text:
This stunning film takes you on a hypnotic journey, reaching to the past to understand the origins of the catastrophic environmental transitions we now face. Over two years, director Matt Anderson traveled 16,000 miles to document firsthand our modern industrial world and the environmental destruction in its wake. In the process, he discovered exciting strategies to help humanity transcend the coming ecological and psychological crisis.
Some of today's most progressive thinkers, from anthropologists and bio-architects to psychologists and journalists, collectively recreate a story of humanity and the history of Earth, illuminating a desperately needed new path for us to take. Fall and Winter is a survival guide for the 21st Century.
A Film Screening and Q&A with the director, Matt Anderson
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2013, 7:00PM - 10:00PM, at Cooper Union - 41 Cooper Square
- http://www.cooper.edu/events-and-exhibitions/events/fall-and-winter-film-screening
- http://www.fallwintermovie.commore →
- http://residuetrail.tumblr.com
Seventeen year cicadas are here in New York! Magicicada spp. spend most of their 17-year lives underground feeding on xylem fluids from the roots of deciduous forest trees in the eastern United States. After 17 years, mature cicada nymphs emerge at any given locality, synchronously and in tremendous numbers. After such a prolonged developmental phase, the adults are active for about 4 to 6 weeks. The males aggregate into chorus centers and attract mates. Within two months of the original emergence, the life cycle is complete, the eggs have been laid and the adult cicadas are gone for another 17 years.
Finally!! Little Free Library installed in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn (on Marlborough between Cortelyou and Dorchester) It's beautiful!
Midway is a photography project by Chris Jordan
"On Midway Atoll, a remote cluster of islands more than 2000 miles from the nearest continent, the detritus of our mass consumption surfaces in an astonishing place: inside the stomachs of thousands of dead baby albatrosses. The nesting chicks are fed lethal quantities of plastic by their parents, who mistake the floating trash for food as they forage over the vast polluted Pacific Ocean.
For me, kneeling over their carcasses is like looking into a macabre mirror. These birds reflect back an appallingly emblematic result of the collective trance of our consumerism and runaway industrial growth. Like the albatross, we first-world humans find ourselves lacking the ability to discern anymore what is nourishing from what is toxic to our lives and our spirits. Choked to death on our waste, the mythical albatross calls upon us to recognize that our greatest challenge lies not out there, but in here.
- Chris Jordan, Seattle, February 2011"
William Miller: "To look into the Gowanus canal is to gaze into the eyes of a corpse. It is murky and clouded over but if you look closely you can see life and light reflected in the mercury, feces and coal tar that drift in the canal like malevolent clouds. This uncomfortable cohabitation is the foundation of a photographic study of the strangely beautiful horror that the canal hosts"
more →
- http://www.moonrisekingdom.com/
Walden (or Life in the Woods) by Henry David Thoreau free audio book:
- http://www.booksshouldbefree.com/book/walden-by-henry-david-thoreau
more →
more →
- http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/wilder-mann
- http://www.charlesfreger.com
Buttons from top to bottom: water lily, lily of the valley, first flowers, chamomile, bluebells, thistle, cornflower, russel muhroom, oak, blackberry, red under aspen mushroom.
- http://www.etsy.com/listing/107760651/soviet-mushroom-button-badge-vintage
- http://bellandstar.blogspot.com/2012/05/pollen-seeds-fruit-work-of-rob-kesseler.html
"I don't like concrete. A tree moves and also I'm silent. With a nail or a saw. you'd know I was there. I am like a raccoon" - Richard Greaves
Home of artist and architect, Eugene Von Bruenchenhein.
"Miracle on the Mountain" by Clarence Schmidt. Clarence Schmidt was locally and nationally renowned outsider artist - an iconic pioneer of monumental environmental sculpture. His ongoing life's work, the "Miracle on the Mountain," was constructed of found objects and recycled materials between the years 1940-1972, which evolved on the back slope of Ohayo Mountain, in Woodstock NY.
In 2009, Grimes (Canadian singer-songwriter Claire Boucher) and her then-boyfriend from Tennessee constructed a 20-foot houseboat, named the "Velvet Glove Cast in Iron," with the intention to sail it down the Mississippi River from Minneapolis to New Orleans. The cargo included chickens, a typewriter, 20 pounds of potatoes and a gifted copy of Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
Due to engine trouble and subsequent harassment from the Minnesota police, the journey was cut short and the houseboat and chickens were impounded. Above: Grimes.
Mississippi house boat.
- http://www.diphotos.net/JJ/Tarkovskij/Web/li1.htm
Poster by Federal Art Project, W.P.A, Ohio , US 1938. (Ohio is a buckeye state) Image found in The Library of Congress Photostream
Two great documentaries about bees - VANISHING OF THE BEES and QUEEN OF THE SUN
Both films center around the sudden disappearance of honey bees from beehives around the world, caused by the poorly understood phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder or CCD. Vanishing of the Bees does not draw any firm scientific conclusions as to the precise cause or causes of CCD, it does suggest a link between neonicotinoid pesticides and CCD. Queen of the Sun explores the historical and contemporary relationship between bees and humans.
Artwork by Adam Makarenko.
Stunningly dizzying handwoven saltillo sarapes at the Museum of American Indian. "The earliest Saltillo Sarapes, from before about 1850, employ hand-woven wools and organic dyes (indigo, vegetal green and ivory/natural wool—including an extremely costly red dye, cochineal, produced by pulverizing cochineal bugs, a parasite of the nopal cactus. The designs of these early sarapes, generally a diamond of some sort, are linear and geometric. Sarapes are distinct from the world's other great textile traditions. There are eye-dazzling effects, particularly in the central medallion, and some early examples vibrate like a piece of Op Art"
Once upon a time there lived a cloud. She gave birth to a lot of children (raindrops) and decided to make a nest for them. She built a nest and started moving her children. But she had so many of them that they did not fit into her palms, so some of them dropped down to the ground as rain. One of the smallest raindrops was there too. It dropped into a puddle. From a puddle there was a small stream. Small raindrop got into a stream, from which it got into a river. It swam through a river as a bubble. Bubble woke up in the morning and saw that it is floating not in the river anymore but in the air, and it is not a bubble anymore but a mist. On it's way it also saw a lot of other mists. On the way of it's journey it became a cloud.
Girl and Echo is an independent Lithuanian film about childhood, friendship, freedom and nature.
Watch: - http://pinterest.com/pin/99149629266488028/
Wild strawberries grown in our backyard in Brooklyn this summer. Last year's photos of wild strawberries: http://www.blog.designsquish.com/wild-strawberries
"Evidence from archaeological excavations suggests that wild strawberry has been consumed by humans since the Stone Age. It was widely cultivated in Europe until the 18th century, when it began to be replaced by the garden strawberry, which has much larger fruit and showed greater variation, making them better suited for further breeding."
Was Henry Darger inspired by postcard above?


text:
There are some packages of Kontact Touch for MeeGo 1.2 Harmattan. This is the operating system of the Nokia N9 (and N950) smartphones.
To install the packages you have to switch your phone into developer mode, since the packages are not yet available in the Application Store (reachable via). This will also install an ssh server on your device which makes the rest of the installation much more comfortable.
|This step is not really necessary since you can also do everything directly on the terminal of your device.
To connect to your ssh server you first have to set a password for the "user" account. To do that open the Terminal application and use
devel-su to log in as root (default root password is rootme) and set the password for the user by calling
passwd user. Now you are able to connect to your device as user and configure the OpenSSH server as usual.
Kontact Touch packages need the nokia development repositories and the files.kolab.org repo (which contains the packages) so that all dependencies can be installed. To enable them (as root):
echo "deb http://harmattan-dev.nokia.com/ harmattan/sdk free non-free deb https://files.kolab.org/local/maemo/dists/harmattan ./" >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/community.list
To install the most recent version of Kontact Touch you can then call:
curl https://ssl.intevation.de/Intevation-Distribution-Key.asc | apt-key add - apt-get update apt-get install kdepim-mobile
|When using a non-English version of apt, the continue question still needs a
y as an answer to move on.
|If you get an error like:
https://downloads.maemo.nokia.com ./ libgmp3c2 2:4.3.2+dfsg-1+maemo5+0m6 The requested URL returned error: 404You can get the the package here and install it manually with
dpkg -i. The link to this package appears to be broken in the Nokia repository.
|When syncing an significant amount of data and you are not absolutely sure it will fit in your home directory, you must move the cache off the home directory partition to MyDocs! Consider three times the size of your complete imap account contents. If you fill up the root partition an N9 defect might make your device unbootable and in need of reflashing.
You can symlink the akonadi directory (/home/user/.local/share/akonadi) to somewhere where you have enough space available. MyDocs usually has more space available, see the following steps:
make sure that akonadi is disabled (
akonadictl stop /
akonadictl status)
As root do (Please check after each step if it worked correctly and not copy/paste everything):
cp -r /home/user/.local/share/akonadi /home/user/MyDocs/akonadi
Now as user
rm -rf /home/user/.local/share/akonadi ln -s /home/user/MyDocs/akonadi /home/user/.local/share/akonadi echo -e "[Connection]\nSocketDirectory=/home/user" >> /home/user/.config/akonadi/akonadiserverrc
The configuration change of the socket directory is necessary because MyDocs is by default a vfat that does not support akonadi's way of symlinking it's socket in the .local directory.
When starting with an empty akonadi database, it is recommened to raise the threshold value
which determines when an object will be saved as flat file. Therefore less files get saved to
/home/user/.local/share/akonadi/file_db_data/. This avoids hitting the Mydocs-partition limitation on the number of 32764 files per directory too early. You can do this to add the following line to the "General" section of
/home/user/.config/akonadi/akonadiserverrc with an editor. You can chose any value, the default is 4096. Make sure akonadi is stopped.
Make sure to check out the general Kontact Touch page, especially note the recommendation to use KWallet in the account setup section.
With some of the platform integration missing, you may get dialogs which are hard to use just with the touch screen because they are too small to hit with your fingers. Especially some of the settings are hard to reach. Consider using the VNC mode, which you can enable in the SDK setting of the N9. This way you can type and use a mouse from a desktop system.
The Strigi daemon fails to start putting up an error message now and then and causing address completion and full text search not to work.
The icons might be just some strange red squares until you restart.
You need to execute
export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/opt/libgpg-error/lib:/opt/libgcrypt/lib
Before you can use gnupg (or use gnupg as crypto backend in kmail / kleopatra)

subset: commoncrawl


text:
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Field marks * are mandatory


text:
Sao Din Na Noi or Hom Chom and Khok Suea is located in Chiang Khong sub-district, 60 kilometres from Mueang Nan. From Na Noi district, there is a crossroad. Go along Highway No. 1083 for approximately 6 kilometres. It is a soil formation into strange shapes, similar to the "Phae Mueang Phi" of Phrae Province. From geological evidence, it appears that Sao Din Na Noi occurred from the movement of the earth's crust during the late Tertiary Period and the natural erosion of water and wind. Geologists assume that it might be aged during 10,000 – 30,000 years and was once the bottom of the sea. There have been discoveries of stone bangles and ancient axes at this place, which are currently preserved at the Nan National Museum. It reflects that this area was once a habitation place of human beings in the Palaeolithic Age.
However, there are other interesting attractions. For example, Kaeng Luang is 35 kilometres from Na Noi district. The entrance route to Kaeng Luang is very difficult to travel because there are natural islets and cataracts caused by the stream of the Nan River, flowing pass the rocks scattered in the river. During the season of a rushing torrent, there are echoes of water smashing against the rocks, while during the dry season, rocks and white sandy beaches along the Nan River can be seen. Swimming can be done during the dry season in April only because during the rainy season, the stream will be vigorous and dangerous. Pha Hua Singand Doi Samoe Dao is situated at Km. 16, the Na Noi – Pang Hai route. It is a viewpoint spot on the summit of the high cliff from which the 360° of scenery can be admired. At the spot, a wide terrace suitable for relaxation, star observation and sunset viewing, is located. Visitors who would like to go to Pha Sing (meaning a cliff with a strange shape similar to the head of a lion) will have to contact an official from the National Park. The total distance is 2 kilometres. Along the way, the Chan Pha Tree - Dracaena loureiri Gagnep., the unique tree will be seen. Moreover, when the sky is clear, Na Noi and Wieng Sa districts, as well as, the Nan River can be viewed from the cliff.
Accommodation and Facilities: There are bungalows and tents for rent. However, visitors have to prepare their own food. For further information, please contact the Si Nan National Park, P.O. Box 14, Si Sa Ket sub-district, Na Noi district, Nan 55150, Tel. 0 5470 1106, 08 1224 0800 or the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Flora, Tel. 0 2562 0760 or www.dnp.go.th.


text: Auburn's torque sensing Limited Slip Differentials (LSD) use an innovative cone-shaped clutch, which engages the differential case, coupled to a beveled side gear providing max traction. When the LSD senses one wheel spinning faster than the other, the cone clutch engages tighter and, through the use of springs and their preload, equalizes the torque bias to each wheel. The Auburn LSD's are available in two versions: one is the "Pro Series" for ultra-high-performance applications. The "High-Performance" series has a standard spring preload for stock-type street use, while the "Pro Series" uses much higher spring preload for instantaneous torque-sensing traction.


text:
Well, here is a post about some really strange things that I found in the new Las Vegas City Center. Of course, these things that I thought were weird, may not be weird to a normal person... but to me they were. Lolz
The blog post is Las Vegas City Center LOVES Tampons - if you have ever been down there, you may know what I'm talking about, but if not. It's these things that are Ice Sculptures but they really remind me of Ice Tampons.
I even have pictures for you guys, so you can see where I'm coming from.
And, so I may have a sick mind, but you can't deny those do look strange. Haha!
Cait Hagar


text:
LSU AgCenter scientists are launching a series of research projects in 2005 to learn what they can about Asian soybean rust and how the potentially devastating disease will develop in Louisiana.
Meanwhile, they are telling farmers to go about their soybean planting as they have in the past, despite this looming threat.
"We don't know when we'll see Asian soybean rust again," said Boyd Padgett, LSU AgCenter plant pathologist. "We don't know how it will react in Louisiana. There's a lot we don't know about this disease."
In early November 2004, LSU AgCenter scientist Ray Schneider unexpectedly found Asian soybean rust in a production field on the Ben Hur Research Farm near the LSU campus. This was the first discovery of the disease in North America.
Asian soybean rust has been around since the early part of the 20th century. But it had been confined to Asia until recently — when it spread to Africa and then on to South America. It was first discovered in the Western Hemisphere in Brazil in 2000.
The rust disease, which is spread by windborne spores, is feared because it's hard to detect until it's too late to do anything about it. The symptoms first appear on the bottom leaves — hidden from view. By the time a farmer sees it, the disease, which has been known to destroy entire fields, generally has taken hold.
Schneider's discovery prompted an emergency gathering of scientists from all over the country at the LSU AgCenter. They determined hurricane winds from August 2004 had carried the rust spores into the state — and, as it turns out, eight other states in the South.
No signs of the disease were found in the Midwest, the major soybean-producing area in the United States. But by the time the searches were being conducted in late 2004, all the beans up north had been harvested, and the weather had turned cold, which kills the disease.
To help with understanding the disease, a group from the LSU AgCenter will head to Brazil in mid-February to find out how farmers there have learned to cope. Soybean harvest starts there in February and March. Despite the presence of the disease, Brazil continues to be the No. 1 producer of soybeans worldwide.
Besides Padgett and Schneider, the LSU AgCenter delegation includes David Lanclos, Extension soybean specialist; Allen Hogan and Keith Normand, county agents; and Matt Baur, entomologist.
"2005 will be a learning year," Lanclos said. "Until we find out something different, we will continue with the same recommendations for growing soybeans in Louisiana."
The researchers will plant various types of soybeans at various times to see which ones might get rust. If the rust shows up, they'll spray different products at different times to see what works best.
Meanwhile, they're telling farmers not to spray with fungicide as a preventive measure, unless rust is confirmed in the state again this growing season. If rust is found, then they recommend using a fungicide.
LSU AgCenter experts also are strongly suggesting Louisiana farmers start scouting for signs of Asian soybean rust as soon as soybean plants emerge from the ground.
Asian soybean rust likes long periods of leaf wetness and warm conditions (60 degrees F to 80 degrees F), Padgett said.
"Look at the areas in your fields shaded from the morning sun," Padgett advised a group of soybean farmers gathered at the LSU AgCenter's Dean Lee Research Station in January. "Know your other diseases. Start looking as soon as the plant's up.
"We don't know if this will be a minor disease or No. 1," Padgett said. "We may be like Brazil with some years bad and some good."
The main advice Padgett and Lanclos are giving Louisiana farmers is to not change a successful production system.
"Continue doing what has worked in the past," Lanclos said. "Plant the varieties recommended by the LSU AgCenter."
Lanclos predicts there will be fewer acres of soybeans grown in 2005 because of the uncertainties. In 2004, about a million Louisiana acres, the most for any crop, were in soybeans. Farmers in the southwestern area of the state may turn more of those acres into crawfish production. And those in northeast Louisiana may grow more grain sorghum, the experts said.
Soybeans are grown in Louisiana in 40 to 50 parishes, with the most grown in the northeastern part of the state — although the good soil there is saved for cotton.
Development of a rust-resistant variety of soybean is predicted to be at least five years away.
Linda Benedict writes for the Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service. firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
Scott Dunlap's blog of trail running, ultrarunning, triathlon, and other life adventures. I enjoy the physical, emotional, and spiritual journey of outdoor events and the chance to meet cool people. This blog contains interviews, research, original fiction, new product ideas, and all things trail running.
Thursday, January 05, 2012
Does This Water Bottle Make My Shlong Look Big?
If you prefer butt jokes to shlong jokes, be sure to check out what happens to this reporter about a minute into his report...doh!
6 comments:
Haha, thanks for making my morning!! Love it!ReplyDelete
Can you imagine running down the road or trail and seeing people wearing this? That's hi-larious!!ReplyDelete
Hey there...congratulations on making the Top 20 running blogs !ReplyDelete
haha.. Lol. Very humorous video and thanks for the link shared. :-)ReplyDelete
- Anonymous1/09/2012 08:28:00 AM
I like your blog. Visit mine and be a follower. http://elpalpite.blogspot.comReplyDelete
I LIVE for comments! Please add your thoughts, let me know you stopped by, etc., and be thoughtful of others. Always best if you sign your name, of course.


text:
How to Use
Map 1: Moravian settlements in the
mid-Atlantic region.
1. Why would Pennsylvania have been a likely place for Moravians to establish permanent settlements?
2. Calculate the distance between Bethlehem and the other Moravian settlements of Nazareth, Lititz, Lebanon, Hope, and Emmaus. What do you notice about the names of these settlements?
3. How far is Bethlehem from Philadelphia? Do you think the Moravians ever traveled to Philadelphia? If so, why?
* The map on this screen has a resolution of 72 dots per inch (dpi), and therefore will print poorly. You can obtain a high quality version of Map 1, but be aware that the file may take as much as 60 seconds to load with a 28.8K modem.


text:
|"There are plenty of eye-witness accounts. Just because you're so narrow-minded you need to have everything shoved under your nose before you–"
This article contains a list of appearances, but currently has few or no notes and references. Please help the Harry Potter Wiki by adding notes and/or references to bring this article to a higher standard of quality.
|"Are you a wizard or not?"
The title of this article is conjectural. Although it is based on canonical information, the actual name is a conjecture and may be supplanted at any time by additional information released from canonical sources. If this occurs, please move this page to the appropriate title.
- "Have you visited Fred and George Weasley's shop?"
- —Fay Dunbar to Hermione Granger.[src]
The Disused Bathroom is a boys' lavatory on the sixth floor of Hogwarts Castle which has not been used since sometime prior to 1991. In 1993, Fred and George Weasley moved their shop from this one to a bathroom on the seventh floor.
Early history
The bathroom was likely created with the rest of the school by Godric Gryffindor, Salazar Slytherin, Helga Hufflepuff and Rowena Ravenclaw in Medieval times on a sixth-floor corridor that would later be known as Glanmore Peakes' Corridor. At some point, the bathroom fell into disuse and was no longer used. However, two Chocolate Frog Cards were found in the toilets and a number of school robes remained on a coat peg by a bookshelf. One of the toilets was broken and another was covered in a pool of water.
Prior to 1991, Fred and George Weasley discovered the bathroom in a secret room off the Gryffindor Common Room and made it their shop. During Harry Potter's first year, the Weasley twins' brother, Ron, told Harry about the shop. He managed to sneak into the reading room, say the password "Pig snout", through the portrait of Myriadd and into the bathroom. That year, Fred and George sold a number of Famous Witch and Wizard Cards, as well as a Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans bag.
The next year, the portrait had been replaced by a painting of Oraclitus Spheer and the password changed to "Flibbertigibbet". Once again that year, Harry Potter visited the shop. That year, the Weasley twins were selling an Alohomora Spellbook, non-explodable, luminous balloons, Stink Pellets, Dungbombs, a Wiggenweld Potion Vial and a number of Chocolate Frog Cards. After that year, Fred and George abandoned this room and moved their shop to the disused seventh floor bathroom on the seventh floor of the castle.
Items and products
The items sold in the bathroom included:
- Stink Pellets
- Dungbombs
- Snufflifors Spell Book
- Alohomora Spell Book
- Non-explodable, luminous balloons
- The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection
- A number of rare Chocolate Frog Cards
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game) (First appearance)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game)
Classroom 6A · Classroom 6B · Corridor · Disused bathroom · East Wing · Empty classroom · Floor 6 Bonus · Glanmore Peakes' Corridor · Horace Slughorn's office · Room of Rewards · Storeroom · Trophy Room · Writing Supplies Room · Staircase between the sixth-floor and seventh-floor corridor
Damara Dodderidge · Edgar Stroulger · Edessa Sakndenberg · Glanmore Peakes · Selina Sapworthy · Skeleton in a top hat · Portrait in storeroom · Temeritus Shanks · Vindictus Viridian · Wendelin the Weird


text:
Manis Inn
Beachfront Rooms & Studios for up to 4, right on Piperi Beach, 3 min. walk to Naoussa center. Verandas overlooking the sea & harbour and/or the pool. A/C, TV, phone, music, hair-dryer, microwave oven, kitchenette. Hotel operates a small Bar & Restaurant. Also offers: swimming pool, WiFi, laundry facilities, parking space. • EARLY BOOKING & other offers apply!
+30 22840 51744, 52165 | Naoussa, Piperi Beach


text:
PAWNOGRAFFITI wrote:What your thoughts TMC? Are you a playoff bound team.
Sure. We're a better team that Carolina. That's for sure. It's just that, as we're the current champs of the NFC south, we have a tougher schedule, but their passing game is virtually non-existant, and they won't be able to defeat teams with a good run D. As proven by our 27-3 against them on week 6.
Also, take a look at our remaining schedule:
@ Detroit
New Orleans
@ Carolina
@ Atlanta
San Diego
I think we have a good chance to end the season with 11, maybe even 12 wins (although 11-10 sounds more reasonable). That's a wildcard spot for sure, and maybe enough to win the NFC South.
The Panthers have a much tougher schedule, having to play at Green Bay and at NY against the Giants, and not a single game against teams below .500. I'd be surprised if they go .500 the rest of the way.
As for Washington, Dallas and Philly, I think Philly is already out of contention, as they have one of the worst remaining schedules of the NFL. Dallas and Washington could be dangerous, but they all have to play some tough teams, and health is an issue with both. The Redskins have the most friendly schedule, tho, so they have a slight advantage, but I think they'll be the ones that finally miss on the playoffs, with Dallas taking that wildcard.
The way I see it, the NFL playoffs should end something like this:
Bye.- Giants, Cards
Bucs and Packers as divisional champs.
Dallas and Panthers as wildcards.


text:
Anyone who has children or who has been around them for a while knows that kids, as well as young adults, are attracted to video games like flies are attracted to light. And, while older adults may think the kids are being lazy or using their time idly when they're connected to their Wii or Xbox using a Kinect, in reality the kids are paving the way for business training and IT's role in tomorrow's companies.
How? It's part of a future trend Daniel Burrus, CEO of Burrus Research, first identified back in the 1980s that we are now calling gamification. Today, that growing trend is reaching a tipping point.
If you think back, you'll see that many of the greatest technological advances in business have come from the world of kids and games. Actually, here's the exact flow of events: a concept or technology often begins with kids and the world of gaming. Some will start with the military, but it's amazing how many start with kids' games. From there it gains the attention of the adults in the business community as they learn how to adapt it to their needs, and finally it creeps into the education sector. So in many respects, the adults and the business world can learn much from the kids and their video games.
To see the migration of how a concept goes from kids and games to adults and business, just look at the evolution of social media. At first, young people were the predominant ones on social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook. Adults simply didn't see the value of social media. After all, who really cared what you had for lunch or what outfit someone wore to the dance. As adults eventually took more and more interest in social media, many companies made formal policies forbidding employees from using Twitter and Facebook at work. But now that the business world has seen the relevancy of social media and how it can be a brand management, marketing and collaboration tool, they're embracing it, some even going so far as creating their own internal versions of Twitter and Facebook.
Granted, video games and social media are different technologies, but the concept migration pattern is still the same. And with game controllers like the Wii and Xbox Kinect giving people new ways of interacting with technology, the business world is currently on the threshold of being "gameified."
The heart of the gamification trend for IT is using interactive gaming as a tool to transform training company-wide. Based on 25 years of research, Burrus, writing for CIO Update, has identified five core gaming elements that when applied together can dramatically accelerate learning. When you implement these five elements into training, people learn more in less time and have better results. So Burrus suggests you keep these elements in mind as you help develop and deploy training modules and initiatives.
Consumers' Increasing Reliance on Facebook and Other Social TrendsNew figures reveal rapid adoption of social media in consumer shopping behaviors.
Emerging Cyber Threats for 2012 Georgia Tech forecasts cyber threats for 2012.
Top Predictions for IT Organizations and Users for 2012 and Beyond Simple but powerful email campaign ideas to build loyalty with customers. Predictions show IT budgets are moving out of the control of IT departments.
Related Topics : Vulnerabilities and Patches, Application Security, Application Integration, Asia-Pacific, Vulnerability Assessment
The patches released by Microsoft for the August Patch Tuesday include nine bulletins (two critical and seven important) and cover 38 CVEs. ... More >>


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DENY Aimee St Hill
Aimee St Hill Bright Tribal Baroque Mirror
About Art: multi, animalprint, striped, tribal,
As we like to say around here, if it ain't baroque, don't hang it! With a sleek mix of baltic birch ply trim that's unique to each piece and a glossy aluminum frame, the baroque mirrors collection bumps your stylish reflection up a notch.
- Baltic birch ply frame and high gloss aluminum printed front with UV resistant coating
- Quality glass mirror
- Mounting hardware included
- Custom made in the USA
- Estimated Ship Date: 5-10 business days
- This item is eligible for a return or exchange in new condition within 30 days
Small: 14" x 19" x 1"
Small inner mirror size: 11" x 8.5"
Medium: 22" x 29" x 1"
Medium inner mirror size: 16" x 12"
Aimee's designs incorporate bold color and exuberant pattern. Taking inspiration from the things around her, Aimee's goal is to create designs so delicious you'll want to take a bite!


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Break out of the complexity: Creating a more agile and innovative enterprise
Visits (14195)
For most organizations, innovation and competitive differentiation go hand in hand. But often an organization's ability to quickly and proactively respond to change driven by market drivers, customer demands and even regulatory compliance can be limited due to:
It has been estimated that as much as 66% of IT budgets are spent on "maintenance" - focusing on maintaining and enhancing existing applications. Not only do these high support and maintenance costs inhibit growth and innovation, but they bring increased risk and costs.
So, how can you break out of the complexity to be the innovative leader of pack?
Well, imagine if you could have a deep understanding of your organization; enabling you to visualize, analyze and communicate information about your applications, IT infrastructure and technologies so that you can understand the costs, risks and impact of change. And giving you the ability to expose areas where you can consolidate, retire, reuse, modernize or automate for improved efficiency and reduced costs.
Application portfolio management (APM) is a capability that helps to justify and measure the financial benefits of each application in comparison to the costs of the application's maintenance and operations. Thus, APM enables you to use objective and actionable information to drive your decisions around investing, consolidating, modernizing, or replacing applications.
By leveraging the information contained within enterprise architecture, companies are finding increased efficiencies through assessing and managing risks and the impact of change, better aligning proposals with priorities, performing more realistic cost-benefit analyses, and creating road maps that deliver on future strategy.
But what about your complex infrastructure and older technologies? It is a fact that most organizations do not have the time or resources to completely revamp or modernize existing infrastructures and technologies. By making incremental improvements towards modern architectures and technologies, this not only reduces risks but this approach also begins to pick away at the total cost of ownership (TCO) of your overall IT environment. Some areas where you can see substantial benefit with reduced risk include:
I think that most will agree that complex IT applications and infrastructures can hinder a company's ability to be agile and innovative, to effectively deliver new products and services critical to the business thus impacting competitive differentiation. But the good news is that there are capabilities and technologies that can help you incrementally and cost effectively address these challenges.
Podcast: Transform now! Modernize and optimize your core systems
Webcast: Break through the complexity! Transform and modernize your enterprise to lower risks and costs
About the authorValerie Hamilton is a Certified Senior IT Specialist and Level 2 Board Member for Americas IT Specialist Profession Certification. She has a Bachelors of Science degree in Computer Science (specializing in Systems Engineering) as well as 23 years of experience in the software industry.


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Highly respected
Highly rated
Best system for fine blades!
"In my opinion this is the best system out there for fine blades. The level of precision and control is unmatched."
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We have a passionate community of master sharpeners with hundreds of knives in our database and expert tips, tricks and resources to help you hone your craft, whatever your goal might be.


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Forms for Registration
Forms are available only to teams that have been accepted into the 2018 Trenton Premier Classic. If your team has been formally accepted, please log in and CONFIRM ATTENDANCE to claim your forms. If you have already claimed your forms, please log in and click on the Get Duplicate Forms button.
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Dr. George Washington Carver Garden at Birmingham Botanical Gardens
Recently, at AL.com, we shared our George Washington Carver Garden, a unique space which has allowed Birmingham children to learn about the discoveries of one of Alabama's most prolific native sons. Through Discovery Field Trips, Birmingham students have an opportunity to explore crops hands-on. Today at The Gardens Blog, we share more photos from the field trip.
Students from 1st – 6th grade are invited to take part in this Discovery Field Trip, which is offered from September until November from 9:30 – 11:30 a.m. Transportation is provided for Birmingham City Schools through the Junior League of Birmingham It's provided for Bessemer City Schools through Vulcan Materials Foundation. Teachers can learn more about this and all Discovery Field Trips at The Gardens website, where they can also learn how to plan an educational opportunity for their own class.


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Space Telescope Science Institute
Using its near-infrared vision to peer 9 billion years back in time, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has uncovered an extraordinary population of tiny, young galaxies that are brimming with star formation. The galaxies are typically a hundred times less massive than the Milky Way galaxy, yet they churn out stars at such a furious pace that their stellar content would double in just 10 million years. By comparison, the Milky Way would take a thousand times longer to double its population.
The observations were part of the Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey (CANDELS), an ambitious three-year survey to analyze the most distant galaxies in the universe. CANDELS is the census of dwarf galaxies at such an early epoch in the universe's history.
Continue reading...


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Stephan's Quintet
Stephan's Quintet, HCG 92
Stephan's Quintet is 290 million light-years (90 million parsecs) away. The foreground, superposed NGC 7320 is 40 million light-years (12 million parsecs) away.
The Hubble images were created from data from proposal 11502: K. Noll and M. Livio (STScI), D. Leckrone and M. Niedner (NASA/GSFC), and Z. Levay and M. Mutchler (STScI).
Acknowledgments for Stephan's Quintet
Observers: K. Noll and M. Livio (STScI), D. Leckrone and M. Niedner (NASA/GSFC), and Z. Levay and M. Mutchler (STScI)
Data Analysis: H. Bushouse, J. Anderson, and M. Mutchler (STScI)
Image Composition: Z. Levay and L. Frattare (STScI)
Text: D. Weaver and R. Villard (STScI)
Illustrations: Z. Levay (STScI)
Video: G. Bacon (STScI)
Science Consultants: M. Livio and B. Whitmore (STScI)
WFC3/UVIS: F438W (B), F606W (V), F657N (H-alpha + [N II]), F665N (H-alpha + [N II]), and F814W (I)
The image is a composite of separate exposures made by the WFC3 instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope. Six filters were used to sample broad and narrow wavelength ranges. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic image. In this case, the assigned colors are:
Blue: F438W (B)
Green: F606W (V)
Red: F140W (JH) + F657N (H-alpha + [N II]) + F665N (H-alpha + [N II]) + F814W (I)
Galaxy group Stephan's Quintet is located in the constellation Pegasus.


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in TamworthThe Owl at Tamworth
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- Private functions and parties
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Programming with JavaScript used to be hard. Just look at all the JavaScript tutorials written by our Webmonkeys. Over the years we've done what we can to help you make sense of JavaScript.
Now we're being helped out by JavaScript frameworks, like JQuery, Prototype and Moo Tools. These web frameworks sit on top of JavaScript and make some common tasks a whole lot easier. When you write in JQuery, as you will in this tutorial, you're still writing JavaScript, but what used to be 50 lines may now be one or two. JQuery's slogan is "write less, do more," and it lives up to that promise.
In this tutorial, I'll introduce you to a new way to write JavaScript: the easy, JQuery way. We'll retrieve multiple objects in a single line, add CSS classes and make things magically disappear. At the end, you'll be able to create an expandable Frequently Asked Questions template, where users can click a question and the answer will appear below.
You don't have to be a pro to master JQuery (although going through Webmonkey's JavaScript tutorials helps). Even if you're new to JavaScript, you'll want to read on and see what JQuery can do for you.
What you'll need
- Good understanding of HTML and CSS
- Very basic knowledge of JavaScript
- Willingness to have your mind blown away
Your Basic HTML Sets the Stage
You should be excited to write some JQuery. I know I am. First, we have to get the HTML ready to go. Copy the code below into an empty document:
  <title>Testing JQuery</title>
Opened in a browser, the above is blank. That's because it's only a starting place for the code we'll be adding into it.
Before we start writing code, I want to point out something interesting about one of the script tags. The one above the style tag and below the title tag calls to an external JavaScript file. That's normal, but the URL where the
src leads is not.
Another note about scripts. The code we create in this tutorial will be written within one main HTML file. Normally, we'd link to an external JavaScript file instead. The same goes for our CSS, which we'll put between the style tags. I'm including scripts and styles inline because I want to make the code easy to read and manipulate.
Before we move on to the code, let's set up the HTML and CSS we'll be using in the next section.
Add this between the body tags:

 SPAN
No id
No class SPAN
id="second"
class "test"
DIV
No id
class "test"

 Toggles:

And put this between the style tags:
#container div, #container span { width: 150px; height: 150px; display: block; float: left; border: 1px solid black; } #container .highlight { border: 3px solid orange; } p { clear: left; } p input { display: block; }
Reload the HTML file you created and you'll see a few squares on your screen. Yay! Now let's JQuery-ify the sucker.
You Can Get Anything With JQuery
One of the best features of JQuery is its tools for grabbing objects from a page. Most of this happens through the dollar sign function, with CSS-like commands. In this section, I'll show some of the common ways of selecting objects, as well as filtering a list of objects down to just the few you want.
To follow along, you can download the basic HTML file or copy and paste it from Webmonkey's code library. I'll also give you the code to add to this starting template at each step. By the end of this tutorial, you should have written a decent JQuery-powered expandable FAQ template.
Get An Object By ID
Identifying a single object by ID is similar to setting styles in CSS. Use the dollar sign function and pass the ID with a pound sign in front of it. Like this:
To test this out in our example HTML file, add the following underneath the "toggles" section near the bottom of the HTML:
<input type="button" onClick="javascript:test_byid();" value="id='second'" />
This line adds a button to the page that, when clicked, calls the
test_byid() function. Where is that function? We need to add it between the script tags in your example HTML file:
function test_byid() { $("#second").toggleClass("highlight"); }
Reload the file and click the new button. The second span (the one with
id="second") highlights.
Get Objects By Class
Grabbing all objects of a certain class also uses similar CSS commands and the dollar sign function. Check it:
Let's test it in our example HTML file. Here's the code for the testing button:
<input type="button" onClick="javascript:test_byclass();" value="class='test'" />
And now the JavaScript, which you should paste below the previous function:
function test_byclass() { $(".test").toggleClass("highlight"); }
Reload the file and click the new button. The two right boxes (the ones with class="test") highlight.
Get Objects By Tag
If you want all objects of a particular tag, you just need to pass the name of the tag to the dollar sign function. This is also similar to CSS:
In our example HTML file, paste this code for the button to test getting objects by tag:
<input type="button" onClick="javascript:test_bytag();" value="tag is 'span'" />
And the JavaScript function:
function test_bytag() { $("span").toggleClass("highlight"); }
Reload and click the new button, you'll see the two left boxes (the ones that are span tags) highlight.
Filtering Objects
JQuery has a whole lot of filters for finding only the items you want from a selection. We'll filter the final example from the previous section, where we retrieved all the span tags.
Here's the HTML for the two filtering buttons:
<input type="button" onClick="test_byfirstfilter();" value="the first object where tag is 'span'" /> <input type="button" onClick="test_bynotfilter();" value="tag is 'span', but id is not 'second'" />
And the script for both of these filters:
function test_byfirstfilter() { $("span:first").toggleClass("highlight"); } function test_bynotfilter() { $("span:not(#second)").toggleClass("highlight"); }
Filters all start with a colon. In these examples, we use the :first and :not filters.
The :first filter returns only the first item in the collection. Where
$("span") will return all the span tag objects,
$("span:first") will return only the first span.
Click the first of our two new buttons and we'll see the first span highlights. Success!
The second filter shows how to remove specific rules from being selected. This filter accepts a second set of CSS commands inside parentheses. The full JQuery command,
$("span:not(#second)") will first grab all the spans, but then filter out any that have
Click the second of our two new buttons and we'll see the first span highlights again. It is the only span that does not contain the "second" id.
If you've been following along, your web page should now look something like this:
You can get quite a bit more complicated with the JQuery filters. There is a whole list of filters on the JQuery site. See how to select every other element (i.e., for zebra striped tables), elements containing specific text, and more.
Or, if you're all filtered out, move on to the next section. I'll show you how to actually /do something/ with the objects we're selecting with JQuery.
Change Things Up With JQuery
So far we've just selected objects on the page using JQuery. Now it's time to do something with them. For this section, I'm removing all my previous HTML buttons and script from my file. You can work on the same one, or also clean house a bit. Or, like before, you can follow along with ****[advanced.html this section's examples]**** in one file.
There is an aspect to what I've shown so far that you've probably noticed: highlighting. It's an example of what can be done with the results from a JQuery call. The first item below shows how it's done, then I'll get into some other ways to manipulate the objects on the page using JQuery.
Change CSS Classes
To alter the design of a site as a user interacts with it, you most likely want to add or remove CSS classes. JQuery makes it easy. In fact, every example so far has toggled the "highlight" class, which puts a 3 pixel orange border around our example boxes.
Add this HTML button to your file:
<input type="button" onClick="test_changeclass();" value="Change CSS class of id='second'" />
And this script:
function test_changeclass() { $("#second").toggleClass("highlight"); }
The code is actually the same as the example to retrieve a particular ID. Here, we use the toggleClass function to tell JQuery which class to either add or remove. If the class is already there, it removes. Otherwise, it adds.
We can also change the toggleClass function to be addClass or removeClass to perform those functions directly.
Change An Object's Inner Text
So far we've just made changes to how something looks. How about bigger changes? In this example, we'll change the text inside some of the boxes using JQuery.
To do this, we'll use the text function. It takes a string of text as an argument, where we tell it the new text to use.
Here's the HTML code for our button:
<input type="button" onClick="test_changetext();" value="Change text where class='test'" />
And the script:
function test_changetext() { $(".test").text("over-riding text for these boxes"); }
We use JQuery to return all the objects from the page with class "test", then replace their inner text with the new text.
Reload your file, click the new button, and suddenly your right two boxes (the ones with
class="test") will have new content inside.
The important thing to notice here is that JQuery made the change over multiple objects, but only required one line. If there had been 50 objects with class test, the code would have been the same. No looping code needed. JQuery does the hard work for us.
You're probably beginning to see the real power of JQuery. In the next section, I'll start making stuff disappear. Then you'll /know/ it's magic.
Change Your Appearances: Show and Hide
Now for some real fun. We're going to make boxes disappear. To do this, we'll need the hide function. Let's get straight to the code, first for the button:
<input type="button" onClick="test_hiding();" value="Hide where id='second'" />
And then the script:
function test_hiding() { $("#second").hide(); }
Reload the page, click the new button, and just like that, the box goes away. As you may have guessed, to get it to return, you'll need to call
$("#second").show(). Instead, let's try toggling, since it may be a more popular method than using show and hide independently.
The idea behind a show/hide toggle is that if an object is currently displayed on the page, it will disappear. If it's invisible, it will reappear. Voila!
Here is the button code:
<input type="button" onClick="test_hidetoggling();" value="Toggle show/hide where id='second'" />
And the script:
function test_hidetoggling() { $("#second").toggle(); }
If you've been following along, the end result should look something like this:
Notice the code is virtually the same as the show code? Instead of calling the show function, we call the toggle function. All the work to determine whether something is viewable is done by JQuery.
This example of toggling viewability will come in handy for the next section. I'm going to show you how to create an FAQ that only shows the questions until you click to expand the answers.
Create An Expandable FAQ With JQuery
In this section, I'll show an example project that you can start using in the real world right away. We'll create an FAQ with questions and answers, then use JQuery to hide the answers and display one when the question is clicked.
You can follow along piece by piece or download the file or copy and paste it from the code library.
Set Up The HTML
Start with the shell of an HTML file, like in previous examples. Then add this definition list between the body tags:

Question number one

Answer to first question

Question number two

Answer to second question

Question number three

Answer to third question

A definition list (
 tag) is a semantic way to show questions and answers. JQuery doesn't require this, but this simple markup does make things easier. Inside the definition list, we have questions as definition terms (
 tags) and the answers as definition descriptions (
 tags).
JQuery's "onLoad: the ready()" Function
When the FAQ page is first loaded, we want the definitions to be hidden, so that only the questions are viewable. To do this, we need to call some JavaScript when the page first loads. JQuery provides a
ready() function to make this easy.
Between the script tags near the top of your code, add this JavaScript:
$(document).ready(function(){ $("dd").hide(); });
Inside the new function, we currently have one call, which may look familiar from previous sections of this tutorial. We are using JQuery to retrieve all the dd tags, then we're calling the
hide() function to make them disappear temporarily.
Reload your HTML file and you should now only see the questions list.
Make Your Questions Clickable
Now that we have successfully hidden the FAQ answers, we want to allow users to click questions in order to display the appropriate answer. In order to do this, we need to use JQuery to tell the browser that every
dt tag can be clicked, then also tell the browser what to do when it's clicked.
Add this code to your ready() function, just below the hide command from the previous section:
$("dt").click(function(){ $(this).next().toggle(); });
Here we grab every dt tag, then run the click command, which attaches an event to the dt. Inside the click event, we create an anonymous function (similar to our
ready() function) to toggle the visibility of the answer within the
dd tag.
You may be asking, where do we reference the
dd tag? We don't. We let the power of JQuery and our semantic code do the work:
- Reference the object that was clicked with
- Call the
next()function on the clicked object to return the object that comes after it in our HTML code. In this case, that is our dd tag.
- Toggle the visability of the dd tag.
Now, with very little JavaScript code, we've created an expandable FAQ that you could implement today. An added bonus is that this code has easy upkeep. Add or remove questions to the list and it still works without needing to edit any JavaScript code.
You could stop here, or you could add one more enhancement to the FAQ: the "expand all" link.
Add "Expand All" Option to FAQ
Some people hate expandable FAQs. These people may be no fun at parties, but that doesn't mean we should deprive them of reading your Q&A. Let's provide a one click option to show all the answers.
Above your definition list (
dl), add a simple hyperlink:
Expand all
Though there's nothing but a pound sign as the URL for this link, the onclick event calls a function called
showall(). Let's create that function and use a simple JQuery statement:
function showall() { $("dd").show(); }
You may notice that the call to show all the definition descriptions (
dd) is similar to hiding. Yet, instead of calling the
hide() function, we call the
show() function.
The end result should look like this:
Now you've appeased the expandable FAQ haters and learned a tiny bit more JQuery. Where else can you go from here? Read on in the final section.
Become a JQuery Master
If you've made it this far in the tutorial, you have a good idea of the power JQuery has, while being easy to write. Hopefully you're looking to learn even more JQuery and maybe even to become a JQuery master.
The JQuery docs are a little difficult to browse around, but are a good reference. Now you have a little knowledge of the way JQuery is written, you may be able to figure out how to use more advanced functions and filters. Just about every item in the docs has an example if you click through to the detail page.
Here are a few particular JQuery docs to check out:
- More ways to select objects – You'll be surprised at the ways you can retrieve just the objects you need with JQuery. The hierarchy stuff almost makes my brain explode, but it's extremely powerful.
- More ways to manipulate objects – In addition to changing its text, you can completely remove, append, prepend, and wrap objects.
- View child and sibling objects in many ways – If you liked the next() function, there's a lot more where that came from.


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What's inside? Here are the questions answered in today's reader mailbag, boiled down to five word summaries. Click on the number to jump straight down to the question.
1. Single mom, crazy life
2. Debt payoff or Roth IRA?
3. Pay cash for car?
4. 401(k) or IRA rollover?
5. Cut Roth contributions to travel?
6. Switch to HSA?
7. Watching sports without cable/satellite
8. Finding scholarships for adult students
9. An unexpected hit – and overanalysis
10. Music suggestions
A few months ago, I decided to grow my hair out to ten inches in order to donate all of it to charity. However, I'm running into a problem – it's itchy. It's driving me crazy over my ears and on the back of my neck. I don't think I can stand it at this length, let alone any longer.
My life has exploded with craziness. I am 26, a single mom (again) going through a dissolution of marriage from my husband (not my son's father). My husband kept everything, the house (currently in foreclosure) and furniture, his paid off car, the pets, etc. I kept my son and his belongings, my second hand dresser (older than me) my bed and books and my new car with a slightly hefty car payment (just under $300/mo). Everything else I own is second hand. I'm happy with this decision. I miss my house (I made it a home) but I'm happy with my 2 bedroom apartment. I removed myself from a very unhappy situation and with the support of my friends and family I've found independence and happiness. My mother is disabled (brings home $800 a month after her medicare cost) I help her out as much as I can and in exchange she gives me free babysitting for various times. My son is 7, is very active (soccer, baseball, cub scouts, etc) has many friends and is the love of my life. I give him an allowance of $10 a month which is split between spending, saving (for college), charity, and saving for a long term goal (currently a vacation next year). He also receives spare change and sometimes dollar bills from my wonderful family which he is awesome about saving for his long term goal or giving to charity. I've taught my son what my parents did not, money management. I'm still trying to teach myself. This year was especially crazy as my sister is getting married. I spent about $1,000 on the wedding (I'm a bridesmaid).
I currently work 2 jobs (1 full time and 1 part time), I coach soccer, I am involved in my sons' scouting activities (mostly planning/helping at pack mtgs), and I have just started dating a very wonderful, responsible man. My problem is I feel like I don't know where to start. I gained a lot of unwanted weight during my marriage, the accumulated debt feels like a dead weight which I'm ALMOST done paying off but can't seem to get rid of the last little bit, I've saved quite a bit but have also spent a majority of my savings due to unexpected expenses, I've neglected my mental health (I'm diagnosed bi-polar and depression) because I can't seem to squeeze time and money for therapy sessions ($25 co-pay per 50 min visit), my teeth are in bad shape due to past bulimia/lack of insurnance problems. How would I prioritze my and my sons needs/wants? My sons teeth are in OK shape, mostly needs 1 cavitiy filled but the other 2 cavities are in teeth that will fall out very soon (doesn't make sense to fill them). He suffers from ADHD and requires monthly medication (behavior therapy was not enough). Otherwise his acitivies just seem to nickle and dime me to death. My boyfriend and I planned a vacation before we started dating and we were just friends. He gave me the deal of a lifetime and I took it with the support and well wishing of friends and family. We are now dating and he doesn't understand that I don't want him to pay for everything, even if I'm struggling. I have a need to accomplish things on my own, I don't want him to rescue me everytime I make a mistake financially.
I have a separate vacation fund with Smarty Pig, a savings account linked to my checking account which is used as a small emergency fund. and am waiting until after my sis' wedding to start a Smarty Pig emergency fund that I won't be able to touch as easily. I promised my son we would take another family vacation next year and I feel that I could swing it if I pinched my pennies harder.
I guess my question is how do I priortize my life? How would a normal (i.e. an individual who doesn't feel like they are drowning) put their priorities? I've always put everyone else first, mostly I had to because I was a young single mom and relied on others to help me out so I felt like I owed them everything. Do I tell my mother (who helped me immensely when I was 17 and pregnant) I can no longer give her a stipend and pay for her cell phone so I can pay off my debts faster? Do I break my promise to my son and not go on vacation? Do I put everything on the back burner except my therapy and see if going back helps me feel better? Do I throw my budget out of whack and get a personal trainer so I can feel better (no self discipline which is a HUGE problem)? I've cut a lot out of my spending except cable tv. Do I give up this last thing and hope for the best? I don't want to put so much of my life and myself first that I forget my son or my boyfriend. Am I being stupid by not wanting help? I do accept help for certain things that I feel guilty about (my dad pays my car insurance, I don't pay my dad for babysitting but I pay my mom, etc). I'm intelligent, I'm better off now than I've ever been in my life and I'm happy even under all this feeling of helplessness and feeling overwhelmed. Between both jobs and my child support I gross about $36,000 but I can't really identify where about $8,000 a year goes. I'm currently tracking my spending in Excel to figure it out. What advice can you offer me? What books or websites might you suggest? I need to hear the truth from an objective party, no matter how gruesome it is.
– Kymm
Financially, I think you're on the right path, particularly with tracking expenses so you know where all of your money goes. You'll be shocked at how much you actually spend frivolously, I bet.
I think you're at a difficult crossroads where you're trying to fill a lot of responsibilities and roles at once. You're a girlfriend. You're a mother. You're a daughter. You're an employee. You're also yourself with your own personal needs. Each of those roles come with a lot of obligations and promises.
It is impossible to be perfect at everything, and with each role you take on, you reduce your ability to excel at the other roles.
What you have to decide is what parts of all of this are actually most important to you? Ignore what other people want from you for a moment (aside from what you need to provide for your children). What is actually most important for you? What fulfills you each day?
Is being a parent your top priority? Then be your own version of a "soccer mom" and focus on that until your child is older and can manage more of his own responsibilities.
Is your relationship your top priority? Then focus on making that relationship work with every spare ounce of energy you've got.
Whatever is your priority, focus on that and chop the other things out of your life. The more you slice up your energy and attention, the less you have for each thing in your life and the more likely you are to completely burn out and not be able to do anything.
If that means breaking up with your boyfriend, so be it. If that means relying on babysitters and friends for child-related errands, so be it. If that means cutting off your mother's allowance, so be it.
If you try to be all things to all people, everyone loses, especially yourself.
I graduated from Iowa State in 2008 and immediately found a ~60k/year job in IT for a large corporation. Through the jobs in college i graduated debt free and have spent the last two years building up a net worth (401k, roth IRA, emergency fund) of about 65k. I beat the match of my 401k and fully fund my Roth IRA and emergency fund. I'm about to become engaged and she has about 90k in student loan debt at 4.96% from 4 years at a private college and now has a ~30k a year job. We've done a lot of budget work but she can barely afford the minimums and at this point is basically paying all interest and no principal.
With the plan i put together, i think if we pay $1700 per month, we can pay down the entirity of the debt in just over 5 years. I think i can afford that but i think it will require pulling down the 401k to just the match and stop the IRA contribution almost entirely.
Once married, do you think it's wise to pull down the 401k to just the match and basically stop the Roth IRA in favor of paying down that 90k in debt? Or would it be better to keep the Roth going fully funded and pay about $1300 a month, paying down the debt in 7 years and paying 5k more in interest.
– Scott
It really comes down to how much the match is. If the match plus your contributions adds up to more than ten percent, then I'd recommend that move.
Clearly, you have your financial house in order if you're freshly out of college, debt free, and willing and able to pull out $1,700 a month to put toward debt.
One thing I would make sure of, though, is that she's financially sensible. If she's seeing that debt disappearing and then feels that it's okay to rack up other forms of debt (as people sometimes do), then you're not going to get ahead. Your plan here works if it's flanked with lots of conversation between the two of you and a commitment from both of you to live within the money left over after these debt payments.
My husband and I are a one-car family, and unfortunately, our car is on its last legs with 240,000 miles on it. We've been saving up for a replacement with the intention of paying cash. We have about $10,000 in cash, which is pretty close to what we'd like to spend. With interest rates as low as they are, though, we are rethinking our strategy. We have excellent credit, and could likely get a very low-interest car loan. I have about $22,000 in federal student loans with a 6.25% interest rate. So, here's the idea we have: put $0 down on the car, and buy the whole thing with a low-interest loan. Simultaneously, withdraw our $10,000 in cash and put it towards my student loan, which has a much higher interest rate. I'm sure there are dangers or disadvantages to this approach, but am having difficulty identifying them. The biggest concern would be decreased cash flow, since the car loan would be higher than the minimum payment on the student loan, but we're already putting at least that much aside every month. Additionally, we both have secure if not spectacularly lucrative jobs (total combined salary of $60k annually). What's your advice?
– Rhiannon
One danger to this approach is that you've moved from a loan without collateral (your student loan) to one with collateral (your car loan). Another danger is, as you mentioned, decreased cash flow due to the higher car loan payments.
This kind of move is one of those "future self" moves that I discourage people from making. Your future self just isn't bankable because you just don't know what's coming down the road. Illness? Job loss? An unexpected family change? All of those things can completely train wreck your plans.
If I were you, I'd pay cash for your next car, then go back into savings mode. Save $150-200 a month for the next car after that, then use any extra you accumulate to build up an emergency fund and/or pay down the student loan with extra payments.
I am 28 years old. I have about $6k in a Vanguard 401k from an old employer, and my new employer uses John Hancock, I am putting $400/month in that (there is no matching at this new job) and have chosen the conservative portfolio. I think the old 401k has maintainance fees now that i no longer work there, so I am trying to decide whether to roll the money into an IRA with vangaurd or into my current employers 401k. I know that an IRA allows distributions to buy a first home, and I think I might really like that flexibility, even though I am close to being on track for a down payment in savings around the time I expect to move out of the Bay Area (there is no way I could afford a home here). But the simplicity of only dealing with one retirement account appeals to me as well. What is the best choice?
– Deborah
You should definitely roll over the old 401(k) if you're getting dinged with maintenance fees – those can be really steep.
As for which one you should roll over into, it really comes down to the investment options available. Take a look at the fees for the investments you would want in each fund. Also, look at the performance history of those investments.
My guess is that Vanguard will top a John Hancock 401(k), but I'm not certain. You need to check the numbers to be sure.
I'm 24 and thinking of an extended overseas trip (a quit-your-job-and-backpack-for-months kind of trip). I have a vague notion of grad school in my future, but I'd like to go on this trip before I commit to that (or to a career). I'm hoping for some advice on financing the trip.
It will be somewhere inexpensive (SE Asia or S America, probably) and probably 4-8 months. I anticipate setting off for the trip in about a year's time, and would rather have too much than too little saved.
I'd like to have ~$9k for the trip (including airfare), with another ~$3k for when I get back (for food, transport, 1st/last/security for an apartment, etc.). I currently make $35k (pre-tax) and have ~$5k in savings. This means means I need to save another $7k in a year. I figure I can save around $3k pretty easily by being more frugal, but the other $4000 will be more difficult.
I'm currently contributing ~$4400/yr to my Roth (currently at ~$4k) and ~$1675/yr to my 401K (no matching; currently at ~$1100). I'm comfortable forgoing the 401k contributions because they're less, and because the Roth is the better investment right now. This would put me about $1200 (after taxes) closer to my goal. But I'm still $2800 short.
Considering my age, is it financially acceptable to cut my Roth contributions for the coming year (and the time I'm traveling) to help finance the trip? (Again, the goal is a once-in-a-lifetime/while-I'm-still-young experience) If not, what alternative would you recommend? If so, should I contribute 100% for the first 4-5 months and then cut the contributions to zero, or just save a lesser amount over the whole year?
– Ben
If you're committed to this trip, do it right. Don't leave yourself in a situation where you're in southeast Asia without access to any money at all.
There's also a factor of what your financial needs will be when you return from the trip. Are you going to completely rely on mom and dad when you get back or will you have some resources for your own use?
If I were in your shoes, I'd cut the Roth contributions (for now) and start socking all of that away for the trip. If you find at a later time that you have more than enough money for the trip, your Roth contribution window is still open and you can still contribute later.
My wife and I have five children. My employer's health insurance plan is so expensive ($800+ per month) that we currently have an HSA/HDHP alternative (employer refuses to chip in on this by the way) that costs us $222 per month (up from $170 per month last year). Our deductible is $7500 per year. We have very few medical expenses each year; the only items that would normally be submitted as an insurance claim are small outpatient visits (such as chiropractor). Well-child visits are covered 100% with the HDHP (deductible not applicable); we generally have 1-2 sick child visits per year.
None of our medical expenses are ever submitted to insurance. Because the chances of reaching our $7500 deductible seem so slim, we've thought it made more sense to pay cash for services (often at a discount) out of the HSA.
Is this a good idea? If we were to somehow have significant medical expenses that caused us to reach the $7500 deductible after-all, we would be able to submit "already paid" bills.
– Andrew
Your question seems to be whether or not it makes sense to pay for things out of the HSA instead of submitting to insurance and getting closer to that $7,500 deductible.
If that's the question, and you're able to submit already-paid bills to your insurance to inch closer to the deductible anyway, it seems like a very good choice to use the HSA for such expenses.
Even if you're not able to use already-paid bills, I'd still use the HSA, provided I had a healthy emergency fund in place that could cover the full $7,500 deductible if need be. The HSA simply makes it very easy to pay for healthcare expenses with pre-tax dollars.
I have a question concerning alternatives to cable TV. I know you have addressed aspects of this before but the one component I haven't found a good answer for is sports. My wife and I have cable TV and internet bundle from Comcast. Right now we pay about $60/month but this is an introductory rate that will increase substantially in a couple of months. This is for the most basic digital cable package available plus the cheapest cable internet they offer. The shows we watch (Glee, Top Chef, 30 Rock) we can get online in some way, either Hulu or renting from iTunes. It would be cheaper to drop the cable and pay for the shows we watch regularly, but there are two issues. One, when we drop the cable the price of internet increases from $24.99 to $40 since we are no longer bundling. Two, we are both college football fans and not being able to watch our team in the fall is really not an option (more so for me than my wife, I admit, but she does watch with me). Do you have any suggestions for ways to watch sports without cable? What about canceling the cable after football season and restarting it every fall? Often the games are only available on ESPN so an antenna isn't an option (plus we live in an apartment).
– Ryan
A few suggestions:
First, get a digital converter box and see what channels you can get over the air. You can get a surprising number of channels over the air, many of which air sports programming on the weekends.
Second, look for places where you can go to watch the games. Find a place with a nice television where your wife and you can go to watch particular games.
Third, just get cable installed during football season and have it removed after the season is over. Yes, you won't get any great introductory rates, but you'll save a ton by not having to pay for it over the full year.
Finally, keep an eye online and make sure that you can't get good feeds of the games you want from various websites like ESPN3 or the website of your favorite athletic conference. I watch 99% of my baseball online, for example.
My wife and I are currently debt free, except for our mortgage, which we owe about $100,000.00 with a 950.00 monthly payment. I am looking to go back to school to finish getting my bachelor's degree. I have several credit hours accumulated and it looks like I can finish in a year using an accelerated program.
I was wondering if you had any ideas on how to find scholarships for an adult student. We don't qualify for any financial aid except for student loans which will still leave us with a 700.00 monthly payment while I am in school. Although we are dept free, between utilities, daycare and other normal living expenses we don't have that to spare. I have been looking on line for scholarship and grant information and many of the sites ask for a credit card or just leads you from one site to another without giving any usable information.
– Jess
You've simply got to beat the pavement for such scholarships, just like any other student. The best first step you can personally take is to contact the financial aid office at your school – they can help quite a lot. Apply for everything you can and see what comes up.
You have an advantage in that you're a non-traditional student, a group that's often helped by specific scholarships. However, your income level and assets aren't completely clear and they may keep you from getting some scholarships.
If scholarships were easy to get, everyone would go to school for free. It takes a lot of effort to get them, but they can be worth it.
I am naturally very conscious of how much money I am saving and spending. I have always brought my lunch to work, I have always repaired broken items before paying to have them fixed or replaced, I have always taken care to save more than I make, I have always (ok, usually) invested modestly and wisely — in short, I feel like I have pretty good habits when it comes to money. Sure, there's room for improvement, but I feel like I'm on a good financial and personal path.
At any rate, I just returned from an extended trip (my honeymoon) and realized that my tuition from graduate school is 1 week overdue. It is completely unlike me to let something like this slip through the cracks, but okay, it happens. So I'm being charged $150, which isn't a ton in the grand scheme of things … but I can't stop thinking about it in terms of all the little sacrifices I make to nickle and dime that kind of amount into my savings account. It's driving me nuts. To take one example, while I enjoy bringing my lunch to work, it still requires more time and energy than simply walking out of my building and buying food. It does. So here I am, making all these micro-sacrifices, and then I go and blow an entire month's worth (or more) by forgetting about this stupid bill.
Any tips for thinking about an unexpected hit like this differently? Maybe I'm just over-analyzing it. But it's driving me crazy!
– Jeff
Things like that happen sometimes. You have to treat them as water under the bridge and just deal with your situation as it is now rather than lamenting the past.
What can you do to ensure this never happens again? One good way to do that is to simply make sure all of your bills are paid before you travel anywhere.
Did you try calling them and explaining your situation and asking if the late fee can be removed? It can't hurt.
You mentioned on Twitter the other day that your most listened-to song according to your iTunes stats was "Margaret vs. Pauline" by Neko Case. I was going to ask you what your other top ones were but I didn't want to have you tweeting a pile of them so I thought I'd suggest that you list your top ten or so in your next reader mailbag.
– Jennie
Here are my top ten most played songs in iTunes, with links to performances/videos/tributes of those songs on YouTube so you can listen if you want. I listen to music most of the time when I'm writing as it helps me to focus.
Margaret vs. Pauline – Neko Case
No Rain – Blind Melon
Mansard Roof – Vampire Weekend
Why Do You Let Me Stay Here? – She & Him
Better Man – Pearl Jam
Hallelujah – Jeff Buckley
Wuthering Heights – Kate Bush
Fidelity – Regina Spektor
Wagon Wheel – Old Crow Medicine Show
Revelator – Gillian Welch
Got any questions? Email them to me or leave them in the comments and I'll attempt to answer them in a future mailbag. However, I do receive hundreds of questions per week, so I may not necessarily be able to answer yours.


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MS/PhD Funding and Expenses
Typically, an MS or PhD student enters Thayer School with full support on either a Graduate Research Assistantship or a Fellowship. Faculty research interests are listed on the faculty profile pages.
Graduate Research Assistantships and Stipends 2018–2019
Graduate Research Assistantships (GRAs), funded by contract research, are available to well-qualified candidates enrolled in degree programs with thesis requirements. Most MS and PhD funding includes full tuition cost coverage plus a monthly stipend. GRAs also include health care coverage for those who opt for college insurance.
- Graduate Research Assistantship for MS or first-year PhD student includes full tuition plus $2,310 per month
- Graduate Research Assistantship for PhD candidate includes full tuition plus $2,410 per month
- Graduate Research Assistantship for PhD candidate who has passed the oral examination and the presentation of thesis proposal includes full tuition plus $2,510 per month
Graduate research assistants may enroll in no more than two non-research courses in fall, winter, and spring terms. With the permission of the faculty advisor, enrollment in one non-research course is permitted in the summer term.
Graduate research assistants are expected to devote 20 hours per week to research when enrolled in two non-research courses, 30 hours per week when enrolled in one, and essentially full time between terms and when enrolled only for research. They are expected to be in residence full time, including between terms.
Since graduate research assistants are not regular employees of Dartmouth College, they do not earn vacation time per se. However, College holidays apply to them. In addition, they may anticipate one-half week of time off for each academic term of appointment, to be arranged with their faculty advisor.
Although responsibilities are defined in terms of hours per week, the emphasis is on the quality of the student's performance. Continuation of any appointment into succeeding terms is conditional upon satisfactory performance and progress toward degree requirements.
Students who accept Graduate Research Assistantships may not engage in any additional employment outside or inside Thayer School without prior approval of the director of the M.S. and Ph.D. programs. Such employment is usually limited to 10-12 hours per week.
Tuition and Expenses
Tuition for the 2018–2019 academic year, covered by the GRA, is $17,832 per term, which includes instruction, insurance coverage, use of instructional facilities, and healthcare service through the College infirmary. Books, room, board, and incidentals are the responsibility of the student.


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Beijing is no Boogeyman in Greenland
Western policymakers are becoming increasingly anxious about China's foothold into Greenland, particularly its desire to produce the semi-autonomous island's rare earth metals – the materials used in high-end electronics, from smart phones and smart bombs to clean energy technologies, including wind turbines and advanced batteries. But policymakers can rest assured that there is more to China's foray into Greenland than meets the eye – and not as much cause for concern.
A Thawing Frontier
Greenland's icy frontier is transforming before our eyes. Climate change is contributing to a hastened retreat of the island's massive ice sheet and ushering in new opportunities for the 57,000 people living in the northern hinterlands.
The island's extractive industries are poised to be the biggest winner, as the thawed ice reveals new deposits of raw materials, everything from iron ore to aluminum.
(Read More: Rocking the Boat in the Energy Rich South China Sea)
Rare earths are the big prize. The small town of Narsaq sits near one of the world's largest deposits of rare earths. According to Greenland Minerals and Energy Ltd, one of the island's leading mineral development companies, that deposit could contain about 10.3 million metric tons of rare earth metals, equivalent to about 10 percent of the known global reserves (which today total about 110 million metric tons, according to the U.S. Geological Survey).
Top Five International Energy Trends to Watch in 2013
Energy issues ranked among the top international headlines in 2012 – As we look ahead, what are the major energy trends that are likely to take shape and play out in international headlines in 2013?
How National Security Planners Should View America's Energy Boom
Increased Domestic Oil & Gas Production, Declining Demand and Shrinking Imports
The American energy revolution is starting to come into focus. Technological breakthroughs in shale gas and tight oil production are poised to make the United States — not Saudi Arabia — the world's largest producer of crude oil as early as the end of the decade, according to the latest World Energy Outlook published by the International Energy Agency (IEA). The IEA's analysis found that the United States could even be a net exporter of oil by 2035, a position the United States has not been in since the 1940s, when it had one of the world's few developed oil industries.
At the same time, U.S. demand for crude oil is in decline and its crude oil imports are shrinking. Higher fuel efficiency standards in U.S. vehicles have contributed largely to depressed demand, with U.S. oil imports falling from 56 percent of total consumption to 46 percent between 2008 and the end of 2011, according to the U.S. Energy Information Agency. By 2035, the United States could be importing less than 2 million barrels a day, down from more than 8 million barrels today, according to the IEA. (Read More: Top 15 Sources for U.S. Crude Oil Imports in 2011)
How to Neutralize Energy Competition in the South China Sea
During her visit to the Asia Pacific last week, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton spoke to the dispute over the South China Sea, arguably one of the region's most intractable challenges that, left unmanaged, could uproot stability in East Asia. Those countries at the heart of the dispute — particularly China, Vietnam and the Philippines — need to "establish rules of the road and clear procedures for peacefully addressing disagreements," Secretary Clinton urged.
High Stakes at Sea
The dispute is complex. States ringing the sea are becoming increasingly assertive in their claims, driven by concerns of nationalism, sovereignty, and even the need to stake claims to the region's lucrative (but dwindling) fish stocks. And then there are the potential petroleum resources. Estimates of the region's energy potential ranges widely, according to the independent U.S. Energy Information Agency: U.S. estimates suggest the region could contain roughly 28 billion barrels of oil; while Chinese estimates are much more optimistic, projecting more than 200 billion barrels of oil beneath the sea.
Despite much uncertainty about the size of the region's oil and natural gas resources, countries in the region are increasingly behaving as though access to those potential petroleum reserves is zero-sum — a winner take all and leave none for the loser approach — that is pitting countries against each other to tap into those resources first. Indeed, China, Vietnam and the Philippines are actively soliciting bids from petroleum companies to explore for oil and gas in contested waters, escalating tensions and reinforcing this zero-sum perspective. This continued competition is destabilizing and countries in the region need to take efforts to tilt the balance of behavior toward cooperation so that countries across the region can benefit from the sea's potential resource wealth.
Rocking the Boat in the Energy Rich South China Sea
Beijing is flexing some more muscle to protect its energy interests in the South China Sea.
Last week, China began combat-ready patrols in the waters around the potentially resource rich Spratly Islands that both China and Vietnam have disputed claims to. And on Friday, China Daily reported that Beijing may develop a military presence in Sansha – a newly incorporated city located on one of the disputed Paracel Islands that was stood up to administer Chinese authority over the country's South China Sea territories. (The city was established in response to a recent Vietnamese law that claimed sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly Islands.)
The Operational and Strategic Rationale Behind the U.S. Military's Energy Efforts
The recent debate over the role of the military in investing in renewable energy technologies, energy efficiency and conservation programs and alternative biofuels has included many voices that sometimes conflate the linked but distinct efforts by defense officials to address energy concerns. The rationale behind the military's energy programs can be broken down into two efforts:
- Adapting to operational energy requirements and security challenges in Afghanistan and other combat theatres;
- Hedging against future uncertainty in the global petroleum market.
Adapting to Operational Energy Challenges
Military leaders have become increasingly worried about operational energy challenges in Afghanistan and other theatres where U.S. soldiers, sailors and airmen are deployed and are working to reduce the demand for energy that must be transported across volatile terrain.
To date, part of the military's effort to reduce operational energy requirements includes:
- prioritizing energy efficiency in the acquisitions process for new combat platforms;
- fielding micro-grid technology to more efficiently manage traditional power distribution systems that waste energy;
- replacing — where possible — diesel-fuelled generators with solar panels and other renewable energy sources;
- equipping soldiers with advanced batteries that stay charged longer to help keep them in the fight;
- and increasing awareness among all U.S. military personnel about energy use to help promote conservation practices.
There are clear operational advantages to reducing the fuel required by military personnel in theater. In particular, reducing fuel consumption also curbs the demand for petroleum that has to be trucked across dangerous territory where the fuel and the soldiers and contractors transporting it are vulnerable to insurgent attack.
Whither the Carter Doctrine? Reassessing U.S. Energy Interests in the Middle East
America's relationship with Middle East energy resources is changing. Technological breakthroughs in hydraulic fracturing (or "fracking"), renewed drilling in ultra-deep waters in the Gulf of Mexico and, soon, drilling in the Arctic Circle are re-energizing U.S. domestic petroleum production and shrinking the demand for foreign petroleum imports. Meanwhile, oil and natural gas production in the Americas — from Canada in the North, to Brazil and Colombia in the South — are beginning to displace U.S. reliance on Middle East oil. These emerging energy trends will affect America's relationship with the Middle East in important ways. But do not expect a fundamental shift in U.S. foreign policy in the region any time soon.
The Carter Doctrine and U.S. Energy Interests in the Middle East
The United States has had historical concerns about assured access to Middle East petroleum resources that have shaped U.S. involvement in the region. President Jimmy Carter famously declared in his 1980 State of the Union address that the United States reserved the right to use force to protect the flow of petroleum from the Middle East to the United States: "An attempt by any outside force to gain control of the Persian Gulf region will be regarded as an assault on the vital interests of the United States of America, and such an assault will be repelled by any means necessary, including military force."
Although U.S. interests in the Middle East have become more complex since the Carter administration – to include concerns about violent extremism, human rights abuse and nuclear proliferation – it has become almost axiomatic to say that U.S. involvement in the Middle East has been tied solely to concerns about securing access to the region's petroleum resources. Whether or not one buys that, the perception that U.S. interests in the Middle East are tied solely to concerns about energy supplies raises some questions about whether the United States will lose interest in the Middle East as it becomes less reliant on energy imports from the region.
An Introduction to Choke Points
I am pleased and excited to join the team at Consumer Energy Report. I have been an avid reader of the analysis here and I am looking forward to contributing to the important policy discussions that Andrew, Robert and others routinely engage in on energy, climate change and security policy.
I wanted to take the opportunity with this inaugural post to introduce myself and provide you — the reader — a brief sense of where I am coming from and what you can expect to see here on Choke Points.
First a little about myself. I am a national security and foreign policy analyst in Washington, working largely at the crossroads of science, technology and national security policy. My interests in technology and security policy has given me an opportunity to work on a broad range of issues — from cyber security to the impact of climate change on the U.S. Armed Forces. For the most part, though, my particular focus has been on natural resources and security (energy and climate change in particular), first at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and now at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), a non-partisan national security and defense policy think tank.


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I Love You, Becky And AshleyPSAMP HAS MOVED! CLICK HERE TO GET TO THE BRAND NEW SITE! NOW!
If you need a place for a wide range of Pittsburgh Internet links, TAE's Links N'@ is always a good place to start. I only say this now because they picked up on one of my stories today.
I'm always up front with you when I'm shamelessly self-promoting. This is no different. Look, I've gotten links from sweet places like Deadspin, The Big Lead, Sports Illustrated, ESPN the Mag, Yahoo!, ESPN's Jim Rome is Burning, the Post Gazette and so on...but a local news station might tickle me moreso. It might not bring in the same level of traffic, but come on, I definitely watched TAE, KDKA and those guys long before I knew what sports were. And yes, I'm talking about my infancy.
TAE scratched my back, so I give 'em a link in return. Don't hate. You'd do the same.
/ends shameless self promotion