Indiana stays No. 1 in AP Top 25, Gonzaga No. 2

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) ? Gonzaga has been in 14 NCAA tournaments, five of which ended with an appearance in the Round of 16. But no Gonzaga team has ever before been ranked No. 2 in The Associated Press' Top 25, as the Zags were Monday.

Indiana remained No. 1 for the fourth straight week. Meanwhile, the little school from Spokane with the funny name moved up one spot to its highest ranking ever, surpassing the No. 3 position it enjoyed last week and for the final two weeks of 2003-04.

"It's a special thing to be recognized at this time of year," guard Mike Hart said. "We've got 30 games under our belt. That says a lot. It's not just a few games."

That sentiment was echoed by coach Mark Few.

"The polls mean a lot more this time of year than they do in November, December, even January," Few said. "All of us are being judged on the true body of work. It's definitely rewarding.

"It establishes us as a national program, which I believe we have been for the last 10 years. This group has done a great job of competing at that level, winning games at the highest level."

While the West Coast Bulldogs made some news at the top of the poll Monday, Louisiana Tech, the Bulldogs from Down South, moved into the rankings for the first time since a 13-week run in 1984-85, their only appearance in the poll.

Louisiana Tech, which is 25th this week, was led back then to a ranking as high as No. 7 by a forward named Karl Malone. Gonzaga around that time had a point guard named John Stockton. They went on to become one of the greatest combinations in NBA history with the Utah Jazz, were members of the Dream Team and both were inducted in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Stockton's son, David, is a reserve guard for this year's Gonzaga team. David Stockton said this edition of the Zags has its eye on March Madness.

"It's March when we have been validated in the past, and that's the next step," Stockton said.

But he admitted the players and fans were relishing the ranking.

Guard Kevin Pangos cautioned that it is an ethereal honor.

"It can change in a flash in case we lose a game," Pangos said, adding that players were well aware of the carnage at the upper reaches of the poll in recent weeks. "It makes us aware it can happen to us at any time."

Gonzaga's remaining regular season games are at BYU on Thursday and at home against Portland on Saturday.

Louisiana Tech coach Michael White is another who has his eyes on March, even though his team cracked the poll for the first time in more than a quarter century.

"It's not a goal we set out to accomplish," White said. "What we're really striving for is an NCAA tournament berth. But this is something that can't be taken away from them, so I'm happy for them."

The Hoosiers, who have been ranked No. 1 for a total of 10 weeks this season, received all but one first-place vote from the 65-member national media panel. Gonzaga got the other No. 1 vote.

Duke moved up three spots to third and was followed by Michigan and Miami, which dropped from second after falling to Wake Forest, the Hurricanes' first Atlantic Coast Conference loss this season.

Kansas is sixth, followed by Georgetown, Florida, Michigan State and Louisville.

Saint Louis, which beat Butler and VCU last week, moved into 18th in the poll, the Billikens' first ranking since being in for one week last season.

Colorado State, which was 22nd and lost twice last week, and VCU, which was 24th, dropped out.

-------

Sports Writer David Brandt contributed to this story from Jackson, Miss.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/indiana-stays-no-1-ap-top-25-gonzaga-174431698--spt.html

rodney king Webb Simpson Fathers Day Quotes Stevie J mothers day 2012 cinco de mayo osama bin laden death

Catholic activists petition LA cardinal not to join papal conclave

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Roman Catholic activists on Saturday petitioned a U.S. cardinal to recuse himself from taking part in selecting a new pope so as not to insult survivors of sexual abuse by priests committed while he was archbishop of Los Angeles.

The activists delivered a petition with nearly 10,000 signatures to the North Hollywood church where Cardinal Roger Mahony resides.

"It's a total slap in the face to victims to think (Mahony) can cover up 25 years of child sex abuse and then go prancing off to Rome like a prince of the Church," said Joelle Casteix, western regional director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.

As archbishop of Los Angeles from 1985 until 2011, Mahony worked to send priests known to be abusers out of state to shield them from law enforcement scrutiny in the 1980s, according to church files unsealed under a U.S. court order last month.

Although his successor, Archbishop Jose Gomez, removed him from all public and administrative duties, Mahony has announced his intention to be among 117 cardinals allowed into the Vatican's Sistine Chapel to vote for the next leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics.

Last week, Pope Benedict XVI, 85, announced his resignation effective February 28, making him the first pope in centuries to abdicate rather than die in office.

His eight-year reign will be remembered by many for the child sex abuse scandal in Europe and the United States - most of which took place in the 1980s but which came to light more recently.

In California, at a news conference outside the St. Charles Borromeo Church, where Mahony is in residence, members of the groups held up signs reading, "Respect the victims. Honor the church. Hold leaders accountable."

"This should be a time for new beginnings," said Chris Pumpelly, a spokesman for social justice nonprofit Catholics United, before delivering the petitions to the church. If Mahony were to vote, "it would be a step backward. It would be a validation of the old ways."

It was unclear whether Mahony was at the church at the time, or if he would receive the documents before he left for Rome.

Earlier on Saturday, Mahony was deposed for more than three hours about his handling of sex-abuse cases. It was the first time he was asked about the church files unsealed last month, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Influential Italian magazine Famiglia Cristiana, or "Christian Family," has also questioned whether Mahony should be part of the conclave. Many readers responded online that he should not.

On Friday, Mahony took to Twitter to repeat his intent on voting: "Just a few short hours before my departure for Rome. Will be tweeting often from Rome, except during the actual Conclave itself. Prayers!"

(Editing by Cynthia Johnston; and Jackie Frank)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/catholic-activists-petition-la-cardinal-not-join-papal-054106757.html

josh hamilton Susan Rice American Airlines the Who jon bon jovi jon bon jovi Kliff Kingsbury

Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 appears at MWC

Thanks to an anonymous source, we?ve received an image of the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 being previewed at the Mobile World Congress. The image of the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 was placed on a digital board at Samsung?s booth. The Galaxy Note 8.0 looks like its going to be the focal point at Samsung?s booth this year, seeing as they?re not planning on announcing the Samsung Galaxy S IV until the middle of March, where they?ll be holding their own press event.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 is a great medium between the Samsung Galaxy Note II and Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1. The tablet is aimed at those who want a tablet, but think that a 10-inch tablet is too big to lug around. The feature that separates the Note 8.0 from other small tablets, like the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7, or the iPad Mini, is the inclusion of the S-Pen. The S-Pen makes taking quick notes, and utilizing the multi-tasking features included in the TouchWiz UI, a breeze.

The Note 8.0 rumored specs are pretty impressive. It will have an 8-inch 1200 x 800 resolution display, either a 1.6 GHz quad-core Exynos 4 processor or Exynos 5 Octa processor, at least 16GB of built-in storage, 5MP rear-facing camera, 1.3MP front-facing camera, 4,600 mAh battery, and Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. There will be a Wi-Fi only model, Wi-FI + 3G model, and a Wi-Fi, 3G, and 4G LTE model.

All of the information regarding the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0, as well as Samsung?s other products, will be released in the upcoming days while Mobile World Congress is taking place. You can expect our team to show you a hands-on demonstration of what the device can do. Until then, be sure to check out the recent news regarding the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 in the timeline below.

Source: http://androidcommunity.com/samsung-galaxy-note-8-0-appears-at-mwc-20130223/

zac efron and taylor swift real housewives of orange county bloom energy franklin graham jambalaya taylor swift and zac efron basketball wives

Deal Alert: Staples selling Nexus 4 for $150, Galaxy S III for $99.

Deal Alert: Staples Selling Nexus 4 For $150, Galaxy S III For $99

www.tmonews.com

Deal hunters take note as Staples is currently offering the Galaxy S III for $99 and the Nexus 4 for $149. The Nexus 4 pricing applies to both new and qualifying upgrade customers ? no word on whether the Galaxy S III price applies to upgrade customers as well. If you want to grab an additional $5...

Source: http://www.facebook.com/tmonews/posts/622506077765378

sacramento kings alex jones the bachelor Google Docs Huell Howser Justin Bieber Smoking Weed Katherine Webb

Human Skin Depigmented More Than Once

Human skin became more pigmented in response to high UV, and less pigmented later--on independent occasions--in response to less. Steve Mirsky reports

More 60-Second Science

Subscribe via iTunes

Penn State anthropologist Nina Jablonski talked about the evolution of human skin pigmentation at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Boston on February 16th.

Full transcript to come.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=b967c1b2af7cf8df3cacfb81dddb4f5b

pat summitt real housewives of atlanta colton bo ryan the last waltz earth day activities mel gibson

HTC One hands-on: design and hardware

The HTC One made quite an entrance in London and New York today with a slick-looking design and re-imagined Android user experience. It's a significant departure from last year's One X -- our favorite handset of 2012 -- and represents the company's most important product to date. The HTC One is positioned to become a true global flagship, a phone that's available unmolested on all carriers worldwide, a device that really competes with the Galaxies and iPhones of the world. We spent some time with the HTC One to understand the direction the company is taking with this handset. Join us after the break for our hands-on video and detailed hardware impressions, then go read our software and camera posts as well.

Gallery: HTC One hardware hands-on

Gallery: HTC One software hands-on

There's no doubt about it -- the HTC One is a fine piece of kit. It's particularly beautiful when viewed from the back and sides, with a semi-pyramidal shape reminiscent of HTC's own J Butterfly and phones like the Xperia Ion. The front is more staid and channels the BlackBerry Z10. Look a little closer and the attention to detail is staggering -- this is a product that stands shoulder to shoulder with the iPhone 5 in terms of materials and build quality.

The unibody polycarbonate design of the One X gives way to a machined aluminum shell that seamlessly incorporates polycarbonate accents. Basically the aluminum is etched to create channels into which the polycarbonate is inset using zero-gap injection molding. It takes 200 minutes to machine one shell, and the result is absolutely stunning -- a solid block of anodized aluminum, white polycarbonate and glass with chamfered, polished edges. HTC even sourced custom-grade aluminum that's harder than what's found on the iPhone 5. The polycarbonate forms a ring around the edge of the device, covers the top and bottom ends and bisects the back with two lines, one of which flows around the camera lens below -- it reminds us of circuit-board traces. Since aluminum can be anodized in different colors and polycarbonate comes in many hues, we'll leave you to imagine the combinations possible beyond the silver and white handset we played with.

In front are two aluminum bands (top and bottom) separated by a vast sheet of Gorilla Glass 2 covering a gorgeous 4.7-inch 1080p (468 dpi) Super LCD 3 display. This layout is similar to the Z10 and the chamfered, polished edges remind us of the iPhone 5. Both of these bands feature a matching set of perforations that conceal a speaker (and likely a mic in the bottom piece) -- that's right, the HTC One boast stereo speakers, each with a dedicated proprietary amp design that minimizes distortion and maximizes volume. The top piece also incorporates the proximity / light sensors, a notification LED and a 2.1 megapixel with f/2.0 wide-angle (88-degree) front-facing camera capable of recording 1080p video. You'll find HTC's brand under the glass just below the screen, flanked by two -- yes, just two -- capacitive buttons: back on the left and home on the right. How does this work? Holding the home button brings up Google Now and double-tapping shows the recent apps. There's no menu option.

Other than the aforementioned polycarbonate accents and prominent HTC and Beats logos, the back of the device is home to the main UltraPixel camera and a single LED flash (to the left of the lens). Basically you're looking at a 1/3-inch 4 megapixel BSI sensor with large 2µm pixels capable of gathering 330% more light than the 1.1µm pixels usually found in phones. This sensor is mated with a 28mm f/2.0 autofocus lens which is slightly recessed for protection and equipped with optical image stabilization (OIS), just like Nokia's Lumia 920. HTC's ImageChip 2 handles image processing and enables a bunch of new tricks like 1080p, 60fps and HDR video capture plus an interesting new feature called Zoe Share. Our very limited time with the camera confirms that performance is top-notch -- after all, photography isn't just about megapixels, and the HTC One checks all the important boxes.

Along the edges of the HTC One you'll find a power / lock key (left) and standard headphone jack (right) at the top, a machined aluminum volume rocker on the right side, a micro-USB / MHL port on at the bottom (right) and the micro-SIM holder and matching pin hole on the left side (near the top). The power / lock key is black and doubles as a bidirectional IR blaster for the handset's TV remote software (powered by Peel). Just like with the One X, the battery (rated at 2300mAh) is sealed and there's no microSD card slot. At 137.4 x 68.2 x 9.3mm and 143g, the new phone is slightly taller, thicker and heavier than its predecessor -- it feels solid yet comfortable in hand and just exudes quality. This, combined with the premium looks, make for a very desirable product indeed.

The HTC One is powered by Qualcomm's newly minted quad-core 1.7GHz Snapdragon 600 paired with 2GB of LP-DDR2 RAM and 32 or 64GB of built-in storage (depending on the version). Wireless functionality includes WiFi a/ac/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 with aptX, GPS / aGPS, NFC and DLNA -- sadly there's no wireless charging support. Two devices will be available, a U model which includes GSM and WCDMA radios (HSDPA 42Mbps / HSUPA 5.67Mbps) and a UL model which adds LTE (100Mbps download and 50Mbps upload). It's still unclear exactly which bands are supported for which regions -- we know it's coming to most carriers in the US (and indeed, the world), except Verizon. The handset incorporates the Droid DNA's delightfully loud and clear 2.55V headphone amp (it operates with or without Beats audio enabled, but we much prefer it without). HTC's also outfitted the device with HDR microphones which can handle wide range of sound levels without clipping.

In the end, we walked away tremendously impressed with what the HTC One has to offer, especially in terms of hardware. Be sure to take a look at our software and camera posts (spoiler: Sense 5 runs on top of Android 4.1.2). With this phone, HTC's crafted something truly special -- it's now critical that the company follow through with strong marketing and prevent the carriers from fragmenting its vision. Will this be the one? We sure hope so.

Zach Honig contributed to this report.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, HTC

Comments

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/vWYVmgTDIa8/

bill rancic nflx jennifer hudson chicago blackhawks giuliana rancic giuliana rancic elie wiesel

Google Doodle Honors 16th Century Astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus

In the early 1500s, famed Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus first proposed that the Earth was not the center of the universe ? a revelation that, more than 500 years later, has catapulted the 16th century scientists into the center of the Google-verse.

The Internet search giant Google honored Copernicus' paradigm-shifting model of the cosmos today with a unique dynamic "doodle" that animates the motion of the solar system's planets around the sun. The Copernicus doodle went live on Copernicus' 540th birthday.

Nicolaus Copernicus was born on Feb. 19, 1473, and traveled to Italy at age 18 to attend university. At that time, the prevailing theory of the cosmos stated that the planets (not to mention the sun) all circled the Earth, which was at the center of the universe.

Nicolaus Copernicus
CREDIT: Public Domain

At the University of Bologna, Copernicus studied astronomy under professor Domenico Maria de Novara, during which time he helped observe the night sky. After return to his native Poland to serve as a cleric in Frauenburg, he continued his astronomical observations using a observatory in the tower in which he lived. [The Greatest Astronomers of All Time]

Copernicus is perhaps best known for his work on the motion of solar system planets. The prevailing model ? that the Earth was at the center of the universe ? resulted in a complicated view of the solar system in order to account for the apparent backward motion of some planets across the sky. This "retrograde motion," as it was called, was explained by confusing circles within circles (called epicycles) by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy.

But Copernicus' model streamlined the solar system by proposing that the Earth was not the center of the universe ? a heretical view at the time. Instead, Copernicus proposed that the center was near the sun, and that all the planets (Earth included) revolved around it. He also proposed that that it was the Earth's motion around the sun that caused other planets to appear as if they moved backward ? a theory later proven correct.

The Copernican model of the solar system is also known as the heliocentric model. While Copernicus still got some details incorrect (he assumed the orbits of planets were perfect circles, not the ellipses we know today, which still required epicycles), it did lay the foundation for future astronomers.

Copernicus documented his theory in handwritten notes to friends in 1514, when he would have been about 41 years old. It was not until he was 70 and near death that Copernicus formally published his proposal in the book "On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres."

Despite Copernicus' work, nearly 100 years later Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei found himself in trouble with Catholic church authorities in 1632 when he also proposed that Earth orbited the sun. Both astronomers were ultimately vindicated, leading to the modern understanding of solar system mechanics scientists have today.

You can follow SPACE.com Managing Editor Tariq Malik on Twitter?@tariqjmalik.?Follow SPACE.com on Twitter?@Spacedotcom. We're also on Facebook?&?Google+.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/spaceheadlines/~3/Beq7SgWy_F0/19868-nicolaus-copernicus-google-doodle.html

ides of march elizabeth smart nick young south dakota state long beach state beasley trailblazers

How to Instill False Memories

Everyone enjoys the occasional practical joke ? assuming the gag isn?t mean-spirited or overly perilous, even the prank?s poor victim can appreciate the punch line!

I?m sure you have your favorites: gluing dollars to sidewalks, filling your co-worker?s office with balloons, moving your roommate?s bed to the basement? while he?s sleeping in it.

More typical stunts may employ whoopee cushions, fake vomit, and hand buzzers, but honestly, those are a tad sophomoric and overdone. Thus, in an effort to elevate the standard of stunts, I?d like to present a gag that makes use not of stink bombs, but of science.

How to implant false memories in your friends, in four steps:

In The Demon-Haunted World, Carl Sagan argued that implanting false memories in people is not only possible, but is actually pretty easy when attempted in the proper settings with a gullible subject, He cited as examples people who, at the urging of therapists or hypnotists, genuinely start to believe that they?d been abducted by UFOs or falsely remember being abused as a child. For these people, the distinction between memory and imagination becomes blurred, and events that never actually took place become sewn into their memories as real events. They can even describe these false remembrances incredibly vividly ? as if they actually happened!

?Memory can be contaminated,? Sagan wrote. ?False memories can be implanted even in minds that do not consider themselves vulnerable and uncritical.?

Sagan?s insight provides a segue into step one of our plot to implant a memory, which is made possible by a frank fact: your friends ? while undoubtedly honest, funny, supportive, and intelligent ? probably don?t all possess invulnerable and critical minds. Thus, the first step is to select one of your mates who, in your estimation, is ?prone to suggestion.? Please note that you should be acquainted with this friend for at least five years, and have shared experiences with him or her. This will enhance your believability, and thus your odds of success.

Once you?ve got your target singled out, the next, and possibly the most critical step, is to fabricate a memory. The false memory should have ?taken place? at least a year in the past, not be unduly intricate, and not be something that might engender strong feelings of emotion.

Studies have shown that it?s easy to make people falsely recall small details about events, but as the fake memories grow in complexity and specificity, implantation grows progressively harder, though not impossible. After three interviews, researchers at Western Washington University succeeded in getting subjects to recall details about accidentally spilling a bowl of punch on the parents of the bride at a wedding reception. As described by University of Washington psychologist Elizabeth Loftus in a 1997 article for Scientific American:

During the first interview one participant, when asked about the fictitious wedding event, stated, ?I have no clue. I have never heard that one before.? In the second interview the participant said: ?It was an outdoor wedding and I think we were running around and knocked something over like the punch bowl or something and um made a big mess and of course got yelled at for it.?

Emotions tend to make people remember associated events more vividly. (You probably can recall where you were and what you were doing around the time of traumatic events, for example.) Thus, your target might not be as apt to accept a false memory if you told him or her that they experienced something highly emotional. In 1999, researchers at the University of British Columbia did succeed in convincing 26% of their subjects that they had been victims of a vicious animal attack in their childhood, but the research team?s sophisticated methods probably won?t apply in a practical joke setting.

Choosing a childhood memory will give you the best odds of success. You?ll have an easier time implanting something that supposedly occurred far in the past. Since this is meant to be a practical joke, I recommend creating a false memory that?s comical and not potentially life-scarring.

If you want more of a challenge, try to implant a memory that supposedly occurred more recently. For example, you could concoct a scene at a bar in which you purchased your friend a plethora of drinks and he or she never paid you back. That way, should you succeed, you?ll get some money out of the deal (?which you will, of course, give back once you reveal your playful deception).

With the memory and target selected, your third task is to prepare. You?re going to need a couple things if the prank will have any chance of success. First off, you?ll need to formulate some narrative details surrounding the false memory. Be as specific as possible. What outfit was your friend wearing? What were the circumstances that led to the event? What was the setting like? Who was there?

If you?re skilled at editing images, you could also try doctoring a photo. In 2002, psychologists exposed twenty subjects to a false childhood event using a fake photograph. Over three interviews, subjects were instructed to think about the photo, which showed them on a hot air balloon, and were made to recall the event with guided-imagery exercises. At the study?s conclusion, fifty percent of subjects ended up concocting complete or partial false memories!

You?ll also need corroborators; the more the better. The power of corroboration in instilling false memories was demonstrated in the 1990s by researchers at Williams College. In their study, participants were falsely accused of causing a computer to crash by pressing a wrong key. According to Loftus:

?The innocent participants initially denied the charge, but when a confederate said that she had seen them perform the action, many participants signed a confession, internalized guilt for the act and went on to confabulate details that were consistent with that belief.?

Now you?re ready to set your plan in motion. When you commence, be persistent. The memory may not stick right away; you?ll probably have to bring it up multiple times over a span of days or even weeks. Additionally, don?t be afraid to use peer pressure. You and your compatriots should utilize phrases like the following:

• ?Really? You don?t remember that??
• ?Seriously? You were there!?
• ?Your memory is awful!?

Memory isn?t static. It?s fickle, ever changing, and easily tampered with; a patchwork quilt that can be ripped, torn, and remade.

?Perhaps what we actually remember,? says Carl Sagan, ?is a set of memory fragments stitched onto a fabric of our own devising. If we sew cleverly enough, we have made ourselves a memorable story easy to recall.?

Still, implanting a false memory in a person, and having them fully believe it, takes some doing. Even in the lab, researchers succeed less than half of the time?

?but it can be done. So sew away, my friends. Sew away.

Images: Balloons by Tomascastelazo / Wikimedia Commons, Imagination by Mehdinom / Wikimedia Commons.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=a0a766aeeaa99282e546739b4eca56de

dancing with the stars cast mickael pietrus heart transplant the international preppers geraldo obama trayvon martin

iPad rollout leads to boost in elementary reading for Texas district

Feb. 19, 2013

Dive Summary:

• Teachers in the McAllen, Texas, school district are seeing major differences in reading rates among young students just month after?iPads were introduced into classrooms.
• The iPads are especially helpful for English as a Second Language students, who can use the devices to hear English translations of the Spanish text they are reading.
• Educators at Bonham Elementary say the number of books, hard copy or digital, checked out from the school's library has increased from 2,000 to 7,000 since October, and they hope the increased reading rates brought about by the iPads, as well as the use of an Accelerated Reading testing program, translate to better scores on the spring's?State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness test.

From the article:

... Instructors at Bonham Elementary and other campuses in the McAllen, Texas, school district see the technology as a tool to boost reading rates among younger students and say they?ve already seen a difference in the first months since the tablets were introduced. ?My Spanish-speaking students, they can hear the way it?s pronounced,? third-grade teacher Lorena Guerrero said. ?They can hear it first, listen to it first, and then say it on their own.? ...

Source: http://www.educationdive.com/news/ipad-rollout-leads-to-boost-in-elementary-reading-for-texas-district/101469/

i have a dream speech fox news debate school closures mlk mlk being human being human

The Tobler Family: Family Friday: Fatherhood - Goveavasiliki's blog

Just as promised, here is my Family?Friday?Sunday post. If you happened to notice the title then I'm sure you've gathered that this week I'll be talking (writing--whatever) about fatherhood. In my personal opinion, fatherhood is as equally important as motherhood. That's right, I said equally important! I also think it's a role that is extremely undervalued in our culture, and not enough fathers are stepping up to their?responsibility. But before I get into any of that I want to share this new video the Church recently released. It's very sweet and even brought some tears to my eyes. Take a look:?


{ Cute, right? I think I love it. }

I appreciated the parallel shown between the role of fatherhood in this life and the role of the ultimate father--God, our Father in Heaven. Becoming a parent 16 months ago gave me a whole new perspective on the love our Heavenly Father must have for us. I can't truly comprehend the power of His love, but I feel like I get a good peek at it as a mother. Anyway, back to fatherhood.



The role of dads is really special to me, mostly because of my husband. Landon was an unexpected surprise, and I''ll be honest and admit Jeff wasn't thrilled when he found out we would be having a baby. Our lives were a bit of a mess at the time so we were both stressed and unsure about bringing a child into our family under such unstable circumstances. Jeff was quick to change his tune, though, and he was a huge support for me during my entire pregnancy. But the real change in him came the moment our son was born. After I heard Landon's first little cry I looked up at Jeff and saw tears running down his face. He had a huge smile going on, and I instantly knew that becoming a father was the best thing that had ever happened to him. Fatherhood changed my husband in an amazing way that still makes me cry. I admire and respect Jeff for the man he has become and the father he is.

I'm clearly not a dad, but Jeff is and he's great at it, so I decided to ask him about his feelings on fatherhood. Even though this is our family blog you never get to hear (read) from Jeff, so I'm pleased to present his blogging debut:

"Fatherhood is so amazing because it gives me a view of what my Heavenly Father feels for me. Growing up, you always hear about how much you'll love your kids, but the love you feel for them is so much more powerful than you could ever imagine.

Being a dad has given me the desire to be a better person, to provide for my family, to be a good example to my children, and to be a stronger priesthood holder in my home. I just want to be better all around! Landon is everything to me, and no matter what happens I will always love him--even if he makes bad choices. My son has changed my life and given me perspective, like how worldly things don't matter at all, and family is the most important part of life. Landon has shown me Christ-like love, and he's taught me humility and forgiveness.

Ultimately, God has trusted us with the ability to become parents here on earth, not only so we can teach our children, but so that they can teach us as well. Being a father is awesome. That's all there is to it."

He's deep, I know. Jeff is a?phenomenal?father, though, and when I look at him and Landon together I can't help but think of all the children around the world who don't get to have a relationship like theirs. Daddy means everything to Landon, and they help each other in so many ways. It's?devastating?to me that in today's culture the role of fatherhood is viewed casually with minuscule importance?and respect. I think we're seeing the negative effects of that on a global level. When families fail, societies fail. Children deserve to be raised in a home with a mother and father who love them. Both parents are vital parts of the?equation?of happiness for children.

I don't believe one has to be LDS to be a good dad, but I think the principles taught by the Church certainly provide the guidance and the tools for fathers to improve and become their best selves. Some of those guidelines can be found in?this talk by President Howard W. Hunter. His words helped inspire this post, and there are about a million?lovable?quotes in there.?

When it comes down to it, righteous or noble fatherhood means putting your family first. It means setting aside worldly things and making your children your top priority. It means gently and lovingly guiding and teaching your children through your words as well as by example. It means seeking the pure joy that can naturally come from parenthood. And in my opinion, excellent fathering requires an eternal perspective and an understanding of the sacredness of parental responsibility. Fatherhood isn't easy, and it requires an impressive level of selflessness and patience, but in the end--and even along the way--I believe it's all worth it.

Source: http://jeffandsarahtobler.blogspot.com/2013/02/family-friday-fatherhood.html

Walking Dead Season 3

Source: http://goveavasiliki.typepad.com/blog/2013/02/the-tobler-family-family-friday-fatherhood.html

utah jazz lawrence of arabia denver nuggets correspondents dinner i am legend san antonio spurs greta van susteren

We know when we're being lazy thinkers: Human thinkers are conscious cognitive misers

Feb. 19, 2013 ? Are we intellectually lazy? Yes we are, but we do know when we take the easy way out, according to a new study by Wim De Neys and colleagues, from the CNRS in France. Contrary to what psychologists believe, we are aware that we occasionally answer easier questions rather than the more complex ones we were asked, and we are also less confident about our answers when we do.

The work is published online in Springer's journal Psychonomic Bulletin & Review.

Research to date on human thinking suggests that our judgment is often biased because we are intellectually lazy, or so-called cognitive misers. We intuitively substitute hard questions for easier ones. What is less clear is whether or not we realize that we are doing this and notice our mistake.

Using an adaptation of the standard 'bat-and-ball' problem, the researchers explored this phenomenon. The typical 'bat-and-ball' problem is as follows: a bat and ball together cost $1.10. The bat costs $1 more than the ball. How much does the ball cost? The intuitive answer that immediately springs to mind is 10 cents. However, the correct response is 5 cents.

The authors developed a control version of this problem, without the relative statement that triggers the substitution of a hard question for an easier one: A magazine and a banana together cost $2.90. The magazine costs $2. How much does the banana cost?

A total of 248 French university students were asked to solve each version of the problem. Once they had written down their answers, they were asked to indicate how confident they were that their answer was correct.

Only 21 percent of the participants managed to solve the standard problem (bat/ball) correctly. In contrast, the control version (magazine/banana) was solved correctly by 98 percent of the participants. In addition, those who gave the wrong answer to the standard problem were much less confident of their answer to the standard problem than they were of their answer to the control version. In other words, they were not completely oblivious to the questionable nature of their wrong answer. The key reason seems to be that reasoners tend to minimize cognitive effort and stick to intuitive processing.

The authors comment: "Although we might be cognitive misers, we are not happy fools who blindly answer erroneous questions without realizing it."

Indeed, although people appear to unconsciously substitute hard questions for easier ones, in reality, they are less foolish than psychologists might believe because they do know they are doing it.

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:

---

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Springer Science+Business Media, via AlphaGalileo.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

---

Journal Reference:

1. Wim Neys, Sandrine Rossi, Olivier Houd. Bats, balls, and substitution sensitivity: cognitive misers are no happy fools. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 2013; DOI: 10.3758/s13423-013-0384-5

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/living_well/~3/Czc3GSXORy8/130219102202.htm

nit championship transcendentalism bells palsy channel 5 news uc berkeley harrison barnes brett ratner

Fiddling while Rome Burns? The Pope Hides from Sight while Italian Church and State Feign Normalcy

All materials written personally by me are copyrighted and may not be rewritten or reused without my permission. Materials may be reblogged, however, without consent.

Zionism (Hebrew: ??????, Tsiyonut) is a form of nationalism of Jews and Jewish culture that supports a Jewish nation state in territory defined as the Land of Israel. Zionism supports Jews upholding their Jewish identity and opposes the assimilation of Jews into other societies and has advocated the return of Jews to Israel as a means for Jews to be liberated from anti-Semitic discrimination, exclusion, and persecution that has occurred in other societies. Zionism emerged in the late 19th century in central and eastern Europe as a national revival movement and soon after this most leaders of the movement associated this with the colonization of Palestine. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Zionist movement continues primarily to advocate on behalf of the Jewish state and address threats to its continued existence and security.

Source: http://lynleahz.com/2013/02/19/11035/

gary carter dies oolong tea survivor one world lil kim progeria what will my baby look like gary carter died

Sony Eliminates Price Difference Between 3G and Wi-Fi PS Vita Models in Japan

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://www.facebook.com/xbitlabs/posts/10151450731312766

martin luther king jr quotes Inauguration 2013 Tony Gonzalez Richard Blanco The Following Anna Burns Welker Martin Luther King, Jr.

Facebook Gets $429 Million Tax Refund

Sunday, 17 February 2013?(5 hours ago)

Based on a report from Citizens for Tax Justice (CTJ), Facebook will receive a $429 million tax refund this year. With over one billion users worldwide, the company reported nearly $1.1 billion in pre-tax profits from 2012. The refunds are mainly due to the company?s use of a single tax break ? tax deductibility of [...]

Facebook Gets $429 Million Tax Refund is a post from: The Inquisitr

Source: http://www.onenewspage.com/n/Technology/74vpdkww6/Facebook-Gets-429-Million-Tax-Refund.htm

earth day activities mel gibson splunk dark shadows iau msft etan patz

Windows Hosting versus Linux Hosting ? Social Fucking Network

Without a doubt, picking a correct website hosting support on your internet site is just not simple particularly when there are many internet hosting vendors almost all supplying virtually similar hosting bundles. As a result, you will need to realize handful of key factors and before you begin internet web hosting service lookup. Underneath are about three main standards with regard to hosting company finder:

Internet hosting functions need

This might be the main thing to consider to start out obtaining a sponsor on your internet site. You have to determine the particular technological demands for the web site, this particular which includes:

the) Hosting server system as well as components needs
If you intend to setup an internet site that utilizes encoding situations for example Energetic Hosting server Web pages (Or net), Visible Fundamental programs, Cool Mix or even Microsof company Gain access to as well as Ms SQL databases, in cases like this, you simply must locate a hosting program in which facilitates Glass windows program for example Home windows NT or even Glass windows Year 2000 machines.

Furthermore, if you intend to make use of encoding dialects like Perl, Computer, SSI, Perl as well as mysql database repository, next just about any internet hosting ideas in which assistance LUnix/Linux program needs to be enough in order to meet the web hosting service needs. Once you've these types of host program and also equipment needs in your mind, you are able to make a decision the most effective internet hosting strategies to your need to have. To find out more, read "How to pick an online machine as well as host podium?Inches

w) Hard drive area & Data transfer useage need
This is yet another technological necessity you need to think about prior to you buying a web site internet hosting strategy, my partner and i.elizabeth. hard drive area along with data transfer useage. If you plan to write an online site without a great deal of items (which means, webpages), then this hard drive place prerequisite will not be a large worry for you. Generally speaking, any drive room together with 200MB for you to 500MB needs to be ample to satisfy the web hosting necessity. As opposed, if you are planning to be able to web host an internet site along with huge level of image photographs, cd or even video clips, you then should look into an internet internet hosting strategy offering enormous drive room, by way of example, Five-hundred Megabytes to a single,1000 Megabytes.

In the same way, your bandwith necessity depends on your internet site visitors evaluation. Certainly, an internet site which be prepared to appeal to large site visitors will certainly drink the month-to-month data transfer useage allocated quickly. If you do, you simply must locate one website hosting support offering large data transfer using Forty Gigabytes to be able to A hundred Gigabytes monthly. Dependant on your internet site need, picking a website hosting services offering adequate quantity of computer place along with data transfer useage is important thought to stop paying out added expenses later on in the event you unneccessary use your month to month drive room as well as data transfer permitting.

d) Some other internet hosting functions
Even though the previously mentioned demands are generally greatest crucial, there are additional web hosting service capabilities that you must take into account as well. Can easily host company assistance videos on the internet site, in case you have? Will be the internet hosting support appropriate for Dreamweaver as well as FrontPage internet writing about application? Are you planning to put together an online shop on the internet? May the actual sponsor keep the e-commerce capabilities without having including extra expense for your monthly premiums? In addition, it's also possible to need to uncover the amount of email options supplied, amount of File transfer protocol balances, internet fact computer software (evaluate internet targeted traffic), sort of cp reinforced (handle internet internet hosting bank account), data source and also scripting different languages reinforced as well as and many others.

Dependability along with scalability

A new first-class host company provides reputable hosting server up-time and also rapidly Net connection. You must merely pick a website hosting support in which assure at the very least 99% machine up-time along with high-speed Net backbones making use of a minimum of OC3 (To prevent Provider) collections (155 Megabits for each subsequent) or over as an alternative to T1 as well as T3 collections. The best hosting provider normally spends greatly on their own information heart facilities with higher functionality machines, very fast several backbones companies together with fail-over redundancy, copy generators along with firewall program defense in position to make certain these people satisfy the up-time promise per your terms of use.

Likewise, you ought to pick a website hosting services using equipment services that will made for scalability, in order to increase together with your organization. For instance, if you want to improve far more hard drive area, bandwith as well as amount of mysql database listings, you ought to be capable of improve as required without the difficulties.

Customer satisfaction along with assistance

The past significant concern in picking an online internet hosting services are to identify a website hosting companies that gives things to look for and also assist. Always find a hosting provider which offers Round the clock, Seven days per week tech support which fielded along with remarkably encounter specialists, in order that virtually any internet hosting troubles is going to be solved in just a sensible length of time. You can even be considering to try exactly how reactive is customer service simply by transmitting number of request email messages towards the hosting provider. Normally, virtually any reaction in under Twenty four hours is known as satisfactory. This is a manifestation of inadequate customer service whenever they consider many morning for you to reply.

Furthermore, an online host company using superb assistance must also present several assist programs, including toll-free mobile phone assist, 24/7 e mail assist, stay speak, on-line knowledgebase, Active expensive lessons and also Frequently asked questions.

Over are generally handful of key factors prior to choosing your online web hosting services. Moreover, just how long gets the host company running a business and also the amount of consumers they now have can also be an excellent signal from the good quality of these web hosting merchandise and also the balance in the business. Despite the fact that tariff of the world wide web web hosting services are also essential nonetheless it really should not be your own main thought. As the cost of a hosting program may be regressing over time because of levels of competition, because of this, the buying price of a lot of the hosting supplying high quality web hosting service capabilities continues to be converging in order to under US$10 each month. If you fail to manage lower than $10 a month, it is likely you just isn't inside the internet business in the future. As a result, value should not be significant selecting issue.

Alternatively, it can be more essential to be sure the internet hosting program which you select has the capacity to satisfy your site web hosting demands, ensure your site is often obtainable along with fulfilling rate, supply scalability to cultivate and also develop your web site along with supply superb buyer facilitates. According to your online web hosting service necessity, it is possible to reap the benefits of our website, Low cost Internet hosting Assessment to obtain the suggested hosting that may match up these main requirements over. All the best for a lookup.

For more on linux hosting visit www.legendwebhosting.com

Source: http://illicit-dreams.com/index.php?do=/blog/13050/windows-hosting-versus-linux-hosting/

game changer selection sunday corned beef recipe time change rpi dst friends with kids

Online Shopping Cart: Magento vs osCommerce | designrfix.com

The expansion of internet has really pulled in some interesting and unbelievable benefits to millions of people worldwide! It is because of the expansion of internet today we have surplus eCommerce solutions selling numerous products to customers worldwide.

Today we have many customers that shop blissfully from various remote locations without any fuzz. The easy-to-use product ordering systems with unique specifications preferred by customers have made ecommerce a sensation all around the globe. The advantages of ecommerce solutions are limitless and I don?t want to concentrate a lot on them as our topic is completely different from that discussion. Well, today we have an interesting topic ?Which shopping cart to favor ? Magento or osCommerce?? which could be beneficial for plenty of individuals or businesses that plan to host their ecommerce stores in the near future.

?

Below, I have listed some of the crucial differences that are experienced by most customers that used both versions for their shopping processes.

?

Web Hosting

Magento ? It is a robust open source platform but coded heavily. In order to relish the ultimate benefits of using Magento as a platform, it requires private or dedicated servers like Apache/MySQL/PHP to run smoothly. The overly complicated coding style of Magento makes it tough for the store owners as it runs fairly slow. In addition, it requires a great deal of skills and thousand files to run while customizing it.

osCommerce ? It is a feature-rich open source platform. It isn?t coded heavily and it doesn?t require any special or dedicated servers to host. All osCommerce requires is a web server with great PHP coding and MySQL installation for a smooth performance. Customizing and setting up the entire platform becomes absolutely easy and simple. As there is no heavy coding involved, it works pretty fast compared to Magento.

?

Extensibility and functions

Magento ? It comes up with some sparkling and high-quality useful extensions with incredible functionality. In fact, Magento is highly extensible with some adorable features. The functionality like coupons, Meta tags, product comparisons are really powerful enough to fascinate most customers that visit your shops.

?

osCommerce ? Though, it comes out with some interesting plugins and functionality, it really lacks the additional functions mentioned above for Magento. In fact, all the additional functionality mentioned above is exclusively important for attracting more customers and improving businesses.

?

Shopping cart designing

Magento ? Offers exclusive and impressive shopping cart to customers. Adding multiple stores and managing them from a single admin panel is very possible. The ?store view? option proves to be too hot as it allows store owners to come up with multiple stores under one roof with diverse pricings, languages for the same products.

osCommerce ? it offers a tidy and impressive online shopping cart to visitors. But it never allows setting up multiple stores which could help your business grow effectively. Also, you could not meet the requirements of different users as it doesn?t come up with a ?store view? option as in the case of Magento.

?

Backend coding

Magento ? it offers a commanding backend operation as it is designed with some solid and clean coding. The backend operation of Magento is extremely easy and it becomes quite easy to control the performance of your entire store without any hassles and bustles.

osCommerce ? Though it has a professional backend designing and coding, it is nowhere near to the proficiency level of coding designed for Magento. The web owners may find it difficult to control the entire functionality as well as adding new products to stores. Simply put, the coding isn?t up to the standard of the current market.

?

Update facilities

Magento ? it follows trends and reads the market performance closely. It is the reason why Magento often comes up with some interesting and innovative updates which pleases most users which in turn web owners. In general, Magento comes up with an update for every 10 to 15 days to maximize the shopping performance of the users.

osCommerce ? On the contrary, Os web owners as well as users rarely enjoy any updates. As it is a platform that originated more than 12 years before, it isn?t showing keen interest on releasing updates and improving the performance of the site. It is really one of the biggest setbacks that have forced many businesses to go with Magento.

?

Customer management

Magento ? it offers some attractive facilities to woo customers as it helps the store owners to create distinct user groups. Attacking the different customer groups with distinct product pricings could be beneficial for the rich sales. In fact, there are more features for better representing your products online and appeasing customers.

osCommerce ? it never encourages the store owners with such kinds of innovative customer management features. None of the features and facilities mentioned for Magento is applicable for OsCommerce which makes store owners to reconsider their decisions on moving to different platforms.

?

Designing, security, and customization

Magento ? it is a feature-rich platform which is perfectly designed to meet the customer needs in mind. It offers unprecedented security to the web owners as well as the customers. Though it is proved to be heavily coded, customizing Magento online stores are not that difficult as it offers incredible extensions to provide scintillating shopping experience to users.

osCommerce ? Though, designing, security and customization are not below par the industry standards. Adding personal touch using different contemporary extensions is never possible in this platform. It never comes up with regular updates and new updates.

?

However, both the ecommerce platforms are reliable and worthy to invest in. But, Magento overshadows osCommerce by the innovation and forward-looking parameters. So, analyze your business and products carefully before choosing the best ecommerce solution for your online business.

?

FrontPage Image provided by Shutterstock

FrontPage Image:?Abstract vector shopping cart made from barcode ? sticker via Shutterstock

Source: http://designrfix.com/web-design/online-shopping-cart-magento-oscommerce

Daniel Inouye steelers scarlett johansson tim tebow survivor snl peter frampton

Gun Companies Refuse Sales to State Governments with Strict Gun ...

@gungasnake,

Cheaper Than Dirt... aren't they the company that posted this on their facebook page Dec 12?Quote:

?Cheaper Than Dirt! is suspending online sales of firearms effective immediately. We are reviewing our policy internally, and will continue to be the leader in the outdoor industry with our full line of gear and accessories.?

So after suspending all firearm sales they are going to suspend firearm sales to NY police? I wonder how that will work.

Source: http://able2know.org/topic/208438-1

30 rock live nfl draft picks 2012 space shuttle enterprise ryan leaf ryan leaf luke kuechly brad miller

Seawater desalination plant might be just a drop in the bucket

CARLSBAD, Calif. ? Dreamers have long looked to the Pacific Ocean as the ultimate answer to California's water needs: an inexhaustible, drought-proof reservoir in the state's backyard. In the last decade, proposals for about 20 desalting plants have been discussed up and down the coast.

But even with construction about to begin on the nation's largest seawater desalination facility, 35 miles north of San Diego, experts say it is doubtful that dream will ever be fully realized.

"While this Poseidon adventure may work out, I don't look for a lot of that," said Henry Vaux Jr., a UC Berkeley professor emeritus of resource economics who contributed to a 2008 National Research Council report on desalination.

The reasons boil down to money and energy. It takes a lot of both to turn ocean water into drinking water, driving the average price of desalinated supplies well above most other sources.

The purified water produced by the Poseidon Resources plant will cost the San Diego County Water Authority more than twice what it now pays the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California for supplies from Northern California and the Colorado River. Over the authority's 30-year contract with Poseidon, San Diego County ratepayers will pay between $3 billion and $4 billion for the desalted water, which is expected to provide no more than a tenth of their overall supply.

Seawater desalination is not new to California. There are number of small coastal plants, used mostly for research or industrial purposes, and a few, such as one on Catalina Island, that provide municipal supplies.

For reasons unique to the region, San Diego County will be the first to stick a big straw into the Pacific. It is at the end of the line for imported water, doesn't have much local groundwater and is perennially battling with Metropolitan, Southern California's wholesaler of imported supplies.

"I do believe it is worth it," said Tom Wornham, board chairman of the county water authority. "I would rather be apologizing to people in 10 years for the rate than the fact they would have no water."

Up the coast, other places have taken a pass on the Pacific. Los Angeles and Long Beach recently shelved seawater desalting plans after concluding that other water sources, such as conservation or recycling, are cheaper and easier to pursue.

Poseidon, a small, privately held company based in Stamford, Conn., started talking about developing a desalination plant in Carlsbad in late 1998. The road to construction has been so long and twisting that Global Water Intelligence, which covers the international water industry, last year listed the project among the "Top 10 Desalination Disasters" of all time.

It took years for the company to get the necessary state and local permits. Environmentalists filed multiple legal challenges, the last of which was only recently resolved in Poseidon's favor. A deal with a number of local water agencies in San Diego County fell apart.

In the end, the Poseidon supplies ? up to 56,000 acre-feet a year ? will sell for roughly $2,000 an acre-foot, more than double the company's 2004 estimate. (One acre-foot is enough to supply two average homes for a year.) The price will rise with inflation; if energy costs go up, so will the price of water.

On the other side of the Pacific, Australia offers a sobering lesson in the perils of diving too deeply into desalination.

When years of withering drought emptied the country's reservoirs, Australia commissioned six big coastal desalting plants, including some of the world's largest. Then the rains returned. Just as some of the operations were coming on line, they were no longer needed.

Four of the six plants are being idled because cheaper water is available. Australian politicians are bemoaning the desalination binge, complaining that it saddled ratepayers with "hyper-expensive" white elephants they have to pay for regardless of whether the plants are used.

"That's certainly the risk ? that we build them when they're not necessary or we build them, frankly, too soon," said Heather Cooley of the Pacific Institute, an Oakland think tank.

Santa Barbara had a similar experience in the early 1990s, when it built a desalination plant during a severe statewide drought that ended before the facility was finished. The $34-million plant, with a tenth of the capacity of the Carlsbad facility, was never used beyond the testing phase, though it could still be brought into service in an emergency.

The $954-million Carlsbad project is being financed with $781 million in tax-exempt construction bonds sold by Poseidon and the water authority. The balance is coming from investors who anticipate a return of about 13%. IDE Americas Inc., the subsidiary of an Israeli firm that runs some of the world's largest coastal desalination facilities in the Middle East, has been hired to design and operate the plant, slated for completion in 2016.

The fresh water will be produced through reverse osmosis, an energy-intensive process that separates salts and contaminants from seawater by forcing it through sand filters and tightly coiled, synthetic membranes peppered with billions of tiny holes a fraction of the width of a human hair. The water will then be pumped inland for distribution ? the opposite direction that drinking supplies are usually moved ? requiring construction of a 10-mile underground pipeline that the water authority will own and operate.

Poseidon chose the Carlsbad location, next to the Encina Power Station, so it could draw from the power plant's cooling water discharge ? thus avoiding the environmental harm of operating its own ocean intake.

But new federal and state environmental regulations are pushing coastal power plants to phase out the use of huge volumes of ocean water for cooling, thwarting that strategy. Poseidon expects the Encina station to be replaced within the decade with a new generating facility employing a different cooling system.

That will mean the desalter will have to pump directly from the ocean, sucking 300 million gallons a day. Of that, 100 million gallons will go through the reverse osmosis process, with half converted to fresh water and half to a concentrated brine. The brine, twice as salty as the sea, will be diluted in a mixing pool with the other 200 million gallons of intake and discharged to the ocean.

Destruction of marine life is a major environmental concern of ocean desalination. Raw seawater is full of tiny organisms, including plankton that form a critical part of the food chain and the young stages of fish and invertebrates. When the water they live in is pumped into a plant, they die.

The Coastal Commission is requiring Poseidon to restore 55 acres of marine wetlands in south San Diego Bay to compensate for the plant's projected effects. The State Water Resources Control Board is also developing new seawater desalination regulations that could force Poseidon to change its intake and discharge systems.

"They took a big risk in building this before the rules are finalized," said Joe Geever of the Surfrider Foundation, which tenaciously fought the Carlsbad proposal in court and argues that water agencies should turn to the ocean only as a last resort ? after more environmentally benign sources such as recycling and storm-water capture have been aggressively pursued.

Poseidon, which is trying to line up customers for a similar-size desal plant proposed in Huntington Beach, says it is peddling more than water. "What we're selling is ... a reliability premium that's locally controlled, drought-proof," said Carlos Riva, the company's chief executive.

But even Poseidon doesn't predict that the Pacific will become California's dominant water supply. The state has too many other sources.

"We have quite a bit of water to move around," said Peter MacLaggan, the Poseidon executive who is overseeing the Carlsbad project. "I don't think it's ever going to be a majority of supply or anywhere close to that."

bettina.boxall@latimes.com

Source: http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/news/science/~3/GG-9qXEM-u8/la-me-carlsbad-desalination-20130218,0,3034309.story

marbury v. madison 2013 lincoln mkz burger king mary j blige google project glass google goggles one tree hill projectglass

On Orwell's Rules for Writing ? The Reality-Based Community

I?m a fan of George Orwell. I think one of the most important pieces of writing in the English language, for example, is his set of rules for how to make the perfect cup of tea. In fact, I sometimes wonder whether people can really make a cup of tea, and therefore participate in civilised society, without following those rules; I often ungraciously request that my friends read Orwell?s piece before I permit them to hand me a brew.

Because of this general affinity for Orwell?s work, it?s always with some sadness that I look over his prescriptions for what constitutes good writing. He distils these into six rules:

1. Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
2. Never use a long word where a short one will do.
3. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
4. Never use the passive where you can use the active.
5. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
6. Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.

They cause me sadness because I know full well that I violate rules one through five fairly regularly ? a violation that I justify by appealing to rule six. I recognise that my own style of writing ? my modus scribendi ? is all-too-often characterised by florid and pleonastic writing. ? There you have it: twenty-one words in a sentence that would make Orwell spill his impeccably brewed tea all over his morning copy of Pravda. Clich?? Check. Aureate prose? Unquestionably. Prolixity? Naturally. Passive voice? Colour me checked. Argot? Affirmative. And yet, aside from being inelegantly constructed, I don?t see much of a problem with it. It conveys the point clearly, albeit pretentiously.

Ed Smith?s last column from the New Statesman argued that Orwell?s rules have been co-opted and deployed for precisely the nefarious purposes Orwell had hoped to prevent:

Orwell argues that ?the great enemy of clear language is insincerity. When there is a gap between one?s real and one?s declared aims, one turns as it were instinctively to long words.?

I suspect the opposite is now true. When politicians or corporate front men have to bridge a gap between what they are saying and what they know to be true, their preferred technique is to convey authenticity by speaking with misleading simplicity. The ubiquitous injunction ?Let?s be clear?, followed by a list of five bogus bullet-points, is a much more common refuge than the Latinate diction and Byzantine sentence structure that Orwell deplored.

The argument seems plausible to me. Indeed, the Guardian has a lovely infographic that illustrates how SOTU speeches have adopted increasingly simpler vocabulary and syntax over time. You can decide for yourself whether this has accompanied more political duplicity, as Smith argues.

I enjoyed Smith?s post not just because I think the argument seems accurate. It?s because I?d like to think that in my own case, grandiloquent writing isn?t really the problem. Orwell?s concern was not with the choice of words (a stylistic concern); it was with the way words can be used to manipulate thoughts (a substantive concern). Hence, the dispositive sixth rule.

My take-away from Orwell?s writing rules, then, is that the sixth is the only true ?rule,? as it is the only one with substantive content ? not to write anything barbarous. The preceding five ?rules? aren?t really rules at all. They?re more like suggestions, and Orwell didn?t have much of a bee in his bonnet for those.

Oops ? a clich?. Damn that pesky first rule?

Tags: George Orwell

Posted: Sunday, February 17th, 2013 at 12:14 pm
Tags: George Orwell
4 Comments ?

Source: http://www.samefacts.com/2013/02/uncategorized/on-orwells-rules-for-writing/

ludwig mies van der rohe jamie lynn sigler mega millions jackpot black panther party frank martin pink slime eagle cam

Daily Chronicle | Confusion slows Cortland legal challenges

CORTLAND ? Legal issues surrounding a potential courtroom showdown between Cortland Township and Waste Management are becoming as cluttered as the landfill some residents hope to prevent from expanding.

After a sometimes contentious and often confusing meeting of Cortland Township electors Jan. 31 to vote on whether the township should sue to stop a Waste Management landfill expansion, trustees remain unclear on how to proceed, Township Trustee John Wartenbe said.

?Trustees expressed a concern about the procedures of that [Jan. 31] meeting because it?s all very confusing,? he said. ?We sympathize with them, but we don?t know if they have all their facts straight.?

Wartenbe said the township is looking into legal consultation to help advise the board on how it can move forward legally with the electors? request to open a special fund for residents to contribute money toward a lawsuit to stop the expansion.

Electors voted to open the fund and raise money for a legal challenge during the special Jan. 31 meeting, which was not a regularly scheduled meeting and had no official board gathering. Wartenbe said trustees want to be sure the procedures in that meeting were legal as well as any future action that could come from it before entertaining legal action against Waste Management.

He said the board wants to protect the township from any lawsuit that could come from Waste Management or individuals about improper procedures should the township decide to sue.

Township Supervisor Melody Birdsell declined to
comment.

The DeKalb County Board approved a landfill expansion in 2010 that would allow Waste Management to receive garbage from 17 counties. The additional revenue would provide the $27 million needed to expand the DeKalb County Jail.

The county board?s approval came despite an official stance against the expansion from Cortland Township.

Jerry Crabtree, associate director for Township Officials of Illinois, said Cortland Township officials have been in contact with him about the issue and he believes sound procedures have been followed.

He said it only requires a gathering of 15 electors to request a meeting and action from the township board, and there is nothing illegal about a group of residents raising money to give to a township board with direction on how to spend the donation.

?These townships do not have the resources, so if that?s what [residents] want to do to protect their community, they can,? Crabtree said of the fundraising efforts on behalf of the township board.

And if the township decides to sue, Crabtree said he believes it would have strong legal grounds to do so ? an opinion shared by lawyer Jeff Jeep, who could be appointed to represent Cortland Township.

Jeep said the key to any lawsuit is the timing of a wording change the legislature made in a statute that gives township authority over garbage disposal within its boundaries. In 1994, the Illinois Legislature changed a statute to say township authority over garbage disposal in its boundaries does apply to state-regulated facilities. Before 1994, the statute said that authority did not apply to those facilities.

Why the wording change was made and what legal effects it has are questions a judge has never answered, Jeep said.

?It?s a very straightforward issue,? Jeep said. ?But it?s never been challenged.?

Bill Plunkett, spokesman for Waste Management, said the company is confident in the DeKalb County Board?s decision. He said the township code does not regulate the landfill siting process.

?It is very clear that local review and approval of a landfill expansion is determined by the Illinois Environmental Protection Act,? he said. ?We are confident that Waste Management and DeKalb County conducted the proper and legally prescribed course in the expansion of the DeKalb County landfill.??

Cortland Township?s next meeting is scheduled for March 11, where Wartenbe said trustees would likely further discuss the issue. He said the annual meeting of electors on April 16 would give the township a clear path forward, but any final decision to sue would require outside money.

Legal costs are estimated at $60,000.

?I would support the challenge because the lawyers, Jeep and Blazer, laid out some very interesting points,? Wartenbe said. ?But with the township board?s current fiscal situation, there is no way we could come up with that kind of money.?

Source: http://www.daily-chronicle.com/2013/02/15/confusion-slows-cortland-legal-challenges/afh6cp9/

cam newton danielle fishel FedEx Gabriel Aubry halle berry cyber monday deals small business saturday

How to use your iPhone or iPad to help you eat better

iMore writes, February is Fitness Month at iMore and Mobile Nations, and that means our whole community is involved -- readers, listeners, viewers, and most of all, forum members. All week you've been sharing how you use your iPhone and iPad to stay in shape, and the apps and accessories you use along with it. Sure, we sweetened the deal by putting a $100 iTunes gift card up for grabs -- and we'll do it again next week -- but you guys brought serious game. So what did you tell us? Our winner, mjcostajr, had this to say: Keep track of your nutrition can be cumbersome and disconnected, but there are?

Continue reading How to use your iPhone or iPad to help you eat better at iMore

Source: http://machash.com/imore/54736/how-to-use-your-iphone-or-ipad-to-help-you-eat-better/

madonna papa johns guacamole recipe ufc 143 results kickoff time super bowl 2012 superbowl national anthem patriots vs giants super bowl