This sweet couple said "I Do" in a beautiful morning ceremony in CJ's garden. Amber + Matt opted for a morning wedding so that they could spend as much of their day together as possible. The ceremony was followed by a delicious brunch reception – coffee, mimosas, heirloom china filled with southern style breakfast cuisine, and a scrumptious cake filled with fresh fruit. Their preppy, vibrant style and unique details made the day truly beautiful, from the kelly green bridesmaids dresses to the navy-striped table runners, and colorful florals by Enchanted Florist. It was such a sweet moment when the bride and groom exchanged the exact same wedding gift: moleskin journals they had written to one another throughout their engagement, unbeknownst to each other! We wish them a lifetime of happiness.
Thanks to Amy Nicole Photography for capturing the joy of Amber + Matt's wedding day.


text:
Standard 2 Student's Finger Breaks After Classroom Ceiling Fan Drops On Her
Three other students were also injured by the rusted fan.
By Aqasha Nur'aiman — 19 Oct 2022, 11:19 AM
#classroom
#fan
#ceilingfan
#student
#taiping
#perak
#accident
#injuries
#finger
Cover image via Utusan Malaysia
A Standard 2 student in Larut, Taiping, had her fingers broken when her classroom's ceiling fan dropped on her yesterday, 18 October
The incident occurred at 10am while the student was in the middle of a lesson, reported Utusan Malaysia.
After the fan dropped from the ceiling, the student's father, Mohd, 32, said his eight-year-old daughter was brought to Selama Hospital by his wife to receive medical treatment.
Image via Utusan Malaysia
According to the father, the hospital's examination revealed that the student sustained several injuries, including a broken finger bone on her left hand and an injury in the chest
"I went to my daughter's class and discovered that the classroom fan was too old and rusted. Not only was the fan dangerous, but it should no longer be used," said Mohd.
The fan also injured three other female students, but they did not sustain serious injuries.
"My daughter's desk was directly under the fan, so her injuries were slightly more severe than the others."
Mohd was disappointed with the school's response to the incident, as they refused to send his daughter to the hospital
"The school claimed they had to follow the rules established by the education department because the incident occurred in the classroom," said the father.
"I am disappointed because this is an emergency that necessitates immediate action. When my wife arrived at school, she informed us that our daughter's hands had turned yellow due to the incident."
The father has since reported the incident at the Selama District Police Headquarters.
Read more recent trending news on SAYS:
Man Buys Used Car For RM100K But Ends Up Spending RM33K In Repairs After A Month
He suspected that the car's mileage had been tampered with.
Malay Man Embraces Chinese Wife's Culture By Marrying Her In Traditional Chinese Wedding
The couple already held a traditional Malay wedding in the groom's hometown in West Malaysia.
Dewan Bahasa Says Thosai Is Spelled 'Tose' In BM & Some M'sians Disagree
It is the official spelling of the dish in the Malay dictionary.
24-Year-Old M'sian Student Found Allegedly Strangled To Death By Boyfriend In Taiwan
Tsai had met 30-year-old Chen through Instagram about five or six days prior to the suspected murder.
"You Get Out First" – Man Recalls Wife's Last Words After Losing Her In Fiery Crash
28-year-old Redzuan Jamil said he was trying to get his wife out of the car when the car's fuel tank suddenly exploded.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Deanna Shrodes: My fun Friday!
Well it's Fun Friday and for the most part it's been fun!
This morning I had a client meeting (career coaching) followed by a planning meeting with some on our management team and after that I headed out to treat myself to a mani and pedi. I sat there and savored the whole thing.
Larry took Maddie to the vet today for the little patches of skin she's been scratching. We thought they were fleas and kept treating her but today we found out they are not fleas. They are demodex mites and evidently this is a condition not passed to humans nor found in your home, but it's just something that dogs get that is hereditary, passed to them from their mother. (Thankfully we don't have to worry about treating the house, our furniture, clothing, her kennel, or other things like that - we just have to treat Maddie.) They said it's a common thing that puppies get and we have about four or five medicines to give her to get rid of it. I'll be glad to see this over with because I have felt sorry for her with all this scratching she's been doing and the fact that she has little patches of hair loss all over.
Following the vet visit we met up with our dear friends Jim & Janice (who moved here from MD to be with us...I've blogged about them before) and we went to Tarpon Springs together for greek food, fun and festivities. They have never been there before and they LOVE all things greek just like we do. In fact, our fav thing to do with them back in Maryland was to go to downtown Baltimore to eat at the Acropolis. We both missed that so much when miles separated us and now here we are able to do it together again. Yay!!
Larry and I are maximizing our time off together this evening because tomorrow we won't be together much. He will be at the church working all day on the new playground. It's very exciting!! Our church just had a $12,000 - $15,000 (yes THOUSAND) playground DONATED to us!!! Yes, our kids are going to be able to enjoy this AMAZING equipment at no charge to us. A very generous donor who cares about kids gave this to us. But our men do have to put the thing together and it's going to be quite the undertaking. They do it tomorrow starting at 9 am. So Larry will be there all day and I'll be working at home on quite a few projects. Then Sunday's comin' around again and I tell you, it's going to be another amazing one at Northside so everyone had better buckle up!
Tarpon Springs! One of my fave places to visit when in Florida. The greek salad at the and the bakery. My mouth is drooling thinking about it.


CFANS saw a total undergraduate enrollment of 2,021 students (a record high).
We had 338 new first year students and 148 new transfer students join us this year.
60.6% of the new first year students are from Minnesota and 60.4% of the first year students are females.
14.5% of our undergraduates are students of color and 33 of our undergraduates are 35 years old or older.


Money is not the only action to think close to if you are younger than 18 and poverty to work. It's a fact: Workers injured the most have the least work experience – that is true justified if you are older. Workers are most likely to get injured during their first year on the job. Using alcohol or other than drugs Young worker employment, injuries and illnesses data NIOSH O[yes] - Oregon young employee safety coalition Promoting U through with Safety & condition (PUSH) combines the NIOSH talk Safety-Youth @Work upbringing with wellness and communication topics in an online grooming syllabus for adolescent workers, ages 14-24. Here are the five most common ways that can happen: 1. This curriculum is meant to act in tandem bicycle with worthy organization-specific training that all workers are entitled to experience when they start a new job.
You should already wealthy person a chemical area program (Hazard Communication/Right-to-Know) at your funeral home, graveyard or crematory. It's time to word it because categorization and labeling of chemicals experience changed to adapt to the Global vocalizing organisation (GHS) and you want to train your employees on those changes this year. The pitch at the Department of Labor's Occupational area and health disposal has denatured in the Obama era.
This piece of writing may be of welfare to the young individual but is provided in the main for the employer. Other sections of this e Tool reference this matter for more information.


Roofing Parts | Linnert Roofing, Inc.
The uppermost portion or peak is known as the ridge. Typically this portion of the roof will have ridge cap shingles installed either over a ridge venting system or without the system if the roof has a different ventilating method.
The lowest horizontal plane of the roof is called the eave. The eave is one part of the roof that is very vulnerable. For this reason, extra protection is built in at the eaves. Typically eaves will have drip edge, starter shingles, modified waterproofing underlayment, and gutters installed there.
The rake of the roof is the exposed outer portion of a gable roof that extends from the eave to the ridge. Drip edge is also installed along the rake.
A gable roof has only two sides, with a ridge at the top and rakes sloping the roof.
Unlike gable roofs that have only two sides , both of which are exposed, a hip roof will have 3 or 4 sides and none of the edges of a hip roof are exposed. The edges of a hip roof will have hip and ridge shingles installed just like the ridge.
The valley of a roof is the low point between two sloping roofs where the two roof roofs intersect. The following three pictures below are examples of different types of valleys.
The fascia is a vertical finishing edge connected to the ends of the rafters, trusses, or the area where the gutter is attached to the roof.


text:
This area is designed for NSA members only and requires a user email and password. If you're an NSA member, you can login on any page that shows the Log In text at the top right. If you're not sure or need help, you can contact the webmaster at info.neusesailingassociation@gmail.com.
If you're not a member but are considering joining, please take a look at our About section to learn more about the NSA. As a member, you would have access to a Directory of our members, as well as access to our Advance Search tool and our Community Forums. The Member Center also is where you would update your personal information in "My Profile", accessed by clicking our your name at the top right after you log in. When you're ready, just go to How to Become a Member in our Help section to get started. It's easy. We hope to see you on the water.
To learn more about the social community and special communication features of the NSA website, follow these links:
About the NSA Social Community


text:
USY 67th International Convention in Chicago to Focus on Teens as Agents of Societal Change
Grammy-nominated artists Matisyahu to perform at convention
New York, NY, December 14, 2017 – This December 24-28, nearly 1,000 Jewish teenagers, educators, staff, and alumni will gather in Chicago, IL at USY, USCJ's youth movement, 67th International Convention.
The largest gathering of Conservative and Masorti Jewish teens, the convention will bring together young adults from across the globe to experience and give back to the local Chicago community,
engage in interactive learning, gain leadership skills, and build a strong Jewish future.
Over five days, the teens will participate in programming around the convention theme, D'ror Yikra: The Road to Freedom, be treated to a private performance from Grammy-nominated artist and
internationally recognized performer Matisyahu, and hear from keynote speakers Rabbi Michael Siegel, Senior Rabbi of Anshe Emet Synagogue in Chicago and Pastor Chris Harris of Bright Star
Church in Chicago.
"We want to empower our teens to be active leaders in their communities," said Leslie Lichter, Chief Innovation and Implementation Officer, USCJ. "The convention will be a gathering place of ideas from top educators and professionals that we hope will inspire USYers to be the voice for change in today's world."
Reflecting on the current political and cultural landscape, teens will examine the concept of freedom through interactive educational workshops focusing on hot topics at home and abroad including religious freedom in Israel, freedom of expression, human rights, current refugee crises, and how sociopolitical factors affect choice.
USY will partner with several organizations to educate and equip teens to be a voice for change including StandWithUs, AIPAC, Repair the World, HIAS, the iCenter, Jewish Child & Family
Services, Anshe Emet Synagogue, and the Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago. Translating learning into action, teens will then participate in hands-on social action projects,
volunteering at more than 30 local organizations around the Chicagoland area on Christmas Day including FCHN Soup Kitchen, The Ark, Lincoln Park Community Shelter, the Anixter Center, and
H.O.M.E. The teens will also take part in ongoing charitable activities over the course of the convention, collecting donations for local Chicago agencies including Tree Hugs, Cradles to Crayons, and Open Books.
"We are utilizing the potential that hundreds of teens collectively possess to make change," said Noah Lee, USY International President 2017. "We are going into the Chicago community on Christmas because we understand the importance of this day to many. I hope to see many local people healthier, safer, and better fed on Christmas because of USY's efforts."
In addition to experiential and educational programming, the convention is a celebration of the culmination of the year, fueled by the ruach (spirit) of the USYers. The teens will spread joy to the
local area, exploring downtown Chicago including Navy Pier and Millennium Park.
The convention is sponsored by Vivian and Jeff Saper, the Jewish Theological Seminary, Keshet, Am Yisrael Conservative Congregation, ZBT, AEPhi, Butler Motor, the Jewish Youth Directors
Association, North Suburban Synagogue Beth El Highland Park, IL, NOAM Olami, AEPI, Hillel, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, and the Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago.
A detailed convention schedule and further program information are available upon request.
USY is USCJ's youth movement for Conservative Jewish teens across North America. For more than 60 years, USY has taught young Jews the values and skills they need to become exceptional leaders in their religious and secular communities. USY empowers youth to develop friendships, leadership skills, a sense of belonging to the Jewish People, and a commitment to inspired Jewish
living through meaningful and fun experiences rooted in Conservative Judaism's approach to learning, spiritual expression, and social responsibility. Through year round programming and
domestic and international travel opportunities, USY inspires in teens a deep sense of pride in and love for their Jewish identity.


The Cognitive Abilities Test (CAT) assesses a student's ability to reason with and manipulate different types of material. The CAT4 tests comprise of 4 batteries of tests that assess the main types of mental processing which play a substantial role in human thought. These results of these tests provide us with information about a student's ability which helps teachers effectively plan.
When are these tests taken?
Students take the CAT4 tests in September of Year 7.
How are results scores reported?
CAT4 results show students' scores in each of these areas. The raw scores are converted into Standard Ages Scores (SAS), which means they are weighted to take into account the student's age when they sat the test. The average SAS score is 100. Around two-thirds of pupils in the national age group will score between 85 and 115.
How do the scores fit a description?


The purpose of the cookies is to improve user experience and help us understand site usage. We do not link the data to use by any identifiable individual.
Internal browsing session identifier. Used to persist data across pages within the site.
Sitecore - this cookie is created by the software our website is built with and is used when opening the preview and saves preview and debugging options.
Google Analytics - records how many times someone visits the site and when they first and last visited. Expires two years after it was created. If you delete it you will be treated as a new visitor next time you access the website.
Google Analytics - with utmc is used to determine new sessions/visits. This cookie expires 30 minutes after your last activity on the site.
Google Analytics - with utmb is used to determine new sessions/visits. This cookie expires at the end of your browser session.
Google Analytics - limits the collection of data on high traffic sites. It expires after ten minutes.
Google Analytics - this records data such as your location, search engine, links you clicked on and keywords you inputted. This cookie expires after 6 months.
Google Universal Analytics - this cookie randomly generates a number which is then used as a client identifier. It then collates sessions and campaign data for analytics reports. By default it is set to expire after 2 years, although this is customisable by website owners.
Google Analytics - is used to limit the amount of data recorded by Google on high traffic volume websites. Expires after 1 minute.
Google Universal Analytics -used to identify users. It expires after 24 hours.
Microsoft Application Insights - this cookie collects statistical usage and telemetry information for apps built on the Azure cloud platform. This is a unique anonymous session identifier cookie.
Microsoft Application Insights - This cookie collects statisticcal usage and telemetry information for apps built on the Azure cloud platform. This is a unique user identifier cookie enabling counting of the number of users accessing the application over time.


text:
Topics:DoT, DoT Blocks, Freedom of Expression, IndiaBlocks, Internet Freedom, Policy
DoT Issues Orders To Block 55 URLs Related To Afzal Guru
It appears that on the same date that orders were given for blocking URLs criticizing IIPM, pursuant to court orders, India's Department of Telecom issued another set of orders for blocking 55 URLs (all Facebook pages) related to Afzal Guru, who India hanged on Feb 9th 2013, after his mercy petition was rejected by the President of India.
Outlook has published this order here (download it here).
We've taken great pains to transcribe the URLs below. Do tell us in the comments to this post whether they work for you or not, and which ISP you are trying to access them from. Most of the URLs do not work for us, on an MTNL Delhi connection.
In case there are other DoT orders floating around, asking for blocking of websites, or if you have a copy of court orders blocking access to websites, contact us at nikhil@medianama.com. How should the DoT have approached these blocks? Read our take on How India Should Approach Website Blocking.
Do follow our live blog for updates on Internet blocks in India.
http://www.facebook.com/aijjurather
http://www.facebook.com/ShaheedAfzalGuruMyBrotherInIslamq
http://www.facebook.com/iamzhk
http://www.facebook.com/RockersOfIslam
http://www.facebook.com/KMRNews
http://www.facebook.com/crushindia93
http://www.facebook.com/zahoorbhats
http://www.facebook.com/kashmir.university
http://www.facebook.com/G.YOUTHS2
http://www.facebook.com/pages/JK-NEWS-EXPRESS/171069332965404
http://www.facebook.com/pages/We-love-SYED-ALI-SHAH-Geelani-The-REAL-HERO-of-Kashmir-and-Kashmiries/124962984321521
http://www.facebook.com/love.kashmir
http://www.facebook.com/ShaheedAfzalGuru
http://www.facebook.com/najam.deen
http://www.facebook.com/afzal.guru.58
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Afzal-Guru/469200009813644
http://www.facebook.com/AfzalGuruShaheed
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Afzal-Guru-Tere-Khoon-Ka-Badla-Hum-Zaroor-Lenge/33708959735258
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Shaheed-Afzal-Guru-HumSharminda-Hai-Apke-qatil-Zindah-Hai/152373608253289
http://www.facebook.com/We-Love-Shaheed-Afzal-Guru/186267964830318
http://www.facebook.com/1mfans.Afzal.Guru
http://www.facebook.com/We-Will-Always-Love-Shaheed-Afzal-Guru/585941668086260
http://www.facebook.com/WeCondemnTheHangingOfMartyrAfzalGuru
http://www.facebook.com/Ya-ALLAH-Shaheed-Afzal-Guru-ki-Shahadat-Qubool-Farma/235071936629769
http://www.facebook.com/We-need-1000000-Fans-to-Say-Afzal-Guru-is-an-innocent-Kashmiri/374864545945948
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Afzal-Guru-Hero-of-Kashmir/293681247410674
http://www.facebook.com/AfzalGuruTheRealHero
http://www.facebook.com/Afzal-Guru-Shaheed-The-Legend-of-Kashmir/241388392663078
http://www.facebook.com/AfzalGuruYouAreOurHeroWeWillAlwaysRememberYou
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Afzal-guru-the-master-mind/402649003161737
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Afzal-GuruEvery-Kashmiri-represents-U/338145509623132
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Long-Live-Afzal-Guru/116592561851776
http://www.facebook.com/pages/pages/Shaheed-AFZAL-Guru/474844409243414
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Shaheed-Afzal-Guru-_-the-Hero-of-Kashmir/101863843331652
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Shaheed-Afzal-Guru/159449597538621
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Shaheed-Afzal-Guru-The-Real-Hero-Of-Kashmir/303137599789484
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Shaheed-Afzal-Guru-hum-badla-leke-rahenge/335623899890457
http://www.facebook.com/pages/RIP-Afzal-Guru-Shaheed/476146232442194
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Shaheed-AFZAL-GURU-A-Real-Hero/597704906909706
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Shaheed-AFZAL-GURU/601159259249900878
http://www.facebook.com/aijazahmad.teali
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Shaeed-Mohammad-Afzal-Guru/439318776093479
http://www.facebook.com/pages/We-will-u-Olwayz-Afzal-guru/119207731592699
http://www.facebook.com/IAmAfzalGuru
http://www.facebook.com/Maktabulameer313
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Islamfighters/485700454815180
In this article:DoT, DoT Blocks, Freedom of Expression, IndiaBlocks, Internet Freedom, Policy
DoT to require all landline to mobile calls to start with "0" starting January
From January 15, all landline phones dialling mobile numbers will need to prefix "0" first, the Department of Telecommunications ordered on November 20 and...
Aroon DeepNovember 26, 2020
DoT to put out policy soon for public WiFi hotspot proliferation: official
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) will put out a policy soon for the proliferation of public WiFi hotspots, a senior official said. "In the...
Airtel recommends creation of an Optic Fibre Regulatory Authority, argues against increasing 512Kbps broadband definition
Airtel has recommended against redefining broadband from 512Kbps, arguing that this speed is enough for most broadband use in the country. "Throughput speed of...
Three Indians appointed by UN Secretary General on advisory group for next Internet Governance Forum
Three Indians have been appointed as members to the Multistakeholder Advisory Group (MAG) for 2021 of the United Nations'(UN) Internet Governance Forum (IGF). The...


This composter looks great on the counter top of any kitchen. The tight fitting lid minimises smells and flies. Compost Accelerator needs to be used to speed up the composting process.
We recommend our Urban Composter™ Compost Accelerator Spray for great results.
How to use the urban compost bin?


text:
From Roscoff, with Rotifers
Posted on October 19, 2015 by Josh Mitteldorf
Roscoff is a picture-perfect coastal town in Brittany. I have just returned from the first Monod Conference on the Comparative Biology of Aging.
Looking toward shore from the quay. My hotel is in the middle, just right of the cathedral.
The conference was opened by a theoretical lecture by Tom Kirkwood, father of the popular disposable soma theory of aging. He admonished us that evolution is a mathematical science that yields specific and quantitative information about what aging can and cannot be. These provide a powerful mathematical underpinning for the understanding of aging.
The next morning, Annette Baudisch told us that in reality, nature has produced every combination of aging strategy that you can imagine, and some that you probably never imagined. The kind of aging that humans know is gradual and accelerating, leading to death on a timetable that is predictable within about 10-15%. But this brand of aging is a small minority in nature. There are salmon and octopuses and annual plants that reproduce in a burst and then die suddenly. There are beetles and jellyfish that are able to "age backward", reverting to a larval state under stress, then beginning life again with a fresh start. Baudisch coined the term "negative senescence" for a phenomenon that is not the same thing as this: most trees and some turtles and lobsters just grow ever larger and more fertile over decades or even centuries. There are giant lobsters that grow to 40 pounds, and there are clams you can hold in the palm of your hand that have over 500 annual growth rings. Each of these animals and plants grows progressively less likely to die with each passing year, year after year–hence "negative senescence".
Charming and perfectly diplomatic, Baudisch overtly praises Kirkwood and the contributions he has made to the evolutionary science of aging; but in truth, she has produced more counter-examples to Kirkwood's pronouncements than all of us combined.
I was less diplomatic, and in my presentation, I ranted about the many blatant contridictions to Kirkwood's "precise, mathematical theory", and in big red Powerpoint letters counseled the assembled scientists, "Don't let the mathematicians tell you how to interpret your data." The mathematical theory for evolution of aging is based on an early 20th Century paradigm of R. A. Fisher, in which gene frequency changes gradually while the population level and the ecology remain ever stable. We now know that ecologies change hand-in-hand with gene frequencies, on the same time scale. Furthermore, there are a dozen mechanisms of evolution that were unknown to Fisher, of which the simplistic equations of classical evolutionary theory takes no account:
Ecological interactions
Epigenetic inheritance
Population cycles
Weather cycles
Evolvability
Learned behaviors
Assortive mating
In every other subdiscipline of the bio-sciences, experiment is king, and theory is kept in its place. This, of course, is exactly the way science should be, and especially biology, which is so complicated that theory has only a limited role. But somehow evolutionists have carved out an exception for themselves, and when they make mathematical pronouncements that manifestly have nothing to do with the natural world, they are nevertheless taken seriously.
(Part of the problem is the illusion created by experiments in laboratory evolution. Here the theory works beautifully. But only in predicting outcomes of breeding, where the experimenter dictates the definition of "fitness". We have no way of measuring "fitness" in nature, and have every reason to believe that it is essentially complicated, multifaceted, and completely dependent on ecological context. I introduced an aphorism that I hope will catch on: "Nothing in evolution makes sense except in the light of ecology."*)
* Here I am echoing a great evolutionary thinker of the mid-20th Century, who famously wrote that "Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution."
Worms with Hot Flashes
Researchers in the worm aging laboratory of Meng-Qiu Dong labeled an antioxidant protein with green fluorescent die, and discovered serendipdously that the worms have spots of activity that flash with frequency every few seconds, that you can visualize through a microscope, peaking around day 3 of the worms' 20-day life span. Investigation revealed that the mitochondria are producing the flashes, so they've been dubbed "mitoflashes". Remarkably, the frequency of flashes is correlated with the worms' date with death two weeks down the road. Across many different strains, genetic varieties and environmental conditions, the rate of flashes at peak predicts how long the worms are going to live. Dong had the vision and insight to realize that this implies a longevity plan for the worms that is already in place quite early. The mitochondria know in advance what the life span is going to be [news article in Nature]. This supports both the perspective of programmed aging, and also the theory that mitochondria act as executioners.
False color picture of young worm, showing mitochondrial hot spots.
Sex and the Single Rotifer
Standard evolutionary theories of aging tells us that reproduction and longevity are on a see-saw, so that whenever one goes up, the other must go down. I don't believe this, and for years I've been collecting exceptions. My favorite is David Reznick's guppies. From the river pools of Trinidad, he identified two varieties of the same species: one with high fertility and long life span, the other with low fertility and short life span. It turns out that life span is determined not by individual competition to make as many offspring as fast as possible, but rather by adaptation to the local ecology. Guppies are the little kids on the block, and where there are prerdators present, their death rate can be so high that selective pressures drive them to mature more quickly, swim faster, lay more eggs, and also age more slowly. Where there are no predators, they can't afford to be so prolific. There isn't enough food in the small pools to finance a population explosion, and overcrowding risks the spread of fungal and bacterial epidemics
This, of course, is group selection of a kind that mainstream evolutionary theorists still deny, as they have since 1966. But in recent years, some prominent evolutionists [ref, ref, ref] have defected from the orthodoxy, and have caused a stir with the announcement of what every high school biologist knows in his gut: that cooperation and competition both have a role to play in evolutionary dynamics, and much of what we see in the biosphere is the result of a tug of war between what is good for the individual and what is good for the community.
In Roscoff, I was privileged to hear Heike Guber, a talented young experimentalist from Max Planck Institute, describe her experiments with rotifers raised in tanks. Rotifers eat algae and protozoans which they filter from the water. In different tanks, she supplied various concentrations of food, then followed them through generations to see how they evolved. The ones with lots of food evolved long life spans and high fertility; those with the slimmer diet evolved short life spans and low fertility. I was saddened but not surprised to hear that she had trouble getting her results published, simply because they went against the established dogma.
Clearly, what Gruber observed is an outcome that is adaptive for stabilizing the community of rotifers. But dogma says that evolution always seeks to maximize the reproduction of the individual, no matter what the consequence for the community. Hence the official skepticism of her results: if the rotifers harbor this capacity to both to produce more eggs and to live longer, then what could keep that trait from quickly rising to dominance? (The answer, of course, is group selection; but peer review is often influenced by gatekeepers who deny the reality of group selection.)
What is a rotifer?
Rotifers, it turns out, are all around us. They occupy that size regime (along with mites and nematodes) that so frequently escapes our attention: much larger than single-cell species, but still too small to see. The oceans, every pond, every stream and many puddles are full of rotifers. Even mossy patches in a wet forest carry rotifer populations. Wherever there is water, they thrive; and where water is intermittent, they go into a state of suspended animation, waiting for the next rain. There are 2,200 known species of rotifer, and counting. The largest are about 2mm long, the smallest are but a speck to the eye.
Rotifers are an important part of the freshwater zooplankton, being a major foodsource and with many species also contributing to the decomposition of soil organic matter.[ref]
photomicrograph from Wikipedia's article on rotifers
At banquet dinner, Gruber filled me in on the sexual versatilty of rotifers. When conditions are stable, they just clone themselves. They lay eggs that are exact copies of the mother. No sex.
Under stress, mother rotifers lay eggs that can also develop into females. Females lay eggs that develop exclusively into males in the next generation. Some of these are males, and they can mate with their own mothers or others of her generation; in this case, the eggs produced will always become female.
To summarize: the parthenogenic form reproduces more parthenogenicists or females. Females can reproduce as males with the exact same genome as the female. Female + male can combine to produce another female, with genes that derive half from each parent.
Gruber also told me that a male rotifer is not so impressive a specimen as a bull or a peacock. In fact, males are tiny tiny, only about 1/10 the size of the female of the same species. Males cannot eat or grow. They live for just one thing, and they don't live very long. They latch onto the female body and inject their sperm in any place that happens to be near at hand. It doesn't seem to matter; the sperms navigate through the female body, and find their way to the ovaries.
There are more curiosities and mysteries associated with rotifers. The bdelloid family of rotifers have no sex at all, and have not known sex for at least tens of millions of years. Woody Allen asks why they bother to get up in the morning. Evolutionists ask, how do they manage to keep their genomes from succumbing to inexorable accumulation of deleterious mutations. (This is Mueller's Ratchet).
And rotifers are usually found in extended colonies. What do they get from one another?
Keynote by Austad
Closing the conference was a keynote address by Steven Austad. Austad gets along with everybody. He is widely knowledgable, and famous for his radical common sense. He described his induction into the field, as a grad student in the 1970s. The central dogma of his time was that aging could be observed only in protected environments like a zoo, but that animals in nature died of other causes before they could die of old age. But, working with an island population of opossums as a young student, Austad captured many that were old, some that were clearly very impaired and not long for this world, yet still reproducing.
Austad warned us that much of what we have long assumed about the biology of aging is not to be taken literally without exception; and some of it is merely persistence of myth.
Life spans of mammals (y axis) vs body mass (x axis) in a log-log plot
He showed us the classic log-log plot of animal size vs lifespan. In mammals, life span rises slowly, with about the 1/4 power of an animal's weight, which corresponds to a slope of 0.25 in the log plot. There are outliers where animals have managed to find strategies to suppress their death rates from predators and disease. Most birds live longer than comparably-sized mammals, and the most dramatic examples are people and bats.
I had known that mice are outliers on the downside. Since mice provide food for a great number of predators, and they freeze to death over the winter; their life spans are below the trend line. What I learned from Austad is that the exceptions extend to all small rodents. For rodents less than 8 kg, there is no correlation at all between size and life span. No one, to my knowledge, has explained this.
The hard thing for me to hear was that, as a way to extend life, caloric restriction is far from perfectly robust and universal. He reminded me of an experiment a few years ago with 41 diverse strains of out-crossed mice. The mice were "recombinant inbred" = first generation crosses between different purebred strains. Under 40% caloric restriction, about a third of these showed life extension, a third showed no significant life extension, and a third actually lived shorter when restricted. There were more mice with shorter life spans under CR than with longer life spans!
Finally, strain-specific lifespans under CR and AL feeding were not correlated, indicating that the genetic determinants of lifespan under these two conditions differ. These results demonstrate that the lifespan response to a single level of CR exhibits wide variation amenable to genetic analysis. They also show that CR can shorten lifespan in inbred mice…
Strikingly, the majority of strains showed no extension of lifespan under the level of DR used in this study (Figs. 1C, D). Only 5% of the strains for males and 21% of the strains for females showed statistically significant life extension under DR (p values < 0.05)…
Of note, the longest lifespans achieved under DR did not exceed the longest achieved under AL feeding. [ref]
Differences in life span between CR and full-feed, male (left) and female (right) strains.
Austad himself did a study of CR for mice captured from the wild.
Although hormonal changes, specifically an increase in corticosterone and decrease in testosterone, mimicked those seen in laboratory-adapted rodents, we found no difference in mean longevity between ad libitum (AL) and CR dietary groups. [There was] higher mortality in CR animals early in life, but lower mortality late in life. A subset of animals may have exhibited the standard demographic response to CR in that the longestlived 8.1% of our animals were all from the CR group. Despite the lack of a robust mean longevity difference between groups, we did note a strong anticancer effect of CR as seen in laboratory rodents
This study demonstrated an increase in maximum life span, but not mean life span under CR. Many people in life extension are very interested in extension of maximum life span, because, as they say, it demonstrates that the fundamental biology of aging has been affected. I agree, but note that increase in maximum without mean life span is the nightmare we have here. It means that the biology of aging has been affected, but not in the same direction for everyone. There are just as many mice in this study whose life span is shortened by CR as the ones whose life span is lengthened. This is what I find most troubling. I once had a graduate advisor who nailed a particular human tendency when we relate ourselves to what we know about others: "Statistics are for everyone else; dumb luck for me."
As in his past work, Austad offers so much useful good sense in his keynote…And yet he clings to a view that aging is driven by an accumulation of damage, that it can be slowed but never reversed, that there are no genetic mechanisms that have evolved solely for the purpose of assuring a fixed (shorter) life span. The three points are related but not identical. Curiously the idea that damage is the root of aging is not the influence of evolutionary theorists, but far older, rooted in ancient concepts of impermanence.
I have written an academic article [ref] and two blog posts [one, two] in opposition to "wear and tear" theories, and devoted a chapter of my forthcoming book to the subject. It is the most common misconception in the field that aging in biological organisms is akin to physical wear and chemical entropy, and that it has something to do with the Second Law of Thermodynamics.
I know it is theoretically possible, and hope that it will prove generally true in practice, that the body knows how to repair all the important kinds of damage that accrue in aging, and is capable of restoring itself to a youthful state, given the appropriate signaling environment.
Austad's present research is based on the observation that misfolded proteins tend to accumulate in our cells, and are related to dysfunction and disease, most prominently Alzheimer's. Long-lived varieties need to keep proteins in the right conformation, with "chaperone" molecules that are particularly effective. Austad is isolating and transplanting some of these chaperone molecules from his menagerie of 500-year-old clams.
Despite differences in theoretical perspective, I have found the community of aging biologists to be especially personable and gracious. I have known Austad and Kirkwood in the deep past, and Baudisch more recently because she belongs to the next generation. Before I had any reputation or credibility in the field, all of them responded to me personally and respectfully. The most promising thing to come out of the meeting for me personally is that I told Austad privately of my idea to test hundreds of combinations of life extension treatments, in order to learn how they interact (see my blog from last month). He told me about an NIA program that evaluates proposals for experiments with mice, deadline later this year. The program is not terribly oversubscribed because it offers no funding to the winning proposals; however winning proposals will be assigned each to three separate mouse labs around the country that will replicate the experimental design in triplicate. I'm pumped!
Privately, Austad also told me that a previous winner had proposed combining rapamycin with metformin and the test was successful. In yet unpublished results from three labs, the combination of metformin and rapamycin extends mouse life span more than the sum of the benefits from the two separate treatments.
Posted in Uncategorized | 19 Replies
Can Botanicals Replace Metformin?
Gymnema, Jiaogulan and Berberine: Can herbs replace metformin?
We all lose insulin sensitivity with age, and this is is a primary mechanism by which we become more vulnerable to all the diseases of old age. But there is much that we can do to retain insulin sensitivity: diet, exercise, drugs and herbs. Because these act differently on the metabolism, there is reason to hope that combining treatments will yield combined benefits (this is theoretical–there is no data available on combinations.)
While emerging anti-aging technologies are still emerging, the best-tested treatments we have for the present all rely on the insulin metabolism. Our bodies are evolved to sense stress–especially food scarcity–and adjust our rate of aging to compensate for those around us who may be starving to death. (This is the demographic theory of aging, and though the theory may still be controversial, the fact that we can address the rate of aging through the insulin metabolism is undisputed.)
Insulin manipulation works much better in mice than in larger animals like us, but it's the best-studied, surest way to improve your odds for a long and healthy life, and there are vitality, alertness, productivity, freedom from infectious disease–almost every aspect of your quality of life is improved with more exercise and less food.
The best measure of diabetes risk is glucose tolerance. The body is challenged by swallowing a dose of sugar, and glucose levels in the blood rise immediately. Over several hours, follow-up blood tests measure how quickly the blood levels come back to normal.
(IDDM means insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus)
Fasting glucose is a secondary predictor, not so robust as glucose tolerance [ref].
For anyone who doesn't choose to maintain the most rigorous program of exercise and caloric restriction, metformin can make up the difference. Metformin is a fifty-year-old drug, long out of patent and cheap. Mice fed metformin live longer. We have a great deal of epidemiological data on metformin, because tens of millions of people have been taking it for decades. Diabetics who take metformin have much lower rates of cancer, heart disease, and AD. Arguably, their survival statistics may even be better than non-diabetics who don't take metformin. There are researchers who are proposing that Alzheimer's Disease should be regarded as type 3 diabetes. (FightAging! led me to this article.)
The numbers look so good that Nir Barzilai (Einstein Hospital, New York) has banked the future of FDA policy on a clinical trial to demonstrate that aging is a risk factor that can be mitigated, and that aging should be recognized as a treatable condition. Last month, there was a major article in Science Magazine about his program. It is hardly a radical claim, from a scientific perspective. But government policy lags science, and what Barzilai is doing will be a boon for us all, if it works.
Metformin is a safe drug, without serious side-effects except rarely among people taking high doses. I have recommended it to anyone over 40 who is overweight, or over 60 even if you're not overweight.
Many people prefer a natural alternative, and I'm witing today about three good ones. The reasons for preferring "natural" may transcend science. There is a general feeling that natural products are safer, though in this case we know a heck of a lot about the safety of metformin. There are decades of epidemiological data for metformin, vs centuries of traditional wisdom for the herbal products. Readers of this column are accustomed to my periodic rants about the fact that capitalism has distorted funding priorities for medical research, hence we know a lot less about natural products than about patentable ones.
Thanks to Bill Sardi for introducing me to Gymnema. Here is a review of limited evidence for Gymnema and diabetes that was available as of 2007. Gymnema has a long pedigree through the Indian ayurvedic tradition of life extension, in which it is called mesasrngi [sic]. Gymnema reduces uptake of sugar from the small intestine, and also increases generation of insulin in the pancreas. The former is definitely beneficial; the latter is helpful for diabetes type 1, but not for type 2 which is associated with aging. In this study, Gymnema improved cholesterol profiles, fasting glucose, and also results from the (most predictive) glucose tolerance test. This study found similar benefits in obese mice.
Berberine is a chemical, not a plant, though it is extracted from several different plant sources. The best source is goldenseal. Berberine has a 5,000-year legacy in Chinese medicine–even longer than Gymnema has in Indian medicine.
(It may look complex, but still counts as a "small molecule," and compared to proteins it is tiny. Insulin is considered a small protein, but it is 18 times the molecular weight of berberine.)
Metformin reduces blood glucose by shutting off the source (in the liver), while berberine reduces blood glucose by augmenting the sink (glucose uptake in muscle and nerve cells). Berberine affects cells in much the same way as insulin, increasing the uptake of glucose from the blood into the cell. This means that if you take berberine before exercise, it might (theoretically) enhance your performance, while taking metformin before exercise might (theoretically) reduce your performance.
This study compared metabolic benefits from berberine with metformin head-on in a three-month trial. 500 mg berberine had benefits equal to 500 mg metformin, with fewer reported stomach upsets and better triglyceride control for berberine.
This column by Frank Shallenberger raves about the advantages of berberine.
"Berberine has low rates of absorption when taken orally due to both being subject to P-Glycoprotein (ejects Berberine back into the intestines) and increasing the activity of P-Glycoprotein (augmenting its own ejection), but absorption is greatly increased when taken with P-Glycoprotein inhibitors such as Silymarin from Milk Thistle." [Examine.com]
This traditional Chinese herb (绞股蓝) has recently been marketed by LEF under the name "AMPK Activator". The latin name of the plant is Gynostemma pentaphyllum. It is sometimes known as "southern ginseng" because it contains some of the same active ingredients as ginseng, deemed the king of all Oriental medicines. But the anti-diabetic benefits of jiaogulan derive from constituents that are not found in ginseng. In parts of Southeast Asia, jiaogulan has a reputation as an "immortality herb".
Like Gymnema, jiaogulan shows promise, both theoretically and in limited human trials, but there isn't yet enough data to know how well it works. In one study, it improved both fasting glucose levels and (more important) tolerance.
In promoting its new product, LEF has made a case that low AMPK is part of a keystone aging pathway. We have less AMPK as we get older. Both fasting and vigorous exercise increase AMPK levels. Less body fat leads to more AMPK expression, and, even better, more AMPK leads to burning more fuel, storing less as fat. This is a positive feedback loop that can work in either direction. AMPK → faster metabolism → less fat → more AMPK or low AMPK → slower metabolism → more fat → less AMPK. By adding AMPK, they claim, we can be sure to go around the circle in the right direction. Like many LEF reports, I find this one to be well-rooted in truth but a bit breathless in presentation and overstated in its significance.
Weight control is still your first line defense against the creeping insulin resistance that affects all of us as we get older, and only is diagnosed as diabetes in its more severe form. There's a school that says low protein diet offers best protection, and another that favors low carbs. (I have favored carb restriction, but I may be tipping toward low protein.) You can't do both without raising fat intake, and there is good agreement that dietary fat shouldn't be more than 40% of your calories.
Exercise prodigiously. Exercise right before eating can change your body's insulin response to the sugar challenge. Even a minute of high-intensity exercise can make a difference [ref, ref].
Vegan diets are associated with much lower incidence of diabetes. In this study, vegans had half the incidence of diabetes, even after controlling for the fact that they had lower BMI. Non-vegan vegetarian diets were not far behind.
Almost all of us can benefit from magnesium supplements. Zinc [ref, ref] and tiny quantities of chromium might also help. Resveratrol extends life span in fat mice. There is some evidence for thiamin (vit B1). Large quantities of cinnamon may or may not be helpful. One small study showed a substantial benefit from boswellia=frankincense.
Loss of insulin sensitivity is so closely intertwined with all the diseases of old age that it is hardly distinguishable from "normal aging". It's an issue that we all face, and there is a whole Chinese menu of measures you can take to better your odds for health, vitality and a long life.
The mechanisms of metformin, berberine, jiaogulan and Gymnema are quite different, and there is reason to think that combining them offers more benefit than any treatment separately; but there is as yet no data on combined therapies.


text:
Stars Abroad
Nzoia draw leaves Ulinzi red faced, hoping for better show against Gor Mahia
Ulinzi Stars' quest for a third straight win in the Kenyan Premier League (KPL) was thwarted by Nzoia Sugar on Sunday 24 November as the two sides played to a 1-1 draw at Afraha Stadium, much to the dissatisfaction of head coach Benjamin Nyangweso.
A first half strike by Felicien Okanda saw Nzoia take the lead against all odds, and though his team rallied to pull the leveler midway through the second half, via John Njuguna's long range strike, Nyangweso felt his team deserved more than just a point.
Two points lost
"We lost two points; this was a home game, and we just had to pick three points. You never know what happens when you go to play away from home.
"The first half performance was not good enough and I impressed this on them at half time. I wanted to see better in the second half and they did just that. They played with a winning mentality," he said.
The draw saw Ulinzi slip to fifth place on the log, with 17 points. Next up, the four – time champions play league leaders Gor Mahia in what is expected to be a tougher clash.
Nyangweso is hoping his charges turn up from the opening minute in the game and believes with a replication of the second half performance against Nzoia Sugar, they may bag the three points on offer.
"It will be another tough game but we will plan well just like all the other matches. They are on top but we will go there seeking to play well, and hunting for three points. We have to play the way we did in the second half to be able to take three points from Gor Mahia," he added.
The Gor Mahia versus Ulinzi Stars clash is scheduled for 4.15pm EAT at the Kenyatta Stadium in Machakos.
Benjamin Nyangweso Nzoia Sugar FC Ulinzi Stars
Dan Ngulu
Ulinzi Stars rally to draw Nzoia as Sofapaka hits Zoo in Narok
Rupia loses ground in Golden Boot chase, after Sony relegation
Latest football here. Just downloading statistics from information sources.
1 Tusker 17 11 4 2 34 17 37
2 Homeboyz 17 11 3 3 32 19 36
3 Gor Mahia 15 11 2 2 30 8 35
4 Ulinzi Stars 17 9 7 1 26 10 34
5 KCB 16 9 5 2 27 12 32
6 Western Stima 16 8 6 2 26 17 30
7 Leopards 17 7 7 3 24 14 28
8 Sofapaka 16 7 4 5 27 21 25
9 Posta Rangers 17 6 7 4 21 17 25
10 Mathare United 16 6 6 4 21 17 24
11 Bandari 16 5 3 8 19 19 18
12 Kariobangi Sharks 17 2 7 8 17 28 13
13 Zoo Kericho 15 4 1 10 16 27 13
14 Wazito 17 2 5 10 16 23 11
15 Nzoia Sugar 17 2 4 11 15 32 10
16 Kisumu All Stars 17 2 2 13 7 31 8
17 Chemelil 17 1 1 15 7 53 4
18 SoNy Sugar 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Vihiga United, City Stars clash the highlight of Betika Super League Round 22
2020 World Cup journey begins for Kenya as qualifying draw is released
Ulinzi trio to miss second phase of the season
FKF Polls: Omondi seeks to transform women football
Soka 2018 | All Rights Reserved
Soka Magazine


There are so many floor cleaning products out there these days that it is sometimes hard to know which ones are best to use. In the old days, keeping the home clean seemed to be a much simpler process – and there were lots of homemade remedies and methods that appeared to work well on flooring of all types.
It was really only in the 1950s that housewives began to use vacuum cleaners on their Carpets and Rugs. Carpet sweepers were never terribly successful but the good, old-fashioned method of taking a rug out, hanging it from the washing line and giving it a good beating is still extremely effective. For white, cream and natural coloured rugs, choose a bright sunny day to do this. Then leave them in the full glare of the sun to allow it to help bleach away any light stains.
Wall-to-wall carpets are harder to keep clean than rugs, whether you are using modern cleaning products or methods from the past. Wet shoes, animals and spillages can all leave stains that are hard to remove. There are various remedies from yesteryear that could help clean and freshen your carpets. For dust, loose dirt and fluff, try the old fashioned solution of getting down on your hands and knees with a dustpan and brush. Vacuum cleaners do work well but a good brush can loosen pieces of dirt and get right down to the base of the fibres.
When it comes to dealing with spillages, consider what has been spilled before attempting to remove it. Solutions from the past include quickly covering red wine with a pile of salt or pressing absorbent or blotting paper down on the carpet with your foot, over and over again until the stain has been drawn out. If you have an open fire, salt is also supposed to work well on soot marks.
For other carpet stains and spillages, one old fashioned method is to sprinkle either corn flour or bread flour over the patch and then to cover it with an upturned bowl while it dries. Once dry, pick and brush off the caked mixture - and much of the mark should have been drawn out into it. Corn flour can also be used to improve the odour in a room. Take a handful of your favourite dried flours and crush them with a pestle and mortar. Mix with a handful of corn flour and sprinkle on your carpet last thing at night. In the morning, vacuum or brush up the mixture and enjoy the aroma left behind.
Old fashioned methods for Keeping Floorboards Clean are simple yet effective. Roll up your rugs and push back the furniture. Then, use a real, soft-bristled broom to brush up as much dirt as you can. Take the brush outside and shake out the dirt every so often. Then take a bowl full of warm soapy water and gently wipe the boards down with a damp cloth. Take an old towel and rub the boards dry. Bring up the sheen afterwards with a duster.
If you are looking for ideas from the past for keeping your kitchen and bathroom floors clean, Grandma would have had plenty of advice here as well. White toothpaste and a tooth brush are the required tools for stubborn stains on lino and for grubby grout between tiles. Squeeze out some paste then work it into a good lather with the toothbrush as you scrub at the marks. Rinse it away with clear water and a clean cloth.
For a tiled floor, you can also try mixing up your own paste using one cup of chalk, another of baking soda and a tablespoon or two of warm water. Work it into a paste, rub on your tiles, then wash away. Another great mixture for a tiled or Stone Floor sees a cup of soda crystals and a cup of salt dissolved together in two pints of warm water. Then add this mixture to your bucket as you would a modern day detergent - and get scrubbing. Then rinse your floor with clean water to which you have added just a dash of white vinegar. Finally, if you are lucky enough to have marble floors in your home, try buffing them up with an old piece of leather. A chamois leather for the car will work just as well as an off-cut they might have used in days gone by.
Cleaning Wood or Stone Floor: Should I Call in the Experts?
Carpet: Clean it Myself or Call in the Experts?


Scan the Victims ip. Otherwise Get him using netstat command.
type "cmd" in the run box.Press OK.
If you don't get the number <20>.
The victim disabled the File And Printer Sharing, find a another victim.
CDISK is the name of the shared hard-drive.
If the command is successful we will get the confirmation.
desktop and you will see a new network drive X:> .
Now your are in his system.
How can I know ip of the user whom i am chatting via Facebook or gtalk or these type of web applications????


DiggerAid: Lets you spend more time digging and less time with the Archaeology UI.
ScrollMaker: Adds a button to the Enchanting window for making scrolls with one click.
Experience Visualizer: Enhances the built-in XP bar.
ZippyLighter: Adds a button to the Cooking window for quick access to fire.
This entry was posted on Friday, December 30th, 2011 at 4:48 pm	and is filed under General News.


text:
Colorado >
Denver >
Fort Collins >
Fort Collins Events
Florida >
Hawaii >
Illinois >
Louisiana >
North Carolina >
Virginia >
Family + Lifestyle
Giveaways + Reviews
Cantina Laredo King of Prussia Review | Philadelphia Housewives
If you've been on our Facebook, you know that we have an April Girls Night Out event coming up at Cantina Laredo. If you didn't know that, I suggest you hop on over and get yourself registered. It's going to be a great time!
Cantina Laredo is connected to the King of Prussia Mall, but has it's own entrance on the third level of the parking garage beside Bloomingdale's. It's a relaxed and fun atmosphere where you can go and grab a drink with girlfriends, watch a game or simply a date night for a quality meal.
My friend Kate and I decided to give Cantina Laredo a try in anticipation of the event next month, and we were so thrilled with our experience. When we arrived, the restaurant was lively with couples who were enjoying a Saturday night drink and families who were intently watching the Villanova basketball game.
Kate and I both don't eat seafood, which in many places means a pretty limited menu or needing to endlessly substitute our options... not here!
Immediately, two bowls of tortilla chips were brought to the table with a mild and a spicy salsa/sauce for dipping. We also ordered the Top Shelf Guacamole (Kate's actually the one who got me guac-obsessed a few years ago!), a signature dish, made table side for us... it doesn't get fresher than that. You literally cannot come to Cantina Laredo and not order this. One of the best parts of this is that you can customize it to your taste - not a fan of jalapeños (cough cough, Kate and I)? Don't include them! Don't like cilantro? No worries! You'll only get the ingredients in the guacamole that you love.
When our drinks arrived we were blown away. Kate loves a good margarita and I'm a rum girl myself, so she got the Salted Watermelon Margarita (I took a sip and even though I don't love tequila, this was super good) and I got the Passion Fruit Colada. I'm thinking Spring over here!
Salted Watermelon Margarita
Casa Noble Crystal Organic Tequila with watermelon puree, Grand Marnier Orange Liqueur, lemon and lime juices
Passion Fruit Colada
Mt. Gay Black Barrel Rum with passion fruit syrup, coconut puree, fresh lime and pineapple juice
Our first main dish was an assortment of tacos, which were seriously delicious. I tend to be a little picky with my chicken dishes because I find it bland sometimes, but that was not an issue with the chicken fajita taco. It had so much flavor! The Barbacoa was just as delicious - the brisket was tender and the onion on top was the perfect addition.
Barbacoa Taco (Gluten Free)
Corn tortillas filled with braised and pulled Certified Angus Beef brisket, with house marinated red onion, chopped cilantro, roasted tomatillo sauce and Monterey Jack
Chicken Fajita Taco
Corn tortillas with chicken topped with avocado, pico de gallo, chopped cilantro and queso fresco (also available with skirt steak)
After the tacos came the Carnitas signature dish. Even though Kate and I have a hard time with spicier foods, we were still able to eat these. Most surprising was the portion - even though it looks small, there was a ton of tender meat on these (apparently their 16 oz. Cascabel Ribeye is the same way). Yum! I loved that the pork was complemented with a side of Mexican rice, because it added just that much more flavor to every bite. We were also provided a side of corn tortillas for these, which was genius for those who might want to make their own taco/burrito out of the entree's contents.
Carnitas (Gluten-Free)
Braised pork shanks topped with chipotle wine sauce. With seasonal vegetables and Mexican rice
The food kept on coming... and we weren't sorry about it. Next on the agenda was a variety of enchiladas. We were able to sample both the Mole and the Veracruz, which are two different varieties of chicken enchiladas.
If you're unfamiliar with Mole sauce, it's a combination of cocoa, chili peppers and other spices but it's not sweet in the sense that you usually associate chocolate with. The chocolate is a subtle flavor and complemented the spiciness of the peppers and herbs really well.
The Veracruz, pictured below, was topped with a spicy tomatillo sauce and veggies. These were served with a cilantro lime rice, which was less spicy than the Mexican rice we'd tried earlier, but certainly not lacking in flavor. I actually found that it was nice having a milder rice to complement the spicy sauces!
Mole Enchiladas
Two enchiladas filled with pulled chicken, topped with a sauce from a sweet, spicy blend of dried Mexican peppers
Veracruz Enchiladas
Two enchiladas filled with pulled chicken, spinach and Monterey Jack, topped with tomatillo sauce, marinated vegetables and queso fresco
At this point, we were hitting a real wall... but of course we had room for dessert. To finish off our evening, we decided to give the Mexican Brownie a try. It was an excellent decision (Kate said it might have been the best dessert she'd ever had!).
Mexican Brownie
With pecans and walnuts on a sizzling skillet with Mexican Brandy Butter and vanilla or cinnamon ice cream
Our dinner really could not have been more delicious or in a better setting to relax and catch up. I'm so excited that you all will have the opportunity to give Cantina Laredo a try next month! Please feel free to give them a call and schedule reservations in advance if you and your girlfriends think you might want to grab a bite towards the end of our GNO.
Cantina Laredo Website, here.
Cantina Laredo Facebook, here.
Cantina Laredo Instagram: @cantinalaredo
690 W. Dekalb Pike
Sun-Thur 11:00AM to 10:00PM
Fri-Sat 11:00AM to 11:00PM
Mon-Fri 4:00PM to 6:00PM
Fri-Sat 9:00PM to Close
Hamilton Is Coming To Philly | Philadelphia Housewives
Hello my theater-loving friends! Oh do I have news for you.
I've just received word that The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts and The Shubert Organization announced their 2017/2018 Broadway Philadelphia season, including hits such as: School of Rock, Disney's Aladdin and The Color Purple. In addition to this, they've let some other exciting news slip ... the 2018/2019 season will be bringing Hamilton to town!
"Broadway Philadelphia subscription packages are on sale now. Subscribers save up to 25% off single ticket prices and are offered a variety of exclusive privileges, including the first opportunity to select the best seats in the house and the option to renew their seats each year. Subscribers also enjoy a host of benefits, including free exchanges, priority ticket access, payment plan options, and more".
Since the 2017/18 season was just released, those are the ticket packages that are currently available. If you're interested in scoring Hamilton tickets, we highly recommend that you become a subscriber... that's how you'll get first priority and the Kimmel Center has said that if you want priority tickets to Hamilton in 2018/19 you'll need to be a 2017/18 subscriber and renew for the 2018/19 season.
You can find information about subscription packages here or can call 215-893-1955.
Easter Bunny Arrives To King Of Prussia Mall | Philadelphia Housewives
The King of Prussia Mall will be getting a special visit from the Easter Bunny who will be hopping over this week! You can catch The Bunny Photo Experience:
Friday, March 17 - Saturday, April 15 Nordstrom Court
Friday, March 24 - Saturday, April 15 Bloomingdale's Court
Additionally, Autism Speaks is one of the sponsors of the event and King of Prussia Mall will be offering Sensory Friendly time-slots as well (Caring Bunny) as Philadelphia Mills. Autism Speaks is the world's leading autism science and advocacy organization dedicated to funding research into the causes, prevention, treatments and a cure for autism.
Sunday, March 26 | 9:00AM to 10:30AM | Nordstrom Court
Sunday, April 2 | 9:00AM to 11:00AM | Grand Court at Philadelphia Mills
Save time and avoid a line (and cranky little ones!) with online reservations.
King of Prussia Restaurant Week Review: City Works
This afternoon, my brother and I decided to make the most of King of Prussia Restaurant Week and grab some lunch on his day off of work. I'd been to the new KOP Town Center and had spotted City Works and it looked like a really fun location. It was an excellent decision, and here's why:
We arrived to the restaurant around 2:30PM and had missed most of the lunch rush (which worked for me!). This was my first visit to City Works, and so I wasn't very familiar with the atmosphere or the menu, but I was really impressed with both.
Upon walking in, I felt like I'd been transported to a sort of urban mountain lodge with wood and metal/modern details. Though my brother ordered from the main menu (he got the pretzel bites and a burger - loved both), I ordered from the Restaurant Week menu (aside from the pretzel bites, everything on here is exclusive for this week and isn't offered on the main menu... take advantage now!).
My selections were the Philly Cheesesteak Eggrolls, and the Short Rib Tacos.
First of all, I loved the presentation of the food, especially the Cheesesteak Eggrolls. My brother also commented on how unlike a lot of other restaurant's take on Cheesesteak Eggrolls, these actually mimicked a Philly Cheesesteak with all of the tasty toppings.
The short rib tacos were so juicy and full of flavor, not at all dry. And the fries. Let me tell you about the fries. SO. GOOD.
We were full, but decided to order dessert anyway (naturally) and went with the Peanut Butter Snickers Pie after our server recommended it. It was very smooth and rich and all of the things that you hope something called Peanut Butter Snickers Pie would be. Note: You can definitely share this between two people.
Last but not least, let's talk about the beer list. I'm not a beer snob, but I do love trying new things when I get the chance and City Works absolutely offered a unique variety. I ordered the Austin Eastciders Pineapple Cider (golden ripe pineapples have been married into a dry cider made of American dessert and European bittersweet apples) and my brother ordered the New Belgium Brewing Co. Fat Tire (toasty malt, gentle sweetness, flash of fresh hop bitterness; perfectly balanced malt and hops). We both loved our choices!
King of Prussia Restaurant Week Review: The Melting Pot
If you know me, you know that I love me some cheese and chocolate (and if you didn't know this, you didn't see my Facebook Live from August).
For years now, I've been a fan of The Melting Pot in King of Prussia but I'd only ever ordered the cheese and chocolate... I'd never actually had dinner there! That changed.
Over the weekend, Dan and I visited The Melting Pot to sample their King of Prussia Restaurant Week menu a little early.
White Truffle Cheddar Cheese Fondue
A savory blend of white truffle oil, our signature cheddar blend, cream cheese, fresh chopped garlic, and white wine.
I died and went to heaven. You can taste the decadent truffle oil in the cheese, and it's just enough to make you swoon. To dip: vegetables, apples/grapes, bread + pretzel bread (personal fave) and tortilla chips.
Aegean Salad
Fresh spring mix with sliced Roma tomatoes, Feta Cheese, cucumbers, artichoke hearts and Parmesan pine nuts tossed in an Artichoke Vinaigrette dressing.
Dan and I both agreed that this might have been the best salad we've ever had... no joke. The artichoke vinaigrette offered a little bit of a kick (Not too much, trust me. I don't do spicy and I was fine with this!) and combined with the cheese and pine nuts, it was bursting with flavor.
Third Course
You may choose one of the following:
The Wayne - Jalapeño Filet Mignon, Pacific White Shrimp, All Natural Chicken Breast and Chicken-n-Cabbage Potstickers **This is what I got, except I subbed regular filet for the shrimp since I don't do seafood.
The King of Prussia - Cold Water Lobster Tail, Filet Mignon, and Sriracha Lime Shrimp **This is what Dan got.
The Audubon - Herb Coated Chicken Breast, Pacific White Shrimp, and Sesame Wasabi Coated Ahi Tuna
This was the portion of the evening that I wasn't as familiar with, but it was 100% my favorite. Our server (he was AMAZING by the way) recommended a broth/sauce that he simmered for us. We then were provided our chosen plates, raw. Our server explained that we each had a pair of tongs in different colors so as not to confuse one another's meal. We then had the opportunity to cook our meat to the desired temperature - I eat everything well and it only took about 3-4 minutes each.
Sure, it took longer to get through dinner, but it allowed dinner to be an experience and allowed Dan and I an opportunity to chat. I imagine it'd have been just as perfect with a group of girlfriends because we wouldn't have felt rushed!
When they initially bring it out, the plates look like you're going to be hungry afterwards but the portions are served perfectly. Eating slower allows you to digest properly and not overeat. I actually couldn't finish all of mine!!
Drinks + Dessert
Flaming Turtle Chocolate - SO. GOOD. Served with graham cracker coated marshmallows, fruit, brownies, etc. to dip. We were so full already, but couldn't resist getting dessert. When at The Melting Pot, right?
I tried the Coconut Mojito (er... I tried two). It was muddled really well and didn't seem like overkill the way some tropical drinks tend to. Not too sweet and I couldn't get enough of the coconut rim on the glass.
Dan tried the Jack Berry Smash. He loved it and highly recommends it to any 'fellas who like a good whiskey-based drink.
Ladies We Love March 2017 | Philadelphia Housewives
Philadelphia Housewives returned to Redhound Grille in Paoli (we were there in October!) for our March GNO and everyone had a blast! It was a chilly night, but we had a lot of fun shopping and mingling with all of you.
Below, you'll find the information for our participating vendors so that you can connect with them:
Denyse Drennan
Hearts in Hands Community Center Inc.
Kim Rees
Dr. Rachael Thompson
Jen Anderson + Heidi Rega
West Chester
SW Montgomery
Kennett Square
I'm jasmine
RSVP FOR AN EVENT
My name is Jasmine and I'm a wife and dog mom. From the suburbs to the city, I love the city of Philadelphia and everything it has to offer! I've always had a passion for makeup, style, and firmly believe leopard print and pink are neutrals. Make that - neutrals you should wear daily. Except on Sundays. Sundays are for Eagles Green!
Philadelphia Housewives - housewivesinthecity.com
Ladies We Love
4100 Monument Corner Drive #400B, Fairfax, Virginia 22030 | info@housewivesinthecity.com | 571.248.1224
ADVERTISE | JOIN OUR TEAM | FIND A CITY NEAR YOU
Copyright © 2018, SOCIALLY FUSED LLC


Brass pull handle for external doors and for sliding doors.
The pull handle Quadrata is 100% projected and manufactured in Italy.
It is available with or without plate, in many various finishes, for this reason it is suitable for different design doors.


Bits in Khaki-green are 'work-in-progress' listings and anyone is welcome to add missing details, whether single items or whole chunks. However, he is now thousands of dollars in debt and facing the loss of his dealership if he can't catch up on his payments to the bank. Like trolleybuses however a lot of the coachbuilding work on motorbuses was subcontracted either from the chassis manufacturer or from a dealership company. Stop by East Syracuse Chevrolet dealership Monday through Saturday for the ultimate car-buying experience.
In the World of the High Tech Redneck, the Graybeard is the old guy who earned his gray by making all the mistakes, and then tries to keep the young 'uns from repeating them. Other blogs started popping up, and now, ten years later, there are hundreds and hundreds of blogs and social media sites and other new media platforms on which to read and talk about sports cards; it's great. If it's not registered by the new owner within this time frame, the vehicle's registration will expire until it's re-registered. Accumulated over the last few years, this pile was two working rifles, and a bunch of parts. Not even two months ago, it would have been one working rifle, and assorted parts.
The company was founded in 2006 and is responsible for the supply of five contracted dealers. While I waited for Enterprise to pick me up, he had already ordered my parts and told me it would be ready Thursday. Our reviews and ratings only come from real customers who've had their vehicles repaired by an auto body shop. The folks at World Auto Body accommodated my schedule, repaired my Cruze, and had me back on the road three days earlier than their initial estimate.
Welcome to Continental Automotive Group, where you'll be able to easily navigate your way to all of our dealerships throughout the area, including Austin INFINITI, Austin Subaru, First Texas Honda, Mercedes-Benz of Austin, and Continental Auto Leasing. In addition to car sales, Kahlig Auto Group also provides drivers with expert service technicians who are capable of carrying out routine maintenance and major repairs alike. With 21 franchises offering new and pre-owned BMW, Buick, CADILLAC, Chevrolet, GMC, Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, Nissan, Subaru and Toyota vehicles, customers are sure to find what they're looking for on our Carbone Auto Group dealership lots. Offering a full lineup of GM vehicles, Husker Auto Group is your destination for new and used vehicles.
Things are happening fast and furious now, just as I anticipated they would. Flexible pricing policy and short terms of work allow our Auto Body Shop to look more attractive in comparison with other services. You never have to worry, because we will be here for you when you need us. Come to New England Auto World in Derby and get the pre-owned car that you need, and the service that you deserve. You can get pre-approved at Auto World and our expert staff will work one-on-one with you to help you explore all the financing options available to you.


text:
Boeing leasing shuttle hangar
MARCIA DUNN
CAPE CANAVERAL — Boeing is taking over one of NASA's old space shuttle hangars to build a new capsule that the company hopes will lift astronauts to orbit in four or five years.
More than 100 Boeing, NASA and state and federal officials gathered in the massive empty hangar — Orbiting Processing Facility No. 3 — for the announcement of the first-of-its-kind agreement allowing a private company to take over the government property.
The aerospace company expects to create 550 high-tech jobs at Kennedy Space Center over the next four years, 140 of them by the end of next year.
That's less than 10 percent of the approximately 6,000 shuttle jobs lost in Florida over the past several years, but Gov. Rick Scott and other lawmakers at the ceremony said they expect additional hirings by the commercial space industry.
NASA is counting on companies like Boeing, Space Exploration Technologies Corp. and others to ferry cargo and astronauts to and from the International Space Station in three to five years. Until then, the space agency will continue to shell out tens of millions of dollars per seat on Russian Soyuz spacecraft.
The Soyuz is the only way to get astronauts to and from the space station, ever since Atlantis returned from the final shuttle flight in July. A Soyuz rocket failure in August highlighted the risk of relying on just one type of craft.
During Monday's hourlong ceremony, lawmakers said the commercial industry is America's last hope, anytime soon, for U.S. astronauts to fly on U.S. spaceships from U.S. soil.
The Obama administration requested $850 million in NASA's 2012 budget for the commercial space effort. The House slashed that to $312 million, but the Senate got it to $500 million, a reasonable figure given the nation's current economic situation, said Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., a one-time space shuttle flier.
Boeing expects to start removing shuttle platforms and modifying the hangar to suit its own purposes in the next few months.
John Mulholland, vice president and program manager of commercial programs for Boeing, said it will be sad to see all the shuttle equipment go.
"The shuttle's such an iconic vehicle. These marvelous buildings have a lot of memory," said Mulholland, a former shuttle manager. "But you've always got to be looking forward. So while the shuttle is remarkable, we're looking forward to the next phase of space exploration."
Boeing wants to ferry astronauts not only to the International Space Station, but to a commercial scientific outpost planned for orbit by Bigelow Aerospace. Each capsule will hold seven people. A test flight is planned by 2015.
The agreement calls for Boeing to use the hangar for 15 years, with an option to renew for another five. Then it will be up to Boeing to demolish the building, on NASA's get-rid-of list. Boeing is not paying NASA any rent, officials stressed, but rather will cover all operation costs and utilities.
The hangar is 197 feet long, 1,650 feet wide and 95 feet high. It was last used to ready the shuttle Discovery for its final launch earlier this year.
NASA wants to turn the space center — long a government-only local — into a multi-user spaceport. Other buildings are also up for grabs. Space Florida, a state agency, is working on more deals.
Tourists, meanwhile, are about to gain entree into areas that were once strictly off limits.
On Tuesday, the Vehicle Assembly Building — where fuel tanks and booster rockets were attached to space shuttles — will open its doors to public bus tours for the first time since 1978.
Throughout the ceremony, NASA officials and others stressed that Kennedy Space Center is not going out of business.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the dream is alive," Nelson told the crowd.
NASA relinquished its shuttle fleet to concentrate on new rockets and spacecraft that will be able to carry astronauts beyond low Earth orbit. An asteroid is the first stop. Mars is the prize.
NASA: http://www.nasa.gov/
Boeing: www.boeing.com/advertising/space


Lost your CDL or cannot return to work for testing positive/refusal on a DOT alcohol and drug violation. NOW WHAT DO I DO? Get a hold of James (Al) Armstrong for your DOT SAP initial and follow-up assessment and get ready for future DOT random testing. James (Al) Armstrong has 30 plus years working with alcohol and drug clients/offenders, and 11 years as a DOT SAP. You should seek the alcohol and drug experience as not all substance abuse professionals (SAPs) have that experience as some are social workers, Psychologists, EAP programs or doctors. These are great professionals but the alcohol and drug field is not their 24/7 line of work. You want someone who understand your situation. Also Surrounding areas like: Blaine WA, Bellingham WA, Whatcom County WA, Surrey Canada, Calgary Canada, Edmonton Canada, Waddington Canada and Mt. Robson Canada. (Click onto "DOT SAP Evaluation" for more information).


Long, very narrow rectangular pouch. The opening appears to be on the long axis of the rectangle. Narrow strip of leather at one end and a short strip on other end with a metal buckle. The pouch is currently closed, though the buckle is not fastened. Brown.


Bren New York's Ultimate Lip Liner is vitamin enriched with Vitamins C and E. Our formula is smooth and creamy which delivers a long lasting and water resistant finish. These pencils glide on and stay on! The pencil can be sharped, just ease the pencil into the sharpener and turn slowly. This product is made in Germany.


text:
Q: ms SSRS 2008 R2: Display Computed Values #Error The Report will display Two Columns Foo and Bar
Some Rows of Foo are Empty Some have a numerical Value:
 Foo:
+----+
|    |
+----+
|10.0|
+----+

then There is the Bar Column, this column will take the Values from Foo and add 10 to them, the report should yield Results like this:
 Foo: Bar:
+----+----+
|    |    |
+----+----+
|10.0|20.0|
+----+----+

Thats the Expression i use to determine whether Foo is numeric inside Bar:
=IsNumeric(ReportItems!FooBox.Value)

And this is the Result that Expression will Yield:
 Foo: Bar:
+----+-----+
|    |False|
+----+-----+
|10.0|True |
+----+-----+

Okay, thats exactly the way i want it so far, thus i write My Expression that way:
=IIf(IsNumeric(ReportItems!FooBox.Value),
            ReportItems!FooBox.Value +10,
            "")

This will Yield the Following Results:
Foo: Bar:
+----+------+
|    |#Error|
+----+------+
|10.0|20.0  |
+----+------+

And most Bizare, when i remove the little addition in the Truepart of the IIf, it will execute:
=IIf(IsNumeric(ReportItems!FooBox.Value),
                ReportItems!FooBox.Value,
                "")

Foo:   Bar:
+----+------+
|    |      |
+----+------+
|10.0|10.0  |
+----+------+

It's almost as if the "wrong" part of the Ternary operator gets executed Anyway, thus generating this castError or whatever it might be.
How can i convert the Values properly in order to Show the Results as Explained before?

A: Indeed - using IIf will cause both statements (true and false) to be evaulated and that leads to the error you are getting.
being in your situation, I would create my own function to handle this - you can place it in Code field of your Report (click outside of Page area to access Report object)
your function might look like this:
Public Function MyAdd(val As Object) As Nullable(Of Integer)
        If TypeOf(val) Is Integer Then
             Return val + 10
        Else
             Return Nothing
        End If
End Function

you might need to play with types used (Object and Nullable Of Integer are maybe not what will work for you)
then, of course, use MyAdd in your expression and pass ReportItems!FooBox.Value as parameter

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
New Members Are Among Richest in Congress
Posted Jan 24, 2011 10:55 AM
Jennifer Yachnin
And Congress' Rich Get Richer McCaul Leaps to Top of 50 Richest Members of Congress Pension's Perks for Members With a Past
More than one-third of the freshman lawmakers in the 112th Congress are millionaires, and as many as 15 are likely to rank among the richest Members of Congress this year, according to a Roll Call analysis of financial disclosure records.
Individual wealth varies widely among the new House and Senate lawmakers, from a handful who report deficits of up to several hundred thousand dollars to Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), who tops the list with a minimum net worth of about $64 million.
At least 40 freshmen reported a minimum net worth of $1 million or more. Among those lawmakers, at least 15 have a minimum net worth of $5 million or more, likely placing them among the 50 richest Members of Congress.
Roll Call's survey includes 112 freshman lawmakers, including the five Members elected in November but sworn in to their respective chambers during the 111th Congress.
Among the 15 wealthiest members of the freshman class, four are Senators and 11 are House lawmakers. Blumenthal is the only Democrat.
Blumenthal's wealth stems in part from his wife, Cynthia Blumenthal, who is the daughter of New York real estate magnate Peter Malkin.
The Senator lists numerous real estate investments, including "over $1 million" in both the Empire State Building Associates, which holds a 114-year master lease on the New York landmark, and "over $1 million" in the Empire State Building Co., which operates the building.
The value of those assets could be significantly higher, however. Members are permitted to value assets owned wholly by their spouses or dependents in a special category that states only "over $1 million."
Also near the top of the list are Rep. Jim Renacci (R-Ohio), with a minimum net worth of about $34 million; Rep. Diane Black (R-Tenn.), with a minimum net worth of almost $29 million; and Rep. Rick Berg (R-N.D.), with a minimum net worth close to $21 million.
Renacci, who established and later sold a nursing home business, reports five investment accounts worth a combined $29 million.
His diverse portfolio also includes investments in nursing home administration, a concert promoter, Harley-Davidson dealerships, real estate and the JetHawks, a minor league baseball team in Lancaster, Calif.
Black's largest investment is her husband's stake in the Nashville, Tenn.-based Aegis Sciences Corp., valued at $25 million to $50 million.
Black also reports a half-dozen real estate properties under Ebon Falcon, valued at a combined minimum of $8.5 million.
Berg is likewise heavily invested in real estate, including apartment buildings and commercial properties.
Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-Texas) reports a minimum personal wealth of about $14 million, although his office said he expects to file amendments to reconcile apparent inconsistencies in his report, which could shift his bottom line.
A number of Members contacted by Roll Call — ranging from the wealthy to those apparently in the red — said they planned to amend their reports to add assets, adjust values or correct liabilities. Such changes can dramatically shift a Member's wealth on the annual filings, even when there is no change in their actual finances.
Other wealthy freshmen include Rep. Scott Rigell (R-Va.), with an estimated minimum net worth of close to $12 million; Rep. Richard Hanna (R-N.Y.), with a minimum net worth of nearly $11 million; and Rep. Nan Hayworth (R-N.Y.), with a minimum net worth of about $9.5 million.
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Reps. Steve Pearce (R-N.M.) and Bill Flores (R-Texas) each report a minimum net worth of about $8 million. Pearce, who previously served in the House from 2003 to 2008, landed at No. 31 on Roll Call's list of the 50 richest Members of Congress in 2008 with a similar fortune.
Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), who served in the House from 1993 to 2006, has also previously appeared on Roll Call's annual survey of the richest Members. His most recent financial disclosure shows a minimum net worth of about $6 million.
Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) reports a minimum net worth of about $7 million.
Reps. David McKinley (R-W.Va.) and Jon Runyan (R-N.J.) are also possible contenders for Congress' most exclusive club, both reporting a minimum net worth of at least $5 million.
The threshold for entry into the 50 richest Members of Congress in 2010 was a minimum reported net worth of about $5.5 million.
A Roll Call evaluation of the wealth in the House in 2009 found that 125 lawmakers reported a minimum net worth of $1 million or more. That same year, 50 Senators of 98 surveyed also reported a minimum net worth of $1 million or more. In total, about one-third of the Members of the 111th Congress reported assets of at least $1 million on their 2009 financial disclosures.
Member wealth is calculated based on the financial disclosure forms they filed either as candidates in spring 2010 or, in the case of some freshman Senators, as Members of the House. Each of the reports includes assets or debts from calendar year 2009, and in most cases a portion of 2010.
Both Congressional candidates and lawmakers are required to file annual financial disclosure forms detailing their personal assets — including bank accounts, investment accounts and retirement accounts — as well as related liabilities such as credit card debt or other loans.
But the forms often do not present a complete picture of a Member's personal wealth.
While Members must generally report assets that generate income such as rental homes, they are not compelled to disclose other assets, including their own homes or vacation properties, that do not generate income.
Members are not required to list the specific value of assets or debts; they utilize wide-ranging categories such as $1,001 to $15,000 and $1 million to $5 million.
Roll Call determines a lawmaker's minimum net worth by adding the minimum reported value of each asset — for example, an item listed in the $1 million to $5 million category is counted as $1 million — and subtracting the minimum value of any liabilities.


The Court of Appeal has recently held that information about the communications and data component of the government's Smart Meter Programme (SMP) constitutes "environmental information" for the purposes of regulation 2(1) of the Environmental Regulations 2004 (EIR).
The judgment provides a useful clarification of the definition of "environmental information" and the scope of the EIR. It also serves as a reminder that the EIR may also be applicable to information which has little apparent connection to measures (such as policies, programmes, plans and legislation) affecting or likely to affect the environment.
The Court of Appeal case concerned an appeal against the Upper Tribunal's decision that information included in a Project Assessment Review (PAR) about the communications and data component of the government's SMP was "environmental information" and should be determined in accordance with the EIR.
The government's SMP provides real-time information to consumers, suppliers and network operators about their energy usage, while the communications and data component enables the transfer of information from smart meters to suppliers and network operators.
Alex Henney, an expert in energy usage, requested this information from the relevant government department, which refused the request in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Following a number of appeals to the Information Commissioner's Office, the First-tier Tribunal (Information Rights) and the Upper Tribunal (UT), the case was brought before the Court of Appeal.
The Court of Appeal was asked to decide whether the communications and data component was an environmental measure, which would mean that it was covered by the EIR (which require public authorities to adopt a presumption in favour of public access to environmental information) instead of the FOIA.
The Court of Appeal considered regulation 2(1) of the EIR and found that it was permissible to take account of the wider context in which the information appeared and not solely the specific issue that it primarily covered.
According to the Court of Appeal, the context may include: the purpose for which the information was produced; the importance of that information in connection to the purpose; and how that information will be used.
The issue of determining the scope of the information concerned can be drawn by reference to the Environmental Information Directive (to which the EIR give effect) and the Aarhus Convention (to which the UK is a signatory). These provide that citizens should have access to all the information they need to be able to have an awareness of environmental matters and to effectively participate in environmental decision-making. It was clear to the Court of Appeal that providing the public with the communications and data component included in the PAR would contribute to its effective engagement in environmental matters.
The case provides clarity on what information constitutes "environmental information" for the purposes of the EIR and highlights the broad application of the EIR. Information which does not appear to be relevant to environmental issues may still be considered to be "environmental" on the basis of the wider context to which it can apply and its significance to environmental matters.
The decision also drew a distinction between the concept of information as defined in the FOIA and the definition of "environmental information" as stated in the EIR. The FOIA places its focus on the information itself. In addition, some of the exceptions which apply to it are absolute and will apply regardless of whether the public interest necessitates disclosure or not. In contrast, the EIR may concentrate on the information's wider context and the relevant measure as well. Organisations should therefore be wary of that distinction and exercise caution when considering certain information and applying it to either regime.