. That is why
they have sought out the healthiest pet food products you can give your
dog or cat. Flint River Ranch holistic dog and cat food is that food.
Top Breeders strongly endorse Flint River Ranch Super Premium Holistic
dog food and cat food. It is filled with all the necessary vitamins and
minerals to keep your cat and dogs healthy. Flint River Ranch Super Premium Health Food For Pets is formulated
to help your companion animal heal holistically through properly balanced
nutrition and has been called the next best thing to home-cooked meals!
WHY OVEN-BAKED DOG FOOD? Flint River Ranch, Super Premium All-Natural Formula, is slowly TWICE OVEN-BAKED under carefully controlled conditions and proper temperatures. This unique baking process changes the hard to digest molecules of "raw" starches into easy to digest dextrines. This process acts as a "pre-digest" of the kibble food, resulting in less strain on the dog's digestive system and produces a greater degree of food absorption. A dog's intestinal tract is short; it functions in the most efficient manner when the food is concentrated and can be quickly digested. The important vitamins, minerals and food ingredients are then easily assimilated into the dog's digestive system.
EXTRUSION vs QUALITY OVEN-BAKING: Most companies prepare their food by steaming it as quickly as possible, usually less than 3 minutes, then extruding it under extreme pressure through a metal die (A steam extrusion process). This process expands the food with air creating a uniform shape. This method does not produce the highly digestible food that your dog's system requires. This extruded food (cooked in a very short time) is usually almost "raw" and requires the addition of what many nutritionists feel are harmful chemical preservatives (Ethoxyquin, BHA, and BHT) to maintain a reasonable product shelf-life. These chemical products may be associated with dry skin, allergic reactions, dental disease, poor health and degenerative organ dysfunction.
OVEN-BAKING PROCESS: In the oven-baking process, a small 2 inch size biscuit is baked while it moves slowly through the oven. Then it�s broken into smaller, irregular kibble ranging in size from tiny morsels to about 1/2 inch, and sent through the oven again for a second baking, producing a highly digestible and vitamin-rich food for your dog.
DIGESTIBILITY / PALATABILITY: Flint River Ranch dog food scores in the high 90's for digestibility and palatability -while most extruded food is in the low to mid 80's on a scale of 100.
SMALL / FINE MORSELS: The smaller morsels are very important as they digest very quickly in the dog's system helping create immediate nutritional value for your pet. Dogs don't eat food - they "wolf' it down - small pieces digest easier in the dog's system. This is what makes the food so great! The larger, crunchy kibble naturally cleans teeth, exercises the gums and freshens breath.
10-15 lbs.
0.5 to 1.0 Cup per day
WHY 23% PROTEIN? It is not the amount of protein in a dog food that is important, it is the type of protein and how easily it can be digested. The protein is the right amount for all stages of life. In some cases of working dogs or dogs under high stress, the addition of meat protein can be considered.
BAKING TEMPERATURES? Any cook can mix ingredients - the secret is in the total cooking process. This is one of the reasons our food is not easily duplicated by other manufacturers.
COLOR OF THE FOOD? An oven-baked food will have various shades of colors - from the soft light inside to the heavy brown crunchy outside crust. Oven-baked food is food in its' natural state. No oils or liver digest is sprayed on the food to encourage a dog to eat. Like all natural things in our environment, as well as the baking process - color of the food will vary from time to time. CONCENTRATED TO FEED LESS Since the food is concentrated, there is more value with less food consumed. Feeding oven-baked foods require 20-25% less food than steam-extruded foods. Pet owners will find fewer odors and stool clean up. Feeding Flint River Ranch quality products, you will be able to see the difference in your pet's health, skin, coat, energy level and quality life-style.
OVERWEIGHT DOGS? We find many pet owners still feed the amount of oven-baked food they normally would feed with other brands - about 3-4 cups for a 55 lb. dog. With concentrated premium foods, it is best to feed about 25% less. Dogs may require a little adjustment over a period of time to shrink their stomach and reduce their food intake. Lightly cooked vegetables of all types can help while the dog's system adjusts. Improper feeding is the greatest cause of a dog being overweight, not the quality of the food.