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Teachers at Work
A column about teaching
Queue up, Sweets! Reflections on a Personal Vocabulary
"How long did you have to queue up?" I asked my brother about a concert he'd attended, just after I got back from a trip to the UK. "You're back in America now, Shannon," he teased me. "We don't queue up here, we line up!" He had a point, but I'd like to think my word choice was not merely the result of my Anglophile tendencies. I hope that my word choices reflect what I've come to think of as my personal vocabulary, those words and phrases that may stand out from the norm of the dialect wherever I happen to be living, but which reflect the experiences, places and people of my life.
Or, maybe I'm just pretentious. However, I bet that if you look at your vocabulary, and more specifically at the words you choose to say or write every day, consciously or unexamined, you'll find that you have a personal vocabulary, too, one that reflects your unique life so far.
There are Places I Remember
Much of our personal vocabulary comes from the geographic areas in which we lived. Today, we live in a time of widespread migration, wherein we routinely move across cities, states, countries and around the world. When we leave an area after living there for a portion of time significant enough to affect our speech, we inevitably carry little verbal hallmarks of that place with us, revealing to others who listen closely that we've come from Somewhere Else. If we don't chose to eradicate them (read Kenneth Branagh's memoir, Beginnings, for an excellently lucid account of how he worked at removing all Irish phrasings and accent from his speech once he moved to England), they remain with us, as part of our personal vocabularies.
When I was 12, my family moved from Central to Western Pennsylvania. Although those who haven't had the joy of driving the Pennsylvania Turnpike don't realize it, my home state is quite large and possesses several entirely separate cultures. I found myself negotiating a transition from one to another, often in the smallest of ways. For example, in Central Pennsylvania, we called "whoopee pies" just that, but in Johnstown, they were the euphonious "gobs." For the next 10 years, I insisted on calling these treats "whoopee pies" even though none of my friends did, until I moved to New York City, and suddenly insisted just as vehemently on calling them "gobs." (Note: They're both entirely ridiculous names to insist upon.) Both insistences came from a desire to keep those words in my repertoire, unique (but to my mind, correct) markers of where I'd come from. And while I am told that I do not have a strong accent, there are other tics in my vocabulary that I allow to remain, proud to show my roots.
The reverse can be true too, because at times I've picked up phrases and words from places I've only visited. "Queue up" for example, is not merely at attempt to sound more like Benedict Cumberbatch, but also my vocabulary's attempt to find a way out of the mental turmoil I face in choosing between "standing in line" (which I grew up saying) and "standing on line" (which the vast majority of people in New York City say, and which galls me greatly). Similarly, a trip to Hawaii a few years back brought me the phrase "no worries." I suspect I might sound a little foolish saying it, but I do love it, as it captures the "Thanks for apologizing, but really, it's not a big deal to me" vibe that I'm trying to hit.
After all, humanity's been borrowing phrases and words from other cultures for as long as we've had spoken language. It makes sense. We need a word like "Schadenfreude" in America, and since the Germans came up with the perfect one, why not borrow it?
Is Your Vocabulary Experienced?
I bet that if you look at your personal vocabulary, you'll see words and phrases that reflect your life's experiences. We pick up bits of jargon from our schooling and jobs, and then carry them with us if they serve a purpose or suit us in some particular way.
When I was a radio news reporter, the meteorologist we used (recording from some far off state), always called the weather "Wx" in her calls and emails. I've done the same ever since, and morphed it into "Tx" for "thanks" as well. Clearly, this doesn't save me much time, but I enjoy the brief crackle in the back of my brain when I type it, reminding me that once I was a radio news reporter, which seems like several lifetimes ago.
I was also once a preschool teacher, and, along with the words to dozens of songs about farm animals, that job gave me the verb "to program" meaning "to write on or prepare," as in "Program the flashcards with the vowels you wish to teach." I don't even especially like this phrasing, but I still use it from time to time.
And, of course, teaching in a high school in South Brooklyn gave me two verbal tics, which I've written about here before: "Word" and "My bad." I still reflexively say them when I mean something along the lines of "That's so true" or "Oh, I did something wrong. I'm sorry." They're so elegant and simple, they've earned a permanent spot in my vocabulary, even if the middle schoolers I work with in Pittsburgh sometimes look at me oddly after I say them.
If the words that we take with us on our moves or pick up on our travels remind us where we've been, the words we take from our jobs remind us who we've been. This brings us to the last of these reservoirs for personal vocabularies…
People. People Who Copy Other People.
This is the biggest source of personal vocabulary quirks for me, because, like many people, I adore my friends and family and feel some sort of primal urge to reflect that in my speech. I am a magpie, picking up words from what the people I care about say to and around me.
Examples? From Melissa, my dear friend from South Carolina, I've added "I just about fell out" and "It'll take a coupla three days." From my beloved grandmother, I gleaned "Great day in the morning!" as an expression of genuine surprise. My friend Danielle emphasizes something by saying, "I have to say…" so I sometimes do, too. A few years back, my best friend Andrew and I decided to use "fortnight" on a regular basis; every time I do so, I think fondly of him. Another friend, Magda, and I decided that we hated the term "LOL" and came up with "COL" (for "Chortling Out Loud") as the better substitute. I use it, and happily think of her. A former colleague always used to call her female students "sweets." One day I did the same at a different school, and it's stuck. My dad is notorious for declaring someone to be "a nice guy" as his highest form of praise, and I've caught myself doing the same thing, too. (It really is a encompassing term!) And my dear mother has a way of saying "We'll see" that is so decisive at ending further discussion that ever since I started teaching, I found it quite handy indeed.
It's really no different from what happens when we culturally decide we're going to mimic a catchphrase from a movie, commercial or TV show, just on a smaller scale. I like these people, and I like the way they've put something, so I'm going to snatch it up for how I put things, too.
Creatively Speaking
As a writer, I probably pay more attention to these verbal quirks than many people, because on some level, I'm always thinking of how to squirrel them away and keep them for my characters. Just one word, correctly deployed, can tell my readers what would take me many sentences to try to get across.
But I don't think that personal vocabularies are only of interest for writers. I often hear people bemoan their lack of creativity, or wish that they were more so. Yet, here is an example of how creative we all really are. All of us have built unique, personal vocabularies as the result of our lives, our taste and our desire to express what we need to say. We do this regularly, often unconsciously and with great success. What could be more creative than that?


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Unitech inks Rs 1,000 crore office leasing deal with Accenture
Written by Admin Tuesday, 22 October 2013( 0 Votes )
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NEW DELHI: Realty firm Unitech Group has leased 8.1 lakh square feet of space in its under-construction Gurgaon IT SEZ to Accenture in a deal that will give Rs 1,000 crore of rental income over 15 years.
Unitech and its group firm Unitech Corporate Parks (UCP), which is listed in London, last week signed the lease deed with Accenture, sources said.
Unitech and UCP, listed on the AIM of the London Stock Exchange, are in talks to sell their entire stake in the special economic zone (SEZ) being built for IT companies in Gurgaon.
The duo are in talks with private equity firm Blackstone and Singapore�s sovereign wealth fund GIC for selling their stake in the IT SEZ for an estimated Rs 2,700 crore.
The leasing agreement with Accenture could help Unitech and UCP get better valuation for their SEZ �IST Infospace Gurgaon�, which has a total leasable area of 36 lakh sq ft.
UCP holds 60 per cent in the SEZ project while Unitech has the remaining 40 per cent stake. Unitech also holds about 12 per cent directly in the UCP.
According to sources, the leasing deal has been signed with Accenture recently for 15 years with escalation clause.
The office space has been leased at a monthly rental of over Rs 60 per sq ft, helping Unitech and UCP earn a potential rental income of about Rs 1,000 crore over the next 15 years, sources said.
A Unitech spokesperson declined to comment on the development.
With this deal, about 90 per cent of the total leasable area in this SEZ has been absorbed. The major portion has been taken up by Accenture at nearly 12 lakh sq ft. RBS, Sapient, Bank of America, E&Y and Amdocs are the other major tenants in this SEZ.
Last month, Unitech and UCP had leased 8 lakh sq ft of office space in another SEZ in Gurgaon to US-based consultancy firm Aon Hewitt for 15 years. The leasing deal in its Gurgaon Infospace Tikri SEZ with Aon Hewitt is worth Rs 800 crore.
The two leasing deals, probably the biggest in the north India this year, have come at a time when property market, including the commercial segment, is facing slowdown.
Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with approximately 275,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries.
UCP raised about 360 million pounds by issuing and placing its Ordinary Shares on the AIM of the London Stock Exchange in December, 2006. It had invested in six commercial projects in India in partnership with Unitech, of which five are in the national capital region and one in Kolkata.
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Looking for Love? It's Behind the Milk
Have you ever told someone to go grab something in the refrigerator only to have them come back and say it's not there? In our household, we just tell them — "It's behind the milk!" It's a very simple way of stating that they gave up too soon. Sometimes there will be a little bit of a standoff and a challenge to prove that it's there. When the item is revealed, we just laugh it off and repeat that it was behind the milk.
When we're looking to meet up with our soulmate, we often run into a similar scenario. We look around our current landscape and declare they are not there for any number of reasons. Often, it boils down to this assumption: We believe they are nowhere in sight because we have already looked.
According to The National Marriage Project, a nonpartisan, nonsectarian, and interdisciplinary initiative located at the University of Virginia, almost 60 percent of married people were introduced by family, friends, co-workers or other acquaintances.
This doesn't mean that you should get out there and start surveying friends and family. Nor does it mean that this is the only way for you to come together with your soul mate. Instead, I hope that you would consider that the empty landscape of possibility has a lot to do with your perception and perspective.
Remember, your intention for love involves another. Instead of trying to figure out what you need to do to attract someone, open up to the possibility that you have not explored every option and that you are not seeing the whole picture.
- Have faith. Be willing to believe that there is someone who is perfect for you and you for them. This is an important one. Note that I used the words "be willing." That's all you need (especially for those of us who need proof before we commit).
- You are not alone in this. Consider the possibility that he/she already exists, and that he/she is on their way toward you. (They have to have at least been born by now.) They have just as much of an interest in finding you as you have in finding them.
- Take a second look at your assumptions. He/she could be behind the milk. Admit that you do not know it all and that your soulmate may already be in your experience either directly or indirectly through your interests, friends, work colleagues, and acquaintances.
- Assume the Universe is working on your behalf, regardless of any blocks you think you may have. Love is the most powerful force in the Universe. If you think about it for a moment, it's almost arrogant to think that you are so special that you can block love. If you want a loving, committed relationship, you are meant to have it just as you are, right now. There are no exceptions. If you feel that you have been waiting a long time for love, spend some time contemplating the power of love and its ability to overcome any obstacle.


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Stay healthy.
You should start medical care and begin HIV treatment as soon as you are diagnosed with HIV. Taking medicine to treat HIV, called antiretroviral therapy or ART, is recommended for all people with HIV. Taking medicine to treat HIV slows the progression of HIV and helps protect your immune system. The medicine can keep you healthy for many years and greatly reduces your chance of transmitting HIV to sex partners if taken the right way, every day.
If you're taking medicine to treat HIV, visit your health care provider regularly and always take your medicine as directed to keep your viral load (the amount of HIV in the blood and elsewhere in the body) as low as possible.
Visit HIV Treatment Works to find information on getting in care and staying in care if you have HIV.
Do tell.
Photo of two men on a date at a cafe It's important to disclose your HIV status to your sex and needle-sharing partners even if you are uncomfortable doing it. Communicating with each other about your HIV status allows you and your partner to take steps to keep both of you healthy.
Many resources can help you learn ways to disclose your status to your partners. For tips on how to start the conversation with your partner, check out CDC's Let's Stop HIV Together and Start Talking campaigns.
Also, ask your health department about free partner notification services. Health department staff can help find your sex or needle-sharing partners to let them know they may have been exposed to HIV and provide them with testing, counseling, and referrals for other services. These partner notification services will not reveal your name unless you want to work with them to tell your partners.
Many states have laws that require you to tell your sexual partners if you're HIV-positive before you have sex (anal, vaginal, or oral) or tell your needle-sharing partners before you share drugs or needles to inject drugs. In some states, you can be charged with a crime if you don't tell your partner your HIV status, even if your partner doesn't become infected.
Get support.
Receiving a diagnosis of HIV can be a life-changing event. People can feel many emotions—sadness, hopelessness, and even anger. Allied health care providers and social service providers, often available at your health care provider's office, will have the tools to help you work through the early stages of your diagnosis and begin to manage your HIV.
Talking to others who have HIV may also be helpful. Find a local HIV support group. Learn about how other people living with HIV have handled their diagnosis.
You can view stories and testimonials of how people are living well with HIV on the websites for Let's Stop HIV Together and HIV Treatment Works. You can also find many other resources on HIV Treatment Works for people living with HIV.
Reduce the risk to others.
HIV is spread through certain body fluids from an HIV-infected person: blood, semen (cum), pre-seminal fluid (pre-cum), rectal fluids, vaginal fluids, and breast milk. In the United States, HIV is most often transmitted by having anal or vaginal sex with someone who has HIV without using a condom or taking medicines to prevent or treat HIV. In addition, a mother can pass HIV to her baby during pregnancy, during labor, through breastfeeding, or by pre-chewing her baby's food.
The higher your viral load, the more likely you are to transmit HIV to others. When your viral load is very low (called viral suppression, with less than 200 copies per milliliter of blood) or undetectable (about 40 copies per milliliter of blood), your chance of transmitting HIV is greatly reduced. However, this is true only if you can stay virally suppressed. One thing that can increase viral load is not taking HIV medicines the right way, every day.
You can also protect your partners by getting tested and treated for other STDs. If you have both HIV and some other STD with sores, like syphilis, your risk of transmitting HIV can be about 3 times as high as if you didn't have any STD with sores.
Taking other actions, like using a condom the right way every time you have sex or having your partners take daily medicine to prevent HIV (called pre-exposure prophylaxis or PrEP) can lower your chances of transmitting HIV even more. Learn the right way to use a male condom.


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time, anything but time
One of the discussions I see round the area is in regard to raiding. Non-raiders say something to the effect of, "I have a life, or want one, and can't spend all my free time on the computer." And the raiders typically respond to the effect of, "Only the bleeding edge need to be wedded to the computer – I have a life. Just get a group that only raids a couple times a week." I'm going to insert myself into this mess. Before I do, let me reiterate where I've been.
I've done hardcore – five nights per week of raids. That, by the way,didn't last long, but I've been there. I've also done several casual – three, two, and even one raid mandatory per week. So I think I've got a round value enough to have an opinion – and perhaps a bit of a reality check.
The casual raiding did not eat up as much of my life as the hardcore raiding. It still eats up a lot of my life. Let's reality check, shall we?
The raid itself requires four hours – more is not atypical, but when we see these discussions that's the amount of time that shows up, so we'll use it. Add one hour for pre/post work – picking up the last few reagents, purchasing the gems for the most recent drops, etc. Add four hours – at least – for mat or money grinding. Add another four for badge run – instances or kara if that's on farm – to supplement your gear.
And we're up to 13 hours for the single raid.
I am a black belt. I go to three hours of class a week, and do at least an hour a day most days of maintenance. I do LESS for my martial arts work than is "minimal" for the LEAST casual raid.
This is not necessarily a bad thing. But it is a reality check. Quite simply, most raiders I've met – even the "causal" – do at least 20 hours a week on the game. 20 hours with a select group of acquaintances and friends every week.
In other words, both sides of the discussion are "right". Yes, it's only four or eight or 12 hours of actual raiding – a piffle. But it's 20 (or more) hours of WoW a week. If you're planning on raiding, congratulations – it IS a part-time job.
Dear Raider – a casual player is probably playing 12 or fewer hours per week. When he tells you raiding would take up too much of his life, please do not belittle this reality.
Dear Casual player. 20 hours per week of convivial association is not every waking minute. When the raider tells you she can do other things as well as work and play wow, she is right.
Dear both – it is, as with all things, a matter of subjective preferences. 13 hours of physical labor is nothing for some, and jawdropping for others. The same goes for just about everything. An hour of fishing bores me to tears, while for others it can be done for days on end with no difficulty. You may take that as in game or "real world" play, the truth remains the same. Please do not belittle others for having a different priority of what is "fun", and how much they're willing to devote to it.
But, go have fun.
8 Responses to "time, anything but time"
Sorry but your math is nuts. Adding farming time for each and every raid is like adding the time it takes you to fill gas for your cat for every time you drive to your martial-arts class.
Furthermore you can farm dailies for 1 hour and get enough gold for between 1 raid and a week of raids – it depends on your gear and how much you wipe. So your 13hours per raid is way overkill.
Badge farming has nothing to do with raids, you shouldn't even add the time there. Either you have the gear to down Void Reaver or you don't. The time it took you to get your uber healing mace is not relevant.
I would say 4 hours per raid + 1 hour prep + 1 hour farming per raid is fair. So 6 hours overall per raid.
I do 4 hours per raid + 1 hour pre raid + 1 hour prep + 2 hours farming. So two days of raiding a week gives 16 hours associated with raiding.
I also do outside pvp and instances to get better gear but I would still be doing that if I wasn't raiding so it doesn't seem relevant.
Also I am curious. To the raiders that only raid "twice a week". Guilds advertise this often but then post multiple raids on a calendar week. I would assume there is still a certain amount of pressure to raid even in a casual setting.
I'm on raiding hiatus as of next week. I'vc been promising myself i'd cut back on WoW, well I have pretty much. THis is what I used to do. Get up in the morning, early. Do dailies on one char. Do dailies on another char. Screw aroud for another 1-2 hours. Then go to work. Get home, immediately login for raid or whatever. Play all night. I was playing something like 8 hours a day every day of the week. Even I realized that was insane. So i set it up so I can't play during the day weekdays. So no dailies for me. That cut my time to half. But then i was doing the whole raiding thing (2x a week BT, 1x a week something else).
This week, i spent some 6 hours playing my alt trying to get gear (70 druid), saturday and until 3 am on sunday. Sunday I was pretty busy, played 40 min during the day, ended up not being able to do some work b/c of it. Sun night raid plus maintenance, 5 hours. Monday, tried to do the 4 Champion of Naaru heroics. Got two of them done. Tonight, BT again, will try to get home early to do some of the stuff required to get the BT trinket. Tomorrow, with friends, but may login to see if i can get into the SSC raid or something. Thur probably Mag if we can get it together, or a heroic for Naaru. Fri, probably nothing, my wife will kill me. Sat, ditto. Sunday, BT again.
After that! I'm on hiatus. I probably wont play my raiding hunter much. I really look forward to not rushing home to play 5 hours straight without dinner or any sort of exercise. YOu give up an awful lot when you raid, but there is a ton of peer pressure and it's fun, so its hard.
I'm never going to belittle anyone for not having time to raid or anything; even "casual" raiding is definitely a commitment. Just to set a block of time aside for nothing but playing a game a few times a week is a burden not everyone has the freedom to take upon themselves. I still find your minimum time estimate to be too high, however.
12 hours a week, max. That covers everything you _need_ for 3 nights of raiding, which is definitely enough to make progress. You just have to be disciplined about taking it easy (oxymoronic, I know), and stop thinking of all this extra crap you do as necessary. There's always a tendency of players to put that little extra work in, and a tendency for others to feel like they owe it to their teammates to do the same. And truly, I believe there's something admirable in that–it's not like you are an idiot for wanting to perform at the highest possible level. But if you get a group of good players together who will agree not to accept these extra burdens (or put them onto others), you can cut a lot of time from your schedule. I'm not going to claim that creating such a group is simple, but it is definitely doable.
All that badge/gold/consumable farming is NOT necessary for success. It is necessary for succeeding _faster_. I am serious. 12 hours or less, that is my literal time /played every week. I never take anything from anyone. I do my job very well. I am not hampering my raid by not farming badges, because we agreed not to do that to each other. We succeed, and on our own terms, not yours.
I applaud you in your decision to take a step back; 'play for fun, and don't play when it's not fun' is my rule. If you ever think you want to come back though, try to see if you can find people to raid with who want to take things easier.
I've been feeling burnt out in the last couple months so I log on for raids only. The only thing keeping me playing right now is raiding. And the people.
It seems I do that in the spring each year. And I'm tired too. Going to bed at 11pm feels really late some days.
Our guild raids 8.5 hours per week over 3 days. Invites take place 30 minutes before start time and I log on to the game 10-15 minutes before that to repair from the previous raid and replenish my consumables ( I have enough gold that I don't need to farm).
So you can add 45 minutes * 3 raids a week to my 8.5 hours of actual raiding. I spend 10 hours and 45 minutes or less a week in WoW. But it's a pretty intense 10 hours during which I can't get interrupted. I totally understand how this can't work for everyone. Especially the whole going to bed at 11 twice a week and midnight on Fridays.
So the things that keep my subscription active are raids and the people.
My husband let his account run out over a week ago. He hasn't given in yet but I'm not sure how long he'll last. He took my priest out yesterday and did a few dailies with her. He doesn't raid and really has no reason to keep playing beyond the people and that's not quite enough on its own.
I see you're a black belt. One of the things that I sacrificed to wow was my capoeira classes :(.
this is why i stopped. It wasn't the raids, which I liked, it was everything else. People say "oh it's only 1 hour of dailies" but I challenge them whether they actually timed their dailies. Especially on a healing class anything but the few non-combat dailies take a long time, usually I'd stretch any combat dailies into 2 days. Sure it's still better than it used to be, but the truth is I hate that part of the game.
You know what I like to do ? I like healing. I like grouping and healing. I don't like spending 2 hours of grinding for every 4 hours of raiding. So I did it less and less until finally I stopped. I do what's fun for me.
It's too bad there's not a game where you can do the grouping without the farming in between. Say a raid where no consumables are allowed, no enchants, you just use your skill and the items you find by raiding. That I would still be doing if that were available. After all, if that's the fun part, why not give us more fun and less grind?


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Have tons of fun playing Five Crowns Rummy Card Game | Perfect for game night with friends and family | Enjoy the challenge of this game | Great as a gift for any occasion
Five Crowns Rummy Card Game: Five Crowns is a fast paced rummy-like card game. Its double deck contains five suits (the stars are new), but it has no aces or twos. This unique deck gives you many more options for arranging your hand into sets and sequences. The challenge is to see them make the right combinations, be the first to go out, then watch the others scramble as they get one last chance to cut their losses. Five Crowns, with its beautiful cards, is easy to learn. It starts with three cards and 3's are wild. The next hand has four cards and 4's are wild, and so on. Remember, "the game isn't over 'til the Kings go wild!" 2 to 7 players. Individual card measures 2.25" x 3.5".


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You can backup your character sheet here for my campaign.
Ascendant campaigns can view previous versions of their pages, see what has changed (and who did it), and even restore old versions. It's like having a rewind button for your campaign.
We've already been saving your edits, so if you
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you will have instant access to your previous versions. Plus, you get a 15-day free trial, so there's nothing to lose.


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Paper Pastries
I'm very particular with my pencils. By "very" I mean EXTREMELY. I've had the same mechanical pencil for about seven years and use it every.single.day. It's even traveled the world with me!
The only thing I can't do with a mechanical pencil is trace on fabric. Kiiiiind of a problem though since it's kiiiind of a big part of my life, right? Right.
So the other day when I was using a gross regular pencil I remembered Paper Pastries. I stopped everything I was doing to place my order (it was of the utmost importance I use cute pencils and cute pencils ONLY) and then waited patiently for them to arrive (not that I had to wait long, she's also from L.A. and I received them the next day).
I purchased a brass pencil sharpener from her as well after hearing it is THE GREATEST PENCIL SHARPENER OF ALL TIME.
I've never been so excited to use one.


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Melissa Rivers has a message for her mom: enough plastic surgery!
She said her 77-year-old mother's surgical enhancements are a source of conflict.
VIEW THE PHOTOS: Television Critics Association Winter Tour 2011
U.S. & World
News from around the country and around the globe
Comic Joan Rivers said in a book she wrote two years ago, "Men Are Stupid … And They Like Big Boobs — A Woman's Guide to Beauty Through Plastic Surgery," that she's had more than a dozen cosmetic surgeries.
"In my opinion, it's like enough," Melissa Rivers said. "Stop it. It is a source of conflict, it really is. It bothers me."
VIEW THE PHOTOS: Rising Star: 'The Cape's David Lyons
The two women were at a news conference Friday to hype their upcoming WE network reality series, "Joan&Melissa: Joan Knows Best?" The series premieres Jan. 25.
Rivers joked about her daughter's concerns, but said it's part of being in show business and doesn't think there's any such thing as too much.
"If you had a dollar for every stitch in the face of someone you interviewed, you wouldn't be here," she told reporters.
VIEW THE PHOTOS: 'American Idol' Season 10 Promo Shots!
Copyright 2011 by Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Related Content from AccessHollywood.com:
VIEW THE PHOTOS: Hollywood, Hello! Stars Gather To Celebrate Larry King's Final Show!
PLAY IT NOW: Access Hollywood Live: Melissa Rivers's Scathing Celebrity Fashion Breakdown
PLAY IT NOW: Access Hollywood Live: Melissa Rivers Lets Loose On Paris Hilton, Tiger Woods & More!
More from Access: [ Melissa Rivers Joan Rivers TV ]


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Find your bra size in the chart below.
The cup size listed at the top of the column shows the Venus cup size you should order. For example: If your bra size is 36B, then you should order a Venus cup size C or size 4.
These are the cup sizes for our unique bra sizing. All other Venus bras, purchase your normal bra size.
It's precisely the even-numbered size you prefer. We choose to call our sizing "contemporary",
a word that's as progressive & modern as our customers.


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Computers aren't the most user-friendly technology around. Installing a new operating system is a daunting task. Upgrading the hardware is a mystery to most. Sometimes they crash, or get viruses, or simply stop working altogether. Heck, even cleaning a computer can be a pain.
Our expert computer technicians provide a wide variety of services to keep your computer on pace with your lifestyle. No matter what the problem-anything from virus trouble, to broken hardware, to sluggish performance-we can diagnose your desktop or laptop correctly and repair it at any of our convenient locations throughout Klang Valley.
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A computer problem could be caused by any number of different reasons. Until the problem is identified, it is difficult to determine the best solution to save you time and money. With a quick system diagnostics test, our technicians can pin point exactly what needs to be done.
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For the convenience of our customers, we gladly offer a Courtesy Laptop should we require sending your system to the manufacturer for diagnostics/repairs. See in-store for details.


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1. When looking at a family picture she identified me as "Momma" her sister as "Lilia" and herself as "Lacey" but when she pointed to Joe (Daddy) she said, "STEVE!"
2. She wanted to get my attention for some reason or another. She said, "Momma... momma... Momma? MOMMA? Pam? PAM! Pam?" (I was not ignoring her, she just chose to keep this dialog going...)
3. *Back story* When she is being naughty I tell her to stop- if she doesn't stop I start counting. When I get to three she gets in trouble. SO tonight, Joe and I asked her where her pajamas were (usually that prompts her to go running to her room in search of jammies). She stood at the head of the hallway and yelled, "Jammas... uh ARE YOU? Jammas! One... Uh ARE YOU?... Two... Jammas?..."
Lacey absolutely kills me sometimes. What a goof!
As for Lilia- she informed me today that "Pam is a mean mom, but Dora is a nice mom." Good to see how I stack up against a cartoon character.
She also announced today, "Ugh! I don't wanna do homework- it's not exciting! I don't ENJOY it!"
I love love LOVE my girls! They make my days so much more fun!


text: Enhance the appeal of fresh air and relaxation with outdoor benches that can go anywhere. Our furniture collections range from rustic to modern to classic looks for any back yard or patio that include woods, wrought iron, aluminum and composites. The Lutyens is a traditional favorite. Patio bench and garden bench selections include backless outdoor storage styles, ruggedly crafted and beautifully designed, and ornamental butterfly settee or glider selections are the perfect way to complete a private retreat. For commercial applications, we also feature inground park bench models and seating for sports locations or team sidelines.


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Events for September 30, 2019
Events Search and Views Navigation
6:00 pm
Ideal Protein Initial Information Seminar-Las Colinas Location
Plan to join our manager, Beth Duke, as she discusses the science of a ketogenic style diet like Ideal Protein. During our sixty minute presentation, information will be provided about the state of obesity in the United States and the way our protocol will help you combat the battle. Samples will be shared during this free […]Find out more »


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history lesson
DayBird - April 16th
1178 BC - Cunningly calculated date of the Greek king
Odysseus' return home from the Trojan War. Welcome home, Odie! He arrived around noon, to slaughter his wife's suitors.
A total solar eclipse occurred over the Ionian islands, one of which is Ithaca, this day in April and would have coincided roughly a decade before the most often cited estimate for the sack of Troy — about 1190 B.C.
1521 – Martin Luther's first appearance before the Diet of Worms to be examined by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. Edict of Worms, Imperial Diet of Worms.
1889 - Charlie Chaplin is born in London, England . The endearing figure of his "Little Tramp" is instantly recognizable and loved the world over.
1927 – Pope Benedict XVI turns 83 years old, celebrates by eating children.
1943 - Happy birthday, LSD! Kinda.
Albert Hoffman a Swiss chemist working at a pharmaceutical research laboratory, accidentally consumes LSD-25, a synthetic drug he had created in 1938. After taking the drug, Albert was disturbed by unusual sensations and trippy hallucinations. In his notes, he related the experience:
"Last Friday, April 16, 1943, I was forced to interrupt my work in the laboratory in the middle of the afternoon and proceed home, being affected by a remarkable restlessness, combined with a slight dizziness. At home I lay down and sank into a not unpleasant, intoxicated-like condition characterized by an extremely stimulated imagination. In a dreamlike state, with eyes closed (I found the daylight to be unpleasantly glaring), I perceived an uninterrupted stream of fantastic pictures, extraordinary shapes with intense, kaleidoscopic play of colors. After some two hours this condition faded away."
After intentionally taking the drug again (and again, and again) to confirm that it was the cause of his altered state, he published a report announcing his discovery, and so LSD made its entry into the world as a hallucinogenic drug. This is the word of the lord. He tuned in, it was pretty psychedelic and he began to say stuff:
I think that in human evolution it has never been as necessary to have this substance LSD. It is just a tool to turn us into what we are supposed to be.
1963 – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. pens his famous Letter from Birmingham Jail while incarcerated in Birmingham, Alabama for protesting against segregation.


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ORIGINAL: Wyss Institute
January 28, 2013
|The so-called "bastard hogberry," shown here floating in water (which changes its apparent color), has inspired a new type of photonic fiber. (Image courtesy of Peter Vukusic.)
Color-tunable photonic fibers mimic the fruit of the "bastard hogberry" plant
A team of materials scientists at Harvard University and the University of Exeter, UK, have invented a new fiber that changes color when stretched. Inspired by nature, the researchers identified and replicated the unique structural elements that create the bright iridescent blue color of a tropical plant's fruit.
The multilayered fiber, described today in the journal Advanced Materials, could lend itself to the creation of smart fabrics that visibly react to heat or pressure.
"Our new fiber is based on a structure we found in nature, and through clever engineering we've taken its capabilities a step further," says lead author Mathias Kolle, a postdoctoral fellow at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS). "The plant, of course, cannot change color. By combining its structure with an elastic material, however, we've created an artificial version that passes through a full rainbow of colors as it's stretched."
|The photonic fibers are made by wrapping multiple layers of polymer around a glass core, which is later etched away. The thickness of the layers determines the apparent color of the fiber, which can range across the entire visible spectrum of light. (Image courtesy of Mathias Kolle.)
Since the evolution of the first eye on Earth more than 500 million years ago, the success of many organisms has relied upon the way they interact with light and color, making them useful models for the creation of new materials. For seeds and fruit in particular, bright color is thought to have evolved to attract the agents of seed dispersal, especially birds.
The fruit of the South American tropical plant, Margaritaria nobilis, commonly called "bastard hogberry," is an intriguing example of this adaptation. The ultra-bright blue fruit, which is low in nutritious content, mimics a more fleshy and nutritious competitor. Deceived birds eat the fruit and ultimately release its seeds over a wide geographic area.
|Zooming in on the structure of the hogberry fruit, multiple scales of repeating architecture become clear. (Image courtesy of Mathias Kolle.)
"The fruit of this bastard hogberry plant was scientifically delightful to pick," says principal investigator Peter Vukusic, Associate Professor in Natural Photonics at the University of Exeter. "The light-manipulating architecture its surface layer presents, which has evolved to serve a specific biological function, has inspired an extremely useful and interesting technological design."
Vukusic and his collaborators at Harvard studied the structural origin of the seed's vibrant color. They discovered that the upper cells in the seed's skin contain a curved, repeating pattern, which creates color through the interference of light waves. (A similar mechanism is responsible for the bright colors of soap bubbles.) The team's analysis revealed that multiple layers of cells in the seed coat are each made up of a cylindrically layered architecture with high regularity on the nano- scale.
|The researchers at Harvard developed a unique method of producing the photonic fibers; they believe it can be scaled up for industrial fabrication. (Image courtesy of Mathias Kolle.)
The team replicated the key structural elements of the fruit to create flexible, stretchable and color-changing photonic fibers using an innovative roll-up mechanism perfected in the Harvard laboratories.
"For our artificial structure, we cut down the complexity of the fruit to just its key elements," explains Kolle. "We use very thin fibers and wrap a polymer bilayer around them. That gives us the refractive index contrast, the right number of layers, and the curved, cylindrical cross-section that we need to produce these vivid colors."
The researchers say that the process could be scaled up and developed to suit industrial production.
"Our fiber-rolling technique allows the use of a wide range of materials, especially elastic ones, with the color-tuning range exceeding by an order of magnitude anything that has been reported for thermally drawn fibers," says coauthor Joanna Aizenberg, Amy Smith Berylson Professor of Materials Science at Harvard SEAS, and Kolle's adviser. Aizenberg is also Director of the Kavli Institute for Bionano Science and Technology at Harvard and a Core Faculty Member at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard.
The fibers' superior mechanical properties, combined with their demonstrated color brilliance and tunability, make them very versatile. For instance, the fibers can be wound to coat complex shapes. Because the fibers change color under strain, the technology could lend itself to smart sports textiles that change color in areas of muscle tension, or that sense when an object is placed under strain as a result of heat.
Additional coauthors included Alfred Lethbridge at the University of Exeter, Moritz Kreysing at Ludwig Maximilians University (Germany), and Jeremy B. Baumberg, Professor of Nanophotonics at the University of Cambridge (UK).
This research was supported by the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative, by the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, and through a postdoctoral research fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. The researchers also benefited from facilities at the Harvard Center for Nanoscale Systems, which is part of the National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation. The Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard also contributed to this research.
CONTACT: Caroline Perry, (617) 496-1351


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Years ago I used to spend a fair amount of time playing computer games. The problem is that I found it to be quite a time suck.
Fast forward to this Christmas and my children got a Wii as a present. I never thought that a game could increase quality time with your kids. I found that it gives me an opportunity to interact with them on a more relaxed basis than just helping them with their homework. Multi-player video games are the board games of the 21st century. Who needs Candy Land when you have Playground and can race slot cars with the kids. I know it isn't quite the same, but I will take it.
Tim is a Solutions Architect for PSC Group, LLC. He has been an IT consultant since 1999 specializing in Microsoft technologies. Along with running the Chicago Information Technology Architects Group and speaking on Microsoft and architecture topics he was also contributing author on "The Definitive Guide to the Microsoft Enterprise Library".


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I had the nicest commute to work yesterday morning.
A brisk jaunt over the Rocky Mountains, then a smooth descent into this fluffy loveliness.
And here's what I found on the other side of those clouds!
Yes, I was back at the Royal BC Museum in Victoria, BC, to return the holotype of Gwawinapterus to British Columbia. I do not know if there are plans to display the specimen, but there is currently an excellent 'Behind the Scenes' exhibit with a great display from the Palaeontology Department featuring other specimens from Hornby Island (the Gwawinapterus locality), north-central BC, and more.
During my last visit I was able to snap this nice cast of a segment of trackway from the Lower Cretaceous Gething Formation of Peace River Canyon. These are on display outside the museum, sort of near the main entrance. This was one of Phil Currie's first major projects after being hired at the Provincial Museum of Alberta (now the Royal Alberta Museum). The trackways in this area were originally collected by CM Sternberg in the 1930s, and subsequently by the Royal Ontario Museum in 1965. With the construction of the WAC Bennett Dam (which would eventually fill to form Williston Lake), an extended expedition was organized by the Provincial Museum of Alberta, and the tracksite was visited from 1976-1979. More than 1700 footprints were documented during these expeditions, and at least 100 trackways were identified. The photo above shows the foot and handprints of a hadrosaur, but theropod, ankylosaur, and even bird footprints are known from the Gething Formation.
You can read more about the Peace River Canyon tracks here (free PDF!):
Currie PJ. 1983. Hadrosaur trackways from the Lower Cretaceous of Canada. Acta Palaeontological Polonica 28:63-73.


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A couple of the eager sculptors started carving even before the opening ceremonies started.
The sculptors were taken to a local quarry where they selected the large chunks of granite they wanted to work with. Yesterday they were moved and placed in their preferred orientation to begin work.
Today during the opening ceremonies the Carnival Glory cruise ship is in port visiting.
An International Sculpture Symposium – Sculpture Saint John is being held August 2 to September 15 2012.
Six accomplished sculptors selected from around the globe are shaping mammoth chunks of stunning New Brunswick granite into works of art. The International Sculpture Symposium presents each artist with the opportunity to display their finished work in a prominent location in our region. Local interns from the region get to learn from the international experts.
These magnificent sculptures will be created throughout August and September at the Coast Guard site on the Saint John Waterfront. Cruise ship passengers, tourists, students and the general public will watch the sculptors in the midst of their creative process.
The capital of Canada is Ottawa, in the province of Ontario. There are offically ten provinces and three territories in Canada, which is the second largest country in the world in terms of land area.While politically and legally an independant nation, the titular head of state for Canada is still Queen Elizabeth.On the east end of Canada, you have Montreal as the bastion of activity. Montreal is famous for two things, VICE magazine and the Montreal Jazz Festival. One is the bible of hipster life (disposable, of course) and the other is a world-famous event that draws more than two million people every summer. Quebec is a French speaking province that has almost seceded from Canada on several occasions, by the way..When you think of Canada, you think of . . . snow, right?But not on the West Coast. In Vancouver, it rains. And you'll find more of the population speaking Mandarin than French (but also Punjabi, Tagalog, Korean, Farsi, German, and much more).Like the other big cities in Canada, Vancouver is vividly multicultural and Vancouverites are very, very serious about their coffee.Your standard Vancouverite can be found attired head-to-toe in Lululemon gear, mainlining Cafe Artigiano Americanos (spot the irony for ten points).But here's a Vancouver secret only the coolest kids know: the best sandwiches in the city aren't found downtown. Actually, they're hidden in Edgemont Village at the foot of Grouse Mountain on the North Shore."It's actually worth coming to Canada for these sandwiches alone." -- Michelle Superle, VancouverText by Steve Smith.


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Samsung Galaxy S6 32GB
Samsung Galaxy S6 32GB
Fully Refurbished Condition
Condition: Fully Refurbished Condition
COLOUR: White
100% GENUINE UK Established Seller, Buy With Confidence as All Our GAME listed products qualify for a 30 days money back guarantee. All our Mobile Phones go through vigorous testing before being released to any of our buyers. Why take risks when you can buy from a UK based established business seller - a real deal at a great price! All devices come with a 90 days warranty, valid through us.
All devices come with a 90 days warranty, valid through us.
Below is list of inspection pass on these devices:
- WIFI: Perfect working order
- Camera: Perfect working order
- Bluetooth: Perfect working order
- Ringer: Perfect working order
- Speakers: Perfect working order
- Home button: Perfect working order
- Other buttons (home, volume etc): perfect working order
- Phone calls: Perfect working order
- 3G/4G: Perfect working order
- LCD CHECK: Perfect Working order
PACKAGE CONTENTS:1 x Samsung Galaxy S6 32GB Unlocked - Fully Refurbished Condition
1 x USB Cable (can also use it to charge your handset via computer)
1 x SIM Ejector Pin
1 x Power Adaptor
1 x Handsfree
1 x Box (Original Samsung Box)
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Oceanfront Guru Real Estate Sales and Development is a full service Real Estate company committed to excellence and located in Myrtle Beach, SC. We specialize in the marketing and sales of Ocean Front Resort Condominiums and Ocean Front Homes in the Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach Areas. Oceanfront Guru Real Estate Sales and Development is the #1 Oceanfront Condo Sales Company along the Grand Strand. With our unique approach to the investor client, we have been heralded as the foremost thinker as it relates to Ocean Front Real Estate Sales along the South Carolina Coast line. Hence the name Oceanfront GURU, making us a popular choice amongst oceanfront investors worldwide.
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Neato Boundary Markers let you decide where your robot can go and where it should "keep out." Easily cut the magnetic strip to fit doorways, around pet bowls, cords, or anywhere you don't want Neato to go. Contains 13 feet (4 meters) of boundary markers.
Compatible with Neato Botvac Connected, Neato Botvac D Series, Neato Botvac Series & Neato XV Series robot vacuums.


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welcome (someone or something) with open arms(redirected from welcome us with open arms)
welcome (someone or something) with open arms
1. To greet someone very happily and eagerly; to give someone a very warm, enthusiastic welcome. When my brother left for the military, he and I didn't really get along too well. Now that he's coming home soon, I can't wait to welcome him with open arms. It was a little intimidating starting a new job at such a large firm, but everyone there welcomed me with open arms.
2. To be very pleased and enthusiastic about something, especially that which is new or unexpected. The president has announced a reversal on his controversial policy, and many people are welcoming the news with open arms.
welcome someone with open arms
COMMON If you welcome someone with open arms, you show that you are very pleased to see them or meet them. People in Sidon welcomed them with open arms and rice and flowers. Note: You can also say that you greet someone with open arms or receive someone with open arms. We got out of the trucks to greet them with open arms.
welcome something with open arms
If you welcome an event or new development with open arms, you are very pleased about it. Watchdog organizations welcomed today's guidelines with open arms. The store ranks as Palo Alto's fourth largest sales tax generator. Certainly many communities would welcome it with open arms. Note: You can also say that you accept something with open arms or embrace something with open arms. The Council did the right thing in getting him to carry out the study. They have accepted it with open arms and will, they say, progress with it.


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I've been trying to avoid this all day as I have other more pressing things to do (study for 2 tests in calculus and chemistry mainly). Yet, here I am writing this anyway. Some things are just what they are, and one of the unfortunate doomed fates I seem to hold as a human being is a Kings fan.
What pisses me off more than anything is that this team can't get consistent production from either Evans or Cousins. Cousins may be a great rebounder numbers wise, but the Kings are the worst rebounding team by DRB%. Exactly how much effect can one board man have? Well, it'd be one thing if the Kings were a middle of the pack Defensive Rebounding team with Cousins grabbing so many boards. But being in the very bottom? What does that say with so many plus rebounders on the roster? It's not like DRB% is based on total numbers of caroms you get; it's simply the percentage of caroms you take off the rim that are available.
Evans is just as bad. Evans leads the Kings with total Assists at 86 (which more than double the next guy–Isaiah Thomas–at 41), yet, how many times do the Kings really have quality ball movement with Evans as the primary playmaker? How many NBA level plays are being run?
Defense? Oh my, I don't even know where to go there. Evans jogs back in transition, and to hear him point fingers at Jimmer Fredette let alone else during today's practice sessions was one of the funnier things I've heard in awhile.
Cousins? The only player worse in transition than Cousins is Tyreke Evans, and that's no mean feat. There might not be a bigger unprofessional duo in the entire NBA if you consider that Andray Blatche,JaVale "Pierre" McGee and Nick Young are not really considered centerpieces.
Speaking of duo's, when is the last time you saw Cousins and Evans run a play together as a tandem. Then, again, again, and again? Oh, you haven't. Me either. Of course, I haven't watched a Kings game since the train wreck hit Memphis. (Sorry O'Jays. No Love Train around here.) I didn't have the opportunity to watch the Portland game after my class Monday night, and I refuse to watch the Denver Nuggets layup line in the "Artist formerly known as Arco Arena" last night because I have a night class twice a week. (Guess which days?)
Are the Kings that bad? Are they victims of injuries, bad scheduling, a turned over roster that is mostly young and trying to figure it's own role out while trying to figure out how to play with each other? Sure, but not to the tune of 94 points in the paint it's not.
But this is what actually inspired me to write this piece. From, the guru of angry journalists, Ken Berger about those famed Madison Square Garden Knuckleheads:
In some corners of the Knick locker room, there was fear after a listless loss to the rebuilding Cavaliers on Wednesday night that D'Antoni could be gone soon if progress isn't achieved, according to a person familiar with the players' thinking. That would be a shame, because D'Antoni never asked to coach the ill-fitting roster he has, and his reservations about giving up so much for Carmelo Anthony are proving to be dead on.
"I hope you're wrong," one person connected to the team said, hoping D'Antoni can hang on.
"It's not the coach," said another person invested in the Knicks turning things around. "I wish it were that simple."
It isn't, of course. A mess of this magnitude rarely can be blamed on one person or factor. To anyone who thinks so, I ask this: If the best offensive coach in the game has a team that is struggling to break 70 points and 40 percent shooting on a regular basis, what does that tell you about the players he is coaching?
This is the New York Knicks. The team that amnesty'd Chauncey Billups to free up cash to sign Tyson Chandler (who is missing Dallas) rather than hoping to lure Chris Paul (who wanted to play in MSG) without the money to do so. In fairness, it's not like the Knicks had the actual cap room (or assets) to get Paul to New York to begin with. So Tyson Chandler was a reasonable play. But, the Knicks are still a train wreck.
And one quote from the always noted builder of team chemistry Amare Stoudemire himself:
"It's got to be a willing thing from everybody," Amar'e Stoudemire told reporters in Cleveland after the Knicks lost to the Cavs 91-81. "We all have to be willing to space the court, willing to move the ball. It has to be something that we all have to buy into. It works, and it's been proven that it works."
What a shock. Buying into a system. Of course, and even Stoudemire isn't stupid enough to push these kind of boundries anymore, that means you actually buy into a system and run actual NBA plays. It's not like NBA plays are that different from NCAA plays or European plays in this regard. A pick and roll is a pick and roll assuming that the play that is actually being run is a pick and roll.
Donte Greene sounds like a player who may be understanding that the AAU style may not work anymore:
Of course, that's typically window dressing when a player says what Greene did. Unless it produces actual changes on the court, it means little what you say in post game interviews.
I loved what Keith Smart said at the very end of this:
"You don't have to coach effort or energy." — Keith Smart
That's a telling quote. It was tucked away at the very end of the clip there , and after Smart explaining coaching X&O's, trying to balance time off with practice time that this team obviously needs, and how difficult it is to get a young inexperienced roster to fill holes for a guy like Chuck Hayes.
I get all that. I really do.
But none of that speaks to what really ails the Kings. Tyreke Evans and DeMarcus Cousins lack the commitment to push a team to improve. Do they back Keith Smart with how they play? One could say they do, but one could also say neither guy could back any coach with the consistency each illustrates on a night in night out basis.
Interesting point made by Matt Moore–of the CBS Sports variety–today that should be relayed:
The Kings are playing better under Smart. You can't tell after games like Wednesday night. But there is more competitiveness, more cohesion. The Kings were missing their arguably second-best player, after all. But they are wildly inconsistent, as bad, young teams are. Smart making it clear that they are held to their actions is considerably huge. He can give them a pat on the butt and punish them through that debacle at the same time. Smart's not absolved here. And Smart took responsibility for it.
No Mr Moore, Smart is very much not to blame. But Keith Smart can't salvage the wreckage that is Tyreke Evans and DeMarcus Cousins without acting like he is part of the problem. If Smart can gain Evans/Cousins trust, perhaps their effort and commitment would rise as part of trust. It is sometimes an issue with young players after all. (That would be the biggest reason to fire Paul Westphal in case you're wondering.)
Again, the lack of commitment from both Evans and Cousins is astounding. The biggest issue to me is that both tend to point fingers (I love what Evans said about Jimmer's defense last night after today's practice; those who live in ivory towers should shut the fuck up son) and blame others for their weaknesses.
One of the issue's I've had with Cousins claiming that Westphal tended to blame him more is because Cousins would often force Westphal's hand throughout his short time. When you are a loudmouth and aggressive (which Cousins is), you are going to get into fights with people. You then can't claim that you are being treated differently as such when other people aren't as aggressive or loud with management and/or the coaching staff.
Again, this is the problem with firing Paul Westphal the way the Kings did: It shows how little importance the Maloofs have as owners, and, more importantly for a lot of people, how rapidly useless Geoff Petrie is becoming. The Kings are the NBA's version of a Keystone Cops situation.
Can it improve? Who knows. Denver is the kind of team that gives the Kings problems (talented/athletic/professional) and the kind of team that struggled with that attitude of a particular Anthony before trading him. Denver feels better without Carmelo Anthony which not only says a lot about the Nuggets and their talent level, but also how much talent Anthony consistently left on the table during Carmelo Anthony's stint as a Denver Nugget.
Guess what? The Kings are headed down that path with 2 young players who, in their minds, are elite, and are not anywhere near close that. Elite teams don't allow 90+ points in the paint. Elite teams are not at the bottom of Defensive Rebounding %. Tyreke Evans is decent among G's (5th), but should be near where Kyle Lowry is at (near 7 boards) and not well below 5 boards a game. It's a pure and complete lack of commitment on Tyreke Evans' part to not grab more boards. Elite teams don't rank at the bottom of many statistical categories. Elite teams don't have players that allow teams to be at the bottom of many, if any, categories. (Big Man FT's are an interesting exception.)
Right now, Cousins is actually fouling at a higher rate than he was a year ago. Cousins is leading the league in Total Offensive Rebounds which would be impressive if Cousins didn't shoot the ball at a such a horrendous clip. The fact that Cousins FG% is now 44.8% and improving says a lot if nothing else.
Blame the Maloofs for being cheap or Ed Hardy wearing clowns. (I personally dislike their Southern Californian thing of "let's be here when it's cool and when it's hard slink away and act like we had important shit to do elsewhere" act.) Blame Geoff Petrie for being an impersonal turtleneck wearing rich kid asshole. You can fire the Maloofs and Petrie all you wish, and I'd be fine with that on both counts. I'm beginning to believe this team can only move forward is with real fresh blood. (That is something Keith Smart represents no matter how dilapidated or disorganized it may seem.) How good Geoff Petrie really is is a question that is starting to circulate. A year ago I would have given Geoff Petrie a lot of gap given how instrumental Petrie was into making moves.
Now? Take your straw and flip a coin for what the real problem is.
I'm not Chicken Little. I'm not upset over one game or one play or one thing. This is a trend that has been happening for several years with this team. If Paul Westphal was the issue over the summer, and he was supposedly behind the John Salmons trade (yeah right–that's protect Petrie's legacy spin if I ever saw it), then fire Paul Westphal. I would be lying if I would have understood it because I don't feel it's ever fair to bring in a head coach to be a "caretaker". (I'm convinced the Clippers could win the equivalent of 50 games with Westphal this season if he were their head coach.) If you took a normal 50 win season out of 82 games, that would mean you win 40 games in this lockout season. As is, the Clippers are 9-6 for a cool 60% Winning Percentage right now. With players like Paul and Griffin, Westphal might be the right kind of coach for that team. (Right or wrong. I'm not saying it will or won't happen. I'm just saying that Westphal is not necessarily the god-awful head coach he is made out to be.)
John Salmons is not killing this team anymore than anyone else is. Jimmer Fredette's problems are real, but they are not franchise killing. (Or Franchise savioring for that matter. Jimmer is what he is: A talented shooter/scorer with real potential to run a NBA team at some point in the future. That's not superstar stuff IMO.) JJ Hickson has issue's on defense especially, but this isn't news. Jason Thompson has shown professionalism and pride at every juncture this season as far as I can tell. Isaiah Thomas is a rookie and that counts for only so much in this league. Chuck Hayes is missed. Marcus Thornton and Tyreke Evans were never going to be a perfect match. Tyler Honeycutt is the project on this roster that intrigues me. I like Francisco Garcia as a person (and when he plays well as a player; but only then), but from a franchise standpoint I'm glad Garcia's contract is expiring after next season.
Keith Smart is a terrific coach in my opinion. Or, I think he has every ability to coach a real basketball team that acted in a professional manner. Or, more accurately than that, had 2 real cornerstones he could rely on for quality production on a night in night out basis.
I think the problem with this team is that they need a veteran like Paul Pierce (I like Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett, but I think Allen/Jimmer are redundant and Garnett/Hayes are a bit redundant too regardless of talent differences for each–and I'm not claiming that 1st ballot Hall of Famers aren't better) who can tell Evans and Cousins the ways of the world. Smack both Cousins/Evans over the head when each fucks up (Pierce's hand is bound to get especially sore).
The truth is that the ugly dynamic of the Kings is that they have a 1st banana talent/2nd banana attitude in Tyreke Evans and a 2nd banana talent/1st banana attitude in DeMarcus Cousins. The trick, for Keith Smart, and Evans/Cousins, is to figure out how to utilize all these talents in the most effective of manners.
Caps annoyances over, that's the deal. You can have shitty ownership and stupid management and have a quality team if your 2 best young players are accountable and want to get better. But do Tyreke Evans and DeMarcus Cousins want to get better? You can make a legitimate case Evans is only interested in his numbers. I would agree with at that this point until I see a better batch of evidence that tells me otherwise.
Cousins? I might be willing to believe (also having said this awhile ago) that if Cousins starts approaching playing the game as a profesional than a petulant dickhead kid with a condom head to match. Cousins has the type of personality that I think the losing is bothering him (it bothers Evans but not enough) so something may snap inside of him. When that happens, actual growth of the "I'm not an asshole teenager kid but an adult now" type happens and Cousins drags the Kings with him. In turn, it may entice Evans to grow up as well and start tapping his talents (which are considerably more).
I personally enjoy Keith Smart's pressers a heck of a lot more (it doesn't accompany unprofessional clownball that Evans/Cousins so much enjoy) than the games at the moment because I learn something about the man. Keith Smart really does understand the problem. So did Paul Westphal. So would Vinny Del Negro, and how many people do you know would want VDN to be the head coach of their team?
The good news is that Keith Smart is a competant professional basketball man who does things in a seemingly understandable and transparent fashion. Telling Cousins and Evans (it was not a shot at Fredette, Salmons or Thompson–all 3 act in a professional manner) that they have to live with their bad decisions and be on the court during blowouts says a lot. Smart says things about players without naming names which is, umm, pardon the pun, intelligent.
This team is in dire straits because of cash poor frontrunning bandwagon douche ownership, a Pres of Basketball Ops who is more interested in preserving his cult status of greatness (that ship has sailed with these series of episodes), 2 asshole petulant brats who masquerade as NBA stars, and a head coach desperately looking to carve a niche for himself where the book on him has been written due to a long relationship with Don Nelson. (Not a good thing unfortunately for Keith Smart.)
The truth is that I think the culture is capable of changing if Evans/Cousins wanted it changed. Oklahoma City's culture is considered good, but it wasn't always considered a winning strong culture. (Funny how winning and strong cultures go hand in hand doesn't it?) Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook were there for a bad losing season together (their first) that started poorly off under a head coach who had nowhere the amount of league success than Paul Westphal had in Seattle let alone in Phoenix.
Yet, now, Scott Brooks is considered a quality coach (for those who aren't sniping and salivating at the idea of getting that job) and the culture of that franchise changed.
New Orleans had a strong culture that didn't revolve around the ownership and/or front office (although Jeff Bowers was certainly a competent GM), but mostly around Chris Paul. Byron Scott is a terrific head coach in a lot of ways, but Scott couldn't make that Hornets team work without Paul. Who could? Chris Paul instituted a system of accountability that included himself.
These things aren't accidents. When players demand accountability that includes checks on their own behaviors, things improve.
Let's read Cousins statement about Westphal again:
Has your approach changed with Smart as your coach?
"It has. Everything has been positive right now. Coach isn't scared to speak his mind. He's going to tell the truth. He's going to tell you how it should be and how it's not going to be. He sets his guidelines and we all go by them. That's something that we needed from the beginning. Coach is going to be real. If you mess up he's going to tell you, 'You messed up.' That's all we needed from the beginning."
So you didn't have that structure under Westphal?
"We didn't, honestly. And it showed."
Oh, you mean Westphal didn't tell you to take crappy shots at inopportune times and then compound that with stupid turnovers and/or stupid fouls that take you off the court for at least 10-20 minutes of in game time for consistent periods? Stupid Paul Westphal.
If there is anything I've agreed with Tom Ziller on any one point, it was that part of Westphal's odd statement (I never did like it–on the other hand Westphal looked like a guy after the New Orleans game who knew he was on his way out and it was only a matter of time) did seem to get a lot of people to not notice what Tyreke Evans said after the New York game.
I'm not criticizing to criticize here. I realize that the situation has been brutal in any adjusted or readl context and that an easier schedule could help ease some of the real problems the Kings have. (I liked this post at Sactown Royalty by Savage Beast, one of the long time readers over there. It makes a lot of sense if you are of the patient sort.)
But, Evans and Cousins have made this stretch beyond pointless to contemplate. There is a reason I didn't talk about the Cousins' lockeroom incident. The 2 heaviest hit Kings websites (Sactown Royalty and SacBee Kings Blog), and Jason Jones had a blogpost on the Sacbee Blog regarding all of this. Really, who cares? That's not the problem then, or now with this team. That's an incident with an emotional young firebrand who understandably didn't want some asshole with a camera fishing for a story while he was dressing. I'd tell the guy to get the fuck away too. I simply didn't add my 2 cents of: This is a stupid ass story because why?
But, Jones summed up it well:
I know Cousins has been sick for a few days and really had no intention of interviewing him. I also have a rule (that not all members of the media agree with) that I allow a player to get dressed before I start interviewing him.
Jones nailed this: This was an issue of decency. Cousins was right, but the only reason Cousins was even egged on was due to his reputation. There is money in getting players like Cousins to blow their top, and it gets coverage. The guy who gets that coverage gets something for it. You think incidents like this with Cousins won't be overblown? If the Kings start winning, Cousins had better get used to it. Because that's what will happen to him after any loss.
Are we really going to talk about unimportant things for that long? No, we aren't.
The issue, and the main issue, and will still be the main issue no matter how many words are typed in this idiots WordPress formatter, will be whether or not Tyreke Evans and DeMarcus Cousins will act like professional, responsible, accountable and effective NBA players.
Oh, and be that idiot that says "You didn't watch the game so you don't know what you are talking about." No, really, be that idiot. I'm wanting to crap on someone for stupidity since I can't take a dump on Evans/Cousins' head instead. (That's my preference, but my options are limited in this department understandably.) I kinda figure I owe them a return on the favor they both have so willingly gifted us Kings fans this season.
One last thing. Until Evans and Cousins both accept that as stars they will get more share of the success, and blame as an opposite result, they can't complain if they don't get more credit for wins and get little blame for losses. When you are the two best players on a team, you are responsible for the WINS AND LOSSES. Every time I hear those two, I hear two kids who want to believe that they aren't doing anything wrong and it's everyone else's fault but theirs. Hopefully Matt Moore, Savage Beast, Keith Smart are all right. It's not like I'm sitting around hoping I win this battle. I'm not. I've just seen this story play out, and it usually has an ugly ending for the team that drafts these kind of players. Excuse me if I feel that reality is slowly playing out no matter how quickly or slowly we accept such a reality unfolding before us.
See ya Saturday.


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Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise is making the same sessions that are available as webcasts available as podcasts.
If you do not already have a podcast aggregator on your personal computer, use one of the links provided below to install one.
iTunes ||
Juice (iPodder)
Once you have installed the aggregator on your computer, select a link below to access the Podcasts.


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Getting Involved with BLFS
A common question on the mailing lists is: "How do I get involved?". Therefore, we wrote this page to try and answer that question.
The first thing which we suggest you do is to subscribe to the blfs-book and blfs-dev mailing lists. blfs-dev contains discussion about the book's development while blfs-book receives information on all commits and ticket traffic associated with BLFS.
You need to install Subversion on your computer to really be able to help out with BLFS. Naturally, the best way to do this is by following the instructions in the BLFS book itself! You can then check out the XML source to the book using the following command:
svn co svn://svn.linuxfromscratch.org/BLFS/trunk BLFS
The procedure above will get the entire BLFS tree. When you wish to update your tree, simply issue:
svn up
while in the BLFS directory.
Information on converting the book from XML into HTML format can be found in the INSTALL and README files. You will need to install libxslt, DocBook XSL Stylesheets, HTML Tidy (optional for html), Lynx (for text) and FOP (for PDF) for this to work. Full information is in the INSTALL file.
Once you have familiarized yourself with the book layout, have a look at our Ticket System.
Finally, have fun and get involved with discussions on the lists. Try emailing blfs-dev (for book issues) or blfs-support (for build issues) when you have problems as the BLFS team reads those lists regularly. Once you have something which you wish to submit, create a diff file (preferably using diff -Naur) and submit it to the blfs-dev list where one of the editors will pick it up. For more details about how to update the BLFS book, take a look at the BLFS Editor's Guide.


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Do you believe you're doomed to be overweight due to a sluggish metabolism? New research indicates that what's wrong with your engine can be fixed. It is possible to improve metabolic functioning, and that means you can be healthier, feel younger and look better.
Doctors once thought all our bodies worked pretty much the same way when it comes to metabolism. Now they know that's not true. Genes, along with other biological predispositions, most likely influence metabolic function. You can inherit a poky metabolism, it seems, as easily as blue eyes.
A fast metabolism is easy to spot: These are the people who can chow down yet remain slim. Then there's your best friend, who seems to live on yogurt and rice cakes but is still a size 16. A slow internal engine, left unchecked, usually leads to weight gain and obesity.
Right now there are no safe, effective medications to speed up your metabolism and help you lose weight, says Barry Goldstein, M.D., Ph.D., chief of endocrinology at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. "Lifestyle changes are the only viable alternatives for people currently struggling with metabolic problems."
That means changing what and how you eat, and increasing your level of activity. We'll show you simple, easy ways to get real results.
You Are What You Eat
Think of your metabolism as an engine fueled by food. Just as cars react differently to unleaded gas and diesel fuel, our metabolisms react to what we eat. "In terms of metabolism, the diet that works for one individual may not work for the next," says Mary Ellen Doukakis, a registered dietitian with the Clinical Nutrition Center in Denver. "Your response to protein, carbs and fat depends on your individual biochemical makeup. It's definitely an advantage to know what works for you."
Try going lighter on the carbs. Many of us may be able to boost our metabolism by replacing some carbs, including breads and starches, with protein from meat, poultry and dairy foods, according to a study published in the July 2003 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The participants were all overweight or obese men and women with insulin resistance. When they ate a high-protein diet—27 percent protein, 44 percent carbohydrates and 29 percent fat—the women in the study not only lost fat mass, but also kept more lean mass (muscle) during the 16-week study period. Those who didn't lose as much ate a diet consisting of 16 percent protein, 57 percent carbohydrates and 27 percent fat.
So forgo the bagel for a protein-laden scrambled egg. Replace the pasta salad with a piece of grilled chicken. Just don't cut carbs out completely, or you'll be setting yourself up for other health problems, says Dr. Goldstein. Check out www.ediets.com, which offers meal plans and recipes from Atkins and the Zone, along with support groups, diet dia-ries and numerous other motivating resources. Cost: $5 a week.
For others, cutting back on animal protein may work better. In a 2003 nutrition study presented at a conference of the American Diabetes Association, overweight participants made their metabolisms more efficient by eating more vegetables and fruit. By gradually cutting out animal products, including meat and dairy, and keeping the use of vegetable oils very low for six months, they saw on average a 24 percent improvement in their metabolic function, says Neal Barnard, M.D., who is the author of Turn Off the Fat Genes.
Avoid traditional diet foods. Forget those lowfat foods and cottage cheese. They have a low "thermic effect," which refers to how our bodies convert calories into body heat. The goal is to burn off more calories and store less fat. Increase the thermic effect by eating high-fiber foods rich in complex carbs, not simple carbs such as sugar. Eat an apple instead of a lowfat muffin. Pass on the macaroni and cheese in favor of baked beans. By substituting 10 percent or more of your meal with high-fiber foods, you'll burn more calories for several hours, Dr. Barnard says.
How You Eat Matters
Reorienting our eating habits can also have a real impact on how efficiently our metabolism works.
Watch those portions. Some dieters don't do well eating carbs because their portions are just too big, Doukakis points out. "One-quarter cup of noodles might not be an issue to you. But if you eat one cup of noodles, your body may not respond as well. This has less to do with the carbs than it does with the portion."
Say no to crash dieting. Eating a diet of less than 1,200 calories daily often ends with an eating binge, resulting in rapid regain. Every time you do this, your body reacts by going into starvation mode, which entails water retention and, worse, a significantly slower metabolism.
But there's more reason not to crash diet. "Often when you lose and regain weight, the weight gain is in the abdominal area and leads to more central-body obesity," explains Gail D'Eramo Melkus, Ed.D., a nurse practitioner and community health educator at Yale University School of Nursing in New Haven, Connecticut. "Numerous studies have shown that central-body obesity is associated with coronary heart disease, hypertension and diabetes."
Instead, cut the portion sizes of everything you eat by one-third, suggests Melkus. In restaurants, eat smaller portions and take home the rest in a doggie bag, or share an appetizer and an entrée.
Exercise: Metabolic Magic
Calories count, of course, but activity in the form of regular exercise is key to improving how your body uses and stores what you eat.
Introduce exercise into your day. "Our research indicates that moderate exercise thirty minutes a day, along with mild weight loss aver-aging ten pounds, changes one's metabolism," Mohammed Saad, M.D., a researcher and professor of medicine at UCLA, explains. "It also reduced the development of diabetes by as much as fifty-eight percent. This is surprising."
Take a brisk half-hour walk and watch your metabolism wake up. Sit on a park bench and do leg raises. Throw in a few toe touches (or almost-touches) and waist bends. Do it several times a week and the impact on your metabolism will be profound, says Dr. Saad.
Sustain your level of activity over time. Exercise alone may help you trim down, according to a new 16-month study of young, overweight men and women at the University of Kansas. Participants were divided into two groups: One did moderate, supervised exercise, the other didn't change their activity level. Neither group dieted. Both men and women in the exercise group lost significant abdominal fat while their lean muscle mass remained the same.
Use exercise to burn off fat. Exercise triggers the body's muscles to use up calories rather than store them as fat, says Dr. Goldstein. "Maintaining muscle mass also consumes more energy for the body. In the end, exercise is the key to maintaining weight loss."
Other Factors that Can Slow You Down
How your body works is affected by more than doughnuts and sit-ups. For instance, metabolism speeds up, then slows down as we age. Take nursing mothers, for example. Breastfeeding increases their metabolism and they must eat more to keep producing enough milk for their babies. On the other hand, a woman's engine slows down during menopause because of the huge drop in hormone production. This can lead to weight gain because testosterone helps metabolize fat. So eating what used to be normal amounts actually piles on the pounds. By old age, many people slim down again and subsist on smaller amounts of food.
Poll Results: Truth Be Told
When asked why you think you gained weight, you answered:
- Not enough exercise - 75%
- A poor diet - 54%
- A slow metabolism - 35%
- I don't gain weight - 7%