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Game 96: Cleveland at Toronto pregame
Chatting with manager Cito Gaston today, us scribes decided to see if there were any updates on injured starters Shaun Marcum and Dustin McGowan. A pretty routine move for a relaxed afternoon pregame session.
Marcum made a successful rehab start on Tuesday, but there's no established timetable for his return to the rotation just yet. McGowan? He had knee surgery a few weeks ago.
Stunned silence from the reporters.
"What, you guys didn't know that?" Gaston asked.
Umm, no. And I'm pretty sure we've asked how McGowan was doing at some point over the past couple weeks. But, I digress. Back to the point.
According to general manager J.P. Ricciardi, McGowan — already on a long road to recovery from the right shoulder surgery he had July of last year — blew his left knee out while running during routine conditioning drills. He had surgery on July 9 to repair cartilage and Ricciardi said the pitcher needs roughly six weeks to recover from the operation.
It's another setback for a pitcher who was supposed to be a legit No. 2 guy on the staff by now. That was before his shoulder issues came up last season. Back in May, when the Jays were on the road in Atlanta, I spoke with McGowan after he began working through some long toss sessions and he sounded optimistic about his progress.
He just can't seem to catch a break.
When it was clear that McGowan's pace made him a long shot to return early this season, as the team initially hoped, the chances of him returning at all this year became slim. Now, there's zero chance you'll see McGowan back with the Jays this season. At this point, given this latest setback, all Toronto can do is wait to see how McGowan looks come Spring Training.
Today's lineups:
Fifth place AL Central, 13.5 GB
1. Grady Sizemore, CF
2. Asdrubal Cabrera, SS
3. Shin-Soo Choo, RF
4. Victor Martinez, DH
5. Jhonny Peralta, 3B
6. Ryan Garko, 1B
7. Ben Francisco, LF
8. Jamey Carroll, 2B
9. Chris Gimenez, C
Starter: LHP David Huff (4-4, 6.60)
Fourth place AL East, 10.5 GB
1. Marco Scutaro, DH
2. Aaron Hill, 2B
3. Adam Lind, LF
4. Kevin Millar, 1B
5. Vernon Wells, CF
6. Alex Rios, RF
7. Jose Bautista, 3B
8. Rod Barajas, C
9. John McDonald, SS
Starter: LHP Marc Rzepczynski (1-1, 2.50)
Don't forget, you can follow me on Twitter: @MLBastian
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5 Comments
Anybody ( besides Jordan ) surprised this was kept a secret ? I can't say I am surprised
Oh, yeah, it's not as if we would want to know about how our number 2 (or number 1) pitcher is doing!
Too bad about the 3 runs in the 5th. Rzepczynski sure shows his cool under pressure.
I'd bet McGowan never comes back. This is standard fare from JP, remember Ryan's back injury? I know for fact JP has been asked about McGowan last week and didn't mention this at all.
Hey, if Bautista hadn't made the error, there might not have been any runs given up in the 5th.


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C's the Possibilities with Strawberries
by Donna Quirk, MBA RD LD
LMC Clinical Nutrition Manager
As the month of May comes to a close, I hope that you have been enjoying locally grown strawberries! It is a bonus that a fruit that is so beautiful and tasty is also so good for you.
A cup of strawberries (about 7 berries) provides a good source of fiber, folate, and potassium and meets 100% of your Vitamin C needs. Strawberries are also a top source of anti-oxidants – substances that protect you from heart disease and cancers. All this for just 50 calories!
We commonly use strawberries as desserts or on our breakfast cereal, but they are great on a salad or as an accompaniment to grilled pork or fish. Try this easy recipe for dinner tonight. Enjoy!
A refreshing strawberry salsa adds a beautiful splash of color and a slightly sweet twist to this cod dish.
1 fillet cod (or any white fish)
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon mint (chopped)
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup strawberries (trimmed and chopped)
Season the cod with salt and pepper. Broil the cod until cooked and flaky, about 6-9 minutes. Mix the mint, lime juice, balsamic vinegar, honey and black pepper. Toss with the strawberries with the dressing to coat. Serve the cod with the strawberry salsa and a vegetable of your choice.

subset: commoncrawl


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(Pocket-lint) - BlackBerry maker RIM has released a new developer testing device for its operating system BlackBerry 10, called the Alpha Dev B. We've had a chance to play with the new hardware and -more importantly - the latest software, to see just some of the features that will work when the first BlackBerry 10 devices start appearing in shops at the start of 2013.
Okay so there are some caveats. The latest developer build isn't finished, Don Lindsay, vice-president, user experience at Research in Motion, has told Pocket-lint exclusively that there are still plenty more features to come, and those new features that are on show don't all work.
But hey why should we let that stop us sharing with you what we have seen, allowing us to give you some insight into what we can start to expect from the new OS?
- Samsung Galaxy Note 20, What3Words CEO, and Withings Sleep Analyzer reviewed - Pocket-lint podcast ep. 65
At the crux of the BB10 operating system is the BlackBerry Hub. It's basically the new name for the unified inbox and it sits at the heart of the BlackBerry 10 interface. It is always there, it is always available, it is always just a gesture swipe - in a L shape incidentally - away.
This isn't an in-an-out experience remember, so the Hub hides like a playing card at the bottom of the operating system regardless of whether you are using apps, surfing the web, playing games or taking pictures with the camera.
As you would expect from a unified inbox, it's the inbox that takes in everything: email, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, are all here. BB10 is about allowing you to quickly work your way through your messages. It's about efficiency and in this regard, BB10 delivers - and delivers well. If communications is your game, we've yet to see a better experience on any platform.
That experience is helped by a new feature called Peek that lets you do just that, peek into what messages you have.
It's not as helpful as the Hub. It works in a similar way to the Windows Phone lock screen. Icons instantly give you the number of messages you've got for the services you are running - 11 emails, 2 Twitter mentions, 3 LinkedIn requests, you get the idea.
This Peek feature, like Hub, will be available at any point regardless of what is going on. It's like the first taster before you dive into the Hub, which the starter before you dive into the meat of what you are trying to do in the first place.
Based around the Hub, BlackBerry have tied in other features to save you loading up yet another app.
As a core communications device it is easy to forget apps. Like Windows Phone there is so much that BB10 offers without even loading a single app. BB10 is about connected services and features that flow into each other (yep, another buzz word you'll hear lots from RIM over the next 6 months).
That means pulling down from the top of the screen while the Hub reveals your calendar appointments coming up - a peek into the future - and clicking on a contact not only brings more information on that person, but possibly details about their company, latest news, info titbits, stuff that might help you get that deal, it's about being informed all with a couple of swipes. All the time ignoring the word Apple loves so much - Apps.
Once you get past the Hub and all that connects to it, BB 10 soon starts to become a regular looking phone operating system though.
There are apps (even though it's not about going in and out of apps), there are live tiles where apps run, allowing you to peek into what is going on within them even though they aren't running, and an interface that at times can look a bit clumsy. Swipe here, swipe there, now swipe this, now swipe that.
"We have to strike a balance between newness and familiarity," explains Lindsay to Pocket-lint at the developer conference BlackBerry Jam in San Jose.
That newness stretches to a new intelligent keyboard that can be used one handed and which tries to guess your next word. As you type, words appear in between the keys, a swipe up on that word selects it - speeding up your typing no end. There is a clever new camera interface that allows you to rewind time within certain parts of a picture to make sure everyone is smiling - no really.
On the innovation stakes, the hits really do keep coming. Take the new browser for example. It's noticeably faster than anything RIM offers at the moment, has a Reader mode to simplify layouts when on the go, is hardware accelerated so will only get quicker in the future with new hardware, and supports Flash - why? Because it can.
For RIM and Lindsay it's all about the "moments of charm" and we certainly agree BlackBerry 10 has lots of charm wherever you turn.
But we know from WebOS and the lessons learnt by HP that innovation and charm doesn't always equal success.
RIM's challenge isn't to create an innovative platform, it's proved that it can do that. It is to create a platform that is relevant in such a crowded market dominated by Apple and Google.
Microsoft, with the help of Samsung, Nokia and HTC, is being incredibly aggressive as it tries to prove the same arguments.
RIM has to convince consumers to ditch all the above and stick with them or even come back having left for pastures new.
"Moments of charm" or not, a lot of what will decide the fate of RIM and its new BlackBerry 10 OS will be whether developers will develop cool apps for the new operating system. At the moment it is early days, but as even Microsoft has shown with Windows Phone, that can be a very tough job.
From what we've seen at BlackBerry Jam in San Jose, RIM looks to be doing all it can, and the results look positive, but the final resurrection or nail in the coffin will come from whether or not those cool new apps to show off on that cool new operating system ever appear.


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The US Air Force (USAF) has inked a deal with DARPA* - the famously luncheoning-elsewhere Pentagon boffinry outfit - to collaborate on a "combined cycle hypersonic vehicle that could take off and land like a plane", according to reports.
Rumours and whispers of a secret American hypersonic aircraft have, of course, been kicking about ever since the retirement of the famous SR-71 "Blackbird" spyplane in 1990.
The SR-71 was one of the more radical super-plane designs to date, driven by monster J-58 afterburning turbojets mounted behind an intake with a central retractable spike. The SR-71 engines effectively transformed into ramjets as they accelerated through low-supersonic speeds. The aircraft could make reasonably sustained Mach-3+ sprints at 85,000 feet.
Many have suggested that the SR-71 was so useful it makes no sense for the US never to have replaced it; this line of thought often leads to a belief in some ultra-secret successor aircraft. Such rumours are generally grouped under the heading "Aurora", owing to an interesting 1986 federal budget line item referring to such a project (it's now more widely thought that the disappearing Aurora money largely went into the Stealth bomber programme).
Aurora superplane speculation ranges from the low end, where it is a mild advancement on SR-71 type turbojet/ramjet kit, right up to a Mach-25+ orbital spaceship using exotic supersonic combustion ramjets (scramjets) or some refinement thereof. The higher figures are probably the result of high hopes initially held for the National Aerospace Plane (NASP, aka the X-30), which President Ronald Reagan mentioned in his 1986 State of the Union address.
He predicted "a new Orient Express that could, by the end of the next decade, take off from Dulles Airport and accelerate up to twenty-five times the speed of sound, attaining low earth orbit or flying to Tokyo within two hours".
Most aerospace engineers are less sanguine about the potential of scramjets nowadays, thinking it a good day if they can hit Mach 10. But it was originally hoped that by using a scramjet's fuel to cool the blazing hot front surfaces of the aircraft, heat energy could be moved into the engines and turned into thrust. That, it was thought, could let the NASP/X-30 hit the magical Mach 25, so flying itself up to orbital speed without the need for any rocket boost.
Quite apart from whether or not it actually offers much speed advantage over a ramjet, a scramjet is a nightmare to build because it runs on bulky, cryogenic liquid hydrogen rather than comparatively dense jet fuel.


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Over 80 years of experience with school construction & maintenance.
Always ready to mobilize a professional team to respond to your needs.
Most experienced in the region when working in clean room environments where infection control is critical.
Smith-Boughan has roots deeply entrenched in Allen County, Ohio. Established through the merger of two well known family businesses, Terry P. Smith & Sons and Boughan Brothers, Smith-Boughan has been continuously serving West Central Ohio since 1927.
Since its founding, Smith-Boughan's purpose is to develop long-term quality relationships with our clients and employees. Today that emphasis continues with over 70% of our work coming from repeat clients, performed by many second and even third generation employees. We look forward to the continued success but most importantly the opportunity to earn your business.
Your long-term partner in energy savings, building comfort & peace of mind.
Attention to detail is everything. We have the expertise to get it done right, the first time, guaranteed.
Better Insight and Methods to turn your project around faster, more efficiently and with greater precision.
Largest, most experienced, U.A. Star certified technicians in the area with emergency support available 24/7.


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Eye catching badges and price tags set!
- Hot - Sale - Best price - New - Free - Featured
Layered and well organized photoshop file included. 4 premade color schemes and easy to add new! Just change layer overlay color (it is already set to nicely blend in)! All text layers are editable (free font Myriad Pro used).
Badges are raster format. Sample shows original size.


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Part of our new Oriental Line; this gorgeous, supersoft stringrope with a sparkle GOLD in 5 mm.
The smooth rope is produced from high quality off white cotton, combined with metallic in Turkey and rolled on recycled cardboard tubes. It is favorite among makers worldwide and we are extremely proud to be one of the sellers.
There is about 180m on a cone. Please do note: the mentioned length is more or less as this manufacturer produces the spools measured by weight and not length. One cones weights about 1,1 kilo and its dimensions are 22 x 15 cm.
Besides for macrame, you can also use the stringrope for weaving, knitting, gift wrapping, crochet & more.
Ideal to add a shimmery detail to your work or to make beautiful ornaments!
Within the Oriental Line, we also offer triple twisted (5 mm) and braided rope (5 mm) as well as different Metallic ropes.
Besides the Oriental Line, we also have our well known Mediterranean Line with stringrope and twisted rope in many sizes. You can find them all in our shop.
Our Oriental Line is brand new! Well, for us offering it to you. We started selling it in December 2019. And we are very proud we can as we are in very good company (see below) and the quality of this rope is very good.
This rope is made in an ethically run factory in southern Turkey where they don't use chemicals (or as little as possible) in the processing of dying the rope.
And of course, the cardbox cones are made from recycled material.
This company is enormous and works very professional. They can litteraly produce everything I need or better, everything you want. All sizes, colors and amounts are possible. Only thing is that I cannot just order a box with something, no you need to order a full pallet (over 700 kilo of rope!) at once. So yes, we love to hear your requests and we will add them to the queue for the next order.
Others who sell this rope (and I can tell you, that are some BIG names in macrame-rope-land (foreign)!), arranged the Oeko-tex certificate for the rope as it does qualifies for it (but it costs a lot of money to get this certificate so I cannot (yet) afford to have it labeled like that as well but well, do know that it does qualify for it!
NATIONAL SHIPPING (within NL)
National shipping: track & trace and insurance
All our national shippings are shipped with track & trace. This only means you know where your package is and when to expect it. This is not an insurance in case something happens with your package while on the way.
As for the insurance of your package; please select accordingly at check out (for only €0,70 extra your package is ensured for loss, damage etc. on route). We strongly advise you to do so when you spend money (for example over €50,-) as otherwise, when something happens, we cannot be held liable.
International shipping: track & trace and insurance
All our international shippings (one exception - see below) are send with a track & trace code and they are insured.
For international, small (less then 350 gram) shippings:
The international rules and regulation changed when shipping to addresses outside of the Netherlands. Unfortunately this means that from 2020 onwards, goods may no longer be franked in the same way as letters. I can frank this type of shipment as a parcel without Track & Trace (being a little cheaper), registered mail or insurance service. Other countries also require that the Dutch post shares information about the content with them digitally in advance.
Long way short: this means shipping small/light items got more expensive :-(
I choose to ONLY send items with track & trace - so as a package. As for those few euros that shipping it without track & trace, it is simply not worth it as packages tend to 'magically disapear' too often in such case.
So if you want a cute plant animal or just 1 wooden macrame ring, it might be smart to add some to your order in order to make the shipping costs more economical.
Calculated weight: for all foreign shippings:
Our system counts the total weight of your shipping. Most of the time, this should give the right shipping price in the end. But when you order a lot, we also need bigger boxes - meaning more shipping material. And this has a weight as well. So sometimes, the weight could be a bit more then automatically calculated. In that case, we will send you a message with the extra costs, before shipping your package. When you agree, we will send you an invoice for those extra shipping costs. After receiving your payment, we will ship your package.
On the other hand: if we calculated you a normal package price for shipping and there is a way of shipping it cheaper, we will do so and refund you the money you were charged too much.
Girlish or not, a pop of pink might just be what you need (besides that coffee). Soft to the eyes, warm to the heart. Not into pink? Any other sweet pastel will do the trick as well.
For that spark, that bling bling, that glitter..
A whole piece or just a little detail, as you like. Our Metallic rope litterally brightens your day!
Sometimes you just need some color in your life! Because it makes you happy :-) Lucky for you,
we have a wide selection of pretty colors.
We are enjoying our staycation from August 3rd to August 16th.
You can still place your order but do note: it will be shipped AFTER August 17th. Use code 'StaycationAugust' at check out for a 10% discount on everything, to thank you for your patience.
PS - enter your email below to receive our newsletter and stay up to date about upcoming discounts etc.!


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Many business owners have the capacity to be great leaders but are constantly getting wrapped up in the day to day operations of running their business.
This is a missed opportunity for people to have the business and life they work so hard to achieve. Our coaching focuses on giving you the skills to be not just a business owner but a business leader.
With Asentiv you can become empowered as a leader not just in your business but in all the other important aspects of life, family and the broader community.
To improve your skills take the next step by exploring these options:


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Or maybe you prefer black. Mirrored or not? Whatever your style, no matter what function you wish them to perform for you, there's no denying the stupefying range of sunglasses out there.
You could wander, dazed, through shopping malls for weeks and not find what you are looking for. Online offerings only tend to increase the confusion, most stores have only selected brands, lines and colors, and most of the time the quality is just not there. Cheap knockoffs are also a big risk. Chinese giant Alibaba has recently spent over two million dollars to try and combat this very problem.
Pacific Link have solved all these problems for you and more, and are very proud to offer you the most comprehensive selection of sunglasses you will find online.
We've got polarized, camo, kid's glasses and so much more. We've got top quality goods at manufacturers prices. We stay on top of the current fashion trends, so we can always offer you the latest designs and colors. Our ranges of sports glasses, aviators and wayfarers are second to none.
Although we are wholesale merchants, we have a very low minimum order, so we're more than happy to deal with the small businesses out there. We believe small business is the backbone of any country, and we like to help out whenever we can. On the other hand, we have the capacity to cater for supermarkets, events and chain stores. And we can help you out with point of purchase displays and stands for any of our products.
We've been providing unique designs and excellent customer service for 15 years, and we also offer a private labelling service at very competitive prices. We carry Element 8, VertX and VOX lines, and are always ready to ship your order the same day we receive it.
Please come find us at ASD in March, Booth Number C3353. It's going to be an awesome show, and we'd love to see you there!
Pacific Link Trade USA, Inc.
1223 Coronet Drive, Suite 3
Dalton, GA 30720, USA
Phone:(866) 824-0079
Fax: (706) 272-7979


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Vietnam to participate in UN peacekeeping missions
Vietnam says it will begin participating in United Nations peacekeeping operations early next year, a further sign that it wants to assume a bigger role in international affairs.
Facing rising demand, the U.N. has appealed for countries to send more troops and police officers to help carry out its peacekeeping missions around the world. Vietnam didn't say how large a contribution it is prepared to make. Most of the 115 participating countries currently make only token contributions of less than 40 people.
The state-controlled Tien Phong newspaper on Tuesday quoted Vice Defense Minister Nguyen Chi Vinh as telling visiting U.N. Assistant General Secretary Edmond Mulet that Vietnamese troops would be available from early next year. The report gave few other details.
Vietnam opened its economy to foreign investment in the 1990s and has followed a steady policy of embracing regional and international institutions. But the Communist rulers of the country's 87 million people have shown no sign of relaxing bans on freedom of speech and political activism even as they seek greater global clout.
Countries contribute troops to the U.N. for a variety of reasons, including national prestige, the ability to influence individual missions and a perception that doing so may help in bids for elected seats at the world body. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon acknowledged in 2011 that sourcing peacekeepers was a major problem, saying he had been "begging leaders to make resources available to us."
There are currently 15 U.N. peacekeeping missions around the world. Bangladesh is currently the biggest contributor with more than 8,000 personnel, closely followed by Pakistan and India. The United States and most European countries, while being the major bankrollers of the peacekeeping program, mostly prefer to deploy their troops with NATO and EU or other Western-led missions.
A study last year by the International Peace Institute placed Vietnam among 33 countries that had potential to either begin contributing troops or significantly strengthen their commitment. Vietnam's neighbor and fellow Communist state China is a moderate contributor that the study said could become a larger player.


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Story highlights
- A Brooklyn man says New York police stopped him in April after he left a Macy's store
- A TV actor says he was racially profiled at the same Macy's in June
- Two college students say they were profiled after shopping at Barneys in February, April
- Macy's says it's investigating; Barneys says it has "zero tolerance" for discrimination
A fourth New Yorker is saying that he was targeted outside a New York City department store because of his race.
Art Palmer, 56, of Brooklyn told CNN he was stopped by New York Police Department officers in April after he left the Macy's department store in Herald Square. He had two bags of merchandise on him -- about eight items total -- when, he said, police stopped him and searched both bags to see if his receipts matched what was in the bags.
After being detained for about 10 minutes, Palmer said, police released him and told him he had been stopped because they had lost track of him on store surveillance cameras.
Palmer said he has spoken to management at Macy's and officers at the NYPD midtown police precinct about the incident, and was told that the officers who stopped him outside the store were just doing their jobs.
Palmer said that with the help of state Sen. Eric Adams, he has filed a complaint with the civilian review board.
Macy's and the NYPD could not be reached for comment about the incident.
The allegation of racial profiling comes after one other involving the same Macy's department store and two involving Barneys New York.
HBO television actor Robert Brown said at a news conference this month that he was racially profiled at the Herald Square Macy's in June. Brown said at least three plainclothes officers stopped him, accused him of using a fraudulent credit card and detained him inside the store.
Brown, star of HBO's "Treme," has filed a lawsuit against the NYPD seeking yet-to-be-specified damages, he said.
The NYPD did not respond to CNN's request for comment about Brown's claims.
In an e-mail to CNN, Elina Kazan, vice president of media relations for Macy's, said the department store is investigating the allegations but does "not comment on matters in litigation."
In a similar incident, Kayla Phillips, 21, told reporters last week that four plainclothes officers forcefully stopped her after she left Barneys with her purchase in February.
She and Trayon Christian, 19, who said he also was racially profiled after purchasing a belt at Barneys in April, want damages from the store and the New York Police Department. Christian has filed a lawsuit.
Phillips said that she had been eyeing a $2,500 orange suede Celine bag after a friend bought one for his mother.
After showing the cashier her ID, Phillips said, she paid at a register and left the store with the item in a Barneys bag. She walked out of the Madison Avenue store to 59th Street, where the officers stopped her, she said.
"I was attacked," Phillips said.
The officers -- three male and one female -- questioned her, she said.
"How did you buy this bag, where did you get the money from?" the female officer asked her, Phillips said.
Phillips showed them her debit card, which the female officer took and showed to her partners, bending and examining it, she said. After verifying Phillips' purchase and returning her card, the officers let her go and did not apologize, she said.
In a prepared statement, Mark Lee, CEO of Barneys New York, said "no customer should have the unacceptable experience described in recent media reports, and we offer our sincere regret and deepest apologies."
"We want to reinforce that Barneys New York has zero tolerance for any form of discrimination. Our mission is to ensure that all customers receive the highest-quality service -- without exception," he said.
Speaking to the claims by Christian, the company said no employee was involved "in the pursuit of any action with the individual other than the sale."
In a statement, the New York Police Department said, "We are investigating the allegation." The department directed CNN to its legal department.
Kareem Vessup, Phillips' attorney, said an impending lawsuit could seek $5 million in punitive damages, but the exact amount is still undetermined. He said both Barneys and the NYPD should reevaluate their practices on "shop and frisk."
"There's a call for change," Vessup said. "How long had this been going on? Who else may have been affected by this practice?"
Christian, a New York City College of Technology student, entered Barneys on April 29 to buy a Ferragamo belt he had seen rappers wear on television, his attorney, Michael Palillo, told CNN on Wednesday.
Christian bought the belt, left the store and walked a block before two undercover police officers stopped him, Palillo said.
When they saw the designer belt, they asked him how he was able to afford it, Palillo said. The officers allegedly accused him of purchasing the belt with a fraudulent card and said they had received a call from Barneys, according to Palillo.
Christian said he was detained in a holding cell for two hours and interrogated, as police contacted Chase Bank to check his card, Palillo said.
When they confirmed that his card was valid, police released Christian and apologized, Palillo said.
Rap mogul Jay-Z -- who has been thrust into the debate over alleged racial profiling at Barneys New York -- broke his silence Saturday, defending himself from critics who have insisted he break off his partnership with the department store over the allegations.
The music icon and entrepreneur spoke in an online statement the day after Phillips, an African-American college student, made her allegations.
Jay-Z has a fashion line that is set to sell at Barneys. A Change.org petition calling for him to end this collaboration had more than 13,000 signatures Saturday night.
"Right as Jay-Z prepares to roll out a new partnership with Barneys New York for the holiday shopping season, I've been disappointed to hear new allegations about how the retailer treats young black consumers," wrote the petition's creator, Derick Bowers of Brooklyn.
The celebrity -- born Shawn Carter, who in addition to being a rapper runs restaurants, a sport agency and other ventures -- on Saturday issued a statement on his website that said he doesn't want to jump to conclusions without all the facts.
He said proceeds from his partnership will benefit his charitable foundation, not him, and insisted, "My idea was born out of creativity and charity ... not profit." Bringing him into this debate, the rapper added, isn't fair -- especially since the truth hasn't been established in the racial profiling cases.
"Why am I being demonized, denounced and thrown on the cover of a newspaper for not speaking immediately?" he wrote. "The negligent, erroneous reports and attacks on my character, intentions, and the spirit of this collaboration have forced me into a statement I didn't want to make without the full facts."
He added that he and his team are working "to get to the bottom of these incidents and at the same time find a solution that doesn't harm all those that stand to benefit from this collaboration."
"I am against discrimination of any kind, but if I make snap judgments, no matter who it's towards, aren't I committing the same sin as someone who profiles?" he said. "I am no stranger to being profiled and I truly empathize with anyone that has been put in that position. Hopefully this brings forth a dialogue to effect real change."


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Stranded dolphins rising problem off Cape Cod coast
WELLFLEET, Mass. -- There's no good spot on Cape Cod for dolphins to continue this winter's massive and unexplained beachings, but a group of 11 has chosen one of the worst.
The remote inlet down Wellfleet's Herring River is a place where the tides recede fast and far, and that's left the animals mired in a grayish-brown mud one local calls "Wellfleet mayonnaise."
Walking is the only way to reach the animals, but it's not easy. Rescuers crunch through cord grass and seashells before hitting a grabby muck that releases a footstep only after a sucking pop. One volunteer hits a thigh-deep "hole" and tumbles forward. The mud covers his face like messy war paint the rest of the morning.
Rescuers make a quick assessment once they reach the animals.
One dolphin is dead, but the other 10 appear healthy, and some bang their tails in the shallows, struggling to move. Rescuers decide the best course is to wait for the incoming tide to free the dolphins, then boats can try to herd them out of trouble. The only other alternative is hauling them to a waiting trailer, and open water. But the trailer is nearly a mile away.
Waiting has risks. Dolphins can't survive long on land and there's no guarantee the boats can push the dolphins on to safety.
"Now's where we start crossing our fingers," said Brian Sharpe of the International Fund for Animal Welfare, as he heads for a boat.
A year ago, Tuesday's 11 stranded dolphins would have seemed remarkable. Now, they just add to a growing tally.
In the last month, 177 short-beaked common dolphins have stranded on Cape Cod, and 124 have died. The total is nearly five times the average of 37 common dolphins that have stranded annually during the last 12 years.
So far, there's no explanation.
Workers at the IFAW, which has led the rescue efforts, tag and take blood samples of the stranded animals, necropsies have been done on dead dolphins and a Congressional briefing was held early this month in the push for answers. But researchers can offer only theories about things such as changes in weather, water temperature or behavior of the dolphins' prey.
Geography may also play a role, if the dolphins are getting lost along the Cape's jagged inner coastline, in towns like Wellfleet.
In mid-February, Wellfleet feels like a place long emptied out after a dimly-remembered party. A closed mini-golf course, candy store and drive-in theater are among the dormant summer businesses seen on a drive into town. A downtown road rolls past shuttered cottages and motel cabins.
But Wellfleet is a hot spot for the dolphin strandings, in part because of features such as Jeremy Point, a thin peninsula that blocks the way to Cape Cod Bay if the dolphins wander too far into the town's harbor. The IFAW boat is charged with pushing the animals past the point Tuesday, once they're freed.
Meanwhile, rescuers in orange vests and black waders work in pairs to move the dolphins on slings, bringing them closer together and pointed the right way.
"We'll take advantage of the fact that they're social animals," said Kerry Branon, an IFAW spokeswoman. "We're hoping if we release them together, they'll stick together and then we'll herd them out around the point."
Not all the dolphins are on board, though. One drifts off to the left, where he could beach again. The manager of the stranding team, Katie Moore, slides over, grabs its dorsal fin, and gives it a push in the right direction.
"You're going the wrong way, buddy," she says.
The inlet continues to fill and the dolphins break into waters that are deeper than the rescuers can follow, but they're in two groups. The IFAW's boat eventually follows one pod and the Wellfleet harbormaster takes another. The noise from the motors pushes the dolphins ahead. So do acoustic pingers, devices that make a sound that annoys the dolphins.
From here, all the shore workers can do is await word from the boats, which will follow the dolphins until dark, if needed. The crew trudges off the beach and gathers later in a parking lot at the Wellfleet marina, where coffee and two boxes of doughnut holes will be served.
Volunteer Mike Giblin, muck still on his face, sits in his truck and explains why, at 64, he can't wait to get an early-morning call to help the dolphins. The animals are special, says the retired high school teacher. He adds that the dolphins somehow know the workers are there to help. He's certain.
Moore later smiles at the thought, but dismisses any mystical link with the animals.
"They're wild animals," she says. "This is not comforting for them. They don't want to be touched."
The day's gray cold has soaked through Moore and she's worn out. Help for her team is coming from different places; some workers from a Virginia aquarium assisted Tuesday. But she says the pace of the strandings has been exhausting.
"We just don't know when it's going to end anymore," she said. "That wears on people."
She's been encouraged by IFAW's success so far in getting dolphins back to sea. She also believes in the work.
"I think that as humans we have such a huge impact on the ocean environment and on these animals in other ways, that this is our opportunity to do the right thing."
As Moore speaks, her eyes flicker out to the harbor, where she can see the harbormaster's boat has led its group of dolphins to sea. But her agency's boat is still out, and she wonders if those dolphins will make it, or simply beach again. She wonders if she'll soon be second-guessing her decision to let the tide try to free the dolphins, rather than her workers.
But it's too soon for answers.
"Ask me tomorrow how I feel about that decision," she said.


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The developmentally disabled are the most vulnerable members of society, and treating them with respect is not only an obligation- it's the right thing to do. However, the programs and organizations that house, educate, and employ New York's most vulnerable are in danger of closing their doors. Budget cuts to the Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (OMRDD) are crippling the services on which tens of thousands of New Yorkers with development disabilities rely. In order to resuscitate these vital programs, we must look at all available options.
People considered developmentally disabled range from those with autism and cerebral palsy to epilepsy and other neurological impairments. The OMRDD is the only department in New York that exists to help people with developmental disabilities enjoy their lives, experience good personal health and growth, and contribute to society in a meaningful way.
As founder of the Forest Park Aktion Club, a social club for adults with developmental disabilities that shares OMRDD's priorities, I saw first hand how these services and programs make a big difference in the lives of these New Yorkers with needs.
However, recently approved budget cuts to OMRDD are crippling its ability to support its wide range of programs. Reduced funding negatively affects all major providers for the developmentally disabled, such as: Queens Centers for Progress, which provides Medicaid services for over 565 individuals; AHRC New York City, which may be unable to maintain its comprehensive spectrum of services for adults and children; and New York Families of Autistic Children, which may not be able to provide family centered learning for children suffering from autistic.
Under the governor's proposed Deficit Reduction Plan, OMRDD would have suffered a staggering loss to its operating budget of 10%. My colleagues in the Assembly and I managed to negotiate those cuts down to 5.4%, but we need to work to bring this number to zero.
This feat is possible if we prioritize the needs of the developmentally disabled and reallocate monies from other already available sources.
For example, New York State and the federal government traditionally divide the cost of Medicaid evenly. However, under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act the federal government pays a greater share of Medicaid than Albany. I propose reallocating the difference in funds- the monies the State planned to pay for Medicaid and what the State has to pay for Medicaid- to OMRDD, which is in dire need. In other words, we must redirect the monies New York State pays into Medicaid to OMRDD in order to preserve valuable and necessary programming.
Since taking office, I have met with dozens of organizations, neighbors and parents whose loved ones rely on OMRDD programs. To allow budget cuts to debilitate these programs would be unconscionable.
Protecting the needs and well-being of the developmentally disabled is one of my priorities as an Assemblyman, and I'm dedicated to advocating on their behalf. I hope you will join me in the fight to put all New Yorkers first.
Assemblyman Mike Miller
28th District


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Betamax was the best thing ever. It could fly, cut hair, and even save kids trapped in deadly fires. The one thing it couldn't do was enable Sony to take their proprietary technology and ram it down everyone's throat. Hence, most of the world has VHS, not Betamax. That's too bad, of course, because VHS is technologically inferior to Betamax and rumor has it that angels cry every time you use a VHS tape.
Yet Sony chose to play its cards too close to its chest, while JVC (the inventor of VHS) shared its technology and trampled Betamax into relative oblivion. Nonetheless, Sony still hung on to Betamax, providing its technology to the few niche markets that use it, e.g., in TV production land, where our own Loki may be weeping. Why the somber mood? Sony has announced that they are discontinuing production of Betamax VCRs, marking the true beginning of the end for the 27 year old tech. The company will still see to the repair of existing units and the continued production of tapes for betacams, however.
While I tip my hat to a legend, I feel an odd urge to burn propriety Memory Sticks in protest, too.


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BERLIN — Proposed legislation expanding the state's sales tax to more than two dozen new services has garnered the attention of the resort and state business community.
House Bill 1051 calls for applying the state's sales tax to services such as tax prep, property management, vehicles, commercial cleaning, cell phones, cable television, security systems, a parking facility, barber or beauty expense, sign painting, interior decorating and extermination, among others.
The bill will have a hearing before the House Ways and Means Committee today at 1 p.m.
In advance of today's hearing, the Greater Ocean City Chamber of Commerce sent a letter of opposition. The chamber has been encouraging others to submit their own testimony as well.
"[The bill] will expand the State Sales and Use Tax to an additional 29 services, including such business services as tax preparation, management and business consulting, public relations, photographic services, real property management, testing labs, staffing services, drafting, business brokerage service and more," the letter read. "Extending the sales tax to professional services would hinder economic growth, cripple job creation and make Maryland less competitive."
AAA Mid-Atlantic also chimed in with its opposition, specifically applying sales tax to auto repairs and services, driving up costs for all Maryland motorists. The organization has asked all members to contact their individual legislators as well as the bill's sponsors, Ways and Means Committee Chair Sheila Hixson and Delegate James Gilchrist, to oppose the legislation. As of Tuesday morning, over 27,000 e-mails had been sent to Maryland legislators.
"This bill will further increase the driving costs for every Maryland car owner," said Ragina C. Averella, AAA Mid-Atlantic's Manager of Public and Government Affairs. "Not only is a tax on car repairs and road service regressive, it could not come at a worse time. Gas prices are now at record levels and are expected to surpass $4 per gallon in the coming weeks."
The auto club is concerned that expanding the sales tax to auto repairs and towing services would even further strain the pockets of Maryland motorists, particularly lower income families, for whom it is already difficult to pay for vehicle maintenance and repairs. Maryland already applies a sales tax on parts for auto repair. The proposed legislation would expand the tax to include labor as well, and thus further increase the cost of vehicle repairs.
According to a AAA survey released last summer, 25 percent of motorists admit that they could not pay for a car repair of $2,000 if faced with one. In that same survey, more than 50 percent of American drivers also said they are keeping their older vehicle because they do not want the financial burden of a new one.
According to AAA, the expansion of the tax to include towing and towing services will also increase the cost of car ownership.
The sales tax on auto repairs will also drive up insurance rates for Maryland drivers. Repair services are already a significant component of the cost of auto insurance claims. Adding a tax on labor for these repairs, when collision claims run into many thousands of dollars, will add significant costs to these repairs, and ultimately be passed on to Maryland car owners in terms of higher insurance premiums, says AAA.
If the bill makes it out of committee and then is approved by the House and Senate, it would go into effect Jan. 1, 2013.


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Previous Lecture
Complete and continue
Learn Web Design and Start Your Freelance Business
Course Introduction
Course overview (1:52)
Design Fundamentals
What is HTML & CSS? (4:32)
Hacking typography (3:21)
Basic color theory (2:41)
The importance of whitespace (0:55)
Getting visual hierarchy right (2:45)
Using stunning imagery (1:39)
Employing AIDA model (3:17)
Developing a style guide (2:02)
Using patterns (2:12)
Don't reinvent the wheel (1:44)
Know your end goal - plan ahead (1:06)
Introduction to Photoshop
Create a new document in Photoshop (2:34)
Paint brush tool (3:24)
Shapes and custom shapes (6:11)
Layers and groups (4:03)
Cropping and resizing (3:17)
Blending modes and effects (3:41)
Text tool (3:32)
Photoshop shortcuts (3:24)
Performance optimisation (3:04)
Selection tools (2:36)
Gradient and paint bucket tools (2:30)
Panels (1:30)
Extra: guidelines, smart guides, rulers (3:09)
Designing a landing page from scratch in Photoshop
Introduction (plan and sketch) (2:04)
Designing a stunning header (19:52)
Designing 'why' section (14:11)
Designing 'features' section (14:41)
Designing 'video' section (7:37)
Designing 'newsletter' section (12:17)
Designing 'credibility' section (7:42)
Designing footer (7:38)
Business Side of Freelancing
The cost of doing business (2:42)
Legal documents (3:43)
Benefits over features (2:18)
Developing your unique selling proposition (USP) (3:21)
Reaching your target audience (3:51)
Building a reputation (2:40)
How much do I charge? (4:11)
Building An Online Portfolio
Make visuals not only beautiful, but detailed (1:52)
What to include in your portfolio (1:26)
Build a portfolio with no coding knowledge (6:03)
What Have You Learnt
Wrap up (1:51)
Further learning
Designing 'newsletter' section
Lecture content locked
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US 2257 Statement


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Consequence - I Get Biz [In Studio Performance]
Off "Curb Certified" hosted by Superstar Jay & DJ Love Dinero Veteran's Day 2011
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chase(redirected from give chase)
Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Legal, Idioms.
1. Brit an unenclosed area of land where wild animals are preserved to be hunted
2. Brit the right to hunt a particular quarry over the land of others
3. the chase the act or sport of hunting
4. short for steeplechase
5. Real Tennis a ball that bounces twice, requiring the point to be played again
A covered recess in a wall that forms a vertical shaft, in which plumbing pipes or electrical wires are inserted.
What does it mean when you dream about being chased?
Being chased in a dream suggests running from a situation that the dreamer finds threatening or frightening. If the dreamer is the pursuer, he or she may be chasing after a difficult goal.
(building construction)
A vertical passage for ducts, pipes, or wires in a building.
(design engineering)
A series of cuts, each having a path that follows the path of the cut before it; an example is a screw thread.
The main body of the mold which contains the molding cavity or cavities.
The enclosure used to shrink-fit parts of a mold cavity in place to prevent spreading or distortion, or to enclose an assembly of two or more parts of a split-cavity block.
To straighten and clean threads on screws or pipes.
(graphic arts)
A rectangular metal frame in which type and plates are locked for letterpress printing.
The exposed part of a gun (artillery) in front on the trunnion band or cradle.
1. A continuous recess built into a wall to receive pipes, ducts, etc.; a wall chase.
2. A groove cut in a masonry wall to receive a pipe, conduit, etc.
3. To decorate metalwork by tooling on the exterior surface.
i. To follow another aircraft either to observe its behavior (as in the case of a chase pilot), warn of a visible malfunction or external damage, or to assist it in landing.
ii. To give chase (i.e., to follow a hostile aircraft and attempt to get close to it to be able to attack it).
ii. To give chase (i.e., to follow a hostile aircraft and attempt to get close to it to be able to attack it).
Folklore interpretations say that if you are looking at a chase or participating in it, you will have a comfortable old age. Although this may be comforting, there is a more realistic understanding of this activity in a dream. For example, if you are being chased maybe you are running away from and trying to escape things that are frightening and unpleasant (possibly your own habits and negative behaviors). If you are doing the chasing, it may be that you are expressing some aggressive feelings toward others or are pursuing a very difficult goal. On the deepest level, if a stranger is chasing you it may represent your chasing a part of yourself, the unconscious attempts to catch up with the conscious in order for you to become more aware of yourself and your own multidimensional nature.


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The Wire is an American television drama set and produced in Baltimore, Maryland. Created, produced, and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon, the series is broadcast by the premium cable network HBO in the United States. The Wire premiered on June 2, 2002, with 50 episodes airing over the course of its first four seasons. The fifth and final season, which encompasses 10 episodes, premiered on January 6, 2008.
The plot of the first season centers on the ongoing struggles between police units and drug-dealing gangs on the west side of the city, and is told from both points of view. Subsequent seasons have focused on other facets of the city. The large cast consists mainly of character actors who are little known for their other roles. Simon has said that despite its presentation as a crime drama, the show is "really about the American city, and about how we live together. It's about how institutions have an effect on individuals, and how…whether you're a cop, a longshoreman, a drug dealer, a politician, a judge [or] lawyer, you are ultimately compromised and must contend with whatever institution you've committed to.
From the Wikipedia entry on The Wire.
The Wire is a show that is strangely addictive. I really enjoyed how the Barksdale investigation encompassed the first few seasons. This is something that never really happens in TV. The same investigation spanning three seasons? Anyway, the fifth season still uses elements from the first season. I think it's a great show. I also enjoy how in the fifth season, Simon plans on featuring the media and how it impacts the city.


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This site is supposedly a good source for daily info on North Korea:
Pyongyang gave "advanced notice" of the test to the U.S. and China, a South Korean official told theYonhap news agency. John Swenson-Wright, Chatham House fellow and Senior Lecturer in East Asian studies at the University of Cambridge said:
"The test is no surprise, although reports from South Korea that the North had informed the US and China a day before the test are unusual. This may indicate a desire (perhaps misguided and naive) on the part of Pyongyang to minimize the political consequences of having tested."
"A key question now will be determining the size and nature of the test. Expect governments and scientists to be looking for evidence of radioactive isotope gas traces, alongside signs of seismic activity, to gauge nature of tests."
Reuters reports that Japan is considering sanctions against North Korea.
AP says China may not be very pleased.
Friends on Twitter point out that South Korea is currently chairing the UN Security Council. They've just called a meeting of the council at 9am.
Reuters, South Korea's Defense Ministry confirms the nuclear test:
North Korea conducted a nuclear test on Tuesday, South Korea's defense ministry said, after seismic activity measuring 4.9 magnitude was registered by the U.S. Geological Survey.
It's an interesting question as to how this affects the State of the Union address, which is taking place Tuesday night at 9pm Easter.
In part, that will depend on how this test is perceived in the morning, in the news cycle. is this "just another news story" along with the Pope, or the makings of a possible crisis?
Then there are the Republicans. To what degree will they – and I'm sure they will – try to argue that this North Korean nuclear test is proof that the President has empowered our enemies, been asleep on the watch, blah blah. And expect Benghazi to be invoked: "There's a trend of foreign policy gone wrong!"
All of which may make the President put in a strong paragraph or more about North Korea, and more generally beef up any national security parts of the speech.
The news was just confirmed by the UN Security Council:
Here's AP. Sounds like they haven't heard the confirmation yet.
And let me just say, I turned on both CNN and MSNBC, and both were useless. Nothing. So I went to Twitter, and voila.


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A United Nations special envoy to military-ruled Burma (Myanmar) ended a five-day visit Friday to monitor human rights there without being allowed to meet its most famous political prisoner, Aung San Suu Kyi.
Tomas Ojea Quintana said he "deeply regretted" not being allowed to see the detained opposition leader. He also said the junta had given him no indication on the timing or framework of parliamentary elections that it plans to hold this year, the first since a 1990 poll won by Ms. Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) and annulled by the military.
Observers swiftly criticized the snub of a UN envoy, the first to visit since two senior US diplomats traveled there in November. The US mission was part of a shift by the Obama administration towards engagement with Burma after decades of sanctions and arms-length diplomacy.
But human rights activists and Western diplomats argue that Mr. Quintana wasn't expected to wrest major political concessions from the prickly junta. Instead, he went to meet prisoners of conscience, whose ranks swelled after a violent 2007 suppression of Buddhist monk-led protests.
On the eve of his visit, Tin Oo, a senior NLD leader, was released after seven years of house arrest, an apparent sop to the UN visit. However, the NLD has argued that any elections won't be credible unless the junta releases Suu Kyi and more than 2,100 other political detainees and restores freedom of speech and assembly.
In addition, Quintana also tried to shine a spotlight on human rights in Burma's ethnic minority areas, which have been largely overshadowed by the international focus on Suu Kyi. He traveled to Rakhine in western Burma to investigate the treatment of detainees held there, including minorities. Rakhine is home to the Rohingya, a Muslim minority, whom Burma doesn't recognize as citizens, leaving them effectively stateless.
Getting access to Rakhine "is a bit of a coup because [Quintana] has requested access before and been denied," says Benjamin Zawacki, a researcher in Bangkok for Amnesty International. "It's a high-value visit."
The Argentine diplomat has previously raised the issue of the Rohingya at the UN Human Rights Council. He is due to address the council again in March. Activists say a firsthand report should strengthen the UN's hand in advocating for increased protection for this and other ethnicities in Burma, where about one-third of the roughly 50 million population belong to 135 recognized minorities.
The Rohingya, who aren't in this category, are estimated to number about 700,000, though no reliable census exists. Over the past two decades, many have sought sanctuary across the border in neighboring Bangladesh and in other parts of Southeast Asia.
On Thursday, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), also known as Doctors Without Borders, said thousands of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh faced sickness and even starvation after being driven out of their homes in recent months. Most have moved to slums on the outskirts of UN-run refugee camps but aren't eligible for food aid and run the risk of being forced back to Burma, the medical charity said.
Paul Critchley, MSF chief in Bangladesh, said more than 6,000 refugees had arrived since October at an unofficial camp of nearly 30,000 where the charity runs a clinic. Many reported harassment and beatings by security forces and neighbors, part of an apparent political campaign against an estimated 200,000 Rohingya who live illegally in Bangladesh.
The abuses meted out to refugees included being pushed into a river separating the two countries and told to swim back to Burma, say MSF officials. Those who make it to the camps have no means of making a living, and women who go outside to collect firewood have been raped.
"The only thing that they can legally do in Bangladesh is starve. This is not acceptable," Mr. Critchley told a press conference in Bangkok.
Last year Thailand's military was accused of forcing hundreds of Rohingya boatpeople back out to sea after they arrived from Bangladesh and Burma. Some later drowned or were rescued in neighboring countries.
This crackdown led to a drop in sailings, says Chris Lewa, who runs The Arakan Project, a human rights group focused on Rohingya. But the renewed harassment in Bangladesh is spurring more refugees to consider fleeing by boat, despite the hazardous journey and risk of reprisals.
Ms. Lewa says the anti-Rohingya campaign seems aimed at deterring new arrivals from Burma. But the upcoming election could be the trigger for another exodus, if the tensions aren't handled properly by authorities.
"There is mounting tension that could develop into communal violence," she warns.


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Volume 34 Issue 7: (Aug/Sept 2011)
Up-and-Coming Superstars
Barbara Robertson
Issue: Volume 34 Issue 7: (Aug/Sept 2011)
Up-and-Coming Superstars
Green Party
Green Lantern, one of six movies based on comic books that fought for audience share in movie theaters this summer, landed in the unenviable calendar slot between
X-Men: First Class
(June 3) and Disney/Pixar's
Cars 2
(June 24). The question was: Could Hal Jordon, the first human recruited into the elite Green Lantern Corps, power people into a ticket line? That might depend on actor Ryan Reynolds, who plays Jordon—or, at least, his head does when he's wearing his superpower-granting green ring. His body becomes a special energized suit, and that suit is digital; the suit is, in effect, a character. To move it, a team of animators at Sony Pictures Imageworks matched and extended Reynolds' performance; a team of visual effects artists fastened the CG suit to footage of Reynolds' head.
"The suit is digital because of the internal illumination and external energy that licks off the surface," says David Schaub, animation supervisor. "The suit also has a semi-translucent quality that is similar to the material properties found in the rocks and buildings on the planet Oa. That unique and otherworldly quality was best achieved by making the suit all-CG. The suit itself was designed by costume designer Ngila Dickson, with all the muscles sculpted specifically in the right places." Further, by animating a digital suit, the postproduction crew could push Reynolds' live-action performance into superhero territory.
Jordon is one of three Green Lanterns that have their bodies replaced with CG suits. Imageworks
artists also did a body replacement for Mark Strong, who plays Sinestro, and for Temuera Morrison, who plays Abin Sur and appears at the beginning of the film. "The bulk of our technical work was on these hybrid humans," Schaub says. "This is a tricky registration problem because the suit needs to blend seamlessly with the photographic element at the neckline, without any obvious sliding between the two."
On set, the actors wore gray suits with optical markers that tracking teams used to match the CG suit with the actor's body in the filmed footage, and positioned it in 3D space as seen from the view of the live-action camera. The track gave animators a character's position from the hips through the spine and into the head, with the neck locked into place.
"The artistry comes into how the muscles move," Schaub says. "The animators manipulate the muscles and tendons with great attention to anatomical detail to make the characters feel organic. When people talk about motion capture or rotomation looking stiff, it's that lack
of micro detail, the bounce, the jiggle…what you see in slow motion if you were to analyze it.
We needed to get all that musculature working so the suit didn't feel rigid."
Sony Pictures Imageworks played a major role in bringing the Green Lantern's characters and worlds to life, and recent grad Matthew Tovar was able to contribute on a fight sequence.
Animated Characters
In addition to the three hybrid characters with animated bodies attached to liveaction heads, Imageworks animators performed several fully CG characters. "All the other characters in the Green Lantern Corps are animated," Schaub says. "There are weird alien critters, some bipedal, some quadrupeds, and, of course, they fly as well. They all needed a unique quality to the way they move. Also, there are a group of guardians that are stoic digital humans. And then there's Parallax, a
huge amorphous cloud of tortured souls. Parallax is basically a huge effect, but the foundation
for the effect is an underlying animation system to give the character intelligence and intent."
To produce these performances, Schaub oversaw a team of 80 animators, a majority of whom worked in Imageworks' Albuquerque, New Mexico, studio. Three leads in each location supervised the work of smaller teams.
"A typical approach would be to have specialists, with one team working on the hybrids, and another group the animated characters," Schaub explains, "but, instead, we made a strong effort to give everyone a taste of everything. This was the first time out for many of the animators, and it was a good show for people who wanted to get their feet wet. Some of them were mostly doing hybrid characters, but as soon as they got through that challenge and showed capability, we tried them on more animation-heavy shots."
One of those animators working on his first feature film was Matthew Tovar, a 2008 Animation
Mentor graduate. "I was working at Sony Computer Entertainment in San Diego and was on a break when I got an e-mail from Becca Romeo at Animation Mentor saying that Imageworks was looking for animators and that she had forwarded my reel to them," Tovar says. "When Imageworks contacted me, I told them I was interested. They reviewed my work and offered me a short-term job for
the run of the show."
Tovar had been studying computer graphics at the University of the Incarnate Word, a Catholic liberal arts college in San Antonio, Texas, when he discovered Animation Mentor."I had always drawn as a kid and was a big fan of Disney and Pixar movies," he says. "Bringing characters to life sounded like fun, but I didn't know you could make a career out of it. I wanted to receive more training on character animation, so I decided to give Animation Mentor a shot, and I got hooked."
Tovar's first job was animating dinosaurs for a television series at 1080 Entertainment in San Antonio; he was studying at Animation Mentor at the same time. "I was learning on the job and learning more after hours," he says. "I improved a lot."
From that job, Tovar bounced to Sony in San Diego, where he animated cartoony characters for the PlayStation game
Mod Nation
and worked as a cinematic animator for other video games, including the 2009 game of the year,
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Green Lantern
gave him the opportunity to stretch his skills into feature films.
"I had never dealt with Linux, so that was new," Tovar says. "The tools they use are a little different. And, when I worked in cinematics, we didn't deal with the lighting or rigging departments. At Imageworks, we went back and forth. Approved shots go to lighting and sometimes come back to animation. There's a lot of back and forth because, in the end, it looks better. I enjoyed getting into the fine details to polish a shot and make the animation really shine."
Tovar worked primarily on a long fight sequence between Jordan and Sinestro, two of the hybrid characters. "I learned a lot from my lead, my supervisors, and the other animators," he says. "My lead, Rahul Dabholkar, was like an Animation Mentor mentor. We would get down to fine details from one keyframe to the next." Tovar learned, for example, when favoring one keyframe over another would help a shot, and how lighting, effects, and rendering could affect animation.
"Rahul let me know that we needed to take motion blur into consideration," Tovar says. "We might create a gap in the animation so it wouldn't feel so smooth once motion blur was added on; it would make the action pop more. I enjoyed getting that detail into the shots."
Once he finished work on
Green Lantern,
Tovar returned to San Diego and his former job at Sony Computer Entertainment to work in video game animation. "I definitely would like to get more feature experience," Tovar says. "But, right now, I'm doing cinematic animation, and that's great, too. It's kind of like movies, but for video games, and it's fun."
He adds, "It's definitely a good time to be an animator."
HERO Animation
The Mighty Thor, Norse God of Thunder, has a problem. Just before his father, Odin, planned to
crown him king, Frost Giants from the ice planet Jotunheim disrupted the coronation. So, an angry and arrogant Thor sped through a portal to Jotunheim, where he led an unauthorized attack on the inhabitants. This did not please Odin, and he banished his son to live among humans on Earth. The audience watching the feature
learns this back-story only after the superhero lands in New Mexico and smashes into Natalie Portman's RV. Portman plays Jane Foster, an astrophysicist. Australian actor Chris Hemsworth plays Thor, and Anthony Hopkins plays Odin. The production, directed by Kenneth Branagh, was a box-office hit.
In postproduction, the story centers on Digital Domain, the studio responsible for creating visual effects for the sci-fi action-adventure, with BUF, Fuel VFX, Luma Pictures, The Base Studio, CEG Media, and Evil Eye Pictures also contributing. Kelly Port led the work at Digital Domain, where Eric Petey, working out of Digital Domain's Vancouver studio, supervised the animation team. "The bulk of the animation on the show took place on the ice planet," Petey says. "We created most of the creatures and characters in that location."
When Thor shows up on Jotunheim with his posse of gods and demigods looking for trouble, they find it—a planet's worth of trouble from enormous, muscular bad guys. "The Frost Giants are slightly exaggerated humans, monster-y types, large, creepy men. Kenneth [Branagh] always talked about how they needed to be vicious and menacing."
Some shots have more than 200 of these Frost Giants. "We can manage the crowds with in-house
tools, but the shots were mostly done by animators, to be honest, using generic motion cycles," Petey says.
Animators keyframed Frost Giants in the foreground, and started with motion-captured data for background characters. The animated warriors don't have dialog: If they spoke in close-up shots, they were actors in makeup.
"We had large guys for the motion capture, but we couldn't use the motion directly," Petey says. The Frost Giants are 10 to 12 feet tall. We needed to process the data on a different skeleton."
For the rig, Digital Domain leveraged technology it had developed for
TRON: Legacy
that incorporates correct human skeletal dynamics (see "Inside Job," December 2010). "We did our best to translate that onto an exaggerated human form," Petey says.
A team of 16 animators, four of whom were interns, performed the background and foreground giants. Among the animators in Petey's group were two Animation Mentor graduates, Agata Matuszak, who keyframed foreground characters, and Magnolia Ku Lea, initially an intern but ultimately credited as an animator, who worked on shots with background characters.
Breaking the Ice
Matuszak graduated from Animation Mentor in July 2010 and started at Digital Domain in Vancouver in December 2010. The Polish-born Canadian hadn't considered animation as a career possibility until a friend told her about VanArts, the Vancouver Institute of Media Arts. "I was studying pre-med," she says. "Since I was little I always watched and drew cartoons. A friend told me about this local art school, so I thought this was my chance to follow my interests and take a path that was familiar to me. I completely fell in love with animation, and I can't see myself doing anything other than character animation and being a part of the filmmaking process."
Even before she graduated, Matuszak had received two job offers: one from Rainmaker VFX to work on the film
, and another to work for Veda Games, an animation studio in India. She went to India. "A lot of people thought I was crazy, but the head of the studio at Rainmaker understood and said to call when I was done there." And, she did.
"India was an amazing opportunity, and it's a beautiful place, but the way they see things
is different," Matuszak says. "There are many talented people, but the animation industry [there] still needs time to get to the animation quality of our North American standards."
Back in Vancouver, Matuszak joined Rainmaker VFX, where she worked on
Night at the Museum
Case 39
, and
Blades of Glory
. Then, the company transferred her to another division. "I was feeling like I needed something more; that there were holes in my animation knowledge," she says.
That's when she discovered Animation Mentor."I wanted to take every opportunity to strengthen my skills and learn from animators who are working in studios that I dream of working at," Matuszak says. "Going back to school was such a wonderful experience for me, and I am glad I took time off from work to focus 100 percent on school."
, Matuszak keyframed the Frost Giants fighting Thor and his warriors. "I had never animated characters fighting, and that was a big challenge because I am not familiar with the body mechanics of fighting," she says. "I took a lot of reference, reference of myself, from martial arts movies. This helped me get familiar with certain fighting dynamics, like punching and stabbing. When you're doing realistic characters, you can't do a lot of squash and stretch. The principles are still there, but you use them in a different way—for anticipation, not shape stretching. At Animation Mentor, I did a lot of cartoony animation, so coming back to visual effects, I had to transition my mind-set from cartoony to realistic movements. The principles are still there, but you use them in slightly different ways."
Motivated with Mocap
Also working on the Frost Giants was Ku Lea, who began her internship in October 2010. "Digital Domain first familiarized me with the tools, then how they used motion-captured data, and then how to approach that within a shot," she explains. "I didn't get thrown in cold, which was nice. By the time my internship ended, they had assigned me a few shots from start to finish, which was a thrill. I had no idea that I would get full shots by the end."
Ku Lea had studied traditional animation at Concordia University in Montreal, but after working as a traditional animator for a short time, became a character designer. "I have loved films and storytelling since I was a child," she relays. "The entire world of film was my passion as a child, and I drew a lot. When I saw there was a program where I could draw and make a film, I thought, 'Wow, I want to try this.'"
After several years as a character designer for TV series and games, Ku Lea wanted to return to her roots, "to bring things to life," she says. In the middle of Class Four, she was presented an offer to work on a visual effects broadcast movie. A game cinematic followed. And then, Digital Domain offered an internship.
"I had touched motion capture when I was doing the cinematic, but this was completely different," Ku Lea says of her work on
. "The quality is hugely different. Definitely finer detail. The shots I worked on involved the Frost Giants, the henchmen for the main bad guy. So, they're often surrounding him, and these characters reacted pretty menacingly."
For many of the shots, Ku Lea started with motion-captured data. "You're always changing it," she says. "You never use it as is. Basically, on top of fixing things that don't align and making movements more dynamic or smoother, often you'd have to throw out a whole section and hand-key a new animation because that's what is needed in the shot. Also, a huge part was that the Frost Giants had to have facial performance added, and that was entirely keyframe animation. All the emotions and facials were completely keyframed. Additionally, one of the unique things on
was the size of the shots with the Frost Giants— they were huge. A shot could have up to 80 characters. A lot of time was spent on making each character different from the one beside him—each one is reacting but can't distract from the main guy who you're supposed to be focused on. You have to use a lot of animation principles. It's satisfying work."
Before she started on a shot, Ku Lea sat with Petey, who explained what he expected from the performances. "The direction was very clear," she says. "He would say, 'This is the point. Make this character more aggressive. This is the approximate composition.' I also had animatics and notes. And, if I had a question, I could ask my fellow animators. It was really collaborative. I could go to dailies, even if I didn't have a shot up, and learn from seeing the senior animators showing their shots and getting feedback. Being part of that process was truly a big learning experience for me."
Ku Lea credits her classes at Animation Mentor with helping her understand the workflow. And, during the Q&A with the mentors, I learned how to take feedback," she says. "At Digital Domain, I found it interesting to ask my supervisor how he would approach a shot, and ask the more senior nimators how they would [do so], to learn from their workflow."
Next Up
Both animators are fully committed to their careers in animation. After finishing her work on
, Matuszak now works at Prime Focus in Vancouver. And Ku Lea is preparing a new piece for her demo reel.
"I'd like to work more in feature films because I love the quality and the time you can have, which offers great possibilities," Ku Lea says. "I love character animation, whether it is for a full-CG film or for a visual effects film—the principles are the same. When I'm working as an animator, I feel lucky. I feel like this is the best job in the world."
Barbara Robertson is an award-winning writer and a contributing editor for Computer Graphics World. She can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com.
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Oakland emcee sOul recently teamed up with fellow Oaklanders Crown City Rockers members Woodstock and Headnodic to write and record a tribute to the influential late great Gil Scott-Heron. Simply titled "Gil Scott Tribute" the song was recorded in one take (captured in the video above - a video blog session recording with Headnodic who mixed the track) and features Woodstock playing the beat live on his MPC and sampling Gil Scott Heron's "We Almost Lost Detroit" (off Gil Scott Heron & Brian Jackson's 1977 album Bridges) as well as recreating previous hip-hop interpretations of the original sample. Intricate stuff, and it works nicely too, with sOul on the mic spitting socio-political commentary along personal life monologue.
The song was recorded simply as a tribute to Gil Scott Heron and is not for sale but available as a free download here. Gil Scott Heron, who died at age 62 in May 2011, has been called the "godfather of rap" - a term he himself dismissed, preferring to label himself a "bluesologist." After the artist's sudden death a couple of years ago Chuck D of Public Enemy saluted Scott-Heron as a highly influential figure saying, in a heartfelt tribute to the man, that, "We do what we do and how we do because of you!" I agree with Chuck D as to the impact on hip-hop and music in general that Gil Scott Heron has made.


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Zeaplus Beauty Lady Handmade Pressed Flower Case:
High-quality soft edge clear case uses environmental non-toxic TPU, silky smooth and ultra thin. The case uses jewelry grade ultra clear glossy resin and dried natural flowers.
Real Dried Flower
The number of different petals different texture to show you the real side. Pretty real dried flower and leaf embedded design, for best, showing the phone and make your phone a luxury look. Every phone case is a unique style because there are no two identical flowers in the world.
Full Protection
100% Real Dried Pressed flowers case can decorate and protect your phone well.
Perfect Fit
Precisely cut openings to allow full access to all the functions of your phone.
Notice: Because of this case made by real flowers, so it is not exactly the same as the picture.
Additional Information
|iPhone X, iPhone XR, iPhone Xs, iPhone XS Max
1. We ship all over the world. Just buy and enjoy our service, we ship it to your door.
2. Total delivery time includes processing time and shipping time, tracking number will be provided . We declare the package at low price to help you avoid importing customs tax.
2. The total shipping cost is calculated by package weight.
Post Registered Air Mail
(1). for USA, Canada, Australia customers, it takes about 7 to 15 working days.
(2). For United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and most other west Europe countries, it may take 8 to 15 working days.
(3). For South America, east Europe countries, east-south Asia, it may take 12 to 30 working days.
(4). For other countries, it may take 15 to 30 working days.
Express Expedited Shipping
We provide extra expedited shipping for who want to get the order promptly, 4-8 working days to your door worldwide.
Do I need to pay customs tax?
As customs rules in various countries can frequently change, this can cause delays, and at times additional charges imposed by the receiving country. While we take all reasonable steps to comply with general world shipping standards, Giztop may not know the details of additional customs taxes or duties, or if any specific item was prohibited or confiscated by the receiving country. It is recommended that you investigate the relevant local laws in your country. We declare the package at low price to help you avoid importing customs tax.
When can I get the tracking number?
We understand your feeling about waiting for the package, we alway try our best to provide prompt shipping to each order. Normally, we will ship orders in 48 hours after you finished payment. The shipping company will return the tracking number to us in 1-3 days after collect the package and deal with the package. So we will update the tracking number to you in 5 days. sometimes, the order status is processing, but in fact, the package is on the way, just a little delay on shipping status updating. Please wait for a few days patiently. You also can contact us if you have any question.
Must To Know
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Google Play
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- All phones are unlocked and no-contract.
- Please check the phone's bands before place order, here is the world's list of LTE network bands
- North America: B2, B4, B5, B12, B13, B17
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5G NR Netword Bands
- Please check the phone's bands before place order, here is the world's list of 5G network bands


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SECRID Nile Red Miniwallet
RFID (Radio-Frequency IDentification) or NFC (Near Field Communication) cards increase convenience, but consequently the risks too. They can be read, activated and cloned from a metre away, without you noticing. Secrid's Cardprotector, the aluminium heart of all their wallets, protects your cards from these kinds of unwanted wireless communication.
- Holds: 4 embossed or 6 flat cards
- 4 extra cards
- Banknotes
- Business cards
- Receipts
- Secrid's leather is made from European cowhides with a full-grain and aniline-dyed basis, which can be worked for a diversity of unique looks and feels.
- Size and weight: 65 x 102 x 21 mm
- 72 g


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VIDEO DOWNLOAD - Faceoff Vol. 1 - Raven & Honky Tonk Man
Though eras of wrestling silently pass us by, the legends and superstars of those eras continue to roam the earth, seeing everything there is to see and experiencing a life like no other. Today, two such legends meet for the very first time and have a frank discussion on where wrestling has been, where it is, and - maybe most importantly - where it is going. Two masters of the squared circle giving their thoughts on all the changes that have occurred in the world of wrestling. Hold on to your hats, as RF VIDEO is taking to the Main Event, a place where only the privileged are allowed to go and only the truly successful are allowed to stay.
RF VIDEO's newest creation, "Face Off," is generating positive buzz from everyone who hears about it. This is not a shoot interview, but rather a round table discussion about various topics in the wrestling world. We got the RF VIDEO think tank together to brainstorm who would be the best host for this new concept and could only think of one man who is never afraid to speak the truth. The hardcore icon of Extreme, Raven! Let's face it, there is no better way to get a wrestler to open up in front of our camera than to have the one man who knows how to dig deep into the psyche for the interesting answers to our burning questions.
If Raven as a host wasn't a big enough bombshell to drop, how about the name of his first guest? That's right, the Honky Tonk Man has graciously agreed to be a part of the debut taping that went well over two and a half hours! Both amazing men brought their A-game in what will surely go down as one of the most talked about wrestling DVDs ever! Take a host who holds no punches, the most controversial guest in wrestling today, add in RF VIDEO's award winning production values, and you have the recipe for 2007's hottest DVD release!
We can not be responsible for any broken DVD players that may occur from fans constantly watching, and re-watching, this incredible DVD! In all seriousness though, this is one disc you will to own as it is Raven and Honky - together for the first time EVER on camera - sitting face to face and talking about the wrestling business.
Here is the outlined of how the interview went down. Remember this is just highlights as both men had alot to say on each topic. Its Raven and Honky together for the first time ever on camera sitting face to face. Just picture it!!!
--Raven brings up how the HonkyTonk blocked Ted Dibase from getting his push at the same time and getting the world title. Was there any heat between the two?
--Both guys discuss what it is like to go into the ring with young guys who can't work
--Hulk Hogan
--Raven starts to dig around the topic of Jerry Lawler to his a nerve from the Memphis days.
--Raven brings up Col Debeers and both men talk about him
--Raven asks Honky about working today and how working holds pisses alot of fans off. Honky goes off and talks about people getting bored and what he does in the ring to get heat.
--Raven asks Honky how much he spent on his outfits back in the day, and both men go off on how the young kids all look the same and do not invest in their gimmicks.
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Shiny Podcast
Following the light and casting a little shade...
We found 1 episode of Shiny Podcast with the tag "shadow of war".
Episode 7: Windows Phone Home
October 12th, 2017 | 59 mins 42 secs
ajit pai, autonomous vehicle, battle front, california, ea, equifax, facebook, fcc, firefox, flash, google, google home mini, hack, hacked, isp, loot boxes, mark zuckerberg, microtransactions, opencritic, photo app, podcast, puerto rico, shadow of war, tech, tech podcast, technology, update, vr, windows 10, windows phone
This is kind of a miserable week and please don't ask about episode 5. It doesn't exist and you can't convince us otherwise. Anyways we tackle such subjects as loot boxes, just how much the FCC doesn't care about being as evil as possible, Equifax continued incompetence, the demise of the Windows phone, and more!


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About this Design
Throwback to the 90's!
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Throwback to the 90's!
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A QuickBooks Item is very powerful if it is set up to correctly track both income and expenses, and then is used appropriately.
QuickBooks Items play an important role in your daily task of entering transactions into your QuickBooks company file. You use Items when you create invoices, fill out checks, create purchase orders, buy new equipment, enter a bill from a vendor, and even pay your employees.
In addition to making data entry easier, items handle ALL of the behind-the-scenes accounting functions for you when you use them, and that's really important if you run any type of business that requires job costing. When you create an item, you link it to accounts; when you use the item on a QuickBooks form, it posts an entry to that account and another entry to the appropriate accounts receivable, accounts payable, checking, fixed asset, liability, cost of goods sold account, or any other expense account.
You'll find that items are very easy to set up, but you may be confused about what they are used for. After all, the term "item" is pretty generic. For example, as a contractor your item list could hold your Cost Codes, a simple list of labor and materials that you use on a job, or a list of things that you keep in inventory and sell to your customers.
You really should spend some time deciding how you can make Items work for you before you start setting them up and using them. Below are some tips for creating your QuickBooks Item List:
- Use a current list of services and products
- Consider how much detail you want or need to display on your Estimates, Purchase Orders, Sales Orders, and Invoices
- Consider how much detail you want or need to track for Job Costing purposes
- Make sure that each of your items are set up to track both income and expenses
QuickBooks allows you to create several different types of items to help you create Purchase Orders, Estimates, Sales Orders and Invoices for your customers and fill out bills and checks to record the money you spend in order to get the job done. Choose from the following types of Items:
- Service – used for tracking specialized labor, consulting hours, and perhaps professional fees that you charge for or purchase from others
- Inventory Part – used for tracking goods or materials that you purchase, track as inventory and then resell to your customers
- Inventory Assembly – (available in Premier and Enterprise versions only) used for assembled goods you build or purchase, track as inventory, and resell
- Non-inventory Part – used for tracking goods and/or materials that you purchase for a specific job
- Other Charge – used for tracking miscellaneous labor, materials, delivery charges, setup fees, service charges, recording bounced checks, late fees, opening balances, reimbursable expenses, retainers/deposits, retainage, shipping and handling fees and more
- Subtotal – used to create a total of all items above it on an Invoice, useful for applying a percentage discount or to deduct retainage
- Group – used to associate individual items that often appear together on Estimates, Invoices, Purchase Orders, etc. Build groups so that all of the items that are in the group can be added to the form at the same time
- Discount – used to subtract a percentage or a fixed amount from a total or a subtotal. Do not use this item type for an early payment discount
- Payment – used to record a job deposit from a customer
- Sales Tax Item – used to calculate a single sales tax rate that you pay to a single tax agency
- Sales Tax Group – used to calculate and individually track two or more sales tax items that apply to the same sale – for example, if you have to collect a local, a county and a state sales tax, each of these items would be set up as individual Sales Tax Items and then combine them into a group
Keep in mind that you may not want to create items for 2 x 8's or 2" sheetrock screws. If you create that type of detail, the person who enters the bills from the lumber yard or the hardware store will also have to break out all of the detail as well. For example, if your company does sheetrock – do you need an item for each edge type, thickness, and type of sheetrock you install? This then becomes a very time-consuming process that has a high margin for data entry errors. To streamline data entry could you perhaps get away with items just 7 items – 1 item for each type of sheetrock – and add the edge type and thickness to a general description?
Is your QuickBooks Item List doing its job for your company? Maybe it's time for a review!
About the Author:
Nancy Smyth has supported Intuit products and end users since 1986, with her primary focus being commercial/government construction contractors. She has been a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor since 1999; and as President of Sunburst Software Solutions, Inc., she is a key player in the development of several QuickBooks Add-Ons for the construction industry. She is also the author of the QuickBooks for Contractors blog.