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Carnival debacle: Experts float opinions
Carnival Triumph dragged her sorry stern back to port after a harrowing and unhygienic five days of floating in the Gulf of Mexico without power or flushing toilets. Could it happen again? Two cruise industry experts offer perspective: Carolyn Spencer Brown, editor at Cruise Critic, and Jay Herring, author of "The Truth About Cruise Ships" and a former senior officer with Carnival Cruises.
How common are engine room fires and other meltdowns?
HERRING: These incidents are very rare -- maybe once a year, once every couple of years.
BROWN: Engine room fires happen, but 99 percent of the time passengers aren't affected.
Is Carnival to blame?
HERRING: Any ship at sea is at risk for a mishap.
How serious was the situation?
HERRING: On a scale of 1 to 10, Costa was a 10. [Last year's Costa Concordia accident in Italy caused 32 deaths.] This is a 5 or 6.
Did Carnival handle the disaster well?
BROWN: This is a textbook case of how not to react.
Any heroes deserve a mention?
BROWN: The crew kept everyone safe. The cruise line had better be generous to the crew.
Do you think Carnival's compensation package -- reimbursement for the trip, credit toward a future cruise and $500 -- is fair?
HERRING: I think the compensation is more than adequate.
Any advice for people now nervous about cruising?
BROWN: Any ship designed after 2010 must have two engine rooms. If you have any concern, go for a ship that has this new feature.


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Currently Viewing
- $53,705
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- $11,034
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text:
Trilex Rice Pack, a new seed-applied fungicide in 2006, provides growers with a low-dose technology that leads to a consistent rate and consistent field performance.
"Growers are spending more than ever for their seed," said Glen Karaffa, product manager for Bayer CropScience. "It makes sense to protect that investment with a seed-applied fungicide that can perform consistently."
Trilex Rice Pack is a new combination of Trilex, Allegiance LS Fungicide and blue colorant, Karaffa said. One Rice Pack unit treats 4,000 hundredweights of seed and consists of 20 gallons of Trilex, 20 gallons of Allegiance LS and 5 gallons of blue colorant.
This unique combination offers a high level of protection against disease-causing fungi. Trilex Rice Pack features a broad spectrum of protection, including excellent pythium and rhizoctonia activity. It also has good activity on seedborne fungi species such as fusarium, penicillium, aspergillus, rhizopus and cladosporium.
"These are the usual suspects where rice diseases are concerned," Karaffa said. "It is crucial, therefore, that growers are equipped with the proper tools to control these fungi species. Trilex Rice Pack offers protection right on the seed."
Although Trilex Rice Pack is available for the first time in 2006, Karaffa said university researchers have investigated the efficacy of a Trilex/Allegiance combination dating back to 2002. The results have been encouraging, he said.
"Several trial results throughout Arkansas have shown that the components of the Trilex Rice Pack can lead to a better emergence and stand," Karaffa said.
Across nine locations from 2002 to 2004, the Trilex/Allegiance combination increased stand over both the untreated check and a leading competitor.
Karaffa said with high fuel prices, consistently performing products that are also cost-effective are essential to the rice industry.
"Bayer CropScience continues to develop innovative solutions that help U.S. rice farmers stay profitable," Karaffa said. "Trilex Rice Pack is one great example of that effort."
Growers interested in more information about Trilex Rice Pack should contact their Bayer CropScience sales representative or call (866) 99-BAYER, or contact their professional rice seed conditioner or retailer.


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LOS ANGELES, April 1 (UPI) -- Jon Hamm and January Jones say they found fulfilling ways to spend the lengthy hiatus between the fourth and fifth seasons of their 1960s New York-set drama series "Mad Men."
Seventeen months passed between the Season 4 finale of the show and last Sunday's Season 5 premiere. During that break, Hamm produced and acted in "Friends with Kids," which was penned by and starred his longtime girlfriend, Jennifer Westfeldt, while Jones became a first-time mother to son Xander.
"Some people had babies. Some people did jobs. My girlfriend and I were able to finance and produce a film," Hamm told United Press International in a recent teleconference.
"In fact, 'Friends with Kids' came about and was a full product of the hiatus," he said. "We raised the money for the movie, we shot it, edited it and premiered it at the Toronto Film Festival. We sold the movie and the movie was in theaters all before 'Mad Men' came out. So, it was quite a journey."
In the critically acclaimed television show, Hamm plays Don Draper, a womanizing, successful partner in a New York advertising firm. Jones plays Betty, his spoiled, depressed ex-wife and the mother of their three children.
"We haven't been off as long as the show has been off the air. We went back shooting in August, which is a few months longer [of a break.] Usually, we go back in May," Hamm replied when asked about how hard it was to go back to being Don Draper again after the hiatus.
"The fun thing was that I was directing the first [episode we shot,]" Hamm said. "So that was able to kind of reinvigorate folks and give them a little charge. And it was nice to see a familiar face behind the camera for the first one."
Hamm told reporters during the teleconference he declined previous offers to direct episodes of the show, but finally decided he was ready after seeing some of his actor friends direct themselves.
"When they came back at the end of Season 4 and said, 'Would you do it?,' for whatever reason something had shifted in me. And I'd seen [my co-star] John Slattery do it, Jen do it with 'Friends with Kids,' Ben [Affleck] do it on 'The Town' and whatever else. So I was surrounded by these examples of actors directing themselves. And I thought, 'All right.' If Bryan Cranston can do it on 'Breaking Bad,' then OK, maybe I can do this. I feel comfortable. And so I did. And I'm glad I did."
"When we first started the show this season, I was eight months pregnant and it was great," Jones told UPI in a separate group phone interview. "I was really excited to be back and see everyone and be at work. At that point, I was getting pretty big, so I was also pretty fatigued, but at the same time it was sort of perfect because I had an outlet to channel emotions and mood swings."
Even though she has been playing Betty for years, Jones confessed it always takes a day or two at the start of a new season to get back into character.
"I always think it takes the first episode to find your voice again," she noted. "The first few days are always nerve-wracking; like the first day of school. You're just trying to find your voice again and gestures and body language and things I've done to kind of create her."
The Emmy, Golden Globe and SAG award-winning "Mad Men" airs Sunday nights on AMC.


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Hey I was wondering if anyone else in saskatchewan is having a rather difficult time finding prep courses,tutors or any other assistance in tasking the LSAT.I have contacted every prep company that I have ever heard of and none of them offer classroom courses in the province.The exception Being oxford seminars who offers courses but 9 0ut of ten times cancels them.Thus, I'm curious to know what other people from saskatchewan did to study for the LSAT. anything besides wasteland.
Well people may joke, but we're having the last laugh when our economy is growing while their's continues to flounder. ...
I was actually talking about Saskatchewan's economy compared to other Canadian provinces. Either way, I'm not sure why you are arguing this, since of course the American GDP is going to be higher. You have 10 times our population. So is your debt, at over ten trillion dollars while we have around 600 billion.
of course


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7975VM - Textured Calfskin Woman's Shoulder Bag
Hand stitched creation by Francesca Gori.
Each bag is a unique piece accented with antique and precious jewels from all over the world, often with different stitching, making every creation an original piece. Francesca chooses the accessories based on the colors of the bag and its stitching.
7975 is a soft shoulder bag:
*Actual bags available for sale are listed specifically among the options and displayed in the Product Photo gallery. If you wish to order a specific combination of colors that is not listed, please contact us at firstname.lastname@example.com and we'll be glad to consider your request.


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RIDGELAND -- A 31-year-old Jasper County man was sentenced to 25 years for breaking into his ex-girlfriend's home and threatening her family.
A jury found John Henry Wright, III guilty of one count of first-degree burglary on Wednesday afternoon.
Wright broke into the Ridgeland home early on May 21, 2010. The victim and her son were able to escape and call police from a neighbor's house.
Wright and the victim had dated for five years, but had been broken up for about nine months prior to the burglary. At the time of the crime, Wright was on probation for burning the victim's car.
The case was prosecuted by assistant solicitor Tameaka Legette of the Western Career Criminal Prosecution Team in front of Judge Perry M. Buckner.
"It is clear that Wright would have stopped at nothing to hurt his ex-girlfriend, who had moved on with her life," Legette said. "With this conviction and the lengthy prison sentence, we were able to intervene before the situation escalated to something even worse than a home invasion."
Through a recent agreement with Jasper County, Hardeeville and Ridgeland, the Fourteenth Circuit Solicitor's Office now has a dedicated career criminal prosecutor assigned to the county. Additionally, the three other attorneys assigned to the Western Career Criminal Prosecution Team will also prosecute cases in Jasper County.
This marks the team's first Jasper County conviction since the agreement went into effect late last year.


text:
Interior will spend $65 million restoring Internet service
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April 23, 2009 by Lifepainter
Daughter and son-in-law had flowers sent to my house; meant to arrive Easter weekend. Since we live as far away as we do from urban centers, it takes UPS a bit longer to deliver, so the flowers arrived a couple days later than they planned, but the flowers did arrive.
Came in a florist box that looked like long stemmed roses might be inside. Opened the box to find fresh spring flowers, a hefty square glass vase and florist preservative packet, along with a happy greeting card from my daughter and son-in-law.
I learned later in talking to my daughter that she had chosen another arrangement, but where we are located there are no florists in close by vicinity that could accommodate the choice she made. I am happy with what was sent – fresh spring flowers that are still looking fresh a week later. Picture below.


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Henley Taxis
by: Smart Services - MiniMaxiApps • 1
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by: Smart Services - MiniMaxiApps • 1
This Taxi Booking App allows you to book a Taxi or Private Hire Vehicle from Henley Taxis
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*Make a booking directly from your Handset / Device.
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- Save your details for future booking
- Chose how many passengers
Once your Taxi is booked you will receive a email/call or text SMS message confirming your booking.
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text:
Served: Why Tipping Makes Everyone Uncomfortable
I blog by day and wait tables in a New York City restaurant by night. I'm excited to bring you Served, dispatches from the front of the house. Enjoy!
Why is tipping such a touchy subject? Last week I shared a story about asking a group who had left a measly tip if everything was OK. It was the first and only time I have approached diners about a tip during my two years waiting tables. They told me they had made a mistake and left more cash.
Serious Eaters responded with a record 70-some comments, many of which were harshly disapproving. The incident itself felt unremarkable, yet still worth sharing—it was a sticky, uncomfortable situation, and I felt proud having handled it smoothly. The consensus seemed to be that I was not so smooth at all. In fact, I was way out of line.
I learned that many believe a server should never address a customer about a tip: "It's just RUDE for a waiter to run back and question the tip amount or demand more, no matter how nicely you do it," mirchi commented. Others chimed in to agree.
A few people declared that they would never return to my restaurant if they were in my guests' shoes. That's fine by me. No restaurant likes to host bad tippers. The vast majority of people do tip reasonably. It is a societal standard most of the population understands and abides by. If you are not one of those people, no waiter anywhere will want to wait on you. Even if you are exceedingly nice.
The Way it Works
Waiting tables is a job, not a hobby. In the U.S., we waiters make the bulk of our money from our tips. If diners spend a lot of money, tip decently, and if our tables flip, we have a lucrative night and a lucrative job. If not, we suffer. There will be good nights and bad nights (and good months and bad months), and we get this.
Some tables don't want to break the bank; they deserve and get good service too. It's not all about the bottom line. Cultivating great regulars is important. And it's our job to treat everyone with respect and hospitality.
It's your job to tip graciously at the end of your meal, unless service is included, or you're at a take-out joint, etc. Graciously might mean 15 percent to some people, and 22 percent to others.
The system, many agree, is flawed. In France, gratuity is already included on your check as prescribed by law. In Italy, tips are not expected. We're not in France or Italy, though, and even French and Italians should understand that and behave accordingly. If you think that restaurants, not their customers, should pay their employees, you are not alone. Maybe you should open a restaurant where things work differently. But please, don't take it out on your poor waiter!
Below the Surface
I don't think people are so stirred up by the difference between 18 and 20 percent, though. Something about tipping touches a really sensitive spot.
"It's because Americans hate to talk about class and money," T., our fromager, theorized. Ding, ding. I think she nailed it.
Why would your server addressing your tip, in a polite way, in an extreme situation, set off such an alarm? Why would it feel like an affront when conducted politely and discreetly? And such an affront that you never wanted to return to the restaurant! To me, it seems like an extreme reaction to a minor event.
But serve comes from the same route as servant, and as servitude, which all come from servus, the word for slave. For a server to confront a guest, and about money of all things, is to transgress a deep unspoken boundary. It stirs up those two hush-hush, hot-button subjects: class and money.
Servers should collect their tips gratefully and silently. It is about serving and being served. The power lies, or should lie, in the hands of the person in the latter position. To imply otherwise is to transgress an unspoken rule. Eating out is one of the few situations Americans face with such a clear, and yet still confusing, power dynamic. Its very existence breeds turmoil.
Hence the plea for a manager to act as a mediator. I understand that it would be awkward and probably ineffective to speak to a waiter about a problem you had with them, especially if it was something personal (You rushed us! You belittled us when we asked that question about cheese!). At that time, at my little restaurant, there was no manager to ask to play middleman between myself and my guests. So I took the task upon myself.
Even if tipping—and tipping a certain amount—is theoretically optional, it is culturally and institutionally mandated. If you have a problem with the service you have (or have not) received, please speak up. How can the problem get fixed if the restaurant does not know about it? To refuse to address something and then to tip poorly in response is passive aggressive and futile. I can't make anything better if I don't realize that there is something wrong in the first place.
It's my job to make it better, and I sincerely want to do just that.
All products linked here have been independently selected by our editors. We may earn a commission on purchases, as described in our affiliate policy.


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To get started, if you haven't done so already, download MyQuery and install it, and make sure to install the plugins / User defined tools. Once you have done that we are sort-of ready to go, but first a few words pf caution regarding the sourcecode.
If you haven't used any of the NDB low-level APIs, i.e. NDBAPI and MGMAPI, let me fill you in on a few details. NDBAPI is used for normal database DML and DDL, but it is much more low level than SQL, but also much MUCH faster. NDBAPI is strictly a C++ interface, although there are other bindings (Java) on top of it. MGMAPI on the other hand, which is used for monitoring and managing an NDB Cluster, is C on the surface, meaning the the interface used no classes, no overloading no nothing, and most MGMAPI code I have seen uses straght C. Bit this isn't the whole truth. Some NDBAPI includefiles that are also needed by MGMAPI still have no C++ specifics, but one thing it uses, which is valid in C++ but not in C, is to define structs with no members (don't ask me why), like this:
struct ndb_logevent_STTORRYRecieved { };
So even though the MyQuery plugin that I will show later is written in C and is contained in the file NdbMonitor.c, it still must be compiled as C++ code. In Visual Studio 2008, this is done by right clicking on the file in Solution Explorer (yes, the file NdbMonitor.s, nit the project, that will not work!) select the Properties menu option and in the dialog go to C7C++ and then Advanced and then change Compile as to Compile as C++ Code. Also, when you look at the MyQuery Solution, note that the NdbMonitor project is compiled and linked against MySQL Cluster, and in fact, this is not the binary MySQL Cluster that you download from MySQL, rather this is built from source, see more in my previous blog postings on the subject.
OK, so that's it for the sourcecode, now let's look at what this little puppy can do when we run it (and it's part of the biinary MyQuery download by the way, so you do not have to use MGM API yourself or anything). To use this tool, after installing MyQuery, connect to an SQL node in a NDB Cluster and then select the Tools->NDB Monitor menu option. This will show a dialog like this:
If this is the first time you use NDB Monitor, the default Cluster connection string is filled in the connect string edit box, and adjust this to reflect your NDB Cluster setup. You may connect to NDB Cluster on any platform here, not just Windows. Then click Connect and the current Cluster status will be shown when you have connected to the Cluster:Most of the information here should be pretty obvious. The traffic lights are green if all datanodes are up, yellow if one is down and red if two or more are down. To refresh the status click Refresh and you may automatically refresh by turning on the Autorefresh checkbox and enter the number of seconds between refreshing.
There are two tabs, one for the nodes themselves and one for the node groups. When the node view is active, you can right click on a node to bring up a menu that allows you to do one of three things:
- Stop a node - This will bring up a dialog that allows you to stop a node, gracefully or just kill it.
- Restart node - This will bring down a node and then restart it. You have the option of leving it in "non-started" mode also.
- Start node - If you have done a restart and left a node in non-started mode, then you can start it using this menu option.
- Cluster backup - This is not that hard to implement, I just haven't gotten through to it yet.
- Cluster log management - This is a bit more difficult, but it involves subscribing to the cluster log and showing log contents in a new tab.


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26 Feb 2013, 5:37 PM
Extjs v3 has lacked IE10 support too long already. IE10 has been in preview on win 7 for over 3 months so this should not be a surprise. 90% of Windows 7 machines will be auto updated to IE10 breaking our extjs apps. It can't be that much effort for Sencha to fix this issue. To continue to ignore v3 will be disastrous for your customers. Please do what is right and fix this asap. Thanks.


text:
American Physical Society Sites|APS|Journals|PhysicsCentral|Physics Magazine
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By Dr. Cheryl Matherly, University of Tulsa, Sarah Phillips, Rice University, and Prof. Junichiro Kono, Rice University
Jeffrey Lee at the Bunraku National Theater in Osaka, Japan
Jeffrey Lee, a sophomore majoring in mechanical engineering at Rice University, described the moment during the 2010 NanoJapan Program in which he really understood the global nature of science research. "The best example . . . came when a professor from Boston University came to [Professor Tonouchi's] lab and gave a talk at an Osaka University symposium. Sometime that week, I found myself eating dinner with an American professor, a doctorate student from China, all hosted by a Japanese professor and his lab, and I realized truth behind the statement that science transcends international borders."
Lee's experience reinforced one of the learning objectives of the NanoJapan International Research Experience for Undergraduates. The NanoJapan International Research Experience for Undergraduates (IREU) program is the key educational initiative of the National Science Foundation funded Partnerships for International Research and Education (NSF-PIRE) grant awarded to Professor Junichiro Kono of Rice University and his collaborators at the University of Tulsa, University at Buffalo (SUNY), University of Florida, Texas A&M University, and Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. Initially just one of twelve projects selected for the PIRE program in 2006, the PIRE: U.S.-Japan Cooperative Research and Education on Terahertz Dynamics in Nanostructures renewal grant will support the expansion of a unique interdisciplinary U.S.-Japan research and education partnership focused on terahertz (THz) dynamics in nanostructures over the next five years. The U.S. and Japan are global leaders in both THz research and nanoscience, and stimulating cooperation is critical to further advance THz science and develop commercial products from new ideas in the lab. However, obstacles exist for international collaboration - primarily linguistic and cultural barriers - and this PIRE renewal project aims to continue to break down these barriers by providing future generations of researchers with a better understanding of both the culture and the state-of-the-art technology in each country.
The strong educational portfolio of this project focuses on cultivating interest in nanotechnology among young U.S. undergraduate students, especially those from underrepresented groups, and encouraging such students to pursue graduate study and academic research in the physical sciences. NanoJapan is a twelve-week summer program that involves first and second year undergraduate science and engineering students from U.S. universities in research internships with Japanese nanoscience laboratories. While the heart of the program is the summer research experience, NanoJapan places strong emphasis on preparing students to work effectively in cross-cultural laboratory settings. Before beginning work in their research labs, students complete a three-week orientation program based in Tokyo that combines 45 hours of Japanese language instruction, an orientation to Japanese life and culture, and an introduction to nanoscale science in Japan. At the completion of the orientation, the students depart for their research labs, working for eight weeks at universities throughout Japan – Hokkaido University, Tohoku University, the University of Tokyo, Chiba University, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Keio University, Shinshu University, Osaka University, and Osaka Institute of Technology. At the end of the summer, the students return to Rice University to participate in a re-entry seminar and present their summer research with other students who completed domestic research projects as part of the Rice Quantum Institute Annual Research Colloquium.
Aleksandra Simicevic (LA State University) working in the Nojiri Lab at Tohoku University
Each of the participating labs agreed to host a NanoJapan student to work on a research project under the supervision of a mentor, usually an English-speaking graduate student or post-doc. It is unusual for first and second year undergraduate students to conduct research in Japanese universities, yet the hosting professors report that the students contribute both to the research and the general "internationalization" of the lab. The Japanese graduate students must speak English with the U.S. students, providing them essential practice with the language necessary for their participation in the international science community. One hosting professor explained, "It is very important for Japanese young generation to work in an international environment. In this sense, it is highly beneficial for my students to work together with foreign students who are conducting activities across national boundaries. All the NanoJapan students in these three years we welcomed were excellent, well-educated, and active for scientific research. They provided very nice stimuli and atmosphere to our laboratory, leading to enhance research activities."
As noted by Prof. Kono, "The status of the United States in science and engineering is changing. More and more people outside the U.S. are doing cutting-edge research. Graduate students today are more likely to succeed if they are prepared to work in a cross-cultural, multinational environment." By involving and training students in cutting-edge research projects in nanoscale science and engineering, NanoJapan aims to increase the numbers of U.S. students who choose to pursue graduate study in this field while also cultivating a generation of globally aware engineers and scientists who are prepared for international research collaboration.
Former NSF Director Arden Bement meets with NanoJapan 2008 participants at the Tokyo Institute of Technology
"International cooperation in science is not a luxury;it is a necessity – and the foundation for the future."~ Former NSF Director, Arden Bement,"Investing in America's Future: Strategic Plan FY 2006-2011."
To learn more about the NSF-PIRE TeraNano Center and NanoJapan program, see http://nanojapan.rice.edu. To learn more about the NSF Partnerships for International Research & Education (PIRE) program, see http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=12819


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4 new clips from director Sam Mendes' James Bond film Skyfall have been released. I'm trying my best to temper my expectations following the incredibly positive early reviews, but these new clips aren't doing me any favors. All signs point to Mendes having crafted a Bond film for the books, and opening day can't get here soon enough. We'll have video interviews with the cast soon, but until then check out Steve's set visit and on-set interviews with Mendes, Daniel Craig and producer Barbara Broccoli, Berenice Marlohe, and Naomie Harris.
Hit the jump to watch the clips. The film also stars Javier Bardem, Judi Dench, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whishaw and Helen McCrory. Skyfall opens in traditional theaters and IMAX in the U.S. on November 9th.
Here's the official synopsis for Skyfall:
Daniel Craig is back as James Bond 007 in Skyfall, the 23rd adventure in the longest-running film franchise of all time. In Skyfall, Bond's loyalty to M (Judi Dench) is tested as her past comes back to haunt her. As MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost. The film also stars Berenice Marlohe, Judi Dench, Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw, Helen McCroy, Albert Finney, and Ralph Fiennes.


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Editor's note: Watch the Carrie Underwood interview on the new episode of CMT Insider airing Saturday and Sunday (Nov. 10-11) at 11 a.m. ET/PT.
Carrie Underwood's whirlwind career carried her back to Oklahoma last month for a stop on the superstar's Blown Away tour. CMT Insider host Katie Cook caught up with her backstage prior to the show to talk about the tour, as well as the best-selling new album, Blown Away.
"I'm really proud of this album, and I feel like everybody involved went above and beyond anything that we'd ever done before, so I'm very proud that we all stretched ourselves artistically and really had fun with it," Underwood said. "I sing songs that I love, first and foremost, and sing songs that I would want to turn up on the radio if they came on. So that's what we go for and then see where that takes us."
In this exclusive interview, Underwood chats about her hometown crowd, her favorite parts of the show and her wild, windswept hair.
CMT: To be here in your home state, does that create more nerves or just excitement?
Underwood: I think I'm more nervous in my hometown areas because there are a lot more people in the audience that I know. And I always say that I could perform in front of a billion people that I don't know, but get five people in the audience that I do know, and I get nervous.
Do you ever make eye contact with people in the audience and think, "Oh, I went to school with you. … Wait, what's my line?"
If I ever notice them, it's kind of all over. If I catch my mom out grinning at me, the magic is gone for me, so I try to not look too much for people [that I know].
So you're suspended above the audience again in this show, I think even higher than last year when you were in the truck over the audience. I assume you're not afraid of heights.
It doesn't bother me, to be honest, and my whole thought process behind it is that I want every single person in the audience to have a great seat. If I were going to a concert when I was growing up or back when I was living here in Oklahoma, I probably wouldn't have been one of the fortunate ones to have one of the seats on the floor. I would have been up high in the back.
I want people back there to feel like they had an amazing show, too, and I love to see people. … I'll see like 7-year-old or 10-year-old little girls waving their little hearts out, and I get to make eye contact and wave back at them. They know I'm waving back at them, and to see them freak out afterwards is fun for me.
What part of the show is most exciting for you to see the crowd's reaction?
When we fly is so much fun, and like I said, just being able to see people I haven't really gotten to see during the show prior to that moment. … We have the best seat in the house, I always say, because I get to watch them.
During the live performance of "Blown Away," there's actually a tornado on the stage. How fun is that?
It's really cool. When we were first trying to think of what we were going to do, that idea came up, and I was like, "Wait. That's possible?" And they were showing us these videos of this thing that they had created, this tornado they had created. I don't really know what's happening behind me when I'm standing in front of it, but most of the time I find people watching us, staring at us, like, "What is happening right now?" And then the second the song's over, it's like they snap out of the trance they were just in and everybody just screams really loud. So it's really cool. It's definitely a cool moment for me.
There's a lot of wind in general. What's your hair like at the end of the show? Could you possibly get a brush through it?
Terrible. It's pretty awful. I'm not going to lie. Sometimes I yell at my hair. I'm back in the back of my bus yelling at my hair.
The staging seems a lot more elaborate this time around. Describe it for us.
We have a lot more moving parts onstage. The band risers move. We have giant, gorgeous screens that move and help create environments so it will look like we're standing in a room. It looks really cool, and I love seeing fan pictures afterwards when they tweet them. I know what they're looking at. It's complicated, but it's beautiful.
You told me once you're the last person to run out and have the latest gadgets.
I'm not at all.
Well, these are kind of giant concert gadgets.
Yeah, that's different, though. I always like to say we're not putting on a show, we're not doing a concert. It should be an experience. People should come and not just hear things. People should see really amazing things, too. More than anything, I want to give people their money's worth. I want them to leave saying, "I would like to go back and see another one."


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According to a new market report published by Transparency Market Research "Distribution Automation (Monitoring and control devices, Power quality and efficiency devices, Switching and power reliability devices) Market – Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast, 2013 – 2019" the global distribution automation equipment market was worth USD 9,986.3 million in 2012 and is expected to reach USD 17,677.2 million by 2019, growing at a CAGR of 8.5% from 2013 to 2019. Europe was the largest market for distribution automation in 2012. The growth in this region would be driven increased investment in distribution automation equipment by richest European countries like UK, France, Italy and Germany. Further, according to Greentechgrid's survey Europe invested USD 6.84 billion in smart meters starting from 2001 to 2012.
Browse Global Distribution Automation Market Report with Full TOC: http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/distribution-automation-market.html
The distribution automation market is driven by various factors such as reduced outage durations, increased reliability and efficiency of distribution system and cost and maintenance reduction with improved power quality. However, lack of standardization in communication infrastructure and technology and modernization of existing switchgears are some of the factors inhibiting the growth of this market.
Among all types, in 2012, monitoring and control device was the largest segment and accounted for 36.1% of the global market. However, power quality and efficiency devices segment is expected to grow at a faster rate during forecast period.
In terms of end use segment, in 2012, industrial segment accounted for 51.3% of the total revenue of distribution automation market and is expected to remain dominating throughout the forecast period. Islanding operation, power quality improvement, load shedding, self-healing functionality and energy efficiency boost the demand for advanced distribution automation industrial segment. However, residential segment is expected to grow at the highest rate with a CAGR of 12.0% owing to need for improved reliability by reducing duration and number of outages as well as the quality of service.
Geographically Europe was the largest distribution automation market and accounted for 32.2% in 2012 owing to rise in number of smart grid projects and increased investment in distribution automation components, such as smart meters. Saved maintenance and operating cost is one of the major reasons for increasing demand of distribution automation in Europe.
Browse full PDF with TOC: Distribution Automation Market – Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast, 2013 – 2019
The global market for distribution automation is dominated by few players namely ABB Ltd., Siemens AG, Schneider Electric and GE Corporation. In 2012, ABB Ltd. and Siemens AG were the market leaders with 24%and 22% market share respectively. Other players in the market include GE, Schneider Electric, and Alstom Grid.
Distribution automation market, by type
- Monitoring and control devices
- Power quality and efficiency devices
- Switching and power reliability devices
Distribution automation market, by end user
- Industrial segment
- Commercial segment
- Residential segment
In addition the report provides cross sectional analysis of the market with respect to the following geographical segments:
- North America
- Europe
- Asia-Pacific
- RoW (Rest of the World)


text:
Posted February 19, 2009
Following on the recent announcement of the three new deans at MIIS, the Institute today identified the degree program structures that the new deans will oversee beginning in Fall 2009.
In order to ensure a smooth transition for both students and faculty, the current degree programs will be retained as focal points for the new Graduate School of Translation, Interpretation and Language Education (GSTILE) and Graduate School of International Policy & Management (GSIPM). At the same time, this structure will create a strong foundation for future academic initiatives and innovations.
The Graduate School of International Policy and Management will feature four degree programs:
- The Fisher Program in International Business (MBA)
- Program in Public Administration for International Management (MPA)
- Program in International Environmental Policy (MAIEP)
- Program in International Policy Studies (MAIPS)
The Graduate School of Translation, Interpretation, and Language Education will consist of five programs:
- Program in TESOL/TFL (MATESOL/MATFL)
- Program in Translation and Interpretation (MATI)
- Program in Conference Interpretation (CI)
- Program in Translation and Localization Management (MAT/MATLM)
- Program in Language Studies
In both schools, a number of non-degree activities and programs will be grouped together for management purposes under the category of "Special Programs."
The next step in the assembly of the new schools' structures will be the appointment of program chairs for each of the above degree programs. These chairs will work with the two academic deans, faculty and staff to develop, enhance and promote the individual programs going forward.
For More Information
Jason Warburg
Eva Gudbergsdottir


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Project Update
FAS 157—Improving Disclosures about Fair Value Measurements
Last Updated: February 12, 2010 (Updated sections are indicated with an asterisk *)
The staff has prepared this summary of Board decisions for information purposes only. Those Board decisions are tentative and do not change current accounting. Official positions of the FASB are determined only after extensive due process and deliberations.
Project Objective
*Due Process Documents
*Decisions Reached at the Last Meeting
* Summary of Decisions Reached to Date
Board/Other Public Meeting Dates
*Next Steps
Background Information
*Contact Information
Project Objective
The objective of this project is to improve disclosures about fair value measurements. This project may consider additional disclosures, such as (a) the sensitivity of fair value measurements to changes in assumptions and (b) transfers between the three levels of the fair value hierarchy.
*Due Process DocumentsOn January 21, 2010, the FASB completed this project with the issuance of Accounting Standards Update No. 2010-06, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures (Topic 820): Improving Disclosures about Fair Value Measurements.
Accounting Standards Update 2010-06
*Decisions Reached at the Last Meeting (November 11, 2009)See minutes below.
*Summary of Decisions Reached to Date (As of November 11, 2009)
See Accounting Standards Update 2010-06.
Board/Other Public Meeting Dates
The Board meeting minutes are provided for the information and convenience of constituents who want to follow the Board's deliberations. All of the conclusions reported are tentative and may be changed at future Board meetings. Decisions become final only after a formal written ballot to issue a final standard.
|November 11, 2009
|Board Meeting—Discussion of Comment Letters and Redeliberations of Proposed Accounting Standards Update
|August 5, 2009
|Board Meeting—Discussion of feedback received from field study
|May 27, 2009
|Board Meeting—Proposal to Improve Disclosures Required by FASB Statement No.157, Fair Value Measurements
*Next Steps
Background Information
At the February 18, 2009 meeting, Chairman Herz announced the addition of new FASB agenda projects intended to improve the application guidance used to determine fair values under Statement 157 and the disclosures about fair value measurements. These projects were added in response to recommendations contained in the Securities and Exchange Commission's recent study on mark-to-market accounting, as well as input provided by the FASB's Valuation Resource Group, and other constituents.
*Contact Information
Bob Bhave
Project Manager
Kristofer Anderson
Practice Fellow
Adrian Mills
Practice Fellow
Eric Jourdan
Postgraduate Technical Assistant


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Edward Kenway stands on a sandbar sticking out of the wide ocean and watches two ships trade broadsides in the distance. The skirmish has nothing to do with him. British and Spanish fleets tangle regularly in these waters, each trying to win the West Indies for their crown. But Kenway's a pirate living in the golden age of pirating, and he only fights for treasure.
That's just one little slice of life I saw during a live hands-off demo of Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (releasing October 29 on PC and all current and next-gen consoles). The sandbar's another. Kenway spotted it and the hulled ship wrecked upon it as he sailed by in his brigantine, the Jackdaw, so he decided to investigate.
Because while he's affiliated with the Assassin's Order and uses its methods, Kenway's a privateer through and through.
Once he shoos away a mass of crabs, the body of a marooned sailor gives up a hand-drawn treasure map. It shows crudely drawn palm trees, an ancient temple ruin, and a bright red X. That sailor was a traditionalist. Kenway's more than happy to be such a grand artist's inheritor.
A school of dolphins leaps out of the water nearby as Kenway swims back to the Jackdaw and sets sail for Mysteriosa Island and that buried treasure. On the way, a whale breaches to starboard — an invitation to the controversial harpooning missions — and the Jackdaw hits bad weather. Rogue winds that push you off course are a thing of the past, but I spy a distant water spout that destroys a passing frigate. Kenway steers well clear of it. The spouts can rip up both your ship and your crew, and you need your men intact when it comes time to attack and board other ships.
A rowboat on Mysteriosa's beach tips Kenway off that we're not the first ones here. Rowboats also serve as a fast-travel system around the islands or ship-to-shore.
Sure enough, the island's crawling with British soldiers. A pirate would do something big, loud, bloody, and rash. Kenway slips into Mysteriosa's jungle without incident, dashing through the trees and vanishing in the thick foliage. The stealth looks much improved over Assassin's Creed III, and a few soldiers who wander close to Kenway's hiding spot get dragged in without anyone noticing, just like the good old days.
Unlike the good old days, Kenway doesn't have a brotherhood of assassins to call on to strike unsuspecting enemies. He also doesn't have arrows for silent, long-distance kills. He does have a blowgun and poison darts that drive victims berserk until his own friends must chop him down. That, along with just a little patience, gets him deep into the interior without anyone raising the alarm. Kenway doesn't go loud until he comes across a pair of hostages facing imminent execution — that's when he flies down from his perch for an instant double-execution.
Those hostages join the Jackdaw's crew, buffing the ship's stats. This was a recruitment opportunity.
It takes maybe 15 minutes to find the temple shown on the map, and X does indeed mark the spot. But instead of a buried chest, we recover blueprints for a new type of heavy cannon shot for the Jackdaw's guns. These missions reward with upgrades, not gold.
If this sounds like the Creed you remember — just on a jungle island — that's because it is. Later on, in the major city of Havana, I spotted cables connecting the rooftops that looked identical to those Altair ran across during the Crusades and Ezio Auditore used in Renaissance Italy in previous Creed games. Some things never go out of style, I reckon.
But while the basics haven't changed, purely at the visual level, Black Flag works better than Creed has in years. Picking off unsuspecting enemies from hiding carries a smoothness about it that's been absent lately. Open combat, described as an enhanced version of ACIII's, looks even more aggressive than before. I saw far more attacks than counters.
And the integration of the pirate setting feels a lot more thoughtful than what you'd expect from just another iteration of the franchise's formula.
If you wander around a Spanish colony like Havana, everyone speaks Spanish. That's fine if you speak it, too. If you don't, the language barrier enhances the alien, exotic nature of that place to an Englishman like Kenway. Naval battles gain more depth now that you aim your cannons. That flexibility is vital to taking out coastal naval forts, Black Flag's equivalent of British forts or Borgia towers from previous installments. Destroy its six defensive turrets to invade it, and that's a sight to behold — blowing away the face of this fortress, stone and rock crashing into the sea as its mortars rain down on you.
You kill the fort's governor to take custody. Kenway accessed the governor's office by detonating a powder keg with his pistol, then leaping over the desk to plant a blade in his heart. Sorry, matey. Business.
Taking a fort opens up opportunities. For one thing, you can lure enemy ships into the range of its guns to shift the odds in your favor. For another, any known smuggler's dens in the area now show up on your map, and those caverns are brimming with gold … along with smugglers who want to keep it.
I've had problems with Assassin's Creed lately, but the completeness of this world and watching it in motion has sold me on Black Flag. I won't know for sure until I get hands-on with it, but right now, I'm excited. Come October, it's a pirate's life for me.


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Notre Dame's Move to the ACC to Send Shockwaves Throughout College Football Landscape
Notre Dame has long relished its football independence, and a new scheduling agreement with the ACC would allow them to keep that status while being more closely tied to a BCS conference.
The Fighting Irish have agreed to join the Atlantic Coast Conference in all sports except football, similar to the arrangement they currently have with the Big East. However, in a move that could shake up some of college football's longest-running rivalries, Notre Dame has agreed to annually play five football games against ACC opponents.
Notre Dame has long had rivalry games with schools like Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue, USC, Stanford and Navy. With this new arrangement, it is likely that one or more of those games will go by the wayside. The Irish are already scheduled to play several ACC teams, including Boston College and Wake Forest on an annual basis and Pittsburgh (moving to the ACC next year) and Miami this season.
While Notre Dame has struggled on the football field in recent years, the Irish are still one of sport's biggest power brokers. This move gives some instant clout to the ACC as a conference, which will be made even stronger by an announcement that the conference was raising its exit fee to more than $50 million, three times the conference's annual operating budget. This will make it almost impossible for a team to leave the conference, thus providing some long-need stability to the ACC.


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Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Double Swirling Medallion
Action Kivu so far. We're doing great, but not near our goal. Check out the previous post for more info and please give if you can!
27 comments:
- Laura said...
This is gorgeous. Did you quilt it on a domestic machine?
- August 15, 2012 at 8:25 AM
- jacquie said...
Yup...quilted it on my little bernina since my big bernie is in the shop!
- August 15, 2012 at 8:25 AM
- Esch House Quilts said...
Love it! That quilting is FANtastic :)
- August 15, 2012 at 8:28 AM
- Rene' said...
This is a beautiful quilt, and I too love the double overlapping spiral quilting!
- August 15, 2012 at 8:37 AM
Gorgeous! Really stunning.
I'm trying to wrap my head around how you picked the two medallions to the background. Presumably you had them up on your design wall with the negative space taped off, right? Then did you measure chunks out straight to the sides in each direction, and attach as needed? how did you handle the 'overlap' between the two shapes? Can you describe how you went about it?
Not that I plan to try and replicate this -- but just really impressed and puzzled. Thank you!!
- August 15, 2012 at 8:42 AM
- jacquie said...
Hi Jenny,
I started with a single medallion and thought I was going to stop there, but I like big, usable quilts and at the time I didn't need a baby quilt. So, I make a second medallion. I placed all the squares (the medallions on the design wall and then simply filled in with background squares. It may be hard to see, but the entire quilt is made up of 5" squares. Hope this helps. Feel free to email if you have more questions.
- August 15, 2012 at 8:50 AM
I see -- I didn't realize it was all 5" squares. That makes a lot of sense.
I'll have to look more closely at that pattern in the book -- up close, it's captivating how it combines precise and improv triangles in the squares. (I have to wonder -- do babies and kids who sleep and play with quilts like these have a better grasp of math when they get older? I have to think they would).
Thank you so much for answering my question!
- August 15, 2012 at 9:09 AM
- Linda said...
Wow, this is a great quilt. It has sparked some ideas in my head. I have a couple of swoon blocks that I can use to make something like this and I have a couple of convergence blocks I can also use to do something similar to this. It's the background fabric and the amazing quilting that makes this project AMAZING! Thanks for the inspiration!
- August 15, 2012 at 9:36 AM
- Doreen said...
Love how they seem to 'float' in a sea of white....the quilting is brilliant!
- August 15, 2012 at 10:06 AM
- Anne / Springleaf Studios said...
Love it. Even better than the single one. Wish I could have made it to one of the Colorado events when you were here. Hope you'll be back.
- August 15, 2012 at 11:08 AM
- cinzia said...
fabulous quilting job! i need to get more daring with my quilting!
- August 15, 2012 at 12:42 PM
- ellen said...
Stunning! My goodness.
- August 15, 2012 at 12:51 PM
- Valerie said...
Oh please, please tell us how on earth you quilted that!! Simply stunning!
- August 15, 2012 at 1:08 PM
- kitty said...
This is really beautiful!! The quilting is fabulous! A very impressive achievement!!
- August 15, 2012 at 3:37 PM
- Di~ said...
It's gorgeous! Love the colors!
- August 15, 2012 at 3:51 PM
- Irelle said...
I donated to this great cause and would LOVE to win one of your quilts. You are an inspiration!
- August 15, 2012 at 5:28 PM
Beautiful quilt!
- August 15, 2012 at 5:29 PM
- Mary said...
are these concentric circles or a spiral? Love this quilt.
- August 15, 2012 at 10:37 PM
- Pat said...
Love this quilt and the quilting is jaw dropping. As soon as you said it was all 5" squares the construction sort of fell into place for me. I'd love to see the quilt back. Do you mark the quilt for this type of quilting and, if so, what do you use for the marking? I really have to get your book!!
- August 16, 2012 at 6:59 AM
- jacquie said...
I only mark the initial circle for the spiral...I use a clover marking pencil...after that I use the edge of my walking foot as a guide and around and around I go. Dizzying, but it works.
- August 16, 2012 at 8:09 AM
- Pat said...
Okay, lately, I've been thinking a lot about this style of quilting and thought that was what I would do myself. But I wasn't sure about the marking pencil - to date I've not marked any quilting patterns and have been a little hesitant.
Thanks for answering.
- August 16, 2012 at 8:43 AM
love love love the double.
- August 16, 2012 at 8:53 AM
- Robin said...
I just love this quilt! You do such great work!
- August 16, 2012 at 9:00 AM
- Liz said...
All I can say is "WOW."
- August 18, 2012 at 9:43 AM
- Ann Ferguson said...
This is a magnificent quilt - I just love it!
- August 19, 2012 at 8:59 PM
- SIMPLESEW said...
i love it.
- August 21, 2012 at 7:40 PM
- Ginka said...
For the quilting you said "I mark the first initial circle and around and around I go" , so is it a continuous spiral then.
- March 2, 2013 at 10:58 PM


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text:
There would be tea brewing on the stove in the kitchen. The coals would show red with thin blue flames where one of the stove covers had been tilted. Then, there would be a candle, perhaps two, for there could only be candles on Christmas Eve. They would be burned down pretty low now, it being after eleven o'clock when he would reach home. About ten minutes past eleven, he always reached home. His stamping the snow off his shoes on the steps outside would be the signal for the handful of tea to be dropped into the pot. There would be candles in the next room, too, the dining room they called it. And then beyond that, another candle or two. Always candles on Christmas Eve. Not many candles. A few candles, but good candles special for the vigil. They would spear the dark with steady yellow flames, and make long, rich shadows on the walls and on the pictures on the walls. The ceiling would be lighted without shadows.
Two Christmases
23 Wednesday Dec 2009
Posted General Catholic News/Opinionin
There were never shadows like these Christmas Eve candle shadows. They gave mystery to the house, and a soft strangeness that you never found on any other night.
The Boy would throw his hat and coat on the chair by the kitchen stove. Then, he would go on through the dining room, as they called it, into the other room. She would meet him, as she got up from the floor where she would be setting out the presents before the tiny crib. Her knees would be stiff, he knew, and her poor body tired, but she would get up with her white face happy in spite of its whiteness, and her always bright eyes brighter, and she would turn to him for a glance of appreciative pleasure. He knew she would look for that, though she had made the house clean, had washed and mended the old lace curtains, had scrubbed the floors–hadn't he noticed the kitchen floor, white with the grain showing?– had swept and dusted not so much for his pleasure this night, but because God was coming. But she would look to see if he were happy. He would scowl. It was defensive, or perverse. But he would scowl, and while he scowled he would notice how white her hair showed on the side that caught the light of the candles.
"My poor boy is tired," she would say.
Then he could hold the scowl no longer. He would say:
"Ma, the crib is beautiful."
Then he would get down on his knees beside it. There would be a little red sanctuary lamp on the floor before it, with the white wick floating in oil. At twelve o'clock the lamp would be lighted. If you should happen into the room–the parlor they called it– in the early hours when the candles would be out, you would see only this, the red lamp with its tiny light flickering. It would cast a spell over you, this unsteady small light showing red on the floor beneath you. You would stand there and look at it, unstirring, unthinking, for minutes.
So, the Boy would get down on his knees beside the crib. It would be the same little crib they had last Christmas, and the Christmas before that. There would be the little imitation thatch shed, open in front. Outside, would be three shepherds with two sheep, kneeling. Inside, would be St. Joseph with his brown cloak and white beard and our Mother with her blue dress. In back would be the ox and the ass, the ox with his head low. And in the center, on a few wisps of hay– real hay that the peddler fed his horse–would be the tiny figure of Him who was all the world.
He would kneel there, before the shed that was not a foot high, and move the figures about a bit. He always liked to have the ox and ass close to the crib. Then, he would study the presents, laid out before the crib as tenderly as the Wise Men must have laid out their gifts. They would still be in their boxes. He would not touch them, not until daybreak. Then, they would all stop for a swift minute on their way out to Mass.
Afterward, after Mass and Communion, they, with their glass of water drunk but not yet with breakfast, would strew the floor with red strings and wrapping paper and boxes. How much colorful rubbish a few little things could make! For there were but a few things before the crib: a fountain pen, a tie, two books, a box of handkerchiefs… He could recognize everything from their boxes, thin square boxes for handkerchiefs, long boxes for gloves and ties. . . . But he knew, anyway. He and his mother had conspired together for the family. He had his gifts, too. But they would not be put out until he was safely in bed….
Then, she would call from the kitchen. He had better hurry. It was getting close on midnight. So he would have his cup of tea, and a slice of brown-crusted white bread that had come from the oven that afternoon. And maybe a piece of the fruit cake, the rich, dark fruit cake heavy with spice and raisins that was always in the house on Christmas Eve. She would have her cup of tea with the cream– for they would use the cream tonight– showing brown gold on top. But she would have only tea for it was the vigil of Christmas.
That would be beautiful. He would tell her all that had happened at work. How old Nelson was worried because his little girl was ill, and it was Christmas Eve. How the yardmaster who cursed constantly was quiet today, and swore only when he was mad. How Big Mike had gone down to St. Mary's to confession with him, and how the church was crowded. Everything, everything. . . .
And then he would empty his pockets of all his money, including the gold piece the firm had given him for Christmas. That would be his supreme moment– to give over every dollar, every cent. He had been doing that so long now but it never, for some strange reason, failed to make him gulp with happiness. Hadn't they bought the piano together, his mother and he, the upright piano with the green covering that came with it? Hadn't thy bought the new heavy rug for the parlor, the two of them, conspiring this way? Weren't they saving now to buy the house?– the house out of town a little distance, the house with a garden, quiet, but near the church.
How happily she would look at him. How proudly. And he would drain his teacup so that he could hold the cup high and hide his eyes, his moist eyes. . . .
That would be beautiful, beautiful.
"Pray for those poor souls who have no home on Christmas Eve," she would say, as always she had said.
And the Boy would pray.
The Pullman porter gave a quick turn to the Young Man's chair. The Young Man who had been dozing sat up abruptly.
"Grand Central, suh."
The porter was holding his overcoat.
The Young Man was dazed.
Wasn't there tea brewing, and a red fire showing where the stove corner had been tilted? And across from him. . . .
Across from him was a row of Pullman chairs. Empty, of course. Who else but a harried reporter would be traveling thus into New York at eleven o'clock on Christmas Eve?
The porter took his tip and was gone. The Young Man made his way hazily out into the station.
And there were candles, one or two that spotted the room with yellow flames and threw long shadows. . . .
"Reservation?" asked the room clerk in the hotel.
The Young Man nodded and wrote his name. A tall bald-headed man in a dinner jacket staggered across the heavily ornate hotel lobby. Two gaudy young women tittered.
Candles, a few candles. . . .
A thin, small, ageless bellboy, in blue uniform and silver braid, appeared mechanically. He took his bags and led the way to the elevator.
And she was there, rising from the crib on the floor. How white her hair showed where it caught the light of the candles. . . .
"The heat on, sir?" The bellboy was turning the valve on the radiator. The steam began to pound through the pipes.
The Young Man moved to the window. Twenty stories below him the city was stirring out of its newly laid cover of snow. Even in the dark, the roofs were white, the cornices and window ledges were white. Far, far down, the streets were white, white spotted with black, streaked with black.
"Looks like a white Christmas."
The bellboy spoke impatiently. The Young Man gave him his tip. He banged the door as he left.
The Young Man turned back to the window.
It was the same little crib with its imitation thatch, and the few wisps of hay– real hay the peddler fed his horse. . . .
The Young Man looked down. Everywhere there were lights, ragged lights, pointed lights, clustered lights, solitary lights, white, red, yellow lights. But the Young Man did not see. He drew the shade and turned from the window.
And there was St. Joseph in his brown cloak and our Lady in her blue dress and the tiny figure of Him who was all the world. . . .
The Young Man still had on his overcoat. Under the mirror of the dresser was a collar button of a former guest which the maid, in her cleaning, had missed. He fixed his eyes on it but did not see. He was without heart and his mind whirred. Where, he was asking himself dazedly, where in this world's maze of people and places, where in this wilderness of stars and philosophies, where is Home?
Hadn't they bought the piano together, and the rug.…
The Young Man threw himself on the bed.
"Dear Jesus! Dear Mother of God!"
His sobbing filled his cell in the mountain of earth and steel, glass and stone.
"Dear Mother of God!"
And she would say, "Pray for those poor souls who have no home on Christmas Eve..."
"Dear Jesus!" He sobbed.
The while midnight came, and with it Christmas.
–From Dan England and the Noonday Devil, Myles Connolly, 1951


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Illinois vs. Maryland basketball preview. With preview capsule.
(Editors: Please update betting line and local radio information in preview capsule.)
(Editors: Please update betting line and local radio information in preview capsule.) Illinois junior Chester Frazier makes an important trip when Illinois plays at Maryland tonight in a Big Ten-ACC Challenge game at the Comcast Center. The point guard enjoys a rare appearance in his home state, just a few miles from his childhood home in the rough east Baltimore neighborhood known for drugs, violence and death. A proud son, he plays before his family and close friends for the first time as a Division I college basketball player. His mother, Peggy Lynch, traveled to Champaign once last season to see her son play, but Frazier couldn't go because of a nagging foot injury. Also watching for the first time is Frazier's older brother James, who is serving in the Navy. But Frazier never had that chance to play with his father in the stands. Chester Frazier Sr. died last spring after losing a battle with cancer. "I try not to let things like that get to me,'' said Frazier, known more for his toughness than a dazzling display of basketball skill. "I think about my father everyday. Basketball and my father are two different things. I try to block that out.'' It's not that Frazier doesn't feel sorrow. This is the young man who somehow played a road game against Indiana last winter just moments after learning his father had cancer, who cried and remained by the side of his father's lifeless body for four hours after returning home too late to say goodbye last spring, who invited his younger brother Josh to campus for three weeks last summer to serve as his surrogate father. Freshman Mike Davis, a native of nearby Alexandria, Va., also gets a chance to play close to home. Yet there's no comparison of the trip's importance between Davis and Frazier, who feels excitement, not pain, upon returning home this time. "It's pretty big,'' Frazier admitted. "I'll have a lot of people there. I just get a chance to see my family and get a chance for them to see me play. We don't play close to home much. This is probably the closest I'll ever get.'' His former coaches, teammates and teachers at Lake Clifton-Eastern High School will use some of the 30 tickets Frazier scrounged from his teammates. This isn't about coach Bruce Weber getting Frazier motivated to play without his father watching. It's about Weber reminding Frazier to remain calm and play under control against a team that ended Illinois' 51-game non-conference home-court winning streak a year ago with a 72-66 victory in a Challenge game. Frazier had two points on 1-for-8 shooting, five assists and one turnover. "He's talked about this game since the schedule came out,'' Weber said. "It's a big game for him. I hope he can have some emotional control with himself. He has a tendency to get going too fast.'' Unlike that game a year ago, Frazier is healthy. The turf toe suffered the previous game against Bradley that probably should have kept Frazier on the bench against Maryland is now healed. His feet aren't throbbing and worn raw like they were last year, even though Illinois already leaned heavily upon Frazier. Frazier already posted 19 points and a career-high nine rebounds in the 79-77 win against Hawaii and retained the starting position ahead of future star Demetri McCamey. Frazier is third in scoring (8.2 per game), second in rebounding (6.2) while leading the Illini in minutes played (33). "He pretty much won the game at Hawaii,'' Weber said. "I thought he got so exhausted after the Duke game, he just was punch drunk in the Oklahoma State game. He made bad decisions, took a couple questionable shots and turned it over with casual, bad passes. I was a little disappointed. "Nobody else was playing in the Hawaii game. He had to play 39 minutes. Then he came back and played a lot of minutes against Arizona State and Duke. It took a toll on him. Once the games were over, he sat in his hotel room and slept. We have to get him back and hope some other guys can step up and not be so demanding of him.'' John Supinie can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com. For more coverage, read Illini Talk blog at www.sj-r.com and www.pjstar.com. PREVIEW CAPSULE Illinois (4-1) vs. Maryland (4-2) 6:30 p.m., Comcast Center, College Park, Md. (ESPN2, Illini Sports Network) ILLINOIS (4-1) ppg rpg F Brian Randle Sr. 6-8 11.8 4.4 F Rodney Alexander Jr. 6-7 8.2 4.6 C Shaun Pruitt Sr. 6-10 11.2 8.0 G Trent Meacham Jr. 6-2 8.2 1.6 G Chester Frazier Jr. 6-2 8.4 6.2 MARYLAND (4-2) ppg rpg F Landon Milbourne So. 6-7 5.6 4.8 F James Gist Sr. 6-9 14.6 6.8 C Bambale Osby Sr. 6-8 12.2 6.2 G Greivis Vasquez So. 6-6 17.7 5.5 G Eric Hayes So. 6-4 10.0 3.7 Noteworthy: Maryland leads the series 4-2 and holds a 2-0 advantage against the Illini in Big Ten-ACC Challenge games. Besides last season's 72-66 victory over the Illini, Maryland also scored a 76-63 win over the visiting Illini in Cole Fieldhouse in 2001. … The Illini are 3-5 all-time in Big Ten-ACC Challenge games. The Illini are 1-4 in Challenge games away from Assembly Hall. Maryland is 5-3 in the Challenge, including a 3-0 mark while playing at home. … Randle is expected to play after returning to practice Monday. He missed the second half against Oklahoma State and two days of practice because of a bruised nerve. … Illinois plays the final game in a five-game road trip after posting a 3-1 record while in Hawaii. Before the Illini play at home Saturday, they will log 10,170 miles in the road trip. … Vasquez scored 17 points against the Illini last season. Key for Illini: Utilize the bench and force a young Terps team to rely on its youth. Key for Terps: Make the Illini beat you from the perimeter. Key quote: "We have to do a good job against the two guards. (Vasquez) took over the game against us, made several plays against us to win the game last year. Hopefully, we make them go to their bench. They're a little young and have a little bit of a drop off.'' -- Illini coach Bruce Weber. Betting line: Prediction: Illinois 69, Maryland 68


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Mo. Jobless Rate Climbs Despite Payroll Gains
JEFFERSON CITY (AP) - Missouri's unemployment rate climbed slightly last month despite payroll increasing by a net of 4,600 jobs.
The state Department of Economic Development reported the jobless rate stood at 6.8 percent in May. The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Missouri's April unemployment was 6.6 percent.
The state agency said Missouri added 3,600 jobs in construction last month. The government sector added 1,400 jobs and leisure and hospitality grew by 1,000. Increases partially were offset by losses of 1,600 jobs in educational and health service, 800 jobs in the information sector and 400 in professional and business services.
Missouri's civilian labor force was just over 3 million, which is up about 9,400 from April. The labor force includes people with jobs and those who are on unemployment but looking for work.
Photo from Flickr Creative Commons by "photologue_np."


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Download Ken Kesey Study Guide
(Masterpieces of American Literature)
Ken Kesey was born September 17, 1935, in La Junta, Colorado, the son of Fred A. Kesey and Geneva Smith Kesey, cooperative dairy farmers, both Baptists, both from farming/ranching families that valued self-reliance. His grandmother, the model for the spunky character Grandma Whittier, taught him a love of down-home yarns, tall tales, and biblical stories, while his strong-willed father communicated his love of the outdoors and of physical competition (hunting, fishing, arm wrestling). Kesey's father described his son affectionately as always trying "to unscrew the unscrutable." An avid reader and filmgoer, the young Kesey took John Wayne, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and Zane Grey as his models (later naming a son Zane) and toyed with magic, ventriloquism, and hypnotism.
Kesey's Springfield, Oregon, high school class voted him most likely to succeed. He played football as a freshman at the University of Oregon in Eugene before receiving a scholarship as the outstanding college wrestler in the Northwest. He majored in speech and communications, acted in a number of campus theater productions, joined Beta Theta Pi and got caught up in the fraternity scene, and spent summers in Hollywood trying out for parts in films. He tried his hand at short stories about his college experiences, and after graduation worked on a novel about college athletics. On May 10, 1956, he married his friend since seventh grade, Faye Haxby, with whom he had two sons and a daughter (a fourth child, Sunshine, was born to Carolyn "Mountain Girl" Adams).
After graduating with a B.A. in 1957, he received a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship to study creative writing at Stanford University, but he continued his sports activities, wrestling at the San Francisco Olympic Club and almost making the Olympic team in 1960. (The Selective Service classified him as 4F, or undraftable, as a result of a wrestling shoulder injury.) In the meantime, at Stanford, he became fast friends with fellow creative writing students Larry McMurtry, Robert Stone, and Ken Babbs. His professors included Wallace Stegner, Richard Scowcroft, and Malcolm Cowley.
At Stanford, Kesey was exposed to a radical perspective that turned his life around and led to a bohemian existence of wife swapping and marijuana smoking, leadership in the psychedelic counterculture movement, and trouble with the law. He grew a beard, took up the guitar and folk songs, and became a trendsetter. Kesey predated Timothy Leary in using lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and experimenting with other hallucinogens. A 1959 Saxton Trust Fund Fellowship motivated him to write about his Stanford and North Beach experiences in the unpublished novel "Zoo," which describes both rootless bohemian life and a loosely autobiographical father-son conflict over responsibility. The same year, Kesey volunteered for drug experiments (with LSD, peyote, psilocybin, mescaline, and so forth) at the Veterans Administration (VA) Hospital in Menlo Park, California. Later, he became a night attendant in the VA psychiatric ward, an experience that inspired One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest (1962). Kesey claims that a Native American image came to him in one of his late-night peyote visions at the hospital. Kesey's Stanford professor Cowley encouraged his writing of that book and critiqued his draft; Kesey always said that Cowley taught him how good a writer he could be.
In June, 1961, Kesey moved back to Oregon to research Sometimes a Great Notion (1964). Later, with money earned from One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest , he bought La Honda, a mountain home near Palo Alto that became the base of operations of the Merry Pranksters, whose 1964 cross-country ride in a psychedelic 1939 International Harvester school bus and the street theater "Happenings" associated with it inspired hippies worldwide. More than forty hours of film documenting what has become known as "The Movie" remain a touchstone of the 1960's psychedelic experience. In 1965, Kesey...
(The entire section is 1,929 words.)


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Tags: end of the school year, how to celebrate the end of the school year, mindful parenting, school's out for summer, Slow Family, slow living, Slow movement, slow parenting, slowing down family life, teacher appreciations
Seems hard to believe, but according to a poll of 4 students that I know, there are only 21 school days left in the school year. Really. 21.
With a few big events behind us, like the Austin Maker Faire, a few house guests and getting our house on the market, I am ready for some solidly intentional days. I want to make sure that events, practices and obligations created are events, practices and obligations desired.
My goals for these next few weeks…
- Each day do my own work first.
- Ponder each invitation before saying yes. Be they meetings, parties, or other. Not always easy for me, especially when faced with so many exciting things!
- Schedule in spaciousness.
- Put family time on the calendar.
- Play outside more. And really just play more in general.
- Turn my phone off at random intervals.
- Schedule a couple of "spend nothing days" each week. Not even for the money but for the freedom from consuming. And the freedom from the many demands for impromptu spending.
- Write a note to my children's teachers telling them how much I appreciate their love and devotion.
- Do one creative thing everyday.
- Eat outside more.
- Find a way to celebrate a school year completed by each and every one of my children.
This time of year, things seem to speed up a bit, so I'm going to be attentive to really slowing it all way down.


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How can you cut a doughnut into 8 equal pieces with only three cuts
of a knife?
The large rectangle is divided into a series of smaller quadrilaterals and triangles. Can you untangle what fractional part is represented by each of the shapes?
Annie cut this numbered cake into 3 pieces with 3 cuts so that the
numbers on each piece added to the same total. Where were the cuts
and what fraction of the whole cake was each piece?


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This evening I had the opportunity to once again give a presentation at our local SQL Uses Group (SSSOLV). I went into the presentation with the hope of trying to encourage participation and group discussion.
I think the presentation started off a little shaky for a couple of reasons. I had sent out an email requesting additional info to help prep for the presentation – however, I sent it late which impacted the feedback. I also didn't review the PASS Monthly slide deck and sort of shot from the hip going through that stuff.
Despite that, the presentation went well. I had several people give good feedback. They liked the presentation!! Participation really went well and it felt more like a conversation than a presentation – that is a good thing.
Probably the best thing to come from the presentation was the resounding support in favor of trying to get a SQLSaturday down here. With that info, it looks like I will be starting the process to host a SQLSaturday and organize it from our side.
Another benefit to be derived from this presentation is a growing warmup that has been happening with the group. Each presentation I have given has improved in group participation. That would be coming from both sides – I am sure. Going back to some of my early blogs about participating in the Local User's Groups, I want to reiterate how good it feels to participate. I am glad I have had the opportunities to present.


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It may be gimped in terms of online play and downloadable content, but if you have a PS2 kicking around, picking up Rock Band for $100 may be worth your while. That's still a good amount of hardware for $100! It comes with a ton of tracks already! The guitar is wireless! I'm trying to convince you that this isn't a terrible idea!
"For a limited time this promotion will provide music fans and casual gamers the chance to experience the Harmonix masterpiece Rock Band at an extremely affordable price," said Bob Picunko, Vice President of Electronic Games and Interactive Products for MTV. "This is a great value for a Father's Day gift, a graduation party or summer vacation." Keep in mind some retailers aren't marking down the price as quickly as others, so be sure to shop around. This is also being marked as a "limited time deal," but I'm not sure when the price will go back up.
On July 15 you'll be able to pick up the first Track Pack for $30, getting 20 new songs for the game. While it's not quite as sexy as the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions, for the casual rocker this deal may be hard to pass up.