text: :: ''No matter what else gets changed, and no matter how irreversible those changes are, basic societal practices and mores will remain in sync with the culture the work is written in.''Freed from the strictures of anything resembling 'volumes' or 'episodes', many webcomic authors enjoy writing 'big' plots. Big, sprawling, possibly-never-ending [[KudzuPlot Kudzu Plots]] that spawn two new plot points for every one resolved, and leave the characters changed forever! There's no need for SnapBack when any new readers can just [[ArchiveTrawl read the archives]] to get up to date!On the other hand, many of the same authors enjoy having characters they can [[LifeEmbellished identify with]]. And they like having a setting close enough to the modern day that they can reference current events. These things can be problematic when any given arc has enough mad, grotesque or visionary events to render the cast insane and the world unrecognizable.The solution? Everything is mutable, ''except'' for the vicissitudes of life that everybody seems to face. For example: Imagine a David R. Rand. He's a normal guy, he works at a 7-11 and goes to college. One day, TheDevil steals his soul! Furious, David astrally projects himself into the body of a [[CthulhuMythos Fungus from Yuggoth]] and battles the Devil in a devastating fight that levels Denver. Defeated, the Devil spitefully cracks open the gates of hell, releasing a plague of flesh-devouring ghouls, and retreats.The next day, David is still a tentacled alien, and Denver is still levelled, and the Devil is still at large -- but Dave ''still'' has to drag himself across those ghoul-haunted streets to the 7-11 or there will be ''hell'' to pay. And has he really considered what his girlfriend is going to think of his new appearance?Similar to ReedRichardsIsUseless, but sillier, and goes beyond socio-economic issues. This is the standard method of keeping WorldOfWeirdness from becoming ''totally'' incomprehensible.Compare WeirdnessCensor. Contrast SupermanStaysOutOfGotham.----!!Examples:[[foldercontrol]][[folder: Anime ]]* ''LightNovel/{{Bakemonogatari}}'' lives and breathes this trope. In fact, some episodes focus so heavily on the mundane aspects of Koyomi and Senjogahara's lives and relationship that it's possible to forget that he's an ex-vampire and she was once rendered weightless by a crab god.* Hei in ''Anime/DarkerThanBlack'' becomes more the RidiculouslyAverageGuy the more his masked persona engages in feats of over the top badassery. He dispenses with this after the breaking of the masquerade, but instead there are more scenes of the {{Muggle}} characters' working days.* ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'' is almost like a StealthParody of this trope, mainly revolving around Kyon. Despite knowing that his friends are, respectively, an omnipotent RealityWarper, a member of a shady organization of psychics, a member of an equally shady organization of time travellers, and a humanoid interface for an [[YouCannotGraspTheTrueForm incomprehensible alien being]]...he seems determined to live a normal life, and is frequently irritated by the supernatural distractions. It's also an InvokedTrope, since they all conspire to make the omnipotent one's life ''seem'' normal so that she won't realize how powerful she is. But this sometimes backfires and makes her unwittingly warp reality for silly reasons, such as in the Endless Eight arc, where she creates an endless GroundhogDayLoop because [[spoiler:[[SeriousBusiness Kyon hasn't done his homework]]]].[[/folder]][[folder: Comic Books ]]* {{Spider-Man}} [[TropeMaker invented]] this.* ''Comicbook/AstroCity'' refines this to a fine art. An early issue had a recent immigrant to the town (from Chicago) witness to an attack by a gigantic storm elemental. Heading to the roof to watch the fight between the monster and all of the town's superheroes, he sees a bunch of the people in his building have gathered. When he asks one woman where her kids are, she tells him that they're working on their homework. Since if the city isn't destroyed, there'll still be school tomorrow. This almost terrifies him into leaving town the next day, but when he sees how quickly the place is cleaned up and how everyone pitches in, it charms him into staying.** And the story "Newcomers" reveals that this isn't the case for all new arrivals - a fair few just can't take it and will go somewhere else. There are superheroes and villains in other cities, but Astro City is just an exceptional WeirdnessMagnet.* Right after the end of DCComics' ''Our Worlds at War'' crossover event, the World Trade Centers were destroyed. Superman was depicted as being profoundly moved by 9/11. So a few thousand people being killed by terrorists is more disturbing to Superman than an ''interplanetary war'' with the living embodiment of entropy who destroyed "countless" other planets just on his way to Earth. Over ''eight million'' Earthlings were confirmed dead.* 9/11 also happened in the Marvel universe. The difference being that a good deal of Marvel's heroes actually ''live'' in New York. Despite the dozen or so heroes--yes, including [[ReedRichardsIsUseless Reed Richards]]--being there after the Towers collapsed, none of them were able to stop the first plane. That's somewhat reasonable, since it was a surprise. But no one was able to divert the second plane (despite some of the NYC resident superheroes being unambiguously strong, fast, and flight-capable enough to stop a hijacked airliner in their sleep). Or keep the Towers from collapsing.** And of course New York has had worse things than 9/11, from Magneto turning it into a death camp, Hydra ''nuking'' a part of it, etc.** It is doubtful these stories will stay in continuity [[ComicBookTime for long]], considering that the only far reaching consequence of them was CaptainAmerica's TheUnmasking. Even then writers can always explain that the bombers had some [[JusticeSocietyOfAmerica hero-repellents]] and so supers couldn't do anything.** Comic writers had similar problems with World War II. After all, Superman could just end the war in the course of an afternoon.* Averted in ''ComicBook/ExMachina'', when the end of the first issue reveals that [[spoiler:Mitchell managed to save the second of the Twin Towers. [[MyGreatestFailure He still thinks a "real hero" would've been able to save both.]]]]* ''AtomicRobo''.[[/folder]][[folder: Web Comics ]]* ''Webcomic/CollegeRoomiesFromHell'' is the king of this trope. Cthulhu arises, science runs amok, supernatural armies amass for the end of all things, characters mutate and die and rise again� and not once does it give them a break in their romantic and familial hangups. Usually the reverse.* ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'' spends so much time on and does such a good job of the characters' personal lives that you might easily forget there has been an inter-dimensional warlord apparently trying to kill them since 2002. Of course, that's just a few months in [[WebcomicTime plot-time]].** Turns out the main characters pretty much forgot about it themselves. When one of them remembered it and brought it up, an authority figure told him that (undefined) measures had been taken to protect them.* ''Webcomic/{{Fans}}'': Ever since the GovernmentConspiracy [[ConspiracyRedemption gave up]], people have just learned to live with, well, [[SuzumiyaHaruhi aliens, time travellers, sliders, and espers]] to the point that Wendy's now offers pails of raw meat juice in case any vampires show up. [[PennyAndAggie High school]], apparently, is [[strike:no longer taken wholesale from Archie and Mean Girls]] a bit different.* ''Webcomic/TheInexplicableAdventuresOfBob:'' Clearly, no matter how many times Generictown gets attacked by aliens or dragons or an army of unicorn-riding bigfeet, it will always settle back into being a sleepy little town where [[NothingExcitingEverHappensHere nothing ever happens.]]* If ''CRFH!!!'' is King then ''Webcomic/MegaTokyo'' is Queen; This is a version of Japan where strong AI gets incorporated into DatingSim accessories and both Sega and Sony operate black ops divisions whilst the police ride around in HumongousMecha fighting off zombie hordes and giant monsters. And no one sees anything unusual about this. In fact, most people barely seem to notice.** Yeah, but� [[TokyoIsTheCenterOfTheUniverse it's]] [[TheTokyoFireball Tokyo]]. [[WeirdnessMagnet Why would anyone see anything unusual about this?]]*** [[InvokedTrope The police actually arrange for Kaiju attacks and the like to happen on a regular basis, possibly to conform to pop culture expectations of Tokyo being a disaster magnet. Apparently it's good for tourism]].* ''Webcomic/{{Misfile}}'' plays [[MindScrew head games]] with this trope. Ash has two freaking ''angels'' living in her house, plus a third angel running around causing mischief. The plot [[CerebusSyndrome bounces]] back and forth between [[CelestialBureaucracy problems in the heavenly bureaucracy]], [[DemonicPossession the dark influence of malevolent spirits]], and the everyday issues [[GenderBender Ash]] and [[ResetButton Emily]] have as a result of the titular misfile.* ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'' also uses this trope heavily. You accidentally brought a man-eating alien to Earth, and after running amok for a couple weeks, it shows up at your house asking for help fitting into society? Give it a job as your secretary. A demon arrives from the Dimension of Pain to try to steal your soul each Halloween? Throw a big Halloween party advertising a real live demon as the main attraction, and charge admission. Your house is haunted by hundreds of ghosts? Try to get them to chip in on rent.* ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt'' doesn't really go for loud explosions or infernal horrors to try to compete with webcomics like ''CRFH!!!'' or ''[=MegaTokyo=]'' as described above, but in its gentle, dreamlike way it's one of the weirdest webcomics around, where just about anything could happen. At the same time, school year rolls along, and regardless of whether you're trapped in a nightmare parallel world, are a half-elemental, can teleport, or simply are slowly transforming into a bird, you need to catch classes.[[/folder]][[folder: Web Original ]]* In the ''{{Paradise}}'' setting, this happens in stories set in 2009 and beyond, when the [[TheUnmasquedWorld masquerade has been broken]] and the fact that humans have been changing into potentially [[GenderBender gender-switched]] {{Funny Animal}}s (though [[InvisibleToNormals normals could not see the change]]) is known to the world. One of the later stories in the setting, "Family Tree", involves a family holiday get-together after the Change has become widely known. Most of the family has Changed, and the last holdout's impending Change (and the possibility of it involving [[GenderBender gender bending]]) is treated as a perfectly ordinary matter. [[spoiler:Then when said holdout ''does'' Change, and gender-change, the rest of the family takes it in such stride that the hapless Changee is more than a little overwhelmed.]]** Several earlier stories in continuity actually justify the trope; once various world governments were made aware of what was happening, it rapidly dawned on them that they couldn't do anything to stop the Change and that TheMasquerade wasn't going to hold forever, so they'd better start making plans for breaking the news and dealing with the fallout. It ''mostly'' worked, despite the interested parties being thrown a few major curveballs like the InvisibleToNormals aspect turning out to be less than 100% reliable.* In the WhateleyUniverse, superheroes and supervillains have been on the loose for more than a century. Supervillains have tried to destroy the world multiple times, and have unleashed horrific plagues. Major cities have been attacked. International media may be under the control of supervillains or international conspiracies or the heavily anti-mutant Goodkind family. And yet, television shows and movies and pop culture are completely unchanged, with only minor changes in the daily lives of normal people. (Except there are popular programs like 'HeroWatch' and the Quinn Martin-like 'Tales of the MCO'.)** Subverted later on, when changes ARE shown. For one thing, Marvel's movies went in weird directions, and there is a functioning moon base.[[/folder]][[folder: Western Animation ]]* Garfield complains about this in an episode of GarfieldAndFriends where he prevents an alien invasion of Earth [[WorldOfWeirdness (again)]]. Despite having prevented the enslavement of humanity, no one saw him so Garfield has to simply resume his normal life with no reward.* In ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'', supernatural creatures like ghosts and witches are openly real and more than one of Gumball's classmates are some kind of monster. However, in several episodes, including "The Curse", "The Poltergeist", "Christmas", and "The Wand", show that only stupid people or children attribute things to the supernatural.* Despite ''WesternAnimation/FostersHomeForImaginaryFriends'' taking place in a world where imaginary friends are completely real to ''everyone'', people who keep theirs around past a very young age are considered extremely strange and childish.[[/folder]]----


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Supreme Chevrolet Sales Reviews
- New Car Inventory
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- 13354 Airline Hwy
- Gonzales, LA 70737 (map)
- work(855) 787-0609
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Sales Reviews
Recommend this dealer? Yes Purchased a vehicle from this dealer? Yes
Bought a car from this dealership.
Everything went smooth.
Honored the internet price as stated in several emails.
Family friendly and it took us less than 2 hours to get everything done.
Would highly recommend this dealership!
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We are so pleased that we not only met but exceeded your expectations. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to earn your business and for choosing Supreme Chevrolet.
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The following reviews are over two years old - their ratings are not used to calculate the dealer's current aggregated ratings.
Recommend this dealer? No Purchased a vehicle from this dealer? No
Took my daughter to purchase a car thursady night. Made a deal to pick up the vehicle on Friday. Did not honor deal and extended the payments another 12 months to keep the purchase price close to the original deal after adding an additional $4200.00 in add-ons. Women need to say away. They will take...
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Recommend this dealer? No Purchased a vehicle from this dealer? Yes
I have excellent credit and was not upside down in my trade in and yet it took me 8 hours to purchase one. I went into the dealership knowing exactly what I wanted and needed numbers.
I was told one thing and when I went to finalize the deal the following day, it wasn't available.
Promises promises ...
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subset: commoncrawl


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Recent approval from the Massachusetts State Racing Commission of the TVG network and Magna Entertainment's XpressBet system means bettors there soon will be able to sign up for account wagering with either provider. An agreement already is in place between the Boston-area track and Magna, permitting fans to sign up with XpressBet and wager on tracks available through that system; final details are being worked out with TVG, with an agreement expected within the next two weeks. According to state regulations, account holders will be able to make cash or check deposits and cash withdrawals at an on-site center at Suffolk Downs. Credit card payments are not allowed for Massachusetts residents. A minimum opening deposit of $25 is required."We waited a long time for this," said Suffolk Downs chief operating officer Bob O'Malley. "Hopefully, it will prove to be beneficial to our business. Account wagering gives us the best chance of getting the races on television." Live racing returns to Suffolk Downs on September 28.
Account Wagering Goes Into Effect in Massachusetts
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UPDATE: Danny Cohen has already been promised the job for promising not to apply for Chief Creative Officer job at Channel 4, I'm told. Hunt joins Channel 4 as CCO in early January. Julian Bellamy, who has been acting CCO, will exit the network after a handover period. Hunt has only been with BBC1 for 2½ years, where her successes include Sherlock and, to a lesser extent, Luther. Before that she was controller of BBC Daytime. Hunt's new job will have a wider remit than the one Bellamy has been doing, embracing new media as well. Channel 4 trumpets Hunt commissioning the online Doctor Who game, for example. Her programme budget at Channel 4 will be halved though. As BBC1 controller, Hunt has $1.7 billion a year to play with; at Channel 4 just $844.8 million. Hunt will be paid just under $600,000 a year.
BBC3 Controller Danny Cohen Tipped To Replace Jay Hunt As BBC1 Boss
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1 Comment
swifty • on Sep 14, 2010 5:03 am
nice coverage Tim. Thanks.
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Parents: Metzgar Elementary schools should exclude voters, teens
Salem Township has other possible sites to use as a polling place, rather than Metzgar Elementary School, a Salem woman reported to the Greensburg Salem school board.
Parent Jen King has expressed concerns to directors about adults being in the school to vote while children are attending classes. She is searching for a replacement, with the approval of the school board.
"There are lots of places in the area," King told directors earlier this month. "We have to contact them and get their permission."
The mother of three students at the school named three potential contenders.
School officials cautioned her to make certain a new voting site is accessible for those with walking limitations.
Metzgar is the only building in the school district used as a polling place, although some residents would like that to change, according to King.
"I feel the people who have been pushing for this for 20 years will be very, very excited with this," King added.
In another matter, parent Mark Heverly told directors he disliked an arrangement that sent high school students to nearby Nicely Elementary School on McLaughlin Drive during a bomb threat at the senior high Nov. 12.
"I don't feel high school children should be mixed with elementary children," he said.
School officials needed to move students quickly because of the limited time between the bomb message's threatened time and the message's discovery, Superintendent Eileen Amato replied.
School officials needed to consider other factors, such as leaving students outside while the building was searched.
"It was 36 degrees outside," Amato said.
The students did not mix, and teachers accompanied the high school students to the elementary school, Amato added.
"We don't like to go into the elementary (building), but the kids are totally kept separate," Amato said.
Some high school students walked to nearby Greensburg Volunteer Fire Co. Hose No. 1 during the evacuation.
Bob Stiles is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 724-836-6622 or email@example.com.
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text:
We checked in to the hotel for a night stop enroute to UK from Italy. Looking forward to a great dinner we ordered and we proceeded with the first course, main course, and then six locals arrived, sat near us and commenced SMOKING. Cigars as well. This ruined the meal and we declined desert and coffee and left. The room... More
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The Window Cleaner
A short muisc video based on the classic song "The Window Cleaner" sung by George Formby
4.39 / 5.00 6,453 ViewsJust made a short Game Grumps Animated. Not as good, but I was planning to make GGA every once in a while for my subscribers to keep them entertained while I make my big projects
it's a good game grumps animation. could you do one about the 100 star present and the "you fucking ape" thing at the same time. i saw this other animation about it and i think they sort of missed the mark.
I'll try :D
Not the greatest GG animation I've seen but the animation itself was smooth and the audio had good quality. Good job!
Thanks man !
It reminded me of some sort of mix between any random Kirby game and Home Movies.


text:
Just what you need to make your day: a bro hug!
Lisa Granshaw is a freelance writer based in New York City. Her work has appeared on the Daily Dot, TODAY.com, Parents Magazine, The Huffington Post, and more. Follow her on Twiiter: @LisaGranshaw.
Wanna contact a writer or editor? Email email@example.com.


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Other identifiers for this part: TYC #: 20-6917-90, DEPO #: 330-1138R-AC7, PC #: F7383B, .
This product fits years: 2010, 2009
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- All products are brand new, NOT used or refurbished
- Packaging is secure to prevent shipping damage
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- Easy to install - just bolt it right on
- DOT/SAE Certified
This part will fit the following vehicles:
Years | Make | Model | Trim | Engine |
2009 - 2010 | Ford | Focus | S | All |
2009 - 2009 | Ford | Focus | S | All |
2009 - 2010 | Ford | Focus | SE | All |
2009 - 2009 | Ford | Focus | SE | All |
2009 - 2010 | Ford | Focus | SES | All |
2009 - 2009 | Ford | Focus | SES | All |
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Photo Gallery
Unger helping 'Hawks rise
1 of 1
HPA graduate Max Unger was a second-round draft pick out of Oregon in 2009. This season, he has a legitimate shot at making the Pro Bowl.
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20% of consumers have error on credit report, FTC finds
WASHINGTON — One in five consumers had an error in a credit report issued by a major agency, according to a government study released Monday.
The Federal Trade Commission study said that 5 percent of the consumers identified errors in their reports that could lead to them paying more for mortgages, auto loans or other financial products.
The study looked at reports for 1,001 consumers issued by the three major agencies — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. The FTC hired researchers to help consumers identify potential errors.
The study closely matches the results of a yearlong investigation by The Columbus Dispatch. The report said that thousands of consumers were denied loans because of errors.
The FTC says the findings underline the importance of consumers checking their credit reports.
Consumers are entitled to a free copy of their credit report each year from each of the three reporting agencies.
The FTC study also found that 20 percent of consumers had an error that was corrected by a reporting agency after the consumer disputed it. About 10 percent of consumers had their credit score changed after a reporting agency corrected errors in their reports.
The Consumer Data Industry Association, which represents the credit reporting agencies and other data companies, said the FTC study showed that the proportion of credit reports with errors that could increase the rates consumers would pay was small.
The study confirmed "that credit reports are highly accurate and play a critical role in facilitating access to fair and affordable consumer credit," the association said in a statement.
In September, the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau gained the authority to write and enforce rules for the credit reporting industry.
and to monitor the compliance of the three agencies. Prior to that, the reporting agencies weren't subject to ongoing monitoring by federal examiners.
The CFPB hasn't yet taken any public action against the agencies. However, it is accepting complaints from consumers who discover incorrect information on their reports or have trouble getting mistakes corrected. The agencies have 15 days to respond to the complaints with a plan for fixing the problem; consumers can dispute that response.
By contrast, the FTC can only take action if there is an earlier indication of wrongdoing. It cannot demand information from or investigate companies that appear to be following the law.
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Popular Subjects
The Zac Brown Band's first major-label release, 2008's The Foundation, put this hard-working touring band over the top, generating five hit singles, including the instant classic singalong "Chicken Fried," and this follow-up album will get a lot of attention and airplay on country stations. Is there another "Chicken Fried" here? Not really, but ... Read More The Zac Brown Band's first major-label release, 2008's The Foundation, put this hard-working touring band over the top, generating five hit singles, including the instant classic singalong "Chicken Fried," and this follow-up album will get a lot of attention and airplay on country stations. Is there another "Chicken Fried" here? Not really, but You Get What You Give is a better and more consistent album than The Foundation, thanks to Brown's solid songwriting and singing and the rest of the bandmembers' ability to sound country even when they venture deep into Southern rock territory, tackle a little bluegrass, or veer into a jam band reggae direction -- think George Strait crossed with the Allman Brothers Band crossed with Jimmy Buffett (who actually guests here on "Knee Deep") crossed with the Dave Matthews Band. This is a band built for flexibility at live shows and for stretching numbers out, but thanks to Brown's easy, natural honky tonk singing and sharp songwriting, ZBB also deliver confidently in the tighter restraints of a studio setting. From the opener, the you're-definitely-gonna-hear-this-on-the-radio "Let It Go," this set is road-tested and crisp. "Let It Go" is a clear highlight, but so too is the Allman Brothers-like "I Play the Road," the ragtime two-step sound of "Whiskey's Gone," the fast, skittering reggae of "Settle Me Down," the honky tonk "As She's Walking Away" (featuring a guest spot from Alan Jackson), and the haunting ballad "Martin," and all of these tracks combined make this a stronger album than The Foundation, even if it doesn't exactly have a song that's going to be as huge and commercially feasible as "Chicken Fried" -- instant classics are rare, and they're supposed to be. [This version also contains a live version of "Oh My Sweet Carolina" and the bonus track "Nothing."] ~ Steve Leggett, Rovi Read Less
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Wilhelmsen Ships Service (WSS) is helping clients execute voyages through the Northern Sea Route (NSR) as this new trade lane begins to open up new opportunities for shipping. WSS is working with Russian Arctic shipping specialist Rosatomflot for ice-breaking assistance and has developed a programme to assists clients with technical, legal and insurance preparations they must satisfy to make the journey safely. The NSR is currently open between 1 July and 1 November but holds out the long-term prospect of a faster route between Northern Europe and North Asia/Alaska, cutting the journey time on an Europe-Asia voyage from 34 days to 22 days. This has the potential to provide substantial savings in fuel consumption and emissions, as well as hastening the development of oil and gas reserves in the Arctic. WSS Ships Agency Service Manager Eivind Jespersen said: "Our experience is that many shipowners are closely following the development of the Northern Sea Route. Until now they have been reluctant to pursue this interest until their concerns are resolved. WSS Norway in partnership with WSS Russia is able to offer expert advice and assistance necessary to make voyages through the NSR a reality." In 2011, 34 voyages carried more than 820,000 tonnes of cargo via the NSR, a figure likely to rise to 1m tonnes in 2012. Summer sea ice levels on the route have decreased about 12% over the last decade and the warming climate ice could bring ice-free summers by 2050, according to Norwegian Polar Institute estimates. Russia is promoting the NSR as an alternative to routeing vessels through the Panama or Suez canals and its government is preparing regulations for foreign civilian vessels with the corresponding law expected to be approved by Russian parliament this year. WSS expertise in the region gives its experts first-hand knowledge of navigation conditions and practical considerations for safe operations in the NSR. WSS takes advantage of high quality meteorological data from the Norwegian Meteorological Institute for predictable ice conditions, including ice charts, edge positions and long term weather prognosis. "The NSR is a new global route and comes with significant challenges in terms of navigation but the risks can be managed by good preparation," continues Mr Jespersen. "We recommend extensive research and training prior to NSR voyages both onboard and on shore. Highly competent crew in particular makes a huge difference." The average cost for a single NSR passage is about 10% greater than a Suez canal transit, however this is negotiable for multiple transits. Each transit is considered a separate project as to preparations, such as application for permission to the Russian authorities, equipment and crew training. Issues that owners need to be aware of before navigating the NSR include amendments to the terms of their P&I and hull and machinery insurance cover. In addition, paper charts and publications are in Russian only and ice pilots do not always speak languages other than Russian. To make the journey, all vessels must comply with Russian rules for the NSR, including its guide and regulations for navigation and pilotage as well as requirements for vessel design and construction, ice operations and knowledge of tariffs for icebreaking services. At present it takes two to three weeks to get a ship accepted to transit the NSR and the vessel nominated must be the highest, 1A ice class. WSS will act as agent only for principals requesting NSR transit and the principal will issue a letter of authorization to WSS which will negotiate the transit on their behalf.
The presentation ceremony of the Finnish multinational leader in water services GS-Hydro, new partner of Zamakona Yards in Canarias was held yesterday (January 29th at 7 p.
For the first time ever, the general public will be admitted free to the Naval Future Force Science and Technology EXPO general exhibit hall Feb. 4-5 where they
Adani Enterprises Limited together with its subsidiaries Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited ("APSEZ") and Adani Power Limited ("APL") today announced
Kongsberg Maritime has purchased approximately 5.2 acres for new construction on an 82,980 sq ft office and training facility. Construction on the James Business
Final rule on vessel requirements for Notices of Arrival and Departure and Automatic Identification System published in Federal Register U.S. Coast Guard (USCG)
German navigation system manufacturer Raytheon Anschütz has established its new subsidiary Raytheon Anschuetz Panama, S. de R.L., in Panama City. The new company,
The British government should review a supplementary tax charge on North Sea oil producers as it has made the operation of some fields unrealistic, Shell Chief
Oil major Shell wants to revive its Arctic oil drilling programme this year after a near two-year suspension, angering environmentalists who say the risk of an oil spill is too high.
For Russian Maritime Register of Shipping (RS), 2014 marked the 101st year of its activities. The classification society said 2014 also marked a landmark year,


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August 11, 2011 By Bill Schrier
Every teenager - including some of us 50 and 60 year old teenagers - seems to have a smart phone these days. I'm writing this on an airplane, and I just finished an intense, 20 minute "Angry Birds" session on my HTC Android smart phone (yes, it was in "airplane" mode!). I'm almost a Luddite when it comes to apps and smart phones, barely even able to play games on them.
However many people young and old commonly use their smart phones or tablet computers to do interesting, productive activities such as:
Gee, some people even use their smart phones to actually make voice telephone calls!?
So why don't cops and firefighters, emergency medical technicians and electrical lineworkers, public works and transportation department employees, and a whole other host of critical and important government workers use smart phones in their daily jobs?
Of course these public safety workers DO use smart phones. Often they use their PERSONAL smart phones to do some part of their job. But rarely do governments give their workers smart phones - other than BlackBerrys for email, that is - to officially do their jobs and become much more productive. In fairness, that's not because Mayors and County Executives and Governors are unsupportive, or government CFOs are penny-pinching.
We don't give government workers these important tools for two basic reasons:
In terms of the "apps", most governments use a relatively small set of applications from a few vendors - there are records management systems, computer-aided dispatch systems, utility billing systems, work management systems, etc. And many of the vendors of those systems only recently have built them to accept even web-browser access. The terms and conditions for our (government's) use of such software explicitly says we'll only use the software with vendor approved configurations, or the vendor won't give us support. And most vendors for these government-specific systems don't make a version of their application which runs on a smart phone, whether it is a Windows Phone 7, Apple iPad or Iphone, or Google Android.
Software companies: Get on the stick and write smart phone apps for your software. 'nuf said.
More importantly, government workers presently have to use commercial mobile networks for their smart phones. And on those networks, public safety and critical infrastructure workers have no priority. That means your teenager (even if she's 50 years old) has the same priority as a cop or firefighter or electrical lineworker responding to a major incident or emergency.
Do you want that emergency medical technician responding to YOUR heart attack to have priority access - wirelessly and in real time - to your medical history, and to the emergency room doctors at the level 1 trauma center, and to a video conference with your cardiologist? Of course you do!
During a robbery, when you or your employees are being held up with a weapon, don't you want the responding cops to be able to see the video of your store - including the images of the perpetrators, in real time as they respond? And have passers-by snapping photos and video of the perps to send to 911 centers using next generation 911 technologies? Of course you do!
When your electrical power is out, or your water is interrupted, don't you want that utility worker to have access to all the diagrams and network configurations so they can accurately pinpoint where the outage is and rapidly fix it? Well, of course you do.
If, all of a sudden, a kid in your child's high school goes crazy and brings a gun to that school, taking teachers and students hostage, don't you want responding cops and firefighters to have access to the video cameras with interior views of the school, and to the school's building plan showing all the exits, and maybe even to the GPS on the cell phone used by the kid with the gun so they can see his (they are all boys, alas) exact position in the school? Obviously we do.
But the blunt fact of the matter is this: At the same time you are having a heart attack, or your business is being robbed, or your electricity fails, or a school lockdown occurs - everyone who has a cell phone within a mile of the incident may be texting and calling and tweeting and sending photographs to their loved ones, and the commercial cellular networks will be overloaded.
That's why we don't give cops and firefighters smart phones. Because - besides the fact that safe, secure, apps don't exist - when responders most need their smart phones, the cell phone networks will be overloaded and will fail them.
Is there a way out of this dilemma? "Of course there is!"
Several bills are pending in Congress today which would allocate wireless spectrum for priority use by police, firefighters, emergency medical techs - and also by electrical lineworkers, public works employees and transportation workers . Those same bills would auction other spectrum for use by carriers, producing almost $26 billion in revenue to both reduce the federal government deficit and to build a nationwide public safety network which responders could use - with priority over all other users and uses.
Then those first and second responders could use smart phone applications every day, confident that the network will be available, no matter what nearby teenagers are doing.
But, like so much else in this year of 2011, Congress is in deadlock. Some brave Senators and Representatives such as Jay Rockefeller and Kay Bailey Hutchison (with Senate Bill S.911) and Peter King and Maria Cantwell and Dave Reichert do step up to the plate, led by Vice President Biden. They all support creation of a nationwide public safety wireless broadband network. At the same time, many others in Congress stall and block the work, while people needlessly are hurt or die.
Why don't cops and firefighters use smart phones? Because some in Congress would rather play politics, argue endlessly, and pinch funding than give our responders the tools they need to save lives and protect property every day, as well as during future disasters.
With the 10th anniversary of the September 11th World Trade Center disaster just a month away, does this dithering make sense? Of course it doesn't.
July 4, 2011 By Bill Schrier
Desktop computers are dead.
Desktops are soooo 20th century.
"The desktop computer is going the way of the fax machine" Or, to be really nasty about it … "going the way of the IBM Selectric typewriter." (Congratulations, IBM, incidentally, on your 100th birthday!)
Tolling the death knell for the desktop computer certainly seems to be "in vogue" during this year of 2011 although its death has been predicted for many years.
This news fad gains additional momentum from the recent rise of the tablet computer. And - please note this -the tablet really has, "risen from the dead" itself, as tablet computers were developed a number of years ago.
News fads run in cycles, and in this case I prefer to paraphrase Mark Twain: "Reports of my desktop computer's death have been greatly exaggerated."
Desktop and laptop computers are far from dead and will be around for a long time to come. Certainly tablets have some advantages. They:
They also have some disadvantages:
For me, the preferred road computer-weapon of choice is the trusty netbook running Windows 7 and the Office Suite. Touch-typable keyboard built in, Wi-Fi, long battery life (8 to 10 hours), replaceable battery for longer life (eat horse dung, non-replaceable iPhone and iPad), instant-on capability anywhere (I'm writing this on a Metro bus commuting home from work), USB ports (and lots of them), DVD drive, and so forth. And the thing is light and rugged. For those of you with a religious bent, Apple makes some pretty good netbook-equivalent devices too.
Even the netbook has limitations - and specifically if doing graphics and photography work, or other heavy duty apps, which require the power and larger screens of a desktop computer. But neither desktop or netbook make a good e-reader or electronic scrabble board.
Will tablet computers eventually and completely replace the desktop? Maybe, although I'm skeptical.
Will tablet computers themselves eventually go the way of the slide rule and abacus?
Perhaps. But for the time being I think the tablet will become one more tool - one more device in a pantheon of devices from mainframes to mobile smart phones - which people use to make their lives happier and more productive.
But I'm not dancing on the grave of the desktop computer just yet.
[Credits for photographs: IBM 7074 computer courtesy IBM Corporation, IBM PC-XT, Apple I-Pad with Scrabble (trademarked and copyrighted) application photo by Bill Schrier]
June 18, 2011 By Bill Schrier
It is fascinating how words and phrases take on differeNT nuances of meaning depending upon their context. I guess that's why it is so hard for computers (IBM's Watson notwithstanding) to understand and properly interpret human speech or, in many cases, writing.
Take "911". In most contexts and for most people, that would be the police/fire emergency number . The number you'd call to get help with a heart attack or a burglary-in-progress or a lost child.
But 9/11 refers to that infamous day when terrorist Osama bin Laden's gang of terrorists destroyed the World Trade Center in New York City.
Now, today, 911 has a new meaning. S.911 is the United States Senate bill sponsored by Senators Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia and Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas, which allocates additional spectrum and $11.75 billion in funding to build a nationwide interoperable public safety wireless broadband network. That bill passed out of the Senate Commerce Committee on a vote of 21 to 4 on June 8th.
On June 16th, Vice President Joe Biden and public safety officials from cities and states across the country celebrated this huge step forward on a long road toward building that network. Biden, Attorney General Eric Holder, NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly and many others called upon the full Senate and House to pass the bill, so the President could sign it this year.
You don't usually think of Senators as "courageous", but we have twenty-one really courageous Senators on that Commerce Committee (and a courageous former senator in Vice President Biden).
They faced (and continue to face) a wide variety of pressures:
These are all poor reasons used to justify voting "no" on S.911. Reasons to justify inaction. Reasons to put the safety of 300 million Americans aside.
The campaign to pass S.911 - to fund and build this vital network - is significantly helped by the leadership of President Obama and Vice-President Biden, who allocated the money in their 2012 budget. The Vice-President is especially active leading the charge to build this nationwide public safety wireless broadband network. The Administration just issued a report describing the urgent need.
Yes, there is a lot of courage on that Senate Commerce Committee, and hopefully the courage is infectious and spreads to at least the 51 Senators and 217 members of the House needed to pass the legislation.
Because 9/11 is looming again.
The 10th Anniversary of the terrorism at New York City's World Trade Center. Where hundreds of firefighters and police officers lost their lives because their radio communications networks didn't get them the order to evacuate the buildings which were about to collapse.
Will the rest of Congress have the courage to act?
May 27, 2011 By Bill Schrier
Osama Bin Laden's death is a welcome event for most people, especially in the United States. Yet his life profoundly changed the direction of information technology as it is used in City, County, State and the Federal government. Indeed, my own life is vastly different than it would have been if the World Trade Center towers had not been destroyed on September 11, 2001.
The most visible effect for most Americans, of course, is our two wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Even there, the effect is distant from the majority of us: relatively few families have friends or relatives who serve in the military. (A notable exception – reservists and the National Guard – I have a friend in the Seattle Parks Department who has been activated three times, once each for Afghanistan, Iraq and Djibouti,and now has been notified of an upcoming fourth deployment).
Of course anyone using airports notices the "new" fedgov bureaucracy, the Transportation Security Administration and its wide variety of high and low technologies from "spread 'em" millimeter wave body scanners to "feel 'em up" intrusive body pat-downs.
But Bin Laden's war on the United States changed much more in the way we live and govern our cities and counties and states.
After September 11th, the threat of terrorist attacks took a prominent place alongside earthquakes and hurricanes as a potential disaster. Now we worry about "dirty" bombs, and nuclear weapons smuggled in aboard ships and bio-attacks (remember the anthrax delivered to Congress?). In Seattle, we've done vulnerability analyses on likely targets such as the Space Needle, Microsoft headquarters, Boeing plants and Washington State ferries. Indeed, you can often see Coast Guard fast attack craft zooming alongside ferries. And traffic barriers and bollards protect buildings which may be targets.
Most visibly from a technology point of view, interoperable communications for first respondershas taken center stage. In the World Trade Center attacks, New York City police officers in the buildings received the radioed notice to evacuate, but firefighters – operating on different radio channels – did not, and many of them died as a result. Many meetings have been held and much legislation proposed, but as of this writing – almost ten years later – we have few concrete improvements in interoperability. Notably, the Obama Administration has proposed a $12 billion grant program, financed by the sale of spectrum, to build a nationwide interoperable public safety wireless broadband network. http://www.cioupdate.com/news/article.php/3922331/Obama-Looks-to-Drive-RD-Wireless-Broadband.htm Whether Congress has the ability stop its internal bickering and actually enact legislation for this program is an open question. Nevertheless some cities and states, such as Charlotte, Harris County (Houston), Mississippi and the Los Angeles and San Francisco regions, are boldly building the first of these new, vital, networks.
Other changes include a new Fedgov Department, Homeland Security, to improve our readiness to combat terrorist threats. It's initial steps to help us prepare for terrorist attacks include not only the TSA, but also the ill-conceived color-coded terrorism threat level (i.e. nuclear urine yellow) system. Recently, TSA and air marshal programs, fast FEMA responses, and Coast Guard interdiction of threats have allowed DHS to come into its own.
Whole grant funding programs have sprung into being as well, for example the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI). UASI is funding thousands of programs to help harden vulnerable targets, equip first responders with personal protective equipment, and conduct exercises and training to improve our ability to withstand both terrorist events and disasters.
In the Seattle area, we've built a secure fiber network to interlink the seats of Government and Emergency operations Centers in central Puget Sound. Seattle – and many other cities and counties – have invested local funds to construct new, state-of-the-art 911 centers and emergency operations centers. Concerned about cybersecurity threats, we've hardened our control networks which manage the electricity and water grids. Indeed, the whole field of cybersecurity and information technology security now has new life confronting not just terrorist threats, but the very real problems created by hackers, phishers and identity thieves. With the help of homeland security dollars, we here in Seattle are building a cyber event logging system which will help correlate cyber security events across the Puget Sound Region.
Is America safer now than in 2011, especially given Bin Laden's death? I don't know. But I do know we are somewhat better prepared to meet disaster and terrorist acts. We have disaster preparedness plans and we exercise them. We are a more connected society with wired and wireless networks, and we are keenly aware of potential cyber security threats. We are more vigilant.
But we have a lot – a LOT – more to do. President Obama, Vice-President Biden and their Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra have shown great leadership in boldly proposing to fund a new public safety broadband wireless network. The FCC has granted waivers to 20 cities, regions and states to build these networks. Courageous leaders in Congress such as Senators Rockefeller, Hutchison, McCain and Lieberman, and Representatives Peter King and Benny Thompson, are proposing legislation to finally build the nationwide networks first responders need to meet the challenge not just of terrorist events but also the daily incidents and disasters. Even the New York Timeshas endorsed these efforts.
Will their leadership overcome the naysayers in Congress and elsewhere?
For the sake of the nation, for the health and safety of every one of our citizens, I hope it does.
March 25, 2011 By Bill Schrier
I guess you can teach an older CTO (me!) new tricks.
I was pleasantly surprised by a Code for America "inception event" on March 17th. The event was the kickoff - really the kickoff of the second half of our "game" (project) - to create open source software which will help Seattle and Philadelphia and other cities' neighborhood leaders … well … "lead".
Every City and County has neighborhood activists - people who care about their blocks and their communities - and want to improve them. Most often, such activists are "made", not born. There are many "inception events" which create activists for examples:
Quite often, many people in the neighborhood recognize the problem. Sometimes, someone in the neighborhood recognizes the problem and decides to take action to fix it.
But what do they do next? What action can they really take to change the situation?
Nine times out of ten, they call their local government - their City or sometimes their County. Sometimes it is a call to 911, sometimes to their Mayor or City Council member, sometimes to 311, sometimes they spend time flipping through the blue pages in the phone book (or the modern-day equivalent - an often-hard-to-navigate municipal website) trying to find who to call.
Quite often the answer they receive - if they get one, especially in these days of government budget deficits and cutbacks in services – sends them from one phone call to another, or maybe directs them to "go to a meeting" of their local blockwatch or community council.
Then our newly minted activist will search online for the meeting of a local community group. Or maybe they'll search, usually in vain, for the name of the local blockwatch captain. Blockwatch captains - community members - are often skittish about publicly releasing their contact information, and understandably so, since blockwatches represent a threat to the local gangs or criminals in the neighborhood. But finding a blockwatch/community meeting or event can be a dizzying trip through a maze of websites and online calendars or bulletin boards in grocery stores.
Our neighborhood activist, by this time, can be thoroughly frustrated not just with the problem on their block, but with government, community councils, blockwatches and life in general.
How can we in government fix this situation, and help neighborhood activists turn into civic leaders and also help those leaders to be successful?
First, we need to recognize the many people in our cities who have figured this out - have become neighborhood activists, blockwatch captains and civic leaders. They've figured out the "secret sauce" to getting things done.
Next we need to recognize the many government employees - city and county - who really take their jobs seriously. They want to fix problems and help improve quality of life for residents, but are often stymied by siloed department bureaucracies and simple lack of information - a transportation worker filling a pothole in the street often doesn't know who to contact about a rat-infested vacant lot, any more than any other citizen.
Finally, government doesn't have to be involved in the solution to EVERY civic problem. Quite often citizens working with each other can take action and make their neighborhoods better.
Enter Code for America.
Code for America is a non-profit established by Tim O'Reilly, a prominent - perhaps THE prominent proponent of the interactive, social web (sometimes called Web 2.0 or Gov 2.0).
Code for America's premise is simple - citizens and governments face the fundamentally the same issues whether they live in South Beach on Staten Island or San Antonio or Seattle. Sometimes we can create online applications to help solve those problems. And if we create them - and we make those applications open source - cities across the United States - perhaps even the world - can take those open source solutions and use them.
Code for America hires "fellows" - usually recent college grads or others with real world experience and a lot of tech savvy – to analyze these problems and write these apps.
This does require money, of course. The City of Seattle (the department I lead – DoIT) pitched in some dollars. But I'm very grateful to Microsoft via Joanne Harrell for contributing $50,000, and to Jack Dangermond of ESRI for chipping in an additional $50,000. Joanne and Microsoft, Jack and ESRI see the potential of this new model.
Seattle, Philadelphia and Boston are the launch cities for this ambitious concept. I've previously blogged about what I hoped to get from our Code for America project – see my blog about Citywatch.
In February, the CfA fellows came to our three cities and spent a lot of time with those people I mentioned above - the civic leaders who have "figured out the secret sauce" to getting things done in their neighborhoods - but also the City staff often stymied as well. They heard about the problems with trying to take action - that civic leaders can't find each other and have difficulty getting their message out to like-minded activists. And they heard about the difficulty in finding those meetings of neighborhood blockwatches and community councils and precinct advisory boards - the "meet ups" for neighborhood leaders.
Cue the Code for America "inception event" on March 17th.
This was an amazing eight hours.
First, all the fellows assigned to Seattle, Philly and Boston got together with Code for America staff and our Cities technology folks, including me. The fellows had already brainstormed several potential applications to solve our community activism problems.
Dan Melton, CfA's Chief Technology Officer, took the whole group through an exercise to develop the concepts for four potential apps, and determine our overall level of interest in them. People stood on their feet throughout this exercise. If we were wildly enthusiastic about an idea, we stood to the far right of the room. If we were "meh" (ambivalent) about it, we stood at the left side.
Then Dan asked us why we were enthusiastic - or not. In the process, we also further developed the ideas - added functions or features or discarded them. Next, we voted on the ideas and came up with the top two.
In the afternoon, we went through a deeper dive to develop each application further. This reminded me a lot of doing a work breakdown structure for a project. We looked at potential users of the application (our civic leaders) and what they would find useful. We considered which features would be essential for the first version, and which ones could wait until later versions.
We talked a little about what apps presently perform the function, because we don't want to re-invent an app which already exists.
I worked on the "engagement toolkit" project. As we developed it, it turned into a simple web-based application which a neighborhood activist could use to describe their particular issue or passion. It would include a "splash page" which simply describes the issue or idea. But it could also include flyers or doorhangers to solicit others to the "cause". It might include e-mail list capability or an online map describing the issue. And it could include simple project management tools – checklists or timelines – to help move the issue forward. Most importantly, the engagement toolkit would allow neighborhood activists to mobilize their friends and neighbors to the cause.
Working together, they might solve certain problems without any help from their city or county government. They might also be able to find similar groups across a city – or even across the nation – who have already solved their particular problem, and adapt the same solution.
Over the next few months the Code for America staff and fellows will develop this concept into an online application. They'll test it out with the civic leaders they've already identified in Seattle and Philly. And in August or September we'll roll it out and starting using it.
With a little luck, we can marry the "inception event" at Code for America, combined with "inception events" which create budding civic leaders, to create new, online, tools to improve our blocks, our neighborhoods, our communities, and our America as a nation.
From the ground … up.
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Town of Villenova is a cultural feature (civil) in Chautauqua County. Town of Villenova is located within the Villenova town at latitute 42.3918 and longitude -79.1195. The primairy coordinates for Town of Villenova places it within the ZIP Code 14138 delivery area.
In the Maps and Aerial Photos section below, you'll find links to: (1) Local area photos around Town of Villenova, (2) A listing of the nearest hotels to Town of Villenova and (3) Driving Directions to Town of Villenova from almost anywhere. The location of Town of Villenova is marked on an interactive map. The map can be searched by either business name or business category.
Feature Name: | Town of Villenova |
Category: | New York physical, cultural and historic features |
Feature Type: | Cultural |
Class: | Civil |
Location: | Villenova town |
County: | Chautauqua County |
Latitude: | 42.3917901 |
Longitude: | -79.1195019 |
Feature ID: | 979587 |
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MK Orbach takes leave from ministry as health deteriorates
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National News
By GIL HOFFMAN \
10/09/2012 13:51
Litzman sits with Netanyahu 370. (photo credit:REUTERS/Peter Andrews)
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu prefers passing the 2013 state budget to holding early elections, United Torah Judaism leader Ya'acov Litzman said on Tuesday, after his meeting with the prime minister.Netanyahu met with the heads of United Torah Judaism in order to round out his meetings with coalition partners ahead of his final decision about initiating early elections.So far, Shas, Yisrael Beytenu and Habayit Hayehudi leaders have advised Netanyahu to initiate early elections rather than try to pass the 2013 state budget. UTJ leader Ya'acov Litzman told Netanyahu that he prefers early elections to compromising on the budget."[Litzman] will not tolerate any reduction whatsoever in child welfare payments," a source close to him said. "He will make this clear to the prime minister. The budget can indeed lead to early elections. With God's help, we will get stronger in elections. The timing doesn't matter."Coalition chairman Ze'ev Elkin (Likud) said he considered early elections inevitable, because none of the Likud's coalition partners appeared ready to compromise.He confirmed that the prime minister scolded Independence Party leader and Defense Minister Ehud Barak for acting too independently on foreign policy in a latenight meeting between the two on Saturday night.Barak's associates said those who suggested that the dispute between Netanyahu and Barak was fabricated were exaggerating just as much as those who called it a fierce clash."The disagreement between the two was real, but the problems were solved and everything is fine now," a source close to Barak said.Netanyahu's associates said the prime minister had briefly considered firing Barak due to his insubordination but from now on he intended to maintain peaceful relations with his defense minister and that he would not be fired ahead of the elections.Following the hour-and-ahalf- long meeting on Saturday night, Barak's office released a statement saying that the two men had agreed to continue working together to overcome Israel's security threats."Barak and Netanyahu see eye-to-eye on every aspect of the Iranian threat, as well as the relationship with the United States under the prime minister's leadership," the statement read.The dispute between the two broke out on Tuesday when a conversation between Netanyahu and Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz – in which the prime minister said Barak was undermining him during recent meetings in the US – was leaked to the press.The meetings in question included one with Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel, a close ally of US President Barack Obama, which Netanyahu learned about from the press, and another with Obama's national security adviser, Tom Donilon, to which Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren was not invited.Meretz chairwoman Zehava Gal-On said on Monday night that she still believed the dispute was fabricated."Everything was part of their show," she said.
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FA Cup draw: Arsenal v Middlesbrough, Crystal Palace v Liverpool/Bolton, West Brom v West Ham
Arsenal's reward for victory over Brighton on Sunday will be a home tie against giant-killers Middlesbrough in the fifth round of the FA Cup.
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I think most folks know I have a Nook. I've, er, been a little evangelistic about it in the past. >_> Morgan and I were gifted with our first Nook Color back in 2008 when the rheumatoid arthritis that we both have hit Morgan's hands hard enough that they literally could not hold up a book to read anymore. I have similar problems with my hands, although I can read YA in print (... y'know, unless it's a doorstopper like some of the Harry Potter books), but any adult romance or SFF was right out. My own Nook Color followed suit, and I bought a Nook HD+ last year, which I'm starting to regret having purchased the 3yr warranty for.
However... for the past several months, I have been having issues when trying to purchase e-books. Often, BN.com will not let me log in (I'll put my username and password into the log-in, and it just... won't log me in). That's been happening since September or so, and I was able to get around that by going to the Nook-specific page on BN.com and logging in... but even that doesn't work half the time now. Something else that started in December is that clicking the "Buy Now" button will not bring up the pop up to purchase. I have confirmed this is not an error with my computer, as it has happened under multiple OSes and multiple browsers. I have run into about five unique types of errors, and I have friends who have been experiencing the same. BN support is useless; they have no idea and try to tell me it's my computer. DX
Some months ago, B&N updated so you can use the Google Play store (at least on the Nook HD+, I cannot say for the other devices) which includes the Kindle app. (ETA : I have just been informed this was a temporary glitch and you can no longer add the Kindle App on Nook unless it is rooted. Well, fuck me if I ever have to wipe and reinstall.) I have really avoided buying books from Amazon, because they are the elephant in the living room when it comes to digital book sales. I'll admit I also have an emotional attachment to B&N. My childhood was wretched in a lot of ways but all of my family are huge readers. Monthly trips to B&N or Borders were special, because while we normally made lists of books we wanted to check out and see if the library had (considering that we usually walked out with lists of 20+ books between the 4 of us... it was kinda necessary), but we also always got to pick out one book to take home. More if we chose to spend allowance money. So, I have happy fuzzy warm feelings with B&N.
But... the way they have handled e-books is truly abysmal. I mean, the site issues that mean I can't buy except from my device directly (and even that doesn't always work; I've gotten errors there, too, and if I want more than one book, finger typing the author name and title is annoying.), which is definitely a problem. Add to that, we had a BN membership for years, but they seem to offer less and less. There's I believe a discount on print books bought in stores, and there's free shipping for books bought online, but nothing for digital books. Unless I've missed it, there's nothing to incentivise readers to go into their stores and purchase digital books in store. Some of our favorite restaurants are up by our local B&N, and if they had something like that, we'd totally go in, use the store as a showroom, and buy online. We also almost always get stuff from the Starbucks in the B&N, too. We spent a not insignificant amount of time and money in the store, that they have completely lost. I mean, I understood why they didn't have anything like that when agency pricing was a thing, but now that it's gone, they're still sticking with the same old model. *headdesk*
(Edit for people who don't know what agency pricing is: this was a collusion between the Big 5 NY publishers and Apple to price fix books to prevent Amazon from discounting. If you really want some schadenfreude, look up the case, it's... look, I couldn't write fiction like this because nobody would believe people could be so stupid. All the pubs settled, and there have been many discounts, but Amazon still has an average lower price and more frequent discounts.)
The same old model is not going to work, and it doesn't seem like their stores are doing all that well, either, what with the plans for store closures, and that they are winnowing away books bit by bit. I don't go into a bookstore to buy kitschy knick-knacks, I go in to buy books. You know. These things.
Since I haven't been able to buy books on BN.com reliably for months, I've gone over to Amazon since I can read them with the Kindle app. I was shocked to find on a regular basis that books were $2-4 cheaper. I read a lot of YA, and BN would price them at $9.99-13.99 ... Amazon, $9.99 is the highest I've seen, with exceptions for niche stuff, and often they are lower. I see discounts a lot, and I don't mean necessarily the super-low 99c or $2.99, but $3 or so off the list price. $2-4 savings on a book is a really big deal when I often buy multiple books at a go.
What really struck me today though was Amazon's also-bought. I have heard good things about it from indie authors but I haven't really used it as a reader, not since I was a teen looking for new SFF. I went to pick up one book... and ended up picking up seven or eight, multiple by indie authors, because they popped up on the also-boughts (all steampunk, with the exception of a gothic romance set in Victorian England, which is close enough). BN's also-bought is... well. Flipping awful. I've had their also-bought pop up with books that aren't even in the same genre. (And I don't mean science fiction instead of fantasy, I mean stuff like religious non fiction when the book I was looking at was an urban fantasy demon hunter novel. WTF??)
I feel almost like I'm doing something "wrong" by "betraying" BN, but I know that's ridiculous. I've stuck with it a long way, probably longer than most people, and... well, WTF am I supposed to do if their site is so screwed up that I can't actually buy the book. I'm not going rah-rah Amazon, because I do have concerns about monopolies, but at the same time, their customer experience is a hell of a lot better than I can say for B&N right now. And I save money on books, which means I can buy... more books... wait, what is this "savings account" that you speak of? >_>
Much <3 to anyone who managed to read through this novel of a post... lol (and yeah, I know, I know, it took me this long to figure it out...)
This entry was originally posted at http://nonny.dreamwidth.org/513234.html. Please comment there using OpenID.


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Arrive June 22 SJO two nights Alta Hotel
Arenal two nights Volcano Lodge and Gardens
Monteverde two nights Hotel Belmar
Liberia three nights Flamingo Beach Resort
Leave Jul 1st Liberia
FYI we have transport between stays.Will not have private car.
We are 53 yr old Mom w/24 yr old daughter
Last minute trip. Need suggestions,tour ...weather welcom
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Congrats all your hotels are good
weather2travel.com Climate Guide CR
PM rain usually particularly around Arenal
looks fine might try to do Rio Celeste
ruralcostarica.com awesome
skytrek.com for best zip
Have a blast! -
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From Flamingo Beach - we spent an afternoon on the Lazy Lizard catamaran for a sunset and snorkel cruise. We enjoyed it, very relaxing, gorgeous sunset, good food and drinks. Snorkeling was ok, not great, also have kayaks for you to use since you anchor off some islands for a few hours.
With only 2 nights in Arenal I'd go to the Hanging Bridges, Eco Termales and zipline. Cano Negro is also great, lots of wildlife sightings via boat trip.
Enjoy your trip! -
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If you can, I'd give up one of your San Jose nights to spend more time in Arenal unless you have specific plans in San Jose.
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No I can't change San Jose. I booked this trip so fast (very last minute) I didn't do my usual research before booking and I am trying to do it now. Sounds like I should have done 1 night San Jose and three Arenal. Oh well. I'm still going to CR yeah!
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Good attitude, momma. In addition to all the great stuff colibri mentioned in Arenal, I'd do the waterfall hike and swim at the base - so pretty. In Monteverde, we liked the guided hike in the Reserve, ziplining, and the night hike at Hidden Valley.
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Thank you all.
All suggestions welcome.
Any ideas for my "Whoopdy" 2 days in San Jose ? -
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You could tour the Doka Coffee Estate or head up to Poas and the La Paz Waterfall Gardens.
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Thanks volcanogirl,I've read about Britt, is Doka better?
I'll check on Poas and La Paz. -
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We've only done Doka, but from what I've read Doka seems to get better reviews. The tour was neat; they took us through the whole process, and it's really beautiful there.
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I was advised also that Doka is better, I enjoyed it, and the lunch was decent.
Poas gets fogged over go as early as possible . I didn't see anything at all!
I enjoyed wandering around Ark Herb Farm, saw tons of butterflies, more than in any of the commercial butterfly enclosures.
Downtown San Jose I liked the Gold Museum, if you visit that one I felt the Jade Museum was redundant and not as good. Entry costs are fairly high, too. The central market was okay the highlight for me was the "Heladería de Lolo Mora" for some unique ice cream with a crunchy texture and spice flavors.
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