Thursday, January 31, 2013

Leadership expansion at Tribal DDB and RAPP India

Saugata Bagchi and Bijoe George, vice-presidents at Tribal DDB Mudra and RAPP India, respectively, will have expanded roles.

In a bid to strengthen and grow its operations in the South, Tribal DDB and RAPP India have expanded the leadership roles. Saugata Bagchi, vice-president, Tribal DDB, will take on additional charge of the West and South operations. Similarly, RAPP India vice-president Bijoe George will look after the West and South operations of the agency.

George will, however, continue to lead the HP business, a key client of RAPP India. The additional roles will be effective from this month. Both will continue to report to Tribal DDB and RAPP India president, Venkat Mallik.

Bagchi says that the agency has a strong presence in the western market and with improved digital skill sets, it will now focus on the development and growth plan for its southern operations, being serviced by its Bengaluru office. "Our focus was to build the agency in Mumbai last year. Although we had operations in Bengaluru, it was in the back of our mind. This year onwards, we intend to grow the southern market," he adds.

George says that given RAPP's legacy in the data analytic space, combined with its media-neutral offering, clients across verticals will find its proposition a compelling one.

Mallik says, "The new structure with expanded roles for Bijoe and Saugata will help us leverage their skills better and build on the progress we made in 2012. This year should see us deepening our capabilities and delivering higher quality business and creative solutions for our clients."

RAPP and Tribal DDB are part of the DDB Mudra Group and the Omnicom Group Worldwide.

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Source: http://www.afaqs.com/news/story.html?sid=36616_Leadership+expansion+at+Tribal+DDB+and+RAPP+India&lt=rss

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David Cameron in Algeria for north Africa terrorism threat talks

In Amenas
Algerian army trucks near the In Amenas gas plant, the site of this month?s hostage crisis (Picture: AP)

David Cameron is due to arrive in Algeria for talks on the growing terror threat in north Africa, and to pay his respects to the victims of this month?s gas facility hostage crisis in which six Britons died.

He is set to meet with his Algerian counterpart Abdelmalek Sellal in Algiers, who angered Mr Cameron and other world leaders by not informing them in advance that troops were storming the In Amenas gas plant, part-owned by BP.

David Cameron
David Cameron is also due to attend a development conference in Monrovia, Liberia (Picture: Reuters)

Thirty-seven foreigners, at least ten Algerians and dozens of terrorists died in the military operation at the Sahara facility.

Mr Cameron, who is set to become the first serving British prime minister to visit Algeria since its independence from France in 1962, is expected to call for a ?tough, patient and intelligent response? to tackling the threat from terrorism in the region in talks that will also involve the country?s president Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

Abdelmalek Sellal
Algerian prime minister Abdelmalek Sellal discusses the hostage crisis with journalists (Picture: EPA)

Yesterday it was confirmed that up to 330 UK troops will assist French military operations in neighbouring Mali, where al-Qaeda-linked militants seized the north of the country last year.

Around 240 military personnel will train the Malian military and prepare soldiers from other African countries, while 90 others could provide air support and a roll-on, roll-off ferry service will help transport French equipment.

Mokhtar Belmokhtar
Mokhtar Belmokhtar, the leader of the al-Mulathameen Brigade, which claimed to have carried out the In Amenas attack (Picture: AFP/Getty)

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, last week, Mr Cameron said: ?I believe we are in the midst of a long struggle against murderous terrorists and a poisonous ideology that supports them.

?Just as we?ve successfully put pressure on al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan, so al-Qaeda franchises have been growing for years in Yemen, in Somalia and across parts of north Africa, places that have suffered hideously through hostage taking, terrorism and crime.?

Source: http://metro.co.uk/2013/01/30/david-cameron-in-algeria-for-north-africa-terrorism-threat-talks-3374059/

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Local organization at 10-year milestone of mailing care packages to troops in war zones

It started out with a few yellow ribbons along a main street in town, and then about a dozen care packages to soldiers which she assembled on her dining room table.

Ten years ago, Sindy Biederman and American Canyon Troop Support (ACTS) never imagined she'd still be sending out care packages every month to troops stationed overseas.

In the last decade, Biederman, a full-time Napa County probation officer, has sent out an estimated 5,000 packages, including to some who have served up to six tours of duty in either Afghanistan or Iraq.

She called the 10-year anniversary something of a "tragedy" since it means the wars continue and soldiers are in harm's way, but added she'll continue to send out packages as long as they are needed.

Supporters and those who help Biederman say her work is the ultimate labor of love. "It's amazing," volunteer Barbara Thompson said. "It's hard to imagine that it has been 10 years."

"She's an angel in disguise for what she's doing," said Rosario Mercado of Vallejo, whose son-in-law Jeffrey Aure served in Afghanistan and received care packages.

Besides continuous reminders of wars, the monthly care packages have become a way of life for Biederman and her husband Mike. The actual task of putting the packages together takes several days a month. Then there are countless hours of planning and organizing. The trip alone to the post office to mail all the packages takes up to two hours.

ACTS begun when Biederman's son, Jeremy Profitt, was stationed in Iraq in 2002 and 2003. She had joined a Napa group of mothers sending out packages, but got angry that they stopped when their sons returned home.

"I said 'Wait a minute there's still others over there,' " she said. In her first mailing, she sent out a dozen boxes to her son so he could give out items to others.

She also put up the yellow ribbons on American Canyon Road and arranged to have a "Support Our Troops" sign put up in American Canyon. She works on Veterans Day events and other programs in town.

Grateful her son came back safely in 2008, Biederman said she never forgets others who are still in war zones, plus their waiting families. She also advocates for veterans when they return suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and other physical and mental problems.

"We do the care packages because someone else's kid is over there," Biederman said. "We want this little, tiny package to be a reminder of home and that someone is thinking about them. I think that's why it means so much to them."

Monthly packages often center around a holiday, and contain socks, toiletries, candy, snacks, powdered drinks and something fun, such as a squirt gun, water balloons, popcorn, or movies. Letters and greeting cards come from churches, school children and others. At Christmas, ACTS sends out two packages to each recipient, including one which contains a small Christmas tree.

Volunteers have assembled the packages at various locations over the years, and now work out of a local Realtor's office. ACTS relies exclusively on cash and product donations, she said.

Mercado's son-in-law was so touched by the ACTS packages he arranged to have an American flag flown in Biederman's honor over an Afghanistan military base in November.

Aure's actions moved Biederman, but also reminded her of the tragedies many soldiers face. He was part a squadron which had trained Afghanistan personnel only to have one shoot to death nine of them in Kabul in 2011.

Aure is not the only one who's grateful. Kevin Doncaster came to appreciate ACTS after supply lines got cut off in Iraq and he was surviving on Doritos. Then, monthly care package came full of items for a festive Mexican meal. After returning home for awhile, Doncaster was deployed again to Afghanistan and is back on the ACTS mailing list.

Though political sentiment over U.S. involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan is often divided and some politicians try to use ACTS for their own gains, Biederman said the organization remains unpolitical at its core.

Its mission, she said, is simple -- to remind American soldiers they are thought of and supported. Care packages are sent to soldiers living all over the country, not just from American Canyon, she said.

"We're just doing it for the soldiers. There's no other reason," Thompson said.

For more details on American Canyon Troop Support, go the ACTS Facebook page. Names of soldiers overseas who would like to get a package can be given to Biederman by calling her at (707) 319-7677, emailing her at acts511@comcast.net, or sending her a letter to ACTS PO Box 10097, American Canyon, CA 94503.

Contact staff writer Sarah Rohrs at srohrs@timesheraldonline.com or (707) 553-6832. Follow her on Twitter @SarahVTH.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/starsandstripes/general/~3/RrjvsR7Q3ng/local-organization-at-10-year-milestone-of-mailing-care-packages-to-troops-in-war-zones-1.205798

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Can Golf Be Saved By Capitalism?

I wish I had started learning golf at this age in my elementary school gym. Photo: TGA Premier Golf

I love golf. It?s a great sport and a great passion. It?s also dying.

For over a decade golf participation, the percentage of the population who play, has been dropping. While 2012 had a slight increase over 2011 in rounds played, this number has dropped in most recent years. For several of the past few years, more courses have closed than opened in this country. None of these are signs of health and none bode well for the future.

Professional golf is doing just fine thank you very much, in large part because million dollar plus purses have become routine for average tournaments, while winning Majors and bigger events pay even more, and the FedEx Cup Champion gets a $10 million (yes $10 million) bonus each year even though fans don?t know what it is. For the frequent winners, there is also a fortune to be made in endorsements ? just ask Tiger Woods, who?just notched his stunning 75th Tour win,?and his new Nike partner Rory McIlroy. As a result of all this cash up for grabs, plus the opportunity for a mid-level Tour player to make a seven figure annual income without ever actually wining, there will always be a crop of new young guns following in the footsteps of McIlroy and Bubba Watson.

But the story is much different for those without the skill potential to go pro, which means far more than 99% of golfers and potential golfers. For many of the latter, the very notion of picking up the game is a complete non-starter.

There are several usual suspects bandied about as theories, including today?s shorter attention span and time constraints, while a round of golf, if anything, has gotten longer (thanks in part to the slow playing pros). There is vastly increased competition for kids? time and a generation ago little league was golf?s main rival, while soccer was a rarity and taekwondo and myriad other pursuits hardly had an impact. Today they do. But to my mind the single biggest barrier to golf is the fact that it is really hard and has a steep learning curve. It?s the polar opposite of skiing, where advances in teaching and technology have made it possible to go from never-ever to intermediate in just a few days, and you can learn easily even as an adult. I?ve covered golf for nearly twenty years, and almost everyone I know who is a good player grew up playing. Like language, it is much easier to learn golf as a kid than as an adult, but kids simply are not learning the game ? the old country club model is largely broken.

The industry response has been charity, through non-profits like the First Tee Foundation, backed by everyone important in golf: the USGA, PGA Tour, PGA of America and the LPGA, along with the Tiger Woods Foundation (scholarships and summer camps) and countless local junior golf programs. These are all well-intentioned, but based on the numbers, none seem to actually be working to stem the rising tide of non-golfing citizens.

Maybe profit is the answer.

?Having worked for Rick Smith at Treetops [a perennial candidate for one of the best teachers in the world and his home resort in Michigan] and having been a teaching pro, I?ve seen every ?growing the game? initiative in the past 20 years, and none of them have worked. This one immediately caught my eye because it makes so much sense,? said former PGA professional Kevin Frisch, now a spokesman for the program he describes, TGA Premier Junior Golf, a fast growing franchise.

The TGA stands for Teach, Grow, Achieve, the grow part being the game of golf. The concept was launched by Joshua Jacobs in 2003, when he had the bright idea to cross the declining notion of teaching golf to kids with the fast growing and red hot trend of after school enrichment programs. These have been booming across the country as a way to productively fill time between the end of the school day and the end of the parents? work day, while teaching the kids something beyond the classroom. To date, the main areas of focus have been academic or cultural, such as performing arts. So why not golf?

Why not is right. A TGA Premier Junior Golf program convinces schools in its area to add a golf option to the slate of afternoon enrichment programs, and parents pay a fee for it, but it is quite inexpensive compared with traditional hourly lessons, country club memberships or golf camps. In many cases the parents have never played golf themselves, which is just one thing that dramatically sets this model apart historically form the way most kids have come into the game. Jacobs started with six Los Angeles area schools and the program was so successful he decided to franchise it. He hired both education PhDs and accredited golf pros to build a standardized curriculum, creating five levels of experience and progressing from Kindergarten through eighth grade. He based the instruction on the ?almost golf ball,? a popular backyard trainer that feels like a real golf ball at impact, spins and flies like a real golf ball, but has much more limited flight, distance, and impact potential. This has allowed TGA to teach golf in school gyms, playgrounds, cafeterias and even hallways, eliminating one of the biggest expenses and hassles for kids learning golf: range time. Eventually the kids do make it out to the course which is sort of the whole point, and TGA owners partner with local courses (many of whom are badly hurting for business) to make this step affordable.

Course management is hugely important in golf - it's never too early to learn that! Photo: TGA Premier Golf

There are currently over 50 franchises in 25 states and the first international one just opened in Spain. In every case, it is the after school model that brings the possibility of golf to a huge population who never had an offer or opportunity to try it before. They can participate for years with coaching and very little expense, which tackles the learning curve part of the problem. According to TGA they now have 180,000 kids a year going through the afterschool programs, not counting the 635 summer camps owners put on nationwide. Entrepreneur Magazine ranked it as one of the country?s 100 Best Franchise Values, but that?s mainly of interest to would-be owners. To me what matters is that Jacobs? approach seems to be working, and working so well that the PGA of America named him to its Golf 2.0 board. Despite its participation in First Tee, the PGA of America has been eagerly looking at other ways to grow golf among the young and Golf 2.0?s purpose is to develop a long term, targeted strategic plan to increase the current number of golfers dramatically ? the goal is a 50% increase by 2020.

The PGA of America is not the only sports body impressed by the TGA Premier Junior Golf concept. The United States Tennis Association, which oversees another struggling sport, immediately grasped the potential and partnered with Jacobs to launch an entirely new program, TGA Premier Youth Tennis. TGA is the the USTA?s official partner, aimed at the ten and under crowd. He similarly developed a teaching curriculum for tennis, including smaller racquets and limited flight balls, with special portable nets that can be played on one side (half) of a regulation tennis court (or a school gym), more commensurate with kids? physical abilities. Many franchisees now teach both sports, and the company goes by TGA Premier Golf & Tennis.

A?more formal alliance with The PGA of America and other golf entities could help golf ? and the great game desperately needs the help. To me the bottom line is that individuals motivated by profit are more likely to work harder at creating demand for golf instruction than those looking to give away golf instruction. By working harder at it I think they are more likely to succeed and create this demand, and from a far broader demographic spectrum of kids, both economically and geographically. It?s easy to get underprivileged kids out to the range for a photo op with a star player who gives them a lesson and then leaves them with no way to move forward. The long term nature of this program ? almost a decade?s worth ? ensures that kids are not simply introduced to the game, tantalized and then abandoned.

I have no vested interest whatsoever in the success of TGA or its franchises, but I do have a deep interest in the future of golf, and like Golf 2.0, I?d like nothing better than to see a dramatic increase in the number of new players in the rest of this decade.

Follow Me on Twitter Here

Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/larryolmsted/2013/01/30/can-golf-be-saved-by-capitalism/

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Avatar: The Faded History

Avatar: The Faded History

"Everyone talks about the other avatars but what about the one that really mattered."

Owner:

Game Masters:

This topic is an Out Of Character part of the roleplay, ?Avatar: The Faded History?. Anything posted here will also show up there.

Topic Tags:

Forum for completely Out of Character (OOC) discussion, based around whatever is happening In Character (IC). Discuss plans, storylines, and events; Recruit for your roleplaying game, or find a GM for your playergroup.


Could I reserve the Waterbender, if possible??? I'm on my phone and working on getting home buut I could have a character sheet up by tomorrow afternoon at the absolute latest!!

(I'll most likely have it up shortly after I get home, actually... :$)

Oh, nevermind.. :/
I won't be able to do it. Sumimasen..

Last edited by Wanderer on Wed Jan 30, 2013 11:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.

~ wanderer.

User avatar
Wanderer
Member for 1 years


May I reserve the Earth bender?? :]

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LadyLibby
Member for 5 years


LadyLibby wrote:May I reserve the Earth bender?? :]

Yes you may.

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Dumisa
Member for 1 years



Post a reply

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Tornado tears through Georgia

About Reuters TV

Hard-edged reporting, insight and analysis, Reuters TV breaks ground creating informative news and financial videos. Showcasing Reuters? 3000 award-winning journalists, Reuters TV delivers high-energy investigative journalism with concise explanations. Check it out and let us know what you think.

Source: http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/UKVideoLatest/~3/iV-i4RyljNU/tornado-tears-through-georgia

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Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Richard Graham: UK lawmaker's rape remarks draw condemnation

Anti-rape activists said?Graham's?comments smacked of blaming rape victims for having been assaulted.

By Associated Pres / January 28, 2013

A British lawmaker's suggestion that young women who wear high heels and short skirts put themselves at greater risk of rape has drawn widespread condemnation.

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"If you are blind drunk and wearing those clothes how able are you to get away?" Conservative Party lawmaker?Richard?Graham, of Gloucester, was quoted as saying by his local newspaper, The Citizen.

Anti-rape activists said?Graham's?comments smacked of blaming rape victims for having been assaulted.

But?Graham?said in a blog post Saturday that his interview "in no way intimates ANY excuse for predatory behavior."

In further comments to The Citizen,?Graham?said, "Risk management is a million miles from saying anything like 'she was asking for it.'"

Graham?could not be reached for comment Sunday.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/vENeZm-8ki0/Richard-Graham-UK-lawmaker-s-rape-remarks-draw-condemnation

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Arizona Web Design Company PrimeView Helps Clients Shift to ...

The demand for websites to become mobile-ready is relatively high. This is greatly affected by the continuous increase in sales, as well as incessant innovations in smartphones and tablets. They changed the way the general public looks for information and make purchases. PrimeView Arizona Websites Design Company is all set for this as it helps its clients make a big shift to mobile by producing mobile ready websites that is both simple and easy to navigate.

An International Data Corporation study revealed that two years from now more Internet users in the US will go online using their mobile devices than personal computers. As these tools offer them fast and convenient data gathering, mobile users? online purchases are expected to reach $1.2 Trillion by 2015. This figure is way higher than 2010?s $708 Billion. Additionally, Google/Ipsos reported that 35 percent of the people who see a mobile ad visit the site of the advertisers while almost 50 percent come to a decision to purchase and nearly 30 percent make an inquiry.

All these numbers are opportunities that technology gives business owners. Now, marketing has never been this simpler and inexpensive - only if the website is mobile-friendly. Reported by Google/Kelsey 2010, almost 80 percent of the sites of big online advertisers are not yet mobile-optimized.

PrimeView is aware that with the expansion of the market, it's not all about fancy flash or amazing graphics. It's more about giving the Internet users the information they need and making their search experience easy and straightforward by developing a website accessible to mobile users. This specific type of the market cannot wait for a few more seconds for a page to load only because of Flash, Javascript and too many images in the website. They would like to view the website and see what they need in five seconds or less. Now that?s a tough challenge that PrimeView is all prepared for.

PrimeView offers fully-scalable eCommerce technology in order to meet the needs of businesses for growth. It has dedicated technical support that will provide them with eCommerce website solutions, making their shopping carts moving in a faster pace. This Phoenix Arizona-based web design company also assists in product management and sales tracking. It continuously gives relevant insights like how to improve a business website by shifting to mobile.

About PrimeView:

PrimeView is a full service interactive marketing and web development agency based in Scottsdale, Arizona. Known for its award winning web design, PrimeView provides complete internet solutions that include web site design and page layout consultation, web site hosting, online and offline marketing strategies, as well as ecommerce and application development. For more information, you may visit their website at http://www.primeview.com/.

Source: http://www.freeprnow.com/pr/arizona-web-design-company-primeview-helps-clients-shift-to-mobile-web

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The Top 7... Uncomfortably sexy video game animals | GamesRadar

4. Rouge (Sonic the Hedgehog) - bat

Cutesy characters are common in Sonic the Hedgehog games. There's Miles, the adorable twin-tailed fox; there's the scatter-brained Charmy Bee; and, of course, there's the lovable, Sonic-obsessed Amy Rose. Then there's Rouge. She's the result of a Sega meeting in which someone must've said, "Hey, y'know what would get people to buy more Sonic games? A sexy bat. With voluptuous boobs. And when you draw her lips, make 'em supple. With lipstick. Yeah."

So the character designers drew Knuckles, removed his sweet dreads, and gave him breasts, a ton of eye shadow, and the sort of bat wings you might expect to find on a sleazy Halloween costume. But they didn't stop there. Nay, Rouge was further equipped with a skin-tight body suit adorned by a heart-shaped breast plate, just for good measure. Why anyone thought these totally uncharacteristic embellishments belonged within the framework of the light-hearted Sonic series is beyond us. Then again, Shadow the Hedgehog is a thing that exists (and also curses a lot), so maybe Rouge isn't all that surprising.

Source: http://www.gamesradar.com/top-7-uncomfortably-sexy-video-game-animals/

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Adam Levine Takes on 'SNL': His Most Hilarious Moments!

"Like all successful singers, I knew it would only be a matter of time before I would overreach and try acting," Adam Levine said in his opening monologue as host of NBC's Saturday Night Live. "So tonight I just hope that you would not judge me too harshly." 

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/adam-levine-takes-saturday-night-live-his-most-hilarious-moments/1-a-518274?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Aadam-levine-takes-saturday-night-live-his-most-hilarious-moments-518274

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American pastor sentenced to 8 years in Iran

BOISE, Idaho (AP) ? The U.S. State Department says an American pastor who has been jailed in Iran since September has been sentenced to eight years in prison.

Spokesman Darby Holladay said Sunday that the department is calling on Iran to respect Saeed Abedini's human rights and release him.

Earlier this month Iran's semi-official news agency, ISNA, quoted Abedini's attorney as saying his client stood trial in the Revolutionary Court on charges of attempting to undermine state security by creating a network of Christian churches in private homes.

The pastor, who is of Iranian origin but lives in Boise, Idaho, has rejected the charges.

Holladay says the State Department is in close contact with Abedini's family and actively engaged in the case.

The agency says it condemns Iran's continued violation of the universal right of freedom of religion.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/american-pastor-sentenced-8-years-iran-000503847.html

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Lane-swapping helps autonomous vehicles avoid collisions

Jan. 28, 2013 ? Autonomous, driverless vehicles look set to hit the streets in the near future and become increasingly common, so UK researchers have investigated algorithms that could help developers include escape manoeuvres to allow such vehicles to quickly and safely switch lanes to avoid collisions with other road users.

Writing in the aptly named International Journal of Vehicle Autonomous Systems, Matthew Best of the Department of Aeronautical and Automotive Engineering at Loughborough University, in Leicestershire, discusses the optimisation of a vehicle's standard brake, acceleration and steering control inputs in the context of avoiding collisions. He has devised a computer simulation that allows all those parameters to be optimised concurrently during a safety manoeuvre and to show how speed reduction and swapping lanes might be carried out by an autonomous vehicle.

The optimal rapid lane-change would inevitably be an aggressive, high "g" manoeuvre that would destabilise the vehicle, and additional computing power would be needed to act quickly to correct under steer and other issues that arise during and after such a vehicle movement. The high-speed lane switch would likely be rarely used in a real-world autonomous drive, but could, in exceptional circumstances, allow driverless or robot vehicles to be safer on roads that which they share with other such vehicles and vehicles with human drivers.

Best points out that simulations at 70 mph (the UK national speed limit on motorways) reveal that braking alone would not lead to a safe outcome in many situations, so a lane swap would almost certainly be needed, assuming there were an empty lane for a vehicle to move into. A lane-change would in the best circumstances move the vehicle to safety in half the distance as braking at that speed.

The researchers concede that at present the limitations of on-board computing power in autonomous vehicles and the need for high-speed data streams measuring real tyre friction coefficients and more means that his algorithm is limited to the simulation at present. However, it paves the way for developing more powerful, safety aware driving systems for such vehicles.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Inderscience, via AlphaGalileo.

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


Journal Reference:

  1. Matthew C. Best. Optimisation of high-speed crash avoidance in autonomous vehicles. International Journal of Vehicle Autonomous Systems, 2012; 10 (4): 337 DOI: 10.1504/IJVAS.2012.051269

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/strange_science/~3/WcIhqlRCPKE/130128081530.htm

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Sunday, January 27, 2013

Get cirrus in the fight against climate change

FEATHERY cirrus clouds are beautiful, but when it comes to climate change, they are the enemy. Found at high-altitude and made of small ice crystals, they trap heat - so more cirrus means a warmer world. Now it seems that, by destroying cirrus, we could reverse all the warming Earth has experienced so far.

In 2009, David Mitchell of the Desert Research Institute in Reno, Nevada, proposed a radical way to stop climate change: get rid of some cirrus. Now Trude Storelvmo of Yale University and colleagues have used a climate model to test the idea.

Storelvmo added powdered bismuth triiodide into the model's troposphere, the layer of the atmosphere in which these clouds form. Ice crystals grew around these particles and expanded, eventually falling out of the sky, reducing cirrus coverage. Without the particles, the ice crystals remained small and stayed up high for longer.

The technique, done on a global scale, created a powerful cooling effect, enough to counteract the 0.8 ?C of warming caused by all the greenhouse gases released by humans (Geophysical Research Letters, DOI: 10.1002/grl.50122).

But too much bismuth triiodide made the ice crystals shrink, so cirrus clouds lasted longer. "If you get the concentrations wrong, you could get the opposite of what you want," says Storelvmo. And, like other schemes for geoengineering, side effects are likely - changes in the jet stream, say.

Different model assumptions give different "safe" amounts of bismuth triiodide, says Tim Lenton of the University of Exeter, UK. "Do we really know the system well enough to be confident of being in the safe zone?" he asks. "You wouldn't want to touch this until you knew."

Mitchell says seeding would take 140 tonnes of bismuth triiodide every year, which by itself would cost $19 million.

If you would like to reuse any content from New Scientist, either in print or online, please contact the syndication department first for permission. New Scientist does not own rights to photos, but there are a variety of licensing options available for use of articles and graphics we own the copyright to.

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For Freedom and Also Good Grades (talking-points-memo)

Share With Friends: Share on FacebookTweet ThisPost to Google-BuzzSend on GmailPost to Linked-InSubscribe to This Feed | Rss To Twitter | Politics - Top Stories News, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/279595718?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Saturday, January 26, 2013

Quantum communication: Each photon counts

Jan. 25, 2013 ? Ultrafast, efficient, and reliable single-photon detectors are among the most sought-after components in photonics and quantum communication, which have not yet reached maturity for practical application. Physicist Dr. Wolfram Pernice of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), in cooperation with colleagues at Yale University, Boston University, and Moscow State Pedagogical University, achieved the decisive breakthrough by integrating single-photon detectors with nanophotonic chips. The detector combines near-unity detection efficiency with high timing resolution and has a very low error rate.

The results have been published by Nature Communications.

Without reliable detection of single photons, it is impossible to make real use of the latest advances in optical data transmission or quantum computation; it is like having no analog-digital converter in a conventional computer to determine whether the applied voltage stands for 0 or 1. Although a number of different single-photon detector models have been developed over the past few years, thus far, none have provided satisfactory performance.

Several new ideas and advanced developments went into the prototype developed within the "Integrated Quantum Photonics" project at the DFG Center of Functional Nanostructures (CFN). The new single-photon detector, tested in the telecommunications wavelength range, achieves a previously unattained detection efficiency of 91%.

The detector was realized by fabricating superconducting nanowires directly on top of a nanophotonic waveguide. This geometry can be compared to a tube that conducts light, around which a wire in a superconducting state is wound and, as such, has no electric resistivity. The nanometer-sized wire made of niobium nitride absorbs photons that propagate along the waveguide. When a photon is absorbed, superconductivity is lost, which is detected as an electric signal. The longer the tube, the higher is the detection probability. The lengths involved are in the micrometer range.

A special feature of the detector is its direct installation on the chip, which allows for it to be replicated at random. The single-photon detectors built thus far were stand-alone units, which were connected to chips with optical fibers. Arrangements of that type suffer from photons being lost in the fiber connection or being absorbed in other ways. These loss channels do not exist in the detector that is now fully embedded in a silicon photonic circuit. In addition to high detection efficiency, this gives rise to a remarkably low dark count rate. Dark counts arise when a photon is detected erroneously: for instance, because of a spontaneous emission, an alpha particle, or a spurious field. The new design also provides ultrashort timing jitter of 18 picoseconds, which is 18 times 10-12 seconds.

The novel solution also makes it possible to integrate several hundreds of these detectors on a single chip. This is a basic precondition for future use in optical quantum computers.

The detector demonstrated in this study was designed to work at wavelengths in the Telekom bandwidth. The same detector architecture can also be used for wavelengths in the range of visible light. This would allow the principle to be employed in analyses of all structures that emit little light, i.e., photons, such as single molecules or bacteria. ?

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.

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


Journal Reference:

  1. W.H.P. Pernice, C. Schuck, O. Minaeva, M. Li, G.N. Goltsman, A.V. Sergienko, H.X. Tang. High-speed and high-efficiency travelling wave single-photon detectors embedded in nanophotonic circuits. Nature Communications, 2012; 3: 1325 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms2307

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/matter_energy/electricity/~3/ow-KbzYPjFA/130125104056.htm

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Friday, January 25, 2013

VA Appriasal Questions and Answers | VA Loan News Blog

VA Appraisal Questions and Answers

The appraisal process is critical when it?s time to purchase a home with a VA mortgage.

Without the appraisal, there can be no loan approval, so it?s good for borrowers to understand how the VA appraisal system works (and that it is not a replacement for a borrower-initiated home inspection). Here are some common questions and answers about VA appraisals you should know:

Why is a VA Appraisal Required?

The VA Lender?s Handbook, Chapter Ten states, ?An appraisal is required to help ensure that any property which will become the security for a VA-guaranteed loan has a value of at least as much as the loan amount, and is in a condition acceptable to VA.?

Who Can/Should Order My VA Appraisal?

The Department of Veterans Affairs says it prefers the lender to make appraisal reuqests, ?although it can be requested by any other party to the transaction, provided the appraiser is assigned by VA.?

What Kinds of Property is Eligible for a VA Appraisal?

There are three basic classifications of property the VA will appraise, provided they meet the right criteria. One is ?existing construction? which the VA defines as, ?A home which has either been previously owner-occupied or had all onsite and offsite improvements fully completed for one year or more is eligible.?

For new construction homes, the VA loan rulebook says, ?Newly completed properties (completed less than one year and never owner-occupied) are eligible if either

  • covered by a one-year VA builder?s warranty
  • enrolled in a HUD-accepted ten-year insured protection plan, or
  • built by a veteran, as the general contractor, for his/her own occupancy.?

The VA adds, ?An exception may be made for a veteran who wishes to purchase a new home from a builder who is not more than occasionally involved with VA financing and will not provide either a one-year VA builder?s warranty or a ten-year insured protection plan.?

The VA also has a classification for properties which are ?proposed or under construction?. The rules for these types of projects includes, ?Property is eligible for appraisal prior to construction or during construction, if

  • the appraisal is based on proposed construction exhibits, and
  • the property is inspected by VA or HUD during construction?

Will the VA Appraise a Manufactured Home or Mobile Home?

In general, VA loan rules for these properties includes the following:

?To be eligible for a VA loan term of 30 years, a manufactured home must be

  • classified and taxed as real property
  • properly affixed to a permanent foundation (Section 12.10)
  • substantially conform with VA MPRs (Chapter 12), and
  • conform with applicable building code and zoning requirements for real estate.?

This is not a complete list of answers for VA loan appraisal questions?we?ll have more to come in another blog post.

Do you have questions about?VA home loans? Ask us in the comments section.

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About Bruce Reichstein

Experienced VA Loan Mortgage Banker specializing in Military Mortgage lending to US Veterans for over 24 years. (www.VALoans.com). Expert in VA Jumbo Home Loans greater than $417,000 which go up to the maximum 2012 county limits as defined by the Veteran's Administration. Thousands of loans to High Ranking Military Officers, DOD Employees, Airline Pilots and many other Military Heroes who qualify. Welcome opportunities pertaining to online military ventures.

Source: http://www.vanewsblog.com/2013/01/va-appriasal-questions-and-answers/

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Finding My Italian Family ? Channel 3's Dennis House Blogs

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It seems one of the big questions people ask in January is about travel. ?Any good trips planned for 2013?? Whatever vacation we may take this year can?t possibly top our summer 2012 trip.???My family and I?had a once in a lifetime adventure that was exciting,?educational and surprisingly?emotional.? We met our Italian relatives for the very first time.

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This was a trip that was really many years in the making, decades in fact.??I had?been told about my?Italian ancestry for as long as I can remember, but I knew few details about it until 2010.?? As a boy, my mother talked with great affection about her late father Crescenzo Chully; the surname being an Americanized version of Chiulli.??Crescenzo was killed in a horrific hornet attack at the age of 37, when my mother was young. She remembers his father, Paolo, but he died a few years before his son.

Our exposure to our Italian heritage came through Paolo?s other children, Crescenzo?s siblings, but they too were in the dark about where our forefathers had lived. My best source of information was my great-aunt Angie, who died just a few years ago at the doorstep of?98. All she was ever told was that her father (my great-grandfather)?was from ?Abruzzo.?

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When I was in junior high, a teacher assigned the task of researching our geneaology to coincide with the landmark television event, ?Roots.????? I did pretty well on the other branches of my family, but when it came to the Italian branch, I couldn?t learn anything beyond my great-grandfather, Paolo Chiulli.

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Life happened and I put researching my Italian heritage on the back burner, and picked it up now and then with zero luck.

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While in Italy in 1996, I checked the telephone books for people named Chiulli, but I didn?t speak Italian so I never called any of the many names listed.??But as I walked through Rome, Venice, Florence, Pisa and Milan, I could feel it: I had family there. ?

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I returned to Italy three more times in the following ten years. My wife Kara and I honeymooned on the Amalfi Coast, Portofino and Lake Como, and again, being in Italy felt like being home. I also returned to Rome to cover Pope John Paul II in 2002, and his funeral three years later.

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During that period I searched for my great-grandfather?s name in ship manifests, scoured websites where I connected with other people with Chiulli ancestors who were also looking for?relatives, but I never?found anything.?? I figured my great-grandfather must have changed his name, or perhaps someone misspelled it in the list of passengers heading to America.???? I wanted to know, why did he come here, and who did he leave behind?

In?2009, I had a stroke of great luck.??? A man from Utah, named John Nelson, ?was researching Chiullis in his family tree, when he came across my great-grandfather?s name.???John had discovered the town where my grandfather was born, his siblings, parents and grandparents.????? As it turns out, what John had discovered was a dead end for him, but the holy grail for me. It?cleared the path for me to answer questions that had stymied my family for decades.

Armed with that information, I stepped up my search efforts, but on a sporadic basis.??? As a working father with two young children, I had little time to sit down and finish my Italian family tree.???? I would occasionally try to e-mail someone named Chiulli in Italy on Facebook, but never found any relatives.?? Then, when my aunt Angie died in late 2010 as she approached her 98th birthday, I decided it was time to get the job done.

I began with a fruitless attempt to e-mail folks in the town hall of? Alanno, Italy, birthplace of my?great-grandfather.???? I hoped to?locate some records, that would?hopefully lead me to some cousins.?? It was fruitless.? I didn?t get any responses, and when I called once, there was no one who spoke English, and my Italian wasn?t cutting it.

In early 2011, I decided to contact a fellow journalist in Italy.?? I figured we reporters can pretty much track down anyone here, surely someone in the old country would be able to get through to the town hall.????? Reporter Marirosa Barbieri?of the magazine ?Prima Da Noi? suggested that she write an article about my search for my Italian ancestors.???? The story was a big success.??? The day after the?article went on line,? I received a call from a?woman here in Connecticut, whose cousin called her from Italy to say she and I?were related.?? The woman, by the way, is not related to me, but her cousin is.???? Within days, through e-mail and Facebook I had connected with a handful of people, my people, my family! Marirosa had also been contacted by a few others.

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Through my newly discovered family, I learned the reason I couldn?t find any cousins named Chiulli, is because there aren?t any.?? My great-grandfather had five sisters and a brother who died in childhood.??? Those sisters all married and so when Paolo Chiulli emigrated to America, he took the Chiulli name with him.?? Truth be told, there are plenty of Chiullis in Abruzzo, but they are probably very distant cousins.

The first few weeks of our cyber-reunion were exciting.??? I swapped pictures and information with my newly found cousins, Donatella, Paola, Andrea, Cristina, and the list goes on.??? I now had dozens of cousins there.?? ??Just like I always felt I had cousins in Italy, my Italian cousins told me they always knew they had family in the United States.??? They had heard stories of their Zio (Uncle) Paolo leaving Abruzzo, never to return, but?didn?t know anything about his descendents here.??? In fact,? my cousin Paola?e-mailed me a family tree that they could now fill in with the 26 people descended from their long lost Uncle.

Almost immediately after connecting with the Italian relatives,? I decided to plan a trip to the ancestral homeland in 2012 ?for a huge family reunion.???Ideally,?it would great if all 26 descendants and their spouses could go, although I knew it was unlikely.??In the end, there were 9 of us who made the trek:? Kara, our children, my mother, brother, sister-in-law and their two sons.

Overseas, the planning was masterminded by cousins Donatella, Miriam, Paola and Cristina, who?coordinated a week like no other we?d ever experienced.?????Sure, flying with four children under the age?of 5 can be challenging, but once we arrived?in Italy, we?all focused on the upcoming festivities and this momentous event in our family history. ??? We stayed in Rome for a few days before heading to Abruzzo.??? Kara and I had been to the Eternal City before, but my brother and sister-in-law wanted to see the sights.?? 48 hours at the Hilton Garden Inn near the Villa Borghese was just what we needed.

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Why a Hilton when traveling in Italy? First, we?ve learned that Hiltons are great hotels. When we had to attend a wedding in Hawaii we stayed at two of them. Read about that trip here: http://dennishouse.wordpress.com/2011/04/28/from-hartford-to-hawaii/

The Hilton Cavalieri is a jewel in Rome where Kara and I are planning to stay in the future for a romantic trip, but in this case, we didn?t think a pack of kids was fair to the Cavalieri guests! Instead we chose the Hilton Garden Inn, partly because of its king-sized beds, great for a mom and dad weary from a long flight and herding children. King beds are rare in Europe, and they are a welcome change from the tiny twin beds many hotels have. Best of all, for the somewhat fussy youngsters: the Hilton served American breakfast, waffles, eggs, nutella and the works. There was even nutella gelato at a shop nearby. There would be plenty of time for traditional Italian food when we reached Abruzzo.

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With our body clocks now on Italian time, we loaded up our Ford Transit van and began our two hour journey to one of the most anticipated destinations of my life.? By the way I was the only one who drive a stick shift, so the burden of navigating narrow medieval streets was all mine for 10 days. ? The mountains were amazing and the Adriatic Sea a Caribbean aqua that looked like an instagram.?? The quaint villages were something out of a postcard.

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Our home in Abruzzo was a mountainside villa called ?Casa Mimosa,?? and it was the ultimate retreat.??It was an old barn of stone at the top of a hill accessible by a steep, winding road in the town of Castiglione Messer Raimondo.?? A couple from Britain bought it and refurbished into into an idyllic retreat to rent to tourists. ? The views were truly awe inspiring, and we spent as time much outdoors as possible.

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The next day was the reunion and quite frankly, we weren?t sure what to expect. ?? The cousins had told us not to worry about a thing;? they would take care of all the food and drink, and that a caterer would show up first, followed by trays of homemade goodies.?? What a spread it was.?? Traditional Abruzzese dishes, homemade wine, garnished with?Italian and American flags.??The caterers showed up and transformed the villa into an Italian restaurant.? Then the doorbell rang.

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The first cousins we met were not part of the e-mail conversations that had been going on for the past 17 months.??? ?You are my cousin,?? said Carlo Iulianetti, a man in his 40s with rock star hair. He came with his mother, Cesaria de Melis.????? We hugged, and my mom cried.???? Within an hour, fifty cousins had arrived, some from as far away as Rome.?? We studied each other faces, and I definitely saw similarities.? Donatella bore a strong resemblance to my great aunt Lucia, Crescenzo?s sister. ?Even though some of the?cousins didn?t speak English we communicated and we connected.? I had been studying Italian on my iPad app and I actually think I did pretty well.

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The highlight of the reunion took place on the piazza when my cousins delivered some hearfelt words welcoming us to their country.? I was prepared, and had written a speech that I read in Italian, with the help of my cousin Elisa, who translated a few ad libs for me.?? Then, three of the cousins of my mother?s generation, Donatella, Miriam and Paola, presented us with a basket of rocks, sitting on red silk.?? These weren?t just any rocks?they were pieces of rubble belonging to my great-grandfather?s farmhouse where he was born in 1879.

My mother wept, as she handled the limestone, majella stone, and ancient concrete.???? But there was more.??? Paola?s husband, architect Gustavo Del Rossi,? unveiled a gift we will treasure always: the most beautiful and intricate family tree I?d ever seen.??It was hand drawn on parchment paper that was 15 feet long.?? Gustavo had worked on it for months, and it included every relative at the party, and my cousins back home in?America.? More than a hundred names in all.? It went as far back as my great-great-great grandparents, Antonio and Maria Chiulli.

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The night was spent learning about each other over copious amounts of food, washed down by homemade wine and limoncello.? I got to try out my Italian, but I must admit my cousins speak my native language better than I speak theirs.???We also learned for the first time, why my great-grandfather emigrated to America.

Paolo Chiulli had a? childhood, that was marred by sadness.??? He was one of seven children, and his only brother Gennaro, died as a child.???? His mother died in childbirth as his youngest sister was born.???He later served in the Italian military, and played a key role in the upbringing of his family.?? He finished school, which was uncommon for this rural part of Abruzzo and worked at a vineyard.??Paolo is remembered?as well liked, and adored by his sisters.???According to legend, he left Italy after a dark chapter:? he was?framed for a crime and fled to the United States.?? Great.? Cue Speak Softly Love, please.

The story of Zio Paolo (Uncle Paul) that has been handed down generation to generation among my cousins is that my great-grandfather left after some sort of fight.??With the help of?Maria Odoardi, one of the older cousins, my cousin Mauro Morelli, an attorney in Pescara, ?told the story in great detail, with some legalese tossed in for good measure.? ?Now, this is not confirmed,? he would say as he recanted the story told to him by his grandmother, who was my great-grandfather?s niece.???? Apparently someone planted a wallet in Paolo?s jacket, and then a group accused him of stealing it and they pounced on him.????During that fight or a brawl,? as Mauro put it, someone died.?? Again, ?not confirmed.?

Paolo was later toiling in the vineyard, when he was approached by friends who told him had to leave the country or go to prison.?? He hastily said goodbye to his sisters and left Abruzzo never to return.??? Someone gave him a passport to use, which is why I could never find my great-grandfather?s name in any of the manifests of ships carrying Italian immigrants to the United States.??? We will never know the name on the passport Paolo showed immigration officials that got him into this country.???By the way, he never became a U.S.?citizen, but certainly became an American patriot.?? He tried to enlist?to serve in World War I and World War II.??He was 62 when he went to the recruiting office a month after Pearl Harbor.

The Italian cousins also solved a few other smaller mysteries.??? When my mother was a child, Paolo, her grandfather, called her Mariuccia.? After 65 years of not knowing where that name came from one, we learned in Abruzzo in the summer of 2012, that Mariuccia was what Paolo called his younger sister.

alanno

A few days after the reunion, we loaded up our van and headed to the ancestral town of Alanno, where my great-grandfather was born.??? The mayor there was honoring us with a reception at town hall.??? Sindaco Vincenzo deMelis gave us a warm welcome and presented us with a plaque with my name on it and literature and information on the town.?? The mayor is a cousin of a cousin, but not one of my cousins.?? Capisce?

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Italians love food and this day was no exception.??? After our ceremony at the town hall, were were feted at a luncheon where the dishes kept coming and coming.

Across a small valley from the ancient town center sits my great-grandfather?s farm, which is still in the family.?? Cousins live in homes on the sprawling hillside,? not far from a pile of rubble where Paolo?s birthplace? once stood.?? A fig tree now grows out of it, surrounded by acres of olive trees, some of them more than a hundred years old.

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We couldn?t help but be pensive as we walked the grounds that afford spectacular views of the mountains and the medieval town.?? As my children and nephews played with giant wheels of hay,? I tried to imagine what life was like here for my ancestors.???? My daughter picked flowers, and my mother huddled with her cousins of her generation as they together gazed at the land that is their roots.

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The kids were beyond thrilled to be feeding figs and juice to the goats and slobbering sheep,? and to climb on a Lamborghini tractor.

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At a more modern house at the farm, came another emotional experience.??We met my grandfather?s first cousins, whom he had never met, the only survivors of his generation.????? 90 year old Luciano Odoardi and his sister Guisseppina, age 92.???? Now blinded by old age, Luciano held my hand with a vise-like? grip as he went through the family history. ?? He also shared how his Zio Paolo sent his mother post cards from Boston and Norwood, cards that were lost just recently when he moved in with his son.?? ? How I would?love to read those.

Guiseppina and my mother fought back tears as they bonded, despite? their difficulty in speaking each other?s language. ? ? For my mother,? meeting Luciano and Guissepina gave her a sense at what her father may have looked like had he not been taken from us so early.??? Giuseppina, too, added details to the legend of Paolo Chiulli and she had always wondered what happened to him and the family he created in America.

Not far from the homestead is the rustic church of St. Stefano, where my grandfather and his sisters were baptized.? It is closed to the public, badly damaged by the L?Aquila earthquake of 2009.??? There is no money to fix it, so unless a generous benefactor comes forward, it may continue to detoriate.??? A cousin?s home on the Chiulli ?farm also bears the scars of the earthquake.

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The next day we loaded again into the Ford van and trekked to Pescara to go the beach on the Adriatic with Donatella and crew. We lunched under her family?s giant umbrella, whose American counterpart would be a cabana.

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Our sendoff celebration was held on a warm night at the home in Chieti in the town of Ripa Teatina of my cousin Cristina Del Rossi and her husband Mimmo Mangiafesta. Along with Cristina?s brother Andrea, an accomplished mountain climber, they have young children about the ages of my children and nephews. The youngest generation also bonded over toys and cookies.

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Cristina is a bakery chef, who created not only a huge cake for the reunion, but another one for this night. My daughter Helena, still talks about helping Cristina with the frosting and decorations.

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The highlight of this celebration was arrosticini, a grilled lamb cooked on skewers on a special grill. It is a specialty of Abruzzo, and Mimmo cooked over 300 of them.

We also learned there is a particular way to eat arrosticini.

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The goodbyes were tearful, but we left Italy a bigger and stronger family. We?re planning a return trip to Abruzzo with a larger American entourage of Chiulli descendants, and our doors are open for our Italian cousins to come here.

Here are some other images from my visit to my ancestral homeland:

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Source: http://dennishouse.wordpress.com/2013/01/24/finding-my-italian-family/

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