HOME IMPROVEMENT WALTIP.COM: Introduction to Monolithic ...

----PARIS,TEXAS, TOPIX FORUM DISCUSSION---We reported on the PEDC?s (Paris Economic Development Corporation) plan to get a coordinated plan through a unified plan by paying a Gregg County, Texas, firm to act as "third-party facilitators" at a meeting or two.

Which, in and by itself, is a heck?ova plan ?
Taxpayers, who pay the PEDC?s bills, coughed up at least $1,710 for the consultants. Evidently, an outside firm was needed to ?facilitate? the meeting to get a plan to get a plan, because. . . ?
Surely, the PEDC doesn?t believe no one in our Paris-Lamar County area knows how. . .?
The PEDC also have taxpayers on the hook to pay for a study by an Oklahoma retail development ?expert? they hired, and to pay for a long-term contract for his help in soliciting retail businesses to Paris (see Drowning on Dry Land).
Why is the PEDC even considering bringing in competition for local merchants and businesses? They have enough problems without the PEDC adding to them. The PEDC should be helping, not bringing in competition. It is as if the PEDC has never heard of the ongoing retail campaign urging everyone to "Shop Paris". (But, why is the PEDC involved in ?retail development?? It?s NOT something they're chartered to do...)
A PEDC employee, a ?community development specialist?, has moved or is moving to Georgia. The PEDC will pay her $800 per month for the next 10-months to handle "electronic media? and to maintain the PEDC website. But according to previous reports, the website and its maintenance is being done by CDSuites of Longview, Texas ( see job_creation).
And, no, it is not the money: It is the thinking that leads to the actions -
Taxpayers, through the PEDC, have guaranteed for ten years, $5.8 million for the financing of existing and new debt and around $1.8 million for operating capital for a local firm. The firm?s headquarters are in Paris, but they also have offices in Dallas, Waco, Sulphur Springs, and other Texas communities, as well as in North Carolina.
In exchange, we?re getting a promise of 25 new jobs within the next five years. And the PEDC has given a $105,000 ?cash incentive? for another 10 jobs at the company?s headquarters.
No report of how much money or what kind of guarantees, if any, taxpayers in the firm?s other locations chipped in or provided.
Shouldn?t Paris taxpayers know if the guarantees and/or operating capital they?re providing will be used to help underwrite the firm?s business operations in those communities? How could it not help . . . ?
But, how would we know?
These PEDC actions signal it can do what it wants, and spend the taxpayer?s money for whatever purpose they want, as long as they have some kind of semi-plausible deniability. This is a moral hazard, and weakens confidence in what they say and do.
In all these actions, the PEDC is funding jobs and job creation opportunities for communities ? and states ? in competition against us!
And the PEDC calls what they?re doing ?Economic Development"?
Our question is, ?For whom??

Source: http://waltip.blogspot.com/2012/08/introduction-to-monolithic-domes.html

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GOLF ROUNDUP: Woods two back after opening with 64 at Deutsche Bank

NORTON, Mass. - Tiger Woods had his lowest opening round in three years Friday in the Deutsche Bank Championship. It still wasn't enough to be low man in Sean Foley's coaching stable.

PGA Tour rookie Seung-yul Noh of South Korea, who is also coached by Foley, ran off four consecutive birdies early in his round and closed with back-to-back birdies on the TPC Boston for a 9-under 62.

That gave him a one-shot lead over Chris Kirk, whose 23 putts included an eagle on the new 18th hole.

Woods wasn't too shabby. He stirred up a big gallery on a glorious summer day in New England with six consecutive birdies, which featured four putts of at least 12 feet and a flop shot executed so perfectly that it cleared a steep bunker and landed in an area of the green no larger than a hula hoop. His lone bogey on the final hole gave him a 7-under 64, putting him in a three-way tie for third with Jeff Overton and Ryan Moore.

The average score was just under 70 on a perfect day for scoring, except for the deceptive wind that swirled through the trees.

Rory McIlroy struggled off the tee, though he judged one of the lies in the rough beautifully on the ninth hole, a 7-iron into tap-in range that led to a 65.

Noh stole the show, even if hardly anyone was paying attention or was not really sure who he was.

"Some people say Kevin Na, like, `Go Kevin,"' Noh said.

The 21-year-old from South Korea won his first Asian Tour title

at age 17, and he chose to come over to America this year to ease his travel. He made it through Q-school in December, and on Friday turned in his strongest PGA Tour round to date.

European Tour

CRANS-SUR-SIERRE, Switzerland - France's Julien Quesne shot a 6-under 65 to take a one-stroke lead in the suspended second round of the European Masters.

Fog delayed the start, and poor visibility ended play with two groups on the course.

Quesne finished with four consecutive birdies to top the leaderboard at 9 under. England's Danny Willett was second after a 67. Scotland's Paul Lawrie was 7 under after a 66.

Source: http://www.dailynews.com/sports/ci_21447088/golf-roundup-woods-two-back-after-opening-64?source=rss

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Russia's Putin demands Stalin-era armament drive

Russia President Vladimir Putin on Friday demanded a new armament drive similar to the one orchestrated by the dictator Stalin in the worst years of his reign of terror in the 1930s.

"We must modernise our defence industry as comprehensively as it was done in the 1930s," Putin told top security ministers at the weekly Russian Security Council meeting.

Stalin helped revolutionise Russia's backward tsarist-era industry through a state campaign that relied heavilly on slave labour and was accompanied by political repression in which millions of people died over the years.

Russia has announced a massive armaments programme for the coming decade that should see 23 trillion rubles ($710 billion) spent on 400 ballistic missiles and 600 warplanes along with an entire fleet of submarines.

The plan has put pressure on other sectors of Putin's budget and on outdated Soviet-era military factories which are unable to cope with the sudden surge in demand for a new generation of weaponry.

Putin has expressed repeated frustration at the military churning out products such as tanks and weapons systems that cost more than their Western rivals while often failing in reliability tests.

The former KGB agent -- his macho image in his 12-year leadership career boosted by periodic televised spins in fighter jets and new tanks -- said he would make military purchases a focal point of his third term.

Putin said he had already asked his ministers to submit effective fixes to the military procurement process at the end of last year and again early this year.

"I still have not received your proposals. They are simply not there," Putin fumed. "If this continues, we will never be able to make (military) procurements on time."

Putin added that efficiency at enterprises might be improved if private players were allowed to acquire stakes in military production centres that they could then operate as profit-seeking businesses.

"We have to break down old stereotypes of the type that say only specialised state companies and agencies can involve themselves in defence," Putin said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/russias-putin-demands-stalin-era-armament-drive-155914628.html

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Play the popular PC and console game Luxor 2 on your iOS device ...

Luxor is a game that was developed in 2005 for the PC (and expanded to the Mac and console soon thereafter) and the brand has been quite successful since. The goal of Luxor 2 is to stop a centipede-like string of spheres from reaching the pyramids at the end of the path. You are given what the developer describes as a "mystical winged scarab" which shoots randomly colored spheres into the approaching ones.? The goal is to eliminate magical spheres by causing three or more spheres of the same color to collide with one another. Sometimes while creating matches, you cause the surrounding spheres to collide and if they create a match themselves, you will get chain reactions. These reactions not only earn you more points, but also disperse special power-ups that all have a unique purpose that make eliminating spheres easier and faster. Luxor 2 features 88 3D-rendered levels, accompanied by 4 different levels of difficulty and 3 different game modes. There is bonus round at the end of each stage that has the potential to be a point bonanza for your score.

I played a few levels of Luxor 2 and it was quite addicting. It took me a couple games to get used to the game play and getting the hang of swapping color spheres (by swiping down on the screen), but everything went smoothly after that. Jump on this game now while it is free.

Price: $2.99 (Currently Free!!!)

Version discovered: 1.1.1

Requires: iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad; iOS 3.1 and up

Download size: 63.1 MB

Luxor 2 on iTunes

About the author: Brett View all posts by Brett

I am a mathematics educator and computer programmer. I currently create websites and build iOS apps. I also enjoy watching hockey, football, and play a great deal of volleyball. I am a big New York Ranger fan!

Source: http://dottech.org/ios/78019/play-the-popular-pc-and-console-game-luxor-2-on-your-ios-device-ios/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=play-the-popular-pc-and-console-game-luxor-2-on-your-ios-device-ios

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Myth Busted: Does the Blue Moon Make Us Crazy?

With two full moons in August, the month would seem ripe for lunacy. But the idea that the moon contributes to madness is, fortunately, a myth.

Friday, Aug. 31 will feature a blue moon, the second full moon of the month, an event that happens every 2.7 years, on average. (The next blue moon won't occur until 2015.) This double full moon might seem like good reason to stay indoors, given that the full moon has been linked to odd behavior in legends both old (werewolves, anyone?) and new (cops and emergency room staff have been known to blame the full moon for wild nights). In fact, scientists have looked into the connection between lunacy and the moon, and they've found very little evidence to back it up.

Take, for example, emergency room visits. In 1996, researchers examined the history of more than 150,000 emergency room visits to a suburban hospital. They found no difference between full-moon nights and every other night of the month, they reported in the American Journal of Emergency Medicine. Other studies have tried and failed to find a link between the full moon and psychiatric emergency visits, epilepsy seizures and surgery outcomes. [Gallery: The Fantastic Full Moon]

Most likely, the urban legends that spring up about illness, madness and the moon are examples of what psychologists call confirmation bias ? the very human tendency to remember information selectively. If you're an emergency room nurse having a busy night and you happen to notice that the moon is full, you're more likely to remember the link than on a busy night when the moon is waxing or waning.

So if humans aren't affected, how about animals? A 2007 study in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association did find that more cats and dogs arrive at the veterinary emergency room at Colorado State University on full-moon nights. Cats had a 23 percent greater chance of requiring an emergency vet visit under a full moon than during other moon phases, while dogs had a 28 percent greater chance. The researchers couldn't say why the link existed, though it's possible that the full moon's brightness means more people are out and about with their pets on those evenings, increasing the risk of injury.

Other animal studies have been similarly confounding. A study published in the British Medical Journal in December 2000 found that one emergency room in Great Britain saw more animal bites on or around full-moon nights, but a study in the same issue of the journal that focused on Australia found no such link. Perhaps the werewolves of London haven't made it to Sydney.

Follow Stephanie Pappas on Twitter @sipappas or LiveScience @livescience. We're also on Facebook & Google+.

Copyright 2012 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/myth-busted-does-blue-moon-us-crazy-192444799.html

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Low/no/reduced sodium NPD claims decline despite salt concerns ...

CHICAGO, Aug. 31, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --?Despite increased awareness about the risks of too much sodium in consumers' diets and pledges from governments around the world to reduce salt levels in food, products with low/no/reduced sodium claims have seen some decline over the past years according to new findings from Mintel. Globally, launches of foods with low/no/reduced sodium claims declined 5% over the 2010-2011 period, appearing on just 2% of total food launches in 2011.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120222/CG58099LOGO)

Chris Brockman, global food and drink analyst at Mintel, said:

"A large percentage of the global food industry remains wary of the commercial impacts of reducing salt in their products. This anxiety is well-founded, with many products positioned as low sodium forced off the shelves prematurely in recent years due to poor sales. Manufacturers struggled to find workable salt substitutes, forcing many to rapidly pull them from the market. Efforts are being made to offer consumers alternatives to sodium. However, existing salt replacements have not caught the imagination of consumers. Consumers are concerned about salt intake, but are not willing to compromise on taste."

Indeed, according to Mintel's?Global New Products Database (GNPD) Europe remains the most active region in terms of product innovation, covering the same percentage in 2011 (35%) as the year before of new product launches carrying low/no/reduced sodium claims compared to 39% back in 2007. North America follows with 26% share of the global market in 2011 as opposed to 32% in 2010 and 28% in 2007. While APAC comes third covering 19% of new launches in 2011, vs. 18% in 2010 and 19% in 2007.

In Europe, 3% of all new food products introduced in 2011 in the UK carried a low/no reduced sodium claim, a higher percentage than other key European markets with the exception of Netherlands, where 9% of all new products had the same claim. For France the figure stood at 2% in 2011; for Spain 1.4%. Italy and Germany were somewhat lower, at just 1% each.

"The Netherlands was higher mainly because of the food industry's Ik Kies Bewust?("I choose consciously") campaign featuring on-pack logos to indicate new or reformulated products that are low in sugar, sodium and saturated fat," Chris Brockman explains.

Over in Asia Pacific, New Zealand took the lead, with 3% of all new food products in 2011 labeled as low/no/reduced sodium followed by Australia with 2%. Other market activity in the region included Thailand with 1.2%, South Korea (0.8%) and Singapore (0.8%). In Japan, 0.7% of new product launches carried the claims, in Taiwan 0.7%, in China 0.5% and in Vietnam 0.4%.

And when it comes to consumer attitudes, according to Mintel's research some 54% of US consumers say they limit their use of packaged snacks and other packaged foods because they think they have too much salt or sodium, and 53% are concerned about the amount of salt or sodium in their diets. However, it seems consumers will not give up salt easily. In general, 49% of British consumers agree that "taste is more important to me than calories in food," while in the US, 60% of restaurant diners typically order what they want instead of what is healthy. Moreover, when it comes to products flavored with a non-sodium or salt alternative, almost half (46%) of consumers in the US think that they don't taste as good as their traditional counterparts. Similarly in the UK, only a relatively small proportion (22%) of consumers have purchased low salt products, and just 4% of consumers have cut back on table sauces because of health concerns.

"Brands will need to dispel widely held perception about low sodium or salt alternatives to be successful. Fortunately, this is possible. Many food brands are already introducing step-by-step salt reduction programs that gradually reduce the salt content of their products, a strategy often called 'stealth health,' as the incremental removal of sodium can be carried out over a period of time to help the consumer to become accustomed to the changed flavor profile, without the need to flag that up prominently on-pack and thus deter consumers who may perceive 'less taste.' Other brands are also steering clear of the health issue by experimenting with different flavor profiles, such as strong spices and vinegars, to enhance taste while eliminating sodium," Chris Brockman concludes.

Globally in 2011, snacks (16%) and sauces & seasonings (14%) have emerged as the most active categories in low/no/reduced sodium claims. While in response to concerns from parents toward their young children, the baby food category accounted for 12% of new products carrying the claim globally. While breakfast cereals and bakery accounted for 10% and 11% respectively, with 8% in dairy.

In the overall "minus" claim category, products positioned with low/no/reduced formulations such as reduced calories, fat, sugar or cholesterol, Mintel's GNPD shows a global decline of 10% over the year 2010-2011, with low/no/reduced calorie (-19%) and low/no/reduced carb products (-41%) seeing the biggest drop, followed by low/no/reduced sugar (-9%), low/no/reduced cholesterol (-9%) and low/no/reduced fat (-8%).

The findings also tie in to the Mintel Inspire trend "Fauxthenticity," which explores how food alternatives can become preferable to real versions, because they are variously healthier, greener or more affordable.

Richard Cope, principal trend analyst at Mintel, explains:

"Sometimes a fake alternative carries less risk than its authentic cousin, especially when it comes to something like alcohol.?An option might be for manufacturers to explore tricking consumer taste buds and marketing foods that smell, as opposed to taste, salty. This is something we've seen food researchers investigate in our trend 'Fauxthenticity.' This has been the success story behind everything from B&Q's sales of fake grass, to sunless tanners and meat substitutes."

About Mintel
Mintel is a leading global supplier of consumer, product, and media intelligence. For 40 years, Mintel has provided insight into key worldwide trends, offering exclusive data and analysis that directly impacts client success. With offices in Chicago, New York, London, Sydney, Shanghai, Tokyo, and now India, Malaysia and Singapore, Mintel has forged a unique reputation as a world-renowned business brand. For more information on Mintel, please visit www.mintel.com.

Follow Mintel on Twitter and LinkedIn, or catch up with the latest news, views, and information from the team behind Mintel on The Mintel Blog.

?

SOURCE Mintel

Source: http://www.foodanddrinkdigital.com/press_releases/lownoreduced-sodium-npd-claims-decline-despite-salt-concerns-reports-mintel

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DeMarco: Despite the hype, Dodgers are no lock

LA ramps up with huge trade, but this team has plenty of hurdles

Stephen Dunn / Getty Images

Adian Gonzalez, 30, brings solid production, great defense and a Mexican heritage that should make him a big plus for the Dodgers, NBCSports.com contributor Tony DeMarco writes.

OPINION

updated 8:24 p.m. ET Aug. 30, 2012

Tony DeMarco

For all the hype created and long-term expense added, the Los Angeles Dodgers' talent/payroll accumulation guarantees them exactly nothing. Not for the rest of this season. And not beyond 2012.

And nobody knows it better than manager Don Mattingly.

"We don't think that we're going to show up and win, just because we got new guys," Mattingly said. "We're pretty realistic. We've got to play, and we know it."

We've never seen this big of a roster-altering deal this late in a season. Last week's blockbuster deal with the Red Sox rendered the July 31 non-waivers deadline irrelevant, and the Dodgers' talent grab since the All-Star break has grown their booklet of new player biographies to 25 pages, front and back.

And to ask a dramatically made-over roster, with eight new players added in the past six weeks, to put everything together, erase a short deficit in the standings and earn a playoff spot might be a stretch.

"I think we all know that we're in a short-term, short-run, sprint situation, and anything can happen ? no matter what kind of guys you have playing," Mattingly said. "To me, our challenge is what kind of baseball are we going to play? What are we going to be?"

The immediate answer hasn't been pretty. The Dodgers arrived at Coors Field on Monday off two home games following the mega-deal, and by the time they left town, were facing a list of sobering issues.

We're not just talking about 10-0 and 8-4 losses before a sweep-avoiding 10-8 victory Wednesday tainted by the Rockies' seven-run bottom of the eighth.

Matt Kemp bruised a knee, hurt his jaw and dented the center-field wall on a scary-looking attempt at Josh Rutledge's triple Monday, but he should be back soon enough a day or so.

Closer Kenley Jansen again is dealing with a heart-related issue that has sidelined him indefinitely. Concern was raised Monday, when he came into the blowout and quickly added to the deficit. After not pitching for five days, he didn't have his usual velocity, and was knocked around for four runs in 2/3 innings. Nobody knows when we'll see him on the mound again.

There also is concern that Chad Billingsley's latest elbow issue might shut him down for the rest of the season, costing the Dodgers their most-effective starter of late. Before going on the disabled list, Billingsley had gone 6-0 with a 1.80 ERA.

You know how crucial those two losses could be when Mattingly says, "it's still going to get back to our pitching. We have to pitch well enough every day to keep us in games." Look for the Dodgers to try to make another trade, although at this point, there isn't much left to acquire.

And one more thing. Make no mistake ? the Rockies, Giants and rest of the National League will be gunning for a team that has picked up the "Yankees of the West" tag. Why, the Rockies' Jim Tracy managed the Dodgers' series as if it was his team's playoffs.

Facing deficits of 3 1/2 games in the NL West and 1 1/2 games in the wild-card race, the Dodgers' final five weeks will bring a very challenging schedule ? more so than those of the Giants, Pirates and Braves.

Unlike the Giants, who will stay entirely within the NL West after this weekend's series against the Cubs, the Dodgers will face a crucial 10-game, out-of-division stretch Sept. 13-23: four games vs. St. Louis, three in Washington, and three in Cincinnati. The Dodgers also have six more cracks at the Giants: Sept. 7-9 in AT&T Park, and a season-ending series Oct. 1-3 in Dodger Stadium.

In contrast, the Braves have only two series remaining against playoff contenders: at home Sept. 14-16 against the Nationals and a season-ending series in Pittsburgh.

The Pirates already are done with the Cardinals, and other than that season-ending series against the Braves, will play only six games against a playoff contender: home-and-home series with the Reds.

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Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/48847448/ns/sports-baseball/

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