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(Editor's note: This article was previously published on Apr. 14, 2012 in the Washington Examiner "Opinion" section.)
As gasoline prices edge upward, consumers and politicians are looking for someone to blame. Some say it's Iran's fault, while others are blaming the Obama administration. The president, who has a habit of demonizing the oil companies, says there's no silver bullet to solve the problem.
But higher gasoline prices take a bite out of the household budgets of families nationwide. Every 1-cent increase in the retail price of gasoline translates into about $1 billion annually in higher costs for American consumers.
If the nation truly wants to address the wild roller coaster of price swings, it's important to understand the factors that affect prices. First, gasoline is refined from crude oil, whose price is determined by buyers and sellers globally. They negotiate oil contracts based on their perceptions of oil's economic value in the marketplace. Political instability, oil supply disruptions, foul weather and many other factors affect global oil prices. Also, oil is priced in U.S. dollars. As the value of the dollar changes, oil prices fluctuate.
The price of gasoline historically has closely tracked the price of crude oil. The Department of Energy, or DOE, says 76 percent of gasoline prices are attributed to the price of oil, while the rest is taxes, the cost of refining, marketing and transporting the gasoline to service stations and profits. During the past five years, oil companies earned 7 cents in profits per dollar of sales, which is in line with other industries' profit margins.
Gas prices vary from state to state due to a variety of factors including taxes. The federal tax on gasoline is 18.4 cents per gallon, and state taxes vary widely. Motorists in New York pay a total of 67.4 cents in taxes per gallon, for example, whereas Alaska motorists pay 26.4 cents per gallon.
Every spring, gasoline refiners must comply with federal and state regulations that require them to produce seasonal blends that evaporate less during the warm weather months. Summer-grade gas costs more to produce than winter-grade fuel, and that puts upward pressure on prices. Federal law also requires ethanol to be blended with gasoline. Since most ethanol in the United States is made from corn, corn prices also have an impact on pump prices.
Finally, the laws of supply and demand play an important role in gasoline prices. Simply put, oil supplies matter. Larger supplies of secure oil -- oil that won't be withheld from the market for political reasons -- can result in lower retail gas prices at the pump.
The importance of secure oil cannot be overstated. It's quite likely that oil and gasoline prices would decline over the long term if more oil were produced domestically and Canadian oil were allowed to flow freely through the rejected Keystone XL pipeline. In fact, just imagine how different the U.S. economy and the energy situation would be today if, 30 years ago, our elected officials had allowed drilling in the oil-rich areas of Alaska, along the West Coast, the East Coast and in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Instead, they chose to block access to those supplies, keeping us dependent on foreign oil from politically unstable countries.
The Obama administration is clinging to the outdated view that the United States should move away from oil to other forms of energy, and Obama has even dismissed oil as the "fuel of the past." But that approach ignores the technological advancements making it possible to produce oil more efficiently than ever. Hydraulic fracturing is producing oil cost-effectively from shale formations that once were impossible to tap.
Rather than accept this new oil reality, the administration has launched 10 different initiatives to study or establish new regulations on hydraulic fracturing. Furthermore, oil production on federal lands -- the areas controlled by the administration -- fell by 14 percent in 2011, the largest annual decrease in a decade. At the same time, the administration is throwing away money on failed alternative energy companies under the misguided notion that it can somehow produce energy competitively eventually if it receives billions of taxpayer dollars today.
Our economy runs on oil, and DOE forecasts suggest that oil will be the "fuel of the future" and continue to play an important role in our energy mix for decades to come. It's time to embrace the facts about oil and discard the "fuel of the past" mentality. There is nothing that provides as much energy bang for the buck as oil. Basic economics tell us that if we had more of it, our bucks would go a lot further.
Mark J. Perry is a professor of economics at the University of Michigan-Flint and a scholar at The American Enterprise Institute. He is on the Mackinac Center Board of Scholars.
Permission to reprint this blog post in whole or in part is hereby granted, provided that the author (or authors) and the Mackinac Center for Public Policy are properly cited. Permission to reprint any comments below is granted only for those comments written by Mackinac Center policy staff.
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PK Lifestyles Dorset Chenille Upholstery Fabric in Celadon. This fabric may ship directly from the manufacturer. Please allow an extra 3 to 5 business days for delivery. This high end woven upholstery weight fabric is suited for uses requiring a more durable designer fabric. Uses include any upholstery project, sofas, chairs, dining chairs, pillows, certain types of window treatments, handbags and craft projects.
- Fiber Content: 75% Polyester 25% Rayon
- Width: 54" (inches)
- Abrasion: 51,000 Double Rubs
- Note: The price is per yard in this listing
Fabric Brand / Designer:
PK Lifestyles Fabric

subset: commoncrawl


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Cormac McCarthy has written some of the greatest American novels of the past 30 years, and now he's finally added feature-film writer to his resume.
McCarthy wrote a script on sepc called "The Counselor," about a present-day lawyer in the Southwest who decides to make a little extra money by getting into the drug business, reported Deadline. If you're at all familiar with McCarthy's work, it will comes as no surprise that the lawyer's new business venture goes sour.
U.S. & World
Nick Wechsler, Steve and Paula Mae Schwartz--the producing team that adapted McCarthy's Pulitzer-prize winner, "The Road," will usher "The Counselor" to the big screen.
"The spec falls smack in the middle of what everyone responds to with Cormac's novels," Wechsler told Deadline, with Schwartz adding, "Since McCarthy himself wrote the script, we get his own muscular prose directly, with its sexual obsessions. It's a masculine world into which, unusually, two women intrude to play leading roles. McCarthy's wit and humor in the dialogue make the nightmare even scarier. This may be one of McCarthy's most disturbing and powerful works."
If you've read "Blood Meridian" or "Child of God," `you know that "McCarthy's most disturbing and powerful works" is not a phrase to be used lightly. McCarthy has a gift for drilling right down to the darkest core of a man's soul to dreg up horrors that for the rest of us are unimaginable. We can't wait to see this.


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No bride has ever had a wedding dress like Stephanie Watson's.
The 29-year-old woman from Melbourne, Australia, created her unique dress from hand-me-down fabrics and 10,000 bread tags.
"I always liked the idea of a design challenge and thought a wedding dress would be the ultimate test," she wrote in an email to Yahoo. "Besides, when Will (my husband) and I started seeing each other, we started collecting bread tags. We decided that when we had enough tags to make a wedding dress we would get married. Ten years later I felt it was time to give it a go."
The dress cost Watson only $38 because she salvaged garments and tags collected from family and friends. However, she spent hours stitching the dress, as documented on her blog, Constructing Nadine.
"One of the tags I found had the name 'Nadine' printed on it," she wrote on her blog. "I thought it might be nice to give the gown a bit of personality by naming her. That way people would not have to ask me 'How is the dress going?' but rather 'How is Nadine?' I later realized that Nadine is a variety of potato and the tag was probably used to close a bag of spuds!"
Although the dress was a success, Watson — who's studied fashion design — says she wouldn't wear the 15-pound dress again.
"The dress was very uncomfortable and I would not recommend anyone making a dress out of hard bits of plastic," she wrote on her blog. "It was almost impossible to sit down in. It was also rather noisy. The tags clicked against each other as I walked."
Watson, who recently announced that she's pregnant, sells her non-bread-tag designs on her Etsy page.
More eco-fashion stories on MNN:
- 14 examples of eco-fashion gone too far [Photos]
- Eco fashion for men: Brands that bring it
- Smart and strange eco-bras


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I just picked up a copy of Ferran Adrià's cook book The Family Meal. For you who don't know Mr. Adrià is by many considered as the best chef in the world. Much based on the fact that his restaurant, el Bulli, kept winning awards as the best restaurant in the world. Kept winning you say, yes others are now fighting for the number one spot but that is not because Ferran lost his mojo, he simply took a long sabbatical and are contemplating ways to become even better.
Anyhow, the book is great. It's focus is on the every day meal. The family meal. It starts out with describing how the crew at elBulli eats together and then goes through some basics like what you should have in your fridge and how to make basic sauces and stocks.
The recipes are then very visual. Every meal consists of three courses and starts with a photo of all the ingredients you need and how long before you sit down you have to start preparing. Then comes the how-to with clear photos of each important step. It reminds me a bit about an old Korean cook book I have, not at all as 'fancy' but with the same level of pedagogics. Genius.
So, if you're into cooking or just cook books, The Family Meal comes recommended by this foodie.


text: Splish! Splash! Time to Get Wet! by ImagineToys.com on Wednesday, June 19, 2013 9:05:00 AM Add Some Water to Playtime! Cool your kids off this summer by adding water to playtime. Kids will have fun playing in the water and you don't need anything fancy. This entry was posted in Play with Me - Baby Activities, Let's Play - Kids of All Ages, Toddlers & Preschoolers Playtime, Big Kid Adventures. water playsplish splashplaytimeactivities for kidskids toys


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Zion Market Research experts figure the most recent give an account of "Production Chemicals Market: Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecasts 2016–2024", as per their most recent report the Production Chemicals Market report covers the by and large and comprehensive investigation of the Production Chemicals Market with every one of its factors that affect showcase development. The Production Chemicals Market's finished blueprint is completely clear written down in the worldwide Production Chemicals Market look into report to such an extent that an incompetent individual as well as an expert can without much of a stretch extrapolate the whole Production Chemicals Market inside couple of moments. The ebb and flow statistical surveying report moves our center onto the fundamental parts of the market like Production Chemicals Market item outline, Production Chemicals Market bifurcations, development enhancers, Production Chemicals Market offer, and others in a basic way. Indeed, even the variables hampering the advancement, driving organizations, supply-request chain, modern certainties, financial systems, government arrangements, and topological insights are edified in the overview report.
Free Request Sample Report Production Chemicals Market @ https://goo.gl/mGxT2r
The research dossier endows the information pertaining to the dynamics and genuine facts propelling the expansion as well as the product sale on a global basis. The report comprises of key players
- Akzonobel AkzoNobel NV
- Croda PLC
- DuPont
- Baker Hughes
- Halliburton
- and Schlumberger Limited.
Along with the elaborated information about the key contenders, the Global Production Chemicals Market report efficiently provides information by segmenting the market on the basis of the type services and products offerings, form of the product, applications of the final products, technology on which the product is based, and others. The report is also bifurcated the market on the basis of regions to analyze the growth pattern of the market in different geographical areas.
The current case study has all the details regarding the specific Global Production Chemicals Market mentioned on the basis of market size and share, future scope, industrial norms, competitive players, and so on. For a better perceptive of the Global Production Chemicals Market, we can refer to the research reports provided here as it takes us for a journey across the world in regards to the market analysis details.
The Global Production Chemicals Market report conveys the information regarding the précised escalation or decline in market growth due to several key factors. The analysts, using various analytical methodologies such as probability, SWOT analysis, among others to generate the precise forecast belonging to the growth rate and upcoming opportunities in the market growth at the Global level. The Global Production Chemicals Market report represents the complete information of the market in an eye-catching and easily understandable way with examples, figures, graphs, and flowcharts.
Free Download PDF Research Report Brochure @ https://goo.gl/f9YBfs
Geographically, Production Chemicals Market report split Globally into several key Regions, with sales, revenue (USD), market share and growth rate for these regions, during forecast period, including:
- North America ( United States)
- Europe ( Germany, France, UK)
- Asia-Pacific ( China, Japan, India)
- Latin America ( Brazil)
- The Middle East & Africa
Inquiry more about this report @ https://goo.gl/3o6drs
There are 15 Chapters to display the Global Production Chemicals Market
Chapter 1 : Definition, Specifications and Classification, Applications of Production Chemicals Market , Market Segment by Regions;
Chapter 2 : Manufacturing Cost Structure, Raw Material and Suppliers, Manufacturing Process, Industry Chain Structure;
Chapter 3 : Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis of Production Chemicals Market , Capacity and Commercial Production Date, Manufacturing Plants Distribution, R&D Status and Technology Source, Raw Materials Sources Analysis;
Chapter 4 : Overall Market Analysis, Capacity Analysis (Company Segment), Sales Analysis (Company Segment), Sales Price Analysis (Company Segment);
Chapter 5 and 6 : Regional Market Analysis that includes North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa, Production Chemicals Market Segment Market Analysis (by Type);
Chapter 7 and 8 : The Production Chemicals Market Segment Market Analysis (by Application) Major Manufacturers Analysis;
Chapter 9 : Market Trend Analysis, Regional Market Trend, Market Trend by Product Type- Small Sized, Large and Middle Sized, Market Trend by Application- Home Use, Commercial Use, Other
Chapter 10 : Regional Marketing Type Analysis, International Trade Type Analysis, Supply Chain Analysis;
Chapter 11 : The Consumers Analysis;
Chapter 12 : Production Chemicals Market Research Findings and Conclusion, Appendix, methodology and data source;
Chapter 13, 14 and 15 : sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data source.


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It's been busy here at Yarn Graffiti documentary production central. John and I have been busy working on promoting our Indiegogo campaign and working on the Texas Filmmaker Production Fund, Cinereach, along with ITVS grant applications. I feel like we have a better chance at TFPF than ITVS but we are guaranteed to not get anything if we don't apply.
In the last month or so my documentary has gotten a little bit of attention, specifically in the blog world. All this attention makes me feel amazing. It's as if the bloggers has given me their stamp of approval.
Check out...
Modern Knitting
Laughing Squid
Tree Hugger
Arts Media Lab
Fashion at Liberty
Penn Alternative Fuels
Cool Craft Sites
Green Dump
Design Talk
Knitta Please
and many more. I've been noticing that a lot of the blogs like to repost from each other. Tree Hugger seems to be a trend setting in the blog world. It's crazy but it feels really good. I won't say too much more but there have been talks with TrendStop, The Guardian, and Time Magazine about doing a story about the documentary.
Many many people have tweeted about the doc and I really appreciate everything. Thanks to @KnittingNews, @ModernKnitting, @LaughingSquid, @knittyattitude, @knittaporfavor, @emperorsclothes, @CrochetBlogger, @StitchLily, @StreetBandits, @KnitoriousMEG, @deadlyknitshade @KnitsforLife @laidbackknitter and many more.
On top of all the blogs and tweets, I've been on Austin's KOOP Radio FM91.7 talking about my documentary. Unfortunately they don't archive their shows otherwise I would have shared my part here. It was really fun and since, I've been invited on Sherry Mills's show every week since to kind of keep her company.
Long story short, things are good for the documentary. Thanks for all the support.


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WE ARE BACK – We have no more shipping delays. Thank you for your patience throughout the last 2 months. We appreciate your business + keep stacking!
1 oz PAMP Suisse Gold Bar
We'll gladly match the competition
On orders over
This PAMP Suisse Gold bar features the Roman goddess of fortune. The obverse depicts a blindfolded Lady Fortuna (from the Latin fortuna, -ae f fortune or luck) with a cornucopia or "horn of plenty". This is the positive aspect of luck or rather good luck.
The reverse of the bar bears the company logo, the weight, purity and serial number. The Certicard lists the same, along with the signature of the chief assayer.
PAMP is an acronym for Produits Artistiques Métaux Précieux or artistic precious metals products and is a world renowned refiner specializing in precious metals for artistic use. These bars are manufactured to the highest standards by one of the biggest names in Swiss refined precious metals.
|PAMP Suisse
|Lightly Used
|Lady Fortuna, blindfolded with a cornucopia and the words "the Art of Precious Metal Transformation Swiss Made PAMP Produits Artistiques Metaux Precieux"
|PAMP logo and the words "Suisse One Ounce Fine Gold 999.9" and the serial number. On the Certicard the serial number, purity, weight and the Chief Assayer's signature.
|42.4 x 24.7 x 2.6


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publish.UP | Potsdam Publication Portal
Welcome to publish.UP - the publication portal of the University of Potsdam. Here you will find the Publication Server, the University Bibliography and the Potsdam University Press. You can also learn about Open Access publishing, its framework conditions and opportunities. This portal provides access to the latest academic research results and informs you about our services in the context of academic publishing at Potsdam University.
These five features of the Publication Portal are services provided by the Potsdam University Library:
Publication Server
Potsdam University Press
Potsdam University Bibliography
Open Access at the University of Potsdam
Submitting Deposit Copies


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Mariah Carey, Beyonce, Rihanna, Carrie Underwood, Fergie, Leona, Miley Cyrus, Ciara, Keyshia Cole, Ashanti, Natasha, Nicole, Mary J Singing "Just Stand Up" Live!
Stand Up Cancer Live Performance. Shout out to Drewreports.com for the tip
Please click the "Report" button below if the video on this page is not working properly.
Comments will only be displayed by verified emails. No Spamming or Racism.


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Adobe Systems has announced the opening of the Adobe Museum of Digital Media (AMDM). The online venue goes live this morning, 6 October at 5:01 am UK time.
What promises to be a one-of-a-kind online museum, the AMDM is billed as an interactive venue to present and preserve groundbreaking digital media works, inspire creative ideas and experimentation, and provide a forum for expert commentary on how digital media influences culture and society.
The AMDM will feature programs and works including art, film, performance, design, architecture and social media, and will engage a wide range of curators and what Adobe calls cultural luminaries to develop content and programs.
"Valley, the latest work by the renowned American artist Tony Oursler and the AMDM's inaugural exhibition, explores our relationship to the Internet, underscored by Oursler's often raucous, disarming humour," notes Adobe.
"The title "Valley" is a reference to Oursler's fascination with roboticist Masahiro Mori's 1970s theory, which conflates Jenstch's and Freud's theories of the 'Uncanny' with the development of human-like robots."
Valley will be followed by projects from Japanese artist Mariko Mori and John Maeda, American graphic designer and president of the Rhode Island School of Design. AMDM exhibitions are expected to change on a quarterly basis and an archive of exhibits will remain indefinitely accessible to visitors within the AMDM.
"Adobe works with a wide range of creative professionals every day. We see extraordinary digital projects that take advantage of current technology and point to where creative minds will take digital media in the future," said Ann Lewnes, senior vice president of global marketing, Adobe.
"The museum was inspired by them and is a tribute to their talent and innovation. We believe digital media plays an important role in shaping our society as well as our creative culture and should be celebrated in a space where the medium is literally the message."
The AMDM can be found at www.adobemuseum.com.
The museum is the result of a collaboration among Piero Frescobaldi, co-founder of unit9, a UK based digital production company, Filippo Innocenti, founder of UK based Spin+ and professor of Architecture Technology at Politecnico di Milano University, San Francisco based advertising agency Goodby, Silverstein and Partners along with Adobe.


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Looking for that perfect cake for your special occasion? Look no further! Luxury Cakes is a professional cake designer and baker with years of experience in the industry. We create edible masterpieces customized to your theme and preferences that look too good to be true and taste even better. From cakes to cupcakes to cake pops, we strive to deliver exceptional goodies for all occasions. Our high volume of returning clients proves that our cakes will leave you wanting for more!
Here at Luxury Cakes, each cake is a piece of artwork of its own. We like to take the time to get to know our clients during our consultations and tastings to ensure we can paint the picture they have in mind in the form of a cake. We welcome new challenges and ideas because we are confident in our ability to make your dream cake into reality! We love being in this industry because we enjoy celebrating people's special days, which is evident in our final products.
Our policy is that the customer comes first. We have a range of styles and flavors available, but if you have any special requests, we are more than happy to accommodate. Our business stands out with our handmade edible toppers and decor, which lets you enjoy every single bit of the cake. Whether it is for pickup or delivery, your centerpiece for the day will be a replica of your vision.
Check out our gallery for some examples of our past projects. If you are looking to accessorize, we also specialize in cupcakes, cake pops, and much more. Make sure to contact us for all your customized cake needs for any event, let it be birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, religious occasions, etc. Our business is based out of Ajax, however, we serve all of Durham region, Toronto, and the GTA.
Let us be your cake specialists for your special day, Nizoral Shampoo Buy Uk. Thank you.
First and foremost, your cakes are so beautiful and it is very obvious you put forth a lot of effort into your work! It takes a lot of patience and creativity to build such yummy edibles!

The 16th birthday cake you made for us was such a creative idea. The birthday girl loved it and we had so much people asking where we ordered it from. The cake turned out just the way we wanted it to be, and the birthday girl actually ended up keeping the roses and the peacock as a memory. It was by far the best cake at any of our family parties, and we had many people asking for your #. Will continue to order from you for any of our occasions! Good luck in all your future endeavors!
This was the first time I ordered a cake from Sobi. She did an amazing, clean, and neat job! She did exactly what I wanted leaving me with no complaints. I am thoroughly satisfied and I would definitely recommend her to anyone.
I had ordered several of your cake and made them customized for our various parties and you had done an awesome job on all of them with delicious taste. We love your work! Thank-you for the yummy cakes, cupcakes & cake pops!
The best service I believe. Very high quality products with the friendly services... what a talent you have ....my son was very happy and surprised to see the surprise egg cake...thank u so much for the lovely Tasty cake
Amazing cakes and great talent! LOVE her cakes!
Thank you for making the lovely cake for my sons birthday! You made it exactly the way he wanted! Thanks again Sobi!


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The Brian Kirk-directed space drama Passengers won't make it to movie theaters for its scheduled April 3, 2015 date.
The Hollywood Reporter wrote Thursday that the film is experiencing delays following Rachel McAdam's departure from the cast.
Weinstein Co. acquired the U.S. rights for Passengers during the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, but it reportedly pulled out from the project following McAdams' retreat and the production delay that followed.
Creative Artists Agency is reportedly shopping around for new buyers in the U.S.
Filming for Passengers, which was set to begin on April 7, 2014, has also been pushed back until a new female lead is found.
The film is set to star Keanu Reeves as a "colonist aboard a spacecraft carrying 5,000 sleeping passengers to a new world." Reeves' character eventually becomes lonely and wakes up one of the characters and the two later realize "it's up to them to save everyone on the journey."
Reese Witherspoon was set to play the lead character, Aurora, before McAdams.


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|Yellow Breeches Creek near Lisburn, Pennsylvania
Yesterday and overnight a hard, cold rain fell, creating streams where none existed the day before. The lane up the mountain was washed out pretty bad, and leaves clogged the washed out areas. This morning the Yellow Breeches Creek ran full, if not over its banks. The wind still gusts and so far shows no sign of waning. The temperature has dropped 20 degrees so far. It is not a day for lounging outdoors.
Still, I think I've missed the some of the more extreme weather I've heard about in other parts of the country that was caused by this storm. For now, the roller coaster that is this season has rolled back into winter. Last night I went outside in my flip flops. This morning I'm wearing my winter jacket. I have no idea whether this latest big dip is the last one or just one more on the ride. Last year winter never arrived. This year it comes and goes from one day to the next. And slams the door in both directions.


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Throughout the project, numerous benchmarking tools were used to complete a comprehensive energy and sustainability analysis. The package of existing industry standard metrics and newly developed tools serve as a comprehensive means to map out a more sophisticated assessment for a building retrofit program. These models and tools helped make the Empire State Building's retrofit possible and are applicable to any large commercial building retrofit.
White Papers
One building can change the world — Empire State Building's groundbreaking leadership [PDF]
A landmark sustainability program for the Empire State Building [PDF]
Design Tools
Energy Modeling Tools
eQUEST Energy Modeling Program
Whole building energy modeling typically consists of the use of a computer-based program for the analysis of annual energy consumption in buildings. The simulation programs used for energy modeling use an hourly weather file along with inputs for the building construction and operating parameters including building envelope, internal gains, occupancy schedules, and building systems to calculate energy consumption and peak demand by end use and by zone.
There are several different energy modeling programs available to engineers and modelers. For the Empire State Building, the team selected eQUEST, a user-friendly front end to the DOE-2.2 simulation engine (an update to the original version of DOE-2.1e).
Download a free version of eQUEST
Daylighting Design Tools
SPOT is intended to assist a designer in quantifying the existing or intended electric lighting and annual daylighting characteristics of a given space and to help establish the optimal photosensor placement for the space relative to annual performance and annual energy savings.
Download an example output from the tool
AGI 32 can predict lighting system performance for any application from one luminaire in a jail cell to hundreds of luminaires in a professional sports facility. Interior or exterior, AGI32 can build environments for most any electric lighting or daylighting application with unlimited luminaires, calculation points, and reflective or transmissive surfaces.
Schematic Design Tools
Google Sketch-Up
Google SketchUp is software that you can use to create 3D models of anything you like.
Download a free version of Google SketchUp
Climate Consultant
Climate Consultant graphically displays climate data in either metric or imperial units in dozens of ways useful to architects and engineers including monthly bar charts, timetable charts, and psychrometric charts, sun shading charts, and sun dial charts.
Download a free version of Climate Consultant
Rating Tools
Energy Star Target Finder
EPA`s Target Finder tool helps architects and building owners set aggressive, realistic energy targets and benchmark a building design's estimated energy use relative to the energy use of similar building types.
Find out more about Energy Star
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)
The LEED Green Building Rating System is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high performance green buildings. LEED gives building owners and operators the framework and guidance they need to have an immediate and measurable impact on their buildings' performance. LEED promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in six key areas of human and environmental health including sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials and resources selection, indoor environmental quality, and innovation in design.
The two rating systems used for benchmarking the Empire State Building included the LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance rating system and the LEED for Commercial Interiors program.
Green Globes
Green Globes is a green building rating system based on 1000 points over six categories: energy, water, resources, emissions/ effluents/ pollution control, indoor environment, environmental management system.
Find out more about Green Globes
Greenhouse Gas Inventory Tool for Buildings
The Sustainability Metrics Model for Greenhouse Gas Emissions has been developed by the project team to scientifically evaluate a facility or company's impact on global warming and local environment resulting from the implementation of sustainability measures. This tool will enable the Empire State Building, and other buildings, to quantify the impact of their sustainability initiatives by converting their impact to Global Warming Potential (GWP).
The quantitative tool is based on internationally accepted scientific data and calculations. Tools, information, and data developed and published by the EPA, EIA, WRI, and DOE are used to support the Sustainability Metrics Model. The model is Excel-based to allow ease of integration as the Model is shared.
Download a file containing the beta version of the tool [XLS]
Decision-Making Tools
Financial Decision Making Tool
To determine the relative financial impacts of implementing individual measures and packages of measures, the team developed a decision making spreadsheet tool. Unlike the widely used energy modeling software, the financial modeling tool was developed specifically for this project.
The financial model calculates the net present value of the incremental cash flows over a 15-year period (2008 to 2023) resulting from the proposed energy efficiency measures. The financial model provides net present value figures that reflect the approximate project impact for ESB. The study timeline is intended to reflect the typical financing period for projects of this nature. The incremental cash flows are the difference in cash flows between executing the Empire State Building`s original capital budget (or an appropriate industry standard) and executing the proposed energy efficiency measures. While energy efficiency projects are often evaluated simply by comparing capital costs with utility expense savings, the team sought to create a more comprehensive and accurate story by incorporating other relevant incremental cash flows including repair and maintenance impacts, revenues, and rebates; based in part, on inputs from ownership.
Download a beta version of the financial decision-making tool [XLS]
Tenant Financial Decision Making Tool
The Tenant Design Assistance Feedback Tool is intended to help tenants in the Empire State Building easily and quickly understand the economic impact of incorporating energy efficiency measures into fit-out designs. If tenants understand the financial benefit, they are more likely to make the added capital investment. The Excel based tool (currently a beta version requiring refinement of assumptions) includes three key input steps.
Once the input information is complete, tenants are provided with a cash flow chart showing the expected additional capital expenditure in year one (e.g. additional costs during fit-out) and the expected savings each year thereafter for the life of the lease. The tenant is also provided with a net present value of the capital costs and energy savings. These calculations do not include any other financial impacts besides capital costs and energy savings.
Download an example output from the tool [JPG]
Integrated Design Checklist
Because the integrated design process allows for the introduction of more variables and "what-if's" than a conventional value engineering process, design decisions can become more complex; and, there is no form or questionnaire that determines the best outcome.
Decisions are based on a variety of factors ranging from benefits (energy reduction, cost reduction, LEED points, aesthetics, comfort), to upstream and downstream impacts on other building systems and infrastructure, to the degree to which certain measures achieve overall project goals. To determine the viability of various design solutions, several levels of inquiry can be explored. Answers to these questions can supplant typical value engineering (where design decisions are based primarily on cost per unit of energy reduction for individual measures without accounting for interaction between systems) and help a design team understand how well a particular design measure meets the ultimate needs of the project across a range of topics and metrics. The checklist below can help ensure the right questions are asked during the project development process.
Download a pdf document of the Integrated Design Checklist [PDF]


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Molten Flistatec USAV V5M5000-3USA Volleyball
Buy 24 for $45.53 each
Buy 72 for $44.06 each
- Official volleyball of USA Volleyball
- Official volleyball of the 2014 USAV Boys' Junior National Championships
- This ball has been developed using Molten FLISTATEC technology, which stands for Flight Stability Technology, and is set to revolutionize volleyball design
- The new Molten FLISTATEC Volleyball boasts increased ball control and improved visibility
- By improving the air-current around the ball while in flight, Molten has succeeded in increasing ball control during play
- Ground-breaking research by Molten revealed that by placing raised hexagonal shaped designs on the surface of the ball the manufacturer has been able to enhance the flight stability of the ball
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Chemical reactors - for vaccum and pressure applications - chemically resistant
Büchi Glass - Chemical Reactor Systems
Buchi Reactor systems are developed to fulfill the actual needs of the Chemical and Pharmaceutical Industries.
Chemical reactors - for vaccum and pressure applications - chemically resistant
Büchi Glass - Chemical Reactor Systems
- Glass Reactors for pressure applications (max. 12 bar)
- Glass reactors for mainly vacuum applications (full vacuum -1 bar to + 2 bar)
- steel & other metalshigh pressure research - and pilot reactors up to 500 bar (6000 psi) and more
Chemical reactors, Chemical stirred Tank Reactors (CSTR) are used for multiple chemical processes. As Batch reactors the can be operated as stand alone units (often in the Lab for vaccum-, atmospheric to high pressure reactions) or as the heart of a complete chemical reaction system as used in chemical manufacturing for multi steps synthesis. Depending on the chemistry and process conditions, they are built in different materials: In highly corrosion resistent transparent Borosilicate glass, in glass lined steel or with reduced resistance against acids but for high pressure applications in stainless steel, Hastelloy C22, (see also Inconel, Monel), Titanium, Tantalum. The sealing material is also of importance has must be chosen carefully.
Chemical Reactors must consider regarding design and performance:
Buchi«chemReactors»are built for batch – and / semi batch operation mode.
Perfectly matched components, top-quality materials, and the competence and experience of the Büchi team guarantee economical and high performance solutions tailored to the customer's most detailed requirements. Büchi's worldwide success represents more than state-of-the-art technology; it stands for fair partnership and skilled, professional support.
Customized reactor design: ask us.
Büchi Glass equipment, glass reactors
Operation pressure
Full vacuum to pressure (0.5 bar)
Operation temperature
-80°C (-60°C) to + 200°C
Reactor volumes
5 – 10'000 liters
Materials (wetted)
Glass / glass lined steel / PTFE / Hastelloy
Full view reaction vessel, column, heat exchanger (condenser), feeder, receiver
Application /processes
(Vacuum) Distillation, Reflux, Rectification
Automation, stirrer shapes, pH, sampling, CiP, solid (high containment) feed, etc.
Engineering, manufacturing, installation
Fine chemicals, pharmaceuticals (API's), plastics, dyes and many others
cGMP Design, CE conformity, PED conformity, ATEX conformity (explosion proof), FDA conform materials, etc.
Installation sites
R&D Lab, Pilot Plant, kilo lab, production
The design of Büchi chemical reactors integrates multiple aspects of chemical engineering like:
- Excellent thermal process control
- Pure products
- Safe operation
- Best performance
- Economical solution
- Customized reactor systems
- Return On Investment (ROI)
Büchi Glass Reactors and Glass lined reactors systems:
Chemical reactors are used for many different processes. To process different chemicals, the reactors are built using highly corrosion resistant or inert materials (Borosilicate glass, glass lined steel (G/L)). Due to this fact and due to the design, our chemReactors can be used as multipurpose reactors in many applications.
In R&D as well as in Pilot and kilo labs of pharmaceutical companies or life science companies, the reactors are used for multiple processes. They are often used as batch reactors. The operation temperature for such reactors can be from – 85°C up to + 200°C. These reactors are called low temperature reactors or cryogenic reactors, since often used in pharma research, people also refer to them as pharma reactors. When using in Pharma, other aspects like choice of used materials, easy cleaning ability etc. have to be respected too.
chemReactors are built with reactor sizes of 15 liter, 30 liter, 60 liter, 100 Liter, 160 liter and 250 liter. They are used for scale up processes, process development and small scale (API) manufacturing or manufacturing of fine chemicals.
The reactors are built with a glass lined steel bottom section. The reactor upper part is a glass dome for smaller reactors or glass column and glass lined cover plate. These glass parts which are made in borosilicate glass allow the chemist to observe the reaction, while the glass lined bottom section guarantees excellent thermal process control - due to its optimized design. Inside the reactor, many accessories are available. Stirrers are to be defined according to the processed media and process itself. Stirrer shapes can be impeller, anchor or others, arranged as single stirrer or as multi stage stirrer. The distillation glass overhead usually consists of glass feeding vessels or feeders, a distillation column and receiving vessels or receivers. For the condensation, we use glass spiral condensers or shell and tube type heat exchangers in glass or silicon carbide (SiC), and an additional glass condenser as vent condenser. Glass valves are used in the systems for different purposes.
The glass distillation overhead is usually used for vacuum distillation, where high vacuum rates are needed. This can be achieved with the use of our büchiflex glass connections.
The safety, reliability, and serviceability of glassware systems depend heavily on the joint quality; a glass joint must not only remain tight and strong but must also permit completely stress-free assembly. Büchi's flexible «büchiflex» glass connection meets the need for a perfect, safe, and reliable solution.
For reactors systems larger than 250 liters for mid scale to large scale production, Pilot and kilo labs, we use glass lined mixing vessels supplied by different manufacturers of glass lined steel reactors. These reactors are called AE or BE type reactors. For complete systems consisting of such enamelled reactors with glass overheads, shell and tube heat exchangers are used more often due to the need for increased heat exchange area. Due to the excellent heat transfer, the inner tubes of such heat exchangers are often made of SiC. Complete distillation setups are to be defined according to the process. Our flexible büchiflex glass connection system is a key component for safe chemical processing and stands for the best performance in chemical production sites for installation with glass components up to DN600.
The design of chemical or pharmaceutical process equipment has to cover several issues. These systems are often customized according to specific customer requirements. Sometimes the reactor needs to be in stainless steel, sometime in Hastelloy C22, sometimes with half pipes and heating jacket, sometimes it has to withstand pressure. There are requests for solid feed or powder dosing using high containment solutions that have to be added to the reactors as well as pH control, sampling, nitrogen purging /blanketing. In most cases these reactors are installed in flame proof or hazardous area, so they have to be approved as flame proof or ATEX certified equipment.
We use current – up to date technology to first define flow diagrams (PID or P&ID). Based on these, we design the chemical process unit using 3D engineering software. A "real view" of the future plant can be generated, allowing the customer to actually verify his installation in a very early stage of planning.
Glass Reactors Systems including: «miniPilot» «chemReactor» Glass process equipment Engineering Filters Glass Reactor Scrubber Services
Glass Reactors Systems including:
«miniPilot» 5 - 15 liters
«chemReactor» type Reactors systems
chemical process equipment in glass, glass lined steel
Glass Reactors, mixing vessels, storage tanks


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Pakistan existed neither as a concept nor a nation-state until the 1940s. Singapore, on the contrary, has been a flourishing port city with a diverse population for many centuries.
It is easy to point to the impact of Chinese, Malays and Indians on Singapore's history. That Mandarin, Malay and Tamil, along with English, are Singapore's official languages is testament to that fact. However, within these larger groups there are 'subdivisions' which too have added to the rich flavours of modern Singapore.
The initial impact of 'Pakistanis' on 1900s Singapore occurred primarily through the British Indian army. Soldiering seems to come naturally to many Muslims from Northwest India, today's Pakistan.
|Pari (Fairy) Lake located in the Swat Valley of Pakistan's Khyber Pukhtunkhwa province
Among the military contingents located in Singapore at the time was the Fifth Light Infantry Regiment. The Fifth Light Infantry Regiment contained mainly Muslim soldiers from Punjab and the Northwest Frontier Province. These same two provinces, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (the Northwest Frontier province) provide the bulk of the troops and officers for present day Pakistan's military.
The regiment arrived in Singapore in October 1914, in the midst of Europe's first 'world' war. The 1914-18 war saw the Ottoman Empire, the precursor to modern Turkey, side with Germany against the British. Until its disbandment in 1924, the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire had for many centuries also held the title of Islam's Caliph. The Caliph is the spiritual and moral leader of all Muslims.
Consequently, when soldiers of the Fifth Light Infantry fell prey to rumours that the regiment was being shipped to Europe to fight against the Sultan's (Caliph's) troops, half of the regiment's troops mutinied against the British. The other half of the regiment scattered across the island. Eight hundred mutineers roamed the island looking for British targets. Order was not fully restored for approximately ten days.
In the aftermath of the 1915 Mutiny, colonial authorities passed the 'Reserve Force and Civil Guard Ordinance' imposing compulsory military training for all male subjects aged between 18–55; Singapore's first experience with National Service.
|Indian Muslim Soldiers of the Fifth Light Infantry being executed at Outram Road
Singaporean academics tend to couch the 1915 Mutiny in the context of Muslim soldiers unwilling to fight other Muslims. History refutes this argument.
Muslims routinely fought for the British (and other colonial powers) against other Muslims, e.g. Afghanistan. At times, Indian Muslim soldiers even fought against troops loyal to the Mughal Empire. The fact that Malay Muslim soldiers under the command of the Sultan of Johor assisted British colonial authorities in capturing mutineers from the Fifth Light Infantry regiment also puts paid to the 'pan-Islamist' argument.
Whatever one's views on pan-Islamism, one fact is clear: Pakistanis have been making waves in Singapore for almost a century now!
Imran is a business and management consultant. Through his work at Deodar Advisors, Imran improves the profitability of small and medium sized businesses operating in Singapore and the region. He can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Fiduciary Licence Agreement (FLA)
Why would I need FLA?
Development of Free Software can follow many patterns. In some cases whole development is handled by sole programmer or a small group of people. But more often, creation and maintenance of software is a complex process encompassing many individuals. This also reflects on who owns the rights in software. In the latter case, rights in software are owned jointly by a great number of individuals.
To tackle this issue some projects require a full copyright assignment to be signed by all contributors. The problem with such assignments is often that they lack check and balances that would protect the contributors from potential abuse of power from the new copyright holder.
The Fiduciary Licence Agreement (FLA) was created just with that in mind – to concentrate all deciding power within one entity and prevent fragmentation of rights on one hand, while on the other preventing that single entity from abusing its power.
Solution is so-called Fiduciary Licence Agreement (FLA). This technique makes it possible to concentrate all the deciding power within one entity and prevent fragmentation of rights.
This process only serves for transfer of economic rights. So-called moral rights (e.g. authors right to be identified as author) remain with original author and are inalienable.
How does FLA function?
FLA is an agreement between two parties - on the one side is an individual who contributed to software and therefore is co-author (Contributor), the other party is entity - it might be natural person but also company or organisation - who will be the new holder of rights (Trustee). This way the fragmentation of rights among many contributors can be prevented. Instead all the rights will be concentrated in one entity. It ensures, that copyright-relevant modifications (aforementioned re-licensing) can be done easier, without need to pin down all contributors.
Contributor does not lose all her rights, just the exclusivity in them. While she transfers her exclusive rights to the entity responsible for managing, Trustee reciprocally grants her a non-exclusive worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual and irrevocable licence to same extent as it was originally transferred from Contributor.
What if trustee misuses the rights I gave to them, e.g. by re-licensing Free Software as a proprietary one?
FLA offers a special clause for this kind of situation to protect the Free Software project against potentially malicious intentions of Trustee. According to this provision, if Trustee acts against the principles of Free Software, all granted rights and licences return to their original owners. That means Trustee will be effectively prevented from continuing any activity which is contrary to principles of Free Software.
Who can be Trustee?
As was mentioned above, Trustee can be basically anyone, whether a natural person, company or organisation. But before becoming a Trustee, it is always important to assess all the risks connected with becoming one. Being a Trustee is a responsibility that should not be underestimated.
How to use FLA for your own project?
The previous version of FLA was used for the FSFE's Fiduciary Programme. Unfortunately, the FSFE is no longer accepting new projects under the Fiduciary Programme at the moment, however you can use our customisable version of the updated FLA-2.0 in order to consolidate your copyright under your own administrative umbrella. It can also be adapted to assign the rights to any other third party.
If you want to use our updated FLA-2.0 for your own project, please follow the instructions here.
What has changed in FLA-2.0?
FLA-2.0 was drafted in collaboration with ContributorAgreements.org in order to better reflect the necessities of Contributors, and Trustees as recipients of contributions. As a result of this collaboration, the FLA-2.0 now includes:
- compatibility with more jurisdictions;
- added patent licence for further protection against patent litigation;
- clearer wording;
- narrowing down the list of Free Software licences1;
- more practical licensing options directed towards third parties – including referencing to an external licensing policy.
All the changes were made in order to strengthen the position of both developers and the managing entity for a better management of rights within one project.
You can learn more about the FLA-2.0 by emailing us.
FLA-2.0 was written by Matija Šuklje and Catharina Maracke, based on the spirit of the original FLA and the ContributorAgreements.org templates, as well as in consultation with renowned international legal and technical experts. Special thanks should go to Aahit Gaba, Adriaan de Groot, Alessandro Rubini, Anthonia Ghalamkarizadeh, Axel Metzger, Carlo Piana, Florian Idelberger, Hugo Roy, Ingo Klöcker, Jonas Öberg, Jonathan Riddell, Lydia Pintscher, Malcolm Bain, Martin Husovec, Nicola Feltrin, Paul Brown, Pam Chestek, Polina Malaja, Vishesh Handa, as well as the Legal Network, KDE e.V., DataVerse, and Endocode.
Initial version of FLA was written by Dr. Axel Metzger and Georg Greve in consultation with renowned international legal and technical experts. Parties ivolved in the evolution of the FLA included RA Dr. Till Jaeger, Carsten Schulz, Prof. Eben Moglen, RA Thorsten Feldmann (LL.M.), Werner Koch, Alessandro Rubini, Reinhard Muller, Shane Coughlan and others.
Free Software licence as in identified by Free Software Foundation and Open Source Initiative↩


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Fear, anxiety, and secrecy marked the roughly year and a half I received federal food stamps.
Like the New Testament's famed Samaritan woman who snuck to the well at an odd hour to get water, I tried to retrieve the sustenance my family needed outside the view of my immediate community.
I tried never to let those around me see me using the food stamp card, and certainly wouldn't have ever told my extended family or friends. I wanted no one to know I was living outside the bounds of "acceptable" life.
I had decided to find out whether I qualified for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) while a full-time seminary student trying to raise three teens — one of them in college. I worked jobs as much as I could around my school schedule, but in the end I never had enough money to pay bills, meet my children's needs, and buy enough groceries for the month.
The food stamp application process was humbling. I ventured downtown to the massive social service building that warehouses all of my community's "aid" offices. I sat for what seemed like hours, provided paperwork to a condescending social worker, and waited patiently to hear the outcome.
My award letter elicited some relief and a good deal of fear in me. I now had a guaranteed amount of money at the beginning of each month to use for food. But I also now was a user of a system that many believe enables shiftless moochers to live off the government.
After my first month on food stamps what little relief I felt was replaced with anxiety. The award amount I was given wasn't enough to cover an entire month of food. The generic calculations the food stamp gurus had used to determine how much my family needed was far from reality.
So, I did what everyone else on food stamps does — I made the food stretch each month and found other ways to keep us eating.
Thankfully, one of the ways I made it work was to use the student food pantry at my seminary. I wasn't happy about it; it was yet another example that I couldn't make it in a society that expected me to be able to stock my refrigerator and pantry without issue. But I did it anyway.
Friends, my journey is not unique. Your co-workers, neighbors, and even family members are quietly struggling in much the same way as it relates to food insecurity.
And, like Jesus who offered the Samaritan woman at the well living water, you must provide those struggling in your midst with a faithful solution.
Perhaps that faithful solution is creating a condemnation-free environment where the struggling can acknowledge truthfully where they are with food insecurity. Perhaps that faithful solution is to create food sharing and meal management resources. Or, perhaps that faithful solution is to vigorously advocate that Congress not cut SNAP benefits, but instead invest in this most essential program.
Since graduating from seminary and accepting a full-time job I no longer qualify for food stamps, and I can better manage my family's food expenses. I have, however, kept my food stamp card as a visual reminder of life's incredible journey, the grace of a loving and merciful God, and my call as a Christian to feed the hungry.
I challenge you to implement solutions. Let it be so!
Toya Richards Jacksonis a licensed Baptist minister from Louisville, Ky. She holds a Master of Divinity degree from Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary and is the owner of Grace Multimedia, LLC.
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LETTER: Settlement bad for taxpayers
The story you had on the front page of your paper 6/16/13 was informative. NYSNYS writer Kyle Hughes failed to mention the Oneida Indian Nation is an illegal business. And the OIN is not a sovereign nation. In my opinion our U.S. Supreme Court said so in the Sherrill case.
Why would your N.Y. State government (Andy Cuomo) make a deal with an illegal business? Who in our state decides which laws to enforce? If the OIN would obey laws and remit taxes due, I could live with the casino.
The casino has made many jobs. But they have forced many businesses to close.
You and I as taxpayers and residents of N.Y.S. have to obey the laws, where the OIN does not. This is a bad contract and may be illegal as well.
The deal between Cuomo and Halbritter is a bad deal. Looks to me like the OIN wrote the contract. Looks like they will be getting most everything they want.
Oneida and Madison County and the state will lose a lot of dollars with this deal. I think we should live with things the way they are for a while longer.
Call your representatives today and ask them to vote NO on this bill. If this contract is signed the terms are forever!
-- Jack Wallace, Oneida
The Oneida Daily Dispatch welcomes letters about local topics or from local people online and in print. Subject to an upper limit of 500 words, letters may be edited for length or taste.
Letters containing things such personal attacks, name-calling, libel, obscenities or obvious falsehoods won't be printed.
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Oneida NY 13421
Include your name and city or town, which will be published, and for verification purposes, your daytime phone number, which won't be published.


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History Week in Canada
In 1792, a royal proclamation divided Upper Canada into counties.
Go to the website of the Archives of Ontario at http://www.archives.gov.on.ca/en/maps/ontario-districts.aspx
Also, Brenda Dougall Merriman, in her 30th anniversary edition of Genealogy in Ontario: Searching the Records, has maps on pages 7-10 which shows the different political divisions in Ontario
In 1880, Dr. Emily Howard Stowe became the first woman licensed to practise medicine in Canada. She graduated from the New York Medical College, because at the time, no Canadian medical college would accept a female student.
To read more about Dr. Stowe, go to http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/physicians/030002-2500-e.html
In 1836, the first Canadian railway opened. The track of the Champlain and St. Lawrence Railway, which ran 24 kilometres between the St. Lawrence and Richelieu Rivers, was built of a wooden base and wooden rails covered with a protective metal strip.
To read more about the Champlain and St. Lawrence Railway, go to http://canadachannel.ca/HCO/index.php/1836_-_Canada's_First_Railway_- The_Champlain_and_St._Lawrence
In 1874, the first Mennonites arrived in Quebec. They eventually settled in Manitoba.
To read more about this subject, go to http://www.mennonitegenealogy.com/canada/quebec/quebec7480.htm
Social Media
OGS Conference Community
To keep abreast of the developments of the OGS conference at Barrie in 2015, become a "friend" and keep informed.
The History Blog
The History Blog
An archaeological team excavating the Newfoundland colony of Avalon has found a small copper crucifix from the early dates of the settlement in the 1600s.
The Empress of Ireland – a century after Canada's 'Titanic' tragedy http://www.irishcentral.com/roots/history/The-Empress-of-Ireland---a-century-after-Canadas-Titanic-tragedy.html
There are photos of the Empress of Ireland – a very impressive story.
New tour focuses on city's haunted history
There is a news story as well as a video on the city's "haunted history".
Newfoundland and Labrador
A dog indelibly part of our history
Read the history of the Newfoundland dog in the province's development.
Nova Scotia
Fire upgrades part of work at site symbolizing Acadian deportation
The site was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2012. There has been preservation work going on since 2009 to the site. The chapel was built in 1930 to commemorate the deportation of the Acadians in 1755.
New exhibit tells story of Gaelic history, culture in N.S.
An exhibit has opened at the McCulloch House Museum and Heritage Centre. Here is interpretive panels in Gaelic and English which tells the story of the arrival of the Scottish Gaels in Nova Scotia, their language and culture.
COUNTERPOINT: Western Nova Scotia up to scratch
A response has been written to the Halifax-Boston ferry that others have raised.
Prince Edward Island
Troupe that brings Sir John A. to life seeks sponsors
The future of the Confederation Players is unclear with P.E.I. 2014 funding close to an end
Summer students bring the 1864 Charlottetown Conference to life every summer, but now its unclear if the program will continue because of cut backs to the funding. The players conduct paid walking tours.
New BrunswickNo stories this week.
There will be a pilgrimage from Maine to Quebec City to honour the 350th anniversary of Notre-Dame de Québec Basilica-Cathedral from Friday October 3rd through Sunday October 5th.
Donated artifacts tell new stories in local history
Forty-one donors have given more than 2,000 artifacts, documents, photographs and postcards to the Cornwall Community Museum in the Wood House.
A snoop through closets past with two new books that offer smart takes on history's fashion sense
These are two books to add to the library.
Van Doos make history at Buckingham Palace
The Royal 22nd Regiment is standing guard at their posts at Buckingham Palace and St James's Palace respectively where they began six days guarding the British Royal Family, to the cheers of thousands of tourists thronging the capital.
History of Canadian Furniture
Do you know that Kitchener (then known as Berlin) was the birthplace of Canadian furniture?
Is Hotel Waverly's lurid past keeping it from heritage designation?
'A sense of nostalgia...doesn't necessarily warrant physical protection'
The hotels does not meet the criteria for a heritage building, it was decided recently. The four storey hotel located in on Spadina Avenue close to the University of Toronto's downtown campus opened in 1900.
Remembering the Bloody Assize
Did you know about this trail? I didn't. It certainly tells of a time when we had a trial for high treason - 15 men were charged with espionage, and giving aid to the American enemy
Did you know about this trail? I didn't. It certainly tells of a time when we had a trial for high treason - 15 men were charged with espionage, and giving aid to the American enemy
Showcasing the Natural and Cultural History of the East Beaches Area
Manitoba has given financial support to the Rural Municipality of St. Clements for the renovation of the Heritage Wing in the Grand Marais Community Central.
No stories this week.
Bringing ghosts to Innisfail Historical Village
Author Johnnie Bachusky to make presentation for Chamber event at historical village
Author Johnnie Bachusky to make presentation for Chamber event at historical village
His books - Ghost Towns of Alberta, Ghost Towns of the Red Coat Trail, and Ghost Towns of British Columbia capture his solitary sojourns from British Columbia to Saskatchewan in pursuit of hamlets and hovels, long since abandoned by those who once called them home.
MacEwan University uncovers part of Edmonton's railway history
The century-old Canadian Northern Railways turntable pit has been unearthed in preparation for the building of the university's new centre for arts and culture. And it's still intact.
Historic Barron Building will not get legal protection from province
Calgary Heritage Initiative Society says it was notified by Alberta's culture minister of decision
Calgary Heritage Initiative Society says it was notified by Alberta's culture minister of decision
The Barron Building will not be getting legal protection from the province after all so the Calgary Heritage Initiative Society has been told.
British Columbia
No stories this week.
Story of the Week
The birthplace of Winnipeg - Upper Fort Garry will open in September
Governor Gate, a new entrance to Upper Fort Garry, will open in September. Backed by the Friends of Upper Fort Garry, the gate will transform the land around Upper Fort Garry, known as the birthplace of Manitoba. The land will turn into an heritage park and interpretive centre.
The fort was first erected in 1835 under orders from George Simpson, then-governor of the Hudson Bay Company. Upper Fort Garry served as the centre for trade in the West, and was the site of significant historic events, such as the development of Manitoba.
The Friends of Upper Fort Garry have a website that you can go to and view the blog at http://www.upperfortgarry.com/blog, videos at http://www.upperfortgarry.com/videos/, and get the story behind the building of the Governor Gate.
There is a Virtual Heritage Exhibit of the Upper Fort Garry at http://www.virtual.heritagewinnipeg.com/vignettes/vignettes_128W.htm, as well as a timeline and photos at http://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/sites/upperfortgarry.shtml
And if you are interested in the history of upper Fort Garry, there is a historical summary online at http://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=6939
Reminder: Check the Canadian Week in Review next Monday for the latest in Genealogy, Heritage, and History news in Canada. It's the ONLY news blog of its kind in country!
The next post will be on July 28, 2014.


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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.
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The Australian Government will invest $52 million to protect Australian teenagers against meningococcal through a free national program for 14 to 19 year olds.
From early 2018, young Australians have free access to the new human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, Gardasil®9 that protects against more types of HPV infection.
Health portfolio news and events
For news and events from our portfolio agencies, go to Our portfolio for links to their websites.


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UPS just delivered the key rings. I look at a couple of them and they look great, thank you. Hope we have the opportunity to work together again. You have been great to work with.
Welcome to The Promotional Gifts Company, your one-stop shop for promotional gift ideas. Whatever your function or event, we specialise in quality promotional gifts that will get your company noticed and enhance its reputation.
We know how important effective marketing merchandise can be when promoting a business, so we specialise in delivering high quality promotional gifts with exceptional levels of service.
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In Flowers Chic and Cheap, Elle Decor editor at large Carlos Mota shows how unexpected elements can make a style statement. For example, fill a vintage teapot with pink peonies and set it next to your bed; gather some ferns and an orange poppy in a colorful gift bag and call it a centerpiece; dress any entryway by loading a soup tureen with lemons and a few dusted-off leaves (picked from the backyard, of course).
Inside, Carlos reveals his trademark secrets for teasing the most out of flowers' color, height, and texture, such as:
Unusual combinations make the most interesting arrangements (think posh English garden roses paired with inexpensive pom-poms). Two dozen cheap roses are perfect for a graceful bouquet when the stems are cut short, arranged tightly, and peppered with mint stems. Short- and long-stemmed flowers placed in bud vases on a cake stand are always easy and elegant.
With short lists of what you'll need and clear instructions for what to do, plus more than two hundred gorgeous color photographs by celebrated photographer William Waldron, Flowers Chic and Cheap gives you all the practical information—and inspiration—for sprucing up your place without making a fuss.
Images by William Waldron for Flowers Chic and Cheap.
Images by William Waldron for Flowers Chic and Cheap.


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Originally posted on The Nature Conservancy – Conservancy Talk on July 24, 2013.
Editor's note: The following guest post is from Rich Reid, an outdoor photographer based in Ojai, California. Rich recently returned from an assignment for Nature Conservancy magazine documenting the regrowth of a forest after a controlled burn.
Ground View Time-lapse (8 weeks)
The Nature Conservancy's Chuck Martin pulled up in his white truck and introduced himself in his friendly southern accent as I photographed a historic tobacco-drying log cabin on the 4,000-plus-acre Moody Forest Natural Area that he manages. The wealth of Chuck's ecological and historical knowledge made this preserve in southern Georgia come to life. After decades of turpentine harvesting from the longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) and loblolly pine (Pinus taeda), plus altered land use for over a century, the Conservancy and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources partnered to create this woodland preserve in 2001 with the help from the Moody Family.
I found myself in this beautiful old-growth forest on a unique mission: document the changes of a controlled burn using time-lapse photography. The Conservancy has been using controlled burns as a method to restore native habitats and control invasive plants for over 50 years on their lands. My assignment sounded simple enough… what could go wrong?
Moody's Diverse Natural Communities
Driving down the narrow sandy road through this longleaf pine and blackjack oak forest, Chuck points out the burrows of the threatened gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus). As we past each "unit" I could see the obvious burn chronology on the fire-managed forest he was describing. We glided past the 32-acre scheduled burn site on our way to a beautiful cypress and tupelo slough that recently flooded from an overflowing Altamaha River. The large carnivorous yellow pitcherplant (Sarracenia lava) grew in patches of recently burned underbrush as white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) leaped through the well-managed forest.
On our ride I reflected on the preparation that went into pulling off this long-term time-lapse video assignment. Not only did I have to build a fire-proof camera housing for my Nikon D7000, it had to survive two months out in the elements as it recorded the forest regrowth after the burn. Challenges were met each day; software limitations, hardware problems, battery issues and long days in the field.
Burn a Forest to Save a Forest
Chuck handed out satellite maps and safety briefed his professional fire crew as they measured conditions. The small test fire passed inspection so the "back fire" was light with drip torches along the trail and burned predictable into the north breeze. Now for the impressive part: the fire crew scripted with precision the lighting of the "head fire" connecting the "back fire" precisely where my three cameras were filming, capturing every lick of flame.
All three cameras were surrounded by fire at one point but remarkably, only a lens hood melted and the safety straps shrunk. Once it was safe to enter they burn zone, I swapped new cards and batteries to record a time-lapse of the full moon casting long shadows through the smoky forest. At sunrise, I returned for the final time to retrieve data and set up two of my cameras for two months recording the regrowth in the burn zone.
Two months and one week later, I was really excited to see a large box on my porch that Chuck shipped containing my two cameras. Not a day went by without thinking about my equipment 2,500 miles away strapped to a tree "supposedly" clicking away. Anxiously I opened the box that contained the answers and unbelievably they performed as planned; 1850 RAW files on one camera and 1,200 jpegs on the other.
After months of planning and executing this assignment, ecstatic is the only way to describe seeing a lush green forest on the last images on each card. This couldn't be the same forest I left a few months ago? Not only was I amused with the prolific regrowth but also amazed my cameras survived this adventure. After hand selecting the forest images, I used a range of software to auto-align, color correct and assemble thousands of still images into these time-lapse videos. Enjoy.
Tree View Time-lapse (6 weeks)
Special thanks to Chuck Martin and Erick Brown from The Nature Conservancy and their fire crew for keeping me safe and providing this incredible opportunity to document fire in a positive way. Your work benefits the wildlife and people that depend on healthy forests.
[Video and images © Rich Reid for The Nature Conservancy]


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CINCINNATI (AP) — Two young men have been arrested in the fatal shooting of a 9-year-old Cincinnati girl who was killed during a reported home invasion nearly a year ago.
Authorities say 18-year-old Azuriah Hoskins Jr. and 19-year-old Ke'von Smith were being held Wednesday on murder charges in the death of Alexandrea Thompson.
It wasn't immediately clear Thursday whether the suspects have attorneys. A message was left for a public defender appointed for Hoskins in a different matter.
Alexandrea's father, Alex Thompson, has said he and his daughter were shot at a home last January as he struggled with an intruder who held a gun to the girl's head. The father survived.
Police haven't publicly revealed a suspected motive for the shooting. They say the investigation is ongoing.


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Supergrip alignment tool
What it is
Like the high-tech interference-fit couplings, like Supergrip coupling bolts, (proved in literally thousands of applications), the Supergrip alignment tool uses hydraulic power to get the job done – in this case, to correct angular misalignment of the flange faces along the shafts. Easily, predictably, quickly, repeatably. Composed of only a few essential elements, the Supergrip alignment tool set is simply sophisticated, and amazingly powerful on the job.
What it does
The Supergrip alignment system takes all uncertainty out of the task of achieving a perfect radial fit between the bolt holes and acts a big time-saver in the bargain. It provides the elegant solution to perfect alignment. No brute force is ever necessary. Sleeves and alignment bolts are inserted (and withdrawn) by hand. But the powerful expansion of the alignment sleeves through hydraulic power acting on the expansion bolt creates an overwhelming force that compels ultraprecise radial alignment between the bolt holes of the coupling.
How it gets the job done
After the traditional axial alignment steps have been taken, the Supergrip alignment tool achieves letter-perfect angular alignment of the two flanges. The process is simple, similar to the familiar one used with Supergrip expansion bolts.
Here's how it works:
- The two flanges are brought together until their pilots meet.
- Coarse angular misalignment is corrected until the holes in the two flanges are no more than 0,4 mm (0,02") out of line.
- Two alignment bolts are inserted into two diametrically opposite holes.
- The two alignment bolts without sleeve are inserted into two diametrically opposite holes 90° apart from the alignment bolts.
- The tensioners are now screwed onto the threads of the tie bolts. With the tools furnished as part of the system, they are used to pull the coupling pilots together until the flange faces are in metallic contact with each other.
- The tensioners are then used on the alignment bolts (once more using the accompanying tools) to expand them, causing a powerful radial force in the holes to bring the two flanges into perfect alignment.
- All four bolts are now preloaded, and the nuts tightened to retain this preload; they clamp the coupling in the aligned position.
- The coupling is now ready for the installation of your Supergrip bolts, after which the alignment tools can be removed. The coupling now remains in perfect alignment until the next assembly.
These are the elements in the Supergrip alignment bolt system:
4 Bolts
4 Expansion sleeves
8 Piloted nut
2 Distance collar
2 Mounting collar
2 Dismounting collar
1 Mandrel
4 Expansion sleeves
8 Piloted nut
2 Distance collar
2 Mounting collar
2 Dismounting collar
1 Mandrel


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Imagine seeing an unattended stroller careening through the park. If you're not a monster, your first instinct would be to help. But if you stopped this screaming pram all you'd find inside is a demon. Gross.
Obviously this is some sort of marketing campaign for the Devil's Due horror movie coming up, but more importantly I would like to commend the many New Yorkers that didn't flip that stroller right the hell over.


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Astronaut Ron Garan has shared some amazing photography from the International Space Station before. Now he's snapped the southern lights from his privileged position on the ISS.
Click on the above image to enlarge, and here are some other great shots from his Google+ scrapbook. All courtesy of Ron Garan/NASA.
Another shot of last month's Perseid meteor showers.
The border of India and Pakistan.
Orion in the distance, China and Korea illuminated on Earth.
[Via Boing Boing]


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Avon calling: Pig Daddy's moves BBQ indoors
Something about summer makes Dish hungry to explore out-of-the-way eateries in and around her own hometown. A few weeks ago, I brought readers along with me to Aroma's, an off-the-beaten-track Mediterranean café/teria near the Fontaine Research Park.
Well, this week brings another savory discovery Pig Daddy's BBQ. Cavalier football fans might recall Pig Daddy's stall at Scott Stadium last season. But this week Dish brings you to the new hub of this expanding business, where owner Steve Adkins is cookin' up some pork-proud plans.
If you're timing is right and your eyesight keen, you might just spot Pig Daddy's enormous catering trailer on the right as you head south on Avon Street Extended. If you don't, then be sure to turn right onto Avon Court (at Edgecomb's Auto) and right again into the little office park called Astec Center.
Go around to the back of the building. (What is it about barbecue places? They always seem to be down 'round back.) Back there, follow the signs to Pig Daddy's kitchen, where you'll likely find Adkins taking phone orders or choppin' pork with the cleaver he inherited from his barbecue-guru granddad.
When I stopped by earlier this month, I found him on the phone, desperately searching for employees to help keep up with the increasing demand for his victuals. Since he moved into this permanent retail and catering kitchen a few months ago– after two mobile years in the custom trailer now permanently parked outside– Adkins has been working overtime.
In addition to the new take-out menu, which includes his famous pork and chicken barbecue (available in sandwiches or by-the-pound), beef and bean chili, sweet potato fries with cinnamon sugar, hushpuppies with homemade honey butter and bikini-bustin' desserts like deep-fried Snickers- Pig Daddy's is also busy catering weddings and parties (oyster and whole hog roasts) and gearing up for tailgate deliveries come football season.
If you can't find the kitchen, Pig Daddy's barbecue is available at 14 locations around town, including Bellair and Shadwell markets and City Lights restaurant on Carlton Avenue.
A North Carolina native, Adkins decided to devote himself entirely to barbecue- a family tradition- when the drought dried up his landscaping business three years ago. So far, no regrets.
"No one ever told me 'This is the best mulch job I've ever had,' but they do say it about my barbecue," Adkins says. He adds that the secret to his barbecue's flavor is that, instead of chopping or hand-pulling, he minces the meat with a cleaver, just like granddad did. He says that mincing results in more contact surface and thus more sauce-enhanced flavor. Soon to go nationwide, his 20-ingredient, tomato-vinegar "Squeal Sauce" may be reason enough to make the trip to Pig Daddy's.
"I'm really hoping to raise the bar a bit on barbecue and bring back the lost tradition of Southern hospitality," he says.
Monday night "Love" at Starr Hill
Monday means get back to work for most of us. But for restaurant employees– who generally work so we can play– Monday brings a much-deserved night off. Previously closed on Mondays, Starr Hill now invites all restaurant staffers (and the rest of us, too!) to dine and party from 5pm on starting on Monday, June 13.
This new "Love-In"– as it's been unofficially dubbed– will star the brewery's seasonal wheat beer and– back by popular demand– smoked trout wontons (a signature appetizer from the Blue Ridge Brewery days).
Live-music will also be part of the Monday-night fun. Since there is such a thing as too much love, Starr Hill has decided to close on Sundays– unless, of course, there's a concert scheduled in the upstairs Music Hall.
Steve Atkins at Pig Daddy's


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With 2008 upon us, I feel moved to make some wildly improbable predictions and some more-or-less reasonable guesses about how history will unfold in the coming year. I think maybe 10% of my predictions for 2007 arguably came to pass, at least by the lax standards applied to the vague utterances of a Nostradamus. I'm sure I'll do much, much worse this year.
The big question on everyone's minds is, of course, who will be El Presidente of our great banana Republic? There's what my non-existent psychic powers tell me, and what my political sense tells me.
Psychically, I am dead certain that the next President of the United States will be Ron Paul, and his Vice President will be Dennis Kucinich. They will both fail to gain their respective parties' nominations, but will be chosen for the Unity08 ticket, run as independents and win in a very close plurality. Both men will be assassinated immediately following their inaugurations by Hellfire missiles launched from Predator drones, which also wipes out 3/4th of Congress, most of the presumptive cabinet members, and 1/3rd of the Federal Judiciary – thus fulfilling President Paul's desired legacy, only slightly posthumously.
Using my unfailing political horse-sense rather than my spookier powers, the 2008 race will shake out as follows:
For the Democrats:
Edwards will win Iowa, Hillary will place second, and Obama a disappointing third (considering his campaign has predicted a win). Edwards' win will propel him to a second-place showing in New Hampshire and Obama will pull out a surprising win. Hillary will under-perform with a fourth-place showing after Joe Biden. Hillary's campaign will be deeply troubled by the two early losses without a prospect of a win in any state but Florida prior to Tsunami Tuesday. Edwards and Obama will finish one, two in Michigan. Obama will win the South Carolina primary followed closely by Edwards, and Edwards will win the Nevada caucuses, followed closely Richardson and Obama. Hillary will begin to sink like a stone in national and Tsunami states as her air of electability and inevitability is stripped from her. Edwards and Obama and Clinton run a close first, second and third in Florida. By Tsunami Tuesday, the race will be between Edwards and Obama with an edge to Obama due to his greater resources to buy ads in large states. Nevertheless, Edwards will prevail in California and in most Tsunami states beyond Illinois (Obama) and New York (Clinton) and will soon thereafter make an early offer the Vice Presidency to Hillary Clinton to gain access to her fund-raising machine. She will accept. The Edwards-Clinton ticket will win the Presidency in 2008 with tremendous Congressional and state coat-tails.
For the Republicans:
Mike Huckabee will win Iowa. McCain will win New Hampshire, followed very closely by Romney and Ron Paul. Paul will pull off a surprise win in Nevada, followed closely by Romney. Romney will win Wisconsin. Thompson will win South Carolina. Giuliani will win in Florida. The result is that Tsunami Tuesday will arrive without any candidate having won more than one early primary and no clear front-runner having emerged. With fund-raising kicked into high-gear by early wins, Huckabee, McCain, Romney, Giuliani and Paul will break all previous fund-raising records and spending records in key Tsunami states. Romney will break out the self-financing weapon and outspend everyone else combined. He will essentially purchase the Tsunami and close the deal for the GOP nomination. He will tap Huckabee as his running mate and the Romney-Huckabee ticket will be duly creamed in the general election despite tapping liberally into Romney's personal fortune and evangelical collection plates and Mormon tithes nation-wide.
Democrats will pick up 6 seats in the Senate and 12 new seats in the House, despite public dissatisfaction with Congressional performance. Locally, Gabby Giffords and Harry Mitchell will shoulder aside revanchist campaigns by the GOP to retake their seats and Democrats will capture the open seat in CD 1 (I decline to handicap that Democratic primary as yet) as one of the dozen pickups nationally.
Not having been punished electorally for their dereliction of their constitutional duties during the final years of the Bush War Crime Spree, Congress finds itself unable and unwilling to check an accelerating schedule of abuses by the Bush Crime Syndicate in preparation for leaving office as they move to immunize their members against legal process and prepare for their future financial well-being through obvious and outrageous graft, war-profiteering, and conflicts of interest. Public approval of Congress continues a terminal death spiral.
Now, back to my more unconventionally inspired predictions:
Scientists will discover an earth-like planet with similar atmosphere and surface water orbiting a star roughly 50 light-years from earth. Immediately dubbed Earth 2 by the media, the selling of scam shares of a colonization expedition becomes the most common genre of email spam.
Like the Shah of Iran, Musharraf seems a solid and unshakable ally in U.S. quest for hegemony over the region – until he's suddenly not anymore. Musharrif will be deposed and a virulently pan-nationalist and Islamic regime, which is quite hard to distinguish from the Taliban or Al Qaeda, rises to rule Pakistan and the Islamic bomb. There isn't anything funny about this prediction. At all.
In Iraq, American troops will be drawn down to 50K by the Bush War Crimes Syndicate in advance of November elections, hoping to give the GOP nominee some breathing space. The plan backfires as all factions unite for a Tet-like push in November to which we cannot respond for lack of manpower. Troops huddle in enduring bases to wait out the shelling, abandoning the cities to their fate. The American mega-embassy and the Green Zone have to be evacuated. Again, no yucks here.
It will be revealed that Saudi Arabia has already acquired nuclear weapons and is using American technology to build guidance and triggering systems to make them suitable for deployment against Israel. The Doomsday clock is moved 2 minutes closer to midnight. Jeez, I really need a funny one, don't I?
In addition to the acquisition of a vast estate in Paraguay ,it will be discovered that the Bush War Crimes Syndicate members and Bush himself have purchased large estates in the Bolivian states of Santa Cruz, Tarija, Beni and Pando, and have been funneling money, expertise and weapons to the separatist reactionaries who declared those states an independent nation. In exchange for their help, the new nation will call itself Bushlandia, abrogate all extradition treaties, and are prepared to declare Bush Presidente for life the moment he leaves office in America. Following the coup, Henry Kissinger, Eric Prince, Karl Rove, General Suharto, Sese Seko Mobutu, Radko Mladic, Radovan Karadzic, and Donald Rumsfeld are among the first war crimes refugees to move there and renounce their citizenship to become Bushlandiots. OK, that's a little funny…
Pluripotent cells, aka adult stem cells, begin to get real traction in therapeutic applications, but the Arizona Supreme Court finds that creation of such cells fall within the ban of "human cloning of any sort" adopted by Arizona voters at the encouragement of anti-gay crusaders who claimed that any sort of cloning would allow the creation of legions "homo-babies". Arizona's economy takes a multi-billion dollar hit as medical research and advanced stem cell clinic flee the state along with sizable chunk of our work-force due to the employer sanctions law. State revenues go into free-fall and the Democratic party and Independents both quickly amass a larger number of registered voters in Arizona than Republicans.
In a all-too-revealing moment in the ladies washroom at the Capitol, it is discovered by an alert staffer that Nancy Pelosi is, in fact, Bush-family fixer James Baker III in drag. The "off the table" pledge is finally adequately explained.
Having been denied the Presidency:
- Giuliani becomes a security consultant to Al Qaeda.
- Obama continues his career in the Senate, later becomes Governor of Illinois and then President of the United States.
- Fred Thompson goes back to sleep.
- Richardson becomes Edwards' Secretary of State and then Barak Obama's Vice President. Writes a diet book with Huckabee, loses 100 pounds, later becomes President.
- Romney becomes the new face of the post-neo GOP. Spends the next 24 years running unsuccessfully for the Presidency as the Democratic party dominates national politics for a generation, besting the record for unsuccessful runs at the Presidency of William Jennings Bryan.
- Biden returns to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and eventually a new Senate office building, a number of international airports, and a the headquarters of CitiBank are named after him.
- Huckabee opens a chain of Bible-themed toy stores. Guess what he calls it?
- Dodd becomes Speaker of the House after real Pelosi is found chained in the basement of James Baker III's Texas estate, and it is decided that it was Baker in drag and not Pelosi who was elected Speaker, and thus the position was open.
- Paul becomes Chairman of the RNC.
- Kucinich and his wife launch a new political documentary series which leads to book and film deals. They become media darlings and frequent collaborators with Al Gore; unfortunately, none of them ever become President.


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Tour The Ultimate Chilehead Garden
Whether pepper gardening is your passion, or you're just getting started with that first pot of plants, from now through October you can visit the gardens at New Mexico State University's Fabian Garcia Science Center in Las Cruces. There you'll see peppers being grown the way the pros do it, and possibly pick up some growing tips to take home!
Fabian Garcia was a horticulturist who produced the first reliable chile pod in the early 1900s, which was the beginning of the hot "Sandia" pepper. Other pepper cultivars have also been developed at NMSU, including more than 40 varieties of the NuMex chile. They don't just limit their pepper proficiency to green chile, however. According to Director Paul Bosland, the theme of this year's garden is "Chile Pepper Flavor From Around the World." Visitors will find chile peppers whose names refer to Europe Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Portugal, Spain, the Caribbean Cuba, Jamaica, Tobago, Trinidad, and various places in New Mexico Chimayo, Mesilla, Santa Fe, Zia Pueblo, as well as other points on the globe.