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- Reuben Abati
- May 02, 2009
- 0 Comments
Ransom Kidnapping, Hostage Taking And A Bewildered Nigeria
By Reuben Abati
On March 31, 2009, the Alex Ekwueme Foundation organized in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory a one-day international summit titled "Resolving Kidnapping, Hostage Taking and Local Terrorism in Nigeria." The organizers sought to achieve the following three goals: "to help raise awareness about the growing phenomenon, to strengthen the capacity of national security and public safety agencies to deal with this problem, and to assess how businesses and government can develop strategies and policies to deal with kidnapping and hostage-taking in Nigeria."
It was a successful event. It provided a good opportunity for various stakeholders to reflect on how terribly the menace of ransom kidnapping and the associated vices are hobbling Nigeria and exposing the fault lines in the country's governance process. The choice of the theme was most appropriate but even at the time, no one could have imagined that the situation would worsen so soon, with the phenomenon spreading to Northern Nigeria where ransom kidnapping had not previously been a serious issue.
On April 16, a Canadian and a Rotarian visiting Nigeria, Mrs Julie Ann Mulligan was abducted on the streets of Kaduna by armed men who demanded a ransom of N100 million. The police negotiated this down to N5 million, a drop point was arranged for the payment of the ransom, but most unusually, the police foiled the kidnappers' plans and arrested three of them. Mrs Mulligan is now a free woman. Newspapers report that another foreigner, an Egyptian was also kidnapped in Kano.
Thus, ransom kidnapping and hostage taking are no longer restricted to the Niger Delta area, or Southern Nigeria. With reported cases in Lagos, Abuja, Owerri, and now Kaduna and Kano, this brand of terrorism has become a nationwide phenomenon; the entire country is now a kidnappers' den. As at 1999, kidnapping was not yet such an alarming problem except for reported cases of ritual kidnapping particularly during election periods, or as the myth states, whenever there was a change of currency. Nigerians in the South West have always talked about how human parts are used for money-making rituals or to acquire spiritual power, or the social menace of child theft; so, such phrases as gbomogbomo, ajaale or the link between Clifford Orji and the sale of human parts have been part of the local discourse. Ritual kidnapping is linked to metaphysics, ransom kidnapping is more about cash. By 2003, with increased agitation in the Niger Delta, militant groups in the area (MEND and others) had begun to kidnap oil company workers in order to press home their points about a re-negotiation of Nigeria and the Niger Delta stake in it. Gradually, this degenerated into large-scale criminal activities involving hostage taking and ransom-collection. What was adopted initially as a tool of ideological struggle has since become a major source of livelihood.
As the problem grew into a national security crisis, the initial targets and victims were mainly foreigners working in the oil and gas sector: Americans, Germans, Italians, Koreans, the Chinese, Filipinos and the Lebanese, but the kidnappers have since expanded their nets to cover Nigerians: children, even children as young as three years, the relatives of rich men or political figures, particularly their wives or parents, the business elite, and just about anyone who can pay.
Recently, Nigeria began to feature very high in the global survey of terrorism and hostage-taking. At a time when the authorities are talking about re-branding Nigeria, ransom kidnapping is re-branding the country negatively. The law enforcement agencies are unprepared for the challenge, the fact that they managed to arrest three kidnappers in Kaduna notwithstanding. There is a dearth of knowledge and expertise about the nature and dynamics of the phenomenon.
In terms of style and rhetoric, there can be no doubt that the Nigerian kidnapper or terrorist has been watching television a lot, and that what we are dealing with is in part, a copy-cat syndrome. In many parts of the world- Iraq, Colombia, the Phillipines, Afghanistan, Iraq, India, Russia, Palestinian Territory, Mexico, Nepal... hostage taking and ransom kidnapping are often adopted as popular tactics of exerting pressure on government. International media coverage of such incidents has created a high level impact. Nigerian local terrorists and kidnappers could well have stepped out of the pages of a Hollywood filmscript or CNN. Unresolved issues in the Niger Delta have also forced many of the militants or their poor imitators to resort to ransom kidnapping in order to gain attention and or policy concessions.
The weakness of the state security infrastructure has not helped. Nigerians routinely take the laws into their hands knowing that the state and its institutions are inefficient. The kidnappers are so bold, they have no regard for the law. The more frightening thing though is that Nigeria is also beginning to breed its own gang of psychopaths. Kidnappers according to those who have encountered them are heavily into drugs and alcohol. They wield dangerous weapons which they threaten to use at the slightest provocation. They humiliate and assault their victims. Small arms proliferation, and the inability of the state to check Nigeria's gradual transformation from a drug-courier country into a drug-using country highlight the tragic dimensions of the affair.
Perhaps more serious is the widespread poverty and unemployment in Nigeria. Not a few persons who have survived the ordeal of kidnapping have reported that the kidnappers in our midst are mostly young, educated ones who complain about hunger and unemployment. Relatives of prominent politicians have been abducted, and here, the kidnapping may be politically motivated, but there is almost always a class dimension to the problem: the poor turning against the rich and demanding ransom as punishment. The rich class in Nigeria is limited by its lack of enlightenment. They provoke criminal behaviour and turn themselves into special targets because they failed to realise long ago, that their safety lies in ensuring social security and justice for all Nigerians.
But it is the country that is now suffering. Nigerians are no longer safe in their own land. Investors are discouraged. Nigeria has become a high risk investment destination. In Ghana, Rwanda, Ethiopia, and Republic of Benin, you could take a walk on the streets at any time of the day as a tourist, in Nigeria, you will need bodyguards to do so. Should anyone still expect tourists to troop to Nigeria, either for the Calabar Carnival, or the Argungu fishing festival or the Eyo festival in Lagos? The culture of hardwork is being destroyed. The payment of ransom promotes a culture of extortion which reinforces a growing belief among Nigerian youths that hardwork is old-fashioned. It is the failure of the Nigerian state that is writ large.
Out of desperation, a number of Governors and state Houses of Assembly are recommending the death sentence for kidnappers. The thing to do is to enforce existing laws, and until those laws are repealed, all the rhetoric about death sentence amounts to nothing. And even if a death penalty is eventually adopted, have the proponents forgotten that there is a shortage of hangmen in Nigerian prisons? There was an advertisement of vacancies recently. Not too many Nigerians want the executioner's job. In any case, why is it so difficult to enforce existing laws. Sections 31, 252, 310, 311, 330, 331, 364, 366-368, and 371 of the Criminal Code deal with different aspects of the issue, with Section 364 prescribing a punishment of ten years imprisonment for anyone who is guilty of the felony of kidnapping. Since 1999, how many kidnappers has the Nigerian government sent to jail?
Dr Ekwueme in March observed that the problem of hostage taking is "spreading fast like wild fire and it is not a matter that can be left entirely to the security agencies to handle". Still, there can be no alternative to effective law enforcement and providing security for the people. Ransom kidnapping and hostage taking succeed due to the failure of intelligence gathering and the absence of pre-emptive intervention strategies. Hostage takers are human beings, not ghosts. They live within our communities. They use cell phones. The authorities in Kaduna were quoted as saying that it is difficult to trace the location of kidnappers through their phone calls because they always do "conference calling". That can't be true.
What is more likely to be true is that our police men and the other agencies are dealing with a problem they are not trained to handle. They require training in the management of terrorists: their psychological profile, how to track them, and how to negotiate with them. We don't even have a data base that any state official can consult about the behaviour of kidnappers. Is there any database anywhere, which has been properly analysed, in order to establish trends and patterns? Nigeria's response to the challenge has been episodic and completely unco-ordinated.
This is explained by the complete absence of structures for helping victims to manage trauma. Kidnap victims, the ones who are lucky to escape are left alone; they are expected to be grateful that they survived. The Nigerian authorities should seek international partnership to access existing knowledge and expertise, and this should not involve the setting up of any new bureaucracy, after a fashion, which would then become a conduit for looting public funds. Public enlightenment is necessary, focussing on the tactics of kidnappers and kidnap-evasion strategies.
The casualty rate in Nigeria is said to be low, kidnapped persons are often released after ransom has been paid; and usually the period of abduction is relatively short. But it is not every victim who has a good story to tell. There have been reports of torture, harassment and the trauma of forced imprisonment. Rape of course will never be reported, because of the stigma. The Nigerian government must take a decisive stand. The law is very clear in criminalizing kidnapping, and yet governments at all levels negotiate with kidnappers; political figures are quick to boast that they helped to secure the release of kidnapped persons. The primary responsibility of government does not include encouraging hoodlums.
The ultimate area of intervention is good governance at all levels. Create employment, put people to work, re-build confidence in the Nigerian economy and society. Failure to act decisively can only further embolden the kidnappers. Only a few days ago, President Yar'Adua referred to a plan to wipe out all the militant camps in the Niger Delta, following the expiration of a period of amnesty declared by his government. Dealing with kidnappers and hostage takers may not be that easy. The kidnapper is perpetually on the prowl. He does not wear a uniform, he can easily blend into the crowd, he has no distinguishing features, and he can strike anywhere and whenever he chooses. Every time he does, he exposes the soft underbelly of the Nigerian state and its vulnerability.
Join the conversation through disqus comments or via our forum. Click on any of the tabs below to select your desired option. Please engage decently.
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Re: Ransom Kidnapping, Hostage Taking And A Bewildered Nigeria
Abraxas posted on 05-03-2009, 07:15:31 AM
Hi, folks!
Prior to now, the conventional wisdom of a clique of dominant loud-mouthed chauvinistic villagers, like Alhaji Gwobezentashi, tenaciously insinuated that kidnapping, and hostage taking were the sole monopoly of the ogogoro-inebriated so-called \"restive youths\" and \"militants\" of the Niger Delta region.
As if to add insult upon injury, they went as far as advising the \"militants\" to leave their oyibo investment partners, and instead, focus their nuisance value on the leaders, people, and territory of the Niger Delta, if they seriously demand \"resource control\".
Today, we now have \"militants\" in Kano, Kaduna ....
Pikin wey dey t'row stone anyhow for inside market, how wey 'e go know whether 'e no go fall on top 'inhm gran'mama head?!
Nonsense .... yeye dey boom!
Muchas gracias.
Don Juan-Carlos ABRAXAS (III)
Re: Ransom Kidnapping, Hostage Taking And A Bewildered Nigeria
Maikanodahiru posted on 05-03-2009, 17:11:00 PM
We should thank Dr Ekwueme for organizing this conference regarding this newly emerging social vice and the writer for addressing the major issues regarding the problem.
The onus now is on the government,security agencies and well meaning Nigerians to rise up against this social problem before it becomes too difficult to manage.
Abdullahi Dahiru
Re: Ransom Kidnapping, Hostage Taking And A Bewildered Nigeria
Yankari posted on 05-03-2009, 21:48:39 PM
When will he organize one on how his PDP party is wrecking the country or has he left PDP?
Re: Ransom Kidnapping, Hostage Taking And A Bewildered Nigeria
Johnteddy posted on 05-04-2009, 11:29:27 AM
thank u so much for that question!
Re: Ransom Kidnapping, Hostage Taking And A Bewildered Nigeria
Olubadan posted on 05-04-2009, 12:22:40 PM
It show clearly the danger of having a lawless government and it consequences..
Re: Ransom Kidnapping, Hostage Taking And A Bewildered Nigeria
Emenanjo posted on 05-05-2009, 11:01:09 AM
Sometimes people have no choice than to zero a problem to a region.When the problem spreads, they have no choice than to retrace their steps and adopt a wholistic approach. It is the ruling class tactics to zero problems to divide the people and in most cases, the people fall for the bait. Check history, especially from 1966, and see how the ruling cabal have been zero-ing social problems. Effectively!


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New York Islanders forward Trevor Gillies was suspended nine games and teammate Matt Martin drew four games for their roles in Friday's fight-filled match against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the National Hockey League announced Saturday. As expected, Penguins winger Eric Godard got 10 games for leaving the bench to participate in a fight.
In addition to the suspensions, NHL disciplinarians fined the Islanders $100,000 for "their failure to control their players," NHL discipline czar Colin Campbell said in the NHL statement.
There was no immediate report of additional punishment from the debacle at Nassau Coliseum.
The Islanders won Friday's game 9-3, during which two major brawls occurred. The melees were in reaction to the Feb. 2 game between the teams in Pittsburgh in which the Pens' Max Talbot left Islanders forward Blake Comeau concussed with a questionable hit and goalie Brent Johnson broke facial bones of Islanders goalie Rick DiPietro in a one-punch scuffle.
Friday's game ended with 346 penalty minutes, 15 fighting majors, 20 misconducts and 10 ejections.
Hearings for Islanders players were held in Buffalo, where the team was billeted in advance of Sunday's matinee against the Buffalo Sabres. Involved in the hearings, in addition to Campbell, were NHL vice president Kris King, NHLPA counsel Roman Stoykewych, Islanders GM Garth Snow and coach Jack Capuano, and players Martin, Gillies and Zenon Konopka and their agents, according to Islanders beat writer Katie Strang of Newsday.
In-person hearings ended about 8 p.m. ET, according to Newsday. Commissioner Gary Bettman was not involved in the Buffalo hearings, but he was expected to meet with Penguins coach Dan Bylsma, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported. The Penguins play the New York Rangers on Sunday afternoon at Madison Square Garden.
Godard's actions in leaving the bench to join a fight, violating Rule 70.10, were expected to draw sanction or fine against Bylsma, who was suspended pending a hearing. That didn't happen, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.
Campbell said the league's main concerns were with Martin's and Gillies' incidents.
Godard said after the game he knew the rule against leaving the bench but reacted when he saw Islanders forward Micheal Haley heading toward goalie Johnson while game officials were involved at the other end of the ice. Godard received a double minor for roughing and a double game misconduct.
Haley was not among players receiving supplementary discipline Saturday.
Gillies was suspended for leveling Pittsburgh's Eric Tangradi with an elbow and throwing several punches to his head in an incident that led to the Haley-Johnson fight, earning a major penalty and a game misconduct, NHL.com reported. Tangradi left the game with concussion symptoms.
Gillies was seen shouting at Tangradi from the gate to the Islanders' dressing room while Tangradi was getting medical attention on the ice.
Martin was suspended as a result of delivering several punches from behind to an unsuspecting opponent, the Penguins' Talbot, during the second period, according to NHL.com. He received a major for fighting and a game misconduct.
Gillies will lose $24,193.53 in salary; Martin will forfeit $41,585.36 as a repeat offender; and Godard will lose $40,322.25.
NHL announcement on supplemental discipline
The National Hockey League announced today a series of disciplinary actions against the New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins resulting from NHL Game #823, Feb. 11.
New York Islanders forward Trevor Gillies has been suspended for nine games for delivering a blow to the head and then administering several punches to the Penguins' Eric Tangradi, who was injured by Gillies' actions; Matt Martin has been suspended for four games as a result of delivering several punches from behind to an unsuspecting opponent (the Penguins' Max Talbot); and Penguins forward Eric Godard was suspended automatically for 10 games under Rule 70.11 for leaving the players' bench for the purpose of engaging in an altercation.
In addition to the suspensions, Gillies will lose $24,193.53 in salary; Martin will forfeit $41,585.36 (repeat offender); and Godard $40,322.25. The Islanders organization has also been fined $100,000.
Martin was assessed a game misconduct under Rule 46.2 at 5:21 of the second period; Gillies was assessed a major penalty for elbowing and a game misconduct at 4:47 of the third period; and Godard received a game misconduct for leaving the bench at 4:47 of the third period.
The disciplinary action was announced by NHL Senior Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell following in-person hearings with the Islanders this evening in Buffalo.
"The actions by the Islanders' Gillies and Martin were deliberate attempts to injure by delivering blows to the head of players who were unsuspecting and unable to defend themselves," said Campbell. "The message should be clear to all players: targeting the head of an opponent by whatever means will be dealt with by suspension.
"With respect to the Godard suspension, there can be no circumstance that allows for a player to leave his bench for the purpose of coming to the aid of a teammate.
"The Islanders also must bear some responsibility for their failure to control their players," Campbell added.
The player fine money goes to the NHL's Emergency Assistance Fund. The Islanders fine money goes to the NHL Foundation.

subset: commoncrawl


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When I interviewed Jim Caruso last week, he joked that the experiment to bring his Manhattan-based Cast Party to Chicago could be a disaster: "It might just be Billy [Stritch] and me singing all the chestnuts to an empty house," he said, laughing.
In fact, the exact opposite happened. I introduced myself to Mr. Caruso 20 minutes to showtime, and he held up his list of performers with a look of shock in his eyes. "Look at all these people," he stammered. "How are we ever going to get through them?"
Well, when I left the packed Mayne Stage at 10:40 last night, Jim Caruso's Cast Party was still going strong, indicating that the experiment to bring his popular open mic night to Chicago was a big success.
During the two-plus hours I attended, some of my favorite Chicago theatre performers got to show their fierceness, including Bethany Thomas, who, accompanied by guitar, ripped through "Crazy On You" by rock band Heart; Rebecca Finnegan, who sold "Ten Cents a Dance" like her life depended on it; and Rob Lindley, who brought down the house with "Way Ahead of My Time," a hilarious song about the world's first gay (cave)man. I was also introduced to some of Chicago's iconic cabaret performers, including Lynne Jordan, who kicked off the party with her ballsy rendition of Ruth Brown's "If I Can't Sell It, I'll Sit On It;" Becky Menzie and Tom Michael, who scatted together with style; and Joan Curto, who blew me away with her huge vocals.
Another standout was Luba Mason, a Broadway actress appearing in White Noise (which I'm seeing Wednesday and will report back on), who breezed her way through a wonderfully fresh, Brazilian jazz take on "Love for Sale."
There were also a few head-scratching performances, but that comes with the territory of an open mic night. And there were a few instances where an arrogant NYC attitude stank up the evening — such as when Colleen McHugh joked that she was just stopping through to pick up her dry cleaning. Tacky.
A few suggestions to make the evening run a bit smoother if they come back (which I'm hoping and suspecting they will): Put a cap on the evening — 2.5 hours tops. Who wants to stay at a party that wears on? Also, Caruso, who proves a wry, snappy host, could benefit from some additional pre-planned banter between performers. At one point, he acknowledged how much he dreaded these lulls in the evening. Well, do something about it?
I also found it odd for the host of a Chicago open mic night to have no clue who some of Chicago's well-known musical theatre talents are — such as Finnegan and Thomas. I certainly can't blame Caruso for that, but it's a strange scenario and one that I suspect will be remedied if this becomes a regular thing.
Finally, major kudos to pianist (and, oh yeah, jazz icon) Billy Stritch, who managed to keep the party hopping by arranging tunes on-the-spot for these performers. He makes it all look so easy.
I suspect we'll see Cast Party come back, as there seemed to be a hunger for this sort of thing, both from the audience and performer perspectives.
6 Comments
I love Luba Mason! Lucky you. These kind events are always the best.
I hope he does bring it back! I was bummed to miss it. And some of my favorites too…Lindley, Menzie. Glad you guys had fun!
I feel your comments were right on regarding last evening. I am glad to see that an East Coast based regular saw the need to bring his concept to Chicago but I felt it needed a little more organization and research (as you indicated). Also, it seemed at first like he had requested certain singers that he knew to show up so that seemed a bit surprising. Was he that concerned that no one would show up? I stayed til about 11:00pm and it appeared it was probably going to continue for at least another hour so you are right that they need to cap the time at about 2 1/2 – 3 hours. Also, odd that some people he called for did not show up. Didn't they have a sign-in check list? Why ask for people who did not check in? Also, he needed to ask people he did not know if they were currently in a show in Chicago which he did not always seem to do. Good publicity for them and their shows. Finally, he needs to be positioned at a front booth by the stage so that he can make a quick entrance after an act finishes. I was worried with all his running back and forth that his manspanks might burst. lol
All in all it was a fun time that I am sure will be repeated, hopefully monthly. The Mayne Stage is a great venue for this type of event.
ps. You were spot on with your review of Hot L Baltimore. Curious to see what you think about White Noise which I saw at a final dress rehearsal.
[…] also attended that first show, and while I did have some quibbles (the length, the over-reliance on NY talent and an somewhat arrogant NY attitude that dampened the […]
[…] cabaret icon, but because I don't follow the cabaret scene as closely as I should, I only first discovered Curto in April when she blew me away with her big vocals and disarming stage presence at "Jim […]
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Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Plans are underway for everyone's Springtime favorite event in the Old Village of Mount Pleasant. The McAlister Development Home, Garden and Art Tour in the Old Village has been scheduled for Sunday, April 13, 1 – 5 p.m. with proceeds benefiting the American Red Cross.
There will be six homes on the self-guided tour this year including the historical Hibben House. There will also be delicious food samples in kitchens and patios prepared by local chefs as well as plein air artist and featured artwork for sale.
Tickets are $35 through March 15th, $45 thereafter. Tickets are $35 for groups of 10 or more. Tickets can be purchased online at RedCross.org/CarolinaLowcountry or by emailing firstname.lastname@example.com
American Red Cross:
With support from the community, Red Cross has been able to help more than 2,800 people affected by disasters in the Palmetto SC region since July 1, 2013. On average, the American Red Cross, Palmetto SC Region responds to a disaster every 6.5 hours. The Palmetto SC Region is made up of seven Red Cross chapters spanning 35-counties of South Carolina.
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Pure18 - Stacie Jaxxx (Fresh Face)
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Pure18 - Stacie Jaxxx (Fresh Face)
Stacie was studying American history with Alex, a friend she met through her older brother. He was on task but she was bored out of her mind and decided to spice things up so she peeled her tight jeans down just under her butt cheeks and bent over to look for another study aid in her night stand drawer. Alex was enticed but reluctant to give in to his desires until Stacie confirmed she knew he was checking her out all the time and now was his chance to make good on all those fantasies floating around in his head for so long. Alex knew he could not pass up the chance as she lay over his lap and gyrated her barely legal, bare ass in his face. They were both hitting the books pretty hard but eventually Alex hit that fine young lass off with some dick.
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Hot as hell girl, can you upload the 720p version?
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The first two decades of human spaceflight were a spectacular success. But it has been downhill since then, writes historian Jonathan Coopersmith. As we mark the fiftieth anniversary of the first manned spaceflight, we need a revival of serious government support for the space program.
Access to the Space Shuttle: JPL Scientists Cite NASA Policies to Refute Solicitor General
NASA Scientists Demand Retraction from Attorney General
A group of scientists, engineers, and administrative personnel at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory have demanded that the United States Attorney General's office issue an immediate retraction of remarks made before the United States Supreme Court on Tuesday by acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal in the case of Nelson et al. vs NASA et al.


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The Impulse Reactor update is expected to go live this month and will add features to the SDK enabling "free to play" elements for games running on the Impulse platform. If you're one of the millions of players that has dropped coin on Riot Games' League of Legends or Turbine's DDO or Lord of the Rings Online, you've probably got a good idea of the potential here.
As for Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion, it's described as a "full-fledged expansion" of the 4X RTS space series -- not a sequel. Brian Clair, director of publishing for Stardock, told us that, like the original, Rebellion will not feature a single-player campaign, but will build upon the gameplay introduced in the original Sins and its micro-expansions.
Given the timing of the Rebellion announcement alongside news of the upcoming "free to play" options added to Impulse Reactor, we asked if this next Sins would be a free-to-play title. "Definitely not," Clair said, though pricing has not been set.
Rebellion will support achievements, multiplayer leagues and other features. Speaking to concerns voiced by players that don't have the hours to set aside for a standstard multiplayer match in Sins, Clair said, "We're going to continue looking at ways to address that for folks who want to get a game in under an hour."
Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion is expected to be released in late 2011; however a Stardock representative told us the company is taking the "done when it's done" approach to development.
- Forthcoming SDK to provide in-game stores, feature unlocking, premium content downloads and much more -
San Francisco, CA., March 1, 2011 – Digital distributor Impulse, Inc. (www.impulsedriven.com) announced the addition of several new features designed to enable developers easily add "free to play" type features to their PC games. The next beta drop of its forthcoming game developer platform SDK, Impulse::Reactor, scheduled in March, is expected to include an in-game store experience, feature unlocking, and seamless downloadable content management all managed from an easy to use developer portal. Parent company Stardock Entertainment has begun to migrate all its titles to utilize the new features of Impulse::Reactor. "The increasing growth of the free to play model along with premium downloadable content has created a lot of interest in the game development community for tools that make it easy to integrate these capabilities into their games," said Brad Wardell, CEO of Impulse, Inc.
Impulse::Reactor has been in beta for the past year to select development partners. It enables game developers to add DRM, multiplayer match-making, community features, and DLC support. The March beta update will be adding feature unlocking and premium DLC support.
What makes Impulse::Reactor compelling is that it does not require an external client to be included with the game. Instead, the developer only has to include the Impulse::Reactor DLLs with their title and pick and choose which features of it they wish to make use of. The new features of Impulse::Reactor streamline the process of managing the selected features and content and vastly reduces implementation time as it integrates seamlessly with other SDKs. Because it doesn't require an external client, it is more palatable to retailers and digital distributors since it is 'vendor neutral.'
"This is particularly cool for gamers," said Wardell. "When a gamer loads up their game, they will see an option called 'Add Features.' Choosing this option will take them to an in-game catalog that displays all features available. Some features may be content (maps, campaigns, levels, skins, items, quests, etc.). Other features may be extensions to the game itself (multiplayer, new game modes, etc.). This allows for greater selection and choice on the gamer's end, and on the developer end, a more streamlined development experience with greater value add."
"We see the free to play model for PC gaming becoming increasingly dominant over the next couple of years across multiple genres," said Brian Clair, director of publishing for Stardock. "Impulse::Reactor will let our customers begin to pick and choose what features and content they want, allowing us to reduce the up-front price on our games in the future."
Impulse::Reactor v1.0 is still in internal beta and is only available to select developers. Visit http://developer.impulsedriven.com to sign up for the beta.
General availability of Impulse::Reactor v1.0 is anticipated in summer 2011.
Rebellion is Upon Us: The Next Chapter of Sins of a Solar Empire Unveiled at Game Developer's Conference 2011
-Stardock Entertainment and Ironclad Games Announce Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion -
Plymouth, MI – March 1, 2011 – The time of Diplomacy is over. The length of the war and differing opinions on what should be done to bring the war to an end has led to a splintering of the groups involved. The controlling powers-that-be have depleted arsenals and seemed to have exhausted all efforts of diplomacy. Trapped in a stalemate, sub-factions have rebelled and broken off the main alignments. Rebellion is upon us.
The exciting next chapter in the awesome Sins of a Solar Empire universe has arrived. A full-fledged expansion to the original, Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion draws you even deeper into the galactic struggle for supremacy with appealing new factions, terrifyingly cool new ships of all sizes, enhanced lighting and particle effects for increased visual pleasure and all-new victory conditions.
"Rebellion is the first stand-alone expansion to the Sins of a Solar Empire universe," said Brian Clair, director of publishing for Stardock. "Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion will add many new ships, refresh the visuals and integrate Impulse::Reactor features to support achievements, multiplayer leagues and much more."
In the original award-winning Sins of a Solar Empire, developed by Ironclad Games, you are the leader of one of three civilizations embroiled in a galactic war, fighting for survival of your entire race against relentless foes. Your success will depend on your ability to manage your empire and command your vast fleets of starships to victory. Players will colonize new worlds, develop extensive trade networks, conduct research, fortify their empires with powerful starbases and fleets of ships, plus control the galaxy using the unique diplomacy system that reacts dynamically to the players' actions.
New features of Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion include:
· New Factions: Players decide whether to become Loyalists or Rebels, which unlocks a unique new tech tree granting them new technologies and ship variants.
· New Titan-class ships: Massive warships for each race that dwarf capital ships, these deadly new monsters are capable of wiping out entire enemy fleets single-handedly.
· New Capital Ships: A new capital ship class arrives, giving players new strategic options.
· New Corvette-class ships: Small, highly maneuverable light ships that are adept at a variety of tasks.
· Loyalist and Rebel versions of some of the existing Sins' frigates and cruisers, each with their own unique strengths and weaknesses.
· Updated lighting and particle effects for enhanced visuals. · New Victory Conditions to allow for more variety, differing strategies and shorter game sessions.
· Additional capital ship ability levels, for greater strategic choice.
· Impulse::Reactor support for chat, friends, achievements and more.
For the complete Sins of a Solar Empire experience, please visit www.sinsofasolarempire.com.
About Ironclad Ironclad Games is the creator, owner and developer behind the top selling and critically acclaimed Sins of a Solar Empire series. Learn more by visiting www.ironcladgames.com and www.sinsofasolarempire.com.
About Stardock Stardock is one of the world's leading developers and publishers of PC games and desktop software. Its PC games include the award-winning Sins of a Solar Empire as well as the critically acclaimed Galactic Civilizations series. Its desktop software includes Object Desktop, WindowBlinds, and a host of other programs for customizing the Windows experience. Learn more about Stardock by visiting www.stardock.com. # # #


text:
The department is based in the UAB Callahan Eye Hospital. A modern, superbly equipped facility, Callahan Eye Hospital has a 12-bed inpatient ward, a busy outpatient surgery center, a 24-hour eye emergency room, and nine operating suites. The hospital also houses a laser center and is outfitted to perform all types of laser procedures including refractive surgery.
As the a Level 1 Ocular Trauma Center with a 24/7 eye emergency department, the UAB Callahan Eye Hospital provides Department of Ophthalmology residents a unique and clinically valuable training experience. The Callahan Eye Hospital emergency room sees more than 5,000 visits per year, of which more than 500 are eye trauma. Residents have the opportunity to diagnose and treat numerous ophthalmologic conditions.
The department's physician faculty members participating in the residency program represent all subspecialties within ophthalmology. In addition, there are research opportunities available for residents to work with the department's Ph.D. faculty members. A close, collaborative relationship exists between clinical and research faculty.
Residents rotate through clinics at the following hospitals, all located within five-block radius:
In total, the Department of Ophthalmology operates 7 outpatient clinic locations that service more than 58,000 outpatient visits per year. As residents progress, they are assigned more responsibility both clinically and surgically.
Specialty clinics in the following areas provide concentrated areas of study:
- Corneal disease
- Glaucoma
- Neuro-ophthalmology
- Retina and vitreous diseases
- Uveitis and ocular inflammatory diseases
- Pediatrics and strabismus
- Oculoplastic surgery
- Contact lenses
- Low vision rehabilitation
The UAB Ophthalmology Residency is a fully accredited three-year training program. Five residents are accepted each year through the San Francisco Matching Program. An approved internship is a prerequisite.
Grand rounds are held monthly. Specialty rounds are held on a weekly or bimonthly basis. Didactic lectures, based on the Basic and Clinical Science Course (American Academy of Ophthalmology), are presented three or four mornings each week. An Annual Clinical and Research Symposium is held each spring as a forum for residents to present their research project findings. Additionally, the department has an intranet on which all residency-related materials are posted, including educational videos, schedules, the resident handbook, and rotation guidelines.
Training is focused on learning the basics of the eye examination and the diagnosis and treatment of common eye diseases (including medical and laser treatments). Exposure to subspecialty eye care is provided through regular rounds at each of the teaching clinics as well as didactics. As skills and knowledge increase over the course of the year, progressively more autonomy and responsibility is provided.
Five 10-week rotations, all based in the UAB Callahan Eye Hospital, are divided between the Veterans Affairs Eye Clinic (two rotations) and the Lions Eye Clinic (three rotations). Full-time attending staff and third-year residents are present in each clinic. During the day, a first-year resident on the Lions Eye Clinic rotation covers the Callahan Eye Hospital emergency room (with appropriate backup and supervision).
Primary call is in house for first-year residents. Residents cover the Callahan Eye Hospital emergency room and provide consultation services to all UAB affiliated institutions, including the emergency rooms of UAB Hospital (the only Level 1 Trauma Center in the state), Children's Hospital, Cooper Green Mercy Health Services, VA Hospital, and UAB Highlands Medical Center. The resident on call also covers inpatient consultation services at those locations. Call averages to every fifth night. Residents create the call schedule with the assistance of the Chief Resident.
A major advantage of the UAB system is the close proximity of all facilities to the Callahan Eye Hospital. All except UAB Highlands are located within a contiguous medical campus within a five-block radius. UAB Highlands is located less than one mile from the UAB campus.
The second year of residency is composed of ten 5-week rotations through all ophthalmic subspecialties with an optional Academic Path offering a 5-week block of protected research time. Rotations include exposure to cornea, retina, glaucoma, oculoplastics, pediatrics, uveitis, low vision, neuro-ophthalmology and the University Consult Service.
Second-year residents take backup call at home, coming in as needed for complex cases, certain surgical decisions, and if the workload demands additional help for the first-year resident. (Except for during the first month of the academic year when second-year residents take call in house with the new first-year residents for training purposes.)
All second-year residents attend the Wills Eye Annual Ophthalmology Review Course in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, during the second half of the academic year. Second-year residents are introduced to cataract surgery in preparation for their third year.
The third year of residency is also divided into ten 5-week rotations—four at Cooper Green Mercy Health Services, four at the VA Hospital, and two at the Lions Eye Clinic.
Surgical experience is primarily gained during this year. The resident serves as primary surgeon for patients from the various clinics with attending staffing from the faculty and community.
Third-year call is in backup to the first- and second-year call and consists primarily of surgical responsibilities.
Third year residents attend the Alcon Course in Fort Worth, Texas.
UAB Ophthalmology Residents receive the same benefits as all other UAB residents. Additional information can be found on the SOM Resident Physician Salary & Benefits page.
In addition, UAB Department of Ophthalmology residents receive:
- Educational Fund for the 3 years to be used for textbooks, conference fees, lenses, and travel to meetings. (Loupes are provided through separate expense account.)
- Free covered parking connected to Callahan Eye Hospital.
For inquiries about Residency Training in the UAB Department of Ophthalmology, contact:
Russell W. Read, M.D., Ph.D.
Director of Residency Program
Department of Ophthalmology
University of Alabama at Birmingham
700 South 18th Street, Suite 601
Birmingham, Alabama 35294-0009
Christalyn Cooper, M.B.A.
Residency Coordinator
(205) 325-8507


text:
Mental health check
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keep it simple
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Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Herefordshire, UK.
Posts: 18,617
Re: Mental health check
So sad to hear. The level of desperation must be unthinkable.
I've witnessed first hand the affects of depression in those suffering illness. I know it's not directly related to the subject at hand, but it's all the same bucket of crap, just a different trigger. Hopelessness is the key element. The lack of ability, for whatever reason, to see a way forward. There's always hope, but if it seems out of reach, you're in a dark place, & a very private dark place too. You're convinced that others can't help, no matter how well intentioned or equipped they may be. Of course, that's not true most of the time, but the sufferer fails to grasp that.
A few years ago, I was a very ill boy. It was actually my illness that brought me back to drumming after a couple of decades away. During my illness, I found myself in real mental trouble. My diagnosis was very poor. Luckily, I had many things to live for, not least of all my wife & children. These made the difference for me, but others may not be so lucky. I clearly remember my mental state turning point. I was in hospital when my heart stopped (again). My wife & son were next to me. I remember the crash team running towards me. At that point I looked at my son & saw his face. I will never forget his face as he watched his father fade away.
That was my wakeup call - big time. Luckily, I have the constitution to put one finger up at challenges, & forge ahead. Many are not built this way, & they often succumb to the darkness that is all consuming.
The message is, there's always hope, & sometimes it just takes a trigger to turn things around. If you know someone who you suspect is struggling, take time out to be that positive trigger.
Sorry to hear of your friend Bill. Truly a sad waste indeed.
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text:
Business Technology
This certificate recognizes achievement in gaining knowledge in computer applications for business and personal use.
Occupational Requirements
If your computer background is very limited, you may want to take Introduction to Computers before beginning this program.
Information Unique to the Training
Courses to Complete
Courses may be taken in any order, but we recommend you begin with Introduction to Windows.
Complete three Core Courses:
- DAP-209 Introduction to Windows
- DAP-014 Word Level 1
- DAP-017 Excel Level 1
Complete any two electives
- DAP-020 or PowerPoint Level 1
- DAP-052 Outlook Level 1
- DAP-029 Access Level 1
- DAP-483 Publisher Level 1
Approximate Number of Hours
35 hours
Approximate Training Cost
Licensure/Certification Earned
Related Continuing Education Courses
Estimated Hourly Wage*
*Unless noted, cost does not include any required textbooks, applicable licensing fees, background check fees, testing fees, etc.
**Wages are based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and are estimates only.


text:
MBPD Fallen Officers
"It is not how these officers died that made them heroes, it is how they lived." - Vivian Eney Cross, Survivor
MBPD SWAT Team
Our amazing MBPD continuously train to keep our residents and visitors safe throughout the City of Miami Beach.
MBPD Mobile Command
During all major events, the MBPD Mobile Command Van is deployed and utilized during critical incidents for all public safety.


text:
i guess these are from the remake from some times in the mid 1990.
I got loads and chose 8 of them and backed them onto a piece of card and used to have them on a shelf. they weren't getting looked at as much as i really wanted so recently i decided to see if i could make something more cool and useful.
This is how i went about making some film cell light boxes.
Step 1: Tools and Materials.
-craft knife or scalpel
-sand paper -soldering iron
-film cells of choice
-mount board or card stock
-large box frame 300mmx300mm
-paint for the frame (only if you want to change the colour)
-button or switch
-LED strip -resistors etc.
Step 2: Choosing your film strips.
the film cells i had were of three sizes 2 large ones and 3 each of medium and small.
i decided to use all of the one i had but split them into two groups.
one group of one long strip and three medium, the other group of the other large strip and the three small ones.
Step 3: Cutting the mount board.
i also measured out the size of the glass of the box frame as the card needed to be exactly the same size as the glass.
once i had all the measurements i drew out a large square the size of the glass and plotted out the four holes for the film cells.
I did this two times as each card will have different sized holes as the film cells for each frame are different.
once i had cut all the holes i placed the card in the box frame to make sure it all looked right.
Hi, a guy on youtube (and indestructables) called DIY Perks has made a number of videos using these light strips and say in each one how they work. DIY Light shelf and DIY LED Panel for example are good places (the first being more simple and in line with this project)
hi, im sure there are some wiring instructions on here. I learnt how to do wiring like this when i was about 11.
hi, yeah that's where i got them from. or depending on where you live, there are online shops that sell parts for electronics. maplins in the uk for example.
hope that helps.
if you do make it post some pictures i would love to see it.
Will the lights over expose the film cell over time? In other words, will the cell image deteriorate with exposure to LED lights?
i dont really know but i would not have thought they would continue to expose as they were designed to be used in a very bright projector over and over again and the LEDs are only on for a short amount of time each time one looks at them. They get as much light being displayed so natural light will shine through or on to them.


text:
Space Buster 3D Leaderboard
We have changed the leaderboard in our Android products Space Buster 3D and Space Buster 3D Lite. We have to clean the database regularly to handle the load and keep the server cost affordable. It will now keep your best score for 24 hours only, except if it is 500.000 points or higher. We may switch to Openfeint for Android one day, as we did on the iPhone version.
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text:
Spinal radiological findings in nine patients with spontaneous intracranial hypotension
- L. Chiapparini,
- L. Farina,
- L. D'Incerti,
- A. Erbetta,
- D. Pareyson,
- M. Carriero,
- M. Savoiardo
- … show all 7 hide
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Cranial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings in spontaneous intracranial hypotension (SIH) are well known, while spinal studies have received less attention. Radiological spinal findings in nine patients with SIH are presented, looking for possible characteristic features. Five of the nine patients had histories of previous minor trauma, one of previous surgery; in three patients possible relevant preceding events were completely absent. All nine patients had cervical, seven thoracic, and four lumbar spine MRI studies; post-contrast studies were obtained in seven cases, MRI myelograms in five. Radioisotope myelocisternography was performed in four patients and myelo-CT in four. Epidural fluid collections were found in seven patients. In six cases the dural sac had collapsed, with a festooned appearance; intense epidural enhancement on post-contrast studies demonstrated marked dilatation of the epidural venous plexus. In three cases an irregular root sleeve suggested a possible point of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage. Myelo-CT demonstrated the CSF fistula in two cases, radioisotope myelocisternography in three. The pattern of spinal abnormalities is different from that seen in cranial MRI for anatomical reasons: in the spinal canal the dura is not adherent to the bone; therefore, collapse of the dural sac and dilatation of epidural venous plexus occur, rather than subdural hematomas. In most cases the search for the dural tear is difficult. Radioisotope cisternography is probably the most sensitive examination for documenting the leakage of CSF out of the subarachnoid space; myelo-CT may precisely demonstrate the point of the CSF fistula, whereas MRI may only suggest it.
- Title
- Spinal radiological findings in nine patients with spontaneous intracranial hypotension
- Journal
Volume 44, Issue 2 , pp 143-150
- Cover Date
- 2002-02
- 10.1007/s002340100685
- Print ISSN
- 0028-3940
- Online ISSN
- 1432-1920
- Publisher
- Springer-Verlag
- Additional Links
- Keywords
- Spontaneous intracranial hypotension Spinal complications Epidural collections Dural sac collapse Epidural venous plexus
- Industry Sectors
- Authors
- L. Chiapparini (A1)
- L. Farina (A1)
- L. D'Incerti (A1)
- A. Erbetta (A1)
- D. Pareyson (A2)
- M. Carriero (A2)
- M. Savoiardo (A1)
- Author Affiliations
- A1. Department of Neuroradiology, Istituto Nazionale Neurologico "C. Besta", Via Celoria, 11, 20133 Milan, Italy,
- A2. Department of Neurology, Istituto Nazionale Neurologico "C. Besta", Milan, Italy,


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text:
Contaminants in Pelicans Collected During the Avian Botulism Event at the Salton Sea in 1996.
The Salton Sea has been the site of several fish and bird die-offs in recent years. In 1996 a major outbreak of Type C avian botulism occurred. There were over 14,000 bird deaths including over 8,500 American white pelicans and over 1,100 brown pelicans. This outbreak was different from others that have occurred in the United States because it happened to fish-eating birds.
The purpose of this study was to determine if exposure to contaminants may have contributed to the die-off in brown and white pelicans.
Methods: Specimen birds were collected randomly from the dead birds brought into the Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge. Breast muscle, liver tissue samples, and brain tissue were collected from the birds. The muscle tissue was analyzed for organochlorine compounds, the liver tissue was analyzed for inorganics, and the brain tissue was analyzed for cholinesterase.Results and Discussion: The organics detected included dieldrin, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), and its metabolites. Dieldrin was detected in 9 of 10 brown and white pelican samples. The concentrations found have been shown to have no measurable effects on reproduction, so it does not appear to be significant relative to the die-off. The PCBs detected were also below levels associated with chronic poisoning and reproductive problems so they are not of major concern in the Salton Sea ecosystem. Of the DDT metabolites detected, o,p'DDT and p,p'DDT were not in high enough concentrations to cause adverse impacts. Low levels of o,p'DDE was found in the majority of the muscle samples. These concentrations would only contribute slightly to the impacts associated with this group of compounds and are not likely to have been an independent factor in the die-off. The levels of p,p'DDE residue were similar to concentrations measured while DDT was still in use. It is possible that these birds are being exposed to DDT in Mexico. The concentrations of DDE detected though were below levels associated with chronic poisoning and reproductive problems. However, additional studies would be required to determine if DDE is accumulating in the eggs and impacting reproduction.
The following inorganics were detected, but at low enough levels that they are not thought to cause harm: aluminum, arsenic, barium, boron, cadmium, chromium, copper, magnesium, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, strontium, vanadium, and zinc. Iron was detected in all liver samples in concentrations which exceeded those found in other waterfowl. Since iron is considered to be an innocuous trace element it was unlikely to have contributed to the die-off. However, the significance of the extremely high values in some of the white pelicans does warrant future investigation. There also was a correlation with mercury, so it is possible that the sources of these two may be related. Mercury was detected in high concentrations in 15 of the brown pelicans and all ten of the white pelicans. The effect may not be seen, though, because interactive effects can occur between selenium and mercury. By association with high levels of selenium, mercury can accumulate in liver tissues in mammals without exerting any apparent toxicity. On the other hand, mercury toxicity can be increased by pesticides such as DDE and elevated temperatures. Temperatures during the die-off exceeded 100 F on a daily basis, however, the birds did not display symptoms of mercury poisoning so mercury does not appear to have been a major causative factor in the die-off event. Selenium was detected in all brown and white pelican samples. Eleven of the brown pelicans and seven of the white pelicans exceeded the reproductive impairment threshold, however species that prefer more saline environments do appear to have a higher selenium tolerance. Selenium concentrations and effects can also be modified by the presence of other trace elements. Greater impacts are seen as a result of a combination of boron and selenium in the diet, particularly if protein consumption is low. Arsenic alleviates some of the effects of selenium. Both boron and arsenic are available in this system, but the relative magnitude of these opposing effects is not understood for these species. The information does not clearly indicate whether the selenium concentrations found are problematic for pelicans or not. The only conclusion that can be made is that selenium contamination may have been a contributing factor in the overall health and susceptibility to the botulism toxin of the birds. Acetylcholinesterase: Brain cholinesterase activity measurements were taken on brain samples from the ten brown pelicans. The acetylcholinesterase assay includes a reactivation step which can remove bound organophosphates and restore cholinesterase activity. Five of the samples tested showed reactivation indicative of organophosphate exposure. Exposure to cholinesterase inhibiting pesticides such as organophosphates can result in incoordination, muscular weakness and slight paralysis in birds which are similar to the symptoms of botulism. High temperatures also tend to exacerbate the impacts of pesticide exposures and compound the difficulties in thermoregulation experienced by birds exposed to the botulism toxin. Botulism toxin is lethal in nanogram quantities so this probably minimized the effects of organophosphate pesticide exposure relative to the effects of the toxin.
Find out more by reading
the following full report:
Return to the Carlsbad Field Office Reports
For more information visit the following links:
Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge. Why is the Salton Sea important?
Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge. Summary of 1996 Botulism Event.
Visit the: Pacific Region - Environmental Contaminants-Investigating and Monitoring
Visit the: USFWS- Pacific Region Ecological Services Home Page


text: You are looking for Licensing a burning SDK to be added in your application. This providing driver and DLL combo to add quickly a burning solution to your programs for CD , DVD Video and data and Blu-ray. VSO Burning SDK is used in a lot of different products, available in USA Retail market and online.


text:
Gear Review
Awesome snow boot
- Gender: Male
- Familiarity: I've put it through the wringer
This is my second season with them, and they are warm and waterproof enough. Works well with snowshoes and crampons too.
Size 10 was too small for me, so I got my usual size 10.5. Even then the insoles were too thick and cut off circulation to my toes so I had to get some thinner replacements. Other than that I like these boots a lot.
Ben Quan
One questions, what crampons did you use with them?
View More Details on The North Face Chilkat II Boot - Men's


text:
Landscape > Transformer > P8523-31
- Category: Landscape
- Finish: Black
- Style: Utility/Landscape
- Family: Transformer
- Description: 600W transformer w/plug-ins and easy wire terminal board for secondary connections and easy open enclosure with KO's for hardwiring and photocell installation. Three foot 12 gauge cord with grounding plug and thermal protection in the primary circuit.
- $577.50
Technical Details
- Width/Diameter: 5"
- Height: 17"
- Notes: P8524-01 Timer, P8525-31 direct mount photo cell and P8626-31 remote mount photocell available for use with these units


text:
If the game freezes, just click inside it (games can get unresponsive if you click elsewhere on the page).
Mr. Tart and his fellow players are back for a serious time of playing soccer. Pick your favorite Mr. Tart soccer player, choose will you play against the local CPU champ or play the 2 players mode against a friend, so you could become a true soccer champ! The goal is simple, but scoring a goal is not, especially when the gameplay is so fast and intuitive only the pro soccer players could play their way to victory. Have fun!


text:
Following are some of the most common opening day mistakes committed by waterfowlers, and ways to avoid making them.
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President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp Act into law.
First duck stamp, designed by Pulitzer-prize winning editorial cartoonist, Jay N. "Ding" Darling, issued.
Prairie drought peaks.


text:
The World's No.1 Matchmaking Service
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Profile created by Self
32 yrs,
5' 9",
Never Married
, Punjabi
, Punjabi Hindu
Bachelors degree in Advertising/ Marketing
Accounting Professional
Lives in Salt Lake City, USA
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About him
ONLY US AND CANADIAN CITIZENS, NO ONE FROM OVER SEAS YOUR REQUEST WILL BE DENIED. I DO APOLOGIZE. Hi my name is
Name Visible on Login
just to tell you a little bit about me, overall in my humble opinion I think I'm a pretty good guy I love sports, music, movies, and I love hanging out with close friends, I once wrote always follow your heart because you never know where it will lead you, and follow that path no matter how hard the travel, so my heart led me hear so the rest I leave up to the great and almighty, what this power is, I cannot say all I know is that it exists...... and it becomes available only when you are in that state of mind in which you know exactly what you want..... and are fully determined not to quit until you get it. Thank you for taking the time out of your life to let me share part of mine with you and good luck on your quest to happiness. Be patient you may find it..... or it may find you.
lifestyle & appearance
Doesn't Drink
Doesn't Smoke
Fair skinned, Athletic Build
, Punjabi
, Punjabi Hindu
Lives in Salt Lake City, UT, USA (Citizen)
Grew up in USA
Can Speak English, Hindi, Punjabi
View Family Details
his family
Ours is an upper middle class family with traditional values. Both my parents are employed. I have 1 brother (married) and 1 sister (married).
Education & career
Bachelors degree in Advertising/ Marketing
Accounting Professional - own business/self employed
Earns USD 60K to 80K annually
Interests & Hobbies
Social Service, Hiking, Adventure Sports, Outdoor Sports
Read more
American, Chinese, Italian, Japanese, Punjabi, South Indian
Hip-Hop, Film Music, Pop Music, R&B / Soul
Action, Comedy, Drama films, Horror, Romantic
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Biographies, Business books, History, Humour books
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Basketball, Billiard Sports, Bowling, Football, Working out
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Interests & More
Social Service, Hiking, Adventure Sports, Outdoor Sports, Indoor Sports, Politics, Travelling, Movies, Pets, Listening to music
Favourite Cuisine
American, Chinese, Italian, Japanese, Punjabi, South Indian
Favourite Music
Hip-Hop, Film Music, Pop Music, R&B / Soul
Preferred Movies
Action, Comedy, Drama films, Horror, Romantic, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Favourite Reads
Biographies, Business books, History, Humour books, Philosophy books, Poetry, Self-help books
Sports / Fitness Activities
Basketball, Billiard Sports, Bowling, Football, Working out, Winter Sports, Weight training
Preferred Dress Style
Business casual - semi-formal office wear, Casual - usually in jeans and T-shirts
WHAT he IS LOOKING FOR
21 to 26
5' 0"(152cm) to 5' 4"(162cm)
Marital Status
Never Married
Mother Tongue
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just tried it out on a updated 4.3, and it worked great, thx
Just got done with the procedure on my 4.3u, everything went perfectly. I am so grateful to you mauifrog! I can now play disks and usb loads. True genius!
If you look through the posts before you will see how successful other people have been with this guide. Just follow the guide and ignore what you may have seen in another.
Last edited by narse1979; 11-18-2010 at 11:45 PM.
Followed the guide, which was great thanks, but my only problem is priiloader wont install, it just sits on the priiloader screen and does nothing and i have to power off the wii, ive tried a few different versions and it just wont install. All my games load off usb and work fine.
i don't have those 3 CD games. I dont know where to rent wii cd games in my country -,- .. when they will make bannerbomb for 4.3???!?!
hey everyone i followed the steps in here and works perfect except it gives me read disc error on any disc i try to use. just wondering is ther any way to have it read discs again lol


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Asexuality Infographics
Posted 02 November 2011 - 02:00 AM
Posted 02 November 2011 - 02:21 AM
I am a machine. No longer living, just a shell of what I dream.
Posted 02 November 2011 - 02:31 AM
Posted 02 November 2011 - 03:15 AM
I'm just saying that wording is going to be pretty important in this.
My other suggestion (this is now the designer in me rearing its head) would be to play with the format more. There are some fabulous infographics out there that make good use of dynamic space. I think there's a really cool possibility here for some solid use of graphics in a more unique manner than simply going down the center of the page.
Are you sticking with that font or did you have a different choice in mind? I do appreciate the neutrality of the san serif typeface but I do feel like a sans serif with more personality* might make this infographic a bit more fun, especially with the color palette.
I know you said you weren't quite done yet, but keep an eye on your hierarchy and typesetting as well. The way 'Orientation' in the title is below the rest of the header makes the headline a more awkward read than it needs to be.
a;lskjdf Sorry random critique. I know you're not done and this isn't the final version but I just wanted to point out the things I noticed!
*Neutraface is just an example, but there are a ton of fun sans serifs out there that I think would be attactive to use on a project like this!
Posted 02 November 2011 - 03:39 AM
So, there's an explanation of the column, but what's the logic behind the rainbow circle? What do different points on the sweep mean?
Posted 02 November 2011 - 04:01 AM
Posted 02 November 2011 - 04:13 AM
Posted 02 November 2011 - 05:40 PM
If someone has ideas as to what the different colors could mean and what the rings could mean, I'm all ears.
It certainly looks interesting, but without determining what the colors and rings mean it's pretty much impossible to explain anything with it. Where would you place someone who is exclusively heterosexual (that would be 0 on the Kinsey scale) on the spectrum (your 4th figure) for example?
I did try to come up with something helpful by the way, but grey-asexuality got the better of me.. Still, I'll give it some more thought, if I can come up with anything, I'll post it (don't hold your breathe..).
Posted 02 November 2011 - 08:53 PM
Disclaimer: I can't draw at all, nevermind in 3D, so use your imagination.
So here it is. It isn't pretty, but I'll try to explain.
First of all I changed the shape into an upside down pyramid of some kind, thus the "unneeded" territory. The decrease of width indicates the decrease of frequency, but NOT the decrease of intensity. I know this can be a bit confusing, but my problem with the original shape was that the bottom (black-and-white) circle was meaningless, as if one never feels sexual attraction it makes no sense to talk about the intensity of it.
Our two main axes are "Intensity" (as in intensity of sexual attraction) which explains the rings (the wider the stronger, but this is only true in 2D) and "Frequency" (as in frequency of feeling sexual attraction, which decreases towards the apex of the pyramid). The "asexual axis" (which should be a bit thicker to fill out the smallest circle) indicates those who feel zero sexual attraction. In their case the frequency axis is irrelevant, so they become an axis, or a "constant" if you like.
The K-points represent the Kinsey scale, so in this case the color red (or rather the top half of the axis going from K0 to K6) means exclusively heterosexual (K0), and that light bluish color (or rather the bottom half of the axis going from K0 to K6) at K6 means exclusively homosexual. I don't think I worded that very well, but lets move on. The rest of the K-points should be self-explanatory if one is familiar with the Kinsey-scale. Having two K1, K2, K3 (bisexual), K4 and K5 points is a bit of a weakness at this point, those should be the same color respectively in this case anyway. The colors are totally interchangeable of course.
That shapeless "thing" around the axis called "grey area" represents grey-asexuality (should be imagined in 3D). The basic premise of creating this area is that one might be grey-A because they feel sexual attraction very rarely (those towards the apex), or not as intensely as "normal" sexuals (those towards the top). It can also be a combination of the two of course (feeling it rarely and even then not as strongly as most sexuals). Note that this area should be pretty much shapeless (but always bordering with the "asexual axis"), as it's impossible to tell when one feels sexual attraction strongly and/or frequently enough to qualify as a sexual. Maybe this indefinable border should be indicated with using a broken line as its outline.
So that's it at the moment. It's obviously far from perfect (and I don't mean just the "drawing"), but I guess it's a start.
What do you guys think?
Posted 02 November 2011 - 11:03 PM
I'm not saying we should use that one specifically (there aren't enough categories), but suppose we labeled different shapes in a Venn for different types of romantic and physical attraction. The idea being that we could account for people having a wide variety of combinations without putting any two as opposites. I'm not sure how aromantic asexuals would fit in, although from my math classes I'm aware the space outside a shape can be as important as the space inside.
Here's another, more complex one.
Okay, this one was just funny. I need to get off Google.
Posted 03 November 2011 - 12:47 AM
Also, as far as the asexual spectrum goes, I think that also has multiple dimensions to it. I think the minimal model is the Double Storms Model (two dimensions for sexual attraction, two for romantic attraction). But then, I don't think there are sharp lines between the quadrants. And it ignores attraction to non-binary genders. It ignores people who don't use the concept of romantic orientation. It ignores other dimensions, like limerence, aesthetic attraction, sensual attraction, sex drive, sexual desire, sexual repulsion, etc. (not to mention people who do not use these concepts, do not think they are important, or do not distinguish them from other concepts).
Come to think of it, including all of these asexual dimensions would also be impossible and inelegant.
A blog going beyond ace-101: The Asexual Agenda
I also have a personal blog, which sometimes covers LGBTA stuff.
Posted 03 November 2011 - 04:08 AM
Posted 03 November 2011 - 04:17 AM
- Aromantic
- Homo
- Bi
- Pan
- Hetero
- Poly
- (any more you suggest to me that fit)
I also heard of sapio. I have no idea how you can fit that in there since the attraction is based on a person's intelligence, not their sex/gender.
I am a machine. No longer living, just a shell of what I dream.
Posted 03 November 2011 - 10:03 AM
Sexuality, or lack of it is incredibly complex. Trying to diagrammatically show all the intricacies involved seems likely to lead to an end result that is neither clear nor helpful. When you are selecting a model you have to be aware of the constraints imposed by it, in this case if asexual visibility is the key point you are trying to convey then what else should be shown?
In my opinion the 2d colour spectrum you have used is useful in showing that there are a variety of sexual preferences and orientations, but does not lend itself to describing any particular one. Having ssexuals at the bottom of the cylinder, hypersexuals at the top, and most people inbetween gets people thinking "where am I in that". If they can acknowledge that there are people who are more frequently sexually attracted to others, and people who are less frequently sexually attracted then having people who are never sexually attracted to others.
The danger in my opinion of trying to identify sexualities within the spectrum is that a 2d space isn't large enough to accurately depict everyones sexuality. To do this would require as many dimensions as there are variables considered (e.g. gender, sex, race, intelligence....) and missing out one gives the potential to offend. As an example if someone is between "pink/magenta" and "green" does that make them "blue" or "yellow" (substituting the colours for the different sexualities of course)?
Posted 03 November 2011 - 01:37 PM
Maybe we could use inner and outer rings for stuff that bridges genders?
- Aromantic
- Homo
- Bi
- Pan
- Hetero
- Poly
- (any more you suggest to me that fit)
I also heard of sapio. I have no idea how you can fit that in there since the attraction is based on a person's intelligence, not their sex/gender.
Posted 03 November 2011 - 01:55 PM
as to explaining what asexuality is and isn't..the confusion just got added too
asexuality is not complex..it's the lack of sexual attraction..not on weekdays, not with that person but with this person, not only if you eat fish..it's the lack of sexual attraction
where it becomes complicated is when people try and bend/change/adapt that one definition ..to make it fit themselves..then declare that as the definition
When life gives you Lemons....Make lemonade
Posted 04 November 2011 - 01:51 AM
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AUBURN, Mass. — The Auburn High boys basketball team jumped out to big first-quarter lead, and then cruised to a 60-41 win over Millbury High on Friday night at the Auburn High gymnasium.
The Rockets (3-0, 3-0 SWCL) defense pressed Millbury (1-3, 1-3 SWCL) into many bad passes and forced too many turnovers for the Woolies to overcome.
With the score knotted at 4-4, the Rockets went on a 12-0 run, including three-point plays by Tyler Simmons and Tyler Lamonda, and led 18-7 after the firs quarter.
Auburn used some crisp outlet passes and wide-open shots from the perimeter and upped its lead to 31-12 early in the second quarter before Millbury regrouped. The Woolies Dakota Miller buried a three-point shot that keyed a 9-0 Millbury run that narrowed the lead to 31-21.
But, after halftime, Millbury had trouble getting out of its zone and resumed turning the ball over, and the Rockets pounced. Taking advantage of easy shots and fast breaks, Auburn built the largest lead of the game at 48-28.
The Rockets were then in cruise control and easily finished off the fourth quarter to reach the 60-41 final. Lamonda led all scorers with 22 points, Simmons chipped in 16 along with 18 rebounds and DJ Scavone scored 11. The Woolies were led by Michael Woll, who scored 21 points, including 9 of 11 from the free throw line, and Dakota Miller, with 9 points.
Auburn returns to action Dec. 27 during the Rockets Classic Tournament. Millbury is off until Jan. 3 when it hosts Quabog.


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What is /var/empty and why is this directory used by sshd?
Take the 2-minute tour ×
Server Fault is a question and answer site for system and network administrators. It's 100% free, no registration required.
It is just an empty directory, where some processes (e.g. one of sshd processes, but it could be anything else) may chroot() to ("chroot jail"). This way processes that do not need file access do not have any files to access, so their privileges cannot be abused.


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January 1, 2009
Precious Cat Provides Free Kits for Shelters
Precious Cat is giving away free shelter kits to animal organizations that are part of the Shelter Partners program. The kit contains a litter additive that may help newly adopted cats and pet felines who have developed new potty problems to think inside the box.
November 1, 2008
PetSmart and Lollypop Look Out for the Little Guys
Through a unique arrangement with Lollypop Farm, the PetSmart store in Henrietta, N.Y., is the only location in the country adopting, but not selling, such little critters as hamsters, guinea pigs, and birds.
September 1, 2008
Buddying Up
In Edmonton, house-soiling cats are given a second chance and becoming farmers' friends through the Barn Buddies program.
July 1, 2008
Animal Shelters Benefit from the Oprah Effect
In the wake of Oprah Winfrey's show on puppy mills, adoption numbers spike in shelters across the country.
May 1, 2008
The "101" Department: Getting to Know You
Creating a good cage card can be a critical tool for keeping track of the animals in your care and helping potential adopters to find their furry soulmate.
March 1, 2008
What Happens After "Happily Ever After"?
The Michigan Humane Society tracks animals beyond their fairytale endings, making for more successful matches, happier adopters, and more confident staff.
March 1, 2008
The Behavior Department: What Placement Groups Say'and What Adopters Hear
New adopters don't always understand the jargon counselors use when describing a dog's personality and behavior issues. Here's how to make sure your messages don't get lost in translation.
March 1, 2008
Opening Up
Inspired by a collection of essays in Animal Sheltering, a shelter staffer shares her organization's evolving perspective on adoptions.
January 1, 2008
The Behavior Department: Bad, Bad Cats Whatcha Gonna Do?
A post-adoption survey helps the Animal Rescue League of Boston figure out how their adopted cats are getting on in their new homes.
November 1, 2007
The Behavior Department: Preventing Pooch Problems
Trainer and behaviorist Nan Arthur explains how new dog owners can help their pooches make a less stressful transition from the shelter to the home.


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CRESTVIEW — A local service member's overseas airbase spent the holidays much like residents in town, with a Christmas feast, toys and entertainment.
For Manas Air Base in Kyrgyzstan, Central Asia, the 376th Air Expeditionary Wing's uniformed men and women broke bread with comrades, collected toys for Kyrgyzstan children in orphanages and schools, and listened to Nashville-based rock band Hip Kitty during a two-day performance for deployed troops, among other activities.
Chief Master Sgt. Leonard Thibodeaux, of Crestview, welcomed 2013 at the Manas Transit Center in the Kyrgyz Republic of Central Asia. Base members transport military personnel and supplies to and from Afghanistan.
The transit center, which functions like a small town, includes a mayor who ensures "all service members transiting through are safe and comfortable," the group's website, manas.afcent.af.mil, states.
Leonard, as deputy mayor, regularly monitors safety conditions and helps ensure comrades' quality of life.
"The conditions have been a concern for us," he said. "We have had to deal with frozen water pipes and down power lines. We have had several nights when the temperature was below freezing. These conditions can make transporting personnel difficult."
He also promotes morale.
"There are several here that are spending time away from families for the first time," said Leonard, who helps prevent comrades' homesickness or helps them cope with it.
"We are a family and we always take care of each other," he said.
Missing home


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Coaches Hot Seat Prediction and Analysis of 2012 Season: Boston College Eagles and Head Coach Frank Spaziani
Coaches Hot Seat Prediction and Analysis of 2012 Season
Boston College Eagles
Coach: Frank Spaziani
Years at Boston College: 3
Hot Seat Position: #1
Overall Coaching Record: 20 – 19
Overall Won/Loss Record at Boston College: 20 – 19
Overall Conference Record at Boston College: 12 – 12
2012 Boston College Schedule & Coaches Hot Seat Predictions
Sept 1 – Miami – W
Sept 8 – Maine – W
Sept 15 – at Northwestern – L
Sept 29 – Clemson – L
Oct 6 – at Army – W
Oct 13 – at Florida State – L
Oct 20 – at Georgia Tech – L
Oct 27 – Maryland – W
Nov 3 – at Wake Forest – L
Nov 10 – Notre Dame – L
Nov 17 – Virginia Tech – L
Nov 24 – at NC State – L
Coaches Hot Seat 2012 Boston College Predicted Record: 4 – 8
Coaches Hot Seat Analysis: After taking over a football program at Boston College that went…
95 – 53 (.642)
….in the previous 12 years under Tom O'Brien and Jeff Jagodzinski things have not been going so well for Frank Spaziani in Boston because….
Overall: 20 – 19 (.513)
ACC Record: 12 – 12 (.500)
….records are just not acceptable at BC even if current Boston College AD Gen DeFilippo realizes that FACT or not and in 2012 Frank Spaziani is not only coaching for his job but for DeFilippo's job as well since it was DeFilippo who let Tom O'Brien get away to NC State and fired Jeff Jagodzinski for interviewing for another and BETTER job (head coach of the New York Jets) which is about as Un-American one can get in the American Republic these days (Yes, we always let our employees interview for better or even equal jobs because if they can find a better job with better pay and they want to leave our employment then more the power to them because that is how REAL Americans think….or should think….since there are always people ready to step-in and takeover for anyone that departs in this great country of ours).
The problem for Frank Spaziani in 2012 is that there has been a quiet change underway in ACC country with the level of football on the field improving even as we hear about some ACC schools wanting to go off and do something stupid like joining the University of Texas Conference…..Uhhhh, the Big 12 Conference (which has 10 teams in case they didn't know it!) which would be about the Stupidest Damn Thing that Clemson or FSU could do right now since the ACC Conference is on the cusp of becoming a power again in Major College Football and who exactly would want join a Conference where everyone has to get down on their knees and kiss the ass of Big Tex? Not us that's for Damn sure!
The 2012 Boston College schedule is a case in point about the rising strength of the ACC with BC having tough games against Miami, Clemson and Virginia Tech at HOME and very tough road games against Florida State, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest and NC State that will Damn near impossible for the BC Eagles to win.
According to the Coaches Hot Seat predictors 2012 will not be a happy year for the Boston College Eagles with a projected Win/Loss record of…
4 – 8
….which would mean that come December 2012 both Frank Spaziani and Gene DeFilippo will be looking for work and which also means that a very good job in Boston College that is in a very good conference in the ACC Conference will be opening up and there will be plenty of coaches standing in line to interview for a job that pays in excess of $1 Million Dollars a year to work in the Revolutionary city of Boston, Massachusetts! Hell, if Frank Spaziani gets run out of BC come December the powers-that-be at Boston College might call up New Englander and current Oregon coach Chip Kelly and make him an offer that he cannot turn down to come "home" to Boston! The folks at BCS can just send the below video out to Chip Kelly and he might just jump at the opportunity to get out of 420 land where it seems most of football team is high most of the time! ("We smoked it all!, Sam Alpour, ESPN the Magazine)
We have never used the words and singing voice of the Great Dandy Don Meredith before a football season has even started but unless Boston College football elevates its game A LOT in 2012 over 2011 you can….
….which means Spaziani and DeFilippo should go ahead and get their resumes updated and start putting out some feelers for new jobs because without WINS change-is-a-coming to BC football.


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Return to Me
|Return to Me
Theatrical release poster
|Directed by
|Bonnie Hunt
|Produced by
|Jennie Lew Tugend
|Screenplay by
|Bonnie Hunt
Don Lake
|Story by
|Bonnie Hunt
Don Lake
Andrew Stern
Samantha Goodman
|David Duchovny
Minnie Driver
Carroll O'Connor
Robert Loggia
David Alan Grier
Bonnie Hunt
James Belushi
Joely Richardson
|Music by
|Danny DiMinno
Carmen Lombardo
Nicholas Pike
|László Kovács
|Edited by
|Garth Craven
|Distributed by
Release dates
Running time
|115 minutes
|United States
|$24 million USD (estimated)
|Box office
Return to Me is a 2000 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Bonnie Hunt and starring David Duchovny and Minnie Driver. It was filmed in Chicago in 1999, and released in April 2000. This was Carroll O'Connor's final film before his death the following year.
Bob and Elizabeth Rueland (David Duchovny and Joely Richardson) both work — Bob as an architect, Elizabeth as a zoologist — at Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo. Elizabeth is killed in a car accident, and her heart is transplanted to Grace Briggs (Minnie Driver), who has suffered from heart disease since the age of 14 and is near death. The surgery is successful and Grace, an artist, is able to live a normal life for the first time. She plans to make her first airplane trip to Italy to paint, and her best friend Megan Dayton (Bonnie Hunt) encourages her to begin dating, although Grace is self-conscious about the long surgery scar on her chest.
A year later, Bob remains depressed but recognizes that he must resume his life, helped in part by an anonymous letter from Grace through the hospital thanking him for his wife's heart. His friend, Charlie (David Allen Grier), organizes a blind date for him at a restaurant. Bob finds he is more interested in the waitress — Grace, who is also the granddaughter of the restaurant's owner, Marty O'Reilly (Carroll O'Connor). Bob and Grace begin to date; although they become close, Grace avoids telling Bob about her medical history.
Just before Grace tells Bob about her transplant, she finds her letter in his house. Horrified by the discovery, Grace flees and tells Megan, who later explains the situation to her husband in six monosyllables: "Grace has Bob's dead wife's heart!"
When Grace meets Bob again, she tells him the truth. He is stunned and leaves her. Grace sadly goes to Europe alone, but Bob realizes that he needs to go after her, and the two reunite in Italy.
- David Duchovny as Bob Rueland
- Minnie Driver as Grace Briggs
- Carroll O'Connor as Marty O'Reilly
- Robert Loggia as Angelo Pardipillo
- Bonnie Hunt as Megan Dayton
- David Alan Grier as Charlie Johnson
- Joely Richardson as Elizabeth Rueland
- Eddie Jones as Emmett McFadden
- James Belushi as Joe Dayton
- William Bronder as Wally Jatczak
- Marianne Muellerleile as Sophie
Box office[edit]
The film opened at number four at the North American box office making $7.8 million USD in its opening weekend, behind The Road to El Dorado, Erin Brockovich and Rules of Engagement, which opened at the top spot.[1] It would make a total of $32,662,299 USD in its entire box office run. [2]
Production notes[edit]
- This film gets its title from the 1957 Dean Martin recording of the same name (the song was composed by Carmen Lombardo and Danny DiMinno). The voices of the female background singers were removed electronically and a jazzier accompaniment was added for the film version.[3]
- This was the last film for both Carroll O'Connor[4] and Dick Cusack.[5]
- Features Hunt's frequent acting collaborators: Duchovny, Grier, Don Lake, Marianne Muellerleile, Holly Wortell, and Hunt herself, all of whom would be regulars or recurring guests on Life with Bonnie.[6]
- Many of the restaurant scenes in the movie were filmed at Twin Anchors, in Chicago's Old Town neighborhood; its plaque with two anchors was retained for filming and is visible on the wall. The hospital scenes were filmed in Michael Reese Hospital[citation needed] and feature Hunt's brother, Dr. Kevin Hunt, and his transplant team as themselves.[3]
- Features the music of the Alan Gresik Swing Shift Orchestra, a swing band still playing every Thursday at the historic Green Mill Lounge in Chicago.[7]
See also[edit]
- Dil Ne Jise Apna Kahaa, a 2004 Bollywood movie with a very similar storyline.
- ^ "The Numbers - US Movie Box Office Chart Weekend of April 7, 2000"
- ^ "Return to Me (2000) - Movie Details - Yahoo! Movies"
- ^ a b Director Bonnie Hunt's commentary on Return to Me DVD
- ^ "IMDB - Carroll O'Connor"
- ^ "IMDB - Dick Cusack"
- ^ "IMDB - Life with Bonnie"
- ^ "Alan Gresik Swing Shift Orchestra - Bio"
External links[edit]
- 2000 films
- English-language films
- American comedy-drama films
- 2000s comedy-drama films
- 2000s romantic comedy films
- 2000s romantic drama films
- American romantic comedy films
- American romantic drama films
- American films
- Directorial debut films
- Films directed by Bonnie Hunt
- Films set in Chicago, Illinois
- Films shot in Chicago, Illinois
- Magic realism films
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films


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Elizabethtown While some didn't agree with the reason behind the study, the Essex County Board of Supervisors enacted the next phase in the potential sale of the Horace Nye Nursing Home in Elizabethtown.
In their Feb. 6 regular board meeting, the supervisors passed a pair of resolutions — one to solicit proposals for a Phase One Environmental Evaluation on the nursing home and one to seek quotes for the work of a title search.
Moriah's Thomas "Tom" Scozzafava said that while he was still against the sale of the home, he felt an environmental evaluation of the site was needed.
"I support this because in the future, this is something that we can use down the road when looking at what needs to be done," said Scozzafava.
Willsboro's Ed Hatch questioned County Manager Daniel Palmer on if the evaluation should be done, and funded, by an potential buyer.
"If we do this and then a flag comes up and we have no one that buys, then we have another problem coming up," Hatch said.
County Attorney Dan Manning said that the study is done for that purpose, to identify the potential for concerns, and that the evaluation would run between $2,500 and $4,000.
"It is prudent that it is done in advance because we do not have a finance package in place," North Elba's Robert "Roby" Politi said.
Radio system moves forward
The Essex County Board of Supervisors voted to purchase the Essex County share of the new microwave system for the emergency services communications project at a total of $1,075,715 and equipment from state contract for the public safety radio system in the amount of $24,851.35 during its Feb. 6 meeting.
County Manager Daniel Palmer explained that the financing for the project was a three-entity effort between the county, New York State Police and New York State Electric and Gas (NYSEG).
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