Community theatre brings 'sunshine' to grcc | entertainment calendar

Heavier Than Air Family Theatre brings to life "Little Mary Sunshine", a musical that gently spoofs old-time favorites with lighthearted humor.

Performances are 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, Aug. 2-3, with a 3 o'clock matinee on Saturday, Aug. 3 at the Green River Community College Performing Arts Building, 12401 SE 320th St., Auburn.

From Colorado Rangers to the lovely Mary Sunshine, a chorus of giggling schoolgirls to the benevolent Indian chief, hearts are won and lost and won again in this delightful, laugh-filled and charming stage production.

The stars of Little Mary Sunshine are talented local teens from the company's musical theatre camp.

The production is under the direction of Terry Thibodeaux Jr., a Lake Youngs Elementary teacher.

All tickets are $8 and can be purchased by calling 253-833-9111, ext. 4966.

For more information, visit www.heavierthanair.com.

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AUBURN ENTERTAINMENT CALENDAR

AUBURN AVENUE THEATER

Auburn Avenue Theater, 10 Auburn Ave.? Call Auburn Parks, Arts & Rec? at 253-931-3043, Monday-Thursday, 8 a.m.-9 p.m.; Friday, 8 a.m.-noon, or online at www.brownpapertickets.com.

Auburn Days Free Film Event and Book Swap: 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Aug. 10. Two films, with a series of newsreels in between, will be shown. Films: 3-4:30 p.m., ?Them?, (black and white, 1954); 5-7 p.m., ?American Graffiti?, (1973). The air-conditioned theatre has been designated an official cooling station for Auburn Days. Free bottled water, pop, and snacks available at the concession window. Film program is part of Auburn Days presented by Adventure Books of Seattle. Free admission. A large number of books will be set out on tables in the lobby for the book swap. Bring one book, or bring a dozen and swap them out for ones you actually want. The book swap runs throughout Saturday and Sunday. For more details, contact Robert Blevins at 253-929-6259 or adventurebooksofseattle@gmail.com. Info: www.adventurebooksofseattle.com.

KIDS SUMMERSTAGE SERIES

The Auburn Parks, Arts and Recreation Department presents its eight-week-long? program at Les Gove Park, 910 Ninth St. SE, on Wednesdays at noon. For more information, call 253-931-3043 or visit www.auburnwa.gov/events. Mixing free entertainment and park activities for kids and adults, the event features kid-friendly artists presenting afternoon concerts, as follows:

? Aug. 7: The Magic of Louie Foxx - An interactive magic show, featuring amazing twists that appeal to kids and the adults who bring them;

? Aug. 14: Rolie Polie Guacamole - Auburn is lucky to be on this Brooklyn New York group?s summer tour. The show is full of engaging and entertaining tunes for the whole family to enjoy;

? Aug. 21: Sing Along Fun with Nancy Stewart - Enjoy the energetic, witty music of award-winning singer-songwriter Nancy Stewart;

??Aug. 28: Johnny Bregar - Rootsy, jazzy and bluesy tunes that are simple and catchy that kids and adults alike will enjoy.

Note: The City has added an ArtRageous hands-on art activity to the July 31, Aug. 14 and Aug. 21 events. Participants will learn various art techniques from professional artists. Some craft projects will be offered as take-home projects, others will be a collaborative project, such as making a salmon coastal print with artist Amaranta Ibara. These free art activities will be offered from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

SOUNDBITES CONCERT SERIES

City of Auburn outdoor performing art music series, a five-week series featuring a lively and eclectic musical mix. The series is supported by the Auburn Downtown Association. Performances are noon Thursdays. For more information, call the Parks, Arts & Recreation Department at 253-931-3043 or visit www.auburnwa.gov/events.

??Aug. 1: Darren Motamedy (Smooth jazz)

? Aug. 8: Wally and the Beavs (?50s, ?60s Rock & Roll)

ELSEWHERE

Concerts in the Park: 1-3 p.m., Aug. 24, Matchett Park, 402 Warde St. Algona.? The Icicle River Band performs.

ASO?s Sunsets at the Mary Olson Farm: 7 p.m. Aug. 1, 15. Mary Olson Farm, 28728 Green River Road, Auburn. Auburn Symphony Orchestra?s new outdoor summer chamber series.? Programs: ? Summer Serenade, Aug. 1; Animals in Music,? Aug. 15. White River Valley Historical Museum docents will give tours of the farm, including the fully restored house and barn beginning at 6 p.m. Wine will be available for purchase, and a shuttle transporting people to and from the parking lot will run one-half hour before concert start time and one-half hour after the concerts end. Concerts are festival seating, so blankets, baskets of food and low chairs are encouraged. Tickets, $17 adults, $10 students; festival Seating. Call 253-887-7777 or purchase online at auburnsymphony.org.

Summer Sounds & Cinema Series: Family-friendly outdoor entertainment, blockbuster movies, presented by the Auburn Parks, Arts and Recreation Department. Lineup: ??7 p.m. Aug. 2, Sunset Park, 1306 69th St. SE. Beatles tribute band, Cr?me Tangerine, and a screening of ?Dr. Seuss? The Lorax? (PG). Featured at the event is an ArtRageous hands-on art activity, led by artist Maury Toohey-Carlisle. ??7 p.m. Aug. 16, Les Gove Park, 910 Ninth St. SE. The Rae Solomon Band performs. The featured film is ?Puss in Boots? (PG). Auburn?s King Solomon Lodge will provide free child ID kits at both evenings. Food concessions, operated by the Auburn Youth Council, will be available at the events for a nominal fee. Patrons are encouraged to bring lawn chairs, blankets and picnic baskets. Additional summer event information can be found at www.auburnwa.gov/events. For more information, please contact the Parks, Arts & Rec at 253-931-3043.

?Little Mary Sunshine?: 7 p.m. Aug. 2-3, 3 p.m. Aug. 3, Performing Arts Building, main campus, Green River Community College, 12401 SE 320th St., Auburn. Brought to life by Heavier Than Air Family Theatre, ?Little Mary Sunshine? is a musical that gently spoofs old-time favorites with lighthearted humor, while showcasing a personality all its own. From Colorado Rangers to the lovely Mary Sunshine; a chorus of giggling schoolgirls to the benevolent Indian chief; hearts are won and lost and won again in this delightful, laugh-filled and charming stage production. A show you won?t want to miss, Little Mary Sunshine features local teens from the company?s popular musical theatre camp. Tickets $8. Information: 253-833-9111, ext. 4966, www.heavierthanair.com.

?Living Together?: 7:30 p.m., Aug. 8-10 and Aug. 15-17, Auburn Mountainview Theater, 28900 124th Ave. SE, Auburn. The Paul Fouhy-directed Auburn Mountainview Alumni Theater Company presents Alan Ayckbourn?s ?Living Together? ? part of the British playwright?s explosively hilarious trilogy, ?The Norman Conquests.? Proceeds from ticket sales support the school?s drama students scholarship fund. Tickets $10.

Jazz series:: 6-9 p.m., Saturdays, Auburn Wine and Caviar Company, 2402 A St. SE, Auburn. Saxophone and flute master Mark Lewis performs each week with a different featured guest musician ??or two ? from around the region. No cover. Featured guest musician schedule: ? Aug. 3: John Stowell, guitar. For more information, call 253-887-8530.

Poetry at The Station Bistro: 7-10 p.m., first Mondays of each month, Bistro, 110 Second St. SW, Suite 125, Auburn. Poets featured at the open mic venue. Presented by The Station Bistro, the Northwest Renaissance, Auburn Striped Water Poets. Open to poets of every age and skill level. For more information, contact mcbreenpost@aol.com.

Zola?s Cafe: Live music every Friday, 7-9 p.m., 402 E. Main St., Suite 120. Open mic on the last Wednesday of the month. For information, contact Sonia Kessler at the cafe at 253-333-9652.

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Source: http://www.auburn-reporter.com/entertainment/217803781.html

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The University of Central Florida Forum: Finding the Sweet Spot in Life Can Be More Than Just a Dream

Bob Porter, UCF Forum columnnist

When I was a small child, I had a recurring dream that I ran and jumped out of my second-story bedroom window and began to fly. I would fly around the neighborhood to see my friends and help people, and I had a lot of fun doing it. I can't exactly recall how I learned to fly, but it was instinctive, and I just inherently knew it was a gift. I can still remember how my stomach would get jittery in the moments right before I took the jump in order to fly.

I am reminded of this vivid dream, and that powerful stomach-wrenching feeling, when soon-to-graduate students desperately ask me how to find their first job after graduation. As I take time to speak to them, I tell them about how to find a job, but more importantly, about how to find the right job by living in their "sweet spot" in life, which is a term that I often use to summarize the three criteria that help me make important career decisions.

I have the privilege of teaching in the college of business for UCF. I primarily teach in the executive graduate business programs (our executive and professional MBA programs), but there is one undergraduate class that I really love to teach, which is named Capstone. This class is usually taken by undergraduate business students in their final semester of coursework, and I usually have from 500 to 750 students in this class.

As the professor, I choose to run this class like a company, where I'm the CEO, students are employees, and we do "work for clients" (not homework). During this class, we have the opportunity to integrate many aspects of their coursework into projects, as well as discuss career development. It is during this class that I encourage my employees (students) to find their sweet-spot in life and to choose careers that reflect this sweet spot. I've been teaching and sharing this concept for more than 10 years with students, employees and my consulting clients.

So what is the sweet spot in life? I define it as the intersection of three areas in your life, and these three areas of life can be summarized easily by drawing three different circles that intersect in one central point, which is the sweet spot. I have adapted this powerful model from the book "Good to Great" by Jim Collins, using the hedgehog concept to help explain how good companies become great companies. The hedgehog lesson comes from an ancient Greek parable about the fox, which knows a lot of small things, and the hedgehog, which knows one big thing: how to organize a complex world into a single idea that guides all decisions.

The first of the three circles describes your passions in life. This circle is probably the easiest to complete, because it represents the activities that you enjoy and would even typically do for free. The second circle contains the activities that you are very good at. You may be good at several things, and this circle typically contains the activities that people often ask you to help them with. The third circle lists activities that others value. This may include things that others are willing to pay you for, but the term "valued" can be more holistic. For instance, I'm not paid to provide career advice to students, but they find great value in receiving my guidance.

The area where these three circles intersect is called your sweet spot. These are the activities that represent the intersection of your passions, what you are good at, and what other people value. Understanding where these things intersect provide a great deal of insight into what career opportunities you might want to pursue and enjoy.

As an example, my sweet spot involves solving very complex problems that involve people, business strategy, and finances (numbers). Therefore, teaching business strategy and leadership as well as consulting with small and large companies while leveraging my prior industry experience is a perfect fit: something that I enjoy, others value, and that serves as my career.

I think that finding a career fit is very much like my childhood dream of flying. It may be frightening at first, but once you go for it, and find a good fit (your sweet spot), you do it naturally, with a passion and a purpose, and can actually live the dream!

Bob Porter is executive director of Orlando's Executive Development Center, part of the University of Central Florida's College of Business Administration. He can be reached at RPorter@bus.ucf.edu.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-university-of-central-florida-forum/finding-the-sweet-spot-in_b_3682098.html?utm_hp_ref=college

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Soylent Closes In On Finalizing Its Formula, Reaches $1M In Pre-Orders

Soylent, the seemingly wacky personal experiment of 24-year-old engineer Rob Rhinehart, is maturing into a full-fledged business. Rhinehart and his team, who were running a Y Combinator-backed startup called Level RF last year, did what Paul Graham has called the “pivot of the century.” Fascinated by inefficiencies in the industrial food system, Rhinehart designed and then started living off a meal replacement he cheekily named Soylent — after the dystopian movie Soylent Green where Charlton Heston discovers that society has been living off rations made of humans. This Soylent, thankfully, is not made of humans. It contains an assortment of carbohydrates, amino acids, proteins and dozens of other vitamins that are deemed medically necessary to for a person to live by the Institute of Medicine, plus other modifications Rhinehart made through the testing process. “I’d like this to be something that is like coffee — a commodity something that’s available everywhere. Maybe a utility like water and power. Something that is ubiquitous and easy to consume,” he said. “I’d like to see it in grocery and convenience stores soon.” Now Rhinehart says the company will be closing in on a finalized formula by the end of next month — a version 1.0, if you will. They’ll have a party in late August where they’ll invite press and members of the public. Then the company will gear up to do 140,000 shipments in September with $1 million in pre-orders. It costs roughly $65 a week, including shipping. Most of the customers are young men, but there have also been a few Doomsday predictors and people preparing for a societal apocalypse that have tried to order lifetime supplies of Soylent, Rhinehart said. The company has been posting updates of modifications to the Soylent formula, including changing the protein source to a vegan one derived from a rice or pea protein isolate. “In terms of a new food product, this is much, much larger initial manufacturing run than has happened in the past,” Rhinehart said. A chance introduction got him in touch with the makers of MuscleMilk, Cytosport, who helped him find an factory in Modesto certified by the National Science Foundation. He also started working directly with suppliers; in early versions of Soylent, he would buy components off Amazon or Alibaba. The taste is pretty bland, kind of malty even. “Soylent is not supposed to be this luxurious thing,” Rhinehart explained. To

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/QCkKc6di7gM/

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Virunga oil exploration warning

Campaigners have said oil exploration is putting Africa's oldest national park at risk

01 August 2013

Africa's oldest national park, which could be worth a billion dollars a year if developed sustainably, is under threat from oil exploration, campaigners have warned.

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Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), made up of lakes, savannah, forests, volcanoes and home to the critically endangered mountain gorilla, could be worth ?700 million annually, a report by charity WWF said.

The World Heritage site has the potential to generate 45,000 jobs through investments in the fishing industry, hydropower schemes and eco-tourism, which in neighbouring Rwanda is booming.

But 85% of the park has been allocated to oil concessions, with UK-based Soco International planning exploration with an aerial survey of Lake Edward and the surrounding savannah, despite calls by Unesco World Heritage Committee for oil companies not to explore in such sites.

Soco International's licence area does not include the mountainous sector of the park which is home to the mountain gorillas, and the company has stated it will never seek to have operations in the gorilla habitat, the Virunga volcanoes or rainforest.

However, WWF has warned oil development could damage wildlife, and lead to oil spills, pipeline leaks and gas flaring which could contaminate air, water and soil in the local environment. It could also have broader knock-on effects for the region.

A report by the environmental group said seismic surveys and exploration leads to clearance of natural vegetation and development of illegal settlements, fragmenting habitat for species such as elephants and providing access to poachers and rebels who are active in the North Kivu area. Development of oil resources in an area which is prone to conflict and has a lack of governance makes pollution-free extraction "extremely difficult", and rebel activity could make clearing up spills hard, the report warns.

But sustainable development in the region could see a trebling of the fishing industry in Lake Edward, which is currently targeted for exploration. The industry provides employment for 27,000 people and is worth an estimated ?20 million a year, a figure which could reach ?60 million, the report said.

Electricity production from hydropower could double, providing a total of 10,000 jobs and be worth ?6.5 million annually, the analysis by independent consultants Dalberg Global Development Advisors said. And while the park is closed to tourists due to instability, efforts to end conflict, secure the park and protect its hundreds of species of plants and animals could see tourism take off in the longer term and bring in ?150 million a year.

Raymond Lumbuenamo, country director for WWF-Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), said Virunga was a precious asset which could have value for generations if it was kept as a conservation area. "Once you turn it into an oil field you sell it once and it's gone for good, it's going to get destroyed, polluted, the beauty of it will go to waste," he warned.

Press Association

Source: http://www.independent.ie/world-news/virunga-oil-exploration-warning-29463477.html

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Video: Monster Energy Graves Yamaha Recaps The AMA Pro Superbike Race At Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca

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Source: www.roadracingworld.com --- Wednesday, July 31, 2013
#1 And #2 Go One And Two At The U.S. Grand Prix As The Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha Team Presents Its Video Recap Of Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca Cypress, CA July 31, 2013 ? When you pilot the #1 and #2 Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha YZF-R1 SuperBikes... ...

Source: http://www.roadracingworld.com/news/?id=603b5939-fa64-4b94-ad1d-146a910439af

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PNC SPORTS VIDEO: Quality Wins Beach Soccer Title. http://t.co/fZVslJjz0b #Guam.

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Source: http://www.facebook.com/pncnews/posts/657912487553419

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Cowboys S Barry Church sidelined by Jolly Rancher

OXNARD, Calif. (AP) ? Barry Church is finished with Jolly Ranchers. The candy-loving Dallas Cowboys safety missed a day of training camp because of a cherry-flavored one.

Church chipped a tooth on a piece of the hard candy about a week before reporting to camp. He felt pain off and on, but says it was unbearable when he woke up Monday morning.

The fourth-year pro missed a walkthrough and a full practice to get a root canal, but returned Tuesday.

Church says he "caught a couple of zingers" from coaches and teammates and isn't happy that he has to stay away from candy for a while.

Once he can eat candy again, Church says he'll "stick to the soft stuff."

Church missed the final 13 games last year with a torn Achilles' tendon.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/cowboys-barry-church-sidelined-jolly-rancher-025040960.html

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NFL amps up its digital media, launching a fantasy football effort

As National Football League players begin pulling on their practice jerseys at training camp, the league has unveiled an online community designed to spur participation in fantasy football.

Dubbed Fantasy Genius, the site enables novices to seek advice from more experienced participants and pose questions about whether to accept a proposed trade, start a particular player or draft, say, the Washington Redskins' dynamic young quarterback Robert Griffin III or a proven veteran such as the Denver Broncos' Peyton Manning.

Fantasy Genius is one of several new offerings from the NFL Digital Media team in Culver City, which oversees the league's presence online and on mobile devices. Since taking control of its digital destiny, the league has assembled a team of 150 people recruited from Silicon Valley start-ups, sports networks and the worlds of investment banking and data analysis to create a presence for the NFL across multiple screens.

The goal is to meet the fans any time, anywhere, with the content they want ? real-time game updates, video highlights, a mobile app that tells a displaced Dallas Cowboys fan which local sports bar attracts others who root for "America's Team."

PHOTOS: Hollywood Backlot moments

"It's critical in this day and age to have a relationship with your fan base," said Steve Bornstein, president and chief executive of NFL Network. "It's in the best interest, not only of our fans, but for the NFL, to have a direct consumer relationship. Much of what we do in the digital space is trying to enhance that."

The NFL once treated its online and mobile rights like its broadcast TV rights. It licensed Internet rights to CBS, which produced NFL.com. By 2007, the league recognized that the Internet and mobile devices such as Apple Inc.'s iPhone afforded a direct, 24-hour-a-day connection with football fans, and it took the operation in-house.

The decision was consistent with the NFL's evolution as a media company. In November 2003, it launched the NFL Network, which now carries 13 prime-time televised games on Thursday nights, produces original programming such as "NFL Total Access" and reaps the financial benefits of selling advertising and collecting subscriber fees from pay-TV distributors.

"The fact that the NFL is actively playing in the media space, controlling ad sales and distribution of content ? how can you do that without having control of your digital channel?" said David Katz, who negotiated CBS' deal to stream NFL games and now runs ThePostGame, a digital sports magazine.

PHOTOS: Cable versus broadcast ratings

Since taking its digital media operations in-house, the NFL has seen annual visits to its properties quadruple, to 1.2 billion, and the number of fantasy football players triple. It has a team that works exclusively on managing the league's presence on social platforms including Facebook and Twitter, where it trails other leagues, such as the NBA and WWE, according to Sports Fan Graph, which follows fans on these sites.

"The conversation is going to happen whether or not we participate," said NFL Digital Media Vice President Greg Isaacs. "So we have made a very conscious decision to participate in a very aggressive way."

In the cool, modern interior of the NFL's Culver City office, decorated with team logos, helmets and giant images capturing significant moments in the league's history, Isaacs wore a uniform that was more Silicon Valley than sports executive ? a hoodie, T-shirt and jeans.

Isaacs worked at EBay and AT&T Interactive before joining NFL Digital in 2011. Over the last two years, he said, the NFL has seen a dramatic shift in how fans seek out the league's content. On any given Sunday during the football season, more than half of the visits come from mobile devices, as users reach for smartphones and tablets to check scores or get updates on their fantasy football players. Tablet use, in particular, has more than doubled over the course of a year, he said.

ON LOCATION: Where the cameras roll

"For us, the exciting part is ... how do you program for the user?" Isaacs said. "The content is experienced differently across a tablet, a mobile device and a desktop."

The NFL has developed applications that seek to capitalize on shifting consumer behavior ? and exploit the league's rights to the kind of sought-after content that, on television, attracts an average of 19.2 million viewers a game, according to measurement firm Nielsen.

Its Game Rewind application for Apple and Android tablets gives subscribers on-demand access to all 256 regular-season games and 10 playoff games after they have been televised. Subscribers who pay an annual fee of as much as $70 also can watch condensed games ? from kickoff to final whistle, without commercials or game delays. A new "coaches film" affords camera angles that coaches use to review plays but that aren't telecast, such as one that captures all 22 players on the field.

Some of the biggest opportunities are on mobile devices, said Manish Jha, who runs NFL Digital's mobile business, drawing upon his 16 years at ESPN, where he helped launch the online sports network ESPN3. Last year, his team introduced a companion app for the NFL Network's "Thursday Night Football" that offers real-time polling, statistics and live reports from the sidelines. A feature called "where to watch" uses the phone's location and the information people volunteer to help fans of an out-of-town team find where others are congregating locally to watch a game.

The NFL has dabbled in next-generation mobile technology. Its "Catch Deion" app used image recognition to trigger a virtual dance performance by Hall of Famer Deion Sanders when people pointed a smartphone camera at Sanders' image on a poster at a Dick's Sporting Goods store.

Source: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-fi-ct-nfl-digital-20130730,0,4242576.story?track=rss

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San Diego Mayor wants city to pay legal fees

By Ben Brumfield, CNN

updated 7:02 AM EDT, Tue July 30, 2013

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• The city council calls a special session
• Seven women have accused Filner of sexually harassing them
• Filner is to enter a counseling clinic next week for two weeks for therapy

(CNN) -- San Diego Mayor Bob Filner, who's battling a tide of sexual harassment allegations, wants his city to cover his legal expenses.

Last week, Filner's lawyer sent a letter to the city, saying it should mount the mayor's defense and pay his legal bills.

On Tuesday, the city council will hold a closed session to figure out how to proceed.

It's a tricky predicament.

Seven of nine members of the city council have asked Filner to step down.

And even though it's not unprecedented for cities to pick up the tab to defend one of its officials, some city council members have said Filner's case is different: the acts he's accused of didn't take place as part of his official duties.

There's also another hitch: the city itself, along with the mayor, is the defendant in a lawsuit filed by his former spokeswoman -- one of seven women accusing Filner of unwanted groping, kissing or other inappropriate contact.

Irene Jackson filed her suit against Filner, saying she and other women were subjected to his "crude and disgusting" comments and inappropriate touching.

She said she resigned as Filner's communications director in June after deciding that the mayor would not change his behavior.

Filner, 70, says he will enter a behavior counseling clinic next month for two weeks of "intensive therapy." But, he has repeatedly said he will not step down from an office he was elected to barely eight months ago.

San Diego's city charter does not require him to appoint an interim mayor for a temporary absence.

His decision is unlikely to quell the mounting calls for his resignation.

Many of the accusations allegedly took place during his five terms in Congress, before he was elected mayor last year.

In response, Filner's chief of staff resigned, the Democratic Party of San Diego voted to call for his resignation -- even his fiancee left his side.

A group began an official recall effort but political observers have expressed doubt that the group can logistically pull off collecting the more than 100,000 signatures needed.

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/30/us/california-filner-scandal/index.html?eref=rss_latest

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Responses, many angry, flood Ohio St after remarks

FILE-In this Friday, June 7, 2013 file photo, Ohio State University president Gordon Gee gives his retirement speech during the board of trustees meeting in Columbus, Ohio. Outraged priests. Furious alumni. Potential parents of future students. Supporters with money set aside in wills. All were among the dozens of people who wrote angry letters and emails to Ohio State University over remarks former president Gordon Gee made jabbing Roman Catholics, Notre Dame and Southeastern Conference schools, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press through an open records request. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete, File)

FILE-In this Friday, June 7, 2013 file photo, Ohio State University president Gordon Gee gives his retirement speech during the board of trustees meeting in Columbus, Ohio. Outraged priests. Furious alumni. Potential parents of future students. Supporters with money set aside in wills. All were among the dozens of people who wrote angry letters and emails to Ohio State University over remarks former president Gordon Gee made jabbing Roman Catholics, Notre Dame and Southeastern Conference schools, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press through an open records request. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete, File)

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) ? Joseph Nally was disappointed on three fronts by disparaging remarks made by Ohio State University's former president ? as a Roman Catholic, a graduate of Ohio State and a Notre Dame grad.

"Your President's recent remarks were disappointing ? and unacceptable," Nally, a Cleveland doctor, wrote in a scathing letter to Ohio State's trustee chairman on June 3.

In December comments first revealed in May by The Associated Press, ex-President Gordon Gee jabbed Roman Catholics, the University of Notre Dame and Southeastern Conference schools, among others.

Nally, a kidney disease specialist at the Cleveland Clinic who graduated from Notre Dame in 1972 and from Ohio State's medical school in 1975, said in a phone interview Wednesday that Gee's comments "really tainted the university."

The university was flooded with angry emails and letters after Gee's remarks, many demanding his firing or resignation, according to documents obtained by the AP through an open records request.

"The Board should be asking, what would they have done if any other employee of the university made similar remarks about Jews, gays, impaired persons, obese persons, same sex couples or a racially insensitive remark?" Dennis Lyons wrote in a May 31 email.

Lyons told the AP in a follow-up email he was satisfied with Gee's retirement.

In Dec. 5 comments to the university Athletic Council, Gee criticized the negotiating tactics of Notre Dame administrators during discussions about joining the Big Ten, saying they weren't good partners. He jokingly said the school's priests were "holy on Sunday and they're holy hell on the rest of the week" and said, to laughter, "you just can't trust those damn Catholics."

On March 11, before the remarks became public, university trustees ordered Gee to begin apologizing and warned that future transgressions could lead to his dismissal.

Gee, 69, retired July 1, a decision he announced days after the AP first reported on the remarks.

"Dr. Gee was on vacation with his family and he returned and indicated he was making the decision to retire," Ohio State spokeswoman Gayle Saunders said Tuesday when asked for comment on the responses' impact on Gee's retirement.

Gee saw some of the emails when he returned and responded with further apologies, records show.

The university search committee held another meeting Wednesday to discuss Gee's replacement. A decision isn't expected for weeks or months.

Comments from people who heard of the remarks and sent unsolicited responses were overwhelmingly negative, including 187 emails and letters, according to the correspondence reviewed by the AP.

The Rev. Thomas Shuler, a Catholic priest in Lookout Mountain, Ga., was among at least five priests who wrote or emailed the university to demand something be done.

"I cannot recall in my lifetime (68 years old) such a blatant public display of ignorance and bigotry by an official ? academic and otherwise ? the rank and stature of your president," Shuler said in a May 30 email to university trustees.

A second category of responses involved comments from people who responded to a form letter apology that Gee emailed to the university community on May 31.

Of those, 225 were positive, with 21 negative, records show.

"C'mon President Gee you were hilarious," senior-to-be Mike Leone wrote on May 31. "I'm a church going catholic and was roaring when I heard your comments on the radio this morning."

Leone, 21, of Cleveland, told the AP on Tuesday he didn't feel as if Gee was attacking anyone and was sorry to see him go.

___

Andrew Welsh-Huggins can be reached on Twitter at https://twitter.com/awhcolumbus

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-07-31-Ohio%20State%20President/id-1afe402ff1704ab4ae202f60250233f3

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After working at a summer internship in Tel Aviv, Israel, Adam Remba decided to...

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151589111510886&set=a.387211730885.167306.18214460885&type=1

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Be happy: Your genes may thank you for it

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Your state of mind -- that is, your happiness -- affects your genes, say scientists. In the first study of its kind, the researchers examined how positive psychology impacts human gene expression. What they found is that different types of happiness have surprisingly different effects on the human genome.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/R8VfJpsqv4I/130729192548.htm

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U.S. Senate panel approves bill to bolster FHA finances

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Senate panel on Wednesday approved a bipartisan bill aimed at bolstering the finances of the Federal Housing Administration, which may need to turn to taxpayers for a bailout later this year.

The Senate Banking Committee passed the FHA bill by a vote of 21 to 1. It was introduced by South Dakota Democrat Tim Johnson, the committee's chairman, and Idaho Senator Mike Crapo, the top Republican.

The FHA, which insures about a third of U.S. mortgages, faces a projected shortfall of $16.3 billion due in part to defaults on mortgages it guaranteed from 2007 to 2009 as the housing bubble deflated.

It could be forced to turn to the Treasury Department for a bailout at the end of September.

"This bill will give the Federal Housing Administration the tools it needs to get back on track, so it can continue to help qualified borrowers realize the dream of homeownership and provide stability to the housing market in times of stress," Johnson said in a statement after the vote.

The legislation now goes to the full Senate for a vote, but that is not likely to occur until after a month-long recess that begins next week. It could come up for a vote on its own or be included in a broader housing finance reform package that lawmakers hope to craft soon.

The bill would require minimum annual mortgage insurance premiums; require FHA's parent agency, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, to evaluate underwriting standards; and create new tools for punishing lenders who commit fraud.

Several changes to an initial draft bill Johnson and Crapo had introduced were incorporated in the legislation, including a plan to establish annual "stress tests" of the FHA, similar to the tests the Federal Reserve runs to gauge banks' health.

"The FHA is broke, plain and simple, and we absolutely have to get the taxpayers out of the bailout business," said Senator David Vitter, a Louisiana Republican and the sponsor of the stress test provision.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed its own FHA bill last month. Its version would give the agency new authority to tighten terms for reverse mortgages.

(Reporting by Emily Stephenson; Editing by Dan Grebler)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-senate-panel-approves-bill-bolster-fha-finances-165631150.html

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Texas Lawmakers Are Too Busy Focusing On Abortion Restrictions To Get Anything Else Done

Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX)

CREDIT: Alice Keeney/Associated Press

Just over an hour after Texas legislators concluded their second special session ? an extra lawmaking session they used to enact sweeping abortion restrictions ? Gov. Rick Perry (R) called them back for a third one. An outstanding highway funding bill is the only item on the agenda. ?When it comes to transportation, the stakes facing our state could not be higher,? the governor noted in a statement.

Perry cited that same transportation measure as one of the reasons he believed it was necessary to call the first special legislative session at the beginning of June. But instead of focusing on getting that done, the governor demonstrated a different set of priorities ? adding a slew of anti-abortion provisions that were unable to advance during the state?s regular session to the docket.

The focus on abortion restrictions sparked a national outcry. Thousands of grassroots protesters rallied at the state capitol, Democrats in the legislature successfully delayed a vote on the omnibus measure, and state Sen. Wendy Davis (D) ultimately ran out the clock with a dramatic 11-hour filibuster. But that didn?t deter the abortion opponents in the state. Perry simply called a second special session, and the GOP-controlled legislature made the abortion bill their top priority to ensure it wouldn?t be blocked again. They passed it in mid-July, about halfway through the second session, and Perry signed it into law shortly afterward.

That dogged focus on restricting reproductive rights means the Texas legislature must return for another month-long session to get back to that unfinished transportation initiative. Elected officials will continue to work until the end of August, despite the fact that the regular lawmaking session ended back in the middle of May. ?This third special session is an expression of failed leadership,? Davis tweeted on Tuesday.

Although Perry has indicated he would prefer to stick to the highway funding bill, that doesn?t guarantee lawmakers will stop filing abortion-related bills in the third special session. On the final day of the second session, state Sen. Eddie Lucio (D) ? the only Senate Democrat who supported the recently approved omnibus anti-abortion bill ? filed a measure to require women to complete a mandatory adoption certification course before they may seek an abortion. Lucio has suggested he will attempt to keep pushing that measure during the third session.

Source: http://thinkprogress.org.feedsportal.com/c/34726/f/638925/s/2f628564/sc/4/l/0Lthinkprogress0Borg0Chealth0C20A130C0A70C310C23871310Ctexas0Ethird0Especial0Esession0C/story01.htm

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Radio waves carry news of climate change - R&D Magazine

The ionosphere, one of the regions of the upper atmosphere, plays an important role in global communications. Ionized by solar radiation, this electricity-rich region is used for the transmission of long wave communications, such as radio waves. Now Prof. Colin Price of Tel Aviv University's Department of Geophysical, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, working alongside PhD candidate Israel Silber, has discovered that the radio waves reflecting back to Earth from the ionosphere offer valuable news on climate change as well.

Their research shows that the strength of radio signals on the ground is a reliable indicator of temperature change above. Price and his team used simple radio antennae on the ground to measure radio waves broadcast by navigational transmitters around the globe, then compared information on the strength of these radio signals with data on temperature fluctuations in the upper atmosphere. They discovered that climate change in the upper atmosphere?caused by an abundance of greenhouse gases?may lead to a greater absorption of radio waves. Weaker signals could therefore be indicative of greater climate change.

Detailed in the Journal of Geophysical Research, this simple, cost-effective measurement can be a valuable contribution to the ongoing effort to track climate change, says Price, adding to measurements of ground and lower atmospheric temperatures to create a more holistic picture.

Global warming, upper atmospheric cooling

On the Earth's surface and in the lower atmosphere, an increase of greenhouse gases has a warming effect, the gases acting as a "blanket" and keeping heat from escaping from the Earth into space. But these gases, including carbon dioxide, are increasing in the upper atmosphere as well, where they have a cooling effect.

When cooled, the ionosphere contracts and descends into the atmosphere to where air is denser?leading to a higher absorption of radio waves, Price explains. By examining satellite-gathered data on the temperature in the upper atmosphere and comparing results to measurements of radio wave amplitudes collected on the ground, the researchers were able to uncover a clear correlation, consistent over time. As the upper atmosphere gets colder, radio signals lose their strength.

While the sun is certainly the driving force behind changes in temperature in this region, it accounts for only 60 to 70% of temperature variations, says Price. The remaining variability could not be systematically measured until now. By adding measurements of radio waves taken on the ground to solar radiation estimates, researchers can now explain approximately 95 percent of temperature changes in the upper atmosphere.

Degrees of change

According to Prof. Price, this new technique will be a valuable addition to current methods of monitoring climate change, such as the measurement of ground temperatures. Without the need for expensive equipment like satellites, monitoring the upper atmosphere can be done inexpensively and continuously. And because temperatures in the upper atmosphere fluctuate more dramatically than those on the ground?for every one degree of warming in the lower atmosphere, there is a corresponding ten degree cooling in the upper atmosphere?changes are far easier to monitor.

Using this system might reveal more about the ionosphere than ever before. The region is notoriously difficult to monitor; there are no weather balloons or airplanes that can go high enough, and it is too low for orbiting satellites. But with this method, it could be possible to study long and short term changes in the ionosphere, such as the impact of solar storms or thunderstorms on the upper atmosphere.

Source: Tel Aviv Univ.

Source: http://www.rdmag.com/news/2013/07/radio-waves-carry-news-climate-change

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Fox targets $1 billion for 'Simpsons' sale to cable, stations: source

(Reuters) - Twentieth Television, a unit of Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox, plans to market reruns of the Fox network's long-running animated comedy "The Simpsons" and is targeting a package of up to $1 billion, a person with knowledge of the plans said on Monday.

The studio first syndicated the show featuring Bart and Homer Simpson to TV stations in 1998. The new deal would license reruns to stations and cable channels at the same time, the person said.

Entering its 25th season, "The Simpsons" has 530 episodes, a number that will grow when its new license agreement starts. The show's creator Matt Groening would share in the proceeds.

News of the marketing effort was first reported in "TV Guide."

The company's fx cable channel is expected to have first claim to the show. Other potential buyers are Viacom, whose cable properties include Comedy Central and Nick at Nite, and Turner Broadcasting.

A Fox spokesman had no comment.

(Reporting By Ronald Grover)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fox-targets-1-billion-simpsons-sale-cable-stations-202138860.html

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Speculation about new Apple products kicks into overdrive

[unable to retrieve full-text content]

Source: www.latimes.com --- Monday, July 29, 2013
Two developments stir anticipation that Apple is about to launch something big this fall. A cheaper iPhone is the most likely product, analysts say. For Apple Inc. fans and investors, the future can't get here fast enough. ? ? ? ? ...

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/latimes/business/~3/cy7pIDQ_Pw0/la-fi-apple-executive-20130730,0,3648211.story

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Obama?s corporate tax plan doesn?t win over GOP

President Barack Obama traveled to Tennessee on Tuesday to trumpet a new tax deal to try to break Washington?s gridlock, but South Carolina?s Republicans heard little they liked.

Obama visited a large Amazon.com plant in Chattanooga to discuss his proposal to cut corporate income tax rates.

That?s a step he had hesitated to do without other tax reform, but Obama said he would consider it in exchange for more government spending on job creation programs, such as manufacturing, infrastructure and community colleges.

U.S. Rep. Mark Sanford, R-S.C., said he was encouraged that Obama?s proposal recognizes that the nation?s corporate tax rate isn?t competitive with what other countries charge.

?But I don?t agree with his remedy,? Sanford said.

Sanford said Obama?s plan not only favors larger corporations over smaller businesses but also would increase spending to stimulate the economy, an idea he fought against as governor.

Sanford said Obama?s plan marks the opening salvo in a larger debate that?s coming regarding federal taxes. ?I think this is more about positioning in that debate than it is legislative movement,? he said.

U.S. Sen. Tim Scott said there?s no question that the nation?s tax system should become fairer and flatter so businesses can put folks back to work.

But Scott, R-S.C., said tax reform should involve lower rates for families, not just businesses.

?Unfortunately, the president?s most recent proposal is a familiar one ? higher taxes that make it harder for our economy to meet its potential,? he said. ?Once again, the president wants the government to pick winners and losers instead of getting out of the way and allowing our entrepreneurs and job creators to take risks, make investments, and grow.?

U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., came to Obama?s side.

?The president is showing real leadership on getting this economy moving in a fair and balanced way,? Clyburn said. ?It is time for the Republicans to step up to the plate rather than constantly obstructing all of his efforts.?

Clyburn said addressing the nation?s economy and helping the middle class is going to require bipartisan cooperation, adding, ?Let?s get to work.?

The offer was immediately panned by other GOP lawmakers, who accused the president of repacking proposals he already supports and making no concessions to the opposing party.

Obama said ?serious people? in both parties should accept his deal.

?I?m willing to work with Republicans on reforming our corporate tax code, as long as we use the money from transitioning to a simpler tax system for a significant investment in creating middle-class jobs,? Obama said. ?That?s the deal.?

Administration officials cast the corporate tax proposal as the first new economic idea the president plans to offer in the coming months. With budget deadlines looming this fall, the White House is seeking to refocus Obama?s agenda on the economy in order to rally public support for his ideas and increase his leverage over the GOP.

Obama and Republicans have long supported changes to the corporate tax code, but they differ over key details, including the exact rate and what should be done with any revenue generated by the changes.

Georgia Republican Sen. Johnny Isakson, one of a handful of GOP senators meeting regularly with the White House on budget issues, also lambasted the administration Tuesday for seeking to split corporate tax reform from individual rates.

?You can?t do that,? Isakson said. ?That?ll never fly.?

Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who has also been talking regularly with the White House, said, ?Everything should be negotiated, but certainly I?m not in support of it.?

The disagreement was even deeper from House Republican leadership, with Speaker John Boehner?s office accusing the White House of blindsiding lawmakers with the proposal. The White House said later that senior officials had tried to brief Boehner?s staff about the offer on Monday, but their phone calls were not returned until the next morning, after the proposal was detailed in media reports.

Like Republicans, the president has previously called for tax reform to be coupled with an individual tax overhaul. His new offer drops that proposal and calls only for lowering the corporate rate from 35 percent to 28 percent, with an even lower effective tax rate of 25 percent for manufacturers.

In exchange, Obama wants lawmakers to pour the revenue generated from the tax changes into job-creation programs, such as manufacturing, infrastructure or community colleges.

?If we?re going to give businesses a better deal, we?re going to give workers a better deal too,? Obama said.

Administration officials wouldn?t put a price tag on the proposal or say how much money should be spent on the jobs programs.

Officials said money to pay for the job-creation programs would come from a one-time revenue boost from measures such as changing depreciation rules or having a one-time fee on earnings held overseas.

The White House also said the president will continue to seek changes to the individual tax rate as part of a larger ?grand bargain? with the GOP. But with the prospects of such a deal growing increasingly slim, Obama advisers say they have opted to isolate an area of tax reform where they believe they have more agreement with Republicans.

When Obama first unveiled his corporate tax plan last year, congressional Republicans called for even deeper cuts for the business world. His campaign rival, Mitt Romney, wanted a 25 percent corporate tax rate.

The U.S. has one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world, but many businesses avoid the full cost by taking advantage of deductions, credits and exemptions that Obama wants to eliminate.

Obama wants to do away with corporate tax benefits like oil and natural gas industry subsidies, special breaks for the purchase of private jets and certain corporate tax shelters. He also wants to impose a minimum tax on foreign earnings, a move opposed by multinational corporations and perhaps the most contentious provision in the president?s plan.

The backdrop for Obama?s remarks Tuesday was an Amazon fulfillment center in Chattanooga, one of more than a dozen warehouses operated by the world?s largest online retailer.

The company announced Monday that it would add 7,000 new jobs, including 5,000 more at U.S. distribution centers that currently employ about 20,000 workers who pack and ship customer orders. Amazon.com has been spending heavily on order fulfillment to help its business grow.

The plant was the source of tax controversy when it opened; Amazon originally was granted an indefinite waiver on collecting sales tax in a deal to bring two distribution centers to Tennessee. The state?s retailers were outraged that they were put at a competitive disadvantage, and Amazon has agreed to start collecting Tennessee sales tax next year.

The White House said Obama wasn?t visiting Amazon because of the company?s position on taxes, but because it?s an example of a successful American business growing and creating more jobs.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Reach Robert Behre at 937-5771.

Source: http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20130730/PC16/130739952/obama-x2019-s-corporate-tax-plan-doesn-x2019-t-win-over-gop&source=RSS

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Military: Billions in US aid to Afghanistan at risk, report warns

KABUL ? Less than 18 months before all foreign combat troops are to leave Afghanistan, there are still billions of U.S. tax dollars at risk of being wasted ? or worse, funneled to insurgents and terrorists ? if the American government doesn?t do more to ensure reconstruction money is spent properly, according to a quarterly report from the top government watchdog agency in Afghanistan.

?There appears to be a growing gap between the policy objectives of Washington and the reality of achieving them in Afghanistan, especially when the government must hire and oversee contractors to perform its mission,? said Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) John Sopko in a letter introducing the report.

The report reiterated that some U.S. contract money is going to insurgents and terrorists.

The inspector general recommended 43 companies and individuals be suspended or blocked from receiving government contracts because of ties to insurgents or terrorists but the Army rejected each suggestion, the report said.

?I am deeply troubled that the U.S. military can pursue, attack, and even kill terrorists and their supporters, but that some in the U.S. government believe we cannot prevent these same people from receiving a government contract,? Sopko said in his introduction letter. ?I feel such a position is not only legally wrong, it is contrary to good public policy and contrary to our national security goals in Afghanistan.?

Army spokesman Matthew Bourke said, ?Quite simply, the Army Procurement Fraud Branch did receive and review the 43 recommendations late last year, but the report did not include enough supporting evidence to initiate suspension and debarment under Federal Acquisition Regulations.?

In addition, the inspector general?s office announced it has launched an initiative to examine how money is spent on installation of the final turbine at the Kajaki Dam project. The turbine would provide power to perpetually electricity-starved Kandahar, the cradle of the Taliban and a strategic city for Afghanistan.

The effort to install a third turbine on the key hydroelectricity producer in the volatile province of Helmand has been in the works almost since the outset of the war in 2001 and is still not complete, despite the U.S. spending tens of millions of dollars on the project. It is often pointed to as one of the signature failures of America?s aid program in Afghanistan.

Earlier this year, the U.S. abruptly dropped plans for the U.S. Agency for International Development to complete the work, deciding instead to give $75 million directly to Afghanistan?s national utility to finish the project.

?SIGAR?s prior work has raised concerns about the readiness of the Afghan government to handle direct assistance, which is why we remain concerned about the prospects of success at Kajaki,? Sopko said in his letter.

In a prepared statement, a USAID official said the Afghan national utility, Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS), has proved effective in managing its assets, pointing to a 67 percent increase in payment collection from 2010 to 2012.

?USAID conducted a rigorous financial management assessment of the organization and determined that DABS has the ability to effectively manage the Kajaki Dam project,? Gordon Weynand, acting assistant to the administrator in the Office of Afghanistan and Pakistan Affairs, said in an emailed response to Stripes questions.

Among other findings highlighted in the report:

--?The Defense Department is moving forward with a $771.8 million purchase of aircraft the Afghan National Army cannot operate or maintain.

--?USAID?s main stabilization program has suffered from repeated delays and is failing to meet critical contract objectives.

--?Fuel destined for the U.S. military was illegally held at the border with Uzbekistan because of a dispute with the Afghan Ministry of Finance.

The inspector general?s office also announced the launch of the ?SIGAR High-Risk List,? which ?will call attention to programs, projects, and practices in Afghanistan that SIGAR finds especially vulnerable to waste, fraud, and abuse.?

druzin.heath@stripes.com
Twitter: @Druzin_Stripes

Source: http://www.stripes.com/news/middle-east/military-billions-in-us-aid-to-afghanistan-at-risk-report-warns-1.232841

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Afghanistan War: Troops risking their lives for a chance of normality

Afghanistan War: Troops risking their lives for a chance of normality

6:00pm Monday 29th July 2013 in News By Tom Jennings, covering Witney and West Oxfordshire. Call me on 01865 425403

Vehicles from Abingdon?s 3 Close Support Logistic Regiment in Afghanistan

ONE of the most dangerous jobs in Afghanistan at the moment is carried out by men and women from Abingdon-based 3 Logistic Support Regiment.

The regiment, which is known as 3 Close Support Logistic Regiment (CSLR) in Afghanistan, transports equipment and supplies in convoys of up to 100 heavily-armoured and armed vehicles back and forth between Camp Bastion and outlying bases.

Between April 1 and July 1 this year alone, personnel from 3 CSLR have travelled 121,705 miles ? equivalent to around the world five times ? to deliver equipment including 1.8m litres of bottled water and enough fuel to travel to the moon and back six times.

The convoys are led by three Mastiffs or Ridgebacks and backed by another two. The vehicles feature distinctive bars to protect from rocket attacks, a bomb-proof undercarriage and vehicle-mounted heavy machine guns that are accurate up to two kilometres.

But the job is nonetheless one of the most exposed and dangerous at present because UK infantry have handed over to the Afghan National Army and are no longer carrying out so many patrols.

The men and women from 3 CSLR told of being attacked by small arms fire, woken by rockets and hearing threats of suicide bombers over the radio, all while working in 50C or more in vehicles for days.

Commander follows dad?s footsteps

Lieutenant Sarah Dunn, 24, was brought up in Bloxham and has followed her father into the Army. She now commands a troop and is one of the few women in 3 CSLR.
The former Bloxham School student said: ?My father was in the forces and I always thought it would be an exciting job. I get to travel and I get the responsibility.
?I have 30 people in the camp to command and 16 vehicles that I have to maintain. I don?t know many other 24-year-olds who can say that.?
Lt Dunn is in charge of where the vehicles are, where they are going and what they are carrying. She also manages the drop-off when the vehicles arrive at their destination.
She added: ?Everyone?s got this sort of romantic idea of going to war. I?m almost glad I can go home and say I have experienced it, but then the other side is that people have died and it?s very serious.?
She has witnessed a fatal attack while monitoring overhead cameras and has come under rocket and small arms fire herself, but she said one of the biggest dangers was maintaining focus while working for hours at a time.
She said: ?We have had people go to sleep and go off the road and when you?re on top cover for 15 hours in the heat and you?re tired, that?s when people stop looking. That?s the hardest, to motivate yourself when you?re in the same state, and to motivate everyone else.?
But Lt Dunn also faces the challenge of being one of the few women working in 3 CSLR.
She said: ?Sometimes when you are working with the interpreters they make comments to the other lads asking if I?ve got a boyfriend, and one of the local shopkeepers wanted to buy me because he wanted to get back to the UK.
?But I don?t see anything different.
No-one is trying to prove themselves out here, we are just out doing a job like everyone else ? you?re either good or you?re not.?

Sense of humour is key but safety is paramount

Corporal Darran Price, 32, commands the vehicle second from the front of 3 CSLR?s huge convoys, but he cannot wait to return home to his wife and four children in Abingdon.
He said: ?We have a laugh on operations. It is a lot of fun ? the squaddie sense of humour ? but we get the job done and don?t want to let each other down.
?We are the main guys on the ground now because the infantry are in Forward Operating Bases.
?That?s why there has been a lot less causalities recently ? the Taliban don?t want to mess with a Mastiff. We do get pot shots but the boys have got bigger answers on these.
?We have had a few contacts where they have fired at us, otherwise they?ve put in IEDs (improvised explosive devices) knowing we?re going back that way.
?In Nad Ali (a district in Helmand province) there is always small arms fire, and we have had threats of suicide IEDs.?
Cpl Price, who is originally from Blackwood in South Wales, has a wife, Nikki, and four children, Shauna, 13, Ellie, 10, Kayden, six, and Rose, one.
He said: ?It gets hard, to be honest with you. I miss them a lot, I really do. When you come out to places like this it makes you think what you have really got back home and what life really means. I have got R&R (rest and recuperation) in two weeks and I can?t wait.
?We have just had the garden done at home and I?m going to sit in the garden and play with the kids, and then take Rose to the beach for the first time.?
But Cpl Price said he planned to stay in the Army for another nine years and, when asked if he ever felt like leaving, said: ?This is what I know. I joined up at 16 and it?s all I have ever done.?
Private Daniel Beesley, 20, joined the Army to make his father proud and is now a driver and gunner for 3 CSLR in Mastiffs or Ridgebacks.
He said: ?It?s very difficult at times, especially when you?re driving these at night because the visibility is not very good.
?The roads in Afghanistan are not like what they are in the UK.?
He said that during his first operation his vehicle almost ended up in the river after the back wheel skidded on mud as he tried to pass over a gap.
He said: ?We were near on 45 degrees.
We were looking towards the river alongside us and thinking that was a bit sketchy.?
But Pte Beesley said he felt safe within the vehicle, adding: ?As long as you?re in the vehicle and in your kit and seatbelt, nine times out of 10 you will be okay.
?They might blow up the vehicle but everyone inside should be okay.
?We?ve been shot at before and the rounds hit the vehicle but they don?t penetrate it.?
He added: ?I appreciate if people haven?t been out here before they don?t know what it is like and don?t understand it, but it?s one of those things.
?We don?t live in fear, we just go about our daily business.?
Pte Beesley, who is originally from Yorkshire, joined the Army four years ago, aged 16.
Asked why he had signed up, he said: ?My old man. He was a police officer for about 15 years.
?My brother went into the police, one of my sisters went into the Navy, and my dad, ever since I was young, thought I would suit the Army. It was his call.?
Asked if he had joined to make his father proud, he said: ?Yes.?
Lance Corporal Ian Hughes, 31, dedicates his time in the UK to fostering children with his wife, but in Afghanistan he commands the third vehicle leading the 3 CSLR convoys.
He described the operations as ?chatting sessions? of talking, taking the mickey out of each other and pulling pranks such as gluing money to the footwells of the vehicles. But he said during an incident the mood would change, adding: ?Everyone gets serious then.
?For instance, last time when we went out we saw an IED planted. We went out and blew it up ? that?s what we?re trained to do.?
He said the convoys were most frequently attacked by groups of young children throwing stones.
He said: ?These guys are extremely accurate. The kid looks seven years old but he can chuck it right into the turret.
?I think they think it?s a game. It makes a loud noise and they think it?s funny as hell. If you?re sat in the wagon you are laughing as well, but if you?re on top cover you?re ducking and diving.
?But it?s better that than them not being there. If they disappear, you tense up.
?If there?s no-one around the village or it?s quiet, that?s when you know something is planned or going to happen.?
L Cpl Hughes, who is originally from South Africa, has been fostering children with his wife, Fleur Hughes, in Abingdon for the past two years.
He said: ?It?s my contribution to living in the UK, but it has stopped for six months because I?m out here and she?s doing a music therapy degree.
?It?s rewarding to look after them and it takes your mind away from?working. When I get back we are going for long-term placement so we can start building that relationship. If it goes well then adoption might become available as well.?

Padre swaps his home church pulpit for the God quad

Padre Giles Allen, 43, is attached to Saints Peter and Paul?s Church in Wantage in the UK, but in Afghanistan he is the chaplain for 3 CSLR.

He said: ?The most important thing a padre does is pray for the troops.
?We still have our priestly discipline, morning and evening prayers every day and duties in the chapel, but on a nice, quiet week we spend most of our time visiting troops.
?At the moment it seems to be mostly family issues ? there are a number of people whose wives are pregnant so they are coping with that ? but at the beginning of the tour it was bereavement, people whose grandparents or parents had died.?
Padre Allen, who has been in the Territorial Army (TA) for five years and became a regular in October, volunteered to join troops in Afghanistan.
He said: ?If you had seen me when I was 20 years old I wouldn?t have dreamed I would be sitting here in uniform. I thought I would be a parish priest for the rest of my life.
?But I sincerely believe it?s divine intervention and inspiration. We think we are living in our comfortable little world, doing what God wants us to do, and then something comes into your mind and won?t go away.
?I really do think God has taken me out of my comfort zone.?
He added: ?It is a great privilege to be here. When you are in the barracks you are with soldiers Monday to Friday, 8am until 5pm, but out here you are living with them, eating with them, working with them. You see them in the highs and the lows.
?I suppose I do feel a bit responsible for them ? I love them, I care for them.
?Like any person, they make
you worried and you despair sometimes, but you are always concerned and thinking of them.?
Padre Allen, like other padres in theatre, has a quad bike to get around Camp Bastion ? dubbed a God Quad ? and hands out sweets donated by the Wantage congregation to the troops.
?It is amazing how a simple
little sweet will put a smile on faces.?
Padre Allen lives in Didcot when he is in the UK with his wife, Fiona, and their two children, Joe, 13, and Martha, four.

Source: http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/10577570.Afghanistan_War__Troops_risking_their_lives_for__a_chance_of_normality/?ref=rss

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Pest control for ants - Home, Garden & Renovating - Essential Baby

Started by Charli73 , Today, 02:41 AM

4 replies to this topic

#1 Charli73

Posted Today, 02:41 AM

Hi
We have a bad ant problem they're under the house and come inside when it rains and we can't get great access to under the house.

Has anyone had success with a pest control company for any problems?
I'm being quoted $190 for them to simply spray inside but not keen on this given I have a crawling baby in the area and pets..

Anyone used a company for ant issues and did it work? Oh and yes any rid isn't working...

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#2 LittleMissPink

Posted Today, 09:35 AM

We had a pest guy come who inserted special ant gel inside all the areas they could get in the house...weep holes, around taps, near window sills and door frames, and they would eat it and take it back to the nest. It was really effective. I don't know the name of the company as I rent, but Im sure you could ring around and ask different companies what they suggest?

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#3 pium

Posted Today, 10:03 AM

We did - when we bought our house it was infested, they were in the walls and the roof. The place was swarming with ants! We had termite & ant treatment, which ended up costing us $1500. The ants are pretty much gone, although I have to be careful - they still have food scouts roaming and if I leave packets open or don't spot a spill they are back.

The pest control guy said that it would take a couple of goes to get rid of them, and I would see ants clustering when they got confused. I just kept wiping them up, had no food they could get to, and they gave me a can of insecticide with a long thin nozzle to squeeze into cracks, as they were behind built in furniture and skirting boards.

Good luck!

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#4 Smoo

Posted Today, 11:50 AM

an accidental benefit of getting chickens has been every ant seems to have disappeared within a couple of months - we'd repeatedly tried to get rid of them previously too (inside and out)

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#5 kelsie75

Posted Today, 12:29 PM

we have an ant problem too, especially if it's going to rain...??I find when they are bad, I use talcum powder, as they don't like walking over it, so i put it where they are coming inside (which is usually straight under our front door!!!)

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Source: http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/forums/index.php?/topic/1103977-pest-control-for-ants/

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