text:
An application programming interface for translation of transport-layer sessions is presented. The system includes kernel-mode support for application-controlled network address translation and user-mode implementation of the redirect API routines. An application process may request that a network gateway modify the source and/or destination of a given network session in a manner transparent to the original source host and/or the replacement destination host. With the generalized NAT (gNAT) of the instant invention and its associated API, both the source and the destination addresses of message packets may be changed. The address changes are mapped in the gNAT, and may result in apparent sessions between different clients and servers. Depending on the protocol in use (e.g. TCP or UDP), the address translation may be made dynamically by the gNAT, under the command of the application, and take place at the kernel level.
1. A computer storage medium having computer-executable modules, comprising:
an application programming module adapted to be loaded by network applications for creating a redirect for a network session so that further data transitions from kernel-mode to user-mode are no longer required; and
a kernel-mode translation module for executing said redirect at the kernel-mode.
2. The computer storage medium of
3. The computer storage medium of
4. The computer storage medium of
5. The computer storage medium of
6. The computer storage medium of
7. The computer storage medium of
8. The computer storage medium of
9. A method of communication between a client process and a server process in a distributed processing system, comprising:
issuing, by the client process, a first message packet containing an IP source address and an IP destination address;
translating, by a translation process at kernel mode, at least one of the IP source address and the IP destination address;
forwarding, by a TCP/IP driver, the message packet containing the translated at least one of the IP source and the IP destination address; and
precluding further transitions from kernel mode to user mode, by employing an application process to dynamically redirect subsequently transmitted message packets.
10. The method of
11. The method of
12. The method of
13. The method of
14. The method of
15. The method of
16. The method of
17. The computer-readable medium of
18. A computer implemented system for migration of services for enhanced availability on a plurality of servers comprising:
an application programming module that commands through its API, an address translation at kernel-mode and therefore eliminates transitions between kernel and user modes;
a server load control application that utilizes the programming module to command address translations away from heavily loaded servers to servers with more available capacity; and
a kernel-mode translation module that executes the address translations at the kernel mode.
19. The system of
20. The system of
This patent application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/519,287, filed Mar. 6, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,779,035 entitled "Application Programming Interface and Generalized Network Address Translator for Translation of Transport-Layer Sessions". The entire teachings and disclosure of this patent application are hereby incorporated in their entireties by reference thereto.
This invention relates generally to network address translation and, more particularly, relates to generalized network address translation under application program control.
As the number of computers that needed or wanted to be connected to the Internet continued to grow, it soon became obvious that this number could not be accommodated by the number of available IP addresses, known as dotted-quads. In response to this address depletion problem, a method as illustrated in
This gateway computer 66 runs a program called a network address translator (NAT) that has both a private IP address 62 and a public IP address 68. As computers on the private network attempt to establish sessions with a server on a public network (or another private network), the NAT changes the source address 70 of the message packets 72 from the private address of the client computer to its public IP address. In this way, the private IP address is not communicated on the public network. The messages all appear to have come from the public IP address of the NAT machine. The NAT maintains a mapping 74 of the translation from the private to the public IP address so that when messages are received from the public network in response as illustrated by line 76, the NAT can forward them to the proper client machine. This operation of the NAT is completely transparent to the client computers on the private network, i.e. they each believe that they are communicating directly with the public servers.
While the NAT has greatly alleviated the address depletion problem, especially for home and small business networks, its translation of source addresses is fixed within its programming. That is, the traditional NAT does not allow any application control of the address translations that it performs. Additionally, since the address translation is performed on the message packets at such a low level within the kernel 84, the NAT can add almost no value, other than providing the raw source address translation. The NAT cannot even provide any destination address translations. If added value is desired, such as centralized virus scanning, site blocking, white listing, etc., a proxy must be used instead.
Traditional proxies, as illustrated in
The instant invention overcomes these and other problems by providing an application programming interface for translation of transport-layer sessions. Specifically, the inventive concepts of the instant invention relate to a generalized network address translator (gNAT) and associated application programming interface (API) that allow both source and destination address translations to be made under application program control. This allows value to be added to the address translation. Additionally, it significantly increases the data flow speed over a traditional proxy since there is no longer a requirement that all information received at the kernel-mode be passed to the user-mode, copied to a second session, and passed back to the kernel-mode for transmission.
With the generalized NAT (gNAT) of the instant invention and its associated API, both the source and the destination addresses of message packets may be changed. The address changes are mapped in the gNAT, and may result in apparent sessions between different clients and servers. Depending on the protocol in use (e.g. TCP or UDP), the address translation may be made dynamically by the gNAT, under the command of the application, and take place at the kernel level. This significantly improves the data flow of the system by short-circuiting previously required data transfer between the kernel and user modes.
As discussed above, data transfer through a traditional proxy (a user-mode application) requires that the incoming messages from a client on a first session be transferred from the kernel-mode to the user-mode so that the proxy can deal with them. The proxy then would copy the message to a second session, and pass it back down to the kernel-mode for transmission to the server. Likewise, information from the server would arrive at the kernel level, be transmitted up to the user-mode for processing by the proxy, be copied to the other session, and be transmitted back down to the kernel-mode for transmission back to the client. Significant transmission delays were incurred as a result of all of these kernel-to-user-mode transitions.
The system of the instant invention eliminates, or at least greatly reduces, this overhead performance degradation while still adding value to the communication. Specifically, once the application, in this case a proxy, determines that a second session will be established (or a data session), it can command the generalized NAT through the API to perform an address translation at the transmission layer (kernel-mode), and therefore eliminate the transitions between kernel and user modes. The generalized NAT receives the incoming message from the client, confirms that it has a mapped translation, performs the address translation, and passes the message along to the server. Since this translation occurs at the kernel level, the data transfer performance is greatly improved.
Since the generalized NAT and associated API of the instant invention allows for destination address translation of a message packet, another advantage provided by the instant invention is server load balancing. This balancing is achieved by a server load control application that utilizes the gNAT through its associated API to command address translations away from heavily loaded servers to servers with more available capacity. Dynamic load balancing is also possible, dependent on the communication protocol used for the session. That is, a TCP session continues to address all message packets to a server once assigned thereto since the TCP protocol is connection oriented. UDP messages, on the other hand, may be dynamically redirected to an available server at the time of message delivery since UDP is message oriented.
Additional features and advantages of the invention will be made apparent from the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments that proceeds with reference to the accompanying figures.
While the appended claims set forth the features of the present invention with particularity, the invention, together with its objects and advantages, may be best understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:
Turning to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements, the invention is illustrated as being implemented in a suitable computing environment. Although not required, the invention will be described in the general context of computer-executable instructions, such as program modules, being executed by a personal computer. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention may be practiced with other computer system configurations, including hand-held devices, multi-processor systems, microprocessor based or programmable consumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like. The invention may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storage devices.
With reference to
The hard disk drive 27, magnetic disk drive 28, and optical disk drive 30 are connected to the system bus 23 by a hard disk drive interface 32, a magnetic disk drive interface 33, and an optical disk drive interface 34, respectively. The drives and their associated computer-readable media provide nonvolatile storage of computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules and other data for the personal computer 20. Although the exemplary environment described herein employs a hard disk, a removable magnetic disk 29, and a removable optical disk 31, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that other types of computer readable media which can store data that is accessible by a computer, such as magnetic cassettes, flash memory cards, digital video disks, Bernoulli cartridges, random access memories, read only memories, and the like may also be used in the exemplary operating environment.
A number of program modules may be stored on the hard disk, magnetic disk 29, optical disk 31, ROM 24 or RAM 25, including an operating system 35, one or more applications programs 36, other program modules 37, and program data 38. A user may enter commands and information into the personal computer 20 through input devices such as a keyboard 40 and a pointing device 42. Other input devices (not shown) may include a microphone, joystick, game pad, satellite dish, scanner, or the like. These and other input devices are often connected to the processing unit 21 through a serial port interface 46 that is coupled to the system bus, but may be connected by other interfaces, such as a parallel port, game port or a universal serial bus (USB). A monitor 47 or other type of display device is also connected to the system bus 23 via an interface, such as a video adapter 48. In addition to the monitor, personal computers typically include other peripheral output devices, not shown, such as speakers and printers.
The personal computer 20 may operate in a networked environment using logical connections to one or more remote computers, such as a remote computer 49. The remote computer 49 may be another personal computer, a server, a router, a network PC, a peer device or other common network node, and typically includes many or all of the elements described above relative to the personal computer 20, although only a memory storage device 50 has been illustrated in
When used in a LAN networking environment, the personal computer 20 is connected to the local network 51 through a network interface or adapter 53. When used in a WAN networking environment, the person computer 20 typically includes a modem 54 or other means for establishing communications over the WAN 52. The modem 54, which may be internal or external, is connected to the system bus 23 via the serial port interface 46. In a networked environment, program modules depicted relative to the personal computer 20, or portions thereof, may be stored in the remote memory storage device. It will be appreciated that the network connections shown are exemplary and other means of establishing a communications link between the computers may be used.
In the description that follows, the invention will be described with reference to acts and symbolic representations of operations that are performed by one or more computer, unless indicated otherwise. As such, it will be understood that such acts and operations, which are at times referred to as being computer-executed, include the manipulation by the processing unit of the computer of electrical signals representing data in a structured form. This manipulation transforms the data or maintains it at locations in the memory system of the computer, which reconfigures or otherwise alters the operation of the computer in a manner well understood by those skilled in the art. The data structures where data is maintained are physical locations of the memory that have particular properties defined by the format of the data. However, while the invention is being described in the foregoing context, it is not meant to be limiting as those of skill in the art will appreciate that various of the acts and operation described hereinafter may also be implemented in hardware.
In accordance with the invention, generalized network address translation functionality is provided to application processes 104 by the architecture illustrated in
By generalizing the operation of network address translation and putting that operation under application 104 control, the system of the instant invention allows network applications 104 to achieve a number of benefits. For instance, server applications 104 can use the application programming interface 108 to make a group of servers appear to clients as a single server at a single IP address as will be described more fully below with reference to
Further, as described above with reference to the traditional proxy, network applications that transfer information between separate network sessions typically suffer performance degradation. As discussed, this is because the network data must be received from the network for one of the network application's sessions, delivered to the user-mode network application by the kernel-mode network transport, read by the network application, written to the network application's other session, transferred to the kernel-mode driver, and transmitted to the network for the network application's other session. Instead of taking the above steps to copy data from one network session to another, the application programming interface 108 allows such network applications 104 to instruct the network gateway or generalized NAT (gNAT) 106 to translate one network session into another.
As may be seen from the architectural diagram of
Each application-requested translation is recorded by the kernel-mode translation module 106 as a redirect. Such a redirect consists of a description of the session to be translated, along with a description of the translation to be performed. For example, the description of the translation may state that when a session is detected with source address S and destination address D, translate it so that the source address becomes S′ and the destination address becomes D′. When the module 106 detects any new network session, it determines whether there is a redirect that applies to the session. If the module 106 determines that there is a redirect for this session, the redirect is activated. The network session is automatically translated and a mapping is created to ensure that the same translation is done for all packets in the session. The normal processing is then continued on the session's translated packets, causing them to be delivered locally or forwarded depending on the new source and destination.
The user-mode application programming module 108 is also preferably implemented as a Windows 2000 library that is loaded by network applications 104. As with the above, the invention is not so limited to a particular operating system, but is applicable to any operating system which allows network communication. Therefore, the exemplary embodiments described herein are by way of illustration and not by way of limitation. A network application 104 calls the library 108 to initialize the kernel-mode translation module 106, and then creates one or more redirects for the network sessions to be translated.
In a preferred embodiment, the library 108 provides routines to perform at least the initializing and shutting down of the library. The initialization ensures that the kernel-mode translation module 106 is loaded and registered in preparation for translating network sessions. The shutting down of the library concludes the application's use of the kernel-mode translation module, which may be unloaded if it has no other clients. Further, the library 108 also includes routines for creating a redirect for a network session. This operation supplies information identifying a network session, along with information describing the translation to be done for the network session. A network session is identified by its protocol, its source IP address, its source port, its destination IP address, and its destination port. The protocol indicates the transport-layer protocol of the network session, which may be either TCP or UDP. The source IP address indicates the IP address of the network session's source host, and the source port indicates the port number of the network session's source host. The destination IP address indicates the IP address of the network session's destination host, and its destination port indicates the port number of the network session's destination host. The translation to be done for the network session may replace any of the last four parameters, however the transport-layer protocol cannot be changed. Finally, the library provided routines to cancel a redirect for a network session. This operation revokes a previous translation-request issued by the application 104.
The operation of translating network sessions at the transport-layer is illustrated in
Once the network application 104 has determined that a dynamic redirect is appropriate and such has been commanded of the gNAT 106, it establishes a dynamic redirect mapping 118. All network data that is received from the network for the proper network application's session (as determined by the gNAT 106 in accordance with its commanded dynamic redirect 118) is automatically translated by the gNAT 106 so that its transport-layer address matches the network application's other session. This data is then transmitted to the network for the network application's other session. Graphically, this dynamic redirection at the transport layer is illustrated by line 120. As may be seen from line 120, the communication of the data to the network server no longer requires that the data go through two kernel-user mode translations, i.e. the trip to the application 104 is short circuited. Likewise, return data on line 122 may also be dynamically redirected to the client if so commanded by the network application 104. The approach allows such applications to achieve a considerable improvement in their performance.
This performance improvement becomes vividly apparent if the initial communication on line 112 opens an ftp control session carrying an ftp get file request. Under a traditional proxy scenario, the ftp data channel created to receive the file requested would first be passed from the kernel-mode to the user-mode to the proxy, and then would be passed back down to the kernel-mode to be forwarded to the client. As may well be imagined, this process incurs significant performance degradation, especially if the file is quite large. Under the system of the instant invention, however, the network application 104 may open a data session which does not require any transitions to the user-mode by commanding a dynamic redirection at the transport-layer. Now, as the data is received from the ftp server, the gNAT 106 performs the dynamic redirection in accordance with the application's command. The destination address of the data is simply translated and passed to the client as indicated by line 122. Significant performance improvement is achieved in this way.
The system of the instant invention also allows session payload editing. Certain applications include addressing information within the data streams of their sessions. For instance, many streaming applications use a control session to establish a secondary data session similar to that described above. This poses a problem for a traditional NAT in its primary application, i.e. transparent sharing of a single Internet connection among multiple machines. When running on clients that are sharing a connection, such applications would send private, unreachable addressing information to remote peers, and the latter would be unable to respond to the clients' requests. To solve this problem, the system of the instant invention supports an extensible means of modifying a session's application-layer data in flight, beyond the modifications made to the session's network-layer and transport-layer addressing information. Extensibility is achieved by allowing third-party drivers to inspect the application-layer data in each packet received for a session, and to edit the application data in each packet. These editors register themselves with the gNAT of the instant invention as handlers for a specific TCP/UDP port number, and are henceforth invoked for each message translated in matching sessions.
In operational terms, the dynamic redirection made available by the system of the instant invention is illustrated in
An application of this transparent redirection of destination addresses is illustrated in
By using the term balance it is not meant that perfect equality of processing capacity be maintained among all servers. Indeed, it may not be possible to achieve perfect equality, e.g. in a situation where there is one heavy user, and a two light users on a network with four or more servers. In this situation, at least one server will be basically unloaded, one will be heavily loaded, and one or two will be servicing the light users. However, even in this situation, if the dynamic redirection is operating to prevent all of the requests from going to one server, the system is performing server load balancing as used herein. In the illustration of
All of the references cited herein, including patents, patent applications, and publications, are hereby incorporated in their entireties by reference.
In view of the many possible embodiments to which the principles of this invention may be applied, it should be recognized that the embodiment described herein with respect to the drawing figures is meant to be illustrative only and should not be taken as limiting the scope of invention. For example, those of skill in the art will recognize that the elements of the illustrated embodiment shown in software may be implemented in hardware and vice versa or that the illustrated embodiment can be modified in arrangement and detail without departing from the spirit of the invention. Therefore, the invention as described herein contemplates all such embodiments as may come within the scope of the following claims and equivalents thereof.
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text:
(Memphis) MLGW's Reconnect Plan was supposed to give customers a break as the temperatures plummeted over the weekend.
Customers could get their power back on by paying $225 and entering a payment plan, and offices were suppose to be open from 8 a.m. til 5 p.m. Sunday.
"The temperatures started dropping. We had precipitation, the streets were projected to be icy. We closed the offices at 3 p.m. verses 5 p.m.," said Gale Jones Carson with MLGW.
Customers who showed up after 3 were left out in the cold.
"They could have given us some type of chance," MLGW customer Annie Wormley told us Sunday as she stood outside a closed payment center.
After checking the forecast, MLGW's president decided the workers, there to assist people who had no heat, should go home to their heat.
We asked what message did it send that the program designed to address the weather shutdown early because of the weather.
"I hope it sends the message we are concerned about the safety of our customers and we are concerned about the safety of our employees," said Carson.
The topic lit up WREG's Facebook Page.
"No they should not have closed early. They were inside nice and warm," wrote Shelia Denise.
"It didn't get to the extreme cold temps til after the sun went down, so closing at 3 was dumb," wrote Stephanie Hunt.
The reconnect program re-opened Monday.
Kourtney Batts, mother of a 2-year-old with another baby on the way, needed help with her power that's been off a month.
"It got real cold inside the apartment. I couldn't handle it no more, so I moved back with my mother," said Batts.
Molly Adams, Batts' fellow church member at Christ's Community Church, helped her come up with the $225 reconnect fee.
"People have to have hope when it is cold like this," said Adams.
MLGW says over the weekend, 19 people signed up to get their power reconnected.
Those who missed out still have until January 10.
Go to any MLGW payment center from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
North Shore Morning
- Monday 8-10am
- Tuesday 8-10am
- Wednesday 8-10am
- Thursday 8-10am
- Friday 8-10am
News and information, interviews, weather, upcoming events, music, school news, and many special features. North Shore Morning includes our popular trivia question - Pop Quiz! The North Shore Morning program is the place to connect with the people, culture and events of our region!
Wildersmith October 5Fred Smith-
Wow, the sights, sounds and scents of fall on the Gunflint have peaked like none such in recent memory.
School News from Cook County Middle School, October 5-
Knowledge Bowl is a Jeopardy-style trivia contest activity for both Cook County Middle School and High School students. This week in Cook County Middle School News, Knowledge Bowl Coach Dorie Ca
West End News: September 27Bill Hansen-
It is always a joyful time when a baby is born in the West End. This week, it was particularly fun to welcome Brookstyn Candice Nordman-Nelson to the community. According to her grandmothe
Wildersmith September 28Fred Smith-
With activity slowing toward more quiet times along the Trail, it's hard to believe that the month of our full "wild rice" moon has slipped so rapidly toward the western horizon.
School News from Cook County Middle School, September 28-
Exploration outside the classroom is an integral part of the Cook County Middle School curriculum.
Dr. Seth Moore: Autumn means wild rice-
Dr. Seth Moore is Director of Biology and Environment with the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa.
West End News: September 20-
Construction is winding up at Birch Grove School and Community Center in Tofte. The new playground is mostly done, thanks to the efforts of many volunteers. The wood fired bread-baking ove
Autumn brings change outdoorsJay Andersen-
The trees and birds and everything are getting ready for winter.
Northern Sky: Autumn Constellations-
Deane Morrison is a science writer at the University of Minnesota, where she authors the Minnesota Starwatch column.


text:
MySQL Replication is very simple to set up. In this post I'll discuss its importance and five handy tools for monitoring and managing MySQL replication. What is MySQL Replication? It's the process of copying the (real-time events) data from one master instance to another slave instance and maintaining the redundant consistent data in a different […]
Search Results for: slow deletes
Is your MySQL buffer pool warm? Make it sweat!
Today's blog post diving into the waters of the MySQL buffer pool is a cross-post from Groupon's engineering blog, and is Part 1 of 2. Thank you to Kyle Oppenheim at Groupon for contributing to this project and post. We'll be posting Part 2 on Thursday. I'll be at the Percona Live MySQL Conference and […]
Full Text Search Webinar Questions Followup
I presented a webinar this week to give an overview of several Full Text Search solutions and compare their performance. Even if you missed the webinar, you can register for it, and you'll be emailed a link to the recording. During my webinar, a number of attendees asked some good questions. Here are their questions and my […]
Recovery after DROP & CREATE
In a very popular data loss scenario a table is dropped and empty one is created with the same name. This is because mysqldump in many cases generates the "DROP TABLE" instruction before the "CREATE TABLE":
DROP TABLE IF EXISTS `actor`;
/*!40101 SET @saved_cs_client = @@character_set_client */;
/*!40101 SET character_set_client = utf8 */;
CREATE TABLE `actor` (
`actor_id` smallint(5) unsigned NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT,
`first_name` varchar(45) NOT NULL,
`last_name` varchar(45) NOT NULL,
`last_update` timestamp NOT NULL DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP ON UPDATE CURRENT_TIMESTAMP,
PRIMARY KEY (`actor_id`),
KEY `idx_actor_last_name` (`last_name`)
) ENGINE=InnoDB AUTO_INCREMENT=201 DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8;
/*!40101 SET character_set_client = @saved_cs_client */;
If there were no subsequent CREATE TABLE the recovery would be trivial. Index_id of the PRIMARY index of […]
ACTIVE with Locks – Now thats a problem !
One of item I always look at SHOW ENGINE INNODB STATUS to see if there are any transactions spending very long time in ACTIVE state. In the perfect world if you're running online system you should not see transactions spending more than couple of seconds in ACTIVE state. Especially ACTIVE transactions which do not currently […]
MySQL Partitioning – can save you or kill you
I wanted for a while to write about using MySQL Partitioning for Performance Optimization and I just got a relevant customer case to illustrate it. First you need to understand how partitions work internally. Partitions are on the low level are separate table. This means when you're doing lookup by partitioned key you will look […]
Statistics of InnoDB tables and indexes available in xtrabackup
If you ever wondered how big is that or another index in InnoDB … you had to calculate it yourself by multiplying size of row (which I should add is harder in the case of a VARCHAR – since you need to estimate average length) on count of records. And it still would be quite […]
Detailed review of Tokutek storage engine
(Note: Review was done as part of our consulting practice, but is totally independent and fully reflects our opinion) I had a chance to take look TokuDB (the name of the Tokutek storage engine), and run some benchmarks. Tuning of TokuDB is much easier than InnoDB, there only few parameters to change, and actually out-of-box […]
Using MMM to ALTER huge tables
Few months ago, I wrote about a faster way to do certain table modifications online. It works well when all you want is to remove auto_increment or change ENUM values. When it comes to changes that really require table to be rebuilt – adding/dropping columns or indexes, changing data type, converting data to different character […]
Performance gotcha of MySQL memory tables
One performance gotcha with MEMORY tables you might know about comes from the fact it is the only MySQL storage engine which defaults to HASH index type by default, instead of BTREE which makes indexes unusable for prefix matches or range lookups. This is however not performance gotcha I'm going to write about. There is […]


text:
|Super 8 Burbank hotels are listed below. Search for cheap and discount Super 8 hotel rates in Burbank, IL for your upcoming individual or group travel. We list the best Super 8 Burbank hotels/lodging so you can review the Burbank Super 8 hotel list below to find the perfect place.
This technology will provide Burbank, IL hotels + motels that have a comparable rating of a Super 8.
Booking a group or meeting? Set up a group hotel block in Burbank IL
All Super 8 in or near Burbank
Next: Show All Available Comparable Hotels with Pricing >


text:
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The poor, also, deserves the best education. Help us in fulfilling this goal. Donate to the Sisters of Mary's Boystowns and Girlstowns thru Fr. Al's...
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Dear Sisters, How can i enroll my daughter in your school when is the enrollment...
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text:
- Join Date
- Sep 2006
- Location
- Outer Fucking Space.
- Posts
- 201
Posted On:
12/29/2006 9:19am
Style: Throwing, and Matwork--
Tabata and Boot camp style workouts! Ross trains people who want to lose weight or gain endurance entirely with interval style workouts. www.rosstraining.com
Registered Member
- Join Date
- Mar 2005
- Location
- Scotland
- Posts
- 281
Posted On:
12/29/2006 9:38am
Style: Judo--
It's been a while since I've done any, but back when I was fit, I used to do a couple of interval sessions a week along with a third long, steady run.
The good thing about intervals, leaving aside the vomiting and collapsing, is that you can be creative and do them loads of different ways. If you find running as boring as I do, this is important.
International Man of Pancakes
- Join Date
- Jun 2005
- Location
- Toronto
- Posts
- 1,706
Posted On:
12/29/2006 3:12pm
Style: Wu style tcc+bjj--
Don't do the same thing day after day. The best results come from periodizing your training. Do LSD (long slow distance) one day and intervals the next. You can periodize your weeks so that one week is not exactly the same as the last. Top athletes even periodize their years, so that one year is not the same as last, aiming to peak for specific events like the Olympics.
Since you are running for cross-training, it should complement your MA training. If I assume your MA training will be more like intervals (intense effort for a minute or two followed by recovery), then I think it would make sense to have the running do your long endurance work. You'll have to figure out if that makes sense.
Running is great--one of the few ways you can do a 30 minute workout that means something. For aerobic exercise, you start to get benefits *after* 20 minutes, so work your way up to 30 minutes or so. Unless you are old or really out of shape, start at 15 min. and work your way up by 10% per week.
Don't track distance. Just track time and intensity. For endurance shoot for an intensity of about 65-70% of max heartrate (approx. 220 subtract your age). Distance is utterly meaningless unless you want to brag "hey baby, I just ran 5 miles!".
Senior Member
- Join Date
- Sep 2006
- Posts
- 1,633
Posted On:
12/29/2006 4:33pm
Style: Judo & BJJ--
Long, steady state cardio pretty much sucks ass for any martial artist (and for anyone whose sport is not distance running). It's almost worthless for the kind of cardiovascular fitness you need and it comes with the added bonus of frequently making you weaker and less explosive! And doubly bad for people with some mass (~200+ lbs).
HIIT, fartleks, tabatas and jump rope are the way to go, or "GPP" kinds of exercise.
Or something like this: http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=1083869
Or: http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=468125
Registered Member
- Join Date
- Aug 2006
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- fairmont wv
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Posted On:
1/02/2007 1:35pm
Style: Pai Lum K.F.--
this is a poor video demonstration but it is the best i could find to better illustrate the movements involved. Start with you left leg curled but instead of being straight up and down like he was actually start sideways with your right arm supporting your weight and then twist completely over till your curled leg is twisting your whole body, then return to the starting postion alternating sides after 10 each side.


text:
Instructional Process for Technology Integration using Google Drive
Hello,I've been working on something recently and I'm interested in feedback from my peers. There is a lot of cool technology available to us but I've yet to discover a instructional process that can be used to infuse all of it into classroom instruction regardless of academic content. I've posted a link below and it would be nice to hear your feedback and suggestions. It has been successful in my room so far and think that other professional educators with a passion for technology might…See More


text:
PSA for the Minneapolis Downtown Improvement District. Director of Photography: Adam Olson. Score by Dan Huiting.
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Having the chance to make photo galleries motivates me to go beyond what may normally be published in the newspaper and keep an eye out for interesting images on the fringes. That happened at the Eastmont homecoming on Friday night. The big game between rivals Wenatchee and Eastmont would be on the sports page but for the gallery, I could also include homecoming festivities at halftime.
So I hung around as the royalty were announced and thought it an interesting contrast between the muddy football player and the princess.
The fireworks display was also interesting to me and a challenge to find something in the foreground to play off of it. I like how on the small camera, the explosions of the fireworks display behind them is being cropped out.
The band performed in their red rain gear. I liked the moment when they marched toward the crowd.
But I think the most funny moment was when a group of students had to push one of the royalty cars along the track.
Here's a link to the rest of the gallery that night. Photo Gallery.
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Southern Season celebrates hot dogs
Southern Season celebrates hot dogs: Chapel Hill's specialty food market Southern Season will be celebrating National Hot Dog Month this weekend with $1 hot dogs and lemonade as well as a hot dog-eating contest.
The event will be from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday at the store at 201 S. Estes Drive. On Sundays, there will be a hot dog eating contest limited to 10 participants.
Each participant will be given 20 hot dogs with buns. The competitor who eats the most hot dogs in 10 minutes wins. The entry fee is $25, with all proceeds going to the national nonprofit Share The Food Foundation.
"Hot dogs are a favorite for cookouts and social gatherings across the country, and Southern Season will have some tasty dogs on hand for our guests to sample," said the store's general manager Gena Sarrocco, in a prepared statement. "We are also proud to donate proceeds from the event to the Share The Food Foundation, whom we have partnered with to raise awareness of and fight hunger in America."
Fencing club on the move: The Mid-South Fencers' Club is planning to move from its Broad Street location to 121 N. Gregon St. in the building near Brightleaf Square that previously housed Clear Vue Glass, which moved to Rigsbee Avenue.
The club's new neighbor will be Rose's Meat Market and Sweet Shop, a whole-animal butchery and pastry shop that opened in June.
The club plans to use crowdfunding to raise money for the cost of the fencing-specific improvements for the space. Jennifer Oldham, owner and coach at Mid-South, said the campaign has not started yet, but will be launched on IndieGoGo.
Oldham said the club has signed a lease for the 6,000-square-foot space on Gregson Street that she said will have 12 dedicated fencing strips, a parent viewing area, and a small retail store.
After plans for the space are approved, she said it will take eight to 12 weeks before the club is able to move into their new location. The club, which has been open in Durham since 2008, offers creation to competition-level fencing coaching.
"We're excited, we're growing, and we need bigger space," Oldham said. "We've never had exposure. We've been in a basement since we've opened, and I think being above ground is just going to be phenomenal for what we can offer in terms of camps and training to our athletes of all ages…"
Update on pub's grilling competition: Seven competitors are scheduled to do their best to grill chicken and corn on the cob in the West 9th St. Pub's "Backyard 'Grill Masters'" competition on Saturday.
The cook-off is a fundraiser for the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina. There will be a public food tasting for those who donate a minimum of five non-perishable canned food items or who make a monetary donation.
Judging will begin at 3 p.m. For the winner, the pub is providing accommodations for a three day, two-night trip for two to Las Vegas as well as a buy one, get one free airplane ticket voucher, said Kerry Bryant, organizer.
The judges are slated to be John Huisman, the author of The Triangle Explorer blog; Kathy Hanrahan, editor of WRAL's "Out & About;" Matt Dees, editor of Durham Magazine; and Nancy Wykle, The Herald-Sun's metro editor, according to a news release.
The event will be from noon to 5 p.m. There will be live music, a raffle, corn hole, and eating contests.
The pub is in the Woodcroft Shopping Center at 4711 Hope Valley Road. For information, or to get involved, contact Bryant at 919-403-0025 or send an email to firstname.lastname@example.com.
Have an item for The Buzz? Contact Laura Oleniacz at email@example.com, or at 919-419-6636.


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Sony has put an early end to a Killzone 2 marketing campaign which featured print ads on bus kiosks in Toronto.
The Toronto Star reports that a complaint from elementary school teacher Davis Mirza prompted the move. Mirza told the Star:
My kids, who come from a lot of different countries, who have to experience violence, who basically come here to seek shelter and safety, that's the stuff they don't need to see. [The ad features a] menacing head with glowing eyes... [and a war zone] like Iraq...
I don't think that when you're in Scarborough, where we're having to deal on a constant basis with violence, that does anything to help promote any kind of community renewal or even responsibility.
Sony spokesman Kyle Moffat said that, going forward, Sony will establish an off-limits radius around schools for violent game ads. It's unclear whether that decision is specific to Toronto.
Via: Kotaku


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If you said they are all metals then you would be 100% correct but it goes further than that for me. For me they are all triathlons and races that if I am not financially committed to I am mentally committed to doing. So here is how these metals break down into my world: Ironman– As you know I am racing both Ironman Texas and Ironman Arizona this year. I am beyond excited for both events as they both present different challenges. In Texas the day will most likely be hot and humid and that alone is a challenge. In Arizona the water will most likely be very cold and then you have to deal with the fact that the bike and the run are both 3 loops. Riding and running the same course for what could be 10 hours is going to take a lot of mental strength.
MiTitanium – This is also an Iron distance event but due to a scenario under which WTC felt threatened the Michigan Iron became the Michigan Titanium or for me MiTi (prounounce Migh-T) It works for me and when Kevin was asking about it I said I would be more than happy to travel up to Grand Rapids and race it. So it is now on my list of races for 2013 and I will create a race schedule around that particular race.
Leadman 250– After I finished 70.3 California in 2011 I was either Tweeting or Facebooking or Emailing with BDD about the Leadman 250. At the time I did not know what it was but after seeing the site I was intrigued. I was so enthralled with the concept of this race that I have not let it out of my mind. My initial goal was to race it in 2013 but when MiTi came along I decided to do that and push this back a year to 2014. It was late in 2011 that they announced that the Leadman 250 would move to September and to Bend, OR. My excitement really took off and then hit an all time high when 3 days ago they announced that they will be staying in Las Vegas but racing it as a Leadman 125K in March (the perfect tune-up to MiTiMan is in August.)
It seems nuts to be thinking this far ahead but I read a post on Facebook yesterday that said….'If you have only one day to live what would you do?' I thought about this for a moment or two and my response was to do everything I could. I would jump out of airplanes, drive motorcycles fast, drive cars fast, etc. I mean you only have one day, and then it hit me……everyday could be our last day so why put off things and not live life to the fullest. Why not take advantage of what you can and for me that is racing and pushing my body past constraints I randomly put on myself.
So I know what I want to do and now I need to have the patience of a Saint and not get too far ahead of myself, although the MissZippy Chesapeake Bay swim is intriguing.
What Do You Want To Do With Your Life?
Are You Living Life Without Fear?
For more information on MiTitanium click [HERE] For more information on Leadman 250 click [HERE]


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CHESTER, Va (WTVR)- Three weeks ago CBS -6 brought you this story about a 45-year-old carpenter who has terminal cancer and wants to find his birth family before it's too late.
Now, we can report he has found some answers, thanks to folks who saw the story. We have an update, but first, the beginning:
Kenny Malpass of Chester always knew he was adopted.
His father, Kenneth Malpass, says they didn't want him to hear it from someone else, so they told him as soon as he could understand.
It was a grand day when the 6-month-old boy came from Richmond Social Services to the family who had a daughter but wanted a son, too.
"They called about two o'clock and said they were on the way with him," Mr. Malpass recalled. "He's been with us ever since. He fit right in, always been part of the family."
Kenny, now 45, became an avid fisherman and a carpenter. He later moved to Florida and ran a bait shop.
Kenny's adoptive sister was killed 13 years ago. Their mom died nine months later from a broken heart.
Now Kenny's facing terminal lung cancer that has spread to his spine and ribs.
He'll stay at home with his adoptive dad, the way his life began.
"July first, 2010. They told me I was eat up with cancer," Kenny said while at VCU Medical Center getting treatment. "At that time, the doctor . . . was telling me three to six months . . . life expectancy. I looked at him, 'Naw, that ain't happening.' That was 10 months ago."
He's been through 24 radiation treatments, and has had chemotherapy eight times. "It has a big effect on you," Kenny said, his eyes filling with tears, when asked how a terminal diagnosis affected him. "It changes your whole life."
His longtime search for his birth family has intensified. "The good Lord is going to take me away from this earth one of these days. And I would really love to find my biological family before I pass."
Kenny discovered his Richmond adoption file went missing at Social Services. All the state had was a brief summary.
"It listed my name as Joseph Todd Harper and listed my mother's name as Martha Harper," he said. "It said she was in her early 20s, something about my father was in his middle 20s, he had some military background."
He's not mad at his mom or dad. "Oh no. I feel, for whatever reason, she did it in my best interest. She did it out of love."
He figures she gave him up because she wasn't married in an era when single moms were frowned upon.
"It's always been a wonder, you know," Kenny said as he fished in a pond near his home, "where I come from, what were the circumstances, what'd she look like, am I Irish, German, Dutch?"
Does he have any brothers or sisters?
Is his mom still alive? She would still be in her 60s. (Kenny was born on Jan. 2, 1966.)
And what would he like to say to his mother if she hears of his search but doesn't want to contact him?
"I love you regardless," he replied, his eyes filling with tears.
Since that story aired on June 29th, Kenny has been flooded with responses from people wanting to help.
"I was getting 30, 40 emails a day from people I didn't even know," Kenny said Tuesday while fishing one of his favorite ponds. "'Just wishing you the best, you're in our love and prayers.' That was awesome."
Among those who reached out was Polly Conover of Chesterfield County, who was also adopted as a baby. She's also a nurse, so she had an idea what he was going through.
"Someone once told me it's like a book," Conover said. "It's like a great novel, but they've ripped out the first chapter."
She posted Kenny's story on adoptiondatabase.org, reaching out to JoAnne Stanik of Tuscon, Arizona. Stanik is the woman who found Polly's birth family and a searcher many believe to be the best "search angel" on the planet.
Stanik had answers within hours. "This birth took place in Richmond," she said in a telephone interview. "We look in the surrounding areas . . . and I was checking yearbooks and I found a woman with the same name and so I started researching."
Backtracking that yearbook entry, she found Kenny's mother, who has a different last name, but still lives in the Richmond area.
Stanik, whose team has reunited nearly 4,000 birth families during the past 11 years, proceeded carefully. She said a successful reunion is built on the first contact.
"For many birth mothers, it's a very shocking call to get," she said. "They've had this secret all their lives."
Kenny called us right away with the news. His mother is alive, right here in town!
"When JoAnne called saying she found my birth mother, it was very emotional. Everyone in the house started crying. Actually, I felt like a pregnant lady with all the different emotions going through me."
But in the next few days, Kenny found himself wrestling with new, powerful emotions.
His mother isn't ready to see him.
"Basically, when I talked to her I told her that I knew she done it in my best interest," Kenny said. "She said, 'yes. I did,' and that's pretty much where it stood. She just said she hadn't talked with or seen my father in many, many years."
Polly knows that feeling, too.
"No, they all don't end happily," she said. "I've met my half-sister Renee, and my half-brother, that was happy. But my birth mother wanted nothing to do with me."
Kenny had said previously he was ready for a possible disappointment, but admitted the initial brief contact hit pretty hard.
"Through life I've watched talk shows, you know, where they reunited birth parents with siblings, you know it's all rejoicing and hugging and crying. It's a very joyful time. That's the dream that I'd had."
But he's believing time will open the door to his mother's heart. He's also found out he has a half-brother, who he has spoken with several times since our story aired.
"When you find out that you have a brother that you never knew you had, it's like you don't even know where the conversation is going to go from one sentence to the next."
He also has an aunt, nephews and lots of answers about his background.
Kenny plans to keep on fishing for answers, hanging on with his adoptive father, who has loved him unconditionally for 45 years.
His end may be near, but at last, he has connected with his beginning.


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Think about all of the apps you might use on your smartphone.
If you've ever used the Fort Wayne Community Schools app, you're using one made by a local Fort Wayne student.
When he was in eighth grade, Chance McKibben started the apple app factory, and how he's designing apps for companies across the country.
Chance is now sixteen, and a sophomore at Snyder High School.
But at such a young age he's helping companies make the move to mobile.
"Sverybody's going mobile. It's totally replacing computers, laptops are going out, tablets and phones are all the way. If you can be on that device, it's just a great push."
Two years ago, McKibben realized where the future of marketing was headed.
"I started Apple App Factory two years ago, just wanting to help local businesses become mobile, because the thing I realized is when you leave your home, you can take your keys, your smartphone. And you know, if an app's on your phone, you can get right to it, you can find closing for your schools, if you're big into big brothers big sisters, you can get information," McKibben says.
He created the Fort Wayne Community Schools app, created mobile apps for local non-profits and churches, and most recently, launched an app for Big Brothers Big Sisters.
"The thing a lot of places don't realize is the technology is here and it can be done, you just don't realize the opportunity is there. You can do an app for almost any kind of business bet it's just not that thought of," McKibben says.
And he's taken it across the country.
Check out his apps in the Apple App Store or on Google Play.
"like some of the paid apps I've worked on, I do event apps for local areas, you know, Fort Wayne events, Houston, Texas events, Dallas, Texas, Indianapolis, so if you want to know what's going on in the community, you can download it," McKibben says.
Check out the Apple App Factory at-
Copyright 2014 Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.


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CHAVIES — In the middle of an active surface mine site in Chavies stands a pair of solar panels overlooking a lush Eastern Kentucky valley carpeted with forestland and filled with wildlife. The panels absorb sunlight and covert it to usable energy to power a device that pumps water into holding tanks for use at a nearby cabin. These two panels and only eight others generate enough electricity to power the home and provide a four-day back up onsite.
The home's owner, Ted Baker, grew up among the trees and wildlife in Eastern Kentucky, but he hasn't always made his home here. He spent 20 years as an aeronautical engineer in Cincinnati, and it was this experience that made him long to be back in the woods, closer to nature.
Baker's family had lived in Perry County for most of his life where he was a graduate of Buckhorn High School. His family moved to the Chavies area in 1968. He then went on University of Cincinnati. He was later drafted into the military, afterward he returned to his career, but it was 26 years ago when his lifestyle took a much more independent turn.
He had at one time considered moving to Alaska and living independently from utility companies and primarily off the land. As a kind of test run for this drastic life change, Baker traveled to northern Canada on a hunting trip, during which he made up his mind that he would rather have this life in his hometown of Chavies, Kentucky, located in the northwestern section of Perry County.
"I was thinking about doing this in Alaska and then I found this, and it appealed to me more," said Baker. "Mostly because there is not six weeks of darkness."
Later in life, when he was looking for land to make his home, he had several things on which he focused. For one, he wanted land facing to the southwest so he would receive more direct sunlight. He also wanted access to natural gas for a hybrid power system.
"I chose this plot of land because of all of the natural resources to support my lifestyle," said Baker. "I am a very back-to-nature kind of guy."
Luckily, the fossil fuel rich land of the Appalachian mountains include many areas with access to natural gas wells, including the land on which he made his home. His front yard is a green valley, and his back yard an active surface mine, the miners of which he called his neighbors.
When he bought the property and began his work of getting completely off the grid 26 years ago, he did so because of desire for individuality.
"I got kind of burnt out on being a sheep in the herd," he said. "I got really tired of being just a number, and I wanted to do something entirely different."
He set out to create his vision with just a few small solar panels, and began building his cabin from scratch, using timber harvested from his own property. Creating the right power system for his needs, however, was at first a bit of trial and error.
"I started with four small 60 watt panels, and they didn't really serve me well," he said. "I had to use a generator that ran on gasoline. So I just over time added to my panels and added to my system."
Baker spent eight years building his home, which includes a modern kitchen with a large two-door refrigerator and chef style stove. He said his system of solar panels is larger than what many cabins would need, but he does enjoy those modern conveniences and built his system to fit his life.
He now has 10 solar panels that connect to 28 batteries designed for use in golf carts. These batteries can hold enough charge to power his home for four days without any sun. Attached to the system is also a generator that runs on the natural gas well on his property, from which he generates power to operate appliances that draw more power such as an electric stove and clothes dryer.
"The generator is connected to the natural gas well," he explained, adding that when the generator kicks on, it also recharges the batteries. "It comes on automatically when I run out of my four days of autonomy if it stays cloudy too long."
For the past 26 years now, Baker has been able to live 100 percent off the grid. He has even been able to grow, hunt and cultivate much of his own food. He keeps bees and makes his own honey. He also has fruit trees planted around his property. In his living room is his hunting rifle which was designed by the most decorated sniper in U.S. military history.
All totaled, he rarely has to think about his power, water or food since it is nearly all available on his land. He said other than doing monthly maintenance on the 28 batteries and moving his solar panels to face the sun at the change of each season, his system takes care of itself.
He estimates that in energy cost alone he saves around $20,000 every 10 years, including the price of his panels and maintenance.
Living off the land has been great for him, he continued, and even during the harshest times he has been able to avoid having to leave his home for supplies. "One winter I went out two times," he said. "That was the best year of my life."
His life isn't all about nature, though, and he did say he does enjoy some conveniences that do take him away such as his extensive traveling. "I am not entirely comfortable living entirely with nature. I am a little more spoiled," said Baker. "I like having a structure and clothes and things like that. I like to eat out once in a while."
It is often misunderstood that his way of living is in conflict with the coal mining industry that supports much of the area. Baker said this is simply not true. His father was a coal miner and he currently shares the land he owns with a mine.
"I am rather proud of all the mortgages I have paid and school clothes I have bought for all the miners, 180 that work on this mine," he said.
And while the mine company gets the coal and the workers get employment, he is getting something he wants out of this arrangement as well. "I have ambitions of ranching cattle here when they are done," he said. "When I moved here this was all trees, the only thing you could do was hunt grouse."
With coal being used less and less for energy, he hopes more people in Eastern Kentucky will make their own power and it can become a major industry in the region. "Our coal is leaving us. Much of the mineable coal is already gone and we need a replacement for that and a replacement industry and a replacement energy in here," he said. "I don't see the conflict, really."


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Sinn Féin President Gerry
Adams TD, Vice President Mary Lou McDonald TD and the rest of Sinn
Féin's parliamentary party on the first day of the new
Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams TD, Vice President Mary Lou McDonald TD and the rest of Sinn Féin's parliamentary party on the first day of the new Dáil
Sinn Féin is the oldest political movement in Ireland. It takes its name from the Irish Gaelic expression for ``We Ourselves''. Since being founded in 1905, Irish Republicans have worked for the right of Irish people as a whole to attain national self-determination.
The movement founded almost 100 years ago by Arthur Griffith evolved into a number of organisations which carried the name.
Provisional Sinn FéinSinn Féin seeks the establishment of a new Ireland based on sustainable social and economic development; genuine democracy, participation, equality and justice at all levels of the economy and society; and a lasting and meaningful peace with unity of purpose and action.
- Sinn Féin is an Irish Republican party. Its objective is to end British rule in Ireland. It seeks national self-determination, the unity and independence of Ireland as a sovereign state.
- Sinn Féin is committed to the transformation of Irish society and to a negotiated and democratic settlement. It knows that peace is not simply the absence of violence. Real peace - a lasting peace - is based on democracy, justice, freedom and equality.
- Sinn Féin has a vision that sees beyond the present conflict and beyond the present phase of Irish history. The party's vision foresees the unity of the people of this island. It is a vision for the redistribution of wealth, for the well-being of the aged, for the advancement of youth, for the liberation of women and for the protection of Irish children. It is a vision for a free Ireland and a free people.
- Sinn Féin is committed to its peace strategy. It has sought with honesty and integrity to construct a peace process which reaches out and embraces everyone on the island on the basis of equality. Its objective must be for an agreement that will earn the allegiance and respect of all sections of the Irish people.
To achieve these objectives, Sinn Féin backs the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, which the party reached with the other northern parties and the Irish and British governments following multi-party negotiations in Belfast. These negotiations arose from the Irish Peace Process, itself initiated in discussions begun several years ago.
Sinn Féin's peace strategy was supported by the end of the armed campaign by the Irish Republican Army and was endorsed again by the decisions taken at the party's annual Ard Fheiseanna [annual conferences].
Through its leadership, the Ard Chomhairle, Sinn Féin maintains its goal of a just and lasting peace as part of its agenda for change.
Elections continue to produce further gains for the party. In the Six Counties, Sinn Féin is the leading nationalist party. It has five Westminster MPs, 30 MLAs, and 126 councillors. In the 26 Counties, the party currently has 14 TDs and 106 councillors.
|Gerry Adams MP
|Martin McGuinness MP
|Michelle Gildernew MP
|Pat Doherty MP
|Conor Murphy MP
|Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin TD
|Martin Ferris TD
|Aengus Ó Snodaigh TD
|Arthur Morgan TD
|Pearse Doherty TD
"Everyone, Republican or otherwise has their own particular part to play. No part is too great or too small, no one is too old or too young to do something."
(1954-1981), on hunger strike in 1981
All material is provided 'as is' without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, and should not be considered officially endorsed or sanctioned by Sinn Fein or the website administrators. Links to organizations are provided solely as a service. Neither the links, nor the absence of links, constitute an endorsement by Sinn Fein or the website administrators of the organizations, products or information and none should be inferred. This website only collects personal, identifiable information, when site visitors voluntarily and explicity provide it. Data on website activity is collected only for the purpose of stastical analysis of site performance.


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Honky Tonk Revisited
Percussion Ensemble Marimba (4-mallet) (solo marimba (4-octave)) - medium
Composed by James Combs (1970-). Duration 2:00. Published by C. Alan Publications (CN.01600).
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Honky Tonk


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perfect game
perfect game
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Courses & Travel
My picture-perfect week at the U.S. Open
From playing iconic golf courses, having breakfast with legends and witnessing historical performances, it was as if the Bay Area was trying to steal me back from Brooklyn.My dream U.S. Open week in pictures and...
Thursday, 6/21/2012 at 3:36PM
- keywords:
- Aaron Rodgers,
- Andy Zhang,
- Beau Hossler,
- Bob Costas,
- Bob Crockett
News & Tours
Dustin Johnson launches drives from home plate
For most players, the Wednesday before a major offers one last opportunity to complete preparation for the tournament. Even so, players employ different strategies. Some play and practice hard while others, such as Phil Mickelson...
Thursday, 6/14/2012 at 10:25AM
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Below is the poem entitled Something Different which was written by poet
Maughan. Please feel free to comment on this poem. However, please remember, PoetrySoup is a place of encouragement and growth.
Read Poems by
Robin Maughan
Something Different
Something different
That's all you foresee?
But can you accept
the different in me?
Physical messiness devours
my starving outside
Innocent soul screams
Tidiness cowers inside
Love crashes against my
brick wall of hurt
A constant reminder of her words
flung in dirt
Yet her smiles soften my heart
oh so syrupy sweet
Kisses cotton soft
Kill battles,scratch defeat
Different is a curse in a
world filled of Eros and hate
Different in me emits
passion etched keys,unlocking all gates
Something different,
that`s all you foresee?
But will you accept
the different in me?


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Cooking Professional Projects, Nutrition Management for Children Reports
Comprehensive Cooking Projects, Cooking Introduction for Hi-Tech Machine Use, Knowledge of Latest cooking Ingredients and get them Online and save in the Local Server of Hotel, Cooking Knowledge by Online Media Like Youtube Channel of Best Cook Around the World, Indian Cooking Technology Use by All Over World, Technology of the Pasta cooking in Fine Cooking Arts, Information Technology use in Cooking.
Nutrition Management Project
The child nutrition management refers engaged groups or families for children by providing nutrition education proejct and nutrition counseling and nutrition analysis and nutrition management services to promote children's overall development. Nutritional and health status of children is the focus of attention of the society and the family, is also an important indicator of the measure of a country's comprehensive national strength. Childhood malnutrition not only affects the physical development and health status, the more important is the impact of mental development and learning ability, health and adult labor efficiency. State Ministry of Health, better nutrition management proect in formal implementation of the project of the way, with emphasis on schools, kindergartens, enterprises and institutions, maternal and children's nutritional knowledge publicity and education. To this end, the Education and Training Center of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security jointly developed with a new post-linked management consulting child nutrition management division job training projects.
Copyright © 2005 Projectsjugaad.com. All Rights Reserved.


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Each person is usually born with two adrenal glands. The adrenals are paired, goldenrod-yellow colored glands that are situated behind the organs of the gastrointestinal tract next to the spine and just above the kidneys in a space called the retroperitoneum.
The two adrenal glands are responsible for making hormones — substances that make other cells in the body respond in various ways. These hormones enable the body to respond to stress, regulate blood pressure and the amount of fluid in the body, and are involved in the regulation of electrolytes such as sodium and potassium.
The hormones produced by the adrenal glands include aldosterone, cortisol, epinephrine and norepinephrine. The adrenal glands also make small amounts of the sex hormones testosterone and estrogen. The ovaries and testicles make the majority of sex hormones. When certain cells in the adrenal glands produce too much of any one of the hormones, abnormalities can result which may affect many organ systems of the body. Disturbances in the amount of hormone produced can be the result of all cells in the gland producing too much hormone (hyperplasia) or be the result of a few cells, a nodule or mass within an otherwise normal gland, producing too much hormone.
Adrenal nodules are found in approximately 5-8% of all patients. The vast majority are benign (non-cancerous) and do not produce excess amounts of hormone. Most adrenal nodules do not cause any symptoms and are found only when imaging studies (CT scans, MRIs) are obtained to evaluate symptoms related to another problem. When a patient is found to have an adrenal nodule, a systematic approach should be followed to further evaluate the nodule. Evaluation of an adrenal abnormality found on imaging is done to ensure two things: 1) the nodule has benign imaging characteristics (make sure the nodule doesn't look like an adrenal cancer), and 2) ensure no evidence of hormone excess (make sure the nodule is producing too much of the hormones it normally produces).
An appropriate evaluation of a newly found adrenal nodule includes obtaining a CT scan or MRI done specifically to look at the adrenal glands. At University of Michigan, our team prefers to investigate adrenal abnormalities using CT first, and MRI if a different type of study is needed. Patients also have blood drawn and submit urine samples (drawn over 24 hours) to test for excess amounts of adrenal hormones. Other laboratory studies may be obtained depending on individual patient findings. If patients are found to have a benign appearing nodule by imaging and no evidence of excess hormone production, patients are scheduled for a follow-up CT scan in 6 months. Continued follow-up after this, if no changes in imaging characteristics are noted on the follow-up scan, range from no further follow-up (nodule is considered benign and does not need to be followed) to imaging and biochemical/laboratory testing for five years.
If an adrenal nodule does not meet imaging criteria that is considered benign, surgery is recommended.
Biopsy of the adrenal gland is not recommended except in highly specific instances. Biopsy may be appropriate if there is significant concern that an adrenal abnormality is the result of metastatic disease from another source when no other site of metastatic disease can be accessed for a biopsy. Biopsy of a pheochromocytoma [adrenal nodule producing adrenaline (epinephrine, norepinephrine, or dopamine)] is extremely dangerous and should not be done, as this can lead to extreme elevations in blood pressure and cause a stroke or heart attack. Biopsy of an adrenal mass not meeting imaging criteria for a benign process leads to recommendation for surgery regardless, and biopsy is not indicated. Puncture of an adrenal cancer by a needle or other instrument can potentially lead to increased recurrence at the site of the tumor after removal of the gland and decrease the chance for cure. It is extremely difficult for pathologists to differentiate a benign adrenal tumor from a malignant adrenal tumor from tissue obtained by a needle biopsy. Seek a second opinion if someone has recommended you have your adrenal nodule/mass biopsied.
If laboratory studies/bloodwork show evidence of excess hormone production, further evaluation is pursued to determine what hormone is being produced and which gland is producing the excess hormone as not all excess hormone production comes from the nodule seen on imaging. Sometimes, the nodule is not producing excess hormone, but the entire gland (or both glands) may be responsible for producing too much of a particular hormone.
An adrenal tumor which makes excess amounts of aldosterone. Aldosterone normally helps regulate fluid status in the body, sodium and potassium levels and affects blood pressure. When excess aldosterone is produced by the adrenal glands or an adrenal nodule, patients often present to their physician with new elevation of their blood pressure (hypertension) and low potassium (about 40% of patients). U-M's preeminence in the field dates back seven decades to the appointment of Dr. Jerome Conn as director of the U-M Metabolism Research Unit in 1943. Dr. Conn was the first to identify findings associated with excess aldosterone production. This constellation of findings is now known as Conn's syndrome.
Diagnosis of primary hyperaldosteronism is confirmed by having an elevated aldosterone level and decreased renin level with an aldosterone:renin ratio of at least 20:1. Diagnosis is by laboratory work. Imaging is then obtained if not already performed, and in most cases, adrenal vein sampling (an interventional radiology procedure) is performed. Adrenal vein sampling identifies from which adrenal gland excess aldosterone is coming from. In some patients, both adrenal glands are producing too much aldosterone. These patients are treated with medications such as spironolactone, aldactone, or eplerenone as it is not desirable to remove both adrenal glands in most patients.
In patients who have excess aldosterone production from one gland, surgery is offered. Most surgeries can be performed by a laparoscopic approach (minimally invasive) through several small incisions. The vast majority of aldosterone producing nodules are benign, but in very rare cases, these nodules can be malignant. Most aldosteronomas are no more than 1-2 centimeters in size. Malignant aldosterone producing adrenocortical carcinomas should be considered when nodule size reaches greater than 3 to 3.5 centimeters, which is lower than the cutoff for concern for malignancy for adrenal nodules in general (4 centimeters at U-M, 6 centimeters in some centers).
An adrenal tumor which makes excessive cortisol (a steroid). Patients often present with new hypertension, diabetes, central obesity (big belly, skinny arms and legs), easy bruising, purplish lines on the abdomen, round "moon" face, flushed face, increased fat near the collar bones, worsening blood sugar control (diabetes), thin skin. Most patients notice a significant difference in their appearance when viewing photographs of themselves that are several years old. Similarly, Cushing's Disease is caused by a pituitary tumor which causes both adrenal glands to produce excess cortisol. Most patient with Cushing's syndrome have benign (non-cancerous) adrenal nodules. Adrenocortical cancers can (not always) produce excess amounts of hormones with cortisol being the most common hormone secreted. Imaging characteristics of the nodule/tumor are also usually concerning for malignancy in these cases of cortisol producing adrenal cancers.
An adrenal tumor making excess amounts of adrenaline (epinephrine, norepinephrine, and in very rare cases dopamine). These substances are referred to as catecholamines. Patients with adrenal nodules producing excess amounts of catecholamines often present with new/worsening hypertension, headaches, sweating, palpitations (racing heart), flushing, and panic attacks. Blood pressure elevations can be so severe that they can lead to heart attacks, stroke and sudden death. Patients with pheochromocytomas may have a genetic syndrome. All patients diagnosed with a pheochromocytoma who are seen in the U-M Multidisciplinary Endocrine Oncology clinic are also seen by one of our genetic counselors and may be referred for further genetic testing. Malignant (cancerous) pheochromocytomas occur in approximately 10% of patients. Those with benign pheochromocytomas are usually offered laparoscopic surgery performed through several small incisions, while those with malignancy appearing or very large tumors are offered surgery using an open approach performed through a larger incision. Malignant tumors are diagnosed when there is evidence of tumor invasion into surrounding tissue or organs, involvement of lymph nodes, or evidence of distant metastatic disease.
Prior to surgery, it is extremely important that the blood pressure be well controlled using certain medications called alpha blockers, beta blockers, and on occasion calcium channel blockers. Alpha blockers (such as dibenzyline) should always be started before beta blockers (such as metoprolol, propranolol, or other medications in the same class) in order to prevent cardiac collapse. Medications to control the blood pressure and heart rate are increased until patients achieve blood pressure goals and also have symptoms of nasal stuffiness and slight dizziness upon initially standing. If these goals are not met prior to surgery, the blood pressure may become dangerously high during surgery as the tumor is manipulated and lead to heart attacks, strokes, and increased bleeding.
Tumors of this type are rare and some are associated with adrenocortical carcinomas. A virilizing adrenal tumor makes excess androgens (testosterone). Patients often present with increased hair growth (hirsuitism), increased muscle mass, acne and amenorrhea (loss of periods in a female). A feminizing adrenal tumor makes excess estrogen. Patients often present with increased growth of breast tissue (gynecomastia/breast growth in men) and impotence in men.
Adrenal tumors are classified by their growth characteristics:
Adrenal cancer (adrenocortical carcinoma or ACC) is an extremely rare cancer that occurs in 1-2 people per million people in the population. Approximately 600 new cases per year are diagnosed in the United States.
A recent study revealed that in the past twenty years no significant progress has been made with regard to the treatment of ACC, and 5-year survival outcomes have remained static. In the United States, forty-five percent of adrenalectomies for ACC are performed in community hospitals, 30% in academic centers, and only 15% in National Cancer Institute designated cancer centers. Despite increased utilization of imaging studies, ACC is not being identified at earlier stages in the United States; however, at select quarternary referral centers, it does appear that there may be some progress being made in terms of treatment. For various reasons, those with ACC do not usually present until late in the disease process. In adults, adrenal cancer usually has no obvious symptoms, which makes it very hard to diagnose in its early stages. Those patient who have tumors that produce excess adrenal hormones tend to present earlier on in the disease process. The most common hormone produced by adrenal cancers is cortisol. Testosterone is another more commonly secreted hormone by adrenal cancers. Aldosterone producing adrenal cancers are extremely rare but do occur.
The majority of patients with ACC present with advanced disease, and many are diagnosed at a point when surgery is no longer feasible. These patients are treated with medications to help minimize (palliate) any symptoms they might have, and chemotherapy or radiation therapy may be offered. For those patients who are diagnosed with adrenal cancer at a point in time where surgery is possible, complete surgical resection of all tumor currently provides the only opportunity for cure or long-term survival from ACC and is the treatment of choice. Surgery for curative intent is not the only indication for surgical intervention in the patient diagnosed with ACC. In those patients who have tumors that produce excess hormone levels and suffer severe hypertension, hypokalemia, or severe effects from steroid (cortisol) excess, surgery may be worthwhile to help decrease the symptoms of hormone excess even if distant metastatic disease is present.
Adrenocortical carcinomas are usually aggressive and can spread to other parts of the body (metastasize) rapidly. The adrenal gland is one of the most vascular organs in the body, with many blood vessels that can carry malignant cells throughout the body. Because the adrenal gland resides in the retroperitoneum (surrounded in fat and residing behind the intestines and other abdominal organs), it can grow to a very large size before causing any sort of local compressive symptoms. This explains why it is difficult to identify these tumors early on in the disease process, especially if they do not happen to produce any excess amount of adrenal hormones.
Unfortunately, high blood pressure, weight gain and diabetes are common conditions in middle-aged adults, so the possible connection with an adrenal tumor is often overlooked. The speed of onset of these signs and symptoms may in retrospect be helpful in determining when the tumor started growing. If these conditions develop rapidly, they can be warning signs of adrenal cancer; however, if the adrenal tumor is slow-growing and non-functional (meaning it does not produce excess adrenal hormones), there are usually no symptoms noted in early stages of the disease. As the tumor grows, it may begin to cause local symptoms as it compresses or invades into other organs. In many cases, imaging studies (CT scans) are obtained for vague symptoms that most physicians think are related to a different organ (stomach, gallbladder, pancreas, colon, chronic low back pain).
Surgery is the treatment of choice if possible. In many cases, patients present after tumor has spread to other organs in the body or the tumor has invaded structures that cannot be removed and the tumor is considered inoperable. If patients are able to undergo surgery, it is extremely important that your surgery is performed by a surgeon experienced in the treatment of adrenal cancer (most surgeons see one adrenal cancer patient in a lifetime), as the covering of the tumor must not be penetrated during surgery and a wide margin of normal tissue around the tumor should be included to ensure complete resection and minimize the chance for local recurrence. Appropriate preoperative evaluation and planning is of the utmost importance in adrenal cancer patients to assure optimal outcome. Adrenal cancer is a very rare cancer different from many other types of cancers. It must be carefully and completely removed. Based on recent research at the University of Michigan, it is not recommended to have adrenal cancer (or any mass/nodule suspected of potentially being malignant) removed laparoscopically. It is thought that laparoscopic instruments rub against the tumor and spread tumor cells to other parts of the abdomen leading to early recurrence. More often, the entire tumor is not resected when the procedure is performed laparoscopically, and the "margins" (edges of the tissue removed) are positive for tumor cells. An open approach (through a larger incision along the rib cage or along the midline of the abdomen) allows the surgeon to remove a rim of normal (benign) tissue around the tumor more easily to help decrease rates of recurrence.
Unfortunately, even with pathologically documented complete resection of ACC, up to two-thirds of patients have recurrence of tumor in a locoregional or distant site, or both. Individual markers of tumor biology such as histologic grade, length of disease-free interval, and slow progression of tumor can be used as a guide when considering re-operation. If a resectable local recurrence presents without evidence of distant metastases, re-operation is associated with increased length of survival when compared to patients treated with chemotherapy alone. In patients with excess hormone secretion and difficulty controlling symptoms related to the excess hormone secretion, surgery may be offered to debulk the tumor in hopes of decreasing the hormone levels. Consideration for reoperative surgery in these patients with evidence of metastatic disease and severe symptoms from hormone excess may be helpful depending on the amount of existing tumor and amount of tumor that will be able to be removed and is made on a case by case basis.
After surgery, the U-M multidisciplinary tumor board will review the intraoperative findings and the pathology report. Important aspects of the pathology report include completeness of resection and margin status (positive or negative), capsular or vascular invasion, tumor grade (low or high), evidence of tumor within lymph nodes, or invasion of nearby structures. Decisions regarding further treatment are made. Treatment may include one or more of the following: external beam radiation therapy, mitotane, and/or chemotherapy. If mitotane is started, labs to check mitotane levels, thyroid function and liver function will be checked frequently and replacement steroids will also be started.
Clinic visits, imaging studies, and blood work are obtained at least every three months to assess disease status and look for evidence of recurrence or disease progression. U-M physicians will work closely with a patient's primary care physician and other physicians near their home to ensure they are receiving optimal care. For those with persistent or recurrent disease, U-M physicians will aggressively pursue all treatment options and stay abreast of new clinical trials offered around the world.
In general, five year survival rates for all patients diagnosed with adrenocortical carcinoma approaches 50%. When including those unable to undergo surgery, five year survival rates decrease to approximately 35%. Five year survival rates are different depending on the Stage of the tumor. There are four stages based on the size of the tumor, invasion of nearby structures, involvement of lymph nodes and evidence of distant metastatic disease. Survival according to Stage is most favorable for patients with Stage I disease and worst for those with Stage IV (distant metastases) disease. Available percentages for overall survival and for survival according to stage should be viewed with caution, as individual tumor characteristics, adequate surgery, and appropriate follow-up and adjuvant treatment (chemotherapy and radiation) all affect outcome. U-M endocrine oncology team members treat patients with adrenal cancer aggressively and with state of the art techniques and pursue new therapies to provide patients with the best care possible and best chances for survival.
Because adrenal cancer is more common in some countries than others, scientists used to wonder if something in the environment might be causing people to develop adrenal cancer. This may be the case in some patients, but likely not for the majority of patients. Today, most scientists believe adrenal cancer is caused by genetic mutations, but how environmental factors might influence the disease is still unclear.
Sometimes patients wonder if stress causes adrenal cancer since the adrenal gland is part of the body's system for handling stress (physical). The adrenal glands make cortisol and catecholamines (epinephrine and norepinephrine), both hormones involved in the "fight or flight" response. These hormones allow the body to respond to stressful situations (serious illness, trauma, etc.). There is no scientific evidence that increased stress (mental or physical) causes adrenal cancer.


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