| Mr. Handy Person
The next day, we even called a plumber to get some input. He thought it might have been a dead rodent in the wall. It wasn’t. Anyway, we decided to make a shepherd’s pie one night. I went to the store while she started cooking. When I got back, she was not in a good mood and said, "We’re not having shepherd’s pie tonight." What had happened was this: We had previously purchased a bag of potatoes from a local market, and in that bag was the most rotten potato we’d ever seen. I know potatoes eventually shrivel and grow eyes, but this one was literally mush and mold. In hindsight, we learned a lesson. And the house got cleaned and smelled good again. We don’t plan on shopping at that market again. — Dennis, Griswold, Conn. Dear Dennis: Mr. HandyPerson’s initial encounter with a putrid potato in his own kitchen many years ago left such a memorable impression on him that years later when a friend complained about an unknown bad smell in her kitchen, one brief sniff was enough to get him to ask her (correctly) to check her potatoes.
Japan household shift from safe deposits a slow one
Households with more than two persons held an average 12.59 million yen ($117,400) of financial assets in 2007, up from 11.19 million yen the year before, according to the annual survey conducted in October and November. Deposits accounted for 53 percent of financial assets, down from 54 percent in 2006. Securities holdings -- including stocks, bonds and investment trusts -- rose to 19 percent in 2007 from 16 percent the year before. Nearly half of respondents, or 46.5 percent, cited safety as the top priority in choosing financial assets. Liquidity and profitability were cited by 28 percent and 16.5 percent, respectively. In the past few years Japanese investors have turned to foreign assets like New Zealand bonds and Chinese stocks, trying to earn better returns than they can get at home where interest rates are very low and the equity market has underperformed others.
Ban on smoking becomes Md. law
Ellicott City resident Carole Fisher was also there. A cancer and tuberculosis survivor, Fisher was a smoker for 25 years before she stopped in the 1970s. But doctors told her that she paid the price for her smoking when an aggressive strain of tuberculosis left her fighting for her life in 1997.
"I didn't want my seven grandchildren to go through what I did," Fisher said, wearing a bright yellow "I'd [heart] a smoke-free Maryland" sticker on her lapel. "And now they won't have to deal with secondhand smoke. They can live a healthy life."
Jane McConnel, Paula Lawry and Janet Pfeffer, health advocates from Talbot County who have canvassed the state over the past five years convincing Howard and Prince George's officials to adopt similar bans, were front and center at the signing too.
Rising diesel costs could put TriMet in a bind
Rising diesel costs could force TriMet to dig deep into its reserve funds and possibly increase fares. TriMet's board of directors approved a plan to deal with increasing fuel costs Wednesday morning that includes using at least $1.5 million of its contingency fund and, as a last resort, raising fares for the fourth time in three years. So far a fare increase is just a possibility, said Peggy LaPoint, TriMet spokeswoman, and no amount has been determined. The board's plan would use contingency funds first, then increase fares if fuel costs continued to go up, she said. This is the second time in two years that TriMet has taken steps to deal with rising fuel costs. In October 2005 the agency adopted its first "corrective action plan" to cover a $4.5 million budget shortfall due to increasing diesel prices.
Chamber of Commerce celebrates Pacifica's finest
Celebrating the best of Pacifica businesses and community members who have volunteered extensively, the Pacifica Chamber of Commerce held its annual awards ceremony during a gala banquet in the Bounty Room at the Lighthouse Hotel Thursday Jan. 24. Neil Sofia, the 2007 Chamber board president passed the gavel to incoming president Mildred Owen, who happily began her tenure. "It's an unusual honor for an arts person to be named as president," Owen said. "My goal is to bring more businesses into the Chamber and to grow. We don't need any negativity. I want to draw in the people who feel alienated and out of the loop." Helen James earned the Fuchsia Award for Lifetime Achievement. Gail Benton Shoemaker, who introduced James, told the .
Dramatic Plan for Language Programs
He portrayed the ideal mission of these programs as providing new professors (or other professionals) with a deep understanding of culture and current societies that goes far beyond the literary tradition. "Narrative isn’t an end in itself," he said. For an association where members have historically been more focused on the meaning of Cervantes or Pirandello than that of the Euro or a united Germany, these are potentially fighting words. And Geisler stressed that the changes needed couldn’t be accomplished with a smattering of film or media studies. In fact he said he was not impressed with the "audiovisual creep" already seen in some programs. Rather he said that the "nice and cuddly" study of literature had to be revised based on "a re-evaluation of the entire content." Specifically, he said that the Ph.D.
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As technology becomes the true enabler in allowing HR professionals to focus on strategy, IHRIM and their members are key contributors to helping the senior HR professional become more strategic and accountable. 2004-04-25 The Last Generation of Chainsmokers -- A new bad-boy writer lights up Lit-FictionThe Last Generation of Chainsmokers, the smashing debut novel of Stephen Creagh Uys, earns its writer a seat in literatures holding cell, next to Jack Kerouac, Bukowski, and Hubert Selby Jr. In this stunningly honest, heartbreaking and hilarious tale of besotted lovers, Uys (pronounced Ace) reveals the dark passion of alcoholics with an integrity and intensity not seen since classic works like Under the Volcano and Junkie. His novel shows a deep understanding of the brutality of modern life and the beauty it can lend to modern literature.
Olivia Newton-John's fire escape
Celebrities who live in the area include Jennifer Aniston, Pierce Brosnan, Sting, Mel Gisbon, Bill Murray, Robert Redford, Courteney Cox and her husband David Arquette, Tom Hanks, Richard Gere, Goldie Hawn, Sean Penn and David Duchovny. Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger has declared a state of emergency in seven counties, and fire-fighters don't expect to be able to extinguish the raging blaze until Tuesday (23.10.07) or Wednesday (24.10.07). Malibu resident Jim Palmer, 61, said: "I looked up towards the canyon and everything was just red - it was absolutely terrifying." .
Stolen cars seized in Tottenham
A number of other stolen cars were found during the search on February 20. Five men aged between 27 and 36 were arrested at the scene. Investigating officer, Detective Constable Jordan Ford, of Haringey Motor Vehicle Squad said: "This appeared to be a highly organised team exporting stolen cars abroad. Haringey Motor Vehicle Squad have smashed this criminal operation." .
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