text: Is it true that transferring digital files affect the sound quality? 2017-03-28 00:15:26 Pardon me if I ask this question in a wrong sub-forum.I'm curious about this topic. I heard claims about transferring digital files is likely to reduce the sonic quality of the file itself due to the transcoding process so it's best to store a rip in flac/wav on a dedicated harddisk. I find this to be non-sense. I thought the only way to affect sonic quality in such a way is by converting it to analog and do some processing which is why analog equipments are inferior since the signal is so fragile and there are so many things going on in a hi-fi system that may interfere the sound. However, it does happen that way with cassette tapes and vinyl but they are analog while CD, flac, mp3, etc are digital. I thought that digital audio is also invented as a solution to this problem. Interestingly, my young brother(far younger than me, he's in his 20s)swear by this which got me thinking about it. He said that it is very possible to affect the analog signal with digital process such as converting flac to mp3 128kps. I told him that isn't the same with transferring because it's a digital way of processing the analog signal and not simply sending the digital data to another medium. I also told him that his way of thinking is like saying CD transport does matter in achieving a good sound quality(we previously agreed that it was not). However, we haven't reach an agreement so I'm still curious about it.


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subset: commoncrawl


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Facebook mined its data to announce that 70 percent of its users in the United States have a gay, lesbian or bisexual friend.
The 70 percent number is significant because it could indicate that America is becoming comfortable with the LGBT community, according to the Wall Street Journal, and that could lead to changes in legislation.
Of course, there are limitations to the Facebook statistic -- not everyone is on Facebook, and not every friend is truly a close friend. However, with 190 million users in the United States and Canada, that's a pretty good chunk of the population. Also, not every person is "out" or identifies as LGBT on Facebook, nor does having a gay friend mean you support gay marriage.
U.S. & World
News from around the country and around the globe
However, the 70 percent number seems to corroborate a Pew survey which said that 87 percent of American personally know someone gay or lesbian. A WSJ poll last year found a 65 percent number.


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Qaddafi, Muammar al-
Muammar al- Qaddafi (mōōäm-mär´ äl-käd-dä´fē), 1942–2011, Libyan army officer and dictator. He graduated from the Univ. of Libya in 1963 and became an army officer in 1965. In 1969 he formed, along with a group of fellow officers, a secret revolutionary committee and led (1969) a successful coup against the monarchy of Idris I. Qaddafi established himself as Libya's commander in chief and chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council.
Blending Arab nationalism, revolutionary socialism, and Islamic orthodoxy, he established a stridently anti-Western dictatorship and acquired a reputation for ruthless rule and eccentric personal behavior. British and American military bases were closed in 1970; in the same year the property of Libya's Italian and Jewish communities was confiscated. The ancient Qur'anic law of cutting off the hands of thieves was reinstituted, gambling and alcoholic beverages were outlawed, and all foreign petroleum assets were nationalized (1973). He also sought to unify Libya with other Arab countries, including Egypt and Tunisia, while bitterly opposing Israel.
The Libyan government supported many international terrorist and guerrilla organizations, including the Irish Republican Army, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), and other extremist Arab and Islamic groups. In 1986 the United States sought to quell Libya's alleged terrorist activities by bombing several sites in Libya. Qaddafi survived, but several of his children were hurt or killed. In 1999, following the turning over of the suspects in the Lockerbie bombing, Qaddafi sought improved relations with Western European nations and issued a denunciation of terrorism. He also was a strong force behind the Organization of African Unity's decision to transform itself into the African Union.
There were a number of challenges to his rule, but none were successful until 2011 during the Arab Spring uprisings. Widespread protests were brutally crushed in many cities, but with international support a rebellion took hold in E Libya and parts of W Libya and led to civil war. By Oct., 2011, the rebels had secured control of much of Libya, including the capital, when Qaddafi was killed in the battle for Surt (Sirte). His Green Book (2 vol., 1976–80) is a treatise on his version of Islamic socialism. His name is also spelled Moammar El-Gadhafi.


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From 01/12/2012 to 02/10/2012
- 08:16 PM Revision 6499f09b: Arduino now reads 2 sonars and publishes
- It publishes to /range_up and /range_down, from pins A0 and A1.
- 07:46 PM Revision 58d82c77: Added mikrokopter/arduino, which uses rosserial
- It currently runs on an Arduino Uno, and successfully gives data back to
the computer over USB. With a few changes (o...
- 04:31 PM Task #1992 (Assigned): USB to micro USB cable
- We need a USB to micro (NOT mini) USB cable for the Arduino that we can keep in the Quadrotor box.
- 04:48 PM Revision 05e1c990: Fixed immediate runtime error
- Moved the TransformListener initialization into the target_cb, so that
it wouldn't try to initialize a NodeHandle bef...
- 11:02 PM Revision 80eadc1e: Created the vision package
- For now there is a skeleton of v2v3_converter (without the math) which
will take in a TargetDescriptor (x, y, size) a...
- 06:25 PM Revision 2e0d5712: Oops. Accidentally commited some of the build files. Deleting them now.
- 06:23 PM Revision ba6306a1: Adding joy package for joystick control. Takes a joystick working with linux a...
- 06:21 PM Revision fd29b28e: Tested velocity control and added yaw and throttle control to joystick.
- 11:21 PM Revision 5d4b79f4: Added joystick_control node, with a skeleton of a JoystickControl class,
- modeled after the keyboard_control node. Eventually it will take
messages from joy_node and call velocity_control in ...
- 06:23 PM Revision bc4b408e: Added velocity_control to MikrocopterControl class, which was added to
- work with joystick control. Takes forward and lateral speeds and
combines them to set pitch and roll.
Also available in: Atom


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Welcome to 40 Days in the Word! This teaching series and corresponding small group curriculum shows you how to not just hear
the Word, but to be a doer of the Word as well.
In this campaign, you'll listen to weekly teachings, go through the materials with your small group and return to this page
each day for your daily video devotion, scripture reading, tools, and for your group's outreach project.
Daily video devotions, scripture reading, tools and more.
Select, plan, and initiate a group outreach project.
Join Pastor Rick and transform your people from hearers to doers.
© 2011 - 2012 40DaysInTheWord.com. All rights reserved.


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Product 4/6
Vulcanized -"Vulc" shoes are light, flexible and break in quickly. The sole consists of several layers of rubber, glued together then attached to the upper with rubber foxing tape. Vulcanized soles don't provide as much foot protection or support as cupsoles, but they are preferred if you're looking for good board feel in a shoe with less weight and bulk.Details
Original Waffle Outsole -Back in '66 Paul van Doren made the first soles of his new shoes twice as thick so they would wear longer. That decision ended up defining the company when the world's first skateboarders discovered how Vans' Waffle Outsole let them feel their board while staying firmly connected to it.


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Olimpia put one hand on the Copa Libertadores trophy with a 2-0 victory at home to Atletico Mineiro in the first leg of the final. A superb individual goal from Alejandro Silva before the break and Wilson Pittoni's last-gasp free-kick against the ten-man visitors will send Ever Hugo Almeida's men to Belo Horizonte as the firm favourites to win the competition for a fourth time.
The game started brightly, flowing from end to end. Atletico forward Diego Tardelli was the first to ripple the net, though his clever lob was ruled out for offside, before Silva broke the deadlock midway through the half. The 23-year-old collected possession on the right, cut inside two opponents and, from the edge of the box, fired a low drive in off the post.
Silva was nevertheless booked for removing his shirt in celebration and will now miss the second leg at the Mineirao next Wednesday.
Atletico began knocking the ball around nicely following the restart, and from one series of passes, Diego Tardelli spun his marker superbly on the edge of the box but pulled his shot wide.
Ronaldinho, whose set-pieces and overall play had been wasteful, was withdrawn on the hour. Without their iconic No10, the Brazilians played some purposeful football but struggled to create any meaningful chances, which the Paraguayans were able to do on the counter-attack.
Fredy Bareiro was nonetheless guilty of missing two glaring ones in the last ten minutes. First, after Victor had made a fine save from Juan Ferreyra, Bareiro was unable to find an unguarded net from six yards. Then, after racing into the penalty area, he shot into the side-netting from close-range.
Atletico, chasing their first Libertadores crown, were dominating the possession in the closing minutes, but that all changed when Richarlyson was sent off for needlessly collecting another booking.
Olimpia went up the other end and earned a free-kick on the edge of the box, which Pittoni took. It appeared as though his curler would be dealt with comfortably, but substitute Alecsandro, the brother of Richarlyson, got in the way of Victor and missed an attempted header as the ball sailed home off the underside of the crossbar.
Cuca's team now have it all to do. However, they will be buoyed by recovering a two-goal first-leg deficit to eliminate Newell's Old Boys in the semi-finals and the return of jet-heeled Brazil international Bernard, who was suspended for the 2-0 defeat at Olimpia.


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For the both of you looking to buy a Zune (I kid, I kid), the options will be limited come September 15. Microsoft is doing away with the current Zune line and will only manufacture its upcoming Zune HD in 16-and-32-gigabyte flavors for $220 and $290, respectively.
Both sizes come considerably cheaper than the Zune HD's natural predator, the iPod Touch, which sells for $300 for a 16GB and $400 for 32GB. That's subject to change during Apple's September 9th event, as the company regularly lowers its iPod family prices with each big announcement.
If you want to get yourself a Zune, I'd wait until the HD hits and current models have their prices pushed down.
U.S. & World
Via Wired
For more gadget news, check out DVICE.com.
Copyright DVICE - DVICE


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Lake Forest, IL — The economy is continuing to affect the profits of Life Fitness as well as its parent company, Brunswick Corp., Lake Forest, IL. Brunswick's fitness segment, comprised of the Life Fitness division that manufactures and sells Life Fitness and Hammer Strength fitness equipment, experienced its second quarter in a row of lower sales. In the first quarter 2009, sales for Life Fitness decreased by 21 percent, coming in at $118.6 million, compared to $149.2 million in first quarter 2008. Fourth quarter 2008 sales had also decreased, coming in at $171.8 million, which was 20 percent lower than fourth quarter 2007.
International sales, which represent 45 percent of the total segment sales in the first quarter, declined by 16 percent on a year-to-year basis. The fitness segment reported operating earnings of $0.3 million, including $1 million of restructuring charges, in first quarter 2009 compared to earnings of $8.1 million in first quarter 2008.
Commercial equipment sales, which account for the largest percentage of Brunswick's fitness segment sales, declined in the quarter as gym and fitness club operators remained cautious about ordering equipment, the company stated in a press release. Sales of consumer exercise equipment experienced a sharper decline year-over-year, reflecting the effects of the weak economy, the company added.
Brunswick's total sales of $734.7 million for the company were down 45 percent compared to $1.35 billion in 2008. The company experienced a net loss of $184.2 million. Brunswick plans to increase its cost-cutting efforts as it expects 2009 cost savings of $240 million, up from its previous estimate of $200 million.


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Battey Farm, Harrisville, Burrillville, Providence Co., Rhode Island, USA
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Mineral List
4 entries listed. 2 valid minerals.
The above list contains all mineral locality references listed on mindat.org. This does not claim to be a complete list. If you know of more minerals from this site, please register so you can add to our database. This locality information is for reference purposes only. You should never attempt to visit any sites listed in mindat.org without first ensuring that you have the permission of the land and/or mineral rights holders for access and that you are aware of all safety precautions necessary.


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This is Black History Month and Porchlight Music Theatre's thoroughly entertaining production of "Ain't Misbehavin" is a timely reminder of the golden Harlem Renaissance milestone in African-American culture and US culture as a whole.
For those of us who have seen "After Midnight" on Broadway, (read Splash review of "After Midnight" here) the comparison to "Ain't Misbehavin" commands attention.
Both are entertaining to the max and overflowing with talent. The difference is that the big budget Broadway production throws a lot of money to pop star talent, costumes and staging more in keeping with Busby Berkeley extravaganzas than the intimate Harlem clubs that "Ain't Misbehavin" so aptly captures.
Broadway is Broadway but Chicago's production of "Ain't Misbehavin" sure has equal heavy hitter triple threat talent. As Porchlight's slogan says, this is "American musicals, Chicago style", and a great style it is! The five songsters – Robin Da Silva, Sharriese Hamilton, Donterrio Johnson, Lorenzo Rush Jr., and Lina Wass—were overflowing with saucy or blues as the song - -or song and dance--required. All shone in solo spotlights in their turn, where they were stellar without fail, and also each worked flawlessly as part of the spirited ensemble.
The play—perhaps more accurately described as a jazz-age operetta—recreates the world of Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller. There are 30 songs including "Ain't Misbehavin", "T Ain't Nobody's Biz-ness If I do", "Black and Blue", "I Can't Give You Anything But Love" and more that you hear and immediately know you've heard before, even if you couldn't list them as Fats Waller or even Harlem Renaissance era lineage.
The hip rolls and flirting gestures are so deliciously sultry at times that one might think to put an "adult content" rating on the performance.
If you are expecting a play in the traditional sense of storyline and narrative with character development this is not your show. Rather, picture yourself walking back in time and strutting into Harlem's fashionable Cotton Club. You'll have a thoroughly good time at the club and enjoy the cheer of Fats Waller's party. You'll come on in and be disappointed that it ends so soon. It's more than two hours but the time does fly by.
A review wouldn't be complete without mentioning the fast fingering of piano player and conductor—Austin Cook whom some might remember from his relatively recent performance in "Hank Williams: Lost Highway" and his fellow musicians on bass (Chris Thigpen), Drums (Michael Weatherspoon), Trumpet (Shaun Johnson) and Saxophone (Rajiv Halim).
Playing at Stage 773, 1225 West Belmont, Chicago, through March 9.
For information or tickets visit the Porchlight Music Theatre website or calling Stage 773 at 773 327 5252.
# # #
Published on Feb 05, 2014


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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – Missouri GOP candidates for statewide office are starting their fall campaigns with a call for teamwork among Republicans.
Candidates for governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state treasurer and attorney general held a rally Tuesday outside a Republican campaign office in Jefferson City. Campaign signs behind the candidates and a recreational vehicle parked behind the lectern bore an image of GOP governor candidate Dave Spence.
Republicans were rallying later Tuesday in Lee's Summit. On Wednesday, the GOP is scheduled to stop in Joplin, Springfield, Fenton and St. Peters.
The state party says statewide candidates, U.S. Senate candidate Todd Akin, Sen. Roy Blunt, Audtor Tom Schweich (shwyk) and several congressional candidates would be traveling for some or all of the campaign tour.


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Penn State's Lunar Lion team aims to land vehicle on moon by 2015
Penn State's Lunar Lion team aims to land vehicle on moon by 2015
Last week the Penn State Lunar Lion team joined 28 others in the $30 million Google Lunar X PRIZE Competition, a challenge to researchers from around the globe to build and launch a privately funded spacecraft capable of completing a series of exploration and imaging tasks.
To win the grand prize of $20 million, a team must be the first to place a vehicle on the moon's surface that explores at least two locations a third of a mile apart. The vehicle must transmit high-resolution images of both locations back to Earth. The second team to accomplish this feat will win $5 million. The teams have until December 31, 2015, to complete the objective.
The Lunar Lion team is a combination of Penn State students and researchers in electrical, mechanical, and aerospace engineering, as well as astronomy and geosciences. In the accompanying video, team leader Michael V. Paul, space systems engineer at Penn State's Applied Research Laboratory, explains their task.
"Penn State has the breadth of technical expertise to tackle this challenge," said President Graham Spanier. "This project also will offer numerous opportunities for faculty and students from across the University to collaborate on achieving a common goal and will showcase the expanse of Penn State's expertise in the sciences and engineering."
Spanier noted that the lion's share of the funding for this project will come from philanthropy, corporate sponsors and scientific partners in the private sector. The competition rules allow for up to 10 percent government funding as well.
For more information about the Penn State Lunar Lion team, please visit lunarlion.psu.edu. For more information about the Google Lunar X PRIZE visit googlelunarxprize.org.


text: Internet censorship is typical in many schools, libraries, workplaces and even countries. This website is here to help give you freedom online, since an institutional body should not say you can't access a certain part of it. We must persevere to maintain our freedom of speech and net neutrality. Insert the web address (URL) of the web page you want to visit in the box below and click "Go" or use the quick browse links dropdown to the left.


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An Oklahoma inventor's podiatrist appointment sparked an idea and yielded an unexpected result: a bulletproof pad, released this month, to protect school children from shootings and tornadoes.
The Bodyguard Blanket is a bullet- and tornado-resistant blanket made of 5/16-inch thick ballistic fabric, with backpack-like straps that students and teachers can put on during a disaster.
"To say demand has been overwhelming would be the grossest understatement of my life," says Stan Schone, one of the blanket's inventors. His company took 1,000 orders the first day it offered them for sale, and they have sold briskly since, he says.
U.S. & World
His podiatrist Steve Walker had first been inspired to create a protective blanket for children last year, shaken by the deadly Moore tornadoes and the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting. Walker shared his prototype with Schone, who then teamed with Oklahoma State University professor Jay Hanan to develop the Bodyguard Blanket.
The Bodyguard Blanket has passed 3A armor testing, the same testing used for police officers' bulletproof vests. According to its maker, it can resist bullets of 90 percent of the types of guns used in past school shootings, like 9mm pistols, .357 magnums, 12-gauge shotguns and 22mm pistols.
The blankets are pricy — just under $1,000 each — but Schone says his aim is to partner with local companies, donors and other investors to provide the blankets for school districts, so schools themselves wouldn't have to pay for the protection.
He also points out that the dyneema blankets are much less costly than comparable bulletproof vests, which he says can cost more than $3,500.
ProTecht is not the only armor manufacturer to shift its focus to civilian needs, and its bulletproof blankets are just the latest in a growing range of protective school equipment, following a tragic spate of school shootings — from Newtown, Connecticut, to the shooting sprees at Seattle Pacific University and near the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Maryland's Hardwire makes bullet-resistant whiteboards and door protectors and has sold a local county dozens of bulletproof clipboards and shields to provide security for officials and government workers.
Other companies, like Bullet Blocker, manufacture a range of bulletproof book bags, backpack inserts and briefcases.
But some security experts have cautioned that such safety supplies may be distracting from the need for schools to implement stronger safety procedures and may not be practical.
"There's feeling safer, and then there's actually being safer," school safety consultant Ken Trump told NBC last year. "Schools have limited resources, and they ought to use that money very wisely, put it into an additional school psychologist or a school police officer, train your staff and work with first responders. The most valuable school security tools are invisible."
Still, Schone feels his company's blankets, which cover the body almost completely, could help students stay safe. He says his company keeps prices close to cost and wants to work with non-profits to make Bodyguard Blankets part of their lockdown protocol.
"We didn't do this for the money. Making money was secondary. Protecting the kids was primary," he says.


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4.30-6.30pm Friday and 3-5pm Saturday afternoons ENO Fine Wines & Spirits offers complimentary wine tasting. Venture out to regions undefined by your taste buds to try wines of different backgrounds in a friendly, relaxed atmosphere and hear about them from a connoisseur's perspective. You're sure to find something that you like or a vino for your next weekend dinner party after spending a weekend afternoon at ENO's.
Eno Fine Wines, 225 Westminster St.
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Trinity Groves Adoption Event
Please come join us for an Adoption Event at Trinity Groves in Dallas from 11-3pm. We'll have our RESCUE ADOPTION BUS on-site for viewing some of our adoptable pets and also some awesome t-shirts for sale to support the rescue. If there is a particular pet that you are interested in meeting, please make sure to send us an EMAIL at firstname.lastname@example.com and GET REPLY TO CONFIRM ATTENDANCE. Our Fosters live throughout the Dallas/Fort Worth area and not everyone can attend each event. To view our adoptable dogs and puppies please visit our Available Dogs Page.Read More


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7 August 2012 at 12.58pm | 19 Comments
There may be no productions on stage in Covent Garden this August, but things are as busy as ever at the Royal Opera House. The Costume Department, in charge of preserving and fitting the thousands of costumes that appear on stage at the Royal Opera House, is already hard at work getting ready for the forthcoming season.
The team is currently preparing for The Nutcracker, re-making skirts for 36 snowflake ballerinas. Each skirt will be double-layered and decorated with more elaborate detail. At a rate of one skirt per day, it is already over a month's work. In addition, the costumes for John Cranko's Onegin and the dresses for the 40 swans that will dance in Swan Lake are being altered and adjusted.
Working on five to six opera and ballet productions at a time, carrying out around 6,000 fittings per season, it pays to plan ahead. Mal Barton, Costume Department Manager, explains:
"At the end of the season we tend to fit the first three or four productions of the next season so that the costumes are ready to go in September. Every production revival involves a refit, and each production can have some 500-600 costumes."
However, despite such planning, unavoidable last-minute cast changes for The Royal Ballet can lead to the department starting refits at 5.30pm, for a performance at 7.30pm. Soraya Parsa, who has been working with the Costume Department for eight years, explains:
"Fittings can take anything from five minutes to two hours. Towards the end of the season, there are always lots of last minute re-fits to do and we often have to make adjustments just before performances or from the side of the stage."
The Costume Department is focused on heritage, as well as performances, and works hard to maintain costumes true to their original designs. Faded colours are re-dyed, worn darning is repaired, and shapes and patterns are revised to ensure that costumes can stay in use for decades.
Tailors work from a "costume bible", a hefty volume that meticulously details original designs and subsequent revivals, to make sure that costumes stay accurate to their original design. The oldest costumes still in use include those from La bohème, which date back to 1974, and Swan Lake, which are from 1986.
Find out more with a look at Soloist Claire Calvert's Lilac Fairy costume from The Sleeping Beauty.
The Royal Opera House is home to the largest collection of theatre costumes in the UK, a selection of which is available to view online. The earliest opera item in the collection is a pair of shoes worn by Italian soprano Adelina Patti from her debut in 1861. The earliest ballet item in the collection is a single pointe shoe worn in the 1930s by Royal Ballet Founder Ninette de Valois.


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NEW YORK (Reuters) - Like many on Wall Street, investor Todd Petzel cringed when U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said this past Wednesday that he was ready to let the economy go over the "fiscal cliff" if Republicans would not agree to higher tax rates on the rich.
"I didn't think good things would come out of the comment," said Petzel, the chief investment officer at Offit Capital Advisors in New York. "But nothing happened."
The rhetoric heated up again on Friday, when Republican House Speaker John Boehner accused President Barack Obama of "slow-walking" the economy to the edge of the cliff. Again, markets brushed it off and showed very little reaction.
Investors' collective shrug marks a stark change from how they had behaved in the two weeks after the presidential election, when nearly every utterance from a politician about the looming budget crisis caused wild swings in stock prices.
The S&P 500 index has nearly retraced the 5.3 percent slide it suffered in the first seven sessions after the November 6 vote. Some of the rebound reflects market confidence that Democrats and Republicans, despite their rhetoric, will eventually agree on at least a short-term deal to avoid the cliff - nearly $600 billion of tax increases and spending cuts set to take effect in January that could bring on a new recession.
It also could be that investors have peered over the cliff and realized they are looking at a gentle slope instead.
"The sentiment has definitely changed," said Andrew Wilkinson, chief economic strategist at Miller Tabak & Co in New York. "The market has become somewhat desensitized to headlines out of Washington because the fear of the economy hitting a wall in 2013 if we don't get a deal done has diminished."
While the S&P 500 was on track to end the first week of December nearly flat, performance throughout November was far more volatile, with the index lurching from a loss of more than 2 percent one week to a gain of more than 3 percent the next. The benchmark ended the month 0.3 percent higher.
"Seasoned investors know that waiting on the sidelines for clarity about fiscal negotiations is not an option," Carmine Grigoli, chief investment strategist at Mizuho Securities, wrote this week in a note to clients.
"In our view, the worst case outcomes are likely to be avoided and the stock market should rise by 5 percent to 7 percent once the risk of fiscal Armageddon is behind us."
Not everyone is brushing off the risks entirely. Investors could be too sanguine and the end of the year could come without a deal. The market could yet lurch downward, repeating the big sell-offs that occurred during the 2011 debt ceiling talks.
But while chief executives have complained that not knowing what future taxes will be has suppressed investment and hiring, some investors say lawmakers still have time in early 2013 to strike a deficit-reduction deal without imperiling the economy.
Michael Fredericks, lead manager of the BlackRock Multi-Asset Income Fund, said the recent malaise may simply be "a little bit of fatigue" setting in.
"This short-termism and parsing the language that comes out of the mouths of politicians is getting a little old. People are stepping back and saying: 'How can I possibly make an investment decision based on the next press release or TV appearance by the latest senior Republican or Democrat?'"
One indicator of the market's reduced concern is the defense sector, which will be hit hard if the spending cuts take effect. The PHLX Defense Sector Index is up 13 percent for the year, and sits just a few points from a yearly high.
The CBOE Volatility index, Wall Street's so-called fear gauge that tends to move inversely to the S&P 500, has slipped about 2 percent since November 1.
"Lately, we've just started seeing some small upticks in VIX futures. But it's not like someone is coming into the market to buy a whole lot. It's just nibbling here and there, which shows that there isn't too much concern out there about the fiscal cliff," said J.J. Kinahan, chief derivatives strategist at the brokerage TD Ameritrade in Chicago.
A survey of 62 Wall Street money managers released on December 5 showed market losses would be manageable if the U.S. goes over the fiscal cliff, even though worries still run deep.
Conducted by the Washington-based Potomac Research Group, the survey showed more than 60 percent expected the Dow Jones industrial average to fall 10 percent or more if a deal is not reached by year end. That would put the blue chip index below the 12,000 level.
Petzel called that 10 percent estimate "plausible," adding that the market's newfound calm about the cliff was more to do with the "numbness that comes from watching every moment of a blow-by-blow negotiation" than with a lack of concern.
The good news is that such a sharp drop likely will convince Republicans and Democrats to find common ground. That, he said, is what happened in the past few years to European policymakers, who saw markets sell off when they were slow to address an ongoing debt crisis.
"Then they realize, 'Oh, this is a big deal, we should get it right.' And so they would do something - not a lot - but something that the market could hang its hat on, and that would spark a rebound."
Reporting by Angela Moon and Steven C. Johnson; Editing by Tiffany Wu and Bill Trott


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I have done the typical procedure to change the home page to a static page, and move the posts page to a /blog page.
Home page is fine, but the 'blog' page shows the same as the home page, even when I select a custom template which has the loop in, it just ignores that and displays the home page template, any ideas? :)


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I'm sure many of you have heard that last week Sister Julie B Beck answered questions that had been submitted by members on the Mormon Channel. A lot of the "buzz" has been about her comments about blogging. She says that women have always needed a way to communicate, and as long as there is balance and a purpose (my interpretation).
The part that I was particularly interested in was what she said about reading. The blog A Well-Behaved Mormon Woman has a partial transcript, and this is what was reported (italicized text is a quote, non italicized is a summary):
I remember a conference where President Hinckley stood up and prefaced his remarks by saying, "In preparation for this talk I read…" and then he gave this list that was probably two thousand pages long, if not more. Other times he quoted from Shakespeare or other writers or poets. He loved Tennyson. That taught me something about President Hinckley. I remember sitting in conference once listening and thinking "My goodness, Pres. Hinckley loves to read". Another time he said, "I love the heft and feel of a good book". So reading isn't evil. Reading is a blessing and the Lord has created records for us to read and to study. A lot of good things have been written to elevate us, so I don't think reading is a waste of time, and I don't think we can only read church sponsored books. There is a lot of good out there. It's on us though, to learn to make the choices that will create the climate in us that enables the Spirit to grow and flourish."Sister Beck then shared this sweet tidbit about how she raised her own children to love reading:
As a young mother when needing to get up in the middle of the night, she thought 'oh good' I can read for 20 minutes! She always had something that she wanted to read that she saved for those quiet, in the middle of the night hours, when no one would bother her.
I love that! And this…
She never told a child to turn out the light if they were reading a book before bed. She let them read as late as they wanted — even if they were young children. She wanted to foster a love of reading.
I quote her here: "A reading child is a child that will stay out of trouble. That's a belief that I have. There's something wholesome in a child wanting to feed their mind. You have to imagine things when you are reading, that only you can see. And visualize things that only you can see. That's why it's important to select good things. I don't know that there's enough great literature for younger children. I wish there was more of that. But I encouraged my children to read and put a lamp by the side of their bed. They always had a little bookcase by the side of their bed. Yes we read the scriptures. Yes we read The Liahona, and The Friend, and The New Era…"
I spoke to my wife about this earlier today. Right now our two sons share a room, but we're moving in a couple of months and they will have their own room. We think we're going to try the reading thing once we move. If they go to bed and are reading, we'll let them keep reading.


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EVENT DATE: Jun 21, 2013
POSTPARTUM PROGRESS INC wrote -
Join women across the world to raise money for Postpartum Progress, which raises awareness and provides support to women as they recover from postpartum depression and other associated mood and anxiety disorders. On June 21st, the longest day of the year, we will raise money by climbing a mountain or hiking a trail near our homes to represent our symbolic rise out of the darkness of perinatal mood and anxiety disorders into the light of hope and recovery.
It doesn't matter where in the world you live. It doesn't matter exactly which day you climb or hike. It doesn't matter if it's an easy walk or the most strenuous climb. Be part of this event. Get out there with family or friends or even on your own, in the glorious sunshine, and be a part of Climb Out of the Darkness.
The longest day. Sunshine. Nature. Exercise. Triumph.
Join us for Climb Out of the Darkness.


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Second Congress of Peace and Friendship with the U.S.S.R.
This file consists of 26 press reports, photographs from various newspapers during the period of the Spanish Civil War and the Second World War. There are also cuttings and letters etc. from the Manchester Guardian pasted onto 24 quarto lined sheets. These sheets orginally in a primitive ring-binder have cuttings from the 1938 "appeasement" period. Some of the letters printed are from Johnson himself. A second group of similar leaves (also 24) concentrate on Spain, but with other subjects from this period.
This material is available for education use and may not be used for any commercial use without prior agreement. By using this material you are agreeing to the terms of use (pdf) offered by the University of Kent.


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Mayor Vince Gray cut the ribbon on the L Street Protected Bike Lane today, officially opening D.C.'s newest stretch of dedicated cycling infrastructure.
Among those in attendance at the ribbon-cutting ceremony were Gray; DDOT's Jim Sebastian, John Lisle, Sam Zimbabwe, and Mike Goodno; Downtown D.C. BID Director Ellen Jones; and about forty cyclists and interested individuals from around the region. WABA staff handed out green, hand-printed bandanas to attendees.
The one-mile L Street Protected Bike Lane runs from New Hampshire Avenue to 12th Street NW. After a year and a half of delays, it's open for cyclists traveling eastward across downtown, making accessible a heavily trafficked area of the city.
Mayor Gray extolled the virtues of the bike lane—a safe, visible route exclusively for cyclists, separated from car traffic by bollards and set off with green paint, that would encourage more people to get on bikes—and said that such pieces of infrastructure are critical to D.C.'s growth. Cars, he explained, will take up too much space in a D.C. that could soon be home to over 800,000 residents. And, referring to a problem that's plagued the lane since its lines were painted, Gray firmly assured the crowd, "I want to underscore also that people can no longer park in the bike lanes."
Dedicated bike infrastructure, like the lanes on 15th Street NW, Pennsylvania Avenue, and now L Street NW, makes riding a bike appealing to those who might not otherwise consider it. Three mayoral administrations have worked on the completion of the L Street lane, and that it's come to fruition demonstrates D.C.'s commitment to becoming a place that prioritizes bike-friendliness and safety.
Many thanks to DDOT, the Gray administration, the Downtown D.C. BID, and local advocates, neighborhood groups, and planners for making the L Street Protected Bike Lane a reality!
See more photos from the ribbon-cutting, and the celebratory ride on L Street that followed, here.


text: This film tells the story of scientist Paul Sereno's amazing discovery of a prehistoric human burial ground in the middle of one of the world's most forbidding desert. Like many great scientific discoveries, this one happens by accident. Sereno, one of the world's leading experts in finding fossils of dinosaurs and ancient crocodiles, is on an expedition to Niger, in Saharan Africa. Six weeks into a three-month journey, Sereno's team makes an unexpected discovery. They find bones all right, but these bones don't belong to prehistoric beasts -- they are human bones, the last remnants of a people who lived from 10,000 to 5,000 years ago when this now forbidding landscape was a thriving culture on the edge of a vast lake. Sereno's team counts the remains of dozens within a few minutes. "Skeletons of the Sahara" tells the story of this find and what it reveals to us about two civilizations that once thrived in what is now the world's largest desert.


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Materials Needed
An institutional archives, by definition, is mainly concerned with preserving the records of the institution that created it—the operational records of its various leaders and offices once those records are no longer active. However, there are certain materials that the Colby Archives is always interested in acquiring from outside of the institution—materials related to student life and alumni activities and accomplishments. We are especially interested in photographs, student scrapbooks, student publications, and memorabilia related to campus activities and organizations, dormitory life, athletics, and other aspects of student life.


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Just two weeks before the new season, there are tons of Internet rumors on what's really going down on X Factor. We uncover what's true and what's a lie.
Gossip: Justin Bieber Makes An Appearance.
Verdict: Undetermined.
We know that Biebz was hanging out with judge L.A. Reid. They may or may not have taped an appearance on the show. That doesn't necessarily mean that he's been recruited to join the cast. We wouldn't be entirely surprised if Bieber assisted L.A. Reid as a mentor. We'll just have to see if he'll be able to fit a guest spot into his busy touring schedule.
long day but great day.
@la_reid @scooterbraun just like old times! thanks
— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) August 28, 2012
Gossip: Simon Cowell ordered Britney Spears to clean up her act.
Verdict: Likely.
Sources claim Cowell told Britney to dress better before she filmed the first episode of the show. Just by looking through the promo shots from the show it looks like Britney heeded that advice and is dressing in a more sophisticated manner. Only time can tell if she keeps up the act.
A contestant auditioned with this & I LOVED it. Don't laugh! ♫ Ice Ice Baby by Vanilla Ice — path.com/p/3yIk7a
— Britney Spears (@britneyspears) August 25, 2012
Gossip: Nick Jonas Paired With Demi Lovato.
Verdict: True.
It seems Nick Jonas is giving up his hope of being a judge on American Idol and is instead lending his skills to X Factor. It was just confirmed Nick Jonas will act as a guest mentor for Demi Lovato. With rumors that Demi will take on mentoring solo singers age 12-16 it only makes sense that Nick will assist as he grew up in the limelight with his band the Jonas Brothers.
Loved seeing all your amazing response to
#NickOnIdol keep it coming!
— Nick Jonas(@nickjonas) August 5, 2012
Gossip: Britney Takes Over Simon's Role As Insult Slinger.
Verdict: False
While some promos are painting Britney Spears in a bad light, saying she has been extremely negative to the contestants we find that hard to believe. In one clip she tells an artist positively, "Your dance moves were right on" while in another she says, "You can wake me up in the morning singing." L.A. Reid spoke out on her skills as a judge and while he said "she's tough," he later added "She tells you exactly what she feels and it's pretty spot on. She has good taste."
Meanwhile, Simon continues to dish the dirt. "I wouldn't play that at my funeral because no one would turn up."
Season 2 of X Factor airs Wednesday, September 12.
-Annie Reuter, CBS Local
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The Daniel Plan transformed the McGough family, who once used decadent treats and comfort foods to ease the pain of family health challenges. Soon, their weight escalated and they had to find help. They found it with The Daniel Plan.
Answers Written By Julie McGough
Six years ago (2005), my husband, Bob, was diagnosed with severe, rapidly progressing Multiple Sclerosis. As he struggled with vision loss and difficulty walking, he was queasy all the time. It was very easy to turn to fast food often because the fried food and burgers seemed to settle his stomach and were our comfort foods. For me, it was easier to buy food out than to cook while I was juggling doctor visits with working full-time as a teacher, being a mom, and home-schooling my two kids. When I did cook, I tended to make more decadent foods as "treats" because I felt like we needed to find some reasons to celebrate in the midst of all the difficulties we were experiencing.
Looking back, I can see how this "coping" mechanism actually made it harder for us to cope. We rarely ate dinner at the table together and vegetables became something we added to dinner if I still had energy left. My husband and I both gained weight – he put on 80 pounds, peaking at 296, and I gained 38 pounds. The extra weight made it harder for him to walk and I began to worry about how I could take care of him in the future. He was so tired that he would fall asleep mid-conversation and started medication to help him wake up each day. I was never seen without my caffeine fix – a giant glass of Diet Mountain Dew which went with me everywhere.
I was also concerned about what my kids were learning from my habits. We were consuming as many as 10 2-liter bottles of soda a week and when we bought treats like ice cream, they would disappear overnight, with everyone blaming someone else for eating all of them. My high school son had gained a lot of weight and I could see the impact on his self-esteem.
We made resolution after resolution to eat healthier, eat out less, and get some exercise, but I didn't have the energy or the motivation to make it happen – and I was missing a key component for success: the right information. I had set a goal to lose weight in 2010, but I hadn't lost any weight at all. My husband had begun skipping meals as his weight loss plan; he had lost weight, but was showing signs of being malnourished. When Saddleback said they were going to offer The Daniel Plan, I knew that this was the time for our family to make a real change.
Sitting in the kick off seminar along with my small group, I listened intently to Dr. Daniel Amen and, when he showed the SPECT brain images, I knew we needed to do this. I called home and begged my son to take my laptop into the bedroom where my exhausted husband was still in bed and log into the online simulcast so that he could hear the information along with me. At the book table after the seminar, I asked Dr. Amen what he might recommend for MS patients. I confess, the idea of cooking without sugar, wheat, milk products, and hydrogenated oils was completely overwhelming, but I had found my motivation -- my husband's health.
The Daniel Plan offered me the first convincing evidence I had ever seen that diet could make a difference in everyday health and functioning for my husband's condition. We decided to start right away and give it 100%. A lot of people thought I should phase it in with my kids, but I knew that if the "old" food was still there, we would eat it. So we cleaned out every item in our pantry, refrigerator, and freezer. My children, Sean, 15, and Siobhan, 9, learned how to read labels. They didn't love seeing some of their favorite foods disappear, but they were willing to give it a try for their dad's health.
I also made a genuine commitment to take better care of myself. As a caregiver, I found it hard to find time to read the Bible regularly and get exercise. Having turned 40 this year, I decided that this was the perfect year to read through the Bible and start a walking routine.
We have learned so much from The Daniel Plan. When we first started eating together at the table, my children groaned and moaned every time -- and yet each meal together ended with shared stories and laughter. I have also learned that foods don't have to be smothered in extra sauces and sugars to be delicious – we are genuinely enjoying many foods without any butter or sauces. I have also learned that exposure really does equal preference. Foods my daughter once rejected she now said are "OK."
The results of The Daniel Plan in my family have been life-changing. We have lost a lot of weight – more than I thought we could. Bob has lost 52 pounds, Sean has lost 44, and I have lost 26 for a total of 120 pounds! That's more than twice the weight of my daughter, Siobhan! I've lost 7 ½ inches off of my waist and I can fit in my old clothes again.
More than that, I am delighted to say that my children are choosing healthy foods, learning to cook healthy meals alongside me in the kitchen, and are stealing vegetables off of my dinner plate! I believe that we started this change in lifestyle just in time for my kids. My 15 year old son has chosen to eat healthy, even when his friends are going out for fast food. He feels so much better about himself! I've even noticed that he is less hesitant to join in group activities. He has really owned the Daniel Plan for himself and I believe he will continue on this healthy path as an adult. My 9 year old was a little less enthusiastic, since she didn't need to lose any weight. However, she has adapted and is our champion fruit and vegetable eater!
Best of all, my husband's doctors want to know what we're doing because the improvements in his health are so dramatic! He is more alert and his cholesterol dropped 50 points in the first two months. Since he started The Daniel Plan, he has been able to reduce or eliminate three of his medications. He can participate in family activities for a longer time without the severe fatigue. It feels like I have my husband back!
I encourage you to do the Daniel Plan with a friend or your small group. Not only can you encourage each other and keep one another accountable, but you can also help each other with recipes and new ideas. Several women in my workplace small group have enjoyed sharing their new recipes around the table in the lunchroom.
I also recommend going for it 100% -- clean out your pantry, print out a few new recipes, and stock up on all those new foods you've never heard of. If you don't have the ingredients available to cook with, you'll never try them. Also, give yourself permission to eat a more limited menu for a little while as you learn new recipes. We made a repeating menu that we could eat every week. My family loves it that every Friday night is Spelt English muffin pizza night. Once I got a regular menu, it was easier to try to add one new item every week or two, usually by modifying an old recipe to make it Daniel Plan friendly. (Last week, I decided to make a Daniel Plan version of the new McDonald's frozen strawberry lemonades! They were a hit at my husband's birthday party.)
Most of all, my advice to you is don't give up! It takes a great deal of time and effort to learn new habits, but it's worth it! Galatians 6:9 says, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."
Our next step as a family is to get more exercise. The kids and I are scheduling local hikes throughout the summer and my husband, Bob, is focusing on stretching exercises and walking short distances to build up endurance.
The Daniel Plan has also helped me find a renewed sense of mission at work. I believe that part of God's mission for me as a 4th and 5th grade school teacher in Azusa is to inspire my students to make healthy choices. This year, I founded our school's first family hiking club, and I am working with other teachers to sponsor incentives for students to eat healthy and get more exercise.
Saddleback has been an important part of our family for a long time. In fact, Bob and I had our first date at Saddleback back when we were meeting in tents. Pastor Glen performed our wedding ceremony and, after we were married, we were part of a purpose driven church plant in our area. When Bob got MS six years ago, he was no longer able to lead worship and preach, and we knew we wanted to return to Saddleback, in spite of the long drive from Glendora. Now Bob participates in Saddleback services online while the kids and I attend and serve at the Corona campus. We are so grateful to be members of Saddleback Church and for the many resources Saddleback offers our family to help us grow.


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In 2007 I splurged and bought a copy of the BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY OF HISTORY OF SCOTTISH WOMEN and was amazed at the breath and scope of Scottish women who for centuries have been absent in Scottish history. Sure we all know about Queen Mary of Scots and Flora MacDonald, but what about Caroline Oliphant, Lady Nairne (songwriter, 1845), or Finella (assassin, 995) or Marion Gilchrist (physician, 1894). But one of my favorite Scottish women is…
Lady Agnes Randolph, countess of Dunbar and March
(Black Agnes)
"She kept a stir in tower and trench,
That brawling, boisterous Scottish wench
Came I early, came I late,
I found Agnes at the gate."
---from a ballad attributed to the Earl of Salisbury
Lady Agnes Randolph was born before 1312, the daughter of Isabel Stewart, a cousin of Walter, the High Steward of Scotland and Sir Thomas Randolph, the first Earl of Moray - a hero of the Scottish Wars of Independence and the man named Regent after the death of Robert the Bruce. He is thought by most historians to be the nephew of King Robert through the first marriage of the king's mother, Marjory Bruce. Agnes married Patrick Dunbar, ninth Earl of Dunbar and March sometime before 1324.
Dunbar Castle in East Lothian was the strategic keep for both the Scots and the English during the two Wars for Scottish Independence After the battle of Bannockburn in 1314, when King Robert Bruce's army routed the army of Edward II, Patrick Dunbar was forced to give sanctuary to Edward at Dunbar before Edward was whisked away to England. Later, Bruce forgave Patrick Dunbar making him guardian of Berwick Castle in 1322. Dunbar tore down his own castle at Dunbar after trying to defend both from the English. However in the second war of Independence, Edward III forced Dunbar to rebuild Dunbar at his own expense to house English soldiers. But in 1338 Dunbar now a patriot of the Scottish cause got it back.
http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/dunbar/dunbarcastle/In early 1338, while Patrick was elsewhere with the Scottish army, Agnes was left to defend the castle against the English Earl of Salisbury. Salisbury thinking a castle held by a woman was easy pickings but he quickly learned Agnes was no ordinary woman, she was a Scot. When Agnes refused to surrender, he catapulted the castle with huge rocks and projectiles, but Agnes rallied her women when there was a lull in the barrage, she signaled her refusal to surrender by having her ladies in their best clothing meet on the ramparts to dust away the mess with white cloths as if they were doing a bit of cleaning, a suitable insult.
As the siege has dragged on for weeks, Salisbury decides to bring her brother, Sir John Randolph, the Earl of Moray now a prisoner of the English, to the castle. Sir John was forced to call out to his sister, that if she didn't surrender he would be killed. Agnes in bold Scottish determination replied:"...if he is killed he has no heirs, so his land will become mine." Not quite the reaction Salisbury expected from a loving sister. Randolph was returned to prison and the siege continued on with an impotent Salisbury.
For all those who leave a comment you will be enrolled in a drawing for a copy of David R. Ross's book Women of Scotland, please leave your email address.
SEDUCED BY HISTORY AUGUST CONTEST: Seduced by History Blog is hosting a month-long contest in August. One winner will receive a 'basketful of goodies.' All you have to do is check in on each blog during the month, look for a contest question to answer and September 1-5, 2011 send in your answers to email@example.com. For full details, read the information on the right or click the CONTEST page.
As one who loves the history of Scottish women here is my contest question..
Who was the first Scottish woman to climb Ben Nevis in a bikini and why?


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New George Zimmerman evidence released Tuesday
Evidence includes video, audio, written statements
SANFORD, Fla. – More evidence was released on Tuesday in the case against George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watchman who shot and killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.
The State Attorney's Office said new records, including video and audio recordings of Zimmerman were released, but they appear to be the same ones released last week. The evidence also includes written statements from Zimmerman and police, including a police report previously released by Zimmerman's attorney, Mark O'Mara, but not redacted in some areas as before. The report contains the results of Zimmerman's voice stress test, along with Zimmerman's account of the events and written statements.
In the evidence released Tuesday, an arrest warrant request for Zimmerman on manslaughter charges, dated March 13 by lead investigator Christopher Serino, says Zimmerman's actions were, "inconsistent with those of a person who has states he was in fear of another subject."
Serino also wrote that, "the physical injuries displayed by George Zimmerman are marginally consistent with a life-threatening violent episode."
Serino seemed to believe Martin posed no physical threat to Zimmerman.
"George Zimmerman (did not have) an extraordinary or exceptional disadvantage of apparent physical ability or defensive capacity," Serino wrote.
Serino went on to say Zimmerman had two opportunities to speak with Martin but "didn't fail to identify himself as a concerned resident or neighborhood watch member."
Local 6 Legal Analyst Luis Calderon said Sanford police still had no grounds to arrest Zimmerman at the time.
"He was in a place he was legally entitled to be, and he was confronted by an individual. He had no duty to retreat," said Calderon.
Nine days after Serino's arrest request, Governor Rick Scott appointed Special Prosecutor Angela Corey to take over the entire case.
Tuesday, it was announced the Serino and the lead investigator on the case were being transferred to patrol.
The voice test analysis reveals the examiner didn't detect signs of deception, even when Zimmerman was asked if he confronted Martin to which he replied no. Zimmerman was also truthful when he said he was in fear of his life when he shot Martin, according to the report.
In the audio recordings, there appears to be more information redacted than the ones released last week by O'Mara on his website, GZLegalCase.com
You can read some of the documents at the links below.
READ: Police report | Exemption list
Zimmerman is charged with second-degree murder in the death of Martin, who was shot and killed Feb. 26 in Sanford. Zimmerman has pleaded not guilty, claiming self-defense.
Watch Local 6 for more on this story.
Copyright 2012 by ClickOrlando.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Nobody owns the internet – that is what's so awesome about it and that's why it grew at an astounding pace. The moment control and intolerance is instituted by men in power into a medium nobody really owned, say goodbye to our flat and open world; it's like the Berlin Wall was reconstructed back up. Continue reading
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Gourmet Basics
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Gourmet Basics by Mikasa® offers a broad line of clean and updated dinnerware, serveware and flatware. These timeless patterns offer exceptional value plus the quality you'd expect.
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- Gourmet Basics - Metropolitan 16 Piece Dinnerware Set, Service for 4$79.99 $
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Memorial Hospital North's new Garden Terrace Café-Bistro boasts fanciful dish presentations, restaurant-style recipes and a wide variety of choices.
At A Glance: Memorial Hospital North in Colorado Springs, Colo.
•Management: Sodexho Healthcare
•Scope: 98-bed facility with 400 cafe guest daily; 8,000 pounds of food and supplies received each week; 13,000-square-foot dining area, coffee shop and servery
•Staff: 30 employees, about 20 with restaurant experience
•Average check: $3.52
•Projected Revenue: $204,000
In April, after 18 months of construction, Memorial Hospital North, a branch of the Memorial Health System in Colorado Springs, CO, opened. One of the highlights of the 98-bed facility is the Sodexho-operated Garden Terrace Café-Bistro, where the quality, presentation, service and abundance of menu choices make the café more akin to a hotel dining operation than a hospital. Cornell Colbert, general manager and director of nutrition services, emphasizes that the facility is a café, not a cafeteria.
"We don't consider ourselves a cafeteria because that has a certain connotation," he asserts. "The quality of the food and excellence of the service bring us out of the cafeteria era and into the café-bistro era in foodservice."
Entering the café, visitors come upon "The Northern Star Bistro and Coffee Shop" which offers eponymously branded organic coffees and lunch items like quiches and panini. Adjacent is a wood-stone pizza oven and a "grab 'n go" deli section with a daily selection of sandwiches and salads. An exhibition kitchen spans the length of the café.
"All of the cooking is done right in front of the customers as they wait for their orders," Cobert says. "We don't make big batches and just scoop the portions out."
A "Wellness & You" salad bar emphasizes fresh ingredients—nothing is frozen or canned. Beyond the salad bar, the "Innovation Station" features panini presses and sauté stations.
Colbert, whose background is in restaurants and catering, made it a point to hire a restaurant-trained staff. Executive chef Chester Wright, recruited from The Mirage in Las Vegas, was a key acquisition.
Wright had no experience in the non-commercial sector, and his first few weeks at Memorial Hospital Central—where he developed recipes and trained staff members as Memorial North was being built—were eye-opening.
"That gave me an idea of what I was up against," he laughs. "It was regular hospital food at Central. For Sodexho, this [upscale concept] was a whole new ballgame."
Wright began by reworking Sodexho's recipes with an emphasis on enhanced presentation. Wright's Vegas background taught him the importance of "putting the final touch on the plate."
"When our customers are served a plate, and especially when patients lift a lid, we want them to say wow. So instead of just putting a piece of cheesecake on a plate, we paint it with different sauces and garnish it with a sprig of fresh mint and some whipped cream," Wright explains. "We serve our flat-iron steak with truffled mashed potatoes that are piped on, not just scooped out."
Another Memorial North touch: tomatoes in salads are blanched and then peeled. "It's the small things that make a big difference on the plate," says Wright.
Wright believes that his biggest challenge is training his staff of 30 to take these extra steps.
"When you hire people who used to work in a hospital, they're used to a certain presentation. They don't understand how important it is to take the extra time to do final touch-ups," he explains. "We have to train everyone for at least two to three weeks to make sure they get the presentation concept."
Wright also had to teach hospital-trained staff members a new set of culinary techniques. He laments "soggy, discolored hospital vegetables," and has his staff prepare them by "cooking the vegetables in hot water for a short time, shocking them in a bowl of cold water, then finishing them up in a saucepan with a little broth… just like in culinary school."
The hospital's signature dishes include shrimp scampi with vegetables and angel-hair pasta, and steak and lobster for maternity patients.
"Although the quality is a lot higher, prices aren't much different from those of standard hospital fare," says Colbert proudly. At lunch, an Angus burger is $2.89 and a Monte Christo sandwich is $4.09. Food cost is approximately 28%.
Although the café has been open for less than a month, Colbert says that he is already halfway to making budget for the year. "We're already seeing people from the community, not here for a procedure or anything, stopping in because they think this is a great place to eat," he boasts.
The café serves about 400 people every day, while the room service program—or "tray service", as it is officially called, reaches just under 100 people.
"The program is run very much like hotel room service," says Colbert. Beside every bed is a three-page menu that stays in the room.
"There are two places where folks feel like they lose control," notes Colbert. "One is the airplane, and the other is the hospital. I want to make sure that when patients come here, they feel like they are given as much freedom and respect as possible in their meal choices."
Service is available from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and patients may pre-order all of their meals or order for immediate service. All meals are delivered within 30 minutes of ordering.
"We spent a lot of time programming 'Health Touch,' our room service computer system," Colbert says. "It has all of the menu items within it and holds them within diet-specific programs. If we have a patient that has a health restriction, 'Health Touch' will remove certain choices from the menu. That gives the operator a chance to educate the patient and say, 'Might I suggest something else...'"
"Health Touch" also gives instructions for chefs to adapt flexible menu options to fit special dietary needs. For example, garnishes, sauces and textures can be altered.
Presentation is a priority in this program too. Fine china and flatware have replaced plastic plates and utensils, a stylish touch that Colbert says is also cost-efficient and green. Even the serving style is "five-star," says Wright.
"The server puts the meal on the table for the patient and lays the napkin out," he describes. "It's quality tableside service. When we serve soup, the server pours the soup into the bowl at the table as they do in fine restaurants."
"Patients appreciate that when they come here they aren't going to get green Jell-o or warmed over lima beans," Colbert says. "When they make the choice of what facility they are going to, this issue [of comfort] comes into play.
When a facility is so geared towards excellence that it even flows into the dining establishment… it's a major plus for that institution."


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When Beverly Holt and her two daughters, Sheryl and Allyn, rolled into Stockton for the first time in 1960, completing the family move from Pacific Grove, they did so crammed inside a 1959 Nash Metropolitan.
When Beverly Holt and her two daughters, Sheryl and Allyn, rolled into Stockton for the first time in 1960, completing the family move from Pacific Grove, they did so crammed inside a 1959 Nash Metropolitan.
The two-tone, hard-top model, in Caribbean green and white, might have looked like a refrigerator on wheels, as one automobile expert called it, but it did not have air conditioning. Their first stop in the town they'd call home for more than 40 years was for sunglasses and straw hats.
The discomfort didn't discourage the family. Over time the Holts would own four of the cars marketed as America's first subcompact.
Allyn Holt drove a convertible model when she was a student at San Joaquin Delta College, and remembered going to the parking lot after class to find her friends had pushed it to another parking spot.
The Nash Metroplitan, the butt of jokes and pranks, has been returned to all its glory on the very campus where it once was pushed around with ease.
Students in Delta's automotive technology department have restored the Holts' 1959 Nash Metropolitan for an October show at the Haggin Museum exploring Stockton's car culture called "Driven to Dream."
The three students who were mostly responsible for returning the body to its original, shiny self - Seth Gruebele, Vinh Tran and Jun Clapano - recently gave college president Kathy Hart and museum staff a peek at their accomplishment.
"What a wonderful opportunity for our students to show off something, and take pride in their work," Hart said. "It shows what kind of work they can do and what kind of employees they can be."
Their teacher, Larry Mariani, was selective in picking the team to handle the body work.
"Only the top students worked on it," Mariani said. "They showed me they were workers and talented enough. If a kid doesn't show up every day or a kid just doesn't care, doesn't have his heart in it, he wasn't going to work on this car."
The idea of restoring an old car for charity had long been a goal of Mariani's. A 28-year veteran of the auto body industry, 18 as owner of Cavallino Coach Works on Fremont Street in Stockton before he began teaching in 2004, Mariani had a 1965 Mustang for the cause. Those plans fell through, but his friend and fellow car enthusiast Dick McClure suggested restoring a car for a car show at the Haggin.
Folks at the museum embraced the idea, so the restoration plan could move forward. McClure knew he could secure the Nash Metropolitan.
"I had nine of them. Dick McClure's a friend of mine, and he asked if I'd be interested in giving one to Delta, and I said I could do that," said Bob Allen, the car's most recent owner. "They picked out the best one and took it."
Actually, the chosen vehicle had a University of the Pacific parking decal on the car's window and McClure, a Pacific alumnus, was attracted to it like a magnet to steel, Mariani said.
When he looked at the old car, with its rust, dents and faded paint, Mariani saw the beauty it is today.
His students didn't.
"The floor looked like a cheese grater," said Clapano, 20.
"I didn't think we were going to get it done, just because of how much work it (needed)," Gruebele, 20, said. "I thought it was just something we took a bite out of that we couldn't swallow, but we're almost there."
They pounded out the dents, sanded away the old paint and rust, resurfaced the floorboard, filling in with fiberglass where needed, sent out the seats to be reupholstered, ordered replacement handles and locks and painted it the original white and Caribbean green.
"Jun and Vinh, every single day, they did the same thing over and over," Mariani marveled. "I feel sorry for them. It's tedious work, every day, block sanding. They never complained. A lot of kids would say, 'I've done this enough.' They never did."
"I enjoyed working on the body," said Tran, 29. "I learned a lot."
They began the project in October and by March the body work was ready to show off. On the day of its unveiling the three were installing the rear suspension. Eventually the electric wiring and engine - both restored by students in other parts of the automotive tech department - would be installed and the car would be operational.
All three agreed they'd be willing to drive the collectable car, although they'd prefer a more modern engine.
"It's probably safer than cars today," Gruebele said. "It's thicker metal. It doesn't have airbags, but still."
Beverly Holt said she always felt comfortable in the Metropolitan, which her husband purchased as a second car when he was working in radio in Monterey.
"For a tiny car with the engine in front, it was heavy. I never felt unsafe," Beverly Holt said.
Her two daughters learned to drive in a Metropolitan and took their driver's license exams in one. Students at Lincoln High School, where Beverly Holt worked in the office before becoming superintendent Tod Anton's administrative assistant at the district office, were rewarded for good grades and behavior by being allowed to take it out for lunch.
"They'd load as many kids as they could into it," Beverly Holt said from her home in Laguna Beach, where she moved in 2002, three years after her husband, Dick, a San Joaquin County assessor, passed away.
Memories of the car were stirred when work began on the car at Delta and the car's registration was found under the seat. Haggin director Tod Ruhstaller tracked down the family.
"We were thrilled to hear about it," Beverly Holt said. "Dick would have been so pleased."
Since being reminded about the car by the restoration, Holt also has heard many stories from her adult daughters that she'd never heard before.
When she thought her daughters were going to the library, they were cruising the Miracle Mile, for example. Another time she went to Macy's at Sherwood Mall and noticed orange cones set up in the parking lot.
"I was thinking they were having a small car race and I saw a car and thought, 'That looks like our Nash Metro.' And there was Sheryl accepting a trophy for winning the race," Holt said.
Now, the little car will be raffled off at the end of the Haggin show, scheduled for Oct. 3 to Jan. 5, 2014. It's a collector's item, although Mariani said restoring it costs more than their asking price of $12,000 to $15,000.
The value for his students, though, is immeasurable.
"They learned teamwork and they learned to appreciate how much skilled labor it's going to take to restore a car," Mariani said. "What they've learned is what it actually takes to take on a job like this from beginning to end, how much labor, how much intensity you'll spend on a deal like this, and the perseverance you need throughout the whole thing."
The trio that never complained beamed with pride at the final product.
"It was just abused," Gruebele said. "It looked like someone sat on it. We look at it now and say, 'Wow, we did this.' "
Contact reporter Lori Gilbert at (209) 546-8284 or firstname.lastname@example.com.


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harvard referencing
1. how do you in text reference an interview in a book?
2. how do you in text reference a book with no pages numbers?!
1. how do you in text reference an interview in a book?
2. how do you in text reference a book with no pages numbers?!
Hi Rebecca
1. The main reference is the book, so that's what goes in your reference list. In the text, suppose the book was by Jones, written in 2009, and the interview was of Julia Gillard. Then you would have something like either : ...when Julia Gillard was interviewed by Jones (2009, p. 78) she said that ....
or: .... Julia Gillard said a lot about this when interviewed (Jones 2009, p. 78)
Or something similar. Note the page number reference to the page in the book where Gillard is supposed to have said whatever it was.
2. Do you mean the book actually has no page numbers? That's very unusual. Normally you don't need to use page numbers for a book, unless you are quoting from it. In that case, if there are no page numbers, you'll have to use a chapter reference and count pages yourself within the chapter, eg (Jones 2009, p. 2 of chapter 3) or if there are no chapters either then you might need to count pages yourself from the start of the book. If you are talking about an online book with no pages then you can use chapter & paragraph counts if necessary, eg (Jones 2009, para. 6 of chapter 5).


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Love England, Heart England Home Gift, Print / Poster • Customisable
Brand: The Little Lenny Company
Details: An eye-catching print to display in your home
• Text can be altered if you wish, simply fill in the box provided
• Frame not included
• This is a one-sided print (blank on the back)
• Printed onto quality white card
Choose from two sizes: A5 (148 x 210 mm, 5.8 x 8.3 in) or A4 (210 x 297 mm, 8.3 x 11.7 in).
Please note, colours may slightly vary to the appearance on your screen.
Thank you for viewing this item, please have a browse for more unique designs! If you're after something special please email email@example.com and we will try our best to help you to achieve that perfect print :)
All designs are copyright of The Little Lenny Company. Please do not copy, in part or whole. For personal use only; no commercial use or selling.


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in use
Three is the magic number. Introducing TRIO. Inspired by our Ambassadors, we set the bar high and the NEW TRIO is the innovative, high performance 3-wheel, premium skate with the option of rocker. Built to be highly versatile and maneuverable, the TRIO is equipped for speed. This skate will take on any adventure.
Stay up to date with new product releases


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]hi 2 every1
i made a simple swing application with some database connectivity in it. d whole prog ws typed in notepad++ nd executed from command prompt. it ws executing perfectly. fyn...
nw i copied d whole code in netbeans nd tried to build to main project so as to get my .jar file of my coding. .jar file ws created successfully, bt when i tried 2 run it, it ws nt executing properly.
fr eg, i hd a button in my application that displays all records present in d database. it displayed all records when i executed wid command prompt, bt when .jar file ws excecuted, no response ws made.
plz help me to get out of dis prob
thanx in advance


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Sunday School – 10:00 am
Worship Service – 11:00 am
Bible Study – 12:15 pm
Wednesday Bible Study - 6:30 pm
12859 Martin Road Spur
Northport, AL 35473
It seems some in first century Christianity were confused of the place of Israel in salvation history. The same is true today. Paul uses both Hosea and Isaiah to show that God had revealed Israel's response to the Gospel centuries before Jesus came. We pray this message gives you great confidence in the Word of God.


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Read the latest news from Health. Watch out for current health warnings. And find out how you can have your say on issues that affect you.
Ministers' media
Stay up to date with ministerial media releases, transcripts and speeches on our ministers' website.
The Australian Government launched the 'Get the facts about immunisation' campaign in August 2017 to encourage Australian parents and carers to get their kids vaccinated.
Media statement from Australia's Chief Medical Officer, Professor Brendan Murphy regarding media claims about flu vaccines.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children will be able to receive the seasonal influenza vaccine for free under the National Immunisation Program from 2015.
Health portfolio news and events
For news and events from our portfolio agencies, go to Our portfolio for links to their websites.


text: Sydney Parkour Le Parkour originally comes from the word 'parcour', loosely translated as 'obstacle course'. The 'K' came in later as a more modern and stylish approach to the word. In essence, 'obstacle course' sums up the ideas behind the sport that originated in France - traceurs (the people who participate in the sport) treat city landscapes as one big playground, utilizing the architecture in a way that is both as stylish and graceful as possible. This is an ongoing project documenting the life of a Sydney group of teenagers who use the urban landscape as their playground.


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Latest News
TOP MP40 AEG in Stock Now!!In the works for the past 2 years, TOP is finally releasing its AEG version of the famous WWII German SMG - the MP40. Created from stamped sheet metal just like the real steel version, the TOP MP40 is constructed almost entirely out of metal. The prototype we tested in January in Tokyo had a plastic fake wood lower receiver and a cocking lever that worked in pulling back the ejector port cover, which revealed the hop-up adjustment device (a very simple dial). The final version will have a simple matte grey/brown lower receiver. Most of the internal hardware is constructed from metal, including the nozzle and cylinder - which is a departure from the unique plastic type cylinder pumps found on TOP's other AEG models. Folding metal stock is quite heavy, and is actuated by a huge button on the rear of the receiver - as on the real version.
Total weight of the MP40 is a hefty 3.4 Kg with a magazine capacity of 63 rounds. The gun is powered by a 9.6v battery (shaped like the AUG custom battery) stored in the receiver section just above the trigger. Buy one here while stocks last!


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Around this time last year, I wrote a series of blog posts focusing on the challenges some job seekers were facing as they either transitioned from an educational program to full-time employment, or made the move into healthcare IT from another profession:
- From the Trenches of Healthcare IT Education
- Social Media Resources for Healthcare IT Job Seekers
- Bridging the Gap Between HIT Education and Workforce Development
- Collaboration is Key When it Comes to Workforce Development
- EMR Job Seekers Get Their Big Break
This year finds the job market a bit rosier, and expectations more clearly defined regarding what kind of experience employers are looking for, and where job seekers can find it. There seems to be more consensus than ever that healthcare IT career opportunities – whether on the provider or vendor side – can only be fostered if there is a supportive educational component behind it. School systems – from middle to university – must be on the same page as their respective region's workforce needs.
As moderator of the recent #GAHealthIT tweetchat on this very topic, I've culled some of the most telling tweets that address the issues mentioned above:
You can view the full transcript of the tweetchat at Storify.com. We covered a range of topics, but I think the first, discussed above, has relevance no matter what part of the country you live in. What skills are most valued in an employee in healthcare IT? Is clinical knowledge give more weight, or IT know how? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.


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Brian Gionta scored his second goal of the game with 47 seconds left in the game and the Montreal Canadiens snapped a three-game skid with a 3-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night.
Gionta was at the left post to put a rebound off the end boards into an open side for the winner.
Alex Galchenyuk also scored for the Canadiens, who had been outscored 18-8 in their three previous outings. Montreal swept their three-game season series with the Lightning.
Richard Panik and Vincent Lecavalier scored for Tampa Bay, which is winless in five and has one victory in its last eight games. The Lightning ended a four-game road trip.
It was Montreal's first win since clinching a playoff spot last week.
The Canadiens had given up nine goals in the first period of their three previous games, but Carey Price's goal posts came to the rescue this time as Teddy Purcell, Sami Salo and Lecavalier all hit the iron in a scoreless opening 20 minutes.
Montreal took the lead 4:04 into the second when Galchenyuk was parked at the edge of the crease to slip in a bouncing pass from Brendan Gallagher. It was the rookie's sixth goal in his last eight games.
Gionta then redirected a Tomas Plekanec pass behind Ben Bishop after a turnover at the Tampa Bay blue line at 15:05.
The Lightning took advantage of their first power play when Panik made a deft move to take in Victor Hedman's pass and lift the puck over a sprawled Price at 17:36.
Lecavalier tied it 5:07 into the third when Hedman's shot deflected off some skates in front and left a wide opening for the Tampa Bay captain to score his 10th of the season.
Salo left early in the second period with an upper body injury and did not return.
NOTES: Brandon Prust sat out and Michael Ryder returned to the lineup for Montreal. ... The Canadiens returned rookie Nathan Beaulieu to AHL Hamilton, fueling speculation that Raphael Diaz is getting close to returning from a concussion. ... Tom Pyatt was scratched for Tampa Bay.


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WEDNESDAY, Oct. 14, 2009 (HealthDay News) -- Many people see end-stage dementia as affecting only the mind, but a new study shows that the disease's effects are far-reaching and eventually fatal.
The misconception by family members that end-stage dementia is not a terminal condition can have negative consequences for the patient, the researchers say. That's because concerned loved ones often order aggressive, sometimes burdensome interventions such as feeding tubes that will not improve patient outcomes.
"Dementia is a leading cause of death in the U.S., and yet surprisingly little is known about how these patients die," noted the study's lead author, Dr. Susan Mitchell, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and a senior scientist at the Hebrew Senior Life Institute for Aging Research in Boston.
"When families are more prepared, their loved ones get less burdensome interventions," said Mitchell, whose team published their findings in the Oct. 15 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Dementia currently affects about 5 million Americans, but that number is expected to triple in the next 40 years, according to Mitchell.
Previous studies have suggested that those with advanced dementia often aren't thought to have a terminal illness, and thus may receive less than optimal end-of-life care, according to background information in the study.
To get a better understanding of what goes on during the end of life for those with dementia, and hopefully to improve that care, the researchers conducted an 18-month study in 22 nursing homes. A total of 323 residents with advanced dementia were included in the study.
The people with end-stage dementia included in this study couldn't recognize their family members, couldn't speak six words, were incontinent and were totally dependent on other people for the most basic care, according to Mitchell.
During the study period, 55 percent of those enrolled in the study died. The most common complication associated with the death was pneumonia, followed by fever (not caused by pneumonia), and then eating problems.
Many of the nursing home residents experienced distressing symptoms such as shortness of breath (46 percent) and pain (39 percent).
During the last three months of life, more than 40 percent of those with end-stage dementia underwent at least one serious medical intervention -- hospitalization, emergency department visit, IV nutrition or tube feeding.
But, said Mitchell, "When family members understood the clinical complications and prognosis, their loved ones were less likely to get burdensome interventions."
She said only 27 percent of those whose loved ones understood that end-stage dementia was terminal and that complications might occur -- such as fever, pneumonia or an eating problem -- underwent a burdensome medical intervention in their last three months of life. That compared to 73 percent of those whose families didn't understand that their loved one was dying or the medical complications that might ensue.
Mitchell believes that communication between families and care providers needs to improve. She also believes that high-quality palliative care and hospice should be available to nursing home residents with dementia, in the same way that they're available to other people with terminal illnesses, such as cancer.
However, according to an accompanying editorial in the same issue of the journal, people with advanced dementia are currently much less likely than someone with cancer to be referred to hospice.
"Patients in nursing homes who have dementia are at risk for undertreatment of pain and for treatment with burdensome and possibly non-beneficial interventions, including tube feeding," wrote Dr. Greg Sachs, the author of the editorial. "Patients with advanced dementia do not need to have another serious illness to qualify for hospice care -- dementia comes with a high burden of symptoms that warrant a palliative care approach," he noted.
"Families need to know that people with advanced dementia are close to death in the same way that cancer patients are, and they need to think about palliative and hospice care," said Sachs, who is a professor and director of the division of general internal medicine and geriatrics at Indiana University School of Medicine and an investigator at the Regenstrief Institute.
Ideally, he said, families should discuss end-of-life care early in the dementia diagnosis, so that everyone can participate in the discussion. And, it's best to have the decision made ahead of time, so you don't have to decide in a crisis situation what procedures your loved one would have wanted.
More information
To read more about what to expect when someone with dementia is nearing the end of life, go to the U.S. National Institute on Aging.


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iamgq brauchte ein neues Button oder Icon Design und hat einen Wettbewerb auf 99designs gestartet.
Aus 8 Designs von 3 Designern wurde eine Gewinner gewählt.
TweetsDigest.com - we eat your tweets!
TweetsDigest is a new Internet startup based in Melbourne, Australia. We provide web platform for SME to monitor, analyze and engage on social media such as Twitter. It is expected to be launched soon.
Our target audience is small to medium businesses who are actively using social media platforms such as Twitter. We also target Internet savvy, Gen-Y internet users who are actively using Twitter. One of the page we put together using TweetsDigest backend is at Pmmonitor.com.au.
We require a set of graphics for the home page, site navigation and core areas.
Our site is using blue color theme with main colour #3AA9E0
We have identified the following area:
<My Account>
Dash board
Keyword Monitoring
Trending Report
Digest Definition (Your Search Filter)
My Digest (Your Filtered Search)
Message template
Schedule message
Automated action
Followers manager
Friends manager
Custom Reporting
<My Profile>
My Details
Change password
Twitter accounts
Upgrade Plan
Cancel Account
<Home page>
<Feature page>
Free monitoring of your brand
Historical data
Sentiment analysis
Unique Digest System
Detailed stats and charting summary
See exact conversation
Engage directly and instantly
Support multiple twitter account
We require one graphic for each area.
For example, we require:
13 graphics for <My Account>
7 graphics for <My Profile>
3 graphic for <Home page>
8 graphic for <Feature page>
Graphic have to be clean, simple and in 2D. We want to use exact color, size and style like the file we attached.
Final version will be in .PNG and high quality vector files (illustrator and photoshop)
Although it sounds like a big project, the graphic requirement is actually low. Please see the attached sample file and our site nav screenshot.
IMPORTANT: We don't like royalty free graphic (e.g. istockphoto.com)


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School of Rock is unrivaled music education, in a positive, club like environment. Learn stage presence & confidence in our performance based programs.
> Please select the best time to come by for a tour <
These are specifically set based on the age of the student who wants to enroll. However, if none of these times fit with your schedule, then simply select the "general tour" option.


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Doordarshan has ordered an inquiry and put five of its staffers under suspension after its team failed to reach Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's official residence well in time on Monday to record his speech in connection with the Delhi gang-rape incident.
Sources said two camerapersons and three staff members from the engineering wing had been placed under suspension after they turned up late for the recording.
The speech was then recorded by television news agency ANI which was also present for the purpose.
In the speech, the PM had asked people to maintain peace after Sunday's violent protests. The telecast of the speech on news channels in its unedited form yesterday had triggered online criticism as the PM was heard saying 'theek hai' (alright) at the end of his address. The editing error was later corrected.
Sources in the national broadcaster said that the suspension of the five persons was not related to the telecast of the unedited speech but for not reaching the venue on time.
The recording of the speech had taken place at around 9.30 am but the camera crew of the Doordarshan managed to reach at 9.40 am while the engineering staff arrived a few minutes after 10 am yesterday, the sources said.
An official said that crew found it difficult to reach by 9.30 due to traffic restrictions on important roads leading to the 7, Race Course Road residence of the Prime Minister and also because they had been called to come at short notice.