Friday, August 31, 2012

Pork-a-Palooza! Pulled Pork Recipes & Cookbook Giveaway (Good ...

Posted by artfulgourmet on Aug 31, 2012 in Comfort Food, Fall Recipes, Food and Cooking How-To's, Food and Drink Events, Pork, Product Reviews, Savory Dishes, Slow Cooked/Stews, Spring Recipes, Summer Recipes, Uncategorized, Winter Recipes |

It?s that time of year again as Summer is ending and the weather is changing, perfect time of year for game day parties, Labor Day parties and heartier fare for a crowd. When I think about the perfect food to celebrate early Fall with friends and family, Savory Slow-Cooked Pulled Pork comes to mind.

Chef preparing Pulled Pork

Chef preparing Pulled Pork

Last week I was invited to a special Pork-a-Palooza! event in Chelsea sponsored by The National Pork Board - I had the opportunity to hear Sara Kate Gillingham-Ryan?-?food writer, recipe developer and author of the popular website The Kitchn, speak about her love for Pork and all the simple delicious ways you can make it just by throwing a gorgeous Pork Shoulder (or any cut you choose) braised in the oven, grilled or in a Crock Pot?with your veggies, seasonings and marinades and letting it cook slow and low until you get juicy, flavorful, melt-in-your-mouth goodness.

Herb Rub Oven-Braised Pulled Pork

Herb Rub Oven-Braised Pulled Pork

We sampled three different varieties of Pulled Pork (Chili Rub Slow Cooker Pulled Pork, Savory Rub Grilled Pulled Pork, and Herb Rub Oven-Braised Pulled Pork) and got creative by whipping up some tasty Pork dishes for ourselves such as Pulled Pork Soft Tacos, Fried Rice, Caesar Wraps, Quesadillas, Egg Scrambles, Pizzas, Baked Potatoes, Tostadas, Salads, Sliders, and Grilled Cheese. Talk about an inspiring delicious event!

Pulled Pork Taco, Salad and Grilled Cheese!

Pulled Pork Taco, Salad and Grilled Cheese!

Check out the awesome food and drinks we devoured in the gallery below, and try a delicious recipe for Chili Rub Slow Cooker Pulled Pork, compliments of the National Pork Board. Check out more great pork recipes and all the different cuts of pork you can make on www.porkbeinspired.com

VIEW SLIDESHOW

??

Chili Rub Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

Chili_Rub_Slow_Cooker_Pulled_Pork_recipe

Chili Rub Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

1 3-pound boneless pork shoulder or sirloin meat
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne powder
1 tablespoon canola oil or other neutral-flavored oil
1/2 cup chicken broth

Line a 9?13-inch baking pan with foil and place the pork in the pan. In a small bowl, combine the chili powder, salt and cayenne. Rub the mixture all over the sides of the meat, pressing to adhere (if the meat is tied together with twine or netting, just rub the seasoning right over it). Set aside.

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, warm the oil. Add the pork and brown on all sides, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer the meat to a slow cooker.

Add the broth to the skillet, scraping up any browned bits. Add the broth to the slow cooker, cover and cook until the pork is very tender, 6 to 8 hours on low or 4 to 5 hours on high.

Transfer the meat to a cutting board and let rest 10 to 15 minutes. Use two forks to shred meat into bite-sized pieces. Moisten/season with cooking juices to taste.

Serving suggestions: This recipe is only mildly spiced, so if you like things with a kick, try adding more cayenne to the rub or add some of your favorite hot sauce to the finished, shredded meat. Use the pork to make a traditional pulled pork sandwich, with barbeque sauce and slaw, or enjoy it in your favorite chili reicpe or on top of a Tex Mex Caesar salad.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 5 1/4 to 8 1/4 hrs
Serving size: 8 to 10 servings

??

Cookbook Giveaway!

Good Food to Share, by Sara Kate Gillingham-Ryan

I am giving away one (1) copy of Sara Kate Gillingham-Ryan?s cookbook, Good Food to Share, to one lucky person, drawn by random. If you haven?t seen this cookbook, you absolutely need to! It?s hardcover, and full of gorgeous food photography and recipes for entertaining with family and friends. Sara has amazing menus for planning a simple supper or an impromptu dinner party with fresh and flavorful ingredients and gives great tips for cocktail, beer and wine pairings for whatever occasion you are planning to have with friends.

All you need to do to receive one (1) entry, is to leave a comment on this post what is your favorite way to prepare and eat Pulled Pork.

For additional entries, tweet this post, pin it, share it on Facebook?(you?ll get separate entries for each!), and let me know in separate comments on this post that you?ve done so. For even more entries, follow Artful Gourmet on Twitter and Facebook and also let me know you?ve done so!

The giveaway begins on Friday August 31st and will end on Sunday, Sept 9th at 11 pm EST. Please leave your email with your comments (this ?will not be made public) so that I can contact the winner of the giveaway and send the cookbook.?Good luck! I hope you enjoy the recipes and make some fun, creative Pulled Pork recipes yourself!

?

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

Source: http://theartfulgourmet.com/2012/08/31/pork-a-palooza-pulled-pork-recipes-cookbook-giveaway-good-food-to-share-by-sara-kate-gillingham-ryan/

dianna agron million hoodie march tebow trade mike the situation

2000 Expected for Annapolis Chapter of the Travis Manion Foundation's 9/11 Heroes Run September 9

Annual Event is Among 40 Nationwide Honoring First Responders by: Robert Dyer, RuckPack Combat Nutrition

Annapolis, MD (PRWEB) August 31, 2012

Some 2000 runners are expected to participate in the annual Travis Manion Foundation Annapolis 9/11 Heroes Run on Sunday, September 9 at Navy Marine Corps Memorial Stadium to honor military, police, fire fighters and other first responders who protect and serve our country every day. This year?s event is the third annual run named for Marine 1st Lt. Travis Manion, a former U.S. Naval Academy varsity wrestler who was killed by a sniper in April 2007 after his heroic actions while serving in Iraq. Some forty other cities in five countries, including two military bases in Afghanistan, will hold Travis Manion Foundation 9/11 Heroes Runs this year.

The Annapolis event includes a 5K beginning at 2 p.m. and a one-mile fun run/walk, followed by a tailgate celebration with free food and beer and live music until 6 p.m. Individual registration for the 5K is $25 before August 31.

Sponsors include JWT Marketing, Comcast, Anheuser Busch, Fleet Feet Sports, RuckPack Combat Nutrition, Annapolis Refuel, Chick and Ruth's Deli, and Turning Point Sports.

Proceeds from the event support other programs run by the Travis Manion Foundation and the Annapolis firefighters and police funds.

For more information and registration, visit http://www.911heroesrun.com or http://www.facebook.com/911HeroesRun.

Robert Dyer

760-650-5408
Email Information

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/2000-expected-annapolis-chapter-travis-manion-foundations-9-110906897.html

honey badger critics choice awards 2012 colbert president huntingtons disease rob the firm new york philharmonic

When trial by jury is a crime | Progress | News and debate from the ...

It does seem strange, that in this modern day, we continue to put twelve lay persons in such a position of vulnerability, by placing them directly in the path of powerful, wealthy, violent criminals.

From the gangster?s point of view, it?s as if we make them a challenge, by presenting them with a jury. It?s as if we say, if you can destroy a human being, or at least gain control of their mind, then we will give you your freedom. Here?s a choice of twelve. You need to destroy two of them to be safe, so choose carefully. If you lose, you go to jail. If you win, you get your freedom back. If you get detected trying to destroy these people, we?ll stop the trial and start again with a new jury, so you can have another go.

To the violent criminal, this sounds like fun. He is worth millions, has multitudes of criminal underlings at his disposal, and has private detectives and bent former police officers willing to get him the information he needs. Yet just to make sure things are properly balanced in his favour, we tell him the names of the jurors, then publish the polling register from which we recruited them, allowing him to more easily get their addresses.

What?s also surprising is the reaction of the lawyers and police whenever a jury has been nobbled. They get angry with the jurors. Can you believe that? The lay people who have been intimidated, or terrorised, or had their family threatened, are considered to be the villains in all this.

Personally, I think if someone agrees to do public service, only to have petrol poured through their letterbox, then my condemnation is saved for the politicians who thought it was a good idea to put them in such a vulnerable position in the first place.

Yet if there is ever a suggestion that we should restrict trial by jury, then a great chorus of objection rises. ?It?s our human rights!? they shriek. I respond by asking what about the right of ordinary citizen, not to be made the quarry of violent criminals? ?They?re attacking Magna Carta!? goes the other cry. Magna Carta is a law created to stop King John from imposing arbitrary punishment on his citizens. It?s not relevant to this argument, although I understand where the cry comes from.

The British people have always been suspicious that those who govern us, the politicians, want to change the system to suit them rather than us, the people. An obvious way of doing that would be to gain control of the courts, like the situation in Russia, where those girls have been jailed for singing a song, poking fun at Mr Putin.

I totally agree that we don?t want politicians to be in control of the courts. However, reforming the jury system is a long, long way off from giving politicians the power to impose arbitrary verdicts in trials. For a government to take over, they would have to first gain control of the judiciary. This wouldn?t happen because the separation of the judiciary and the state is deeply engrained in our society.

And anyway, we don?t want to remove juries in the bulk of cases. The jury system is often the superior one. Jurors think differently to lawyers, in that they apply common sense to the evidence, while lawyers apply logic to the evidence. Often, this means that juries produce verdicts that seem to be surprising, but when the lawyers consider it later, they see the method, and agree with the jury. In this way, jurors are better, because their perspective is fresh.

I?m not saying we should abolish trial by jury, but I am saying that there are circumstances where it is not appropriate to put twelve lay persons in such a position of vulnerability, and at the moment this situation continues, due to the objection of a vocal minority, who I believe are misguided to believe that reform is an attack on freedom.

The judicial system should have a mixed system of trials, where some are twelve-person juries, while others are tried by a panel of experts, and some by judges only. The important point is that the mode of trial should reflect the type of case, not the loudness of a minority of protesters.

?????????????????????????????

Dan McCurry is a candidate in the members? section in the Progress strategy board elections 2012. You can find out more about all the? candidates at the dedicated Progress strategy board election microsite


crime and justice, Progress strategy board elections

Source: http://www.progressonline.org.uk/2012/08/30/when-trial-by-jury-is-a-crime/

zynga ipo zynga ipo sam hurd arrested roddy white roddy white howard stern howard stern

Learn how hypnosis can help with self improvement | New NLP ...

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Learn how coma can assistance with self improvement

Article by Theresa Jordan

When we operate to take of hypnosis, we would bear in thoughts seeking during tv as well as examination doctors with their patients overhanging pendulums in front of them. I?m flattering certain we am not a usually a single who remembers photos as well as cinema depicting these images. we know which we have been extraordinary about what coma is as well as how it functions for people as well as a lot some-more importantly how it can await you. Hypnosis is used these days to await enlarge lives as well as to stop bad habits. Medical Science is fixing coma as an pick technique for self-improvement.

What is Hypnosis?

Hypnosis is apropos in a focused coma of thoroughness with out any distractions. While being in a coma state, we is starting to be have sum thoroughness as well as we will expected be experiencing a feeling of being loose as well as calm. Given which your thoroughness is not distracted, your thoughts is open as well as we have a capability to take in report which will await we urge your illness as well as stop bad behaviors.

Most people which do self-hypnosis have distant some-more carry out over their emotions as well as their behavior. It can additionally await we cope with mishap or understanding with a healing condition. Essentially a many visit factors which people operate coma have been for:

* To stop smoking * To remove weight * To relieve stress * To relieve annoy * Sexual Issues * Addictions & Habits * Phobias * And so most more??

Uncategorized

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Source: http://newnlptechnology.com/uncategorized/learn-how-hypnosis-can-help-with-self-improvement/

osteopathy osteopathy diphtheria diphtheria del rio del rio das racist

Source: http://briggshubert71.typepad.com/blog/2012/08/learn-how-hypnosis-can-help-with-self-improvement-new-nlp.html

miranda kerr adriana lima victoria secret angels fox 4 fox 4 vs fashion show 2011 victoria secret fashion show

Source: http://leslieroy.typepad.com/blog/2012/08/learn-how-hypnosis-can-help-with-self-improvement-new-nlp.html

bear grylls us news law school rankings gael glen rice jr bars lindzi cox redskins

How To Stay On Budget When Making Home ... - Energy Efficiency

Welcome to the world of home improvement! The world of home improvement is vast and there are projects for every type of skill and interest. It?s such a vast, and sometimes personal, thing that can be difficult to find what can work for you. Here are some recommendations to make the process a bit easier.

Get references of anyone that will be working on a home improvement job on your behalf. Consider this process as a business hiring an employee. Do a background check and make certain they have good references from former clients.

Don?t waste money on renovations which just don?t fit in. Odd projects, like uninsulated sun rooms in colder areas or an open deck in places where the weather is unbearably hot can give a potential buyer pause. Do things to a home that need to be done, but don?t do anything extra that the climate won?t allow.

Try to take care of difficult and pricy repairs before moving into a home. Relatively small projects like updating a bathroom, finishing the basement, or putting a new color of paint in a room can be done after you move in.

In the rooms with the most traffic, if you want to circulate air, use ceiling fans. Ceiling fans will allow you to cut back on air conditioner usage and add efficiency to your furnace by pushing warm air down. Many models of fans are able to reverse their blade direction, allowing on either forcing air up or down.

People often make the mistake of thinking that new underfloor, radiant heating or central vacuuming system alone can sell a property. That said, they don?t invest in the needed repairs like exterior paint. Buyers tend to notice these things quite easily and may judge the house to be a fixer-upper. First impressions count.

Always focus on having the best lighting. Having a room that?s well-lit with plenty of light can give a warm and inviting feeling. If you need more light, consider installing a second fixture. Adding light to a previously dark space can improve the entire house.

You might spend a lot of money when buying new furniture. Garage sales and thrift stores can add a new flare to your room! Amongst all of these bargains, you will likely find many amazing deals on decor and furniture. They may need some refurbishing, but with a bit of elbow grease, can be a marvelous addition to your home furnishings.

You do not want to buy furniture that is built into the home if you want to sell the house later on. It looks good, but can be a large cost which won?t move with you in the future.

If you paint the walls, make sure you tape off all of the trim. Even if you are cautious, paint can run. Taping the trim in a room can prevent any paint from getting on it. If the paint runs onto the trim, you might need to replace it.

Never, ever hire an unlicensed contractor. No matter where it is that you currently reside, all contractors are required to have some sort of certification from your state. While these requirements do not guarantee contractor competence, they are legally required. You also want to be sure that they carry adequate insurance so that you are not at risk of a huge loss if they happen to cause damage to your home.

Give your septic tank regular care and maintenance. There are chemicals that can be purchased that can help you decompose the contents. It is important to know exactly where your septic tank is located before beginning any home improvement project. Get a home plan if you need it so you can avoid damaging it accidentally.

Do not go over the budget! Make sure to establish a budget so your costs don?t end up being absurd. Develop a general budget and don?t deviate it from it.

In the world of home improvement, there are many techniques that you have at your disposal to improve your home. It is important to know the right technique to use in your home. Hopefully, the tips you?ve learned from this article will be a value to you as you begin your home improvement project.

Richie Vee, the site?s editor, is the Chief Engineer of one of the largest Platinum LEED buildings in NYC. His extensive engineering experience helps guide consumers through home improvement projects for the average homeowner. Using home solar energy and roofing repair ideas to save them money.

Source: http://www.energyefficiencyconservation.com/how-to-stay-on-budget-when-making-home-renovations/

cadillac ats bain capital marines urinating haley barbour olivier martinez peoples choice awards 2012 ford recalls

Thursday, August 30, 2012

'Nano machine shop' shapes nanowires, ultrathin films

ScienceDaily (Aug. 29, 2012) ? A new "nano machine shop" that shapes nanowires and ultrathin films could represent a future manufacturing method for tiny structures with potentially revolutionary properties.

The structures might be tuned for applications ranging from high-speed electronics to solar cells and also may have greater strength and unusual traits such as ultrahigh magnetism and "plasmonic resonance," which could lead to improved optics, computers and electronics.

The researchers used their technique to stamp nano- and microgears; form tiny circular shapes out of a material called graphene, an ultrathin sheet of carbon that holds promise for advanced technologies; and change the shape of silver nanowires, said Gary Cheng, an associate professor of industrial engineering at Purdue University.

"We do this shaping at room temperature and atmospheric pressure, like a nano-machine shop," said Cheng, who is working with doctoral students Ji Li, Yiliang Liao, Ting-Fung Chung and Sergey Suslov and physics professor Yong P. Chen.

Graphene and nanowires -- filaments 1,000 times thinner than a human hair -- have numerous potential applications. However, technologies are needed to tailor them for specific uses. The new method, called laser shock-induced shaping, makes it possible to tune nanowires by altering electrical and optoelectrical properties that are critical for electronic components.

The researchers also have shown how laser shock-induced shaping can be used to change the properties of graphene, a step toward harnessing the material for electronic applications.

Findings were detailed in research papers published in the journal Nano Letters, and the work also was highlighted earlier this month in the News and Views section of the journal Nature Photonics.

The technique works by using a multilayered sandwich structure that has a tiny mold at the bottom. Nanowires were situated directly above the mold, and other materials were layered between the nanowires and a glass cover sheet. Exposing this layered "forming unit" to an ultra-fast pulsing laser causes one of the layers to burn up, generating a downward pressure that forces the nanowires into the mold and changes their shape.

"The process could be scaled up for an industrial roll-to-roll manufacturing process by changing laser beam size and scanning speed," Cheng said. "The laser shock-induced shaping approach is fast and low-cost."

Part of the research, funded by the National Science Foundation, was carried out in a specialized clean room at the Birck Nanotechnology Center in Purdue's Discovery Park.

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:


Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Purdue University. The original article was written by Emil Venere.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.


Journal References:

  1. Noriaki Horiuchi. Laser nanofabrication: New regimes for nanoshaping. Nature Photonics, 2012; 6 (8): 508 DOI: 10.1038/nphoton.2012.186
  2. Ji Li, Ting-Fung Chung, Yong P. Chen, Gary J. Cheng. Nanoscale Strainability of Graphene by Laser Shock-Induced Three-Dimensional Shaping. Nano Letters, 2012; : 120816152617000 DOI: 10.1021/nl301817t

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/strange_science/~3/JkpR8ISTnG0/120829172104.htm

new york philharmonic marines urinating on taliban critics choice awards super pac dre kirkpatrick mls superdraft school cancellations

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Video: Arctic sea ice levels reach record low



>>> there's a new report out tonight on the level of ice in the arctic as monitored by the folks at the national snow and ice data center . they say it's at a record low now since the time when satellites started tracking it in 1979 . it is an ominous benchmark for the planet. the melting ice they say will not have a direct effect on sea levels , though they have been a concern. they found the only positive effect worth highlighting here is, the freeing up of shipping lanes.

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/48819475/

justified southland sopa blackout protect ip act jim caldwell internet blackout jessica capshaw

Samsung Galaxy Note II: hands-on with the new S Pen-toting phablet (video)

Samsung Galaxy Note II handson video

Samsung's got a handful of announcements to offer its mobile fans at IFA this year, and it's started big: with the Galaxy Note II. The new Android device packs a larger 5.5-inch, 1,280 x 720 16:9 screen, but still falls roughly within the same generous footprint of its predecessor. A year on, we've now got a more powerful SoC, up from a dual-core 1.4GHz processor to a new quad-core 1.6GHz Exynos chipset (yes, that's even faster than the one found in the Galaxy S III) and Android Jelly Bean right out of the box. Samsung's putting a lot of focus on making the most of all that screen space and S Pen functionality. We got our hands (both of them) on the Galaxy Note II just a few hours early, so after the gallery, skip past the break for our first impressions.

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy Note II: hands-on with the new S Pen-toting phablet (video)

Filed under: , ,

Samsung Galaxy Note II: hands-on with the new S Pen-toting phablet (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Aug 2012 13:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/29/samsung-galaxy-note-ii-hands-on/

rob lowe peyton manning what is sopa marianne gingrich ibooks author gabrielle union merle haggard ladainian tomlinson

RNC faithful unfazed by Isaac?s stormy weather

TAMPA, Fla. ? With Tropical Storm Isaac brewing in the Gulf of Mexico, the Republican National Convention schedule was truncated to the extreme Monday. RNC Chair Reince Priebus gaveled in and out a ten-minute session, and hosts cancelled and delayed many events surrounding the convention.

Isaac did not directly hit Tampa Monday; by Monday afternoon it amounted to scattered showers ? at times heavy ? and a bit of wind. The sun came out sporadically around the convention center.

Yet convention delegates on the floor who spoke with The Daily Caller explained that unofficially delaying the convention?s starting gun?was the right thing to do. (RELATED:?RNC unveils national debt clock, immediately recesses)

Hawaii?delegate Jamie Shidel told TheDC that while his plans did not change much, the Hawaii delegation did stockpile some water, just in case.

?Better to be careful than take the risk of business as usual,? he said, noting that he is ?confident? that the GOP has a chance to take Obama?s home state of Hawaii.

John Bates, an Oklahoma delegate, stressed the uncertainty of the schedule and took notice of all the people milling about the convention floor.

?I understand why they did what they did,? Bates said, referring to the delay, ?because if you miss it, there is no way to be right. I mean, even if you are right you?re wrong because it is a Hurricane.?

Michael Coleman, a Maine delegate, told TheDC that his plans have not changed. He?s both pleased the storm?s center missed Tampa and concerned Isaac?s path could spell trouble elsewhere.

?Its a little windy, a little more windy than we?re used to up in Maine,? he said, but not too bad overall.

Kentucky delegate Kevin Smith said things have been going smoothly for his delegation despite the rain.

?We are really looking forward to the speakers,? he said, adding that he appreciated the safety-first focus.

Tina Dupont of Michigan, an alternate delegate, told TheDC that the delay gave her a chance to see more of the convention venue.

?They have moved so many things, like today this would have been going on and its not. And maybe it is good for us because as an alternate I can be down here on the floor,? she said.

?I won?t probably get much of an opportunity. So in a way maybe it?s been good for me but not for the overall event.?

Jim Ayala, a Nevada delegate and Ron Paul supporter, noted the sizable turnout for the quick-gavel event despite Isaac?s shadow looming large.

?The weather doesn?t really seem to be affecting anything at all,? he said. ?We were told by some ?official sources? that this event wasn?t even going to happen today. And look how many people there are.?

?Better safe than sorry.?

Follow Caroline on Twitter
Join the conversation on The Daily Caller

Read more stories from The Daily Caller

RNC faithful unfazed by Isaac's stormy weather

Gov. McDonnell: Obama, Democrats focusing on abortion to distract from 'failed' record

Conservative foreign policy experts on what Romney should say in RNC address

CNBC host Kudlow: Obama would rather 'punish' the wealthy than 'fix the economy' [VIDEO]

Rep. Schock: Obama has 'failed' young voters [VIDEO]

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/rnc-faithful-unfazed-isaac-stormy-weather-053011158.html

the time machine michelin tires michelin tires rett syndrome where the wild things are josh smith birdsong

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Small Biz / Entrepreneurship, Action Marketing Plan Software

Family, friends mourn biz star killed in shooting

Steven Ercolino had it all ? he was attractive, fit and a rising star at a Midtown clothing company where he was adored by colleagues and always enjoyed going to work. He was vice president of sales at Hazan Import Company, and responsible for marketing accessories designed by co-workers, once including...

Biz buzz

Solyndra factory gets .3 million offerSeagate Technology has offered .3 million to buy the cavernous Solyndra solar-panel factory along Interstate 880 in Fremont, according to new documents filed with U.

Essex Chronicle published No-messing approach does the biz for Sarah

SMALL COMPANIES

10 Google+ Circles Marketers Should Follow

Brian Honigman is the digital marketing manager at Marc Ecko Enterprises. He ensures a polished brand experience across all channels. Follow Brian @BrianHonigman and on Google+.

The Small Biz Guide to Patents, Copyright and Trademarks

This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business.

Biz Buzz // New-and-improved Uptown Theatre opening soon

EAST ISLES ? The renovated Uptown Theatre is aiming to reopen in late September at 2906 Hennepin Ave. ?We?re at the point where the new walls are up, and it?s going to start snowballing,? said Head Manager Patrick Cross. ?We?re getting pretty close now.?

Biz beat: Apex Companies lands in Burnsville

Apex Companies, a Maryland-based environmental engineering and design firm, recently entered the Minnesota market, opening an office in Burnsville.

Businesses Searching for Good Search Engine Marketing Companies in Kansas Can Now Turn to Internet Marketing Company

Internet Marketing Company opens doors to work with companies in Kansas.Topeka, Kansas (PRWEB) August 17, 2012 Businesses in Kansas looking for good search engine marketing companies InternetMarketingCompany.biz, can now work with Internet Marketing Company, which opened doors in Kansas today.One of America's top SEO companies, IMC is a leader in providing affordable and reliable internet ...

DocStudio.Biz Opens B2B Virtual Doors

LINCOLNSHIRE, Ill., Aug. 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --?Officers of DocStudio.Biz, a business document template website, announce that the new corporation is up and running and ready for visitors.? The company ...

Search Engine Internet Marketing Site, InternetMarketingCompany.biz, to Provide Low Cost SEO Services in Indiana

Search Engine Internet Marketing Site, http://www.InternetMarketingCompany.biz, to Provide Low Cost SEO Services in IndianaIndianapolis, Indiana (PRWEB) July 29, 2012 Internet Marketing Company, one of the top online marketing companies in California, announced today that the firm will expand to provide low cost SEO services in Indiana."We have had interested from businesses in Indiana to work ...

Source: http://ecommerce.matrix-e.com/eshops/141-small-biz-entrepreneurship/12286-small-biz-entrepreneurship-action-marketing-plan-software.html

mike daisey nicollette sheridan apple dividend snow white and the huntsman snow white and the huntsman peyton manning rupaul drag race

Watney's dismal year turns on a win at Barclays

Nick Watney celebrates after sinking a birdie putt on the 18th hole of the fourth round to win the The Barclays golf tournament at Bethpage State Park in Farmingdale, N.Y., Sunday, Aug. 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams)

Nick Watney celebrates after sinking a birdie putt on the 18th hole of the fourth round to win the The Barclays golf tournament at Bethpage State Park in Farmingdale, N.Y., Sunday, Aug. 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams)

Nick Watney poses with his trophy after winning The Barclays golf tournament at Bethpage State Park in Farmingdale, N.Y., Sunday, Aug. 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Kathy Kmonicek)

Nick Watney celebrates with his caddie Chad Reynolds after sinking a birdie putt on the 18th hole of the fourth round to win The Barclays golf tournament at Bethpage State Park in Farmingdale, N.Y., Sunday, Aug. 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams)

Sergio Garcia, of Spain, chips out of the rough on the second hole of the fourth round of The Barclays golf tournament at Bethpage State Park in Farmingdale, N.Y., Sunday, Aug. 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams)

Sergio Garcia, of Spain, chips onto the green on the fourth hole of the fourth round of The Barclays golf tournament at Bethpage State Park in Farmingdale, N.Y., Sunday, Aug. 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams)

(AP) ? Nick Watney always felt the first playoff event for the FedEx Cup was the most important. A good performance in The Barclays could set up a player to reach the Tour Championship, have a mathematical chance at the $10 million bonus and qualify for all the majors next year.

This turned out even better.

Watney now has more than just 10 million reasons to be excited.

Not only did his three-shot victory in The Barclays on Sunday put him atop the FedEx Cup standings and assure that he'll have a good shot at golf's largest payoff, Watney suddenly is in the conversation to play in an event that doesn't pay anything at all ? the Ryder Cup.

U.S. captain Davis Love III makes his four wild-card selections after next week's Deutsche Bank Championship outside Boston. Steve Stricker and Jim Furyk are likely to be two of the picks. Based on what happened over four days at Bethpage Black, the other two now are up in the air.

"I don't want to be lobbying. It's his decision," Watney said. "The best way to enter the conversation is to play your way into the conversation."

That's just what he did.

Watney was two shots behind Sergio Garcia when the final round began. He was two shots behind through six holes after he three-putted for bogey from 40 feet. And just like the outlook on his year, it all changed so quickly.

Watney had a two-putt birdie on the par-5 seventh. On the par-3 eighth, with a dangerous pin at the front of the green with a shaved bank toward the water, he took a little off a 7-iron to play it safe and rolled in a bending, 30-foot birdie putt. Garcia tried to hammer an 8-iron, turned it too much into a bunker and had to scramble for bogey. That gave Watney the lead, and he stretched it to three shots on the 10th hole with a gorgeous approach into 4 feet as Garcia three-putted for bogey.

No one got closer than two shots the rest of the way. Watney hit 8-iron to 10 feet for birdie on the 14th, and he added a birdie on the 18th that didn't matter except for the score. He closed with a 2-under 69 and finished on 10-under 278.

"It's been not quite the year I wanted," Watney said. "But this really makes it all forgotten. Winning a tournament is hard, but winning out here and against this field was very, very difficult. I'm kind of still on a high right now."

Love isn't thinking about only Watney, however.

Brandt Snedeker, a winner at Torrey Pines and a contender at Royal Lytham & St. Annes, battled to the end and finished with two big putts for a 70 that put him alone in second place. Garcia, who bogeyed the last hole for a 75, tied for third with Dustin Johnson, who had a 68.

"Ryder Cup is definitely on my mind," Snedeker said. "But I'm not letting it affect the way I play. Try to win every golf tournament. It gives me more motivation to do it, and if I do that, I know I will make the decision easy for them.

"Davis has an extremely difficult choice with a bunch of guys who did not play well enough over the last two years to be on the team. You can't go wrong with any of them. I think that it's certainly helped everybody who played well this week."

The top three names on the leaderboard: Watney, Snedeker, Johnson. All of them are being considered as a Ryder Cup pick. Watney is the newcomer to the list based on his win at The Barclays, the strongest full field of the year except for the majors.

"I'm thinking much more now than I was coming in," he said. "Coming in here, I didn't deserve to be in the conversation because I had not played my way in. Someone told me that Davis said he wanted a hot player, and we still have a week to go. But like I said, I'd love to be on the team. But I'm not really concerned with it just because it's out of my control."

Tiger Woods, six shots behind at the start of the day, never made a move. He alternated between bogeys and birdies until the sixth hole, and his round imploded on the back nine with a three-putt double bogey on the 12th, a poor wedge that led to bogey on the par-5 13th, and a tee shot on the par-3 14th that sailed over the green and one-hopped against the gallery. He closed with a 76 and tied for 38th.

Garcia already wrapped up his spot in the Ryder Cup for Europe based on his win last week in North Carolina, his first on the PGA Tour in four years. He was going after his second straight win, but he showed signs of a struggle early. He missed back-to-back birdie chances from around 8 feet and missed greens from the fairway.

Watney, meanwhile, didn't miss a green until the 16th hole when he had a three-shot lead.

"I hit a couple bad shots at the wrong moments," Garcia said. "And unfortunately, I just wasn't feeling comfortable."

He had one issue with the New York fans on the 17th, a tough par 3 where club selection was difficult, and Garcia heard it from them when he took his time picking a club. That didn't bother him, and he was pleased about his two strong weeks that signal a good trend in his game.

And he enjoyed watching Watney, a pleasant Californian known as "Rube," after the character in "Major League 2" for being so respectful to his elders.

"At the end of the round on 18, I did obviously congratulate him and wish that he made the team," Garcia said.

None of this would have been possible if Watney had not changed his attitude, to quit getting down on himself when his score wasn't what he thought it should be. And his longtime friend Sam Reeves ? the same friend who introduced Watney to Butch Harmon ? arranged for Watney to meet with Darrell Kestner, the head pro at Deepdale, for a putting lesson. Watney was sitting back to far on his heels, and they worked on the setup.

"It paid off," Watney said, adding that he made more putts at Bethpage than he had all year.

While it was effectively a two-man race for much of the day, there was plenty at stake in the FedEx Cup.

Only the top 100 players advance to the Deutsche Bank for the second of four playoff events. The biggest move belonged to Graham DeLaet of Canada, who started the week at No. 106 and was right on the bubble going into the final round. After back-to-back bogeys early in the round, he rallied for a Sunday-best 65, including a 9-iron he holed for eagle on the 15th. DeLaet moved up to No. 44.

"I guess a lot of people think there's too much volatility in it, but it was in my favor," DeLaet said. "If you can have one really good event, you can catapult yourself up. And now I feel I have a chance to get into the Tour Championship, where this morning I was just hoping to play next week."

It was a good day for another Canadian ? David Hearn. Playing with Woods, he closed with a 71 and moved from No. 108 to No. 67. The other three from outside the top 100 who moved in were Jonas Blixt, Tommy Gainey and Jason Day, who closed with a 66.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-08-27-GLF-Barclays/id-b397ee7b5b444a839916bbcc01538c71

2013 lincoln mkz burger king mary j blige google project glass google goggles one tree hill projectglass stock act

The Daily Illini :: Sports are about life, not just winning and losing

This isn?t going to be your typical sports column.

We need to get that out of the way immediately. I hope it doesn?t make things awkward, just give me a minute to explain.

I just don?t care about the professional sports, statistics and fantasy leagues. To me, sports are life. Sports are unavoidable. Trust me, I?ve tried to avoid them.

Sports are everywhere, in principle and in theory. There are over 70 listed athletic and recreation organizations on campus in addition to the 21 Division-I sports and, of course, there?s the overwhelming presence of professional sports worldwide. Then there?s intramural activities, workout facilities and the fact that everywhere you look someone is playing something.

You might consider yourself not a sports person or a sports fan, or think you have absolutely no interest in sports, but really, sports are a gateway between the principles of play and reality.

I look at the athletes? backstories: How behind the fame and the money and the phenomenally unrealistic athletic capabilities, they are just like us.

One of my good friends constantly tells me that every touching sports story is the same: Successful athletes find out they have a terminal illness, then they attempt to fight said illness while continuing to compete. Then the athletes either overcome the illness or pass away, thus concluding a heartbreaking tragedy or a heroic tale.

This is untrue.

There?s so many different story lines that these athletes go through, so many different paths they take in their quest for personal fulfillment, just like any human.

That?s what everyone is searching for, right? Happiness, success and greatness ? or simply the ability to go to bed with a feeling of contentment.

The fact that everyone, everywhere, has some connection with sports makes athletes the perfect humans to relate to. The pure essence of the game, worldwide popularity, accessibility and ability to relate to athletes is something nonexistent in any other area of life.

Take the London Olympics, for example: With 36 sports offered, there was something that most everyone could find an interest in. And with 204 countries represented, most everyone could find someone to cheer for, with every athlete came a different story of hard work, success and failure.

I wrote a 10-part series about an Olympic hopeful from Illinois, male gymnast Paul Ruggeri.

I was able to relate every stage of his journey to my personal life: the excitement and passion of pursuing a dream and the frustration when facing roadblocks. Then came the anxiety and restlessness of waiting for results, the satisfaction after minor successes and the indescribable feeling of doing everything you possibly could and falling short.

Ruggeri ultimately didn?t make the U.S. Olympic team. He?s a human like everybody else, even though he could probably scale a building and then do multiple back flips on top of it.

His journey of ups and downs, differing emotions and a progression through stages of life are applicable to your work life, personal relationships and education. Through sports, you can emphasize with these feelings on a large platform.

When Gabby Douglas became the first American gymnast to win the individual and team all-around gold medals, she inspired not only young gymnasts and African-Americans across the nation, but any young person with dreams about any form of success.

Look at cyclist Lance Armstrong, whose fall from grace was displayed to the entire world. Every part of his story is inspirational and relatable, even now. Life is continuing for him, despite everything that?s happened. Armstrong is the perfect example of real life, where people face remarkable successes and heartbreaking failures and even the intuition to walk away from it all.

Every athlete has a story and the story never stops, even after the pinnacle of success is reached ? just like with all of our lives.

There?s a little bit of an athlete or sports fan in everyone, even if you?ve never realized it before.

This year, we?re going to explore everybody?s inner athletic persona. We?re going to find the less common themes and angles and the less talked about activities. We?re going to travel the bridge between life and sports and everything in between.

We can look at athletes and learn from them, even if we never pick up a ball.

Emily is a graduate student. She can be reached at bayci1@illinimedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @EmilyBayci.

Source: http://www.dailyillini.com/article/2012/08/sports-are-about-life-not-just-winning-and-losing

kevin kolb sarah shahi george clooney rutgers dharun ravi george clooney arrested ravi

Monday, August 27, 2012

Inside DARPA's 'Plan X' for cyberwar

2 hrs.

On Sept.?27, DARPA will hold a workshop to flesh out the government cyberwar strategy called ?Plan X.? The one-day workshop consists of a general access session for government employees and contractors, along with a Secret-clearance and above closed session to draw a roadmap for the future of America's cyberwar forces.?

While the next great virus won't be proposed at the Plan X workshop, the Defense Department's cyberarmy infrastructure development plans (and the sweet government contracts that go with it) will. According to the Washington Post's Ellen Nakashima, Plan X has received $110 million in funding for the next five years.

A publicly available DARPA document (PDF) says that Plan X will ?create revolutionary technologies for understanding, planning, and managing cyberwarfare in real-time, large-scale, and dynamic network environments? and ?conduct novel research into the nature of cyberwarfare and support development of fundamental strategies and tactics needed to dominate the cyber battlespace.??

In other words, Plan X will give Pentagon cybergeeks top-notch tools and research capabilities for the high-tech worms, malware, monitoring equipment, and network infrastructure hijinx that are an integral part of military capability circa 2012. DARPA, however, explicitly stated that Plan X will not fund research and development for the development of cyberweapons or vulnerability analysis.

Plan X will develop a series of futuristic tools for the Pentagon to use in cyberwar. DARPA is especially interested in the development of custom, secure operating systems and platforms for use in ?hostile network environments.? According to the document, these secure operating systems are a priority for use in battle damage monitoring, communication relays, weapon deployment, and adaptive defense. While the agency explicitly stated Plan X will not fund R&D for cyberweapons, another area of development is script development for cyberwarfare efforts, which will effectively partially automate cyberwar exercises. DARPA likens these mission scripts, which will be overseen by human operators, to the ?auto-pilot function on modern aircraft.?

The most interesting idea, however, is building giant visual maps for cyberwar. DARPA is seeking assistance in developing visual, intuitive views of large-scale cyber battlespaces for situational awareness in war games. It sounds like, if Plan X works successfully, the Pentagon will have a sweet real-time visual map of large swaths of the Internet within a decade.

"The fascinating aspect of DARPA is that it's a small, agile, forward-thinking arm of the Department of Defense that is driven by projects with relative short timelines. Their mission of researching emerging technologies for military use is a perfect match for the Defense Department's concerted efforts to better protect the nation in the cyber world," says Josh Pauli, an academic at Dakota State University specializing in cybersecurity.

DARPA is seeking a systems architecture team to oversee development for Plan X. At the workshop, to be held in Virginia, participants will be briefed on Plan X, shown prototypes of Plan X technologies, and DARPA will hold teaming opportunities for government and contractor employees. The press and general public are barred from attending.

More from Co.Exist:

For more stories like this, follow @fastcompany on Twitter. Find Neal Ungerleider, the author of this article, on Twitter and Google+.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/futureoftech/inside-darpas-plan-x-cyberwar-963799

richard cordray shannon de lima joe torre west virginia university michele bachmann jessica biel tim howard

IBM buys Kenexa for $1.3B in latest software deal

(AP) ? IBM is buying human resources management company Kenexa Corp. for about $1.3 billion, adding to its stable of cloud-based software.

The Monday announcement sent Kenexa's stock to the highest point since it began trading in mid-2005.

Kenexa's HR software is designed to help companies recruit workers and manage employees with the help of networking tools similar to the ones that connect people on Facebook and LinkedIn. The Wayne, Pa., company says it has more than 8,900 customers and employs about 2,800 workers. IBM said that it plans to continue to support Kenexa's clients while also giving them access to IBM's offerings.

The acquisition helps make the Armonk, N.Y., company more competitive with database maker Oracle Corp. and German business software maker SAP AG, said Rick Sherlund of Nomura Equity Research. Oracle and SAP have both recently been buying "cloud computing" companies. Such technology allows businesses to run software remotely rather than installing software in-house.

IBM is hoping to draw upon Kenexa's products and expertise to develop more social networking tools for corporate customers trying to foster better communication among their employees. Several other software makers also have recently snapped up services that make social networking services for companies. Microsoft Corp. is paying $1.2 billion for Yammer and Salesforce.com Inc. bought Buddy Media for $689 million. Oracle has bought at least three social software services so far this year.

Through the first half of this year, IBM had completed eight other acquisitions at a total cost of $2.2 billion.

IBM Corp. said that it will pay $46 per Kenexa share, a 42 percent premium to the company's Friday closing price of $32.39.

Kenexa has been struggling to make money for years. Since 2007, the company has posted losses totaling about $150 million. The company lost more than $4 million on revenue of $164 million during the first half of the year.

Kenexa stock jumped $13.40, or 41.4 percent, to close at $45.79 Monday. Earlier in the session the stock reached $45.93, its highest point since Kenexa started trading in June 2005. Shares had gained 21 percent this year.

IBM stock slipped $2.08 to $195.69.

Kenexa's board unanimously approved the deal, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter. It still needs approval from the company's shareholders and regulators.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2012-08-27-IBM-Kenexa/id-5499644871bb4516b344f73847dd10fe

john edwards heart condition mena suvari joyful noise one life to live jeff fisher van der sloot heather locklear

Two dead as clashes flare again in Lebanon's Tripoli

TRIPOLI, Lebanon (Reuters) - Two people were killed on Sunday in Lebanon's northern city of Tripoli, a security source said, where sporadic fighting between Sunni Muslims and Alawites over six days has mirrored sectarian faultlines in the raging conflict in neighboring Syria.

Sunnis in Syria have been the driving force of a 17-month uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, whose minority Alawite sect has dominated the country's political and military elite for more than four decades.

At least 18 people have been killed and more than 100 wounded in nearly a week of clashes in Tripoli.

Lebanon's army deployed tanks and troops to clamp down on violence on Thursday, but fighting flared up again, residents said. They said the army raided parts of the city on Sunday and arrested several gunmen.

The fighting is the latest in a series of clashes that have hit the port city since the revolt in Syria began in 2011.

Violence has been concentrated in an area where Alawite districts abut Sunni neighborhoods, and have generally not spread across the city or through the rest of the country.

But tensions remain high in Lebanon, particularly its northern region that is home to both sects.

Syria has had far-reaching influence in Lebanon for decades. Assad withdrew Syrian troops from Lebanon in 2005 after a 29-year presence in the country. Hezbollah, Lebanon's powerful Shi'ite Muslim militant group, remains a strong Syrian ally.

Tensions between Alawites and Sunnis in Tripoli date from the 1975-90 Lebanese civil war when Lebanese Alawites fought with troops sent in by Bashar's late father, Hafez, against Sunnis' opposed to Syria's military presence in Lebanon.

(Reporting by Nazih Siddiq; Writing by Erika Solomon; Editing by Louise Ireland)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/two-dead-clashes-flare-again-lebanons-tripoli-180022242.html

tom brady sister dad shoots daughters laptop brandon jennings channing tatum the vow review luol deng culkin

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Despite Isaac's soaking, Keys residents laid back

Shira Edllan Gervasi, of Israel, puts her name on plywood protecting a storefront in Key West, Fla., in anticipation of Tropical Storm Isaac on Saturday, Aug. 25, 2012. Isaac's winds are expected to be felt in the Florida Keys by sunrise Sunday morning. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)

Shira Edllan Gervasi, of Israel, puts her name on plywood protecting a storefront in Key West, Fla., in anticipation of Tropical Storm Isaac on Saturday, Aug. 25, 2012. Isaac's winds are expected to be felt in the Florida Keys by sunrise Sunday morning. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)

The southernmost point marker is covered in plastic sheeting in Key West, Fla., Saturday, Aug. 25, 2012, in preparation for Tropical Storm Isaac, Saturday, Aug. 25, 2012. Isaac's winds are expected to be felt in the Florida Keys by sunrise Sunday morning. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)

Yoni Haim, left, and Jessica Yeshalek board their storefront as they prepare for Tropical Storm Isaac, Saturday, Aug. 25, 2012. Isaac's winds are expected to be felt in the Florida Keys by sunrise Sunday morning. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)

A man stands next to his bed after Tropical Storm Isaac destroyed his home and others at a camp set up for people displaced by the 2010 earthquake in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Saturday, Aug. 25, 2012. Tropical Storm Isaac swept across Haiti's southern peninsula early Saturday, dousing a capital city prone to flooding and adding to the misery of a poor nation still trying to recover from the 2010 earthquake. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

A home that was built twice within the last two years is left in ruins during the passage of Tropical Storm Isaac near the seawall in Baracoa, Cuba, Saturday, Aug. 25, 2012. Tropical Storm Isaac pushed into Cuba on Saturday after sweeping across Haiti's southern peninsula. Isaac's center made landfall just before midday near the far-eastern tip of Cuba. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

(AP) ? Tropical Storm Isaac barely stirred Florida Keys residents from their fabled nonchalance Sunday, while the Gulf Coast braced for the possibility that the sprawling storm will strengthen into a dangerous hurricane by the time it makes landfall there.

Isaac was expected to cross the Keys by late afternoon, then turn northwest and strike as a Category 2 hurricane somewhere between the New Orleans area to the Florida Panhandle on Wednesday, the seventh anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.

The storm was predicted to pass west of Tampa, the site of the Republican National Convention, but it had already disrupted the schedule there because of the likelihood of heavy rain and strong winds.

Even before reaching hurricane strength, Isaac caused considerable inconvenience, with hundreds of flights canceled at airports in Miami and Fort Lauderdale. There were scattered power outages from Key West to Fort Lauderdale affecting more than 6,000 customers, and flooding occurred in low-lying areas.

Wind gusts of 60 mph were reported as far north as Pompano Beach, north of Fort Lauderdale. But while officials urged residents in southeast Florida to stay home, that recommendation was ignored by surfers and joggers on Miami Beach and shoppers at area malls.

In Key West, Emalyn Mercer rode her bike while decked out with a snorkel and mask, inflatable arm bands and a paddle, just for a laugh. She rode with Kelly Friend, who wore a wet suit, dive cap and lobster gloves.

"We're just going for a drink," Mercer said.

"With the ones that are brave enough like us," Friend added.

Along famed Duval Street, many stores, bars and restaurants closed, the cigar rollers and palm readers packed up, and just a handful of drinking holes remained open.

But people posed for pictures at the Southernmost Point, while Dave Harris and Robyn Roth took her dachshund for a walk and checked out boats rocking along the waterfront.

"Just a summer day in Key West," Harris said.

That kind of ho-hum attitude extended farther up the coast. Edwin Reeder swung by a gas station in Miami Shores ? not for fuel, but drinks and snacks.

"This isn't a storm," he said. "It's a rain storm."

With a laugh, Reeder said he has not stocked up aside from buying dog and cat food.

The forecast wasn't funny, however. Isaac was expected to draw significant strength from the warm, open waters of the Gulf of Mexico, and with more uncertainty than usual about the path, a hurricane watch was in effect from east of Morgan City, La., to Indian Pass, Fla.

The storm, which stretched more than 200 miles from its center, was expected to make landfall as a Category 2 hurricane, meaning top sustained winds of 96 to 110 mph (154 to 177 kph).

The Gulf Coast hasn't been hit by a hurricane since 2008, when Dolly, Ike and Gustav all struck the region.

Hurricane center forecasters are uncertain of the storm's path because two of their best computer models now track the storm on opposite sides of a broad cone. One model has Isaac going well west and the other well east. For the moment, the predicted track goes up the middle.

Florida Panhandle residents stocked up on water and gasoline, and at least one Pensacola store ran out of flashlight models and C and D batteries. Scott Reynolds, who lives near the water in Gulf Breeze, filled his car trunk with several cases of water, dozens of power bars and ramen noodles.

"Cigarettes ? I'm stocking up on those too," he said.

Forecasters stressed that the storm's exact location remained extremely uncertain ? a fact not lost on Tony Varnado as he cut sheets of plywood to board up his family's beach home on Pensacola Beach. With the storm's projected path creeping farther to the west, the Mandeville, La., resident joked he might be boarding up the wrong house.

"I'm going to head back that way as soon as we are done here to make sure we are prepared if hits there," he said.

Before reaching Florida, Isaac was blamed for seven deaths in Haiti and two more in the Dominican Republic, and downed trees and power lines in Cuba. It bore down on the Keys two days after the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Andrew, which caused more than $25 billion in damage just north of the island chain.

In Tampa, convention officials said they would convene briefly on Monday, then recess until Tuesday afternoon, when the storm was expected to have passed. Gov. Rick Scott canceled his plans to attend convention events on Sunday and Monday.

At Miami International Airport, more than 450 flights Sunday were canceled. Inside the American Airlines terminal, people craned for a look out of one of the doors as a particularly strong band of Isaac began lashing the airport with strong rain and high wind.

Michele Remillard said she was trying to get a seat on a flight to New Orleans, well aware the city could be affected by Isaac later this week. In coastal Plaquemines Parish, La., crews rushed to protect the levees that keep floodwaters from reaching that New Orleans suburb.

"It's a little scary," said Remillard, who was in town for a wedding. "But I need to get home, you know? And if the storm comes my way again, who knows, I might have to come back here."

In Mississippi, officials were drafting an emergency declaration that the governor could sign as early as Sunday. Evacuations had not yet been ordered but were likely, especially in areas vulnerable to storm surge, said Greg Flynn, spokesman for the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency.

As of 2 p.m. EDT, the storm was centered about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southeast of Key West, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami. Isaac had top sustained winds of 60 mph (97 kph) and was moving to the northwest at 18 mph (29 kph).

Tropical storm-force winds extended outward up to 205 miles (335 km) from the center, meaning storm conditions are possible even in places not in Isaac's direct path.

___

Associated Press writers Tony Winton in Key West, Melissa Nelson in Pensacola, Fla., and Tim Reynolds and Suzette Laboy in Miami contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-08-26-Tropical%20Weather/id-aa099308ebba45dcb7b00f5343ec0f02

peoples choice awards 2012 ford recalls robert kardashian chicago weather forecast narcolepsy narcolepsy weather st louis

Groups to push marriage equality during DNC

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) ? The constitutional ban on same-sex marriage in the host state of the Democratic National Convention has stirred anger and resentment among advocates for marriage equality, many of whom are converging on Charlotte this weekend for the city's gay pride festival.

Organizers say they hope the festival will draw attention to the issue and create momentum that lasts through the political convention that starts the following week. Some of the thousands of protesters expected at the convention will be demonstrating for gay marriage.

"We're excited that the convention is in Charlotte," said David Webb, one of the pride festival's organizers. "But we also want to show that we're united and will continue to push for change."

When North Carolina voters passed the constitutional amendment in May, supporters of gay marriage first demanded that Democrats rethink Charlotte as the location of their convention. But advocates have since seized on the party gathering as a high-profile chance to make their message heard ? with support from the party itself. The national party is expected to approve marriage equality as part of its national platform during the convention being held from Sept. 4-6.

For the first two days, the Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte's downtown will be the main venue. On the last day, President Barack Obama will make his acceptance speech at the 74,000-seat outdoor Bank of America Stadium where the city's NFL team plays.

Webb said public events like the festival and convention are important opportunities to rally same-sex couples who were discouraged by the North Carolina vote.

"It's an opportunity for the community to say, 'Yes. The state may have passed an amendment limiting our liberties, but we're going to keep fighting.' This is an opportunity to show the community and ourselves that, you know what, we're not down and out," he said.

When the Democratic Party picked Charlotte to host the convention, the proposal to change North Carolina's constitution was not on the ballot. Like so many states, same-sex marriage already was illegal in North Carolina.

Voters approved the amendment declaring that marriage between a man and woman is the only legal domestic union, prompting angry supporters of same-sex marriage to urge Democrats to move the convention. President Barack Obama stated his support for gay marriage a day after the North Carolina vote.

Democrats have been trying to address the issue. The national Democratic Party's platform committee recently endorsed gay marriage for the first time and called for the repeal of a federal law that recognizes marriage as between a man and a woman.

The platform is a broad statement of the party's priorities on the economy, social issues and national defense that's up for approval at the convention.

Scott Dibble, a committee member and a state senator from Minnesota, said support for gay marriage can attract new voters.

"Young people are looking for a political home right now. This has become a defining moral question of our time," said Dibble, who is gay.

The platform says Democrats support "marriage equality" and the "movement to secure equal treatment under law for same-sex couples."

J. Michael Bitzer, a political science and history professor at Catawba College, said Democrats can use the North Carolina vote as "rallying cry for their platform."

"But I think it kinds of sets up an awkwardness that the national Democrats will ratify or solidify their support for marriage equality in a state that recently banned gay marriage," he said

The convention creates an opportunity for more dialogue about same-sex marriage, said the Rev. Jasmine Beach-Ferrar, executive director of the Campaign for Southern Equality. Her group has been organizing the "We Do" campaign which advocates for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

"This convention is a way to highlight some of these contentious issues because North Carolina helps illustrates what's going on. It's good to remind people what's going on here," Beach-Ferrar said.

She said it's an important issue. Same-sex couples don't have the same rights as married couples. That complicates issues such as benefits and adoption.

"For me, there's clearly a real urgency on the issue. And I'm eager for us to move beyond the very predictable polarized debate and actually start talking about how real people are being impacted by discriminatory laws and what the solution is," she said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/groups-push-marriage-equality-during-dnc-080453689.html

carlos beltran air jordan 11 concord unemployment extension the thin man republic wireless space ball drops on namibia matt barkley

Notre Dame suspends starting RB Cierre Wood

FILE - In this Dec. 29, 2011, file photo, Notre Dame's Cierre Wood gains yardage against Florida State during the second half of the Champs Sports Bowl NCAA college football game in Orlando, Fla. Notre Dame suspended Wood for two games for violating team rules, leaving the Fighting Irish without their 1,000-yard rusher against Navy and Purdue. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File)

FILE - In this Dec. 29, 2011, file photo, Notre Dame's Cierre Wood gains yardage against Florida State during the second half of the Champs Sports Bowl NCAA college football game in Orlando, Fla. Notre Dame suspended Wood for two games for violating team rules, leaving the Fighting Irish without their 1,000-yard rusher against Navy and Purdue. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File)

(AP) ? Notre Dame suspended starting tailback Cierre Wood two games for violating team rules, leaving the Fighting Irish without their 1,000-yard rusher against Navy and Purdue.

Wood led the Irish in rushing last year with 1,102 yards and scored nine rushing touchdowns while averaging 5.1 yards per carry. Wood, a senior, played in all 13 games in 2011 with nine starts. Theo Riddick and George Atkinson III will likely be the Irish's top two ball carriers now that Wood is out.

Coach Brian Kelly also announced Sunday that junior defensive end Justin Utupo was suspended for the games against Navy in Dublin, Ireland on Sept. 1 and the home opener the following Saturday against Purdue.

"Our players are aware of the standards I set for our program and that failure to meet my expectations will result in consequences," Kelly said in a release. "Justin and Cierre violated our team rules so I've suspended them for the first two games of the season."

Utupo played in 12 games in 2011, primarily on special teams, and was a reserve defensive end on the most recent Notre Dame depth chart.

Earlier, Kelly suspended quarterback Tommy Rees and linebacker Carlo Calabrese for the season opener for their roles in a skirmish with police following an off-campus party in May.

The Irish have also lost starting cornerback Lo Wood for the season with a ruptured Achilles tendon. He underwent surgery on Wednesday.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-08-26-Notre%20Dame-Wood%20Suspended/id-baf89cf014f440118da215a732365138

Lolo Jones chicago bears Aly Raisman Marvin Hamlisch Megan Rossee NASA grenada

Ko, 15, has share of LPGA lead in Canada

Photo Gallery

U.S. Women's Amateur: Championship

Take a look at images of the final match between Lydia Ko and Jaye Marie Green at the U.S. Women's Amateur in Cleveland.

COQUITLAM, British Columbia ? It hasn?t even been two weeks since Lydia Ko wrapped her hands around the Robert Cox trophy, one of the most beautiful in golf. After winning the U.S. Women?s Amateur on Aug. 12, what 15-year-old Ko calls the best amateur event in the world, she and her mother Tina got back on the road. Now she?s in contention heading into the weekend at the LPGA?s Canadian Women?s Open.

Ko shot a second consecutive 4-under 68 on Friday to take a share of the lead with Chella Choi. She birdied four of her final seven holes, and was bogey free for the day. That?s Ko?s game. You might call it tidy.

With a victory, Ko would be the youngest champion in LPGA history, surpassing Lexi Thompson, who won at 16.

The Auckland, New Zealand native now has occupied the top spot in the World Amateur Golf Rankings for more than a year. That recently earned her the Mark H. McCormack medal for the second year in a row. The honor assures her a spot in next year?s U.S. Women?s Open.

Ko?s maturity showed during the final day at the Women?s Amateur as she stood at the podium with a cool head and, in her thick Kiwi accent, ran through a list of thank yous like it?s something she does daily. With a resume that includes almost every amateur event there is to win Down Under, she?s had her share of practice.

In January, Ko won the New South Wales Open in Australia at 14 to become the youngest player to win a professional tour event. Two professional victories in the span of a year really would be something.

The 22-year-old Choi, from South Korea, followed her opening 72 with a 64 on The Vancouver Golf Club course. She rebounded from a sore shoulder that hampered her Thursday.

Four players finished the second round tied for third at 5 under including Moira Dunn, Angela Stanford, Inbee Park and Na Yeon Choi.

Source: http://golfweek.com/news/2012/aug/24/ko-15-has-share-lpga-lead-canada/

nick santino bruce arians the misfits hook troy miracle andy whitfield