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This morning we kicked off Stars & Stripes week on WJZ's Manic Monday. Girl Scouts from all over Central Maryland sang, cheered and waved Girl Scout Cookie signs and boxes to promote the Cookie Program and Operation U.S. Mint.
During Stars & Stripes Week we are asking all Girl Scouts to promote Operation U.S. Mint at their cookie booths by asking customers to show their support for our military troops by purchasing additional boxes of cookies for our soldiers. We are also asking businesses and companies to participate by purchasing cases of cookies. Last year we collected and donated nearly 13,000 boxes of cookies for the military. We hope to top that number this year. For more information or to place an order in support of Stars & Stripes Week/ Operation US Mint, contact Terry Mercer, Product Sales Manager at firstname.lastname@example.com.
There are several other ways you can help support our troops and Operation U.S. Mint this week. GSCM staff is holding a toiletry drive for troops throughout the week. Drop off your travel-sized toiletries to the GSCM Urban Program & STEM Center on Seton Drive or bring them to one of the following Stars & Stripes Week events.
Jerry's Belvedere Restaurant is supporting Operation U.S. Mint by making a daily special menu item made with Girl Scout Cookies. For every dish sold, Jerry's will donate 10% of the profits to GSCM's Operation U.S. Mint campaign. You can sample the dishes tonight at the restaurant at 4 pm. Jerry's Belvedere Restaurant is located at 5928 York Rd in Baltimore.
On Friday, Veteran's Day, we will host a packing party for our toiletry drive and a screening of the documentary, Lioness, which profiles five women who saw action in Iraq's Sunni Triangle. The documentary is part of ITVS' Women and Girls Lead series. Watch a preview and see behind the scenes footage from the documentary. The screening takes place from 12:30 pm-2:00 pm at the Seton Urban Program and STEM Center. Admission is two boxes of Girl Scout Cookies (cookies will be available for purchase) or donate eight travel-size toiletries. Bring your own lunch; drinks and popcorn are on us. RSVP to Clarke Fitzmaurice at firstname.lastname@example.com by November 9.
Thank you for your support of the Girl Scout Cookie Program & Operation U.S. Mint!
Categories: Cookies, Gift of Caring, In the news


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Ted Washington Basketball Coach
Booker T. Washington
Inducted: 2003
Washington is one of the most successful high school basketball coaches in Louisiana sports history. He coached the Lions of Booker T. Washington for 22 years and tallied an impressive 462-60 record and won two Louisiana Interscholastic Athletic and Literary Organization (LIALO) state titles. Washington's teams, known for offensive discipline and defensive intensity, also won five Catholic Youth Organization Tournaments. He also served as the school's baseball coach for nine years bringing home seven city and two state crowns during that span. He was inducted posthumously.

subset: commoncrawl


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Release Date: 2013 |
Album Rating: 3.0Between a 3 and a 3.5 on this.
Stream is here: http://smarturl.it/killswitchengagedtd
Album Rating: 3.0good stuff
Album Rating: 4.0I mean this is only Jesse's second or third album depending on how you look at it, so it makes more sense to look at this as a progression from AOJB. And in that sense I really dig what I'm hearing.
Album Rating: 4.0Edit:
Double post
Album Rating: 3.0Part of it, yeah, but part of it, you have to step back and say that this is a band that was around for another 8 years between that and had evolved a different style. Yet with Jesse they're picking up right at that landmark.
Which is alright. This is a fun album. I just think they'll have something with more of a forward leaning on their next outing.
Album Rating: 3.0Damn , i was writing one for this. Your rating is pretty spot on though, good review.
Album Rating: 3.5Good review, and I really like this album. I was hoping this would be good after Jesse's return.
Album Rating: 3.5the question everyone should be asking is: is there a song on here that sounds close to Temple From the Within? if not so then I'm not interested.
Album Rating: 3.5Well temple from the within is one of the best song if not the best song on AOJB but this is a super fun album with some pretty damn catchy moments
Album Rating: 3.0Torn between a 3-3.5, good review.
Album Rating: 3.0I would say "The Hell in Me" does its best to at least open like "Temple from the Within," but nothing on here really follows the same sort of structure, which is at least a little unfortunate.
Album Rating: 3.0Thompson, did you get a pre-release copy of this? I think it is unfair for any of us to be rating
based off of a stream that probably runs at 120KBps. And have people rating really listened to this at
least a couple of times?
BTW, this album is nothing like Alive or Just Breathing. The band left off from where they were in
2009 and simply wrote better riffs for the verses. The choruses got worse though.
Album Rating: 3.0Nope, just the stream (apparently at ~192 KBps). Quality's really pretty good - certainly not bad enough for me to feel like I'd have to have a physical copy or a set of FLAC files to provide a better review.
Album Rating: 3.0It sounds pretty bad for 192 KBps then. Spotify's music at 160KBps ogg vorbis sounds ten times better
than what altpress is streaming.
I like how you look at this positively as a 3/5 rather than negatively as a 3/5, which is what I am
doing. I really expected this to be an amazing and innovative album, mostly because of how great The
Hymn of a Broken man is.
And to ViralOblivion, Temple From The Within is from the band's first album. The band included it
on AOJB for hell of it.
Album Rating: 2.0 | Sound OffLol.... Whether the stream is high quality or not, this is their second worst album, and a boring representation of a band that helped father the second wave of metalcore. It's a band that's struggling to stay relevant, and doing so by rehashing old riffs. Plus, Jesse's harsh vox on this are not even close to what he used to be. He's really struggling.
Album Rating: 3.0It's fun, but I don't think they'll ever pass Alive or Just Breathing, even if End of the Heartache came close.
I don't really give a fuck about this whole genre though, so
Album Rating: 3.0@Tranta - I guess I tried to look at it more in terms of Killswitch, exclusively. I did love Hymn, but it was just Jesse and Adam, and not the whole band. Plus their last album was really kinda "meh," so I was trying to put it more against that collective effort, which I think is a fairer comparison for the band as a whole. My expectations for the band were also probably lower than yours were based on that.
Album Rating: 4.0this is a generous 2.5. killswitch is more generic now than all the generic bands that ripped them off
Album Rating: 3.0Oh god this album is actually worse now that I'm listening to AOJB again
Album Rating: 2.0 | Sound OffI'm giving it one more listen, and I'm starting to think Jesse is just doing his best Howard impersonation. He sounds so over dramatic on most of the cleans.
Bands: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z


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Ah…time to talk about one of my very favorite side dishes EVER!!! Risotto is often overlooked, but the creamy savory goodness that is risotto could easily take center stage in a dish (and does in some of these highlighted below)! Disney chefs have mastered the art of making this slow-cooked yumminess — rice patiently mixed with flavorful broth — and whether it's mixed with meat, fish, or vegetables, risotto doubles as as a sophisticated recipe and mouth-watering, comfort food.
I was looking through our Disney Food Blog Flickr group and saw so many gorgeous photos of risotto that I simply had to do a post about this dark horse side dish. (Of course, I've added a few of my own photos as well…;-D.)
Let's take a tour around the world…
Butternut Squash Risotto from Artist Point
This butternut squash risotto topped with pork belly is easily in my "top 5" risottos in Disney World. Offered at Artist Point in the Wilderness Lodge, the hint of sweet from the squash and tartness courtesy of the cranberry drizzle create amazing (and memorable!) flavors. Sigh. I miss it.
Dungeness Crab Risotto with Blood Orange Sauce and Pea Shoots; from Artist Point
This ample portion of risotto is mixed handsomely with crab creating a decadent appetizer. (Looks amazing!!!) Dishes at Artist Point tend to change seasonally, yet Dungeness crab seems to be used in many dishes — like these crab cakes we highlighted earlier this week!
(Photographer: Roger Weeks)
Mushroom "Risotto" (in reality this is white corn, but I love that they made a "risotto" out of it), served along side Seared Bison with, Turnips, Chestnuts, and Pinot Noir Juniper Emulsion; from California Grill
This striking presentation from the California Grill has a slight woodsy flavor. Points for creativity, Chef Piasecki!
Photographer: Morgan & Jeff Rooks / CharacterHunters
Arancini-Crispy Risotto, from Citricos
These deep fried rice balls are a staple on the menu at Citricos. Although the recipe tends to change a bit, this app is a popular choice! We never miss it!
Lemon and Pea Risotto served alongside Pan-seared Wreck Fish with Bay Scallops and Citrus Oil, from Coral Reef
Coral Reef in Epcot's Future World tends to get mixed reviews from guests. While the aquarium atmosphere is special, the cuisine is sometimes disappointing. We've heard several kudos to this Lemon and Pea risotto, however! Photographer: Roger Weeks
Mascarpone-laced Risotto di Carnaroli served alongside Oak-grilled Maine Diver Scallops with Artichoke, Fresh and Sun-dried Tomato, Basil, Pecorino Romano, and Proscuitto di Parma Cracklins, from Flying Fish Cafe
Chef Tim Keating is at it again! "Mascarpone-laced"?!??! AWESOME!! And I'd love to try the cracklins… . Photographer: Tana Murphy
Black Eye Pea Risotto, from Jiko
The risotto makes this entree a stand-out. We hope it returns to the menu at some point, but we're glad to have the memory!
Mushroom Risotto, from Le Cellier Steakhouse
Made with truffle butter sauce, the mushroom risotto at Le Cellier is amazing! Mushroom risotto is currently being served with the Filet Mignon entree at this Epcot restaurant. (I always get a dish on the side…can't help it!)
Mozzarella Stuffed Rice Balls, from Portobello
I'm actually dining at Portobello TODAY, so I'm excited to share this with you again. I thought they were so innovative when I first tried them!
Risotto with Chicken, from Raglan Road
Spice up this risotto dish by adding shrimp or chicken! Raglan Road's Risotto is constructed with shiitake mushrooms, garden peas, shaved parmesan, and rocket lettuce. Photographer: abloodphoenix
Risotto Di Gamberi: creamy arborio rice, shrimp, herbs, butter, parmesan cheese, from Tutto Italia
Made with Arborio rice, this creamy risotto features shrimp! This dish consistently garnishes rave reviews for the exquisite flavor and gorgeous presentation. I wonder if it will remain on the menu after the current refurbishment… . Photographer: Roger Weeks
Arancini with marinara sauce, from Via Napoli
While pizza is the showcase of this Epcot restaurant, the fried arancini are an excellent appetizer! Must eat!
Mushroom Risotto, from Yachtsman Steakhouse
Another one of my top 5 risottos in Disney World! If this risotto is on the menu, order it. And if you see it return to the menu, please let us know. 😉 I'm pretty sure it was a fluke (as in they ran out of something else and had to compromise) when I got it in 2009… . Sigh.
Risotto del Giorno, from La Luce by Donna Scala
The risotto at La Luce is exquisite. No matter the day, they'll FEATURE an amazing risotto of the day. We love it every time we go to this fine restaurant at Hilton Bonnet Creek Resort.
Breakfast Risotto, from Oscar's
At the Waldorf Astoria Orlando, Oscar's serves a painstakingly-prepared breakfast risotto every morning. I urge you to drag yourself out of your heavenly bed to dig into this!
Whew!! Feeling full? 😉
Risotto is a popular appetizer, side dish, and main entree at WDW restaurants. Whether it's served as a decadent dish or a comforting side, we're always on the look-out for new risotto offerings (share your favorites, please!).
Have you had a delicious risotto while at a Disney restaurant? Tell us all about it!
As always, a huge thanks to all of you who submit your gorgeous photos to the Disney Food Blog Flickr group! All photos are copyrighted to their photographers an may NOT be used without written permission.


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Section three, "The Now," is of particular interest because it covers many of the challenges that face both new and established writers today. Of all the essays in this section, it is Tom Bissell who comes down hardest on non-readers in his contribution, "Distractions," in which he says: "Talk to people who do not read for pleasure. Really talk to them. Notice the panic in their eyes as you steer the conservation to anything related to the larger world; note the anger with which they respond to anything that requires them to step outside themselves. Most nonreaders are nothing but an agglomeration of third-hand opinion and blindly received wisdom." This section also includes the touching Paul Collins essay, another of my favorites, in which he compares reading 121 years worth of the British "Notes and Queries" magazine to "spending a year in another country, one where I spoke the language but did not know the first thing about its culture."
The three essays, particularly the piece by Douglas Rushkoff, in the book's fourth section, "The Future," should help calm the frazzled nerves of writers and publishers alike. Rushkoff points out, for instance, that "…the Internet has been nothing but great for my own writing career, and those of just about every other writer that I know. Even better the Internet serves to disseminate our ideas – which is the real reason anyone worth his or her pulp should be writing in the first place." He points out the obvious: name recognition sells books and name recognition is a product of having people discuss an author's ideas and writing. If it takes giving away electronic copies of his work in order to build name recognition, Rushkoff is all for it.
Not all of the essays in Bookmark Now worked for me, but those that did were filled with opinions and facts that make me feel better about the long-term future of books as we know them today. Book lovers will find this one worth their time.
Rated at: 3.5


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Advanced Search
WHETHER VANDALISM, inappropriate dress, a drug deal, or a fight, an incident at a high school in Ysleta Independent School District in El Paso, TX, used to trigger the same result: Security officials marched the offenders to a central office to identify them, log a report, and check class schedules to seewhere those students belonged.
But that took time and left key corridors unpatrolled, an unintended invitation that other troublemakers often anticipated and took advantage of.
As a remedy, the district, which covers 45,000 K-12 students across 60 campuses, recently introduced in its seven high schools a system built on handheld Palm Pilot devices running a software product from Trusmart Technologies called ScheduleFinder, which lets officials remain stationed in school hallways even when a problem arises. Using their PDAs, security guards and administrators can check student schedules, access emergency information, identify students by photo, and with some devices, even take pictures of incidents as they happen.
The district tested the system for a year at a single high school and had "fairly dramatic results," according to Ron Livermore, Ysleta's coordinator of instructional technology initiatives. As a consequence, he convinced the other six high schools in the district to adopt the same setup. Over the next year, the system will be launched in the district's middle schools as well.
Although the pilot school made no formal announcement when it introduced the handhelds and software, Livermore says, incidents involving graffiti at the high school quickly plummeted. In one use of the PDAs that proved effective, security officers employed the devices' embedded cameras to photograph kids scrawling graffiti, catching them red-handed. The captured image of the students and their handiwork was then beamed immediately to the rest of the security staff.
Putting their PDAs to further use, the school issued "Top People to Watch" and "Top 10 Student Wanted" lists, including photos of students, converted to a digital format for handhelds. Because of the photo capabilities of the new system, wanted students can no longer hide out by claiming to be someone else or using a fake name, popular tactics used previously. "It's one of the most powerful things I've seen in the security safety model," Livermore says.
Security cameras were already in place at Ysleta ISD schools when the handhelds and ScheduleFinder were implemented. At the suggestion of CDW-G, a vendor-neutral supplier of IT solutions to governments and educators, the district selected PDAs that use the same sort of memory cards as the cameras. Using the same cards across devices means a card can be removed from a security camera and inserted in a PDA for quick replay of an event.
The PDAs, largely Tungsten E's from Palm, can network with other devices via a wireless or infrared signal. Using the ScheduleFinder software, security staff and administrators download the day's school schedule to their handhelds each morning. Other daily updates can be transmitted as well, which comes in handy for disseminating schedule changes, special events, and information on students with special needs or behavioral problems.
Security staff "carry the handhelds 24/7," Livermore says. "Even at home. We want them to really be comfortable with them." Along with schedules, the devices store a wealth of additional information, including standard schoolsecurity documents and handbooks, available via Adobe Acrobat Reader. ScheduleFinder contains student rosters complete with a "reverse search" capability that allows searches by nickname, student ID number, and even a student's assigned parking space.
Livermore says that after eliciting requests for proposals, the district chose the ScheduleFinder program, partly because it seemed to be "built around how to improve campus security and campus safety. What [Trusmart] does, it does really well."
Cost also makes the program a good match for the district, according to Rosario Dickerson, the district's instructional technology trainer, who is now in charge of watching over the new system. The software is based on student population and priced per year at $2 per student; maintenance is another $1 per student. Both costs are capped at 1,200 students. "It's very cost-efficient," Rosario says, adding that the expense is"a very small amount comparedto the cost of replacinga computer lab due tovandalism."
But as with any major change in procedures, making a system like this work requires buy-in from all the key stakeholders."Work with campus administration closely, and thestudent database manager, to get them aligned," Livermoreadvises. In particular, database managers "need to besome of the first people you talk to."
He also suggests a detailed training plan that helps change how security officials and administrators work. In installing the new system at Ysleta, Livermore says, "we discovered that there was a systemic process to how administrators dealt with incidents." No matter what the situation was, staff "brought the perpetrators back to the office," creating delays. Convincing administrators to break that ingrained pattern, he says, can be a challenge. "Plan to do a lot of one-to-one professional development. Actually show them how to make it work."
Livermore spent many hours with security guards and administrators, witnessing the problems they faced and helping to implement Ysleta's new security system. "I saw the fights, I saw the drug deals, I saw the vandalism," he says. "I saw it all because I was on the campus with them."
[It's] a very small amount compared to the costof replacing a computer lab due to vandalism. Rosario Dickerson, Ysleta ISD, on the per-student cost of the district's new security system
A Variety of Options
Handheld devices are only one element of a modernized security system. According to Rich Combs, security practice team lead with CDW-G, schools face a variety of choices in security products, including cameras, identity devices such as scanners or radio frequency identification (RFID) chip readers, and back-end software to collect, store, and provide reporting on security information.
Since a school's largest security expense is generally the cost of personnel, adding cameras in select locations can extend a school's security budget at a lower cost than simply hiring more security guards. If the devices are coordinated on a network, someone in one hallway with a handheld unit can access the network and check the video from a different spot on campus. "The officer can punch in to the network and see another hallway, or another area of the building," Combs says. "That can maximize the presence of one person."
An advantage of wireless security cameras, which can be as small as a person's thumb, is indeed their wirelessness: They don't require wires to connect them. Some can use a nine-volt battery, Combs says, which eliminates the need for running a power connection to each camera. In placing cameras, he suggests that schools consider their potential to act as deterrents. While it's relatively easy to hide a small, wireless camera, sometimes making security cameras visible can be a better strategy, since they discourage bad behavior simply by their presence.
Another security option is a scanner with software that checks the scanned information against a database. This can be used for allowing access to buildings or labs, confirming the identity of a student, or quickly taking attendance electronically in class. But Combs says that because such systems require that students remember their ID cards, they're generally used only in the upper levels of high school.
A third option is instituting a badge system that can be tied to handheld devices carried by security guards, who can scan a badge with a PDA device to confirm a student's identity and schedule, for example.
In the end, security systems needn't only be about breaking up fights in high school hallways and preventing vandalism. Ysleta, which is now extending the security system to its middle schools, hopes to eventually use the same system in its elementary schools as well, to address security issues such as using photo authorization for individuals who come to pick up a particular child after school.
Linda L. Briggs is a freelance writer based in San Diego, CA.
This article originally appeared in the 12/01/2006 issue of THE Journal.
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Daffodil trumpet explained, according to an article in ScienceDaily 9 March 2013, entitled "How the Daffodil Got Its Trumpet". The most distinctive feature of the daffodil flower is its corona, commonly referred to as the "trumpet". It has always been assumed that the corona is made from modified petals. Robert Scotland, Oxford University, UK and colleagues from Harvard University, the United States Department of Agriculture and University of Western Australia have studied gene activity of the different parts of the daffodil flowers as they develop and found the corona developed as a distinct structure, separate from petals, with gene activity more like that of the stamens.
All parts of the daffodil flower sit on a base called the hypanthium, and Robert Scotland explained: "We found that the corona develops from the hypanthium, and is not simply an extension of the petals or stamens. The corona is an independent organ, sharing more genetic identity with stamens, and which develops after the other organs are fully established".
Editorial Comment: Actually, this study does not explain "how the daffodil got its trumpet". To do that you would need to explain how a plant with no trumpet changed into one that has it, so you would need to show what turned on all the appropriate genes at the right time during the flower's development to make the corona. Randomly turning them on is never observed to produce a useful structure.
The unique gene sequences and structure of the corona is real evidence that the genus Narcissus, which includes daffodils, narcissi and jonquils, was created as a separate kind with all it features fully formed. All attempts to breed daffodils with any other flower form have only resulted in flowers with a muddled structure that may be attractive to people, but are usually infertile, as seen in "double daffodils". When "trumpeted" flowers are allowed to breed naturally they always breed after their kind, just as Genesis tells us. (Ref. botany, bulb flowers, Spring)
Evidence News 24 July 2013


text: Create a My Backpack account on wta.org Screen Name Enter the public name you want to appear on your My Backpack page, on Trip Reports you write and on any comments you post. It can be any part of your real name or an online handle. First Name Your name will be kept private. Last Name Your name will be kept private. Email Enter your email address. It serves as both your login and as your preferred contact email in our records. We respect your privacy, and will not give or sell your address to any third parties. Zip Your zipcode will be kept private. Trail News Send me the monthly email newsletter of Washington Trails Association. Trail Action Network Join the Trail Action Network to receive emails about how you can advocate for trails. diversion


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At Chocology, research is one of our top priorities. Since we want to learn all there is to know about chocolate and pass that knowledge on to you, we're always on the lookout for new chocolate covered theories.
We recently heard that chocolate might play a role in helping people achieve higher levels of productivity. Well. . . at the very least, it might make people happier and then stimulate more productivity.
In any case, a study organized by three university researchers, Andrew J. Oswald, Eugenio Proto, and Daniel Sgroi, set out to prove that happy people are more productive. You can find a full version of their paper entitled "Happiness and Productivity" here.
You're welcome to read the full report, but basically the trio compiled four control groups to study whether happiness had an effect on productivity. Two groups were shown funny comedian clips, one group was given free fruit, chocolate and drinks and the fourth group was asked to talk about a recent tragedy in their personal lives.
All of the groups were then asked to complete standardize math quizzes to determine if the comedy or food improved their productivity in these tasks. The three groups that were given incentives did much better on the quizzes while the control group that talked about their misfortunes did worse. In fact, the happy producing incentives raised productivity by an average of 12%.
Google is probably the most well known company to offer an array of workplace perks. It has been voted the best company to work for by Fortune.com for the last five years and productivity at Google has increased by 37% since these perks have been implemented.
The driving force seems to be that the happier people are, the more productive they are.
So, how does this relate specifically to chocolate? Well, at Chocology we believe that chocolate does raise happiness levels. We know scientifically that it activates the pleasure centers in our brain. History tells us that people through the ages have consumed it for it's medicinal and mood elevating properties. In only stands to reason that if we eat chocolate, we become just a little bit happier, at least for the moments that we're eating it.
If the study by Oswald, Proto and Sgroi is accurate, then consuming chocolate should increase our productivity! It might be a stretch, but it's a stretch we're willing to make. Chocolate won't hurt you and it just might make you happier and more productive. It's certainly worth a try!
How about you? Do you think chocolate increases happiness? Could happiness increases productivity? Have you seen incidents in which happiness increased productivity in your life? Comment here or join us on Facebook and let us know what you think.
Since we're talking about research, what kinds of things would you like to know about chocolate? Give us some ideas and we may choose it as one of our research projects for a future blog post.


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someone mentioned nepomuk, so these are the ontologies in use at dev.nepomuk.semanticdesktop.org and partly at nepomuk.kde.org: the contact ontology: http://www.semanticdesktop.org/ontologies/nco/ there is open source tool support, such as a vcard->nco converter and a Microsoft Outlook crawler: http://aperture.sourceforge.net misses some documentation and examples though, but the update and maintenance process is there, we also aim at sustainability, NOKIA uses part of this ontology for the maemo platform. best Leo It was Peter Mika who said at the right time 06.05.2009 13:43 the following words: > Hi Martin, > > This issue came up at VoCamp in Galway, and we decided to settle it in > general by trying to agree on the mappings of microformats to RDF: > > http://semanticweb.org/wiki/Microformats_in_RDF > > At least Sindice and our crawler support now the same mappings for the > majority of microformats. > > For the specific case of VCard: > > http://semanticweb.org/wiki/HCard > > We agreed that the proposal for Representing VCard in RDF > <http://www.w3.org/TR/vcard-rdf> by Renato Iannella is NOW DEPRECATED. > The canonical representation of VCard in RDF > <http://www.w3.org/2006/vcard/ns#> is also hosted at W3C and > maintained by Harry Halpin and Norm Walsh. > > Unfortunately, W3C still has to take the actual step of deprecating > (or even better, moving to archive) the old note. > > And again unfortunately, it's the state of the art in the Semantic Web > that people use vocabularies that rank highest in their favorite > search engine. Everything at W3C, no matter how outdated, comes up > high ;) > > Best, > Peter > > > > > Martin Hepp (UniBW) wrote: >> Dear all: >> >> As far as I can see, there are now two vCard variants in use - the >> original >> >> http://www.w3.org/2001/vcard-rdf/3.0# >> >> and the new one >> >> http://www.w3.org/2006/vcard/ns# >> >> Now - which one should data providers and application developers use? >> I see the technical advantages of the new variant and the >> deficiencies of the old approach. However, a quick SWOOGLE statistics >> shows that there are only 470 RDF documents using the new version vs. >> 233,595 documents using the old version. >> >> How do current Semantic Web applications handle this issue? Do they >> honor data expressed in either variant? >> I see that Yahoo Searchmonkey, for instance, endorses the new >> namespace - what's with others? >> >> We should not irritate potential users of Semantic technology by >> already confusing them by two vocabularies for such basic data as >> contact details.... >> >> Best >> Martin >> >> old: >> http://swoogle.umbc.edu/index.php?option=com_frontpage&service=digest&queryType=digest_ns&searchString=http://www.w3.org/2001/vcard-rdf/3.0%23 >> >> >> new: >> http://swoogle.umbc.edu/index.php?option=com_frontpage&service=digest&queryType=digest_ns&searchString=http://www.w3.org/2006/vcard/ns%23 >> >> > > -- ____________________________________________________ DI Leo Sauermann http://www.dfki.de/~sauermann Deutsches Forschungszentrum fuer Kuenstliche Intelligenz DFKI GmbH Trippstadter Strasse 122 P.O. Box 2080 Fon: +49 631 20575-116 D-67663 Kaiserslautern Fax: +49 631 20575-102 Germany Mail: firstname.lastname@example.com Geschaeftsfuehrung: Prof.Dr.Dr.h.c.mult. Wolfgang Wahlster (Vorsitzender) Dr. Walter Olthoff Vorsitzender des Aufsichtsrats: Prof. Dr. h.c. Hans A. Aukes Amtsgericht Kaiserslautern, HRB 2313 ____________________________________________________Received on Wednesday, 6 May 2009 16:17:29 UTC
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Tuesday, 5 July 2022 08:45:12 UTC


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The Prince-Archbishopric of Salzburg (German: Fürsterzbistum Salzburg) was an ecclesiastical principality and state of the Holy Roman Empire. It comprised the secular territory ruled by the archbishops of Salzburg, as distinguished from the much larger Catholic diocese founded in 739 by Saint Boniface in the German stem duchy of Bavaria. The capital of the archbishopric was Salzburg, the former Roman city of Iuvavum.
From the late 13th century onwards, the archbishops gradually reached the status of Imperial immediacy and independence from the Bavarian dukes. Salzburg remained an ecclesiastical principality until its secularisation to the short-lived Electorate of Salzburg (later Duchy of Salzburg) in 1803. Members of the Bavarian Circle from 1500, the prince-archbishops bore the title of Primas Germaniae, though they never obtained electoral dignity; actually of the six German prince-archbishoprics (with Mainz, Cologne and Trier), Magdeburg, Bremen and Salzburg got nothing from the Golden Bull of 1356. The last prince-archbishop exercising secular authority was Count Hieronymus von Colloredo, an early patron of Salzburg native Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
The prince-archbishopric's territory was roughly congruent with the present-day Austrian state of Salzburg. It stretched along the Salzach river from the High Tauern range—Mt. Großvenediger at 3,666 m (12,028 ft)—at the main chain of the Alps in the south down to the Alpine foothills in the north. Here it also comprised the present-day Rupertiwinkel on the western shore of the Salzach, which today is part of Bavaria. The former archepiscopal lands are traditionally subdivided into five historic parts (Gaue): Flachgau with the Salzburg capital and Tennengau around Hallein are both located in the broad Salzach valley at the rim of the Northern Limestone Alps; the mountainous (Innergebirg) southern divisions are Pinzgau, Pongau around Bischofshofen, and southeastern Lungau beyond the Radstädter Tauern Pass.
In the north and east, the prince-archbishopric bordered on the Duchy of Austria, a former Bavarian margraviate, which had become independent in 1156 and, raised to an archduchy in 1457, developed as the nucleus of the Habsburg Monarchy. The Salzkammergut border region, today a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as an important salt trade region was gradually seized by the mighty House of Habsburg and incorporated into the Upper Austrian lands. In the southeast, Salzburg adjoined the Duchy of Styria, also ruled by the Habsburg (arch-)dukes in personal union since 1192. By 1335, the Austrian regents had also acquired the old Duchy of Carinthia in the south, the Styrian and Carinthian territories were incorporated into Inner Austria in 1379. The Habsburg encirclement was nearly completed, when in 1363 the archdukes also attained the County of Tyrol in the west. Only in the northwest did Salzburg bordered on the Duchy of Bavaria (raised to an Electorate in 1623), and the tiny Berchtesgaden Provostry, which was able to retain its independence until the Mediatisation in 1803.
Previous history
The Vita Sancti Severini biography by the Early Christian chronicler Eugippius reported that during the Decline of the Roman Empire about 450 AD the local capital Iuvavum in the Noricum ripense province was already home to two churches and a monastery. Very little is known of the early bishopric during the Migration Period, and the legendary Saint Maximus of Salzburg is the only abbot-bishop known by name. A disciple of Saint Severinus, he was martyred in the retreat from Noricum, after the Germanic Western Roman officer Odoacer had deposed the last Emperor Romulus Augustulus and declared himself King of Italy in 476. In his conflict with the Rugii tribes, Odoacer had his brother Onoulphus evacuate the Noricum ripense province in 487/88, whereby Iuvavum was abandoned and with it the bishopric. Saint Severinus had already died in 482 in the castrum of Favianis (present-day Mautern in Lower Austria), six years before the departure of the Roman legions from the region.[1]
From the 6th century onwards, the northern areas of the later archbishopric were resettled by Germanic Bavarii tribes, who established themselves among the remaining Romance population, while Slavic tribes moved into the southern Pongau and Lungau parts. About 696 Saint Rupert, then Bishop of Worms in Frankish Austrasia and later called the apostle of Bavaria and Carinthia, came to the region from the Bavarian town Regensburg and laid the foundations for the re-establishment of the Salzburg diocese. After erecting a church at nearby Seekirchen he discovered the ruins of Iuvavum overgrown with brambles and remnants of the Romance population, who had maintained Christian traditions. The former theory that he arrived already in c. 543 during the time of the unsourced early Bavarian dukes appears less likely than that he worked during the reign of the Agilolfing duke Theodo II (c. 680–717), when the Bavarian stem duchy came under Frankish supremacy. In either case, it was not until after 700 that Christian civilisation re-emerged in the region.
Rupert established a monastery dedicated to Saint Peter at the site of a Late Antique church in former Iuvavum. St Peter's Abbey received large estates in the Flachgau (Rupertiwinkel) and Tennengau regions from the hands of Duke Theodon II, including several brine wells and salt evaporation ponds which earned Iuvavum its German name Salzburg. In 711 Rupert also founded the Cella Maximiliana in the Pongau region, the later town of Bischofshofen. His niece Erentrude established a Bendictine nunnery at nearby Nonnberg about 713. In 739 Archbishop Boniface, with the blessing of Pope Gregory III, completed the work of Saint Rupert and raised Salzburg to a bishopric, placed under the primatial see of the Archdiocese of Mainz. St. Vergilius, abbot of St. Peter's since about 749, had quarrelled with St. Boniface over the existence of antipodes. He nevertheless became bishop about 767, had the first cathedral erected in 774 and began the valuable book Liber Confraternitatum (Confraternity Book of St. Peter).
Arno, bishop since 785, enjoyed the respect of the Frankish king Charlemagne who assigned to him the missionary territory between the rivers Danube in the north, the Rába (Raab) in the east and the Drava in the south, an area which had recently been conquered from the Avars. Monasteries were founded and all of Carinthia was slowly Christianised. While Arno was in Rome attending to some of Charlemagne's business in 798, Pope Leo III appointed him Archbishop over the other bishops in Bavaria (Freising, Passau, Regensburg, and Säben). When the dispute over the ecclesiastical border between Salzburg and the Patriarchate of Aquileia broke out, Charlemagne declared the Drava to be the border. Arno also began the copying of 150 volumes from the court of Charlemagne, beginning the oldest library in Austria.
Archbishop Adalwin (859–873) suffered great troubles when King Rastislav of Moravia attempted to remove his realm from the ecclesiastical influence of East Francia. In 870 Pope Adrian II appointed the "Apostle of the Slavs" St. Methodius the Archbishop of Pannonia and Moravia at Sirmium, entrusting him large territories under the overlordship of the Salzburg diocese. It was only when Rastislav and Methodius were captured by King Louis the German that Adalwin could adequately protest the invasion of his rights. Methodius appeared at the Synod of Salzburg where he was struck in the face and imprisoned in close confinement for two and a half years. Adalwin attempted to legitimise his imprisonment, but was compelled to release Methodius when ordered by the Pope.
Soon after, the Magyars ravaged Great Moravia and not a church was left standing in Pannonia. Archbishop Dietmar I fell in battle in 907. It was not until the Battle of Lechfeld in 955 that the Magyars suffered a crushing defeat, and ecclesiastical life in Salzburg returned to normal. The following year after Archbishop Herhold allied with Liudolf, Duke of Swabia and Duke Conrad the Red of Lorraine, he was deposed, imprisoned, blinded, and banished. Archbishop Bruno of Cologne, called the Bishop-Maker, appointed Frederick I archbishop and declared the Abbacy of St. Peter independent. In 996, Archbishop Hartwig received the right to mint money.
In the era beginning with Pope Gregory VII, the Latin Christendom entered a period of internal conflict. The first archbishop of the era was Gebhard, who during the Investiture Controversy remained on the side of the Pope. Gebhard thus suffered a nine-year exile, and was allowed to return shortly before his death and was buried in Admont. His successor Thimo was imprisoned for five years, and suffered a horrible death in 1102. After King Henry IV abdicated and Conrad I of Abensberg was elected Archbishop. Conrad lived in exile until the Calistine Concordat of 1122. Conrad spent the remaining years of his episcopate improving the religious life in the archdiocese.
The Archbishops again took the side of the Pope during the strife between them and the Hohenstaufens. Archbishop Eberard I of Hilpolstein-Biburg was allowed to reign in peace, but his successor Conrad II of Austria earned the Emperor's wrath and died in 1168 in Admont a fugitive. Conrad III of Wittelsbach was appointed the Archbishop of Salzburg in 1177 at the Treaty of Venice, after the partisans of both Pope and Emperor were deposed.
Archbishop Eberhard II of Regensberg was made a prince of the Empire in 1213, and created three new sees: Chiemsee (1216), Seckau (1218) and Lavant (1225). In 1241 at the Council of Regensburg he denounced Pope Gregory IX as "that man of perdition, whom they call Antichrist, who in his extravagant boasting says, I am God, I cannot err."[2] Eberhard was excommunicated in 1245 after refusing to publish a decree deposing the emperor and died suddenly the next year. During the German Interregnum, Salzburg also suffered confusion. Philip of Spanheim, heir to the Dukedom of Carinthia, refused to take priestly consecrations, and was replaced by Ulrich, Bishop of Seckau.
King Rudolph I of Habsburg quarrelled with the archbishops through the manipulations of Abbot Henry of Admont, and after his death the archbishops and the Habsburgs made peace in 1297. The people and archbishops of Salzburgs remained loyal to the Habsburgs in their struggles against the Wittelsbachs. When the Black Death reached Salzburg in 1347, the Jews were accused of poisoning the wells and suffered severe persecution. The Jews were expelled from Salzburg in 1404. Later, the Jews were allowed to return but were forced to wear pointed hats.
Conditions were at their worst during the reign of Bernard II of Rohr. The country was in depression, local authorities were raising their own taxes and the Turks were ravaging the archdiocese. In 1473, he summoned the first provincial diet in the history of the archbishopric, and eventually abdicated. It was only Leonard of Keutschach (reigned 1495–1519) who reversed the situation. He had all the burgomasters and town councillors (who were levying unfair taxes) arrested simultaneously and imprisoned in the castle. His last years were spent in bitter struggle against Matthäus Lang of Wellenburg, Bishop of Gurk, who succeeded him in 1519.
Matthäus Lang was largely unnoticed in official circles, although his influence was felt throughout the archbishopric. He brought in Saxon miners, which brought with them Protestant books and teachings. He then attempted to keep the populace Catholic, and during the Latin War was besieged in the Hohen-Salzburg, declared a "monster" by Martin Luther, and two later uprisings by the peasants lead to suffering to the entire archdiocese. Later bishops were wiser in the ruling and spared Salzburg the religious wars and devastation seen elsewhere in Germany. Archbishop Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau gave the Protestants the choice of converting to Catholicism or leaving Salzburg. The Cathedral was rebuilt in such splendour that it was unrivalled by all others north of the Alps.
Archbishop Paris of Lodron led Salzburg to peace and prosperity during the Thirty Years' War in which the rest of Germany was thoroughly devastated. During the reign of Leopold Anthony of Firmian, the remaining Protestants in Salzburg were expelled in 1731.[3] He invited the Jesuits to Salzburg and asked for help from the emperor, and finally ordered the Protestants to recant their beliefs or emigrate. Over 20,000 Salzburg Protestants were forced to leave their homes, most of whom accepted an offer of land by King Frederick William I of Prussia.
The last Prince-Archbishop, Hieronymus von Colloredo, is probably best known for his patronage of Mozart. His reforms of the church and education systems alienated him from the people.
In 1803, Salzburg was secularised as the Electorate of Salzburg for the former Grand Duke Ferdinand III of Tuscany (brother of Emperor Francis II), who had lost his throne. In 1805 it became part of Austria, and in 1809 of Bavaria, which closed the University of Salzburg, banned monasteries from accepting novices, and banned pilgrimages and processions. The archdiocese was reestablished as the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Salzburg in 1818 without temporal power.
Up to today, the Archbishop of Salzburg has also borne the title Primas Germaniae ("First [Bishop] of Germany"). The powers of this title – non-jurisdictional – are limited to being the Pope's first correspondent in the German-speaking world, but had once included the right to preside over the Princes of the Holy Roman Empire. The Archbishop also has the title of Legatus Natus ("born legate") to the Pope, which, although not a cardinal, gives the Archbishop the privilege of wearing red vesture (which is much deeper than a cardinal's scarlet), even in Rome.
Bishops of Salzburg
- St. Maximus of Salzburg, died 476.
Abandoned after c. 482
- St. Ruprecht, born c. 543 or c. 698 – c. 718.
- Vitalis
- Erkenfried
- Ansologus
- Ottokar
- Flobrigis
- Johann I
- St. Virgilius, c. 745 or c. 767 – c. 784
- Arno 784–821
- Adalram 821–836
- Leutram 836–859
- Adalwin 859–873
- Adalbert I 873
- Dietmar I 873–907
- Pilgrim I 907–923
- Adalbert II 923–935
- Egilholf 935–939
- Herhold 939–958
- Friedrich I 958–991
- Hartwig 991–1023
- Günther 1024–1025
- Dietmar II 1025–1041
- Baldwin 1041–1060
- Gebhard 1060–1088
- Thiemo 1090–1101
- Konrad I von Abensberg 1106–1147
- Eberhard I von Hilpolstein-Biburg 1147–1164
- (Conradus II) Konrad II of Austria 1164–1168
- Adalbert III of Bohemia 1168–1177
- Conrad III 1177–1183
- Adalbert III of Bohemia (restored) 1183–1200
- Eberhard II of Regensburg 1200–1246
- Bernhard I of Ziegenhain 1247
- Philipp of Carinthia 1247–1256
- Ulrich of Sekau 1256–1265
- Ladislaus of Salzburg 1265–1270
- Frederick II of Walchen 1270–1284
- Rudolf of Hoheneck 1284–1290
- Conrad IV of Breitenfurt 1291–1312
- Weichard of Pollheim 1312–1315
- Frederick III of Leibnitz 1315–1338
- Henry of Pirnbrunn 1338–1343
- Ordulf of Wiesseneck 1343–1365
- Pilgrim II of Pucheim 1365–1396
- Gregor Schenk of Osterwitz 1396–1403
- Eberhard III of Neuhaus 1403–1427
- Eberhard IV of Starhemberg 1427–1429
- John II of Reichensperg 1429–1441
- Frederick IV Truchseß of Emmerberg 1441–1452
- Sigismund I of Volkersdorf 1452–1461
- Cardinal Burchard of Weissbruch 1461–1466
- Bernhard II of Rohr 1466–1482
- John III Peckenschlager 1482–1489
- Friedrich V of Schallenburg 1489–1494
- Sigismund II of Hollenegg 1494–1495
- Leonhard von Keutschach 1495–1519
- Matthäus Lang von Wellenburg 1519–1540
- Ernest of Bavaria 1540–1554
- Michael of Khuenburg 1554–1560
- John Jacob of Khun-Bellasy 1560–1586
- George of Kuenburg 1586–1587
- Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau 1587–1612
- Marcus Sittich of Hohenems 1612–1619
- Paris von Lodron 1619–1653
- Guidobald of Thun 1654–1668
- Maximilian Gandalf of Kuenburg 1668–1687
- Johann Ernst von Thun 1687–1709
- Francis Anton od Harrach 1709–1727
- Leopold Anton von Firmian 1727–1744
- Jacob Ernest of Liechtenstein-Castelcorno 1744–1747
- Andreas Jacob of Dietrichstein 1747–1753
- Sigismund III of Schrattenbach 1753–1771
- Hieronymus von Colloredo 1772–1812 (last prince-archbishop, lost temporal power in 1803 after secularization)
See Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Salzburg for archbishops since 1812.
See also
- Alte Residenz – city palace
- Schloss Hellbrunn – summer palace


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So, I'm in the Springs this past weekend and I'm shopping with my daughter, her husband and his mom. We all went to "Vintage Market Days" and then did some Christmas Shopping. I saw this cutie cow picture in Kirkland's and they only had ONE, but passed on it cause I should be buying gifts for other people! LOL . . . We left Kirkland's and went into Sam's Club (in the same shopping center). We're leaving Sam's Club and Amie says, "I have to run back into Kirkland's". The rest of us wait in the car. She comes out of Kirkland's, hands me the bag and says, "here mom, Merry Christmas from Robin"!! I'm like – what????? Robin live in Texas!
Robin had texted Amie while we were in Kirkland's. Amie texted her a couple pics and Robin responded with, "that cow picture is the one I wanted to get her!". OK, soooo while Robin (who lives in Texas) was in South Carolina for Thanksgiving had been out shopping and saw the cow pic in a Kirkland's in South Carolina. She didn't want to carry it home on the plane so thought she'd buy it online and ship it to me. However, it was not available online! Sooooooooooooo what are the odds that Robin would text Amie at the exact same time that we are shopping at Kirkland's in Colorado Springs . . . . then Amie sends her a pic of the VERY cow pic that I wanted that Robin wanted to buy me (3 weeks ago) . . . and it was the ONLY ONE left!!!
TOTAL GOD THING! HE does stuff like that for me & Robin – crazy story, but crazy cool!!! Thank you Texas Bestie!! I love him!!!! His name is Nickers!! For you know, St. Nickers! LOL Yes I'm really laughing out loud at myself! LOL


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Monthly Archives: October 2016
Making the Cut (Wedding Cake Blues)
A little over a year ago, my eldest daughter got engaged and asked me to make their wedding cake. Due to allergies, her diet is pretty limited: no processed foods, nothing with preservatives, no soy and no dairy. When I … Continue reading


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It's that wonderful time of year again. Got any serious violations you'd like to show us? Send your jpeg files to jperlow AT gmail.com. — Jason
Having been brought up Jewish, Rachel and I never had the opportunity to actually decorate our homes with holiday lights. That being said, we appreciate a nice display, and have come to think of ourselves as connoisseurs and critics of the very best (and worst) in holiday light entertainment. Over the years, we've developed a set of guidelines for holiday lights. This year, we decided to codify them and to distribute citations (click to download PDF file, if you'd like to issue them too!) to local residences for exceptionally good (and
Click to read the rest of this article at ZDNet Tech Broiler.


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Senior executives routinely share and discuss financial data with marketing directors, operations chiefs, and other direct reports. But how much do those managers really understand about finance? We recently investigated this question, and the news is not good.
Asked to take a basic financial-literacy exam—a test that any CEO or junior finance person should easily ace—a representative sample of U.S. managers from C-level executives to supervisors scored an average of only 38%. A majority were unable to distinguish profit from cash. Many didn't know the difference between an income statement and a balance sheet. About 70% couldn't pick the correct definition of "free cash flow," now the measure of choice for many Wall Street investors. (See the sample questions below.)
Does this lack of financial literacy matter? From individual managers' point of view, it surely does. Those who can't speak the language of business can't contribute much to a discussion of performance and are unlikely to advance in the hierarchy. They may be caught off guard by financial shenanigans, as many employees at Enron were. They will be unable to gauge the health of a prospective employer. One of us, Joe Knight, serves as the chief financial officer of a small manufacturing company. He often asks candidates for engineering positions whether they would like to review the past two years of the company's financials. None yet have taken him up on the offer—knowing, perhaps, that they could make neither head nor tail of the statements.
Financial illiteracy in the managerial ranks can be a crippling weakness for the organization, as well. Imagine a business that is attempting to increase operating cash flow, as many firms are at the moment. Even experienced executives, accustomed to managing a P&L, may be unaware of the many balance-sheet levers they can pull to affect cash—decreasing inventory, for example, or reducing days sales outstanding.
We recently worked with a health care services company seeking to increase its gross margin, and the first thing we had to do was help the sales force understand the difference between making a sale and making a profitable sale. Unfortunately, that's a widespread problem. Nearly two-thirds of our test takers thought that discounts offered by sales reps had no effect on gross margin. If you don't understand what goes into a number, you can hardly know how to improve it.
Why don't people tell their bosses that they don't speak finance? It's the usual human reluctance to admit ignorance. In a survey of a different sample of managers, we asked what happens in meetings when people don't understand financial data. The majority chose answers reflecting that reluctance, such as "Most people don't ask because they don't want to appear uninformed in front of their boss or peers."


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A former school bus driver being sentenced for kidnapping three women and subjecting them to years of sexual and physical abuse left behind a letter that said "I'm a sexual predator," an FBI agent testified.
Prosecutors detailed Ariel Castro's assaults and law enforcement witnesses described the prison he built in his ramshackle home. With the possibility of the death penalty for a forced miscarriage taken off the table, Castro stands to get life in prison plus 1,000 years.
FBI agent Andrew Burke said Castro turned his house into a prison by creating a makeshift alarm system and chaining them inside bolted bedrooms.
Bedroom windows were boarded shut from the inside with heavy closet doors and doorknobs had been removed and replaced with multiple locks, he said. The house was divided in ways to make it more secure and to hide the existence of rooms, he said.
Burke also testified that Castro would occasionally pay his victims after raping them. But he then would require them to pay him if they wanted something special from the store.
The letter written by Castro was found in his home and shown in court. It read "Confession and Details" at the top.
Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Detective Dave Jacobs said he talked with Castro a few days after the women escaped and that Castro said, "I knew what I did was wrong."
Early in the hearing, Castro tried to apologise to the victims, but after speaking with the judge said he would do that later in the proceedings.
A police officer who helped rescue the women said one was reluctant to come out of her room even when she saw the officers. They were scared even after they were taken out of the house and quickly began sharing details about the horrors they went through, saying that they had been starved and beaten.
"They were just shouting out a lot of things," said Cleveland police officer Barb Johnson. She described the women as thin, pale and scared.
Responding to questions from prosecutors, Cleveland police detective Andrew Harasimchuk said that the women all described a pattern of being physically, sexually and emotionally assaulted for years. He said all three women were abducted after Castro offered them a ride and that each was chained in his basement and sexually assaulted within a few hours of being kidnapped.
Cuyahoga County prosecutor Tim McGinty said in a sentencing memorandum filed Wednesday that Castro, who fed his captives only one meal a day, "admits his disgusting and inhuman conduct" but "remains remorseless for his actions."
The memorandum described a diary kept by one of the women.
"The entries speak of forced sexual conduct, of being locked in a dark room, of anticipating the next session of abuse, of the dreams of someday escaping and being reunited with family, of being chained to a wall, of being held like a prisoner of war ... of being treated like an animal," it says.
The sentencing could take up to four hours, court officials said, with Castro, his lawyers his victims and prosecution witnesses getting a chance to speak. The legal team representing the women's interests declined to comment on whether they would testify or send statements to the court.
Prosecutors used a model of the house where Castro, 53, imprisoned the women to present their case. They also showed photos taken from inside the ramshckle home.
The women quickly escaped after Amanda Berry kicked out the door panel on May 6 and Castro was arrested within hours. The women disappeared separately between 2002 and 2004, when they were 14, 16 and 20 years old.
Some horrific details of the women's ordeal had already emerged, including tales of being chained to poles in the basement or a bedroom heater or inside a van, with one woman forced to wear a motorcycle helmet while chained in the basement and, after she tried to escape, having a vacuum cord wrapped around her neck.
Castro repeatedly starved and beat one of the victims each time she was pregnant, forcing her to miscarry five times.
He forced the same woman on threat of death to safely deliver the child he fathered with another victim on Christmas Day 2006. The same day, prosecutors say, Castro raped the woman who helped deliver his daughter.
As part of his plea deal, Castro was to receive a sentence of life with no chance of parole for aggravated murder in the forced miscarriage. He would then receive 1,000 years for the kidnapping, rape, assault and other charges.
Berry, 27, made a surprise onstage appearance at a rap concert last weekend, and a second victim, Gina DeJesus, 23, has made a few televised comments. Knight, 32, appeared with Berry and DeJesus in a video in early July thanking the community for its support.
Knight, the first of three to disappear, also sent police a handwritten letter thanking them for their help collecting cards and gifts for the women. In the note, Knight told Second District Cmdr. Keith Sulzer, "Life is tough, but I'm tougher!"


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You've got your grill. You've got your meat. But you're missing one integral ingredient: fire. Rather than messing around with tons of messy newspapers or smelly lighter fluid, consider trying Weber's Rapidfire Chimney Starter.
Sometimes the biggest challenge in barbecuing is just getting the fire going. But this Chimney Starter is supposed to work efficiently, so you won't be waiting around for your grill to heat up. It also has plenty space for all the charcoal you need. Plus, you don't need to plug anything in. All you need is a match; no additional fuel is required to ignite the flame. With summer upon us, you'll be getting a lot of mileage out of this at your Memorial Day bash, Fourth of July fete, and your everyday pool parties. [Amazon]


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President Barack Obama challenged Republicans on major tax and entitlement proposals in Tuesday's State of the Union address, unveiling sweeping new initiatives to boost the middle class while taking aim at GOP recalcitrance.
The president traveled to Capitol Hill on Tuesday for the annual speech, where he pressed Republicans to allow his proposals on issues ranging from taxes and entitlements to guns and immigration to move forward. While Obama seemed determined to advance his ambitious agenda, he must race against a window of opportunity that often closes quickly on president in their second terms
Moreover, the president's plans will have to survive the brier patch of Capitol Hill, where Republicans have strenuously opposed much of Obama's agenda and are girding for a major springtime showdown on budgets and the swift, automatic spending cuts known as the sequester.
"Let's be clear: deficit reduction alone is not an economic plan," said Obama, who argued that his second term priorities did not represent "bigger government," but rather, "smarter government."
Obama spent much of the first half of his speech challenging Republicans on that central issue after two years of legislating in Washington that saw the government lurch from the brink of a shut down to the brink of a debt-limit default to the brink of automatic tax hikes.
(Watch Now: Blankfeinon US Economy, Stocks & Activists)
"Let's agree, right here, right now, to keep the people's government open, pay our bills on time, and always uphold the full faith and credit of the United States of America," the president said.
The assertive rhetoric from Obama recalled the themes on which he successfully campaigned for re-election last fall. Tuesday's speech mostly lived up to its billing by the White House as a coda to the liberal call-to-arms in Obama's second inaugural address on issues ranging from government spending to gay rights and immigration reform.
One issue on which Obama did not campaign - stricter gun controls - featured more poignantly in Tuesday's speech. Gun violence has unwittingly become a cornerstone of Obama's second term agenda following the elementary school massacre in Newtown, Conn. last December.
Gun control is an issue on which Obama faces stiffer Republican resistance, and the president took a much more personal tack in pressing lawmakers to take up his proposals. He turned victims of high-profile shootings in attendance at Tuesday's speech in urging lawmakers to, at the very least, allow his gun proposals a vote.
"Gabby Giffords deserves a vote," he said, referring to the critically injured former Arizona congresswoman in the House chamber. "The families of Newtown deserve a vote. The families of Aurora deserve a vote. The families of Oak Creek, and Tucson, and Blacksburg, and the countless other communities ripped open by gun violence – they deserve a simple vote."
Obama's speech on Tuesday was delivered in the same vein; the president embraced proposals that might encounter resistance in this Congress, such as new legislation to address climate change. But, in a reflection of Obama's newfound feistiness in a second term, the president vowed to take executive action if Congress would not act.
Obama made other proposals he said would bolster the middle class. Among Obama's proposals were: Universal access to preschool for all four-year-olds, increasing the federal minimum wage to $9 an hour by the end of 2015, $50 billion in infrastructure spending, and partnerships to promote cleaner energy and improved manufacturing. Those initiatives, the president pledged, should not increase the deficit "by a single dime."
To help finance those initiatives, Obama called for broad individual and corporate tax reforms, as well as savings from entitlement programs like Medicare – changes to which have been a lightning rod in recent election cycles. Those proposals carefully track with Obama's previous demands to close loopholes and deductions to raise new revenue in tax reform.
But Republicans have argued that the matter of new revenue is "settled" following a fiscal cliff deal that saw the GOP relent to higher taxes on household income above $450,000. To that end, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, in the official Republican response, called on Obama to "abandon his obsession with raising taxes and instead work with us to achieve real growth in our economy."
Obama's ambitious plans come as he's asking lawmakers to approve two other major proposals: comprehensive immigration reform that gives undocumented immigrants a pathway to citizenship, and a series of tighter controls on firearms as part of a broader effort to curb gun violence.
(Watch Now: Curbing Gun Violence in the US)
On immigration, the president lauded a bipartisan Senate group's work on immigration.
"As we speak, bipartisan groups in both chambers are working diligently to draft a bill, and I applaud their efforts," he said. "Now let's get this done. Send me a comprehensive immigration reform bill in the next few months, and I will sign it right away."
But for as much as fiscal matters and economic policy have dominated discussion in Washington, Obama devoted a good part of his State of the Union speech to foreign policy – highlighting in particular the planned withdrawal of 34,000 American troops from Afghanistan in the next year, a tangible symbol of how that war is winding to its end.
Obama also used his speech to address some of the emergent national security issues. He condemned North Korea's nuclear test on Tuesday and pledged to work with Congress to develop rules for the use of unmanned aerial drones in targeting terrorists for assassination. The administration has faced new scrutiny on that latter issue amid the revelation of a new White House memo arguing that the president has wide latitude to target Americans for assassination if they're deemed to be assisting terrorist actors.
Obama additional announced a new executive order to inoculate U.S. infrastructure from a cyber-attack, by enabling greater information-sharing between the government and its partners and calling for the development of a National Infrastructure Protection Plan within 240 days.
The event, as always, was filled with Washington pomp and circumstance, including lawmakers to arrived hours earlier to reserve prime seats for themselves. Also, in keeping with tradition, outgoing Energy Secretary Steven Chu was kept spirited away from the Capitol to ensure continuity of government in case of a security incident.


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NHL lockout: Union presents counteroffer
The NHL players' union presented a counteroffer to the league Monday in the latest attempt to resolve a lockout and start a shortened season.
The sides met at NHL headquarters and negotiated for the first time since they met with a federal mediator on Dec. 13.
They took a break while the league considered the proposal, and union representatives stayed in the building in case further talks ensued.
So far, a deal has been elusive and well out of reach.
The New Year's clock is ticking while the window to reach a labor agreement to save the season is rapidly closing. No one has said exactly how much time remains, but the belief is the NHL wants an abbreviated season to start no later than Jan. 19.
That leaves a little less than two weeks to reach an agreement and hold one week of training camp before the puck would drop on a 48-game campaign.
The league and the union had informational discussions — by conference call and in meetings — with staff members that lasted much of Saturday and ended Sunday. Those talks were spurred by the nearly 300-page contract proposal the NHL presented to the union Thursday.
All games through Jan. 14 have been canceled, claiming more than 50 percent of the original schedule. The NHL wants to reach a deal by Jan. 11 and open the season eight days later.
Bargaining sessions with only the NHL and union hadn't been held since Dec. 6, when talks abruptly ended after the players' association made a counterproposal. The league said that offer was contingent on the union accepting three elements unconditionally and without further bargaining.
The NHL then pulled all existing offers off the table. Two days of sessions with mediators the following week ended without progress.
A person familiar with key points of that previous offer told The Associated Press that the league proposed raising the limit of individual free-agent contracts to six years from five — seven years if a team re-signs its own player; raising the salary variance from one year to another to 10 percent, up from 5 percent; and one compliance buyout for the 2013-14 season that wouldn't count toward a team's salary cap but would be included in the overall players' share of income.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because details of the new offer weren't being discussed publicly.
The NHL maintained the deferred payment amount of $300 million it offered in its previous proposal, an increase from an earlier offer of $211 million. The initial $300 million offer was pulled after negotiations broke off this month.
That proposal was for 10 years, running through the 2021-22 season, with both sides having the right to opt out after eight years.
The NHL is the only North American professional sports league to cancel a season because of a labor dispute, losing the 2004-05 campaign to a lockout. A 48-game season was played in 1995 after a lockout stretched into January.
It is still possible this dispute could eventually be settled in the courts if the sides can't reach a deal on their own.
The NHL filed a class-action suit this month in U.S. District Court in New York in an effort to show its lockout is legal. In a separate move, the league filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board, contending bad-faith bargaining by the union.
Those moves were made because the players' association took steps toward potentially filing a "disclaimer of interest," which would dissolve the union and make it a trade association. That would allow players to file antitrust lawsuits against the NHL. Union members voted overwhelmingly to give their board the power to file the disclaimer by Wednesday. If that deadline passes, another authorization vote could be held to approve a later filing.


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Chances are you've heard of Clever Hans, the horse who could perform arithmetic. But have you heard of early 20th century experiments in dog telepathy? Here's a snapshot of one such ridiculous experiment.
From Weird Experiments:
In this telepathy experiment between human and dog Karl Krall (on the right) tried to detect the thinking radiation he assumed to flow between the two. Krall was a rich dealer in diamonds who had founded his very own institute for paraphysical research in Munich. He had also taken care of the famous horse Clever Hans (who performed arithmetic in Berlin in 1904) after his owner Wilhelm van Osten had died. He thought Hans used telepathy and started an elaborate research program but he was wrong: the horse could read the right answers in small unintentional signals given by humans.
[Spotted on Omni Brain]


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St. Lucie County proposes 4-day school week
Proposal estimated to save $3.6 million
The St. Lucie County school board is considering moving to a four-day school week as a cost-cutting measure.
A proposal to reduce district expenditures for the 2013-14 school year includes trimming classes to four days per week.
Under the plan, teachers and administrators would work extended hours in order to meet the required number of instructional minutes as designated by Florida law.
Bus drivers and aides, cafeteria employees and other hourly employees would continue to work their regularly scheduled hours four days per week.
Other proposals include closing two schools, eliminating media specialists and clerks in school libraries, reducing the number of physical education, music and art teachers, and reducing substitute teachers.
The proposal to trim the number of school days would save an estimated $3.6 million from the budget.
"It's too early for people to get too upset right now because we're just looking around to see, on the landscape, to see where some cuts can be made," school district spokeswoman Janice Karst told WPBF 25 News' Cathleen O'Toole.
School board members will hear these proposals at a Jan. 22 meeting, Karst said. But there will be no discussion and no vote then, she said.


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Civil War in Russia (2)
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The Israel Aircraft Industries Kfir (Hebrew: כְּפִיר, "Lion Cub") is an Israeli-built all-weather, multirole combat aircraft based on a modified French Dassault Mirage 5 airframe, with Israeli avionics and an Israeli-made version of the General Electric J79 turbojet engine.
Kfir C.7 : Vastly modified variant. Most if not all C.2 aircraft were modified to this variant. It included an improved J79-GEJ1E engine that offered more 1,000 lbs of thrust at full afterburner (and as a result increasing the Maximum Take-off Weight by 3,395 lbs), 2 more hardpoints under the air intakes, better avionics such as the Elta EL/M-2021B radar, HOTAS configured cockpit and inflight refueling capability.


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Georgia Traditional Coastline Shorts Navy
Made for sunny weather, our Coastline Shorts are ideal for whatever you've got planned. Dress them up or down, they are built for spring weekends, long summer days, and can carry over to fall. Get ready for your new go-to shorts.
Please allow 7-10 business days for processing and delivery.
- 100% cotton twill
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- 7 1/2-inch inseam
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- Split waistband to allow for tailoring
- Classic map print lining


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Matt Mong, VP of Market Innovation and Category Design at Adeaca, the leader in Project Business Automation (PBA), an all-in-one business management cloud solution for project-based companies, was recently featured in the recent issue of Construction Today magazine. Mong discussed why construction must identify as a project business to optimize activities and investments.Read the full article here.
According to Mong, productivity in the construction industry has remained stagnant or even declined over the last few decades. This is not only due to poor project business management and the lack of technological innovation, but also the fact that construction companies fail to recognize themselves as a project business.
"Failing to recognize a construction company as a project business makes it almost impossible to organize and support the business processes in a way that sets contractors up for success. Chances are business processes are set up in a haphazard, disjointed fashion where nothing is integrated. In addition, the problem is made worst due to the lack of business systems support for these types of companies," added Mong.
Construction Today magazine is a vital resource for anyone looking to stay up-to-date on the issues facing companies involved in the built environment.
About Adeaca:
Adeaca is the first company to introduce Project Business Automation (PBA), a new category of software systems built for companies who consider projects an important part of their business. Recognized by Forrester, PBA is revolutionizing how projects get done by providing the capabilities to manage and govern project processes from beginning to end.
The PBA Quick Guide provides a high-level overview on how PBA focuses on the business side of projects and how to apply new rules to improve key business drivers.
Adeaca knows the challenges of managing and delivering projects, whether external or internal, and the solutions to solve them. The Adeaca team consists of project experts who understand that many companies cannot deliver better outcomes due to three primary conditions:
- No standardized project governance
- No timely information to detect problems early enough to rectify them
- Inefficient collaboration among project team members and stakeholders
Adeaca recognizes that these problems stem from a lack of process and information integration, meaning systems run separately in silos, data are not shared, and processes are not synchronized. Without real-time data any insights are outdated, and manually compiled data are prone to error and bias. As a result, stakeholders cannot access information easily in a timely fashion, leading to poor collaboration and project outcomes.
PBA is the only solution available that puts projects front and center, integrating the business and operational aspects of projects together.
Follow on Adeaca on Twitter at @AdeacaNews or reach out via LinkedIn.
Media Contact
Company Name: Adeaca
Contact Person: Shina Neo, Editorial Director and Media Relations Specialist
Email: Send Email
Phone: 470-775-5534
Address:3280 Peachtree Road NE 7th Floor
City: Atlanta
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Country: United States
Website: https://www.adeaca.com/


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People who need ribs are the luckiest people in the world.
The only thing better than beer-braised short ribs are more beer-braised short ribs.
We had lots of rib parts from Saturday night's ribstravaganza.* Rather than hunching over the kitchen counter and gnawing at the bones like starved vultures, I decided to try and turn them into a respectable dinner. After picking the first two shreds off the bone, I realized that this task would involve more congealed beef tallow under the fingernails than I had anticipated. But I had already started and my fingernails were already befouled, so I stuck with it.
You don't bring me cauliflowers anymore.
While I was separating the edible rib meat from the visible representation of the lipids currently bobbing along my bloodstream following the blue cheese parsnip-potato mash, I cranked the oven up to 475 to roast some cauliflower and onions. Cauliflower is one of the more maligned winter vegetables. I declare to you that cauliflower is much, much more than broccoli's albino cousin. When roasted at high heat, it caramelizes and takes on a pleasant nuttiness. The florets retain their shapes nicely, and don't turn into caulimush. The roasted onions and their toasty sweetness make a nice partner, and their flavor infuses the cauliflower during the cooking process. Lots of bang for the buck, and dead easy.
I also put a pot of stock on to boil for some barley, having decided to combine that with my veg to create a pilaf-style barley and cauliflower dish, to top with the shredded rib meat reheated in the leftover sauce.
I had a little dreidel, I made it out of ribs.
There was enough for dinner for two and for a perfect little leftover lunch for me tomorrow. The roasted cauliflower is always a favorite and the ribs were excellent, their flavor having deepened even further as they sat in the fridge.
*If I ever have a washtub band, it will be named Ribstravaganza.
Roasted Cauliflower with Onions
1 head cauliflower
1 large onion
2-3 tbsp olive oil
Preheat your over to 475; if your oven has a convection setting, turn that on. Hack the c-flower into florets that are the size of your choosing (larger florets will maintain their structural integrity a bit better as they roast, and they can stay in the oven a bit longer and take on more color). Ditto with the onions. Toss your chopped veg with the olive oil, salt and pepper, and arrange in a single layer in a roasting pan. Roast for 35-45 minutes tossing once or twice, until the c-flower is tender and both veggies have taken on some color. If you need an extra color boost at the end, put the veg under the broiler for a few minutes.
If you'd like to toss your veg with barley (a tasty meal in and of itself), bring 3 cups of your chosen liquid (water, stock, or a combo) to a boil. Pour in 1 cup of pearled barley and add salt (if you use stock, taste it to make sure you're not adding too much additional salt). Bring back to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 30-40 minutes until most of the liquid is absorbed. Turn off the heat and leave the pot covered for 5-10 minutes. Eat.


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Of the twelve stories in the book, four are quite good, four more than good enough and four didn't land very well with me. From a reading perspective, that is no problem — two out of three is just fine and, with short stories, even disappointing efforts are worth the relatively little time it takes to read them.
I usually like to go into some depth on three stories when I am reviewing a collection so visitors here get a sense of style and tone rather than trying to briefly mention every story in the book. And hence my quandary: Should I pick one from each category? Or offer thoughts on three of the four I liked?
Okay, I'm a chicken (and perhaps a bit lazy). It is both easier and more satisfying to explain why I liked a story than to try to pinpoint what didn't work in one that I have already pretty much forgotten. So what you are about to read are my thoughts on three of the better stories that I found in Wangersky's Giller-longlisted collection.
I should also note that my favorite story in the collection, "McNally's Fair", is not a fair reflection of the whole book. Wangersky is a newspaper columnist and editor in St. John's, Nfld and most of these stories are set in that province — this one, however, takes place in the foothills just west of Calgary where I live.
McNally's Fair is an amusement park, designed to attract visitors headed to the mountains (and Calgary families with kids). There is a real version, called Calaway Park, that I know well from my own days in the newspaper business. It opened to much fanfare some years back and then proceeded to go bankrupt every two or three years until the purchase price finally got low enough that the owners had a chance to break even. Here's how this story opens:
Dennis Meaney was painting The Thunder apple green — a brilliant green that would make the roller coaster stand out even when the spring had brought the prairie into that brief emerald flush before the sun got around to browning it over. It wasn't the colour he would have chosen. Mr. Reinhoudt had picked the colour, even though Dennis told him just looking at the paint samples hurt his eyes.
"Is s'pposed to," Mr. Reinhoudt said, pulling hard on his small white beard. "S'pposed to get yer attention from the highway, and getcha in the lot wit' the kids." He said "kids" as if it had a z in it.
Wangersky may not live in Alberta, but he obviously spent some time here at some point. The prairie does get that brilliant green for a few weeks every summer, before burning to dull brown. And you can see the Rocky Mountains stretching along the horizon from the top of the roller coaster that Denny is painting — he looks at them with some longing from up there. I drove past Calaway Park a few weeks after reading the story and can report that the roller coaster (which is not a very big one, it has to be said) is indeed painted a particularly bilious green.
In the story, Reinhoudt has been carefully building the park for twenty years, adding a new ride whenever he can afford it. Dennis is the only full-time employee (Reinhoudt's daughter, Michaela, runs the ticket booth) and he fell into the job by chance twelve years ago, arriving on site literally as the previous employee took off. For six months each year, Dennis does maintenance, painting, electrical work, looking after safety inspectors, sweeping up garbage — whatever is required. For the other six months, the park closes, the Reinhoudts return to Calgary for the winter and Dennis has the "fair" to himself.
Dennis is from Newfoundland and was heading West looking for work when he pulled in. He has a wife, Heather, back home in the town of Renews — they kind of fell into marriage the same way he fell into his job after all their classmates had hooked up. And while he headed home in the off-season for the first few years, they continued to grow apart and Heather eventually told him not to bother any more.
The story does have a dramtic turn and it does involve Michaela, an eight-year-old when Dennis arrived who is now twenty and has attracted his attention. Wangersky uses the drama to supply the final touches to his central character, someone whom I found as well developed as anyone could expect in an 18-page story.
"Echo" is a more typical example. Kevin Rowe is five-years-old — his family lives in a small, single storey house in St. John's:
Kevin's father drove from St. John's to Boston and back, big rigs with chrome wheels, and every time he came home, Kevin would come into the living room and be startled to find his father in front of the television or hear his father in the bedroom, snoring, like he'd never really left. For Kevin, it was like going into the kitchen and finding there was an extra fridge where there hadn't been one before. It was a magic trick, as if his father could just simply appear, again and again and again. By the time the surprise of it wore off, Kevin's father would be ready to head back out on the road, hauling fish to Boston and furniture back again.
His father's return frequently brings another aspect to Kevin's world: the youngster is sent out to the front deck (he has created his own little world watching the street from there — it is where we first meet him). He is sent out again a few pages into "Echo":
Kevin's father hadn't said anything when Kevin was in the kitchen, but a few moments later Kevin heard the deep rumble of his voice from the kitchen, not so much words as a deep straight line, all one note. And over the top of it, his mother's thin voice, growing higher and then falling away like a ball bouncing up and down, up and down. It was like they were singing together, each one already sure where the other was going and just exactly where they would eventually end up.
Wangersky does have a dark side to him (as the developments from idyllic prairie to drama showed in "McNally's Fair") and "Echo" gets very dark indeed — it succeeds because the author is consistent in viewing the entire story through the eyes of an intelligent, but still only partially comprehending, five-year-old.
Unlike those two stories, "Sharp Corner" starts out very dark (and gets darker):
John thought of the sound as a soft, in-drawn breath, a breath that was always taken in that last single second before the other sounds came. He heard it right before the shriek of tires pulling sideways against their tread. John would hear the police use the word "yaw" for the striated mark left behind on the pavement, and he'd start building it into his own descriptions almost immediately. "When you see yaw, you know they were going too fast." Just like that.
The tires made a shriek followed by the boxy thump of the car fetching up solid, side-on, in a crumpling great pile in the ditch.
Then, the horn — and often, screaming.
John goes out to the scene of that first accident on the sharp corner where he lives as a good citizen and curious observer more than anything else, but it sows the seeds of an obsession. Whenever he and his wife are out visiting, he can't resist telling the story — slowly but surely, embellishing it — despite the fact that his wife glares at him every time and his listeners frequently depart before he is done.
That first accident features only one death — the next two result in two and three respectively. John's obsession not only grows with each accident, the increasing severity and his ability to observe the scene (and develop even more embellishments) grow in tandem. The tragedies at the sharp corner take over his life — even if he doesn't really realize it.
There was some surprise when Whirl Away (incidentally, there is no title story) showed up on the Giller list — it has been a good year for Canadian short story collections and this one just did not seem strong enough for many commenters and reviewers (including me, I must say). I would hazard the guess that it is the way that author Wangersky plays with the darkness of his vision that got him there — both Roddy Doyle and Gary Shteyngart on the Real Jury are no strangers to the dark side and saw talent and success in the way that Wangersky explores it.


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A vintage, genuine Willie Nelson concert poster from Kansas City, Kansas in 1963 with a few stars of the Grand Ole' Opry sharing the bill with Willie.
This boxing-style billboard / broadside was printed by the Colorcraft Poster Co. of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and measures 14 inches wide by 22 inches tall.
This original country music window card has Hall-of-Famer Tex Ritter headlining, along with new star Bill Anderson.
Willie Nelson was still mainly known as a songwriter in 1963, not a recorder of hit records. Fortuitously, this concert placard shows two of his biggest compositions ever, right under his name: "Hello Walls" and "Crazy."
Don't check out early, because at the end of this video I pull out a Patsy Cline concert poster from 1960 to flash you. (It doesn't get its own video because it's pretty plain-looking.)
Both C&W posters enthusiastically shown off by collector Pete Howard of PosterCentral.com (cell phone 805-540-0020, email address email@example.com).
And if older country-music concert posters like this thrill you, you can catch a few more on this page located right here on my web site: http://www.postercentral.com/country.htm