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The Ultimate Craft Guide: 25 Free Craft Projects for Every Crafter
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Children's Cherry Furniture
By: DecoArt
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This adorably painted furniture is a perfect fit for any child's room. The cherries bring out the innocence. Using acrylic paints and wood material you can make this a DIY project for the bedroom.
- Crafter's Acrylic
- DCA01 - White
- DCA22 - Bright Red
- DCA47 - Black
- DCA51 - Yellow Cornmeal
- DCA104 - Holiday Green
- Triple Thick Gloss Glaze
- Americana Brushes
- DBL1580-B - Script Liner #10/0
- DBF2575-B - Flat 3/4"
- DBF3012-B - Shader #12
- DecoArt Brushes
- DS23 - Easy Cling Brush (3)
- Wood letters for name
- Small wood chair
- Small wood cradle
- Water container
- Paper towels
- Tracing and transfer paper
- Pencil
- Masking tape
- Fine sandpaper and tack cloth
- Ruler
- Sand wood pieces lightly and wipe with tack cloth.
- Adjust patterns to fit surfaces.
- Use ruler and pencil to measure and draw 1" border around back of chair.
- Paint chair Yellow Cornmeal. Let dry.
- Mask off stripes on sides of chair with tape. Paint stripes Bright Red using 3/4" brush. Remove tape. Let dry.
- With #12 shader brush, paint border around back and edges of chair Bright Red. Let dry.
- Paint cherries using pouncer brush and Bright Red. Use script liner brush and Holiday Green to paint stems and leaves. Let dry.
- Use script liner brush with Black to outline cherries, stems, and leaves.
- Paint wavy lines on stripe edges using liner brush and Black. Highlight cherries with White. Let dry.
- Paint entire piece Yellow Cornmeal. Let dry.
- Paint both ends inside with Bright Red using 3/4" brush. Let dry.
- Mask off stripes on outside ends with tape. Use 3/4" brush and Bright Red to paint stripes. Remove tape. Let dry.
- Use pouncer brush and Bright Red to paint in cherries. Use liner brush to paint Holiday Green stems and leaves.
- With a liner brush outline cherries, leaves, and stems in Black and make wavy lines on stripes. Use White with liner brush to mark highlights on cherries.
- Paint letter faces using #12 shader brush and Yellow Cornmeal. Let dry.
- Paint letter sides Bright Red using #12 shader brush. Let dry.
- Use end of brush handle and Bright Red to dot cherries. Use liner brush to paint stems and leaves. Let dry.
Spray pieces with several light coats of Triple Thick Gloss Glaze Spray. Allow to dry completely between coats.
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Leading computer companies are helping anti-LGBTI people to block public access to 'gay and lesbian' websites – including vital services.
The policy, including at Dell, has been condemned as 'incredibly poor business sense' and dangerous for vulnerable people.
Two of the companies known to be involved are supportive of gay rights in public, scoring 100% in the US Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index.
But behind the scenes they are selling a product allowing the filtering.
It means sites which have no sexual content can be blocked – including in workplaces, schools, colleges and other public places.
Even sites which provide support to vulnerable LGBTI kids and adults are openly included in the system.
One firm, Trend Micro, has now agreed to drop the filtering option immediately after Gay Star News highlighted the problem. But Dell, an officially gay-friendly firm, is refusing to do so.
Dell sells a 'premium' internet filtering product to block 'sites that provide information, promote, or cater to gay and lesbian lifestyles'.
Their product proves LGBTI sites are not being accidentally mistaken for porn – but deliberately blocked.
The Dell SonicWALL product also blocks other kinds of content, but 'gay and lesbian' and 'religion' are the only two diversity and inclusion areas it singles out for censorship.
We asked Dell these questions:
A spokeswoman replied: 'Dell SonicWALL security products offer a multitude of content filtering options that help connection owners make choices to allow or not allow access of certain sites based on business and organization needs.
'The gay and lesbian content filter is part of a filter category that represents many different topics of interest. Our goal is to provide choices to our customers, allowing access to what they need so they can ensure a productive and efficient environment for their users.
'We make no judgment on our customers' filter choices, we never deny access to any sites, nor do we pre-populate a block on any sites, including gay and lesbian sites.'
We repeatedly asked Dell for a follow-up interview so we could press them for answers to our original questions, as we felt their response had not failed to address those points. They stopped taking our calls or responding to emails.
But another company, Trend Micro, took a completely different view.
They work with Cisco Systems, a multinational networking firm, which also has a 100% score on HRC's Corporate Equality Index measuring LGBTI workplace rights.
A Trend Micro spokesman emphasized they did not do the filtering themselves, merely provided a means for others to do so.
But when GSN pointed out that sexuality and gender identity are 'identities' not 'lifestyle choices' he accepted the point and promised to take it to the legal department.
Just hours later, he contacted us again to say the legal department had recognized the problem 'some years ago'.
He said: 'We resolved to eliminate the category because some employers were using it to censor legitimate non-prurient content that happened to be LGBT
'We are investigating why this hasn't already happened and will be taking corrective action to ensure that it does.'
Cisco Systems itself, however, is yet to respond to our invitation to comment.
Richard Lane, media manager of gay rights organization Stonewall, said applying the filters even in the workplace was bad for business.
He said: 'Top performing organizations know people perform better when they can be themselves.
'This clumsy content filtering would mean businesses are unable to access Stonewall's extensive online resources which help them support gay staff and build top performing, inclusive work places.
'That's just incredibly poor business sense.'
And a gay website owner said the problem was much greater than just that.
He said: 'Public access to quality LGBTI information has helped vulnerable people and saved lives. These blocks impact on kids in schools, on workplaces trying to push diversity, on gay activists on the ground.
'They wouldn't ban black sites, there would be outrage, so why do they allow this? It's because they can get away with it. Because they think "gay" is still a dirty word.
'This censorship is utterly incompatible with firms who maintain they are gay friendly. Just like what is happening in Russia, its effect is to silence LGBTI voices, to stop us uniting, to stop us helping each other.
'Some of the people involved aren't intending to be hateful, they just haven't filtered it through. But now they know, they have to stop. Today. Otherwise they are just as guilty.'
He didn't want to be named, saying other people who have stood up on this subject have seen their own sites suddenly censored.
GSN has previously suggested all website filtering should be open, democratic and overseen by clearly identified rules and a watchdog.
Today (26 December), transgender journalist Jane Fae, who has broken a number of stories on this subject, has written for us about the issues. You can read her Comment article here.
UPDATE: Dell has now (15 January 2014) announced it is removing the filter category and thanked GSN for highlighting the issue. The change will affect millions of users worldwide. Read the full article here.
To be fair, Dell's and their competitors' solutions also allow blocking of religious sites as a category, as well as social activism sites as a category (which probably would indeed pick up a lot of race and gender related sites), and news sites, and social networks. There are generally well over a hundred categories; a lot of businesses lock down all but the most completely business-related ones, and even then, only allow employees who use specific sites in their work roles to access them -- for instance, only marketing employees who maintain the company's Facebook presence can use Facebook at work...
Unfortunately Virgin Media's Parental Controls software specifically include Gay or Lesbian sites for blocking. See the screen shot about 2:15 in on this instructional video:-
What next a tool to block blacks, Asians, Jews ... swift move Dell
Dumb! Plain DUMB!!! Don't they realise haters are just about the last people who would use such a tool ... how would they feed and nurture their hatred, prejudice and bigotry if they can't access the sites they complain about????
What about medical sites, scientific sites, health and wellbeing sites that seriously deal with the various topics and have no 'pornographic'content whatsoever?
Will they search for certain words and block the entire site? Will we have a repeat of the farce where the athlete Tyson Gay had his name changed to Tyson Homosexual??????

subset: commoncrawl


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Mizuno Golf
News & Events
Visit our blog section to get information on News, special products and events such as our demonstration days.
— To our Blog Section
Stay up to date with the latest information regarding special events & new products from our Mizuno Golf HK Facebook Page.
— To our Facebook Page
Why Mizuno?
Today we believe we are the champions in the forging industry. Learn more about Mizuno's process of Iron Forging.
— Learn about Iron Forging


text: Little Town of Bethlehem Director: Jim Hanon Jim Hanon's latest film hopes to help break the cycles of violence that pervade our broken world. It's the latest in a string of films that have helped to break another cycle–that of Christian cinema being equated with sub-standard films that lack quality. Ever since the emergence of 2002's Beyond the Gates of Spendor, Ethnographic Media has consistently released meaningful films that pull back the layers of ordinary people to find extraordinary stories underneath. End of the Spear, The Grandfathers and Miss HIV all wrestle with larger important questions for the believer, and now they're releasing their latest, Little Town of Bethlehem. Hanon's latest features three Middle Eastern men—one Israeli Jew, one Palestinian Christian and one Palestinian Muslim—who long to bring peace to an increasingly chaotic region. It's another example of tackling society's ills through the power of a visual story, and perhaps provides the most ideal backdrop for the topic. "A lot of people tag the problems on religion, and we were aware of that when we began the project," says Hanon. "We talked with religious leaders a bit, because people in the United States look at extremists and become fearful and it breaks down any communication. Likewise, the same thing happens on the other side. So the very idea of religion is very controversial. "But it's also the common thread between all three men in the story," he continues. There's something in all three religions that speak to the responsibility that each have toward your neighbor. It's also about overcoming evil with good. So that gave us a common slate to work with." Hanon explains that telling the story in the proper light and allowing the issues to come to the surface not only helps the greater conversation, but helps educate any ignorance that makes these issues even worse. "There's a tremendous amount of misinformation around any issue that can add to the violence or confusion. When we were in Africa working on AIDS, there's so much misinformation and misunderstanding about AIDS that it makes everything worse. It leads to those who have it not telling anyone, getting treatment or becoming stigmatized, which only makes it more prevalent. So we're asking, 'Where are the bigger issues that people struggle with and how can we help?'" Film EntErtainmEnt by matt Conner For more inFormation on ethnographic media or LittLe town oF BethLehem, pLease visit www. LittLetownoFBethLehem.org 54 CCM


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Tag Archives: republican party
The concept that the whims of public opinion, the fads of the moment, or the opinions of an ideological opponent should fundamentally alter what a particular political party stands for has always seemed rather odd to me. It is an … Continue reading
Occupy Portland attendee: "F__ the police…The police are a government-run gang; they're there to protect the hidden political interests of the politicians, period."
Nancy Pelosi: "but the truth is what I said. I'm a devout Catholic and I honor my faith and love it …but they have this conscience thing"
The American voters have cast their ballots, and the decision has been made. Barack Obama is our new President Elect. First of all, let me be gracious in defeat. I would like to congratulate Senator Obama for attaining the highest office … Continue reading


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Joe Zee's Heart Aches As Erin Kaplan Turns To Teen Vogue
PR maven and MTV'sĀThe City star, Erin Kaplan is jumping ship from Elle to Teen Vogue. Why? Probably because unlike other pseudo-reality stars, Kaplan actually had a REAL job (Public Relations Director for Elle) with important responsibilities. Given her professional role on The City and her TV likability factor, she's sure to be a hit with Amy Astley and the whole Teen Vogue crew where she'll start as the Senior Public Relations Director.ĀRumor has it that Teen Vogue has a new reality type TV show in the works, making Kaplan an even better score for the publication.
The real question is: What is Elle going do to? Who is going to take care of Joe Zee, according to his tweet, "no one can replace Erin." But, I don't think anyone else canĀbabysit socilate contributors like Olivia Palermo either…
We'll have to wait and see what happens over atĀElle, but kudos congratulations to Erin and her rising career!


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Definitions for dappleˈdæp əl
This page provides all possible meanings and translations of the word dapple
Random House Webster's College Dictionary
dap•pleˈdæp əl(n.; adj.; v.)-pled, -pling.
(n.)a spot or mottled marking, usu. occurring in clusters.
an animal with a mottled skin or coat.
Category: Zoology
(adj.)marked with spots; dappled:
a dapple horse.
(v.i.)to mark or become marked with spots of a different shade or color from the background.
Origin of dapple:
1545–55; prob. back formation from dappled, late ME, prob. < Scand; akin to ON depill spot
Princeton's WordNet
spot, speckle, dapple, patch, fleck, maculation(verb)
a small contrasting part of something
"a bald spot"; "a leopard's spots"; "a patch of clouds"; "patches of thin ice"; "a fleck of red"
mottle, dapple, cloud(verb)
colour with streaks or blotches of different shades
A mottled marking, usually in clusters.
An animal with a mottled or spotted skin or coat.
To mark or become marked with mottling or spots.
Having a mottled or spotted skin or coat, dappled.
Webster Dictionary
one of the spots on a dappled animal
alt. of Dappled
to variegate with spots; to spot
Anagrams of dapple
lapped, palped
Find a translation for the dapple definition in other languages:
Select another language:
Discuss these dapple definitions with the community:
Use the citation below to add this definition to your bibliography:
"dapple." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2014. Web. 20 Dec. 2014. <http://www.definitions.net/definition/dapple>.


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Camp Columbia
Join us for an Incredible Summer at Camp Columbia!
Camp Columbia is a day camp offering programs for preschool and grade school children. Our goal is to provide children with a fun, safe camp experience where they can learn of God's love, form lasting friendships, and enhance self-esteem. Each week is filled with themed, age-appropriate activities including art, cooking, sports, science, field trips, and special guests.
Our highly trained staff are passionate about children and excited to help your child have a fun, memorable summer! All of our lead counselors are at least 18 years of age. All of our staff members have been through background checks and attend an intensive training course before camp begins. Our directors are MAT, CPR, and First Aid trained. At Camp Columbia (grade school option), we maintain a low ratio of 1:12 during camp hours to provide more individualized attention. For Preschool Camp the ratio is 1:10.
Check out our 2014 Program Brochure!
Grade school Program Options


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Exclusive weddings
'Authentic, romantic & exclusive'
Browsholme Hall is the most romantic private and exclusive wedding venue in Lancashire. It offers the grandeur of an English stately home, magnificent landscaped gardens for unique photographic opportunities and a 17thC tithe barn recently restored as a very special and unique venue for weddings.
Ceremony & Reception
'Your day, your choice'
For civil ceremonies the historic regency drawing room in Browsholme Hall, or the Tithe Barn provide distinct and different choices. Afterwards the reception in the Tithe Barn allows couples almost complete freedom to decorate, and add entertainments to their own taste and design.
Wedding Catering
'Gourmet food created for you'
The wedding breakfast is the centrepiece of the day and our caterers will discuss every element of the menu with you to serve food that will compliment your special day.
© 2014 Browsholme Hall


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Complete Indicator Profile of Physical Activity - Adults (18+) - Recommended Levels - 2008 Guidelines (HA2020 Leading Health Indicator: 6A)
DefinitionPercentage of adults (18+) who do at least 150 minutes (2 hours and 30 minutes) a week of moderate-intensity, or 75 minutes (1 hour and 15 minutes) a week of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity, or an equivalent combination of moderate- and vigorous intensity aerobic activity. Aerobic activity should be performed in episodes of at least 10 minutes, and preferably, it should be spread throughout the week.
NumeratorNumber of adults aged 18 years and older who report 150 minutes or more total per week of moderate or vigorous exercise where each minute of vigorous exercise contributes two minutes to the total.
DenominatorNumber of adults aged 18 years and older responding to physical activity questions.
Why Is This Important?Regular physical activity can improve the health and quality of life of Alaskans of all ages, regardless of the presence of a chronic disease or disability. Regular physical activity protects against heart disease, colon cancer, diabetes, depression, and anxiety. Regular physical activity maintains normal muscle strength, joint structure and function, and is essential for normal skeletal development and attainment of optimal peak bone mass during childhood and adolescence. Adults benefit from moderate physical activity, of at least 150 minutes each week.
Physical activity is recognized as an independent protective factor against cardiovascular disease. Physical activity has been shown to reduce the risk of some cancers, type 2 diabetes, stroke, and heart disease; and improve general physical and mental health.[1] Weight-bearing activity can improve bone density, reducing the risk of hip fractures in elderly persons. Regular activity helps to relieve pain from osteoarthritis.[2] Regular physical activity is also known to improve affective disorders such as depression and anxiety, and increase quality of life and independent living among the elderly.[3]
1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Physical activity and health: a report of the surgeon general. Atlanta (GA): U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Promotion; 1996.
2. Knowler WC, Barrett-Connor E, Fowler SE, Hamman RF, Lachin JM, et al. Reduction in the incidence of type 2 diabetes with lifestyle intervention or metformin. N Engl J Med 2002;346(6):393-403.
3. Kesaniemi, Y., et al. (1994). Dose-response issues concerning physical activity and health: an evidence-based symposium. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 33(6 suppl), S351-S358
Healthy People Objective PA-2.1:Increase the proportion of adults who engage in aerobic physical activity of at least moderate intensity for at least 150 minutes/week, or 75 minutes/week of vigorous intensity, or an equivalent combination
U.S. Target: 47.9 percent
State Target: Healthy Alaskans 2020 Target: 61%
How Do We Compare With U.S.?When compared to the nation, Alaskans are equally physically active.
Related Indicators
Relevant Population CharacteristicsThere are age, gender, and socio-economic related risk factors associated with physical inactivity.
Related Relevant Population Characteristics Indicator Profiles:
Health Care System FactorsHealth care system factors relate primarily to access to care and a reported low rate of health care provider counseling for physical activity recommendations.
Related Health Care System Factors Indicator Profiles:
Risk FactorsThe percentage of persons who reported no physical activity during leisure time was higher among women, older adults, people who were overweight or obese, and those with less formal education and less income.
Related Risk Factors Indicator Profiles:
Health Status OutcomesSmall changes in levels of physical activity such as walking or gardening can lead to big improvements in personal health. In fact, the greatest benefits occur among those who have never exercised regularly. Even moderate amounts of exercise can substantially reduce an individual's chance of dying from heart disease, cancer, or other causes.
Related Health Status Outcomes Indicator Profiles:
Graphical Data Views
Percentage of adults (18+) who reported getting the recommended amount of physical activity, all Alaskans, Alaska Natives, and U.S., 2011-2020
Data NotesHealthy Alaskans 2020 Target: 61%
** Data Not Available
Alaska data were obtained from the Standard AK BRFSS from 2011 onward.
Data Sources
References and Community ResourcesCDC's Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity: www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute has extensive resources on physical activity for patients, health care providers, and general consumers: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov
The University of South Carolina's Prevention Research Centers provide resources and information about physical activity to researchers, public health practitioners, and others who are interested in promoting physical activity in their communities: http://prevention.sph.sc.edu/index.htm
More information on the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System may be found on the website of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - http://www.cdc.gov/brfss/
More Resources and LinksAlaska and national goals may be found at the following sites:
Maps of health indicators for various subdivisions of Alaska may be found at the following site:
Evidence-based community health improvement ideas and interventions may be found at the following sites:
Additional indicator data by state and county may be found on these Websites:
Medical literature can be queried at the PubMed website.
For an on-line medical dictionary, click on this Dictionary link.
Page Content Updated On 10/12/2014, Published on 10/12/2014


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[Translate] As the weather get warmer here, I like to start lightening up the dishes. My husband just returned from a two week trip where he only had fish, so I had to make a chicken dish before he started growing scales and gills. After the first successful attempt at making a hamin, I decided to try a summer recipe from Sherry Ansky's Hamin cookbook. This recipe just calls for chicken legs, israeli couscous, onions, and water, which sounded too bland for our taste, so I kicked it up a notch and added garlic, slices of butternut squash, Hungarian paprika, and ras el hanut. The dish was delicious and the sweetness of the butternut squash Click here to continue reading this post
Chicken Hamin with Israeli Couscous and Butternut Squash
May 292010


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What is iteration ? Iteration is a Computer Science term that simply means repeating a set of actions. Iteration is also called repetition or looping . The statements that are used in iteration are called loops .
Iteration, however, is not the same as selection. Beginning programmers often attempt to use a selection statement where they should use a loop, and vice versa. It is important to be able to distinguish the two, and equally important to be able to select the right control structure for the job.
The selection structure works much like the illustration shown here. Driving down a divided highway, you come to a rest stop, and you pull off. When you leave the rest stop, you rejoin the highway a little further down the road.
Once you rejoin the highway, you have no opportunity to go back, and revisit the rest stop again. Those who bypass the turnoff, skip the rest stop altogether.
A loop structure looks similar, but not the same. As you can see in this illustration, there is still a boolean test, as there is with selection. But, after you've had your break, the rest stop exit road "loops back" [hence the name], and you rejoin the highway right where you initially left it.
If you like, you can choose to enter the rest stop once again, even though the highway is one-way. In this sense, a loop also works a little bit like a cloverleaf interchange.
C++ has three loop statements, the while loop, the do - while loop, and the for loop. As you might expect, each of these loops varies in the way that it is used, and the place where it is most effectively employed.
One difference between the loops is where the test takes place--that is, the relative position of the loop test, and the actions contained in the loop body.
This is called a "test at the bottom" loop. It is also sometimes called a hasty loop or an unguarded loop, because it "leaps before it looks".
// Loop body
The other two loops, the for loop and the while loop, both make their boolean test before performing the actions in the loop body.
With these loops, if the test condition is false , then the actions inside the loop body are never performed at all. Thus, they are both guarded loops.
Counted and Indefinite
Classifying loops according to where their condition is tested helps keep the C++ syntax straight in our minds, but it's not really as useful as classifying loops by the kind of bounds that they employ.
A loop's bounds are the conditions under which it will repeat its actions. In a simple, counter controlled loop, the bounds might be expressed as "the counter has a value less than ten". In other, more complex loops, the bounds may be a combination of conditions involving ANDs and ORs.
There are two major kinds of loops that can be built using the basic building blocks [ for , while , and do - while ] provided by C++. Let's look at them briefly, before we start looking at code in the next lesson.
Counting or Counted Loops
A counting , [or counted ], loop is a loop that repeats a fixed number of times--a "gimme fifty pushups" kind of loop.
With a "pure" counting loop you can look at the code and tell how many times it should execute. In real life, however, things are not so clear-cut. You often won't know what the actual number of repetitions is until your program runs. The number of repetitions may be based upon the number of characters in a String , for instance, or some other number which is not computed until your program runs.
Indefinite Loops
With an indefinite loop, you can never tell how many times the loop will repeat by examining the code. An indefinite loop is a loop that tests for the occurrence of a particular event, not a count of the number of repetitions.
"Read characters until you encounter a period" is an example of an indefinite loop. The condition may occur after reading three characters, or it may occur after reading three-thousand. It's also possible that the period might be the first character read or, sometimes, that a period might not occur at all.
There are three commonly encountered types of indefinite loops that you should be aware of. Each of these indefinite loops uses a different sort of bounds:
Writing perfect code the first time is something of a "Holy Grail" among programmers. By that I mean that most programmers long to do it, but the vast majority consider its attainment to be the stuff of legend.
Writing loops is one area where programming errors often crop up. Several years ago, however, I happened upon a technique developed by Doug Cooper, the Berkeley professor of " Oh! Pascal " fame, for building loops. This technique really does increase your chances of building correct loops the first time, and it's worth your time to learn it.
The Three Faces
The first step in building a successful loop is to be able to describe [and separate] the loop's bound from the loop's goal .
Here's an example:
We can use the same bounds with a different goal: Print each character in a String until a period is encountered. Here, the bounds is the same, but the goal is different. We're not counting, we're printing.
Step 1 Determine the Bounds
That's where you should always start writing your loops; ask yourself: "What will make this loop quit?"
"How do I get out of here?" Making sure your loops can quit is the single most important thing that you can do. Let's take our first example in the previous section, and write the loop bounds in psuedocode:
Step 1, writing the bounds, makes sure that it is possible to get out of the loop. When you write this portion you'll have to make sure your boolean condition is not unavoidable or impossible, just as you did with selection statements.
Now that you've convinced yourself that it's possible to exit the loop, you have to write the statements that make it possible to enter the loop. Step 1 asks "How do I get out?" , while Step 2 asks "How do I get in?"
Precondition statements usually involve creating variables and initializing them to some reasonable state. In our example, we have two variables C , which is a character, and S , which is a String .
Before you encounter the loop bounds, you must make sure that C holds one of the characters in S , otherwise, you have no assurance that you will ever enter the loop--the value in C will be unknown.
In pseudocode, we could write this as:
Suppose, for instance that we didn't put any statements inside the loop body used here. What would happen?
To avoid an endless or "dead" loop, you must make sure that the statements on the inside of the loop body change something that is tested in the loop bounds.
In this case, that's as simple as storing the next character in the String S in the variable C , like this:
At this point, the mechanical portion of your loop--the part that makes it "work", so to speak--is finished. You should be able to compile your code [provided you wrote it in a programming language, of course], and it should run correctly.
The whole purpose of a loop, however, is to get some real work done, to accomplish the goal. Up until now, we've ignored the goal portion entirely, because we want to make sure the loop works , before we put it to work .
When writing the code to carry out the goal of the loop, you start at the precondition, move to the loop body, and then deal with the post condition. You don't have to worry about the post condition while programming the mechanical operation of the loop, but it is often significant when it comes to the loop's goal.
Here's what to do:
Here's the finished pseudocode for our loop:
The first loop we're going to look at is the for loop. Both Pascal and Basic have for loops, as do C and C#. Like those languages, the for loop in C++ is designed for writing counted loops--loops that repeat a specified number of times.
Unlike the Pascal or Basic for loop, however, the for loop in C++ can do much more than simple counted loops. The for loop in C++ is a general purpose, "test at the top" loop, that makes writing counted loops very straightforward, but can be used for other purposes
As mentioned previously, the body of the for loop follows the loop's test condition; you test first, then, if the test evaluates to true, you enter the loop body, as you can see in the illustration. [click image to enlarge]
The for loop's condition involves more than a simple boolean test, however. In fact, it involves three different expressions:
The loop body following the loop condition is usually enclosed in braces, although, technically, braces are not required if the loop body consists of a single statement. As a practical matter, though, you'll almost always use braces, and, since they don't hurt--even when not strictly required--you should always put them in as a matter of course.
Let's return to the for loop condition, and take a closer look at each of its three expressions
When a for loop is encountered, the first part of the loop condition, the initialization expression, is executed. It is always executed, regardless of the other parts of the for statement, almost as if it occurred on the previous line.
The initialization expression is evaluated only once, and is usually used to define the counter variable that will control your loop, like this
Variables declared inside the for loop initialization section, like counter , shown here, are local to the body of the for loop. Once the loop is finished, the variable goes out of scope and can no longer be used.
The second section of the for loop is called the test condition . The test condition is a boolean expression which is evaluated immediately after the initialization expression.
If the test condition is true , [when it is evaluated], then execution begins with the first statement in the loop. If it is false , then the entire loop body is skipped, and execution continues at the first statement following the loop body.
To continue our example, we can test the value of counter , checking to make sure it is less than ten:
Using counter like this insures that the loop will execute ten times. This is a common idiom in C++ programming:
An idiom is just a common and widely accepted way of "phrasing" a particular operation. This particular idiom works well, because you can immediately tell how many times the loop will execute just by glancing at the test condition.
In Lesson A, "Introduction to Loops", you learned to make sure that every repetition of a loop moves closer to the loop bounds. But, in the for loop shown here, there are no statements that move toward the bounds; in fact, as written, this example is an endless loop ! Since counter is never updated, it always remains at zero.
Updating the counter is the responsibility of the third part of the for loop condition--the update expression . The update expression is evaluated after the body of the loop is finished, but before the test expression is evaluated for the next repetition.
For a counted loop, you'll use the test expression to update your counter like this:
You've probably noticed that this loop doesn't really do anything; the portion that we've written simply repeats ten times. However, you can use this basic skeleton for any loop that needs to repeat a fixed number of times. Simply replace 10 with the number of times you want to repeat, and you're all set.
In addition to acting as a loop control, you can also use your counter variable to process different pieces of information during each repetition of the loop. Here, for instance, is a loop that sums the ascii values for all the characters in a String :
#include <iostream>
#include <string>
using namespace std;
int main()
string str;
cout << "Enter a string and I will sum all of the characters " << endl;
getline(cin, str);
int sum = 0;
for(int i = 0; i < str.length(); i++)
sum+= static_cast<int>(str[i]);
cout << "The sum of all the characters is " << sum << endl;
return 0;
Not only can you count up and count down, you can also count by values other than 1, simply by changing the value in the update expression. The Basic language allows you do do this via its STEP clause, but the C++ for loop allows you to use any expression you like, not just different constant values.
Here, for instance, is how you could calculate the sum of all the even numbers less than 100:
Notice that i is set to str.length() - 1? This is because everything in computer science is 0 based and str.length() returns the number of characters. For instance the string "test" has 4 characters in it and that is what length() would return but these chracaters are indexed 0 to 3 which also gives us for characters. Also notice the test condition is i >= 0 this is becuse we want to count the 0th character. If you run the program both ways you will see that the result is the same.
The for loop makes writing counted loops very easy because it puts the pieces you need--a place to initialize your counter, a place to test your counter, and a place to update your counter--all within easy reach.
You can do exactly the same thing with C++'s simpler, but more general-purpose while loop. It's just not quite as convenient.
To use the while statement to build a counted loop, you must do three things:
// Update loop counter
For the while loop, however, you must define and initialize your counter outside the while loop. This has several implications:
A counted while loop lends itself to endless loops in a way that the others don't. Because the while loop places the counter update expression at the bottom of the loop--which may be far removed from the while loop condition by the time all of the intervening statements have been added--it is easy to forget it.
With the for loop, leaving out the update expression creates an "empty" looking loop condition, but not with the while loop.
The easiest solution to this problem is to use the loop-building strategy presented in Lesson A, "Introduction to Loops". If you start by first writing the "mechanics" of the loop--bounds, precondition, and update--you are less likely to get distracted by the "real" statements and forget to add the update expression at the end of the loop.
If you put a semicolon after the condition of a while [or for ] loop, the body of the loop becomes the null statement. Here's an example:
Because of the semicolon, you are saying "As long as cups is less than ten, do nothing". This creates two problems:
That's true for counted loops; if you are going to write loops that are controlled by a counter, you should probably use the for loop. But, not all loops, or even most loops, are counter-controlled. Event controlled loops are much more common, and there, the while loop reigns.
A number is called a perfect number if by adding all the positive divisors of the number (except itself), the result is the number itself.
Six is the first perfect number. Its divisors (other than the number itself: 6) are 1, 2, and 3 and 1 + 2 + 3 equals 6. Other perfect numbers include 28, 496 and 8128.
Using a counted loop can you check to see if a number is a perfect number? Check your solution with the video below
In this lesson, you'll learn how to write loops that monitor events, rather than loops that use a simple counter to control their execution. To accomplish this, you'll return to the while loop which you met at the end of the last lesson.
Why while?
Although the for loop is the undisputed champ in the counted-loop arena, the while loop really comes into its own when the loop test condition is a little less clear-cut.
Random Number
A couple of new things here. First, the rand() function returns a pseudo-random number in the range from 0 to RAND_MAX. RAND_MAX is a constant that is defined in stdlib.h. Files with the extension .h are called header files and they contain definitions. You would normally include it the same way you do iostream
#include <stdlib.h>
You may be thinking that you don't see this file included anywhere within the code. The truth is that iostream references it so it is like you have included it yourself. The default value of RAND_MAX is dependent upon the machine it is on. We can generate a random between 0 and whatever number you choose by using the % (modulus) operator. In the code above random numbers are being generated in a range between 0 and 99. This is something you should try to remember is that you always want to add 1 to the max number you want to get. If I wanted numbers between 0 and 100 I would have to % the number with 101.
The code:
is a way to seed the random number generator. The random number generator uses a mathematical equation to calculate random numbers. If you were to print out enough random numbers using the rand() function, you would notice that at some point the numbers repeat and that there is a pattern to them. To generate more randomness into the formula, we can seed the random number generator. This is what the srand function does. You can pass almost any value to the random number generator but you can make it more random by seeding it with the tick of the time of day clock. This is where the time() function comes in.
To use the time function you must first include ctime. it is also part of the C++ standard library. So the line of code:
says seed the random number generators mathematical calculation with a number generated by the time of day clock.
Back To Loops
Can you tell how many times this loop will execute? Probably not, unless you have some kind of psychic powers. That's why this kind of loop is called an indefinite loop. You can't tell by reading the source code how many repetitions it will make.
Even though this is not a counted loop, the body of the loop must still contain code that advances the loop's bound. If it does not, then, once entered, the loop will repeat for ever. In this example, we advance toward the loop's bound by calculating a new random number .
This particular indefinite loop is an example of a sentinel loop. A sentinel loop is a loop that looks for some special value to end the loop. The special value is called the sentinel . As mentioned earlier, sentinels are commonly used in two situations:
In the above example, the sentinel is the number 50, generated by the random number generator, and it is used to mark the end of valid input.
A sentinel doesn't always have to be a single value; it may include a range of values. For instance, here is a problem statement that calls for a sentinel loop, but a simple sentinel value would be insufficient
Rather than just reading ahead, why don't you see if you can apply what you learned in Lesson A, "A Loop-building Strategy", to create a loop that meets these requirements. When you're done, come on back here and we'll tackle it together.
Here are the questions you should ask yourself:
Let's look through the answers together:
At this point, you should be able to test the mechanics of your loop, and make sure that it "works." Once the loop works, you can turn your attention to the loop's goal.
Here's a program that follows this strategy to calculate the average of a stream of numbers. This example is a little different than the first example because, instead of using a single sentinel--the number zero, for instance--it uses a range of sentinels--any number less than zero--to mark the end of valid input.
#include <iostream>
#include <ctime>
using namespace std;
int main()
// Precondition
int count = 0;
double sum = 0.0;
int num = 0;
cout << "Enter an integer, negative to quit" << endl;
cin >> num;
while (num >= 0)
// Loop actions
sum += num;
cout << "Enter an integer, negative to quit" << endl;
cin >> num;
// Postcondition
if (count > 0)
cout << "Count = " << count << " Sum = " << sum << " Avg = ";
cout << sum/count << endl;
cout << "No numbers entered" << endl ;
return 0;
So far, all of the indefinite sentinel loops we've looked at have been primed loops:
Because assignment is an operator in C++, and not a statement, there is a much shorter and more concise way to write the same kind of sentinel loop. A loop employing an inline test is an extremely common C++ idiom, and you should become familiar with it, even if you prefer the longer, more traditional primed loop.
Using an inline test, the loop in the first program can be rewritten like this:
Now, you only have to initialize num once--during the loop test--and not twice--before and at the end of the loop.
Note the additional set of parentheses surrounding the assignment operation:
(num = rand() % 100)
The parentheses are required because the precedence of the relational operator [ >= ] is higher than the precedence of the assignment operator. If you omit the parentheses, C++ will compare the number it returns with zero, generating a boolean value. When it comes time to assign the boolean value to the variable num , however, C++ will choke because num is an int , and you cannot assign a boolean value to an int .
Sentinel bounds are often used to search for a particular value in a set of data, such as looking for a particular word or character in a document. When used like this, however, sentinel-controlled loops have one great failing: they can't ensure that the value will actually be found.
To handle this problem, you need to add an additional item to your loop-building toolkit--you must learn to differentiate between intentional and necessary bounds. Here's the difference.
Suppose you want to search the String s , for the character c , and return the position where the value is found. Using a simple sentinel loop you could write:
while ( (ch = s[i++]) != c )
This bounds, ch != c , is your intentional bounds , it is the sentinel value that will end your loop if all goes well. You can't just assume that all will go well, however. It is possible that:
In this example, we can handle the first necessary bounds by changing the loop condition like this:
while ( (ch = s[i++]) != c && i < strlen(s)))
Adding necessary bounds to a loop condition means that the loop can end for two [or more] reasons, not just one. When you write the loop postcondition statements, you have to take this into account.
For instance, after this loop terminates, you can determine whether the character c was found by testing ch , to see if it is equal to c . If ch == c , then the character c was found in the String s .
The above example makes use of C strings and the strlen function. Don't concern yourself with it at this point. We are coming to this real soon so it doesn't hurt you any to see it.
In addition to the for and while loops, C++ also has a loop that performs it's boolean test after the loop body, instead of before. This loop, the do - while loop, illustrated here, will always execute the statements inside its body at least once.
The body of the do - while loop appears between the keywords do [which precedes the loop body] and while . Like all loops, the body of the do - while loop can be a single statement, ending with a semicolon, or it can be a compound statement enclosed in braces. As with the other loops, you'll have a more fulfilling life if you train yourself to always use a compound [brace-delimited] loop body.
The do - while loop's boolean condition follows the while keyword. As with all selection and iteration statements in C++, the boolean condition must be enclosed in parentheses, which are part of the statement syntax. In the do - while loop, the boolean condition is followed by a semicolon. [Unlike the while loop, where following the condition with a semicolon can lead to subtle, hard to find bugs.]
The do - while loop is often employed by beginning programmers, because, for some reason, it seems more natural. If you find yourself in this situation, however, you should think twice. 99% of the time, a for loop or a while loop can be employed to better effect than using a do - while. Using a do - while is like putting salt on your food before you taste it. In fact, it is difficult for me to think of a good situation where a test-at-the-bottom strategy is superior to "looking before you leap."
C++'s selection and iteration statements are called flow-of-control statements because they provide a highly structured method of conditionally and repeatedly executing a particular section of code.
In days past, however, before the control structures we use today, programmers still needed the equivalent of if statements and loops. Rather than relying on built-in language features, though, those iron-age programmers constructed their own flow of control statements, using the jump .
The jump statement often uses another name; even programmers who have never heard of the jump have heard of its nom de plum, the goto statement. The goto is one of C++'s reserved words, but it isn't actually implemented as part of the language.
If your dream is to arbitrarily jump willy-nilly hither-and-yon through your code, you'll have to find another programming language to accommodate you. When it comes to loop control, however, C++ hasn't abandoned the jump altogether. C++ has two statements-- break and continue --that let you do your jumping in a controlled fashion.
The break statement is used in two different circumstances, but both circumstances are quite similar.
The break statement allows you to jump out of :
Although it can be misused, allowing you to write code that is as convoluted as any produced by the goto statement, the break can sometimes be used to make your loops simpler and clearer.
Here's an example, that shows how the break statement can be used to simulate a sentinel loop that stops when the number 50 has been reached. Note that the loop bounds does not need to test for the sentinel value.
#include <iostream>
#include <ctime>
using namespace std;
int main()
int num = 0,i;
num = rand() % 101;
for(i = 0; i < 100; i++)
if(num == 50)
cout << "Random Number is " << num << endl;
num = rand() % 101;
if(i < 100)
cout << "The number 50 was encountered at iteration " << i << endl;
cout << "The number 50 did not come up " << endl;
return 0;
The continue statement is a jump statement like break , but unlike break , the continue jumps back to the loop condition.
Exactly what that means depends upon the loop you're using:
The code below asks the user to input characters from the keyboard. If a digit is encountered, it gets converted and added to the sum. If the character entered is not a digit then the continue statement takes the flow of control back to the top of the loop.
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
int main()
char c;
int sum = 0;
for(int i = 0; i < 10; i++)
cout << "Enter and integer to sum " << endl;
cin >> c;
sum += (int)c - '0';
cout << "The sum of the digits entered is: " << sum << endl;
return 0;
The for loop in the above code will execute 10 times. Each time a character is entered at the keyboard, it is checked to see if it is a digit. The check uses the standard C++ library character function isdigit() which returns true if the character entered is between '0' and '9'. Remember that everything entered into the keyboard is a character, which is different from a number.
9 and '9' are different
The isdigit() returns a boolean true if the character is a digit, false otherwise.
If the character entered is a digit then it gets converted to a number by subtracting the character '0' from the character entered. The character '0' has an ascii value of 48. So the above code is equivalent to subtracting 48 from the character entered. In any case, subtracting 48 from the digit will give us the actual binary value of the character representation.
Once the character is converted, it gets added to the sum of the values.
Both break and continue work on the current loop. That means, when you are in an inner loop, a break statement only exits the inner loop, it doesn't get you out of the outer loop.
If you need to break out of both inner and outer loops, then you will have to write some logic to handle it.


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Quinn and Sweeney Post Lifetime Bests on Day 1 at European Championships
Four Irish swimmers got their European Championships campaign underway on the first day of competition at the Velodrome in Berlin today. Barry Murphy, Nicholas Quinn, Dan Sweeney and Brendan Hyland were all in action prior to competing in their main events later this week. Murphy, Quinn and Sweeney all swam in heat 2 of the 100m Breaststroke. Quinn was the fastest of the Irish swimmers touching in a new lifetime best of 1:02.11 to finish second, Barry Murphy was just [...]Read More


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For Santa Barbara and Montecito residents who lost their home offices in the Tea Fire, QAD has made a generous in-kind donation through Direct Relief International of temporary computer workstations at QAD's headquarters in Summerland. Between 20 and 30 temporary workstations outfitted with Internet-accessible laptop computers will be available to applicants on a first come, first served basis. The work […]Read more →
Image Courtesy of Wikimedia CommonsTo assist Los Angeles and Orange County clinics respond to those affected by the Sayre Fire, Direct Relief has sent over $70,000 worth of specifically requested medical material aid to community clinics over 18 shipments since Saturday. The contents of these shipments were focused particularly on respiratory problems reported by these partner clinics and their patients. […]Read more →
Working into the early morning hours today, Direct Relief staff completed six shipments of medical material aid to partner clinics in Oxnard, Tarzana, Garden Grove, and Los Angeles in response to the Sayre Fire. The shipments contain inhalers and N-95 particulate respirators, valued at more than $20,000 (wholesale), and will arrive Monday morning via FedEx, which donated its services. Like the Tea […]Read more →
Direct Relief International today extended emergency medical assistance to partner clinics in response to the Sayre Fire (also know as Sylmar Fire) in Los Angeles County that has burned more than 2,600 acres, prompting evacuations of more than 5,000 residents. The organization is coordinating its response with community-based clinics and health centers in the affected areas and with regional clinic associations, and […]Read more →
Direct Relief International and Santa Barbara County Public Health will be distributing more free masks this Saturday at the Cabrillo Pavilion Arts Center at East Beach in Santa Barbara from 10:30 am to 2 pm. This event follows Friday's successful distribution of thousands of N-95 particulate respirators to Santa Barbara area residents. The N-95 masks, which are easy to wear, […]Read more →
Direct Relief International, Santa Barbara County Public Health Distributing Free Particulate Masks Today
Direct Relief International is coordinating with Santa Barbara County Public Health and the Office of Emergency Services to distribute free N-95 particulate respirators at MacKenzie Park today from 11:30 AM to 2 PM. Free masks will be distributed to area residents in the parking lot off Las Positas, near the intersection with State Street. The N-95 masks help protect against inhaling particulate […]Read more →


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Center in the back seat.
I know people who have them on the back passenger side, though due to space constrictions. I don't think there's a law in any state about where it needs to go. I think if necessary you can even legally install it in the front (if you don't have a backseat) as long as your air bags are disengaged.


text:
What I like most about my reading journal is the simple fact that it helps me remember what I've read and when I read it. When I give book suggestions or want to look up an author I've already read a book or two by, I can just refer to my journal. It also helps me track how much I'm reading and kind of pushes me to read more.
I also keep a section for books I want to read or authors I want to check out. I actually don't write much about the books I read, I did this for a while and found it tedious. I do write down memorable quotes sometimes or if I feel inspired I write something down, but mostly I just keep lists with dates and sometimes publishers. It is surprisingly fun to look back on (and Helpful).


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House Tour: A 17th-century Italian Farmhouse
Designer Eric Egan transforms a 17th-century farmhouse in the Italian countryside into an up-to-date oasis, without losing any of its bucolic charm
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A hand-painted mural by Francesca Guicciardini lines the entrance hall; the tole light fixture is custom made, and the flooring is terrazzo.


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May 4th, 2014 By Pedro Fernandez
Working behind a buzz saw offense being thrown from non traditional angles, Marcos would take it to Floyd for the first 4 rounds, if not 5. Only Brian Kenny of the Showtime crew saw the Argentine winning a good portion of the early rounds as Al Bernstein and Paul Malignaggi had Floyd up after six. It would appear the two Nevada judges Bert Clements (117-111) and Dave Moretti (116-112) didn't give Maidana enough early credit. You could have made a case for Marcos being up 6-0. Judge Michael Pernick had things even at 114-114.
In the end it was a battle of conditioning and will as Mayweather edged Maidana. You can argue about some rounds from five on, but Floyd came back winning with flashier punches and superior ring generalship. The last criteria was the one Mayweather was the far superior in. Maidana was crudely effective when he was throwing those shots from everywhere and landing on Floyd, a tactic that should have earned him a big early lead.
There were no knockdowns, nobody hurt and referee Tony Weeks need look at the first Roberto Duran-Ray Leonard fight and the work of referee Carlos Padilla. Maidana, smaller like Duran had to work his way in and Floyd would grab. As the fight went into the second half, referee Weeks was way too quick to separate the fighters.
With Floyd holding, Maidana should have been allowed to work inside as that was his only chance. Commentator Paulie Malignaggi tried to broach this, the rest of the non-participant Showtime guys never backed him or this throughout the fight.
WBC/WBA welterweight (147) and super welterweight (154) champ Floyd is now 46-0, 26 KOs and Maidana dips to 34-4, 31 KOs. There was talk of a rematch afterwards, led by Showtime's Jim Gray made me change the channel. Look, B-level fighters can give Floyd a fight at 37 years of age, but they can't beat him.
Amir Khan's welterweight debut against Luis Collazo (35-5, 18 KOs) went right about the way Team Khan drew the fight up in the gym. Wobbled badly once, Khan's chin held against non-puncher from New York. Getting reckless cost Collazo who was dropped thrice by the one time British prodigy.
Khan (29-3, 19 KOs) looks thick to me at 147 and think he'd be better off at 140. And while I'm NOT the guy fighting the scale, I made the jump from jr. welter to welter it was too big a size difference that I went back down. Scores were 117-106, 119-104, 119-104.
Adrien Broner (28-1, 22 KOs) won a ten round unanimous nod over light punching Carlos Molina (17-2-1, 7 KOs). Broner lost to Maidana last time out at 147, made 140 for this one. His rap music intro was full of F-bombs and the British TV team took great offense.
When Broner threw Molina to the ground with great force in round three, in what was an unprovoked, obvious and deliberate foul, referee Kenny Bayless issued a "hard" verbal warning when it should have been an automatic one or two point deduction. Scores read 100-89, 99-91, 98-92.
Promising super middleweight (168) J'Leon Love (18-0, 10 KOs) survived a hell-like fifth round and knockdown to douse Mexican Marco Antonio Periban (20-1-1, 13 KOs) with a UD 10. How Periban let Love survive he will ask himself until the day he dies. Scores were 95-93, 97-92, 96-93.
WBO 168 lb. guy Arthur Abraham (40-4, 28 KOs) kept the belt with a UD 12 over Nikola Sjekloca (26-2, 8 KOs) Saturday night. The much more powerful Abraham walked Sjekloca down early before a hand injury put "AA" in a "just get the win" mode. Scores read 116-113, 116-112, 119-110.
Pedro Fernandez
"Commentator Paulie Malignaggi tried to broach this, the rest of the non-participant Showtime guys never backed him or this throughout the fight."
Malignaggi was talking about EXACTLY THIS a day or two before the fight!
Then again, what does Paulie know about Boxing? He's never been a WRITER and he has only been an announcer a short while…
I didn't like Paulie that much as a fighter because of his complete lack of punch, although he was quick, with good technique and had a lot of "cojones".
Experience matters a lot, and Paulie was a good fighter. This shows during his broadcast analysis, and quite frankly, he is very good on TV. More than I thought he would. His verbal ability is much better than the average fighter, and I agree with his comments most of the time.
I still don't like Broner, as a matter of fact, I left the room when his fight started. I happen to catch his partial interview with Jim Gray. Again, he's making some disparaging,disrespectful comments about his opponent. I think he'll get his a$$ kicked in the near future. I won't see it but I'll read about it. Hopefully at this website.
Nice article Pedro!
Wow, you mentioning Nino La Rocca brought back some serious nostalgia! I remember being around 15 when I seen La Rocca for the first time fighting on NBC I believe, a blow out against a competent hard hitting Bobby Joe Young, the same Young that would later put an end to coke a cola cowboy Aaron Pryor's career. I watched La Rocca closely for the next couple years and thought the man was going to be something special,the dude was lightning quick and even in slow motion replay he was fast lol.
I remember telling my dad and friends about him. There was just something special about him, even though he only spoke Italian the dude oozed with charisma. I remember Donald Curry putting and end to the La Rocca mystic, or rather myth. But for those couple years I sure enjoyed watching him man. To this day I joke to my father about the name and we both get a good smile or laugh about it..
You sure know your boxing Pedro! I don't know too many boxing people that remember him..
Broner's behavior during the post-fight interview was disgusting. He will be humbled a hand full of times before his career is over.
Apologies to those of you who payed for this. Mayweather/Khan would have been much more interesting as there would be a chance for a KO.
Honestly speaking, the showtime hosts and commentators except Paulie Malinaggi are lacklustre and just are not as good compared to the original and current HBO hosts and commentators: Larry Merchant, George Foreman, Lampley, Roy Jones, jr, Max Kellerman, Lennox Lewis and the late great boxing trainer whose name escaped my mind….whos is that showtime guy who speak as if he is always hyping the fight but ends up like a boring clown???
Alex, Nino looked like Ali at welterweight. Then, boom it's over…the LaRocca dream. Thanks for the kind words Alex.
Wasn't about to support this fraud of a sporting event, but I did like the one pre-fight interview Lil Mayweather did with Teddy Atlas. After Brian Kenny or someone opened with dialogue, Teddy Atlas turned to Floyd and said, "Floyd, you're a good fighter,". Floyd didn't dare challenge him. Enough said.
Maidana made a good fight out of it and performed to his max.
Mayweather held on for dear life in the first couple of rounds and I'm pretty sure he pissed blood after the bout the way Maidana attacked his sides with vengeance. Actually I thought it was pretty funny the way he complained about th "wrestling match" of Maidana at the presser.
I saw it as a very close fight with Mayweather having the slight edge – but without the Mayweather bonus it could've gone the other way. 117-111 was just pure nonsense.
Mayweather is a lucky guy that he forced Maidana out of his Everlast MX gloves into some baby-padded ones – otherwise this could've been a whole different ball game!
A defensive mastermind talking later that he wanted to give the fans a good fight is just pure nonsense. Mayweather got hit from East to West and from North to South and couldnt move away from Maidana. He got outhustled in the infight zone, outworked at close range and even outjabbed by this slugger, even in later round. All this by a guy nobody gave a chance before the fight. What does this tell you?
After watching this fight, I keep thinking to myself, how would a Robert Duran at welterweight have faired against Mayweather.
Roberto Duran would have certainly mauled Mayweather. Constant non stop punches would be coming from everywhere. Mayweather is good, one of the best if not the best of his generation but Duran would have been too persistent and he was better defensively than people gave him credit for. Mayweather is no devastating puncher the way Hearns was, who could knock out a light heavy weight. Mayweather can't punch like Hagler Hearns or even Leonard, he might be better defensively than them but Duran would not have given Floyd space to breath and he's 10 times better than Castillo Hatton Cotto or Maidana, guys who gave Mayweather fits when applying pressure. Duran by late stoppage or unanimous decision (As long as the fight was not held in Vegas) where you have to knock Floyd out to get a decision.
As far as Broner, his behavior is despicable. As far as in the ring he's not a bad little fighter, certainly nothing special or nearly as good as he thinks he is. He's a poor mans Mayweather, who's light years ahead of Broner in talent and ringsmarts. Broner should have stopped the extremely over-matched Molina who has very little power and very mechanical. I think Matthysse takes his head off and I believe Peterson would outwork and outbox him. The guy has a big mouth that in turn is selling tickets, GBP better protect him because as long as he's matched carefully he'll make good money, people will pay to see him lose which is good from a business prospective. Leading up to the Molina fight he was heard talking about how he was going to destroy and knock out Molina, all I seen was a bearded lady looking man that was going to have to back up the talk and do something special, which he failed miserably. Overrated hype job is all I basically see here.
Floyd did his thing. If u look a little closer u will see the master at work. Yea maidan a was hustling but I saw the 116-112. Floyd did good work inside he won. But I also wanted to comment on Ali calling Floyd out to fight pacman. I think it's sad when greats have to tell u to fight someone? Could u imagine the career Ali would've had if he took this safety first approach. And ducked his biggest challenges? No Liston, no Frazier, no foreman, no norton??? I think Floyd is slipping and he better make that fight now while he can still win. To be honest though it's nice to see him work. He throws ever punch text book and makes it look easy. I just believe as gifted as he is he should also be held to a higher standard when it comes to his opponent selection
Now that's the right strategy when fighting Floyd Mayweather Jr.
(I had it even). Like Roberto Duran says you have to "bust him up". Manny Pacquiao must be licking his chops. Duran would have had Mayweather for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
You forgot…midnight snack..Roberto loved cake and Floyd would be that for Duran, Ray Leonard and especially Tommy Hearns.
No way on earth would this fight even happen. Little Floyd taking every possible step to avoid it. And if – there's just no way a trained Duran would lose. If you wanted to beat Duran you had to commit and Mayweather just can't bring it. This also being the reason why Mayweather will never be an All-Time-Great in my eyes. TBE – I don't know what these guys are smoking!
Duran was a mean SOB – inside & outside the ring. Just imagine what the prefight hype would look like?
Hearns would have outboxed Mayweather, No one outboxed Hearns. Mayweather claims that Pacquiao is a midget, well Mayweather would have looked like Billy Barty compared to Hearns. Either at welterweight or jr middleweight Hearns gives Floyd a boxing lesson before knocking him out. Duran would have just wore him down and beaten him down, Mayweather is no better than Leonard was in his prime and an in shape properly motivated Duran was unrelenting and impossible to discourage. Oscar gave Floyd fits with his jab imagine what Hearns' jab would have done? Castillo Cotto and Maidana manhandled Floyd albeit in spurts, I can only imagine what an unrelenting Duran would have done to Floyd. Floyd technically sound but not as good as he thinks he is.
If you are a boxing fan (or judge) who values volume punches, irrespective of their effectiveness, then Maidana would be considered the winner in your eyes. However, if you value accurate punches and classic textbook boxing, as do I, then you would consider Floyd the winner by a comfortable margin.
I contend Maidana did not get robbed, never really hurt Floyd, and apart from the shots to the top of the head and below the belt, didn't really deliver telling blows.
Floyd offered some beautiful uppercuts that made Maidana's head pop up on several occasions and his stabs to Maidana's mid-section had Maidana guessing all night as to which direction the blow would come and those belly punches took some of the starch out of Maidana's punches in the later rounds.
Good solid fight; right decision rendered by the judges.
Boy did this fight expose Money. If he thinks he can fight like this again (against the ropes) against Maidana again, he's in for more trouble (let alone Pacman). I had Maidana winning the last 2 rounds and winning the early rounds for a slight win. But it was close. Watching Manny fight Rios and Bradley, he did much better than Mayweather fighting Maidana.
Yeah, especially Thomas Hearns. Not many fighters could get under his long left jab and powerful right hand, including Roberto Duran.
Most of you forgot to mention Aaron Pryor, if Duran is unrelentless, so do Pryor.
I had it even. I find it hard to believe that after the first 4 rounds, Mayweather was ahead 3 to 1.
I had it 4 zip.
One thing is for sure, we can forget about a GGG vs Mayweather fight at 154 lbs.


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It's also the story of a hideous lamp with 5 ugly ducks quacking all around. A lamp so ugly it sat at Salvation Army for 3 weeks before I finally got the courage to take it home with me, even though it was only $4.
Wanna closer look at those infamous ducks? They are quite infamous among my friends because many of them got to see the ducks sitting in my living room before I got around to painting the lamp.
What cracked my daughter up the most about this lamp was not the ducks at all, it was that it appears the inside of the glass lamp was painted to look like an egg! See those speckles? Yeah, that totally looks like an egg.
But the worst part of this story?
A few days after I left the duck lamp at the thrift store for the second time,
"Do you still have that duck lamp?"
They said, "Ah, no it's gone."
I figured some soul was in desperate need of a lamp that cost only $4 and settled in with my Thrift Store Remorse. You know that feeling when you wished you would have bought that thing you just weren't sure about while you were at the thrift store, but left without it?
Some time later, I visited the store again and low and behold the lamp was still there!
By this time I'd seen this large urn lamp in the Pottery Barn Catalog and knew I could have made something wonderful with that ugly ducklings lamp. And I could save myself from breaking the bank on this $200 lamp, not including the shade!
|Source: Pottery Barn
Meanwhile, I was enjoying a good chuckle at those hideous ducks each time I walked by. And it was way too much fun trying to convince my friends it had potential. I promise they all laughed at me on more than one occasion.
Then, one rainy day, I finally decided it was time for the ducks to go. I mention the "rainy day" because I'm not sure if the moisture in the air helped this process or not.
I started by spray painting a base coat of primer just be sure the paint would stick to the glass. Then I followed up with a custom mix of paint using mostly Duck Egg Blue Annie Sloan Chalk Paint
Once that dried, I began dripping different colors of paint along the top of the lamp.
I used a little tiny drip bottle and Martha Stewart metallic glaze from Home Depot.
I think I started with a mixture of the base coat and the gold glaze. Next, I added some full strength Aubusson Blue to the bottle. Then I added more gold glaze. I just kept slowly adding paint along the top. I'd wait and watch it drip then I'd add a little more. I probably filled the little squirt bottle 3 times.
After each dripping and a little bit of waiting, I would wipe the base of the lamp free from excess drippy paint.
Once it finally dried, about 36 hours later, it looked like this. Remember I said it had been very rainy so it didn't completely dry until I set it out in the sun.
Pretty spiffy right? But it's missing that look of glazed pottery.
In comes my favorite top coat for this type of project. Krylon Triple Thick Crystal Clear Glaze.
It takes several coats, but in the end it looks remarkably like glazed pottery.
To finish the base of the lamp, I applied gold leaf. Here's a quick run down of how that's done.
1. Apply sizing with a brush to base of lamp or whatever you want to leaf. Let it dry and become tacky, usually about 5-10 minutes. Be sure to rinse your brush right away or it will be glued together. ;)
2. Place sheets of leaf onto the tacky surface. I don't worry too much about wrinkles. I'm a fan of the texture it creates.
3. Use a dry, flat artist's brush to smooth the leaf onto the surface.
4. Once you've covered most of your object. Reapply sizing where necessary and repeat the steps as before.
As I had expected, the gold leaf was a little too gold and shiny in comparison to the gold hue in the glaze.
To fix that, I applied Johnson Paste Wax and little dapples of the Metallic Gold Glaze is used in the dripping.
This looks better, right?
Just a little buffing of the base the next day and voila!
I really couldn't love it anymore.
I know this looks like a ton of steps, but it was super easy. If I hadn't made sure all my friends got to laugh at the hideous ducks before, they would have never known it was a DIY lamp that cost me $4 plus a new shade from Wal-Mart that was around $20.
The color combinations are endless. And it was so much fun. Kind of like spin art! I'd do it again for sure!
Don't you want to try? If you do please report back, I'd love to see your drip lamp creation!!
Update: I'm linking up this project to East Coast Creative's contest for Crafting with the Stars. It's a long shot I'm sure, but if you could view my submission through their site I'd be so grateful. Be sure to check out all the other amazing entries. My submission is number 68 on the list. Click here or the image below to go and "vote" for me. Thanks!
Sharing here:
Transformation Thursday @ Shabby Creek Cottage / Hooking up @House of Hepworths / Feathered Nest Friday @ French Country Cottage / Be Inspired Friday @ Common Ground / Friday Link-up @ Redoux / Furniture Feature Friday @ Miss Mustard Seed / Shabbilicious Friday @ Shabby Art Boutique / Frugal Friday @ The Shabby Nest / Pity Party @ Thirty Hnndmade Days / Party Junk @ Funky Junk Interiors / Mop it Up Monday's @ I should be mopping the Floor / Nifty Thrifty Sunday @ Nifty Thrifty Things / That DIY Party @ DIY Show Off / More the Merrier @ DIY Home Sweet Home / Nifty Thrifty Tuesday @ Coastal Charm / Martha Monday's @ Watch Out Martha / Get your Craft On @ Today's Creative Blog / Tutorials Tips Party @Homestories A to Z / Wow Us Wednesday @ Savvy Southern Style /Power of Paint @ Domestically Speaking / The Summer Bucket List@ the Foley Family / Humble Brag Party @ One Project Closer / Chic and Crafty Party @the Frugal Girls / Shine on Friday@ One Artsy Mama / Show and Share @ Southern Lovely


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Guide to New Year's Eve in Montreal 2014
Consider this your invitation to New Year's Eve in Montreal, but be sure to note that, as always, it's...Read more
No matter the season, time or weather, Montrealers flock to festivals like moths to a flame. The city hosts numerous events all year long, ranging from music to fashion and beyond. In the summer, in particular, masses of people from all walk of life come together to create Montréal's truly unique festival vibe. Major summer events include the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal, Just for Laughs Comedy Festival, FrancoFolies, and the Grand Prix du Canada (Formula 1 Grand Prix) to name a few. In the winter, the city keeps active with the MONTRÉAL EN LUMIÈRE festival, a celebration of lights, gastronomy, arts and music that warms the soul in chilly temperatures.
Consider this your invitation to New Year's Eve in Montreal, but be sure to note that, as always, it's...Read more
When the going gets cool, the cool get dancing in Montreal's Old Port. As the mercury hits rock bottom...Read more
We can be comfortably certain that the African wise man or woman who coined the proverb "It takes a...Read more
Winter has arrived! Which means another incredible Luminotherapie art installation at Place des Festivals in Montreal's Quartier des Spectacles…Read more
It's the most wonderful time of the year! The snow is making us cozy, the holidays are making us...Read more
Whether you're casually searching for a shooting star to wish on, an amateur astronomer itching to get a closer...Read more
→ Select your interests
→ Live your Montréal moments
→ Get inspired for you next stay
Use the hashtag on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to share your own.
@SophieGiroux @HotelNelligan two classy ladies on a classy terrasse #mtlmoments


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Professor Gregory S. McNeal and eight other experts in national security, technology, and privacy recently attended a series of unprecedented briefings at the headquarters of the National Security Agency in Fort Meade, Md. The briefers included the most senior leaders, technicians, and lawyers in the NSA. During the briefings, participants discussed the law and policy of intelligence gathering, signals intelligence history and process, cybersecurity, the NSA's relationship with Congress, and the impact of recent media leaks on the NSA. The briefings were off the record, which allowed for a frank and candid discussion about the agency and its tactics. The NSA is one of the world's most secret intelligence gathering organizations, responsible for conducting electronic surveillance, cryptology, and cyber warfare. Its core missions are to protect U.S. national security systems and to produce foreign signals intelligence information.
The briefings will help to enhance McNeal's teaching, research, and public commentary which focus on national security law and policy. He previously served as Assistant Director of the Institute for Global Security, co-directed a transnational counterterrorism grant program for the U.S. Department of Justice, and served as a legal consultant to the Chief Prosecutor of the Department of Defense Office of Military Commissions on matters related to the prosecution of suspected terrorists held in the detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He is a contributor to Forbes, where he writes a column about law, policy and security.


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With prospects for a bipartisan agreement this year on Medicare prescription legislation fading, the Senate Finance Committee is planning to move forward on a package of increases for reimbursements for hospitals, physicians and HMOs. It is expected that as early as next week the Finance Committee will consider a package of these Medicare provider "givebacks" that could grow as large as $50 billion. The House passed a similar $30 billion package on June 28 as part of their Medicare prescription drug bill. The Senate was unable to pass a prescription drug bill, after more than two weeks of contentious partisan debate this past July. Despite this absence of agreement on outpatient prescription drug coverage for Medicare, Senate leaders appear determined to address the pleas of providers to add more money to the program - mainly in response to ongoing concerns that the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 has cut payments to providers too deeply.
The Senate Finance Committee Medicare package affords NAMI an important opportunity to push Congress to address perhaps the most discriminatory provision in the current Medicare benefit - the 50% copayment requirement for outpatient mental illness treatment services (all other medical-surgical outpatient services have a 20% beneficiary copayment. A bipartisan coalition of Finance Committee members is pushing for an amendment that would gradually lower the 50% copayment over the next decade.
The Finance Committee is under enormous pressure from many different provider and patient groups to include provisions that address a wide array of beneficiary concerns. Thus, NAMI advocates need to come forward and make the case for inclusion of an amendment to address parity for the 50% copayment for Medicare outpatient services.
In addition to consideration of numerous changes to Medicare, the Finance Committee is also expected to take up a proposed temporary increase for the federal share of Medicaid - also known as FMAP. As state NAMI leaders know all too well, 2002 has been a very difficult year for state budgets. This is especially the case for Medicaid programs as governors and legislators have sought to cut both services and eligibility to hold down costs. Children and adults with severe mental illnesses have been especially vulnerable as states have moved forward on these cuts and NAMI affiliates have been very busy resisting these efforts to cut this critical safety net program.
Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) is leading an effort on the Finance Committee to increase federal matching funds for state Medicaid programs by $6 billion over the next 18 months. An additional $3 billion would also be added to the Social Services Block Grant. NAMI strongly supports Senator Rockefeller's FMAP proposal as the most effective short-term means of preventing further cuts to Medicaid.
NAMI advocates are urged to contact members of the Senate Finance Committee and encourage support for:
NAMI members residing in the states of Senate Finance Committee members are especially encouraged to make phone calls and send e-mails. NAMI members that do not have a senator on the Committee can call their senators and encourage them to contact Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) in support of both amendments. Below is a list of Finance Committee members.
All Senate offices can be reached can be reached by calling the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 or online through www.congress.org.
Max Baucus (D-MT), Chairman
Jay Rockefeller (D-WV)
Tom Daschle (D-SD)
John Breaux (D-LA)
Kent Conrad (D-ND)
Bob Graham (D-FL)
Jeff Bingaman (D-NM)
John Kerry (D-MA)
Robert Torricelli (D-NJ)
Blanche Lambert Lincoln (D-AR)
James Jeffords (I-VT)
Charles Grassley (R-IA)
Orrin Hatch (R-UT)
Frank Murkowski (R-AK)
Don Nickles (R-OK)
Phil Gramm (R-TX)
Trent Lott (R-MS)
Fred Thompson (R-TN)
Olympia Snowe (R-ME)
Jon Kyl (R-AZ)
Craig Thomas (R-WY)
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