Monday, December 31, 2012

Ranch Sales in Crown Point IN

If you are planning to obtain a Farm and Ranch in Crown Point IN, you ought to choose lots of crucial things prior to making the purchase. First, you have to select the county in Crown Point IN where you want to get a farm and ranch. Whether it will be Jasper, LaPorte, Lake, Porter or Newton ? it all depends on you. Select the county depending on the sort of farm you wish to develop.

Establishing a Farm and Ranch in Crown Point IN is fairly a strenuous job particularly if you do not have any sort of prior experience or understanding related to farm building. Before jumping on to this endeavor, it is essential to determine the type of farm and ranch you wish to produce. Pet ranches, bird farm, dairy and poultry farm, or a farm that produces veggies and fruits? you need to pick the kind of farm prior to advancing on the following actions. Because each kind has its own requirements, for this reason the land of the farm should be chosen according to the type you wish to create. When you have actually made that choice, it is time for you to move forward.

Discover an Experienced Realtor to Get a Farm and Ranch in Crown Point IN

To construct a Farm and Ranch in Crown Point IN, you would need the services of a supreme Farm or Rural Land real estate broker. Generally, realtors have a better understanding of metropolitan home and houses; there are few realtors whose knowledge lies in farming and rural areas. Get in touch with an agent of that type: the one who is knowledgeable about farms and rural real estate. Review your demands and budget with your real estate agent so he could reveal you lands as per your demands. Ask him to show you at least eight or ten excellent areas so you have an assortment to select from. Never ever settle on the very first rural real estate you visit. It is most effectively to keep your choices open as you may discover a land better and much more cost effective than the very first one. Thus, be really smart in making that decision. You will be investing a good-looking amount of cash in the land so you need to be very sure before buying the farmland. Ask your real estate agent to show you already created ranches along with home for developing a farm from scratch. If you are able to locate an established farm at a fair cost, it will be smarter to experience that bargain.

Review the Location of Farm and Ranch in Crown Point IN

Whenever you are revealed some property to develop a ranch, evaluate it minutely and see that you know every nitty-gritty of it. You need to discover about all the farmer?s markets close to that farm location. If your distribution channels and farmer?s market are found at a great distance from that location, it will certainly not be that convenient for you. Even if you are being provided a good cost for that Farm and Ranch in Crown Point IN, you will not be saving much in the long run, as your fuel and transport prices will be too high. For that reason, it is an advantage to have a ranch close to your providers and markets. This will certainly not only conserve your cash but additionally will reduce the waste of time.

Another vital thing you need to analyze is the land history where you wish to construct your ranch. Ask the vendor to offer every information of that area. Generally, sellers tend to hold off any adverse information so it will be much better if you talk to a few of the surrounding ranches in that location. Discover about the sort of land and any type of trouble attached to it. Often rural lands have irrigation and flooding difficulties; or their soil is too saline for the yields to expand, or often that land was used as a disposing of website, or perhaps its water is tainted. Besides this, some lands could have pests or unsafe animals roaming around. Analyze the kind of the soil of that farm by using NRCS internet soil surveys. In addition, you have to see whether that farmland gets adequate sunlight for you to grow fruits and vegetables.

Besides these details, you need to inspect its infrastructure. Are there any type of roadways connected to your farm? Is there a barn or will you need to create one? Are there any fencing or any sort of farm equipment and devices currently readily available? You would certainly avoid settling the Farm and Ranch in Crown Point IN that do not have the requirements and for that, you should stay vigilant.

Settling the Procurement of Farm and Ranch in Crown Point IN

The farm obtaining process at some point reaches the last when you have selected an area or a currently developed ranch. Now you should settle the agreement with the vendor and do all the paperwork. If you are getting the right of easement, go through all the reports and easement papers thoroughly. You do not wish to wind up signing on a contract that does not prefer you; so be really sharp while handling the documents problems.

Include an attorney or an expert realtor to help you with these affairs. In addition, if you are buying the farm location, then you have to be added careful. Make sure that there is no provision that allows other people to enter your farm without your permission. Additionally, if you find any sort of defective provision, talk to the seller without delay. A very important thing is the tax associated with that farmland. Try to obtain a farm in special tax zone? these zones pay less tax. If you want to mortgage the land or in case you are preparing to get a loan, check with the agriculture banks. These banks are created to aid farmers and have special deals for them. ?The Farmer?s Bank? is one such bank in Indiana. You can contact it and get a nice loan so you can easily have your very own Farm and Ranch in Crown Point IN. It offers both individual and company financial solutions.

Source: http://find-your-perfect-home.com/ranchs/northwest-in/ranch-sales-in-crown-point-in/

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Panda Bitchslap iPhone 4 & 4s Case

The idea for Panda Bitchslap came to me as I was doing a little research @ the Woodly Park Zoo in DC. As I walked to the panda section I saw swarms of tourists taking photographs with all sorts of flashes. I thought there must be something epic going on but it turned out that the panda was just snacking on some bamboo. I thought to myself, "Wow! It must really suck to be a panda and have all these people hassling me over a little bite to eat" That's when the Panda Bitchslap design hit me.

This iPhone case has been created to fit the iPhone 4 & 4S. It is made from a hard plastic that has been rubberized to prevent design chipping.?

Source: http://sharpshirter.3dcartstores.com/Panda-Bitchslap-iPhone-4-4s-Case-_p_218.html

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Energy Part II: EROEI | Peak Oil News and Message Boards

Energy Part II: EROEI thumbnail

In the first part of this two part series we discussed how the sheer amount of energy coupled by its cheap cost enabled society to increase the amount of work that could be produced at a much reduced cost. It was this cheap energy subsidy that made the process of arbitrage between human labour and fossil powered capital very profitable as the price difference between hiring labour ?energy? and capital ?energy? was so vast.

This huge energy subsidy not only provided great wealth to the ruling classes who owned the factories and other capital infrastructure it also enabled the workers to become more materially wealthy as the cost of producing items was reduced drastically. This happened because all work requires energy to transform a basic resource into a commodity that is of economic value. If the energy cost is reduced and the supply of energy is greatly increased then the amount of work that can be achieved by a society will greatly expand and thus the items produced well sell at lower price due to the principles of supply of demand. What is important when discussing these matters of energy availability and will become increasingly important going forward is the concept of net energy. To understand this concept it would be wise to understand the laws of thermodynamics, more precisely the first law of thermodynamics. This law was originally described as:

?In all cases in which work is produced by the agency of heat, a quantity of heat is consumed which is proportional to the work done; and conversely, by the expenditure of an equal quantity of work an equal quantity of heat is produced.? ? Rudolf Clausius, 1850[1]

For the mathematically inclined the following

formula captures the law of conservation as

any heat input will equal the work done.

?

dU = dQ ? dW[2]

where U =Internal energy of system, Q = Heat input,

?W = work done

To many this statement may seem a little unwieldy and rather abstract but it basically describes the concept that energy cannot be created or destroyed and all energy transactions are merely conversions of one form of energy source to another. This idea is an important one to grasp since we can never actually generate energy; we merely extract it from existing sources.

This statement may seem rather obvious but since terms such as energy production and energy generation are so widespread it is easy to forget this fact. If we were to take such statements as energy production on a literal level they would be a clear violation of the first law of thermodynamics. Perhaps it can be argued this is just an argument over semantics and most people will know you cannot actually create energy but let us not underestimate the power of language and how it can shape conversations and narratives; over time people will believe such statements at face value as true even if they are patently false. This is especially relevant today when we hear so much talk about the US becoming not only energy independence but also becoming the top energy producer in the world.

But I digress, the main thing to take home is no form of energy extraction, be it from coal, nuclear fission (fusion for the optimists) and wind or solar actually generates energy. It just utilises existing energy sources. In the above examples energy is extracted either through nuclear fission/fusion reactions, potential chemical energy in coal/oil/gas or wind and solar energy. Another concept that will come from this basic idea and one that perhaps even more relevant is that it takes energy to get energy. This concept while important is something that rarely (if ever) gets discussed in the mainstream media. Much of the talk about oil, coal or gas ?production? only refers to the amount of total energy that can be obtained from burning or utilising a given resource. This amount is merely the gross energy obtained from the ground. If we wish to determine the amount of useful energy available for greater society however we need to subtract the amount of energy used to obtain the resource in the first place. This is because it is only this energy that gets to be used by society for other economy activities. Thus for us to work out net energy we subtract the gross energy by the energy needed to extract the resource as described in the formula.

Gross energy = Total amount of energy obtained from energy source.*

Net energy = Gross energy ? Energy required to obtain energy source.

* = Energy maybe expressed in other ways such as barrels of oil or million short tons of coal.

As a note net energy should not be confused with the similar but different term EROEI (Energy Return On Energy Invested) which describes the potential energy return from an energy source. The terms maybe used interchangeably by other commentators in the blogosphere but it would be a mistake to think they are the same thing. The way to calculate EROEI is quite different as demonstrated below:

EROEI =Gross energy / Energy required to obtain energy source.

or

EROEI = (Net energy/ Energy required to obtain energy source.) + 1

NOTE: Net energy is the energy available to society and thus something greater society would be interested in whereas EROEI is more of a potential concern for the person who wishes to see a return on their investment.

Since it is only net energy that gets used by the greater economy it is this value that we should be interested in knowing about rather than the gross amount. For example it is quite possible for our total gross energy to increase while our total net energy is actually in decline. If this were to happen we could easily see a scenario where we are getting materially poorer even though our total energy output is increasing. This process of increasing gross energy but declining net energy comes about due to the principle of low hanging fruit. That is the easiest and most favourable economic sources of energy ? which yield the highest net energy ? are extracted first and as those resources are depleted we move onto progressively worse and worse sources. It is this fact that the decline in net energy will be much steeper than gross energy decline.

This trend of declining net energy has likely already past as the newest sources of energy, a lot of which is touted as the energy source that will give the US energy independence actually yield poor amounts of new net energy. This is despite the fact this new energy sources (shale oil/gas) increase the amount of gross energy expended by the economy quite substantially. As a result from an economic standpoint these new sources of energy will deliver less economic benefit to society than would otherwise be believed as the extra net energy available will be more limited. It this reason why we should exercise caution when listening to claims that these sources of energy can offer a panacea to our economic troubles. In fact when hearing such claims it is useful to know the energy returns on energy for various sources as while this is not net energy which is ultimately the most important metric to gauge the EROEI can still provide an insight on how useful these sources will be:

As the graph clearly demonstrates; early sources of energy yielded a very high return of energy on energy invested. These high returns came about because early sources of energy such as shallow coal mines did not need much capital investment to extract the resource furthermore once these resources were obtained they would yield high quality energy such as light sweet oil or in the case of coal high quality anthracite. It is this reason in fact why net energy or EROEI has largely been ignored as historically gross energy for all intents and purposes equalled net energy.

In recent years however this has not been the case and the difference between gross and net energy is sufficiently large to warrant greater attention. Moreover another troubling fact to take note is that once EROEI reaches about 10:1 or lower the graph goes into steep decline. This steep decline means the available net energy that can be used by society will begin dropping at an alarming rate if current trends of extracting lower quality energy sources continue. If we take a recent major discovery of shale oil we discover the EROEI for this resource is 5.[3] In net energy terms this represents 20% of the total gross energy being used to extract the energy source. So from this information we can say that if all existing resources of energy were replaced by sources that were to yield returns equivalent to shale oil then our total net energy available to society would decline by 20%. This assumes there are no efficiency gains in how we utilised this energy and total gross energy remained constant. If that is the case then this would effectively mean we are 20% poorer as less energy would be available for economic transactions.

Off course what is more likely to happen is the EROEI and thus net energy will decline even faster than suggested in the previous paragraph as worse and worse sources of energy come online to replace existing high EROEI resources. As a result we are likely to see a steep decline in net energy available to society and we can say with some certainty that this decline in net energy will be faster than the rate of efficiency gains which has been around 1.7-3.0% per annum since the 1970s.[4] [5]

What is more due to the rebound effect (see this article for more info) it is likely that any efficiency gains made will need to exceed declines in available net energy by a few percentage points each year if we want sustain economic growth (which is a requirement for the financial system to remain stable). This all seems unlikely particularly if we consider that energy efficiency and conservation strategies will see diminishing rates of return as it becomes harder to increase energy efficiency after each progressing year. After all no economic activity can ever achieve 100% efficiency. Speaking of 100% efficiency this leads on nicely to the second law of thermodynamics which states:

?That the entropy of an isolated system never decreases, because isolated systems spontaneously evolve towards thermodynamic equilibrium ? the state of maximum entropy.?

Like the first law, this sentence describing the second law can seem a little unwieldy. In fact it is best to breakup this statement into two sentences as the quotation above addresses two very relevant points the first of which is displayed below:

?No process is possible in which the sole result is the absorption of heat from a reservoir and its complete conversion into work.? ? William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin, 1851[6]

In other words no energy transaction can ever be 100% efficient meaning some energy will always be lost when converting energy into some form of work. This point while blatantly obvious is often overlooked in the contexts of economics and broader society. It is this reason why there will always be a limit to amount of economic growth that can be realised as the planet has a finite number of resources and there are limits to the amount of efficiency that can be achieved. Another major consequence that does derive from the second law of thermodynamics comes from this statement:

?Heat can never pass from a colder to a warmer body without some other change, connected therewith, occurring at the same time.? ? Rudolf Clausius, 1850[7]

While at first glance, the concept of heat transfers may seem a little out there this statement does pertain to one important idea. That is over time all bodies and structures go from a process of order to disorder. For those that are really curious about this process and wish to learn more about the exact mechanics of this process please look up entropy. If this idea still seems a bit out there consider the fact that all structures, be it capital or labour, degrade over time and require maintenance to allow proper functioning. This maintenance always requires energy and thus some resources will always be needed to maintain current capital or labour.

?

?

The entropy of a system can be calculated by applying the following formula:

dS = dQ / T[6]

where S = entropy, Q = Heat input, T = Temperature of system.

If we use the formula from the first law of thermodynamics and

rearrange the formula

shown above this statement can be derived:

dU + dW = TdS

?*4 basic thermodynamic relationships develop out of this math

?

Internal Energy dU=TdS-PdV+??dN

Enthalpy (Heat) dH=TdS+Vdp+??dN

Hemholtz Free Energy dF=-TdS-pdV+??dN

Gibbs Free Energy dG=-TdS+Vdp+??dN

?

If you do a little basic algebra, you get

dG=dH-TdS

This equation gives the Free Energy available in a system as a function of the

Heat Content, the Temperature and the Entropy in the system. Only reactions

with positive dG can go forward without Heat Input.

*from RE

In the case of labour humans need food to stay alive and remain functioning while capital requires some energy inputs to prevent it from degrading and evening breaking down over time. What is more the greater the complexity of a structure the more energy will be required for maintenance. This is because a more complex structure has a greater degree of order and since things naturally go from a state of order to disorder then more energy will be needed to prevent overcome this natural process.

This is another weakness with applying the logic that technology will save the day as increasing the complexity of technology not only increases the existing maintenance cost due to the second laws of thermodynamics; the cost of producing such items increases as more energy per unit weight are needed in the manufacture of the product. To demonstrate this example a car requires something in the region of 12-25 barrels of oil to build a car depending on the weight of the car but a computer ? on a weight by weight basis ? requires 10 times the amount of energy to manufacture.[9] A similar cost will be borne in maintaining these two pieces of capital. While in theory there can be energy savings on a production basis as less energy will be consumed despite the increased weight for weight costs (we do not need 1000kg+ worth of computers after all) what will increase significantly are maintenance costs of more complex infrastructure. To give a better idea of this concept at work consider healthcare. As the capital becomes increasingly complex capital then the maintenance costs will rise for the reasons described above.

To summarise this article and the one before it; when we wish to engage in a discussion on energy we need to be aware of range of things. First we need to understand the sheer amount of energy fossil fuels provide. It is truly immense and is a miracle resource and there needs to be a greater appreciation just how much energy they can deliver. From this we can truly grasp the scale of the task an energy transition (if it is even possible) will be. It is seems unlikely to me any combination of renewable or nuclear energy can fill the gap left by fossil fuels. That is not to say renewables cannot make life easier, they do have their uses but we would be setting our expectations too high if we expect them to maintain our current industrial lifestyles.

The other important points that need to be considered is the point we should be interested in not only the quantity of energy delivered but also the quality of energy. At the end of the day it is net energy or EROEI we are really interested in as it is this energy that gets used for greater society. Finally we need to be aware that due to the increasingly complexity of society our maintenance costs will rise due to the second law of thermodynamics so these costs need to be accounted for.

Doomstead Diner


Source: http://peakoil.com/generalideas/energy-part-ii-eroei/

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Sunday, December 30, 2012

The Best Movies, TV, and Comics of 2012 - South Brunswick, NJ Patch

All right, here's the deal. There's highbrow, super-high-quality art; then there's lowbrow, late-night-drive-thru, junky-but fun entertainment.

And I don't see much point in pulling apart my list between the two distinctions. If it's enjoyable, and fulfills its function well, and is worth my?and your?time, it made this list. Welcome to no-brow, friends.

Here we go!

MOVIES

5. PITCH PERFECT
I know, I know. But this was the surprise snark comedy of the year for me, deserving of a place on the shelf next to?Mean Girls?and?Bring It On?and?Easy A?and?Drop Dead Gorgeous.?It gets the college a cappella scene really, really right, and it's fun, and loud, and cheer-worthy where you expect it.

And holy crap, someone needs to give Anna Kendrick the vehicle she needs to become an A-list, hitmaking star. She's fantastic. I mean, she's like 40 percent teeth, but she's adorable and super-talented. And the girl can?sing.?Also, Rebel Wilson is pretty amazing. And this isn't her only appearance on this list.

4. TAKE THIS WALTZ
Seth Rogen deserves an Oscar nomination for his work in this film. I can't believe I just wrote that, but it's true. His turn as a cookbook-writing nice guy married to an unsatisfied, desperate Michelle Williams is wonderful, and deep, and nuanced.

This is a shockingly personal, fun, interestingly-shot film that got overlooked from every angle this year. Sarah Silverman is ALSO excellent in this film, even if you discount her terrifying full-frontal nude scenes. But seriously, see this film. It's on Netflix Instant. Go. Watch it.

3. BACHELORETTE
The Will Ferrell-produced big-screen adaptation of?Leslye Heyland's shocking stage play flew under a lot of radars this year. Heyland (who also directed the film, and was a writer for last year's beloved and much-missed tv show?Terriers)?created a thirtysomething female-marriage-shock comedy that is every bit as funny as?Bridesmaids?was disappointing.

Kirsten Dunst gives a career-best performance as an ice-queen, leader-of-the-pack maid of honor on a bachelorette party night gone horribly wrong, and Rebel Wilson, as the title character in question, does a lot of the heavy lifting as a sympathetic, plus-size woman who refuses to be victimized. She's going to get an Oscar nom, one of these days, as well. Just you watch.

2. ARGO
Everyone loves this film. What else can be said? Affleck is the closest thing our generation has to a Paul Newman, as both a fragile, fascinating leading man and steadfast and creative director.

We all know this film's got a happy ending, but the chase/escape sequence had us all on the edge of our seats anyways. That's talent. Also, John Goodman is perfect here.

1. SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK
Aside from the Philly pride, this is just a wondrous, heart-storming miracle of a movie. Bradley Cooper is all wide-eyed, steel-jawed determination as a mentally ill man trying to get his life back on track, and Robert De Niro as his bookie dad deserves every inch of praise he's garnered for this film.

Oh, and Jennifer Lawrence is smoky, gorgeous, sexy depth in this career-making role. She's the new Meryl Streep, people. And she's 22! She can do anything. And I'll watch each and every film she's in.

TELEVISION

5. HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER
This show gets a lot of flack for not being "smart" enough to make it on some lists, and not being "bawdy" (like Chuck Lorre shows) to make it on others. But it is somehow the most earnest comedy on TV.

After eight years of continuity, we've watched a gang of five New Yorkers in this love-story-in-reverse become two couples and a single guy, and as it nears its endgame, it's wistful and fun to see how it all comes together.

We've got another season-and-a-half left, and although there's signs that this show might not be what it used to be, the midseason finale "The Final Page," and its heartbreaking, cheer-inducing last five minutes, are as good as any moment in the show, including season two's "Slap Bet."

There's still life in this show, and I'm excited to see where it goes.

4. DEXTER
We have one year left, and the writers are making it count, as Dexter's serial-killer lifestyle and newly humanized personal life continue to collide and implode.

Jennifer Carpenter's Deb and Michael C. Hall's Dex circle one another as adopted siblings who may have the hots for one another, and now that the cards are all on the table about Dex's extracurricular activities, there's so many ways this story can end.

And who saw the finale shocker coming? I didn't know Deb had it in her...

3. MODERN FAMILY
Every week, this show just feels like a big, warm hug, with the highest level of comedy polish possible. It gets some flack for being sentimental, but you know what? Sometimes, that's okay.

And every Wednesday night,?Modern Family?leaves me happier than I was a half-hour earlier. It's still going strong. Also, I'm pretty sure Cam and I own at least three of the same shirts...

2. PARKS AND RECREATION
We all want to be Ron Swanson, and it's CRIMINAL that Nick Offerman doesn't yet have an award for this role.?Parks and Rec?proves, with every episode, that it's possible to make optimism cool, smart, and funny at the same time, as Leslie Knope and her friends continue to make life better in Pawnee, Indiana. This is what joy feels like as a TV show, friends. And it's better than ever.

1. HOMELAND
At the end of season one, I thought this show could go no further?and then it did, blowing my mind every week, as a mentally ill CIA specialist and an American-hero-turned-Al-Qaeda sleeper agent engage in a sexy, scary, terrifying game of cat-and-mouse.

Claire Danes is awesome, as is Mandy Patinkin as her shrewd, compassionate boss, but Damian Lewis is the real gem of this show, a jack-knife of an actor who is both endlessly charming and unpredictable.

No show in recent memory has inspired this much conversation in my life, and I'm consistently amazed and enthralled. Season three can't get here fast enough.

COMICS AND GRAPHIC NOVELS

5. BATMAN
Yeah, it's sort of mainstream. But writer Scott Snyder has done what no one thought possible: made Bruce Wayne both accessible and awesome again.

In a way that's totally different from Christopher Nolan's approach, Scott Snyder has made it clear why Gotham needs its Batman, and, in the reintroduction this year of a newly-revamped, horrifying-looking Joker, why Batman himself needs his scariest villain. This is spooky, exhilarating storytelling.

4. UNCANNY X-FORCE
I feel sort of guilty including anything X-Men on here, but what writer Rick Remender and his army of skilled artists has done is taken Wolverine and friends and thrown them into a world of moral ambiguity, where killing is questioned and every choice has at least two consequences behind it.

That it all looks beautiful is a bonus; this is pretty much?The Dirty Dozen?meets?James Bond?meets?Lost?with a bunch of fan-favorite characters?and it really works.

3. ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN
Everyone expected Brian Michael Bendis' plan to kill and replace Peter Parker to, well, suck. And surprisingly, it hasn't: 13-year old black/latino whiz-kid Miles Morales is every bit the captivating character Peter was, and somehow, this drastic change opens up all sorts of new stories. Also, Sara Pichelli might be the best artist working in comics today.

2. HAWKEYE
Matt Fraction and David Aja present...Hawkeye's days off? Yep. And it works. Take Jeremy Renner's character from the most successful movie of the year, and throw it through an indie-spirit window of purple-hued, noir craziness, and this is what you get. There's never been a comic quite like this. It's a trip.

1. SAGA
Three years from now, you're going to regard?Saga?the way you do?The Walking Dead. Writer Brian K. Vaughn has an amazing talent for high-concept plots, as seen in his creations?Ex Machina?(world's first super-hero saves Tower Two on 9/11, becomes mayor of New York),?Runaways?(six kids of twelve super-villains steal their parents' powers and go on the run in an effort to take them down), and?Y: The Last Man?(every male mammal on the planet dies suddenly, except for one scared grad student and his pet monkey).

Here, he takes it one step further: two alien races, one magic and one sci-fi, are engaged in a bloody religious war, until a soldier from each side falls in love, has a baby together, and decides to run for their lives.

Narrated by Hazel, the baby-all-grown-up in the future,?Saga?is a hyperpolitical, sharply funny, sexy, grown-up adventure story, and it's going to be huge someday as a TV show or movie series. Mark my words: this Image comic book is the next best thing, and the very best thing on shelves right now.

Source: http://southbrunswick.patch.com/articles/the-best-movies-tv-and-comics-of-2012

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African Union chief heads to C.A.R.

The head of the African Union arrived in the Central African Republic Sunday as tensions mounted between the government and rebels there, an official said.

Benin President Thomas Boni Yayi, who chairs the regional body, met with the Central African Republic's president, said Margaret Vogt, a U.N. special representative.

The talks come amid lingering unrest in the inland African nation.

Rebels, angry with the government, have staged attacks in recent days. And the volatile situation has spurred demonstrations in Bangui, the country's capital and largest city.

Government authorities set an 8 p.m. (2 p.m. ET) curfew Sunday, said Josue Binoua, the minister of territorial administration and decentralization.

Rebels and government officials are scheduled to meet early this week for talks in Gabon, on Africa's western coast, Binoua said. He did not specify the date when the discussions would begin.

Amid fears of more violence, officials from various nations take steps to protect their citizens and interests in the Central African Republic.

France deployed 180 troops from Gabon to Bangui overnight to protect French citizens in the Central African Republic's capital, said Col. Thierry Burkhard, a spokesman for France's defense ministry.

U.S. President Barack Obama wrote a letter Saturday to Congress informing them that about 50 U.S. troops were sent to Chad on Thursday "to support the evacuation of U.S. embassy personnel and U.S. citizens from the Central African Republic."

Rebels were reported earlier last week to be about 190 miles from Bangui. But there's been a lull in rebel attacks in recent days.

Source: http://www.4029tv.com/news/money/technology/African-Union-chief-heads-to-C-A-R/-/8897246/17949486/-/6mgpfm/-/index.html?absolute=true

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Costa Phillippou gets big win as Tim Boetsch deals with rough night at UFC 155

Costa Philippou wasn't even supposed to be fighting at UFC 155. It was supposed to be Chris Weidman, Philippou's teammate, taking on Tim Boetsch. It was supposed to be a fight that decided a potential contender for Anderson Silva's bout. But in MMA, things don't always work out like they are supposed to, and Philippou walked away with a win at UFC 155.

Philippou stepped in to fight Boetsch after Weidman was injured in training camp. Boetsch took an early lead with clinch work and takedowns in the first round, but between rounds he talked about an injury that was bothering him. It got worse for Boetsch in the second round, as a large cut opened in his forehead and he was poked in the eye.

[Complete UFC 155 recap: Cain Velasquez mauls Junior dos Santos]

With his eye swelling and blood covering his face, Boetsch tried to deal with Philippou's striking. Boetsch attempted takedowns, but couldn't hold off Philippou, who finished the fight at 2:11 in the third round.

After the fight, Philippou sent this tweet that said it all.

Though he's now 12-2 and has five straight wins in the UFC, Philippou has flown under the radar among middleweights. It will be hard to ignore him after he took advantage of this opportunity at UFC 155.

Other popular content on the Yahoo! network:
? Five NFL coaches most likely to be fired
? Slideshow: Athletes to watch out for in 2013
? The Miami Heat say Dwyane Wade didn't deserve suspension
? Y! Finance: The worst product flops of 2012

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/costa-phillippou-gets-big-win-tim-boetsch-deals-045553011--mma.html

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Friday, December 28, 2012

Democrats Seek the Holy Grail of Gun Control (Powerlineblog)

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PFT: Brent's BAC twice legal limit during crash

CaldwellAP

A decade ago, Cyrus Mehri and the late Johnnie Cochran demonstrated that the NFL was doing a poor job of giving African-American coaches fair opportunities to progress to the highest levels of the sport.? Mehri and Cochran made such a compelling case that the NFL installed the ?Rooney Rule,? which requires at least one minority candidate to be interviewed for every head-coaching vacancy.

Today, only a minority of head coaching jobs are filled by members of minority groups, with five African-American head coaches (Marvin Lewis, Mike Tomlin, Romeo Crennel, Lovie Smith, Leslie Frazier) and one Hispanic head coach (Ron Rivera).? That?s six, out of 32.

As Michael Silver of Yahoo! Sports explains, only one of 32 teams has an offensive play-caller who also is African-American.? And as of a few weeks ago, the number was zero; Jim Caldwell inherited those duties in Baltimore once Cam Cameron was fired.

?We are very, very conscious of this issue, and it?s something that needs to be addressed,? John Wooten, chairman of the Fritz Pollard Alliance, told Silver. ?We have alluded to it and spoken to it directly, and we feel our only course of action is to push more people up the pipeline.?

And that seems to be the biggest problem.? African-American coaches aren?t being positioned to naturally mature into the role of play-caller on offense.?Really, the reason why there aren?t a lot of guys calling plays is that you have to have people ascending to quarterbacks coach and jobs that lead to coordinator positions.? And that?s simply not happening,? Bengals coach Marvin Lewis told Silver.? ?There are a lot of good coaches who aren?t getting those opportunities.?

As Silver points out, only two NFL quarterbacks coaches are African-American:? Karl Dorrell of the Texans and Craig Johnson of the Vikings.? Curtis Modkins serves as offensive coordinator in Buffalo, but head coach Chan Gailey calls the plays.

?This is the biggest travesty that?s taking place in this league, and every black coach is well aware of it,? an anonymous African-American assistant for an AFC team told Silver.? ?They don?t promote you from running backs coach or receivers coach to offensive coordinator.? When guys do get coordinator titles, they have to be position coaches at the same time, and they don?t get paid as much as other coordinators, because they?re not the play-callers.? And in a lot of cases, guys believe they?re really there for locker-room reasons, to ?take care of? the minority players.?

Eventually, the absence of a pipeline of African-American offensive minds will make it hard to find viable African-American head coaches, since all current minority head coaches have defensive backgrounds.

?The whole thing we have to do in terms of building this pipeline is make teams more conscious of the fact that [position coaches] want to get involved,? Wooten said. ?I tell these running backs, receivers and quarterbacks coaches, ?Go to the head coach and general manager and tell them you want this as an opportunity to learn.?? You learn by being in game plan meetings, when plays are being installed.? You listen and learn.?

Real change may come only if the Rooney Rule, which since its adoption has been extended to G.M. positions, is also applied to coordinator jobs.? However, Wooten isn?t recommending that.

?I just feel that the head coach has to have the right to select his people,? Wooten said.? ?If they can?t see who?s the best out there for them, they?re gonna perish anyway.?

Wooten is right, but the Rooney Rule doesn?t require minority candidates to be hired.? It only requires them to be considered, an important reality given that head coaches immediately tap into their network of friends, cronies, and (sometimes) family members when filling out their staffs.? If nothing else, requiring coaches to interview at least one minority coordinator candidate will help position coaches become better prepared to interview for coordinator positions ? and eventually to get them.

In the end, it?s a simple analysis.? If the NFL believes the Rooney Rule remains viable ten years later when the number of minority head coaches has expanded to six, the NFL should take a hard look at whether the Rooney Rule should be applied one level lower, given that the number of minority play-callers is one and, as of the first of the current month, it was zero.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/12/27/brents-official-blood-alcohol-level-comes-in-at-0-189-percent/related/

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Final goodbye: Roll call of some who died in 2012

Neil Armstrong would always be taking that first step onto the moon, and Dick Clark was forever "the world's oldest teenager." Some of the notables who died in 2012 created images in our minds that remained unchanged over decades.

Sadly, for others an established image was shattered by a fall from grace. Whitney Houston ruled as a queen of pop music, but years of hard living harmed her voice while erratic behavior and a troubled marriage took a toll on her image. And Joe Paterno, Penn State's longtime coach, won more games than anyone in major college football, but was ultimately fired amid a molestation scandal involving an assistant coach that scarred his reputation.

Some whose deaths we noted weren't known by image or even name but by contributions that changed our lives ? like Eugene Polley, inventor of the first wireless TV remote control, and Norman Joseph Woodland, co-inventor of the bar code that labels nearly every product in stores. Other scientists who died in 2012 included Lowell Randall, Martin Fleischmann, F. Sherwood Rowland, George Cowan and Bernard Lovell.

Among the political figures who died were George McGovern, Democrat presidential nominee who lost to Richard Nixon in a historic landslide, and ex-Sen. Arlen Specter, the outspoken Pennsylvania centrist. Others from the world of politics: Bill Janklow, Norodom Sihanouk, Charles "Chuck" Colson, Warren B. Rudman, Andrew Breitbart and Miguel de la Madrid.

The year saw the deaths of a number of TV stars including Larry Hagman, who played oil baron J.R. Ewing on "Dallas," and Jack Klugman, often remembered as the messy one of the 1970s roommates in "The Odd Couple"

Others in entertainment and the arts who died included: Etta James, Andy Griffith, Ernest Borgnine, Sherman Hemsley, Maurice Sendak, Donna Summer, Robin Gibb, Doc Watson, Richard Dawson, Nora Ephron, Phyllis Diller, Michael Clarke Duncan, Don Cornelius, Jan Berenstain, Ravi Shankar and Dave Brubeck.

Here is a roll call of some of the people who died in 2012. (Cause of death cited for younger people if available.)

JANUARY:

Kiro Gligorov, 94. First democratically elected president of Macedonia who shepherded his nation through a bloodless secession from the former Yugoslavia and narrowly survived an assassination attempt. Jan. 1.

Bob Anderson, 89. Olympic fencer and movie sword master, he donned Darth Vader's black helmet and fought light saber battles in two "Star Wars" films. Jan. 1.

Keith Little, 87. One of the most recognizable of the remaining Navajo Code Talkers, whose code helped confound the Japanese duirng World War II. Jan. 3.

Lowell Randall, 96. Pioneer rocket scientist who helped launch the U.S. space program and tested intercontinental ballistic missiles. Jan. 3.

Jessica Joy Rees, 12. She became a nationally recognized face of child cancer with a blog that chronicled her fight against brain tumors. Jan. 5. Brain cancer.

Don Carter, 85. Bowling great who flourished as a genuine sports celebrity during the game's golden age on TV. Jan. 5.

Bill Janklow, 72. As South Dakota's attorney general, governor and congressman, he dominated the state's political landscape for more than 25 years. Jan. 12. Brain cancer.

Manuel Fraga Iribarne, 89. Blunt-talking politician who founded Spain's ruling conservative party and was the last surviving minister from Gen. Francisco Franco's right-wing regime. Jan. 15.

Hulett C. Smith, 93. Former West Virginia governor who signed bills in the 1960s that abolished the state's death penalty and implemented its first strip mining laws. Jan. 15.

Edward Derwinski, 85. He represented Chicago's south side and adjoining suburbs in Congress for nearly a quarter-century before becoming the nation's first secretary of veterans affairs. Jan 15.

Jimmy Castor, 71. Funk and soul saxophonist, singer and songwriter whose tune, "It's Just Begun," morphed into an anthem for generations of musical acts. Jan. 16.

Johnny Otis, 90. He wrote and recorded the R&B classic "Willie and the Hand Jive" and for decades evangelized black music to white audiences as a bandleader and radio host. Jan. 17.

Etta James, 73. Blues singer best known for her performance of the enduring classic "At Last." Jan. 20. Complications from leukemia.

Jonathan "Jack" Idema, 55. Former Green Beret convicted of running a private jail in Afghanistan. Jan. 21. AIDS.

Roy J. Britten, 92. Pioneering molecular biologist who discovered the crucial fact that humans and animals have multiple copies of some DNA segments. Jan. 21.

Joe Paterno, 85. Longtime Penn State coach who won more games than anyone in major college football but was fired amid a child sex abuse scandal that scarred his reputation for winning with integrity. Jan. 22.

Theo Angelopoulos, 76. Award-winning Greek filmmaker known for his slow and dreamlike style as a director. Jan. 24. Killed in a road accident.

Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans, 91. Heiress to a vast Gilded Age fortune built on tobacco and a member of the family that endowed Duke University. Jan. 25.

Robert Hegyes, 60. Actor best known for playing Jewish Puerto Rican student Juan Epstein on the 1970s TV show "Welcome Back Kotter." Jan. 26.

Kevin H. White, 82. Former Boston mayor who led the city for 16 years including during racially turbulent times in the 1970s and was credited with putting it on a path to prosperity. Jan. 27.

Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, 93. Past president of Italy who held the post during the sweeping corruption scandal of the early 1990s that reshaped the country's political landscape. Jan. 29.

Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, 88. Retired head of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and an uncharged central figure in a child sex-abuse case that involves the alleged shuffling of predator priests to unwitting parishes. Jan. 31.

FEBRUARY:

Don Cornelius, 75. As host of "Soul Train," he helped break down racial barriers and broaden the reach of black culture with funky music, groovy dance steps and cutting edge style. Feb. 1. Self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Angelo Dundee, 90. Trainer who helped groom Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard into world champions. Feb. 1.

Jimmie Begay, 86. Navajo Code Talker who in World War II transmitted messages in a code based on the then-unwritten Navajo language. Feb. 1.

Zalman King, 70. Actor and filmmaker who became known for his erotic work after writing and producing his breakthrough film "9 1/2 Weeks." Feb. 3.

Ben Gazzara, 81. Actor who brought intensity to roles in such iconic productions as the original "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" on Broadway and the film "The Big Lebowski." Feb. 3.

Florence Green, 110. Last known veteran of World War I. Feb. 4.

John Fairfax, 74. First known person to row alone across the Atlantic Ocean. Feb. 8.

Jill Kinmont Boothe, 75. Skiing champion who became a painter and a teacher after she was paralyzed during a race and was the subject of a book and two Hollywood films. Feb. 9.

Whitney Houston, 48. She ruled as pop music's queen until her majestic voice was ravaged by drug use and her regal image ruined by erratic behavior and a tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown. Feb. 11. Accidentally drowned in a bathtub.

Mohammed Lamari, 73. General who led Algeria's military during a decade of civil war that crushed Islamic rebel groups. Feb. 13.

Charles Anthony, 82. Character singer who set the record for most appearances at the Metropolitan Opera ? 2,928 ? during a career that spanned from 1954 to 2010. Feb. 15.

Gary Carter, 57. Star catcher whose single for the New York Mets in the 1986 World Series touched off one of the most improbable rallies in baseball. Feb. 16.

Katie Hall, 73. Former Indiana congresswoman who was a key sponsor of the 1983 legislation that established a national holiday for Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Feb. 20.

Remi Ochlik, 28. Photojournalist who covered riots in Haiti and the upheaval sweeping across the Arab world. Feb. 22. Killed in a shelling attack in Syria.

Marie Colvin, 56. Journalist, recognizable for the eye patch that hid a shrapnel injury, who covered conflicts from Sri Lanka to Syria in her quest to bring stories about the world's most troubled places to light. Feb. 22. Killed in a shelling attack in Syria.

Jan Berenstain, 88. With her husband, Stan, she wrote and illustrated the Berenstain Bears books that have charmed preschoolers for 50 years. Feb. 24.

Dennis Gomes, 68. Co-owner of the Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, N.J., and a former mob-busting Las Vegas prosecutor whose exploits were chronicled in the movie "Casino." Feb. 24. Complications from kidney dialysis.

Erland Josephson, 88. Swedish actor who collaborated with legendary film director Ingmar Bergman in more than 40 films and plays. Feb. 25.

Lynn D. "Buck" Compton, 90. Veteran whose World War II exploits were depicted in the HBO miniseries "Band of Brothers." Feb. 25.

Edna Milton Chadwell, 84. Last madam of the Chicken Ranch brothel, which inspired the movie and Broadway show "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas." Feb. 25.

William Hamilton, 87. Theologian who was a member of the Death of God movement of the 1960s that reached its peak with a Time Magazine cover story. Feb. 28.

Davy Jones, 66. Actor turned singer who helped propel the TV rock band The Monkees to the top of the pop charts. Feb. 29. Heart attack.

MARCH:

Andrew Breitbart, 43. Conservative media publisher and activist who was behind investigations that led to the resignation of former Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y. March 1.

James Q. Wilson, 80. Political scientist whose "broken windows" theory on crime-fighting helped launch a nationwide move toward community policing. March 2.

Ralph McQuarrie, 82. Artist who developed the look of the first "Star Wars" trilogy's signature characters, sets and spaceships. March 3.

William Heirens, 83. Dubbed the "Lipstick Killer" after three murders in Chicago in the 1940s, he became Illinois' longest-serving inmate. March 5.

Robert B. Sherman, 86. Songwriter who wrote "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" in "Mary Poppins" and other songs for Disney classics. March 5.

James T. "Jimmy" Ellis, 74. As frontman for The Trammps, he belted out the refrain "Burn, baby burn!" in the 1970s-era disco hit "Disco Inferno." March 8.

Minoru Mori, 77. Property tycoon who was one of Japan's most influential developers and built China's tallest building. March 8.

Harry Wendelstedt, 73. Longtime umpire who worked five World Series and made a call involving Don Drysdale that became one of baseball's most disputed plays in the late 1960s. March 9.

Jean Giraud, 73. French comics artist known by fans from Hollywood to Japan as Moebius and the creator of unsettling, eye-opening fantasy worlds in print and on film. March 10.

F. Sherwood Rowland, 84. Nobel prize-winning chemist who sounded the alarm on the thinning of the Earth's ozone layer and crusaded against the use of chemicals that were harming earth's atmospheric blanket. March 10.

Michael Hossack, 65. Longtime Doobie Brothers drummer whose work is heard on the hits "Listen To The Music" and "China Grove." March 12. Cancer.

Censu Tabone, 98. Former Malta president who hosted a U.S.-Soviet summit that declared an end to the Cold War. March 14.

John Demjanjuk, 91. He was convicted of being a low-ranking guard at the Sobibor death camp, but his 35-year fight to clear his name made him one of the best-known faces of Nazi prosecutions. March 17.

Pope Shenouda III, 88. Patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church who led Egypt's Christian minority for 40 years during a time of increasing tensions with Muslims. March 17.

Chaleo Yoovidhya, in his 80s. Self-made Thai billionaire who introduced the world to "energy drinks" and co-founded the Red Bull brand. March 17.

King George Tupou V, 63. Tonga's king, who gave up most of his powers to bring a more democratic government to his Pacific island nation. March 18.

Lincoln Hall, 56. Mountaineer who was rescued a day after being given up for dead near the summit of Everest in 2006. March 21. Cancer.

Abdullahi Yusuf, 78. He rose from guerrilla warrior to president of Somalia only to watch his administration crumble under an Islamic insurgency. March 23. Complications from pneumonia.

Bert Sugar, 75. Iconic boxing writer and sports historian who was known for his trademark fedora and ever-present cigar. March 25.

Larry Stevenson, 81. Skateboard maker who helped take the pastime from an early 1960s kids' gimmick to a professional sport. March 25.

Earl Scruggs, 88. Bluegrass legend and banjo pioneer who profoundly influenced country music with Bill Monroe in the 1940s and later with guitarist Lester Flatt. March 28.

APRIL:

Miguel de la Madrid, 77. Former president of Mexico, who led his country from 1982 to 1988 during an economic crisis and a devastating earthquake. April 1.

Giorgio Chinaglia, 65. Italian soccer great and former New York Cosmos star. April 1. Complications from a heart attack.

Neslisah Osmanoglu, 91. Ottoman princess who married an Egyptian prince and was twice forced into exile when both royal households were abolished. April 2.

Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, 76. He designed Porsche's classic 911 sports car, the sleek model that evokes power, wealth and envy among aficionados. April 5.

Bingu wa Mutharika, 78. Malawi's president who was hailed as an economic hero and decried as an autocrat.. April 5.

Thomas Kinkade, 54. Artist whose paintings of idyllic landscapes, cottages and churches have been big sellers for dealers across the U.S. April 6.

Mike Wallace, 93. Dogged CBS reporter who took on politicians and celebrities in a 60-year career highlighted by on-air confrontations that helped make "60 Minutes" the most successful prime-time television news program ever. April 7.

Raymond Aubrac, 97. One of the last major figures of the French Resistance who got away from the Nazis' grasp in a now-legendary escape. April 10.

Ahmed Ben Bella, 95. Algeria's first president and a historic leader of its bloody independence struggle from France. April 11.

Julio Aleman, 78. Mexican television and movie actor who starred in the first telenovela ever produced in the country. April 11.

Arnold Maersk Mc-Kinney Moeller, 98. Denmark's richest man who created the country's largest enterprise, a shipping and oil conglomerate. April 16.

Dick Clark, 82. Ever-youthful television entrepreneur who helped bring rock 'n' roll into the mainstream on "American Bandstand," and later produced and hosted game shows and the year-end countdown from Times Square. April 19.

Levon Helm, 71. Key member of the rock group The Band who lent his voice to classics like "The Weight" and "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down." April 19.

George Cowan, 92. Manhattan Project scientist who also helped found the Santa Fe Institute. April 20.

Charles "Chuck" Colson, 80. Special counsel to President Richard Nixon who went to prison for his role in a Watergate-related case and became a Christian evangelical helping inmates. April 21.

George Rathmann, 84. As founding CEO he helped turn Amgen Inc. from a small company with an unclear mission in a strange new field into the world's largest biotech drugmaker. April 22.

George Vujnovich, 96. Intelligence agent who organized a World War II mission to rescue more than 500 U.S. bomber crew members shot down over Nazi-occupied Serbia. April 24.

Patricia Medina, 92. Actress who became a Hollywood leading lady in the 1950s opposite Glenn Ford, Alan Ladd, Karl Malden and Fernando Lamas. April 28.

Thomas Austin "Amarillo Slim" Preston Jr., 83. A poker champion whose brash style, fast talking and love of the spotlight helped broaden the professional game's appeal. April 29.

Tomas Borge Martinez, 81. Last surviving founder of the Sandinista guerrilla movement that overthrew Nicaragua's U.S.-backed right-wing dictatorship in 1979. April 30.

MAY:

Junior Seau, 43. Homegrown superstar who was the fist-pumping, emotional leader of the San Diego Chargers for 13 years. May 2. Apparent suicide.

Lloyd Brevett, 80. Renowned double bassist who helped carry ska music from Jamaica to the world as a founding member of the band The Skatalites. May 3.

Adam Yauch, 47. Also known as MCA, the gravelly voiced rapper helped make the Beastie Boys one of the seminal groups in hip-hop. May 4. Cancer.

George Lindsey, 83. He made a TV career as a grinning service station attendant named Goober on "The Andy Griffith Show" and "Hee Haw." May 6.

Dennis Fitch, 69. Airline pilot who helped save 184 people during a plane crash in Sioux City, Iowa. May 7. Brain cancer.

Maurice Sendak, 83. Children's book author and illustrator who saw the sometimes-dark side of childhood in books like "Where the Wild Things Are." May 8.

Vidal Sassoon, 84. Celebrity hairstylist whose 1960s wash-and-wear cuts freed women from endless teasing and hairspray. May 9.

Baby Andrei, 9 months. Romanian baby born with virtually no intestines who confounded doctors by tenaciously clinging to life and captured international attention and offers of medical help. May 10.

Gunnar Soensteby, 94. World War II resistance fighter who earned Norway's highest military decoration for daring raids against the Nazis. May 10.

Evelyn Bryan Johnson, 102. Known as "Mama Bird," she was a pioneering female pilot and Guinness world record holder. May 10.

Carroll Shelby, 89. Legendary car designer and champion auto racer who built the Shelby Cobra sports car and injected testosterone into Ford's Mustang and Chrysler's Viper. May 10.

Donald "Duck" Dunn, 70. Bassist who helped create the gritty Memphis soul sound at Stax Records in the 1960s as part of the legendary group Booker T. and the MGs. May 13.

Jim Abdnor, 89. Former Republican U.S. senator who ousted George McGovern from the Senate only to lose his seat after one term. May 16.

Chuck Brown, 75. Widely acclaimed as the "Godfather of go-go" for styling a unique mix of funk, soul and Latin party sounds. May 16.

Mary Richardson Kennedy, 52. Estranged wife of Robert Kennedy Jr.; her life's highlights and troubled moments played out publicly because of the famous political family she married into. May 16. Apparent suicide.

Doug Dillard, 75. Banjo player who helped shape rock 'n' roll and introduce the nation to bluegrass music during a run on "The Andy Griffith Show." May 16.

Donna Summer, 63. Disco queen whose pulsing anthems such as "Last Dance," ''Love to Love You Baby" and "Bad Girls" became the soundtrack for a glittery age of drugs, dance and flashy clothes. May 17.

Warda, 72. Algerian singer known by just one name whose sultry voice and range helped make her one of the giants of Arab song. May 17.

Frank Edward "Ed" Ray, 91. California school bus driver who was hailed as a hero for helping 26 students escape after three kidnappers buried them underground in 1976. May 17.

Katie Beckett, 34. Her struggles with disease and bureaucracy brought landmark changes to the federal-state Medicaid program allowing children with disabilities to live at home. May 18.

Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, 60. Libyan intelligence officer who was the only person ever convicted in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing. May 20.

Robin Gibb, 62. One of the three Bee Gees whose falsetto harmonies powered such hits as "Stayin' Alive" and "Night Fever" and defined the flashy disco era. May 20.

Eugene Polley, 96. Inventor of the first wireless TV remote control. May 20.

Eddie Blazonczyk, 70. Grammy Award-winning polka great who earned the nickname "Polka King" after starting his own band and label. May 21.

Wesley Brown, 85. First African-American to graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy. May 22.

Klaas Carel Faber, 90. Dutch native who fled to Germany after being convicted in the Netherlands of Nazi war crimes and subsequently lived in freedom despite attempts to try or extradite him. May 24.

Johnny Tapia, 45. Five-time boxing champion whose turbulent career was marked by cocaine addiction, alcohol, depression and run-ins with the law. May 27.

Doc Watson, 89. Grammy-award winning folk musician whose lightning-fast style of flatpicking influenced guitarists around the world. May 29.

JUNE:

Kathryn Joosten, 72. Character actress best known as Karen McCluskey on "Desperate Housewives" and the president's secretary on "The West Wing." June 2.

Adolfo Calero, 80. He led the largest force of U.S.-backed rebels against Nicaragua's Sandinista government in the 1980s and found himself entangled in the Iran-Contra scandal. June 2.

Richard Dawson, 79. Wisecracking British entertainer who was among the schemers in the 1960s TV comedy "Hogan's Heroes" and later the contestant-kissing host of the game show "Family Feud." June 2.

Herb Reed, 83. Last surviving original member of 1950s vocal group the Platters who sang on hits like "Only You" and "The Great Pretender." June 4.

Ray Bradbury, 91. Science fiction-fantasy master who transformed his childhood dreams and Cold War fears into telepathic Martians, lovesick sea monsters, and the high-tech, book-burning future of "Fahrenheit 451." May 5.

Bob Welch, 65. Former member of Fleetwood Mac who went on to write songs and record several hits during a solo career. June 7. Self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Ann Rutherford, 94. Actress who played the sweetheart in the long-running Andy Hardy series and Scarlett O'Hara's youngest sister in "Gone With the Wind." June 11.

Henry Hill, 69. Associate in New York's Lucchese crime family, a mobster and FBI informant whose life was the basis for the Martin Scorsese film "Goodfellas." June 12.

William S. Knowles, 95. Chemist who shared the Nobel Prize for discoveries that led to a treatment for Parkinson's disease and other medicines. June 13.

Crown Prince Nayef, late 70s. Interior minister who headed Saudi Arabia's fierce crackdown crushing al-Qaida's branch in the country after the 9/11 attacks and rose to become next in line to the throne. June 16.

Rodney King, 47. Black motorist whose 1991 videotaped beating by Los Angeles police officers was the spark for one of the most destructive U.S. race riots. June 17. Accidentally drowned.

Richard Adler, 90. Composer-lyricist who won Tony Awards for such Broadway musicals as "The Pajama Game" and "Damn Yankees" and who produced President John F. Kennedy's birthday celebration featuring a breathy Marilyn Monroe. June 21.

Barry Becher, 71. Infomercial pioneer best known for introducing American TV viewers to Ginsu knives, the miracle kitchen tool that sliced through tin cans and chopped wood. June 22.

George Randolph Hearst Jr., 84. Board chairman of Hearst Corp., oldest grandson of media titan William Randolph Hearst. June 25.

Nora Ephron, 71. Essayist, author and filmmaker who thrived in the male-dominated worlds of movies and journalism and was loved, respected and feared for her wit. June 26. Leukemia

Doris Singleton, 92. Actress who played Lucy and Ricky Ricardo's neighbor on "I Love Lucy." June 26.

Don Grady, 68. One of television's most beloved big brothers as Robbie Douglas on the 1960s hit "My Three Sons." June 27.

Norman Sas, 87. Mechanical engineer who created electric football, a tabletop game with a vibrating metal field and unpredictable plastic players that captivated children and grown-ups. June 28.

Doris Sams, 85. Pitcher and outfielder from Knoxville who helped inspire the movie "A League of Their Own." June 28.

Yitzhak Shamir, 96. Former Israeli prime minister who maintained that Israel should hold on to territory and never trust an Arab regime. June 30.

MORE

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/final-goodbye-roll-call-died-2012-215857723.html

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Thursday, December 27, 2012

Holiday travelers stranded as weather heads east

As tornadoes ripped through the South, more than a foot of snow was dumped over parts of the Midwest, making for a post-Christmas travel nightmare. NBC's Mike Seidel reports.

By Tracy Connor, NBC News

A wicked winter storm was sweeping east across the United States Wednesday, creating a post-holiday travel nightmare with more than a foot of snow in some places and thousands of flights canceled or delayed.

"Blizzard warnings stretch for?730 continuous miles?due to Winter Storm Euclid,"?The Weather Channel?s?Tom Niziol reported.

The white-out came a day after a Christmas storm unleashed heavy snow, deadly winds and even some tornadoes on the nation?s midsection, killing at least three people.

As millions of Americans braced for snow, rain, ice or more twisters, nearly 2,000 flights had been canceled and 10,000 were delayed, many at Dallas/Fort Worth, Philadelphia International, and Cleveland's Hopkins International, according to the travel website FllightStats.com. American Airlines had to cancel 500 flights, while Delta scrapped 200.?

Read more at The Weather Channel

The forecast called for heavy snow from Indiana to New York and by mid-afternoon it was piling up: The National Weather Service reported 14.5 inches in Marion, Ill.; 11.8 inches in Bloomfield, Ind.; 9 inches in Brookville, Ohio; 7 inches in Bardwell, Ky.; and Frostburg, Md. Up to 3 inches of rain had fallen in North and South Carolina.


The National Weather Service said Wednesday night that spotters had reported up to a foot of snow in some Pennsylvania counties. Forecasters predicted 10 to 12 inches of snow in western and central Massachusetts.?

The system was expected to taper off into a mix of rain and snow closer to the coast, where little or no accumulation was expected in such cities as Philadelphia, Boston and New York.?

The storm left freezing temperatures in its aftermath, and forecasters also said parts of the Southeast from Virginia to Florida would see severe thunderstorms.?

After the storm socked little Albion, Ill., with 18 inches of snow, city worker Renee Galen?s SUV got stuck and she got to her office the only way she could.

On one of the busiest travel days of the year, bad weather has forced airlines to cancel or delay flights. NBC's Katy Tur reports.

"One of the city guys came by with a snowplow and I flagged him down and rode to work with him," Galen told NBC News.

"I had to get to work because today was the last day to file for city elections. Believe it or not, I?ve had three people come in to file."

In Indianapolis, seven inches of snow fell in three hours Wednesday morning, bringing post-Christmas shopping to a halt, the Indianapolis Star reported.?

Stephen Canter, 44, ventured out before 8 a.m., and the roads were thick with snow when he headed back 30 minutes later.

"By the time I got home, the street was covered," he told the newspaper. "I don't remember snow like this since Valentine's Day of 2007."

Indiana State Police received 100 calls of crashes or cars sliding off roads before noon and warned motorists that if they got into trouble it could take a while to get them help, NBC affiliate WTHR.com reported.?

Cars and several 18-wheelers were stuck in the ice along 1-70, and the snow fell faster than crews could clear the roads.

"The biggest problem is the blowing. We got some high winds and the roads are really beginning to drift bad," Ron Sharp with Wayne County Emergency Management told the station.

Parts of New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania are also forecast to get hit with more than a foot of snow, and New England could get up to a foot.

The blizzard warning in Ohio prompted United Airlines to cancel at least 60 percent of their flights at?Cleveland?Hopkins Airport beginning at noon on Wednesday, according to?NBC affiliate WKYC.com. About 1,000 people spent the night on cots at Dallas/Fort Worth after their Tuesday night and Wednesday morning flights were scrapped.

Hundreds of flights delayed, canceled as holiday storms travel across country

With Rochester, N.Y., slated to get up to a foot of snow, hordes of worried residents descended on the hardware stores.

?Un-freaking-believable! We?ve sold 225 shovels since 9 o?clock this morning,? said Tom Green, owner of Mayer Paint and Hardware. ?Rock salt ? I couldn?t tell you how many thousands of pounds I?ve sold today. People are very concerned.?

Green noted that snowstorms are hardly rare in Rochester.

?But this is the first big one,? he said. ?And it?s happening at Christmas.?

The weather system, which started over the weekend, wreaked havoc on Christmas. It knocked out power to tens of thousands of people and was blamed for at least five deaths.

In Enola, Ark., two toddlers were killed when a car lost control on an ice-slicked highway and spun into oncoming traffic, state police said.

Wind-toppled trees killed a pickup truck driver near Houston, Texas, and a 53-year-old man in north Louisiana. NBC affiliate KJRH reported?that?a 28-year-old woman was killed in a crash on a snowy highway near Fairview, Okla.

Christmas Day tornadoes ?- the preliminary count was at least 21, according to the Weather Channel -- battered Southern states.?And Little Rock, Ark., didn?t just have a rare white Christmas ?- it had its snowiest day ever, with nine inches on the ground.

The storms contributed to a 21-vehicle pile-up Tuesday that shut down a major highway in Oklahoma City, as well as tens of thousands of power outages. Emergency service provider MedStar told?NBCDFW.com?it responded to 71?crashes in the Fort Worth area between 5 p.m. and 9:50 p.m. Tuesday evening.

As it tracked east, authorities were taking the storm seriously.

In Indianapolis, Mayor Greg Ballard ordered "non-essential" workers to stay home and off roads. Cleveland asked businesses to send workers home by 1:30 p.m., NBC affiliate WKYC.com reported.?Homeowners in coastal Long Island, ravaged by Superstorm Sandy in October, were told to take precautions to prevent flooding with seas expected to peak at 15 feet, NBCNewYork.com reported.

By the time it leaves the New England coast Friday, the storm will have left snow from coast to coast ?- and there could be another wallop coming soon.

Weather Channel meteorologist Guy Walton said a weather pattern with the potential to become Winter Storm Freyr is poised to enter the West Coast on Wednesday and move through the Rockies on Thursday. It could then head for the lower Mississippi Valley, then the Southeast and hit the Northeast on Sunday.

Read more at weather.com

The Weather Channel's Jim Cantore and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/26/16162773-holiday-travelers-stranded-as-snow-and-wild-weather-heads-east?lite

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Understanding the Rules of Online Article Submission ? Internet ...

By Paul Barrs.

Chances are if you?re reading this than you?re one of the thousands who seek to generate traffic and income through writing and online article submission.

Many years ago this was identified as one of the single best ways to boost traffic to your website; more recently however this marketplace has become corrupted and overtaken by the plethora of those who think that *everything* should be automated and run by a program? including the writing of the article itself!

Personally I think that while online article submission and automation thing is most certainly important, it should never overtake the final authority that is the human mind? after all, we do sell to people, not machines, don?t we?

Recently I was browsing a local net forum and one person posted the question asking ?was it practical to publish the same article to more than one directory?. He wanted to know the virtue of using a program to re-write the article automatically and then have it ?automatically? submitted to some insane number of article directories.

My response to this was simple? yes.

Yes it is practical and I believe ?preferable? to? write your article yourself and then publish it manually to a handful of online directories. How many? About half a dozen ? the difference between putting your article on the top half dozen directories vs the bottom 1000 is HUGE. It?s not even worth a comparison. When it comes to online article submission, like with all things, the best results can often be found in the highest quality of performance, not quantity.

However, there was another response to his question that peaked my interest and probably gave the best advice on article writing that I?ve ever seen. For myself, not being someone to use others material without permission I contacted the author and asked permission to use their words ? interesting enough, this came from someone who didn?t even have a website. They weren?t a web writer but rather a professional writer ? who had in recent years earned as literally hundreds of thousands of dollars by writing articles for targeted business models.

When asked about the virtue of writing articles and online article submission? and ?how? to make money doing so, they replied simply in the following manner?.

Online Article Submission Foundation Principles

?Remember that all publications are online now.

You will want to avoid the ones that are ONLY online though for best results.

Your online campaign will probably get 90% of it?s results from the online version of the publication. But real publications that deliver real article marketing results have both an online and a paper version.

You will see thread after thread about people complaining that submission only to EzineArticles.com and the other ?online only? publications just doesn?t yield any results.

And that makes sense. Those ?publications?, if you can even call them publications, are mostly visited by your peers, not your prospects.

Go where your prospects are reading. If you are into ?health? like one poster said, you have a lot better chance reaching them while they are busy reading ?Fitness? magazine than EzineArticles.com.

Just ask your prospects if you don?t believe me. Put up a survey on your site and ask them what publications they read. Make it a simple checkbox survey and ask them to check all of the publications they read. Put EzineArticles.com in the list along with the real publications.

Once you see that 63% of your prospects read ?Fitness? magazine and 0.12% read EzineArticles.com, you?ll want to focus on getting published in Fitness magazine rather than EzineArticles.com.

It?s Marketing 101. Go where your prospects are hanging out.

1. Select a market that has money and is willing to spend it for good information. In this case, I selected investing? specifically a form of investing where the participants spend a lot of money on information.

2. Select the #1 publication that most of my prospects read. In my case (and in most cases), the #1 publication is read by 90% of your prospects.

3. Write an authoritative article that covers the topic in a brand new way that has never been talked about before. Make it a bit controversial, but kill the controversy before it can start with cold hard facts.

4. Be willing to work with the editor. This is the hardest part of online article submission. They always want to gut your article. Just keep rewriting alternatives that aren?t gutted and resubmitting them pretending that you are doing exactly what the editor wants. Meanwhile, send them gifts. I sent a book I knew my editor would enjoy sent straight from Amazon and a baseball glove signed by a local major league player (I found out my editor had a son who played in little league and idolized this player? and the player was local and easy to access).

5. Make your bio a pitch. Your editor will gut this as well several times. Just keep resubmitting an even heavier pitch that is tied in with the article. Your editor will eventually accept it if your article is good enough to support it.

6. Get decent hosting. The online version of most publications is supported with an email list. You?ll get most of the traffic in a single three hour block. You need hosting that can deal with the traffic.?
Now that?s what I call an interesting and informative post, wouldn?t you say?

And here?s the point? no matter how good you think you are, there is always going to be someone ?better? out there that you can learn from. It?s vital that we become ideologically aware when it comes to business principles, because they never change over time. Sure the techniques that we use and the programs that we apply do ? but never the underlying reasons.

When it comes to online article submission, hold fast to those reasons and your business is sure to grow and stand over the test of time.

Source: http://www.paulbarrs.com/online-article-submission

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5 Points to consider for attorney web design - ArticlesWide.com

There are millions of web designing ideas found in the internet. Every person has their own ideas about the best looking websites. As far as attorney web design is concerned one has to look much more than just looks it has to be effective. Niche website design is one of the best ideas for effectiveness. When you have so many people visiting your website you need to give them what they want and a professional can help you with this.

Before you get work started on your attorney web design there are two points to consider. Point 1 what do you want from the website and point 2 what do your users want from your website? If you can keep these two points in mind then you will have a great website for your law firm. Whether it is generic website design or niche website design you will know what exactly needs to be done so that you can address your website requirement.

Given below are five points to consider that would help you in designing that great looking and effective website.

1. KISS

KISS or Keep it Short and Simple should be the mantra of your attorney web design or niche website design. Have a utilitarian website that gives information and doesnt focus just on looks.

2. Make use of media

Media like images and videos are excellent for promoting your work. You should also use your firms logo in all your web pages. These media will not only help in promotion but also in search engine optimization.

3. Quality and credibility

Everyone wants the best lawyer for handling their case. While the quality of your website will give them a comfort feeling your credibility has to be established right in the beginning. You cannot expect your visitor to read through your website line by line, from top to bottom. Visitors usually scan for content they think is important. Hence, your qualifications and your success stories should be prominently displayed.

4. Dont make visitors think too much

This is where you benefit. If you have got niche website design done and you have an individual webpage for all lines of your legal work you have to market these pages separately. Someone looking for your DWI work shouldnt be taken to your firms homepage. They should land on the DWI page and immediately call you and set up an appointment.

5. Test

Ok, so you now have that very attractive looking website and it is now uploaded on the WWW. Is your work done now? Not at all What do you need to do now is keep it maintained. This is one aspect of attorney web design or niche website design that many ignore and often to their own peril. When someone knows that you have a website they will visit anytime they feel like. Frequent testing should ensure that your website is up and running 24 hours a day. And testing will also tell you if there are some issues related to your website that you need to work on.

Guides for attorney web design are available all over the internet. Whether you need a generic website design or niche website design you can always hire a professional for the job.

Source: http://www.articleswide.com/article/12131-5_Points_to_consider_for_attorney_web_design.html

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