text:
IGN - Related Links
Open Access Articles- Top Results for IGN
Journal of SocialomicsA Case Study of Tarabai Shinde in Maharashtra: A Research Hypothesis
Journal of Powder Metallurgy & MiningX-Ray Fluorescence and X-Ray Diffraction Analysis on Discrete Element Modeling of Nano Powder Metallurgy Processes in Optimal Container Design
Journal of SocialomicsSustainability and Luxury: The Ecological Intelligence in the Aspirational Dimension of Luxury
Journal of SocialomicsDysfunctional Executives: âÂÂJumpersâ Practicing Covertly Concealing Managerial Ignorance and Immoral Careerism
|Subsidiary of j2 Global
|September 1996
|625 2nd Street, 4th Floor, San Francisco, California[1], United States
|Charlie Wincharlie Sen Chris Anderson, Jonathan Simpson-Bint, Peer Schneider
|Key people
|Peer Schneider (General Manager)
|Video game and media journalism
|Ziff Davis
Independent (1996-2005)
News Corporation (2005-2013)
j2 Global (2013-present)
|Alexa rank
|11px 251 (February 2015[update])[2]
IGN Prime
Founder's Club
|Available in
|English, German, Hebrew, Swedish, Arabic, Chinese, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian,Greek and Russian. To be launched in Turkish, French, Portuguese, and Japanese[3]
|Current status
IGN (formerly Imagine Games Network) is an entertainment website founded by media entrepreneur Chris Anderson in September 1996, which focuses on video games, films, music and other media. The company is based in San Francisco, California. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment; including major video game platforms, and other forms of entertainment such as television, comic books, and films.
IGN is the flagship property of IGN Entertainment, which owns several other websites oriented towards male interests and gaming, such as GameStats, VE3D, TeamXbox, Vault Network, the now-defunct FilePlanet, and AskMen. IGN was sold to publishing company Ziff Davis in February 2013 and now operates as a J2 Global subsidiary.
- 1 History
- 2 Other sections
- 3 Regional websites
- 4 IGN Pro League
- 5 April Fools pranks
- 6 See also
- 7 References
- 8 External links
Created in September 1996 as the Imagine Games Network, IGN was founded by publishing executive Jonathan Simpson-Bint and began as five individual websites within Imagine Media: N64.com (later renamed ign64.com), PSXPower, Saturnworld, Next-Generation.com and Ultra Game Players Online. Additionally, Imagine contracted with several well established independent websites such as PSX Nation.com, GameSpot.com, Sega-Saturn.com and Nintendojo.com which gave its launch a significant user base to build on. In 1998, the network consolidated the individual sites as system channels under the IGN brand. Next-Generation and Ultra Game Players Online were not part of this consolidation; U.G.P.O. dissolved with the cancellation of the magazine, and Next-Generation was put "on hold" when Imagine decided to concentrate on launching the short-lived Daily Radar brand. Then-parent company Snowball.com held an IPO in 2000, which subsequently failed with the burst of the dot-com bubble.
In June 2005, IGN reported having 24,000,000 unique visitors per month, with 4.8 million registered users through all departments of the site. IGN is ranked among the top 200 most-visited websites according to Alexa.[4] In September 2005, IGN was acquired by Rupert Murdoch's multi-media business empire, News Corporation, for $650 million.[5] IGN celebrated its 10th anniversary on January 12, 2008.[6] IGN was headquartered in the Marina Point Parkway office park in Brisbane, California, until it relocated to a smaller office building near AT&T Park in San Francisco on March 29, 2010. On May 25, 2011, IGN sold its Direct2Drive division to Gamefly for an undisclosed amount.[7]
Acquisition of UGO, sale to Ziff Davis
In 2011, IGN Entertainment acquired its rival UGO Entertainment (owners of 1UP.com) from Hearst Corporation. Ultimately, News Corp. planned to spin off IGN Entertainment as a publicly traded company, continuing a string of divestitures for digital properties it had previously acquired (including MySpace and Photobucket).[8]
On February 4, 2013 after a failed attempt to spin off IGN as a separate company, News Corp. announced that it had sold IGN Entertainment to the publishing company Ziff Davis, which was recently acquired by J2 Global. Financial details regarding the purchase were not revealed. Prior to its acquisition by UGO, 1UP.com had previously been owned by Ziff Davis.[9][10] Soon after the acquisition, IGN announced that it would be laying off staff and closing GameSpy, 1UP.com, and UGO in order to focus on its flagship brands, IGN.com and AskMen.[11]
Subsidiaries and spin-offs
The role-playing video game interest website Vault Network was acquired by IGN in 1999.[12] GameStats, a review aggregation website, was founded by IGN in 2004. GameStats includes a "GPM" (Game Popularity Meter) rating system which incorporates an average press score and average gamer score, as well as the number of page hits for the game.[citation needed] However, the site is no longer being updated. The Xbox interest site, TeamXbox, and the PC game website VE3D were acquired in 2003.[13][14] IGN Entertainment merged with GameSpy Industries in 2005.[15] The merger also brought the game download site FilePlanet into the IGN group; as of 2011 both FilePlanet and the GameSpy website still operate as video game-related web sites. IGN Entertainment acquired the online male lifestyle magazine AskMen.com in 2005.[16] In 2004, IGN acquired film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes and in 2010, sold the website to Flixster.[17]
Scoring systems
Original scale
A member of the IGN staff writes a review for a game and gives it a score between 0.1 and 10.0, which is assigned by increments of 0.1 and determines how much the game is recommended. The score is given according to the "individual aspects of a game, like presentation, graphics, sound, gameplay and lasting appeal." Each game is given a score in each of these categories, but the overall score for the game is an independent evaluation, not an average of the scores in each category.[18]
20-point scale
On August 3, 2010, IGN announced that the site would be changing to a new scoring scale. Instead of a 100-point scale, where games are scored in increments of 0.1, all future reviews will use a 20-point scale where games are scored in increments of 0.5. Under both systems, the maximum possible score a game can receive is 10.0. The scoring change is not retroactive: all scores on reviews written before the change will remain the same. This change also does not affect the scoring system for reader reviews.
100-point scale
On September 13, 2012, IGN revealed that as part of their new review format all future reviews would now follow a 100-point scale again, but this time without using decimals, meaning a score of 8.5 would now be an 85. Unlike the previous conversion to the 20-point scale, this latest scoring system change will be retroactive and all previous IGN review scores will be updated to follow the new system. However, despite the announcement, the article included a short addition, post release. It stated that after much discussion, they have decided to retain the decimal point in all upcoming scores.[19]
Re-review policy
In early 2014, IGN introduced a new policy, in which a game's review score can be re-reviewed and improved, provided that continuous updates form a significant change in the game compared to how it was at launch. Examples of games in which they were re-reviewed were League of Legends and the pocket edition of Minecraft.
"Masterpiece" scores
IGN rarely gives a game a score of 10, the most frequent time period being 1999/2000 contributing with almost half of the 'masterpiece' scores. Since the 1990s, IGN has awarded 10s to the following games:
- The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Nintendo 64, 1998)[20]
- Pokémon Red and Blue (Game Boy, 1999)[21][22]
- Checkered Flag (Atari Lynx, 1999)[23]
- Joust (Atari Lynx, 1999)[24]
- Shanghai (Atari Lynx, 1999)[25]
- Super Mario Bros. Deluxe (Game Boy Color, 1999)[26]
- The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX (Game Boy Color, 1999)[27]
- Soulcalibur (Dreamcast, 1999)[28]
- Mario Golf (Game Boy Color, 1999)[29]
- Pokémon Yellow (Game Boy, 1999)[30]
- Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure (NeoGeo Pocket Color, 1999)[31]
- SNK vs. Capcom: The Match of the Millennium (Neo Geo Pocket Color, 2000)[32]
- Magical Tetris Challenge (Game Boy Color, 2000)[33]
- Metal Gear Solid (Game Boy Color, 2000)[34]
- Pokémon Gold and Silver (Game Boy Color, 2000)[35][36]
- The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages (Game Boy Color, 2001)[37][38]
- Dragon Warrior III (Game Boy Color, 2001)[39]
- Tornado Mania! (Mobile phone, 2006)[40]
- Grand Theft Auto IV (PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, 2008)[41]
- Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (PlayStation 3, 2008)[42]
- Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii, 2010)[43]
- Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare (PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, 2010)[44]
- Halo Reach UK (Xbox 360, 2010)[45] (Only on IGN.com)
- Pac-Man Championship Edition DX (PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, 2010)[46]
- Chrono Trigger (Wii Virtual Console, 2011)[47]
- Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (PlayStation 3, 2011)[48]
- The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Wii, 2011)[49]
- Infinity Blade II (iOS, 2011)[50]
- The Last of Us (PlayStation 3, and PlayStation 4, 2013 and 2014)[51]
- Grand Theft Auto V (Sony PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360 and Xbox One, 2013, 2014 and 2015)[52]
Near-perfect scores
- The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (Nintendo 64, 2000)[53]
- Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 (Dreamcast, 2000)[54]
- Conker's Bad Fur Day (Nintendo 64, 2001)[55]
- Advance Wars (Game Boy Advance, 2001)[56]
- Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (PlayStation 2, 2004)[57]
- Jade Empire (Xbox, 2005)[58]
Other sections
In 2000, Snowball.com purchased an E-federation called the Internet Wrestling Organization (IWO).[59] Since Snowball owned both IWO and IGN, IWO would go on to become IGN's first official E-Fed, even doing a column on the website. The IGN For Men section officially closed down on October 2, 2001 and is no longer updated. IGN has sites such as IGN Stars and AskMen.com that fulfill much of the function of the old IGN For Men site. IGN Wrestling met its end in early 2002, when many of the staff departed. Interviews with professional wrestling personalities and coverage of wrestling games has been folded into IGN Sports, currently headed by Jon Robinson. IGN Sci-Fi: Largely dead since 2002, this section of the site included movie news, comic book reviews, anime coverage and other associated items. It has since been discontinued. The site, SciFI.ign.com, now redirects to the recently created SciFiBrain.ign.com, which covers some of the content of the old Sci-Fi site.
In 2002, IGN launched a dedicated videogame FAQs site specifically designed to host user-submitted guides.[60] This was launched following the cancellation of affiliation with GameFAQs.[61] In 2004, IGN launched GameStats, which serves as a more unbiased rating network, as it takes in scores from every corporately owned game rating site and averages them all into one score to give a general idea of the quality of a game. IGN also launched Direct2Drive.com in 2004. Its primary focus is selling digital downloads of full PC and Mac video games, as well as anime, comics and game guides. In 2005, IGN launched its comics site, which is devoted to not just the staple Marvel and DC titles, but also manga, graphic novels, statues and toys.
In 2006, IGN launched its television site. It provides interviews with various television celebrities, in addition to a TV schedule, TV trivia and TV news. Akin to IGN FilmForce, IGN's TV section has a variety of exclusive clips from upcoming television shows.
On May 30, 2006, IGN Dreamcast was restarted; however, none of the Dreamcast updates were posted on the main IGN webpage.
In 2007, IGN launched its anime site. It provided features on anime and manga, including trailers and free episodes. It also included reviews of manga and anime from other sections of IGN, such as IGN Comics and IGN DVD. The anime channel was dropped after IGN redesigned the site. In 2008, the IGN Retro channel was launched to mark IGN's 10th anniversary.[62] To coincide with the release of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, IGN created the Super Smash Bros. World site. On the site, people can submit their user created stages from the game and download ones made by other people. IGN subsequently launched a similar website called GTA 'Hood on April 29, 2008, for Grand Theft Auto IV.
Along with their popular website content, IGN also publishes many different podcasts on both their website and on iTunes. Some of their podcasts include "Podcast Beyond" which is their PlayStation podcast with hosts, Marty Sliva and Max Scoville. Their Xbox oriented podcast is "Podcast Unlocked" with Ryan McCaffrey, Mitch Dyer, Destin Legarie, and Marty Sliva as the hosts. "Nintendo Voice Chat" is IGN's Nintendo podcast, hosted by Jose Otero, accompanied by Peer Schneider and Brian Altano. "Game Scoop!" is another popular podcast where they discuss news and topics surrounding the video game industry with host Daemon Hatfield and a panel of IGN employees.[63]
Regional websites
Since 2006, IGN Entertainment began launching regional versions of the website for various countries and pan-regions. Initially, IGN began opening new offices outside the United States in order to support those regional websites, but later IGN began franchising its brand as a more cost-effective means of globalization, wherein it licensed various media publishers in many countries to use the IGN brand and manage regional websites on their own. When visiting
www.ign.com from an IGN-supported region, the site automatically redirects visitors to their localized version using geolocation software, based on their countries' IP addresses. Each version of the site has a modified logo with their country's/region's respective flags near the IGN logo. However, it is still possible to access the original American website using a navigation bar on top or below (depending on regional website) the page's master template.
IGN opened its first offices in the UK and Australia in 2006, which both share the same information as the American site but with added content authored from editors within each respective region. Other licensed regional publishers work on their own servers, albeit can link to IGN's HQ database, where they can import and/or translate articles, and use videos uploaded on IGN's servers that use IGN's own hosted video player.
On May 16, 2012, in collaboration with the Emirati-based company t-break Media, IGN Middle East was announced for the MENA gaming community. The site replaces t-break Media's own ME Gamers website, which was formerly one of the largest Middle Eastern-based gaming media outlets that was originally launched in 2006. ME Gamers' entire staff converted their duties to IGN Middle East, importing and/or translating many of IGN's English articles, whilst writing up their own articles, especially for Middle Eastern-specific events. IGN Middle East is available in both English and Arabic languages.[64] Whilst the site was initially launched to cover only video games, t-break Media announced in September 2012 that they started posting movie-related articles under the IGN brand as IGN Movies Middle East, merging most of the duties from their own ME Movies website, which was originally established in 2009, under a similar manner to their video game content.[65] Unlike video games, however, most movie-related content will be in English only.
In September 2012 the Italian edition of IGN launched, managed by a local team, providing both original and translated contents.[66]
On October 9, 2012, in collaboration with the Spanish-based media company Marca, IGN Spain was announced. The site effectively replaces Marca's own Marca Player gaming news website. Marca Player's editors converted their duties to IGN Spain, translating many of IGN's English articles, whilst writing up their own Spanish articles as well, covering various topics including video games, movies, TV series and comics.[67] Marca also plans in the long run to eventually release another Spanish IGN website specifically for the pan-regional, Spanish-speaking gaming community in Latin America.[67]
On 2 December 2013, IGN Africa was launched.[68]
On 17 December 2013, in collaboration with Times Internet, IGN India was launched. The Indian edition takes AAA game reviews from its US couterpart and focuses more on coverage of gaming news and events in the country, apart from writing about comics, movies, technology.[69]
IGN Pro League
In 2011, IGN launched the IGN Pro League, a professional e-sports circuit that ran tournaments for StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, ShootMania Storm and League of Legends.[70] On March 6, 2013, only weeks prior to the event, IGN abruptly cancelled the finals of IPL 6—which were to be held in Las Vegas from March 28 through 31, and discontinued the league. IGN indicated that it was no longer in a position to commit to competing with the increased number of e-sports events that were now being held.[71][72] On April 8, 2013, Blizzard Entertainment announced that it had acquired the staff and assets of the IPL from IGN; its former staff will be reassigned to work on e-sports productions and online content for Blizzard's own events.[73]
April Fools pranks
On April 1, 2008, IGN released a movie trailer for the hit video game series The Legend of Zelda that prompted many Zelda fans to believe that a live-action motion picture was on the way. Other movie websites reported that IGN was showing the world premiere of the Zelda trailer that day. The supposed release date of the film was April 1, 2009. The trailer had 3.5 million views that day. IGN released a statement the following day stating that the trailer was an elaborate April Fools joke. IGN was flooded with calls and e-mails about the joke but said it was done with good intentions, and to show Nintendo that a Zelda movie could be made and that fans would go see it.[74] In a behind-the-scenes documentary posted the following day, a camera operator stated that they could have cut together a small mini-series with all the footage shot. On April 1, 2010, IGN made a mock trailer for a possible movie based on the Halo video game series but with an Indian Bollywood theme, which gave away the prank.[75] On April 1, 2011, another mock trailer was made for a television spin-off of Harry Potter.[76] On April 1, 2012, another mock trailer was made for a Saturday morning cartoon based on the Mass Effect trilogy.[77] On April 1, 2013, IGN posted a mock trailer for an Apple game console known as the "iPlay", whose launch lineup only consisted of Angry Birds games (including the non-existent Angry Birds: The Fast and the Furious). In 2014, IGN had revealed a fake trailer for DLC for Titanfall, which included Optimus Prime as a playable titan character.
Most recently, on the 1st Apríl 2015, a new 'Back To The Future' film was announced through its first teaser trailer. This trailer consisted of a voice over until a shot of the licence plate from the DeLorean time machine. This eventually led to a scene in which it was revealed the main character would be Vin Diesel's character from the Fast and Furious film series. This cross over film was dubbed 'Fast to the Future'. This of course all turned out to be another elaborate April Fools day prank by IGN.
See also
- ^ "Contact - IGN Entertainment". Retrieved 31 May 2014.
- ^ "Ign.com Site Info". Alexa Internet. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
- ^ IGN World. World.ign.com. Retrieved on 2013-08-17.
- ^ Doe, Johnny (2009-08-21). "ign.com — Site Information from Alexa". Alexa. Retrieved 2009-08-26.
- ^ "News Corp. Acquires IGN for $650 Million". Bloomberg Businessweek. September 11, 2005. Retrieved 2010-08-25.
- ^ Geddes, Ryan. "IGN: Origins: The History of IGN". Retro.ign.com. Retrieved 2009-08-26.
- ^ "Gamefly, Inc. Acquires Direct2Drive from IGN Entertainment" (PDF). Retrieved 2011-10-24.
- ^ "News Corp.'s IGN Buys Hearst's UGO In Preparation For Game Site Spin-Off". All Things Digital. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
- ^ "News Corp.'s IGN Poised to Sell to J2's Ziff Davis". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
- ^ "IGN Entertainment sold by News Corp to publisher Ziff Davis". Digital Spy. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
- ^ "IGN hit with layoffs; 1UP, Gamespy and UGO shutting down". Joystiq. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
- ^ Robert Lemos (28 September 1999), "IGN.com will buy the Vault Network", www.zdnet.com
- ^ "IGN Entertainment acquires TeamXbox website (Press Release)", corp.ign.com (IGN), 21 October 2003
- ^ "IGN Acquires VE3D Gaming Site; Premier Gaming News Site Joins IGN Network", www.allbusiness.com (AllBusiness.com), 15 April 2003
- ^ "IGN/Gamespy merger creates one of the internet's largest game and internet-focused company (Press Release)", corp.ign.com (IGN), 5 March 2004
- ^ "IGN Entertainment acquires Askmen.com (Press Release)", corp.ign.com (IGN), 1 June 2005
- ^ Graser, Marc (January 4, 2010). "Flixster buys Rotten Tomatoes". Variety. Retrieved 2014-02-07.
- ^ "IGN Ratings and Reviews Policy". IGN. Retrieved 2009-05-25.
- ^ jbendickson (2012-09-13). "Reviews 2.0 - The Future of Reviews Starts Now — Blog by kamicasey". IGN. Retrieved 2012-10-27.
- ^ Schneider, Peer (1998-11-25). "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time — Nintendo 64 Review". IGN. Retrieved 2012-02-23.
- ^ Harris, Craig (1999-06-23). "Pokemon Red — Game Boy Review". IGN. Retrieved 2012-02-23.
- ^ Harris, Craig (1999-06-23). "Pokemon Blue — Game Boy Review". IGN. Retrieved 2012-02-23.
- ^ Jung, Robert A. (1999-07-06). "Checkered Flag — Atari Lynx Review". IGN. Retrieved 2012-02-23.
- ^ Jung, Robert A. (1999-07-06). "Joust — Atari Lynx Review". IGN. Retrieved 2012-02-23.
- ^ Jung, Robert A. (1999-07-06). "Shanghai — Atari Lynx Review". IGN. Retrieved 2012-02-23.
- ^ Harris, Craig (1999-07-21). "Super Mario Bros. Deluxe — Game Boy Color Review". IGN. Retrieved 2012-02-23.
- ^ Cleveland, Adam (1999-09-17). "Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX — Game Boy Color Review". IGN. Retrieved 2012-02-23.
- ^ Gantayat, Anoop (1999-09-20). "Soul Calibur — Dreamcast Review". IGN. Retrieved 2012-02-25.
- ^ Harris, Craig (1999-10-05). "Mario Golf — Game Boy Color Review". IGN. Retrieved 2012-02-23.
- ^ Harris, Craig (1999-10-19). "Pokemon Yellow: Special Pikachu Edition — Game Boy Review". IGN. Retrieved 2012-02-23.
- ^ Harris, Craig (1999-12-07). "Sonic Pocket Adventure — NeoGeo Pocket Color Review". IGN. Retrieved 2012-02-23.
- ^ Harris, Craig (2000-01-04). "SNK vs. Capcom: Match of the Millennium — Neo Geo Pocket Color Review". IGN. Retrieved 2012-02-23.
- ^ Harris, Craig (2000-02-28). "Magical Tetris Challenge — Game Boy Color Review". IGN. Retrieved 2012-02-23.
- ^ Harris, Craig (2000-05-05). "Metal Gear Solid — Game Boy Color Review". IGN. Retrieved 2012-02-23.
- ^ Harris, Craig (2000-10-16). "Pokemon Gold — Game Boy Review". IGN. Retrieved 2012-02-23.
- ^ Harris, Craig (2000-10-16). "Pokemon Silver — Game Boy Review". IGN. Retrieved 2012-02-23.
- ^ Carle, Charles (2001-05-14). "Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons — Game Boy Color Review". IGN. Retrieved 2012-02-23.
- ^ Carle, Charles (2001-05-14). "Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages — Game Boy Color Review". IGN. Retrieved 2012-02-23.
- ^ Sellers, Peter (2001-07-20). "Dragon Warrior III — Game Boy Color Review". IGN. Retrieved 2012-02-23.
- ^ Buchanan, Levi (2006-12-08). "Tornado Mania Review". IGN. Retrieved 2013-05-07.
- ^ Goldstein, Hilary (2008-04-25). "Grand Theft Auto IV Review". IGN. Retrieved 2012-02-23.
- ^ Haynes, Jeff (2008-06-12). "Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots Review". IGN. Retrieved 2012-02-23.
- ^ Harris, Craig (2010-05-20). "Super Mario Galaxy 2 Review". IGN. Retrieved 2012-02-23.
- ^ Steimer, Kristine (2010-10-27). "Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare Review". IGN. Retrieved 2012-02-23.
- ^ Robinson, Martin (2010-09-11). "Halo Reach Review". IGN. Retrieved 2014-09-14.
- ^ Hatfield, Daemon (2010-11-30). "Pac-Man Championship Edition DX Review". IGN. Retrieved 2012-02-23.
- ^ Thomas, Lucas M. (2011-05-25). "Chrono Trigger Review". IGN. Retrieved 2012-02-23.
- ^ Miller, Greg (2011-10-24). "Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception Review". IGN. Retrieved 2012-02-23.
- ^ George, Richard (2011-11-11). "The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword Review". IGN. Retrieved 2012-02-24.
- ^ Davis, Justin (2011-11-30). "Infinity Blade II Review". IGN. Retrieved 2012-02-23.
- ^ Moriarty, Colin (2013-06-05). "The Last of Us Review". IGN. Retrieved 2013-06-05.
- ^ Macdonald, Keza (2013-09-16). "Grand Theft Auto V Review". IGN. Retrieved 2013-09-16.
- ^ Mirabella III, Fran (2000-10-26). "The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask — Nintendo 64 Review". IGN. Retrieved 2014-04-22.
- ^ IGN Staff (2000-11-07). "a wild Hawk's Pro Skater 2 — Dreamcast Review". IGN. Retrieved 2014-04-22.
- ^ Casamassina, Matt (2001-03-03). "sonics Bad Fur Day — Nintendo 64 Review". IGN. Retrieved 2014-04-26.
- ^ Harris, Craig (2001-09-10). "Advance Wars — Game Boy Advance Review". IGN. Retrieved 2014-04-26.
- ^ Dunham, Jeremy (2004-10-25). "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas — PlayStation 2 Review". IGN. Retrieved 2014-04-26.
- ^ Clayman, David (2005-04-08). "Jade Empire — Xbox Review". IGN. Retrieved 2014-04-26.
- ^ "Internet Wrestling Organization". Archived from the original on 2000-05-19.
- ^ "Get the FAQs". IGN. 2002-07-09.
- ^ "GameFAQs homepage". 2001-01-09. Archived from the original on 2001-01-18.
- ^ "IGN: Playing With the Past: IGN Retro". Uk.games.ign.com. 2008-01-11. Retrieved 2009-08-26.
- ^ "IGN Podcasts". IGN.
- ^ Jaffar Ali, Abbas (2012-05-16). "IGN Entertainment and T-Break Media launch IGN Middle East". IGN Middle East. Retrieved 2012-11-17.
- ^ Hashmi, Faisal (2012-09-02). "ME-Movies Has Now Merged With IGN Middle East Movies". IGN Middle East. Retrieved 2012-11-17.
- ^ "Videogiochi, trucchi, recensioni, notizie, anteprime, video e trailer da IGN". It.ign.com. Retrieved 2012-10-27.
- ^ a b Sanz, David (2012-10-09). "Bienvenidos a IGN España" (in Spanish). IGN Spain. Retrieved 2012-12-03.
- ^ http://za.ign.com. Missing or empty
- ^ Article in MediaNama
- ^ Mendez, Alex. "Announcing the IPL weekly Shootmania Cup". IGN. Retrieved 2012-11-02.
- ^ "IGN cancels IPL6 eSports tournament". GameSpot. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
- ^ "IPL6 eSports tournament officially cancelled – refunds available for ticket holders". PC Gamer. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
- ^ "IGN Pro League "technology and assets" purchased by Blizzard". PC Gamer. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
- ^ Casamassina, Matt. "IGN: Editorial: Zelda on the Big Screen". Uk.wii.ign.com. Retrieved 2011-10-24.
- ^ "Halo Bollywood Movie Trailer (April Fools') - IGN Originals - IGN Video". Au.ign.com. 2010-04-02. Retrieved 2013-02-10.
- ^ "The Aurors Trailer (Harry Potter TV Show) - April Fools' Video". IGN. 2011-04-01. Retrieved 2011-10-24.
- ^ "Mass Effect Cartoon — Debut Trailer". IGN. 2012-04-01. Retrieved 2012-04-04.
External links
- Official website
- IGN 64 (Archive)
- IGN Channel on YouTube


text:
Partial roof collapse at Canada mall, evacuation
(AP) ELLIOT LAKE, Ontario - A roof partially collapsed at a busy shopping mall in Canada on Saturday, prompting an evacuation and a search for anyone who might have been injured.
A portion of the roof that serves as a parking area crumbled in the afternoon, exposing metal and concrete supports as Algo Centre Mall bustled with weekend shoppers.
Police spokeswoman Christine Ouimet said police did not yet know whether anyone has been injured or if there was anyone missing.
The collapse also triggered a gas leak and prompted emergency officials to shut off the mall's power.
Emergency officials quickly cleared out the mall and closed surrounding roads.
Mayor Rick Hamilton declared a state of emergency soon after the collapse.
Joe Drazil, a Zellers store employee, said several cars appeared to have fallen through the gaping hole near some escalators.
"You can see the roof with the cars hanging inside," he said. "Everybody was cleared from the whole mall. After that, there was numerous police and emergency vehicles coming from all over."
The two-level mall in this northern Ontario community is approximately 200,000 square feet (18,580 sq. meters). It houses a grocery store, restaurants, a number of retail outlets, a hotel, and the constituency office for a member of the provincial parliament.
Calls to the management office at the mall were not immediately returned. Calls to the Algo Inn hotel attached to the mall were not answered.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
ReneSola's High-Wattage Solar Module Passes TUV SUD's PID Test
FRANKFURT, Germany - ReneSola Ltd ("ReneSola" or the "Company") (NYSE: SOL), a leading global manufacturer of solar photovoltaic ("PV") modules and wafers, today announced its 300 watt ("W") multicrystalline solar module has passed the potential-induced degradation ("PID") test performed by TUV SUD, a leading provider of testing, inspection and certification solutions.
The PID test was conducted by TUV SUD to assess loss of power output of solar modules under severe conditions of high voltage, high temperature and high humidity. ReneSola's 300 W multicrystalline solar module was exposed to 1,000 volts of bias voltage at a temperature of 85 degrees Celsius and a relative humidity of 85% for 96 consecutive hours. During the test, ReneSola's maximum degradation of power output was 1.34%, significantly below the maximum allowable power output degradation of 5%.
Mr. Xianshou Li, ReneSola's chief executive officer, commented, "The fact that our high-wattage 300 W poly module passed TUV SUD's PID test by such a large margin underscores its value proposition. Solar developers not only get more power per square foot with this module, but also a long life cycle with minimal degradation and reliable power output. PID is an important purchasing factor for solar developers, particularly if the modules are to be used in areas of high humidity and high temperatures. Our TUV SUD test result should reassure customers of the reliability of our solar modules and demonstrate our commitment to producing high-quality solar products."
About ReneSola
Founded in 2005, ReneSola (NYSE:SOL) is a leading global manufacturer of high-efficiency solar PV modules and wafers. Leveraging its proprietary technologies, economies of scale and technical expertise, ReneSola uses in-house virgin polysilicon and a vertically integrated business model to provide customers with high-quality, cost-competitive products. ReneSola solar modules have scored top PVUSA Test Conditions (PTC) ratings with high annual kilowatt-hour output, according to the California Energy Commission (CEC). ReneSola solar PV modules can be found in projects ranging in size from a few kilowatts to multi-megawatts in markets around the world, including the United States, Germany, Italy, Belgium, China, Greece, Spain and Australia. For more information, please visit www.ReneSola.com.
Media inquiries, please contact:
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SOURCE ReneSola Ltd.
Web Site: www.ReneSola.com


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Europe's new astronauts - short biographies
Samantha Cristoforetti was born in Milan, Italy, in 1977. She studied at the Technische Universität Munich, Germany, the Ecole Nationale Supérieure de l'Aéronautique et de l'Espace in Toulouse, France, and the Mendeleev University of Chemical Technologies in Moscow, Russia. She holds a master's degree in engineering, as well as a master's degree in aeronautical sciences from the University of Naples Federico II in Italy. Lt. Cristoforetti is a fighter pilot with the Italian Air Force. In her leisure time, she enjoys mountaineering, scuba diving and caving.
Alexander Gerst was born in Künzelsau, Germany, in 1976. He studied at the University of Karlsruhe, Germany, where he received a diploma in geophysics. He also studied Earth Science at Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand, where he was awarded a Master of Science. He has been working as a researcher since 2001. In his spare time, he enjoys mountaineering, diving, climbing and skydiving.
Andreas Mogensen was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1976. He received a master's degree in engineering from Imperial College, London, and a doctorate in engineering from the University of Texas at Austin, in the United States. He has been working as an attitude & orbit control system and guidance, navigation & control engineer for HE Space Operations. His pastimes include rugby, mountaineering and diving.
Luca Parmitano was born in Paternò, Italy, in 1976. He holds a diploma in aeronautical sciences from the Italian Air Force Academy and was trained as a Full Experimental Test Pilot at EPNER, the French test pilot school in Istres. Capt. Parmitano, a pilot with the Italian Air Force, is an active scuba diver and enjoys climbing and paragliding.
Timothy Peake was born in Chichester, UK, in 1972. He completed a degree in flight dynamics and qualified as a Full Experimental Test Pilot at the UK's Empire Test Pilots' School. He is an officer serving with Her Majesty's Forces as an Experimental Test Pilot. He is an avid cross country runner and includes climbing and caving among his leisure activities.
Thomas Pesquet was born in Rouen, France, in 1978. He received a master's degree from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure de l'Aéronautique et de l'Espace in Toulouse, France. He worked at the French space agency, CNES, as a research engineer, and then went on to become a pilot for Air France where he is currently flying Airbus A320s. He enjoys jogging, swimming, squash and judo and has experience in diving and paragliding.


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Hyperemesis gravidarum is different for everyone, yet miserable for everyone who has it.
Have you heard of hyperemesis gravidarum? It's freaking miserable! Like so terrible! I can't explain my fear of HG except to tell you my kid is 2 and I'm still petrified by the thought of being pregnant.
I guess Izzy is that age now where everyone wants to know if we are having more. So hearing the questions and comments is what pushed me to write this post.
Don't know much about HG? You can google it and find out a lot. You may have heard about it when Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge was pregnant and suffered with HG both times.
Okay so try having a flu that makes you puke daily or all day one day and then just a little nauseous the next and this goes on for 9 months. Does that sounds fun to you?
Sorry to be blunt, but it F*CKING sucks!
I cried so many times during my pregnancy.
I puked so much I needed a change of pants with me because I started peeing my pants while puking as I reached the middle-end of my pregnancy. Talk about humiliating.
When a woman who had HG thinks about having another child they have to decide. Do we have the finances for someone to take care of the child we already have or having family that can help. Are we prepared for the possible hospital visits. Emotionally and physically can the couple handle the strain of this sickness? Am I okay with the fact that my child will in a way suffer from not having mommy's attention. Who is going to take over all the tasks I do as a mom.
For me I grocery shop, cook, do laundry and clean up. I take care of Izzy 24-7 and we really are not in a situation that we could have 24-7 help with Izzy and all these chores. I also have extreme guilt when I think about pretty much missing out on almost a year of her life. Did you know if you had HG that you have well over a 50% chance of getting HG again?
I'm so sick of hearing people say, "Next time it might be better." or "Every pregnancy is different." So, so easy for you to say if you never had HG. I suffered from severe vomiting and nausea the entire pregnancy (even on 2 medications). I even threw up during labor.
Most people I know who had HG, it got WORSE each pregnancy. I honestly can't imagine it being worse.
I lost weight during my pregnancy early on and was told to drink ensure to up my protein. I was also told to drink fatty milkshakes and to eat canned veggies for the sodium. Mostly I sipped on ensure & ginger ale, licked the salt off saltines and puked.
People told me, "You looked so good, I gained so much weight". Guys, I gained a total of 15 lbs during my pregnancy.. secret weapon… HG (but I promise it's not worth being all bump).
I just have to say, please inform yourself and don't be so uneducated when someone tells you they have had a severe condition.
HG is no joke and I'm sorry for all the woman out there who have suffered from it.
PLEASE DO NOT ask me when or if I'm having more and that it might be different this time. It's not a definite no, but we are pretty sure one child is just perfect for us. We are happy with our healthy, bright, kind, outgoing and gorgeous little girl.
Lastly, REALLY I don't want to hear, "But wasn't Izzy so worth it?" Are you F*UCKING kidding me? Of course she was! Does that mean I'd like to put her, myself and my family through me being sick all over again? As I stated above, there is a lot to consider when you have had HG.
I hope this was informative so you can better understand the emotions and thoughts from someone who suffered from HG and if you had it, maybe you can relate to my experiences.
XO Eryka


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Interesting facts about Osaka
Located on the Japanese island of Honshu, Osaka is a bustling port city known for innovative architecture, fun nightlife and exhilarating street food. Osaka boasts an impressive history in its castles and shrines. Book your flights to Osaka with Cathay Pacific, and enjoy reclining seats, in-flight entertainment, and impeccable service.
What to do in Osaka
Osaka is all about history. Start at the moat-surrounded Osaka Castle, operating today as a museum with artefacts that date back to the 16th century. Another must-see is the oldest shrine in Japan, Sumiyoshi Taisha, which dates back to the 3rd century. Visit another time and place when you wander through the Open-Air Museum of Old Japanese Farmhouses. For something more modern, head to the Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan, one of the largest aquariums in the world, or Universal Studios Japan for some family fun.
Getting Around Osaka
Like most Japanese cities, the subway is the easiest and most efficient way to get around Osaka. The extensive network connects most of the hot spots in the city across eight subway lines. For more flexibility, hire a taxi. Book your flights to Osaka today with Cathay Pacific, Asia's premier airline.
Plan ahead for your trip to Osaka
Best fares on flights found by others in the last 48 hours. (Please note that some fares may only apply when there are multiple travellers.)


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Contact Us
School Office: 805-681-1268
School FAX: 805-681-0700
711 Ribera Drive
Santa Barbara, CA 93111
Felicia Roggero, Principal
We're proud to be a California Distinguished School.
FUND Campaign
Please join us in supporting The FUND. Providing the FUNDamentals of education. Financial support for Foothill School's special programs. These programs are critical to the overall education and well-being of ALL our students.
Goleta Family School
Goleta Family School is an alternative, public school program offered by the Goleta Union School District to families with children in kindergarten through grade six.


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Recently the American Association of Physics Teachers sent an email to its Ohio members regarding OhioLINK's contract with AIP Publishing, which ended on Dec. 31, 2013.
We appreciate that the American Association of Physics Teachers would like its members to continue to have access to the two journals it produces and makes available through AIP Publishing. These journals are the American Journal of Physics (AJP) and The Physics Teacher (TPT). OhioLINK also appreciates the value researchers place on access to online databases and journals, and a great deal of consideration was given to this particular contract.
However, the email contains a number of omissions and inaccuracies. (The text of the email is available below this response.) Here is the rest of the story:
OhioLINK only negotiates and handles contracts on behalf of its 91 member libraries.
A committee of subject specialists from the member institutions make the renewal and purchase decisions for journals, databases or ebook content, because member institutions fund more than 80% of the OhioLINK content subscriptions from their local campus budgets.
OhioLINK central staff members do not make renewal or purchase decisions; OhioLINK staff negotiate for the best possible pricing for the consortia members once those decisions are made.
AIP Publishing sharply increased its yearly access pricing for the OhioLINK statewide contract.
This committee of member librarians did not take the decision to cancel the statewide AIP Publishing contract lightly. However, because AIP Publishing increased its access price by 1,900% (that is not a typo), the committee members decided that this was neither justifiable nor sustainable for all OhioLINK institutions. The reality is that many of our libraries are dealing with sharp budget cuts, and many more are coping with flat budgets. OhioLINK central funding only accounts for approximately 18% of annual funding for journals and databases. Local budget commitments, and collective member decision making, are what determine whether subscriptions are renewed at the statewide level or not.
Access to back issues will remain available.
OhioLINK purchases the content of databases on behalf of member institutions. Even if an institutional library decides not to renew on its own, AIP content purchased up to 2013 through OhioLINK on behalf of member institutions is available through the OhioLINK Electronic Journal Center.
Please note: The Physics Teacher was never part of the OhioLINK statewide contract from AIP Publishing, contrary to the information in the AAPT email. Member institutions have always made local subscription decisions about this journal.
Date of contract end.
OhioLINK's contract with AIP Publishing ended in December 2013. The AAPT statement says the end of the contract is this upcoming July 2014.
Institutional libraries subscribe to many, many more resources locally than are economically feasible on a statewide member level.
Many OhioLINK institutions have decided to continue to subscribe to a set of AIP content for their campuses, and have done so since the end of the OhioLINK AIP contract last year.
The AAPT statement says that non-renewal of the contract will remove access to AIP and its other member societies' journals. The committee's decision to not renew a member-wide OhioLINK AIP contract does not mean that an individual institution no longer subscribes to AIP Journals or other member society journals. Faculty and researchers should always contact their own library for more information and details regarding content available on campus.
We regret any confusion caused by the AAPT email, and have requested that they communicate the information above to their Ohio members. If you are a faculty member or researcher at an OhioLINK member library, your own library is the best source of information about what is available to you on your individual campus, whether from OhioLINK or from your individual library.
[Text of the AAPT Email]:
AAPT recently learned that OhioLINK has decided to not renew its license with AIP Publishing. This means that any institution in the OhioLINK consortium, including your institution, will lose its access to AAPT's two journals, the American Journal of Physics (AJP) and The Physics Teacher (TPT). This includes access to all of the online back issues. Moreover, non-renewal will remove access to AIP's and its other member societies' journals. As you may know, AJP publishes papers that meet the needs and intellectual interests of college and university physics teachers and students and is considered to be the world's premier journal for this audience. TPT uniquely focuses on introductory physics teaching resources and pedagogy. As such, the physics community relies on these two journals to inform faculty and engage students.
We urge you to contact your librarian today to request that OhioLINK renew its license with AIP Publishing or subscribe directly to the American Journal of Physics and The Physics Teacher in order to regain access to current issues as well as all of the back issues. Access will be lost at the end of July; therefore, we ask that you take action now.


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Agencies are using Apache Hadoop because of the open-source programming framework's ability to store and process massive amounts of information while providing a way to run jobs across thousands of servers smoothly and efficiently.
Attunity is now offering organizations a path to rapidly move data in and out of Hadoop, according to company officials. The company's software suite lets government agencies and businesses share and distribute big data analytics across different enterprise platforms as well as in cloud infrastructures.
Attunity RepliWeb for Enterprise File Replication (EFR) lets data analysts quickly replicate data files to, from and between Apache Hadoop platforms, officials said.
Business and government analysts can bypass the complexities associated with moving data to Hadoop and the cloud while, at the same time, use the data for strategic or competitive purposes, said Matt Benati, Attunity's vice president of global marketing.
RepliWeb for EFR is especially suited for organizations that need to process big data on a regular basis, such as e-commerce, health care, infrastructure management and mobile, officials said.Attunity RepliWeb for EFR 6.0's features include:
RepliWeb for EFR expands on Attunity's efforts to provide technology that integrates with Hadoop to improve big data analytics.
Last year, the company unveiled Attunity Managed File Transfer for Hadoop, which automates and accelerates file collection and data transfer with the Hadoop File System. Attunity MFT, the company's file transfer management platform that provides machine-to-machine and application-to-application file transfers, is used by federal agencies such as the Homeland Security and Treasury departments, the Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Postal Service.
About the Author
Rutrell Yasin is is a freelance technology writer for GCN.
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A Russian state-sponsored advanced persistent threat actor targeting state, local, territorial and tribal government networks exfiltrated data from at least two victims.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is looking for ways autonomous vehicles can make it easier for commanders to detect and track threats among civilians in complex urban environments without escalating tensions.
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Anna Hood tells her story of how she ran 12 half-marathons in six months.
2012. For me this year was to be a game changer. It was time to take a gamble, do things differently, give myself challenges, change my regular behaviour and see what happened.
I started with a sober New Year's Day, a novelty for me. I went for a run in the morning and then to the beach to write my goals. There were many, big and small, but one in particular was to raise $5000 for a Cambodian guide, Samnang Thang. Samnang takes tourists through the Angkor Wat temples, just out of Siem Reap and in his time off teaches people in his village - 90 per cent of whom have no education - how to speak and write English. I met him on a trip through Cambodia, and we had kept in touch. I wanted to help him buy school supplies for his village, pay fees for his own education and also buy a motorbike so he could easily commute from his work as a guide to university for study and back to his village to teach.
And how was I going to do this? Short of raffling off all my worldly goods and spending weekends sausage sizzling, I thought I would run. Run a lot. I set a goal or running 12 half marathons in six months and I would ask friends and family to sponsor me on my journey.
As soon as I said it out loud I knew I was in trouble. I was now committed but was I confident I could achieve it? Hell no.
Yes, I had run for fitness before and completed three half-marathons and struggled through the Auckland Marathon in 2010, but I am by no means one of those long-limbed people who has run since they could walk. Would I have time to do it? Would I physically be able to do it? Would I be able to say "no" to drinks in favour of going for a jog?
There was only one way to find out and it was time to start booking some flights.
January 14 rolled around fast and as my goal had been set rather spontaneously, some would say I was under prepared. The longest distance I had run for two months leading up to this first half-marathon was 7km. I was terrified I was going to fail on my first run. Adding to my worry was that I'd organised four half-marathons in the space of a month to fit around weddings and work events. It would be initiation by fire.
Nelson, half-marathon number one, was kind to me. It was a beautiful day, the course was relatively flat and took a glorious route along a river. I met some great people while running and although I was nervous during the first few kilometres, once I reached 15km I was feeling confident. Afterwards I was elated; my first one done.
I was and probably will always be nervous before a run. You just never know how you're going to feel, no matter how prepared you think you are. Some runs are amazing and you feel like you're flying; other times they're a grind.
By February 12, I had completed more runs in Lower Hutt, Pukekohe and New Plymouth.
I quickly came to love my weekends out of town, meeting new people and seeing new places. Each run offered a new but incredible atmosphere. A bunch of runners of different abilities get up early to achieve a goal, whether it's a personal best time or just finishing. Could I pick favourites? A highlight was the bag of lettuce, potatoes and onions each finisher received in Pukekohe. I was living the country dream! The waterfront course in New Plymouth was spectacular, and running to the finish beside the lake in Wanaka was incredible. Wanaka was my favourite; it was a beautiful course from the Cardrona Pub down into Wanaka. I met some great people along the way and as it was a gradual downhill course so I achieved my personal best time. I also had a bunch of friends with me in Queenstown so could celebrate with some guilt-free wines.
There wasn't one run in my whole journey when it rained. I thought the sun was shining over me, all I needed to do was stay healthy and injury-free.
As time passed I became more focused. The consistent sense of achievement gave me confidence not only in my running ability but in the rest of my life, and I had increased clarity about who I was and who I wanted to be.
I was aware I was becoming the boring friend who always seemed to be running. Not only did I seem to be turning down endless drinks and party invitations but, when I did go out, I was often reluctant to tell people what I was up to for fear they would think I was nuts. And many did. Not until about run number seven did I feel confident I could achieve this goal and was open to telling people what I was doing and why.
I ticked them off - Auckland Cathay Pacific Half, Coatesville Half, Wanaka Southern Lakes Half, it was all going swimmingly and then, my Everest. Number eight, Tauranga. To be honest, none of the halves was easy, some were more enjoyable than others but there had been moments when those last couple of kilometres felt like f.o.r.e.v.e.r. and only sheer stubbornness kept me from cruising to a walk and strolling to the end.
Tauranga was awful. Everyone has a bad day and this was mine. I could have stopped after 2km, I hated it. Was I running? It felt like shuffling and every part of me hurt from my head to my feet. To keep going for another 19km when I would rather have the St John Ambulance come and rescue me was beyond hard. The only thing that kept me going was telling myself "This is when I am learning something, surely it must be the bad runs that make you stronger and able to push yourself further". When I finished I was emotionally and physically exhausted.
For two days after I could barely walk, all I could manage was work and sleep and worry. I had decided to try for the Gold Coast marathon on July 1 so this was not ideal preparation. Had I done too much too soon? Were my muscles going to repair in time for me to do the necessary training? Had I blown it by having too many drinks in my off weekends. Was I done?
What I did learn is that with an incredible massage from an expert in hellerwork therapy, and some early nights, muscles do repair. In the week after Tauranga
I told myself I had to stick to my marathon plan, which meant clocking up 63km, including a 25km run on the Sunday. Slowly but surely, in no great style, I did it and two weeks later I completed number nine of 12, the Rotorua half marathon. I enjoyed it, too, which felt like a miracle.
From that stage I decided to take the running thing a bit more seriously. More early nights than late ones, more electrolytes than wine and more sports massages. I started to feel stronger. I was running 30km easily and even if I got home from a work event at 11pm I would slip on my running shoes and head out for a midnight run, just me and the local cats out on the streets. I was loving it and my hill training route became my favourite run.
My number 10 in the vineyards in Blenheim was spectacular, and number 11 in Huntly was simply another pleasant jaunt.
When I returned home the Sunday afternoon after Huntly I leaped up the stairs, I was on a high. Eleven half marathons completed in four months. Just one more to go. For the first time I believed I was going to get to my long-awaited finish line and take a sip of the Dom Perignon that had been sitting in the fridge since the beginning of the year.
Then my own personal tragedy struck. The next morning I got up as I usually did, at 6am in the dark and cold, for a little 5km recovery run. I jogged out the door but never found my stride. After a kilometre my left foot was in extreme pain. I loosened my shoe and kept running, thinking it was just another little niggle I could run through. After another kilometre I gave up, the pain was serious and it was time to be sensible and hobble home.
I had some x-rays, nothing showed up. I got some crutches and a moon boot and hobbled around the office. Every morning I woke up expecting to be able to walk properly but each time my foot collapsed beneath me. I would be lying if I didn't tell you I had a couple of pity parties for one, as I felt my dream falling away from me. There were tears.
After three weeks of trying to remain positive, lying on the couch all weekend, having physio treatment for a suspected soft tissue injury, aqua jogging for two hours at a time to remain fit and strong and watching documentaries about marathoners, I went for an MRI.
I needed to know once and for all what was going on.
The good news was I finally had a diagnosis. The bad news was it was a stress fracture and I should be off my foot for at least a month. But I had a half marathon to run in two weeks and the Gold Coast marathon in five weeks ... The past few months were flashing before my eyes - had it all been a waste, all those nights in while friends were out, all those sodas when everyone else was drinking wine, all those early mornings pounding the pavements? I had put myself out there, asked people to sponsor me and I wasn't going to be able to complete the journey. I felt humiliated.
I didn't know how I could resolve myself to a feeling of failure if I didn't achieve my goal. Two podiatrists and an orthopaedic surgeon later I realised that was it for now. I wouldn't be going for a walk, let alone a run for another eight weeks. I was devastated.
I was confined to a pool for exercise. Life slowed down. I was used to running, now walking was a struggle and I moved at what felt like a snail's pace in the pool. I tried to remind myself that everything has a silver lining, I just didn't know what it was yet. I also needed to let my supporters know what had happened but didn't know what to say.
I tried to focus on the bigger picture. I was healthy, I would run again, this is part of life's roller coaster and part of taking risks. I got over the disappointment and started planning for when I could run again. I also worked out that if I counted back from the Huntly run, I had already achieved 12 half marathons in six months and one day by including the Kerikeri half marathon I ran in November 2011. I liked that.
It's true what they say, it's the journey not the destination. I learned so much about myself over those few months; going after that goal was one of the best things I have done. I saw more of my country than I have in years and I knew what my priorities were and what I wanted to achieve. When I was in the middle of my running and friends asked me how I did it, I said there are many things that I have regretted in life but while it is hard to get out the door sometimes, I never regret going for a run. I had grown up in a community and with friends whose hobby is socialising. We do it well and, yes, we have great times, but between work and going out for drinks I have often been left wanting. I wanted to find "my things" - the hobbies, sports and activities that make me happy and make me, me. Running is one of those things.
Do I regret going for that run that morning? No.
I learned more from getting through that injury than I would have from crossing the final line, and I learned that failing is okay. Once I got my head around it, I realised I had still achieved something I could be proud of. Just by putting myself out there and giving it a go I had gained confidence from taking a risk.
I didn't know if I could achieve what I set out to, whether I was capable, but I gave it my best shot. My task taught me about delayed gratification. I would still go out for a drink and meet up with friends but that happened after going for my run. I felt more in control of my life. I had often found myself doing what others wanted me to do, so it was great to have this project and be able to say "no" and put myself first.
There have been many positive side effects from my increased confidence and clarity. I realised how I wanted to spend my life. I have purchased a house, I am now a director in my own business, I have a new passion for aqua jogging which I would have never foreseen, and I know that a few months out of the Auckland social scene is okay. It's still there when the running is over and it's even more fun now because I feel I deserve it. There's nothing like a beverage in the sun after a long run and it is even more rewarding after crossing 12 finish lines.
Why did I get the stress fracture? No one can tell me but I'll be going to a podiatrist before I start long runs again.
I am now planning my next marathon, New York City 2013, where I will run for Rod Dixon's NZ KiDSMARATHON.
I managed half of my fundraising goal for Samnang Thang. Every cent will go a long way to improving his life and those of people in his village.
My tips for starting a running routine and sticking to it:
* Set a goal with a timeline to reach it. Sometimes your health isn't quite the driver it needs to be to kick you out the door.
* Try to eat well and drink less. I am guilty of thinking a couple of beers the night before a run is a good way to carbo load but alas I found that the better I ate and drank the easier it was to get going.
* Coconut water - all natural, no sugar, added electrolytes. Genius.
* Find a breakfast that works for you before a long run. Experiment a little.
* When you start running routes of more than 21km, drop off drink bottles around the course so you're always hydrated (don't forget to collect them afterwards!)
* Be kind to yourself. Sometimes getting up in the morning or getting to your run after work is too hard. You are allowed days off. It won't ruin your plan.


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Hi I'm back..
Looks like ConcowRider doesn't know when he's getting mooned by the herd.
Hi I'm back..
Looks like ConcowRider doesn't know when he's getting mooned by the herd.
Rags, I think we knew we were getting the south end view of the critters heading north, but didn't have the knowledge / experience to just accelerated through the mess. Finally a delivery truck (on a schedule) behind us pulled out and around and broke trail. I've survived commute traffic in the SF Bay area, Boston, New York, LA, etc., etc. but this was a totally new one on me!
SNC1923, your post # 907 is quite unusual. Was it designed by Escher? I have studied this photo several times today and find it quite intriguing, or did I just smoke to much pot in my youth?
Last edited by 130253; 03-13-2008 at 12:28 AM.
Mark Evans
"Life is a state of mind"
#911: uh oh this is getting scary. Did they have an organized tour of Bryce?
Anyway it was my favorite...
It's an arch in an old building full of retail stores in Camel, CA. I've always been fascinated by photographs not of things, but of details--parts of things. This allows one to focus on shapes, textures, shadows, lighting, etc.
And it also plays with your head, which is a bonus.
We now return you to your regularly scheduled flashback.
Oh yeah Tom, Camel Calif, I had to hump it out there one time to get this great recipe.
Mark Evans
"Life is a state of mind"
Gail Hatch
SheRidesABeemer's Blog
looking at #934 I have wonder how cool it would be if that was really a picture in the opening instead of just an opening. Ha Ha!
Hell you could even set it up like the old rippled pictures so that the angle of view would change slightly as you walked by! Ha Ha!


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Percona Live MySQL Conference & Expo Santa Clara - April 10th-12th
Tuesday, April 10, 2012 at 8:00 AM - Thursday, April 12, 2012 at 5:00 PM (PDT)
Discover the Power of MySQL » MySQL is the world's most popular open-source database, powering web-scale applications such as Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. MySQL continues to evolve rapidly, reaching more markets and powering more applications every day.
The Percona Live MySQL Conference and Expo is the premier event for this rich and diverse ecosystem. It is the place to be for the open-source community, as well as the business marketplace within which MySQL thrives.
The Percona Live MySQL Conference and Expo is a meeting ground for the most dynamic exchange of knowledge and information about MySQL and closely related technologies. Experts and newcomers alike share their experiences and challenges and network to enhance their careers and make their companies succeed. The speakers, conference committee, and corporate sponsors are the most influential in the MySQL ecosystem.
In just three days, this deeply technical event will help you reach the next level in skills and knowledge:
If your company must be invoiced or order via purchase order, please contact Kortney Runyan (kortney.runyan at percona.com).
In order to purchase these tickets in installments, you'll need an Eventbrite account. Log in or sign up for a free account to continue.


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Package contains the Kemper Profiler Powered Head and Kemper Remote with included cable.
KEMPER POWERRHEAD incorporates a 600 watt amplifer
Featuring a user interface almost identical to the the lunchbox version, the Kemper Profiler PowerRack is just as easy to operate. The layout is highly intuitive and..
Package contains the Kemper Profiler Powered Head and Kemper Remote with included cable.
KEMPER POWERRHEAD incorporates a 600 watt amplifer
Featuring a user interface almost identical to the the lunchbox version, the Kemper Profiler PowerRack is just as easy to operate. The layout is highly intuitive and already familiar
to users of more traditional amps.
The most important parameters, such as gain, tonestack and volume, are directly accessible. There are even dedicated knobs to control the reverb and delay from the front panel.
For decades, the electric guitarist has been shackled to the tube amplifier as the only solution to get "that sound". With the advent of the Kemper Profiler, everything has
changed. Now, for the first time, you are free to create amp tones as unique and individual as you, and capture them perfectly into the digital domain.
"Profiling" is the name Kemper have given their proprietary technology that captures the sound and feel of a tube amplifier. The resulting profiles go far beyond a list of static,
digital amp models - profiling creates a vivid, dynamic and multi-dimensional reproduction of your existing tube amp.
Profiling an amp is as simple as plugging it in and pressing "record." Just insert it into the recording chain, sit back, and watch the magic. Test signals will be sent from the
unit into your tube amp and recorded by the microphone in front of your cabinet. Less than a minute later, the sonic DNA of your tube amp has been extracted.
Use the A/B mode to compare the original tube amp with the profiled sound. The "Refine" feature lets you fine-tune the nuances of your profile by simply strumming a few chords –
a fast and convenient way to tweak the profile to perfection.
The four stomp slots let you choose from traditional drive pedals, wahs and EQs, as well as more exotic effects like frequency shifter and wave shaper. Post-amp, you can add up to
four stereo effects, including various reverbs, delays and modulation effects. Many effects have a built-in "Ducking" parameter – just find your perfect setting, then store it for
easy recall as an effect preset.
The Kemper Profiling Amplifier PowerRack includes a 600 watt class D power amp (600 W @ 8 ohms, 300 W @ 16 ohms)
Width 48cm
Height 20cm
Depth 14.5 cm
Weight: 5.4kg
The Profiler remote: One to rule them all – Rigs, FX and much more
Well designed in a sturdy metal housing complimenting the look and feel of the Profiler the Profiler Remote connects via an
included 7 meter/ 21 feet long Ethernet cable and draws its power from the Profiler, no extra power supply needed. The Profiler
Remote features 4 direct connectors to hook up your favorite pedals to control continuous controllers like WahWah, Gain, Volume,
Delay Level, Delay Feedback, etc.
The buttons on the Profiler Remote provide direct access to 5 program patches (Rigs), patch bank up and down, permanent Tuner with three LEDs, 30 sec. stereo Looper, Tap Tempo that also drives the unique real time Beat Scanner and an all time direct access to effects assigned to the current patch with the dedicated Stomp FX Buttons. The current status is visually represented on the Remote's display.
The versatile and unique Stomp FX Buttons
These four dedicated buttons can be freely assigned to switch on/ off stomps and effects. They can also trigger special features in certain effects. Their respective assignments and their on/off status are stored per Rig. Each button can also be assigned to multiple stomps and effects. Assigning the Stomp FX Buttons is simple and straightforward: Simply by pressing the Stomp Button on the Profiler and the respective button on the Remote simultaneously.
Connecting up to 4 expression pedals and/ or external switches
The Profiler Remote offers four TRS-sockets named to connect expression pedals. If there is the need for additional switches, mono and stereo switches can be used with these sockets, too.
The 30 second stereo LOOPER
The Looper Button activates the Profiler's new Looper function for recording up to 30 seconds in stereo. When activated the Looper
turns the Bank Up/ Down and Rig Buttons on the remote to versatile Looper controls:
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This layout was inspired by Sketch #80 @ Creative Scrappers
and fits The Studio's December 1st Challenge (Childhood & Layers):
The title says: Friends
The journaling is a play-song that better not be translated... LOL
I used: DCWV Spring Stack, Fiskars border punches, grosgrain ribbons, Sharpie, Imaginisce I-Top & recycle of the back of stickers pack (the pink polka dots strips of the journaling).
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
7:46 PM Posted by Unknown
1 comments labels Creative Scrappers, DCWV, Fiskars, Imaginisce, layout, sketch
1:30 PM Posted by Unknown
This layout was inspired by Sketch #33 @ Unscripted Sketches:
I used: DCWV Fun in the Sun Glitter Stack, Unity stamps, StazOn jet black, Sharpie, ribbon.
I used: DCWV Fun in the Sun Glitter Stack, Unity stamps, StazOn jet black, Sharpie, ribbon.
2 comments labels DCWV, layout, Sharpie, sketch, StazOn, Unity, Unscripted Sketches
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Food & Drink
Deliciously kitschy and 'Crap Souvenirs'
By Marnie Hunter, CNN • Updated 15th October 2012
View Gallery
8 Pictures
I recently became the proud owner of a bobblehead moose magnet. The jaunty little guy sports a Nova Scotia T-shirt, and while made in China, he reminds me of a lovely Canadian adventure lacking only in a real moose.
Doug Lansky knows all about the draw of those touristy retail emporiums packed to the ceilings with tacky T-shirts and plastic bric-a-brac. He's the author of "Crap Souvenirs: The Ultimate Kitsch Collection." The book, released this month, features more than 150 tchotchke photos, some of which Lansky collected from travelers online. He's still collecting photos of these gems on his website
CNN asked Lansky to explain his terminology. He provided the following answers via e-mail:
What's a "crap souvenir?"
For starters, I want to be clear that "crap souvenir" is just a snarky way to say "awesomely kitsch." These are a collection of entertaining souvenirs that are, you might say, so bad, they're good. It was hard to find a litmus test for tacky -- nearly all souvenirs possess an element of tackiness. (Finding kitsch-free souvenirs is a far more difficult task.) In the end, it was a gut reaction. I suppose I was looking for something that invoked an emotion that landed somewhere between a cringe and a laugh.
Is the photo better than the vacation?
What criteria did you consider for an "awesomely kitsch" or remarkably crappy souvenir?
It was almost more difficult to define what was a souvenir. Sure, it's French for "to remember," but that doesn't help the selection process much. Your first thought, like mine, might be that a souvenir is a memento you bring back from a trip. Seems reasonable, but consider the example of a German tourist who picks up an iPad while visiting New York's Apple Store. He might consider it a souvenir of his visit. And his device is a souvenir for him, but iPads in general aren't.
So, Rule 1 is that it has to be a souvenir on its own standing.
Rule 2: It should be an object on sale to the public. There may be a life-size polar bear in a cowboy hat and hula skirt standing in front of a tourist shop that makes for memorable souvenir photos, and one could argue that any item is for sale if you make the right offer, but if it isn't specifically there to be sold, it doesn't count.
Travel Snapshots: Not-so-kitsch souvenirs
Rule 3 is a bit more complicated. It should be tied to a location. One way is simply to print the name of the town, city or country on it. But that would also qualify any random object that says "Made in China." So it has to be tied to a place in a way more substantial than being outsourced for production. In lieu of a printed location, the item might include national colors or depictions of a famous icon or be made of well-known items endemic to that locale. This was my working guideline. However, after all this reasoning, there were a few exceptions that were simply too deliciously kitsch to pass up.
What's the tackiest souvenir you've ever come home with? Share your finds in the comments section below.
A year of the world's
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Church Chicago, Illinois, 60614
As Cenacle Sisters, we are called to surrender our whole lives to God, and this we do through our threefold mission: prayer, community and spiritual ministry.
We desire to be so filled with the love of Jesus that the fire of his Spirit may, through our ministry, enkindle and deepen faith. This ministry may take the form of retreats, spiritual direction, adult faith formation and other spiritual ministries.


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Vancouver Canuck Cory Schneider aims to lift his new Swiss team
Notebook: 'At some point, I really want to play hockey, whether it's here or abroad'
Vancouver Canucks goalie Cory Schneider, in his new garb for Swiss League team Ambri Piotta, is flanked by two unidentified team officials.
Photograph by: Ambri Piotta photo , www.hcap.ch
VANCOUVER — If Cory Schneider was looking for a challenge after going seven months without a game, he seems to have found it with his new Swiss League team.
The Vancouver Canucks' goalie has signed a deal with HC Ambri-Piotta, which is not exactly a powerhouse. The team has won only seven of 25 games so far this season and is currently 11th in the 12-team league.
Ambri-Piotta, known locally as the "Bianco-Blu" (white and blues), has scored 61 goals this season and surrendered 92. In other words, the team's defence has been like, well, Swiss cheese.
Schneider will be asked to fill some of those holes. He left Wednesday for Switzerland, is scheduled to practise with his new team Thursday and could play as early as Saturday against sixth-place Kloten.
Schneider holds dual U.S.-Swiss citizenship so the team did not have to burn an import spot to sign him.
The Ambri-Piotta website said Schneider's deal with the team runs through Dec. 31 with an option to renew should the NHL lockout continue into the new year.
His signing is not a good omen for those thinking a NHL labour deal is imminent. Schneider has been actively involved in the labour talks and likely would not have headed overseas had he felt a deal was close.
Schneider hinted on Monday that he was anxious to play somewhere soon.
"I play hockey for a living," Schneider said. "At some point, I really want to play hockey, whether it's here or abroad. I think it's more important for my career going forward to stay sharp and stay prepared and get games in because 18 months without game action is not a good thing for a goalie, or for anybody for that matter."
Ambri-Piotta has been a perennial cellar-dweller in recent years, but the club has not been relegated to the Swiss B League since being promoted in 1985.
Ambrì and Piotta are two tiny villages in the municipality of Quinto, located in southern Switzerland and not far from the Italian border.
The team plays in a rink with only 2,000 seats, with standing room space for 5,000.
The team's website said sponsors stepped forward to help cover the costs of Schneider's contract. Schneider could not be reached for comment Wednesday and his agent, Mike Liut, did not return messages.
Schneider will likely take over from Nolan Schaefer, who has started most of Ambri-Piotta's games this season. Schaefer is the younger brother of former Canuck Peter Schaefer.
Schneider is just the third Canuck regular to sign in Europe. Winger Jannik Hansen is playing with Tappara Tampere of the Finnish League, while fellow forward Dale Weise is playing with the Tilburg Trappers in the Dutch League.
SCOUTING IN SWEDEN: With no current salary cap concerns to deal with, Canucks assistant general manager Laurence Gilman has just returned from a scouting trip to Sweden.
Gilman met with three players the Canucks selected in the 2011 draft.
Nicklas Jensen, Vancouver's first-round pick in 2011, is playing for AIK in the Swedish Elite League. Jensen has cooled off after a hot start and has nine goals and 12 points in 24 games.
"His team is not playing that great, but he is playing on their second line," Gilman said. "He is getting some power-play time, he is playing in all kinds of situations whether they are up a goal or down a goal. He's averaging 16 and a half to 17 minutes a game and he is playing in a league with men. So that's pretty good."
Gilman liked what he saw and heard about the play of seventh-round pick Henrik Tommernes, a defenceman playing with Frolunda of the Elite League.
"He is averaging about 23 minutes a game," Gilman said of the 22-year-old. "He is leading his team in ice time. When I saw him the coaches used him both on right side and the left side. He plays on the power play and also kills penalties. By all accounts he's a pretty good selection by our scouts."
Gilman also visited with Ludwig Blomstrand, a 19-year-old winger who was Vancouver's fourth-round pick in 2011 and recently joined Almtuna in the Swedish second division.
"I saw him play his first game and he scored," Gilman said. "He's big and he's strong and skates very well."
THEY'RE NO. 7: Forbes magazine says the Canucks are worth $342 million, making them the seventh most valuable franchise in the NHL. The Toronto Maple Leafs top the list, with a value Forbes pegged at $1 billion.
The New York Rangers were next at $750 million followed by the Montreal Canadiens ($575 million), Chicago Blackhawks ($350 million) and Boston Bruins ($348 million).


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Buy CBD oil in Brookline, MS. At Cannabal CBD, we provide a directory of stores that sell CBD oil in Brookline and other parts of Massachusetts. You may be asking: how do I find CBD oil near me? While most Brookline residents are already aware of the numerous benefits of CBD oil, including help with anxiety, depression, pain relief, acne, brain function, diabetes and heart health, you may or may not be able to find a local store that will allow you to buy CBD oil at a physical store location in Brookline, MS. The good news is, there are many online buying options. If you've been wondering where to buy CBD oil in Brookline, on this page you will find all local CBD oil manufacturers, stores and shops, as well as nationwide companies that provide quick delivery to Brookline and nearby areas.
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Why should you purchase CBD oil in Brookline, MS?
If you are searching for places to buy CBD oil in the Brookline area, you may already know the numerous benefits of using CBD oil as a regular supplement. But be aware – CBD oil isn't a miracle oil that will work overnight. You need to purchase an adequate supply of CBD oil and be patient – the benefits you are looking for will happen.
Is CBD oil legal in Massachusetts and Brookline?
Massachusetts is a progressive state that allows Brookline residents to purchase or sell hemp seeds, hemp seed oil (CBD oil), hemp protein, items made from hemp fiber, and even the hemp flower from a licensed grower. However, CBD edibles cannot be purchased in Brookline or in the state of Massachusetts. Moreover, marijuana itself is legal in Massachusetts and in Brookline, under certain restrictions: you must be at least 21 years old, you can't smoke it in public, and you can have up to 1 ounce in your possession and up to 10 ounces in your home. Brookline residents can even grow marijuana at home, up to a total of 6 plants for an adult or 12 plants if there are at least 2 adults in the home. On the federal side, there are no federal legal restrictions or laws that currently prevent Brookline residents from purchasing CBD oils in the state of Massachusetts, and a bill called the Farm Bill was passed that made CBD derived from hemp legal. This is the reason why so many people are flocking to buy CBD oil in Brookline in order to take advantage of its numerous health benefits. And not just people – CBD oil is also a popular supplement for Brookline residents who are pet owners. There are CBD treats for dogs and other products available that can give your furry loved one a healthier, happier life. In fact, FDA has even approved a drug that is based on CBD oil to treat epilepsy – and that should be telling.
Do I need a medical prescription to buy CBD oil in Brookline?
You do not need a prescription card to buy CBD oil in Brookline. Medical marijuana can be purchased in Brookline and in Massachusetts through the Medical Use of Marijuana Program, overseen by the MS Cannabis Control Commission. Brookline residents must meet certain medical conditions in order to get a medical marijuana card.
Can companies that don't have physical locations in Massachusetts ship CBD oil to Brookline?
Fortunately, yes. Almost all companies that operate out of the state of Massachusetts are able to ship all of their CBD products to Brookline and other cities in Massachusetts. Shipping is often free as well, and the benefit of purchasing out of Massachusetts may be that you may not have to pay sales taxes on your purchase, as compared to buying locally in one of CBD oil shops in Brookline or nearby.
Is CBD oil purchased in Brookline safe to consume?
Local CBD stores in the Brookline, MS area may or may not have the rigorous testing procedures that many nationwide online retailers do. In fact, most local shops don't even have a website where you can check their products or details before you go visit them in person, and CBD oils purchased locally may or may not have the same amazing health benefits that CBD has. Online CBD retailers that ship to Brookline typically make their testing procedures available on their websites. Many of them use only organic ingredients, which makes shopping for CBD oil to be shipped to Brookline a breeze.
- https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/is-cbd-legal-heres-what-you-need-to-know-according-to-science
- https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-approves-first-drug-comprised-active-ingredient-derived-marijuana-treat-rare-severe-forms
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3202504/
- https://www.mass.gov/orgs/medical-use-of-marijuana-program
- https://www.mass.gov/orgs/cannabis-control-commission
- https://www.mass.gov/info-details/faqs-sale-of-hemp-derived-products-in-the-commonwealth
- https://patriotcare.org/get-a-card/


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So the leftover Thanksgiving turkeys gone cold, and the Vegas partying is almost over, but fear not as the season of goodwill is ahead and it's time for the Addicts to write their letters to Santa, I mean TinyCo, telling them all your Christmas wishes.
And remember it doesn't matter if you've been naughty or nice as every Addicts gets a Christmas wish. Mine I'd love to see a big holly, jolly event, full of festive fun, lights and snowball fights.
And to bring us some daily cheer I'd love to see a Christmas Tree advent, basically on 1st December every player gets a bare Christnas tree, then every day Until the 25th December we get to open a daily advent and inside will be little festive characters that we can then hang on our trees.
I don't think that's too much to wish for. But what about you, what do you want to see in Quahog this Christmas?
~ Russian Tigger


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Wainwright takes advantage of struggling Astros
Ace tosses seven innings of one-run ball, striking out nine in 12th win
ST. LOUIS -- The numbers suggested it would be a mismatch: Adam Wainwright, with his career 13-1 record and 1.57 ERA against an Astros team that entered losers in eight of their last 10 with an offense that ranks among the worst in baseball.
And a mismatch it was.
In their first visit to Busch Stadium as a member of the American League, the last-place Astros had no answer for Wainwright. The Cardinals' ace cruised to his 12th win, leading the Cardinals to a 9-5 victory in front of a sellout crowd of 43,836. The win was the Cardinals' fourth in a row and included six run-scoring innings by the offense.
"We had a tough stretch there for a minute, so it's good to get back on track," Wainwright said. "I think what you saw about a week ago was probably a little fatigue by the team. We want to finish strong here and get that good break and get ready for the second half."
Aside from a brief blip in the sixth, Wainwright was nearly unhittable in what will be his last start against the Astros for at least three years. It wasn't until former Cardinals prospect Brett Wallace doubled with one out in the sixth that Houston had a runner in scoring position.
Wallace came around to score, but Wainwright was stingy afterward. The league leader in innings pitched (140 2/3) finished seven frames for the 15th time in 19 starts. With his nine strikeouts and 11 groundouts, Wainwright recorded only one out beyond the infield.
That was a product of keeping his fastball down and varying the speed of his curveball.
"He's just very aggressive in the zone," Wallace said. "[He] comes right at you and he just knows what he's doing up there. He's one of the best in the business for a reason. He's always a tough matchup."
Wainwright lowered his ERA to 2.30, a mark that sits third-best in the National League. In nine of his starts, the All-Star right-hander has given up one or no earned runs. He has one start remaining before the midseason break. With that in mind and wanting to avoid unnecessary overuse, manager Mike Matheny ended Wainwright's day at a modest 97 pitches.
"It's never easy against a big league squad, but I felt like I stayed out of trouble for the most part," Wainwright said. "The hits were singles except for Wallace's double. If you're just going to give up a single here or there, you're going to be OK."
All eight position players in the Cardinals' lineup got involved in the scoring against Astros starter and usual Cardinals slayer Bud Norris. Norris resembled nothing of the dominant pitcher he's been against this club throughout his career, though that was because the Cardinals took away his most effective pitch.
By laying off Norris' slider, the Cardinals routinely worked themselves into hitters' counts and were able to ambush Norris' fastball.
"If he's not getting swings on that slider, we have a pretty good chance," said Daniel Descalso, who recorded a pair of doubles while starting at shortstop. "That's going to be the recipe for success."
Matt Holliday teed off for a two-run homer -- his 13th long ball of the season -- in the first. After the bottom of the order pieced together some momentum an inning later, Matt Carpenter contributed a sacrifice fly.
It was the first of three runs Carpenter drove in during his three-hit game. He also scored three times from the leadoff spot. Carpenter and Carlos Beltran delivered two-out RBI hits in the fourth to push the Cardinals' lead to six. Carpenter had entered the game with only one hit in 12 previous at-bats against Norris.
"I was honestly surprised when I looked at my stats going into today, because I always felt like I saw him well and felt comfortable in there," Carpenter said. "When I was talking to [hitting coach John] Mabry before the game, I said, 'I guess I'm due for a couple hits against this guy.'"
A two-out hit by Jon Jay tacked on a run in the fifth. Carpenter doubled and scored on Allen Craig's hit the following inning. Craig bumped his RBI total to 71, second-best in the NL, with another in the eighth. He, along with Carpenter and David Freese, enjoyed three-hit games. Every Cardinals position player reached base at least twice.
By the time he was chased, Norris surrendered seven runs on 11 hits. In nine of his previous 15 starts against St. Louis, Norris held the Cards to one or no earned runs.
"It was just impressive to watch everybody go up there and take a real competitive at-bat," Carpenter said. "Rarely do you see a game where everybody is up there laying off tough pitches, working counts. Even our outs were hard. It was a real complete offense day, and that speaks volumes to what kind of offense we think we have in this clubhouse."
The Astros made the game look closer than it ever was by scoring four times in the ninth.
Three of the runs were charged to Michael Blazek, who hadn't pitched in a week. The inning got messy enough that Matheny had to call upon closer Edward Mujica to end it. Mujica, pitching in his fifth straight game, struck out the only batter he faced to pick up his 24th save.
Matheny said he "absolutely didn't" want to have to summon Mujica, whose availability for Wednesday is now in question because of his recent workload.
Blazek's command issues were not mirrored by fellow rookie reliever Kevin Siegrist, whose scoreless work in the eighth earned him a spot in the franchise record books. Siegrist is the first Cardinals pitcher to open his Major League career with 12 consecutive scoreless appearances, surpassing Tyler Johnson's 11 in 2006.


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- Author: Michelle Leinfelder-Miles
At the Alfalfa and Forage Meeting held at the Kearney Agricultural Center in September, we provided a demonstration of the co-existence of Roundup Ready® (RR) and conventional alfalfa hay fields. The demonstration took place between two hay fields – one of them RR and the other conventional – that were in their third year of production and separated only by a one-lane dirt road. The demonstration showed what is meant by "co-existence"; the RR trait has not transferred to the adjacent conventional hay field or to a nearby organic hay field. All of the fields are co-existing in close proximity, and the RR trait is only found in the RR field. We used commercially-available test strips that detect the CP4 EPSPS protein unique to RR alfalfa to confirm that transfer had not occurred. The test strips are reported to detect the presence of the protein in a hay sample that contains at least five percent RR hay by weight.
Roundup Ready® alfalfa became commercially available in 2005. The genetically-engineered RR trait allowed alfalfa to tolerate the broad-spectrum, post-emergence herbicide, glyphosate. A lawsuit in 2007, however, stopped any further planting. It was not until January 2011 that RR alfalfa was granted non-regulated status and planting resumed.
There are concerns among growers, marketers, and the general public about the ability of RR and conventional alfalfa to co-exist. Key among the concerns is the possibility for the RR trait to transfer by pollen to conventional alfalfa, known as adventitious presence (AP). While transfer of the RR trait has been measured between alfalfa fields grown for seed production (the likelihood depending on the distance between fields), it is largely prevented between fields grown for hay due to management barriers to AP and plant and pollinator biology. The primary management barrier is that hay is generally cut well before 10% flowering, so seed is rarely allowed to form, let alone mature. Biological limitations that make the transfer of the RR trait to conventional hay highly unlikely include the necessity of simultaneous flowering between fields, the presence of pollinators, successful pollen movement via a pollinator to a receptive flower (known as cross-pollination), successful fertilization resulting in viable seed, and viable seed falling to the ground and having the proper conditions for germination and survival. Any grower who has ever tried seeding alfalfa into an existing alfalfa stand knows how difficult it can be to establish new alfalfa plants in an old stand due to competition and autotoxicity. Nevertheless, despite the odds, it is courteous and wise to employ practices that allow the co-existence of RR and conventional alfalfa. The following are advised practices (Putnam, 2006).
- Grow certified seed.
- Understand the potential for the RR trait to be transferred. Cross-pollination is required in seed production but not in forage production.
- Understand the management and biological limitations (described above) to the RR trait being transferred.
- Control nearby feral alfalfa, which is not harvested for hay, could flower, and then be receptive to RR pollen.
- Be aware of neighboring non-genetically engineered (GE) hay.
- Prevent the mixing of hay lots or carry-over bales in balers between RR and conventional fields.
- Test for GE traits.
- Understand tolerances, particularly as they relate to markets.
The majority of the alfalfa market is not sensitive to GE products; nevertheless, test kits are a tool that may be used when customers are sensitive to GE crops. The availability of these strips allows producers and sellers of hay to be product-based for niche domestic and export markets. A couple of products currently on the market that may be used to detect the presence of RR alfalfa in hay, seed, or fresh leaf tissue are Agdia® ImmunoStrip® STX 74000 and Envirologix™ QuickStix™ Kit. Information and pricing is available from the company websites. If you discover another manufacturer's product, be sure to verify that the product is validated for alfalfa; some products are validated for crops like corn and soybeans but not for alfalfa. (The information on products and practices is for educational purposes only and does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by the University of California.)
I think this concept of coexistence is important to assure that folks can continue to farm the way they want to - since it looks like GMOs are here to stay.
It is somewhat ironic that the two most sensitive markets to the presence of GMOs, Organic and Exports have both grown like gangbusters since the introduction of GMO alfalfa in 2005.


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Upholstery Cleaning in W4 Chiswick
The sofa set in your home is a centerpiece of the guest room. This serious investment deserves correct treating so it could last longer. Any kind of upholstered furniture – sofa, armchair, dining chair – receive good portion of use and attention and thus good portion of contamination. Although stains and grime are inevitable, it doesn't mean they have to be permanent. Have you heard about Nice and Clean London? It's the best friend of your upholstery. Through our upholstery cleaning service your tired looking furniture will be carefully cleaned, sanitized and revived. It sounds good, doesn't it?
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Our cleaning specialists possess the proper know-how and extensive experience in upholstery cleaning, so they can clean any type of fabric, including such that should be cleaned cautiously in order not to damage it. Every piece will be pre-inspected before applying the appropriate method for the material. In fact, the safest, non-residue, most efficient upholstery cleaning throughout Chiswick is performed by our team, so your furniture is in good hands with us.
Want to see your sofa clean and bright again? It is time to call Nice and Clean London on 020 3670 2141 and get your upholstery cleaning in Chiswick.
Steam upholstery cleaning is suitable for most of the fabrics. Hot steam kills the colonies of dust mites that take residence on your furniture, removes dirt, gives the fabric a soft feeling and brighter, newer and fresher look. Our detergents are specially tailored to avoid any discolouration and rejuvenate the true colours of your sofa. Hot water extraction is the best method to clean, disinfect and deodorise fabrics. Moreover, it brings great relief for people with asthma and skin allergies.
If you have hard-to-clean or water-sensitive furniture, you'll be glad to know that we have special dry upholstery cleaning service, that takes care of problematic materials. Most companies avoid to clean suede, velour, velvet, cotton, silk and other natural textile, but not us! Delicate fabrics are our speciality. We welcome any challenge with proven technique and advanced experience.
Our detergents are non-toxic and completely safe for children and pets. In addition to your upholstery cleaning, you could take advantage of our Scotchgard application service, which will protect your furniture for years to come. Preserve that "like-new" look with Scotchgard and protect the fabrics against spills, dirt and stains. We are at your disposal in Chiswick to maintain your sofas and chairs vibrant and clean with advanced resources and methods.
Get your free quote by calling us on 020 3670 2141! Your stained upholstery would choose Nice and Clean London, that is for sure!
Steam Cleaning
|A two-seater sofa
|A three-seater sofa
Dry Cleaning
|A two-seater sofa
|A three-seater sofa
Those prices are approximate and may vary depending on the actual size, fabric and the condition of the upholstery. Those are final prices and no more taxes will be added on top them. Minimum charges apply.