“We turned the former front office area into a cool and cozy taproom,” Hovley says.
Corrugated metal panels were added to the walls, set off by plenty of wood trim, giving the diminutive space an industrial-meets-rustic feel. A large photo of the Sawtooths dominates one wall. The wood tables and bar top were made by local artists.
Barbarian, as the name suggests, prefers to do things the primitive way when it comes to making beer. Wood barrel-aged beers are all the rage in the world of brewing right now, and this new microbrewery favors the deep flavors that wood barrels impart.
But aging beer in wood barrels obviously takes time, and Barbarian won’t be releasing those brews for a few months. No worries, though. The brewery offers plenty of non-aged brews (made by James Long) to get things going.
“We are starting right out of the gate with six beers,” Hovley says.
Barbarian’s opening lineup includes Little Wolf IPA, The Commoner (a California common, aka steam-style brew), Saison, Dark Saison (fermented in Merlot barrels), Big Bad Wolf (imperial IPA fermented in Chardonnay barrels) and PostFunk, a dry-hopped sour beer.
When the time comes, the brewery will offer its more mature, barrel-aged brews in 750-milliliter (24 ounce) bottles.
Barbarian Brewing’s taproom, at 5270 W. Chinden Blvd., is open 4 to 9 p.m. Thursday-Friday; noon to 9 p.m. Saturday; and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.
It’s hard not to miss Powderhaus Brewing Company’s beautiful new building at 9719 W. Chinden Blvd. near the corner of Maple Grove Road.
The handsome 8,000-square-foot building — with its big grain silo out front — really stands out along this quiet stretch of Chinden Boulevard.
The brewery and stylish taproom opened the first week of November.
Owners Mark and Lisa Schmidt made their son Tyler’s dreams come true when they decided to invest in a brewery. Tyler Schmidt and Tyson Cardon, both beer geeks and avid skiers, run the day-to-day operations at the brewery, which draws inspiration from the mountains that surround us.
Tyler Evans, a former brewer at Edge Brewing, was hired as the head brewer at Powderhaus.
Expect to see four flagship brews, including First Turns IPA, Hinterlander Robust Porter, Dead Fall Ale and Prusik Pilsner, and various seasonal beers that will make appearances throughout the year.
County Line Brewing (www.countylinebrewing.com) debuted earlier this year in the former Kilted Dragon Brewing spot, at 9115 W. Chinden Blvd, just down the way from Powderhaus Brewing.
Owners Zack and Laura Kiehl have transformed the small taproom into an attractive space for people looking to unwind on weekends with a few pints of handcrafted brews.
Flagship beers include Shade Tree IPA, Blushing Bride White IPA, Barnwood Brown Ale and Porch Swing Porter. Also expect to find seasonal brews such as RIP Russian Imperial Stout.
County Line Brewing is open 4 to 10 p.m. Friday; noon to 10 p.m. Saturday; and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday.
Two Boise breweries garnered medals for their stouts at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver on Sept. 24-26.
Boise Brewing (www.boisebrewing.com), a community-funded microbrewery in Boise’s Central Addition district, brought home a silver medal for its Black Cliffs American Stout — made by head brewer Lance Chavez.
10 Barrel Brewing Co. (www.10barrel.com) secured a bronze medal for the second year in a row for its Power to the People (P2P), an American-style stout made by Boise head brewer Shawn Kelso.
It’s also worth noting that Barley Brown’s (www.barleybrownsbeer.com) in Baker City, Ore., scored a gold medal for its Ratchet Strap IPA.
Interested in taking a tour of Boise’s breweries without having to drive all over the place?
Well then, let Boise Brew Bus take care of the driving. This newish service shuttles folks around to the various breweries in a bright-green short bus.
The tours ($45 per person) include a free beer flight at one of the breweries, brief brewery tours and, most importantly, safe passage to and from the breweries.
Expect to stop by Haff Brewing, Crooked Fence Brewing, Edge Brewing and County Line Brewing, to name a few.
Boise Brew Bus tours depart from the Same Day Electric parking lot at 4299 W. Chinden Blvd. in Garden City.
To see the tour schedule and make reservations, visit www.boisebrewbus.com.


MEXICO CITY (AP) — A man was arrested Monday in the shooting death of a journalist who worked for the newspaper El Heraldo de Chiapas, and authorities were searching for three other people suspected of having ordered the killing.
Luis Alberto Sanchez, a homicide prosecutor in the southern state of Chiapas, said in a video statement posted online that the detained man is believed to have acted as a lookout outside the home of reporter Mario Gomez.
Sanchez said the man allegedly belonged to a local drug gang and identified the gang’s leader, his right-hand man and the lieutenant’s wife as the purported intellectual authors of the murder.
State and federal police in the town of Yajalon, where Gomez was slain, were under investigation by anti-corruption prosecutors to see if any might be implicated, Sanchez added.
Surveillance camera video captured the moment Friday afternoon when two people rode by Gomez’s home on a motorcycle and the one in the rear fired at him. Neighbors went to his aid, but he did not survive. According to Chiapas prosecutors, he was struck by four bullets, and six shell casings were recovered at the scene.
Gomez, who had worked for El Heraldo de Chiapas for nearly a decade, was a general assignment reporter who covered a variety of topics including crime, security and political violence during the recent campaign for Mexico’s July 1 nationwide elections.
Two years ago, the media advocacy group Articulo 19 documented that Gomez had received death threats after publishing an investigation linking a congressman and an alternate lawmaker to purported corruption.
Mexico is one of the deadliest countries for journalists, with at least 10 slain so far this year and more than 30 killed during the six-year term of President Enrique Pena Nieto, whose term ends Dec. 1.
Jan-Albert Hootson, Mexico representative for the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, urged authorities to determine whether Gomez’s killing came in retaliation for his work.
“Journalists in Mexico will continue to fall victim to deadly violence when the killings of reporters linger in impunity,” Hootson said in a statement.
Over the weekend, Chiapas prosecutors said Gomez’s journalistic work was the main line of investigation.
Chiapas was home to the 1994 uprising by Zapatista rebels, and political violence and conflicts over land are common in the state.
It is currently governed by the Green Party, but is set to come under control of the leftist Morena party of President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, after the Greens lost the gubernatorial race two months ago.
This story has been corrected to reflect that Gomez worked for the newspaper for nearly a decade, not more than a decade.


"It was a nice win," captain Greig Laidlaw told the BBC. "We scored 43 points and a lot of good tries against a tough Georgia side.
"I am pleased with our attack and the way we are scoring points and causing teams problems."
"It was hard work," said man of the match Ryan Wilson. "We knew how tough it would be. It's great to get the win in front of a great crowd.
"The first two games against Australia and Argentina have been so tight, things started to come together today and it's a tribute to the hard work the boys have put in.
"There is plenty more to work on but there is some brilliant stuff there and we want to take it into the Six Nations next year."


C Gallery (466 S. 500 East, 359-8625) - "B is for Blackburn: Spacescapes & Serigraphs" through May 30.
Art Access Gallery* (339 W. Pierpont Ave., 328-0703) - "Tiritiri O Te Moana (Gifts of the Seat)," featuring work by Mataumu Alisa, Les Calles, Taniela Niu, Edwin Napia, Lupe A. Niumeitolu and VaiMoana Niumeitolu, through April 8. Opening reception Friday, March 20, 6-9 p.m. during monthly Gallery Stroll.
Art Barn/Park Gallery* (54 Finch Lane, 596-5000) - Mixed media work by students from Rowland Hall/St. Mark's Middle School through April 3.
Lamb's Restaurant (169 S. Main, 364-7166) - Photographs by Michael D. Bush, through March.
Dolores Chase Gallery* (260 S. 200 West, 328-2787) - Monotypes by Brian Kershisnik, through March 21.
Braithwaite Fine Arts Gallery (Southern Utah University, Cedar City, 586-5432) - "Formulation: Articulation," featuring 66 silkscreens by Josef Albers, through March 27.
Alliance for the Varied Arts (43 S. Main, Logan, 753-7058) - "The Rural Landscape," featuring work by Jill Bliesner, Shelley Hoffman, Jeannie Millecam and Lorraine Randle, through March 28. Opening reception Friday, March 6, 6-8 p.m.
Eccles Community Art Center (2580 Jefferson Ave., Ogden, 392-6935) - Egyptian tapestries "Harvesting Dates," "Work Days in the Village" and "Rain" will be on exhibit through March 28.
Kimball Art Center (638 Park Ave., Park City, 649-8882) - Main gallery: Figurative art by Brian Kershisnik, Alex Bigney, Marcelino Stuhmer and Laura Lee S. Bradshaw, through April 12. Badami gallery: Paintings by Karen Horne, also through April 12. Opening reception for both exhibits Friday, March 6, 6-8 p.m.
Myra Powell Gallery (Union Station, 2501 Wall Ave., Ogden, 629-8444) - Watercolors by members of the Cache Valley Chapter of the Utah Watercolor Society, through March. Opening reception Friday, March 6, 6-8 p.m.
Petersen Art Center Gallery (1025 E. 2100 South, 467-5444) - Watercolors by Carollyn Daye through April 2. Opening reception Saturday, March 7, 6-8:30 p.m.
Alpine Art and Frame (430 E. South Temple, 355-1155) - Contemporary abstract works by Steve Larson and paintings by Julie Jacobsen.
Anderson-Foothill Library (1135 S. 2100 East, 524-8278) - "Character & Characters: Watercolors and Children's Illustrations by Kelly Hansen," through March 3.
Antelope Island State Park Visitors Center (Exit 335 off I-15, west on Antelope Drive) - "Images of Gunnison Island: Utah's Galapagos," featuring photographs by Bruce Anderson, through March.
Aperture Gallery (307 W. 200 South, No. 1003) - "Alternative Processes," featuring a group exhibit of alternative photographic process print, through April 14.
Art Barn/Finch Lane Gallery* (54 Finch Lane, 596-5000) - Paintings by Cassandra Barney and ceramics by Jeffrey A. Goodsell, through April 10.
Arts of Utah Gallery (2226 S. 700 East) - Exhibit featuring work by Gene Stark and other pieces by newly represented artists.
Artspace Artists Association (337 W. Pier-pont, California Rubber and Tire Building) - New works and works in progress.
Atrium Gallery (fifth floor, Salt Lake Public Library) - "Once Upon a Page: The Art of Children's Books," featuring art from the Meridian International Center's traveling exhibit, through March 14.
Bibliotect Architecture/Art Bookstore and Gallery (329 W. Pierpont Ave., 236-1010) - "Views of Italy," featuring paintings by Jean Arnold, through April 24.
Chroma Gallery (170 W. 2950 South, 487-4316) - Acrylics/serigraphs by Darryl Erd-mann. Exhibit ongoing.
Cordell Taylor Studio/Gallery (575 W. 200 South, 355-0333) - Recent work by New York artist Vikki Michalios through March 15.
Day-Riverside Branch Library (1575 W. 1000 North, 524-8287) - "Richard Hsieh: Chinese Fine Art," featuring Chinese brush painting, through March 6.
Don Brady Drive Through Gallery (1301 S. 2100 East, 582-4500) - Paintings by Richard Murray, through May.
Glendinning Gallery (617 E. South Temple, 533-5895) - "Group of Nine Exhibition," featuring work by Bevan Chipman, Marian Dunn, Carole Evans, Wilamarie Huelskamp, Jossy Lownes, Dottie Miles, Woody Renzetti, Steve Sheffield and Sue Valentine, through April 10.
Holladay Library (2150 E. 4800 South, 943-4636, Ext. 334) - "Visual Textures," featuring watercolors by Lisa Scopes Oliver, through April.
King's Cottage Gallery (2233 S. 700 East, 486-5019) - Ongoing exhibit of Utah landscapes and cityscapes by Susan Gallacher, Rick Graham, Rob Adam-son, Linda Curley, Trent Ellis, John Hughes and Brad Slaugh.
Light Spot (1043 E. 900 South) - "GI-GAN-TI/DRAGHGLI/EROI" (the Giants, the Dragons, the Heroes), featuring glass from Murano, Italy, by artisans Noti Massari, Renato Toso and Roberto Pamio.
Moonbird Studio (353 W. 200 South, Studio #301, 322-3816) - Kids art from "Bad Dog Rediscovers America," urban kids mentoring project. Exhibit is ongoing.
Museum of Church History and Art (45 N. West Temple, 240-2299) - "Tell Me a Story: Truths from the Old Testament," featuring 22 illustrations created for children's Bible stories, through April 26.
Nativo (353 W. 200 South, 531-8555) - Contemporary interpretations of antique Victorian jewelry by Cheryl Elliot.
Petersen Art Center Gallery (1025 E. 2100 South, 467-5444) - "2 For the Show," featuring paintings by father and daughter, Leonard and Rachel Romney, through March 7.
Phillips Gallery* (444 E. 200 South, 364-8284) - "At the Still Point," featuring work by Mary Ellen Hogle and Kent Wing, through March 13. Also, in the Dibble Gallery: New work by Will South, also through March 13.
Robin Grey Gallery (430 E. South Temple, 355-1155) - "Contrasting Colorers," featuring work by Martha Klein, Karl Pace and Ted Remington, through March 13.
Salt Lake Art Center* (20 S. West Temple) - "ME WE," featuring sculpture by Amie McNeel and Tre Arenz, through April 5. Also, "James Castle: A Voice of Silence" in the Street Level gallery, through Mar. 29.
Salt Lake City-County Building (451 S. State) - Photographs by Kent Miles, celebrating 150 years of ethnic pioneers in Utah.
Sweet Avenues Branch Library (455 F St., 524-8276) - "Frances ReMillard/Gwen Peine: Recent Works, through March 14.
Twiggs & Moore Art Gallery (Gardner Historic Village, 1095 W. 7800 South, 255-3004) - Works by Arnold Friberg, Eric Dowdle, Robert Duncan, Thomas Kincade and Alan Maley. Exhibit ongoing.
University Hospital (Medical Drive, 2nd floor) - Paintings by Leconte Stewart and art by Navajo children, through March 20.
Utah Museum of Fine Art* (University of Utah, South Campus Drive, 581-7332) - "Close Relations: Works of Art, Their Preparatory Studies and Alternative Versions," featuring work that explores art of similar composition but made from different media. The exhibit runs through April 5. Also, "Directors Choice," featuring works of art from the Museum's collection, and "Exploring Multi-Culturalism," featuring masks, beaded work, textiles, costumes and sculpture from different cultures. Both exhibits run through March 22. Also, "The Val A. Browning Memorial Collection of 500 Years of European Masterworks," featuring paintings by Brueghel, Gainsborough, Fragonard, Corot, Van Dyke, Vigee Le Brun and many others. The exhibit will run indefinitely.
Utah State Historical Society (300 Rio Grande, 533-3500) - "A Woman's View: The Photography of Elfie Huntington (1868-1949)" through June 30.
Williams Fine Art* (Main Lobby, Eagle Gate Plaza, 60 E. South Temple, 534-0331) - Works by early Utah artists including John Hafen, J.T. Harwood, LeConte Stewart, Howell Rosenbaum, Maynard Dixon and others, through March 31.
Bountiful/Davis Art Center (745 S. Main, Bountiful, 292-0367) - A juried exhibit by Utah artists, featuring all forms of media, through April 4.
The Coda Gallery (804 Main, Park City, 655-3803) - "Group Show," featuring David Dornan, Chris Young, Brad Aldridge, Paul and Silvia Davis, Ray Hare, Patty Kimball, Ron Richmond, Doug Himes, A.D. Shaw, Dennis Smith and many more. The gallery also shows jewelry, glasswork and fabrics.
Eccles Community Art Center (2580 Jefferson Ave., Ogden, 392-6935) - Third Floor gallery: "Textures in Art," featuring work taken from the Art Center's permanent collection, through May 31.
Fairview Museum of History & Art (85 S. 100 East, Fairview, 427-9216) - Works by Theodore Milton Wassmer, Avard Fairbanks, Lyndon Graham, Norman Rockwell, Ella Peacock, Lee Udall Bennion and others.
Kimball Art Center (638 Park Ave., Park City, 649-8882) - Main gallery: "La Vecia," featuring photography by Cort Tramotin. Badami gallery: Oils and graphics by Kim Whitesides. Both exhibits run through today.
Museum of Art (Brigham Young University, North Campus Drive, Provo, 378-2787) - "Questioning Context: A Spectator Sport," featuring 12 works of art, through June 7. Also, "That He Who Runs May Read," featuring 42 Book of Mormon-theme mural paintings by Minerva Teichert, through May 16. Also, "From Heart and Hand: Religious Folk Art," featuring Polish folk art, through July 21. Also,"The Hands of Rodin: A Tribute to B. Gerald Cantor." Also, "150 Years of American Painting," artwork from BYU's permanent collection, on display through August 1999.
Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art (650 N. 1100 East, Logan, 797-0163) - "Video Video Video: Productions by Alan Hashimoto" Also, American 19th century paintings, drawings and sculpture from the Utah Museum of Fine Arts. Both through March.
Park City Gallery (592 Main, Park City, 649-4514) - Oils by Gary Smith and Steve McGinty, and pastels by Yugoslavian artist Marinko Cetvei.
Springville Museum of Art (126 E. 400 South, Springville, 489-2727) - "The 26th Annual All-State High School Show," featuring artwork by high school students from around the state, through March 15.
St. George Art Museum (47 E. 200 North, St. George, 634-5942) - "Imagine: An Exhibition of Fantasy Art," featuring the work of James C. Christensen, James Gurney and the Brothers Hildebrandt, through March 21.
Weber State University (visual arts department, Ogden, 626-6445) - The annual exhibition of student art from all of Utah's universities and colleges, through March 13.
Finch Lane Gallery announces that applications are available for artists who would like their work considered for exhibition in the gallery in 1998. Completed applications accompanied by slides of artist's work are due at the City Arts Council by Monday, March 16. For more information, call the Council at 596-5000.
The Utah Watercolor Society announces a call for entry for its annual juried Open Spring Show, to be held at the Tivoli Gallery in Salt Lake City. Slides of work are due by Tuesday, March 3. The exhibit will be only display through May. For more information or prospectus, call 842-2069.


championships and have made more appearances than any other senior hockey team at the Allan Cup in the past decade, but the championship itself has eluded them more times than they would’ve liked.
On Monday, they’ll begin their quest to fix that, seeking their fourth national title as they host the 2019 Viking Projects Allan Cup at the Gary Moe Auto Group Sportsplex in Lacombe.
On Sunday, they officially earned their way in as the Alberta provincial champions, despite being given a berth into the tournament as hosts, and they’re hoping that will help them finally capture that title.
“It’s been a long time coming. I think with this team, the Allan Cup has been a goal every year and guys are chomping at the bit,” said Generals Captain Brennan Evans. “I think we’re doing exactly what we need to do…We’ve been doing things the right way for the most part.
Generals General Manager Jeff McInnis says losing the past few years has stung, but he’s unsure of anything tangible or within their control they could change to make sure the team does capture that championship.
“When you’re talking about beating everyone and anyone, it comes down to the finest of wires. We were up 4-3 in the third period in last year’s final, and they scored two in the middle of the period and that was it,” he said. “I don’t have the answer beyond what it takes to build a team and we think we’ve built a very good team.
That said, he believes they’ve done everything they could to set themselves up for success.
“I’m 100 per cent confident that our group couldn’t have worked any harder or been more diligent,” he said. “There’s nothing more we could do.
The Generals previously hosted the tournament in 2013 in Red Deer, but they feel this tournament will be even better, given their experience, and the fact the tournament is being held in a place they can call home.
As such, the tournament will act as somewhat of a housewarming party for the team.
It was just four years ago that the then-Bentley Generals announced they would leave the community of Bentley in December 2015, due to attendance, and finished their 2015-16 season playing in Lacombe, where it became clear they’d found a new place to take root.
In the spring, the move, and a change of name from the Bentley Generals to the Lacombe Generals took place. Renovations commenced on the Gary Moe Auto Group Sportsplex, and half way through the first season they officially stepped onto the ice for the first time in their new home.
It took a couple of seasons to fully settle in – the most recent of which saw the Generals paint the bleachers in their characteristic blue and gold – but they’re happy with the way the community has embraced them.
Not that there aren’t still changes they’d like to see in the area of support.
Senior hockey is always a struggle financially, given the leagues are “working mens leagues” and they’re not able to play as many games or promote themselves in the way major junior teams and other levels might.
Even this year, the Generals played at the start of March, and didn’t take the ice at home for fans until March 31, which he said is “devastating” in terms of keeping them relevant.
However, the 2019 Viking Projects Allan Cup promises to have packed stands every night, and they’re down to about 150 tickets left per game, so those looking to purchase at the door ahead of the games may want to get there early if they don’t want to purchase in advance.
“It’ll be down to slim pickings. There’s not a lot left,” said McInnis.
Fortunately, should any games be sold out, the Molson Canadian Hockey House, which will be located in the Freightliner of Red Deer Curling Complex next door to the arena, will have three large projection screens displaying the broadcast of the games and the TSN final.
For more details, visit www.allancup.ca.
The Innisfail Eagles are making history, appearing at the Allan Cup tournament for the first time in the franchise’s 71 years.
And they’re looking to make up for both their Allan Cup Hockey West finals and Hockey Alberta Provincial Senior AAA finals losses which came at the Lacombe Generals.
Innisfail finished third in ACHW standings in the regular season with a 9-8-0-1 record, and made it to the ACHW finals where they were swept by the Generals 3-0 in a best-of-five series.
Innisfail then had to duke it out with the Stony Plain Eagles in a best-of-seven provincial semifinal, where they bested their opponents four games to two, including a 5-4 overtime victory in Game 6 to secure an Allan Cup berth. In the provincial final, however, they came up short, losing by an aggregate score of 7-4 to Lacombe (See Page 13 for more).
The team may not be on home ice, but they’re sure to have a numerous fans in the stands at every game – especially considering their roster features a pair of Lacombe brothers in Blair and Taylor Mulder.
The Eagles will be forced to practice in Red Deer ahead of the tournament, as the ice is being taken out in their home arena. They will play in the opening game of the tournament on April 8 against the Rosetown Red Wings at 4 p.m.
A year ago, the Rosetown Red Wings were the hosts of the Allan Cup tournament and came up short with a 0-1-2-0 record that saw them fall in the quarterfinals.
This year, as the Saskatchewan representatives, they’ll look to not just improve upon that, but go all the way and win their first Allan Cup.
In the regular season, the Red Wings and Lacombe Generals fought for first place in ACHW standings all year, with their 11-7-0-0 record and +10 goal differential being edged by Lacombe’s 10-6-0-2 record and +12 goal differential for top spot.
In ACHW playoffs, the Red Wings were bounced in the first round by the Innisfail Eagles 3-0 in a best-of-five series.
Rosetown last made the finals in 2012 where they were defeated 4-1 by the South East Prairie Thunder, and they also participated in the 2013 tournament hosted by the Bentley Generals in Red Deer.
The South East Prairie Thunder, like the Lacombe Generals, are also no strangers to the Allan Cup, making their seventh straight appearance at the tournament, and so it’s only fitting the two teams will play each other first in the tournament on April 8.
The Prairie Thunder, who are based in Steinbach, Man., have made nine total appearances at the tournament. Their first was in 2009, where they made it all the way to the final, but were bested 4-3 in double overtime to the then-Bentley Generals.
They won their first Allan Cup in 2012 where they defeated the Rosetown Redwings 4-1. Their second Allan Cup came in 2015, where they shutout Bentley 2-0.
They were also finalists in 2016.
This year, they punched their ticket to the tournament by sweeping the Ste. Anne Aces in their best-of-three Hockey Manitoba Provincial Senior AAA finals series, including a 4-3 double overtime victory and a 4-0 shutout.
The Stoney Creek Generals, who hail from a community in Hamilton, Ont., are just six years old, but already are trying to do what no team has done in over 30 years – win the Allan Cup in back-to-back years.
Last year, the team won the Allan Cup for the first time, defeating the Lacombe Generals 7- 4 in the final.
This year, they’ll make their fourth consecutive appearance at the tournament after winning the Allan Cup Hockey league’s regular season with an 18-5-1 record, and sweeping the Whitby Dunlops 4-0 in a the best-of-seven Roberston Cup finals series.
Stoney Creek’s first game of the tournament will be on Tuesday, April 9 against the Innisfail Eagles at 4 p.m. They will play the Rosetown Redwings at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, April 10.
The Haut-Madawaska Panthers will not only be representing their own community of St. Francois de Madawaksa in New Brunswick, but the entire Atlantic region at the Allan Cup as Newfoundland and Labrador chose not to send a representative this year.
The team plays in the Circuit de Hockey Senior Roger-Lizotte, and were the 2017-18 playoff champions. This year, they fell in semifinals to the St. Quentin Castors four games to three in a best-of-seven series, but had a 21-5-0-2 record in the regular season.
The Panthers have no prior Allan Cup tournament history.
For more information on the tournament and schedule, visit www.allancup.ca.


On October 30, a major new report on the impact of Marcellus Shale gas development on water resources will be issued. Water Resource Reporting and Water Footprint from Marcellus Shale Development in West Virginia and Pennsylvania, was co-authored by Evan Hansen, president of the environmental analysis firm Downstream Strategies, and Dustin Mulvaney, Assistant Professor of Sustainable Energy Resources at San Jose State University. The report was developed in collaboration with Earthworks and funded by a Switzer Network Innovation Grant.
� Over 80% of the water used in fracking in West Virginia and over 70% used in Pennsylvania comes directly from rivers and streams.
� Over 90% of the water injected underground to fracture gas wells never returns to the surface, meaning it is permanently removed from the water cycle.
� In addition, critical data and information gaps exist that prevent researchers, policymakers, and the public from attaining a full picture of trends.
The authors analyze these and other trends and present recommendations for addressing water use and waste generation going forward.
- Meghan Betcher, M.S., Environmental Scientist, Downstream Strategie.
Click� here� to see the full report.


It is rarely that one comes across people who are with a happy disposition at all times. Prithi Fernando is one person I know who is always in a great mood come what may. Two weeks ago she celebrated her belated birthday on the pontoon where all her guests were invited to rock the boat, and rocked the boat is what they did with lots of great food and a super choice of beverages. It kept the crowd going till the pontoon docked back to the jetty in the wee hours. Her celebrations are always such.
I have known Prithi for many decades and throughout these years, to me, she has come across as a positive person. Generous to a fault, always hosting great parties and at the same time doing great charitable deeds. The latter is done in the quiet and sans publicity.
Chatting with Prithi recently I learned that a media person who always thought she was doing a great honour by featuring Prithi had the gumption to say to her that it was she who had made Prithi well known in Colombo. Fortunately, Prithi knew her for what she was. A crafty fox trying to enhance her financial benefits from Prithi. Colombo is a small fish pond and in reality one does not need humongous publicity to be known. On top of it, Prithi also knew that this fox bad mouths her to other women and benefits financially from them in return.
Prithi is a clever and intelligent business woman and independent in her own right. Like all successful people, she will always have those who will dislike her and happy to relate a bad tale or two about her. She fortunately knows never to get ruffled and rises above, celebrating life and continuing with her good deedsPrithi knows that the main ingredients in life are to be generous and happy.
Those Exhibition Openings : Oh Colombo !


The fifth one was the sweetest. And the most difficult to achieve.
The Sockers' postgame championship trot around the field at the Sports Arena and the trophy looked familiar, but this title was different.
This time, the Sockers were the underdogs. They were the ones fighting for their lives.
The Sockers won their third straight do-or-die game to win their fifth consecutive indoor championship Monday night at the San Diego Sports Arena.
A sellout crowd of 12,881 screaming fans saw the Sockers defeat the Minnesota Strikers, 5-3, to win the best-of-seven Major Indoor Soccer League championship series four games to three.
"This was probably the hardest," said Socker Coach Ron Newman, who had just hugged his wife, Olive, during the postgame ceremonies at midfield.
"We Are the Champions" started blasting on the loud speaker. Again.
"This is definitely and without a doubt the sweetest of all," said Socker forward Ade Coker, who has been on all five championship teams. "To come from 3-1 down (in games) has to say a lot for the character of the team."
Accused of being whiners and complainers, the Sockers showed they also have a lot of heart. And in the final three games of the series, they were magical.
Socker midfielder Brian Quinn--as inspirational as he has been fiesty throughout the championship series--had two goals and an assist.
Quinn was awarded the playoff Most Valuable Player award. He had 13 goals and 10 assists in 15 playoff games and five goals and two assists in the championship series.
"This is the first thing I've ever won individually," Quinn said. "I never had this much attention in my life. But it could have gone to five or six guys. We all realize how valuable everyone is. I love them all."
A nonstop runner and fighter and scrapper, Quinn also had seven blocked shots. Most came while he played on the penalty-killing unit.
Quinn is consistently good at everything he does.
"He looks like he's enjoying himself and he doesn't seem to feel the pressure," Newman said. "Quinnie just has great games and good games. And that's great for the coach."
In the championship series, Quinn also refused to let his teammates get too demoralized when the Sockers trailed three games to one.
"After we lost the fourth game in Minnesota," Quinn said, "we looked at ourselves and realized there wasn't enough intensity."
Quinn continually told his teammates, "It isn't over yet."
The Sockers regrouped for a 7-4 victory in the fifth game in San Diego and a very emotional 6-3 victory Friday night at the Met Center that tied the series.
Entering Monday's night Game 7, the Sockers were a confident, but injury-riddled team that had a 27-1 mark in home playoff games.
Captain Jean Willrich did not play much because of his strained right groin. Midfielder Hugo Perez and defender Brain Schmetzer also played with injuries.
Despite playing with a bruised left knee and ankle, Juli Veee took regular shifts and had two assists.
"It is a marvelous feeling," Veee said. "It is very emotional. I am sad that Jean (Willrich) couldn't play, but I am very happy for the young players."
The Strikers were healthy, but also still were recovering from the disappointment of not wrapping up the series at home.
"Before the game," said Socker defender Fernando Clavijo, "I saw that they were really down. When we scored those three goals, they really had no chance."
San Diego led 1-0 after one quarter and 2-1 at halftime. The Sockers took control with two goals in the third quarter and another early in the final period to make it 4-1.
Socker goalkeeper Jim Gorsek made 20 saves on 46 shots. That's right, the Sockers were outshot 46-22. Five San Diego penalties for 10 minutes was partly responsible.
"Gorsek was tremendous," said Striker midfielder Ray Hudson.
So was the Socker offense on five occasions.
The Sockers won "One for the Thumb"--their rallying cry for a fifth championship ring.
Sockers 1 Strikers 0: Quinn when he got the rebound of his own shot and lined a left-footed half volley from inside the penalty area at 7:08 of the first quarter. Coker got an assist.
The Sockers did what they said they had to do. They scored the first goal.
Sockers 1, Strikers 1: On Minnesota's third power-play attempt of the half, Jan Goossens lined a 30-foot right-footer from the right wing at the eight-minute mark of the second quarter.
Scokers 2, Strikers 1: Big, big goal. Just 17 seconds after Goossens scored, Collier lined a low line drive past Lettieri. Collier took a pass from Veee and knocked the ball inside the left post. Assist Veee.
It was only the second goal of the playoffs for Collier, who scored the game-winner in the Sockers' 7-6 overtime win against St. Louis in the opening game of the first round playoff series.
Sockers 3, Strikers 1: At 1:18 of the third quarter, Quinn and Branko Segota teamed up on a two-on-one break. Segota to Quinn to Segota, who placed a left-footer from the top of the circle past Lettieri. Assist Quinn. Momentum Sockers.
Sockers 4, Strikers 1: Gorsek threw a perfect outlet pass to Quinn at the second red line. Quinn took a few dribbles and slid a right-footer into the far corner of the net at 6:24 of the third quarter. Assist Gorsek.
The fans started to taste the championship.
Sockers 5, Strikers 1: Coker tapped a rebound in the net from in front of the goal. Assist Veee.
Postgame celebrations were being discussed in the stands.
Mike Jeffries and Thompson Usiyan scored for Minnesota within a two-minute span in the fourth quarter to make it 5-3 with 4:17 left in the game.
"Just another typical San Diego Socker season," said smiling Socker defender Kevin Crow.
Maybe even a little sweeter.


UNITED NATIONS, September 26, 2010 -- The Obama administration's less critical stand on the military government in Myanmar has been on display of late.
In the run up to the September 27 meeting at the UN of the Group of Friends of the Secretary General on Myanmar, Inner City Press has been asking a range of Obama administration officials what the US position in the meeting, and on Myanmar, will be.
First, Inner City Press asked the Myanmar question to a senior US official who gave a briefing to preview the General Debate. The official, who has spoken about Sudan, Iran and a range of other topics, said they hadn't been briefed on Myanmar.
But two days later, still no answer had been provided. After another US briefing, about President Obama's two speeches at the UN, Inner City Press tried again to get the US position.
As transcribed below, the State Department spokesman's presentation to Inner City Press of the US position on Myanmar and the meeting initially seems strong, critical of the military government of Than Shwe and other generals, but ultimately uses the support of China and India for Myanmar as a reason not to push for much.
Some point out that the Obama administration, loudly, does not allow Chinese support for Sudan to stop it from publicly speechifying about Sudan, and being seen to “apply pressure” to the al Bashir government.
Why has the US, as some see it, given up on Burma? Watch this site.
Inner City Press: Do you remember my Myanmar question. Did I miss a briefing of yours?
Crowley: No. There is a friend of Myanmar meeting on Monday. We will be participating. And we'll go through a full range of issues. Obviously our concerns about the human rights climate are well known. We have been encouraging Myanmar to open up political space. Clearly they have failed to do that. We have been encouraging them to have a serious dialogue with the various ethnic groups which compose their population. They haven't done that. The electoral laws that they've passed for the election later this fall we believe will not lead to a credible result. Just taking generals out of uniform and making them civilians is not enough. Part of the challenge with Burma is also working more collaboratively with other countries some of whom do have strong relations with Burma. To settle on a common approach and then see if we can't together demonstrate to Burma there are definitely things that they have to do.
Inner City Press: You mean India as well as China?
Inner City Press: There's this call for an international inquiry into war crimes in Burma which was made by the UN rapporteur. France has just said there's going pursue it in this GA. It was never clear to people if the Obama administration joined that call There were some articles where a senior US official said they supported the call but it was never.. I don't know what that meant. Do you know what I'm referring to?
Crowley Yeah I do. I don't know if that's going to be brought up at this meeting or not. Let's wait and see.
If the Obama administration were really behind this call for an inquiry into war crimes in Burma, it seems unlikely that the State Department spokesman would say “let's wait and see” if the issue comes up at the September 27 meeting the US is participating in. Watch this site.


Liverpool and Arsenal are considering a sensational summer swap deal involving Raheem Sterling and Theo Walcott.
The Daily Star claim the Reds want at least £20million and Walcott for 20-year-old hot-shot Sterling.
Walcott, 26, is believed to have been offered by Arsenal in a swap deal for Luis Suarez last summer.
And with Sterling appearing unsettled on Merseyside, the Gunners are set to use the winger as bait in another blockbuster move.
Kop boss Brendan Rodgers is thought to be eyeing a move for Arsenal defender Carl Jenkinson.
The Sun claim Liverpool want the £7m-rated right-back to replace Glen Johnson.
With Mathieu Debuchy and Hector Bellerin ahead of Jenkinson in the Emirates pecking order he may look for a move away this summer.
The 23-year-old is on loan at West Ham this season and while the Hammers want to do a permanent deal Rodgers is ready to swoop.
Dani Alves has rejected Barcelona's final contract offer.
The Brazilian full-back is out of contract at the end of the season and is wanted by a host of top European clubs including Liverpool and Manchester United.
And Alves' agent Dinorah Santana has fuelled talk the 31-year-old will be leaving the Nou Camp by saying: "The negotiations are over.
"If they say this is the final offer, then they (negotiations) are over."


Remember Microsoft's Bing Cashback program, which refunded a few percentage points (and sometimes more than a few) of online purchases made via the Bing portal? Microsoft shuttered the program last June, but its spirit lives on in the form of FatWallet Cash Back. It's ridiculously easy to use, and the only cost is a minute or two of your time.
Start by signing up for an account, which requires little more than your name and e-mail address. Wait for your confirmation e-mail to arrive, then click the link to activate your account. Now you're all set to start shopping.
Let's say you're in the market for some flowers for Mother's Day. Instead of going directly to, say, 1-800-Flowers.com, you'd head to FatWallet's Cash Back Stores page, search for that store, then click through to it using FatWallet's affiliate link. From there you just browse and buy as usual.
Flash forward several months. (Yes, it takes that long--this is not unlike waiting on a rebate check. And I suppose that's the "catch.") After FatWallet receives confirmation from the merchant that you've paid for your product (and haven't returned it), you'll see a Cash Back credit in your account.
The amount varies from one store to another--it might be three percent of your total purchase price, or eight percent, or even 15. When you're ready to turn that credit into actual money, you can request a check or a direct transfer to your PayPal account. I recommend reading the FAQ page so there are no surprises along the way.
Although a few percentage points might not seem like much, it can definitely add up--especially on big purchases. If you drop $800 on a new TV, and the merchant is offering 10 percent, that's $80 back in your pocket. And if you place a monthly order with, say, the Vitamin Shoppe, you'll get seven percent back every single time.
Thus, for anyone who regularly shops online, FatWallet can save you a decent chunk of change. I'd go so far as to say it's crazy not to use it, as there's absolutely no downside I can see (except the long wait for your cash back).


In your lifetime, you've wished upon many stars.
You've spotted a twinkle in the night sky and hoped for love or fulfillment of a dream. You've wished for good grades, better money, the return of a loved one. And sometimes, you've wished for the impossible.
But was the wish fulfilled, or was the star just another ball of gas? For a woman in the 1850s, it was the latter: In "The Rebellion of Miss Lucy Ann Lobdell" by William Klaber, Lucy futilely wished she was a man.
On the morning when she cut her hair, donned her brother's clothes, and slipped from her parents' house before daybreak, Lucy Slater left more than a wretched life behind.
She also left her daughter, Helen, which tore her heart. Still, the decision to flee wasn't difficult.
Three years prior, Lucy's husband abandoned his family, leaving them with nothing and forcing them to live with Lucy's parents. Since she'd married against parental approval, there was only hostility in their home - a situation made worse because they knew that Lucy was most comfortable in the woods, wearing her little brother's clothes. That was unseemly for a lady in upstate New York, 1855.
Men had it so much better. They could live without care, wearing breeches and shirts. They could hold jobs that paid a decent days' wage. She envied them. So Lucy Slater boarded a train headed east, and became Joseph Lobdell.
Fearing that he'd be unmasked, Joseph kept to himself until he could grab a barge to Honesdale, Pennsylvania. There, he played the violin for patrons in a downtown inn, and he started a dancing school for the young ladies of the growing city. Honesdale was also where Joseph fell in love with a 17-year-old named Lydia.
Sounds like a good adventure yarn, doesn't it? It is - and it's even more enjoyable, once you know that "The Rebellion of Miss Lucy Ann Lobdell" is based on real life.
In his after-notes, author William Klaber says he learned about Lucy Lobdell Slater from a writer-friend who wanted the story told. Knowing that the dearth of facts could hinder a biography, Klaber decided to fill in the blanks with fiction.
This book is none the lesser for it.
In giving Lucy the voice of narrator, Klaber lends a sure vulnerability that surprisingly lingers, and wistfulness that adds a note of sadness. He also gives her a feisty single-mindedness and keen awareness that what she was doing wasn't just scandalous but was downright criminal. Readers who remember that important point will love this book as much as I did.
Perfect for historians, feminists, and anybody who enjoys historical fiction, this novel is a definite winner. If that's you, then look for it because "The Rebellion of Miss Lucy Ann Lobdell" gets five stars.


border control on to ports and airports, and airlines and their passengers.
governing the costs. But let's get that risk in perspective.
or below. It's time for a change.
New Zealand is to retain the semblance of a decent society.
well under Labour governments in the past.
important plank in our knowledge economy project.
today includes meetings in Oamaru, Timaru and Ashburton.
and Rankin faces a personal grievance suit from the manager she suspended.
Watch this space, says Labour employment spokesman Steve Maharey.


Italy will adopt emergency budget cuts worth 20 billion euros next year and 25 billion euros in 2013, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi told local government representatives on Friday.
A source present at the meeting, held to outline the contents of an emergency decree to be adopted by the cabinet later on Friday, said ministry budgets would be cut by 6 billion euros next year and 2.5 billion in 2013.
The source did not say which ministries would be affected.
Economy Minister Giulio Tremonti told the meeting the decree would also reduce layers of local administration, eliminating some provincial governments and town councils and privatising local services.
The government aims to bring the budget into balance by 2013 to reassure panicked financial markets about the solidity of Italy's public finances.


A move to Fridays is rarely a good sign for a TV show, which was the case for Raising Hope last fall. So while it's certainly disappointing news that the series has been cancelled by Fox, it's not entirely surprising, all things considered. Still, we're going to miss the Chance family!
Deadline reported the news, stating that the current fourth season of Raising Hope will be its last, and the series will wrap-up with an hour-long farewell on Friday, April 4.
The premise of Greg Garcia's series centers on a twenty-something guy whose one-night-stand with a serial killer results in the birth of a daughter named Hope, whom Jimmy ends up raising. But the bigger picture is the series' emphasis on the Chances, a blue-collar family living a simple life and doing what they can to raise Hope right. In addition to Lucas Neff, who plays Jimmy, the cast includes Martha Plimpton, Garret Dillahunt, Shannon Woodward and Cloris Leachman. Of all the characters, i was always a fan of Plimpton and Dillahunt's Virginia and Burt, as their history and the evident love they have for one another often yielded some of the funniest bits on the series.
Meanwhile, we're left to wonder the fate of some of FOX's other comedies. Fox just gave early renewals to New Girl, The Following, The Mindy Project and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, but there's no word yet on the fate of Dads and Enlisted. If I had to choose between the two, I hope Enlisted makes the cut, and is preferably moved to a better timeslot, especially now that Raising Hope is going off the air, but we'll have to wait and see.


The St. Johns River Water Management District Governing Board approved a tentative budget Tuesday that reduces the property tax rate while continuing to fund initiatives to protect the region’s springs and the Indian River Lagoon.
All property owners in Flagler County, including all its cities, pay the water management district’s tax. Flagler is one of 18 counties in the St. Johns district.
The tentative 0.3283 millage rate (or 32.8 cents per $1,000 in taxable value) is about a 1 percent decrease from the current year’s millage rate and would result in $80.6 million in property tax revenue for the district. The total $135.5 million proposed budget is slated to be funded with the property tax revenue, plus state, federal and other sources (including timber sales, cattle leases, interest earnings, permit fees and fund balances).
For Flagler County residents, the tax rate means that a property owner with a $150,000 house and a $50,000 homestead exemption will have a $33 bill from the district. The tax bill is included as a line-item among all other municipal, school and county taxes. The owner of a $200,000 house with a $50,000 homestead exemption would pay $49.25.
The proposed budget includes at least $13.3 million in cooperative funding for 22 reclaimed water and water conservation projects, springshed nutrient-reduction projects, and enhancements to wastewater treatment and water distribution systems with local governments and other entities.
Construction of the Fellsmere Water Management Area and the second phase of the Canal 1 Rediversion Project in Brevard and Indian River counties, which are among the final components of the Upper St. Johns River Basin Project.
Projects to reduce nutrient pollution in Lake Apopka in Orange and Lake counties and Lake George in Putnam and Volusia counties and downstream water bodies by removing “rough fish” species, primarily gizzard shad.
On-farm and regional water management cost-share projects that reduce nutrient discharges to the St. Johns River, improve water conservation, and result in more efficient farmmanagement in the Tri-County Agricultural Area of Flagler, Putnam and St. Johns counties.
Expanding data collection to support priority District initiatives.
The Board approved a ranking of applications that provides funding for 22 projects with local governments and other entities in fiscal year 2013-2014, which begins Oct. 1. The projects will be located in nine counties — Alachua, Clay, Duval, Flagler, Lake, Marion, Orange, Seminole and Volusia. The 22 projects represent a total of $59 million in construction costs among all of the partners.
The District received 42 cooperative funding project applications during the submittal period that ended May 1. The 22 projects slated for funding emerged as priority projects following an intensive and objective evaluation of each application.
Public hearings on the tentative budget will be held at 5:05 p.m. on Sept. 10 and 24. Final budget adoption will occur at the Sept. 24 meeting at the district’s Palatka headquarters at 4049 Reid Street.


Sherry Black funeral today at 11 a.m.
The funeral for slain bookseller Sherry Black will take place Monday in Sandy at 11 a.m.
She and her husband, Earl Black, ran B&W Billiards and Books from a building next to their home at 3466 S. 700 East. Earl Black makes custom knives and pool tables; Sherry Black sold used and rare books. Black is the mother-in-law to Greg Miller, CEO of the Larry H. Miller Group, which owns the Utah Jazz.
The 64-year-old was stabbed to death at her home on Nov. 30.
Her funeral will take place at the Sandy Utah Crescent Stake Center, 1700 E. 10945 South, at 11 a.m. She will be interred at Wasatch Lawn Memorial Park.


Homes have been without power today after a car crashed into a telegraph pole.
Police were called to Chapel Lane in New Longton, near Penwortham, at 8.45am after getting reports of a Toyota GT86 crashing into a telegraph pole.
Lancashire Police's Force Incident Manager Dave Britton said: "It's a car that went into a telegraph pole.
"We're now waiting for the pole to either be removed or made safe by engineers."
Some 162 homes were reported to be without power at 9.11am with a hope of being fixed by 11.18am.
83 homes remained without power going into the afternoon, with Electricity North West restoring power to all properties by 3.30pm.
Chapel Lane was closed and no injuries were reported from the crash.


Gene Blevins/ReutersA tornado in Kansas last week. A new poll suggests the public feels that global warming is real.
Sunday will be the 42nd annual Earth Day celebration. Here are 10 ideas for commemorating the day, observed each year on April 22, or exploring issues related to the environment in the classroom or home on any day of the year.
When was the first Earth Day (PDF), and what major themes did it address? Are these themes still relevant today? How has Earth Day changed since 1970? In the past five or 10 years? Since the year in which you were born? How had public attitudes and environmental concerns changed by the time Earth Day hit 20 and “shed its humble roots”? How has going global shifted its focus? And how has “green” turned into big business 40 years later?
After searching for Earth Day coverage over the years in the Times archives, students make posters intended to aesthetically and thematically represent Earth Day celebrations from various years.
Alternatively, they investigate who coordinated the first Earth Day and what personal experiences shaped his attitude about preserving the environment. They then reflect on what factors have influenced how they consider the environment and make posters representing what Earth Day means to them.
What do you know about Earth Day and the environment? Students test their knowledge with our student crosswords about Earth Day or global warming.
Or, students create quizzes intended to test others’ knowledge of major environmental events since 1940. Another way to do the quiz is to list the events on the board and have students try to put them in chronological order.
To follow up, ask students how they might get to know the natural features of the place where they live, like rivers, lakes, woodlands, fields, rock formations or even mountains. Can they identify the common plant and animal species that live in the community? Have them annotate a map of the neighborhood around your school with these features and note the species you would expect to find there.
If possible, take your class on a sense of place field trip, using tools like Environment Canada’s Urban BioKit or Nature BioKit as guides for students to complete as you walk around your school’s neighborhood or to a nearby park.
After their exploration, students read the Scientist at Work blog post “Biodiversity, and Green Slugs, in Action,” noting the number of species the author lists in her column. Using this column as inspiration, they then write a similar essay on their experience of the sense of place walk.
A growing number of scientists and conservationists suggest that the best way to preserve and protect the Earth is to focus less on restoring degraded lands to a former, “pristine” condition and more on preserving what we can while accepting that people are a part of Earth’s ecosystems. After reading the Op-Ed “Hope in the Age of Man,” students discuss its main ideas: what is the “Anthropocene,” and why do some environmentalists see it as a “disaster”? What do the authors have to say about it? Do students agree with the authors’ assertion that “We can accept the reality of humanity’s reshaping of the environment without giving up in despair”?
Alternatively, use our lesson “Will It Happen Again? Examining Mass Extinctions on Earth” to explore the perspective some scientists hold that humans are responsible for a major extinction on Earth.
What actions can you take to provide shelter for wildlife in your community? As a class or as a school community, consider following the National Wildlife Federation’s guidelines for building a Schoolyard Habitat. Students might encourage their families to use native plants in their own gardens at home.
Or, taking a page from City Room’s Hawk Cam project, they monitor a local family of birds or other species and blog about their observations and provide tips for how local people can help animal and plant life thrive.
Students assess risks in their regions like rising sea levels and flooding as well as extreme weather and how public opinion about the connections between climate change and these risks help shape politics.
Students can also use the Times Topics pages on global warming and climate change to brush up on the latest news and provide their classmates with regular updates.
You might also take a look at Andrew C. Revkin’s Dot Earth blog posts “What’s A Science Teacher to Do?” and “Climate in Classrooms” or the editorial “Pseudoscience and Tennessee’s Classrooms.” Why is climate change – and the teaching of it in school – hotly debated? Where do you stand? What is your school or district’s policy?
Use our lesson “How Green Is My School? Conducting an Energy Audit” to determine the school’s use of energy.
Next, students read up on green building projects like the energy- and carbon-neutral headquarters of Seattle’s Bullitt Foundation, which is headed up by Denis Hayes, coordinator of the first Earth Day observation, and net-zero energy buildings. They identify some commercial buildings that meet this standard or have achieved other aspects of high performance buildings. They then brainstorm and propose ways to make their homes or schools achieve a net-zero energy balance.
Students explore the concept of geoengineering, or developing technological solutions to climate change caused by human activity. Are geoengineering approaches more feasible than those meant to limit the emission of greenhouse gases? Should we pursue some of these methods, like deflecting sunlight away from earth? What are some potential pitfalls to geoengineering? How might simpler solutions, like installing cool roofs, help mitigate atmospheric warming? How environmentally friendly are so-called “green” products? Hold a classroom debate.
How is the environment represented in entertainment and culture? What messages do these aspects of popular culture send? What celebrities are associated with environmentalism, and what impact does their activism have? Students choose a specific film, television show, magazine feature or other aspect of culture that features nature or the environment to assess and analyze for its messages and effectiveness at fostering awareness.
Because my family moves around alot it made me think of all the Earth Day celebrations that my schools have done, sometimes we did a green up day and others we had a picnic outside in a local deer park. My mom told me a little about Earth day when she was younger. It was really interesting to learn.
However a long ago it was… I vividly remember each student getting a packet of lima bean seeds. It was our MISSION to successfully grow the plant throughout the rest of the year. This was when I visually learned about how plants literally learn towards sunlight.


The security vendor Avast has received a $100m investment from private equity firm Summit Partners, in exchange for a minority stake in the company.
Avast chief executive Vince Steckler described the $100m (£64m) deal on Monday as "a vote of confidence in our disruptive 'freemium' business model", which sees the vendor giving its product — including updates — for free to millions of non-corporate users.
The company's current model is based around providing its antivirus program, which contains similar features to competitors' paid-for offerings, to home users for free. As with rival antivirus firm AVG, this is done in the hope that those customers will then upgrade to a paid-for premium version.
Avast also provides a number of business-tailored products that attract an annual subscription fee in exchange for security features. The firm's freemium model has already netted the security specialist approximately 100 million registered subscribers, according to a statement from the company.
"[This approach] is already upsetting the traditional antivirus market," said Steckler. "Instead of paying for advertising or installation on new computers, Avast continues to experience dramatic growth as fans of Avast recommend our products to their friends. Freemium is the wave of the future... We have no plans to change our approach and conform to the classic retail positioning model."
As part of Monday's deal, Scott Collins, managing director of Summit Partners, will get a seat on Avast's board of directors. ZDNet UK asked Avast how big Summit Partners' minority stake was, but the company would not divulge this information.


Former American Idol host Brian Dunkleman is now driving for Uber — and he's perfectly fine with that. After TMZ reported on Thursday (Jan. 3) that the former TV host is a driver for the ride-sharing company, Dunkleman had some choice words for those who look down on how his career has progressed.
"I chose to stop doing standup comedy and started driving an Uber so I could be there for my son as much as he needed after our life as we knew it was destroyed. Print that," Dunkleman tweeted, referencing his divorce from and custody battle with his wife, Kalea Dunkleman. The couple has a son together, 5-year-old Jackson.
TMZ learned Dunkleman's current occupation by obtaining financial documents he submitted as part of divorce proceedings. The paperwork notes that Dunkleman began driving for Uber in March of 2016 and works about 45 hours per week; it also notes his weekly pay, checking account balance and monthly expenses.
"And I make over a grand on a good week motherf--kers," Dunkelman adds in a second tweet. In both tweets, he tagged TMZ and its founder, Harvey Levin.
A native of New York State, Dunkleman co-hosted the first season of American Idol in 2002 with Ryan Seacrest, but elected to leave the gig after Season 1. He later admitted, People reports, that he believes he would have been fired had he not left of his own accord; still, Dunkleman added, he was "bitter" about his decision after seeing how successful the show became.
Dunkleman made an appearance on American Idol during the show's Fox series finale in 2016 (the TV singing competition has since been revived on ABC). At the time, he said that he was "very glad" to have been asked back.
What Are Country Music's American Idol Finalists Doing Now?


Bruce Smith, Rochester Institute of Technology (RTI) professor of microelectronic engineering and also the director of the Center for Nanolithography Research in the Kate Gleason College of Engineering, has led a team of engineering students to develop a new process of Nanolithography that uses evanescent wave lithography (EWL) to produce the smallest ever semiconductor device geometry.
Researchers from University of New South Wales, Australia, are working on developing a coating that may make cleaning bathrooms less of a chore.
The lead researchers Professor Rose Amal and Professor Michael Brungs of the ARC Centre for Functional Nanomaterials, are hoping to apply a coating of tiny particles of titanium dioxide to keep the toilets clean. Currently the titanium dioxide is being used on outdoor items like self-cleaning windows.
The Kama Sutra Virus / worm is going to be activated on Friday. It has been spreading around the world via email, but won’t begin destroying computer files until Friday, February 3rd.
There are some things you can do. First you should back everything up. There are many backup programs available that automatically back your files up. This should be done frequently because even without the destructive force of a virus, hard drives can become corrupted and eventually completely fail.
Intel announced today that it has reached a milestone in the development of the 45 nanometer (nm) logic technology. Intel believes they are the first to have a fully working SRAM (Static Random Access Memory) chip that uses the 45 nm technology.
Scientists have been debating whether Pluto should be classified as a planet or just another rock in space orbiting the sun. Hopefully this question will be answered by NASA in 9 years. Today, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration launched the New Horizons spacecraft on top of a Lockheed-Martin Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
The New Horizon craft will travel to Pluto and its moon Charon in an effort to shed light on the body’s surface properties, geology, interior makeup and atmospheres. The “flyby” studies will take place in 2015.
Apple announced a new iPod Radio Remote at the Mac World Expo in San Francisco this past week. This new accessory for the iPod nano is a FM radio and a remote control. You can have your iPod in the backpack and use the remote to jump to any song in your playlist or you can listen to FM radio.
Apple computer, for the first time today, showed off the new iMac at the Macworld Expo in San Francisco. The new iMac uses the Mac OS X operating system and is running on the new Intel Core Duo processor.
There’s a cool new tool available to help you build links. It is called PRASE and in this article I will explain why it’s good at helping find sites.
Further I’ll look at some of the other features to see if there are other uses for this tool, such as competitive intelligence gathering and deep linking opportunities.
Really, this new tool offers so much more when you begin to look at what it can do. And that’s what I’m writing about today.
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) may be a great way to lower your phone bills. It is definitely something you should consider if you make long distance calls. This is what you need to know before you leave your regular phone service behind and begin the process of converting over to VOIP.
There are three ways to place a call using VOIP services. ATA (analog telephone adapter) is the simplest and most common way users make VOIP calls. This method allows you to connect your standard phone to your computer. Your ATA adapter converts your phone signal to a digital signal that can be sent over the Internet.
Pulse-Link Inc. from Carlsbad, California, will demonstrate its Gigabit-rate CWave Ultra Wideband (UWB) during the Consumer Electronics Show, January 5-8, in Las Vegas.
F-Secure, a Finnish security firm is warning users not to install a leaked beta version of MSN Messenger version 8. It is a hoax that is a variation of the Virkel instant messaging virus.
The virus uses MSN Messenger client to send the infection to the entire user’s contact list, then connects the user’s computer to a second “botnet” server which can be further used to install more unauthorized software on the machine, such as phishing, hijacking, or keylogger software.
Reverse Dictionary - Ever asked yourself "What's the word for..."
I just happened to stumble on a pretty interesting tool today.
I was trying to find a word for “People that are behind the times” for my previous blog post. I did a couple of searches in Google without avail and eventually started scouring for a tool that did a reverse lookup on a word. A tool where I would give the definition, and it would give me some words that matched that definition. What I discovered was Onelook.com’s Reverse Dictionary.
Reverse Dictionaries allow you to “Describe a concept” in order to find words that match that description. Reverse Dictionary - Ever asked yourself "What's the word for..."
Quadruple Your Visitor Viewing Time!
Field of Dreams By now you probably have read numerous articles about driving traffic to your web site by implementing some proven techniques, such as SEO (Search Engine Optimization), Keyword Marketing, Google AdSense, Pay Per Click, among others. But how many articles or techniques do you read on “How to keep visitors from leaving a website?” Chances are very few.
The adage, “If You Build It, They Will Come” may work for the movie “Field of Dreams,” but not necessarily in the real Web World. Like in the movie, there has to be a raison d’etre — a reason to keep watching, a baited hook. If you remember, the film featured baseball greats of yesteryear that tapped into the consciousness of the fan, giving people something of value, a need fulfilled or just plain curiosity. They will watch the game/movie transfixed for hours. Quadruple Your Visitor Viewing Time!
Microsoft will discontinue support for the Mac version of Internet Explorer. The support will end on December 31st and the program will be removed from the MS (Microsoft) website Mactopia for downloads on January 31st 2006. The initial announcement was made in June of 2003.
Many Mac users use Safari or Firefox as a browser. This could be a problem because some websites have sections specifically designed for IE (Internet Explorer). I usually use Firefox but ran into a problem on a virtual tradeshow website. A marketing website (Marketworks) I use also requires IE for some of its applications.
On December 15th, Amp'd quietly launched their multi-capable mobile wireless service which is marketed to a niche market.
The hip new mobile company called Amp’d Mobile is more than just a cell phone, it is video broadcasts, music player, still and video camera, and also a cell phone too for the MTV fans and college students. The term used for this type of technology is call mobile virtual network operator (MVNO).
Amp’d Mobile uses the Verizon Wireless for the cell phone services. The goal of Amp’d will be to market to a specific demographic group of people. Amp’d has endorsers that are pro surfers, skateboarders and snowboarders. Amp’d Mobile earlier this week announced that MTV is now a investor as well as a content provider.
Mozilla Foundation has issued a security advisory for its new Firefox version 1.5 browser. This is what happens. The browser will hang when the history includes a real long page title / location (like 2.5 million characters for instance). The browser will hang when processing the long file.
The only way to correct this is to clear the Firefox history file (history.dat). Researchers at PacketStorm security group has warned that the bug can result in hackers gaining control of a system, not just a denial of service (DoS) attack.
The non-profit One Laptop per Child (OLPC) organization has announced that Quanta Computer Inc. of Taiwan was chosen to be the original design manufacturer (ODM) for the $100 laptop project.
Yahoo! is planning on implementing a new VoIP (voice over Internet protocol) service to compete against Skype. Yahoo acquired Internet VoIP service Dialpad back in June. In September eBay acquired VoIP operator Skype explaining that this could help facilitate sales, specifically international sales. Buyers could actually converse with each other before bidding on an item.
The service will be available in 180 countries and will integrate Yahoo e-mail and instant messenger service features. According to Networking Pipeline computer to computer calls will be free. I used Dialpad when it was free back in 2001 and was able to call any phone number in the US for free using my computer. Later Dialpad became a pay service.
New Internet Explorer (IE) vulnerabilities have been exposed by Israeli hacker Matan Gillon. This new hole gives phishers a way to scan the hard drives of Google Desktop users, when the IE browser is used. Apparently there is a flaw in the way IE processes Web pages.
Malicious Websites could steal sensitive information like credit card numbers or passwords from your hard drive when visiting sites where the pages are created with Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). These “style sheets” are a quick method some developers use to make the site look uniform with the same fonts and headers on each page (along with other functional appearances).
Anyone buying a car should consider all of their options. Should they concern themselves with gas mileage or do they have a large family and need a large vehicle? If you have a long commute and drive solo or with a coworker to work, you should consider the hybrid option.
eEye Digital Security has found a critical vulnerability in some versions of Apple Computers iTune. The newest version released just a few days ago has this vulnerability. The flaw could enable attackers to remotely take over a user’s computer.
Analytics are very important to your web marketing campaign. If you do not use analytics properly you may not understand how effective your search engine marketing is.
In this article I look at some practical examples of when to use analytics and some things you need to identify in order to get the most out of your analytics.
SEO and Search Engine Forums & Conferences :: are they really helpful?
Working in the SEO/SEM industry can be very rewarding. Many times a problem can be solved simply with a little online research, and posts on a few forums. All to often, however, some people put too much stock in the posts they see, ultimately negatively impacting their SEO efforts.
In this article I look at some of the positives and negatives of online SEM forums and attending SEM and SEO conferences. As part of my daily routine I visit a few of the search engine forums out there to see what people are talking about and what some have noticed. SEO and Search Engine Forums & Conferences :: are they really helpful?
The necessity for better email management and email archiving grows everyday. Email (electronic mail) changes and evolves with technology. In order to understand the email management technology that will be best for you or for your business let’s take a step back and look at the origins of email itself.
1. Check your website statistics on a weekly basis. Are You Marketing Your Website?
The history occurring in recent patent applications reveals more efficient production of Ethanol from Biomass using transgenomics.
Ethanol production requires nearly complete hydrolysis. Most of the commercial applications for cellulase enzymes represent higher value markets than the fuel market. For this reason, enzymatic hydrolysis of biomass to ethanol remains non-competitive.
A new news aggregator has been developed and is available for use in a beta version. The new website, Inform.com, appears to have more bells and whistles than other aggregators including Yahoo, Google News and Topix but with fewer news sources.
Since the site is in beta more sources might be expected in the future, after all Google and others are continually adding new news sources.
The Apple Computer Inc. iPod is one of the most popular devices of the new millennium. Madison Avenue’s favorite target audience with billions of dispensable income and no mortgage payments is the new generation born after 1985. Call the generation what you want, but they have made Apple very successful again by buying up the new iPod.
I finally broke down and bought a couple pre-paid cell phones. This type of service is great for someone like me that does not use the cell phone much. It is also a great alternative for parents that worry about their kids running up a huge bill.
Parents can give their children an allotted of minutes / money to make calls. After the allotment is used upthe parent can choose to recharge the phone either with a credit card or over the Internet.
Google Inc. has introduced a completely new search engine devoted to blogs. The Google search already indexes blogs, but the links to them are sometimes buried among other webpages. The pages become outdated as the content changes so many surfers are taken to pages that have changed since the regular Google Search indexed it.
Apple Computer unveiled its new iPod last week. The new Nano plays music, displays photos and is extremely small. Like computers, the size of the iPod is shrinking. The new Nano is about the size of a deck of cards, but a little thinner.
Older iPods used a tiny hard drive to story songs. The new Nano uses solid state memory technology to not only increase the speed and reduce the size, but to extend the battery life as well. The Nano can last more than 14 hours on a single charge.
Spamhaus made a claim that Internet giant Yahoo! hosts thousands of phishing websites. The press was given examples of some words including Bank, Paypal, and eBay. Here is how the fraud works. An email may prompt a user to click on a website called yourBank.com to updated your personal information. The email recipient may click on the link and become a victim of identity theft fraud after providing the private information.
Recently Motorola won FCC approval for a new phone that features an Apple iTunes player. If the rumors are right, Apple will be announcing a new iPod phone in partnership with Motorola and Cingular Wireless. Most insiders have predicted this marriage between phone an iPod for years.
A joint effort between the University of Texas and Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization has created industrial-ready material made of nanotubes. The scientists reported this in the Friday edition of the journal Science.
A new security hole in Windows XP was reported on Wednesday by the French Security Incident Response Team (FrSIRT). A file called Msdds.dll (Microsoft DDS Library Shape Control file) is put into the hard drive when Visual Studio 2002 or certain Microsoft (MS) Office XP products are installed.
The new security patch for the Apple Computer Tiger Operating System prevented 64-bit applications from running. A corrected patch can be found at Apples website. Some of the newer high-end applications have been compiled for 64 bit operation. Standard 32 bit programs continued to work.
The new update, 2005-007 version 1.1, will replace the original patch issued on Monday. The original patch omitted the 64 bit version of LibSystem. The original patch was also updated to correct the flaw.
Last Friday Microsoft warned there were vulnerabilities in their plug-and-play feature. There are three critical security flaws and one could potentially allow hackers to seize complete control of a computer.
Since the announcement malware writers have been producing various worms to exploit the hole. They all are variants of the Zotob, as well as other bots (robot worms) and are spreading much faster than the original.
Fireplaces and fireplace mantels are fast becoming a core feature in homes across the world as they add a real feature point to any formal or indeed casual living area. Funnily enough fireplaces have had a relatively short history, considering that fire itself has been around for hundreds of thousands of years.
The Mountain View CA Mozilla Foundation announced Wednesday it will launch a for-profit subsidiary that will continue to develop the Firefox web browser and Thunderbird email client. The subsidiary, called Mozilla Corporation was necessary to eliminate legal and tax issues that might arise if the Mozilla foundation tried to make money from its desktop products.
Why would anyone want a second mouse button? Apple believes the consumer wants it, so they have introduced the new Mighty Mouse. Actually, Apple went beyond the second button to install a “single upper shell” that features touch sensitive clicking.
AMD (Advanced Micro Devices) introduced it’s new Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 3800+ on Monday. AMD has also cut prices of their earlier CPU models.
The new model is rated at 2.0 GHz and includes 512K of L2 cache memory. Dual core is a way of splitting the processor so it can complete two tasks simultaneously at a faster speed. Half of the processor can be rendering images while the other is crunching numbers or coordinates for a game. The processor is quicker because it can multi-task, according to the company.
A new planet has been spotted. Astronomers in California have officially identified 2003UB313 as the 10 planet orbiting our sun. They are calling the new planet Xena.
PASADENA, CA - Back in April of this year, my family joined the 21st century when we purchased an iPod. We were in the Apple Store, which I started going to frequently after I purchased a Mini Mac to play with, and we noticed that our oldest son was really interested in an iPod. Since it was right after his birthday, we thought that an iPod Mini might be a good idea, and he was quite enthusiastic about it. Since I had just bought a Mini Mac recently, I was motivated to buy another Apple product (the Mini Mac is really cool, more on that another time).
PASADENA, CA - In another article I mentioned that one of the reasons for the purchase of the iPod was that I would exercise more. Now that I own one, do I exercise more? The answer is … yes!
One of my joys of owning an iPod is walking around the city I live in, Pasadena, and escaping from the moment through the magic of the music. With the tunes that I want to hear a few quick flicks of my fingers away, I wander the neighborhood slowly, window shopping, observing my fellow pedestrians, casting an indifferent eye at traffic, all while enjoying the serenity of the iPod experience. I’ve entered the local record shop (yes, it still exists and it does sell some records) listening to the new Gorillaz album Demon Days, and exited later immersed in the Overture from Tannhäuser. I have the freedom, which wasn’t possible before my iPod, to listen to any of the 5300 + songs on it, all of which I own legally, at any place and at any time!
I have a confession to make. I’ve always wanted one, maybe even secretly desired one. Professional curiosity, the coolness factor, the desire to work with something different, I’m not sure what it was exactly, probably a bit of all of them all, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the cost of adopting a new platform.
Rob Sullivan is a SEO Consultant and Writer for http://www.textlinkbrokers.com. Textlinkbrokers is the trusted leader in building long term rankings through safe and effective link building.


GARY CAHILL has not yet won a Premier League title, unlike some other members of the Chelsea squad.
But right now the England defender can scent one on the horizon –and he wants it.
Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea squad still has a core of players who know what it takes to win a title, men like John Terry, Frank Lampard, Petr Cech, Ashley Cole, Michael Essien and John Obi Mikel.
They are players who have been the distance, know the pitfalls, know what it takes over the nine hard months of the English season.
Coupled with the fast emerging, exciting young talent that is slowly but surely this season turning Chelsea into genuine contenders, Cahill believes that his side now have what it takes.
Chelsea’s comprehensive 3-1 win over Manchester United on Sunday at Stamford Bridge not only virtually ended any hope David Moyes’ side had of being contenders. It also made their hopes of a top four place all that more demanding.
Perhaps, more importantly though, Chelsea’s clinical dominance of the game against their old rivals showed for perhaps the first time that Jose Mourinho’s side are beginning to be forged into a genuine force by the Portuguese, after an uncertain start to the campaign.
Cahill, 28, sees the hunger that still resides in players like Terry and Lampard for a fourth title in the Roman Abramovich era and he shares it.
He said: “It’s one of the biggest trophies you can win and I’m sure the lads who have won it before would say the same thing. They’re just as hungry as me to do it again.
The victory took Mourinho’s record of unbeaten home games in the league in his two spells in charge to 71 now.
Cahill said: “It is an incredible record and one day it will come to an end, but hopefully not too soon.
“We have confidence whenever we play at home, which we should have, and always manage to get results here.
“Hopefully that will continue for the rest of the season, but the main thing for us is consistency, to keep performing every week. The lads have got the drive to do that right now and things are going well.
“United are not having the season they would have hoped for, but nevertheless that was a huge fixture no matter how you look at it so we’re obviously very pleased.
“I don’t want to jinx the record – but we do turn up against the big teams. We’ve put in good performances against them and not dropped too many points. If we can stay consistent, which at the moment we are, we have a good feeling among the group and we’re going about our business quietly. Arsenal and Man City are not dropping points either, but this was a great win for us.
“We are going about our business quietly. Hopefully we keep moving forward. We’re starting to play better, we’re defending well. We’re around the top, just a few points behind.
Chelsea are unbeaten in seven games against the top teams this season, and their match at in-form Manchester City at the Etihad on Monday week has been touted by pundits as a possible early title decider.
But Cahill does not see it like that. He said: “I don’t think it’s a decider. There is a long way to go, we’re just over halfway through the season. There have been times where we’ve slipped up and they’ve slipped up away from home.
“We know how devastating they are at home, it’s going to be tough. We beat them here and it’s going to be even harder up there to get a result. It’s one to look forward too.
Mourinho, meanwhile, celebrated the win in painful fashion as he flew to Paris yesterday for surgery on an old elbow injury.
And Samuel Eto’o says he wants to end his career with Mallorca.


How do I know when I should exit a trade?
Are there some rules on this that I can follow?
Many traders approach their strategy with one thing in mind: establishing the qualifications for entry. The ‘edge’ if you will. From there, the trade should take care of itself, right? Not really. How you manage a trade after it has been taken is perhaps the most important dynamic to a true strategy (as opposed to approaching the market trade by trade). Once in a trade, you have cast your line; and the result will ultimately be a gain or a loss. Yet, unless you think this one trade will make you wealthy enough to retire after its closed; it is important to establish some consistent (if flexible) parameters for when you should exit the market with a profit or (preferably) a tolerable loss. What are the considerations you should account for when looking for the exit?
The first rule for plotting your exit is to have some notion of how you will get out of your trade before you even put it on. For those traders that are utter beginners, we usually hammer home the concept of defining a hard stop and target before you even enter a position. This is just a suggestion to instill good habits – namely: don’t trade with emotions. That being said, absolutes aren’t conducive to trading. You need to retain some level of flexibility for a market and financial structure that is adaptable. Nonetheless, we still need to establish some ground rules; because a preconceived notion of an exit can bring significant clarity to the success or failure of your trade. It is a good exercise to ask yourself in the middle of a trade whether this is a good position or not and why. Even those supremely confident in their trading skills and can answer the first question will still have to take a cold hard look at their reasoning.
When going about establishing exit points, you should consider a ‘graceful’ exit whether you have a winning or losing trade. Both scenarios should be accounted for on the initial development of the trade. A stop is pretty straight forward. If the market has broken a specific technical level or the notional loss on the position breaches your tolerance level, it is time to exit and reassess (never right-off a pair altogether, you will have to trade the pair again sometime in the future). Yet, I like to combine technicals and money management when establishing my own stops. I will typically only risk 1 to 5 percent of my total equity on any single trade. That is a hard fast rule. Now, I look at the technical scenario. If a reasonable place to set my stop is too far from the entry or it happens to be very close, I will use that level and simply alter my position size such that my total risk will always fit that 1 to 5 percent rule while maintaining the technical setup.
Targets are a different story. As it is often said: “you should cut your losers and let your winners run.” This is advice to live by; but how? Well, we have capped our losses; but balancing your take-profit is more difficult. The first thing to do is refer back to your stop. How much risk did you take on the outlay? Your trade should be able to compensate for that risk and more. But, how do we do this without leaving the trade open to emotions taking control and stopping a trade out too soon or keeping it on for so long that it reverses? What if we set our first target near or equal to the initial risk taken? This target should be set within meaningful technical bounds so that nothing prevents the setup from playing out aside from natural market forces. With this approach, we are trading with multiple objectives. That first target is to simply reduce the risk with the trade. A big emotional weight will be lifted when you book this allotment. To further lift the haze of fear and greed, we can trail the stop on the remaining portion of the position. Now, with the remaining half of the position, you can ‘let your profits run.’ If you initially entered a trade with the belief that it would force a medium-term breakout; and you just took half profit and curbed your risk. You can now wait for that move to happen with a cool head. For the second half, it is important not to just let it drift. Have a target level or wait for momentum to turn against your position (the end of or pause in a trend).
This further leads us to consider: how long should all of this take? Too few people actually consider when they go into a trade that it should take X-number of minutes, hours or days. Typically, they wait until their patience is tested; and that is when their good trading habits start to break down. A simple way to establish how long a trade should take is to first consider what time frame you are looking at your charts or fundamental developments. If you are waiting for global economic activity to accelerate, then you are talking about a broad driver that can take weeks or months. If you are looking at a range and potential breakout candidate on a daily chart that has taken three weeks to develop, allow for at least a couple days. If you have watched a repeatable pattern develop on a five minute chart; your scalp should develop over approximately the same time as the previous pattern. And, what should you do after your time is up? Exit. Don’t think twice. Just exit the trade and reassess when that pair will once again be a good long or short.


Facebook's new Home software on Android means still more ways to interact with people whom you're not actually with at the time. Is that always a good thing?
If you're one of the people who get Facebook's new Home software, your social-media life will be front and center whenever you pick up your phone. It's literally putting Facebook in your face.
While that may have appeal to heavy-duty Facebook users who want to be in constant touch with their social graph, it raises some issues about "presence." People have their phones with them almost all the time, including when they're interacting with friends, family, and work colleagues, and many of us (myself included) have a habit of paying attention to our phones when, perhaps, we should be paying attention to the people around us.
Facebook isn't creating any new problems with this software, but it is making it even easier to be distracted. For some that's not a problem. For others it's a small problem, and for some -- including people who may have some some deeper issues like Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), it can be a major issue. And though it has yet to be officially recognized in the United States, there are Asian countries that recognize a condition that's being called "Internet Addiction Disorder."
To find out more, I spoke with three experts: Dr. Jeff Szymanski, a clinical psychologist and executive director of the International OCD Foundation, Robin Maier, a Tampa-based Licensed Clinical Social Worker, who has blogged about ADD and texting, and Dr. Michael Rich, the director of the Center on Media and Child Health at Boston Children's Hospital (scroll down for podcast interview).
I asked each of them to help me understand where to draw the line between normal, though perhaps sometimes annoying, use of technology and when it becomes a serious problem. All three used the traditional definition of addiction: when it interferes with family life, work, or achieving your goals. Szymanski made the distinction of when constant attention to a phone might be necessary versus when it's not. "If a sports editor checks scores several times a day, it might make sense," he said. But if it's not a job requirement and you do it so often that it "interferes with your work, your relationships, and your day-to-day functioning," it could be an unhealthy compulsive behavior. Maier worries that people "on the ADD spectrum who find it harder to stay focused" could easily be distracted by their phones to the point that "it affects their personal relationships."
Dr. Rich asks people to think about whether they're using their device "more and more all the time in order to get the same level of satisfaction," whether they "start to experience negative symptoms" when they're away from it, and whether they're willing "to take on negative consequences such as your wife being angry with you or your colleagues being annoyed with you in order to maintain that habit."
Disclosure: Larry Magid is co-director of ConnectSafely.org, a nonprofit Internet-safety organization that receives financial support from Facebook.
Click below to listen to podcast interview with Dr. Rich.


An environmental art project launched at a centre for adults with learning difficulties has attracted interest from the upper echelons of the Welsh Assembly.
The sculptor Richard Houghton and service users at Tyddyn Môn, on Anglesey, have been building artworks with stuff that has been thrown away.
The project is titled "Heglu", which translates as "legging it", and is funded by the Arts Council for Wales.
Richard, who teaches at Coleg Menai, said: "I get a real buzz from discovering materials that other people have thrown away. The materials inspire the final shape and form of my sculptures.
"Reusing materials is a key theme in my work, but Heglu is also about others responding to and modifying my sculptures, and the people at Tyddyn Môn have been great at this."
The project, which is being documented by the photographer Tom Simone, has created a lot of interest and even prompted a visit from Welsh Assembly officials.
Jane Davidson, Welsh Assembly minister for environment, sustainability and housing, said: "Sending waste to landfill sites to rot is no longer an option and we must look at ways of reducing, re-using and recycling.
"Heglu is a good example of how people can take up the challenge. It helps illustrate what can be done to make Wales greener and more sustainable."
As part of the project Richard will build a large sculpture which will be exhibited at Anglesey tip.
The waste management division of Anglesey Council, which has been very successful in rolling out its recycling collection schemes, is a partner in the project.
The work created at Tyddyn Môn will be exhibited at the Ucheldre Centre in Holyhead later in the year, as well as other venues around Wales.


TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran has begun uranium enrichment at a new underground site well protected from possible airstrikes, a leading hardline newspaper reported Sunday.
Kayhan daily, which is close to Iran's ruling clerics, said Tehran has begun injecting uranium gas into sophisticated centrifuges at the Fordo facility near the holy city of Qom.
Uranium enrichment lies at the heart of Iran's dispute with the West. The technology can be used to produce nuclear fuel, but also materials for atomic bombs.
The U.S. and other countries accuse Iran of developing weapons, but Tehran says it only seeks reactors for energy and research, and refuses to halt its uranium enrichment activities.
"Kayhan received reports yesterday that show Iran has begun uranium enrichment at the Fordo facility amid heightened foreign enemy threats," the paper said in a front-page report. Kayhan's manager is a representative of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
But Iran's nuclear chief Fereidoun Abbasi said late Saturday that his country will "soon" begin enrichment at Fordo. It was impossible to immediately reconcile the two reports.
Iran has a major uranium enrichment facility in Natanz in central Iran where nearly 8,000 centrifuges are operating. Tehran began enrichment at Natanz in April 2006.
The Fordo centrifuges however are reportedly more efficient, and the site better shielded from aerial attack.
Both the U.S. and Israel have not ruled out a military strike should Iran continue with its program.
Tehran however says it needs its enrichment program to produce fuel for future nuclear reactors and medical radioisotopes needed for cancer patients.
The country has been enriching uranium to less than 5 percent for years, but it began to further enrich part of its uranium stockpile to nearly 20 percent as of February 2010, saying it needs the higher grade material to produce fuel for a Tehran reactor that makes medical radioisotopes needed for cancer patients. Weapons-grade uranium is usually about 90 percent enriched.
Iran says the higher enrichment activities — of nearly 20 percent — will be carried out at Fordo. These operations are of particular concern to the West because uranium at 20 percent enrichment can be converted into fissile material for a nuclear warhead much more quickly than that at 3.5 percent.
Buried under 300 feet (90 meters) of rock, the facility is a hardened tunnel and is protected by air defense missile batteries and the Revolutionary Guard, Iran's most powerful military force. The site is located about 12 miles (20 kilometers) north of Qom, the religious nerve center of Iran's ruling system.
"The Fordo facility, like Natanz, has been designed and built underground. The enemy doesn't have the ability to damage it," the semiofficial Mehr news agency quoted Abbasi as saying Sunday.


BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — The Holiday Lights at CALM are out tonight, Christmas Eve according to a Facebook post from the zoo.
They are officially canceling the Holiday Lights tonight due to a power outage and will be closed tomorrow as well.
The zoo and Holiday Lights will reopen on Wednesday, December 26.


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This is a brave man. Despite the fact that the engine on his circa 1980 Ford Fairmont sounds like a sewing machine and is clearly about to explode, he takes it to the drag strip and sprays nitrous through the whole run.
After running a 10.20, the tech guy tells him to cool it (because he doesn't have a cage), so the driver promises to keep it over 11.50. Of course once he's back in the dingy, stained interior of his fantastic Malaise mobile, he unveils his secret plot to break into the 9s on the last run.