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What in the hell?
I guess I'll throw out my opinion about the Single Player division.
Gothic Garden Zone: Well this level isn't terrible, it isn't good either. For the most part this level suffers from cramped areas, and a lack of alternating pathways. There was some interesting ideas in this level though, like the long wooden board with the canons shooting at you from the bottom; unfortunately, this is easily avoided by a lower, and easier path (I guess that's what you get if you fail). This level also suffers aesthetically with some noticeably unaligned textures, and some poor texture choices in general. As said, it isn't terrible, but it isn't really good. 4/10
Graceful Coast Zone: First, I'd like to say that this level is absolutely beautiful. Now let's get down to the gameplay. Well I love levels that make you think, which this one does. But 2-D mode isn't exactly the greatest mode for precise platforming puzzles. This is most noticeable in the area right after the first zoom tube, with the geysers of water pushing the rocks upward. This area requires precise timing and platforming (which again is something I love). But 2-D mode makes this pretty hard, since when you jump on the second platform, your view of the 3rd is obscured, making you guess the time when you jump on the 3rd platform; then after you finally get the time, you have to deal with 2-D mode's slipperiness, which usually makes you fall off, and start over. My only other gripe, is that there are too many enemies in some places. The area right next to the area with the geysers (to its left) have about 4 Crawla Commanders flying about, which is really annoying. Love the music choices also; it fits really well with the level. 6/10
Refurbished Gadgetry Zone: Through playing this level, it revoked my hatred of platforming upside-down, so I tried staying on the lower paths here. Well the first lower path I took, I couldn't figure out how to get past one of the rooms, so I went on the ceiling it tried it from there. So, yeah I hate platforming on the ceiling a lot. But this level is packed full of great ideas; I particularly liked an area that had low gravity and a lot of small platforms that switched you from the floor to the ceiling continuously until you reached an extra life, and a zoom tube. The level also has some annoyances, most of them in the upside down areas when I tried them; most noticeably a room that has a laser moving in a circle, while lowering and raising itself continuously; while you had to jump on a series of platforms. The levels looks pretty good though in the aesthetics department. The music in my opinion is pretty bad and hurt my ears. 7/10
Magma Core Zone: I really had a "meh" feeling when playing through this level. Nothing to me really stands out. I felt like there were way too many rock slides in the level, which are pretty hard to avoid considering where they're placed in the level. The custom enemies were kind of neat. The Jettysyn flamethrower things didn't offer much of challenge like I hoped they would. The flamethrower turret thing is pretty neat anyways; they actually hurt me a few times. Aesthetically this level looks pretty cool. The music fits the level perfectly also. 8/10
I art'd
Last edited by XAlted; 11-01-2009 at 03:43 PM.
ms reflec beat stan
Anyways, here's my votes. I still need to rate a lot of them, but I'll get to that hopefully.
Single Player:
Gothic Gardens Zone, Act 1 by VX501 - 2/10
I'm sorry, but this level was nothing but a bunch of mindless jumping over bottomless pits. There needs to be more to this level, be it chains, pulleys, any gimmick you can think of. Furthermore, the 2D part seemed to be 2D because you could, not because it added anything to the gameplay.
Graceful Coast Zone by D00D64 - 5/10
This level actually looked very nice. The fact that it was 2D didn't bother me at all, because I like playing in 2D mode. However, the unsynched waterfalls were very hard to do as Sonic. The time limit was unnoticable to me, and the music change when you head into the cave makes the level feel segmented. However, the music fits incredibly well for said cave part. My only real gripe is the fact that Eggman is not there, even though the title card said DEFEAT EGGMAN IN 6 MINUTES!
Refurbished Gadgetry Zone by SonicMaster - 4/10
There were some good ideas in here, but barely any of them were executed well. The anti-grav made platforming a chore, the water slide part was horrendously easy, and the light room was stupid. But my LEAST favorite part was the "here's some invincibility, now go jump on spikes" part. What was that about? :/ In addition, the first part of the level was solely jumping, and tedious jumping at that. Fortunately, it looked nice, and it was the right size, so that's a plus.
Magma Core Zone, Act 2 by Blade - 7/10
This level has potential, but it doesn't seem to ever get to the phase of adrenaline that I'd like to see in a level like this. I want a part where you're running for your life. The flame jets were very easy to dodge if you jumped right, and the flame enemies didn't seem to have a weak point except to go find an elemental shield. However, there were points that definitely looked cool if nothing else, and I like how you used polyobjects in the stage. The pulley part would be cool if it weren't for software destroying any depth perception.
MAPM1 - Battle Forest Zone by Aaron
MAPM2 - Misty Mesa Zone by fawfulfan
MAPM3 - Acid Comet Zone by D00D64 - 4/10
I'm sorry, but this map wasn't appealing. The level as a whole was fairly bland, with nothing interesting to see. Also, the ring draining slime was a very stupid gimmick that made the elemental shield worthless. Really, the key is to not use so much slime. However, it was fairly easy to tell where you were at a glance, for the most part.
MAPM4 - Icicle Warehouse Zone by glaber
MAPM5 - Volcanic Desolation Zone by Scizor300
MAPM6 - Azure Lake Zone by KO.T.E
MAPM7 - 30 Minute Zone by RedEchidna (best map EVAR) - I ran/time
This map wasn't really about making a level that was great, or even fun. :O It was about creating a semi-playable level in under half an hour. I'm actually suprised anyone even remotely liked it. The fun part was copy-pasting the same 5-ring clump across the whole map XD not to mention finding out I had 5 minutes to place emerald spawns. The emeralds are actually too high for their own good, but as far as I could tell, nobody cared about going super in these stages.
MAPF1 - Canyon CTF Zone by Eggmanfan - 000000000/10
omg wat a gr8 map it should be in the official rotation--Also:
<@Arf> You know <@Arf> Just to make sure <@Arf> hit the 0 key several times <@Arf> because you can never have enough zeroes
MAPF3 - Red River Zone by darkbob1713
MAPF4 - Sunshower Canyon Zone by D00D64
MAPF5 - Techno Laser Zone by KO.T.E
MAPF6 - Iron Turret Returns Zone by Neo
MAPF7 - La Villa Strangiato Zone by Penopat
MAPR1 - Frostbite Peak Zone by RedEchidna - I just accidentally/your whole vision
I'm kicking myself for not saving the log of when Mystic played the Circuit division. It would have been pretty funny to see. But enough about him, he has too much attention anyways. ;) It seems no one knows how to aim their character or look at flats anymore. I honestly couldn't believe that it'd take that long to complete a lap. However, I will own up to the crampedness. The thing there was that no one really told me about it, and I never noticed. (Try to find all the shortcuts! ;D I can get under 15 seconds per lap if I use the right ones.)
MAPR2 - Egg Flower Zone by Mach - 3/10
I'm sorry, but this map just didn't appeal to me. Everything was either painfully annoying (see space countdown room) or stupid and easily passable (see crushers, electric walls) and it just wasn't interesting. If you're gonna make a straight-out thokfest, at least make it look nice. After all, a nice-looking thokfest is better than an ugly thokfest. Also, while my map isn't really a good example, it's best to cripple Sonic's thok without making it too hard, and to create shortcuts for Tails and Knuckles that, again, require skill to use--but I digress. However, with some improvement, this could be a good map.
Last edited by fickleheart; 11-06-2009 at 10:28 PM.
Graceful Coast Zone 2/10
Honestly, 2D mode is terrible. I see no reason on why people insist on using it. Because of 2D mode's bad camera, the geyser is very hard to accomplish with Sonic. The platforming is pretty bland, as there is nothing interesting in the level. When I get to that spring-spikeball part, I got frustrated. I swear, there's no way to pass that area without getting hit.
On the positive side, I enjoyed the visuals and the music.
Magma Core Zone 3/10
Gimmicks, gimmicks, gimmicks. Your level is filled with them, yet, in truth, it's just the same few gimmicks again and again. Those flamethrowers, rocks, and turrets are used too much. There is so many rings in this level that you can just waste all your rings carelessly at one point, and do the same in the next gimmick. There really isn't anything else in the level. The custom enemies are pretty boring, as they never get the chance to hit me. The turret shoots at ridiculously slow speed, so I just treated it as if it was a crawla. I enjoyed the rising lava part, because I'm a sucker for those. That was probably the only fun I had in the level, because the level is the exact thing throughout the whole experience.
I adored your cutscene idea, but, as Sonic, I went to fast and beat the wall closing, making me stuck forever.
Gothic Gardens Zone 1/10
Man, this is cramped. There's very little room for movement, which really killed the level. There is some cheap deaths here and there, and the level is visually unappealing. The 2D part is very unnecessary, as 2D mode is terrible.
Refurbished Gadgetry Zone 3/10
Plenty of interesting gimmicks, plenty of them used wrong. Except for the reversing gravity over the pit idea, which I thought was pretty cool, I don't like most of the gimmicks. I suppose the details is nice, but I haven't payed attention to it.
The camera ruins the time when gravity is reversed. I can't really see what's under me or what I'm gonna land on. The 2D waterslide wasn't really fun because of 2D mode's bad camera. You can't really see what's up ahead, so I just took it very slowly.
I enjoyed the multiple ways of completing this level, though. It was kinda fun to play it three times differently.
Battle Forest Zone 3/10
Undersized. There's a large amount of rings and a ridiculously large amount of ammo, greatly outnumbering the cards. There's no detail either, so the level doesn't get points for visuals.
I'll post more reviews later.
Last edited by Luminous; 11-01-2009 at 02:53 PM.
AKA FuriousFox
Whole numbers only when voting, guys. If you give me a .5, I'm just going to round it up.
Prismatic for real, now
Note: ALL of the levels in the OLDC were played Knuckles, both SP and MP.
CTF Division now:
Canyon CTF by Eggmanfan: 0/10
Yeah, narrow passages with unavoidable rocks and REALLY weird working quicksand work it down to this. Shining River Zone's gonna get company! Moreover, you just DIDN'T CARE.
Ancient Arboretum by Com Rante: 6/10
Although I like these kind of themes, the design doesn't really work; It's way too large! I was having A LOT of trouble returning the flag with Knux since the only thing that helped me up is a platform which rises and lowers slowly :/
Red River Zone by Darkbob1713: 6/10
Yet another normal map. It was very bland and generally... normal, yea, don't know how to explain but it was just generic; no bad or good things really.
Sunshower Canyon Zone by D00D64: 5/10
Big meh. It was large and not detailed, and that large Death Pit didn't make playing any easier. I did like the color though.
Techno Laser Zone by KO.T.E: 7/10
This was a good map, but the scale gimmicks felt useless to me. The design was nice and the scale gimmick wasn't necesarry.
Iron Turret Returns Zone by Neo: 9/10
HUGE improvement over the orginal ITZ. The underground area was very cool and the new stuff and all were really good! Only the players can still run from base to base when they feel like. :P
Opinion: Keep returning stages! :D
La Villa Strangiato by Penopat: 6/10
No problems yet nothing outstanding, felt very basic and boring. Oh, and under the blue team base, there are red rings. >_>
Maybe Match later...
EDIT: Match division now:
Battle Forest Zone by Aaron: 4/10
Meh, really bland, open and uninspired. Ring placement was awkward too.
Misty Mesa Zone by Fawfulfan: 3/10
Lags as hell, way too open, rings not deafed, bad execution. This one sucks. :<
Acid Comet Zone by D00D64: 7/10
Hmm... I like this for some reason, too bad it isn't a completely Knuckles friendly level though. The outside parts acid placement is sometimes unfair though.
Icicle Warehouse Zone by Glaber: 5/10
Really cramped; I also remember in that netgame everyone got owned by Mystics grenade's because of it. Weapons were stacked together, not really a good idea.
Volcanic Desolation Zone by Scizor300: 2/10
Way past open, lava was unnessecary and Bounce Rings were stacked together even though they're useless. Generally just bad.
Azure Lake Zone by KO.T.E: 6/10
The visuals are really nice, but it causes a lot framerate lag and that's especially a nightmare in crowded Netgames. It also felt cramped at times, and the water acts really awkward.
30 Minute Zone by RedEchidna: 2/10
Your attempt to create a Rush Job Zone act 2 miserably failed. The sky is REDWALL, the same texture is used over and over again, music doesn't fit either. Generally a huge MESS.
That's all divisions rated; I was very dissapointed by the September/October 2009 OLDC, especially the SP division.
The best of this OLDC (In my opinion) concludes:
Magma Core by Blade, Single Player.
Acid Comet by D00D64, Match.
Iron Turret Returns by Neo, CTF.
Frostbite Peak by RedEchidna, Race.
My YouTube
Last edited by PrismaticAngel; 11-01-2009 at 09:20 PM. Reason: Match Judging
Probably Responsible
Okay, onto SP now.
Gothic Gardens Zone, Act 1 by VX501: 3/10
Frankly, I dunno if I should review this once since I game overed on it, but whatever. Thing is, this is one ugly and confusing level. Let's just take the first area for example; I hit a switch, which opens a door, which takes me to ANOTHER area I've been to with NO explanation. Thing is, a lot of areas here are like this. Also, the level is just plain HIDEOUS, and cramped in a lot of areas.
Graceful Coast Zone by D00D64: IT SUCKS/10
Looking back at this level a few days ago, I realized how much this sucked. It's a goddamn MESS. Unsynced fountains, cheap attacks, and the emeralds were Guide Dang It material at times. Honestly, this is horrible. I am ashamed this is in here.
Also, guys, the level does not look that great :/
Refurbished Gadgetry Zone by SonicMaster: 5/10
This felt like some kind of tech demo or test for reverse gravity. While some gimmicks were pretty good (Like the room that you have to move ONLY by maneuvering in the air while constantly flipping gravity), it just felt lacking. Also, as good as that song is, it does NOT fit here.
Magma Core Zone, Act 2 by Blade: 8/10
The only good level here, and it shows. The gimmicks might have been overdone constantly here, but I still enjoyed it. Can't stand that Jetty-Sun Pyro though.
Match will come later.
Here we go...
Gothic Gardens Zone: 2/10: Huh. I can only describe this level in one real way: generally not fun. I won't go into the unnecessary 2D part and the cramped hallways, seeing as you said those are being dealt with. However, I will say that the level itself is just flat, bland, and boring. There is nothing that distinguishes this level from anything else. The texture choices clash hard and mostly just hurt the level even more. However, it was put together fairly well for a beginner map, but there are just too many problems here, mainly being the lack of heart in the design.
Graceful Coast Zone: 4/10: Well, it's pretty. The scenery is very well executed and helps to give the player something to look at. I'm not going to judge based on the fact that this level uses the 2D engine, but I will point out my biggest complaint with this level: there are too many enemies! I couldn't even stop to enjoy the scenery or have a brisk run because I was being threatened by robots everywhere, not mention that turrets shooting me from where I can't see them is cheap and generally frustrating. I didn't experience the problem of getting lost or the zoom tube problem that everyone was talking about, but the gameplay did seem segmented and disjointed in most areas. This level was a novel concept, but it needs more work. I would strongly suggest to tone down the number of enemies in the level, especially the turrets.
Magma Core Zone Act 2: 7/10: Honestly, I missed what the big fuss about this level was. The SOCced enemies were pretty cool and it flowed great, but in the end it doesn't really do anything to set it apart from any other levels like it. The flame thrower and rock fall gimmicks get repetitive really fast because of how much they are overused and it is pretty frustrating to be attacked by those spiny things (don't know what they're called), jetty-syn gunners/bombers, and crawla commanders all at the same time; not to mention the overdose of flame throwers made some portions of the level arbitrarily difficult in comparison to the corner I may have just rounded. On the bright side, the texture choices worked well and there are plenty of alternate paths to promote replay value, however, as stated before, the gimmicks became tired after a while. The whole time I was waiting for this level to become the life-changing event that so many people were making it out to be, but it never happened.
Refurbished Gadgetry Zone: 6/10: I actually kind of liked this one, but there are a few things that prevent it from getting a higher rating. First off, some of the rooms are needlessly big for no reason; this made them feel bland and uninteresting. The texture choices were actually pretty consistent and helped to represent the level's theme pretty well. The fact that the alternate paths are either on the ceiling or the floor was pretty creative and the use of gravity actually kept me on my toes. However, the camera kills the use of reverse gravity and while that isn't necessarily the fault of the level, it caused some portions to be arbitrarily difficult when they didn't need to be. I did like the room where I had to maneuver between different gravitational fields over that death pit; that was pretty clever. Overall, a novel concept and a solid experience, but it still needs some tweaking.
I really hate ponies.
Djermy's Converted Levels Archive.
Single Player:
Gothic Gardens Zone, Act 1 by VX501- 3/10 It's cramped in some areas, and ugly. I didn't have fun with this.
Graceful Coast Zone by D00D64- 5/10 Looks good, If you redid some areas it could make a fairly good map... as far as 2D maps go.
Refurbished Gadgetry Zone by SonicMaster (Did not play through yet, but looked like a less fun ERZ)
Magma Core Zone, Act 2 by Blade- 8/10 Good layout, good texture usage, just has a few enemy placements that are annoying.
MAPM1 - Battle Forest Zone by Aaron- 7/10 Played fine. Thing placement could be a little better.
MAPM2 - Misty Mesa Zone by fawfulfan- 4/10 Way too open in the main area, other areas too cramped.
MAPM3 - Acid Comet Zone by D00D64- 5/10 This map should be a work in progress. I really don't think it's done. It could use a lot of debugging and some small edits to make it good. Give it another month and it could be worth an 8/10
MAPM4 - Icicle Warehouse Zone by glaber- 8/10 Played the best of all the maps, just isn't as visually pleasing as most.
MAPM5 - Volcanic Desolation Zone by Scizor300 8/10- not as graphically pleasing as KO.T.E.'s map, but it plays just as well and doesn't frame lag.
MAPM6 - Azure Lake Zone by KO.T.E- 9/10 the best match map, just the quickwater and the fact that a lot of people just make laps around the outside, and a little lag drag this map to an 9.
MAPM7 - 30 Minute Zone by RedEchidna- (Did not play, but if he really did make it in 30 minutes it will probably get a 2/10 from me.
MAPF1 - Canyon CTF Zone by Eggmanfan- 0/10 (Can I do negitive numbers?) It's unplayable, unsymmetrical, and made my first map look GOOD... Thanks for raising my self esteem, man.
MAPF2 - Ancient Arboretum Zone by Com Rante- 6/10 Looks good, but it's too massive, and seems to let people spread out too much. It's also annoying to get to the bases.
MAPF3 - Red River Zone by darkbob1713- 5/10
MAPF4 - Sunshower Canyon Zone by D00D64- 6/10 the spring that goes up the waterfall is a pain in the **** to go up, and the fact that there's only 1 plank to go to each side is annoying. That and the netgame we had there went no where fast. Oh, and the midi hurts my ears.
MAPF5 - Techno Laser Zone by KO.T.E - 6/10 looks good, but really is too elaborate, and seems overdone.
MAPF6 - Iron Turret Returns Zone by Neo- 7/10 It plays well, but it was too easy to camp in 1.09.4 and you made it easier. BUT, if I had a choice between this and the original, this would win. I also noticed a glitch on the back left corner of one of your bases.
MAPF7 - La Villa Strangiato Zone by Penopat- 5/10 Plays well, other than 2 points of issues, but this is one instance that visuals overcome playability. That level is UGLY!
MAPR1 - Frostbite Peak Zone by RedEchidna- Dang, there's no one else here so I can't stagger the votes. :P
edit: It turns out I can, and:
3/10: The slickness of the map made it near unplayable, as even heavily experienced players have to go extremely slow to even finish, the visibility was horrid going around turns, and the colormap messes up a couple of textures, and drops visibility even further, although it makes good eye candy on the ice.
Also, I find it maddening that you left a "developer's shortcut" with all the checkpoints and a monitor to bounce on to get to the spring, and practiced it before release, so you could win at any time if you want to by skipping 60% of the level. That's just cheap.
MAPR2 - Egg Flower Zone by Mach- Just a note... as contrary to intuition, this map is best played as Sonic. also on the crushers with the electric walls on the side, strafing helps you out a LOT there. On everything else, you just have to learn the timing for jumps, especially in the space countdown part.
More ratings and crit when I get around to it.
Match scores revised!
Added Circuit Score!
Last edited by Mach; 11-04-2009 at 02:35 AM.
There and back again~
All you have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to you. ~Mithrandir
Pretty chill guy
Gothic Gardens Zone, Act 1 by VX501 3/10
The architecture and overall design didn't feel coherent to it's theme, or even any theme in existence. It just felt like a bunch of cramped rooms filled up with bland platforming. The level simply wasn't enjoyable.
Graceful Coast Zone byD00D64 5/10
You've heard it all before; scenery was nice, gameplay kinda sucked. Too many enemies, glitches with the springs and stuff, and annoying geyser platforming. My first playthrough with Sonic was utterly annoying, so I switched to Tails. Tails can easily fly over EVERYTHING without being stopped. So after I was done I got Sonic again and went through all the way. It really does look nice though. And uh, 2D sucks. I don't know why you insist on removing an entire dimension of mobility, especially since SRB2 handles it so crappily.
Refurbished Gadgetry Zone by SonicMaster 5/10
Feels like a gimmick hub. In the process of making the level of dual nature, each path (up or down) felt unfinished and bland. Some of the gimmicks were nice, but really, they weren't implemented in a good fashon. They existed for their own sake. Also, the level was kind of ugly. It felt underdetailed and not very scenic. I have the feeling that you're levels are getting less and less inspired, and that you're only entering every time to keep some kind of record going.
Magma Core Zone, Act 2 by Blade 6/10
Easily the best level of the pack. There was an overuse of flamethrowers, falling rocks and turrets however, and it really defeat the flow of the level. Everything was recycled over and over again, and there was a point in where I felt that it all should have ended already. This is especially true since there weren't really any points of interest present in the level. The first one was better. The 1.09.4 version.
Endless Mine - Piano Cover (First one on youtube!)
Formerly known as 'Neo'
D00D64, I'm giving you a chance to explain your incomprehensible requirements for meeting Eggman in Graceful Coast Zone before I write down my final scores. I collected 50 rings but all it did was give me the silver emerald and an exit sector?..
Gothic Gardens 1 by VX501 - 6/10
I enjoyed this level. It feels like a back-to-basics level, and proves to me that levels don't have to adhere to an artificial standard of greatness in order for me to enjoy them.
There were a few hiccups, though. I didn't really enjoy how plentiful the deathpits were. I didn't really enjoy the 2D section either.
Graceful Coast by D00D64 - 5/10
I enjoyed the texturing. I enjoyed the music choice.
The music didn't so much "not fit" the level's theme so much as its scale. Rusty Ruins calls for artistic vision, cloudy skies and exploration-based level design. Speaking of exploration, I almost died before finishing the level because it took so long to find forwards.
Refurbished Gadgetry by SonicMaster - 6/10
The level was built for Sonic. The beginning of the top of the first large room with Knuckles is utterly impossible. I know I shouldn't be annoyed that this is a community of Sonic players, but I am.
Magma Core 2 by Blade - 7/10
I still am a Knux player and I still dislike levels built exclusively for Sonic. But that's not my main beef here.
Do you remember what flow is? Flow is running and enjoying it because the level lets you. Magma Core has flow, yes. However, that's bad. Whenever I see a flamethrower, I just run right into it. Because I'm enjoying running so much, I mentally tell the flamethrower to piss off, pick up a ring, and continue running. This happens over and over again until I'm just bored of the hazards. Because the only gimmicks here are hazards that hurt the player, I grew even more tired of the level the more I played it.
I'm getting too worked up over the OLDC. I don't think I'll be doing this again.
bz4pack for 2.0 | map design thoughts | some favorite maps
Emblem Radar Ready
I'm home and I'm rating
Almost all explanations will be done on Youtube in Video form.
Icicle Warehouse By me: No rating
This map is what popped into my head after listening to music for the Ice level of Donkey Kong Country 2. What influenced the level were Ordnance Storage, Clinker Cavern, as well as the new weapon system. It's going to take a few tries to actually nail down how placement should work.
Welcome to my Dimension
Probably Responsible
Go get 'em. Or just use Pandora's Box to do it for you :P
I suggest the latter, since I made a few Guide Dang It type locations.
Community Noise Maker
Gothic Gardens Zone, Act 1 by VX501 - 3/10
I'm not sure where the "gardens" part fits in here. Actually, I'm not even very sure what this level is supposed to be.
This level is playable, and it has no errors or anything, contains gimmicks, but that's basically where the positives end. There was no effort put into the aesthetics of this level, and as far as gameplay goes, there's an incredible lack of polish overall. Some parts need rings, the place is screaming Death Pit Zone, Tails destroys the level design, terrible intro to the 2D section, terrible outro from the 2D section. There's a lot of ideas in here, and all of them are executed in a pretty half-assed fashion. Spend more time on this next time.
Graceful Coast Zone by D00D64 - 4/10
Unclear in direction, and rather poor enemy placement. "Dammit, buzzer. How does this zoomtube work? Why did I just jump back to a previous part of the level? Am I supposed to go up these geysers? How am I supposed to make the jump I can't see when that geyser isn't in sync with this one? Dammit, jettysyn." The result of this confusion is a time over. I think you already know most of what's wrong with this level, though, so I won't go on about it.
The music is quite well-executed. The aesthetics work well, but are a bit lacking it seems. Put more emphasis on sector-based scenery, especially for 2D levels. Other than that, I think that's all that needs to be said. This level was obviously a fluke, but I've played worse.
Refurbished Gadgetry Zone by SonicMaster - 6/10
I'd like to apologize first off that I didn't bother to complete this level. This was the last level I bothered to try out in the contest, and I was too tired/bored since it was midnight and I probably won't bother to go back to play any of these in the future.
From what I have played, though, it seems pretty average. The gravity switching was a creative way of executing nonlinearity, and while upside-down platforming is problematic in third person, your use of aesthetics near death pit helped keep it from being frustrating. Full of gimmicks like most levels I've played from you, but I didn't really feel any sort of adrenaline or anything while playing this. I dunno. I guess I'd have to play further to give you any better feedback.
Magma Core Zone, Act 2 by Blade - 7/10
Imperfect, but respectable. The problem I'm seeing here is a lot of the same flamethrower gimmick that just isn't being used quite to its fullest potential, as others have said. As usual, it's nice to see that fire turret enemy around and OH MY GOD IS THAT THING FLYING AT ME oh wait I can just ignore it. Yeah, the flying flame thrower needs fire that spews faster. It's slow to the point where I just assumed the thing had explosive beans. I'm actually really impressed at the cinematics executed at the beginning and midlevel, perhaps just because I haven't seen any other level use it yet. Cool, anyway.
And uh, just so you know, you can use my remastered version of the song for your zone if you want to. I mean, since it sounds closer to the kind of sound you'd expect from SRB2, I imagine it'd benefit the maps.
And that's it for me. To be honest, I wasn't really quite in the mood to give reviews this time around, but I went ahead and did it anyway. Not as solid as the last few SP divisions, but hey, that's kind of to be expected with the new version and all. I'm sure we'll have better results as people gain more experience toying with the features of 2.0.
Check out my soundcloud profile for music stuff
Formerly known as 'Neo'
Probably Responsible
-Green is to the left, above an underwater yellow spring being overlapped by an Eggman monitor. Run into the side of it to bounce off the spring without being harmed by the monitor.
-Orange is in a misplaced rock near the house with a 1up on it.
-Light Blue is in the building after the zoom tube. Go right, take care of the commanders, and it's in int room as well as an Armageddon shield and two Super Ring boxes.
-Purple is atop a monitor right of the zoom tube. As Sonic, whirlwind jump to get on the monitor without damaging it, then jump and whirlwind jump to reach it.
-Blue is near the beginning of the cave. There are 4 turrets and an oddly tiled floor center. Use the Armageddon shield to nuke the enemies, and the rock. I know, I really should have made this more obvious, but I need to redo a LOT of things...
-Red is near the cave exit teleport, on the tall red rock. You need to bounce on a Super Ring box in the water to reach it as Sonic. Along side the emerald is another Armageddon shield, in case you screwed up on the other one.
-White requires having 50 rings at the end of the stage. Step on the green tile, and it's yours.
-Eggman is in a room you are teleported to after getting all the emeralds, going in the white emerald room, and stepping on the green platform.
Super Sonic Beta
Sigh... I'm reviewing Multiplayer.
Iron Turret Returns Zone: 8/10
It's a redo of Iron Turret with it's own spice-up. I like it. A Redone Weapon Ring System.
Battle Forest: 9/10
The only problem isthere are no emeralds at all. That makes a lot of people peeved. ):<
Misty Mesa: 8/10
Thing Placement is weird, and no Emeralds. :<
I go by Quick/Flash on SRB2
My server's rules. Read them and know them well.
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text:
So far the biggest movie deal at Sundance is the $6 million Harvey Weinstein paid for Jesse Peretz's comedy My Idiot Brother. The deal happened hours after the film premiered, and the filmmakers and cast have been swooning around the festival every since, understandably pleased."It feels so good, and it's not something that I'm used to at all," Emily Mortimer, who stars in the film, said on Monday afternoon, sitting in a media lounge swarming with publicists in skinny jeans and tall boots, who could periodically be heard cooing over the starlets waltzing in and out. ("Ooh, she looks so cute," whispered one upon sighting Zooey Deschanel, who also stars in My Idiot Brother).
"I'm not generally in these types of movies at festivals," Mortimer continued, as she sat perched upright on a wooden chair, decked out in a classy-chic ensemble of woolen turtleneck, navy blazer, and gold hoop earrings. "I'm generally in, sort of, slightly more problematic films, or less audience-pleasing films."
To read the rest of Nicole's post on Sundance Channel, click here

subset: commoncrawl


text:
YEG Property Management
Based in Edmonton, YEG Property Management provides full property management and related services to clients throughout the Province. If you own real estate in Alberta and are looking for a total solution, we are the experts for all your real estate needs.
When you choose to work with us, you can expect to receive the highest level of Property Management. Through our comprehensive and fully integrated team of talented professionals, YEG Property Management has the ability to manage all aspects of commercial and residential real estate.
We form lasting relationships with our clients by sharing our expertise with you every step of the way. Our qualified team is committed to accelerating and maximizing your success.


text:
SLOB(redirected from slobbier)
Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus.
Secured Lease Obligation Bond
A debt security that is secured by a lease on an asset. That is, the revenue the issuer obtains from the lease guarantees payment on the bond. It is important to note that only the lease (or a lease coupled with a lien on the asset) secures the bond. This is a common financing tool for electric companies building power stations.


text:
[Brian Beckham is a contributor to Internet Cases and can be contacted at brian.beckham [at] gmail dot com.]
Lemerond v. 20th Century Fox, No. 07-4635, 2008 WL 918579 (S.D.N.Y. March 31, 2008)
In the movie Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, the fictional Kazakh character (alter ego of comedian Sacha Cohen) journeys to America — all the while videotaping his interactions with unsuspecting people. One scene shows Borat greeting plaintiff Lemerond ("Hello nice to meet you. I'm new in town. My name a Borat"), then promptly running off in the opposite direction screaming ("Get away! What are you doing?"). (Those who have not seen the movie should note that the text does not capture the awkwardness of the exchange). The 13-second clip is shown twice in the full-length film, as well as in a movie trailer (but in the trailer the plaintiff's face is blurred).
Plaintiff Lemerond filed suit under New York Civil Rights Law section 51 and New York common law for the unlawful use of his image. Defendant 20th Century Fox filed a 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss the suit for failure to state a claim. The court granted the motion.
Since New York does not recognize a common law right of privacy (the related right of publicity, like a trademark must be used in commerce to identify the source of goods or services — celebrities would normally enjoy such a right), the court decided the plaintiff's suit on the basis of whether his likeness was used for "advertising purposes or purposes of the trade" without written permission. The most significant question was whether his appearance in the clips and trailer was for advertising purposes.
The court offered what might be considered a strained reading of the New York statute. It first cited to case law that held the statute was limited to "nonconsensual commercial appropriations of the name, portrait, or likeness of a living person." It then pointed to another case which held that the nonconsensual use of a person's image to depict "newsworthy events or matters of public interest" is protected by the statute. The court then quoted yet another case stating that this newsworthiness exception broadly covered "social trends, or any subject of public interest" and went on to observe that "public interest" and "newsworthy" have been defined in the most liberal and far reaching terms. Accordingly, the court found that Borat's antics fit "squarely" within the newsworthiness / social commentary exception of the New York statute, stating that
[T]he movie employs as its chief medium a brand of humor that appeals to the most childish and vulgar in its viewers. As its core, however, Borat attempts an ironic commentary of 'modern' American culture…challeng[ing] its viewers to confront, not only the bizarre and offensive Borat character himself, but the equally bizarre and offensive reactions he elicits from 'average' Americans.
In a footnote, the court approvingly cited a 1970 case in pointing out that "the mere fact that defendants are spurred by the profit motive and engaged in the commercial exploitation of [a] motion picture does not negate their right to depict a matter of public interest or to advertise the picture by the showing of a 'trailer'."
Perhaps an open question is when, if ever, a New York news reporter or movie producer would need permission to use a non-celebrity's image in his or her reporting, movie, or advertising, i.e., on a subject not necessarily in the public interest.


text:
Irondale Youth Hockey Association
Board Meeting: Thursday, June 19, 2008 at 6:00 p.m.
at the New Brighton Family Service Center, New Brighton, MN.
Address: IYHA, PO Box 120114, New Brighton, MN 55112 Website: www.iyhaleague.org
From President (Tom Lucarelli):
Hi Hockey Fans,
Well with a little luck soon the temperatures will warm up and we will finally get some semblance of a summer. Hopefully you've gotten your hockey "fix" by watching a great Stanley Cup series.
Even though there are not any hockey games or practices, there are still plenty of things going on to prepare for the upcoming season. Jackie Rog has been working on the ice scheduling and the Boys and Girls Coordinators have been getting things going for warm-ups, tryouts and soon will be advertising for coaching positions.
Keep up to date with postings on the IYHA website. Torri Johnson does a great job with the site. Look for upcoming events like skating in the parades this summer, training opportunities and other IYHA functions.
As I have mentioned before, any ideas you have to promote the association and increase membership can only make the program stronger.
Have a safe and enjoyable summer.
From Web Master (Torri Johnson):
Website update:
1) Email addresses - As the new season approaches, it is a good time to think about your email addresses. If you want to add, delete or change an email address used by the website for reminders and team messages, you can make the change a couple of ways. You can log onto your account on the website (Edit My Account at the bottom left of the home page) or you can send an email to the web administrator (Feedback button along the left hand side of the homepage).
2) Text message reminders - if you like the automatic reminders of games and practices, you may also like the text message feature. You have control over this information. You can enter your cell phone number and your provider and you will get text message reminders. The website does not charge you for this information, but your cell phone provider charges do apply. You can log onto your account on the website (Edit My Account at the bottom left of the home page) or you can send an email to the web administrator (Feedback button along the left hand side of the homepage).
3) An RSS Feed is now available - You may have noticed that there is now an orange button on the home page for an "RSS Feed". This feature allows visitors to receive automatic updates of news items through their "news aggregator" program such as Internet Explorer, Google, Yahoo, etc. This is a great tool that is being utilized by most popular news sites and will allow you to automatically be informed of Irondale Youth Hockey news. If you already use a news aggregator like Google Reader or My Yahoo, add the subscription by clicking on the orange RSS button next to Headlines to get the path. A news aggregator is like your own web page that delivers the news you want directly to your own web page without having to visit several different web pages. In our case, It allows you to get the Irondale News that is posted on the home page "delivered" to you without the use of an email address. You can check your "Google Reader" or "My Yahoo" page and see all the latest news that you chose to have delivered to you. Try it out!
4) On-line Registration - We still plan to offer on-line registration this year. Now that we have some experience, expect it to be even better. Stay tuned!
Please Note: The IYHA Board Meetings for June, July and August will start at 6:00 pm instead of the regular 6:30 pm time.
IYHA Board Meetings are open meetings.
Please feel free to come to the meetings. If you wish to have a copy of any information which is distributed at any meeting, please email or call Jean Aukee and it will be mailed to you. Upcoming dates for 2007/2008 Board meetings are the
third Thursday of every month at 6:30 (6:00 in summer) p.m. Our meetings are held at the New Brighton Family Service Center.
Meetings will be: July 17 and August 21.
NOTE: If you wish to be on the agenda for the meeting, please contact the IYHA President.
Lake Region Board Meetings:
Lake Region Hockey meetings are open meetings. Contact Jeanne Falconer for dates and times of the next meetings.
Sponsors for teams are listed below. This part of the newsletter will continue throughout the rest of the IYHA season. Please notify Jean Aukee of any additions or corrections. (Please forward information about websites and addresses, etc.) Many thanks to our sponsors!
IYHA: **Lake Region Hockey Association**, **Moes**, **Champps**, **Katies**, **Make It Big Photos**, **Our Bar and Grill** and **Big 10 Tavern**
Team Sponsorships:
Bantam: **Response Fire Protection**
Pee Wee A: **Synergy Hockey.net Ltd** and **Minnesota Conway**
Pee Wee C: **Western Bank**, ** Dr. John Hollerud, MD** and **Minnesota Epilepsy Group**
Squirt B: **Caroline Bell Beckman & Law Firm of Jensen, Bell, Converse & Erickson** and **Bio Instruments Incorporated**
Once again, many, many thanks to our sponsors! Please support them!
When you see them, please tell them you are from Irondale Youth Hockey.
Irondale Youth Hockey Association (IYHA) Board Members 2007-2008
Tom Lucarelli
Vice President
Monica Crandall
763-234-9316 (c)
Theresa Spiering
763-780-4548 (h)
Jean Aukee
763-783-8561 (h)
Ice Commissioner
Jackie Rog
651-636-6978 (h)
Boys Program Coordinator
Mark Rupp
651-269-3027 (h & c)
Girls Program Coordinator
Mike Nundahl
651-633-8287 (h)
Initiation Coordinator
Bob Gabler
651-697-4708 (h)
Tom Johnson
Jeanne Falconer
763-458-5946 (cell)
651-486-1235 (w)
District Representative
Chris Drews
651-329-3124 (cell)
Non-Board Position:
ACE Coordinator
Tadd Tuomie and Player Development Committee
IYHA Meeting Board Meeting: May 15, 2008. Note: These minutes have not been approved. They will be reviewed, corrected as needed, and approved at the next regular Board of Directors Meeting.
Called to order at 6:31 p.m. by President Tom Lucarelli.
Board Members Present: Tom Lucarelli, Mike Nundahl, Jean Aukee, Chris Drews, Tom Johnson, Monica Crandall, Theresa Spiering, Mark Rupp, Jackie Rog and Mike Nundahl
Board Members Absent: Bob Gabler, Jeanne Falconer and Tom O'Keefe
Guests: Brian Johnson, Colin Crandall, Torri Johnson and Paul Dulin
Minutes: Motion to accept board meeting minutes as presented (JR) (CD), motion carried. Motion to accept election meeting minutes as presented (JR) (CD), motion carried.
President Tom L welcomed the new board members – Monica Crandall, Theresa Spiering, Mark Rupp and Mike Nundahl
Old Business:
a. Fundraising Committee Document – review and approve
a. Jackie had a question on item E on page 1 – should those be sent to the board?
b. Jean had a question on item H on page 2 – should that be removed?
c. Mark had a question on the document title - bylaws vs policies – wanted to simplify
d. Mark asked if there could be a standing fundraising committee report at each monthly board meeting
e. Mark questioned the staggered committee members – so all don't go away at the end of the first term – should we divided the committee into 2 group – one done after 1 year and the other done after 2 years
Jackie made a motion to approve the fundraising committee document with item E changed to include some kind of communication sent to the board after each meeting (can be just an email sent to the board within a couple weeks of the meeting), with the removal of item H on page 2 and with the term changed to be ½ the committee members are done after a 1 year term (for the first term only) and ½ the committee members are done after a 2 year term with ongoing 2 year terms for all thereafter – CD second – all approved – motion carried
b. Tournament Director – JF comment via email – our bylaws state the vice president will be the tournament director – Cheryl Mason had volunteered to be tournament director – she will need to be the assistant tournament director to Monica as the official tournament director – just a small detail to ensure we abide with our bylaws
New Business:
a. Nothing
Board Roundtable:
President: Tom Lucarelli. – Tom has another bill from the City of New Brighton MV (changed per approval of minutes at June 19th Board Meeting) for the storage space at Brightwood Golf Course – he gave it to Tom O and Theresa S to be paid. The rental is good thru the end of December 2008 – we pay a lot for a small space – still need to look into other possible storage spaces. We need to start advertising for coaching positions. Tom sent thank you notes to the MN Wild company that paid us $250 for saves during "our" designated game and $750 for our program sales game. We need to get going on fundraising. Tom passed around an email from FHIT – they are taking over the Herb Brooks Training Center at the SSR – next Tuesday drop by and check it out. Tom has received a lot of information from Chamber of Commerce – there is a golf outing on June 3rd – if interested 4-somes are being put together.
Vice President: Monica Crandall. – nothing to report.
Secretary: Jean Aukee. – PO Box rate will be going up in May – Jean will present the IYHA survey results at the June meeting
Treasurer: Tom O'Keefe/Theresa Spiering. – see handouts dated 5/12/08 – some expenses and revenues come in later than 4/30/08 which is our fiscal year end – we spent less than budgeted – biggest difference was in ice time – $1000 Lake Region money counted even though check was sent directly to the SSR – profits from SSR tournament also included – Question regarding if we have a fund (checking account) balance – Per Tom, not included but if you look at the last page of the details that ending balance is the actual amount in our account – In June the checkbooks and all account information will transfer from Tom to Theresa – Tom's intent in the last 2 years was to make the treasurer process more transparent to the membership – He has learned a lot about fraud in our kinds of organizations – He has 4 main concerns that he would like to share as he leaves – 1) Lake Region (LR) – need a better accounting of where this money goes – are all LR members being charged the same $5 as IYHA – last year we only had a $780 net income – we paid $1220 in membership dues and they gave us $2000 from pull tabs. 2) SSR tournament account – checking account with Lake Region – need a better accounting of this. 3) Initiation account balance – very high balance – needs to be looked at. 4) Fundraising committee – will they have their own account (i.e. checkbook)? If so, how will this be reviewed? Finally Tom O thanked the board for his opportunity to serve – the board thanked Tom O for his service – it was good to see the accounting reports each month - $6000 initiation overage still needs to be addressed. (Tom J interjection - Dave's sports – possibly partner up with us for equipment for new kids – could he come to a board meeting to present a plan? Yes per Tom L. Tom J will contact them and set something up.) (Another interjection – will Edison have an association? Yes per JR they will be running all C teams.) We need to make a motion to do something with the initiation overage with a certain due date if nothing resolved by Bob – some refunds have been done for this past season – don't have far to go to make it free for first and second year mites – even $100 may be too expensive for a season for a mite – equipment and ice time need to be considered – Motion by JR - if a viable plan for the disbursement of the initiation account overage is not presented to the board by the end of the June 19th board meeting, then the board will determine how to spend it. (Per Tom O we need to get our final accounting report to the auditor in June.) TJ second – all approved – motion carried. (Jean will communicate to Bob so he can work on this.) Brian J had similar concerns about the Lake Region account and the SSR tournament committee – ½ the group understood that dinner would be paid for and ½ thought it would not be paid for. Apparently all LR members dinners are paid for each month at the LR meetings. Jackie (as LR rep) will identify signors for LR and will ask about statements of account. During July and August we will do the budget for next year.
Girls Program Coordinator: Mike Nundahl. – Will goalie clinics be offered again this summer? Will we be offering the cheaper registration for goalie camps ($250)? May not be a goalie clinic this summer anyway per JR. Mike contacted Tom Rodefeld regarding doing a meeting between the HS and IYHA like we did with for the boys program with Jeff Martin. Mike is still talking to St Anthony HS girls – was a parent meeting – waiting to hear outcome of that meeting – will MN hockey decide what we can and can't do? – 8 to 10 girls could be affected – Mike will talk to the Athletic Director at St Anthony HS.
Initiation Program Coordinator: Bob Gabler. – not present, no report. Per Torri, she received no follow up from Bob on the Acceleration MN program option from last months meeting.
Boys Program Coordinator: Mark Rupp. – Thanks to the membership for voting. He has many things to do. He has met with Mark Mohar and with Jeff Martin. He attended the Jeff Martin IYHA meeting – it went very well. He has set up an advisory committee – all levels will be represented – Doug Loahr, Paul Dulin, Dan Marcoullier, Tommy Bastian and Jeff Martin. He will be analyzing ice data from all teams from 07/08 season – how tweak? More or less shared ice etc? Also analyzing player data from Jeanne F – thanks – kids at each level – where will we be next year? Dan Franke – preliminary conversation – he schedules fall football so coordinating with him so football and hockey won't interfere (s/b talking to Dan and not Jeff Smith). He is also working with Jackie on ice time for tryouts – maybe same as last year because ice already determined. Will be setting up a coaches wrap up meeting - all coaches should attend – recap 07/08 and plan 08/09. Will also be setting up a bantam parent meeting – need to discuss "tug" with HS program. Question for Mark – at coaches meetings should also plan tournaments in July (JR question) so she can plan ice times better. Also need to plan tryouts around LEC. See copy of Mark's meeting notes below:
Ø Thank you again to our membership for their support during the election last month.
Ø I hit the ground running as much work needs to be done. A great many, many things are on my plate, and they are all vying for #1. In no particular order:
Ø Met with Mark Mohar to talk about transition issues and questions – very fruitful
Ø Met extensively with Jeff Martin to get acquainted and exchange thoughts and ideas regarding our boys program. It was a very good and productive meeting. I am looking forward to very positive outcomes moving forward.
Ø Attended Jeff Martin's association wide "get to know you" meeting at Freedom Park.
Ø Set up an advisory committee to help sort out ideas and provide a kind of sounding board. Each level is represented as well as a couple of ad hoc members. These members are: bantams->Doug Loahr, peewees->Paul Dulin, squirts->Dan Marcoullier, goalies->Tommy Bastian, along with Jeff Martin.
Ø Among a number of things, I will soon be working on a coach's handbook in conjunction with my advisory committee.
Ø I received ice data from all teams from the 2007-08 season from Torri Johnson – thank you. I intend to analyze it for a number of things such as practice to game ratios, shared practices, single sheets, etc.
Ø I received player data from Jeanne Falconer – thank you. I intend to review this information for the number of kids at each level and possibly the number of teams as well.
Ø I have had very preliminary conversations with Dan Franke concerning coordination of warm up/try out ice schedules and youth football. More conversations with Dan will be forthcoming to avoid as many conflicts as possible.
Ø The Laurentian dates with our elementary schools will be taken into account to help avoid conflicts during warm ups and tryouts. However ice was purchased this past January which will affect scheduling.
Ø We will be scheduling a coach's season wrap up meeting in the very near future. It is very important all coaches attend. We will talk about the just completed season as well as do some planning for the season coming up, 2008-2009.
Ø We will also be scheduling a Bantam parent meeting in the near future as well. Topics will be wide and varied, so parents are asked to make every effort to attend.
District Representative: Chris Drews. – There is a mandatory registration meeting on Wednesday, May 28th – Jackie will tell Jeanne details. October 25th – date for scheduling games – will be done differently than in the past – names will be drawn out of a hat to choose games – need to know number of teams for each level. Nov 19th will be the 1st day to play a game and Feb 17th will be the last day to play a game. District playoffs will be 2 separate weekends – regions March 6, 7 and 8 – Bantam A and Pee Wee A will be hosted by us – Nov 5th – coaches meeting – Monica do something? Referees got a raise – between $2 and $10 per game because there have been no raises in the last 10 years – by District 1 board approval. There will be 3 nominations for playoffs at A and B level but playoff game to determine the 3rd team. The IRS is auditing the Buffalo youth hockey association – employee vs contract issues – treasurers should talk to Mark Jorgenson with USA Hockey. Edison arena will be all turf all year for soccer – Chris update too – audit complete for District – August 1st – Chris on committee to interview auditors. Chris is communicating with Mark Mohar to run for an open District position. See Jackie's (she attended for Chris) notes from meeting below:
District notes: May 12, 2008
Jeanne: Online register
Mandatory Meeting: Wednesday May 28, 2008 at 7:00 pm at OB's
Dinner will be supplied
Game Scheduling will be- Oct 25, 2008 Ice scheduler must attend with all there ice.
Supply one extra person at each level to help.
Nov 19, 2008 1st date of games
Feb 17, 2008 Last date of games
District game some will be Feb 19, 20, 21, 22
Feb 28, 29 March 1
Regional's March 6, 7, 8
USA hockey will run the A State tournaments for Bantam A and Pewee A
Coach's meeting Nov 5, 2008
Bantam 3 hour block: A 1 ½ hour
B 1 ½ hours
C I hour
Referee received a raise; all squirt, all peewee and c bantam raised by 2 dollar a game.
A bantam and b bantam raised by 10.00/x.
Irondale doesn't owe any money at this time.
District voted on teams going out of district 1 that 2 teams will go and the 3rd team will have a playoff game with District 4 for the third spot. At the A & B Levels.
IRS is look at Buffalo Youth Hockey on Employee vs Contract
IRS says no contractors. Work man Comp issue. District on say the treasure should speak to Mark Joergson on the issue to get more details.
Ice Commissioner: Jackie Rog. – 2 issues – One of the U of M ice checks has not been cashed – SSR still a small amount due. Talking to Brandon at SSR about more ice on rinks 5, 6 and 7. Still looking at U of M and Coliseum ice.
Registration Coordinator: Jeanne Falconer. –- not here – read her email regarding a couple items – VP tournament director designation, team books still outstanding and online registration.
Equipment Manager: Tom Johnson. – see Dave's Sports comment from above – Initiation program jerseys and socks for all – need to be ordered ahead of time – send association wide email asking who coming back? No, was on the survey and can always order more. We need more small sizes. Same item from last month – replace jerseys next year? Looked at them and they seem OK – cost is about $55 each so $110 per player – now 8 years old – start replacing them? Beckman sponsor and fundraising committee options – get a sewing committee to remove District 1 patches or start a "buy your number" program and use each year? Per Torri, she received no follow up from Tom on the goalie equipment purchasing question from last months meeting.
Standing Reports:
Player and Coach Development: Mark Rupp. – He is still trying to get his arms around this. Jackie had a question on skills clinics? Yes, we will have them so Mark needs to tell her ice time needs – See copy of Mark's meeting notes below:
Ø Still trying to get a handle around this.
Ø Have not had a recent meeting to my knowledge
Lake Region: Jeanne Falconer. – not present, but emailed that the meeting will be on the 20th so no report. Since Theresa is planning on attending the meetings, she will be the liaison between the IYHA board & the LR board. She will be a member at large, sitting in for Pat O'Connor.
More business – For the meetings during the summer months, can we move them to an earlier time frame like 6:00? Agreed the June, July and August meeting will start at 6:00. Jean will change in minutes and Torri will change on the website.
Torri question – will District 1 be providing $500 for marketing again? Per Chris, yes.
Motion – JR – IYHA will pay half (up to $250) of goalie camps attended in the summer, MR second, all approved, motion carried.
Volunteer commitment for next year – concrete hours and fee that will be collected at time of registration – formalize for June meeting – per family vs per player – Monica draft something for next meeting? Need to be specific to tournament hours vs. other hours? Possibly increase hours and not make specific to tournament?
Parade coordination - Heidi Dulin will do – per Monica the dates are August 1st for St Anthony, August 7th for New Brighton and August 17th for Mounds View. Maybe should do Let Play Hockey night right after parades? Include registration dates in parade flyer – Heidi wants to really promote the parade – maybe we should get a booth at NB Stockyard Days? - collect information from people and contact them regarding registration or get a room for a shoot the puck thru a board game at the Sunnyside or Pinewood carnivals – all the elementary school have them – or give out pencils with IYHA on them and website address.
No additional business
Motion to adjourn meeting (JR) (CD); motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 8:21 p.m.
Would you like to have something published in the newsletter? Please contact Jean Aukee. Would you like something on the Web Site? Contact Torri Johnson at
New Privacy Policy


text:
Series 7(redirected from Series seven)
Series 7
An exam one must pass to become a registered representative with FINRA, a designation that authorizes one to trade for the brokerage or other firm for which one works. It authorizes one to sell any security except commodity futures contracts. The Series 7 license is a prerequisite for most other FINRA exams.
Series 7
An examination required of potential registered representatives and designed to test the candidates' basic understanding of the securities industry. The multiple-choice test, developed by the New York Stock Exchange, is administered by the National Association of Securities Dealers. Also called General Securities Registered Representative Examination. See also Uniform Securities Agent State Law Examination.
Case Study The Series 7 is only the best known of many examinations administered by the National Association of Securities Dealers. Other examinations include:
- Examinations for Registered Principals
- Series 4: Registered Options Principal
- Series 9 and 10: General Securities Sales Supervisor
- Series 24: General Securities Principal
- Series 26: Investment Company Products/Variable Contracts Limited Principal
- Series 27: Financial and Operations Principal
- Series 28: Introducing Broker-Dealer Financial and Operations Principal
- Series 39: Direct Participation Programs Limited Principal
- Series 53: Municipal Securities Principal
- Examinations for Registered Representatives
- Series 6: Investment Company Products/Variable Contracts Limited Representative
- Series 11: Assistant Representative—Order Processing
- Series 22: Direct Participation Programs Limited Representative
- Series 42: Registered Options Representative
- Series 52: Municipal Securities Representative
- Series 55: Equity Trader Limited Representative
- Series 62: Corporate Securities Limited Representative
- Series 72: Government Securities Limited Representative
- Series 82: Limited Representative—Private Securities Offerings Representative
- Other Examinations
- Series 3: National Commodity Futures Examination
- Series 5: Interest Rate Options Examination
- Series 15: Foreign Currency Options Examination
- Series 30: Branch Managers Examination—Futures
- Series 31: Futures Managed Funds Examination
- Series 32: Limited Futures Exam
- Series 33: Financial Instruments Examination
- Series 63: Uniform Securities Agent State Law Examination
- Series 65: Uniform Investment Adviser Law Examination
- Series 66: Uniform Combined State Law Examination
Series 7.
To be licensed to sell securities to individual investors, brokers must pass the Series 7 exam, also called the General Securities Registered Representative Examination.
The six-hour test requires knowledge of specific securities, the concept of suitability, the securities markets, and various aspects of maintaining customer accounts, stocks, bonds, options, mutual funds, direct participation programs, and variable annuities, but not commodities or futures contracts.
Anyone taking the exam must be sponsored by an NASD member firm or an industry self-regulatory organization (SRO).


text:
Now my previous connection required the modem to be configured to this address. So the problem lay in some remnant of my previous configuration which had creeped into IE. I deleted my previous connection from "Network Connections". Yet the problem persisted. IE was still trying to connect to "192.168.1.2". Now I had to look up a setting which was not changed even after deleting my previous connection. After some search, I found that my LAN settings were set to use "192.168.1.2" as proxy. I unchecked that option and tried to connect again. The problem was solved now.
Yahoo messenger used IE internally. So it was also not working on my system. But now I can happily use Yahoo Messenger again.


text:
Walker's heroics, Davis' slam key Bucs' walk-off win
Pirates get game-ending knock in bottom of the ninth to top Reds
PITTSBURGH -- Ike Davis finally ran into The Clemente Wall on Monday night. In a good way. The best way possible.
Neil Walker made sure the feel-good vibes of Davis' fourth-inning grand slam against the Reds would not fade into despair by singling with two outs in the ninth to deliver the tie-breaking run and give the Bucs a 6-5 walk-off in front of 12,864 in PNC Park.
It would be incorrect to call it a "huge" win for the Pirates, because that implies a measurable quantity. Until Andrew McCutchen tied it with a hard-hit eighth-inning homer and Walker won it with a much softer blow, the Bucs were staring at losing a third consecutive game they had led into the eighth inning.
Under those conditions, they had been 74-4 in 2013. So, a major lifeline?
"It's important. Big," manager Clint Hurdle allowed. "Winning jacks you up. Losing gives you perspective. We had enough perspective the last 48 hours."
Acquired from the New York Mets in a Friday deal for power, Davis' first three hits for Pittsburgh had all been opposite-field liners into left.
However, with the bases loaded and none out in the fourth inning, Cincinnati right-hander Mike Leake's first pitch to him was a 90-mph fastball Davis could pull -- and pull it he did, into those inviting seats in the right-field pavilion, even with a bat that cracked on contact.
"It felt good," Davis said of the connection. "If anything, I felt it might be caught at the wall. I didn't know -- I hadn't played here enough to really know the stadium well enough where I could just put my head down and start jogging."
It was the biggest blow of the game, but not the decisive one. That was delivered by Walker in the final frame off J.J. Hoover after the Bucs mounted their threat on consecutive walks with one away by Russell Martin and McCutchen.
Walker looped his single over second baseman Brandon Phillips to right fielder Jay Bruce, whose throw home appeared to be on time. But the ball squirted through catcher Devin Mesoraco as Martin slid in.
The soft hit was sweet vindication for Walker, who consistently hits into more hard outs than anyone else on the team.
"Yeah, definitely," he said, flashing a smile. "Any time you can not hit it on the barrel and find some grass to score a run, especially to win a game, is good. Pretty good retribution for some balls that were hit hard and were caught."
The victory went to right-hander Jared Hughes, who worked out of a jam to blank Cincinnati in the ninth in his first appearance following his pregame recall from Triple-A Indianapolis.
Davis' blow had endowed Francisco Liriano with a 4-2 lead that could not survive two late Reds rallies, including a two-spot in the eighth that put the Bucs in a 5-4 hole.
McCutchen then drew the Pirates even with a solo homer to begin the eighth, his third hit of the game coming off lefty reliever Manny Parra.
Davis' third career grand slam was his second this season, both against the Reds. As a pinch-hitter on April 5, he had connected off Hoover to give the Mets a 6-3 walk-off in Citi Field. Consider that his farewell shot to New York.
This was his hello shoutout to Pittsburgh.
"We did have that conversation [on the bench]," Hurdle insisted. "We said, 'Two in one month against the same team would be kind of cool.' But I don't think we had him breaking his bat on the swing."
This is where it gets just a little weird. The only others in Major League history to hit two grand slams against the same team for two different teams in the same season were Mike Piazza and Ray Boone -- whose nickname was "Ike," and whose grandson, Aaron, was in ESPN's booth Monday night calling the game.
Liriano still had a 4-3 lead when the Reds began the eighth with singles by Phillips and Todd Frazier that put runners at the corners for Bruce, who greeted another lefty, reliever Justin Wilson, with a tying RBI double into the left-field corner.
The score didn't remain tied for long. After an intentional walk of Ryan Ludwick, the scalding Mesoraco singled to deliver Frazier, although left fielder Marte's throw cut down Bruce at the plate and there was no more damage.
The Reds jumped into a quick 1-0 lead in the first. With Billy Hamilton running from third, Pedro Alvarez fielded Phillips' one-out grounder and threw cleanly to Martin behind the plate, who had the ball squirt out of his mitt as the runner slid in. That made it a wholly gift run, because Hamilton had been hit by Liriano's first pitch of the game, then motored all the way to third on Joey Votto's bouncer slightly to the right of the mound.
The Reds were a bit more expedient to double their lead in the third, Phillips and Frazier drilling consecutive doubles with one away.
So, having given up more runs (two) than in eight of his 11 PNC Park starts last season, Liriano was again looking quite ordinary. He stepped out of that mode in the middle innings -- blanking the Reds on one hit the fourth through the sixth.
"Shutdown innings is what everybody talks about," Hurdle said. "Frankie is our go-to guy. He leads the staff with experience and with the way he works. He knew where our bullpen was tonight (spent, after Sunday's 14-inning match with the Brewers)."
Liriano was back to staggering in the seventh. Hamilton's sacrifice fly cut his lead to 4-3, bringing him to the edge he went over the next inning. Five starts into the season, the lefty remained winless and his ERA climbed to 4.22.


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Reflections on the 15th anniversary of Jerry Garcia's death
About 40 seconds into a 1967 CBS TV documentary about the then-growing Hippie movement in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury District, a youthful, unbearded Jerry Garcia makes his first appearance. Donning his signature missing right middle finger, Garcia sits inside what narrator Harry Reasoner describes as "the house of a popular local band that plays hard rock music" noodling introspectively on an unplugged electric guitar.
It is clear from the outset — and underscored by Reasoner's inflection at the first pejorative use of the term "Hippies" — that the intention of this program is to marginalize, at best, and demonize, at worst, what arguably remains the most significant social movement of our lifetime.
The friction between mainstream culture, represented by Reasoner and his CBS associates, and the counterculture, portrayed by the Grateful Dead, is palpable and, indeed, uncomfortable to watch some 43 years later. As the report unfolds, it becomes eerily clear that at that moment in history the "Hippies" had been cast as the latest in a series of groups to be feared by an ever fear-mongering culture. During World War II, the American mainstream identified the "Krauts" and the "Japs" as the enemies to be feared, against whom we must unite to protect the "American way of life"; in the '50s it was the "Communists"; in the modern era it is the "Terrorists."
But back in the '60s it was the "Hippies" we needed to fear. Yes, the "Hippies" were the latest threat, with their strange attire, long hair, weird music and use of marijuana and psychedelic drugs. And a good dose of fear could be evoked simply with the name Grateful Dead. Just imagine being a fly on the wall at CBS headquarters when the news arrived:
"Hey, Harry, you know that piece we're doing on the Hippies in San Francisco?"
"Uh, huh."
"Well, get this: There's a band of Hippies that call themselves the Grateful Dead!"
"Grateful Dead, huh?"
"Yeah, Grateful Dead."
"That's perfect. They're so high on drugs that they would be grateful to be dead. That sums up the point we're trying to make about these Hippies as well as anything."
"Let's feature this Grateful Dead as prominently as possible in the show."
"I'll try to line up an interview with the group, Harry."
But what CBS couldn't have seen coming was the loveable, disarming innocence of the Grateful Dead's leader, Jerry Garcia. One minute and 20 seconds into the documentary, the Grateful Dead were asked what the Hippie movement was trying to accomplish. This is where the film took an unexpected detour into what may be the most eloquent manifesto ever for the Hippie movement, delivered by its inadvertent poster boy, Jerry Garcia.
"What we're thinking about is a peaceful planet. We're not thinking about anything else. We're not thinking about any kind of power; we're not thinking about any of those kinds of struggles; we're not thinking about revolution or war or any of that. That's not what we want. Nobody wants to get hurt; nobody wants to hurt anybody. We would all like to live an uncluttered life, a simple life, a good life, you know. And, like, think about moving the whole human race ahead a step or a few steps, or half a step, or anything."
Now that's something to be afraid of!
This week marks the 15th anniversary of the death of Jerome John "Jerry" Garcia (Aug. 1, 1942, to Aug. 9, 1995). He was a living legend, and his iconic nature has only become amplified since he left those of us who loved him wondering how we would fill an enormous void in our lives.
From the 1967 "Summer of Love" to his tragic death of a heart attack in a drug rehab clinic, Garcia was much more than one of the greatest guitarists in rock 'n' roll history. He was an American patriot in the truest sense of the word: he loved his country well enough to take it to task for its failings.
Being a "Deadhead" has been one of the greatest joys of my life. And it has been a fundamental aspect of my purpose to uphold and promote the set of principles that Garcia stood for.
The music of Jerry Garcia, the Grateful Dead and the many associated spin-off groups and musicians who accompanied this "Pied Piper" on his unique and splendid musical path have been the soundtrack to my life ever since I discovered the NFA/GDTRFB (Deadhead nomenclature for the Not Fade Away/Goin' Down the Road Feelin' Bad medley that the Grateful Dead so often played) on the Skull and Roses album and saw my first show on Oct. 19, 1974, at San Francisco's long-ago-razed psychedelic rock palace, Winterland. Having been to more than 100 shows, listened to countless hours of recordings, and followed the life of Jerry Garcia with considerable passion, adoration and esteem, I believe he succeeded in living life on his own terms — what he referred to in the CBS interview at the age of 25 as "an uncluttered life, a simple life, a good life."
More importantly, Garcia inspired millions to live life on their own terms. As one of those people, I in turn do my utmost to pass along the inspiration that has "moved me brightly." Garcia absolutely succeeded in "moving the whole human race ahead a step," and I am proud to be his partner in that Herculean endeavor.
Through it all Garcia never forgot that life is a carnival. There is a sense of joy, humor and playfulness in his music that is infectiously optimistic. Even now, 15 years after his death, his music and his example serve as an anchor to us as we struggle to come to terms with the enigmatic and often-times troubling nature of life.
Bob Dylan said about Garcia, "There's no way to measure his greatness or magnitude as a person or as a player." I would add that there's no way to replace him, and that his departure left a hole in my life that has been difficult to fill. On the anniversary of his death, I give thanks for his many gifts and rededicate myself to carrying on the traditions of hope, joy, love and individuality that were so tirelessly nourished during the life and times of Jerry Garcia.
A link to the 1967 CBS video is available in the online version of this column at www.boulderweekly.com.
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Burlington, Vt. – UMBC outscored Vermont, 10-0, in the second quarter and three Retrievers etched themselves in the record books as UMBC defeated the Catamounts, 17-14, at Virtue Field in the regular season finale for both squads.
The Retrievers complete the regular season at 7-6 overall and 3-2 in America East play. UMBC will be the No. 3 seed for the America East Tournament, which begins on Thursday, May 1st at Stony Brook's LaValle Stadium.
Senior face-off specialist Phil Poe (Harwood, Md./DeMatha) set a pair of school records in the contest. UMBC's all-time lead in face-offs won, controlled a school-record 28 (of 34) draws, surpassing his own school mark by five. He also collected 20 ground balls, eclipsing Nick Brownlee's record of 18, recorded on April 6, 1997.
Sophomore attackman Nate Lewnes (Arnold, Md./St. Mary's) and senior linemate Matt Gregoire (Crofton, Md./South River) shared game-high scoring honors with eight points apiece. Lewnes scored seven goals and added an assists – the performance was UMBC's first seven-goal effort since Brendan Mundorf tallied seven times versus Stony Brook on April 29, 2006.
Gregoire scored five goals and added three helpers. He became the fifth UMBC Division I player to score 40 or more goals (41) in a season and also became the 31st player in school history to reach the 100-point plateau (89-13-102).
The Retrievers trailed, 5-1, after 15 minutes, but it took just 5:40 of the second stanza for UMBC to grab the lead for good. Poe won 9 of 11 draws in the quarter and Lewnes, Gregoire and sophomore midfielder Pat Young (Ewing, N.J./Christchurch (Va.)) School) each scored twice in a 6-0 surge that put the Retrievers ahead, 7-5, with 7:56 to play in the stanza. Senior midfielder Ryan Johnston (Huntingtown, Md./Huntingtown) ended the run with an extra-man score with 2:25 to play until halftime.
On three occasions in the quarter, UMBC scored a pair of goals with less than one minute elapsing from the game clock.
Vermont would battle back in the third quarter, outscoring the visitors, 3-1, to come within 12-8 after 45 minutes.
UMBC appeared to put the game away when they scored three times in a 53-second span early to take a seven-goal advantage. Lewnes tallied an unassisted goal 1:07 into the frame, then fed Gregoire for his final goal of the day 51 seconds later. Vermont drew a flag for a late hit after that goal, and Lewnes scored two seconds later on the re-start.
But Vermont went on a 6-1 run and came within 16-14 on Graham Horvath's team-best fourth score of the game with 1:03 to play. But Poe won the ensuing draw and Lewnes broke through a double-team and scored his seventh and the game's final goal into an empty net with 37 seconds to play.
UMBC freshman attackman Max Maxwell (Hamburg, N.Y./Hamburg) added a goal and a team-best three assists in the game and Young scored a pair of goals.
Vermont outshot UMBC, 44-39, as UMBC red-shirt freshman goalkeeper Connor Gordon (Bourne, Mass./Tabor Acad.) made 12 stops and allowed 13 of the Catamount's 14 goals. Vermont starter Nate Billings took the loss, making three saves and allowing 11 goals in 23:42 of action.
Notes: UMBC is now 11-0 all-time versus Vermont… The Retrievers have finished above the .500 mark in conference play in all eleven America East campaigns… Gregoire's 41 goals are the most in a season for UMBC since Cayle Ratcliffe netted 42 in 2007… Poe now has a career-best 112 ground balls on the campaign, the most-ever by a UMBC Division I player and tied for the fourth-most in school history… His 28 face-off wins is three more than two other players who shared the NCAA single-game mark in 2014 entering play this week… The 20 ground balls recorded ties Bryant's Kevin Massa, who has done it on two occasions in 2014.


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A winning Powerball ticket purchased in Missouri will net someone a windfall and an unexpected, though modest, boost for state government coffers.
Budget director Linda Luebbering said Thursday that the state could end up collecting approximately $10 million for income tax on the jackpot, assuming Missouri's winner opts for a lump-sum payment. The current year's budget is $24 billion, which includes about $8 billion from general tax collections.
"It's a good positive effect, but it's not significant in the $8 billion budget," Luebbering said.
A convenience store in the town of Dearborn sold one of two winning Powerball tickets in the drawing Wednesday for a $587.5 million total jackpot. The other ticket was sold in Arizona.
Officials said the state could collect income taxes even if the newly minted millionaire only bought the winning ticket while passing through the town north of Kansas City and does not live in Missouri.
However, the prospect of extra cash in state coffers does not mean officials are planning a spending spree.
Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Kurt Schaefer likened the expected boost in revenue from the lottery jackpot to a one-time funding source.
"Those things are generally a blip," said Schaefer, R-Columbia. "It's nice to have them, but operationally in a $24 billion budget, it tends not to make that much difference."
In addition to income taxes, revenue generate from the Missouri Lottery is used to fund education. Missouri Lottery Executive Director May Scheve Reardon said Thursday that during the buildup to the jackpot starting Oct. 3, revenue from lottery sales will generate more than $10.7 million for public education.


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Qatar opens diplomatic office in Gaza
In a boost to Gaza's Hamas government, the Gulf state of Qatar said on Sunday it opened the first diplomatic office in the isolated territory since the Islamic military group took power five years ago.
Qatari officials said the office is not a formal embassy. Instead, it will oversee hundreds of millions of dollars in aid projects Qatar is funding.
Nonetheless, it is headed by an ambassador and marks a key stamp of legitimacy for Hamas, whose takeover of Gaza in 2007 has never been internationally recognized.
Hamas' rival, President Mahmoud Abbas, who lives in the West Bank, is seen internationally as the Palestinian leader.
Abbas has long had rocky relations with Qatar, whose Al-Jazeera satellite channel is often critical of the Palestinian leader. Qatar often frequently hosts Hamas leaders.


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MIAMI (AP) -- Sen. John McCain won a breakthrough triumph in the Florida primary Tuesday night, seizing the upper hand in the Republican presidential race ahead of next week's coast-to-coast contests and lining up a quick endorsement from soon-to-be dropout Rudy Giuliani.
MIAMI (AP) -- Sen. John McCain won a breakthrough triumph in the Florida primary Tuesday night, seizing the upper hand in the Republican presidential race ahead of next week's coast-to-coast contests and lining up a quick endorsement from soon-to-be dropout Rudy Giuliani.
"It shows one thing: I'm the conservative leader who can unite the party," McCain told The Associated Press after easing past former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney for his first-ever triumph in a primary open only to Republicans.
"We have a ways to go, but we're getting close" to the nomination, he said later in an appearance before cheering supporters.
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton was the Democratic winner in a primary held in defiance of national rules that drew no campaigning and awarded no delegates.
The victory was worth 57 Republican National Convention delegates for McCain, a winner-take-all haul that catapulted him ahead of Romney in that category.
Romney, who has spent millions of dollars of his personal fortune to run for the White House, vowed to stay in the race.
"At a time like this, America needs a president in the White House who has actually had a job in the real economy," the former businessman told supporters in St. Petersburg.
Giuliani, the former New York mayor, ran third. It was his best showing of the campaign, but not nearly good enough for the one-time front-runner who decided to make his last stand in a state that is home to tens of thousands of transplanted New Yorkers. Several officials familiar with events said he intended to endorse McCain on Wednesday in California.
In remarks to supporters in Orlando, Giuliani referred to his candidacy repeatedly in the past tense � as though it were over. "We'll stay involved and together we'll make sure that we'll do everything we can to hand our nation off to the next generation better than it was before," he said.
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee ran fourth in the primary but told supporters he would campaign on. Texas Rep. Ron Paul was fifth, and last.
Florida marked the end of one phase of the campaign, the last in a series of single-state contests that winnowed a once unwieldy field.
The race goes national next week � McCain said it would be the closest thing to a nationwide primary as any event in history. Twenty-one states hold Republican primaries and caucuses on Tuesday with 1,023 convention delegates at stake.
Returns from 81 percent of Florida's precincts showed McCain, the Arizona senator, with 36 percent of the vote and Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, with 31 percent.
In the overall delegate race, it was McCain 93, Romney 59, Huckabee 40. Paul has four and Giuliani one.
The victory was another step in one of the most remarkable political comebacks of recent times. McCain entered the race the front-runner, then found his campaign out of funds and unraveling last summer as his stands in favor of the Iraq War and a controversial immigration bill proved unpopular.
The war gradually became less of a concern after President Bush's decision to increase troop deployments began to produce results. McCain also sought to readjust his position on immigration.
By the time of the New Hampshire primary, he had retooled his candidacy and ridden his Straight Talk Express campaign bus to over 100 town hall meetings. He won in New Hampshire, stumbled in Michigan, but won the South Carolina primary last week, taking first place in the state that had snuffed out his presidential hopes in 2000.
McCain's previous triumphs this year, and in two states in 2000, came in elections open to independents as well as Republicans. He campaigned in Florida with the support of the state's two top Republican elected officials, Gov. Charlie Crist and Sen. Mel Martinez.
Romney's only primary win so far was in Michigan, a state where he grew up and claimed a home-field advantage. He also has caucus victories to his credit in Wyoming and Nevada.
A survey of voters as they left their polling places Tuesday showed the economy was the top issue for nearly half. McCain led his rival among those voters, blunting Romney's weeklong effort to persuade Floridians that his background as a businessman made him best-suited for heading off a recession.
McCain also benefited from the support of self-described moderates, as well as older voters and Hispanics. Giuliani ran second among Latino voters, according to preliminary exit poll data.
Romney was favored by voters opposed to abortion and to easing the path to citizenship for illegal immigrants.
About 40 percent of self-described conservatives supported him, as well, compared to about 25 percent for McCain.
The poll was conducted by Edison Media Research and Mitofsky International for The Associated Press and the television networks.
The Democratic primary was controversial by its very existence, an act of defiance against national party officials who wanted it held later in the year.
Even so, Clinton sought to emphasize her performance in the state, holding a victory rally as the polls were closing.
She challenged Barack Obama to agree to seat the delegates on the basis of the night's vote, but he demurred, saying he would abide by an agreement all Democratic candidates had made months ago.
"Those decisions will be made after the nomination, not before," Obama told reporters Tuesday on a plane from Washington to Kansas. "Obviously, I care a lot about the people in Michigan and a lot about the people in Florida. And I want their votes in the general election. We'll be actively campaigning for them."


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C. Virginia Fields, CEO of the National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS (NBLCA), is standing tall these days as her organization makes waves in the fight against AIDS. Here, the former Manhattan borough president shares what happened at NBLCA's conclave in Washington, D.C., this spring, how it is working with Southern churches and what is coming soon from the organization.
NBLCA held a conclave with members of the local government in the D.C. area in April. What action steps were decided on at the conclusion of this conference?
One of the steps was to do more organizing locally. In Ward 7, there are very high rates of infection. We want to organize the clergy so that the needs can be better identified. The other thing is to work with the government locally, which has started a test-and-treat initiative to link people to care.
Sex education in the schools around HIV/AIDS and other STDs is also important. School is where students identify that they receive their information about sex. Research has shown that students who receive good information may not necessarily stop having sex, but they have made better decisions about protected sex.
We have complaints from the schools, particularly from parents, that they don't want this information given to the students because parents believe it almost encourages the students to have sex. But the increase in teen pregnancy is not happening by osmosis. So the clergy wants to take the lead by working with school officials. A full plan of action will be written.
Given Mississippi legislators' seeming lack of regard for people living with HIV/AIDS, what will NBLCA do about reaching the Southern churches?
We are partnering with groups in this area that are already engaged. We are also working with some new partners in Southern cities, including Jackson, Miss., to establish similar structures. We want to organize communities through this process.
We work with the National Baptist Convention to conduct training in Southern states that will hopefully be taken back to the community. We hope this process will build more partnerships. We are going to work in Baton Rouge, La.; Jackson; Birmingham, Ala.; and somewhere in South Carolina (we have yet to determine the city) over the next six months.
Let me say one other thing about the clergy. They get hit for not being as engaged. Some of that is true, but a lot of it is not true. A lot of them have been engaged from the beginning. They are speaking from the pulpits more boldly and regularly about HIV, not just around World AIDS Day. They are encouraging testing. They are using their churches as testing sites. They are allowing the health department and other groups to use their churches as testing sites. They are not all disengaged, but we do need to keep working with those who aren't involved.
What's your take on the crisis in the AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAP)?
We now have more than 7,000 people on the waiting list for ADAP in these United States because of budget cuts. [Editor's note: Since this interview was conducted, the ADAP waiting list has grown to more than 9,000 people (pdf) in 13 states.] This is unheard of! We hear about things like this in sub-Saharan Africa, but not in America. Some of these people may die because the budget has been cut in states such as Georgia and Florida.
That's why it's important to keep [HIV] in the forefront for legislators to see. They need to know that just because the media isn't covering it as much doesn't make it any less of a crisis. A lot more work needs to be done.
What's coming next from NBLCA?
We have launched the "30 Years Strong" campaign. The focus will be on how this disease has [impacted] and continues to impact the African American community. We have an online community journal for people who are infected or have been affected to tell their stories. Putting a face on this disease is very powerful. We want to move people away from complacency: "I don't have to worry about that, or if I get that, I can just take a pill." It's still not curable.
Candace Y.A. Montague is a freelance health writer who covers HIV/AIDS news in Washington, D.C., for Examiner.com and The Body.


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Hello all, I recently took delivery of my Uniden BCT15X and I must say she is a lovely bit of equipment and just what I was looking for. I did have the intention of tapping the discriminator but I have decided against opening up my new set ( making the warranty void ) to tap it.
In the past I have had a base Realistic Pro (can't remember model) which I tapped the discriminator to use for weather sats etc. Obviously after forking out for a new BCT15X I am looking not to spend loads so am looking for a decent second hand Realistic Pro hand or base that is easy to tap. A few on Ebay but not confident in what to get at the moment. Any suggestions from members on things I should consider would be great.......not exclusively Realistic Pro.....anything recommend I will look at but must be easy to tap as I am no electronics wizard
Thanks All


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Live Review: Pavement with Gary Young at the Greek Theatre, Berkeley, CA
Even though he didn't play until the very end of the set at the Greek Theatre last night, Pavement's notorious ex-drummer Gary Young made his surprise presence known early. Wandering around the wings in a gray-haired ponytail, cutoffs, mismatched socks, a soccer jersey and a red-and-blue women's blouse, Young at one point lumbered up to frontman Stephen Malkmus, in the middle of the stage, and handed him a giant bottle of Scope mouthwash.
Malkmus scrambled for an explanation. "Uh…" he said, "…this is our product placement?"
The entire show was ridiculously perfect, probably the best Pavement has ever played in the Bay Area. Famously spotty as a live band in their day, on this reunion tour Pavement has honed their trademark of playing on the edge of falling apart. Better yet, the set list comprised greatest hits—"Stereo," "Shady Lane," opener "Cut Your Hair"—alongside lesser-knowns like "We Dance," "Date w/Ikea" and a downright spine-tingling "Stop Breathin'."
As for Malkmus himself, the rakish surrealist was sight to behold, owning his past by playing his guitars in the weirdest diagonal ways and nailing the spirit of songs that the not-quite-sold-out crowd sung along to, loudly: "Range Life," "Gold Soundz," "The Hexx."
But then came Gary Young's turn on the drumset, which as anyone could guess changed everything completely.
"Trigger Cut" was the first to endure Young's sporadic drumming. Then "Box Elder." Young, who had only been announced for the previous night's show in Stockton but decided to show up tonight as well, plays the drums, uh, "uniquely." There's videos. It's kind of like if Gary Busey drank a bottle of NyQuil and was handed drumsticks.
For "Linden" and "Summer Babe," Young threw his whole being into every cymbal crash and off-time drum fill. "Two States" nearly fell apart. Young even introduced "a new one they won't let me play," and started—for a few seconds, at least—the drumbeat to his solo anthem "Plantman."
"Jesus Christ," muttered Malkmus.
As strange as the last five songs were, to anyone who knows the Gary Young legend it was a beautiful triumph for a guy who probably won't ever get the chance again to play in front of thousands of people—some even leading a chant of "Ga-ry! Ga-ry! Ga-ry!"
The set ended with "Here," Young smashing out bizarre fills in the otherwise calm chorus and covering his face with both hands while still keeping a kind-of beat. Spiral Stairs jumped into the drum set, Malkmus ironically played the melody of "Those Were The Days" on his guitar and the show was over.
Except it wasn't. Check the video below; after hopping off the stage into the photo pit, Young walks into the crowd and mingles with fans while trying to find his way to the exit. At one point, he asks a fan, "D'you think that I drum better than the other guy?"—and wonders out loud why the rest of the band doesn't want to stay at his house.
Ga-ry! Ga-ry! Ga-ry!
Cut Your Hair
Gold Soundz
Zurich Is Stained
Rattled by the Rush
Silence Kit
Kennel District
Range Life
Shady Lane
Date w/ Ikea
Spit on a Stranger
The Hexx
We Dance
Elevate Me Later
In the Mouth a Desert
Starlings of the Slipstream
Stop Breathin'
Trigger Cut
Box Elder
Two States
Summer Babe
Tags: 2010, Berkeley, Concert Review, Gary Young, Greek Theatre, June 25, Live Review, Pavement, Photos, Reunion, Review, Setlist, video