(ARA) ? Why do-it-yourself (DIY) when you can do-it-together? Now DIYers are teaming up with friends, families or companies to tackle home improvement and spring-cleaning projects.
Tackling home improvement or maintenance projects is a great way to work together with others in your community to accomplish more in less time, says Kathy Krafka Harkema, spokesperson for Pella Windows and Doors.
How about tackling a do-it-together project like tree-trimming, landscaping or gardening projects to help spruce up the neighborhood? Share tools and labor with friends to clean up the backyard, build a deck or patio, or paint outdoor areas. Get the kids involved in chores like planting trees, spreading mulch or washing decks, patio furniture or your windows. Join together to get all the windows in the neighborhood sparkly clean.
About 69 percent of men and 74 percent of women are likely to clean and wash their windows during spring cleaning, according to the 2011 National Spring Cleaning Survey by the American Cleaning Institute. But many are unsure of how to do it.
Make conducting a quick home check-up and cleaning your windows part of your spring home improvement checklist to create a better view and help enhance your homes potential energy efficiency, Krafka Harkema says. Team up with your neighbors so everyones windows look good. Use the right tools, cleaners and equipment to do the job safely and correctly.
Window washing tips
Follow these tips from experts at Pella on how to clean windows and insect screens:
* Delegate members of your team to different jobs to maximize efficiency.
* Use a premixed vinegar and water solution (one part white vinegar for 10 parts water) and a soft, lint-free cloth to wash window glass.
* Apply a generous amount of cleaner and rinse with clear water if streaks remain.
* If needed to remove grease, oil, tape adhesive, crayons or paint marks, apply a solvent such as acetone or mineral spirits to a paper towel. Wipe clean using a dry, clean, lint-free cloth.
* Avoid ammonia- or alcohol-based glass cleaners that can leave streaks or a film that attracts moisture and dust.
* Avoid using a razor blade to scrape off stubborn marks on glass ? permanent scratches may result.
* To remove dust and dirt from screens, simply vacuum with the upholstery brush.
* For grease spots on kitchen or patio screens, use hot water and a mild detergent.
* For a flat screen on a storm door or patio door, remove the screen and wash with soap and water. Or use a drapery brush attachment on a vacuum.
Remember, cleaning windows from inside your home is safer than standing on a tall ladder. Consider replacement windows with a tilt-in feature, like Pella double-hung windows, or extra-wide openings between the sash and frame, like Pella casement windows, to make window cleaning easier.
Hate cleaning your blinds? Replace worn-out windows with Pella Designer Series windows or patio doors with optional shades or blinds between glass to virtually eliminate the need to dust or clean them. For more home improvement ideas, visit Pella.com or call (888) 847-3552.
At BNI you don't show up to promote yourself; you show up to promote and give to others. It?s what BNI has coined Givers Gain. Simply, when your focus is on giving referrals, you (the giver) will gain because those whom you have invested in will return referrals.
With SendOutCards (SOC) you can practice Givers Gain--showing appreciation to a client or customer without focusing on self-promotion. With SOC, you can deliver more referrals and new business than you can imagine. "
Within 60 seconds, you can send a printed greeting card with a personalized message.? Choose your card, type your message, click send --?that's it!?? SOC prints, stuffs , stamps, and mails it --?all for less than $1.00.? You can even add ?pictures, gifts, and gift cards.
At SOC we understand that appreciation wins over self-promotion every day of the week.
For more Information. contact your Local SendOutCards Distributor or go here.
No SendOutCards Distributor in your area.... Send a Free Card at sendoutcards.com/zoe
I am a huge supporter of crockpots. In fact, I just bought a second crockpot a couple weeks ago
TRASTORNO DE DFICIT DE ATENCIN E HIPERACTIVIDAD
. My old a single works perfectly, but it's a bit small and I desired one that would fit a full roast or even turkey breasts without having to cut the meats first.
One of the advantages of crockpots is always that cooking is extremely easy. It usually consists of mixing some substances together, tossing it all inside and switching it in.
I'd like to talk about some of my family's favorite easy crockpot quality recipes with you:
We love to turkey year-round. I buy turkey bosoms when they are on discount sales. These first couple of recipes are usually for egypr breasts:
One particular turkey breasts 2 cans cream regarding something soups 2 soups cans regarding water
We've got used cream of mushroom blended with cream regarding chicken soups. We have also used cream of don't forget your asparagus mixed with cream of poultry soup. Equally recipes emerge wonderfully. Refer to your owner's manual to see simply how much liquid you'll need in the crockpot regarding perfect cooking food. Depending on dimensions, you may only need one can regarding water. Prepare food on lower eight hours.
1 egypr breast One particular package onion soup mix 2 mugs Sprite or 7-Up
I prefer the flavor from the soda in order to water. You are able to however employ water blended with the onion soup mix. If you want to include some cut celery and/or carrots, that will enhance the overall taste of the gravy. Cover along with cook in low 8 hours.
One particular turkey breasts 1 could jellied cranberry gravy 1-2 cans poultry broth
I like to cut the cranberry sauce into small pieces and rub it all over the turkey CROCK POT RECIPES. I quickly mix the rest of the cranberry gravy in with the particular clear poultry broth. Put the egypr into the crockpot then pour the particular sauce inside. Cover along with cook in low regarding eight hours.
If you like beef over turkey, listed below are a couple of quite simple beef quality recipes:
2 lbs of meats - you can use either a beef roast or stew meats. Both will likely be tender after the hours regarding cooking. One particular can cream of mushroom soups 1 cover onion soups mix Drinking water
Mix jointly the soups, water along with onion soups mix. Spot meat inside crockpot. Pour the particular sauce inside and make on lower for more effective to 8 hours.
The last recipe I would like to share with you is another beef formula:
1 beef roast 1 could beef broth One particular package Italian salad outfitting mix Drinking water
Mix jointly the gravy. Place the beef roast in the crockpot along with pour gravy over the meats. Cook in low regarding eight hours.
These are just about all easy yet flavorful quality recipes you can make with your crockpot.
Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom are doing just fine, thankyouverymuch! On her Twitter, Kardashian has been making fun of a Star magazine cover story that claims she and her NBA player husband are headed for a split.
[ [ [['A JetBlue flight from New York to Las Vegas', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/GV9zpj', '[Related: View photos of the JetBlue plane in Amarillo]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Afghan security forces and police killed three', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/H9BcJE', '[Related: Bales\' wife on his alleged shooting: \'He would not do that\']', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['looking for fireworks between the opposing camps', 16]], 'http://yhoo.it/GSvEsj', '[RELATED:\?It?s going to be a circus\?: Activists begin protests outside Supreme Court]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['entirely respectable way to put off the searing constitutional controversy', 8]], 'http://yhoo.it/GE6jSh', '[RELATED: Obama\?s health care law passed 2 years ago, but where are we now\?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Witnesses said the gunman pulled up on a black scooter', 7]], 'http://yhoo.it/GzwOIW', '[Related: New York police tighten security at Jewish sites]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['test Zimmerman for alcohol or drugs', 11]], 'http://yhoo.it/Gzn6VF', '[Related: White House says Trayvon Martin is local issue]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Trayvon Martin decked the Neighborhood', 7]], 'http://yhoo.it/GUovUP', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/2/61/261d2c36bccf0971c2734a4d4398aa5a.jpeg', '512', ' ', 'AP/David Goldman', ], [ [['Can you create commerce in order to regulate it', 9]], 'http://yhoo.it/GSgtu8', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/7/78/778e2416573870cd705774e92403447d.jpeg', '630', ' ', 'AP/Charles Dharapak', ], [ [['associated with such a small earthquake', 4]], 'http://yhoo.it/GTco9z', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/0/b4/0b493c1a47b6e3f97f8f48a2b251d7d4.jpeg', '630', ' ', 'AP Photo/Carrie Antlfinger', ], [ [['Fox News host Geraldo Rivera sparked outrage', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/GKMVTk', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/2/7c/27c7367bc512d233ae1790b320a5e92c.jpeg', '630', ' ', 'AP Photo/John Minchillo', ], [ [['The charges signed against Bales include', 1]], 'http://yhoo.it/wZT5zV', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/7/a0/7a07c51b2aa0f39b1a23355046d13870.jpeg', '512', ' ', 'AP Photo/DVIDS\, Spc\. Ryan Hallock\, File', ], [ [['George Zimmerman, if I had a son', 6]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/thousands-protest-fla-teen-death-1332387124-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/os/152/2012/03/22/d761a49f3fcc99080a0f6a70670053cd-jpg_150905.jpg', '500', ' ', 'AP Photo/John Minchillo', ], [ [['Mohamed Merah', 10], ['prosecutor Francois Molins', 5]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/four-dead-in-french-jewish-school-shooting-1332173151-slideshow', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120321/2012_03_21t151508z_425380421_gm1e83l1sqs01_rtrmadp_3_france_shootings_raid.jpg', '630', ' ', 'REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier', ], [ [['Shortly after he wrapped up his victory remarks', 2]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/4-straight-romney-wins-washington-gop-caucus-1330835515-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/3/e9/3e9b0082c3c3111dcc19e3527ae94cc7.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP Photo/Steven Senne', ], [ [['best understands the problems of average Americans', 2]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/4-straight-romney-wins-washington-gop-caucus-1330835515-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/3/e9/3e9b0082c3c3111dcc19e3527ae94cc7.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP Photo/Steven Senne', ], [ [['Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery', 7]], 'http://yhoo.it/GB2RVy', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/os/152/2012/03/20/photo-1332257995646-4-0-jpg_171722.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AFP', ], [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/russian-grannies-win-bid-to-sing-at-eurovision-1331223625-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/1/56/156d92f2760dcd3e75bcd649a8b85fcf.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP', ] ]
[ [ [['matter what you do in this case', 5]], '28759848', '0' ], [ [['presume laws are constitutional', 7]], '28747556', '0' ], [ [['has destroyed 15 to 25 houses', 7]], '28744868', '0' ], [ [['short answer is yes', 7]], '28746030', '0' ], [ [['opportunity to tell the real story', 7]], '28731764', '0' ], [ [['entirely respectable way to put off the searing constitutional controversy', 7]], '28723797', '0' ], [ [['point of my campaign is that big ideas matter', 9]], '28712293', '0' ], [ [['As the standoff dragged into a second day', 7]], '28687424', '0' ], [ [['French police stepped up the search', 17]], '28667224', '0' ], [ [['Seeking to elevate his candidacy back to a general', 8]], '28660934', '0' ], [ [['The tragic story of Trayvon Martin', 4]], '28647343', '0' ], [ [['Karzai will get a chance soon to express', 8]], '28630306', '0' ], [ [['powerful storms stretching', 8]], '28493546', '0' ], [ [['basic norm that death is private', 6]], '28413590', '0' ], [ [['songwriter also saw a surge in sales for her debut album', 6]], '28413590', '1', 'Watch music videos from Whitney Houston ', 'on Yahoo! Music', 'http://music.yahoo.com' ], [ [['keyword', 99999999999999999999999]], 'videoID', '1', 'overwrite-pre-description', 'overwrite-link-string', 'overwrite-link-url' ] ]
Emergency workers tend to a JetBlue captain that had a "medical situation" during a Las Vegas-bound flight from JFK International airport, Tuesday, March 27, 2012, in Amarillo, Texas. Passengers said the pilot screamed that Iraq or Afghanistan had planted a bomb on the flight, was locked out of the cockpit, and then tackled and restrained by passengers. The pilot who subsequently took command of the aircraft elected to land in Amarillo at about 10 a.m., JetBlue Airways said in a statement. (AP Photo/Steve Douglas)
Emergency workers tend to a JetBlue captain that had a "medical situation" during a Las Vegas-bound flight from JFK International airport, Tuesday, March 27, 2012, in Amarillo, Texas. Passengers said the pilot screamed that Iraq or Afghanistan had planted a bomb on the flight, was locked out of the cockpit, and then tackled and restrained by passengers. The pilot who subsequently took command of the aircraft elected to land in Amarillo at about 10 a.m., JetBlue Airways said in a statement. (AP Photo/Steve Douglas)
A home owned by JetBlue captain Clayton Osbon is seen in Richmond Hill, Ga. on Wednesday, March 28, 2012. Passengers aboard an early morning flight from New York bound for Las Vegas first noticed something wrong when Osbon came out of the cockpit, didn't close the door and tried to force his way into an occupied bathroom. (AP Photo/Lewis Levine)
Authorities board JetBlue flight 191, which was headed from New York to Las Vegas, after an emergency landing at Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport in Amarillo, Texas, Tuesday, March 27, 2012, when an unruly pilot caused the Las Vegas-bound flight to be diverted. Passengers said the pilot screamed that Iraq or Afghanistan had planted a bomb on the flight, was locked out of the cockpit, and then tackled and restrained by passengers. The pilot who subsequently took command of the aircraft elected to land in Amarillo at about 10 a.m., JetBlue Airways said in a statement. (AP Photo/The Amarillo Globe News, Roberto Rodriguez)
A single-engine airplane owned by JetBlue captain Clayton Osbon is seen in Savannah, Ga. on Wednesday, March 28, 2012. Passengers aboard an early morning flight from New York bound for Las Vegas first noticed something wrong when Osbon came out of the cockpit, didn't close the door and tried to force his way into an occupied bathroom. (AP Photo/Lewis Levine)
Jet Blue flight 191 from New York makes its approach to McCarran International Airport, Tuesday, March 27, 2012, in Las Vegas. The captain of the plane stormed through his plane rambling about a bomb and threats from Iraq on Tuesday until passengers on the Las Vegas-bound flight tackled him to the ground just outside the cockpit, passengers said. The captain was taken to a hospital after suffering a "medical situation" on board that forced an emergency landing in Amarillo, Texas, the airline said. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)
RICHMOND HILL, Ga. (AP) ? No one recalls JetBlue Airways captain Clayton Osbon coming unhinged before. Not the airline that let him fly for 12 years, the neighbors in his secluded waterfront community or the friends he tried selling weight-loss shakes to on the side.
Now federal prosecutors have charged Osbon following his bizarre unraveling aboard Flight 191 to Las Vegas, describing in court records a midair breakdown they say began with cockpit ramblings about religion and ended with passengers wrestling him to the cabin floor.
Witness accounts of Osbon telling his co-pilot "things just don't matter" and sprinting down the center aisle ? yelling jumbled remarks about Sept. 11 and Iran ? baffled longtime friends and fellow pilots who said they couldn't remember previous health or mental problems.
Osbon, 49, was instead described as an affable aviator who took his private plane for joyrides in his spare time, shied from talking politics and hosted Super Bowl parties. His father was also a pilot who died in a 1995 plane crash while on a sunken treasure hunt, according to a Wisconsin newspaper in the town where his family lived.
"I can't say whether it's shock or disbelief," said Justin Ates, a corporate jet pilot and friend who also lives in Richmond Hill. "It's hard to describe what you feel when you see something that's completely 100 percent out of character."
Osbon is charged with interfering with a flight crew following his bizarre outburst Tuesday on the flight that began in New York and was diverted to Amarillo, Texas. He was still being held at a hospital there Wednesday and being medically evaluated.
Under federal law, a conviction for interference with a flight crew or attendants can bring up to 20 years in prison. The offense is defined as assaulting or intimidating the crew, interfering with its duties or diminishing its ability to operate the plane.
One aviation expert said he couldn't remember a pilot being prosecuted on the charge, which reads as though it was written with passengers in mind.
"I've been doing this for more than 50 years, and I can't recall anything like this," said Denny Kelly, a private investigator in Dallas and former Braniff Airlines pilot.
A pilot with JetBlue since 2000, Osbon acted oddly and became increasingly erratic on the flight, worrying his fellow crew members so much that they locked him out of cockpit after he abruptly left for the cabin, according to a federal affidavit. He then started yelling about Jesus, al-Qaida and a possible bomb on board, forcing passengers to tackle him and tie him up with seat belt extenders for about 20 minutes until the planed landed.
"The (first officer) became really worried when Osbon said 'we need to take a leap of faith,'" according to the sworn affidavit given by an FBI agent John Whitworth. "Osbon started trying to correlate completely unrelated numbers like different radio frequencies, and he talked about sins in Las Vegas."
Investigators said they were told that Osbon scolded air traffic controllers to quiet down, then turned off the radios altogether, and dimmed the monitors in the cockpit. He allegedly said aloud that "things just don't matter" and encouraged his co-pilot that they take a leap of faith.
"We're not going to Vegas," Osbon told his co-pilot in midflight, according to the affidavit.
Osbon, described by neighbors as tall and muscular, "aggressively" grabbed the hands of a flight attendant who confronted him and later dashed down the cabin while being chased. Passengers wrestled Osbon to the ground, and one female flight attendant's ribs were bruised during the struggle. No one on board was seriously hurt.
JetBlue spokeswoman Allison Steinberg said Osbon had been suspended pending a review of the flight. JetBlue CEO and President Dave Barger told NBC's "Today" show that Osbon is a "consummate professional" whom he has "personally known" for years. He said nothing in the captain's record indicates he would be a risk on a flight.
In Richmond Hill, a bedroom community on the Georgia coast just south of Savannah, next-door neighbor Bud Lawyer said he's having a hard time believing the man on the news is his good friend.
Osbon went to church but seldom talked about it and never seemed overly zealous, Lawyer said. And while the friends would occasionally chat about events in the Middle East, their talk never went beyond casual conversation about the events in the news, he said.
"He wouldn't intentionally hurt anyone," Lawyer said. "He's a kind-hearted, generous, loving teddy bear. It's totally out of character for this to happen to him."
Another longtime friend, Bill Curley, said Osbon is a Christian who has become "increasingly" religious but wasn't fanatical.
Osbon was also a direct marketer for health shakes sold by Visalus Sciences, a marketing company based in Troy, Mich. Ashley Guerra, a fellow Visalus marketer in Georgia, said she saw Osbon just last weekend and that he appeared friendly and helpful as usual.
In an interview last year with the local magazine Richmond Hill Reflections, Osbon said he first got in the cockpit when he was 6 or 7 and had ambitions of becoming a motivational speaker. His father and another man died after the engines in their plane failed over Daytona Beach while en route to look for treasure in Fort Lauderdale, according to 1995 story in the Washington Island Observer, a newspaper in the small Wisconsin community where Osbon's parents had a home.
Osbon's LinkedIn profile states that he received a degree in aeronautical physics from Hawthorne College and a physics degree from Carnegie Mellon University. However, Carnegie Mellon spokeswoman Teresa Thomas said Osbon attended the school for three years but never obtain his degree.
"On a Sunday morning he'd call me up and say, 'Let's go for a flight,'" neighbor Erich Thorp said. "Even with that little Piper Cub, before he would take it off the ground he would spend 15 minutes checking everything out. He had a whole list he would check. He was as careful a pilot as you could imagine."
___
Bynum reported from Richmond Hill, Ga., and Weber from San Antonio. Associated Press writers Danny Robbins in Dallas; Samantha Bomkamp in New York; Betsy Blaney in Lubbock, Texas; Kate Brumbeck in Richmond Hill; Todd Richmond in Madison, Wis.; and Oskar Garcia in Las Vegas contributed to this report.
All individual needing brain growths should collect unique www.brain-tumor-symptoms.org individual human brain cancer remedy. The remedy generally varies according to the individuals age, health and wellness, and dimension and location for the tumor. ?When pros conduct some sort of clinical litigation, they look into six aspects of the human brain,? approved responsible columnist Hope Henry. [...]
All individual needing brain growths should collect unique www.brain-tumor-symptoms.org individual human brain cancer remedy. The remedy generally varies according to the individuals age, health and wellness, and dimension and location for the tumor. ?When pros conduct some sort of clinical litigation, they look into six aspects of the human brain,? approved responsible columnist Hope Henry. Main headaches are simply just head distress. Secondary troubles are generated whenever some other sort of health condition such as an illness, being infected, brain unknown growth, or additional element is accessible.
As their pharmicudical counterpart tumor identification treatment often includes , chemotherapy not to mention radiation therapies. The surprising onset of an headache from fall or perhaps other venture injury could possibly signify a problem and immediate medical attention is necessary. In relation to statistical info, it happens to be established the type makes up approximately 9% of most that happen to be diagnosed. You cannot assume all chemotherapy treatments include the same so a number of people may expertise more or maybe even less uncomfortable side effects from therapies than many people.
Obviously, some the hands down brain malignancy symptoms might be nonspecific, and can certainly be caused simply by other conditions such as a stroke or perhaps traumatic human brain injuries.
The Mind stem is end of it of serotonin levels and controlling fundamental things just like our inhalation, heartbeat, our blood pressure not to mention eye exercise. It playing the cerebrum not to mention cerebellum in the spinal string. 6. Melanoma, that starts elsewhere, for the body, spreads in the brain- Melanoma can develop during the brain (Primary cancer) or perhaps may put together by spread together of additional cancer which usually previously affects the bodies cells. Aggressive light and chemotherapy is going to be offered. An disproportionate neurological exam can be described as common predictor of an brain unknown growth. Typically, an MRI scan for the individuals venture with vary is simplest way to diagnose this challenge.
Acupuncture for the purpose of Treating Mind Tumors not to mention Diseases through Quantum Mind Healing.
Source: http://godieinafire.com/?p=1744
tenacious d steve smith zou bisou bisou tim tebow press conference tebow press conference trina andy roddick
[ [ [['A JetBlue flight from New York to Las Vegas', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/GV9zpj', '[Related: View photos of the JetBlue plane in Amarillo]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Afghan security forces and police killed three', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/H9BcJE', '[Related: Bales\' wife on his alleged shooting: \'He would not do that\']', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['looking for fireworks between the opposing camps', 16]], 'http://yhoo.it/GSvEsj', '[RELATED:\?It?s going to be a circus\?: Activists begin protests outside Supreme Court]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['entirely respectable way to put off the searing constitutional controversy', 8]], 'http://yhoo.it/GE6jSh', '[RELATED: Obama\?s health care law passed 2 years ago, but where are we now\?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Witnesses said the gunman pulled up on a black scooter', 7]], 'http://yhoo.it/GzwOIW', '[Related: New York police tighten security at Jewish sites]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['test Zimmerman for alcohol or drugs', 11]], 'http://yhoo.it/Gzn6VF', '[Related: White House says Trayvon Martin is local issue]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Trayvon Martin decked the Neighborhood', 7]], 'http://yhoo.it/GUovUP', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/2/61/261d2c36bccf0971c2734a4d4398aa5a.jpeg', '512', ' ', 'AP/David Goldman', ], [ [['Can you create commerce in order to regulate it', 9]], 'http://yhoo.it/GSgtu8', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/7/78/778e2416573870cd705774e92403447d.jpeg', '630', ' ', 'AP/Charles Dharapak', ], [ [['associated with such a small earthquake', 4]], 'http://yhoo.it/GTco9z', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/0/b4/0b493c1a47b6e3f97f8f48a2b251d7d4.jpeg', '630', ' ', 'AP Photo/Carrie Antlfinger', ], [ [['Fox News host Geraldo Rivera sparked outrage', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/GKMVTk', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/2/7c/27c7367bc512d233ae1790b320a5e92c.jpeg', '630', ' ', 'AP Photo/John Minchillo', ], [ [['The charges signed against Bales include', 1]], 'http://yhoo.it/wZT5zV', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/7/a0/7a07c51b2aa0f39b1a23355046d13870.jpeg', '512', ' ', 'AP Photo/DVIDS\, Spc\. Ryan Hallock\, File', ], [ [['George Zimmerman, if I had a son', 6]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/thousands-protest-fla-teen-death-1332387124-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/os/152/2012/03/22/d761a49f3fcc99080a0f6a70670053cd-jpg_150905.jpg', '500', ' ', 'AP Photo/John Minchillo', ], [ [['Mohamed Merah', 10], ['prosecutor Francois Molins', 5]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/four-dead-in-french-jewish-school-shooting-1332173151-slideshow', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120321/2012_03_21t151508z_425380421_gm1e83l1sqs01_rtrmadp_3_france_shootings_raid.jpg', '630', ' ', 'REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier', ], [ [['Shortly after he wrapped up his victory remarks', 2]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/4-straight-romney-wins-washington-gop-caucus-1330835515-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/3/e9/3e9b0082c3c3111dcc19e3527ae94cc7.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP Photo/Steven Senne', ], [ [['best understands the problems of average Americans', 2]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/4-straight-romney-wins-washington-gop-caucus-1330835515-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/3/e9/3e9b0082c3c3111dcc19e3527ae94cc7.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP Photo/Steven Senne', ], [ [['Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery', 7]], 'http://yhoo.it/GB2RVy', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/os/152/2012/03/20/photo-1332257995646-4-0-jpg_171722.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AFP', ], [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/russian-grannies-win-bid-to-sing-at-eurovision-1331223625-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/1/56/156d92f2760dcd3e75bcd649a8b85fcf.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP', ] ]
[ [ [['presume laws are constitutional', 7]], '28747556', '0' ], [ [['has destroyed 15 to 25 houses', 7]], '28744868', '0' ], [ [['short answer is yes', 7]], '28746030', '0' ], [ [['opportunity to tell the real story', 7]], '28731764', '0' ], [ [['entirely respectable way to put off the searing constitutional controversy', 7]], '28723797', '0' ], [ [['point of my campaign is that big ideas matter', 9]], '28712293', '0' ], [ [['As the standoff dragged into a second day', 7]], '28687424', '0' ], [ [['French police stepped up the search', 17]], '28667224', '0' ], [ [['Seeking to elevate his candidacy back to a general', 8]], '28660934', '0' ], [ [['The tragic story of Trayvon Martin', 4]], '28647343', '0' ], [ [['Karzai will get a chance soon to express', 8]], '28630306', '0' ], [ [['powerful storms stretching', 8]], '28493546', '0' ], [ [['basic norm that death is private', 6]], '28413590', '0' ], [ [['songwriter also saw a surge in sales for her debut album', 6]], '28413590', '1', 'Watch music videos from Whitney Houston ', 'on Yahoo! Music', 'http://music.yahoo.com' ], [ [['keyword', 99999999999999999999999]], 'videoID', '1', 'overwrite-pre-description', 'overwrite-link-string', 'overwrite-link-url' ] ]
Contact: Jim Dryden jdryden@wustl.edu 314-286-0110 Washington University School of Medicine
What happens on the day before a colonoscopy may be just as important as the colon-screening test itself.
Gastroenterologists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that when patients don't adequately prep for the test by cleansing their colons, doctors often can't see potentially dangerous pre-cancerous lesions.
Reporting in the journal Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, the researchers say that doctors often missed at least one pre-cancerous growth in about one-third of patients who did not properly prepare for their colonoscopy. Those polyps and other markers of cancer risk were only discovered months later when patients had their next colonoscopy.
Although several studies have found that up to a quarter of colonoscopy patients don't prepare adequately for the test, the new study is the first to point out the potential consequences of poor bowel preparation in outpatients at average risk.
"Because so many of the patients had a follow-up screening less than a year after the initial test, we strongly suspect that most of the pre-cancerous growths found during the second colonoscopy already were present at the time of the initial test," says first author Reena Chokshi, MD, a gastroenterology fellow at Washington University.
The researchers say their findings suggest that if a physician is having difficulty seeing the colon due to inadequate bowel prep, the colonoscopy should be stopped and rescheduled.
"We often can detect preparation problems during the first few minutes of the procedure," Chokshi says. "And based on this study, we would say that rather than subjecting a patient to the potential risks of a full colonoscopy when we may not be able to detect polyps, or other pre-cancerous growths called adenomas, it may be better to bring that patient back as soon as possible for a repeat procedure with better bowel preparation."
On the day before a colonoscopy exam, people are asked to stop eating solid food and to consume only clear liquids. Later in the day and the next morning, patients drink bowel-cleansing mixtures to empty the colon prior to the examination.
The test itself usually takes less than an hour, and patients are sedated during that time. Using a tiny camera, doctors are able to look at the walls of the colon in an attempt to detect polyps and other pre-cancerous growths. Once detected, those growths can be removed during the course of the colonoscopy. Patients often must miss two days of work: the day of preparation and the day of the test. Recently, the outpatient endoscopy center at Washington University and Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis has begun screening patients on Saturday mornings to reduce the number of vacation days some patients have to use.
"Many patients say that the bowel preparation before the colonoscopy is the worst part of having the test, but it's also very important because in order to see polyps or cancers, we really have to be able to clearly see the entire wall of the colon," says senior author Jean S. Wang, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology. "Inadequate preparation makes that very difficult for a physician."
The researchers retrospectively studied patients who had an average risk of colon cancer and got screening colonoscopies in the outpatient endoscopy center. Individuals with a history of inflammatory bowel disease, a family history of colorectal cancer or a medical history of colon polyps were not included in the study.
In the five-year span between 2004-09, 373 patients at the center were identified as having inadequate bowel preparation. Of the 133 patients who later had a second colonoscopy during the study period, 33.8 percent had at least one pre-cancerous adenoma detected in that repeat screening. And almost one in five of that group were considered to be at high risk for colon cancer because they either had more than three adenomas detected, or the test discovered at least one large lesion.
In fact, the researchers found that 18 percent of the patients who had a second colonoscopy would have been given different recommendations if their polyps and adenomas had been detected during the initial screening, such as more frequent colonoscopies to monitor the development of growths in the colon.
"It generally takes several years for an adenoma to become cancerous," Chokshi says. "But it's hard to know where in that sequence a particular adenoma is when we detect it. So it certainly is possible that any lesion we miss during a colonoscopy could develop into a malignancy before a person's next colonoscopy, especially if it doesn't happen until 10 years later."
###
Chokshi RV, Hovis CD, Hollander T, Early DS Wang JS. Prevalence of missed adenomas in patients with inadequate bowel preparation on screening colonoscopy. Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, vol. 75, 2012 [Epub. ahead of print]. 10.1016/j.gie.2012.01.005
Washington University School of Medicine's 2,100 employed and volunteer faculty physicians also are the medical staff of Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children's hospitals. The School of Medicine is one of the leading medical research, teaching and patient care institutions in the nation, currently ranked sixth in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Through its affiliations with Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children's hospitals, the School of Medicine is linked to BJC HealthCare.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Contact: Jim Dryden jdryden@wustl.edu 314-286-0110 Washington University School of Medicine
What happens on the day before a colonoscopy may be just as important as the colon-screening test itself.
Gastroenterologists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that when patients don't adequately prep for the test by cleansing their colons, doctors often can't see potentially dangerous pre-cancerous lesions.
Reporting in the journal Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, the researchers say that doctors often missed at least one pre-cancerous growth in about one-third of patients who did not properly prepare for their colonoscopy. Those polyps and other markers of cancer risk were only discovered months later when patients had their next colonoscopy.
Although several studies have found that up to a quarter of colonoscopy patients don't prepare adequately for the test, the new study is the first to point out the potential consequences of poor bowel preparation in outpatients at average risk.
"Because so many of the patients had a follow-up screening less than a year after the initial test, we strongly suspect that most of the pre-cancerous growths found during the second colonoscopy already were present at the time of the initial test," says first author Reena Chokshi, MD, a gastroenterology fellow at Washington University.
The researchers say their findings suggest that if a physician is having difficulty seeing the colon due to inadequate bowel prep, the colonoscopy should be stopped and rescheduled.
"We often can detect preparation problems during the first few minutes of the procedure," Chokshi says. "And based on this study, we would say that rather than subjecting a patient to the potential risks of a full colonoscopy when we may not be able to detect polyps, or other pre-cancerous growths called adenomas, it may be better to bring that patient back as soon as possible for a repeat procedure with better bowel preparation."
On the day before a colonoscopy exam, people are asked to stop eating solid food and to consume only clear liquids. Later in the day and the next morning, patients drink bowel-cleansing mixtures to empty the colon prior to the examination.
The test itself usually takes less than an hour, and patients are sedated during that time. Using a tiny camera, doctors are able to look at the walls of the colon in an attempt to detect polyps and other pre-cancerous growths. Once detected, those growths can be removed during the course of the colonoscopy. Patients often must miss two days of work: the day of preparation and the day of the test. Recently, the outpatient endoscopy center at Washington University and Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis has begun screening patients on Saturday mornings to reduce the number of vacation days some patients have to use.
"Many patients say that the bowel preparation before the colonoscopy is the worst part of having the test, but it's also very important because in order to see polyps or cancers, we really have to be able to clearly see the entire wall of the colon," says senior author Jean S. Wang, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology. "Inadequate preparation makes that very difficult for a physician."
The researchers retrospectively studied patients who had an average risk of colon cancer and got screening colonoscopies in the outpatient endoscopy center. Individuals with a history of inflammatory bowel disease, a family history of colorectal cancer or a medical history of colon polyps were not included in the study.
In the five-year span between 2004-09, 373 patients at the center were identified as having inadequate bowel preparation. Of the 133 patients who later had a second colonoscopy during the study period, 33.8 percent had at least one pre-cancerous adenoma detected in that repeat screening. And almost one in five of that group were considered to be at high risk for colon cancer because they either had more than three adenomas detected, or the test discovered at least one large lesion.
In fact, the researchers found that 18 percent of the patients who had a second colonoscopy would have been given different recommendations if their polyps and adenomas had been detected during the initial screening, such as more frequent colonoscopies to monitor the development of growths in the colon.
"It generally takes several years for an adenoma to become cancerous," Chokshi says. "But it's hard to know where in that sequence a particular adenoma is when we detect it. So it certainly is possible that any lesion we miss during a colonoscopy could develop into a malignancy before a person's next colonoscopy, especially if it doesn't happen until 10 years later."
###
Chokshi RV, Hovis CD, Hollander T, Early DS Wang JS. Prevalence of missed adenomas in patients with inadequate bowel preparation on screening colonoscopy. Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, vol. 75, 2012 [Epub. ahead of print]. 10.1016/j.gie.2012.01.005
Washington University School of Medicine's 2,100 employed and volunteer faculty physicians also are the medical staff of Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children's hospitals. The School of Medicine is one of the leading medical research, teaching and patient care institutions in the nation, currently ranked sixth in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Through its affiliations with Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children's hospitals, the School of Medicine is linked to BJC HealthCare.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Britain's Queen Elizabeth II smiles during her visit to the Manchester Central convention centre, Manchester, England, Friday, March 23, 2012. (AP Photo/Jon Super, Pool)
Britain's Queen Elizabeth II smiles during her visit to the Manchester Central convention centre, Manchester, England, Friday, March 23, 2012. (AP Photo/Jon Super, Pool)
LONDON (AP) ? Britain's Queen Elizabeth II has become a wedding crasher.
The monarch dropped in moments after the nuptials of John and Frances Canning at Manchester Town Hall in northern England on Friday.
The newlyweds said Saturday the queen chatted and posed for wedding photographs. The queen and her husband Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, were visiting the venue for lunch at the same time the wedding took place.
"It was very special ? it was so lovely that she took the trouble to speak to us," bride Frances Canning told The Sun newspaper.
The 48-year-old groom knew beforehand that the queen would be visiting the town hall, and jokingly wrote to Buckingham Palace to invite the monarch, the tabloid reported. He received a polite reply declining the invitation, but palace officials secretly arranged the meeting, the paper said.
Canning said he spoke with Prince Philip while photos were being taken.
"He was a charming fella ? for me it was the icing on the cake," he told The Sun.
The 44-year-old bride was impressed the queen addressed them by their first names.
"She said I looked lovely and she wanted to wish us all the best for the future.
"We're going to have to get a bigger wedding album now," she was quoted as saying. "Not many people will have pictures like that."
The British monarch was in Manchester to visit a number of sites, including a new BBC headquarters building in nearby Salford, as part of her Diamond Jubilee tour. The queen is celebrating the six decades since she ascended to the throne in 1952.
ScienceDaily (Mar. 23, 2012) ? On the eve of the 100th anniversary of the Titanic's sinking, marine forensics expert Richard Woytowich will present a paper re-interpreting the statements made by survivors at the 1912 official inquiries into the disaster.
Woytowich, a professor of computer engineering technology at New York City College of Technology (City Tech), will take into account what engineers and other technologists now know about how the ill-fated passenger liner broke apart on April 15, 1912. He will be presenting his research on April 4, 8 a.m., at the International Marine Forensics Symposium, to be held at the Gaylord National Hotel & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland.
Woytowich has been studying how the ship sank since 1998. In 2007, working with technical historian Roy Mengot, he developed a computer model showing that the breakup of the ship could have started in the bottom structure rather than at the uppermost decks as was widely assumed. They wrote an article on this research, titled "The Breakup of Titanic: A Progress Report from the Marine Forensics Panel (SD-7)," which was published in the January 2010 issue of Marine Technology.
That work, in turn, was prompted by the release of photographs taken by an expedition to the wreck, in which the fractured edges of two pieces of the ship's bottom were shown. "When I saw the edges of the actual bottom pieces of the ship, I immediately felt that I was looking at the parts that failed first, not the parts that failed last," Woytowich notes.
Recently, he was motivated to re-evaluate the testimony of many of the Titanic survivors because their statements seemed to support this model better than the popular top-down breakup (depicted in the movie Titanic). (Only a few survivors -- including the ship's senior surviving officer -- testified that the ship sank intact.)
"Once we changed our mental image of the breakup, it might be possible to resolve the apparent conflicts in the survivors' testimony -- especially the conflict between those who said that the ship broke in two and those who said that the ship went down intact," Woytowich says. "A secondary goal was to use the survivors' statements to refine my reconstruction of the later stages of the ship's breakup."
Backed by forensic evidence, Woytowich hopes to help restore the credibility of the majority of the survivors, who testified that the ship broke in two. While they were not believed by the official inquiry, they were vindicated when the wreck was discovered lying in pieces on the bottom in 1985.
None of the survivors, however, reported seeing the ship split apart from the top down. When early analyses suggested that the breakup began at the upper edges of the hull, the reliability of all of the survivors' testimony was called into question.
But if, as Woytowich believes, the breakup started in the bottom structure, "then much of the process would have occurred near or below the surface of the water. The extent to which each survivor could see it would have depended on his or her location," he explains. "In that case, the apparent conflicts in testimony could be explained, and the credibility of all the survivors could be restored.
As Woytowich put it, "It's been 100 years since the sinking; it's time to set the record straight."
Woytowich has also presented on other aspects of the sinking of the Titanic, which was the largest ship of its time. In 2003, he presented a paper, "Riveted Hull Joint Design in RMS Titanic and Other Pre-WWI Ships," based on research he had conducted for the previous five years. His calculations showed that some of the joints involved in the iceberg impact were only about 27 percent as strong as the plates they connected.
His paper at the upcoming symposium, which runs from April 3-5, will not be the only presentation on the breakup of the Titanic, which sank on its maiden voyage after hitting an iceberg. At least one other team of investigators will be presenting the results of their analysis of the ship. "I'm looking forward to an interesting discussion of our results," Woytowich says. "It may be that the information presented at this symposium will finally let us come to a consensus on how the ship broke up. But it is always possible that differences of opinion will remain."
Since it is likely that ships will continue to be damaged or sunk for as long as people sail the seas, the symposium will also look to the future, introducing a set of guidelines for forensic investigations. These guidelines will build on the work done by the members of the Marine Forensics Committee (the technical committee under whose auspices the symposium is being held, and of which Woytowich is a member), including the work done to investigate the sinking of the Titanic.
Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:
Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:
Story Source:
The above story is reprinted from materials provided by New York City College of Technology, via Newswise.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Previous Post: Flurry Friday Episode 16 March 16th 2012: 3 Weeks of Travel  
by Chris Skaggs
I?ve been going to the annual GDC in San Francisco every year since Soma Games launched the first title in 2009 while the world of mobile gaming exploded into existence virtually overnight. Every year those of us who make mobile games have seen ourselves (and have been treated) as the younger upstart brothers to console game makers. We saw ourselves as inferiors and we were treated as tag-alongs. But this year I?m seeing something very different : mobile game shops are suddenly disinterested in ?growing up? to become console/PC shops ? and the large, older-brother game studios seem confused as to why they aren?t getting the love they?ve always enjoyed.
When we made our first mobile game, G:Into The Rain there was a very conscious notion that this was a stepping-stone. It was a way to dip our toes in the water, learn a few key skills, and all part of our deliberate plan to make a future epic XBox title. We were also perfectly normal in that regard. Every mobile game developer we talked too, both at GDC and elsewhere basically had the same plan. After all that was where the ?real? game developers were. That?s where blockbuster hits like Call of Duty or BioShock were posting such inspiring headlines. Mobile gaming was to console or PC gaming what the Memphis Redbirds are to the St. Louis Cardinals. We were rookies and we all longed to make it to the big league.
This relationship was dysfunctional from both ends though. We may have looked up to our console counterparts with an unhealthy degree of hero worship but they also looked down on us with a kind of aristocratic patronization. ?Thats cute kid. Come back when you can afford a real game engine.? By last year?s conference, the disdain had turned into something more like contempt as several sessions sought to address the ?problem? of mobile gaming ? specifically that we were sucking up all the attention and resources from real games.
Now in 2012, I?m suddenly aware of some rather obvious facts as I hob-nob quite comfortably with a half dozen very normal, unassuming, sudden mobile millionaires at the TouchArcade party:
Lightning keeps on striking with hit after hit after hit ?
I can make a very, very profitable game in just a few months?
I can do the above with a budget that is literally 1/1,000th of what a AAA title is likely to cost?
The newer hardware like the iPad 4G has as much pixel power as an XBox?
What?s the motivation to move into console gaming at all? Who needs the risk, the headache, the multi-year commitment? Maybe this mobile thing isn?t a stepping stone after all. Maybe its a quite sufficient and complete segment all on its own ? a segment with far more generous numbers. Perhaps this is why I?m hearing stories of VCs looking to invest in mobile but hearing ?No thanks ? we don?t need your money.?
In 2011 GDC felt as though big studios still had the lion?s share of the attention ? but this year it seems very different. The difference is easiest seen by glancing around any lounge, any party, or any hang out in town. Everybody, and I mean everybody, is passing around iPads and Androids and Kindles to show off whatever mobile project they?re excited about. They are handing their own personal devices around instead of queuing up at the gorgeous branded game kiosks. Even sitting in the Microsoft lounge with a dozen XBox and Kinnect games waiting to be played I keep watching the staff trying to entice people to dance or shoot or jump?but instead we?re all sitting in their rather stylish chairs doing something else ? working our touch screens, totally content to play Mega Jump or Wind Up Knight while the Halo station sits there, alone, silently asking if its 15minutes is up. We truly are no longer pining for console love.
Posted in Gaming Biz 11 hours, 20 minutes ago at 7:39 pm. Add a comment
NEW YORK (AP) ? The Weather Channel is in the midst of a transformation, one that can be traced in part to an idle afternoon Al Roker spent surfing the Web a couple of years ago.
Pleased with the ratings earned by some new series, the network is increasing by 70 percent the amount of original programming it had planned to offer this year, and will debut at least one new show each month for the rest of the year.
Once the home primarily to meteorologists standing in front of maps, the new Weather Channel will be featuring Arctic pilots, iron workers, wind turbine and power line repairers and Coast Guard rescuers in both icy and tropical climates.
"It's an evolution, not a revolution," said Michael Dingley, the network's senior vice president of content and development, who came to The Weather Channel from HGTV 10 months ago. "You want to respect the core viewers, but let's invite new viewers into the tent."
That's an old motivation for profit-hunting cable networks, who know the key to success is grabbing casual viewers and holding them. The same forces compelled MTV to move away from music videos two decades ago, and has transformed History into more than a place for musty war movies.
The Weather Channel recognized that it needed things to keep people watching for longer than it took for the next local forecast to pop up. Past attempts at programming, series like "Storm Stories," tried this with a focus chiefly on the weather. Now network managers are embracing programs where the weather or other natural forces are just one of many characters.
The old Weather Channel wouldn't have considered "Ice Road Truckers," History's hit series about freight-haulers braving treacherous conditions in Canada, for example. Now it clearly would, since earlier this month the network premiered "Ice Pilots," about people who fly in those same conditions.
"Coast Guard Alaska," which details rescues in a forbidding climate, has done so well since its November premiere that The Weather Channel has already ordered a spinoff series involving a U.S. Coast Guard station in Florida.
The Coast Guard series come from Roker, who while Web surfing one afternoon noticed some rescue videos that the agency had posted on YouTube. He quickly set up a meeting with the Coast Guard to put the series together.
Viewers know Roker primarily for trading quips and giving forecasts as part of the "Today" show team, but off-screen he operates a thriving production company that supplies material to Spike, HGTV, A&E, The Cooking Channel and now The Weather Channel.
"The previous management didn't really see the big picture," Roker said. "They didn't think the audience would watch these kinds of shows."
The premiere of "Coast Guard Alaska" increased viewership in its time slot by 35 percent over the previous four weeks' average, Nielsen said. The first "Ice Pilots" increased the audience size by 60 percent.
The Weather Channel feels freer to offer these series partly because up-to-date forecast information is available through TWC online or on mobile devices, Dingley said. The Weather Channel named a new chief executive in January whose top priority is growing the network's website and mobile applications.
While the new shows have helped ratings, The Weather Channel executives must be mindful of a wary fan base that insists upon weather being the top priority. Viewers were sharply critical last spring ? and TWC meteorologist Jim Cantore tweeted an apology ? when the network did not interrupt a movie to cover a tornado outbreak in Arkansas.
The network has ditched movies, Dingley said.
Managers deserve credit for making "down time" at The Weather Channel more interesting, and half-hour series offer a better chance for flexibility when urgent weather news makes it important to cut into pre-recorded programming, said Mike James, who runs the News Blues website and has been critical of some network moves.
James said he worries that weather will become secondary to profit-seeking at The Weather Channel, which was bought in 2008 by a consortium of Bain Capital, The Blackstone Group and NBC Universal. NBC has a highly profitable stable of cable networks like USA and Bravo.
"Lately I've been calling it 'The Advertising Channel,'" James said. "I challenge you to visit TWC in prime time and not hit a commercial in progress."
Dingley said he recognizes change can turn off some old viewers. But he noted that TWC continues to offer local weather forecasts every 10 minutes, even during entertainment programming.
The network aired a two-hour block of entertainment programming three nights a week when Dingley arrived, and quickly expanded that first to five and now seven nights. The 70 percent expansion in programming recently authorized will mean more new shows and less reruns within those two-hour blocks, he said.
Eventually, however, the goal is to expand to three hours of entertainment programming in prime time, and also air some of those shows during the day, he said.
Last month the network began airing "Lifeguard!," about beach rescuers in southern California. April brings "Turbine Cowboys," about people who build and maintain wind turbines. "Iron Men," about New York ironworkers, starts in May. "Lights Out," in June, is about an Arkansas crew that restores power after severe weather. July brings the hurricane season and "Hurricane Hunters," a series about people who fly into storms to collect weather data.
If the new shows are well chosen, Roker said he believed The Weather Channel viewers will embrace them.
"Everybody needs to evolve," said Roker, who also hosts the "Wake Up with Al" forecasting show early on weekday mornings. "The History channel has a new definition of what history is on their channel. A&E has redefined who they are. If it's a good story and well told and you're not talking down to the audience, I think it's going to do well."
The Weather Channel "is a different channel today than it was even a year ago," Roker said, "and I think it's for the better."
?Despite being the nation's number one natural disaster, statistics continue to show that most people ignore the risks associated with flooding and do not buy flood insurance.
Out of 1.3 million Arkansas households and businesses, only 21,283 have purchased flood insurance policies through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).? That's only 2 percent. Meanwhile, reports show that in the last 12 years, Arkansas has received 15 major disaster declarations that involved flooding.
Officials with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in Denton, Texas, the regional office that oversees Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas, point to several reasons for a lack of participation in NFIP.
"Many people assume that their homeowners' insurance covers floods, but it usually doesn't," said FEMA Region 6 Regional Administrator Tony Russell. "Others think that if they don't live in a flood zone then they don't have to buy flood insurance or simply can't because it's not offered; both assumptions are inaccurate."
Other Myths:
??????? Myth: Only homeowners can purchase flood insurance.
The truth is anyone in NFIP-participating communities can purchase flood insurance, including business owners, and business and residential renters.
??????? Myth: People can't buy flood insurance if they are located in a high flood risk area.
Anyone can buy flood insurance no matter where they live, as long as the community participates in the NFIP.
??????? Myth: People can't buy flood insurance if their property has been flooded before.
People are eligible to purchase a flood insurance policy after a flood, as long as the community is participating in the NFIP.
??????? Myth: People can't buy flood insurance immediately before or during a flood.
You can purchase flood insurance any time. There is usually a 30-day waiting period before the policy is effective.?
In an effort to bridge the gap that exists between the number one natural hazard and the low percentage of flood insurance policies, FEMA is urging Arkansans to buy flood insurance now before the next flood hits. For more information on flooding and flood insurance, visit www.floodsmart.gov.
First announced at GDC 2012 (link), Mercenary Ops is an online third person shooter developed by Epic Games China using the company?s own Unreal Engine 3. The China server officially launched a couple of months back, and here is an early look of what to expect from the game. Not really an avid online shooter player myself, do bear with my noobish play. And apologies for the lag spikes, this is the first time I have encountered in years.
I guess it is not really common to find a hugely successful Free to Play third person shooter in the online gaming world, and I can only think of a couple with not much success. For console gaming, there seems to be many success stories. Mercenary Ops utilize a couple of extra actions which are typically missing from first person shooter, including blind shot, leaping and really treating the environment as a tool.
See the number of primary weapons my character can hold? That is one of the few new things in my experience in the game. Playing in 2 AI PvE maps, the Shopping Mall is a rather stale mode, shooting enemies on sight and perhaps grab that cool flamethrower weapon as well. While the map is pretty restricted, the Hospital of the Dead map is really quite big.
Essentially a zombie mode map where the undead spawns like crazy in various rounds, there are many rooms to explore and zombies literally spawn from almost everywhere, in which my team was finally overwhelmed. Players can even repair window grills to stall the zombies from destroying them too quickly, but I think it is a rather useless feature given how the grills fall off faster than I can gobble down a burger.Some doors will require points to open for convenience, but I will suggest leaving that to the pros.
I will be back next week with more footage, other maps/ modes and a take on the current cash shop in the China server, which is pretty heavily-monetized from my point of view.
Posted by: admin in Gaming News Find related article at: http://www.mmoculture.com/2012/03/mercenary-ops-cn-first-look-at-game.html
Thank you for Visiting Gameforumer.com, Hope you enjoyed the stay with us.
LOS ANGELES, March 12 (TheWrap.com) - "Desperate Housewives" fans said goodbye to character Mike Delfino on Sunday night -- and now they know when they'll be saying goodbye to the series altogether.
The ABC nighttime soap will end its eight-season run on May 13, the network announced Monday. "Desperate Housewives" will draw to a conclusion with a two-hour "finale event" that the network promises will be "splashy." (Could it possibly be any other way?)
The network also announced the May finale dates for the 2011-12 season for numerous shows, including "Last Man Standing," "Dancing With the Stars" and "Modern Family."
Plants synthesize their food onward themselves plus whereupon they are termed as?autotrophs?. The leaves plus stems among maximum of the plants besides amid few crotons arise green amid color. The chapters of the factory which appears green among color contribute for synthesis of sugars. The synthesis of sugars is carried out by the process phoned photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is the process of synthesizing the food substances within the factory with the aid of carbon-di-oxide,tory burch bags, water and sunlight The plenary process is divided into light repercussion plus black repercussion Light repercussion attained this name as it involves brightness releasing photons which participate in the 1st step of the repercussion The stamina from photons namely sponged forward the water mote to obtain split into electron,michael jordan sneakers, hydrogens and oxygen. The oxygen atom released from water want be after converted apt oxygen particle in the electron transport chain of factory breath. Related articles?
Tags: michael jordan, tory burch bag
This entry was posted on Thursday, March 8th, 2012 at 11:00 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
Public release date: 27-Mar-2012
Share ] 