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Appendix N - Policy Statement on Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action
The University originally adopted an affirmative action and equal opportunity policy in November 1972. This policy, which has undergone review and revision over the years, serves as the official statement of commitment to the spirit and the letter of these concepts in all employment decisions. President Donald Spencer has reviewed this policy and reaffirmed the University's position with regard to affirmative action and equal opportunity. The policy now reads:
One of the richest and most valued resources of our University community is the people whose talent and efforts combine to provide quality education to students of the west central Illinois region and throughout the state. We are sincerely committed to increasing the representation of all segments of society in our faculty and staff. These efforts provide greater opportunity for academic and personal growth to all members of the university family.
THEREFORE, the University reaffirms its dedication to:
- Non discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, disability, status as a Vietnam era or disabled veteran in all University recruitment, hiring, training, and promotion activities.
- Affirmative Action to bring women, minorities, persons with disabilities, and Vietnam era veterans into full partnership in the University community, including faculty, staff and students.
To achieve these goals, the university will make special efforts to overcome the effects of discrimination in recruitment, employment, training and promotion that have historically occurred within our society. Our commitment to non discrimination and affirmative action will be carried out not only as a legal obligation, but because IT IS THE RIGHT THING TO DO.
Each Vice President, Dean and officer of the University is charged with the responsibility of ensuring that all personnel decisions in their areas are made in accordance with these principles. Overall responsibility for implementing the University's Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action programs has been assigned to the Affirmative Action Officer. The University Human Resources Director has been appointed as the Equal Opportunity Officer for all Civil Service Employees.
January 1994
Donald S. Spencer, President
As an equal opportunity employer, the University affords all employment opportunities to qualified individuals regardless of race, color, religion, sex, age, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, disability, status as a Vietnam-era or disabled veteran, and complies with all applicable laws and regulations. In establishing pay grades and salaries, the University will seek to compensate employees equally, for substantially equal work on jobs which require equal skill, effort and responsibility, and which are performed under similar working conditions.
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Elric Brothers vs The Disciples of Gouken (Ryu and Ken)
The Elric Brothers vs The Disciples of Gouken (Ryu and Ken)
(This battle would be interesting as none of the characters would purposefully kill an opponent unless severely provoked. It would also be interesting as there are a number of unsuspected twists that could be pulled by Edward Elric in particular, such as luring the opponent into carving out a gigantic transmutation circle in the ground, giving him the power to use the souls of all those inside it to accomplish a gigantic, most likely self destructive, transmutation. It would not be uncharacteristic for Edward to end the battle with the death of an entire city, his opponents, and himself, if his opponents succeed in "killing" his brother.)
Edward and Alphonse Elric
These two practice an art known as alchemy. They are from an alternate reality where the fabled art of alchemy was followed much further than in our past. There is even evidence that the use of alchemy in their dimension has caused, or at least harvested the energy from, great famines and wars in our dimension.
Due to the popular use of alchemy in their world, it has required the development of martial arts styles that utilize alchemy. Because alchemy requires transmutation circles, many alchemists have items with transmutation circles attached. Some have even tattooed themselves with such circles. Living in this environment has led to the Elric Brothers' ability to defend themselves very successfully from all forms of martial and alchemical attacks.
Due to an accident in their youth while trying to bring their mother back from the dead, the Elric Brothers have certain unusual characteristics compared to other alchemists.
Edward Elric
Better known as "The Full Metal Alchemist," Edward lost his left leg and almost lost his brother's soul in the attempt to bring back their mother. In order to save Alphonse's soul, Ed had to offer an arm. Because of this, a set of devices commonly referred to as auto-mail returned to Ed the use of his arm and leg. It is, in fact, his auto-mail arm that he most often transmutes into a weapon. He often changes the elemental material of the arm and leg to best suit his current need. For instance, he may change it to a heavier metal for bashing or a more electrically inert substance for handling electricity. He will even change part of it into a blade if needed to deflect bladed weapons in battle. His constant changing of materials in his arm has a tendency to wear it down quickly, thus it will sometimes stop working after a small amount of damage.
Another side effect from his accident is that he does not need a transmutation circle in order to use his alchemical abilities. He simply needs to clap his hands together and then touch the object he wishes to transmute. Larger or more complex transmutations still require him to use a transmutation circle. He'll often be seen using large walls or buildings as material to attack his opponents from a distance or limit their escape options.
-Practices a Style of Martial Arts Utilizing Alchemy
-Metallic Auto-mail Left Leg and Right Arm
-Auto-mail Arm can Occasionally Cease Function
-Transmutes Without a Transmutation Circle but Must Clap Hands Together
-Does Not Wish to Kill, but Will Not Choke When Killing is Necessary
-Fiercely and Vengefully Protective of His Brother Alphonse, to a Fault
Alphonse Elric
Alphonse fared a bit worse than his brother Edward. His entire body was lost to the accident. In order to save Al's soul, Edward drew a transmutation circle inside a nearby suit of auto-mail in his own blood and attached his soul to the armor. This gives Al many abilities such as infinite stamina, a lack of hunger or thirst, and the ability to remove body parts, including his helmet, and continue fighting until they can be returned. He can even survive over 90% of his auto-mail being completely vaporized, though it would severely limit his mobility. His current state of existence gives him a major weakness, however. The blood transmutation circle works as a seal for his soul and thus cannot be destroyed, even partially, or Al's soul will be released from it. This makes him very vulnerable to submersion in water or excessive amounts of any water soluble liquid.
Since he was effectively unconscious during the accident, Al did not gain the ability to transmute without a circle. Whenever he transmutes, he must form a transmutation circle in order to successfully complete the process. Only the shape is required. It can be made with any material and can be either an addition or a subtraction, for example: ink, chalk, carved into wood, even embroidery, though that would be a little too slow for a battle unless it was setup before hand, such as on a glove.
-Practices a Style of Martial Arts Utilizing Alchemy
-Entire Body is an Otherwise Inanimate Suit of Armor
-Infinite Stamina (No Breathing, Eating, Tiring, or Sleeping)
-Must Use a Transmutation Circle in Order to Perform Alchemy
-Better at Physical Martial Arts than His Brother (Due to Higher Difficulty of Transmutation)
-Does Not Wish to Kill and Often Chokes When He is Convinced that Killing is Necessary
-Fiercely and Vengefully Protective of His Brother Edward, to a Fault
Ryu and Ken
As Disciples of Gouken, Ryu and Ken trained very closely, almost as brothers. Gouken trained them in a martial art which is a peaceful modification of an assassination based martial art, involving the focusing of Ki energy into supernatural attacks. While nowhere near the supernatural level of the Dragonball universe, it still leads to devastating attacks. The most well known attacks of the art are the Tatsumaki Senpu Kyaku A.K.A the Tornado Whirlwind Kick, the Shoryuken A.K.A. the Rising Dragon Fist, and the Hadoken A.K.A. Surge Fist or Fireball.
(From here on I go a bit into my impressions of the characters. I may be off a bit, as I haven't played a Street Fighter since EX Alpha.)
These two can work well together when the opponent calls for it, but they have a few teamwork issues, despite being best friends.
Ryu, born and raised in Japan, is known as the "Wandering Warrior" due to his habit of moving on to the next battle without waiting for congratulations from the last. He lives for the fight and takes it seriously. He is often insulted by Ken's relaxed, and very American, nature when it comes to combat. This causes some distraction for him when fighting along side Ken.
-Trained in Martial Arts under Gouken
-Works Well with Ken
-Has Focused Training in the Hadoken Technique Which Has Led to Some Improvements over Ken's (Speed, Power, etc.)
-Does Not Seek to Kill, but Will not Avoid Killing
Ken Masters
Ken was also born and raised in Japan, however, one of his grandparents was American, and after Ryu's first defeat of Sagat, he moved to America before being invited by Ryu to participate in the tournament of Street Fighter II. Ken is a tad on the conceited side, which Ryu attributes to his American heritage. This conceit can lead to him offending his allies and opponents and occasionally leads to mistakes.
-Trained in Martial Arts under Gouken
-Works Well with Ryu
-Has Focused Training in the Shoryuken Technique Which Has Led to Some Improvements over Ryu's (Speed, Power, a fire effect, etc.)
-Does Not Seek to Kill and Hesitates When the Option Presents Itself
I've got another one in the works that I will post within the week.
Resistance is Futile.
Your biological and technological distinctiveness will be added to our own.
You will become one with the morgue.
This would be a close fight, but I think the Elric Bros. would win. Ryu and Ken may be world-class martial artists, but Alphonse's armor and the duo's alchemy would equalize the sides, though the Elrics have a slight edge. The Street Fighters would have to wreck the area where Alphonse's seal is, but as they have constantly proven to be able to destroy cars with their unweighted fists, Alphonse would probably go down first, if the Street Fighters can even reach the two. Ken would likely kick the bucket after making a comment on Edward's height, or maybe comparing him to a certain vampire named Edward. Sadly, I don't know of anything in Ryu's arsenal that could possibly take Edward down before he can turn the ground into a deathtrap, except maybe becoming Evil Ryu and using the Shun Goku Satsu. Who knows?
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NORMAN — Dana Kelso, the new Executive Officer for the Builders Association of South Central Oklahoma, Inc. started Jan. 1 but she's been a Norman resident for a decade.
Kelso has a 20-year background in radio sales and on-air broadcasting as well as six years in management with Enterprise Rent a Car in Oklahoma and Hawaii. Raised in Enid, Okla., she graduated from the University of Central Oklahoma with a major in communications.
BASCO Board President Dusty Johnston said Kelso was picked for her "vast knowledge of sales, recruitment and marketing."
"I'm thrilled to be working in Norman," Kelso said.
Kelso said the job with BASCO will allow her time for more community involvement. The former account executive for KRXO also spent six years in the Army Reserve Band. She has been married for 12 years and is the "proud working mother" of a five-year-old son that attends Cleveland Elementary.
"I'm excited to learn a whole new industry," Kelso said. "Coming from radio, I didn't know what was actually behind building a home."
BASCO is a non-profit trade association.
"All of our board members are volunteers," she said.
Kelso will focus on rebuilding the membership and raising community awareness about BASCO and what the organization does.
"One of our landmark events that's one of our key fundraisers is the Festival of Homes and that's what we're getting geared up for right now," Kelso said. "The Festival of Homes is June 8-16."
The festival is an opportunity to showcase new trends in homes.
"Last year we had 20 homes on the tour and we anticipate that many this year," she said. "We build it from the ground up. We show it, and the proceeds go to benefit the organization."
The 2013 show home is being built by Rhonda Trower of Custom Builders of Oklahoma, LLC. Thousands of potential home buyers visit the show home each year.


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By MARK NEWMAN
Courier staff writer
---- — OTTUMWA — It would take an investment annually until the year 2020 to get all the computers and training the Ottumwa school district wants. A gift just cut that wait in half.
Monday, the Ottumwa Regional Legacy Foundation announced during a joint press conference with the school district that they were gifting the district with $1.3 million. The money will come over the course of three years.
"It probably moves our timeline from six years to reach our [technology goals] to three years," Superintendent Davis Eidahl told the Courier after the announcement. "But this isn't just about buying a million [dollars worth of] computers."
That's one of the points the Ottumwa Legacy Foundation board said they liked about the proposal from the district. That initiative, said board member Tom Lazio, was well thought out and designed to support itself. He told the Ottumwa school board, his own board and others at the Ottumwa High School library that there's no use having expensive computers that aren't running properly. So having a technician on staff, one of the initiatives listed, makes sense to Lazio.
The foundation's president and CEO, Brad Little, said staff needs to know how to operate the equipment. He joked that teachers needed to be almost as good at using the technology as the kids — there's a common statement by educators revealing children really do come to school knowing a lot about how to use a computer, sometimes more than the adults around them.
Little said there'd be training for the teachers, and the school district lists a plan to hire full-time "technology coaches" to help train teachers in the use of state-of-the-art technology.
"As a foundation, we are excited about the grant," said Little. "It's not just about the kids, it includes the teachers."
Eidahl said the money, along with a continuing investment by the school district, will pay to "equip every elementary class with devices to support instruction," as well as access to laptops for every teacher to use in the classroom.
The district had recently come up with a plan for what the district should look like at the end of this decade. The board referred to it as the "2020 Plan." The Legacy Foundation has put Ottumwa schools on track to reach their goal both faster and, Eidahl said, "equitably."
Adding a little bit of technology at a time as money becomes available means one classroom is going to have computers and another will not. That may be rectified the following year, but then there's another classroom on the other side of town without the same access.
"Now," said Eidahl, "the experience you get in one third-grade classroom is equal to the education a child receives in another third-grade classroom."
To see reporter Mark Newman's Twitter feed, go to @couriermark


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A group of humane societies will have their day in court Wednesday as they attempt to put a stop to Wisconsin's first wolf hunt.It is scheduled to begin October 15. Advocates of the hunt say it's an appropriate mechanism to control wolves that attack livestock and pets.The new law allows hunters to use dogs to track and trail wolves.Those seeking an injunction say confrontations between wolves and dogs could result in the inhumane death of dogs.
The City of Milwaukee is accumulating "symbols" of sustainability, like the wind turbine sweeping the sky near Lake Michigan, the electric vehicle charging stations being installed around town, and incentive programs underway to encourage businesses and homeowners to create less waste and conserve more energy.Now, the city's Office of Sustainability has thrown itself – along with a volunteer committee called the Green Team – into a comprehensive citywide sustainability planning process.
In Wisconsin, there is a historic sports venue that has been home to world champion athletes for decades. It's a public space, and generations of fans have had the chance to brush shoulders with their idols, in the dreams that one day, they too, may take center stage. But if you were thinking we were describing Lambeau Field, your guess is about 150 miles too far north. Lake Effect's Mitch Teich travels south to bring us the story.
"Access to fresh food" has become a trendy phrase.First Lady Michelle Obama has taken it up for the sake of children's health.Foodies cannot get enough of it.A farmers market in Milwaukee has been working quietly at bringing affordable fresh produce to neighborhoods where little is available.WUWM Environmental Reporter Susan Bence visited its satellite project where small-scale farmers till the land side by side.
More than a century ago, the Boundary Waters Treaty established an advisory group made up of representatives from the United States and Canada. Called the International Joint Commission, its charge is to attempt to prevent and resolve disputes over the use of the waters shared by the two countries.
Next Tuesday marks the 150th anniversary of the start of one of the biggest battles of the American Civil War: the Second Battle of Bull Run, otherwise known as Second Manassas. Many know of this enormous battle, but few know the story about the fight that started it - or the prominent role Wisconsinites played in it.
Family members of the people killed and injured in the Sikh temple tragedy received First Lady Michelle Obama's condolences Thursday. Mrs. Obama met with the families in Oak Creek, after appearing at a campaign stop in Milwaukee.
The landscape is now barren in front of dozens of Wauwatosa homes.In June, their city launched its largest public improvements project ever, and it entails cutting down trees. Wauwatosa is replacing miles of aging sewer pipes, in hopes of ending basement back-ups.While some residents are thrilled, we found others wondering if the cure is worse than the problem.
Material culture explores why objects have meaning to us. For our contributor, it's because it does her wash.
Whether you are in the process of paying back student loans or just beginning to figure out how to pay for college, there is no question it is expensive. The average cost of attending a four-year UW system school, including tuition, fees, room and board and books totals around $17,500 a year. The number of loans students have taken out over the past decade has tripled, and now account for more than a trillion dollars former students must repay. WUWM's LaToya Dennis has learned about one specific factor that adds to the cost of a college education - students graduating with more credits than needed.


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By MICHAEL KINNEY
The USA Softball Women's National Team was dealt a blow when, just a few days before the World Cup of Softball VIII was to begin in Oklahoma City, the two-time national collegiate player of the year informed it that she would no longer be a part of the team.
USA Softball spokesman Ronnie Isham told the Norman Transcript Tuesday that former Oklahoma pitcher Keilani Ricketts called him July 3 to tell him she was leaving the team.
The World Cup begins Thursday at Hall of Fame Stadium. Ricketts very likely would have been in the circle at 7 p.m. when Team USA opened up against Canada.
"She had a business decision to make," Isham said, "and that business decision did not include Team USA."
When asked what kind of business decision Ricketts had made, Isham said he knew what it might be, but it was "confidential." Isham said Ricketts' decision caught the USA Softball program off guard.
Ricketts could not be reached for comment. Neither USA Softball nor Oklahoma's softball program, which Ricketts just led to a national championship, has issued any official nor public statement regarding Ricketts' departure.
Ricketts spent each of the last two summers with the national team, helping the squad win the 2012 World Cup of Softball and also take silver at the 2012 ISF XIII Women's World Fastpitch Championship and Canadian Open International Championship.
Ricketts earned her third consecutive spot on the team June 14 when she and Sooner teammates Lauren Chamberlain and Destinee Martinez were selected to the 18-player squad after a three-day selection camp.
As late as June 24, when Ricketts walked away with the 2013 Honda Cup, given annually to the nation's top female collegiate athlete by the Collegiate Women's Sports Awards, Oklahoma issued press releases that referenced Ricketts' place on the national team.
The Amateur Softball Association of America and USA Softball have removed Ricketts' photo from their online roster.
"She decided about a week ago she no longer wanted to play," said Codi Warren, spokesperson for the ASA. "That sucks for us. We are pulling up a girl from (the) junior national (team) to take her spot, Sheridan Hawkins from Oregon."
Team USA will have a tough time filling Ricketts' shoes. In her just-completed senior Sooner season, Ricketts went 35-1 with a 1.23 earned run average, striking out 350 in 2381⁄3 innings while throwing six no hitters, the last one coming at the Women's College World Series.
She ranked second in the nation in shutouts (16), third in wins, fifth in hits allowed per seven innings (3.61), sixth in strikeouts and eighth in both ERA (1.23) and strikeouts per seven innings (10.3).
Additionally, Ricketts hit .379 with 15 home runs and 60 RBIs. She slugged .725, got on base at a .534 clip and was a perfect 9-for-9 stealing bases. In OU's national championship clinching victory over Tennessee, a 4-0 decision, Ricketts drove in all four runs, putting the Sooners up early with a three-run home run.


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Win a 4-pack of tickets to the Progressive® Insurance St. Louis Boat & Sportshow®! at America's Center and Edward Jones Dome Wednesday, February 6th through Sunday, February 10th! Gear up for your outdoor adventures at the Progressive® Insurance St. Louis Boat & Sportshow®!Show highlights include: D-I-Y seminars at Fred's Shed Interactive Learning Center, fishing seminars led by the 2012 Bassmaster Angler of the Year Brent Chapman.Plus try Scuba Pool, FREE kids' fishing and MORE! Tickets are on sale now.For more info go to StLouisBoatShow.com.Not an Insider? Sign up today – it takes less than 60 seconds.


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August 1, 2014
DALLAS -- The U.S. Census Bureau reports the population of the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan region soared faster over a one-year period than any other in the country, with the Houston area coming in second.
Census estimates released Thursday show nearly 132,000 people were added to the Metroplex from July 2011 to July 2012. Since April 2010 the region's population has grown by nearly 275,000 people.
The Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land metropolitan area added more than 125,000 people for the one-year period ending in July. Harris County, which constitutes a large part of that area, grew by 80,000 people, more than any other county in the nation.
But it's a different matter in rural counties. In all, 96 of Texas' 254 counties lost population from the 2010 census to July 2012.
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Oakley Cleans Up at Powder Awards
Oakley cleaned up at the 2008 Powder Video and Reader Poll Awards at the Hotel Jerome Saturday night is Aspen. Tanner Hall was hands down the man of the hour, taking 2nd in the Reader Poll, winning Best Performance by a Male, Best Line, and Movie of the Year for his film, Believe. Tanner literally swept the biggest night in skiing.
Oakley took a few more golden goblets, with Jon Olsson winning Best Manmade Air, Seth Morrison winning the Reader Poll (meaning he's the favorite skier of the world's most legit audience), Kye Peterson winning Breakthrough Performer, Jon Olsson winning Best Manmade Air and Grete Eliassen taking 3rd in the Reader Poll.
"We have to select one skier: the guy who shreds harder than all the rest, at the highest level in all aspects of skiing," said Powder editor Derek Tayler. "That means big descents on huge mountains; innovative tricks; creativity, flow and general excellence. He is also at the mercy of his producers, cinematographers and editors, as well as his soundtrack. Everything has to go together in order to win Best Male. With such impressive performances from the men on this list, the competition was almost unheard of. But given all the criteria, the award went to Tanner Hall
Powder Magazine went on to say:
"No one in the sport right now is pushing as hard as Tanner, in all areas. His focus on backcountry skiing has elevated his game beyond the X Games in ways that have brought him newfound respect from some of the best big-mountain skiers. While his Alaska descents in Believe are relatively tame compared to something you might see from Jeremy Nobis—or Sage or Hjorleifson, for that matter—Tanner combines it with stunning footage of deep powder shots, and thrilling descents of pillow lines. Though some might question his musical choice of Tears for Fears for his Alaska segment, that's merely a matter of taste. When you add it all up, Tanner had the best performance of the year.
Tanner also took the prestigious Best Line award. According to Powder: Tanner created a line where none existed. His form was spot on, his speed was unquestionable and aggressive, and the line had serious consequence should he make a mistake.
Hall came up on stage one more time to claim Movie of the Year for Believe. Oakley's Seth Morrison skiing alongside Tanner Hall in Believe was integral to the film winning the award for Movie of the Year. There are few people, if any, who can hang with Seth on big mountain faces, and no one lands bigger flips off giant cliffs. His 160-foot double front flip from Believe was one of the most insane stunts of the year—and he probably would've landed it had his binding not pulverized on impact.
As for Best Manmade Air, no one skier has been more determined to invent new tricks than Oakley's 25-year-old Jon Olsson. Powder said: During the 2006-07 season, Olsson pioneered the dj flip and hexo flip—two tricks that nobody had conceived let alone performed. Although Charles Gagnier's 1260 octograb was so tweaked it seemed like he blew a knee and Pep Fujas' tail grab on his Dorian underflip oozed more style than Weird Al Yankovic, Olsson's hexo flip from MSP's Seven Sunny Days was the clear-cut winner. Matchstick Productions close-up shot on this provides the viewer a front-row seat to all the rotations and grabs involved. Congrats to Jon for continuing to innovate the sport and pushing youngsters to think beyond just on-axis spins.
Oakley's Kye Peterson took the promising Breakthrough Performer award. Powder had this to say: Has any youngster created more buzz for big mountain descents than 17-year-old Kye Petersen? Doubtful. The little man from Whistler stomped everything in all three of his movie appearances in 2007—namely, Believe, Lost and Found, and Idea. He spun off cliffs and pillows, performed like a seasoned vet on big mountain descents, and skied alongside while nearly out-skiing the best in the industry.
Finally, the legendary Seth Morrison won the coveted Powder Magazine Reader Poll. Morrison has finished either first or second in all eight annual Reader Polls. And he has owned it as of late. Though he hasn't won a Best Male Performance since the early years of the PVA's, it's obvious that he continues to thrill audiences with his balls-to-the-wall skiing, and ups the ante in every movie he's in.


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Kbuild: the Linux Kernel Build System
Listing 3. Coin Character Device Driver Example
#include <linux/kernel.h>
#include <linux/module.h>
#include <linux/fs.h>
#include <linux/uaccess.h>
#include <linux/device.h>
#include <linux/random.h>
#include <linux/debugfs.h>
#define DEVNAME "coin"
#define LEN 20
enum values {HEAD, TAIL};
struct dentry *dir, *file;
int file_value;
int stats[2] = {0, 0};
char *msg[2] = {"head\n", "tail\n"};
static int major;
static struct class *class_coin;
static struct device *dev_coin;
static ssize_t r_coin(struct file *f, char __user *b,
size_t cnt, loff_t *lf)
char *ret;
u32 value = random32() % 2;
ret = msg[value];
return simple_read_from_buffer(b, cnt,
lf, ret,
static struct file_operations fops = { .read = r_coin };
#ifdef CONFIG_COIN_STAT
static ssize_t r_stat(struct file *f, char __user *b,
size_t cnt, loff_t *lf)
char buf[LEN];
snprintf(buf, LEN, "head=%d tail=%d\n",
stats[HEAD], stats[TAIL]);
return simple_read_from_buffer(b, cnt,
lf, buf,
static struct file_operations fstat = { .read = r_stat };
int init_module(void)
void *ptr_err;
major = register_chrdev(0, DEVNAME, &fops);
if (major < 0)
return major;
class_coin = class_create(THIS_MODULE,
if (IS_ERR(class_coin)) {
ptr_err = class_coin;
goto err_class;
dev_coin = device_create(class_coin, NULL,
MKDEV(major, 0),
if (IS_ERR(dev_coin))
goto err_dev;
#ifdef CONFIG_COIN_STAT
dir = debugfs_create_dir("coin", NULL);
file = debugfs_create_file("stats", 0644,
dir, &file_value,
return 0;
ptr_err = class_coin;
unregister_chrdev(major, DEVNAME);
return PTR_ERR(ptr_err);
void cleanup_module(void)
#ifdef CONFIG_COIN_STAT
device_destroy(class_coin, MKDEV(major, 0));
return unregister_chrdev(major, DEVNAME);
In Listing 3, you can see that the
CONFIG_COIN_STAT configuration option is used to
register (or not) a special debugfs file that exposes the coin-flipping
statistics to userspace.
Figure 2 summarizes the kernel build process, and the output of the
git diff
--stat command shows the files you have modified to include the driver:
drivers/char/Kconfig | 16 +++++++++
drivers/char/Makefile | 1 +
drivers/char/coin.c | 89 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
3 files changed, 106 insertions(+), 0 deletions(-)
Figure 2. Kernel Build Process
Linux, despite being a monolithic kernel, is highly modular and customizable. You can use the same kernel in a varied range of devices from high-performance clusters to desktops all the way to mobile phones. This makes the kernel a very big and complex piece of software. But, even when the kernel has millions of lines of code, its build system allows you to extend it with new features easily. In the past, to have access to an operating system's source code, you had to work for a big company and sign large NDA agreements. Nowadays, the source of probably the most modern operating system is publicly available. You can use it, study its internals and modify it in any creative way you want. The best part is that you even can share your work and get feedback from an active community. Happy hacking!
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Javier Martinez Canillas is a longtime Linux user, administrator and open-source advocate developer. He has an MS from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and works as a Linux kernel engineer.
Interesting Blog
This is really one of the most interesting blog, I've seen so far.
Post new comment Please note
Post new comment
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Great Work!
It´s a excellent post, with great insight, and lots to think about Linux. That´s all I could come up with after reading it.
Thank you very much.
Reply to comment | Linux Journal
Hi there! I just wanted to ask if you ever have any
issues with hackers? My last blog (wordpress) was
hacked and I ended up losing several weeks of hard work due to no back up.
Do you have any solutions to stop hackers?
What's up, after reading this
What's up, after reading this remarkable paragraph i am also cheerful to share my experience here with mates.
advantage doubtfull, disadvantage certain
"I know I will never need, in this build, the drivers for thousands of NIC and printers and whatsoever, Buetooth functions...and whatever.
I have THIS antenna, THIS hard Disk....and so on."
With hard drive space being like $60/TB you'd never recover enough space to make the endeavor worthwhile.
OTOH there is a major disadvantage to your idea. You "never" need *this* network driver, wifi, etc. right now, but what if your motherboard dies? With Windows you hope you can find all your original media and try to reinstall or hope you made a "good" backup that you can restore all your software and settings to a fresh install (something I've never completely succeeded with on Windows, usually not eve close).
With all the drivers in place as modules you can move the drive to a new system and let the auto hardware detection in modern distributions (Knoppix, Ubuntu etc.) get you up and running without effort.
In fact I use this as a feature by "cloning" my development system and then distributing them as "appliance" computers to run my software. Should I need to do "field service" my developent tools and environment are there waiting for me.
I know this will mark me as a
I know this will mark me as a "total noob", but.....
Is there an EASY way to remove ANY UNNECESSARY COMPONENT from the Kernel to suite exactly what needed for my hardware AND preferred applications?
I mean something like a list of checkbox to mark after a deep research on my hardware, that then produce the right system iso to install
I know I will never need, in this build, the drivers for thousands of NIC and printers and whatsoever, Buetooth functions...and whatever.
I have THIS antenna, THIS hard Disk....and so on.
And most of all...there would be any advantage in doing so?
OR....would it be possible to use Synaptic to remove anything unneeded also in kernel? (I already panic when it tells me gnome metapackages must be remove to get rid of the - for me - unuseful Totem...)
I know this will mark me as a
I know this will mark me as a "total noob", but.....
Is there an EASY way to remove ANY UNNECESSARY COMPONENT from the Kernel to suite exactly what needed for my hardware AND preferred applications?
I mean something like a list of checkbox to mark after a deep research on my hardware, that then produce the right system iso to install
I know I will never need, in this build, the drivers for thousands of NIC and printers and whatsoever, Buetooth functions...and whatever.
I have THIS antenna, THIS hard Disk....and so on.
And most of all...there would be any advantage in doing so?
OR....would it be possible to use Synaptic to remove anything unneeded also in kernel? (I already panic when it tells me gnome metapackages must be remove to get rid of the - for me - unuseful Totem...)
Good article
Good article, thanks for posting it !
Find out where the SD card is
Find out where the SD card is mounted to begin the formatting process. Launch a "Terminal" window if you are not already in a terminal shell account. To launch the "Terminal" in Ubuntu Linux, select "Applications" from the menu bar and drag to "Accessories" and then to "Terminal." Release the Mouse button to launch "Terminal."
autel ds708
Great article!
I've played round with kernel builds some but didn't know all this detail until your article: thanks for sharing you insights!
Very informative! +1 for
Very informative! +1 for
computer science
Excellent article, I recommend it.
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text:
In a surprise move before the deadline ran out on a threat by congressional Republicans to hold U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress, the president threw a curveball.
According to media outlets, including The Huffington Post, President Barack Obama invoked executive privilege Wednesday, essentially withholding documents from a committee was demanding from Holder. The documents were requested for an investigation into "Fast and Furious" — the name given to an operation launched to track weapons purchased by Mexican drug cartels. It turned sour, however, when agents lost track of more than 1,000 firearms and two turned up at the scene of the murder of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry. The family of the dead border agent is reportedly condemning the move not to allow for full disclosure.
While it is the first time Obama has invoked this privilege, previous administrations have done it often. President George Bush invoked it six times and President Bill Clinton 14 times. With it being used now by Obama, it brings up all the old arguments made against previous administrations that "if there is nothing to hide, why hide?" Obama, as a senator, had asked that same question of the Bush administration. His own move drew swift criticism from House Republicans, including this comment by Speaker John Boehner's press secretary, reported in The Huffington Post:
"Until now, everyone believed that the decisions regarding 'Fast and Furious' were confined to the Department of Justice. The White House decision to invoke executive privilege implies that White House officials were either involved in the 'Fast and Furious' operation or the cover-up that followed. The administration has always insisted that wasn't the case. Were they lying, or are they now bending the law to hide the truth?"
So what do you think? Should the president have invoked executive privilege in this case? If it was indeed outside the White House and strictly an issue with the Department of Justice, should he have stayed out of it and let the chips fall where they may? Tell us what you think in comments below.


text:
By Bob Hertzel
For the Times West Virginian
New Marshall football coach Doc Holliday vehemently denied speculation that he was the unnamed source behind a story in last Sunday's Huntington Dispatch that reported West Virginia University had self-reported to the NCAA violations of using personnel in coaching roles over the limit of nine.
"I would never do anything like that," an irate Holliday said. "West Virginia is my alma mater, remember. I spent a long time there. I have roots there."
A column early this week in the Times West Virginian included these paragraphs, which Holliday took to be accusing him of being the leak.
"When one realized the head coach at Marshall is Doc Holliday, a long-time WVU assistant who left the program back when Don Nehlen was retiring and then was snubbed when Bill Stewart was named over him as Rodriguez's replacement after he had spent time at North Carolina State and Florida, there was much suspicion that he may have been behind the planting of the story.
"Considering Holliday also has hired away some of WVU's graduate assistants to work in his program, one can assume that the first shot in what could be a hot rivalry has been fired."
While it is true speculation existed that Holliday was the unnamed source of the story, he made it a point to stress this was not the case.
"I have enough to worry about with my football team," the former West Virginia coach said.
West Virginia officials have steadfastly refused to confirm or deny the report that Pat Kirkland and Dale Wolfley, two men who hold administrative positions, had been used in coaching duties.
NCAA rules prohibit them from commenting publically at this time.
o o o o o o
West Virginia's football team is going through seven-on-drills as part of its summer workouts and if you are looking for some good news, this is how linebacker J.T. Thomas sees incoming freshman quarterback Jeremy Johnson of Silsbee High in Texas.
"Jeremy Johnson is really fast," Thomas said. "I don't want to say his name in vain, but Jeremy sort of looks like Pat White when he tucks the ball and runs."
You can't get a higher compliment in this neck of the woods than that.
Johnson and fellow incoming freshman Barry Brunetti from Memphis are different types of quarterbacks.
"Barry is more a stout kid who can throw the ball real good," Thomas said.
Johnson is 6-3, 175 and Brunetti 6-0 and 207.
Of course, Geno Smith is penciled in as the starter as the most experienced and after a strong spring throwing the ball despite recovering from a broken bone in his foot.
He is still not doing everything because of the foot but has shown a strong, accurate arm and fast release.%
"Geno is out there helping those younger guys, just like Jarrett (Brown) helped him last year. It's very impressive. He's sharp and he knows his stuff," running back Noel Devine said of Smith.
If you are looking for a future star, cast an eye toward cornerback Broderick Jenkins, a redshirt freshman from Fort Myers, Fla., who made great strides in spring camp and seems to be carrying them on into the summer.
"He was the fifth guy (among the cornerbacks) at the end of the fall, but right now he's running with the 1s," cornerback coach David Lockwood said.
WVU has two returning starting cornerbacks in Brandon Hogan, who spent much of the spring in the doghouse, and Keith Tandy. Hogan is a potential all-conference player as a senior.
What happened with Jenkins to move him forward?
"It's his confidence that has grown," Lockwood said. "When he first came here, he was always in position to make the play but never made it. Then, this spring, he showed he could make the plays. Once he realized he could do it, his confidence grew and he improved."
The Mountaineers also have another redshirt freshman cornerback in Pat Miller out of a top program in Birmingham, Ala.
Lockwood wasn't worried much about Hogan's missing much of the spring drills as he worked on academics.%
"I looked at it as an opportunity to find out what Jenkins could do," Miller said. "We know what Hogan can do. He's a fifth year guy. What does he need?"
o o o o o o
Mike Cassazza, on his Charleston Daily Mail blog, noted that Rivals.com had an interesting survey of ticket prices throughout Division-1A, which it will always be to me.
WVU is tied with Cal for 19th place with its cheapest season ticket still available without a donation and for $325.
The most expensive among the cheapest season tickets you can buy?
Ohio State, which requires a $1,500 donation and $607 for the seat, which comes to $2,107.
Pitt, by the way, offers a season ticket for $87 without a donation.
What's that they say, you get what you pay for?
o o o o o o
West Virginia University pitcher Chris Enourato signed as a free agent with the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday.
He was a third-team All-Big East selection and struck out 179 in 178.1 innings for his career.
E-mail Bob Hertzel at firstname.lastname@example.com.


text:
Chris Barth, Forbes Staff
I share stories, advice, and data – usually about investing.
Houston, we have a problem. Or should I say, "Iran, we have your problem?" Last night, a member of hacker group Anonymous – a devious 4chan-spawned Internet coalition known for increasingly serious web-based attacks – announced on Twitter that the group was in possession of the Stuxnet virus.
Stuxnet is one of the more powerful viruses to ever spread across the internet. As Bruce Schneier detailed for Forbes, the worm crippled Iran's nuclear facility by infiltrating a Siemen's control system for industrial centrifuges. As I wrote late last year, the Stuxnet virus is a stark example of how cyber attacks can affect brick and mortar institutions.
"Anonymous is now in possession of Stuxnet – problem, officer?" tweeted user by the name of Topiary. Topiary's profile describes the user as an online activist and a "Supporter of Anonymous Operations, WikiLeaks, and maintaining freedom on the Internet."
To me, two huge questions arise from Anonymous' claim:
The answer to both questions, of course, is maybe. But let's dive a little deeper.
Recently, Anonymous has been in the news for its high profile attacks on software security firm HBGary, after Aaron Barr, the CEO of HBGary's sister firm HBGary Federal, claimed to have acquired the names of senior Anonymous members and threatened to release them to the public. Forbes' Parmy Olson has done a fantastic job covering that affair.
When asked what he might do to Qadaffi, Ronald Regan said, "I hope he lies awake at night wondering about that."
Just so with the the Anonymous threat. Do the various rogue regimes really want to ignore it?
If anon wished to use a virus in a direct attack on a self serving US government. I cant see what value stuxnet would be as the US gov created it, had they any sense they would have immunised their own machines against it and any derivative visuses just in case it came back at them.
Were anyone to write a virus to target the US gov, One potential security weakness that could be leveraged is the fact that the US gov rather than using Natted IP addresses has reserved for it's use massive contiguous blocks of globally unique IP addresses (rather than smaller blocks out of the general US IP address allocation. A number of US corps and institutions have done the same (as has the UK gov) and the address ranges readily available online. This makes it a trivial matter of half a dozen lines of code that checks the IP address of an infected machine resides within the Target institution before triggering it's payload.
Simple, 100.0% effective solution to protect your company against stuxnet based viruses, or the thousands of others that merely steal your data:
Stop using Windows.
Get serious and run all critical infrastructure on unix-based systems such as BSD or Linux, no way around it.
Problem, Forbes?
I'm sorry, but all 4 of the zero-day's used by stuxnet have been patched and therefore are already easily exploitable by analyzing the patches themselves. (As in the case with the TDL4 rootkit, which was updated a while ago to use the stuxnet exploits without ever having to reverse engineer the virus itself.) Hence the term "Exploit Wednesday" that comes the day after "Patch Tuesday".
Anonymous thinking they have something that's already publicly available, and already in use by real malware writers, is what's interesting.
Anonymous has never been known to lie or misrepresent themselves before, there is no reason to believe they would do so with the Stuxnet virus.
The cracking of HBGary was very sophisticated and professional. It revealed a great deal more than anyone anticipated.
Powerpoint presentations showing strategies to neutralize Wikileaks illustrate how major organizations like banks deal with their adversaries. This ought to alarm everyone.
Ever wonder why we don't hear more from bank whistle blowers given all the fraud in the banking and mortgage industries?
See: http://ReportingWrongdoing.com
Bank whistle blowers are being silenced by national security contractors like HBGary in the same way they planned to deal with Wikileaks for Bank of America.
See: http://www.reportingwrongdoing.com/who-is-silencing-bank-whistle-blowers.html
Anonymous has done the world a tremendous favor by exposing the criminal activities of these corporations.
I'm not getting why this is a story because I thought that this tool was mostly designed to disrupt industrial process infrastructure, specifically nuclear refining operations. What is anybody else supposed to do with this if they aren't targeting a nuclear production facility?
While I don't condone what Anon did, I am grateful for the schemes revealed in the process. That was a public service. Not so nice though was the extortion session that went on in IRC chat over the fate of Greg Hoaglund's email cache. But if there's similar material, I'd have to say it serves a great public good to let that stuff loose, too. Spying and dirty tricks ops shouldn't be going on in a free socieity. Sadly they do and usually, it can never be proven. Anon changed that.
This article is so idiotic. Having a copy of Stuxnet doesn't let you modify it. They would need the source to do that. Anyone can get a copy of a virus, people actually, try not to get a virus. Getting stux from HBGary does not do anything for anonymous, they wouldn't want it anyway. The point is that stux being associated with these corporations and the government tells us, the "citizens" of the USA, that our government and the corporations are colluding in an effort to deceive US. It demonstrates that the true enemy of US is not Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran or North Korea. The true enemy of US is the corporations and our government. Until we, the people, take our country back, we will not be free again. Until we're willing to stand up to the government and the corporations, like the people of Egypt did for there's, nothing will change for the better. It will just continue to get worse.
Mr. Barth,
I think you are missing the real point here. The question is not "does Anonymous have Stuxnet" but "why did HBGary have Stuxnet"? What were *they* planning on using it for? After all, Anonymous claims to have stolen it from HBGary. If it is true that Stuxnet only impacts Siemens Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) software for programmable logic controller (PLCs), then it would be of little use to Anonymous. However, the same can be said of HBGary, unless they were planning on sabotaging PLCs owned by ThinkProgress and various trade unions (n=0), it is equally useless to them.
HBGary seems in a much better position "to do something" with Stuxnet than Anonymous.
I am not worried that Anonymous has Stuxnet, I am worried that Stuxnet was found in HBGary's email archives. I would like to know in what context?


text:
Definition of wrap up in English:
wrap up
1 (also wrap someone up) Put on (or dress someone in) warm clothes: wrap up warm Tim was well wrapped up against the weather
More example sentences
- My father wrapped me up in his bathrobe and I got to sit up with my parents drink flat ginger ale and watch Johnny Carson.
- Jarlox himself just wore pantaloons, his golden skin seeming to glow a little bit in the sun while both Autumn and Sofi were wrapped up in their cloaks, content to hide from view.
- By this time, Neeley had given birth to the first girl and the officers wrapped her up in Karen's police jacket to keep her warm.
dress warmly, wear warm clothes, put on more clothes, muffle up
2 (also wrap it up) [in imperative] British informal Be quiet; stop talking or making a noise.
be quiet, quieten down, be silent, fall silent, stop talking, hold one's tongue, keep one's lips sealed
informal shut up, shut one's mouth, shut one's face, shut one's trap, button one's lip, put a sock in it, pipe down, belt up, cut the cackle, give it a rest
British informal shut one's gob, wrap it up
North American informal save it, can it
Definition of wrap up in:
- The US English dictionary
- The English Synonyms
- The US English Synonyms
Get more from Oxford Dictionaries
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Word of the day humoresque
Pronunciation: ˌ(h)yo͞oməˈresk
a short, lively piece of music


text:
Somerset —
Even though Somerset is now "wet," those looking to pick up a little champagne to take home for New Year's Eve knew they wouldn't be able to do so in Somerset.
What they — and even city officials — don't know is exactly how much longer it will be until they can.
While restaurants and bars are serving drinks by the glass and shoppers looking for beer can stop in nearly any gas station or grocery here in Somerset, liquor stores — those retailers for distilled spirits and wine — are still AWOL.
That's thanks to the type of license needed to operate one of those stores, available via the state's Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) office. The "Retail Liquor Package" license is what's called a "quota license," meaning only a limited amount of them may be issued to a "wet" community, according to Kentucky law.
The number set for Somerset by the ABC? Five. The number of applicants? According to the notices of intent to file for a license as published in the Commonwealth Journal, 17 — including drug stores like CVS and Walgreen's which would merely add these types of products to their current inventory.
It's up to the state ABC offices to decide which five out of that weightier number
Earlier estimates suggested that Somerset should have its liquors stores start popping up by this month, January of 2013. Mayor Eddie Girdler told the Commonwealth Journal in November that he expected the licenses to be decided upon by early December, with the stores beginning operation a month to three months later.
Yet here it is January — and still no word on when Somerset citizens will be able to legally buy wine, bourbon or vodka by the bottle.
"Nothing's really changed; I've expected something soon for quite a while now," said Nick Bradley, Somerset's ABC Administrator, the local figure overseeing how businesses sell alcohol in a community. Bradley said he had "heard of a specific time ... sometime back" in the past, and "that time has come and gone."


text:
President Barack Obama's recent nomination of Chuck Hagel, the former United States Senator from Nebraska, as Defense Secretary is deeply troublesome.
Practically from the moment Hagel's name was first mentioned as a potential candidate, waves of widespread, bipartisan distaste over President Obama's choice began to surface.
The reasons why Hagel is a flawed nominee are fairly simple: His 12-year record as a United States Senator is unusually laden with examples of overt antagonism toward the State of Israel; utterly counterintuitive positions on national security and terrorism; and a baffling lack of concern over the many credible fears responsible world leaders have about Iran's increasingly subversive role within the international community.
Those who vigorously support the President's choice, seek to muddle the issue by pointing to Hagel's meritorious service and bravery in the army during Vietnam, where he earned two Purple Hearts, the Army Commendation Medal and the Combat Infantryman Badge.
There's no question that former Senator Chuck Hagel is an American hero. But Hagel's decorated service to our county does little to minimize or negate the many troubling questions surrounding this nomination. Furthermore, military heroics and service are not – and cannot be – the sole prerequisites for serving as Secretary of Defense.
It wasn't that Hagel frequently stood alone on various issues – there's virtue in being independent-minded. Rather, it's on which issues Hagel consistently chooses to exercise his "independence" that require reflection.
An examination of these curious instances, spanning Hagel's senate career, unveils a telling pattern of the former Senator's true record – one that demonstrates a nominee far too extreme and out-of-touch to occupy the Defense cabinet post:
- October 2000: Hagel stood out as one of only four Senators refusing to sign a Senate letter in support of Israel;
- August 2001: Hagel was one of the two votes cast against renewing the Senate's Iran Libya Sanctions Act;
- November 2001: Hagel chose not to join 87 other senators urging the President not to meet with Yasser Arafat until Palestinian forces ended a campaign of violent, unprovoked attacks against Israeli citizens;
- April 2002: Hagel opposed banning Iraq oil imports until Saddam Hussein ended his practice of sending cash awards to families of Palestinian suicide bombers;
- June 2004: Hagel refused to lend his voice to those urging the President to include the Iranian nuclear program in an upcoming G-8 summit agenda;
- June 2005: Hagel opposed renewing sanctions against Iran, calling them "not effective" and claiming sanctions only serve to "further isolate the United States";
- December 2005: Hagel refused to join efforts to pressure the Palestinian Authority into banning terrorist groups from participating in Palestinian elections; and
- August 2006: Hagel flatly refused to urge European Union leaders to categorize Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.
There are just a few serious concerns about the positions Chuck Hagel has taken on many important issues to national security in recent years. The New York Times reported that "Hagel has opposed sanctions on Iran, failed to support Israel, and has advocated engaging with Hamas and Hezbollah." (New York Times, January 8, 2013)
Closer to Hagel's home state, Carol Katzman, the former editor of the Omaha Jewish Press, told New York's venerable Jewish publication The Algemeiner Journal that her former U.S. Senator was particularly dismissive when it came to local concerns about Israel. "Hagel was the only [federal elected official] we have had in Nebraska, who basically showed the Jewish community that he didn't give a damn about the Jewish community or any of our concerns," said Katzman.
The article goes on to describe Hagel's positions on the Jewish State as "always plac[ing] the blame on Israel, demanding 'more and more concessions, Israel was at fault when things went wrong, [and] the Palestinians didn't need to adhere to any standard.'"
Any potential cabinet officer, especially Secretary of Defense – one of the more important and prominent presidential appointees – should hold reasonably mainstream views on pressing issues facing our nation's military. At the very least, the Secretary of Defense should have some history of placing personal opinions aside when contributing to national defense policies that will impact our nation and its allies for many decades to come.
Hagel, considering his many, long-held radical views and record, falls far short of even this minimal requirement. In fact, it's something that Democrats, Republicans and Independents can all agree on.
Former New York City Mayor Ed Koch, a Democrat who endorsed President Obama in the recent election, said, "I believe [Chuck Hagel] would be a terrible appointment [as Secretary of Defense], and so do apparently most of the Jewish leaders who have expressed themselves."
"Were Chuck Hagel nominated to be secretary of defense, the Iranian mullahs would interpret President Obama's decision as a signal that the military option was off now, effectively, off the table. It would encourage [Iran] to proceed with their development of nuclear weapons without fear of an attack by the United States…they will ultimately be allowed to win the prize of a deliverable nuclear bomb," predicted noted attorney, legal scholar, and Harvard Law School professor Alan Dershowitz.
Democrat Congressman Eliot Engel of Manhattan said Hagel has, "Some kind of endemic hostility towards Israel and that's troublesome … [i]n the sensitive post of Secretary of Defense, those are warning bells. Those are red lights."
Democrat Senator Bob Casey from Pennsylvania similarly stated that, "any comment that undermines our relationship [with Israel] concerns me."
Republican Senator Lindsay Graham believes Hagel's "positions are really out of the mainstream," and Senator Tom Coburn, Republican from Oklahoma, is on the record saying that he "cannot vote for Chuck Hagel simply because of some of the positions he's taken and statements he's made."
But your opinion also counts. And we need to come together as a community to stand up for the United States and Israel, our greatest ally in the Middle East. We need to call upon our federal representatives to let them know that President Obama's nomination of Chuck Hagel as Defense Secretary is troublesome, if not decidedly dangerous.
Demand that our federal officials – who rush to show their support of Israel come election-time – stand on the side of what's right for America, helpful to Israel and in opposition to our enemies and those who wish to destroy the Jewish State.
Call and express your opinion to Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy at 202-225-5516, and our two United States Senators, Senator Chuck Schumer (202-224-6542) and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (202-224-4451, who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee and will be participating in the Secretary of Defense confirmation hearings.
Join me in demanding that they oppose Hagel as Secretary of Defense.
Call our federal elected officials to let them know that Chuck Hagel is not a viable option. His record and extreme views make him an irresponsible nominee and should disqualify him from President Barack Obama's cabinet.


text:
Curriculum and Instruction
Districts may find the following web sites useful in obtaining information and services. The New Jersey Department of Education does not recommend or endorse any materials. Web site addresses frequently change and searching titles may result in different addresses.
Higher Education
Strategies for Success: Tips, Issues and Trends
- Project-Based Learning
- Constructivism
- Other State and District Standards
- Lessons by NETS
- NETS for Students
- Profiling Educational Technology Integration
- Arizona Technology Education Standards
- Connecticut Department of Education Technology Education Framework
- British Columbia
- Manitoba
- Idaho
- The Technology Education Lab
- Guilford County Schools
- Mesa Public Schools
- Montgomery Public Schools
- Lesson Plan Databases
- Access Excellence Exchange
- The Educator's Reference Desk
- Technology Integration
- Educational Technology Clearing House
- Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning
- For Lesson Plans.Com
- Best Practices of Educational Technology
- Technology Lesson Plans
- Lesson Plan Z.com
- Cyber Smart!
- Awaresome Library
- Thirteen Online
- The Teacher Corner
- Daily Lesson Plan
- Education World
- Minerals Information Institute
- Link to Learning
- The Educator's Reference Desk
- National Geographic Lesson Plans
- Early Childhood Literacy Lessons
- Lesson Planz.Com
- Discoveryschool.com
- Technology Education
- City Technology
- Bridges
- Domes
- Skyscrapers
- Dams
- Tunnels
- Exploring Simple Machines
- Bridges
- Lesson Plan and Activity Link for Technology
- Webquests: Provides an array of Technology Education activities.
Educational Activities
- Graphic Organizers
- Simple Machines Inventions
- Simple Machines
- Sketching Gadget Anatomy
- Be Inventive
- The elements of machines
- Simple Machines
- Educational Programs at the Tech Museum
- Wind Tunnel Design
- Marvelous Machines
- Botball Robotics Program
- Education Resource Organizations Directory (EROD)
- FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology)
- Flight-History.com
- Graphic Comm Central
- Manufacturing is Cool
- NASA's Education Homepage
- NASA's Space Place
- Teacher Scholastic
- TechChallenge
- Technically Speaking
- Ties Magazine
- Symposium of TECHNOLOGY
- The Elements of Simple Machines
- Simple Machines Learning
- Simple Machines used in cars
- History of Five Simple Machines
- Field Trips For Simple Machines
- Simple Machines
- Resource List
- How Stuff Works
- Incline Planes.WeirdRichard
- MIT's Inventor Handbook
- MIT's Games and Trivia
- CEEE GirlTECH '95 Lesson Plan
- Wikipedia Mathematics
- ASSE Lesson Plans
- Time Engineers
- Grades K-5
All about Computers
Inventors and Inventions 1
Inventors and Inventions 2: Air and Space
Technology at Work
Technology at Work 2
Simple Machines
Student Activity Sheets and Teacher's Guides
Machines and Wheels
Simple Machines
Pieces of Science
University of Arkansas - AgriScience Project: Simple Machines
Math Challenges for K-5 Learners via the Internet
- Grades 6-8
Alexander and Alexandria
The Clone Age
Destination Mars
Eyes in the Sky
Famous Bridges
Future Body
Higher and Higher: Amazing Skyscrapers
Invention: Computer Technology
Inventor's Workshop
Reaching New Heights
Stable and Unstable Structures
Three Gorges: The Biggest Dam in the World
Tunnels: Underground Marvels
Understanding Computing
- Grades 9-12
Lost in Time
The Real Bionic Man
Understanding Space Travel
Understanding Television
The War of the Worlds
- Chart the Weather for Cities Around the World
Web Quests
CyberEthics & Safety
- On guard online
- Ikeepsafe
- ConnectSafely
- NewSmartz
- GetNetWise
- Staysafeonline
- WiredSafety
- Prevent Cyberbuly
- Net-Tech News for Parents
- U.S. Copyright Office
- The Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998
- 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals
- The Copyright Clearance Center
- Web Wise Kids
- Cyber Ethics for Kids
- CyberSpacers
- Copyright Kids
- Creativity in the Classroom
Graphic Organizers
NJ Best Practices


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Browse Accessories For Your Phone
Latest Headlines
Latest poll
Latest Forum Posts
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DécorLightingKitchenBed & BathOutdoorHome ImprovementBaby & KidsMore...Sales
free shippingon orders over $49*
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I just needed a small chest of drawers for my guest room and this is perfect! My children now have a nice place to put their clothes while visiting from out of state. This is beautiful next to theI just needed a small chest of drawers for my guest room and this is perfect! My children now have a nice place to put their clothes while visiting from out of state. This is beautiful next to the matching night stands. With everything together, it looks like I spent a small fortune.......shhh! I didn't!!! I really like this dresser!!"..." Read more- Jamie in Lansing, MI
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As the Holiday season commences and with three weeks left until Christmas, odds are you are desperately trying to wrap up last minute shopping. Hitting up Amazon, Wal-Mart and other big-box retailers has become a holiday tradition in its own right.
Another contender has risen up from obscurity in the last few years though, ready to reclaim its preeminent place in the American shopping hierarchy: your local small business.
This juggernaut is ready to fight tooth and nail for every dollar spent this holiday season and there are some compelling reasons to support it.
Local small businesses were the backbone of daily life and our communities for many decades. Even today, small businesses account for roughly two thirds of new job creation in the United States. The local bookstore, auto-repair shop and specialty retailer all promote growth in our communities and encourage growth by making sure spending within the community doesn't stagnate and benefits multiple groups.
An example of this increased money velocity (frequency of transactions in a domestic economy) is found in small businesses that receive money for a product, then turn around and use that capital on another domestic product. If I spend $10 at my neighborhood bookstore, I might actually be contributing hundreds of dollars' worth of growth the local economy. Local purchases are an investment into bettering our economy on both the local and state level.
Small Business Saturday has grown from a 2010 depression gimmick to a nationally recognized "shopping holiday" endorsed by both political parties and gaining unanimous support on social networking sites. This year spending exceeded estimates and generated a whopping 5.5$ billion dollars in sales. American Express, Facebook, Twitter and others have all rallied to promote local businesses for free. This growth has allowed many small businesses to hire new workers, provide benefits and promote civic organizations within their communities.
Amazon and Wal-Mart are convenient. I'd be lying if I'd say there aren't some things you're better suited buying off Amazon this season. (Most local places don't carry Frogmen Sea Scooters, and Amazon has a great deal on one today.) If you have the opportunity though, drop in a local store and you might find a place you'll continue to frequent for years to come.
Friendship and community is awfully hard to make with a login on Amazon, and that is the greatest strength of our small businesses.
Reprinted from the blog of State Senator Curt Thompson's (D-5th District, including parts of Tucker). Also, check the Senator out on Facebook and Twitter


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Wagner's Dream
Complete with soprano spillage, dangling Rhinemaidens, frayed tempers and frozen computers, Susan Froemke's fly-on-the-wall study of a glitch-filled, controversial opera production has more suspense and drama than any ten reality shows. In taking on Wagner's titanic Ring Cycle, superstar Canadian theatre director Robert Lepage should have known what he was getting into. The logistical requirements alone—16 hours of musical drama, four stories over four nights, dragons, Rhinemaidens, tenors, carpenters, etc.—are staggering. But directors of Wagner's cycle must also come to terms with re-interpreting for contemporary audiences a work tainted by the composer's anti-Semitism and powerful associations with Hitler and Nazism.
New stagings of the work are expected to take all of this on board and more, and radical re-interpretation has become the norm. Lepage's bold solution is to design a special stage—nicknamed (without affection) "the machine"—with interlocking wooden elements that shift to create new spaces, from the bottom of the Rhine to the ruins of Valhalla. This structure, which recalls at different times the world's biggest game of Jenga and a Rubik's cube, is elegant in action but terrifying to work with—watching the statuesque soprano Deborah Voigt wipe out and somehow bounce back is only the most impressive moment of doughty professionalism in this revealing (if sometimes nerve-wracking) film. Wagner ain't for wimps.
"Simply the best documentary about the Met ever made." Film Journal
"Destined to be one of the classic documentaries about opera." Philadelphia Inquirer
"A rousing portrait of creative renewal and, specifically, the way in which – by attempting something daring and new in the face of an opera culture deeply invested in tradition – Lepage proves that classic art can survive and flourish in a marriage with modern technology and imagination." – The Village Voice


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Wire report
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
LEXINGTON, Ky. —
Virginia Tech softball pulled the upset to start its day on Sunday, but the Kentucky Wildcats bounced back and claimed the NCAA Lexington Regional with a 1-0 victory in the "if necessary" championship game, ending the Hokies' season.
"We did what we needed to do to compete and try to move on and obviously I thought coming into this regional we matched up well with Kentucky," Tech head coach Scot Thomas said.
"I think we proved that today. Hats off to them, hats off to my team for battling all last night and battling all day today. I am proud of our bunch for sure."
In the first game, Tech (38-21) got a three-hit shutout from freshman Kelly Heinz and a big RBI double from Lauren Gaskill as the Hokies pulled the 2-0 upset.
Heinz shut down the high-powered UK offense, giving up just three singles as she struck out three and walked five to finish her freshman year with a 17-8 record.
The two teams were scoreless as they headed to the fifth inning when senior Betty Rose led off with a single and moved up on senior Bkaye Smith's sac bunt. Gaskill then drove a 3-2 pitch to the gap to plate Rose and give Tech a 1-0 lead.
After Dani Anderson was hit by a pitch and Courtney Liddle walked, Kylie McGoldrick drew a bases-loaded walk to make it 2-0. That would be all Heinz would need as she shut down Kentucky the rest of the way. Gaskill had three of Tech's six hits in that game.
In the first inning of the final game, Kentucky's Sylver Samuel got aboard via a Virginia Tech error and scored the only run of the contest on a hard-hit single by Lauren Cumbess. Cumbess pitched into the fourth inning, but reliever Kelsey Nunley took the pitching win.
Virginia Tech loaded the bases in the fourth inning but could not score.
Jasmin Harrell, who pitched 13 innings in the Hokies' 3-2 win over Marshall on Saturday, was on the mound again Sunday. She gave up eight hits with two strikeouts and two walks.
The 17th-ranked Wildcats advance to next weekend's NCAA Super Regionals. Virginia Tech was playing in its second straight NCAA Regional Final.
NCAA Division I Softball Glance
By The Associated Press
(Regional teams only)
Lexington (Ky.) Regional
Double Elimination
Friday, May 17
Virginia Tech 4, Notre Dame 3
Kentucky 2, Marshall 1
Saturday, May 18
Kentucky 6, Virginia Tech 2
Marshall 3, Notre Dame 1, Notre Dame eliminated
Virginia Tech 3, Marshall 2, 13 innings, Marshall eliminated
Sunday, May 19
Championship Round
Virginia Tech 2, Kentucky 0
Kentucky 1, Virginia Tech 0, Kentucky advances


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August 1, 2014
Senator Russ Feingold says he's closer to making a decision on a presidential race following this week's congressional elections, but he still hasn't decided if the election results have made him more or less likely to run for president.
The Wisconsin Democrat says the results push him in both directions, so he's going to sit down and think about what he wants to be doing over the next couple years.
Tuesday's elections saw Democrats take control of the House and make a run for Senate control as well.
Feingold says he's also buoyed by exit poll results showing that almost 6 of 10 voters disapproved of the war in Iraq and a majority say the United States should withdraw some or all of its troops.
Feingold was the first senator to call for a timetable to bring troops back from Iraq.
But he says he's also attracted to the idea of serving as part of a Senate majority.
A close victory in a Virginia race gives Democrats control of the Senate.


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Local boys and ghouls are invited to Chickasha Main Street Association's annual Neeowollah celebration on Chickasha Ave.
"Neeowollah" is "Halloween" spelled backwards, but the same rules apply. Children 12 and under dress up and collect candy from door to door. For Neeowollah, however, they collect candy from local businesses along Chickasha's Main St.
Neeowallah is from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Oct. 31 on Chickasha Ave.
The celebration is also a treat for businesses, Andrew Ford, Chickasha Main St. Director, said.
"It's a chance for them to showcase their business," Ford said.
Merchants from 2nd St. to 8th St. along Chickasha Ave. are invited to pass out candy to children as they walk by. Ford said that this provides exposure for businesses.
There is no need for businesses to request permission if located within the defined area between 2nd and 8th St. on Chickasha Ave.
All children must be accompanied by a parent.
Ford said the trick or treat event has been an annual tradition for Chickasha Main Street for many years.


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Delicious long-lasting chew for dogs of all sizes. Premium rawhide and real meat are hand rolled to form a chewy swirl bursting with meat in the middl Read More
Delicious long-lasting chew for dogs of all sizes.
Premium rawhide and real meat are hand rolled to form a chewy swirl bursting with meat in the middle of every bite. A healthy, fun chew to help promote clean teeth and gums.
Made in China.
Reviews (3)
"Great Puzzle!"
I love these chews because they kept my greyhound occupied for quite awhile and gave her a puzzle to solve. She won?ÇÖt eat rawhide, but she would work at the spiral until she unrolled it, eating the meat as she got it out. Unfortunately, she eventually tired of the puzzle and now just bights down on them, but she still eats only the meat. The beagle next door is treated to the strip of rawhide, and runs off happily with her prize! I was quite upset when the company stopped making them, and was delighted to hear that they are making the Chewy Buns again.
"Lab Delight!"
My 4 year old female Black Lab LOVES these Dingo Buns! They DO NOT last very long at all due to her Lab jaws BUT it gives her something GOOD to chew on and we have even used them in her training as reward treats! Highly recommend them....they do break apart when a dog gets down to chewing it to smithereens BUT hopefully your dog will not leave ONE precious morsel behind in the aftermath-JoJo sure doesn't!!!
"Dogs loved them"
I bought a couple of packages of the Dingo Chewy Buns for my dogs as part of their Christmas present. They loved the meat swirl in the middle and had a great time chewing on them. Great price and value. Will purchase again.
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Sony VAIO Duo 11
A new addition to the emerging market in Windows 8 tablet-notebook hybrids, this is a good-looking device with crisp visuals. Stretching a Full HD, 1,920 x 1,080 resolution across its 11.6 inch diagonal, the VAIO Duo 11 boasts exceptionally wide viewing angles and amazing colour reproduction (even if not the full range of colors in the sRGB gamut), with an excellent contrast ratio of 868:1.
This is a not-so-elegant system of tablet-notebook switching that, literally, hinges on the user resting the screen on the base at a suitable angle, with little room for a standard keyboard and trackpad. Sony has instead offered a compact, Scrabble-tile like backlit keyboard, and squeezed in an optical trackpoint in the middle of the keyboard. Below the spacebar are the usual left- and right-buttons plus a middle button which, when held down, permits vertical scrolling with a nudge. The trackpoint's tap-to-click mode is a feature best left disabled, since it can cause accidental jogs of the cursor while typing, sometimes highlighting text unnecessarily. A bundled stylus, provided with two pen nibs, allows users to opt for a softer or firmer feel while inking. This metal-clad device has two buttons positioned on its brushed metal shaft, and is powered by a tiny AAAA battery.
The Duo 11 is well built, yet measures just 17.85 mm thick and weighs only 1.3 kg, so it's as portable as most Ultrabooks are. Even so, that's still quite heavy for a tablet, and you can't hold the Duo 11 in one hand for very long when you're browsing the web, as you can with a conventional tablet. The matte carbon base and metal keyboard are rigid, and tolerate many of the day-to-day human stresses.
But the winning card is obviously the insane battery life. Even among Ultrabooks, this tireless machine lasts for 7 hours with light usage. Buy the battery slice that clips to the VAIO Duo 11's underside, and that figure will reach well over the 10-hour mark. As an added bonus, the battery slice provides a slot for stashing the supplied stylus, so that you have less of a chance of misplacing it.
- Intel Core i5-3517U (or i7)
- 4 GB (up to 8GB) DDR3L ;1600MHz SD RAM
- 128GB (up to 256 GB) SSD
- 29.4 cm (11.6″) OptiContrast™ Panel
- Full HD (1920×1080) with wide (16:9) aspect ratio; capacitive touchscreen
- Intel® HD Graphics 4000
- WLAN 802.11a/b/g/n; Bluetooth® Ver. 4.0 + HS; Ethernet (1000BASE-T/100BASE-TX/10BASE-T x 1); USB 3.0 (x1),
- USB 3.0 with USB charge (x1);
- VGA out; HDMI out;
- Memory Stick Duo / SD memory card combined slot;
- Stereo speakers with xLOUD™ ;
- Full HD Web Cameras (x2, front and rear facing) powered by 'Exmor for PC' (2.07 megapixels);
- Sensors (NFC, GPS, Accelerometer, Gyro, Digital Compass)
Despite the superb performance, sterling image quality and novel form factor, usability is a serious issue with this device. Shifting between tablet and notebook modes sometimes causes the display to refuse to automatically rotate the display to suit. As a tablet, the VAIO Duo 11 is heavy, and in laptop mode the fiddly track-point and average keyboard are no competition for those of a good quality Ultrabook. The VAIO Duo 11 is thus neither a great tablet nor a great laptop, and while you may be willing to forgive Sony's flaws given the company's reputation, right now, is it worth the 89,000 rupees?
Dell XPS 12
A successor to the deluxe XPS 13, the XPS 12 is about as crafty but with a trick up its sleeve – convertibility. With a flip of its screen, this laptop turns into a 360 degrees rotating tablet, and although conceived many years ago, this concept has finally been realized with the hot and happening Windows 8. While it looks almost exactly like the XPS 13, it has many distinguishing structural features – a carbon fiber chassis and lid, machined aluminium base and a Gorilla Glass touchscreen display, weighing just 1.54 kg.
The display is sharp and exceptionally good for a Dell. A Gorilla Glass-covered 12.5 inch panel offers a protected view of Full HD resolution videos, although Windows' DPI setting needs to be altered to avoid painfully tiny text. With a contrast ratio of 681:1, the image quality is gorgeous, but falls short of better laptops this money can buy.
The ports and buttons are placed suitably for usage on both tablet and laptop modes.
- Left – headphone jack and power on/off , volume rocker and orientation lock button on tablet mode
- Right – two USB 3.0 ports, charging port and mini DisplayPort connector
- No LAN, card reader, or HDMI port.
The tablet mode is activated quite smoothly by simply rotating the display within the bezel, and it remains an XPS 13-like laptop with a backlit keyboard when the screen is held in place by latches on the lower end of the bezel. The trackpad, although facing the occasional pinch-zoom glitch and coming in the way of the keyboard, is soft to the touch, with a silky finish that makes for a lovely feel under the finger. It's ample, and comfortable with the wrist-rest so invoking Windows 8's edge-swipe gestures is easy and reliable. However, to get the sensitivity just right, modifying the settings was needed, and the odd hitch occurs with two-fingered zooming and scrolling, with gestures occasionally not being recognized.
The XPS 12 is available in four preset configurations, with the following common specs:
- Intel Core i5-3317U processor, (upto i7), speed 2.6 GHz, cache 3M
- Intel QS77 Chipset
- 4 GB (up to 8 GB) DDR3 Hard Drive
- Inbuilt HDD: 128 GB (up to 256 GB)
- Screen Size: 12.5 inches, 1920 x 1080 resolution
- WiFi Type: 802.11 a/g/n
- 2 USB 3.0 ports, Bluetooth V3.0
- 1.3 MP Built-in Camera
- Camera Resolution: 1280 x 1024
- In-built non-removable 6x Li-ion Battery Cell
Sadly, there's no provision for installing a high-performance GPU for gaming and high-quality videos. Although the panel has very good viewing angles and excellent colour reproduction, the desktop environment does not scale as well as a modern user interface and graphics appear diminished. This makes it a real task to work on text documents or simply read anything without having to zoom in. Even the performance of this notebook is not extraordinary and it makes for a bulky, heavy tablet. Worth shelling out Rs 94,000?


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Santa Cruz Community Credit Union
of Santa Cruz, CA has
9,203 members and assets of $74 million.
The credit union, opened in 1977, has 36 full time employees and 9 part time employees
, or 230 members per employee, compared to a national average of 455.
Santa Cruz Community
Santa Cruz Community is classified as a state chartered natural person credit union.
Automation: Santa Cruz Community credit union features online access to your account, lets you use an automated telephone banking system, provides ATM access to your account and has self-serve kiosks.
Electronic services include apply for a loan, check account balances, loan payments, account history, transfers and online bill payment.
MERit Credit Engine for credit unions provides automated Internet credit report retrieval for scoring including VantageScore, system integration, three bureau merged and Open Standard XML reports.
Free credit report UK and Canada
Other credit unions around Santa Cruz:
Special offer to credit union members. See your instant credit report.
Also see our daily
credit union news page
Find Local Credit Unions
Look up other California credit unions.
Online newspapers and TV stations serving Santa Cruz and California: San Jose Mercury News, The Monterey County Herald, The Californian, or view a national listing of newspapers.
Thinking of buying a car? See California car dealers listed alphabetically by city.


text:
After WWE Superstar Darren Young told TMZ Thursday that he is gay, many of his coworkers sent kind words his way via social media.
Casey Pratt
Casey Pratt gets you up to speed with 'A case of the Mondays,' including a breakdown of an absurd weekend in San Francisco.
NBC Sport Network's recent ad for coverage of the English Premier League features Jason Sudeikis as an American football coach sent to England to coach "football."
Matt Garza took his frustrations with Eric Sogard from the pitching mound to Twitter, where he lashed out at the A's infielder and his wife.
How many of you out there are obsessively clicking the refresh button on your browser window, starving for every little trade deadline nugget and morsel?


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Irish Internet Radio and TV from Dublin, Ireland.
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Teeling Whiskey to open a new distillery in Dublin's Liberties.
Niamh's latest album "Cuz - A Tribute to Terry 'Cuz' Teahan
New Swiss Style Democracy Party takes off in Ireland.
BitCoin developed by Irish man
Tom Cruise arrives in Ireland and traces his Irish roots.
St Patrick's Day in Dublin
Dublin Timelapse 2013
Guinness Tanks on the move
Daniel Day Lewis to head for the Wicklow hills after Oscar nomination
St Patrick's Day Radio Special on liveIreland
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Pager Request Form (PDF)
The Pager Warehouse handles most pagers for the University of Kansas Medical Center. Trauma pagers, Code Blue pagers, and after hours transactions for all other pagers are handled by the switchboard (Ext. 8-5000). We are located at the Public Services Desk of Dykes Library and are available 8am - 5pm, Monday through Friday.
Pager usage statistics for the campus are available as a data warehouse report for on-campus access.
Coverage Options
Local Coverage: Encompasses KUMC facility and the Kansas City Metropolitan area. This coverage also includes north to St. Joseph, south to Branson, southwest to Wichita, west to Topeka (including Lawrence), and east to Jefferson City.
Cost: Numeric: $3.80 | Alpha $5.50
Nationwide Coverage: Nationwide covers all states, including western Kansas, without having to change coverage zones with a code.
Cost: Numeric: $20.65 | Alpha $17.55


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"Some of these people are long forgotten. They were somebody's son or daughter, or father or mother, brother or sister," Preckwinkle said. "They were all human beings."Homewood Memorial Gardens has been the burial site of Cook County's indigents since 1980, with the exception of two years, Preckwinkle said. In recent years, however, it's come under harsh criticism from Sheriff Tom Dart for its disrespectful treatment of the deceased.
"What we're doing today is rectifying the horrible blemish on all of us," Sheriff Dart said. "This was absolutely disgraceful ... the way poor people and the indigent, were being treated. We should all hang our heads in shame."
Dart called the burial practices in the pauper's section of the cemetery as "horrific," describing how bodies were stacked 16 on top of each other or sideways.
"People were buried with animal parts," the sheriff continued. "This is great what we're doing today, but we can never forget … we are supposed to take care of them,and treat them with dignity."The county's current contract with Homewood Memorial Gardens lasts until October of 2014.