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How to beat Rich
August 5, 2012 Comments Off on How to beat Rich
Every pre-race team meeting this year by every team in Southern California began with the same question. "How're we gonna beat Meeker?"
Everyone would then kind of stand around and draw circles in the dust with their big toe. "Uh, let's attack him early and win out of a break."
"He always marks those."
"Let's take him with us in the break, then."
"He can outsprint anyone in the break."
"Let's chase all the breaks, including his, and lead our guy out for a field sprint."
"He always wins the field sprint, remember? He's the fastest guy in the nation for his age group in the crit."
"Well, let's let him dangle off the front, then run him down towards the end when he's all tired from working in the break, and then we'll crush him in the sprint."
"We tried that at the states road race, remember? He was off the front for 45 miles, we brought him back, and he still won the sprint."
"Hey, I've got an idea! Let's send him to London for a few weeks!"
So Rich went off to London to watch the Olympics with his pal Chris Horner, and while he was gone other good riders got to shine. Then he came back.
The secret to beating Rich Meeker in a crit
Today we learned that the secret weapon in stopping Rich from winning is by getting to the guy who glues on his front tire. If you can get to that guy, you've suddenly got a chance.
The Brentwood Grand Prix takes place in the global center of hot chicks, fake boobs, guys in Ferraris, Schwarzeneggers, OJ Simpson (before he got life without parole), and the full on West LA vibe. Is your region's signature event in a place called Hooterville? Is your best crit of the year in an office park?
Brentwood GP happens along a tight, technical little course with a couple of grinding bumps, fast tailwind, hard headwind, and oh-fuckit turns that test your ability to actually handle a bike. Of course, there's always at least one guy in any crit who is so terrible, jerky, sketchy, twitchy, and unable to control his bike that I'm terrified shitless throughout the race. To make matters worse, that guy is invariably me.
John Hatchitt, our strategy guru, chaired the team pre-race planning session. "We got seven guys. Alan won San Marcos last weekend convincingly. If we play our cards right we can win this one, too."
"What about Meeker?" I asked.
"Here's the plan. Wanky, you will get dropped after the first couple of laps, then pulled. So we need to make maximal use of your 150-watts of incredible power. When the gun goes off, hit the front and string it out."
"Then what?"
"It will give you a chance to crash on the first or second turn before people have gotten too tired to avoid you. Rondash, Frias, Harry, and I will stay towards the front, cover any moves, and keep Alan in position in case Meeker rolls off."
"How's he gonna beat Meeker?" I asked.
Several dudes glowered at me. "Then, with two or three to go, we'll get Taylor up into position for the finish, along with Alan if he's not off the front."
"But what about…"
I never finished the question, as my teammates sped off to the line.
Breaking bad. Really, really bad.
The race started at a torrid pace, with everyone hustling to get to the first turn, a 180-degree pivot that went up a little bump and then dove down through a chicane and onto a wide straightaway. As we went through the first turn I heard behind me the grinding, skidding, cursing, smashing, banging, whanging, panic-inducing sound of some wanker falling on his ass.
The sound scared me so badly I jumped hard and raced away, dragging the pack behind me for a solid forty or fifty amazing yards. As I swung over, Meeker came through breathing fire and hand grenades at a speed normally reserved for things with large internal combustion engines.
Fifteen minutes into the 50-minute event I was hauling through the start-finish with Hatchitt in hot pursuit of a $150 prime. Steve Klasna, who needed gas money just as badly as I did, powered by with a hard surge. "Fuck," I thought. "He can have the money, because I got cheered by Christine Reilly, who distinctly yelled 'Dig deep, Wanky!' as I zipped through the turn before the finish."
I had wanted to tell her that if I dug any deeper I'd be in China, but the recent shortage of oxygen in the Brentwood area made that impossible.
The peloton paused after Klasna took the prime, and I rocketed 75 slots back to check on some of my good friends and make sure they were okay. One of them was a dude in a black kit with a giant red license tag hanging from his seat rails that said "Handicapped." Some shit even I can't make up.
Meeker then "rolled off the front," which is what people say when someone jacks away from the wankoton so hot and hard that you couldn't catch them with 200-lb. test and a fishhook prime of hookers and blow. It was classic Meeker: you take the prime, I'll take the vee.
They don't make Yugos any more
This was the critical moment in every race where the contenders, the wannabes, the couldbeens, the oughtahaves, the shouldacouldas had to either man up, put their heads down, and close the gap in the teeth of a headwind or do what bike racers do best: look at each other and say, "You go!"
To which the other dude says, "Fuck that. You go."
By which time the 30mph gap means you will have to go 32mph without the cozy protection of all the people whose wheels you've been sucking for the entirety of the race.
Alan, never a fan of the Yugo, instead hopped into his Igo, and bridged. Klasna tried, but was winded from his gas money effort. Various other riders tried, but in a flash Hatchitt and Meeker's teammate Roger Worthington came to the front and began doing "efforts" that were just slower than the break, allowing their teammates to establish and then build on their lead, but going fast enough that no one wanted to chase.
Although the gap yo-yoed, at one point getting down to ten seconds when Frank Schroeder and his merry band of assassins tried to close the gap, the constant teamwork of SPY and Amgen, and the iron legs of Flores and Meeker, meant that the break succeeded.
With five laps to go I knew it was my turn to move to the front so I could help with a last lap lead-out. I sprinted down the straightaway as hard as I could, using my last ounce of power, and in a flash had moved up from 76th to 73rd. So much for that. The only thing that remained was for Meeker to beat Alan in the sprint and for someone else to close the field sprint clusterfuck.
When tires go bad
On the bell lap, however, a miracle happened. The closer, the state road champ, the state crit champ, the national crit champ, the badass who doesn't just bring home the bacon but brings home the entire pig, Rich Meeker himself came red-hot into the next to last turn and rolled a tire.
Fortunately, although Rich is now five pounds lighter from skin loss, he wasn't badly hurt. Even more fortunately for team SPY, it meant that our closer, Alan Flores, got to roll across the start-finish first, hands held high for a zillion meters.
Race notes:
1. Suze Sonye cracked out an impressive win in the Pro/1/2/3 race, capping her season with win number 389. Apparently all those beatdowns on the NPR are paying off. Oh, waitaminnit. She's been one of the winningest chick bike racers in SoCal since she was in kindergarten.
2. Emily Georgeson nailed down an awesome win in the women's Cat 3 race. What a badass. And a cuteass.
3. Shai Oved, the La Grange dude who discovered all those flying snakes in Austin, got 2nd in his Cat 4 race for two weeks in a row. Props!
4. There's some club called FFKR Architects Racing. Like, how do they pronounce that? "Yo, we ride for fucker archictets," or something?
5. Rider Unknown took first in the Cat 3 race. Way to go, Rider!
6. Teammate Tait Campbell got second behind Rider. Nice weekend for SPY!
7. Monster Media snagged four out of the top ten in the 35+. I watched it for a couple of laps but it made me ill to watch, they were going so fast. My buddy Aaron Wimberley got eleventh, after telling me on Thursday, "Dude, your attacks are like watching a big blue bus leave the bus stop. They're slow as shit and everybody's on it, including the fat guy with a walker. You need to learn how to accelerate."
8. My other buddy, Josh Alverson, who normally rides for Bike Palace, raced the 35+ event for team Poor Number Placement. I hope they have a good bro deal or something.
9. Amy Hutner gave me an awesome hug after my race. It's so wrong that bigamy is illegal in California.
10. Pischon Jones was one of the few big boy sprinters to gut out this tough course in the Cat 3 race. Nice job, even though you were cramping like a dog.
11. Tink learned that when you have no teammates, and the course is relatively flat, you can't ride fifty good racers off your wheel. She did, however, put on a toughness clinic.
12. Today's race was marked by the absence of Greg Leibert. If he'd been in the 45+ race, there's no doubt that he or Klasna would have made the break with Rich and Alan.
13. Greg St. Johns showed up and shot photos. This is like having Picasso show up and sketch the fruitbowl on your dining room table.
14. CyclingIllustrated.com was there in force and with live HD streaming of the race. This will become a standard before long. JB is always on the cutting edge, and not happy unless it's the best.
15. The people and machines who put on the BWGP did a phenomenal job. If every crit were like this–challenging course, beautiful little village with restaurants and shops so that people could watch the action up close while eating a hamburger gut bomb–cycling would p*wn NASCAR like pole dancing p*wns curling.


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Factory Expo has delivered over 15,000 homes to happy homeowners over the years (see Customer Reviews & Testimonials) and we pride ourselves in making sure our customers are pleased with every aspect of their new home. Our factory direct business model and value based pricing platform gives customers access to low, everyday pricing. We offer an extensive selection of quality built homes direct from the manufacturer and provide unmatched service and support.
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subset: commoncrawl


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Rightshifting Recruitment
[From the Archive: Originally posted at Amplify.com Apr 19, 2011]
I don't think that anyone (excepting maybe those with vested interests) would dispute that recruitment in the knowledge-worker space is very broken. I have recently tweeted about how traditional CVs are a key element of the dysfunctional recruiting landscape, and how we would all be much better off without them (see the #NoCV hashtag).
Some folks have responded by asking, almost despairingly, "how else could organisations look to hire new people?" Hw might they:
- Filter out the few most relevant applications from the fire hose of applications they receive and
- Support the evaluation of filtered candidates at e.g. interview time.
Setting aside issue 2. for the time being (FWIW, I hold that interviews are almost as broken an element of the recruitment process as are CVs), let's consider how organisations might become significantly more effective at tackling issue 1. namely, filtering applications.
Deming's 95/5 Rule
W Edwards Deming, American father of the Japanese post-war economic "miracle", wrote that "a bad system will defeat a good person every time". He pointed out that when people work for an organisation, some 95% of their productivity is a product of the system within which they work, and only some 5% of a individual's productivity is down to their own skills, talent, effort, etc.
If we choose to believe this, then the achievements, etc., found on folks' CVs are likely 95% due to the system at their previous employers, and only 5% due to their own skills, talent, etc. in those previous positions.
Mindsets are Key
I titled this post "Rightshifting Recruitment" as Rightshifting (specifically, the Marshall Model) offers a different perspective, and a way forward, out of the CV trap, towards a better, more effective #NoCV recruitment process.
If we choose to accept the Marshall Model (which posits that Mindset is the key determinant of organisational effectiveness) combined with the observations re: Deming's 95/5 rule, then organisations should NOT be recruiting primarily on the basis of applicants (claimed) skills and talent, but rather on the basis of mindset "fit". I.E. We should match the mindset of each applicant against the prevailing (or target, if different) collective mindset of the hiring organisation, and filter those applicants that have an acceptable "range of fit".
Range of Fit
Although hiring organisations will have a single "Rightshifting Index" (position on the horizontal "effectiveness" axis), each applicant will have a range of mindsets (a distribution along the horizontal axis) within which they will likely be effective. Organisations looking to maintain the status quo (a given Rightshifting Index value) may value applicants that match that Rightshifting Index value closely. However, organisations looking to continually improve, or maybe even transition to a more effective mindset (i.e. significantly shift to the right) may more value applicants that can span the range from the organisation's present Rightshifting Index value all the way over to the target Rightshifting Index value. Put another way, applicants that have seen "the Undiscovered Country" will be at a premium – for such organisations contemplating, or already embarked upon, such a journey.
Example (see graphic, above): An organisation presently at or around "1" on the RIghtshifting axis may be seeking to Rightshift to i.e. "1.8" (this is typical of organisations "going Agile"). Recruiting for fit against the red curve will result in new hires who actively oppose this Rightshift aspiration. Better to seek new hires who fit in the yellow curve, as they are much more likely to actively assist the Rightshift / transformation.
We already have the means to assess the current and target "Rightshifting Indices" (positions on the horizontal "effectiveness" axis) for a given organisation. A simple (5 minute, multiple-choice) questionnaire can serve to assess the relative spread of the mindset(s) that a given applicant can span. Overlaying the two can then immediately show the relative "fit" for each applicant.
Some outstanding organisations, like Zappos, have already discovered the importance of selecting new hires on "fit", (Zappos famously offers new hires a $3000 "quitting bonus" to leave the organisation if the new hire feels they're not a good "fit" at the end of each of their first four weeks).
Using CVs to filter suitable candidates just does not work at all well (does not find the most suitable applicants to go forward in the hiring process), for knowledge-work businesses. By selecting on mindset "fit", knowledge-work businesses have a much better chance of selecting applicants that will be truly productive within the business' prevailing (or target) collective mindset.
– Bob
Further Reading
"Why Good People Can't Get Jobs" ~ Online article by Dr. Peter Cappelli
"Bad Hires Have Cost Zappos Over $100 Million" ~ Tony Hsieh
This topic was the theme for my Magrails 11 presentation in October 2011:


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I need to lose weight.
Oh, bludgeoning badgers. Did I actually type that? Here I am, a body positive sewing blogger and ardent feminist, talking about changing my body. Any moment, my office door will burst open, with members of the Cool Modern Women's League demanding my membership card returned.
However, the jiggling fact remains true. In the last year, I have gained ten unwanted pounds, all of which are currently dancing around my stomach and thighs. Between getting married, stress eating my way through a dissertation, moving to blue collar city whose local delicacy is–I shit you not–jalapeno-and-cheese stuffed chicken nuggets, wrapped in bacon, then fried, my skinny jeans are now compression jeans. I don't feel bad about myself, or even notice that often, but the scale doesn't lie. One more ice cream bar and I'm going to need a new wardrobe.
It's really not that big of deal. I'm going to do more yoga, moderate my potato intake, and walk the dog more often. In a couple of months, I'll be back in my golden window. My real problem isn't the losing of the weight, it's talking about it. In America, we can't just leave well enough alone, when it comes to women's bodies. A woman loses weight and people come out of the woodwork, complimenting her "new body" and telling her how great she looks, without those shed pounds. People intimate that she's a beautiful skinny butterfly, previously trapped inside a horrid, fatty cocoon. Successful weight loss, especially on a grand scale, is treated with more reverence than a presidential motorcade.
If there's one thing that binds America together, it's the knowledge that skinny is always better. The closer a woman can come to a size 0, the happier she must be. It's a foregone conclusion. When we tell someone she looks super skinny today, or that her Sexy Bob Dole costume makes her waist look tiny, it's a compliment. Who would argue with looking skinnier? After all, nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.
Wrong. Cake is actually really fucking tasty, y'all. Especially Black Forest Cake, with all that whipped cream and kirsch. I'm firmly in Julia Child's camp on this one: "A party without cake is just a meeting." People who love to eat really are the best people. Food, especially delicious, decadent food, gives life beauty and texture. I look forward to dinner; I love trying new recipes. I'd rather eat really great food for the rest of my life than ever fit into size 2 jeans. Skinny is not my goal.
I'm losing a modicum of weight, because I'm not a moron. It's a slippery slope from ten pounds in a year to fifty pounds in five years. I would like to keep eating cake for many, many years to come, so a bit of moderation and care is required. It's not that I think I'll look better as a size 10 or that I am inherently happier or better at a smaller size. I just know the numbers and my body, so I'd prefer to shed a few pounds. What's more, I don't want to discuss this. I don't want compliments about how great I look or about how such an endeavor must have been so hard. You know what's hard? Writing a novel. Let's talk about that instead.
When other people lose weight and revel in the compliments, that's fantastic. I'm all for doing what makes you happiest. If you want to dance a jig in the street, next to a life-size cut-out of your "before" body, that's fine with me. Hell, I'll make a t-shirt and cheer you on. However, that's not the only option. Losing weight does not define my life. It will not be the pinnacle achievement of my twenty-nine years. I just want to keep eating cake, without worrying about long term health, okay? There's nothing intrinsically noble about that. I'm only a woman, eating less potatoes. I'm neither a before nor an after.
Thank you, in advance, for the compliments. You are correct, I have lost weight. It is not a magic trick I've performed to awe the public, but a basic tenant of the human body: we can grow and shrink in size. This is me graciously accepting your support.
It's just, let's be honest, I'd rather have a piece of cake.


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Jayson Littman, 'Mayor' of Gay Jewish Party Scene, Was Once Yeshiva Boy
"You're now a gay American Jew? Are you a Jewish American gay? Are you an American gay Jew?" Jayson Littman pondered his multiple identities. Is it possible to be all three simultaneously?
For Littman, it's a rhetorical question. The 35-year-old financial consultant hosts parties in New York City, where the scene is decidedly gay and Jewish.
Littman created his events group, He'bro, in 2007 after he realized that there were few social outlets for gay Jews. There were Jewish organizations for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals that offered spiritual experiences, but he felt that secular gay Jews needed and wanted to meet each other in nonreligious settings. His first party, a "Jewfest" at the Vlada Lounge, in Hell's Kitchen, was meant to be a small affair with some 30 people, but word spread through Facebook and 250 people showed up.
Today, the parties — which are funded through door admission at Manhattan clubs — can easily attract hundreds, sometimes more than 1,000 people, and last until the early hours of the morning. The events are loosely themed to Jewish holidays: Sederlicious occurs just before Passover; High Homodays marks Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, and Jewbilee is on Christmas Eve. Each party brims with Jewish inside jokes. There's a dry erase board at High Homodays, tagged with the phrase "I Repent," on which guests can write down their sins. At one Jewbilee there was a "Man-orah" of male dancers. Most guests are secular Jews who consider the parties a rare outlet for their religious identities, Littman said. But some Orthodox Jews come, as well.
"We're not doing gay work in the Jewish community," Littman said. "We're doing Jewish work in the gay community."
He'bro has gained a rapid following. Littman's parties are known not only across the country — people come from as far away as California, not to mention cities close by, like Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, and Boston — but also in Israel, where He'bro has admirers in Tel Aviv's dynamic gay social scene. (Littman also helps contribute to that scene by leading gay Jewish Birthright trips.)
"If you're a young, gay Jew moving to New York and you're looking to get into the scene, Jayson Littman is the one to know," said Micah Jesse, a 26-year-old entertainment writer. For gay Jews, Jesse said, He'bro is like "the gay bar mitzvah we never got to have."
Littman and He'bro have occasionally come under fire for taking Judaism too lightly, for marking religious holidays with raucous parties.
"My hope is that He'bro can be a gateway drug," said Jay Michaelson, founder of the LGBT Jewish group Nehirim (and a Forward contributing editor). "Hopefully, some percentage of the Jews and bagel chasers [non-Jewish men who are interested in Jews] who come to He'bro will take a further step on their journeys, maybe checking out some Jewish learning, or getting involved politically, or visiting Nehirim or one of the other LGBT Jewish organizations that offer more substantive forms of engagement."
Littman, for his part, doesn't see his parties as a substitute for an active practice, but more as an opportunity to acknowledge Jewish identity in the world of gay socializing.
Before Littman became the "king of New York's gay Jewish nightlife" as a 2012 Times of Israel story called him, he was a young yeshiva student trying to find his own path. He grew up in a Washington Heights congregation called K'hal Adath Jeshurun, made up of Orthodox German Ashkenazi Jews.
In his early 20s, Littman realized he was having feelings for other men. Desperate to hold on to the community he had grown up with and to raise a family, at 21 he voluntarily entered the JONAH (originally Jews Offering New Alternatives for Homosexuality, now called Jews Offering New Alternatives for Healing) reparative therapy program in Jersey City, N.J. He hoped it would rid him of his attractions. In a 2011 Huffington Post article, Littman wrote, "…it wasn't a choice between coming out and conversion therapy; rather, it was a choice between conversion therapy and not wanting to live anymore."
After five years of therapy, he moved into the Westmont apartment complex on the Upper West Side, known for its straight Orthodox singles scene. He wanted to date women, find a wife, have a family. But deep down inside, Littman knew the therapy didn't work. Unbeknown to his roommates at the Westmont, he began exploring the gay community, get- ting involved with gay Jewish groups like Jewish Queer Youth, an LGBT group for Orthodox Jews.
In June 2007, Littman went on a gay cruise on the Queen Mary 2 to Southampton, England, from New York. It was an environment that was, he said, "100% gay all the time." He kept kosher on the cruise, and put on tefillin in his room. For the first time, he was comfortable as an openly gay religious Jew; it was a turning point.
Yet as he began living an active life in the gay community in New York City, his Jewish identity took a back seat. In February 2008 he stopped wearing tefillin. On that day, he literally marked his departure from Orthodox Judaism with a tattoo on the spot on his arm where he used to wrap the black straps. His tattoo artist, an Israeli named Yoni Zilber, inked "besiyata dishmaya" in Aramaic. Littman was required to write that notation, which means "with the help of heavens," on every paper he turned in at yeshiva.
"You're Jewish, you're not allowed to have a tattoo," people would tell him.
"Well, I'm not allowed to be gay, either," he'd respond.
Today, Littman said, "I feel like I freelance in Orthodox Judaism." He keeps kosher and observes the Sabbath, alternating his attendance at Orthodox and gay synagogues. He spends the holidays with his parents or with his siblings and their children, who, he said, have come to accept him.
'It's a way to celebrate," Brian Delshad said of Jewbilee, He'bro's Christmas Eve celebration. "It's a night where typically we have nowhere to go. As Jayson says, forget ordering the Chinese food tonight, just come out to this!"
Delshad, 27, works in real estate development and was raised in the Conservative tradition. His parents used to warn him against showing his Judaism too strongly, for fear of the social consequences they experienced being Persian Jews in a largely Muslim culture. For Delshad, hiding his Jewish identity was akin to hiding the fact that he was gay, which he did until he came out at age 19. "Now it's like, oh wait, both these two things — I mean, maybe it's because we're in New York City, I don't know — but they're both turning out to be pluses. There's community involved behind being Jewish, there's community involved behind being gay… it's seen as a good thing. I feel very lucky in my adult life to have experienced that," he said. "I constantly will come across guys who are like: 'Oh, my God, you're Jewish. That's awesome. You guys make good husbands.'" Delshad laughingly calls these men "bagel chasers," a term coined by Littman.
Like Littman, Delshad found that coming out pushed his Jewish identity to the background for a while. After he came out, he focused on forming an identity and on finding a place in New York City's gay community. "If I didn't have such a strong Conservative and yeshiva background, I might have forgotten [my Jewish roots]" he said. "So Jayson's there to remind you, 'Hey, you can do both!' While you're trying to figure yourself out, why don't you come over to a He'bro party? Discover it all at one time, you know?"
At He'bro's Christmas Eve Jewbilee, Jayson circulated the crowd, his tattoo peeking out of the sleeve of his T-shirt. He was all smiles, hugging and shaking hands with the Jewbilee patrons, many of whom know him as the "Mayor of the Gay Jews." They were a variety of dark-haired men, some smooth faces, others scruffy, mostly on the shorter side. Sometimes a chai or a hamsa or a Star of David hung from their necks. Some are American, some are Israeli, some are neither. "Wow, it feels like there's a real community here!" my non-Jewish companion said.
Jews of all kinds peppered the crowd (including one shirtless Jewish Santa, wearing blue fuzzy pants and a hat trimmed in white, a chai tattooed on his chest). Some wore yarmulkes; some went shirtless and wore giant tinsel Stars of David. I saw young and old, gay and straight, Jewish, Asian, black, female, drag queen and more. Go-go boys danced onstage, their rippled muscles bending and twisting under the club's glittering lights as the plastic Stars of David hanging from their necks bounced rhythmically against their chests. Every so often, a man slipped a dollar or two into a go-go boy's tiny, tiny shorts.
The thumping beats from DJ Steve Sidewalk, also a gay Jew (Littman likes to keep it in the community), pounded through the space, infusing songs like Rihanna's "S&M" with Israeli pop.
Later that night, I ran into an old friend from college.
"How did you hear about the party?" I asked.
"I'm gay and Jewish," he said.
"No, but really."
"I'm gay and Jewish."
It's an answer Littman would be happy to hear.
Elyssa Goodman is a writer and photographer living in New York. Visit www.miss-manhattan.com for more of her work.


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By Vikram K V•
Oct 11, 2020
By adrian a•
Jul 6, 2019
After switching sessions several times, there are insufficient people to peer review assignments. Instructor and teaching staff are non-charlant i.e. they do not get involved or take any responsibility. I had a terrible experience e.g. assignments were submitted as early as February 6, 2019 and not one person has graded any one of them (June 22, 2019). I left numerious posts on the discussion forum (Week 1 to 8) and there has been no response, even from Instructor and teaching staff. SHAMBOLIC!!!!


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WASHINGTON — As Americans, we believe that honest work should be rewarded with honest wages. That certainly means that no one who works full-time should ever have to raise a family in poverty. And this week, your senators will have a chance to stand up for that principle by voting "yes" or "no" on a bill to raise the minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $10.10 an hour.
It's important to remember that most workers who would get a raise when Congress passes this bill aren't teenagers taking on their first job. They average 35 years old. A majority of lower-wage jobs are held by women. Many of these Americans work full-time to support a family, and if the minimum wage had kept pace with our workers' productivity, they'd be earning well over $10 an hour today.
Instead, the minimum wage is stuck at $7.25, and when Congress refuses to raise it, it loses its value as the cost of living goes up.
Today, the minimum wage is worth about 20 percent less than it was when Ronald Reagan took office. And over the past year alone, congressional inaction was the equivalent of a $200 pay cut. For the typical minimum-wage worker, $200 is a month of groceries, or two months of electricity. It makes a big difference to a lot of families.
The good news is that the American people are way ahead of Washington on this issue. In the year since I first asked Congress to raise the minimum wage, six states passed laws to raise theirs.
Just last week, Connecticut became the first state to adopt a minimum wage of $10.10 an hour, and more states, cities and counties are working to raise their minimum wages in 2014.
Profitable businesses like Shake Shack, which starts its employees at $9.50 an hour, and Costco, where workers make at least $11.50, pay higher wages, too – not out of charity, but because it reduces employee turnover, boosts productivity and improves the bottom line.
In the two months since my State of the Union address, in which I asked more business leaders to do what they can to raise their workers' wages, I've heard more stories of employers who've chosen to take that step – an ice cream parlor in Florida, a marketing agency in Georgia, a pizzeria in St. Louis.
Last month, the Gap decided to raise its base wages, which will boost wages for 65,000 workers in the U.S., and I've heard from small-business owners across our country who have decided to give their workers a raise as well.
In the absence of action from Congress, I've acted to give more hardworking Americans a raise by signing an executive order requiring federal contractors to pay their employees a fair wage of at least $10.10 an hour.
It will be good for America's bottom line, too. And it's the right thing to do – for if you cook our troops' meals or wash their dishes, this country should pay you a wage you can live on.
But there's still only one group of people who can lift wages for the entire country, and that's Congress.
The bill that the Senate will vote on this week would boost America's minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. Its effect would raise wages not just for minimum-wage workers, but for nearly 134,800 people in Maine and 28 million Americans across our country.
It would lift millions out of poverty immediately, and help millions more work their way out of poverty, without requiring any new taxes or spending. It will give businesses more customers with more money to spend. It will grow the economy for everyone.
That's why nearly three in four Americans support raising the minimum wage. But Republicans in Congress stand in lockstep opposition. Some even want to scrap the minimum wage entirely. One Republican congressman said he would vote to repeal it if he had the chance.
These arguments aren't new. Opponents of the minimum wage have been using them for years. And time and again, they have been proven wrong. Raising the minimum wage is good for businesses, good for workers and good for our entire economy.
So instead of voting for the equivalent of yet another pay cut for America's workers, Republicans in Congress should join an increasing number of states, cities and businesses, and a clear majority of the American people.
Americans don't want handouts – what we want is a paycheck that lets us support our families, feel a little economic security, and pass down some hope and optimism to our kids. That's not something to stand in the way of. It's something to stand up for.
But it's going to happen only if we all demand it. So tell your senators to put people's paychecks over partisan politics – and give America a raise.
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Diane Gwilliam
Small sculpture of a chickadee on a sunflower.
We respectfully acknowledge that we are on Treaty 6 territory, traditional lands of First Nations and Métis peoples. As treaty People, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, we share the responsibility for stewardship of this beautiful land.
Website by
Hours of Operation:Tuesday–Saturday: 10 am–5 pmThursdays: 10 am–8 pm
Admission is free, donations welcome
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Tuesday–Saturday: 10 am–5 pm
The River Lots (La Maison Chevingy, Brousseau Granary, Cunningham House and Belcourt House) and St. Albert's Historic River Lots + Grain Elevators are open seasonally from Victoria Day to Labour Day. Outside of operation hours, and for group bookings, please contact the Musée Héritage Museum.
The sites are currently closed for the season. We will reopen to the public Victoria Day Weekend 2023.
Please call ahead to book your visit.
Studio art programs take place at the Visual Art Studios. Visit the learn tab to book.
The site is currently closed for the season. We will reopen to the public Victoria Day Weekend 2023.


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Not long ago, health insurance giant Anthem suffered a security breach of historic proportions, one which exposed personal data on as many as 80 million current and former customers. While Anthem is taking steps to repair the public relations damage, it's beginning to look like even its $100 million cyber security insurance policy is ludicrously inadequate to address what could be an $8B to $16B problem. (That's assuming, as many cyber security pros do, that it costs $100 to $200 per customer exposed to restore normalcy.)
But the full extent of the healthcare industry hack may be even greater than that. As information begins to filter out about what happens, a Forbes report suggests that the cyber security intrusion at Anthem may be linked to another security breach — exposing 4.5 million records — that took place less than six months months ago at Community Health Systems:
Analysis of open source information on the cybercriminal infrastructure likely used to siphon 80 million Social Security numbers and other sensitive data from health insurance giant Anthem suggests the attackers may have first gained a foothold in April 2014, nine months before the company says it discovered the intrusion. Brian Krebs ‒ Anthem Breach May Have Started in April, 2014
Class action suits against CHS were filed last August, alleging negligence by the hospital giant. Anthem also faces class action suits alleging security negligence in Indiana, California, Alabama and Georgia. But the damage to both companies' image has already been done, damage that can't be repaired by even the most favorable legal outcome. (In fact, the longer these cases linger in court, the more time the public has to permanently brand the defendants as having been irresponsible.)
What makes these exploits particularly unfortunate is that they may have been quite preventable. Security experts say Anthem, along with CHS, may well have been hit by a well-known and frequently leveraged vulnerability in the OpenSSL cryptographic software library known as the Heartbleed Bug. A fix for Heartbleed, which was introduced in 2011, has been available since April of last year. Though outside experts haven't drawn final conclusions, many have surmised that neither Anthem nor CHS made the necessary fix which would have protected them against Heartbleed.
Both companies have released defensive statements contending that these security breaches were due to tremendously sophisticated attacks — something they'd have to do even if a third-grade script kiddie hacked their infrastructure. But the truth is, note security analysts, the attacks almost certainly succeeded because of a serious lack of internal controls.
By gaining admin credentials to the database there was nothing ‒ including encryption ‒ to stop the attack. The only thing that did stop it was a lucky administrator who happened to be paying attention at the right time. Ken Westin – Senior Security Analyst at Tripwire
As much these companies would like to convince us that the cyber security breaches weren't really their fault — that they were victims of exotic hacker gods with otherworldly skills — the bottom line is that this doesn't seem to …read more
Source:: http://www.emrandhipaa.com/katherine/2015/02/19/were-anthem-chs-cyber-security-breaches-due-to-negligence/


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Once during your turn (before your attack), you may use this power. Any player who has 4 or more Benched Pokémon chooses 3 of his or her Benched Pokémon. Put the other Benched Pokémon and all cards attached to them in the Lost Zone. (You choose your Pokémon first.) This power can't be used if Palkia is affected by a Special Condition.
Discard 2 Energy attached to Palkia . Choose 1 of your opponent's Pokémon. This attack does 80 damage to that Pokémon. (Don't apply Weakness and Resistance for Benched Pokémon.)
Put this card onto your Active Palkia . Palkia LV. X can use any attack, Poké-Power, or Poké-Body from its previous Level.
The Pokémon Company International is not responsible for the content of any linked website that is not operated by The Pokémon Company International. Please note that these websites' privacy policies and security practices may differ from The Pokémon Company International's standards.
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For many people New Year's Eve means breaking out the bubbly, but all too often the bottles are kept socked away until midnight. That's a shame. Good Champagne and other sparkling wines are great to enjoy throughout the evening (in moderation, of course). And as a bonus, modest wines easily take on a new, more luscious character with just a little help from the liquor cabinet.
Livening up a sparkling wine can be as easy as putting together a Champagne Cocktail, with a sugar cube to ensure a constant stream of bubbles, and bitters to add complexity. Simple to prepare, easy on the eyes and damn tasty to boot, the Champagne Cocktail is a pleasant way to dip into the bubbly while ringing in the new year.
Other ideas, if you'rRhum Clement Creole Shrubbe serving sparkling wine over the holiday and are looking for something new? Try perking up the drink by rinsing the glass with a teaspoon or so of good quality liqueur before pouring the wine. Cointreau, Grand Marnier or Rhum Clement Creole Shrubb will contribute a delicate orange quality to the drink, while a little apricot liqueur (Rothman & Winter Orchard Apricot and Marie Brizard Apry are both good choices) gives the wine a special fruity twist. A splash of green Chartreuse gives the bubbly extra mystery, while a little crème de violette—Rothman & Winter is the choice here again—gives the drink an intriguing floral aspect. A little experimentation goes a long way; just be sure to use a brut, or dry sparkling wine, since the liqueur will contribute enough sweetness to make the drink pleasant without veering into cloying.
Recipe Facts
- Sugar cube
- Angostura or Peychaud's bitters
- Dry Champagne or other sparkling wine
- Lemon twist, for garnish
Place the sugar cube on a small saucer and douse with two or three dashes of bitters. Place the sugar in the bottom of a Champagne flute, and fill with sparkling wine (careful—the sugar will make the wine foam, so go slow). Twist a piece of lemon peel over the drink and use as garnish.
Special equipment
Champagne flute


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"A Night In The Studio"
(Ay yo Josh Ay yo where the fuck you at man? What you mean you on your way yo Our session was at 9 it's fuckin' 11 I'm out here, blow smokin L's Waitin for yo ass I don't even think I got... Oh no I definitely still got some weed for the lab But still when you gonna be here? Soon? Mother fucker how soo... Oh there you are right now Ay yo what's good bro? This is a DJ Haze exclusive Ay yo what's good bro Just here chillin' Yeah I'm tryin to go to the studio or whatever Yeah I got shit to drop mpther fucker I always got shit to drop damn Ight you'll meet me there? Alright) I woke up scratched my nuts Rolled a swisher on the shitter Got blow then I light me up a cigarette The coolest flow coolio a movie roll Now I'm tryna head up to the lab I headed to the studio open the door Say wassup to everybody who was 'posed perform I'm bout to record they know I'm smokin' of course Blow some haze in the air pull out my notebook Then I head up to the booth load the beat off my email Phone on silent ignorin' calls from females My man Josh sit down get the tempo Put on my headphones Ight, let's go I let go intro the beats startin' Say a couple words try not to be retarded Cause I'm a goofy dude doin what I choose to do Eatin' tracks up like some snacks call me scooby doo Now the beat about to drop verse 1 It's like a whirlwind the soldier pull the first gun Everything's blank it's just me and the mic I don't read a lot so I try and see what I write Visualize the melody, hypnotize everybody watchin I hope they ain't blink they eyes Cause you don't wanna miss a fuckin second When I'm catchin wreck I be in the booth goin' off try to catch my breath Couple more bars couple seconds left Killin' em softly takin' extra steps They never guessed I be murderin' and blessin' Ight the first done but before we start the second We gotta do man shit Doubles and ad libs And Josh makin' sound like magic He a old school genius with the pro tools Tryna school me on everything that the pros do I tell him that he needs to think it in the book But for now we makin guap just singin' on some hooks So I don't worry bout the chorus The track gotta hook on it And my verses with dat, they sound good on it Now I do a second maybe do a third If I'm in the mood to go crazy with my words I take a lil' break got some haze to burn The cast sittin' outside can wait they turn We makin' classics in the session Mom's askin me these questions (When you comin' home you got school) Naw, I'm suspended After this track done burn the last blunt smokin' good Payin' for my time with stolen goods Say peace to whoever, outside it's dark I'm blowed and can't find where the fuck I parked So I beep the car, oh there it is Let's go ahead and hip hop in the whip Light them cigarette and sit Gotta ride homie ahead of us (Sprunked) in the back Tell my man with the whip to bump on my track Tryna ride out, and I'm high now


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Honda CRF150R/RB Forged Brake Lever Motion Pro 14-9218
Honda CRF150R/RB Years 2007-2015
Forged Brake Lever
- Motion Pro 14-9218
- Polished aluminum finish
- Quality 6061-T6 forged aluminum for strength & durability
- Designed to exceed OEM specifications, built to resist breakage
- Designed to fit OEM perch
- Motion Pro recommends careful inspection of the pivot bolt when replacing a lever and that you replace the pivot bolt and lock nut if there are any signs of wear or if the prior lever suffered any impact damage. They also recommend that you replace the lock nut, if applicable, anytime the lever is removed. Pivot bolt and lock nut must be installed and tightened properly as recommended by the manufacturer of your motorcycle. Please remember to lubricate the pivot bolt per the factory service manual recommendations.
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Glee's Jacob Artist Previews Movie-Music Drama
Love is never easy at McKinley High. Last time we roamed the halls of TV's most musical high school, all sorts of heartbreak was afoot. Wemma's wedding was a bust, half the graduates were having ill-advised post-reception romps, and Jacob Artist's Jake was being betrayed as Ryder (Blake Jenner) planted a wet one on his bestie's girl, Marley (Melissa Benoist). Now Glee is back from its latest Idol-induced break tonight (Fox, 9:30/8:30c), and Jacob Artist is opening up about what lies ahead for the newbies of New Directions.
TV Guide Magazine: You guys have been off the air for so long since the big Ryder-Marley moment.
Jacob Artist: I know, this has been the longest three weeks.
TV Guide Magazine: And you're back tonight with the show's 500th musical performance. Where do we find Jake-Marley-Ryder triangle at this point?
Artist: You're going to get a taste of all the repercussions of what we saw - Ryder kissing Marley at the end of that last episode. Jake doesn't know yet. So it's going to be dealing with him finding out and how that will affect their relationship. That's all going to be explored.
TV Guide Magazine: Those two don't know how to keep a secret.
Artist: Nope! [Laughs]
TV Guide Magazine: Jake and Ryder had become such bros...
Artist: Yeah, totally. And that's big part of the conflict, as well. They have developed this really great friendship and it's going be tested after what has happened.
TV Guide Magazine: Is there a song involved?
Artist: There might just be a song involved, yes. [Laughs]
TV Guide Magazine: This week's theme is movie music and we know they're doing "Shout!" What other songs are in the episode?
Artist: The girls are doing "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend." We're doing "Unchained Melody," which is really cool because I love that song. Oh, and we're doing "Good Time Rock and Roll" and it's hilarious. We have the iconic pink button-downs, the underwear, the socks...we're sliding all over the place. It's great. It's me, Chord [Overstreet] and Blake.
TV Guide Magazine: Wow, between this and the glee-club calendar, they have wasted no opportunity getting you guys half naked.
Artist: I guess not, yeah! [Laughs]
TV Guide Magazine: How has it been for you, joining the show this season?
Artist: It's been incredible. And it's so weird you brought that up. I was just talking to Melissa the other day about how we're already on episode 18 and we only have a few left to film, but it feels like we just got the parts and started back in August. It's gone by so quickly.
TV Guide Magazine: Melissa told us that you and Becca Tobin (who plays Kitty) helped ease her fears after getting the role of Marley.
Artist: Coming on to a show that's at the level that Glee is at would be so stressful to do on your own. We were all so grateful to go through this experience with each other...it's been really great.
TV Guide Magazine: Can you tease anything coming up?
Artist: Oh yeah, all the repercussions from that kiss are definitely gonna come up again. We're looking at when stuff like this does happen, how do people deal with it. Especially when you're 16-years-old and in high school.
TV Guide Magazine: And a Puckerman.
Artist: Exactly! Jake has really been opening up to Marley and falling for her, so I think this will impact him heavily. You know, we saw them say "I love you" to each other. It's really going to hurt him.
TV Guide Magazine: To be clear, Ryder was the one who kissed her. She wasn't really at fault.
Artist: That's true, but I don't think that's how it's gonna be seen by this Puckerman. [Laughs]
TV Guide Magazine: An upcoming episode features New Directions singing their guilty pleasure songs. What is your guiltiest pleasure?
Artist: I feel like it's so cliché to say reality television, but it really truly is. It kind of stresses me out that Jersey Shore isn't on the air anymore. [Laughs]
TV Guide Magazine: What about that one song you would never want someone to hear you singing in the car?
Artist: Oh, that's a tough one. You know what, I am not gonna lie, that Taylor Swift "Trouble" song? I can't resist that song. Her melodies are very catchy.
TV Guide Magazine: Who knows, maybe if she hears about this, she'll ask you out.
Artist: Exactly. And then all in the world would be well.
TV Guide Magazine: And then you could get a song written about you.
Artist: Oh yeah, I could be on the Taylor Swift song list! [Laughs]
Are you watching Glee this season? What do you think of the new characters?
Subscribe to TV Guide Magazine now!
View original Glee's Jacob Artist Previews Movie-Music Drama at TVGuide.com
Other Links From TVGuide.com


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Nebraska Psychologists & Psychiatrists Expert Witnesses
Expert witnesses who are available to consult and testify regarding psychologists and psychiatrists can be found by clicking on the following links. The doctors found on this page may be able to consult regarding neuropsychology, child psychiatry, and child psychology. These experts may provide reports concerning post traumatic stress syndrome, psychology, and developmental disabilities. They may also provide expert witness testimony on sexual addiction and neuropsychiatry, as well as related topics.
Expert Witnesses
List Your Qualifications by Clicking Here
Featured Experts
Dr. Adhia is a triple Board-Certified Forensic Psychiatrist based in Houston, TX. He testifies nationally. He is uniquely Board-Certified in Forensic Psychiatry and Brain Injury Medicine in civil, criminal, and military jurisdictions. Adolescent &... Learn More ›
Mark I. Levy, MD, DLFAPA (Medical Director of Forensic Psychiatric Associates, L.P., a nationwide expert witness firm)
Forensic Psychiatric Associates, L.P. (fpamed) is a national consulting firm with offices in California, Nevada and North Carolina assisting litigating attorneys. The firm includes 15 board certified forensic psychiatrists, 7 forensic neuropsychiatrists... Learn More ›
Roy Lubit MD, Ph.D. is board certified in Psychiatry, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Forensic Psychiatry. He has special expertise in evaluating emotional trauma in children and adults (post traumatic stress disorder-PTSD), traumatic brain injury... Learn More ›
Harvard and Yale trained Board Certified psychiatrist with treating conditions such as anxiety disorders, depressive disorders, attention deficit disorders, women's mental health issues, substance use disorders, psychosis, and dementia with behavioral... Learn More ›
Johns Hopkins trained board certified clinical psychologist (top 4%) and former active duty U.S. Navy psychologist, serving as chief clinical and forensic psychologist for southeast region and head of largest military mental health clinic in the region... Learn More ›
Please click on one of the links to find consultants in that area of expertise.
- Addiction Medicine
- Alcohol Abuse
- Behavioral Science
- Brain Injury
- Child Abuse
- Child Custody
- Child Psychiatry
- Child Psychology
- Child Sexual Abuse
- Community Mental Health
- Competency
- Compulsive Gambling
- Correctional Healthcare
- Criminology
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- Fitness for Duty Evaluation
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- Geriatric Psychiatry
- Geriatrics
- Industrial Psychology
- Jail Suicide
- Malingering
- Military Mental Health
- Neurodevelopmental Disorder/Disability
- Neuropsychiatry
- Neuropsychology
- Neuropsychopharmacology
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- Sanity/Competency to Stand Trial
- Sexual Abuse
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Psychologists & Psychiatrists Expert Witnesses by State
All States, Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Wyoming


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Stock#: YS302601
Cash Price$0
Vehicle Summary
Vehicle Highlights
A legend reimagined, the 2023 Cadillac Escalade Premium Luxury. The Escalade is ready to offer you the Premium luxury you deserve. The exterior adorns the Cadillac emblem on a Galvano finished grill with Galvano moldings and door handles, the waterfall LED headlamps and signal lamps. This Escalade has unique 22-inch 14 spoke alloy, Cadillac edition rims that add to the luxurious trim package. Equipped with running boards, privacy tinted rear windows and a set of LED rear tail lamps. The rear park sensors and back up camera assist in everyday parking, with the additional rear vision trailer camera and other convenient features for hauling from the added performance package. Under the hood is the desirable 6.2L V8 engine, 4-wheel drive, and an automatic 10-speed transmission. Climb inside and seat passengers on leather seating. As the driver, you will be able to enjoy the industry- first 38-inch diagonal OLED display, spanning between the speedometer, trip and control panel and infotainment screen. As well as an array of standard settings including heads up display, power windows/locks/mirrors/pedals/memory seating with heated and cooled seat options, and a hands-free power lift-gate. The factory navigation will lead you to your destination in comfort. This model comes with standard push-button start with remote start, a power sunroof, and a premium AKG 19 speaker sound system to enjoy. Safety for you to have peace of mind. Safety features include adaptive cruise control, reverse automatic braking and automatic seat belt-tightening. The rear passengers will love the rear seats for all the leg and headroom. Equipped with third-row power-folding seating and still an abundance of cargo storage room, and so much more. The 2023 Escalade Premium Luxury is ready to exceed your expectations, visit us and see why we are Edmonton's premier Cadillac dealership. PRICE INCLUDES THE WOLFE PACK ADVANTAGE: WOLFE'S OIL CHANGE FOR LIFE PROGRAM, FREE VEHICLE DELIVERY, PREMIUM PAINT PROTECTION FILM, AND ENROLLMENT IN THE SMART CARE PROGRAM.
All prices listed are in Canadian Dollars unless otherwise stated. Prices for the provinces of Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia include dealer-installed accessories, pre-installed products and services, optional equipment physically attached to the vehicle, freight charges, emissions testing fees, applicable administration fees, pre-delivery expenses such as inspection and AMVIC levy but do not include taxes, insurance, licensing fees or any costs associated with financing or leasing. For all other provinces (excluding Quebec), prices exclude taxes, insurance, licensing and other applicable fees. Price may not include dealer installed options, accessories, administration fees and other dealer charges. Please contact the dealership for verification or if you would like more information on this vehicle.
Fuel consumption ratings and estimates based on GM testing in accordance with Government of Canada approved test methods. Refer to vehicles.nrcan.gc.ca for details.Your actual fuel consumption may vary.
The features and options listed are for the New 2023 Cadillac Escalade and may not apply to this specific vehicle.


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Detroit's Verlander Wins AL MVP, First Starter in 25 Years
NEW YORK – Detroit's Justin Verlander became the first starting pitcher in a quarter-century to win a Most Valuable Player award, adding it to the Cy Young Award he won last week.
Verlander earned the American League MVP honor Monday, receiving 13 of 28 first-place votes and 280 points in voting announced by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.
Boston center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury was second with four firsts and 242 points, followed by Toronto right fielder Jose Bautista with five firsts and 231 points, Yankees center fielder Curtis Granderson with 215 and Detroit first baseman Miguel Cabrera with 193.
Verlander won the AL's pitching triple crown, going 24-5 with a 2.40 ERA and 250 strikeouts, the most wins in the major leagues since Oakland's Bob Welch went 27-6 in 1990. Verlander pitched his second career no-hitter at Toronto on May 7.
He became the first pitcher voted MVP since Oakland's Dennis Eckersley in 1992 and the first starting pitcher since Boston's Roger Clemens in 1986. The 2006 AL Rookie of the Year, Verlander joined the Brooklyn Dodgers' Don Newcombe as the only players to win all three majors awards in their careers.
Verlander appeared on only 27 ballots and was omitted by Jim Ingraham of The Herald-News in Ohio, who voted Bautista first. Sheldon Ocker of the Akron Beacon Journal voted Verlander eighth.
Ingraham doesn't think pitchers should be eligible for MVP.
"I'd wrestled with this for a long time. If I was ever going to vote for pitcher for MVP, it would be him this year," Ingraham said. "He hasn't appeared in 79 percent of their games, any starting pitcher really doesn't appear in 79 percent of his team's games in a year.
"Would you vote for an NFL quarterback for MVP if he only appeared in three of his team's 16 games, which would 21 percent? So that's part of it. Another part of it is I think they're apples and oranges. The guys that are in there every day, there's a grind to a season that a starting pitcher doesn't, I don't think, experience the way the everyday position players do playing 150, 160 games."
Other pitchers to win MVP and Cy Young in the same year were Newcombe (1956), Los Angeles' Sandy Koufax (1963), St. Louis' Bob Gibson and Detroit's Denny McLain (1968), Oakland's Vida Blue (1971) , Milwaukee's Rollie Fingers (1981) and Detroit's Willie Hernandez (1984).
The NL MVP winner will be announced Tuesday.


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Pfizer Animal Health has released the next scenario in their "Virtual Walk the Pens" simulator. The simulator is an online educational tool that can be played from any standard computer, and is intended to help demonstrate the importance of individual pig care. The second simulation scenario can be accessed at www.individualpigcare.com/WTPGame. Players in a barn situation must figure out why they are losing large pigs. In the new simulation, the biggest, best-looking hogs in the barn are dying before they can make it to market. With more than $125 invested in each pig, the virtual barn can't afford to lose any more. Producers must assess the problem and make appropriate decisions to help fix it. As with the first scenario, players will have access to a virtual veterinarian, and all of their actions will either positively or negatively affect the virtual operation's bottom line. "The goal is to provide an interactive and educational opportunity for producers to experience the benefits of good animal husbandry practices and individual pig care," says Eric Farrand, Pig Husbandry Team manager, Pfizer Animal Health. "By providing different scenarios, we hope players will identify how these practices can be applied in many real-life settings." Participants compete against others around the nation for the best score on each individual assignment, plus the best score overall. A new scenario, released on the first of each month, will give players a chance to improve their score. In the virtual barn, as with real life, each action makes a difference. Learn more at www.PfizerAH.com.
Two Economical Pit Fans
J&D Manufacturing has introduced two new cost-saving pit fans for the hog industry. The Pruden Poly Pit Plenum Fan and Poly Pit Transition Fan incorporate the center fan body into the plenum and transition molds to eliminate a piece of the package, drastically reducing the price. The two fans are manufactured with Teflon-coated molds for a smoother, easier-to-clean surface. The new streamlined design creates less protrusion from the side of the building. Both fans feature stainless steel hardware, a new H-frame design, poly shutter and a four-bladed poly propeller with cast aluminum hub. Each unit comes with an 8-ft., prewired, 230-volt cord, making installation easy. Exclusive features of the Poly Pit Plenum Fan include a stainless steel J-channel on the rear of the plenum for easy, one-person installation. The new Poly Pit Transition Fan design allows you to remove the poly hood and shutter without the use of tools for easy maintenance and cleaning. For more information, call (800) 998-2398 or log onto www.jdmfg.com.
Fly Control
Terregena Inc. has announced that balEnce Biopesticide Liquid Spray and balEnce Biopesticide bait have been approved for sale to the swine industry by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). BioPesticide can play a critical role in effective swine facility pest management. Both products are organic, all natural, safe and effective biopesticides. The active ingredient in both balEnce Spray and balEnce Bait is a naturally occurring fungus that specifically targets and kills flies. The products will not harm humans, hogs, pets or the environment. They are both approved for organic production by the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Organic Program. Because balEnce is organic, manure from hog operations may be used as fertilizer on organic farms. The product will replace chemical treatments for the control of flies. Learn more at www.terregena.com.
Send product submissions to Dale Miller, Editor (952) 851-4661; [email protected]


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National Dog Day is a holiday that celebrates the love and affection we have for our four-legged friends. Since 2004, the holiday has been observed every year on August 26th. National Dog Day 2023 is just around the corner, and it's time to start planning for how you'll celebrate this special day with your furry companion. In th... See more
Mugira · Asked a question
As a dog owner, I am concerned about my German Shepherd's aggressive behavior and I want to know how I can help it manage its aggression. I understand that aggression in dogs can be caused by a variety of factors, and I want to identify the underlying cause of the aggression in order to create an effective plan for managing it. I am looking for strategies that I can use to help my dog manage its aggression, such as positive reinforcement, desensitization and counterconditioning, and providing the dog with plenty of exercises... See more
First, it is important to understand why the German Shepherd is exhibiting aggressive behaviour. Aggression in dogs can be caused by a variety of factors, including fear, anxiety, frustration, and territoriality. It is important to identify the underlying cause of the aggression in order to create an effective plan for managing it.
In order to identify the cause of the aggression, it is important to observe the dog's behaviour in different situations. For example, does the dog become aggressive when it is around other dogs or people? Does the dog become aggressive when it is in a certain environment or when it is given certain commands? Once the cause of the aggression is identified, it is important to create a plan for managing it.
One strategy for managing aggression is to use positive reinforcement. This involves rewarding the dog for exhibiting desired behaviours, such as sitting or staying, and ignoring or redirecting the dog when it exhibits aggressive behaviours. It is important to be consistent with the rewards and to ensure that the rewards are given immediately after the desired behaviour is exhibited.
Another strategy for managing aggression is to use desensitisation and counter conditioning. This involves gradually exposing the dog to the stimulus that triggers the aggression and pairing it with a positive experience, such as treats or praise. This helps the dog to associate the stimulus with something positive, rather than something negative.
Finally, it is important to provide the dog with plenty of exercise and mental stimulation. This can help to reduce the dog's stress and anxiety levels, which can help to reduce aggressive behaviour.
By understanding the cause of the aggression and using positive reinforcement, desensitisation and counter conditioning, and providing the dog with plenty of exercise and mental stimulation, the owner can help the German Shepherd manage its aggression.
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Add your company logo, event icon, web address or family reunion name/date.
1. Order your pedometers Make sure that type of pedometer can be imprinted. It states it in the title of the product. Below is a link to all the pedometers that are imprintable.,
2. Place your imprint fee order (see link below),
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Please include a contact name, phone number with area code and best time to call with your attached artwork.
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Story by
Nick Summers
Nick Summers is a technology journalist for The Next Web. He writes on all sorts of topics, although he has a passion for gadgets, apps and Nick Summers is a technology journalist for The Next Web. He writes on all sorts of topics, although he has a passion for gadgets, apps and video games in particular. You can reach him on Twitter, circle him on Google+ and connect with him on LinkedIn.
Google and HP are now recalling all chargers that were sold with the HP Chromebook 11, following complaints that it was overheating in-use. The two companies halted all sales of the device on November 13, and told customers to stop using the charger that was bundled with the device. Any other micro-USB charger reportedly works fine with the HP Chromebook 11, however.
A recall published by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission today says 145,000 chargers could be affected by the problem. It also expands upon the complaints submitted by a small group of users: "Google has received nine reports of chargers overheating and melting during use," the notice says. "There is one report of a small burn to a consumer and one report of minor property damage to a pillow from an overheating charger."
If you ordered a HP Chromebook 11 in October of November, the Commission says to contact Google for a free, replacement charger.
Micro-USB charging was a novel feature for the HP Chromebook 11, but it's interesting that it appears to be the charger, rather than the device itself, which is causing problems. It's unclear if and when Google and HP will resume sales of the Chrome OS-powered laptop.
Read Next: HP Chromebook 11 review: Worth the $279 price, but still too limited
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T.E.Lawrence, aka Lawrence of Arabia, lived in this house in old Yanbu, on the Red Sea. It is boarded up now, surrounded by rubble and the crumbling, graffiti-smeared ruins of other once elegant buildings, ornate woodwork peeling off the balconies. Only a small plaque acknowledges the house's famous former resident.
In most other countries in the world, this building would be a major tourist attraction, but it's not easy to be a tourist in Saudi Arabia. They don't encourage it, let alone promote it, especially to westerners. But I was lucky enough to be invited there to talk to students about my children's books and TV series (yes, the Bananas in Pyjamas made it to Saudi Arabia too). I filled in lots of forms and was allowed in for a few fascinating weeks.
On one of my weekends off, my hosts offered me a choice of excellent diving in the Red Sea, or an archaeological trip into the desert. I know I can dive in other places (and usually don't), so the history tour was far too good to pass up. It turned out to be absolutely the right choice.
We set out from Yanbu in 4x4s driving in convoy, at first on excellent roads, then sometimes on rough rocky tracks with wild camels wandering across them. I always thought Arabian desert would be all sand dunes, but this terrain was rugged, rocky and mountainous. And hot enough for thirst to kill you very fast if you didn't have an airconditioned 4×4 with an esky and a few cold (non-alcoholic) ones inside. I was reassured too to have a convoy – even on the good roads there was very little traffic, and a breakdown could have been disastrous.
In the course of a day we discovered abandoned mud villages 1000 years old, disused shepherd's huts and the ruins of an Ottoman fort (maybe Lawrence and his chaps had a hand in ruining it). No effort was being made to preserve these relics, and I was even told plans were in train to bulldoze them since they were considered unslightly. Arabs want to see themselves as modern, progressive people and unfortunately that means neglecting their heritage. A great shame, I think.
Later, back in old England, I joined busloads of tourists visiting Lawrence's grave in Moreton village, Dorset, outside the lovely St Nicholas Church, where his funeral was held. Moreton is very attractive, and makes a great play of its connection with Lawrence, but the dilapidated house in Yanbu was considerably more interesting.
STOP PRESS: The 'Lawrence House' has now been renovated.
Thank you to my correspondent who sent me the photo. To see more, I highly recommend a visit to the website almiskeenah.com


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Minority Report meets the kitchen table in the new Surface from Microsoft. Claiming that surface computing is "as significant as the move from DOS to GUI," the company today announced a tabletop device with an integrated 30-inch screen and five cameras to enable multitouch access to music, photos, the web, and more. According to Microsoft, Surface isn't simply a regular PC with a touch interface—it's a whole new category of computing device that will supplement rather than replace traditional machines. We talked with Microsoft about the concept and what's powering it.
Awash in the near-infrared
Surface features a touch interface, but it doesn't use a touch screen. Instead, five separate cameras are used to record motion on the table's surface. Ars spoke with Nigel Keam, a member of the Surface team, about the technology in the device, and he explained that five cameras were needed because of field angle issues. In order to get the table as low as it is, five cameras are used so that each one can have a small field of view. That translates into better resolution and speed (measured in pixels/second) than a single camera with an exceptionally wide-angle view of the table surface.
The five cameras are near-infrared devices, but that's not because they are trying to read heat signatures from fingertips (or other body parts) on the table. Instead, it's because the entire surface of Surface is bathed in light; by illuminating the top of the table, the cameras can easily see when things are placed on it. Shining colored light across the surface of the table would spoil the effect that Microsoft wants, so near-infrared light is used for invisible illumination.
Those cameras, which are located below the acrylic surface of the table, can read a nearly infinite number of simultaneous touches, and are limited only by processing power. Keam says that Surface has been optimized for 52 touches—enough for four people to use all 10 fingers at once and still have 12 objects sitting on the table.
In addition to recognizing fingers, Surface can recognize inanimate objects. Microsoft has developed a 3/4" square tag called a "domino" that can be attached to objects so that Surface can interact with them on the fly. Instead of relying on RFID, the domino tag uses dots to encode its information (hence the name). There is a single dot in the center of the tag, three dots on one side for orientation, and space for eight more dots that are read as data. Essentially, it's a one-byte data tag.
When something like a tagged wineglass is set on the table, Surface illuminates the edges of the object with a soothing glow and can display information, pictures, or decorative graphics next to and around the glass. When the glass moves across the table, these items follow it. This is the sort of technology that sounds interesting but a bit ridiculous in press materials; however, the possibilities for such a device are staggering—especially when it drops in price and enters the home market. It's even possible that consumer electronics could be tagged at production, should the concept take off.
The hidden PC
Surface currently runs on a high-end PC but uses mainly conventional components. It's powered by a Core 2 Duo chip and a "newish video card," and the system runs on 2GB of RAM. Keam declined to give more specifics but said that all of the hardware was consumer tech. It uses a rear projection system for the display which projects the image to the underside of the tabletop. According to Keam, Surface runs on a standard Vista installation with a layer of code on top that is specific to the project; the underlying operating system has not been modified in any way.
Surface applications can be written in Windows Presentation Foundation or XNA. The development process is much like normal Vista development, but custom WPF controls had to be created by the Surface team due to the unique interface of Surface. Developers already proficient in WPF have been trained in the idiosyncrasies of writing Surface apps and should be available to customize Surface deployments for the large hotels, casinos, and restaurants at which the machines will first be deployed.
For communications, Surface features a standard Ethernet connection, WiFi, and Bluetooth, which opens the door to some incredibly slick-looking applications. In one, demonstrated in a Popular Mechanics video clip, Surface automatically detects a WiFi-enabled camera placed on the table and immediately downloads photos from the device. These "spill out" onto the table, where they can be sorted, resized, and edited by hand. Surface automatically establishes WiFi connections with Zunes placed on the table and could be used as a music kiosk or a way to push narrated tours to museum patrons.
Microsoft shops at IKEA
Keam says that he "absolutely expects this to end up in the home" at some point, and he notes that this is not a one-off project intended to steal any thunder from the multitouch goodness of the iPhone. Surface has actually been in development at Microsoft for years. A team was formed in October 2001 to pursue surface computing, and the idea got the go-ahead from Microsoft chairman Bill Gates in 2003. A prototype, called T1, was up and running a month later, crafted from an IKEA table with a hole chopped in the center and a piece of vellum serving as a diffuser.
The hardware design that Microsoft is showing today was finalized back in 2005, but it has taken a significant amount of time to transform the prototype machines into commercial models that can stand up to public use. More than 100 people now work on Surface, indicative of the amount of attention that Microsoft is giving the technology.
When might we see Surface available on consumer-priced products? Only the market knows that. For now the $5,000-$10,000 devices will likely be limited to high-end commercial uses and perhaps featured in a rap video or two. How's that for bling?


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FDLE will not pursue alleged threats against Handy
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement will not investigate allegations that a trustee at Northwest Florida State College has threatened President Ty Handy and his family.
"Our agents looked at the allegations and decided they did not rise to the level of a crime," FDLE spokeswoman Linda McDonald said Friday. "They reviewed findings with the state attorney, who concurred."
Handy had notified law enforcement agencies of threats.
"I went to law enforcement immediately, both federal and local, so if they got a call from me or my wife they could respond immediately," Handy said.
Handy said he decided not to press charges, but allegations he presented to Niceville Police Chief David Popwell were passed on to the FDLE.
The situation came to a head when Handy read a "statement of concern" to the board of trustees at their meeting June 18. Handy alleged that threats — including several implying harm could befall him or his family — had been made by "one member of this board."
Read the statement of concern. >>
After Handy finished his statement, Patrick Byrne, a trustee since March, immediately addressed the comments and made it clear they had been directed at him.
Byrne said Handy was making "a mountain out of a molehill," but also apologized to Handy and his wife for any statements he made that might have appeared threatening.
"At best, I misspoke, (but) I do not recall it," Byrne said.
Handy also claimed in his statement that the same trustee who threatened him told him if he agreed to resign he could be "bought out" with a consulting job or a "presidential sabbatical with full pay for one year."
The statement also indicated the effort to oust Handy extends much further than a single board member.
It alleges a "key administrative employee" at the college had been working with Byrne to "get me fired."
Handy claimed the employee told him at a private meeting that "state officials" intended to "offer you a state position in Tallahassee that you cannot refuse.' "
The employee's identity has not been confirmed on the record.
Handy's statement asserted Byrne also told him powerful people in Florida government were working behind the scenes to have him removed.
"He demanded that I be gone by July 1, and that if I was, 'a senator will make sure that the college is given millions of dollars in extra appropriations,' " Handy said in the statement.
Although he has made contributions to both Republican and Democratic causes over the years, Byrne's clearest connection to Tallahassee is a long friendship with Senate President Don Gaetz of Niceville.
Gaetz nominated Byrne, the president of Valparaiso Realty, to serve on the NWF State's board of trustees. He also nominated Wayne Ansley, an assistant superintendent when Gaetz ran the Okaloosa County School District, and Brad Drake, who served with Gaetz in the Florida Legislature.
Gov. Rick Scott appointed them to the board.
Byrne had served as a trustee for the college when it was Okaloosa-Walton Community College, was a member of the State Board of Community Colleges and was chairman of the board of the Foundation for Florida's Community Colleges.
Byrne's son, Michael, interned for Gaetz and is presently employed as a legislative aide to him.
Gaetz said last week he has known Byrne for more than 20 years and confirmed that they had partnered in ownership of a Howard Johnson's motel on U.S. Highway 98 in Fort Walton Beach in the 1990s.
Byrne did not return several phone calls last week seeking comment, but Gaetz said he spoke to him after the June 18 board meeting and was told "he thought there were exaggerations and overstatements made" by Handy.
"He was very surprised by what was said and rather taken aback," Gaetz said.
He said if what Handy claims Byrne said is true, "it would be very out of character for the Pat Byrne I know."
"The things said about Pat don't square with what I know about him," Gaetz said.
Gaetz said if Byrne did refer to a state senator when he spoke to Handy about appropriations to NWF State, he was not the senator.
"I don't know of any occasion where state appropriations were tied into someone coming into or leaving a college presidency," he said. "The Legislature doesn't increase or decrease appropriations based on who the president of a community college is."
Gaetz said he does not know Handy well and did not know when he nominated Byrne that he would make Handy's ouster such an obvious priority.
But according to another new trustee, Byrne made his intention clear from the beginning.
Michael Flynt, who also was appointed to the board in March, said Byrne told him about his goal of getting rid of Handy as they waited outside Scott's office to be interviewed for the posts.
"He said it was because of the financial status of the college," Flynt said.
About that time, Handy raised concerns with the trustees that Scott was about to appoint several new board members and that at least one of them wanted him gone.
Ansley voted with Byrne against renewing Handy's employment contract when that item came up at the June 18 meeting.
He said the vote had nothing to do with how he felt about Handy, but with how he felt as a new member about voting to extend a contract that still had two years remaining on it.
"It was a matter of principle. If I had to vote today I would support Dr. Handy," Ansley said last week. "You'd have trouble finding something concrete to wrap your arms around (what) he's doing wrong."
Ansley said the three-year contract extension Handy received pretty well solidifies the college president's position despite the controversy still swirling around him.
Daily News Staff Writer Katie Tammen contributed to this report.
Contact Daily News Staff Writer Tom McLaughlin at 850-315-4435 or firstname.lastname@example.com. Follow him on Twitter @TomMnwfdn.


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There's a very useful posting from Coskan Gundogar about tracking down a problem to do with an 11g upgrade.
The method basically revolves around a quick check for "known issues" that might be relevant by looking at the dynamic performance views v$system_fix_control.
When I read Coskan's notes I had forgotten that I had written a short item about this myself about a year ago where I listed the relatively small number of items available in 10.2.0.3. The list is up to 1070 items in 18.104.22.168.


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Home > Consumer Protection > Consumer News & Information > FDIC Consumer News
FDIC Consumer News
Spring 2008 – Special Edition: Money Tips for All Ages
For Young Adults:
Twenty-somethings may not realize it, but every time they enter a new phase of their life as young adults — perhaps starting college, a career or a family — they're also venturing into a new world of money management. Here are ways to be prepared.
Save money that could make your future dreams a reality. It's important to put money aside for purchases you expect to make in the next few months or years. But even at this stage of your adult life, it's smart to save for long-term goals, perhaps buying a home, owning a business or saving for retirement (even though that may be 40 or 50 years away).
To help you stay focused on saving money and controlling your spending, think about creating a formal or informal budget. "The important thing is to understand how much you earn each month, how much you pay for essentials like rent or transportation, and how much is left over for everything else," said Janet Kincaid, Chief of the FDIC's Consumer Response Center. It's how you spend what is in the "everything else" category that is critical to successful money management, Kincaid added.
Also, to make saving easy and painless, consider arranging with your bank or employer to automatically transfer a certain amount each month to a savings or investment account.
Build a good credit record. As you become responsible for paying your own debts — for credit card purchases, rent, car loans or student loans, and other obligations — you are building a credit record. Companies called credit bureaus are authorized by law to collect information on each person's history of paying debts, which is then used to prepare "credit reports" and summary "credit scores." In general, the better your credit history and credit score, the better your chances are of getting a loan, including a credit card, with an attractive interest rate. Credit reports and scores also can be considered when you apply for a job, an insurance policy or an apartment.
One of the best ways to build and maintain a good credit record is to pay your credit card bill and other debts on time — to show you are a reliable money manager.
What else can you do to improve your credit score? "Try to charge on your credit card only what you can afford to pay off immediately or within a reasonable time frame," said Robert Mooney, FDIC Deputy Director for Consumer Protection and Community Affairs. "Whenever possible, pay your credit card bill in full each month, but if you can't do that, pay as much as you can over the minimum amount due."
If you need to get a car, consider the best way to pay for it. For many young adults, their first big purchase and ongoing expense is their vehicle. Often, the first question is whether to buy (which may involve taking out a loan) or lease (which is similar to renting a car but for a few years).
"There are different pros and cons to buying or leasing," said Kincaid. "For example, monthly lease payments are usually lower than monthly loan payments, but at the end of the lease you don't own the car you've been paying for and you may owe a sizeable sum of money. If you buy, you do have a vehicle you can sell or trade in."
The Federal Reserve Board has published a guide to the differences between buying and leasing a car. "Keys to Vehicle Leasing" is online at www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/leasing. If you're thinking about buying a car and borrowing money to pay for it, see the Summer 2007 FDIC Consumer News (www.fdic.gov/consumers/consumer/news/cnsum07/auto.html) for tips that can help you save time and money, perhaps hundreds of dollars.
If you're renting a house or apartment, consider if it's time to buy. Once you start earning a good, steady income, you'll most likely face the decision about when is the right time to own your first home. Real estate can be an excellent investment. But home ownership is a big financial commitment, and home values sometimes can go down. "There's a lot to consider before making that big leap into home ownership, and what works for one person isn't always the best fit for someone else," said Lee Bowman, FDIC National Coordinator for Community Affairs.
First look at the costs of renting versus paying a mortgage. "When buying a home, the most important thing to look at is what you can reasonably afford," added Kincaid. "Remember you'll be paying real estate taxes and insurance, mortgage interest payments, and the costs of maintenance and improvements. But also remember the upsides of buying a home, such as tax benefits, the potential for your home to appreciate in value, and the satisfaction of having a place to call your own."
Other factors to consider include how long you plan to stay in the house, how much money you have for the down payment, and how good your credit record is. "If your credit record is less than stellar, you may only be offered a mortgage at a high interest rate," Kincaid said.
To learn more about renting vs. buying a home and paying a mortgage, go to www.mymoney.gov, a federal Web site for information from a variety of sources, and www.hud.gov, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Last Updated 7/3/2014


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A $1 million dollar reward for citizens who were critical in helping law enforcement to corner the presumed dead Chris Dorner may not be distributed.
RELATED: Residents Plead With L.A. Cops On Signs, Shirts: I'm Not Chris Dorner! Don't Shoot Me!
TMZ reports that there were three awards offered for information leading to the capture of Dorner. The mayor of Los Angeles offered a $1 million award, which was funded by private citizens. The stipulation is that Dorner must be "captured and convicted" before anyone can be given the reward money.
RELATED:Dorner Caught On Camera Buying Scuba Gear Two Days Before Murder
Want to Keep Up With NewsOne.com? LIKE Us On Facebook!
The L.A. City Council announced a reward for $100,000 for information leading to "the identification, apprehension, and conviction" of Dorner. Though, if Dorner is officially announced dead, there may be an issue with the "conviction" part. Sources in the City Council tell TMZ that there is a disagreement between the Legislative Analyst and the City Attorney over how to interpret the reward language.
RELATED: Read Full Uncensored Chris Dorner Manifesto Here
The L.A. County Board of Supervisors also offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to the ex-cop's capture. Though one source said that Dorner was "cornered," not captured.
Simply put: No one may get a dime of the reward money. There is no word on whether the rules will be amended to accommodate citizens for any information that helped law enforcement in the presumed capture and death of Dornor.
Today's Freedom Fighters
Anti-DEI Bill Would 'Prohibit' Black Fraternities And Sororities In Florida, Lawmaker Worries
'Get Out Of The Country': Video Shows Black Man Kicked Out Of School CRT Meeting As 'Racist Woman' Stays
Jonathan Majors Video Evidence, 'Woman Recanting' Assault Claim Will Clear Actor Of Charges, Lawyer Says
'The Caucasity': Desmond Howard's Airplane Video Shows White Privilege Backfiring Spectacularly
Graphic Videos Showing Tekashi 6ix9ine Being Brutally Beaten In Florida Gym Go Viral
NAACP Opposes Cash Reparations To Descendants Of Enslaved People In San Francisco
University Of Kentucky 'Karen' Pleads Not Guilty To Racist Attack On Black Student Despite Video Evidence


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Continental Luxury
Continental Luxury
Are you looking for an excellent design team for your residential and commercial buildings? Look no further than Continental Luxury, which offers you excellent services. With keen attention to detail, we work closely with our clients to offer them the best quality products and services that make their dreams come true. We offer high-end fixtures and unique finishes at transparent prices with no hidden fees. We have a well-defined process that we follow to get the desired result. Get in touch today!
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6338 W Desert Inn RdLas Vegas Nevada 89146United States
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About Las Vegas
Las Vegas (US: ; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area and is the largest city within the greater Mojave Desert. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city, known primarily for its gambling, shopping, fine dining, entertainment, and nightlife. The Las Vegas Valley as a whole serves as the leading financial, commercial, and cultural center for Nevada. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous for its luxurious and extremely large casino-hotels together with their associated activities.
Neighborhoods in Las Vegas, Nevada
Amber Hills, Appaloosa Canyon Quarterhorse Falls, Berkley Square, Beverly Green, Bracken, Breamoor Heights, Canyon Creek North, Carmel Canyon, Centennial Hills, Centennial Point, Charleston Heights, Charleston Preservation, Corta Bella, Crestwood, Desert Park
Things to do in Las Vegas, Nevada
Our Newest Profiles


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A Heartfelt Plea from One of PF&R's Own: Put Guards on Windows to Keep Kids Safe
Fires and falls of all kinds are among the leading causes of injury and death in young children. National Window Safety Week is observed annually during the first full week of April to help educate people on how they can keep children from falling out of windows.
Nationwide, approximately 3,300 children fall from windows every year with 70% falling from second or third story windows. In Oregon, about 50 children ages 0-5 fall from windows annually. The majority of those falls happen during warmer months between May and September.
Portland Firefighter Jason Cunningham knows these statistics all too well because three years ago, his son Thomas became one of them. In this emotional video, the Cunningham family recounts the tragedy that came to their home and sends an important message out about how to prevent this kind of thing from happening to anyone you love.
Children can fall from windows allowed to open more than 4 inches. As parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, brothers and sisters, we need to be aware of how to keep our children safe.
For more information on window safety please visit these sites:


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Hamann have unveiled the Hamann Hawk SLS AMG Roadster on their stand at the Geneva Motor Show 2012. The Hamann Hawk SLS AMG Roadster program features a set of aerodynamic components, performance enhancements, stainless-steel exhaust systems, 21 inch light-metal rims and interior modifications.
With a performance of 636hp and a maximum torque of 680Nm at 4,850rpm, the two-seater accelerates from zero to 100km/h in only 3.6 seconds up to a top speed of 320km/h. The Hamann Hawk Roadster front apron replaces the serial bumper, enlarged air inlets provide more fresh air to the engine, there's a new bonnet, the fenders are 60mm wider on each front side and 70mm on each rear side and a new rear bumper with integrated diffuser has been fitted.
For more details on the Hamann Hawk SLS AMG Roadster please visit our earlier post.