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The Grand Teton Music Festival was a fantastic and all too brief experience, and, as you might have guessed from the photo above, the music was not the only attraction. Jackson Hole is an extraordinary (and ridiculously photogenic) part of the world. We were fortunate enough to have two whole days to play with before rehearsals started, so we spent a good deal of them exploring the Grand Teton National Park. The scenery just never stops and it's impossible to resist snapping a photo every two or three seconds – all the while knowing you'll never do the place justice. The wildlife was pretty nifty too; we didn't spot any bears, alas, but we did see several moose (a couple at remarkably close range) and a whole herd of buffalo.
The music in question was pretty thrilling too of course. Donald Runnicles conducted Beethoven 8 and then a selection of excerpts from Die Walküre, featuring my tenor as Siegmund, Heidi Melton as Sieglinde and Brünnhilde, and Donnie Ray Albert as Wotan. So we basically had all of Act I minus the Hunding bits; Brünnhilde Hojotoho-ing; and Wotan's farewell. Not a bad way to hear Walküre, actually, if that's not a heretical thing to say. Although I did miss the Todesverkündigung.
Walk Festival Hall, where the concerts took place, is quite a special place to hear Wagner: it's very small (685 seats) and quite intimate, with the first row of seating at the same level as the stage and subsequent rows quite steeply raked. So not only do you hear everything clearly, you can see everything (and everybody) as well; a fascinating contrast to my last Walküre, in the dark, cavernous depths of the Met. Wagner is vast and magical enough to envelope you in almost any acoustic, but in a small space like this, it was especially intense. Nor did it hurt to have a master such as Runnicles on the podium, or the fabulous forces of the Grand Teton Festival Orchestra (most of them on summer break from other excellent American orchestras), or three such thrilling soloists.
We'd gladly have stayed longer than the week allotted. But the symphony orchestras of Australia were calling – so at 6am on the morning after the second concert, not yet having slept, we were off to Jackson Hole Airport, whence we flew home to Orlando for all of twenty-four hours before heading to Tasmania. I hope we have a chance to return to Jackson Hole one day. Mountains, moose and wonderful music: what more could a person want?


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Hot Pockets Pastries Recalled
Feb. 19, 2014 -- About 238,000 cases of Hot Pockets pastries are being recalled because the products may contain recalled meat, Nestle USA says.
The voluntary recall by Nestle includes three different sizes of Philly Steak and Cheese Hot Pockets and Hot Pockets Croissant Crust Philly Steak and Cheese products in the two-pack box, NBC News reported.
The products may contain beef produced in 2013 and recalled last week by Rancho Feeding Corp. The meat produced at its Petaluma, Calif. plant was recalled because it came from "diseased and unsound animals" that were processed without full inspection, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service.
Nestle discovered that a company in its supply chain bought meat from Rancho, NBC News reported.
"From this review, we have confirmed that a small quantity of meat from Rancho was used at Nestle's Chatsworth, California production operation, a facility devoted entirely to Hot Pockets brand sandwiches," the company said in news release.
The recalled Hot Pockets products were distributed across the country. Consumers can return the products or phone Nestle at 1-800-392-4057.
No illnesses have been reported in connection with the recalled meat from Rancho Feeding Corp, according to the USDA. The plant closed voluntarily last week and officials are investigating its processes and products, NBC News reported.
The recalled meat was distributed to at least 974 vendors in California, as well as to some in Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington, according to USDA officials.
Copyright © 2013-2014 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
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subset: commoncrawl


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Terrena Lynn Blackman Pleads Guilty in U.S. Federal Cour
Bill Mercer, United States Attorney for the District of Montana, announced today that during a federal court session in Great Falls on December 3, 2009, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Keith Strong, TERRENA LYNN BLACKMAN, a 25-year-old resident of Browning, pled guilty to theft from a health care facility. Sentencing is set for March 15, 2010. She is currently released on special conditions.
In an Offer of Proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Carl E. Rostad, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
The Blackfeet Care Center is an agency of tribal government providing health care services to members of the Blackfeet Tribe, and other qualifying patients, on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation.
BLACKMAN began working for the Care Center in 2007 as the Business Office Assistant. As part of her duties, BLACKMAN was charged with the reconciliation of bank statements and Care Center checks.
Between November 12, 2008, and December 1, 2008, BLACKMAN wrote thirteen checks on the account of the Blackfeet Care Center and forged the signature of her supervisor to negotiate the fraudulent checks into cash. When the fraudulent checks came back into her possession after their negotiation and return to the Care Center by the bank, BLACKMAN shredded most or all of the fraudulent checks.
When confronted by employees of the Care Center, BLACKMAN admitted to the embezzlement and was terminated.
The loss amount to the Care Center was $3,100.
BLACKMAN faces possible penalties of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and 3 years supervised release.
The investigation was conducted by the Blackfeet Tribal Investigations Internal Affairs.
A copy of the Offer of Proof can be obtained by contacting Sally Frank at (406) 247-4638.


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OOC: From the Gothita herd.
Printable View
OOC: From the Gothita herd.
(Ah, so she just brought a load of angry Gothita into a city.)
May shook her head. "Nevermind. Let's just keep going." They went on walking for a bit.
OOC: No, they ran the wrong way, into Lostlorn Forest.
In the gym, Ciarda looked around and realized she had to heal her Pokemon, so she ran to the Pokemon Center.
Meanwhile, in Lostlorn Forest, the Gothita herd planned revenge.
"R-Right," Ian said, walking along with May through the forest.
As she walked along Route 16, Sala looked up at the humans working above her curiously.
The Gothita herd ran over some Pokemon. It was a Hoothoot.
Ciarda finished her roller coaster ride and got off. I hope Elesa's here.
May saw the end of the Forest nearing. "Black City, huh? Do you want to stay here, or keep g-?" she froze as she was tackled by a wild Ralts. "Uh! Wha... Oh, Ralts! Auros, could you use..."
Auros was one step ahead of her. He attacked with a Force Palm that instantly knocked out the low-leveled pokemon.
As she threw the pokeball and caught the Ralts, May couldn't help thinking, I was just about to ask him to use Force Palm, but it was like he knew. Was it because he's a Lucario and can sense Aura, or...?
(Sorry that battle was really fast, but the pokemon there are lvl. 5. Most battles are going to be more realistic and elaborate, though.)
Tanisa looked around and saw Elesa. Ciarda kept up with it when she burst.
OOC: Xelda, time for the Elesa entry!
"Are you alright?" Ian asked as the Ralts was fought back. "I think we should keep moving before something else decides to attack us."
Making her way out of Route 16, Sala set off across Marvelous Bridge cheerfully.
In Nimbasa City, the Gothita Herd trampled a Petilil.
(Sorry for being REALLLLLLLLLLY late. I'm hopeless at keeping time D:)
Zach was sitting at his desk, Fiddling with a rock he'd found in his shoe. He had felt a pull. Like he had a magnet inside of him and it was physically pulling him. He checked his shirt to see if anyone had tied fishing wire to him. Nope. Ah well, I maze well go and check the forest! I might see one of those newly migrated sinnoh pokemon! Whats with all the other region pokemon, Anyway?
Bagon (You know what, I'm going to give him a nickname. Barry sounds good.). Barry was sitting in the forset, Being excluded from the other pokemon's play. He looked "Different". He hated being different. The other pokemon talked about him being a weird colour for a bagon, So they picked on him and such. While he was sitting down, Moping over why he was different, He felt a strong pull. It got stronger. Barry stumbled toward the opening, where the berry trees are. He ate one and moved on. Zach kept following the pull and his gut feeling. Suddenly, The pull stopped for both of them. They were left, Staring at each other. Zack opened his mouth to speak, But couldn't. He thought he'd be silly to ask a pokemon its name, But he did. He couldn't really say anything else. To his suprise, The Bagon responded: Barry. Zach had had enough suprises. He sat down on a rock. Barry followed him over. He was talking about how all the forest pokemon exclude him because of his colour. Zach had never seen another Bagon before so he insisted Barry was normal. He then realised he and Barry had a lot in common, And asked him if he wanted to go on an adventure. Barry, Of course, Said "Sure, Why not?". They ran to Zach's house and packed their bag with some essentials, And 2 pokeballs he'd snuk from his mothers pokemon supplies. He yelled to his mother he'd be gone for a bit, And that she could ring him if she needed to. He then started running out of Nuvema town. He ran smack-bang into the back of someone. "Ouch, Sorry!" Zach exclaimed. I'm off on an adventure with Barry! (Correct me if I'm wrong, But I'm sure it was trainer_ebony on that route. Respond :3)
(Might wanna smow down abit. :P paragraphs rather than a big block makes things easier on the eyes. And speaking parts are easier to seperate from the rest if you bold, color or italicize it. the later is IMO but still)
Just as hes starting off, someone slams into his back and sends him stumbling forward. Catching himself with his hands on the ground, and in the same fluid motion, turning around and standing back up, Kyo looks at the guy who hit him and sighs. "The world isnt gonna go anywhere, so slow down... Id assume Barry is that Bagon?"
Ivy stays clung to Kyo's shoulder the whole time, keeping her position as easily as her trainer saved his own, the same annoyed look on her face as her trainer bares. "Sni vy vy!" She yells, as if scolding them.
"Yes! Barry is Bagon! Isn't he awesome? Nice snivy." Ignoring rude remarks about running into the back of the guy in front of him, Zach asks his name.
@trainer_ebony; Doing this so you reply asap :P
"OK," May agreed. They went into the gate just outside.
Elesa turned around. "What? Do you need something?" She asked, startled.
"Sounds crazy, but there is an angry Gothita herd out to attack me." said Ciarda. "And I think they're in the city now."
Kyo sighed again in annoyance. "I'm Kyouhei, and this is Ivy.."
"Vy vy..." Ivy adds. To anyone, its clear shes already very much like her trainer.


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Mr. R.J. Gibson
Assistant Professor of English
(304) 473-8086
A former Lambda Literary Foundation Poetry Fellow, Wesleyan graduate R.J. Gibson holds an MFA in Poetry from the Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College. He is the author of the chapbooks Scavenge (co-winner of the 2009 Robin Becker Prize) and You Could Learn a Lot (winner of the 2012 Editor's Series), both from Seven Kitchens Press. His writing has appeared in a variety of journals and anthologies. Earlier this year, he was a semifinalist for the prestigious Discovery/Boston Review prize.
Ms. Ashley Lawson
Assistant Professor of English
Ashley Lawson teaches gender studies, literature, and composition. She is currently completing a doctorate from the University of Nebraska. Her research interests include women's modernism, twentieth century American literature, and women's studies.
Dr. Lynn M. Linder
Assistant Professor of English
(304) 473-8805
Lynn M. Linder teaches British literature, gender studies, literary theory, and composition. She has published scholarly articles on nineteenth-century British literature and Irish gothic fiction. Her current book project, Gothic Traces, Sensational Selves: The Diary and Victorian Fiction, brings together her research interests in the English novel, gothic literature, and life-writing.
Dr. William Mallory
Professor of English
(304) 473-8067
William Mallory teaches African literature, Asian literature, and Russian literature in translation. He co-edited a book entitled Literature and Geography: A Meeting of the Disciplines and has participated in NEH summer institutes. He coordinates the Humanities Program.
Dr. Devon McNamara
Professor of English
(304) 473-8243
Devon McNamara teaches Shakespeare, Irish literature, creative writing, and humanities. Her poems, essays, reviews, and interviews have appeared in a number of publications, including The Christian Science Monitor. She leads cultural tours of Ireland and East Central Europe for Wesleyan students.
Mr. Richard Schmitt
Associate Professor of Creative Writing & English
(304) 473-8853
Richard Schmitt teaches creative writing, short fiction, and composition. Author of the acclaimed novel The Aerialist, he has published stories in a number of literary magazines. His work was included in New Stories from the South: The Year?s Best. He is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts grant.
Ms. Jessie van Eerden
Assistant Professor of English
(304) 473-8329
Jessie van Eerden teaches creative writing and composition. She is the author of the novel Glorybound(WordFarm, 2012). Her essays and short fiction have appeared in The Oxford American, River Teeth, Bellingham Review and other publications, and her prose has been included in Best American Spiritual Writing and Red Holler: An Anthology of Contemporary Appalachian Literature. Van Eerden is also the director of Wesleyan's Low-Residency MFA in Creative Writing Program. Read some of her work at jessievaneerden.com.
Mr. Douglas Van Gundy
Assistant Professor of English
(304) 473-8523
Doug Van Gundy teaches creative writing, Appalachian literature, and humanities. His first book of poetry, A Life Above Water, was published in 2007, and his poems and essays have appeared in The Oxford American, Ecotone, and The Fretboard Journal. He is currently Director of the Honors Program.
Dr. Eric Waggoner
Associate Professor of English
(304) 473-8240
Eric Waggoner teaches American literature, literary theory, and composition. As Departmental Coordinator, he directs the senior thesis program. He has written scholarly articles and film and music journalism for a variety of publications, including The Village Voice. His music criticism appeared in Kill Your Idols: A New Generation of Rock Writers Considers the Classics.


text:
Changing the default install path
Changing the default install path
To perform a clean install of Windows into a directory other than winnt (default), without having to perform a parallel install, use an answer file or other time-consuming methods, just create a set of bootup disks (4) for Windows 2000 Server.
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On disk 1, open the file "txtsetup.sif", and search for the entry "defaultpath=winnt". Modify this path so it reads "defaultpath=wtsrv" or whatever you would like the default to be.
I use this method when setting up terminal servers, as it then allows me to query the %windir% variable & identify customers that are logging in via WTS. This way I can branch out & not execute SMS, anti-virus, etc. commands for such customers.
Dig deeper on Windows Server Troubleshooting
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pecorino cheese
[peh-kuh-REE-noh]
In Italy, cheese made from sheep's milk is known as pecorino . Most of these cheeses are aged and classified as GRANA (hard, granular and sharply flavored); however, the young, unaged Ricotta pecorino is soft, white and mild in flavor. Aged pecorinos range in color from white to pale yellow and have a sharp, pungent flavor. The best known of this genre is Pecorino Romano, which comes in large cylinders with a hard yellow rind and yellowish-white interior. Other notable pecorinos are Sardo, Siciliano and Toscano. These hard, dry cheeses are good for grating and are used mainly in cooking. They can be used in any recipe that calls for PARMESAN CHEESE, especially if a sharper flavor is desired. See also  CHEESE.


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Imagine a weekend of fun in the Caribbean sun while networking with inspiring and accomplished paralegals from across the country.
There are no dull or dry seminars at this conference – enjoy intimate educational sessions with dynamic speakers and benefit from additional CLE credits in our unique take home format. Does your career need a tropical tune up? Take advantage of a valuable career seminar or private one-on-one career guidance and resume reviews.
Relax and enjoy everything a tropical cruise vacation offers while you enjoy unique networking opportunities and relationship building events.
Whether you are looking forward to a girls getaway or a family adventure, your experiences are nearly limitless with 10 dining options, 11 bars and lounges, an onboard spa, sports center, sparkling pools and hot tubs, and a casino that has all of your favorite games. And if you decide to bring the kids, NCL even has a youth program that will keep them entertained.
Depart beautiful Miami, Florida and visit the tropical island of Nassau, Bahamas and explore Norwegian's private paradise, Great Stirrup Cay.
This event is open to paralegals, legal assistants, legal secretaries and all other legal professionals who would benefit from continuing their education and expanding their network regardless of education level or years of experience. Paralegal students are encouraged to attend. Friends and family are welcome to join you for this tropical adventure.
Managing Director,
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Certified Paralegal,
Phoenix Litigation Support
Florida Registered Paralegal
Paralegals Navigating Perilous Waters Cruise Event - Copyright © 2012-2014 Perfectly Paralegal Consulting, Inc. email@example.com


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As I depressed the Engine Start button in the BMW 650i on December 22, I thought to myself, Christmas has come early this year. The 6-Series is the most expensive and most fabulous vehicle I have had the fortune to drive, and snagging the keys over the four-day Christmas weekend was a real treat. Heck, the options alone on our test car cost several times more than my personal car.
From the second the turbocharged V-8 crackles to life, it feels like it's begging you to unleash all 400 hp. Use full throttle down an empty on-ramp, and the 650i quickly reaches extra-legal speeds with no fuss -- I had the impression that at 70 mph the BMW was barely stretching its legs, and instead wished to hustle onward to 100 mph and beyond. The 6-Series is so quiet, so comfortable, and so composed at highway speeds that it conjures up fantasies of blasting along the autoroute to a glitzy holiday home in Monaco, a beautiful girl in the passenger seat and blue skies overhead.
As in other new BMWs, the array of gadgets on board is fantastic, from the side-view cameras to the blind-spot warning system that subtly vibrates the steering wheel. I especially enjoyed our car's night-vision system: it is mostly pointless, but the system can detect heat and thus presents other cars' exhausts and grilles as glowing outlines on the display. Call me a dork, but I loved that.
Jake Holmes, Associate Web Editor
When you work for a car magazine, you get used to driving different vehicles almost every day, so it's a luxury to be able to spend a total of six days with one car, as I did recently during the week between Christmas and New Year's. In my real life, a two-door coupe wouldn't be my vehicle of choice - not enough room for passengers and other stuff - but the BMW 650i is one vehicle that throws all thoughts of those practicalities out the window.
All it takes is a minute in the cabin to appreciate all the luxuries that the 6-series coupe has to offer: supple leather seats that are heated and ventilated; plush carpet; glossy wood; an extralarge display screen for navigation, stereo, and other vehicle information; and a leather-covered center console and dash with French-seamed stitching. All the materials look and feel expensive, as though to tell you that you've gotten your money's worth in this $106,000 car.
The 4.4-liter twin-turbo makes an unmistakable V-8 rumble when you start the car, and once under way, power is transmitted to the pavement seamlessly via the eight-speed transmission. You can use the paddles for manual gearshifting when you want to drive aggressively, but the automatic setting is just find for most everyday driving situations.
The styling of the 650i, especially with the M sport package, is right in the sweet spot between too bland and too flamboyant. The 20-inch, eight-spoke wheels look great, and highlights like the thick chrome band that frames the side windows give it a little bit of bling. After all, if you'd just spend more than 100 grand on a car, you might not want to shout it from the rooftops, but it wouldn't hurt to give passersby a few hints that your car really is something special.
Amy Skogstrom, Managing Editor


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MIAMI-Holstein Housewares has launched the Waffle Stick Maker, an addition to the company's Fun line of small electrics.
The Waffle Stick Maker allows users to prepare waffle-stick snacks using a variety of ingredients, including chocolate, cheese and even pepperoni. It is designed with a non-stick coating for easy clean-up, an indicator light, a non-slip base, space-saving storage and a safety lock. It's also engineered to maintain an ideal temperature for baking waffle sticks in a few minutes.
The Waffle Stick Maker comes in magenta and teal.


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The Bahasa Indonesia Immersion Program is open to all NUS students who study LAB2201 (BI2) & above |
Length of program: 3 weeks Study at USD + 3 days Excursions Tentative Schedule for 2014: 12 May ~ 6 June 2014
Please enjoy the Blogs or videos & Photos from the previous students:
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SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY (USD), Yogyakarta, Central
Java, Indonesia.
Dancing and Gamelan (Indonesian Traditional Musical Instrument)
Batik painting Wayang (Leather puppet) making
(Traditional Costume) Jamu making (Traditional herb)
Yogyakarta city tour
Borobudur & Kasongan
Kaliurang ~ Mount Merapi
Prambanan & Ramayana dance
Paris (Parang Tritis) Beach
Desa Wisata
Parangtritis Merapi in 2009 Merapi
Stay at a selected Indonesian/local host families.
Expenses around
S$1800 for
the home stay with the Indonesian families (2 meals + laundry), full cost of intensive language classes,
field study, culture course, several excursions and a lot of interesting
activities and return airfare from Singapore to Yogyakarta.
Coordinator Ms. Fanny Loe Faculty of Arts and Social ScienceLast modified~03/31/14.
Centre for Language Studies, National University of Singapore
AS4/05-21, 9 Arts Link, Singapore 117570
Tel: (65) 6516 5204 Fax: (65) 6777 7736 Email: firstname.lastname@example.com


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I'd say to encourage your sis to definitely apply for foodstamps. It sounds like they may qualify, of course you do need a permanant address and an RV in a parking lot won't do it but maybe help her apply and use your address (with approval of the FS office) since she won't have one.
I do think you dodged a bullet, in no time flat they would have worn out their welcome....


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Some companies are rising from the dead. They pop up in the ranks of enforcement actions from the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), and they're never heard from again.
Recently, the commission issued an administrative order against a dissolved company called Florida First Equities Corp. The company has not filed with the SEC in 19 years. The company had filed yearly reports since 1974, but it wasn't until August that the commission decided the company was deliquent and revoked its registration...
"It's crazy to suggest that those cases are as important or should be counted the same way as another kind of case," said Kit Addleman, former director of the SEC's Regional Office in Atlanta.
Excerpted from Main Justice, October 2, 2012. To view full article, click here.


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The Toronto Raptors will be without Kyle Lowry against the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night. After taking a hit from LeBron James during Toronto's 93-83 loss to the Heat in Miami on Monday night, Lowry will be on the inactive list against Houston.
During Raptors head coach Dwane Casey's pre-game media session he said Lowry had received treatment on his knee since returning from the team's road trip and would go through tests to see how he felt before a decision would be made with the medical staff on his availability.
"The medical people will make that decision more than anybody else," Casey said. "If it was up to him, he would go on one leg but we don't want to risk his future health in the next couple of weeks for one game. If rest will help it we'll go with the medical people's advice."
Shortly before game time, the team issued word that Lowry would not dress against the Rockets because of a sore left knee. Greivis Vasquez will start in his place. Both Vasquez and Nando de Colo will have to step up for the Raptors to be successful against Houston.
"If he can't go then [Vasquez's play will be] huge," Casey said. "He's going to have to run the show. He's been a starting point guard in this league before. The other question is making sure we see Nando [de Colo] at the point. One of our young kids. It's a good test for him."
With nine games remaining in the season, the Raptors have clinched a playoff spot, but are still playing for home court and playoff positioning. Casey stressed the team would not risk the health of any player despite the high stakes of the remaining games.
"There's a pride factor," Casey said. "You want to win. You want to win a division. You want to win, try to get home court. You want to try to do that. We're in position. There's no use in letting off the pedal now. There's not a desperate urgency, every game for me is desperate, but it's not live or die, nothing like that. We're not going to risk a kid's health to try to do that."
Casey said all X-Rays on Lowry's knee came back negative.


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Chocolate Valentine's Day Cookies
With Valentine's Day approaching, I'm beginning to think about goodies that I'd like to bake and share. The next few days will be all about Valentine desserts on The Recipe Girl blog. This morning I made these Chocolate Snaps, which are a roll-out cookie recipe that I chose to make into hearts. These would be delicious on their own as they're a chocolaty, crispy, thin cookie. A small basket of these with a nice selection of tea would make a sweet gift for a teacher. Or, spread on a bit of pink frosting and put two together to make some really cute sandwich cookies!
Originally from KA's Cookie Companion, this recipe calls for Dutch-process cocoa powder, which gives you a dark, more chocolaty cookie. I used regular old unsweetened cocoa and then added a 1/2 tsp. of black food coloring to get the dark color in my heart cookies. It doesn't make them black… just a nice dark shade of brown.
Another idea for these wafer-type cookies… cut out shapes and then stick them on the sides of a frosted cake to make a really pretty added decor.
These heart cookies will be used to accompany the Red Velvet Cupcakes that I'm preparing for tomorrow's blog post. The Recipe Girl's kitchen is baking away for Valentine's Day!
This recipe can be found HERE.


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The Snapdragon 810 chip, which was created for high-end phones, overheated in testing, Bloomberg reports.
The mobile chipmaker may touch on its big plans this year to expand into cars, wearables and other Internet-connected devices.
Adding to its antitrust problems in China, the chipmaker says it's now under investigation by US and European government agencies.
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Just over a week from now otherwise well-meaning souls will be beating each other with iPads after all-night Wal Mart camp outs. That mass of swarming retail humanity usually signifies something glorious for fake footballers: the end of bye weeks.
Yes, they will mercifully conclude this week, with the Seahawks, Bills, Eagles, and Bengals giving us one last go around on the waiver wire replacement craps table. Let's get to it then…
1. Mike Glennon: After setting highs in his young career against the also horrible Falcons in yards per attempt (10.0), completion percentage (87.0), and passer rating (137.5), Glennon now draws the Lions, who are very much in the same area code of defensive Suckville (a warm and friendly town) with the third worst secondary in the league. As J.J. Zacharison gleefully reminds us, the Lions have been even leakier over their last four games, with four passing touchdowns and 1,257 passing yards allowed. Glennon is easily the best bye-week replacement at his position.
Percentage owned: ESPN – 2%, Yahoo – 11%
2. Scott Tolzien: Yes, this is happening (again). You'll have to tolerate the interceptions, of which there were three in Green Bay's loss to the Giants. But with defenses now stacking up to stop Eddie Lacy (only 27 yards on his 14 carries Sunday), passing has been something Tolzien has had to do often, and that's resulted in lots of fun yards. Tolzien has now started essentially two games after coming in for Seneca Wallace following only one series last week, and in those games he's thrown for 619 yards, including 339 in Week 11 at a pace of 10.0 per attempt. Now he gets to continue that chucking in a dreamy matchup against the Vikings, and their secondary that's allowed the most passing touchdowns (23) while generously giving out yards in chunks (280.1 per game).
Percentage owned: ESPN – 1%, Yahoo – 4%
3. Matt McGloin: I'd love to get really jacked about McGloin, and his three touchdowns in his first career start with no interceptions (which made some history). But realistically, if you're a Nick Foles or Russell Wilson owner slugging through the merciful end of bye weeks, Tolzien and Glennon are better options, and Case Keenum below could be too. Why? The Titans, that's why. They'll get the chance to tee off on McGloin in his second start, and Tennessee has allowed only seven passing touchdowns, a league low.
Percentage owned: ESPN – 1%, Yahoo – 1%
4. Case Keenum: After a befuddling benching that made no sense whatsoever, Keenum draws the Jaguars. You know, the Jaguars, the defense that's giving up nearly a first down per pass attempt (8.0 yards allowed), and the same defense that just watched as Carson Palmer's sailing balls ended in 419 passing yards for a quarterback who was averaging 239.3 prior to Sunday. Keenum continually shows up here as a mighty fine streaming option because his crappy team leads to an abundance of passing (he threw 43 times against the Cardinals in Week 10), and between the Raiders and now Jaguars he keeps getting swell matchups.
Percentage owned: ESPN – 17%, Yahoo – 49%
5. E.J. Manuel: If you're like me, it's difficult to think past two hours from now. But try real hard to think long-term for a second, and when you do you'll see that Manuel — who just completed 71.4 percent of his passes in a win over the Jets, a steep rise from his 56.4 percent while spraying throws everywhere the week before — runs the gauntlet of Atlanta, Tampa, and Jacksonville after Buffalo's Week 12 bye, and the highest ranked pass defense of those three belongs to the Bucs at 18th.
Percentage owned: ESPN – 10%, Yahoo – 8%
Running Backs
1. Donald Brown: We witnessed the death of Trent Richardson last Thursday. Not the person, the running back. When clock killing was something that desperately needed to happen in the fourth quarter against Tennessee, placing a supposedly brutish runner on the bench was deemed the best course of action. Instead during that final Colts drive to seal a win, Brown was given six of his 14 carries, and three of those went for 10 yards or more, including an 11-yard touchdown. The guard, it's changing.
Percentage owned: ESPN – 7%, Yahoo – 27%
2. Chris Ogbonnaya: He had a season-high 99 total yards Sunday, 43 0f which came on one carry against a Bengals run defense that had only given up three carries for even 20 yards prior to Week 11. What's even more promising is that in a blowout game — which could become a very common occurrence for these Browns soon with New England and Chicago lined up — Ogbonnaya was targeted 12 times as a receiver. Now he faces a 23rd-ranked Steelers run defense that's giving up 125.2 rushing yards per game, and they've allowed the second most rushing touchdowns.
Percentage owned: ESPN – 7%, Yahoo – 11%
3. Chris Ivory: This only applies if you're in a Yahoo league, but that's many of you. I looked up Ivory's availability as a joke that only I could laugh at. It went something like this in my head "haha there's no way a running back who's rushed for 237 yards over his last two games at a pace of 7.2 yards per carry with two touchdowns and runs of 69 and 52 yards would really be out here." Yeah, I'm a real comedian, and so are most of those in Yahoo leagues evidently, because his availability there is at 40 percent. Now, I get that you may be at least a little apprehensive because half of his yardage over the Jets' last two games has come on just those two booming carries. But that's always been Ivory's game in the rare times when he's healthy. It's very Chris Johnson of him, with the difference being that you're spending either waiver priority or cash, and not a second-round pick (*smashes everything*).
Percentage owned: ESPN – 85%, Yahoo – 60%
4. Pierre Thomas: Herein lies the opposite of the Ivory, though the effect is still the same. A running back who has a not quite Ivory-level but still mighty fine 195 total yards over his past two games is available in nearly half of ESPN leagues. You're familiar with the backfield in New Orleans, and how there's really no order whatsoever. Just a weeks ago in this very space I wrote sweet nothings about Mark Ingram when he rushed for 145 yards with a touchdown. How did he follow that up Sunday against the 49ers? With just 25 rushing yards, of course, going from 21 fantasy points to two. Thomas, meanwhile, is the more consistent presence, even if he's not necessarily a significant one. He's had at least 50 yards from scrimmage in eight games — which is fine deep-ish league flex production — and although he's not on Sproles' level as a pass-catcher out of the backfield because no one is, Thomas has been targeted 56 times, which he's turned into four catches for 20 yards or more (his career single-season high is five).
Percentage owned: ESPN – 57%, Yahoo – 77%
5. Daniel Thomas: I hate myself so much for even suggesting this, but the reality is that if you're in a deep league and own any of the elite running backs who are causing you great stress during the final week of byes (C.J. Spiller, LeSean McCoy, and Marshawn Lynch), you could do a lot worse for a desperation plug and play. You likely know the drill in Miami by now: the workload split between Thomas and Lamar Miller is wildly uneven, and over their last five games the Dolphins have given Thomas three double-digit carry outings, and Miller's had two. But Sunday against San Diego in Week 11 Thomas turned 10 carries into 57 yards (a season-high 5.7 YPC), and his frequent goal-line touches provide promising flex value. Of course, that value is highly limited this week against a Panthers defense that's allowed only three rushing touchdowns. Hey, I did say this was a reaching desperation sort of thing.
Percentage owned: ESPN – 5%, Yahoo – 13%
Wide Receivers
1. Miles Austin: Jerry Jones said Austin could have played last week, but the Cowboys were quite understandably cautious and held him out through their bye. Now he could quickly step right in front of Terrance Williams and his meh 118 receiving yards over the last three weeks. In the only game when he was truly and completely healthy this year (way back in the before time, in Week 1), Austin was featured prominently and targeted 12 times.
Percentage owned: ESPN 67%, Yahoo – 27%
2. David Nelson: The Jets are thinking about benching Stephen Hill, and so they should be after he didn't catch any of his seven targets against the Bills Sunday, and he's now gone catch-less in two straight games. Earlier this season when he was also the next man up with both Santonio Holmes out, Nelson had back-to-back games with 80 receiving yards.
Percentage owned: ESPN – 0%, Yahoo – 1%
3. Aldrick Robinson: With Leonard Hankerson maybe and possibly out for, well, a while and in need of LCL surgery, Both Robinson and Santana Moss are fine adds. I'll side with Robinson, because his bones aren't nearly as creaky, and he's readily showcased his speed with two +40 yard catches despite only six receptions this season in total. One of them came this past Sunday against the Eagles, when he finished with 60 yards on just two grabs after Hankerson went down.
Percentage owned: ESPN – 0%, Yahoo – 0%
4. Ace Sanders: When Mike Brown left Jacksonville's loss to Arizona, the result was many more balls for Sanders and his slot shiftiness. Specially, 10 targets, which is six more than his total looks over the Jags' last three games combined. If we assume Brown misses Week 12, Sanders becomes a nice little low-cost flex option with 60-70 yard potential.
Percentage owned: ESPN – 1%, Yahoo – 0%
5. Markus Wheaton: Emmanuel Sanders says he's fine after leaving with an ankle injury, but a speculative Wheaton add to plug into a flex spot doesn't hurt in deep leagues. Even if Sanders is healthy and playing, Wheaton could be a nice deep sleeper with the Steelers traveling to Cleveland, and Joe Haden set to eliminate Antonio Brown. However, if the Bills weren't chillin' on couches this week either T.J. Graham or Marquise Goodwin would be a better short-term play here. At the right cost (see: next to no cost), those two may still be nice Week 12 stashes if Robert Woods remains out.
Percentage owned: ESPN – 1%, Yahoo – 1%
Tight Ends
1. Garrett Graham: You're about to notice some re-runs from last week. No, you're an unimaginative and lazy hack. These guys are going all beast mode and grinding or whatever the kids are saying, and they're still all ready for your plucking pleasure. Graham is chief among them, though let's approach his 136-yard breakout game on 13 targets and seven catches against Oakland with some caution, because right now it's a glaring outlier. His highest target total this year prior to Week 11 was eight, and his best single-game yardage was just 69. But hey, he does get to face the Jags and their woe in Week 12, which is why Graham occupies this coveted perch.
Percentage owned: ESPN – 19%, Yahoo – 26%
2. Rob Housler: A healthy Housler lately has been a productive Housler, with 127 receiving yards over his last two games. Michael Floyd and Larry Fitzgerald remain the top two targets in Arizona, but passing volume will help Housler, of which there's plenty. Carson Palmer has met or exceeded the 35 attempt mark in seven games.
Percentage owned: ESPN – 2%, Yahoo – 13%
3. Delanie Walker: Another holdover from last week, and another great streaming option for those who enjoy plugging oft-targeted tight ends into their flex spot. Since Ryan Fitzpatrick and his pasta arm took over following Jake Locker's season-ending injury, Walker has been targeted 18 times, including a season-high 10 last Thursday. He's turned that volume into 153 yards, and a touchdown in two straight games
Percentage owned: ESPN – 12%, Yahoo – 22%
4. Brandon Myers: If you're able to roster a tight end who will be running and catching against a defense giving up 72.5 receiving yards per game to the position, you make the necessary clicks. Brandon Myers is that tight end, and the Cowboys are that defense.
Percentage owned: ESPN – 68%, Yahoo – 26%
5. John Carlson: I enjoy variety in life, but I enjoy winning more. So yet again we return to a familiar face around here over the past few weeks, because John Carlson is just so damn ready to be owned by you, or anyone really. Look at those ownership numbers below while noting that since Kyle Rudolph went down, Carlson has 167 yards in just two games, after only 26 yards throughout the rest of the season.
Percentage owned: ESPN – 1%, Yahoo – 10%


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Photo by Elizabeth Beers, Washington State UniversityA female spotted wing drosophila lays eggs in fruit.
Michigan insect experts watched how a new fly pest caused economic losses to Western fruit growers, and they drafted a plan in their state before the pest's populations had built up.
From that came the Spotted Wing Drosophila Response Team, led by Michigan State Univeresity small fruit entomologist Rufus Isaacs, according to a news release.
Members of the team enlisted others, including growers and industry representatives, to decide how to monitor spotted wing drosophila in 2010.
A native of east Asian, spotted wing drosophila prefer fruit just nearing maturity.
This differs from common fruit flies, which favor overripe or rotting fruit.
In addition, female SWD have a serated ovipositor they use for laying eggs. The opening provides an entryway for fruit rot diseases.
During the 2010 monitoring, SWD was found in 13 of 28 counties, but not until the third week in September when harvest was mostly completed.
They widened the survey in 2011, and SWD was found in nine more Michigan counties.
Each time the pest wss found, word went out so growers could take appropriate action to protect any fruit they had.
At the same time, the team conducted trials to compare trap designs and baits, chemical control measures and timing of that control.
They also conducted outreach programs to educate growers.
"Last year, we were facing a pest that we didn't know much about," Isaacs said in the release. "This year, growers have been learning more about it, and now know that it is another pest they will need to add to their IPM (integrated pest management) program."
The downside is the pest may make fruit production more expensive.
For more information on the spotted wing drosophila, visit www.ipm.msu.edu.


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Home › About TU › News, Events and Publications › University News › 2010 Census: It's In Your Hands
Friday, March 19, 2010
TU partners with the U.S. Census Bureau for Census 2010.
Students from The University of Tulsa can make history this year by participating in the 2010 Census, and in turn, helping define and improve the quality of life in our community and our nation. Conducted every 10 years, the census is more than a population count. Census data inform critical political and funding decisions on the national, state and local level. TU has partnered with the U.S. Census Bureau to promote particpation in 2010 Census by TU students and employees.
Census data will provide state population counts and determine representation in the U.S. House of Representatives. Every year, the federal government distributes more than $400 billion to state, local and tribal governments based on census data. Data also will guide local decision-makers on where to build new schools, roads, hospitals and develop community programs that affect quality of life.
Depending on living situations, students will participate differently.
One of the shortest in history, the 2010 Census form takes about 10 minutes to complete. By law, the U.S. Census Bureau cannot share respondents' answers with anyone, including other federal agencies and law enforcement entities. All Census Bureau employees take an oath of nondisclosure and are sworn for life to protect the confidentiality of the data. The penalty for unlawful disclosure is a fine of up to $250,000 or imprisonment of up to five years, or both.
Visit 2010census.gov for more information.
Contact:David firstname.lastname@example.com


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found a new home!
Plenty of my friends are looking
for one too. Find a pet to adopt.
Find a pet to adopt |
My name is Aaron!
Facts about Aaron
- Breed: Domestic Shorthair
- Color: Black & White Or Tuxedo
- Age: Adult
- Sex: Male
- Hair: Short
Aaron's Info...
I am already neutered, in need of an experienced adopter, up to date with shots, good with kids, and good with cats.
Aaron came to Four Paws as a stray from the Fox Valley Animal Welfare League and has been with us for 2 years. He has a lot of energy and loves to play with the lazer mouse. Aaron is good with some cats and is looking to find his forever home. He can be seen during our adoption Saturdays in our adoption room at the Hanover Park Animal Care Center. Please call 630-289-0478 for further adoption information.
Other Pets at Four Paws Animal Foundataion
Why Adoption is a Great Option
Aaron, a Bartlett Domestic Shorthair cat was adopted! Here's how you can benefit by looking at adoption as an option to buying a Domestic Shorthair for sale in Bartlett, or seeking a Domestic Shorthair cat from a breeder in Bartlett.
- Rescues and shelter volunteers in Bartlett already know the personality and tendencies of their pets. This means they can match you with the right pet. That will makes it much easier transition to owning a pet for yourself and your new pet.
- On average adoption fees are much less than you'd pay a Bartlett breeder, or pet store. Plus most often rescue pets have already been to the veterinarian for a check-up, had a round of vaccinations, and are spayed or neutered. That is a lot of savings!
- You will become a hero, and give a needy dog or cat a loving home. In fact, there are even Domestic Shorthair breeders who help with Domestic Shorthair rescue. One puppy or kitten adopted in Bartlett paves the way for another one to be saved.


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okay so i had the most fantastic trip ever and definitely made use of photopass. i thought it was great.
until i got home and looked at my pictures.
they were so cute and the only pictures we have of some of these places and characters.
HOWEVER, no one told us that we wouldn't be able to get copies of our pictures in normal 4x6 size to put in our photo album. i'm really upset by this. i tried e-mailing to see if there was anything i could do but no one responded. i was ready for the high prices but not ready to find out that i could only get huge copies or wallet sized.
anyone know if there is anything we can do about this or have any suggestions?


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gAtari 2600: Chiptune Hero
Back in 2008 Flaming Lips' frontman Wayne Coyne hacked a custom guitar together using parts from a Guitar Hero controller. Pretty impressive, but chiptune artist cTrix had a bolder idea – he used a whole console. Yeah, yeah, but this one doesn't look stupid at all. Behold: the gAtari 2600.
Granted, this gargantuan device isn't really a guitar – the head stock is totally decorative – but dammit he's carrying a whole console and three effects pedals. That's a recipe for back problems. The gAtari 2600 also has a track switcher in the form of a joystick, although not in the form of the console's iconic controller. Watch the video below to see cTrix lug the gAtari 2600 around while rocking out.
What an unbelievably crazy idea. I'm sure he could have taken out the console's parts and ended up with a smaller instrument, but no, he just went for it. Somehow I can't imagine a PS3 or Xbox 360 guitar looking as cool as this. Check out cTrix' website for more of his gadgets and music.
[via Topless Robot]
MORE:Gadgets | Hacks + Mods | Just Plain Fun | Media Players | Mobile Tech | Retro | Robots | Strange + Wonderful | Video Games | atari 2600 | awesome | chiptune | geeky | guitar | music
Comments (1):
Hey check out (and like) an awesome video interview with the talented singer of The Flaming Lips Wayne Coyne at: http://culturecatch.com/vidcast/wayne-coyne-flaming-lips


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Jenness Park Conference Center
Perched in the Sierra Nevada Mountains near Sonora, Jenness Park Christian Camp is owned and operated by the California Southern Baptist Convention. The camp has been dedicated to meeting the spiritual needs of campers for more than 50 years and has been home to Centrifuge since 1983.
Jenness Park provides everything needed to escape the stresses of one's routine and to enjoy the beauty of God's creation. The Centrifuge experience here offers great outdoor recreation ranging from a ropes course to backpacking to a lake with paddleboats. In addition to an intimate auditorium and comfortable dining hall (with some of the BEST camp food you will find anywhere in the country), Jenness Park also has a general store, coffeehouse, indoor game area and lighted amphitheater.
Camp Size: 300-500.
We use a variety of housing on campus as many of our weeks fill up. For pictures of accommodations Click Here.


text: Reservations are still being accepted by the Winona Area Chamber of Commerce for this week's Eggs and Issues breakfast. The event will be held at Perkins Restaurant on Thursday, February 6th, from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. Featured speakers will be four state legislators representing this area: Representatives Gene Pelowski and Steve Drazkowski, along with Senators Jeremy Miller and Matt Schmit. The four will preview the upcoming legislative session that starts on February 25th. The cost is $15 and you and make reservation by sending an email to the chamber or by calling the office at 452-2272.


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Hotels & Motels
ABC Motel & Restaurant
(814) 642.7973 | http://www.abcmotelroute6.com/
21 Sartwell Creek Road, Port Allegany, PA 16742
Nine unit motel located between Smethport and Coudersport along Scenic Route 6. Perfect for fisherman, hunters, and outdoor enthusiasts. Home cooking at our on-site restaurant. Pets welcome with... more info -
Bailey Hill Lodge
(814) 848-9958 | http://www.baileyhilllodge.com
362 Bailey Hill Road, Ulysses, PA 16948
Bailey Hill is a secluded place to stay between your adventures.
Tucked away in Potter County within a few of miles skiing, hundreds of miles of ATV trails, great hunting and fishing, PA Grand... more info -
Benezette Hotel
(814) 787-4240 | http://www.benezettehotel.com
95 Winslow Hill Road, Benezette, PA 15821
Full service restaurant offering great food at a reasonable price, served in a friendly, casual atmosphere. Clean, comfortable rooms available year round. more info -
Best Travel Inn
(814) 342-2004
1896 Philipsburg-Bigler Highway, Philipsburg, PA 16866
The Best Travel Inn Philipsburg is a clean and convenient place to stay while in Philipsburg. Come enjoy outdoor adventures in nearby Black Moshannon State Park, Del Grosso Amusement Park, Muddy Run... more info -
Best Western - Lock Haven
(570) 748-3298 | http://book.bestwestern.com/bestwestern/US/PA/Lock-Haven-hotels/BEST-WESTERN-Loc
101 East Walnut Street, Lock Haven, PA 17745
Stay at this Lock Haven hotel for first-class service and comfortable accommodations at a great value. The Best Western Lock Haven is conveniently located with easy access to key area attractions and... more info -
Best Western - Williamsport
(570) 326-1981 | http://book.bestwestern.com/bestwestern/US/PA/Williamsport-hotels/BEST-WESTERN-W
1840 East Third Street, Williamsport, PA 17701
Best Western Williamsport Inn is an exterior property with 115 guest rooms, and two Jacuzzi suites. Some featured amenities include: Complimentary Wireless high speed Internet Access, complimentary... more info -
Best Western Inn & Conference Center
(814) 371-6200
82 North Park Place, DuBois, PA 15801
Newly renovated. Free hot breakfast, fitness center, free high-speed wireless. Business center, whirlpool suites. Treasure Lake two miles, hunting and fishing five miles. Punxsutawney Phil 20 miles.... more info -
Best Western Inn - DuBois
(814) 371-6200 | http://bestwesternpa.com/hotels/best-western-plus-inn-and-conference-center
82 North Park Place, DuBois, PA 15801
Best Western DuBois is centrally located near downtown DuBois. Each room includes hairdryer, iron and ironing board, HBO and free local phone calls. more info -
Best Western Plus - Bradford Inn
(814) 362-4501 | http://book.bestwestern.com/bestwestern/productInfo.do?propertyCode=39104
100 South Davis Street, Bradford, PA 16701
This AAA 3 Diamond, Best Western Directors award-winning full service hotel is the perfect home base for visiting the Allegheny National Forest Region and its many attractions. Just minutes north are... more info -
Best Western Plus Executive Inn - St. Marys
(814) 834-0000 | http://bit.ly/I7YiIe
1002 Earth Road, St. Marys, PA 15857
100% smoke free newly remodeled 57 room facility, deluxe continental breakfast, outdoor pool, and free wi-fi. 32 inch flat screen TVs with extended cable. more info


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Blake Griffin And DeAndre Jordan's Top 10 Dunks Of March (So Far)
We're not even two weeks into March yet and DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin have combined to amass enough top-10 worthy dunks for their own personal highlight reel. In just five games the stars of Lob City have staked their claim to not only the two best dunks of the entire NBA season, but to many that will be on a "Best of March" highlight reel soon. Read More »


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Hi I am José Carrión a Web Developer who loves minimal cleaning and simple things, basketball and football, fan art and rock music.
I've been working with Ruby on Rails for 4 years, Ruby on rails is a Ruby Framework to write awesome Web Applications, following the best programming practices and supported for a really cool community of developers around the world.
As you know learning process never ends. Since i finished my studies I´ve been working as a Freelance part and full time from house and sometimes i have traveled to work with my colleagues. It allowed me to get to know really nice developers and companies around the world. I´ve learned lot of best ways how to create applications.
I've worked in private projects as well as in public projects for different companies from my country and for other countries such as Chile, Spain, United States and France.
Yes, I've worked on projects which are on the Internet
and I've worked on several internal projects for some clients.
I'm based in South America Ecuador, Eastern Standard Time GMT- 5:00
Feel free to contact me to: firstname.lastname@example.com


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Our Contributing Writers
Joe Gillespie
Joe Gillespie is a graphic designer specializing in new media and is based in London, UK. From 1996 to 2005 he published Web Page Design for Designers, a site dedicated to the more creative aspects of Web design. He also designs screen fonts such as the classic MINI 7
Articles by JoeGeoffrey Hoesch
Geoffrey is a SEO Consultant based in Baltimore, MD.
Articles by GeoffreyEileen Mullin
Eileen runs a New York based computer school for families. She has written five books on XML, Internet services and graphic design. Previously, as vice president of global HR Internet Strategy for Merrill Lynch, she oversaw human resources Web sites and applications for the firm worldwide. Before that, she served as program director, content programming for ibm.com, where she managed all interactive content for IBM\'s corporate Web site. She can usually be found holding a laptop, her cute toddler son, or sometimes both.
Articles by EileenRob Jones
Rob received a BS in Computer Science, but was always more interested in graphics so he combined the two by working in Visual Effects for film. This lead to working with some the most creative software firms in the world, including Wavefront, SGI, MetaTools (the guys who created Kai\'s Power Tools) and Square LA. It was at these companies that he learned that software could either be fun and enjoyable or extremely frustrating to use, and decided that his future would be designing interfaces. Before founding Two Sides Design with Theresa Neil, Rob worked for the past 7 years as an Interface Designer. His most recent employer was Frog Design, where he worked on desktop, mobile and web applications for clients like HP, Alltel and Network Solutions. Rob is also a Private Pilot and loves to drive his 1983 Fiat Spider.
Articles by RobShawn Blanc
Shawn Blanc works full-time with a ministry and does excellent print and web design. He currently resides in Kansas City with his gorgeous wife and their two green couches. He drinks coffee uses Macs all day long. Shawn also publishes his own blog at shawnblanc.net
Articles by ShawnJason Beaird
"Jason the Designer Man", as one of his coworkers once called him, dual-majored in graphic design and digital media at the University of Central Florida. He currently works as a designer for Cyberwoven , a website company with a robust and savvy affection for their clients. When Jason isn't designing websites, he enjoys talking to others about designing websites, which led to a few well-received articles, and eventually a book: "The Principles of Beautiful Web Design". Jason has a knack for explaining aspects of design that are often thought of as intuitive, and his experiences working alongside programmers help him to relate to the left brained masses.
Articles by JasonSusan Ottwell
Articles by SusanNiels Matthijs
Articles by NielsMike Cherim
Mike Cherim is a freelance accessible web developer living and working out
of Nottingham, New Hampshire (USA). Mike's primary website is
http://green-beast.com, but he also has several other web properties such as
the well-known Accessites.org and GrayBit.com among others.
Kyle Mueller
Chris Reynolds
Articles by ChrisWeb Page Design for Designers is
© Copyright 1996-2015 WPDFD, LTD


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Installation Management (CP-29) | |
General | Training opportunities are designed to provide competency development of Army Civilian employees within the three broad based career tracts within the Installation Management Career Program (CP-29). Programs identified in this document include formal classroom and on-the-job developmental assignments that align with the Department of Defense (DoD) and Army Human Capital Strategic Plans and are substantiated in our ACTEDS Plan. This document provides a clear intent to focus on growing technically proficient and capable specialists and leaders. Many of the programs described in this document are designed to develop the competencies of Army Civilians from multiple functional disciplines in preparation for increasingly progressive roles and responsibilities in support of the management of Army installations.
Note: ACTEDS funding does not cover training costs for employees assigned to Non-Appropriated Funded (NAF) positions for CP-29 sponsored development at this time. If selected, NAF organizations will be responsible for training and travel costs.
CP-29 COMPETITION: | The CP-29 Installation Manager Career Track is open to all Army Civilians GS-07s and above (and equivalent) assigned to an Army permanent position unless otherwise stated. All opportunities are competitive; all applicants must have three (3) years of permanent, full time employment as a Department of the Army (DA) civilian at the time of application. Selections will be determined by the FCR for CP-29.
The CP-29 Installation Support Career (Non-Trade and Labor) Track will be open to CP-29 Army Civilians in series:
(Grades to be determined)
The CP-29 Installation Support Career (Trade and Labor) Track will be open to CP-29 Army Civilians in WG/WL/WS and equivalent positions
(Grades to be determined) Commands will not be reimbursed for salaries and personal benefits for training participants or costs incurred through temporary backfill of the vacated position. ACTEDS Funding is IAW with ACTEDS Funding Strategy and funds are always subject to availability, set forth by HQDA, G-3/5/7. Note: ACTEDS funding does not cover training costs for employees assigned to Non-Appropriated Funded (NAF) positions for CP-29 sponsored development at this time. If selected, NAF organizations will be responsible for training and travel costs. For application or program information contact the CP-29 POC found at the end of this section |
Developmental Assignments | |
Developmental assignments are primarily at the Installation Management Command (IMCOM); Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation Management (ACSIM); Assistant Secretary of Army for Installation, and Environment & Energy (ASAIEE) and may also include assignments at Joint and various DoD activities; Interagency; private industry and civic community offices. These developmental opportunities are up to one year in length, but to better meet the staffing needs of Army activities, short-term (120 calendar days or less) training assignments will be considered. Careerists are encouraged to consider developmental-job-swaps with other Installation Management careerists; however, job-swaps are not a requirement for participation. The purpose of this training is to broaden careerists' core and critical competencies, and operational techniques that provide a global and enterprise approach for positions of significantly higher responsibility.
Developmental assignment opportunities will be announced through targeted Army Career Program channels.
| |
Developmental Assignment Opportunities |
CP-29 Headquarters IMCOM Centralized Mentoring Program (HCMP) |
CP-29 ACTEDS Intern Development Program |
Click here to search for Army Intern job opportunities: https://ncweb.ria.army.mil/dainterns/default.htm |
Private Industry Developmental Assignments | Under Development.
Short Term Training (STT) | |
| |
Course Information | Specific course information and application process is under development. |
University Training | |
| |
Academic Degree Training (ADT) Graduate Level |
Point of Contact |
Career Programs Representative can be reached at: Phone: (210) 466-0472/ Email: firstname.lastname@example.com Physical address for application information and submission of application packages to: HQ IMCOM, G-1, |
Civilian Education System (CES) | The Civilian Education System (CES) is the foundation of the Army's leader development program for all Army Civilians, providing progressive and sequential education courses throughout their careers. CES is centrally funded by HQDA G-37/Training Directorate for most permanent Army Civilians, including but not limited to general schedule (GS), non-appropriated fund (NAF), local national (LN) and wage grade (WG) employees. CES leadership courses, or designated equivalent courses, are required for all Army Civilians. Employees should include attendance at the CES course for which they are eligible in their Individual Development Plans (IDP). Employees are eligible to attend the CES course that is targeted at their grade level. GS-01 through GS-09 employees are eligible to attend the CES Basic Course; GS-10 through GS-12 employees are eligible to attend the CES Intermediate Course; and GS-13 through GS-15 employees are eligible to attend the CES Advanced Course. NOTE: All Army Civilians who were hired after 30 September 2006 are required to take the Foundation Course prior to enrolling in either of the CES courses. More information on CES courses, as well as instructions on how to enroll can be found on the Civilian Training and Leader Development website at http://www.civiliantraining.army.mil/Pages/Homepage.aspx |
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February 13, 2007 - Today Sony Computer Entertainment announced the release of Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters, a PSP-exclusive outing for the duo that's been blasting up the PlayStation 2 for the last few years. Developed by the new High Impact Games, Size Matters returns to the franchise's roots with its mix of platforming and 'shoot everything' gameplay.Sponsored Links
Size Matters takes place after the events of 2005's Ratchet: Deadlocked. Players will find Ratchet and Clank taking a much needed vacation -- but while relaxing, they are approached by a young girl named Luna who is writing a school paper on heroes. When Luna is kidnapped by some sketchy robots, R&C set out to rescue her and stumble into another galactic adventure.
Building on the franchise's reputation for innovative weaponry, High Impact Games has included new weapons of mass destruction: the Bee mine Glove, Acid Bomb, Laser Tracer, and Sprout-o-Matic. Old favorites such as the Blitz Cannon, Agents of Doom, and the Shrink Ray also make a return.
Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters is available in stores now. Check out [Register or Login to view links].
Thanks to [Register or Login to view links] for sharing the news with us, and you can discuss the news HERE!


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Last friday, I got married, to the wonderful Kayla! She's so awesome and the day was absolutely incredible. Sorry for interrupting the game development flow (which will now start to be more regular) but I'm so terribly in love with my new wife! (yes, soppy, once in a while)
How you so good Mr Glass?
I get a few emails each month asking me about what process I took to get "so good" at coding. It's really appreciated but doesn't really make sense if you take a look at my code.
Here's today's response:
Dude, Mr Glass is my father, I'm Kev
I'm really not that skilled at coding, I've just been doing it a long time. Like you I started young (I was about 5) and now I'm 37. So I've been coding about 30 years. It's mostly about the amount of time you spend doing it, but it's not a short process at all.A few things I've found over the years:1) Morale – theres only one way to keep going, because you enjoy it. If you don't stop. If you do, you'll keep going rain or shine.2) English – make sure your english is good, having a good vocabulary and knowing how to abuse the language makes coding easier. It also makes it easier to read later.3) Technology – pick one and stick with it. There's always another technology coming out and by all means play and learn – but take the decision to change your main technology very very seriously.4) Learn by doing – don't be afraid to swap projects, to experiment to learn. The fastest and best way to learn anything is to sit there and "just do it".5) Respect – always respect everyone you interact with. There are many many bright people out there that will help you if you ask nicely. Don't expect them to, and don't get mad if they don't, but you'll get much further faster if you keep respecting everyone.6) Life – don't let code be the only thing in your life. Without all the other things going on you don't get stimulated for innovation. You need to expose your mind to other things in the world to be able to see where technology fits in.Best of luck to you,Cheers,Kev
Legends of Yore 2 : Rise of the Darklings
So I guess it's official, I'm starting to work on Legends of Yore 2 – which I'm subtitling Rise of the Darklings. I'll post some concept shots etc in a minute but I'd like to talk about the process I've been taking during the interim for a minute.
As you've seen if you read my blog or follow on twitter I've been knocking out lots of little game demos, this is how I work. I try stuff, lots of stuff, over and over again until I feel comfortable I've got everything down. In this case the projects were:
Voxel Based Engine – Experimenting with different graphical styles
Carubloc – Looking at LibGDX across platforms
Matchnik – To look a procedural puzzle generation
Turn Based Platformer – To look at turn based mechanics with a bit more action
Mega Melon Adventure – To play with gamepads and the OUYA
Sub-pixel Sprite Animation – Obviously more tailored towards Legends, just needed to find a way to generate enough graphics.
There's actually been a few others that never saw the light of day, including a very random bouncing game. This is I've come to understand my process. I experiment a lot before I actually go anywhere. It's not intentional but I can see the pattern looking back. I'm hoping this is going to make Legends of Yore 2 a better game.
So, enough waffle, Legends of Yore 2 – so far I'm coding and spriting like crazy. Here's the concept art that I'm currently working for. This time it's all my own art – I intend to license some music/sounds but everything else should be from me:
The plan for the game is do something similar to last time while fixing as many of the things that I learnt along the way. So the game is intended to be epic in size and scope – hopefully bigger than last time. Things I liked last time:
- No level cap – keep going as long as you like
- Yore – the world, it'll be set here again though maybe many years on
- Diversity – the varied landscape and characters
- Procedural – the dungeons kept changing but the world above was the same. People seemed to love that
- Items/Armor/Weapons – a huge wealth of things to collect and apply
- Class upgrades – this was a late add but once that I absolutely loved.
- The Second Stat – Wizards got Health and Mana as always, but why couldn't Warriors and Archers have something special too – Rage and Zen were added. Very neat (thanks to PuppyGames for the original thought on this)
So there were a bunch of things that I did last time but I want to be better this time:
- Magic – last time it was too hap hazard, designing a spells tree with different schools of magic before we get started.
- Skills – as with magic, way to random. Again skill tree designed before hand this time.
- Pets – I always felt like they could have been so much more. I was losing steam with the game when I added them so they came out partially done. Fix them this time.
- Quests – I liked the quests system in Legends, it added a lot. This time I want quests to be richer and more varied.
- Save Games – they will be keyed against an email you provide. Last time it was just too half assed. This time it's going to be cleanly done with a web portal to support your character.
- In App Purchase – none. ever again. Buy the full version. Your account gets updated. Fin.
- Interface – The interface last time was streamlined for mobile players. It was good. However, this time it's going to be better and also support console players more naturally.
Finally bits that I want to add that I didn't have last time:
- Richer graphics, visible weapons, variations in characters, animations and direction changes. Yes it won't feel quite the same, but Yes it's going to be better.
- Epic Quests – large quests that get you through the story line more obviously. Legends actually had a story line but I'm not sure anyone saw it
- Underwater – it's got to be in there somewhere, I'm just not sure how yet. I want it though.
- Dynamic Events – I want the game to still be single player but I'm going to introduce a system that allows me to have "in game events" like a MMORPG. Zombies infest a town etc.
- Player Interaction – While the game will be single player but I want to introduce some innovative ways to have players interact.
So.. yep.. on the way. As always and especially with last game I appreciated all the player feedback and ideas I can get. I'll be running graphics competitions and other things (oooer) as we go along.
Hope you come along for the ride!
Sub-Pixel animation for Retro Sprites
So, I love pixelly graphics. It's pretty obvious from my games that not only is it the only thing I can draw it's also the main thing I like to use. I always scale them up 3 or 4 times and get that big clunky retro feel.
However, I've never really been happy with the movement in the sprites – specially how long it takes me to do animations. I was looking at Cube World and thinking about the difference in resolution of the character voxels to the rest of the world. Just because you're working in a theme doesn't mean you can't bend it to suit what you want!!!
At that point I'm starting to think above my pixel creations, what if I applied the same logic there. When I scale up my sprites each pixel has 3×3 actual pixels so in the animation there's room to move parts of the sprite at a higher resolution – neato! Hmm, but how to do I allow myself one resolution for animation and one resolution for pixels? (I want to clamp myself to the right retro feel). Skeletal Animation!
So I rapidly take my existing sprites, rip them into separate limbs and body parts and re-spritesheet them up. A little bit of coding later and I have a skeletal model that allows me to rig them all together!
So now I'm back to my original sprites only with them being built out of smaller pieces. That in itself is awesome since it means I can create lots of variations for a game I'm planning on writing shortly.
Next, what about animation? Once the links between bones are defined and the skins attached all I need to do is apply transforms. Excellent! I can even rotate tiny pixelly weapons to give nice stylistic effects! Me being me, the next think I do is build a Java Swing based tool to support test out different configurations and animations:
So, having defined animations against the bones, I try out a few skin combinations and what do I end up with? Well, awesomeness thats what!
Check out my current cast:
6 ideas for really bad Java API design
Here's some tips if you want to write a Java API thats really hard work to use. Doubly so if you want to hit it with the "object oriented for evar!" ugly stick.
- Hide everything! – even the stuff that doesn't make sense and is guaranteed to be there. Make the user jump through as many levels of indirection as possible to access anything.
- Require Casts! – make sure you use has to cast everything from an interface to a real class before they can do anything. Double points for not making it guaranteed that the objects you're casting will always be what you're casting them to.
- Make everything an interface! – always always make everything an interface. Ideally a hierarchy of interfaces that don't add more than one or two features at each level. Especially good for misleading your user.
- Wrap everything! – related to 3, make sure you've wrapped even the simplest of data types in an object – thats always good for memory consumption and is extra effective if you use non-standard naming.
- Runtime Analysis! – while it's important to wrap anything and everything in an object, don't make fields visible. Ideally put them in a generic map even at the lowest most specific level of your ornate object tree. Thats reusable and meta right? Make sure the user has to either read the source or use a debugger to determine what the fields are called.
- More code is better! – make sure your user has to write as much code as possible even for the most common use cases. The more code they have to write the more they'll appreciate the beauty of your API.
We all love object structures and we all love "beautiful" code. However when you're writing an API it's about matching the use cases and make the developer productive. Please don't make them jump through hoops for the sake of your "elegance".
Turn Based Procedurally Generated Platformer
Another game experiment starting with me wanting to try out turn based platformers. Could you write a game that was platform based but had the turn based nature of Legends of Yore. So I set to work:
The other thing that I wanted to try out was procedural generation for platformer levels – this turns out to be reasonable to implement once you represent everything as a graph. The significant difference between platform generation and dungeon generation is that links between nodes/rooms/platforms aren't always bi-directional – i.e. you can fall from a platform to another but that doesn't guarantee you can jump back up. I'll probably write a blog entry about that later.
Anyway, heres the current state as a web based games (required WebGL), infinite exploration – not much gameplay at the moment:
Treasure – Turn Based Procedurally Generated Platformer
Mash the Pad!
I've started a little indie game review site over at Mash the Pad. The intention is to review games from a developer/cynic point of view and keep things honest and constructive. If you have any games you'd like to get reviewed or previewed just send a contact over from the site.
Let me know what you think!
Super Cute Kitten Killer – now with um… gameplay?
So I wrote that daft Super Cute Kitten Killer thing as an example of games that should not be made right? So a few people asked for actual game play! Talk about missing the point!
Right, so now, there's some minor game – you have to kill every kitten every time, three misses and the game is over. Kittens game faster and faster as time goes on.
Let me know as always.


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1. Jermain Defoe makes his final Premier League home appearance for Spurs
Last home Premier League game for Spurs today. Gonna be emotional… #thfc
— Jermain Defoe (@IAmJermainDefoe) February 9, 2014
Not much to say about this one. Spurs beat Everton 1-0 in a game that…was…well…frenetic. And then it got a bit misty-eyed. Defoe will be joining Toronto FC for the regular season. He got a great standing ovation at White Hart Lane to mark the occasion.
2. Man United draw 2-2 against the worst team in the Premier League
One match report threw this sentence in, which is only a little bit funny and lot bit wrong:
Yet Darren Bent's 94th-minute equaliser again exposed United's soft underbelly and now turns the conversation to whether it will be Europa League football they play next season.
This is wrong because they will almost certainly be playing Europa League football, if any European football, next season. And no, this has nothing to do with complicated shot models and all the rest, but points-per-game averages so far. United would need to achieve an incredible run of form (or be aided by a stellar collapse from the title-chasing teams at the moment) for a sniff at the Champions League to even compute.
United need to post 99 point season form from here on in to get 4th. Can only afford to drop 5 more points. They haven't got a prayer.
— Andrew Beasley (@BassTunedToRed) February 9, 2014
Put it another way: it's just as realistic to say Spurs will win the title as it is to say Man United will qualify for the Champions League. Of course it's possible, but the odds are very, very much against it. Moyes' United just is what it is, and right now they're a Europa League side. Perhaps there will be a dramatic change. But ask yourself how much money you'd put on it.
3. David Moyes wanted his side to cross the ball…a lot
81 – Man Utd have made more crosses in a single game than any other Premier League side since the beginning of 2006/07. Bombardment.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 9, 2014
Have no idea what the idea was here…something they picked up in the video room?
4. Arsenal got wrecked 5-1 against Liverpool
It had all the hallmarks of an Arsenal loss. A decisive moment in a tight title race. Against a fairly important opponent. Set-piece failure. Questions about "confidence" and "attitude" and "heads being held high." Tweets from Piers Morgan. Tweets at Piers Morgan. Tweets about ignoring Piers Morgan.
Part of me is glad that this will come down to Arsenal's 'resolve,' a nebulous, nothing of a concept that will distract everyone from the basic reality that a loss is a loss is a loss. Yes, goal difference matters in this crazy league, but there are some basic points to mention briefly. First, Arsenal haven't exactly been outshooting their opponents this season (their TSR was below Liverpool's at .553), but have benefited from an unsustainably high save percentage. Before this weekend it sat near 80%, well above their nearest opponents and the league average. So there will be some balancing out here and there.
In this specific instance, Arsenal were shell-shocked by two rather unfortunate and poorly defended set-piece goals. After conceding two early goals, Arsenal were shell-shocked and left enormous gaps for the midfield-heavy Liverpool to charge into, over and over and over again. Mesut Oezil in particular was flummoxed, committing a few defensive errors and disappearing completely. Are these "patterns"? Were they when Man City beat them 6-3, after which they went on to win 8 and draw 2?
5. Luis Suarez with the miss of the season
Miss? Good lord, this was stunning in its own right.
6. Eden Hazard scored a hat-trick as Chelsea beat Newcastle 3-0 and go top of the table
This was one of them. And yet again Jose Mourinho went seemingly out of his way to put the win in context:
'I think we are playing well, the first half was not the best example of that because we has some problems but generally we have been playing well for a long time. Individually we are in a good moment, the team are getting results and we are top of the league, that's something you cannot hide.'
Statistically speaking Chelsea look great, having only suffered with a shot conversion rate below that of their nearest competitors. But Chelsea even before this weekend have been excellent at preventing the opposition from taking their chances. This is what wins games in the long term. Whether it will be enough for Chelsea to avoid any future bad luck performances? I have no clue.
7. Man City hit the brakes in 0-0 draw with Norwich
Blarby blar blar "momentum." In two games, City have posted a loss against their main title rival and a draw against a "minnow." The former was against a Chelsea team which, as I've just pointed out, has been excellent at stopping opposition shots. Against Norwich they technically outshot their opponents but managed only two on target and looked anemic, with Ageuro and Fernandinho still out. It was also away from home, and as Mourinho pointed out in his own presser in the relation to this result, Carrow Road was where Chelsea won "in the last minute." Meh. Talk to me in a month.
8. Monaco missed a major opportunity against Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1
Monaco coach Claudio Ranieri showed his team a video of the first half of the Liverpool v Arsenal match, apparently so they would go out and "do that." I suppose it could have been motivation, or visualization, or whatever. But as I wrote above, sometimes those things "just happen." In any case it didn't quite work…PSG scored within 8 minutes via Javier Pastore. The equalizer (above) was a banal own goal. Sometimes these top billed clashes don't live up to the hype, and if Monaco will surpass PSG it will likely come from Laurent Blanc's side dropping points in mysterious fashion at some stage.
9. La Liga title race at complete deadlock
Atleti coughed up a lame 2-0 loss to Almeria and all the predictions of later season collapse are now coming to fruition. Having not lost in any competition since October of last year, Atletico promptly lost the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi against Real Madrid. Fine. But then Almeria? Thirteenth place Almeria? Though one shouldn't look too much into individual results, this game was messed. Up. A cross that looped into the Atleti goal like a heat seeking missile in the 80th minute. Was it against the run of play? Nope. Atleti took 12 shots all match but managed to get only one on target. And this was followed up by a red card for keeper Daniel Aranzubia, who bungled over Jonathan Zongo after messing up a back pass.
Real Madrid won, because of course they did, 4-2 against Vilarreal. And though it looked for a moment that Barcelona would run into trouble against Sevilla, going down a goal early on, Messi et al saved the day. Though the equalizer from a dead ball was a billion light years offside.
Fifty seven points each, tied at the top. Negligible difference in GD. Dead heat.


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Q&A With The Devs Sheds Some Light Over Patch 1.0.7 And The Future Of Diablo 3
Blizzard recently published a Q&A session on the battle.net forums to address some of the player concerns regarding the current Brawling system, new crafting recipes and the future of Diablo 3.
One of the first questions to receive an answer from the dev team was the lack of balance in the new PvP system. Players are concerned that the Diablo 3 Brawling system is just a one-shot fest with matches that last only a couple of seconds. Blizzard is not very concerned about it. The answer relies in survivability skills. Players will have to adjust their builds and sacrifice damage in favor of resistances, armor and HP. At the same time, all PvP systems have this problem during their early stages. Since the Brawling system has just been introduced, it will take some time and patches to balance the player versus player combat. There are some ideas floating around about a possible point system but no specific details have been given. The devs are still working on finding a viable solution that would make PvP rewarding.
Another concern is the development of more advanced PvP systems such as Team Deathmatch. According to Blizz, the concept has not been abandoned. It has been postponed and it will be added at some point in time. The current dueling mod will remain as simple as it is now as the dev team only wanted to give the player the possibility to challenge each other without having to think about points or rewards.
Last but not least, the new crafting recipes started a debate questioning they are useful or not and if their addition is justified. There are legendary items that are superior to the new items and only the new rings can be considered best in slot for most of the classes. The answer given by Blizzard was satisfactory for the community. There are a lot of players that managed to gear up their characters without using the auction house. Unfortunately, as everyone knows, due to the random factor, it is almost impossible to get a very good gear setup just by relying on drops. The newly introduced recipes attempt to fix this problem for the players that try to bypass the unstable Diablo 3 economy and grind their gear instead of buying it.
The discussion continued with a few other questions that received more than detailed answers, covering a wide range of topics including classes, crafting, gems and player versus player. The entire discussion can be read by following this link.


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I wish I could tell you that "Penny Hardaway" by the Cool Kids and Ghostface Killah is all about the YouTube legend's basketball skills, inventive flattop and impeccable Nike shoe line, but it's really just a hook in a song about being fresh to death. Being a personification of doing your thing isn't bad, but I'd really appreciate three to four minutes of rhyming about how great Penny Hardaway was. I'm sure I'm not the only one.
Nonetheless, this is still better than the time Penny showed up in a Coolio song.
Check out the track and let us know what you think.
(via Pretty Much Amazing)


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The Chihuahuan Desert Nature Center is holding their 25th Annual Native Plant Sale April 23rd and 24th. You'll find almost 200 varieties of beautiful native and adapted plants including old favorites like sages, desert willow, mountain laurel, yellowbells, and penstemons. This year, add a new favorite to your garden—the Antelope Bush, a native rose that features bright pink flowers from early spring until the first frost.
The CDRI's 25th Annual Native Plant Sale offers a full range of beautiful plants that are adapted to this area and will add low-care color to your garden. Find plants to attract hummingbirds, butterflies, or native bees. There will be plenty of native plant experts on hand to help you select the plants best suited for your needs and garden space.
New this year for your desert garden, take home landscape size cacti—rescued by the CDRI and Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, from lands in west Texas under development. Take home some beauties: claret cup, strawberry pitaya, and large barrel cactus.
The CDRI's 25th Annual Native Plant Sale begins with Member's Night on Friday April 23rd from 4 to 7pm. You can become a member that night while enjoying the very best selection of plants!
On Saturday, April 24th, the CDRI's plant sale continues from 9am to 5pm. Everyone is welcome!
There is something for everyone at the Chihuahuan Desert Nature Center. Mark April 23rd and 24th on your calendar and visit the Nature Center for the 25th Annual Native Plant Sale. While you're there, enjoy "Naturally Mexico" a stunning photographic exhibit illustrating traditional uses of native plants.
For a list of plants that will be available at the plant sale, be sure to visit the Nature Center's website at www.cdri.org or give them a call at 432.364.2499.