New toy selections from our locally owned stores | Speech ...

Store Name: ??????????? Games Galore & the Billiard Store:

General Manager: ??????????? Pat Carroll, Hollie Carroll

#105, 1865 Dunmore Road S.E. 403-526-7213

Email: gamesgaloremh@telus.net

www.gamesgalore.ca

Open Monday ? Saturday 10:00 am ? 5:30 pm.

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1)??????????? Magna Puzzle 3D- $13.99 ages 4+

Very cool twist on a puzzle. It has a 3D effect so it is great for the ?next step up? from

Simple 12/24 piece puzzles. It is magnetic so the pieces can be played on a refrigerator,

Dishwasher, ect.? Available in Dinosaur, wolf, dolphin, moose and tiger scenes.

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2)??????????? Rhyme Thyme Card Game ? $12.99 ages 4+

Can use these cards in various ways. For the older children, play as per the rules. For

younger children, lay out a few cards at a time, have the child name one and then try to

find the ?rhyming? card. As you go through each card, you can ask what is it, where does

it live, who would have one ect.

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3)??????????? Midnight Safari Puzzle (comes with 3D glasses) ? $17.99 ages 6+

Very cool twist on a floor puzzle. There are hidden ABC?s and 123?s once you complete

this puzzle. You have to wear your 3D glasses in order to find them. Lots of things to

name, talk about and find. Would be great for 3+ with adult help.

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4)??????????? Create Your Own Puzzle ? $15.99 ages 3+

If you trust your child with crayons/pencil crayons/felt pens then they can do this puzzle

at any age. The puzzle is a blank slate precut into puzzle pieces. This allows the child to

?draw/color? absolutely anything their heart desires. There is no ?wrong way? to color

this puzzle. When they are finished, they can ?tell you all about it?, take it apart and put

it together again.? Wonderful tool for self expression, increased vocabulary, imaginative

play and just ?doing their own thing? .

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5)??????????? Jumping Frogs Game ? $7.99 ages 3+

Very simple game that anyone can play. Colorful frogs comes with a bucket that you

have to try and make them ?hop? into. Can also use the frogs for sequencing, color

matching, color grouping, following directions (first the yellow, then the red frog).

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6)??????????? Catan Jr. -$38.99 -? 6+ ? Good Family Game

This is a game for those children who need a bit more challenge in their games. The

approximate play time is 30 minutes. Good game for developing problem solving strategies, following specific directions, thinking ahead of what will be needed to win. Will require an adult to help learn the game.

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Store Name: ??????????? Education Emporium:

President and CEO:??????????? E.A. (Beth) Berard

323 North Railway St. S.E.??????????? 403-580-2292

Email: eaberard@telusplanet.net

www.educationemporium.ca

Open Monday ? Friday 9:30 am-5:00 , Saturday 10:30 am ? 4:00

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1)??????????? Language Arts Learning Games ? $27.00 ages Pre-K ? Grade 2

4 complete games with Rhymes/Sequencing/Beginning Sounds/Letter Recognition.

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2)??????????? Various ?Melissa & Doug? Puzzles (Wood/Magnetic)

A really nice variety of almost any puzzle you would be looking for: Princess/Fireman/Sports Girl/Colors/Shapes/Transportation/Dinosaurs/Musical Instruments ect.

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3)??????????? Picture Rhyme Game ? $10.99 ages 4+

This is a really easy game to play to introduce the concept of what Rhymes. Lots of

opportunity to name items in the house, seek and find items, rhyme the card to the

item in the house or just use it as a ?find the match? game.

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4)??????????? Memory Match Game ? $10.99 ages 4+

Very popular game with preschoolers.? Can use it for categories, matching, naming,

associations, describing and What Doesn?t Belong?

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Store Name:??????????? Engaging Minds For Learning

Owners/operators:??????????? Jen & Lyn Sabourin

Ross Glen Business Park (kitty corner to Petland)

#10, 3307 Dunmore Road, S.E.

403-488-9070

www.engagingminds.ca

Open: Monday ? Saturday 10:00 am ? 5:00 pm

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1)??????????? Rainbow Color Cones (My First Color Game) ? $21.99 ages 3+

(currently none at store but look on their website for this product)

Great game for learning colors, sequencing, following directions & turn taking.

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2)??????????? Monkeying Around ?? $19.49 ages 4+

Who doesn?t like playing with monkeys? This game can teach colors, lengths

(short/long/shorter/longer), sizes (big/small), up/down, following directions (put him

next to the red one) and strategies for learning how to balance one side with the other

side (so you don?t lose!)

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3)??????????? Peg & Layer Jungle ? $23.49 ages 3+

Neat game for stacking, sorting and fine motor movements. Can also incorporate

learning prepositions (over/under/up/down/top/bottom/beside/behind) as you play

along with your young ones.

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4)??????????? Howie?s Owie ? $25.99 ages 3+

Wonderful game to help child name parts of the body. Play ?Simon Says? and have the

child place the bandages on those parts named.? This game can also be used as a

?barrier game? for following instructions. Eg: you have one side showing Howie and the child is on the other side showing another Howie. Ask child to place bandages on various areas of the body then check to see if they are correct.

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5)??????????? Ruff?s House ? $38.99 ages 3+

This is an excellent game to help a child name and explore different textures.

Increases vocabulary through touch, sight and description of what they

are feeling.

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6)??????????? Basic Skills for Early Learning (File Folder Games to Go) ? $23.49 ages Pre Kindergarten ?

Grade 2

Patterns/Colors/Shapes/Rhymes/Alphabet/Opposites

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Store Name: ??????????? Bumbleboo: * Baby*Mommy*kids

Owner/Operators:??????????? Lyndsay & Cam McCarty

107, 266 4^th. Street S.W.

403-488-5997

bumblebooinc@shaw.ca

Open: Monday ? Friday 10:00-5:30, Saturday 10:00- 4:00

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1)??????????? My Little Mailbox & My Little Salon Role Play Toys ? $30.00-35.00 ages 18 months +

Really fun cloth items that allow a child to explore, imagine, pretend and engage with

others through everyday routines.

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2)??????????? Pirates Of The Tub ? $26.00 ages 3+

Love these items! You can use them in the tub, out of the tub, while traveling ect.

Foam pieces that float, stick to surfaces while child is using their imagination, talking,

and exploring different scenarios as they play.

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3)??????????? Rapido Game ? $28.00 ages 3+

This is a very unique game. You can play as per the rules or you can use as a sequence

game, learning colors, following simple directions.? Also helps eye hand coordination.

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4)??????????? Infantino Floor Puzzle ? $20.00 ages 3+

Counting and shapes.

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5)??????????? Spin & Match ? $20.00 ages 1-3 years

Simple first game of matching colors and patterns.

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6)??????????? Stormy Seas ? $40.00 ages 3+

Game of learning balance, cause and effect, promotes interaction with others through

langu

Source: http://www.speechlw.ca/uncategorized/new-toy-selections-from-our-locally-owned-stores/

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Boat People's vintage and DIY fashion blog - your daily source of OMG

After Ari published her post about creative pumpkins, I thought it would be nice to find a pumpkin drink recipe to accompany your pumpkin arts and crafts. So I tried Kiersten?s of Oh My Veggies Pumpkin Spice Breakfast Shake and it is absolutely delicious. (I must say that I twisted a tiny bit the original recipe to make it taste more like pumpkin pie!)

What you need:

• 1/4 c. pumpkin puree
• 1 tbsp. maple syrup or sweetener of choice (I used Agave but it?d be interesting to try molasses instead!)
• 3/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice (I made my own mixing grounded Nutmeg, Ginger and Cinnamon)
• 3/4 c. plain or vanilla almond milk? (any other milk works just fine)
• 1/2 c. old fashioned oats
• 1/2 small banana, frozen
• sprinkle of cinnamon and nutmeg (optional)
• 3/4 tsp. organic vanilla extract (optional and added from the original recipe)

Combine together pumpkin puree, sweetener, pumpkin pie spice, almond milk and oats in a resealable container. Refrigerate overnight.

In the morning, add frozen banana to pumpkin mixture and blend in food processor. Process until smooth. For a thinner consistency, add more milk. Pour into glass and sprinkle with cinnamon and/or nutmeg.

Enjoy!

For other delicious vegetarian and vegan recipes please visit Kiersten?s blog.

More awesome stuff:

Source: http://blog.boatpeopleboutique.com/pumpkin-pie-breakfast-shake

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Suicide bomber kills at least 14 in Pakistan

Fayaz Aziz / Reuters

Paramedics and a rescue worker attend to a child who was wounded in a suicide bomb attack in Pakistan.

By NBC News staff

At least 14 people were killed and 25 wounded in a suicide car bomb attack in western Pakistan Saturday, local officials reportedly said.

A. Majeed / AFP - Getty Images

Pakistani security officials inspect the wreckage near a destroyed vehicle at the site of the attack.

The attack, at a market in Darra Adam Khel in the Khyber region, appeared to be aimed at pro-government militia formed to fight the Taliban, Reuters reported. It said 15 shops and eight vehicles were destroyed by the blast.

Hasham Ahmed / AFP - Getty Images

Pakistani men help an injured blast victim.

BBC News reported that local medical centers could not cope with the number of casualties so some of the wounded were taken to other towns in the area.

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Fayaz Aziz / Reuters

Paramedics attend to a woman who was wounded in the attack.

More world stories from NBC News:

Follow World News from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook

Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/13/14412359-suicide-bomber-kills-at-least-14-in-pakistan?lite

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Montenegro rulers set to keep power in election

PODGORICA (Reuters) - Montenegro's ruling party is set to extend its 23-year hold on the ex-Yugoslav republic in a parliamentary election on Sunday, allowing it to lead talks on joining the European Union.

Despite economic stagnation and accusations of high-level corruption, the Democratic Party of Socialists remains popular for having championed the independence of the country of 680,000 people six years ago.

Victory for the ruling party could also mean the return to power of its leader, 50-year old Milo Djukanovic, prime minister or president for all but two years in the last two decades.

"There are a lot of problems, but this government deserves some more time because, unlike the opposition, they fought for this country," said Zoran Djurovic, a 68-year old pensioner.

Opinion polls show the party is likely to win 47 percent of the vote compared to 24 percent for its nearest rival, the Democratic Front opposition alliance. Its credentials have been further strengthened by the EU decision to open accession talks in June.

"There is not much doubt they will be in power again," said Zoran Vujovic of CEMI, a non-governmental group that will monitor the ballot.

The only question was whether the party would still need the support of parliamentary deputies from ethnic minorities who are already part of the ruling coalition, Vujovic said.

Djukanovic's campaign was based on the message that an opposition victory could endanger the independence which Montenegro won in 2006 from much bigger neighbor Serbia.

Although the opposition favors closer ties with Serbia, it does not want to reverse independence. It also seeks to bring Montenegro into the European Union, but unlike the ruling party, it is less clear that it would want NATO membership.

Led by Miodrag Lekic, a former Yugoslav ambassador to Rome under late strongman Slobodan Milosevic, the Democratic Front has campaigned largely on an anti-corruption platform.

Djukanovic stepped down as prime minister in 2010 for handpicked successor Igor Luksic, but has remained influential.

"He is the only leader who has the ability to lead the country," said Zorica Jovanic, 28, a nurse from the capital Podgorica. "He is much smarter than all his opponents."

Montenegro's economy flourished after Djukanovic led it away from Serbia thanks to booming tourism and foreign investment on the scenic Adriatic coast.

But this year, the economy is forecast to grow by only 0.5 percent. Montenegro has been weighed down by the debts of its state-owned aluminum plant as well as the euro zone crisis.

Per capita output is 5,200 euros ($6,700), barely one-fifth of the EU average, but the economy has not been a big feature in the campaign.

Polls will open at 0500 GMT and close at 1900 GMT, with first results expected several hours later.

Smaller opposition blocs, including the Socialist People's Party and the Positive Montenegro alliance, could play a role in forming a future government if neither of the biggest parties wins enough votes.

After Croatia, due to join next July, Montenegro is the only Balkan state that could become an EU member by the end of this decade.

($1 = 0.7712 euros)

(Writing by Zoran Radosavljevic)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/montenegro-rulers-set-keep-power-election-221650695.html

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Sadness, Grief, Anger, Resentment ? How Acupuncture and ...

In life there are many genuine reasons to grieve, to feel sad, to get angry or to feel resentful. The death of a loved one, the loss of a job, being disregarded in your work or personal life, the ongoing challenges of the material world that we live in, not feeling fulfilled, dysfunctional relationships, broken relationships, the loss of a pet? the list is almost endless.

What makes the situation even more difficult is that in today?s society we are often under so much stress that the emotion is not given permission to vent or surface properly, which can lead to other difficult emotions and stronger feelings of sadness, grief, anger etc. and it is a self perpetuating situation.

A Look At Sadness, Grieving & Western Medicine

If you are sad or grieving and you live in a "western civilised country" then you may consider going to a doctor. Friends and family may be supportive, but as the emotion/s persists you and your support group may feel there is no better option. In many cases, depending on how the patient expresses these emotions, the doctor may decide to prescribe anti-depressants to help them.

There may be some cases where as a temporary measure this can appear to help, and unfortunately many other cases where it is the slippery slope to a dependency on prescription drugs.

Of course there are also doctors who may recommend counselling or some form of talk therapy, to give the patient the opportunity to deal with and vent the emotion/s.

Regardless of the route that is chosen, Western medicine does not recognise that certain emotions are linked to specific organs, and can therefore have either a detrimental effect or a balancing effect, depending on the degree and type of emotion experienced.

Traditional Chinese Medicine Recognises Relationships Between Emotions And Organs

However traditional Chinese medicine does recognise the relationship between emotions and organs, and it is an integral aspect of how both traditional Chinese acupuncturists and herbalists practice.

Even if you have no interest in going to a traditional Chinese medical practitioner, I have found that even by observing shifts in general well being, when you understand the inter-relationships between emotions and organs, can give some helpful indications of how to begin re-balancing these imbalances.

For example, doing something creative that you enjoy can give you these type of signals. Walking in nature can also do the same, as can reading something enriching. These are only a handful of examples of potentially balancing activities. Please note that although these are helpful, it would be highly recommended to visit a good practitioner who will help you re-balance thoroughly.

In traditional Chinese Medicine there are 7 emotions which are:

1. Anger

2. Anxiety

3. Fear

4. Fright

5. Grief

6. Joy

7. Pensiveness

Each of these is associated to a different organ or organs. Let?s look very briefly at what these are.

1. Anger which encompasses anger as we know it, as well as resentment, frustration and irritability is linked to the liver.

2. Anxiety is connected to the lungs.

3. Fear or perceived fear is linked to the kidneys.

4. Fright is a sudden experience that will initially affect the heart but over time as the fright converts into a conscious fear, then it will also affect the kidneys.

5. Grief has a direct connection to the lungs and if it passes the stage of normal initial grief and manifests into chronic grief, then it may weaken the lungs.

6. Joy is related to the heart. In traditional Chinese medicine the emotion of joy refers to an agitated overexcited state.

7. Pensiveness in TCM (traditional Chinese medicine) refers to over thinking or too much mental stimulation, which relates to the spleen.

These short snippets barely touch on the relationships, which are rather complex and also encompass the five elements (wood, earth, fire, metal and water). However my intention is to introduce the subject at this time, and to examine it in terms of the difficult emotions of sadness and grief, which is illustrated in the following case study.

A Case Study ? Grief, Sadness, Stress, Anger And Resentment

A patient of Dr. Jingduan Yang, who is a fourth generation doctor of Chinese medicine, a board certified psychiatrist and a contributor to the Huffington post, is a good case study of grief, sadness, anger, resentment and stress.

This patient, whom he calls "Nancy", a woman of 30, had been suffering with lower abdomen pain for 3 months, which got worse after drinking cold drinks or eating oily food. A doctor she had attended had prescribed her medication which attacked the symptoms but not the cause, after not being able to discover any physical signs of infection, cancer, inflammation or other tangible condition.

However upon attending Dr. Jingduan Yang, it became apparent that her symptoms were indeed her friends and were desperately trying to tell her something important. "Nancy" had been ignoring the grief of losing a long term friend, which was combined with five years of stress of almost constant relocation and professional pressure.

A difficult routine, eating habits that were not conducive to a balanced life and health, married with grief, sadness, anger and resentment were brought back into balance by a combined holistic approach, which incorporated a course of acupuncture, herbal remedies, meditation, qi gong, and improved dietary and eating habits. This lady was helped to re-balance, as well as understanding the messages which her symptoms were giving and taking part in practices which gave her back more responsibility over her own health.

Grief and sadness are recognised in Chinese medicine to weaken the normal energy flow (qi) of the lungs as well as the large intestines.

Anger and resentment (a form of anger) are recognised to create blockages of energy (qi) and blood in the liver and gallbladder channels. In turn this can result in pain, mood swings, indigestion, insomnia and dysmenorrhea.

This is one case study of hundreds of thousands of studies that traditional Chinese practitioners have all around the world. Even if you feel sceptical about trying TCM, remember it has, and continues to help millions of people deal with the root cause of their imbalances and not just the symptoms. It is a great way to maintain a healthy body, mind and spirit. It can help you understand and deal with your emotions before they become chronic, and can help you re-discover parts of yourself that became drowned in pools of stress and chronic emotions.

If you have been feeling any or some of these emotions, it can be a great relief to deal with them with the aid of a good practitioner.

Source: http://toddsblogs.com/healthandfitness/2012/10/13/sadness-grief-anger-resentment-how-acupuncture-and-traditional-chinese-medicine-can-help/

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Maintaining your mental health

News ? By Megan Lambert on October 12, 2012 7:00 AM

As the fall semester continues? and midterms rapidly approach, classes and extra-curricular activities tend to become more stressful.

Because of this stress, sickness and discomfort creep up on many students, lingering in the more vulnerable ones.? Stress and sickness leave students feeling weak, slow and disoriented.

Keeping a healthy mind and body while maintaining stress levels throughout the school year is an extremely important key to every student?s success. Making sure to receive adequate sleep, keep proper eating habits, and reach out for help or advice when needed will help lead to a healthier Logger physically, mentally and emotionally.

Maintaining mental health is a very important aspect to leading a healthy lifestyle. Doing well academically heavily relies on the state of one?s mental health. If you do not have the time and energy to study, you will be more likely to perform poorly academically.

Alternately, if students do not give their brains the energy they need to focus and study, all of their time and effort studying will go to waste.

This pressure to succeed academically leads many to increased stress levels. If a student cannot complete work for a class to the best of his or her ability in a timely matter, there must be many factors that lead up to this problem.

A lack of sleep, for instance, can easily lead to a weaker ability to retain information. For a student to perform at their best mental capability every day, they must receive, at the least, seven hours of sleep each night. The proper amount of sleep will help contribute to students? academic success, as well as their mental stamina throughout the day.

Eating healthy and maintaining a routine eating schedule is also vital to both physical and mental health. Three meals a day help nourish the mind and body for a long day of classes. Sustaining a well-balanced diet is also important because eating the correct amount of nutrients each day helps fuel the mind and body. Healthy eating is essential to perform one?s best each and every day.

Exercising regularly is also the key to keeping not only a student in a proper physical condition, but in a strong and successful mental condition. Exercising can help increase one?s attention level while also reducing one?s stress level. Physical activity helps prevent depression, while keeping one fit and overall more physically healthy.

Proper fitness patterns are very important in keeping one?s physical and mental condition in good shape. Whether you participate in a sport, frequent the gym or just go for a walk, it is very important to fit exercising into your schedule to help maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Asking for help or advice when needed is also an extremely smart and important thing to do. There are many people all over campus that would be happy to hear your problems and help you out. Advice or just a listening ear can be exactly what students need to encourage them to strive for success.

Physical as well as mental health are both key factors in keeping college students at their best. Although many students feel they are too busy to keep up with these tasks halfway through the semester, it is important to consider them. These suggestions, if used properly, will most likely help students manage their time and stress levels a little easier. Maintaining good physical and mental health leads to a happier and more relaxed campus for all.

If any student on campus feels stressed or discouraged for any reason, CHWS holds open counselor walk-in hours every weekday from 1 to 2:30 p.m.

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Source: http://trail.pugetsound.edu/2012/10/maintaining-your-mental-health/

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SUPREME COURT NOTEBOOK: Justices as campaign issue (The Arizona Republic)

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

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/255250245?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Football Friday! Mike Florio, Boomer Esiason, None Of Your Biz and ...

600- How bout that Steelers Titans game! On a related note, my goodness the AFC stinks? Right now, 5+ weeks in, 10 AFC teams are under .500? Ten! Also, this absolutely was not an example of Tennessee being better than we thought, they didn?t even play that well?

615- HEADLINES

630- Top 3? And the craziest Aaron Rodgers stat ever?

645- Remember that ?Texans peaking? conversation? Yeah, about that? We all hope that wasn?t the case, but a loss this week, after the Cushing injury, well it would start to seem more possible?

700- NFL Games of e Week? Giants @ 49ers? Patriots @ Seahawks? Cowboys @ Ravens,..

Holliday picked up by the Broncos? Keshawn?s expectations?

715- Red River Shootout! -And I?m still pissed about JJ?s sack! I watched the play, I say hogwash.

730- Carlos Mencia

745- No Huddle? Raiders @ Falcons? A ?must win? for a 3-2 team? I think so? Winner of Rams @ Dolphins a legit playoff contender??

800- Question of the game: Wich Aaron Rodgers shows up? The only stat you need? Packers are 24-1 in last 3 years when Rodgers has a QB rating of 105+? Packers are 8-9 when he doesn?t? That means, unless ARod plays like, quite literally, the best player in the world, the Packers are a sub 500 team? Wen he plays like the best? They?re unbeatable.

815- ?Have you seen the Colts next 5 games? @Jets, Browns, @Titans, dolphins, @Jags! Then @Patriots, Bills, @Det, Titans? Combined record next 5 opponents: 7-19? next 9- 14-33!!!! So, with that said, and looking at the AFC as a whole, is Lopez preseason pick so crazy anymore?

830- NOYB

845- Mike Florio

900- Crown Royal Black Bold Picks of the Week with Brooke and Todd?

915- Boomer Esiason

930- Straw Poll

Source: http://houston.cbslocal.com/2012/10/12/football-friday-mike-florio-boomer-esiason-none-of-your-biz-and-telling-pack-stats/

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Direct Mail Postcards - Business 2 Community

Postcards are still one of the most effective and efficient methods of marketing available today. Even with all the digital sales and advertising going on,?direct mail postcards?still work and can enhance any digital marketing if used well.

One sales technique that has been in a state of decline is that of door-to-door sales. While this is an excellent way to be sure that you get your message in front of customers, the time it takes and the cost of materials makes it a less than ideal marketing method. Like telemarketing, door-to-door sales is a form of interruption marketing that forces consumers to pay attention. But this can come at a steep cost.

If you are the owner of a business, you may not have realized that direct mail postcards are an efficient form of marketing that can far out-perform door-to-door sales. There are plenty of different reasons as to why direct mail postcards are actually better for making sales than door-to-door selling. If you haven?t tried direct mail postcards, it might make sense to see how well they can work for you.

Affordable

Postcards are still very affordable. At a cost of only a few cents per postcard plus applicable mailing fees, it?s one of the easiest and least expensive ways to get your brand and message in front of the right customers at the right time. There are plenty of pre-designed postcards you can use to customize and then print with an online printer for very cheap, such as the?free postcard designs?on PrintPlace.com or the?postcard designs available from StockLayouts.com?at a reasonable cost.

Focused

You can very carefully focus your direct mail campaign to reach your perfectly ideal customer. Door-to-door sales tend to be all over the place in terms of the demographic advertised to. But you can select the ideal customers who tend to purchase more frequently than others and only send postcards to this group.

Less Intrusive

Door-to-door sales are incredibly intrusive. Postcards, on the other hand, still show up in the customers? hands, but the customer has the ability to read and research on their own time. For this reason alone, postcards may be much more suited to your business model.

Efficiency

With all these advantages in mind, the bottom line is that postcards can be far more efficient when it comes to dollars spent on a campaign. Because the cost has gotten so affordable and you can focus your marketing at such a tight audience, the response rate for direct mail postcards is much higher than with door-to-door sales.

Postcards Are Not the Magic Bullet for Everyone

While direct mail postcards are an excellent marketing tool, they?re not for everyone. There will always be a few kinds of products and services that require a door-to-door sales approach. So don?t think postcards can automagically replace sales for your products. Be smart, but consider the advantages postcards bring and try implementing a new campaign.

Effective Techniques for Marketing with Postcards

The first step to effectively marketing with your postcards is to create postcards that are visually appealing. Make sure that the content on the postcard gets straight to the point, makes sense, and includes a call to action. The postcards should also include your logo and other brand elements so that people will be able to connect the postcards with your business.

Instead of using postcards on their own, use them in conjunction with online marketing techniques. Create a campaign that includes email marketing, social media blasts, and printed postcards. On your postcards, include a QR code or URL that leads consumers to a landing page you have created specifically for that campaign. Of course, always include your website URL and possibly social media information on your postcards to help customers make that connection between your online and offline presence.

You can either mail postcards directly to customers, as mentioned before, but you can also market them out of the home, meaning you can place them in different stores, hotels, airports and other areas where tons of people frequent on a daily basis. You can also send them out to people based on specific demographics, such as location or relationships status, which would help you increase the chance of gaining new business.

If your door-to-door sales seems to be suffering, try starting with a small printed postcard campaign directed at a small group of targeted consumers. In conjunction with online marketing, direct mail postcards can be even more powerful, so also include online efforts for your campaign. Check your results of your test, see what worked and what didn?t, make changes, and try again. Before long, you may find that you have a highly effective marketing method that greatly out-performs the ancient practice of door-to-door sales.

Author: Tara Hornor???? Tara Hornor on the Web Tara Hornor on Facebook Tara Hornor on LinkedIn Tara Hornor on Google Plus

Tara Hornor writes for PrintPlace.com, an online printing company that offers services for brochures, business cards, marketing flyers, posters, postcards, custom booklets, and more printed marketing media. She has found her niche writing about marketing, advertising, branding, web and graphic design, and desktop publishing. In addition to? View?full?profile

Source: http://www.business2community.com/marketing/direct-mail-postcards-a-better-alternative-to-door-to-door-sales-0305717

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Importance of a Real Estate Agent | Seller Tips | greatmarylandliving ...

http://greatmarylandliving.com/home-sellers/ picking a real estate agent. why work with a realtor. Bowie Relator Brendan Spear wants to be your realtor for life. Learn how to sell your home with Caprika Realty?s home selling video series! this video is part of the home selling tip seriers.

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About Brendan Spear

Brendan Spear is the Broker Owner of Caprika Realty. Although he lives out of Bowie Maryland, he and his wife Chelsea Spear serve the surrounding cities. He is a top 5 in Real Estate Agent, has a Mechanical Engineering degree and a Masters in Information Systems Architecture.

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Source: http://greatmarylandliving.com/videos/importance-of-a-real-estate-agent-seller-tips-2/

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Personal Branding Expert Nick Nanton Publishes Blog Analyzing ...

Nick Nanton, The Celebrity Lawyer and Agent to top Celebrity Experts, explains the relative benefits of personal branding as compared to corporate branding.

Orlando, FL ? October 11, 2012 - Nick Nanton, Esq., Founder of The Dicks and Nanton Celebrity Branding Agency?, a Personal Branding company, recently published a blog on his website (http://www.nicknanton.com) discussing personal branding. The blog, titled ?Why You Need a Personal Brand, Not Just a Company Brand? highlights three distinct advantages of personal branding.

Nick Nanton writes, ?When it comes to getting the most ?bang for your buck? as a small or mid-sized business, it?s impossible to beat the power of personal branding!?

The Dicks and Nanton Celebrity Branding Agency? specializes in Personal Branding. They help clients to elevate their recognition and credibility in their business or professional niche.

The entire blog can be found at http://www.celebritybrandingagency.com/blog/why-you-need-a-personal-brand-not-just-a-company-brand.php

To learn more about Nick Nanton, please visit http://www.nicknanton.com and http://www.CelebrityBrandingAgency.com

About Nick Nanton, Esq.:

An Emmy Award Winning Director and Producer, Nick Nanton, Esq., is known as The Celebrity Lawyer and Agent to top Celebrity Experts for his role in developing and marketing business and professional experts, through personal branding, media, marketing and PR to help them gain credibility and recognition for their accomplishments. Nick is recognized as the nation's leading expert on personal branding as Fast Company Magazine's Expert Blogger on the subject and lectures regularly on the topic at major universities around the world.

The CEO of The Dicks + Nanton Celebrity Branding Agency, Nick is an award winning director, producer and songwriter who has worked on everything from large scale events to television shows with the likes of Jack Canfield (co-creator of the Chicken Soup of rate Soul Series), Michael E. Gerber (The E-Myth), Brian Tracy, Dan Kennedy, Dr. Ivan Misner (founder of BNI), Mari Smith, Robert Allen, Jay Conrad Levinson and many more.

Nick is recognized as one of the top thought-leaders in the business world and has co-authored 16 best-selling books, including the breakthrough hit Celebrity Branding You!, that has been used as a college textbook on personal branding. Nick serves as publisher of Celebrity Press, a publishing company that produces and releases books by top Business Experts. CelebrityPress has published books by many celebrity experts and Nick has led the marketing and PR campaigns that have driven more than 700 authors to Best-Seller status. Nick has been seen in USA Today, The Wall St. Journal, Newsweek, Inc. Magazine, The New York Times, Entrepreneur Magazine, FastCompany.com and has appeared on ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX television affiliates around the country, as well as on CNN, FOX News, CNBC and MSNBC in major markets across the nation, speaking on subjects ranging from branding, marketing and law, to American Idol.

Nick is a member of the Florida Bar, holds a JD from the University of Florida Levin College of Law, as well as a BSBA in Finance from the University of Florida's Warrington College of Business. Nick is a voting member of The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS, Home to The GRAMMYs), a member of The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (Home to the Emmy Awards) co-founder of the National Academy of Best-Selling Authors, a 15-time Telly Award winner, and spends his spare time working with Young Life and Downtown Credo Orlando as well as rooting for the Florida Gators with his wife Kristina and their three children, Brock, Bowen and Addison.

Learn more at http://www.NickNanton.com and http://www.CelebrityBrandingAgency.com

Source: http://www.celebritybrandingagency.com/news/personal-branding-expert-nick-nanton-publishes-blog-analyzing-personal-branding-strategy.php

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Suomi NPP satellite sees auroras over North America

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Overnight on October 4-5, 2012, a mass of energetic particles from the atmosphere of the Sun were flung out into space, a phenomenon known as a coronal mass ejection. Three days later, the storm from the Sun stirred up the magnetic field around Earth and produced gorgeous displays of northern lights. NASA satellites track such storms from their origin to their crossing of interplanetary space to their arrival in the atmosphere of Earth.

Using the "day-night band" (DNB) of the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS), the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) satellite acquired this view of the aurora borealis early on the morning of October 8, 2012. The northern lights stretch across Canada's Quebec and Ontario provinces in the image, and are part of the auroral oval that expanded to middle latitudes because of a geomagnetic storm.

The DNB sensor detects dim light signals such as auroras, airglow, gas flares, city lights, and reflected moonlight. In the case of the image above, the sensor detected the visible light emissions as energetic particles rained down from Earth's magnetosphere and into the gases of the upper atmosphere. The images are similar to those collected by the Operational Linescan System flown on U.S. Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) satellites for the past three decades.

Auroras typically occur when solar flares and coronal mass ejections?or even an active solar wind stream?disturb and distort the magnetosphere, the cocoon of space protected by Earth's magnetic field. The collision of solar particles and pressure into our planet's magnetosphere accelerates particles trapped in the space around Earth (such as in the radiation belts). Those particles are sent crashing down into Earth's upper atmosphere?at altitudes of 100 to 400 kilometers (60 to 250 miles)?where they excite oxygen and nitrogen molecules and release photons of light. The results are rays, sheets, and curtains of dancing light in the sky.

Auroras are a beautiful expression of the connection between Sun and Earth, but not all of the connections are benign. Auroras are connected to geomagnetic storms, which can distort radio communications (particularly high frequencies), disrupt electric power systems on the ground, and give slight but detectable doses of radiation to flight crews and passengers on high-latitude airplane flights and on spacecraft.

The advantage of images like those from VIIRS and DMSP is resolution, according to space physicist Patrick Newell of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. "You can see very fine detail in the aurora because of the low altitude and the high resolution of the camera," he said. Most aurora scientists prefer to use images from missions dedicated to aurora studies (such as Polar, IMAGE, and ground-based imagers), which can offer many more images of a storm (rather than one per orbit) and can allow researchers to calculate the energy moving through the atmosphere. There are no science satellites flying right now that provide such a view, though astronauts regularly photograph and film auroras from the International Space Station.

###

NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center: http://www.nasa.gov/goddard

Thanks to NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/124406/Suomi_NPP_satellite_sees_auroras_over_North_America

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Palin-nice or Ryan-tough: How Biden may shift debate tactics (CNN)

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Tips To Leap Begin Your Appealing Web Hosting | My Six Strings Blog

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Each man or woman internet hosting a web site incorporates a specified goal in your mind. Although some are premier corporations that assume a number of potential customers and possess a prerequisite of focused servers and considerably better administration of visitors, some are smallish time corporations which might be just starting off off and have to have simply a fraction of services additionally, the internet hosting remedies have to cater to only that.

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2. Tips To Locate Appealing Hosting While Using Highest Quality Customer Service
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4. One Of The Best Hosting Company: Will Want To You Decide On Internet Hosting Strategy With In Excess Of 2 A Long Time Agreement?
5. Hosting Provider Being A New Vocation: Do I Would Like Business Web Hosting?

Source: http://mysixstringsblog.com/tips-to-leap-begin-your-appealing-web-hosting/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tips-to-leap-begin-your-appealing-web-hosting

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D-Link PowerLine AV+ Mini Adapter kit keeps wired networks as subtle (and cheap) as possible

D-Link still sees there being a place for powerline networking, such as a basement home theater, but knows that many of us don't want an overly clunky set of adapters or to effectively buy a second network. Its new (if slightly awkwardly named) PowerLine AV+ Mini Adapter Starter Kit caters just to that desire for a no-hassle network in places WiFi won't reach. The bundle carries a pair of small, 200Mbps adapters that won't monopolize the wall outlets, a pair of Ethernet cables to link up... and that's it. Apart from the optional 128-bit AES encryption, there's nothing else needed to either make a direct connection or graft powerline technology into an existing network. At $60, the already shipping kit is also just low enough in price that there's very little standing between us and a reliable connection for a console or placeshifter.

Continue reading D-Link PowerLine AV+ Mini Adapter kit keeps wired networks as subtle (and cheap) as possible

Filed under: Networking

D-Link PowerLine AV+ Mini Adapter kit keeps wired networks as subtle (and cheap) as possible originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Oct 2012 19:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  D-Link  | Email this | Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/11/d-link-powerline-av-mini-adapter-kit-keeps-wired-networks-subtle/

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Mark Titus, others, likely targets of new charges in River Birch probe ...

Titus attorney, Jimmy Ardoin, said prosecutors have given him notice of their plans to file a new indictment soon

Aiming to stay on the offensive in the River Birch probe, federal prosecutors are preparing a new indictment to pile on additional charges - and perhaps add new defendants - as early as Thursday, according to court testimony and sources close to the probe.

Mark Titus, who was sentenced Wednesday to five years in prison on a conspiracy charge, is likely to be charged in the superseding indictment, said his attorney, Jimmy Ardoin. In court, Ardoin revealed that prosecutors have given him notice of their plans to file a new indictment soon.

Ardoin said he didn't know who would be hit with new charges or what new allegations prosecutors might make. But he said he expects a new indictment to focus on transactions Titus made after he signed a plea deal with the government last year. Prosecutors last week alleged that Titus, his wife, his son and his mother-in-law were part of a "scheme" to shield the family's assets from government seizure.

"I've been given the heads up, but not the details," Ardoin said of the pending indictment.

Prosecutors would not comment Wednesday. But during a hearing that preceded Titus' sentencing, they confirmed that a grand jury recently issued a subpoena to Titus' wife, Valerie Titus, asking for records related to properties in her name.

The government last week said Valerie Titus sold two New Orleans properties that were held in community property with her husband. According to records cited by prosecutors, Valerie Titus sold the properties to her mother for nominal amounts that were well below the structures' market value.

But a source close to the probe said Valerie Titus isn't expected to figure in the new indictment. It's unclear, however, whether other members of Titus' family that were allegedly parties to the transactions could become targets of the investigation.

Sources said the government also appears to be considering charges that could expand the scheme involving Titus, which resulted in more than $1 million being embezzled from Garner Services, a construction firm Titus co-owns. Titus alleged that his brother-in-law, River Birch landfill executive Dominick Fazzio, was part of the scheme, and Titus even wore a wire to help prosecutors build a case against Fazzio. Both Dominick Fazzio and his wife, Rebecca Fazzio, were present at Titus' hearing Wednesday.

Fazzio has maintained he did nothing wrong and is set to go to trial later this month. But sources said prosecutors appear to be considering additional charges against Fazzio, especially as Titus is not expected to cooperate any further with the investigation. Prosecutors are trying to turn Fazzio against River Birch's owners, Fred Heebe and Jim Ward, who are the main targets of the investigation.

Fazzio's attorney, Arthur "Buddy" Lemann, declined to comment after Titus' sentencing Wednesday. Ardoin, Titus' attorney, said prosecutors have not asked his client to cooperate anymore.

Asked if his client would cooperate the government sought his testimony, Ardoin said, "I don't think so."

Source: http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2012/10/mark_titus_others_likely_targe.html

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Vice presidential debate could be a tale of two Ryans

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (Reuters) - Republican Congressman Paul Ryan is a changed man. Presidential candidate Mitt Romney's running mate made a name for himself as a bold fiscal crusader, willing to make big, unpopular cuts to entitlements to get U.S. finances in order.

But since Romney tapped him in August to join his campaign, the vice presidential candidate has become more prudent, avoiding detailed discussion of his budget plan and earning the nickname "mini-Mitt" for displaying a cautious streak like his boss.

For Vice President Joe Biden, a major question heading into his debate with Ryan in Kentucky on Thursday is "a choice of which Ryan we're going to see," a Biden adviser said.

Instead of promoting his own budget plan, which includes caps on future Medicare spending, Ryan is talking up Romney's more voter-friendly version, which has no spending limits, at campaign events.

"The vice president has been studying up on (Ryan's) real positions and is prepared to call him out on his actual positions," said the adviser, who warned that "maybe there will be some dishonesty," from the Republican.

The stakes are high for Biden, who is charged with righting a listing ship after President Barack Obama's disastrous first debate against Romney in Denver last week, which lost him the momentum in polls ahead of the November 6 election.

Democrats have targeted Ryan's budget, a severe series of spending cuts, as proof that he would hurt seniors and the middle class.

One top Republican strategist said the best way for Biden to battle his opponent is to tease out the "wonky" Ryan, the congressman who loves mind-numbing fiscal details.

"If I was prepping against Ryan, I would be looking for issues that Romney and Ryan disagree on and try and pull out Ryan the wonk, as opposed to Ryan the running mate," the strategist said.

That would turn off television viewers not used to detailed policy arguments, and could give Biden a chance to paint the Republican team as holding different positions on Medicare.

The Romney campaign has worked overtime to emphasize that House Budget Committee chairman Ryan has fallen in line with the presidential candidate on fiscal issues.

"You have to remember this is a Romney-Ryan ticket, and there's one presidential candidate, there's one person at the top of the ticket," Romney spokesman Kevin Madden told reporters on Tuesday.

NO RYAN DOCTRINE

An image of Ryan as a congenial Midwesterner rather than a congressional budget hawk has been enhanced on the campaign trail, where he has worked to build a reputation for an easy manner with voters.

Much was made in the media of Ryan cutting short an interview this week with a local television reporter whose questions he did not like, but the Wisconsin congressman was in good spirits immediately after the interview, and did not storm off as was suggested.

Economic issues aside, Ryan is clearly taking his lead from Romney on foreign policy, a weak spot for the 42-year-old congressman against Biden, who spent more than 10 years on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

In Ohio on Monday, Ryan echoed much of the language and themes that the former Massachusetts governor laid out in an attack on Obama's handling of world events during a speech at the Virginia Military Institute.

"The president is not offering the kind of spirited and principled leadership we need to create jobs here at home or to keep us safe," Ryan said.

At a rally, he pressed home criticism of Obama over the killing of four Americans in Libya, a favorite foreign policy attack line of Romney.

Ryan told voters to just turn on their televisions: "You will likely see the failures of the Obama foreign policy unfolding before our eyes," Ryan said. "You see if you look around the world, what we are witnessing is the unraveling of the Obama foreign policy."

Leading up to Thursday's debate, Ryan retreated to Florida to prepare, spending Tuesday morning focused on policy briefings before switching to debate prep.

Ryan aides in recent days have begun the typical campaign ritual of playing up your opponent before a debate, portraying Biden as a seasoned professional.

"Vice President Biden has done 18 presidential or VP debates over the years - 14 in 2008," said one Ryan aide. "He's always a focused debater. It's not a setting in which he makes gaffes."

Brendan Buck, a Ryan spokesman, noted that Thursday night will be Ryan's "first time on the big stage."

"After the president's performance last week, we know Joe Biden will (be) coming at us like a cannonball," Buck said.

(Reporting By Sam Youngman; editing by Alistair Bell and Todd Eastham)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/vice-presidential-debate-could-tale-two-ryans-023752286.html

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Kickstarter brings crowdfunding to the UK on Halloween

Whether you're currently keeping calm, or simply carrying on, we've got some good news for you steadfast Brits: Kickstarter makes its official launch in the UK on October 31st. Sure, its arrival was rather inevitable, but All Hallows' Eve will mark the first time that inventors outside of the US can take part in the crowdfunding website. Kickstarter visitors will find UK projects listed alongside those in the US, and inventors who think they've stumbled upon the next great mousetrap may begin work on their listing today. Naturally, Insert Coin fans are bound to find some nifty projects work their way across the pond, but in the meantime, you can check out the commerce-related details at the source link below.

Filed under: Internet

Kickstarter brings crowdfunding to the UK on Halloween originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Oct 2012 03:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/WoIti7d_XM0/

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Soldiers claim illness after guarding KBR in Iraq

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) ? A war contractor knew a critical southern Iraq oilfield plant was riddled with a well-known toxin but ignored the risk to soldiers while hurrying the project along, firing a whistleblower and covering up the presence of the chemical when faced with exposure, the soldiers' attorney said in opening arguments Wednesday in a federal civil suit.

An attorney for the contractor, Kellogg, Brown and Root, fired back in his opening salvo of a trial expected to last weeks that the soldiers' injuries weren't a result of their exposure to the toxin, called sodium dichromate. Geoffrey L. Harrison argued that the company had no knowledge of the chemical's presence at the plant and when they found it, they promptly and repeatedly warned the military of the danger.

A jury of six men and six women will decide whether the company is culpable for 12 Oregon National Guardsmen's exposure to the toxin, a known carcinogen, and whether that exposure led to their ongoing respiratory illnesses. The soldiers will also try to show that the fear of future illnesses is causing them to suffer emotional distress.

The irony, said the soldiers' attorney, Mike Doyle, "is that every single one of these men had a chemical hazard suit they would have put on instantly if they had known."

KBR tried to warn the U.S. Army about the dangers of sodium dichromate, Harrison said, but didn't go to the soldiers themselves because that wasn't the proper channel of communication.

"That was appropriate," Harrison said. "That was not concealment."

The suit dates to prewar Iraq, when the U.S. Army feared then-Iraqi president Saddam Hussein would react to an invasion by setting his own oil fields ablaze, as he had done in Kuwait after the Gulf War.

Seeking to head off Hussein, in late 2002 the army contracted KBR and tasked them with assessing and repairing Iraqi oilfield installations. One of the most central ? and critical to a continued supply of oil from the Gulf ? was called Qarmat Ali.

Qarmat Ali operated as a water treatment plant, injecting heavier, treated water into the ground to force oil to rise through wells to the surface. One of the chemicals Iraqi workers had been using was sodium dichromate, a substance long restricted in the U.S. over environmental and health concerns.

What the Guardsmen found in late March or early April 2003 was a run-down plant, Harrison said, looted and stripped of copper wire. The ground, the soldiers allege, was contaminated with sodium dichromate. When they asked about the risks, the soldiers contend they were rebuffed or placated, and safety equipment wasn't ordered until they had been on site for months.

The soldiers returned to the U.S. suffering from myriad respiratory problems, migraines and lung issues. They sued KBR in June 2009. The Oregon soldiers were joined by Guardsmen from Indiana and West Virginia, some of whom are also involved in suits against KBR.

Harrison pointed to a U.S. Army medical evaluation of the soldiers from October 2003 that found that the soldiers' medical issues were likely a result of the conditions ? dry desert air, other chemicals ? or preexisting conditions, along with consumption of protein-heavy supplements and the presence of sodium dichromate.

"At best, there's some possibility that some of their on-site symptoms could be related (to sodium dichromate exposure), but most likely, were not," Harrison said.

Doyle said an attempt by a KBR employee in August or September 2003 to blow the whistle on the company's role in the alleged deception of the soldiers was met with the man's dismissal from the plant. Doyle said the company was seeking an incentive from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to finish the work quickly and would brook no complaint from employees about safety concerns.

Harrison dismissed the whistleblower as a "disruptive force" at meetings who didn't know that KBR and the U.S. Army were already in talks about the toxin.

In depositions taken of senior KBR officials, Doyle points to memory "black holes" that the officials say they suffer when trying to remember events from post-invasion Iraq.

"Photographs also went into a black hole," Doyle said. "E-mails went into a black hole."

Harrison told the jury that Doyle's assertions about the memories of KBR executives were "little sound bites that he hopes stick with you."

"Some 200 people were deposed," Harrison said. "To get one person who doesn't remember everything from 8 (or) 9 years ago is not evidence."

Doyle is expected to call at least 40 witnesses, from toxicologists to engineers and the soldiers themselves.

"KBR had a responsibility," Doyle said. "They were full well aware from their assessment that sodium dichromate was present.

"It's no surprise that they documented it existed since Day One."

___

Reach reporter Nigel Duara on Facebook at http://on.fb.me/UKvVDo

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/soldiers-claim-illness-guarding-kbr-iraq-220847520.html

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Misconduct, Not Error, Is the Main Cause of Scientific Retractions

I think that the article implicitly misrepresents the level of misconduct by leaving out some relevant statistics.... More than 2,000 scientific articles, retracted! And... fraud!... plagiarism!

In context -- PubMed has more than 22 million documents and accepts 500,000 a year, according to Wikipedia.

So, to do the math: Number of fraudulent articles, total, = vanishingly small percentage of the total articles.

Source: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/k12bp6QIA3M/misconduct-not-error-is-the-main-cause-of-scientific-retractions

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Surgeons associate preoperative falls with worse postoperative outcomes in older adults

ScienceDaily (Oct. 1, 2012) ? An answer to the simple question -- "Have you recently taken a fall?" -- can tell a surgeon how well an older adult may recover from a major operation according to researchers from the University of Colorado, Denver. New study findings, reported today at the 2012 Annual Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons (ACS), indicate that preoperative falls in older surgical patients are a powerful predictor of complications, prolonged hospital stays, and higher rates of disability.

"It has been shown in previous studies that a history of falls predicts poor long-term outcomes but we have never looked at immediate preop assessment related to postop outcomes," explained Teresa Jones, MD, lead study author and surgical resident at the University of Colorado. "This is the first time that falls as a stand-alone risk marker have been used for predicting outcomes in older adults."

Falls -- a marker of physical frailty -- are a risk factor unique to the geriatric population and increase the chance of hospitalization and even death in older adults. In fact, 47 percent of hospital admissions of individuals age 65 and older are the result of fall-related injuries, according to the National Trauma Databank of the American College of Surgeons.*

The study included 208 patients, average age 74, who were undergoing colorectal or cardiac surgical procedures at the Denver Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Dr. Jones and colleagues asked the patients, of whom were mostly male, if they had fallen in the six months prior to their scheduled operation. Preoperative falls occurred in 34 percent of the patients.

Researchers found that adverse outcomes occurred more frequently in patients who had reported one or more falls in that timeframe. For patients undergoing colorectal operations, 58 percent of those who fell sometime prior to their operations experienced more than one postoperative complication versus only 27 percent of those who did not fall. Those complications included cardiac events; stroke; reoperation; and pulmonary, renal, thrombotic, and infectious complications.

In addition, patients who reported a postoperative fall spent nearly three times as many days in the hospital as their fall-free counterparts. Further, 59 percent of those who fell before surgery, as opposed to only 4.2 percent of those who did not, needed institutional care following their operations. Likewise, significant differences were seen in patients undergoing cardiac surgical procedures.

"Our goal is to help with preoperative and postoperative planning," Dr. Jones explained. "If it's likely that a patient will need to enter a nursing home for several weeks after an operation, the patient and family can evaluate various facilities beforehand to see which one would best address their specific needs. "It's important for a patient to be at a place that they've chosen and know what to expect after surgery," Dr. Jones said.

More than one-third of all operations in the United States are now performed on people 65 and older, and the fastest growing segment of the population undergoing various surgical procedures is adults in their 80s, the researchers said. "This assessment is very novel in the sense that older adults have unique risk factors that we can look for that suggest that they will do poorly after an operation, but these markers are not readily recognized by the wider surgical community," said study coauthor Thomas Robinson, MD, FACS, associate professor of surgery at the University of Colorado.

Thus the ultimate aim, the study authors said, is to develop simple tests that will enable the average surgeon to forecast who is going to fare best following an operation. "I think this study is going to improve care by changing how we counsel older adults prior to these major operations," Dr. Robinson said. "We want to tailor the patient's health care plan based upon what will be the best possible outcome. We shouldn't settle for putting people in institutional care facilities for the last six months of their life."

Daniel Wu, MD, chief surgical resident, department of surgery, Denver Veteran's Affairs Medical Center also contributed to this study.

The study was supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health.

* Source: American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma. "Incidents by Selected Mechanism of Injury and Age (Table 17)." 2011 Annual Report of the National Trauma Data Bank. Available at http://www.facs.org/trauma/ntdb/pdf/ntdbannualreport2011.pdf. Accessed September 14, 2012.

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