Christensen Gives Depleted Pens a Lift

Erik Christensen had a goal and assist during Pittsburgh's three-goal second period, and the injury- and illness-plagued Penguins rallied from a pair of deficits to beat the New Jersey Devils 4-2 Tuesday night.

In the first game for both teams following the All-Star break, the Penguins defeated the Devils for the fifth straight time in New Jersey and they did it without forwards Sidney Crosby (ankle), Colby Armstrong (flu) and Tyler Kennedy (mononucleosis).

Jordan Staal got Pittsburgh even at 1 early in the second and Christensen and Ryan Malone struck less than 2 minutes apart to put the Penguins in front. Ty Conklin made 23 saves to improve to 11-2-2 since joining the team following Marc-Andre Fleury's ankle injury in December.

Malone added a power-play goal 5:21 into the third to make it 4-2 for the Penguins, 2-1-1 since Crosby's injury.

That sent the Devils to their fourth loss in six games, each defeat coming at home. The visiting team has won all five meetings this season with New Jersey taking three in Pittsburgh.

New Jersey wasted the fourth career two-goal effort from forward Mike Rupp, who had no points in 35 games. Martin Brodeur stopped 23 shots.

Just like a 4-3 home loss to Montreal on Thursday, the Devils were done in by a bad period. New Jersey coach Brent Sutter punished his team with a long bike ride after the Devils were outshot 20-3 in the third and squandered a 3-1 lead.

This one couldn't have made him happy, either.

Despite recording only 10 shots in the second, the Penguins went ahead. After Staal tied it 1-1 at 1:12 on Pittsburgh's first shot, Christensen and Malone beat Brodeur 1:32 apart to make it 3-2.

Maxime Talbot and Christensen teamed up for some one-handed magic, tying it at 14:41. Devils defenseman Johnny Oduya tried to send the puck behind the net but hit the side of the cage.

Talbot used one hand to sweep the puck in front to Christensen, who moved it to his backhand and used his long right-handed reach to poke it past Brodeur.

The disappointed crowd, sparse at best in the Prudential Center, still buzzed when the Devils fell behind with 3:47 left. Evgeni Malkin passed the puck behind the net to former Devils forward Petr Sykora, who sent the puck off Brodeur's stick to Malone for a quick shot that made it 3-2.

Rupp had put the Devils ahead 2-1 with his 23rd NHL goal 52 seconds before Christensen's goal.

The fifth-year forward, who scored the Stanley Cup-winning goal for the Devils in Game 7 of the 2003 finals, notched his first of this season during rare power-play time. The 6-foot-5 center planted himself in front and cleaned up a loose puck to make it 1-0 at 8:54. It was his first goal since March 30, 2007.

New Jersey held an 11-8 shots advantage through 20 minutes after being dominated for the first half of the period. Devils forward Patrik Elias hit the post with 3 seconds left.

Notes:@ New Jersey RW Cam Janssen, out all season following shoulder surgery, was scratched one day after being recalled from an AHL conditioning assignment. ... Newly acquired C Kris Beech was out of the Penguins lineup because of visa problems. ... Armstrong is expected to miss Wednesday night's game at Atlanta. C Nathan Smith made his season debut. ... The Penguins won their only other visit to Newark 5-0 on Nov. 5 and will be back Monday.

The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind.(Book review)

The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer

William Morrow, 2009; HarperCollins 2010

The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind is the true story of William Kamkwamba, a boy living in Malawi. His village is affected by poverty and famine due to drought, the corrupt government of the time and a lack of resources. In the book, William tells the story of his life including the close relationship he has with his family, his experiences of school, friendship, village life and eventually his determination to build a windmill.

He builds the windmill from bits of discarded rubbish he finds at the scrap yard including a dynamo and pieces of an old bicycle. He uses the knowledge he learns from a book he reads at the school library called Explaining Physics. The windmill he builds produces electricity to power lights in his home. It is a remarkable story as he does all of this whilst experiencing severe hunger and poverty. He and his family have very little to eat because the maize crop they usually grow fails because of the drought. This is exacerbated by the government as they fail to acknowledge the famine and therefore offer no assistance to help the people. Instead they allow prices of food to escalate so that villagers like William's family are forced to sell everything they have just to survive. This means that William cannot continue his education. So he occupies his time building his windmill.

Despite some people in the village ridiculing William, when he eventually manages to get the windmill working to power the lights in his family home, news spreads quickly. The windmill attracts the attention of the village and many people from neighbouring villages. Officials from the Malawi Teacher Training Activity hear about the windmill and are very impressed. As a result William is interviewed on Radio Malawi. The news of William's invention spreads across the world and consequently this book was written. William has also appeared on at least two occasions at the International TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design): Ideas worth spreading conference and you can see his inspiring presentation through the following link.

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/ eng/william_kamkwamba_how_i_harnessed_the_wind.html

I read this book as part of my Year 12 English course. I was so inspired by William Kamkwamba's story that I have decided to go to Africa as part of the World Youth Organisation. I will be visiting Kenya to work on a project helping villages similar to the one that William Kamkwamba grew up in. I think everyone should read this book as it opens your eyes to a very different way of life to the way we live in Australia. It made me realise how lucky I was and also how robust the human spirit is.

Alysha Martens

Canberra

The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind.(Book review)

The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer

William Morrow, 2009; HarperCollins 2010

The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind is the true story of William Kamkwamba, a boy living in Malawi. His village is affected by poverty and famine due to drought, the corrupt government of the time and a lack of resources. In the book, William tells the story of his life including the close relationship he has with his family, his experiences of school, friendship, village life and eventually his determination to build a windmill.

He builds the windmill from bits of discarded rubbish he finds at the scrap yard including a dynamo and pieces of an old bicycle. He uses the knowledge he learns from a book he reads at the school library called Explaining Physics. The windmill he builds produces electricity to power lights in his home. It is a remarkable story as he does all of this whilst experiencing severe hunger and poverty. He and his family have very little to eat because the maize crop they usually grow fails because of the drought. This is exacerbated by the government as they fail to acknowledge the famine and therefore offer no assistance to help the people. Instead they allow prices of food to escalate so that villagers like William's family are forced to sell everything they have just to survive. This means that William cannot continue his education. So he occupies his time building his windmill.

Despite some people in the village ridiculing William, when he eventually manages to get the windmill working to power the lights in his family home, news spreads quickly. The windmill attracts the attention of the village and many people from neighbouring villages. Officials from the Malawi Teacher Training Activity hear about the windmill and are very impressed. As a result William is interviewed on Radio Malawi. The news of William's invention spreads across the world and consequently this book was written. William has also appeared on at least two occasions at the International TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design): Ideas worth spreading conference and you can see his inspiring presentation through the following link.

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/ eng/william_kamkwamba_how_i_harnessed_the_wind.html

I read this book as part of my Year 12 English course. I was so inspired by William Kamkwamba's story that I have decided to go to Africa as part of the World Youth Organisation. I will be visiting Kenya to work on a project helping villages similar to the one that William Kamkwamba grew up in. I think everyone should read this book as it opens your eyes to a very different way of life to the way we live in Australia. It made me realise how lucky I was and also how robust the human spirit is.

Alysha Martens

Canberra

Howzat for sunshine?

It's a month better known for freezing temperatures, and sleet orsnow.

But the North-east has enjoyed a sunny end to February.

And what better way to enjoy unseasonably mild weather than tohead to the North-east's favourite parks and beaches.

As temperatures hit 9C (48.2F) - six degrees above average - Aberdonians made the most of the good weather.

Lee Boag, waiter and cook at the Inversneckie Cafe, near Aberdeenbeach front, said business was booming.

He said: "We have been a lot busier than usual recently. Thereare a lot more people milling around the beach when the weather isnice.

"We have tables outside and they have been getting used a …

Wait, Leon E.(Obituaries)

NORTH GREENBUSH Brigadier General Leon E. Wait, U.S. Army retired, 83, of Pine Avenue, died Thursday, January 1, 2009 at Samaritan Hospital after a brief illness. Born in Troy, he was son of the late LeGrande B. Wait and Mary (Quell) Wait and husband of Elizabeth (Guida) Teeling Wait and the late Anne M. Kolenberg Wait for 52 years. He had resided in the Troy area all his life. He was a graduate of Sacred Heart School in Troy and Averill Park High School. For 10 years, he was a professor of military science and tactics at La Salle Institute in Troy (Honor NDCC School), a NYS Hunting Safety instructor since 1960, a rifle and pistol instructor for the NRA, a home safety …

VERSATILE SHIRTDRESS DEBUTS IN THIS SPRING'S STARRING LINEUP.(LIFE & LEISURE)

Byline: VALLI HERMAN Dallas Morning News

Perhaps every season has its dress. This spring, the latest in dresses appears to be shirts.

This new dress for the approaching warm weather, the shirtdress, borrows the essential elements of shirts: button-down placket fronts, crisp cuffs and patch pockets. But many skip the predictable shirt-weight cotton fabrics in favor of supple jersey, buttery suede, retro polyester and elegant silk shantung.

It is the next generation of a family that includes the slip dress, the polo-shirt dress and the sheath dress, each a top-seller in its debut season. The shirtdress also poses few questions about accessories. Belts …

Tony Robbins' series pulled from NBC schedule

Inspirational speaker Tony Robbins' reality show has been pulled from NBC's schedule after just two airings.

The network says reruns of the game show "Minute to Win It" will claim the Tuesday-night slot vacated by "Breakthrough With Tony Robbins."

The Nielsen Co. says this week's airing of "Breakthrough" drew an audience of only 2.8 million …

Balancing the scales for special ed

Four years ago, special education students, parents and advocates won a civil rights victory when the School Board agreed to stop illegally segregating disabled students into self-contained classrooms and separate schools. A federal court order gave the district until January 2006 to reduce the amount of time that disabled children spend outside regular classrooms and to enroll them more evenly throughout the district.

Now--with only three years left to meet the federal court goals--local researchers have found persistent inequities that show clearly there are more civil rights battles to be won.

According to the Consortium on Chicago School Research, disabled high school …