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See Also Auction System The Open Multithreaded Transaction (OMTT) model is a transaction model that provides features for controlling and structuring not only accesses to objects, as usual in transaction systems, but also threads taking part in transactions. The model allows several threads to enter the same transaction in order to perform a joint activity. It provides a flexible way of manipulating threads executing inside a transaction by allowing them to be forked and terminated, but it restricts their behavior in order to guarantee correctness of transaction nesting and isolation among transactions. Lightweight and heavyweight concurrency are treated in the same way in the open multithreaded transaction model, meaning that what is called thread here might as well be a process executed on a single machine or in a distributed setting. OPTIMA is an object-oriented framework that provides the necessary runtime support for open multithreaded transactions. AspectOPTIMA is a purely aspect-oriented implementation of the framework. The auction system case study has shown how the inherent complexity of a dynamic, distributed, concurrent application can be reduced by structuring the execution with open multithreaded transactions. Reasoning about fault tolerance issues and consistency of the overall system is also made a lot easier. Without open multithreaded transactions, the application programmer had to deal with threads, object creation and deletion, and exception propagation in an ad hoc way, making the process error prone. Due to the isolation property and disciplined exception handling, open multithreaded transactions act as firewalls for errors, since they can not propagate to the outside. This fact, together with the ability to nest open multithreaded transactions, makes them ideal units of fault tolerance. Any thread can start a transaction. A thread wishing to work on behalf of an already existing transaction can do so by joining it. In order to join, it has to learn (at run-time) or to know (statically) the identity of the transaction it wishes to join. Threads working on behalf of an open multithreaded transaction are referred to as participants. External threads that create or join a transaction are called joined participants; a thread created inside a transaction by some other participant is called a spawned participant. Within an open multithreaded transaction, threads can access a set of transactional objects. Although individual threads evolve independently inside an open multithreaded transaction, they are allowed to collaborate with other threads of the transaction by accessing the same transactional objects. All participants finish their work inside a transaction by voting on the transaction outcome. Possible votes are commit and abort. Voting abort is done by raising an external exception. The transaction commits if and only if all participants vote commit. Once a spawned participant has given its vote, it terminates immediately. Joined participants are not allowed to leave a transaction, i.e. they are blocked, until the outcome of the transaction has been determined. If a participating thread "disappears" from a transaction without voting on its outcome, the transaction is aborted, as this case is treated as an error. The figure above shows two open multithreaded transactions: T1 and T1.1. Thread C creates the transaction T1, threads A, B and D join it. Threads A, B, C and D are therefore joined participants of the transaction T1. Inside T1 thread C forks a new thread C' (a spawned participant), which performs some work inside the transaction and then terminates after voting. Thread B also forks a new thread, thread B'. B and B' perform a nested transaction T1.1 inside of T1. B' is a spawned participant of T1, but a joined participant of T1.1. In this example, all participants of T1 vote commit. The joined participants A, C, and D are therefore blocked until the last participant, here thread B, has finished its work and given its vote. The open multithreaded transaction model incorporates disciplined exception handling adapted to nested transactions. It allows individual threads to perform forward error recovery by handling an abnormal situation locally. If local handling fails, the transaction support applies backward error recovery and reverses the system to its "initial" state. The model distinguishes internal and external exceptions; the latter ones are also called interface exceptions. The set of internal exceptions for each participant consists of all exceptions that might occur during its execution. There are three sources of exceptions inside an open multithreaded transaction: 1. An internal exception can be raised explicitly by a participant. 2. An external exception raised inside a nested transaction is raised an an internal exception in the parent transaction. 3. Transactional objects accessed by a participant of a transaction can raise an exception to signal a situation that violates the consistency of the state of the transactional object. All these situations give rise to a possibly inconsistent application state. If a participant does not handle such a situation, the application's correct behavior can not be guaranteed. A participant must therefore provide handlers for all internal exceptions. If such a handler it is not able to deal with the situation, it can signal an external exception. If any participant of a transaction signals an external exception, the transaction is aborted, the exception is propagated to the containing context, and the exception Transaction_Abort is signaled to all other joined participants. If several joined participants signal an external exception, each of them propagates its own exception to its own context. In the open multithreaded transactions model participants perform their work by invoking operations on transactional objects. To guarantee the ACID properties, operation invocations made by participants must be controlled at two levels: Guaranteeing the isolation property of all updates made within a transaction with respect to other transactions running concurrently is the first concern. This can be achieved using existing optimistic or pessimistic concurrency control techniques. The second concern is data consistency. To ensure correct updates, operations performed concurrently by participants of the same transaction must be executed within mutual exclusion. This can be achieved by using monitors or similar techniques found in modern concurrent languages. Early error detection and consistency of application state is important for modern applications. Existing transactional systems mainly rely on the programmer to write a transaction in such a way that it preserves consistency. In the open multithreaded transaction model, developers of transactional objects can help the transaction programmer to write consistency-preserving code by developing so-called self-checking transactional objects, that is to introduce invariants while designing them. Methods of transactional objects are to be decorated with pre- and post-conditions. When an invariant, pre- or post-condition is violated by the execution of a method, and the object is left in an inconsistent state, an exception is propagated to the participant that has invoked the operation. The participant must then handle this internal exception in order to address this inconsistency. If handling fails, the transaction is aborted, all the changes made to transactional objects on behalf of the transaction are undone and an external exception is propagated to the calling context. Publications on Open Multithreaded Transactions 1. Maxime Monod, Jörg Kienzle, Alexander Romanovsky: “Looking Ahead in Open Multithreaded Transactions”, in Proceedings of the 9th International Symposium on Object and Component-Oriented Real-Time Distributed Computing, IEEE Computer Society Press, p. 53 - 63, April 2006. 2. Jörg Kienzle: “Open Multithreaded Transactions - A Transaction Model for Concurrent Object-Oriented Programming”, Kluwer Academic Publishers, ISBN: 1402017278, 2003. 3. Jörg Kienzle, Alexander Romanovsky, Alfred Strohmeier: “Auction System Design Using Open Multithreaded Transactions”, in Proceedings of the 7th International Workshop on Object-Oriented Real-Time Dependable Systems - WORDS’02, IEEE Computer Society Press, p. 95 - 104, January 2002. 4. Jörg Kienzle, Alfred Strohmeier, Alexander Romanovsky: “Open Multithreaded Transactions: Keeping Threads and Exceptions under Control”, in Proceedings of the 6th International Workshop on Object-Oriented Real-Time Dependable Systems - WORDS’01, IEEE Society Press, p. 197 - 205, January 2001. 5. Jörg Kienzle, Alexander Romanovsky: “Combining Tasking and Transactions, Part II: Open Multithreaded Transactions”, in Proceedings of the 10th International Real-Time Ada Workshop, Ada Letters XXI(1), ACM Press, p. 67 – 74, March 2001. 6. Jörg Kienzle: “Combining Tasking and Transactions”, in Proceedings of the 9th International Real-Time Ada Workshop, Ada Letters XIX(2), ACM Press, p. 49 – 53, June 1999. Last modified: December 4, 2014, Jörg Kienzle

dclm-gs1-108470000

The newly crowned World Superbike Champion Colin Edwards and his wife Alyssia. For Americans road racing overseas the year 2000 was a good one. Two World Champions were crowned – Kenny Roberts Jr. in Grand Prix and Colin Edwards in World Superbike.  For both Roberts Jr. and Edwards it would mark their first World Championship, but for Edwards it was not his last.  He would go on to win another World Superbike Championship in 2002, before joining Roberts Jr. in the recently rebranded Grand Prix Championship, MotoGP. For this week’s flashback Friday, we go back to that year known as Y2K and our interview with the newly crowned Edwards where he talks about growing up, racing, and his championship season. By Henny Ray Abrams Colin Edwards left home when his stepmother caught him spitting in the shower. He was 14. The way he describes her brings to mind a cross between Norman Bates and Cujo. That she listened to him showering may prove his point. The spitting incident isn't what caused him to leave, it was the smashing of the television. Edwards started riding when he was three, racing when he was three and a half. He did it continuously until he was about 14, at which point he was burnt out. Instead of riding he was working, cleaning oil stains off garage floors with gasoline and kitty litter. It was hard work but it paid well and before long he'd made his first major purchase - a  $250 color television. Embodied in that TV was everything he'd worked for to that point,  which is why it hurt so much to see it destroyed. "My dad's new wife had problems with me. Come to find out she's schizo," Edwards says. The argument over the shower incident had ended and she'd gone away, only to return with evil intent. "She comes back, rips the TV off the counter and smashes it on the floor. I moved out the next day. It was just a bad situation."  With his father's blessing, he moved in with a friend of the family. He's been on his own ever since. "I think that's halfway why I 'm the way I am," Edwards says of his decision to strike out on his own. "I was out of the house early. I took care of myself early." Edwards recounts the story without the slightest a tinge of regret. "It worked out good. I wouldn't change a thing," Edwards said from the driver's seat of his oversized Dodge Ram dually driving from George Bush International Airport in Houston to Conroe, the town he grew up in and calls home about half an hour north of Houston. Edwards is driving, talking, and spitting. Because of his fondness for snuff - Skoal Rough Cut - he always has a can or a bottle nearby, anything to drain hi s lower lip of the syrupy mix that looks like a mixture of dinosaur pus and espresso. Once,  at Monza, when he ran out of snuff,  he broke open a cigarette and stuffed that in his gums. Colin Edwards has a fiercely independent streak. It's in his blood. His father, Colin Sr., is an Australian who worked in the oil business and  chased work wherever he could find it. The younger Edwards was born in Houston, then moved briefly to Australia, then to Aberdeen, Scotland. The Edwards clan settled back in Houston when Colin was three and he began to ride and soon began to race. The racing was extreme, Friday night and Sunday, up to three classes, two different bikes, 40  weekends a year, but there was never any pressure from his father. If Colin gave 110 percent, Colin Sr. would give 110 percent of his time and money. "I thought we were loaded," Edwards said. "Come to find out we were $40-50,000 in debt at the end of the year. It was never a matter of how we were going to pay the bills. The order was where was the race? Where were we going to eat? How were we going to pay our bills?" Colin Senior's  prized possession was a Rickman­framed CB-750 with a supercharged engine. He traded it in for two Kawasaki KX-60s and a KX-80. By the time Edwards was eight he had over 250 trophies. A house fire claimed most of them and the rest he donated to a local motocross track. He burned out on motocross by the time he moved out of his parents' house. He was already a factory rider. Tom Halverson, who heads Yamaha's road race team, worked on his machines at Loretta Lynn's. When he was home he'd get picked up after school, ride for three or four hours,  clean the bike, wash the filter, wash the riding gear, get ready to ride the next day, eat a little dinner,  do a little homework, then crash. This went on for three years. "My whole life to that point was riding," he says. "It was good, but there was no time to be a kid. I was working for a goal that was 10 years down the road." Was it dedication, passion, or zealotry?  A little of each, but mostly just that he's an extremist. In the lake house he shares with his wife Alyssia and their three dogs for the three months of a year he's home in Conroe, he works on his golf game. For hours at a time he'll practice his golf swing on a piece of AstroTurf in the living room, irons and wedges first. When he tires of that he breaks out a few balls and putts them at a tin of Skoal on the living room floor. Golf is only his latest passion following tennis, ping­ pong, bowling, and wakeboarding.  When he was into wakeboarding, he'd do it day and night, his wife holding a spotlight on the pitch-black lake so he and whoever was driving the boat could see where they were going. Photography is also a passion, and his wife is often his willing subject. He has a closet full of equipment and a mini-studio on the second floor of his house. There is progress in his pictures, which are mostly portraits in black and white. Racing was an extreme passion while it lasted. He remembers a race at Ponca City. "Crashed big time, couldn't hardly move my neck. I had a good chance of winning the stock class, but I was all banged up and beat to shit," he recalls. "Dead last when I started out in the final. Finished I don't know, 15th or something. At that point, I don' t know, I scared myself; I crashed and was banged up. My dad pulled me to the side and it was kind of a heart-to­heart moment and he said this next race could win or break or us for the next year if we get factory bikes next year or not. I had like five points going into the third moto. I was crying, he was crying. I know I can win. It was just one of those minutes I could never explain. "I went out the next race, beat to shit, couldn't move my neck, hurting like hell. Holeshot and just blew them away and won the National. I'm just that kind of guy. It's not physical. If I perform, it's mental -99.9- percent mental. It doesn't matter what physical shape I'm in. If I believe I can win, I'll win." He was 13 at the time and a year later he was out of the sport and on his own. At the end of 1988, he decided at Loretta Lynn's that he was through with racing. "Dude, I'm done," he told his dad. His dad thought he might go into road racing, but he wanted out. "If I started when I was six, seven, eight, I'd still be doing it. Instead I was three and a half." By then he was at Conroe High School, home of the Fighting Tigers, a school where he'd complete his education and meet his future wife, Alyssia, then, as now, a cute little redhead with a hint of the devil that redheads are blessed with. In high school he says he "saw what kind of trouble he could get into - alcohol, drugs. I found I couldn't afford it," he says. Eventually his older brother moved back to the area and they rented a house together. On Friday nights it became beer party central with crowds of 150 to 200. Inevitably the police would show up. "We'd lock the doors and wave at them," Edwards says. There were a few years when he didn't  race, didn't ride. But, looking back on it, he believes his father had a master plan. When Edwards was 16 his dad bought a beater Yamaha FZR1000. It'd been loaded on a wrecker and the bodywork was destroyed. They cleaned it up and Edwards thought he'd like to ride it. He went to the motor vehicle department, passed the test, "and the next thing you know all of a sudden my dad didn't own it any more. I was on the thing all the time. I got to where I could wheelie that son of a bitch through every gear, set it down at 130 mph and hope that the front forks wouldn't break in half." His father remains a central influence, but now at a distance. Because Colin travels so much, he doesn't get to see "Pops" as much as he'd like, and his father can't travel like he once did. A few years back, the elder Edwards underwent a liver transplant and he's had a rough time ever since. The course of anti-rejection drugs is brutal. It didn't stop him from attending this year's races at Laguna Seca and the final round at Brands Hatch where he got to see his son officially crowned World Champion. They greet each other with a hug at his father 's apartment not far from Edwards' house. Edwards Sr. looks well, but, on this day, he moves slowly. The house, which he shares with a trio of dachsunds, is filled with mementos of Edwards' career, framed covers of Cycle News and lesser road racing monthlies, one now defunct. There are photos everywhere along with a few helmets.  In the pictures, the younger Edwards appears only slightly younger than he is now, the buzz cut he wears now replaced by a vertical quiff. The smile is just as bright, the teeth, notwithstanding the years of snuff, just as white. Edwards appears ageless, though his body is a little thicker and tighter than it was when he started, even if he doesn't work out much. "In 1999 I worked my ass off and Fogarty still kicked my ass," Edwards complains. The world is available to his father through the Internet and he keeps in touch that way, monitoring the news on websites and communicating through e­ mail. For a time, his father managed his son's career, but now he's more of an advisor. Edwards doesn't have a manager, doesn't want one. One of the high­profile moneymen offered his services for a mere 25 percent of Edwards' earnings. "I know what I'm worth," Edwards says. The Edwards' men have been known to drive a hard bargain. There was the time when Edwards was in limbo after the 1997 season. He had an offer to ride for the Red Bull Yamaha WCM 500cc GP team. Most riders would have jumped at the chance, and the money wasn't bad, but it was a third less than he'd made that year racing a Superbike for Yamaha, so he turned it down. Instead he ended up at Castrol Honda for even less money, but the chance to be on a winning race team. "It wasn't really until I got with Honda that I understood what we were out there for," Edwards says. For his 17th birthday his father bought him a Kawasaki ZX-7 and financed it with money he didn't have. It meant they could ride together and one day his father suggested they ride to a local road-race track in Henderson, Texas. Local meant three-and-a-half hours away. Jeff Covington was racing that day and Covington was a rider Edwards had beaten in motocross. "I thought, 'I know I can do this,"' he says. They remembered each other and he allowed Edwards to borrow his Ninja 250 on a practice day. Stuffing himself into his mother's orange and black two-piece leathers,  which matched his father's old Rickman, Edwards went out and started dragging his toes,  motocross style, elbows up, feet hanging down. "I came in and the first thing I told my dad is I can go fast on this thing." Before long he was endurance racing and winning and learning. "And all it was was track time, getting more and more and more track time. The more I learned the faster I was and that was really instrumental into where I'm at today." He was hooked. "I've got 11 years, here I am, 16 years old, 11 years motorcycle experience, I may as well try to put it to use. From that point on I was looking ahead. I wasn't even thinking about the alternative. I was thinking, I know we can go far with this. I knew that [Doug] Polen had come out of here and [Kevin] Schwantz had come out of  here, and their stories are more or less similar. I knew that as long as I did the right  things and knew the right people and kept winning, something might happen." As a Novice he rode a trio of bikes, a Yamaha FZR600 and TZ250 and Honda RC30, and he went undefeated. Novices started at the back of the Expert fields and there were some races where he beat all the Experts as well. At the Daytona Race of Champions in 1991, he won five titles and eight more at the WERA Grand National Finals at Road Atlanta. His sponsor was Eric Klementich, a fellow Texan who owned OTS, Oil Technology Services, the backer of Chris D'Aluisio.  Edwards and D'Aiuisio would be teammates in 1992. In 1991, Edwards traveled to a few of the AMA rounds to enter the endurance races on his Novice license. He earned his provisional Pro license just before the final round of the championship at Miami and finished second to Jimmy Filice. The following year would be defined by his year­long battle with Kenny Roberts Jr. It began with Edwards, who rode the year with a broken wrist, winning at Daytona and ended with Edwards winning at Texas World Speedway - and there were three wins in between. He beat teammate D'Aiuisio for the title by 35 points. "We had some good races," he said of his brief rivalry with Roberts Jr. One of the best was at Brainerd where they both looked certain to crash in every corner, but didn't "Brainerd, he tracked me down and tracked me down and it come down to the last lap. We were both on the fine line. At the beginning of the year I think people expected Kenny and D'Aluisio. There was a little buzz about me in the air, but I think once the first race, after Daytona, I won that,  then I think it kind of shifted. In my mind at that point, I was winning. We won five of the nine races. I think that year I was not so much lucky, but I think it panned out to where Filice was on the Honda that year and that was not the bike to be on that year. If he had run the Yamaha, who knows." The next year, he auditioned for the Vance & Hines Yamaha seat made available by the death of his friend Larry Schwarzbach. Schwarzbach was from Houston, and he was one of the riders Edwards looked up to. Vance & Hines brought their trailer to Henderson, the track where Edwards got his start, for a tryout. "I knew the track like the back of my hand. I went out there and I was two or three tenths off of Jamie's [James] times, first time out on the bike. I was happy with it. I knew there was a lot more there. At the same time I wasn't a crasher. I didn't want to go out there and chuck it down the road. I knew that I could go fast. I just needed to learn a little bit more." What he also realized is that he was developing something of a split personality.  A week  before a race, tension would develop between Edwards and his wife. "Looking back I know I would demand some things or I would maybe be an asshole, but that was just knowing that I 'm going to race and getting kind of in the mode, getting ready. It went on for probably about a year. And then finally we sat down one night and it was like, 'okay, we've got to figure out a plan here. A week before a race, just let's try to control this thing some way. Try not to mess with me too bad and I'll do my damnedest not to nitpick at little things.' We fought it pretty hard. Now we've just refined into a few minutes before and after a race. I think where it comes from, not that it's a second personality, but it's a pressure-packed personality. You're about to go perform, you're  about to go put your balls on the line, you're about to go do what you do best and you need to be focused." The two personalities still exist, but now they 're more controlled. "I've got the easy go lucky, hang out, drink a couple of beers with the boys, relax. Nothing flamboyant, don't get loud when I’m drunk. Don't do anything really off the cuff. I do what I do. Three, four, five minutes before I get on the bike and probably about 10-15 minutes after I've gotten off the bike, I'm a different person - I switch into race mode. Whenever I'm in race mode, basically don't fuck with me. Don't mess with me. I have a job to do and I would appreciate it if you let me do my job. It's just a matter of just a couple of minutes to focus. That's the only thing about it. On the scooter riding up to the garage, I 'm just a normal guy. But once I get in the garage and I've got photographers all over the place and I know I've got five minutes, start putting my earplugs in and start getting ready, I'm a different guy." There are occasional lapses. "I do some things every now and then that I can lose my temper. It's not that I'm a spoiled brat. Some people think I am when they see these things. I busted my fucking ass when I was a kid. I worked in a damned garage to make four dollars an hour. I sacked groceries at Randle's to make $2.50 an hour plus tips. I'm by far not spoiled. It's just my emotion comes out when I don't win or when I don't perform up to my capabilities. "Once I get to the press conference I'm usually okay. At the podium straight after the race I'll still be the other guy. I'm still the race guy. When I get to the press conference and questions are asked and this and that, I start to calm down and I'm back into the normal guy set. It's not something I control. It's just who I am. I get the race fever." His team knows how he acts and how to react and forgives him his occasional indiscretions. "Monza, I owned it this year. I was a second faster than everybody. In the first race [Pier-Francesco] Chili beat me fair and square and kicked my ass. And I was pissed.  And it stemmed from the week before when he sprayed me with champagne. I had won the first race at Donington. He sprayed me with champagne after the first race. It's kind of an unwritten gentlemen's agreement that we've got another race. I love Chili to death. He is probably the most awesome guy out there and we get along great. Good friends. I kind of didn't make a scene, but I said, 'Chili, we got another race.' [This is at Donington]. 'Okay, sorry, sorry.'  Sure as shit after the first race at Monza he was happy. I mean the guy is full of emotion. He's nothing but emotion. He won the race and he was excited about it. He rode his ass off. And he sprayed me with champagne. And before I could catch it or even think about it I just dropped the champagne bottle on the podium. Which, looking  back, it was stupid. Then again, that's emotion coming out. I was pissed that I lost. And the fact that he just sprayed me with champagne when I got another race to go, the second weekend in a row, that just pissed me off more." Edwards finished sixth his first year on the Vance & Hines Yamaha team and wasn't a  world-beater the next year. By now he was in the house with his brother and his best friend, Mark Meyers. They worked, Edwards raced, and they all spent time on racing projects. "We spent six months of our lives converting two KX80 big wheels and a YZ80 into  lOOs. We'd stay up until three four in the morning, drinking beer, listening to the radio. Get the blow torch out welding, cutting, grinding." Early one morning while channel surfing, he came on an infomercial touting the benefits of positive thinking. "Sold me on it. Picked up the phone, called them up, said I 'll take them. $39.95 or whatever it was for six tapes." The tapes were called Passion, Profit, and Power. Edwards only listened to the Power tapes. They changed his life. "The key is to listen to them over and over, but I listened to them one time, gave a couple of minutes to think about it, tested out some theories and listened to them again. Now I've got the thing memorized." What the tapes taught him was to be supremely confident: To know something in your heart, not your mind. To removes words like 'can't,' 'won't,'  and 'hope' from your vocabulary. "Hope...I hope I'll win. You just replace it with 'will.' I will win. The key to the whole thing is to believe in your heart. The key to this whole thing is you can believe in your head all you want, but if your heart's saying, 'Man there's some stiff competition out there, I don't know, it's going to be tough today,' you're beaten, you're done, you're finished. You might as well go home. "If you wish for it, you're not going to succeed. You've got to know and you've got to be confident that you're going to succeed. And I just turned that around into racing. I went to Mid-Ohio and I'd  been listening to these tapes for a couple of weeks and I said, 'Okay, well, lap record, pole position, and win the race. But, it's easy to say it and it's easy to lie to yourself all day long and it's easy to think that. But what this guy really got across to me is that you've got to believe it wholeheartedly and you have to commit to it. I went there that weekend and people would ask me, 'You haven't won a Superbike race? What are you going to do?' 'I'm going to win.' 'Well that's a little cocky don't you think.' 'Well, that's what I'm going to do.' And you find that the more you commit, the more you start to believe in your heart. And that's what really, really counts. "I went there that weekend, new lap record, pole position, won the race. First race I'd won on a Superbike. Went the next weekend [actually two weeks later at Brainerd] and did the same. Went the next weekend [three weeks on] and did the same at Sears Point. Went three in a row there. That's my whole philosophy; you can't think, you can't wish, you can't hope. As long as you know, it'll happen. "And I see people all the time, Supercross, road racing, NASCAR, whatever sport may be. They get on the podium, or they finished fifth. You hear people say things aren't going too good, I just hope to get on the podium today. Well that's bullshit.  Why even waste your breath. Getting on the podium is not getting on the top. That's the only place to be. If I finish second, I'm pissed. If I finish 10th, I'm pissed. The only thing I'm happy with is winning." Which is what made the transition to World Superbike so difficult. Edwards was the wunderkind who, along with Yasutomo Nagai, would spearhead Yamaha's entry into World Superbike. At Yamaha's U.S. headquarters, he was told that he didn't have to win, and it enraged him. "I still remember his name, Tom Watanabe, he sat me down in Cypress, California,  and said,  'Listen, we're not too worried about you winning races, we just want you to go out there and give Yamaha a good image and be good to the fans.' This was at the end of '94, I'd just finished my last year here. That just pissed me off. Why am I here? Maybe in his mind he was saying there's no pressure, but he was saying: 'Don't worry about winning any races.' Whenever I got to Honda there was no other thought, 'Just go win races. And that's all we care about. We want Honda to win some races. The more races the better, and if the championship comes along with it, then great, but we want to win races.' " The years at Yamaha World Superbike were fallow, especially following his breakthrough in America. "I never really was happy, but I knew that I put in the best ride that I could've put in on the day," Edwards says. "And there wasn't a lot of times I was happy with the results, but the way I rode I was happy. And I brought that out of it. I rode my balls off. I damn near crashed 10 times saving the front and just learning. I crashed the thing big time and I hurt myself quite a few times trying to ride it. I wouldn't change that for anything. That right there is what taught me to ride it at its full limits. And once I got on a bike that was capable of winning, then I won." At certain tracks he was competitive, and Noriyuki Haga proved that if you ride with no respect for life you can win on the Yamaha, occasionally. "I almost won a couple of races in Australia. He [Haga] won some races in Australia. Donington it went pretty good there. He won both races there. He started finishing sixth and eighth and I think it was for him... the first few races, I don't know what he was running on, I want some of it. He was out to prove himself and in the process he hurt himself at Monza pretty bad trying to get the thing around the track - just the same as I did. You push the bike to its limit and then it bites you really hard." The handling wasn't the problem, it just didn't have the grunt and raw-speed power you needed. It would work at finesse tracks to keep it in line. At a power track, it was hopeless. Compounding that were the problems Dunlop was having in the aftermath of the Kobe earthquake. It wasn't until his final year with Yamaha, 1997, that he began getting tires that he felt were up to the job. He didn't get much chance to use them. At the fourth round of the series, in Monza, Italy, he was knocked down in practice. The injuries kept him out of the rest of the year. Scott Russell flew the Yamaha flag and Haga would join him in 1998. Edwards was offered the Red Bull Yamaha WCM ride, but declined. He had nothing but a tentative offer for a private team with Yamaha support. Within a week he was on the Castrol Honda team, thanks to John Kocinski. Kocinski had won the World Championship for Castrol Honda in 1997. It earned him a seat on Sito Pons' 500cc team. Honda needed a rider and Edwards had just turned down the Red Bull offer. "It was a blessing in disguise. I was out in the cold for a week. Finally, John [Kocinski] went to Grands Prix and we called up Honda and they said we didn't know you were available and within a week it was done." The transition was quick and smooth. "Third race of the year we did the double at Monza. That was for me, that was a big learning year, new suspension, new bike, new tires, some new places. Some places that year were hit or miss, big time. Sometimes we would take the thing off the trailer and it would work like a charm. Sometimes we would jack around with it all weekend and we couldn't hit our ass with both hands.'' Going from Dunlop to Michelin was made easier by his extended lay-off. "It had been so long since I had been on the bike, that by the time I got on the Honda I didn't know what to expect. I knew what the tires did and stuff, but once I got on it, I just kind of learned the Michelins pretty quickly. I think I had enough time to actually forget about what the Dunlops felt like, got on the Michelins and then it was good." The RC45 had a fatal flaw. As soon as you let the front brake off, the front end would pop up and, nine times out of 10, when Edwards crashed it was by losing the front. New Zealander Aaron Slight was his teammate and Slight had developed the 45, so he knew to ride over the front wheel. "He was all over the front of it keeping it loaded. And my style slowly progressed into that throughout the three years I've been with them, but that's just a Honda character. You look at Mick [Doohan] and they're all over the front of the thing keeping the thing loaded and I looked and I learned and finally I started adjusting my own way of riding to get the thing around the track." The RC51 would be similarly problematic this year, and it wasn't until late in  the season that he got it figured out. Edwards was second to Carl Fogarty in 1998 and again the next year, though he'd hoped for, and predicted, better. It was at the Nurburgring that his season disintegrated. "I went into that year really ready, determined. Probably the whole season shifted in one race, which was at Germany." In the first race he had a second-and-a-half lead when he hit oil in the first corner and rode through a gravel trap. He fell back a few spots, but was on the move when he crashed on the same oil patch. There'd been no warning, no flag, even though a total of six riders would crash. "I just thought, if there's oil there's going to be a flag. That's basically where my judgment was wrong. The race went on and I ventured kind of back out into the pack and crashed. I was already pissed, because I'd already had the win taken away from me right there. "I lost a little faith in the whole organization there. Here you've got six bikes down the road and there's still not a red flag out. I crashed in the oil there and I was pretty pissed off about that. I should've won that weekend. I was going better than everybody all weekend and I should've done the double and it was taken away from me by the organization, more or less. I crashed my good bike and I got on my spare bike and it wasn't what I wanted. "Up to that point I was 20 or 25 points behind Fogarty and then I crashed and he won. Then it went to 50 points instantly. Honestly, I think it was just myself. I just lost faith in the organization and what we were out here doing. Those guys were playing with my life for no reason." It took a few races to get the confidence back. At Brands Hatch he did another double. "By then the fight was kind of over. Fogarty was in." Entering the 2000 season Edwards was supremely confident. He'd had a hand in developing the RC51 and he knew how good it could be. The pre-season tests had gone well. In the opening round of the season at Kyalami, South Africa Edwards gave the RC51 its first major race win. Then Fogarty crashed in the second race at Phillip Island and the championship was wide open. The saying for the last few years is that if you can beat the fastest Ducati you can win the championship. All of a sudden, Fogarty wasn't there any more. Edwards never saw Fogarty at the opening round in South Africa where Edwards won one leg. In Australia, he says he felt Fogarty was struggling. "He just wasn't on like he normally was and you could tell by his riding and I think he saw the championship going away at the second race. He was down on points already. I think he saw the championship drifting away in the second race. However he crashed, he crashed. Obviously, it was just kind of take a step back and say we got it, win some more races, keep the thing on two wheels and we'll have it. To be honest, at that time I thought this was going to be a piece of cake, really. Then again, I'm learning. There's nothing in this world that's going to be a piece of cake.” Over the course of the 2000 season, Edwards went through nine or 10 sets of leathers. "It just happened to be every time I crashed the thing I was on a brand new set of leathers. Thankfully, only two of them were in a race." The team couldn't figure out why he kept falling. "We'd done pre-season testing and everything was halfway decent, the bike was a lot of, as long as you do the same thing you'll be all right, brake the same place, turn the same place, because it worked the last lap, it'll work this lap. Basically not a whole lot of feel with what the front was doing. And some times you did the same thing that you did the lap before and it would just go away. It was just after mid-season that we decided we needed to seriously reconsider what we're doing here. So that's when we jacked the thing way up and got a whole lot of weight on the front. We jacked it way up and in turn of jacking it up, we got a little bit steeper steering angle, a little more weight on the front and we were able to feel a little bit better what was happening and that's what really turned us around, and we won four of the last six." The controversy of the season didn't involve Edwards. It involved Yamaha's Haga. The Japanese rider had tested positive for ephedrine, a banned substance that was an ingredient in the herbal supplement Ma Huang, at the first race of the year in South Africa. It would be three races before it came to public light, and it would be the final race of the year before there was a resolution.  All season, Edwards raced as if Haga would keep the points he earned by winning in South Africa. "We went the whole year, every race, after every race, we were giving him 45 points and taking off five points for me." That, like the punishment, was simple math for Edwards. "When you're caught with it in your system, take the points away, whatever, it should have been taken care of." Haga and Edwards are friends, and when Edwards saw the trimmed down Haga at the first race he asked how he'd done it. Haga freely had admitted that he'd used ephedrine to lose weight. "He said he wasn't even working out a whole lot. Go sit in the sauna and do some stuff and the weight was just falling off of him." He'd  lost about 20 pounds. People don't understand that that in itself is a performance enhancer. Whatever the ratio may be, I've heard seven pounds to a horsepower, whatever you want to put it down to, that in itself is a performance enhancer. It was ignorance, really. He didn't know that it was wrong, I know that for a fact. He didn't know what he was doing was wrong." Rumors about his punishment were rampant. Initially he was going to get his points  taken away. He was going to get banned for a year. He was going to get banned for a race. It all went in one ear and out the other. Edwards was willing to win the fight on the track. Yamaha wanted to fight with the FIM. When the races ended at the penultimate round in Germany, where Edwards did the double, he held a 52-point lead. Barring Haga getting his points back, and competing at the final race in Brands Hatch, Edwards was champion. The final ruling came down just before Brands Hatch. Haga was out and Edwards, who'd already celebrated the title, was indeed World Champion. There was little time to celebrate. By the time you get this, he will have been to England and South Africa, tested twice in Australia, visited Thailand and the Philippines, gone off-roading in the Canary Islands, and accepted his World Champion's trophy at a ceremony in Monaco. Then he heads for an extended snowboarding vacation in Jackson, Wyoming, before the start of serious testing in January. Ducati has a new motorcycle and will start the season with a trio of very hungry riders. Edwards wants to win more races and retain his title, but sees the Ducati team as the main obstacle. Bayliss, with a full season's experience and a fresh start to a full season, will be formidable, he believes. "I look for [Ben] Bostrom to come around. He knows the tracks, he knows the culture, he knows the people. He's definitely got talent - he's got loads of talent. I just don't think he was ever really happy. The one race of the year that he was happy was Laguna. He had all his friends and family there. He just seemed to get along with the tires instantly and get along with the bike, get along with the track. I look for him to turn it around next year. He's got a lot of pressure as well." Bostrom was occasionally criticized for his off-track behavior, the fancy leathers and cowboy hats and disco ball in the motorhome. Edwards isn't buying it. "He knows when it's time to switch into a different mode." In one way, the season may be less difficult.  Haga has gone to GPs and Yamaha has pulled out of World Superbike, which was a body blow to the series. Edwards is a staunch supporter of Superbikes, believing that they draw nearly equal or bigger crowds most places,  with some obvious differences. In Spain and Holland the GP's are much more popular, while in England and the opposite is true. "In my mind, Grand Prix has always been the pinnacle. I'm not going to deny that at all. It's always the dream, the 500 Grands Prix. But, at the same Superbikes have grown well beyond my expectation. I first came to Superbike as a stepping stone to get Grands Prix, learn some tracks, learn the European mind frames, but it's grown to such a caliber that I think it'd be silly to give it up to go to a lesser package that you're not sure you can win on." Honda has a four-stroke Grand Prix machine in the works. It will likely debut in 2002 and Edwards knows it. Should he successfully defend his title, his ascent would be almost guaranteed. "I'll have nine years experience racing four-strokes. If four-strokes do come  into Grand Prix, who better to ride it than me?" Cycle News Magazine Open This Issue For Reading World Superbike Photos World Superbike News By Cycle News Staff

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Breaking News Bar updated: 5/5/2012 2:38 PM DePaul's Lenti Ponsetto a Title IX honoree Success - Article sent! close • DePaul athletics director Jean Lenti Ponsetto has been honored as one of 25 people nominated as a Title IX trailblazer, and now a video produced by DePaul has earned national honors for the school and Lenti Ponsetto. Associated Press • Video: DePaul Title IX video "Cruisin' down Fullerton, and it's hoppin.' Stopping 4 coffee now." Don't expect to see a "tweet" like that from DePaul athletic director Jean Lenti Ponsetto any time soon. Or ever, maybe. "I'm not a social media expert by any means," Lenti Ponsetto laughed. "I don't have Facebook and I don't engage in all that 'tweeting' and 'twitting.' I'm pretty sure people wouldn't be interested in reading little things like that about me anyway." But Lenti Ponsetto may be warming up to the potential that Facebook and Twitter could have for delivering bigger messages about the news of the day at DePaul. She just won a national contest largely on the power of viral persuasion. Lenti Ponsetto was one of 25 women from colleges across the country who were finalists for the "Title IX Trailblazer" award sponsored by the National Association of Collegiate Women's Athletics Administrators Two weeks ago, I wrote about Northwestern lacrosse coach Kelly Amonte Hiller also being a finalist, along with former Illinois State athletic administrator Dr. Laurie Mabry, former longtime Texas women's basketball coach Jody Conradt and former UCLA multisport star Ann Meyers Drysdale, just to name a few. The 25 nominating schools all made YouTube videos of their trailblazer hopefuls, and the school with the video that received the most views during the designated voting period (which ended about two weeks ago) was promised a $9,000 gift for its women's athletic programs from the NACWAA Foundation Fund in honor of this year's 40th anniversary of Title IX. Lenti Ponsetto's video got the most views. In a landslide. Her video was viewed more than 180,000 times while the next in line tallied 38,000. DePaul promoted the video on its own website, but apparently word spread through other mediums, like when former DePaul and NBA players Quentin Richardson and Bobby Simmons tweeted about it. Current students on campus also posted the video to their Facebook pages. "I am overwhelmed by this," Lenti Ponsetto said. "I've heard from people all over the country who were seeing the video by someone who sent them the link. The lesson to be learned is that the DePaul network is wide and vast. And our DePaul people ... they got their competitive edge on to help us get the most views. They were watching the video like crazy." But what started as a viral challenge quite possibly wound up being a great history lesson for all those who viewed Lenti Ponsetto's video. A trailblazer she is, for sure. Lenti Ponsetto arrived at DePaul as a student in 1974, a year before the school started awarding scholarships for female athletes. Yet she threw herself into four sports, starring at basketball, volleyball, softball and tennis. Volleyball and tennis ran at the same time, but she made it work. Female athletes then had to be resourceful, and anything but diva-like. The uniforms for basketball, volleyball and softball were the same, and she and her teammates bought their own shoes and paid for their own meals on road trips. "I was in that first wave of women who benefitted from Title IX and I am so thankful for that," said Lenti Ponsetto. "But even though the opportunities were starting to be there for women, it was a lot different back then than it is now. I try to explain that to the athletes we have here now so they have an understanding of what it was like before Title IX. I want them to recognize there was a struggle in order for us to get to where we are now." Lenti Ponsetto has watched the journey from many vantage points. After graduating, she stayed at DePaul and was an assistant coach for the women's basketball team. In 1983, she became an assistant athletic director for women's sports. Ten years ago, she was named DePaul's athletic director, becoming just one of about 20 female college athletic directors in the nation. That group is still small. There are slightly less than 30 in that role today. "That's one of the next steps that has to happen," Lenti Ponsetto said. "So many women have advanced into that No. 2 spot, but there are many women out there who are fully capable of being No. 1s. It really has everything to do with who is doing the hiring and what their comfort level is. "Some people still might not be used to the idea, but the fact is there are women out there with tremendous business acumen who are very capable of overseeing football and men's basketball, negotiating TV contracts and working in a collaborative way to get things done in an athletic department. "I'm just glad DePaul was very progressive and gave me the chance to carve my own path." Share this page Comments ()

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Southlake Developer Wants to Put a Race Track in His Hotel. Like, For Cars. Jeff Medici When Jeff Medici was a financial advisor for Fidelity in Boston, he took his corporate team to a place called F1 Boston, a sort of racing-themed conference center where they learned to work together and trust each other by doing things like changing tires on Formula 1 race cars. When he moved to North Texas, he noticed that themed hotels like Great Wolf Lodge and the Gaylord Texan are popular, destinations in themselves. And when he also noticed that Southlake is in a short hop down the highway from the Texas Motor Speedway, everything clicked. Why not build a themed hotel, a la Great Wolf Lodge, but instead of a weird nature/water park motif, have it be all about race cars, he asked himself. And what good is a racing-themed hotel without an indoor race track? No good at all, of course, so Medici drew up plans to include one in the hotel he's planning to build along Highway 114. They were approved on Tuesday by the Southlake City Council, which gave final zoning approval on Tuesday, according to the Star-Telegram. "It's gonna be housed in a 40,000-square-foot building," he said of the track. "It's gonna be two levels. It's gonna have tunnels, bridges: it's going to be very, very state of the art." The cars will be bigger than a go cart but smaller than a compact and top out at about 45 miles per hour. They're powered by battery, which can be shut off remotely from an iPad if someone's driving like an asshole. There's a pit row in the middle of the track for tire changes and the like. But lest you think the diminutive vehicles and lack of internal combustion engines means this is child's play: "They're gonna be in flame retardant suits and the helmets and the whole deal," Medici said. The track, alas, is not for the average racing enthusiast out to kill a Saturday. During the week, it will be reserved for corporate team-building activities like the ones Medici went to in Boston, the idea being that playing with race cars is more effective and interesting than having some bloodless consultant blab at employees in a drab office. It will, however, be open for birthday parties and the like. The hotel's going to have other things, like 175 rooms, a bar, and a conference room when it opens some time in early 2014, but who cares? It's going to have a race track. Sponsor Content Sign Up > No Thanks! Remind Me Later >

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Definitions for unenforceable This page provides all possible meanings and translations of the word unenforceable Princeton's WordNet 1. unenforceable(adj) not enforceable; not capable of being brought about by compulsion "an unenforceable law"; "unenforceable reforms" 1. unenforceable(Adjective) Resistant to enforcement. 1. Unenforceable An unenforceable contract or transaction is one that is valid, but which the court will not enforce. Unenforceable is usually used in contradistinction to void and voidable. If the parties perform the agreement, it will be valid, but the court will not compel them if they do not. An example of a transaction which is an unenforceable contract is a contract for prostitution under English law. Prostitution is not actually a crime under English law, although both soliciting a prostitute and living off the earnings of a prostitute are criminal offences but so long as the contract is fully performed, it remains valid. However, if either refuses to complete the bargain, the court will not assist the disappointed party. Sometimes, contracts may only be enforceable one-way, and unenforceable the other way. Again, there is an example from the field of prostitution: In Germany, where prostitution is also legal, a law exists that—once a contract has been entered into—makes a prostitute's demands for payment legally enforceable, while leaving the John's demands for fulfilment of the contract and rendition of sexual services unenforceable. German lawmakers made only the claims of prostitutes enforceable because they intended for the German prostitution law to protect only the prostitutes, without helping or furthering the interests of buyers of sexual services. Find a translation for the unenforceable definition in other languages: Select another language: Discuss these unenforceable definitions with the community: Word of the Day Please enter your email address:      Use the citation below to add this definition to your bibliography: "unenforceable." STANDS4 LLC, 2015. Web. 6 Oct. 2015. <>. Are we missing a good definition for unenforceable? Don't keep it to yourself... Nearby & related entries: Alternative searches for unenforceable: Thanks for your vote! We truly appreciate your support.

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In the projects which are carried out by businesses in the Infrastructure Building sector, the parties involved communicate constantly. The Infrastructure Building industry is characterized by changing cooperation relations between the different parties involved. During the entire process - from the first idea until finally the use and operational management - new cooperation relationships are constantly being formed. Some parties stay involved in the project over a longer period of time, while others come and go. Good communication between the parties involved is paramount for the efficiency in the project. The quick agreement on changes by all building partners, and the prompt availability of the last version of a drawing at the building sight, has great influence on the quality, the time span and the costs of a project. Project partners experience that poor communication is an important bottleneck in the infrastructure building sector. In early 1998 a number of organizations from the infrastructure building sector came up with the plan to formulate agreements about communication between partners in infrastructure building projects. This plan constituted the foundation for what is now known in the sector as 'VISI'. What does VISI stand for? VISI stands for 'creating conditions for the establishment of standardization ICT in the infrastructure building sector' and its goals can be defined as follows: 1. The parties involved agreed on generally applicable agreements about the content and design of communication between them. 2. With these agreements the parties are able to enter into cooperation relationships and set up communication structures faster and more flexible. 3. The parties involved communicate better with their environment and thus increase the quality of the product. 4. With these agreements the tools in the area of information and communication technology (ICT) are better utilized. It simply comes down that VISI aims to make unambiguous agreements about the (digital) communication at the points of contact or interfaces between parties in infrastructure building projects. These agreements should lead to the ability for the parties to find each other at will. The Solution The agreements which have been developed are related to communication which is needed to securely register the formal transactions between the partners in an infrastructure building project. For example for the settlement of alterations or the submittal and approval of a budget. The agreements that VISI has developed are grouped according to areas of application. A group of agreements is referred to as a VISI-framework. The first area of application for which a VISI-framework is made available is in the communication between the principal and those employed by the principal in an UAV-agreement (UAV is the Dutch acronym for uniform administrative conditions). This framework is simply referred to as VISI-framework UAV. What are these agreements about? The most important component is a collection of messages, made-up as forms. These messages are ready to be used in practise. Every message has specific data elements, independent of the goal of use. Thus in the VISI framework UAV we find a message for the submittal of a budget; in this message we see data elements to indicate which part of the budget it refers to, and which amounts are applicable. Aside from the messages there are a number of other matters which are settled in a framework; for example which messages belong together to settle that a certain procedure is fixed. Furthermore the order of messages is dictated. Think about the submittal of a budget. This begins with the message 'budget' which is submitted by the employed party. Subsequently the principal can choose whether to answer with a message 'rejection budget' or 'provisional approval budget', etc. The collection of messages for the settlement of such a procedure and their order is called a Transaction in VISI. Finally, in communication it is important that it is clear from who messages come and to whom they go. In a VISI-framework this is fixed through roles. In a transaction there are always 2 roles involved. If we take again  the example of 'submitting a budget', then the two roles involved are the principal and those employed by the principal. The result Five large government principals in the building industry decided to introduce VISI in phases. The five principals are Rijkswaterstaat, Dienst Vastgoed Defensie, Rijksgebouwendienst, ProRail and Gemeentewerken Rotterdam. They signed for this in December 2006 in an implementation decision. The implementation took place in phases. In 2007 the principals carried out a number of their infrastructure building projects, which were placed in the market based on the UAV89, with VISI. This way the individual organizations and their building partners could get used to this form of communication. From 2008 onwards the use of VISI in all UAV89 projects has been made compulsory. For the B&U 2008 was the introductory year and the obligation to use VISI counts from 2009 onward. It was expected that from mid 2007 the contract model UAVgc would be introduced. The principals had to make a decision about this independently. Source: CROW

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Democracy Arsenal « John Elway Fights Terrorism | Main | Afghanistan Mission Creep Watch - The Empowerment Version » October 07, 2009 McChrystal is NOT Shinseki Posted by Michael Cohen I have a great deal of respect for Bill Galston, but I'm a bit befuddled by his comments yesterday in the New Republic about General Stanley McChrystal's recent public announcements on Afghanistan policy. Even in the face of public rebukes from National Security Advisor Jim Jones and Secretary of Defense Bill Gates, Galston seems to think that progressives are acting hypocritically here: Jones suggested that military advice should "come up through the chain of command," while Gates chastised that it is "imperative" that military and civilian leaders "provide our best advice to the president candidly but privately." How quickly we forget: That was the rationale used to muzzle General Eric Shinseki during the run up to the Iraq war. This is just a deeply misleading analogy. Let's review the history for a second. General McChrystal not only had his strategic review leaked to the Washington Post, but he has appeared on 60 Minutes in recent days and even went to London to plead the case for population centric counter-insurgency in Afghanistan. In other words, McChrystal voiced his candid views in public instead of in private up the chain of command. Eric Shinseki did nothing of the sort. In 2003, he was Army Chief of Staff and when he publicly contradicted the Bush Administration's rosy view of the post-war occupation of Iraq he wasn't being interviewed on television - he was testifying under oath to Congress. As Shinseki's spokesperson correctly pointed out at the time, "He was asked a question and he responded with his best military judgment." We should expect nothing less. It's simply incorrect for Galston to say that the arguments being used to hush up General McChrystal today are the same ones that were used to muzzle Shinseki in 2003. But Galston makes an even more dubious argument: No it wouldn't. What would have been better is if the country had that no-holds barred debate in Congress (you know, the branch of government charged in the Constitution with declaring war). Certainly that debate should have been informed by the views not only of the military but also of civilian policy-makers. Clearly that didn't happen in the run-up to the Iraq war. But does Bill Galston really want members of a deeply hierarchical organization like the US military having a no-holds barred public debate on matters of war and peace? This is a recipe for civil-military disaster and I can't believe that Galston doesn't see the downside of such a public usurpation of authority by an institution that is supposed to be subservient to the executive and legislative branches. Yet Galston doubles down on this argument: Does McChrystal’s speech put pressure on the president, as some have charged? Sure, and what’s wrong with that? The general is saying that the mission the president articulated back in March after a thorough policy review requires more troops than are now on the ground in Afghanistan. If he’s right about that, the president owes the country one of two things: send the troops or redefine the mission. McChrystal’s intervention makes it more difficult to fudge the decision. In my book, that’s a good thing. Why can't the general make that case to the President in private - and if Obama decides to redefine the mission or send more troops shouldn't the pressure to explain that decision come not from a general, but from Congress? I'm sort of baffled by this entire argument. Galston wants a public debate about troop levels in Afghanistan. No disagreement there. But the notion that it should be instigated by the military as opposed to elected, accountable officials that serve in a co-equal branch of government just seems bizarre. And frankly I'm less bothered than many on the left about the idea of General McChrystal testifying before Congress. My gut tells me this should wait until after the President has made his strategic assessment, but if Congress wants to hear from the country's military commander in Afghanistan it doesn't strike me as unreasonable. Finally, Galston's argument seems to ignore the political environment in which decisions about troop levels are being made. Surely Galston is a smart enough observer of American politics to understand that McChrystal's "pressure" does not occur in a political vacuum. Instead it can and will be used by the Republican party to put political pressure on Obama. Let's look again at the comments last week by Karl Rove, ""Refusing to provide all the troops and strategic support that his commanders are requesting will be to concede defeat."  This is precisely the problem with having generals express their views in the midst of a strategic review by the White House - particularly when you have an opposition party in which people like Karl Rove are held in high esteem. It unnecessarily politicizes the debate. Now General McChrystal may not be overly concerned about the impact of his words on the country's political discussions, but the rest of us should be - and it's a good reason why Bill Galston is just plain wrong on this one. TrackBack URL for this entry: Listed below are links to weblogs that reference McChrystal is NOT Shinseki: Plus, look Shinseki was talking about resourcing, not strategy. He didn't say invading Iraq was a bad idea. He didn't claim we could live with a contained Saddam. He merely answered a question about how to resource the strategy. It is just apples and oranges to compare the two. Fact is, most of McChrystal's defenders are demonstrating an embarrassing lack of knowledge of facts and norms of civil-military relations. Damn, at least he is not adding troops If you are looking for a watch to buy,rolex perpetual come to solve the problem of the not-so-rich category of people. A rolex oyster perpetual can be purchased by many of us, due to the accessible price it can have. A rolex oyster perpetual date will always cost only a few hundred dollars. Thank you for your sharing.! seslichat seslisohbet Thank you for your sharing! I like i very much! Moreover, Fox News personalities repeatedly criticized President Obama for having not yet acted on McChrystal's advice but almost entirely avoided criticizing the Bush administration for not heeding Shinseki's 2003 recommendation. Support of the Lou Zhu, Lou Zhu worked hard Nothing is impossible for a willing heart. funny games The comments to this entry are closed. Emeritus Contributors Powered by TypePad Read Terms of Use

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Kate Upton Explains Why She Hasn't Posed Fully Nude—Yet "I'm in a position where I have a voice to lead people in the right direction." Image courtesy of The Talks. Image courtesy of The Talks. Even though the fashion industry has celebrated you and put you on their biggest covers, you still haven't been in an advertising campaign for one of the big high fashion brands. Normally if you shoot an ItalianVogue cover with Steven Meisel, high fashion clients are lining up to work with you. Well, you'd be surprised how many offers I actually do get in fashion campaigns, but I unfortunately have to say no because my career is moving at such a rapid pace. I want to hit all the top things. I want Italian Vogue with Steven Meisel, but I can't do all of the other things because I also want to shoot a movie. You think you can do it all. I'm traveling everywhere and I'm trying to do everything and I can't. But I feel like the fashion world has welcomed me and nobody is scared of me. But the campaigns you are in are definitely more on the commercial side. I think that sometimes I take more commercial brands because I want it to be affordable. Not because I'm trying to plan it out, but because I used to be in a situation where I couldn't afford the really amazing expensive clothes and I want to show people that there are fashionable clothes out there for affordable prices. And now I'm in a position where I have a voice to lead people in the right direction. Is your voice also the reason why you have stayed away from being photographed naked? Being shot nude by great fashion photographers is very common among famous models like Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, and Lara Stone. How does a 21-year-old deal with the fact that a good part of the world refers to her as a bombshell? It's where I've started and it's what I've accomplished, so I'm happy about it. But the more my career grows, I think that people will see that I have a lot more to offer and a lot more to give, but I want to do it right and that's why it's taking me time. I'm patient about it. Now it's out of my hands—it has kind of been rolling on its own—but at the beginning I was micromanaging every little step. For example, I felt that my agency before wasn't helping me in the direction I wanted to go, so I approached IMG myself. I always had in my mind where I should be at a certain stage. Read more of The Talks with Kate Upton. • • • Also on The Talks Mario Testino: "It Always Ends Up Looking Like Me." Agyness Deyn: "I've Mellowed Out" You Might Like Powered by ZergNet

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This space intentionally set to be hidden. Adultery in Indiana: Does Cheating Affect Alimony? Learn whether an extramarital affair can impact spousal support in Indiana. Talk to a Local Family Law Attorney Enter Your Zip Code to Connect with a Lawyer Serving Your Area Gavel and Scales Alimony in Indiana One of the greatest joys of a healthy marriage is that spouses are able to accept each other exactly as they are. If one spouse makes a lot of money and the other spouse matches that effort by providing child care and maintaining the home, then both of them should theoretically be happy with the arrangement—and with each other. But what about when a marriage begins to crumble? Only then do spouses start to think, in critical terms, about what each of them is bringing to the table financially. The reality can be sobering. For example, a spouse who worked as a waitress for many years to pay for the other spouse’s medical schooling may wonder how to become self-supporting on restaurant wages. Or a spouse who suffers from a degenerative physical disease like multiple sclerosis might wonder how to earn enough to cover costs of living. Alimony (which is technically called “maintenance” in Indiana) is the money that one spouse (the paying spouse or "obligor") pays to the other (the supported spouse or "obligee") as part of the divorce proceedings. The purpose of alimony is to make sure that both spouses are on a similar economic footing after the divorce, and that one spouse isn’t enriched by the divorce while the other becomes impoverished. What Role Does Adultery Play in an Indiana Divorce? American divorce has historically followed a “fault-based” model, meaning that the court would consider marital misconduct committed by a “guilty spouse” against an “innocent spouse.” Examples of marital misconduct included emotional or physical abuse, chemical dependency, abandonment, and adultery. Over the last 50 years, many American states have opted to follow a modern trend toward eliminating fault-based “grounds” (legal reasons) for divorce and replacing them with “no-fault” language. Generally speaking, “no-fault” only requires that one spouse allege the marriage is “irretrievably broken” (meaning, it’s so badly broken that it can’t be repaired) or that the couple suffers from “irreconcilable differences” (meaning, they can’t resolve their problems). Indiana has staked out a middle ground by allowing no-fault divorce if one of the spouses claims that the marriage is irretrievably broken, but also by recognizing limited fault-based grounds for divorce. The fault-based grounds are: • a felony conviction • impotence, and • “incurable insanity” for at least two years after the date of marriage. Adultery is not one of the fault-based grounds for divorce in Indiana. Therefore, the court will not consider evidence or testimony about adultery when it decides whether to grant a divorce. How Does Adultery Affect Alimony Awards in Indiana? Just because fault isn’t a factor for purposes of getting divorced doesn’t mean that it isn’t important when it comes to alimony. In fact, Indiana judges can consider marital misconduct like adultery when making decisions about alimony. In Bartrom v. Adjustment Bureau, 618 N.E.2d 1 (Ind. 1993), the Indiana Supreme Court was faced with the question of whether the elimination of fault-based divorce laws meant that marital misconduct couldn’t be considered in alimony cases anymore. The court decided that adultery and other kinds of marital misconduct could be considered by any judge who has the responsibility to decide alimony issues. The only limitation is that judges can’t apply the laws unfairly by discriminating on the basis of a person’s gender. Additionally, legal procedures in Indiana prohibit spouses from bringing up the name of a third party who’s accused of being involved in the adultery. This prohibition is meant to protect a potentially innocent person from being exposed to extortion and public scandal. Anyone who violates this rule and names a third party who’s accused of adultery can be fined up to $500. Beyond the question of whether adultery occurred, judges have a variety of facts and law to consider when deciding whether to award alimony, what kind of alimony to award, and the amount and duration of payment. Get more detailed information how alimony is awarded in Indiana, see Understanding and Calculating Alimony in Indiana. Additional Resources If you have questions about alimony and adultery in Indiana, please contact an experienced family law attorney for help. For self-help purposes, you can look at the Indiana Judicial Branch's Self-Service Legal Center and at the official court forms. You can also browse the Indiana Legal Services, Inc. site for resources and assistance geared to help low-income Indiana residents with legal problems. Finally, you can review the Indiana Code to read the laws for yourself. Talk to a Lawyer Want to talk to an attorney? Start here. How It Works 1. Briefly tell us about your case 2. Provide your contact information 3. Connect with local attorneys

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Achieve Revenue Nirvana With Better Marketing Jon Miller, cofounder and VP of product marketing at Marketo Jon Miller, cofounder and VP of product marketing at Marketo All marketers want the same two things: more revenue and faster growth. That much is clear. The path to those goals—getting the right people, processes, and technologies in place—is much less obvious. Marketers who are on the right track have a holistic view. They can identify the returns from each element of their program. They can pick out a clear revenue figure as surely as you can see the sun in the sky. Where some see their email, social media, website, and current and prospective customer lists existing in different silos, marketing rock stars see a comprehensive and interwoven program. Where some duck their heads at the mention of measurement, analytics, and revenue prediction, marketing rock stars know their tasks and workflows so they can increase operational efficiency and grow real revenue faster. What do these enlightened beings have in common? Marketing automation, plus a clear-eyed view of what it is and, just as important, what it isn't. Here are three common misconceptions about marketing automation to avoid on your road to revenue nirvana: Misconception #1: Marketing automation requires no effort If fragmented marketing is a bicycle, marketing automation is a Porsche. But that Porsche isn't going to drive itself. You still need to pick your destination, map your route, and navigate all the speed bumps to get where you want to be. The same is true of marketing automation. Think about it: You don't put a form on your website and expect leads to simply flock to it; and you don't build a Facebook page and expect new customers to swarm to you just because you posted 10 updates. For marketing automation to deliver, it must encompass marketing campaigns across all channels. That includes everything from direct mail and phone campaigns to online and social initiatives and beyond. You need to combine robust, insight-focused capabilities from your CRM, lead management system, Web analytics platform, and other systems to create something that truly works in concert and is a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. Misconception #2: Marketing automation is just another way to send spam In the wrong hands, even the most benign tool can be used for evil, rather than good. Let's go back to Facebook as an example. Used correctly, Facebook and other social channels help you inform, entertain, and otherwise initiate or maintain relationships with customers. That some people post the same coupon 15x a day, effectively spamming their followers, doesn't consign the whole platform to the realm of the spambot. The same is true of marketing automation. It's not simply an email engine. Rather, it enables you to nurture relationships with people who aren't ready to buy. You work hard to get prospects through your door—whether that door is a landing page, social campaign, or anything else—so, it's important not to scare them off. On average, only 20% of leads are ready to buy when you first encounter them. So you need a disciplined lead nurturing process to keep people interested until they're ready to pull the trigger. And patience pays off: Done well, nurturing can result in 50% more sales leads at 33% lower cost per lead. Misconception #3: Marketing automation only benefits marketing Great marketing radiates throughout an entire organization. It aligns sales and marketing, leading to better business performance. It helps companies retain and build on their customer relationships. This is the broader impact marketing automation can have. Everyone knows that once the customer has made that magical first purchase, the real work has just begun. No matter which industry you're in, or what size business you run, the real value comes from deepening customer relationships over time. You want your customers to buy more of the same product, additional products they haven't yet bought, and remain loyal. Marketers may be in the business of overseeing that process, but loyal customers are an indicator of better alignment with sales, clear ROI, and better business overall. By now, the road to more revenue and faster growth must be clearer. It's paved with some straightforward processes and a lot more ease. Ease in sending emails, creating custom landing pages, and prioritizing your customers—current and potential—based on fit and propensity to buy. And the final step: Measure how much each program adds to your revenue. Go to it, get ready for results and get the most out of your marketing automation investment. Jon Miller is cofounder and vice president of content marketing and strategy at Marketo and author of Marketo's Definitive Guide to Marketing Automation. Follow Jon on Twitter @jonmiller. Next Article in Marketing Automation Sign up to our newsletters Follow us on Twitter @dmnews Latest Jobs: Featured Listings

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There's no silver bullet for the big, bad social media measurement wolf Marta Strickland Marta Strickland Despite the fact that Facebook and Twitter have become household names, social media measurement continues to elude marketers. While most marketers point to low-hanging fruit such as the number of Twitter followers or the number of times a video was viewed on YouTube as key social metrics, these numbers don't really mean anything without context. Number of Facebook fans – or any other simplistic metric out there – is not relevant to every brand's social media goals. That's the dirty little social media secret: the magic metric doesn't exist. Do 1,000,000 Facebook fans make your brand a social media success? How about 100,000? Even if this number is in line with a brand's expectations, it doesn't give marketers any information on how they can adjust or optimize their program or how their social presence stacks up against their competitors. Too often, marketers become stuck in one of two ways: either they focus too much on influencing their community's day-to-day activities without a bigger-picture objective or they steer their communities toward singular goals or behaviors. Social media is not a one-off campaign or a one-way channel. It is a living, breathing communications platform that requires daily maintenance, strategic vision and benchmarked metrics to cultivate long-term success. Rather than searching endlessly for a silver metrics bullet, brands need to first find a way to tie specific business objectives to the daily health of their social media campaigns. Tying business objectives to metrics also allows brands to know what tools they need to deploy to measure their social media success. If marketers' business objective is to influence brand perception, then conversation sentiment – rather than conversation volume – is what should be monitored and measured. The size of the online community is only as useful as the effect they have on overall online chatter about your brand. In this case, a listening platform with sentiment analysis would be an important tool in a marketer's social media tool belt. In another example, if a brand's objective is to foster and empower brand advocates then the number of fans is important but only when coupled with the measurable influence of those advocates. Content tracking tools and techniques are critical for this objective because they will allow marketers to tell the story of where and how their content travels throughout the Internet. Connecting the dots from number of fans to daily engagement to the spread of viral content is not impossible, it just takes work, which is why most people aren't measuring ROI.  Avoid cultivating a mob of fans simply because that's what marketers are “supposed” to do and instead tailor your social media plans with business objectives. Start with the metrics that are easiest to connect back to your objectives and then work slowly out from there, testing and optimizing along the way.

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homewhat is secondnature?housetrainingFAQsbreeders & vets product FAQs How does secondnature® brand dog litter work? The highly absorbent litter material is made from paper and wood pulp products. secondnature® brand dog litter has special properties, which actually absorb moisture from the bottom up, meaning that your dog's liquid waste will go to the bottom of the pan and then be drawn up through the litter. How long does it take? In as little as a week or two, you can get your pup off to an excellent start on the secondnature brand TOTAL HOUSETRAINING PROGRAM. Purina trainers have witnessed pups that seek out the pan on their own after a weekend of concentrated housetraining. On the other hand, every pup is unique and it may take a few weeks. Much depends on how consistent and attentive you are in following the guidelines on this site. On average, how long will a bag last? With one dog using the pan 100% of time, approximately as follows: Standard Pan: 12 lb. bag, 1 week and 25 lb. bag, 2 weeks What is the difference between secondnature dog litter and cat litter? Dog litter is larger in size and more absorbent to meet a dog's needs. The larger size is advantageous for dogs because it minimizes tracking problems. Dogs do not dig and bury their waste like cats, which is why cats prefer finer material. Cats also urinate less frequently and in smaller amounts than dogs. Unlike some cat litters, the secondnature dog litter does not clump. If I have a cat in my household and use secondnature for my dog, will my cat use the secondnature dog litter, and will this compromise my cat's litter box training? He may try the secondnature dog litter, but remember, cats dig and bury their waste. secondnature was designed specifically for a dog's elimination so it is not as easy for a cat to dig in. In our home studies, owners observed that some cats may urinate in secondnature but if they have a choice of using clumping or conventional cat litters they will choose them over secondnature dog litter. What is the fragrance on your litter? It is a fresh clean scent with green grass notes. Should I buy the litter pan for the size of my pup when full-grown or current size? If you are able to estimate the size your puppies will be when full-grown, you should try to provide that size pan. Does this only work for dogs up to 35 lbs? Why don't you make it for larger dogs? The litter system will work for larger dogs. We do not currently make a pan for dogs larger than 35 lbs. You can use a kiddy pool or a large under-the-bed style container to fit your needs. Our research did not indicate a great consumer need for an indoor pan for larger dogs. Housetraining FAQs >> Housetraining Tips >> Usage FAQs >>

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5 Responses to “James – the very patient beggar” 1. Laurie I have a black lab who does the same exact thing. She will even wink at me to get a yummy morsel. 2. LB Chewey is also a beagkr mix and convinces all visitors he is staving eventough he is 15 pounds over weight. 3. esther my dog does the same thing with her “soulful” eyes! eventually she gives up and lies down at our feet, but any slight movement will cause her to sit up again and look at us. LOL. it’s so tough to not give her anything. Leave a Reply! Woof!

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Welcome! Log in or Register Chantelle Cucumber & Apple Face Mask • image 1 Review • Write a review > Write your reviews in your own words. 250 to 500 words Number of words: Number of words: Write your email adress here Write your email adress Your dooyooMiles Miles 1 Review Sort by: • More + 03.11.2011 21:04 Very helpful great considering the price I like to use a face mask at least once a week, firstly to perk my skin up, secondly as a relaxing treat. I bought the Chantelle Apple and Cucumber masks a while ago alongside a few other Chantelle products and only got round to trying it very recently. Chantelle is the budget range from Montagne Jeunesse. Considering the Montange Jeunesse masks cost around the £1 mark, you can imagine how cheap that makes these! You get two sachets of mask for just 65p. Although this sounds like a bargain, we probably all know the saying buy cheap, buy twice and so I did wonder how good they would be. The masks come in two sachets joined together down the middle. Each sachet has a little notch on the side so that you can easily open it without the need for scissors. Instructions are printed on the back of each sachet along with diagrams and are pretty clear. ==Using it== The mask squeezes out of the pack easily and is a pale green colour. The first thing that I noticed was that it smells very strongly of Granny Smith apples. Despite this being a cucumber and apple mask I hadn't really expected a strong scent - with it being so cheap, I expected the scent to be more diluted The mask is a fairly thick consistency but smoothed onto my skin very easily. As I applied it I found that I could detect a slightly chemical edge to the smell, but on the whole it did still smell like apples. The mask should be left for 10-15 minutes and I always go by the philosophy that the longer it's on the more chance it has to work. I found in this time that the mask began to harden and feel quite tight on my skin although it wasn't particularly uncomfortable and I actually found the apple scent quite relaxing. Once the time is up, you simply rinse the mask off. By this time it will have gone hard and will crack when you move your facial muscles. I did find it took quite a bit of rinsing to get rid of it all with it being so thick and using a flannel seemed to help the process. Immediately after rinsing the mask left my face looking very red. I tried not to worry too much as it didn't feel hot or uncomfortable and a lot of masks do have this effect temporarily. It did actually take around an hour and a half before the redness had completely subsided, so this I would say that this is not an ideal product to use directly before a special night out or other special occasion. Once the redness had subsided, I found that my skin felt very soft and smooth to the touch. I have dry skin and the dry areas were hydrated and looked visibly better. I thought my skin looked visibly better in general actually and I looked more fresh faced and not as tired as I usually look! It did seem as though the mask had provided my skin with a little pick me up, but these results only lasted for around 24 hours, after which time my skin began to look its usual tired self. ==Where to buy== I bought these directly from the Montagne Jeunesse website (http://www.montagnejeunesse.com) but you can also purchase them from Amazon. On the high street the only place I have seen these is Wilkinson's although that was a few months ago and they did not stock the full range, just a few, so availability from there may be limited. As mentioned, they cost 65p for two. For the price I think these masks are excellent. I wasn't expecting much, but they left my skin looking and feeling lovely and they smell great too. The only downside is the initial redness left on my skin, but other than that I would recommend them! Login or register to add comments

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Friday, January 25, 2008 BCS National Championship- "The Hangover Is Gone" Edition Tiger Bait Ok, for those who don't know... I'm a Buckeye. During my four years at Ohio State, I've never witnessed a loss to the Michigan Wolverines. That fact alone keeps me sane, and one step above Tom Brady in the collegiate ranks. Yeah Tom, Screw.... you. But anyway onto LSU vs Ohio State.... Yeah yeah, you've all said it 1000 times, the SEC is more powerful, and has more speed than the Big Ten. I say screw that. Last year's loss to Florida should just be thrown out the window. The Buckeyes were not ready to play that game. From the O-line that played like Russ Grimm, to fat ass Troy Smith, to Ted Ginn getting raped by his teammate following the opening touchdown. Same team? Anyway, Ohio State was ready for LSU this year, that's no excuse. First quarter, 10-0 Ohio State...I thought we had them right where we wanted them, but no....instead Jim Tressel decided to put the ball in the hands of our quarterback, Todd Boeckman. I'll cry about this to my grave, but if Jim Tressel was replaced by Bill Cowher after our 10 point lead, Ohio State would currently be National Champions. Instead, Mr. Tressel decided to put the ball in his QB's hands, and throw the ball rather than hand the ball off to Beanie Wells 35+ plus times. Beanie Wells will go top 3 in next year's draft by the way, if not #1. Hes a freak of nature, and he could have single handedly won Ohio State that game. Beanie had 39 carries against Michigan, a with a month off between games, 40 carries would not have been out of the question. All Steelers fans know the drill. A running game runs clock, and keeps your defense off the field. Ohio State had a good enough defense to win, if you can keep them off the field and rested. Props to LSU though. Matt Flynn played the best game of his life. I've watched them all year on CBS (the catchy music gets me) , and I've never Flynn play so well. After our 10-0 lead, Flynn completed almost every pass he made until maybe the 3rd Quarter. I give credit where credit is due, and Flynn definitely showed me something. Brian St. Pierre and Charlie out. So anyway, Ohio State lost. Taking a loss like that as you're sitting amongst thousands of LSU fans is by far one of life's toughest college experiences. At least when I'm cramming for a final, LSU's fight song isn't blaring down my ear. (On that note: LSU and Florida have some great fight songs, and they almost make me hate "Hang on Sloopy") . life goes on right? I'm in New Orleans, it's warm, I still live and breathe to see another day. I'm also not James Laurinaitis, Malcolm Jenkins, Kirk Barton, or Alex Boone...sooo pretty much I didn't first-hand lose the biggest game of my life, twice in two years. Just put yourself in their do you even come back to college after that? I'd turn pro just to escape the pain. Unfortunately my hotel is on Bourbon Street, and I'm definitely going to take some serious shit on my way back. There was a lot of shit talking going on before the game, and with a victory and a night of drinking in their hands, I was ready for it all... The cops were ready for it all too, this sniper tower could have very well saved my life. Suprisingly, no Sniper Tower was needed. The LSU fans took their victory like a champ. After the game, I heard "Tiger Bait" called my way once, and I heard that shit all weekend, so no big deal. I stayed out until at least 2am, and heard nothing rude, obnoxious, or demeaning. I'm starting to think I like these Tigers... Maybe it's a Southern thing, but normally I expect so much shit talking that fights break out. I mean pretty much everyone on Bourbon street is intoxicated in some shape or form, and following a defeat, where both teams are heavily represented with fans, you could only imagine the worst. But nope, nothing. LSU fans are all but classy in my book. Their girls are hot... Only in the South... Their team is good...And their city is one of the best in the world... Seriously...this street will be clean as a whistle tomorrow...New Orleans is one of the best. Dave Wannstache said... Well, it looks like you had a good time at least. I was surprised so many Buckeyes came back for their senior seasons. Jenkins, Laurinaitis, and Boone all probably would have been 1st round picks, but they came back. OSU should be pretty loaded next year. The Duke from Dukes Court said... that girls has tan butt cheeks, impressive. I Want To Fight Tom Brady said... I don't know how those guys came back. I would have jumped ship, citing depression as my main reason for leaving. Yes, that girl has the tannest butt cheeks I have ever seen....but believe me when I say this...LSU girls are HOTT! With a double 't'. They make Ohio State girls look like Rosie O'Donnell.

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Channels ▼ Open Source Ruby On Rails 3.2 Hits New Track Times The development team behind the Ruby on Rails open source web application development framework has released its 3.2 version with a key emphasis on speed. Building on a code foundation first established in 2004, Ruby on Rails has always championed "rapid web page assembly" using the Ruby scripting language. Now with the 3.2 release, improvements have been focused on the processes executed in the "dev" development mode function of the software. Ruby on Rails creator David Heinemeier Hansson blogged on that, "The most noticeable new feature is that development mode got a ton and a half faster. Inspired by Active Reload, we now only reload classes from files you've actually changed. The difference is dramatic on a larger application. Route recognition also got a bunch faster thanks to the new Journey engine, and we made linking much faster as well (especially apparent when you're having 100+ links on a single page)." Heinemeier Hansson also notes that this is the first version to feature a tagged logger — a new script option that can be used to run multiple apps or, equally, to run an application for multiple users concurrently. An administrator can now filter log files in order to view specific activity with a specific application. So basically, for a multi-user, multi-account application, it's an option to be able to filter the log by who did what. Speaking directly to Dr. Dobb's, Peter Cooper, editor of Ruby Inside, Ruby Weekly, and cohost of The Ruby Show said, "Rails has always been focused on developer performance rather than raw computational performance. This idea comes from Ruby, the underlying language Rails is built with, itself. There's even been a long-running joke of 'Can Rails scale?' with the inevitable and increasingly unfair answer of 'No' (you can even see this at Yet, despite not focusing on raw performance, a lot of effort has been put into boosting Rails' performance in the last couple of years and things are better than ever. Rails 3.2 is just the latest leap forward in this process." Australian-based analysis service BuiltWith Trends Pro specifies that it knows of 234,888 sites using Ruby on Rails at the time of writing. The most up-to-date Tiobe survey of languages (dated January 2012) ranks Ruby implementation (as a whole) down 0.34% from tenth to twelfth in its most recent communique at the expense (it appears) of JavaScript. In terms of general market shifts, Tiobe records that, "Apart from Objective-C, C# made a considerable leap forward (+2.55%), followed by C (+1.15%), and JavaScript (+0.73%). On the other hand, 2011 was a bad year for last year's winner Python (-3.05%) and PHP (-2.13%). What about 2012? Is there any new programming language to hit the top 10 in 2012? We doubt so. Possible candidates are F#, Groovy, and R." Heinemeier Hansson says that he has been running on 3-2-stable for a few months working on Basecamp Next, but heeds developers to remember that this is the last intended release series that's going to support Ruby 1.8.7. "The master git branch for Rails is now targeting Rails 4.0, which will require Ruby 1.9.3 and above. So now is a great time to start getting your app ready for the current version of Ruby," he added. Related Reading More Insights Currently we allow the following HTML tags in comments: Single tags <br> Defines a single line break <hr> Defines a horizontal line Matching tags <a> Defines an anchor <b> Defines bold text <big> Defines big text <blockquote> Defines a long quotation <caption> Defines a table caption <cite> Defines a citation <code> Defines computer code text <em> Defines emphasized text <fieldset> Defines a border around elements in a form <h1> This is heading 1 <h2> This is heading 2 <h3> This is heading 3 <h4> This is heading 4 <h5> This is heading 5 <h6> This is heading 6 <i> Defines italic text <p> Defines a paragraph <pre> Defines preformatted text <q> Defines a short quotation <samp> Defines sample computer code text <small> Defines small text <span> Defines a section in a document <s> Defines strikethrough text <strike> Defines strikethrough text <strong> Defines strong text <sub> Defines subscripted text <sup> Defines superscripted text <u> Defines underlined text

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Handing Cleveland its 20th loss; my Super Bowl pick Heyyyyyyyy wooooorrrrrrrllllllldddddd!!! Well, that was a really fun two days that we had at home and now we´re back out on the road again. It seems like we just got home from Indiana and Chicago and now we´re headed back out on the road again. We´re off to Memphis now after beating Cleveland on Sunday night. That was Cleveland´s 20th consecutive lost, and I can´t imagine every being on a team losing all of those games like that. We definitely went into that game not wanting to be the team that lost to Cleveland and let them end their long losing streak. If we ever had a losing streak like that, I think our whole team would be on suicide watch. I know it´s pretty tough, but I wouldn´t ever want to be in a situation like that. Our coach, Stan Van Gundy, would probably be in the hospital right now if we lost 20 in a row. We´ve kind of been inconsistent as of late and we need to kick it into gear before the All-Star Game and get on a roll. Some people are worried that we´re fourth in the East right now, but I think it´s just a matter of how we´re playing come playoff time. Boston was the fourth seed last year and they made it all the way to the NBA Finals and pushed the Lakers to a seventh game. It doesn´t matter if you are the No. 1 team or the last team to get in, as long as you get hot at the right time and have the momentum going, anything is possible. Look at the Packers, they were a low seed and now they are in the Super Bowl. For us, we just have to stick with it and not get frustrated. We want to be playing our best brand of basketball come playoff time. Thinking about the Packers, I´m so ready for the Super Bowl to come next week. A lot of people don´t know that I used to play football (defensive end) when I was younger. Just imagine if I was in the NFL right now. I think I´d be pretty good at rushing the passer and batting down passes from quarterbacks. Of course, I´m going to miss most of the Super Bowl again this year because we play in Boston again on Super Bowl Sunday. It´s going to be a good game because the Packers are hot right now, but they are going against a solid, veteran team. So I´m going to go with the Steelers. But the only win I´m looking for on Super Bowl Sunday will be us beating the Celtics. I´m outta here. Yuuuuuuuaaaaaahhhhh. Leave a Reply

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Loading Scores... ECHL Alumni Profile - Bob Woods Special to The Anaheim Ducks may not have known it at the time, but they were adding a future Hall of Famer to their coaching staff last month. Bob Woods, who joined the Ducks as an assistant coach under fellow league alum Bruce Boudreau after both were let go by the Capitals organization, was inducted into the ECHL Hall of Fame yesterday, along with Bill Coffey, Sheldon Gorski, John Marks and Dave Seitz. Woods is certainly deserving of the honor, having had a prolific career as both as a player and a coach in the ECHL. His 599 games played ranks him sixth all-time, and no defenseman in league history scored more than his 159 goals. As a coach, he led his teams to four consecutive Kelly Cup Playoff berths. "I played in a lot of great spots and had a lot of good coaches," Woods told last season. "You try to take a little bit from everybody. I think the big thing is that when I went down there from the AHL, there was the opportunity to play a lot more. When I made the decision to get into coaching, it was definitely a good stepping stone for me. I got some very valuable experience and it's probably a big reason I am where I am today." The LeRoy, Saskatchewan native enjoyed a 13-year pro career, and spent ten of those years in the ECHL, playing with the Johnstown Chiefs, Hampton Roads Admirals, Mobile Mysticks, Tallahassee Tiger Sharks and Mississippi Sea Wolves. But towards the end of that run as a player, Woods started the transition into the next phase of his career, serving as a player/coach with Mississippi for the last four years of his playing career. "It really gives you a different aspect, seeing both sides; you see the management side, you see the coaching side and you're still in the locker room with the guys," Woods said. "It gives you a pretty good visual of how the whole operation works. And I think as a player too, I played forward and D, which again gave me a pretty good understanding of the game and helped lead me to where I am today." Serving as a player/coach in the ECHL helped him transition to a full-time bench boss with the Sea Wolves beginning with the 2001-02 season. "The biggest thing is you played with most of the guys that you're coaching, so you go from being a teammate to your guys' coach, and that's probably the biggest transition," he said. "When I went from being an assistant coach in Hershey to a head coach, it's a different role and you've got to kind of make the switch mid-stream." Woods joined the Bears staff as an assistant prior to the 2005-06 season before being promoted to head coach midway through the 2007-08 campaign after Boudreau was summoned to Washington. The 43-year-old says that his time as a player/coach in the ECHL really set the foundation for being able to progress through the ranks. "I think I was always a student of the game" Woods said. "I loved to do things right, and I think I always tried to understand why everything was done. When you ask questions and you talk to coaches and you really look into everything, it definitely helps you down the road." After being unable to reach the NHL as a player, Woods finally got there as a coach as an assistant with the Capitals in 2009-10. Reaching the game's top level isn't something he took for granted. "It's very rewarding," he said. "I think when you start from the ground up and work your way up, you have a whole new appreciation for everything that you accomplish, and it makes it that much more rewarding when you finally get there."

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quantum vision systemAs we age, our eyes get weaker. It is a natural that our eye muscles become weaker and you may even find that you now need to wear glasses to see clearly. Your eyesight will never be the same again without corrective surgery. Or will it? Thanks to a revolutionary new discovery by Dr. John Kemp called the Quantum Vision System, you may be able to correct your vision problems using quantum therapy. What is the Quantum Vision System? The Quantum Vision System is a vision therapy course that is brand new and created by Dr. Kemp. The therapy course is designed to help your vision improve without the need for surgery. This course can help anyone who has vision issues, no matter what the issue is. The therapy course will help those who wear glasses improve their sight so much that glasses will no longer be needed! This therapy course can help those who are: • farsightedness • nearsightedness • astigmatism • sensitivity to the light How does the Quantum Vision System work? This revolutionary system is designed to help strengthen the eye muscle and improve your vision by doing a series of eye exercises. When you order Dr. Kemp’s program you will be given a vision therapy course that will walk you through what exercises you should be performing to keep your vision at its peak performance. The exercises given to you are guaranteed to improve your eyesight. Dr. Elliot Reid with the Hoboken University Medical Center has backed Dr. Kemp’s claim and has confirmed it by saying that “specific eye exercise, done properly, can help to improve a patient’s eye health and vision.”. What do I receive when I order Quantum Vision System? When you order your kit from Dr. Kemp, you will receive: • Optometrist’s eye charts • Complete illustrations of eye strategies • Instructional video modules • Vision booster packs • 3 Bonus instructional videos on quantum detector, quantum memory, and quantum reading Dr. Kemp’s program will help you to achieve the perfect vision you have always wanted. quantum vision systems

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First Aid Kit. Photo: Neil Krug Advertisement - Continue Reading Below Jack White, Conor Oberst, and Tavi Gevinson are among First Aid Kit's many fans, but the celeb fawning hasn't gone to the Swedish sisters' heads just yet. "After every show we sell our merchandise and wait until every fan has gotten chance to talk to us—they're fans, but they're also friends," says Johanna Söderberg, the older half of the nu-folk duo. That may explain the strong following the band has cultivated in just a few short years; since their breakthrough—a cover of a Fleet Foxes song that went viral in 2008, when they were still teenagers—the Söderberg sisters have toured the world and recorded two albums. The latest, The Lion's Roar, shows just how much First Aid Kit have grown since they first picked up an acoustic guitar and gave harmonizing a proper shot. ELLE.com spoke with the duo about their new release, bringing audience members to tears, and why it's still tough to be a female musician. More From ELLE Johanna Söderberg: Before you release it to the world it's yours, your private little baby. When you read reviews you distance yourself from it—it's not your thing anymore. In a way we're moving on, although we're just getting started. And I think it's a good thing, because we feel we can do even better. That's awesome; you shouldn't be too attached to any album. ELLE: You read your own reviews? Klara Söderberg: Yes, we do! As long as we know it's not the universal truth about our record, I don't think its harmful. JS: Sure, I think they describe us differently than they would if we were men. They choose different words, like we're a "force of nature," or "fairies," or something like that. Our music should be taken seriously, in the here and now, and not some fairytale bullshit. If we were men, I think people would have totally different ideas about who we are. It's easier for men in this business, overall. Women have to prove a lot more to show that they're intellectual or interesting at all. KS: A lot of people think that because we're two young Swedish girls that listen to folk music, we're just doing this because we think it's something cool. It's so far from the truth—this is our passion. It's annoying when you read those kinds of things. JS: They're such a huge part of it. [First Aid Kit] is like our entire family, our thing. It's hard to be a family and do this, but we all think that it's a rare opportunity and it's a once-in-a-lifetime thing. We have to make the best of it, and everyone in our family is really into music. Our father's a sound technician, so he's kind of quit his job to do this. He's probably very surprised that he ended up touring with his daughters; I don't think he saw that coming! ELLE: Are there ever moments on tour when you wish you could act all rock'n'roll and not have your dad around? JS: We don't really think of him like that. But it can actually be a good thing if there are guys are hitting on you. You can say, "My dad's here!" KS: He's not here to protect us or anything, he's just with us because he's an awesome sound technician and a great dad. We're not really the kinds of girls who are partying all night—to be honest, I think we're much more like old ladies, we sit at home read books, rather than out partying. JS: There are so many factors that take part in how the show is: which day it is, how we're feeling. It's hard to say, but in general, the people who come to our own shows know who we are, so of course we'll get more support and they'll sing along. It's so powerful when you're at a festival and you're in front of much bigger crowds and they don't know you but you find each other in the moment, you connect. Winning over a crowd that's skeptical in the beginning is the best thing ever. It's a feeling of victory [laughs]. ELLE: Is there a particular festival where you were blown away by the crowd's response? What do you think?

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Advertisement - Continue Reading Below PISCES + ARIES (March 21 - April 19) Aries is the zodiac's first sign, Pisces its last. You're the Alpha and the Omega, the dawn and the sunset. You're as far apart and as close together as two signs can get. Although your differences are vast, you also have a broad expanse of material from which to fashion your relationship. Your polar positions can actually make you a great match. Aries loves to be adored and spoiled, and generous Pisces will give everything in the name of love. In Pisces' worshipful gaze, Aries feels brilliant and boundless, and his insecurities melt away. This is important for the sensitive Ram, whose "wounded soldier" archetype is healed by the Pisces nurse. In this relationship, Aries is free to follow his natural hunting instincts; Pisces prepares a banquet from his conquests. The danger: You both have vivid imaginations, but with two dreamers at the helm of this romance, the ship can veer off course. Aries is a take-charge leader, but needs a strong second mate. Bravado and confidence don't come easy to insecure Pisces, who falls into feigned helplessness under duress. Moody spells are common for your signs, and digging yourselves out of emotional ditches can be a challenge. You'll need a council of advisors to help you manage aspects of daily life—accountants, lawyers, coaches, therapists. Aries can be naturally aggressive, where Pisces is passive or passive-aggressive. You'll need to adapt your communication styles in order to be heard. More From ELLE PISCES + TAURUS (April 20 - May 20) ♥♥♥♥ PISCES + GEMINI (May 21 - June 20) PISCES + CANCER (June 21 - July 22) ♥♥♥♥ PISCES + LEO (July 23 - August 22) Your signs are very different, but you can eventually gel into a lasting relationship. Pisces is a flowy, sensitive Water sign who needs a decisive mate. Confident Leo, a Fire sign, is a natural leader, eager to rule the relationship. Because Pisces takes longer to articulate his needs, Leo could mistakenly assume he's got the upper hand, and that Pisces is content to follow. Not so fast. In your own ways, you both wear your hearts on your sleeve, but you need to tune into each other's sensitive spots. You're incredibly romantic, and the tender passion between you is great in the beginning. However, you may hit a dry spell when it's time to get truly intimate. Secretive Pisces feels so vulnerable when his soul is exposed, and may lash out at Leo in an unconscious reaction to the Lion's strength—for example, criticizing Leo's appearance, weight or intelligence. These cruel barbs are actually just a projection of Pisces' own self-doubt, but they plunge a thorn in the Lion's paw no less. Pisces must work through the tedious knots of his insecurities, which lay deep in his psyche. Leo is a powerhouse who can run the show with his eyes closed, but he'll do best to step aside and give the Fish his chance to shine. Shy Pisces is a true creative force, but his brilliant imagination and keen intuition can be eclipsed by showy Leo. Work through this. Luxury is a weakness for your signs, and you love to indulge. You may need to take courses on money management together, or team up to make a fortune so you never have to worry about it. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below PISCES + VIRGO (August 23 - September 22) ♥♥♥♥ More From ELLE PISCES + LIBRA (September 23 - October 22) Drifting into a dappled dreamscape of your own imagination, your poetic souls entwine against astrological odds. Libra is an Air sign and Pisces is a Water sign; together you can stir a gentle sea breeze or drown in your own sexual tsunami. But oh, the romance is worth it. Like any good bodice-ripper, there's passion, intrigue and mystique to spice up this storyline. You can get lost for days in a decadent meal, a gorgeous sonata, each other's luminous eyes. While the cynics gag, they secretly envy your enchanted, oxytocin-addled bliss. Living in a fantasy is fun for your signs, and gratification eclipses all boundaries and structures. Another Sancerre, an hour less sleep—it can all be justified in the name of pleasure. It's when reality steps in that things get hairy. After waking past noon in your umpteenth limb-and-linen tangle, you remember that pesky paycheck, your stuffed Inbox, the unopened mail. Oops. Hung over and wholly unequipped to deal with the overwhelm, you lash out at each other. Without outside contact and obligations to anchor you, you can both descend into bouts of moodiness, indulgence and even depression. Balance—the Libra catchphrase—must be practiced early on. PISCES + SCORPIO (October 23 - November 21) ♥♥♥♥ PISCES + SAGITTARIUS (November 22 - December 21) What happens when the most sensitive, tender-hearted sign (Pisces) links up with the most insensitive, tactless sign (Sagittarius)? Disaster, unless you handle each other with extreme care. Romantic Pisces is a Water sign who craves deep emotional bonding, while independent Sag is a Fire sign who feels smothered by too much of the touchy-feelies. You'll need to balance your most distinctive traits and parcel them out in measured doses. Your communication styles don't work together naturally either. Sagittarius is honest to a fault, dishing the unvarnished truth and heavy-handed advice (usually unsolicited), then whistling while Pisces weeps. Indirect Pisces would rather flee to Katmandu than face conflict, but standing up to Sagittarius requires it. Pisces is prone to passive-aggressive tactics; yet, subtle cues and hints will sail right over Sag's head, while the Archer's arrow of truth spears the Fish's heart. What do you have in common? You're both skittish about commitment—namely, the terrifying idea of being "trapped." Since Pisces rules fantasy and Sagittarius rules adventure, you can neatly escape the daily drudge together—at least until reality comes crashing down. Still, life is always tinged with magic when you're together, and the bedroom remains an enchanting space of divine communion for you. PISCES + CAPRICORN (December 22 - January 19) On the surface, you might seem like an odd match—imagine a Harvard MBA in Armani dating a paint-splattered artist in Oshkosh. Yet, your signs pair well, even if you don't want to admit it. With classic good looks and a dutiful nature, Capricorn fits neatly into the system. Pisces is a flowy Fish who excels at playing the the artsy rebel, the indie darling, the adorable mess. By comparison, Capricorn seems structured and regimented—but appearances deceive. While Pisces may delight in coloring outside the neat lines Capricorn draws, the real surprise is that Capricorn is the bigger freak behind closed doors. Capricorn has a dominant, even cruel streak that can play out in the bedroom (not that submissive Pisces doth protest). Leather, whips and kinky fun—it's all fair game. You both love to find lesser-known wine, music, and art, a pride yourself on having cultivated tastes. Together, you can traverse the tony uptown spaces to the lowbrow dives, discovering cultural jewels wherever you go. Your diverse strengths could make you great business partners, too. Open a gallery, with Pisces as curator and Capricorn as financial backer. PISCES + AQUARIUS (January 20 - February 18) PISCES + PISCES (February 19 - March 20) You love each other; you love each other not. Pisces is denoted by two fish swimming in opposite directions—one toward security, the other to freedom. Such tender bait is a fellow Fish who's equal parts commitment-phobe and serial monogamist! As partners in paradox, you'll play nursemaid, Shiatsu-ist, and sous chef to one another, doting until it hurts. Then, of course, comes the Great Escape—intimacy overload strikes, but you feel too "guilty" to ask for a night off from gazing into each other's eyes as some angsty singer-songwriter pipes through the iPod. Instead, you fly into a passive-aggressive panic, turning on each other vis a vis a good self-flogging. "It's not you, it's me," you call over your shoulder as the door shuts behind you (read: "I'm too gutless to demand better foreplay"). "I'm such an awful person—you deserve better," Pisces laments (translation: "You suck"). The real problem isn't your chemistry, it's that you're both so damn indirect. Communication is the 101 cornerstone of a lasting relationship, and if you keep walking on eggshells, you'll end up resentful, depressed (anger turned inward) or eventually exploding with rage. With the right prescriptions, a good therapist and maybe a couples' karate class (think: the socially-sanctioned chop to his midsection that you've been dying to deliver), you can swim together like happy little minnows forever.

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Font Size Iron Deficiency Anemia Topic Overview Red blood cells What is iron deficiency anemia? Iron deficiency anemia occurs when your body doesn't have enough iron. Iron is important because it helps you get enough oxygen throughout your body. Your body uses iron to make hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is a part of your red blood cells. Hemoglobin carries oxygen through your body. If you do not have enough iron, your body makes fewer and smaller red blood cellsClick here to see an illustration.. Then your body has less hemoglobin, and you cannot get enough oxygen. Iron deficiency is the most common cause of anemia. What causes iron deficiency anemia? Iron deficiency anemia is caused by low levels of iron in the body. You might have low iron levels because you: • Have heavy menstrual bleeding. • Are not getting enough iron in food. This can happen in people who need a lot of iron, such as small children, teens, and pregnant women. • Have bleeding inside your body. This bleeding may be caused by problems such as ulcers, hemorrhoids, or cancer. This bleeding can also happen with regular aspirin use. Bleeding inside the body is the most common cause of iron deficiency anemia in men and in women after menopause. • Cannot absorb iron well in your body. This problem may occur if you have celiac disease or if you have had part of your stomach or small intestine removed. What are the symptoms? You may not notice the symptoms of anemia, because it develops slowly and the symptoms may be mild. In fact, you may not notice them until your anemia gets worse. As anemia gets worse, you may: • Feel weak and tire out more easily. • Feel dizzy. • Be grumpy or cranky. • Have headaches. • Look very pale. • Feel short of breath. • Have trouble concentrating. Babies and small children who have anemia may: • Be fussy. • Have a short attention span. • Grow more slowly than normal. • Develop skills, such as walking and talking, later than normal. Anemia in children must be treated so that mental and behavior problems do not last long. How is iron deficiency anemia diagnosed? If you think you have anemia, see your doctor. Your doctor will do a physical exam and ask you questions about your medical history and your symptoms. Your doctor will take some of your blood to run tests. These tests may include a complete blood count to look at your red blood cells and an iron test that shows how much iron is in your blood. Your doctor may also do tests to find out what is causing your anemia. How is it treated? Your doctor will probably have you take iron supplement pills and eat foods rich in iron to treat your anemia. Most people begin to feel better after a few days of taking iron pills. But do not stop taking the pills even if you feel better. You will need to keep taking the pills for several months to build up the iron in your body. If your doctor finds an exact cause of your anemia, such as a bleeding ulcer, your doctor will also treat that problem. If you think you have anemia, do not try to treat yourself. Do not take iron pills on your own without seeing your doctor first. If you take iron pills without talking with your doctor first, the pills may cause you to have too much iron in your blood, or even iron poisoning. Your low iron level may be caused by a serious problem, such as a bleeding ulcer or colon cancer. These other problems need different treatment than iron pills. You can get the most benefit from iron pills if you take them with vitamin C or drink orange juice. Do not take your iron pills with milk, caffeine, foods with high fiber, or antacids. Can you prevent iron deficiency anemia? You can prevent anemia by eating foods that contain iron every day. Iron-rich foods include meats, vegetables, and whole grains such as iron-fortified cereals. You can prevent anemia in babies and children by following recommendations for feeding infants and making sure babies and children get enough iron. If you are pregnant, you can prevent anemia by taking prenatal vitamins. Your doctor will give you prenatal vitamins that include iron. Your doctor will also test your blood to see if you are anemic. If you are anemic, you will take a higher-dose iron pill. Frequently Asked Questions Learning about iron deficiency anemia: Being diagnosed: Getting treatment: eMedicineHealth Medical Reference from Healthwise To learn more visit Medical Dictionary

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U.S. Credibility Concerns Prompt Alex Trebek CIA Hiring As the search for the elusive Iraqi weapons of mass destruction continues to prove fruitless thus far, the United States is finding itself in an increasingly precarious situation in the eyes of the worldwide public; the weapons were the nation's primary justification for going to war, but many say that the government relied on faulty, distorted, and outdated intelligence to prove their cause was worthy. But though the CIA's reputation as a credible intelligence-gathering agency may be momentarily in doubt, the government is looking to the future to reinstate a positive image for the agency, as evidenced by the announcement of a new Head of Internal Affairs today by President Bush. "We have no doubt that our intelligence was sound, and that weapons of mass destruction will be found, even if we have to put them in that god damned country ourselves," Bush said in a press conference earlier this morning. "But although we praise our central intelligence agency for their help in this matter, it is clear that there needs to be a changing of the guard. That is why I've recruited the smartest man in the universe, Alex Trebek, to be the new Head of Internal Affairs." At this point, Alex Trebek joined Bush onstage with a bewildered smile on his face as the press erupted in cheers. "Alex Trebek was the host of 'Jeopardy' for years, and whenever I saw that show, I would think to myself, 'How in the name of Jesus can that man know of those answers?'" Bush said. "I eventually came to realize that Alex Trebek is the most intelligent human being who ever lived. In fact, according to my calculations, he is smarter than three Albert Einsteins combined." But it wasn't until "about a week ago", according to Bush, that he came up with the idea to hire the Jeopardy host for the CIA. "All of these media reports are coming out and questioning how good our CIA really is, and I was trying to brainstorm how I could fix that," Bush explained. "I was thinking in particular about what 'CIA' actually stands for -- 'Secret [sic] Intelligence Affirmation'. Think about it: intelligence. And who's the most intelligent guy around? That's right: Alex God Damned Trebek." "When you think about it," Bush added, "it makes you wonder why we didn't get him the hell in there before." According to Bush, Trebek will oversee the manner in which the CIA collects data and information, and will introduce "new and better ways" of managing the organization. "We're letting Alex come up with a lot of his own ideas," Bush said, "but one thing I'm insisting he do is set up the meetings in the style of Jeopardy. For example, the category could be 'Weapons of Mass Destruction', and the answer could be, 'This country has weapons of mass destruction, no matter what those hippie-pinko-commie-liberals say.'" Bush then turned to Trebek with a grin and said, "And what would the question be, Alex?" With a sigh, Trebek replied, "Iraq, I suppose, but --" "That's right, Iraq!" Bush beamed. "And you know what? Since Alex said it was so on the show, it would be right, and no-one would complain about our intelligence anymore. Problem solved." The floor was then opened up to Trebek, who was asked how the President came about approaching him for the job. "We were doing a taping of Jeopardy, when all of a sudden he walked onto the set, attempting to provide a question to the answer, 'This computer giant was hounded through the mid-to-late nineties by antitrust suits.' Bush said, 'What is Tron?' and guffawed loudly for a few minutes." Secret Service agents then grabbed Trebek and took him from the set, where he was replaced by Ben Stein, the "second-smartest man in the universe", according to Bush. When the questions were over, Trebek attempted to further clarify conceptions about his intelligence. "You know, I don't really know all of the answers on the show," he explained. "I just read the cards. I've been trying to explain that to Mr. President, but he --" "Cards, shmards!" Bush shouted with a nervous smile, elbowing Trebek sharply. "You know everything, and that's why you say Iraq has weapons. Because they do, and that's why the war was justified." He then added, "And if they don't, we'll just say it was because Saddam was mean and go get Syria." In Other News Your Letters Answered (06/17/10) Even More Shit: The Beast RSS Feed Paying The Bills:

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In Defense of Apple's Announcments Apple doesn't need me to defend them, and this post isn't going to be a typical Apple fanboy defense. Some of my fellow bloggers (namely Jan, Damien, and C.K.) were unimpressed by the mini-Stevenote yesterday, and I was right there with them. Now, after taking some time to digest just what was introduced I am far from disappointed (though I won't be getting a $99 iPod case). If you take at face value the products announced yesterday no doubt you would be bummed that there wasn't more 'stuff,' even though Apple never claimed that this was going to be a boffo announcement. However, if you look at the story that the products tell, then things begin to make a little more sense. As I see it Apple was telling two stories yesterday: Intel and iPod accessories. Let's looks at each of them in turn. The Switch to Intel As of yesterday, as Steve pointed out, 50% of Apple's computer product line has made the transition to Intel, and in less than 60 days. This is amazing, and I am quite puzzled by people who say, 'Well the new Mac mini isn't that much different.' It has an Intel chip in it, for goodness sake. Part of the blame for this attitude towards the switch can be attributed to Apple's great handling of it. They have made a conscious decision not to introduce new styles of Macs to mark the Intel transition. What does this mean? If you put an Intel Mac mini next to a Power PC Mac mini most people won't be able to tell the difference (though the IR port is a dead give away). Why do this? Because the manufacturer of the chip shouldn't matter to the everyday user. A Mac is a Mac whether it is running on a G5, a Core Duo, or a Dorito. However, by making this transition look so easy (when in fact it isn't from an engineering point of view) Apple is encouraging people to say, 'WHAT?! Nothing is new with the Mac mini... well other than Front Row and a complete change in system architecture.. but other than that nothing!' The big yawn that the Intel Mac mini produced (unjustly I think) just proves that Apple is managing the Intel transition much better than anyone thought possible. Apple's entry into the iPod economy The iPod Hi-Fi is less of a product and more a signal to the Belkins and the Griffin Technologies of the world. Apple is saying, "There is a billion dollar iPod economy out there that we created and we want a piece of the action.' If I were in charge of iPod products for any third party company I would be very nervous about this. This serious interest in iPod accessories was, of course, first seen at Macworld were Apple announced their new remote control/radio receiver for the iPod. That product, and the Hi-Fi, take advantage of Apple's control over the iPod to make interaction between the iPod and the accessory exceedingly smooth. With a software update Apple added a special menu item for the Hi-Fi on every iPod that is compatible with the product (and that has a screen). No other vendor can assure that their products will work as well with the iPod, and I am sure they aren't happy about it. I expect to see more iPod accessories from Apple in the coming months, and I expect that they will sell well (based on the fact that Apple is making them and not some company the average Joe may not have heard of) and they will make Apple a tidy sum of money. So, as you can see, even though there wasn't an iPod video with touch screen controls, or feature length films in iTunes, this announcement certainly was interesting.

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What is his purpose and why does Steinbeck put Noah in The Grapes of Wrath?     Asked on 1 Answer | Add Yours e-martin's profile pic Posted on (Answer #1) Functionally and superficially, Noah has several roles. We can also look at his character thematically.  Functionally, Noah is the eldest son and so should hold a certain position of authority in the family. He does not fulfill the role assigned to this position however as he is tempermentally incapable of doing so. He is just not a leader. In this way, Tom becomes the leader of his generation, having overcome this formal obstacle.  (Formal obstacles and arbitrary hurdles often seem to get between Tom and his goals. Overcoming them is part of his development and part of what makes him the protagonist of the novel.)  Superficially, Noah's presence brings the family number up to twelve (Ma, Pa, Uncle John, Noah, Tom, Rose of Sharon, Connie, Al, Winfield, Ruthie, Granpa, Granma). This has a Biblical resonance when considered alongside the presence of the preacher, Casy.  Thematically, Noah is an example of how the family breaks up under stress as well as under more overtly physical demands. When [Tom] tells her about Noah, Ma feels the “family’s fallin’ apart.” Death and despair reduce the family to eight by the time the Joads leave their first camp in California. Noah represents some of this despair, saying that he is "sad" and has to stay by the river.  We’ve answered 396,032 questions. We can answer yours, too. Ask a question

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The Council of European Employers of the Metal, Engineering and Technology-Based Industries (CEEMET) has recently launched a new joint manifesto on industrial growth with the European engineering industries association, Orgalime. CEEMET's director explains why they have done so. Uwe Combüchen is director general of CEEMET. He was interviewed by EurActiv’s Jeremy Fleming. Why have you published the joint manifesto? The European Commission recently sent a clear message stressing that industry is vital to the economic recovery and that the industrial output must grow to reach 20% of GDP. We had been discussing the conditions needed in the current challenging time to get the manufacturing sectors back on track or keep them on the right path - what would be needed to ensure growth and jobs in the sectors? - and we decided to jointly respond to the Commission’s recent communications such as “A stronger European industry for growth and recovery”. Why is the metal industry significant for industrial development? The metal, engineering and technology based industries are critical to the European economy, directly employing upwards of 13 million people. Our voice needs to be heard on what European industry needs from the EU. We have listed in our joint policy manifesto a number of core issues for our industry, where we believe improvements will indeed help to ensure a stronger and greener manufacturing economy in Europe. Are you concerned about the current state of the negotiations on the MFF, in relation to Horizon 2020? As we have understood, within the future EU budget, the aim is to ensure that “spending should be mobilised to support growth, employment, competitiveness and convergence” and we do think that better focusing of the scarce resources better is always positive. As national governments are cutting budgets, it is normal that the EU will need to do so too. The cuts should be done in inefficient areas and where no real added value has been reached. Spending should however absolutely not be cut in some key areas such as innovation, research and development. Rather, the budget should be increased there to keep Europe in the frontline of industrial development and to ensure growth and creation of new jobs. What is your opinion on the recent review of Europe's industrial strategy? We are of course very supportive of the Commission’s renewed focus on industry. The four pillars that the communication focuses on are crucial (investment in innovation, better market conditions, access to finance and capitals, human capital and skills). Now we have to make sure the right measures are taken to ensure the implementation of the pillars. This is not something the Commission can do alone – we have to work together on ensuring the best conditions for industry in Europe. How are you intending to make your manifesto message heard? The Manifesto has also been sent to hundreds of stakeholders in Brussels and in national capitals. We plan to keep the priority topics on the agenda in the future in all times when we contact and discuss with our stakeholders as well. By joining the forces with Orgalime we wanted to make sure the topics get more weight since they are so important to both organisations, and need urgent action, such as ensuring competitive labour markets in Europe and making national social security systems future proof (reforms are surely needed as well as with the pension systems) and responding to the skills shortage in the EU manufacturing industry so better matching of skills and labour market needs.

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'30 Rock': Gary Cole, Amy Sedaris, Kellan Lutz, and Don Cheadle guest! | EW.com News | PopWatch 30 Rock (Ali Goldstein/NBC) At the fundraiser Lemon was rudely awakened when 1) she ran out of shrimp, and 2) realized that by “chum” Jack meant “the bait I throw in the water to attract the big fish.” Dammit second meaning! (Ed. note: “chum” would be a perfect fit for Jack’s NBC game show, Homonym.) Lemon vented all her liberal frustrations to Jack’s conservative group, hoping they would right their wrongs. Or I guess, “left” their wrongs. Apologies for that terrible pun. Anyway, her rampage had the opposite effect, convincing the attendees to donate even larger amounts to Jack’s Super PAC. This led to a battle of wills to see who could sway American voters. Liz decided to use her words and ideas on TGS, while Jack stuck to money because there’s “no problem in the world that can’t be solved by throwing money at it.” May the best gender non-specific person win! But as it turns out, neither money nor ideas can win an election. But what can? Or rather who can? Jenna Maroney. That’s who. Let me explain: Jenna found surprising success with “Catching Crabs in Paradise,” her Jimmy Buffett-esque song that attracted throngs of crab catching fans. (Both kinds, because I know you were wondering.) Jenna couldn’t be her diva self because she had to appease her easy-living followers—a fact that Frank, Lutz, and Toofer tried to use to their advantage. While Jenna was getting in touch with her island side, Jack and Liz realized that the Northern Florida population would ultimately determine the results of the presidential election. And those Northern Floridians, the ones from the penis of American, happened to be Jenna’s new army of followers. Twist! And to be continued… NEXT: Guests galore and the best lines from the episode… More from Our Partners

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Experience Project iOS Android Apps | Download EP for your Mobile Device The Monster That I Love. The man I fell in love with is the monster I will never leave. If love could cost a life, surely I have almost paid in full. Keep the advice, and the refund because this heart of mine would never allow me to turn my back on the only person I've ever met who understands who I really am. No words or actions could ever change the way I feel. I would give my life before I lived a life without him. False love runs when things take a turn for the worst. There have been moments when I felt like my heart was literally being ripped from my chest, and I would stand here bleeding right in front of him as a living reminder that I am the one person who will never turn her back and walk away. Your words can cut like a knife, but it's your hand that applies the bandage that stops the bleeding. If I hurt, it is you who soothes my pain. If it's pain you brought, you soothe it tenfold and whisper promises of forever into my begging ear. All love comes with pain, it's not the perfection wrapped in a pretty bow that shines from your movie screen. I've suffered for you, just to have your body next to mine when I lay down to sleep every night. Have you suffered for me? You will tell me so. I've been kept awake at night with questions close to falling from my lips and waking you from your peaceful sleep. Those questions will go unanswered because I know you would never forsake me for another. Fear haunts me, but never the fear of you laying your head down next to another. The fear of the pain that being so deeply in love can visit upon someones heart. Sometimes when you look at me I feel like I am naked, completely exposed and unable to hide secrets from your curious eyes. We've stayed up all night talking about every subject that wandered into our minds and yet sometimes I feel like this love is a book I will never finish. One I can never put down for a new story. LuhxLeMieux LuhxLeMieux 22-25, F Mar 4, 2011 Your Response

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Why Airline Food Sucks As long as there has been commercial flight, the quality of in-flight meals has gotten a bad rap. Here's what airlines are doing to solve the problem. As long as passengers have been flying, they've been disappointed by the quality of in-flight meals. But why? After 90 years of commercial air flight, why haven't airlines been able to design menus that can survive the scrutiny of diners at 30,000 feet? Is it because airline food really sucks, or is it because we just think it sucks? In truth, it's a little of both. But airlines are making surprising strides to fix both. Even before you take into account the other practicalities that come into play when you try to feed people in a pneumatic tube 30,000 feet in the air, a meal you serve on an airplane will always taste worse than a meal served on the ground. "When you travel at a high altitude, your sense of taste isn't the same as it is in a restaurant," says Peter Wilander, managing director of onboard services at Delta. The reasons for this primarily have to do with humidity ... or, rather, a lack thereof. The cabins of airplanes are pressurized with an extremely low humidity level of just 4%, largely to reduce the risk of internal corrosion; the only humidity in an airplane cabin comes from other people's breath. The problem with low humidity, though, is it causes our sinuses to close. This is why you always feel as if you have a slight cold when you fly. Simultaneously, the low humidity dries your food out quicker than it happens on the ground. Since smell and moisture are such important aspects of the way we taste things—consider the way an apple tastes like a potato when you hold your nose, or how steaks are more flavorful when cooked rare than well-done—airplane food has a star subtracted from it from the Zephyr Zagat guide from the get-go just because of cabin air quality. But preparation is also a major issue. According to Wilander, Delta serves more than 9 million in-flight meals every year. None of these meals can be cooked on-board: there's simply no room for a working kitchen, let alone a staff to man it. Instead, every meal served on an airplane is prepared ahead of time, chilled or frozen, and then warmed back up in on-board convection ovens. For economy passengers, this means mass-produced meals that are frozen and then reconstituted. Even in business class, the meals being served aren't fresh. While each meal will have been individually prepared by a catering company at the airport instead of mass-produced and purchased in bulk, a business-class customer can still look forward to a meal that is at least several hours old before it has been served. Delta is hardly alone in this: in fact, this is the standard for the entire airline industry. Why? Because it's the only practical solution to the problem of in-flight service. But there are psychological issues at play that make airline food taste worse to us, too. "In-flight meals have always been just as much about staving off boredom as hunger," says Guillaume de Syon, a professor of history at Albright College. Ever since the days of airships, when zeppelins like the Hindenburg would slowly float across the Atlantic on long three-day trips, meals have been used to distract passengers from the crushing monotony of flight. When there's nothing else to do but sit in a chair and look at the back of someone's head, meals become something to look forward to. But their faults also become something to scrutinize. The result is that even the best airline meals have a hard time holding up to the critical eye of bored, stuffed-up passengers at 30,000 feet. "It's unfortunate, because the airlines are really between a rock and a hard place when it comes to food," de Syon says. "Passengers look forward to meals on long flights, but they're also more disappointed by what they are served than they would be on the ground." Dehydration. Preparation. Boredom. These are the things that make airline food suck. So what can be done about them? When it comes to the problem of humidity, airlines have tried to design their menus around issues of dehydration and reduced sense of taste for decades. Airlines have tended to embrace entrees with a lot of sauce to account for the lack of humidity in-cabin. Through the 1970s and 1980s, in-flight meals tended to also be much saltier than they are today, because saltiness is a taste that is undiminished when our sinuses are closed. As the public became more concerned about sodium intake, though, making in-flight meals saltier to liven up a meal's otherwise environmentally diminished taste has fallen out of favor. Instead, a big trend in airline menus is Indian food, a cuisine that favors the combination of moist sauces with enough spices to blast right through a passenger's walled-up sinuses. In the last couple of years, they have been some other interesting experiments in improving the quality of airline food. In 2011, UK celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal tried to tackle the problem of reduced taste sensations by teaming up with British Airways and designing a new business-class menu. At first, Blumenthal tried to convince passengers to snort a sinus-clearing nasal spray before they ate, but when that solution proved unpopular, he discovered another taste that traveled well to 35,000: umami, the savory taste imparted by things like sardines, mushrooms, soy sauce, and seaweed. The result was a recipe for shepherd's pie with seaweed in the crust that tastes just as good on the ground as it does in the sky. According to Wilander, chefs like Heston Blumenthal are incredibly important to the future of in-flight cuisine, which is why Delta is increasingly teaming up with celebrity gourmets, like Iron Chef Michelle Bernstein and Michael Chiarello to plan their business-class menus. And Delta's not the only ones: other airlines that have approached famous chefs include Qantas, American Airlines, Air France, Qatar, and more. "Airline food has always been a kind of cliché, because it's simply not the same quality you get on the ground," Wilander says. "That's why we're working with talented chefs, people who have proven first and foremost that they have an intellectual curiosity about food, who are willing to roll up their sleeves and try to solve the unique challenges that come with trying to serve restaurant-quality food at 30,000 feet." De Syon agrees. "Celebrity chefs are absolutely making a difference," he says. And as an added bonus, they are helping to solve the boredom problem by getting people more excited by their in-flight meals as well. Yet at the end of the day, the biggest improvements to the quality of airline food will likely have nothing to do at the end of the day with celebrity chefs, newly discovered tastes, or even convincing people to start snorting nasal spray. It is technology that is most likely to improve the experience of in-flight dining. New planes like the Boeing 787 Dreamliner feature improved cabin pressurization systems that not only make passengers feel healthier, but improve cabin humidity up to 15%. That's a fourfold improvement in humidity that makes it all the more likely that your sinuses will stay open in-flight. Simply put? On newer planes like the 787, food will just taste better. Not that any of this, at the end of the day, is likely to stop people bellyaching. "Look at the conditions most of us endure to travel. We spend hours driving to the airport, waiting to check-in, being questioned by security, sitting uselessly on the tarmac or hightailing it between gates," de Syon says. "Airline food might not be great, but it's getting better, and we should give airlines a break. After all, the real reason we're grumpy isn't because of what we're being served in the air. It's what is being served on the ground." Add New Comment • I like airline food a lot. However, I recognize there are some caveats to my opinion. I'm in the under-30 cohort (and as Louis CK stresses, I'm just happy to be in "a chair in the sky) who lives in Turkey. So, I'm always taking international flights. The last time I remember being served a meal on a flight in the US was in the 90s.

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Classic Sudoku programmed in a Flash Game Engine. Features easy, moderate, and hard play levels. Number puzzles appeared in newspapers in the late 19th century, when French puzzle setters began experimenting with removing numbers from magic squares. Sudoku is a logic-based,number-placement puzzle. The objective is to fill a 9×9 grid with digits so that each column, each row, and each of the nine 3×3 sub-grids that compose the grid contains all of the digits from 1 to 9. To start things off, you are provided with a partially completed grid. Our Flash Game Engine version of Sudoku utilises a simple and intuitative user interface, and can generate almost infinite random puzzle combinations. At the start of a game the computer generates a random play grid and this is presented to the player. The Flash Game features the ability keep notes, or auto generate the possible combinations. The player also has the ability to get play hints if they become stuck on a solution, in which case the computer selects and completes a random digit in the grid . This Flash Game is written in Adobe Actionscript AS2.0 and is compatible with all versions of Adobe upwards from FL8.

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General Question ah020387's avatar What does Criteria mean in this sentence? Asked by ah020387 (49 points ) November 21st, 2010 What does ‘criteria’ mean in the following sentence: Cyclone is a weather system that fits all the criteria for a hurricane Observing members: 0 Composing members: 0 7 Answers jazzjeppe's avatar Basically means that it might as well be called a hurricane? I guess? jaytkay's avatar Hi, @ah020387. Welcome to Fluther! Criteria is the plural of criterion. Criterion: a characterizing mark or trait So in that sentence, it means cyclones are hurricanes. They have all the traits of hurricanes. Jeruba's avatar This would mean that there are several defining characteristics of a hurricane—tests or questions that determine if it’s a real hurricane. Those characteristics are criteria. (One of them is a criterion.) The sentence says that a cyclone meets those tests, and the implication is that it can therefore be called a hurricane. laureth's avatar If you made a checklist of all the things that a hurricane needs to be a hurricane, and then looked at the qualities of a cyclone and checked them off on that list, all the little ticky boxes would be duly ticked. Seelix's avatar My first thought when I read your sentence was “requirements”. lillycoyote's avatar Not to get all pedantic here, or off the subject of what “criteria” means, and I don’t want to confuse things but, where did this sentence come from? I ask because I think it’s misleading, if not actually pretty much wrong; it’s really the kind of the other way around in terms of what defines a cyclone v.s. a hurricane; what the criteria are for defining a hurricane as opposed to some other type of cyclone . A cyclone is the overarching term for a particular kind of storm; hurricane is the term used for a particular kind cyclone, for a particular kind of tropical cyclone, as a matter of fact ... the term hurricane “is used for Northern Hemisphere tropical cyclones east of the International Dateline to the Greenwich Meridian.” The above quote comes from the glossary provided by the National Hurricane Center More than you wanted to know, I imagine, but if that sentence came from a text book or a published article, or from anywhere, really, it bothers me that it’s innacurate; at least according to my knowledge and understanding of cyclones and hurricanes. CyanoticWasp's avatar You beat me to it, @lillycoyote. Hurricanes are a subset of all cyclones, in the primary meaning of the word (according to Merriam-Webster) meaning “a storm system rotating about a center, advancing at a certain speed and capable of bringing heavy rain”. But not all cyclones are hurricanes, because hurricanes have a minimum wind speed of 75 mph, and not all cyclones have that. The word “cyclone” has several meanings, one of which is more or less synonymous with “tornado”, but a tornado does not fit one of the major criteria for hurricanes, namely “size”. The word “criteria” has been defined well, but the example sentence has problems of its own. Answer this question to answer. Your answer will be saved while you login or join. Have a question? Ask Fluther! What do you know more about? Knowledge Networking @ Fluther

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Total Time 1hr 10mins Prep 10 mins Cook 1 hr Irish soda bread is my favorite, but this looked interesting. Ingredients Nutrition 1. Heat oven to 350°F. 2. Coat 9" x 5" x 3" loaf pan with cooking spray. 3. Mix flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. 4. Make a well in the center. 5. Add beer and caraway seeds to well; stir in liquid into flour mixture just until flour is moistened. 6. Scrape into pan. 7. Bake in 350°F oven for 50 minutes. 8. Brush top with half of melted butter. 9. Bake 10 more minutes or until lightly browned. 10. Remove loaf to rack. 11. Brush on remaining butter. 12. Serve warm or at room temperature.

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Traditional Buttery French Croissants for Lazy Bistro Breakfasts Total Time 26hrs 20mins Prep 26 hrs Cook 20 mins Ingredients Nutrition 1. Preheat oven temperature to 200C/400F/Gas 6. 2. BREAD MACHINE: Put the milk, water, egg, flour, salt, sugar, 1 oz butter and the yeast into your machine and select dough, normal. This will mix, knead and prove the dough and takes about an hour and a half depending on your machine. 3. BY HAND: Put the egg, flour, salt, sugar, 1 oz butter and the yeast in a large mixing bowl. Using a wooden spoon, slowly mix in the warm milk and the warm water until the mixture forms into a pliable dough. Cover and put the dough in a warm place, until it has nearly doubled in size. 4. BUTTER DOUGH: Place the dough (both from the bread machine and by hand) on a floured surface and knead well until it feels elastic.Return the dough to the bowl, cover and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Return the chilled dough to your floured work surface and roll it into a rectangular shape, around 50cm X 20cm - 20" X 8". 5. Separate the remaining butter into 3 portions and then using one third of the butter, dot the butter over the upper two thirds of the rolled dough, keeping a 1cm/1/2" border around the edges. Fold the dough into three , bringing up the bottom unbuttered part of the dough, and then folding the top buttered part of the dough over. 6. Give the dough a half turn so that the open edges are now top and bottom and seal the edges with your rolling pin. Then take your rolling pin and press the dough at intervals to seal the dough and create air pockets. Roll out into a rectangle again, the same size, and then continue as before, two more times until your butter is used up - please see photos as a guide. It is important to return the rolled dough to the fridge in between each rolling to ensure the butter does not melt and the dough does not become too sticky. After the last rolling when all the butter is used, return the dough to the refrigerator to chill for a further 30 minutes. 7. Remove from fridge and roll carefully into a big rectangle 50cm/30cm/24inx12in cut in half lengthways, divide each half into 4 to 6 triangles. Take one triangle at a time,and brush the triangle with the egg wash of milk and egg. Then from the widest edge of the triangle, roll up loosely and place in a crescent shape on a tray. Brush with the egg wash over the top for the glaze. 8. TO FREEZE: At this point the croissants can be frozen; Open freeze them on a large tray, a baking tray is fine and then pack them into a rigid container or freezer bags when they are frozen. For use, remove from freezer the number required for breakfast, put onto baking tray and leave overnight. Put into a hot oven and cook for about 20 minutes until browned and risen. 9. TO BAKE: Place the shaped croissants on baking trays lined with silicone baking parchment and leave to rise for 30 minutes to 1 hour.Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown and puffy. Most Helpful 5 5 Wow , these are amazing! They did not raise as much as I had hoped but still wonderful. I had to convert the measurements, it took me a long time so let me help someone else out! 1/2 c milk or 3 7/8 oz, 1/8 c water or 1 1/8 oz, 2 1/3 c flour + 1 tsp, 7/8 oz butter, 1 tsp yeast, 6 1/8 oz butter. I made half of them into regular croissants and filled the other half with a cream cheese and sugar mix with homemade strawberry jam. Next time I will try the cream cheese mix and choc chips. I took them to work and everyone has made special requests for our Monday meetings, thanks for the pics they really help! 5 5 These are amazing and incredible easy (when following the pics). For those converting to US units, I found that using 1 TBS of yeast worked well, and they turned out amazingly fluffy. I make these randomly for friends and neighbors and everyone is surprised they didn't come from a bakery. I lived in France for awhile and these bring me right back. Great to dunk into a fresh cup of coffee! 5 5 I would give it 10 stars if I COULD!!! This is HANDS downnn THEE BEST thing Ive EVER made in my LIFE!!! Follow the Directions carefully and you will have PERFECTION!! The pictures are an immense help or I wouldve been lost. I made mine with Bonne Maman Raspberry Preserve with a piece of Dark Lindt chocolate inside. I wish Id quadrupled the doesnt make many, and this is definitely a recipe to have ON HAND to impress friends and family!

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Why Did My Stock Just Die? CAPS Rating (out of 5) Monday's Change Inspire Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ISPH  ) Zale (NYSE: ZLC  ) China GengSheng Minerals (Nasdaq: CHGS  ) The market decided to start the New Year off with a bang, jumping nearly a full percentage point. Yet stocks that went significantly in the other direction are still big deals. The devil's in the details With a name like Inspire Pharmaceuticals, the joke practically writes itself. The company's latest clinical test results failed to inspire confidence in its cystic fibrosis drug, denufosol. There wasn't a statistically significant difference between the results obtained by the drug and those offered by a placebo, and investors knew the FDA wouldn't bestow a nod to the drug on evidence like that. Fortunately for Inspire, it does have other products on the market, such as its pinkeye treatment Azasite and dry-eye treatment Restasis, which is marketed by Allergan (NYSE: AGN  ) . That said, sales of the latter have been falling. Even Wall Street's analysts were unanimous in their belief that Inspire would outperform the market. But with the stock now cut in half, CAPS member Cjbrat1 believes the risk-reward ratio tilts heavily in favor of Inspire's future growth. Let us know on the Inspire Pharmaceuticals CAPS page how long it'll take before the market gets inspired to back the company's next leg up. Taking your eye off the ball After diamond retailer Zale tripled in value over the past four months, investors suddenly believed that the stock really should be valued like cubic zirconia. A Bloomberg report blamed the fall from grace on higher put options. But if that's the case, why wouldn't the market also turn against online retailer Blue Nile, too? Although its stock is up only 35% over the past quarter, these are some of its highest levels in the past year. Tiffany (NYSE: TIF  ) has enjoyed a nice run-up as well -- without having its legs cut out from under it. Luxury goods in general have been resilient despite the recession and shaky recovery. Leather goods maker Coach (NYSE: COH  ) , for example, has found the right combination of levers to pull. Between sales here at home and new markets in China, Japan, and France, Coach has defied the experts. The growing strength behind diamond retailers' numbers indicates that the sector's making a fairly broad move higher. Yet Zale doesn't have the same cachet as Tiffany or Coach, and with its bricks-and-mortar operations, it's a more lumbering beast than Blue Nile. That could help explain why CAPS members are split virtually in half on whether Zale can continue outperforming the market. You can also add it into's free portfolio tracker and have all the Foolish news and analysis compiled for you in one spot. Not-so-rarefied air The same forces that pushed China Shen Zhou Mining (NYSE: SHZ  ) were also apparently pushing China GengSheng Minerals to recent nosebleed levels: namely, an unsustained belief that these companies were involved in mining rare earth minerals. China Shen Zhou mines fluorite, while China GengSheng manufactures ceramic products like the proppants Carbo Ceramics produces for the oil and gas industry. Analysts have been generically lumping these stocks together, as the rare earth minerals' limitations raise global concerns about their availability. That's caused investors to race into the companies, thinking they'll be worth more as a result of their scarcity. But without even a tangential relationship to the REE issue, these companies are bound to disappoint. CAPS member pchop123 correctly considered China GengSheng's run-up in price unwarranted, and urged investors to be wary. That matches the opinion of a large chunk of the CAPS community, who've rated GengSheng to underperform the broad market averages. Some 45% of the 100 CAPS members rating it don't believe the company can turn in market-beating performances. You can mine their opinions on the China GengSheng Minerals CAPS page for further insights. Ready for a resurrection Blue Nile is a Motley Fool Rule Breakers recommendation. Coach is a Motley Fool Stock Advisor pick. The Fool owns shares of Coach. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.  Comments from our Foolish Readers Add your comment. Sponsored Links Leaked: Apple's Next Smart Device (Warning, it may shock you) DocumentId: 1416923, ~/Articles/ArticleHandler.aspx, 10/6/2015 11:21:25 AM Report This Comment Sending report... Rich Duprey Today's Market updated Moments ago Sponsored by: DOW 16,805.32 28.89 0.17% S&P 500 1,983.33 -3.72 -0.19% NASD 4,746.76 -34.51 -0.72% Create My Watchlist Go to My Watchlist You don't seem to be following any stocks yet! Data delayed up to 5 minutes Related Tickers 12/31/1969 7:00 PM AGN.DL $0.00 Down +0.00 +0.00% Allergan, Inc. CAPS Rating: **** COH $30.50 Up +0.19 +0.63% Coach CAPS Rating: **** ISPH.DL2 $0.00 Down +0.00 +0.00% Inspire Pharmaceut… CAPS Rating: *** TIF $79.90 Down -0.35 -0.44% Tiffany & Co. CAPS Rating: *** ZLC.DL $0.00 Down +0.00 +0.00% Zale Corp CAPS Rating: *

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Jul 24, 2013 raw zucchini noodles - and rules of dating as a consequence to my 'on love' post, i think it's only fair to drop a few words on the matter of 'dating', too. not that i'm anything like an expert on the matter, mind (see: my inexistent success rate). but the couple of dates on which i've been throughout the last decade sure make me - if not a successful then at least somewhat of an experienced dater. there are really some things to say on the matter; either for your education or for your entertainment (i guess the latter, mainly). like, firstly, dates are generally and without exception nauseating. i mean, the word 'date' alone is bad. it implies 'girl who wants to get married meets boy who has commitment issues', all along. doesn't it? there was this brief series on the blog called 'letter to men', and the response - even back then when i thought i had only two readers (my mom and, well, me) - was somewhat overwhelming (i think quite a few of my male 'friends' defriended me after it, ahem... though i still don't know why). but what's the fun about life if you do not polarise, now and again, and make it a bit uncomfortable for everyone else, yourself included? so here goes: my dating rules for singles and non-singles (because you never know, it might come in handy again some time) as follows. rules of dating 1. forget blind dates. they're unrelaxed, unreal and very unromantic... and basically everything un-. you live way better if you just forget a thing like blind dates even exist. trust me. it's not the way to go. yes, this does imply you should forget about online dating, altogether. yes, yes, you should. 2. believe in match making. rule no. 1 does, however, not mean you should not consider being match made, either. that is if the source (the match maker) is someone who knows you well (enough) and whom you trust (enough). then that's a different thing. match making makes the blind date only sort of blind, maybe only half blind, and that's kind of a-okay. 3. trust in cupid. also, rule no. 1 and no. 2 sort of imply that it's vital to believe in the power of fate. or some call it cupid. it's like the 'sine qua non' to believe in love and to believ ein chances and in happiness together. no good thing comes from not trusting in the power of love and the moment. fate, yes. brave people trust in fate. period. 4. expect nothing. this has got to be the single most annoying thing you keep hearing as a single: 'it happens when you least expect it'. yeah, right, and you know what i think about you who tells me this? 'people who are annoying are most likely to stay annoying, no big surprises coming from that end' - is what i think. so leave them and their bloody horrid sense of warehouse wisdom be. but - and it hurts to admit - a tiny aspect of it is also true. namely that you should absolutely, before a date, manage your expectations. i.e: expect nothing. most of all, expect no prince on a white horse. that way, you can still be positively surprised, as opposed to being totally devastated because the date was a j- ending with an -erk (to spell it out for you). so much more enlighting to be surprised for the better! 5. dress to feel good. i'm a firm believer that there is no proper rule or dress code when it comes to dating attire. it should be something you feel comfortable in. if that's your pjs (hello, soulmate!) then fine, but maybe save it for the second date? for the first date, go with something a bit preppy but not overly stuffy. i think casual business works well for both, girls and boys, for most (weeknight) dates. girls, make your lips look kissable (i.e. no sticky lipglosses and no cement-ey lipsticks, either), make your eyes pop (for me, only mascara with a bit of shimmer highlighter works best) and pinch your cheeks for a rosey look. done! it's not hard. 6. be kind (also to yourself). i feel like this shouldn't really have to be a rule on itself, because it's pretty obvious, right? but then again, i've experienced quite a few grudgy dates, and we don't want that. we don't want to be the grudgy person - but we most of all don't want a grudgy date. so, it's a lesson i've learned in life: if you want to be treated nicely, then be nice yourself. even if the date doesn't turn out to be what you want it to be, it's still okay to keep your ladymanners intact. only show your teeth if you must (which might happen, so be prepared for that, too). it's kind of like in business: if it turns out you don't like the other one, you are still adequatly nice. and do not ever start to have self-doubt because of a date... so, okay, he's bloody mister perfect, and you've accidentally got a spot, on your forehead, that's as big as sri lanka? bloody hell, he might have herpes somewhere where you don't want it to be (i.e. anywhere). so your spot is kind of like the minor problem here, right? if all else fails, imagine everyone around you being naked. gives you more comfidence - plus it adds that super sneery, cheeky smile to your face. bonus! 7. sharing is caring. you can absolutely be on a date with someone who's not the least interested in you, but it's still fun. and i'd take 'fun' over 'exhausting' and 'awkward' any day. but then again, it's the decent thing to show some interest in the other person. i mean, it's kind of the purpose of dating to find out more about the other, right? some people don't get that though. hasn't your mom taught you anything? pay attention. and then don't forget to share something from yourself. it would be better if the other person would prompt you to, but you cannot always rely on that (gallows humour). so, when the time is right, just share some things about yourself. like what your favorite food is, or an anecdote about your last holiday. something from the heart, something meaningful and relatable. 8. drinks over dinner. i've been on a couple of awkward dates where you realise after 3 minutes that nope, this is probably not going to work out for you. it's fine to give it a chance until after the first (or second, even) drink (prospects might be brighter now) - after all we're not cruella de vile. but if it still looks gloomy after two drinks, then you should pack your lipgloss and iphone and teeter off on your high heels and make a cross on your chest and delete his or her number forever and send him to facebook graveyard. in other words: clear the field. if, however, you've arranged dinner, then it's so much more difficult to escape. so my advice is to opt for just drinks, first, and then see where the evening leads you. there is always mcdonalds! 9. ex-files are ex-files. and therefore not to be opened. ever. because no one wants to feel awkward or second best on a first date, right? honestly, so many other topics to tap into! like, what do you love most about the city you live in? would you ever consider moving somewhere else? what was your most perfect holiday? but you're fabulous and witty like that, you don't need my advice, friends. 10. a healthy appetite is sexy. it's the famous cliché: girls on dates never eat, they just fork around their salads. i, on the other hand, really need something in my stomach to 'perform' well (... meaningful pause here...). if we're only going for drinks then i might want to remember that i need to eat, first (clearly, i always forget that part). besides, i don't think it's really indecent to actually order something. why stay abstinent? it's social to eat, even the romans knew that. so order whatever you like (okay, scratch that: maybe steer clear of the burgers, drippy sauces, too much garlic and... you get the picture). ugh, what i can't stand is a guy who gives me the impression i'm a greedy chick just because i'm hungry.  it's dinner time? and i like to eat, period. okay? 11. offer to split the bill. okay so i might be a tad old-fashioned and rather traditional oriented (i make a habit of cooking for my boyfriends and i love it, heeelp!). but then again we also live in the 21st century, women have babies and go to work, we know how to use computers and stuff, we pay our own excesses. so, yes, of course i offer to split the bill! and it's no biggie if the guy accepts. but... it's still nice if he ends up inviting you. i'm just saying. we don't expect it, boys, so relax! but it's just really nice if he pays. accept, say your thank yous and flutter a bit with your eyelashes, that's alright. of course, you can also invite the guy for a drink in return. a total romance killer for me is someone who's stingy, overly controls the bill (2 bucks too many aren't actually crisis-worthy...) or credit card problems. just a thing you don't want on your first date. so pay cash, and make it quick. best unseen (you can always excuse yourself to the gentlemen's and return with the payed bill). 12. charm is added bonus. same rule of thumb holds true for general manners: we like it a bit oldschool (i think i'm speaking for most of the women, now). we like to be picked up, we like to be escorted on a gentleman's arm, we like to be helped into our sides of the car, we like to be seen to our doorsteps, we like it when a guy takes our coats, stands when we do and offers us an umbrella as we walk home. or his jacket when we're cold (we're always cold, might i add). we like flowers and chocolates, and it's not a cliché (okay, so maybe not on valentines' day, but there are 364 other days in the calendar worth coming up with chocolates). honestly, you can collect points so, so easily, guys! charming guys have such a bonus. just general attentiveness is the best way to win a girl's heart, promise. and i admit, it's totally my softspot. humour is pretty good as it goes - a funny guy can crack me up and i'll be eternally grateful for him to break the ice when a date starts to feel awkward - but then, charm beats humour, definitely. if you want it to look and feel real, then better practice with your mother, sister, sister in law, schoolfriend or colleagues, even. 13. exchange bye bye pleasantries. even if you're not interested after the first date, i insist on exchanging pleasantries and general, insignificant niceties when saying goodbye. it's not about playing a game or getting someone's hopes up. it's about not making the other insecure. at this point, it's the decent thing to ask a few questions about the future, maybe hint that you're going to see each other somewhere, anywhere again (which, mind, is pretty likely if you live in the same city...). as opposed to wishing the other 'a happy life' (it has happened). a clear no-no to express a definite position at this stage. better to remain vague and polite. that way, you can sleep over things and make your mind up about how much exactly you like or don't like the other person and about how to proceed - without any pressure. 14. on spare undies. will you bring your spare undies and a toothbrush to your first date...? gals, i leave that up to you. i think a girl shouldn't really hop into bed with a guy on the first date. but then again, sometimes you might want to take what you can while you can get it (and i'm quoting a girlfriend of mine who's really super in love with the perfect guy, here, mind).  15. keep in touch. i'm a firm believer that communication has to be two-ways and, most importantly, well-balanced. like: message from you - message from him - message from you - message from him... and so forth. if you don't get an answer or a reply to your last message, well then simply don't write again! because no answer is kind of an answer, too (it's called 'communicating without communicating' and i think watzlavick is the star of the matter, here). and guys, really, i've got so many girlfriends who do not like to be on the phone, okay? i don't know whether this is such a big revelation to you (sometimes i feel like it is) - but we're more comfortable to write in the beginning of things. maybe because it gives us more time to be witty? anyway: so any text message is much appreciated, promise. i know it's hard, i know you don't really fancy writing. but we melt when we hear from you! so, give it a go. it's not that bad. 16. have fun. seriously! last but not least, it's good to remind yourself that it's not a game, it's not a battle, and most of all it's certainly not a championship. it's not about having the best date and finding the best guy. okay, sometimes it is a championship... but it most definitely shouldn't be! you're doing it for you, and for no one else. you're doing it to enjoy yourself. you're doing it because you're life loving and open and optimistic, and because you believe in hard work and fate. you're doing it because you love getting to know new people. and if your date turns out not to be a date but a friend, instead, then that's just as good, right? okay, and now who am i to give you dating advice? i honestly don't know what's gotten into me. forget i ever mentioned it, okay? let's move on to safer grounds, namely food. how about some raw zucchini noodles with lemon crème fraîche sauce, hmm? raw zucchini noodles with lemon crème fraîche sauce 4 zucchini (i used 2 yellow and 2 green ones) 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved 1 cup crème fraîche 1 lemon, juice and zest 1 tsp. fleur de sel 1 bunch basil leaves 1 handful mint leaves 2 tbsp. olive oil devices needed: a julienne peeler wash the zucchini, because you're going to use the peel, too. now slide a julienne peeler (yay, i've finally gotten myself one!) over the zucchini from one end to the other. the julienne peeler makes perfect, long, spaghetti-like stripes in one, easy swipe. of course, you can always cut it like that on your own, but it's exhausting for this amount. anyway, so proceed with the zucchini, until the first seeds appear (the seeds break the stripes so i leave them out). now rotate the zucchini 90 degrees and continue to peel it on this side. continue until all of the zucchini (except for the bit with the seeds) is peeled / julienned. heat a large saucepan with salted water, and quickly blanch the zuchini stripes in it (we're talking maybe 2 minutes here). drain them and cool them in the ice cold water. in the meantime, quickly heat the crème fraîche in a small saucepan, add the lemon juice and season with fleur de sel. arrange the zucchini stripes on a plate neatly (a fork works well to turn the 'pasta' into nice little nests), add a generous dollop of crème fraîche and decorate with tomato halves, basil leaves and mint leaves (note: i also added some leftover edible sour clover leaves, because they look so pretty, but i'm fully aware that most people don't happen to have clover on hand, so just skip it). 1. Very nice, you really made my day brighter with your hilarious way of describing your observations :) I miss a comment on the "battlefield out there" though ;) 1. aaah...! but that's a thing that deserves its own chapter, dont you think? so much to say about the battlefield... i'll go make some mire stories tomorrow night... ugh. hihi. sending you a smile und bis bald am nächsten supper! x scarlett 2. can you maybe make more vegetarian meel? very yummy!!!

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Abu Suradi Fraser's Hill Abu Suradi Trail is a short and easy 500 meter jungle walk suitable for hikers of all ages. It was named after the first person to be awarded a mining lease for Pamah Lebar - now the popular Fraser's Hill public golf course in the center of town. Abu Suradi operated a tin mine for ten years from 1899 until his lease got cancelled by British district officer. The trek begins from a spot along Genting road just opposite the mosque, leading uphill across a slightly steep slope before breaking on to level path. Broad and wide, the trail is easy to traverse, with occassional buttressed roots and muddy spots but rarely (if ever) any leeches. The track ends at the start of Mager trail.

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Not a member?     Existing members login below: Poor White Hugh and Clara were married in less than a week after their first walk together. A chain of circumstances touching their two lives hurled them into marriage, and the opportunity for the intimacy with a woman for which Hugh so longed came to him with a swiftness that made him fairly dizzy. It was a Wednesday evening and cloudy. After dining in silence with his landlady, Hugh started along Turner's Pike toward Bidwell, but when he had got almost into town, turned back. He had left the house intending to go through town to the Medina Road and to the woman who now occupied so large a place in his thoughts, but hadn't the courage. Every evening for almost a week he had taken the walk, and every evening and at almost the same spot he turned back. He was disgusted and angry with himself and went to his shop, walking in the middle of the road and kicking up clouds of dust. People passed along the path under the trees at the side of the road and turned to stare at him. A workingman with a fat wife, who puffed as she walked at his side, turned to look and then began to scold. "I tell you what, old woman, I shouldn't have married and had kids," he grumbled. "Look at me, then look at that fellow. He goes along there thinking big thoughts that will make him richer and richer. I have to work for two dollars a day, and pretty soon I'll be old and thrown on the scrap-heap. I might have been a rich inventor like him had I given myself a chance." The workman went on his way, grumbling at his wife who paid no attention to his words. Her breath was needed for the labor of walking, and as for the matter of marriage, that had been attended to. She saw no reason for wasting words over the matter. Hugh went to the shop and stood leaning against the door frame. Two or three workmen were busy near the back door and had lighted gas lamps that hung over the work benches. They did not see Hugh, and their voices ran through the empty building. One of them, an old man with a bald head, entertained his fellows by giving an imitation of Steve Hunter. He lighted a cigar and putting on his hat tipped it a little to one side. Puffing out his chest he marched up and down talking of money. "Here's a ten-dollar cigar," he said, handing a long stogie to one of the other workmen. "I buy them by the thousands to give away. I'm interested in uplifting the lives of workmen in my home town. That's what takes all my attention." The other workmen laughed and the little man continued to prance up and down and talk, but Hugh did not hear him. He stared moodily at the people going along the road toward town. Darkness was coming but he could still see dim figures striding along. Over at the foundry back of the corn-cutting machine plant the night shift was pouring off, and a sudden glare of light played across the heavy smoke cloud that lay over the town. The bells of the churches began to call people to the Wednesday evening prayer-meetings. Some enterprising citizen had begun to build workmen's houses in a field beyond Hugh's shop and these were occupied by Italian laborers. A crowd of them came past. What would some day be a tenement district was growing in a field beside a cabbage patch

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Quote# 2304 There must be a reason he says all will be revealed when it's time. The bible tells us to test the faith. If God revealed to us now, we couldn't believe out of faith, God wants to see how far you will go for him on faith. GTX, Christian Forums 9 Comments [2/1/2003 12:00:00 AM] Fundie Index: 1 WTF?! || meh And that, dear, is why he's an asshole. 1/8/2009 11:44:26 AM Same with Zeus 1/8/2009 1:16:00 PM Allegory for Jesus God trying his damndest to make himself unbelievable so that your faith means even more. That's...touching (?). 9/17/2010 6:16:38 PM We should have a "Clutching At Straws" award. This one would be a prime candidate. 9/17/2010 10:11:48 PM Or: The Bible's bullshit and has built in reasons for the entity to never show himself as they knew it was bullshit from the beginning. How many articles, books and sermons have been produced trying to explain why God never shows up or stops injustice and misery? Why are ALL these arguments lame and dependant in the end on "God moves in mysterious ways"? Because bullshit always fails under scrutiny 9/18/2010 6:09:03 AM Wait so by knowing he exists we will not believe he exists? LOGIC WHATS THAT? 11/21/2010 8:35:53 PM "He" didn't say anything. Ancient priests made that nonsense up in order to control people and swindle them out of their money and other possessions. 11/21/2010 9:05:54 PM I just made a God, let's call him Limpnoodle,,,no,, Limpnoodle the allfather. He's so amazing he did all creation with a limpnoodle, hence the name. How impressive and miraculous is my God? This has no proof and is unlikely at best and yet: This is your evidence? That there is none and the odds against it is the basis for it? Then pray to Limpnoodle or be forsaken 11/23/2010 2:51:08 PM Philbert McAdamia God found out when I was 8. 11/23/2010 2:58:53 PM

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South Park: The Stick of Truth Review 12 Apr 2014 Eschalon: Book II Developer:Obsidian Entertainment Release Date:2014-03-04 • Role-Playing Platforms: Theme: Perspective: • Third-Person Buy this Game: Amazon ebay Back when South Park: The Stick of Truth was announced, simply as South Park: The Game, I thought that it was a bizarre idea. As a developer, Obsidian is mostly known for its writing and choices and consequence-driven quest design. Meanwhile, South Park: The Game immediately billed itself as a Paper Mario-like (J)RPG-lite with a true-to-the-show art style, written entirely by show creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker. It simply didn't feel like a good match on paper, as Obsidian has never been known for a focus on art or 2D animation, or for their ability to execute on simple, core gameplay ideas. Fast forward to 2014 and South Park: The Stick of Truth is out on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC to fairly good reviews, and I'm left wondering not whether Obsidian was a good match to Matt Stone and Trey Parker, but whether a South Park RPG was the best way to do a South Park game in the first place. But given I'm writing a review, I suppose I should start with what I know: I had fun playing it. The New Kid has a Power We Have Yet to Understand. South Park: The Stick of Truth puts you in the shoes of a new kid that has just arrived to South Park, and finds himself (yes, you can only play as a male character) immediately involved in one of the kids' inane games, a Game of Thrones-inspired LARP-y capture the flag variant that replaces an actual flag with the titular "Stick of Truth". Things from there on escalate (or spiral downward, I suppose) in a typical South Park fashion, and more than a few adults find themselves engrossed into what should be a children's game by the end of the story. That's about as far as I'm willing to go in terms of spoilers, because South Park: The Stick of Truth's story and writing really have to be experienced by themselves. The game mixes an arguably excessive penchant for self-reference with the series' typical crass humor, and a biting but occasionally confused satire (also typical of the series, and thankfully in this case it's more hit than misses, given the story is more concerned with surreal antics than being topical), all while also taking repeated potshots at typical videogame structures, devices and clichés. While I'd be hard-press to call the series consistently excellent, I've always had a soft spot for its humor and irreverent sensibility, and I'm glad to say that the game keeps them intact and fits them to a videogame structure. Stone and Parker deserve high praise for being able to refine comedic timing to a degree that I hadn't seen in many other games before, and certainly never in an RPG. Sure, in the long run some of the NPC barks and boss attacks stop being funny and just become repetitive, but the sensation kicked in far later than I'd have expected, partly, I suspect, due to the game's quick pacing and the amount of unique content included. Pretty much every boss and enemy type has unique attacks, and even status effects fit into the setting. Want an example? "Grossed Out" has the character affected vomiting (and therefore suffer damage) at the end of the turn, due to, well, being grossed out. And at the heart of it all, if one searches enough, there's still the simple story of a kid moving to a new town and making new friends. It just so happens that some of those are talking excrement, gerbils and former presidential candidates. In other words: it's South Park, it crosses the line multiple times, and I (mostly) enjoyed it for that, even if it can't always be argued that it always has something clever to say when it touches controversial subjects. That said, if I had one criticism of the game's writing, it would be its overall complacency. It's really easy to criticize the videogame industry's lazy "common wisdom" philosophy, and our placid acceptance, as players, of all kinds of improbabilities and empty blabbing, but as comedy writers, it's also lazy of Stone and Parker to take potshots at all these structures without attempting to subvert them in any way. Yes, audio logs have been getting progressively stupider throughout the years (I recently played Bioshock Infinite, which often didn't even attempt to hide the fact that they were often added simply because it was expected, rather than to enhance the game's narrative in any way). Yes, scripted fights whose outcome is the same irrespective of whether you win or lose are insulting. And yes, binary choices in games are meaningless more often than they aren't. But no, I don't think irony is a good excuse to do all of those things, and fill the game of generally funny but simple, and arguably trite fetch quests on top of that. If there's a pro to South Park: The Stick of Truth's shallow quest design, however, is that it shows how important writing, art and music (and I'd take this opportunity to note that the music is also excellent, varied and true to the show) can be to the enjoyment of a title. "Gameplay is king" is a sentence that tends to often be true, but as all truisms, shows its weaknesses in cases like this. Especially because, as I'll soon explain, South Park's actual gameplay isn't exactly strong. You Have to Wait Your Turn. Like in the Middle Ages, Clyde! With the exception of a number of generally not too entertaining minigames, South Park: The Stick of Truth's gameplay is divided between side-scrolling exploration and Paper Mario-like combat encounters. Exploration takes place in real time, and gives your character the chance to move throughout town, and punch and fart (yes, you knew this was coming) on pretty much everything you encounter. Later in the game you'll also gradually learn more abilities to use while exploring (which are common to all character classes), including ranged attacks, companion-exclusive actions like Butters' ability to heal injured people, and, well, the ability to unleash various types of farts. Some of these abilities can be used to explore locked-off parts of town later in the game, and to solve some generally easy puzzles at pivotal story sections, although for the most part exploration just consists of navigating environments, taking quests and collecting loot. While I can't really praise this mechanical aspects of the game very highly, the environments are so well-rendered and true to the show that moving your character from point A to B feels rewarding in and of itself. More importantly, all enemies are visible while you're exploring, and they will actively try to attack you while on the map to trigger an encounter and get the first turn. Approaching them from afar with a ranged attack, however, stuns them, and should you manage to punch them first, you will actually be the one to get the first action. In actual combat encounters, the New Kid is usually (but not always) accompanied by one of the game's six buddies (it's the actual game terminology, I'm not trying to sound hip here), and both characters are under the complete control of the player. Each turn, you get the chance to both examine the enemies (which lets you see all of their immunities, inflicted status effects, buffs and eventual charging attacks), take one free action (using an item or a free special ability) and/or attack. Attacks are divided between normal attacks (there are both melee and ranged variants, and you can switch seamlessly between the two types), special abilities (which depend on your class, and consume Power Points, or PP for short) and magic (which is actually an euphemism for the game's various types of flatulent attacks, which all use Mana, another euphemism whose cleverness is debatable). Pretty much every attack (and every defense, in case you're actually being attacked) requires additional QTE-like inputs to work at full efficacy, usually but not always consisting of timed button presses. The penalty for not being able to execute these inputs correctly can range from a reduction of the damage you inflict to enemies to actual self-harm, but they're generally easy to execute once you get through the often obtuse tutorials. Upcoming Releases

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Morrowind still worth buying? • Topic Archived 1. Boards 2. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim 3. Morrowind still worth buying? 5 years ago#1 I am terribly bored waiting for skyrim. I was wondering if this game is too outdated to have fun with, I can buy it on steam for 20$ so I'm just wondering if it's worth it. I have already played through most of oblivion, not to mention fallout 3, new vegas, and even dragon age origins and loved those games. 5 years ago#2 If it was $10, maybe. --- ~ by masterpug53 5 years ago#3 20 is a little much for how much you can get it elsewhere, I'd look online you can probably find it new for 10 dollars retail. But is silence not the symphony of death? -Lucien Lachance 5 years ago#4 It's worth getting though I agree it's kinda pricey at 20. If you never played it, I reccomend using the UESP guide for getting used to Morrowind after Oblivion. It's a much different and less forgiving game. It's pretty outdated but the nostaglia in me always finds it entertaining when I go back to it, though I've done about every quest two or three times already. I'm untouchable (you get it??) 5 years ago#5 morrowind has terrible controls, dont waste your money unless you enjoy static slashes that resemble somthing from n64 zelda slashers. 5 years ago#6 Alright I can probably get it for 10$ or less online or at a local store. So my other question is: Is it still fun compared to some modern RPGs? 5 years ago#7 I love it still. Its an actual RPG instead of an action RPG like every modern RPG has been. Being a Mage is like being a parent, but without the sex at the start.-Formalhaut. 5 years ago#8 If only you could get it free somewhere... Although i'm sure thats immoral and you would never think of doing such. 5 years ago#9 Morrowind is always worth buying. compared to some modern RPGs? That depends. Have you only ever played modern RPGs? Morrowind utilizes what modern RPGs don't - depth. It's also a whole lot more difficult, as the game doesn't hold your hand like you might have seen in Oblivion. If you can dig the more oldschool gameplay than you'll love it, I'm sure. --- - Metal Gear Solid Parody in LBP2 5 years ago#10 It's more RPG-ish than other RPGs. If you are more like a "hardcore" RPG player you will like it. Generally, people complain it's too difficult but they probably aren't used to using their brains and accepting a challenge of any kind. --- ~ by masterpug53 1. Boards 2. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim 3. Morrowind still worth buying? Report Message Terms of Use Violations: Etiquette Issues: Notes (optional; required for "Other"): Add user to Ignore List after reporting Topic Sticky You are not allowed to request a sticky. • Topic Archived

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Review by Psycho Penguin "Slow Gameplay + Complex Menu System = Disappointment" When I had my Sega Genesis, I played a few games. One of those games was the NCAA Football series. Actually back then the game was called College Football USA 97, and it was damn fun. Featuring fast gameplay and excellent controls, I had a blast playing both against my friends and against the computer AI, which was pretty tough. So when my friend asked me if I wanted to borrow NCAA Football 2000, I said yes. After all, I had enjoyed the old NCAA Football games, and the new ones featured better graphics and better sounds, so how could I go wrong? So I borrowed it, anxiously went home, and played it. That's when the fun ended. Not only is the game not as good as I expected, it features slow gameplay and lack of fun factor. As a mater of fact, since the first hour, I have not played it at all since. Instead I fired up the old Genesis versions and thought of what could have been..... Graphics (8.3/10): Okay, the graphics are pretty good. They're in total 3D, and they look good. The player models are great, and there's lots of detail. Also, the stadiums look good and lifelike. Overall, good graphics. However there are some problems with the graphics like breakup and slowdown. It gets quite bad at times. Music/Sound (6.1/10): The coolest thing about the music and sound effects are that the bands sometimes start playing the school theme. That's pretty good. Like when I was playing Florida State, the Florida State theme played and the Penn State crowd booed. That's realistic. Unfortunately all the other music and sound pretty much sucks. Gameplay/Control (6.2/10): This game is slowwww. What happened to the fast and fun gameplay of the old genesis and Super Nintendo college football games? The menus are also very hard to sort through, I still have yet to figure out the complex menu system. Combine slow gameplay and a complex menu system and you have a pretty bad football game. Replay Value Low Challenge: High My idea for a fun college footbal game: NCAA Blitz 2001. Would make tons of money. Overall (5.8/10): Not what I expected. Reviewer's Rating:   3.0 - Fair Would you recommend this Recommend this Review? Yes No Got Your Own Opinion? Submit a review and let your voice be heard.

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Drox Operative v0.910 Beta Patch Added race statement system Soldak Entertainment has issued a new (beta) patch for Drox Operative, a starship action RPG with warring alien races, fierce space battles, a dynamic, evolving galaxy, and co-op multiplayer. This patch adds more race/race interaction quests, makes quests easier to work with, improves the maps even more, added a bunch of advantages to weaker races, and fixes a bunch of other little things.

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Posted: 09/17/10 First teased as a revolutionary war game you control with your fingertips, the enigmatic R.U.S.E. has finally emerged as a seemingly-ordinary RTS for the PC and consoles, with optional Move support for the PS3. Can Ubisoft's next step in the strategy genre outwit your expectations? One of R.U.S.E.'s wisest ploys was keeping its mission-to-mission narrative on the light side, as what little story you do get isn't very good. Rife with bad dialogue and even worse character stereotypes, R.U.S.E. tells the tale of rival generals Joe Sheridan and Erich von Richter as they attempt to gain their respective footholds in World War II Europe. It's the kind of generic war story you'd expect, mixed in with some Scooby Doo mystery for good measure: there's a spy named Prometheus in your ranks, who may or may not be one of the advisors constantly by your side. Bland and altogether uninspired, R.U.S.E.'s story never quite comes close to the epic magnitude of its battles. It's a good thing that they comprise only a small fraction of the whole. R.U.S.E. is a strategy game where outmaneuvering your opponents with the right counter units is just as important as picking the right type of deception for the job. This is where the eponymous ruse comes in: over the course of each match, you're given what essentially equate to power-ups that temporarily grant various tactical advantages, like spy intel, decoy armies, and the ability to move faster across the map. You'll figure out when to use each ruse and how through the game's multitude of campaign and multiplayer scenarios. The first stop for fresh-faced generals is the single-player campaign, a linear set of 20-plus missions designed to acclimate you to the game's library of units and ruses. Armies are boiled down to their essential parts and pitted against one another in an intricate game of tic-tac-toe: tanks destroy infantrymen, anti-tank guns obliterate tanks, and infantrymen crush anti-tank guns. Furthering the rock-paper-scissors analogy, there are also other units and structures to take into account, like artillery, bunkers, and planes, with special tactical considerations like surprise ambushes adding wrinkles to the formula. The missions do well at showing how each of these cogs work together in R.U.S.E.'s grand war machine, putting you in various strained situations requiring the full use of your army and resources. The pace of play is smart and strategic, albeit a little slow by today's rush-obsessed RTS standards. Combined with the crafty use of ruses, the game presents an interesting play on unit balance and deception that gives it a distinct flavor. Outside of the campaign, the operations mode hosts challenge scenarios that you can take on alone or with friends. Battle mode offers streamlined skirmishes against A.I. opponents with selectable behaviors, while multiplayer takes the fight to other humans online in either ranked or unranked matches across a generous spread of maps. Lacking some modes and a map editor on the PC though, R.U.S.E.'s package is a bit modest compared to others on the market. With its strong emphasis on counter units and tricks, R.U.S.E. is a game that definitely rewards strategy when it's due. Sniffing out hidden units in a forest or peering down on a secret encampment from the nose of a recon plane can definitely turn the tide of a match, so it's up to you to deploy the right composition of units and structures given the amount of information at your disposal. Orchestrating the movement, production, and actions of your army with the PlayStation 3 Move is a surprisingly smooth and intuitive feat; selecting groups of units is as easy as holding down a trigger, while twisting, zooming, and panning the camera are done via specific wand gestures. Commands to issue unit, building, and ruse orders are neatly piled onto a cross-bar menu, and you can set ghostly waypoints to keep track of where things are set to end up. Standard console controls offer a manageable, albeit far less convenient setup that will definitely slow your productivity; a mouse and keyboard, on the other hand, give you the best control of the lot, but not by much compared to the Move. Being a game of broad military tactics versus the dexterous management of each individual unit, R.U.S.E.'s steady, unhurried pace may seem alienating to those who've honed their six-pool micro skills, but is certainly no less of a game for it. The flow of combat may be simple but the schemes behind them are not. It may be slightly different than what you're used to, but if the idea of outplaying opponents with preparation over agility sounds appealing, then R.U.S.E. is definitely up to the task. It won't win you over with its plain vistas and unremarkable style, but if there's anything R.U.S.E.'s graphics accomplish, it's a terrific sense of scale. When displaying skirmishes from afar, the camera pulls back to reveal the battle as viewed from a table-top map, completing the ambience with the hushed din of radio transmissions and war room chatter. Pushing in, units dynamically shift in size and grouping order until you're neck deep on the front lines, surrounded by the blaring sound of bullets firing and artillery shells sailing. Barring some occasional pop-up, the seamless transition between these two extremes is executed with pleasing results. The comic-style cutaways to events transpiring elsewhere on the battlefield are also a nice touch. The story cutscenes are also well produced, even in spite of a few trips to the uncanny valley. It's just a shame that the hammy voice acting and lackluster script don't stack up. R.U.S.E. succeeds as a solid RTS with a fun focus on deceit, even if it's a little more conventional than we were hoping for. If strategy, scheming, and using every trick in the book sounds better than the status quo, then this is one strategy game worth the consideration. Reviewed on Sony PlayStation 3. Release Date: PC, PS3, Xbox 360 Real-Time, Strategy Related Videos  Welcome to the new GameTrailers! The link you're looking for no longer exists. Need Help? Head over to our FAQ page!

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Sunday, March 4, 2012 Deciding Between Styles Interior design is all about choices. Collecting the things you love, editing out what doesn't work in a room, while pervading your overall style throughout your home. I think one of the biggest challenges that people face is deciding what style they want to commit to. Here's my current dilemma: Do I want my style to be... I love the look of minimalistic interior design - but I feel like it's such a limiting commitment sometimes! But then again, it's so sleek, simple, sexy... However easy it may seem to stay a minimalist, I find the restriction to be A LOT more difficult. I mean... what if I want to buy a pink metallic gnome figurine?!?! So that's why I've decided that my style would be a mix of both. Minimalistic meets eclectic. Is it possible? I think so. I love to use a modern and simple color palate of black and white as my base, make sure the large pieces in a room have simple lines and then mix in fun and eclectic accessories. A pop of color here and there is a fun and easy way to change things up after a few months go by. What are your design challenges in your home? Do you feel limited by your previous choices sometimes?

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Bumper sticker logic retards the debate Seen on a car window in Leavenworth this week: Yes government and only government can do certain things,but that list is quite short. For example, historically the private sector hassuccessfully run effective schools. Private research labs have done most of themedical research, and private hospitals still do provide most of the medicalcare in this country. Many critics of government would argue that these privatesector organizations have been much more efficient and effective in these tasksthan their government run counterparts. But the author of the above BS (bumper speech) doesn’tbelieve you should question the government. For him it is enough that the jobis getting done. Well if that’s the case then let’s just cancel elections andsave us all the time and expense of voting. After all the people who run thegovernment have our best interests at heart. And who really needs all thatstress just trying to understand these debates? Life would be so much simplerand less stressful if we just bowed to the king and paid our taxes. The problem is that left unchecked government will continueto grab more power. Many critics of our government today believe it has becomemuch too large and as a result, unresponsive to the electorate. Many believethat the last Congress has looked at the voters not as people they were electedto represent, but as subjects to be ruled. In that environment they no longerneed to listen to the voters they begin to decide what they think is best forus. The “BS” also assumes that government is an efficientadministrator of our resources. But it is government spending that is out ofcontrol. Tax revenues have been increasing but spending is increasing fasterthan the revenue. Continuing to increase taxes in that environment encouragespoor spending discipline by our elected representatives and public sectoremployees. The issue here is just what are the essential functions ofgovernment and exactly which level of government is responsible for thosefunctions? For example, let’s just consider education. There is nothing in theU.S. Constitution that gives the Federal government any responsibility foreducation. Our country led the world for decades before President Carter decidedlocal governments needed help. Today the Federal Department of Education’sbudget is $62 billion and it is asking for a 30% increase to $82 billion nextyear. The primary effect of that Federal spending has been to allow states toreduce their spending on education. Last year the State of Washington wassuccessfully sued by the Bellevue School District for failing to meet theirconstitutional obligation to fund basic education. The governor’s answer tothat suit was to further reduce state spending by using new Federal money tobalance the state education budget. Washington State is not unusual. Anincreasing number of government critics believe shutting down the FederalDepartment of Education would actually improve education while eliminatinganother layer of unproductive bureaucracy and saving the taxpayers money. It is time we all began to remember that the government issupposed to work for us. Instead of yelling at each other about our need to payour share we need to be yelling at our representatives that their firstpriority is to make sure government is efficient. We need less “BS” and moreinformed, adult discussions about the things government should do and whatgovernment should leave to the private sector. Commenting Rules No comments yet. Leave a Reply

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Healthy Stuff We Heart 6 ways to skip the back-to-school sniffles It seems like everyone gets sick during the first few weeks of school. All those teachers and students are comin’ together after a nice summer of picking up who-knows-what-kindsa germs, so catching a cold is pretty much unavoidable. Or is it? Use these six tricks to avoid taking a sick day when you haven’t even gotten sick of school yet. Back to Basics Everyone knows that you’re supposed to wash your hands after you use the bathroom, right? Unfortunately, not everyone seems to follow that rule. And what’s worse is that very few people use soap when washing their hands – eep! So no matter how little time you have, make sure you’re washing with warm water and soap every time you leave the bathroom. Wash Well From the Inside Out If you’re stayin’ hydrated, you have less chance of getting sick. Drinking lots of water will help your bod flush out any toxins, so make sure you’re gettin’ in those eight glasses each day. And if it makes you stop off at the bathroom a li’l more, then you just get more chances to wash your hands! Be a (Little) Selfish Sure, sharing is nice and all, but not when it involves germs (which it almost always does). Food, makeup and even pens can get you into trouble, so it’s best to keep that stuff to yourself. Unless you’re gonna hurt someone’s feelings, try to avoid lending your stuff out. And make sure you always bring enough so that you’re not asking to borrow other people’s things either. Beware the Hot Spots There are certain places in a school where germs just love hangin’ out. Specifically, water fountains and lunch trays. So if ya can, use your own water bottle. And don’t eat stuff directly off your tray if you can help it. Try to wash your hands after touching things lots of other kids probably handled, like doorknobs and desktops. Time Saver So you don’t have time to run to the bathroom between every class to wash your hands – that’s totally okay. Just stick a little container of hand sanitizer in your purse so you can fight off the worst of the germies. Healthy Munchies If ya want your bod to stay healthy, you’ve gotta give it a li’l extra help with foods that’ll boost your immune system. Yogurt, for example, will up your white blood cell count to fight the flu. And the best way to avoid the common cold is to increase your vitamin C intake. Vitamin C is found in lots of fruits and veggies, like kiwi, strawberries, leafy greens, red bell peppers, and citrus fruits.  Orange juice, anyone? So babes, how do you stay healthy when a bug is goin’ around your school? BY CARRIE RUPPERT ON 9/5/2012 12:00:00 AM POSTED IN , , , , , , ,

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Science Briefs Cassini Encounters Titan The Cassini/Huygens mission to Saturn is one of the most exciting planetary exploration projects ever undertaken. Launched in 1997, Cassini went into Saturn orbit on June 30, 2004, beginning its four-year tour of the planet's complex systems of rings, moons, radiation belts, and atmospheres. The major highlight will take place on Jan. 14, 2005, when the Huygens probe will drop into the smoggy atmosphere of Saturn's mysterious moon Titan, conducting a two-and-a-half hour survey of its cryogenic environment. Seeking to understand Titan's atmosphere, GISS scientists Anthony Del Genio and Michael Allison are involved in three of Cassini/Huygens instrument teams: the Imaging Science Subsystem and Cassini Science Radar Team on the orbiter and the Doppler Wind Experiment on the Huygens probe. Titan's atmosphere is mostly molecular nitrogen, as is Earth's, but it is about 50% thicker. The surface is hidden by a stratospheric haze (see Fig. 1), believed to form when sunlight breaks apart methane molecules and forms hydrocarbon particles that settle to the surface. This would have easily depleted all methane in Titan's atmosphere over the life of the solar system, so the presence of atmospheric methane today implies a methane source. One possibility is that, similar to Earth's water cycle, lakes or shallow seas of liquid methane-ethane feed a "hydrologic" cycle of methane evaporation, cloud formation, and rain. Infrared Imagery Pictures of Titan taken in visible light are almost featureless, showing only its hydrocarbon haze, but at other wavelengths surface details are revealed. In the infrared, wavelengths longer than the human eye can see, the haze is more transparent, and Cassini's cameras can obtain beautiful global maps of dark and bright surface regions (see Fig. 2). It is tempting to interpret the bright areas as water ice "continents" and dark areas as methane/ethane "seas" or surfaces coated with hydrocarbons, but we do not yet know what the regions are made of. Regions of enhanced reflection, called sunglint, would be expected from a smooth liquid surface. Ground-based radar observations made several years ago did show evidence of enhanced reflection, but so far the Cassini imaging team has not. We do know that bright patches near the south pole in these images are clouds. Clouds cluster near the pole because it is summer there, and constant sunlight has probably warmed the surface enough to cause methane rainstorms. Outside the polar region, clouds are scarce. The reason for this is a mystery. Perhaps there are no methane seas on Titan. Instead, occasional geysers from a subsurface methane reservoir might be the only methane source for the atmosphere, and the resulting low relative humidity of methane gas prevents cloudiness in most places. Or perhaps there is plenty of methane to make clouds but few aerosol particles to act as seeds for cloud formation, as sulfate pollution and sea salt do on Earth. Venus, Titan's slowly rotating cousin, has strong "super-rotating" winds of up to 200 miles per hour planetwide despite the solid planet's own slow rotation. Climate model simulations made a decade ago by GISS scientists led by Del Genio predicted this should also be true of Titan. To demonstrate the effect actually occurs we need to see clouds drifting with the winds, and that required Cassini. Outside the polar region, looking for clouds on Titan is like looking for a needle in a haystack, but every once in a while you find a needle. In late May, as Cassini approached the Saturn system, a cloud was detected by Del Genio and John Barbara in distant images of Titan at 38°S (see Fig. 3). Over two and a half hours the cloud moved eastward at a speed of 76 mph. Images from the October flyby of Titan yielded several other examples of midlatitude clouds, all moving eastward. These represent the first direct evidence of super-rotation on Titan and confirm at least one prediction about the mysterious moon. Radar Imagery Surface detail is revealed at wavelengths beyond the infrared, in the microwave and radar range. Cassini's first Titan radar maps acquired during its low-altitute flyby on Oct. 26 — within 750 miles of the surface — revealed a variety of distinct features and surface properties (see Fig. 4). Although these maps showed little definitive indication of impact craters, a few especially smooth regions may reflect small areas of hydrocarbon liquids or sludge. Radar altimetry measurements showed only small variations in elevation, less than 500 ft. over a ground track 250 miles long. Active radar mapping of Titan during a single flyby covers only a tiny fraction of the surface, so many more close passes will be required to build up a global picture of its topography and roughness. The Cassini radar instrument also operates in a passive "listening" mode, providing large-scale but crudely resolved maps of the satellite's brightness at microwave and radio frequencies. The contoured image in Fig. 5 shows Cassini's first Titan radiometry scan. The contours and colors show observed variations in Titan's radio temperature at 2 cm wavelengths, while the light and dark shading show the structure in the near infrared. Huygens Descent On Christmas Eve, 2004, Cassini will release the wok-shaped Huygens probe on the start of its inbound approach to an intimate date with Titan. On Jan. 14, at 4 a.m. EST, Huygens will enter Titan's atmosphere at a speed of 12,000 mph, rapidly decelerate, then deploy its parachute at an altitude above 90 miles. For the next two and half hours, Huygens will measure the temperature, pressure, and chemistry of Titan's atmosphere and observe the surface with a downward looking camera. Precise measurements of the Doppler-shifted frequency of the probe-to-orbiter radio relay will measure Huygens' wind drift and therefore Titan's atmospheric circulation. (The Doppler measurement works on the same principle as the apparent shift in the sound-pitch of a passing train's whistle.) The expected wind-blown drift of Huygens will likely carry it some 10-20° east of its original entry point. Tracking the variation of the apparent position of the Sun in the Titan sky as seen from the probe by its imager should provide an independent estimate of its wind-carried motion. If the probe and its radio relay survive surface impact, another specially designed instrument package will provide further information on the surface's solid or liquid character. All these measurements will represent an essential "ground truth" check on the continued survey of Titan by Cassini's remote sensing instruments for years to come. Allison, M., D.H. Atkinson, M.K. Bird, and M.G. Tomasko 2004. Titan zonal wind corroboration via the Huygens DISR solar zenith angle measurement. In International Workshop on Planetary Probe Atmospheric Entry and Descent Trajectory Analysis and Science (A. Wilson, Ed.). ESA SP-544, pp. 125-130. ESA Publications Division, ESTEC. Noordwijk, The Netherlands. Bird, M.K., R. Dutta-Roy, M. Heyl, M. Allison, S.W. Asmar, W.M. Folkner, R.A. Preston, D.H. Atkinson, P. Edenhofer, D. Plettemeier, R. Wohlmuth, L. Iess, and G.L. Tyler 2002. The Huygens Doppler Wind Experiment: Titan winds derived from probe radio frequency measurements. Space Sci. Rev. 104, 611-638. Del Genio, A.D., and W. Zhou 1996. Simulations of superrotation of slowly rotating planets: Sensitivity to rotation and initial condition. Icarus 120, 332-343, doi:10.1006/icar.1996.0054. Elachi, C., M.D. Allison, L. Borgarelli, E. Encrenaz, E. Im, M.A. Janssen, W.T.K. Johnson, R.L. Kirk, R.D. Lorenz, J.I. Lunine, D.O. Muhleman, S.J. Ostro, G. Picardi, F. Posa, C.G. Rapley, L.E. Roth, R. Seu, L.A. Soderblom, S. Vetrell, S.D. Wall, C.A. Wood, and H.A. Zebker 2004. RADAR: The Cassini Titan radar mapper. Space Sci. Rev. 115, 71-110, doi:10.1007/s11214-004-1438-9.. Porco, C.C., R.A. West, S. Squyres, A. McEwen, P. Thomas, C.D. Murray, A. Del Genio, A.P. Ingersoll, T.V. Johnson, G. Neukum, J. Veverka, L. Dones, A. Brahic, J.A. Burns, V. Haemmerle, B. Knowles, D. Dawson, T. Roatsch, K. Beurle, and W. Owen 2004. Cassini imaging science: Instrument characteristics and capabilities and anticipated scientific investigations at Saturn. Space Sci. Rev. 115, 363-497, doi:10.1007/s11214-004-1456-7. Please address all inquiries about this research to Dr. Anthony Del Genio or Dr. Michael Allison. Click on any figure to view a large version. False-color image of Titan approximately as it would appear to the human eye. 1. Purple Haze An image taken by the Cassini Imaging Science Subsystem shows Titan as it might appear to the human eye. (The image is actually a colorized version of ultraviolet imagery.) The overall orange color is due to a hydrocarbon "smog" that pervades the stratosphere. At very high altitudes the particles are small enough to scatter blue light effectively, accounting for the purple-blue tint shown around the edges of the planet. (Image: CICLOPS/Space Science Institute via NASA Planetary Photojournal) Map of Titan in the infrared, as rendered by the Titan24 application 2. Detail in the Infrared This global map of Titan was constructed from Cassini infrared images. The less defined area uses images taken during June 2004, while the better defined section comes from images obtained in the October 2004 flyby. This screen shot from the Titan24 sunclock is centered on Huygens' targeted entry point (11°S 199ºW). Also marked are the Titan-centered positions of the Sun (yellow dot) and Saturn (pink dot) during the descent. The bright "continent" east of the descent point is called "Xanadu". (Images: CICLOPS/Space Science Institute) 3. Spotting Cloud Motion A faint bright area in the image at the left is a cloud. This image was mapped onto a latitude-longitude grid and an image one Titan rotation later was subtracted from it to highlight cloud features that change with time, relative to surface features that do not. The same was done with an image acquired two and a half hours earlier. The results, shown on the right, indicate that the cloud (arrows) has moved eastward over this time interval. (Image: Source) Passive radar image of Titan with contour lines drawn in. 4. Diversity on Titan This radar image obtained during the October 2004 flyby reveals an area about 150 km by 250 km. The smallest details visible are only 300 m across. (Image: NASA JPL via NASA Planetary Photojournal) Passive radar image of Titan with contour lines drawn in. 5. Radar Whispers This radiometry image combines data from different wavelengths. Colors and contours are based on microwave imagery, while light and dark are based on near infrared images. Brightness decreases as the angle of the surface is tilted away from the viewer, so the center-to-edge contrast in the contours is larger than the probable variation of the actual surface temperature. The more irregular east-west variations likely indicate differences in structural and compositional properties of the surface. (Image: NASA JPL via NASA Planetary Photojournal)

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Presumed Guilty by way of Gender Discussion in 'The Furball Forum' started by Kingarthurhk, May 8, 2011. 1. Kingarthurhk Kingarthurhk Isaiah 53:4-9 It's happened twice. It is starting to irritate me. Hopefully, there won't be a third. I am not sure which irritates me more, the delay in care, or the assumption of guilt because I am a man. I will give you two scenarios. In the first instance, my wife was chasing her worthless cat to corrale it for the evening. Being somewhat genetically clutsy, she lunged for the cat and ignored the bamboo arrangement in our Chinese aniversary vase. She managed to cut up her cheek and bleed pretty good. I was unsure whether it had perferated into the jaw, and she was going into shock and panic. I have handled emergency situations for years as an occupation. When people freak out in an emergency I get calm and handle the problem. The time to adrenaline dump is after. So, I got her a towel, told her to hold it tight and to keep pressure on it. I took her to the living room, elevated her feet, and covered her with a blanket, because I knew she was in shock. From there, I dialed emergency services, got the door open and ready for a stretcher, made sure all the lights were on, kept her as calm as I could and kept an eye out for the ambulence. They arrived. It was my scene, I was in control of the problem. I tried to explain the sitaution to the EMT, a woman. She blows me off, and talks to my wife, who in as much pain as she is, does her best to explain it. Still incredulous, she won't act until she sees the bamboo with the blood on it and the blood trail. Then, and only then, does she start caring for my injured wife. Needless to say I was pissed off. Flash forward two years later. I am off of work (day off) and in the bedroom nursing a migraine. My wife is in the other room and the kids are playing outside. The back door burst open, my son is screaming, he has a huge bloody gash in his forehead. My wife, freaks out and she is screaming. I run out of the bedroom to be greeted by this scene. He's screaming, praying, declaring he is dying, she is yelling, "What do we do? What do we do?" I run to the kitchen, grab a dish towel, and toss it to her and tell her to keep pressure on the wound, because there is a lot of blood, and like last time, I don't know the extent of the damage. I get on the phone, dial 911, explain the situation, and am transferred to the ambulence service to whom I explain the situation. They are en route. I get dressed and ready to go/assist or whatever needs to be done. I get the door open and ready. I ask him what happened, he says he doesn't know if he fell, or his sister pushed him, but he hit his head on concrete. A head wound, and with a fall, not good. I ask his sister what happened, she tells me they were playing and he fell. He says he can't remember what happened. Okay, he probably knocked himself out briefly, also not good. I go out and wave down the ambulence to make sure they don't get lost. And again, who is the bad guy? You guessed it, me again. No one wanted to let me control my scene again, because I must be the evil bad man who hurt someone in the family or some such crap. Even more annoying, a local Sheriff's Officer wanders into my house quietly behind me while I am doing my best to make sure my son gets proper care. I get interviewed like a perp, he finds nothing, and leaves. Finally, my son gets care. He goes to the hospital and gets superglued for his gash, and a CAT scan. After two nights of observing him closely at home, he is fine. So, the thing that pisses me off imensely in these two scenarios: 1. I am treated like a criminal for doing the right thing. 2. Care is delayed to my family members while I am being treated like a criminal. Why? Because I am guy. Wanna kill these ads? We can help! 2. Loading... 3. When you say it is your scene, what does that mean exactly? Perhaps you should place yourself in their shoes if you were to arrive on scene to someone else trying to control the scene. What would you think? How would you react? 4. Dalton Wayne Dalton Wayne Epic mustache Millennium Member It's only your scene till the on duty's arrive, I'd have treated you the same way sorry it's just the biz 5. That's the way it is. You are a man. Learn to take such mess like a man. The folks with the flashing lights come with a mindset already in place. You are a suspect until they decide otherwise. Words to the contrary are just words to the contrary... even if offered by the one with the blood, etc. Maybe sometimes warranted. But sometimes... no all the time. 6. Oww great one of the, it&#8217;s my kid/S.O my scene types. Different EMT run stuff differently. I go of the assumed stupid until proven otherwise. I have always wondered what they say afterwards. 7. RichardB Silver Member Work in a emergency room or on an ambulance for a while and you will understand. 8. I have experienced similar when helping an injured female neighbor when I lived in an apartment building. The medical people seemed more interested in "collecting evidence" of my guilt than in providing medical care to the injured neighbor. She had to tell, the EMTs, then the admitting nurse, then the attending nurse, then the doctor that she had an epileptic seizure and fell all by herself in her own apartment and that I did not assault her, but only provided care for her when she came stumbling/bleeding out of her apartment. None of them seemed to believe her and all them stared at me as if I was Satan himself. It pissed me off plenty. I walked away every time they started the questioning so there would be no appearance of her being intimidated by me. I wondered what would have happened to me if she simply could not remember what happened. Makes me *almost* want to turn my back on any woman in trouble. I understand questioning related to causation for the purposes of providing appropriate care, but medical people should do medical stuff and leave the evidence collection to the police, IMHO. #7 glockeglock, May 10, 2011 Last edited: May 10, 2011 9. Personally, I would have gotten the story from you inside the house. No need in making the patient talk and risk increased bleeding due to the movement of the jaw (other than answering the basic questions to assess mental status). I'd probably confirm the story with just her in the back of the rig, but it's not my job to investigate possible DV cases. If she tells me you beat the crap out of her, then I'll relay that to the hospital. I'm not going to hound her to make sure the trip and fall story is accurate. 10. Kingarthurhk Kingarthurhk Isaiah 53:4-9 And your answer makes the most sense. Anyone with even a modicum of investigative experience knows that if you want to find answers, you don't interview people together. Further, you would not be delaying medical care. I think that is what made me the most angry, medical care was not being administered while people who are not trained in any law enforcement experience are trying to play detective. Now, as for the SO in the situation presented, if he had a concern, he could have conducted his interviews at the hospital. But, then again, he looked like a shiny and just out of the box rookie, so he probably couldn't figure that much out this early in his career. My other thought is that these folks were doing these things for their convenience, which brings me down to my chief irritation, a delay in medical care. In the case of my son, I had to insist that because it was a head injury a collar should be used along with a stretcher. I am nowhere an EMT, but I figure that is just common sense. In fact, even with two EMT's there, they had me hold his head straight for them. I think what it boils down to, is it is pretty rural, there is a pretty good level of poverty and probably a lack of knowledge. This coupled with a high population of substance abuse that leads to more DV situations. However, it is still very frustrating. 11. I understand your frustration, medical help should have been provided before any questioning. Actually it is not the job of the EMT to question you, if they feel that foul play was involved, they should have reported it to local LEO's. What is the extent of your medical training? That is the deciding factor on who's scene it is. Example. If we as LEO's get dispatched to an vehicle accident with injuries, once EMT's arrive, it is no longer our scene. Until the medic's leave. A couple years ago we drive by an accident, we stop and find the driver hurt pretty bad. We call it in to get help. Then a guy in a truck stops in the road an hops out, we were about to grab him when he tells us he is a medic, he grabs his bag and starts giving first aid to the guy until the ambulance arrives. We found out that since that was not a criminal investigation, he was in charge until someone with more training than him got there, which is the paramedic that responded. Also that if we would have kept him away from the injured driver, we could be charged 12. How long ago was the incident involving your son? I would suggest that you either write, or go in to file a formal complaint Share This Page Duty Gear at CopsPlus

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Truely sad, Cash for Clunkers Discussion in 'Photo & Video Gallery' started by RedHoe01, Aug 25, 2009. 1. RedHoe01 RedHoe01 Rockstar Look at the back window of the Typhoon below 2. RedHoe01 RedHoe01 Rockstar 3. Custom04Chevy Custom04Chevy Rockstar 100 Posts Proof positive of all the people out there who are, for lack of a better word, retarded. :rofl: 4. dsfloyd dsfloyd Epic Member 5+ Years ROTM Winner 1000 Posts Yet another program the government can't manage to run as most dealerships still haven't been paid. Also how stupid is it that they have to destroy the vehicles and three, there are alot of those vehicles that people may like to have, but we have to save the world from a hoax. Ok I will stop before I begin to ramble too much. 5. Custom04Chevy Custom04Chevy Rockstar 100 Posts I find it's best not to think about all the government "programs" that do nothing but promise and in the end can't perform. I don't know why everyone thought obama would be so much different. He is one person, how much did they really think he would be able to do? honestly??? 6. 2ToNe04 2ToNe04 Epic Member 5+ Years 1000 Posts I bet he could have got alot of money for that on ebay. 7. zackyv55146 zackyv55146 Rockstar 100 Posts WTF!!!!!!!:grrrrrr: those guys are smkin some way good crack!!!! hell thats the dumbest thing ive ever seen but at the same time i love it, who would'nt love picking that up for like 300 bucks? 8. Z71_guy Z71_guy Epic Member 5+ Years 1000 Posts i hate this program 9. pat-ls101 pat-ls101 New Member This is a bunch of crap!! I saw a 87 corvette getting clunked theother day! Stupid very very stupid!!! and I also saw nice silverados getting ready to be scrapped.... :grrrrrr: 10. adidasboy918 adidasboy918 Epic Member 5+ Years 500 Posts Yep. the pour something into the engines to seize it up then strip them down or crush them. very very desturbing:no: Share This Page Newest Gallery Photos

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Saturday, July 22, 2006 Copyright Scofflaws they have. My faithful readers know that the United States Copyright Office disagrees: jillian said... So sad, so so sad. And yet, I continue to learn there are huge swaths of the population that are ignorant, immature and just plain rude. So maybe I shouldn't be surprised. Why can't we all live happley ever after :) Sherry W said... Won't yahoogroups take them down? Kathy Merrick said... Oy. This teapot tempest just never goes away, does it? You and I both know people who have based entire careers on stealing others' work. But, I really think persuing every small violation is a waste of time. Partly because there's very little new in knitworld and partly because you're talking about teeny pieces of a very small pie. It's been my experience that cheaters don't reform- they just find new places to cheat from. Not to mention it just gets so old after a while. turtlegirl76 said... I'm a member of another yahoo group that knits dishcloths, and the database of patterns there still maintain the copyright and link to the original pattern, as well as the pattern. As far as I know, the majority of pattern designers that the group uses (I'm under the impression all of them are aware) of the group and how it works (it's a KAL that sends a few lines of the pattern daily until it's done) but are they technically correct in the way it runs? Once the KAL is done, should the pattern go away and be replaced by just the link to the original pattern? Cathy said... It's been interesting - in that spectator sport kind of way. Christina said... I saw this on Girl from Auntie last night, and visited the Yahoo group. Wasn't it was more difficult to strip the names and copyright info than to link to the pattern in its' entire form? Bridget said... The "experts" on copyright drive me nuts, and instead of them taking the time to learn the basics, they just go to the next place to do the same thing. Aaargh!! On another note entirely - "warshcloths" and "coinkydink" - you made my day! Ted said... People need patterns to knit dishcloths!? You mean those squares of knitted fabric that people use to scrub dishes when they're washing them? Oh, you're making this all up. I don't believe it. Surely people really don't need patterns to knit dishcloths. Do they? Kathy Merrick said... Oh, la, Ted, what do you think keeps all those thousands of new yarn stores run by folks who learned to knit last Friday in business, now that the fluffy scarf craze is over? I often crochet scarves out of scraps. Because I like the endless combinations of color. They are rectangles, worked lengthwise until I think they're wide enough. Or I run out of scraps that look good together. Did I mention they're rectangles? In half-double crochet. Hundreds are the times I've been asked where to get the pattern. Deborah C. said... The copyright argument will never go away because some people will always feel that they are "entitled" to things, and that if a pattern is available on the Web, they can do what they want with it. As a side question, I took a Solveig Hisdal pattern from "Poetry in Stitches" that was too small for me, and the "Sonnet" pattern from Knitty's archives; if you look they are almost identical, with the "Sonnet" pattern omitting much of the shaping. I have done a redux and combined both patterns, taking elements I liked from each. Now, Lawyer Carol, who do I attribute the pattern to? Is it now "my" creation? Elizabeth said... My personal favorite from that Yahoo list was the message in which someone wrote, "I sudjest...". That was a pretty interesting spelling error, if you ask me. The attitude I found most strange was the oft-repeated line that if we didn't want to use the free patterns, we should just not look, or go somewhere else. I was quite impressed with the patience and restraint shown by a few of the knit_design members who tried to enlighten that group. Dave Daniels said... OMG OMG OMG Don't even get me started on this one! There is a particular male knitter who has taken images from my site, and even copy/pasted info from my online store to start his own online store. I've written to him on numerous occassions to tell him he is in violation of copyright laws. He tells me I can't copyright common words. (He has a poor grasp of the English language.) I pointed out that he even used my own typos! We had so many back and forths that I was forced to report him to his ISP. He's removed the info he STOLE from me, as well as MY photos that he kept posting in his blog. (If you ever need to know how to stop people from linking to images on your site, I have a GREAT trick! Give me a shout.) It bugs me how people, as stated, feel entitled to things that are not their own. It irritates me, as you can tell. pippi said... this is so crazy making! but your take on it made me laugh. brewerburns said... Thank you for posting this. It never hurts to have a reminder of the essence of copyright law out there.

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Women's Tennis Oakland Defeats Wright State 5-2 Karine Celis won the No. 2 singles match 6-4, 7-6 March 16, 2013 DAYTON, Ohio - Cam Sabourin won 6-0, 6-0 and Tamara Blum tallied a 6-2, 6-0 victory in their singles matches as the Oakland women's tennis team (2-7) defeated Wright State, 5-2 Saturday at the South Regency Tennis Center. "I think the girls really came together and played well during the singles matches as we won five out of the six matches," said head coach Heather Redshaw. "We also played very well in the doubles matches winning one and falling just short in the other two." In the No. 1 singles match Emily Raidt won the first set 6-2 and battled through a tiebreaker to win the second set 7-6 while Karine Celis captured the No. 2 singles match with another tiebreaker victory in the second set for a 6-4, 7-6 victory. Juliana Guevara won the final singles match for the Golden Grizzlies in three sets finishing 6-1, 6-7 and 6-3. Raidt and Blum won the only doubles match for OU as they won in a tiebreaker for the 9-8 victory. The team of Grace Keating and Sabourin forced a tiebreaker in their match but fell 9-8 while Celis and Guevera battled hard in their match but dropped their match 9-7. The Golden Grizzlies will be in action next week as they travel to Youngstown State on Thursday, March 21 and Akron on Friday, March 22. NCAA Horizon Nike Oakland University Varsity

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skip navigation New Gophers Commit Alex Foster: "I felt that Minnesota was always there for me." 10/21/2012, 6:00pm CDT By Chris Monter Alex Foster is the second member of the Gophers 2013 recruiting class. Alex Foster, a 6-foot-7, 219-pound forward from Chicago (IL) Seton Academy, recently committed to Minnesota. Foster, who is one of the top players in a loaded Class of 2013 big man from Illinois, visited Minnesota three weeks ago and attend the Gopher football game versus Syracuse. caught up with Foster to learn the latest on his decision. Foster led the DeLaSalle to a 17-7 mark last season, losing to Bogan in the Class 4A Mount Carmel regional title game 79-63, despite Mean Streets AAU teammate and fellow Gopher commit Alvin Ellis, finishing with a career-high 42 points. Gopher Hole: What is the feeling now that you have committed? Alex Foster: It was a weight off my shoulders. I thought that I wanted to commit before the November signing to focus on my senior season. I am happy with the decision. Gopher Hole: You had talked about visiting Tennessee and Auburn. Why did you decide to commit before making those visits? Alex Foster: I felt that Minnesota was always there for me. They never backed down their recruitment as some other colleges did. I felt the loyalty there, so that made me think that they are loyal people. Basically that and I didn’t want to beat around the bush when it came to picking a college. Gopher Hole: How big was Alvin committing to your decision to come to Minnesota? Alex Foster: It was a deciding factor, but it was not a huge one. I’ve known him since I was in sixth grade, so me and him have great chemistry, so that is a plus, but it wasn’t a huge factor. Gopher Hole: Had you been talking to him since he committed? Alex Foster: Actually, no I haven’t. Gopher Hole: What was his reaction when you committed? Did you talk to him before you committed or after you committed?  Alex Foster: I believe that he sent something on Twitter like “Welcome to the Gopher family.” We haven’t actually had a one-on-one talk since I haven’t seen him in awhile. The last time I have seen him was at the airport. That was the last time I have seen him. Gopher Hole: I know that they are recruiting Gavin Schilling, another teammate of ours from last season. Have you and Alvin talked to him or will you be talking to him about maybe being the third Chicago guy to come to Minnesota? Alex Foster: Of course. I haven’t talked to him recently. The last time I talked to him was when he congratulate me on some news, but I haven’t talked to him about going there, either, but I am pretty sure that he is open-minded about it. Gopher Hole: How cool would it be to have all three of you playing at the same college? Alex Foster: It would be like high school all over again, but instead of at a bigger place with fans. Gopher Hole: You talked about having a weight off your shoulders. Can you tell a difference even though it has only been days knowing that you can just focus on basketball and just being a senior in high school? Alex Foster: Yes, but I look at in a good way and not necessarily in a bad way. I kind of have a target on my back now whenever I play because “he is the one going to Minnesota.” That is what they will be thinking before they even step onto the court, but I have always seen a challenge all my life, so this is no different. I do feel the difference already. Gopher Hole: How are things going at the new school and how excited are you about the upcoming season? Alex Foster: School is fine. It is school, you know (Laughs). Everything is pretty much the same except for the fact that it is co-ed. That is the only difference about it and the coach is different. I am really excited about the upcoming season. Gopher Hole: Had you had a lot of coaches coming up for open gyms? Alex Foster: A few. The ones that we recruiting me and some that are recruiting players on my team. Gopher Hole: Minnesota assistant Vince Taylor grew up in Chicago and has a lot of Chicago ties. Was that one of the main reason that you looked at Minnesota because of Coach Taylor? Alex Foster: Honestly, it was just because it was a great fit for me. I just felt really comfortable with Coach Taylor, Coach Tubby, the assistant coach Saul and Coach Jirsa. All of them seemed like they were people of character. They were down home people and someone I could come to as family. Talk about Golden Gopher Basketball Recruiting on Tubby's Barn message board. Tag(s): Gopher Basketball  BB Recruiting Articles

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Wednesday, April 4, 2012 Cake Week Voting Day 4: The Cakes formerly known as Cupcakes Hehe... you get it?  You know, like Our second sponsor is the generous Jen from The Coin Laundry! Entry 1: Salted Caramel Chocolate Cupcake from The Sweet Bliss Bakery Entry 2:  Toffee Crunch Cupcake from Baker's Royale Entry 3:  Pina Colada Cupcakes with Rum Buttercream from The Sweet Bliss Bakery Entry 4:  Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes from Annie's Eats Entry 5:  Mocha Cupcakes with Espresso Buttercream from The Sweet Bliss Bakery Entry 6:  Lemon Berry Cupcakes from Natalie Patisserie Entry 7: Margarita Cupcakes from The Sweet Bliss Bakery Don't be afraid of all the goodness.  Just pick one.  Or two.  Or seven.  You can even check out the recipes if you want, to see if a certain cupcake is really as special as you think it is.  When Cake Week starts up next Monday, and it comes time to make these babies, I will be making the cupcake, in cake form.  And I cannot wait! The purveyor of pictures of food formerly known as, 1. (Don't know if I'm aloud to keep voting, but it's fun!) TOFFEE CRUNCH. All 'zee way. 2. Anonymous4/04/2012 Gotta go with the Toffee Crunch as well!!!! ~Kate Ritchey 3. For me it's a toss-up between the mocha cupcakes with espresso buttercream and the chocolate chip cookie dough ones, but after much deliberation, I think the mocha (cup)cake absolutely MUST be the winner. By the way, you really must invite Kara and me over sometime during cake week. Or some time each day. Your call. ;) 4. Lemon Berry. Fo Shizz. It's so springy and light! 5. Chocolate chip cookie dough! Because a vat of that right now sounds AMAZING! 6. lemon berry is my vote. ps- have you seen the hunger games cupcakes? google it! 7. Lemon berry is also my vote. Just feeling fruity today. 8. I'm voting for the Lemon Berry Cupcakes and I also pinned the melted crayon cosmic explosion from crafty maiden! Add your thoughts to the mix: Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

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Letters to the editor: Raising speed limit makes safe sense 7:51 PM, Oct. 10, 2013  |  Comments I fully support (State) Rep. Paul Tittl's proposal to raise our speed limits. I don't understand why there is so much contention surrounding it. When I was a kid, the federal government imposed a 55 mph speed limit nationwide. It made sense when cars were inefficient and had no ABS, air bags, or stability control. When control of speed limits was turned back over to the states in the 1990s, I don't recall the level of concern about Wisconsin bumping the freeway speed limit to 65 as there is now. Critics say if we raise freeway limits to 70, people will speed and just go 80. I believe this "prediction" isn't backed up with empirical evidence. Earlier this year I visited Oklahoma and Texas on a road trip across the U.S. I got my first culture shock in Oklahoma when I was on a two lane road with a 65 mph speed limit. It wasn't flat or straight, it had just as many twists and hills as any county road in Wisconsin. In Texas, many two lane roads have a 70 mph limit. What I noticed while driving was nobody drove faster than 2-3 mph over. Also, whenever I approached a town, people slowed right down and obeyed the slower limits to the number. I realized then that if you treat people like adults and give them common sense speed limits, they will follow them. The limits you want them to obey in towns will be more respected because they won't be used to exceeding absurdly low highway speed limits. Today's cars brake better, handle better, and have more driver aids than ever before. People are smart enough to find a balance between driving quickly and safely, that's why we drive 70+ mph now. Let's stop pretending we can passively control crash statistics with archaic speed limits. Bump them to 70 and watch how nothing will change. Josh Herrell Join Our Team! Gannett Careers Things To Do See all Events

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Reviews by ultroxmga How to Survive ultroxmga | Oct. 28, 2013 | Review of How to Survive - PC How to Survive is, at it's core, a true Zombie survival game. In the story mode of how to survive you play as one of 3 (or 2 of 3 if you are playing Co-op mode) survivors as you wake up with amnesia on an unknown island. Now the story isn't anything special, its just a segway so you have a reason to do the things you do. where the game shines is it's mechanics. As you progress through the island, you find different survivors and books titled "Kovac's Rules" kovac, an expert survivor, left these book chapters scattered along the island for you or other survivors to find so they have a better chance at survival. In these books they show you how to survive and craft. In the game, you can find different parts or ingredients scattered along the island, in sheds, on the ground, and on dead bodies. these parts may not seem like much on their own, but you can craft them to make weapons, armor, and supplies. Now i was a little disappointed at the lack of ingredients, now there is enough so it isn't dull, but i expected more combinations and such. You also have to eat, drink, and sleep in the game to avoid stat loses and possible death. For drinking you need to find freshwater or wells, eating you need to find plants, food, or hunt, and to sleep you need to clear camps so you can sleep without the danger. Overall the game shines in it's mechanics, but falls short in some areas like story. But it is a welcome change from the regular left-4-dead esque zombie game. This game is well worth the 10.49 and even 15 dollar price tag, the story, along with the online coop challenge mode will sure to give you plenty of fun.

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Saturday, August 18, 2007 News from around the Blogsphere Jay Mohr truly sucks as a columnist and a blogger. I doubt this comes as a surprise to most people. However given my personality I always like to give the benefit of the doubt to people. So I read his post and an article of his Foxsports.poop. I was turned on to his writing by the crafty folks at Deadspin. And wow, he SUCKS. First off, he is oddly defensive in his blog. Apparently, there were a lot of posts that mentioned how much he sucked and how he is a has-been. Honestly, I don't care either way, but if I had a column, even on a pseudo-news-outlet I would never spend any time defending myself. It just seems silly. That being said, his writing does suck. So maybe there is something to his being defensive! My favorite part of the one article I read, is that he comments on how he hates people describing a black athlete as "well spoken" and then two sentences later claims he hates hockey because "I can't root for a guy whose name on the back of his jersey has no vowels." What the? I agree it is not ok to be a racist, but I would also say that it is not ok to make fun of different ethnicities. Ah, that's fox for ya! Make it sound like they are fair and balanced when in fact they are as unbalanced as humanly possible. Honestly, anything to distract me from Gagne's-gag-me. 1. My interesting note from the Blogoshpere is that apparently there is either trouble in paradise with Ben Grieve and Lindsay Whalen. They became engaged a few months back. It was semi-widely reported in the sports world. Someone, okay me, updated their wikipedia entries to note they were engaged. And now, those notes are gone. Someone felt the need to erase (apparently) factual info from the wiki. Is there a conspiracy here? 2. My favorite part of the Mohr rant is that he brags that writing is easy to him and then he has silly typos. Classic.

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 Why do I scream in my sleep at night? - health problems 101 Health Problems & Symptoms Position：Health Problems 101 > Sleep > Content Why do I scream in my sleep at night? Well, it sounds like she is having night terrors! These usually occur in children, but adults can have them too! Various factors can contribute to night terrors, including: Sleep deprivation, Fatigue, and Stress! ! Any Suggestions here? 1. Alexander Reply: If you ask children how they feel about being yelled at, they will all tell you they don't like it. Here is my The day after committing to this plan, I screamed at my son. Afterward . At night when we're sleeping, instinct tells even house How Do Source:http://www.ehow.com/how_2102069_stop-yelling-children.html 2. Octavia Reply: Why do I scream in my sleep? I’m 18 now, but since I was about 10 I’ve been screaming in my sleep nearly every night! And it’s got worse as I’ve got older. I don’t 3. Dahlia Reply: Birds are always on the look out for predators. They sleep wherever they think they will be safe, and out of the wind, like bird houses, eaves of buildings, dense trees. Some sleep in wide open spaces, where they can see any danger approach… Source:http://answers.ask.com/Science/Nature/where_do_birds_sleep_at_night 4. Valery Reply: Do not eat anything for 3 hours prior to when you are going to be sleeping. Turn off lights and all sounds. Try to get the room your sleeping in at a comfortable temperature. Source:http://answers.ask.com/Health/Diseases/how_to_get_a_good_nights_sleep 5. Malvina Reply: Getting your child to sleep in his own bed can be a difficult process. Many experts recommend that you do the cry-it-out method, but that can be difficult for both the child and his parents. You do not need to go this difficult route to suc… Source:http://www.ehow.com/how_6109134_kid-own-bed-night-screaming.html?ref=Track2&utm_source=ask 6. Verdell Reply: I guess I am suffering from I have as I can Sleep Disorders am unable to at night..? Late NIGHT hours are the sleep at night. I get sleep very late best T I M E pursue so many 7. Eliz Reply: Whenever i eat then g2 sleep, i always have nightmares like me killin a person i hate or a scary man chasing me!!!!! if you eat befor u sleep, stop! your wife wont wake you up cause you were screaming lol! 8. Gertrud Reply: Further it can also occur during REM sleep at which time it represents a motor or profane sleep talking; Sleepwalking · Night terror – intense fear, screaming, Your Answer Spamer is not welcome,every link should be moderated.

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The Herald of Everett, Washington HeraldNet Newsletters  Newsletters: Sign up  Green editions icon Green editions County Council narrows courthouse options Tossing one courthouse option as too expensive, the county is still looking at a pricetag of $110 million to $130 million By Noah Haglund Herald Writer EVERETT -- Snohomish County's new courthouse should be built at or near the site of the outdated building it's destined to replace, the County Council decided Monday. The council ruled out as too expensive the option of building the future courthouse on the site of a county-owned parking lot across the street from Comcast Arena. "I don't see how we make the dollars stretch," Councilman Dave Gossett said during a council committee meeting. Even with the less expensive options, the county still has to figure out how to raise an estimated $35 million to $55 million. The new estimated $110 million to $130 million pricetag is well above the $75 million in bonds the county took out for the courthouse project earlier this year. Making up the difference could involve a combination of property tax increases and redirecting real estate excise tax money, once other debt payments are retired. The county has discussed a 2 percent increase in the county's general fund property taxes. That would add about 38 cents a month to tax bills for a house assessed at $250,000 or 76 cents per month for a house assessed at $500,000. Councilman Dave Somers, on Monday, said he still wants more detail on how the cost estimate changed so much. "I'd like to be able to explain the error there and why there isn't a $75 million option," Somers said. County Council members said they hope to have better cost estimates from an architect and contractor before making any final decision. The higher estimate arose this summer after Executive John Lovick took over from former Executive Aaron Reardon. Lovick had his staff review the project. Deputy Executive Mark Ericks determined the earlier building plans provided no room for growth, poor security and failed to account for essential features, such as sound-dampening carpeting for courtrooms. The original plan called for the new building to take shape less than 10 feet away from the old courthouse, while it remained up and running. The least expensive option, at this point, is a $110 million building similar to the one initially proposed. It would stand seven stories on the plaza at Wall Street and Wetmore Avenue, north of the existing courthouse. It's main advantages are a lower price and location on the county campus. On the other hand, construction logistics would be tricky and the building would have no space for prosecutors, public defenders and others who need to use the courthouse daily. Another option, of around $120 million, would be on the same site with two additional stories to provide offices for prosecutors and sheriff's personnel. The site itself is flawed, because it is squeezed tight by the street. That limits the size of the ground floor and creates a security problem. Those issues would be eased if the county is able to close all or part of Wall Street between Wetmore and Rockefeller avenues, to the north of the existing courthouse. That's something the county has started discussing with Everett city planners. The $130 million option would move the courts into leased space during the two or so years of construction. Crews would demolish the 1967 courthouse and build a nine-story justice center on the same site. That would give the building a larger ground floor, while minimizing disruptions and safety risks during construction. It also eliminates the need for building the courthouse in two phases, as would be necessary at the plaza. Lovick's administration favors the temporary move, partly because the site allows them to enhance security by setting the structure back further from the street. Janean Jolly was grateful for what's no longer on the table: a courthouse on the county-owned lot across from Comcast Arena. Had the county chosen to build there, it would have involved an eminent domain process against several businesses on the block, including the legal practice she helps manage for her husband, attorney David Jolly. They moved into a storefront a half block from the county campus only a year ago, following an expensive remodel. "Ultimately, our practice isn't in jeopardy, at least for the time being," she said. As a taxpayer, she also appreciated the council shelving the most expensive options, estimated at $145 million or higher. "You must carefully balance your needs list and your wish list," she said. Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465; More Local News Headlines HeraldNet Headlines Top stories and breaking news updates comments powered by Disqus

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Master your own destiny! Command a nation! Weapon Personalization Update The weapons getting personal this time around are the following: • German Bolt-Action Rifle: Kar98 • German Bolt-Action Rifle: Kar98 Scoped • American Bolt-Action Rifle: M1903 • American Bolt-Action Rifle: M1903 Scoped • American Submachine gun: M3 Grease Gun • German Submachine gun: MP34 Bolt-Action Rifles Scoped German Kar98 Some variations are identical between the two sides, and a few are specific. With time we will add more options for personalizations for the various weapons. Scoped US M1903 A few examples of the Scoped US M9103. So if you want to have something special, jump into the game and grab your personalized weapons today! And if you have great ideas for future options, let us know and we’ll see what we can do :-) 1. VasilyGrigoryevichZaytsevVasilyGrigoryevichZaytsev06-04-2014 Can you released the Soviet Union Sudayev PPS-43 Sub-Machine Gun for me? I want it! 2. BrunoskiBrunoski06-04-2014 Of course Vasily they are working hard on that just for you !!!!!!! Selfishness on the side there is 10 reto devs making the PPS-43 but just for you mate…..just wait and you will have it, but wait sit down (is better). 3. BlaineUKBlaineUK06-04-2014 I look forward to future weapons, I’m keeping an eye out of for a painted camo Panzerschreck ;) 4. GriffersonGrifferson06-04-2014 Ha ha what if we could customize our own characters too(skin and clothes). That would be cool. New uniforms should be unlocked at high levels (soldier lvl 10 would be ideal for a first unlock) so we don’t have a million different soldiers all wearing a thousand different uniforms. A bonus for unlocking the uniforms later is you are able to distinguish a dedicated soldier (somebody who spent a lot of time with the particular soldier) from an ordinary trooper. Basically the uniform should be a REWARD for sticking with the soldier. • joker16joker1606-05-2014 I agree with you Patton. if we start giving FNG’s all these cloths we can’t tell the difference between Pro’s and the new guys. lets say that i just started playing and i saw Patton on the field in a personalized uniform. i would automatically watch what he does and stay near him to be a better soldier. Feldwebel Infantry Soldier 5. Pvt_LarryPvt_Larry06-05-2014 Oakleaf and frogskin are absolutely horrible, so glad I’ve never seen anyone actually use these. 6. sniper23sniper2306-05-2014 This skins only unlocked with gold ? • NexleNexle06-06-2014 7. Tadamichi_KuribayashiTadamichi_Kuribayashi06-13-2014 I would like to see some historical methods of camouflage. As far as I know they didnt have Carbon Fiber in world war 2. Paying gold to remove things like the sight hood and other aspects would be of more interest to me. Adding foliage camo options to the gun would also be something that would be more historical. • Reto.Robotron3000Reto.Robotron300006-16-2014 No they did not have carbon fiber and neither do we. But darkening wood or other items by rubbing it with charcoal was not unheard of. Adding foliage is something we are investigating, but we need to make sure it does not kill the framerate having half a tree on the screen all the time :-)

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Cheap Porcelain Veneers Dr. Sam, a friend suggested that I go to his dentist in Tijuana (Mexico) for my porcelain veneers as it was so much cheaper. Now, three months later, my veneers look yellow. What could cause this? Porcelain veneers will be in your mouth for many years. To search for the cheapest dentist when you will feel it, talk with it, eat with it and smile with it, 24 hours per day seven days per week does not make sense. Why would you look for cheap porcelain veneers when the importance of the quality is so critical? Everyone that sees you knows they were done cheaply. Everyone then associates you with poor quality and fake teeth. The whole purpose of porcelain veneers is to enhance your image and improve the quality of your presence. Going to a coupon dentist that discounts his or her work only forces the dentist to cut costs and cheapen their technique. There is a huge difference between dental labs and an every bigger difference between the cosmetic skills of the dentists. Unfortunately, your only choice is to get your yellowing veneers replaced with a higher quality porcelain veneer. Sorry, but it doesn’t sound like “your friend” really understood the consequences of their recommendation. Now you know why you don’t want to go to Mexico for your medical and dental care. The savings are not worth the risks. I respectfuly sugest that if you need a Los Angeles Cosmetic Dentist, call us on (310) 829-6796

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Tuesday, June 01, 2010 2009-10 Season Review: Maurice Evans Due to Marvin Williams not missing 21 games, Mo Evans played less in 2009-10 than he did in 2008-09 and had his worst three-point shooting season since his first full season in the league, which was partially responsible for him scoring significantly fewer points per game. Bad season, right? The answer is both more nuanced and less important than that. Taking the latter point first, as a low-usage reserve, Mo Evans has relatively little impact on the success or failure of the Atlanta Hawks. Over the course of a season he can reasonably be expected to do little more than not hurt the team. He's been a competent bench player for six straight seasons with five different teams without any team feeling the need to find a larger role for him. As for the former point, though the shape of his offensive performance changed considerably in 2009-10 his overall production was not clearly inferior to the previous season. That he played less often certainly made it appear he did less than in 2008-09 (and, in an absolute sense, he did do less) but it was, overall, a rather typical Mo Evans season. Though less efficient in his scoring than in 2008-09, Evans scored more points per minute (or per possession) in 2009-10 than he did in the previous season. Evans accomplished this (and almost made up for his poor three-point shooting) by taking a far higher percentage of his shots at the rim and converting them at a decent rate. Evans%FGA (at rim)eFG%3PTA/FGAeFG% Evans also mitigated his poor three-point shooting by simultaneously increasing his assist rate and decreasing his turnover rate in his second season in Atlanta. NOTE: That's per 100 on-court possessions not per 100 possessions used. It's more difficult to make a case for Evans' defensive performance in 2009-10. The Hawks gave up 2.35 more points per 100 possessions with Evans on the court than with him off the court. That differential was essentially the same as in 2008-09, when he got far more court time alongside the starters. One could argue that Evans wasn't deployed optimally, and it's true that the team allowed fewer points per possession with Evans playing the 2 than with him playing the 3 but it's difficult to conclude how much of that difference reflects an inherent ability to defend opposing shooting guards and how much was due to Marvin Williams being so much more effective than Evans in defending opposing small forwards. The breakdown: EvansDef EffPoss as a 31102027 as a 2103.6502 If Evans does choose to opt out of the final year of his contract, the Hawks should be able to replace his production relatively easily (and could even improve on his production if the defensive issue is Evans' inability to guard small forwards effectively) and plausibly at a reduced cost. The basketball world is not exactly suffering from a shortage of swingmen who can do two or three things well. 1 comment: Bronn said... Marvin Williams doesn't standout defensive at the small forward position, but the difference between him and Maurice Evans in that role is pretty vast. This was more of a problem with roster construction than it was with coaching-there wasn't a viable alternative to play back up minutes at the 3 behind Marvin.

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'Whale Wars' finale, Watson claims small victory Whale Wars ended its season with Sea Shepherd's Paul Watson realizing that he was outmaneuvered during the 2011-2012 campaign, but the crews took solace in small victories. Paul Watson likened the season to the Star Wars installment, "The Empire Strikes Back." With a massive infusion of money from the Japanese government the whalers were able to get the best of Sea Shepherd. Watson and his crew members were forced to take satisfaction in having prevented more killing than took place as the Japanese took 267 whales, 700 short of their quota. In the final episode of Whale Wars Watson's ships gave it their all, but without more resources they at a disadvantage. Steve Irwin: The Yushin Maru 2 was disabled allowing the Irwin to speed towards the ultimate target of the Nisshin Maru. It was only a momentary victory because a third tail ship, the Yushin Maru 3 appeared making the Steve Irwin turn its attention to disabling it rather than reaching their target. Prior to the new tail ship's appearance Capt. Paul Watson took great pleasure knowing his small crafts, the Humber and Delta had stopped one harpoon ship. He mistakenly thought that an unimpeded trip 600 miles south was theirs for the taking. The Bob Barker was already there, having rid themselves of their own tail ship, but it didn't mean they had found the site of the Nisshin Maru. "If we leave here then that's going to be a free-for-all to allow the harpoon vessel to just go to town taking as many whales as possible. We don't want to see that, so we're gonna keep trying to stop this ship," Capt. Watson declared. As the Steve Irwin crew strategized a stunning fact came to light. The ship's fuel had reached a level that wouldn't allow it to stop the third tail ship then travel to help the Bob Barker with catching and stopping the mothership. Even this reduced goal was out of reach. All attempts failed to stop the Yushin Maru 3 and Chad, who captains one of the small crafts that use the prop foulers had trouble getting out of the way of the whaler. The prop lines were spit out by the Japanese vessel's propellers and stopped his craft dead in the water. In the nick of time the boat was able to move enough to avoid a collision. Bob Barker The crew was all that Sea Shepherd had left to complete the mission, find the mothership and thwart efforts to kill whales. But it still had not caught sight of the Japanese factory ship despite days at sea. After a trip up to the top of the mast by one of the crew the Nisshin was spotted and the chase was on. The Bob Barker got within eight miles of its target but lost the fight when seemingly out of nowhere came the rejuvenated Yushin Maru 2 and 3. The ships were speedier and had solved the puzzle of the prop foulers. What transpired was a standoff in the Southern Pacific as the two harpoon ships put the Bob Barker in a sandwich, slowing it down to allow the mothership to pull away. Undeterred, the crew of the Barker decided that something was better than nothing. They kept moving in the direction of the Nisshin Maru, with a harpoon ship on eigher side, making it flee rather than stop and continue its mission. "We did find it and we can keep it on the run for the rest of the season," Peter Hammarstedt, 1st mate of the Barker told Capt. Paul Watson by phone. "They can run but they can't hide. I don't think they'll feel comfortable enough to set up camp, plus the weather in each direction is going to be pretty bad for the next couple of days." The pursuit of the Nisshin went on for two days. On March 7, 2012 the factory ship left the Southern Ocean, ending the whaling season early. "It's a huge, huge victory for the whales," Peter told his crew of the Barker. Only 267 whales were killed, 700 short of the Nisshin's goal. Capt. Paul Watson's assessment of the mission Paul Watson continued to use the Star Wars metaphor and reminded everyone that the Death Star was eventually destroyed. With a massive infusion of money from the Japanese government, the whalers were able to thwart many of the Sea Shepherd maneuvers. Watson has vowed to return each year until Japan stops whaling. First he's got to extricate himself from his legal troubles that rage on. He is still in Germany and might be extradited to Costa Rica on the ten-year old criminal charges. Sea Shepherd needs to purchase another fast patrol boat to use when one of their other ships goes down, as did the Brigitte Bardot. "Who's coming back next year?" Watson asked his Steve Irwin crew. All hands were raised in the air. To be continued... Image: Wikimedia Commons Add new comment

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Verbal Aspect 05 May 96 11:22:02 EDT portions of Luke's gospel and wondering if anyone can help me. I have followed Porter's arguments through to the JSNTSS 80 _Biblical Greek Language & Linguistics - Open Questions in Current Research_ which summarises the 1990-1991 SBL discussions. I have read his _Idioms_ and Fanning's dissertation as well. However I cannot track down any further discussions since this time. Does anyone know if the debate has fizzled out or is their something more recent lurking out there? I am particularly looking at his views on the interrelation of tense forms within units and stories i.e. his views on markedness. It seems to me that it is a very interesting exercise to look at how one tense may be used throughout a unit for one issue. e.g. Answering Ken Litwak's earlier question on the Magnificat I noticed that the aorist tense is used for God's actions and the present for human responses. Is this coincidental or meaningful? I am not sure It seems to me that aspect and markedness are not always compatible - why should states always be more marked, why should for instance things written in the prophets 'gegraptai' always be marked? And what does Porter *really* mean by 'marked' in a pragmatic way? Certainly emphasis has something to do with it, but it is clearly more sophisticated than this. At times he seems to mean one thing and then another e.g. the marked item can be a head term, but it can also be the elements under the head term. If anyone has any suggestions please e-mail me. Thank you Elizabeth Harper Kiwi in Trinity Trinity College, Bristol, U.K.

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Universal Instruments Jobs Forum Get new comments by email You can cancel email alerts at anytime. Current Discussions (5) - Start a Discussion Universal Instruments Salaries, Bonuses and Benefits. What are the average starting salaries, bonuses, benefits and travel requirements like at Universal Instruments? What do you like best about working... Universal Instruments News and Happenings. What do you think - will Universal Instruments grow fast? Are they expanding their staff? How does Universal Instruments stack up against the... How to get a job at Universal Instruments. Do you work at Universal Instruments? How did you find the job? How did you get that first interview? Any advice for someone trying to get in? Universal Instruments Interview Questions. What's the company culture at Universal Instruments? Every business has its own style. What is the office environment and culture like at Universal Instruments? Are people dressed in business casual,... RSS Feed Icon Subscribe to this forum as an RSS feed. » Sign in or create an account to start a discussion.

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Jaci Stephen Jaci Stephen: 'How did I end up here? LA wasn't where I expected to be at 50' Way Out West Full May moon over Los Angeles. It hovers beside the Lexington Commercial Holdings building on Wilshire Boulevard, above the streetlamp at the end of North Crescent Drive. I try to take a picture of it on my i-Phone and curse again the contraption that is about as effective as Gordon Ramsay with laryngitis. When the camera finally captures the shot, I see that the moon is indistinguishable from the light from the streetlamp: two white balls that could be anything, anytime, anyplace. Except that they are in Beverly Hills 90210, just outside my new apartment on North Crescent Drive where, bizarrely, I am now living. Most days, I don't cry, but tonight, as I think of Britain waking up as I walk into dusk, I do. How did I get here? How did I, an intelligent woman, teetering on the menopausal precipice of life, end up pretty much alone, financially struggling, in a strange city, staring at the wrong side of the moon? It wasn't where I expected to be at 50. In November I treated myself to a trip to LA to celebrate my birthday. I had been there only once to write a feature about the Oscars and Warner Brothers put me up at the spectacular five-star Beverly Wilshire Hotel. It's where Pretty Woman is set, although, as I scampered around with my camera, I learned that everything, apart from the exterior shots, was filmed on a set (Now everyone knows it as The Hotel Where Piers Morgan Stays When He's In Town). But what the heck. This was Hollywood country, and I knew I shouldn't believe everything I saw in the movies. So enamoured was I with LA, and, more to the point, so drunk, I decided to put down a deposit on a rental apartment. Having given up drinking for three months in March, and returned to it sporadically afterwards, I now knew that the first decision had been the right one. When I sobered up, the horror of what I had done struck me. I couldn't move to LA! What about work, family, friends, Sky Plus, Rugby Union? My deposit was refunded, minus my rose-tinted spectacles. But returning to the UK was depressing and I missed my star-studded lifestyle. Liam Gallagher had approached me in the bar of the Beverly Wilshire because he recognised me from my appearances on daytime TV. I also met Sidney Poitier - twice. And I hung about on the set of ER that was filming its last episode. I loved the non-stop sun and the polite service. Having spent much of the past seven years in France, where they are still dotting the Is and crossing the Ts in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars, it felt like a far more stress-free environment. I knew I had to get back quickly. For years I had been talking about writing for television, but now my heart was in the movies. I had read a book called Save the Cat! by the screenwriter Blake Snyder. It analyses 15 key "beats" in the structure of a movie, and the title refers to the moment when we meet our hero, who endears himself to us by doing something that defines who he is - like saving a cat. It was written by someone who had made shed-loads of money by following his own rules. I needed to find out - fast - how those rules might transmute into putting several million dollars into my own bank account. I was in that condo next to Simon Cowell's $22m mansion before you could say May the Force Be With You. I booked a place on Snyder's LA Beats Course and, sitting in the classroom, looking out at the Hollywood sign, knew that this was where I wanted to be. The decision was sudden, exciting, ludicrous; it was possibly insane. But as Yoda says: "Do or do not...There is no try." My moving-in date for my apartment was 1 April. That force, wherever, whatever it was, had better be with me. To read Jaci Stephen's LA diary in full, go to http://lanotsoconfidential.blogspot.com

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DSP Murder: Village Head's Son Arrested The CBI arrested deceased village pradhan Nanhe Yadav's son, Babloo Yadav, and claimed to have cracked the Kunda triple murder case. As per reports, Babloo has reportedly confessed to shooting DSP Zia-ul-Haque. Trending Videos left arrow left arrow more from videocafe

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• JOBS • CARS Letters to the editor: July 3 5:50 PM, Jul. 2, 2013  |  Comments • Filed Under Students shouldn't be left with so much debt It is a travesty of epic proportion that U.S. Rep. Todd Rokita is telling students that he has "good news for them" in regard to student loans, when in fact the news is horrendous. Not only are they going to begin paying twice the interest rate of the current student loan rate (from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent), you also will be allowing the rates to go up to 8.5 percent on Stafford loans and 10.5 percent on PLUS loans, all based on "market" rates. It will not be long before those rates reach those limits, as we know how "markets" get into "bubbles" and such. It is simply not fair to the new students this year when for the past six years (under Democratic-initiated legislation) other students were given a substantially reduced rate. Do you know that these children are facing payments of $250 and more a month soon after finishing college? We should be charging far less, only enough to cover the cost of the subsidy. The government or anyone should not be making money off giving American children a leg up for college. A bad bill regardless of bipartisanship is still a bad bill. Why does the 4th District of Indiana have such incompetent buffoons as representatives to Congress? We have suffered through Eli Lilly's lap dog, Steve Buyer, and now the tea party's prince, Todd Rokita - neither of whom can reason themselves out of a corner. How long is it going to take to learn this? Jeff Reed Just look for the tall weeds, you'll see it I called the mayor's office trying to get a lot mowed in the 500 block of South Third Street. My wife has called twice about this situation, but she is being ignored. When I called, the mayor's office said: What is the address? We have to notify the owner and give them 10 days to respond. I told them that my wife called about two weeks ago and was told that the owner had 10 working days. I didn't know that weeds don't grow on Saturday and Sunday. In the past when my wife has called, the city has mowed this lot within one week. If this lot isn't part of the mayor's beautification program, please include it and mow this lot. If the city can't find a lot with 4-foot weeds in it without an address, they can give me a call and I will come down and lead them to it. Clarence W. Jenkins Jr. Can we find a word besides marriage? Is there another word that we can use to define a same-sex relationship? A legal word that will allow them to receive state and federal benefits due each one in this lifelong bond? Marriage is not that word. No matter how we try to convince ourselves, as a nation, that this is the fair and equal way to describe a same-sex couple, it's a falsehood. Do I have to say it again? Sacred marriage can only take place between one man and one woman. Refuse to feel guilty for continuing to believe this. Joan Messing Photo galleries Retro Indy Get IndyStar on the Go with our iphone apps Subscribe for home delivery today At Home

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Text messaging turns 20 today ‘Merry Christmas’: The Text Message Turns 20 Today It was 20 years ago today that the very first text message was sent. On December 3, 1992, Neil Papworth, an engineer working in the UK, sent the world’s first short message service or SMS. It read “Merry Christmas.” Since then, an estimated 8 trillion texts have been sent, and texting has become one of our primary means of communication. The origins of texting date back to 1984 when Matti Makkonen, a Finnish civil servant, put forward the idea at a telecoms conference. He is called the “father of SMS” for floating the idea, though he dislikes the identifier because many others worked hard to develop the technology. He rarely gives interviews but made a text-only exception with the BBC today. You can read that here. Then came 22-year-old Neil Papworth, who in 1992 was working for a company called Semea Group Telecoms. The company was working on a text messaging project for European cellular carrier Vodafone. Indeed, it didn’t seem terribly big for even the next ten years. Once the new millennium took hold, so did texting as a way of communicating. “Years went on and people were able to start to send text messages. It took quite a few years of it to take off,” Papworth said. “But by the 10th anniversary it was fairly big by then.” Texting may now be on the decline, as more and more people now use smartphones, and, with smartphones, they use e-mail, instant messaging, iMessage, and social media to communicate. Still, even though it may have fallen from its spot as the primary form of shorthand communication, Papworth thinks that texting will always be around because it’s cheap and reliable. “Those handsets can do text messaging, but not everything can use data,” he said. “Yes, the data is showing that it is starting to decline, but it’s not going to go away. There is a lot of use for it alongside all the data services.” How many texts did you send today?

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Suppose you are on "Jeopardy" for the final question. If you answer correctly, you'd win a gazillion dollars, but if not, you get a smile and a handshake from Alex Trebek. The question is, which 1936 Ford model cost more, the 5-Window Coupe or the 3-Window Coupe? I've been in the car biz all my adult life, but if it were me, I would have been shaking Trebek's empty hand as I would have guessed the 5-Window Coupe. According to, the Deluxe 3-Window Coupe cost $570 new ($9,485 in today's dollars) while the Deluxe 5-Window Coupe cost $555 ($9,235). Buying a new car in 1936 was much less complicated than it is today. For example, if you wanted a new 1936 Ford there was only one engine, an 85 HP, 221 c.i. flathead V8, and one transmission, a three-speed manual on the floor. Other than selecting the body style, the buyer would have to decide if the Deluxe or the Standard model best suited ¿his or her needs. Danville resident Sal Riele has the Standard 1936 Ford 5-Window Coupe. "The big difference," Riele said, "was the chrome grille, the chrome horn covers and a second taillight." The Standard had a durable mohair interior with a rubber floor mat. The 1936 models did away with the wire wheels as standard in favor of solid steel wheels with hub caps. A clever feature of Ford coupes was the rumble seat option. Riele explained, "Ford coupes from the Model A through the 1936 models were made so the rear compartment could either be a trunk or easily converted to a rumble seat. Even though my car had a trunk, it still has a crank to lower the back window so if a rumble seat were installed, those passengers could talk to those inside the car." Other than the custom wheels, Riele's Washington Blue '36 Ford appears pretty much as it did when new. But like a lot of classic car collectors who love the styling of older vehicles, some want modern creature comforts and advancements. For those who want the best of both worlds, the solution is a "street rod." This is where the owner starts living the adage, "You can't take it with you," because the bucks are leaving the wallet. Basically a street rod is a classic car that looks like it did when manufactured, but with modern components like air conditioning, power steering, automatic transmission, bigger engine, stereo and so forth. That is what Sal Riele did. "I bought this 1936 Ford Coupe for $3,000 in 1985 from the granddaughter of the original owner. It had been parked 10 or 12 years in a barn after the back end had gotten smashed in." Once acquired, he sent the car to a body shop for a complete restoration of the exterior including making a rumble seat from the trunk and adding a second taillight. To get into the rumble seat, a step was installed on the second taillight and at the top of the right rear fender. It took more than a year to get the work done and Riele's investment doubled. "Next I brought it to the San Leandro Upholstery shop. I wanted the car to look as close to original as possible so the interior has the mohair appearance. They did a great job and it cost about $1,500." Later he bought a wrecked 1988 Ford Mustang and installed the 245 HP, 302 c.i. V8 engine, the automatic overdrive transmission, rear end and other parts. He used a Mustang II front suspension system. "Everything is Ford in it," he said. The expression "one thing leads to another" applies here. To accommodate the changes, the old '36 Ford frame had to be cut and modified. Also, the bigger engine meant the radiator had to be moved forward, which meant a new custom radiator and fan had to be made to fit the smaller space. This work was done in a shop in Concord at a cost of about $19,000. Even with Riele doing about 50 percent of the work on his car, he figures he has invested about $35,000. He believes the current market value to be between $40,000 and $50,000. He does have a pretty slick machine. One of the coolest things is the appearance of the automatic transmission lever that looks like the car has a floor-mounted manual shift. The knob shows the gear selection order, but the driver has to select the right gear by feel. Riele drives his 1936 Ford 5-Window Coupe every Saturday to The Dukes of Danville club meeting at Denny's in Danville. This organization has about 75 members of which 40 or so show up regularly. "It's a good source for information and help," he said, "but the best part is there are no rules and no dues." Have an interesting vehicle? Contact David Krumboltz at

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Apple explained that its emoji icons are based on the Unicode standard, which is used by many types of programs, apps and platforms to display text and icons the same as one another. But because Unicode is in the hands of a consortium and not solely in Apple's control, the company can't simply issue an update. Instead, the Unicode Consortium must first accept any changes to the Unicode standard. Emoji have become extremely popular among users, who include them in their text messages, Instagram comments and in their tweets. There are icons for food, vehicles and many other types of things. There are also several characters, but most are white and none are black. MTV said it decided to email Apple about the diversity in its emoji after actor Tahj Mowry sent the following tweet: It makes me mad that there are no black emojis...

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We're going to create a simple air pressure powered paper rocket that you can put together in a only a few minutes. I made this for my kid (five), but it would be a fun project for an older child to make and fly, too. I used to build them all the time in Jr. High. Warning: Hot glue? It gets hot. If your kid is making one of these, adult supervision would be a good thing. Yet Another Warning: Rockets are pointy. Don't be an idiot and point these at people's faces. Step 1: Materials To build the rocket, you'll need the following materials: - 1 sheet of 8.5x11in paper - Masking or Painter's tape (use colored tape for colored rockets) - Scissors - A ball point pen like the one pictured or a large drinking straw (for the launcher) - A hot glue gun and glue stick (if you don't have this, you can use regular white glue, but you'll be waiting a couple of DAYS for the glue to fully dry) <p>i'm making this rocket with a wrapping paper roll acting ass the pen tube fro my science project. i'm just scaling everything up. any advice?</p> <p>where is the launcher here!?</p> isn't there suposed to be a launcher?????? the launcher is at the end There is a launcher- you put it back over the pen barrel and blow! It's like an external version of a blowpipe. sticking it with super glue works too rite? cool! i shot myself in the arm. You could shoot it with a homemade air pressure rifle. It would fly straight like crazy On the internet there's a pattern simular to this, it's called The Paper Tiger. You roll the sheet of paper around C rocket motors and cut 1/4&quot; of a used one off for a motor retainer. Works quite well, on a windless day I had one go up and come straight back down and do a nose dive 2 ft. from the launch pad. www.texnet.net/ccent/rockets/papertig.htm I think I have a good idea for those rockets. check out my rocket launcher , i think it will go good with your rockets.<br /> Mine went so far up, I couldnt see it anymore! And when it hit the ground, it dindnt break! Thanks for the instructable! You just fold the tape over so that it sticks to itself, only leave a little bit at the end that isn't stuck together, and use that part to attach it to the rocket body. Then take scissors and trim the "flap" you just made so that it's triagular. I think I understand. We've to just fold it to half carefully, just like we do on paper to cut it in to equal parts. Here the folding is done such that small part of end are free and then we cut it as you said. this is well good would you make one out of duct tape? nice job can you like make a mod for it please cool ... hey does anyone know how to change the picture for your account i cant get it to work. making mine like an actual rocket the body tube is about the size of a marker so u can put an estes engine inside... How do you launch it? Read the last paragraph of step 11...<br/><br/><em>&quot;To fire the rocket ...&quot;</em><br/> nice great lil project maybe if I added a more flashy propulsion unit, this would be something I could earn kudoes for... very nice. i'm going to make a mod so it could fit inside a blowgun. the fins would be on springs to fold in to fit in the blowgun. ible plz? whats an ible? an instructable i dont know why its called that way oh. got it. ill try and get one up soon. I did this with my cub scouts and they had a blast Thanks for a fun project I'm gonna try making it much bigger and fit it over a barrel of a compressed air gun and shoot it. I think it should go 200 + feet maybe up to 400 feet Wow. Very nice, and rather original. If you could send me a personal message to clear up how to make the tail fins, that would be awesome! Definitely a favorite. thats realy cool, i bet I can make something like this durring one of my off periods in school how many inches is a bic pin how tall is it its on my favs Cool. I like it. <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.makezine.com/blog/archive/2006/05/how_to_make_a_bic_pen_rocket.html">This</a> bic pen rocket is a little cooler but a lot more difficult to build.<br/> Oh, that is cool. Thanks for the link. :) Very nice. I like it. About This Instructable 146 favorites Tags: paper rocket Add instructable to:

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Hi, this is my first instructable so please be kind on the comments, any constructive criticism is very welcome! When i saw the robot competition i was inspired and i decided to modify an old remote-controlled car i had, this instructable shows my process and what i added to the car. Again this is my FIRST instructable :) Step 1: Paint Job 1- i flipped the car over in order to access the screws, which i then loosened using a very small screwdriver. 2- I then removed the car body from the chassis 3- Then i used red electrical tape to cover the car's body 4- I also made sure that i didn't cover up any holes 5- again using the small screwdriver i re-attached the car's body. why we need to open and join again i think this is cheating like because car is already ready but you instructed that to open and join it. I was just wondering what type of car that is? Maybe use something like this:<br>http://www.instructables.com/id/AIRSOFT_GRENADE_with_pull_pin/<br><br>Use a string to connect to the ring. add enough string so that your car can reach full speed and quickly drive away pulling the ring and, well you know the rest. :) wow. the fireworks in london are HUGE! I live in the USA and I have never seen a firework that big! Its a small car Are you French, dude?? ('cause I noticed that the firecracker is a french brand that I always use).<br /> well you could have a strike anywhere match attatched to the car and use skills to light it<br /> ji have a car like that its awesome also sweet instructable i want firecrackers NOT FAIR why not use a pencil sharpener<br /> <br /> and<br /> <br /> WHATS THE POINT OF PUTTING SPIKES ON THE CAR?<br /> there not on very neat What type of firecracker was that Oh i bought it in France, i think its called "Le petard du bison" odd name yea lol it actually means OMG RUN AWAY OR UR SCREWD! LOL haha i have a black car like that :D i now have a project whoo lol :DD p.s. those spikes..brilliant :D lol thanks whats the point of the spikes? I was a noob.. I would add some sort of spark mechanism. maybe buy a car with headlights, then use the wires to the headlights and somehow amp it up or use a relay to make a spark from the headlights. then put the fuse of the firecracker right in the electrodes and light it if need be. me and my firends did something similar to this, we modded rc cars and battled, i had a frontloader and i made a flamethrower on it by putting a can of WD-40 upside down above thte thing that the front lifts up and it would hit the sprayer and it would spray on a stick with lit napalm gel on it and it was pretty tight Hmmmm.... I wanna build a battle bot now... haha. wen i saw u said bomb deployer. i though u meant those tiny little mothers. but then i scrolled down. n WOW, that thing was BIG. then i rembered that the car was tiny and so was the firecracker. haha the fire cracker is actually quite big ! Lol! I really thought for a sec that you were going to set off a fire cracker in your house! So did I! same here.... hahaha lol You could, theoretically and with heavy modification, turn the spikes into a rail for a model rocket engine. The engine could be ignited with a small electrical spark triggered by the remote control (you would probably have to sacrifice a feature of the car, such as turning the front wheels). The major downside to this would probably be the high probability of completely burning down your car and/or house/neighbor's house. idea for weapon: top mounted tassssseeeeeerrrrrr........ Fun. Evil. But fun. lol :D evil brother+Remote car with firecracker= TOTAL PAYBACK!!!!!!!!<br/> lol :D You shoud make a match with the fuse attached to the top of the match, then tape the match down to the car, and make the match stricker on the wheel so when you move it lights the match which light the fuse, which causes big pyro explosion. YAY! It's not a robot, you just added on two sharp sticks and painted a red thing. thank you we have had that discussion below ow my big toe, lol hey i never said this was an "awesome robot" or "death machine" and yea i did just stick some pointy bits on and paint it but this project was just for me to learn how to make an instructable, it wasn't supposed to amaze anyone or even compete in the robots competition, i entered it so that people could give me some good instructable making advice. struckbyanarrow you are clearly not impressed by the project but it would be useful if you gave me some tips on making the instructable instead of taking the piss out of the crappy RC car and pointy things. i really never said the instructables was bad at all it just isnt you making a robot its you modifying a robot it has pics and all im just trying to say in other words... why is it in the contest? also if you want to impress me add more pyrotechnics's but the m80 was pretty sweet. lol ok sorry for the misunderstanding , we cool ya sure, sounds good What kind of controls do you have for that car? Is it just speed and left-right? And what are the extra little wheels for - is this one of those cars that can flip over and right itself? yea just forward + back and to turn the front wheels spin around, yea the little wheels make sure the car doesn't fall over and when it does its east to get back of 4 wheels. when i was younger i saw Bruce lee with sharp chopsticks that he threw so i took my own chop sticks and put them in a pencil sharpener Well implemented I guess, this has been done before, that's all. How about something to light and deliver an M80 to a target, then escape before blowing up. Now that would be cool. Plus if it fails you still get to see explosions, always fun. hahaha just had a brain-wave and i placed a firecracker on top of the spikes on the RC car i made , they act as guide rails so the small car can deliver the explosive then with a sudden stop the firecracker slides off and the Rc car makes a quick getaway!! About This Instructable 10 favorites Bio: My hobby is making things And surfing the internet I also like riding my bicycle I Like all kinds of music; -Electronic -Rock -Chillout -And ... More » Add instructable to:

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This is an instructable where i will show you how to make an almost completely automatic paper recycling machine. It recycles old paper into new paper. It also uses recycled materials such as cardboard and drink bottles. It cannot be completely automatic because different types of paper take longer to process than others, so you just control a bunch of different switches. But it will do all the hard work for you. Please read through the entire instructable before you buy the parts. You might use different parts, and they can vary depending on what you have and need. The other cool thing about it is that you can put sparkles or glitter in the paper before it's done and have creative designs.  I am a middle school student who made this out of discarded and found materials, and I constructed it all on my own in my garage -- so you can do it, too. I will have more pictures of the paper and possibly a video soon...... I've just been really busy lately but i have a lot more because finals are coming up... :( Step 1: Get yer parts You obviously need parts to do anything or make anything. You need circuit boards for a computer, for a car, or anything else. It's the same with this. There are a lot of parts that you need, but luckily most of them are cheap or you can find by dumpster diving. Hopefully you can find all the parts. or you could improvise. 1) Many 1 x 4  planks of wood. You really need a lot as the entire frame is made from these. You can usually find them in the trash, and if they are stuck together in a crate, just pull them apart. That's what I did. If you can't find any in the trash, just buy a lot. They don't have to be that strong. You should get at least two that are slightly more than 5 ft in length, (about 1.5 m) or around there. Along with that, get a flat length of wood. doesn't have to be that thick. but make sure it can carry a bit of weight. 2) Many wood screws. I don't think anyone will be throwing away any of these, so you can just buy a box of 100 for 3 to 5 bucks. You wont quite use 100, but just in case... I used 1 1/2 inch length. (3.81 cm) 3) A paper shredder. If you don't have one, you can buy a cheap one, find one in the trash (you might need to fix it) or rip up the paper yourself. 4) a wooden dowel. Get a pretty long one, about 4 feet. (1.5m) I used 1/2 inch thick. (1.27cm) 5) The parts for the mixer 5a) an old cd that can be cut up 5b) a gatorade bottle (The big kind, or a two-liter coke or sprite bottle) 5c) a powerful motor (a note: make sure you have a way to hook up the motor to the cd, to make the cd spin.) 5d) batteries to power the motor (or if it's plug-in, a power outlet) It's hard to make it water-proof 5f) If you have a blender (the lighter the better) that you can use, use that instead of all that other stuff. It's specifically made for that, so it would be better. You can get one at goodwill or salvation army or whatever for cheap. The basic action it will be doing is stirring up wet paper, and chopping it into mush. Remember, it has to be able to tip over to empty everything out. 6) a few powerful gearboxes (make sure they turn slow) that will tip over (like pouring) parts of the recycler to empty the paper into the next area. I would get three. One a bit more powerful than the others, one a bit faster, and the other in between. 7) a turkey roaster. big enough and deep enough to hold all the pulp (shredded paper) By turkey roaster I mean the cheap tin ones that you can buy at the supermarket for a buck, not the expensive thick ones. 8) some sort of water tank. I used an old laundry detergent tank that had this little button on it that when you press it, the detergent (or water, whatever is in it, would come out.) Tide detergent bottle, to be exact. 9) cardboard and tape. 10) window screen, with small holes. Get about 8 ft by 1 ft or more (2.5 m by 30.5 cm) 11) three feet (91.44 cm)of 1" diameter (2.54cm) pipe, for the rollers to make the paper smooth. 12) A way to turn the pipe (one gearbox) 13) 2 dpdt switches to switch the motors one way or the other. (center-off) (you might need more or less, depending on what you have.) 14) 1 on/off switch (you might need more, depending on what you have.) 15) wire 16) various other parts that i'll explain later 1) Drill with drill bits (make sure you have 1/2 in.) (1.27 cm) 2) a saw to cut the wood. 3) a permanent marker, to mark on things. 4) wire cutter and stripper 5) you also might need an x-acto knife 6) a ruler 7) a hot glue gun or other waterproof glue 8) a hacksaw to cut pipe 9) It might be useful to have a level. hey how old are u! that's excellent work u know! sorry I don't have more pictures or the video- i've had no time. ill start in the next two weeks when school gets out, hopefully earlier I had no idea how creative and smart you are. I sure hope you WIN big!! Awesome! You have my vote. I'm looking forward to seeing some more creative designs and the video. Great work, Frankenboom! I'm voing now. This is very promising. It has great potential. thanks for all the nice comments! very impressive - i'd like to see more paper samples, like the sawdust with the old look... I'm about to upload the picture....soon.... Great job. Very imaginative, very green. One more vote for Frankenboom. How impressive! It is wonderful to have such an innovative environmental technologist around here. Things are looking up! Wow! I am so impressed! I'm glad you solved the problem of not having a circular saw or jigsaw. I think Frankenboom should win the Nobel Prize, at least. I saw the paper Frankenboom made with this recycler and it was VERY impressive. Would make beautiful stationary! iNtReStInG yOu MuSt Be ReAlY SmArT AnD A TeEn AgEr RiGhT???? Yeah, I guess so. I saw the recycled paper. It works great! thanks a lot! I can make you one if you want. Great idea! This must be the GREENEST instructable out there! This is a great idea, but I'd like to see it working! I will soon, as soon as I fix the next part (the paper shredder broke again) So now that means that there have been 4 things that have broken.... It's like all technology is turning against me. The reason that I do not have a video of when it was working is because I finished last-minute and had no time to take a vid. anyways, I can have it running again by the end of the week. P.S. sorry I don't have very much info on any tips or operation, like i said, i was rushed. I'm sorry about the fact that I couldn't tell you how to control it or how the paper looks- the project kept breaking which delayed me which means I couldn't type as much before the deadline and the paper was still drying. I'll include details on how to control it as well as tips and troubleshooting as soon as I can. About This Instructable 17 favorites More by frankenboom: From Blank to Bowl Floating Arm Trebuchet (F2K) (almost) automatic paper recycler Add instructable to:

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The World Cup kicked off last week as soccer teams from around the globe converged in South Africa. The once-every-four-years tournament is one of the most-watched sporting events in the world; and as you can imagine, it involves large amounts of money for the host country and participants. There are a few clear-cut favorites to win the 2010 World Cup, and it could boost their economy as consumers spend more money and rejoice in a victory. I have chosen my five favorites to win the tournament based on the FIFA rankings and my own bias. (For related reading, check out The World Cup 2010 Portfolio.) IN PICTURES: 20 Tools For Building Up Your Portfolio iShares MSCI Spain ETF (NYSE: EWP) is one of the PIIGS of Europe, and the ETF's performance reflects the name, losing 29% so far in 2010. The fact that the ETF has 42% of its assets in two stocks, Banco Santander (NYSE: STD) and Telefonica (NYSE: TEF), makes this a very risky investment. With debt troubles along with unemployment near 20%, it is not a good situation when more than 44% of the ETF is invested in financials. However, the ETF and country are oversold and could rally with a World Cup win. iShares MSCI Netherlands ETF (NYSE: EWN) is a quiet, yet smart, pick to win the title. The country is similar in the eyes of investors because it is not the most popular choice among international ETFs. The ETF is down 12% in 2010, much better than Spain and in a better situation going forward. The ETF's largest holdings are consumer staples and industrials with Unilever (NYSE: UN) making up 17%. GDP turned positive in the first quarter, and the future looks bright for the orange team. iShares MSCI Germany ETF (NYSE: EWG) is the largest economy in the Eurozone and is a popular pick to win the World Cup. The ETF is down 14% in 2010 and has avoided some of the mess, but considering it is the largest economy in the continent, it will suffer. The ETF is very diverse with six sectors making up at least 10% of the allocation. Germany is a solid bet to win the tournament and provide solid returns in Western Europe. (For more, see Going International.) South America iShares MSCI Brazil ETF (NYSE: EWZ) is one of the clear favorites to win the tournament and a favorite among investors as well. The country rebounded nicely from the recession in 2009 and has now strung together four consecutive quarters of positive growth capped by a gain of 2.74% in Q1 2010. The ETF has 76 stocks and is heavily weighted toward the materials, energy and financial sectors. Brazil remains my favorite emerging-market country, and it will be hosting the 2014 World Cup and a future summer Olympics. iShares Chile Investable Market Index ETF (NYSE: ECH) is my Cinderella story and my long shot to win it all. Chile has about the same odds as the U.S., so why not? The Chile ETF consists of 30 stocks that are nicely diversified between the utilities, industrials and materials sectors. Several of the ETF's largest holdings are either at or near all-time highs. Lan Airlines (NYSE: LFL) closed out last week at the best level ever. The country's stock market often moves with the price of copper due to the fact it accounts for about half of the GDP. ECH is an aggressive play, though it does have upside with a worldwide economic rebound. Final Pick At the end of the day, my heart goes with the U.S. (not listed). But if I were forced to choose, it would be with Brazil to win the World Cup and Chile to provide the best return for the remainder of 2010. (For more, see Broadening The Borders Of Your Portfolio.) Related Articles 1. Chart Advisor Agriculture Commodities Are In The Bear's Sights 2. Investing News Top Tips for Diversifying with Mutual Funds 3. Professionals Top Stocks to Short, Go Long On to Beat the Market 4. Mutual Funds & ETFs Top 4 Asia-Pacific ETFs 5. Mutual Funds & ETFs Top 3 Japanese Bond ETFs 6. Stock Analysis The 5 Biggest Russian Oil Companies 7. Mutual Funds & ETFs What Exactly Are Arbitrage Mutual Funds? 8. Savings Become Your Own Financial Advisor 9. Investing News Ferrari’s IPO: Ready to Roll or Poor Timing? 10. Investing Basics 6 Reasons Hedge Funds Underperform 1. Can working capital be too high? 3. Can mutual funds invest in IPOs? 4. How do dividends affect retained earnings? You May Also Like Trading Center You are using adblocking software so you'll never miss a feature!

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Financial Structure DEFINITION of 'Financial Structure' The specific mixture of long–term debt and equity that a company uses to finance its operations. This financial structure is a mixture that directly affects the risk and value of the business. The main concern for the financial manager of the company is deciding how much money should be borrowed and the best mixture of debt and equity to obtain. The financial manager also has to find the least expensive sources of funds for the company to use. Also referred to as capital structure. BREAKING DOWN 'Financial Structure' Financial structure is divided into the amount of the company's cash flow that goes to creditors and the amount that goes to shareholders. Each business will have a different mixture depending on its needs and expenses. Therefore, each company will have its own particular debt-equity ratio. For example, a company could issue bonds and use the proceeds to buy stock or it could issue stock and use the proceeds to pay its debt. 1. Debt/Equity Ratio Debt/Equity Ratio is debt ratio used to measure a company's financial ... 2. Capitalization Structure The proportion of debt and equity in the capital configuration ... 3. Optimal Capital Structure 4. Cost Of Debt The effective rate that a company pays on its current debt. This ... 5. Capital Structure 6. Debt Financing Related Articles 1. Investing Basics Will Corporate Debt Drag Your Stock Down? 2. Investing Basics The Importance Of Corporate Transparency 3. Fundamental Analysis Analyze Cash Flow The Easy Way 4. Retirement The Essentials Of Corporate Cash Flow 5. Markets What Is A Cash Flow Statement? 6. Retirement The Best Way To Borrow 7. Bonds & Fixed Income Uncovering Hidden Debt 8. Options & Futures Top 7 Most Common Financial Mistakes Choose fortune over disaster by avoiding these money traps. 9. Investing A Look at 6 Leading Female Value Investors 10. Term What Is Financial Performance? 1. Can working capital be too high? You May Also Like Hot Definitions 1. Zero-Sum Game 2. Capitalization Rate 3. Gross Profit 4. Revenue 5. Normal Profit 6. Operating Cost Trading Center You are using adblocking software so you'll never miss a feature!

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Interstate Banking DEFINITION of 'Interstate Banking' The expansion of banking across state lines. Interstate banking became widespread in the mid 1980s, when state legislatures passed legislation that allowed bank holding companies to acquire out-of-state banks on a reciprocal basis with other states. Interstate banking has led to the rise of both regional and national banking chains. BREAKING DOWN 'Interstate Banking' Interstate banking has grown in three separate phases, starting in the 1980s with regional banks. These companies are limited to a specific region, such as the Northeast or Southeast, and were formed when smaller, independent banks merged to create larger banks. Then state law permitted a national trigger that allowed mergers with banks in any other state after a certain date. The Reigle-Neal Interstate Banking and Branching Efficiency Act allowed banks which met capitalization requirements to acquire other banks in any other state after Oct. 1, 1995. The direct result of these legislations was the onset of nationwide interstate banking. 1. Reciprocal Statutes Legislation enacted between two or more states promoting commerce. ... 2. Bank Reserve 3. Tax Accounting 4. Chain Banking Conceptually a form of bank governance that occurs when a small ... 5. Wholesale Banking 6. Bank Related Articles 1. Credit & Loans The Evolution Of Banking 2. Forex Education Get To Know The Major Central Banks 3. Personal Finance What Are Central Banks? 4. Options & Futures Choose To Beat The Bank 5. Retirement What Was The Glass-Steagall Act? 6. Stock Analysis JP Morgan Chase & Co. Vs. Bank of America Stock 7. Economics What is a Loan Loss Provision? 8. Economics Understanding Retail Banking 9. Credit & Loans 10. Investing Basics Explaining Rehypothecation 3. What net interest margin is typical for a bank? 4. What are the main benchmarks that track the banking sector? You May Also Like Hot Definitions 1. Zero-Sum Game 2. Capitalization Rate 3. Gross Profit 4. Revenue 5. Normal Profit 6. Operating Cost Trading Center You are using adblocking software so you'll never miss a feature!

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« "Israeli Superman" fuels protests in Iran? | Main | » January 21, 2010 The "Greens" are already Pawns--some knowingly and many more unknowingly. One has to be extremely naïve to not know that Israel is playing whatever role it can in what is going on in Iran, and the PR campaign Glassman is talking about is already underway. What do you think they did with the $75 million Rice got back in 2006, the $10 million in consecutive years previous to that, and many more millions flowing after? And that is just what we know about. The problem with imperial mouthpiece idiots like Esfandiari is that they read, write, editorialize, rationalize and hypothesize from their comfortable offices in front of their computers without really having any clue about what is going on in Iran. They are paid by their think thanks, bosses, or .... to come up with ways to destabilize and overthrow the government. Very simple. Their bosses as you said may be the Israelis, CIA, reactionary Arab governments or .... It does not matter. The objective is dictated and handed to them by their employers. Their job is to come up with a well-planned scenario. The comments to this entry are closed. Me In the Press

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25 ways you know you're Irish (PHOTOS) You watch Winning Streak every time someone from your native county is on it Have a look through our list of quintessential Irishisms to see how many you can relate to. 1. You watch "Winning Streak" every time someone from your native county is on it 2. This is on a wall in your house 3. You love when 'there's good drying out' 4. You've used this as a lunchbox 5. Drinking boiled 7up will cure all illnesses 6. You learned Irish from this book 7. Every Irish essay you ever wrote had a plot twist signified by 'Go tobann!' 8. The extent of your parents online knowledge is being able to visit RIP.ie and DoneDeal.ie 9. You've been shocked by the electric fence 10. Once Christmas is over you start looking forward to RAG week Image: Joe.ie 11. You have great affection for this man 12. You love giving people directions 13. Funerals are where you go to stand outside a chapel and talk about GAA with your neighbor 14. You've spent at least an hour of your lifetime stabbing this with a compass Image: Rare Irish Stuff 15. You've been stuck behind a man in tractor which has an empty bag as a back window 16. You use Father Ted quotes in every day conversation 17. You have to emigrate 18. You were better dressed for your communion than for your wedding 19. You've never been to the Giant's Causeway 20. You've been asked to stand in a gap at least once 21. You lose the mind any time your county's in a big final 22. All of life's problems can be solved by lighting a candle 23. You owned one of these when you were younger 24. You express surprise by exclaiming the name of a prominent religious figure Image: Chris.Corwin 25. You instantly know all the words to this song

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Aqueous Solutions: Most chemical reactions reaction occur in a liquid solvent/solute (i.e., solution) environment. Typically the solute(s) in a solution will be the reactants. Since stoichiometric calculations require amounts of reactants, we need a way to express amounts of reactants when they are in solution. The way chemists do this is through the concept of concentration. Concentration is a way to express the amount of solute per unit amount of solution/solvent. There are several ways that concentration can be expressed. A few of these are: • ppm (parts per million) • ppb (parts per billion) • weight/weight percent (w/w%) • weight/volume percent (w/v%) • volume/volume percent (v/v %) • percent by mass • molarity All of these concentration units have their applicability. In the following pages we will discuss and exemplify these units. Back to index C101 Class Notes Prof. N. De Leon

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Who is your favorite Japanese politician? Julian Lambert, 40 IT manager (Aussie) I like (ex-PM) Junichiro Koizumi because he has an endearing character, an inspirational hairstyle, and he defies convention. If your heart is on strike, he’s the strike breaker. Ayumi Nishiguchi, 24 Music teacher I really like Koizumi because he’s warm-hearted, and his manifestos were forward-thinking and benefited the people. He was also very entertaining. Hisanori Uchida, 43 Ex-Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka was a self-made man from a poor family who only had a primary school education. Unlike some, he didn’t get his job through nepotism. Soyogu Aoki, 31 Company employee Former Democratic Party of Japan leader Seiji Maehara gave the party a youthful and refreshing image, although his term only lasted a few months.

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‘Une aventure’ Suspense, helped by the 'hottie factor' When reviewing a movie, critics tend to trawl through the elements that made it work, things like clever plotting, intense performances, lavish set design and the like. But we often seem to overlook one of the most essential elements of cinema: sex appeal. Perhaps this is because in a good film, the hottie factor is a bonus, like the frothy head on a latte. A bad film, meanwhile, can curdle sex appeal entirely, making it seem almost like a parody of itself. (Think Joseph Fiennes and Heather Graham in Chen Kaige’s “Killing Me Softly.”) It’s those borderline films — almost, but not quite there — where a little sex appeal can really make the difference between something watchable and the fast-forward button. Tastes differ, but this critic can instantly think of recent films where the on-screen presence of Emmanuelle Beart, Beatrice Dalle or Shu Qi was about the only reason to keep watching through the last reel. Une aventure Director Xavier Giannoli Run Time 107 minutes Language French “Une aventure,” a 2005 French release only now finding its way into local cinemas, is one such film. Typically French fare of the auteurist persuasion, it manages to take a slightly ponderous script and render it as something eminently watchable thanks to the compelling, pheromonal performance by France’s most talented young sex symbol, Ludivine Sagnier. Sagnier plays a young woman named Gabrielle who has a slight problem: somnambulism. She awakens at night and wanders, unconsciously, in a trance state, walking barefoot into traffic, and within inches of losing her life. It’s there, in the pouring rain, that 20-something Julien (Nicolas Duvauchelle, Sagnier’s real-life partner since they fell for each other on set) first spots her. Julien has just moved into this Parisian neighborhood, renting a flat with his girlfriend Cecile (Florence Loiret-Caille). Maybe it’s an unconscious fear of encroaching domesticity, or a craving for a little adventure by a meek video-librarian, but Julien finds himself irres- istibly drawn to this beautiful night wanderer. Gabrielle represents a cocktail dangerously intoxicating to any man: desirable and unstable, and desperately in need of protection. Julien takes the plunge, and the second time he spots Gabrielle wandering the streets in a daze, he follows her back into her apartment. There he cautiously stalks her, all the way to her bedroom, glimpsing signs of danger from the chaos of strewn clothes and bloodstains. Director Xavier Giannoli has obviously seen “Blue Velvet,” a feeling that’s reinforced when Gabrielle’s gangster-ish boyfriend Louis (Bruno Todeschini) turns up. Giannoli plays things a lot straighter than Lynch, though, and also lacks that director’s flair for vivid characterizations and unsettling menace. “Une aventure” develops as a psycho-sexual suspense flick, but lacks a bit of oomph on all those levels. Julien gradually insinuates his way into Gabrielle’s life. He learns that Louis is married, and keeping Gabrielle as his mistress. He also learns, from a videotape he stole from Gabrielle’s flat, that things are a bit wild for this girl; snatches of tape reveal her having a compromising situation with her Algerian maid Djemila (Estelle Vincent) or firing a pistol given to her by Louis. Ominous bits of dialogue drift by, but Julien only becomes more determined to be her Prince Charming. He thinks he will save Gabrielle from this voracious older man, who seems indifferent to the psychological torment that is probably causing her to sleepwalk. What Julien fails to admit to himself, though, is how much his good intentions — indeed, his good sense — is being clouded by lust. Saving this lost girl isn’t simply chivalrous but also a way into her pants. In classic film noir fashion, Julien will pay a hard price for this by the last reel. It’s Sagnier’s film, though, and she turns up the heat with the same kind of casual, feral sexuality that gained her so much attention in Francois Ozon’s “Swimming Pool.” Unlike, say, a Beart or a Deneuve, she can inhabit a strappy black dress with an indifferent attitude that suggests she’s unaware of the effect she is having on men, something that is entirely more provocative. Sagnier has also mastered the art of expression through the eyes, using those pale grays of hers to throw a gaze both searching and enticing. She’s a smart enough actress not to be pigeon-holed as a sex kitten — “I don’t do nudity for fame or to become popular, because that only lasts so long. Look at Brigitte Bardot,” she’s been quoted as saying — but she does it quite well when she chooses too, and that’s certainly the case with “Une aventure.”

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Aggregates + Event Sourcing distilled I have been following the excellent BTW podcast and thinking a lot about CQRS and Event Sourcing. Inspired by Greg Youngs lecture on Functional Programming with DDD I have tried to distill what is the minimal things I need to implement an Aggregate with Event Sourcing in Java. In this blog post I will focus on the command side of things. The purpose here is to explain Event Sourcing in a way that is easy to understand without any unnecessary overhead. If you want to get directly to the example code it is available at GitHub. A simple domain To start we need a minimal domain that is simple to understand, but still interesting enough to be challanging. Udi Dahan has said many times that CQRS should only be used in a collaborative domain. Since I really enjoy developing games a really simple game that came to mind was rock-paper-scissors. To keep it really simple the game only has two commands: • Player 1: Create game and make first move • Player 2: Make move The business rules: • The players of a game must be different • When the second player has moved no more moves can be made • When the second player has moved either it is a tie or one of the players is declared winner I will save queries and projections for another time. To implement command processing I need the following pieces: • Commands which request that something should happen, ie some state change • Events which indicate that something has happened • Aggregates that handles Commands and generates Events based on the current state • Event store which stores all events that has happened • Application services that receives Commands and routes it to the appropriate aggregate I want all updates to the aggregate to be consistent, which I implement by processing all commands sent to an aggregate serially using optimistic locking. This is consistent with Eric Evans view of aggregates. In fact, the extent of the aggregate is defined by the amount of data that is updated consistently. A Command is always sent to a single Aggregate. I have the following commands: • CreateGameCommand(UUID gameId, String playerEmail, Move move) • MakeMoveCommand(UUID gameId, String playerEmail, Move move) CreateGameCommand always generate these events: • GameCreatedEvent(UUID gameId, String playerEmail) • MoveDecidedEvent(UUID gameId, String playerEmail, Move move) MakeMoveCommand also generate a MoveDecidedEvent and depending who wins one of the following events is generated: • GameWonEvent(UUID gameId, String winnerEmail, String loserEmail) • GameTiedEvent(UUID gameId) By using multiple events to describe what happens (for example GameCreated + MoveDecided) I separate how the events get produced from what has happened. In this way I can change the workflow of the commands without changing the events that get generated. For example, I could introduce a new command that only creates a game without making a move. Time for some code. Notice how each command is sent to a specific aggregate: Commands are immutable data. I can of course add more validation of the input in the constructor. Notice how UUID is created by the one that is sending the command: This does not mean that the client is creating UUIDs. Instead it could be done in the REST API, for example like this using JAX-RS: For events I currently have a simple marker interface: The events are just immutable data: The aggregate implement handlers for commands that generate events. Notice that no state is modified! The aggregate implement handlers for events that modify state. Notice that no validation is done! The event has happened and the aggregate must simply accept this fact: For the command processing I have a very simple interface for the EventStore: An EventStream which is an immutable collection of events up until a specific version of an aggregate. The purpose of the version is to implement optimistic locking: So far I have only implemented an in-memory event store. The final piece of the puzzle is the Application Service that: • Load events for the event store • Instantiate a new aggregate • Applies all events on the aggregate • Sends the command to the aggregate • Store the new events The handle methods are invoked using reflection. There are couple of nice things to notice here: • The Application Service can easily handle retries if there is a ConcurrentModificationException (optimistic lock violation) or in fact any other exception • Command processing can easily be done asynchrously • Command processing can be distributed and run concurrently since all shared state is within the Event Store There are of course problems as well. For example always loading and applying all events for an aggregate could be a performance problem. I will write about immutability and caching some other time! That was all the pieces that are necesseary to implement Event Sourcing. Do you think it is a complex programming model? Well, lets have a look at the bulk of the business rules in the Game aggregate which are implemented when the opponent makes a move: Event processing must never fail since the events have happened: Notice the following things: • Because we are doing CQRS we only store state in the aggregate that we actually use for command procesing. For example, the opponent or winner is not stored. • The event processing is always trivial! • Implementing the command processing is not that difficult, only different. Instead of directly manipulating state we generate events. Ok that was a long blog post! I’m planning to write more about projections, event storage, immutability and lots of other stuff. Let me know what you think so far! 1. Nice, not too long a post considering the amount of code you’ve included. Can’t wait for the rest of this series! Also, does this mean that you’ve actually started executing on the idea (mentioned during Software Passion) of providing an open source licensed reference implementation that any Java based project can simply pick up should they decide they need this? Anyway, thanks for sharing! 2. All the code that I reference here is open source. I should probably add an appropriate license to the code! So far my goals are to explore event sourcing and to have a simple model that I can reason about, but hopefully it will also be easier to understand. The goal is not to have a production quality Event Store, but who knows what this will lead to! The clojure version is even more clean and I will use that to explore caching and snapshots. I hope that I manage to get that post out next week…. :-) 3. Ramon Buckland Hi Jan, I have playing with the production ready Eventsourced Scala framework. There are a lot of things there and heaps to consider. What struck me was the simplicity of the libray. It is seen the best with both the examples, and documentation. downloading and running the “sample” application for invoices with uses Jersey and Jackson for JSON marshalling in and out will be very familiar for you. Im not a developer of it, just came across it and like what I have found so far. 4. Vjeran Marcinko As far as I udnerstand, one difference between command and event in your example is that cmmand has tranasctional semantics, whereas events do not. Mening, if I use events to reconstruct the state of system on some other place, and if I have a case that one execution of one command generated 2 events, and that other consumer in the system consumed in some point in time only one of those 2 events, this consumer can have invalid state for that aggregate in that moment, right? • The way I implement actual persistence is to make sure that all events generated by a single command is persisted together in a single transaction. Sending and receiving the messages is another story. You are absolutely correct that depending on the messaging infrastructure used messages may be lost between different systems. The solution is to implement at-least-once semantics and make sure to handle duplicates. You need to be aware that the other system will be in an inconsistent state until it has received all events. However, since events should have business meaning, the inconsistency will probably not be as bad as you might initially think. In some ways, the inconsistency will have some meaning at the business level. For example if you have received the final MoveEvent, but not yet the GameWonEvent, you can still do consistent statistics on the most popular moves and similar “business” operations. The inconsistency is manifested as the game appears to be still in progress. 5. Vjeran Marcinko To add to my previous comment, it would somehow be best if one aggregate can publish only single event for each processed command, so the event would carry transactional semantics to any possible subscriber in the system, but in the same type, this event should be able to carry different information about the effects of command processing, such as different types of game ending in your example. 6. Jan-Terje Sørensen I have been working with a production quality Event Store in Java called “Eventstore2” And building on this Event Store I have created an archetype that gives you an initial Java Web Application called “maven-archetype-eventsourcing” Trackbacks for this post 1. Event Sourcing in Clojure – Jayway 2. Don’t publish Domain Events, return them! – Jayway 3. Commands and Aggregates in Datomic – Jayway 4. CQRS and Event Sourcing Resources | Baeldung Leave a Reply

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As March Madness heats up this week, so do legal issues surrounding everything from office pools to antitrust suits. Depending on where you live, thanks to the federal system, the brackets people filled out and the ten dollars each participant contributed to office March Madness pools could mean the participants are committing anything from a misdemeanor to a felony or, in some states, possibly just violating company policy. For those individuals who win their office pools, remember that the IRS requires people to report gambling winnings as “other income” on their 2014 tax returns. Individuals who show actual gambling winnings are allowed to offset those gambling winnings with gambling losses. Unfortunately, for those individuals who do not win their office pool, the losses cannot be used to set off the salary they earned while participating in the pool (or any other ordinary income). Finally, unlike the individuals winning their office pools, the college basketball players are not compensated directly for the use of their images in broadcasting. Division I athletes sign a release that allows the NCAA to use their names and images indefinitely. Antitrust litigation has been pending in the Northern District of California since 2009, with current players seeking injunctive relief and former players seeking monetary damages for the use of their images in violation of their publicity rights. Recently, the players moved for class certification, and the court decided to hear the motion on June 20. The NCAA is opposing the class certification because the NCAA claims there are too many differences between individual plaintiffs. However, this determination could represent a critical juncture in the case, and if the court grants the motion, there will be increasing pressure on the NCAA to settle. Do you think college athletes should be compensated for the use of their images on TV or in video games? Do you plan to report your bracket winnings on your next tax return? Should the IRS care? —Samara C. Pals Cramer Image Source Tagged with: 2 Responses to Legal Madness 1. Michael Joshi says: I agree with Ryan that opening up compensation to college athletes is a huge can of worms. I think a more appropriate way to be equitable when talking about the huge business that college sports (primarily football) is to look at how the revenue is spent. As Ryan mentioned, these colleges already are committed to significant operating expenses (scholarships, facilities, etc.) that directly benefit these student-athletes. But I would be curious to see what happens with the profit. Are coaches and administrators just getting paid more? Or is the money being reinvested into other university programs that benefit students? Perhaps restrictions already exist, but I would think that monitoring/limiting where all this value generated by the success of college student-athletes is going would be an interesting approach. 2. Ryan Loofbourrow says: Thanks for the great post, Samara! Personally, I do not have to worry about whether to post my winnings to the IRS because I lost in my pool big time this year. To that extent though, I would bet that most pool winners do not report their winnings, and the IRS probably does not care. The IRS probably cares a lot more about the people who win big money, such as from the casinos in Vegas (if you’re lucky), and not so much from the office pools. I think the use of a college football player’s image is an interesting one, and it ties in with Talor’s post about college football players wanting to trademark their images. To some extent, it feels like it would only be equitable to allow for the college football players to profit from their successes. However, the players know exactly what they are getting in to when they play in the NCAA. They are getting a free education, a degree, and, potentially, great mentors in their coaches who will try and help them succeed any way that they can. Adding money to the pile will only increase the amount of greed that many top high school and college athletes already have. Can you imagine the bidding wars for colleges that promise to get the athlete on TV so that they can make money? Boosters may even try and create video games with the players’ names on them so that they can indirectly pay the players. College athletes will always try to find new ways to get compensated, but as long as the NCAA stays strict on the “no pay for play” rule, there should not be loopholes for athletes who are good enough to get into a videogame.

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« Previous Page Table of Contents Next Page » [Pages 254-264] Rabbis Born in Lubtch by Moshe Tzinovitch Translated from the Hebrew by Harvey Spitzer The Gaon Rabbi Eliyakum Shapira Born in Lubtch in the year 5586 (1826), he was the son of Rabbi Chaim Shapira, who was later head of the rabbinic court in Solchnik (Vilna District). He was part of the family of the Gaon Rabbi Eliezer Shapira, head of the rabbinic court in Lubtch and was also related to the Gaon Rabbi Aryeh-Leib Shapira, head of the rabbinic court in Kovna. The young Eliyakum was a favorite of Rabbi Aryeh-Leib Shapira, from whom he learned the ways of conduct in the rabbinate, serving before him and before the Gaon Rabbi Reuven HaLevi, learning how to put rabbinic directives into practice. Rabbi Eliyakum was rabbi and head of the rabbinic court in Horodok, (Vilna District), Ibnitz, Eishishok and Grodno. He was considered one of the most prominent rabbis in these places. R' Eliykum was great in Torah learning, an expert teacher and a wise man, who was familiar with the problems of the world. He also had a good command of spoken and written Russian and was well known even in the circles of the authorities and senior officials in the Grodno District. He was invited to rabbinic assemblies at which his advice in matters pertaining to the general public was taken into consideration. He initiated an assembly of rabbis in Grodno, receiving special permission from the minister of the Grodno district for this purpose but, because of various reasons, the convention did not meet. In his book, “Dor v'dorshav” (“A Generation and its Preachers”) by Eliezer Efrati, Rabbi Eliyakum is described a “a great genius, wise and magnanimous, knows the language of the state and is very capable in arithmetic.” In another book, “Dor Rabbanav visofrov” (“A Generation of Rabbis and Writers”) by Ben-Zion Eisenstadt, it is brought down that in his youth, Rabbi Eliyakum was famous as a prodigy, having an exceptional memory. His innovations are found in books and essays dealing with questions and responses. More of his essays dealing with questions and responses relating to the Talmud and deciders of matters of Jewish law are found in manuscript. One of Eliyakum's responses is found in the book, “Tshuvat Shmuel” (“Shmuel's Response”) [Laws of Divorce, Law #2] and, in “Beit Vad llChachamim”) (“Meeting Place for Scholars”), [Weekly collection for Torah and Jewish Wisdom by Rabbi Yisrael-Haim Deiches], Rabbi Deiches bases himself on one of Rabbi Eliyakum's questions and answers and writes that he is “the father of instruction, the sage of the rabbis of Grodno, a great genius.” Around the year 5664 or 5665 (1905), Rabbi Eliyakum Shapira emigrated to Eretz-Yisrael and settled in Jerusalem.where he was honored to be the president of the “Grodno Community”. He died in the year 5668 (1908) and had the honor of being laid to rest on the Mount of Olives. A list of appreciation to his memory appeared in one of the issues of “Havatzelet” for 5668. The Gaon Rabbi Raphael-Alter Shmuelevitch He was born in Lubtch around 5635 (1875) and received an intensive Talmudic education. He studied at yeshivot in Lithuania and in the yeshivot in Slutzk and Novogrudek where ethical conduct was emphasized. He was famous as having wonderful talents and for his diligence. He abounded in innovations according to the school system of the Lithuanian yeshivot and he became famous in Lithuania and Zhamot. He was the son-in-law of the righteous, wise and devoted rabbi, Rabbi Yosef-Yozel Horvitch. Afterwards, he was appointed to fill the role of head of the rabbinical college in the yeshiva at Novogrudek. He also spent some time as deputy head of the rabbinical college in Slotzk. When the upper division yeshiva was established in Grodno in 5676, Rabbi Raphael was appointed head of the college of the yeshiva. However, he was active for only a short time and died the following year, 5677 (1917). His lessons are passed around until this very day in all the yeshivot, and copied from hand to hand. His son is the prodigy, the Gaon Rabbi Chaim Shmuelevitch, head of the rabbinical college at the Mir Yeshiva in Jerusalem. Rabbi Yosef Yossilevitch (5639-5695) He was born in Lubtch in the year 5639 (1879) and received a Torah education in his hometown and in yeshivot in the area. Afterwards, he studied at the yeshiva “Knesset Yisrael” in Slobodka-Kovna (5654-62) in the period when the Gaonim R' Issar-Zalman Meltzer and R' Moshe-Mordechai Epshtein served as heads of the rabbinical college. He was also among those who came to the house of the Gaon R' Yitzchak Blazer, one of the fathers of Musar movement who was then living in Kovna and whose spirit influenced those studying in the Slobodka yeshiva and in the “kolel” [yeshiva for married students, some of whom left their wives to study] in Kovna. Rabbi Yossilevitch's first position as rabbi was in the town of Selov (5667-72) and after that he served as rabbi and head of the rabbinic court in Terrestina (Bialystok District), Samiatich (5681-86) and in Sovalk, a district town. In every place where he served, Rabbi Yossilevitch was active in the area of education and strengthening religion. In Sovalk he supervised the Talmud-Torah and the local yeshiva attached to it, until it was considered to be the official educational institute for Jews of Sovalk and the whole area. He was known amongst the rabbis of Lithuania and Poland as a genius, a great innovator (discoverer of new interpretations) and as a research scholar in the sea of Talmud and its commentators. He left behind manuscripts on halacha [Jewish law], some of them relating to martyrs based on the way of understanding in the Lithuanian style of learning. He did not live, however, to see these manuscripts in print. A few of his Talmudic innovations were published in his lifetime in the Torah compilations “Sha'arei Tzion” in Jerusalem and “Knesset Yisrael” in Vilna. Although Rabbi Yossilevitch's growth and education in Talmud were at the yeshiva in Slobodka, where they were opposed to Zionism, he himself joined the “Mizrachi” movement and was loyal to it all his life. His sermons were always about the ideas of revival of the Jewish homeland: he signed declarations calling on Jews to join the Mizrachi movement and acted in support of the Jewish National Fund, the Jewish Foundation Fund and other Zionist settlement and pioneering fund raising drives. In the year 5683 (1923), he participated in the conference of Mizrachi rabbis, which took place in Warsaw. He was a candidate from the national center of Mizrachi in Poland as a delegate to the 13th Zionist Congress which took place that same year. All this did not detract from his worth and status as a great rabbi and brilliant scholar in the general rabbinical circles in Poland and Lithuania. He was also accepted in the circle of the Gaon Rabbi Chaim-Ozer in Vilna and among the people of the Musar Movement in the yeshivot.of the Polish part of Lithuania. He took part in a conference of pupils of the Slobodka Yeshiva which took place in Baranovitch in the year 5688 (1928), marking the first anniversary (“yahrzeit”) of the death of the grandfather from Slobodka. He was among the heads speaking at this convention in which the scholar of the Musar Movement, R' Yerucham Leibovitch, a leading figure from Mir, also participated. Rabbi Eliyahu-Dov Berkovsky Born in the year 5625 (1865), he was the son of R' Netta Mordechai, one of the town honorables and scholars. At the age of 12, he already started learning at the great Mir Yeshiva and was one of the most brilliant pupils of the head of the college, the Gaon R' Chaim-Leib Tiktinsky. Afterwards, he moved on to the Volozhin Yeshiva where he studied Torah from the head of the college, the Gaon R' Naftali-Tzvi Yehuda Berlin (the Netzi“v). From Volozhin he went to Slobodka, where the famous upper-level yeshiva had begun taking shape out of a group of young people who were part of a Torah group. R' Eliyahu-Dov was among the first ten students that learnt in the above group in the synagogue, “Halivyat HaMet”. This was the nucleus of the Musar movement's yeshiva,“Knesset Yisrael” in Slobodka, at the head of which stood the Musar rabbi, Rabbi Netta-Hirsh Finkel. There R' Eliyahu-Dov was close to the Gaon R' Yitzchak Blazer, who was counted among the brightest of the students of the Gaon Rabbi Yisrael Salanter, who inspired him with the spirit of ethical conduct and to whom he was connected with bonds of love. When he was 22 years old, he married the daughter of one of the honorables of Novogrudek. He then made the acquaintance of the head of the rabbinic court, the Gaon Rabbi Yechiel-Michal Epshtein, author of “Aruch HaShulchan”. After the marriage, he returned to Volozhin and studied at the yeshiva for young married men founded by Brodsky. In the year 5651 he was ordained by the Netziv and by Rabbi Yehiel-Michal Epshtein and Rabbi Yitzchak Bonimovitch, head of the rabbinic court of Lubtch, who pointed out his greatness in Torah and his wonderful qualities. Several years later Rabbi Berkovsky became active in the Musar movement and filled an important role in this movement. Those were the days when “kolels” and yeshivot were beginning to be established in different cities in the manner prescribed by Rabbi Yosef Yozel. With the approval of R' Yosef Blazer, the town of Lubtch served as the founding place for the first kolel for young married students. At the same time, a kolel was founded in Novogrudek. Some time later, the kolel in Lubtch was dispersed and the one in Novogrudek became the central yeshiva for all the Musar movement yeshivot of the type of R' Yozel Horvitch. In the year 5657 (1897) when a controversy of opposition to the Musar method was disclosed, R' Eliyahu-Dov went, as an emissary of R' Yitzchak Blazer, to a number of towns where famous rabbis who were sympathetic to the Musar movement were then serving, and obtained their signatures on the declaration, “For the Truth”, which was published on the pages of the “Hamelitz׏ newspaper in the year 5657. He stood for 10 years at the head of the board of directors of the yeshiva in Novogrudek and bore the difficult yoke and heavy responsibility of both the spiritual and financial administration. When an extreme Musar rule took over the leadership of the yeshiva in Novogrudek, something that was not to the liking of Rabbi Berkovsky, he withdrew from the above- mentioned yeshiva and moved to Lida to sit beside the Gaon Rabbi Yitzchak-Yaakov Reines, to help him in administering his new yeshiva. The whole burden of administration lay on his shoulders in the years during the First World War, when Rabbi Reines died and the yeshiva was uprooted to Yelisotograd in Ukraine. It continued to exist there for four years with the great effort and extraordinary devotion of Rabbis Berkovsky, together with the prodigy from Maytchat, R' Shlomo Polachek. This continued until after the days of the pogroms in Ukraine, and when the yeshiva was closed, it moved to independent Poland. For 10 years he served in office in the yeshiva in Lida, spent a few more years in Rovna and then served half a year as head of the college and spiritual monitor at the “Techachamoni” yeshiva in Bialystok. He made aliyah to Eretz-Israel in the year 5684 (1924) and made his home in Tel Aviv, the final station of his life. Rabbi Shlomo HaCohen Aronson, Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv, held Rabbi Berkovsky in high esteem and appointed him head of the rabbinic college and spiritual monitor in the yeshiva for young people, “Yeshivat Tel Aviv”, which was founded on his initiative. Thanks to his hard work and great experience, the yeshiva developed and its prestige spread about in the new Jewish community of Mandatory Palestine. In the year 5695 (1935) he retired from work due to age, but remained connected to the work of the yeshiva, tested students and even set their manners and way of life. He was also a speedy writer and had a well-developed sense to comment, enlighten and conceive ideas. He published his works in “HaTzofeh”, “HaYesod”, “Bamishor” and “HaHed”. He left behind various manuscripts on halacha and agada. He was a man of noble character. He walked modestly with every person, shared in the fate of his fellow man and was always willing to help the suffering and the needy with spiritual and financial support. He took a special interest in helping young scholars who lacked material means, and looked after them constantly without taking his mind off their needs, not even for a short time. As much as he belonged to the rabbinical, patriarchal world, Rabbi Berkovsky was a clear “Lover of Zion”, a loyal member of the “Mizrachi” movement in Eretz-Yisrael. He believed in the redemption of the Jewish People. Therefore, he was enthusiastically engaged with studying the traditional laws and commandments dependent on living in Eretz-Israel. He served as rabbi at Beit Midrash “Yerushalayim” on Gruzenberg Street in Tel Aviv, where there was a large concentration of students from Lithuania. Every day he gave a lesson on a page of Talmud before well-known people. Rabbi Eliyahu-Dov Berkovsky died in Tel Aviv on 25 Adar I, 5703 (1943) at the age of 78. Editorials devoted to his memory appeared in the daily newspaper “HaTzofeh” and also in “HaYeso” with details about his life. Rabbi Yisrael-Yehuda Halevy Kapuchevsky Born in the village of Ratchmilla, which is between Lubtch, Slov and Novogrudek, R' Yisrael-Yehuda was the son of R' Yaakov and Feyga, whose ancestors had lived in this village for generations upon generations. Although they were “country folk” from birth, they took pains and saw to it that their children were educated to be Torah scholars. Their efforts bore excellent fruit and from the village home of the “farmers”, two sons went out to the region in search of Torah and knowledge. One of them, the firstborn, Rabbi Yosef HaLevy Kapuchevsky, settled with his wife, Hinda, in the town of Lubtch where he was accepted as a teacher of Talmud for the local youth, and his fame spread as a great expert in the teaching of Talmud. The second son, Rabbi Yisrael-Yehuda, studied at the Mir Yeshiva, where he attended the lessons of the head of the college, R' Chaim Leib Tiktinsky. At the age of 21, after filling his stomach with Talmud and deciders of Jewish law, he came to Minsk. There he was introduced to a Hebrew and general education and perfected his knowledge of Hebrew and Russian. He excelled as a master of style, a brilliant scholar in Bible and general literature. Upon his return from Minsk, he married the young Mina, daughter of R' Itche Meir and Riva-Nacha from Lubtch. Influenced by his father-in-law, who owned a bakery and flour shop, R' Yisrael-Yehuda also opened a store, selling flour and grains. After a short time, however, he left the business in the hands of his wife and devoted himself to his pioneering work in the field of education in Lubtch. His aim was to insert an addition of the achievements brought about by time: the study of Hebrew and secular subjects into the framework of the traditional “cheder”(religious elementary school). And, indeed, the “cheder” that he founded in the town was a fine example to all the environs. In the “cheder”, children learnt Hebrew, Russian, arithmetic, grammar, history and other subjects, - a revolutionary idea in those days. The results were positive and justified his experiment. Most of the pupils were equipped with much knowledge in the above subjects, and together with this, they also deepened and strengthened their religious knowledge in the spirit of the heritage of their forefathers. R' Yisrael-Yehuda's “cheder” also served as a corridor for streaming pupils to the yeshivot. He himself was one who “practices what he preaches” and sent three of his sons to the yeshivot in Baronovitch, Radon and Mir. This Lubtch educator also recognized the importance of the Zionist movement and was wise enough to introduce a Zionist atmosphere in the spirit of traditional Israel into the framework of his “cheder”. R' Yisrael-Yehuda HaLevy was uprooted towards the end of the year 5675 (1915) from Lubtch, his town which was reduced to ruins in the fire of the war between Russia and Germany. He moved to the town of Dervna, where he set up a perfect “cheder” modeled after the one in Lubtch and saw blessing in the area of education in continuing his method of education. His name as an educator became famous throughout the villages close and far. The rabbi, the Gaon R' Yehoshua Liberman, head of the rabbinical court in Stoybtch, invited him to stand at the head of the “Talmud Torah” which he had founded in his city, and R' Yisrael-Yehuda accepted his offer. In this new place as well, he conquered the hearts of the parents and the pupils with his modesty, his devotion to his work and with his knowledge. He succeeded in raising hundreds of pupils to Torah and good deeds. Many are his pupils spread around the world and in the independent State of Israel who suckled from his Torah, wisdom and piety. Mr. Zvi Stolovitsky, in his article “Religious Schools in Stoybtch” ( in his book “Stoybtch- Sverzhina”, Tel Aviv, 5725) reports the following about R' Yisrael-Yehuda's activities: “With the arrival of R' Yehuda Kaputchevsky, a native of Lubtch and resident of Dervna, to be a teacher at the “Horev” Talmud Torah school, the school flourished. He taught Bible and Gemara (Talmud). Teaching of Gemara was accompanied by a captivating melody, when the eyes of the teacher are closed from emotion and the pupils are reading the verses. In the Gemara lessons, he was used to emphasizing the difference between the Talmud and Bible studies. While it is possible to sometimes continue studying a verse in the Bible even with deficient listening to the previous verses, it is not the case in studying the Gemara, where continuous and complete listening are required, for otherwise the internal connection of the topic under discussion will be cut off.” R' Yisrael-Yehuda Halevy, a man from Lubtch, perished in the Holocaust in Stoybtch together with his wife Mina, also born in Lubtch, along with their daughter Sarah-Devorah and her husband, R' Avraham Moallin and their children and also their unmarried daughter, Nechama. His son, Rabbi Avraham, who was called “Avrahmel Derevener” was exiled with his yeshiva to Russia and nothing is known of his fate. The following are members of the R' Yisrael-Yehuda's family who are still alive according to the aforementioned document: His eldest daughter, married to Mr Dov Berger in New York, an intellectual and linguist who serves as a language and literary translator. His daughter, Batya, who lives in Poland, his son, Rabbi Yosef Kapi, living in the city of Providence [Rhode Island], in the United States, and his son, the Gaon Rabbi Moshe Levin, may his light shine!, a former pupil at the Mir and Radon yeshivot, and now the chief rabbi of Netanya. Rabbi Avraham-Yitzchak Nochimovsky The Nochimovsky family was one of the most distinguished families in Lubtch. Their parents and forefathers were relatives of the well-established families of the town: Bakst, Bakster, Meizel, Shapira and others. Avraham-Yitzchak was born in Lubtch, where he received a Torah education. He studied at the Musar movement yeshiva in Novogrudek, in Radon and at the Kollel in Kovna. He was a rabbi and judge in Shably (Lithuania), where he had influence of wide circles, bringing them closer to authentic Judaism and in keeping the Torah and the commandments. He belonged to the “Mizrachi” movement. He was a signatory on its funds and preached on behalf of the Keren Hayesod, Keren Kayment Leyisrael (JNF) and all types of fund raising appeals for the new activities of settlement in Eretz Yisrael. In the year 5698 (1938), his signature appeared on a special petition of a group of “Mizrachi” rabbis concerning the holy obligation to donate towards a department of ultra-orthodox Jews that was founded then close to the main bureau of the Keren Kayemet Leyisrael, a thing that allowed any Jew, even the most orthodox, to give his share. Rabbi Avraham-Yitzchak Nochimovsky was murdered by the Nazis - may their name be erased!- on 15 Tammuz 5701 (1941) together with the head of the rabbinical court, the Gaon Rabbi Aharon Baksht, may the Lord avenge their death! Rabbi Shabtai Varnikovsky Rabbi Shabtai Varnikovsky was known in the yeshivot of Lomzha, Slobodka and Novogrudek by the name of “R' Shabtai HaLubtchai”. He was admired by all the great rabbis of the generation in Lithuania. In line with the recommendation of his teacher and guide, the Righteous Rabbi Netta-Tzvi Finkel (the grandfather from Slobodka), he married the daughter of the saintly Rabbi Tzvi-Dov Heller, spiritual monitor of the Slobodka Yeshiva. After having been a member of the “Beit Yosef” Kolel in Slobodka for a several years, he was invited to the Lomzha Yeshiva to assume the position of head of the college, a mission which he accomplished with success, raising hundreds of pupils to the Torah and to certification as rabbis. He perished in the Holocaust, May the Lord avenge his blood! Rabbi Eliezer Bar Baruch In his book “Bnei Minsk v'chachameiha” (Vilna, 5659- 1899-) Part 2, Section “Avnei Tzion”, the author, Ben Tzion Eizenshtadt, brings inscriptions on tombstones on the graves of personalities who are buried in the Jewish cemetery in Minsk. Among these inscriptions is also that of a famous Lubtch resident who was active in Minsk and was brought to eternal rest there in great honor. The name of this person is R' Eliezer Bar Baruch, who came from Lubtch, his place of birth, to Minsk, where he held the office of head of the yeshiva and rabbinical court judge. This is the text of the inscription on the tombstone as written in the aforementioned book: Here lies the rabbi, a genius in Torah and outstanding in piety and good qualities. Rabbi Eliezer bar Baruch, who was called R' Eliezer Lubtcher, may he rest in peace! Eliezer, like Aharon, always seeking peace, and caring for the sacred furnishings was the charge of Elazar [son of Aharon the Priest]. In the synagogue and in the study hall, many heard his lesson. Judge and yeshiva head he was He longed to frequent the beloved tent of Torah Many stood before Eliezer; he issued a law in its light. And Eliezer said: This is a decree of the Torah. Who knows the explanation of this matter? He scorned the cunning craftsmen. He will justify the humble person who is pleasing and a friend to God and to men. His soul departed in purity on Tuesday, 26 Sivan, and Eliezer died in the year 5647 (1887). Rabbi Ben-Tzion Eizenshtadt, author of the book, adds: “Rabbi Eliezer Lubtcher, native of Lubtch, was judge and head of the yeshiva in Minsk. He disseminated Torah and knowledge to many and was magnanimous in his actions and one of the great personalities of the city, both its scholars and rabbis.” According to Rabbi Ben-Tzion Eizenshtadt, the son of R' Eliezer Lubtcher was the leader, our master and teacher, Ha. Antzelevitch. The Gaon Rabbi Avraham-Baruch Kliatchky “Hayom”, Volume No.264, from the year 1887 8 Tevet 5648. Reporter: “Ben Shalom” “The Gaon Rabbi Avraham-Baruch Kliatchky, was son of Rabbi Aryeh-Leib from Lubtch, son of the wealthy R' Yaakov-Peretz Kliatchky, (mentioned in the book, “Kiriyah Ne'manah”, p.212) one of the leading members of the distinguished families in Vilna. Rabbi Avraham-Baruch Kliatchky became orphaned from his father as a child of six (his father died on 4 Tishrei, 5576-1816) and was brought from Lubtch to Vilna where he grew up in the home of his eminent uncles. As a youth he excelled in Torah and philosophy and was taken for a bridegroom by a wealthy man who gave him a dowry and gifts, a Code of Jewish Law and a good and highly praised bride. In his father-in lawss home, he became great in Torah learning by expanding his heart and mind and by dint of sheer perseverance. In the year 5594 (1834) he eagerly wished to pray in the Beit Midrash [study hall, synagogue] of the great Rabbi Haim“Gitke-Toyvas” of blessed memory, who was the director of an upper-division yeshiva there. The head of the yeshiva chose the young Avraham-Baruch to test the pupils in their studies. At that time, Rabbi Yaakov Horander, author of the commentary “Yagel Yaakov” on the “Tzohar Hateva”, was head of the grammarians, and he too took great pleasure in the young Avraham-Baruch's knowledge of grammar. In general, nearly all the Torah leaders of the generation held him in high regard. When he was still a young man, he began to give a lesson in the Talmud with its commentators to a group of friends who excelled in learning, and he was the teacher of this lesson for several years. In addition, he was very capable in algebra and geometry. He also read many books on science and education. Nature favored him with good looks, and when he walked through the streets of the city, wisdom shone upon his face. Everyone saw this and gave him honor befitting a king. Thus did this man live with honor and satisfaction all his life until last year, when his beloved son, Rabbi Binyamin Kliatchky, of blessed memory, died during his father's life (on the holy Sabbath, 25 Kislev). From that time on, his strength abandoned him and the sun of the spirit of his life begun to set until he himself went down in sorrow to his son's grave, a full year and a week after his son's death. He was buried with great honor and the local acting rabbi eulogized him in the above-mentioned Beit midrash and also at the cemetery.” Printed in the book, “Erech Tefillah” (Vilna 5629-1869) by Rabbi Levi-Yerachmiel Kliatchky (the only son of the aforementioned deceased) is a letter replete with knowledge of Talmud and deciders of Jewish law written in good taste and knowledge by the deceased. Rabbi Eliezer Bakshtansky Rabbi Eliezer Bakshtanksy was the son of Rabbi Nahum of Lubtch. R' Eliezer moved to Pinsk and became one of the town's notables: a scholar, righteous in conduct and possessing good qualities and good deeds. His name, “R' Eliezer Lubtcher” preceded him in the surrounding towns, close and far. His father, R' Nahum, was the brother and also father-in-law of the Gaon, R' Eliyahu-Chaim Meizel, head of the rabbinical court in Lodz. He was the pupil of the “tzaddik”, Rabbi Yehonatan Stanover, in Lubtch, his place of birth. At the age of 14, he married the daughter of the wealthy and generous Rabbi Meyer Soltz from Vilna (father-in-law of the Gaon R' Hirsh Rabinovitch, head of the rabbinical court in Kovno, son of the great and famous Gaon Rabbi Yitzchak-Elchanan Spector, head of the rabbinical court in Kovno) and became a merchant. However, he devoted most of his time to studying Torah, praying and giving charity. In Pinsk, where he lived, he carried on ramified business dealings. He was a close friend of R' David Friedman, head of the rabbinical court in Karlin and R' Eliezer-Moshe Horovitch, head of the rabbinical court in Pinsk and likewise of R' Eliyahu-Chaim Meizel, head of the rabbinical court in Lodz. He passed away at the age of 73, 21 Shvat 5669 (1909) and was buried with great honor. He left behind many sons who were rabbis, giants in Torah and highly educated: R' Moshe-Aharon, R' Assir, R' Leib-Yehuda, R' Ben Tzion, R' Yehonatan and R' Yitzchak. His sons-in-law are the Gaon R' Eliezer-Yitzchak, son of R' Chaim-Hillel Fried, head of the rabbinical college in Volozhin, and the Gaon R' Yaakov Tiktinsky (grandson of the Gaon, R' Chaim-Leib Tiktinsky, head of the college and director of the Mir Yeshiva). “Dorot Rishonim”, Book One, א-ו New York, 5673 (1913) by Ben-Tzion Eizenshtadt [Pages 265-270] Rabbi R' Chaim Krasilov z”l [And three other Rabbis] by Avraham HaCohen Eliyav Translated from the Hebrew by Ann Belinsky and Harvey Spitzer Avraham HaCohen Eliyav R' Chaim was born around the year 5617 (1857) in a small town near Minsk (White Russia). As a child, he was educated by his father. Still in his youth, he went to study Torah at the Minsk Yeshiva with Rabbi Binyamin HaCohen Shikovitzky of blessed memory, known as “The Maggid from Minsk”. He was considered to be amongst the finest of the yeshiva students with a sharp mind capable of grasping ideas quickly. He learnt diligently and at a young age was ordained but did not want to serve as a rabbi, preferring a ritual occupation. He said: “Our wise ones said: Love work and hate the rabbinate.” Therefore, R' Chaim studied the laws of slaughtering animals and received the authorization to be a ritual slaughterer and inspector. About the year 5642 (1882), he married Feygeh, daughter of a Torah scholar from Lubtch, from a family of distinguished rabbis, the older sister of my aunt, Slova Kashtzer, from Ivyeh. After the wedding, R' Chaim was accepted to be the ritual slaughterer and inspector in Lubtch. R' Chaim and his wife had two sons: I don't know the name of the firstborn, and the second one was named Avraham. They received their education in the parents' home in the spirit of Torah and Good Manners. Aunt Feygeh was a modest woman, pleasant in her ways, especially outstanding in her welcoming of guests. Her house was always open and she received each and everyone with cordiality. Their firstborn son was one of the participants in the failed revolution of 1905. For fear of being arrested, he secretly emigrated to America. In the year 5674 (1914), during the First World War, when Lubtch was completely burned down, all its inhabitants remained without a roof over their heads and were forced to disperse to the neighboring cities and towns. Many went to Ivyeh, including R' Chaim and his family; they lived there in the house of my aunt Slova Kashtzer, Feygeh's sister. During the war years, the residents of Ivyeh, which was close to the front and under German control, suffered from a lack of basic foodstuffs. Feygeh was a sickly woman, her health deteriorated and, with no suitable medical treatment, she died in the year 5676 (1916) on the eve of Shavuot, may her soul rest in Paradise! In the year 5679 (1919), with the end of the First World War, Avraham married his cousin, Chaya-Feygel, daughter of Aharon-Eidel and Slova (Kashtzer). When the Bolsheviks retreated and the Poles set up government, most of the Jews of Lubtch returned to their town and renewed their life there; R' Chaim and his son also returned to Lubtch. In the year 5686 (1926), R' Chaim, the ritual slaughterer and inspector died. He was about 70 years old. His son Avraham was the owner of a bakery in Lubtch. He and his wife Chaya-Feygel were blessed with five daughters: Asna-Eideleh, Chassia, Slova, Miriam and Liba. Chaya-Feygel was a “Woman of Valor”, who built her house in the spirit of the tradition of Israel. And even though she had to look after her small daughter, she also worked in the bakery in order to help her husband bear the yoke of earning a living. Their house stood on Market Street and was wide open to all. They gave charity generously to all the needy. Chaya-Feygel was a good-hearted woman, delicate and modest in her ways. She would receive all those who came to her house with a smile and radiant face. The words of King Solomon, the Wisest of All Men, apply to this lovely woman: “She anticipates the needs of her household, and does not partake of the bread of laziness.” In the year 5702 (1942), on that bitter and violent day, Avraham, his wife Chaya Feygel, and their five daughters were killed by the murderous Nazis, together with all the martyrs of the Lubtch community. [Pages 266-267] Rabbi Yaakov-Shlomo Kivelevitch z”l Rabbi Yaakov-Shlomo was born in the year 5655 (1895) in Lubtch. In his youth, he studied in the “cheder” in his hometown and then traveled to study Torah in the Novogrudek and Stutchin yeshivot. He was a disciple of Rabbi Alter Shmuelevitch of blessed memory, who looked after him as a son. He was very gifted and learnt diligently. Rabbi Yaakov-Shlomo was close to Rabbi Chaim-Zev Finkel, head of the Mir Yeshiva in Jerusalem. At the end of the First World War in the year 5681 (1921), he married Gittel, daughter of Haim-Leib and Malka Gnissin from Ivyeh and settled there. Rabbi Shlomo and his wife were blessed with two sons and a daughter. In those days after the war, Rabbi Shlomo-Yaakov could not find work to support his family, who lived in a small house with poor accommodations. Rabbi Yaakov-Shlomo was a quiet and modest man, making do with little and happy with his share. Once, when I asked him about his situation, he answered, “Thank G-d, all right. I can't complain. After all, our Sages of blessed memory said, A person's food is as difficult to come by as the pangs of redemption and the dividing of the Red Sea.” Because of his difficult financial condition, he decided to try his luck overseas. In the year 5685 (1925), he emigrated with his wife and children to South Africa, where different communities offered him a position as rabbi, but he chose an occupation as a ritual slaughterer and inspector in the city of Bulawayo in Rhodesia. In the last years of his life, although unofficially, he also fulfilled the role of rabbi. During the Second World War, he was very active in extending help to the Jewish refugees who arrived in South Africa. Day and night his house was full of people requesting aid and support. Rabbi Yaakov-Shlomo was an ardent Zionist all his life. His ambition and dream was to make aliyah to Eretz-Yisrael, but he did not achieve this ambition in his lifetime. Rabbi Yaakov-Shlomo died in South Africa on 1 Kislev 5722 (1961). He was brought to rest in the sacred earth of Jerusalem, the Holy City. [Pages 267-269] Rabbi Avraham-David Bloch Rabbi Avraham-David Bloch was born in Lubtch in the year 5662 (1902). He married Feygeh, daughter of Rabbi Eliyahu HaDayan and was known by the name “Rabbi Eli's Son-in-law”. In his youth, he studied Torah at Rabbi Yosef-Yozel's yeshiva in Novogrudek and was a passionate “Musar'nik”, follower of the ethics movement. They had three sons: Mordechai, Yitzchak and Eliyahu and a daughter Malka. They were educated in Torah and in the performance of mitzvoth and good deeds. The sons studied at the yeshiva in Ivyeh and afterwards went to study in yeshivot in other towns. Mordechai, the oldest, who had a natural bent for fine craft, went to Vilna where he learned Torah and crafts together at a technical-occupational school. Their son Yitzchak studied at the Mir and Kletsk yeshivot. He was very gifted and was numbered amongst the best students at the yeshiva. Eliyahu, who also studied at the Kletsk yeshiva, was a diligent student with a sharp mind capable of grasping ideas quickly. Their daughter Malka married Rabbi Yehoshua Lev, one of the best students at the “Bet Yosef” yeshiva, which was founded by Rabbi Shmuel Veintroyb in Ivyeh. With time, he became head of the “Beit Yosef” lower division yeshiva. In Ivyeh he was called “Der Mashgiach” because he was the spiritual overseer of the yeshiva. Like his father-in-law Rabbi Eliyahu, Rabbi Avraham-David also lived a life of poverty and perpetual need with his family, but they were different in their character. His father-in-law was a quiet and slow man in his manners and actions, while he, Rabbi Avraham-David, was fast and energetic in all his ways. He would rush on his way to the Beit Midrash and not even look at the people whom he met on the street in order to do as is written: Be as fleet as a deer to do the wishes of thy Father in Heaven. In the year 5686 (1926), he moved to Vilna where he entered the Beit Midrash of the “Gra”, the Vilner Gaon, and founded a group called the “Ten Abstainers” [Aseret Prushim], who sat in the “Gaon's Kloyz”[synagogue], wrapped in their prayer shawls day and night, studying the doctrine of ethics according to the Gra. Rabbi Avraham-David also wrote a few books on Jewish law and ethics: “Keter Tefilin-vetzitzit hakanaf” about laws brought down in the Shulhan Arukh- Orah Haim, “Heshbon Olam” about matters pertaining to Torah and ethics, “Divrei Eliyahu”, selections of Torah remarks by the Gra (together with Rabbi Farfel, “HaMaggid from Oshmina” and afterwards maggid [preacher] in Vilna. His son Eliyahu was lucky to be saved from the claws of the Nazi murderers and after years of wandering arrived in America where he studied in the yeshiva of Rabbi Aharon Kotler, in Lakewood, New Jersey and was considered to be among his outstanding students. Rabbi Eliyahu wrote two books on Halacha [Jewish law]: “Ruach Eliyahu” [“The Spirit of Eliyahu”] and “Mida Kaneged Mida” [“Measure for Measure”]. All the other family members perished in the Holocaust in the great massacre in Ivyeh on 25 Iyar 5702 (May 12, 1942), and the father of the family, Rabbi Avraham-David, “Haparush” [“The Abstainer”], was slain by the defiled murderers in Vilna. [Pages 269-270] Rabbi Moshe Meyerovitz Rabbi Moshe was born in the year 5651 (1890), son of Rabbi Reuven Meyerovitz, in Novogrudek.. He received a traditional education from the teachers in his town. He studied for a few years at the Lubtch Yeshiva and continued to study at the famous yeshiva of Rabbi Yosef-Yozel Horvitz. Rabbi Moshe was among the outstanding yeshiva students. In the year 5672 (1912), he married the daughter of Rabbi Shmuel of Delatitch, who was a Torah scholar and property owner but also did not disparage the profession he learned in his youthful years, that of a cobbler, and in this way carried out the words of our Sages of blessed memory: “Love work and hate the rabbinate!” When his only daughter reached marriageable age, Rabbi Shmuel turned to the head of the yeshiva in Novogrudek, Rabbi Yosef-Yozel, requesting him to choose a yeshiva student and scholar as a bridegroom for his daughter. According to the yeshiva head's suggestion, the lot fell on Rabbi Moshe Meyerovitz, one of his finest and brightest students. In the year 5674 (1914), when the Russian soldiers were retreating during the First World War, they looted property and burned the houses of the inhabitants of the towns of Lubtch and Delatitch. Rabbi Shmuel and his family moved to Ivyeh and settled there. Rabbi Moshe and his wife were blessed with a son whom they called Meir. The town of Ivyeh remained as a flock without a shepherd when the local rabbi, Rabbi Yitzchak Kosovsky, left for the depths of Russia. Rabbi “Moshe from Deliatich” (as he was nicknamed) was chosen to be the rabbi and rabbinic judge in Ivyeh. He was a great scholar, well versed in Talmud and in the decisions of the authorities of Jewish law. He used to arise after midnight and study Torah. He was diligent and tireless and was blessed with the good attributes of Aharon the High Priest, “a lover of peace and a pursuer of peace, loving people and bringing them close to Torah”. He was a brother and friend to all, made do with little and led a modest life. He was humble and simple in his ways, did not know what it meant to be angry, was always cheerful and smiling and was thus loved and admired by all the residents of the town. Also Rabbi Moshe Shatzkes, the local rabbi and his successor, Rabbi Ze'ev Perlman, respected him, considered his opinions and valued his deep knowledge of Talmud and the decisions of the authorities of Jewish law. They also joined him in discussions and decisions regarding matters of Jewish law, arbitration and public-religious questions. His only son Meir, who was educated by his father and studied at the yeshivot in Ivyeh, Radon and Mir, was one of the outstanding students. During the Second World War, he fled with the Mir Yeshiva to Russia where, according to rumors, he died from torments and hunger. Rabbi Moshe Meyerovitz and his wife were among the first to be killed by the Nazi murderers in the Massacre of the Intelligentsia, on Shabbat, Tisha b'Av 5701. (2nd August, 1941.) May their memory be for a blessing! [Page 270] No More Wars… by Chaim Yankelevitch Translated from the Yiddish by Harvey Spitzer “A pleasure”, my grandfather used to say. “Today there's a train and a bus. You can go to Novogrudek like a rich Polish squire. You get there very early and can take care of everything in one day and come back home in time for supper, just like a nobleman. In the old days, however, traveling to Novogrudek was another matter, and there were not even any wagon drivers.” People would get up before dawn, take their tallit and tefillin, a little food for the trip and leave on foot. When you came to a town exhausted, you had to rest up. Staying at an inn costs money, so where do people go if not to relatives…? And the relatives: Oh relatives! What cordial relatives! One sends guests to the other. It simply becomes a war. They fight one another over a relative. But today there's no more getting up at the crack of dawn, no more walking, no more going to relatives, and most important, no more war. Just look at what a car has been able to achieve! “We're really living in Messianic times”! [Page 271] Chaim Bruk, May The Lord Avenge His Blood! From the book of records: “Out of the Ruins of Wars and Tumult”, edited by Moshe Shalit, Vilna 5691 (1931) Translated from the Yiddish by Harvey Spitzer Chaim Bruk Born in Lubtch in 1893, Chaim Bruk studied in traditional elementary schools and yeshivot and received rabbinic ordination. In 1913 he pursued a general education and went to Frankfurt where he prepared for a degree as a high school administrator. With the outbreak of the First World War, he was forced to leave Germany and returned to Russia where he became active in the committee for aiding war victims in Minsk. When the Germans captured the Lubtch area in 1915, he worked in the aid committee in Vaseliov. In 1917, when the Lubtch residents returned to their war-devastated little town, he organized the aid committee in Lubtch and took charge of other social services such as the public bank, public school, etc. In the years 1928-30, he served as elected chairman of the Lubtch community which included the towns of Lubtch, Karelitch, Delatitch, Negnievitch and was also one of the only Jewish representatives on the community council. He was likewise a delegate at the "Yekopo" conference and a member of the plenum. [Pages 272-274] The “Chevra Kaddisha” in Lubtch by T. Shimshoni Translated from the Hebrew by Ann Belinsky Among the important institutions that Lubtch was blessed with, it is important to mention especially the “Chevra Kaddisha” [Burial Society]. Its distinguishing feature was that it was not party-orientated. The Jews of Lubtch were divided amongst themselves over many matters, such as appointing rabbis and ritual slaughterers, education, etc. This was expressed in arguments and stormy disputes in the synagogue or at various meetings. But in the “Chevra Kaddisha”, dissention was absent. Even people who were at odds with one another, forgot their squabbles, rows, spats, disagreements, fights and hostility when they came to deal with matters of the society group association. There was no restriction on joining the “Chevra Kaddisha”, and anyone could join it regardless of one's outlook. You only had to be ready, at any time, to deal with the affairs of the “Chevra”, mainly to take care of the “tahara” [ritual cleansing] of the dead person, to recite psalms and to be involved with the actual burial of the deceased. Once a year, the people who belonged to the “Chevra Kaddisha” came together for a general meeting where the “gabbays” [dues collector] and the “gizbar” [treasurer] were elected. The “gabbays” chose among themselves the chief “gabbay”, who was the chairman of the “Chevra”. Amongst those active in the “Chevra Kaddisha, it is worthy to note my uncle, R' Tuvia Shimshilevitz, the chief “gabbay” for dozens of years, who was re-elected every year. Actually, he was the controller, without whose authorization, nothing was done. He knew all the residents of the town, remembered by heart when they were born, when they died and the place of their burial. Often the district authorities would turn to him in order to confirm a birth date or a burial date of a person (who, for some reason, was not listed in the district administration records), and they always accepted his word as final. The treasurer of the “Chevra” was one of those chosen by the general assembly. His duty was to manage the accounts of the “Chevra”. Income and expenses were listed in his notebooks. The treasurer was not a certified accountant but was chosen as an honest Jew, clean handed and good in arithmetic, to whom everyone gave their trust. For many years the treasurer of the “Chevra” was my father-in- law, R' Itzil Der Shochet (the ritual slaughterer and meat examiner, Rabbi Yitzchak, son of Rabbi Feivel Aharonovsky), a person of majestic appearance, of honest ways, good-hearted and accepted by all. The task of burying those who died in the town was imposed on the “Chevra Kaddisha”. The “gabbays” decided on the amount of money to be received from the family for the burial expenses of the deceased. The fees were progressive, not according to the value of the plot in the cemetery, but according to the property that the dead person had left to his heirs. No payment was requested from a poor family, but since the honor of a family was diminished if they had not paid for a burial plot, the family members tried to pay even a minimal sum so that people would not say that the dead person received a plot for free. The “gabbays” evaluated the property that the deceased left to his heirs but took into account his personality and behavior during his lifetime. If he had taken part in the activities of the community and donated money to public causes, they settled on a reasonable sum for his burial expenses, allotted him a place in the cemetery, according to his worth, and the family accepted this without complaining. However, woe to the family of a man who had been a miser all his life, not involved in the community and had not donated anything towards its needs according to his ability to do so; for then the “gabbays” would firmly demand a high amount of money for his burial in order to somehow compensate the community for all the years that the deceased had been close-fisted while still alive. Naturally, the family would bargain so that the “Chevra Kaddisha” would lower its price, and the “gabbays” would enter into negotiations. However, it was difficult to argue, and the funeral would often be delayed-sometimes even for several days- until they reached an agreement on the amount to be paid for burial expenses. The “gabbays” stood very firmly on this principle. There were Jews in the town who were so anxious that when their time arrived to be gathered to their forefathers, the “gabbays” would “skin” their heirs, that they sometimes moved to another town when they felt that their time was close in order not to fall into the hands of the “gabbays” of their hometown! The “Chevra Kaddisha” was a sort of independent institution, with permanent sources of income that never disappointed. They never lacked for funds. The “gabbays” were mainly from the important landowners in the town and also held important positions in the life of the community in other institutions. They allotted funds from the income of the Burial Society to public needs such as financial support to the schools. Once a year [7 Adar- the traditional “yahrzeit” of Moses], a festive dinner was held for all members of the “Chevra Kaddisha”. The meal was held in the house of one of the “gabbays” and for several weeks before it took place, the women began preparations. The participants came together with their children, who enjoyed the good things to eat, while the men ate and drank somewhat excessively, but did not lose the “image of God” even when drunk - their drunkenness was expressed in dance, song and a rise in spirit. [Pages 274-276] by Yehoshua Shragai Translated from the Hebrew by Ann Belinsky Yehoshua Shragai From my earliest childhood I was told about the pogroms that took place in the Jewish communities of Tzarist Russia, - the riots in Odessa, Bialystok, Kishinov, and other cities. The slogan in Russian was: “Bay Dzhidov Spasai Rossiu!” (“Hit the Jews and save Russia!”); the Jewish youth organized together for defense but did not have the strength to overcome the fierce stream of hatred of the rioters who were supported by the government. We grew up in an atmosphere of hate and fear, and it is not surprising that we did not feel a friendly connection to the place of our birth. Tzarist Russia was not the homeland for us, and our only wish was to leave it. Although our civil rights were negated, we were obligated “with the great privilege” to serve in the Russian army, where Jewish soldiers were satiated with bitterness and torments. It is no wonder that the young Jewish youth would deform their bodies, just so they would not be drafted into the army; but that didn't always help. I remember some of my peers who went to the army: Eliyakum Halperin, Reuven Moshkes - the klezmer, who managed later to emigrate to America, my brother Shabtiel and Shabtiel's son Kavak. When the First World War broke out, there was much worry and lamenting in the town as to the fate of the enlisted soldiers who were called to defend the Russian “homeland”, under the flag of the Tzar “Batoshka”, Nikolai. With twice as much vigor, fathers had recourse to the Jewish means - tested through generations - reciting psalms; mothers lay on the graves of the dead (“greeting graves”), pleading that that the deceased would be advocates in Heaven for their dear ones in the army. They fasted every Monday and Thursday, prayed intently that God would have mercy on them and that the war would end. But nothing helped; the situation continued for a year and half, until the Germans conquered the town. At Succot, on Shmini Atzeret [Eighth Day of Assembly] , the Cossacks passed from house to house, poured kerosene and ignited them; the Russians made their retreat, as always, by the method of scorched earth. In a number of hours the whole town went up in flames. On the piles of ash, under the gloomy autumn skies, hundreds of families who had lost all their property, sat and lamented. The Germans entered the town and ordered it to be evacuated, while making false promises, that “in a few days you will be able to return and rehabilitate and build your houses". We left the town, but as to returning, we were able to do so only at the end of the war, several years later. We became refugees (“biezhentzes•) and wandered from place to place. Whole families were wiped out by plagues, hunger and disease, and never returned to their homes. We returned to the town at the end of a few years. With great toil, we built our houses, but we continued to suffer from anti-Semitic persecution. The Polish government placed a heavier yoke on us mercilessly, by imposing such heavy taxes, that bread was taken out of our mouths…. The desire to leave the town did not give us rest. Everyone who had the possibility emigrated to America, South Africa, Argentina and other places, and even to Eretz-Israel - as long there was free aliyah. In 1924, a branch of the “Hechalutz Haklali” [General Pioneers] was established. Part of the youth joined the movement because of the ideological thrust while other joined its ranks because of the chance that they would receive an entry permit (“certifikat”) to Eretz-Israel. We received four “certifikats” which we gave out to the members:: Avraham Bruk, Yehoshua Faivoshovitch (Shragai), Moshe (Moshka) and Hadassah Solodocha; the last two returned over the years to the town and were murdered in the Holocaust. Despite the many years that have passed, I cannot forget my town. I remember all my relatives and friends whom I left behind and will never see again, for the enemy cut them down, fountains of tears pour from my eyes and my heart is sad and bleeds. I remember the “melamdim” [teachers] from whom I absorbed my Jewish consciousness and my childhood education. By the poor light of the kerosene lamp, they would teach and review with us until the late hours of the evening.; R' Yisrael Yeshayahu, R' Reuven, R' Yehoshua-Yaakov, R' Avraham and R'Yaakov; they succeeded in implanting in us love of the Jewish people and tradition, aroused our hearts to the divine-ethical mission of the Jewish people, thanks to which the Jewish people continues to exist. I remember the joy and happiness on Sabbath and Festival nights; I loved to go to the synagogues, to see my Jewish brothers praying, pouring out their hearts in conversation with the Creator with happiness, reverence and intense devotion. Although the town was not Chassidic, the prayers were rich in songs, happiness and devoutness. I remember my taking leave, before going on aliyah, from the rabbi of the town - Rabbi Meir Abovitz, of blessed memory, a Jew with a majestic appearance, with a white beard flowing down his chest, dressed in a black coat and black hat with wide rims from under which peeped his eyes with a look full of good-heartedness and mercy. I cannot forget my father, R' Zalman-Nachum, of blessed memory, and my mother Itka of blessed memory, or my brothers: Shabtiel, Moshe-Faivel, Zalman-Nachum amd Kalman and their children, may the Lord avenge their deaths! , - the family was slaughtered, till no remnant was left. In my heart I always nurtured hope that I would bring them to Eretz-Israel and would be worthy of having the gratification and happiness which a person attains when he is close to his dear ones. Sadness envelopes my being…sorrow gnaws and squeezes my heart…. Tears choke my throat…. Can I forget them? Is one permitted at all to forget them? In letters of fire was inscribed the command “Remember”!!! I will remember until my last day. I will remember and I will not forgive the enemies!!! [Pages 277-279] The Memory of My Town is Kept Safe in My Heart by Chaya Solominsky Translated from the Hebrew by Ann Belinsky Chaya Solominsky I went through difficult years during the Second World War. Years of hunger, hardship and bereavement of sons, but the memory of my town Lubtch is inscribed and carried in the depths of my heart. Lubtch - a small town on the banks of the Neiman, peaceful and quiet. Most of the inhabitants were God-fearing Jews, who kept the tradition and religion scrupulously, mainly expressed on the Sabbaths and Holy Days. Sabbath evening in the town:- the women are busy and active, cleaning and cooking, so as not to shame the Sabbath Queen, to receive her in time and with honor. The men - hurrying to finish their daily work and turning to the bathhouse for purification in honor of the Shabbat. As evening came, the streets became deserted, in the houses there was an atmosphere of festivity and happiness; the white tablecloth was spread on the table and the candles are burning were with a gay flame. Braided challah breads are waiting for the head of the household who will return from the synagogue and will bless them. Rosh Hashana: - the inhabitants went to the synagogue to do their moral stocktaking, to be reconciled with their God in heaven, who will open the gates of His mercy and that the new year will be a blessed year. Yom-Hakippurim: - the Jews of the town rose early to go to the synagogue, and with great devotion poured out their hearts in conversation before their Father in heaven. The children were equipped, earlier on, with parcels of food, but they finished their meals in secret and ran to the synagogue to stand by their parents during the prayers, to absorb something of the holy atmosphere. Passover: - several weeks before the festival, the household members, mainly the women, would begin the preparations. It was a very thorough cleaning and scrubbing. The tables and chairs were taken out of the house and washed down with boiling water, the floor was scrubbed, and straw was spread out on the floor from fear that it might became defiled, God forbid, with leaven. For the children this was a great festival, there was much going on in the house, they would sleep on the straw and eat in a small corner of the kitchen, causing them endless pleasure that cannot be described in words. It seemed to us children that Passover was winking to us from the corners and promising us that it was not for nothing we were full of expectations. We waited for the Seder night with impatience, and to the “coming” of Elijah the Prophet with happiness mixed with anxiety. The festival was full of pleasantry: new clothes, delicious foods, games with nuts and a festive air, special in its own way. Even the renewal of nature, the warm sun, the chirping of birds, sprouting and blossoming, fragrance of the flowers, filled our hearts with much joy. Most of the inhabitants were merchants, some of them owned shops in the marketplace, whilst others went out to trade in the villages in the countryside, bought mainly flax fibres and seeds and sold all sorts of fancy goods, soap and matches. On Tuesdays it was market day, when the farmers from all the environs brought their vegetable and animal produce. On Sunday the Jews had to close their shops. There were shop-owners who looked for revenue, even on the day of rest which was forced upon them. What did they do? They stood next to the closed shop and if a customer came, they smuggled him inside, while one of the family members stood “on guard” outside; sometimes when a policeman passed by, they would lock the shop and imprison the people inside, until “the wrath passed”. There was much concern to educate the young generation and even the poor people scraped and saved in order to send their children to study. The heart's desire of the parents was that their children would attend the large yeshivot in the area, the Mir Yeshiva and the Volozhyn Yeshiva. There were youth who travelled to Vilna to attend colleges for teachers. Active social life was carried on in the youth movements, in evenings of readings and in the drama society which mainly put on Jewish plays (I remember “The Jewish King Lear” and “The Orphan Chassia”). Many young people went to the training farm and from there made aliyah to Eretz Yisrael. Mutual help and willingness to help others in their troubles were foundation stones of the Jewish community in Lubtch. The houses were open to receive guests, and all the poor people who arrived at the Bet Midrash were invited by the heads of the households to dine at their table. When a poor family needed money, volunteers from the townspeople would go from door to door to request a donation for the needy family. Lubtch - my little town, in you there lived Jews according to a tradition going back generations, in you they fostered hopes for the future, in you they loved and were active, until the grim reaper fell on them and they were annihilated. My Jewish town Lubtch is no more, it has disappeared for ever and has been deleted from our life. Itche Jankelowitz from South Africa with former Lubtch residents in Israel [Pages 280-283] The Gaon Rabbi Eliyahu-Chaim Meizel, Head of Court of Lodz and His Relationship to Lubtch by Moshe Tzinovitch Translated from the Hebrew by Ann Belinsky and Harvey Spitzer The Gaon R' Eliyahu-Chaim Meizel was one of the most well known among the rabbis of Russia and Poland in the 19th century, second only after the great Gaon R' Yitzchak- Elchanan. He was one of the most prominent of all the religious and public leaders, and legends were woven around him, even in his own lifetime. He was born in Horodok (Vilna District) in the year 5581 [1821] and was named after two Lithuanian Gaonim: Eliyahu, after the Gr'a from Vilna and Chaim, after the Gaon Rabbi Chaim, founder of the Volozhin Yeshiva, who died that same year. His father, R' Moshe was a well-to-do religious scholar, 7th generation in line from the saintly R' Yisrael Marozino (put to death as a martyr on Rosh Hashana 5420, 1659). His mother was a daughter of the R' Eliezer Greiver from Slonim, author of “Mishnat D' Rabbi Eliezer”. In the spring of his life he married a woman from Pinsk. The Gaon R' Yaakov Bruchin, head of the rabbinic court in Karlin, (author of “Mishkanot Yaakov”), was amazed at the wise young man and gave him rabbinic ordination to teach and judge, prophesizing a bright future for him as a light in the heavens of Judaism. The coupling with Pinsk did not work out well, and he divorced his wife and arrived in Lubtch, to his brother, R' Nahum Meizel, and there he married his brother's daughter. He remained some time in Lubtch, frequenting the “tent of Torah” in the local Beit Midrash, together with a group of newlywed yeshiva students. On the advice of a relative, the scholar and benefactor, Shmuel Bakshter, he traveled to Volozhin to grow there in Torah knowledge. He managed to get to know the Gaon R' Yitzchak, head of the rabbinic court and of the rabbinic college; he was also an aide to the new head of the rabbinic college, the Gaon R' Eliezer Yitzchak Fried (who inherited the chair of the rabbinate from his father-in-law, the Gaon R' Yitzchak), and the deputy head of the college, Naftali-Tzvi-Yehuda Berlin (the NETZIV): from that time on and for the rest of his life, his soul was bound in strong friendship with this great yeshiva. R' Eliyahu-Chaim Meizel served for some time in the rabbinate in Horodok, his birthplace: his name went before him as a genius in Torah, virtuous qualities and charity, and as unique amongst the rabbis in that he was fluent in the Russian language. He was also accepted as rabbi and head of the rabbinic court in the town of Dertshin (Grodno District, 5613-5621), and Prozshney (Grodno District, 5621-5627). During the time of the cholera epidemic, he was prominent there with his devotion to the community. He founded the hospital for the whole area and thanks to his efforts, the epidemic was stopped and the number of fatalities reduced. In the years 5627-5634, he sat on the chair of the rabbinate in Lomzha, a district town in NE Poland, whose boundaries were set by the Congress of Vienna in 1815. Here he was liked by all circles of the community. He was also liked and accepted by the authorities, as he knew the language of the country and would appear before the district minister and other high-ranking officials. When he came to this city, he checked and found out that too many Jews were being enlisted in the army, as they did not have enough money to redeem themselves with 400 rubles (according to the laws of the time); so he founded a fund for the “redemption of captives”, which helped those boys called up for army duty to free themselves from the “king's service”. From the year 5634 until the day he passed away in the year 5672 (1912), the Gaon R' Eliyahu-Chaim Meizel served as head of the court (religious and official) in the city of Lodz, the second largest city in Poland, then under Russian control. The area of his activity encompassed all aspects of religious life, the Torah and charity institutions as well as lobbying to the authorities in this large industrial city and its environs. He was active also in bettering the economic condition of the hordes of Jews who swarmed to this city in search of work. When the Jewish workers were supplanted by others from their jobs in the factories in Lodz, he made many efforts, with his personal influence on the Jewish industrialists, to act on behalf of the ousted Jews, and even opened a special factory to employ Jewish workers in the textile industry. He was dedicated to the public with heart and soul: all matters of the large community were under his control. An orphanage, an old age home, a Jewish hospital, and “Talmud Torah” were all built on his initiative. Even his household belongings were mortgaged in order to help the needy. He helped thousands, and Jews from all over Poland flowed into Lodz to get his help. He helped many of those who were injured or suffered loss in the fire in Lubtch (in1899) and transferred two thousand rubles that were collected from an internal fund-raising drive for their benefit. The authorities showed favor to him, even though he bothered them with his lobbying. His house was the meeting place for the emissaries of the Lithuanian yeshivot [rabbinic seminaries]. He himself acted as the honorary representative of the Volozhin yeshiva, and every year he sent a sizeable donation to ensure its continuation. He worked with great energy right up to his nineties and participated in all matters pertaining to the Jews. He was called to many assemblies of rabbis and lobbyists in the capital city, Petersburg, and his words were used as a guiding line for all the participants at the assemblies where the best of people gathered - highly learned rabbis, lobbyists and public officials - from the whole of Russian Jewry. He was on guard for the protection of religious life and didn't let into Lodz any changes in religion deriving from imitating non-Jewish customs. Thanks to his hate of greed, his love for poor people, his many acts of charity and his devotion to his ideas, he was honored in all circles. He was holy in the eyes of the Chassidim of Lodz and even by the “Admor” rabbis of Poland and was beloved and admired by the Jewish masses, who saw him as a symbol of truth, honesty and righteousness. He was honored by the Lithuanian Gaonim, who saw him as one of them: they consulted the Gaon from Lodz, R' Eliyahu-Chaim, on any public issue or any matter relating to strengthening their beliefs. Everyone, in every circle, listened attentively to his words, and his name was great as well outside the borders of Poland and Russia. When the Gaon R' Eliyahu-Chaim Meizel died, the Jewish masses mourned him as orphans. A general day of rest was announced in Lodz on the day of his funeral. Even Christian shops were closed during the hour of the funeral. The number of those attending the funeral numbered some 100,000. Following the coffin in the funeral procession were Chassidic Admor rabbis and well-known rabbis, among them the rabbis of Warsaw and townships from all the surrounding area. The Jewish newspapers printed long articles of appreciation in remembrance of this wonderful man, emphasizing that by his death, Russian Jewry had lost its pilot and that all of Judaism had lost one of the best of its children, a scholar who was strong as iron in his ideas, but tenderhearted and merciful at the same time. Many eulogies were made in hundreds of Jewish townships with his passing. There was much mourning in Lubtch. The elders of the community knew him from the period of his life in their town: here he was found and here he was their glory. All the Jews of the town, from the youngest to the oldest, entered the old Beit Midrash to hear the eulogies delivered by the local head of the rabbinic court, the Gaon R' Meir Abovitz and also the Gaon Raphael-Alter Shmuelovitz, head of the yeshiva in Novogrudek (born in Lubtch). In their speeches they described the background and the Torah-based atmosphere of Lubtch in the day of R' Eliyahu-Chaim Meizel, R' Shmuel Bakshter, R' Yehonaton-from Volin and other famous personalities whose cradle or place of spiritual growth was in the town of Lubtch. On the 30th day following his death, a ceremony of bitter mourning was organized at the great yeshiva in the town of Mir, close to Lubtch, by the Gaon R' Eliyahu-Baruch Kamai, head of the court and of the academy. About half of the Jews of Lubtch came especially to Mir to participate in this great event. Beryl Jankelowitz [with cigarette] from South Africa with former Lubtch residents in Israel [Information from Allen Katz: Seated at back (head of table): Chaim Yankelevitch] « Previous Page Table of Contents Next Page »   Lyubcha & Delyatichi, Belarus     Yizkor Book Project     JewishGen Home Page Yizkor Book Project Manager, Lance Ackerfeld This web page created by Jason Hallgarten Copyright ©1999-2014 by JewishGen, Inc. Updated 5 Jan 2013 by LA

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Join Our Mailing List Sponsor Us! Holocaust Resistance: The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising (April 19 - May 19, 1943) Holocaust Resistance: Table of Contents | Jewish Partisans | Photographs Print Friendly and PDF In 1942, Hitler decided to liquidate the ghettos and, within 18 months, had the more than two million Jews who’d survived the ghettos deported to death camps. The Germans ordered the Jewish “police” in the Warsaw ghetto to round up people for deportation. Approximately 300,000 men, women, and children were packed in cattle cars and transported to the Treblinka death camp where they were murdered. This left a Jewish population of between 55,000 and 60,000 in the ghetto. Mordecai Anielewicz In April 1943, the Jews learned the Germans planned to deport all the people who remained in the Warsaw ghetto to Treblinka. A group of mostly young people formed an organization called the Z.O.B. (for the Polish name, Zydowska Organizacja Bojowa, which means Jewish Fighting Organization). The Z.O.B., led by 23-year-old Mordecai Anielewicz, issued a proclamation calling for the Jewish people to resist going to the railroad cars. The impact on the ghetto residents is described in the Encyclopedia of the Holocaust: The Jews in the ghetto believed that what had happened in January was proof that by offering resistance it was possible to force the Germans to desist from their plans. Many thought that the Germans would persist in unrestrained mass deportations only so long as the Jews were passive, but that in the face of resistance and armed confrontation they would think twice before embarking upon yet another Aktion. The Germans would also have to take into account the possibility that the outbreak of fighting in the ghetto might lead to the rebellion spreading to the Polish population and might create a state of insecurity in all of occupied Poland. These considerations led the civilian population of the ghetto, in the final phase of its existence, to approve of resistance and give its support to the preparations for the uprising. The population also used the interval to prepare and equip a network of subterranean refuges and hiding places, where they could hold out for an extended period even if they were cut off from one another. In the end, every Jew in the ghetto had his own spot in one of the shelters set up in the central part of the ghetto. The civilian population and the fighters now shared a common interest based on the hope that, under the existing circumstances, fighting the Germans might be a way to rescue. After the January battle, the Jews spent the following weeks training, acquiring weapons, and making plans to defend of the ghetto. The Germans also prepared for the possibility of a fight. On the eve of the final deportation, Heinrich Himmler replaced the chief of the SS and police in the Warsaw district, Obergruppenfuhrer Ferdinand von Sammern-Frankenegg, with SS und Polizeifuhrer (SS and Police Leader) Jurgen Stroop, an officer who had experience fighting partisans. SS Major General Jürgen Stroop (center) watches houses burn The ghetto fighters were warned of the timing of the final deportation and the entire Jewish population went into hiding. On the morning of April 19, 1943, the Warsaw ghetto uprising began after German troops and police entered the ghetto to deport its surviving inhabitants. Seven hundred and fifty fighters armed with a handful of pistols, 17 rifles, and Molotov cocktails faced more than 2,000 heavily armed and well-trained German troops supported by tanks and flamethrowers.. After the Germans were forced to withdraw from the ghetto, they returned with more and more firepower. After several days without quelling the uprising, the German commander, General Jürgen Stroop, ordered the ghetto burned to the ground building by building. Still, the Jews held out against the overwhelming force for 27 days. On May 8, the headquarters bunker of the ZOB at 18 Mila Street was captured. Mordecai Anielewicz and a large number of his colleagues were killed in the fighting, but several dozen fighters escaped through the sewers. On May 16, Stroop announced the fighting was over. He said his forces had captured 56,065 Jews and announced that he was going to blow up the Great Synagogue on Tlomack Street (which was outside the ghetto) as a symbol of victory and of the fact that “the Jewish quarter of Warsaw no longer exists.” Approximately 300 Germans and 7,000 Jews were killed in the uprising, and another 7,000 Jews were deported to Treblinka. The outcome was preordained, but the dramatic act of resistance helped raise the morale of Jews everywhere, if only briefly. Sources:Mitchell G. Bard, The Complete Idiot's Guide to World War II. 2nd Edition. NY: Alpha Books, 2004; United States Holocaust Memorial Museum; Israel Gutman, ed. Encyclopedia of the Holocaust. Vols. 1-4. NY: Macmillan, 1995. USHMM Photo of Stroop. Back to Top

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Berkley Riverfront Park The park hosts events such as RiverFest, Kansas City’s annual Independence Day Celebration. Berkley Riverfront Park is a vibrant connection between Kansas City and its most significant natural asset: the Missouri River. The park is located at E. Front Street and Riverfront Road in Kansas City, Missouri.

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Passing Through Heaven’s Veil Years ago people were taught that heaven was a far and distant land that people went to when they died.  It was a place where the saints went to live with the other saints who had gone before them.  It was a place where God and His angels lived.  It was a celestial place somewhere high in the sky way beyond earth’s realm and the only way to get there was by passing from this life into the next.  And all of this sounded like a very good idea–a boring place–but a good idea.  Then a few years ago we read Randy Alcorn’s book on heaven and we began to receive the revelation that heaven and earth are not that much different.  Both were created by God for God’s pleasure.  Human beings and angels get to live in both worlds.  Both places were heavenly in nature and bore the resemblance of an Almighty God who reigned and ruled there.  And the best part–both were accessible in this life AND the next. As we continue to walk in this revelation, God is now giving us new understanding regarding the separation between heaven and earth.  Though we used to think that heaven was millions of light years away, we now understand that heaven is not near as far away as we once thought.  As a matter of fact, heaven is very close to earth.  If we could picture it in temporal terms, we might even say that heaven is kissing earth (or touching the earth).  If we could picture it in spiritual terms, we might even draw the conclusion that heaven and earth are actually one enormous realm separated only by a thin veil. If you research the word “veil” in the New Testament, you will find that the Greek translation of the word means “screen.”  What we understand from this definition is that there is a very thin screen that separates heaven from earth.  It is much like the Tabernacle of Moses in the OT.  In Moses’ Tabernacle, you had the outer court, the inner court, and the holy of holies.  Each of these sections in the tabernacle were designed to interconnect and flow into each other.  Once you got to the holy of holies, the only thing separating it from the holy place was a veil or a sheet as it were.  Only the high priest who had been cleansed by the blood of animals was able to go beyond the veil into the holy of holies and stand before the Ark of the Covenant (God’s most holy presence dwelling among His people).  As born again believers, we fully understand that when Jesus died on the cross, He through His death, once and forever rent the veil between God and man and thus gave us free access to the Father.  So in the spiritual sense of the word, there is no veil between us and God.  The only thing that can really separate us now as born again believers is sinfulness, or living out of our flesh.  In the spirit, through Jesus’ blood, there is no separation.  Theologically, this is a completely sound NT doctrine.  Practically, though, it is much different. Practically speaking, there is a very thin veil that separates heaven’s realm from earth’s realm.  We understand from Randy Alcorn’s book that heaven is desperately trying to cross through this veil in order to invade earth’s realm.  Jesus is wholeheartedly wanting to come down upon this earth and establish His kingdom.  The problem is not with heaven.  The problem is with us.  Heaven only comes down when we go up.  Heaven only descends when we learn to ascend into that throne room place with God.  Heaven only gets released when we come back down to the earth and bring heaven with us.  Heaven remains locked up until a son of the King learns how to unlock heaven and bring it to the earth.  And there is an art to doing this.  We call this the art of “Passing Through Heaven’s Veil.” We, as sons of the Most High God must learn how to pierce that veil each and every day and bring heaven to earth.  Many times there is a threshold between heaven’s door and earth’s doorstep that keeps us from piercing the veil.  It is this threshold place that we, as believers, experience the greatest spiritual warfare in our lives.  The enemy fights us tooth and nail in this place in order to keep us out of heaven’s realm.  He brings questioning into our minds.  He brings doubt.  He brings fear.  He brings frustration.  He brings intimidation.  He brings offenses.  He brings hurts.  He brings wounding.  He throws anything and everything that he can possibly throw in order to keep us from passing through the veil.  The reason he does this is because he fully understands that our answers are on the other side of the veil.  There are certain answers, there are certain breakthroughs, and there are certain things that can only be revealed on the other side.  Many times you can throw head knowledge at the problem, ideas and remedies at it, and a wing and a prayer, but you won’t get your answer until you are positioned in heavenly places where you can see from God’s perspective and fully survey the situation. Heaven is what changes earth.  Heaven is what shifts the affairs of men.  Heaven is earth’s answer.  Heaven is the key.  The eternal is where God lives.  The eternal is where we are called to live.  We are eternal beings.  Our bodies die, but our spiritual man lives on.  We were designed and crafted by God’s own hands to live in an eternal place.  Heaven is that eternal place.  The good news is that you don’t have to die in order to experience it.  You can experience eternity right now.  You can bring heaven to earth.  However, you must first go there yourself.  The key in getting there is to pass through the veil. A couple of practical ways to pass through heaven’s veil: 1. Surrender yourself to God.  Give Him everything you are. 2. Unplug from the world.  Turn off your cell phone, your FaceBook, anything and everything that will distract you from getting into that eternal place with God. 3. Quiet your mind.  Turn your thoughts off.  The eternal is not found in your mind realm.  It’s found in the spirit realm. 4. Access the throne room.  The Bible says to come before His presence with singing.  Worship the Lord. 5. Be quiet.  When you get before Him, listen.  Hear what He is saying. 6. Release His will into the earth.  What you hear Him saying, you say.  What you see Him doing, you do.  Flow with Him. 7. Come back to earth and model what you’ve seen.  Build what you see Him building. Passing through heaven’s veil was one of the secrets of Jesus’ ministry.  It was how He did the miracles that He did.  He lived in the place of the eternal during His earth life.  He got away from the crowds and He tuned into what the Father was doing.  He got into the throne room and He fixed His eyes upon the Father.  He observed what the Father was doing.  He only did His Father’s will.  Once He knew the will of the Father, He came back down to earth and simply exhibited what He saw.  If He saw the Father spitting on the ground, making mud and sticking it on a guy’s eyes, then that’s what He did.  If He saw His Father simply speaking a word and healing the centurion’s servant, then that’s what He did.  If He saw His Father laying hands on the crowd and healing those with infirmities, then that’s what He did.  There was no rhyme or reason to Jesus’ ministry.  There was no formula that you had to figure out.  The key was so simple–learn how to access heaven’s realm and implement God’s heavenly design on the earth.  This, my friends, is how you change the earth.  This is how you cause the earth to line up with heaven’s will.  This is how you affect the affairs of men.  This is how you shift the government in America.  This is how you change the school system.  This is how you heal the sick.  This is how you deliver the oppressed.  This is how you bring reformation to The Church.  This, my friends, is the key to it all.  We must pattern ourself after Jesus.  We have to learn the art of “Passing Through Heaven’s Veil.” To hear more of this message, stay tuned for the audio version coming soon! Tags: , , , , , 3 Responses to “Passing Through Heaven’s Veil” 1. constance says: 2. [...] For practical tips on how to pass through heaven’s veil on a daily basis, please reference “Passing Through Heaven’s Veil – Part 1″ at [...] 3. Michelle says: I found this to be a very enlightening article. It makes so much sense, especially regarding Jesus’ accessing of the Father’s Will through the piercing of the Veil and paying attention to what he saw and heard. Thankyou for this fresh perspective. Leave a Reply

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Wrapup: ACLU Works With Eagle Forum CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) - An unlikely duo made for an effective lobbying team in the 2009 Nevada Legislature, with the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada and the conservative Nevada Eagle Forum showing, once again, that politics makes for strange Throughout the session, the two groups teamed up on bills that addressed election laws, warrantless wiretapping, privacy issues and freedoms of speech. And after the session, lobbyists from both groups credited each other with helping advance their agendas. "I know we turned a lot of heads in the hallway, because we'd be sitting together in a cluster of chairs, and we had people walk by and almost break their necks," said Lynn Chapman, lobbyist for the Nevada Eagle Forum. "But we worked very well together, and I think it was advantageous because of all we accomplished. They were The groups worked together to defeat SB52, the "Real ID" bill which would have brought Nevada into compliance with a federal law that's aimed at making it tougher for terrorists, illegal immigrants and others to get official identification. The ACLU had called the bill "Orwellian." The bill had sat on the Senate Secretary's desk for months, and then resurfaced for a vote on the next-to-last day of the session. When they found out, both groups agreed to send out e-mails to their memberships calling for action, and lawmakers' electronic inboxes were flooded with pleas from gun advocates, conservatives and civil libertarians. "It would have forced the state to be connected to a national database, and all the states would have been hooked up to the federal government, and that's scary in itself," Chapman said. "It goes beyond anything we should really want our government to have access to." Chapman said she regularly e-mailed and called the ACLU lobbyists to coordinate efforts, exchanged information when they attended different hearings, and updated each other when lawmakers committed to a vote. "There was just tons of stuff we worked together on this time," Chapman said. Rebecca Gasca, public advocate for the ACLU of Nevada, said she wasn't surprised that the two groups came together since both groups work to protect the interests of the individual, using the U.S. Constitution as a medium. "It was really neat to see how there are individuals who may be on the opposite sides of the spectrum, but we can come together on some issues," Gasca said. "I think we helped fend off some bad public policy." The two groups weren't always on the same page. When a bill was introduced to bring Nevada in line with the Equal Rights Amendment, which never passed in Nevada, the Nevada Eagle Forum warned members on its Web site, and called the measure "the newest threat to Life and Family." The two groups also held opposite views on SB283, the bill which granted rights to domestic partners, which Chapman said the Eagle Forum opposes because it's viewed as allowing same-sex marriage. But when the Assembly voted on the domestic partnership bill, Chapman said she was in the gallery watching and tried to quickly write down all the votes, but didn't get them all. She noticed ACLU attorney Lee Rowland, who worked passionately to get the domestic partnership bill passed, was doing the same thing. Even though they were on opposite sides of the issue, they fell into their usual routine of counting votes together and helping each other out. "It's not about being rude to each other, we were helping each other," Chapman said. "Families are hurt by a lot of liberties that are stolen or evaporated, and I believe the ACLU feels the same way when it comes to liberties." In the end, they respected and helped each other, and all said they had fun along the way. "People would see us in the hallway together and say, 'Uh oh, there's trouble,"' Gasca said. "We liked to ruffle feathers together. Definitely." On the Internet: powered by Disqus KOLO-TV 4850 Ampere Drive Reno, NV 89502 Copyright © 2002-2015 - Designed by Gray Digital Media - Powered by Clickability 46999677 - kolotv.com/a?a=46999677 Gray Television, Inc.

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Superman actors through the years Superman actors - Henry Cavill 17 / 32 Warner Bros. Pictures British actor Henry Cavill, who has appeared in the films "The Count of Monte Cristo," "Stardust" and "Immortals" and the Showtime series "The Tudors," is the latest to take on the role of Superman, in director Zack Snyder's reboot "Man of Steel." E-News Registration newsletterimage Email Newsletters Most Popular

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SPOKANE, Wash. - A second man has been arrested by authorities in the Doug Carlile murder investigation. Robby Joe Wahrer, 33, has been arrested on a charge of 2nd Degree Murder (Intent to Kill) and Conspiracy to Commit 2nd Degree Murder. Spokane Police believe Wahrer was the driver of the van Tim Suckow used the night he allegedly shot and killed Carlile. On January 30, 2014, a person identified in court records as a 'concerned citizen' approached detectives and said that they have known Wahrer for a long time and was present when he was watching television and a news report came on about the Carlile murder investigation. As the news report was being broadcast Wahrer claimed that he was the driver of the white van spotted in surveillance video that police were looking for in relation to the Carlile case. That van was later positively identified and linked back to Suckow. Wahrer also said he drove a person -- whose name he never mentioned to the concerned citizen -- to the South Hill and that this person he was driving was "only supposed to break Carlile's knee caps, not kill him." This information was confirmed by a second 'concerned citizen,' who independently corroborated the substance of what the first individual told detectives, that Wahrer admitted he was the driver, that he was the getaway driver for Suckow, but that he had been told by Suckow prior to Carlile's killing he was only going to "break the guy's legs' and had no idea Suckow planned to kill him. After Suckow was arrested, detectives executed a search warrant on his cell phone and found a phone number marked with the name 'Robby' listed with a phone number the first concerned citizen identified as Wahrer's number. The morning of the killing Carlile and Wahrer exchanged texts beginning at 8 a.m. Carlile texted another man who was storing his guns, to arrange picking up some of his stuff, and texted back and forth Wahrer seven more times throughout the day. According to court records one of the last calls Wahrer received was tracked to an AT&T cellular tower that serves the neighborhood where Carlile lived. He received that call 10 minutes before Carlile was shot and killed in his kitchen. Suckow, the man arrested as the prime suspect in the Carlile killing, reportedly bailed Wahrer out of jail five days after Carlile was shot and killed in his South Hill home on December 15, 2013. A confidential information has told local authorities that a third man, James Henrikson, ordered and paid for the Carlile killing. Henrikson was Carlile's business partner in a North Dakota oil drilling venture. The informant, a one-time employee of Henrikson's, said Suckow was recruited by Henrikson to kill Carlile for $20,000. Henrkison has not been charged in the Carlile murder investigation. He is currently in custody in North Dakota, being held on an unrelated federal firearms charge. Wahrer is scheduled to make a court appearance Friday.

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Mathematics course : 6th grade How to split a cube into 3 identical pyramids Vers le même cours en français facebook   twitter   mail   We shall build with cardboard and glue a pyramid fitting into a cube. The base of the pyramid will be the bottom side of the cube, and the top of the pyramid will be one of the top corners of the cube. We shall see that the volume of this pyramid is exactly 1/3 of the volume of the cube. Moreover, we shall reconstruct the cube with three identical pyramids like this one. To build the pyramid, we begin with a model (see video for details). Click on image to enlarge We cut the sheet according to the model. And we fold and paste to get a pyramid. We build 3 pyramids on the same model. And we can see that they fit exactly into a cube. Do the three pyramids fill in the cube entirely ? Or could there be a void inside ? Reasoning on the angles of the various planes, on sees that there can be no void inside. The cube is fully filled. Therefore the volume of the initial pyramid is a third of the volume of the cube. Hence it is the product of the surface area of its base times its height divided by 3. We can write : V = S x h x 1/3 (where V is the volume of the pyramid, S is the surface area of its base, that is one of the sides of the cube, and h the height, that is an edge of the cube). We shall use this result to extend it to any kind of pyramid, and even to any cone. This result is the generalisation to 3 dimensions of the following well known fact in the plane concerning the surface area of triangles: the surface area of a triangle is the product of the length of any side by the opposite height divided by 2. Digression: Here is another elementary calculation of the volume of the pyramid. (By "elementary" we mean "without using integral calculus".) We only sketch it. Think of the pyramid as made of a large number of small cubes arranged in stories of decreasing square size. The bottom story would be made of n2 small cubes, the next story of (n-1)2 cubes, the next one of (n-2)2, etc. up to the top story of only one small cube. Such a pyramid contains 1 + 4 + 9 + 16 + ... + n2 small cubes. Calculations show that 1 + 4 + 9 + 16 + ... + n2 = n(n+1)(2n+1)/6. (If we call this number V(n), it is easy to check that V(n) - V(n-1) = n2.) So the ratio of the volume of the pyramid to the whole large cube is n(n+1)(2n+1)/(6n3). When n becomes larger and larger, and the pyramid made of small cubes is smoother and smoother, this ratio tends to 1/3. Now a bit of fun to finish the lesson: let's place ourselves in a 4D space. Consider a 3D cube in this space, and a point P outside the 3D space in which the cube lies (OK, it's a bit difficult to visualise :-). Let's draw the lines from P to all the points in the 3D cube. We obtain a 4 dimensional figure. The 4D-volume measurement of this 4D figure is the product of the 3D-volume of the 3D cube by the opposite height divided by 4. And four such identical hyper-pyramids can be assembled into a hyper-cube. Here is some help to visualise and work in 4 dimensions. At the end of high school, when we study integral calculus, the fact that the hyper-pyramid has (hyper-)volume 1/4 of the hyper-cube will become an easy result, stemming from the fact that integral from 0 to z of x3 is z4/4. With z=1 this yields 1/4. To establish that four hyper-pyramids can be fitted into a hyper-cube will still require a bit of reasoning. 1. Try to draw on a sheet of paper the cube with its three fitting pyramids inside. The screens of the video screen 1 screen 2 screen 3 screen 4 screen 5 screen 6 screen 7 screen 8 screen 9 screen 10 screen 11 Answer: we discover that the drawing looks terribly messy. That's why we built the pyramids with cardboard and glue.

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Law School Discussion Nine Years of Discussion Show Posts Messages - eslite119 Pages: 1 2 3 [4] 5 6 Studying for the LSAT / Re: Pithypike's Complete LSAT Study Guide « on: September 28, 2008, 02:09:52 PM » Pithypike, that's some rigorous three month study plan.  After going through your plan, I think that I should've structured my study plan a little.  Basically, I just did all the PTs, read all Powerscore materials (including the recent RC Bible), and some other stuff that I probably should not have wasted my time on.  Seems like mine could've been more efficient.  Oh well. Chigirl, Kaplan's Big Orange book is one of their course materials from the old days (someone correct me if I'm wrong).  The book organizes the questions (LG, RC, and LR) into question types, has some old PTs on the back, and Kaplan's explanations to the questions covered in the book. Studying for the LSAT / Re: PrepTest 42, section 2, number 18 « on: September 28, 2008, 01:54:53 PM » Is this question about bee's vision?  If so, then I believe the answer is A (please double check for me if I'm correct since my answer key is messed up last time I checked). Main point of the stimulus is that bee's vision did not develop in response to flowers' colors, but it is probably the opposite.  Sorta like cause and effect, but the author believes the cause and effect is actually reversed; flowers' color developed in response to bee's behavior. Flowers' color --caused -> Bee's Vision  X Bee's Vision --caused -> Flower's color O Answer choice A introduces a new information indicating that other insects that have vision VERY SIMILAR to that of bee's and it does not depend on object's color (including flower, perhaps).  This actually aligns with the second cause and effect diagram that I displayed above and as a result, it tends to strengthen the argument made in the stimulus.  In other words, information given in answer choice A makes it less probable that the first cause and effect diagram displayed above is true. I hope this helps at least a little. Superprep LGs are pretty tough, even the linear games.  Although I got everything correct, it took me more efforts to finish the section in 35 minutes.  Not to brag or anything, but just wanted to confirm your statement.  As Thales indicated, recent LGs are easier.  If you want practice, try focusing on some earlier PTs in addition to LG Bible. That's what I thought.  Mine must be a typo.  Thank you for confirming this. I think you misunderstood the question.  Question states: "Which one of the following COULD be an accurate and complete list of the students who review only Sunset?" In other words, under certain situation (and abiding by the rules states), which one of the following can be a complete list of those who only review Sunset? Jiang and Lopez cannot be review a same play according to rule 2. Studying for the LSAT / Re: October 2003, some misc. LR questions « on: September 14, 2008, 08:02:45 PM » 1st LR section: 10) I marked that (d) was correct because I figured that had the gene change affected the flies in some other way, then that alternate effect could have in turn affected UV vision (ala create a possible alternative cause). My thought was that if the gene change DID affect the flies in some other way that was connected to eyesight, then this effect would undermine the connection the scientists made between the altered gene and lack of UV vision. Apparently I'm completely wrong, since B is the correct answer. Help? Thanks! Thinking about alternative effects is a bit of stretch. Logical negation of choice D would be, "The gene change had SOME effects on the flies other than the lack of UV cells."  Personally, I don't see this statement having any effect on the argument's conclusion: "Thus, scientists have shown that flies of this species lacking ultraviolet vision must have some damage to this gene." Looking at choice B: "No other gene in the flies in the experiement is required for the formation of the UV cells." Logically negate this and you get: "SOME other genes (other than the specific one mentioned in the conclusion) in the flies in the experiment is required for the formation of the UV cells." This will actually go against the conclusion, which hinges on ONE particular gene that the scientists believe to effect the vision. Studying for the LSAT / October 2005 Test (PT46?) section 1 LR question 20 « on: September 14, 2008, 07:18:11 PM » I'm staring at the question and I cannot explain to myself why I got this question (only question in the section) wrong. This is an assumption question and it is about government subsidizing high-quality day care.  When taking this under timed condition, I did not hesitate and chose D.  Turns out I was wrong as the answer key that I have says the correct answer is B. I just can't seem to connect the dots between choice B and the stimulus. Studying for the LSAT / Re: lsat 180 « on: September 14, 2008, 01:52:51 AM » anyone know if the questions in lsat 180 are actual lsat questions? they're not... and they're terrible. Ah S%*T! I just met with one of my LSAT buddies and gave him my old LSAT 180 with the quote, "This book contains some of the toughest LSAT questions that's out there."  I gotta warn him. Studying for the LSAT / Re: Tips on working LSAT prep into busy schedule? « on: September 13, 2008, 01:14:48 AM » Hey guys, I just realized that I have to buckle down this year if I want to apply in the 2009-2010 cycle. My goal is to take the LSAT this Feb, so I can have the summer free to do a program and work on my apps (want to get them all in by late Sept. before school starts so I don't have to worry about it during the year). Got any tips on fitting LSAT prep into a busy schedule? I have a full courseload at a top 15 university, work part-time (15 hrs a week), hold a citywide leadership position, and train hard athletically everyday. I'm trying to get my scores up to 170+ from a 150. Any tips are much appreciated. thanks. That's a pretty busy schedule.  But it seems like you're preparing ahead of time, so hopefully you'll reach your goal with adequate preparation. I currently work full-time and travel very frequently.  Despite the stress I occasionally face, I try to find time to prepare for the test.  I believe the key is to maintain consistency.  Even if it is only one hour per day, I'd suggest you study constantly and avoid any major "gaps" in between your studies.  I once had a study schedule when I studied 3-4 hours, took a break for one to two days, and studied again for another 3-4 hours.  For me, this routine did not result in much improvement. These days I study at least 2 (continuous) hours during the weekdays and take at least one timed prep test (consisting of 5 sections) during the weekends.  This routine actually helped me improve in many ways. Studying for the LSAT / Re: Possibly 1 of the worst games ever? « on: September 13, 2008, 12:54:10 AM » I think this was one of the oldest ones.  More so than contrapositive, I think you'll get some great inferences by combining the rules. First, I'd make the symbols simple by marking "for" with "+" and "against" as "X." Second, I will just use the short hands for Republican, Moderate, and Democrat as R,M, and D, respectively. By combining the rules, I mean the following: Because rule 4 indicates that at least one R voted against, when you try to work out a scenario according to rule 1 you'll get the following (this is the only possibility under the rules given): X X  X X  X + + R R  M M  D D D Combine rule 2 and 4 and you get the following: X X  ? ?  + + + R R  M M  D D D In order for you to work out a scenario according to rule 2, it must be that all three Ds voted FOR and two Rs voted AGAINST (this is due to rule 4).  Moderates can swing either ways under this scenario. Sometimes combining the rules can help in answering some of the toughest questions.  It can also generate some crucial inferences that can minimize the time you spend on games. Pages: 1 2 3 [4] 5 6

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<<Back to this week's update  What is the larva doing — and why? Eating its Shed Exoskeleton This monarch larva just shed its exoskeleton and is now eating the remaining portion, called the exuvia. Like all insects, a monarch must shed its exoskeleton at various stages to make room for growth. (Each stage of growth is called an instar. The process of shedding is called molting.) Why Eat the Exuvia? The most likely reason for eating the exuvia is to recycle the nurtients it contains, especially hard-to-get nutrients like nitrogen. Dr. Alex Mira studied this behavior in cockroaches. He found that animals raised on low-protein diets ate the exuvia most often. Females also ate the exuvia more than males, probably because of the need for nitrogen in egg-production. (Female monarchs are known to get nitrogen from males during mating, in a packet called the spermatophore.) Nitrogen is a building block for proteins and genetic material, so it is essential for life. Nitrogen is abundant in the earth's atmosphere but is often a scarce resource in the food web. Image © Bud Hensley The exuvia contains valuable nutrients. It is made of protein chains and chitin. (Yum, yum!) Journey North Home Page   Facebook Pinterest Twitter   Annenberg Media Home Page

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View Full Version : MILITARY: Remembering the 'Forgotten War' 05-11-09, 08:06 AM MILITARY: Remembering the 'Forgotten War' By MARK WALKER - [email protected] VISTA ---- It's known as America's "Forgotten War." But for the men who served in it, particularly those involved in the Chosin Reservoir Battle in the winter of 1950, the Korean War is never far from memory. Nearly 60 years ago, then-Marine Sgt. Jean White of Vista was among 30,000 U.S. and Allied troops facing 150,000 Chinese soldiers in a savage, running battle conducted in often subzero temperatures. White is one of the "Chosin Few," a rapidly dwindling number of combat veterans who were able to overcome the superior forces they faced in what the U.S. Marine Corps considers one of its seminal battles. The 81-year-old White and several other Chosin Reservoir survivors spent part of Friday reliving their experiences for a documentary being produced by two Iraq war veterans, Marine Reserve Capt. Brian Iglesias and former Marine Capt. Anton Sattler. "The Korean War isn't forgotten by the people of South Korea," said White, who went on to reach the rank of lieutenant colonel before retiring from the Marine Corps in 1975. "I've been back a couple of times, and I know the people appreciate what we did for them." The war began in June 1950, when North Korean forces invaded South Korea, prompting the U.S. and United Nations allies to rush to the South's defense. Four months later, when allied forces had pushed the North back across its border, the Chinese sent in hundreds of thousands of troops and the war went on until 1953. White spoke of his Korean War experience on camera for about an hour Friday, telling how he and the members of his company took part in a strategic withdrawal from the Chosin Reservoir after commanders realized their forces were tremendously outnumbered. Marine Maj. Gen. O.P. Smith, commander of the 1st Marine Division, had ordered his troops to assault the surrounding Chinese so the withdrawal to safety could take place. Asked whether the Marines were retreating, Smith famously replied, "Retreat? Hell, we're attacking in a different direction!" For men such as White, the fighting was intense ---- and often bitterly cold; the wind chill would push the temperature to as much as 30 or more below zero. White would ultimately wind up with frostbitten feet, but that did not take him out of the fight until U.S. forces reached safety at the end of December 1950. When the battle was over, the Marines had lost 836 men; an additional 12,000 were wounded or frostbitten. The Army lost about 2,000 men, with an estimated 1,000 wounded and frostbitten. Chinese battle deaths were estimated at 35,000. Many observers had considered the war largely over by October 1950, as most of North Korea had been captured by United Nations and U.S. forces. But on Oct. 25, China entered the war, pouring wave after wave of troops into the region. Retired Marine Sgt. Maj. Wayne Knott, also 81, remembers being among two regiments of Marines in a North Korean village in early December 1950, confronted by three divisions of Chinese troops. "They could have annihilated us if they had known how much they outnumbered us," Knott said. "We were dug in, and I remember hearing the Chinese bugles blowing and them coming at us in a massive attack." A staff sergeant at the time, the Vista resident was part of a Marine company that had point duty on Dec. 7 when a shell exploded overhead, sending a piece of shrapnel through his helmet and into his skull. "I was hurt, but I was able to stay with my unit," Knott said. "But from that point on, I wasn't engaged in any more fighting." Iglesias and Sattler are traveling the U.S. to record the stories of Marines and soldiers who were at the Chosin Reservoir. It's important to record their recollections for posterity before all are gone, the two filmmakers say. "On some hills, the ratio of Chinese to U.S. troops was 40-to-1," said Iglesias, who served two tours in Iraq as a Camp Pendleton-based company commander. "Many of these guys have a very nightmarish story to tell." Sattler, the nephew of former Camp Pendleton I Marine Expeditionary Force Commander Lt. Gen. John Sattler, said the two hope to sell a 90-minute documentary to a television network when the production is complete later this year. "It's been 50 years since Hollywood has made a movie about the Korean War, and there are only a handful of documentaries," Sattler said. "There's just not a whole lot out there that records what the Marines on the ground faced. That's why we think this is really important." In the last year, five of the men from the North County chapter the Chosin Few have died. The local group of the battle's veterans now numbers about 40. "We're fading out," White said. The Korean War continued until July 27, 1953. To enforce the truce that divides North and South Korea to this day, thousands of U.S. troops are stationed at the border on the 38th parallel. On Saturday, White and dozens of other Chosin Reservoir veterans and family members from around the region gathered at Naval Base San Diego to greet the guided missile cruiser USS Chosin. Named in honor of the veterans from that battle, the Hawaii-based ship is making a port call in San Diego. More about the documentary and clips from some of the veterans' interviews are available at www.frozenchosin.com.

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Dune II Dune II Lead one of three interplanetary houses, Atreides, Harkonnen or Ordos, in an attempt to harvest the largest amount of spice from the sand dunes. Exchange your spice stockpiles for credits through refinement and build an army capable of thwarting attempts of the other houses to stop your harvesting! Minimum system requirements:  Dune II data files an the DUNE Legacy or OpenDUNE engine

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UTS Library Browse Questions Hi, how would I reference information that I have obtained from the 'help pages' of a computer program? Thanks in advance. Referencing a computer program 1 answer Hi James, D Litting's picture D Litting, 2 years ago Hi James, Referencing a computer program is a bit like referencing a movie. In-text you would list the name of the program in italics and the year of publication eg: (Assassin's Creed 3 2012) Then you would create a reference list entry based on this format Title year, video game, publisher, place. Assassin's Creed 3 2012, video game, Ubisoft, London.  Hope this helps, David @ UTS Library Answer question

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Women's Soccer Lady Bobcats Fall 2-0 The Lees-McRae College Lady Bobcats soccer team traveled to Mount Olive to take on the Trojans last weekend in a Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference match up. The game was the first in a doubleheader with the men's teams from each school. Mount Olive entered the game with an 11-6 overall record and a 7-2 mark in the CVAC while the Lady Bobcats entered the game at 2-10-2 overall and 1-6-1 in conference action. Despite the score, the Lady Bobcats played aggressively throughout the game and threatened to take an early lead when Mount Olive turned the ball over in their half on consecutive possessions. Trojan goalkeeper Heather Ulep was up for the challenge covering a loose ball in the box before the Bobcats could get a shot as the two teams went into halftime tied 0-0. Mount Olive added a second goal at the 69:14 mark when Dos Santos' shot deflected off Lees-McRae goalkeeper Anita Hekman (Toronto, Ontario) allowing Brennan followed up with her 10th goal of the season. Lees-McRae narrowly missed closing to within one goal on Leslie Myers' (Banner Elk, NC) shot from the top left of the box. Ulep was again up for the challenge, as she fisted the ball over the crossbar and Lees-McRae was unable to score on the subsequent corner kick. Saturday's contest was a rematch of the championship game of last year's CVAC Tournament, won by Mount Olive 3-1. The Lady Bobcats will return to action Wednesday October 26 when they host the visiting CVAC foe Belmont Abbey College

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1. Lelo Ella Luxury Silicone Dildo 5 Inch Sorry! This product has been discontinued. Please scroll down to see alternative products. 1. Lelo Ella Luxury Silicone Dildo 5 Inch Mouse over image to zoom 1. Product Description Experiment by using both ends of the Ella. NB: Use a water-based lubricant only. Buyer's Guides Sex Toys Guides > Dildo Guides > Beginner's Guide to Dildos Sex Toys Guides > How to Clean Sex Toys Sex Toys Guides > How to Store Sex Toys Customer Reviews Lelo Ella Luxury Silicone Dildo 5 Inch 9 out of 10 9 out of 10 (27 reviews) Write your own review Order by: 1. Am I dreaming? Reviewed: 14 August 2014 by sleepycelia I'd been lusting over the Lelo Ella for a little over a year, until a few days ago. I noticed the all-too-familiar harbinger of doom lurking at the bottom of the page - 'hurry! this discontinued item will not be restocked!'. In a panic, I'd rushed through the checkout and had a white one on it's way to me faster than you could say, 'er, aren't you meant to be saving?' The Ella comes in standard Lelo packaging; a sleek black box housing a silky storage bag, a sachet of water-based lubricant and warranty information, and finally, my milky-white Ella sat snug and safe in a matte plastic clamshell. Lelo aren't my favourite manufacturer by a long shot, but I'm a total sucker for their body safe silicone. It's silky-smooth with absolutely no drag, and a satin finish. Whenever I get a new Lelo toy I tend to spend a little while just petting it, it's that nice. It's almost suede-like. The Ella's all sleek curve and planes, crafted from firm and totally seamless silicone that makes it look a bit more like a sculpture than a dildo. By some witchcraft, the Ella doesn't pick up lint or dust either, so you don't have to run immediately to the bathroom after you're done with it, lest it pick up the fur of a thousand phantom dust bunnies while you're enjoying your post-orgasm bliss. Magic, surely? I tried to hold off using the Ella for a few days, but I couldn't. It's so pretty! I felt like it was sitting there taunting me. Eventually I caved, slathered it in my favourite water-based lube and decided to experiment with the flat headed side first. The phrase 'instant gratification' springs to mind. It slid into place, and stayed right where I wanted it to. Whatever I did, it felt good. It never slipped out of place, and I never felt like I had to search for my G-spot. As someone who tries to be objective, I figured there had to be something wrong with it ('there HAS to be something wrong with it!'). I took a break and switched sides. Nope. It still felt good, the sleeker end lends itself to thrusting even better than the flat-headed one does, and before long I had that 'oh god, please don't stop, please god don't let me get cramp' sensation. Fireworks. Stars, milky ways, interstellar galaxies populated by aliens with four heads - faraway suns and moons slowly rotating an incomprehensible distance away from tiny me on tiny earth with my even tinier Ella clutched in my hand. I saw it all. I'm not exaggerating, not even a little bit. It was one of those orgasms where everything else just stops existing for a while, and when you open your eyes you almost expect to find yourself floating in dark, calm space. I've used it again and again, praying that it wasn't a fluke, and I'm so glad to say that it wasn't. It's incredible. I barely have to use clit stimulation to get to that state, and it feels equally good if I'm thrusting with it, using a kind of roly pressing motion or gently stroking. I'm honestly astonished. I've paid triple the price for toys that haven't done half as much for me as this has. While the Ella's a ridiculously beautiful G-spot toy and capable of turning me into a dizzy mess in a matter of minutes, I've managed to find three issues with it. First: the flat head sometimes gets 'locked' under my pubic bone, usually after I've come, which can be pretty uncomfortable on removal. My second issue is with the other end - it's tapered at the tip and ever-so-slightly too pointy, and when I insert it it can cause a little bit of an unpleasant jabby sensation. This side actually reminds me a lot of the Mona 2's shape, which I don't get along with at all, but as the Ella is considerably smaller and sleeker, I thankfully don't have the same issues with it. And my final negative point? I can't stop using it! All my other toys are sat cold and neglected and my girlfriend's this close to staging an intervention. Why are you discontinuing the Ella, Lovehoney? Did you have pained phone calls to customer care, one too many pleading emails to the content team because people can't stop using the damn thing, and oh god, I've been late for work twice in a row? Because that's the only possible reason I can think of. I really can't endorse this enough. I feel starstruck. I hate using flowery language usually, but this toy warrants it. The Ella fits my anatomy almost perfectly, it's an ideal size, it's made of velvety smooth, body-safe silicone, and it gives me orgasms that start in my toes and feel like they're rushing out of my ears. If you came to me and said 'I want one good toy for G-spot exploration', this is the one I'd give you. Just flawless. 2. Overall Rating: 10 out of 10 Just about everything. The tapered tip is ever so slightly too pointed. Bottom line It makes my G-spot feel like it's made of sparkles and starlight. 1. Seduction in a box Reviewed: 01 July 2014 by Wildcherry, a Bisexual Married Female The beautiful Lelo Ella has been sitting in my Lovehoney wishlist whispering “buy me” for a while. One evening I simply caved (a lady needs to treat herself, right?), and she went into my basket. After a few days of excitingly waiting, my discreet Lovehoney brown box with goodies inside arrived at my front door. As with all Lelo products the luxury experience begins with the packaging. Upon opening I was greeted by a smooth and sleek white and purple box with a picture of the Ella on the front and the words Lelo. Inside there was another slimmer black box embossed with the words Lelo. Opening the lid of the black box you’ll find your new toy sitting on a tray. Lifting the tray you’ll find a user manual, a one year warranty (I thought this was an incredibly nice touch), a satin storage bag and some Lelo Personal Moisturizer for you and your toy. Everything about the packaging and contents is very luxurious, without being too over-the-top. The smaller black box has the lovely bonus of being a discreet storage box for your new toy. First Impressions: Nestled inside, in the beautiful deep rose colour I chose, was Ella. I had been biting my lip to get my hands on this toy as the packaging just made me even more excited. Once I picked it up, I was certainly not disappointed. Made of 100% medical grade seamless silicone, the dildo is smooth, sleek and soft-to-the-touch. So much so, you can’t but help run your fingers over her to caress the material. The Ella is a ridged double ended dildo, very petite and sits at just over 7.5 inches in length with 5 inches that is insertable. With a girth of 4 inches, she is slender and has a gentle curve to her, from the bulbous flat end designed for G-spot stimulation, to her more widened slightly sculpted phallus end, that is designed more for focusing on traditional trusting and penetration. Although she is a petite toy, do not let her size put you off as she is just right for hitting your sweet spots. Use of the Lelo Ella: The Lelo Ella is incredibly versatile, whether you use it for solo masturbation or with a partner using it on you (yes we even tried it with my partner preforming oral on me with explosive results). There are many positions you can get into with this dildo. Firstly, as this toy is made of silicone you can only use a non-silicone water-based lubricant during play. I used Lovehoney's own-brand water-based, but sparingly as she is a slippery little sucker if you do use too much. I’ve never used any other type of toy for G-spot stimulation before other than glass. I find specially curved glass dildos give just that right amount of pressure, but was curious to say the least. Upon applying a little lube, I used the flattened end to warm myself up and then switching to the more rounded end once I was aroused. After a few hiccups of the rounded end catching my pubic bone, I found out how to use it to its potential, with the Ella gliding over and caressing my G-spot. It soon delivered powerful orgasms and squirting results. Toy Maintenance: After use, I used an anti-bacterial gel and spray to ensure that it was as squeaky clean. It being that lovely silicone, seam and pore free, it means you can give it a thorough clean before rinsing and leaving to air dry, before storing safely back inside the little black box or bag. However, it is really helpful to know that this thing is dishwasher safe, boil-able and even bleach-able (10% bleach diluted with water), if you ever wanted to give it a real go-over and are a germaphobe like myself. The Lelo Ella is designed perfectly for hitting your internal sweet spots. I really couldn’t fault Ella. She's just like nothing I’ve ever experienced, and is a lovely change from glass dildos. It’s an incredibly versatile toy, whether using for solo or with a partner. She isn’t intrusive if you wanted to use her with a bullet vibrator. Everything about this toy is just incredibly luxury, from the packaging, down to the Ella herself, which is beautifully crafted. I am really not sure why I waited so long before buying this toy, but I wish I'd bought it sooner as it’s given me the most mind blowing results. 2. Overall Rating: 10 out of 10 Slight catching on my pubic bone. Bottom line Beautifully crafted, I'm not sure why I waited so long. 1. Ahhhmazing Reviewed: 08 April 2014 by prettybutsilly Bought this as I was curious about G-spot stimulation. Lelo are a fantastic company, and I love the fact that their products are elegant and attractive. The Ella arrived in beautiful packaging, and I was initially surprised at how delicate she was. My experience has shown that size is not everything! As a single woman who has never experienced female ejaculation, I wasn't sure what to expect. After spending some time trying both ends of the Ella, I discovered that the G-spot end doesn't really work for me. I found it was catching on my pubic bone and didn't allow for easy thrusting. However, the other end is absolutely incredible. It took a little bit of time to learn what I like, but now that I have, it has given me G-spot orgasms that I didn't even know were possible! Unbelievable squirting! I can't wait to try out my new skill with a partner! I would highly recommend the Ella to all women! 2. Overall Rating: 10 out of 10 The look, the feel, the cost, the orgasms, everything! No complaints. Bottom line Incredible! Buy it!

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View Full Version : Help with Gimp! 09-27-2009, 12:21 AM Hello people! I am working on a mod that would require reskinning lots of places, like planets and interiors of ships and such. I saw the tutorials that they had about gimp, but I will need something a little more precise to help me reskin some places. Would someone make a tutorial about reskinning specific things like people and places using gimp? Thanks. 09-27-2009, 10:40 AM Have you seen this: If you need me to add anything to the tutorial just tell me.

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