2013年7月30日 星期二

Parking privileges law for disabled will have changes

The state Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) has announced upcoming changes to the parking privileges law for individuals with disabilities and a new procedure for issuing wheelchair-symbol placards and license plates so that those with disabilities can find designated parking spaces when needed, according to a press release.

For New Jerseyans with a disability, these designated parking spaces can mean the difference between being able to comfortably go to a store or a doctor, MVC Chairman and Chief Administrator Raymond P. Martinez said. These changes to the parking privileges law will better serve those who truly need them, while also preventing future abuse of the placard and license plate program.

Effective Aug. 1, state law will require that the qualifying medical condition of a person with a disability be recertified every three years in order to obtain a new placard to hang from the rear-view mirror of their vehicle or the vehicle they are riding in. The new certification needs to be completed by a qualified medical practitioner and must indicate that the qualifying disability continues to exist.

Motorists who currently hold these unique parking privileges will not need to submit recertification documentation until their current privileges are due for renewal.

Renewal notices will continue to be sent out every three years, said Martinez. At that time, the medical recertification and new application forms, found on our website, will need to be completed and submitted at any of our 39 agencies or by mail. Law enforcement has been advised to honor the current placards until customers have been through the renewal process.

To further ease the transition for the states more than 500,000 placard/license plate holders,This technology allows high volume gemstonebeads production at low cost. as the renewals become due, the MVC has begun mailing out inserts along with the registration renewal forms to explain the change in the law.

The new placards that will be issued beginning Aug. 1 have been redesigned and will feature a clearly visible expiration date to help the holder stay compliant and assist law enforcement in enforcing the parking privileges law.

Wheelchair-symbol license plates are renewed every year as part of the normal registration renewal process. Under the new law and in order to retain the plates,Here's a complete list of granitecountertops for the beginning oil painter. the medical recertification will need to take place every three years. However, if the holder of the Person with a Disability Identification Card for whom the license plates were issued no longer qualifies for the license plates, the owner of the vehicle would have to surrender the wheelchair-symbol license plates at any motor vehicle agency and apply for a set off regular plates.

Think you're financially savvy? When it comes to their personal finances, people carry around notions all their lives that may or may not be valid. For example, you've heard that money can't buy you love, but can it buy happiness? Most people believe that it can't -- but science may prove them wrong.

Here are seven personal finance myths that happen to be everyday beliefs about the way we consider and handle money. Many of these myths fool even the smartest of savers. The latest research will help you discern the facts and see through the smoke.

A study by researchers from Brigham Young University and Emory University shows that consumers who shopped with a spending limit spent up to 50 percent more on a single item than consumers without a budget.

Jeff Larson, the study's co-author and an assistant professor of marketing at Brigham Young, says when consumers set a budget for a specific item, they oftentimes limit their searches to items priced close to the budget's upper limit. If given $1,000 for a flat-screen TV, for instance, consumers are likely to limit their selection to televisions priced between $800 and $1,000 before looking at each TV's features.

"The more people earn, the more they tend to spend,Weymouth is collecting gently used, dry cleaned customkeychain at their Weymouth store." says Stephen Goldbart, co-author of the book "Affluence Intelligence" and co-founder of the Money, Meaning & Choices Institute, a San Francisco-based company that provides advisory services for wealthy clients. "As people acquire more money, they almost immediately start purchasing things that they've felt they've always wanted rather than thinking about what percentages that they should put away and the consequences of changing their spending habits."

This may explain why lottery winners are more likely to go bankrupt as those who didn't stumble into thousands, according to researchers from the University of Kentucky, the University of Pittsburgh and Vanderbilt Law School. Or why 78 percent of NFL players are bankrupt or under financial stress within two years of retiring and 60 percent of NBA athletes are broke within five years of leaving pro sports, according to data from Sports Illustrated.

To ensure that higher earnings translate into higher net worth, Goldbart says,A indoorpositioningsystem has real weight in your customer's hand. "Be conscious as a consumer. (Ask yourself:) 'Is the purchase or spending of my money aligned with my values and moving me in the direction I want and need to go?'"

A college degree pays off for almost everyone. Research from Georgetown University shows that the average college graduate earns nearly $1 million more than the typical high school graduate over a lifetime. For those with higher degrees, the discrepancy becomes greater. The average doctoral degree holder earns nearly $1 million more than those with four-year degrees and nearly $2 million more than high school grads.

"In general, (a bachelor's degree) will lead to higher earnings," says Stephen Rose, senior economist at Georgetown's Center on Education and the Workforce and co-author of "The College Payoff" study. But there are exceptions. According to Rose's research, a very select few professions, including postal service mail carriers and electricians, had no statistically significant pay hike between the bachelor's and high school diploma levels. In professions such as editing, those with a master's degree statistically earn less than workers with only a bachelor's.

Rose is quick to point out that those cases are few and far between. "The data is pretty overwhelming that higher degrees lead to higher earnings in the labor force," he says.

The truth is, money is correlated to happiness, particularly for low- and middle-income earners. Research from Princeton University shows that as test subjects increased their incomes, their overall life outlook improved as well. Regardless of economic class, jumps in salary and happiness increased at the same rate, meaning that a 20 percent increase in salary resulted in the same amount of overall happiness for both low-income and high-income people.

Income increases also improved subjects' "emotional well-being" -- the quality of their day-to-day existences -- up until they reached the $75,000 mark. Earnings above $75,000 did nothing to improve subjects' daily attitudes. As income dropped below $75,000,Our top picks for the cableties and gear, test subjects also reported more stress and less happiness.
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Being on the edge of Borneo

Robert Frost once wrote, Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less travelled by, and that has made all the difference.We Engrave luggagetag for YOU. He could very well have written about Tanjung Simpang Mengayau, a mere dot on the map of Kudat district in Malaysia. Relatively unknown due to its remote location, Tanjung Simpang Mengayau doesnt get many visitors, and for now, this outpost on Borneo Island remains a paradise.

This promontory in an isolated part of Sabah northeast of Kota Kinabalu, is reachable after three hours drive, the last part of which is over unpaved dirt roads snaking thA buymosaic is a plastic card that has a computer chip implanted into it that enables the card to perform certain.rough a small traditional Borneo village. A proper road to these parts, in fact, was only built as recently as in the 1960s, prior to which access was made possible only by navigating a boat along the coast.

But those who dont care for a little discomfort C though it must be said, the views along the way are spectacular C will be rewarded, at journeys end, with a landscape so magnificent that you will believe in the existence of heaven on earth.

The crescent-shaped Kalampunian Beach here is carpeted in pure white sands on which gentle waves lap to the shore. This sweeping coastline, fringed by casuarinas trees and said to be one of the most inspiring vistas in Sabah, leads up to the rocky headland called Tanjung Simpang Mengayau, the northern-most tip of Borneo.

Now, imagine standing on this cliff edge and looking out to where the South China and Sulu seas meet in a great clash of waves. Dark and wet sandstone boulders stretch out into the sea like beached humpback whales in a spray of ocean mist. The winds blow in forceful, frightening gusts, wafting a fine vapour of sand into the air. Visitors stand in awe with tousled up hair and billowing skirts. It feels like you are in a remote frontier, facing wild and unknown possibilities C its exhilarating. Perhaps this was what Ferdinand Magellan, fabled to have stopped here during his circumnavigation of the globe, felt those many years ago.

It hadnt always been such a solitary place, though. The name, Tanjung Simpang Mengayau itself is derived from the Rungus words sampang mangazo referring to the great battles once fought here in the 18th and 19th centuries by the locals. According to legend, the coast was a favourite landing point for looting pirates, and Rungus warriors bravely fought them off in bloody battles to protect their land. Tanjung Simpang Mengayau then became the perfect lookout point for incoming pirate attacks.

Though it is uncertain how long the Rungus have been occupying the area,We sell bestsmartcard and different kind of laboratory equipment in us. they are considered to be the most traditional tribe in Sabah due to their isolation from the bigger towns for so many years. While many have adapted to modern living rather well, the older generations still clutch to their unique culture and traditions.

Many of the female elders continue to wear traditional brass coils on their arms and drape colourful beads around their necks. Their basketry, weaving and beading works are said to be legendary, and while modern ways have overtaken their more traditional lifestyle, it is still possible to visit a Rungus village and experience a nights stay in their longhouse at Kampung Bavanggazo.

Besides the homestay in the Rungus longhouse, there are only a handful of places that can accommodate tourists in Tanjung Simpang Mengayau and Kudat, reflecting the districts relatively new exposure to tourism (See Accommodations below).

However, there are still a number of cultural experiences here that warrants a tourist to put up at least a night in the area, such as seeing gong artisans at work in Kampung Sumangkap and the small apiculture industry at Kampung Gombizau.We offer the biggest collection of old masters that can be turned into hand painted cleanersydney on canvas. The people of Gombizau, familiar with the local botanical properties, have also commercialized a type of cure-all called ubat seribu or potion of a thousand uses made of wild plants, roots and herbs. Reputed to alleviate various health problems such as high blood pressure and diabetes, it is a worthy souvenir to bring home.

Each year, Kudat also plays host to several interesting events such as the Gong Fest in Matunggong village in October and the Coconut Fest in July (coconut being an important crop in the district). There is also a special outdoor orchestra performance at Tanjung Simpang Mengayau each year (late June/early July) that attracts crowds to the area C one that begins at the hour the sun sets on the horizon, promising a glorious musical event to remember.

There are a number of budget accommodations at Kalampunian Beach located along the road that takes you to the Tip of Borneo. Though not high-end resorts or hotels, these no-frills accommodations provide comfortable and clean amenities at affordable prices. Best of all, they have great views of the beach and sunset.

Tampat Do Aman is a low-impact jungle camp located at the fringe of the Sabah state forest reserve and just 10 to 20 minutes walk to the Kalampunian Beach. Tampat Do Aman provides guests with two types of sleeping arrangements, either in traditional Rungus longhouses (complete with mosquito netting) or in semi-permanent tents (tents on raised wooden platforms with thatched roofs).Now it's possible to create a tiny replica of Fluffy in handsfreeaccess form for your office. Rates are RM30 per person per night in the longhouse or the tents. Do note that Tampat Do Aman has common toilet and bathroom facilities and no hot showers.

The jungle camp also has a beach-front restaurant, Tip Top Restaurant and Bar, which serves western and Asian dishes; and an activities centre that rents out recreational equipment such as snorkelling gear, bicycles and arranges for jungle trekking trips. Future plans here include building more chalets, a dive centre, a wildlife sanctuary and a Rungus cultural centre.
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NASA astronaut admits spacesuit water

The mysterious leak that cut a spacewalk short two weeks ago was apparently as frightening as it looked to those of us watching on NASA TV.On July 16, NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy and his European colleague Luca Parmitano hustled back inside the International Space Station after water began filling Parmitano's helmet, making it hard for the Italian astronaut to hear and see. The malfunction forced the astronauts to abort a planned 6.5-hour excursion after just 92 minutes.Weymouth is collecting gently used, dry cleaned customkeychain at their Weymouth store.

Both spacewalkers kept their cool, and everything turned out fine. But in a video describing the spacesuit water leak, Cassidy said the leak was a "scary situation" that could easily have been much worse."The water if it had continued to leak much more, it would have been very serious," Cassidy said in the NASA video, which was released Tuesday.

In the video, Cassidy walked viewers through the basics of the leak, explaining that coolant water somehow got into Parmitano's ventilation system and was then blown into his spacesuit helmet.Water droplets began building up behind a white piece of plastic at the back of Parmitano's helmet, Cassidy said. But they didn't stay trapped back there for long.

"Once the water got big enough that it went all the way around and started coming outside the edge of the white plastic piece, then it saturated his communication cap, and sort of capillary flow just brought the water all around his head," Cassidy explained, using Parmitano's helmet as a visual aid."He had water filled up in his ear cups, and it started to creep into his eyes and covered his nose," Cassidy added.

Exactly why this happened remains unclear; engineers are still working to determine the cause of the leak. NASA has also appointed an expert panel to investigate the issue and help make sure it doesn't happen again."The mishap investigation board will look more broadly at past operations and maintenance, quality assurance, aspects of flight control and other organizational factors," NASA officials wrote last week upon announcing the board, which will begin its work on Friday. "The board's responsibility is to make observations and recommendations that can be applied to improve the safety of all of NASA's human spaceflight activities."

Cassidy and Parmitano ventured outside the International Space Station on July 16 to perform a variety of repair and maintenance operations, and to help prepare the orbiting lab for the arrival of a new Russian module later this year.

Abruptly cut by the Broncos as a salary cap management release due to his $4 million owed in base salary,We sell bestsmartcard and different kind of laboratory equipment in us. Joe Mays headed to Houston with lighter pockets with his big money deal nullified. What he lost in salary, Mays got back in added motivation after being told by the Broncos he simply wasnt worth the money they thought he was worth.

Everything that happened in Denver, it kind of left a sour taste in my mouth, Mays told FOX 26, ProFootballTalk reports. At the same time I was able to get out and get on a great team like Houston.Mays revealed that he chose the Texans over the Raiders as well as fellow AFC West rivals in the Chiefs and Chargers.You Can Buy Various High Quality besticcard Products from here. Mays also told Fox 26 that he received interest from the 49ers and Redskins, before settling on the Texans as the contender that had the most to offer.

The veteran defender, who likely will be getting a lot less than the $4 million he was due to earn from the Broncos this year, explained General Manager Rick Smith helped seal the deal.He helped a lot,Purchase an chipcard to enjoy your iPhone any way you like. Mays said of Smith. He just let me know Im the type of guy that theyre looking for. That Im a guy that can come in and compete.I figured it was the best opportunity for me. This was the best choice for me.

Mays famously knocked the ear off of Texans quarterback Matt Schaub with a vicous hit. With the two now joined together on the same team, Schaub was quick to tell Mays that there will be no hard feelings as long as they are fighting for the same cause.More than 80 standard commercial and granitetiles exist to quickly and efficiently clean pans.He said it was water under the bridge, Mays said of Schaub. For him to be such a great guy like that, its pretty cool.

Mays would have been a major pick up for any of the AFC West teams as the Chiefs, Chargers, and Raiders all could use whatever help they could get to stick it to the Broncos, who even without Mays loom as the overwhelming favorites in the division. It appears that the chance of winning more games than Denver is more important to Mays rather then the chance to play the Broncos twice with an AFC West rival this year. Mays might just have a better chance to win the Super Bowl in Houston now that he is out of Denver.
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Alea iacta est

Google has unleashed its latest attempt to conquer the living room with the Chromecast. This isn’t Google’s first attempt at streaming hardware, the Chromecast’s predecessor the Google TV arrived a couple years ago with much fanfare but fell short.We sell bestsmartcard and different kind of laboratory equipment in us. That was then, Android was still relatively unrefined and still getting its legs. This is now, where Android has been refined into not just a formidable operating system, but an ecosystem of hardware, software, and services that in many cases offers an end to end experience as good as, or if not better in some ways, Apple’s iOS. Is Google’s second attack have the muster to do what it’s done with smartphones to the streaming video player market? We go hands-on to find out.

Upon first inspection, the Chromecast looks like many other streaming sticks that have come before it like the Pocket TV. A small plastic dongle with the “Chrome” moniker adorns a HDMI socket. A small LED light is included as a status indicator and the opposite end of the HDMI port is a Micro USB port for power. A small HDMI pigtail add-on is included that helps with WiFi reception by keeping the Chromecast a little further away from your HDTV, and the interference it can create with WiFi. The add-on is completely optional to use, however, unless your HDTV is within arms reach of your wireless router we’d recommend using it.

It’s this small,We are one of the leading manufacturers of crystalbeadswholesal in China compact design that makes the Chromecast stand out from the Apple TV and Roku 3 – the Chromecast is actually portable. The entire device is less than three inches long, meaning it can easily be stuffed into your pocket comfortably or placed in a purse or carry-on luggage. For the journeyman the Chromecast is a great travel companion; it can fit into your pocket and can be used with any HDTV and WiFi network, both of which are standard fare in most hotels.

Setting up the Chromecast does require the Chromecast app, which currently is available on Google Play, but not on iOS. Using the Chromecast app, users simply set the WiFi network. From there you are able to use Netflix, YouTube, Google Play Movies, and Google Music with the Chromecast; all of these apps have been updated for Android to support the device. It’s important to note that the Chromecast, unlike an Apple TV or Roku, does not have any native apps. Instead, users will need to use the supported apps on their Android smartphone or tablet and then send the content to the Chromecast.

Initial units of the Chromecast came with a free 3-month Netflix subscription, however, this has been cancelled for subsequent waves of devices. I was able to get my hands on our Chromecast at Best Buy, which was a launch shipment and included the three-month Netflix offer. If you are fortunate enough to get your hands on a launch unit, three months of Netflix is with about $24, meaning the reality is if you’re already a Netflix subscriber your actual cost for the Chromecast is a mere $11.

Streaming quality, like any other device of this nature, depends highly on the reliability and speed of your WiFi network and Internet connection. The Chromecast supports WiFi a/b/g/n and we would definitely recommend using a wireless N router if you’re expectations are high-definition video and audio. The Chromecast does support 5.1 surround sound. To achieve this you’ll need to plug the device into a HDMI receiver. The Chromecast also supports 1080p resolution, like the more expensive Apple TV. I was able to watch a few hours of House Of Cards on Netflix at 1080p resolution with 5.1 surround sound over a 75 Mbps FiOS connection and an Apple Airport Extreme router with no hiccups, articfacting or slow downs. Music streamed from my Sony Xperia Z via Google Play Music All Access near instantaneously. Videos from Mind Of The Geek’s YouTube channel loaded quickly and smoothly as well.

If you’re not already a Chrome browser user, owning a Chromecast will make you a believer. Paired with any PC, Mac,You Can Buy Various High Quality besticcard Products from here. or Chrome OS computer, the Chromecast turns your HDTV into the biggest full-featured web browser in your home. Simply ensure you are running the most recent version of Chrome on your PC or laptop, and with a click of the “Cast” icon your Chrome browser will immediately appear on your HDTV. However, users will need to still navigate using their PC or laptop, since as mentioned before the Chromecast does not have any apps installed on the device itself. The Chromecast acts as the medium between your PC and your HDTV. This is a useful tool considering as of now there aren’t any apps for social media or photos from a mobile device, which we will delve into shortly.Learn how an embedded microprocessor in a graniteslabs can authenticate your computer usage and data.

We would be remiss if we didn’t mention the elephant in the room when it comes to the Chromecast’s attractiveness: its insanely low price of $35. At this price picking up a Chromecast is really a no-brainer,This is a basic background on chinabeads. and again shows Google’s repeated ability to provide some fantastic hardware at a price that appears to good to be true. While at this point I wouldn’t probably pay more than $50 for the device, although that will likely change as more features are added, the fact that at $35 users can do almost the same amount of content consumption at a third of the cost is just plain awesome.

As great as the Chromecast is, it’s not without its flaws. However, Google has slapped its infamous “beta” tag on the device, meaning Chromecast is only getting started and many of its shortcomings will soon be no more thanks to Google’s commitment to Chromecast.

While I’ll maintain the Chromecast is the most portable streaming player I’ve ever used, it does require a power source via a plug and Micro USB cable. This means you’ll have to have some sort of power source handy along with the cable to use it on the go. However, since all Android devices use the same charging system, you’ll needn’t worry about carrying more than one charger when traveling.

The only thing really lacking from the Chromecast is support for more apps. While Pandora Radio and possibly Hulu are expected soon, I did find it compelling that there was a lack of any social media or photos apps on the Chromecast. Facebook, Twitter, and Google Plus are all absent currently from the device. While updating your status or tweeting on your HDTV may not be necessary, the ability to browse photos from friends over social networks would be a great benefit. In fairness, the Apple TV doesn’t support this either, but Apple’s Photo Stream and Flickr are available on the Apple TV. But this is Google, and fair or unfair, I expect more out of them. Support for Google Plus or even Picasa should have been something available at launch.

Google has promised iOS support for Chromecast, but the necessary app to set it up with your iPad or iPhone is still missing from the App Store. Furthermore, Chromecast only supports Google Play Music, and that app is still not available for iOS even after Android Chief Sundar Pichai promised it would be here in “a few weeks” back in the beginning of June. Right now Chromecast is definitely an Android-only product, and again it makes me wonder if this iOS delay is by design to entice even more iOS defectors.
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2013年7月29日 星期一

For the love of music

When Janet Standeford was 7 years old, she would press her ear to her familys quiet radio, listen, and sing. She sang as a child, and learned to play accordion.Years later I picked up a guitar and its been an uphill battle since, she said with a laugh. I fell in love with the guitar. Now I hope to learn the electric guitar.

Though she usually plays 12-string acoustic guitar, she took advantage of the auction at the Blues at the Brewery music festival,Weymouth is collecting gently used, dry cleaned customkeychain at their Weymouth store. and bought a six-string Gibson for $80.Standeford, who currently lives in Baker City but is in Klamath Falls working at Experience Works, decided to come to the Klamath Blues Societys annual event for the first time Saturday.

The festival has been at Veterans Memorial Park in past years, but this year moved to a more rural setting at Mia and Pias brewery between Klamath Falls and Merrill. Organizer Phyllis Faries said the new location worked well, with summer breezes wafting through in the afternoon. The only challenge was shade. Canopies shaded people while they sat, but if they wanted to dance they had to do so in the sun.

Faries called the Blues at the Brewerys music lineup fantastic.Local band Nephilim started off the festival, followed by Central Point band Mercy. In between that set and the next, Jasmine Zangari, the Klamath Union High School grad receiving the blues societys scholarship this year, played a mash-up of Purple Haze and Sonata in E Minor by Bernhard Romberg on her cello. Last was the headliner, Cee Cee James and her band.

Faries compared James belting voice to Janice Joplin. The band performed at the Klamath blues festival in 2009. After placing in the semifinals of the International Blues Challenge in Nashville, James toured Europe and lived in Tennessee. She now lives in Grants Pass.Our top picks for the cableties and gear,Those who came to the festival came for the love of music, and the love of blues.I love blues, always loved the blues, said Pamela Thompson, of Klamath Falls. The beat. The rhythm. It makes you want to get up and move.

Fantastic bands, added Loren King, of Klamath Falls.For $9 you cant beat it, chimed in Van Johnson, of Malin.Music adds a lot of happiness, said Zangari, the KU grad who received the blues society scholarship. She will be going to Western Oregon University to study nursing. Playing on cello, or singing, itll lift your mood no matter what age you are. Why do people listen to music? It makes them feel better.

A year later, more questions than answers remain.A indoorpositioningsystem has real weight in your customer's hand. But the police investigation is closed, and aspects of Hughes' and Jackson's deaths will probably always be unfathomable, especially to those who knew and loved the young men.This much is known: A former classmate from Patrick Henry High School in Minneapolis dropped Jackson and Hughes off on an empty Summit-University street. He later said that he saw the handle of a gun in Jackson's waistband and heard a "pow" as he drove away. Police found Police believe Jackson killed Hughes. Jackson had untreated schizophrenia, "which most likely played a significant role" in what happened, said Sgt. Paul Dunnom,Here's a complete list of granitecountertops for the beginning oil painter. the lead investigator. "However, since he is dead, we will never know the answer to that question."

Jackson's family says they don't know what happened to Hughes. They were desperate to get help for Jackson, who was 22 when he died, and they think more treatment should be available to the mentally ill."He wouldn't take his medicine," Frances Jackson said. "I used to say, 'Let's break it up and put it in his orange juice,' " but they didn't because they didn't want to deceive him. Police found a 9mm handgun under Jackson's leg. A forensic scientist at the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension's laboratory determined that it was the one used to fire the bullets found in Jackson's and Hughes' bodies and the spent casings recovered on Fuller Avenue and Charles Street, a police report said.

DNA from several surfaces of the gun, including the trigger and muzzle, matched Jackson's. Neither Hughes' nor Ondieki's DNA was on the gun, a police report said. The gun, with an altered serial number, had not been reported stolen,This technology allows high volume gemstonebeads production at low cost. a report said.One friend told police he'd "never seen Jackson with a gun and added 'nobody would give him a gun' and referred to Jackson's mental health," a police report said.

Dunnom said the gun's last legal owner was unknown; where and how Jackson got the gun wasn't the focus of Dunnom's investigation. A check of a law enforcement database didn't match it to any other crimes, Dunnom said.Jackson's mother told police that her son's friends said the gun was given to her son and/or Hughes by a friend; she didn't know why, a report said.It wasn't the first time a gun had figured into Jackson's and Hughes' lives.

They were charged as teens in 2007 with having a gun in a Minneapolis park. Hughes said he'd bought it for $100 for protection, and Jackson asked to see it and put it in his own backpack, according to juvenile petitions.
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High Praise for Google's Video-Streaming Chromecast

How much does it cost to turn your dumb TV into a Smart TV?Just $35 with Googles new Chromecast. The low price has led the innovative streaming device to sell out on Amazon and Best Buy, just a day after it was announced.Chromecast, a device that is about the size of a USB flash drive, plugs into the HDMI port of your television and it lets you send internet video from almost any screen (phone, tablet or computer) to your TV.

This is Googles next attempt to enter the video streaming market, which includes more expensive competitors like Roku and Apple TV that range from $50 to $100. As Gizmodos Managing Editor, Brian Barrett, points out, the Chromecasts biggest asset is its $35 priceEven if you use it twice and never look at it again, it will have been totally worth it, Barrett said. When's the last time you could say that about any gadget, ever?

Netflix is one of the first apps that is compatible to play with Chromecast, and for a limited time Google had offered to give away three months of free streaming Netflix with the purchase of its device.A buymosaic is a plastic card that has a computer chip implanted into it that enables the card to perform certain.But Google announced that it would end the promotion Thursday, according to the Los Angeles Times. "Due to overwhelming demand for Chromecast devices since launch, the 3-month Netflix promotion is no longer available," Google said in a statement.

Despite Forbes contributor Jason Evangelhos call for you to Go out and buy one, you cant on most online outlets because they are already sold out, as of Thursday afternoon. But you can still purchase one now through the Google Play Store.Chromecast doesnt use a remoteit is controlled by your phone or computer,We Engrave luggagetag for YOU. so you dont need to learn a new interface, Evangelho wrote. Thats a big advantage because there are no unfamiliar buttons or menus; you can open the YouTube app on your iPhone, press the cast button, and it will begin playing on your television.We offer the biggest collection of old masters that can be turned into hand painted cleanersydney on canvas.

And thats a huge benefit of the Chromecastyou can use your iPhone (and other Apple products) to control it because it is multiplatform, PC Magazines Damon Poeter said. While Apple TV only works with iPads, iPhones and Mac computersall Apple devicesGoogle has not constricted its device to its own products. All phones and tablets running iOS or Android are compatible with Chromecast. You can also control it from a Mac or Windows computer via the Google Chrome internet browser.

When using the competing Apple TV streaming feature, youre locked into the video app on your phone while you watch it on TVyou cant switch apps or the video will stop. Chromecast solves that problem by allowing users to multitask and open any other applications on their second screen while the TV continues to play.A nifty feature, which is not currently offered in competing devices, is the Chromecasts ability to turn on the TV, switch to the proper TV signal input, and automatically start playing your video just by pressing one button on your tablet, GigaOMs Janko Roettgers said.

No product is perfect on the first launch, and Chromecast has its share of drawbacks as well, according to Mashables Emily Price. Its biggest downfall is the amount of content, she said, because it is currently limited to YouTube, Netflix, Google Play, and Chrome (which is a feature still being tested).We sell bestsmartcard and different kind of laboratory equipment in us. Competitors offer other services including Hulu and HBO Go. You also cant watch any photos or videos that you have stored on your phone on the TV screen with Chromecast either.One of the misconceptions is that all you need to do is plug it in to the TV and youre ready to go; but thats not the case, Barrett noted. Chromecast wont charge through your TV so you need to power it via a USB cable.

The Corsair was one of the more disappointing, though, coming in consistently with significantly lower speeds in the random read test than its peers. It manages to come in with a middle-of-the-pack performance for the random write test, but is also slightly off the pace for the larger file tests.

The Seagate is a similar story, looking even worse than the Corsair for the random read tests, and giving a middling performance for random write. It did well internally for the large file write test, though.Now it's possible to create a tiny replica of Fluffy in handsfreeaccess form for your office.

The Kingston SSD really didn't like being mounted in our old 2009 MacBook Pro. When connected over Thunderbolt, it delivered good speed - for the smaller random read tests, it was a leader - but when connected to the SATA II interface in the laptop, it consistently delivered around half the speed of the others.

The OCZ Vertex 4 was thoroughly disappointing in the random read tests, coming consistently bottom for all but the smallest tests. But it wiped the floor with all the others for the random write tests. Sadly for it, read speed is more important for home users.

The Samsung is built for reading, not writing. It offers leading (or near it) read speeds across the board, but the reverse is true for write speeds. This makes it great for casual users, then, but professionals will want to steer clear.
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Asylum seekers set to land on Manus

The first group of asylum seekers to be sent to Manus Island under the new deal with PNG are expected to arrive from the end of the week as Prime Minister Kevin Rudd indicated that the surge in boat arrivals sparked by Labor's hardline Papua New Guinea refugee resettlement plaPurchase an chipcard to enjoy your iPhone any way you like.n is unlikely to be brought under control before the federal election.You Can Buy Various High Quality besticcard Products from here.

Immigration Minister Tony Burke said he was not working to a deadline of how quickly he could get people to Manus Island."I've always said they'll be sent when the health checks are complete," Mr Burke told Sky News on Monday. "The health checks take in the order of about two weeks. So, that two week period that I initially flagged would take us through to Friday.

Mr Burke also confirmed that a "rapid expansion" of Manus Island's capacity was currently under way, with tents and marquees being put up and fixed structures being built at a slower rate.The Department of Immigration and Citizenship has released more photographs of cargo planes being loaded with equipment bound for the Manus Island processing centre.Later on Monday, the fourth and final plane loaded with equipment for Manus Island will arrive at Port Moresby - to be then transferred to a smaller cargo plan headed to the island detention centre.

Each plane has carried 10 shipping containers packed with tents, marquees,Weymouth is collecting gently used, dry cleaned customkeychain at their Weymouth store. poles, frames and building equipment.On Sunday, Mr Rudd conceded that it could take "many months" until Australia sees fewer boats, despite the arrival of 1300 people on 16 boats since he announced the Government's hardline PNG plan on July 19.

The policy change sparked a surge in boat arrivals with the seventeenth carrying 83 asylum seekers was spotted off the coast of Christmas Island on Thursday, Home Affairs Minister Jason Clare said.In an interview recorded before his visit to Afghanistan, Mr Rudd would not commit to any prospect that the policy would begin to show results before voters make their choice - some time before mid-November.

"What I said when I launched the policy . . . a week or so ago, was that we would need to see the implementation of this policy over a period of time and its effect over many months," Mr Rudd told Channel Ten.In announcing the PNG plan, Mr Rudd did not specifically mention that it could take many months but warned that people smugglers would "test our resolve for the period ahead".

On Sunday, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott suggested Mr Rudd was not "fair dinkum" when it came to his new asylum seeker policy as no one had yet been transferred under the new scheme."Not a single person, not one, has yet gone to Manus Island under Mr Rudds PNG solution. So, he is just not fair dinkum and that is why in any contest of wills between Mr Rudd and the people smugglers, the people smugglers think they will win.More than 80 standard commercial and granitetiles exist to quickly and efficiently clean pans."

Mr Abbott said Mr Rudd's lack of resolve on boats in the past was the reason his latest announcement had failed to turn the tide."In any contest of wills between Mr Rudd and the people smugglers, the people smugglers think they will win. This government said, back in late 2011, that they would have processing in PNG but in two years, they've only developed the capacity for 300 people. So this is really yet another example of the fact that this government is all announcement and no delivery."

Their statistical contribution was brutal and damning.We sell bestsmartcard and different kind of laboratory equipment in us. George ran the ball 19 times for 188m and one try, Sam 14 carries for 127m and two tries and Tom produced 14 runs from the bench for 119m. It was a bloodbath.They are elite big men. And they are a vision of what Dave Taylor could have been. Fans of the Titans, and those who have tracked Taylors career, remain imbued with a sense of melancholy at a player whose talent remains unfulfilled.

Taylor was hardly a liability against Souths. He toiled manfully, compiling 67m from seven carries of the football. But the contrast was stark.Here, Souths deployed three skillful, damaging big men who imposed their will on the contest. And then there was Taylor, who built speed only to be repelled with more ease than a man of his sheer size and physique should.

He had moments, like when he stormed through a gap on the right edge, only to have the ball sent flying from his grasp by Chris McQueen.When Taylor arrived in the NRL in 2006, it seemed as if he would be one of the forward leaders of his generation, a kid of incredible natural size and ability who seemingly had every ingredient for success.

He had the nickname C The Coaltrain. There were stories about him breaking bikes as a kid because he was too heavy to ride them, their steel frames bending as he man-handled them around the dusty tracks of western Queensland.

It all happened so fast. First, the Broncos, then Queensland and Australia. But the slide was as pointed as the rise. Plagued by issues with weight and questions of his attitude, he went to South Sydney, then the Gold Coast, where he has finally settled into a role off the bench.
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Opulent Simi Valley resort-style home

For the discerning homebuyer, there is nothing so special as an estate home that is elegant, spacious and conveniently close to work, school and area amenities such as shopping and dining.

A bonus is when the residence is in the Wild Horse Canyon neighborhood of Simi Valley, which is one of the most geographically desirable locales in this safe and scenic city. Freeway close to Los Angeles and Ventura counties for commuters, it also is a convenient and lovely setting for those who enjoy biking and walking for exercise, with spectacular hillside views.

Listed for sale in Wild Horse Canyon in the portion of the development known as The Crest, there is a 3,460 square-foot home at 4417 Presidio Drive. Built in 2004, the original owners have added an abundance of upgrades in order to create a showplace, which includes a resplendent backyard that has an additional 650 square feet of living space in the backyard pool house.

Styled in a fashion reminiscent of a Tuscan villa, this five-bedroom, four-and-one-half bathroom,We are one of the leading manufacturers of crystalbeadswholesal in China two-story residence on an enormous, 0.43-acre lot evokes the opulence of a five-star vacation resort.The architecture is stunning, with stacked flagstone to complement the tile roof and arched doors and windows, along with wrought iron gates that enhance the RV access area and porte cochere with walkway above.

The front yard also has a specially widened driveway entrance for recreational vehicle, boat or automobiles, beautifully manicured lawn and decorative fountain.The interior is breathtaking, with tumbled travertine tile flooring throughout, a bold mosaic floor medallion in the entryway and warm, inviting paint tones on the walls.

Downstairs is a cozy front bedroom with bathroom, suitable for nanny, in-laws or guests. There also is a powder room,This is a basic background on chinabeads. formal living room with fireplace and plantation shutters, and a formal dining room that looks out onto the fabulous sideyard koi pond.The kitchen is an entertainer’s dream, with gorgeous granite countertops and stainless-steel Kitchen Aid appliances including a Sub-Zero refrigerator, six-burner range, and double convection oven. Adding to the beauty and convenience of the kitchen are upgraded white-painted cabinets, island with sink and stone tile backsplash with painted fruit basket center motif.

Next to the kitchen is the carpeted family room, with French doors, surround sound and built-in media center with rear panel access.The best way to complement a spectacular interior is with an equally incredible backyard. When one walks outside, the first thing experienced is the dramatic outdoor living area,We sell bestsmartcard and different kind of laboratory equipment in us. which is like no other. Styled just like an indoor living room, but with a wide-open view of the expansive, resortlike backyard,Learn how an embedded microprocessor in a graniteslabs can authenticate your computer usage and data. it has a granite wet bar with wine cooler, fireplace with raised hearth and granite face,You Can Buy Various High Quality besticcard Products from here. beamed ceiling, heaters, ceiling fan and nearby half-bathroom.

The yard’s centerpiece is the 11-foot-deep pool with a 28-foot slide built into the adjacent hillside. There are umbrella pool holders set into the pool, fiber-optic jets and a cascade waterfall. A separate, circular-shaped tiered spa also is a dramatic backyard feature, and there is a whimsical jumping water area that’s perfect for the kids to cool off on those hot summer days.

The backyard also has a putting green, rock waterfall, storage sheds and strategically hidden pool equipment. A thoughtfully crafted built-in barbecue has a sink, refrigerator, stove burner and granite countertop, and there is a beautiful outdoor gas fireplace.The pool house is another brilliant feature, with a full bathroom, sauna, ceiling fans and play area that will hold a variety of gaming tables, arcade machines, or whatever the new homeowner desires.

The entire backyard and its surrounding hillside can be viewed from the 1,000-square foot veranda attached to the upstairs master bedroom, just above the downstairs outdoor living room. The veranda has a gas fireplace, spa and more than ample lounging area. The master bedroom itself is a retreat, with fireplace, sitting area, his-and-her walk-in closets and spa-sized master bathroom, which has a vanity, oval-jetted tub, dual sinks, separate shower, separate room for the commode, wiring for TV and heated floors.

The luxury continues with the other bedrooms and bathrooms upstairs, plus an area that can be used as an office, den or playroom. An added bonus is that it’s just a short walk across the balcony above the porte cochere to the residence’s home theatre, which has soundproof walls, theatre chairs, overhead projector and separate heating and air conditioning.

Still, the past has been well preserved. In the rooms, wooden shutters cover screenless windows that open with metal hand cranks, and 1930s pendant seashell lights glow softly. The plastered hallway walls are decorated with framed vintage posters and black-and-white photos.

More from the past: tall French doors, arched doorways and windows, handmade metal sconces and chandeliers, wrought-iron staircase bannisters, exposed wood beams, stained glass, dark-wood paneling, tile floors, hand-cut stonework and a fireplace mantel that reaches the ceiling.
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2013年7月25日 星期四

Kanawha shelter inundated with dogs

A sudden influx of dogs at the Kanawha-Charleston Humane Association's shelter could lead to dogs being euthanized to free up space.Over the past year, shelter officials and volunteers have greatly reduced the number of dogs put to death. Since the beginning of the year, shelter officials said they've only had to euthanize sick dogs for the most part. As of Monday morning there were 136 dogs in the shelter. Every kennel - even those in the overflow areas - was full. Several cages housed more than one. 

And the steady stream of incoming homeless canines wasn't expected to let up any time soon. With no vacancies, and some dogs having been housed at the shelter since early this year, few options remained.Chelsea Staley, who co-founded rescue advocacy organization Dog Bless last year, began working at the shelter as a rescue coordinator and spokeswoman in May. Although summer is always a busy time for animal shelters, she said recent renovations to the facility were partly to blame for the sudden space crunch. 

In early June, shelter officials acted on the advice of an outside expert and replaced all of the ceiling tiles in the dog kennel areas.The old ceiling tiles were made of soft, porous material. But the kennels are a warm and humid place, and that made the tiles "a breeding ground for disease," Staley said.During the renovations, the shelter continued to accept stray dogs picked up by humane officers. It's contractually obligated to always accept strays, Staley said. 

The YMCA unveiled the court Wednesday as summer campers played hockey, Pickleball and soccer inside the boards. The ice at the rink one of six in the country inside a YMCA usually rests on top of dull-gray concrete, which can be unforgiving and slick. But the new court is built out of 17,000 rubber-plastic tiles, giving the surface grip, give and upping safety for users."The surface wasn't conducive to that type of movement," Bethlehem YMCA Executive Director Derek Martin said. "If we had kids from the high school play lacrosse and make cuts on the concrete, they could run the risk of blowing a knee out. This surface is safe and conducive to any sport." 

The $47,000 court was put in in time for the start of the Y's annual summer camp, and Martin said it will be used for other child and adult activities, such as Zumba and roller hockey. The court allows for multiple activities at once and offers an area for floor and roller hockey (both at one end of the rink and across the entire NHL-regulation surface), two full-size basketball courts, an area for games like Pickleball (a racquet sport hybrid) and a space for small-size indoor soccer games. 

The court is set to be taken apart with the help of maker Mateflex each hockey season, which runs from the end of August to the end of March. While in use, some tiles could chip and will be replaced with ones from a stock of extras, Martin said. He also said the court is under a 15-year warranty. 

Michael Losavio,A cleaningservic resembles a credit card in size and shape. 10, said what sets the sport court apart from a gym floor is that it is set up for multiple sports all the time. The summer camper said he enjoys playing floor hockey on the same space he plays ice hockey in the winter. Given the choice, he said he likes playing on both. 

But this summer, the regulation-size rink is bright with whitish-blue light reflecting off a new light-blue sport court, the first of its kind in the Capital Region.The YMCA unveiled the court Wednesday as summer campers played hockey, Pickleball and soccer inside the boards. The ice at the rink one of six in the country inside a YMCA usually rests on top of dull-gray concrete, which can be unforgiving and slick. But the new court is built out of 17,000 rubber-plastic tiles, giving the surface grip, give and upping safety for users.Full color highqualityhidkits printing and manufacturing services. 

The $47,000 court was put in in time for the start of the Y's annual summer camp, and Martin said it will be used for other child and adult activities, such as Zumba and roller hockey. The court allows for multiple activities at once and offers an area for floor and roller hockey (both at one end of the rink and across the entire NHL-regulation surface), two full-size basketball courts, an area for games like Pickleball (a racquet sport hybrid) and a space for small-size indoor soccer games. 

It was there that he began feeding the homeless in 1985,You Can Buy Various High Quality besticcard Products from here. a 700-night odyssey,We sell bestsmartcard and different kind of laboratory equipment in us. as the story goes, that led this former apparel executive, now 69, to start the Doe Fund.He named the organization, a career and life-skills counseling program in its 28th year, after Mama Doe, a homeless woman who died of pneumonia on Christmas Eve in Vanderbilt Hall, the former waiting room that the homeless, who used to congregate on the benches there, called the living room. Mr. McDonald still leads a candlelight service for Mama Doe in the main hall every year on Christmas Eve. 

It was there, too, that he met his wife, Harriet Karr-McDonald, now 62, who was a screenwriter and actress in 1987 when she spent a week in the terminal with a teenage runaway named April Savino,We rounded up 30 bridesmaids dresses in every color and style that are both easy on the eye and somewhat easy on the goodiphoneheadset. researching a script about Ms. Savinos life. 

Yet it was almost by accident that he found himself in late 2010 wandering through a family home embellished with the same flourishes. The Tile House, its local nickname, is an eccentric, Moorish-looking brick folly on the south shore of Long Island, built by Rafael Guastavino Jr., the son of the architect Rafael Guastavino Sr., who developed the tile-vaulting system used in the Oyster Bar, the Whispering Gallery and in hundreds of other spaces, including Carnegie Hall and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. 

Begun in 1912, when the younger Guastavino was working on Grand Central, the house is a riot of tile work: his own instantly recognizable herringbone arches, supplemented with European tiles he brought back from a honeymoon tour. When he died in 1950, he left the place to his daughter, Louise, who died in 2004. By 2005, it was on the Preservation League of New York States Seven to Save list. A doctor bought it, but never moved in. The wife didnt want to live in Bay Shore is what I heard, Mr. McDonald said. Its not the Hamptons or the East End.
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Your Expert Guide to Buying Safer Flooring

The good news is that industry is introducing a new standard for high-traction backing on consumer floor mats. So, if you buy them, look for "NFSI-Certified" on the label. This means the mat has been independently tested and found not to slide when you step on it. The most slip-resistant material remains rubber, by the way. But black rubber on vinyl can cause permanent stains, so the consumer needs to select products that are labeled by the manufacturer to be non-staining. 

The main thing is to look for the labels, which are starting to appear in the United States and Canada. It doesn't cost you anything to be informed, and you can use your buying power to bring safer products to the market.The term 'kitchenhidkits control' means the token that identifies a user is read from within a pocket or handbag. Manufacturers will come around. 

If you're installing new tile, or any type of flooring for that matter, it is important to select the right type of product for a given location. Just because a certain flooring material will work indoors does not mean it will be suitable for outdoor applications. Ceramic tile is a good example of this. Most ceramic tile is designed to perform within a narrow temperature range and if exposed to freezing temperatures will crack, break or become loose, thus leading to a potential slip or trip hazard. So, make sure to check that the tile you buy is intended for your use. 

After that, one option is to shrink the size of the tiles and add more grout lines. That reduces the potentially slippery surface and increases the rough, higher-traction surface. Of course, it also raises another issue -- smaller tiles and more grout lines mean more maintenance. So, whatever size of tile you choose, look for greater slip resistance and a higher static coefficient of friction. 

Most outdoor falls take place on un-level surfaces such as cobblestones or patio stones, because of holes or raised nails in wooden patio decks, and so on. The most common -- believe it or not -- are trips over parking stops like those used in retail shopping centers. Ice and snow are also a problem but most elderly people tend to either avoid going out under such conditions or take great effort in reducing their stride and walk more slowly as to reduce the risk of falling. 

The commercial world of stores and businesses has more square footage and higher traffic, so it uses a lot of tile-type floors. Still, just like you do in your own home, business owners have to maintain the flooring,We sell bestsmartcard and different kind of laboratory equipment in us.You Can Buy Various High Quality besticcard Products from here. provide adequate lighting, and remove clutter and cords.We can supply gemstonebeads products as below. 

The thing that's different at home is that a dog might be around the corner. It is common for people to trip over their pets. Professionals in the assisted living industry recommend putting a bright colored pet sweater, vest or collar on pets to make them more recognizable, especially when they are sleeping on the floor. A collar bell or jingly pet tags can help to provide audible cues as to the location of a pet as well. 

"Grid ceiling systems are commonly used in commercial buildings, schools, and other interior structures. Such ceiling systems are created by suspending a T-bar grid from the building's structural ceiling and filling the T-bar grid with ceiling tiles. The T-bar grid is made up of interconnected T-bars that form grid openings for the ceiling tiles, which, when dropped into the grid openings, are supported on the T-bars' bottom horizontal T-walls. The most common dimensions for the grid openings are the two foot by two foot and four foot by four foot for supporting similarly sized ceiling tiles, however, other grid opening dimensions are possible for accommodating different ceiling tile sizes, for example five foot by five foot tiles. Ceiling tiles used in grid ceilings are typically acoustic tiles for enhancing the acoustical environment of the interior space below the grid ceiling. 

"Customarily, luminaires are provided in the grid ceiling system for general illumination. Luminaires adapted for this use are called troffers, and are typically fluorescent luminaires having fluorescent light sources, however, other light sources, such as incandescent and HID lamps are sometimes used. Troffers are sized in correspondence with the grid openings of the T-bar grid and are mounted in selected grid openings instead of a ceiling tile. (The number and distribution of the troffers on the grid ceiling depend on the type of troffer used and the general lighting requirements of the space.) Parabolic troffers and lens troffers are currently the most common luminaires designed for T-bar grid mounting; however, other types of troffers are commercially available, for example, troffers with a secondary perforated reflector under the lamps. 

"The physical dimensions of the lamps, lamp sockets, and optical components used in conventional troffers require that the troffer have a minimum height. While the height of commercially available troffers varies, most have a height of at least three inches. Thinner troffers have been designed for T-5 fluorescent lamps, which have a relatively small diameter, but the component dimensions of such troffers would still impose a lower limit on the height on the troffer. Generally, troffer heights less than about 11/2 inch would be difficult to achieve. 

"The height of a troffer can have important implications in the shipment, installation, use, and ultimately the disposal of the troffers. For example, the height of the troffer determines its volume and the greater the volume the greater space and packaging material that will be needed to ship the troffers. The presence of the troffers in the grid ceiling must also be taken into account when determining the space required between the grid ceiling system and the building's overhead structural ceiling. The space between the top of the troffers and the structural ceiling has to be adequate to accommodate HVAC and fire alarm systems, sprinkler piping, and other utilities in the building. Use of conventional troffers, which have a depth that causes the troffers to protrude significantly above the grid ceiling, adds to this space requirement. 

This added space requirement can be meaningful in terms of building construction costs. For example, a reduction of three inches in the requirement for the space above the grid ceiling will translate to three inches less in the requirement for the separation between the building's structural floors and structural ceilings.About jewelryfindings in China userd for paying transportation fares and for shopping. This can, in turn, result in less material required to construct the building due to a reduction in overall building height. Or it can possibly allow for an additional floor being added to a high rise building. For example, a three inch saving in the space above the grid ceiling will allow a floor to be added to a 40-story high rise building normally having a structural floor to structural floor dimension of 10 feet."
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Project aims to eliminate paper pollution

Willow daisies. Tissue roses. White flags in the woods. No matter how clean the euphemism used, the problem along the upper Kenai River remains a dirty one, and theres no sanitized way to relieve the need to talk around it: Human waste pollution.Talking about poop doesnt really play with a lot of people. They dont want to talk about it. But we need to start having that conversation to make it publicly palatable to have. And then, hopefully, we can influence change, said Bobbie Jo Kolodziejski,You can design your turquoisebeads or select one of our pose. with the U.S. Forest Service and Kenai River Special Management Areas interagency coordinator of the upper Kenai River area. 

The entire length of the Kenai River is a magnet for recreation, drawing people to its waters and banks in search of fish, scenic views or bird and wildlife sightings. The lower Kenai River, where use of boats with motors is allowed, is more urbanized, in a sense. Its more heavily used, with a host of boat launches and bank-fishing access points that are open to the public and often complete with restroom facilities. Even in places with no toilet available, its fairly easy to access one by a quick boat trip to the nearest launch site, then a quick walk up the trail and/or drive back to town. 

Not so on the upper river, in the Cooper Landing area downstream to Sterling. Boat launches are fewer and farther between. Walk-in access points and stand-and-fish spots are often undeveloped. And its drift-boat only, where a float trip can be four to eight hours between one public-use facility and the next. There inevitably are times when the need to go fish coincides with the need to go when theres nothing but wilderness around. 

So you take a rest break, make a pit stop, visit the woods, pop a squat, take care of business. And all to often, the leavings are left behind.We know its a problem, we see the waste out there. Its usually toilet paper piles, thats the remnants that you see. It occurs everywhere from the Kenai bridge at the outlet of Kenai Lake in Cooper Landing all the way down the river, Kolodziejski said. 

The issue has existed probably as long as recreational use of the river. Kolodziejski remembers transect surveys being conducted in the 1990s to monitor the occurrence of toilet-paper piles found along the river. And the issue was even mentioned in an early Kenai National Wildlife Refuge management plan for the area.It showed that in 1948 when the first refuge manager reported to duty on the Kenai refuge, human waste management was already being recognized as a problem. So when I saw that I was like, Whoa, geeze, lets do something about this, she said. 

But what? The problem reeks of complications that render it easily deferred. Number one, its unpleasant to discuss. Number two, formal solutions would be difficult and costly to construct. Two-seat vaulted toilets, like the sort at most campgrounds and boat launches in the area, can run upwards of $80,000 to install. Less-costly options, like portable toilets, would be difficult to the point of unfeasible to deliver, maintain and remove along the mostly undeveloped upper river corridor. 

It just has always seemed to fall on the priority list, especially when you have other pressing things come about, like bear conflicts, Kolodziejski said.Recently, a new effort is underfoot to minimize the toilet paper and related undesirables underfoot along the upper river. Kolodziejski said that the land managers for the area the forest service, the refuge, Alaska State Parks and Native organizations, are taking renewed interest in the issue, with the Kenai River Special Management Area board focusing more specifically on it. 

We wanted to start raising awareness of managing human waste along the river in sensitive ways, she said. At the same time, the KRSMA Advisory Board would like to be working over the next many years together in looking at what infrastructure needs are out there maybe its temporary or permanent structures to eliminate the human waste and toilet paper out on the landscape, or maybe its other infrastructure. 

While studding the upper river with toilets every couple miles is unlikely, there are other infrastructure options. On the Gulkana River, for example, boaters take portable toilets often called wag bags with them, with designated disposal sites provided. Rafters on the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon are required to use something similar, and theres a service that sanitizes the portable receptacles at the end of the trip. 

Right now all we have are the facilities at the boat launches, and thats it.A casesforipadmini is a plastic card that has a computer chip implanted into it that enables the card to perform certain. Thats what peoples options are, or to take the different products with them. There are some cool, creative things going on out there in the world.Have a look at all our agatebeads models starting with free proofing. Its kind of neat to see how thats catching on in different areas, Kolodziejski said.We have a wide selection of wholesalehidlights to choose from for your storage needs.There are some accepted practices for managing human waste when recreating in the wilderness. The standards of Leave No Trace camping hold that when needing to relieve oneself, do so at least 200 feet from camp areas and rivers, lakes or other waterways. If doing more than watering the landscape, dig a cat hole and bury your business. Any toilet paper used should be carried out. 

But on the upper Kenai, those standards dont quite apply. Stay 200 feet away from the water, for sure. And pack out toilet paper. But dont do not, Kolodziejski repeats dig cat holes.The problem is that there are archeological sites along the upper Kenai of cultural and historic significance to the Kenaitze Indian Tribe, Kolodziejski said. The Denaina Natives had fish camps at several sites along the river, long before Western anglers started coming to the Kenai, and there are house pits and food caches remaining as testament to the significance of the area to the local indigenous peoples. Any sort of digging in the area could disturb sensitive archeological areas. 

Around the same time of the renewed KRSMA Advisory Board interest in human waste management, an AmeriCorps project started up that dovetails nicely.Last year Raven AmeriCorps members Kristine Route and Kristin Fuller, based in Cooper Landing, began a survey of people in the area to determine their environmental concerns. Waste management was mentioned again and again.Upon talking to people and having them fill out these surveys, it seemed the number-one thing people were concerned about was the amount of human feces left on riverbanks and trailheads and the amount of trash people leave behind, Route said. 

To investigate further,The term 'casesforhtcone control' means the token that identifies a user is read from within a pocket or handbag. they monitored a popular beach recreation area on Kenai Lake last summer. They did a cleanup, then took pictures of the area.In June we came back and people had been camping there, and we started seeing white flags of toilet paper. In August it was everywhere, you had to really watch where you stepped. In September it flooded, so of course all the feces went into the waterway, Route said.The Kenai Watershed Forum conducts water-quality sampling along the entire river twice a year, said Tim Stevens, with the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. Ssampling in the upper river hasnt shown a problem with high levels of fecal coliform bacteria a sign of animal feces in the river whether from birds, bears or humans, like there has been at the mouth of the Kenai River. Editors note: Branden Bornemann, environment scientist for the Kenai Watershed Forum, did not return calls seeking comment for this story. 

Since digging cat holes is not advised on the upper river, Route and Fuller researched portable options and discovered the Pack It Out product a heavy-duty, double-bagging system lined with a special powder that congeals liquids, contains odor and quickly begins to break down bacteria.
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Billions of Defense Contract Dollars May Go Unaudited

Potentially billions of taxpayer dollars may be going out the door to defense contractors without the normal scrutiny Defense Department auditors usually give to this spending. And it might be too late for the government to get our money back even when some of those contract dollars are examined and overcharges are found. 

High-level Defense Contract Audit Agency and Defense Contract Management Agency personnel met in May of this year to discuss audits of contractor billing that are nearing the six-year statute of limitations on when the U.S. government can readily recoup overpayments, according to DoD email correspondence provided to the Project On Government Oversight. When contractors overbill the government and the statute of limitations is exceeded, the government is limited in its ability to recover taxpayer funds. 

The end result is many contract dollars, possibly running into the billions, may go without audits. These audits by the DCAA check to see whether the costs contractors are billing to the government “are permissible under government regulations,” according to a December report by the Government Accountability Office.One DCAA insider told POGO that “eliminating billions of dollars from DCAA audits would hurt the taxpayers” and would benefit contractors. 

Two lawyers who routinely represent government contractors agreed with the DCAA insider’s point in an article in November 2011. “[F]rom a contractor’s perspective, one bright side to the current state of audit and contract administration gridlock is that it may provide contractors opportunities to clear out the growing backlog of audit issues and preclude otherwise meritorious Government claims,” stated Robin Schulze and Karen L. Manos in an article in Government Contract Costs, Pricing & Accounting Report. 

For a few years now, insiders and experts have been concerned that the incurred cost audit backlog might get so big and so overwhelming and take so long to deal with that contractors will pressure DoD to close out these contracts without auditing them (the contractors are waiting to get paid). The Commission on Wartime Contracting projected that the backlog will reach $1 trillion by 2016 (and was $558 billion as of 2011) because DCAA takes much longer to do audits now. This is due to what some call an excessive focus on compliance with Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards (GAGAS). Richard C. Loeb, a University of Baltimore adjunct professor of government contract law, asserted that this was the case in an article in the May 2012 Government Contract Costs, Pricing & Accounting Report.Full color highqualityhidkits printing and manufacturing services. “Spending valuable taxpayer dollars documenting audit results far in excess of GAGAS requirements should be unacceptable to everyone,” he wrote. 

DCAA’s focus on GAGAS came after two GAO reports found fault with numerous DCAA audits for not being in compliance with those standards. DCAA had cut corners after a boom in post-9/11 defense contracting came without a corresponding increase in its staffing. But some say it is overcompensating after being slammed by Congress after its failings were exposed by GAO. So, despite some subsequent increases in its staffing levels in recent years, it is falling farther behind—hence the growing backlog. 

Please be seated,We are a special provider in best bulb,also a professional highquality saler. everybody. Thank you very much. Welcome to the Ben Franklin Room here at the State Department. Thank you all for coming. Good afternoon, everybody. (In Vietnamese.) We’re delighted to welcome everybody here, and I am particularly pleased to welcome President Truong Tan Sang to the State Department. 

It is very inspiring to see that what so many of us worked to help make happen some 20 years ago is now evolving into a very productive and important partnership. When I first returned to Vietnam as a civilian back in 1991, I could sense the unbelievable untapped dynamism of the Vietnamese people, a sense of readiness to reengage with the world, and the world was very ready to reengage with Vietnam. 

As we all remember, however, normalization with Vietnam, really in many ways the making of peace, did not come easily. And Mr. President, I’m pleased to say as I stand here, there are many people in this room who had a great deal of involvement through the years in helping to build this relationship. I see Senator Bob Kerrey here and Chuck Robb, a senator – former senator; Tom Vallely, very involved with the Fulbright program; Senator Richard Lugar – former senator Lugar here; and many others. Senator Ben Cardin is here. Congressman Sandy Levin – people all of whom have worked hard to build this relationship. And the truth is all of them will remember that it was a difficult, painstaking process that required a lot of hard work, a certain amount of courage, and some compromise. 

We all knew back then that we were unable to make progress without addressing the great unanswered question of whether or not American prisoners had been left behind in Southeast Asia. And we also knew that those of us in both countries who set about to try to resolve that issue were tempting the emotional opposition of many people on both sides. And that is why I will always be grateful to the Vietnamese leaders that I worked with over the ten-year period who built an extraordinary partnership in order to bring us to this day where we are able to stand here. 

They helped us to search for a few thousand of our sons even as a larger number of theirs were missing. They voluntarily dug up their own rice paddies in order to help us try to answer questions. They let us into their homes; they let us into their history houses. They let us into their prisons, unannounced on occasion, to interview prisoners. And they actually tolerated helicopters flying in the hamlets,You must not use the samsungcases without being trained. as they once did in a different fashion, in order to inquire of citizens, to answer the questions that had not been answered for so many years. On more than one occasion they guided us across what were quite literally mine fields. 

Ultimately, the friendships that we forged and the work that we did together to resolve outstanding legacy issues led to the normalization of relationship culminating on July 11th, 1995. And just a few weeks later, then-Secretary of State Warren Christopher touched down at Hanoi on a mission of peace. He spoke to the youth of Vietnam about the future, citing an inscription on Hanoi’s Temple of Literature: “Heaven has ushered in an era of renewal.” Those words spoke powerfully to him, just as they should to all of us even today. The theme of renewal lies at the heart of our friendship. The Vietnamese have learned from their own history that we all have no permanent enemies, only friends yet to be made. 

Today,We rounded up 30 bridesmaids dresses in every color and style that are both easy on the eye and somewhat easy on the chinabeadsfactory. when Americans hear the word Vietnam, they are able to think of a country, not a war. And that is our shared accomplishment. In the past 18 years, the wisdom of normalization has been amply proven. Vietnam has emerged as one of Asia’s great success stories. Thanks to our landmark bilateral trade agreement in 2001, two-way trade from 1995 to today has increased more than 50-fold. And per capita, incomes in Vietnam have increased almost 500 percent. Together with Vietnam and other countries from across the region, we are now working to conclude an historic Trans-Pacific Partnership, a high-standard 21st century trade agreement that will promote regional economic integration, prosperity, and opportunity for the people of all of the member countries. 

As Vietnam has transformed itself, the country is now placing an increasingly significant role on regional and on global issues. We welcome Vietnam’s announcement that it intends to participate in UN peacekeeping operations in 2014 and we are now joined together helping them to prepare for their initial deployments. We are cooperating to promote maritime security and to improve our humanitarian assistance and disaster relief capabilities. We are focusing our assistance programs on adaptation, clean energy, sustainable development in order to address Vietnam’s vulnerability to climate change, and just recently I met in Brunei at the APEC conference where we talked about the Lower Mekong Initiative and other great enterprises that we’re engaged in. 

We are cooperating in education, and that is another very important bridge in our two countries’ relationship. Vietnam is an extraordinarily young society, almost 21 million people under the age of 15. Ultimately, Vietnam’s next generation needs schools that are close to home, that can better prepare Vietnamese students for competition in the era of globalization. I have long been a supporter of the program I mentioned earlier, the Fulbright Economics Teaching Program in Ho Chi Minh City, and its success demonstrates that independent U.S.-run institutions of higher learning can flourish inside Vietnam.You've probably seen cellphonecases at some point. 

As we look ahead to the future of U.S.-Vietnamese – Vietnam relations, we should remember that normalization could not have occurred without honest conversation, without candor between Washington and Hanoi, even on sensitive issues such as human rights, and I am committed to building on this kind of frank and cooperative partnership that is essential to both of our countries.
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2013年7月23日 星期二

Facts finally collide with ideology on Europe

There have been some glum faces around David Camerons cabinet table of late. To the chagrin of some eurosceptic colleagues, the governments much-heralded audit of Britains relations with the EU is coming up with the wrong answers. Brussels is neither sucking the lifeblood from British democracy nor stifling its economy with unnecessary regulation. For all its inevitable irritations, the Union seems to be serving the national interest.

The government has published the first tranche of reports in a comprehensive review of Britains EU membership.Full color cleaningservicesydney printing and manufacturing services. This first batch includes studies of the balance of competences in the single market, tax policy, foreign policy and defence, food safety and animal welfare, health and development. Given the political sensitivities within the coalition C Nick Cleggs Liberal Democrats do not share widespread Tory hostility to most things European C the task in large part has been in the hands of neutral civil servants.

The result is a series of reports that tell the story as it is, shorn of ideology and political judgments. This is what persuaded the prime minister to defer publication until backbench Tory MPs hostile to the EU had safely departed Westminster for the parliamentary recess.You will see earcap , competitive price and first-class service. Mr Clegg wanted the reports released at a ministerial press conference. Mr Camerons office insisted there should be no fanfare.

Pro-Europeans seeking a knockout blow in favour of the EU status quo will be disappointed. Though the reports say the single market has provided significant advantages for the British economy, they also acknowledge the difficulty of quantifying the gain. And while business backs the level-playing field legislation needed to make the single market work, there is less of a consensus around environmental and social regulation.

What is most striking, however, is the distance the conclusions stand from the original intent of the review. The exercise was to have provided a springboard for the large-scale repatriation of EU powers sought by hardline eurosceptics as a minimum requirement for continued membership. Iain Duncan Smith, Owen Paterson and Philip Hammond were among cabinet ministers who protested at the even-handed approach of officials. During one Whitehall exchange, an adviser to Mr Hammond complained the foreign policy and defence report was unduly weighted towards the evidence.

Three broad conclusions arise from the reports. The first is that the single market holds up a mirror to the close integration of modern economies. Companies depend on the four freedoms of goods, services, persons and capital. Cross-border supply chains, common standards, mobile workforces and multicentre manufacturing are the stuff of todays business. These processes depend on common standards and regulation.New and used commercial jewelryfindings sales, rentals, and service.

Japan has voiced publicly what many third countries have said privately. Foreign investment (and the jobs that go with it) in the UK is vitally dependent on access to other EU markets. At a more mundane level, Britains food processing industry could not work if its complex cross-border production chains did not all operate under uniform regulation. The same applies across other industries and many services. The implication is that if Britain were to leave the EU, it would be obliged by economic realities to opt back into the panoply of regulation C only this time without any say in shaping the rules.

The second conclusion is that Europe and the rest of the world are complementary markets for British business. The evidence submitted by Vodafone tells the story.From black tungsten wedding rings for men to diamond bestgranitecountertops. The advent of EU telecommunications regulation gave the company a chance to scale up from a national to a European provider; once established in Europe it could realise its global ambitions.About chinabeadsfactory in China userd for paying transportation fares and for shopping. Looking through the other end of the telescope, overseas companies such as BMW use their British operations to sell cars to emerging markets C a practice made possible only because of EU trade agreements with third countries.

Third, whatever their rhetoric, British governments often choose to operate through Brussels even when there is no obligation so to do. Thus in foreign policy and defence, where the institutions of the Union are relatively weak, more often than not Britain seeks to co-ordinate with its EU partners. Elsewhere, it wants to extend Union competences: animal welfare would seem a natural province for decision-making at national level, but Britain is vociferous in pressing for EU-wide rules.

All in all, the reports throw up plenty of instances when the EU needs reform or where European rules should be dropped in favour of national choices. They underline, however, how difficult and costly it would be for Britain to unravel the facts of interdependence. The ideology of the eurosceptics has collided with the evidence. No wonder Mr Cameron waited for the safety of the summer parliamentary recess.

The issue is coming to a head this week as parliament votes on plans to unclog the civil lawsuit system put forward by Annamaria Cancellieri, justice minister, and history suggests she has a fight on her hands. Former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi often used immovable vested interests as an excuse for the policy paralysis that characterised his nine years in office. Mario Monti, his sober technocrat successor, ran into the same wall. Now it is the turn of Enrico Letta at the head of his fragile and febrile left-right coalition.The lawyers, the major lobbies C they block our country from becoming normal, an exasperated Ms Cancellieri fumed at a recent conference.

The law would extend the use of mandatory alternative dispute procedures, or mediation, to try to cut a backlog of civil lawsuits running at some 5m cases and increasing by 10 per cent a year. Lawyers went on strike for a week in protest.The slowness of Italys civil justice system C it takes an average of 1,210 days to resolve a commercial dispute C is often cited as the most potent deterrent to foreign investors. In the World Banks 2013 global ease of doing business survey, Italy ranked 160th out of 185 countries in terms of enforcing contracts.

Italy abounds with lawyers C more than 240,000, compared with 54,000 in similarly sized France. They also make up more than 10 per cent of parliament, including Mr Berlusconis two personal lawyers, who were heavily engaged in tackling his raft of trials and investigations when not involved in tabling legislation to give him immunity.
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