Financial Wellness Month ? Abilene Public Library

Did you know January is Financial Wellness Month? The Library has a wide selection of financial books to get you back on track after the holidays? or try this site:

MyMoney.gov is a U.S. Government Web site dedicated to teaching all Americans the basics about finances. The site offers important information in English or Spanish from 20 federal agencies. Topics include budgeting and taxes; credit; financial planning; home ownership; children; paying for education; privacy, fraud, and scams; responding to life events; retirement planning; saving and investing; and starting a small business. Patrons can order the ?My Money? toolkit, which includes a consumer action handbook, a consumer information catalog, facts on saving and investing, questions to ask about investments, understanding Social Security, and FDIC insurance coverage. Calculators for college planning, credit card replacement, home buying and mortgages, retirement planning, investing, Social Security benefits, and tax withholding also are available.

Source: http://abilene.mykansaslibrary.org/financial-wellness-month/

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Workers Connected To Tyson Charged With Animal Cruelty ...

Posted on: 9:01 pm, December 26, 2012, by Shain Bergan, updated on: 10:38pm, December 26, 2012

Managers at a Wyoming-based pork facility with connections to Tyson Foods have been charged with cruelty to animals, according to a news release from the Humane Society of the United States.

Tyson officials asked a subsidiary to end its business with Wyoming Premium Farms after an undercover video surfaced in May showing facility employees punching, kicking and abusing pigs.

Tyson did not buy any hogs raised on the farm for its pork-processing plants, although a subsidiary company bought animals from the facility, a Tyson official told 5NEWS.

The Platt County Attorney?s Office charged nine employees from the facility with cruelty to animals, including two managers, according to the Humane Society of the United States. An animal cruelty conviction could put offenders in prison for up to two years, coupled with a $5,000 fine.

Much of the alleged animal abuse involved breeding pigs in confined metal cages for the pigs? entire lives.

?In addition to adopting stronger protocols to deter and eliminate animal abuse at the hands of workers throughout their supply chains, Tyson, and other companies and pork industry trade associations that still contribute to this type of abuse, must develop plans to get these inhumane cages out of their operations,? states the humane society?s news release.

Tyson responded Wednesday night to the most recent development in the case, stating in an email to 5NEWS:

?We do not tolerate the mistreatment of animals by any of our suppliers. Since May, when the undercover video shot at this Wyoming farm surfaced, the supplier has been thoroughly investigated by our Office of Animal Well-Being. We were satisfied by the operator?s corrective actions, which included its work with on-site animal welfare consultants?and retraining its workforce in proper animal handling. We also understand the company made management changes and terminated some employees after its own internal investigation.

It should be noted that Tyson Foods does not purchase hogs raised on this farm for our pork processing plants. We have a small, but separate hog buying business that purchases aged sows from this farm; however, these animals are sold to other companies and are not used in Tyson?s pork processing business.?

Source: http://5newsonline.com/2012/12/26/workers-connected-to-tyson-charged-with-animal-cruelty/

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Bumblebees do best where there is less pavement and more floral diversity

Dec. 24, 2012 ? Landscapes with large amounts of paved roads and impervious construction have lower numbers of ground-nesting bumblebees, which are important native pollinators, a study from The University of Texas at Austin and the University of California, Berkeley shows.

The study suggests that management strategies that reduce the local use of pavement and increase natural habitat within the landscape could improve nesting opportunities for wild bees and help protect food supplies around the word.

The study also suggests that increasing the number of species-rich flowering patches in suburban and urban gardens, farms and restored habitats could provide pathways for bees to forage and improve pollination services over larger areas.

The findings have major implications for global pollinator conservation on a rapidly urbanizing planet.

"We are potentially in a pollinator crisis," said Shalene Jha, lead author and assistant professor of biology at The University of Texas at Austin. "Honey bees are declining precipitously, and wild bees have also been exhibiting population declines across the globe. Native bees provide critical pollination services for fruit, nut, fiber and forage crops. Understanding how bees move around the landscape can help us both preserve biodiversity and improve crop yields."

Animal pollination is estimated to be worth over $200 billion in global crop yields.

For the research, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Jha and senior author Claire Kremen, a professor at UC Berkeley's Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, studied a native California bumblebee, Bombus vosnesenskii, in habitats across exurban areas, farms and nature reserves.

In addition to finding that pavement negatively affects the bees, the scientists discovered that:

• Bees will move longer distances to find patches of flowers that are rich in species; it's not floral density that determines how far a bumblebee will fly, but floral diversity.
• Bees will also forage further away from their home nest if the surrounding landscape is less heterogeneous. "In some ways, it's a bet-hedging strategy," said Jha. "If the landscape is composed of consistently dense flowering patches, bees take a risk and forage farther afield to find species-rich patches."

"In combination with earlier work showing that bumblebees have become rare in agricultural landscapes, our study suggests that farmers could promote these valuable pollinators by diversifying crop types and by planting cover crops and flowering hedgerows to enhance floral diversity," said Kremen.

Though it may seem obvious that pavement and ground nesting don't mix, Jha said that our understanding of the effects of pavement and urban growth on native bees has been largely anecdotal.

"Using genetic tools, we can now estimate the number of colonies in an area," said Jha, who began this work as a postdoctoral researcher at UC Berkeley. "This is helping us better understand how wild pollinators live and move across large, diverse landscapes."

Bumblebees nest in the ground, and each colony contains a queen and a force of workers. As with honeybees, all of the bumblebee workers are sisters who spend some of their time flying around searching for flowers from which to collect pollen and nectar to feed the larvae back in the hive.

Unlike honeybees, which are not native, bumblebees do not make harvestable honey. They do, however, provide important pollination services to plants.

"Bumblebees are among the most effective native pollinators," said Jha. "They are large and can carry a lot of pollen. They also vibrate or 'buzz' flowers with their bodies and thus are excellent at extracting pollen and moving it from plant to plant."

To study the bumblebees, Jha did not scour the landscape for nests in the ground, which has proved in the past to be very difficult, especially over large areas. Instead, she analyzed the genetic relatedness of bees foraging in the landscape.

If bees collected in an area were genetically identified as sisters, they came from the same colony. Unrelated bees came from different colonies. Jha used this information, plus the bees' locations, to estimate the number of bee colonies in an area and determine how far afield the individual bees were foraging.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Texas at Austin.

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

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Journal Reference:

1. S. Jha, C. Kremen. Resource diversity and landscape-level homogeneity drive native bee foraging. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2012; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1208682110

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/most_popular/~3/sMBqHKgy3yI/121226080902.htm

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Richard Griot Shares His Collection and Philosophy Towards ...

8 hours ago ?
Lifestyle ?
Max Gibson ?
451 Views

Sharing his passion for collecting cars, car enthusiast Richard Griot touches on the mindset that has led to his success in the automotive industry. Collecting, repairing, rebuilding and driving classic cars is Griot?s life. An automotive haven for car care and maintenance, Griots?s eponymous shop, Griot?s Garage, has been revered as one of the premiere destination for car enthusiasts. Acknowledging that his interest and curiosity for cars has led to his success within the industry, this short video details his unwavering passion for his craft. Labeled an ?Automotive Renaissance Man? for his ability to revitalive and rejuvenate cars, this video offers a window into the life and career of a true car enthusiast.

Source: http://hypebeast.com/2012/12/richard-griot-shares-his-collection-and-philosophy-towards-collecting-cars

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Movie Review: 'This is 40? | Movies & TV | Arts & Entertainment ...

By Mark Jackson
Epoch Times Staff Created: December 22, 2012 Last Updated: December 22, 2012

Debbie (Leslie Mann) and Pete (Paul Rudd), husband and wife, approach a milestone meltdown in the comedy ?This Is 40.? (Suzanne Hanover/ Universal Studios)

It?s who you know. And if it isn?t broken, don?t fix it.

In his fourth directorial endeavor, ?This Is 40,? director Judd Apatow recycles a few characters from his earlier film ?Knocked Up.? ?This Is 40? is a ?Knocked Up? sequel. It wasn?t broken and he didn?t fix it?and it works just fine.

It?s also all about who Apatow knows. Lead actress Leslie Mann is his real-life wife, and the daughters of her character Debbie are her and Apatow?s real-life kids. Paul Rudd and Jason Segel are solid members of Apatow?s repertory company of recyclable actors.

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?This Is 40? is an amusing film that points out the fact that people tend to muddle through, and that everyday life goes up and down, back and forth, and round and round.

Married-with-kids couple Pete and Debbie (Rudd and Mann) are becoming middle-aged. Debbie turns 40; it?s a little traumatic for her. She insists she?s 38. She sneaks too many cigarettes. Hubby Pete sneaks too many cupcakes. Their kids squabble. Pete?s father, Larry (Albert Brooks), is a major money-moocher. Oliver (John Lithgow) is Debbie?s distant and disdainful doctor dad.

Megan Fox plays one of Debbie?s employees, who?s tattled on by another employee as stealing from the company but whose suspiciously lavish lifestyle turns out to be funded by escorting. Debbie covets her youthful employee?s flawless body (which is not the only reason Megan Fox was cast?she also has pretty flawless comedic timing).

Writer and director Judd Apatow on the set of ?This Is 40,? a comedic look inside the life of an American family. (Suzanne Hanover/ Universal Studios)

Debbie discovers some online bullying and tongue-lashes the boy who addressed her daughter improperly, making him cry (he?s 13). Then she figures out later that he just has a schoolboy crush on her daughter.

Pete tries to keep his record label, ?Unfiltered Records,? from going under but refuses to pay attention to trends and insists on signing washed-up musical acts.

So they?ve got aging parents, money problems, kids online too much, nagging addictions, and a growing case of ?familiarity breeds contempt.? Sound familiar? It?s a slice of current American family life, as we know it.

Like most of Apatow?s movies, ?This Is 40? is quite funny. Leslie Mann is consistently the funniest, with Rudd a close second, and the eldest daughter?s preteen hysterics a close third. As in most R-rated comedies, the shock value of cursing begets a number of cheap laughs.

The one slightly disturbing scene is of the couple getting dragged into the principal?s office to face accusations by the mother of the boy Debbie harassed. Pete and Debbie take advantage of the fact that the boy?s mother (Melissa McCarthy of ?Bridesmaids?) is a little bit off, and lie their way out of trouble. They think nothing of it, as if they are entitled to pull the wool over the principal?s eyes because they?re better looking.

So what do we get? Some pretty good laughs. And an affirmation that life is messy, basically. It?s good to have a sense of humor. Life would improve if we could stop eating cupcakes, but it?s so difficult to give up cupcakes. So round and round we go.

THIS IS 40

Director: Judd Apatow
Cast: Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann, Jason Segel, John Lithgow, Albert Brooks, Megan Fox, Maude Apatow, Iris Apatow
Running Time: 2 hours, 14 minutes
Rating: R for sexual content, crude humor, pervasive language, and some drug material

The Epoch Times publishes in 35 countries and in 20 languages. Subscribe to our e-newsletter

Source: http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/arts-entertainment/movie-review-this-is-40-327688.html

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10 things you never knew about the North Pole

1 hr.

Kaeli Conforti , Budget Travel

Say "North Pole" and most people think of Santa, but did you know that the region is a hotbed for international intrigue? Or that it has a special connection to the unicorn? Just in time for Christmas, here are 10 fun facts about the most mythical place on earth.

There's more to the North Pole than just snow and Santa. Ever since it was discovered by Robert E. Peary, Matthew Henson, and four Eskimo companions back in 1909, the North Pole has been a place of international intrigue???did you know several countries are now fighting over vast underground oil reserves in the Arctic Circle? You can go see for yourself with expedition voyages or even spend the night in a hotel made entirely of ice???try the IceHotel in Jukkasj?rvi, Sweden, or stay overnight at the Aurora Ice Museum in Fairbanks, Alaska, for a unique twist on the average igloo.?

Here, 10 more facts about the North Pole that may surprise you:

There are two North Poles
Unlike the South Pole, which lies over the continent of Antarctica, there is no land beneath the North Pole but more of a floating Arctic ice sheet that expands during colder months and shrinks to half its size in the summer. To complicate things even more, there are two different definitions of the North Pole. The first is the north magnetic pole, which is, quite literally, a magnetic phenomenon which changes daily depending on changes under the Earth's crust. Additionally, there is a north terrestrial pole, which is the fixed point that references the top of the Earth. Regardless of how you define the North Pole, global warming continues to be a problem here???as the polar ice caps melt, the sea levels rise, eliminating the land that polar bears and other wildlife depend on for survival.?

It's at the center of an international controversy right now
Did you know 30 percent of the world's untapped oil reserves are located in the Arctic Circle? The U.S. Geological Survey says that amount could actually be higher, since so much of the region has yet to be explored. Complicating matters is the fact that multiple countries lay claim to the Arctic Circle???Russia, Canada, Norway, Denmark (via Greenland), and the United States (via Alaska). Each country is allowed to explore potential oil reserves within 200 miles of their coastlines, but in 2007, Russia used a mini-submarine to plant the country's flag on the floor of the Arctic Ocean in an attempt to claim the region and its natural resources, a move that was rejected by the U.N. as the countries continue to work toward a solution.?

The North Pole has seasons
Just like everywhere else on Earth, the temperature varies here depending on the time of year. The North Pole is warmest in July, if by warm you mean it's actually freezing???32 degrees. If that gives you the shivers, brace yourself. Temperatures in February drop to a bone-chilling 31 degrees below zero. The amount of light each day depends on the time of year, too. Alaska as well as Norway and the other Arctic Circle countries each face six months of broad daylight and six months of almost total darkness because of the angle at which this top portion of the Earth receives sunlight.?

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Yet, it is not the coldest place in the world
It might come as a shock, but even with temperatures with a high of just 32 degrees, the North Pole is not the coldest place on Earth. The South Pole is (in winter temperatures average -76 degrees F). Unlike the North Pole, the South Pole sits on top of a thick sheet of ice, which in turn sits on top of a piece of land???Antarctica. At more than 9,000 feet above sea level, Antarctica is also the world's tallest continent. The North Pole, on the other hand, is made up of a thin Arctic ice sheet that sits barely a foot above sea level???a fact that allows the landscape to absorb heat from the surrounding Arctic Ocean.?

There is life up there
While the conditions may be considered too tough for most humans, there are native Inuit tribes living in northern Canada and Alaska. The outer reaches of the Arctic Circle are a great place to see polar bears in the wild. Keep an eye out for other Arctic dwellers like Orca, Humpback, and Beluga whales, the arctic fox, and Svalbard reindeer. This isn't the only place to see reindeer in the world; a reindeer herd in the U.K. inhabits the Cairngorm Mountains of northern Scotland. One animal you won't see in the North Pole is the penguin. They live in the South Pole. Several species of flying penguin-like birds called auks, guillemots, and puffins can be seen in the Arctic Circle, though.?

Santa Claus is not the only legendary character in the North Pole
Did you know that the creature that inspired myths about unicorns comes from the North Pole? The narwhal, a small whale that lives in the chilly waters of the Arctic Circle, has a six-to-10-foot long tusk, a trait that earned it the nickname "unicorn of the sea." Back in the 16th century, they were often believed to possess magical powers that could be used to cure diseases. Demand was high, and legend has it that Queen Elizabeth I shelled out 10,000 pounds to get her hands on her very own narwhal tusk. Nowadays, narwhal populations are on the decline, due to hunting (Inuit peoples use the meat, tusks, and vitamin-C-rich skin in their everyday lives), climate change, and fishing for halibut, their main source of food.?

Santa's magical workshop isn't in the North Pole proper???but it is nearby
Shh! Don't tell the kids, but Santa's Workshop isn't really in the North Pole???it's in Finnish Lapland. You can visit Santa Claus Village in the Finnish town of Rovaniemi year round, send letters to and from his post office (they'll bear the official postmark of the Arctic Circle), and spend time exploring Santa Park, a series of Christmas-themed caves where you can meet jolly old St. Nick and his elves. You can even visit Santa's reindeer at the onsite Sirmakko Reindeer Family Farm. If Finnish Lapland seems a little out of reach, Santa also has a satellite workshop in the holiday-themed town of North Pole, Alaska where the streets have names like Kris Kringle, Mistletoe, Donner, and Blitzen.

If you would rather write to Santa than visit his workshops, the U.S. Postal Service will postmark letters from Santa Claus as long as they are received by December 10th each year. Simply mail your letters to North Pole Postmark Postmaster, 41-41 Postmark Drive, Anchorage, Alaska 99530 with "Santa, North Pole" marked as the return address. If time is of the essence, you can always email Santa??he'll answer it right away. On Christmas Eve, use the Santa Tracker North Pole Command Center app ($1.99) to keep an eye on Santa's progress.?

You can vacation there
While not exactly a budget destination, you can embark on your own Arctic adventure. Quark Expeditions offers a wide variety of cruising expeditions ranging from the Spitsbergen Explorer, an 11-day cruise around the Norwegian island (from $4,995 per person) to The Ultimate Arctic Adventure, which sails from Russia to the 90-degree north spot that represents the North Pole, visits Franz Josef Land, and tours the Arctic Ocean (from $23,995 per person). Go from June to mid-July to see the polar bears and walrus hunting in their own natural habitat, from mid-July to mid-August to see flowers and other arctic flora in bloom, or from mid-August to September as birds begin to migrate South.

There?are hot springs up there
If you are in the frigid Arctic Circle, you'll need to find a way to warm up.?Chena Hot Springs, located about an hour outside Fairbanks has a natural geothermal hot spring in a rock lake surrounded by nature. The hot springs are open from 7 a.m. to midnight, giving you plenty of time to soak and get a front row seat for the Aurora Borealis (best viewed between August and May). You can also stay at the Chena Hot Springs Resort ($65 a night to room in a Mongolia-style yurt, or stay in a room at the resort for from $189 a night). A number of hot springs can also be found in Norway's Svalbard Islands, in Iceland (the Landmannalaugar Hot Springs is well-known), and in Russia??? Scientific American profiled the hot springs in Oymyakon, Siberia, the coldest town on Earth.?

There is a North Pole marathon every year
The North Pole Marathon bills itself as the World's Coolest Marathon, and with an average wind chill temperature of 22 degrees below zero, they'd be right. It's happened every year since 2002???in 2011, 255 people from 38 nations around the world braved the conditions to compete in the 26.2-mile marathon race on top of a floating Arctic ice shelf. Competitors are transported to an international North Pole Camp on the polar ice shelf to start the race. And they layer up-thermal layers, windproof pants, gloves, two pairs of socks, and even goggles are necessary. The next North Pole Marathon takes place on April 9, 2013, and costs a pretty penny???about $15,561 for the entry fee that includes accommodations in Spitsbergen, Greenland, before and after the race, flights to and from the North Pole Camp, helicopter flights within the polar region, medals, and a commemorative DVD of the race. But the bragging rights are priceless.

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Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/travel/itineraries/10-things-you-never-knew-about-north-pole-1C7657750

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California teacher cashes in on cousin?s $7.4m gold coin collection

CARSON CITY, NEV. Walter Samaszko Jr. was a loner whose death went largely unnoticed. That all changed when a crew sent to clean out his house found a fortune stashed away in the garage of his modest ranch-style home.

There were ammunition boxes stuffed with thousands of gold coins, from Austria, Mexico and the United States. There was enough gold to fill up two wheelbarrows ? more than $7.4 million worth.

?There was every kind of coin you could think of,? said Alan Glover, the Carson City clerk and the public administrator of the estate who borrowed a neighbour?s wheelbarrow to haul the treasure out.

City officials searched through records to find an heir: a substitute teacher in the San Francisco Bay Area who a judge declared Tuesday was Samaszko?s lone surviving first cousin.

The decision means Arlene Magdanz of San Rafael, Calif., is a millionaire. She didn?t attend the hearing and, so far, has not said anything publicly about her new-found fortune.

Samaszko?s body was found in June after neighbours called authorities, though it was not clear what prompted them to do so. He had been dead of heart problems for at least a month, according to the coroner.

His bank account stood at $1,200.

There were more than 2,900 Austrian coins, many from 1915; 4,500 from Mexico; 500 from Britain; 300 U.S. gold pieces, some dating to 1880; and more than 100 U.S. gold pieces as old as the 1890s. They were stored mostly in ammo boxes stacked on top of each other.

The Associated Press

Source: http://www.thespec.com/news/world/article/856328--california-teacher-cashes-in-on-cousin-s-7-4m-gold-coin-collection

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