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March 15, 2009
Pirates of the Caribbean: Nth Time
For her birthday, Emily wanted to see Pirates of the Caribbean (the first one) again.
If you haven't seen it yet, and you plan to, DON'T READ THIS POST - it's FULL OF SPOILERS. Potential Viewers, ye be warned.
As with the last time I watched the Lord of the Rings trilogy, I decided to use the occasion to capture some favorite lines, scenes, and other notes.
Three Scenes I'd just as Soon Skip:
1. The pirates attacking Port Royal - too wantonly, happily, graphically brutal
2. Carousing in Tortuga - ugh!
3. Skeleton crew extendedly in the moonlight - yuck.
Four Island Visits, some of which can be confusing (and three ships to get there)
1. Port Royal (base island)
2. Tortuga (finding a crew for Jack's commandeered ship, the Interceptor)
3. Isla de Muerta, 1st time - with the Black Pearl carrying Elizabeth, and the Interceptor carrying Jack & Will
4. Isla de Muerta, 2nd time - with the Black Pearl carrying Will & Jack, and the Dauntless carrying Elizabeth & Commodore Norrington
Five Great Things About Pirates of the Caribbean: the Curse of the Black Pearl:
1. The MUSIC! I love it, even after all these times.
2. Jack Sparrow's facial and vocal expressions.
3. The dialogue in general - such clever screen-writers. Very entertaining, witty, funny.
4. Will's puppy-like (and then determined and honorable) love towards Elizabeth.
5. Elizabeth's hairstyle in the near-final scene, after the attempted hanging - it's a beautiful sweeping up-do, with curly tendrils and the ocean in the background as she stands by her man. :-)
Five Favorite Scenes:
1. Jack arrives into Port Royal on sinking ship (uniquely funny situation, and introduction to the wonderful music!)
2. Elizabeth feels hot and bothered in the tight dress, while Jack tries to steal the ship, while Norrington becomes Commodore in ceremony...(cool tying together of three simultaneous themes).
3. Will & Jack's sword-fight in the smithy (lines, action, and the music again)
4. View up from underwater, and fish and teal-colored water at the desert island
5. Attempted hanging of Jack ("egregious" crimes read out while Jack laughs to himself at the memory, e.g depravity, degradation, impersonation of a cleric of the Church of England...then Will's forward flip off the gallows, then Jack falling backwards off the cliff, like Elizabeth before, only more on purpose, but still prematurely, in the middle of a sentence. However, now that I think about it, Jack is the personification of unrepentance and self-centeredness, but at the same time so funny and endearing in a way; hmmm, making evil seem good? Same issue with having pirates be the good guys, or likewise in The Italian Job, there are "good" thieves and "bad" thieves - but is there such a thing? We're all deserving of hanging, but Jesus took the curse for us and redeemed us, so if we repent and take our sin and our Maker seriously, we can change the direction of our lives and live for Him instead of ourselves...with His real security, peace and joy - but we can't if we pretend we haven't sinned or it wasn't bad to do so)
18 Favorite Lines:
Governor Swann: Does a father need an occasion to dote upon his daughter?
Elizabeth: It's difficult to say... (when asked how the dress-donning is going - too tight)
Will: At least once more, Miss Swann... as always.
Dock Official: Welcome to Port Royal, Mr. Smith! (to Jack Sparrow, after bribe)
Jack Sparrow: It's such a pretty boat.... ship.
Elizabeth: I can't breathe. Norrington: Yes, I'm a bit nervous myself. (before she falls off cliff)
Jack: Will you be saving her, then?
Jack to Will: Have I threatened you before?
Will to Jack: You threatened Miss Swann! Jack: Only a little.
Jack to Will: Move away. Will: No! Jack: Please move?
Jack: How's that? The key's run off. (with the dog)
Will: I'd die for her. Jack: Oh, good.
Jack: That's not much incentive to fight fair, then, is it?
Jack: I know it's difficult for you - but stay here and try not to do anything stupid.
Jack: Inescapably clear.
Barbossa: It's not possible! Jack: Not probable.
Jack: You can always trust me to be dishonest.
Jack: Or you could surrender...
Two Quiz Questions for those familiar with the movie:
1. How many of the all-important gold coins were there in total?
2. From which ancient civilization did they come?
March 15, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 26, 2009
20 Movie Quotes: Guess the Movie
A bunch of my friends/family on Facebook had fun with this meme of guessing movie titles from quotes from 20 of my favorite movies. So I am posting it again here - but if you already participated on my Facebook note, you're not eligible here. This is for my blog readers who have not seen my note on Facebook about this (and thus seen the answers in the comments).
1. Pick 20 of your favorite movies.
2. Go to IMDB and find a quote from each movie.
3. Post them on your blog for everyone to guess.
4. Strike it out when someone guesses correctly.
5. NO cheating by looking things up, if you don't know any of them then that's just too bad.
6. You don't have to be tagged in this to play - post your guesses in the comments.
I feel thin...stretched...like butter spread over too much bread. (Identified by Sherry)
2. Meet the greatest actor in the world! I'd rather kiss a tarantula.
3. Normal? What do *you* know about normal? What does *anyone* in *this* family know about normal?
An avalanche is coming, and I do not feel prepared. (identified by David my beloved; quote corrected by Emily, see the Singing Goat
5. What am I doing? She's not in the refrigerator.
Uh, we had a slight weapons malfunction, but uh... everything's
perfectly all right now. We're fine. We're all fine here now, thank
you. How are you? (Identified by Sherry)
So this is your opinion of me. Thank you for explaining so fully.
Perhaps these offences might have be overlooked had not your pride been
hurt by my honesty... (Identified by Jennifer)
8. - Why can't we sit down like adults and patch this thing up?
- I'm afraid that might become a habit. Then we'd wind up with a patchwork quilt for a marriage.
What are you waiting for? You're faster than this. Don't think
you are, know you are. Come on. Stop trying to hit me and hit me. (identified by David my beloved)
I have not passed through fire and death to bandy crooked words with a witless worm. (Identified by Sherry)
Farm boy, polish my horse's saddle. I want to see my face shining in it by morning. (Identified by Sherry)
Looking? Found someone, you have, I would say, hmmm? (identified by Sherry on her 2nd guess)
- You take care of this car? (identified by David my beloved)
- What do you mean?
- Tires felt a little splashy on the way over here.
Hey look, mister - we serve hard drinks in here for men who want to get drunk fast. (Identified by Sherry)
- Boris and Doris? (identified by David my beloved)
- Go ahead.
16. Please don't interrupt me when I'm asking rhetorical questions.
At least once more, Miss Swann, as always. (identified by David my beloved)
But, if I don't call in a 98-mile-an-hour fastball, I'm gonna
get fired! I'm just saying there's a chance you might get a call on
this. (identified by David my beloved)
19. I think my eyes are getting better. Instead of a big dark blur, I see a big bright blur.
20. Certainty of death; small chance of success; what are we waiting for?
February 26, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBack
September 26, 2008
The makers of Facing the Giants and Flywheel have come out with their next movie: Fireproof. It apparently comes out tonight in the U.S.
The star, Kirk Cameron, who was famous as a child actor on the sitcom Growing Pains, has a commitment not to kiss any women but his wife, whether onstage or off. So they flew in his real wife for him to kiss for a scene in the movie, shot in silhouette. Is that cool or what? :-)
Here are the articles on Fox News and MSNBC, based on the Today Show interview. And here's a more detailed Cinema Blend interview.
Can't wait until we get to see this movie.
September 26, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 07, 2008
Tired and Hoodwinked
I've been tired lately. Possibly related to the mid-winter Northern Europe darkness and dreary weather. Actually we have had a few sunny hours in the past week, with some lovely blue sky. But the long spells tend to be the overcast ones.
A bright spot in the bleak of February was watching Hoodwinked on DVD with the kids: a really funny, extremely clever, animated movie which retells the story of Little Red Riding Hood with about 100 fantastic twists. Jason, Emily and I all loved it. Anne Hathaway (from Princess Diaries and Ella Enchanted, which we also enjoyed) does the voice of Little Red. There are jokes aplenty which tickled my funny bone as an adult (with oblique references to some interesting scenes from the Matrix and Spiderman and James Bond for those who notice). I think I would have to watch it again to catch more of the varied humor. I can't tell you any more, because the surprises are the best part. The unanimously excellent reviews I read of Hoodwinked on Christian Spotlight convinced me to give the movie a try, and I have to agree with everyone: an excellent family movie for all ages.
February 7, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
January 24, 2008
Jack Jack Attack
If you liked and remember the great animated movie The Incredibles, you'll love this 4.5 minute installment of what happened to the baby, Jack Jack, during the movie (which we didn't know much about at the time). Very funny and cute. My kids have watched it about ten times. If you haven't seen the Incredibles, don't bother with this, start with that!
January 24, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 14, 2007
Lord of the Rings: My Quotes, Characters, Locations, Etc.
My kids and I did something very naughty. We'd had plenty of social interaction with their grandmother for nine days, plus playdates with friends all afternoon on Thursday, and done plenty of hikes and bike rides and sight-seeing in the two weeks just elapsed... then on our last weekday of spring vacation, we did a Lord of the Rings (LOTR) All Day Marathon. Thankfully, not the extended version. That would probably have killed us. Just the regular version (in English but with French titles & credits (no subtitles), since we bought it in France when living there last year).
Scroll down for my lists of Scenes I'd Just As Soon Skip, Favorite Scenes, Favorite Lines, Why I Like the Characters I Like, Why I Dislike the Characters I Dislike, Three Saddest Events in The Lord of the Rings, Five Favorite Places in The Lord of the Rings, People Erroneously Presumed Dead in Lord of the Rings, and A Major Goof.
We began watching the Fellowship of the Ring (FOTR) about 7:15am in our pajamas, moved on to The Two Towers (TTT) about 10:30am, and finished the Return of the King (ROTK) just shy of 6pm, after ten hours and 45 minutes (we didn't watch the credits). Yikes. We took 9 breaks ranging from two to forty-five minutes, for a total of almost 2 hours off mid-stream:
8am - 10 mins - take D to train (he had been taking his mom to the airport for her flight home)
9am - 2 mins - a phone call
10am - 7 mins - pit stop
10:30am - 4 mins - change DVDs, start 2nd movie
11am - 10 mins - stretch, put clothes in dryer
12:15pm - 21 mins - prepare lunch & bring up to DVD room
2pm - 4 mins - change DVDs, start 3rd movie
3pm - 45 mins - shower, dress, dishes, laundry, tidy house, water new plants in garden
4:15pm - 10 mins - got estimate for window-washing of our two-story house for first time in 8 months (very dirty)
Here's the count of times we've seen the trilogy, as near as I can count:
I can't believe it. That's a lot of time. My reasons for watching so many times over the past five years:
1st - curiosity and appreciation of the books, with my husband
2nd - to introduce my son to the movies; he'd also loved the books
3rd - as a requested birthday gift to my son the following year
4th - to introduce my parents to it
5th - in French for the first time, for fun with kids
6th - vacation treat with kids; our first all-day marathon (and last, I should think)
After my third viewing (in 2005), I was inspired to write a post about Good Themes in LOTR. This time I took three pages of notes about likeable and nasty characters, favorite scenes and those I'd rather miss, and favorite lines.
Five Scenes I'd Just As Soon Skip:
One can hardly look away during the whole trilogy, for fear of missing something wonderful, but there were a few moments I didn't care for, though of course they were integral to the plot:
- FOTR: Weathertop Attack; Orc-Making in Isengard
- TTT: The Dead Marshes icky stuff
- ROTK: Transformation of Smeagol into Gollum; Shelob's Cave
My 19 Favorite Scenes
- Gandalf arrives in the Shire; the party
- Sam is found under Frodo's window
- Arwen races the Black Riders
- Running from the Balrog (disintegrating bridge; Gandalf's defiance)
- Boromir's valiant last fight
- Opening snowy mountain scenery
- Aragorn, Legolas & Gimli in pursuit of the orc hobbit-nappers
- Riders of Rohan meet Aragorn, Legolas & Gimli
- Shadowfax arrives; three horses gallop past snowy peaks
- Arrival at Edoras
- Aragorn & Gimli fight at front gate of Helms Deep
- Ents take Isengard, loosing the river
- Lighting of the beacons (beautiful mountains)
- Pippin's song (haunting, beautiful and sad contrasts in imagery and sounds)
- Legolas and the Oliphaunt (yee haw!)
- FOTR reunites (minus Boromir)
- Coronation & Reunion with Arwen
- Back in the Shire (4 hobbits; Sam & Rosie)
- Farewells & ending (still chokes me up the 6th time)
My 60 Favorite Lines - how many are thanks to Tolkien and how many to the screenwriters, I'm not sure; I also may not have them exactly right as we didn't pause the movies for my transcription
- Gandalf: A wizard is never late, Frodo Baggins. Nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to. (reminds me of God)
- Bilbo: I feel thin...stretched...like butter spread over too much bread.
- Gandalf to Saruman: Tell me, friend - when did Saruman abandon reason for madness?
- Watchman at Bree, to Frodo: It's my job to ask questions after nightfall. (shortly before being squashed by the Black Riders)
- Merry to Pippin: This, my friend, is a pint.
- Aragorn to Frodo: Not nearly frightened enough; I know what hunts you.
- Elrond: Our list of allies grows thin.
- Pippin: Right. Where are we going? (after cheerily and blindly joining the FOTR for their terrible mission)
- Gandalf: All we have to do is decide what to do with the time that is given us.
- Boromir: They have a cave troll. (his tone of voice is funny)
- Gandalf: Fly, you fools! (I believe we see this clip three times in the trilogy, due to recaps)
- Saruman to Urukhai: Bring them to me alive...and unspoiled. (Helpful, since some of the orcs later want to eat their legs off)
- Frodo to Boromir: You are not yourself.
- Frodo to Aragorn: Can you protect me from yourself?
- Frodo: I'm going alone. / Sam: Of course you are. And I'm going with you. [...] I made a promise, Mr. Frodo...
- Aragorn: Let us hunt some orc.
- Gimli: We dwarves are natural sprinters - very dangerous over short distances.
- Merry: I think we might have made a mistake leaving the Shire, Pippin.
- Legolas to Eomer: You would die before your stroke fell. (fiercely defending Gimli's life & honor)
- Pippin: Don't talk to it, Merry. Don't encourage it. (About Treebeard)
- Gollum: Nice Hobbit.
- Gandalf: I come back to you now...at the turn of the tide.
- Eowyn to Wormtongue: Your words are poison.
- Gandalf to Wormtongue: I have not passed through fire and death to bandy crooked words with a witless worm.
- Gandalf to Theoden: Breathe the free air again, my friend.
- Gandalf: 300 lives of men I have walked this earth, and now I have no time.
- Eowyn: So few...so few men have returned...
- Faramir to Frodo (about Sam): Your bodyguard? / Sam: His gardener.
- Faramir (about Gollum): He had an ill-favored look. (Talk about an understatement)
- Gollum to Smeagol: I told you he was tricksy.
- Faramir: A chance for Faramir, Captain of Gondor, to show his quality.
- Upon Aragorn's return from supposed death, Gimli: Where is he? I'm going to kill him. / Legolas: You're late. You look terrible.
- Theoden: Look at my men. Their courage hangs by a thread.
- Legolas to Gimli: Shall I describe it to you, or would you like me to find you a box? (Gimli is too short to see the battle field outside the castle walls at Helm's Deep)
- Treebeard: A wizard should know better. (about Saruman felling the trees) / The Last March of the Ents.
- Sam: Folks in those stories had lots of chances to turn back, only they didn't.
- Gandalf to Shadowfax: Show us the meaning of haste.
- Gandalf: In fact, it's better if you don't speak at all, Peregrin Took.
- Gandalf: It's the deep breath before the plunge.
- Theoden: Muster the Rohirrim...Make haste across the Riddermark...summon every able-bodied man...
- Gandalf: Courage is the best defense you have left now.
- Faramir: If I should return, think better of me, father. (such a sad plea)
- Gollum: Fat hobbit is always so polite. (sarcastic)
- Faramir: Where does my allegiance lie if not here?
- Gandalf: Your father loves you. He will remember it before the end.
- Elrond: Put aside the ranger; become the man you were born to be.
- King of the Dead: The dead do not suffer the living to pass. / Aragorn: You will suffer me!
- Gollum to Frodo at Shelob's cave: Go in! / Frodo: Now that I'm here, I don't think I want to.
- Denethor: Peregrin, son of Paladin, I release you from my service. Go now and die in what way seems best to you.
- Gandalf: So passes Denethor, son of Ecthelion. (yay)
- Gandalf: The journey doesn't end here. Death is just another path, one that we all must take.
- Gimli: May the best dwarf win. (speaking to an elf)
- Theoden: I go to my fathers, in whose mighty company I shall not now feel ashamed.
- Sam: Let's just make it down the hill for starters.
- Gimli: Certainty of death; small chance of success; what are we waiting for?
- Aragorn: A day may come when the courage of men fails [...] but it is NOT THIS DAY! [...] This day we fight! By all that you hold dear on this good earth, I bid you, stand, Men of the West!
- Sam: I can't carry it for you, but I can carry you!
- Aragorn: This day does not belong to one man... (at his own coronation)
- Aragorn: My friends, you bow to no one. (then everyone kneels to the hobbits)
- Gandalf: I will not say, "Do not weep," for not all tears are an evil. (to Sam, Merry and Pippin at the departure of Gandalf, Bilbo and Frodo on the elf ship)
Why I Like the Characters I Like
FOTR onwards:
- Gandalf: Makes me feel safe. Wise, self-controlled, sacrificial.
- Sam: Innocent, loyal, perseverant, tender, loving, brave, doesn't give up.
- Aragorn: Makes me feel safe. Knowledgeable, savvy, experienced, brave, humble.
- Arwen: Brave, skillful, honest, kind, encouraging, supportive, generous. Gives of her own strength to help others succeed.
- Legolas: Pure, unafraid, untainted, skillful.
TTT onwards:
- Eomer: honorable, valiant.
- Eowyn: brave, pure, steadfast.
- Treebeard: safe, steady, thoughtful, powerful.
- Faramir: I feel sorry for him. So badly and undeservedly dissed by his father. Tries so hard to please him. Tough. Willingly faces the consequences for doing the right thing (letting the ringbearer go).
- Aragorn: faithful to Arwen while far from her and tempted by another appealing candidate (who would be suitable in character, skill, beauty, and position, not to mention race and location), even in his uncertainty as to Arwen's choice and destination.
- Theoden: Finally does something really good, by responding to Gondor's plea for aid with, "And Rohan will answer."
- Eomer: Loyal, dedicated, tough, focussed, serious.
- Gandalf: Takes appropriate and swift action, unafraid of what people think.
- Sam: Super brave and loyal despite rejection.
- Pippin: Saves Faramir's life. Good singer.
Why I Dislike the Characters I Dislike
FOTR onwards:
- Gollum: Yucky voice, yucky body, evil motives, selfish.
- Black Riders: Pure evil, scary, dark, cruel destructors
- Saruman: Corrupt, standing with evil, traitor, gave up
- Orcs: Gross, crass, mean
- Cave troll in Moria: Yuck!
- Urukhai: Ugly, evil
TTT onwards:
- Wormtongue: Ewwwww! Treacherous, deceitful, slimy, two-tongued usurper (what a great name for him)
- Smeagol & Gollum: So easily obsessed and led to murdering best friend. Deceiver, sowed division.
- Denethor: Horrible, selfish, assuming the worst, navel-gazer, power-hungry, greedy, no sense of propriety, no mercy
- Pig-orc at Os Giliath: Ugh!
- Shelob: Icky!
Three Saddest Events in The Lord of the Rings
1. Frodo to Sam: Go home.
2. Faramir: You wish now that our places had been exchanged, that I had died and Boromir had lived?
Denethor: Yes, I wish that.
3. Aragorn to Eowyn: I cannot give you what you seek.
(I see the pattern now; these are all deep rejections from people of high esteem to the hearers)
Five Favorite Places in The Lord of the Rings
- The Shire: green and friendly, peaceful and busy, playful and hard-working
- Rivendell: an oasis of safety, pretty waterfalls
- Loth Lorien: safe but eerie (but safe!)
- Snowy mountaintops in all the atmospheric shots
- Edoras: pretty surroundings, very romantic hilltop
People Erroneously Presumed Dead in Lord of the Rings
1. Frodo: briefly, due to cave troll's spear to the chest (yay Mithrail chainmail)
2. Gandalf: for a long time (especially for Frodo), due to Balrog in the Mines of Moria
3/4. Merry and Pippin: orc bonfire
5. Aragorn: fall with Warg off of cliff
(this pattern of mistaken grief stood out a lot at this viewing)
The most major goof I can see in the trilogy, non-extended version
In the fight at the Black Gate near the very end, the good guys all arrive on horses, ride up to the gate to issue the challenge on horses, and then all of a sudden they are all on foot, with no horses to be seen, for the whole fight, without explanation. What happened to their horses? Some people discuss this in a forum. It is listed in IMDB as a goof. Someone suggested it is resolved in the extended version with Shadowfax leading the horses to safety before the battle begins? If so, that's sweet. Emily was noticing how much horseback riding there is in LOTR.
I am amazed to say I would watch these three movies again, even after these six times. Probably not all in one day again, though! These are high-quality movies based on a time-tested book with worthy themes by a high-quality author. Good stuff. I'd like to read the books again, but it would take a LOT longer than a day!
Finally: watch The Lord of the Rings in 5 seconds. Ha!
April 14, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
March 23, 2007
The blossoms on the magnolia tree and the rhododendron bush have faded.
It snowed yesterday morning, only sticking to very cold things like cars and parts of roofs, colder patches of soil and corners of driveways. Emily was grumpy that it could be snowing and she would still have to go to school, where they don't let you throw snow or run on the snowy grass (which makes you slip in the mud anyway, even if you could). It had all melted by mid-morning.
Today it's overcast and gloomy outside, and the daffodils are bent over, dejected.
But Emily's having a friend over after school, and Jason is going to a double 13th birthday party tonight for two girls in his grade - the entire 7th grade is invited, and it's a disco-type party. The four parents will be in attendance, I was glad to hear. One of them is Jason's Theatre Tech teacher at school, and also teaches drums, which makes him very cool indeed, I suppose. One family is British and the other Canadian. Jason has been in a school play with one of the girls, but I don't even know what the other looks like.
If this post sounds down in the mouth, it could be partly because I saw "Becoming Jane" at the cinema yesterday with some friends, and it depressed me. It did make me extra-thankful for what I have in my own real life, but it also made me very sad for Jane. I realize that a bunch of the storyline was dreamed up, but some of it was true.
Looking upward towards Hope and Glory, here are my five favorite verses of the past seven weeks:
"In Your unfailing love you will lead the people You have redeemed."
Exodus 15:13
"You are God my Savior, and my hope is in You all day long."
Psalm 25:5
"My times are in Your hands."
Psalm 31:15
"How precious to me are Your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!"
Psalm 139:17
"If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink."
John 7:37
Glug, glug, glug. Ahhhhhhh.
March 23, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack
August 27, 2006
Six Busy Days
Went into busy, noisy, dirty, crowded, overload central London (can you tell I'm not a big city person?) to visit the Queen's domicile. Buckingham Palace was lovely, and seeing Queen Elizabeth II's 80 sparkly, pearly, silky, velvety, long gowns and her incredible jewellery was lots of fun. No photographs allowed inside the building. You'll just have to go yourself. Great to see our longtime friend from Switzerland, who toured with us, and told us of her recent adventures in Peru and the Galapagos.
This is a shot of the rear lawn of Buckingham Palace, after the interior part of our tour.
Had lunch with David at his office for the first time and got to see where he sits all day, as well as experience his train commute route with him. It's a long way (over an hour each way, if you count the walking, door to door), but as David points out, he gets "alone time" in the midst of all those people he doesn't know, and has guaranteed time to read his Bible, pray, and chill. The fast walking on either end of the train ride also provides a little daily exercise, which he didn't use to have when he drove to work in California and France.
This photo shows the train station and main road railway crossing in our little town in Berkshire, England, looking towards London. We are really glad we are on the same side of the railway line as our school, so we don't have to wait for the trains to pass in the mornings on our way to school.
Took the kids to Orientation Day at their new school. By this time there were three sick people in the house: David, Jason, and me. Thankfully, Emily was as boppy as ever. After Jason's 2 hours at school, he practically collapsed into the car under the power of his cold.
Took the kids to their first two days of school in England. I am so proud of them and the way they tackled yet another new school system in another new country with all new teachers and classmates and materials. On the way there in the morning, Emily said, "I love the first day of school! It's so tense and good!" I guess that sums up her personality. Jason was calmly determined and focussed. And the days went well, as God answered all my prayers for a good beginning.
Went shopping for all the extra school necessities we weren't told about until school started and the kids met their teachers. Discovered a huge new (to me) shopping center 15 minutes away that I hadn't known existed, in a town I'd heard of but never been to yet. The shopping center has three sports goods stores (for P.E. needs like shin guards and hockey socks and navy shorts), at least three bookstores (for reading material for the Book Challenge in Language Arts class), various stationers (for notebooks, binders, and a cross-cut shredder - the latter a home need!), electronics stores, department stores, a farmer's market on Saturdays, several grocery stores and drugstores (chemists as they are called here), lots of cafés and restaurants, and a zillion other businesses which I have yet to discover because the kids were tired and needed to go home.
Battled this cold that is still hanging on. Now it seems possible that David has a sinus infection beginning. :-( He's resting as much as possible. Which means on the weekends. Fortunately we have a three-day weekend right now ("Late Summer Bank Holiday" - over here it seems several of the official holidays don't even celebrate anything, or have a reason - but we're still thankful for them!). Jason seems to be all better (thank You, God!), I'm mostly better, and Emily's still the image of health and vitality.
Rewatched Frequency, with Dennis Quaid and Jim Caviezel. Dennis Quaid often plays such nice guys (The Rookie, the Parent Trap, Frequency...). You think from watching movies like these that the guy himself is a faithful husband and so on, then you look him up on imdb and find he's on his third wife and was engaged to someone else in the meantime, and he was addicted to cocaine, and the illusion rightfully bursts. I just can't imagine the extent of the awful stresses and pressures of being famous.
Funny, I could have sworn I saw this movie about 15 years ago, but now I discover it only came out in 2000. Wow. How come I've seen it before and David hasn't? Maybe I saw it on a plane or at my mom's or when he was on a business trip. And about Jim Caviezel...when I first saw this movie, I had no idea who he was, and didn't remember his name or that he was in this movie...but this time around, of course, I know him as JESUS in the Passion of the Christ. Wow, that's a different feeling! Anyway, I really liked Frequency again (it features a happily married couple who are still in love years later - that's my kind of movie), despite the fact it is a bit gruesome (caveat viewer).
Today we've decided to visit another new church - with a congregation that meets at 5pm about 15 minutes away. It's hard to make a choice on a church around here in August, since the children's ministries are mostly shut down to give the workers a break. So we're just enjoying meeting new people and joining in with the worship at various places, but knowing that we won't be settling down until a few weeks into September, when we can find out more about what the kids' environment will be like during the year. This has become more of a central issue for me now that the kids are older. I found in France that I was happy where the kids were happy. Because if they're happily engaged and learning about the Lord, I can concentrate on worshipping and learning, too.
August 27, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 01, 2006
Movie Quotes; Soccer Balls for Iraqi Kids
My cousin-in-law Angie posted her five movie quotes that came to mind. I could only identify ONE! With a couple haphazard guesses and two flat out I have no ideas.
Can you do better?
Lieutenant K at Wordsmith at War posted about the joy of a humanitarian mission to bring supplies to children in Iraq.
April 1, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
That Thing You Do!
What a GREAT movie! I just watched this (better ten years late than never), based on a recommendation from Semicolon Sherry. It ranks at #92 on her 105 best movies of all time:
92. That Thing You Do! (1996) Tom Hanks directs and and has a small role in this film about a one-hit rock band called the Oneders (WON-ders) and their meteoric rise to fame. This one is so good because it's a rare occurrence these days, a film for teenagers and adults that's clean and fun.
In the special features, Tom Hanks says he hopes people will find the movie to be a "refreshing change of pace." As I explained to my 11-year-old, it sure is, because a director realized that a great movie suitable for both older kids and adults could be made, with lots of humor and super music, without adding all the yucky stuff that is so unnecesssary (sex, bad language, and violence).
Reasons I enjoyed the movie:
1. I love drums
2. I love that catchy tune
3. It made me laugh a lot
4. It's mostly upbeat and fun
5. Really well cast (I like Tom Hanks, but I also liked all the other actors/tresses)
6. We got to see ARWEN (Liv Tyler) in another movie! No elven ears, though. But I guess it was five years earlier; they must have grown pointy after she finished filming this one.
7. It was clean enough to watch with our 11-year-old son; he loved it, too. Always looking for movies like that.
8. It gives the opportunity with the closing blurbs to consider which is more rewarding: being happily married and having kids, or being rich or famous or self-important (it's pretty clear!)
9. It mentions Bainbridge Island, where a dear friend lives
April 1, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack


text:
PROFESSOR A.B.C NWOSU is a stalwart of the People Democratic Party (PDP) in Anambra State. He had served four military governors as Commissioner for Health in the old Anambra namely Late Commodore Emeka Omeruah, Col. Robert Akonobi, Col. Herbert Eze and Commodore Joe Abulu.
He was the longest served Commissioner for Health in Nigeria and was in the team that set up government in the new Anambra State in August 1991. Nwosu was recalled by the then governor Chukwuemeka Ezeife but resigned after one year service on mutual agreement with the governor.
In 1998 he was a founding member of the PDP at National and State levels and was the PDP governorship candidate for the 1999 election. This was later upturned by the PDP Electoral Appeal Panel sitting in Abuja in favour of Dr. Chinwoke Mbadinuju who then became governor. Nwosu became Political Adviser to President Olusegun Obasanjo and later Federal Minister of Health under President Obasanjo until the year 2003. He has remained a staunch member of the PDP and was recently appointed as a member of the Chief Jim Nwobodo Committee to reconcile all elements of the party in the South-East Zone.
Prof, what is happening in Anambra?
Is it with regard to the 2010 Anambra governorship election or with the spate of kidnappings, or with development and good governance in Anambra State?
With regard to all the three issues on security and development, the governor of Anambra State is the chief security officer and chief development officer of the state. He governs on the mandate of the people. It is therefore the people who will judge his efforts when it is time to renew the mandate. However, as an Anambrarian, I am, of course very concerned over the deteriorating security situation and will be happy if government takes immediate and effective measures to stop the bad state of internal security in the state.
On development, the governor won election on his vision and manifesto and is governing as best as he can but I have always had a different vision for the state.
What is this your vision?
No two persons are exactly alike in their vision and ideas. I see Anambra people as a great people - The Light of the Nation. And to me you can only be a great people if you dream big dreams and accomplish great things as a people, that is, government and the people. Governance therefore must aim to bring out the best in Anambra people for the achievement of great objectives.
When regions were the federating units, the Great Zik of Africa in Eastern Region operated on the axiom that if leadership shows the light the people will find the way and the Great Zik showed the light, and great sons of Anambra namely Dr. Nwafor Orizu, Dr. K.O. Dike, Sir Louis Mbanefo, Dr. P.N.C Okigbo, Prof. Chinua Achebe, to name just a few, emerged in the Nigerian firmament.
More importantly, communities responded enthusiastically and there were great strides in development as communities build secondary schools, hospitals, post offices and awarded overseas scholarships to deserving sons and daughters. This was a great era of development made possible by purposeful leadership in governance. We can do it again with the proper leadership.
Certainly, the second Niger Bridge is not beyond Anambra people and their government. Certainly, 21st century-type government colleges and universities are not beyond Anambra Government and the people, when you recalled the type of Government Colleges and the great University of Nigeria built by the Regional Government and not Federal.
I attended one of such Government Colleges from a village primary school in Nnewi and it changed my life. Anambra people can do these things again. If former governor of Rivers State, Dr. Peter Odili can build a giant Independent Power Plant (IPP) at Omoku, and if the former governor of Cross River State, Mr. Donald Duke could build TINAPA, so can Anambra Government strategize with the private sector and build a second Niger Bridge and a second international market that would help to decongest Onitsha and convert it into a Mega City.
Lagos State is thinking of a Mega City, why can't Anambra do the same for Onitsha? Why have we degenerated into a people who can not think of mega projects anymore instead of these 'tuke tuke' projects which are scattered all over the state and which will not be remembered by anybody in ten years, let alone 30 years time.
Mega projects like International Market, Second Niger Bridge, Independent Power Plant like Alaoji, being done by Professor Barth Nnaji and his company, will surely boost the revenue base of Anambra and assure sustainable development. There is the saying that if you can dream it, if you can visualize it, then you can do it. My vision is for an Anambra Government that will dream big dreams with Anambra people and restore the state to its old glory.
You still have not answered my question on 2010 Anambra governorship elections.
What is there to say? The madness is back and dark clouds are gathering again over Anambra. The ominous signs are there for anyone who cares to see.
Since 1998 Anambra is the only state in Nigeria to have had five governors namely Dr. Chinwoke Mbadinuju, Dr. Chris Ngige, Dame Mrs. Virgy Etiaba, Mr. Peter Obi , Mr. Andy Uba and Mr. Peter Obi again. In between, there were purported resignation and failed abduction of a sitting governor, there was mayhem and destruction of Anambra State public property, there was Court-voided impeachment of a governor etc.
As it has now happened, Anambra will be the only state in the entire country to conduct its governorship election a year ahead of others. All the above should give the people of Anambra an uncommon good sense as they prepare for the 2010 governorship election because the eyes of Nigeria and the entire world shall be on Anambra in February next year.
Right now there is confusion. The only certainty is that there is an incumbent governor. But there is confusion in his party. There is confusion in the other major parties in the state. And there is confusion regarding whether the elections shall hold because there is presently a court case challenging the proposed 2010 Anambra Governorship election. It is a well known fact that confusion in political parties always translate into disequilibrium and confusion in the polity. So, the summary is that all is not well and Anambra people must not sleep.
But your party, the PDP seems to be leading in this confusion.
It is not. In Anambra State the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has its own confusion. The Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA) has its own confusion and the Action Congress (AC) has its own confusion. However, I believe that as soon as the court gives its final judgment on the law suit by Mr. Andy Uba, the INEC shall provide details of the election and the political parties will select and present their candidates for the election. My position concerning the PDP Anambra is that the apparent confusion over the State Executive Committee can be resolved overnight if the National Working Committee (NWC) hearkens to the yearnings of Anambra people.
The apparent disagreement between the PDP National Working Committee and the South-East Stakeholders meeting over the Anambra State Executive Committee of the party is a very bad omen. When one considers that that South -East PDP governors, former Presidents of Senate from the zone and a key father figure of the PDP, Dr. Alex Ekwueme were among those who attended the South-East meeting, it is most painful to people like me.
Fortuitously, I was not at the South-East Stakeholders meeting but I am in complete agreement with the objectives and their views. Ndi-Anambra know what they want regarding the State Executive Committee, and they know who they do not want as governorship candidates. This is self evident and palpable. To hear and hearken to the yearnings of the people is a matter of personal integrity for all concerned. As for me, I shall always remain with the people.
Why do you maintain this position?
Because in the end all political offices and all political appointments have tenure and shall pass. But the people, the state, the nation, and the land shall endure.
By some counts there are over 40 Anambra governorship aspirants. Is that not a big factor in the emerging confusion?
It is better to choose from many than from a few even if presently the matter appears to be a free-for- all affair. Nowadays because of joblessness whenever a very senior executive position is advertised even in the private sector, hundreds will apply. Thereafter criteria and processes are used to select a single qualified candidate to fill the position. The governorship position is the most important executive position for any state. In the case of
governorship position, there are functions of a governor which cannot be performed by just anybody. The governorship position should not be seen simply as chief contract awarding officer.
The governor is not only the Chief Security Officer; he is the Chief Development Officer and the Chief Administrative Officer, who should be conversant with executive council memoranda and best practices in governance. Beyond this the governor must have a vision of the state in the next generation.
The intellectual capital base, the educational infrastructure, the internal revenue base, the physical infrastructure, etc , of the state in the next 30 years must be the major concern and focus of a governor. Beyond this, the governor must be able to lift the people of the state to higher ideals of service to the community, morality, honesty, hard work and genuine concern to eliminate poverty and suffering. Based on the above, political parties should be able to develop criteria to sift the grain from the chaff among aspirants under their platforms.
How can this be done in the case of Anambra where so many want to be governor of the state?
All aspirants can not contest the election only those selected by their parties as candidates shall contest. Presently I belong to a group of well-meaning Anambrarians, the Anambra State Good Governance Forum (ASGGOF) which has adopted criteria developed by the League of Anambra State Professionals as far back as 2006 or thereabout.
These criteria have been published very recently in national dailies as part of communiqué from ASGGOF meetings. The criteria are specific that aspirants who are of questionable integrity; aspirants whose educational qualifications are suspect; aspirants who have no track-records of personal and public service achievements; aspirants who have doggy business and family backgrounds and relationships; aspirants who have criminal records etc must be flatly rejected by the Anambra electorate. The political parties operating in the State and INEC have been written by ASGGOF on this matter and we are working with the Civil Society, the Churches and well-meaning Anambrarians to ensure that political scallywags do not have their way.
With due respect, it is also a fact well known to political roughnecks that most of you will vanish from the country at election time when the long knives come out. How therefore will ASGGOF enforce the criteria and influence the Anambra 2010 elections?
It is also a well known fact that the days of violence, long knives and election rigging must and do end one day. Indeed for Anambra they shall end sooner rather than later. Ndigbo have a saying that 'rats do not chop the fish of those who stay awake'. And Ndigbo also have another saying that 'when the mouth gets into battle before the legs, very often the legs do not return'. Consequently, the less that is said of this by ASGGOF, the better. It shall suffice
to state simply that ASGGOF is a committed group and I am a committed member of ASGGOF.
So, in plain language, how would you assess the 2010 Anambra governorship election?
The elections shall hold in February 2010 unless the court rules otherwise because the tenure of the present governor is specific. Consequently, even in the present confusion, the battle lines are already drawn. The two biggest political parties with structures and wide following throughout the State are the APGA to which the governor belongs and the PDP to which the speaker and legislators at state and federal levels all belong. Then there is the AC which is
already campaigning with Dr. Chris Ngige as its anointed candidate and thereafter the PPA. This is not to say that the other parties can be ignored given the current mood of the Anambra electorate.
Howbeit there is the incumbent governor, Mr. Peter Obi who is seeking a second term. There is Dr. Chris Ngige who is already anointed by his party and who is on a serious comeback mission. These are known names with some track-records in the state. One therefore expects that the other political parties, especially the PDP shall offer to the Anambra electorate candidates who are comparable or better than these two
candidates, if they expect the people of Anambra to take them seriously. It is clear from background and underground activities at grassroots level that Ndi-Anambra will not accept a governor that they did not vote for in 2010.
Most significantly, Anambra governorship election being the only election in Nigeria in February 2010, will be a test of will especially, Nigeria's will to conduct credible elections. It will be a test of competence and capability for INEC and security agencies. It will be a test of determination by the electorate to ensure that the votes of the people are counted properly. It will be intense.
So, are you an aspirant or a candidate?
Only political parties can have candidates. Before they are adopted by the parties, individuals can only be aspirants. Remember that in 1998 I was the PDP Anambra Governorship candidate until the Appeal Panel sitting in Abuja reversed it. The Chairman of 1998 Anambra PDP Primaries, Gen. A.B. Mamman wrote an unforgettable damning letter on the injustice of the verdict of the Appeal Panel. That was eleven years ago. I have moved on since then. Anambra State has also moved on and all that is now history.
Against this background you will appreciate that the best I can do in the present situation is to assist the PDP to put its house in order as a political party in the State. It is the only sensible and sane thing for me to do. It will be futile for me to begin to aspire on a platform that is not quite in order in my State, as I have no desire to operate outside the PDP where I played significant roles at National and State levels during its founding in 1998.
Consequently, my primary desire and prayer is for the PDP National Working Committee to hearken to the cries of Anambrarians. The people of Anambra have spoken. The people of the South-East including the PDP governors have added their voices to those of Anambrarians.
Ndi-Anambra and the people of the South-East are waiting to know whether their cries have been heard by the PDP. After the PDP House in Anambra State had been put in order, water shall find its level according to the desires of the electorate.
When you said that the people have spoken are you referring to the recent South-East Zonal meeting of the PDP Stakeholders?
Not really. Before the PDP South-East Stakeholders' meeting, there were committees set up by the National Working Committee of the party. I was a member of the Chief Jim Nwobodo committee. There was the Professor Jerry Gana committee etc. The National Working Committee of the PDP accepted their reports. In the case of the Chief Jim Nwobodo committee, its interim report formed the basis for the inauguration of the PDP State Executive Committees for Abia, Ebonyi and Enugu States. These State Executive committees are functioning effectively.
For Imo State, a Caretaker Committee has just been set up. Some of us therefore wonder why Anambra has become intractable. A major feature of the Chief Nwobodo committee was that it was made up exclusively of people from South-East Zone as the people of the region deeply resented the situation in the past where people of other zones exercised overbearing influence on internal affairs of the zone. It is in this regard that PDP members of the region deeply resent what they now see as cavalier treatment of the views of South-East Governors and Dr. Alex Ekwueme.
The truth of the matter is that Anambra PDP members simply want an Oha Zuru Mee State Executive Committee that will produce a governorship candidate on the platform of the PDP who will be credible and who will be acceptable to Anambrarians. No more, no less.
Finally, How do you see the scenario playing out?
The 2010 Anambra State Governorship election will hold in February next year. INEC has given a date and only the courts can truncate the process. A winner will emerge. But a winner who emerges through flawed processes will become flawed by that fact.
I only hope that the electioneering will be devoid of violence because Ndigbo have seen enough bloodshed. Those who rule by the sword will find that it is better to rule through the consent of the people.
Whatever happens, life in Anambra shall go on. Ultimately the will of the people, which is indicative of the will of God, will prevail on earth as it is in Heaven and Anambra people who are God's people will triumph.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
The time has come... Neduro DID Dakar!
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Joined: Jul 2003
Location: Colorado Springs, CO
Oddometer: 12,053
Bike Building!
In my experience, everything worthwhile is made so by the people involved, and by that measure, this is going to be a great program! There are a few adv'ers I can't thank enough, but I'll try starting here: Ganshert, who is not only great company but also pretty good with composites, c.vestal who brings incredible energy and mad skills to everything he turns his attention toward, and GSNorCal, who is positive and helpful and centered, not to mention smart and creative. 2 weeks ago (really? Am I that late? Jeebus) we got together on Friday night and got started. We'll call it a work session, but we laughed so hard through the whole thing that barely seems fair.
I had made the decision against racing Jonah's 2007 bike (which is now for sale, PM me) because it's hard to justify starting with a used bike. Even when everything works perfectly as it does on that bike, I didn't want the mental worry of wondering what I'd forgotten.
Further, I really wanted to make the simplest possible bike. I have a ton of miles on 530's, the 450 is essentially the same and I trust the package. I debated buying the RS Concept setup, but the cost was high and Scot, Chris and I decided we could get this done on our own. This saves me a ton of $$ and means I can have spares... so the decision to fabricate was made.
Chris has been developing a roadbook mount system for a while anyway, so we had a very solid starting point. The tasks we had to accomplish break into essentially two categories- setup and bolt-on stuff, and fabrication. Our goal was to focus on fabrication, on the theory that the setup/ bolt on stuff could be done whenever, but the fab stuff is not only long lead, but also high risk. The pre-weekend list had three big boxes to check off- Electrical System design, Rear tank mounting, and biggest of all, Fairing Fab.
Starting point:
First step on the fairing is to imagine the shape we might want. Here we go, construction paper, tape, and crayons.
The plan was to get an idea of the shape we wanted, and carve the first side out of foam before quitting Friday night. Here's where we stopped at 2 AM:
The windscreen is a 990 screen from SGMoto (Scot's company), no you can't buy one, yet.
Like the plastic surgeon says about boob jobs, the first one is easy, it's making the second one match that is a trick.
This man looks serious!
Shaping the foam:
Meanwhile, Dave (GSNorCal) and I were busy working on rear tank mounting.
Here Aurel (who was stopping at my house at the time) supervises, and C.Vestal advises:
Mounts complete on the 530, we transfered to the 450. I don't get no respect.
Here Erika, the graphic designer who made everything to do with the effort look good, tries to break a foam block, while her husband looks, uh, frightened.
With the foam shaped, it's time to cover it with Fiberglass. Once that cures, another part will be taken off, which will become the mold.
Vacuum Bagging the plug:
And then it was time for Crepes made by Marion, Aurel's wife.
The team hard at work:
At the conclusion of the weekend, the bike didn't look much different, but we had made a ton of progress. The fairing was moving forward, the rear tank was mounted, the electrical system de-mystified, and generally, while most of the physical work of making a rally bike remained, many of the mental barriers were put to rest.
Doubletake Mirrors
- Folding D/S mirror that is both useful and indestructible.
Dual Sport Riding Techniques DVDs
: Clear instructional DVDs to improve off-road skills.
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The Supreme Court Further Defines the Scope of Patentable Subject Matter
Following its decision in Bilski1, on March 20, 2012, a unanimous (9-0) Supreme Court handed down its decision in Mayo v. Prometheus2-the Court's second opinion on patentable subject matter in less than two years. The Court in Mayo held that the claimed method for optimizing therapeutic efficiency for the treatment of an immune-mediated gastrointestinal disorder is not eligible for patent protection.
Prometheus is the sole and exclusive licensee of U.S. Patent
Nos. 6,355,623 and 6,680,302, which claim methods for determining the optimal
dosage of thiopurine drugs used to treat immune-mediated gastrointestinal
disorders, and marketed a PROMETHEUS Thiopurine Metabolites test that used the
technology covered by the patents-in-suit.
Procedural History
Mayo initially purchased and used Prometheus's test, but later announced that it intended to use and sell its own test. Prometheus thereafter sued Mayo in the U.S. district court in California. The district court granted Mayo's motion for summary judgment of invalidity under 35 U.S.C. §101, finding that the claimed methods do not recite patent-eligible subject matter.
Prometheus appealed, and the Federal Circuit reversed and "upheld the asserted claims' validity under … the machine-or-transformation test."3 Mayo then took its appeal to the Supreme Court. The Court granted Mayo's petition for certiorari, vacated the judgment, and remanded the case for consideration in light of Bilski. On remand, the Federal Circuit reaffirmed its earlier decision.4 Mayo again filed a petition for certiorari, which was granted.
At the Federal Circuit, Mayo had argued that the asserted claims are nearly identical to the claims in LabCorp v. Metabolite5 and are thus unpatentable laws of nature. In LabCorp, the Supreme Court initially granted a writ of certiorari, and later dismissed it as improvidently granted. Justice Breyer, with whom Justices Stevens and Souter joined, filed a dissenting opinion, stating that a correlation between homocysteine and vitamin deficiency is an unpatentable natural phenomenon.6 The Federal Circuit concluded, however, that the dissent is not controlling law and the claims at issue are different than those presented in LabCorp.
The Court's Decision in Mayo
In the Mayo decision, authored by Justice Breyer, the Supreme Court first established that "relationships between concentrations of certain metabolites in the blood and the likelihood that a dosage of a thiopurine drug will prove ineffective or cause harm" are laws of nature7. The Court then turned to the question of whether "the patent claims add enough to their statements of the correlations to allow the processes they describe to qualify as patent-eligible processes that apply natural laws."8 As in Bilski, the analysis of the Court "rests upon an examination of the particular claims … in light of the Court's precedents."9 The Court reiterated that "[i]f a law of nature is not patentable, then neither is a process reciting a law of nature, unless that process has additional features that provide practical assurance that the process is more than a drafting effort designed to monopolize the law of nature itself."10 Using that standard, the Court concluded that the asserted claims do not recite patent-eligible processes.
The Supreme Court used claim 1 of U.S. 6,355,623 as a representative claim. Claim 1 reads:
- A method of optimizing therapeutic efficacy for treatment of an
immune-mediated gastrointestinal disorder, comprising:
(a) administering a drug providing 6-thioguanine to a subject having said immune-mediated gastrointestinal disorder; and
(b) determining the level of 6-thioguanine in said subject having said immune-mediated gastrointestinal disorder,
wherein the level of 6-thioguanine less than about 230 pmol per 8x108 red blood cells indicates a need to increase the amount of said drug subsequently administered to said subject and
wherein the level of 6-thioguanine greater than about 400 pmol per 8x108 red blood cells indicates a need to decrease the amount of said drug subsequently administered to said subject.
The Court concluded that the administering step, the determining step, and
the wherein clauses were not "sufficient to transform the nature of the
claim."11 Specifically, the Court reasoned that doctors-the
audience of the administering step-used the thiopurine drugs to treat patients
long before anyone asserted these claims; the wherein clauses only tell the
doctors about the laws-the correlations between the metabolite levels and likely
harm or ineffectiveness; the methods of determining metabolite levels were well
known in the art; and the combination of these three steps added nothing
patentable to laws of nature.
The Supreme Court conducted a further analysis by comparing this case with two of its precedents-Diehr12 and Flook13. The Court stated that claim 1 "presents a case for patentability that is weaker than the (patent-eligible) claim in Diehr and no stronger than the (unpatentable) claim in Flook."14 The steps and wherein clauses of claim 1 "add nothing specific to the laws of nature other than what is well-understood, routine, conventional activity, previously engaged in by those in the field."15 The Supreme Court repeatedly described the steps recited in the asserted claims as "conventional."
The Mayo decision reiterates that patent claims directed to laws of nature are not patentable absent the inclusion of patent-eligible subject matter. The Mayo decision will likely have important consequences for biotechnology and pharmaceutical patent applications, particularly where claims are drafted to encompass a natural process, a correlation, or laws of nature. As in Bilski, the Court again declined to define what constitutes a patentable process. Instead, the Court invited patent applicants to look to "the guideposts in Benson, Flook, and Diehr."16 In addition, while "recognize[ing] that, in evaluating the significance of additional steps, the §101 patent-eligibility inquiry and, say, the §102 novelty inquiry might sometimes overlap," the Court stated that a §101 inquiry cannot be substituted by an inquiry under §§102, 103, and 112.


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December 12, 2009
Due to budget restrictions, this meeting was held by conference call. The out-of-town members were connected via telephone while the Raleigh-based members met in the conference room of Fisher Building in Raleigh, NC.
Call to Order, Invocation, and Pledge of Allegiance
Chair Beth Butler called the 300th meeting of the NC Commission for the Blind to order at 10:05 a.m. on Saturday, December 12, 2009.
Present in the conference room were: Mary Flanagan, Gary Ray, Dan Bernstein, Chris Fleming, Cynthia Joos, Dr. Holland, Dr. Gropper, Joann Wood, David Arthur, Dr. Chamblee, Sandy Scarlett, Steve Sligar, Mim Kim, and Carla Parker.
Connected by conference call were: Beth Butler, Tom Ackers, Kathy Brack, Eddie Weaver, Allen Casey, Tommy Jenkins, Terri Meyers, Richard Oliver, and Kim Lambert.
Mary Flanagan explained that there is a change in the agenda items. Dr. Sligar and Mim Kim will be reporting under "New Business" for the State Rehabilitation Council. Dr. Sligar and Mim Kim will be interviewing the Council members regarding the needs assessment when the State Rehabilitation Council meeting adjourns and DSB staff is dismissed.
Chair Beth Butler offered the invocation.
Chair Beth Butler welcomed everyone and reminded members of the Ethics Awareness and Conflict of Interest order. If any board member has any known conflict with respect to any matters coming before the Board, please identify the conflict or appearance of conflict and refrain from any undue participation in the particular matter involved.
Mr. Allen Casey was appointed as parliamentarian at today's meetings.
Approval of Minutes
A motion was made by Kathy Brack, seconded by Richard Oliver, and carried to approve the minutes of the September 13, 2009 meeting.
Public Relations Committee—Kathy Brack
A conference call was held with the committee members to discuss PSA's. In the Recovery Plan, there is a part that is designated for PSA's. Mary Flanagan and her staff are currently working on developing PSA's for DSB.
The Public Relations Committee needs the Professional Advisory Committee's assistance by distributing DSB's materials to participants to any conference that they may attend.
Intercommittee Relations Committee
No Report
Advocacy Committee—Tommy Jenkins
The Advocacy Committee has not met. Mr. Jenkins participated in the Consumer and Advocacy Advisory Committee meeting which was held yesterday.
Personnel Development Committee
No Report
Acting Director's Report—Mary Flanagan
Mrs. Flanagan gave an update to the posting of the Director's position. The position was posted before Debbie Jackson retired. Applications have been received by Human Resources in the Adams Building. No interview dates have been set.
DSB has met with DHHS Public Affairs office regarding public service announcements. Goals, target audience, and scripts have been developed—1 PSA will be directed to employers and 1 will be directed to consumers regarding services. Radio and TV PSA's will be developed.
ARRA Update--The ARRA rule change officially went into effect October 9, 2009. Counselors can now purchase technology devices for consumers who have an IPE and are going to further their education or whose job requires technology for employment.
As part of the American Recovery and Reinforcement Act, the Division received funds for VR and ILR. DSB did create 3 part-time temporary positions. These positions are Social Security Specialists and two are located in Raleigh and one is located in Winston-Salem.
DSB is also creating 2 full- time temporary positions that will focus on Transition. Their job duties will entail meeting with EC Directors and Superintendents of LEA's to inform them about our transition services and promote cooperative agreements with DSB. They will also talk with families, other professionals, and students in helping to identify job opportunities.
DSB has been working on a cooperative agreement with 4 counties (Nash, Pitt, Edgecombe and Wilson). These counties had a number of visually-impaired high school students that would directly benefit from having a transition counselor but no one county could support a single program. Each EC Director was contacted regarding forming a regional program and they were in agreement. This program will have a Rehabilitation Counselor and Community Employment Specialist. DSB hopes to have these 2 positions posted by the beginning of the year.
Budget Update--In August, the Governor requested each agency for a 5% hold back. Now that 5% has been reverted back to the State. DSB did give up about $700,000 which most of that was Medical Eye Care.
DSB's Business Enterprise Program is now operating the Fort Bragg Military Contract.
Consumer and Advocacy Advisory Committee—Gary Ray
Discussion of the future of the Governor Morehead School, residential school for the Blind, was held at yesterday's meeting of the CAAC. Last September, the CAAC voted to take the issue up and take a next step.
A open-ended motion was made and carried at the CAAC meeting that the CAAC approach the legislature of North Carolina and begin to explore setting up the residential school for the Blind, GMS, as a fully state-funded local education agency out from under the Department of Health and Human Services. The CAAC will be proactive rather than reactive.
The CAAC strongly encourages DHHS to move forward in hiring a DSB Director and thanked Mary as serving as the Acting Director.
Professional Advisory Committee-Cynthia Joos
To date, Medical Eye Care expenditures as of December 4 are $143,000. A balance of $1.4 million remains.
The Medical Eye Care Program continues to provide basic eye exams, eye medications, and emergency surgery/treatment.
The Nursing Eye Care Consultant in our Wilmington District Office is on medical leave and a temporary nurse has been hired.
Old Business
New Business
A motion was made by Tommy Jenkins, seconded by Kathy Brack, and carried to adjourn this meeting.
Respectfully submitted,
Beth Butler, Chair
Commission for the Blind
Mary Flanagan, Acting Director
Division of Services for the Blind


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With Rail Blades, nothing about the design is arbitrary! The tip of a rotor blade is one of the most important features of the rotor blade design. Many rotor blade manufacturers simply design a tip that looks good without considering the importance of efficiency. If you have ever heard a rotor blade flutter during aggressive maneuvers it is because the rotor blades are coming out of track, this is mainly due to a poorly designed rotor blade tip. Rotor blades that make excessive noise are consuming priceless energy that your helicopter should be using to accelerate itself through the air. Rail Blades have been designed with an ultra efficient rotor blade tip which delivers unparalleled power and silence.
Rail Blades are designed and tested in the USA by Botos Design & Distribution Inc. If you wish to become a Rail Blades dealer please send us an email via our contact form.
Source: Rail Blades


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I wrote in an earlier opinion piece that 2014 is the year when I expect Apple to finally give in and opt for a larger iPhone display. Assuming I'm right, the question then becomes: what approach will Apple take?
There are two ways of increasing the size of a display. First, you can keep the resolution the same and simply use larger pixels. That's what happens when a manufacturer makes a 1080P HD TV in both 40- and 50-inch sizes, for example. Both have 1920×1080 pixel displays, it's just that the 50-inch display has larger pixels.
That would be by far the simplest approach for Apple to take. Provided it keeps the aspect ratio the same as the iPhone 5/c/s, then it can continue to use an 1136×640 display. All existing apps continue to work as-is, developers don't have to do any work to support the larger display and everyone is happy . Or are they…
There is, however, a downside to this approach: the display will get just that little bit less sharp. Next time you're in a store with a display wall full of TVs, approach one of the smaller ones until you can make out the individual pixels. Now back off just far enough that you can't. Now look at a larger TV at the same distance. Suddenly the pixels are visible.
This is largely an academic exercise. Once the pixel density hits a certain level, the pixels are no longer visible at any normal viewing distance. I'd say 4.5- to 5-inches is the likely range for a larger iPhone (I'm not entirely convinced by the two-size rumors), so let's take the example of that 5-inch top-end …
If Apple stretched the current 4-inch display to 5 inches, while retaining the same 1136×640 resolution, the pixel density would decrease from 326ppi to 260ppi. Would this still qualify as a Retina display?
Apple has never defined Retina with specific ppi numbers, saying only that it is a number "high enough that the human eye is unable to discern individual pixels at a typical viewing distance." For an iPhone, Apple considers a typical viewing distance to be 10 inches.
Now let's compare with the iPad. The iPad Air has a pixel density of 264ppi – coincidentally, almost identical to our hypothetical iPhone 6 with unchanged resolution. And the iPad, says Apple, is still Retina because the typical viewing distance for the larger device is 15 inches.
Well, I've just done a little experimenting with my iPhone and iPad and learned two things. One, I actually hold the two devices at pretty similar distances, of 10-12 inches. Two, at even 10 inches, I can't really resolve individual pixels on my 264ppi iPad Air. Apple could, as far as I'm concerned, design an iPhone 6 with the same 1136×640 resolution as the iPhone 5, and I'd consider it Retina.
For me, then, an iPhone 6 with identical resolution screen in a 5-inch size would be a feasible option.
Now let's consider the alternative: increasing the number of pixels in direct proportion to the increase in screen size to retain the same 326ppi pixel density.
For the sake of simplicity, let's assume Apple keeps the aspect ratio the same. That would mean an increase in resolution from 1136×640 to 1420×800.
It's unarguably a Retina display. The marketing people don't have to fudge their definition of Retina display, and get to boast that 'the iPhone 6 has the highest resolution display of any iPhone, with 25% more pixels.' Customers get the same quality display they had in their iPhone 5s or 5c. Everyone is happy.
Except developers. Just as when the resolution changed from the iPhone 4s to the iPhone 5, suddenly they have to support yet another resolution. All that work they had to do then, they now have to do all over again.
Apple may have built the best phone in the world, but its success is at least as much down to the huge number of high-quality apps as the design of the handset itself. Apple knows how important developers are. There was a huge amount of dismay at the switch in resolution when the iPhone 5 was announced – would it really want to put developers through the same pain again with the iPhone 6?
My suspicion is: yes.
First, while a larger screen is easier to view, it doesn't buy you any more real-estate: you won't be able to see any more of your emails. A higher resolution, in contrast, lets you see more of your content at a time.
Second, while Apple could fudge its viewing figure distances, and say – probably quite accurately – that a 260ppi phone display is still Retina, it would be a bit of an embarrassment to have to do so.
Third, while Apple has never gotten involved in pointless specs races – witness it sticking with an 8MP camera, for example, while competitors went as high as 41MP – there's a big difference between leaving a spec unchanged and launching a new model with a poorer spec. A reduction in ppi from 326 to 260 would not go unchallenged.
Fourth, it's hard to argue that Apple wouldn't want to cause its developers grief with a resolution switch when it has already done just that once before.
There is a fifth argument: that iOS has for some time been headed in a direction that makes resolution changes less painful than they might be.
In iOS 6, Apple introduced the concept of Auto Layout. Instead of developers having to specify absolute pixel coordinates for objects, they are able to define a location in relative terms. For example, this object should be centred and at least 20 pixels away from neighbouring objects.
Not all developers adopted it. In fact, probably most haven't, as there's been no particular reason to so far. A change in resolution would provide that reason, and they'd then have apps that would play nicely with any future resolution changes.
Then there's iOS 7. A flat user interface becomes much easier to rescale than one that has pixel-level decoration in the form of shadows, glows, textures and so on. Perhaps Apple introduced the flatness of iOS 7 purely for aesthetic reasons, but perhaps not.
It's also not all gloom-and-doom for developers: a great many apps are effectively just navbars and tableviews, and adapting those would be a simpler task.
So my view is, yes, we should expect to see not just a larger display size in the iPhone 6, but also a new resolution. Let us know your views – especially if you're a developer – in the comments.
Leave a Reply
100 Responses to "Opinion: What approach will Apple take to deliver a larger-screen iPhone 6?"
Let's also not forget the universal "swipe to go back" introduced in iOS 7. This is certainly prepping for a larger screen. Apple can get as many developers to incorporate that into apps prior to a larger screen and you get many users used to using it and then upon introduction of the larger screen it is much easier to swipe to go back than attempting to reach to the top left of the phone (which is where most "back" buttons are located).
You forgot to include another possibility: The iPhone 6 doubles the resolution in each direction again, just like the first Retina display did on the iPhone 4.
Think a 4.5″ screen that doubles the resolution of the existing 4″ 1136×640 screen to 2272×1280 (still lower then an iPad). This would alleviate the developer headaches/fragmentation just like it did last time, and would put the new flagship phone at a nice 580ppi. As you can see in the article link below, PPIs this high are now within the realm of possibility. Plus, this resolution is still less effective pixels than an iPad. With another generation of performance increases and die shrinks, the power consumption increase of the bigger/higher-rez screen could probably be easily offset – plus there will be significantly more room available for a bigger battery.
I would appreciate a new display with a PPI greater than 400 but not larger than 5″. Rewriting the apps is not worth mentioning it. Most apps can be optimized in less than a hour.
I hope the new iPhone will keep its total size due to comfort.
I think the inclusion of Auto Layout is the biggest tell that Apple is going to start offering a variety of screen sizes, and possibly other devices entirely. The Auto Layout features of Xcode have been improved in Xcode 5 (they were an afterthought Xcode 4), so it seems to indicate that Apple wants developers to start thinking about how their screen layouts will hold up when the dimensions change. It's easy to scale up/down graphics for additional proportionate layouts as well.
As a successful iOS developer, I can say Apple is pressuring us developers to use auto-layout. I have no doubt the iPhone 6 will feature a new resolution.
It seems likely for Apple to do this with the next iPhone. They do still have to compete against other OEMs. I believe that a screen size of 4.7 inches is most likely, with some sort of HD resolution (though probably not all the way up to 1080p).
I have already done my homework, using Auto Layout to adapt my app for a larger screen.
For my experiment, I added one row and one column of icons to the Springboard.
That gave a screen resolution of 792 x 1312 with a ratio of 0.6, right between those of the 3.5 and 4 inch screens. The screen size with an unchanged resolution would become about 4.7 inches.
Developers may find my demo at http://mac.tidings.nu/Soft/AutoLayoutDemo.shtml a useful study
All I'm saying is 1.) If they just enlarge the screen without making a better/increased resolution then I"m finally switching from iOS I'm sincerely getting tired of Apple doing oddball and really bizarre things with their products and specs the last couple of years (especially random and odd screen resolutions that aren't standard resolutions). 2.) If they again do something weird like make the phone longer and give it an odd aspect ratio to screen size/resolution matchup then I'm switching from iOS. 3.) If they do increase the size, and resolution, but all we have to show for it is a larger wall of stale lifeless brightly colored icons then again I'm switching… Give us a sharper display, a larger display, and way to use that room as an advantage. I couldn't believe my ears when I heard Phil Schiller say in the iPhone 5 Keynote that 'And with this larger more beautiful screen we actually managed to cram another row of icons on the screen'. That was a bloody real comment, and not a made up quote… As if somehow it was a technical marvel to utilize space by just lazily throwing another row of icons without thinking about how to use that space for a better desktop experience. I don't want rows and rows of cluttered icons and folders… I don't do this on my macbook pro desktop; I don't want to be forced to deal with it on my phone. Give us a launchpad like in OS X, and let me only put apps and folders on my desktop that I use most often or that I want there. Let me organize the apps anywhere on the screen that I want to, instead of forcing them in a serial 1 by 1 gapless order. Give me a dashboard like in OS X so I can put a note or some type of 'quick app' (read widget) to quickly get bits of information without having to digg into the app (and no notification center doesn't suffice for this). And the best part…. you don't have to force everyone to use these features… you can employ a classic mode that turns this stuff off so power users like me can get what he needs and people who like the wall of useless icons can have it that way too. 2014 should be the year of choices for Apple…. That is what's going to cause a boom for Apple in the industry again the likes of which would rival the initial iPhone launch.
This is the dumbest thing I read today.
i think the right way is to expand screen size with the same 326ppi using autolayout and letterboxing (or zooming) for older apps. I hope they will go with a not too big, pocketable and usable with one hand iPhone, and a bigger iPhablet that will be another product line. So the iPhone 4,5" 720×1280 and the iPhablet 5,4" 864×1536.
Didn't Apple make a whole advert about the screen size of the 5 and how "your thumb goes from here to here". By doing so makes me think that at that time they had absolutely no intention to make a bigger screen. What's made them change their mind? Especially as screen size isn't the be all and end all of phone sales. There are other advancements Apple could make to sell their new iPhone 6. Battery would be the biggest thing if you asked my opinion. if Apple could make a faster and more beautiful phone and slap a huge 15 hour battery life on such a device I guarantee it would sell like hot cakes. Battery consumption has to be the number 1 thing to moan about. A battery that would last you from 7 in the morning to when you go to bed at 10 with heavy use would become the best selling phone ever. I could almost guarantee it.
This isn't saying I wouldn't want a bigger screen mind. But I've been the release date owner of the iPhone 4 and the iPhone 5. Loving with the the blurry apps on my iPhone 4 was fine. But those black bars on my iPhone 5 were horrific. I've deleted apps because of this. So if they do make it bigger, they need to keep the same aspect ratio.
What thoughts are there on them making the phone bigger but reverting to the original aspect ratio?
Apple might offer two sizes in the next release of phones: (1) A 5 inch that is a stretched version of the 4 inch, with the same resolution in pixels. This would be a terrific choice for people who are a little older, that think that text controls on the 4 inch models are small and packed very close together. No change for developers to support it. (2) A screen close to 6 inches could use the same pixel map as the iPad mini. Developers would be able to repurpose most of their iPad mini graphics without any effort, and rework the layout for a phone instead of an iPad. The key benefit is that the assets are easy to maintain.
Regarding your solution #2, what you're proposing, at least to my understanding, is a smartphone / phablet with a 4:3 aspect ration. I can't remember if it was last year or the year before, but LG came out with a 4:3 aspect ratio smartphone. Go Google it. It looks horrendous. I say no way to that. Leave the smartphone @ 16:9 aspect ratio and the 8″ to 10″ tablets at 4:3 aspect ratio.
No 5 inch! PLEASE!!! It looks ridiculous and is uncomfortable. 4.3 inch at max!
The 6-inch phone will never happen in the next few years to come. But I'm hoping(fingers crossed) they could deliver a 4.3 or 4.5-inch this year for the next iPhone iteration.
I'm going to go out on a limb here and say they'll keep the same resolution. While it would make some sense to make life difficult for developers, just so that they redesign their app for the bigger size, there are many apps like games, that it would be an unnecessary pain in the butt for no benefit. It's quite hard to decide what apple will do though.
Bigger screens can have smaller pixels.. it depends on quality. Higher the dot-pitch , the distance between pixels and the pixel size, higher the cost of the display would be.
The fact that many tv displays are using low quality big pixels screens just doesn't mean that that is always the case.
A 4.5-inch iPhone6 ? Yes. A 4.6-inch or 4.7-inch iPhone6 ? Yes.
And 5.0-inch up to 6.0-inch iPhone6 ? IT WOULD BE A VERY BAD MISTAKE
What Apple needs to do is releasing an iPhone6 4.5-inch size that is all display on four sides. There is a drawing of the concept on an Apple patent of such a design.
A little bigger in size but not too much and all display would allow for a lot new types of apps too.
Allow me to think of another solution: The HiDPI in Mac OS X approach. If the aspect ratio is kept the same, but the resolution is high enough, apps could be rendered in, let's say 2272×1280 and scaled to the resolution of the current (coming) iPhone generation.
Yeah, yeah, I know this demands a lot from the hardware and all, but as a future solution.
Like I've said 100 times before – you can never satisfy a geek – now they're asking for a 4K 5″ screen… Are you kidding me?? What's next? lol
Android has tens of different resolutions and they're getting it done, too. So why should this be such a big deal for iOS developers? And don't be mad at me, I'm not an expert in software. It's just something I was wondering about for a long time.
Because Android was made for that. Apps are developed with the ability to scale to other resolutions and aspec ratios. iOS apps are developed specifically for that size. With Auto-layout Apple is trying to fix that but very few developers have actually implemented it. Now that they are starting to see that Apple will release iPhones and iPads with different resolutions they will probably future-proof their apps so that it won't be a ton of work next time.
I am surprised that the option of doubling the resolution on the larger phone was not discussed. Apple doubled the rez of the ipads and it was a minor inconvenience to most developers. In doubling the current rez onto a 5″ phone it would would be 520 PPI, which is not totally crazy, and would probably be feasible, if the Fabs could make the screens.
I suspect Apple will split its market here more decisively, sooner or later.
I foresee the successor of the 5c to be the 5s in plastic and the successor of the 5s to be something in the phablet range, 5-6 inches.
Between 5c and 5s there isn't that great a spec difference and the 100USD between them make going for the C a tough call (I love the plastic look+feel but I went for a 5s myself).
I would bet the two models have the same cameras and storage options, Touch ID and possibly the same processors. The difference would be in size, bling (plastic vs metal) and obviously price.
In that way they can have a "smaller" iPhone, more "friendly" and pocketable, and a larger phablet for those who crave for slipper-sized phones, without the former feeling they have an under-specced device (much like how Apple put it very nicely between the iPad Air and the new mini).
Plus, if they market the difference as an (arguably) new model, the developers will be much happier supporting the new resolution.
I have absolutely refused to upgrade my 4S to anything new until Apple relents and produces a larger Galaxy-sized screen. I'm a huge fanboy but WILL jump ship if they can't muster the courage to disregard their dead founder's edict on wider screens. I WANT A WIDER SCREEN. The narrow screen is becoming a huge pain.
Well, having flat interface definitely help, but still we use images for many custom design, and one of the thing as a developer I like about apple is how nicely it does in retina and non retina devices, the transition was smooth, just give 2x naming convention for retina images. And then cam iPhone5, there also the transition was smooth as apple educated to developers and designer, that instead of changing UI controls dimensions, make intelligent shift to your design, by showing more content and with this every one was happy, as very few work, and in a matter of day or two your app is iPhone5 ready.
I am sure the transition is going to be smooth for another different dimension device, as thats the advantage apple has over others, which they don't want to loose, apps and app development effort. How about the screen resolution of iPad 2 for 4.5 or 4.7 screen iPhone ?
iPad has 4:3 aspect ratio, iPhone has gone from 3:2 to 16:9, so there's no chance they return to a wider aspect ratio. And iPad resolution is designed for a 132/264 ppi so artworks and interface elements are designed to be usable with a 9,7″ to 7,9″ sized screen. Don't confuse iPads with iPhones, they are two separate products.
Thinking about the doubling of pixels, I had disregarded that option, as it could be a hit to the processor and to the battery. BUT, but: we ALREADY have a processor easily able to push that. The iPad Air and mini Retina have it, and it's the same processor that the iPhone 5s uses.
Now, about the battery: the iPhone grows, the space for a bigger battery grows, so it shouldn't be that hard for Apple to make the iPhone 6 have a decent battery life with a newer processor and more refined software and OS.
I got tired of waiting for the rumored 5″ iPhone.
Soon as the S4 Sam came along – I went for it.
It's fine the younger than 40, can without using reader glasses anytime you turn on the phone.
No so with 50 something –
I like 5″ a lot as I knew I would.
App wise – I'd rather it was Apple – Google Play is a nightmare vs the App Store.
The other thing with Android Apps – the agreement is a mile long – with lines that read –
"We now have the right to turn on your camera – any damn time we want"
People load these w/o a thought.
I really don't think I ever came across this nonsense the Apples Apps.
So FB and others – off limits with those rules.


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Sacred Heart Hospital on the Gulf will offer free athletic screenings to high school and junior high students in Gulf County on July 23 and Aug. 1 from 5 to 8 p.m. ET. Florida regulations require athletic screenings for all students participating in practice and competitive sports.
The free screenings will be administered at Sacred Heart Hospital on the Gulf's Medical Office Building by specialists including Tallahassee Orthopedic Clinic staff and Sacred Heart Hospital on the Gulf physical therapists, nurses and physicians. Screenings include blood pressure, heart rate, posture, range of motion, flexibility and balance.
Students should check with their coach to learn which date they should attend. Additionally, students and their parents must complete medical history and permission forms prior to participating in the athletic screening. These forms are available through school coaches or Sacred Heart's Rehabilitation program in the Medical Office Building. Student athletes should wear shorts, t-shirts, and athletic shoes for their visit.
Sacred Heart Hospital on the Gulf's Medical Office Building is located on the hospital's campus at 3801 U.S. Highway 98 in Port St. Joe.


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Donald Schlemmer Jr. Killed in Workplace Fatal Fall Accident in Wampum, PA
According to recent news reports from Wampum Pennsylvania 60-year-old Donald Schlemmer Jr. of Ellwood City died on Wednesday May 25 due to head injuries sustained after a 20-foot fall that occurred at a Cemex cement production plant around 2 a.m. Schlemmer was reportedly unloading cement from a railcar when he stepped onto the railcar and then fell. He was pronounced dead at the Scene of the Accident.
Scene of the Accident
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Following a fatal work accident a number of investigations are likely to be conducted. For instance OSHA will be notified and will work to discover what went wrong so that similar accidents dont have an opportunity to occur in the future. However their goal is not to look for all of the liable parties that may have played a role in this tragic accident. For that a third party investigation may be pursued that can look into certain issues of liability such as whether or not proper safety equipment was provided or functional or if a particular hazard was known about before an accident occurred. Through such an independent investigation the party or parties that may bear responsibility for this untimely accident might be identified so that they can be held properly accountable for their negligence that may have led to such a devastating outcome.
Texas Fatal On-the-Job Accident Lawyer Michael Grossman


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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
|Look up harrow in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Harrow may refer to:
- Harrow (tool), an agricultural implement consisting of many spikes, tines or discs dragged across the soil
- London Borough of Harrow
- Harrow, Caithness, hamlet on the north coast of Scotland
- The Harrow, County Wexford, Ireland, a village
- Harrow, Ontario, Canada, a community
- Harrow, Victoria, Australia, a town
- Harrow School
- Harrow College
- Harrow International School, Bangkok
- Harrow International School Beijing
- Harrow International School Hong Kong
Other uses[edit]
- Battle of the Harrow, first clash of the Irish Rebellion of 1798
- Handley Page Harrow (disambiguation), several British aircraft
- Harrow RFC, a rugby club
- Harrowing of Hell, a Christian doctrine that states that Jesus Christ "descended into Hell"
- Harrowing or Harrying of the North, a series of campaigns waged by William the Conqueror as part of the Norman conquest of England
- Harrow football, a football style played exclusively at Harrow School
- Harrow History Prize, for children at British preparatory schools
- The Harrow, a fantasy and horror magazine
- Harrow, the name of a size of cricket bat
|This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Harrow.
If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.


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Guy gets annoyed by it?
Why do some girls get really clingy with their boyfriends or with a guy who they like, even though the guy gets annoyed by it?
Most Helpful Opinion
I concur with the ladies who have said that this results from insecurity.
However, I am taking a different stance on how to deal with it. If you're dating a girl and she is feeling insecure, I think it's time to be a real man and make her feel secure. The more I read the questions posted here, the more I understand the unbelievably complicated mess women have to wade through to find a decent guy. Why they bother, I don't know.
But it's easy to see why they would feel worried - and as the boyfriend of a worried girl, I think it's time to accept that you have to accept your girlfriend's emotions. Is it annoying? Yes, it can be. But I get annoyed when my favorite sports team loses - in truth, that's more annoying than a girl who calls too much. Think I've given up sports for that reason?
It's an emotion, a feeling. And it doesn't seem right to me to tell her she annoys you. I think you should take it as a challenge - can you make her comfortable? Can you make her life better for having met you?
What Girls Said 10
They can't control themselves. When someone is clingy it shows a lack of maturity. Examples... little kids don't like sharing their favorite toy, so they through a fit when it's taken away... or, when they don't know how to give their pet cat space they smother it. I think it's really stupid if a girl is still clingy after it's obvious that the poor guy is annoyed by it. I think the best thing is to be blunt and explain how you need your space and they should respect it.
Because they have insecurity issues with themselves or they do not know they are doing it and are just really happy to be with their guy. If they have insecurity issues they are also really jealous and possesive and it shows... those are the girls that need their own help and if should probably be avoided if possible. If a girl does not know when she is being that way she is just really excited all the time to be around her guy and anxious to hang out with him all the time.. you just have to talk to the girl and let her know in a NICE way how you feel do not be mean or rude just be open minded and listen to her reasoning girls get like this sometimes and can't help it and believe it or not some guys DO like clingy girls cause they are just as CLINGY! good luck!
It's either one of two things. One would be that she and the guy have just gotten together and she wants to be with him all the time.
Or she's insecure. If it's that she's probably trying to make sure the guy isn't going to stray and that whenever he thinks about anything it's going to be her and only her on his mind.
I would think insecurity. If she thinks he's annoyed with her, but doesn't quite pick up on why, she might try the suction-cup method of trying to keep him. The greater the insecurity, the tighter the clingyness.
Also, she could just be like that. Those people exist, although they don't make sense to me, either.
Maybe at your age bracket it is, like other members have mentioned, insecurities - however it could just be that women tend to be more romantic then men, they watch movies like 'Pride and Prej' and expect their romance to be the same, for a man to breath and live her everyday. For him to do all that's necessary to show he's love for her...and when that doesn't happen - she just sees it like something she has to encourage or give hints to. She does this by acting towards him the way she would like to be treated herself.
Yeh, I agree, it's an insecurity factor. Guys are the tough ones, when you've got a boyfriend you've got your protector, you feel invincible and like you're worth something when you're with him.
And when she leaves, well, she's left to find her own confidence. And they are clingy to guys they like but don't yet have a relationship with yet because they are either flirting and trying hard to get him to notice her.
Partly it's because she adores him and wants to be really close to him all the time, and partly because she's insecure and feels she needs to hold onto him to keep him close by. The problem with this is the more clingy she gets the more her man is going to pull away which is going to freak her out even more and make her even more clingy and desperate.
The best way to deal with it is to tell her that you care about her but that it is irritating you and you want her to hold off a bit and maybe be a little more intimate and cuddly when you two are alone, this will help boost her confidence and relax her a bit so that she doesn't feel like she ALWAYS has to be hanging on to you. Sometimes it helps to show her how you feel, try being a little too intimate or always holding on to her, she might realize you're not going anywhere and back off a bit.
What Guys Said 2
Have an opinion?


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First 'WWE 2K15' image of John Cena released and it looks incredibly realAdd to Favorites | WWE Monday Night RAW
It turns out 2K Games taking over the WWE license may have been a fantastic thing for wrestling fans who also happen to be gamers. Though "WWE 2K15" is the second title the company is releasing, it looks to be the first one they are building from the ground up. The image above of WWE superstar John Cena shows how well it's working out for them, right down to the veins in his arms.
Using the technology that 2K implemented in their various sports titles, "WWE 2K15" looks incredibly realistic. Certainly, far more lifelike than in previous years. Of course, the new generation of gaming consoles helps quite a bit in that regard, as well.
To get an accurate idea, check out a comparison of the new game with "WWE 2K14" below. It's important to note the photo on the right is from a previous-generation console, while the one of the left is current.
"WWE 2K15" is in stores on Oct. 28.
Photo/Video credit: WWE/2K Games


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Ann D. McDonough of Florence passed away Tuesday, March 11, 2014. She was 91.
Mrs. McDonough was born in Carbondale, Pa., before moving to Trenton, N.J. and Florence, N.J. in 1977
She was a loving, caring, giving and beautiful mother, grandmother and great grandmother.
She was the daughter of the late, John and Mary Kania; wife of the late, Harold (Andy) McDonough.
Surviving are her daughter and son-in-law, Bonnie and Ray Kelly of Florence; daughter, Maryann Lutz of Willingboro; grandchildren, Heather Kelly, Victoria and Paul Herrera, Joseph Lutz Jr., Laura and Rachel Lutz, Thomas and Keyea Lutz; great grandchildren, Bianca, Liliana, Xavier, Jazmine, Cory and Ryli.
She was the last survivor of her 16 brothers and sisters, and is survived by many nieces and nephews.
Funeral services will be 11 a.m. Saturday at Knott's Colonial Funeral Home, 2946 South Broad St., Hamilton. Rev. Richard Esher of Browns Mills United Methodist Church will officiate. Relatives and friends may call Saturday 9 to 11 a.m. at the funeral home. Burial will be in Colonial Cemetery.
Memorial donations may be made to Samaritan Hospice, 5 Eves Drive, Suite 300, Marlton NJ 08053. Knott's Colonial Funeral Home