text:
Suddenlink tabs Neustar for digital voice transitionDecember 16, 2013 12:40 pm | by Mike Robuck | News | Comments
Neustar announced this morning that it was picked by Suddenlink Communications to support the cable operator's digital voice transition. With the multi-year agreement, Neustar's platform will be used to support Suddenlink's order management as well as the provisioning of new and existing subscribers on its voice network.
AT&T's GigaPower goes live in AustinDecember 11, 2013 1:12 pm | by Mike Robuck | News | Comments
Today AT&T officially launched its U-Verse GigaPower service in Austin, which came out of the starter's blocks with symmetrical 300 Mbps speeds before ramping up to 1 Gbps next year. Customers who sign up for the 300 Mbps service will be upgraded to the 1 Gig speeds when they become available at no extra cost.
Samsung signs on for RDKDecember 11, 2013 1:05 pm | by Mike Robuck | News | Comments
Samsung Electronics America has signed up to license the Reference Design Kit from RDK Management in order to accelerate the development of its next generation set-top boxes and gateways. With Samsung on board, more than 100 silicon vendors, hardware OEMs, integrators, application developers, and service providers have licensed the RDK.
Cable One's McKenna to retireDecember 11, 2013 12:55 pm | by Mike Robuck | News | Comments
After nearly 19 years with Cable One, Jerry McKenna will retire from his role as senior vice president-chief sales and marketing officer at the end of the month. McKenna joined Cable One in 1994 as vice president-strategic marketing before being named senior vice president-chief sales and marketing officer five years ago.
Time Warner Cable rings up two new phone featuresDecember 10, 2013 12:33 pm | by Mike Robuck | News | Comments
Time Warner Cable has added two new, free features to its phone service. The first, "Answer Anytime," provisions home phone calls to mobile devices or office lines in order to not miss any calls while the second, "Selective Call Acceptance," weeds out unwanted callers.
TWC's Marcus balks at debt-fueled dealsDecember 10, 2013 12:23 pm | by Associated Press | News | Comments
Incoming Time Warner Cable Inc. CEO Rob Marcus said Monday that the company's current debt level is "prudent," even as other cable TV companies are reportedly examining adding debt to acquire it. Marcus, the chief operating officer who will replace Glenn Britt as chief executive on Jan. 1, told an investor conference in New York that the company's target of having debt that is 3.25 times its cash flow is appropriate.
In the media: Comcast lines up JPMorgan to advise on possible TWC bidDecember 9, 2013 12:39 pm | by Mike Robuck | News | Comments
The plot has thickened once again in the ongoing story of Time Warner Cable being bought out by another cable operator. Reuters reported that Comcast has turned to JPMorgan Chase & Co. for its expertise in case it decides to throw a bid on Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable promotes Lee to SVP, mergers and acquisitionsDecember 6, 2013 12:40 pm | by Mike Robuck | News | Comments
Time Warner Cable announced this morning that Christian Lee had been promoted to senior vice president, mergers and acquisitions effective Dec. 31. Separately, Rob Marcus, who will take over the reins of the company on Jan. 1, said in a Bloomberg story that he was "the perfect guy to manage the M&A component out there."
AT&T reduces fees for people who bring own devicesDecember 6, 2013 12:25 pm | by Associated Press | News | Comments
AT&T is joining T-Mobile in reducing monthly fees for people who pay for their own devices. It's the latest break from a longstanding practice of offering subsidies on devices to lock customers into two-year service agreements.
Michigan senate votes to ease ability to drop land linesDecember 6, 2013 12:21 pm | by The Associated Press | News | Comments
Phone companies would have an easier time discontinuing traditional land lines in Michigan under legislation approved Thursday that supporters say recognizes technological change but critics contend could leave customers with less reliable service.
TWC hires former Insight exec as new COODecember 5, 2013 12:56 pm | by Mike Robuck | News | Comments
Despite swimming in a shark tank of potential suitors, Time Warner Cable announced this morning that former Insight Communications executive Dinni Jain would be joining the company on Jan. 13. Jain, who was chief operating officer and president of Insight prior to Time Warner Cable's purchase of the company last year, will join Time Warner Cable as chief operating officer (COO.)
Shaw president postpones retirementDecember 4, 2013 12:43 pm | by Mike Robuck | News | Comments
Faced with increased competition from the likes of Netflix and Telus, as well as a mandated move to unbundling, Shaw Communications president Peter Bissonette has postponed his retirement. Bissonette will stay onboard until 2015 and has also assumed responsibility for Shaw's regulatory and government affairs activities.
CSG picks up some Volubill assetsDecember 4, 2013 12:37 pm | by Mike Robuck | News | Comments
Billing vendor CSG International announced this morning that it had purchased some of the assets of Volubill. According to media reports, Volubill was put into compulsory liquidation and receivership on Oct. 29 in France. Financial terms weren't available.
Increasing the competitive edge for cable MSOs through investments in transformationDecember 2, 2013 1:51 pm | by Bob Titus, vice president, global converged solutions, NetCracker Technology | Articles | Comments
Cable MSOs are ready for fierce competition. They are making significant investments in their network infrastructure to be positioned for a high-bandwidth, mobile-integrated, multi-screen world. In this world, digital distribution is as important a line of business as traditional linear broadcast, so. MSOs are increasing investment in on-demand, next-generation broadband services as well as improved customer experience.
BlackBerry shakeup continues as COO, CFO departNovember 25, 2013 12:43 pm | by Associated Press | News | Comments
BlackBerry's interim chief executive has shaken up BlackBerry's management team in a move seen as prelude to him taking the top job himself. Chief Operating Officer Kristian Tear and Chief Marketing Officer Frank Boulben, both hired by recently ousted CEO Thorsten Heins, will leave the struggling smartphone maker.
Media: Comcast mulls offer on TWC, Charter gears up for bidNovember 22, 2013 1:03 pm | by Mike Robuck | News | Comments
While Charter Communications and Liberty Media's John Malone are reportedly lining up funding for a bid to buy Time Warner Cable, Comcast is checking into the possible regulatory hurdles it could face should it choose to purse the nation's second-largest cable operator. CNBC reported that Comcast was asking for guidance on anti-trust and other potentia telecommunications issues that would be associated with a bid for TWC.
Jury orders Samsung to pay Apple $290 millionNovember 22, 2013 12:45 pm | by Associated Press | News | Comments
A Silicon Valley jury added $290 million more to the damages Samsung Electronics owes Apple for copying vital iPhone and iPad features, bringing the total amount the South Korean technology titan is on the hook for to $930 million. The verdict covers 13 older Samsung devices that a previous jury found were among 26 Samsung products that infringed Apple patents.
FCC Chair pushing for phone networks to go all-IPNovember 22, 2013 12:38 pm | by Ben Munson, Wireless Week | News | Comments
Tom Wheeler said that the Technology Transitions Policy Task Force—assembled by former FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski at the behest of AT&T and NTCA—will present a status update at the Dec. 12 Commission meeting. With that research in hand, Wheeler expects the FCC by January to draft an order concerning experimentation, data collection, and policy, legal and technical outlines for the IP transition agenda.
Harmonic snags two Cisco execsNovember 20, 2013 12:39 pm | by Mike Robuck | News | Comments
Harmonic has hired former Cisco sales executives Frank Montalto and Spencer Hodson. Montalto is now Harmonic's regional vice president for North American cable and telco while Hodson joined the company as vice president of sales strategy, operations, and enablement.
Bright House Networks chalks up customer win with universityNovember 19, 2013 12:31 pm | by Mike Robuck | News | Comments
Bright House Networks Business Solutions has landed a deal to provide its services to Florida Polytechnic University, which is slated to open its doors next fall. As part of the agreement, Bright House Networks will provide Florida Polytechnic University, a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) school, metro Ethernet, dedicated Internet Access, hosted voice and video services.
Cable Center picks 6 for Hall of FameNovember 19, 2013 12:27 pm | by Mike Robuck | News | Comments
This morning the Cable Center announced the newest members to its Cable Hall of Fame. The six inductees will be honored during the annual Cable Hall of Fame Celebration, which will be held in conjunction with The Cable Show in Los Angeles on April 29.
Vonage closes on $130M acquisition of VocalocityNovember 18, 2013 12:30 pm | by Associated Press | News | Comments
Vonage has closed on its $130 million acquisition of fellow cloud-based communications company Vocalocity Inc. The deal, announced last month, includes $105 million in cash and $25 million in Vonage stock. It increases Vonage's presence in the small- and medium-sized business market.
Cisco's 1Q revenue falls below estimatesNovember 14, 2013 11:54 am | by Associated Press | News | Comments
Tech bellwether Cisco Systems Inc. posted lower-than-expected revenue for its fiscal first quarter on Wednesday and warned that its revenue for the current period could fall as much as 10 percent from a year ago. Cisco's shares tumbled 11 percent in extended trading after the company gave its guidance
Comcast Business expands network in Puget Sound areaNovember 13, 2013 12:16 pm | by Mike Robuck | News | Comments
Comcast Business has started a major network expansion to better serve businesses in the Puget Sound region. Once the expansion is completed in Kitsap County, local businesses will have access to Comcast's commercial Internet service in addition to its Ethernet services.
WOW reaches for the cloud with Bluemile buyNovember 12, 2013 12:06 pm | by Mike Robuck | News | Comments
WOW announced this morning that it had bought the data center, cloud and fiber assets of cloud service provider Bluemile for an undisclosed sum. The deal marked WOW's entry into the cloud infrastructure space. With the addition of Bluemile, WOW will be able to offer data center-based services such as disaster recovery, cloud backup, managed security and cloud computing.


text:
True Grit: Bethany Hamilton's Story
Cheri Hamilton had no doubt her only daughter would grow up to become a professional surfer. At age 4 Bethany was riding waves off the beaches of her home in Kauai. By the time she was 8 she was competing in surfing contests. Taking on gigantic waves was Bethany's specialty, and her parents, both surfers, would encourage her. "We'd tell her, 'You can win this because you're strong. The other kids are going to run away from the big surf,'" recalls Cheri. And sure enough, Bethany, who squealed with delight when she caught a wave, would take home the trophy.
But eight years ago Bethany's dream of surfing greatness nearly came to an end after she was attacked by a 14-foot tiger shark that tore off her left arm. That headline-making tragedy, and her astonishing path to recovery, is the subject of a new movie, Soul Surfer, starring AnnaSophia Robb (as Bethany) and Helen Hunt (as Cheri).
Today, sitting with her mother in a Santa Monica hotel lounge, Bethany, 21, looks every bit the Hawaiian beach girl, dressed in cutoffs, a Rip Curl jean jacket and bare feet. She smiles and laughs easily but becomes soft-spoken when she recounts the events of that horrible day. Bethany and some friends had gone to Tunnels Beach, one of her favorite surfing spots off Kauai's North Shore. She was lying on her surfboard when she suddenly felt pressure on her arm and then a back-and-forth tugging -- "you know, like how you eat a piece of steak," she says -- before noticing that the turquoise water around her was quickly turning red from her own blood. "I just had a sense of peace throughout it all," says Bethany, whose friends fashioned a tourniquet from a surfboard leash once they paddled her to shore. "I think that was one of the key factors that helped me -- if I had panicked I would have lost more blood."
When Cheri finally saw her daughter at the local hospital, "I was just thankful she was alive," she says. "That was my whole focus -- we'll deal with whatever we have to deal with, but at least she's alive." Bethany's left arm was now a small knob of skin held together with stitches. As the wound healed her focus returned to the water. Not only would she continue to ride waves, but she also decided she would retrain herself. "To me it was like never getting in a car again because you're afraid of having another collision," Bethany says. "Not surfing just didn't work for me." About a month after the attack, around the time her doctor gave her the go-ahead to surf, Bethany stood up on a board as her mother, her father, Tom, and her two older brothers, Noah and Timmy, cheered her on.
In Soul Surfer, it's clear how much Bethany's family played a part in her comeback success. One scene shows her brothers helping her rebuild her strength through vigorous weight training and long runs on the beach. Another has her father (played by Dennis Quaid) installing a handle on the upper end of her board so she could catch her balance. "Our goal was to help her be at the top of her game," says Cheri, who nevertheless had reservations about her daughter's return to competitive surfing. Cheri knew surfing is traditionally a two-armed sport: You need both arms to paddle, grab the sides of the board and raise yourself from a prone position. Instead of cheering her on, she wondered, should they be encouraging her to slow down? "I wasn't sure she should do contests. At one point I told her, 'Just go and support your friends,'" says Cheri. "I didn't want to set her up for failure."
Cheri couldn't bring herself to go with Bethany to her first comeback competition on Hawaii's Big Island two months after the attack ("too painful," she says, wincing). But when her daughter returned home with fifth place, she shifted gears. "If you can get fifth place, you can get fourth place," Cheri told her. Six months later Bethany won her division in a bigger contest in Waikiki. At the time of her attack she was considered an amateur with signs of promise. Today she is ranked among the top 25 female surfers in the world.
There have been moments when Bethany and her mother are haunted by that October 2003 morning. Out on the water, Bethany might think, Was that a shark in the distance? Will it happen again? But "I hardly ever get worried," she says, and she has ways of calming herself down. "I'll pray," she says, "or I'll sing a song, like, 'Ain't No Mountain High Enough' or 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow.'"
Cheri struggles with post-traumatic stress. "If I'm sleeping and I hear a noise, I'll wake up and feel adrenaline running through my body," she says. "It's diminished over the years, but it still happens."
Mostly, though, Bethany uses her story to inspire people. She gives motivational talks and, through her nonprofit foundation, Friends of Bethany, she works with other amputees and shark-attack survivors. "I met one boy in Australia who was born with no limbs and I took him surfing with me," she says. "We all have different challenges, but his attitude was so positive it was infectious." The rest of the time she's traveling around the world, catching waves -- and trophies -- on the competitive surfing circuit. "People ask me if I'm excited about the movie," says Bethany, who was on the Oahu set with her family and did most of the one-armed surfing scenes in the film. "I am. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. But I'm way more excited about surfing. Surfing is what I do."
Originally published in Ladies' Home Journal, May 2011.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Vet Shop Max
Your shopping basket is empty.
View Basket
Dental Spray Gel Description
Dental Spray gel is applied directly to teeth it has an antibacterial action which inhibits plaque growth. Maintains oral hygiene and freshens the breath. Regular use helps prevent gingivitis and peridontal disease. Suitable for dogs, cats and horses.


text:
- This article by Betsy Marston originally appeared in the May 07, 2009 issue of High Country News.
- To read the full article, you must login or subscribe.
Yes, you mightby Betsy Marston
Introductory Offer - Save 20%
Print with digital OR digital only
From our friends
Inspiring words from a die hard reader:
"I subscribed to HCN for a number of years, loved every issue...I stopped subscribing because my work load escalated. It was ok the first few months but after six months I was regretting the decision...the relevance of HCN did not diminish. I continued to look at the enticing titles of articles in the online newsletter but couldn't read enough to satisfy the craving. So I'm back. I also kicked in another 50 bucks as a personal reminder that quality reporting is not free."
Robert E. Hall, Washington D.C.
What another journalist has to say about HCN:
"High Country News is a rich resource for those among us who long to hear the voices of the West. The stories and commentaries are always well-written, with strong regional flavor, by knowledgeable professionals, and prepared and presented by editors with high standards."
Barbara Ellis, Denver Post News Editor
Dinosaur fans
THANKS for splendid, challenging, exciting work, from two dinosaurs among your countless fans.
-- Brad and Zita Hosmer


text:
GlobeCast will make the initial commercial launch of a new OTT platform July 1 in the United States.
The OTT service, MyGlobeTV, is a B-2-C television bouquet that brings international and genre-based content directly to subscribers in the Americas. After the U.S. rollout, plans are in place to expand the service to the rest of the Americas.
MyGlobeTV uses a closed network to deliver encrypted IP television and radio content directly to the subscriber's home. MyGlobeTV subscribers only need a broadband Internet connection and a plug-and-play MyGlobeTV STB to receive the service.
The STB is a Netgem hybrid DVR STBthat supports adaptive streaming and includes a 320GB hard drive with 450 hours of DVR capacity. The service supports VOD, includes a Facebook application and also provides an antenna to enable off-air viewing of local channels.
Enter the code shown above:
(Note: If you cannot read the numbers in the above
image, reload the page to generate a new one.)


text:
Original Members:
- Brian Jones- Guitar, Harmonica
- Geoff Bradford - Guitar
- Stu Stewart - Piano
- Dick Taylor- Bass
- Mick Avery- Drums
- Keith Richards - Guitar/Vocals
- Mick Jagger - Vocals
Significant Facts:
- The Rolling Stones began as a blues band. Their greatest success came when the group reinvented itself as a rock band.
- By the mid-1960's The Stones were second only to The Beatles in popularity.
- One of the factors contributing to the group's success was its willingness to experiment with instruments that hadn't previously been used by rock bands.
Career History:
Formed in 1961 by schoolmates Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, what has become known as the world's greatest rock & roll band originally performed covers of other artists' hit songs. Their first album, in 1964, contained only one Jagger-Richards original, "Tell Me". Working virtually nonstop since their beginning, the group has released more than 50 albums, including compilations.
Essential CD:
This was the first album recorded on the group's own label, the first in which Mick Taylor played guitar on all the tracks, and only the fourth to be released worldwide. Because it contains tracks recorded at various times between 1969 and 1971, it serves as a showcase of the Stones' work at a time when the group was still honing its musical identity.
If you like the Rolling Stones:
You'll probably like these Guide Picks, too.


text:
Recently added item(s)
You have no items in your shopping cart.
SKU# 5248mix3
Be the first to review this product
Availability: In stock
Blue Raspberry & Orange Flavored Rock Candy Swizzle Crystal Stick.Pure sugar crystals on a wood stick.Juicy Blue Raspberry & Orange Sweet delights!• Rock Candy Length: 4" • Total Stick Length: 6 1/2" • Individually wrapped. Bag contains 5 of Blue Raspberry and 5 of Orange Rock Crystal Candy Sticks.
Made in the USA.Check out other flavors and colors >>
Click on image to zoom
Email to a Friend
Use spaces to separate tags. Use single quotes (') for phrases.


text:
|MMA Playground 4.0 is live! Returning members: check out the patch notes New members: visit our getting started guide, read the FAQ's and start playing!
Zombie_Flanders Profile | Zombie_Flanders Pick'em History | Event Leaderboard | Season Leaderboard | Last Page
Fighters labeled as "Heavy Underdog" reward a +2 point bonus when they are picked and win their bout.


text:
2 of 11
Credit: (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
Receiver Marques Colston has been in the NFL for seven seasons, has recorded 1,000 yards in six of those years, is tied for most catches in Saints' history with 532 and owns the franchise record for career touchdowns with 58.
And he hasn't been to a Pro Bowl.
But hey, the WWLTV.com 10 Indispensable List is something, right?
Colston may be getting older, but his game remains steady. As a co-worker recently said about Colston, he's like Linus' blanket for quarterback Drew Brees. He doesn't always search out Colston, but when he does, it's usually a big play because he knows the receiver will be there willing to take a big hit and still make the catch.
His most recent campaign was one of his best yet.
In 2012, Colston led the team with 1,254 receiving yards – good for 13th in the NFL – and 10 touchdowns. A quarter of his 84 catches were on third down and 65 of his catches went for first downs, tied for 17th in the league for total first downs.
Because someone usually steps up, you can make a case that the way the Saints' offense runs, it does so fine as long as Brees is around. But that's necessarily true. Without Colston, it doesn't generally run as smoothly.
Pro Football Focus rated Colston as the NFL's ninth-best receiver in 2012 with a 101.8 rating for those with a 50 percent thrown at rate. And though his eight drops were near the bottom of the league, his drop rate (8.79) was among the top 15 in the league among receivers.
The best part about Colston is his veteran leadership in the locker room. He's quiet but productive. He's low-key but high character. And he's signed through 2016.
©2014 WWL-TV, Inc., A Gannett Company. All Rights Reserved.
Powered by Broadcast Interactive Media.


text:
Fitness 2 Orientation
Mon, 28 Jan 2013 7:00 PM - 7:30 PM
Become more familiar with the Cardio and Cybex equipment at UREC. Come prepared to exercise. Jeans and open toed shoes are not permitted in the fitness areas! Spaces are limited.
Register online at least 24 hours before the program.
Wellness Passport
More information about UREC: http://www.jmu.edu/recreation/


text:
Saturday night, Springfield Police and the Bay County Sheriff's Office continue to investigate a shooting during a drug deal that left one dead and another being treated in a Pensacola Hospital.
It happened in the 3800 block of East 8th Street just before 8:30 Friday night.
Springfield Police Chief Philip Thorne says officers responding to a 911 call found 19 year old Christopher Shane Purswell dead at the scene and 22 year old Branden John Junlakan with a gunshot wound to the face.
Junlakan was transported to Bay Medical Center then transferred to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola.
Police say both men had been staying at the La Brisa Inn in Parker.
According to police, the men were shot during a drug deal with two unidentified individuals.
Both suspects fled the scene and police continue to search for them Saturday night.
Stay with News 13 for the latest, accurate information on this developing story.
A Shooting in Springfield leaves one dead and another injured.
Police say they responded at around 8:30pm Friday night to the intersection of 8th St. and Helen Ave.
One person was fatally shot and was pronounced dead at the scene. Another was injured and sent to Bay Medical Center. Police are talking to a third victim.
Bay County Crime Scene Investigators were on the scene.
Springfield Police Chief Phillip Throne says there are two suspect still on the loose. They believe they are black males and are armed.
News 13 will bring you more detail as they become available.
All content © Copyright 2000 - 2014 WorldNow and WMBB. All Rights Reserved. For more information on this site, please read our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.


text:
Visit other Gets
Women's eight confirm world cup entry
Wednesday, 23 May 2012 11:25
Just 12 hours after booking their place at the 2012 London Olympic Games, Australian women's eight coach Nick Garratt has confirmed his crew will race at World Cup 2 in Lucerne, Switzerland this weekend (May 25-27).
The women's eight crew, who only formed as a final combination in late April, continued their fairy tale run to the London Games last night by winning the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta in Switzerland.
Garratt revealed that despite the obvious joy within the group, the important thing was not to get in as much racing as possible.
"The more racing we get as a group now the better so we will head to Lake Spach for some long easy kilometres tomorrow before returning to prepare for the World Cup," Garratt said.
Garratt once again commended the effort of his crew in their short preparation for the crucial regatta.
"Early on in our training program we identified several key points necessary to adapt to the fastest moving boat class.
"The whole squad readily accepted the challenges and in some ways the short campaign helped instil a sense of urgency in everything we did.
"It was a great performance and hopefully will be an inspirational result for all women rowers in Australia."
The official site and blog for the Australian women's rowing team follows the team's journey and provides a unique insight into training, racing and nutrition.


text:
Avid Communities
Go where the pros know Avid. A community of video professionals is waiting to assist you on our Forums. While you're there, brush up your skills with our Community Tutorials, or learn the latest industry trends in our Community Blogs.
Where Pro Tools professionals and audio enthusiasts exchange information. Also known as the DUC (Digi User Conference). Now includes Euphonix Artist and Pro Console forums.
Live sound tips, techniques, and troubleshooting for all VENUE systems.
Discuss Sibelius, Sibelius First and Sibelius Student with other Sibelius users from around the world. Share ideas, ask questions, and learn invaluable tips from a friendly community of users of all kinds, from hobbyists to teachers to professionals.


text:
content violation
You can write your comment.
Your thoughts in regard to the site
compatibilite-amoureuse.com are very important to us. Please share your thoughts about
the site with us.
Meta Description :Compatibilite-amoureuse.Com love test - compatibilité amoureuse entre prénoms, affinité astrologique entre signes : découvre si ton couple est fait pour durer !
Meta Keywords :compatibilite amoureuse, compatibilité amoureuse, compatibilité amoureuse test, compatibilité astrologique, compatibilité prénoms, test compatibilité
Title Caracter Number :
(Not Bad)
Character items on title section is 60-70 character.character length on title section is really successful. Like this character items don't be thought as a manuplation by any search engines. Search engines allow character number till 80. If you wish, you can add a few keywords. You must be careful of your site's content fitness with the keywords.
Meta Description :
(Not Bad)
Meta description character length of your compatibilite-amoureuse.com internet site is 120-140 . According to the search engines criterias, You have a successful keywords that character length is prepared rather successful. We advice you to not use keywords in meta description part because This section is seen a part that sum up your web site's content. You must be careful about the sentence which you usein meta description code are about your web site's content or not
Meta Keywords :
149 (Not Bad) If we look at carefully to your internet site's cod section, we determined that there are 149 characters in your meta keywords section. Your character number is enough to mention your web site but search engines allow characters till 200. If you raise the chracter number of your web site, you can raise the visitors number on internet.
Code Type :
Site Language :
Site Country :
United Kingdom
Ip Address :
Country Code :GB
Country :United Kingdom
Google Pagerank : 0
Google Backlink :
0 Link
Google Indexed :
0 Link
Yahoo Indexed :
0 Link
Yahoo Backlink :
0 Link
Rank :
User Time On Site
- Speed : 0.386 - Comments : Very Fast - Rate : 96%
You can direct the your domains If you buy empty domains from following domain versions.
As such, the man who write your web site wrong or who remember your web site wrong,
can contact with you. You might decrease the possibilty of imitation of your domain.
By clicking the collected buton, determine the domains who are suitable for sale
and buy with a click.
It is given the extensions of the other countries belonging to your domain following.
You can purchase these domains to improve your brand and your known. By clicking
the register link next to the domains, you can check that domain name is the extension
of this country, is empty or full, If it is empty, you can buy.
It is given on the following that the wrong searchings about your domain. You can
check them and If you think you lose too many visitors, by creating subdomains about
wrong searchings, you can direct the visitors to your main site and you don't lose


text:
Knitters picked up their needles and held a knit-in Saturday morning to help prevent Shaken Baby Syndrome. They gathered at St. Luke's Hospital in Cedar Rapids to make purple caps for newborn babies.
Click for Babies is an effort to educate parents about the Period of Purple Crying campaign. It's a national program to help educate parents about the dangers of shaking a child and tell them that it's okay to put a crying baby in a crib and walk away.
"The hope is that parents, when they receive their education in November, they'll pick out a purple cap," said Denise Easley, a registered nurse in the NICU at St. Luke's Hospital. "Hopefully they'll be able to tell at least one person why their baby's wearing a purple cap."
There are three more knit-ins scheduled at St. Luke's in the coming months. Organizers are hoping to beat last year's record and make more than 7,000 caps.


text:
hairXperts, Just Great Hair
- Details
- Published on Wednesday, 25 September 2013 19:18
- Written by Super User
hairXperts Salon is at 3715 Patriot Way, Unit 127, Wilmington. To make an appointment, call 910-791-4247. Hours of operation are 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturday; they are closed Sunday and Monday. Visit their website at www.hairxperts.com for more details on their services.
By: Candace Lookingbill
Staff Writer
WILMINGTON – Located at Fulton Station you will find hairXperts Salon. Owners Iris and Arnie Kasdan have been serving the styling needs of clients throughout the Wilmington area for many years. Their goal is to provide their clients with a level of customer service and satisfaction that is topmost. They continually stay abreast of new styles and hair care products that come on the market.
Arnie is a master haircutter with more than 40 years of experience. He graduated from a beauty school in 1967 and earned the distinction of being the first unisex haircutter on Long Island in 1968. He also helped launch the evening cosmetology program at Cape Fear Community College.
Iris has extensive training in hair color and color corrections and is a certified Goldwell, Global Keratin and Brazilian Blowout specialist. She is also a supporter for Pretty in Pink in the Wilmington area and Pink Hair for Hope.
Marina Miliotakis joined hairXperts in 2012. She studied at Jon Louis School of Beauty. She is experienced in hair coloring, color correction, razor cuts; make up artistry and waxing for men and women.
They offer a lot of experience to this family oriented salon, from haircuts for men, women and children to perms. They do clipper and razor cuts. They specialize in coloring, color correction, high and low lites. So, whether you are looking to change your style or receive male grooming services this is the place to go. Also offered is body waxing.
They offer a Moroccan oil treatment for any kind of hair and they use Goldwell color for coloring. Only the finest professional products are used on their clients. Their goal has remained the same … satisfied clients who feel good about the way they look when they leave their salon.
They create special up-dos for weddings or special occasions. All bridal consultations are complimentary. Prices vary depending on length of hair and time consumed for each client.
Right now, they are offering some summer specials for July and August. A Brazilian Blowout, this treatment will get rid of frizz and can last up to three months. Depending on the length of hair, you will receive $50 to $75 off regular price. Another special that is being offered is a texture fusion perm, it gives you that beach wave look and the haircut is half off if you get the perm. For body waxing they are offering a 20 percent off discount.
Gentlemen, there is something special for you too. The cost of a man's haircut includes a second visit in two weeks, when you will receive a total cleanup. All first time clients will receive a 20 percent discount. hairXperts Salon is at 3715 Patriot Way, Unit 127, Wilmington. To make an appointment, call 910-791-4247. Hours of operation are 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturday; they are closed Sunday and Monday. Visit their website at www.hairxperts.com for more details on their services, you can also sign up deals and coupons and schedule an appointment.


text:
Federal officers found 10 packages of crystal meth stashed in the floorboard between the seats of a vehicle at a southern Arizona border station on Sunday.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers referred Oliver Santoyo, 26, of Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, for inspection of his vehicle when he attempted to enter the U.S. at the Dennis DeConcini Port in Nogales.
A CBP narcotics detection dog alerted to the presence of drugs.
The drugs and vehicle were processed for seizure. Cordova was arrested and faces prosecution on drug charges.
Copyright 2013 CBS 5 (KPHO Broadcasting Corporation). All rights reserved.
1111 Bull St.
Columbia, SC 29201
(803) 799-1010
FCC Public File
EEO Report
Closed Captioning


text:
When Virgin Galactic wanted to unveil SpaceShipTwo (SS2)— the world's first commercial space line and christened VSS Enterprise —at an event in December at Mojave Spaceport in California, VIPs including Sir Richard Branson, Governors Bill Richardson and Arnold Schwarzenegger, and others turned out to celebrate this milestone. John Featherstone of Lightswitch was asked to join the creative team at Group Delphi, where, in addition to providing lighting design, he was a key member of the creative team that developed the overall look and feel of the project.
We caught up with him after the event, plus check out the video footage of Group Delphi's animation of the original creative.
LD: Tell us a little about the event.
John Featherstone: It was the much anticipated roll out of Virgin Galactic's Space ShipTwo. To quote them: "Fighting against the stormy Mojave weather, SpaceShipTwo was rolled out today to a spectacular display at Mojave Spaceport…Despite gale force winds and stormy weather, guests gathered on the runway after the press conference to see SpaceShipTwo for the first time. The spaceship was carried down the runway by her mothership, VMS Eve, to a spectacular display of lights, music, and snow which only helped increase the anticipation of her arrival and excitement and awe as she appeared before the crowds.
LD: How was the site set up?
JF: The site was divided into several discrete areas: the exterior and reveal, with the lighting of the presentation, "DNA of Spaceflight," and the exterior of the structures and event space; a large, 180'x 80' clear-span tent used for the press briefing and the party post-reveal; and two inflatable structures, used as a "dance pod," and a "party pod."
LD: What was the look you were going for?
JF: The concept for the event was to maximize the breathtaking beauty of the Mojave site and present SS2 to the audience of dignitaries, press, astronauts, and accredited space agents in a stunning, exciting, and memorable fashion.
LD: You talk about good planning. How did that prevent possible disaster when the storm arose?
JF: The Group Delphi team was proactive in terms of defining both possible scenarios and courses of action in the event—that certain criteria were met. This meant that not only were production staff equipped with the necessary procedures to follow, but the client clearly understood what were the 'tipping points' and the impact of those tipping points.
LD: Okay, so we know the challenges that Mother Nature provided, but were there any other technical or setup issues?
JF: Other than Mother Nature, the simple fact of the show being staged at the end of a runway, on an active airport, in a remote small town, it was a piece of cake!!
LD: Was anything permanently damaged?
JF: Of course, due to the extreme environmental conditions, there was equipment damaged, but ultimately, the result of the event was that it was hugely successful in the eyes of the client and attendees, and no one was hurt—not even a scratch.
Creative Team
Lighting designer: John Featherstone
Assistant lighting designer: Austin Shapley
Lighting director: Dennis Connors
Programmer: Phil Shearer
Production electrician: Jeff Johnson
Technology electrician: Lacey Taylor
Networking and data: Tyler Roach
Runway lights and practicals: Daric Bassan
Lighting Design: Lightswitch
Lighting Equipment: Upstaging Inc.
Production: Group Delphi
Production Team: Internal Network Mariette Systems
Sound: O.S.A. International (On Stage Audio)
Technical Direction: production glue llc
Icon Panel Production: Fabric Images
Icon Panel Staging: Accurate Staging
Internet Service: High Desert Wireless
Domes: Inflate
Rentals, Tenting: Town & Country Event Rentals
Transportation: Lux-Bus America
Catering: Along Came Mary Events
Partial Equipment List Lighting
20 Philips Vari-Lite VLX Wash
12 Philips Vari-Lite VL3500FX Wash
8 Philips Vari-Lite VL3000 Profile
4 Philips Vari-Lite VL1000 Arc with Shutters
8 Philips Vari-Lite VL3000 Profile
4 Philips Vari-Lite VL1000 Arc with Shutters
24 Martin Professional MAC 2000XB Wash PC Lens
16 Martin Professional MAC 700 Wash
32 Coemar ParLite LED
10 i-pix BB7
30 PixelRange PixelLine 1044
24 Philips Color Kinetics ColorBlast 12
34 Zap Technology BigLite 4.5
4 Zap Technology Little BigLiite
280 ETC Source Four PAR 750W
8 1kW Fresnel
24 Martin Atomic Strobe
5 Barco High End Systems Hog iPC
Special Effects
9 Barco High End Systems F-100 Performance Fog
1 Le Maitre Radiance Hazer
100 Star Strobes
Rigging, Truss
8 CM ½-Ton Motors
2 Genie ST-25 Super Tower
16 20" Tomcat Truss 10'
24 12"X12" Tomcat Truss 10'
10 16' Rolling Crank Up "Movie" stands for BB7s


text:
Create a course that brings your curriculum to life while meeting pressing 21st Century needs of local and global communities.
"At first, every student is terrified of public speaking in English, much less in Spanish. But by the fifth lesson, they love it. They have deepened their skill level in speaking Spanish, and they've also changed the lives of the children they're teaching."
-Dr. Gabriel Barreneche
Associate Professor of Modern Languages
"It's not always easy to motivate college students to yank out air potato vines, but we were learning about global climate change and biodiversity in our classwork and, even though they had to get up early and work hard, they really appreciated that they were doing something about these issues in a tangible way. I always make sure there is a clear link between the service project and the course so they can connect the curriculum to community engagement. Any time you can get out in the field, it helps students make those connections."
-Dr. Katie Sutherland
Associate Professor of Biology
Community-engaged scholarly work is viewed at Rollins as any scholarly pursuits that occur in partnership with community to advance knowledge, awareness, and/or solutions. Faculty involvement is at the center of the community engagement initiative at Rollins. Since 2006, over 74% of all Rollins faculty have been involved in at least one aspect of community engagement through service-learning, community-based research, professional development, immersion, or campus/community partnership. In addition, over the last seven years every major at Rollins has offered at least one academic course with a community experience. Because of this deep, institutional commitment, Rollins has been recognized with a number of national recognitions for community engagement, including Carnegie Classification for Community Engagement.
At Rollins, courses with a community engagement component are being offered under the designation CE (Community Engagement) in the Rollins Course Catalogue. As a part of CE courses, students will apply what they are learning in the classroom with the community through service-learning, research, civic participation, and be involved in active dialogue and reflection. CE courses engage students in roughly 15-30 hrs of direct community-based work throughout the semester with non-profit organizations throughout Central Florida. Learning is assessed by the faculty member based on students' ability to connect course curriculum and theory to practice.
Courses meeting the standards listed below are considered for the designation of Community Engagement at Rollins College:
* Identifies and addresses a need in the community (campus, local, regional, or global)
* Meets course objectives and demonstrates a clear connection between the community activity and the course content
* Involves assessment as a part of the student's overall grade
* Involves reciprocity between course and community that results in students' increased civic awareness, leadership, diversity, and engagement
* Involves structured student pre/reflection
* Involves collaboration with a community organization/agency that is committed to a partnership between service and learning
* Invites the community partner to share in classroom dialogue, discussion, and scholarship
* Involves a considerable amount of time outside of the classroom with the community organization/agency
* Involves a capstone assessment in which students share their experience with the class community and the community organization/agency, discuss connections of global citizenship and responsible leadership, and address a plan for continued engagement
Community partners are co-educators in service-learning courses and community-based research experiences. Their expertise is a critical element of the teaching/learning experience at Rollins. Each year, Rollins academic courses work with hundreds of community organizations through academic partnerships that are mutually beneficial. Some of these organizations include BETA Center, Fern Creek Elementary, HOPE Community Center (Apopka, FL), PACE Center of Girls, Central Florida Coalition for the Homeless, Junior Achievement of Central Florida, and Watershed Action Volunteers. Students are assessed based on their ability to connect curriculum theory to practice. Some examples of current and past CE Courses include:
How can faculty get started?
CE Designation Course Form and Rubric can by found by looking through the Community Engagement Designation Blueprint/Contract. Please note CE Designation deadlines for fall and spring courses. CE Courses are eligible for project and resource funds through the Office of Community Engagement. Faculty are encouraged to contact OCE to discuss community academic partnerships opportunities and professional development resources. CE Courses participate in an optional pre and mandatory post assessment of student-learning gains and activities through the AAC&U LEAP Learning Outcomes framework.
Those interested in CE Designation for an International Field Study Course should contact OCE and International Programs for the International CE Designation Course Form, Rubric, and deadline dates. International CE Courses are eligible for significant project and scholarship funds for students.
Each year OCE offers multiple community engagement workshops and sessions for faculty including The Summit on Transforming Learning, New Faculty Community Partner Tour, Community Engagement Fair and Lunch, CE Designation Workshops, Service-Learning Roundtables and 1:1 Coaching Sessions. Faculty can access these workshops by clicking on the events calendar.


text:
2014 California Advocacy Summit
Join fellow advocates at the California State Capitol to make your voice heard and advocate for the more than 5.2 million Californians living with arthritis. Attendees will tour the Capitol, receive training on how to meet with their legislator, what the California Arthritis Foundation Council's policy priorities are, and then put what they learned to practice during legislative visits.
Registration is currently closed.
Embassy Suites Sacramento – Riverfront Promenade
100 Capitol Mall
Sacramento, CA 95814
To Book:
1. Visit www.sacramento.embassysuites.com and make a reservation using the group/convention code: ATH
2. Call 1-800-498-5237 and ask for the ARTHRITIS FOUNDATION-ADVOCACY discount rate.
Tuesday, April 22
- 3-3:30pm Registration and check in
- 4pm Tour of Capitol
- 5pm-6pm Free time
- 6-8pm Advocacy Training
Wednesday, April 23
- 8am Breakfast
- 9am Morning Guest Speaker
- 10am-noon Advocacy Training
- Noon-1pm Working Lunch
- 1-5pm Legislative Visits
Targeted District Travel Awards are available for people living in the following districts:
- Senator Darrell Steinberg (Senate Dist. 6)
- Senator Ed Hernandez (Senate Dist. 24)
- Senator Joel Anderson (Senate Dist. 36)
- Senator Kevin de Leon (Senate Dist. 22)
- Senator Mimi Walters (Senate Dist. 37)
- Assemblymember John Perez (Assembly Dist. 53)
- Assemblymember Richard Pan (Assembly Dist. 6)
- Assemblymember Maienschein (Assembly Dist. 77)
- Assemblymember Mike Gatto (Assembly Dist. 43)
- Assemblymember Frank Bigelow (Assembly Dist. 5)
- Assemblymember Diane Harkey (Assembly Dist. 73)
If you are unsure whether or not you live in one of these districts, please visit the link below and enter the address you reside at.


text:
"I've been hoping to be adopted for a very long time," says eleven-year old Iowa's Child, Keyvin, The youngster got some help recently from the Iowa Hawkeyes in his quest to find a new family.
Keyvin is one of Iowa's "Waiting Children." These are kids in the Iowa Foster care system who, through no fault of their own, need new families through adoption.
Four Oaks in Cedar Rapids is the umbrella organization for IowaKidsNet, which serves as the coordinating agency in trying to find new families for the kids if they are unable to return to their biological families.
The Hawkeye family treated Keyvin like royalty, as Iowa Athletic Director, Gary Barta arranged for Keyvin to shoot some baskets on the main floor at Carver Hawkeye Arena.
Keyvin got the chance to meet basketball coaches Lisa Bluder and Fran McCaffery, as well as several Hawkeyes players. Keyvin sat in on a practice and got tours of the men's basketball lock room and weight room.
Strength and Olympics coach Bill Maxwell took time to tell Keyvin all about the Hawkeye workouts.
Iowa student manager Ben Grimley served as Keyvin's tour guide around Carver Hawkeye, and Director of Basketball Operations Jerry Strom presented him with an Iowa basketball shirt.
Keyvin also received a team basketball signed by the players and coaches.
Many Iowa families work with Iowa KidsNet. Iowa KidsNet is a statewide collaboration of agencies which utilizes a unique, cohesive approach to provide recruitment, training, licensing and continued support to individuals who wish to become foster and adoptive parents.
Iowa KidsNet is a partnership of Iowa social service agencies including Four Oaks, Children's Square USA, Family Resources, LSI, Quakerdale and affiliate Youth and Shelter Services. For more information, call 1-800-243-0756.
"Every child deserves to have a permanent connection to a caring and supportive adult," says Kelli Malone, Iowa KidsNet project director.
"Each year about 26,000 youth turn 18 and age out of foster care without having permanent family connections," Malone added. "We urge more Iowans to consider becoming foster or adoptive parents, especially for older youth, or find ways to raise awareness in their own communities about the needs of Iowa children in foster care."
According to the Iowa Department of Human Services, as of August 2012, there were about 765 children in Iowa who were legally eligible for adoption, meaning parental rights had been terminated.
Many of these children already have an adoptive home identified with a relative or a foster family, while others are still waiting for an adoptive home.
On March 31, 2012, there were approximately 6,100 Iowa children in foster care, which includes placements in non-relative foster homes, relative foster care, group homes, institutional care, supervised independent living or on trial home visits.
More foster and adoptive parents who can care for teenagers, sibling groups and children with special needs are urgently needed, said Malone. There is also a large need for more African American and Latino foster and adoptive families.
In all Iowa counties, including Black Hawk County, Iowa KidsNet offers free post-adoption support services for families who have adopted a child through the Iowa Department of Human Services.
Of the 104,000 children in the U.S. waiting to be adopted from foster care, some will wait five years or more to be adopted -- a lifetime to a child.
To learn more about foster care, Iowa's "Waiting Children" and adoption, contact Iowa KidsNet at 1-800-243-0756, or online at www.iowakidsnet.com.


text:
Product Details Your little biker dude will look so cool in this green black and silver motocross jumpsuit! This costume includes a bright green authentic looking helmet to complete the look. You can turn this kids Halloween costume into a zombie costume with the addition of some gruesome makeup. The options are endless with just a jumpsuit and helmet! This costume fits kids sizes 4T-6T. This costume would also look great paired with black boots and a leather coat! No matter how your child accessorizes this costume, hes sure to grab the attention of parents and peers.
Return Information This product is returnable under certain conditions. See our Return Policy for complete details.
Year of Release 2011
Brand Disguise
Made In CHINA
Product features: Lil Motocross Toddler Costume 3T-4T, motocross toddler costume & motocross costumes & halloween costumes
|Email this product to a friend
|Customer feedback
David Merril - HI - HI
See all our Customer Testimonials and how to record your own!


text:
The jury was deadlocked eight to four Friday afternoon in the Cara Rintala murder trial.
Deliberations continued Friday in Northampton, but the judge gave jurors the weekend to think about the evidence before deliberations continue Monday. The jury was handed the case Tuesday afternoon.
Rintala is accused of killing her wife Annamarie Cochrane-Rintala in their Granby home in 2010.
According to police, the couple had a "tumultuous" relationship and had discussed divorce. Rintala's first trial ended with a hung jury last March.
Earlier this month, the jury went to the crime scene at Rintala's home in Granby.
This is the first same-sex marriage murder trial for the state.
After four days of deliberation, Rintala's last trial ended with a hung jury.
Copyright 2014 WSHM (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved.


text:
LIGHTNING strikes have sparked a new fire near a blaze already burning in hard-to-reach terrain along the Port Stephens Cutting.
The thunderstorm passed over the fire near Nowendoc Rd and did little to make an impact before igniting a blaze 2km away.
Rural Fire Service (RFS) units raced to the scene and were trying to douse the fresh blaze last night.
RFS Superintendent Allyn Purkiss said they needed to get the upper hand before it spiralled further out of control.
"We're going to try to get it before it gets too big, because it's about 2km down the Weabonga Rd," he told The Leader last night.
"The helicopters have been tasked to the new fire and ground units will also attack it before it grows in size."
It was the last thing the units needed after a rough day on the fire ground at the first blaze.
The fire jumped out of forest and ran through grassland, racing toward one property, however RFS units and water bombers from above were able to attack it before it did any damage.
No property was under threat last night, but the RFS was monitoring the 176-hectare blaze because of any further threats to isolated properties tucked away in the area.
The hilly and rugged terrain has proven difficult for volunteers, who also have to contend with falling trees.
Superintendent Purkiss said the weather was working against them.
"Because it's so hot and so dry, anything is setting this fire off; any wind activity is hampering any and all of our efforts. Our normal wetting agents are not working too well at the moment, because it is so dry, so we're still using our plants to doze off some tracks to try to contain it," he said.
By yesterday afternoon ground units had managed to put a containment line using the dozer around the eastern side of the fire, while the dozer was still working to get a line on the western side.
Superintendent Purkiss said crews would patrol the blaze to ensure it didn't jump the lines overnight.
"Two choppers will continue to water bomb (today). Three trucks from the Liverpool Range will also arrive to assist local crews that we are rolling over on the fire ground," he said.


text:
Fraud Case Investigated in Sioux Falls
Sometimes it seems as though there's nothing like a disaster to bring out the worst in people.
Sioux Falls Police are investigating a case where a local man wound up paying twice for some tree-trimming work.
Officer Sam Clemens says the homeowner told police a company from St. Paul, Minnesota was going door-to-door in his neighborhood and soliciting work on storm-damaged trees.
The man hired the company to do work for him at the agreed-upon price of $2500.
The work was done and the homeowner paid with a check, but the next day the tree guy was back to say he had done laundry and had inadvertently washed several checks, including the one the homeowner had written. So he asked for a second check.
Tree Guy was adamant the earlier check had been washed and would not be cashed, so the homeowner wrote the second check, this one for $2600.
The second check was cashed, but you guessed it–the first check was cashed a couple of weeks later.
The homeowner called police after he was unable to contact the company or the man he had done business with.
As I said, sometimes disaster can really bring out the worst in people.
And in this case, make honest people in that line of work look bad, too.


text:
A video dedicated to all things Black Heart Gold Pants. His name is Jeremy Leman.
Do you dream of bathing in an unending wave of college football goodness? Do you ever feel like you just see too much of your girlfriend, the sun or your Jack Russell, Bo? If so, do we have...
Also, we just wanted an excuse to foist that Professor Farnsworth image on everybody. Big news, kiddos. Those of you who know me as Oops Pow Surprise have probably been (oops pow) surprised to see...
Breaking down the fundamental snap and release mechanics of Indiana's Ben Chappell.
There has been much huffing and puffing about how this academic driven school that endured an infamous 34 game losing streak has the capability to be a Big 10 power. Enough of the backhanded...
Celebrating the only way I know how. Today's a fine, fine day, people. Most of you have heard of The Sporting Blog, which features such Blogfrican luminaries as Orson/Spencer from EDSBS,...
We'll email you a reset link.
If you signed up using a 3rd party account like Facebook or Twitter, please login with it instead.
You must be a member of Black Heart Gold Pants to participate.
We have our own Community Guidelines at Black Heart Gold Pants. You should read them.
You must be a member of Black Heart Gold Pants to participate.
We have our own Community Guidelines at Black Heart Gold Pants. You should read them.
Choose an available username to complete sign up.
In order to provide our users with a better overall experience, we ask for more information from Facebook when using it to login so that we can learn more about our audience and provide you with the best possible experience. We do not store specific user data and the sharing of it is not required to login with Facebook.


text:
Current Exhibits
55th Midwestern Invitational
June 18 - August 31
An exhibition by 85+ artists based on the theme of Lost & Found. This annual show commemorates the founding of the Rourke Art Gallery on June 18, 1960.
OBJECTS Found and Claimed
Richard Borge and John Borge
May 16 - August 24
An exhibit of works by illustrator Rich Borge and photographer John Borge. These brothers share a fascination with found objects that become subject matter in the creation of a new work.
Works From the Permanent Collection
June 6 - December 7
An exhibition of Permanent Collection art used in religious ceremonies or for worship. Similar ritual items may be seen in the different religious as well as unique worship items to the culture
IMPRESSIONS II: Woodcuts and Wood Engravings From the Permanent Collection
An exhibition of woodcuts and wood engravings from our Permanent Collection, ranging from 18th Century Japanese woodcuts to modern masters.
TRANSFORMATIONS: The Art of the Mask
A selection of masks from our Permanent Collection feature the cultural and artistic heritage of Africa, Latin America and Indonesia.
Moorhead Public Schools
The Rourke was pleased to host second graders from the Moorhead Public Schools throughout March of 2014. The students were asked to do a creative writing project based on their favorite work of art. Two essays were chosen from each class to be posted online and the winners also received a certificate of achievement and a special print! Click here to read the winning essays.
Upcoming Events and Exhibitions
June 26 - September 4
Rockin' the Rourke
Summer courtyard concert series
September 12 - October 12
Living with the things we know
[the chairs are not for sitting]
October 17 - December 31
Photographs from the Bakken Oil Fields


text:
You know the saying, 'if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.'
The same holds true when seeking out a quick fix in the battle of the bulge.
Diet pills are often marketed to consumers promising extraordinary results, but health experts warn "buyer beware".
Sandy is at Unity Point Health Methodist for a doctor's visit in this week's Get Fit Friday.


text:
Theodora Oz the Great Standup
Theordora, Oz The Great StandupSUPOZT
Made to Order - 10 business days processing+shipping
Your Price: $34.99 each
This Theodora Oz the Great Standee wants peace to be restored to the Land of Oz!
Just like Theodora, this Theodora Oz the Great Standup is a beautiful and unique addition to your Oz the Great and Powerful event and makes a great photo op. Each Theodora Witch Standee measures 5 feet high x 18 inches wide and is free-standing.
Please allow ample time for delivery. Our ship date for this product is noted in your shopping cart. Many items are shipped separately, so please allow extra time for these items to arrive. Shipping charges are based on the value of the merchandise and not the number of shipments. For additional shipping information, contact our Customer Service Department at (email@example.com or 1-800-227-2789).
Detailed shipping information
Detailed shipping information


text:
You might have heard that Jeremy Lin is the Mr. Christian Religion Tim Tebow of the NBA. Well, it's time to give up rational arguments to the contrary because thanks to USA Today we now know Lin sports a wristband that reads "In Jesus Name I Play."
So how did Active Faith get the NBA biggest star to wear their gear? Well, he's been wearing it since he was in the D-League. From USA Today:
Lin was on board with wearing the brand before his newfound stardom. [...]
"We had a relationship before this whole thing blew up the way it did," Smith says. "With him being so open about his faith it matches up perfectly."
Jeremy Lin is really good at basketball, but he is REALLY good at moving swag. So don't be surprised when everyone you know is wearing faith-based wristbands that read "In Jesus Name I Play."


text:
You are logged in as Visitor
We have 101 guests and no members online
EmpXtrack Enterprise Edition is a full ERP solution for Human Resource Department. It automates all HR functions and enables the leadership in the organization to take strategic decisions based on HR data and employee performance. It is an end to end solution for complete employee life cycle.
Show Details
EmpXtrack Performance Management System is an integrated web-based tool to improve organizational performance by setting SMART Goals for employee, evaluating employee performance, recommending highly competitive compensation plans, managing employee trainings & development and promoting right employees to critical positions.
EmpXtrack Recruitment Edition is a web-based automated system for streamlining your recruitment process. It helps your recruiters and recruitment Managers to easily manage the candidate resumes, posts jobs to various sources, shortlist eligible candidates, manage candidate Interviews and send offer letters. In a nutshell, Recruitment Edition can make your recruitment process more effective and result oriented.


text:
Arundel Mills is Maryland's top shopping, dining and entertainment destination, with over 200 stores including manufacturer and retail outlets, off-price retailers, and unique specialty stores. A festive food court, Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament, and the Cinemark Egyptian 24 are also part of the shopping adventure. Take 295 N to Route 100 E to Exit 10, Arundel Mills Boulevard.
Dubbed a "shopper's paradise" by local and metropolitan residents alike, Montgomery County offers every type of merchandise and retail setting you could ever dream of. 33 Department Stores. 657 Spas and Salons. 743 Jewelers, Boutiques & Specialty Stores.
CVB member Spring It On! Deals
Featured Shopping
view all shopping
Arundel Mills
7000 Arundel Mills Circle
Hanover, MD 21076 | map
Bedding Barn
15595 Old Columbia Pike
Burtonsville, MD 20866 | map
Butler's Orchard
22200 Davis Mill Rd
Germantown, MD 20876 | map
(301) 972-3299
Montgomery County's premier Pick-Your-Own Farm. Strawberries, Blueberries Sweet Peas, Cherries, Flowers, Thornless Blackberries, Red Raspberries, Apples, Pumpkins, and Christmas Trees! Our Farm Market is open May through December 24 featuring farm-fresh seasonal produce, local honey, maple syrup, jams and fruit butters, and gourmet condiments. Fresh baked goods, sweet apple cider, home-baked fruit pies, free-range eggs, and sweet butter. Wide assortment of bedding, vegetable, and blueberry plants in Spring. Fresh wreaths and roping in our Christmas Shop.
Hours: Hours vary by season. Please visit our website or call our recorded information line at 301-972-1198 for updates.
Chuck Levin's Music Center
11151 Veirs Mill Rd
Wheaton, MD 20902 | map
Chuck Levin's Music Center is one of the largest and most respected music dealers in the US. Since their founding by Chuck Levin over 50 years ago, they've been dedicated to making sure every musician-from the beginner to top professionals-has the instruments, equipment and supplies to play their very best.
City Place Mall Silver Spring
8661 Colesville Road
Silver Spring, MD 20910 | map
(301) 589-1091
Countryside Artisans
PO Box 355
Barnesville, MD 20838 | map
(800) 639-6979
Downtown Silver Spring
916 Ellsworth Drive
Silver Spring, MD 20910 | map
(301) 587-0867
Downtown Silver Spring offers the best restaurants, events, shopping and office space in Silver Spring, MD.
Federal Realty Investment Trust
1626 East Jefferson Street
Rockville, MD 20852 | map
(301) 998-8100
Kensington Antique Row
3759 Howard Ave
Kensington, MD 20895 | map
(301) 946-4242
Lakeforest Shopping Center
701 Russell Ave
Gaithersburg, MD 20877 | map
(301) 840-5840
Lavender Gypsy Bethesda Spa
4833 West Lane
Bethesda, MD 20814 | map
(301) 789-5525
Lavender Gypsy specializes in corrective skin care facials. Each Jurlique facial is customized to your unique skin type and skin issues. Achieve the skin you've always wanted with our organic healing facials. The best visible results are achieved with monthly Jurlique spa facials and improved skin care, complimented by correct product selection. Whether you are dealing with acne, rosacea, dry, oily, aging, pigmented, combination, or normal skin; facials will help.
Potomac Mills
2700 Potomac Mills Circle
Woodbridge, VA 22192 | map
Potomac Mills features over 200 manufacturer and retail outlets, off-price retailers and unique specialty stores - all under one roof! When you need a respite from power shopping, catch a movie at the AMC Potomac Mills 18 Theatres (with IMAX) or grab a bite to eat at one of the center's 25 eateries. Potomac Mills is located immediately off of Interstate 95, just minutes from the Capital Beltway.
RIO Washingtonian Center
209 Boardwalk Place
Gaithersburg, MD 20878 | map
Spagnvola Chocolatier
360 Main St
Gaithersburg, MD 20878 | map
(240) 654-6972
We are a Farm and Factory Owned Chocolatier. We import our own exquisite Cocoa beans from our exotic farm in the Dominican Republic. We showcase tours of our factory on Saturday afternoons to educate others on the process of premium chocolate and the hard work that goes into it. All are welcome!
The Little Bits Shop
11244 Triangle Lane
Wheaton, MD 20902 | map
(301) 933-2733
The Little Bitts Shop stocks thousands of supplies for cake decorating, candy and chocolate making. The Little Bitts Shop also offers cake decorating & candy classes for beginner and advanced students.
The Toy Exchange
11265 Triangle Lane
Wheaton, MD 20902 | map
Whether you're a serious collector or a parent looking for a great deal, The Toy Exchange is the place to be. The Toy Exchange has a fantastic inventory of hard to find toy collectibles and trains, as well as great bargains on video games, action figures, diecast cars, and more. The Toy Exchange has been serving Montgomery County for over 20 years, and Owner Perry Mohney has been collecting toys for over 40 years, visiting numerous trade shows and high-end auctions to bring to you the finest in toy collectibles. Browse through over 1500 square feet of stock items. If you don't see what you need, we will find it for you!
Urban Country
7117 Arlington Road
Bethesda, MD 20814 | map
Urban Country features a collection of home furnishings, decorative accessories, and gifts that are unique and classic. Urban Country's professional designers blend confident originality with sensitive, responsive service.
West Howard Antiques
4080 - 4261 Howard Avenue
Kensington, MD 20895 | map
(301) 530-0175
Westfield Montgomery
7101 Democracy Boulevard
Bethesda, MD 20817 | map
(301) 469-6025
Westfield Montgomery is the centerpiece of distinctive shopping in Bethesda, offering classic collections and luxury basics in every retail category. The center is home to Nordstrom and Macy's as well as over 190 specialty stores including Ann Taylor, Banana Republic, Coach, Eileen Fisher, J. Crew, Swarovski, Sephora and Zara.
Hours: Shopping hours are Monday through Saturday, 10:00am – 9:00pm, and Sunday, 11:00am – 6:00pm. Department store, restaurant and theater hours may vary.
Conference and Visitors Bureau (CVB) member
Featured Business
Hilton Garden Inn/Homewood Suites Rockville Gaithersburg
Located in the heart of the Rockville-Gaithersburg business district and adjacent to the I-270 Technology Corridor, the two-building, six-story property is within 20 miles of downtown Washington, DC, numerous modes of public transportation, and three international airports. The two brands also share several public amenities including a heated indoor pool, whirlpool, PreCor fitness center, a kids' entertainment room, and 2,800 square feet of flexible meeting space.


text:
Department of Distance Education
Year of Establishment1985
* Master of Arts(M.A.) in English
* Master of Arts(M.A.) in
* Master of Arts(M.A.)
in Marathi
* Master Of Commerce(M.Com.)
* Master In Social Work (MSW)
* Bachelor of Arts (B.A) in
Social Sciences
* Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in
* Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com)
* Bachelor of Computer Application
* Diploma in Yoga & Naturopathy(DYN)
Frequently Asked Questions
Students Feedback


text:
The Red Sox and John Lackey are still apparently working out some of that tricky "contract language," but in the meantime, they went ahead and officially introduced him as Boston's newest pitcher Wednesday.
"This is a significant addition to our pitching staff," said general manager Theo Epstein of Lackey, a one-time All-Star who finished third in 2007 AL Cy Young award voting. "And we expect him to be for a long time coming."
Lackey, who will wear No. 40, said he is excited to not only be joining the Red Sox, but also to have the chance to pitch in Fenway Park (and stadium about which he once said, "they should blow this [expletive] place up").
"Obviously, I've been here for some big games," said Lackey, who has made four postseason starts against the Red Sox and pitched 7 1/3 shutout innings in Game 1 of the American League Division Series in October, setting the tone for an Angels sweep. "I'm here to win. The bottom line is that I've always had a lot of respect for this organization from the other side. Winning is the biggest thing for me and I know the organization has a great chance to do that. Hopefully, I can help."


text:
And something coming out of North Field... Iceland is looking to adopt the Loonie.. Still just putting feelers out it seems, but instead of the Kroner or even the Euro, they're toying with the idea of using the Canadian Loonie as their currency.
And something coming out of North Field... Iceland is looking to adopt the Loonie.. Still just putting feelers out it seems, but instead of the Kroner or even the Euro, they're toying with the idea of using the Canadian Loonie as their currency.
From his last volume on the second World War,
Churchill flew to Greece at Christmas 1944 to
help settle a new government in. Worth taking
trouble over this seat of democracy
One of the things to appreciate is that normal rules do not apply to central banks. You shouldn't think of them as normal entities which are concerned with profit and loss. Think of it this way: Central banks can create their host currency at will. They can pull it out, destroying that currency at will as well if they want to (although usually they're just controlling the rate of growth of that monetary base when weekly fluctuations are averaged out). Now, for any entity that can create currency at will, whatever use is "profit" in the normal monetary sense we think of it? Indeed, profit for a central bank would represent money being pulled out of the system.
That's why the Fed (and every other CB) must give its profit away. The Fed gives it straight back the US Treasury and all the others do something similiar. A loss for a central bank represents an excess of currency, unbacked against its asset side, in the system. And that's why losses are very bad and the ECB is going through hoops, law, ethics and deceny be damned, to avoid taking losses on the Greek bonds.
So don't think about central banks in normal terms, as you do with regular real banks and other money making institutions. Their function is to control the monetary system (and increasingly to use monetary inputs to try to control the economy in general -- to think one can do this effectively is hubris of the highest order of course).
They all seem to think that being mysterious helps them in their task, though and like to have an air of being some wizards of some forbidden secret knowledge or something. That is, they know what they're doing, yet they seem to like all the misconceptions about what they are and do to remain out there.
So a central bank, as an institution, isn't concerned with profit. That doesn't mean those who run it aren't concerned with profit for themselves personally and their buddies, of course, but the central bank itself is not about that.
In the days when there were wild places with animals and no central banks the equivalent to economics was population dynamics which boom and crash.
Something I'm becomming increasingly of the belief of is that boom-bust cycle is necessary behavior of a normally functioning economy. The goal of many economists for around 100 years has been to smooth that cycle out and have steady growth, no muss, no fuss. I'm becomming convinced that's impossible, and attempts to smooth it out will fail and result in a spectacular crash.
Heretic Aussie economist Steve Keen (whose work I highly recommend reading, although I don't agree with all of it) came up with something about this that was fascinating. He was trying to model what I like to call the "debt Ponzi", which is what we've all been doing for the past 2 - 3 decades, which is running up debt at an unsustainable rate relative to GDP growth. So he was fooling around with various differential equation models for all the variables.
He discovered some interesting behavior. With no "debt Ponzi", he got the familiar boom-bust cycle. Over the long term, there is growth, but you've got significant boom/recession oscillations riding on top of it. Now add the debt Ponzi. That smooths and draws out the oscillation, with the final curve being one of long steady smooth growth. It ends in a spectacular crash.
That's interesting because that's exactly what happened to all of us. The period of the 90s until now has been called the "Great Moderation", a period of steady growth and low inflation. Why it was wonderful. And then we crashed. Big time.
So according to that model, the debt Ponzi lulls you into a false sense of perpetual prosperity, smoothing out the natural boom/bust behavior, but kills you in the end.
Did those simulations pertain to government debt, private debt, both, or some other or lower level of subdivision (such as applying to mortgages but not credit cards)?
I accept the boom bust is normal and to be expected but would the same happen if the long term average was shrinkage? A downsizing company tends to generate cash where a growing one generates debt. Economic growth may have been the historical trend but there is no law of nature to say the economy has to grow just as an oversized company shrinks not just to survive but to become competitive again.
Here's a good Wired article on the perils of HFT (High Frequency Trading):
The computers, "the bots" as they're called, are creating their own world at the sub 650 ms level. They have no understanding of what they're creating there. Note the part about how patterns at this level, where the bots operate, bear no resemblence to the patterns on the human-aware timescales.
At this level, as the article note, there have been a myriad of "flash crashes" and spikes at these time scales. There have been 18,000+ such events from 2006 to 2011. Most of them just don't show up at the human-aware time scales.
They are now getting into *nanosecond* level trading.
Anyway. this is emergent behavior, and behavior the creators do not understand in the least. It's just another cog in the giant Skynet we're creating.
It started with these collaterised debt
obligations (CDOs) and I was reading articles
warning about these two or three years
before it all went pear shaped.
Dont think there were such warnings in 1929.
It happens at a mundane level too. I use an online site with access to ETFS which are derivatives used for futures trading (or speculation) and there is for example one called HOGS which relates to hogs as a commodity. If you watch the ticker there are very big spikes like 30% or 50% change in the price. I tried to catch one but of course they are subsecond duration; but I guess a lot of money exchanges in that sub second and the deal is in effect manipulated trading that ordinary human buyers and sellers cannot access. Since the same can happen in every market not just finacial trading, the degree of phantom economy could be staggeringly large . ( The novel Fear Index deals with this as a baseline for the plot which involves the computer algorithm becoming self aware.)
I remember with one they decided the bots were intentionally flooding the system so as to introduce delay into the quote systems that most everyone else relies on. Some of the big boys have access to a very fast service, which they pay dearly for, which the little guys don't. That essentially gives them the ability to know the future relative to most everyone else. It's a very small time difference, but at this level, those milliseconds allow them to profit handsomely.
What they're essentially trying to do is just skim off the flow, capturing a little piece of all the transactions by inserting themselves in the middle of all the flows.
And they don't have the slightest clue of the emergent behavior of the system when everybody is running these bots with their own little secret programming techniques interacting and competing with each other. The big Flash Crash was one result of that unknown behavior.
All this reminds me of the book on sale from Amazon for $23,698,655.93.
Which is really an example of what's going on here, boiled down to the bare minimum required to set up this type of situation.
Reductionist and proud of it.
Being ignorant is not so much a shame, as being unwilling to learn. Benjamin Franklin
Chase after the truth like all hell and you'll free yourself, even though you never touch its coat tails. Clarence Darrow
A person who won't read has no advantage over one who can't read. Mark Twain
I don't think boom-bust cycles are mandatory. They're predicated on market expansion, which reveals the susceptible conditions: expandability of the market environment. A market environment may be virgin because it's either been untapped and recently opened, or a new innovation makes a new one. So, as we saw manufacturing being outsourced to new labor markets, we experienced the first type of boom. But even if and when that stabilizes and developing countries begin to reach either parity or equilibrium with outsourcing costs, we may still experience booms on fads, such as the famous tulip bulb bubble.
I know that there is some thought on generational cycles based the concept of The first generation builds the business, the second makes it a success, and the third wrecks it. However, there that need not apply to markets as a whole and may only do so now because of relatively recent human migrations or collations of fortune due to war and imperialism over the last couple centuries. If we can manage to stabilized both the markets and social order around the world, I suspect the boom-bust cycles will even out on their own. While there may be more frequent cycles, the low amplitude and overlapping nature of their higher frequency would make it into more of a constant background noise.
Et tu BAUT? Quantum mutatus ab illo.
Sorry all, just got discharged out of the hospital for surgery (yes, I knew it was coming, but the way I cope with nervousness is not to dwell on it). Believe or not, I had to have my right hip replaced. Went damn well, but I'm not a happy camper now and won't be for a few days. Hillbilly heroin is the only thin keeping things half way bearble. But it has some other unpleasant digestive side effects we won't dwell on.
So continue to discuss amongst yourselves.
I wish you a quick recovery Publius, much quicker than the economic one that is allegedly in progress. And be careful with the "Hillbilly heroin."
BTW the other day I saw a TV commercial for a medical research study for people who are taking opiates for pain control, and are experiencing constipation as a side effect. There are some strange commercials on daytime cable TV.
I may have many faults, but being wrong ain't one of them. - Jimmy Hoffa
About those strange daytime and late night commericials. They say that you know you're getting old when those commercials start on you, and you think, "Hmmm, that's sounds pretty good...." I'm not there yet, but it's only a matter of time.
I thought my right knee would the first to go, but it turned out my right hip decided it was going to "win" and be first across the finish line. It deteriorated rapidly over the past few months, and when I got to the point I could no longer get my sock on, or cut my toenails, properly, it was time. The cartilage had been shot for some time, but it went completely, went bone on bone, and bone loss started accelerating. I think the Doc measured my right leg nearly 1.25" shorter than the left.
I went to a fairly new facility they had just constructed over the past few years. There's a high demand for orthopedics in this area and this group went into together and built their own little hospital in which they almost exclusively do orthropedic surgery. This enabled impressive cost savings. I just couldn't believe it, and doing it through the regular hospital system had become just ridiculously cost prohibitive. They did have to put in a emergency unit, and can handle overflow in a pinch for the larger hospital system region in which they're a part of it, but most of the time, they've got it to themselves.
It and the personnel were most impressive. My surgeon was young, but not too young, just right really. Enough experience to smoothly handle the odd rare little glitch that might pop up, but young enough to be freshly up on the latest state of the art. He gave meticulous attention to all the risk factors and minimized every one he had control of, etc. He didn't cherry coat anything, telling me that by about the second or third day, I'd be regretting go through it, but that in a few weeks, (with standard caveats) I be thinking it was the decision I'd ever made. He was right about the second day thing, and let's hope he's right about the long term part.
The only glitch that did show up was I tested positive for "MRSA" colonization, the antibiotic resistant staph bacteria. They test for that regularly, right on site, and this caused them to have to go into "Contagion" mode, wearing gloves and suits. I couldn't believe it, but they said it is is getting more and more common, which is why they test and go into "level 4 mode" or whatever.
I'll just say, for anecdotal cheer, that I have a colleague who's had both hips replaced and run about 20km/week.
Done right you'll definitely be happy you got it done.
Reductionist and proud of it.
Being ignorant is not so much a shame, as being unwilling to learn. Benjamin Franklin
Chase after the truth like all hell and you'll free yourself, even though you never touch its coat tails. Clarence Darrow
A person who won't read has no advantage over one who can't read. Mark Twain
Ugh, I know how you feel. I had surgery 2 1/2 years ago. No oxycodone for me, they only sent me home with hydrocodone (Vicodin) and ibuprofen and recommended Colace for the... ahem, side effects. Luckily, I had been on a liquid diet for a week and was in no hurry to start eating lots of fiber, so it wasn't that bad. Actually, I had to eat a low residue diet because it was an intestinal resection and any BM was excruciating. So, you might want to try a low residue diet while on the opiates. Also, I had MRSA too, probably got it from there the first time I was in a few months earlier. Hope you feel better soon.
Et tu BAUT? Quantum mutatus ab illo.
Thanks. I'm doing a lot better now. Still hobbling around, but am definitely on the uparc and feeling all the little shooting pains and crap indicating damaged soft tissue is in the process of healing and complaining about it. The surgeon did explain how much damage he was going to have to do to cut out the old hip and put it in the implant.
And no more oxycodone for me. I would have to be out of my mind with pain to take that stuff again. Turns out they've got a new opiate out, brand name "Nucynta" (in the US), generic name tapentadol, and they gave me some of that. It's new and ridiculously expensive of course but it works without the "side effect" for me and no nausea either. With me, oxycodone apparently just shuts my colon down. I don't want to get any lurkers' hopes up with this new stuff, because it varies greatly with individual, but this Nucynta stuff works pretty good for me with the least nausea and colon slowing down of any I've tried. I now know the hillbilly heroin is the absolute worst for me.
And I'm not going to need a pain killer much more I don't think, probably just at night to get a good night's sleep for another week or two.
And speaking of new drugs, they're using a new blood "thinner" (anticoagulant) now, brand name "Xarelto", which was approved just last year. That stuff is indeed expensive, price for 30 pills was about $170. Blood clots, the dreaded deep vein thrombosis leading to pulmonary embolism is a big risk with hip and knee replacements, with hip being about the worst. They've got me wearing these annoying compression stockings which I'll have to do for weeks, and stay on the blood "thinner" for 30 days. With knees, it's only 15 days.
This Xarelto stuff is supposed to cut the DVT incidence rate in half, but with a slightly higher "bleeding event" risk, but the main thing is the maintainece is no problem. One pill a day for everybody, unlike the careful dose adjustement required with the previous stuff.
Well get well soon publius and because I feel
a little queasy lets talk about economies. Does
capitalism need periodic boosts from new fads to
get everyone cheerful again. Lets see, it started
with mechanised fibre spinning then weaving did
it not? Then canal building was the thing. Got
lots of stuff around easily, coal, corn, heavy
stuff. Then railways were popular. Last century
brought wireless sets. Television. Ahh yes,
micro-computers. And lots of stuff for smaller
markets. Point is when there is something new
it seems to affect much more than just that
area. Then each fad settles down to replacement
What did I not mention? Cars, Airplanes. One
big fly in the ointmnt...Armaments!
I should have posted something before I went in, but I was trying not to think about it. Doesn't matter how much reason I can apply to the situation, how much information and knowledge, the fight or flight is going to ramp up and I was a nervous wreck about 36 hours beforehand.
And that behaved just like I figured it would as well. I get scared out of my mind *anticipating* something, but once I get started, I'm cool as a cucumber. Started that way as a kid. I'd worry myself sick over something I feared, such a public speaking, go over and over it in my mind beforehand to the point of mental exhaustion, then "zone out" with blind fear right before, then get up there and give a crackerjack performance. Then I'd go home and collapse. Anxiety is good, up to a point. I even looked that up. Works the same way for presurgical anxiety. The worst outcomes (and this is how the patient perceives the experience mostly) are for those on the extremes of the anxiety scale beforehand. The dummies who aren't scared *don't get themselves prepared*. That's what anxiety does, it makes you prepare yourself. And then on the other extreme are those who lose control and just run amok with blind fear and make it worse.
That was exactly the way this was. Fear peaked right before it was time to go. Sitting in the waiting room (only about one minute), I had a fight or flight burst when I heard the nurse coming down the hall to get me. "Run!", my inner voice said, "Head for the tall grass!". But then I got up and it was all gone and I was calm and cool as could be. I think it's an internal decision process. Only at the final instant does one truly commit and once I did, no more worry.
Et tu BAUT? Quantum mutatus ab illo.
Incidentally, the anxiety self-preparation thing reminds me of the "Doomsday Preppers" thread in Small Media at Large, in case you want to take a look. It would be an appropriate adjunct to this thread since possible financial/societal collapse is one of the themes here.
Et tu BAUT? Quantum mutatus ab illo.
I'm not too sure how reliable zillow.com is at estimating housing prices, but they show a 41% increase in the value of my house over this month last year.
It is still nowhere near the peak, but I'm still quite surprised...and skeptical.
I may have many faults, but being wrong ain't one of them. - Jimmy Hoffa


text:
Irishman owner Desmond Wootton brought a bit of European club pizzazz to New York City when he opened Night Owls. The original club perches in Dublin, and its Big Apple sister establishment has settled into the center of Irish midtown Manhattan, a prime location. The building that houses Night Owls carries with it a famous past--in its previous life, the club was El Morocco, a celebrity-ridden hotspot that reigned over the nightlife scene throughout the 1940s and 50s.
"There's a room full of old pictures of everyone hanging out here. It was really something. My grandparents used to come here," lighting designer Stephen Lieberman says. He goes on to describe one photo of Elizabeth Taylor at about age 23, and another of an 18-year-old Jackie Gleason and Joe DiMaggio, each sporting a wide grin, sitting in front of a massive pile of pasta.
After several reopenings of El Morocco, the club moved on to phase two: a topless bar called The Dollhouse. In fact, the cabaret license actually stuck with the building by way of a grandfather clause. After the building laid low for about two years, Wootton purchased the vacant property to expand his club empire into the United States. New York Night Owls, his 18th establishment, opened September 19, 1997, a day that honors his lucky number. Wootton married his wife and became a father on the 19th day of the month, and has since established his own tradition of opening clubs on that particular date.
A year before the club's opening, Wootton hired Lieberman as the project's production manager. Lieberman's New York City-based company, Cybertech Designs Inc., was responsible for the lighting, sound, and video systems. Lieberman took control of the lighting himself, and brought in Barry Scott from New York Sound & Video to install the sound system. Together the two put together the video system.
Lieberman (who has yet to see the original club in Dublin) completed five lighting projects in 1997. His company was originally named Cybertech Lighting, but when he and his partner split a little over a year ago, he created Cybertech Designs, which focuses primarily on lighting design and installation. Before his company got off the ground, he worked as a light operator on the New York City club circuit; his resume includes big names like The Mirage, Webster Hall, Expo, Twilo, The Roxy, and Life.
After three years of light show stints, Lieberman has mastered the art of creating ambiance based on music and the crowd. "For hip hop, I do a lot of slow, color-mixing sweeps around the room. When it's house music, and it's hard and banging and everybody's tripping on something, I fog up the room and add strobes--what we call flash and trash, just lights going everywhere, freaking people out," Lieberman explains.
In a past project called Venue, he installed a fiber-optic curtain up on the ceiling in the downstairs Lava Lounge. The ceilings were only 10' (3m) high, so his mission was to create the illusion of more space. He added oil wheel projectors on the walls to stir up some movement, and snaked a fogger through to the middle of the floor, which is studded with strobe lights. Night Owls, however, is far from a crammed space.
The 600-capacity nightspot sprawls across two levels of the four-story building. Upon entering the club at ground level, guests are led through the mirrored foyer and hallway into the main floor's bar and lounge area, which borders the central dance floor. Moving upstairs, the champagne room and bar cater to a more exclusive crowd who wish to escape the downstairs hubbub. A grid of video screens keeps minglers posted on the dance floor's happenings.
The atmosphere of Night Owls is created, in part, by the video system, which includes four Seleco SVT-190s with Draper Luma 2 A/V Easy Screens. The projectors display mostly music videos as the DJ plays the remix. The club plays dance music, blending house and disco to attract its upscale crowd. Lieberman calls it more of a yuppie-ish kind of scene. "You'll see people from 25 to 65 years old coming to this place," he points out. Unlike some of his other New York lighting gigs, this place doesn't seem to draw the younger club kids hungry for themed nights of lunacy.
It took Lieberman about a year to complete the lighting, sound, and video design of Night Owls, which altogether cost $175,000. Hanging the truss alone required the help of six men. Without a second of hesitation, he names the fiber-optic ceiling as the number one challenge of the project, then goes on to describe the trials and tribulations of installing the 250 2x2 fiber-optic panels into the grid.
"There are four projectors that illuminate the ceiling, and each panel has its own bundle of fiber optics. So you have to put the panel in, then pull all of the fiber optics back--put another in, then pull them all back. Each panel had to go one at a time. There were some areas where the panels wouldn't slide in nicely, because there was an electrical trough or air conditioning up there, so I actually had to pull the framing down and slide the panel 20' or 30' (6-9m) in," he explains. Before the endless hours of being wheeled around on a scaffold to create this starry overhead began, the LD claims he had a full head of hair.
Apart from the fiber optics, he spent about five hours up in the ceiling crawling on his belly, running cable to install other fixtures. He also set the board with an infinite number of programs.
Operators program on the club's Jands Hog 250 console. The Jands Hog runs the same software as the Flying Pig Systems Wholehog II, but on a smaller board with fewer channels. "It's a very versatile console. Programming is as easy as two key presses: record and enter," he comments.
The console also features an option for manual on-the-fly operation of every fixture. "If you're in the middle of a program, you can speed it up and slow it down by just turning the wheel," Lieberman says. Changing programs happens with just one keystroke. The lighting operator simply flips through the 20 or 30 different pages, which each hold 12 programs, and sets up new pages however he wants. "It really comes down to operator preference. I set up the board with basics, and teach the guy how to use it." He adds that with this board, the operators build programs from others by setting up pages on-the-fly during a show, then copy that program onto another empty fader.
Lieberman, who works as a High End Systems parts dealer and technician, chose High End for all the club's moving lights. He enthusiastically endorses their products and customer support. "When I called High End and said I've got eight Cyberlights(R) that were broken, they sent a technician, fixed it, and never asked me any questions." Given his background, he can also fix some of the equipment, and he points out that High End is a US-based company, which makes the parts easy to access. For dimming, Lieberman chose an architectural dimmer rack, the ETC SR-24 with a CEM control module, which he says is one of his favorite pieces of equipment in the club.
The throbbing beat behind the flashes in Night Owls marks the first Turbosound installation in New York City. Lieberman says that Turbosound, based in England, is the hot thing in Europe. When the crew tested the system, the owner of a shop next door ran over to warn them that he was on the verge of calling the cops because the bass was pounding everything off the shelves.
Lieberman does not take credit for the original setup of this system because the owner provided him with a basic symmetrical design. But he tries to build versatile lighting systems with a long life span by making it easy to move fixtures on the original truss. And the intelligent lights add different aspects to each installation. "But any light system, even the coolest one in the world, gets tired eventually. I like to put in the most user-friendly, maintenance-free equipment possible." Then he pauses, and rethinks his statement. "I mean low-maintenance, because maintenance-free is not a term that exists in lighting."
Joy Marie Lofton is a New York City-based freelance writer.
(8) High End Systems Trackspots (4) High End Systems Trackspots modified with fiber optics (6) High End Systems Intellabeam 700HXs (4) High End Systems Dataflash AF1000 strobes (4) High End Systems Color Pros, with controller (1) High End Systems F-100 performance fog generator with timer remote (1) Clay Paky Tornado (8) American DJ Pro Blacklights (32) American DJ Crystals (16) PAR-56 cans (64) PAR-36 pinspots (5) 20" mirror balls (1) Jands Hog 250 (1) ETC SR-24 dimmer rack (4) Seleco SVT-190 video projectors with Draper Luma 2 A/V screens (250) 2x2 fiber-optic panels Optikinetics Tri-Lite triangular truss system