3 farmer's markets in March, classes & other events | Food and Dining

Posted on 27 February 2013.

Davidson Farmer?s Market is back again Saturday for the first of three winter tailgate markets during March, including an extra market added at the month?s end. Meanwhile, the dining calendar is busy in March, with wine dinners, beer tastings and live music at Ass Clown Brewery, a Russian food and music festival at Davidson College, and a big two-day St. Patrick?s Day celebration at Galway Hooker. Read on for the details.

WINTER FARMER?S MARKETS

Davidson Farmer?s Market will have another in its series of winter tailgate markets this Saturday, March 2, from 9am to noon next to Town Hall in downtown Davidson. The market also is open March 16, and they?ve added a third date this month, March 30.

This weekend, farmers and other vendors will have a variety of seasonal vegetables and foods, including kale, spinach, carrots, potatoes, butternut squash, collards, mustard greens, sweet potatoes, farm-fresh eggs, goat and cow cheeses, butter, honey, flowers, pastured beef and chicken, chicken sausage, pork, and NC seafood. There also will be baked goods, including donuts, artisan breads, sweets, croissants, brioche and empanadas, and locally made soaps.
soaps.

Meanwhile, the market needs volunteers to help with setup and takedown of tents and tables. Are you available to help out? Set up starts at 7:45am, and takedown is at noon. To sign up, visit http://www.signupgenius.com/go/volunteers1071? Find our more about the market at davidsonfarmersmarket.org

CLASS: A HISTORY OF THE WORLD IN SIX GLASSES

Have you heard about DavidsonLearns? The lifelong learning program is accepting registration through March 11 for a variety of classes, including this one for lovers of food and drink: ?A History of the World in Six Glasses.? Davidson resident and DavidsonLearns president Joey Schnople will teach this course based on the book of the same name by Tom Standage.

Here?s how the author describes the idea: ?Just as archaeologists divide history into different periods based on the use of different materials ? the stone age, the bronze age, the iron age, and so on ? it is also possible to divide world history into periods dominated by different drinks. Six drinks in particular ? beer, wine, spirits, coffee, tea and cola ? chart the flow of world history. Three contain alcohol and three contain caffeine, but what they all have in common is that each drink was the defining drink during a pivotal historical period, from antiquity to the present day.?

The course will meet Wednesdays from 7-8:30pm, on March 27, April 3, 10, 17, 24 and May 1. It has a maximum enrollment of 20 students, and registration is $72. You can learn more about the course and the instructor and register at www.davidsonlearns.org.

DINING CALENDAR

• Wine Dinners at Lake Norman Cottage, Friday-Saturday, March 1-2, 6-9pm, Lake Norman Cottage, 200 A North Harbor Place, Davidson ? If you haven?t been to one of these wine dinners, it?s worth a visit. Cost is $25 per person includes a light 3-course meal. Friday night will feature wines from Argentina, Oregon, and California. Saturday night wines are from California, Germany and Washington State. Call for a reservation: 704-237-3629.
• Lake Norman Bar Crawl, Friday, March 1, registration 6:30-7:30pm at Harvey?s Bar and Grill, 19707 Liverpool Parkway, Cornelius ? The Lake Norman Bar Crawl offers party bus transportation to five locations around Cornelius. Free beer on the bus, plus drink specials, no cover charges and giveaways. Tickets $10 per person, or $15 for two. Information and tickets at lknfun.com
• Beer and live music at Ass Clown Brewery, Saturday, March 2, 6-9pm, Ass Clown Brewery, 10620 Bailey Road, Suite E, Cornelius ? The local brewery?s tasting room is open with live music by Carolina Bound. Info: www.assclownbrewery.com or 704-995-7767.
• Russian Food & Music Festival, Wednesday, March 13, 5-7:15pm, Davidson College Vail Commons dining hall ? Russian Maslenitsa Food & Music Festival, a festival of Russian food, trivia with prizes, live dancing and music by guitar virtuoso Vadim Kolpakov. Free for students on the meal plan, $12.25 for others. For more information, email amewington@davidson.edu.
• St. Paddy?s Day at Galway Hooker, Saturday-Sunday, March 16-17, 11am until ?? Galway Hooker Irish Pub, 17044 Kenton Drive, Kenton Place, Cornelius ? Galway Hooker presents a two-day celebration of St. Patrick?s Day, with music, food and drink. Eight bars inside and out, bagpipers and dancers and other live bands, drawings and games. Saturday lineup: Thistledown Tinkers, Natty Boh, and Joystick. Sunday: Early Ray, Lipstick on a Pig. Info: galwayhookerpub.com
• DavidsonNews.net and CorneliusNews.net will host a Davidson Beer Crawl on Saturday afternoon, March 23, at five venues in Davidson. Cost is $35 per person, including a beer glass and tastings. If you?d like an invitation with details, send an email to David Boraks at editor@corneliusnews.net.

BAD DADDY?S ADDS AN EDAMAME CASHEW BURGER

Bad Daddy?s Burger Bar restaurants in the Charlotte area have added a new veggie option to their menus: the Edamame Cashew Burger. Bad Daddy?s owner Frank Scibelli says: ?We have a lot of vegetarians at our restaurant and we?re always looking at new proteins for our customers. We started with edamame and added the cashews for a nutritional crunch, then created the homemade Greek yogurt tzatziki sauce to add creaminess.? Other menu additions recently include Irish Nachos, Bacon Blue Cheese Fries, Truffle Parmesan Fries, Salt & Vinegar Fries and a Strawberry Greek Yogurt Crunch Shake. Founded in 2007 by Mr. Scibelli and Dennis Thompson, Bad Daddy?s has locations on East Boulevard in Charlotte, Ballantyne, Charlotte Douglas International Airport and Birkdale in Huntersville.

COOKING CLASSES AT WOODEN STONE

Wooden Stone Gallery and the Town of Davidson are offering another series of hands-on cooking classes in April, one focusing on Indian food and the other Thai food. Whether you?re a beginner or a seasoned pro, you?ll have fun in these 2 1/2 hour Sunday classes. Participants will help prepare five to six dishes, then sit down and enjoy a meal with a glass of wine. Classes are for ages 18 and up and require pre-registration.

• Trip to India, Sunday, April 14, 2-4:30pm, Wooden Stone Gallery, 445 S. Main St., Davidson ? Menu includes Potato Samosas, Butternut Squash Jasmine Rice, Spinach with Paneer (Saag Paneer), Indian Vegetable Stew, Chicken Tikka Masala, Indian Ground Beef with Peas, and (Kheema), Mango Lassi. Register: https://townofdavidson.recdesk.com/recdeskportal/
• Tasty Thai, Sunday, April 28, 2-4pm, Wooden Stone Gallery, 445 S. Main St., Davidson ? Menu includes Vegetable & Black Bean Egg Rolls; Hot & Sour Vegetable Salad; Tom Yum Soup with Fish; Thai Tofu, Swiss Chard, and Sweet Potato Curry; Green Pork Stir-Fry with Noodles & Peanuts; Red Chicken Curry. Register: https://townofdavidson.recdesk.com/recdeskportal/

HAVE NEWS?

Have restaurant or dining news? Send listings to editor@corneliusnews.net. Dining News appears occasionally on this page, on DavidsonNews.net and CorneliusNews.net.

Source: http://corneliusnews.net/foodanddining/2013/02/27/3-farmers-markets-in-march-food-classes-and-other-events/

matt lauer divine mercy chaplet albert pujols the shining mariano rivera mariano rivera jobs report

Gay marriage fight begins in Minnesota Legislature (Star Tribune)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/287956445?client_source=feed&format=rss

marion barber syracuse ohio state girl with the dragon tattoo ohio state basketball collateral dick cheney heart

Staging a Home - Myrtle Beach Real Estate

Feb. 26, 2013

Larry Willis explains the importance of staging a home.

When selling a house, if you stage your home, you can increase the sales price from 2 to 20%. It is determined by how much you need to actually do to the property. For example, we had a property that was on the market and did not sell before we obtained it. Then when we staged it, it sold in five days. So, not only does it increase the price, it speeds up the process. A lot of times it is hard for the home owner to see what needs to be done to the property because it looks good in their eyes, which is why it helps to get it staged professionally. When you compare the cost of a professional staging with the price increase of 2-20%, it is usually worth it.

If you have any questions about staging your home or real estate in Myrtle Beach, call us at (843) 492-4411.

Share This Post

Source: http://www.scbeachrealestate.com/blog/staging-home/

pat summitt real housewives of atlanta colton bo ryan the last waltz earth day activities mel gibson

Pope recalls 'joy' of papacy, and difficulties

Pope Benedict XVI greets pilgrims in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013 for the final time before retiring, waving to tens of thousands of people who have gathered to bid him farewell Benedict was driven around the square in an open-sided vehicle, surrounded by bodyguards. At one point he stopped to kiss a baby handed up to him by his secretary. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Pope Benedict XVI greets pilgrims in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013 for the final time before retiring, waving to tens of thousands of people who have gathered to bid him farewell Benedict was driven around the square in an open-sided vehicle, surrounded by bodyguards. At one point he stopped to kiss a baby handed up to him by his secretary. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Pope Benedict XVI waves as he arrives for his last general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013. Tens of thousands of people toting banners saying "Thank you!" jammed St. Peter's Square on Wednesday to bid farewell to Pope Benedict XVI at his final general audience, the appointment he kept each week to teach the world about the Catholic faith. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope Benedict XVI greets pilgrims in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013. Pope Benedict XVI greeted the Catholic masses in St. Peter's Square Wednesday for the last time before retiring, making several rounds of the square as crowds cheered wildly and stopping to kiss a half-dozen children brought up to him by his secretary. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)

A Vatican Swiss guard stands in front of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013. Pope Benedict XVI is preparing for his final general audience, the weekly appointment he kept with the faithful and tourists to teach them about the Catholic faith. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)

A man holds a cross as he stands in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013. Pope Benedict XVI is preparing for his final general audience, the weekly appointment he kept with the faithful and tourists to teach them about the Catholic faith. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)

VATICAN CITY (AP) ? Pope Benedict XVI basked in an emotional sendoff Wednesday from a massive crowd at his final general audience in St. Peter's Square, recalling moments of "joy and light" during his papacy but also times of difficulty when "it seemed like the Lord was sleeping."

An estimated 150,000 people, many toting banners saying "Grazie!" ("Thank you!"), jammed the piazza to bid Benedict farewell and hear his final speech as pontiff. In this appointment ? which he has kept each week for eight years to teach the world about the Catholic faith ? Benedict gave deep thanks to his flock for respecting his decision to retire.

Benedict clearly enjoyed the crowds, taking a long victory lap around the square in an open-sided car and stopping to kiss and bless half a dozen children handed to him by his secretary. A total of 70 cardinals, some tearful, sat in solemn attendance.

But Benedict made a quick exit, foregoing the typical meet-and-greet session that follows the audience; the Vatican has said there were simply too many people who would have wanted to say goodbye.

Given the historic moment, Benedict also changed course and didn't produce his typical professorial Wednesday catechism lesson. Rather, he made his final public appearance in St. Peter's a personal one, explaining once again why he was becoming the first pope in 600 years to resign and urging the faithful to pray for his successor.

"To love the church means also to have the courage to take difficult, painful decisions, always keeping the good of the church in mind, not oneself," Benedict said to thundering applause.

He noted that a pope has no privacy: "He belongs always and forever to everyone, to the whole church." But the pope promised that in retirement he would not be returning to private life ? instead taking on a new experience of service to the church through prayer.

He recalled that when he was elected pope on April 19, 2005, he questioned if God truly wanted it. "It's a great burden that you've placed on my shoulders," he recalled telling God.

During his eight years as pope, Benedict said, "I have had moments of joy and light, but also moments that haven't been easy ... moments of turbulent seas and rough winds, as has occurred in the history of the church when it seemed like the Lord was sleeping."

But he said he never felt alone, that God always guided him, and he thanked his cardinals and colleagues for their support and for "understanding and respecting this important decision."

Under a bright sun and blue skies, the square was overflowing with pilgrims and curiosity-seekers. Those who couldn't get in picked spots along the main boulevard leading to the square to watch the event on giant TV screens. Some 50,000 tickets were requested for Benedict's final master class. In the end, the Vatican estimated that 150,000 people flocked to the farewell.

"It's difficult ? the emotion is so big," said Jan Marie, a 53-year-old Roman in his first years as a seminarian. "We came to support the pope's decision."

With chants of "Benedetto!" erupting often, the mood was far more buoyant than during the pope's final Sunday blessing. It recalled the jubilant turnouts that often accompanied him at World Youth Days and events involving his predecessor, Pope John Paul II.

Benedict has said he decided to retire after realizing that, at 85, he simply didn't have the "strength of mind or body" to carry on.

"I have taken this step with the full understanding of the seriousness and also novelty of the decision, but with a profound serenity in my soul," Benedict told the crowd Wednesday.

Benedict will meet Thursday morning with cardinals for a final time, then fly by helicopter to the papal residence at Castel Gandolfo south of Rome.

There, at 8 p.m., the doors of the palazzo will close and the Swiss Guards in attendance will go off duty, their service protecting the head of the Catholic Church over ? for now.

Many of the cardinals who will choose Benedict's successor were in St. Peter's Square for his final audience. Those included retired Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony, the object of a grass-roots campaign in the U.S. to persuade him to recuse himself for having covered up for sexually abusive priests. Mahony has said he will be among the 115 cardinals voting on who the next pope should be.

Also in attendance Wednesday were cardinals over 80, who can't participate in the conclave but will participate in meetings next week to discuss the problems facing the church and the qualities needed in a new pope.

"I am joining the entire church in praying that the cardinal electors will have the help of the Holy Spirit," said Spanish Cardinal Julian Herranz, 82.

Herranz has been authorized by the pope to brief voting-age cardinals on his investigation into the leaks of papal documents that exposed corruption in the Vatican administration.

Vatican officials say cardinals will begin meeting Monday to decide when to set the date for the conclave.

But the rank-and-file faithful in the crowd Wednesday weren't so concerned with the future; they wanted to savor the final moments with the pope they have known for years.

"I came to thank him for the testimony that he has given the church," said Maria Cristina Chiarini, a 52-year-old homemaker who traveled by train from Lugo in central Italy with some 60 members of her parish. "There's nostalgia, human nostalgia, but also comfort, because as a Christian we have hope. The Lord won't leave us without a guide."

___

Follow Nicole Winfield at www.twitter.com/nwinfield

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-02-27-Vatican-Pope/id-4add0e47c2c846589c9caf0b03d52c9b

Affenpinscher Dorner Banana Joe marco rubio marco rubio state of the union fat tuesday

Young Spaniards fleeing crisis seek solace in boho Berlin

BERLIN (Reuters) - They find the language difficult and the locals as chilly as the weather but for young Spaniards Berlin has become a popular spot to sit out the economic crisis at home.

The German capital's celebrated cabaret scene made it a mecca for bohemians in the 1920s and ?30s and in the Cold War the divided city became a magnet for alternative youth culture and rock stars.

When the Berlin Wall came down, anarchists moved into abandoned properties in East Berlin, gentrification followed but the avant garde atmosphere still thrives and has drawn thousands of Spaniards, eager to escape soaring unemployment at home.

"We haven't seen the sun for three months, and the people can seem distant, but Berlin is also a place where life is not just about work and you get to meet artists and actors and film directors," Diego Ruiz del Arbol, a 32-year-old Spanish IT engineer and web content consultant living in Berlin.

The number of Spaniards in Berlin has jumped to 11,473 in 2011 from 8,223 the previous year. Arrivals in Germany from Spain, Italy, Greece and Portugal, the euro zone countries worst hit by the debt crisis nearly doubled last year.

Eastern Europeans arrive at a faster pace but they tend to head to industrial areas of Germany with a labor shortage, while Spaniards prefer Berlin, an unemployment black-spot but vibrant cultural hub.

Cafe Colectivo is one of the new meeting points for young Spaniards in Friedrichshain, near a famous flea market on Boxhagener Platz. It offers manchego cheese, chorizo and the occasional paella, Spanish soccer on TV and the chance to chat and network in Spanish.

Its owner, Bulgarian-born Dimitri Grigorov who grew up in Barcelona, is a 31-year-old former art student turned building worker who turned up in Berlin in 2008, began washing dishes in bars and ended up in the coffee business.

"The crisis in Spain is just getting worse, but in Berlin, if you come with the right frame of mind, the city opens its doors to you," he said. "I know of very few people who have gone back."

NATIONAL TRAGEDY

While Spain's jobless rate has hit 26 percent or 60 percent among young people, employment in Germany is at its highest level since reunification in 1990. But Berlin, which has little industry, has unemployment of over 12 percent, way above Germany's national jobless rate of 6.8 percent.

"On Spanish TV they say German employment is at record highs and show images of the Brandenburg Gate. But Berlin has one of the highest unemployment rates in Germany," said Ruiz del Arbol.

His clients include a Spanish recruitment agency website advertising posts in Germany. He also gives lighthearted coaching in "Berlinology" on his own website, www.berlunes.com.

Ruiz del Arbol differentiates between the Spanish engineers recruited for highly-qualified jobs in Munich and Stuttgart and the much younger "adventurers" heading for clubland in Berlin.

Herbert Bruecker, a professor at the Institute for Investigation into Labour Markets and Professions, says many of the current wave are essentially "middle-class immigrants" happy to work in menial jobs just to experience life in Berlin.

Spain's media tends to portray their departure as a national tragedy while the German press welcomes a more educated generation of "Gastarbeiter" (guest workers), as their factory-worker forebears half a century ago were known.

The young Spaniards waiting tables in Berlin may not be a permanent fix for Chancellor Angela Merkel's preoccupation with Germany's ageing population that has created a shortage of skilled labour, nor will it solve Spanish unemployment.

But experts say the workers do provide temporary relief for both problems.

"From the German perspective even if the people stay only for two years, it may add to the stock of employees," Bruecker said. The immigrants pick up language and organizational skills that will make them more productive back home, and their absence alleviates the welfare burden currently faced by Spain.

"It's a shame people have to go because they can't find work here, but the option of emigrating and working is much better than staying here unemployed," said immigration specialist Jesus Fernandez-Huertas Moraga at Madrid's FEDEA research centre.

"The overall economic impact will be positive, they'll send back remittances and in general they will improve their living standards."

POOR BUT SEXY

Grigorov loves the Berlin night life's blend of "discrecion y locura" (meaning careful and crazy) and even finds the language attractive "because of its harshness".

This makes him a rarity among Spanish speakers, who are nonetheless signing up for German courses at the Goethe and other institutes in record numbers.

"The language is a big, big barrier," said Pablo Gonzalez, who moved to Berlin with his girlfriend Paz and has found the climate and relating with German colleagues "a struggle".

But three quarters of his friends back in Vigo are out of work and Gonzalez said that, although waiting tables instead of working in graphic design was hard to accept, "being 27 and living off your parents is not very fulfilling either".

Gonzalez has started climbing up the ladder in his passion and secondary profession: a third-division assistant referee in Galicia, his qualifications were accepted in Berlin and he finds the work easier here despite his poor German.

"Refereeing is much easier here - there's much more respect for the ref. In all the games I've done so far nobody has sworn at me, though I don't known any swearwords in Germany. Whereas in Spain it starts from the first minute, every game," he said.

The young immigrants said people thinking of following in their footsteps should get to grips with German, forget erratic Spanish time-keeping habits and not sign on the dole in a city the mayor brands "poor but sexy" and cannot afford a flood of welfare tourists.

"If you just come to sign on for social security, get your rent paid and spend the summer smoking joints in the park, you might as well stay home," said Grigorov at Cafe Colectivo.

(Reporting by Stephen Brown, editing by Gareth Jones and Anna Willard)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/young-spaniards-fleeing-crisis-seek-solace-boho-berlin-073748479.html

caucus results exton ricky williams kurt warner kurt warner missouri primary minnesota caucus

Friends of JJ's Benefit in March will include food, music - KansasCity ...

The Kansas City arts, entertainment, music and food worlds will gather on March 5 and contribute to the Friends of JJ?s Benefit at the Uptown Theater. Proceeds will go to employees of JJ?s, the restaurant on the Country Club Plaza that was destroyed by an explosion and fire on Feb. 19.

More than 50 restaurants will serve food and beverages, and several Kansas City area bands and entertainers will perform, including the Late Night Callers, the Grisly Hand, Victor & Penny, David George and A Crooked Mile, Megan Birdsall, Missy Koonce and Ron Megee, Loaded Goat, Shellac Attack and DJ Rico.

?It?s pretty insane how many restaurants have stepped up and offered to help,? said Jim Ligon, a bartender at JJ?s and an organizer of the Friends of JJ?s group. ?I?d tell someone that we might have 400 people in VIP and they?d say, ?I can do that.? I?d have to tell them, ?Thank you , but I only need you to do part of that.? But that?s how it has gone. Everyone has been so generous.?

One person was killed in the explosion and fire; 15 others were injured, some critically or seriously. All were JJ?s employees. The benefit will also honor the memory of Megan Cramer, 46, a JJ?s server and the lone fatality.

?Megan really loved children and the arts,? Ligon said. ?She was a writer and a painter. She loved poetry. She was always reading a book. So we thought the best way to honor her was to start a foundation in her name that supports the arts.?

The event will be hosted by former Kansas City Chiefs receiver Eddie Kennison and Kelly Jones of Channel 5 (KCTV).

Tickets to the benefit will go on sale at 10 a.m. Wednesday through Ticketmaster, the Uptown Theater web site and at the theater?s box office at 3700 Broadway. General admission is $10; three VIP packages are available starting at $100. For more information, go to the Friends of JJ?s Facebook page.

Source: http://www.kansascity.com/2013/02/25/4086406/friends-of-jjs-benefit-will-include.html

m i a mia super bowl tom coughlin wes welker eli manning eli manning kelly clarkson national anthem

ASUS PadFone Infinity vs. PadFone 2... fight!

We happened to have a PadFone 2 with us at ASUS' MWC event, so it was only natural for us to put it next to the brand-spanking-new PadFone Infinity for a few photos. Unlike the jump from the original PadFone to the PadFone 2, the latest generation ditches the polycarbonate body with the iconic zen pattern in favor of an aerospace-grade aluminum unibody. Placing the PadFone Infinity and its shorter predecessor side by side you can see that the former is actually slimmer over all, and we dig the premium feel as well. Other notable differences include a new position for the loudspeaker, which is now on the top right side of the bezel instead of the back; and the 13-megapixel camera is now off-center.

You'd think the smaller PadFone 2 would easily fit into the bigger bay in the new PadFone Station (using the same special micro-USB socket), but interestingly, it didn't work for us. We might give it another go when we eventually get hold of a review unit, of course (it's OK, Jonney, we'll be gentle).

Gallery: ASUS PadFone Infinity vs. PadFone 2... fight!

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, ASUS

Comments

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/QbPlo1YvA9U/

christine christine will ferrell double fine adventure turbo tax katharine mcphee cold mountain

Obama Administration Reaches Out to Local Governments to Spread Its Climate Message

President Obama used his Inaugural Address and State of the Union speech to issue the boldest, clearest call to action on climate change ever voiced by a sitting U.S. president?but don?t expect him to barnstorm across the country with that message.

While the president will headline a road show of events to sell his crowd-friendly message on restoring the middle class and boosting U.S. manufacturing, climate change won?t get a starring role. It remains a politically inflammatory subject, and the White House communications team isn?t exactly eager to remind Americans how Obama plans to tackle the problem. The president has called on Congress to pass a climate-change bill, but it?s almost certain that any such legislation will expire in the gridlock of Capitol Hill. Instead, the Environmental Protection Agency is expected to issue tough regulations on coal-fired power plants, the nation?s biggest source of global-warming pollution. That?s hardly the stuff of soaring rhetoric?and it?s sure to reignite Republicans? 2012 campaign attacks that the president is abusing government authority and waging a war on coal.

But even though climate change won?t get top billing in Obama?s speeches, the White House is far from ignoring the issue; it?s just doing a different kind of outreach to build the case for its coming climate-change actions.

Inside Washington, in a warren of back rooms at EPA, dozens of environmental officials are working to craft landmark climate-change regulations that they hope will curb industrial pollution?and withstand a tsunami of legal and political attacks. To help them do it, they?re inviting in heads of the industries and businesses that will soon be forced to implement the rules. Business leaders, although they?re not happy about the coming regulations, are jumping on the opportunity to communicate their concerns and perhaps help shape the rules they?ll have to live by. And the Obama administration hopes that the dialogue will help defuse some of the opposition to come.

Outside Washington, the administration is building support a different way. The Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, and Agriculture departments are ramping up their outreach to state and local governments to help them prepare for the impacts of climate change, including increased flooding and more extreme storms and droughts. The local work by federal agencies doesn?t draw the headlines like a presidential speech. But it does further a grassroots communications strategy?by getting the conversation about preparing for climate change into town councils and city planning boards, where there?s less partisan fighting and more focus on practical challenges such as creating new flood zones and building storm-resistant infrastructure.

?This seems to me [to be] the beginning of a big-tent, grassroots climate strategy, which no administration has attempted in the U.S. before,? said Paul Bledsoe, an environmental-policy consultant who was a senior climate-change and communications adviser to the Clinton White House. ?Climate strategies in the past have been declared from on high. That hasn?t been terrifically effective in mobilizing political support. But involving people in their communities, with state and local officials, who are concerned about impacts in terms of infrastructure and emergency services, could be more effective.?

EPA is preparing to issue a regulation to cut carbon pollution from future power plants later this spring?a rule that will effectively freeze construction of coal plants. After that, although it?s not clear when, the agency is expected to issue even more-aggressive regulations requiring existing coal plants to reduce their pollution. Gina McCarthy, EPA?s top clean-air and climate-change official, whom Obama is expected to nominate to head the environmental agency as soon as this week, has been working closely with coal and electric-utility officials to craft the regulations. The administration doesn?t expect the industry to welcome the rules?but it hopes the outreach will create some goodwill and at least lessen some of the inevitable push-back.

?Conversations have started,? said Chuck Barlow, vice president of environmental strategy for Entergy, an electric utility with power plants in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. ?There have been small groups from industry who?ve gone in and had discussions with [McCarthy]. We?re talking about, if EPA does this, what will it look like? How flexible is it? Does EPA do most of the work, or the states? There will be much more to come.?

?We?re seeing more and more interest and activity from the federal agencies,? said Brian Holland, director of climate programs for ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability USA, an organization that works with municipal governments. ?It started before superstorm Sandy and has really intensified since that disaster. We see a clear indication that climate-change resilience is at the top of the president?s agenda and that federal agencies are becoming more active in that area.?

Even the State Department has reached out. Two days after Secretary of State John Kerry was confirmed in his post, his undersecretary, Robert Hormats, phoned Holland?s group to ask how the foreign-policy department could help local governments in the U.S. prepare for climate change?a sign of Kerry?s particular passion on the issue.

Among the climate-planning tools the federal government is offering to share is a digital ?sea-level rise? planner created by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Officials in coastal cities can plug their coordinates into the mapping software to determine how rising sea levels could harm their region. They can then use that mapping data to site future roads and structures away from harm.

?It changes the debate from whether climate change is happening to how we can best protect ourselves by creating more resilient communities,? Holland said.

Mayor Frank Cownie of Des Moines, Iowa, agrees. In 2010, his city was hit with three devastating floods as heavy downpours caused the Des Moines River to overrun its banks. Last summer, record drought destroyed the region?s corn crop. The weather keeps getting worse, climate science shows it?s going to keep happening, and Cownie says his city officials want to plan for it?with the welcome help of Washington.

?Ten years ago, eight years ago, six years ago, people were a little slow to talk about this, but now we?re saying, ?Yeah, there?s a problem,? ? he said.

?We have to figure out, how do we protect against extreme events in terms of flooding, and how do we capture water to use when there?s another drought? There?s been an upswing of outreach by the federal government on resiliency, and we?re having the conversation at the city, state, county, and suburb level to figure out what we?re going to do.?

Meanwhile, as climate-policy conversations are taking place in EPA?s offices and Iowa?s town halls, advocates in Congress are also keeping up the drumbeat. In the Senate, Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and Bernie Saunders, I-Vt., have introduced, with much fanfare, a sweeping climate-change bill. And Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., has joined forces with Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., to create a bicameral Safe Climate Caucus that will keep the issue alive with a stream of hearings and floor speeches in both chambers. But it?s almost certain that Boxer?s bill?which she has said she hopes to bring to the floor by this summer?will die in the Senate and be dead on arrival in the Republican House.

But that rejection could actually help the White House. In his State of the Union, Obama declared that if Congress won?t act on climate change, he will. The failure of a high-profile bill would create the opportunity for the administration to roll out its new regulations.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-administration-reaches-local-governments-spread-climate-message-102005260--politics.html

sherri shepherd arkansas razorbacks trisomy 18 ozzie guillen ozzie guillen buster posey eric holder

Linda Shepherd of Buyers Desire Home Staging - Northshore ...

Linda Shepherd of Buyers Desire Home Staging

Talking real estate turnover with Linda?Shepherd of Buyers Desire Home Staging.

Standing out among the rest is vital when it comes to selling a home. With the ease of online market research comes the need to give buyers a reason to investigate a property in person. By creating visual appeal, Linda?Shepherd allows prospective buyers to see a home?s potential. Her neutral settings lure the broadest pool of buyers and help increase chances that a home will sell.

What do you keep in mind when staging a home? We conduct an assessment of the buyer demographic for the home by analyzing factors of the town, such as school systems and median income. We stage with the target buyer in mind by setting up ?emotional connection points? that will subconsciously grab buyers? attention and tell them that this is the perfect home. The architecture also inspires our choices. We?ve seen traditional homes decorated in all modern furniture. This creates a disjointed feeling that turns potential buyers off.? We also take the homeowners? current belongings into consideration. Staging shouldn?t be expensive; using lots of what the homeowner already has and mixing in fresh florals, bright pillows, and interesting accessories may be all the home needs.

What do homeowners need to address before you arrive to stage? Most commonly, the problem is the paint color.? Bold paint colors scare potential buyers off.? We once recommended that a seller tone down bright blue walls to more neutral colors.? She chose not to paint because it was ?too much work.? However, potential buyers will also be thinking it will be ?too much work? and they?ll move on to the next house. Potential buyers should never see anything broken or needing repair. Removal of personal photos, lighting, cleanliness, evidence of pets, and even smells. These can be delicate subjects to discuss, but we talk to the homeowners compassionately. They?ve hired us, and they want our honest opinion.

What concerns do clients often have when considering staging? Some question whether staging really works. A seller once told us that she didn?t believe it would make a difference.? The realtor was adamant that the homeowner stage, so she did.? She received five offers at her first open house, four above asking price. Homeowners are also concerned that they will spend the money to stage and the house won?t sell. While we cannot guarantee the home will sell, last year?s statistics from Real Estate Staging Association showed that staged homes sold 73 percent faster than homes that hadn?t been staged.

What?s in your collection of props? Any ?lucky? pieces that help make a sale? We do have one lucky piece of art that seems to work well in any house. It?s an abstract series of squares in rust, blue, and gray tones. Most of what we have in our inventory are florals, pillows, and art. The art is rather neutral subject matter. Done properly, artificial plants and flowers can look just as good as, if not better than, live ones and will stay beautiful throughout the buying process. It?s easy to make an outdated couch look new by adding bright pillows and a throw in a contrasting color. We also have a lot of accessories for bookcases, built-ins, and coffee tables. Our goal is for the home to look like a magazine picture.

Source: http://nshoremag.com/linda-shepherd-of-buyers-desire-home-staging/

jaco san jose sharks humber perfect game ufc 145 fight card ufc145 chimpanzee chimpanzee

Colombia to send committee for release of German hostages

BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia's government on Monday authorized a committee of civilians and Red Cross officials to travel to a jungle zone where it hopes two German hostages will be freed by the nation's second-largest guerrilla group.

The National Liberation Army (ELN) said in early February they had captured two German men in Catatumbo, near the border with Venezuela, the second time in a month it seized foreigners.

"They sent us a message saying that if we authorized the Red Cross and a committee that already exists to interact with the ELN ... they would immediately release the two German hostages," President Juan Manuel Santos said.

"I'm going to give the authorization so those German citizens are free as soon as possible. I expect the ELN to honor their word."

The ELN identified the two captives as Uwe Breuer and Gunther Otto Breuer. The rebels initially said they considered them to be intelligence agents because they could not explain why they were in the area.

The German government, however, said they were pensioners traveling in a four-wheel drive through South America.

The ELN is not engaged in talks currently underway in Cuba to bring an end to five decades of war between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, the country's largest rebel group known as FARC.

Attempts by previous governments to halt the war ended in shambles and helped energize the FARC and intensify fighting. Santos' popularity has been falling for about a year, in part because many perceive the rebels are gaining ground.

SANTOS' POPULARITY PROBLEM

A poll by Invamer Gallup released on Monday showed Santos with 44 percent of support, the lowest since he took office in August 2010, and down from 53 percent two months ago.

The poll was conducted February 13-20 with 1,200 people and has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.

The 61-year-old president has not said if he plans to run for re-election in May 2014, and analysts say that may depend on the success of the peace talks.

In January, the ELN kidnapped six mine workers including a Canadian and two Peruvians in northern Colombia, as the group stepped up pressure on the government in an apparent bid to be included in peace talks with the FARC.

The ELN released five of them about a week ago, but they still hold the Canadian citizen. The hostages all worked for Canadian mining company Braeval at its Snow mine project.

The ELN has battled a dozen governments since it was founded in 1964 and is considered a terrorist group by the United States and European Union. Both the ELN and FARC have stepped up attacks on infrastructure this year and last, hitting oil pipelines and power lines repeatedly.

ELN chief Nicolas Rodriguez told Reuters last year it was willing to hold unconditional peace talks to end the war, but refused to end its kidnapping, bomb attacks and extortion of foreign oil and mining companies before negotiations start.

The group is believed to have about 3,000 fighters.

(Reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta; Writing by Eduardo Garcia; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/colombia-send-committee-release-german-hostages-021207144.html

Karlie Redd guild wars 2 adrian gonzalez Jerry Nelson Foo Canoodle Isaac path

Oscar Pistorius Brother Faces Murder Trial (Voice Of America)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/287038317?client_source=feed&format=rss

aladdin black forest ufc 144 fight card ufc 144 results acura nsx all star weekend 2012 giada de laurentiis

6 Superb Retro Gaming Accessories for the iPad

Amy-Mae Elliott2013-02-24 20:15:42 UTC

There are a megacrapton load of really great retro games available for the iPad, but playing them on the tablet's sophisticated touchscreen can feel a little, well, wrong.

To add an authentic dose of vintage goodness to your iPad game-playing, we've found six superb gaming accessories that will bring some arcade action to your Apple tablet.

Take a look through the options available to you in the image gallery above. Let us know in the comments below your favorite old-skool title for iOS.

Image courtesy of Flickr, GabeB

Topics: Entertainment, Gadgets, gallery, Gaming, iPad, Mobile, Tech, Work & Play

Source: http://mashable.com/2013/02/24/ipad-gaming-accessories/

blake shelton sons of anarchy adriana lima victoria secret fashion show SEC Championship Rick Majerus Cotto vs Trout

The News of the World (and the Fake Sheikh) are back in business ...

The Sun's Sunday splash was written by Mazher Mahmood

The Sun on Sunday has morphed over the past month into the News of the World. The seventh day Sun has returned to the agenda of News International's late, unlamented title.

Three weeks ago the splash was a celebrity "confession" about a pop star's "wild night with a stripper". Two weeks ago, the lead was a kiss and tell (a woman telling tales about Manchester United footballer Patrice Evra).

Last week, a page one blurb headlined "My love for Ashley by topless bisexual nympho" alerted readers to an inside spread in which a woman told of her relationship with footballer Ashley Cole.

But they were mere pointers to today's confirmation of the new News of the World: a classic sting by the Fake Sheikh (aka Mazher Mahmood).

Billed as a "world exclusive" (though I can't imagine anyone fighting to get it), the story is given five pages. It claims to have exposed a former world heavyweight boxing champion, Herbie Hide, "as a drug Mr Fixit ready to throw a title fight for ?1 million."

It is a cut-and-paste Mahmood "investigation." Hide, now 41, who last fought three years ago, was "approached" by NoW (sorry SoS) reporters posing as businessmen "interested in organising exhibition bouts in the Middle East."

He was secretly taped and filmed agreeing, in return for ?1 million, to throw a fight. He was also persuaded to procure four grams of cocaine "when our reporter suggested that cocaine was not readily available in Norwich."

According to the Mahmood article, Hide called a friend who turned up with the drug (which turned out to be a mixture of cocaine and mephedrone).

And in classic fashion, the last couple of paragraphs tell how the NoW (sorry again, the Sun) has "passed its dossier" to the police.

The rest of the SoS content was remarkably similar to that of the old News of the World, which was closed down on Rupert Murdoch's orders in July 2011 following the confirmation of its phone-hacking activities.

On page 3 were pictures of a celebrity in a bikini on a Caribbean beach, one of which showed her two children (isn't that against the editors' code?). There was an "exclusive" spread about Katie Price (aka Jordan) being pregnant. A serious spread, with editorials and Guido Fawkes's political gossip column, featured a lengthy "exclusive" article by the chancellor George Osborne explaining away the significance of Britain losing its AAA rating.

And on it went, through a couple more celebrity spreads, an odd tale of woman alleged to be "tanorexic" (don't ask), and a spread about a woman, now 43, telling of abuse by her stepfather when she was 13, a continuation of Sara Payne's former NoW anti-paedophilia campaign.

Gradually, in a post-Leveson environment, the paper has become indistinguishable from the News of the World. The advantage for Murdoch is that it's much, much cheaper to produce and, of course, it's hacking-free.

PS: Memo to Sue Douglas, hopeful of acquiring The People in order to turn it into the News of the People, your USP has just disappeared.

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/greenslade/2013/feb/24/sun-on-sunday-newsoftheworld

small business saturday best cyber monday deals best cyber monday deals macaulay culkin Larry Hagman macys apple

Robert J. Newton of Berlin, labor union employee, 74

Robert J. ?John? Newton of Berlin, formerly of Marlboro, a veteran and Massachusetts Laborers? Union employee, died Thursday at MetroWest Medical Center/Framingham Union Hospital. He was 74.

Mr. Newton served in the Army during the Vietnam War.

Mr. Newton was born and raised in Marlboro. He later moved to Berlin, where he lived for the past 39 years.

Mr. Newton was employed by the Massachusetts Laborers? Union. He enjoyed spending time with his family and friends, hunting and fishing.

Mr. Newton is survived by his wife, Judith (Allsobrooks); two daughters, Dana J. Carpenter of Wake Forest, N.C., Denise L. Parker of Boylston; two stepsons, Robert S. Slattery of Sweden, Maine, and Johnson City, Tenn., and Timothy W. Slattery of Westford; a stepdaughter, Tracey L. Holden of Conway, N.H.; a sister, Phyllis Dinges of Corpus Christi, Texas.; two brothers, Edward J. of Yuma, Ariz., and William of Ossipee, N.H.; seven grandchildren; many nieces and nephews.

A funeral service will be held at 8 p.m. tomorrow at Tighe Hamilton Funeral Home in Hudson.

Burial will be held at a later date.

?

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bostonherald/news/~3/fYddUncBw_s/robert_j_newton_of_berlin_labor_union_employee_74

Jon Lord Colorado shootings dark knight rises Aurora shooting James Eagan Holmes jeremy lin Sage Stallone

The Solution for Fast Emergent Business Industry | Outsourcing ...

Everyone has the potential to start-up their unique businesses. Taking the risk to dive into the wide range of marketing industry can result in 3 separate results: business boing up and going down. It may seem that planning and starting an enterprise is a tough obligation with regards to building an enterprise, but it is the supremacy to keep or superior, to advance the expansion continuing development of the company. There is absolutely no business minded individual who would enhance his goals being stuck in stagnant mode. In able to the enterprise to outlive the competitive marketing industry now days, founders must be geared up enough to handle complicated situations.

If your company has become stuck for so long and also you cannot pursue it even though you have push hard, should your company never gain anything as a result of economy rate of the nation, if ?your company&rsquos system work and allow you to no longer of course, if your company is really in need of serious help. If these ifs has been a delinquent on your profitable earnings, then it must be the right time to get help. Bear in mind that an issue wouldn?t normally exist alone, solutions will always be there a little step behind.

Introducing the Empower Me Marketing Tactics. This firm is very design to relieve the problems of business personnel in terms of business matters. ?They offer an exceptional and ideal strategic planning to produce a business moves forward, appraise the capacity and repair what has have to be changed through better. They extend their proven experiences and skillful knowledge to leverage the organization&rsquos rank, through strategy consulting, giving advice to CEO, media content, implementation services and other programs connected to develop the growth of the company and face and attain a triumph experience after some time.

The Empower Me is not only resource to make your organization level up. It?s your choice actually to select the right person that will help you enhance your company&rsquos growth. The guaranteed result from Empower Me is you?ll be taught, you will learn and you will probably see the progress after you master the appropriate way of building a good business. This consultant&rsquos priority is to effectively and naturally help ever see person on downcast to get a possiblity to improve their respective commerce. When you are their service, you will also be able to to collaborate together by conglomerating yourself to use them and build sensible interactions regarding business venture.

This entry was posted in general and tagged empower me, empower network. Bookmark the permalink.

Source: http://karlsher.3owl.com/the-solution-for-fast-emergent-business-industry/

bishop eddie long madonna give me all your luvin video roseanne barr president green party day 26 new hunger games trailer sasquatch

Einhorn scores legal victory versus Apple in cash scuffle

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. judge handed outspoken hedge fund manager David Einhorn a victory in his battle with Apple Inc on Friday, blocking the iPhone maker from moving forward with a shareholder vote on a controversial proposal to limit the company's ability to issue preferred stock.

U.S. District Judge Richard Sullivan in Manhattan granted a motion by Einhorn's Greenlight Capital for a preliminary injunction stopping a vote on that proposal, scheduled for the company's February 27 stockholders' meeting.

The decision could hand Einhorn more leverage as he pursues his pitch for Apple to issue what he has called the "iPref": preferred stock with a perpetual dividend that he contends would reward investors and help boost the company's share price.

Greenlight sued Apple on February 7 as part of a broader pitch to unlock more of its $137 billion in cash. The hedge fund manager has lobbied Apple to issue preferred stock with a perpetual 4 percent dividend, and on Thursday made a direct appeal to shareholders on a teleconference.

Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook last week dismissed the lawsuit as a "silly sideshow."

The lawsuit itself challenged a measure called Proposal No. 2 that Apple put forward, which would eliminate its power to issue preferred shares without a shareholder vote.

At issue is Apple's "bundling" of that measure with two other unrelated matters into a single proxy proposal.

Greenlight said it supported two of the proposed amendments, but not the one on preferred shares.

In his ruling, Sullivan said Greenlight and another investor who also sued Apple "are likely to succeed on the merits and face irreparable harm if the vote on Proposal No. 2 is permitted to proceed."

"We are disappointed with the court's ruling. Proposal No. 2 is part of our efforts to further enhance corporate governance and serve our shareholders' best interests," Apple spokesman Steve Dowling said. "Unfortunately, due to today's decision, shareholders will not be able to vote on Proposal No. 2 at our annual meeting next week."

A spokesman for Greenlight called the ruling a "significant win for all Apple shareholders and for good corporate governance."

But not all shareholders were happy. California pension fund Calpers, a major Apple investor and public supporter of Apple's proposal, said implementation of "majority voting and shareholder approval for the issuance of new stock - preferred or otherwise - is worth waiting for."

"We encourage Apple to reintroduce these measures as soon as is practical so that all investors can be heard," Anne Simpson, Calpers' director of global governance, said in a statement.

BUNDLES

The ruling could be a warning for other companies when issuing proxy proposals, said James Cox, a professor at Duke University School of Law.

"It's going to make managers reluctant to bundle things together, because you're never going to know when you send them out if there's an Einhorn out there," he said.

The lawsuit was centered on a narrow issue of whether Apple violated U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rules by "bundling" the preferred shares item with two other unrelated matters into one proxy proposal.

Greenlight's lawyers contended the SEC rules were intended to protect shareholders from being forced to vote for a proxy proposal involving materially different issues that the investors might not entirely support.

Apple had argued Proposal No. 2, which only dealt with amendments to its charter, constitute a single matter and wasn't bundled. Sullivan called the company's arguments "unavailing."

"Given the language and purpose of the rules, it is plain to the Court that Proposal No. 2 impermissibly bundles 'separate matters' for shareholder consideration," Sullivan wrote.

Judge Sullivan also found that Greenlight would be irreparably harmed without the injunction, since it would be forced to vote against its own interests. Denying Greenlight's motion would prevent it and other investors from exercising their rights to a fair vote, Sullivan said.

Sullivan separately declined to block a vote from going forward on a separate proxy proposal, Proposal No. 4, which sought an advisory "say on pay" vote on Apple executives' compensation.

The proposal had been challenged by investor Brian Gralnick of Pennsylvania, who contends Apple did not disclose enough details about how it made its compensation decisions.

Sullivan rejected that argument, saying Apple's disclosures were "plainly sufficient under SEC rules."

Arnold Gershon, a lawyer for Gralnick at Barrack, Rodos & Bacine, said he was "very pleased" with Sullivan's decision to the extent it enjoined the Proposal No. 2 vote, though said he would have to decide what to do next with regard to the say-on-pay proposal.

Sullivan directed the parties to submit a joint letter by March 1 outlining the next contemplated steps in this case.

Apple shares closed up 1.1 percent at $450.81 on Friday.

The case is Greenlight Capital LP, et al., v. Apple Inc., U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, 13-900.

(Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York; Additional reporting by Poornima Gupta in San Francisco; Editing by Martha Graybow, Gary Hill, Leslie Adler, Carol Bishopric and Lisa Shumaker)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/einhorn-scores-legal-victory-vs-apple-cash-scuffle-005120865--sector.html

key largo arnold palmer invitational ryan madson louisiana primary syracuse basketball chipper jones chipper jones

How to use your iPhone or iPad to help you sleep and relax better

February is Fitness Month at iMore and Mobile Nations, and that means our whole community is involved -- readers, listeners, viewers, and most of all, forum members. All week you've been sharing how you use your iPhone and iPad to stay rested and relaxed, and the apps and accessories you use along with it. Sure, we sweetened the deal by putting a $100 iTunes gift card up for grabs -- and we'll do it again next week -- but you guys brought serious game.

So what did you tell us?

Our winner, da_abades, had this to say:

Cool, i love this topic and have lots of apps for my iPhone about this!

1. Sleep Cycle alarm clock: Everybody should know about this one or has seen it on the top of the App Store, it's amazing! If you place it as the above image shows it tracks your movements and analizes your sleep. When you wake up it will show you a graph of your sleep, but most important it wakes you up knowing when you are less in deep sleep. It also has some relaxing sounds to help you get in to sleep!

2. Ambiance: This is really the best of the best out there! Includes over 2500 free sounds to download and listen. You can create customized sound mixes, cycle through playlists and even wake up to relaxing sounds. (You can purchase more HD sounds)

3. BreatheMate: This app assists you to follow breathing patterns. For example you chose 4-20 seconds holding your breath, (automatically calculates depending on what you selected) 2-10 breathing-out, 1-5 seconds breathing-out and it will start repeating (the app is predeterminated for 10 repeats). I really like this one for it's simplicity, nice design and ease to use just after download.

4. Yoga Free: 250 Poses & Yoga Classes: Simple and straight foward yoga app, all what you want and need. 250 Poses and some nice extra features (Calendar, quotes...)

Thanks da_abades! We also had great tips from many of the other entrants.

bamf-hacker, among others things, likes to track his sleep the hard-ware-way:

• Fitbit One Wireless Activity Plus Sleep Tracker, Black: The FitBit uses the accelerometer to determine how much you are moving while you sleep. You need to wear the FitBit in the included wrist strap, and it is fairly accurate. The sync to the iPhone is done via Bluetooth and as long as the app is running in the background, it will do so automatically. You can then look at the app to see the hours of sleep you received, and it also shows you how many times you were awake. It also gives you the option to edit the sleep in case it is not set correctly.

metllicamilitia, among other things, likes to avoid active thoughts the built-in way:

• Music app: I also use the Music app to listen to my meditative state inducing sound files, I currently have two. And I will set my phone to Do Not Disturb and then play my sound file and turn the screen off so that I am not disturbed while I am meditating. And since I use passive noise canceling headphones, I am free to meditate wherever I am and not being disturbed by my surroundings.

We had a lot of other great posts as well, and a lot of great recommendations, so make sure you check them all out, and if you haven't already, please add yours to the thread!

• How the iMore community uses their iPhones and iPads to rest and relax

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/X3uN8xnfJDo/story01.htm

orcl the hartford illinois primary 2012 michael bay zsa zsa gabor illinois primary trayvon martin 911 call

SKorea's new leader faces NKorea nuke crisis

FILE - In this Feb. 12 2013 file photo, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, right, talks with President-elect Park Geun-hye during their meeting about North Korea's nuclear test at the presidential Blue House in Seoul, South Korea. Even before she takes office Monday, Feb. 25, 2013, as South Korea's first female president, Park's campaign vow to soften Seoul's current hard-line approach to rival North Korea is being tested by Pyongyang's recent underground nuclear detonation. Pyongyang, Washington, Beijing and Tokyo are all watching to see if Park, the daughter of a staunchly anti-communist dictator, pursues an ambitious engagement policy meant to ease five years of animosity on the divided peninsula or if she sticks with the tough stance of her fellow conservative predecessor, Lee Myung-bak. (AP Photo/Yonhap, Do Kwang-hwan) KOREA OUT

FILE - In this Feb. 12 2013 file photo, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, right, talks with President-elect Park Geun-hye during their meeting about North Korea's nuclear test at the presidential Blue House in Seoul, South Korea. Even before she takes office Monday, Feb. 25, 2013, as South Korea's first female president, Park's campaign vow to soften Seoul's current hard-line approach to rival North Korea is being tested by Pyongyang's recent underground nuclear detonation. Pyongyang, Washington, Beijing and Tokyo are all watching to see if Park, the daughter of a staunchly anti-communist dictator, pursues an ambitious engagement policy meant to ease five years of animosity on the divided peninsula or if she sticks with the tough stance of her fellow conservative predecessor, Lee Myung-bak. (AP Photo/Yonhap, Do Kwang-hwan) KOREA OUT

In this Feb. 22, 2013 photo, South Korean President-elect Park Geun-hye, left, listens to Deputy commander, Republic of Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command Gen. Kwon Oh-sung during her visit at the Combined Forces Command in Seoul, South Korea. Even before she takes office Monday, Feb. 25, 2013, as South Korea's first female president, Park's campaign vow to soften Seoul's current hard-line approach to rival North Korea is being tested by Pyongyang's recent underground nuclear detonation. Pyongyang, Washington, Beijing and Tokyo are all watching to see if Park, the daughter of a staunchly anti-communist dictator, pursues an ambitious engagement policy meant to ease five years of animosity on the divided peninsula or if she sticks with the tough stance of her fellow conservative predecessor, Lee Myung-bak. (AP Photo/Yonhap) KOREA OUT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) ? Even before she takes office Monday as South Korea's first female president, Park Geun-hye's campaign vow to soften Seoul's current hard-line approach to rival North Korea is being tested by Pyongyang's recent underground nuclear detonation.

Pyongyang, Washington, Beijing and Tokyo are all watching to see if Park, the daughter of a staunchly anti-communist dictator, pursues an ambitious engagement policy meant to ease five years of animosity on the divided peninsula or if she sticks with the tough stance of her fellow conservative predecessor, Lee Myung-bak.

Park's decision is important because it will likely set the tone of the larger diplomatic approach that Washington and others take in stalled efforts to persuade North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons ambitions.

It will also be complicated by North Korea's warning of unspecified "second and third measures of greater intensity," a threat that comes as Washington and others push for tightened U.N. sanctions as punishment for the Feb. 12 atomic test, the North's third since 2006.

That test is seen as another step toward North Korea's goal of building a bomb small enough to be mounted on a missile that can hit the United States. The explosion, which Pyongyang called a response to U.S. hostility, triggered global outrage.

Park has said she won't yet change her policy, which was built with the high probability of provocations from Pyongyang in mind. But some aren't sure if engagement can work, given North Korea's choice of "bombs over electricity," as American scientist Siegfried Hecker puts it.

"Normalization of relations, a peace treaty, access to energy and economic opportunities ? those things that come from choosing electricity over bombs and have the potential of lifting the North Korean people out of poverty and hardship ? will be made much more difficult, if not impossible, for at least the next five years," Hecker, a regular visitor to North Korea, said in a posting on the website of Stanford University's Center for International Security and Cooperation.

As she takes office, however, Park will be mindful that many South Koreans are frustrated at the state of inter-Korean relations after the Lee government's five-year rule, which saw two nuclear tests, three long-range rocket launches and attacks blamed on North Korea that killed 50 South Koreans in 2010.

Park's policy calls for strong defense but also for efforts to build trust through aid shipments, reconciliation talks and the resumption of some large-scale economic initiatives as progress occurs on the nuclear issue. Park has also held out the possibility of a summit with new North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Much is riding on Park's conclusion.

"The overall policy direction on North Korea among the U.S., Japan and South Korea will be hers to decide," said Victor Cha, a former senior Asia adviser to President George W. Bush. "If Park Geun-hye wants to contain, the U.S. will support that. But if Park Geun-hye, months down the road, wants to engage, then the U.S. will go along with that too. "

Engagement by Park would provide a sharp contrast with the rule of her father, Park Chung-hee, whose antipathy toward Pyongyang during his 18-year rule in the 1960s and '70s prompted a failed attack on the Blue House by 31 North Korean commandos in 1968. In 1974, Park's wife was shot and killed by a Japan-born Korean claiming he was acting on assassination orders by North Korea founder and then leader Kim Il Sung.

Critics say Park Geun-hye's North Korea policy lacks specifics. They also question how far she can go given her conservative base's strong anti-Pyongyang sentiments.

But Park has previously confounded ideological expectations. She travelled to Pyongyang in 2002 and held private talks with the late Kim Jong Il, the father of Kim Jong Un, and her gifts to Kim Jong Il are showcased in a museum of gifts to the North Korean leaders. During the often contentious presidential campaign, she responded to liberal criticism by reaching out to the families of victims of her father's dictatorship.

She said in her 2007 autobiography that she visited Pyongyang because she thought her painful experiences with the North made her "the one who could resolve South-North relations better than anyone else." She also wrote that Kim Jong Il apologized for the 1968 attack.

"I don't think this latest spike in the cycle of provocation and response undermines her whole platform of seeking to somehow re-engage the North," said John Delury, an analyst at Seoul's Yonsei University. North Korea wants a return of large-scale aid and investment from South Korea.

Before the election, Pyongyang's state media repeatedly questioned the sincerity of Park's engagement overture. Since the election, however, although regular criticism of Lee as "human scum" continues, the North's official Korean Central News Agency hasn't mentioned Park by name, though her political party is still condemned.

Pyongyang sees the nuclear crisis as a U.S.-North Korea issue, Delury said. "From a North Korean mindset, ramping up the tension and hostility with the U.S. does not equal jettisoning relations with the South."

Park may take a wait-and-see stance in coming months.

A possible positive turning point could come if North Korea resists tests or launches during April, when it celebrates two state anniversaries ? Kim Il Sung's birthday and the army's founding anniversary ? according to analyst Hong Hyun-ik at the private Sejong Institute in South Korea. Pyongyang conducted a failed long-range rocket launch during last year's celebrations.

Hong predicts that the United States will seek nuclear talks with North Korea in a few months, something that could help Park's efforts to engage North Korea.

"The nuclear test sets back and complicates but does not necessarily doom her engagement efforts over the long term," said Ralph Cossa, president of Pacific Forum CSIS, a Hawaii-based think tank.

Park warned after the test that North Korea faces international isolation, economic difficulties and, eventually, a collapse if it continues to build its atomic program. She also pressed Pyongyang to respond to her overtures.

"We can't achieve trust with only one side's efforts. Isn't there a saying that 'We need both hands to make a clapping sound?'" she said.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-02-24-SKorea-New%20President/id-bc500400bd0e49c389a9683cfb5c032c

uganda the parent trap invisible children kony 2012 space weather sunspots pac 12 tournament sun storm