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On a very rainy day this weekend, we decided to brace ourselves and take the KTNTM (kids too numerous to mention) to the Museum of Australian Democracy (MOAD). Hubby and I had been wanting to visit the ol' wedding cake for some time, but were unsure on how the kids would handle it i.e. we feared they would be bored out of their brains and muck up famously.
Anyway, it was a blast! One of our 4 year olds declared MOAD 'the best thing I've ever been too; it had everything'. I kid you not.
Upon entering and paying our very reasonable $5 family fee, the kids collected a map with questions to answer at certain sites along the way. Hubby took off after the boys, while I pondered the front steps of the white building, made famous when Gough Whitlam addressed the media after being sacked by the Governor-General in 1975. I was only an infant at the time, but the grainy television images have become part of me.
There is a grandish entry hall embellished by a statue of King George and portraits of past Prime Ministers. The portraits of Paul Keating and Malcolm Fraser and particularly wonderful. Interestingly, the fleeting Kevin Rudd is yet to make the hall. To the left of the hall is the old House of Representatives (green) and to the right is the old Senate (glorious in red). My daughter and I sat for a while in the Senate, admiring its comfy red leather seats and the stunning timber sourced from Queensland while a kindly guide pointed out the features.
Next we began to traverse the museum proper, including exhibits detailing the history of Australian democracy, the building of the parliament houses old and new, and the history of democracy itself.
There is a wonderful section that features old original movie posters (including Mad Max!) of a political theme, as well as politically themed display of paperback fiction.
Upstairs you can visit the press gallery and media quarters, still equipped with typewriters and radio equipment. The kids all had a go interviewing a politician and listening to the playback. One of the imaginary pollies was mocked for being a 'poo-head' by my astute 4 year old.
Going back downstairs we visited the four corners of the building that housed the Prime Ministers suite, the opposition suite, cabinet room and party rooms. There is also a whole quarter now devoted to children, with historical dress ups, picture books and paper leaves on which the kids can write politically inspired messages and hang on a wooden tree for all to see. It was delightful to see my daughter participate in this activity when earlier I had asked her the question 'do you think your voice can be heard?' and she answered in the negative. Children are the future and deserve to be heard.
I don't really know what it was about the MOAD that captured my children's imagination. Maybe it was the long palatial corridoors to run down or the rabbit warren suites of rooms to get lost in. I felt proud and encouraged by my children's enthusiasm and the gentle inspiration found in the considered displays.
The MOAD is an art deco/neo-classical marvel not to be missed.
In a beautiful coincidence, Julia Gillard visited my daughter's school on the same day I wrote the above post. Today's print media covered the visit, in which the PM announced the appointment of the new National Children's Commissioner. The Prime Minister is quoted in the Sydney Morning Herald as having told the children: 'We've listened to you and we've come up with having a national children's commissioner and we've consulted with you about what that person should do to make sure that government is responsive to the needs of young people. We've been thinking about what's a way of ensuring that the voices of children are heard as government goes about making decisions'.


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Product Details
Oldsmobile Bravada 1991, A/C Accumulator by UAC®. OE Style. Accumulators serve to remove moisture from an A/C system, and are a crucial replacement part for every A/C job. Whether the A/C system utilizes an accumulator, you can rest assured that the highest standards of quality and precision have gone into the design and manufacture of these products.
|Length (mm): 230mm
|Outer Diameter: 89mm
- Helps maintain a desired temperature inside your car
- Made of durable materials
- Ensures reliable performance
- Guarantees high efficiency
- Provides long lasting service life
The products by Universal Air Conditioner provide comfortable driving for you and your passengers all year round maintaining the desired temperature inside the cabin of your car, truck or SUV. These products deliver a superior combination of perfect fit, high efficiency, and long lasting service life. UAC products are made of durable materials which guarantee their reliable performance and excellent durability.
Universal Air Conditioner, Inc. is a leading supplier of top-quality air conditioning parts for automotive, truck and off road heavy duty applications. To ensure premium quality of the products the company developed its own unique process named 'QFP' (Quality, Fit, and Price). Certified by ISO, UAC factories manufacture compressors, condensers, evaporators, and many other reliable HVAC products. The company announces 10-15 new products every week and manufactures over 10 million compressors annually.

subset: commoncrawl


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Kitchen Before & After: A Kitchen Keeps Its Footprint, But Gets An Updated Look
When you're remodeling a kitchen, how do you pick appliances? If you're Kitchn reader Piper, you take two raw chickens to your local appliance store, cook them in two different ovens, and the oven that presents the best cooked chicken wins! (First of all, we'd like to know what appliance store agreed to that!) But this was just one of the tasks Piper tackled while updating her Napa Valley kitchen. Read more about her project and see 'After' photos below:
Piper tells us more about the renovation in her own words:
We took our Napa Valley kitchen down to the studs, but kept the same footprint, and built our dream kitchen. In choosing appliances, we took two raw chickens to our local appliance store and cooked them in two different ovens. Based on that test, we selected our oven.
The project was finished in 2009, and we've been delighted with it ever since. The kitchen was out of date in both design and functionality, and did not have much storage space or a very open feel. Using the same footprint, we updated the look, feel, functionality and gained a lot of storage space. We accomplished this by going to the ceiling with the cabinets, grouping the large appliances on one wall, using clever storage ideas (e.g. an appliance cart in the middle of the island, open bakers rack storage in the pantry), utilizing all walls for drawers and cabinets, and using mirrors to increase visual depth.
We also incorporated ideas such as an electric drawer opener for the garbage drawer so that it opens hands-free when your hands are full of chicken parts, and various specialized drawer fittings.
Thanks so much for sharing, Piper!


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Monday, December 26, 2011
Open Discussion Weekend - What's Your Guilty Pleasure?
Those of us in the genealogy blogging community spend much of our time writing about our own research, sharing our discoveries, reviewing new products and engage in stimulating discussion about our hobby/profession. But if you're like Leah or me, you may have taken a "walk on the dark side" - spending minutes, hours or days with other activities (or addictions) besides genealogy.
Sometimes, I just have to take a break from hanging out with the dead relatives. And those guilty pleasures have been drawing me away from genealogy the last four or five weeks. Well, let's face it, it all started with the arrival of my Kindle Fire, which I've already blogged about in my reviews of the product.
Apps and Games
The device has barely left my side since it arrived, but have I been using it primarly as an e-reader? Not quite. Rather than reading two or three books a week as I did on my old Kindle, I've only read about three books in the last month. What have I been doing instead? Checking out the Android Apps for the Kindle, downloading them, discarding many, keeping quite a few. Angry Birds was much too slow for me, but my time on Treasures of Montezuma borders on addiction.
Then there are the apps for magazine subscriptions - I've definitely been enjoying the tablet versions of Time, Vanity Fair, Consumer Reports and the Smithsonian. I've also been receiving my issues of Family Tree Magazine in digital format (Adobe pdf), which is easy enough to read on the Kindle.
Let's Rock and Roll!
I've also spent quite a lot of time over the past month converting my hundreds of music CDs to mp3 format - to archive on an external drive as well as backed up in the Amazon cloud. And that also means that I've spent quite a bit of time this past month downloading dozens of free Christmas tunes from Amazon. And filling in some of my Sixties music collection with some Greatest Hits collections from my era. And some Rat Pack tunes, and a few modern country as well. It's nice to pull up my cloud collection either on the Kindle or computer and be able to listen to the songs that have provided the soundtrack for my life. In other words, I just finished uploading the entire Beatles catalog to the cloud. Next up is a collection of about 100 Paul McCartney CDs to convert and upload.
Roku Madness
As though playing with the Kindle wasn't enough, about a week and a half ago I bought a Roku video streamer box. Wowee - I though that the DVR had revolutionized the way I consume TV and movies, but since getting the Roku, "regular" TV has not even been on. I already had subscriptions to Netflix and Amazon Prime for live video streaming. I will admit, trying to watch a movie on the Kindle Fire isn't that exciting. A coworker mentioned he had a Roku, so I looked into them and selected one that best met my "needs". Clearly, a Kindle Fire and a Roku were not "needs" of my pioneer ancestors!
In addition to Amazon and Netflix, the Roku offers more than 400 video channels, many of which are free. One of the free channels I like is the BYU channel which includes The Generations Project genealogy show. Hmm ... it seems like I'm trying to justify my guilty pleasures by associating their use to a genealogy application. I've also become addicted to the "24" TV series starring Kiefer Sutherland. I'd never watched it when it aired, so I'm starting with Season One. It's always intrigued me that a non-violent person such as myself happens to love crime shows.
I also find myself frittering away my time with Gene Simmons Family Jewels, Celebrity Apprentice, Amazing Race and Survivor. And the alphabet crime shows such as NCIS and CSI.
So there you have it. I've come clean about my "dark side" away from genealogy. Do you have the courage to admit to your guilty pleasures? If so, please post in the comments section below.
10 comments:
Oh, dear, this is a dangerous topic. Music is my main temptation. I cannot enter the iTunes store without being tempted to spend a fortune. I cannot get on YouTube to find some good music clips without getting totally sucked in and spending a minimum of three hours. And when my daughters and I started viewing "cute clips" on YouTube, the waste of time is monumental.ReplyDelete
Oh goodness....well, I can lose myself is reading for days at a time. This might not sound like a guilty pleasure, but I am talking "trashy" mystery series....things with NO educational or literary value. And by lose myself let me be clear - I often lay on the couch all day snacking and reading from the time I get up until dark...and then wonder where the day went :-0ReplyDelete
OK, I went through a 2-year phase of Farmville and you know it's an addiction when it starts impacting your genealogy. This was serious. The Kindle Fire and too many obligations were my 12 step program to recovery. My son and I spent 6 hours one night taking turns playing Angry Birds on the Kindle. That was fun but way too intense. Streaming Netflix and reading books with Kindle/Amazon Prime are probably going to be my getaway from genealogy in 2012.ReplyDelete
Hmmmm, guilty pleasures.... Let me think. I guess reading and although it's been a while, I enjoy crocheting and cross-stitch.ReplyDelete
I enjoy eating lunch out with my friends and visiting family (living ones of course!)
I do watch TV and take advantage of watching reruns of shows I missed on Xfinity. I also play a few games like Words with Friends and Sims.
Certainly not housework!ReplyDelete
When not doing genealogy related activities I spend hours researching and planning our next holiday. I always need to have one or two journeys in the pipeline. Presently I have three in planning and am trying to convince Mr Geniaus to take a 72 day cruise around South America in 2013.
I love playing with and digitising my photo collection - family history for future generation.
Taking a daily dip in our pool takes care of the guilt about getting exercise.
Reading widely and watching home shows from the UK on the box account for the rest of my waking moments.
My grandson Jack is my not-so-guilty pleasure! I spend a lot of time with him, which I wouldn't trade for anything. Oh, and I have a major television addiction.ReplyDelete
My guilty pleasure since early November is no secret to any of my FB friends ... AMC's new series "Hell On Wheels" is my latest addiction. I haven't strayed very far from my love of history, the show is about the transcontinental railroad being built across Nebraska. The star of the show (very easy on the eyes) was quoted in the press as having a Confederate Colonel for an ancestor .. humm must be his mother's line because his father's male line fought in the Indiana Calvary .... that made him a Yankee. You can fool some of the people some of the time, but genealogists have too many cool tools for fact checking ;)ReplyDelete
I went by an earlier post on this subject, and did not comment, but, for Susan, I'll add my 'male' two-cents worth. Genealogy is no more than a third of my 'passion,' anyway, so I may not qualify to comment. Family a third, my other writing, a third - in an overall sense. So, no need for 'guilty pleasures' - just move from one third to the other to gets lots of variety. One point of view. Thanks! Best Wishes! Happy New Year! Off to Austin in the a.m to spend a week with grandkids! ;-)ReplyDelete
I did smile at your comment about taking "a break from hanging out with the dead relatives" A guilty pleasure? No question what came immediately to my mind - chocolate! I have long been a chocoholic, but have recently convinced myself with the publicity regarding the health benefits of high cocoa content bars and try to make one bar last at least the week with a square a day.ReplyDelete
Other pleasures aren't so guilty - I am an avid watcher of "Strictly Come Dancing" on TV and an avid listener to Classic FM, Taking time to curl up on the sofa with a good book (nothing too heavy) during the day still seems a luxury and other highlights include being with my little granddaughter, meeting friends for coffee and spending time on various crafts - scrapbooks, cross-stitch and patchwork.
Susan, thanks for the reference! It's so good to know I am not alone out there! :-)ReplyDelete


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Handmade whimsies of felt and yarn, including a number of adorable animals and tweed hats made for man's best friend. And for the crafters, skeins of core spun art yarn made of luxurious fibers such as merino, silk, bamboo and baby camel hair.
Bull's Eye Mercantile
Earrings and other adornments created from spent bullet casings and embellished with colorful cabochons. Made with firearm and shooting enthusiasts in mind—but some of us nongun folk find these crafty originals hot.
Baby Blastoff
Designs by Emily Bennett in a fun variety of styles and colors that don't adhere to gender norms. Your favorite baby will make a statement in a Pretty Princess Dump Truck or Mr. Tough Guy Whisk onesie.
Urban Footprint Design
A modern artist prints typographical maps of your favorite U.S. cities or states, even international destinations. The maps are composed of the names of cities, towns and prominent landmarks artistically typeset to resemble the region.
Insane Jellyfish
Simple, playful, handmade sterling silver jewelry by Erin Higgs. Show off funky style and personal taste with skull-and-crossbones earrings and "I <3 sushi" keychains.
Gryphon's Egg
The imagination runs wild with this shop full of handcrafted latex masks. Gargoyles, steampunk gas masks and our favorite, the modern superhero mask. The shopkeep will even make a superhero mask to order if you're looking for a particular color.
Nat's Custom Hats
Custom crocheted hats galore. Find cute caps for infants up to adults in a range of styles—including animals (giraffe, monkey and hippo), pop culture (Yoda, Pooh Bear, Thing 2 and Thing 1) and unique designs by the crochet master.
Willa June Jewelry
Warm, earthy jewelry designs in copper, silver and bronze. Get a personalized money clip made of bronze clay stamped with any name or word you'd like.
Moon Gipsies
This multifarious shop is brimming with delightful finds, including crocheted scarves, vintage men's ties, jewelry and envelopes made from recycled books. We love the upcycled guitar picks made from old credit cards.
Sowelu Studio
Soap! And bath salts (not the blue meth kind). Get four bars of homemade goat milk soap in your choice of fragrances, such as peppermint, cucumber, Asian plum and dirt. Yep, dirt!
Mon Amie Paperie
Creations with paper, like roses, 3D butterfly wall adornments, table centerpieces, rings and more. Our fave is the recycled atlas paper lantern made from pages of discarded books and maps.
The Creative Cookie
These aren't just cookies—they're little edible masterpieces. Sugar cookies baked fresh-to-order and decorated with royal icing in a variety of creative designs including pirates, sugar skulls, superheroes and Star Wars.
Little Tree Wooly Works
Woolen mittens. Woolen pin cushions. Woolen laptop sleeves. Even woolen bowls! All felted, all handmade and all pretty darned awesome.


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Disney Adapting Live Action 'Beauty & The Beast'
Tale As Old A Time…
Looks like Disney is giving all the fairy tales a new life.
Variety is reporting that the Mouse House has tapped Bill Condon, most known for The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn films, to direct a live action movie of Beauty & The Beast.
While no plot details are known at this time, Disney's animated version of the classic tale by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve, grossed over $375 million worldwide, spawned a Broadway play and became one of the few animated pics to receive a best picture Oscar nomination.
ARE YOU EXCITED for a live action tale?
Posted to: Beauty & The Beast, Movies


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Find Our Latest Video Reviews on YouTube!
If you want to stay on top of all of our video reviews of the latest tech, be sure to check out and subscribe to the Gear Live YouTube channel, hosted by Andru Edwards! It's free!
It's Tiger Day - The New Mac OS Launches
Posted by Andru Edwards - Categories: PC / Laptop, Software,
I am thinking that, while only 5% of computers sold are Mac's, today's Tiger release is going to be a big deal. Despite the efforts of some to see that it didn't happen, Apple is going to be launching Tiger in a big way. Be sure to hit your local Apple Store to be a part of the festivities.
Black & White 2 Trailer
Posted by Andru Edwards - Categories: PC, Strategy,
I have come to learn that Peter Molyneux's team over at Lionhead Studios can tend to me more flash than substance. I remember buying the original Black and White years ago at launch because of all that I had read about it for years prior to that. As it turned out, the game was just okay. Now, a trailer for the sequel has hit the Internet, and while it looks good, to me it seems a bit too close to the original. Take a look and decide for yourself.
Read More | 3DGamer
Griffin TuneJuice 9-Volt iPod Battery Pack
Posted by Andru Edwards - Categories: Accessories, Portable Audio / Video,
If your iPod seems to be running out of steam at the most inopportune moments, then the Griffin TuneJuice might be your kind of thing. Simply put, it is a backup battery for dockable iPod/iPod mini units which is powered by a 9 volt battery. I can't even name the last time that I actually purchased a 9 volt battery, but maybe that's just me. The TuneJuice will provide another 8 hours of life to a partially charged iPod, but only 4 hours if the iPod is completely drained. You can pick one up for $20 bucks.
Read More | Griffin TuneJuice
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The Final Cut: A Look at The Hitchhiker's Guide Movie and History
Time for another weekly column, Gear Live style. Our new columnist, Devin Roberson, will be bringing you the latest from the entertainment world each week in her column, The Final Cut. Why Devin? Well, for starters she is into movies and television. Secondly, she jives with our steelo. This week she gives us a bit of background on The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy:
This Friday gives us the release of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", a movie based on a 1978 radio comedy series by Doug Adams, who also wrote the screenplay(along with Karey Kirkpatrick) for this film. Many fans of the Guide may also remember Adams' "trilogy" of 5 books(the series was first dubbed a trilogy after the release of the 3rd book, and the title has stuck ever since) that he began writing shortly after the radio series: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1979), The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (1980), Life, the Universe, and Everything (1982), So Long and Thanks For All the Fish (1984), and Mostly Harmless (1992).
Click to continue reading The Final Cut: A Look at The Hitchhiker's Guide Movie and History
Tiger Direct Tries To Knock OS X Tiger Off Course
Posted by Andru Edwards - Categories: Corporate News, Software,
I love stupid lawsuits - they put a smile on my face. This is why I chuckled with glee as I read the email telling me of how Tiger Direct - one of the worst IT resellers around - has decided to sue Apple over the Tiger moniker. Apparently, they don't like how Apple has been referring to their new operating system as "Tiger", and go on to say that the suit is meant "to stop further damage to Tiger Direct's well-known Tiger brand." Wow. Good thing they waited until the day before Tiger is set to be released to drop that one on us. Good show.
Read More | Bloomberg
iTunes Turns Two
Posted by Andru Edwards - Categories: Portable Audio / Video, Software,
For those not keeping track, today marks the two year anniversary of Apple's launch of the iTunes Music Store, accompanied by its proprietary DRM format which would only play on an iPod. Sure, Real has tried and tried again with Harmony to get onto Apple's popular little player, but Apple doesn't like it. Alas, I await the day that iTunes offers a choice of format to download, so the tracks can be played on any player I want. Bah, who am I kidding? Ever since I discovered sites like this, I haven't had a need for iTunes.
Atari Flashback 2.0
Posted by Edwin Soto Categories: Retro,
Sweet, sweet 70's and 80's bliss. Atari will soon be releasing this throwback Atari 2600 system for $30 bucks. It comes preloaded with 40 games, and this time it has A/V cables instead of an RF unit. Reminisce the 2 bit world with the wood canvas and the sweet joysticks.
Read More | Kotaku.com
Wal-Mart Introduces Customized Music CDs
Posted by Oscar M. Cantu Categories: Internet, Music,
The ability to pick and choose your music collection through an online music store is great. Shelling out $13 for a CD where only two or three songs are to your liking is not our kind of deal – hence the popularity of online music stores. However, what about the users without broadband or those people that still do not have a CD burner? That's where Wal-Mart wants to capitalize. Now you have the option to pick and choose what songs you want on a CD and have Wal-Mart burn the CD, pretty it up with nice graphics, and mail it out to you. All this for a price of $4.62 for three songs, and 88 cents for each additional song with shipping set at $1.97. This is a nice alternative for some - we will stick with Russia for our music.
Read More | Wal-Mart Product Page via Yahoo News
Microsoft Ships Windows x64
Posted by Oscar M. Cantu Categories: Corporate News, Software,
After a very long wait, software has finally caught up to hardware. Well at least when it comes to Microsoft. Windows XP Professional x64 Edition and Windows Server 2003 x64 Edition has been shipped on Monday. These operating systems are set to function on AMD's and Intel's 64-bit microprocessors and cost the same as the 32-bit versions of the OS. Finally we get a Windows tailored to the chips, but early adopters beware. Since this is basically a re-write of the OS, all the drivers need to be re-written as well. This means that even thought the OS comes with over 16,000 drivers there's a chance there will be at least one driver you need and cannot find. Check the OS out and tell us what you think.
Read More | CNN
Xbox 2/360 Controller PC Compatibility
Posted by Oscar M. Cantu Categories: PC, Xbox 360,
Will Poole, Microsoft VP, confirmed on Wednesday that the controller of the Xbox 2/360 will be compatible with Microsoft's next operating system, Longhorn. Just how it will be used on the PC has yet to be known. Will the next Xbox blur the lines between home entertainment and personal computer just like Mr. Gates dreams? Sure seems like it. Needless to say, we will not know for sure just what role the Xbox 360's controller will play in the next Microsoft OS for possibly months to come.
Read More | Total Video Games
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YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Pushing back hard at a new ad by political opponents, Vice President Joe Biden and former President Bill Clinton accused the Mitt Romney campaign Monday of saying "absolutely anything to win" and engaging in an attack on President Obama's auto industry record that is "the biggest load of bull in the world."
Speaking at a campaign rally in Ohio with former President Clinton, Vice President Joe Biden takes on what he sees as "patently false assertions" found in a Romney auto ad.
Related: Jeep ad caps Romney effort to recast opposition to auto bailout
The tough rhetoric comes after the Romney campaign launched an ad in Ohio claiming that ""Obama took GM and Chrysler into bankruptcy and sold Chrysler to Italians, who are going to build Jeeps in China."
Speaking to over 4,000 supporters in Youngstown, Clinton flatly decried that as "bull."
"It turns out, Jeep is reopening in China because they've made so much money here, they can afford to do it and they are going on with their plans here," he said. "They put out a statement today saying it was the biggest load of bull in the world that they would ever consider shutting down their American operations. They are roaring in America, thanks to people like the people of Ohio."
Biden, whose stump speech was even more littered with folksy appeals than usual as he shared the stage with Clinton, accused Romney of "pirouettes more than a ballerina" on his auto industry stances and called the ad "an absolutely patently false assertion."
Mitt Romney campaigns in the critical battleground state of Ohio as a poll shows a dead heat between the governor and President Obama. Watch the entire speech.
"Ladies and gentlemen, have they no shame!?" he added. "I mean, what? Romney will say anything, absolutely anything to win, it seems."
Obama's record on the auto industry bailout is largely credited for buoying his poll numbers in swing state Ohio, a firewall Romney is eager to burn through.
Biden on Monday also accused Romney of proposing to "liquidate" the auto industry, a claim that the GOP nominee vigorously contests.
"Today, Vice President Biden falsely claimed that Mitt Romney wanted to 'liquidate' the auto industry, and was dishonest about the administration's own record," said Romney spokesman Ryan Williams. "Mitt Romney's support for loan guarantees and warranties for the U.S. auto industry is clear. The Obama campaign is less concerned with engaging in a meaningful conversation about his failed policies and more concerned with arguing against facts about their record they dislike."


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22 October 2006 17:30
他的貓咪藍眼睛: Live Writerfox:Firefox Add-on for Windows Live Witerby wordsleft
好用的BLOG編輯工具Windows Live Writer,現在有FOR Mozilla 跟 FIRFOX 的瀏覽器擴充套件嚕
1 (1 marks)
Founded in late 2003 and heartquartered in France, we are non-profit and independant.
We believe in the open web, think internet services should be sustainable, build for the long term.
While we are re-launching the service, we only accept new members through invitation.
last mark : 28/11/2006 13:06


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Chapter 12 - The Time Machine by H. G. Wells
Chapter 12 & Epilogue. Classic Literature VideoBook with synchronized text, interactive transcript, and closed captions in multiple languages. Audio courtesy of Librivox. Read by Mark Nelson. Playlist for The Time Machine by H. G. Wells: www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB616CD9FAB777696 The Time Machine free audiobook at Librivox: librivox.org/the-time-machine-by-h-g-wells/ The Time Machine free eBook at Project Gutenberg: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/35 The Time Machine at Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Time_Machine View a list of all our videobooks: www.ccprose.com/booklist


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The Grand Unified Theory On The Economics Of Free
from the have-fun-with-it dept
First off, and this is key, none of what I put forth is about defending unauthorized downloads. I don't download unauthorized content (never have) and I certainly don't suggest you do either. You may very well end up in a lawsuit and you may very well end up having to pay a lot of money. It's just not a good idea. This whole series is from the other perspective -- from that of the content creator and hopefully explaining why they should encourage people to get their content for free. That's because of two important, but simple points:
- If done correctly, you can increase your market-size greatly.
- If you don't, someone else will do it correctly, and your existing business model will be in serious trouble
From a high-level perspective, though, the reason that giving non-scarce products away for free will increase your market size goes back to the same Thomas Jefferson quote that we kicked the series off with:
If nature has made any one thing less susceptible than all others of exclusive property, it is the action of the thinking power called an idea, which an individual may exclusively possess as long as he keeps it to himself; but the moment it is divulged, it forces itself into the possession of every one, and the receiver cannot dispossess himself of it. Its peculiar character, too, is that no one possesses the less, because every other possesses the whole of it. He who receives an idea from me, receives instruction himself without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening me.What Jefferson noted is the wonderful feature of a non-scarce, or infinite, good that it is effectively a free resource. Once created, it costs nothing to give to someone else, and you still retain the original. In fact, economists have finally realized that this is the very key to economic growth and progress. The infinite resource known as an "idea" that improves what was already there is what increases the size of a market. Or, putting it another way, that infinite resource of a new idea makes an existing scarce resource more valuable. It's easy to understand that when it's an idea applied to, say, a machine making it more productive -- but it also applies to any infinite resource appropriately bundled with any scarce resource.
The way it works is actually quite easy and fits in with the same basic economics that's always been in place. Knocking down the barriers of artificial scarcity opens up tremendous new opportunities -- just as knocking down the artificial scarcity known as "protectionism" helps to grow markets by creating new opportunities. In this case, those new opportunities have only increased in number as we've gone digital, making more content infinite in nature. Where some people have trouble is that those new opportunities may be in different places than the existing opportunities -- and those new opportunities may not all be capturable by the creator of the content. Indeed, there will be some externalities created by the free flow of an infinite resource. However, the total amount that any content creator can capture is still much larger than it was before. It's one of those cases where getting 20% of a huge pie is much better than getting 90% of a tiny pie.
You just start by redefining the market based on the benefits of what you're providing, rather than the specific product you're selling. If you're focused on selling the benefits, then discovering a better way to sell those benefits is seen as a good thing, rather than a threat. You then break down the different components that make up those benefits that you're selling -- and you begin to recognize that every bundle of goods and services that make up the benefit you're selling has components that are scare as well as components that are infinite. In fact, if you look closely enough, you realize that any scarce product you buy actually has infinite components while any infinite good you see also tends to have scarce components.
Once you've broken out the components, however, recognizing that the infinite components are what make the scarce components more valuable at no extra cost, you set those free. Not only do you set those free, you have every incentive to create more of them, and encourage more people to get them. You break them into easily accessible bites. You syndicate them. You hand them out. You make them easy to share and embed and distribute and promote. And, yet, all the while, you know exactly what scarce resources those non-scarce goods are tied to, and you're ready to sell those scarce resources, recognizing that the more people who are consuming the infinite goods, the more valuable your scarce resource is.
So, the simple bulletpoint version:
- Redefine the market based on the benefits
- Break the benefits down into scarce and infinite components.
- Set the infinite components free, syndicate them, make them easy to get -- all to increase the value of the scarce components
- Charge for the scarce components that are tied to infinite components
- Redefine the market: The benefit is musical enjoyment
- Break the benefits down (not a complete list...): Infinite components: the music itself. Scarce components: access to the musicians, concert tickets, merchandise, creation of new songs, CDs, private concerts, backstage passes, time, anyone's attention, etc. etc. etc.
- Set the infinite components free: Put them on websites, file sharing networks, BitTorrent, social network sites wherever you can, while promoting the free songs and getting more publicity for the band itself -- all of which increases the value for the final step
- Charge for the scarce components: Concert tickets are more valuable. Access to the band is more valuable. Getting the band to write a special song (sponsorship?) is more valuable. Merchandise is more valuable.
So there you have it. After many months, one single summary of the economics of "free" and how it can be used to anyone's advantage. It's not about defending unauthorized downloads. It's not even about getting rid of copyright -- just recognizing that copyright holders can actually be better off ignoring their own copyrights. It's very much about showing the key trends that are impacting all infinite goods -- and pointing out a clear path to benefiting from it (while making life more difficult on those who refuse to give up their old business models). And we're giving it to you all... for free. So, enjoy.
If you're looking to catch up on the posts in the series, I've listed them out below:
- Economics Of Abundance Getting Some Well Deserved Attention
- The Importance Of Zero In Destroying The Scarcity Myth Of Economics
- The Economics Of Abundance Is Not A Moral Issue
- A Lack Of Scarcity Has (Almost) Nothing To Do With Piracy
- A Lack Of Scarcity Feeds The Long Tail By Increasing The Pie
- Why The Lack Of Scarcity In Economics Is Getting More Important Now
- History Repeats Itself: How The RIAA Is Like 17th Century French Button-Makers
- Infinity Is Your Friend In Economics
- Step One To Embracing A Lack Of Scarcity: Recognize What Market You're Really In
- Why I Hope The RIAA Succeeds
- Saying You Can't Compete With Free Is Saying You Can't Compete Period
- Perhaps It's Not The Entertainment Industry's Business Model That's Outdated
- An Economic Explanation For Why DRM Cannot Open Up New Business Model Opportunities
- Recognizing That Just About Any Product Is A Bundle Of Scarce And Non-Scarce Goods
- Scarcity Isn't As Scarce As You Might Think


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"We started off pretty strong," Bisons' coach Charles Morrow said. "To be fair, we missed several opportunities we should have done better with.
"Going forward we looked more organized than we did in our first two games. The guys are getting a sense of what to expect from each other on the field."
The win was the first for the Bisons this season in three appearances. They opened with losses to Southern Methodist and Tulsa in the SMU Classic in Dallas. The Bisons retained the lessons they learned from those losses and put them to use in the Gardner-Webb game.
"Defensively we looked a lot stronger," Morrow said. "We worked as a group defensively. We put Gardner-Webb under pressure and won the ball. That was good to see."
Miguel DaSilva struck first for the Bisons with his first goal of the season at 23:03 of the first half. Garret Pettis was credited with the assist.
Gardner-Webb tied the game at 30:07 on a goal by Jon Reinharden.
In the second half the Bisons broke the 1-1 tie at 66:50 on a goal by Andrew Chamberlain. Isaac Pile assisted on the goal.
"It was unfortunate that we let them back in the game," Morrow said. "That gave them some life. But our guys responded well and fought back.
"We got the second goal and we didn't slow down after that. I thought there was a lapse after we scored the first goal. We were content instead of pouring it on."
At 76:25 Pettis scored his second goal of the season. He was assisted by Joey Chiappetta.
"I think it is a positive that teams can't just key on one person," Morrow said. "We have a number of guys who can create good opportunities and put themselves into good positions to score."
Morrow singled out Pettis for how hard he worked during the game.
"Garret carried a lot of the load," Morrow said. "He was very active up top. He has all of the qualities that make a good forward. He can strike the ball. He can receive a ball with defenders on his back. He can run at defenders one-on-one.
"A lot of it is understanding the game. The difference from this year to last year for Garret is his work rate is back."
Gardner-Webb made 16 shots, seven shots on goal. The Bisons attempted 13 shots, six on goal with Pettis leading with two. He also led with six shots overall.
Lipscomb goalkeeper Brent McGee was credited with six saves.
This was the third straight win for the Bisons over Gardner-Webb, 1-2-0, a former Atlantic Sun Conference team.
Sunday at noon the Bisons face Centenary, 0-2-0, in the second round. Centenary lost 5-2 to host Belmont in the second game Friday night.
"Centenary plays the same system as Gardner-Webb which is good for us," Morrow said. "We don't have to get ready for something completely different. They are a team that will work hard."
Written by Mark McGee, Senior Publisher/Director of Media Relations.


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March 16, 2009
Terre Haute, Ind. – The MIT women's track and field had an excellent weekend at the NCAA Division III Championship, placing three athletes on All-America podium en route to a tie for 16th place out of 68 teams competing at the meet. Emily Hwang, Portia Jones and Amy Magnuson captured All-America accolades for the Engineers.
Hwang opened up the weekend in the pole vault on Friday afternoon. The senior entered the event seeded fifth based on her season best vault of 12-6 feet. Hwang cleared her first four heights on the first attempt and was one of six vaulters to make it over 12-4 feet. She secured fifth place after being unable to clear 12-8 feet on three tries.
In the 55-meter hurdles, Magnuson was able to improve her season-best time twice, running 8.23 seconds in the trials before finishing third overall with a time of 8.22 seconds in the finals. Magnuson was Tech's highest overall finisher in any event at the Championship.
Freshman Portia Jones fared well in the first National Championship of her young collegiate career. After winning her preliminary heat at 400 meters, Jones finished eighth overall with a time of 58.25 in the finals.
Jacqui Wentz was the final entrant in the meet for the Cardinal and Grey in the 5000m. Wentz entered the meet with the fastest time in the nation at that distance, having run 17:05.20 at the Terrier Classic in late January. She was able to position herself in the middle of the pack through the first half of the race before falling back to a 13th place finish, finishing in 18:01.62.


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Soldiers of the Task Force 04 were able to capture Nedunkerni in Mullaithiv district today (21st). Nedunkerni is of strategic importance as it's one of the main townships located along road which connects Vavuniya and Mullaithiv. Troops have been laying siege to this town for 2 days and were able to take complete control of it by today morning.
Meanwhile the LTTE launched a large scale counterattack in northern front yesterday (20th). The counterattack originated from north of Iranamadu and it was evident that the LTTE had used it's best cadres equipped with body armor and helmets. SLA units fought valiantly but had to abandon half a kilometer stretch of land (which was recently captured). Around 30 soldiers were killed in this incident. Confirmed LTTE casualty details are not available as of this moment. SLA have been expecting LTTE counterattacks from direction of Iranamadu. Despite these attacks, SLA operations are continuing in this area.
Meanwhile LTTE radio transmissions have revealed that two of their senior female sea tiger cadres had gone missing on the 19th, after the SLAF conducted an airstrike near the Nayaru lagoon. Both were regional leaders of the LTTE and were identified as Siran and Suhandini. The LTTE also lost a vessel used for arms transport last week.
(Defence Net)


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Lucroy, Crew won't take downtrodden D-backs lightly
CINCINNATI -- When dissecting the goings-on of a struggling team, a baseball season really could be sectioned off into three categories.
1. It's early.View Full Game Coverage
CINCINNATI -- When dissecting the goings-on of a struggling team, a baseball season really could be sectioned off into three categories.
1. It's early.View Full Game Coverage
2. It's still early.
3. Is it too early to panic?
In the case of the head-scratching Arizona Diamondbacks, their start to this season remains a mystery.
They started off abysmally bad, losing 18 of their first 23 games, a .217 winning percentage. This is hard to grasp not because it's unprecedented -- after all, plenty of teams just aren't very good and have the record to show for it. But the D-backs are different. They weren't supposed to be that bad, and, mostly likely, as the season progresses, they won't be.
So, five weeks into the season, you could probably file the Diamondbacks under No. 2: It's still early.
That's why the Brewers, who entered play Sunday with the best record in baseball at 21-10, have no plans to let their guard down when they host Arizona for a three-game set beginning Monday. The Diamondbacks -- who, by the way, picked up the pace a little bit after their 5-18 start, winning six of their next 10 -- are unquestionably not this bad. And opponents know this.
"That's the great thing about the game of baseball," Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy said. "Any team can beat any other team. It's not always bigger, faster, stronger."
On paper, where the games are not played nor are they decided, the Brewers are the clear favorite. The ERAs of the Brewers' three probable starters are 5.00 [Matt Garza], 3.13 [Marco Estrada] and 2.04 [Wily Peralta]. The D-backs, on the other hand, are 5.79 [Mike Bolsinger], 3.77 [Josh Collmenter] and 6.03 [Bronson Arroyo].
Overall, Brewers pitchers have the third-lowest ERA in the National League at 3.01. The D-backs? The highest, with a 4.97 ERA.
But none of that gives the Brewers any reason to believe this series will be a cake walk. That's just not how a six-month season works when you're talking about baseball at the highest level.
"Guys are going to start off slow," Lucroy said. "They're going to have slow months. It's a long season. You never know what can happen. We can't take them lightly. We have to play them like we do everybody else."
Peralta, Wednesday's starter, expressed a similar sentiment.
"I just pitch, whoever I'm facing," he said. "I don't ever change my approach. If they're struggling, it's better, but I don't really think about it. You still have to go out there and make pitches. They have really, really good hitters. They're struggling, but one day, they can turn everything around."
Alyson Footer is a national correspondent for MLB.com. Follow her on Twitter @alysonfooter.


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Managing Cost
A quality college education is an investment in a student's future, but no one needs to make that investment alone. At Ithaca College, we partner with families to invest in the future of our students. The typical adult with a bachelor's degree will earn over half a million dollars more than a high school graduate over the course of his or her career—and the added earnings of a degree far outweigh the cost of attending college.
Each year, we devote over 100 million dollars of institutional financial aid to recognize the academic accomplishments of our students and help bridge the financial gap for families in need. We have also worked to reduce the rate of tuition and fee increases that are applied each year. These rates, which once topped six percent annually, have decreased in each of the past five years. Our plans call for tuition increases that continually decline and more closely parallel the rate of inflation.


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Here are key data that you need to properly select, install, and maintain hazardous-area motors.
Hazardous areas motors are those motors designed with specific characteristics so that they'll operate safely in a definitive hazardous environment. In some instances, a weather-protected, or a dripproof machine may be used depending upon the degree and type of hazard in the location.
Before you can properly select a motor for use in a hazardous area, it's important for you to remember that motors designed for use in one type of hazardous location usually cannot be used in another type of hazardous location. Therefore, it's essential that you have a clear and thorough understanding of hazardous-area classifications, characteristics, and requirements before attempting to select the right motor for use in a particular hazardous location.
Motors for use in hazardous (classified) areas must meet stringent Underwriters Laboratories (UL) and NEC requirements, and are designed in accordance with National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) standards. Motors for use in hazardous areas are listed in the UL "Redbook," Hazardous Location Equipment Directory.
Also, hazardous area motors are required to have special features that minimize the possibility of the motor causing ignition of the specific explosive atmosphere surrounding it.
Motors for Class I, Groups C and D locations are often referred to as Explosionproof motors. The term "explosionproof apparatus" is defined in Article 100 of the NEC as follows:
Apparatus enclosed in a case that is capable of withstanding an explosion of a specified gas or vapor that may occur within it and of preventing the ignition of a specified gas or vapor surrounding the enclosure by sparks, flashes, or explosion of the gas or vapor within, and that operates at such an external temperature that a surrounding flammable atmosphere will not be ignited thereby.
To date, UL does not list motors for use in Groups A and B.
Motors for use in Class II locations are designated as dust-ignition proof.
UL lists motors built only by one manufacturer for Class III applications; however, totally enclosed, nonventilated motors and the so-called lint-free or self-cleaning textile squirrel-cage motors are commonly used in these locations.
All hazardous-area motors must be marked to show Class, Group, and operating temperature or temperature range referenced to a 40 [degrees] C ambient. Temperature identification numbers marked on the motor must be in accordance with Table 500-3(d) of the NEC. (See accompanying table.)
You also should be aware that hazardous-area motors manufactured after October 24, 1997 must be of "energy-efficient" design as required by the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (EPACT).
Class I motors
Motors for Class I locations are often termed "explosionproof" motors and are made of a heavy metal enclosure without ventilating openings. Such motors must be built to provide three performance attributes:
* Strength;
* Joints that will not permit flame or hot gases to escape; and
* Cool operation to prevent ignition of the outside atmosphere.
Motors built expressly for use in these hazardous areas are designed assuming that the explosive atmosphere that surrounds the motor also is present within the motor. You should understand that explosionproof motors are not designed to keep gases and vapors out. Instead, the motor enclosure is designed to be strong enough to withstand the forces created by an explosion of the gases or vapors within the motor without rupturing. At the same time, the enclosure must be capable of preventing the escape from it of hot gases that might cause ignition and explosion in the area.
The fits between various enclosure parts are made tight enough and with extra-long or extra-large flange mating surfaces so that any flame of an internal explosion is cooled sufficiently as it passes through mating parts. This performance characteristic prevents ignition of the outside area atmosphere. These fits are often referred to as explosionproof joints or flame paths. Sometimes, the fits are threaded, such as where a terminal box cover attaches to a conduit. In instances where threaded joints are used, at least five threads must be fully engaged.
Flat joints are also used. These work in a manner similar to the threaded joint. The joints must be wide enough and the clearance small enough so that flames will be quenched and not propagate from the interior of the motor to the atmosphere surrounding it.
In addition, explosionproof motors must operate at a temperature low enough so that the atmosphere around it will not be ignited. The operating temperature of the motor must be marked on its housing. The intent of the temperature-marking requirement is explained in Sec. 500-2 of the NEC. The surface temperature of the equipment must not exceed the ignition of the specific gas or vapor that will be found in the classified area. This means that the ignition temperature of the flammables found within the area in which the motor is to be installed must be known. This information can be obtained from NFPA 497M or NFPA 325M. These documents list the various hazardous materials alphabetically in tables that include their ignition temperatures in [degrees] C and [degrees] F.
Class II motors
In Class II locations, which are hazardous because of the presence of combustible dust, UL standards call for a different type of construction. Class II motors are designed to preclude dust and to operate at specified limited temperatures.
Article 502 of the NEC defines the term "dust-ignitionproof" as "enclosed in a manner that will exclude dusts and... will not permit arcs, sparks, or heat otherwise generated or liberated inside of the enclosure to cause ignition of exterior accumulations or atmospheric suspensions of a specified dust on or in the vicinity of the enclosure."
Assemblies that generate heat, such as motors, are tested with a dust blanket to simulate the operation of the motor in a Class II location. The maximum surface temperature under actual operating conditions must not exceed 165 [degrees] C for equipment not subject to overload. For equipment that may be overloaded, such as motors and power transformers, the maximum surface temperature allowed is 120 [degrees] C.
Closs III motors
Motors suitable for Class III locations must function at full rating without developing surface temperatures high enough to cause excessive dehydration or gradual carbonization of accumulated fibers or flyings. These motors, or other devices, have the same surface temperature limitations as Class II equipment, and construction is similar.
As required by the NEC, these motors must be supplied with telescoping or closed-fitting mating parts, or have other effective means to prevent the escape of sparks or burning material. They also must be constructed so that no openings occur through which sparks or burning material might escape, or through which adjacent combustible material might be ignited.
Hazardous areas are locations where some flammable material is or may be present in an easily ignitable state. These are classified in the NEC by type of flammable material (Class I, II, or III), and by degree of hazard (Div. 1 or 2). In addition, for purposes of testing and approval of equipment, various air mixtures are classified as Group A, B, C, D, E, F, or G.
Article 500 of the NEC defines the three classes as follows:
* Class I: Those locations in which flammable gases or vapors are or may be present in the air in quantities sufficient to produce explosive or ignitable mixtures.
* Class II: Those locations in which combustible dusts are present in the air in quantities sufficient to produce explosive or ignitable mixtures.
* Class III: Those locations in which easily ignitable fibers or flyings are present; however, such fibers or flyings are not likely to be in suspension in air in quantities sufficient to produce ignitable mixtures.
Generally speaking, Div. 1 Iocations are more hazardous because of intensity, frequency, etc. of the dangerous material; Div. 2 locations essentially are less hazardous. Additional details on Classes, Groups, temperatures, etc. are provided in Articles 500, 501, 502, and 503 of the NEC.


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Once Again: The Great Inventors Often Were Neither Great, Nor Inventors
from the revisiting-history dept
Last year, there was a book showing how Thomas Edison wasn't the great inventor he claimed to be. Now, there's a new book suggesting not only was Alexander Graham Bell not the great inventor many hold him up to be, but the famous story of him rushing to the patent office to beat Elisha Gray's patent filing by mere hours may hide the fact that Bell actually cheated the system with the help of a corrupt patent examiner, who shared Gray's filing with Bell and then helped make it appear that Bell's filing came first. While this should raise even more questions about why either man was able to get a patent on an idea that was getting plenty of attention from many sources, and thus should have been considered obvious, it also adds to the list of "great inventors" who really did very little inventing.
The reason this is so important is that a patent system really only makes sense if it's the invention part that's important and that invention is basically the pinnacle of advancement in the space. Instead, if it's innovation that's more important, and innovation is an ongoing process that is sped along by competition, then there is little reason to have a patent system at all. Those who hold up Edison, Bell, the Wright Brothers and others as examples of why the patent system should exist are pointing to the wrong role models. The more detailed you look at their records you realize that both men cheated -- and used the patent system not to help protect "inventions," but to get monopolies that kept out real competition, slowed down true innovation and built up unfair monopolies they didn't deserve.


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The Bisons are a week away from starting preparations for the 2009 season. They open at home Aug. 22 with an exhibition game with the University of Louisville at the Lipscomb Soccer Complex. The regular season features a tough non-conference field that includes both Michigan and Michigan State.
Coach Charles Morrow, beginning his fifth season with the Bisons, took some time to answer a few questions about the 2009 team for LipscombSports.com.
Last season was the best in the history of the program with both team and individual records being set. How do you motivate this year's players to take their games to even higher levels?
"It is easy to find contentment and a sense that we have arrived once we have had that success. It is not only a challenge for this year, but it has been a challenge for the last three years. We have done a good job as coaches in working very hard to find the right player, but we have also worked very hard to keep the players focused on getting better and not being content with the things we have accomplished.
"This year is a huge test. We are not surprising anybody in the conference this year either. Every year we have been here we have done better in the conference than where we were picked in preseason. I think we will be in the top five this season. We have to work harder this season. We give our best every time we step on the field because we know we are going to be getting the best from the team we are playing against."
The "Sophomore" slump is often talked about in sports. Garret Pettis, last year's A-Sun Freshman of the Year, will find it challenging to duplicate his team record 12 goals and one assist from last season. How do you keep him from having a letdown?
"Garret Pettis had an unbelievable season for us last year. He scored some great goals and did a lot for us. But he would be the first to tell you that without the cast around him that would never have happened.
"We have forwards who sat on the bench last year that are better finishers than Garret. You might look at it that Garret has a spot locked up, but I don't think Garret feels that way. We have addressed the sophomore year with him. He has been playing in the summer and did well. "Garret is a team guy. He is not someone who is going to get caught up in his numbers. As long as we are doing well and progressing he is not going to be caught up in trying to duplicate what he has done."
Forward Miguel DaSilva has been the driving force for the offense the past two seasons. Last season he had more assists (11) than goals (nine). What do you envision for him this season?
"Miguel is so dangerous one vs. one. You can't stop Miguel from getting by you. You might take the ball from him, but if he gets isolated during a game then two out of three times he is going to get behind the defender.
"He is just so good getting to the goal and creating opportunities. Not only does he create a lot for himself, but he creates a lot for others. He is a pretty good passer, but he also draws so much attention to himself."
Defensively, Kezi Lara has been a leader. What skills do Kezi possess that make him such an effective defender?
"No. 1, Kezi is quick and fast and can cover a lot of ground. If he gets out of position he can still recover. He is one of the strongest players on the field. He carries himself very well and knows how to use his body very well in terms of protecting the ball.
"He has played at a very high level. He has seen world class competition playing for the U-17 national team for Trinidad and Tobago. He was originally a midfielder and talked about moving him to the back. We thought he might be a liability and he asked us to name one person who had ever gotten by him. . He takes pride in the fact that one vs. one no one is going to get by him. Whether he is dribbling or defending he is a great one vs. one player. A lot of times being a good defensive player is just a matter of character and who you are."
T.J. Williams is the only starter from last season not returning to the team. While it would appear that the bulk of the roster spots are set, you are expecting a great deal of competition for starting time?
"Every position is open. There is a little bit of credit for what has been done in the past. But if someone is performing better than you on a given day, or in a given week, that person is going to play. We are going to put the best 11 on the field."
How unusual is it for an NCAA Division I soccer team to have so many of its starters returning from the previous season?
"I would imagine there is no one in the conference that has more starters returning. It is very unheard of to have that many returning. I think it is a good thing. We have a better idea of the type of player and the type of person each one of these guys is who are coming back.
"It's not easy to do the same thing we did last year and go out and have success. If we don't build on what we did last year in terms of improvement and building on players playing different roles, and if we don't grow, we will not have the same year we had last year. That's a huge point we talked about with our returning guys during the spring. And we will continue to harp on it throughout the year if guys aren't improving and getting better or if they are not broadening in the sense of being able to do more and different things on the field."
Last season Patrick Walsh settled into the No. 1 goalkeeper's spot after splitting time in net with Brent McGee. Does Walsh retain No.1 status for this season?
"Toward the end of the season Walsh won that role. He was injured a little bit in the spring. The thought would be that he would come in as the No.1 goalkeeper.
"Brent McGee is also a very capable keeper. And Joey DeRosa, who redshirted last year, was the only keeper in the spring to not surrender a goal. Who is going to start there is still to be determined and we prefer it to be that way."


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iluvk9 wrote:From everything I have read, if it is your dog that is the "poopee" and you know you feed them well and they are healthy, it is really only the "gross factor" for you towards the "poop eater".
I am going to get "Forbid" and try that out. I will report back ASAP!
iluvk9 wrote:CinderDee wrote:Pleased let me know if anything works for you, Joyce. Devil's cupcake does it too.
Want to start a club?
In my experience dogs that are really determined crap eaters....well, there's not much you can do other than keeping it picked up and utilizing a basket muzzle when they're outside.
BigDogBuford wrote:So that was sarcastic but if I'd thought it would actually help I might have done it. Ewww, just eww. Nothing worse than poop vomit.
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Wildlife rehabilitation centers have rescued more than 1,550 sea lion pups along Calfornia's coast during this record year of strandings, but the number of new cases seems to be tapering off.
SeaWorld, a prime intake facility for these pups, has between 70 and 80 sea lions in its care these days. That's down from nearly 200 at the height of the crisis in March, spokesman Dave Koontz said. The marine-themed park's rehabilitation center is taking in about three to five pups per week, he said, down from more than 10 per day at the peak.
Since January, SeaWorld has rescued about 340 stranded pups, Koontz said. Most of these emaciated and dehydrated animals are found right at the coast, but a few have reached places such as a hotel, a resident's garage and the middle of a busy road.
In March, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration declared a "marine mammal unusual mortality event" for California, in response to stranding rates that were nearly three times higher than the historical average.
"The number of admits to rehab in recent weeks has definitely been much less than it was at the height of the event in March," said Sarah Wilken, marine mammal stranding coordinator for the agency. "But there are still a lot of animals in the centers that are in need of care."
At SeaWorld, stranded sea lions receive hydration and nutritional treatment, along with medical care, before being released back to the wild after a few weeks or months. About 10 percent to 15 percent of the pups treated at the park's rehab center this year have become stranded again and required a second rescue, Koontz said.
"Some of them just need a little bit more help," he said.
Scientists believe that population changes among squid and small fish — primary sources of food for sea lions — may have triggered the strandings as newly weaned pups struggled to find scarce prey. They're analyzing data about food supplies and certain diseases in their quest to pinpoint the leading cause of this year's unusual toll.
"There are some early indications, but the answers are going to be better in July, after this year's pups are born," Wilken said. "For the moment, everyone's grateful for the breather. But we're not yet saying that it's over."
firstname.lastname@example.com (760) 529-4941 Twitter: @utbrennan


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Oklahoma Governor Shows Support for Testing a Form of Medical Marijuana
Gov. Mary Fallin Asks Oklahoma Lawmakers to Allow Tests of Cannabidiol Oil for Treating Disorders in Children
Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin on Wednesday called on state lawmakers to allow medical trials exploring the use of cannabidiol oil, a nonpsychoactive component of marijuana, for treating disorders that cause seizures and strokes in young children.
If lawmakers back the Republican governor's effort, Oklahoma would join a string of conservative-leaning states that have recently sanctioned limited use of cannabidiol oil, or CBD. Ten states, including Alabama, Kentucky and Mississippi, legalized some form of CBD this year....


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Batman Invitations
Batman Invitations Published by administrator at October 22, 2013 at 10:55 am.Es gibt 12 Bilder in der Galerie of Batman Invitations. To find Free Invitation Card Templates, Design for Wedding and Birthday on Invitations category.
See more Batman Invitations @ Excellent Endearing Pleasing Inspiring Alluring Super Sweetlooking Lovely Shining Strikingly Impressive Fresh @ Batman Invitation Handmade by Me Pinterest on Invitations Topics.
Here we have 12 awesome designs of Batman Invitations. We hope you enjoyed it and if you would like to see the high images resolution, simply click on the pictures and you will be redirected to extra large page Batman Invitations.
Then you still have a great day for new fresh inspiration today. don't forget to tell / spread design ideas from our website to your friends, relatives or families near you so they also feel the same with you.
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5 from domestic spy agency arrested in Venezuela
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Five more members of a Venezuelan national intelligence agency were arrested on murder charges related to the shooting deaths of two people during anti-government protests, the country's chief prosecutor said Wednesday.
Chief prosecutor Luisa Ortega said in a statement that the five agents were present at street clashes Feb. 12 in Caracas where 24-year-old university student Bassil Da Costa and government supporter Juan Montoya died. They were among the first of at least 16 killed during recent protests.
On Monday, Ortega said three others from the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service had been arrested on similar charges.
Senior government officials initially blamed protesters for the deaths.
The protests began with students and were soon joined by tens of thousands of others in several cities, upset over economic problems and heavy-handed government response to the protests.
Venezuela's foreign minister, meanwhile, is visiting nations in the region to lobby for the dispute to be taken up by the Union of South American Nations instead of the Organization of American States. Venezuelan leaders contend the OAS is dominated by Washington.
"Venezuela does not agree that this issue should be taken to the Organization of American States," Foreign Minister Elias Jaua said after meeting with Bolivian President Evo Morales in La Paz.
Jaua was also planning to visit Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil, all of which have leftist or left-leaning governments, and Paraguay.
Panama had proposed a special meeting of the Washington-based OAS to discuss Venezuela's situation.
Associated Press writer Luis Alonso Lugo in Washington contributed to this report.


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Hotels near Desert Research Institute
Search hotels near Desert Research Institute in Las Vegas
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Hotels in Las Vegas near Desert Research Institute
Are you looking for a cheap Desert Research Institute hotel, a 5 star Desert Research Institute hotel or a family friendly Desert Research Institute hotel? You just landed in the best site to find the best deals and offers on the most amazing hotels for your stay.
When you search for hotels near Desert Research Institute with Hotels.com, you need to first check our online map and see the distance you will be from Desert Research Institute, Nevada.
Our maps are based on hotel search and display areas and neighborhoods of each hotel so you can see how close you are from Desert Research Institute and refine your search within Las Vegas or Nevada based on closest public transportation, restaurants and entertainment so you can easily get around the city. All the hotels details page show an option for free or paid onsite parking.
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Las Vegas travel guides
Nightlife & Entertainment in Las Vegas
Las Vegas is surely the USA's glittery, neon-washed capital of lavish nightlife and entertainment. You...
What to See and Do in Las Vegas - From Casinos to Natural Wonders
While the casinos on The Strip define Las Vegas, the city has much more to offer. Yes, you can try...
Visiting Las Vegas with Kids - Finding Family Fun in Sin City
Las Vegas is traditionally thought of as an adults-only destination, but there's plenty of fun here...


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Homeless Man Who Got Free Boots From Cop Now 'Wants His Cut' Of YouTube Attention
from the everyone-wants-a-cut dept
That said, a reporter for the NY Times caught up with the homeless man in question, Jeffrey Hillman, who hasn't received quite as much attention, only to find that he's barefoot again, saying that the boots were now hidden for his own safety:
"Those shoes are hidden. They are worth a lot of money," Mr. Hillman said in an interview on Broadway in the 70s. "I could lose my life."From the interview, it appears that Mr. Hillman -- who has been homeless for many years -- may have plenty of other problems as well. However, in a moment of clarity... he put forth the kind of statement we're used to hearing all the time around here:
"I was put on YouTube, I was put on everything without permission. What do I get?" he said. "This went around the world, and I want a piece of the pie."This is what you get, folks, in a world where you tell everyone that idea, concept, image, etc. must be "owned."


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Description2 Bedroom/1 Bath, 2nd Floor Condominium unit in LIBERTIES WEST CONDOMINIUMS w/1-Car Parking! Northern Liberties has just gotten bigger! Newly renovated, Colonial-style condominiums with unique architectural elements, nestled within a gorgeous, well-manicured, courtyard setting, with charming walking paths bordered by pretty flowers and shaded by mature trees. This garden-style enclave, has modern comforts and conveniences right outside your door. Liberties West Condominiums offers multiple floor plans to choose from, with custom upgrade packages! Choose between studio, 1, 2, & 3 Bedroom units. A fully gated community with courtyard views and optional parking right outside your door. A stone s throw from Center City, waterfront, funky boutiques, shops restaurants and exciting nightlife! 1st Showings will be at the Open House Sunday October 2nd from 12-4PM. On-site Center open 12-6(Monday-Friday)and 12-3(Saturday-Sunday). **$172.24/mo. utility fee for heating.
Exterior Features
- New Construction: Y
- Design: LoRise1-4st
- Exterior: Brick
- Farm: N
- Land Only: N
- Land SQFT: 762
- Lot Dimensions: COMMON
- Parking: 1-CarParking,Assigned
- Swimming Pool: No
- Pool Type: NoPool
- RFactor Ceilings: Y
- RFactor Walls: Y
School Details
Interior Features
- Room List: Living Room,Bedroom-Master,Bedroom-Second,Kitchen
- Basement: N
- Basement Type: None
- Garage Spaces: NoGarage
- Heating: Gas,Hot Water
- Hot Water: Natural Gas
- Cooling: None
- Central Air: N
- Cooking Fuel: GasCooking
- Fireplace: N
- Fireplace Count: NoFireplace
- Flooring: Wood,Fully Carpeted
- Handicap: None
Water & Sewer
- Water: Public
- Sewer or Septic: Public Sewer
Room Details
The data relating to real estate for sale on this website appears in part through the TREND Internet Data Exchange program, a voluntary cooperative exchange of property listing data between licensed real estate brokerage firms in which Home Marketsite participates, and is provided by TREND through a licensing agreement. The information provided by this website is for the personal, non-commercial use of consumers and may not be used for any purpose other than to identify prospective properties consumers may be interested in purchasing. Some properties which appear for sale on this website may no longer be available because they are under contract, have sold or are no longer being offered for sale.©2019 TREND, all rights reserved. Information deemed reliable, but not guaranteed.
This data is updated throughout the day. Some properties which appear for sale on this web site may subsequently have sold and may no longer be available.
PUBLISHER'S NOTICE: All real estate advertised herein is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act, which Acts make it illegal to make or publish any advertisement that indicates any preference, limitation, or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, family status, or national origin.
Property Summary
Discover 672 FRANKLIN PLACE #UNIT C, PHILADELPHIA – Listed at $173,900 located in Philadelphia schools with 641 square feet of space in 19123.
Property Tax ID: 881078397.
MLS#: 4614334 Beds: 2 Baths: 1 SqFt: 641 Acre(s): 0.02
Come make this home yours. Schedule your Showing today.
Call Us toll-free @ 866-502-LIST
MLS History
Sorry, there are no listings available at this time
- 2Beds
- 1/0Baths
- 641Sq.Ft.
- 0.02Acre(s)
Property has SOLD!
Property Details
- Property Type: Residential
- Type: Unit/Flat
- Style: StraightThru
- County: PHILADELPHIA
- School District: Philadelphia
- Subdivision: NORTHERN LIBERTIES
- Street Unit Number: UNIT C
- Property Age: 100
- Status: SOLD
- Listed on: 2005-10-06
- Taxes: 1.00


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Frontier Airlines has introduced three seating options with an eye toward raising revenues, rewarding premium flyers and driving bookings to its website.
Frontier chief executive David Siegel said in an interview last week that the Denver-headquartered carrier was studying new income sources, including new fees "when reasonable" for services such as seating.
Siegel also said that booking reservations on Frontier's website is more lucrative to the airline than using an online travel service. Currently, 40 percent of Frontier's bookings are on its website. Siegel said increasing website bookings to 60 percent would produce an estimated $15 million to $20 million more revenues.
The seating options announced today are available only on the airline's website.
Stretch seating with up to five additional inches of leg room will be in the front and exit rows of Frontier's Airbus and Embraer 190 aircraft.
Stretch seats are free, based on availability, with Classic Plus tickets and for EarlyReturns Summit and Ascent members. Classic ticketholders may upgrade from Select seating to Stretch for $5 and up and Economy passengers may pay $15 and up.
Select seating includes seats just behind Stretch seating and in front of the exit rows toward the front of the aircraft. An upgrade to Select seating varies in price based on the type of fare purchased. The cost is $5 and up pre-assigned or free at checkin within 24 hours of departure if available. Select seating is free for Summit and Ascent members and Classic Plus and Classic ticketholders.
Standard seating runs from behind the exit rows to the back of the plane, and includes any non-reclining seats in front of the exit rows.
Ann Schrader: 303-954-1967 or email@example.com


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Oaxaca: A Travelogue
Last week I shared a few photos from my winter-break trip to Mexico. Before that, my brother spent a few days in Oaxaca—a place I'd been to 15 years ago, and which affords me the opportunity to write a few things more about Mexican color.
Oaxaca is state in south central Mexico, and is the site of several pre-Columbian cultures, numerous ancient cities, colonial Spanish churches and bright outdoor squares. My brother's photos were so vivid just flipping through the viewfinder on the beach; I thought I'd share my notes.
A culture's sense of color and design reflects the local environment and here, bright Mexican colors get even brighter and more elemental, or as Scott would say, "mas alegre"—make it happier.
Indigo is native to here, as is "Mayan Blue" and the bright red pigment cochineal, made from the insect. These dyes are all exceedingly colorfast and have stood the test of time. And how can you think of Mexico and not think of all that Spanish gold? The natives suffered mightily under their conquerors, and had to be seduced into the new churches replacing their temples.
I close with a slide show of a variety of architectural styles, and leave it to reader submissions for possible color inspirations at home.
– Mark Chamberlain, interior and decorative painter
Images: Scott Chamberlain


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Selecting your vehicle's make, model, and year allows us to display only parts and items specific to your car's model and year.
Part# CH25948
Mfg# 7-1906-BL
Be the First to Review
OPGI Price: $99.99
Part Type: (P) High Performance, designed to improve performance
Years: 1978-1988
Sold As: KIT
2018 El Camino Catalog Page: 277
Manufactured from specially formulated polyurethane, this tough engine/transmission mount kit acts like solid mounts without the vibration and noise. This reduces the amount of movement of the engine and drivetrain, thereby putting more power to the rear wheels. This is an extremely durable mount that is resistant to oil, chemicals and road contaminants that deteriorate stock rubber mounts. Get more power to the wheels with "poly" engine and transmission mounts.


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The Kitchn's Top 10 Posts of 2012
2012 was a wonderful year at The Kitchn — thanks in great part to you, our readers, who contribute such thoughtful and enthusiastic comments, sharing what you're cooking and learning in the kitchen week in and week out. We're always eager to find out what our readers are cooking and eating — so here's a look back at our readers' stand-out favorites from the past year. There were new favorites, like freezing herbs in olive oil — and some updated classics, like lessons in cooking salmon and quinoa — on the list. Read on for the Big 10 — our top 10 most popular posts of 2012!
The Kitchn's Top 10 Posts of 2012
• 1 How To Cook Fluffy, Tasty Quinoa
• 2 How To Cook Salmon Fillets in the Oven
• 3 Recipe to Feed a Crowd: Slow Cooker Barbacoa Beef
• 4 Cookies For Canines: 9 Homemade Dog Treat Recipes
• 5 How to Make Potato Chips in the Microwave
• 6 How To Peel, Cut, Core, and Dice: 20 Tips & Techniques for Fruit and Vegetable Prep
• 7 Freeze & Preserve Fresh Herbs in Olive Oil
• 8 Perfect Pitcher Drink Recipe: Sparkling White Peach Sangria
• 9 Kobe Beef: Food's Biggest Scam?
• 10 Magic One-Ingredient Ice Cream 5 Ways: Peanut Butter, Nutella, and More
Welcome to The Kitchn's Best of 2012 roundup!
From December 17 through January 1 we are rounding up some of our favorite (and your favorite) posts from the past year.


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The State Organization Index provides an alphabetical listing of government organizations, including commissions, departments, and bureaus.
Top-requested sites to log in to services provided by the state
Information and resources for licensed alcohol and drug counselors (LADCs).
If you need to report child abuse, any other kind of abuse, or need urgent assistance, please click here.


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The Music Technology program provides an opportunity for students to gain specific hands-on skills in each of the technologies currently used in the music industry. Students will also gain practical experience for professional and community musical performance and preparation for continued higher education. Students will participate in various facets of music production for a variety of uses in the commercial marketplace which will allow them to develop practical skills and talents while earning college credit for transfer to universities or entry into the workplace.
Examples of employment options available in entry level music technology after successful completion of the associate degree program include: composition and/or production of music for music CD's, film, video, music videos, jingles or commercials, radio and TV station ID packages, and multimedia projects. Additional careers include digital audio technician, recording studio engineer, sound reinforcement engineer, and synthesizer programmer. Some of these careers require education beyond the associate degree.
Upon completion of the Music Technology program:


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PITTSBURGH — The newborn daughter of a Western Pennsylvania woman who was pregnant when she was fatally shot last month has now also died.
The Cambria County coroner will investigate the death of Aubreanna Kovalcik, but state police don't expect autopsy results for six to eight weeks due necessary laboratory tests.
The baby's mother, 23-year-old Caressa Kovalcik, died after police say her boyfriend shot her in their Windber apartment on May 31. The baby was delivered by C-section shortly before Caressa Kovalcik died, and was later moved to Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, where the baby died early Friday.
Twenty-five-year-old Denver Blough remained in the Cambria County Prison Friday on criminal homicide and other charges in the shooting, which he has said was an accident.
Police say any decision on additional charges will depend on the autopsy results.
By The Associated Press


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HANOVER, N.H. – MIT's women's lightweight crew team took its annual trek to Hanover, New Hampshire to compete in the Dartmouth Green Monster event on the Connecticut River. The Engineers, who were the only lightweight team to field crews, had two boats in the event that features novice crews.
MIT's A boat had the best showing, finishing 8th overall out of 15 entries. Starting seventh, the Engineers passed the Vermont openweight A crew along the three-mile course to finish with a time of 17:47, just two seconds behind the Dartmouth B openweight crew. MIT's B boat covered the route in 19:40 for a finish of 14th, just one second behind the UMass openweight C crew.
MIT will close out its fall season next week back on the Charles River when it competes in the Foot of the Charles on Nov. 9.
Boat Lineups
Cox Prianca Tawde
8 Scout Brisson
7 Rosa Ruiz
6 Nadia Magallon
5 Anne Kelley
4 Katy Johnson
3 Rachel Osmundsen
2 Sofie Belanger
1 Lindsey Wattley
Cox Charlene Xia
8 Charlotte Keeley
7 Emily Keeley
6 Hannah von Oldenburg
5 Defne Gurel
4 Anni Zhang
3 Alana Papula
2 Irina Titova
1 Dina Levy-Lambert


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The New Jersey Judiciary has collaborated with the New Jersey State Bar Association to produce a new video for lawyers that highlights the opportunities and obligations of attorneys to provide free pro bono work on behalf of litigants who cannot afford representation.
"Whenever we need help to address the profound legal problems of the day, pro bono lawyers make the difference for litigants in need. Pro bono work is not just a helpful supplement to the legal system. It is vital to the delivery of justice in our state, and in our nation," chief justice Stuart Rabner says in the video.
According to the video, about 500,000 New Jersey residents have a legal problem each year, and only one in five receives the help of an attorney. The video emphasizes the important role that attorneys play in ensuring access to justice for all New Jersey residents.
As a result ofNew Jersey Supreme Court case Madden v. Delran, attorneys in New Jersey, with few exceptions, are required to perform pro bono work. The video provides an overview of the types of representation provided by volunteer attorneys, resources provided by the courts to assist them in their volunteer assignments and organizations to contact in order to volunteer.
The video is accessible at theJudiciary's Youtube channel at http:/ /www.youtube.com/watch?v=95yfrz5949o.


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"Bone Women" by Eliot Fintushel
What is it that compels people to speak out against a story? It's not just that they didn't like it -- unless they think the world revolves around them, I doubt such people are strolling up and down every message board to issue their complaints against all they read. Were I to post about every story I gave up on, I'd have to write about hundreds. Most such things, we read, abandon, and forget. Not my thing, we think. No big deal. It takes something more to get us to express our opinion in public, some grudge or frustration, some little nit aching to be picked.
"Bone Women" annoyed people. Its honey attracted swarming know-nothings: "I suspect it's Literature," they buzz. "Mental masturbation...like poor art, meaningless to everyone except the author," they bray. "Like my boss said to me long ago: Intro, Middle, End. Thus structure and plot. Where were they?" Might as well say: I like my fiction the way I like my food: packaged, processed, predictable.
It makes me want to get all Benford and bemoan the fate of civilization. (I might say: "So you want safe, formulaic writing that abides by the structures you've internalized and feeds you what you know you like. Good for you. We all get our kicks differently. But to raise your personal preferences to the level of law and use them to batter all that you don't understand, that's not opinion, that's not criticism -- that's a totalitarian impulse. You hate our freedoms. Climb back into your hole. Go watch a sitcom. Go stare at a wall. Bark on cue." But I won't say that. I'll try to be nice and understanding and tolerant and loving of my fellow creatures.)
Fintushel jumped into the mud pit to try to explain what he was up to: "In a word, BONE WOMEN is about facticity--about the tension between what we human beings ARE and what human beings want or need to THINK of ourselves as being." Etc. A good try, but it won't mollify the moaners. They like their skulls numb. They like to accuse the author rather than themselves, they like to say the writer is only pleasing himself, because that way they don't have to feel alone, don't have to admit they don't get it, don't have to separate from the crowd.
I suppose I wouldn't be so frustrated if this were an isolated case of people mauling a story that doesn't deserve it. De gustibus and all that jazz, yknow. But there's something about fiction that is linguistically and structurally adventurous that causes anger in certain types of readers, an anger that leads to a spewing of vitriol, and while to a certain extent I find that an interesting phenomenon, it's also disturbing.
Speculative fiction especially should be the realm of the new and strange, the oddball, the gonzo, but instead the geezers keep asserting themselves, trying to pin this beautiful butterfly of possibilities to a rancid wax tray of nostalgia. They want cant and dust, disposable one-time reads, junk.
The bleat that this must be Literature is entirely correct -- it is. This is a story that can hold its own with the best of the fiction being published today, the most interesting and innovative, the most skilled and visionary. That's what Literature is, kiddo -- it's the stuff that's so passionate and singular it inspires awe. We each carry our own personal lists of Literature with us, and eventually enough such lists converge and get packed into a Canon and shot into Classrooms and Libraries to be picked up or dropped by Posterity on one of its random walk-throughs. That's the process, but not the fun. The fun is stumbling upon such stuff, discovering it on your own, encountering unique and hilarious and perfect paragraphs such as the opening of "Bone Women":
Hildy loved me bad. Pudding of a woman, the moons behind her cheaters waxed for the love of me. She bleated after me, udders wagging, tongue lolling, buttocks dimpling, attended by flies. She was all armpit hair and thigh flesh. The cheaters, thick as hog's hooves, slid, slid down her nose, till arrested by the bump. She nudged them with a fat finger, then grinned. She wrote me love notes. I let her visit me up at the A-frame where I lived with Matt and Al. Matt: laconic, tight-muscled, trim as a bull's pizzle. Al: electric, slight, sizzle skip on the hot griddle of his libido, all eye and brow. They hated her being there. Her mouth foamed with abashment--she spoke, she didn't speak: ecstasies of impossible love. Don't ever let that person come here again, they'd tell me. She haunted the window seat and the fridge nook. She left the imprint of her navel in the screen door. Bowl-like, it was, like the sag in a cake fallen in. She mumbled half to herself, half to me, barely daring to exist, much less to love, much less to love me.Look at those rhythms! Listen to the vowels! Grab the images and run with them! There's a whole story there, alone, in and of itself! The first time I read that paragraph, I hadn't any idea what it was about, because I was too busy listening to it, too busy feeling it. Meaning comes later. Good writing isn't an oyster with a pearl of Meaning waiting to be extracted and put in a necklace to show off at cocktail parties. Good writing does stuff to you. How something means, that's what matters. How it crashes up against your preconceptions and rewires your dreams, that's what makes it all worthwhile. Sometimes it's good to be thrown for a loop. Go with it or don't, but why get angry? Why lash out? Did somebody take your favorite toy away?
Me, I've got a new favorite toy, and it's this story, a story that jangled my nerves and made me laugh and made me confused and made me sad -- yes, while I read it, this story made me, and like any good mark, I was a sucker for it.