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First Harvest
Women's waterfowl hunt opens a new world for beginning hunters.
By Nancy Herron
Kaahk kaahk kaahk kaahk!
Nick Stillwell's call breaks through the silence of the early dawn. I'm in the middle of nine women, all novice hunters, lying flat on our backs in a field of white decoys. We look like geese ourselves in our white hoods and coats. We lie still and quiet, eyes searching the sky, ears primed for the sounds of a return call.
Off in the distance, we hear something. Our heart rates rise. Stillwell can't let excitement alter the cadence of his call. It takes all I have not to turn my head toward the sound. This is what we have been waiting for.
Most in the group are new to hunting, especially goose hunting, as am I. We are there to test our mettle with other women who share a sense of adventure, and in a place where, despite our inexperience, we won't feel embarrassed.
Dawn Bello, outdoor skills training specialist for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, organizes all-woman hunts to share the challenge of waterfowl hunting and set women up for future opportunities.
"I've taken my daughter out over the years, and it's a real bonding experience," Bello says. "Waterfowl hunting is difficult but very rewarding. Usually we are the only females out there. I wanted women to know they could call up another woman to go waterfowl hunting."
Awaiting instructions from the hunting guide, Lauren Laborde and her hunting partners lie still in the first light of morning as distant geese make their way to the field of decoys.
Bello says she chose goose hunting because it is fun and needs little special equipment like a boat, waders or high-end gear. For help, she contacted Stillwell at Third Coast Outfitters, as well as some seasoned hunters from Delta Waterfowl, a conservation group dedicated to waterfowl and waterfowl hunting. They scouted out the best hunting spot for a large group of new hunters and provided all the gear except shotguns and shells.
Teaching the women about preparation is key to this hunt, so Bello held a workshop for the participants several weeks before the hunt to answer these questions: What is it like to hunt waterfowl? What gear do I need? How do I recognize the birds in flight? How do I put out a decoy spread? What can I shoot? And even, will there be bathrooms?
"We talk about things like women participating in a male-dominated sport," Bello says. "Plus, waterfowl hunting itself is a challenge. You have to learn about the wildlife. Being successful is an accomplishment and builds confidence. When you have that confidence, you value yourself. Especially for young women, that confidence helps them make better choices in life."
Bello makes sure all participants are familiar and confident with their firearms. If they haven't shot much, she arranges for shotgun practice before the hunt.
After the physical preparations, it's time for mental preparation.
Part of hunting, especially for us city girls, is thinking about what it's going to be like to kill the animal. How will I feel? Can I really pull the trigger?
One thing I know for sure: I eat meat. And I know the meat doesn't come from the grocery store. I think about my responsibility to connect with my food source. I've already learned about wild edible plants. I have a vegetable garden, so I appreciate what it takes to grow food. I've baked bread for years, and I take pride in my ability to provide good food for my family. Hunting is the next logical step, one that's been taken by generations before me.
In preparation for the goose hunt, decoys are spread at the edge of the wetland as dawn breaks.
To ensure a healthy population of geese, TPWD biologists closely monitor wildlife game species. Hunting regulations are set each year based on population size, trends and availability of habitat. The agency's goal is balanced and sustainable populations.
As hunters, this group will join the ranks of conservationists who for the past 75 years have been funding wildlife conservation and habitat restoration across North America. Back in the 1930s, wildlife biologist and avid hunter Aldo Leopold called for sustainable funding to restore, conserve, manage and enhance wild birds and mammals and their habitat. Hunters agreed. In 1937, Franklin Roosevelt signed an excise tax on shooting and hunting equipment into law. Though barely out of the Depression, hunters and sporting goods manufacturers demonstrated that they had the determination to do the right thing for future generations. As part of that future generation, we can now do our part to pass it on.
Hunters dress in white coats and hoods to look like geese, and the goose call is sounded. The hunt is on.
The night before the hunt, we get to know one another better. We gather at a hotel near Bay City, on the coastal plains south of Houston. Hannah, 16, hunts with her family but wants to meet other female hunters.
"I'm always the only girl, so I wanted to meet other girls who want to hunt," she says.
When Jackie's husband started hunting, she realized she could hunt, too.
"Dawn took me on a duck hunt, and it was fascinating watching them call in the ducks," she says. "Unlike deer hunting, in between the birds you can talk and visit." She gave herself this goose hunt as a birthday present.
As the command "Take 'em!" is given, hunters fire shotguns in unison.
Lauren is a park ranger and wanted to try hunting.
"I tried trap shooting, and at first I wasn't too successful," she says. "Then Dawn took me out to practice with my shotgun and it clicked. It was fun! Now I've met these down-to-earth women, and it's comfortable. I'm more excited than nervous."
Another woman named Lauren works in the oil and gas industry and says a lot of her co-workers hunt, but it wasn't part of her upbringing.
"I'm excited to learn how everything is set up and why," she says. "It's nice having other ladies here. We're learning together."
Four a.m. comes quickly. We share a little anticipation with our breakfast, and then venture out into the darkness to caravan to the edge of the wetland. On foot, our headlamps help us navigate the occasional mud puddles dotting the field. We reach a relatively dry area next to the water's edge, selected by our guides the day before.
It is in this humble little spot where it all connects — the land, the water, the wildlife and me.
Together, we set up the decoys. We remind ourselves of Bello's lessons: Face the wind to expand the paper bodies. Flock together. Keep the noise down. Make it look right — geese are smart and will bypass something that looks or sounds wrong.
We don white coats and hoods, and then camouflage the rest of our bodies. Early light is coming.
We get in place, lying safely in a line among the decoys. Guns by our side. Safety on. Don't shoot across your neighbor. Don't take the safety off too soon or you'll likely shoot your toe.
And we wait. We watch the morning sky brighten. We see ducks fly overhead. We imagine the next duck season, but it isn't now. We watch the shapes in the clouds. I try to remember the last time I stopped to just watch clouds.
We quietly talk to our neighbors about the trip these geese have made from their breeding spots in the Arctic and the wetlands they depend on along their migration route. We learn how challenging it is to hunt waterfowl in Texas because these are the geese that have survived a gantlet of hunters while migrating from Arctic Canada to Texas wintering grounds. Even so, more than 10,000 snow geese and white-fronted (sometimes called speckled-belly) geese are sleeping in the marshy refuge south of us. They'll stop here to drink, and then feast in rice fields nearby. By 8:30 or 9 they return, looking for water and a little respite.
Our guides start calling to the geese. Will they answer? They try a variety of calls, testing a goose version of "Hello, out there!" to see what gets a response. It's fowl language at its best.
A flock of hundreds rises in the distance. They fly in another direction, not over us. It's an awesome spectacle.
Then it happens. We hear the response. A handful of geese are calling back, coming our way. They fly high overhead, looking down on us. We can see them looking down and checking us out. We dare not move a muscle. We know their keen eyesight will spot the slightest hand movement. The geese bank away. The mature geese swing off, but two juveniles head back for another look.
The tired but happy hunters pose for a final group picture.
Here comes one, a juvenile speckled-belly, close over my head. It's time to shoot. I sit up, quickly aim, release the safety and shoot. My husband's gun is a bit big for me, and the recoil rolls me back like a ball. I quickly sit up, silently chuckling. I don't know if anyone saw me, but with these women, it would be OK if they did. Besides, I'll be ready next time, I tell myself.
The next one comes in, and Hannah gets it on her first try. Other geese come and go, and everyone gets a chance.
Bello is lying next to me, smiling.
"I'm just enjoying watching your face," she says. "You just light up when the geese respond."
And it's true. I don't know if I hit anything, but I was happy. As a group we succeeded. As for me, I met geese on their terms. I learned about their life habits. We coaxed them near and looked each other in the eye. That first one got away, and I think that's fitting. And as I look back on the morning, I realize what a gift it all was, to be silent and still, to learn, and to enjoy the sights, sounds and smells of the morning in a way I hadn't in years.
Afterward, we shared the harvest of 20 birds. We shared phone numbers for another hunt and headed to our respective homes. On my back porch that evening, cleaning the geese was like cutting up chicken, but knowing where it came from, and earning its presence on our table, was priceless.
Learning how to hunt turned out to be as natural as learning how to bake, garden or fish. It's learning about life, survival and our connection to the natural world. It's respect for the mysteries of nature and wildlife. It's camaraderie with others. It's affirmation, and it's empowerment. It's a first experience I'll carry always.
Related stories
Skill Builder: Outfitting Female Waterfowl Hunters
Skill Builder: Which Duck Is Which?


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Franklin, Massachusetts ,Residents To Benefit From Verizon Wireless Network Expansion
FRANKLIN, MA — In a continuing effort to provide the best wireless service for local residents in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, Verizon Wireless, operator of the nation's most reliable wireless network, has expanded its network with a new cell site. The new site provides coverage and capacity along Route 140, Union Street, Main Street, and to the Dean College campus in the town of Franklin.
This network expansion is part of the company's aggressive multi-billion dollar network investment each year (more than $1 billion every 90 days), including well over $300 million in New England in 2005 alone, to stay ahead of the growing demand for Verizon Wireless voice and data services. Verizon Wireless has invested $30 billion-on average $5 billion a year-into its national wireless network over the past six years as part of its commitment to offer customers the most reliable service available, including wireless data services such as Picture Messaging, Text messaging, and the company's exclusive V CAST service. V CAST brings video clips of TV shows, music on demand and other multimedia services to wireless phones over Verizon Wireless' high-speed EV-DO network. BroadbandAccess offers customers the nation's most reliable high-speed wireless broadband network, operating at average speeds between 400 kbps - 700 kbps.
Strong demand for Verizon Wireless services continued during the third quarter of 2006 as the company added 1.9 million net new customers and also reported the lowest customer turnover (highest customer loyalty) rate in the wireless industry, well below the rate reported by the other major wireless carriers.
The company's 'nation's most reliable wireless network' reputation is based on network studies performed by real-life test men and test women throughout the country who inspired the "Can you hear me now? Good.®" national advertising campaign. These engineers drive 95 specially equipped vehicles some 225,000 miles quarterly on Interstate, US and state highways as well as major roads and surface streets. Test vehicles are equipped with computers that automatically make more than 750,000 voice call attempts and more than four million data tests quarterly on the Verizon Wireless network and the networks of other carriers.
About Verizon Wireless Verizon Wireless operates the nation's most reliable wireless voice and data network, serving 57 million customers. The largest US wireless company and largest wireless data provider, based on revenues, Verizon Wireless is headquartered in Basking Ridge, NJ, with 60,000 employees nationwide. The company is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). Find more information on the Web at www.verizonwireless.com. To preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.####

subset: commoncrawl


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Friday is officially summer but people have been hitting the pool for a few weeks now. And as temperatures climb, kids and adults will be hitting the water in droves.
It�s wet, it�s fun and it�s potentially dangerous. An accidental drowning last week at an apartment complex swimming pool in Burlington was a scary reminder.
�Among children ages 1 to 4, most drownings occur in home swimming pools,� said Kelley Kimrey, health educator at the Alamance County Health Department and coordinator for Safe Kids Alamance County. She said each day 10 people die from unintentional drownings and of those, two are age 14 or younger.
Lack of swimming ability, adult supervision and barriers contribute to child drownings, Kimrey said.
Little things, like a fence separating the pool from the house and yard reduces a child�s risk of drowning by 83 percent. Safe Kids Worldwide also recommends taking the time to learn CPR, and passing the knowledge on to children.
Mary Wilson, aquatics director at the Alamance County Community YMCA, is also a member of Safe Kids. She teaches the American Red Cross lifeguard certification courses at the Y in Burlington.
While much of what Wilson teaches is specifically for lifeguards, several practices are beneficial for parents and adult supervisors to keep in mind when kids are in the pool. She said �patron surveillance� or keeping an attentive eye on those in and around the pool can help �spot an emergency before it happens.�
By noticing certain behaviors in a swimmer, adults can prevent a drowning. Hollering for help and splashing around is indicative of an �active drowning,� but more subtle signs like changed body position in the water, a tired look on the face or grabbing for a lane line for support could indicate a weakened swimmer.
�Sometimes they�re just distressed,� Wilson said.
She teaches her lifeguards to look at all levels of the water � not just the surface � to make sure a sinking person isn�t overlooked.
On that note, Wilson said, it�s important to �know your pool.�
Homeowners with pools should be aware of where any discolored tiles or stains in their pools are located, so they�re not mistaken for a body at the pool�s bottom, she said. They should also check pool equipment like ladders to prevent any other injuries.
She said the American Red Cross recommends one lifeguard for every 25 swimmers in a pool, and if there are a lot of younger or inexperienced swimmers, add more lifeguards.
Kimrey and Wilson also advise against the false sense of security found in pool toys that aren�t intended as life-saving flotation devices. Pool �noodles,� tubes, kickboards, and inflatable water wings shouldn�t be depended upon to keep a child, or adult, afloat.
�A lot of parents use those inflatable �water wings� and tubes,� on children that can�t swim well on their own, Wilson said.
The inflatable armbands can easily slide off a child�s small arms, or puncture and deflate.
�While they�re fun, they�re not a U.S. Coast Guard-approved flotation device,� Kimrey said.
And pool safety isn�t just for parents or guardians of young children.
In fact, the person who accidentally drowned in the pool at The Brittany apartments on June 14 was a 26-year-old man. Wilson said the most important key in keeping adults safe in the pool is learning how to swim, and being comfortable around water.
Typically, those who don�t know how to swim haven�t learned because of a fear of water and, �When you�re afraid of the water, that makes you much more at risk,� Wilson said. �You tense up,� which makes it harder to float.
Even strong adult swimmers shouldn�t overestimate their abilities and take a child out into deep water, Wilson said. Often, an adult becomes weary in the water and when a child begins clinging and clawing at the adult, both go under.
Wilson and Kimrey also warn about alcohol consumption near the water.
Kimrey cited the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and said among adolescents and adults, alcohol use is involved in up to 70 percent of deaths associated with water recreation.
�It influences the balance, coordination and judgment,� she said. �And the effects are heightened when they�re out in the sun.�
The following places offer classes in swimming, life-saving, First-Aid or CPR.
Alamance County Health Department
Offers CPR and First Aid Certification courses. Classes for CPR only cost $37, and $47 for CPR and First Aid classes, taught at the department located at 319 N. Graham Hopedale Road, Burlington. To register for classes, call Kelley Kimrey at 336-570-6273.
Alamance Regional Medical Center
Offers free �Newborn Essentials� class, teaching safety tips and infant CPR (not for certification) during a two-session course, held the first and second Wednesdays of each month from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the hospital�s Education Center on campus at 1240 Huffman Mill Road, Burlington. Register for the class online at www.armc.com/events-and-classes/ or call the hospital�s LiveWell Line at 336-586-4000.
David L. Maynard, Sr. Aquatic Center
Offers summer session group swim lessons, beginner and intermediate group lessons, parent-and-child classes for kids ages 6 months to 3 years, and private lessons. Group lessons cost $30 and private lessons are $45. Registration deadlines for Summer Session 2 is July 5, deadline for Summer Session 3 is July 26. Call 336-222-5043 or stop in the center at 1402 Overbrook Road, Burlington, to sign up.
Alamance County Community YMCA
Offers American Red Cross Lifeguard Certification courses, which include CPR, AED and First-Aid training. Courses are open to individuals age 15 and over, and the $200 session cost includes a Lifeguard Manual, Pocket Mask, First Aid Training Packet and Red Cross Certification Cards. Contact Mary Wilson at firstname.lastname@example.com for information on the next lifeguard certification courses offered at the YMCA, located at 1346 S.Main St., Burlington.
American Red Cross
Offers online Family First Aid and CPR adult and pediatric courses (not for certification) that gives users unlimited access to the self-paced courses for two years. To register, visit www.RedCross.org/take-a-class/ and select �Family First Aid� in the class category drop-down list.


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Kevin Kamrada, an avid Red Sox fan, missed an annual trek to Fenway Park last summer for the first time in years.
Kamrada had his hands full carrying out duties as assistant site manager for Securitas, Sun City's security company. That responsibility increased in October when he was named site manager.
"I've always enjoyed law enforcement," Kamrada said.
As site manager, he is responsible for all aspects of the job, including scheduling, payroll, equipment, training and working closely with the community standards committee.
"We enforce the community rules," he said. The biggest task Securitas has within Sun City is enforcing the speeding and stop sign regulations.
"They're the biggest causes of accidents," he said.
When off duty, Kamrada watches as much baseball as his schedule will allow.
"I wanted to play baseball," he said. "That's all I wanted to do."
He was recruited to join Sun City Hilton Head's security company Marine Security in 2007 as a patrol manager and supervisor. It wasn't the first time he'd been recruited for the law enforcement field, but it was not his original plan. Kamrada began his freshman year at Youngstown State University in Ohio and was rolling along when he was recruited to take the Ohio State Highway Patrol exam.
Good impressions
"A trooper whose name I've long forgotten saw something in me that made him think I'd make a good patrolman so he said to go take the test. He must have thought I fit the mold," Kamrada said.
Joining the highway patrol wasn't too far-fetched an idea. While he grew up, he had a neighbor who was a state trooper.
"I always liked the highway patrol," Kamrada said. "I thought they were professional so I thought that's what I'd do if I'd been a police officer. It was the professional appearance, the car was always clean, the guys always looked like they were in good shape and the patrol post always looked nice. It was just the professionalism of the department."
He took the entrance exam with 60 other applicants and was dismayed when, after the tests had been scored, his name was not among the many called out.
"I thought I'd failed it," he said, "but then they said everyone whose name was called out could leave. The rest of us passed the test."
He looked around and there were only nine remaining in the room.
Kamrada's selection as site manager arose from his experiences in Ohio.
"What made him ideal first of all was his background. He was in the state police in Ohio. He's got a nice law enforcement background and he is used to dealing with the public, sometimes in adverse situations," said Ed Leitgeb, area vice president for Securitas. "Second, he's really good in dealing with his people and he wouldn't ask them to do something he won't do himself. When necessary, he'll be out there on the front lines with them. Ask any of his officers and they'll say they respect that about him."
Welcome to the Lowcountry
Twenty years later, Kamrada retired and, with their daughter in college studying to be a clinical pharmacist, he and his wife moved first to Charleston where they had vacationed several times.
Kamrada and his wife, Kathleen, a physical therapist, enjoy working out together five to six times a week, he said, and he'd play golf if his schedule allowed. A "meat-and-potatoes guy," he enjoys a good steak, baked potato and green beans.
Other than baseball, the Kamradas don't watch a lot of TV but he does watch "Sons of Anarchy" and his wife has gotten him interested in the current PBS series "Dalton Abbey."
Working in the community is different from being a patrolman since Kamrada is responsible for the 37 other people who stand duty at the gates in Sun City, Sun City North and Riverbend as well as patrol the streets, perimeter and respond to emergencies.
"I enjoy being here. The people are very energetic. I enjoy working with the Safety and Security volunteers," he said. "This is my background and it's what I've done my whole life."
When he gets the opportunity to speak with residents, he asks them to help the security patrols by making themselves a bit more secure.
"When they're home, they should keep their cars locked and keep anything of value out of sight. Leave a light on inside the house and if possible a porch light, too," he said. "If people see anything suspicious, call us right away at 705-4083.
"People have to realize that this is a really large community and they can protect themselves against crimes of opportunity by locking up."
Securitas Site Manager in Sun City Hilton Head
Born: 1960 in Youngstown, Ohio
Education: Austin Town Schools, Canfield High School
Family: Married to Kathleen, a physical therapist; daughter Meghan, a clinical pharmacist; Bailey, 10-year-old Bichon


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Farewell to artist and legend Jean Giraud alias Moebius who sadly lost his fight to cancer on Saturday, an inspiration to many of today's artists. http://www.moebius.fr/
Read The Guardian obituary here http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/mar/12/jean-giraud?newsfeed=true
Documentary about Frenchman Jean Giraud, one of the most influential comic strip illustrators and authors of all time and also one of the genre's best kept secrets. He achieved his greatest fame under the pseudonym/alter ego Moebius, and his artistic influence extends beyond Europe to the USA and Japan. Features interviews with Giraud himself, Marvel Comics legend Stan Lee, American comic book artists Jim Lee and Mike Mignolla and many others.
In Search of Moebius – Jean Giraud clip 1/3 available here http://dai.ly/fbCprZ
In Search of Moebius – Jean Giraud clip 2/3 available here http://dai.ly/fl2gp6
In Search of Moebius – Jean Giraud clip 3/3 available here http://dai.ly/hjH0rS


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In the wake of a ridiculous and predictably futile 40th attempt by the GOP-controlled House of Representatives to repeal Obamacare, I have become quite tired of all the misunderstanding and misrepresentation of attempts at health care reform perpetrated on both sides of the congressional aisle.
Therefore, I believe it is time for someone to point out that the Affordable Care Act should be considered from a far different perspective. Is Obamacare a good law or a bad one? That debate is almost completely irrelevant.
It is, first and foremost, an important law. Why? Because it finally puts an extensive package of health care reforms on the books.
Doctors, hospitals, pharmaceutical firms and all sorts of other corporate health care interests have, since the time of President Theodore Roosevelt, been able to purchase enough of Congress to keep most forms of health care reform off the books for over 100 years.
Well, now that reform is on the books and good, bad or indifferent, it must be dealt with.
Congress has the power to add, repeal or adjust any law. The only difference in the health care reform process is that now, with the law on the books, instead of lobbyists controlling the process in private, the legislative process will have to be become public enough that have an opportunity to see how this particular sausage is made.
In addition, the public may finally have a say in how health care reform will go forward in this country if it chooses to exercise that right. Congress has kow-towed to the medical lobby for 100 years. It is time to contact our elected officials and make our voices heard. Don't let the lobbyists speak for you.
And remember, the Declaration of Independence grants us the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness — none of which are available if one doesn't have one's health.
Rudi Lamy


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Sometimes the best days on the farm are marked by stuff that doesn't happen. The really bad days are when some things do happen.
Let's say you have a wagon. You're going to fill your wagon with some kind of product. Maybe it's corn from the combine, maybe it's silage from the chopper, maybe it's round bales from the baler. Whatever you fill it with, the good days are when it gets from the site of production to the point of storage or sale without incident. The good days are when you stay connected to your wagon. The bad days are when you break that bond; you lose that connection. The really, really bad days are when gravity, inertia and a fair amount of slope get involved.
One of the best investments we've ever made was the purchase of a few Agri-Speed hitches almost 10 years ago. They allow us to hook and unhook wagons without getting on and off the tractor. We like to remind The Chairman that the addition of these hitches has probably meant the addition of 10 years to his farming career, minimum. Not everyone uses these hitches, though. I run around the countryside in the early fall with my self-propelled forage harvester. I chop a few loads of silage for a variety of farmers in order to get their fields opened up so they can use their own pull-type choppers and not run over any standing corn. This is almost always done using their wagons. Few of them are able to use my speed hitches to expedite the process. Because it's only two or three loads I chop, they don't want to take the time to put the hitch equipment on their wagons and tractors, or their equipment is not the right size to work with my hitches. I set up my chopper to be able to disconnect from my speed hitch and switch back to a regular hitch pin (from The Dark Ages) in a matter of seconds.
On one job last fall, the guy told me it would probably be a two-load deal. I'd take one wagon and go around the outside of the field for one load, then I'd switch to the other wagon and make one or two passes somewhere through the center to cut the field down to a manageable size for him to chop in a round-and-round fashion, since you can only go in one direction with a pull-type chopper.
The field was a long rectangle with a fence on three sides. It didn't take long to get down the first side of the field before I discovered that the stuff I was chopping was a variety designed for silage. It was considerably taller than a traditional grain variety. Guess what? Taller corn means more volume. More volume means less distance before the load is full. Try as I might to raise the corn head up as high as it would go, there was no way I was going to make it to my starting point for Load # 2. I was lucky to make it to the end of the first side of the rectangle before getting to the corner of the field where a low spot in the fence got me out of there to switch wagons. This was certainly not going to be a two-load deal.
We switched wagons with a little maneuvering and I hooked onto my second one to get back to the original starting point. I then headed back across the field in the center. When the second wagon was full, I pulled out of the field and headed back toward the buildings. My second wagon had not yet been moved, so I needed to find another spot to park my current load. There appeared to be a perfect spot about midway across the hayfield where I was driving. It wasn't really a hill, but it was enough of a rise that I decided going any further would create some issues if I unhooked and the wagon rolled forward. No one wants their wagons delivered to the yard via gravity.
I yanked on the cable to pull the hitch pin out of the wagon. That's when I realized that the crest where I decided to unhook was like The Continental Divide of this particular farm. My wagon wasn't parked on the peak, apparently. I had unhooked in Colorado and was now on my way to North Carolina to get another wagon. My full wagon was on its way to South Carolina via what appeared to be some giant, really, really straight freeway through Tennessee.
A few thoughts went through my mind at that moment. The first one was to chase after the rogue wagon. But really, I was in a chopper, so what could I do? With a speed hitch, I could go in Reverse and do some Olympic-quality synchronized swimming move to hook up to my wagon again. Then I would hope that I could keep it from sliding through the fence before plummeting over a hill on the other side with my tires spinning forward, providing a nice slow-motion effect to the disaster. (The five-second YouTube Faces of Death clips never get as many hits as the 1:05 versions, so why not stretch it out for all it's worth?) If I drove around the runaway wagon and tried to use my chopper as a brace to stop it, the full wagon would either crush my radiator (which I knew would be $2,800 and would take a week or more to get) if I used the rear of the chopper as my inertia quencher, or it would flatten my corn head (which would take anywhere from three to 10 grand and a week to replace) if I used the front end for my physics equation.
I decided the best thing to do would be to assume that either my insurance deductible or the customer's deductible would be less than the repairs to my chopper, so I'd let gravity have its way with the wagon and see if it got to the eastern seaboard before the tractor and the other wagon arrived. Keep in mind, the wagon owner was about to come around the corner of the tall corn pretty soon, and I now had seven or eight tons of corn silage on wheels headed pretty much straight for him, depending on how much speed and momentum the wagon would build up in a short distance. This was pretty much like those "two-trains-leave-the-station" story problems from grade school, except none of those ever involved Ron Pitts making the story sound like it was the end of the world, like he does on every episode of Destroyed in Seconds!
All I could do was sit there and wonder how bad this would end up being, whether I should get my phone out to document the carnage, or to call 911, and how quiet I could keep the whole mess.
Let's be honest. I've had this happen with round bales before. Watching them roll out of control in the field can actually be entertaining. One custom operator and I talked about our own secret games of "round bale bowling" where we'd be doing a big field and the monotony would overcome us, so we'd start positioning the full baler to dump a bale in such a position as to "aim" for certain objects, be they other bales, trees, fence posts, or in the equivalent of a seven-ten split with hay, getting a bale to bounce off the others at the bottom of the hill and then land in the waterway of an adjacent cornfield without running over any corn.
This was before iPods, so he and I both had a lot of time to think as we baled. And there is no OFF position on the genius switch.
As my silage wagon inertia nightmare was unfolding in front of my eyes, and I was calculating all the things that could go wrong and how much each one would cost me, the whole scene changed. The dark clouds parted and were replaced by sunshine. The sinister music was replaced by harps. Birds began chirping. Children were laughing.
Picking up steam and heading for a spectacular crash, my runaway wagon suddenly changed course and came to a dead stop about 75 degrees away from its path to certain destruction.
It hit a gopher mound. Not some little molehill, mind you. Nope, this was a three-story Frank Lloyd Wright Gopher Taj Mahal.
Thousands of dollars worth of potential carnage had been negated for me in a split second by a varmint.
I'll never watch Caddyshack the same way again.
Guy No. 2
Click Here to read Where the wagons and the buffalo roam, Part II.


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You see the following error message when you finish installing the Windows Media Centre Extender setup programme:
Xbox 360 Setup is Finished. The correct ports cannot be opened
This may mean that the Windows Firewall is turned off on your computer.
During Windows Media Center Extender setup, Windows Firewall has to be updated to allow communication between the Windows Media Center-based computer and the Xbox 360 console. If the Windows Firewall service has been stopped, these updates can't occur, and the Windows Media Centre Extender setup programme won't install.
Note This article contains information that shows you how to help lower security settings or how to turn off security features on a computer. You can make these changes to work around a specific problem. Before you make these changes, we recommend that you evaluate the risks that are associated with implementing this workaround in your particular environment. If you implement this workaround, take any appropriate additional steps to help protect your system.
To start Windows Firewall on a computer that's running Windows 8.1
To turn Windows Firewall off again
If you previously didn't use Windows Firewall and want to return to that configuration on a computer that's running Windows 8.1, follow the steps below.
Note If you want to turn off Windows Firewall, make sure that you wait until after you install Windows Media Center Extender.
WARNING Use this workaround at your own risk. This workaround might make a computer or a network more vulnerable to attack by malicious users or by malicious software such as viruses. We do not recommend this workaround but are providing this information so that you can implement this solution at your own discretion.
For more information on using extenders with your Xbox 360 console, see the Windows Media Centre website. This website might not be available in all languages.
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The leader of Hamas said Egypt would present it and its rival Fatah faction with a reconciliation deal to be ratified next month. According to Reuters, Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal told reporters after "very positive" talks with Egyptian officials in Cairo on Monday that Egypt would introduce a plan to be presented to Hamas and its rival Fatah group of President Mahmoud Abbas.
"(Egyptian intelligence chief Omar) Suleiman told us that the Egyptians will be working on the final draft for the reconciliation plan which will have at its heart the Egyptian proposal and they will call on all Palestinian factions for a national meeting in October to ratify the pact," Meshaal said.
A dispute over the mutual detention of hundreds of each groups supporters was one of the reasond to block progress in the talks. "We heard a clear Egyptian commitment to provide a specific mechanism to release the detainees," Meshaal conveyed.


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This graphic by NASA shows the ISS compared to a football field. They're more or less the same size: A football field is 360 by 160 foot. The space station is 356 by 239 feet.
Another comparison: The United States spends about $10 billion per year in the NFL and about $3 billion in the ISS.
SPLOID is a new blog about awesome stuff. Join us on Facebook


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Sept. 17, 2006
Download mp3 (37:24, 17.1MB)
Sept. 17, 2006
Download mp3 (37:24, 17.1MB)
The pilot episode of EdTechTalk's latest spinoff - a 'rapid fire' round up of news and noteworthy resources.
This week's Del.icio.us Links .
- Lonelygirl15' creators admit to YouTube fiction
New Media 'TRUST' issue - The Truth about 'ficticious reality'
WorldCat [OCLC]
Search for resources at local libraries


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April 18, 2011 — AKVIS is happy to announce the release of Version 12.5 of AKVIS Sketch for Windows and Macintosh. Sketch converts digital photos into amazing pencil sketches and watercolor, charcoal, and pastel drawings. It's a wonderful tool for those who have always wanted to draw but didn't know how. Version 12.5 introduces batch processing to standalone mode. Previously batch processing was only available using the plug-in as a Photoshop action. RAW format support has also been added.
AKVIS Sketch is an award-winning program for conversion of photos into pencil sketches and watercolor paintings. The program has already won the recognition of professionals and delighted home users with its neat results. However, there is no end to perfection and the company released a new version of AKVIS Sketch with some new features.
With AKVIS Sketch you do not need to handle a pencil to feel like an artist. All you need to create your original work of art is good taste and AKVIS Sketch.
Make any photo look like a B&W or color drawing, imitate the technique of graphite or color pencil, charcoal, pastel, or watercolor painting.
Version 12.5 introduces batch processing for standalone mode. Batch processing previously was only available using the plug-in as a Photoshop action. Now you can quickly and easily add the same drawing effect to a series of photos. It's great for making a cartoon from a movie, or creating comics from a home video.
Also new to Sketch in Version 12.5 is RAW format support.
Once you have converted your photo into a drawing, you can add some special effects (the Background tab). Create a blend of a drawing and a photo; imitate motion or add a "time machine effect" by swirling the background. Bring attention to something in an image by blurring the rest of it in an artistic way. It is especially useful when the final drawing contains too many details in the background that divert attention.
Also, the parameters on the Canvas tab let you add a rough surface to your image, as if it has been drawn on canvas, corrugated paper, brick wall, etc.
It is also possible to add a signature or a greeting to your pencil drawings to personalize the work of art.
Many photo editing enthusiasts have already appreciated the Sketch' s features. Take a look at the examples gallery (many created by users) at akvis.com.
Sketch can be useful on many occasions. Surprise your friends and relatives by presenting them with their pencil portraits. Make a watercolor drawing out of a photo from your last nature shooting to decorate your room. Convert your own photo into a color sketch to print on a T-shirt. You can even make your own comic strip.
The program can be helpful to designers who need to quickly bring images to one style for a web-site or an advertisement brochure. It can also be used to make an embroidery pattern from a photo, which can then be used with photostitching software.
For a free trial, AKVIS offers 10 days of fully functional use. Details are available at akvis.com.
AKVIS Sketch runs on Microsoft Windows XP/Vista/Window7 and on Macintosh Mac OS X 10.4-10.6.
AKVIS Sketch is available as a standalone application, as well as a plugin to a photo editor.
The plugin version of AKVIS Sketch is compatible with Adobe Photoshop and Photoshop Elements, Corel Painter, Corel Photo-Paint, and Paint Shop Pro, ACD FotoCanvas, and PhotoImpact.
Users of versions 9 through 12 of Sketch can upgrade to version 12.5 for free!
Those who have an older version (v.1-8) will need to pay for an upgrade to the current version.
AKVIS Sketch Home License (Plugin or Standalone) sells for $72 USD or € 55 EUR, downloadable from akvis.com.
In Home Deluxe and Business variants both Plugin and Standalone versions are available as well as the additional highly intelligent tool that gives you full control over the strokes - the Stroke Direction Tool.
Both Home and Business users can enjoy the full line of AKVIS programs in the AKVIS Alchemy Bundle (Retoucher, Chameleon, Multibrush, Enhancer, Refocus, HDRFactory, Coloriage, Noise Buster, Sketch, Decorator, LightShop, ArtSuite, SmartMask, Magnifier, ArtWork, and NatureArt) with the discount of 60%, a huge savings over purchasing each separately.
AKVIS Sketch is also part of the AKVIS Artistic Bundle (Sketch, ArtWork, and ArtSuite), which goes with a savings of $44 when compared to the price of these three programs purchased separately. Visit the official website to see prices for alternate versions of the bundles.
AKVIS specializes in development of image processing software and scientific research. The company was founded in 2004 by IT professionals having considerable experience in programming and software development. Since then the company has released a number of successful programs.
Spring Event: AKVIS Birthday Raffle
AKVIS announces a raffle in celebration of the company's Birthday!
Participation in this event entitles you to a 20% discount on all AKVIS software as well as a chance to win AKVIS Artistic Bundle.
Enter the AKVIS Birthday Raffle!
About the Program: akvis.com/en/sketch/index.php
What's New: akvis.com/en/sketch/whats-new.php
Screenshot: akvis.com/en/sketch/screenshots-pencil-drawing.php
Download: akvis.com/en/sketch/download-pencil-drawing.php
Tutorial: akvis.com/en/sketch-tutorial/index.php
Graphics: akvis.com/en/company/graphics.php


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The Black StallionBook - 2016
From the critics
Community Activity
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The Black Stallion (known as the Black) is the title character from author Walter Farley's bestselling series about a magnificent horse and his young owner, Alec Ramsay.
This series chronicles the story of an Arab sheikh's prized stallion after he unexpectedly comes into Alec's possession..... (This book contains illustrations by Keith Ward, as well)
(*Author's Note*) - Originally from Syracuse, New York - Walter Farley (born June 26, 1915) was an American author, primarily of horse stories for children. His first and most famous work was The Black Stallion, which was first published in 1941. This book had many sequels.
On October 16, 1989 - Walter Farley (74 at the time) died of cancer.
This is definitely one of my favorite books.
This was a great book. This is a great book for you if you like horses and adventure books.
I totally agree with wendybird! King of the Wind is the best, but the Black Stallion is also quite wonderful.
This book inspired me alot.
written by a teen author - age 15
Glad to see the cover art here is the one I remember from my childhood! I read every book with a horse even mentioned in the text as a kid, and this one is my 2nd fav. ("King of the Wind" is my fav.). And - while the description here is accurate, people who ride & love horses will adore that Alec stables the horse in his suburban NYC neighbourhood & actually races him at Belmont Park...a fantasy come true for the horse crazy child!
Age SuitabilityAdd Age Suitability
red_horse_1032 thinks this title is suitable for between the ages of 9 and 99
black_penguin_351 thinks this title is suitable for between the ages of 9 and 15
red_deer_100 thinks this title is suitable for between the ages of 8 and 13
SummaryAdd a Summary
The Black Stallion was so good! I love the part where the Cyclone and Sun Raider and The Black Stallion race! You should read this book!
The Black Stallion is a book full of gripping drama, improbable friendships between animals and people, and dreams come true. When Alec is shipwrecked on a desert island, his only other companion from the sinking is an Arabian horse. Join Alec and the Black as they escape the island, return to New York, and become the unlikely winners of the race of a lifetime.
NoticesAdd Notices
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I thought I'd continue our posts with another car-themed Grassroots Partner. Rick Stauffer, PBCC's on-call computer tech, will begin a marathon of driving on April 28th. Rick and his friend Jim Roberts are participating in the One Lap of America series of races. Rick and Jim will be racing at several tracks across the U.S. and plan to support the PBCC through their travels.
In an effort to raise awareness and donations, Rick & Jim are selling stickers that adhere to their cars. They are accepting donations in any amount, but for a minimum donation of $10 Rick & Jim will put a sticker on their cars with the name of someone you would like to honor or recognize in memory. You can also put your own name on the sticker to show your support. They plan to place as many stickers on their cars as possible including on the roof, on the roof hoop and the high part of the back window. They plan to leave the stickers on the vehicles through the competition and show season that lasts well into the fall.
If you would like to support Rick & Jim's quest to fill their cars with PBCC stickers, you can send your donations to:
PA Breast Cancer Coalition
Attn: One Lap 2011
344 N. Reading Rd.
Ephrata, PA 17522
Be sure to check out Rick & Jim's blog throughout the race. We'll keep you posted on how much they raise! Go Rick & Jim!


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I Got An Award!
>> Friday, October 31, 2008
This came as a surprise and I am so sorry to Sarah of Steadfast Steps for doing this just now! This is long overdue and I do apologize!
Thanks Sarah for bestowing me this award. I am humbled by this recognition.
Here are the rules to follow: When you receive the prize you must write a post showing it, together with the name of who has given it to you, and link them back. Choose a minimum of 7 blogs (or even more) that you find brilliant in their content or design. Show their names and links and leave them a comment informing they were prized with 'Brilliant Weblog'. Show a picture of those who awarded you and those you give the prize (optional).
Giving this award on to the following wonderful people:
Tara of Tara's View of the World
Yenny of Me and Mine
Kikamz of Just About Anything
Salsaberries of Salsaberries
Karen and Gerard of Karen and Gerard Zemek
Hopeful Spirit of On The Horizon
Brad of Sound of a Soft Breath
You all are great and brilliant bloggers so I hope you continue to inspire the world with your creative and brilliant writings!
God bless everyone!
Read more...


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So Mitt Romney now believes that everyone should use the emergency room for their health care needs if they don't have insurance. Or, at least, it sounded that way. (Bold Progressives caught him saying something quite different back in 2007, before health care became a dirty word to conservatives.)
Remember when Alan Grayson was vilified for saying that the Republican plan was "Don't get sick and if you do get sick, die quickly"? Well, that sounds an awful lot like Mitt's new program to me.
Allow me to share a personal story that shed some light on emergency care — for the insured. We have a high deductible plan, because it's all we can afford. And since we're decrepit baby boomers, it's ridiculously expensive even so. It's our second highest monthly bill after housing. Luckily, we're both in surprisingly good health and we're just hoping against hope that it stays that way until we can reach Medicare age.
However, my husband was traveling recently and had to go to the emergency room with a kidney stone. The "out of network" hospital billed us nearly $5,000. Since we have insurance, they were kind enough to bill them directly instead of requiring the payment up front, but since our deductible is so high, we will end up paying the whole bill anyway.
Here's the rub. We would have been better off saying we were uninsured and negotiating with the hospital directly for a lower rate. Our insurance company has no interest in negotiating a lower rate because we have a high deductible. So, they just paid the bill and are now passing the whole ridiculously high charges on to us. It's almost at the end of our policy year and unless we both have heart attacks in the next month, it's unlikely that we'll be able to "take advantage" of the fact that our deductible is met. So we're stuck.
Insurance companies only help themselves. They do nothing that doesn't benefit their bottom line unless they are required to do so. And even under Obama care, (which will be an improvement for us in the preventive care realm) we'll be paying about the same, with the same deductible and the same profit motive for the insurance company. In fact, I'm guessing they'll be even greedier wherever they can get away with it. Greed is like water — it always finds a way.
Medicare for all would solve this problem since it would cover you no matter where you get sick. But we don't have that. And if the political establishment in both parties has their way, we won't have Medicare much longer either at least in any recognizable form. Sure, their fabulous, Rube Goldberg "market solution" will probably be fixed up in the long run, piece by agonizing piece. Unfortunately, in the long run, a whole lot of American guinea pigs will be dead before their time while they work out the kinks.


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Dedicated on Saturday, May 7, 2005 Huneke Park at 82nd Street and Quaker Avenue Artist Eddie Dixon Commander William Cameron McCool Mankind looks to the heavens with a send of wonder, a thirst for knowledge and a dream to achieve the impossible. From the days of the first pioneer pilots, adventurous men and women have risked everything for the chance to touch the sky, to see the Earth from above and advance the cause of humanity.
From an early age, William "Willie" McCool set his sights on the future. After Graduating from Coronado High School in Lubbock, TX, Willie's lifelong interest in science led him to a career as a test pilot for the U.S. Navy. Cmdr. McCool became an astronaut candidate and reported to Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas in 1996. He was assigned the role of pilot for STS-107, a mission that featured more than 80 experiments. McCool and his six crewmates perished when Space Shuttle Columbia broke up during re-entry over the Texas Panhandle on February 1, 2003.
This memorial was created as a lasting tribute to McCool: his life, his vision and his contributions to our understanding of our place in the universe. The young boy represents both McCool's early interest in science and the sense of adventure and curiosity inherent in children everywhere who dream of achieving the impossible.
May this memorial pay tribute to a fallen hero, inspire the dreams of future generations and remind us all to keep our eyes forever fixed upon the heavens.
"From our orbital vantage point, we observe an Earth without borders, full of peace, beauty and magnificence, and we pray that humanity as a whole can imagine a borderless world as we see it, and strive to live as one... in peace."
~ Commander William "Willie" McCool, January 29, 2003


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visit360.net, the guide to wonders of the world in 360°
Leaving Piazza Loggia and walking along Via dei Musei (the former decumannus), you'll soon find yourself in the middle of the ancient Roman town of Brixia. The most remarkable sights include the Capitoline temple at the Forum Romanum and the nearby theatre.
Stretching above modern Amman at an altitude of 850 meters, the Citadel is a must for all tourists visiting Amman. It used to be the enormous Acropolis of ancient Philadelphia, the predecessor of the present city.
Surrounded by 1700m-long walls, this complex was more than just a fortresses above the city, in fact it was a standalone entity within the ancient city. History buffs will say that there are plenty of other, much better preserved ancient fortresses throughout the Middle-East. However this one is still definitely worth to be visited, because it enables visitors to understand how an antique Roman and Byzantine settlement was transformed into an Umayyad city. In other words: this monument is simply a summary of entire Jordanian history.
Large megalithic stone blocks, Hittite lion carvings mixed with elements of Greco-Roman architecture – these are the characteristics of an extraordinary and yet controversial building in Iraq-al Amir (Arak-el-Emir ). Nothing is 100% sure about this building except for one thing – there are simply no similar structures not just in Jordan, but also in the entire Middle-East.
Sagaing is an important religious and monastic center of Myanmar with lots of Buddhist monasteries and a monastic hospital. This city was the capital of the short-lived Sagaing Kingdom (1315–1364), one of the minor kingdoms that thrived after the fall of Bagan. During the Ava period (1364–1555), it belonged to the crown prince or senior princes. Sagaing briefly became the royal capital between 1760 and 1763 in the reign of King Naungdawgyi.
Bagaya Kyaung was entirely built of teak wood during the reign of King Bagyidaw in 1834. Besides being a monastery, it was also used as a palace, as it can be clearly identified by the existence of the tower, a typical secular feature of royal palaces.
Maha Aungmye Bonzan (or Maha Aung Myay Bonzan) is the brick monastery of Queen Nanmadaw Me Nu, built for royal abbots Nyaunggan Sayadaw U Po and U Bok. Thus it is also called as Me Nu Ok Kyaung, literally meaning the brick (ok) monastery (kyaung) of Queen Me Nu. She was the chief queen of King Bagyidaw of Konbaung dynasty of Burma from 1819 to 1837.
The gilded stupa of Kuthodaw Pagoda was modeled after Shwezigon Pagoda at Nyaung-U near Bagan. Construction of the building was begun in 1857 by King Mindon, who wanted to leave a great work by merit and thus decided to create the world's largest book around the central stupa.
Most monuments of Bagan don't have a specific name and can only be identified with their unique numbers. Pagoda No. 2100 belongs to these anonymous monuments, nothing is known about its founder or construction date. Again, the stunning panoramic view of North-Bagan especially at sunset from the terrace of the building is the real attraction.
King Anawrahta was a famous king of Bagan (1044-1077) who turned a small principality in Upper Burma into the first Burmese Empire. His troops ventured into Lower Burma and occupied the Mon kingdom of Thaton by 1057. Shwesandaw paya was erected just after his victory and became the center of his newly empowered kingdom.


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Rick Perry's stunning onstage meltdown may have sucked all the air out of the rest of last night's CNBC debate, however this exchange between Newt Gingrich and (a rather scrappy) Maria Bartiromo was also pretty great.
In it Gingrich blames the media for their shallow reporting of Occupy Wall St....an accusation that does not sit well with Bartiromo, who calls him on it. Newt does not back down.
Related side note: In terms of moderators John Harwood and Bartiromo proved to be two of the better ones in recent memory. The questions were strong and serious -- none of the silly stuff that has leaked into other debates -- and neither moderator gave any of the candidates a pass. CNBC acquitted itself well here (the same cannot be said of many a more seasoned political moderator) it's unfortunate they are unlikely to get another shot when the presidential debates kick in.
To wit [video below]:
CRAMER: Mr. Speaker, how about to you, can corporations do both?
GINGRICH: Sure. Look, obviously, corporations can and should do both. And what is amazing to me is the inability of much of our academic world and much of our news media and most of the people on Occupy Wall Street to have a clue about history.
GINGRICH: In this town, Henry Ford started as an Edison Electric supervisor who went home at night and built his first car in the garage. Now, was he in the 99 percent or the one percent?
Bill Gates drops out of college to found Microsoft. Is he in the one percent or the 99 percent?
Historically, this is the richest country in the history of the world because corporations succeed in creating both profits and jobs, and it's sad that the news media doesn't report accurately how the economy works.
BARTIROMO: Mr. Speaker -- I'm sorry, but what is the media reporting inaccurately about the economy?
GINGRICH: What?
BARTIROMO: What is the media reporting inaccurately about the economy?
GINGRICH: I love humor disguised as a question. That's terrific. I have yet to hear a single reporter ask a single Occupy Wall Street person a single rational question about the economy that would lead them to say, for example, "Who is going to pay for the park you are occupying if there are no businesses making a profit?"


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Sandberg Considered PawSox Opening
When Torey Lovullo left the PawSox to become the first base coach for the Toronto Blue Jays, one of the people that Boston interviewed to replace him as Pawtucket's manager was Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg.
"It was very tempting – no doubt about it," Sandberg told me. "I'm good friends with Terry Francona. I played with him for a year with the Cubs and played against him when he was with the Expos. He talked to me and told me that this was an organization that would welcome me so I flew into Boston and had my interview. I thought it went very well and it was an option that I took very seriously because it's a top-notch organization that's winning at the major league level."
Prior to that job interview, Sandberg met with the Chicago Cubs about their managerial opening and was clearly the fans' choice to get it. When the Cubs elected to stick with interim manager Mike Quade instead, Sandberg decided it was time to work for another organization and was hired as the manager of the Phillies' Triple-A affiliate – the Lehigh Valley IronPigs.
"I didn't know what I was going to do, but I knew that I wanted to continue down the career path that I was going," Sandberg said. "24 hours later I started getting calls. The first call was from the Philadelphia Phillies, and I also interviewed with the Boston Red Sox and the Detroit Tigers. The Phillies uniform was the first one that I wore professionally – they drafted me out of high school in 1978. All of my minor league years were with the Phillies, and to go back to this organization considering where they stand right now in baseball and with the familiar voices that I heard on the telephone, I knew this was a spot where I thought I was a good fit."
Sandberg was a 10-time All-Star and a 9-time Gold Glove Award winner and it's highly unusual for a player of his caliber to manage in the minor leagues. In fact, he is the first person to manage in the International League after reaching the Hall of Fame as a player.
But Sandberg is clearly willing to pay his dues as he began managing at the Single-A level in 2007.
"It was difficult because I didn't know what I was doing," Ryne told me. "I was a fish out of water going to the ballpark. Being in change of 24 guys…knowing the drills that I had to do…believe it or not, I've really the learned the game of baseball as a whole the last five years. I think there is a difference between coaching and being a player and maybe it's not for everybody, but so far it's for me.
"I think the thing that got me back into the game full-time was going into the Hall of Fame in 2005. I reflected back on the coaches and managers that helped me along the way and what professional baseball has meant to myself and my family. Once we got our five kids out of the house – which just happened about 6 years ago – I was wondering what I was going to do with the rest of my life. So this is what I want to do. I enjoy it – it's my fifth year doing it – and I like where I am."
* * * * *
Spending a few minutes with Sandberg gave me the opportunity to ask him something that I've wondered about for years.
His unusual first name.
I remember reading that he was named for Ryne Duren – a pitcher in the 50's and 60's who was famous for his lousy vision and his blazing fastball.
Of the more than 17,000 players in major league history, why did his parents choose Ryne Duren as the inspiration for their son's first name?
"My parents were in Minneapolis when the Yankees came to town and Ryne came in and I think he threw four scoreless innings," Sandberg said. "The headlines the next day read, 'Ryne Shuts Down Twins.' It was an unusual name that stuck. For a lot of years I knew that I was named after him, but every year on the first day of school it was always spelled R-Y-A-N. It was mispronounced and misspelled for about 18 years, and then I went to the Cubs and kind of made a name for myself. Harry Carey helped out a lot and now there are probably a lot of Ryne's out there and it's a pretty special name for me."
* * * * *
The PawSox (12-7) climbed 5 games over .500 for the first time this year with a 7-2 win at Lehigh Valley on Tuesday.
Andrew Miller earned the win, allowing 2 runs (1 ER) on just 1 hit in 5.2 IP. His fastball sat at 93 mph and topped out at 97 mph. After 4 starts, Miller's ERA is 1.40 and the league is batting a meager .138 against him.
Pawtucket's offense was led by Josh Reddick who homered for the third time in his last four games, and J.C. Linares who had 3 hits and 2 RBI.
Brandon Duckworth (2-0, 0.48) will take the mound against his former team on Wednesday night at 7:05. I hope you'll join us for radio coverage beginning with the pre-game show at 6:50 on the PawSox radio network and pawsox.com.
I'd love to hear from you. The address is email@example.com
If you Twitter, you can follow my tweets at http://twitter.com/Dan_Hoard
And I have finally joined Facebook. Just search for Dan Hoard and look for the photo of me with the handsome lad.


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As we turn the page to another year — and liberals gaze with fear upon the Trump Presidency — it's worth contemplating how we got here. What fueled the car that has driven us to the edge of a cliff?
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There's an old saying that you can take the boy out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the boy.
To which I would add that while you can take the boy out of Christmas — you can turn him into a non-Christian, tree-hugging dirt worshipper — you can't take the Christmas out of the boy.
The Dylan tickets arrived in the mail a couple weeks before last Sunday's show at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center. I'd spent a ridiculous amount of money to get the best seats.
Dylan is 72 and he's been a smoker forever and survived a weird heart ailment. So if you're a fan, you always have to wonder if the next Dylan show you see will be the last one.
And having seen him perform in hayfields, outdoor venues, and cavernous basketball arenas, I wanted just once to see him up close.
My current springtime list of things to do starts with this small mountain:
• Buy electric lawnmower.
• Mow grass the thickness of dreadlocks.
• Regret that I didn't buy a bigger electric lawnmower.
• Try to remember where I stored my bicycle and summer car tires.
• Send fly rod for repairs after I jammed it in a car window.
• Buy new fishing waders to replace the ones that balloon into fat-man pants every time I step into a river.
Sometimes it seems like environmentalists have put themselves on such a state of red alert that we can't see a good thing when it's right in front of us.
We're so used to fighting every inappropriate intrusion upon Mother Earth, that even the idea of using wind to provide electrical power can seem like a threat.
So when they could be organizing to support alternative energy sources such as wind farms, a few environmentalists have decided that because wind power, like any energy source, has some small drawbacks, wind is a bad idea altogether.
Most Americans have never joined a political demonstration.
That's too bad. Because as I was reminded again last Sunday while joining yet another demonstration, it can be tons of fun.
The rally this time was "Forward on Climate," a boisterous gathering in Washington, D.C., of 35,000 people, who called on President Obama to block the Keystone XL oil pipeline.
The future of the pipeline is up to Obama because it would cross the Canada-U.S. border to bring the dirtiest oil on the planet from Alberta to refineries in the southern U.S.
There's an esoteric-sounding word echoing across campuses and board rooms this winter.
Like many colleges and universities across the country, Middlebury College is suddenly facing demands from students, faculty and alumni about "divestment": withdrawing investments from companies whose primary business is the production and sale of fossil fuels. UVM is facing similar demands.
Vermont town meeting is traditionally a forum for issues that are local and often relatively small — how much money to spend on mosquito control, for example.
But sometimes the matters brought to town meeting are global and large. Many towns, for example, voiced their opposition to the continuing war in Iraq in 2005.
This year, a number of Vermont towns will be considering another big question with global implications: Should they go on record as opposing a proposal to pipe highly polluting "tar sands" oil through Vermont?
There are few things as boring as a dinner party where the dominant subject of discussion is what movies we've all seen. We're all just casual moviegoers offering up pablum about how great Meryl Streep is and wasn't the scenery pretty.
But a dinner gathering where the discussion turns to books? That's my kind of party.
A conversation like that forces us to actually use our brains. To offer an informed view of why the novel we just finished was so remarkable, or what was lacking in the memoir that preceded it.
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Daria has her first official campaign for the Fall Winter 2011/12 season! Although she didn't return as the face of Balmain (after starring in their Spring 2010 campaign) she reprises her role as the face of Stefanel! This is her fourth consecutive and fourth overall campaign for the Italian label, so I think its safe to call Daria the Stefanel girl now!
The campaign was shot in Berlin, Germany by Mario Testino and Daria costars with a few puppy companions!
You can find all of Daria's past Stefanel campaigns under the Ad Campaigns page.
I already like the feel of this campaign from the first shot. It looks like it will be another out and about in the city theme. And you can never go wrong with dogs ... look at how cute that puppy is!
source : youkioske via flashbang and debora25 at tFS
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Stefanel Fall 2011 Campaign
Labels: Ad Campaigns, daria werbowy, mario testino, Stefanel
6 comments:
I like Daria very much. I didn't know she had posed for Stefanel. But one thing is certain, I really loved all her photos for Lancôme=)ReplyDelete
She's actually done three campaigns for Stefanel so far - it seems that after Gisele she is their new girl!ReplyDelete
- AnonymousSeptember 5, 2011 at 1:31 AM
a pic of daria, i find in this pageReplyDelete
love daria!! great blog you got here! follow each other?ReplyDelete
- AnonymousDecember 24, 2012 at 10:43 AM
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to the Best Model of the world.ReplyDelete
Stebau Abruzzo Italy
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HRI Triple Crown Power 10, Week 15: Super Saver Takes the Next Step
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY, May 11, 2010--With the results of neither last weekend's Dwyer Stakes nor Lone Star Derby seriously impacting the state of the three-year-old division, there is no change to last week's rankings, only updated commentary.
Impressive Dwyer winner Fly Down likely ran himself into the Belmont Stakes on the first weekend in June. The Belmont status of disappointing runner-up Drosselmeyer, of course, depends on how stablemate Super Saver does in Baltimore on Saturday.
The Lone Star Derby, meanwhile, was the first graded stakes victory for Game On Dude, purchased by a group at Florida Derby time and sent to Bob Baffert.
After racing dully in the Derby Trial slop for Bullet Bob, he rebounded Saturday with a comprehensive victory in Texas over a fast track. A long striding, leggy gelding with some ability, he probably will try the division's elite sometime in the future.
Meanwhile, it appears that the Preakness will attract a field of 13, an indication that the competition posits that Derby winning Super Saver was the product of a favorable trip, wet track, a preferred venue, and a great ride from Calvin Borel.
Indeed, that's all true. But to dismiss the colt simply as a product of those variables following his undeniable comprehensive score is shortsighted in our view. All will learn more about Super Saver on Saturday, where conditions are expected to be dry.
Here, then, the HRI Triple Crown Power 10, Week 15 edition, in advance of the 135th renewal of the Preakness Stakes:
1. Super Saver (36): Will have no excuses Saturday according to Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Todd Pletcher. Colt's energy level is up, his belly is staying full and recent gate schooling and workout went without hitches. Ships to Baltimore this morning. Borel's not jumping off Derby winner this time around.
2. Lookin at Lucky (26): In the end, Bob Baffert couldn't resist, and who can blame him. Glad to see he decided to make a switch, as was suggested here last week, simply to change the karma if nothing else. Young, talented Martin Garcia winning for Baffert all over the country this season. Let's see if that can include a classic.
3. Ice Box (17): Will be watching this one from his stall at Saratoga's Oklahoma training track. Nick Zito doing the right thing, not only because of his good Belmont karma but because this colt was trained hard, had an enervating trip--and why run back in two weeks if it's not completely necessary?
4. Paddy O'Prado (16): One of two Preakness starters for trainer Dale Romans now that purse earnings won't keep his First Dude on the outside looking in. Right now, the middle jewel has 13 considered definite or highly probable. Like Super Saver, was it the Churchill slop, or something more?
4. Dublin (16): Given his trip and circumstances, the Derby was the colt's best overall effort this year, so we don't believe Wayne Lukas is being overly aggressive. And, what do you know, Garrett Gomez will replace Terry Thompson. Love the sub-text, not only for the race storyline but for the old Lukas-Baffert rivalry as well. Good stuff.
6. Noble's Promise (12): Acquitted himself very well in the Derby, despite a necessary premature move to the lead and short pedigree. But it wasn't enough to get Preakness ticket punched. And, so, it's on to Ascot where American trainer, Wesley Ward, had success last year. The colt's future probably lies on the grass, anyway.
6. Caracortado (12): Training up a storm, giving part owner-trainer Michael Machowsky tons of confidence, and he's not shy about sharing those views--kind of the West Coast version of Rick Dutrow. Providing it's not overdone, we like that. Journeyman jockey Paul Atkinson would be a great story, and no one knows the gelding better.
8. Make Music for Me (10): Can't blame Alexis Barba for taking the prudent path with this guy, whose difficult Derby trips in Louisville and Arcadia not getting the attention they deserve. Showed class in SoCal graded company and demonstrated the same on dirt at Churchill. Will run all day and, so, the Belmont awaits.
9. Sidney's Candy (9): Back in California for some R & R and no news presumably is good news. Trainer John Sadler, arguably in the midst of a career year, will be represented by Hurricane Ike in the Preakness--a nice colt on the come but not in his mate's league. Perhaps there's a Midsummer Derby in his future.
10. Pleasant Prince (4): Did well to finish third in the Derby Trial, a race that has become a better Preakness barometer in the modern era. Worked very well at Keeneland before shipping to crabtown. If you would have given Ice Box a serious chance today, then you probably shouldn't ignore this guy.
Written by John Pricci - Comments (2)


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Delivery drivers who bring beer to bars are doing the lord's work. But haven't you always wanted to steal one of the trucks and all the beery deliciousness inside? Yeah, someone finally followed through with it.
During a beer delivery in the Chelsea area of Manhattan, the drivers went in to deliver some Heineken and hid the truck's keys under the seat. That was the mistake.
When they came back outside, someone had stolen the truck. And along with the truck, the thief got 11 kegs of Heineken and three 24-can packs. He also got three bottles of vodka.
The truck was seen heading into the Bronx on Monday, but hasn't been seen since. This means that there's probably a lot of top shelf beer pong being played in the Bronx right now.
Hat Tip to @joshpetri!


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Dunobil Neo 7.0
- Android 4.4,
How to install the firmware Dunobil Neo 7.0:
1. Please download the firmware installation file from the link below.
2. Unzip the archive in the application.
3. After unpacking, run the installation file.
4. Select the required firmware version
5. Follow the installation instructions.
In order to download the firmware for you, you do not need to register on our website, we will do it for free.
In addition, on this site - firmware-japan.com In order to go to the desired menu item and read it, the video instruction firmware on Dunobil Neo 7.0 is installed.
* If you can not find the link to your firmware, or if the link is outdated, write to us, we will send it to the desired address.
Leave a comment!
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Unconfirmed firmware
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We're concerned parents just like you.
Our goal is to make your life easier and help you nurture, protect and educate your children so they won't make the same financial mistakes that many have made in the past. We believe DoughMain will help raise financially responsible children. DoughMain — created by parents for families.


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But are they dinosaurs?
It looks more like mammals resembling a camel/giraffe and a bull/longhorn.
That looks terrifying!
How often do they rebuild the trinket shops in the middle of the street? Daily?
Do these Dinosaurs have a beeping sound when they back up?
What happens when the one in the back (with the huge horns) needs to make a U-turn?
Who cleans up the dino-poop/pee (and does a single dino-pee flood the street?)?
Many many questions!
Yeah, the first creature seems to be an Indrik (as its similar to the art of the card Affectionate Indrik) who seems to be a mammal.
Also, the dairy industry would look dramatically different. You might as well put your cheese factory on top of the animal because you only need one such a cow to supply a town with cheese.
Many many fascinating things.
I'm concerned that you have to use a spell slot every time you want to get in the saddle. Ridding something that is two stories tall is not very practical. That guy must be overcompensating for something.
Yeah thats an indrik, not a dinosaur. http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Ca...verseid=452871
I definitely think the first creature is an Indrik. A couple of other cards give a better idea of its size/scale. Im not sure if all Indrik have this ability but based on the flavor text, at least one,the Indrik Stomphowler, can disrupt magic:
An indrik's howl has destructive power much subtler than that of its crushing foot. The sound is mundane, but inaudible vibrations scatter and sunder magical contrivances."Simic research notes
Another one mentioned, the Towering Indrik, has a hard time not chasing birds:
It chases its airborne prey relentlessly, heedless to what it pulverizes beneath its hooves.
The large horned creature in the back looks like a Krovod.The flavor text adds some details to the setting: The Hauler's Collectivewields great influence over the Ravnican merchant class. Without it, little moves in the city.
There is also a one-eyed homunculus near a stall. The one-eyed version seems common in Ravnica and this particular one may be a reference to the card Totally Lost: Fblthp had always hated crowds.
Wow that's absolutely the Totally Lost homunculus.


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Let me introduce you to Bike Rider DX, the single most exciting/frustrating bicycle riding game since Sony released Downhill Domination on the PlayStation 2. It's full of big obstacles, tough courses and a whole lot of high-stakes platforming action. Grab your helmet and kneepads, because we're about to take a very stressful bike ride around the world.
Hidden away in the PS Mobile store sits Bike Rider DX, a 2D platforming gem from the makers of TapSolitaire. It takes the skateboarding sections from Hudson's Adventure Island and builds an entire game around the idea. The result is a surprisingly involving game for the PS Vita.
You play a teeny, tiny bicycle rider on the adventure of his life. Over the next ten chapters, our little bicyclist will travel from Paris to New York City, hitting London, Hawaii, Tokyo, Giza and even Antarctica on the way. Each stage has him double jumping his way over bottomless pits and other nasty obstacles. If he can make it through all 65 stages, then he'll have truly conquered the world's least-relaxing bike ride.
This isn't as easy as it sounds, as each stage is teaming with hazards just waiting to mess you up. It's not just pits you need to worry about, because there are other racers, boulders falling, birds flying around, spikes in inappropriate locations and plenty of walls to slam into. All it takes is one hit and it's game over. And no, there aren't any checkpoints. You either make it to the finish line (a large flagpole) or you die trying.
As it turns out, successfully completing the course is the easy part. Each level has three golden coins to collect, which our bicycling hero uses to open up new stages. These coins are easy to collect at first, but quickly ramp up in difficulty, ultimately making your life much more difficult. It doesn't help that the levels grow longer as he gets closer to his New York City destination. There were more than a few levels that had me screaming at my Vita. Not that it helped much.
On top of the 65 stages and nearly 200 gold coins to collect, Bike Rider DX also features a couple of endless modes. This allows players to test their skills on a never-ending stage, which keeps track of everybody's best runs. The game also offers a list of achievements to unlock, though they are not tied in any way to PlayStation Trophies.
With its good looks and easy handling, Bike Rider DX is a must-own for the PS Vita. The 65 stages will take hours to complete, and earning every last gold coin will take real patience and skill. If you can overcome the treacherous landscape, you'll be rewarded with one of the most satisfying platformers of 2013.
This is not another relaxing bike ride. Bike Rider DX is an action-packed game full of platforming challenges and exotic locales. Can you survive 65 stages of treacherous landscape, each full of increasingly difficult obstacles? You'll find out in this must-own PS Vita game, currently available in the PS Mobile store.
* The product in this article was sent to us by the developer/company.
It's questionable how accurate this is, but this is all that's known about Cyril Lachel: A struggling writer by trade, Cyril has been living off a diet of bad games, and a highly suspect amount of propaganda. Highly cynical, Cyril has taken to question what companies say and do, falling ever further into a form of delusional madness. With the help of quality games, and some greener pastures on the horizon, this back-to-basics newsman has returned to provide news so early in the morning that only insomniacs are awake.
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In Order To Transfer The Weight And Put The Power Down, We Install A Tubular Front Suspension From AJE On Project Fox.
When it comes to extracting ridiculous power out of a big-block, it's so easy a Wall Street CEO could do it. Nevertheless, that easy grunt comes with the penalty of extra mass, which makes transferring all that power and weight to the rear tires even more difficult. The trick is to offset the increased heft over the front tires with lightweight suspension components, and to optimize the spring rates to facilitate quick and efficient weight transfer. By installing a complete tubular front suspension system from Anthony Jones Engineering on Project Fox, our goal is to accomplish just that.
For those coming late to the party, the goal with our '93 Mustang project car is to run 9s in street-legal trim on a budget of $25,000. To prevent Project Fox's 775hp big-block Ford from pulverizing its 275/60R15 drag radials, we installed a complete Competition Engineering rear suspension system last month. That said, planting the rear meats is impossible unless the front suspension pulls (or shifts) its own weight, so on this go-around, we'll be installing an AJE tubular K-member and lower control arms, coilovers, and adjustable camber/caster plates. Further assisting with shifting the power rearward are Strange single-adjustable shocks, and a lightweight Unisteer manual steering rack. Together, these components will help shed nearly 100 pounds off the nose of the car. That's definitely a good thing, since we estimate that our aluminum-headed 532 big-block weighs roughly 150 pounds more than the stock iron-headed 302 small-block.
Transferring weight, however, is just the first part of a front suspension's multiple roles. As soon as the car leaves the gate, the front underpinnings are also responsible for directing man and machine in as straight of a path as possible. Light steering feel and side-to-side wandering are the bane of a well-handling drag car, but fortunately AJE's suspension features a wide range of alignment adjustments to dial out any potential drama. Showing us how to set it all up once again are the generous folks at Bill Buck Race Cars in Austin, Texas. Since Project Fox's stock motor and trans had been pulled long ago, the entire aftermarket suspension bolted right up in half an afternoon.
|PHR Issue:
|'93 notchback Mustang
|Nov. 2008
|Sold old wheels, tires, engine, trans
|532 big-block Ford
|June 2009
|Phoenix TH400 trans
|Sept. 2009
|Strange 8.8-inch rearend
|Oct. 2009
|Comp Engineering rear suspension
|Nov. 2009
|AJE front suspension
|Dec. 2009
|Part No.:
|AJE K-frame, control arms, coilovers, camber plate
|Strange adjustable shocks
|Unisteer manual steering rack kit
|Comp Engineering bumpsteer adjusters
|Rock Auto brake rotors
Drag vs. Street Caster
Caster is simply the angle of the front spindle when viewed from the side of the car, and straight-line machines and corner carvers call for vastly different caster settings. A spindle that tilts rearward has positive caster, while a spindle that tilts forward has negative caster. Since light steering and wandering is a consequence of negative caster, almost all production cars have a few degrees of positive caster built-in from the factory. Where road cars and drag cars differ is in the amount of positive caster that's desirable. "The greater the positive caster, the better the car's straight-line stability and the more effort it requires to move the steering wheel," Bill Buck says. "These aren't necessarily bad things in a drag car, so I like to set caster at 5 to 7 degrees in straight-line applications, however, heavy steering effort isn't ideal for a street or road race car, and the wheel can have a tendency to jolt when you hit a bump with too much positive caster. Consequently, you want to limit positive caster to about 2 degrees in these types of applications, which makes the car feel more agile while still providing enough straight-line stability."
–Stephen Kim
Drag Springs
Regardless of how fancy a rear suspension setup may be, without the correct front spring rate it will never put the power down. Bill Buck says the ideal front spring rate for a drag car is just enough to hold the front end up in the air. From there, it's up to the shocks to fine-tune the rate of weight transfer. Furthermore, choosing the correct front rate is far more important than choosing the correct rear rate. "The lighter the front spring, the more weight it will transfer rearward when you hit the gas. Since springs with lower rates squish down more when loaded than stiff springs, they store more potential energy," he explains. "You can use stiffer springs to prevent the suspension from bottoming out, but that can hurt weight transfer, so I prefer using softer springs and travel limiters. If a car transfers too much weight and does violent wheelstands, then it might be necessary to use stiffer springs. If Project Fox was a track-only car, it could get away with 170 lb/in springs, but since it will see some street time a 200 lb/in spring is a better compromise. AJE's coilover conversion relocates the spring right on top of the ball joints. That means that the spring rates and wheel rates are very similar, which allows running a relatively soft spring."
–Stephen Kim


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PEPFAR and Ukraine: A Partnership to Stop the Spread of HIV
Cross-posted from the State Department Blog.
I recently visited Ukraine for the first time in my role as U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator. I was pleased to have the opportunity to return to Ukraine, a country where I have spent considerable time working to strengthen HIV prevention, care and treatment services.
Ukraine is currently experiencing the most severe HIV epidemic in Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States. UNAIDS estimates that 1.1 percent of adults in Ukraine are living with HIV and an estimated 350,000 adults and children are currently infected -- slightly over half of which are cases reported in women. The vast majority of reported HIV cases in Ukraine have occurred in most-at-risk populations, particularly people who inject drugs, and injecting drug use continues to be the main driver of the epidemic.
Under PEPFAR, the United States has supported Ukraine in making concrete progress in fighting HIV/AIDS and these efforts are saving lives. In fiscal year 2010, the U.S. supported HIV counseling and testing for approximately 43,300 individuals, and care and support for 13,900 people living with HIV/AIDS in Ukraine.
As with many concentrated epidemics, there is the need to engage in intensive prevention to ensure that the epidemic does not become more widespread. Doing so requires taking a comprehensive public health approach that is sensitive to the needs of at-risk populations. My recent trip afforded me the opportunity to get a sense of the progress Ukraine is making in this area.
There has recently been much promising activity around addressing this concentrated epidemic among often marginalized populations. On January 11, 2011, President Viktor Yanukovych signed a new law on HIV that supports important prevention activities and provides new authority to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to expand coverage and ensure access to quality, comprehensive prevention, care and treatment services for people who inject drugs and others affected by HIV.
On February 15, 2011, in Washington, DC, I joined Foreign Minister Kostyantyn Gryshchenko in signing the U.S.-Ukraine Partnership Framework on HIV/AIDS. This is a five-year joint strategic framework that commits the Government of Ukraine and the U.S. to work together to reduce HIV transmission among injecting drug users and other most-at-risk populations and improve the quality and cost-effectiveness of HIV services. Through this Framework, we will also work together to strengthen national and local leadership, capacity, institutions, systems, policies and resources to support the national AIDS program in containing the epidemic.
During my visit, I was particularly struck by the active civil society that exists in Ukraine. Those seeking drug treatment, including medication assisted therapy, and the broader community that supports them, have been courageous and outspoken in providing support and standing up for the rights of all who need treatment. Their willingness to speak out about their experiences -- including the challenges they have had accessing care -- helps to fight against stigma. I admire their courage and would urge the Government to draw upon their thoughts and expertise as it works to implement its new law.
In particular, it will be important to address the needs of populations at risk in a way that protects their human rights. We anticipate the collective response of government, civil society and donors working together to expand access to quality, comprehensive prevention, care and treatment services for the people of Ukraine.
Ambassador Eric Goosby is the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator.


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A gay man in Missouri is claiming discrimination after he was arrested while visiting his sick partner at a hospital. The hospital is defending the arrest, saying the man was "disruptive and belligerent."
The incident unfolded Tuesday afternoon at Research Medical Center in Kansas City, Mo. In an interview with Fox 4 Kansas City, Roger Gorley says he was visiting his partner Allen Mansell when a Mansell family member asked him to leave. Gorley is in a civil union with Mansell and, under a recent memorandum by President Barack Obama, patients are allowed to designate others to visit and make medical decisions for them. Gorley claims a nurse refused to check on Gorley's power of attorney: "She didn't even bother to look it up, to check into it."
Gorley refused to leave and was escorted out of the hospital by security before being arrested by police. His story has made the national rounds and a Change.org petition calling for the hospital to apologize had more than 4.700 signatures Thursday afternoon. Gorley said: "All we want is equal rights."
The hospital addressed the incident in a Facebook post Thursday:
"This was an issue of disruptive and belligerent behavior by the visitor that affected patient care. The hospital's response followed the same policies that would apply to any individual engaged in this behavior in a patient care setting and was not in any way related to the patient's or the visitor's sexual orientation or marital status. This visitor created a barrier for us to care for the patient. Attempts were made to deescalate the situation. Unfortunately, we had no choice but to involve security and the Kansas City MO Police Department."


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Corporate errors are nothing new. Whether it's an environmental or financial scandal, or a PR crisis, people tend to distance themselves from the company in their aftermath, voting with their wallets, being critical social media, or criticizing the company among friends.
Still, no matter what the scandal is, we've all seen people leap to defend brands in comment threads, on Twitter, and elsewhere. New research profiled at Kellogg Insight from Angela Y. Lee, Wendi L. Gardner, and Monika Lisjak of Northwestern University explores the reasons why that happens.
We defend our families and favorite objects because we think of them as parts of ourselves. The authors wanted to see if we do the same for brands.
In a series of experiments, they looked at people's feelings about Facebook and Starbucks, both not strangers to controversy. People were tested for self-esteem, quizzed about Starbucks, then encouraged to reflect on themselves, which tends to make people respond more strongly to perceived attacks. After that, they read an editorial critical of the company, and were asked to rate the company again:
"If you believe that a brand is part of you, and you read something negative about it, how are you going to react?" Lee asks. "Are you going to stop using it? Or do you use it even more?" Sure enough, after crunching the numbers, Lee and her colleagues found that self-conscious, low-self-esteem subjects who said they liked Starbucks initially actually rated the coffee company more favorably after they had read the critical editorial.
The authors tried different methodologies and a different company in Facebook, and found the same effect. It's a fascinating result, that people integrate something as intangible as a brand into the way they think about themselves.
It takes a very strong brand and relationship to get that far. Some brands are so well known that a bad day or any criticism can produce that kind of reaction. That may get you some defenders, but it's unlikely to dampen the effects of a real scandal for any length of time.
Read more about the research here


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Sunday, September 13, 2009
The birth of single speed mountian biking ?
7 comments:
Great history lesson--enjoyed the write up very much--though, compared to the work that I should be doing, it wouldn't take too much! ;o)ReplyDelete
Are you still building frames?
Yes,it's what I do five days a week.....and on most holidays, too. Weld we must.ReplyDelete
Cool--what's your website so I can check it out?ReplyDelete
i did my best to make up for your short lived one speed racing career by racing my Rock Lobster 1-speed hard for nine years, saw some podiums, too.....Steve Garro, Coconino Cycles.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousSeptember 14, 2009 at 12:53 PM
cool story and certainly one of the first purpose built SS bikes i've seen.ReplyDelete
i thought i read in MBA or some other such rag (a very long time ago) that gregg herbold was the single speed world champion in the mid-late 1980's. ...1987 or '88 iirc.
this inspired me to coble together my first ss in 1988-89. this was pretty easy leap for me to make since i raced 24" bmx cruisers and rode them in the woods often.
funny, ss bikes seem to have been around forever in some form or another, and i've always just thought of it as another bike. but now its uber hip and a badge of honor for newbies to be considered a "single speeder". who knew???
Nice work--really like the simplicity of your dropouts on the SS frame.ReplyDelete