Pa.'s Punxsutawney Phil predicts early spring

Groundhog Club Co-handler Ron Ploucha holds the weather predicting groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, after the club said Phil did not see his shadow and there will be an early spring on Groundhog Day, Saturday, Feb. 2, 2013 in Punxsutawney, Pa. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

Groundhog Club Co-handler Ron Ploucha holds the weather predicting groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, after the club said Phil did not see his shadow and there will be an early spring on Groundhog Day, Saturday, Feb. 2, 2013 in Punxsutawney, Pa. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

Groundhog Club Co-handler John Griffiths holds the weather predicting groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, after he was taken from the stump before the club said Phil did not see his shadow and there will be an early spring on Groundhog Day, Saturday, Feb. 2, 2013 in Punxsutawney, Pa. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

Groundhog Club Co-handler John Griffiths holds the weather predicting groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, as he is surrounded by photographers after the club said Phil did not see his shadow and there will be an early spring on Groundhog Day, Saturday, Feb. 2, 2013 in Punxsutawney, Pa. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

Groundhog Club Co-handler John Griffiths, left, holds the weather predicting groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, after he was taken from the stump before the club said Phil did not see his shadow and there will be an early spring on Groundhog Day, Saturday, Feb. 2, 2013, in Punxsutawney, Pa. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

Groundhog Club Co-handler John Griffiths, left, holds the weather predicting groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, after he was taken from the stump before the club said Phil did not see his shadow and there will be an early spring on Groundhog Day, Saturday, Feb. 2, 2013, in Punxsutawney, Pa. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. (AP) ? An end to winter's bitter cold will come soon, according to Pennsylvania's famous groundhog.

Following a recent stretch of weather that's included temperatures well below freezing as well as record warmth, tornadoes in the South and Midwest and torrential rains in the mid-Atlantic, Punxsutawney Phil emerged from his lair Saturday in front of thousands but didn't see his shadow.

Legend has it that if the furry rodent sees his shadow on Feb. 2 on Gobbler's Knob in west-central Pennsylvania, winter will last six more weeks. But if he doesn't see his shadow, spring will come early.

The prediction is made during a ceremony overseen by a group called the Inner Circle. Members don top hats and tuxedos for the ceremony on Groundhog Day each year.

Bill Deeley, president of the Inner Circle, says that after "consulting" with Phil, he makes the call in deciphering what the world's Punxsutawney Phil has to say about the weather.

Phil is known as the "seer of seers" and "sage of sages." Organizers predicted about 20,000 people this weekend, a larger-than-normal crowd because Groundhog Day falls on a weekend this year.

"I just hope he's right and we get warmer weather soon," said Mike McKown, 45, an X-ray technician who drove up from Lynchburg, Va., with his mother.

Phil's got company in the forecasting department. There's Staten Island Chuck, in New York; General Beauregard Lee, in Atlanta; and Wiarton Willie, in Wiarton, Ontario, among others noted by the National Climactic Data Center "Groundhog Day" Web page.

"Punxsutawney can't keep something this big to itself," the Data Center said. "Other prognosticating rodents are popping up to claim a piece of the action."

Phil is the original ? and the best, Punxsutawney partisans insist.

The 1993 movie "Groundhog Day" starring Bill Murray brought even more notoriety to the Pennsylvania party. The record attendance was about 30,000 the year after the movie's release, said Katie Donald, executive director of the Groundhog Club. About 13,000 attend if Feb. 2 falls on a weekday.

Phil's predictions, of course, are not always right on. Last year, for example, he told people to prepare for six more weeks of winter, a minority opinion among his groundhog brethren. The Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell University later listed that January to June as the warmest seven-month period since systematic records began being kept in 1895.

"We'll just mark it up as a mistake last year. He'll be correct this year," McKown said hopefully.

___

Ron Todt reported from Philadelphia.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-02-02-Groundhog%20Day/id-6309c2c4bfe44db4bc301fdc3c33a59f

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Out Magazine Reveals Annual Love Issue Portfolio

www.out.com:

Out magazine has revealed the couples and families featured in their February 2013 Love Issue.

Read the whole story at www.out.com

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/03/out-magazine-reveals-annu_n_2606606.html

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School finance transparency bill advances | The Salt Lake Tribune

Education ? Measure would put more spending data online.

Lawmakers advanced a bill Friday that would allow Utahns to look up how much their schools spend online on specific programs, supplies and other expenses.

The Senate unanimously approved SB128 on second reading Friday, meaning it must be read one more time in the Senate before it moves to the House.

Bill sponsor Sen. Daniel Thatcher, R-West Valley City, said the bill wouldn?t ask schools or districts to collect any data beyond what they already do, but it would require them to share that data they already collect on the state?s transparency website. The bill would cost $15,800 mainly for changes to the website and training.

"Think about the kinds of policy decisions that can be discussed, that can be debated, with full transparency of financial expenditures," Thatcher said.

Several other lawmakers also spoke in support of the measure Friday, though earlier in the week some education leaders questioned the price tag and usefulness of such a change.

State Superintendent Martell Menlove said earlier this week that if the state were to put information online for every school in Utah, rather than just for school districts, he believes it would cost far more than $15,800. He also wondered about the value of such data to the public, given its complexity.

Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/55750061-78/bill-data-transparency-friday.html.csp

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National Secular Society - Parents voice concern over plans to give ...

Concerns have been raised that faith based admissions criteria are being indirectly applied to community schools when 'faith' schools become feeder schools.

It is feared that a proposal by Surrey County Council to turn Reigate Parish Church School into a 'feeder school' for the Reigate Priory Junior School will indirectly apply faith based admissions criteria to a community school, disadvantaging other local children.

As a Voluntary Aided Church of England school, Reigate Parish reserves 50% of its places for children whose parents are active participants of, and regularly worship in, a local Anglican church or other Christian churches.

Reigate Priory is an oversubscribed community school, rated as 'outstanding' by Ofsted. Historically most children who want to have been able to transfer to the oversubscribed Reigate Priory from Reigate Parish Church Infant School. However, with increased pressure on school places in Reigate, increasingly, there are children who have found it difficult to access a local junior place.

The council has therefore proposed to introduce a feeder link for children from Reigate Parish and one other community school.

Local parents are concerned that under the proposed new admissions policy for Reigate Priory, children attending Reigate Parish will be prioritised above other local children for whom Reigate Priory is the nearest school. In doing so, it is argued that the Church schools' discriminatory admissions policy is being indirectly applied to Reigate Priory community school.

The Equality Act 2010 prohibits schools from discriminating against pupils because of their religion or belief. As Reigate Priory has not been designated a faith school it does not benefit from the wide exemptions from equality law granted to schools of a religious character.

It is therefore being argued that if a foundation pupil (a pupil prioritised on religious grounds) of Reigate Parish Church School is offered a place ahead of another child for whom Reigate Priory is the nearest school, then that child may have been discriminated against on grounds of religion and belief.

Rachael Munroe, a local non-churchgoing parent who lives close to Reigate Priory, but unable obtain a place at either feeder school, told the NSS: "It seems very unfair that children living further away from Reigate Priory School will be prioritised over other local children for a place at Reigate Priory School just because they are practicing Christians."

Stephen Evans, campaigns manager at the National Secular society, said: "It is both inequitable and unreasonable that schools that operate discriminatory admissions policies can become feeder schools for community schools. It is already unfair that state funded 'faith' schools are permitted to turn away children simply on the basis of their parent's beliefs ? but for that discrimination to then give privileged access to community schools is completely unacceptable."

The National Secular Society has written to Surrey County Council to express its concerns and has sought legal advice with a view to making an official complaint to the Office of the Schools Adjudicator if the plans go ahead.

The NSS is also monitoring similar proposals nationally where religious primary schools are establishing formal feeder links with community secondary schools and non-religiously designated academies.

The full consultation document setting out the proposals can be found here (PDF)

Source: http://www.secularism.org.uk/news/2013/02/christians-set-to-gain-privileged-access-to-surrey-community-school

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Is this Super Bowl ad kiss too steamy for TV?

By Ben Popken, TODAY contributor

GoDaddy's reputation, and infamy, has been built in large part due to its lewd, mammary-filled Super Bowl ads. This year's, while still trading in the "sex sells" mentality, is a little different. But not so different as to fail to meet the expectations everyone has for a GoDaddy Super Bowl ad.

Featuring model Bar?Refaeli in a drawn-out smooch with a tech geek, one of GoDaddy's two 2013 Super Bowl ads once again cashes in on sex appeal. Compared to its earlier efforts, though, this one is classy, even sweet.

The commercial also stars race car driver Danica Patrick, who regularly appears in commercials for GoDaddy. The ad opens with a statement from Danica:

"There are two sides to GoDaddy. There's the sexy side represented by Bar Refaeli. ?And the smart side that creates a killer website for your small business, represented by Walter. Together, they're perfect.?

Cue the kiss.

At the end you're not left hating (but remembering) GoDaddy. Instead, you're rooting for the nerdly, curly-haired, bespectacled "Walter," played by Hollywood extra Jesse Heiman, who gets to do the lingering intense kiss with the blonde Refaeli.

"I told Jesse that he's a very good kisser," said Refaeli on the TODAY show, appearing via satellite from Tel Aviv.

"I have a very strange dream that all my friends know about where I go to club, look around, choose the guy most unlikely to be kissed, and kiss him in front of everyone,?and make give something to remember for the rest of the week," said Refaeli, who?was voted #1 on Maxim magazine's Hot 100 list of 2012.?"GoDaddy is making my dream come true."

The scene apparently took 65 takes.

"We tried to get it as perfect as possible," said Heiman, who smiled and shook his head when asked if he purposely messed it up in order to keep the kisses coming.

Bar?Refaeli, a 2009 Sports Illustrated cover model and the former flame of Leonardo DiCaprio,?does reveal a hint of cleavage in her taut, pink cocktail dress. However, there's no wardrobe malfunctions or down-the-shirt shots. Make no mistake, the centerpiece of the ad is an act of sexuality, a long kiss, but it's less "Girls Gone Wild" and more in the awkward rom-com vein you might see in a Judd Apatow-produced film.

Has GoDaddy grown up?

Somewhat. They're still up to their old teasing tricks. GoDaddy said CBS rejected a version of the ad that showed Refaeli and Heiman's tongues wrapped around each other's in an extended close-up, footage which the company shared with our producers.?A "non-Frenching" version will air during the Big Game.?But Heiman was quick to remind viewers of the TODAY show during his appearance this morning that they can go online to see more than what will be allowed during the Super Bowl.

GoDaddy's previous ads have had Danica Patrick slowly unzipping her jacket and then appearing to cut away right as she was about to show her breasts. Those ads told watchers to go online to GoDaddy.com to "see more."

The first time GoDaddy's ad appeared in the Super Bowl, visits to their website surged 400 percent, and orders shot up 100 percent, according to data by comScore.

"I would be very much fine with the second one airing and not the tamer one," Refaeli said. "When we do something?like that filled with a lot of humor, and we are joking about ourselves, I'd rather we go all the way." For those viewers who agree, GoDaddy will have something waiting for them on their website after the ad airs on the game, along with their ready and waiting online cash registers.

{"contentId":"16804921","totalVotes":"1377"}

Do you think Bar Refaeli?s GoDaddy Super Bowl ad is too racy?

Source: http://lifeinc.today.com/_news/2013/02/01/16804921-bar-refaelis-super-bowl-ad-kiss-too-steamy-for-tv?lite

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Short Sale Buy? - Zillow Real Estate Advice

There are never "ideal" short sales.? With that said, you can have ones that go smoother than others.? A short sale allows the seller to sell their home for less that what they owe.? It is an agreement between the seller and the sellers bank.? As the buyer you agree to purchase the home for "current fair market value".? There may be some "steals" out there, but? with home prices rising and more and more traditional sales making into the market they are harder to find.? So to answer your question:? I would say if you LOVE, love, love the home and can't see yourself living anywhere else, go for the short sale and hope its an easy one.? If not, don't limit yourself to just short sales, there are lots of traditional sales, and REOs out there too!

Source: http://www.zillow.com/advice-thread/Short-Sale-Buy/476746/

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Facebook Stores 240 Billion Photos - Business Insider

Some 618 million people use Facebook every day, the company told investors today.

And that adds up to? mind-boggling amount of data, especially photos.

Facebook stores more than 240 billion photos, with some 350 million new photos uploaded a day, reports Data Center Knowledge's Rich Miller.

To house those photos and all the other stuff, the company has built some of the most sophisticated data centers in the world, particularly its showpiece data center in Prineville, Ore.

But the company also owns and leases space in lots of other sites.

Facebook will spend $1.8 billion in 2013 on capital expenditures, mostly on servers, data centers, and infrastructure, it said today.

That's only a modest increase from 2012, when it spent $1.6 billion.

For the money, Facebook has to solve some big data center problems. For instance, only 8 percent of those 240 billion photos account for over 82 percent of Facebook's traffic, Miller reports. That means that Facebook can't just use the cheapest, but slowest, technology to store all of its photos. It can only use the cheapest, slowest systems for photos no one is looking at. So it developed its own software to figure out how popular each photo will be and put it in the right spot in every data center.

Here's a look at how Facebook divides up its capital-expenditure, or capex, dollars between its fancy state-of-the-art data centers and leased properties.

?

Don't miss: 8 Enterprise Startups Creating A Brand-New, $4 Billion Market

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-stores-240-billion-photos-2013-1

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