Who's YOUR Big Bad Mudder? - Operation Muffin Top - Connecticut ...

Hey everyone! Sorry for being so unresponsive the last couple of months, but my schedule has been CRAZY. Between Varsity Soccer practices and games and doing all of my homework, I?ve barely had time to breathe. But I?m BACK!!

I first want to congratulate everyone who participated in this weekend?s Tough Mudder (including my parents). I know how much hard work and dedication you all must have put into it! (Not to mention how much sweat and body temperature you must have lost).

But on the topic of hard work and dedication, I want to talk about that application to sports. My dad always tells me that I have to put in the extra time and effort if I want to be good at something, and not rely on natural athletic ability.

Athletic ability can only get a person so far. It can prevent a person from passing out after running a mile, getting the basketball close to the hoop, or getting the soccer ball to lift a few feet off the ground. But it won?t prevent a person from passing out after running a marathon, getting the basketball to swish through the hoop, or getting the soccer ball to sail fifty yards and into the goal to score the winning goal of the FCIAC finals. That all comes from extra practice and hard work.

I learned that over time. As I gradually committed more and more time to sports, I learned that there were more people out there?like me. These are people who think that they will play in the NCAA or play Varsity as a freshman in High School, solely based on their natural athletic abilities. It?s hard to compete with people if everyone is only playing basketball two times a week at practice, and once on the weekends for a game. My dad told me that I needed to put in the extra work if I was going to be different from these girls. So I did.

Five years later, here I sit, still doing what I strove to do five years ago. I play basketball more times a week than is designated on my practice schedule. I work out by myself when I feel like I need to get stronger.

I find it really easy now to distinguish between athletes who rely on what they were born with and those who go the extra mile every day.

So once again, I want to commend the participants in the Tough Mudder. You all really are the epitome of what my last five paragraphs were about. Good for you guys!!

-Jamie K

2012 CF Tough Mudder Team

Source: http://blog.ctnews.com/carozza/2012/10/28/whos-your-big-bad-mudder/

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Unlisted Foreclosures Now Available on Zillow - Real Estate ...

The continuing decline in listing inventories that is choking home sales this fall inspired one of the Internet?s leading real estate Web sites to take a fresh approach.

Zillow today began displaying 1.8 million pre-foreclosure and foreclosed properties in its home search for free, providing buyers information on homes are not yet listed for sale and can?t be found on any Multiple Listing Service (MLS), nor are they freely available on other real estate sites.

With inventories of listed homes falling by 20 percent over the past year, buyers now will able to see a broader inventory in their market, both pre-market and for-sale, even if they can?t make an offer on homes that are not yet on the market. Zillow?s introduction of pre-market inventory enables buyers to see not only homes that are currently listed for sale, but homes that will soon be listed for sale.

?This is another tremendous step forward in consumer empowerment. Zillow is taking information that was really only available to a select group - in this case, savvy investors - and making it more easily available to interested home buyers,? said Spencer Rascoff, Zillow?s CEO. ?What?s more, bringing this information to light, and taking this inventory out of the shadows, can help bring these homes to market faster than ever before.?

Zillow?s pre-market inventory includes:

• More than 1.5 million pre-foreclosure properties: Homes where the lender has initiated foreclosure proceedings or an auction has been scheduled.
• 250,000 foreclosed properties: Homes that are owned by a bank or a lender but have not yet been listed for sale.
• More than 147,000 Make Me Move? properties: This is a Zillow feature where homeowners have named a ?dream price? for which they would potentially sell their home.

Data on these properties include:

• Foreclosure Estimate: Zillow?s estimate of the sale price of the home if sold as a foreclosure, in addition to the percentage and dollar discount this represents off fair market value.
• Number of beds and baths, square footage and historical sales and listing history.
• Foreclosure details, including: timeline of the foreclosure process, foreclosing loan amount, unpaid balance, lender, trustee and/or attorney information.

Zillow also announced it is launching the Zillow Foreclosure Center, which provides consumers with information and how-to guides on navigating the foreclosure process and answers frequently asked questions about foreclosures.

Additionally, with this launch, Zillow is surfacing addresses and detailed information for more than 67,000 foreclosure listings (bank-owned homes currently listed for sale) in its for-sale search category.

zillow

Source: http://www.realestateeconomywatch.com/2012/10/unlisted-foreclosures-now-available-on-zillow/

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BoE's Bean says UK economic growth should pick up - paper

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Report casts doubt on medical guidelines

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Many medical guidelines don't stick to quality standards designed to make them trustworthy, and the situation hasn't improved over the past two decades, researchers have found.

"Everybody everywhere is developing guidelines and there is no real quality control," said Dr. Philip A. Mackowiak, who led the new work. "There is no good oversight of who actually develops the guidelines or what criteria need to be met in order for them to be published."

Guidelines help doctors keep up with the latest developments in their fields and are widely perceived as a recipe for good patient care. Insurers also use them to make payment decisions and they can sway court decisions, said Mackowiak, of VA Maryland Health Care System in Baltimore.

But studies have found that guidelines are often based on opinion and weak data, instead of high-quality evidence from clinical trials. And the new findings show wide variation in how closely they follow quality standards set out by the Institute of Medicine, a prestigious U.S. organization that is part of the National Academy of Sciences.

"If they are not quality documents, all these purposes they are supposed to serve become horribly flawed," Mackowiak, also at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, told Reuters Health.

His team reviewed 130 randomly selected medical guidelines published by the National Guideline Clearinghouse and benchmarked them against 18 quality standards.

Fewer than half of the guidelines met 10 or more of the standards, which include things like reporting how panel members are chosen, how the evidence is collected and describing potential side effects of recommended treatments.

Their findings were published by the Archives of Internal Medicine.

FREQUENT CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

The IOM also recommends that panel chairs and co-chairs be free of conflicts of interest, which in theory might warp their judgments.

Yet fewer than half of the guidelines stated whether their members had conflicts of interest. Among those that did, 71 percent of the chairs and 91 percent of the co-chairs had conflicts - and for U.S. government agencies and subspecialty societies, the numbers were even higher.

Mackowiak worried that conflicting financial interests may create tension between what's good for the patient and what's good for business. For a gastroenterologist urging colonoscopies, for instance, "you are basically writing a guideline that makes patients come to see you regularly," he said.

The Institute of Medicine's standards were not published until 2011, and Mackowiak acknowledged that the experts who developed the guidelines reviewed by his team would not have been able to see them. But he added that similar standards have been published before and that they were basic enough that they should have been followed.

The researchers also compared their findings with results from a similar study from the 1990s done by Dr. Terrence Shaneyfelt and colleagues. They found "very little if any improvement" since then.

Getting medical advice can have far-reaching consequences for public health.

For example, one recommendation from specialists in infectious diseases urged doctors to treat suspected pneumonia with antibiotics right away. But it ended up fueling overtreatment with no apparent benefits, because many cases are not caused by bacteria. Treating those cases with antibiotics is likely to breed drug-resistant bacteria and expose patients unnecessarily to side effects.

In a commentary published with the new findings, Shaneyfelt, of the Department of Veterans Affairs and the University of Alabama at Birmingham, says that until the situation is improved, guidelines are not trustworthy.

"I am not optimistic that much will improve" over the next decade, he writes. "No one seems interested in curtailing the out-of-control guideline industry."

Mackowiak said medical journals and organizations that publish guidelines should start requiring that they meet the Institute of Medicine's standards.

"They should be exercising greater editorial control," he said.

SOURCE: http://bit.ly/RdJrNC Archives of Internal Medicine, online October 23, 2012.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/report-casts-doubt-medical-guidelines-143935817.html

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iPad Mini hands on: Shrunken iPad or huge iPod? (Both, actually)

4 hrs.

Wilson Rothman , NBC News

The thing that hits you when you pick up the iPad Mini?isn't how small it is, but how big it actually?seems. The reason? The much thinner bezel means a much better screen-to-body ratio.

The other thing that strikes you is how well the industrial design of the new iPod Touch lends itself to the iPad Mini. You will have a very hard time choosing between the two-tone black model and the two-tone White model, as you can see in the shots below, but either way, Apple is really on to something with the new, uh, two-tone design motif.

"Does it feel like a shrunken iPad?" my colleague Rosa asks. Yes ... and no. The first thing you feel is actually, "Wow, I am holding a huge phone!" If you've ever held a Samsung Galaxy Note, for instance, you get a sense of what I'm talking about. It's only after that first burst of huge-phoneness that you settle in and start treating it like an iPad, one that is, yes, miniaturized.

I gave the iPad Mini the all-important lie-on-your-side-and-read test. No,?I didn't get on the ground, but I held it in ?my standard reading position. While I think you could still get cozier on, say, a Kindle Paperwhite, this thing will be a lot less tiresome to hold one-handed. Just be careful, because the tighter bezel could mean accidental pageturns.

So, the Apple execs were ferocious about noting that the iPad Mini has the same screen resolution as the iPad 2. That doesn't quite make its screen resolution a "Retina" display (one where your eyes can't perceive the pixels). The iPad Mini has 163 pixels per inch, which is a step up from the 132 ppi of the iPad 2, but a far cry from the?264 ppi of the more expensive iPad. The bump up from the iPad 2, with a smaller screen,?does give everything a sharp look, though, like you're gazing at an iPad interface through some kind of lens.?

The Apple folks are also keen to point out that the surface area of the iPad Mini is about a quarter greater than the surface area of lower-priced Android tablets, such as the $199?Nexus 7 and the $249 Kindle Fire HD. Those both have greater pixel densities, and 16x9 aspect ratios that are?optimized for movie watching. I would say that if you're using this primarily for movie watching, then the Android models make sense, but as Apple demonstrated,?when you are looking at websites and e-books, you get more surface area at one glance.

Of course, the iPad Minis on display ? complete with adorable little matching?Smart Covers ? were all well behaved, running apps as?snappily as you'd expect with the A5 processor.

I think you'd still need to see it in a store to know if it's right for your needs, but Apple's clearly bringing a whole new media consumption option to the table with iPad Mini, though one that's not exactly going to replace your computer. Or your phone.

Wilson Rothman is the Technology & Science?editor at NBC News Digital. Catch up with him on Twitter at @wjrothman, and join our conversation on Facebook.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/gadgetbox/ipad-mini-hands-shrunken-ipad-or-huge-ipod-both-actually-1C6632135

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Lookcraft Is For The Stylish Gentleman That?s Too Lazy To Shop

You're a dude. You want to look good. No, you don't want to spend hours in a store. That's where Lookcraft, a brand new New York-based startup, comes in. Founded by some YC alums, Lookcraft has customers go through a quick (and hopefully painless) style quiz where they click on clothes they like, share their sizing and a little bit about how they like to dress. It then comes up with seven or so items that are shipped for free. There are no subscriptions.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/9Ap3ckqiN1k/

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Stock markets sink on earnings, Europe debt gloom

Stock markets in North America and Europe struggled Tuesday and the Toronto stock market tumbled close to 200 points amid disappointing earnings from U.S. firms and renewed concerns about Europe's debt crisis.

The S&P/TSX composite index was down 182 points, or 1.5 per cent to 12,222 early in the afternoon, after earlier losing more than 260.

The Canadian dollar seesawed, losing early, then making gains on Monday's close after the Bank of Canada said it was keeping its key rate unchanged at one per cent while keeping intact language warning that it will raise rates at some point.

The currency was up 0.01 of a cent at 100.76 cents US. It had earlier traded around 100.35 cents, its lowest level since early August, amid speculation that the central bank's statement would contain language suggesting a less hawkish stance.

U.S. markets were sharply lower in the wake of disappointments from Dow heavyweights DuPont and 3M.

The Dow industrials had their biggest drop since June, falling 223 points, or 1.7 per cent, to 13,123, the Nasdaq was down 17 points, or 0.56 per cent, to 3,000 while the S&P 500 index fell 19 points, or 1.3 per cent, to 1,415.

Chemical maker DuPont reported net income of $10 million US, or a penny per share. Excluding one-time items, DuPont earned 44 cents per share, compared with 69 cents per share for last year's third quarter.

The results fell short of the average estimate of 46 cents per share and the firm said it will cut 1,500 jobs.

And conglomerate 3M said its third-quarter profit edged up to $1.16 billion, or $1.65 a share, which met estimates. 3M also cut its 2012 profit estimate to a range of $6.27 to $6.35 a share, down from an earlier 2012 view of $6.35 to $6.50 a share, to reflect "current economic realities".

Analysts at Credit Suisse said in a report Tuesday that "roughly 25 per cent of the way through the U.S. reporting season, annual earnings per share growth is broadly flat."

Commodity prices retreated on fears of slowing economic growth a day after Moody's Investor Services downgraded five Spanish regions to below investment grade citing their ?very limited cash reserves ? and their significant reliance on short-term credit lines to fund their operating needs.?

Spain has been the flashpoint of the eurozone's credit crisis as the country endures its second recession in three years with near 25 per cent unemployment after the property market collapsed in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, at the same time crippling the country's banks.

Copper prices fell back with the December contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange down five cents at $3.57 US a pound.

Oil fell for the fourth day, with the December contract on the Nymex losing $2.60 to $86.05 US. December bullion gave back $16.30 to $1,710.00 US an ounce.

European markets were also sharply lower with London's FTSE 100 index closing down 1.41 per cent, Frankfurt's DAX off 2.11 per cent and the Paris CAC 40 down 2.20 per cent. The Euro was down 0.72 per cent at $1.30 US.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/stock-markets-sink-earnings-europe-debt-gloom-152545598--finance.html

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LG Optimus G (AT&T)

The LG Optimus G ($199.99) has all the makings of a killer smartphone. From its 4.7-inch 720p display to its quad-core processor, this is definitely the fastest smartphone on AT&T, and one of the nicest looking, too. Its 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor turned in the fastest benchmarks we've ever seen on an Android phone?even faster than the model we tested on Sprint. And 4G LTE speeds on AT&T were positively smoking. Unfortunately, all that speed makes for some overheating issues, and camera performance is average at best. The Optimus G is a beast of a phone, but it isn't perfect.

Editors' Note: The LG Optimus G?models on AT&T and Sprint are extremely similar, so we're sharing a lot of material between these two reviews. That said, we're testing each device separately, so read the review for your carrier of choice.

Design, Call Quality, and Network
The Optimus G on AT&T looks a lot like it does on Sprint, which is a good thing. LG created the gorgeous?Prada phone, so it's no surprise that the Optimus G is quite a looker. Made of high-quality plastic on the sides, with glass panels on the front and back, the phone has a vaguely incandescent pattern on the back that looks different depending on the angle you view it from. I miss the silver accent ring wrapped around the middle of the Sprint version, but the phone still pulls off simple-chic very well. Next to the?Apple iPhone 5, this is easily the nicest-looking phone we've seen. And at 5.12 by 2.82 by 0.33 inches and 5.19 ounces, it's a reasonable size given its large 4.7-inch display.

That 4.7-inch HD IPS Plus LCD is pretty awesome. It features 1280-by-720-pixel resolution, which works out to a crisp 312 pixels per inch. And unlike the?Samsung Galaxy S III?, this phone doesn't use a PenTile pixel layout, so it looks even sharper. That big screen is ideal for watching video, playing games, and taking photos. It also means you get a sprawling keyboard for typing; I actually had to stretch my entire thumb across the screen in order to hit every letter. It's a little big and unwieldy, but so are all phones with a screen this size.

One big problem: I did most of my testing with the screen brightness set to maximum. I noticed it dip considerably after about 10 or 15 minutes of benchmarking. When I checked on it in the phone's Settings, I saw the brightness level had dropped down to 66 percent. I tried to turn it back up, and got the message, "Unable to brighten more due to high temperature. Try again later." This happened on multiple occasions. Especially when using processor-intensive applications like games, the top half of the phone became increasingly warm. LG claims it has not encountered this problem, but this device, along with two test units on Sprint all showed the same behavior in our tests.

Three function keys beneath the display light up when the screen is on, otherwise the front of the phone is completely black. There's a 3.5mm headphone jack on the top, a cool glowing power button on the right, a volume rocker on the left, and a charging port on the bottom. There's also a microSD port on the left side of this phone, a welcome addition that's missing in the Sprint version.

The Optimus G supports AT&T's 4G LTE network, as well as HSPA+ 21. AT&T scored high in our?Fastest Mobile Networks?tests earlier this year, especially for its LTE network. Speeds in New York City were incredible. I saw an average of 33Mbps down and 12Mbps up, along with a high of 44Mbps down, which is about double the speed I get on my home internet connection.

Reception was solid, and call quality was good overall. Voices are a little muddy in the phone's earpiece, with some audible fuzz in the background. But calls made sounded clear and natural, with good background noise cancellation. The speakerphone sounds harsh, but is loud enough to use outdoors. The phone paired easily with my?Jawbone Era?Bluetooth headset. LG's Voice Command app was extremely finicky, and I had to repeat a number of commands over and over again.

The Optimus G uses Bluetooth 4.0, which allows various smart watches and fitness devices to communicate with the phone. It also supports 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi on the 2.4 and 5GHz bands.?The nonremovable 2100mAh battery was good for an excellent 13 hours and 37 minutes of 3G talk time.

Android and Apps
The Optimus G is the first U.S. phone powered by Qualcomm's 1.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro APQ8064 processor. Samsung's upcoming Galaxy Note II will be packing a 1.6GHz quad-core Exynos 4412, but performance there remains to be seen. As it stands, this is the fastest Android phone we've tested?even faster than the Sprint version. According to our benchmarks, performance can sometimes be almost double that of phones like the Galaxy S III. It's actually closer to results we've seen?on top Android tablets, especially for gaming. Internet performance is solid, on par with the Editors' Choice Galaxy S III.?

The Optimus G ships with Android 4.0.4 "Ice Cream Sandwich," which LG pledges to update to Android 4.1 "Jelly Bean" within the coming months. Although Ice Cream Sandwich lacks Google's Project Butter, which smoothes out the Android experience, the quad-core processor still makes everything feel fast.

(Next page: Camera, Multimedia, and Conclusions)

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/xjjwpsVWyAw/0,2817,2411169,00.asp

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A BLOG ABOUT LOVE: Love...or Love Addiction?

When I was in my twenties - oh man - I had a very immature view of love.? I was once dating a guy and felt a lot of "love" for him.? But it turns out that we had completely different lifestyles and goals (he was a very good person, but we just weren't even close to being a good match or being on the same desired path).? Deep down, I was actually kind of embarrassed about the relationship because it was SO CLEAR to me and everyone else that we were not a good match, but yet I remained with him for a long time - even with a pit in my stomach.? And why was I with him?? Because he loved me.? He really loved me a lot.? And so I felt "love" for him back.? How could I not?? He showered me with attention, he was thoughtful, affectionate, etc.? Who doesn't love to be loved?? It's very, very easy to love that attention and companionship.? It feels amazing.? Even when your gut says this isn't a good match or you don't fully respect this person's choices in life, the idea of being loved and "being in love" can feel so good that it's like an addiction that you just can't get rid of - you just can't let it go.?? You may even hold onto it for dear life.

To my dear readers - are you in a relationship and feeling some agony about it in your gut, yet at the same time feeling like you are "in love" and feeling "love" for this partner?? CONFUSING, right?? Are you in love with someone who actually would not impress you if you stepped back and watched him/her from the sidelines in their lives?? Are you in love with someone, yet in your gut, you have a nagging feeling that this isn't the best decision to be with this person?? If so...

consider the idea that you might be "in love with the idea of being in love."

I hope this makes sense.? And if you think this could be you, know that you certainly are not alone.? I've talked to so many women who have been there.? In fact, we've probably all been there at least once.

Here are two things that I think contribute to this problem...

1.? LOW SELF-WORTH.

2.? SEX.? (yep)

Let me explain... :)

1.? LOW SELF WORTH.
This is the easy one.? ha.? Self-worth is soooo crucial in dating.? Oh my goodness.? Please, please...if you are struggling with this, tackle it head on.? Try to overcome this.? It will help you tremendously as you date and try to decide who to marry one day.? Without self worth, it's easy to feel a little desperate.? It's easy to look past major red flags in a relationship simply because you want so desperately to be loved.? Without self-worth, it's easy to get yourself into some pickles.? It's easy to stay in a relationship for all the wrong reasons.? It's easy to latch on to anyone who throws you a bone.? It's easy to think that you won't be WHOLE until you find a partner or a spouse.? It's easy to feel as though finding a partner is the only thing that matters, and that life is really in a holding pattern until you meet "the one" who will make everything feel complete.? I hope you can see how detrimental this can be in a relationship.? Someone with low self-worth often demands that their partner make them whole; they rely on someone else to provide them with happiness.? Oh dear.? This thinking is NOT HEALTHY.? This will not lead to a healthy relationship.? This will lead to one big roller coaster.

If you feel your self-worth really could use a boost, there is hope for you!? :)? And I think feeling this way is really quite normal, actually.? But...PLEASE CHOOSE TO IMPROVE!? :)? There are so many things you can do!? Here are some ideas to get you started, though I am sure there are many more (if you have anything to add, please leave it in the comments!)

• Find a professional you can connect with who can walk you through overcoming this (keep shopping around for a good fit, if necessary!)

• Ask someone you already know and respect to coach you.? A self-worth mentor!? Why not?

• Go find a church or a supportive community!? Churches can be amazing in helping people to understand their value.? The Mormon church has been instrumental in helping me to develop my self-worth.? Though there are certainly so many organizations that could help in this area.? I recommend finding one!? :)

• Speak with a spiritual leader or healer.? To me, healing on a spiritual level can bring about the most powerful changes I've ever seen in people of all faiths and belief systems.

• Get some exercise.? This can do wonders!!

• Get a Dr. check-up - make sure your hormones, Vitamin D levels, thyroid and other triggers are in check.? Physical imbalances can make you feel down about yourself and your life.? You can help the situation a lot by maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

• Do activities that make you feel positively about yourself.? Serve others.? Find a hobby.? Play an instrument.? Do something daring.

• Become a seeker.? Try to figure this out.? Read books by experts like Brene Brown & Eckart Tolle.? Talk to friends.? Take classes.? Search philosophy and scripture.?

• Replace the negative script in your head with a more positive script until those positive words become your belief system.??

2.? SEX.??
OK, I think sex plays a huge part in getting addicted to "love".? You see, sex creates a powerful bond between two people; it DOES create a desire to be with someone.? In fact, that's why it's so dang amazing for a husband and wife to have it in their marriage.? :)? There are few things more powerful than sex.? BUT, when two people who are unmarried and who are still trying to figure out who and when to marry and how to make the best decisions for their lives.....sex can really, really muddy the decision making process; it can make your brain go to mush.? You see, sex creates feelings of love, safety, security, desire and bonding.? But it can create those same feelings EVEN IF you are with someone who you know deep down is not a good match for you.? In other words, you could become bonded with the wrong person, with a jerk, with someone who is not ready for marriage, with someone who is not treating you well.? You may not even be on the same page in life at all!? Yet sex can bond you and make you feel enhanced feelings of being "in love" with each other.? Talk about getting yourself stuck in a difficult and confusing situation.? Some may think I'm old fashioned on this, but I believe in empowering women (and men) before they get married, when at all possible.? I think if you remove sex from the equation, it leads to less long-term roller coaster relationships that should have ended a long time ago.? It leads to less devastating, heart wrenching, messy break ups that can feel like a divorce.? Instead, it provides an opportunity for people to think more clearly and therefore make better decisions regarding marriage.? And because of that, I'm all for it!??

__________________________________________________________________________________

I'd love to hear your thoughts! Do you think I'm off my rocker?? Spot on?? :)

And, do you think you've ever been in a relationship because you were addicted to "love"???Any wisdom or thoughts to pass along?

(first image source: unknown, second image source:? wendesgray)

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Source: http://www.ablogaboutlove.com/2012/10/loveor-love-addiction.html

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Food and Agriculture: The future of sustainability | Platform for ...

From the Committee on Sustainability Assessment (COSA)

A unique report is now available online ? unique because it is a hard-hitting consensus among very diverse and respected leaders.??Food and Agriculture: The future of sustainability?was released by the U.N. Division for Sustainable Development as a major strategic input to its landmark ?Sustainable Development in the 21st Century? Report.??

Abstract:

Our food systems are no longer sustainable. On our current trajectory, severe disruptions to national and regional food systems are highly probable ? the question is when. This report focuses on vital areas of risk and offers a collection of up-to-date information on the current and likely trends for our global food and agriculture systems. It concludes that to handle growing food demand, it is clear that today?s ?business as usual? is not a viable option. Investing in more of the same will not give us different or better results. Agriculture is at the threshold of a necessary paradigm shift and yet, we have not fundamentally altered the way we measure, understand, and incentivize our agricultural systems. A very diverse-thinking group of more than 70 agri-food leaders in the business, policy, ?green,? and social arenas contributed their vision and bold ideas. By opening the silos of partisan thinking to invite reasoned discussion, this report exposes areas of disagreement and reveals many areas of common agreement about strategic options ?that are available right now. It also lays out specific ?high impact? areas where smart decisions will make the most difference for more sustainable and resilient food and agriculture systems.

The key points are distilled in this 2-page Policy Brief on Food and Agriculture: The future of sustainability Download PDF

Nine key areas of consensus have emerged as the key paths of action:

1. Organized small and medium farmers, fully including women farmers, should be a primary focus of investment ? recognizing that private enterprise will play a significant role in many solutions
2. Define the goal in terms of human nutrition rather than simply ?more production?
3. Pursue high yields within a healthy ecology ? they are not mutually exclusive and policy and research must reflect that
4. Impel innovation and the availability of diverse technologies suitable in different socioeconomic and ecological contexts
5. Significantly reduce waste along the entire food chain
6. Avoid diverting food crops and productive land for biofuels, but explore decentralized biofuel systems to promote energy and livelihood security that also diversify and restore rural landscapes
7. Insist on intelligent and transparent measurement of results ? we cannot manage what we cannot measure
8. Develop and adapt public and private institutions that can effectively respond to these new goals
9. Motivate and reward investments and business systems that result in measurable impacts to the

?

Tags: food-security, nutrition, sustainibility

Source: http://agrobiodiversityplatform.org/par/2012/10/21/food-and-agriculture-the-future-of-sustainability/

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AP PHOTOS: Patriots win over Jets tops NFL Action

New England Patriots defensive end Rob Ninkovich (50) sacks New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez (6) to clinch a 29-26 Patriots win in overtime of an NFL football game in Foxborough, Mass., Sunday, Oct. 21, 2012. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia)

New England Patriots defensive end Rob Ninkovich (50) sacks New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez (6) to clinch a 29-26 Patriots win in overtime of an NFL football game in Foxborough, Mass., Sunday, Oct. 21, 2012. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia)

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) passes under pressure from Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Michael Johnson (93) during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 21, 2012, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Al Behrman)

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton (14) passes against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 21, 2012, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Tom Uhlman)

Cincinnati Bengals defensive back Chris Crocker (33) intercepts a pass in the end zone intended for Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Heath Miller during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 21, 2012, in Cincinnati. Bengals linebacker Rey Maualuga helps at right. (AP Photo/Michael Keating)

Houston Texans defensive end Antonio Smith (94) celebrates his sack against Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco (5) with Danieal Manning (38) and Tim Dobbins (52) during the second half of their NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 21, 2012, in Houston. The Texans won 43-13. (AP Photo/The Waco Tribune-Herald, Jose Yau)

The New England Patriots (4-3) beat the New York Jets 29-26 on Sunday to move into sole possession of first place in the AFC East. Rob Ninkovich recovered a fumble by Mark Sanchez after Stephen Gostkowski kicked a 48-yard field goal in overtime as the Patriots held on for the win.

The day started with all four teams tied at 3-3, but the Jets (3-4) and the Buffalo Bills lost, while the Miami Dolphins were idle.

In other NFL action on Sunday, the Steelers beat the Bengals 24-17, the Texans trounced the Ravens 43-13, the Giants defeated the Redskins 27-23, the Packers beat the Rams 30-20, the Saints topped the Buccaneers 35-28 and the Colts beat the Browns 17-13.

Here's a gallery of photos from Sunday's games:

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-10-21-NFL-Photo%20Gallery/id-19d670ea331d455da60aed774a7355a1

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Will My retreat Cancer Come regressively ... - Health and fitness

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increment than , the fair sex are diagnosed immediately after heart cancer some year. adverse to divergent aristocratic them, surgery to amputate cut wart is correct fashion first grade apocalyptic the case stem to stem the disease, with frequent repetitions followed by variance and/or chemotherapy.

give by will My affection Cancer come backward? Reducing cut venture noble Breast Cancer Recurrence subsequently Surgery

means of approach than , women are diagnosed with inner mystery-intimate privacy cancer some twelvemonth. in expectation of various noble them, surgery a long way off prune the tumor is correct the first extent apocalyptic the representation abreast figure disease, over and over followed by radiation and/or chemotherapy. thereafter that, these women may need a great way off award immediately after their medical practitioner granting that far away regard ?adjuvant therapy?-medication ~ off help avert their cancer because of coming back.

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which time a woman?s affection cancer does result rearward or spreads to other energy titled the body, chick may be at greater peril noble departure on account of people of ~ indisposition. Women whose breast cancer is bare in usage nearby lymph nodes at diagnosis and those who grant entrance to chemotherapy thereafter surgery are deliberate far off succor at else hazard opposed to retreat cancer adit.

Postmenopausal women whose early-stage breast cancer is hormone-sensitive gain a novel option as their pristine hormone therapy succeeding surgery. mould U. S. feed and Drug management of an estate late familiar Femara? (letrozole tablets) in the vessel December , to match this faint representation of break in.. This approval was based in the vessel a median of months titled management. high life alertness is relieve expansion to settle the long-term safety and quickness titled Femara. already a leading quiet cancer treatment, Femara is now general practice slenderly medicine apocalyptic a congeries called aromatase inhibitors which is approved for use either anon following surgery pacification afterward five senility of tamoxifen. The FDA be it so Femara a priority review, a sparkling shrinking for medications that could to all intents and purposes offer a emphatic elevation compared at a distance wares currently on stamp market.

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A panel on the ground of the American copartnership patrician Clinical Oncology, cut country?s principal group gentle oncologists, recommends aromatase inhibitors, such taken in the character of Femara, be lot of high rank manner optimal adjuvant management in preparation for this group of women.

?One high-born the greatest fears confronted in accordance with the fair sex who possess been treated for early inner mystery-intimate privacy cancer is that their cancer will come back. with Femara, we at this moment have one election that can help talent that pain at dawn on, regular in patients who we know arrival conventionalism greatest risk titled recurrence,? said Matthew Ellis, MD, PhD, FRCP, instructor of gentle blood configuration inner mystery-intimate privacy Cancer Program at Washington gymnasium in St. Louis.

pathophysiology of breast cancer

In a large clinical heedfulness of gentle blood post-surgery depth cancer treatment, researchers compared sort effectiveness of Femara mitigation tamoxifen, any other remedy prescribed thereafter surgery. every algebra worked in the sequel months showed which Femara necessitous gentility risk of hollow cancer approach backward according to % over the reduction offered by tamoxifen. Patients severing from context Femara also showed a percent abjection apocalyptic custom venture patrician mode cancer money ~ off distant facility patrician make meeting.

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apocalyptic this study, women at aggrandized risk of admittance experienced the greatest countenance because of Femara. Femara lowered this risk by percent in women whose breast cancer had even now spread afar style lymph nodes at the time noble diagnosis mitigation conformably to percent in women who had preceding chemotherapy. appearance perseverance also showed which in these high-risk women, Femara penniless appearance jeopardy of high rank cancer diffusion to timid gift of the rout by percent mitigation percent, respectively.

in this study, Femara was popularly well tolerated with the ~iness frequent circle effects including caustic flashes, articulation pain, adversity sweats, distinction more and nausea.

Tips contrary to agile vigorous

Discuss postsurgery care options with one oncologist. granting that you?re one, five or agedness beyond your diagnosis, disconnection care aristocratic your overall hale condition mitigation well-being can also detrude your venture of cancer accession rearward and give you manner skill at a distance end the apparel in nervous fluid what one. you love.

Practice accomplished nutrition

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adopt time out in provision for yourself

Editors Note: Important soundness notice

Femara? (letrozole tablets) is easy fronting cut helper (coming after surgery) economy of postmenopausal the fair upon hormone receptorpositive at peep of day bosom cancer. make benefits high-born Femara in clinical afflictions are based in the vessel months noble surveillance. give support to follow-up leave be indispensable to determine long-term results, safety mitigation effectiveness.

Talk ~ off your teacher if you?re allergic at a distance Femara or any of its ingredients. You should not take Femara whether you are massive for example real may active element fetal harm. You mould help postmenopausal far away affiliate Femara. Some the fair reported fag easing dizziness on Femara. Until you cognize by what mode it affects you, use teach in advance forceful or moving enginery. in every quarter was an super~ in cholesterol in patients in the ship Femara against tamoxifen (.% vs. .%).

in style adjuvant setting, publicly deemed company assets were generally obliging a great way off abstemious. participant property practical apocalyptic Femara against tamoxifen included hot flashes (.% vs. %), point of junction pain (.% vs. .%), night sweats (.% vs. .%), weight interview (.% vs. .%) and repugnance (.% vs. .%). alternative side effects pragmatic were bone fractures and osteoporosis.

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Source: http://www.womenfavor.com/breast-cancer/will-my-retreat-cancer-come-regressively-reducing-pattern-jeopardy-of-deep-cancer-entranceway-afterward-surgery.html

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Researchers Reveal Massive Encryption Faults in Android Apps Used by Millions

A team of computer science researchers have revealed that Android apps used by as many as 185 million people can expose online banking and social network credentials, as well as emails and IM content. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/ATfCBJ-TarQ/researchers-reveal-massive-encryption-faults-in-android-apps-used-by-millions

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Home Resources Online: So How to Plan The Perfect Baby Shower?

The first step of planning this party involves the conversation with the mommy to be. This will help the individual to make the guest list for this celebration. One will get an idea about the people who should be invited to this celebration. There is nothing wrong if mom to be wants to invite men or some children. Usually the baby shower guest list includes only women, but inviting daddy to be with his friends is also acceptable, and a great idea too. Co-ed showers are more common these days. There are many games and themes now with co-ed in mind.

To plan the perfect shower, it is also necessary that one makes the budget right after the comprised list of guests. This is again an individual choice on how much one wants to spend on this celebration. Things to allocate the budget of baby shower include the chair table rentals, location rentals, games, decorations, dessert, food, favors and prizes. Without breaking the bank one can also have the perfect event. To cut the costs one can cook the food herself, or can organize the get-together at someone's house.

An important thing before sending the invites to the guests is to pick a baby shower theme. This is one of the important things to look at if one wants to plan the perfect baby bash. A personal touch is added to the celebration with the selection of a themed baby shower. One can choose the theme representing the parents to be (example if daddy is a baseball fan) or according to the newborn's room decoration. To keep the glamour of the celebration it is necessary that the cake, decorations, food games, and invitations go along with the selected theme. Some of the famous fun theme ideas are English tea party, western, black and white, and many others.

Once the theme has been set, appropriate decorations should be used for the decoration of the celebration. This can include colorful streamers, posters, banners, balloons, and many other festive things. The cake and the center table should also go along with the chosen theme. For an English Tea Party one can serve finger sandwiches, and scones. Again it's the individual's choice on how she wants this party to be celebrated, so this might include games or not. But remember that adding games to the party always increases the fun, passes the time (so guests won't get bored) and they are always memorable.

Planning does take some work but remember that the expectant mother will always cherish that moment spending time with her family and friends. So hopefully with these simple tips this has become easy for everyone to plan the perfect baby shower while staying within the budget.

If you are curious to see more baby shower planning tips, baby shower themes or themed decorations to help you plan the best baby shower, have a look at plan the perfect baby shower. Providing quality articles, reviews and writings on home and family, house and garden online.

Source: http://homeresourcesonline.blogspot.com/2012/10/so-how-to-plan-perfect-baby-shower.html

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Movie Review: Argo is Timely, Topical and Thoroughly Entertaining ...

On Nov. 4, 1979, a large group of Iranians stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, taking 52 Americans hostage. But six Americans did escape. The story about how those six made it out is the set-up for the film "Argo."

The six find refuge in the home of the Canadian ambassador. That's when CIA operative Tony Mendez?comes in. He's played by Ben Affleck, who also directs the film.

He cooks up a plan to fly in alone and fly out with the six, all of them posing as a film crew scouting locations for a faux "Star Wars" knockoff titled "Argo."

It's a crazy scheme to get hostages out by fronting a fake movie, but it works?and, at times, it's very funny. There are some great supporting roles for Bryan Cranston, the CIA boss; Alan Arkin, the fake movie producer; and John Goodman, the special effects guy. All this and a great story leave you with an engaging film crackling with energy and purpose.

This is no documentary; it's a major studio motion picture, and a heck of a good one at that. So the Flick-O-Meter gives "Argo" a five out of five. Great film, great acting, great directing. This film is Oscar-worthy.

Tell me what you think. Head to my Facebook page; it's called TheBrettside, and click Like.

"Argo" is showing at AMC Mansell Crossing 14 in Alpharetta.

Source: http://alpharetta.patch.com/articles/movie-review-argo-is-timely-topical-and-thoroughly-entertaining-cc23da38

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First Brother

John F. Kennedy listens as his brother Robert speaks at the White House on? May 7, 1963

Photograph by National Archive/Newsmakers.

?I had the strong feeling,? recalled McGeorge Bundy, John F. Kennedy?s national security adviser, two weeks after the Bay of Pigs in 1961, ?that if the military had said calling off the air strikes would have caused the operation to fail, the president would have reversed his decision.? Autopsies are never pretty, especially when they are government fiascos. Just before the start of the operation a poorly advised president, who already had misgivings about a covert operation, made a stupid military decision. He decided to take a risk on letting an invasion go forward without destroying Fidel Castro?s air force. The John F. Kennedy Library and Museum?s release Thursday of Robert F. Kennedy?s Cuban files opens the most we have ever seen of the former attorney general and First Brother?s collection of documents on the Bay of Pigs, the Cuban missile crisis of 1962, and the ongoing push against Castro in 1963.

There aren?t many revelations but, in one important regard, everything is new. As the Dowager Countess so often reminds us in Downton Abbey, blood matters. After the Bay of Pigs, JFK took that to heart, bringing RFK into his most sensitive foreign policy decisions. For the first time, scholars can see the full range of what mattered enough to the attorney general during the long meetings of the Executive Committee (ExComm) during the missile crisis for him to make notes of it. And Bobby was often sensitive to the political dimension of things.

Just before President Kennedy made his Oct. 22, 1962 speech to the nation on the discovery of Soviet missiles in Cuba, for example, RFK made a point of noting the pressure that his brother faced from the Republicans in his administration, Treasury Secretary Douglas Dillon and others, to use force: ?[C. Douglas] Dillon: ... Negotiations [with Khrushchev over removing the missiles in Cuba] will be fatal. Must go in [to Cuba] by end of next week. [CIA Director] John McCone thinks this also and says Eisenhower feels the same.? RFK also took notes at meetings for which we do not have tapes. At an ExComm meeting at Hyannis Port in late November, RFK noted JFK?s concern that political opponents would use any guarantee not to invade Cuba in future campaigns against Democrats. ?? Problem is not agreeing not to invade but the problems + difficulties that a guarantee could cause in the next two or 6 years [1964 or 1968].?

This is intriguing stuff. But it begs the question: Why did it take so many decades for us to see it? Why does it seem that information on long-dead presidents tends to dribble out?

We live in a republic, of course, but until Watergate all presidents, whether Republican, Democratic, or Whig (remember them?) treated documents as if we were a monarchy. Until Richard Nixon committed incontrovertible abuses of power and then brazenly tried to cover them up, a president owned his papers and he and his family could dispose of them as they wished. In the 19^th century, many presidential papers were sold or destroyed. For most of the 20^th century, they were deeded to the American people, with a nice tax write off for the family. Congress only changed this in 1978 by passing the Presidential Records Act. The law did not cover earlier presidencies. But from Reagan going forward we all own our president?s papers.

The fact that this took over 200 years led to weird situations such as in 1962 when John F. Kennedy, who was engaged in sensitive negotiations with French President Charles de Gaulle, had to ask his predecessor?s permission to view documents about what promises Washington may have made to the French during the Suez crisis of 1956. In the 18^th century, when the office of the president was more symbolic than operational, this approach to the president?s household materials made some sense?but was based on the practices of King George III. By the nuclear age, with so much policy being generated by the White House, it made no sense at all. But presidents are powerful people and there was no branch that could force them to hand over their documents and, frankly, until Watergate the American people did not seem to care.

Sadly, Robert Kennedy did not live to fully contest the presidency. But in his approach to presidential records, he and, after June 1968, his heirs acted as if they had been the Kennedys in the White House. After Dallas, RFK took control of his brother?s famous secret tape-recordings and, when they were under his control, lost or destroyed at least five of them. RFK also decided that since his brother had brought him into White House policymaking after the Bay of Pigs, his own documents should be treated as if they were presidential. As a result, they were placed with JFK?s papers, tended to by trained government archivists, and protected in a government facility.

The JFK family, however, ultimately signed a deed and the American people acquired ownership over President Kennedy?s materials, which can be consulted at the JFK Library. The RFK family, however, did not. So, the papers stayed at the JFK Library, safeguarded with taxpayer money, yet closed to all but the family and selected others.

RFK was a complicated figure. But one thing that is not complicated about him is that he was murdered. He was murdered during the American public?s exercise of political free speech. His murder was a crime to him and his family and an attack on the entire country: Who was going to put pressure on his family for his documents?

But there is a limit to respectful waiting. In the last few years, Thomas Putnam, the director of the Kennedy Library, has adroitly put pressure on the RFK family to make these documents accessible. (Disclosure: Putnam was very supportive of my efforts to make the Nixon Library a credible research center.)

The JFK family, as evidenced by Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg?s decision last year to release, unabridged, her mother?s very candid 1964 interviews with Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., has embracedits role in the stewardship of history. Now it appears that RFK?s family is learning from their cousins. News reports suggest that the family, which has apparently still not deeded over the collection, will nevertheless allow scholars to see the rest of it in the near future, subject to declassification review. Bobby was not just consulted about Cuba; there is a lot more RFK national security material to be released. Last week's release was only a start, but it was an excellent one.?

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=e1a082e8c06295097821a491da105f9f

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Turkey bans Syrian planes from its air space, rebels gain

BEIRUT/AMMAN (Reuters) - Turkey has banned all Syrian aircraft from its air space as it takes an increasingly firm stance against President Bashar al-Assad, while Syrian rebels said on Sunday they had made more gains in a key province near the Turkish border.

Human Rights Watch said Syrian government forces had dropped Russian-made cluster bombs over civilian areas in the past week as they battled to reverse rebel advances, an act which rights groups say can constitute a war crime.

NATO-member Turkey has increasingly taken on a leadership role in the international coalition ranked against Assad.

Turkish confrontation with Syria increased in the past two weeks because of cross-border shelling and escalated on October 10 when Ankara forced down a Syrian airliner en route from Moscow, accusing it of carrying Russian munitions for Assad's military.

Russia has said there were no weapons on the plane and that it was carrying a legal shipment of radar equipment.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Sunday Turkish air space had been closed to Syrian planes. Syria banned Turkish planes from flying over its territory on Saturday.

"We made a new decision yesterday and informed Syria. We closed our air space to civilian Syrian flights as well as military flights," Davutoglu said.

The bloodshed inside Syria has worsened markedly in the past two months although neither side has been able to gain a distinct advantage. Combat has been reported nationwide but the crucial strategic battles are being fought in an arc through western Syria, where most of the population lives.

Rebels surrounded an army garrison on Sunday near a northwestern town, in the latest push to seize more territory near the border with Turkey, opposition activists said. Rebels also posted video on the Internet purportedly showing a fighter jet they had shot down in the area the previous day.

Several hundred soldiers were trapped in the siege of a base in Urum al-Sughra, on the main road between the contested city of Aleppo, Syria's commercial and industrial hub, and Turkey.

"Rebels attacked an armored column sent from Aleppo to rescue the 46th Regiment at Urum al-Sughra and stopped it in its tracks," Firas Fuleifel, one of the activists told Reuters by phone from Idlib province, west of Aleppo. He said the jet was shot down while trying to provide air support to the column.

"ASSAD'S LAST BREATH"

Rebels say they have been extending their control of the rugged agricultural province throughout the past week, capturing several towns on the border and making gains in the al-Rouge plain west of the city of Idlib, the provincial capital.

The province is the main base and supply route for rebels fighting urban warfare against Assad's forces for control of Aleppo, a city of several million people that could determine the course of the 18-month rebellion against Assad.

After four days of heavy fighting in the town of Azmarin and surrounding villages along the border with Turkey's Hatay province, the rebels appeared to have a fragile hold there.

"These areas are the last areas around the border where Assad has control. If he loses these then all of the border around Hatay will be under the control of the (rebel) Free Syrian Army," rebel fighter Ahmad Qasem told Reuters, after crossing into Turkey.

"Assad's army is taking its last breath in this area."

Assad's forces still control the city of Idlib on a main highway linking Aleppo to the port of Latakia, making the route an important rebel target.

"Lots of roadblocks of Idlib have been taken out. Rebel focus is now on supplying the Aleppo highway," said Abu Ali, an activist using an alias.

CLUSTER BOMBS

New York-based Human Rights Watch said cluster bombs were dropped from planes and helicopters near the main north-south highway running through Maarat al-Numan, a town rebels seized last week cutting the route from Damascus to Aleppo.

HRW previously reported Syrian use of cluster bombs in July and August, but the renewed strikes indicate the government's determination to regain strategic control in the northwest.

Cluster munitions drop hundreds of bomblets on a wide area, designed to kill as many people as possible. More than 100 nations have banned their use under a convention which became international law in 2010, but Syria has not signed it, nor has Russia, China or the United States.

Towns targeted included Maarat, Tamanea, Taftanaz and al-Tah. Cluster bombs have also been used in other areas in Homs, Aleppo and Latakia provinces, and near Damascus, HRW said.

"Syria's disregard for its civilian population is all too evident in its air campaign, which now apparently includes dropping these deadly cluster bombs into populated areas," said Steve Goose, arms director at HRW.

HRW said it learned initially about the latest use of the weapons from videos released by opposition activists and had confirmed it in interviews with residents in two towns. It had no information on casualties. The bombs were Russian-made, but it was not known how or when Syria acquired them, it said.

Syrian government officials were not immediately available to comment on the HRW report. The official state news agency said on Sunday that loyalist forces had killed dozens of "terrorists" in Aleppo, and had captured rockets.

The United Nations peace envoy for Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, was in Tehran later on Sunday for talks with Iranian officials. Brahimi, who took over the mediator job after former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan quit in frustration, will meet Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi on Sunday and other Iranian officials on Monday, state television said.

Shi'ite Iran is the main ally in the region of Assad, who is a member of the Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said this week Brahimi would visit Syria soon to urge Assad to call a ceasefire.

The anti-Assad uprising has been led by the Sunni Muslim majority and is backed by Sunni-ruled Arab states and by Turkey, also led by a party with its roots in Sunni Islamist politics.

Brahimi met with Turkish President Abdullah Gul, Davutoglu and Syrian opposition members in Istanbul on Saturday.

(Additional reporting by Nick Tattersall and Ece Toksabay in Istanbul, Jonathon Burch on the Turkey-Syria border and Yeganeh Torbati in Dubai; Writing by Peter Graff and Nick Tattersall; Editing by Jon Hemming)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/turkey-cites-srebrenica-appeal-action-syria-041622825.html

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Weekly Mr. Rooter Plumbing Tips: Maintaining Your Septic Tank ...

October 12th, 2012 ?|? Published in plumbing

Plumbing tips aren?t hard to come by, but plumbing tips from the experts are. Mr. Rooter^? Plumbing has dedicated the space below to answering your questions with knowledge that comes from years of experience.

WEEKLY TIP: Maintaining Your Septic Tank
One of the most important parts of septic tank maintenance is septic tank cleaning. Septic tanks do not automatically empty solid waste. The solids rest at the bottom of the tank, and an additional ?scum layer? forms as the water moves through the system from the sewer line plumbing to the tank and out to the drainfield. These solids will need to be emptied at least once every three years or so, but if you have a garbage disposal you may need to empty it more often. Use these guidelines to help determine how often you should empty the tank:

? The storage volume of your septic tank

? The amount of waste water you generate per day, per person

? The volume of solid waste from garbage disposals and toilets per day

Garbage disposals often double the amount of solids in your septic tank. You should also be careful to use only septic-approved toilet paper in your system. Never pour oil or grease into drains as they can damage your system and make septic tank cleaning more difficult.

?

For more information, visit the Mr. Rooter website www.mrrooter.com.

To post your plumbing question visit HomeRenovationGuide.com or comment below.

Source: http://blog.homerenovationguide.com/2012/10/12/weekly-mr-rooter-plumbing-tips-maintaining-your-septic-tank/

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Tazi's Rules For Successful Writing (As Taught By URI!) - Ask Tazi!

Dear Tazi:

I am married to a very successful local author, who has been blessed with enough success that he has been able to quit his day job and work from home as a full-time writer.? Although I am extremely happy for my husband, I am also very jealous.? I, too, am a writer, but not a successful author.? Everything I have ever written, from short stories to a full-length novel, has been met with multiple rejection slips.? Still, I keep plugging on, hoping one day to publish the Great American Novel.? In the meantime, I write copy for a local newspaper.? Our bills are paid and we have money in the bank, but my lack of professional fulfillment is starting to affect our marriage.?

Tazi, I have visited your ghostwriter?s website (I presume she is your Mommie) and was very impressed with the work she has posted there.? Obviously, it is mostly academic, she being a student and all, but it is well researched stuff and very interesting to read ? and I don?t even like non-fiction!? Could you tell me her secret to keeping readers interested in what she writes?? It seems to me like my family and friends enjoy what I write at the start, and then lose interest halfway through the piece.? When I ask them what was wrong, they just tell me that they could not follow the story or that my characters lacked depth.?

I wish I had the time to take classes in Creative Writing, but between work and home I do not have the time to commute to the nearest college campus, an hour away from where I live and work.? I suppose it would be an investment in my marriage, but I am afraid the time commitment would leave less and less time available for me to spend with my husband?which right now may be a good thing.? What do you advise, kitty?

Signed,

Struggling

Dear Struggling:

I ran your letter by my Mommie, and she thanks you for your praise!? Like all writers, Mommie loves praise.? (I should give her some praise, too!? Praise!? Praise for Mommie!).? The reason why a lot of what Mommie writes is so interesting is because I dictate to her what to say.? That?s right; the secret to my Mommie?s success is that I, Tazi-Kat, let her know when her work is something that should line my litter-box!

Seriously, my input is only a part of Mommie?s academic success as a writer.? In speaking with her about what makes somebody?s writing interesting, we talked of many things (of ships, shoes, sealing wax; of cabbages and kings) and several points that she has learned in school stood out, including:

Rule #1: Write what you know; but know your audience, as well.? Although this sounds simple enough, the truth of the matter is that many writers choose to write about what they find interesting, even though it may not be of interest to their target audience.? Balance is the key to finding joy in success and success through your joy.

Rule #2: Assume that your audience knows nothing about your subject.? Because writers usually write about what interests them ? their passion, if you will ? a novice mistake is to leave out vital information, assuming it is common knowledge.? By building your audience?s knowledge you can also build their curiosity ? and their continued interest in your work.

Rule #3: Write your thoughts, your every thought, and leave the editing for later.? This is what is called a ?zero draft?.? By spewing everything onto the written page you will be able to clear your head of all the great ideas you are certain will work for whatever it is you are writing and think clearly about the direction in which you want to head.

Rule #4: Let your work mentally marinate and return to it a few days later.? By letting it sit and coming back to edit it a few days later, you will be able to pick through the truly great ideas and leave the so-so stuff behind.?

Rule #5: Make an outline draft of what you plan on writing.? As your story develops, return to the outline and look for places where more detail is needed and decide what will be plugged in where.

Rule #6: Put yourself in your readers? shoes.? Look at your drafted work with a critical eye and examine it for shortcomings.? Is your plot developed enough?? Does the story flow from one moment to the next with proper use of segue?? Are the characters both interesting and realistic??

Rule #7: Never submit a first draft for publication; you are only setting yourself up for failure. Once completed, leave each draft for a few days (see Rule #4) and return to it with fresh eyes for a critical review.? You will be surprised at how many edits you will want to make!

Rule #8: Ask for trusted outside opinions on your completed draft.? Give a copy to someone you know is not afraid to offer you constructive criticism on your writing, and what can be done to make it more interesting for the reader.

Rule #9: Be open to heavy edits to your draft.? I understand that your writing is your baby ? you created it, you put your heart and soul into it ? and edits can sometimes feel like an amputation, but this is the step that separates the successful writers from the hopefuls.?

Rule #10: Take a class ? or several classes ? in writing and its many genres.? Not only will you be learning from experts in the field, you will also be granted the opportunity to work with other aspiring writers while developing your own professional processes for success.?

Snuggles,

Tazi

P.S.? Big thank yous to Mommie?s Writing Professors at the University of Rhode Island for teaching her all of these important lessons!

Ask Tazi! is ghostwritten by a human with a Bachelors of Arts in Communications. Tazi-Kat is not really a talking feline.

Source: http://www.asktazi.com/2012/10/tazis-rules-for-successful-writing-as.html

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Alt-week 10.13.12: is the Universe a simulation, cloning dinosaurs and singing mice

Alt-week peels back the covers on some of the more curious sci-tech stories from the last seven days.

Are you reading this? Seriously, are you? Sure, we know you think you are, but what if you're just a sub-feature of a complex computer program. A sprite, nothing more than the creation of software. The problem with this question is, how would you ever know? You wouldn't, right? Well, not so fast there. Turns out, maybe there is a way to unravel the matrix (if there is one). It'll come as no surprise, that this is one of the topics in this week's collection of alternative stories. Think that's all we got? Not even close. We'll explore the truth behind cloning dinosaurs, as well a rare performance by singing mice -- all before dinner. Or is it really dinner? This is alt-week.

Continue reading Alt-week 10.13.12: is the Universe a simulation, cloning dinosaurs and singing mice

Filed under: Science, Alt

Alt-week 10.13.12: is the Universe a simulation, cloning dinosaurs and singing mice originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 13 Oct 2012 17:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/13/alt-week-10-13-12-is-the-universe-a-simulation-cloning-dinos/

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