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Despite the shutdown, federal oil and gas employees are hard at work.
American shale a success but OPEC still 800 pound gorilla.
Falling oil prices could hit U.S. oil producers.
A hard look at Barack Obama’s record on U.S. energy.
America is the world's biggest energy producer.
Oil slips after U.S. EIA report on oil inventories.
So today I was going to do a round-up of agency Christmas...uh...holiday cards, you know, to highlight the creative freedom such a moment offers an agency which, all year long, is usually encumbered by pesky little things like creative briefs and client approval processes. But, no, I'm feeling a bit grinchy today, so I'm going in a different direction. Let's highlight the lamest holiday card originating from an agency. Yeah, that's much more fun.
I'm looking at you, DiGennaro.
But first at least let's make note that some agencies at least tried to be a little inventive or original. Arnold leveraged IBM Watson to power SMS-fueled, artificial intelligence-enhanced, programmatic videos of Santa delivering holiday wishes to passersby in Boston. Sister agency Havas used the same IBM Watson tech to create customized Spotify playlists based on Facebook data.
London-based Soul employed Brussels sprouts to power Christmas carols. Yeah, I know, it's weird. Check it out.
ABC Creative Group re-branded Santa with a cheesy video documentary. DiMassimo Goldstein created a collection of politically-themed Bipartisan Holiday Cards designed to help everyone calm down after that contentious election cycle, stop unfriending each other and realize that despite your political proclivities and how you voted, life will go on and friends will always be friends.
messaging. Just a bunch of agency types frozen in place in holiday-themed poses.
Now we all know that most everything that comes out of an agency is a bastardized version of someone else's creativity but, really, Digennaro, this was your time to shine! Not copy the dude who invented the thing.
What you do with a tax refund is up to you, but here are some ideas that may make your refund twice as valuable.
What you do with a tax refund is up to you, but below are some ideas that may make your refund twice as valuable.
Perhaps you’d like to use your tax refund to start an education fund for your children or grandchildren, contribute to a retirement savings account for yourself, or save for a rainy day. A financial concept known as the Rule of 72 can give you a rough estimate of how long it might take to double what you initially save. Simply divide 72 by the annual rate you hope your money will earn.
If stashing your refund away in a savings account or using it to pay bills sounds appealing, go ahead and splurge on something for yourself. But remember, you don’t necessarily have to spend it all. Instead, you could put half of it toward something practical and spend the other half on something fun.
The IRS makes splitting your refund easy. When you file your income taxes and choose direct deposit for your refund, you can decide to have it deposited among two or even three accounts, in any proportion you want. Qualified accounts include savings and checking accounts, IRAs, Coverdell Education Savings Accounts, health savings accounts, Archer MSAs and TreasuryDirect online accounts.
Using your refund to pay down credit card debt or a loan with a high interest rate could enable you to pay it off early and save on interest charges. The time and money you’ll save depend on your balance, the interest rate, and other factors such as your monthly payment.
Giving to charity has its own rewards, but Uncle Sam may also reward you for gifts you make now; when you file your taxes next year. If you itemize, you may be able to deduct contributions made to a qualified charity. You can also help your favorite charity or nonprofit reap double rewards by finding out whether your gift qualifies for a match. With a matching gift program, individuals, corporations, foundations and employers offer to match gifts the charitable organization receives, usually on a dollar-for-dollar basis. Terms and conditions apply, so contact the charitable organization or your employer’s human resources department to find out more about available matching gift programs.
The fast-food giant is trying to appeal to health-conscious clients by cutting out preservatives and fake colors.
McDonald's is ditching artificial ingredients in six of its most popular burgers. Effective immediately, the buns, American cheese slices, and Big Mac special sauce will no longer contain preservatives and fake colors, and patties will be made from 100 percent pure beef, with only salt and pepper added. The only exception is the pickle, which will remain artificially preserved for the time being.
"Customers are becoming more demanding around really knowing what’s in their food. This development demonstrates our commitment to leading with the customer and building a better McDonald's."
While the changes may seem small, they add up due to McDonald's sheer size and influence. The company has 37,000 locations worldwide, with 14,000 in the United States, so when it makes menu changes, it has a major ripple effect throughout suppliers and the fast-food industry. Announcing that it would use only cage-free eggs in the U.S. and Canada by 2025 caused "an earthquake in the egg industry." And when it nixed margarine in its Egg McMuffins, suppliers "went into overdrive to make and ship millions of pounds of butter across the country."
The company has also transitioned to making fresh patties to order in most of its U.S. locations, cutting high-fructose corn syrup out of its buns, removing artificial preservatives from its Chicken McNuggets, and adding healthier beverage options like milk to its Happy Meals.
The move toward natural, pure ingredients is something to celebrate, for sure, but the way in which McDonald's serves its food still leaves much to be desired. Here on TreeHugger we've been writing a lot lately about the need to slow our eating habits, to eat fewer meals on the go, if we're serious about reducing food-related packaging waste. A meal eaten at home generates significantly less waste than one eaten for the sake of convenience in a hurry.
"It lives in my living room, on a bookshelf, under glass. It has never been refrigerated. It has remained in my apartment since the first day, under various temperature conditions: from very cold to very hot and humid. It has never turned to mold or disintegrate. The meat and fries have turned to very hard material that feels similar to plastic."
Yum! Sounds like it's about time McDonald's changed that recipe.
COSTA MESA, Calif., Jan. 30, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Anna's Linens announced today that company president Scott Gladstone has been named chief executive officer of the home furnishings and home decor retailer. The company, started in 1987 with a store in Baldwin Park, CA, was founded by Alan Gladstone, and now has more than 300 stores throughout 19 states. Alan Gladstone will remain as chairman of the board.
"Scott has spent the last eight years at Anna's bringing innovation and business improvements to many different areas of the company. I am proud of what we have done together and have absolute confidence that he is the person who can lead us in writing the next chapter of Anna's history," said Alan Gladstone.
In naming Scott to succeed him as CEO, Gladstone, 66, ensures that Anna's remains a family-run business. Currently, the company is the country's 13th largest retailer of home textiles and home decor items, with more than 3,200 employees.
The 44-year-old Gladstone, who joined Anna's Linens in 2005, was named president of the company in 2012. Prior to joining Anna's, Gladstone spent 10 years as president of the U.S. division of Sparco, a global manufacturer of automotive performance products and safety equipment.
"This company has always been about evolving; and this succession in leadership is yet another example of how we ensure that we are well positioned for the future," said Scott Gladstone. "This is undoubtedly an exciting time for Anna's and I look forward to building upon the legacy that my father has created."
Stating that he would remain Anna's leading "brand ambassador" and most vocal cheerleader, Alan Gladstone will continue to serve as chairman and work closely with the executive committee. "I'm truly excited about Anna's future under Scott's leadership," said Gladstone.
Headquartered in Costa Mesa, California, Anna's Linens was founded in 1987 by its current chairman, Alan Gladstone, and named after his mother, Anna. A family-run business with more than 3,200 employees, Anna's currently operates more than 300 stores throughout 19 states and Puerto Rico.
March 9, 2016 calendar, el niño, flooding, Forecasts, highland lakes, LCRA, memorial day weekend floods, rain, storms, texas, weather, weather tips.
The fall rains saturated the ground. In the past 48 hours Austin has seen more than two inches of rainfall in places such as the Onion Creek area, with nearly three-and-a-half inches in portions of the Hill Country where runoff feeds the Highland Lakes, which are nearly full. Rains are expected to continue through the week and, though the heaviest is probably behind us, even a relatively modest downpour in the right place could cause flooding.
El Niño is still spinning the Pacific, as well, and will likely continue into summer, producing a rainy spring, most forecasters say. And — March is traditionally a month that brings severe storms.
“When I talk about severe storms, I’m referring to storms that can produce damaging winds, large hail, tornadoes and even flooding,” Bob Rose, a meteorologist with the Lower Colorado River Authority, said in a recent blog post. Add El Nino to the typical pattern and you get a strong possibility of a spring “with more severe storms than we’ve seen” in recent years.
The LCRA manages the Highland Lakes, a series of connected bodies of water that are dammed to limit flooding. There is no imminent flood threat, according to the agency. But lakes Travis and Buchanan, which rise and fall and are often used to absorb flooding, are 95 percent and 83 percent full, respectively. A good rainfall in the right place can cause a rapid rise “with very little warning,” said John Hofmann, who oversees river operators for the agency.
That can put homes and businesses along the lakes at some risk. The agency must strike a balance during a flood between releasing water down the lakes and ensuring it does not release so much it imperils downstream communities such as Austin, which the dams were built partly to protect. The agency recently advised property owners to repair docks and generally prepare for the possibility of flooding.
Other areas are also at risk in “flash flood alley.” The soil is still plenty moist, diminishing its absorptiveness and putting places such as Southeast Austin’s Onion Creek neighborhood, which was hit with devastating floods in 2013 and 2015, at greater risk. Last Memorial Day weekend, San Marcos was hit with floods so devastating that the city still has not fully recovered. That led the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Affairs to recently take the unusual step of earmarking $25 million relief to the city, specifically, along with Houston ($67 million) and the rest of Texas ($51 million).
Though floods are generally the most devastating creation of Central Texas storms, they can bring other damaging phenomenon. One day to watch this month: March 25. That’s a day to park the cars in the garage, if possible, because the hail that tends to come in spring has a nasty habit of hitting hard that day. Three of the six costliest hail storms in Austin history, Rose said, struck on March 25.
WEST MANCHESTER TOWNSHIP, Pa.– Police are searching for a suspect that was involved in a late night armed robbery.
Officials say the robbery occurred just before 11:30 p.m. Monday night at a Domino’s Pizza location in the 300 block of South Richland Avenue.
Authorities say that a male suspect walked into the store, displayed a handgun before demanding money.
After getting an undisclosed amount of cash, the suspect took off, leaving no one injured.
Entertainment writer Ben Crandell rounds up art season featured in Guide to the Arts and recommends a couple shows.
The documentary "The Coffee Man," a profile of Sasa Sestic, an obsessed coffee producer on a journey to the 2015 World Barista Championships, will screen 8 p.m. Oct. 8 at Argyle Coffee Roasters in Fort Lauderdale. It will be preceded by a 5 p.m. cupping.
Oct. 1: Renowned tenor saxophonist Pee Wee Ellis, performing at the Arts Garage in Delray Beach, may fill between-song patter with stories of playing with James Brown and Van Morrison. ArtsGarage.org.
Oct. 2: Sunday is the last day you can see “Chuck Close Photographs,” the first comprehensive survey of the artist’s photographic work, from intimately scaled daguerreotypes to massive composite Polaroids, at NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale. NSUArtMuseum.org.
Oct 8: You can probably smell it already ... The third annual Bacon Bash, which benefits Riverwalk Fort Lauderdale and Covenant House Florida, returns to Esplanade Park in Fort Lauderdale. GoRiverwalk.com.
Chelsea residents will go to the polls Tuesday (June 25) to cast their ballots in the U.S. Senate special election.
Two candidates, Congressman Edward J. Markey of Malden, who has served in the House of Representatives for 37 years and Garrett Gomez of Cohasset are vying for the Senate seat.
The winning candidate in Tuesday’s election will take over the Senate seat previously held by John Kerry, who left the position to become the Secretary of State. “Mo” Cowan has been serving as the interim U.S. Senator.
Elizabeth Warren is the Bay State’s other U.S. Senator, having been elected to the position last November. .
Jetting Home, ridden by Darrel McHargue, was a 3 1/2-length winner of the $65,350 Baldwin Stakes Wednesday at Santa Anita.
A Santa Anita Derby nominee, Jetting Home paid $8.00, $4.60 and $3.20 after coming from far off the pace. His time for 6 1/2 furlongs on a sloppy main track was 1:17 2/5.
Royal Treasure, who was caught by the winner midway down the homestretch, finished second and returned $5.60 and $3.60. Another 3 1/2 lengths back was El Corazon, which paid $3.80 to show.
B.A. Adjustment, the favorite, finished last the six-horse field.
When the moon passes in front of the sun during Monday's eclipse California will lose enough solar energy to power more than 1.5 million homes, a figure that underscores the state's growing reliance on energy from the sun.
California has rapidly deployed renewable energy and now produces 40 percent of the nation's solar power. The eclipse presents an unusual challenge for those who manage the state's power grid because the solar energy will drop off and re-emerge more quickly than during usual conditions involving clouds or nightfall.
For about three hours Monday, there will be diminished solar power available.
Grid managers say they've been preparing extensively for more than a year and are confident nobody will lose power. They'll ramp up other sources of power, mainly hydroelectric and natural gas, as the sky darkens and ramp them back down as the sun re-emerges.
"Our grid operators are going to be functioning very similar to a director of an orchestra, trying to keep everything flowing," said Lynsey Paulo, a spokeswoman for Pacific Gas & Electric, which serves electric customers in Central and Northern California.
The grid requires power supply and demand to match precisely. Grid managers now have years of experience adjusting power sources when clouds and gusts affect solar and wind energy, which are much less predictable than a solar eclipse.
During the eclipse, however, the sky will darken and lighten two or three times as fast as a usual, according to the California Independent System Operator, which runs the grid for most of California and a small portion of Nevada.
Solar energy now makes up only about 1 percent of the U.S. power supply, but it's far higher in some areas. On Monday morning solar supplied about 30 percent of the power for the California ISO, said Deane Lyon, a shift manager. Solar's precise share fluctuates constantly based on weather and demand.
California ISO projects it will need to replace just over 6,000 megawatts of capacity during the peak of the eclipse, about two-thirds from lost production at commercial solar farms and the rest due to higher demand from people and businesses that would otherwise draw from rooftop solar panels. The Solar Energy Industry Association says California solar panels produce enough energy to power 258 homes on average.
Other areas of the country also will take a hit, albeit a smaller one. PJM Interconnection, the nation's largest grid operator which manages the power supply in 13 Eastern states and Washington, D.C., anticipates replacing up to 2,500 megawatts of solar capacity.
The biggest impact will be in North Carolina and New Jersey, the Eastern states with the most solar energy, company officials say.
Xcel Energy, which manages more than 1,000 megawatts of solar capacity in Minnesota, Colorado and New Mexico, said the company was planning for the eclipse the same way it does for a storm or cloud cover. Officials said there would be no impact on electric service.
Grid managers have caught a few breaks. The vast majority of the nation's solar panels are outside the "path of totality" where the sun will be completely obscured, so most solar panels will lose some but not all of their energy source. And in the West, the region most reliant on solar energy, the eclipse will pass in the morning, a period of relatively low energy demand.
Still, California regulators are asking people and businesses to conserve power during the eclipse to reduce the need for power from fossil fuels that release greenhouse gases.
Many states are adopting renewable portfolio standards that require an increasing share of energy to come from wind, solar, hydroelectric and other power sources that don't use fossil fuels. California requires utilities to get a third of their energy from renewables by 2020 and half by 2030. Hawaii has set a goal of reaching 100 percent renewables by 2045.
The eclipse highlights the need for energy storage technology to balance the fluctuations in supply that come with renewable energy, said Daniel Kammen, professor and chair of the Energy & Resources Group at the University of California, Berkeley.
"It's building us toward a point where we can run the economy off renewable energy and store the excess in a diverse range of batteries," Kammen said.
The last total solar eclipse in the United States was in 1979, before solar power was connected to the country's power grid.
C. Sara L. Minard, executive professor in the D’Amore-McKim School of Business, is one of many in the Northeastern community practicing “mindfulness” with students, focusing on the present moment.
C. Sara L. Minard, D’Amore-McKim School of Business executive professor, has been practicing mindfulness with students in her “Impact Investing and Social Finance” class, an experience she feels is necessary to begin their time together as one. Mindfulness is the practice of paying attention to the present moment.
According to the New York Times, this type of meditation isn’t necessarily about wandering thoughts, but is based more on the idea of being in the moment, whether in actual thought, emotions or even sensation.
Minard believes beginning class with a few minutes of mindfulness exercise has a definite positive impact on both the energy and receptiveness of students.
He said he wants the community to have confidence in its judges.
“I hope to continue that,” Mincey said.
The Macon circuit is comprised of Bibb, Crawford and Peach counties.
It’s unclear when Mincey will be sworn into office.
He is a graduate of the Georgia Tech and Mercer University’s law school, according to a news release issued Thursday afternoon.
Mincey and his wife have four children. They live in Macon.
A new national collaboration of asthma genetics researchers has revealed a novel gene associated with the disease in African-Americans, according to a new scientific report.
By pooling data from nine independent research groups looking for genes associated with asthma, the newly-created EVE Consortium identified a novel gene association specific to populations of African descent. In addition, the new study confirmed the significance of four gene associations recently reported by a European asthma genetics study.
The findings, published in Nature Genetics, are a promising first step for a new national scientific effort to hunt for the genetic roots of asthma.
Genome-wide association studies, or GWAS, are a popular method used by geneticists to find genetic variants associated with elevated risk for a particular disease. Genetic data from a group of patients with the target disease are compared to data from a control group without the disease, and researchers look for variants that appear significantly more often in the disease group.
But the ability, or power, of GWAS to find disease-associated variants is dependent on the number of participants enrolled in a study. To find variants involved in complex diseases, thousands of participants may be necessary–a logistical and financial demand often beyond the capacity of an individual research team.
Spurred by support from the NHLBI and the National Institutes of Health, research groups from the nine institutions discussed pooling their GWAS data to create a larger, shared dataset. But it wasn’t until they received a $5.6 million grant from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 that the EVE Consortium could officially form and hire the necessary personnel to execute the collaboration.
In addition to increased power to find variants associated with asthma risk, the EVE dataset comprised a more ethnically diverse population than similar efforts in other countries by including European Americans, African Americans/African Caribbeans, and Latinos.
The diverse sample enabled the researchers to discover a novel genetic association with asthma observed exclusively in African-Americans and African-Caribbeans. The polymorphism, located in a gene called PYHIN1, was not present in European-Americans and may be the first asthma susceptibility gene variant specific to populations of African descent.
Four more gene variants were found significant for asthma risk by the meta-analysis: the 17q21 locus, and IL1RL1, TSLP, and IL33 genes. All four of these sites were concurrently identified in a separate dataset by the GABRIEL Study of more than 40,000 European asthma cases published last year in the New England Journal of Medicine. Confirming these associations in the more diverse EVE population offers additional evidence that the gene variants are significant across ethnicities, the researchers reported.
“We were able to show that almost all of the genes other than PYHIN1 are trans-ethnic and important in all of the groups,” Ober said.
The Nature Genetics study is only the first fruit of the EVE Consortium mission to understand the genetics of asthma. A deeper meta-analysis looking at a longer list of gene variants is currently underway, and individual groups within the consortium are using the pooled dataset to answer additional questions. Topics of interest include gene-environment interactions, genetic associations with asthma-associated phenotypes such as allergies and lung function, and the role of tissue-specific gene expression.
The paper, “Meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies of asthma in ethnically diverse North American populations” by Dara Torgerson et al., will be published online July 31, 2011 by Nature Genetics.

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