text:
Clay Shirky on growing the Drupal community
I am at Web2Open and participating in the rapid fire question and answer session. Clay Shirky, Web 2.0 keynote speaker, and author of "Here comes everybody" is at my table. Clay's ideas are like poetry which leaves me struggling to even think of a topic to discuss with him.
Clay talked about emergence and best practices in community participation. He asserted that the most effective and enduring communities are those centered around intellectual property. In contrast, he noted that most communities are event driven. For example, facebook started as a Harvard college social networking site focused on the event of attending college. Event based communities are what the majority of online communities are based on. This type of community is fleeting. Clay calls the motivation for these types of communities "stop energy".
The communities that are "start energy" communities are those that are centered around intellectual property. Start communities can last a long time. The best examples of intellectual property communities are open source communities. Suddenly my brain restarts and I've got some questions for Clay.
For the last question in our round table I mention that I work on an open source project called Drupal and that we had 700 plus people contribute to the core release .." Our conversation continued as follows:
Clay: "Oh! I love Drupal, we use it at ITP." He then asks if he can have one of my Darth Drupal stickers, which he grabs and puts on his badge.
Kieran: "So we had 9000 people participate in the project last year and I'd like to grow the amount of contributors."
Clay: (Animatedly grabs paper and pen and paper in the middle of the table. He draws the long tail graph.) Paraphrasing "The first ten percent is active Drupal contributors. How do you grow the tail? You create lots of lightweight tasks for people in the long tail to participate, tasks that can just take a minute."
Clay then goes on to talk about about a project called 10 000 cents which was an artist project to draw a 100 dollar bill. The point was to get lots of people to contribute just a little to make a whole. My take away was that we should make it easier to contribute to Drupal; this would increase the pool of significant contributors by recruiting them to participate. Let's take a look at five examples of easy contribution opportunities today:
- Googles GHOP program for Drupal. Small 3-5 day tasks for high school students.
- DROP tasks: http://drop.cwgordon.com
- Filing an issue in the issue queue
- Participating in a discussion at http://groups.drupal.org
- Blogging in Planet Drupal
Have you got an idea for how to make it easier to participate in the Drupal project? If so, share your ideas in the Drupal.org re-design group.
Translation server is lowering the cost of contributing translations.
Here's an idea. If we use Drupal to blog, why not have our blog post - post on our blog and Drupal.org? If I do a video or "how to", have my content be sent to Drupal.org into a "new outside content" queue. Have a few folks read the node queues daily and assign / categorize the content as needed. That might be the wrong way to do this. The goal is to have everyone writing about Drupal be able to push that content to Drupal with ease. I know this is done through RSS and Drupal planet, but it should be extended somehow. On my end maybe I can have a way to organize my content and for Drupal.org as well. For IE, if I am writing about imagecache not working correctly, I can write about my issue / solution. Once published it will show on my blog and inside the "queue" for the imagecache issues as well. Hope that makes sense.
Here is another to keep us more "glued". I read posts from Drupal planet daily. Many do. Sometimes I comment to another comment or to the post. Doing that for one week, you may not remember who's site you commented on. We (the com mentor) need a way to be contacted to let us know someone commented to our comment OR just to keep track of where all we commented. Most of the folks publishing to Drupal planet use Drupal, so it should not be difficult to "glue" us together with regards to comments. In the end I think this would keep the community more communal and working together.
I definitely think smaller tasks is a good idea. I also think if Drupal.org knew what my interests were, it could throw me some "suggested" content or users who share my "drupal interest". Getting more social I know but it is about connecting us to create an opportunity to work together - on the same things we enjoy about Drupal.
Thanks for sharing Kieran.
I'm relatively new to Drupal development. I've found it hard to pick out easy, low effort tasks that I'm able to accomplish quickly and learn something about drupal. So far, I've looked for really small modules and put some effort into getting them patched toward D6 compatibility.
I've been involved in the GNOME community's bugzilla a bit and found something interesting that Drupal may benefit from. They have a bug tag they call "gnome-love" which means the bug should be a relatively easy thing to fix and is an easy way to get involved quickly.
I really don't like the name of the tag. It doesn't describe its purpose so I ended up not knowing what it meant for a long time and it wasn't used effectively. Perhaps re-thinking the name for Drupal would make it effective.
The beautiful part about the bugzilla tag is that I could produce a link to a search of bugzilla that showed all the "gnome-love" tagged bugs on a specific project, branch and status without patches already applied so that newbies could pop into base documentation, see the link and immediately see opportunities to patch something quickly.
Like I said, the real sticking point I had was getting bugs marked appropriately. I think the Drupal community (as opposed to the small gnome project I was working on) is big enough that this would be doable.
Perhaps there could even be steps of difficulty tagged. I'd appreciate that a lot so I'd have an expectation of how deeply I'm getting my head in. :-)
The book is called "Here Comes Everybody" not "Here Comes Everyone" ;)
I just finished reading "Here Comes Everybody" and enjoyed it quite a bit. I also gave it to my father for his birthday, telling him "if you want to understand the world I operate in, read this book".


text:
Dogs Can Sniff Out Bedbugs
Posted: Mar 14 2010
It has been widely reported that Dogs May Be Able To Sniff Out Cancer. Now the New York Times has a wonderful article on how dogs are using their amazing sense of smell to sniff out and locate bedbug infestations. The article is called A New Breed of Guard Dog Attacks Bedbugs and is authored by Penelope Green.
Above is a photo of Cruiser, the chief Bedbug Inspector for New York based Bed Bug Inspectors. This natural process is actually very safe for the dogs and locating the bugs involves no chemicals or harmful agents. The dogs come in, sniff around, and then point out where the bugs are. Don't worry – dogs never contract bedbugs, they simply can smell the bugs and they point out the locations for inspectors. Bedbugs subsist on human blood (not canine) and dogs seem to enjoy the detection work.
In 2008 the University of Florida came out with a bedbug dog study showing that trained Bed Bug Dog Teams could detect live bedbugs and viable bedbug eggs with up to 95% accuracy. Amazing!
Photo by Chad Batka for The New York Times

subset: commoncrawl


text:
This lightweight, high-performance Nordic socks compress the calf muscle to improve blood flow and speed oxygen to the muscles. Featuring a unique EXO knitting pattern around the ankle it adds support. Made with Thermocool for temperature regulation.
Gives superior comfort in the toe area
Gives comfort, better durability and shock absorption
Reduces chances of injuring Achilles tendon
Specially shaped construction imitating the natural anatomy of male and female feet assures a perfect fit


text:
Dining | Thanksgiving Special Menu
November 21st, 2011
Buck's reopens on Thanksgiving and we're serving up a special family style Thanksgiving menu in addition to a limited off-menu selection. For reservations please call 406.995.4111. Open from 5-8pm on Thanksgiving, Thursday Nov.24. Here is the Thanksgiving menu: To start: … Continue reading


text:
classic 5 pocket pant
by STEVEN ALAN
Having spent the past 20 years creating a mini fashion world grounded in classic American roots - fashioned with a twist - Steven Alan has quietly emerged an uncommon fashion pioneer. Upon opening his first retail store in 1994, Steven sold pieces from an eclectic group of emerging designers, becoming known for his keen eye. In 1999, Steven launched his first men's collection, including his now signature Reverse Seam Shirt, followed by a women's collection soon after. The collections build upon the same curatorial point of view using authentic fabrics and precise tailoring along with thoughtful details- resulting in easily wearable, refined casual looks.
Back To Product View All From This DesignerMen's Size Chart
Product Details
Our classic 5-pocket pant in a casual garment-dyed and enzyme-washed cotton slub fabric, and featured in dark sienna and charcoal for the Fall. It comes in a classic slim straight cut with a mid-length rise and fits slim at the legs.
• brushed hardware and rivets
• back leather patch
• zip fly, button closure
• 10.5" rise, 33" inseam
• 100% cotton
• made in USA


text:
Moeen Ali
Ian Bell
Kevin Pietersen
James Taylor
Eoin Morgan
Andrew Flintoff
Ben Stokes
Steven Finn
Michael Carberry
Jason Roy
Test caps
One-Day International caps
Twenty20 International caps
Full name David John Todd
Born September 3, 1952, Newark, Nottinghamshire
Current age 62 years 148 days
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Left-arm medium
Other Umpire
My heart says New Zealand, head South Africa
Martin Crowe: How the top eight teams stack up ahead of the World Cup, plus predictions for the knockouts
The emirate of Indian cricket and its subjects
Mukul Kesavan: What sort of cricketing culture sees conflict of interest as normal? The answer lies in the history of cricket administration in India
Which is the second-best World Cup team?
Australia are expectedly No. 1. Who takes silver? By Bishen Jeswant
'I have what it takes to be a great Test batsman'
Couch Talk: West Indies batsman Kraigg Brathwaite on his mental approach, and his captaincy ambitions
NZ's problem of plenty, and Clarke v Warner
Beige Brigade: The boys feel smug about how good New Zealand are looking before the World Cup, and discuss their dislike for certain Australian players
Off-stump blues leave Dhawan flailing
The out-of-form Shikhar Dhawan still has the backing of his captain, but there's no denying his slump has arrived at an inconvenient time for India and his technical issues have to be sorted out before they attempt to defend the World Cup
Open with Rohit and Binny, with Kohli at No. 3
India's batting is going the way of their bowling in Australia, and they need get their order sorted before the World Cup
Ten things that are different at this World Cup
And one that will be the same. A look at what has changed since 2011
Pietersen stars in his own muppet show
Kevin Pietersen's rubbishing of many aspiring English county professionals brings to mind the belief of Miss Piggy that "there is no one in the world to compare with moi"
Kohli at No. 4 - defensive or practical?
It seems Virat Kohli is to not bat before the 12th or 13th over to strengthen the middle and the lower middle order. It suggests a lack of confidence in what was supposed to be India's strength in their title defence: their batting
Off-stump blues leave Dhawan flailing (270)
My heart says New Zealand, head South Africa (168)
How the top eight teams stack up ahead of the World Cup, plus predictions for the knockouts
Pietersen stars in his own muppet show (114)
Open with Rohit and Binny, with Kohli at No. 3 (98)
Which is the second-best World Cup team? (61)
Australia are expectedly No. 1. Who takes silver?


text:
I'm from Forked River, NJ right on the coast!
I'm from Forked River, NJ right on the coast!
Corina Syanovitz
Waving Hello from Southern Jersey...About 20 minutes from Delaware and 10 minutes from Philly!!! Great to see others from Jersey thats for sure....
Hi there....
I am in NJ and just about 5 minutes from TJMuse. My husband is in the Air Force and we are stationed at McGuire!!
We should start a Jersey Digital scrapbooking group!!!!
Hi! I'm from Northern NJ, about 10-15 mins from NYC. I just found GDS and I'm glad that there are others here from NJ as well.
I am originally from Denville.
Hi, I'm in Northern NJ also West Caldwell about 10 minutes from Denville.
I'm originally from right next door to StoryBook Land in Cardiff, NJ ...
Moved to MN in '96 and then to WI in '05 ...
still sort of a Jersey Girl at heart though ... sort of ... lol
Last edited by suseadoodle; 09-22-2009 at 08:50 PM.


text:
Can this get any better? Well, if you have been following this team for awhile, the logical answer would be, "Why, of course, it's what they do." Not that there's much logic being entered into the equation lately. At this point, you have probably been inundated with all the improbable factoids about this Little Team That Could. Thirteen games back in late June. Five games back with nine to play. Leap-frogging the two AL West behemoths—one a team that dominated Winter Meetings headlines by signing the top hitter and pitcher on the free agent market, the other the two-time defending American League champions—to plant the division banner on the Coliseum pitching mound at game's end Wednesday. It was the same mound that the ski-goggled Jonny Gomes used as his personal playground after the game, conspiring with the A's grounds crew to spray his teammates with a power hose full of water in full force.
And talk about full force. How about the 36,000 fans that crammed into the O.co Coliseum? Could it have been any louder? Even Grant Balfour got shouted down. Now, all these great storylines will be introduced to the nation, as our A's head to Motown to start the AL Division Series with the Tigers at Comerica Park Saturday. While there's plenty to enjoy on many levels, to me, the essence of the 2012 Oakland A's is this: If you appreciate the true virtues of sports when it's played at its very best, then you've got to love this spunky group from Oakland. At the risk of burying you in time-honored clichés, let me explain why I feel this way. This team represents so many good things, many traits that have gotten lost in the high-priced world of professional sports: teamwork, personal sacrifice for the greater good of the team, deep self-belief, bouncing back from adversity, trusting your teammate, hustle, tenacity, mental toughness, lacking egos, playing the game for the fun of it. Somehow, when you watch this team, you can actually feel the purity of the sport emanating from the field.
In speaking with Brandon Moss and his family after game, we had a brief heartfelt discussion about how far we've come, and how far we may still go. As one of the league's hottest hitters sat, exhausted, on the stairs above the clubhouse, I told him the beauty of all this is we don't have to change a thing. There are no mysteries ahead. We will be playing the best teams in baseball, much like we have done during the past month. There is no need to change our strategy or style of play. We just need to keep
doing what we've been doing. And if you're an A's fan, that should excite you. After all, our players already know they are capable of continuing this magic carpet ride. And why shouldn't they feel that way? They've been doing this for most of this season.
8 Comments
I have been an A's fan since I was a child, starting in the late 60's. I was there to witness the great teams of the 70's, 80's, 90's and early 2000 years. This has easily been the most enjoying and crazy ride of any Athletic team I've witnessed in my life. Keep the ride going boys, it has been a blast!
I was there, it was awesome. I am so glad I missed work that day. The crowd was crazy, it was worth all the costs. Let's Go Oakland!!!!!
One of the most Fun and Dedicated A's teams I've seen in my 31 years. I remember all the 80's 90's and 2000's teams, but like John said, this team by far is the most fun to watch. Guys going out there putting it all on the line for the fans and themselves. It's been MAGIC to watch them play this year…and it's only going to get better. LETS KEEP IT GOING BOYS!!!!
What you said at the end there — that they don't have to change a thing. That's exactly the thing that I found baffling in the last few days. I remember in 2006 having these animated discussions with people about which teams we should WANT to face and which teams we should hope to miss. This year, I can't think of an argument for why we'd want to avoid any of these teams. WE'RE the team that people are afraid to face. That's just absolute insanity for me to comprehend after the playoff appearances of the last decade. Mostly, I just want to see these guys keep rolling, just like they've done for the past month.
Well stated Mr. Rose. especially the part about the team represents so many good things and the purity of the "game". I am getting my glove out of the closet and looking for a team… because sports should be fun like the A's have been displaying this season. Let's Go Oakland!
Johnny Bravo fan since 1968.
I wasn't alive to witness the 70's or the 80's, but have been there to witness everything from 1991 and onward. I've been an A's fan since I was born, and was raised in the spirit of the Athletics. As I watched the team this season I couldn't help but think that this year was different. As time progressed they proved the magic and fun of the game of Baseball. I stood with tears in my eyes as they won on Wednesday not only for the joy to see my team succeeding, but with pride and excitement to be an A's fan. I'm excited to see what's to come. I know that they can take on the teams just the same, and I know they can keep on winning. Let's go Oakland! You guys are amazing!
Yes, also a fan since '68. I can't recall the energy ever being as potent as it was at Wednesday's game – let's do this fellas!
This is one of the best stories in baseball. I LOVE the rookie performances, and just like with the Giants post-Cabrera record, this proves how baseball is bigger than star players.
Don't let them move to San Jose!


text:
Date/Time | Show/Location | Tickets |
Fri-Sun Jun 27-29 8:00pm | BET 3-Night Concert Bundle STAPLES Center |
Fri Jun 27 7:00pm | ComicView Live! with Sommore Club Nokia |
Fri Jun 27 7:30pm | Maxwell and Jill Scott STAPLES Center |
Fri Jun 27 11:00pm | Future with DJ Khaled & Friends Club Nokia |
Sat Jun 28 7:00pm | Centric Presents The Next Comedy All-Star w/ Joe Torry Club Nokia |
Sat Jun 28 7:00pm | Outkast, A$AP Rocky and Rick Ross STAPLES Center |
Sat Jun 28 11:00pm | The Roots Present Hip Hop with Special Guests Club Nokia |
Sun Jun 29 7:00pm | Mary J. Blige, Trey Songz and Jennifer Hudson STAPLES Center |
The BET Experience is back! Get ready for three days of endless entertainment at L.A. LIVE and your only chance to roll like a VIP and attend the 2014 BET Awards at the Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE! Our 2014 lineup is packed with must-see performances from today's hottest acts, all at the world-famous STAPLES Center. Plus, the free Fan Fest returns with Genius Talks, interactive exhibits, and free giveaways.
It's going down on June 27-29, 2014, and tickets will be available Friday March 14 at 10AM PDT! The BET Experience at L.A. LIVE -- it's all in one place, all in one weekend, and it's all for you.
Get the best seats, exclusive access and roll like a true VIP throughout BET Experience weekend with our exclusive packages. Quantities are limited.


text:
Remembering Roger Ebert: 'We love you, Roger, we always will'
BY STEFANO ESPOSITO AND JON SEIDEL Staff Reporters April 8, 2013 8:04AM
A memorial tribute for Roger Ebert expected to draw friends and admirers from Hollywood is planned for Thursday at the Chicago Theatre. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the program will begin at 7 p.m. Admission is free but seating will be limited and must be reserved in advance by calling (773) 528-7700 or emailing firstname.lastname@example.com.
- Live blog of Roger Ebert's funeral
- Fans take to Twitter to toast Roger Ebert
- Ebert Memorial - stories, photos, videos and more
- Lynn Sweet: At Roger Ebert's funeral
Article Extras
Updated: May 10, 2013 6:09AM
Roger Ebert didn't just love movies. He loved connecting with people.
Because he understood that life is too fleeting not to share.
So he shared his life — and his gift — with millions through decades of newspaper columns and TV shows and Twitter entries. And on Monday, as Chicago said goodbye to the most American of critics in the most American of cities, Ebert's life was recalled by his friends, family and dignitaries as something even greater.
He was a newspaperman.
A soldier for social justice with a pen.
And a father, husband and friend with a heart big enough to love and accept us all.
"Roger," his stepdaughter Sonia Evans began, "I want to thank you for nothing more than for being you. And loving us. And loving the world in such a grand way.
"You gave yourself completely. Genuinely. And we are all forever grateful."
Ebert, 70, died Thursday in Chicago after a long battle with cancer. He reviewed movies for the Chicago Sun-Times for 46 years — winning a Pulitzer Prize — and on TV for 31 years. His funeral was held Monday morning at Holy Name Cathedral.
That's where his wife, Chaz Ebert, elicited two standing ovations as she addressed nearly 1,000 mourners gathered in the church's elaborate sanctuary.
She told them she hadn't been sure if she would speak. But listening to her daughter, Evans, she knew her husband "would want me to thank you."
"He would have loved this," Chaz Ebert said. "He would love the majesty of it."
Still, after eulogizing the love of her life as a "soldier for social justice" and a man who "had a heart big enough to accept and love all," Chaz Ebert conceded she didn't want to get out of bed Monday morning.
"To tell you the truth," she said, "I wanted to pretend that this wasn't the day of his funeral. And then it actually didn't feel — it felt like he was there with me. And, I think he is here with us."
To which a man in the sanctuary answered, "Amen."
Monday began drearily in Chicago, a rainstorm casting a pall over the city before the funeral. Well-wishers lined up outside the church anyway, huddled under umbrellas by 7:30 a.m. for the 10 a.m. service.
Gray-gloved pallbearers, including Sun-Times columnist Richard Roeper, finally brought the casket up the cathedral steps about 9:45 a.m.
Behind them was Chaz Ebert, somber and dressed completely in black, including an elaborate black hat she mentioned during her remarks.
"He liked this hat," she said to much appreciative laughter and applause. "That's why I wore it today."
In his homily, the Rev. John Costello of Loyola University Chicago said he's convinced from conversations with Ebert that the movie critic "found in darkened places, especially theaters" a God of ironic compassion, overpowering generosity and radical love.
"In that discovery in the darkness, Roger found a Jesus very different from the one he had been handed as a young Catholic child growing up in the heartlands of our great country," Costello said. "This Jesus was an ironic one with an unquenchable love, even for — especially for — people who betrayed him."
Mayor Rahm Emanuel called Ebert, born in Urbana, "the most American of American critics in the most American of American cities." Not only did Ebert keep his home in Chicago, Emanuel said, he "embodied the values of this great city."
And, like generations of Chicagoans, the mayor said he always needed to know two things before going to a movie: What time does it start? And what does Ebert think about it?
"Roger spent a lot of his time sitting through bad movies so we didn't have to," Emanuel said.
Former Sun-Times Publisher John Barron said no one lived the newspaper life better than Ebert. He recounted how Ebert embraced new technology long before his colleagues even realized the industry was changing. He also recalled how Ebert confided after a contract negotiation to friends, "You know, I'm never going to leave the Sun-Times."
"He never did," Barron said. "He was a newspaperman."
Jonathan Jackson offered condolences on behalf of his father, the Rev. Jesse Jackson. He noted how Ebert took black youths seriously in the 1980s — not as problems but as people, he said. And he told the crowd he spoke on the way to Ebert's funeral with another legend, filmmaker Spike Lee. Lee, he said, sent his own message.
"Roger Ebert was a champion of my work, and other black filmmakers', in a critical time in American cinema history," Jackson said, quoting Lee.
Finally, Gov. Pat Quinn remembered Ebert as a "union man" and a "populist." Ebert, Quinn said, believed society has a duty to take care of those "who don't have a champion."
The governor thanked God for Ebert's "purposeful life."
"We love you, Roger," Quinn said. "We always will. Thumbs up."


text:
The First Methodist Episcopal Church of Ogden was organized in 1870 with Reverend G. M. Pierce holding the first services at the Union and Central Pacific Railroad station. With membership increasing during the 1880s, a new church was erected on 24th street in 1890 at a cost of $65,000. The building served as the Methodist Church headquarters until 1925 when a new church was built on 26th and Jefferson.
Click tabs to swap between content that is broken into logical sections.


text:
I will watch it because of Bryan Fuller his Pushing Up Dasies and Dead Like Me were great shows that died too soon. I would like to see what kind of quirky take Fuller will bring to The Munsters.
I was instinctively bashing this announcement until I saw this. Dead Like Me was television at its finest. Quirky, emotional, gruesome, hilarious -- DLM had it all.
If The Munsters has any of DLM's flavor, I'll be checking it out.


text:
nico shirt jacket
by STEVEN ALAN
Having spent the past 20 years creating a mini fashion world grounded in classic American roots - fashioned with a twist - Steven Alan has quietly emerged an uncommon fashion pioneer. Upon opening his first retail store in 1994, Steven sold pieces from an eclectic group of emerging designers, becoming known for his keen eye. In 1999, Steven launched his first men's collection, including his now signature Reverse Seam Shirt, followed by a women's collection soon after. The collections build upon the same curatorial point of view using authentic fabrics and precise tailoring along with thoughtful details- resulting in easily wearable, refined casual looks.
Back To Product View All From This DesignerWomen's Size Chart
Product Details
Classic trucker style jacket in our custom washed cotton twill camo print with 3/4 length sleeves and dropped shoulders. Military inspired rivet button down front with two front flap pockets. Double stitch construction at the seams. Hem curves down slightly at back and has adjustable tabs at the sides.
• unlined
• 100% cotton
• made in USA


text:
Notable food recalls
Published On: Sep 12 2012 09:00:51 AM PDT
Updated On: Nov 24 2014 05:03:21 AM PST
A Minnesota beef distributor has enacted a nationwide recall of 1,200 pounds of its ground beef products for possible E. coli contamination. Here are other notable food recalls that made headlines.
The views expressed are not those of this company or its affiliated companies. By posting your comments you agree to our Terms of Use.


text:
It seems to be lovely!!!!
Thanks for the chance!!
It seems to be lovely!!!!
Thanks for the chance!!
Looks fun - I love Degas' work! I have some old photos of my youngest in her ballet things which would work well.
Thanks for the chance to win.
There's a few more hours to enter to win!!!!! It's not hard.. just say 'Hi!'
Visit my STORE!
True Random Number Generator Min:2 Max:14 Result: 12 Powered by RANDOM.ORG
Congratulations AnnB! You're this weeks sneak peek winner!
Visit my STORE!


text:
Winterthur is closed for our annual seasonal closing. Join us on March 1 when we reopen!
Save the Date
Join us this year for another festive day of horse racing, fun family activities, and elegant tailgating. This year's event will be held on Sunday, May 3, 2015.
Contact us at email@example.com for more information.
Thank you to our 2014 sponsors
In remembrance of a wonderful woman, Greta Brown Layton, who was instrumental in founding Point-to-Point, enjoy this article from Winterthur Magazine about her contributions to Winterthur.


text:
Jamaica Taekwon-Do Association 2nd Mentorship Programme Launch
Seminar: Time Management/How to Study Effectively Report
April 2013
Prepared by Aneeke Brown
The Mentorship Programme committee staged a Time Management/How to Study Effectively session on Saturday, April 13, 2013 at the JATKD Headquarters. We believe that as a martial arts body, we should be knowledgeably equipped with the habit of time management not just specific to our scheduled classes at the dojang but in all spheres of our life.
This one day session brought mentors and mentees and the entire Taekwon-do family together, as we engaged in direct & note-taking discussion on Time Management. The discussion was lead by Mr. Shane O'Conner, a professional counsellor. Mr. O'Conner spoke to the group on lifestyle challenges and choices which will affect management of time and ultimately how one approaches studying.
Where do you want to live?
You were created for greatness!!
Mr. O'Connor also spoke of 4 common time wasters:
"Not everyone will make it but you can because it is a choice"
Following Mr. O'Connor's presentation was a question and answer segment, in which people could receive clarity on any point the presenter made and also a prize was awarded to the individual who could recall effectively what Mr. O'Connor spoke about.
The day's session was also a buzz with a formal presentation from the Gungo Walk Team (Jamaica 50 Event music team) who attended the session to formally hand over the cheque from the staging of the show "Classic Duets" which was held on Friday, March 22, 2013 at Red Bones Café. This show was done for charity and all the net proceeds went toward one of our mentees O'Shane Murray who is still in the hospital recovering from spinal injuries.
The net amount from the show, $128,000.00, will go towards O'Shane's recovery expenses. The Mentorship Programme is pleased to have been part of this venture and would like to thank the Taekwon-do family for making it possible.
Proceedings ended with a word of thanks from Mr. Arthur Barrows President of the JATKD, after which the attendees shared refreshments to close off what was considered to be a timely managed day.
Alana Pennant member of mentor-ship programme presenting a token to Mr. Shane O'Connor the Guest Speaker
"Classic Duets" the O'Shane Murray benefit show cheque Presentation:
L-R: Stephanie Wallace-Mawell and Michael-Sean Harris of Gungo Walk handing over the cheque to Aneeke Brown & Joleen Masters of Jamaica Taekwon-Do
Jamaica Taekwon-Do Association 1st Mentorship Programme Launch Report
March 29, 2013
Prepared by Aneeke Brown
March 9, 2013 marked the second launch of the Jamaica Taekwon-Do Association (JATKD) Mentorship Programme; and along with it the friendly and fever pitch excitement as to who are the mentors and the mentees among our martial arts community. There were forty (40) persons in attendance, including mentees and mentors to sit around this year's chosen colours of blue and green decorated gym area, at the JATKD head branch, 30a Westminster Road, Kingston 10. The 2013 programme will run for 10 months (March to December 2013). The total list of participants for the year 2013 includes mentors and mentees from Kingston and Mandeville school, as we extend the programme throughout the Jamaica Taekwon-do Association
The mentorship programme is a non-profit venture and is the collaborative effort of members of the Jamaica Taekwon-do Association. Mentors will strive to foster social and mental development with their mentees to assist them to discover new capabilities in the Jamaican social climate, sport of Taekwon-do and the world at large.
The programme will embark on several activities/sessions for 2013; namely, Time Management/How to Study Effectively, Personal Development with a focus on Hygiene and a trip to Blue Mountain, Jamaica. These activities are with the aim that the mentoring programme benefits both the mentors and the mentees providing both with opportunity for developing social skills and lifelong friendships with martial arts linkages.
The Target group for the 2013 mentorship programme will include the JATKD High school program participants (Mentees), Juniors from the Westminster and Mandeville location (Mentees), adults and black belts (Mentors) of the JATKD.
The launch moderator was Mr. Carlyle Gray, the launch officially started with prayer for the day's proceedings, and the overall mentorship programmme. Then the President of the JATKD, Mr. Arthur Barrows gave a warm welcome and encouraged the attendees to make the 2ndstaging of the programme even more successful than last year 2012 and to have an open-mind about the overall programme and enjoy the launch.
The guest speaker was Mr. Leighton Smith, a guidance counselor and a teacher at Dunrobin Preparatory School. Mr. Smith during his presentation got the mentees and the mentors involved through an interactive discussion and encouraged all persons to make a difference throughout the programme. Following Mr. Smith's presentation, a token of a basket was presented to him by first time mentee, Alexia Webb from Mandeville School.
The attendees were entertained by singer and song-writer, Stephanie Wallce-Maxwell who got some of the mentees and mentors rocking, waving and singing along with her to "One Moment in Time" by Whitney Houston The spirit was high among the attendees and so in keeping with that spirit the official charge & launch took place with the cutting of the 2013 cake by Alexecia Scott (Mentee), Zebe Williams (Mentee), Aneeke Brown (Chairperson of Mentorship Committee) & Justin Barrows (Member of the Mentorship Committee).
Things got even more exciting as, mentor and committee member Ms. Audra Smith led a buzz session between mentors and mentees. This session saw them competing to do Balloon Pass, which is meant to promote teamwork and cooperation. There were three (3) groups of which one won. They were awarded prizes, of Digicel phone cards. The vote of thanks was given by the Chairperson of the Mentorship Programme Committee, in which the sponsors were thanked, the committee and the attendees in making the launch a success. Everyone then participated in refreshment of cake, pizza, chicken wings and beverage.
Members of the JATKD mentorship committee includes Nicholas Dusard, Audra Smith, Aneeke Brown (Chairperson), Denise Romero-Williams (1stVP JATKD), Adrian Moore and Justin Barrows.


text:
It's an affordable basic & blue Cube. We don't think you'll find anything quite like this modern furniture online. Can you tell it's made from recycled paper.
Truly modular in every sense of the word, there are endless configurations and possibilities for the design guru. Each Cube is separate from each other so you can satisfy your design itch when you feel like changing things up a bit. Stack them side to side, on top of each other or get creative and build a pyramid and ladder design. Mix and match colors or just keep it simple with a single shade.
_Please note: lifestyle image for reference only, baskets shown in cubbies are sold separately
Material: zBoard recycled paper
Brand: Way Basics
Origin: Imported
Founded in 2008, California-based furniture company Way Basics specializes in modular, eco-friendly furniture — storage cubes, bookcases, table sets, and more —that's made entirely of recycled materials and also, in a unique twist, recyclable itself. Constructed of the company's patented "Zboard," Way Basics furniture is sleek, modern, and, thanks to an ingenious adhesive design, assembled without tools. The company is also a founding member of the Sustainable Furniture Council, a coalition founded to promote environmentally conscious practices in the design industry, and works with furniture banks around the country to supply goods to those in need.


text:
- See How NVIDIA Are Redefining Gaming with the GeForce GTX 660 Ti Graphics Card!
- Get the best gaming, with NVIDIA GeForce Experience™ one-click drivers and settings.
- Dabs Guide: How To Install A Graphics Card
The world's fastest mobile processor. Unbeatable tablet graphics, video, and audio. The most advanced, responsive stylus. And the freedom to pair with the optional SHIELD Wireless Controller for ultimate gaming control. The SHIELD Tablet delivers everything you need to get the most from your games, movies, and apps.
The SHIELD Tablet's NVIDIA Tegra K1 mobile processor taps into the same NVIDIA Kepler architecture that drives the world's most extreme gaming PCs. It's the first to run Unreal Engine 4, Epic's latest game engine.
Stream games from your GeForce GTX-powered PC and play them on the SHIELD Tablet with NVIDIA GameStream technology. Plug into your TV, switch to console mode, and play your games on the big screen. You can also seamlessly record your greatest gaming moments or stream your game action to Twitch as you play with NVIDIA ShadowPlay.
This Zotac GeForce GTX 660 Ti AMP! Edition Includes Borderlands 2
Supercharge your gaming experience with the amplified ZOTAC GeForce® GTX 660 Ti AMP! Edition powered by the latest NVIDA® GeForce® architecture that combines performance, power efficiency and affordability. The ZOTAC GeForce GTX 660 Ti AMP! Edition raises the performance bar and is a must-have upgrade for gamers seeking the best experience in today's visually demanding games. NVIDIA® Adaptive Vertical Sync technology adapts the monitor's vertical-sync dynamically to current frame rates for maximum gaming smoothness and playability with the ZOTAC GeForce® GTX 660 Ti AMP! Edition.
Take your gaming experience to the next level with NVIDIA® Surround™ technology for an unmatched immersive gaming experience with a single ZOTAC GeForce GTX 660 Ti AMP! Edition graphics card and multiple displays.
- NVIDIA GPU Boost technology
- NVIDIA Adaptive Vertical Sync Technology
- NVDIA® SMX shader architecture
- NV1DIA® PhysX® technology
- NVIDIA® CUDA® technology
- NVIDIA® 3D Vision™ Surround support
- NVIDIA ® SLI ready (3-way)


text:
We're sorry - this could be because:
Go ahead and click "Save for later" on all items that don't show the message "In Stock ready to ship". You can then complete your order.
Go ahead and click "Save for later" on all items that don't show the message "Available for Pickup at <your selected store name>". You can then complete your order for In-Store Pickup.
If none of the items in your basket say "Not eligible for In-Store Pickup", you can switch the selected store () by clicking the "change" link at the top of the page to find a store where all items are available for In-Store Pickup.
Our In-Store Pickup program lets you select items online and pick them up at your local store so you can avoid shipping costs. It's easy, convenient and absolutely free!
With the highest known growth rate of any plant, water hyacinth is a wonderfully sustainable aquatic plant that is transformed to create stunning woven crafts and décor. Native to tropical and sub-tropical South America, water hyacinth now grows on the surface of lakes and ponds in similar climates all over the world. Its stalks are dried and braided into cord that is used to create items ranging from clothing, like footwear and hats, to living accents, such as vases and wreathes.
We love the renewability of this fast-growing plant-not to mention the functional and attractive home decorations it creates! Storage solutions like our gorgeous baskets woven of water hyacinth transform clutter into appealing displays, with extra rustic charm added by the plant's natural tones. You'll simply adore the enchantment this versatile, Earth-conscious material adds to any room.
Bulky items such as furniture and rugs cost more to ship due to greater size and weight. Therefore, a delivery surcharge will be billed in addition to the standard shipping charge.
Surcharge amounts vary. The surcharge amount is noted on each product detail page.


text:
Sneak Preview - "Mom's Night Out"
Movies & DVD's
The beauty of Moms' Night Out is that it captures the heart—and humor—of everyday life. As one mom said after seeing it, "I laughed so hard I cried! Truth is definitely funnier than fiction!" While it is a fictitious story, the characters are real, the laughter is contagious, and the scenes speak to us all.
Enjoy this scene featuring a bedraggled Allyson, played by Sarah Drew of Grey's Anatomy fame, as she tries to undo the "help" she received from her young daughter just before entering church on Mother's Day.
To find out more, go to http://momsnightoutmovie.com/


text:
Dharma is a 6-year-old rescue that loves to play fetch with a ball made from pipe cleaners. She belongs to the Pietrzak family, of Oak Lawn.
Updated: April 15, 2013 6:06AM
We want your pet photos.
Whether it's you with your dog, cat, bird, fish or lizard, please email a .jpg photo with your name, your pet's name and hometown to Jessi Virtusio at email@example.com with "Your Pets" in the subject line.
© 2014 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. For more information about reprints and permissions, visit www.suntimesreprints.com. To order a reprint of this article, click here.


text:
Immigrant Profiles & Demographics
Immigrant Profiles & Demographics
Recent Activity
There were 1.8 million immigrant health care workers employed in the United States in 2010, accounting for 16 percent of all civilians working in health care occupations. MPI's Kristen McCabe examines the demographic and labor characteristics of this population, including countries of origin, occupations, gender, and educational and linguistic proficiency.
Unaccustomed to a large number of migrants, Chile has seen an increase in migrants in the past three decades. Cristián Doña-Reveco and Amanda Levinson examine how the country, still wedded to its dictator-era migration framework, is balancing shifting migration patterns with a piecemeal approach to migration policy.
The nearly 5 million immigrants age 65 and older residing in the United States in 2010 accounted for 12 percent of all elderly as well as 12 percent of the total immigrant population. MPI's Jeanne Batalova examines the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of the elderly immigrant population, including where they live, countries of origin, and their sources of income.
Jim Cobbe of Florida State University discusses how the close ties between Lesotho (ethnically, almost wholly Basotho) and South Africa (with an even larger Basotho population) are expressed in a history of economic migration, and how new immigrants from China are changing the face of modern-day Lesotho.
After decades of pressure, the Mexican government passed a law in 2005 allowing Mexicans living outside the country to vote in presidential elections in Mexico. The upcoming election scheduled for July 1, 2012 will be the second time voting-eligible Mexican expatriates throughout the world will exercise their vote-from-abroad privilege. This Spotlight discusses the history and process of external voting in Mexico, voter participation rates inside and outside of Mexico, and several key characteristics of voting-age Mexicans in the United States.
Recent Activity
Over 5.3 million U.S. students during the 2007-08 academic year were enrolled in English Language Learner (ELL) programs. This fact sheet examines the states and districts with the highest number and share of ELL students and offers a detailed breakdown of key statistics.
This fact sheet examines the number and growth of students in U.S. schools in need of English instruction.
Slightly more than 2.1 million unauthorized immigrant youth and young adults could be eligible to apply for legal status under the 2010 DREAM Act, though historical trends indicate that perhaps fewer than 40 percent would obtain legal status because of a variety of limitations. This policy brief offers detailed estimates of potential DREAM Act beneficiaries.
This panel discussion provided a brief overview of Mexican immigrants in the U.S., the role and function of Mexican consular officials in aiding this population, and reviewed the structure and foci of the Mexican government's Institute of Mexicans Abroad.
Mexico's efforts to help its migrants succeed in the U.S. offer a new example of an immigrant-sending country looking to improve its emigrants' lives and connect with its diaspora. This report examines Mexico's approach to its migrants and details the activities of the government's attempt to map the expanding range of its educational, health care, financial, and civic programs.
The enlargement of the European Union has fundamentally changed migration patterns to the United Kingdom. Since May 2004 an estimated 1.5 million workers have moved to the UK from new EU member states. This report looks at the challenges ahead as migration patterns shift across the UK.
The size and characteristics of immigration to the UK have changed significantly. Immigrants are more numerous, more mobile, and more diverse than ever before. This report looks at the differing immigration patterns.
This report, commissioned by the BBC World Service, seeks to explore the myriad impacts of the global financial crisis that began in September 2008 on migration flows, immigration policies, remittances, and on migrants themselves. Select countries and regions are examined in detail to highlight overarching trends and regional differences.


text:
Who do you think looks best today? (5 photos)
The best street style from London Fashion Week: http://ow.ly/p48HS via @StyleCaster
Take a page out of Michelle Obama's style book and highlight your best features instead of obsessing over the worst. MO's MO? The First Lady emphasizes her enviable, toned arms in sleeveless sheaths and draws attention to her narrow waistline with wide belts.
More! Figure-flattery tips
LOOK BACK: See the signature styles of past First Ladies on Life.com
VOTE NOW! Look of the Day
ESSENCE: The Power of Michelle ObamaRead MoreLess


text:
Chad Johnson's Deer Head SlugGo
Great new video produced by Brian and Jenny Wise....showing Chad Johnson tying a new deer hair pattern he fishes on the White River in North Central Arkansas for trophy Brown trout.
Chad is a guide frrom Dally's Ozark Fly Fisher , a TU endorsed outfitter and fly shop on the White River. Chad is a fly tier for Umpqua, and a Simms Ambassador, as well.


text:
Franklin Lusby, MD
Amarpreet S. Brar, MD
NVISION Laser Eye Centers of Torrance
(800) 984-4039
23550 Hawthorne Blvd., Suite 220
Torrance, CA 90505
9100 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 852W.
Beverly Hills, CA 90212
Dr. Franklin
Dr. Amarpreet S.
Serving patients seeking LASIK laser vision correction with custom LASIK in Los Angeles, CA
NVISION Laser Eye Centers
was featured on The Doctors.
NVISION Laser Eye Centers is a premium vision correction provider with a reputation of being the eye doctors' #1 choice in LASIK. Over 1,600 SoCal and Las Vegas eye doctors choose NVISION for themselves and for their patients.
Our Specialties:
LASIK, Laser Vision Correction, Laser Cataract Surgery, IOL, ICL, Dry Eye Treatments, Intraocular Lens Implants, Accommodating Implants, Corneal Procedures and General Ophthalmology
NVISION offers the most advanced bladeless LASIK technology including:
- the Ziemer Crystalline LDV, which provides faster procedure time, faster recovery, and minimizes any chances of side effects. Ziemer Crystalline LDV has been the laser of choice in Europe and Japan since 2009. NVISION was the first laser eye center in SoCal to offer this technology.
- IntraLase technology, if requested by the patient
NVISION has the most experienced surgeons in the field of laser vision correction. Our surgeons are recruited based on their high level of achievements and experience. Most of our surgeons have participated in FDA studies, and helped with the advancements of laser vision correction technologies. NVISION surgeons have completed over 200,000 procedures combined.
Click on the videos above to watch testimonials from NVISION patients.
NVISION offers Lifetime Commitment, which means that after your procedure, if you ever need an enhancement to your vision, we will provide you with a touchup at no additional cost to you.*
Flexible financing options through Care Credit are available from $0 Down, 0% interest for 24 months. We also offer in-house financing: $99 a month for 48 months.** NVISION honors most major insurance plans with a 15% discount. Call for details.
**Patients must qualify. Down payment applies.
*To honor Vision For Life, Patient must see his/her eye doctor for annual eye exams.
In addition to the Las Vegas, Nev., location, NVISION Laser Eye Centers has 11 California locations: Newport Beach, Fullerton, Laguna Hills, Torrance, Camarillo, San Luis Obispo, Murrieta, Ontario, Palm Desert, Sacramento and La Jolla.
Watch videos about NVISION Laser Eye Centers' premiere surgeons. |
The surgeons of NVISION Laser Eye Centers are associated with many professional organizations.


text:
Log in
Log in to check your private messages
Latest Gaming News Central (LGNC for short)
Forum Index
General Discussion
Joined: 24 Nov 2008
Posts: 225
Location: Tennessee Tri-cities
Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 10:25 pm
Post subject: Latest Gaming News Central (LGNC for short)
Welcome to the LGNC. Feel free to slap newsposts concerning the gaming community in general here. This is not only limited to new game announcements, but industry news as well. The LGNC appreciates your contributions and hopes happy fragging/rushing/questing/etc. to all.
Our first story for the news concerns the continuation of an oft-forgotten, yet completely revolutionary (in many senses of the word), franchise known as Red Faction. As you may well know, the original Red Faction introduced the Geomod physics engine, allowing players true freedom of movement through destruction, namely, if you wanted to go through a wall, the only thing that could stop you is a lack of explosives. It was recently announced that the third installment of the series was well on its way, entitled Red Faction: Guerrilla. This came as a surprise, especially considering the abysmal second showing of the series, and it's packed with plenty of updates to bring back the ones who lost faith in the cause.
Everyone's favourite engine of environmental destruction is back, and it's better than ever. Geo Mod 2.0 is taking things to the next level, with genuine structural damage effects, using real structural engineering in order to bring down the house, literally. Now, it's not a matter of how much explody, but how well you place your explody. Thus making it that much more satisfying to overload on explosives, because we have a real big bang to play with. Watch for flying debris, and (pardon the pun) have a blast.
Now Playing: Incubus - Agoraphobia
This be Claen'tor, signing off for LGNC.
Red is my colour. I live for it. Though it wears horribly on me. D;
I like to post my music. It's a habit. Be nice. ;_;
'People demand freedom of speech to make up for the freedom of thought which they avoid.'
-Soren Kierkegaard
Dubbed Clan by Asa
Claen'tor = Claen = Clan
Back to top
Joined: 10 Apr 2008
Posts: 3541
Location: Grammar Police HQ. Watch your language, I'm armed with the NYTimes Style Book AND Strunk and White!
Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 11:05 pm
Post subject:
We actually used to have a whole separate forum just for l33t gaming geeks and skillz. I think that went away with v1.0, though.
*waves a grandmotherly hand*
A Geomod engine? That's nice, dear. Run along and play, now. Have fun, children!
*see siggy for rationalization of behavior...*
Forum Grandmother
, because I hand out nicknames and hugs whether you want them or not. ^_^
Keeper of the Library and the Gateway to Haven
Nem: "It's the sort of face you just know is getting ready to poke you with something sharp."
BS: "...then insist you eat a brownie."
If we shadows have offended,
Think but this and all is mended...
Give me your hands if we be friends,
And Robin shall restore amends.
Back to top
Joined: 23 Mar 2008
Posts: 650
Location: Cardiff, UK
Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2009 4:01 am
Post subject:
Battle For Wesnoth v1.6 is out!
Come play =D See my artwork in-game. You know you want to
Keeper of Tristram's rings, and Felucca's very expressive ears.
Back to top
Joined: 22 Mar 2008
Posts: 1629
Location: Israel
Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2009 10:22 am
Post subject:
I hear Duke Nukem Forever is coming out soon! ^_^
Back to top
Joined: 18 Apr 2008
Posts: 2594
Location: Star Stuff
Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2009 12:25 pm
Post subject:
ROFL @ Tam!
Yep, Duke Nukem Forever! Aaaaaaaany day now...
There was another game like that, but now I don't recall what it was. It
have been Fallout 3, but I guess that's been solved now, hasn't it?
. Dubbed "Usagi" by AsA .
Keeper of the Siderean Swords
"If by chance some day you're not feeling well, and you should remember some silly thing I've said or done, and it brings back a smile to your face or a chuckle to your heart, then my purpose as your clown has been fulfilled."
Red Skelton
Back to top
Joined: 09 Jul 2008
Posts: 1800
Location: The boring part of Washington
Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2009 12:41 pm
Post subject:
Kameo was first announced for
the N64
. It was a release-game for
the 360
...In accordance with the prophesy.
TheBSDude, dubbed 'BS' by Asa and nicknamed 'Thebes.'
Keeper of the Tristam, The Amazing Non-Emo Vampire!(tm) and a Massive List of Webcomics.
"I'm like a ninja with no hopes or dreams." --Wally of
Back to top
Joined: 14 Apr 2008
Posts: 2141
Location: England
Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2011 12:27 pm
Post subject:
Today I think I've finished off most of the content from DA2....
Comments? More a novel than a game.
This is the game that's convinced me that what goes on in the gaming media has pretty much nothing to do with what goes in a game. Not that I didn't strongly suspect anyway, of course.
Spoilers here on in.
You'll make different choices and they won't change anything.
Anders in my first play through I helped him retrieve some ingredients that later turned out to be for a bomb. On my second play-through I didn't. And he still blew the place up. Your mother dies at one point, so on my second play through I hunted her killer three years earlier; but it turns out you're doomed to failure - no matter what you do she always dies. Your second sibling If you leave them behind when you go on one quest they either get captured or decide to go and join the Templars; if you bring them with you they catch the taint and die; if you bring the person who can cure the taint with you they still end up leaving the party. They're just scripted to be gone at that point in the story.
The conclusion of the second act has a fairly fundamentalist religious leader taking over the city he gives a big speech before the end where he's talking to the leaders of the city about how they're all selfish and only leave destruction in their wake; where's the choice to agree with him? Where's the 'He's right, you know. You people can all go hang for all I care.' choice? It would have been a delicious moment to burst into the hall just in time to hear the end of their speech. Have them all cheer for you, look left and right, nod to the fundamentalist and just walk out closing the doors behind you....
Or even to join up with him if you got chummy early enough.
You have to fight him or give him one of your party members and plot artefact, but either way you have to get rid of him.
Your choices are all the choices that don't matter. Kill a minor guy here or a guy there. Take a quest or don't. But since the quests just boil down to kill everything, with no long-term consequences, the only real question is whether you'd like some more XP or not. Even clearing the gangs out you'd think it would make the city a better place but no, the city is a hell-hole whatever you do.
Even the first time through the plot does not hang together well. The overall themes seems largely trivial. Outside of a few bosses there is little threat from the blood-mages that the Templars seem so obsessed about. They die like everyone else. And they're squishy wizards so it's not like it takes a lot of firepower just to shoot them at the outset of a fight.
Perhaps the reason the Templars find them so much trouble is they try to use swords, as compared to say crossbows.
There was a bloodmage it was awful.
Oh really, how did that end?
We shot him in the head.
There might have been an angle they could have worked flawed people doing a necessary job. In reality their whining just came off as unrealistic. The Templars abuse and exploit the mages apparently for no reason.
Though the mages weren't much better, almost all of them turning to bloodmagic whenever things got difficult. It's hard to have an engaging moral storyline about choices when both sides are as bad as each other. You may as well round them all up and kill them. Towards the end I just wished there was a 'You deserve each other, have fun.' Option.
Combat mechanics
I miss finishing moves. People just explode in this game, like blood filled balloons.
The stats may as well be forgotten if you put points into anything except your two main combat skills (dex-cun rogue, mag-will mage, str-con fighter) they're largely wasted; though most people will want to bump con to at least 16 by the end of the game.
There are effectively no real non-combat skills, bar that lock picking is changed by cun; but since anyone can do that you may as well just bump the archer's cunning all the way up and otherwise ignore it. If you even bother with chests that is.
There are some builds for rogues that optimise cunning criticals but the short term returns are so low that an end-game powerhouse isn't really a viable build.
Talents, skills, feats, spells whatever they're calling them at the moment - are distributed in such a way that you have to invest in the skill tree before you can get the upgrades to the talents you actually want. The entire point of designing the tree this way was supposed to be that you didn't end up with a whole bunch of skills you never wanted.
Enemies spawn in waves, in some cases just teleporting onto the field, which makes tactics of questionable importance. They've put in combos as in you have a warrior stun a bunch of people and then a spell from a mage gives 900% damage. It doesn't make any real sense. What difference should it make to a lightning bolt whether you're a bit wozzy before you get hit by it? Brace yourself for a zillion volts of electric death.... What difference does it make to a spell that lifts someone off their feet and slams them into the ground whether they're disoriented or not? What are they going to do? Catch themselves with their arms? Hate to point this out but catching yourself with your arms against any significant force is just a quick way to get your arms shattered.
Cone of cold is still amazingly overpowered. It's meant to be a hail Mary pass for close in when something's make a bee-line for your mages. Given that crowd control isn't much of an issue however it works out being a case where you'll flank the main group with a couple of mages and lay the whammy on.
Sigil spells are of very little utility.
Rogues' backstab is now an ability, so relative positioning is of little importance beyond the obvious pull everyone in with a warrior.
You probably won't pick up more than a smattering of utility skills outside of your main damage-dealing tree. The interplay between skills isn't up to much outside of the aforementioned combo systems.
Combat does, as promised, have a much faster pace. You can run through the skills very quickly and then you've got a fairly long cool-down time, especially with the rogue. Gives you a very large initial strike package offset by the enemies spawning in waves.
This is the meat of the thing. Bioware have always made good characters. It's nice that they seem to have their own lives in this one. Powerful people with powerful friends and all that. And they're interesting as far as they go.... Definitely easier to get into than the Dragon Age Origins characters since you don't have to bribe them with assorted trinkets. Meril's a sweetheart, Aveline's your traditional good person in a bad world, Varric's brutally pragmatic. You won't get a lot of this from talking to them though. Most of their characters are expressed through talking to each other.
'Oh are we going that way, I've never seen a huge dragon before.'
As with most of the game your choices are largely irrelevant to how things turn out. It's hard to get invested in characters, however well written, when you're not so much interacting with them as observing them.
Unless you're a stalker of course, then I guess it might be cool.
Overall? Should you buy it? No. If you want an RPG this doesn't have complex underlying mechanics, the choices or the investment in the world that
playing kind of requires. If you want a top down action game you should wait on Diablo 3 or go and pick up a copy of Torchlight. If you like small unit tactics executing in real time/pause --- well there actually aren't a lot of good games out there for that at the moment, but considering the shallow nature of the tactics here this wouldn't count among them anyway.
And an arbitrary score out of ten. (Because all things can be reduced to a simple number without showing any consistent weighting or really mentioning what is being measured....)
The march to reduce gaming to the lowest common denominator continues....
Never forget,
We stroll along the roof of hell
Gazing at flowers.
- Issa
Back to top
Joined: 23 Mar 2008
Posts: 258
Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 4:16 am
Post subject:
I'm not really allowed to comment on these things, but Tycho's got a good sense over at
Our studio had some really tough goals for DA2. Big company meeting we had a couple weeks ago was all about learning from the problems and building on the successes.
I think you'll find, even starting with the next DLC, some changes from feedback
I, for one, find DA2 to be a better game than the first. But then, the world and character story are what were always drawing me in...
Back to top
Display posts from previous:
All Posts
1 Day
7 Days
2 Weeks
1 Month
3 Months
6 Months
1 Year
Oldest First
Newest First
Forum Index
General Discussion
All times are GMT - 4 Hours
Jump to:
Select a forum
The Agora
Rules and Introductions
General Discussion
Forum Games
Plot, Character, and Current Page Discussion
The Louvre
Arts 'n Crafts
The Written Word
Serious RPG's
post new topics in this forum
reply to topics in this forum
edit your posts in this forum
delete your posts in this forum
vote in polls in this forum
Elveron phpBB theme/template by
Ulf Frisk
Michael Schaeffer
Copyright © Ulf Frisk, Michael Schaeffer 2004
Powered by
© 2001, 2002 phpBB Group


text:
to page content
to site navigation
The Policy Dialogue on Entrepreneurship Informs and connects thought leaders looking to understand policies that help entrepreneurs start companies, create jobs and re-start the economy. Sign up to receive our weekly update!
RSS Feed Link
Despite the profound impact of the banking sector collapse in 2008 on Iceland's economy, the island nation ranks 13th in this year's Global Innovation Index, 14th in the Ease of Doing Business rankings, and 23rd in the Index of Economic Freedom. There has been much debate and disagreement regarding the key steps that put this social-market economy on a path to successful recovery but no one denies the contribution of the more silent actors transforming the economy for the better—its entrepreneurs. I recently sat down in Reykjavik with President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson to learn about the entrepreneurs who are building what they call an "anti-fragile" entrepreneurship ecosystem.
The Policy Dialogue on Entrepreneurship brings to light various policies and initiatives to advance innovation and drive economic growth.
About the Authors
Get the Policy Blog delivered your way click here to subscribe in a reader or enter your email to receive the latest policy information delivered directly to your inbox!
Register today to receive news and updates from Entrepreneurship.org.
Past eNewsletters
View All


text:
True Merrell comfort as expected. They are a good wide fit which suits me fine. The strap across is good for keeping them on.
• Nubuck, mesh, and fabric upper
• Breathable mesh and pigskin lining treated with M Select Fresh odor control
• M Select Move Footbed treated with M Select Fresh odor control
• Molded nylon arch shank
• Merrell air cushion in the heel absorbs shock and adds stability
• Merrell QForm® Comfort midsole
• M Select GRIP tunes each outsole with durable traction that grips when and where you need it
Women's Sizes: 5-11
Women's Weight: 14ozs
True Merrell comfort as expected. They are a good wide fit which suits me fine. The strap across is good for keeping them on.
Sized as Expected
Work leisure
Great looking shoe, really comfy & very stylish. Brought them for holiday walking, Wished I brought these ages ago.
Sized as Expected
Out & about walking
Very comfortable
Sized as Expected
Great shoes! True to size, good round shape at the toes, good cushioning on heels and balls of feet. Very comfortable to wear, and the neutral colour goes with everything. I feel I have a very practical pair of shoes that are comfortable, but also a little bit pretty.
Sized as Expected
Everyday use - look good with jeans, and smart enough for looking good with skirts and dresses. Only had them a few weeks, but wearing them all the time.
Brilliant - the most comfortable shoes ever!
Sized as Expected
Walking many miles in Venice, on hard streets in the sunshine.


text:
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Letters, letters, I do get letters!
They fall into these categories:
People who want me to go somewhere: writing conferences, book club visits, library talks. I almost always say yes if it's nearby and I don't have a conflict. I no longer do workshops, the kind where I actually instruct, complete with handouts and Q&As. As much as I enjoy that, it takes a ton of preparation to do well, which takes away from my writing time. I found that one three-hour workshop on a Saturday took two days of prep: making copies, organizing my notes, outlining etc. Plus, the anticipation stresses me out. Ask me to show up and talk and I'm good to go. Otherwise, not so much.
Emails from people who want me to do something for them: blurb their books, mention their books on Twitter or Facebook, answer questions about publishing, buy their book. I always answer and some of this I do, but not much. I refer most of the self-publishing questions to the FAQ page on my website telling them to scroll down to the bottom to find helpful links. I've actually become wary of saying too much in emails to people I don't know, because recently it backfired on me when someone, without informing me, used my friendly email exchange as quotes in a negative article. He took my words out of context and actually made up whole sections, which he attributed to me.
Book bloggers sometimes email asking for a copy of one of my books for review. I always make sure they get a copy. Sometimes I have extra copies here at home and I'll send it out myself, other times I contact the publisher.
Sometimes people email asking if I will do a Q&A for their blog or site, or else if I'll write a blog post. If I'm knee-deep in writing a novel (which is always), I tend not to want to do a blog post, but Q&As are fun and easy, as long as there aren't too many questions, so most often I'm agreeable. I've met some really nice people this way--other authors, book bloggers, journalists. It's generally a plus for me to get the word out about my books, which I appreciate.
I also get emails from people who've read and enjoyed my books. These are my absolute favorite. Seriously, two sentences can make my day. If you ever feel compelled to email an author, musician, artist,etc. but don't because you think it won't make a difference, think again. Everyone loves positive feedback, and when you work in solitude, it doesn't happen that often. (As an addendum to this, I'm sure Stephen King and J.K. Rowling have probably heard it enough, but if you want to send them an email, feel free to do so.)
Other emails give me updates on my Facebook and Twitter account, both of which I've sadly neglected. Ditto for Goodreads. These emails just make me feel guilty, like hearing from a relative you've been meaning to call. I'm particularly hopeless at Facebook. It's a lifeline for the next generation, I know. They love the ease of it, the way you can share things (photos! news! comments! articles!) in a few moments' time. Me, not so much. I always hover over the button wondering, will anyone care about this? I hate to be a bother. I suspect I'm just not a social media person.
Spam comments for the blog come into my email for my approval. Spammers always post on older threads, as if I won't see them. They say things like: This is a very interesting post. You have managed to sum things up nicely. I will share it with all my family and friends. And then there's a link to some pharmaceutical thing. Lately I've been getting a lot of comments that look like they're written in Russian or Polish. And I mean A LOT of comments. Maybe one every other day? I'm never curious enough to Google translate. I just delete.
Work correspondence. Sometimes I still find it hard to believe that I can say things like, "My publicist says..." After so many years of being unpublished, it still feels pretty dreamlike. So I secretly feel very grown-up and accomplished when I send an email to my publisher asking questions about marketing plans or tax issues. The other day my son asked something when I was in my office and he was in the other room. I yelled out to him, "Just a minute. I need to finish this email to my German translator." When I said it I wasn't trying to be a show-off, but he was impressed and believe me, that almost never happens.
Personal emails from people I actually know. I love it when I can shoot back a response and not worry about grammatical mistakes etc. Email is great for sending links or photos, or a quick comment about something. My younger sister has two extremely cute little boys and sometimes I'm the lucky recipient of a photo or anecdote. I'm sure she also posts these on Facebook, but knowing I'm out of the loop she sends them to me via email. Seeing those little faces on my computer screen is a definite day-brightener.
And that pretty much covers what comes into my inbox. Feel free to share any email stories of your own.
15 comments:
- PV Lundqvist said...
One can't help that there are DBs out to abuse our trust. I just hope this doesn't affect your outlook.
You are so giving with your time and advice. - March 13, 2012 at 11:33 AM
- Karen McQuestion said...
PV, I had to think about what "DBs" might mean, and I laughed out loud when I figured it out. The one incident did affect my outlook a little bit, but considering that it was just one in many, I guess I've been lucky.
Thanks for leaving a comment. Next time leave a link to your book. :) - March 13, 2012 at 11:55 AM
- Bill B said...
Hmm, for years my wife & I have referred to dumb bunnies, but maybe that's a different DB ... ツ
I'm so glad to hear that you're inundated with happy emails - and that they far outnumber the other type! Kudos for taking the time to answer and be generous with your advice.
No email stories to share, although there were times at work when I'd be answering questions via 3 simultaneous, but totally separate, IM conversations and respond to the wrong person. Actually, maybe there are a couple good stories there, for another time! And once a note I [hand] wrote as a fan started a series of letters back & forth between me and Joan Baez's mom (her name is also Joan). I pull them out every few years when I need a laugh -- the lady was a scream! - March 13, 2012 at 11:13 PM
- Christina said...
Christina - firstname.lastname@example.com - Yes, emails are great - but they can also be a burden - when I find myself spending an hour answering emails it seems like too much! When is Road Trip coming out?
- March 13, 2012 at 11:27 PM
- H.S. Stone said...
This is a very interesting post. You have managed to sum things up nicely. I will share it with all my family and friends.
But seriously, thanks for the insight on the emails you get. How much time do you wind up spending on email vs. writing? - March 14, 2012 at 2:21 PM
- Karen McQuestion said...
Hey Bill, when I was growing up I remember hearing the expression "dumb bunnies." Maybe it's a Midwestern thing?
Someday I'd love to hear all your stories!
Christina, THE ROAD TRIP (now titled THE LONG WAY HOME) comes out May 1st. As soon as I get some copies, I'll send one your way. I really appreciate your continued interest. :)
H.S. Stone, your comment was funny! I'm not sure how much time I spend on emails--a few hours a week? More than I want to, anyway. I could probably do it in less time but I still hold to old conventions and use punctuation, correct capitalization etc. - March 15, 2012 at 8:40 AM
- Jon Olson said...
I get email from, uh, my mom, my sisters, my, uh, spammers. Love it all (not so much the spammers). People used to write letters, then the phone took over, which left no record. Someday, for those lucky enough to get famous, scholars will e-publish books titled "Selected E-mails of Karen McQuestion" (or insert your favorite author).
Jon O.
The Petoskey Stone
The Ride Home - March 16, 2012 at 10:56 AM
- Karen McQuestion said...
A book of my e-mails would be really boring--I'd be the first to admit that. I am really curious about the ones you get from your mom though...I'll bet there are some family secrets lurking there
- March 17, 2012 at 12:36 PM
Hello Karen,
My sis, Gail Toerpe, just heard your talk in Milwaukee and was very impressed. She called me and advised that I look into you web page as I am a story teller who would like to publish a story of mine. It is a childrens story, very short, about 1500 words, done in rhyme like the Seuss stories and I wonder if I could E-pub something of that nature? Have you ever used Lulu? - March 18, 2012 at 7:55 PM
- Karen McQuestion said...
Hi Paul, I sent you an email because my response would have been too long for a comment. Thanks for stopping by.
- March 19, 2012 at 7:50 AM
Karen, Very much obliged for your response to my previous inquiry but I have not yet received the E-mail you mentioned. I realize how busy you must be but I had really looked forward to your reply. If you can, will you try again to send the E-mail. My E-dress is firstname.lastname@example.com. Also, how can I get my avatar up on these comment posts like the rest of you do?
- March 21, 2012 at 11:00 AM
- Karen McQuestion said...
Paul, another email has been sent! Fingers crossed that this one makes it.
- March 21, 2012 at 7:09 PM
- Shayne Parkinson said...
I'm sure my email traffic is a tiny fraction of yours, but I do love hearing from readers! Some messages move me to tears (they tend to be personal, and I can only refer to them in the vaguest of terms), while others make me laugh out loud. I got one from a reader who said she had her friends had decided to move to New Zealand and camp outside my gate to make me get the next book out sooner - "And you should be frightened, because we're Texans," she told me. :) There's a hair stylist who's... um... suggesting to all her clients that they should try my books. There's an office full of readers who sent me a picture of them all holding book/ereaders aloft showing my covers.
They certainly keep me motivated if I should dare even consider giving up. - March 21, 2012 at 7:20 PM
- Karen McQuestion said...
Shayne, you really can't leave a comment like that without posting a link so people can find your books! For those who want to check out Shayne's books look here.
Thanks for leaving a comment! - March 21, 2012 at 7:30 PM
- Shayne Parkinson said...
Thank you, Karen, that's very kind of you!
- March 21, 2012 at 7:53 PM


text:
Brown: Beavers, Jacksons show Chicago politics is a small, sad world
BY MARK BROWN March 21, 2013 8:28PM
Cook County Commissioner William Beavers speaks after being found guilty on all counts at the Everett M. Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago, Ill., on Thursday, March 21, 2013. | Andrew A. Nelles~Sun-Times Media
Related Stories
Updated: April 23, 2013 2:41PM
I'd totally forgotten how Cook County Commissioner William Beavers got that nickname, The Hog with the Big Nuts, but in the wake of his tax conviction Thursday, a reminder is in order.
It started with a federal lawsuit brought against Beavers by a sheriff's office supervisor. The guy claimed he'd been demoted for reprimanding two deputies who allegedly performed illegal campaign work for Beavers and County Board President Todd Stroger.
The sheriff's employee said he'd had a conversation with Beavers in which the veteran Democratic politician had called himself the "hog with the big nuts" in an effort to intimidate him.
Beavers admitted to reporters he used the phrase, but denied any effort to intimidate, leaving the true context to our imagination.
What I'd never noticed until rereading the story Thursday is that the lawyer who sued Beavers was one Vickie Pasley, more recently in the news as the campaign treasurer for Jesse Jackson Jr.
It was Pasley who was asleep at the switch while the congressman and his wife Sandi looted his campaign funds and hid it from the IRS. At the time of that lawsuit, Sandi was running for 7th Ward alderman against Beavers' daughter, Darcel, who had been appointed to the position to replace her father after he helped engineer Stroger's election.
Now it's Beavers who has been found guilty of using his campaign funds as a personal piggybank without giving the IRS its share.
Small world. Small, dysfunctional world of Chicago politics.
I spent that Election Day 2007 in the field with Darcel and William Beavers, an old-time political machine facing down a new-fangled one in the Jacksons.
Beavers was confident his daughter would win as we toured the precincts, so confident he convinced me. He was stunned when Jackson won easily.
The voters in the 7th Ward thought they were ushering in a brave new world of reform politics. Instead, Sandi Jackson and Beavers are now probably looking at similar prison sentences.
On the outside at least, Beavers took that 2007 loss much harder than the one dealt him in court Thursday — seeing his dreams dashed of starting a family political dynasty apparently being a tougher pill to swallow than the prospect of incarceration.
That could change as Beavers starts to come to grips with the fact that this conviction isn't likely to go away on appeal.
After being indicted, he called former U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald a "rooster without nuts, a capon," in furtherance of his barnyard imagery.
He once called Cook County Clerk David Orr "a little poop butt."
Lucky for him, he didn't go quite that far in insulting U.S. District Judge James Zagel as "really unfair" in his handling of the case.
"What can the judge do to me?" Beavers asked rhetorically while discussing the verdict.
He can put him in prison for three years, for one thing, and while I wouldn't anticipate a sentence quite that long for the 78-year-old Beavers, he might want to rethink his approach between now and that day.
Beavers may be too proud to show any contrition.
"Listen, I ain't got no regrets at all. I take my lumps," said Beavers, who has contended from the start that he was only targeted for prosecution because he refused to cooperate in a separate federal investigation.
"I'm not a stool pigeon, never will be," he repeated.
Beavers also told reporters that "I haven't lost a dime" gambling, despite Horseshoe Casino records showing he dropped nearly a half million dollars in three years. I remember on that election night he was having trouble doing the percentages, too. Maybe it's a math thing.
Beavers also boldly proclaimed: "There's no law against what I did. There's no law against gambling with campaign funds."
Technically, the second sentence is correct.
Illinois law does not expressly prohibit politicians from using campaign funds to gamble, an oversight that should be fixed immediately.
Nor does it expressly prohibit them from borrowing money from their campaign funds, enabling them to use it as an off-the books personal piggybank as Beavers did. That should be changed, too.
But as the jury verdict should have made clear to Beavers, a politician who does either of those things without reporting it to the Internal Revenue Service or disclosing it to the State Board of Elections is playing with fire.
Beavers' burns are entirely self-inflicted.


text:
- celebrities
Beyoncé's Rubin Singer Super Bowl Outfit: Shop It Out
Let's face it, kids: the Baltimore Ravens may have technically defeated the San Francisco 49ers in last night's Super Bowl XLVII (final score: 34-31), but it was one Beyoncé Knowles who really won the damn thing. During the widely-watched event's halftime show, Bey wowed the world with a performance that combined some of her best solo hits ("Crazy in Love," "Halo") with—surprise!—a reunion with her Destiny's Child bandmates, Michelle Williams and Kelly Rowland. Together, the trio belted out "Bootylicious," "Independent Women" and "Single Ladies"—and we fully flipped out.
To create her stage outfit, as well as those for her dancers and Michelle Williams, Beyoncé turned to NYC-based designer Rubin Singer, with whom she's worked many times in the past. According to this morning's press release, the pair began working on Bey's look back in December, and it took five fittings and over 200 hours of work to finalize.
The end result? A black leather cropped moto jacket with bold shoulders and a matching wrap skirt, which the star quickly removed to reveal an armor-like black leather bodysuit crafted from panels of python, iguana and lace. Based on Singer's Fall 2013 collection, titled "Valkyrie's Dominion," the ensemble was meant to communicate female power, strength and sexuality—qualities that Bey possesses in spades, obviously.
"This piece is truly couture in every way," the designer explained. "My seamstresses were assembling all of the leather and exotic skins individually by hand. All of the pieces were separate details that were all constructed on her body. We had to make the bodysuit have a tremendous range of motion and flexibility. Beyoncé is such a fierce and intense performer we could not have the outfit constrict her in any way."
Mission accomplished, Mr. Singer. Want to get Beyoncé's look but, ahem, "don't think you can handle this?" Try one of the likeminded leather dresses below instead!
Photo: WireImage
Sketch: Courtesy of Rubin Singer
Keep up with the Lucky team on Twitter: Follow @LuckyMagazine
- celebrities
- celebrities


text:
Featured Events
- Blackhawks tickets
- Bruins tickets
- Cavaliers tickets
- Kentucky Derby tickets
- Knicks tickets
- Masters Golf Tournament tickets
- MLB All Star Game tickets
- Monster Energy AMA Supercross tickets
- Monster Jam tickets
- NCAA Tournament tickets
- Rangers tickets
- Red Sox tickets
- SF Giants tickets
- WWE - World Wrestling Entertainment tickets
- WWE WrestleMania tickets
We're sorry, but we currently have no tickets available for this event.
Check out our full selection of Baseball tickets or sign up to be notified when tickets for this event are available.
How to Purchase World Baseball Classic Tickets
National pride is always a sensational incentive for the world's best baseball players to show off their skills, and with 2015 World Baseball Classic tickets, you can be in the stands when 16 teams from around the world battle for global supremacy. This fantastic, international tournament happens just once every four years, and it's the first of its kind to feature squads boasting professional players from the world's major leagues. Vivid Seats has plenty of premium World Baseball Classic tickets for you to witness MVPs, Cy Young winners, and Gold Glove winners, as they represent their countries in this unique event. Examine the 2015 World Baseball Classic schedule above to ensure that you know when the games are coming to a stadium near you, and from there, just follow our easy directions to assure your chance to witness every pitch live. Here's how to purchase World Baseball Classic tickets:
- Familiarize yourself with the World Baseball Classic schedule above, and then choose the game that you want to attend. When you've chosen, just click on the red "Tickets" link, and you'll be able to see our entire inventory of WBC tickets for the selected game.
- Make use of our convenient tools like the price range bar and quantity filter to narrow in on the seats that work best for you. Our filters minimize the number of tickets that show on the screen so that only the ones that fit your criteria appear. Click "Buy" to advance to checkout.
- Log into your Vivid Seats account, or create a new one, and fill out the correct billing and shipping information on the checkout page. Our 100% Buyer Guarantee assures that your World Baseball Classic tickets are authentic and will arrive in time for the game. If you have any questions of concerns, you can always reach us via the Live Chat feature, or by phone at 1.866.848.8499.
World Baseball Classic News
2013 World Baseball Classic Schedule Released
For the third time in this tournament's fine history, 16 teams from around the world are set to battle on the baseball diamond. The 2013 World Baseball Classic schedule has been released, and the first pitch is set to be thrown on March 2 at Fukuoka Yahoo! Japan Dome in Fukuoka, Japan. Once again, the squads for this incredible tournament are comprised of baseball's brightest stars from leagues around the world. Play will start with the first round, which features four pools (A,B,C,D) with four teams each. These pools will battle amongst themselves in a round-robin format, and then the top two teams at each venue will advance to one of two second-round pools, consisting of a modified double-elimination format. The second round will be played at the Tokyo Dome in Japan and Miami's Marlins Park from March 8-15. In the past two classics, Japan has emerged as the world champion.
Pool A will be played at the Fukuoka Yahoo! Japan Dome from March 2-6, and will consist of Brazil, China, Cuba, and Japan. Pool B plays at Intercontinental Baseball Stadium in Taichung, Taiwan, from March 2-5, featuring Australia, Chinese Taipei, Korea, and the Netherlands. Pool C will play at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico, from March 7-10, with the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Spain, and Venezuela. Lastly, Pool D will be played at Chase Field and Salt River Fields at Talking Stick in Arizona, from March 7-10. The teams competing there will be Canada, Italy, Mexico, and the United States. The championship round will take place at AT&T Park in San Francisco, and is slated for March 19. 2013 World Baseball Classic tickets are on sale now, so don't miss your chance to witness this incredible event live.


text:
If you pulled all or some of your retirement investments out of the market in 2008 or 2009 and have been sitting on the sidelines, you are not alone. I see and hear about this situation often.
It is great that you have a healthy fear of the market, but perhaps, you are in a situation in which you need to get some sort of return on your money, as sitting in cash alone is not going to get you where you need to be.
Leaving your money in cash essentially depletes your assets. For example, the Vanguard Money Market Fund pays 0.04 percent and Northern Trust pays 0.15 percent (and there is an annual $25 charge for the account).
Compare that with 2011's 3.2 percent inflation rate and that of the end of March: 2.9 percent. This number is called "core" inflation, which means it does not include food and energy cost increases. Taking inflation into account, for every $10,000 you have in a money market fund, you are losing approximately $280 in spending power.
Food and energy are not included in what is typically reported as "core" inflation as the price changes are more volatile, and experts feel that these factors skew the inflation number unrealistically. However, food and energy very much contribute to household expenses. Over the last 12 months (ending February 2012), food rose by 4.5 percent, and energy increased by a whopping 12.6 percent.
To calculate your personal inflation rate, assume conservatively that one-third of your expenditures is split equally between food and energy. Then, your personal inflation rate becomes 4.7 percent. Under this scenario, a $10,000 money market fund loses $460 per year. A $50,000 balance loses $2,300 a year.
An alternative? Consider a diversified investment portfolio that will give you more return. Recognize that you will risk some principal as you move up the scale of potential returns.
My next blog will discuss getting back into the market if you have been holding much of your assets in cash.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and should not be interpreted as individualized investment advice. Investment objectives, risk tolerances and the financial situation of individual investors may vary. Please consult your financial and tax advisors before investing.


text:
Audrey Quinn
Contributing Writer
Audrey Quinn is a Brooklyn-based multimedia journalist focused on health, tech and the economy. Her radio stories can be heard on Marketplace, Studio 360, PRI's The World, NPR's Latino USA, Deutsche Welle Radio and The Believer Magazine podcast. In addition to her work with CBS Interactive she produces multimedia science stories for online publications and is a teaching assistant at the Transom Story Workshop. Her investigative work has been awarded by the Fund for Investigative Journalism and The Nation Institute's Investigative Fund. Follow her on Twitter. Disclosure


text:
Free Entry
Bait Reef, in the Whitsundays area of the Great Barrier Reef, is situated to the west of Hook and Hardy Reefs, and is one of the best known and most spectacular locations on the Great Barrier Reef. Gary's Lagoon is well protected, making it a great site for snorkellers and beginner divers. The coral cover is excellent and the lagoon makes for easy diving before venturing into deeper water just outside the entrance. The lagoon is home to all sorts of tropical marine life including large soft corals, reef fish, turtles, wobbegongs and the occasional manta ray.
... moreVisibility: 10 - 20 metres
Diving depth: 4 - 18 metres
Bottom: Walls forming inlets are solid coral, bottom is sand with scattered, low coral bommies.
Other sites on Bait Reef are the Manta Ray Drop Off, the Stepping Stones and the Southern Face. All rank very highly amongst experience divers and all offer very different diving experiences down to a depth of 36 metres.
... lessDive Rating:
Dive Type:
Dive Activities:
* Please note: These rates are indicative based on the minimum and maximum available costs of listed products and services. To obtain a firm price from the provider, please use the contact the operator. All prices are quoted in Australian dollars.


text:
You've read all of your free items this month.
To register, get added benefits and unlimited access to articles, Become a Member. Already a Member? Sign in.
Understanding the customer disruptors that drive churn
Want more Access, Content & Connections? Upgrade to Membership.
We are glad you are enjoying Advertising Age. To get uninterrupted access and additional benefits, become a member today.
Already a member? Log in.


text:
Colorblock Stripe Bodycon Dress
Style # 207778
There's no better way to make a statement than in a figure-accentuating bodycon dress with high-impact stripes. Try this bebe dress with a denim jacket for day and your highest pair of heels for night.
- 92% nylon, 8% spandex
- Center back to hem: 29" (74 cm)
- Machine wash according to care label
- Made in USA
- Model is 5'9" and is wearing a US size S
Colorblock Stripe Bodycon Dress
Thin material !
This is a cute dress, it rides up as you walk. Like a reverse sock! I'm not sure how the model in the photo was able to stretch the material long enough to her a picture in?
July 17, 2013
Great quality!
Love the dress! Exactly what I was expecting to get! Received so many complements the 1st time I wore it!!!
July 14, 2013
Riding Stripes
I think the material is purposely super light weight which makes it great for a hot, summer day. There is a sweater version of this dress for those who want a thicker feeling material.
This dress rides up as I move so my choices are to spend the day pulling the dress down or wear tights under it and hope for the best.
I do like the way the stripes are laid out. Usually stripes make me look big, but because they become so small in the middle, the big look is a non issue here.
May 8, 2013
Cute, Sexy Summer Dress!
I think this dress is very cute and I like the skinnier stripes around the mid-section. The material is pretty thin and because of that there is plenty of stretch. With warmer weather coming soon, this dress will be perfect for hot summer nights in the desert. It shows your curves well and you will attract attention. I'm 5 ft, 6 in,135 lbs and bought M\L. P\S may have worked with this one.
April 11, 2013
Very thin material
The only thing I love about this dress is the pattern. I like how it has the black colorblock at the top. However, the material is so very thin. I have stockings thicker than this. It feels like a cheap dress. I own a lot of Bebe dresses and tops, and I have never seen such thin material. It also rides up as I walk. I am definitely returning this one. I hope Bebe remakes this dress design in their usual quality material.
March 30, 2013
1-5 of 5


text:
You are currently on:
Couples Spa Day Deluxe
This luxury couples spa day for two people offers the finest of pampering. Relax and unwind with a glass of champagne to start the day, you will have a one hour spa treatment each and full use of the luxury spa facilities.
This luxury spa day for two people takes place at a selection of UK wide luxury Day Spas. All spas have been chosen for their five star spa facilities and impeccable service.
Your sensational couples spa day experience will include:
A 60 minute luxury Spa treatment each.
Choose one of the following luxury Spa treatments each:
Full body massage (60 minutes)
Feel the stresses and strains of everyday life disappear with a relaxing deep tissue or aromatherapy massage.Luxury Full Facial (60 minutes)
Lie back and close your eyes whilst we take you on a heavenly journey with a one hour facial. This fabulous experience will calm the mind and invigorate the body. -
A glass of wine or champagne
Choose which ever you prefer and enjoy with your partner.
Full Use of the Facilities
Facilities include:
- Sauna
- Steam room
- Spa pools
- Experience showers
- Plunge pool
- Various relaxation areas
Also dressing gown, slippers, and towel use*
Customer Reviews
Be the first to review this product
Locations Available
You can take this experience at any of the following locations:
- Chester
- Glasgow
- Harrogate
- Isle of Wight
- Kings Lynn
- Liverpool
- Manchester
- Reading
- Sheffield
- Sudbury
Please Note
This experience is valid for 12 months from date of purchase. The wet facilities will vary slightly between locations. Please bring appropriate swimwear. This is not suitable for spectators. This experience is for two people only. This experience is available seven days per week. Towels will be provided. Facilities will vary slightly between locations. All locations do not include alcohol this will be replaced with alternative refreshments.
Valid at one of the following locations:
Ufford Park, Woodbridge, Suffolk
The Dower House Hotel, Harrogate
Hilton Sheffield Furnival Road, Sheffield
Holiday Inn, Wharfedale Road, Reading
Imagine Spa Kings Lynn
Sienna at Radisson, Peter Street, Manchester
Houghton Hall, Sudbury, Suffolk
Moorside Grange, Higher Disley, Cheshire
Green Health & Fitness, Liverpool
Marriott Hotel, Glasgow
Rookery Hall Hotel & Spa, Nantwich, Cheshire
Norton House Hotel & Spa, Edinburgh
Brandshatch Place & Spa, Fawkham, Kent
New Hall Hotel & Spa, Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, West Midlands
Wood Hall Hotel & Spa, Wetherby, West Yorkshire
Crabwall Manor Hotel, Chester, Cheshire
Mollington Banastre Hotel, Chester. Cheshire
Utopia Spa, Sandown Isle of Wight
- Price: £159.00
- Add to Wishlist
- Add to Basket
- Print Temporary Voucher
Write Your Own Review
You are reviewing: Couples Spa Day Deluxe
You May Also Be Interested in these Gift Experience Days
J'Adore Spa Day
A beautiful spa day with your choice of fabulous treatment in the Lakes.
£80.00 - North West -
1 Night Spa Break For 2 (Scotland)
A luxury nights break, including a deluxe spa treatment each.
£169.00 - Scotland -
Fashion Makeover for 2
An unbelievable Photoshoot where you will both look and feel like a true celebritie.
£89.00 - Midlands -
Spa Day for 2 London
A luxury spa day for two in Knightsbridge, London.
£199.00 - London