PA Town to Ban Santa Because He is Undocumented Worker

The people of Hazleton, PA are proud to announce a citizen-organized public awareness campaign called "No Santa for Hazleton." The campaign will use Santa Claus' status as America's most-loved illegal worker to demonstrate Hazleton's new "zero tolerance" policy toward illegal aliens. View a CNN news clip below

How to read a binary clock

Impress all your friends, by buying a binary clock and tanding it on the corner of your desk. It is impressive, and reads in two different modes commonly used to display time in binary. No matter which mode you might be faced with, you can now tell time following these simple steps. You also might want to buy a wrist watch, in binary mode and be one step ahead of most of your friends. The idea of the binary clock is relatively simple. Instead of displaying numbers in base 10 (which most people are used to), it uses binary (base 2) which only uses 1s and 0s. Because there are only two digits, lights can be used in place of the digits. "On" signifies a 1 and "Off" means 0. Reading the clock is only a matter of converting the binary value to decimal.

Steps

BCD (binary coded decimal) mode:
Decode each binary digit. The clock is divided into three sections, each containing two columns of lights. The first section displays hours, the second minutes, and the final section tells the seconds. The first column in each section represents the first digit (10's place) and the second column displays the second digit (or 1's place). Each column is composed of 2-4 lights, each representing a power of two. Starting at the bottom, the first light represents 20 (1), the second represents 21 (2), the third is 22 (4), and the top light represents 23 (8). In the picture, you can easily see this by the numbers to the left of each row.Add the corresponding values of every light in the column that is lit to find the appropriate number. For example, if the bottom three lights are lit, the number is 4 (third row) + 2 (second row) + 1 (bottom row) = 7. (See the second digit of the minutes in the picture.)

Read the hour by decoding the first section. In the picture, the bottom light (first row represents 1) in the first column is lit and the second column is blank (0). Combining the digits, you get 10 o'clock.NOTE: the time is displayed in 24hr time. Subtract 12 from the number if it is 13 or greater. For example, 15 would be 3 o'clock.
Find the minutes using the same process as before. Again looking at the picture; in the middle section, the first two (bottom) lights in the first column are lit (second row represents 2 and the first row is 1; 2 + 1 = 3) and the first three in the second column are lit (third row represents 4, second 2, and first 1; 4 + 2 + 1 = 7), combining the two digits, we find it is 37 minutes past the hour.

Decode the seconds. This can sometimes be tricky on an active clock because the seconds are ever changing. In the picture, the third light in the first column (third row represents 4) and the fourth and first light in the second column (fourth row is 8 and first is 1; 8 + 1 = 9) are lit, displaying 49 seconds. If you forget what number a light stands for, look at the number directly to the left of the row.

Combine the numbers to read the time.

yngmstr's Current Picture

Jedi Selling Robe?

Ishtalum (greetings in your language).

My name is Jeriam Lakrashi, I am a Jedi knight from the planet Galium in the Istorium galaxy, far, far away.

I have crashed on your beautiful little planet and am in the need to sell 4 items that I can manage without to enable me to purchase the parts needed to repair my light cruiser. The first of which is my Jedi robe, it is made of a heavy silken material, drapes elegantly and fits someone from about 5' 8" to 6'2" or so. It was hand made and has double stitching on all seams to ensure durability in all active engagements.

Please find it in your heart to purchase this or another of my items so that I might return home. It has been worn and might smell of smoke from the fire on my ship. Please look at the other 3 items I have for sale.

Throw Down with Bobby Flay

My Family and I had this for Sunday dinner last week, it was great.

Emile Stieffel, known far and wide throughout New Orleans, brings a party wherever he goes, and nothing gets the crowd going more than his jambalaya. When Bobby Flay shows up looking for a jambalaya jam, the tables are turned and he’s in for a big surprise. Bobby might know his way around a kitchen, but Emile’s got authentic, hometown secrets that will make this Throwdown one for the ages.


Cajun Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Yield: 10 to 12 servings

2 pounds mild smoked pork sausage, or any lean high-quality smoked pork sausage, sliced 1/4-inch thick
2 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thigh meat
1 1/2 pounds onions, diced
2 tablespoons minced fresh garlic
1 pound tasso, cubed
3/4 tablespoon whole fresh thyme leaves
3/4 tablespoon chopped fresh sweet basil leaves
1/2 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper
1/2 tablespoon white pepper
1/2 tablespoon red pepper flakes
1/3 gallon chicken stock
1 1/4 pounds long-grain rice
1 tablespoon freshly chopped curly parsley leaves

Use high heat to preheat the Dutch oven and add the sausage. Using a chef's spoon or large spoon, constantly move the sausage from the bottom of the pot. Be careful not to burn the meat. (Normally I use Manda's sausage because it has little fat, however at this point you may want to drain off all of the excess grease to reduce the fat content from the dish.)

Add the thigh meat and brown the chicken on all sides. Again use the spoon to scrape the meat from sticking and burning to the bottom of the pot. Browning the sausage and chicken meats should take 20 minutes. Be careful not to over cook the thigh meat to the point that it shreds.

Lower the heat to medium and add the onions and garlic; saute for about 15 minutes or until the onions are very limp and "clear". Scrape the bottom of the pot to remove all the "graton". This is where the jambalaya gets its distinct brown color and taste.

Add the tasso, thyme, basil and black and white pepper. Simmer over low heat for 10 minutes. This will give the seasonings time to release their oils and flavors.

At this point the jambalaya concentrate can be transferred to smaller containers, cooled to room temperature, covered and refrigerated for future use. (This is what we do commercially; it allows the seasonings to marry.)

When you are ready to cook the jambalaya, add the stock to the concentrate and bring to a rolling boil. Add the rice, reduce the heat to medium and gently break up the rice. Using the stainless steel paddle, continue to insure that the rice is not sticking to the bottom of the pot; this is very important!

After about 5 minutes, fold in the parsley. Continue to scrape the pot to insure that no rice sticks to the bottom. When the jambalaya returns to a boil, reduce heat to the lowest possible setting and simmer, covered, for at least 25 minutes. Do not remove the cover while the rice is steaming.