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Kobe Bryant says Lakers are still his team
Kobe Bryant says Lakers are still his team
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — Dwight Howard flattened the creases across the chest of his brand-new gold jersey and joined his teammates for a group photo, joking around and laughing even while saying cheese.
The superstar center might be an eight-year NBA veteran, but Monday still felt like the first day of school.
And it was, in a way: Howard is just getting started on his real NBA education from the Los Angeles Lakers and Kobe Bryant, who is just as eager to teach as Howard is to learn.
"I know he's going to be tough on me, but I expect that, and I want him to be that," Howard said. "I want to be that guy. I'll take all the heat he's going to give me, because I know at the end of the day, it's going to make me a better player and a better person. … I'm willing to go through that process, learn from one of the greatest ever to play the game, and I think it'll be great."
Howard and Bryant wore their gold uniforms together for the first time Monday as the Lakers opened training camp with a revamped roster and sky-high expectations. After two straight seasons ending in the second round of the playoffs, a remarkable offseason shuffle by Los Angeles general manager Mitch Kupchak and owner Jim Buss has put the Lakers in prime position to contend for their 17th NBA championship.
Even while Metta World Peace crowed about the Lakers' depth and Pau Gasol expressed his gratitude for staying with the Lakers after popping up in innumerable trade rumors, everybody's eyes were on Bryant and Howard, the Lakers' unquestioned leader and the supremely gifted big man he has already appointed as his heir.
"This is my team, but I want to make sure that Dwight, when I retire, this is going to be his," Bryant said. "I want to teach him everything I possibly know, so that when I step away, this organization can ride on as if I never left."
Even while both men say the situation is ideal, the entire NBA is eager to see how this teacher-student partnership will work.
The 34-year-old Bryant is a ferocious perfectionist with famously little patience for teammates who aren't serious about winning — including Andrew Bynum, the sometimes-immature All-Star center dispatched in the deal for Howard.
The 26-year-old Howard raised league-wide doubts about his maturity during his strange, protracted departure from Orlando over the past two years — and don't forget, Howard has just one season left on his contract.
What could possibly go wrong? Nothing, according to Howard.
"Me and Kobe have talked many times about it, and I think it'll be great," Howard said. "Learning from Kobe, I think, is something that I need for myself, so I can grow as a player and as a person. He's been through almost every situation possible, on the court and off the court."
Two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash, Gasol and World Peace joined Howard and Bryant at the Lakers' training complex Monday, the new starting five posing for seemingly every camera in Hollywood. Antawn Jamison, Chris Duhon, Steve Blake, Jordan Hill and Jodie Meeks were just offstage, all thrilled to be supporting players in this superstar-driven production.
"I'm sure we'll draw a little bit of attention from time to time this year," said Nash, who will chase his first ring after the Lakers acquired him from Phoenix. "I think probably from the outside, it appears this is going to be a cinch. We've got a bunch of great players, we'll come together and win 60-something games and go (into the playoffs) as a contender, but it's going to be a big challenge for us. With so many personalities and dominant players, to try to find a cohesion and understanding is going to be a big challenge."
After carrying the entire Magic franchise on his broad shoulders for most of the past eight years, Howard has more help than he ever imagined on the West Coast. The Lakers also appear remarkably balanced, from Nash's peerless playmaking and World Peace's defensive prowess to the selfless supporting play of Gasol and Jamison, who is absolutely thrilled to be on a good team after 15 years with the NBA's also-rans.
"On its face, it's the best talent I've been around," Bryant said. "Whether that translates into a winning a championship remains to be seen, but just on paper, you're talking about defensive player of the years, MVPs, All-Stars — guys who are at the top of their position and have been at the top for a long time."
Bryant suited up with all types of teammates during his first 16 years in Los Angeles. His relationship with Shaquille O'Neal yielded three championships and four NBA finals trips under Phil Jackson's stewardship, yet ultimately ended in 2004 with both players eager to be apart.
"It's a different dynamic than when I was here with Shaq, because I had to do something that … I naturally don't do, which is be a quarterback and make plays for other people," Bryant said. "The responsibility of him getting the ball fell on me, and this is not naturally what I do. I figured it out, but here, that's Steve (Nash). Steve is the quarterback, and he has a great system and offense to play around with and manipulate, and I just slide to my natural spots."
Bryant and Howard can't immediately get to work on their on-court chemistry, of course. Howard still has no timetable for his return to the court from offseason back surgery, discounting rumors he's targeting the Lakers' season opener Oct. 30.
But Howard is feeling better every day while working with the Lakers' training staff and his own team. He worked on post moves without contact last week with the Lakers' coaching staff — and the big man is eager to show off everything he's already learning in L.A.
"I don't want to have any setbacks," Howard said. "I don't want to play a couple of games and then have to sit down. I want to be able to play the whole season. I owe that to the fans and the team. We all have one mission, one goal. I want to be 100 percent before that, so I can give my teammates everything I've got."
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.
The post Kobe Bryant says Lakers are still his team appeared first on theGrio.


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(CMT Offstage keeps a 24/7 watch on everything that's happening with country music artists behind the scenes and out of the spotlight.)
Hunter Hayes knew that visiting St. Jude Children's Research Hospital wasn't going to be your average hospital visit. "First of all, it is already happy. It's joyous. There's an energy. There's a positivity," he said after touring the hospital and spending time with patients during the 24th annual Country Cares for St. Jude Kids seminar in Memphis this past weekend. Hayes was among a handful of country stars who spent time at the hospital, including Brantley Gilbert , Joe Nichols , Randy Owen , The X Factor winner Tate Stevens and The Voice winner Cassadee Pope. "There's the hope message that lives and breathes in everything, in the people, in the building," Hayes added. "It's more than just bright colors and lots of natural light. It's the attitude. It's the hearts and the minds. It's the way the people operate here. And the way you feel when you come here."

subset: commoncrawl


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One of the most successful ways to make a dramatic improvement in your overall appearance is with a facelift (also known as a rhytidectomy). At The Plastic Surgery Center, we have a reputation for providing superior facelift results, effectively creating a more refreshed look for patients who are concerned about wrinkles, loose skin, and other signs of aging. So if you're looking for a plastic surgeon in the Carney, MD area to perform your facelift, look no further than The Plastic Surgery Center's Dr. Rosenberg.
Facelifts are excellent solutions for those who wish to:
Ready to schedule a free consultation for your facelift in the Carney, MD area? Click the button below. Dr. Rosenberg has a reputation for providing superior facelift results, which can give you a refreshed, younger look. We look forward to helping you achieve the results you deserve.
See more before and after pictures of actual patients.
Most commonly performed on patients over the age of 40, the facelift procedure tightens sagging skin and is frequently accompanied by liposuction to remove excess fat from the neck and face.
A facelift is typically performed as an outpatient procedure under general anesthesia. Temporary side effects may include swelling, bruising, discomfort, and numbness, and most patients are able to return to work and light activities in one to two weeks.
See more before and after pictures of actual patients.
Not ready for a surgery? In addition to the facelift procedure, The Plastic Surgery Center also offers non-surgical cosmetic options in the Carney, MD area like:
Rejuvenating injectable skin treatments such as BOTOX, Dysport, injectable fillers, and other in-office treatments can often help patients fight an aging appearance without the recovery time associated with surgery.
When considering a facelift, it's very important to carefully evaluate your plastic surgeon. At The Plastic Surgery Center near Carney, MD, our experienced plastic surgeon, Dr. Rosenberg:
Ready to learn more about facelifts? Contact us using the form on this page or call us at 410-616-3000 today to schedule a complimentary consultation with Dr. Rosenberg.
Dr. Rosenberg is pleased to share his answers to some of the most frequently asked plastic surgery questions from his patients throughout the Carney, MD area on The Plastic Surgery Center website:
"A common misperception of the public is that only persons in their fifties and sixties undergo facelifts. In fact the patients who often get the best results are the younger patients in their early forties. In 1998, almost 20,000 facelifts were performed in patients under 50 years of age!
"In general the younger you are the more natural the result and the longer lasting the results will be. The skin is more elastic and heals more quickly at a younger age."
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Understand important health issues for gay men and men who have sex with men — from sexually transmitted infections to depression — and get tips for taking charge of your health.
All men face certain health risks. However, gay men and men who have sex with men have some specific health concerns.
Although your individual risks are shaped by many factors beyond your sexual orientation and practices — including family history and age — it's important to understand common health issues for gay men and steps you can take to stay healthy.
Men who have sex with men are at increased risk of contracting HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, as well as other sexually transmitted infections, including hepatitis, human papillomavirus (HPV), herpes simplex, gonorrhea, chlamydia and syphilis.
To protect yourself from sexually transmitted infections:
Use a condom or other protection. Use a new latex or polyurethane condom every time you have sex, especially during anal sex but ideally during oral sex as well.
Use only water-based lubricants, not petroleum jelly, hand lotion, cold cream or oils. Oil-based lubricants can weaken latex condoms and cause them to break. Don't share sex toys, and keep them safe by protecting them with a condom and cleaning them before and after every use.
Get vaccinated. Vaccinations can protect you from hepatitis A and hepatitis B, serious liver infections that can spread through sexual contact.
Not all sexually transmitted infections are prevented by vaccines, however. Hepatitis C is not covered by any vaccine and can lead to liver failure, liver cancer and death. The HPV vaccine is available to men up to age 26. HPV is associated with anal cancer in men who have sex with men.
Get tested and have your partner tested. Don't have unprotected sex unless you're certain you and your partner aren't infected with HIV or other sexually transmitted infections.
Testing is important because many people don't know they're infected, and others might not be honest about their health.
Different types of tests have a different "window period," the period of time between HIV infection and when signs of the infection show up on a test. Being tested during this time might result in a false negative. It is possible to transmit the HIV infection to someone during this period.
Consider the drug Truvada. In July 2012, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of the drug emtricitabine-tenofovir (Truvada) to reduce the risk of sexually transmitted HIV infection in those who are at high risk. Truvada is also used as an HIV treatment along with other medications.
When used to help prevent HIV infection, Truvada is only appropriate if your doctor is certain you don't already have an HIV or hepatitis B infection. The drug must also be taken daily exactly as prescribed. And it should only be used along with other prevention strategies such as condom use every time you have sex.
Gay men and men who have sex with men might be at higher risk of depression and anxiety.
If you're reluctant to seek treatment, confide in a trusted friend or loved one. Sharing your feelings might be the first step toward getting treatment.
Gay men are more likely to experience body image problems and eating disorders, such as anorexia and bulimia nervosa, than are their straight counterparts.
One potential explanation is that, as a result of growing up with images of slender and effeminate gay men or men with muscular bodies, some gay and bisexual men worry excessively about their weight.
If you're struggling with body image concerns or an eating disorder, get help. Talk to your doctor or a mental health provider about treatment options.
In the U.S., gay men are more likely to smoke than are heterosexual men and gay men are more likely to deal with alcoholism than is the general population.
If you have a substance abuse concern, remember that help is available. Local lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender health, mental health, or community centers often provide substance abuse treatment. Organizations such as the GLMA also might provide referrals.
Domestic violence can affect anyone in an intimate relationship. Gay men might be more likely to stay silent about this kind of violence due to fear of discrimination and a lack of facilities designed to accommodate them.
Staying in an abusive relationship might leave you depressed, anxious or hopeless. If you don't want to disclose your sexual orientation, you might be less likely to seek help after an assault. Still, the only way to break the cycle of domestic violence is to take action — the sooner the better.
If you're a target of domestic violence, tell someone about the abuse, whether it's a friend, loved one, health care provider or other close contact. Consider calling a domestic violence hotline and creating a plan to leave your abuser.
Don't let fear of homophobia or the stigma associated with homosexuality prevent you from seeking routine health care. Instead, take charge of your health.
Look for a doctor who puts you at ease. Identify yourself as gay or bisexual, and ask about routine screenings recommended for men in your age group — such as blood pressure and cholesterol measurements and screenings for prostate, testicular and colon cancers.
If you're not in a long-term, mutually monogamous relationship, schedule regular screenings for sexually transmitted infections. Share any other health concerns you might have with your doctor as well. Early diagnosis and treatment help promote long-term health.
Original article: https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/mens-health/in-depth/health-issues-for-gay-men/art-20047107
Any use of this site constitutes your agreement to the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy linked below.
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization and proceeds from Web advertising help support our mission. Mayo Clinic does not endorse any of the third party products and services advertised.
A single copy of these materials may be reprinted for noncommercial personal use only. "Mayo," "Mayo Clinic," "MayoClinic.org," "Mayo Clinic Healthy Living," and the triple-shield Mayo Clinic logo are trademarks of Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research.


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Arrrrrr!, Demerara rum. Such a lovely lass ye'are. I been questin' for ye some time now, and I have finally found me cap'ns treasure! A famous French pirate captain that is, and a monk too. Eustace the Monk was his name. He actually was a land-lovin' monk in a Benedictine monastery as a lad, and apparently the name stuck. Though his life's deeds may not have fit with his monastic teachings, he was a fine pirate. Though… he has not a pinch to do with this here fine cocktail. So, on with the drink ye useless bilge rats!
- 3oz orange juice
- 2oz lemon juice
- 1oz passion fruit syrup
- 3/4oz simple syrup
- 1/2t vanilla extract
- 2oz dark Jamaican rum
- 1 1/2oz Demerara rum
- 1oz light Puerto Rican rum
Blend with 2 1/2c crushed ice.
Source: Grog Log, Jeff Berry
The vanilla flavor really carries this drink, so if you have a bottle of good stuff sitting around, make sure to use it. As with many other tiki drinks in Berry's arsenal, the specific quantities of various fruit juices and rums match perfectly. The Demerara really comes through too, but Berry says it best, "Demerara rum is the secret ingredient in most truly memorable tropical drinks…" I couldn't agree more.
I have no idea what type of flower it is that I let live in my spindrift, but it looked fun. Maybe someone out there can fill me in. I sure hope it not be as deadly as me hook hand.
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Reading in the Dark
Reading in the dark may not ruin your eyes, but it can cause some uncomfortable symptoms. Eyestrain, dry eyes, and headaches are common if you don't turn on the lights.View Article
You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience.
What Do Those Floater Shapes Mean?
You may experience slightly different symptoms depending on the way your floaters develop. This list describes the most common shapes.
Keep in mind that a sudden increase in floaters, a decrease in vision, and flashing lights can be signs of a retinal detachment. Call your optometrist immediately if you notice any signs that concern you.
Sooner or later, most of us will develop floaters. As their name implies, these wispy, string-like fibers "float" across your field of vision. Although they are usually harmless, in some cases, floaters can be a sign of a serious vision condition.
How Do I Know if I Have Floaters?
Floaters have several common characteristics:
What Causes Floaters?
Your eye is filled with a gel-like substance called the vitreous that gives the eye its shape. As you age, the vitreous begins to shrink slightly, which can cause the gel to clump together and form floaters. Light cannot pass through these clumps. If you have floaters, what you actually see is the shadow the clumps create on your retina.
Who Gets Floaters?
Since floaters are typically age-related, you will probably begin to experience them after age 40. You may be more likely to develop floaters if you are nearsighted or have diabetic retinopathy, a condition that affects the blood vessels in the retina and can lead to vision loss. Floaters can also form if you injure your eye or have had cataract surgery complications.
Two Conditions That Can Increase Floaters
A sudden increase in floaters is often caused by one of these conditions:
When Should I See My Optometrist?
Make an appointment with your eye doctor if floaters interfere with your vision or if you are not sure if you're experiencing floaters or another eye issue. It's not always easy to tell the difference between a vitreous detachment and a retinal detachment, since both cause light flashes and an increase in floaters. Call your eye doctor as soon as possible if you experience these symptoms. He or she will provide a comprehensive examination that will help him determine the cause of your problem.
Are you concerned about your floaters, or is it time for your next eye examination? Call us and schedule an appointment for a comprehensive vision exam.
National Eye Institute: Facts About Floaters, 10/09
Everyday Health: The Facts About Floaters and Flashes
Mayo Clinic: Eye Floaters, 1/17/15
All About Vision: Eye Floaters, Flashes and Spots, 1/16


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Employee Benefits and Services
Offer Fortune 500-Type Employee Benefits
Small businesses usually start with big ideas, which are generally the vision of the founder or management team of the business. To turn those ideas into reality, a motivated employee base is necessary. To recruit and retain the very best employees in today's marketplace, you must offer a competitive employee benefits package that offers affordable health insurance and a 401(k) plan at minimum. The PEO relationship with Oasis, a Paychex® Company enables you to do just that. We provide employee benefits management services customized to meet your needs.
As a comprehensive PEO, Oasis offers Large Group Medical Plans and can help you design an employee benefits package that will enable you to compete with Fortune 500 companies for the best employees while meeting your financial and business objectives. Because Oasis administers these employee benefits programs, our clients and their employees can simply relax and reap the rewards while we take care of the details.
Healthcare Reform
Now that Healthcare Reform has been signed into law, businesses are understandably asking: "What does this mean to me?" Oasis knows the answer and, more importantly, can help you comply with the various new laws and assist you in taking advantage of incentives and tax credits associated with this legislation.
The legislation has broad implications regarding the future of healthcare in the United States, and is structured with employer-based financial penalties and incentives to help ensure that the new mandates are properly implemented. The ability to turn penalties into completed administrative tasks, e.g., reporting requirements, and incentives into financial opportunities, e.g., tax credits, can make a substantial difference in a business' ability to remain an employer of choice while ensuring the integrity of the bottom line.
Due to the complex nature of the legislation–which includes specialized government reporting, employee notification and tracking of employee hours–this will not be an easy task to accomplish for most businesses. This is especially true for small- and medium-sized businesses that do not have the manpower or infrastructure to adequately understand and fulfill the mandated requirements. Efforts to meet the substantial administrative mandates could result in less time being spent on key business activities and/or increased costs for the business.
Manage Health Insurance Costs
If you choose one of the health insurance plans offered through Oasis, not only will you enjoy the affordable health insurance rates, but you'll have peace of mind knowing that in recent years Oasis has had average annual health insurance rate increases that are substantially lower than the industry average. This industry-leading employee benefits management service enables you to better contain your health insurance costs.
Speaking of containing costs, our employee benefits plans (including our health insurance and retirement plans) pose no administration expense or administrative burden to our clients.
Key offerings in our benefits portfolio include:


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Naughty By Nature
One-on-One with Naughty By Nature – Exclusive Interview
After years of steady touring, and itching to get back in the studio, both Treach and Vin agreed that in order for the next album to have the authentic sound and feel of Naughty By Nature, they had to include KayGee.Â
By Brandon I. Brooks
Sentinel Entertainment EditorÂ
Naughty By Nature has a near two-decade long track record of creating hits and party anthem's. Few groups in music can boast a near twenty-year career that has been both consistent and history making.
Since the early 90's, the Grammy Award winning, platinum-album selling trio has smashed through mainstream barriers and helped to forge an everlasting bound between American popular culture and hip-hop music.
When rap music was thought to just be a fly by night genre and was mainly appreciated by a cult underground following, in came the trio Naughty By Nature which brought rap music into living rooms across America and introduced the culture to an entire new audience.
"O.P.P." was the first hit record and video to thrust the group to the forefront of rap music. And when the group later dropped "Hip Hop Hooray", the anthem of all anthems, it seemed as though Naughty By Nature summarized rap music for all fans and critics.
VH1 certified this claim by bestowing the Hip Hop Honor tribute to the group in September 2008, joining the ranks of Big Daddy Kane, Rakim and Eazy E.
Naughty By Nature will forever be seen as ambassadors for hip-hop. If there is ever a certified panel of Hip-Hip judges and critics, Naughty By Nature would sit on the board because they represent the culture for generations old and new.
And now, Treach, Vinnie and KayGee are back in the studio, creating what they do best, undeniably classic, hand-raising, life-affirming, hip-hop music. These three kings of the hip-hop anthem have formally claimed their titles and named their forthcoming reunion album, Anthem Inc. to celebrate.
Fully in control and still setting-trends, the group recently struck up a deal with media giant Microsoft, to cross promote their new single "Get to Know me Better" with the release of the HTC Touch Pro 2 Windows Mobile device.
The Sentinel recently caught up with the trio while stopping through L.A. to perform a concert at the Nokia Live Theatre. Only two of the members were present (Vinnie and KayGee as Treach was delayed due to flight problems) but the group reassured us that they are together and stronger than ever.
Sentinel: Fans noticed that over the last few years you guys were not always together, can you clear up rumors of if you guys were feuding or broke up?
NBN (KayGee): We had our differences and everything as anybody go through but everybody has grown, we are all grown men, we're family, it goes deeper than just music and like Rick Ross say's its deeper than rap. So that's why we here and we are back together doing this. It wasn't nothing major just small differences, that's it.
Sentinel: Your new project is titled "ANTHEM INC, how did the title of the new project come about?
NBN (Vinnie): People always say that Naughty is like the king of the hip-hop anthems and Treach he's our word master. So as all of those attributes started coming and Treach was like, "Yo we should title the album Anthem Inc. and we just ran with it. It's not nothing we came up with, its stuff that people bestow upon you. So they like, ya'll are the kings of hip hop anthems so we just ran with it.
Sentinel: So on this album concept wise what did you guys try to come with?
NBN (KayGee): We just make records and what feels good to us. Like Vin just mentioned, the title didn't come until later so it wasn't like we were trying to live up to a title of Anthem Inc. and trying to make anthems. I mean even in our previous albums like "Hip-Hop Hooray", it just came naturally we didn't try to make an anthem to follow what people or what the fans felt like "O.P.P." was a anthem. We didn't try to make another anthem because like I said people thought we made one before, we just was making partying good feel good records. That's the same thing with now "Get To Know Me Better" and all of the other records we are doing , its just good feel good records. They are party records about having fun and you know when you do those type of records they tend to become anthems at times.
Sentinel: It seems as though you guys now have more creative control, what's going on specifically and what has changed since your last deal?
NBN (KayGee): It's the greatest thing really right now. It's not like we really never had no creative control because we always did. That's one of the things we did because technically we were always on an indie label. Well I think now it's just we have to put in a lot more hours and a lot more work because not only do we have to make the records but we have to make sure everything is followed out from A to Z because it's our own label and we are running it. We are putting our own money behind it and everything right now. It's a lot more detail. It's a lot more work that has to come from us but nobody says it's going to be easy and we kind of like it like that because we have always been hands on.
Sentinel: I know you're here in L.A. performing at the Nokia Theatre, is there an up and coming tour we can look to see you on?
NBN (Vinnie): Our next major run will be with Microsoft and AT&T for the launch of this phone. So we stay touring all year around.
Sentinel: What's going on individually? Acting, producing or maybe even directing?
NBN (Vinnie): Treach is the actor. Me, primarily I am more like the on-line guy and internet guy you know what I mean and marketing and merchandise for the group and KayGee is the music master. He is the man behind all of the production and the beats and he still is developing other artist and stuff like that so we are still the three-man threat.
Sentinel: Tell me about some of the artist you are working with?
NBN (KayGee): I got a young girl I'm working on now named Mila, a Brazilian girl. I'm working on her and I have another group that I actually hooked up with a guy out here (L.A.) and I just did a single song. It's a little different, we are trying something different and it's a dance record. It's a record called the "Shower Song", you can look out for that and the group is called LS1. It's a boy band…and I have another cat named Chris Lawrence and most of the stuff I've been working on has been pop stuff and working on commercials and different stuff whenever. But the main focus now is Naughty.
Sentinel: What statement does NBN want to make this next go around?
NBN (KayGee): At the end of the day I think everybody always respected us not only for making records but being kind of like leaders and doing certain things. We started out always doing the Internet. We were one of the first groups to do our own merchandise and open up a store and do all the stuff like that and start film companies and productions companies and everything like that and I think we are going to continue with doing this phone stuff and dealing with corporate America and evolving as technology evolves. And show the people that classic artist because we don't really like to call it old school or guys that have been around before aint up on the game and don't know what's going on and a lot of the questions or one of the first questions people will always ask is "with technology and with the game changing now, how do you guys adjust? And I think the question should be more or less how are the new guys going to adjust because we up on it (laughs), we've been doing this.
Sentinel: How do you feel about the game right now? Where is it?
NBN (Vinnie): I think a lot of cats that grew up on 90's hip-hop, late 80's and early to mid 90's hip-hop, they miss that era, they miss that flow, they miss that style you know so I guess some of the younger rappers out there right now our generation really can't get with it. But at the same token I have 16, 17, 13 year-old nephews and nieces, they love that. There is a lot of good hip-hop out there, from Lil Wayne to what Drake and them is doing right now and there are tons of underground kids outhere. You will always have your super successful Solja Boy type rappers and as long as they keeping it hip-hop alive, every generation and every era gets to enjoy their hip-hop artist. And then for us, the veteran artist, its up to us to keep servicing our crowd and then you always I guess educate the younger kids too and you keep getting new getnerations of fans. Its not about hatting on whats out there, you roll up your sleeves and keep rokcin and make sure you stay relevant.


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Michael Chiarello Panini Recipe
Michael Chiarello's Mozzarella and Tomato Panini
Michael Chiarello's Mozzarella and Tomato Panini
Michael Chiarello
- 8 slices country-style bread, each ½ inch thick
½ pound whole-milk mozzarella cheese, cut into 12 slices
Sea salt, preferably gray salt
8 Oven-Dried Tomatoes
16 large fresh basil leaves
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
You'll need 2 nonstick skillets to make 4 sandwiches at once, or you can make 2 sandwiches and keep them warm in a low oven while you cook the others.
- First, assemble the sandwiches: On each of 4 bread slices, place 3 slices of cheese. Season with salt, then top with 2 tomato halves, 4 basil leaves, and another slice of bread.
- Heat 2 large nonstick skillets over moderately high heat. When hot, add 1 tablespoon of the butter to each skillet and swirl to melt the butter and coat the skillet.
- Put 2 sandwiches in each skillet and place a heavy skillet on top as a weight; if the upper skillet isn't heavy, put more weight, such as canned goods, inside it.
- Cook until the sandwiches are well browned on the bottom, 2 to 3 minutes, then remove them.
- Add another ½ tablespoon butter to each skillet, and return the sandwiches, browned side up, to the skillets. Weight as before and cook until the second side is well browned, about 3 minutes longer.
- Cut the sandwiches in half on the diagonal and serve immediately.
Serves: Makes 4 sandwiches
- Category
- Main Dishes, Sandwiches
- Cuisine
- North American


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Perfect Bender S-60
Perfect Bender S-60 for bending up to 100° degree, insertion depth from 5-60mm, material thickness up to 1mm.
All Benders come in canvas bags.
Plastic Cases are also available for addition charge, contact us for more information.
For more information and other Perfect Bender products visit the Biegetec website:
Perfect Bender is 100 percent Made in the EU from materials of the best Quality and highest Standards. All parts are CNC Lathe milled, laser cut and assembled in the house own factory. Through the use of only premium materials and years of know-how, inccorporated with Innovations and constant Product development on the highest Level, Perfect Bender sets new Standards on the Market. Precise manufacturing techniques offer the Enduser a longlasting and superb performing tool, guaranteed. This is what Perfect Bender stands for.


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Friday, March 23, 2012
Coolest Book Trailers Ever
So I have a few releases coming out in the next year, and I've been debating whether or not it's worth doing a book trailer for them. I've done one in the past (and one was done without my even knowing about it, for a college project, which was kind of cool). But I wonder whether or not it's really worth it. Do people watch trailers? And if they do, does it convince them to buy the book?
Here are a few truly great trailers that made me reconsider making one:
My friend Daniel Handler, aka Lemony Snicket, did this hilarious one for his latest YA release, WHY WE BROKE UP...
I also love this one for a book I recently read, Veronica Roth's DIVERGENT, even though it's a bit more standard (and considerably less funny):
And finally, one from Cassandra Clare's CITY OF BONES (which has actually been greenlit to be a film, although that doesn't mean there are any guarantees...)
The truth is, rarely does an author get the chance to produce a Hollywood film-style trailer complete with all the bells and whistles. So do you err on the side of doing something a little different, a la Daniel Handler? Or do you try to hit your main plot points to give readers a sense of the storyline?
More importantly...what are the best book trailers you've ever seen?
8 comments:
- Carol Tanzman said...
Earlier, I was at a Teen YA Lit event here in L.A. and the question of trailers was raised. Split decision: one writer felt it was a waste a time (and $); another thought it helped. (however she got her LA friends to make it so she saved a ton of $). So, while many are cool, do they sell books? Everyone wants to know...
- March 23, 2012 at 1:47 AM
- Jordan Dane said...
The first one was funny. It didnt make me curious about the book though. Divergent was probably produced by the publisher by Harper Studios. It felt like a Hunger Games thing with the fiery emblem. It focused on an intriguing question though. The toughest thing about trailers is how to intrigue people enough for them to want to know more, and you need to do it in 30 seconds.
The Cassandra Clare trailer was way too long, the font was hard to read, too much wording, & a bad representation of the book. Poor music. Totally lost my interest & I couldnt finish watching it. But I loved the books.
There's no evidence trailers sell books. Assume that & you won't be disappointed. I still make them occasionally for key books. The ones I made myself got more hits than the ones I paid for. My freebies aren't as good as my professionally made ones, but they are too expensive to do for every book.
Your PR peeps can request your trailer be posted online where your book is sold (amazon, b&n, target, etc) but these retailers request no promo at the end, even the author's website.
If it's in your budget, I'd consider doing one for your first YA. (I did one for IN THE ARMS OF STONE ANGELS. It got posted on B&N.) Make it about the essence of the whole series or about the main character so you can keep using it, but I wouldnt spend a lot on it. See if your house will help.
- March 23, 2012 at 7:20 AM
- Michelle said...
I agree with your analysis, Jordan. Tough to say whether or not they translate into sales.
- March 23, 2012 at 1:19 PM
- Paula Millhouse said...
I agree with Jordan about the Cassandra Clare trailer - liked the books, but not the trailer (What's up with that font?)
And it's too long.
I did one for my first novel Careful What You Wish For...
It was fun to produce, but in retrospect, it's too long, too many words, and it took way too much time to produce. In addition to all those complaints, I have no way to track how it affected sales.
I don't know, Michelle - seems like a great idea, but is it worthy of the time/money it takes to create?
Has anyone here found a way to Quantify what a Trailer means with respect to return on sales?
- March 23, 2012 at 6:47 PM
- Dan Haring said...
I think Jordan's assessment is pretty accurate. Honestly I've never been swayed one way or the other by a trailer. I agree that they can be a waste of time and money if done poorly. But of course that means I had to try to do my own. Luckily I have the software needed to make it look somewhat decent production-wise and a few friends who were willing to work for free. Hopefully someone will see it and maybe take a look at the book. If not, I don't think it's going to hurt the book at all. If you want to check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=_j3yS9OV65M
- March 23, 2012 at 7:11 PM
- Beth W said...
In our movie-minded world, I think trailers help promote the book. However, the things I react to (positively) with regard to a book trailer are different than movie trailers.
The best one I've seen EVER is Starters: http://youtu.be/zvNUsW1CItY
And did inspire me to purchase the book
To me, a book trailer should be brief, not give away the plot (asking a loaded question, telling me everything about the characters, etc), hinge on the primary conflict of the story, tell me when the book is being released, and not have too many special effects.
- March 23, 2012 at 8:57 PM
- Ilsa said...
Really interesting post. I go back and forth on book trailers because I'm not sure who's actually looking at them. A trailer has never influenced me to buy a book. Holding the real article and leafing through it--having the chance to bop around and read various passages--convinces me.
But, for me, the first draw is the cover.
OTOH, as Beth pointed out, maybe we're talking how people express their LOVE for a book after they've read it. That's certainly been my experience with ASHES. People like what they read and want to share that in a recognizable shorthand, eye-candy soundbite.
Still . . . I'm not sold they work as a draw, except on occasion.
- March 25, 2012 at 10:55 AM
- Anita Grace Howard said...
Heehee. That Lemony Snicket one is awesome! He's every bit as charming and comical as I hoped he would be. :) Great post, Michelle. I love book trailers! In fact, I used to do a weekly trailer post every Thursday on my blog.
- March 26, 2012 at 6:49 PM


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I'm testing my
.deb package and cannot find out why it doesn't install the dependencies:
The control file's Depends line is:
Depends: zend-grid-module, postgresql-8.4, ${shlibs:Depends}, ${misc:Depends}
And when I run:
$ sudo dpkg -i zend-grid-module-test-application_1.0.2-2_all.deb
I see:
(Reading database ... 25616 files and directories currently installed.)
Preparing to replace zend-grid-module-test-application 1.0.2-2 (using zend-grid-module-test-application_1.0.2-2_all.deb) ...
Unpacking replacement zend-grid-module-test-application ...
dpkg: dependency problems prevent configuration of zend-grid-module-test-application:
zend-grid-module-test-application depends on postgresql-8.4; however:
Package postgresql-8.4 is not installed.
dpkg: error processing zend-grid-module-test-application (--install):
dependency problems - leaving unconfigured
Errors were encountered while processing:
And after that:
$ sudo apt-get install -y -f
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
Correcting dependencies... Done
The following extra packages will be installed:
The following packages will be upgraded:
1 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 36 not upgraded.
1 not fully installed or removed.
Need to get 0B/43.8kB of archives.
After this operation, 238kB disk space will be freed.
(Reading database ... 25618 files and directories currently installed.)
Preparing to replace zend-grid-module-test-application 1.0.2-2 (using .../zend-grid-module-test-application_1.0.2-2_all.deb) ...
Unpacking replacement zend-grid-module-test-application ...
Setting up zend-grid-module-test-application (1.0.2-2) ...
I don't see the postgresql dependency resolved, though I expect it to be installed with
apt-get install -f -y
Any ideas what I'm missing?


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- News
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TORONTO — Following a stunning NDP performance at the polls on Monday, Jack Layton, Canada's new leader of the official Opposition, vowed to challenge the new majority Conservative government when it's "off track" and to work with Stephen Harper to "get things done" for families.
"Canadians have asked New Democrats to take on more responsibility in Parliament. For the first time in our history, they have asked us to serve as Canada's official Opposition," he said before hundreds of cheering supporters in Trinity-Spadina — the riding of his wife and fellow victorious NDP candidate Olivia Chow.
"We're going to work very hard as New Democrats in the House of Commons to earn the trust that Canadians have placed in us."
Layton congratulated his adversaries and promised to focus on economic growth, lifting Canadians out of poverty, tackling climate change and making Canada a "voice for peace" in the world.
"Spring is here my friends, and a new chapter begin," he said.
"We're committed to making progress carefully and prudently — a practical step at a time just as we have every time our party has assumed office in this country."
By early Tuesday morning, the NDP was leading or in control of 103 seats, many of them in Quebec, where the party had only one seat when the writ was dropped.
While Layton managed to grow his party every election, he smashed predecessor Ed Broadbent's 1988 record of 43 seats to become the first New Democrat to move into Stornoway, the Ottawa home of the leader of the Opposition.
Still, the mood throughout the night seemed tempered by the fact Harper won his coveted majority; getting to work for families was going to prove easier said than done.
It appears vote splitting on the left allowed the Tories to come up the middle as many pundits had predicted in the weeks leading up to the vote when support for the NDP began to skyrocket.
"I think it is terrifying we have a Conservative majority," said NDP supporter Sasha Chapin.
"I'm really upset, but at the same time, I'm really happy with the huge momentum the NDP has."
"I'm kind of angry but I think with the NDP being so strong this time around, they can actually, they can take it next time," added Patty Hails, an NDP supporter for the last eight years.
Overall, it's been a wild ride for Layton, whose campaign got off to a slow start five weeks go. Despite a trip to Western Canada right off the bat, his schedule initially seemed less packed than previous elections and questions were raised about the leader's health.
He'd been battling prostate cancer and had surgery on a broken hip just weeks before the campaign began. Layton looked pale and gaunt at the time and walked with a forearm crutch. There were concerns he might not be able to handle the rigours of a 37-day campaign.
In those early days, he trickled out policy announcements on things such as capping credit card interest rates and hiring more doctors and nurses, but as the country's fourth party that has yet to form a federal government let alone place second, he had trouble getting traction for his initiatives.
There were also suggestions his crowds weren't as large as they'd been in the past and that his speeches somehow lacked passion.
Soon, the Liberals were usurping NDP ground, raising questions about the party's relevance. The Grits had promised to increase the Guaranteed Income Supplement for seniors to $700 million — an idea lifted right out of the NDP book.
It happened around the time Ryan Dolby, the NDP candidate for Elgin-Middlesex-London swapped orange for red, fearing vote splitting on the left might serve to benefit the Conservatives.
It's an idea Michael Ignatieff liked to hammer, but soon, Layton was firing back.
"By now, you have heard some leaders say that you don't have a choice. That it always has to be same," he began repeating in his stump speeches.
"You and I know that's not true."
Then, all of a sudden, things changed.
Layton ditched the forearm crutch for a standard cane that has come to symbolize his fighting spirit. He uses it mostly for balance but he would often lift it high in the air while pumping up supporters.
Soon, the first of more than a dozen public opinion polls had Layton and his NDP in second place behind the Conservatives nationally, and first ahead of the Bloc in Quebec.
Momentum was building and people started talking about the great orange crush. They even brought bottles of the soda to rallies.
Layton's message that "Ottawa is broken" and that only the NDP could "fix it" was resonating and crowds in the thousands started showing up at rallies in places such as Montreal, Saskatoon, Burnaby, B.C. and Scarborough, Ont.
By the end, hundreds stood in the rain just to get a glimpse of their leader. They lined up for photos and autographs and there were moments Layton looked more like a rock star than a politician.
Fewer people were laughing when he talked about becoming prime minister. This did not look like the same old NDP — Canada's social conscience on Parliament Hill. And party officials will say that's because it wasn't.
Layton's efforts to build his ground team in Quebec seemed to be paying off and the fact that his platform was fully costed and vetted by third-party economists seemed to make it more believable.
The party also was matching Conservative campaign spending dollar-for-dollar to the tune of $23 million, and rolled out its most expensive ad campaign ever, using many new social media tools.
But with increased support came increased scrutiny. Layton faced criticism over his economic policies and concerns were raised about his cap-and-trade plan and whether it would generate the revenues needed to fund his "green" initiatives.
Several NDP candidates also were found to be taking mid-campaign holidays and there were questions raised about whether some Quebec New Democrats could even speak French despite the fact they were representing predominantly francophone ridings.
Layton was also the target of a number of negative ads and personal attacks from his opponents, which he rose above, choosing instead to "attack" doctor shortages and seniors' poverty.
Days before the vote, Layton was also the subject of what he called a "smear" job after a Toronto newspaper reported that 15 years ago, he visited a Toronto massage parlour that was under investigation by police as a suspected bawdy house.
Layton said he visited the new neighbourhood establishment for a massage after a workout and left immediately when police told him it wasn't a great place to be.
With files from Linda Nguyen


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PlayStation Vita
SONY's PlayStation Vita exploded onto the scene in early 2012, bringing with it a host of new features that changed handheld gaming forever.
For starters, there's the 5-inch touchscreen - the biggest on any handheld to date, and one that can deliver console-quality graphics. Plus there's another touchpad on the rear, and together these offer unique controls across a wide range of games. In another first, the PS Vita features a second analogue controller, making the standard controls more like that of the PlayStation 3 than the PSP and giving you greater control over a whole host of games. There's also in-built gyroscopic controls, allowing you to move the PS Vita to move within the game.
But that's not all. The PlayStation Vita is very much a handheld for today. There's the option of Wi-Fi or 3G versions, so you can spend as little or as much time online as you like, for both gaming and for the wide range of online and social features, from Facebook and Twitter, to downloading music, to voice and text chat with your friends and more!
There's already a wide range of games available and this will only grow. With graphics and gameplay that's comparable to home consoles, the big name franchises are all making their way to PS Vita, plus there are a wide range of smaller titles and mini-games that make really fun use of the unique controls that the PS Vita has to offer.
Gaming on the go has grown up with the PlayStation Vita.


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Underwater jetpacks with Neemo
ESA astronaut Tim Peake and his Neemo crewmates resurfaced last week after spending 12 days underwater off Florida's Atlantic coast. The aquanauts tested equipment and techniques for future space exploration as well as finding time for educational experiments.
Although only 20 m under the Atlantic Ocean, the voyage home took 17 hours. Living underwater requires a long decompression to allow the aquanauts' bodies to adapt to normal surface pressure.
Being physically cut off from the world above is one of the ways Neemo missions simulate space operations.
All messages between ground control and the aquanauts were delayed by 50 seconds, just as if the aquanauts were far from Earth.
This was one of the first times such a complex mission had to cope with a communication delay. Tim explains why the mission was a success: "At times, up to 100 people were working at the same time, including 20 divers and submersible pilots.
"It ran beautifully, and was all timed to perfection. In a word: teamwork."
Diving underwater is one of the best ways of simulating weightlessness on Earth. The aquanauts spent hours on 'spacewalks' investigating how humans could explore and retrieve samples from an asteroid as well as testing tools and techniques.
In space, even the simplest tasks need to be thought out in detail. For example, chipping off a piece of asteroid requires that an astronaut hold on to something, otherwise he would float away into space.
These problems and more were investigated during Neemo. Several methods of exploring and operating on an underwater 'asteroid' were tested.
Ropes were fastened to the surface of the simulated asteroid and the aquanauts used them to move about.
Jetpacks were also tried. "Manoeuvring in jetpacks proved to be very efficient – and was also extreme fun," says Tim. But the jetpacks were not ideal – they did not provide a stable platform for work.
Underwater vehicles proved to be a better way of working on an asteroid. Submersibles could be driven to areas of interest.
Once in place, aquanauts strapped their feet to the submersible, freeing their arms for scientific work.
Science under pressure
Between the lengthy dives and hard work the aquanauts had time to record a series of "science under pressure" videos.
Experiments were performed at sea level before the mission began and viewers were challenged to comment on what would happen when they were repeated in the underwater habitat.
The first correct entries received certificates of recognition from ESA, NASA and Japan's space agencies.
One of the "Science under pressure" experiments. European suggestions from scientist Sebastiaan de Vet and physics teacher Joe Rowing were chosen to be performed during Neemo.
Two more challenges will be revealed over the next few days. Follow Neemo on social media and submit answers via Twitter or Facebook.
The adventure is over for the aquanauts now, but the Neemo team has much information to analyse.
It might be a while before humans explore asteroids in space but Neemo is providing engineers with vital information for designing future missions.


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Kansas counties await word on tornado relief
Estimates: May storms caused up to $6M in damage
Officials with northeast Kansas counties damaged by tornadoes and flooding in May are waiting to hear if the region will be eligible for disaster relief.
An EF-2 tornado hit Marshall County on May 27, causing significant damage to a business and 28 homes in Marysville. Tornadoes also touched down in Nemaha County on May 28 and flooding was reported across the region after rains of 9 to 12 inches.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the storms did not cause any serious injuries, but a preliminary estimate determined the storms did between $5 million and $6 million damage.
Marshall and Nemaha counties declared a state of disaster emergency after the storms. The area needs to document a minimum of $3.9 million in damages to meet the threshold for state aid.


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Saturday, July 26, 2008
Going to Gilroy to Gorge on Garlic
Sporting press passes (yes, legitimate ones), we'll be strolling the festival's Gourmet Alley, to cover the event for About.com. Of course, I'll also try to capture some the event's flavor, literally and figuratively, to share on this blog.
I'll leave you with a short clip of the beloved Pyro-Chefs, one the festival's most popular draws. They entertain the masses with their famous flame-ups, as they cook huge pans of garlic-drenched calamari, scampi, steak, mushrooms, chicken, pasta, and, well, you get the idea. That they probably all lose their eyebrows seems like a small price to pay for getting to cook all that amazing food. Go garlic!
Photo (c) Naotakem
9 comments:
Ok, this video elucidates a question in me:
I know you chefs always stress not to cook garlic over too high a heat because it will burn and turn bitter. So what gives with literally torching it? Wouldn't this have a similar burning effect?
I'm garlic infused and confused :)
- July 26, 2008 at 11:44 AM
I am so jealous!
- July 26, 2008 at 11:47 AM
Have wonderful time at the GARLIC festival - Tom and I wish we could join Michele and you. Looking forward to hearing about your Gilroy Garlic get a way.
Go GREEN & eat Garlic!
- July 26, 2008 at 12:03 PM
Have wonderful time at the GARLIC festival - Tom and I wish we could join Michele and you. Looking forward to hearing about your Gilroy Garlic get a way.
Go GREEN & eat Garlic!
- July 26, 2008 at 12:03 PM
- Chef John said...
Thanks! We'll let you guys know how it goes. You'll see some pictures hopefully. Ciao, Chow.
- July 26, 2008 at 12:46 PM
- Chef John said...
Yes, you are correct, dark burning garlic is a bad thing, very bad.
BUT, the flame up you're seeing is actually the oil vapor. When they dump the chopped garlic, into the hot oil, the moisture in the garlic mixes with the oil and forms a brief and very flammable cloud.
As soon as the flame up is over (a few seconds) they toss in the calamari, sauce, etc. or whatever, and finish cooking. The garlic itself is not burnt.
- July 26, 2008 at 12:51 PM
Very interesting stuff! Thanks for the reply and have a great time at the stinkfest. I am envious!
- July 26, 2008 at 1:22 PM
Am I the only one who was like afraid someone was going to catch on fire? Holy crap. Too many people flaming at the same time. I'm probably too old to totally enjoy the flaming of such magnatude. I still warn the kids about not running with a lollypop in their mouth.
- July 27, 2008 at 1:43 PM
- Connie T. said...
I went to the garlic festival once. The whole town smelled like garlic.
- July 30, 2008 at 9:38 AM


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Rotary Revue entertains large crowd
BENZONIA - The friendly Frankfort Rotary Club held its 10th annual Community Revue Talent Show on the Friday of Mother's Day weekend, May 11, 2012, at the Benzie Central High School Auditorium, before a very warm and enthusiastic audience. The Revue, which has been held on the Friday of Mother's Day weekend for ten years, is chaired by Lindy Evans, and co-chaired by Dave Jahr.
Pre-show entertainment was provided by local acoustic trio, Triple Shot, whose members include three seasoned musical professionals, Cheryl Wolfram, Sandy McLean, and Hank Cupp. The Benzie Central Chamber Choir, under the direction of Christy Case and Ashley Larimer, sang the National Anthem. They were followed by Frankfort Rotarians who sang "Smile," a song that is sung each week during the regular Rotary meetings. Rotarian, Lindy Evans, performed "Lucky We Met," and then introduced the night's emcees, two locally known personalities, Mary Weishaar, and John Grogan.
Weishaar and Grogan, which sounds more like the name of a good law or accounting firm than the front names for a talent show, proved to be a superior choice this year. They had fun with the audience and performers. Their light-hearted and spirited mood was contagious as they humorously segued from the thunderous applause that followed each performance which ranged from a marimba solo, to piano, vocal, opera, guitar, cello, violin, flute, storytelling, and poetry recitation. Each year it is a last minute guess as to what will become the signal to the emcees that the next act is ready. Last year it was a green flyswatter which appeared from beneath the stage curtain. This year, the emcees had to look up and to the back of the audience to "see the light" flickering from co-chairman, Dave Jahr's mini flashlight.
A returning crowd favorite, the Central State Bank "Chicken Fried Chicks," kept the audience on the edge of their seats with their cliff-hanging commercials promoting the upcoming Frankfort Rotary Club's 50th Annual Chicken Barbecue which will be held on Saturday, August 4th, at Mineral Springs Park, Frankfort. The "Chicks," under the direction of Central State Bank's Michele Hartley, didn't like granny (played by Rachel Clouse, store manager of Wesco in Benzonia) sneaking around grilling their chickens without permission, so they ran her off stage and chased her through the crowd at the end of Act One. They were a little more forgiving of her shenanigans in their follow up commercial at the end of Act Two.
This year's performers included Jaeden Blamer, Rebecca Short, Elizabeth Clutts, Quintin Grabowski, Jim Ribby, Kayla Peabody, Michele Hartley, Amanda Nyson, Megan Marshall, Paige Hansen-Donnan, Vicki Rosseels, Rachel Clouse, Benzie Central Chamber Choir, Hannah Curtis, Meghan Kubit, Aria Grabowski, Jan Stevens, and comedian story teller, Nona Nugent.
Intermission entertainment was provided by another returning crowd favorite, the Curtis Family Band, which has been on the Revue stage for the past ten years. Delicious intermission refreshments were prepared and served by Renee DeWindt and her team of students from the Frankfort Area Schools.
Club President, Alan Luedtke, opened Act Two with a special presentation and comments about current activities going on in the Frankfort Rotary Club. In keeping with this year's theme, "A Decade of Revue," Frankfort Rotarian, Amy Plumstead, put together a memorable five-minute video presentation with pictures from prior years' Rotary Revue performances.
Judging the student performances this year were Mary Carroll, President of the Benzie County Chamber of Commerce; Joshua Mills, Frankfort City Superintendent; and Jennifer Christopher, CPA of Weishaar and Company, who had their hands full with so many very talented students competing for first, second, and third place cash awards. Their work was overseen by Revue Auditor, Lucie Wojack. In the end, the third place winner of $100 was opera singer, Elizabeth Clutts. The second place prize of $150 went to violinist, Aria Grabowski. First place was awarded to Rotary Revue veteran performer and guitarist/vocalist, Hannah Curtis, who took home $200. The People's Choice Award was presented to Rebecca Short, who received a cash award of $200 for her piano/vocal solo.
Evans acknowledged that the Revue could not go on without the full support of the community, adding, "My employer, Central State Bank, has been very generous in allowing significant use of office time, resources, and personnel to put the Revue together."
Evans concluded with a big thank you to the Revue sponsors, performers, fellow Frankfort Rotarians, Benzie Central Schools for the use of their facilities, Renee DeWindt, and to the community for ongoing support of the show. All proceeds from the Revue go to the Willoughby Rotary Foundation, a tax exempt charitable organization under section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The Foundation funds college scholarships for our local area students.


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Rub a dub dub: Who's having the best 2004?
How do local celebrities stack up these days? Let's consider the evidence:
Best-selling Covesville author John Grisham, who shot to fame in 1991 with The Firm, is back at the top of his game, according to the New York Times' Janet Maslin. Here's what she says of Grisham's latest legal drama: ''The Last Juror does not need to coast on its author's mega-popularity. It's a reminder of how the Grisham juggernaut began."
What would you say about a young whippersnapper with the audacity to compete against musical old-timers David Bowie, Tom Waits, and Bob Dylan (average age: 58) for this year's Grammy for "Best Male Rock Vocal Performance"? What would you say if this 37-year-old whippersnapper won for "Gravedigger"? Seven years after leading his band to a Grammy for "So Much to Say," solo Dave Matthews beat out the veterans and fellow 30-something Lenny Kravitz.
Former defensive end for the LA Raiders and Hall of Famer Howie Long led his team to the Super Bowl in 1985. Each Sunday during football season, he leads the analysis on the Fox network. And since 1999, he's led viewers to believe there's something naughty going on between him and Terri Hatcher. Now, he appears on each box of Kellogg's Crispix, the Wheaties of the 21st century. Nothing naughty there.
The verdict is in. Both Grisham and Matthews have appeared on the Forbes list of highest-earning entertainers. So get out there and sell some more cereal, Howie!
John Grisham
Dave Matthews
Howie Long


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The show, with a multi-generational cast of 30, was written and directed by Mark Lord, with original songs by Lord and Joe Ferrante. Musical direction is by Paul L. Johnson and choreography is by Amanda Montoni.
Performances will take place at the Free Synagogue of Flushing, 41-60 Kissena Blvd., on May 4 and 11 at 8 p.m. and May 5 and 12 at 3 p.m.
Tickets are $17; $15 for seniors over 60 and children 12 and under. Tickets are $15 on Mother's Day May.


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Aether 2 inch Round LED Shallow Housing Downlight Trim was designed to fit in tight plenum spaces with complex HVAC ducts, sprinkler pipes, and conduit runs without sacrificing lumen output. Die-cast aluminum trim with extruded aluminum heat sink. 2 inch trim aperture and housing height. 35 degree cut-off angle. 0-25 degree vertical and 360 degree horizontal adjustment. Available in a Brushed Nickel or powder-coated White finish. Dimmable to 0% with 0-10V dimmers (120 & 277V) or to 10% with low-voltage electronic dimmers (120V only). Choice of 2700K, 3000K, 3500K, or 4000K color temperature and 40 degree (flood) or 22 degree (narrow flood) beam angle. Accommodates ceiling thickness of 0.5-1 inches. 5 year WAC Lighting warranty. UL listed. Energy Star. Suitable for wet locations. A complete fixture includes a housing and trim, sold separately.
1 x LED/15W/120V LED
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Hotel magnate, Mo. philanthropist Hammons dies
Prominent hotel developer and Missouri philanthropist John Q. Hammons has died. He was 94.
His company says Hammons passed away Sunday at the Springfield nursing home where he'd lived after stepping away from the company he led well into his 80s.
After his first business went bust in the 1940s, Hammons built subdivisions in southwest Missouri before purchasing 10 Holiday Inn franchises with a partner in 1958.
He went on to build 200 hotels nationwide, avoiding big cities in favor of college towns and state capitals. His expansive real estate portfolio included golf courses and convention centers.
Hammons also donated millions to hospitals, colleges and public television. His name graces so many buildings and streets in Springfield that comedian Bob Hope once joked the city should be named "Hammonsville."


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Christina Ricci Is Pregnant
Actress Christina Ricci is pregnant with her first child, according to PEOPLE. The 34-year-old actress confirmed her pregnancy after she was spotted with a baby bump on Saturday at the LAX.
Ricci is married to James Heerdegen, who worked as a camera technician on the set of her TV show, 'Pan Am.' The two formally announced their engagement in February of 2013 and married last October in New York City.
She started out as a child actress in family films such as 'The Addams Family,' 'Casper' and 'That Darn Cat' in the '90s, and then transitioned to more adult roles with 'The Ice Storm' and 'The Opposite Sex' in the early 2000s. Ricci became an indie queen with breakout roles in 'Pumpkin' and 'Prozac Nation' and has since diversified her portfolio, appearing in films such as 'Black Snake Moan,' 'Speed Racer' and 'Around the Block.'
Congrats to the expecting couple!


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Project Type: Master Planned Community Development
8 - September 2003
Amalgamation of Bahria Town Phases 8 is a master piece example of this very complex but high return act. Nestled between DHA Phases 1-3, Bahria Town has integrated the main road network of Phase 8 with the main road projections of DHA Phases 1-3, master planning at its very peak.
An exclusive Expressway has been completed that connects the master planned communities to the GT Road in 5 minutes. This access is an icing on the cake over the quick access provided to the residents of Bahria Town to DHA and Downtown Rawalpindi.
A main boulevard on the pattern of the Champs - Elysées is being developed in Phase-8; this boulevard will house high rise multi- storied buildings and will be transformed into the commercial hub of Rawalpindi. Existing waterways and parks enhance the housing environment and provide areas for rest & recreation. Adjacent to Phase 8 of Bahria Town, an international standard 18-hole Golf Course is also being developed by award winning Golf Course designer Mr. Gene Bates.
Development work at the Phases 8 is proceeding at full swing. Heavy land moving equipment has been deployed at the site to transform the existing landscapes to the world class housing infrastructure. Only 35% of the available land is being utilized to form the residential plots and 65% of the area has been allocated for the public amenities and facilities. This promises Phase 8 Bahria Town to be the centre of commercial and recreational activity for the residents of DHA as well as other neighboring societies.
Dr. AQ Khan Junior Academy
Picture Gallery


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Friday, May 5, 2017
Been a longgg week. The leadup to the LTDemo showing at LSU last Friday involved the typical intense sprint, followed by the typical intense binge-sleep. Last Friday feels like only yesterday thanks to all that sleep (oh how the great Bank of Sleep always collects...with interest..)
Although it was, in fact, a great 'week' for progress, it was a total and complete failure with respect to my goals from last week. For that I'm thankful!
LTDemo Using 'Real' Systems: Nope. 0%. This was my goal from last week, and I achieved precisely 0% of it. With the showing approaching, I asked myself...would I rather show the same thing with architectural changes? Or would I rather show something better? After all this 'boring' ECS work this month, my self-control simply wasn't there. I worked on things that I wanted to work on. And I'm happy I did...it felt good!
Improvements in Ship Generator + 'Fighter' Specialized Algorithm: Things were getting confusing in the demo with every ship looking (roughly) similar, regardless of scale. To that end, I sketched out a basic 'fighter' generating algorithm, which is fairly rigid at the moment, but does produce things that look more like fighters than the other, 'generic' ship algorithm.
The fighter generator, although simple, is an important step in the generating algorithms: it's the first to use sub-generators for coherence. In particular, the fighter generator leverages a 'wing' generator for obvious reasons. As I move toward more coherent ship generation, I expect more and more of my generating will be factored out into 'component' sub-generators. Cargo bay generator. Engine generator. Cockpit generator. Solar panel array generator (station). This has always been the plan, it's just the first time I'm actually working on it (and the first time I've worked on ship algorithms in...a long time)!
Beam Weapons: I wanted capital ships to be fearsome. So I banged out some beam weapon code and a new shader (assuming, correctly, that I could do better than the old one). It's been quite some time since beam weapons were working in LT (did you...notice that...? Mining lasers, sure...but when's the last time you saw a beam weapon in the update videos? ) It turned out nicely. The initial balancing was...quite poor. It was not a fun time to be a fighter pilot, despite your fancy new fighter ship design (Part of that was that I forgot to put a range cap on the beams...yikes... )
Factions & NPC AI: Factions were loosely-implemented in the LTDemo already, but I wanted a less-loose implementation so that I could expand the gameplay. Factions in the demo now have unique ship designs, their own credit account for spawning new ships, a tech level and a spawn zone. NPC AI now (more) intelligently selects enemy targets based on distance, firepower, etc, and will of course only attack enemy faction assets. Combat AI was split up into distinct maneuvering, target selection, and firing sections, and generally improved.
A note on how this relates to the 'real' LT: you may notice that some of these things, in particular, some of the faction elements, are not in line with how things are supposed to work in Limit Theory. In, shall we say, 'real LT', factions don't have spawn zones. Factions can't just spawn assets by spending credits. There's no such thing as a 'tech level,' only explicit technologies. Although factions do have unique designs, they are supposed to be influenced by factional style traits, which don't yet exist. And, perhaps most importantly, factions in LT aren't first-class things in the way that they are in the demo. They're abstractions created by NPC or human players to manage projects, assets, etc. Behind every faction in LT is someone leading it; the faction is not an autonomous entity. All of these things I have simplified solely for the sake of implementation into LTDemo, but that does not mean that the mechanics for 'real' LT have changed
These additions to factions, by the way, have put me very, very close to having some awesome new gameplay available in the demo, involving growing your own faction by defending successfully against enemy attacks, purchasing new AI ships from your factional credit pool, upgrading weapon technology, etc.
LTDemo -> Real LT, or <void> -> Real LT?: The continued development of the demo begs the question: do I try to build up functionality in the demo and, over time, smoothly transition that functionality to match the gameplay mechanics of Limit Theory? Or am I better off regardling and building Limit Theory separately (by separate I mean...separate Lua scripts; of course they will always share the same engine and utilities), so as to focus on building things as they are intended to be from the beginning? For now I have no great answer, as there are still a great deal of variables in flux...which brings me to my next point...
'Startling' LuaJIT Investigations: For technical reasons, I haven't been able to run LuaJIT in 'verbose' debug output mode until this week. Basically to do so I needed my engine to be built as a shared library (.so / .dll) rather than an executable, which required some build infrastructure tweaks -- more on that in the next segment.
Upon finally having this option available to me, I was able to acquire detailed information about the JIT part of LuaJIT. I won't explain it all, because it's highly-technical. But the short story is: LJ is currently helping me very little compared to what it could be doing. I'm basically killing much of the 'JIT' ability of LJ due to some of the things I do in Lua, meaning that most of my Lua code is being run through a standard interpreter. That's bad. And slow. It also explains my observation a few weeks ago that turning off the JIT engine didn't impact performance very much.
This is actually a welcome development in my ongoing quest to harness LuaJIT. Clearly, it is not nearly as 'flexible' as I had thought. There are certain very basic things that cause LJ to abort potential optimizations. Now that I'm aware, I can do a much better job of avoiding them. I've already significantly pumped up performance of the demo by working to eliminate JIT aborts. But much work remains if I'm to get full utilization of LJ. This is good news. It also means that I will need to re-evaluate the C / Lua split. Drawing that line, as I explained before, is crucial. But if I've been operating under false assumptions about LJ performance (and I have), this might mean that LJ can handle more of the work than I anticipated.
In the extreme case, it could mean I don't need any C ECS or any gameplay-related code living in C (highly unlikely). In the worst case it means everything stays the same Either way, the discovery necessitates that I move 'maximize LJ utilization' in front of 'build and integrate C systems for efficient gameplay code,' as I won't be making well-informed choices concerning which systems to build until I've mastered LJ -- or at least significantly reduced the interpreter fallbacks, which are currently happening way too frequently.
New Build System: Minor news. Born out of frustration with how difficult it is to maintain my builds accross all projects & platforms, I spent a few hours writing a Lua script that works as a build system that's custom-tailored to my needs. No more Makefiles (yes, I wrote Makefiles previously, because ), no more .bat files calling the MSVC command-line tools (yes, again, ). One Lua script that does it all directly. And yes, I know about CMake (LT used to use it), SCons, premake, etc. But it didn't take long at all to whip out something that is optimal for my needs
Other than convenience, the big news here is that I can easily create new sub-libraries for code that doesn't belong in the LT Core, but doesn't belong in LJ either. Gameplay systems match that description perfectly!
Upgraded Website: This one was actually all Talvieno, to whom I gave the task of 'modernizing' the LT homepage a bit by replacing the pictures with more recent ones. He did that and much more. As usual, Nathan has gone above and beyond
Check out the new look for our homepage! (Refresh if you don't see the changes. We're still working on caching issues )
((Addendum by Talvieno: You may need to ctrl+f5 or shift+f5 (depending on the browser) if you don't see the changes/the pages look odd.))
Obviously it was quite a scattered week. Big, but scattered. I'd actually like to do it again. By that, I mean I'd like another week of this. I want to improve LTDemo a bit more; write some of that gameplay code that I've been wanting to write in spite of not having it running on the 'real' C systems. I want to continue investigating LJ, because those investigations may reveal that I don't actually need to run as many things on the C systems as I thought. And maybe some new generating algorithms! That was fun work.
In short, my brain needs a break from all that big, architectural work that happened over the past few weeks. It was draining. I had some fun this week with LT. I'd like to have some more fun in the coming week Consider it a mini-vacation. Except that it's equally (if not more, due to unexpected discoveries...) productive as my non-vacation work
PS ~ Oh yeah, and I brought back the color grading post-fx. Forgot to mention that. Everything's a bit prettier now (plus systems have their unique 'mood' since the grading table is generated procedurally for each system).
Hello again! Talvieno here, welcoming you to this week's edition of "What the heck did Josh just say".
First off, I'm going to talk about the fact that Josh is mentioning working on LTDemo. Wut? LTDemo? Not LT 1.0? Josh is off the beaten path again, isn't he? ...actually, not at all. See, in programming, putting work into a demo program means that you're also essentially putting that work into everything else that needs it: transferring working code between programs is as easy as copy+paste, and working on just what you're working on at the time on lets you prune out complications and distractions. In other words: Josh may be spending time on the "LT Demo", but the work he puts into it ultimately goes into (and gets us closer to) LT 1.0.
In the same way, Josh is working on the fighter generator first so that he can use this code elsewhere; it's a small "stepping stone" toward making beautiful capital ships. I'd like to point out, though, that Josh hasn't put much work into it so far by his own admission; he's not spending silly amounts of time on graphical elements. In fact, he's been working on gameplay elements as well. LT now has working factions, and the AI has greatly improved.
Going forward, he may now merge everything into the new and improved "LT 1.0"... or he may continue doing what he has been. He's at the point where he could go either way. More on that in future updates.
Regarding LuaJIT: Essentially, what all of this mumbo jumbo means is that Josh isn't using LuaJIT to its true potential, and he plans on rectifying that to squeeze as much performance out of it as possible - which means a more interactive, immersive, living world for us.
tl;dr: Josh has been working on performance improvements, and re-implementing gameplay. We're getting back to where we were before - but at an acceptable frame rate this time.
Fri May 05, 2017 10:53 am
Friday, May 5, 2017
"Whether you think you can, or you think you can't--you're right." ~ Henry Ford


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Clash of titans: Sea Horses v. Dolphins at Fairview
The ACAC Dolphins weren't exactly in over their heads, but they were in alien water when they visited the Fairview Sea Horses for a two-day swim meet July 13-14. The two heavyweights of the Jefferson Swim League (JSL) battled it out in a cool pool under a hot sun with an enormous crowd of friends and families in attendance.
The meet has offered fierce competition since its inception, pitting members of an older townie pool against the flashy behemoth with shiny buildings and a large roster.
The enthusiastic crowd kept up a continuous roar that encouraged swimmers and coaches alike. People, lawn chairs, picnic baskets and tents turned the Fairview grounds into a beehive of activity. Even Freestyle sports shop was on hand with a raffle and giveaways.
The JSL offers an almost legendary summer program for area kids. Not only do they learn the fundamentals of competitive swimming, they learn teamwork and good sportsmanship– and often make lifelong friends in the bargain.
In the end, the home team won with 517.5 points to ACAC's 435.5.
The action was intense for everyone.
Fairview Coach J.J. Bean takes the meet seriously.
Fairview teammates sea horse around.
Fairview was packed!
Coach Mo Shrum gives a pep talk to a young Sea Horse.
Chris Trotter is ferocious in the water.


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Meagan Peters
Sponsored By
NTSB: 10 Killed In Alaska Plane CrashAuthorities say an air taxi has crashed at the Soldotna Airport in Alaska, killing all 10 people on board. National Transportation Safety Board investigator Clint Johnson says the pilot and nine passengers were killed in the crash at the airport late Sunday morning. Meagan Peters of Alaska State Troopers says the fixed-wing aircraft was fully engulfed in flames before firefighters could get to the plane. The victims have not yet been identified.


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Is it possible to have my bluetooth keyboard active before I enter into the desktop environment? I'm unable to type in my login and password at the login screen because the Debian hasn't associated with my bluetooth keyboard until I manually tell it too.
Also can I extend bluetooth keyboard useability to Grub's dualboot screen as well?
At this stage I have to plug in my wired keyboard just to deal with these two events. Can you show me how to set up my wireless keyboard to be automatically available at the boot screen, or at least at the login screen.
I'm currently using the default Bluetooth manager with Unity, Ubuntu 11.04, and pairing is rather difficult and non-automated, and does not extend to outside of the desktop environment. (In fact I have to remove it and re-pair it every time and it does not even work reliably.)


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Multitasking and tethering
Mango includes a kind of multitasking. The original release of Windows Phone used a system Microsoft called "tombstoning"; whenever the user switched away from an application, the application was given an opportunity to save its state, and was then terminated by the operating system. On switching back to the application, the app could restore itself from the saved state. This often masked the lack of true multitasking; switching back to an application put you in the same place you were when you left it, so the fact that it got killed off behind the scenes wasn't such a big deal.
Mango improves this with "Fast Application Switching." Instead of tombstoning and terminating applications, they are now merely suspended, and switching back to the application becomes near instantaneous.
To go along with the faster application resumption, task switching has also been improved. Hold down the "back" button and Mango shows you a set of thumbnails for the applications you have running. Tapping one of them switches instantly.
Fast Application Switching still prevents applications from running most code in the background. Software can hand off audio playback and file transfer tasks to the operating system, and these will continue to run even when the program has been suspended.
More general background processing capabilities are also possible with a "background agent" facility. Agents can be "periodic" or "resource intensive" (or both); the former get to run for 25 seconds every 30 minutes; the latter get to run for 10 minutes whenever the phone is locked, powered, and has a Wi-Fi or PC connection.
Though this multitasking ability gives application developers new options, it doesn't address all scenarios. Long-term network connections still aren't an option, meaning that it won't be easy to implement background instant messaging or VoIP applications on the platform. With Microsoft's purchase of Skype, a Skype application is sure to be developed for the platform; how this will work, given the constraints of the multitasking model, is less than clear.
Mango includes tethering, too, albeit with various provisos. Just how extensively the feature will be made available is at this stage unclear, as it has both carrier and hardware dependencies.
A better browser
The operating system's browser is now based on Internet Explorer 9, instead of the Internet Explorer 6/7 hybrid found in the original release. The upgrade provides a substantial improvement both in standards compliance and performance. Though the older browser was for the most part pretty functional (surprisingly so, given its pedigree), the new one is a noticeable improvement. This is particularly apparent on sites such as YouTube; Internet Explorer 9's HTML5 video support enables videos to be directly supported within the Web page, obviating the need for the original release's separate YouTube application.
The browser has also been reorganized. The good part is that its app bar has been moved to the bottom of the screen, making it easier to access and reducing the amount of screen space used for chrome. However, this also results in less space for other buttons; aside from the address bar itself, only the stop/reload button is visible.
In the original release, "add favorite," "favorites," and (for me, most valuable of all), "tabs" all had buttons. Now each of them is on a menu. While Microsoft has data that says the tabs button was not often used, I don't like the trade-off and would prefer the tabs button to be reinstated and the address bar to be a little narrower. Still, given the choice between the new browser and its new interface, and the old browser and its interface, there's no way I'd go back.
Windows Phone's Marketplace has been in many ways a success. The number of applications, in excess of 30,000, is impressive given the lukewarm market reception the operating system itself has received. This is no doubt a reflection of Microsoft's aggressive courting of developers, combined with a strong development environment that uses skills and technologies familiar to millions of developers.
Microsoft has surveyed iOS and Android users to find out about their application preferences, and the company reckons that about 90 percent of application needs are already fulfilled by Windows Phone. This is a good result for such a new platform, but there's still work to do. With Mango, that score should get much closer to 100 percent.
In addition to the multitasking API, Mango is a far richer platform for developers. They can now tap the full power of the hardware—they now have direct access to sensors, the camera, network connections, and so on—which they could not do with the original release. What they do with these new capabilities remains to be seen; applications updated for Mango are still thin on the ground, so it will probably be some weeks before we get a feel for the level of developer interest in the richer capabilities. But one can make some guesses about the kinds of application we'll start to see. The Mango APIs open the door, for instance, to things like the strangely popular "apply a filter to the picture you just took and then upload it" services found on the iPhone.
The Marketplace experience has also been improved. In the original release, each application's information page was just one long scrolling page, with description, reviews, ratings, and screenshots all scrunched up together. In Mango, each application has its own panorama-style description, with separate panes for the description, reviews, screenshots, and related or similar products. This makes browsing and learning about applications a much more pleasant experience.
There's also now a Web interface to Marketplace for easier browsing when not using the phone. There's also an online listing of all your application purchases, along with links to reinstall them. Gaming now includes parental controls, allowing parents to restrict the content their children can play.
Bits and pieces
A grab-bag of little features in Mango fills more gaps. Custom ringtones are now supported (though the process, which involves creating a song of 40 seconds or less and setting its genre to "ringtone," is a little awkward; Microsoft says it is working with application developers to streamline it).
Some carriers will offer visual voicemail. The implementation is simple and straightforward, but it works.
E-mail has also received some polish, with message threading and the ability to link inboxes together. Mango supports multiple linked inboxes, allowing, for example, personal accounts to be linked into one combined mailbox, and work accounts to be linked together into a separate combined mailbox. Mango also includes support for Office 365 accounts in addition to conventional Exchange deployments. E-mail folders can also be pinned to the Start screen to provide information about more than just your Inbox.
Perhaps the most annoying "feature" of the original WinPhone 7 release was the inability to save the settings for the camera application. This is now possible, and there's a "reset to defaults" button in case your saved settings end up making all your pictures look awful. And those awful pictures might be recoverable with a new Auto-Fix feature. As long as you have the right camera settings picked, it should be easier to take good pictures, too, with tap-to-focus. Sharing pictures is better; the Pictures hub now sports tagging and face detection, and has the ability to share videos. Phones built to the newest hardware specification also include hardware-assisted transcoding to make videos smaller.
The Music and Video hub boasts better integration with Zune Marketplace, including on-phone podcast management, on-phone sign-ups for Zune Pass, and more pinnable content. The new Smart DJ feature will take one song or album and find similar music to listen to. Combine it with Zune Pass and it will play you even songs you don't own.
Mango is more business-friendly, with support for Office 365, enforcement of Microsoft's Information Rights Management DRM, server-side Exchange searching, and the ability to deliver custom internal applications. The Calendar application now has a To Do list, built from Outlook/Exchange Tasks.
The result of all this work is that Mango is a heck of a lot more complete. If you look hard enough, yes, there are still some omissions—in particular, the inability to have applications with long-running network connections for instant messaging or VoIP is a great shame. But compared to 7.0, the situation is enormously improved. The only person who won't like Mango is Sir Mix-A-Lot: the big "buts" have all been banished, leaving a platform that virtually everyone can use and recommend without restriction.


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Charity Quiz Night at the Skiddaw HotelSkiddaw Hotel, Keswick Cumbria
Mon, April 8th 8:30 pm - 10:30 pm
Catch up with friends and brush up on your trivia for our Charity Quiz Night.
Entry is £1 per person, with all proceeds going to our Charity of the Year, Keswick School.
Quiz starts at 8.30pm with a fantastic prize every week for the winning team!


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Welcome to the National Park Service's 2017 Presidential Inauguration website. This site will help you find information about the 58th Presidential Inauguration and the role that the National Park Service plays in this historic event. The National Mall, Pennsylvania Avenue Historic Site, and President's Park all serve as the backdrop for Inauguration Day.
2017 Presidential Inauguration
Last updated: January 3, 2017


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Automate with Experience. Get Results.
To help you fully leverage the capabilities of Siemens automation solutions, we've packaged key lessons in easy-to-read communications called CentraBytes. Explore each topic at your own pace to improve laboratory management in centralized settings. Siemens turns a commitment to training into improvements in productivity.
CentraByte Tutorials: Tips for better automated workflows in your laboratory
NEW! Analyzing Your Operations – What Can a Workflow Consultant Do for Your Lab?
Whether you're moving to automation for the first time, upgrading existing systems and IT, consolidating multiple labs, or simply re-engineering your existing workflow to achieve your required level of performance, you need the right expertise.
A workflow consultant is a productivity expert who methodically analyzes a lab's operations and recommends proven solutions to reach specific business and clinical objectives. Learn how a workflow consultant can help your lab to be more efficient and productive, when to engage their services, and how to choose the right one.
New CentraBytes Coming Soon! Sign up to be notified...
Additional courses are available as part of the Siemens Personalized Education Plan (PEP).* Register for a PEP account to learn about Lean concepts such as process mapping, value stream mapping, spaghetti mapping, and more.
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*Patent pending.
The products/features (mentioned herein) are not commercially available in all countries. Due to regulatory reasons their future availability cannot be guaranteed. Please contact your local Siemens organization for further details.