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AFL betting commences as the league enters its 11th week of action, and online sports bettors get to sink their teeth into a fantastic Southern Division match-up between the (7-3) New Orleans VooDoo and the (3-6) Tampa Bay Storm. New Orleans currently sits in first place within the division and holds a four game lead over the Storm. With last weeks loss at Georgia, the VooDoo are now 2-3 SU and ATS on the road, but they’ve managed to make their sports betting backers some cash going 7-3 ATS overall. Tampa Bay suffered its third straight loss at home last week against the Chicago Rush, and now stands 1-3 SU and 1-2-1 ATS in their own house. The Storm has cost AFL bettors this season by compiling an overall mark ATS of 3-4-2.
This will be the second match-up between these teams this season as they last met back in Week 3. The VooDoo trounced the Storm in “The Graveyard” winning by a 76-55 final count that saw them win outright as 10.5-point home underdogs. The combined 131 points soared over the closing ‘total’ of 105.5. The loss snapped the Storm’s three-game winning streak over their division rivals, and they’re now 4-3 SU and 5-2 ATS in their seven all time meetings against one another.
New Orleans got steamrolled in last week’s battle at the Gwinnett Center with the Georgia Force. Georgia spread bettors cruised to the easy ATS victory when the Force built a 38-19 halftime lead, and cruised in the second half to secure the 66-39 home win and cover. The loss snapped the VooDoo’s two-game winning streak ATS.
Tampa Bay absorbed another tough home defeat last Monday night when they fell by a 51-46 final count to the Chicago Rush. Spread bettors got to kiss their sister that night as the five-point margin of victory just so happened to be the spread on the game. The AFL pointspread was 100% accurate for the match-up.

betus.com

USPS Rate-Change Tips for E-tailers
Today a new round of USPS rates go into effect, and while some rates are increasing, e-tailers can also take advantage of discounts if they use online postal management services such as Endicia, a company specializing in e-business shipping that does a stellar job of both educating clients on such issues as well as providing ways to cut shipping costs.
The new rates affect retail pricing, or the standard counter price for postage, and commercial pricing, or the discounted price available to online postage users, such as those using Endicia, which in some cases come with certain requirements.
For Mail Class, the following price changes are now in place: Standard mail, 3.5-percent increase; Media Mail, 4 percent; First-Class Mail Letters, 2 percent; First Class Flat, 3 percent; and First Class Parcel, 3.5 to 4 percent.
In the Shipping Class, Priority Mail goes up 5 percent, and the commercial change is 3.3 percent, while Express Mail is up 1.5 percent, but the commercial change is a 1.6 percent decrease, according to Endicia.
No Fuel Surcharge for USPS
While this may discouraging, Mike Colgate, of Endicia, said that one benefit of the USPS service is that there are no extra charges. “There are about 90 different surcharges you can get from private carriers, the top four being for fuel, rural addresses, incorrect addressing and residential status,” he said. “Private carriers can cost up to three times as much as the USPS with these added to the bill.”
First Class Mail International is now on a shape-based pricing format, with three segments: letter, flat and parcel. While some costs go up, Colgate said some will decrease. “This change puts pricing more in line with domestic first class,” he said, noting that, for instance, a 3-ounce letter to Canada now costs 11 cents less than before today’s rate changes.

ecommerce-guide.com

OMAHA (KPTM) - Food shortages and rationing has been a third-world problem as of late, but recently, the phenomenon once thought unthinkable in the United States could start happening.
The New York Sun newspaper is reporting that major retailers on both coasts are limiting customers' purchases of flour, rice and cooking oil.
The Sun reports that a Costco Warehouse in California ran out of rice, frustrating shoppers. “Where's the rice?” an engineer from Palo Alto, Calif., Yajun Liu, said. “You should be able to buy something like rice. This is ridiculous.”
The rice that is left is selling at near one dollar a pound, and in some areas, customers report paying about $30 for a 25-pound bag.
Most Costco members were only allowed to buy only one bag. One clerk reportedly dropped two sacks back on the stack after taking them from a customer who tried to buy more than the one bag limit.
“Due to the limited availability of rice, we are limiting rice purchases based on your prior purchasing history,” a sign above the dwindling supply said, the Sun reports.
Shoppers said the limits had been in place for a few days, and that rice supplies had been spotty for a few weeks. A store manager referred questions to officials at Costco headquarters near Seattle, who did not return calls or e-mail messages to the Sun.
A New York Costco reportedly was not restricting rice, but is limiting oil and flour. Rumors floating on the Internet say that bakery owners bought up flour at warehouse stores after their commercial suppliers doubled their prices.
Spiking food prices have led to riots in recent weeks in Haiti, Indonesia, and several African nations. India recently banned export of all but the highest quality rice, and Vietnam blocked the signing of a new contract for foreign rice sales.

kptm.com

By Risidra Mendis
Thesounds of the koha bird is the first signthat yet another Sinhala and Hindu New Yearis round the corner. Tradition has it thatthe koha is the bird that heralds the NewYear.
The dawnof the Sinhala and Hindu New Year is said tobring hope, prosperity and most importantlypeace to the country. Astrologically, theAluth Avurudda marks the commencement of thesolar year, with the sun moving from Pisces(Meena Rashiya) to Aries (Mesha Rashiya).The transition time known as Sanskranthitakes place on April 13 or 14. It is duringthis period that traditional rituals areperformed to mark this important event ofthe year.
Beforethe commencement of the Aluth Avurudda, itis customary for every housewife to give anew look to her house. The house is cleanedby removing cobwebs, dust and soot. Thefloor, if not cemented, is given a freshapplication of cow dung mixed with earth.
Firewoodis collected and stocked beforehand for thepreparation of sweetmeats, such as kevum,kokis, athiraha, aggala, aluva and asmiamong others, three days prior to the NewYear. Money collected in tills is taken outto buy new clothes for the family,especially children, and to purchaseprovisions for the occasion.
Beginning of the New Year
However,unlike the Western celebration of the NewYear at midnight on December 31, the SriLankan New Year begins at a time determinedby astrological signs. Also unlike Westerntraditions, the ending of the old year andthe beginning of the New Year occur severalhours apart from one another which are alsodetermined by astrologers.
Thisperiod is referred to as the nonagathe(neutral period) and Sri Lankans accordingto customs are encouraged to refrain frommaterial pursuits and engage solely inreligious activities and traditional gamesduring this time.
Ritualsconnected with the Aluth Avurudda commencewith bathing on the last day of the old year( paranaavurudda) and viewing the moon on the samenight. In the village the melodious soundsof the temple bell accompanied by thebeating of drums (hewisi) inform the peopleof the auspicious times to perform thedifferent rituals.

thesundayleader.lk

MONTREAL — The much ballyhooed Speedo LZR Racer swimsuit lived up to the hype in its Canadian debut on Sunday, producing a new record for men’s 400 medley relay at the CN Swimming Trials.
Canada’s team knocked nearly three full seconds off the previous Canadian record of three minutes, 37.94 seconds racing in the controversial super suits credited with helping rewrite swimming record books in recent weeks.
“You feel like a race car, it’s just unbelievable, it doesn’t compare to anything else,” said Joe Bartoch, who swam the butterfly portion of the relay.
Bartoch, of London, Ont., Joel Greenshields of Airdrie, Alta., Jake Tapp of Langley, B.C., and Mathieu Bois of Montreal were confident the record time would be good enough to qualify for the Games, although a final call will come in June.
The CN Swimming Trials Olympic selection meet wrapped up Sunday with 27 swimmers qualifying for the Olympics and ten Canadian records falling at the six-day event.
And 20 swimmers qualified for the Canadian Paralympic team, which held its qualifying events for the first time during the same meet.
Two other spots remaining for the 10-kilometre open water swim will be decided at a meet in Seville, Spain, next month. Coaches will also be named in the coming weeks.
But the LZR Racer was on everyone’s mind as Canada’s best male swimmers in the four legs, minus injured freestyler Brent Hayden, were fitted with the suits Sunday for the relays only.
The new record time of 3:34.99 was within six one-hundredths of a second of Australia’s time to win at the Commonwealth Games in 2006.
The controversial suit had been banned this week, but the rest of the Canadian team will be outfitted with the LZR Racer this week. In addition, Speedo Canada announced it had reached a $2.5-million, eight-year sponsorship agreement with Swimming Canada.

canadianpress.google.com

The new 27-cent postcard rate (up from 26) will be met with five stamps picturing tropical fruits: pomegranate, kiwi, star fruit, papaya and guava.
A 42-cent stamped envelope features the silhouette of a bull elk set against a shadowy background of evergreen trees. Author James A. Michener will be seen on a new 59-cent two-ounce rate stamp, and Edward Trudeau is honored on the 76-cent three-ounce rate design. Noted in the design as a “phthisiologist,” Trudeau was a physician who devoted himself to researching and treating tuberculosis.
International rates are subject to different rules. The rate to Canada and Mexico goes from 69 to 72 cents, while air mail to the rest of the world jumps from 90 to 94 cents. The stamp for Canada and Mexico features a photograph of sunrise on the Androscoggin River in the 13 Mile Woods in Errol, New Hampshire. A view of Trunk Bay on the coast of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands, decorates the new international airmail stamp.
ΔHardware City Stamp Club, tonight at 7, teachers’ lounge at Holmes School, 2150 Stanley St., New Britain. Slide show: “Fancy U.S. Cancellations.”
ΔUSS Nathan Hale Chapter, Universal Ship Cancellation Society, April 6, 1 p.m.; Chesterfield Fire House, Route 85, Chesterfield section of Montville.
ΔManchester Philatelic Society, April 8, 6 p.m.; Don Willis Hall, Eighth Utilities District Headquarters, 18 Main St.
ΔPioneer Valley Stamp Club, April 8, 6:30 p.m.; First United Church of Christ, 763 Longmeadow St., Longmeadow, Mass.
ΔThames Stamp Club, April 9, 7:30 p.m.; Clark Lane Middle School, Waterford.
ΔConnecticut Stamp Collecting Festival, April 13, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Cromwell Crowne Plaza Hotel, 100 Berlin Road (Exit 21 off I-91). Free.

courant.com

I shall be tipsily waving the flag of a certain European country this evening, celebrating its long history with plenty of national booze and, I trust, a few of its more delectable eats in the company of hundreds of its proud citizens who for myriad reasons find themselves displaced this side of the ocean these days.
It’s in my diary. March 17: “La Grande Soirée de la Francophonie” in New York. “Manhattan’s conversations will take on a distinctly French accent” on this night, the invitation confidently asserts. Mais, qu’est-ce que c’est cette nuit? Did Sarkozy move Bastille Day forward just like the United States last weekend unilaterally leapfrogged the rest of the world moving its clocks to summertime three weeks early?
No, not that. It seems that this is an annual bash when France honours a person or institution for helping evangelise its culture and tongue in North America. The winner this year is the City University of New York in whose buildings we will be gathering. Bravo. So maybe this is not a conspiracy, as I was beginning to suspect, to snub the Irish, for whom 17 March also has a certain significance.
Certainly, if Britain had organised a “Bagpipes and Big Ben Night” in New York today that would have been the allegation. But even we are not that insensitive. And who in their right mind would try to compete with the Irish in America on St Patrick’s? They turn the Chicago River green, clog city arteries with parades and their public house merriment is such to make Bourbon Street in New Orleans seem tame.
Truth is though, this year things are slightly out of kilter. While the 5th Avenue Parade – green stripe painted down the tarmac – will begin this morning as usual at 10, in other places celebrations have happened already. In Savannah, Georgia, where St Patrick’s Day has become a big tourist draw, most of the fun was last Thursday. Boston, Philadelphia and Milwaukee had their parades at the weekend.

independent.co.uk

SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y., March 18 (UPI) — Golf great Tiger Woods has bought a 6-acre estate in Southampton, N.Y., the pricey playground at the east end of Long Island.
The price was $65 million, the New York Post reported Tuesday. For that, Woods got an exclusive address, a 13,200-square-foot mansion, a 7,200-square-foot guest house, lily pond, swimming pool, library and tennis court.
Woods already has a number of places to hang out, including an estate on Jupiter Island in Florida and a 155-foot yacht named Privacy. He is also building a palace in Dubai, next to the golf course he designed.
A source told the Post Woods almost lost the Southampton house, with a higher bid offered a few hours after he signed.
Woods’ neighbors on Gin Lane include Arthur Ochs “Punch” Sulzberger, head of the family that owns The New York Times, designer Vera Wang and developer Alfred Taubman.
“It’s one of the oldest and grandest estates on the East End,” one broker said. “As soon as something goes on the market on Gin Lane it gets snapped up quickly, even in this slowing economy.”

upi.com

One of the thoughts that enters my mind is, what happened when he had the urge to use the bathroom? Did they have a 2nd one or did he have to knock on the neighbor's door umpteen times? And if he did I bet that that put a definate strain on his friendship with his neighbors, no pun intended. Another thought is if she had literally grown to the toilet seat, how did she perform all the normal tasks involved with everyday sanitary bathroom functions? That is as graphic as I want to get about this subject and I will let you each use your imagines. All in all I guess that this is one more case for those who write the stories of weird events and believe it or not oddities.
The news said that the couple had two bathrooms so the boyfriend could use the other. Also, one news story said the woman moved around in the bathroom, changed clothes, and bathed or somehow cleaned up. I wondered how she could do that if her flesh had grown to the toilet seat. I think there is more to this story that what we are hearing. It would be interesting to hear the entire story from when the problem first started until after she was rescued from a prison of her own making. Also, did the man work? If so, did she just sit in the bathroom until he got home if he did? It must have been a very boring life. I guess they must not have had any kids.

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Construction workers climb around a section of collapsed crane that protrudes from a crushed building on 50th Street near Second Avenue in New York, Sunday, March 16, 2008. Crews with search dogs and heat-sensing cameras sought survivors or more victims Sunday in piles of rubble after a giant crane at a Manhattan construction site toppled like a tree across a city block, destroying buildings and killing at least four people. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
By KAREN MATTHEWS – 38 minutes ago
NEW YORK (AP) — Crews with search dogs and heat-sensing cameras sought survivors — or more victims — Sunday in the rubble of an apartment building crushed in a giant crane collapse that killed four people and injured at least 17.
The four were working on a new high-rise condo building, killed on the job in what Mayor Michael Bloomberg called one of the city’s worst construction accidents.
“I heard a big crash, and I saw dust immediately,” said Maureen Shea, a 66-year-old retired banker who was lying in bed talking on the phone when she glanced out her window and saw bricks raining from the sky. “I thought the crane was coming in my window.”

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