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4BETTER OR WORSE- The week in review
Biggest changing of the guard at UVA: Teresa Sullivan, 60, becomes the eighth president and first woman to head Virginia's flagship university. She succeeds John Casteen, who steps down August 1.
Biggest changing of the guard in Albemarle County: The first Board of Supervisors meeting January 6 foreshadows a more conservative bent with a resolution to drop the property tax rate, implement zero-based budgeting, and make economic development the top priority. Newly elected GOP supes Duane Snow and Rodney Thomas join former lone Republican Ken Boyd and with fiscally conservative Democrat Lindsay Dorrier approve the resolution 4-2.
Biggest push to restore voting rights to felons: At the tail end of Governor Tim Kaine's term, 10 civil rights or faith based groups, including the ACLU, Rutherford Institute, and League of Women Voters of Virginia, lobby him to sign an executive order to allow all or most of Virginia's 300,000 felons to vote. Their letter calls felon disenfranchisement a remnant of Jim Crow.
Biggest annual report: Freshman Congressman Tom Perriello issues an 85-page summary of his first year in office on January 7, one year after he was sworn in.
Biggest NIMBYs: Woodbrook neighborhood, which vociferously opposed a road connecting their 'hood with a new Arden Place apartment complex behind Albemarle Square, now squawks about plans for an eight-foot-wide pedestrian path on public property that would connect with Arden Place. Brandon Shulleeta has the story in the Daily Progress.
Best quote: Woodbrooker Travis Brown says he's fine with the apartment complex "as long as Arden Place stays in its place."
Biggest roulette for ambulance users: Albemarle County implements fees for transporting people, but the volunteer Charlottesville Albemarle Rescue Squad and the city of Charlottesville will not charge. When someone dials 911, if Scottsville Volunteer Rescue Squad, Hollymead, or Monticello responds, the rider gets billed $350 to $550, plus $8.50 per mile. The county says insurance covers the fees.
Biggest fine: Crown Orchard has to pay $9,551 for an illegal dump that was promptly cleaned up with 70 tons of trash hauled away.
Sharpest contrast: The 16-acre Cismont dump, the site of fires in 1984 and 2005, takes three years to clean up, its owners consistently miss Albemarle County deadlines, and the fine is just $200.
Lightest: Oliver Kuttner takes his Very Light Car to the January 11 Detroit auto show to compete for the $10 million Progressive Automotive X-Prize, Brian McNeill reports in the Progress. Kuttner's team expects the car to exceed 100 miles per gallon.
Most layoffs: The Carlton Avenue printing plant, formerly part of LexisNexis and later acquired by Cadmus Communications (which is itself owned by publicly held Cenveo), leaves 61 people without jobs when it closes its doors January 8, according to the Progress. The company holds out the option for people to relocate to Baltimore, and a 2007 release shows that there were once 90 people working there.
Most frightening time of year: The General Assembly convenes for its 60-day session January 12 and must come up with a two-year budget despite a $4.2 billion shortfall.
Most sickeningly familiar trend: Gas prices jump 12 cents a gallon in one week, to an average of $2.65 in this area, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic. A year ago, the price was $1.69.
Most embarrassing first impression: Two months after a similar Hook story, a January 10 Rachana Dixit Progress article, "Potholes at train station become a distraction," notes how additional Amtrak service draws attention to the unpaved, crater-riddled parking lot at the train station on West Main owned by Gabe Silverman.
Most embarrassing allegation: Wilmont "Bill" Packard, 49, of Schuyler is arrested for petty larceny, allegedly for taking money from a Fast Mart donation jar set in place to help a family pay for funeral expenses, according to Henry Graff at NBC29.


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Game 42: Toronto at Boston pregame
Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston doesn't buy into the philosophy used by Red Sox manager Terry Francona over the weekend. Boston slugger David Ortiz is in the midst of a terrible slump, one of the worst droughts of his career. Francona opted to sit Ortiz over the past three games in Seattle, providing more of a mental break than a benching.
Asked if he had ever sat a struggling player for a series, Gaston replied quickly: "Never. Nope. No, I haven't."
Gaston went on to say: "Thats' what some guys believe in. I don't really buy into that one. I don't know where it helps them. I havent quite figured out how it helps them. I don't buy into it. Then again, maybe it will. I don't know. Personally, I don't buy into that one."
This isn't to say Cito was bashing Tito. Entering Tuesday, Ortiz was hitting .208 with no homers and 15 RBIs. On the recent road trip, he went 1-for-14. Big Papi had gone 144 at-bats without a homer — the second-longest slump of that kind in his career.
Cito's philosophy is this:
"You let him play his way out. Either you bench him or you play somebody else for a while. You know? You either let him go one way or the other. I don't think you put him on the bench for just say a day or two. But, that's his team over there. You're talking about what I believe and what he believes.
"I have enough trouble running my team," he added with a laugh.
Which brings us to Blue Jays rookie Travis Snider.
Snider was out of the lineup on Tuesday with knuckleballer Tim Wakefield, but will be back in on Wednesday against Boston's Brad Penny.
If Snider continues to struggle, there's a realistic chance he could be sent back to Triple-A during Interleague Play, when the Jays don't have a DH in NL parks and Adam Lind in left field. Just so happens Toronto heads to Atlanta this weekend.
"That could possibly be," general manager J.P. Ricciardi said. "Originally we didn't think so, but it might be a time to do it, get a little more flexibility."
Asked if Snider might benefit from playing every day in the Minors, Cito had this to say:
"You always think that. Who knows what's right? Whatever happens, we'll try to do the right thing with him. This kid's going to play up here. There's not too many guys on this team who haven't been sent up and down, so it could happen and it might not happen.
"I'll put him out there tomorrow against Penny and who knows, he might hit a couple home runs. That certainly would change everybody's mind — for a while anyway."
Today's lineups:
1. Marco Scutaro, SS
2. Aaron Hill, 2B
3. Alex Rios, RF
4. Vernon Wells, CF
5. Adam Lind, LF
6. Scott Rolen, 3B
7. Lyle Overbay, 1B
8. Kevin Millar, DH
9. Rod Barajas, C
Starter: LHP Brian Tallet (2-1)
1. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
3. David Ortiz, DH
4. Jason Bay, LF
5. Mike Lowell, 3B
6. J.D. Drew, RF
7. Julio Lugo, SS
8. Jeff Bailey, 1B
9. George Kottaras
Starter: RHP Tim Wakefield (4-2)
6 Comments
Well, the good news is, I can get TSN2, and could watch the game. The bad news is, it was the Boston feed and I had to listen to their announcers. What a couple of Idiots! The chick is cool, but Cosantino is a better rover. Thank goodness for Campbell, Fletcher, Tabler, Mulineks, Howarth and Ashby. Best commentary in baseball.
Actually, the best commentary in baseball is Jerry Howarth and Alan Ashby on the FAN. I pipe in the MLB.TV feed of that while I'm watching the TV broadcast. Campbell is better then some of the US teams, but he's still not all that great.
I agree on Howarth and Ashby, Izmir, but at least Campbell and his colour guy do their research on the other teams (with the very capable help of Scott Carson). That way, he doesn't sound like a TOTAL idiot like Orsillo and his mutt did last night.
I think most fans prefer the announcers that do the commentary for their chosen team . They are the announcers you are use to hearing plus hopefully they support the team they are commenting on . Some team's announcers are excrutiatingly painful to listen to , I turn the volume down and turn on the Fan during those games as izmir suggests.
Tallet pitched well last night, unfortunately Wakefield was on . It was a good game except for the outcome . As fans, we have to be proud the Jays never give up, even when the bats take a holiday .
For those Rogers customers who are unaware , you can catch the games on channel 59 . Rogers has a free preview of TSN2 , however you do have the Boston announcers
Congrats to Doc for winning a very well deserved AL player of the week , here is too many more accolades for the Jays.
I agree about the Boston commentators, they were bad. I really didn't like Dennis Eckersley, especially when he made the incorrect comment about Roy stating that he wants out. That said i'm with Rogers so about 48 hours ago I didn't even think I would get to watch that game, I can put up with them I guess.
About the fan though i'd love to be able to watch the game on tv and here Alan and Jerry but isn't there a 5 second delay on the television feed ?

subset: commoncrawl


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christelle necesitaba un nuevo diseño de logotipo y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 62 diseños de 16 diseñadores freelance.
SenMobile senmobile.com (web site not available yet)
Senmobile is Senegal + Mobile.
The startup will be launched in Senegal in Africa in the upcoming months. It may then be launched in other countries in the developing and the developed world.
We propose SMS based solutions and develop mobile applications to be used by people from the bottom to the top of the Maslow's pyramid of needs (with a focus on the bottom). Mobile solutions for everybody. We aim at developing mobile solutions for social change.
We are a team of techies from the US and some people from Senegal with a knowledge of the filed. We are all interested in social change.
The logo will be used to build our brand. It must be a powerful and elegant logo that directly conveys the requirements described below.
Out target audience is composed of people interested in mobile technology, social change and Africa. It is also partners, mobile operators and funding agencies.
The logo should be cool, modern and techy.
It should capture Senegal, Africa, mobile technology, connecting people, and social change. It should make people think about the potential of mobile phones for changing the world and of the replicability of the proposed mobile solutions in countries (around Africa).
It should be composed of an image and the text SenMobile.
I would like to see solution where SenMobile and the image are mixed and separated.
The background should probably be white.
The logo should refer to Africa rather than Senegal.
I am not sure I would like a map in the logo.
I would like the logo to be delivered in several sizes (icon, web, medium size, large size for banner) and transparent/not transparent.
Descubre cómo funciona un concurso de diseño u obtén más información sobre nuestros servicios de diseño de logo.


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In a lab setting you will get hands on training on OCLC FirstSearch Interlibrary Loan. We will go step by step through the most commonly used commands in the OCLC staff View. You will learn:About your ILL responsibilities and what to put in your ILL policyThe basics of OCLC ILLHow to setting up constant data recordsHow to generate and respond to requestsPlease bring your OCLC FirstSearch logins and passwords for ILL so you can update your constant data records and view your own request manager.
Categories: Interlibrary Loan and Resource Sharing, LLSAP
This event is sponsored by Illinois Heartland Library System.
Last day to cancel registrations is: 11/14/2012
Questions? Please contact Beverly Obert.
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Moderator: Tournament Directors
SuicidalSnowman wrote:Ok we can do the World 2.1 one instead.
MarVal wrote:In, I will let you asap know my teammates.
MyTurnToWin wrote:MIGHTY QUADS
Blitzaholic wrote:if they post there team by morning 2morrow
denominator wrote:denominator, packrat31306, Calidrmr, Juan_Bottom
MarVal wrote:MarVal, der sniffter, SirSebstar & Bonobo are in.
freakns wrote:Blitzaholic wrote:if they post there team by morning 2morrow
good lord, you need english lessons
MyTurnToWin wrote:MIGHTY QUADS
MarVal wrote:MarVal, der sniffter, SirSebstar & Bonobo are in.
Gilligan wrote:Has anyone seen that dern rabbit in here?
Gilligan wrote:Has anyone seen that dern rabbit in here?
Blitzaholic wrote:(Trippin' wit Blitz @ WORLD 2.1)
QUADS Tourney
Welcome to the Short Series of Quads tournament on CC-(A thru Z) as we coast on 26 maps thru the Alphabet hosted by the one and only Blitzaholic! The 26 maps and 26 tourney's will feature these maps in Alpha order: Africa, British Isles, Coral Coast, Disc, Extreme Global, France, Gr8 Lakes, Hong Kong, Iberia, Jack of bamboo, KOM, Land + Sea, Montreal, North America, Oasis, Poker, conQuerman, Rail USA, Seige, Tamriel, US Senate, Valley of Kings, World 2.1, aleX empire, solar sYstem, wwII gaZala
note: Q, X, Y, Z are missing so found maps with those letters in them to fill it.
ALL PREMIUM PLAYERS ARE WELCOME as 7 games per round!
The tournament will feature 16 players who will face off in a single elimination bracket, best of 7 every round. All games in the tournament will be on the World 2.1 map, with the following settings: Sequential, Escalating, Unlimited, Sunny
Sign Ups:
Signing up is very simple, all you have to do is post with your name and the name of your partners. I don't need any other information from you. Playing order is by how you sign up, team 1 plays 4, team 2 plays 3, etc.
When we have all the teams needed I will set up the games and then send them to both teams who have 96 hours to join or you may be forfeited, these are fast hitting.
I will keep track of the winners for the CC Alpha Short FRANCHISE Series A-Z
AFRICA: Blitzaholic, Dividedbyzero, Big Whiskey WINNERS
BRITAIN: Ruben cassar, Laddida, Blind date WINNERS
CORAL: Alstergren, Crash_22, Phlaim WINNERS
DISC: Iccinot Nabrus, Kingkoswyn, Laughingcavalier WINNERS
EXTREME: Gannable, Ironwood, Blue baron WINNERS
FRANCE: Aspalm, Bigroo4601, Hambone WINNERS
GR8 LAKES: Dshedd, Absolute, General Anarchy WINNERS
Hong Kong: Drew483, Ga7, banana_hammocks WINNERS
IBERIA: Lindax, Daviedoo, Downfall WINNERS
JACK: Reptile, waseemalim, lt.pie, e_i_pi WINNERS
KOM: FrancisBoyle, BoganGod, GallantPellham WINNERS
LANDS: Blitzaholic, Big Whiskey, Dividedbyzero, Andrewb WINNERS
MONTREAL: Freakns, lordnex, dinustef, trboye WINNERS
N.A.: Blitzaholic, Big Whiskey, Incandenza, Nephilim WINNERS
OASIS: Blitzaholic, Dividedbyzero, Andrewb, RL_Orange WINNERS
POKER: Asaplm, Bigroo4601, Hambone WINNERS
QUER: Blitzaholic, Osujacket, Dividedbyzero, Nephilim WINNERS
RAIL: Blitzaholic, Osujacket, Nephilim WINNERS
Seige: Blitzaholic, Osujacket, RL_Orange, Hatchman WINNERS
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ENTCodingToday Includes
- Advanced Code Checking Technology - Bundling Matrix. Enter up to 20 codes and check to see if they can be billed together and the order they should be submitted. Includes what modifiers may or may not be used. All information is displayed in a user friendly matrix with verbal explanation
- Complete volumes of Current Procedural Terminology (CPT®), HCPCS Level II and ICD-9 codes
- Current Medicare Correct Coding Initiative (CCI) edits
- National and local Fee Schedules, and Medicare Policy information
- Medicare information on global fee days and modifier usage
- Full LCDs
- MUEs
- 24/7 availability and real-time updates via Web site
- User friendly format with rules, regulations, and related information organized by code
- Powerful search engine for speedy look ups
- Free technical support and phone training
- Laboratory Fees
Click Here to View Tutorial Videos
Screen Shots
CPT Crosswalk to ICD-9
Bundling Matrix


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300 Trinity Campus Circle Fort Worth, TX 76102
Get into the holiday spirit with Fort Worth ISD's elementary, middle and high school choirs, orchestras and bands.
Once again, the District its host its annual Holiday Concert Series, December 10-20 at the FWISD Administration Building, 100 N. University Drive. Daily, two groups of student performers will present mini-concerts in the building's main lobby at 10:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.
The following concerts are scheduled:


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Download of aMule-2.3.1-installer.exe (aMule-2.3.1-installer.exe ( external link: SF.net): 8,335,044 bytes) will begin shortly. If not so, click link on the left.
Your rating on aMule - all-platform eMule P2P Client
aMule stands for all-platform eMule file-sharing program. It is affiliated with the eMule project and was forked from xMule on 08/2003. It connects to the eDonkey2000 network, supports Linux, Mac, Solaris, *BSD platforms, and nearly every processor arch.


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Are you really going crazy?
4 million women have ADD, ADHD and don't even know it
CLEARWATER, Fla. – Karen Biscup, who lives in Clearwater, describes her house and herself as a "chaotic mess!"
"You don't want to tell people too much because it makes you sound like a crazy person," she said.
Her dog died months ago, but the dog dish still sits in her bedroom.
"Those are Christmas presents I haven't gotten to mail yet," Biscup explained about the gifts lying on the floor.
Suffering in silence has meant low self-esteem for her.
"I went to school, had three jobs, and I was doing an internship at the same time." Biscup said. "I had all these things and I accomplished all that, but to me it just felt like chaos."
She finally knows why she's felt this way. She has attention deficit disorder. Now medication is helping her get through the day.
"I just view the world more calmly," Biscup said.
Four million women have ADD or ADHD and don't even know it, according to the National Center for Gender Issues and ADHD. Mental Health Counselor Deborah Day says it's a state of constant disarray.
"It's real [and] definitely not make believe," said Day. "It's within the brain and so there's really a chemical thing going on."
We asked viewers their thoughts about what else is going on in their minds. One woman wrote us:
"There are times when I think the unthinkable. I have two adult children and like most mothers, I worry about them. I've thought of scenarios where something bad happened to them. What if they were killed in a car accident? Are these thoughts normal?"
Psychotherapist Tina Tessina, PhD, says the empty nest time is a particularly hard time when women feel like they're losing control of their children.
"One sleepless night is not a problem. Ten in a row is a big problem," Tessina explained.
Many sleepless nights not only come from worrying about the kids, many people lie awake thinking about work as well.
"Nothing at work is important enough to do that to yourself, so you need to know how to shut it off," Tessina said.
First, don't use your brain as a memo pad. Write it down. If there's something you can do before bed to ease your mind, just do it. Most importantly, stop comparing yourself to everyone else.
"You have to know how to soothe yourself, how to encourage yourself, and how to keep building your sense of self so that you can stay on an even keel," Tessina explained.
If you fidget all the time, find it hard to sit still at meetings, or interrupt a lot, you may have a form of ADD or ADHD.
"For the ones that don't know when they come in to me, it's so freeing for them to find out, that there's a name for what they have and there's a way to get better," Day explained.
The first step in addressing attention deficit disorder is behavioral interventions such as list making and file systems. If that doesn't work, medication is often needed.
Additional Information:
Attention deficit disorder is not just a problem in children. If you were diagnosed with childhood ADD/ADHD, chances are, you've carried at least some of the symptoms into adulthood. But even if you were never diagnosed with ADD/ADHD as a child, that doesn't mean you can't be affected by it as an adult.
- Be sure of the diagnosis: Make sure you're working with a professional who understands ADHD and has excluded similar conditions like anxiety, agitated depression, hyperthyroidism, manic-depressive illness, or obsessive-compulsive disorder.
- Educate yourself: The single most powerful treatment for ADHD is understanding it. Read books, talk with professionals and others with ADHD.
- Encouragement: ADHD adults need plenty of encouragement due to many self-doubts that may have accumulated over the years. More than the average person, an ADHD adult withers without encouragement and positively lights up like a Christmas tree when given it.
- Give up: Stop trying to be the person you always thought you should be. Give yourself permission to be yourself.
- Blow out time: Set aside time each week for letting loose and do whatever you like to do – blast loud music, have a feast, or go to the race track.
- Exercise: it's one of the best treatments for ADHD. It works off excess energy and aggression in a positive way. It stimulates the hormonal and neurochemical system, and soothes and calms the body. By making it something fun, you'll stick to it longer.
- Crack a joke: Have a sense of humor about your symptoms. Others around you will forgive you much more.
Copyright 2014 by Ivanhoe Broadcast News and News4Jax.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Spirit Airlines offers Myrtle Beach flights from BWI
Spirit Airlines is continuing to expand in the Baltimore area.
The airline announced Tuesday that starting April 25, it will be offering daily nonstop seasonal flights from Baltimore-Washington Thurgood Marshall Airport to Myrtle Beach International Airport.
"Spirit carries more visitors to Myrtle Beach than any other airline, operating exclusively with large Airbus A319 and A320 jets with 145-178 seats each," said Mark Kopczak, Spirit's senior director of network planning. "We're looking forward to giving even more customers the opportunity to save money on travel. Our ultra-low fares and optional add-ons provide customers a total price that's tough to beat."
"Spirit's growth at BWI Marshall means more travel options and more low airfares for our customers," said BWI Executive Director Paul Wiedefeld.
The seasonal service will run from April 25 to Nov. 5. It will also be offered to Myrtle Beach from Philadelphia International Airport.
Spirit currently offers year-round daily nonstop service to Myrtle Beach from Atlantic City, Boston, Fort Lauderdale and New York LaGuardia.


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United Airlines
United Airlines is Certified with the 3-Star Airline Rating for the quality of its Onboard product and staff service, and the United Airlines home base Airport service. View the detailed Quality ratings for United Airlines product (seats, comfort, food & beverages etc), cabin staff service, and ground service standards at its home base of Chicago O'Hare Airport.
United Airlines Ranking
Related to United Airlines Rating
Airline Ratings Breakdown
The Ratings shown on this website show headline extracts of the key areas used in final assessment and grading. Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in our web pages, the content is naturally subject to change and Skytrax cannot guarantee its accuracy or currency. We reserve the right to make changes to the information on the site without notice.


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25,000 Support Six-Year-Old Trans Girl Facing Discrimination
The family of transgender six-year-old Coy Mathis is standing firm in their refusal to return Coy to Eagleside Elementary School in Fountain, Colorado unless the school allows her to use the girls' bathroom like the rest of the girls in her first-grade class.
"Coy is not a boy, she is not an adult, and she is not sick," the Mathises wrote in the Change.org petition they started urging the school district to reconsider its decision. The petition has received more than 25,000 signatures in support of Coy and her family.
Before December 2012, Coy's school respected her desire to be identified as a girl; staff and students have referred to her using female pronouns, and she has been allowed to use the girls' bathroom without incident. But before winter break, Coy's parents, Kathryn and Jeremy Mathis, were informed that after the break Coy would no longer be permitted in the girls' bathroom. Henceforth her options would be the boys' bathroom, a staff bathroom for adults, or the nurse's bathroom.
On Feb. 15, the Mathises filed a complaint against the Fountain-Fort Carson School District with the Colorado Division of Civil Rights. The district has until Mar. 17 to respond to the complaint, and has refused mediation in addressing the issue. Until the complaint is resolved, Coy's parents have removed her from Eagleside and are home-schooling her, but they hope to have her back in school before much more time has passed.
Michael Silverman, executive director of the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund and one of the Mathis' lawyers, is optimistic about the outcome of the complaint.
"There is no question in Colorado law," he said. "The law bans discrimination against trans people, and that applies to access to facilities like schools. The Colorado Civil Rights Commission has issued rules that interpret the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act, and one of the regulations states that trans people must be allowed to use the bathroom that matches who they are."
Indeed, Colorado's legal protections for transgender people are among the strongest in the nation. Some Colorado school districts, including Boulder Valley Schools, have already created transgender-specific policies based on the Civil Rights Commission's rules.
"The Colorado GSA Network, a program of One Colorado, has worked in recent years to successfully pass a comprehensive statewide anti-bullying policy and empower thousands of LGBT and allied students," said Brad Clark, executive director of the LGBT advocacy organization One Colorado. "With the help of education leaders, Colorado has clear laws the prohibit discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students in our schools. We look forward to ensuring those laws are upheld."
The Mathis' complaint has created a whirlwind of media coverage as transgender Coloradans, along with their families and allies, wait to see what precedent will be created.
"This is the first test of Colorado's anti-discrimination act with respect to access to appropriate bathrooms," said Silverman, "but it also fits into a larger national context, where one state looks to the next to see how these issues are handled. A positive outcome here will have a wide impact for trans children and trans people in general."
Dr. Sarah Burgamy, a psychologist who specializes in working with LGBT children, agrees that the complaint is important for reasons that go beyond Coy and her family.
"I'm looking at the education aspect as a real positive," said Burgamy. "We need to discuss what everybody's hangup is about the bathroom. Why is there discomfort about letting children use the bathroom that matches who they are? Offering something like the nurse's restroom or the staff bathroom, a separate-but-equal option, gives a child the message that, hey, you're different and you're being treated differently."
"Being singled out can have a very negative impact on children," said Silverman. "Coy is only six, and what she understands is simply that her school is being mean to her. For any child, being the target of discrimination is upsetting and confusing. We want to educate the public about this issue, so that people will want to do the right thing, instead of having to do the right thing. It's not too late for the school to do the right thing for Coy, and to teach a powerful lesson to the other students in the school and everyone who is watching about tolerance and respect and fair play."
"Right now, Coy is the face of transgender children," said Burgamy. "The family took a brave step to stand up for the civil rights of their child, but they're in for quite a ride. Any time a child finds herself in the limelight, it's hard to say how a child will cope with that kind of pressure. Coy has a very loving and supportive family, and that bodes well for her."
To sign the Change.org petition, click here.


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On April 17, Governor Pritzker announced that he is suspending in-person learning for all Illinois schools for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year. Please visit the remote learning page below for more information. Returning Student Online Registration is now open
331-228-6129Phone Number
St. Charles Community Unit School District 303


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Hi. I'm Cristie. A married mother of 3. Kick boxer. Design student. Cynic. etc., etc. I stumbled across this site while on Twitter and thought I'd give it a shot. I'm terribly anxious when it comes to my atheist views. Living in good ole boy type gods country here, where one of the first questions asked is, "where do you go to church". Religion has never been a part of my life. I've attended several churches and read parts of the bible and other holy-type books out of curiosity, but usually would end up irritated. I dislike that the most affordable options for pre-school are all religious based. At the suggestion of friends, I've honestly tried to consider that option, assuming that they couldn't possibly impress too much on my son, but by the end of my thought process I'm angry and wondering "how dare they".
I'm really tired so this is really sloppy and all over the place.
I think religious views are deeply personal and truly try to adhere to "to each, their own." I also think some people are stupid and weak and too lazy to think. That's my own.
Anyway, hi. Thanks for having me.
Views: 325
Welcome, Christie. Hope you heal fast and can get back to muay thai soon. I have watched muay thai on the Fight Channel (Canadian cable), and it looks wicked! If only I were twenty years younger....
Thanks. I love muay thai, but it can be brutal on the body. Over three years straight training and the torn ligament is my only major injury. Bruising and strains galore, but those heal rather quickly. This is gonna take me out for at least a year. I wish I had started the sport in my 20's! I'd totally compete.
Welcome Cristie!
Here you will find a lot of support for people like yourself who are surrounded and hounded by the religious. Feel free to jump into a discussion and or post anything you like.Bring up children in a secular environment is difficult. Have you looked into Montessori schools? Generally speaking their are very secular in nature. Anyway it's great to have you.
Thanks for the welcome. I've looked into Montessori schools. There are plenty of non-religious options for schooling. My big complaint is the cost difference of them. My Christian girlfriend sent her son to a Christian preschool for less than $200/month. I'd have to pay about $100-130 per week for three 1/2 days of preschool. It's ridiculous. My daughter just didn't go to preschool because I couldn't justify the cost. My son will probably go because I plan to return to the workforce soon, so I'll have to put him into school/daycare.
I went to a Catholic school and I turned out alright. If worst comes to and your kids are being bombarded with [Christianity I assume] then go crazy and expose them to all kinds of gods. Make it a game, let them have fun with it so they know it's not to be taken seriously. Let them pick their favorite god and pray to him/her at dinner. Explain to them that it's "just pretend" like in the movies. Consider this as simply "weathering the storm" because ultimately they'll be better prepared for the future.
The only problem is when one of them claims Zeus is better than the other's favorite and they declare holy war against each other...
Welcome! I live in "god's country" too - have all my life. Fortunately, my parents at least moved the family from Alabama to the metro Atlanta area when I was a preteen, which was a huge improvement. So there is variation!
I did live in a small, South Georgia town (below the gnat line) for a short time, and absolutely despised it. I am not joking to say that life there contributed to a divorce, because my husband loved the place. (We had agreed that we'd be there no more than five years and move back to Atlanta, but after we got there he decided to stay and retire there--major dealbreaker for me!)
I come from a serious deep-water Southern Baptist family - the kind where you had to be in church every time the doors opened, got spanked for putting anything on top of a Bible or "being sacriligious" (and boy, did that cover a long list of things!), had your mouth washed out for "taking the Lord's name in vain," etc. and while I started questioning by the time I was about 7 (and got in a lot of trouble for it) I really tried to make Christianity work, and in fact my first husband was a youth minister. I also worked in a business capacity for an even more fundamentalist denomination, the Presbyterian Church in America, for about five years. I left Christianity altogether by the time I was 22 or so and refused to make any pretense of believing.
My answer to "Where do you go to church?" is either "I don't" (said in a tone that isn't mean, but makes it VERY clear that I am NOT open to invitations to church). If I'm involved in a Unitarian Universalist congregation, I will give the name of it, but I don't like to lie and don't see a reason to do so. I refuse to listen to "witnessing" and I'm fairly adept and cutting off attempts to do so, especially since I had more training in all of their little "Roman Road" spiels and so on than most people who try that with me have had. I've certainly studied the Bible, Christian theology, and church history more than 99% of them, which is probably why I'm so disenchanted with Christianity. Ignorance truly can be bliss, if you're a person who can stand being ignorant. Every once in a while, I wish that had been one of them, if only for the sake of family peace.
I strongly suggest that you not send your child to a Christian preschool, because children are most impressionable at early ages. The affordable Christian schools, free Vacation Bible schools (with buses that go pick up children from housing projects and the like) count on that impressionability. I was part of the meetings where church people decided where to spend money to get the most effect, so I know these things all too well.
I suggest that you check any preschool very, very carefully to make sure that the teachers don't bring in any religious material, either, even during holiday seasons. Most do, even in the public school systems. I homeschooled my daughter mainly because the schools in our area are abysmal, but also because there is such a pervasive Christian, anti-intellectual influence in all Southern public schools. She's in college now and doing extremely well.
Good luck!
Hi Cristie;
You've got a tough choice, there. I believe that, were I in your circumstance, I would go ahead and send my child to the religious-oriented school and depend upon my own ability to counter any superstitious nonsense they dispense with a well-argued refutation, based on science and reason, of medieval fairy tales. I remember as a child being sent to Lutheran Bible School, then getting a double dose when I went home to my Presbyterian parents. I later attended a Baptist church regularly for five years just to get a clear idea what they were all about (and to meet girls). All of these experiences simply helped me make up my mind between a mystical paradigm that made no sense whatsoever and the humanistic satisfaction that comes from a clear, logical, and satisfying understanding of nature and science.
The core ideas formed in the minds of very young children come more powerfully from their parents than from school, IF those parents are passionate and articulate in their beliefs. In other words, if rational, informed parents devoted as much time and effort into educating their children as religious zealots do with theirs, religion in America would begin to decline, as is rapidly happening in virtually all of the rest of the developed world.
But let me emphasize: you must be diligent about knowing what they are telling your child at school and you must educate yourself to be able to counter it. For instance, if they tell your child that a bearded white male in a white robe, sitting somewhere "out there" created us, judges us, and controls our every action, you must be able to present a convincing case that we just naturally evolved and are evolving, just like all other living things. Of course, that might require you to learn about evolution, since there is very little likelihood that you learned anything profound about it in any American school - religious OR secular. Books like "Climbing Mount Improbable," by Richard Dawkins; "Darwin's Dangerous Idea," by Daniel C. Dennett; "The Demon Haunted World," by Carl Sagan; "The Third Chimpanzee," by Jared Diamond; and "The Panda's Thumb," by Stephen Jay Gould are a good place to start. When your child is old enough, you can hold regular discussions about the ideas in these books and many others by them, as well as Michael Schermer, Lewis Thomas, John L. Casti, Desmond Morris, and Martin Gardener. Then, of course, there's the book that started it all - "Origin of Species," by Charles Darwin. The book is long and repetitive, but it's what changed the world.
You should also discuss with them books by creationists like Ken Ham, Duane Gish, Henry Morris, Richard Bliss, M. Bowden, Percival Davis, Dean Kenyon, Michael Dentin, and Marshall Hall, who believes the earth is not moving - that all the planets and stars revolve around the earth. It is just as important to examine the ludicrous notions of religionists as it is to study the proven scientific theories developed through centuries of dedicated effort by educated men.
I see you as having four choices: the one outlined above; moving to another place; paying whatever it costs to send your child to a public school; and giving your child to the Jesus freaks. Your choice.
One more thing: if you would like a longer list of books, let me know by posting on this blog and I will gladly provide you with a long list.


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|New user giveaway! [Santa hat!] <----- WINNER PICKED!
|How to get the blue star infront of your name?
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|Rap Battle Forum. Best Rap wins 50M. Ends Sunday 17th 20PM RS Time.
|Lilly ~ Host Application


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DENVER – The New England Revolution faces a Western Conference opponent for the final time this regular season on Wednesday night when the club visits the Colorado Rapids at Dick's Sporting Goods Park.
Kickoff between the Revs (6-6-6, 24 pts.) and Rapids (7-7-6, 27 pts.) is set for 9 p.m. ET and the game will be covered regionally by both Comcast SportsNet and 98.5 The Sports Hub.
Immediately prior to Wednesday night's match at 8:30 p.m. ET, Comcast SportsNet will debut its midseason "State of the Revs" update, featuring a look at the first half of the 2013 campaign and key storylines heading into the second half of the season. More details are available HERE.
Current Form: Both sides on the brink of playoff places as second half gets underway
Saturday night's frustrating loss to the Houston Dynamo leaves the Revolution in sixth place in the Eastern Conference standings, now five points back of the Dynamo for the fifth and final playoff spot. Although it took a pair of stunning long-range goals from Adam Moffat to finally break down New England's vaunted defense, the Revs weren't happy with their overall performance, particularly through a disjointed opening 45 minutes.
"I don't think the first half was good enough for either team, really," said Kelyn Rowe. "But for us, we want to start well, we want to pressure. It's not something we did well in the first half; we couldn't get the ball down and play. It wasn't until the second half that we could, and that's when we had to chase the game, so we don't want that."
The Rapids occupy a similar spot in the Western Conference, currently perched in sixth place, three points back of the fifth-place LA Galaxy. Oscar Pareja's side hasn't played a regular-season match since July 7 – most recently facing Mexico's Santos Laguna in a friendly last Friday night – but the Rapids are 2-0-1 in their last three league contests.
Past Meetings: Revs broke Rapids hex at home last year; now look to do same on the road
The Revs and Rapids last met 14 months ago at Gillette Stadium where New England's come-from-behind, 2-1 victory snapped an eight-game winless run against Colorado.
HIGHLIGHTS: Come-from-behind victory helps Revs snap winless run against Rapids
But the sides haven't met at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in almost two years and the Revs will be looking to end another hex in the Centennial State, where they're just 3-12-4 all-time and haven't won since June 2002.
As a point of reference, the last time the Revs left Colorado with three points they had yet to reach an MLS Cup final and the goals in their 2-1 victory were scored by Taylor Twellman and Brian Kamler.
Injury Report: Alston available for selection three months after leukemia diagnosis
Just three months after being diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia, Kevin Alston was removed from the Disabled List on Monday and is now available for selection for the first time since March 30. Alston is part of the Revolution's travel party for the current two-game trip through Colorado and Columbus.
READ: Upon return, Heaps lauds Alston's "amazing story"
However, the Revs will be without a pair of forwards on Wednesday night as Juan Agudelo remains sidelined by a right knee sprain and Dimitry Imbongo will serve a one-game suspension following his red card last weekend against the Dynamo. That leaves Chad Barrett and Jerry Bengtson as the likeliest candidates to play up top, particularly with Saer Sene listed as questionable with a right hip contusion.
Ecuadorian defender Diego Calderon is unavailable for the Rapids as he continues to recover from right knee surgery, while rookie defender Kory Kindle (L ankle sprain) and Argentine playmaker Martin Rivero (L quad strain) are both listed as questionable.
Final Thoughts: Revs need to start strong to avoid chasing the game at altitude
"I think the fight's going to be the most important thing about this game," said rookie defender Andrew Farrell. "I think it's going to be within the first 15-30 minutes where this game is going to be decided. Whichever team starts best and whichever team scores first I think is going to get the points. Obviously we're both trying to fight to get into the playoff positions, so it's another important game for us."


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Also at the Northumbria University's exhibition the graduate Philipe Luscombe presented this delicate relief calender, which is entirely embossed using brass die parts and a hand press.
The design of the die allows the days and months to be shuffled to any eventuality, so the brass parts can be used to press any day of any month until the end of time. The calendar includes all British bank holidays and marks special occasions with pictographic squares.


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BestValueAutoParts.com delivers high quality BMW Pressure Plate shipped directly to you at wholesale prices through our advanced cataloging and warehouse distribution system. We carry a full line of discounted quality brand domestic and import auto parts for cars, trucks, and SUVs.
We offer BMW Pressure Plate as well as for all makes and models for the North American market. We have a complete line of auto parts at discount prices and offer programs/promotions for repair shops & dealers who participate in our frequent buyer program. Please visit our website for details or sign-up to receive specials via email.


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Get on the fast track to a more rewarding career with National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car - teams that are committed to quality, innovation, customer satisfaction and employee development.We are a multi-billion dollar industry leader that is rapidly expanding and growing. At National and Alamo, exciting careers and opportunities are made possible, because how far you go is really up to you. It's a fast-paced, people oriented business that offers incredible earning potential and performance-based promotions.Our philosophy is to take care of our customers and employees first. We know if we do this, success will follow - for both our company and our employees.
National and Alamo has an exciting opportunity for a Rental Sales Agent. This is a Full-Time position starting at $14 per hour, plus medical benefits, $600 90-day training incentive, and monthly sales bonus. The Rental Sales Agent provides a superior, friendly, and efficient transaction (at time of rental and return) using the company approved sales and service techniques. Facilitates the rental process through verification and documentation of all necessary driver information to provide for an efficient and timely rental and return experience. Performs all responsibilities with a focus on the wants and needs of our customers and in accordance with our Quality Standards.
Equal Opportunity Employer/Disability/Veterans


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Discraft Ultrastar 175g - Royal Blue
Back in Stock!
The official disc used in USA Ultimate Frisbee championships. The world standard for the sport of Ultimate. With its contoured grip and aerodynamic engineering, Ultrastar has set the standard for quality, consistency and performance since its intorduction in 1981.
- accurate straight flight
- durable build
- weight 175g
- Diamter 273mm (10.75")


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Computers talk to one another in binary, which looks like this:
It doesn't make sense to me or you, but it sure does to your computer!
Since we can't write in binary, we need to write our instructions in a programming language. They usually looks like weird English with a lot of semicolons and extra parentheses. Then a program called a compiler or interpreter converts our instructions into binary that the computer can understand.
There are hundreds of different programming languages, and they all make you type different things to get the same result. When you write your first program, it's traditional to make the computer print "Hello world" on the screen – take a look at how you do it in these four different languages:
#include <iostream> using namespace std; int main () { cout << 'Hello World!'; return 0; }
No programming language is really better than another – they all have different strengths and weaknesses. Some might be faster, or better in robots, or really good at making web pages. PHP, Ruby, and Python are three popular programming languages for the Web.
Cocktail Party Fact
Up until the mid-1980's, computer programs were written on cards with holes punched in them (punch cards). If we still used them today, a single iPhone picture would take up over 9,000 punch cards!


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The poker room at the Winstar Casino is one of my old haunts, though I haven't visited in quite some time. This past weekend I decided to head out to play some cards because new year's weekend is always a crazy weekend up there, and I wanted to record some sounds and have some fun.
Winstar Casino is right on the other side of the Texas/Oklahoma border and is almost exactly one hour from my house deep in Dallas, so the drive has its own kind of tempo and ritual to me. One thing I've been doing recently is driving around on the weekends and scouting remote recording locations, and what I've discovered is that West, South and East of Dallas is pretty thick with family farms and other densely packed private property - even out in the rural areas. North towards Oklahoma is a different story though, and its something that I intend on exploring further. Lots of wide open expanses of nothingness up there, and those empty winds will find the edge of my mics soon enough. Until then, it was time to play some poker.
The poker room at Winstar is incredibly unique sounding for a few reasons: First off it is seperated from the rest of the casino by a long hallway, meaning there are no sounds of slot machines, sports casts, or other typical casino pollutants. Second it's a very popular room, typically hosting a few hundred players at any given moment. Third, they don't turn on the music or sports sound in the poker room unless its a big game either. The players are polite and the dealers are lively, so its nothing but pure, clean poker in there.
As you walk down the hall from the casino to the poker room you can hear the shift from clattering slot machines to the smooth drone of hundreds of people stacking chips and playing cards very distinctly. By the time you get to the back of the room the rest of the casino is completely out of earshot.
I took a seat and bought in for obvious reasons: I wanted to play, I didn't want to look suspicious, and I wanted the cameras to forget about me.
After about an hour and a half, I took a break from the table and went to the grill to order some food. While I was waiting I took a seat in the back of the room, pulled out my D50, propped it on my leg (as you can see in the pic), plugged my ipod headphones in and started rolling. Now I was a little nervous because I was positive that the players at the tables near me wouldn't approve of me rolling in their vicinities and I didn't want the floor to get involved and toss me out. Also I was up a couple of hundred bucks and had most of my table read pretty well.
I consciously had iPhone headphones out and I had them plugged into my D50 and not my iphone so that I could try to pass it off as a music playback device, which are ubiquitous in poker rooms. I also had the fuzzy on top of the mics to conceal them. Further, I had my phone out on my leg and was web surfing and emailing so that the cameras and passerbys would have something to look at. Then I sat still, set levels and rolled.
Poker room amb-winstar by Rcoronado
After ten minutes of gold I figured I was set so I put the recorder back in my pocket, grabbed my sandwich and went back to my seat. After playing for a few more hours I was still ahead so I packed up and left. I considered catching the sounds of the casino down the hall, but I realized that I already had the more interesting sound in my possession and my dog was going to need to go outside and do her business pretty soon.
All in all a great trip, and I'm more inspired than ever to continue heading North and trekking for sounds.


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ProBikeWrench (aka Josh Bogs, @probikewrench) posted some great photos from the US National time trial on his blog. There seem to be a lot of them that feature some "random" tall cyclist wearing a the black 'The Shack' jersey. I'm gonna assume he is someone noteworthy (HA!)
You can also find Josh spreading his knowledge over at the VeloReviews podcast.
Thanks for posting the images, Josh!


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John W. Bluford Medical Pavilion at Truman Medical Centers Unveiled
Peggy Dunn, Chair of the Truman Medical Centers (TMC) Board of Directors, unveiled a rendering of the soon to be named John W. Bluford Medical Pavilion at Truman Medical Centers. Dunn and the TMC Board of Directors announced the naming of the pavilion building at a retirement celebration for Bluford.
"The Board voted unanimously to name the pavilion building on the Health Sciences District campus after John W. Bluford, to honor his 15 years of successful leadership and consistent improvement of TMC's financial health, reputation and quality of patient care," Dunn said.
The pavilion building, at 2301 Charlotte Street, has been part of the TMC Health Sciences District campus since it opened in 1998. One of Bluford's first initiatives upon arriving at TMC in early 1999 was to build and open an outpatient adult and women's health primary care facility, in the medical pavilion. The clinic opened in early 2000 and has served thousands of Kansas City residents.
"This is a high honor and I am humbled to see my name on a building at TMC," said John W. Bluford, TMC President/CEO. "I came here 15 years ago because I saw the potential in TMC, I saw the challenge in TMC, but I also saw the desire to be great in our supporters, our staff and in our city. I believe we have accomplished a great deal in moving TMC and healthcare in our community forward and I have been honored to be part of TMC."
Among the accomplishments Bluford is most proud of in his career include helping to change the culture of the organization to become more competitive, customer service oriented and more innovative. The TMC system has invested approximately $500 million in capital facility and equipment improvements during John's tenure. Other major accomplishments include TMC's recognition by the University Health System Consortium as one of the Top Five Academic Medical Centers in the country (2005) and achieving HIMSS Analytics Stage 7 in 2012, representing the top 2 percent of hospitals for information technology implementation. Additionally, Bluford is proud to have developed the TMC Corporate Academy, the Center for the Healing Arts Gallery, and launching a mobile market to bring healthy foods to those living in underserved communities.


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Cayo Coco
Cayo Coco is very relaxing and is the perfect place to go to if you want to do close to nothing for your vacation. You will find a few resorts, a spa, an international clinic (hospital), a night club (the Bat Cave) and an airport. In other words, there is not much to do or to visit there but sometimes all you need for your vacation is a little calm and quiet, and you will find that in Cayo Coco.
Other destinations[edit]
While beautiful in terms of nature, Cayo Coco is hardly part of typical Cuba. These islands are isolated from the mainland, connected only by a man-made causeway 27 kilometers long. Access is controlled by a security checkpoint.
A visit to Morón is a good way to see more of what Cuba really is like. Taxi drivers can organize inexpensive tours for groups of 4-5 people which may include visiting a country farmhouse.
The language spoken in Cayo Coco is Spanish. Cubans have free education and you will often find a Cuban able to speak many languages but sometimes not fluently. Most employees of all-inclusive hotels understand and speak some basic English. Outside of resorts, you may have some difficulties to communicate if you don`t understand or speak a little bit of Spanish.
Get in[edit]
Many airlines and charters fly to Cayo Coco airport (CCC), Jardines del Rey (king`s garden). From Canada, you have Air Canada, Sunwing, Westjet, Air Transat and Canjet that provides the service from many Canadian cities.
Get around[edit]
From the airport to resorts, your transportation is already organised in big comfortable buses. It takes about 15 minutes to get to the hotels which are all located around the same area on the north shore of Cayo Coco island. Your resort sometimes may organise disco to other resorts (so all the tourists of different resorts can party together) or go to the only night club located on Cayo Coco island, the bat cave. They provide the transportation in vans or buses for a minimum fee.
See[edit][add listing]
Playa Pilar is one of the most beautiful beaches of the world. It is possible to take the local bus (hop on, hop off style). It costs 5CUC, but it takes an hour because it stops at every resort and it's located in Cayo Guillermo Island. There's chairs in the beach but you have to pay 5CUC to use them. It is also possible to reach the beach by cathamaran but it depends it itinerary.
It is also possible to visit the nearest town Moron. We can also visit the capital city Ciego de Avila and a crocodile farm. Theres some tours organise from most of the resorts
Do[edit][add listing]
Most of the people come to Cayo Coco to enjoy the beautiful white sand beach and enjoy some hot weather while escaping the freezing Canadian winter. There's also many activites provided in most resort such as aquaform, dancing lesons or night shows.
Eat[edit][add listing]
Someone who decides to go to anywhere in Cuba needs to keep an open mind when mealtime arrives. They are very limited in resources and they don`t import anything from the U.S.A. Importation being very expensive since it`s mostly coming from Europe and Cuba is not a rich country...You do the math. They use well what they have and you will rarely eat something that taste bad unless you are a very picky person but you will sometime find the food a little bland. Cuban food is not spicy at all. They serve a lot of chicken, pork and fish. Plenty of vegetables. Some fruits. Here is a hint, bring steak spice and tabasco on your trip and you will always have seasonning.
Usually all the meals are inclued in most all inclusive resorts. Some of theme have snackbars, and à la carte restaurants.
Sleep[edit][add listing]
Several hotels - all "all-inclusive", most operated by foreign companies (mainly Sol Melia):
Stay safe[edit]
Its not a dangerous place, most people go for vacations, and there will be a lot of Americans and shouldn't be seen as a threat. Just stay close to your hotel, because getting lost where people do not speak English, or your dominate language would be very difficult, as you can imagine.
Get out[edit]
The nearest town is Morón. There's also a cavern converted into a disco place. It's a nice place to have a good. There's transportation form most resort to this cave.


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Warner Bros. has picked up remake rights to South Korea's surprise hit "The Chaser," and already the project is taking on the aura of the studio's last major Asian remake hit, "The Departed."
Early discussions are underway for William Monahan to write the script, with Leonardo DiCaprio circling to star, but no deals have yet been set.
Monahan won an Oscar for "The Departed."
Dan Lin, Doug Davison, Roy Lee and Monahan will be producers, with DiCaprio possibly ending up in some producing capacity as well.
Studio bought the project from Na Hong-jin, in a deal that was announced in Seoul on Thursday. WB paid $1 million plus various incentives based on the remake's box office performance. Kim Su-jin, head of production house Bidangil Pictures, will also receive a co-production credit.
The mid-budget thriller has earned more than $20 million in 20 days of release.
Pic is based loosely on the exploits of a real-life serial killer, played by Ha Jung-woo ("Never Forever").
Suh Youngjoo's new sales company Fine Cut unveiled the film at a private screening at Berlin's European Film Market in February and subsequently arranged a screening in Los Angeles.
Sales deals have already been clinched for France, Hong Kong, Greece and Benelux.
Monahan and DiCaprio just worked together on "Body of Lies," the Ridley Scott-directed WB thriller that also starred Russell Crowe.


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Planar T* 85 mm F1.4 ZA
The finest choice for portraits and more
If you're considering a full-frame medium-telephoto prime lens, you can't go wrong with the SAL85F14Z. This superb prime lens represents the finest performance available in the 85 mm class. With its large F1.4 maximum aperture, exceptional sharpness and stunning bokeh, it is ideal for hand-held shooting in low light, especially when used with SteadyShot INSIDE in-camera image stabilisation.
Planar T* 85 mm F1.4 ZA Compatibility
A-mount Full Frame Cameras
A-mount APS-C Cameras
E-mount Full Frame cameras with Mount Adapter
E-mount APS-C cameras with Mount Adapter
Sample photos
1/500s, F2.8
1/100s, F1.6
1/40s, F1.7
1/100s, F1.4
1/60s, F3.5
Consistent ZEISS quality at all apertures
From the widest F1.4 aperture to fully stopped down, this spectacular lens offers natural reproduction with superior sharpness, contrast and well-defined blacks.
Portraits your subjects will love
Superior image clarity, low distortion and smooth, natural background bokeh come together in portraits that your subjects will really appreciate.
Soft, smooth bokeh makes subjects pop
A 9-blade circular aperture works with this lens's F1.4 maximum aperture to produce beautifully smooth background bokeh with natural highlights when desired.
Easy, consistent focusing and control
Handling is enhanced by a focus hold button right on the lens barrel, and a wide focus ring that does not rotate during autofocus operation.
Lens Configuration
Legendary ZEISS® quality manufactured and calibrated specifically for Sony imaging products. The T* coating contributes to exquisite rendering and contrast.
MTF Chart
MTF (Modulation Transfer Function) describes how well a lens can reproduce fine details, measured as the degree of contrast achieved between finely spaced lines.
- Minimum focus distance
- 0.85 m
- Maximum Magnification ratio (x)
- 0.13x
- Filter Diameter (mm)
- 72 mm
- Weight
- 640 g (22.6 oz)
What's in the Box
Lens hood (ALC-SH0002: round shape, bayonet type), Lens front cap, Lens rear cap, Case


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Tips on Filleting a Whole Salmon
You'll Need:
A sharp, 8- to 10-inch flexible knife
A clean towel
A dry cutting board
Tweezers or needle-nose pliers
A whole wild salmon, cleaned
1. Remove the dorsal (top) fin.
2. Come behind the gill-plate at a 35- to 40-degree angle and cut half the width of the fish. Flip the salmon over and repeat, cutting straight through to remove the head.
3. Open the fish to locate the backbone. Using the bone as a guide, run your knife (at about a 10-degree angle) along the spine, holding the fish down with a towel to keep it from slipping. This will remove one side of the meat. Repeat this procedure on the other side to give you two large fillets.
4. Remove any extra skin, fat, or bones from fillets.
5. For skin-on fillets, cut the fish in 3- to 4-inch pieces (or desired width). Leaving the skin on preserves flavor and moisture, while also acting a cushion to protect the fish from burning.
6. To remove the skin before cutting into serving pieces, begin at the tail and, while holding taut, run your knife just above the skin.
7. To remove the rib bones, first locate them by using your finger to feel or by scraping the back of your knife over the fish. Using needle-nose pliers or a pair of tweezers, pull the bones out, one at a time.
8. Your salmon is now ready for your favorite recipe or for freezing.


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The PSN breach is national news in Japan, where Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano, one of the government's highest ranking officials, has chimed in about leaked player info.
"As for the prevailing view, it's necessary for private businesses must safeguard the personal information they have with the maximum care possible," said Edano. This information is highly sensitive and should be treated as such! A much more diplomatic response than that of a hopping mad U.S. senator.
The PSN breach has resulted in the personal information of over 70 million PSN users.
In March as Japan was rocked by natural disasters, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano was a regular on television, briefing the nation on the latest Fukushima developments. The internet dubbed Edano the "Jack Bauer" of the crisis, reported The Telegraph.
官房長官、ソニーの個人情報流出「最大限の対応を」 [Nikkei]


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Living Out of A Van, Part I: Here's How to Do it
Meet Austin Laurent. In the beginning of 2014, he left his job in IT to travel the country rock climbing with partner Dimitri Papazoglou. Tired of the cutthroat business-driven mindset of the Washington D.C. Metropolitan area, Austin wanted to climb on all the iconic rock faces that North America has to offer and explore natural wonders, while working to keep them natural and clean through a variety of volunteering opportunities.
Austin Laurent, Dimitri Papazoglou, and Bucephalus the Honda Odyssey.
He now lives out of a van – the climber's ultimate dream of being an unbound nomad, leaping from rock to rock. Here's his story on how to do it, straight from the source:
Are you tired of the 9 to 5 work grind? Do you want more excitement in your life, combined with a schedule that is absolutely free? Do you want to feel like nothing is holding you back from becoming exactly who you want to be and making real positive change in the world?
Then you should live in a van. It's an alternative lifestyle that many people are seeing not only as a viable option, but as a much better alternative to the typical modern lifestyle.
It's certainly not a decision to be made lightly.
You will have to sell or store most of your belongings. You will be leaving your friends, neighbors, and coworkers behind. You will have to live frugally for months before you depart in order to save the money to buy a vehicle, and all of the gear required to do whatever it is you want to do. You will have to give up the creature comforts of living in a house or apartment, and learn to love brushing your teeth on the side of the road and pooping in the woods.
Deciding to live in a van is a hard choice to make, but the rewards can easily outweigh the challenges. You will meet a variety of inspiring and wonderful people who will completely change your perspective on the world. You will rediscover the beauty of nature as you slowly forget what it was like to constantly be surrounded by sensationalized media and the endless drone of pop music. Most importantly, you will rediscover yourself as you land in novel situations that force you to view the world through different lenses. By the time you are ready to rejoin society, you will return as a newly forged version of yourself that has learned to be outgoing and extroverted by necessity, and welcomes adventure with a tenacity unparalleled by most. On top of that, you'll have a slew of engaging stories to tell, friends all over the world, and the power to inspire others to seek their own adventures.
Living in a van was clearly the best way to accomplish these goals as it gives you mobility, shelter, and lets you avoid the constant search for a place to set up a tent. When selecting your noble steed, you need to focus on a few key elements:
- Price
- Gas Mileage
- Size
- Features
I chose a Honda Odyssey for the reliability and the gas mileage. I picked up an '04 Odyssey for $4900, removed all the seats, built a sleeping platform in the back, and upgraded the stereo so I could play music with an auxiliary cable. It has leather seats that are comfy and easy to clean, a 2" tow hitch receiver so I could put bikes on the back, and it should run well into the 200,000 mile range with proper maintenance. Vehicular options range from less than $1000, all the way up to $15,000 if you want to get a retro VW sleeper van.
Style, comfort, and economy. What more could you want?
Once you have selected and modified your vehicle to your liking, you have to plan out a budget. Here's mine:
- Gas: $300/month
- Food: $300/month
- Car Insurance: $80/month
- Phone Bill: $60/month
- Misc: $20/month
- National Parks Pass: $80/year
- Emergency Fund: $1000
Minimum needed to survive per year: $10,200
This is a rough estimate, and you may have more or less expenses. You can also cut down by traveling with a partner and splitting the cost of things like things like gas, insurance, and other shared equipment.
Another budget-saver? Living off Soylent, an open sourced nutritional drink that provides you with all your daily needs. For Austin, it's also induced some wild lucid dreams… stay tuned for Living Out of A Van Part II: Soylent & Lucid Dreams.
See more of Austin on his blog, A Climbing Odyssey.


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Men's Flex VRT
The award-winning Tubbs Men's FLEX VRT Snowshoe delivers top backcountry performance with comfort and style.
Select Size Size Chart
Designed to deliver top backcountry performance, we've built the men's FLEX VRT snowshoe with a Tubbs DynamicFit™ binding and Boa® closure system that'll keep you on your feet in fine-tuned, all-day comfort. Once tension is distributed evenly around your foot and our FLEX Tail™ design kicks in to ease stress on your joints, you'll climb on – carefree – with the Tubbs FLEX VRT.
Included: One pair of snowshoes.
Men's Flex VRT
The award-winning Tubbs Men's FLEX VRT Snowshoe delivers top backcountry performance with comfort and style.
Product Zoom
|Optimal Load*
|Surface Area
|8" x 24"
|4.5 lbs
|Up to 190 lbs
|165 in²
|8" x 28"
|5 lbs
|Up to 220 lbs
|192 in²
*Optimal Load refers to the total weight of the user plus anything they are carrying, such as a pack, equipment, etc. Recommended loads are based on light, dry snow conditions. Powder snow may require a larger snowshoe.
- Features:
- Weight/Pair: 4.5 lbs/2.04 kg (24")
- Sizes available: 24, 28" (XL)
- Frame:
- Flex Deck™
- Decking:
- FLEX Tail™,Torsion Deck™
- Articulation:
- R1.5 Rotating Toe Cord
- Control:
- DynamicFit™ Binding
- Traction:
- Traction Rails,Viper 2.0™ Toe Crampon
- Uses Boa:
- Yes
Rotating Toe Cord - Rotation Limiter
Rotating Toe Cord design enables the tail of the snowshoe to drop and snow to shed off the tail, reducing cardio-respiratory strain by 7%. The underfoot pivot point also allows the toe traction teeth to bite deeply into the snow when weighted. A rotation limiter prevents over-rotation and shin bang.
DynamicFit Binding
The DynamicFit binding integrates the Boa Closure System with the comfort of EVA foam to produce even pressure distribution around your boot, creating precise fit and optimized control. Releasing the binding is as simple as pulling up on the Boa dial.
Viper 2.0 Crampon
Viper™ 2.0 carbon steel toe crampon with jagged tooth construction maximizes weighted traction and responsiveness.
Traction Rails
Carbon steel toe crampon, ergonomically placed under foot, maximizes weighted traction and responsiveness while 3D curved Traction Rails ensure superior side-hill grip in hard or icy conditions. Progressive molded Snow Brakes, on the deck as well as the Soft Strike zone, improve weighted traction.
FLEX Tail
The ergonomically and biomechanically designed FLEX Tail absorbs shock from heel strike, reducing the amount of stress on your joints and allowing you to snowshoe farther, longer and with less stress on your body.
Active Lift 19°
ActiveLift™ 19° heel lift reduces calf fatigue and Achilles tendon strain on steep ascents.
Torsion Deck
Tubbs' advanced Torsion Deck™ design adapts to variable snow conditions underfoot. The decks allow torsional articulation throughout the body of the snowshoe, enhancing traction, biomechanics and comfort on uneven terrain.


text:
Colin Dempster
|Hatboro, Pa. (Hatboro-Horsham HS)
2014 Track and Field: Finished third at the UAB Blazer Invitational in the 800 meters (1:54.87)… At the Emory Crossplex Invitational placed first in the 4x400-meter relay (3:21.79) and third in the 800 meters (1:56.63)… Finished second at the TSU Invite with a time of 49.30… Broke the indoor school record in the 400 meters at Hoosier Hills (48.28) and the 800 meters at the Samford Multi and Invitational (1:54.37)… Finished first with the 4x400-meter relay team at the A-Sun Indoor Championships (3:18.57)… Took second place at the Vanderbilt Black and Gold in both the 4x100-meter relay (42.11) and the 400 meters (48.08)… Won the 4x100-meter relay at the Georgia Invitational (42.55)… Placed second at the A-Sun Outdoor Championships in the 4x400-meter relay (3:14.19) and the 400 meters (47.29)... His 47.29 finish in the 400 meters broke the outdoor school record… Member of the 4x400-meter relay team breaking the indoor school record with a time of 3:16.67… Also broke the outdoor school record in the 4x400-meter with a time of 3:13.23.
2013 Track and Field: First career competition was at the TSU/Ed Temple Invite during the indoor season where he finished first in the 400m with a time of 49.40 and fourth in the 4x4 with a time of 3:23.14s... Finished the 400m at the SIU Saluki Open in 50.19s earning him a second-place finish... Also took second at the Niswonger Foundation Invitational in the 400m finishing the race in 49.18s... At the Tennessee State Invitational, finished the distance medley relay in 10:52.55s winning second... At Hoosier Hills, took home second in the 400m after completing the race in 49.01s and third in the 4x4 with a finishing time of 3:21.30s... Finished second in the 4x4 at the Atlantic Sun Conference Championship with a finishing time of 3:19.28s, and also took home third in the 400m after crossing the line in 49.04... During the outdoor season, won first place in the 800m with a time of 1:55.20s at the BSC 'Southern Invitational... Finished the 4x1 at the Rhodes Open in 42.30s taking home third place... Earned a second-place finish in the 400m at the Vanderbilt Black and Gold Meet crossing the line in 48.35s... At the A-Sun Outdoor Championships, captured a first-place win in the 4x4 with a time of 3:13.97s... Also snagged a third-place finish in the 4x1 finishing in 41.01s and a second-place finish in the 400m with a time of 47.63, his current personal best.
Prep: Ran sprints for D.J. Fromal at Hatboro-Horsham (Pa.) High School... State finalist in the 400m dash as a sophomore, the youngest competitor in the field... All-league in the 100, 200 and 400m dashes... Owns school records in the 60m and 200m (indoor) and the 100m, 400m and 4x800m relay (outdoor).
Personal: Son of Daniel and Joanne Dempster... One brother (Cameron)... Plans to major in sports medicine... Chose Lipscomb due to the great atmosphere.


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About securing Splunk Enterprise with SSL
This section describes the types of Splunk configurations that you might want to secure with SSL.
About the default certificates
Splunk software ships with, and is configured to use, a set of default certificates. These certificates discourage casual snoopers but could still leave you vulnerable, because the root certificate is the same in every Splunk download and anyone with the same root certificate can authenticate.
The default certificates are generated and configured at startup and can be found in
$SPLUNK_HOME/etc/auth/. They are set to expire three years after they are generated and new certificates must be created and configured at that time.
- For information about the default certificate for Splunk Web, see "Turn on encryption (https) with Splunk Web." or "Turn on encryption (https) using web.conf."
- For information about SSL for forwarding with the default certificate, see "Configure Splunk forwarding to use the default certificate."
Ways you can secure Splunk Enterprise
You can apply encryption and/or authentication using your own certificates for:
- Communications between the browser and Splunk Web
- Communication from Splunk forwarders to indexers
- Other types of communication, such as communications between Splunk instances over the management port
The table below describes the most common scenarios and the default SSL settings:
|Type of exchange
|Node A function
|Node B function
|Certificate Authentication
|Common Name checking
|Type of data exchanged
|Browser to Splunk Web
|Splunk Web
|NOT enabled by default
|dictated by client (browser)
|dictated by client (browser)
|configuration and search data
|Splunk Web to search head
|Splunk Web
splunkd as a search head
|enabled by default
|NOT enabled by default
|NOT enabled by default
|configuration and search data
splunkd as a forwarder
splunkd as an indexer
|NOT enabled by default
|NOT enabled by default
|NOT enabled by default
|data to be indexed
|Deployment server to deployment clients
splunkd as a deployment client
splunkd as deployment server
|enabled by default
|NOT enabled by default
|NOT enabled by default, SSL is not recommended, use Pass4SymmKey instead
|configuration data
|Distributed search
splunkd as search peer
splunkd as a search head
|Enabled by default
|NOT enabled by default
|NOT enabled by default, SSL is not recommended, use Pass4SymmKey instead
|search data
|Search head clusters
splunkd as cluster members
splunkd as cluster members
|Not enabled by default
|NOT enabled by default
|NOT enabled by default, SSL is not recommended, use Pass4SymmKey instead
|cluster data
|Search head cluster deployer
splunkd as cluster members
splunkd as cluster deployer
|Enabled by default
|NOT enabled by default
|NOT enabled by default, SSL is not recommended, use Pass4SymmKey instead
|configuration data
|Indexer cluster peer nodes
splunkd as indexer cluster peer nodes
splunkd as indexer cluster peer nodes
|NOT enabled by default. You must use the
replication_port-ssl setting in
server.conf to enable replication of data over SSL
|NOT enabled by default
|NOT enabled by default, SSL is not recommended, use Pass4SymmKey instead
|replication data
|Indexer cluster master
splunkd as peer and search head nodes
splunkd as a master node
|Enabled by default
|NOT enabled by default
|NOT enabled by default, SSL is not recommended, use Pass4SymmKey instead
|cluster data
Communications between the browser and Splunk Web
Browser to Splunk Web data most commonly consists of search requests and returned data.
Data encryption (HTTPS) can be easily turned on using Splunk Web, or by editing the configuration files. Keep in mind that encryption with the default certificate protects against casual listening but is not fully secure.
For better security, replace the default certificates with certificates signed by a trusted CA. We strongly recommend using CA certs rather than signing your own in this case. Unless you have the ability to add your CA to the certificate stores in every browser that will access Splunk Web, a self-signed certificate is considered untrusted by users' browsers. For more information, see "About securing Splunk Web."
Splunk forwarders to indexers
Data sent from forwarders to indexers is the data that your indexers use for searches and reports. Depending upon your organization and the nature and format of the data being transmitted and Splunk configuration, this data may or may not be readable or sensitive.
Securing sensitive raw data helps to avoid snooping and man-in-the-middle attacks.
You can turn on SSL encryption using the default certificate to provide encryption and compression. However, communication using the default certificate does not provide secure authentication, as the certificate password is supplied with every installation of Splunk software. The default certificates are set to expire three years after initial startup, and forwarder to indexer communications will fail at this point.
For better security, require certificate authentication using a self- or CA-signed certificate. A certificate signed by a known and mutually trusted Certificate Authority is considered more secure by outside parties than a certificate you sign yourself. For more information about using certificates with Splunk forwarders and indexers, see "About securing data from forwarders."
Other SSL communications
Other Splunk communications happen between different instances of Splunk software over the management port, usually but not always in a distributed environment. An example of this is configuration data sent by a deployment server to clients. This type of SSL encryption is enabled by default. For most configurations this is adequate and is the recommended security method. However, if you do need to secure your communications with SSL authentication, we've provided some guidelines to help you in "About securing Splunk to Splunk communication" in this manual.
To learn about more ways to use TLS certificates, see the following topics:
Getting your certificates
If you are experienced with SSL certificates, you can create them as you normally would and go straight to configuring your Splunk instances to use them.
If you need help getting your certificates together, we've provided very simple examples using OpenSSL commands. (OpenSSL ships with Splunk software)
- How to self-sign certificates
- How to get third-party certificates
- How to self-sign certificates for Splunk Web
- How to get third-party certificates for Splunk Web
What to do when you have your certificates
The following topics provide more information about configuring Splunk software to use your certificates once you have them:
Use the getSearchFilter function to filter at search time
About using SSL tools on Windows and Linux
This documentation applies to the following versions of Splunk® Enterprise: 6.0, 6.0.1, 6.0.2, 6.0.3, 6.0.4, 6.0.5, 6.0.6, 6.0.7, 6.0.8, 6.0.9, 6.0.10, 6.0.11, 6.0.12, 6.0.13, 6.0.14, 6.0.15, 6.1, 6.1.1, 6.1.2, 6.1.3, 6.1.4, 6.1.5, 6.1.6, 6.1.7, 6.1.8, 6.1.9, 6.1.10, 6.1.11, 6.1.12, 6.1.13, 6.1.14, 6.2.0, 6.2.1, 6.2.2, 6.2.3, 6.2.4, 6.2.5, 6.2.6, 6.2.7, 6.2.8, 6.2.9, 6.2.10, 6.2.11, 6.2.12, 6.2.13, 6.2.14, 6.2.15, 6.3.0, 6.3.1, 6.3.2, 6.3.3, 6.3.4, 6.3.5, 6.3.6, 6.3.7, 6.3.8, 6.3.9, 6.3.10, 6.3.11, 6.3.12, 6.3.13, 6.3.14, 6.4.0, 6.4.1, 6.4.2, 6.4.3, 6.4.4, 6.4.5, 6.4.6, 6.4.7, 6.4.8, 6.4.9, 6.4.10, 6.4.11, 6.5.0, 6.5.1, 6.5.2, 6.5.3, 6.5.4, 6.5.5, 6.5.6, 6.5.7, 6.5.8, 6.5.9, 6.5.10, 6.6.0, 6.6.1, 6.6.2, 6.6.3, 6.6.4, 6.6.5, 6.6.6, 6.6.7, 6.6.8, 6.6.9, 6.6.10, 6.6.11, 6.6.12, 7.0.0, 7.0.1, 7.0.2, 7.0.3, 7.0.4, 7.0.5, 7.0.6, 7.0.7, 7.0.8, 7.0.9, 7.0.10, 7.0.11, 7.0.13


text:
Menifee's City Council may have not only just made a pivotal decision in the city's young history, it could be setting precedent.
With Tuesday's decision to approve former Temecula City Manager Shawn Nelson's executive consultant contract, Councilman Wallace Edgerton believes Menifee is moving in on the ground floor of a paradigm shift that could save cities money on benefits and severance packages and allow elected officials to make objective decisions when they hire, fire and retain their chief executives.
Call it reciprocal management, Edgerton said.
"This could be the prototype for cities in the future," Edgerton said before the council unanimously approved Nelson as a consultant who will work alongside Interim City Manager Rob Johnson.
Edgerton added: "There's a lot of advantages to working this way because once you hire a new city manager, you've put your feet in cement."
Menifee, however, isn't doing that.
Instead, the young city is fostering staff and municipal development under the watchful eye of Nelson, who helped build freeways, libraries, civic centers and dozens of parks in more than two decades with Temecula, including 13 as its city manager.
In Menifee, Nelson will earn $126,000 a year, including $500 a month for expenses, Johnson will continue to serve as the interim city manager at an annual salary of about $160,000 and the council will monitor how this team concept plays out for a 4-year-old city looking for stability in both its short- and long-term leadership.
"I'm looking forward to seeing how this works out," Councilman John Denver said. "Let's give Rob some time and let's give Shawn some time with his tasks and see how it goes."
One thing's for sure: Nelson's earning power continues to thrive just a few years removed from making more than $330,000 annually as Temecula's chief executive.
With his executive consultant contract with Menifee and the paychecks that he will collect through March 2014 because of the amount of paid time off that he accrued as a high-ranking employee upon his leaving the city of Temecula in 2011, Nelson will earn about $390,000 over the next 12 months.
For all that money and all the praise heaped on Nelson over the last couple of weeks, Councilman Greg August cited a constituent's letter when he said Nelson ought to make Menifee "glow in the dark."
"That's the goal," Nelson said from the audience.
Although the new Johnson-Nelson salary combo -- $286,000 -- compares to the $270,000 to $288,000 that former City Manager Bill Rawlings and Johnson were budgeted to receive, the city will save a considerable amount because it will not owe Nelson any kind of health benefits or severance packages that traditionally come with employment contracts.
With its last permanent city manager, for instance, the city paid Rawlings nearly $184,000 as part of his severance package, in addition to nearly two years of health, dental, vision and life insurance, as well as sick and vacation hours earned while he was on the job from January 2011 until November 2012.
"The orthodox way of doing it by most cities and the way we've done it in the past is to go out -- and every time it's kind of a crisis -- and you line up a bunch of city managers and you've got to hire one and they come in with a (contract that includes a) big severance package. It's all part of the big package."
Menifee is rewriting that tradition with Tuesday's developments.
Johnson will continue to run the day-to-day operations of the city as he has the last three months, while Nelson will tackle a number of big-picture tasks while reporting directly to the City Council, including strategic planning, economic development, staff development and training, and organizational development.
Although Councilman Tom Fuhrman supported Nelson's hiring, he did say he hoped to see a definitive game plan in the not-too-distant future.
"We're throwing a blanket over City Hall and saying, 'Mr. Nelson, jump in there and fix it,'" Fuhrman said. "Myself, I'd rather see targets and a scope of work and I would like to see two months from now a progress report, recommendations and … some great ideas that you have to fix it."
Whatever Nelson comes up with, passing his knowledge -- "That's what we're paying for," Edgerton said -- on to Johnson without over-committing future taxpayers' dollars is a key part of a paradigm shift that the council hopes has staying power.
Whether or not Johnson becomes the city's next permanent chief executive, the council is getting a long look at his abilities free of the political and financial discussions that often come with hiring, firing and retaining city managers, Edgerton said.
"Now, we're looking at a pool of managers who have already done it, who have already retired, and who have a proven track record," Edgerton said of hiring executive consultants to help run cities. "Most of us who are retired just don't want to quit. One of the most fun things you can do after spending a lifetime of doing something is to teach. If you were to talk to Shawn, and I have, that's a big kick for him.
"Now it's his opportunity to give."


text:
Last summer, in a private email message, the open source and compatibility program manager for Google's Android mobile operating system told a colleague that Google uses Android compatibility as a "club" to make phone makers "do what we want".
As reported by The New York Times, the email was turned up as part of the lawsuit brought against Google by Skyhook Wireless, the Boston-based outfit that pioneered the art of pinpointing a mobile device's location based on Wi-Fi and cell-tower signals. Filed this past September, Skyhook's suit accuses Google of using Android to strong-arm handset makers into choosing Google's location technology rather than Skyhook's.
In April 2010, Motorola and Samsung agreed to use Skyhook's location services, but in July, both companies dropped Skyhook in favor of Google's competing services. In its suit, Skyhook claims that Google Android boss Andy Rubin told Motorola co-CEO Sanjay Jha that if Motorola didn't drop Skyhook from its Android phones, Google would remove official Android support from the handsets. Without official support, Motorola could not use the Android trademark or proprietary Google services such as the Android Market or Google Maps. Although Google bills Android as an "open" platform, Skyhook's suit argues, the company retains tight control over how it is used.
Google requires Android handset makers to meet certain "compatibility" requirements designed to limit fragmentation of the Android market. According to the Skyhook suit, Google used these requirements as an excuse to force Skyhook off handsets. In another email turned up by the case, from June 2, 2010, a Motorola executive told Skyhook that Skyhook's location technology "renders the device no longer Android Compatible". Google has called Skyhook's suit "baseless".
Last week, a judge denied a Google effort to have Skyhook's case dismissed, and along with the judge's order, the court released various Google emails from the case. In one of these emails, from August 6, 2010, Dan Morrill – Google's open source and compatibility program manager – says in passing that phone makers are well-aware that "we are using compatibility as a club to make them do things we want".
Skyhook's suit accuses Google of "unfair and intentional interference with its contractual and business relations", claiming Google cost it "in excess of tens of millions of dollars". Morrill's email may or may not support Skyhook's case. But at the very least, the email exposes – yet again – Google's amusingly meaningless use of the word "open", a habit it shares with tech companies across the industry.
In April 2010, the same month Skyhook signed its deal with Motorola, Dan Morrill published a blog post that took aim at Steve Jobs for banning iPhone applications that had been translated from Adobe Flash and other development languages not expressly approved by Apple. "Openness is more than the absence of closed. Openness does not come automatically just because you deploy an industry standard," Morrill said.
"Openness means you recognize the real, additive value that disparate products and businesses bring to your platform. It doesn't mean tolerating competition, it means valuing competition. You only really value openness when you quietly thank your higher power of choice that your competitor just took advantage of the opportunity to destroy your business on your own platform."
Morrill concluded with a direct swipe at Apple's famous boss. "Steve Jobs, you fail at open," he said.
Morrill's characterization of Android compatibility as a "club" wielded against phone makers is just a single comment, made in passing. But it doesn't exactly jibe with his own definition of openness. We're reminded of Google's Android boss Andy Rubin sparring with Steve Jobs. After Jobs called Google's open claims "disingenuous", Rubin released his first ever Tweet:
the definition of open: "mkdir android ; cd android ; repo init -u git://android.git.kernel.org/platform/manifest.git ; repo sync ; make"
Translation: Open means you can use a command line to create a directory, download the Android source code, and build your own OS. But just weeks later, Google acknowledged that although the first Android Honeycomb tablets had hit the market, it would not release the Honeycomb source code for the foreseeable future.
Many have defended Google for keeping the Honeycomb code closed, reiterating Google's claim that this tablet-centric version of the OS is not yet ready for phones, and they've defended Google for keeping tight control over its Android partners. But the point that's missed here is that Google has been so self-righteous in its constant claims that Android is open. This is supposedly the pillar on which Android is built, the marketing message that Google has pushed so strongly in an attempt to win the goodwill of developers.
If Dan Morrill hadn't attacked Steve Jobs with such extreme language, if he hadn't implied that Google is the sort of company that thanks God when a competitor tries to use Android to destroy Android, his "club" email might read very differently. ®
Sponsored: Webcast: Discover and secure all of your attack surface


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Replies to This Discussion
I'm a beginner too, but I'm sure I could catch on pretty quickly. I'm available every other weekend to play and sometimes on the weekdays.
Sounds good! I haven't been playing. I need to start up again. Hit me up when you're ready
Let me know if still interested, i'm a beginner too, and want to start playing again.
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Dr. Erik Hansen, an orthopedic surgeon at UCSF, specializes in reconstructive, replacement and revision surgery of the hip and knee. He discusses joint replacement and arthritis care. Recorded on 02/25/2014. (#27890)
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What happens when your favorite social network website locks you out? Why, you sue of course!
That's what Mustafa Fteja of Staten Island is doing. Fteja was locked out of his Facebook account last September. After many failed attempts to get assistance from the company, he's decided to take them to court for $500,000, reports the New York Post.
"You call, they don't answer the phone. You write, they don't reply," he said - leaving him no choice but to go to court to get what he considers his property back.
U.S. & World
News from around the country and around the globe
"I lived in a communist country where people had no rights. This looks the same to me," the Montenegro native said.
"I'm not doing this for money. I'm doing this for justice. I believe there should be some, somewhere," he said.
The lawsuit claims Fteja has spent timeless hours building relationships and creating content, and he is owned compensation for it being taken away from him. He also charges Facebook with religious discrimination, as Fteja is Muslim.
Facebook had no comment.


text: As I enter a new phase of my career, I urge parents to remember how much influence they have to help their kids grow into financially healthy adults. By Janet Bodnar, Editor-at-Large January 7, 2009 This week marks a milestone for me. As of January 1, I became editor of Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine. Taking the reins of a financial publication in the midst of a financial crisis is challenging, to say the least. But it's also exciting. With a staff of personal-finance journalists who are second to none, plus a 62-year history of giving advice that's both practical and trustworthy, we at Kiplinger's are in a unique position to help our audience just when they need it most. I'll continue writing about children and money, a franchise I've been nurturing since 1993. My new responsibilities don't allow me the time to write a column every week. But as editor of the magazine I'll be directing and expanding all of the family-oriented coverage. Sponsored Content And I'd still very much like to hear what you think we should be writing about. Please continue to e-mail your questions and comments to me at email@example.com. Advertisement Lately, interest in teaching kids about money seems to have reached a crescendo. I've been barraged with requests from the media to offer advice on how parents can talk to their children about the current situation, especially if families accustomed to lavishing money on their kids have to cut back: Talking to Young Kids About the Financial Crisis Talking to Teens About the Financial Crisis Money Missteps in Parenting Putting Santa on a Budget Yes, You Can Say No to Your Kids What Santa is Bringing to My House One message I give parents is to have faith in themselves and confidence in their children. Years of writing about kids and money, during which I've heard from thousands of parents and children, have convinced me that parents have power. Children consistently say that Mom and Dad are their primary sources of information about money -- beating out schools, their peers and the media. So kids will listen when you speak. Don't worry if your own money-management skills are less then perfect. Take this as an opportunity to beef up your saving, pay off your debt, and make a smart purchase or two, and you can tell your kids how you got your own finances in order. If that means you have to spend less on your children, that's not necessarily a bad thing. The whole point of discussing financial issues with your kids is to help them grow into independent adults with a healthy attitude toward money and the ability to manage it. And lavishing cash on them defeats that purpose. Advertisement You want to teach your children not just the value of a buck but also the values that go along with it: self-discipline, personal responsibility, thrift, generosity, deferred gratification, planning for the future. If children acquire those traits in the context of managing money successfully, they'll be able to use them to manage other aspects of their lives as well.


text:
I ran across this phrase in an old email and realized how prophetic it is.
Whenever you hear the dismissive phrase, "They are just a handful of troublemakers", you are listening to the opening bars of an organization's or country's swan song.
It is the most accurate sign that an organization or country has lost touch with its public. It signifies that the person, organization, or country no longer feels the need to keep a finger on the pulse of the group which is supposedly supporting it in some way. By support, I mean both voluntary and coerced support.
Voluntary support of a country's administration is shown through voting and other supportive actions like donations of time and money.
Coerced support is through taxation and enforced following of arbitrary regulations with penalties for noncompliance.
You begin hearing this phrase long before popular sentiment approaches open revolt and public ridicule. It is used by clueless rulers or cunning administrators with delusions of grandeur who think they have full media support and complete control of public relations messaging.
The handful of troublemakers who are angry enough to be noticed are the tip of a volcano full of seething people who have not had enough upset to explode yet. The troublemakers may be sincere or criminal, but their presence is a sign that communication has been cut between the governing and the governed and the end result is almost always explosive if communication cannot be restored.
When the explosion comes, those who consider themselves in the ruling class are always surprised by the enormous response to what they may consider a trivial act.
It was a handful of trouble makers who triggered America's move from a colony to an independent nation.
It was a handful of initial troublemakers who sparked the protests to the Korean and Vietnam and subsequent wars and served to change our opinion of our military and political leaders.
Today, in our world of almost instant communication, a handful of dedicated troublemakers can expose the frailties and insanities of our political leaders within hours of any stupid or criminal activity.
It could be an incautious remark by a public official in a public or private statement or it could be the self-centered focus on vacations and golf by our president while the country is assailed by enemies within and without.
We are all sitting on a volcano of suppressed rage that can find an explosive outlet at any time.
Ignoring or dismissing troublemakers and failing to understand their grievances will result in eventual mutiny and breakdown of law and order.
The Declaration of Independence says, "Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed."
When consent is withheld, government puts itself at risk. Good government and good leadership alike pay attention to all constituents, including those handfuls of troublemakers.