One of the first big decisions new Bills coach Doug Marrone is going to be in on will be at quarterback.
And he?ll have some inside information on the proceedings, one way or another.
Marrone didn?t shed much light on the status of incumbent starter Ryan Fitzpatrick during his introductory press conference.
?I haven?t had the time to make those evaluations,? Marrone said, via Jay Skurski of the Buffalo News. ?I don?t talk about players in the press. I?m looking forward to evaluating this time with our great scouting staff, getting to know them, and starting that process.?
Of course, he can start much sooner, as he and Fitzpatrick share an agent, Jimmy Sexton.
It might be hard for Sexton to make both clients happy, as Fitzpatrick is due a $3 million roster bonus in March, and it?s no sure thing that happens. Bills GM Buddy Nix was emphatic about drafting a quarterback this year, to the extent of advocating for trading up to get one.
?We covered that, just like we covered everything, but I don?t think we emphasized that any more,? Nix said when asked whether the quarterback situation came up during Marrone?s interview.
One of the draftable quarterbacks they?re looking at will be Ryan Nassib, a three-year starter for Marrone at Syracuse.
?I love him. He did an outstanding job for our football team. He?s really grown in the last couple of years; he put a lot of emphasis on the leadership role and really took over the team. He?s a player that has gotten quite a bit better during the year,? Marrone said of Nassib, during an appearance on the NFL Network. ?He?s going to be playing in this league. I haven?t studied the draft, I haven?t gone through that; that?s down the road for me as far as the process of what I have to go through. But I do know that he?ll be in this league, so I?m excited for him.?
Figuring out that position will be his first priority, and his connections with his agent and his college will at least give him a jump-start on the process.
It?s time to take control of your health. Adding traditional cultured foods and beverages into your diet can be one of the most beneficial things you can do for your health. I know for me it is very important. I made a new year?s resolution to add more fermented foods and drinks to my diet and to learn how to make them at home. In particular, I am finally drinking kombucha and I hope the Challenge will help you do the same! I hope you join me in taking this giant step forward. Let?s share information, support and recipes!
We Are Too Clean and Have Lost Our ?old friends?
The beneficial bacteria, yeasts, fungi, viruses and even worms (read more about that here) that inhabit our intestines are our friends. They are supposed to live there, having evolved inside of us over hundreds of thousands of years. They do much for us and in return we give them home and hearth. These microscopic critters are our friends and as such must be treated with respect and generosity.
Over the course of the past hundred years, with urbanization, better sanitation, refrigeration and better living conditions, we have become more sterilized. Conventional attitudes have a firm belief in the germ theory and medicine quickly responds to the slightest sniffle with an antibiotic. We have done a good job in killing off potential pathogens, but also our beneficial bacteria as well.
Additionally, with the advent of refrigeration it was no longer necessary to ferment foods in order to preserve them. However, the symbiotic nature of our relationship with our microflora was not taken into account and most of us are depleted and out of balance, because we do not have the volume of beneficial bacteria we need.
For vibrant health we need to culture, nurture and revere our microbiome (bacteria, yeasts, fungi, viruses, helminthes).
Join the Kombucha Challenge!
Start to drink and learn how to make this amazing functional, living beverage a part of your life. You may start at any time and be at any level of competence. Beginners are welcome as well as the seasoned kombucha fan!
My goal with this challenge is to engage as many people as possible to the health benefits of fermented foods and kombucha in particular ? to teach them the simple skills that will develop their confidence to move forward in their health goals.
Make a goal
It?s all about kombucha! Start to drink a little at each meal as soon as possible. You don?t have to make it at home! You can start by buying it at your local health food store before you commit to making it at home. As with any probiotic food, start with just a little and work up the amount slowly in order to let your body become accustomed to the new food. This is a living food and some people will react to it, especially anyone with a known health problem. So don?t go and guzzle a full glass of kombucha on the first day unless you ordinarily do this!
I started several weeks ago to drink 1 ? 2 ounces with my meals. I already feel a difference in my digestion! My goal is to work up to 1/2 cup at each meal and some sips in between, as I found that it helps me control sugar cravings. That?s why I?m so excited about it! You can feel the benefits almost immediately!
I?ve tried several of the flavors and have a good idea about which ones I really like best. I can?t wait until my home brewed kombucha is ready and I can start experimenting at home!
If you are already drinking kombucha perhaps your goal can be to learn how to brew it at home. We will be going over that over the 4 week Challenge period.
If you are already home brewing perhaps your goal can be to switch to the continuous brewing method or to get some of your friends involved in this Kombucha Challenge because you know it is so healthy.
Here are the Rules:
You may set one or more goals for the Challenge according to which level you would like to achieve. Please leave a comment stating your goal(s). When you publicly state your goals, you are more apt to follow through.
There is one mandatory action to be included in the Kombucha Challenge ? you MUST sign up for the Komucha Challenge newsletter below. This will keep us in direct communication with new information, links and coupon codes.
Level 1: Goal is to start drinking kombucha whether it is home brewed or store bought.
Level 2: Goal is to learn how to brew it at home.
Level 3: Switch to the continuous brewing system.
Level 4: Goal is to share your love of komucha with others by inviting them to this challenge or by giving a beautiful baby SCOBY to a friend.
Sign up for my the Kombucha Challenge Newsletter Here
In order to participate in the Challenge you must sign up for the Kombucha Challenge Newsletter which I will send to you several times over the course of the Challenge with new information, links and coupon codes.
Please leave a comment on this page that you did so
There will also be tons of information on my blog posts over the month of the challenge so you may want to subscribe to that as well in the upper right hand side bar (that is not required, however most of the information will be on the blog!).
Join in the Kombucha Challenge Linky
Starting Wednesday January 9, 2013 (opening Tuesday night) I will open a Kombucha Challenge Carnival for all to share their great recipes for kombucha and/ or articles about kombucha. It will be open for sharing the whole month of the Challenge. If you don?t have a blog you can share your recipes in the comments section of the linky.
Have some fun!
Know that you are providing super healthful foods to yourself and your family by adding more cultured drinks into your diet!
If LaCie's2big Thunderbolt isn't quite large enough to handle your storage needs, a solution is on the way. At CES, the outfit has revealed the robust 5big Thunderbolt series that can handle five hot-swappable drives (as the moniker suggests) while offering up to 20TB capacity with advertised speeds capable of notching 785MB/sec -- when appropriately configured. Wielding a handful of said drives affords the device custom RAID configurations allowing RAID 0 on three units while the remaining two reside in RAID 1. Dual Thunderbolt ports make daisy chaining an option -- if your wallet can handle it, of course. If you're concerned about the heat output, the 5big sports a heat-dissipating enclosure alongside a Noctua cooling fan and exhausts to keep things at a manageable temperature. Both 10TB and 20TB configurations will be available with a beginning price tag of $1,199 from LaCie and other retailers at a yet-to-be-announced date. For now, the full PR rests past the break and a closer look awaits in the gallery below.
These are the two things you need to know about curb appeal: You have seven to ten seconds to make a first impression; details make up the whole. Paying particular attention to details will ensure that the whole front view of your house makes a super first impression. This check list will provide you with a rubric of details to pay attention to when you are putting your house on the market.
Landscaping:
1. Is the lawn trimmed and neat? Have brown patches in the grass been replaced or repaired?
2. Have all borders been edged?
3. Are trees and bushes neatly trimmed?
4. If your yard lacks trees and bushes, do you have plans to plant some?
5. Have you hidden unsightly features, like a central air conditioning unit, with green plants?
6. Have you removed all clutter and debris from your lawn and driveway?
Concrete:
1. Is your driveway cracked or chipped? If so, repave it.
2. Is your walkway in good repair? If you have a walkway made of bricks or pavers, weed in between the bricks or pavers, and replace any broken or chipped bricks or pavers. Be sure to edge around the front walk. For paver replacement inspiration, Artistic Paver Mfg., a concrete contractor in Miami who specializes in pavers, has posted some awesome pictures on Hometalk.com.
House facade:
1. Does your house have a neutral, classic color scheme?
2. Is your paint fresh-looking, with no moldy, bubbled, or peeling spots? If not, you need the services of a professional painter.
3. Your inside window treatments are visible from the outside. Do they match? Are they neat-looking and in good repair?
4. Have you installed shutters next to your windows? Adding matching, attractive shutters is a classic way to improve curb appeal.
Front door:
1. Is your front door new-looking? If not, replace it with a new door.
2. Update front door hardware with shiny, new hardware. Make sure that the hardware is consistent with the style and period of your house.
3. Is your mail box attractive? If not, replace it with a modern and attractive mail box.
4. Are your house numbers prominent? New, bold, attractive house numbers are a detail that improve curb appeal.
5. How do your exterior light fixtures look? Up-to-date, fashionable exterior light fixtures are attractive to buyers.
A delicious mug of hot chocolate with a little spice of gingerbread will warm up cold winter nights.
By Caroline Lubbers,?Whipped, The Blog / January 4, 2013
The spices in this homemade cocoa add a hint of warmth.
Whipped, The Blog
Enlarge
Let?s not call it quits on all the decadence just yet. The holiday spirit is still lingering in the air and for many of us lucky souls, our palates have become so accustomed to sweet treats. It seems that much of the country is experiencing intense weather and plenty of snow. Whether you are recovering from difficult holiday travel or tucked snug inside, my guess is that clutching a mug of spiced cocoa will hit the spot.
Skip to next paragraph Caroline Lubbers
Whipped
Caroline Lubbers is a mother, wife, business owner and food blogger. Through her consulting company, Goldfish Marketing Communications, she has the pleasure of working with a number of chefs and specialty food companies. In 2007, Caroline launched her blog Whipped to learn more about blogging, to explore new recipes and as an excuse to buy a fancy camera.
Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of The Christian Science Monitor Weekly Digital Edition
The spice mixture I created for this cocoa was inspired by Dutch cookies called speculaas. They have the usual gingerbread spices and sometimes an added bite from a touch white pepper. If you didn?t know the white pepper is in this recipe, you probably wouldn?t guess it by sipping the cocoa. It adds a subtle, additional warmth to the back of your throat.
I intended to make large jars full of this cocoa mix and give it as Christmas gifts but that became one more project heaped on my ?didn?t get around to it? pile. Instead, I have had a bowl of the spice mixture on my counter for weeks and have sprinkled it into cocoa and most recently steel cut oatmeal, which was delicious along with a large spoon of brown sugar.
The flavor and quality of this cocoa will be determined entirely by the type of chocolate you buy. Though the price is higher, Callebaut, Valrohna or something comparable will transform this into a decadent sipping experience.
Gingerbread Spice Hot Chocolate Mix ?Makes 8 servings
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground all spice
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1 teaspoons ground clove
1/4 teaspoon finely ground white pepper
1/4 teasopon kosher salt
1/2 cup vanilla sugar (or regular white sugar), see recipe below
1/2 cup good quality cocoa powder (I like Valrohna)
1 cup (about 8 ounces) finely chopped high quality dark, semi-sweet chocolate (I used Callebaut)
Mix everything except the chopped dark chocolate in a bowl with a whisk until well combined. Stir in the dark chocolate until mixed. To make cocoa, stir 1/4 cup of the mixture into 8 ounces of hot milk. Adjust the amount of chocolate you want for weaker or stronger cocoa.
How to Make Vanilla Sugar:
1 whole vanilla bean
2 cups granulated sugar
Put sugar in a bowl. Slice the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out the insides with a knife. Put the small seeds in the bowl with the sugar. Stir with a whisk to combine until the small black seeds are evenly mixed with the sugar. Put the sugar in an airtight container. Press the vanilla pod into the middle (this will give some extra flavor and aroma). Let the sugar sit for at least 48 hours or ideally, up to 2 weeks. Remove the pod before using.
The Christian Science Monitor has assembled a diverse group of food bloggers. Our guest bloggers are not employed or directed by The Monitor and the views expressed are the bloggers' own and they are responsible for the content of their blogs and their recipes. All readers are free to make ingredient substitutions to satisfy their dietary preferences, including not using wine (or substituting cooking wine) when a recipe calls for it. To contact us about a blogger, click here.
Ryan has acquired Thomson Reuters Property Tax Services (PTS) business.
The acquisition will add an estimated 600 property tax and unclaimed property professionals, making Ryan the largest global provider of property tax services, with the largest indirect tax practice in North America and the second largest unclaimed property practice and sixth largest corporate tax practice in the United States.
Ryan?s acquisition of Thomson Reuters PTS will form the largest property tax practice in the world, with more than 750 global professionals leveraging the expertise, methodologies, and best practices of both groups.
VALLEY CITY, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) For the 2nd consecutive year, Valley City and surrounding area will host the Special Olympics North Dakota State Winter Games.
More than 150 Special Olympics athletes, children and adults with intellectual disabilities, and Unified Partners from throughout North Dakota will compete in the two-day event for the chance to be a state champion. Competition held in these Winter Sports: Alpine Skiing, Cross Country Skiing, Snowshoe Racing and Unified Team Handball.
The event will be held Friday, January 18 and Saturday, January 19, at the Valley City Recreation Center Valley City Auditorium Metcalf Farms ?Cross Country Ski & Snowshoe racing site Fort Ransom ?Bears Den Mountain Ski Area ?Alpine Skiing site Schedule of Events: Friday, Jan. 18th -11:00 a.m. ?Opening Ceremony @ VC Auditorium -1:00 p.m. ?Handball, Snowshoe, & Cross Country skiing competition begin -1:30 p.m. ?Alpine Skiing competition begins -7:30 p.m. ?Evening dance and outdoor Olympic Village begin Saturday, Jan. 19th -8:30 a.m. ?Handball competition resumes Individual and Group Volunteer Areas and Opportunities include: Facilities set up and support, Team Handball timers and scorekeepers, Cross Country Skiing and Snowshoe racing competition support, Alpine Skiing competition support, Athlete meal preparation and distribution, All-Tournament Team support and Awards.
To learn more about the State Winter Games or to sign up as a volunteer contact director Reid Huttunen at 701-746-0331 or email: traindir@aol.com For more information on Special Olympics North Dakota: Website: www.specialolympicsnorthdakota.org, on Facebook: www.facebook.com/specialolympicsND and on Twitter: @SONorthDakota
Comment Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in the comments section of NewsDakota.com are solely those of the comment author and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions held by NewsDakota.com.
Reuters
These are the two things you need to know about curb appeal: You have seven to ten seconds to make a first impression; details make up the whole. Paying particular attention to details will ensure that the whole front view of your house makes a super first impression. This check list will provide you with a rubric of details to pay attention to when you are putting your house on the market.