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It's not my intention to overload you with Celebrity Apprentice observations; if I had my way, it would've been one recap per week, for several weeks, until Scotty Hamilton had raised a bazillion dollars to the Cleveland Clinic and faced off with Annie Duke in the finals. But, quicker than you can spell EEE!, the gig is up. So it's a two-part recap this week, then back to watching Cold Case while taping Desperate Housewives for me… how about you?
What follows is my list of 5 Best Scotty Celebrity Apprentice Moments—had he been on longer, the list could've grown to 10…
5) The opening shots of the whole series, when the "team" rolled in and all the guys (and many of the women) appeared a full FOOT taller than Scott.
4) When Andrew "Dice" Clay tried to divert attention from himself by saying Scotty was the one who should be fired (in episode 1). Especially ironic, the way Trump looked to Scotty as if firing him was the farthest thing from his mind.
3) Scotty's shout-out to Doug Wilson, the recently retired TV director who handled most of ABC's skating broadcasts for decades. Scott was working the cupcake trailer in the first episode, then shreiked "Doug Wilson! I can't believe you made it!" as Mr. Wilson responds "Hey, when you call Scotty, I come." Hee. I couldn't believe it made it into the show; but then again, they did have to pad for a 2-hour episode…
2) When Trump delivered one of his banal "succeess tips" (If you don't stand up for yourself, people are going to walk all over you!) and crowed about how he expected GOLD medal winner Scotty to have an easier time of it than Khloe Kardashian. Well, yeah, you'd think…
And 1) When Scott and his nemesis (at least for one day) Tom Green acknowledged the fact that they had one unique commonality—they were both testicular cancer survivors. There was an odd sort of sweetness to that moment in the midst of all the huffing and puffing, even moreso than the moment in there where Scott looked to Trump as if to say "Do you believe this guy?" and Trump gave him a wink as if to say "Hang in there kid, I'll take care of this in a minute." If that's what he was saying, he didn't lie…
One more tidbit: in case you were wondering how Hamilton's newest book is faring in the wake of his airtime, it's been hovering between 4,600 and 5,000 in Amazon's rankings this week after peaking with a 1,073 rank in the past month or so.
In more uniformly interesting news…we're just about a week away from Worlds!!!!
So here's a performance from last year's Worlds as the Clip of the Day . I've run a few of these before, so let's let this one be a surprise as to who it is.
Friday, March 13, 2009
5 Best Hamilton/Celebrity Apprentice Moments (There Was Time For Five??)
Posted by Kelli Lawrence at 9:35 PM
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7 Up's service planned at Big Macedonia Baptist
Members of the Big Macedonia Baptist Church are planning a 7 Up's service for 3 p.m. Sunday, April 6.
The theme will be "Standing for Jesus in any Situation."
Speakers for the afternoon will be: Stand Up-Minister Edna Lewis; Speak Up-Sister Yolonda Hewett; Grow Up-Brother Kendrick Morgan; Look Up-Minister Norma Frink; Pray Up-Deacon Jimmy Hankins; Wake Up-Deacon Gregory Williams; Shut Up-Sister Shelia Washington; and Sister Stephanie Marlow will wrap it up.
MARTINSVILLE, Va.—Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 Fed-Ex Toyota, took the lead in Sunday's Goody's Cool Orange 500 from Jeff Burton on lap 424 and led the remaining 76 laps. It was Hamlin's first win of the season and the second for Toyota.
"This was the first Virginia win for me," said Hamlin of Chesterfield, Va. "Hopefully, the curse of winning in my home state is over.
"We've had a lot of bad luck these past few weeks, and it feels good to come here and get a win in front of the hometown fans."
The following is the completely falsified transcript of a conversation, which never took place between Mike and Maggie, two people who do not exist. I did not overhear this conversation, nor one remotely like it, and probably never will. The made-up names have not been changed.
Mike: "Hey, did you watch 'Lost Idol Survivor Apprentice' last weekend?"
Maggie: "Of course, I did. I never miss one. What did you think about that ending?"
Mike: "Fantastic. I never saw it coming—definitely a wild finish."
I'm sure no one in the stands heard this comment—not the parents nor the fans nor even the coaches.
The only reason I heard it is because I was taking pictures and sitting between the nets of two matches.
A visiting high school tennis player asked a West Brunswick player, "How's the marching band here?"
I thought it was a bizarre question to ask someone between points and became curious about why he asked it. Little did I realize it was a set-up.
"Well, I guess they're not so good," the West Brunswick player said.
A trio scored in double figures as Pleasant View beat Mount Calvary 69-55 to win the Brunswick County Men's Church Basketball Tournament Monday night.
Jermaine Morris poured in 14 points, Josh Brown 13 and Jarrett Wallace 12 for the victors. McReese Vereen scored 14 and Larry Dailey 12 for Mount Calvary.
In the first game Monday night, Pleasant View topped Mount Calvary 79-54 behind 26 points from Morris, 14 from Brown and 10 from Jason Thompson. Mount Calvary was led by Travis Cox with 24 and Vereen and Maurich Finch with eight apiece.
Gymnastics & More's Ocean Flippers gymnastics teams came home with two team titles at the state championships in Newberry and Rock Hill, S.C., last weekend.
The Level 9 team brought home the South Carolina state team gold with a final score of 110.125—more than three points ahead of the second-place team.
With an all-around champion in Level 7 (Ana Smith), Level 8 (Faith Burns) and Level 9 (Gilly Hogue), as well as the Level 9 team title, the Ocean Flippers have successfully been S.C. state champions 14 years in a row.
Spring anglers often have to contend with instability, from the weather, to which fish will bite on a given day. That is one reason people talk about "runs" of fish, though in all my years I have never seen a fish run. The fish are like the changing weather: here one day, gone the next.
Order of play is a concept that is often misunderstood. In simplest terms, it refers to who goes first in a group of golfers on the tee box, in the fairway, the rough and on the green. Even in hazards and ground under repair, there is an order of play.
This can all sound trivial to a non-golfer, or someone who does not play a lot of competitive golf, but it is important to know what the order of play is.
Sandpiper Rebels
The Rebels played a point tournament based on net scores on both the front and back nines March 28.
Wayne Purdy and Len Borriello tied for first place with plus 23. Charlie Richardson finished second with plus 22. Chris Christie, Leo Lico and Gene McDonald tied for third with plus 20.
In first place on the back nine was John Murphy with plus 23. Jack Hinte, Leo Lico, Len Borriello and John Hannigan tied for second with plus 22.
Although far different than Whoopi Goldberg's version, this "Sister Act" also played to rave reviews.
Cherell and Shanae Frink commanded the spotlight as West Brunswick hosted New Hanover and Laney in a track and field meet on March 27.
Cherell, a senior, recorded a win-place-show in her three events, while her little sister Shanae, a sophomore, qualified for regionals in the long jump and finished runner-up in the triple jump.
Copyright © 2014
The Brunswick Beacon is your source for local news, sports, events and information in Brunswick County, North Carolina and surrounding areas.

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Sagi Snir, Satish Rao, "Quartets MaxCut: A Divide and Conquer Quartets Algorithm," IEEE/ACM Transactions on Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, vol. 7, no. 4, pp. 704-718, October-December, 2010.
@article{ 10.1109/TCBB.2008.133,
author = {Sagi Snir and Satish Rao},
title = {Quartets MaxCut: A Divide and Conquer Quartets Algorithm},
journal ={IEEE/ACM Transactions on Computational Biology and Bioinformatics},
volume = {7},
number = {4},
issn = {1545-5963},
year = {2010},
pages = {704-718},
doi = {http://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/10.1109/TCBB.2008.133},
publisher = {IEEE Computer Society},
address = {Los Alamitos, CA, USA},
RefWorks Procite/RefMan/Endnote
JO - IEEE/ACM Transactions on Computational Biology and Bioinformatics
TI - Quartets MaxCut: A Divide and Conquer Quartets Algorithm
A1 - Sagi Snir,
A1 - Satish Rao,
KW - Phylogenetic reconstruction
KW - quartets
KW - MaxCut
KW - supertree.
JA - IEEE/ACM Transactions on Computational Biology and Bioinformatics
[1] A.V. Aho, Y. Sagiv, T.G. Szymanski, and J.D. Ullman, "Inferring a Tree from Lowest Common Ancestors with an Application to the Optimization of Relational Expressions," SIAM J. Computing, vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 405-421, 1981.
[2] S. Arora, S. Rao, and U. Vazirani, "Expander Flows, Geometric Embeddings and Graph Partitioning," Proc. Symp. Foundations of Computer Science (FOCS), pp. 222-231, 2004.
[3] B.R. Baum, "Combining Trees as a Way of Combining Data Sets for Phylogenetic Inference," Taxon, vol. 41, pp. 3-10, 1992.
[4] A. Ben-Dor, B. Chor, D. Graur, R. Ophir, and D. Pelleg, "Constructing Phylogenies from Quartets: Elucidation of Eutherian Superordinal Relationships," J. Computational Biology, vol. 5, no. 3, pp. 377-390, 1998, earlier version appeared in Proc. RECOMB, 1998.
[5] V. Berry and O. Gascuel, "Inferring Evolutionary Trees with Strong Combinatorial Evidence," Theoretical Computer Science, vol. 240, pp. 271-298, 2001.
[6] M. Cardillo, O.R.P. Bininda Emonds, E. Boakes, and A. Purvis, "A Species-Level Phylogenetic Supertree of Marsupials," J. Zoology, vol. 264, no. 1, pp. 11-31, 2004.
[7] M. Casanellas and J. Fernández-Sánchez, "Performance of a New Invariants Method on Homogeneous and Nonhomogeneous Quartet Trees," Molecular Biology and Evolution, vol. 24, no. 1, pp. 288-293, 2007.
[8] M. Casanellas, L.D. Garcia, and S. Sullivant, "Catalog of Small Trees," Algebraic Statistics for Computational Biology, L. Pachter and B. Sturmfels, eds., chapter 15, pp. 291-305, Cambridge Univ. Press, 2005.
[9] B. Chor, M. Hendy, B. Holland, and D. Penny, "Multiple Maxima of Likelihood in Phylogenetic Trees: An Analytic Approach," Molecular Biology and Evolution, vol. 17, no. 10, pp. 1529-1541, 2000, earlier version appeared in Proc. RECOMB, 2000.
[10] B. Chor, A. Khetan, and S. Snir, "Maximum Likelihood Molecular Clock Comb: Analytic Solutions," J. Computational Biology, vol. 13, pp. 819-837, 2006, Earlier Version Appeared in Proc. Seventh Ann. Int'l Conf. Research in Computational Molecular Biology (RECOMB '03).
[11] B. Chor and S. Snir, "Molecular Clock Fork Phylogenies: Closed Form Analytic Maximum Likelihood Solutions," Systematic Biology, vol. 53, pp. 963-967, Dec. 2004.
[12] C.J. Creevey and J.O. McInerney, "Clann: Investigating Phylogenetic Information through Supertree Analyses," Bioinformatics, vol. 21, no. 3, pp. 390-392, 2005.
[13] C. Daskalakis, C. Hill, A. Jaffe, R. Mihaescu, E. Mossel, and S. Rao, "Maximal Accurate Forests from Distance Matrices," Proc. 10th Ann. Int'l Conf. Research in Computational Molecular Biology (RECOMB '06), 2006.
[14] P. Erdös, M. Steel, L. Szekely, and T. Warnow, "A Few Logs Suffice to Build (Almost) all Trees (i)," Random Structures and Algorithms, vol. 14, pp. 153-184, 1999.
[15] P. Erdös, M. Steel, L. Szekely, and T. Warnow, "A Few Logs Suffice to Build (Almost) all Trees (ii)," Theoretical Computer Science, vol. 221, pp. 77-118, 1999.
[16] O. Eulenstein, D. Chen, J.G. Burleigh, D. Fernández-Baca, and M.J. Sanderson, "Performance of Flip Supertrees with a Heuristic Algorithm," Systematic Biology, vol. 53, no. 2, pp. 299-308, 2004.
[17] M.R. Garey and D.S. Johnson, Computers and Intractability; A Guide to the Theory of NP-Completeness. W.H. Freeman and Company, 1979.
[18] M.X. Goemans and D.P. Williamson, "Improved Approximation Algorithms for Maximum Cut and Satisfiability Problems Using Semidefinite Programming," J. Assoc. for Computing Machinery, vol. 42, no. 6, pp. 1115-1145, Nov. 1995.
[19] I. Gronau, S. Moran, and S. Snir, "Fast and Reliable Reconstruction of Phylogenetic Trees with Very Short Branches," Proc. ACM-SIAM Symp. Discrete Algorithms (SODA), pp. 379-388, 2008.
[20] D. Huson, S. Nettles, and T. Warnow, "Disk-Covering, a Fast Converging Method for Phylogenetic Tree Reconstruction," J. Computational Biology, vol. 6, pp. 369-386, 1999.
[21] E. Mossel, "Distorted Metrics on Trees and Phylogenetic Forests," IEEE/ACM Trans. Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 108-116, Jan.-Mar. 2007.
[22] M. Wojciechowski, M. Sanderson, K. Steele, and A. Liston, "Molecular Phylogeny of the 'Temperate Herbaceous Tribes' of Papilionoid Legumes: A Supertree Approach," Advances in Legume Systematics, Part 9, P. Herendeen and A. Bruneau, eds., vol. 9, pp. 277-298, Royal Botanic Gardens, 2000.
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[27] K. Rice, M. Donoghue, and R. Olmstead, "Analyzing Large Datasets: rbcL 500 Revisited," Systematic Biology, vol. 46, no. 3, pp. 554-563, 1997.
[28] U. Roshan, B.M.E. Moret, T.L. Williams, and T. Warnow, "Rec-i-dcm3: A Fast Algorithmic Technique for Reconstructing Large Phylogenetic Tree," Proc. IEEE Computational Systems Bioinformatics Conf. (CSB), 2004.
[29] S. Snir and S. Rao, "Using Max Cut to Enhance Rooted Trees Consistency," IEEE/ACM Trans. Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, vol. 3, no. 4, pp. 323-333, Oct.-Dec. 2006, preliminary version appeared in Proc. WABI, 2005.
[30] S. Snir, T. Warnow, and S. Rao, "Short Quartet Puzzling: A New Quartet-Based Phylogeny Reconstruction Algorithm," J. Computational Biology, vol. 1, no. 15, pp. 91-103, 2008.
[31] M. Steel, "The Complexity of Reconstructing Trees from Qualitative Characters and Subtress," J. Classification, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 91-116, 1992.
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[33] K. Strimmer and A. von Haeseler, "Quartet Puzzling: A Quartet Maximum-Likelihood Method for Reconstructing Tree Topologies," Molecular Biology and Evolution, vol. 13, no. 7, pp. 964-969, 1996, ftp://ftp.ebi.ac.uk/pub/software/unixpuzzle /.
[34] S. Willson, "Building Phylogenetic Trees from Quartets by Using Local Inconsistency Measures," Molecular Biology and Evolution, vol. 16, pp. 685-693, 1998.


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YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - Bishop of the Youngstown Catholic Diocese, George Murry announced that he would agree to move Cardinal Mooney High School from its current location in Youngstown, but only under certain conditions.
In a news release issued by the diocese on Tuesday, the Bishop said he would support the move if the results of a financial feasibility study indicate that there is sufficient financial support for a new school building, as well as support for an endowment fund for scholarships for financially needy students.
Dr. Nicholas Wolsonovich, Diocesan Superintendent of Catholic Schools, says the new school is estimated to cost about $25 million. The price does not include the purchasing of land.
He adds, the Bishop would like the endowment fund to be between $4-5 million. Currently, the school has about $1.5 million already in a scholarship fund.
He assures the money will not come from student tuition and will be raised entirely by donors.
"If we don't get the money, we can't build," said Wolsonovich. "That's as plain as can be."
The release described the new location of Mooney as a "suitable location" in the southern tier of Mahoning county. Back in April it was reported that the school was considering a location in the Boardman area, but no final decision had been made.
According to the release, the decision to move is based on the recommendation of the five-member committee which the Bishop established to review all of the information concerning Cardinal Mooney.
Tuesday's decision is a reversal the Bishop's edict of June 4, where he said it would better serve the school's mission to serve the community by remaining on the city's south side, rather than a suburban location.
But in July, Bishop Murry announced that he was reconsidering the position to stay in Youngstown after learning new information about possibly prohibitive costs of asbestos remediation at the existing school building on Erie Street.
21 News spoke with parents who had mixed reactions.
"I think its a great idea to move it to the suburbs," said Michelle Thomas. "It would be a safer location."
"I don't believe that ( it would be a safer location) because look how many shootings are in the other areas," said David Britton. "It doesn't matter where you're at if somebody is really determined to do that its going to happen regardless."
The diocese says they're confident they can still educate children of all economic backgrounds at a new location.
In addition, the statement says that the Bishop also consulted with the executive committees of both Ursuline High School and the Cardinal Mooney High School Board of Directors about the possibility of a merger of the two schools.
Both executive committees did not think that a merger was a viable option. The five-member committee also did not support a merger of the two schools.
Sixth Ward Councilwoman Janet Tarpley, who argued for Cardinal Mooney to stay in the area because it would help stabilize the community, said that she was disappointed in the decision and would not comment further.
Youngstown Mayor Chuck Sammarone said he is also disappointed to see the school reconsidering a move.
"I'm not happy," said the mayor. "I'd rather have them stay in the city not only because it's a school but it's a business that pays income taxes."
Sammarone also questioned what would happen to the current building on Erie St. if the school did relocate. Sammarone has spent much of his time as mayor trying to get rid of vacant structures in the city and does not want another abandoned building.
Wolsonovich said there are parties interested in purchasing the building, although he would not identify them.
Dr. Wolsonovich stated that Father Gerald DeLucia, president of Cardinal Mooney High School, and its Board of Directors will begin moving forward to carry out the Bishop's directives.
The process will begin by seeking pledges from alumni and supporters of the Catholic Schools.
The President and Board will develop an overall plan for the new building, including a funding plan and an endowment fund.
At this time, there is no time frame as to when they hope to make a final decision.


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Chobe National Park in northwest Botswana is often referred to as the elephant capital of the world. It has the densest elephant concentration in Africa with most estimates putting the number somewhere between 80,000 and 120,000 during the dry season.
Come along for a "Day in Chobe" to marvel at Chobe's signature elephants, and impressive numbers of other game including crocodile, hippo, warthog, giraffe, kudu, puku, buffalo, impala, banded mongoose, and even a rarely sighted leopard.


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In this issue:
- SEC Warns Private Equity Fund Advisers about Compliance Shortcomings
- Why the 50 Percent Rule Deserves 100 Percent Attention
- Exactly How Much Omega-3 Is in There?
HIGHLIGHTS: France: Finding a buyer before a shut down - the "Florange" law -
As reported in February's Be Global, the French Government has introduced legislation (known as the "Florange" law) imposing an obligation...more
On May 5, 2014, Governor Martin O'Malley signed the Maryland Parental Leave Act (MPLA) into law, expanding compliance requirements for Maryland small business owners beyond the current requirements of the federal Family and...more
Last week, Minnesota passed the Women's Economic Security Act (WESA), a nine-part law intended to break down barriers for women in the workplace. Of direct interest to employers, the law protects employees' discussion about...more
On 13 May 2014 the Federal Government confirmed its election promise made in May 2013 to introduce a new paid parental leave (PPL) scheme from 1 July 2015.
However, the much publicised income threshold for maximum...more
On Mother's Day, Sunday, May 11, 2014, Governor Mark Dayton signed into law the Women's Economic Security Act (WESA), which amends a number of Minnesota laws concerning pregnancy, nursing, parenting leave, and familial...more
This week, the Minnesota Governor signed the Women's Economic Security Act ("WESA") into law. The WESA makes a sweeping variety of changes and additions to Minnesota law aimed at protecting women's economic security. These...more
On Mother's Day, May 11, 2014, Governor Dayton signed Minnesota's new Women's Economic Security Act into law. Employers should take note of the following provisions, some of which are effective immediately...more
Paternity leave is back in the spotlight after New York Mets second baseman, Daniel Murphy, decided to take his contractually guaranteed three days of paternity leave for the birth of his son—a decision which resulted in his...more
UK employers need to be aware of several key dates for the act's proposed changes.
On 13 March, the Children and Families Act 2014 received Royal Assent. This act will bring a number of changes for employers and...more
Vinita Arora, a partner in our London office, comments: the Government has published draft regulations which will implement a new system of shared parental leave to supplement the current maternity, adoption and paternity...more
Employers should re-examine their parental-leave policies in light of changing views of the father's role in the family. When considering such policies and whether they are unlawfully discriminatory, it is important to...more
2013 has been a significant year for UK employment law. In particular, an abundance of new legislation (both about substantive law and Employment Tribunal procedure) has heralded a number of important changes.
Maybe you saw this article "Standing Up for the Rights of New Fathers," in the New York Times a few weeks ago about the new dad, a reporter for CNN, who filed a discrimination claim with the EEOC against Time Warner (CNN's...more
Sandra Wallace, Partner and Employment group head, highlights the most important legislative and case law developments from 2013 and identifies the key cases to watch out for in 2014. ...more
A recent Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") claim by a male employee alleging that his employer's paid time off policy for new parents is discriminatory on the basis of gender is a potential alert to employers...more
School is back in full swing and we thought it best to update our previous post addressing school-related leave requirements for employers. Many states require (or at least encourage) employers to provide short-term unpaid...more
With news about the new royal baby, Prince William's scheduled two-week paid paternity leave from the Royal Air Force has reignited a debate about social stigmas of stay-at-home dads and men who take off from work for the...more
Fess up and raise your hand. How many of you were on the edge of your edge of your seat awaiting news of William and Kate's new arrival? ...more
I received a ton of feedback on last week's blog post, which discussed Yahoo's new parental leave policy and its FMLA implications. Much of the feedback related to Yahoo's decision to provide 16 weeks of paid maternity leave...more
It seems that what Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer taketh, she giveth back. Or something like that. As you will recall, Mayer made waves several months back when she banned all Yahoo employees from working from home, a rather...more
Both federal and state law provide employees leave for the birth or placement of a child and for bonding with a child after birth or placement. Under certain circumstances, employers may limit their employees' leave. One such...more
There's been little press over what is going on at the Connecticut General Assembly this spring. ...more
In its first Administrator's Interpretation of 2013, the Department of Labor ("DOL") issued guidance on the definition of a "son or daughter" age 18 or older who is incapable of self-care due to a disability. The Wage and...more
As discussed in our previous Legal Insight on 18 February 2013, the Commonwealth Government has followed through on its promise to move quickly in amending the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FW Act) with the Fair Work Amendment...more
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Could I be letting three wins get to my head? Maybe, but I also believe in the Rams. Let's start with the defense. We have a defense who get better game after game. A defense that come end of the season has a very real shot of leading the league in sacks and interceptions. As seen here. We have long and Quinn who I believe will both hit double digit sack numbers. Jenkins and Finnegan who are like football Vacuums( although they sometimes drop those picks).
Now for the offense. Bradford. People love him and people hate him. Regardless of those opinions the fact is, there's times he absolutely shines. And times he doesn't. But I think he is on the right track this year. Amendola is out for a few weeks but I think we can manage. Givens, who can actually stretch the field, showed on thursday, just what can happen when him and Bradford are on the same page. If Gibson keeps playing well and doesnt get too droppy, he may post decent numbers this year. We have an O-line of mostly rejects and patchwork men, who have held their own against two really good defense the past two weeks. Between Bodreau and their chemistry from playing together, they have been playing well. We have two very very capable backs in Jackson and Richardson. And Greg the Leg needs no explanation, we've all see what he can do.
I feel like I have rambled on long enough, but let me end this on a pep speech for all Rams fan.This is the Rams year to shine. Underdog status will be given to us every game this season. NFL doesn't expect us to win, and our opponents don't expect us to win. That's fine. It'll make Long hitting you in the mouth that much more sweet, that pick six that just happened? Yea courtesy of the Rams. Are we gonna win every game? No, but were gonna be in every game. Fighting, clawing and scratching. Making teams earn every yard, first down, and score they get. Were gonna be the basis of upsets this season, believe me. And when game 16 gets here, and for the first time in a long time we suit up for games after that. I'll be here, laid back in my recliner under my Rams banner, saying I told you so.


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My first super steel was CPM440V. And my "Mule" was and still is a Starmate.
Then came CPM420V, known now as S90V and the world was never the same... ;-)
Those days CPM 3V, CPM M4 and CPM Cru-Wear got my attention when adapted to a folding platform. The Tuff, the Gayle Bradley and the Millie grey sprint run are really a joy to use and maintain to high performances.
I would love to see those steels on a Nilakka, or a Yojimbo 2 or a Paramillie or better:
on a Tatanka !!
A sprint run Tatanka in CPM M4 would be a bless from Heaven ! ;-)


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Downgraded: Prospects for carrying on liquids in the European Union
While the European Union's European Commission is aiming to allow you to carry on liquids again — as we reported back in October — airports and airlines are actually fighting the EC and lobbying to keep the nearly five-year liquid restrictions in carry-on luggage:
In recent months, trade groups representing hundreds of airports and dozens of airlines have quietly stepped up the pressure on the European Commission to abandon its plan for a gradual easing of restrictions. From April 29, the change would allow passengers passing through Europe from a third country to carry liquids, aerosols and gels purchased either at an airport duty-free shop or on board a non-European airline. They are calling instead for the ban to remain in place until 2013, when Brussels has vowed to eliminate all cabin restrictions on such goods.
"The existing technology is not fit for the purpose," said Olivier Jankovec, the director general of the Airports Council International Europe, a lobbying group based in Brussels that represents more than 400 airports. "We risk paralyzing the big hubs."
But the intense lobbying has so far failed to sway the commission, which committed two years ago to simplifying the often onerous security screening process. It remains a source of frustration for passengers who are forced to jettison drink containers, toothpaste, skin creams and even jars of marmalade before boarding planes.
Aides to Siim Kallas, the European transportation commissioner, said he remained unconvinced by the industry's arguments and was satisfied by the performance standards set by European regulators for liquid-explosive detectors. Moreover, they said, the numbers of transfer passengers likely to be affected by this first phase of the plan should be manageable.
Upgraded: AA miles on Facebook
It's a spin of the wheel, essentially, but you could earn a random number of American AAdvantage miles — between 100 and 1,000,000 — if you "like" the AAdvantage program on their Facebook page. I think these "like" campaigns are kind of lame, but hey, if you're a Facebooker, have some free miles. Full details here.
Upgraded: Atlanta Braves parking for Delta SkyMiles Medallion members
I guess this is a thinking-outside-the-box perk for upper-tier Delta elite frequent fliers: Medallion-level members get access to a special parking area within the Green Lot for Atlanta Braves games at Turner Field. It's not free parking — normal rates apply. I've never been to a game at Turner Field, but the Green Lot looks like it's as convenient as it's going to get.
Upgraded: Taiwanese analysis of American aviation
For those who appreciate the kitschy animations of global news by the Taiwanese animators at Next Media Animation, please enjoy this cartoon analysis of American aviation's obsession with fees. Note the not-so-subtle digs at the age of U.S. flight attendants (ouch) and the ragging on US Airways in particular, going so far as to use their logo. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the video celebrates the triumphant Asian airline industry, singling out Cathay Pacific. Who knows, maybe Cathay paid for this episode. Watch it below.
You've seen the cage-like hand luggage measuring stations in airports, I'm sure. On occasion, you've probably been asked to test your carry-on in one of these boxes right before entering the jetway.
If your bag fits in the box, your carry-on is of approved size. If it's too big, you either pay a fee or check the bag, depending on which airline you're flying, and in which country.
Well, British discount airline (and bmi subsidiary) bmibaby has apparently been messing with their gauges. And (gasp!), the discrepancy in measurement is not in the passenger's favor.
A leading budget airline may have unfairly charged thousands of passengers because its measuring devices for hand luggage were too small.
Customers of bmibaby were routinely asked at departure gates to put their hand luggage in a metal cage to ensure it met size restrictions.
Many failed the test and had to put the bags into the hold at a cost of £60 for a return flight.
Just delightful. The airline imposes the fee, then puts its thumb on the scale to ensure that it's collecting some cash, even from those who are working within the rules to avoid the surcharge in the first place.
Even if we don't assume malice, the airline has a responsibility to ensure that its scales and gauges are accurate.
If you've been charged an oversized-carry-on fee by bmibaby in the past, consider contesting the charges or demanding a refund. £60 isn't chump change.
And maybe it's time to start packing a tape measure.
Southwest has agreed to lease 18 take-off/landing slot pairs at Newark Airport from United and Continental. The deal is a function of the CO-UA merger, which, if it were approved without conditions, would solidify Continental's grip on Newark.
Bringing Southwest into Newark is a big deal. Southwest
hasn't flown to a New York airport yet (correction: they have had flights from LGA to Chicago and Baltimore since June 2009… sorry about that!) — and no, their flights to Islip, NY are not New York City. It's a major move into a huge market, and it's to Newark, which is arguably the easiest and most convenient airport to access from Manhattan, despite being in New Jersey.
Especially if it goes above and beyond these initial slots, Southwest's presence will mean lower fares at all the NYC airports, so New Yorkers can look forward to the greater competition.
No word yet on the specific routes Southwest will fly out of Newark, once it starts up.
Update: Just hours after the announcement related to Newark slots, United and Continental received clearance from the US Dept of Justice, paving the way for the finalization of their merger. Stockholder approval is still required, but the two airlines are expected to be merged into one company by October 1, 2010. Ta-daaaa.
Four "Virgin" airlines, based in the UK, US, and Australia, are joining forces to create what may be the start of a fourth global airline alliance. Virgin Atlantic, Virgin America, and the already-partnered Virgin Blue & V Australia are joining forces to create what amounts to the groundwork for a new airline alliance.
It's still very early, but if things go as planned, this could lead to a real competitor to Star Alliance, oneworld, or SkyTeam. (For better or worse… Alliance provide earning/redemption options and some timetable efficiencies, but they typically also include anti-consumer price collusion, through anti-trust exemptions. And Virgin's Richard Branson has been vocally anti-alliance, until now…)
While a global-Virgin alliance makes perfect intuitive sense, it's actually surprising, considering the contentious corporate history of the Virgin franchise in the US.
When Virgin America launched, its very existence was challenged by competitors and the US Dept. of Transportation, which initially ruled that the company didn't meet the threshold of minimum US-ownership for an airline. After some tinkerings with the corporate structure, and replacing the CEO, the airline was allowed to fly.
So you'll soon have reciprocal earning and burning privileges on each of these airlines, and through their respective partnerships as defined by each program. (Virgin Atlantic has the most extensive range of partnerships at this stage of the game.)
Details still need to be fleshed out a little, but here's what their release states:
As of today, guests flying on Virgin Atlantic, Virgin America, and V Australia/Virgin Blue are all eligible to earn miles or points for their flights that can later be redeemed under any of the carrier's frequent flyer programs. The reciprocal agreements enable Virgin Atlantic's Flying Club members to earn Flying Club miles/status points; Virgin America's Elevate members to earn Elevate points; and V Australia/Virgin Blue Velocity members to earn Velocity points — wherever they are flying on a Virgin-branded carrier around the world.
Also as of today, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club members and V Australia/Virgin Blue Velocity members can redeem their miles on either of the airlines. V Australia/Virgin Blue Velocity members and Virgin America Elevate members will be eligible to spend their miles or points to fly on either airline as of the fourth quarter of 2010. Virgin Atlantic Flying Club members and Virgin America Elevate members will be eligible to spend their miles or points on either airline as of the second quarter of 2011.
How good this alliance ends up being for consumers remains to be seen. For now, it's not a huge win. Virgin Atlantic's Flying Club isn't the greatest program — you don't earn full mileage on low-fare tickets, and as Wandering Aramean reminds us, they charge hefty fuel surcharges on mileage tickets.
But keep your eyes on this. It could get big.
Every so often, there's an award given for an airline's wine portfolio. It's that time again, this time for Global Traveler's competition. I generally dismiss these awards… and yet I pay attention. Hear me out.
For starters, let's look at the rules:
To participate in the Global Traveler competition, airlines throughout the world that have long-haul international business-class service were invited to submit two white wines, two red wines and one Champagne or other sparkling wine currently on their international business-class wine lists, as well as the wine lists themselves. The same rules apply to the North American category for airlines that have first-class or, if not, business-class service.
The wines were coded by number and divided into flights, or categories, according to their type — for example, all German Riesling were served together, as were all California Cabernet Sauvignon — and poured in coded glasses. Judges knew only the type of wine, its place of origin and, when appropriate, the vintage. If judges felt a wine was flawed, a reserve bottle was served. The tasting was monitored by GT's staff and professional assistants.
So, here's why I think the awards are a load of hooey:
- Unrepresentative wines: Good luck drinking these on board
As indicated, airlines could submit only two reds, two whites, and one sparkler. But those wines just had to fly at some point in recent memory. They didn't necessarily need to be in the regular rotation. I understand putting your best foot forward, but if you throw a couple big hitters into the pool, it's an easy way to game the competition.
Bottom line: Are these wines truly a representative sample?
- Unrepresentative conditions: Wines at 36,000 feet taste different at 100 feet
The palate is practically numb at higher altitudes. (It's among the reasons why airline food tastes so bland.) For wine tasting, that means you lose a lot of the nuance in a wine when you're above the clouds. And what tastes good — and matches your meal — at one altitude will likely taste very different when you're back on the ground. The tasting conditions of the competition aren't the same as the consumer's.
- Unrepresentative airlines: Not every airline is in the mix
While this latest competition included a selection of international carriers, some major players aren't even in the competition. Singapore Airlines, anyone? Virgin Atlantic? Air New Zealand? Qantas? It's as if you held the Olympics and only invited 20 athletes. Why weren't more airlines included? Were there fees to enter? Regardless, a wider sample would be more illustrative.
- Nitpicking: Tasting methodology
Why is the year of a given wine necessarily revealed to judges in a blind tasting? Nitpicky, I know, but why introduce vintage bias into the sample? (Ok, I'll stop…)
So on the one hand, these announcements and awards are not really helpful to the traveler. (Especially not the coach traveler, who will be lucky to get a mini-bottle of Chilean plonk.) But yet… I read these things. And I think that it matters when an airline wins or performs well in these awards.
It's not a fair competition, no, but if an airline regularly and consistently appears in these rankings, then it indicates something about their philosophy. Qatar Airways, for example, has been at or near the top more than once. That signals that, at a minimum, they are paying attention to their image among prospective wine-drinking customers. Wine has been central to several airlines' marketing plans over the years. (See for example this mocking takedown of Lufthansa's wine-centric marketing on DrVino.com.)
The competition may be flawed, but winning it regularly signals a commitment to wanting to be viewed as a wine-lover's airline. Which signals a commitment to a quality experience, even if you don't drink wine.
Will anyone choose an airline solely for the wine list, or for winning this sort of competition? Highly unlikely. But wine is part of the quality profile of an airline.
Wanting to excel in that area is something I can support, especially in this race-to-the-bottom age of travel. I just wish the competition were more representative of reality.
Upgraded: Enterprise Rent-a-Car turns a new leaf
Enterprise Rent-a-Car has committed to purchasing 500 Nissan Leaf electric vehicles — not hybrids, electrics — for implementation in Phoenix, Tucson, Knoxville, Nashville, San Diego, Los Angeles, Portland, and Seattle. The cars can run for about 100 miles on a single charge. No word yet on rates, but you'll start to see the cars at rental locations beginning in January 2011. The challenge, of course, is recharging it, unless you happen to have "a standard SAE J1772-2009 connector for level 1 and 2 recharging (110/220 V AC)" or "a TEPCO connector for high-voltage 'level 3′ quick charging (480 V DC 125 amps) using the CHAdeMO protocol" handy…
Downgraded: Southwest Airlines
Southwest keeps acting more and more like a "regular" airline. The company has changed its contract of carriage to brazenly and bizarrely refer to a mechanical delay as an act of God. Deus ex machina? I don't think so. Lame, and begging for a legal challenge…
Strong: Downgraded: Wegolo
The Netherlands-based discount-airline fare aggregator Wegolo lost a court case to Ryanair, thereby preventing it from scraping Ryanair's website to include their fares in search results. Ryanair's beef? Wegolo charged a surtax on the Ryanair fare for booking via the search site.
Downgraded: Star Alliance
After several years of expansion (with the addition of Continental being the biggest deal, from a USA-centric perspective), Star Alliance is losing a member: Shanghai Airlines, which is merging with China Eastern Airlines, is leaving Star Alliance for SkyTeam in October. Within Star Alliance, Air China remains the lone Chinese member airline. Will another Chinese airline join the fray? Maybe the butt-kicking staff at Sichuan Airlines will convince management to get interested in joining the party?…
Upgraded: Hotel ratings
Every year, the J.D. Power survey results come out with some fanfare, rating customer satisfaction with major hotel chains. The top line news is usually the winner in each category. I like to go deeper, and if you're interested, the full results are here. Somewhat of surprise for me: The more casual Aloft brand beat (but effectively tied) the more established Westin brand within the Starwood franchise.
Downgraded: Mexicana
Upgraded: Repo Men
It's not looking good for Mexicana Airlines right now. The company has had three aircraft seized by creditors, they are canceling flights, and they are publicly admitting that they are "probably" looking to enter bankruptcy. Points for honesty! If you've got tickets already, it's probably too late to buy travel insurance. If you haven't bought tickets, it's probably a bad idea to click "purchase" until you know for sure what's happening.
UPDATED August 3, 2010: Mexicana has indeed filed for bankruptcy. The airline is cutting back flights, but is still operating.
UPDATED August 5, 2010: Mexicana has now stopped selling further tickets, but is still technically operating. Not exactly a confidence booster to shut down your sales operations, though. Mexicana Click and Mexicana Link, the lower-cost domestic airline subsidiaries, are still operating and selling tickets.


text:
295 comments found
user_login ID is used twice. STILL BEST THEME EVER, just trying to help improve.…e="text" name="user_login" value="" size="20" id="user_login" tabindex="101" /> ? Line 474, Column 99: The first occurrence of ID user_login was here. …t" name="log" id="user_login" class="input" value="" size="20" tabindex="10" />
Line 507, Column 94: Duplicate ID user_login.
Thanks, Steve
It'll be taken into consideration in next update. Please follow me on themeforest to track updates. Best regards, Olechka
Hi Steve,
This problem has been solved and update will be released in few hours after reviewer approve.
malwarebytes is blocking your preview site IP 18.104.22.168 You can remove this site from the blacklist asking at malwarebytes forum.
good design anyway
Thanks for letting me know
Hello Olechka,
I am brand spanking new to wp and this was the very first them I bought and it is beautiful. However, I cannot get the slider to work. If I give you access, can you take a look and tell me what I am doing wrong? P.s…...I dont know how to code, I am still learning all of this. Thanks!
Hi Phillip,
Just answered you via e-mail. Thanks for your purchase!
Thank you so much for your help! You provided precisely what I needed! Your genius is beautiful!
You're welcome Thanks you too.
How do I add the content and images on the front page??
Has already answered via email
Could You suggest any multi language plugin which is best to use with Your theme? Something to add language selection and to display slides in different languages also?
Love Your work.Really.
Hi BLTSmartMedia,
Thank you very much for your purchase!
You can use qTranslate or WMPL for these purposes.
Hello again,
Also, could You please explain how to change services name into a products?
I changed the pages title, and so on. But for example, when I click a service for more reading, the header menu shows like this:
Home -> Services -> Product 1
Before clicking a service/product it shows like it should be:
Home -> Products
I do really need the title products, could you help me please?
I need to make the site runing asap
You should do following steps:
1) Press button "Edit" for permalink in admin panel "Pages > Services" (look at image ) and input "products"
2) Please open file "Includes\custom-post-types.php". In line 73, please, change 'slug' => 'services' into 'slug' => 'products'.
3) Please open file "Functions.php" and delete line 467 echo '
4) The last step to press button "Save Changes" in admin panel Settings > Permalinks
Hi, I'm very pleased with the Theme,
However I Have two Portfolio Categories, But when i choose a page and use it as Portfolio i cant choose which Category to display, and its shows both categories, (Only squeeze one of them to the end).
I Believe it is simple to fix, something that will allow me to use only one portfolio category in specific page, and at another page, the other category portfolio.
Can you Help me with that?
Hi ilanfiner,
Thanks a lot for your purchase!
Please, write me via private message and I'll send you solution of your problem.
Best regards, Olechka
A real awesome theme, must have taken a lot of hard work. Thank you very much.
One question, is there a way to remove the topmost header (Log In Log Out) ? Or would I have to do it manually ?
Thanks once again.
Hi hswks,
Thank you very much for buying theme and for your appreciation!
This possibility is available in the theme.
1) Appearance > Theme Options > General
2) Chose "Disable" in "Top Header Bar"
3) Press button "Save Changes"
Best regards, Olechka
Thanks a lot for the prompt reply and the directions. I missed that. Keep up the good work
You are welcome;) If you enjoy theme, please do rate it Thanks in advance
Love the theme – great work.
Two questions though:
1. Is it possible to add my own content to the top header? I have added WooCommerce and would like to add "My Account" etc. in the top header… How to do that?
2. How do you set the "Coming Soon" page active?
Hi MPStranger,
Thank you very much for buying theme and for your appreciation!
1.For this purpose, you should add new Widgets Area in header. Than you may drag all acceptable widgets in header and make it looks due to your needs. (replace this files )
Also it is possible to set up plugin WooCommerce Dropdown Cart Widget It makes possible to create convinient widget cart in header.
2. You should to do next
a)Settings > Reading
b)In option Front Page choose "Coming Soon" page (see coming_soon.png )
You may set preferences there: Appearance > Theme Options > Coming Soon
I just set this up on my new site and tried to do the Sample Data import, but the header menu is displaying all vertically and out of place, and the widget settings plugin does not install as I get an error:
" unexpected T_Function – widget-settings-importexport/widget-data.php on line 49"
Tried googling some help with this and someone mentioned this plugin works with PHP5.3, but I heard a lot of other plugins STOP working with php 5.3!
I am using: PHP version 5.2.17 and MySQL version 5.5.29
Please help! Thanks
Thank you very much for buying theme!
a) Header Menu issue
1. Appearance > Menus and select Header Menu
2. Click Save button
b) Widget Settings Issue
New version (1.1) of Widget Settins Importer/Exporter plugin is really maintain only PHP 5.3. So there are solutions of problem:
– You may make request to your hosting support to update PHP version to 5.3
– Set up plugin version 1.0 (http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/widget-settings-importexport/developers/)
– We may set up widgets without plugin. (for this you should send me access)
Thank you Olechka! This is one of the best themes I have ever purchased. Really love everything about it. I solved the header issue NOT from the Appearance>Menu section, but from Appearance>Themes>Customize>Navigation. This is where I had to select Header Menu.
I have now installed 1.0 of Widget settings and it worked!!
Thank you soo much!
Thanks a lot for an appreciation! Glad you've solved your problem
Hi jobspex, Same thing happened to me… as for the menu all I needed to do was to go to Appearance – Menus and then select the header menu in the theme selections box (on the left side).
Hi MPStranger – Thanks for your comment It was actually in another place that I had to set it. Comment above.
@Olechka – On the demo page: http://optimasale.gozha.net/dark/index.html I can see on the left of the screen where a user can choose 3 different color schemes: "Main, Fresh and Dark". Is there somewhere in the WP backend I can choose this?
Unfortunately, at this moment WP version has only blue/green color scheme, but other schemes will be realized in future updates! Please follow me on themeforest to track updates and new items
Ah ok. Great, thanks. I'm following you now.
hi , i just bought this theme and i am new to wp and a total newbie. can you advise how to go about installing new content and images and also installing a paypal payment link as i want the theme to launch a new seo business.
many thanks in advance
Hi sandstar70,
Thank you very much for purchase! Main issues are described in help file. You need to install sample data. Please read chapters (this information will be helpful):
Theme Installation
Importing Sample Data
Plugins Installation
Permalinks Structure
Have tried to install but keeps failing
Please be more specific on what problems do you have. What exactly failed in installation process? Please give me access to your admin panel and ftp. Write please this information on my email via private message on themeforest
Hi, I bought the theme and it looks and works great except for IE in compatibility mode. In Compatibility mode of IE it breaks Menu and Slider, which versions of IE do you support? Is it possible to support IE7+?
Thank you,
Hi mlakhani,
Thanks for purchase! OptimaSales supports IE8+ (this is mentioned in description). We don't support IE7, because it is not actual http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_explorer.asp
Could you let me know if this layout is possible with this theme? I don't see any documentation on the way the site works with widgets or what? Is it possible to have three columns like this on the homepage?http://i625.photobucket.com/albums/tt331/rsouweine/WCS_website_slider1.jpg
Hi rmcfadd2,
You can make such layout. Theme content based on shortcodes. Widgets also can be placed in sidebars, including 4 custom widgets.
P.S. I don't see your purchase badge. Are you hesitating to buy theme or not?
I was hesitating the buy the theme b/c we purchased the PSD some time ago before knowing there was a theme available. Now that we've got out design and layout I want to be sure if we purchase we can have the layout we promised the client.
Hi Olechka,
Quick question – can I integrate video inside home page slider?
Hi Jungles,
Homepage slider doesn't support video at this moment. This option will be realized in next updates.
Can you let me know when video will be supported please!?
Yes, surely. I'll let you know when it is ready.
Just curious, other than comment on stuff, what can logged in users do on this theme?
Any specific roles, such as upload their own content?
Hi jobspex,
OptimaSales provides standard roles for WordPress (subscriber, editor, admin etc) Addition functionality is not supported in OptimaSales.
How about making greater changes to the template? Is that good practice to make a child theme and than changing only files in child theme? I think it is safer and easier practice in case of any future updates. Does anyone have experience with it?
Hi asphericall,
thanks a lot for purchase and great advice. Child theme is included into updates list
Olechka, if you want I've got another advice for you Today I changed some texts in slider so there was some diacrytics letters used. And I found that your great theme doesn,t support letter like ??ó??. Than I found in the first line of "fonts.css" and added after Oswald: &subset=latin,latin-ext It doesnt work. Finally I found it doubled in "options-sanitize.php" line 955 But it would be nice to have options for supporting languages other than English.
Thanks for adding child themes to the updates list, but i already made so many changes that I'm afraid of the update process right now
Hi, Thanks a lot for your advice and participation in OptimaSales improvements! This will be added to update list
Hello, let me know which files do I need to copy to optima-child folder to let the child theme work properly. Do I need to copy e.g. I have problems to change styles for: #banner p.excerpt in css/jquery.onebyone.css even when it is copied to the css/jquery.onebyone.css in optima-child folder.
We've updated OptimaSales thme to version 1.3.2. This version has solution of your problem. Please update it.
You should edit #banner p.excerpt in child theme styles
Ohhh great!!! Thank you Olechka
You're welcome


text:
Tour of California Ends Stage Four In Modesto
The fourth stage of the Amgen Tour of California wrapped up in Modesto this afternoon. Thousands of fans lined the streets of the city to catch a glimpse of Lance Armstrong and other top names in cycling finish the stage at 12th and I Streets.
The star of the sport, Lance Armstrong, crashed near the end of the stage, but was not hurt. Earlier in the day about 20 riders were in an accident near Patterson.
The Tour of California has four more stages that will happen in the southern part of the state. It will end on Sunday in Agoura Hills.Copyright © 2014, The Morning Call


text:
Playoff Roster Set
Pitchers: Cliff Lee , C.J. Wilson, Colby Lewis, Tommy Hunter, Neftali Feliz, Darren Oliver, Darren O'Day , Alexi Ogando, Dustin Nippert, Derek Holland. Catchers: Bengie Molina, Matt Treanor. Infielders: Elvis Andrus , Michael Young , Ian Kinsler , Jorge Cantu, Mitch Moreland, Andres Blanco, Esteban German. Outfielders: Josh Hamilton , Nelson Cruz, Julio Borbon, Jeff Francoeur, David Murphy. Designated hitters: Vladimir Guerrero. No Kirkman or Rapada. That's surprising. I guess Ron and the FO guys really value pinch-runners and defensive subs.


text:
Maryland joins Big Ten, leaving ACC
The University of Maryland will join the Big Ten Conference, ending a nearly six-decade affiliation with the Atlantic Coast Conference, in a move university leaders believe will provide financial stability to an athletic department that has recently found itself in tumult. Following negotiations through the weekend, the school's Board of Regents approved a proposal to join the Big Ten on Monday morning. The conference formally and unanimously accepted. Maryland's move to the Big Ten will begin in the 2014-15 school year. "We just got the faxed approval letter," a Maryland official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.


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Amarillo, Texas - Three and a half blocks of downtown Amarillo property have recently been purchased by an investment alliance. The Prana Development Group, which is comprised of several business leaders in Amarillo, have purchased properties including the Commerce Building and the former Blackburn Brother's store, which has been a vacant eye sore in downtown.Investors say they plan to spend $10 million if not more on these projects. Office space will be a majority of the plans along with the possibility of more retail.Member of the Prana group, Alan Rhodes, says they wanted to do their part in giving downtown a facelift, and they've already taken measures to do that."One of the first things that we've done is we've got the plywood off the outside of the Blackburn's building. I don't know if you've taken a look at it, but it was not looking that good. And while we don't have current plans for it, we wanted to get it in better shape. We want to develop our strategy for it," Rhodes said.Rhodes says their first plan of action will be the Commerce Building that sits mostly vacant. Renovations for new office space to bring in more business is their goal.
Physical Address:
11320 West County Road 127
Midland, Texas, 79711
Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 60150
Midland, Texas, 79711
Newsroom Phone: (432) 567-9991
Business Offices: (432) 567-9999


text:
What's the role of universities in publishing innovation?
Universities are now firmly placed in the Dept. for Business, Innovation and Skills along with the publishing industry. Now seems is as good a time as any for both parties to work together for mutual benefit. Cheering us on we have Skillset's publishing division run by ex-publisher and lecturer, Suzanne Kavanagh (http://www.skillset.org/publishing/ ). University and industry cultures might be different, but both have to cope with increased workloads and financial pressures. Both need to deal with challenges of a digital future.
Degree courses and assessment items tend not to demand student engagement with new digital platforms beyond their rather idiosyncratic virtual learning environments (VLEs). As in the publishing industry, the new technical skills and proactive engagement with digital exists in scattered pockets across universities, often dependent on individual staff interest in the area. Publishers talk of difficulties finding graduates willing and able to dive into digital. My experience on both sides of the fence, is that there's not much difference between today's graduates and those I interviewed fifteen years ago (apart from a Facebook addiction perhaps). Having taught across different university departments, I am more convinced than ever that we need to address the UK's digital skills gap in terms of university curriculum: not just on publishing courses but across the board.
Four years ago, Bath Spa University invested in a high-spec Publishing Lab complete with its own full-time software trainer, rows of Macs and all sorts of lovely kit. I was hired to develop a new (very practical) Publishing Foundation Degree (http://www.bathspa.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/publishing-fd.asp) and publishing modules for English and Creative Writing BA students. I now have second year students who are so confident and skilled that I would be delighted to employ them; a third year has spent the last year running an international newspaper's social media. They're editing and laying out books; running literary festival events; tweeting for literary and film festivals; making websites for history journals; and providing southwest publishers with skilled interns. More than anything they're learning about project management and aiming high in terms of quality.
So now, with the core skills fairly sorted, I'm turning my attention to digital. I'd like to see how encouraging experimentation, innovation and creative play works in terms of developing new ideas for digital publishing. I'll be learning alongside my students. I (and visiting digital publishers) will be asking students to rethink the book; perhaps they'll develop books that link up with online gaming and social media? I'm hoping they'll consider the sort of vibrant content, texture and animation showcased at The Literary Platform, a one-stop shop for new ideas. (http://www.theliteraryplatform.com/ )
As an industry we've only scratched the surface of digital's immense potential for extended user experience, creativity and functionality. Given that it is so difficult to create the time and conditions for genuine experimentation within organizations, perhaps universities can offer a place where new, possibly radical ideas about 'what a book could be' can grow? There is industry-university engagement in digital going on at Oxford Brookes, with its MA in Digital Publishing (http://ah.brookes.ac.uk/publishing/ma_digital_publishing/) and at City University (http://ecir2006.soi.city.ac.uk/pgcourses/ep/ep2.html ), but we need more of this across the UK, especially if we want to increase diversity. Perhaps through increased joint project work and targeted student placements, we can encourage greater digital literacy amongst new graduates and encourage them to see the publishing industry as a place they'd like to work in the future.
Katharine Reeve is a freelance commissioning editor and writer; She is also a part-time Senior Lecturer in English and Creative Studies at Bath Spa University. She splits her time between Bath and Twitter.
Follow her on twitter: http://twitter.com/kreeve
We, the publishers have the
We, the publishers have the hardest time getting a hold of public universities and their support for all things digital. Katherine, keep up the great work and keep your head up. Best regards,
Long, red, black dresses for prom 2011
universities in publishing innovation
You're getting plenty of nods from me here Katherine. As part of the team delivering and expanding our Publishing MA at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge I can reassure you that we, at least, are positively moving in the direction mentioned in your article. Digital is very much at the core of our course, like you I too am developing a new and very current method of engaging with students that sets it apart from our VLE, which students on the whole do not tend to like using, this may change with the bright, shiny new one currently under construction but I have some reservations re this. We must engage with our students in a manner and via a format that they are familiar with, one that meets their expectations. This can only be done if universities, usually individuals with a fire and determination to continually develop such modules and methods of delivery, remain, at the least, current in their thinking but ideally very much forward and proactive in their planning. Sounds like we have much in common and plenty to talk about.
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Town Square
Guest opinion: Scale back Stanford's 'bloated' development plan for El Camino
Original post made on Jan 31, 2013
Read the full story here Web Link posted Wednesday, January 30, 2013, 12:00 AM
on Jan 31, 2013 at 9:30 am
I hope the City is listening; over 400 people signed a petition against this project, 80 or more attended the Planning Commission Meeting 100% Residential opposition. Let's kick the Specific Plan back to the City Council or repeal it.
on Jan 31, 2013 at 10:07 am
Peter Carpenter is a registered user.
The proposed project fully conforms with the existing zoning established by the council after the opportunity for full input by the citizens.To deny Stanford the right to build in conformance withe the current zoning would be a very expensive 'Taking'.
All of the alternatives proposed by the opponents involve adding cars to ECR. So obviously the only answer for the opponents is to leave these parcels empty. The only way to do that would be to pay Stanford market rate rents for the property - how much would that cost each MP resident?
on Jan 31, 2013 at 10:23 am
We have a right to dictate the kind of city we want to have, and should not be expected to abdicate that responsibility to Stanford. Residents of other cities really have no say in the matter.


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News: Mannie Fresh Wants Birdman To Pay Up, "We Still Have Money Issues"
Saturday, Jan 7, 2012 8:20PM
Former Cash Money Records producer Mannie Fresh recently gave fans an update on his stance toward the record label empire and said he still has issues with Birdman.
According to Mannie, his problems with Cash Money still rest over unpaid dues.
"We still have money issues. We will always have them, as long as Cash Money is selling anything that has Mannie Fresh on it. 'Til this day, I'm like, "Dude, what's going on? Where are the statements for this?" There's always some kind of complication, that's all I can say," Fresh said in an interview. "Everybody has to get paid. It would be something large if Cash Money did a tour with the first generation of artists, but with everything that's happened, we need money upfront and on top of that we all need our own attorneys. You don't get my money and pay me-I get my money directly." (Billboard)
In November, he blamed Cash Money for botching a potential longstanding relationship with Def Jam.
"I got this deal with Def Jam through Jay-Z," Fresh said during the Red Bull Music Academy 2011 in Madrid. "Jay-Z reached out, he was like, 'I'll do a deal with you. You come to Def Jam and you do your thing. And I'm over there and I talk to Lil Wayne. I'm like, 'Hey dude, I got a deal with Def Jam and they pretty much are going to give me my situation, do what I want to do.' They were like, 'Just deliver a big song.' So I go to Lil Wayne, he does the song with me and soon as I get ready to put it out, Cash Money shuts it down. They were just like, 'Nah, you didn't get permission from us to do that.' And I'm like, 'Wow, it's really that serious? That's kinda ugly of y'all to do that.' And I'm like, 'Wayne agreed to do the song.' And they were like, 'Well, Wayne can't speak for Wayne. We speak for Wayne.' ... So that was a learning lesson for me and it kind of gave Def Jam a salty taste too because they was just like, 'Every time we do something, if it's going to get shutdown, we really don't want to do this with you.'" (Red Bull Music Academy)
In 2010, Mannie detailed his issues with Cash Money boss Birdman.
"This is why Mannie Fresh don't f*ck with [Cash Money] because he never got any royalty money," he said in an interview. "That's why Baby can go around flaunting this cash, because that's everyone else's money... It's not even Wayne's fault. Wayne is not getting money. He is given money, he's not getting money. If Baby gets a million dollars he'll buy Wayne a Phantom, but that's in Cash Money's name. That 14-bedroom mansion isn't Wayne sh*t. That's why he have his own company, because he was trying to leave Cash Money and the only thing that would keep him there was [if they] gave him his own thing. But Baby still controls that. All those Young Money artists don't even know that they not getting royalty money." (VIBE)
Fresh spent over ten years working with the Cash Money family.
Mannie Fresh is currently an artist and hip-hop producer who records for Def Jam South. He is probably most famous for his time producing tracks for Cash Money Records from 1993 to 2005, and one half of the hip-hop duo, the Big Tymers with Birdman. In 2005, he split from Cash Money for financial reasons, and later joined Def Jam South, to which he is currently signed. (The New York Times)
Check out some recent Mannie Fresh footage below:


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Experiencing Mantra of Hua Hin Hua Hin Mantra Resort a contemporary Thai style boutique hotel offers a simple and peaceful livingin tropical surroundings which perfectly reflecting Hua Hin way of life. All rooms decorates with Khomapastr a local fabric that has been a long pride and joy of Hua Hin. Surrounded by Thai Tropical plants and Thai Herbs, Hua Hin Mantra Resort captivates its guest with the tropical paradise impression. Hua Hin Mantra Resort is a perfect retrear for couples, or families who wish to exprience serenity and tranquility in a tropical paradise.
The Hotels services with Deluxe Room, Superior Deluxe Room and Premium Suite. All rooms are spacious and completely equipped to satisfy the needs and comfort of family and leisure travelers. In addition, the hotel has variety of facilities and services such as Bay leaf restaurant, Tropical Terrace, Thai tradition massage, Maya Pub, Garden, Swimming Pool and Comprehensive business services and meeting facilities.
83/181, Soi Nongkae Village, Hua Hin Beach, Hua Hin, Thailand 77110
IF PAYMENT IS MADE VIA CREDIT CARD OR DEBIT , Passenger(s) must be the one of Travelers on the Itinerary, and are required to provide the credit card used for payment while reservation your flight online along with valid identification (passport or Identification card) the check - in counter prior to receive your boarding pass. Any passenger who shall fail to show any valid identification will be denied upon check - in.


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The Library
Outsourcing and financial performance: A negative curvilinear effect
Kotabe, Masaaki and Mol, Michael J.. (2009) Outsourcing and financial performance: A negative curvilinear effect. Journal of Purchasing & Supply Management, Vol.15 (No.4). pp. 205-213. ISSN 1478-4092
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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pursup.2009.04.001
This study asks how a firm's degree of outsourcing across all activities influences financial performance. We argue there is an optimal degree of outsourcing, where firms outsource some activities yet integrate others, and that deviations lower performance in a negatively curvilinear fashion. We find empirical support, using 1995 and 1998 data on a sample of manufacturing businesses in the Netherlands, and show that the steepness of the curve increases under conditions of high uncertainty. We show the magnitude of the uncertainty effect on performance outcomes through a post hoc scenario analysis. Thus we provide a specific, theoretically and empirically grounded prediction of how outsourcing affects performance with implications for theory and practice.
|Item Type:
|Journal Article
|H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor
|Faculty of Social Sciences > Warwick Business School
|Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):
|Contracting out -- Netherlands, Business enterprises -- Finance, Vertical integration, Manufacturing industries -- Netherlands
|Journal or Publication Title:
|Journal of Purchasing & Supply Management
|December 2009
|Number of Pages:
|Page Range:
|pp. 205-213
|Identification Number:
|Peer Reviewed
|Access rights to Published version:
|Restricted or Subscription Access
|Abrahamson, E., and Rosenkopf, L. 1993. Institutional and competitive bandwagons: Using mathematical modeling as a tool to explore innovation diffusion. Academy of Management Review, 18(3): 487-517. Anderson, E. 1985. The salesperson as outside agent or employee: A transaction cost analysis. Marketing Science, 4(3): 234-253. Aoki, M., Gustafsson, B., and Williamson, O. E. 1990. The firm as a nexus of treaties. London, UK: Sage. Ashenbaum, B., Maltz. A., and Rabinovich, E. 2005. Studies of trends in third-party logistics usage: What can we conclude? Transportation Journal, 44(3): 39-50. Balakrishnan, S., and Wernerfelt, B. 1986. Technical change, competition and vertical integration. Strategic Management Journal, 7(4): 347-359. Barney, J. B. 1999. How a firm's capabilities affect boundary decisions. Sloan Management Review, 40(3): 137-145. Bartlett, C. A., and Ghoshal, S. 1989. Managing across borders. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press. Bettis, R., Bradley, S., and Hamel, G. 1992. Outsourcing and industrial decline. Academy of Management Executive, 6(1): 7-16. Brusoni, S., Prencipe, A., and Pavitt, K. 2001. Knowledge Specialization, Organizational Coupling, and the Boundaries of the Firm: Why Do Firms Know More Than They Make? Administrative Science Quarterly, 46(4): 597-621. Cannon, J.P., and Perreault, W.D. 1999. The nature of buyer-seller relationships in business markets. Journal of Marketing Research, 36(4): 439-460. Cachon, G.P., and Harker, P.T. 2002. Competition and outsourcing with scale economies. Management Science, 48(10): 1314-1333. Capon, N., Farley, J. U., and Hoenig, S. 1990. Determinants of financial performance: A meta-analysis. Management Science, 36(10): 1143-1160. Chesbrough, H. W., and Teece, D. J. 1996. When is virtual virtuous? Organizing for innovation. Harvard Business Review, 74(1): 65-72. Coase, R. 1937. The nature of the firm. Economica N.S., 4(16): 386-405. D'Aveni, R. A., and Ravenscraft, D. J. 1994. Economies of integration versus bureaucracy costs: Does vertical integration improve performance? Academy of Management Journal, 37(5): 1167-1206. De Wit, B., Mol, M. J., and van Drunen, E. C. 1998. Uitbesteden en Toeleveren: Motieven, Trends en Effecten. Utrecht, NL: Lemma. Domberger, S. 1998. The Contracting Organization: A Strategic Guide to Outsourcing. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. Dyer, J. H., and Singh, H. 1998. The relational view: Cooperative strategy and sources of interorganizational competitive advantage. Academy of Management Review, 23(4): 660-679. Eisenhardt, K. M., and Schoonhoven, C. B. 1996. Resource-based view of strategic alliance formation: Strategic and social effects in entrepreneurial firms. Organization Science, 7(2): 136-150. Galbraith, J. 1973. Designing Complex Organizations. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. Gilley, K. M., and Rasheed, A. 2000. Making more by doing less: An analysis of outsourcing and its effect on firm performance. Journal of Management, 26(4): 763-790. Harrigan, K. R. 1986. Matching vertical integration strategies to competitive conditions. Strategic Management Journal, 7(6): 535-555. Hendry, J. 1995. Culture, community and networks: The hidden cost of outsourcing. European Management Journal, 13(2): 218-229. Hennart, J.-F. 1988. Upstream vertical integration in the aluminum and tin industries. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 9(3): 281-299. Holmström, B., and Roberts, J. 1998. The boundaries of the firm revisited. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 12(4): 73-94. Jensen, M. C., and Meckling, W. H. 1976. Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure. Journal of Financial Economics, 3(4): 305-360. Kaipia, R. and Tanskanen, K. 2003. Vendor managed category management—an outsourcing solution in retailing. Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management, 9(4), 165-175. Kotabe, M. 1998. Efficiency vs. effectiveness orientation of global sourcing strategy: A comparison of U.S. and Japanese multinational companies. Academy of Management Executive, 12(4): 107-119. Lacity, M., and Hirschheim, R. 1995. Beyond the Information Systems Bandwagon. Chichester, UK: John Wiley and Sons. Leiblein, M.J., Reuer, J.J., and Dalsace F. 2002. Do make or buy decisions matter? The influence of organizational governance on technological performance. Strategic Management Journal, 23(9): 817-833. Leiblein, M.J. 2003. The choice of organizational governance form and firm performance: Predictions from transaction cost, resource-based, and real options theories. Journal of Management, 29(6): 937-962. Linder, J.C. 2004. Transformational Outsourcing. Sloan Management Review, 45(2): 52–58. Malone, T. W., Yates, J., and Benjamin, R. I. 1987. Electronic markets and electronic hierarchies. Communications of the ACM, 30(6): 484-497. Marshall, D, McIvor, R., and Lamming, R. 2007. Influences and outcomes of outsourcing: Insights from the telecommunications industry. Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management, 13(4), 245-260. Masten, S. E. 1993. Transaction costs, mistakes, and performance: Assessing the importance of governance. Managerial and Decision Economics, 14(2), 119-129. Mol, M.J. 2007. Outsourcing: Design, Process and Performance. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Murray, J. Y., and Kotabe, M. 1999. Sourcing strategies of U.S. service companies: A modified transaction-cost analysis. Strategic Management Journal, 20(9): 791-809. Murray, J. Y., Kotabe, M., and Wildt, A. R. 1995. Strategic and financial implications of global sourcing strategy: A contingency analysis. Journal of International Business Studies, 26(1): 181-202. Nooteboom, B. 1999. Inter-firm alliances: Analysis and design. London, UK: Routledge. Outsourcing Institute and Dun & Bradstreet 2000. 2000 Outsourcing Index. Poppo, L., and Zenger, T. 1998. Testing alternative theories of the firm: Transaction cost, knowledge-based, and measurement explanations for make-or-buy decisions in information services. Strategic Management Journal, 19(9): 853-877. Porter, M. E. 1980. Competitive strategy. New York, NY: Free Press. Porter, M. E. 1985. Competitive advantage. New York, NY: Free Press. Porter, M. E. 1997. On Competition. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press. Prahalad, C. K., and Doz, Y. L. 1987. The Multinational Mission: Balancing Local Demands and Global Vision. New York, NY: Free Press. Puhani, P. A. 2000. The Heckman correction for sample selection and its critique: A short survey. Journal of Economic Surveys, 1491): 53-68. Quinn, J. B. 1999. Strategic outsourcing: Leveraging knowledge capabilities. Sloan Management Review, 40(3): 9-21. Rothery, B, and Robertson, I. 1995. The Truth about Outsourcing. Aldershot, UK: Gower. Semlinger, K. 1993. Small firms and outsourcing as flexibility reservoirs of large firms. In G. Grabher (Ed.), The Embedded Firm: On the Socioeconomics of Industrial Networks. London, UK: Routledge, 161-178. Sharma, S., Durand, R., and Gur-Arie, O. 1981. Identification and analysis of moderator variables. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(3): 291-300. Shy, O., and Stenbacka, R. 2005. Partial outsourcing, monitoring cost, and market structure. Canadian Journal of Economics, 38(4): 1173-1190. Simon, H.A. 1957. Administrative behavior. New York, NY: Macmillan. Sutcliffe, K. M., and Zaheer, A. 1998. Uncertainty in the transaction environment: An empirical test. Strategic Management Journal, 19(1): 1-23. Takeishi, A. 2001. Bridging inter- and intra-firm boundaries: Management of supplier involvement in automobile product development. Strategic Management Journal, 22(5): 403-433. Teece, D. J. 1986. Profiting from Technological Innovation. Research Policy, 15(6): 285-305. Walker, G., and Weber, D. 1984. A transaction cost approach to make-buy decisions. 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Data sourced from Thomson Reuters' Web of Knowledge
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Like most of you, IŌĆÖm always searching for tidbits of useful information to share with others at the show; some folksŌĆÖ gossip is golden in the proper ears, so IŌĆÖll endeavor to truly share with you as we roll toward the weekend at LDI in Vegas. IŌĆÖll also be the tradeshowŌĆÖs token virgin blogger, so feel free to court me with your hot news. In that vein, here is one to get you started.
Exhibitor Elation Professional has announced that Everlast Productions, based in Dania Beach, FL, will serve as its East Coast Service Center. The move will enable customers on the East Coast to have warranty and non-warranty authorized repairs on Elation products performed at Everlast by factory-trained technicians. According to Everlast president Washington Arias, his company is gearing up for its role by opening two new offices in Tampa and Orlando.
LetŌĆÖs virtually head to the show floor, in anticipation of what weŌĆÖll see later in the week. It will take a while to experience all the technology tucked in ETCŌĆÖs booth, so hereŌĆÖs your path. A fine place to start is with the new Unison┬« building-control system that brings some green technologies to theatre lighting and lobby lighting. It includes the ParadigmŌäó lighting control systemŌĆöa deep library of conventionals, moving lights, LEDs, and moreŌĆöwith touchscreen control that helps create dynamic lighting environments. After Unison youŌĆÖll find SmartLinkŌäó, a low-cost lighting control solution for smaller applications, with the SmartLink TimeClock for time-of-day control for ETC Unison, Sensor┬«+ and SmartPack┬« dimming. ETC is also showing the new 70W version of the Source Four┬« HID family; a 375W HPL lamp option for Source Four tungsten fixtures; SmartSoftŌäó for SmartFade 1248, 2496, and 1296 desks; and a new version of Congo software.
From across the pond, UK-based displayLED is revealing its flexible LED video skin, digiFLEX, to the US market. The skin is manufactured in 320mm x 160mm magnetized tiles that can flex smoothly both horizontally and vertically, so they can be attached to almost any metal surface without a dedicated support structure. The company will also unveil the Mirage m40, a semi-transparent, lightweight, large-scale video screen with a 40mm pixel pitch.
One of the ŌĆ£upliftingŌĆØ companies youŌĆÖll see represented at the TMB pavilion is Kinesys, who will launch two new significant devices: Libra, a load-cell system, and Pulse, a pendant controller. Libra comes in the form of a Crosby shackle with a load-sensing pin. Currently 3.25-ton and 4.5-ton versions are offered, both with a 5:1 safety factor. A Libra load-cell can either be connected directly to a Kinesys Elevation 1+, providing feedback about the motor being controlled by the Elevation, or daisy-chained together with other Libras and connected to an interface unit positioned on the floor. A PC is connected to the interface via USB or Ethernet, and all the loads can be clearly viewed onscreen using LibraŌĆÖs free software. Pulse is a pendant controller designed for use with any Kinesys product. It sits between the basic Rigger hand controller and the full version Vector and K2 software automation packages.
If an automated curtain system is in your future, investigate Thern and Hall Stage North AmericaŌĆÖs DGH variable speed curtain winch. The 8DGH includes standard winch features such as a 3Ōüä4 hp motor with control, four-pole rotary limit switch, and grooved drum for up to 65ŌĆÖ of 1/8ŌĆØ wire rope on a closed loop and drum guard. It also supports low voltage remote control options. Rounding out the winch is a range of customization options including variable voltage packages, motors with brakes, handles for manual operation, and DMX control interface. Factory modification capabilities will also be available to address line speed changes and increased drum capacity to support greater travel distances.
In architectural lighting news, GermanyŌĆÖs Kobold cuts loose with another accessory for its DE 200 HMI event lighting system. The IP54-rated DE 200 HMI can now be used with the companyŌĆÖs flush mount wall or ceiling Downlight PAR reflector. The reflector itself is gimballed with a static mounting plate to project the light where needed. ItŌĆÖs powered by the EWB 200 AC ballast or the EBE 200-400-575-800 DMX AC ballast. To control the light spread, four PAR lenses are offered; Super Spot ŌĆō 11┬░, Medium Spot ŌĆō 11┬░x17┬░, Medium Flood ŌĆō 19┬░ x 50┬░, and the Super Wide lens at 56┬░. There is also a black aluminium honeycomb grid for an even tighter spot.
Mega-Lite brings out a cool and bright new stationary RGB LED fixture, the Color Cannon. Using 36 3W LEDs, the manufacturer claims the Color Cannon offers three times the brightness of their comparable fixtures. For optimal mounting, a double yoke is included. ItŌĆśs compact enough to fit in standard 12X12 truss, and uses six channels of DMX control for RGB color, macros, strobe and dimming.
I must be almost out of time and/or screen words, so IŌĆÖll leave you with my hot tip du jour: Word on the street is The SwinginŌĆÖ Johnsons are performing at The Tropicana Grand Ballroom at 9pm on Saturday. Blog me!


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Lynchburg, VA - The Lynchburg Regional Chamber of Commerce is one step closer to moving in to its new home.
Tuesday, crews put up the new sign as fundraising toward their $2.9 million goal continues.
The chamber announced in January that it plans to move from midtown and closer to the hustle and bustle of Wards Road.
It's been on Memorial Avenue for 47 years now. Chamber members say the new space in the old Billy Joe's Ice Cream shop is a great location.
And a new sign is a good start.
"What this is saying to everybody is, this is coming. This is the welcome mat for those who are coming to Lynchburg. It's telling the companies this is going to happen," said Georgia Fauber, co-chair of Capital Campaign.
The ice-cream shop was donated to Liberty University. The school then sold it to the chamber at a discounted rate.


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Off-season is a time for self-improvement, and player development. The art of backpedaling is a skill honed by cornerbacks over years of practice, but Cam Newton gave San Francisco 49ers QB Alex Smith a chance to try his hand at running away. In talking to the media during a conference call yesterday Smith re-iterated his assertion that passing yards don't equate to wins, but with one noticable change in his tune:
"obviously I got carried away there" by citing Newton's Panthers as an example
It's a far cry from actually apologizing for bringing Cam's name into a discussion it didn't belong in, but at least it's acknowledgement that Smith got a little too hot under the collar when he brought the Panthers' rookie into the conversation. Obviously he's human, and by all accounts was starting to get painted into a corner as the 49ers played 'wait and see' with Smith as they bided their time to hear on a decision from FA Peyton Manning, but alas they're stuck with mediocrity for another season at the QB position.
In the grand scheme of things it's doubtful Cam cares, though it will be fascinating to see if Smith made it onto Newton's famous bulletin board of negative comments. I'll wait with bated breathe when the Panthers play the 49ers next, though chances are by that time Smith won't be with San Francisco.


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Windows by Microsoft.
The dominant operating system on IBM-compatible computers
but not the only (just one that usually comes preloaded
on new computers). The latest version is Windows 7.
I like WinXP; good for netbooks. Windows
Vista is okay.
The site is not really active but the forum
at Yahoo has gained acitivity.
An operating system that is a clone of WinNT.
It is continually being worked on/developed.
Downloads at Sourceforge. The latest version
is at 0.3.11
This is still being developed. It is worth
watching since it is trying to be a
replacement for OS/2 Warp.


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As the U.S. Department of Energy's lead laboratory for nuclear energy research, development, and testing, Idaho National Laboratory has an expansive collection of national expertise and infrastructures which further U.S. nuclear nonproliferation goals and objectives. INL applies both operations and scientific expertise to provide materials and process security, signatures and detection, advanced nuclear energy safeguards and policy, and radiological/nuclear training, testing and evaluation solutions and services to the national and international community.
The mission of the INL nuclear nonproliferation division is to protect physical, intellectual, and operational resources, and to detect and prevent the illicit production, acquisition, transport, and use of nuclear materials and technologies and reverse present proliferation while enabling the secure global deployment of nuclear energy systems through excellence in four primary areas:
- Materials and Process Security
- Nuclear Energy Nonproliferation
- Signatures and Detection
- RDD & Radiological Training.
Materials & Process Security
Expertise and infrastructure applied primarily to the challenge of reversing and preventing proliferation, including the development and deployment of proliferation-resistant nuclear fuels, shutdown of Pu-production capabilities, and securing fissile and radiological materials globally. These activities draw directly from the INL excellence in nuclear fuels development and nuclear facility engineering and operations.
Signatures and Detection
Expertise and infrastructure applied to challenges in identifying and quantifying physical emanations of nuclear materials and processes including active interrogation, fuel cycle signatures, radiological attribution and fissile materials detection. Strong emphasis is given to the application of radiochemical techniques, the practical application of active interrogation systems, and fuel cycle modeling and analyses.
Nuclear Energy Nonproliferation & Safeguards
Expertise and infrastructure applied to challenges of ensuring the robust security and proliferation resistance of present and future nuclear energy systems, nuclear material accountancy techniques and technologies, treaty verification, export control. A major focus is to develop transformational approaches nuclear energy transparency through fissile material accountancy, process security, and the verification of material, facility, and operations declarations.
RDD / Radiological Training
Expertise and infrastructure applied to training consequence management and emergency management teams in radiological fundamentals and equipment response. The INL supports a wide range of U.S., State, and Local Governmental entities in helping assure that their responders are well prepared for radiological emergencies.
A National asset for Nuclear Nonproliferation
Unique Mission / Infrastructure / Expertise
As the nation's lead laboratory for nuclear energy technologies and solutions, and a leading center for national and homeland security technologies, INL leverages its unique mission, infrastructure, and expertise to play a vital role in nuclear nonproliferation. In the early days, INL was known as the National Reactor Testing Station. Since 1949, the Idaho site has been the location of many pioneering developments in the area of nuclear energy. The world's first usable amount of electricity from nuclear energy was generated in Idaho in 1951.
Over the years, 52 mostly first-of-their-kind reactors and fuel cycle technologies were designed, built and operated at INL, creating the largest concentration of reactors and nuclear energy technology in the world. After completing their work, most have since been decommissioned. Today, INL is home to the unparallel Advanced Test Reactor, one of the worlds most consistently updated and capable test reactors, and the much smaller Neutron Radiography Reactor (NRAD). Advanced fuel cycle process technology is operated in Idaho, and much smaller laboratory scale fuel cycle processes. In addition, the INL is home to diverse material resources, and active experimentation with these materials.
Our Materials and Fuels Complex includes several large, multi-purpose hotcells, analytical chemistry labs, reactors, nuclear / radiological materials training ground, secure facilities, process operations, and general-purpose nuclear facilities including multiple testbeds, an expansive, isolated and secure Test Range, and ES&H structures to facilitate training. We also have fully staffed radioanalytical, mass spectrometry, electron microscopy, and nuclear fuels development laboratories, and operations specialists in vulnerability assessments, nuclear facility safeguards, site operations.
INL is also a partner with Idaho State University in operating one of the largest collections of accelerator technology in the country, the Idaho Accelerator Center, located at the Idaho State University campus in Pocatello, Idaho. These resources provide the basis of active interrogation research and development to detect nuclear materials for homeland security and national security purposes.
Additionally, INL is home to more than 3,400 scientists and engineers, many who have expertise and experience as nuclear fuel cycle scientists specializing in radio- and analytic chemistry, nuclear fuels development and analyses, reactor analyses, process technology development, advanced computing, applied accelerator science, radiation detection and measurements. This operating nuclear fuel cycle environment is supported by the necessary process and materials safeguards, including materials controls, protection, and accountancy programs, physical protection and vulnerability analyses. This operational excellence, coupled with scientific inquiry and engineering development, provides a unique national resource for advancing the goals of nuclear nonproliferation and nuclear energy.
- Contact:
- Nonproliferation, Send E-mail


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mtpackersfan has a piece below where he talks about an ESPN writer who thinks Brady deserves the League MVP award this year. Let them say what they want.
Rodgers alluded to the absurdity of Skip Bayless harping on how over-rated he is, saying he's the sports journalism version of a shock jock, and that seems to me just about right. There's an old expression that a grand jury would indict a ham sandwich, and that premise seems to have been demonstrated by an article at NFL.com where the author argues that because the Colts have been so abjectly horrible, Peyton Manning deserves the MVP title.
Yeah, despite that the P stands for Player. It's not that I hate the Player, it's just that . . . doesn't he have to, y'know, play?
Well, heck, wouldn't the Packers be the BEST. TEAM. EVAH! if Jim Brown suited up for them? Where does the absurdity stop?
The fact is, people like this try to impress you with demonstrating just how far up their asses they can stick their heads. It's a form of argumentative contortionism that's meant to display just how clever they are and to garner clicks. It may do that, but when all is said and done, it's just insulting . . . not least to Peyton Manning.


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Officials said Monday that a Floyd County Justice Of The Peace will not take herself off the controversial Alpha Tex Case. But according to an article published Monday evening on the Floyd County Hesperian Beacon's web site, she won't have to.
Justice Tali Jackson recently ruled that Alpha Tex cannot get roughly 200 dogs back amid allegations of animal cruelty. Alpha Tex owners Mark and Sandra Smith deny allegations of cruelty. Previously, court records said in order to appeal the Smiths would have to pay a bond of more than $300,000 dollars.
That's no longer the case according to the Hesperian Beacon.
The paper said Monday evening that the Smiths attorney and the County Attorney Pro Tem reached a deal. The Smiths took back their request to have Judge Jackson step down from the case, and the appeal bond is waived.
Texas law says cases from Justice of the Peace Court are appealed to the County Court At Law. In Floyd County, that would be Judge Penny Golightly. Appeals from Justice Court are de novo, which means the County Judge looks at the case as though it were brand new.
KCBD NewsChannel 11 was unable to reach Floyd County officials Monday night for comment.
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