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I’m one of those “I don’t have time to cook between coming home from Obligation A and leaving for Obligation B” people. Luckily, I was raised by a mother with the same issue, who prioritized keeping us kids healthy, so she figured out life hacks (and passed them along to us). My favorite of these is the secret of the casserole.
Oh sure, you could follow a recipe, but isn’t it easier to make your own, and use things you already have on hand? Every casserole follows the same basic schematic. And once you know that, you can use it to get rid of leftovers, get more greens into your diet, experiment with flavor profiles, and generally be a dinner genius.
You can make a casserole fresh, or cover it and freeze it indefinitely (as long as the meat in it is pre-cooked), for a fast dinner throughout the year.
Any basic casserole (for a 13″ x 9″ dish) requires the following:
One of these sauce bases:
- 10 ounces undiluted “cream of”-style soup + 8 ounces milk (dairy or otherwise)/mayonnaise/sour cream
- 8 ounces plain cream cheese/Unflavored yogurt/Sour cream + 4 ounces milk (dairy or otherwise)
- 28 ounces diced tomatoes, undrained
- 12 ounces broth-style soup/stock
- 12 ounces milk (dairy or otherwise)
- 12 ounces actual sauce (enchilada sauce, salsa, gravy, BBQ sauce, etc)
One of these protein option, if desired:
- 12 solid white tuna, drained and flaked
- 2 cups chopped cooked chicken
- 2 cups chopped cooked ham
- 2 cups chopped cooked turkey
- 1 pound ground beef, browned and drained
- 2 cups beans (drained)
One of these “dry bases” to absorb liquid (preferably pre-cooked al denti):
- 2 cups elbow macaroni,
- 1 cup cooked rice (white works best, but you can use other types)
- 4 cups wide egg noodles
- 3 cups medium pasta shells
One of these veggie:
- 1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed (or fresh, cooked and gently squeezed to a less-moist consistency)
- 1 (10-ounce) package frozen cut broccoli (or fresh, cooked)
- 1 (10-ounce) package frozen English peas (or fresh, cooked)
- 1 (16-ounce) package frozen sliced yellow squash (or fresh, baked until tender)
- 1 (10-ounce) package frozen whole kernel corn (or fresh, cooked)
- 1/2 medium onion, diced
One extra (optional, can combine as desired):
- 1 (3-ounce) can sliced mushrooms, drained (or fresh, sliced and sauteed just until tender)
- 1/4 cup sliced ripe olives
- 1/4 cup chopped bell pepper
- 1/4 cup chopped onion
- 1/4 cup chopped celery
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 (4.5-ounce) can chopped green chiles (or fresh, diced and cooked just until tender)
One of these seasonings:
- 1 envelope taco seasoning mix
- 1 envelope ranch dressing seasoning
- 2 tsp salt + 2 tsp pepper
- Really, whatever you want, to taste
One topping (optional):
- 1/2 cup shredded cheese
- 1/2 cup fine, dry breadcrumbs, or panko
- 1/2 cup crumbled dehydrated vegetable
- Crushed potato chips (or go super simple and use something like flavored Doritos)
- Combine everything except the topping and stir until well combined.
- If you go the riskier route and layer each ingredient type instead, make sure the dry base is on the bottom, and the sauce base is poured over everything just before added the topping.
- Spoon the casserole mixture into a lightly greased 13″ x 9″ x 2″ baking dish.
- Sprinkle the topping evenly over the casserole.
- Cover and bake casserole at 350 degrees Farenheit for 20-30 minutes. Then uncover and bake 8-10 additional minutes.
If you prefer to make the casserole ahead of time and freeze it, do so before the baking step.
No time to thaw the dish before baking? If you have a sturdy enough casserole dish (like a Pyrex), you can just put it into the oven. Be aware that you may need to increase the baking time by an additional 10-20 minutes to compensate. (I like to put it in the oven as it pre-heats, personally, so the temperature change isn’t too dramatic).
Need some ideas for starters?
- Cream cheese/milk sauce base + Beef + Cooked pasta + Onion + Taco seasoning packet + Shredded cheddar cheese topping
- Diced tomato sauce base + Beans + Cooked pasta + Kale + Mushrooms + Garlic + seasoning
- Fish stock soup base + Cooked rice + Broccoli + Mushroom + Water chestnuts (drained) + Peppery Asian spices + Panko topping
- Cream of mushroom soup sauce base + Shredded chicken + Cooked rice + Squash + Onion + Ranch packet seasoning + Bread crumb topping
Comments on The secret of the casserole: Demolish leftovers with this easy casserole hack
We too ate tons of casseroles growing up and for years I made either favorite recipes from my mom or searched online for casserole recipes to use up a specific ingredient. It was really a routine changing lightbulb (basket?) moment when I realized, duh- you can put just about whatever you want in them. Thanks for the great article-super helpful in laying this out. My favorite dump-it-in the casserole dujour seasoning is a bunch of coriander with some cumin and garlic.
And of course there’s the “Oh crap, this whole loaf of bread is stale/hard as a rock” school of casseroles.
Breakfast dinner! http://www.foodnetwork.com/topics/strata-recipes.html
See also: Bread Pudding! 😀
OH GOD THANK YOU FOR THIS.
No, seriously. My parents never did casseroles when I was growing up, probably as a result of having eaten a billion of them as children themselves. (Same thing for liver and onions and brussels sprouts.) Until I read this post, I thought that pulling off a casserole was some form of mild sorcery. XDDD
YAY! I promise, it’s super easy, super handy, and the more you practice, the easier it gets.
As a products liability attorney who has had a fair amount of glassware cases, DO NOT put a glass dish in the oven directly from the freezer or in a pre-heating oven (which has wildly fluctuating temperatures). It may work once or twice, but you are weakening the glassware and asking for a giant shattered mess in your oven (or worse).
Hrm. Never had a problem with my Pyrex glass casserole dishes in the 20 years I’ve been doing that, but perhaps a crock would be safer? What would you recommend?
As long as you bring the dish to room temperature and put it in an already pre-heated oven, you should be fine. 🙂
Thank you for this! I just moved to a new city to start a new job that involves a ridiculous commute and I have been wondering what I’m going to do because I can’t live on Amy’s frozen meals forever. (too expensive!)
I’ll definitely be creating my own casserole on my next day off!
A very unhealthy, but yummy addition is to use Pillsbury dough on the top or bottom.
This is a keeper!
Another great starch to use is stuffing mix. If you mix it with about half a cup or so of liquid (stock) and then layer the casserole so it’s protein+sauce+veg on the bottom and then top with the casserole. Bake it covered with foil so that the stuffing sort of steams. I’ve also done with the stuffing mixed with a can of diced tomatoes and that’s really tasty too.
Personally, I prefer to add my fresh veg uncooked to the casserole so it keeps a bit of bite.
This seems like a very mid-western formula. You could easily adapt this same formula for the Crock Pot!
Other dry things to use in casseroles can include leftover stuffing, leftover dried out tortillas, leftover baked potato, or hash browns (I’ve even done a sweet casserole/ bread pudding with dried out old cake).
Comments are closed.


Ever wonder why there is loud music playing in so many bars, even though it makes it almost impossible to have a conversation? Newly published research suggests one good reason: It inspires faster drinking, at least among young women.
That's the key finding of a study from the University of Portsmouth, which found this dynamic was consistent whether the music playing was fast or slow. It is published in the October issue of the journal Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology.
Psychologists Lorenzo Stafford and Hannah Dodd report that, in their experiment, "music caused a mismatch between the objective breath alcohol levels and the perceived alcohol strength." In other words, it appears to disrupt drinkers' realization of their own level of intoxication.


ABILENE, TEXAS, ABILENE, TEXAS, TUESDAY MORNING, MAY 1, 1945
Hope Held for Fall
Of City by Tonight
LONDON, Tuesday, May 1—(AP)—Red army troops, storming the blazing administrative heart of Berlin, captured the gutted shell of the German reichstag yesterday, running up the Russian "victory" flag over the Nazi monument in a sweep that threatened to split the last defenders of the Nazi capital.
The fall of all Berlin appeared imminent. The Russians stepped up their overwhelming struggle for the city to unprecedented proportions in a possible bid to win the entire city today while Moscow celebrated May day.
Soviet troops were -within a mile of tearing the capital into two isolated pockets each less than nine square miles. They had won the ministry of interior near the reichstag, were laying siege to Hitler's underground fortress in. the Tiergarten,
were at Berlin's triumphal arch, the Brandenburg gate, and were across the Spree river from Berlin's cathedral.
German broadcasts admitted the 10-day battle for the divested capital was as good as lost.
'London Says Peace Plans Move Swiftly
LONDON, April 30—(AP)—The free Danish press service in Stockholm said that Heinrich Himmler conferred in Den mark this morning with Count Folke Bernadotte, the neutral Swedish emissary by whom he sent his offer to surrender Germany to Britain and the United States last week.
In London British cabinet ministers held a long meeting today, then some of them met with Prime Minister Churchill late tonight, studying the latest reports on the situation.'
A full cabinet meeting is scheduled for early Tuesday, before the House of Commons meets, at which time likely will be decided whether Churchill might make a statement in the Commons during, the afternoon.
The British press association stated that "there is no longer any doubt that armistice moves are in progress and moving swiftly." The Himmler-Bernadotte meeting, said to have taken place at Aabenraa just north of the German-Dan-
STOCKHOLM, Tuesday, May
1.—(/AP)—The newspaper Dragens Nyheter said today Count Folke
Barnadotte, Swedish emissary who reportedly has been acting as a go-between for peace between the Allies and Germany, had forwarded the German, answer to capitulation demands to an Allied legation In Stockholm yesterday.
ish border, was believed to be the second conference of the two men in two days.
Since it had been officially disclosed that lost week's surrender offer by Himmler reached the western Allies through Bernadotte, reports of a new contact gave rise to speculation that a new phase in German surrender attempts had opened.
The first offer was refused because was not addressed to Russia as well as to Britain and the United States.
There was no indication whether Himmler was now ready to yield to all three powers.
Two Miles of Naha
By The Associated Press
Plunging southward in 'the wake of terrific naval gun, artillery and plane bombard-
ments, American doughboys on. bloody Okinawa island have captured the important Machinato airfield on the west coast, Fleet Adm.-Chester W Nimitz reported late Monday The field is less than two miles from Naha, island capital.


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A blogger named Fred Reed sees parallels between the United States today and France on the eve of the French Revolution.
I know three young women of exceptional intelligence and talent, all of them mature and disciplined. They cannot find jobs. It is not from lack of trying, far from it. One of them is married to a hard-working man in a highly technical field usually associated with wealth. He is paid a low hourly wage and forced to work on contract, meaning that he has neither benefits nor retirement. His employers know that if he leaves, they can easily find another to take his place. They have him where they want him.
[snip] In numbers that a half century ago would have seemed impossible, the American young live with their parents, being unable to find jobs to support themselves. Waitressing in a good bar pays better in tips than a woman with a college degree can otherwise earn, assuming that she can earn anything at all. Employers having learned to hire them as individual contractors, they move into their thirties with no hope of a pension for their old age.
Desperation and hatred are close cousins.
Meanwhile, Jeffrey Bezos of Amazon makes spaceships and buys the Washington Post as a toy and the newspapers have reported that a Croesus of Wall Street has bought a Modigliani, it may have been, for $55 million dollars.
[snip]. The homeless in San Francisco are now described as “a plague.” There seem to be ever more of them. But not to worry. Never worry. The stock market remains exuberant. In nearby Silicon Valley, a man buys a new Lamborghini every year.
[snip] Today the African population of America is openly insurgent, the middle class sinks, jobs continue leaving under the stewardship of the rich, the government either will not or cannot enforce its laws, the borders are open, half of the country seethes in fury at the other half, and the sale of guns is at record heights.
When people realize that they really have no country, only a collection of rapacious interests, history becomes…creative.
Source: Fred Reed | Fred on Everything
Tags: Fred Reed

domain: economics


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Supercool ice-cream truck toyThis brightly colored ice-cream truck is packed with exciting features that will inspire endless imaginative play.
Delivering imaginative play to kidsKids can serve ice-cream cones and popsicles to LEGO City citizens from the hatch of this cool ice-cream truck.
LEGO City Ice-Cream Truck
Inspiring kids' imaginations
Rich detailing makes for realistic play scenarios.
Kids get to serve 4-legged and 4-wheeled customers.
Just like the real thing
This colorful ice-cream truck is great for play and display.
Easy-to-use digital building instructionsUsing Digital Instructions PLUS via the LEGO Life app, kids aged 5+ can zoom, rotate and visualize the model as they build.
Ice-cream cones for allIncludes 2 minifigures and a dog figure, plus an array of awesome accessories.
Shop more like this:

domain: design


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Author pages are created from data sourced from our academic publisher partnerships and public sources.
Share This Author
Intracellular localization of the radioactive galactose incorporated into embryonal carcinoma cells.
Cellular sites of [3H]galactose incorporated into F9 embryonal carcinoma cells were determined by electronmicroscopic autoradiography. Fifty-six per cent of the label was on plasma membrane.
J0220101 Intracellular tension-dependent morphology changes of isolated tenocytes in response to IL-1B stimulation

domain: library


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Adventure tourism operators are welcoming a reduction in their ACC levies, following a review of their risk levels.
The review covered analysis of the actual risks, as well as several hundred historical claims made by businesses covered by the âamusement and other recreation activitiesâ classification.
The Tourism Industry Association estimates 200 member businesses will see a huge reduction in their levies, from $3.48 to $0.48 per $100.00 of payroll.
Others are in line for smaller reductions.
Shotover Canyon Swing General Manager Matt Hollyer says the levy cuts will see his business save more than 10-thousand dollars a year on ACC costs.

domain: finance


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With more Americans living longer and employers increasingly adopting defined contribution plans, demand for retirement-related investment advice is growing. Financial Engines Inc (NASDAQ:FNGN), the U.S.’ largest independent investment adviser offering personalized retirement plans, is a natural proxy for this growth in demand. In addition, Financial Engines is favored by its clients for its independence and proprietary investment methodology void of human behavioral biases. However, Financial Engines trades at a premium to its peers, being valued at 1.8 times PEG. Peter Lynch sees stocks trading below PEG as undervalued and will not consider Financial Engines. I advise investors not to buy into this stock at current valuations.
Demand for retirement planning advice growing
Like many developed countries, the U.S. faces the issue of an aging population. According to forecasts by the Administration on Aging, almost one in five Americans will be aged 65 and above by 2030. As more Americans live longer, they will find it harder to meet their daily expenditures with savings alone in their retirement years. They will need to invest their money wisely, and that is where investment advisers like Financial Engines play a role.
An increasing number of employers are ditching defined benefit plans in favor of defined contribution plans, as a means of reducing their own financial burden. Under defined contribution plans where employers have no responsibility over if and how money is invested, employees could see their money rotting in the bank or be lost investing in speculative penny stocks. As a result, employees are left on their own to earn inflation-beating returns on the monies lying in their retirement accounts.
The investment adviser of choice
There are two key reasons in my opinion why Financial Engines Inc (NASDAQ:FNGN) is able to maintain its status as the largest defined contribution managed account provider in the country.
Financial Engines Inc (NASDAQ:FNGN) is perceived as independent by its customers. Some of the other investment advisers in the marketplace either sell in-house proprietary products or are compensated by the funds they recommend. As a result, these investment advisers are incentivized in the wrong way, that leads them to promote the sale of products or funds that is most rewarding for them, and not necessary the most suitable products for the customers.
In other cases, even when certain advisers claim to be independent, their parentage or association with another financial services company usually suggests otherwise. In comparison, Financial Engines is truly conflict free, as it neither sells investment products, nor is owned by any financial institution.


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5 edition of Women and radio found in the catalog.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
|Statement||edited by Caroline Mitchell.|
|Contributions||Mitchell, Caroline, 1959-|
|LC Classifications||PN1991.8.W65 W66 2000|
|The Physical Object|
|Pagination||xxi, 290 p. :|
|Number of Pages||290|
|ISBN 10||041522070X, 0415220718|
|LC Control Number||00045042|
Little Women is the classic story of The March family, which consists of Mr. and Mrs. March and their four girls--Practical, yet fashion conscious Meg, who longs for the nice things they used to have. Rambunctious, book worm, Jo, who wants to become a writer and wishes she were born a . From a much-anticipated Tudor tale to the latest novel by Elena Ferrante. View image of Design books. The 10 best design books of From fantastical .
Updated for a new generation! Ever since Eve, women have been swallowing Satan's liesand so have their daughters. Best-selling authors Wolgemuth and Gresh offer fresh insights on the twisted messages about God, guys, appearance, and sexuality that our media-driven culture feeds young women. Equip your to year-olds to liberate themselves from deception-- /5(93). Women of Grace® television and radio programs encourage and affirm women in their dignity as daughters of God and in their gift of authentic femininity™. They inform, instruct, and inspire, while answering questions about living the Catholic faith in the world today.
Join me each Monday at PM Eastern for Successful Woman Radio. The show is all about helping women to fulfill their dreams, embrace joy and help one another! You can listen to previous broadcast by visiting this page or Dial-in to and listen live each Monday at PM Eastern! But there is more than personal interest in all this; this is a piece of significant social history. At a time when the role of women was undergoing great change, when Rosie the Riveter was working in the factories for the first time and WAAFs, WRNS, WAVES, and WACS were serving in most branches of the armed forces, the women of the Special.
So you want to write your family history
The mystery of selfe-deceiuing. Or A discourse and discouerie of the deceitfulnesse of mans heart. Written by the late faithfull minister of Gods Word Danyel Dyke, Batchelour in Diuinitie. Published since his death, by his brother I.D. minister of Gods word
Dissertation on mineral, animal, and vegetable, poisons; containing a description of poisons in general, their manner of action, effects on the human body, and respective antidotes; with experiments and remarks on noxious exhalations from earth, air and water
value of restraining devices in motor vehicles.
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Quarterly journal of experimental physiology and cognate medical sciences.
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This book is an amazing record of women involved in the craze of "the health benefits" and industrial uses of radium that occurred in the early s, lasting well after WWII. They were employed in painting dials for watches and equipment with radium paint, without any knowledge of the dangers to which they were being by: 1.
“Radio Girls carries readers on a memorable, eye-opening journey to London in the s and Women and radio book, a pivotal time in the history of women’s rights, politics, and the arts/5().
The Book Concierge is back with + great reads, hand-picked by NPR staff and trusted critics. books NPR’s Book Concierge. Produced by Rose Friedman, Petra Mayer, Beth Novey and Meghan Sullivan | Executive Producer: Ellen Silva About.
Miriam Toews' new book Women Talking is based on a ghastly true story — here's the opening sentence: "Between andin a remote Mennonite colony in Bolivia, many girls and women would. Mary is an international radio talk show host, author of the popular book “A Pocket Full of Prayers – A Heart Full of Hope” and a faith based intuitive.
For over 25 years, Mary has shared her intuitive, angelic guidance with clients from all over the world and from all walks of life. Combining classic work on radio with innovative research, journalism and biography, Women and Radio offers a variety of approaches to understanding the position of women as producers, presenters and consumers as well as offering guidelines, advice and helpful information for women wanting to work in radio.
Women and Radio examines the relationship between radio. Have Better Sex: Advice For Women And Their Partners From A New Sex Book: Shots - Women and radio book News Katherine Rowland, author of The Pleasure Gap: American Women and the Unfinished Sexual Revolution.
“My number one writing tip is to read a lot,” says Nina, whose first book Love, Nina: Despatches from Family Life was a memoir about her time as a nanny. Obviously a. Women have been active participants in the development of radio (initially called "wireless") communications since its age of radio communication began with the development of wireless telegraphy aroundin which Morse code could be transmitted over large distances using simple spark gap or carbon arc transmitting equipment, and various types of.
Orinoco Womble (tidy bag and all) It's not a "story" in the novel/autobiography sense, but rather a collection of anecdotes taken from the author's experience as a radio journalist in more It's not a "story" in the novel/autobiography sense, but rather a collection of anecdotes taken from the author's experience as a radio journalist in China during the "opening up" years /5.
In the first-ever Seven Seas history of the worlds female buccaneers, Pirate Women: The Princesses, Prostitutes, and Privateers Who Ruled the Seven Seas tells the story of women, both real and legendary, who through the ages sailed alongsideand sometimes in command oftheir male women came from all walks of life but had one thing in common: a /5.
The story is told from the point of view of the women in New Jersey, and Illinois, in Kate Moore's non-fiction book The Radium GirlsISBN ) released in the UK in and US in The story is told in Eleanor Swanson's poem "Radium Girls", collected in A Thousand Bonds: Marie Curie and the Discovery of Radium (, ISBN Inshe began Women’s Online Media and Education Network (W.O.M.E.N.) which produces WomensRadio, in order to “give women a greater voice!” WomensRadio, a converging medium, had its beginning on the Web as a rich, content Website for women leaders.
Inher company also began WomensCalendar. Today it is the largest databank of. Little Women (FULL Audio Book) 06 - Beth Finds the Palace Beautiful - Duration: Audio Books 2, views. 47 videos Play all Little Women (FULL. Women of Grace LIVE Radio 51% Host Allison Dunne talks to experts in their field for a wide-ranging, entertaining discussion of issues that not only fall into the traditional 'women's issues' category, but topics that concern us all as human beings and citizens of the global.
Through the Women & Money podcast, Suze will entertain, educate and empower — unlocking 35 years of experience in helping create wealth for millions and millions of people all over the world — she is your personal finance teacher. WBO Student Loading.
Ahead of the launch of the first female-led series of Doctor Who, the BBC is to release a book celebrating the women of the show across its 50+ year run.
Advertisement 7. Countless generations grew up with Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy as they became Little Women. Now Focus on the Family Radio Theatre revisits Louisa May Alcott's enduring best-seller for a fresh look at sacrificial family love.
Little Women chronicles the story of. Radio 2 Book Club - The Woman in the White Kimono. The next book to be featured on the Jo Whiley Radio 2 Book Club will be The Woman in the White Kimono, a fascinating historical novel by Ana Johns.
It was released on 15 July and Ana will be on the show on Monday 19 August. Manx Radio, Douglas, Isle Of Man. 38, likes 10, talking about this.
Welcome to the official Facebook page of Manx Radio. Calltext or email [email protected] Join Manx Followers: 42K.In the new book, A Black Women’s History of the United States, historians DAINA RAMEY BERRY and KALI NICOLE GROSS celebrate the lives and the contributions of black women who have left their mark on the nation but have too often been overlooked or forgotten.
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LifeWay’s Ridgecrest Conference Center celebrated record attendance last year as approximately 70,000 guests visited the Blue Ridge Mountain retreat site.
“It was the most people we’ve seen in almost 30 years,” said Art Snead, executive director at Ridgecrest. “The fingerprints of God’s blessings are everywhere.”
With the blessing of extra guests comes the need for more help on campus. Leaders at the conference center are currently looking to deepen their volunteer pool, which they say plays a vital role in serving visitors.
“At Ridgecrest, we desire to see lives impacted for God’s glory,” said Chris Fenske, support staff coordinator. “We want to serve our guests with excellence and we need help to do that well.”
David and Judy Constance, Ridgecrest volunteers from Cleveland, Tenn., began serving at the conference center in 2011. During their first year, they assisted with landscaping around campus.
They’ve returned every year since and have served in catering, housekeeping, laundry services, kitchen work and have even assisted with a special assignment during a marriage retreat. This July, they’re working at the Nibble Nook, an on-campus ice cream shop and eatery.
“Everything we’ve done has been fun,” David said. “There are so many ways to serve here, and they let you change what you do. We don’t know of many other volunteer programs that are so flexible.”
The Constances represent some of the many retired individuals who invest in Ridgecrest.
“We don’t believe retirement is a time you’re supposed to sit back and just relax; we want to be used,” David said. “Being retired, we can’t give [monetarily] as much as we used to, so we try to give of our time.”
Ridgecrest volunteers typically serve a minimum of two weeks for about 30 to 35 hours a week. The conference center provides housing and some meals, and a laundry room is available on campus. While serving, volunteers reside either in on-campus housing or in their own RVs at a Ridgecrest campground.
Click here to read more.
Source: Baptist Press


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North America’s best kept secret is a rendezvous of adventure meets European charm that will have your inner foodie begging for a French Revolution – without ever crossing the pond.
Snuggled in Quebec’s Laurentian Mountains, 80 miles north of Montreal, sits the cobblestone street lined village of Mont-Tremblant, one of North America’s top ski resorts. Named “the trembling mountain” after a local Algonquin legend, the resort was built by colorful American adventurer Joe Ryan in 1938. Re-developed by Canadian company Intrawest in 1991, Tremblant has re-emerged as a favorite destination for Americans and Canadians alike. At first blush, the pedestrian village is charming, with brightly painted facades buildings set among chic boutiques and quaint cafes ready to welcome tired legs with a cold Labatt Bleu and belly warming fondue. Even if you’re not a skier, Mont-Tremblant makes a charming destination with plenty to offer. But first, enjoy the swoon-worthy views, then close your eyes, listen to the locals exchange bonjours and imagine you’re in the French Alps, sans the long flight.
Then there’s the food, plus a casino, a lake, and Scandanavian spas to help you relax and recharge. You’ll need at least a week to enjoy it all, and that’s just the winter season. Mont-Tremblant welcomes more visitors in the spring, summer, and fall when the region’s sparkling lakes and pristine trails beckon kayakers, hikers, mountain bikers and adventure enthusiasts to the great Canadian outdoors.
Let’s get to the action. Mont-Tremblant offers world-class mountain fun over 49 miles of trails, including 3 snow parks, serviced by 14 high speed lifts and a gondola. All manner of snow play can be found at the resort – trails for snowshoeing, cross country skiing, dog sledding, ice skating, snowmobiling and anything else your inner adventurer can conjure up.
To get your legs warmed up, start on the south side of the mountain near the pedestrian village, taking the gondola all the way to the top. Wow at the view, pop on your skis, then hop on Nansen, named for the early architect of the resorts’ runs. It’s a long green winder from peak to village, whisking you past stunning views of Lac Tremblant, over trickling streams that pass under narrow wooden bridges designed to take you through some of the mountain’s most beautiful trails, with built in stops for frame-worthy photos of you tackling mother nature armed with just your skis and a smile. The mountain has something for everyone. Half of the runs are dedicated to beginner and intermediate skiers, the other half to experts swishing down black diamonds and tackling extreme skiing. Mont-Tremblant also boasts one of the best ski schools on the continent with experienced, patient guides to get kids and adults zipping down the mountain toute suite.
After you’ve skied your legs off, explore Tremblant’s foodie scene bursting with local specialties and tasty ways to refuel. First up, the sugar rush. On the walk back from the gondola, look for a sugar shack, set up just on the edge of the village, easily identifiable by friendly Canadians hoisting big brown jugs, surrounded by piles of ice, and likely, a few excited children. Indulge your inner kid with a stick of tire d’erable, fresh maple syrup taffy, as you decide which resto will welcome you for apres ski.
With your energy back, swagger into one of the vibrant cafes and warm up with a traditional poutine. Piled with crispy french fries, squishy cheese curds and a variety of warm, savory toppings, poutine is a local speciality found only in Quebec. We went for the canard confit
croustillant caramelise – crunchy duck confit with BBQ sauce. For a true nap inducer, opt for macaronis au fromage – mac and cheese made with béchamel and a blend of cheeses plus your choice of smoked beef or even homard, fresh lobster. If you’re adventurous, try creton, a pork pate spread over warm French bread. Wash it all down with a bubbly blonde, IPA or stout from one of Quebec’s famous local breweries.
Pay le addition and wander into the village’s quaint streets, polishing off the day with a giant Beaver Tail – fried dough shaped like the furry Canadian mascot, topped with gooey favorites, like peanut butter, bananas or Nutella, before lumbering back to the hotel, putting your feet up, and dreaming of the runs you’ll conquer tomorrow.
Welcome to winter fun, Tremblant style.
Air Canada, through code shares with their Star-Alliance partner, United, offers service to Toronto’s Pearson airport with a quick connection into Mont-Tremblant International. If you love scenic drives, fly into Montreal’s Pierre Trudeau airport, rent a car and take the easy 90 minute trek through the beautiful Laurentian Mountains, over the rivers and through the woods to Mont-Tremblant.
Where to Stay:
The Fairmont Tremblant is a grand, cozy oasis of winter fun with the best access to the European village and the mountain. Fairmont’s legendary service reigns from the excellent staff, high thread count sheets, and exclusive guest experiences, including snow tubing, ice skating and “first tracks” passes that get you up on the mountain early with the sunrise to tackle the newly groomed pristine runs on the powdery north side. After hitting the slopes, take in the outdoor pools, marshmallow roasting and the best location on the mountain for people watching. For a chic treat, opt for a glass of the famous French bubbly from Veuve Clicquot’s ice bar on the deck as you hop between heated pools and jacuzzis, warming up tired muscles and winding down any ounce of stress you didn’t shake on the slopes. The Fairmont will undergo an upgrade this summer with renovations and additional amenities for guests exploring Mont-Tremblant this Fall and Winter.
Sink your Teeth into these Foodie Finds:
The pedestrian village is a wonder in international cuisine, from fabulous French, to pizza and Asian specialties, you’re bound to find a taste for every palate. La Forge, the main restaurant in the upper pedestrian village is your best bet for poutine, burgers and local brews, as well as a lively apres ski scene. In the lower village, La Maison de Crepe serves the French speciality in an adorable cottage. For fresh breads and pastries head over to Oh La Vache! and Cafe d’Epoque is a great choice for refreshments. If you’ve had your fill of French fare, take a break at Wok Restaurant & Lounge, which also provides great pour emporter, or take away service if you’d rather indulge back at your room. Find Beaver Tails at the Queues de Castor counter on the right on the way down the hill from the upper to the lower village. If you pass it, don’t worry, there’s another location at the bottom of the village where you’ll also find a mini marche if you’re in need of groceries, beer, wine, or you’ve forgotten your toothbrush. It’s small but stocked with essentials from supplies to gifts.
What to Bring Home
Real Maple Syrup – Quebec is famous for real maple syrup, gathered in late March when the Spring cycle of freezing nights and sunny days creates the perfect atmosphere for the trees to produce this legendary sweet treat. Make sure you bring home some of the genuine local delicacy and if you can, taste before you buy. Maple syrup’s flavor – and color – vary like a good olive oil. The first press, called fonce, is typically the darkest and most concentrated, commonly used for cooking, while the lightest, dore, (meaning golden) is the most subtle. Go for the ambre, with a medium amber color, perfect for dressing warm pancakes. It’s a better buy in the large cans you’ll see in the marche, as the price increases in direct proportion to the cuteness of a maple leaf glass jar. More expensive in the states, maple syrup is a great buy in Quebec, and you’ll see other options as well – taffy, butter, caramel and tiny maple leaf shaped candies, which make fun foodie memories from your trip. Keep a few on hand for the dog days of summer when you can unwrap one and enjoy the frosty week you spent slushing the slopes of Canada’s winter wonderland.
If you’re driving from Montreal to Mont-Tremblant, while on the island of Montreal (where the airport is located), you cannot take a right turn at a red light, but you can as soon as you cross the river from Montreal into the rest of Quebec.
Alcohol in Quebec is regulated by the SAQ (Société des alcools du Québec) and can only be purchased at markets with the SAQ symbol. Stopping at one is a great way to purchase Quebec’s many local beers and Canadian ice wine, a sweet dessert wine only grown in the region’s cold climate. Just remember to be conscious of local liquor laws. As in many US states, you cannot walk between public spaces with open containers. Otherwise, enjoy responsibly.

domain: geography


text:
Poems about Animals
I have never been one that was actually able to say that I love who I am,
Trying to avoid this calamity Can’t seem to outrun this insanity
Philippians 3:3-4 New King James Version
In memory of my stepfather John Paul Hensler by Sandrajohnsonj on June 16, 2021. © Sandra Johnson, All rights reserved
The Killing FloorFrom my mother I was torn away, in this I never had any say.The morality of my captors had clearly long gone astray.On t
Losing someone you love is the hardest thing that anyone can go through,
A gentle and kind creature, Curled up beside me. A loyal companion,
When my Chihuahua died during the Summer of 2020, I was devastated.
If, for once, we could listen to the other and forget the erratic complaints we force out, I’d try not to sound so bleak.
Blinded by worldly possessions and being taken advantage of. I allowed my soul to be corrupt with bitterness.

domain: literature


text:
I am a fan of manga and enjoy them as much as American comics. So if you are not familiar with manga, it’s simply Japan’s version of comic books and are generally illustrated in black and white. Whenever I read manga, it’s almost as if I am viewing an animated cartoon right on paperback format. Comic books.lol.gotta love them.
Make it natural come up with it a blast. You can improve your grammar while emailing a pen pal, learn new vocabulary by writing in a journal, enhance WebDogin speaking skills while conversing with your language partner and.
Because new entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs recognize the ever growing market of e-book readers, certain websites now carry these electronic books. For the lowest membership fee, you can download as most books if you can looked over. True enough, it should come off cheaper than buying all the novels anyone cannot bring with you in one go. The practical along with the techie are starting to drift from honest to goodness paperbacks and hard bounds and tend to opting to invest on a computer to hold their book collection. It is, after all, the convenient and practical resolution.
These books aren’t actually a must-have, but they’ll probably make your own a whole lot easier.You’ll have all the right information to educate yourself on the 1,945 kanji designated via Japanese Ministry of Education for common application.
Nartuo: Most good mangas become a anime sequence. Anime is a cartoon version of to promote that’s why it can be more entertaining to follow along. But of course fanatics will Read manga many more. So Nartuo is often a story about a young ninja who really wants to become the first choice for his nation. Additionally has the nine-tailed fox within him, giving him a boost of stamina. He goes through many hardships since of now, he will probably be full throttle into warfare. Learning new abilities and knowing his past, he wants to battle for his nation. See what happens from major component of!
The Novel Network will be the newest and hottest place to download your favorite English novels. You name it and it is likely that it can be had there. มังงะ of selections regarding English language is indeed remarkable. Contain everything from classic to modern book titles. They have graphic novels, newspapers and manga! If you have invested on the Kindle or perhaps an iPad you’ll be able to it is extremely advisable to be able to to consider being an affiliate of this e-book download site. You’ll need surely benefit greatly as a result.
The theme throughout this story is how once someone gets into the crime system there is really no reform ever since. The criminal just kind of skates through existence any kind of help with reform. You’ll find it points out how society is immune to the criminals need for help which as many societies do, they shun him instead. This story was based on a true event that happened in the mid nineties. In 1997 a slew of serial killings of children took place and individual committing these crimes the fourteen year old boy. It can be said he not only killed wish for but for most cases decapitated them.
Join the town where purchase share your opinions, post your threads, comments, pm’s, wallpaper, AMV’S, manga chapters, anime series, and much much more. Join now and lets create a family.


Here’s this week’s Missing Link Friday.
One for the country
Don’t stop at two, says Mark Richardson. "to have stable population growth you need a large percentage of couples to have 3 children to make up for those having none. Limiting families to 2 children won’t work."
The Idea of Home‘s Alison Sampson planned on stopping after two. But she just couldn’t shake off the idea of having one more:
I had such clear visions, such beautiful images when I sat with the idea. I saw a group of children running up the stairs into the sky, colourful skirts swirling and voices laughing; I saw loving arms extended towards me, and a baby lying between us, and knew that to enter into the presence of love was to pick the baby up.
But there’s always something that falls between the idea and the reality, and in Alison’s case, it was a fistful of poo. She begins a recent post with this: "Yesterday morning began when a toddler came crying into my room, holding a moist and squishy turd in her hand …"
Clearly parenthood isn’t all colourful skirts swirling and voices laughing:
I’ve been exhausted lately, tired and flat and sick of the kids and life at home. I feel like I had one child too many. I’m more than ready for them all to be out of the house six hours a day while I do other things. I’m tired of watching ‘ballet concerts’ and puppet shows and tired of picking up the mess or corralling them into doing it. I’m fed up with their squabbling, and the two year old’s tantrums, and hearing her shout ‘no’ every minute of the day. I’m tired of being the adult, understanding and mature; and I’m tired of failing to be the adult, of losing my temper or just shutting the kids out. I’m sick of being patient, of tricking a two year old into keeping her shoes on or sitting in a car seat. I just want to slap her.
But despite the mess, the tantrums and the poo, Alison writes "I can’t really believe I made the wrong decision to have a third child."
At Adelaide from Adelaide, Tracy Crisp surrenders to the American custom of Halloween "because it’s pretty hard not to let your kids be part of a candy-fest when they can see it all happening outside their window". And with trick-or-treat looming, it was time to do some shopping … for sultanas. As Tracy explains to her unimpressed boys:
The best thing is that everyone is going to say to you, “Your Mom is hopeless and she only gives out sultanas” and I am not going to care because I am 41 years old and no longer care what others think about me, whereas you are 8 and 9 years old so you still care a lot about what your friends think.
There was a tiny moment of silence and they looked at me with the look I particularly love which is all ‘fark, she really knows her shit’, and then they laughed as much as the mister and I were laughing, and one of them (but I don’t remember who) said, ‘Mum, you’re hilarious.’
And sometimes, not often, but every now and then, I’m exactly the mother I wanted to be.
If you read Elissa Doherty’s Herald Sun piece about mothers who breast feed each other’s children, you might be interested in the behind-the-scenes story at And All That Sazz.
So where the bloody hell are you?
Apparently Australia is attracting the wrong kind of foreigners. According to Tony Abbott, the idyllic Adelaide Hills is no place to build a detention centre for asylum seekers. It "is basically saying to the people smugglers and their customers that the welcome mat is out, that the red-carpet treatment is available."
"What bollocks", says Greg Jericho. "If Abbott really wants to get rid of the ‘pull factor he should come up with some policies that make Australia a horrible place to live in. Make it a place less inviting than Indonesia."
According to the ABC’s Emma Rodgers, Immigration Minister Chris Bowen says detention centres are not meant to be punitive or send a message of deterrence to asylum seekers. Greg hopes that Labor will back rhetoric with action:
It’s time the ALP stuck to its guns and not worry about the asylum seeker dilemma. We are at a point in the electoral cycle where the polls are almost irrelevant (one of the reason why I haven’t bothered to report on Newspolls etc since the election).
Terra at Australia Incognita agrees. She writes:
The Government has a rare window at the moment to try and fundamentally turn around the asylum seeker debate, and try and change the ground for it before we go back to election mode and they get rolled over once more by Howard-esq popularism on this issue.
A leaky vote
With Victoria about to go to the polls, Labor are worried about losing votes to the Greens. As Legal Eagle explains, the campaign has turned nasty. Lawyer and Greens candidate for Melbourne, Brian Walters has been accused of being an anti-Semite because he once represented alleged former Nazi war criminal Konrad Kalejs. It’s "it’s an easy, but misleading smear" she writes.
Walters is also getting flak for representing a company involved in the Yallourn coal mining industry. At Groupthink, Spock says the Labor Party still don’t get it:
The ALP needs to stop and realise that there are reasons that they are losing the left to The Greens, and it has nothing to do with the public being ill-informed about the Greens being secret coal-sympathizing Nazis. It’s because the ALP stopped representing them.
Although we are pretty much at opposite ends of the spectrum as conventionally viewed (Roberts is a George Mason prof and Chicago PhD and EconTalk is published at the EconLib site) we found quite a few areas of agreement, and had a constructive discussion on the points of disagreement. That’s partly because Russ is a good host, but also because, as Matt Yglesias noted in a tweet not so long ago, my critique of ideas like the EMH is very similar to that of Austrian-inclined critics like Amar Bhide.
Even his critics seem to like the book. Tim Worstall writes:
The book was trialled in large part over at Crooked Timber and I did perhaps more than my fair share of sniping at (what I perceived to be ) errors in the comments sections. In return I’ve been thanked in the intro (along with many others of course) for aiding in the writing of the book.
But while Tim acknowledges that "John Quiggin is indeed a gent", he notes that "even on that rare occasion that I was actually correct I don’t seem to have swayed the great man."
UNIVERSITIES are increasingly populated by the undead: a listless population of academics, managers, administrators and students, all shuffling to the beat of the corporatist drum.
… Many zombies have long lost the capacity to distinguish between a place of learning and a money-making PR machine, mummified in red tape.
Peter writes: "If you put the dramatic, inflammatory language to one side for a moment, it does accurately capture a very real problem with the higher education sector in Australia."
More than just great chicken
In 2001, Portugal decriminalized the private use of all illicit drugs, including heroin, cannabis, and cocaine. As long as a person is not found in possession of more than 10 days’ worth of any of these drugs, use and possession is no longer a criminal offense. The main point of the new policy was to focus more on dissuasion, make it easier for addicted users to seek help, reduce the flow of funds to criminal gangs, and to reduce the burden of drug enforcement upon the criminal justice system.
According to Australian researchers Caitlin Elizabeth Hughes and Alex Stevens: "the Portuguese decriminalization did not lead to major increases in drug use. Indeed, evidence indicates reductions in problematic use, drug-related harms and criminal justice overcrowding".
"Perhaps worth copying here in Australia?", wonders Paul.
A less interesting Andrew Leigh?
Back when he was an academic economist, Andrew Leigh wondered out loud about the way people became less interesting as they became more powerful. "Give me the Book Show over Question Time any day," he wrote.
These days Dr Leigh is an up-and-coming Labor politician. And as Malcolm Gladwell noted in his book What the Dog Saw, people who acquire position and privilege tend to become self conscious; "and self-consciousness is the enemy of ‘interestingness.’ "
Greg Craven, the Australian Catholic University’s vice-chancellor, is alarmed by the Group of Eight’s latest paper on higher education funding. It "has all the naked self-interest of the Roman sprite Priapus", he writes in the Australian.
According to Craven, one of the things the Group of Eight would like to do, is "increase the contribution of students towards their education by up to 50 per cent".
If students at sandstone universities paid more, would they get a better standard of teaching than they do now? According to Andrew Norton, the universities would probably spend much of the extra income on research rather than teaching: "So it looks like there is a prestige component in the fee". Is this a bad thing? Maybe not, suggests Andrew:
Though the money is not being spent directly on students, what they are buying is the university’s reputation, which is in turn substantially based on their research. It’s similar to buying designer brands, where part of your money is buying the marketing that makes your purchase fashionable. The difference is that in the university case some of research funded through buying prestige might lead to public benefits. It’s status seeking with a positive spin-off.


text:
Review: When We Disappear
by Lise Haines (Unbridled Books, 2018)
I fell into this suspenseful literary novel. Haines excavates a family: loyalties, betrayals, loves, losses. The prose sings with exquisite, cinematic images. Chapters alternate points-of-view between Mona, 19 and her estranged father, Richard. Mona grows up fast, shouldering responsibilities to support her mom as well as to insulate her little sister, Lola, from the reality of their father’s lapses.
Mona’s passion is darkroom photography. She dwells in dark edges, cropped or blurred images, tricks of light. Mona uses photography as emotional release, and also as a way to move forward in her life. She’s a compelling, confused, and creatively empowered, exploring life and sex with two extremely different boyfriends. Sometimes Mona steals, yet she can't steal back the awful night she witnessed her father's crime, nor the 9 years lost to unresolved emotional trauma.
Richard is a fascinating antagonist. The chapters featuring his point of view reveal layers of denial and regrets and love that build to a heartbreaking and redemptive conclusion. His inability to face up to facts causes the family to lose their furniture, home, and more. When Richard reappears after a long absence, Mona is determined to keep him from ruining their lives once again. Stolen cookies, too-loud television, too-little-too-late in terms of being a good dad. In fact, he's hiding a crime; his guilt and shame are slowly devouring his family.
Mona’s mom is a career artist who shoulders multiple, menial jobs to support her daughters. She’s self-reliant and treads a delicate emotional edge throughout the novel. Complex and delicate family bonds resonate way beyond the wonderful Chicago setting. When We Disappear begs for a sequel, further adventures of Mona, Ajay, and Lola.
Highly recommended for book groups and those who appreciate literary fiction at its finest.


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Health inequalities are the unfair and avoidable differences in health across the population, and between different groups within society. Health inequalities arise because of the conditions in which we are born, grow, live, work and age and the associated social inequalities – the lower a person’s social position, the worse their health.
Traditionally, policies have focused resources only on some segments of society, which has sometimes widened the health inequality gap. To improve health for all of us and to reduce unfair and unjust inequalities in health, action is needed across the social gradient. Universal action is needed to reduce the steepness of the social gradient of health inequalities, but with a scale and intensity that is proportionate to the level of disadvantage. This approach has been termed ‘Proportionate Universalism’.
Central to the Review is the recognition that disadvantage starts before birth and accumulates throughout life. This is reflected in the 6 policy objectives and to the highest priority being given to the first objective:
Published February 2010

domain: medical


text:
Franchisors and franchisees need to be awake to the risks of entering into illegal cartels, a recent Commerce Commission decision has highlighted.
The decision also highlights the high level of rigour needed in applying the collaborative activities exemption to the cartel prohibition.
The Commission has declined to grant a collaborative activity clearance to Anytime NZ Limited, which operates a franchise of fitness clubs. Anytime NZ sought to enter into an agreement with franchisees to impose lower and upper limits on franchisees’ pricing to members and other measures affecting price.
The application for a collaborative activity clearance by Anytime NZ was the first such application ever made both generally and for a franchise arrangement. It is very helpful generally in showing the Commission’s approach to cartels and specifically in relation to franchises, especially as the Commission has not yet issued targeted guidance for franchises.
The decision shows that provisions of franchise agreements dealing with the prices that franchisees charge customers are at risk of giving rise to illegal cartels. It also demonstrates the difficulties in justifying them as collaborative activities.
The cartel provisions
Under section 30 of the Commerce Act 1986 (the Act), cartel provisions are prohibited unless an exception applies. Cartel provisions are agreements between competitors that have the purpose, effect or likely effect of restricting output, allocating markets, or fixing prices. There is an exception in the Act for collaborative activities.
To be engaged in a collaborative activity, two or more parties must be carrying on an enterprise, venture, or other activity, in trade in cooperation and not do so for the dominant purpose of lessening competition between them (or between any two of them).
The Commerce Commission can grant a collaborative activity clearance to a proposed agreement containing a cartel provision if it is satisfied that:
- The applicant and any other party to the proposed contract, arrangement, or understanding are or will be involved in a collaborative activity. A collaborative activity is defined as any enterprise, venture or activity, in trade, that is carried out in co-operation between different parties. It must not be carried out for the dominant purpose of lessening competition between those parties.
- Each cartel provision is reasonably necessary for the purpose of the collaborative activity.
- The contract, arrangement, or understanding will not have or be likely to have the effect of substantially lessening competition in a market.
Section 30, in its current form, and the option of seeking a clearance for collaborative activities, were added to the Commerce Act in 2017. In 2021, the Commerce Act was amended to make breach of section 30 a criminal offence with imprisonment of up to seven years and fines of up to $500,000 for individuals. Companies can get fined up to $10 million, three times the value of any commercial gain or 10% of turnover.
Was the proposed agreement a cartel arrangement?
The Commission found that the proposed agreement contained provisions that were likely cartel provisions for the following reasons:
It was likely that franchisees would compete with each other because:
- Most of the clubs are independently owned. As such, they are separate legal persons for the purposes of the Act, and are potentially competitors.
- some customers view different Anytime Fitness clubs as different competitive offerings.
- some franchisees are in the same local markets.
The provisions would:
- set a price policy for all memberships sold by franchisees;
- set minimum and maximum prices for different membership types;
- allow Anytime NZ to change those minimum and maximum prices by notice to franchisees; and
- allow Anytime NZ to vary or replace the membership types for which minimum and maximum prices are set (and set new minimums and maximums for those varied or replaced membership types).
The Commission considered that the provisions were at risk of being cartel provisions as they fixed, controlled, or maintained prices.
Did the proposed agreement meet the test for a clearance?
The Commission agreed with Anytime NZ that Anytime and the franchisees were engaged in a collaborative activity by combining their businesses, assets, or operations in a commercial activity through the operation of the Anytime Fitness franchise network.
In seeking to meet the test for the collaborative activity exemption, Anytime NZ submitted that the provisions were reasonably necessary to:
provide a strong network of gym facilities in desirable locations;
ensure the focus of the franchisees is on the provision of quality facilities and services so that the chain can best compete with other gym providers; and
significantly improve the equitable allocation of membership fees as between franchisees, to address issues arising from members being able to access all clubs and to transfer between clubs.
Despite the Commission agreeing that Anytime NZ was engaged in a collaborative activity, the Commission did not agree that the proposed agreement was reasonably necessary for the above objectives. It found that the evidence showed that a strong network of clubs is possible without the proposed agreement.
The Commission also said that if there were any issues that affected the combined efforts of clubs to compete with other gyms, this was limited to a small number of franchisees in Christchurch and Auckland and not sufficient to justify the proposed agreement. The Commission even found that some of the provisions could act against the purpose of having a strong network, by including minimum price limits.
The Commission did not agree with Anytime NZ that the equitable allocation of fees was a substantial purpose of the collaborative activity, even taking into account the potential for the issue to become more widespread as the Anytime Fitness network grows.
On the question of quality, again the Commission did not agree that the reasonably necessary test was met. The reasons included that there were only a small number of clubs with quality issues, and, in any case, the Commission could not see how the proposed agreement would improve quality.
The Commerce Commission also considered that there were less restrictive options available to Anytime NZ to address the free-riding and quality issues that Anytime NZ had identified. Examples of provided by the Commission were:
- to address free-riding behaviour: be clearer with members upfront about the rules on transferring, and enforce the mechanisms that already exist, such as a 30-day cooldown period; and
- to address quality/brand issues (if they did exist): enforce the standards already contained in the franchise agreements (and potentially bolstering these standards).
The existence of these alternatives made it less likely that the proposed agreement was reasonably necessary.
What does it mean for other franchises?
The decision highlights the need for franchisors and franchisees to be careful about including provisions in franchise agreements that restrict pricing by franchisees, affect the level of goods or services supplied by franchisors or or could otherwise be a cartel provision. Where such provisions are included, there is a need for firstly check whether the cartel prohibitions apply. In doing so, keep in mind that the Anytime decision is a challenge to the often-held view that franchisees don’t compete among themselves and the franchisor.
If they do, then the second step is to carefully analyse the justification for such provisions under the collaborative activity exemption. The Commission applies the test for this exemption rigorously, and across all the parties involved in a collaborative activity.
While not considered in the Commission’s decision, which focussed on price-fixing, cartel problems can also arise in relation to provisions dealing with the amount of goods or services franchisees can produce and provisions that allocate markets between franchisees, such as by geographical area. These are quite common in franchise agreements. In comparison to pricing restrictions, market allocation measures may be easier to justify under the collaborative activity exemption, as they are often integral to franchise arrangements.
We also recommend that franchisors and franchisees review existing agreements to check whether they include cartel provisions and, if so, whether the collaborative activities exemption applies.
What does it mean for other businesses?
The decision also has wider implication for business other than franchises who are thinking about entering into collaborative arrangements that would otherwise be cartels. It shows that the test for a collaborative activity needs to be carefully applied.
This article was prepared by Duncan Cotterill Partner Nick Crang, Partner Hamish Walker and Solicitor Gina Green. For more information, please contact a member of our Competition and Antitrust team.
Disclaimer: the content of this article is general in nature and not intended as a substitute for specific professional advice on any matter and should not be relied upon for that purpose.

domain: law


text:
I’ve been a fan of Mike Davidson’s OPUSCONCRETE for awhile now. It’s been great working with Mike to promote his collection of modern handmade decor. I have a few of them in my studio and they are even better in person.
It’s easy to just focus on the cool planters and sinks in this collection. They’re affordable, incredibly sturdy and versatile. His new line of vessel sinks are just amazing. But there’s more to OPUSCONCRETE than meets the eye.
Mike is a firm believer in sustainability. For instance, he’s created a supply chain that is in close proximity to his Santa Ana, California studio. Also this: “At Opusconcrete, we limit our use of virgin, raw materials by using post-consumer byproducts. We minimize our waste by issuing “batch tickets” for nearly the exact the amount of materials needed for each piece we produce. Our proprietary molds are almost entirely comprised from recycled content designed for long-term use.” Creativity mixes well with sustainability, don’t you think?
Take a look at some of the latest goods from OPUSCONCRETE, especially their new pots and sinks here. You’ll find them in the IAMTHELABShop later today as well.
“Every step of the Opusconcrete manufacturing process is manipulated by hand. Our craft is more closely related to ceramics and sculpting than a construction or manufacturing trade. We set exceptionally high manufacturing tolerances, but value the nuances that inherently come with handcrafted products. Opusconcrete products offer a warm, signature look that can’t be duplicated by mass-production machine processes.” – OPUSCONCRETE
Concrete is a natural stone product comprised of solid, organic materials. Opusconcrete guides nature’s raw materials through each phase of our creation process to its final state. We have taken great care to develop all of our own processes to ensure that the organic nature of the raw material makes each piece unique unto itself; no two pieces are ever alike. We enjoy, with great anticipation and excitement, removing each piece from its mold to behold what meticulous craft and mother natures hand has created. – OPUSCONCRETE
The “Modern Farmhouse” with slot drain is a premium hybrid to contemporary styling mixed with traditional design. This is the largest of the OPUSCONCRETE vessel sink offerings, handcast and diligently finished throughout to capture the organic nature of the raw materials. Great for a luxurious master suite or in a series at a fine dining establishment.
Universal drain assembly is built in, sink comes with stainless steel tailpipe. Each sink is treated with a series of coatings on all surfaces for residential, hospitality and retail use.
All sizes are nominal and there will be subtle variation throughout that is inherent with handmade products. – SEE IT HERE


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- Bitcoin is currently the strongest major asset within the crypto market, expressing stability – and even bullishness – as its price trades just below the $11,000 region
- Bulls have been building up BTC’s momentum throughout the past few days, which comes as altcoins flash signs of weakness
- This means that the ongoing uptrend may be coming about as a result of a “flight to quality” as investors flee smaller tokens
- One trader is specifically pointing to a few crucial factors for insight into where the benchmark digital asset may trend next
Bitcoin has been climbing higher independent from the rest of the crypto market. The immense strength seen amongst most major and minor altcoins is beginning to fade, with this segment of the market posting intense losses throughout the past couple of days.
BTC’s ability to surge as these other assets all lose value points to demand for quality and safety, although it is unclear what is driving the exodus from altcoins.
There are a few factors that one analyst is pointing to that bode well for Bitcoin’s near-term outlook, and even suggest that it may see significantly further upwards momentum in the near-term.
Bitcoin Rallies Towards $11,000 as Altcoins See Another Bloody Day of Trading
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading up just over 1% at its current price of $10,915. This marks a notable upsurge from recent lows of $10,650 set at the bottom of yesterday’s dip.
The uptrend seen by BTC throughout the past few days is unique because it has come about in the absence of any market-wide bullishness.
In fact, most major and small-cap altcoins have been witnessing intense turbulence as of late, which has opened the gates for a full reversal of the “altseason” seen throughout the past few months.
Analyst: These Factors Suggest BTC Will Push Even Higher
He said that it has broken above its cloud, flipped its previous resistance into support, and is seeing an ongoing golden cross between its 21 and 89 day EMAs.
“Waking to bitcoin: – above the cloud – above previous resistance, now support – 21 and 89 ema golden crossing,” he explained.
Image Courtesy of Teddy. Chart via TradingView.
These three factors may continue helping to lift Bitcoin higher in the near-term. That being said, it remains unclear as to whether or not altcoins will be able to mirror BTC’s momentum any time soon.
Featured image from Unsplash. Charts from TradingView.

domain: news


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Burj Khalifa is ‘A Vertical City’ that defines the can-do spirit of Dubai
The world’s tallest building, Burj Khalifa is a global icon that pushes the frontiers in design, architecture and construction.
A headlining accomplishment by Emaar Properties, Burj Khalifa underlines the can-do spirit of Dubai. Described as both a ‘Vertical City’ and ‘A Living Wonder,’ Burj Khalifa rises gracefully from the desert, honouring the city with its extraordinary union of art, engineering, and meticulous craftsmanship.
At 2,716.5 ft, the 200 plus storey Burj Khalifa has 160 habitable levels, more than any building in the world. With a total built-up area of 5.67 million sq ft, Burj Khalifa features 1.85 million sq ft of residential space and over 300,000 sq ft of prime office space. That is in addition to the area occupied by the Armani Hotel Dubai and the Armani Residences.
With 900 residences including studios and one, two, three, and four-bedroom apartments, The Residence in Burj Khalifa is designed for the connoisseur.
Offering 160 guest rooms and suites, restaurants and a spa, Armani Hotel Dubai brings to life the ‘Stay with Armani’ promise, an exceptional lifestyle experience defined by the highest standards of aesthetics and service excellence.
The tower offers luxurious recreational and leisure facilities including four swimming pools, excluding the pool in the hotel, lounges for home owners and office owners, health and wellness facilities, a public observation deck and At.mosphere, the world’s highest restaurant on Level 122.
Explore uninterrupted views of Dubai and beyond with an inspiring and educational journey to At the Top, Burj Khalifa SKY on Level 148 and At the Top, Burj Khalifa on Levels 125 & 124.
Connected to the tower are The Offices, a 12-storey annex of prime office space and The Club, a four-storey health and wellness centre.
Over 1,000 pieces of art by prominent international and Middle Eastern artists adorn the interiors of Burj Khalifa and Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Boulevard.
|Property Types Available:||Residential|


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NBA Sim Sports Picks for 4/28/20 on FanDuel
During this downtime in the sports calendar, FanDuel has been innovating a lot of different ways to get some daily fantasy sports action.
One of those includes NBA Sim Sports, a format that looks pretty much identical to the usual FanDuel offering. The only twist is that the games won't be played live. Players will instead be assigned a random game from one of their top 25 historical comparisons based on numberFire's algorithm.
Late-scratches and other games missed by players won't come into effect. Scores roll out throughout the slate for a bit of a sweat.
The best part? It's free to enter.
Here are some potential standout picks.
Because player similarities are tied to numberFire's player evaluations, it makes sense to dig into those efficiency metrics to uncover possible value.
Here are the best positional values based on a player's given FanDuel salary versus his nERD score.
For the most part, this is going to be a list of studly, efficient players, but exercise caution with some lower-tier names who happen to pop in terms of efficiency.
|1||George Hill||Khris Middleton||Giannis Antetokounmpo||Anthony Davis||Ivica Zubac|
|2||Damian Lillard||Jimmy Butler||LeBron James||Daniel Theis||Rudy Gobert|
|3||Chris Paul||Donte DiVincenzo||Danilo Gallinari||Nerlens Noel||Mitchell Robinson|
|4||Luka Doncic||Norman Powell||Derrick Jones||Jarrett Allen||JaVale McGee|
|5||Seth Curry||Delon Wright||Gordon Hayward||Christian Wood||Montrezl Harrell|
|6||Kyle Lowry||DeMar DeRozan||T.J. Warren||Brandon Clarke||Dwight Howard|
|7||Eric Bledsoe||JJ Redick||OG Anunoby||Kawhi Leonard||Hassan Whiteside|
|8||Ben Simmons||Duncan Robinson||Tobias Harris||Ersan Ilyasova||Chris Boucher|
|9||Kemba Walker||Terence Davis||Pascal Siakam||Bam Adebayo||DeAndre Jordan|
|10||Spencer Dinwiddie||Devin Booker||Jaylen Brown||Domantas Sabonis||Steven Adams|
|11||Kyrie Irving||Fred VanVleet||Paul George||Jayson Tatum||Jonas Valanciunas|
|12||Trae Young||Pat Connaughton||Doug McDermott||John Collins||Enes Kanter|
The author of this article has no involvement with the NBA Sim Sports simulations powered by numberFire and has no knowledge of the results of tonight’s contest.

domain: hobby


There was no shortage of Hollywood glamour in Washington last night. The stars of Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian came out in droves for the world premiere at the Air and Space Museum. We were perched behind the velvet ropes to catch all the red-carpet action.
A large crowd of gawkers gathered outside the museum around 6:30 to catch the stars as they arrived. Hank Azaria, who plays Egyptian emperor Kahmunrah, was the first to walk the press line. He schmoozed with almost all of the reporters and even broke out his Chief Wiggum voice—he does the voices for several Simpsons characters—for Channel 7’s Arch Campbell. Robin Williams took his time with the media, too, pausing to chat with the heavy hitters, such as People and Access Hollywood as well as local reporters.
Amy Adams, who plays Amelia Earhart, breezed by most of the press line. But we were able to hear the red-headed actress—who looked stunning in lavender, by the way—tell a few reporters that she worked hard to study up on her character. “I watched every documentary I could find,” she said.
Owen Wilson lingered the longest on the red carpet. He didn’t talk to many reporters, but we caught him taking in some of the nearby exhibits. “Does anybody know what this plane is?” he asked reporters, pointing at a NASA aircraft. We were stumped, but Channel 5’s Maureen Umeh was able to entice Wilson to answer a few questions. How? She complimented him on his blond locks, of all things.
Check out our video and photo slide show after the jump!


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I brush, floss and use mouthwash twice a day. However, I drink coffee and/or tea at least once a day, if not more, and unfortunately caffeine stains teeth. Every once in a while I like to use whitening strips. In the past I’ve used Crest White Strips, but I have very sensitive gums and Crest White Strips would always hurt my gums. I wanted to try a new teeth whitener brand, and heard good reviews about Smile Brilliant, so I tried them out.
Smile Brilliant’s technique is similar to a professional whitening treatment you can get at your Dentist, but is way more affordable. Smile Brilliant sends you a kit in the mail with everything you need. After you receive your kit, the first step is to make your dental impressions. You create molds in two different trays. One mold goes onto your upper teeth, and the other mold goes on your bottom teeth. The molds make your dental impressions and then you send off to Smile Brilliant’s lab. Smile Brilliant’s lab crafts your dental impressions, which are clear versions of your top and bottom teeth. Check out benefits of choosing custom fitted teeth whitening trays here.
Custom Teeth Whitening Trays
After you get back your custom fitted whitening trays, you can start whitening your teeth! In the kit you have professional teeth whitening gel and desensitizing gel. Since Smile Brilliant create molds to your actual teeth, you can control how much whitening paste you use. The instructions say you can keep the whitening gel on for 45 minutes to 3 hours based on sensitivity. I kept them on for about 30 to 45 minutes. Another thing I love about Smile Brilliant is that you whiten both the front and back of your teeth. If you’re looking for a manchester teeth straightening centre, contact 360 Dental Care now for a free consultation.
Caters to Teeth Sensitivity
Smile Brilliant has desensitizing gel that helps with teeth sensitivity after using the whitening gel. Since my teeth always hurt after I use Crest White Strips I was expecting my teeth to hurt really bad after using Smile Brilliant’s whitening gel. However, their whitening gel did not bother my gums at all so I rarely used the desensitizing gel. I also thinking having the trays to fit your teeth help because the whitening gel really only touches your teeth and not your gums. Smile Brilliant breaks down teeth sensitivity here.
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Please let me know if you have any questions!


Politics: Cleaning House
LAST DECEMBER 31st, Josh Shapiro and his wife, Lori, tired from a late flight back from L.A. the night before, were being, the young legislator recalls, “a lame married couple. We were going to get Chinese food and watch the ball drop.” After collecting their New Year’s takeout, the couple was driving through an Abington intersection when Shapiro remembered a moment a few years before, when he had been standing on that very corner alongside campaign volunteers, waving SHAPIRO ’04 placards. One passing motorist who gave a thumbs-up was driving a car with a state legislator’s license plate. When Shapiro got back to his campaign headquarters, he had looked it up. It belonged to Dennis O’Brien, a veteran Republican rep.
Remembering O’Brien, Shapiro considered the daunting political puzzle he and his fellow Democrats were now facing in Harrisburg. And something in his brain clicked.
Two days later, the Harrisburg legislature had an unprecedented new configuration, with a Republican Speaker — Denny O’Brien — handpicked by the Democratic majority. John Perzel, the GOP machine boss who had become a metaphor for business-as-usual politics in the state capitol, and was highly regarded for his strategic acumen, had been checkmated by an eager-beaver second-term Montgomery County state rep from the other side of the aisle. “You had a kid from an affluent family from Abington, with a great educational background — in high school, college and law school — against a guy with a limited education, a street fighter,” a longtime Harrisburg observer says about the square-off. “And Perzel’s got to sit back in his den one day and say, ‘Jesus, that little fucker did a great job.’”
NEWS FLASH: Harrisburg is a hidebound, partisan swamp. It was here that elected officials thought voting themselves a hefty pay raise (up to 34 percent) under cover of night (at 2 a.m.), hours after taking a machete to Medicaid for the old and infirm, and then going on vacation for two months, would be a good idea. It is here that comb-overed titan of probity Mark Cohen remains a state rep despite notoriously expensing to taxpayers, in a single year, $28,000 in books for his own reading pleasure, including AOL for Dummies, a biography of Mark Twain, and The Little Book of Stress. And it is Harrisburg that incubated the walking 139-count indictment known as Senator Vince Fumo. Seniority, in this place, is earned as predictably and mechanically as civil-service promotions. Against this tawdry backdrop, the emergence of a gutsy, savvy sophomore lawmaker who could make Big Things happen by forging a political compromise without compromising his own ideals was, sadly when you think about it, something bordering on radical. O’Brien quickly named Shapiro to the invented position of deputy speaker, and appointed him co-chair of the new, bipartisan Speaker’s Commission on Reform. Harrisburg isn’t a place given to phenoms and rising stars, but those are the kinds of words people use to describe Shapiro. “He’s someone clearly capable of running for Congress,” says Neil Oxman, who served as Shapiro’s media consultant when he first ran for state office in 2004. “And I certainly think he could run statewide. He’s in it for the right reasons.”
On an Indian-summer September morning back in his district northeast of Philadelphia, Shapiro drives his black Jeep Laredo toward an assisted-living facility where he’s due to speak. As he drives, he talks about an old warehouse, on Route 611, that developers and civic leaders have been at odds over; yesterday, Shapiro brought the conflicting parties together to work through their differences. “At 11, I stood up to leave, to speak at a memorial service for a fallen police officer,” Shapiro says, “and everyone else stood up. I said, ‘Where are you going? When I come back, let’s hammer out an answer.’ And in the end, we shook hands, and we had a deal. So it was a great meeting, and hopefully an example of what we can do with 611.”
For a guy who engineered a coup, Shapiro doesn’t look especially Machiavellian. With his clean shave, product-glossed hair, rimless glasses and crisp shirts, he seems both older and younger than his 34 years. Older in his intensity and seriousness of purpose. Younger physically: Even today, Oxman likes to needle Shapiro about his baby-faced appearance in his campaign literature, chiding him to lose “the bar mitzvah photo.”
When he arrives at the Sunrise assisted-living facility, Shapiro strides into the building confidently — confidently, at least in part, because he knows he has something the senior citizens here want. When he was desperate for every vote he could get, back in 2004, Shapiro promised he’d bring these people doughnuts if they elected him. Now, every time he comes, it’s with a box of Dunkin’ Donuts under his arm.
Before handing out the treats, though, Shapiro wants to tell his constituents what he’s been doing for them up Harrisburg way. He paces the room energetically, bantering with the crowd of around 30, many in wheelchairs, and not all of whom are all there. After talking about how his six-year-old daughter Sophia started kindergarten the day before, Shapiro tells the group he’s “trying to reform Harrisburg” and “change the way government works.” He talks about a bill he has introduced to make Pennsylvania’s investments “terror-free,” and about making the state less dependent on foreign oil. He mentions Dennis O’Brien, then fields questions on topics ranging from gun control to absentee ballots. How does he get along with Governor Rendell? “Very well. I’m working closely with him on energy and reform.”
When an older man addresses him as “Congressman,” Shapiro smiles and says, “Thank you for the promotion.” Then he passes a tray filled with 100 Munchkins.
THE ONLY TIME Josh Shapiro ever lost an election, he was running for student president of Akiba, the Jewish day school in Merion. It wasn’t even close, according to the classmate who beat him. “He was all style, no substance,” says Ami Eden, now a Manhattan journalist, whose all-gravitas high-school campaign consisted of a poster depicting himself as Indiana Jones and a promise to get an ice-cream vending machine for the campus. (The trash-talking Eden insists that his real competition in that election was Hannah Richman; Shapiro was merely “a third-party spoiler candidate. He basically carried the eighth-grade girls, the New Kids on the Block crowd. Those kids would have voted for me, but he was cuter. Cuter in a New Kids sort of way.”)
Other than that blip, Shapiro has always been the Youngest Guy in the Room. In seventh grade, building on his mother’s involvement with the movement to help Soviet Jews emigrate, Shapiro founded an international pen-pal organization to connect young Americans with their refusenik peers. Shapiro’s own pen pal, Avi Goldstein (whose family were the most famous of the refuseniks), made it out just in time to attend Shapiro’s bar mitzvah, and the event was covered by local media. The Jewish Federation of Cleveland flew Shapiro out to speak about the cause. His freshman year at the University of Rochester, after a fateful day on which he was cut from the Division III basketball team and failed a calculus exam (a requirement for pre-med), Shapiro decided to run for student senate, then aimed higher. While still a freshman, he was elected president of the entire school. “I knocked on every single door on campus,” he recalls. After college, Shapiro moved to D.C. to work for a series of legislators, and by the time he was 24, after just a few months
working for Representative Joe Hoeffel, he was running the Congressman’s office. “I’m pretty sure he was the youngest chief of staff on Capitol Hill,” Hoeffel says. “I was always in rooms with older people,” Shapiro says. “I learned how to be respectful yet assertive.”
Hoeffel sensed that his aide had higher aspirations, and in 2004, Shapiro ran for Pennsylvania state rep in the district he had grown up in. He was a Democratic unknown up against GOP candidate Jon Fox, who had something like 99 percent name-recognition in a district that was 50 percent Republican. Shapiro’s first campaign poll showed him down 40 points. Remembering his college strategy, Shapiro knocked on 18,000 doors, went to every community event, raised three-quarters of a million dollars, and eventually won by nine points — all without going negative against Fox. The key to victory was his ability to find common ground with people who might not normally have voted for him. Shapiro’s father is the chairman of pediatrics at Abington Memorial Hospital; Shapiro bridged the partisan divide by reaching out to doctors, backing stricter penalties for lawyers who file frivolous malpractice suits. In his campaign literature, Shapiro put it this way: “My plan is neither Democratic nor Republican — it’s common sense.” This same instinct for aisle-spanning solutions would lead to the Shapiro-driven coup this past January.
SHAPIRO AND SOME colleagues had been disappointed, in 2005, in their efforts to expand environmental spending, and they recognized that as long as the chamber was ruled by a Republican boss like Perzel, they had zero shot at getting their agenda through. Shapiro was acutely aware of the impotence of minority rule: His tenure on Capitol Hill had occurred during the 12-year stretch when Republicans dominated Congress. In the Pennsylvania House session that was about to begin at the start of 2007, the Democrats had a mere one-vote margin over the Republicans. And just before New Year’s, Shapiro got a call from Democratic leader Bill DeWeese, who was hoping to become Speaker of the House. DeWeese told him a Democrat was going to defect — costing DeWeese the speakership.
Shapiro scrambled to try to find a way the Democrats could salvage the situation. “My motivation was, How can we control the agenda?” recalls Shapiro, who keeps an inspirational Abe Lincoln quote under the glass of his district-office desktop: “The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew.”
Thinking that O’Brien might be amenable to some sort of compromise, Shapiro placed a call. His next was to DeWeese.
“What’s up, Scout?” said DeWeese, who calls the young legislator that because “in the Old Testament, I believe, Joshua was the main scout Moses sent into Canaan.”
“I think we’ve got Denny O’Brien,” Shapiro said.
DeWeese’s joy was uncontained. “He’s going to vote for me for Speaker?”
“No,” Shapiro said. “He wants you to vote for him.”
DeWeese really had no choice, and quickly signed on to the idea. “DeWeese was never going to be Speaker again,” says a veteran Harrisburg player. “Do you want to be the minority leader the rest of your life and get Perzel’s drippings, or do you want to be the majority leader?” DeWeese says that in wooing O’Brien, it was the promise of energetic bipartisan leadership of a reform effort by Shapiro and David Steil, a Republican representative, that “was the allure that brought him within our ambit.”
The next day, Shapiro, DeWeese, Dwight Evans and O’Brien met at the Conshohocken Marriott to hash out the deal, with Governor Ed Rendell on speakerphone. The Democrats wanted O’Brien to become a Democrat, but O’Brien was firm about staying a Republican; eventually, the Democrats acceded. The next day, the coup went down largely as planned. O’Brien was in, Perzel was out.
DeWeese says Perzel knew what was coming “about as much as Admiral Nimitz did Pearl Harbor,” but adds that “to Perzel’s inestimable credit, he was very gracious. He saw me a week or two later in one of Harrisburg’s famous eateries, and shook my hand with a shit-eating grin and said, ‘I’da done it to you.’”
IT’S THE MIDDLE of the afternoon, and in the conference room at Shapiro’s Abington district office, a parade of constituents calls on him. His slot on the appropriations committee has enabled him to bring back close to $20 million to his district in the two and a half years since he joined the legislature, and has made him an influential player in the state’s budget process; today’s supplicants include two women from a women’s-health-services organization seeking a line item for one of their causes, and the head of a citizens’ group seeking to stop the Barnes Foundation from relocating to Center City. When a few of the visitors take shots at Rendell, Shapiro deftly sidesteps the criticisms, uttering wry variations of “That’s between you and the Governor.” Between audiences, he has a phone conversation with the treasurer of another state that has had some success divesting its pension funds from companies that do business in terror-sponsoring countries. When one of the visiting constituents wonders aloud how Shapiro will be able to forge a particular political deal, Shapiro grins and says, “I’m very good at locking people in my office and not letting them out until they decide.”
Still, the work at this level is hardly glamorous: His efforts at revitalizing the district have so far helped yield a coffee shop in an old SEPTA station. He’s working with PennDOT to try to have an aging bridge in the district moved up on the priority list of infrastructure to modernize, and has brought together a coalition of local businessmen and other stakeholders to undertake a thorough study of ways to reawaken the 611 corridor. The day ends with 15 people converging in the conference room of Shapiro’s district office for a presentation by the firm commissioned to do the study.
Married to his high-school sweetheart, and prone to talking earnestly about his family (as when he relates how he wept the day before as he sent Sophia off to kindergarten), Shapiro would seem to be the kind of postcard-perfect politician who surely must, in secret, wear nipple clamps and worship Satan. But those who know him say the smart, hardworking, reasonable, non-robotic person you see is who Shapiro is — ambitious without being ruthless, principled without being rigid, “manipulative in a good way,” substantive without being ideological. “If there’s criticism from anywhere, I’d say it’s jealousy and resentment, not left-right,” notes a longtime Harrisburg observer. “The lunatic fringes on both sides of the aisle don’t like to see quality. They just like to complain.”
An observant Conservative Jew, Shapiro manages, in a profession virtually defined by its blur of dinners featuring rubber chicken as the primary entrée, to keep kosher. Even when the legislature is in session, he makes the two-hour drive home many nights so he can wake up with Sophia and her two-year-old brother, Jonah. “That’s something that’s marginal in politics,” says John Saler, a lobbyist with the law firm Stradley Ronon, where Shapiro is of counsel. “There are a lot of chameleons out there. He’s not one of them.” (Mercifully, Shapiro isn’t devoid of human failings: As I rode with him on a drive through the 153rd in his dual-kid-seat-equipped SUV, t
he proud sponsor of a new bill aimed at “disconnecting distracted drivers” by outlawing handheld cell-phone use while operating a motor vehicle conspicuously thumbed his BlackBerry.)
Shapiro’s interest in trying to do the right thing in a world of gray may help explain his fascination with the post-Apocalypse cult TV series Jericho, created and written by his brother-in-law. Mystery surrounds the motives of one of the show’s main characters, Robert Hawkins, and Shapiro would regularly call up his sister and brother-in-law after each new episode and demand: “Is Hawkins good or bad?” His brother-in-law would respond, “Are you sure you want to know?” Shapiro would invariably sigh and admit that he didn’t. When Shapiro was reelected last year, the actor who plays Hawkins taped a congratulatory video to be played at his campaign headquarters.
Shapiro, along with some like-minded colleagues, has been a blast of oxygen in the smoke-choked back rooms of quid-pro-quo Harrisburg. Still, it is a testament to our lowered expectations for politicians in general, or for those in Pennsylvania in particular, that he has become a star partly by doing things that in a more perfect world would appear standard among politicians — working hard and taking his job seriously, sending long, substantive, text-heavy newsletters to his constituents, holding 30 town meetings in his first two years in office. This puts him in a weirdly circular situation: The very Harrisburg mediocrity that has allowed him to make a name for himself will, if he’s successful in his reform efforts, cease to exist.
Not that that would mean the end of Josh Shapiro. No one seriously thinks his ambitions end in the state legislature, though Shapiro is careful not to get ahead of himself, at least out loud. “All you can do is do the best at the position you’re in,” he says, “and be prepared.”


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The aim of this study was evaluate the mechanical effect over teeth and bone structures of surgically assisted rapid maxillary expansion (SARME) in photoelastic skull analogs by comparing stress produced during Hyrax activation and a custom-made hyrax appliance. Two photoelastic analogs were fabricated by use of birefringent materials to simulate an adult skull that contained teeth, bone and maxillary sinus. A hyrax appliance was cemented to the first premolars and first molars. A custom made hyrax device with bands cemented to the first premolars and first molars were united to the cuspid, bicuspid first and second molars by means of a passively adapted 0.22″ rectangular orthodontic wire and brackets. SARME was simulated by subsequent cuts of the lateral maxillary wall, midpalatine suture and separation of the pterygomaxillary junction. After each osteotomy, the appliances were incrementally activated. Resulting stress patterns were recorded photographically in the field of a plane polariscope. Before osteotomies, the activation of the appliances distributed stress through the anchoring teeth and alveolar bone. Stress concentrated at the maxillary tuberosity and pterygoid plates and around the central incisors for both appliances. The custom-made appliance showed a wider distribution of force between the alveolar bone. Following simulation of the osteotomies, there was a marked decrease in stress intensity. In conclusion the use of a splint produces a better distribution of stress around teeth, which means less force applied over each teeth when compared to the hyrax-type appliance. Separation of the pterygomaxillary junction caused a decrease in stress over anchorage teeth.
Conflict of interest: None declared.