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Newly married Rani Mukherjee stepped out with her mother-in-law Pamela Chopra for the first time post marriage. Rani looks like a lovely new bride with red outfit assembled with sindoor on forehead, chura in both the hands and wore the traditional shakha-pola which Bengali married women wear and
Dil To Pagal Hai, Madhuri,Akshay,Shahrukh,Karisma [Lata,Udit]-Dil To Pagal Hai (1997) HQ
Dil To Pagal Hai (Hindi: , Urdu: , translation: The Heart Is Crazy) is a Bollywood drama, released October 31, 1997, depicting the love lives of dancers in a musical dance troupe. The tag line is "Someone somewhere is made for you..." It was directed by Yash Chopra. It stars Shahrukh Khan, Madhuri Dixit and Karisma Kapoor, with a supporting role by Akshay Kumar. It was the first Bollywood movie to be shot in Baden-Baden, Germany, and in the German theme park Europa Park. The movie was the second highest grosser for the year 1997 in Bollywood. It won many awards, including sweeping most of the major categories at that year's Filmfare Awards. Directed by Yash Chopra Produced by Yash Chopra M Vakil Screenplay by Aditya Chopra Tanuja Chandra Pamela Chopra Yash Chopra Starring Shahrukh Khan Madhuri Dixit Karisma Kapoor Akshay Kumar Music by Uttam Singh Cinematography Manmohan Singh Editing by V. Karnik Distributed by Yash Raj Films Release date(s) October 30, 1997 Running time 180 mins Awards 1998 Filmfare Awards * Best Film * Best Actor (Shahrukh Khan) * Best Actress (Madhuri Dixit) * Supporting Actress (Karisma Kapoor), * Best Choreography (Shiamak Davar) * Filmfare Best Art Direction Award (Sharmishta Roy) * Best Dialogue (Aditya Chopra) * Best Music Director (Uttam Singh) 1998 National Awards * Best Supporting Actress (Karisma Kapoor) * Best Choreographer (Shiamak Davar) * Best Film providing popular and wholesome entertainment 1998 ...
Pamela Chopra
Pam Chopra, wife of the late great filmmaker Yash Chopra will be making an appearance at the 16th annual Tongues on Fire London Asian Film Festival, at an event dedicated to the life and the cinemas of her husband. The event is scheduled to take place on the 7th of June. Pam will be seen in a dis
YRF head honcho Aditya Chopra is a very private person. He doesn't like socializing and always shy away from public appearances. He is hardly spotted at events, parties, award shows or public events but he can't deny his mother Pamela Chopra when she insisted on throwing a private bash for the ne


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Charges of neglect and coverup during and after the deadly attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi will be aired today when the House Government and Oversight Committee hears testimony about the September 2012 assault that killed U.S. Ambassador to Libya J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans.
The hearing will focus on efforts by the Obama administration to characterize the military-style assault as a spontaneous demonstration rather than a planned and coordinated a terrorist attack. Witnesses will include Stevens' deputy at the time, who has told committee investigators that an Army Special Forces team was ready to attempt a rescue of the diplomats and others under fire in the compound but was ordered to stand down. A State Department official who claims then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton tried to cut the department's counterterrorism unit out of the communications loop on the night of the attack will also testify, according to a Fox News report.
Clinton, who resigned as planned in January, has become the focal point of queries into what happened and why during and after the attacks, as well as questions as to why previous requests for additional security at the mission had gone unanswered.
"If Hillary Clinton is not responsible for the before, during and after mistakes... it's somebody close," committee chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) told CBS News Monday. "There certainly are plenty of people close to the former secretary who knew, and apparently were part of the problem."
Clinton subordinates who may have engaged in what Issa called "deliberately premeditated lying to the American people," could include Under Secretary for Management Patrick Kennedy or Beth Jones, acting assistant secretary for near eastern affairs at the State Department, the chairman said.
Gregory Hicks, deputy chief of the U.S. mission in Libya at the time of the attack, will testify that a Special Forces team was prepared to fly from Tripoli to Benghazi, but the mission was aborted by order of the U.S. Special Operations Command Africa. Hicks was deposed by investigators for the committee and excerpts of the interview have been released by the committee.
Click here to read the entire article.
Photo of Obama and Clinton at the arrival of the remains of the Benghazi victims

subset: commoncrawl


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Salt & Pepper
NewAcorn Ceramic Salt and Pepper Shakers Clearance $3.97reg. $7.95
Add a little spice to your life with salt and pepper shakers from Crate and Barrel. Browse formal and casual salt and pepper mills in a variety of sizes, styles and designs. From electric mills to combination salt and pepper grinders, find everything you need to add a pinch of pepper or a dash of salt to your dishes.


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Why do people wear black hats if their kippa has 2 layers?
See pg. 127 ff. of this publication from YCT. It is an article by Jason Weiner titled "ON THE HALAKHIC BASIS FOR WEARING BLACK HATS". In this article he discusses 5 reasons given by the Rabbinical Authorities for wearing a black hat:
A kipa isn't actually a double covering if it has two layers. The two pieces sewn together are part of the same head covering. The only reason some kipas are like this is to reinforce the fabric. For more on wearing a hat for davening this is a great shiur that discusses this... http://www.yutorah.org/lectures/lecture.cfm/736994/Rabbi_Ally_Ehrman/Hat_And_Jacket_For_Davening:_The_True_Story
The main reason people wore hats during davening was because thats what they would wear when in front of someone important. Nowadays, they mainly wear it so as not to change from before, or to differentiate themselves from other people. The two-layer thing is not in the shulchan aruch, but if one does want to follow it, I could see why one item wouldn't make the cut.
The Zohar is meramez that a talmid chacham needs an extra level of head covering, especially upon saying a davar shebik'dusha. Regarding the hat, it not only is a second cover, but it is bigger and more demonstrative of one's devotion.
The Zohar adds, for instance, that one should wrap oneself with a tallis during davening; apparently, standing with a kippah is not enough. The same wrapping concept would apply to a hat that hovers above the head very much like a tallis, albeit slightly less.
All of these head coverings indicate deference to someone greater, and that we commit to G-D's commands even when we cannot understand and even if our ideas conflict with it; we still accept.
The Chayei Adam says for birkas hamazon, "and wear a hat, like any respectable person would do if they were walking in the street."
R' Yitzchak Hutner once told a fellow: "wear a hat. A yarmulka is too easy to fold up and put in your pocket if you get embarrassed of being Jewish." (Very similar to the Lubavitcher Rebbe's letter about sheitels vs. kerchiefs.)
Look in Aruch Hashluchan in Hilchos Dayanim and Birkas Hamazon where he mentions that Atifa (enwrapment) mentioned in SA is applied nowadays through a hat (and possible jacket, I don;t have an Aruch Hashulchan on me).
For a great shiur on the topic see Here: http://www.khalbneitorah.com/1024/index.htm The shiur is called Hats And Jakets
i think its becouse its a tradition that we do when we turn the age of thirteen. i dont think you have to do it


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CHICAGO, ILLINOIS -- On August 4th, I was returning from Chicago (ORD) to Minneapolis (MSP) on a 7:25 pm that was delayed due to inclement weather. The delay was to be expected, and is not the subject of my complaint. I checked in for my flight around 5:30 or 6:00 pm and went to the gate to wait. Due to the weather delays, there appeared to be about 3 flights worth of people waiting to fly out of the gate (Ft. Lauderdale, Minneapolis, and another destination). Because of this, all seats in the gate area were full, and many people were standing around.
I checked in at the desk to find out what time the Minneapolis flight was leaving since the sign behind the desk was showing three cities, with the same flight times for all three -- they obviously hadn't been updated. The woman at the desk told me the Minneapolis flight was leaving at 9:15. I sat one gate over for about a half an hour (At the time I was 7 months pregnant) and checked back again, to make sure this hadn't changed, and was told 9:15 again. I checked back two more times after that, the last time being about 8:20, and each time was told "9:15". At 8:45 I checked back and was told that the Minneapolis flight just left.
I did not ever hear my name called, or any messaging, and since I'd been told multiple times leading up to this point that the flight was 9:15 (with NO indication that this was going to change), I was shocked that the plane had left just 20 minutes after the last time I checked in at the gate.
I went to the ticket counter and there met several other people who were on the same flight or other flights for Spirit leaving from that gate, who experienced the same thing: Incorrect information given by your gate representatives multiple times, no effort to make sure passengers in the crowded area were alerted that their flight was boarding or leaving, and the signs at the counter not reflecting accurate destination cities and flight times. The fiasco with the incompetent workers at the gate that caused me to miss my flight was bad enough, but what followed at the ticket counter was absolutely beyond anything negative I've ever experienced in customer service.
The amount of time it took for the ticket reps to get myself and the others at waiting in front of someone who could actually do anything was unacceptable. Once we finally were able to speak with someone, a supervisor named **, who refused to provide her last name or even show us the badge around her neck, ** was belligerent, rude, unprofessional, and downright insulting to the customers waiting. ** clearly has no idea how to work in an industry like this. The other workers behind the counter were clearly scared of ** and all stood back, unwilling to help anyone with questions because ** obviously had to approve any message they gave.
** insisted that everyone at the counter was there because of inclement weather, even though everyone explained multiple times, the weather was not to blame for the missed flights. To the contrary, we were all at the gate and checking in regularly about the times, and were all given bad information. By this time it was late in the evening, ** offered only a refund for the part of the trip that was unused and an option to fly out at 7 pm the next night. (Keep in mind that at this point, the ticket counters for other airlines are closing, that is how long this process has taken).
Her offer was totally unacceptable; there was no offer of lodging, though the entire reason that I and the others were stuck there was because of the workers at the gate. At one point, I asked if I could have her last name, and she refused, so I asked if she could flip over her name badge around her neck so that we could see her name and she actually said "Come over this desk and get it yourself". I am a business professional, I travel at least twice each month and tried Spirit Airlines because the rates were good. Well I guess you get what you pay for because the experience was a complete nightmare.
I ended up purchasing my own ticket on Delta for early the next morning (I did get a refund of $77 dollars from **), and spent the night sitting in a chair at the 24/7 Starbucks in the baggage claim area because the long, drawn out process of trying to negotiate with ** resulted in it being too late for me to get through security to wait the night out in the airport until my early flight. This was uncomfortable, and arguably, unsafe for me, a woman into her third trimester of pregnancy. If my long email doesn't convey the total anger and bewilderment the entire experience caused, I'd welcome a chance to speak to **'s supervisor and give you more detail.
It takes a lot to incite me to take time out of my schedule to complain about a situation or a person, but I felt it was necessary to send this along; I hope someone sees it and would very much appreciate an acknowledgement that someone has read it. I work for a very large corporation, and am tempted to share my story on our cloud with my colleagues. We all have large travel budgets and the option to fly any airline. Believe me, how we are treated absolutely will dictate where we fly.
I also want to add that at the ticket counter, one of the others who missed his flight mentioned that we might as well not even bother trying to contact your customer service department via phone, because we would never get through, so I attempted to fill out the form online and received an error message. Clearly your organization is doing everything it can to avoid dealing with customers both in person, and after the fact, but I hope the story of my experience gets through to somebody.
MIRAMAR, FLORIDA -- This is to inform you of how EXTREMELY disappointed I am in your customer service. On May 13, 2012, my husband and I were asked if we were willing to volunteer our seats from Ft. Myers, Florida to Boston, Massachusetts. We were told that we would receive 2 round trip vouchers each, to anywhere that Spirit flies. We agreed. We were issued our 4 vouchers - expiring on 5/13/2013. We were told that we must make our reservations within 60 days of 5/13/2012. We were given a flier that includes the Terms & Conditions. Tonight, I attempted to schedule flights on your website.
Your flier indicated "A Future Travel Voucher may be booked on the website or Customers may call a Reservation Center at 1-800-772-7117". I signed into the website and tried to find flights for November, 2012 from Boston to Ft. Myers -- nothing was available. I tried January, 2013 for the same destinations - nothing was available. I then tried April, 2013, and was able to find dates that fit into our schedule. I went through all of the screens to book the flights, and then I entered the voucher numbers and received an error message indicating the voucher could not be used for this itinerary, please call the Reservation Center.
I called 1-800-772-7117, and ** answered the call. First, she was extremely hard to understand, and she didn't seem to understand my request. I told her I wanted a flight for my husband using his voucher, flying out of Boston on November 9, 2012, and flying into Ft. Myers with a return flight on November 27, 2012. ** told me that I needed to pick another destination since Spirit didn't fly to my destinations. I told her that Spirit definitely did fly to my destinations since that was how I got the vouchers. We went back and forth for a while, until she said Spirit doesn't have a direct flight. I told her that I know that, and I had not asked for a direct flight.
She then asked for the dates again. After several minute wait she came back on the line and told me that since it was not a direct flight I needed to use both of my "round trip" vouchers for the one flight down - one voucher for Boston to Ft. Lauderdale, and then the other voucher for Ft. Lauderdale to Ft. Myers. I told her that the information on the flier did not indicate anything about that. She said she was sorry that no one had told me that. I finally said let's just book this. She then put me on hold while she looked up the flight for November 9.
Then she came back on the line and asked me again (for at least the 4th time) what the return date was. I repeated again that it was November 27. She put me on hold again, and then came back and told me that there were no flights available. I asked to speak to a supervisor. She asked me to hold. Floor Manager, **, picked up the phone and said he was on the phone with another customer and would be a little while, would I hold? I replied that I would hold. While on hold, I was then disconnected - this phone call took 34 minutes. I called the 800 number again, and was connected to **. I explained that I had been disconnected.
I asked to be transferred to Floor Manager **. She asked what my problem was. I explained again that I had been disconnected, and wanted to speak to **. She insisted that she could help me. I explained again that I was having a problem using my vouchers and wanted to speak to **. She insisted she could help me. I then INSISTED I wanted to be connected to **. She put me on hold, and when she returned she told me that ** had left for the day! I told her that I wanted to speak to **'s boss, to which she said she could help me. I then told her that I was in the middle of writing a 2 page letter to SPIRIT, and I wanted to talk to someone over a supervisor.
She put me on hold. When she returned she told me that I would be transferred to a supervisor. Supervisor ** came on the line. I asked him to take my number in case we were disconnected. He told me that he did not have the ability to call me back. I explained my issue to him, and gave him all of the information. By this time, my husband had already booked our November flights on Southwest Airlines without any issues. So, since our November trip was already booked, I asked ** to book our April trip. I told him that I wanted to fly out of Boston on April 27 and arrive in Ft. Myers, and return from Ft. Myers on May 12.
He looked up all of the flights and then informed me that he couldn't give us a flight down to Florida on April 27, but he could give us April 29. Our flight home on May 12, 2013 wasn't available either. The earliest we could fly home was May 14, 2013. I finally agreed to move our vacation dates to 4/29/13 returning 5/14/13. As he was booking, he was reading the itinerary, and said Boston to Ft. Lauderdale. I said no, not Ft. Lauderdale, Ft. Myers. Then he informed me that he couldn't get us seats on that flight until April 30, 2012. At this point, I told him never mind. This phone call took 21 minutes. What good are round trip vouchers that you cannot book flights for???
My husband had booked our April/May 2012 flights on Spirit and the whole experience for his flight to Florida was outrageous - he spent 9-10 hours in airports or on planes due to delays, and missing connecting flights. He had taken a half day off to make his original Boston flight, and it ended up being delayed - he didn't need to take any time off - what a waste! Then our return flight on May 13th was a mess. It is no wonder that Spirit is having financial problems! At this point, I guess I will use your vouchers for toilet paper - I certainly can't book any round trip tickets that I am interested in or can arrange into my schedule.
And I can assure you that I in the future I will not fly SPIRIT. My husband and I work in a VERY large public utility company that has facilities worldwide. He and I will be sure to share our very bad experience on our company's Internet bulletin board to ensure that our co-workers never have to have the VERY bad experience that we have had. Also, by the way, your website doesn't have any contact information. I guess that's one way to avoid getting letters or emails that let you know your customers are dissatisfied. So I guess my message to users of my3cents.com is: DON'T FLY SPIRIT AIRLINES!!!
MIRAMAR, FLORIDA -- I am writing to voice my concerns about the horrific customer service I received following a cancelled Spirit Airlines flight between Chicago O'hare and LAX on Saturday, June 23. I would sincerely appreciate you taking couple minutes to read my concerns, which I believe are shared by many of your customers. While I was unhappy about the cancelled flight, I realize this happens from time to time. What I would like to specifically bring to your attention is the lack of empathy and customer service mindset amongst the "manager" level employees I dealt with at Spirit.
Given, agents/customer service representatives have limited decision making authority, I requested to speak with "managers" after each interaction I had with Spirit representatives, and each time I spoke with a manager, I was utterly disappointed; and thus my suggestion that providing better customer service training at Spirit is warranted. I would like to provide you with a brief context of my recent experience with Spirit. Upon arrival to Chicago O'Hare on Saturday evening, June 23, 2012 to catch a flight to Los Angeles, I was informed by the check-in kiosk that the "flight has been cancelled – see agent".
There were approximately 80 customers waiting in line and only five customer service agents working at the Spirit counter. During the approximately 55 minutes I stood in line to reach the customer service agent working the front desk, there were no announcements made about the cancellation, which added to the anxiety of those passengers whose flights have been cancelled but had no idea as to the reason nor whether they would be able to get on another flight.
There were many irate customers bypassing the line all together and going directly to the front desk agents, which added to the waiting time for customers such as myself who waited in line to speak to an agent. Furthermore, there were no notices via email nor text message of the flight cancellation, despite the fact I am a Spirit member and my contact info, including my email and cell phone number, is stored in its database. After 55 minutes of waiting in line, I was able to speak to a front-desk agent (**) who informed me that the flight was cancelled due to weather and that all Spirit flights from O'hare to LAX were booked for a week.
The options offered to me were to look for a Spirit flight to LAX after a week or to get a refund on my purchase. Given that I had taken the week off and planned these vacation trip months in advance to visit my parents who leaves in Asia and had flown to LA for the week to visit my sisters and me, rescheduling to another Spirit flight the following week was not an option. Thus I had to reluctantly ask for a full refund with the hopes of finding a flight on another airline.
The agent sympathized with my situation and offered to refund the full amount and provide me with a $100 voucher for a future travel on Spirit (as a side note, I was not successful in finding reasonable priced flights on another airline within the next couple days, as the lowest priced round-trip ticket was around $800+. Thus I was not able to make the trip out to LA to visit my parents and sisters). After four days, I still hadn't received a refund nor the $100 voucher. Thus I called Spirit customer service to inquire about the status of my refund and voucher.
The customer service representative (**) informed me that neither the refund nor the voucher was recorded in the system. And after looking into my itinerary, he informed me that he could provide me with only a refund and not the voucher. I asked ** to connect with a manager. After 20 minutes on hold, I was able to speak with the manager, **. After explaining to ** my situation, she informed me that the refund had already been issued (which was just processed minutes earlier after I complained for the second time that it had not been) and that I would not be eligible for the voucher given it was not Spirit's fault that the flight was cancelled.
Rather, she insistently blamed the situation on the weather and given that it was not Spirit's fault, she would not be offering me the voucher (which had earlier been offered to me). I was disappointed by her response and handling of the situation. In no way was the $100 voucher going to make up for my missed opportunity to visit my parents and sisters. Nevertheless, it was a small token of sympathy which I thought Spirit had offered to alleviate my anxiety.
While **'s response and handling of the situation was unsettling, I removed the emotions and try to explain to her rationally and logically from a business perspective why taking away the previously offered voucher was a bad business decision (just having graduated from business school a week earlier, I felt compelled to present the business case). First, it was something that had been offered to me. And taking away something that had previously been offered is offensive and dishonest.
Second, a $100 voucher is a tiny investment, and likely a good ROI. I informed ** that the $100 doesn't replace my missed opportunity to visit my folks in LA. Nevertheless, it's a small token that shows Spirit still values my business. Lastly, as a relatively new public airline, it may have positioned itself as a "no frills" airline, competing on price. However, if it neglects customer service, it will not be able survive just by competing on price in the long run. The industry as a whole has gone the way of becoming a provider of a commodity, and airliners will not be able to compete on price alone.
Spirit's prices will have to move up and/or other airlines will be able to further lower their prices given improved scale given industry consolidation. After presenting my case, ** was still firm on not granting me the voucher, as she replied "No, I will not be granting you a voucher. Again it was not "our" fault". It felt as though ** was adding insult to injury and it was clear that she didn't care about losing me as a customer. ** could have done a much better job addressing this situation and alleviating my concerns had she for one instant thought about me as a person, not an adversary. Not once during our conversation did I feel she was listening to my thoughts/concerns.
She provided no suggestions nor other options. It was clear she had set her mind that the voucher will not be issued given that it was not "their" fault. Had she been a little more open to thinking about the customer and how to retain me as a customer, I think a mutually beneficial outcome would have been likely, and I could have concluded my call feeling better about Spirit. Unfortunately, because of her lack of ability to sympathize with customers, she has turned away a customer and Spirit will be generating significantly less revenue from me in the future.
I would never fly Spirit for business. And on personal travels, I would only consider Spirit for last minute travel and only if the price difference is greater than $125 relative to another airline on a one-way flight. Prior to this experience, I felt Spirit performed satisfactorily. However, this incident brings to light that Spirit needs to better hire and train "managers" to deal with customers more effectively. While it's important to focus on the operations and process to make sure things operate smoothly and seamlessly, it's just as important to provide managers with better training on addressing contingency and customer service issues.
Specifically, I believe the following approaches could have been taken in this specific situation to reduce the anxiety amongst those passengers whose flights were cancelled and would have likely resulted in a better experience:
1) Send email, text message, or voice mail to passengers if their flights are cancelled. 2) Have a floor manager at the airport communicate to the customers at the airport so that they are aware of what's going on 3) Create a separate line for customers whose flights have been cancelled (alleviates bottleneck for other travellers) and have a dedicated agent address these customers 4) When multiple flights are cancelled, have the manager in charge make staffing decisions to increase staffing on the floor (while obvious, this did not seem to be the case on Saturday) 5 Follow through on execution/promise.
When informed that refunds and vouchers will be given, process them immediately. Delaying the process decreases customer satisfaction, and ups the amount of inbound customer service calls. The slight decrease in working capital as a result of paying out refunds to customers later compared to when it's promised creates additional complaints and increases the need for these customers to speak with customer service agents. Furthermore, additional complaints decrease the likelihood of these passengers choosing Spirit for future air travel. I appreciate you taking the time to listen to my concerns and hope you will take actions to address them. Thank you.
HURRICANE, UTAH -- I am writing to you and anyone else that will listen regarding Spirit Air. First of all, I booked a flight to go visit my grandson after saving for months. I am disabled, due a terrible car accident so I don't get to travel much anymore. For years before I was in the accident, which destroyed my new Volvo but saved my life, I travelled constantly, working for FEMA and other organizations helping survivors of disasters. Several days before my flight I broke my foot and 3 toes and was told by Spirit that in order to change my flight it would cost me $110 or I just had to forfeit the ticket.
I made the mistake of buying another ticket from them for August 28th and have not healed enough to walk, in fact, I just found out that I will need several operations to fix the problem. Not only will Spirit not let me change the date of the ticket, they have told me, once again I can forfeit or pay another $110. I have waited to see my grandson for over 2 years. The Worst Part is they signed me up for their $59 program that I didn't want. I called them immediately and had them cancel. They told me they cancelled and that I would refund the money to my account immediately and it would show up in 5 to 7 days.
I called 8 days later and they then said it would be 10 days. I called at 12 days and they said 15 days. I called again and asked for the refund. I spoke to them again on day 15, 20 and 23 and have been given the same run around. Everyone I talk to tells me to wait just a few more days, in fact, on day 20, the individual I talked to told me it would take 15 days, so I counted the days with him and showed him we were at day 20. It has now been 24 days and no refund. I have not been allowed to talk to any supervisor or manager. I have been searching for any information on Spirit management and found your site.
I have given up on getting any exchanges for the tickets to see my grandson, however, I will not give up on the $59.95 which was Spirit's error, which they admitted and which they told me that they refunded to me immediately. It is bad enough that I missed my grandson, cannot walk, will need several surgeries and have paid for 2 tickets that were wasted - rules can be adjusted for true emergencies if there is even an ounce of compassion - but to not refund the $59.95 and continue to lie to me about it is flat out mean, cruel and dishonest.
That $59.95 has kept me from buying prescriptions, going to the doctor and getting food. But Spirit doesn't care about anything but their bottom line, no matter whom they have to cheat or how they have to do it. I feel they owe me the money for one of my tickets back at the very least, and definitely the $59.95 they charged me in error. According to every person I have talked to since August 3rd when I tried to change my ticket and asked for the $59.95 fee they charged me back, the fee has been refunded and there is "no possibility" that it could have been a mistake on Spirit's part nor could it have gone to someone else's account.
There are no "managers or supervisors" to talk to and I am out of money, food and gas. I spent about 1/3 of a month's income on this trip and it's sad enough that I am in too much pain and I can't use the ticket and they won't let me move it to next month. I helped raised my grandson and I am afraid that even if I don't see him before these operations I may not be able to see him again. You figure the odds - 5 operations - the chances are high that something could go wrong.
So, regardless of how bloodthirsty Spirit air is about giving a person who got hurt in an accident - so they have nearly $200 of my money for that (that seems to be how they make their money - sell seats and then make it impossible to change them in an emergency - they still haven't paid back my $59.95 and I am still getting the runaround. I have $10 in the bank and can't pay for medicine, food or gas because there is not enough money because that Spirit still has my refund, which I have been told that was processes August 3rd and would be in my account by August 8th - August 10th at the latest.
If there is anyone who can help me with this in any way I can't tell you how much I would appreciate it. It is bad enough that these people do this to others who can afford it and don't really care that much. For them to do this to people like me who have had a serious accident, had to postpone being with the only family I have and depend on every penny to get by is not only shameful but illegal. Please help me! Once this is settled, I will never fly Spirit again.
So far they have over $250 of my money, none of which has been able to to be used because I have not been allowed to talk to a manager, none of their front line people have any authority or care about anything but Spirit's rules and a paycheck and Spirit takes your money without authority and they lie about refunding it. I used to teach customer service and corporate change from the top down for many major companies and government agencies. At least at that time they were willing to try. Spirit Air is the worst company I have ever come across in over 25 years. I never thought I'd be in this position. Please, please help me if you can. Thanks for letting me vent.
MIRAMAR, FLORIDA -- You should read reviews about this airline before you purchase. I will NEVER, EVER FLY Spirit Airlines. I've not heard about Spirit Airline and I purchased a package through Travelocity. I made a BIG mistake, I should have read the reviews first. This has to be the worse airline EVER. I bought our vacation package a month ahead. I log-on to the Spirit website and find out they charge for everything, (i.e. talking to them on the phone, using the bathroom, bags, seats). I prepaid 2 round trip ($30 each) check in bags and 3 round trip seats ($25 each), FREE if you let Spirit choose the seating for you.
Departure: we arrive 2+ hours prior to boarding with our boarding pass (already printed). Arrive at the gate, waited, we were delayed for 30–45 minutes because we had to wait for the airplane to arrive; unload people and their luggage and for them to clean the plane. We boarded the plane and it was dirty.
Return trip: departure time was 5:40pm out of Oakland, CA to Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX. We arrived at the terminal at 2pm with boarding pass already printed, get to the counter to check-in our bags, and we were told there was a mechanical problem and they had to switch planes; departure was now 9:50 pm. I'm still okay at this point (but we've been there since 2 pm) so I was getting a little annoyed. When the plane arrived Again, we had to wait for the people and luggage to unload and cleaning. We get to our seats, it was not what I expected, it was seating area was so small (NOT what I paid for). It was really late, I was tired, so I kept my frustration to myself.
We arrive at DFW and we were told to go to baggage claim 32, as we were walking to 32, there was a Spirit employee that told us that the baggage claim was at 38. So we all waited at 38 for 30–40 minutes, then one of the passengers took a walk to baggage claim 32 and found out that all of our luggages were in claim 31 and already off the carousel. Some of the passenger's baggage was in a totally different airline baggage claim. Now, this was not just offensive but unacceptable. The airlines did not care about our belongings.
I called Spirit to ask for a refund of my seats, waited for 30 minutes. I explained to them what happen and he told me that, he does not see me paying for my seats. I told him that I have an email receipt that I paid for baggage and larger seats. I expected a total refund of $75 because they basically chose the seats for us BUT NO, the person on the phone got belligerent and told me that "you asked for a refund and you got it" a total of $33 dollars. I will not use this airline and will tell everyone that I know the same.
DFW, TEXAS -- ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE! DO NOT USE SPIRIT! I created a yelp account SPECIFICALLY to let people know what Spirit Airlines is about. If I could give negative stars, I would. You may think you are saving money, but honestly it all adds up to being just as (if not MORE) expensive with all the delays, bag costs and check in costs, not to mention how rude they are and reluctant to provide any help or compensation for their disorganization. I just got back from a Spirit Airlines round trip flight from DFW to Oakland CA and back.
When I got to the airport, I had already checked in but the lady told me I had to stand in line because the information on my bag was confusing. My initial confirmation email had me down for one Carry on bag and nothing checked, but when I got my boarding pass it printed out that I had one Check in bag and nothing carry on. I went to the counter to make sure of what to do with my bag (just one and it met all TSA requirements, so it wouldn't have mattered how it travelled, but I wanted to make sure I wasn't being charged for both.) When I got to the counter, the agent was very polite and told me that I HAD paid for both bags.
I told her I only had the one bag and needed a refund on my carry on since I would be checking the only bag I had. She helpfully handed me a customer service number and told me to call at my earliest convenience to get the refund. I took the number and called as soon as I got home from my trip. When I called the customer service representative, I was met with an attitude as if I was putting her out by calling. I explained what had happened and that I was told I would receive a refund and she proceeded to tell me it was impossible to get a refund. Her exact words were, "We don't refund bags. Period."
I asked her if I could speak with her supervisor as I didn't feel it was fair to be charged for a service that I didn't use. She told me that she couldn't get a supervisor because they were all busy assisting other customers and that they would just tell me the same thing anyway. She said that there was no note on my account saying that I was overcharged for bags. I told her I could get in touch with the airport and speak with the woman who checked my bag in order to have her make a note. I told her I could even go back to the airport in case they needed to see my ID.
She told me that even if I did so, and the agent made a note, it was still not possible to get the refund because she didn't note it to the account at the time of travel. In essence, I spent about 20 minutes on the phone trying to understand why I was being charged for something I never used, and I was treated terribly. Not only that, but on both my flights the rides were very bumpy and the planes were dirty. The seats didn't recline and the plane smelled very badly of urine. Both my flights were delayed, and my bag was on the wrong turnstyle when I arrived back to DFW.
The people I sat next to were so upset about how delayed the flight was and that we didn't receive any compensation for it, and then they found one of their bags on the turn-style for the Oakland flight, and the other bag at the Chicago flight turnstyle (which is where I found mine after an hour and a half of waiting for my bag). Overall, I am VERY disappointed with Spirit.
I planned on using Spirit again as I fly frequently since my husband lives in CA, and I didn't really mind that they were unorganized and a little dirty because I thought the price would be worth it for only a three-hour flight, but when they are rude and basically STEAL money from you for a service you didn't receive BECAUSE they are unorganized, it is unacceptable. I will NEVER fly Spirit again and I would strongly discourage anyone else to.
Like many others, I am an avid traveller, both for business and pleasure. Having this lifestyle has taught me a lot about flexibility and patience along with the value of customer service. My background is in business and I have learned that those companies that place high importance on customer service are the ones left standing when others fail. I recently chose to experience Spirit Airlines for the first time. I was impressed by your ultra low cost carrier model and the flight routes. However, I am now convinced that the hassle, tears and utter disrespect caused by your company were not worth the cheap fare.
My younger sister and I chose to travel to Puerto Rico via Spirit Airlines. I flew from Boston with two layovers while she flew from Detroit with one layover. The trouble for her began when she forgot her phone in the car. Our mother ran it in to Spirit over 90 minutes prior to takeoff and spoke with a representative who said she would take it straight to my sister at her gate. The woman never appeared, nor was my sister paged. When I tried to contact Spirit customer service, I spoke with **, a manager in Bangalore about connecting me with Spirit baggage claim in Detroit.
He was completely powerless to give out a phone number accessible to anyone with online access or a phonebook! His recommendation was to look it up online myself – which I would have been happy to do if Spirit had not put me on a five hour layover! My mother tried calling from her end. It took over two hours and eight frustrating calls to find someone competent enough to find the phone. The trouble on my end started when I boarded my first flight. There was insufficient space provided for carry-on luggage, even though the airline encourages only having carry-on.
A flight attendant took my bag from me and asked my seat number, saying that she would take my bag and bring me a ticket. I assumed that she was placing my bag at the front of the plane. However, when she did not give me a ticket after takeoff, I became worried and asked what she had done with it. She had checked it, but she was not sure where it would turn up, nor did she have a tracking ticket for me. Her solution: Just deboard the plane during our layover, exit the terminal, find my bag at the luggage pick up, go through security again, and get back on the next flight, hopefully in time and having more space to store my bag.
When I exited the plane, I spoke with seven staff members and was appalled by the lack of customer service and of empowerment to help resolve the issue. I did end up going to baggage claim and speaking with ONE kind and helpful person in the Fort Lauderdale Spirit Baggage Claim. Unfortunately, he could not find my bag. Thus, I rushed back through security and boarded my plane, now worried that Spirit had managed to lose my carry-on bag. When we landed in Puerto Rico, we waited for an hour and thankfully, magically, my bag did appear – without a tag and with my outer clip stolen.
As I am on the road for nine months and the bag was 50% of my belongings, I was grateful. Losing a bag is common among all airlines so I let my anger go. However, I was soon to discover that the incompetent staff, rude attitudes and complete disrespect for clients run deep in the culture of Spirit Airlines. On our way home we arrived at the terminal in Puerto Rico almost two hours early to check-in in for my sister's flight home. She was to depart San Juan at 3:15 am and my flight was around 6:58 am.
When we arrived we soon discovered that her flight to Fort Lauderdale had been cancelled. How did we discover this? By waiting in line for over four hours and hearing rumors. Not once did the Spirit staff find the decency to explain what was going on. When we finally made it to the front of the line, I watched, appalled, while **, a Spirit Customer Service Representative, allowed a friend of his to cut in front of us and check in, even though they had just arrived. (They gave each other a high-five while I asked why he was not serving us.) Why the long wait? Why the total lack of communication? Why the rude behavior? It certainly was not because they were short-staffed.
I counted five people standing around talking about their holidays behind the counter, while we waited. When we did finally speak with someone, she was going to put my sister, who graduated high school the week prior, on a tentative flight out of the country after me. I explained that we are family and that she must fly out before me or on the same flight, but not after because 1) she does not speak Spanish and 2) I had seen enough to know not to trust the competence of the Spirit staff.
When I called the customer service number, their only response was that they would fly her out within two days without making sure she was safe in a hotel and that all other information was up to the staff in the departing terminal. Wow. Spirit told me to leave my little sister alone in a country where she does not know the language and does not own a credit card. What a brilliant idea. After waiting for another two hours, we stood by the gate and prayed that she could get on standby for my flight. The staff did nothing to make sure she was moved to the front of the list as to not separate family. Thankfully, she was one of the last people to make it on.
Once in Fort Lauderdale, we tried to speak with a customer service representative again to find out what our options were. Strangely, there was no one who would take the time to help! We exited the terminal and went to the ticket counter where one person was kind enough to give us some advice. My flight back to Boston was delayed. Her flight to Detroit was delayed by over 45 minutes. My sister sat down on her confirmed seat to Detroit after a seven hour layover (please keep in mind that we cut our trip short in order for her to be back home in time for an event that evening, which she was forced to miss).
Moments later, another person appeared with the same seat assignment! My sister was pushed to tears for the third time that day. They escorted her off the plane and told her she was not even in the computer, even though Spirit had given her a ticket and told her she was good to go. Thankfully, a seat opened and she was able to go home. What would have happened if the flight was full? I am terrified to even think about it. As a working professional and as a family person, I am utterly disgusted by the behavior and the deplorable treatment of customers exhibited by the vast majority of the Spirit staff.
As one who regularly provides travel advice to many people, I am positive of only one thing when it comes to Spirit Airlines: This is the worst company (not just airline) that I have ever come in contact with and whatever a customer might "save" monetarily will be lost through the airline wasting their customer's time and treating them with less dignity than a piece of expendable furniture. It is my hope that you as the CEO will take this seriously and begin to change the culture of the organization. Great airlines are needed and you have some of the infrastructure in place. Now act like you care for continued business.
FOLLOW-UP: Spirit Airlines did respond with an apology stating that this is not normal behavior for the airline. No concessions were made to rectify how we were treated. Strangely, the letter was never finished... the sentence trailed off and the last two letters of the mail read "fu". Coincidence? I think not. What a disappointing company.
MIRAMAR, FLORIDA -- On Saturday, March 8 I contacted Spirit Customer Service to change a flight that was previously booked. The reason for the change was due to my Mother having a physical health issue that impaired her ability to walk. The original flight was booked a week ago to Florida and my Mother's vacation was scheduled to March 17. Due to severe pain in my Mother's leg and back, her vacation was abruptly changed since she had required a Flight for immediate return to Chicago. You're probably wondering why my Mother didn't choose to go to a Hospital in Florida or be seen by a Doctor in Florida.
My Mother is elderly and the type of person that doesn't feel comfortable dealing with strange doctors or healthcare providers. While speaking with your Spirit representative, I had my Mother on conference and provided details about my Mother's emergency situation. I expressed the need for wheelchair assistance due to my Mother's immobility. During the flight/ticket booking phase, your Spirit rep informed me the charge was $268, I was also on the Spirit website with a confirmed ticket price of $253. The Spirit rep advised me the price is the price for $268 including a baggage check fee.
I explained to the rep the fee of $253 which included the baggage check fee. The Spirit rep placed me on hold and then came back to advise there will be a "One-time courtesy" adjustment. Due to nature of my call, reason for changing flight information and after dealing with your Rep; it got me thinking. Your airlines doesn't seem to take into consideration emergency situations where one's health is a factor for changing a flight. I called your airlines for assistance but after speaking to your rep and had I known, I would have never wasted my time calling Spirit to reschedule and just done it online without the hassle.
This simply goes to show that your airlines don't have any consideration about a person's extenuating circumstances and seems more money hungry. I will never book a flight with Spirit Airlines ever again and tell all of my friends, family and business associates never to consider using your airlines for their travelling purposes either. I am extremely disgusted with the way your company handled this situation. Granted your Spirit rep started to consider my Mother's needs after we expressed the urgency for flight change and accommodations needed.
If I would have never mentioned the price from the internet your airlines we would have been overcharged for the flight. Seems to me that your airlines does this to many customers when flight changes are needed but until a person like myself references the price your airlines provide via Spirit airlines vs. Spirit rep things change. I shake my head at your company with disgust, I will be contacting the Ripoff Report and will definitely blog about this experience on social media. I hate it when a company overcharges for services, especially for people that don't know any better.
Buyers beware, I think not. It's more of buyer will be aware after I inform others. Especially after all the talk of airline issues in the news with the bigger companies, I would have thought your airlines would be on the up and up. Disgusted.
WESTFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS -- I decided to book Spirit Airlines after reading so many negative reviews. I am a frequent flier but the Non-stop round trip ticket price from BOS-MYR was unbelievably low. I was first taken aback by the baggage fees but then decided it was till worth the savings and decided to suck it up. Then I couldn't believe that you actually had to pay to reserve an actual seat. Again, I sucked it up and waited to be assigned our seats. I arrived at the airport 2 hours before my flight and all went well. I started thinking "wow, this airline isn't that bad". My family and I board the flight and we were pretty impressed with the interior look of the plane.
It was a newer aircraft and looked very clean. I sit down and again I was taken aback this time by the seat space and also the fact that the seats do not recline AT ALL. We were cramped in like cattle. Then minutes before takeoff the real nightmare begins. The Captain announces over the intercom that there is a document issue and we would be delayed by 10 minutes. Awe, not so bad! 20 minutes later the Captain is back on the intercom telling us that he has bad news for us and there was a problem with the personnel and the flight had to be cancelled. They ordered us all of the plane and advised us to all go back to the ticket counter.
Since we were at the back of the plane the line was huge. We were advised that we had two options: Get a full refund or book on another flight with them in the near future. Another flight in the future not this date but the earliest was three days away. I called the customer service number and inquired if I could get a refund over the phone to prevent the lengthy wait in line with my two small crying children. The customer service agent told me he couldn't issue a refund because the flight was in the air and was only 10 minutes delayed. Are you kidding me there were 200 passengers in line - there was no plane in the air.
So, after waiting 3 hours in line for my refund I was offered a $50 voucher to be used on Spirit within 60 days. Are you kidding me? I told them to keep their voucher because I would be filing a complaint. This cancellation has cost me 100's in prepaid ticketed events that I had pre-purchased for my family. I also had a prepaid Auto Rental that I have lost money on as well as one night hotel for not cancelling within 72 hours. There was absolutely no compassion shown by any of the employees at the airport or on the phone. This was not a weather related or mechanical cancellation but a straight up error by your company.
Here I am typing this E-Mail as my 2 small children are crying in the background because Spirit Airlines ruined our vacation. How can you offer me a $50 voucher and have no compassion is beyond me! I will be looking forward to hearing from you regarding this serious problem.
Another thing I have noticed that when their flights have been delayed (or cancelled) the info through flightstatus.com and tripit.com does not update -- the cancelled flight was still showing On Time three hours later. I guess they don't have much incentive to make timely updates of bad news.
MIRAMAR, FLORIDA -- I have traveled internationally for business and pleasure for the last 20 years extensively and I have to confess, Spirit Airlines is perhaps the worst airline I have ever flown with or had dealings with. My disappointment initially started when I booked a flight for my husband and myself to Costa Rica. Your website is both frustrating and time consuming for your consumer. Every single thing the customer may want to do, for example, sit with their husband on a flight is all at an extra charge! We persisted and finally had a booking. Booking reference ** and departed on March 24, 2013 and returned to San Jose to fly home to Orlando on March 29, 2013.
On arrival at our gate for our departing flight - Flight 756, departing at 12.30 PM, we settled in for a wait before boarding. Over the intercom came the repeated message, that Spirit Airlines were seeking passengers to step off the flight in return for a "FREE ROUND TRIP TICKET TO ANYWHERE SPIRIT FLIES" in return for taking the 1 am flight to Orlando later that night.
Initially we ignored the message, but after the 9-10th request we went to the desk to inquire if the offer was really as good as it sounded and were reassured that not only would we receive a voucher for a free flight, but a hotel room close to the airport, meal voucher and transportation to and from the airport. We were also assured that our suitcases would be available. After much discussed with the Spirit Airlines staff we decided to avail of the offer which was our mistake. We were issued the vouchers and guided to collect our luggage! Well we would have collected our luggage except it was not available! But in great 'Spirit' fashion your ground crew did not care!
"Oh well Ms **, sorry about that." We were now faced with 10-hour wait and NO personal items. A cab fare and $150 later spent at Walmart we finally had what we needed to spend the waiting time comfortably before our return to the airport for the 1 am flight. It would take too long to explain to you the ridiculous screening undertaken by Spirit before boarding the flight, not TSA, not security, but Spirit Airlines and from what we could see the main purpose of the exercise was to ensure passengers had no drinks or food so they would be forced to spend more money with the your airline on board.
I am surprised at this stage you don't charge for water or using the restroom but sure this day us coming and fast!
Once home we called Spirit to make our "free round trip booking to anywhere that Spirit flies" only to be told that the dates we wanted to fly were black out dates! Imagine our surprise when we heard this as this had not been part of any discussion or information provided by ANY Spirit staff member in San Jose. We waited a few weeks and called again to meet our booking deadline, and spoke with Customer Service on 5-20-13 for over 1 hour and 30 minutes to try to get a schedule a flight to use our 'free voucher'.
I provided the customer service representative with over 9 different options as far in the future as February 2014 to try to find dates that we could fly. After almost an hour he finally found some dates (not the dates we wanted to fly) and we secured the times. When it came to the final booking your Customer Service representative advised we would have to pay $468.00 for the booking! I inquired "Why do we have to pay this amount? we were advised it was a "FREE ROUND TRIP TICKET TO ANYWHERE SPIRIT FLIES."
Your customer service representative went on to advise me that the fare was $73.00 per person and the remaining fees we had to pay were taxes! Free round trip flight.. seriously! There is NOTHING free about Spirit and we should have known better than to have trusted you or any of your employees of this airline.


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Arizona Coyotes
Shane Doan offers up a new lockout proposal
Coyotes captain Shane Doan understands that desperate times often call for desperate measures.
A 17-year NHL veteran, Doan has already suffered through one lockout back in 2004-2005, and knows the league's latest work stoppage is headed for a similar fate.
Speaking candidly with Todd Walsh of Fox Sports Arizona this week at the Ice Den in Scottsdale, the face of the Coyotes franchise suggested that if mediation doesn't clear matters up between the owners and NHL Players Association, it might be time to turn to a different party: the general managers.
"On the players side, having the vast majority of players involved helps everyone understand what's going on," Doan told Walsh. "I think it could help to have guys that the players admire on the management side."
As Doan pointed out in the interview, several current general managers have playing experience in the league, including Ken Holland, Dean Lombardi, Paul Holmgren and Mike Gillis.
"These are guys that understand the game and understand nuances of the CBA [collective bargaining agreement] and how it works and how it affects the game," said Doan. "And, I think that it's important to listen to them.
"These are the guys that live it every day. Their job is to live inside the system. They're the guys that have to make the tough decisions and deal with it. I think they'd have the best understanding of the system."
That outlet might be necessary sooner rather than later for the league's players. Thursday, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly issued a statement saying that despite two days of mediation between owners and representatives of the NHLPA, the two sides are still far apart on a new CBA deal.
The NHL lockout has now reached Day 76.


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Girls Twin Size Beds
Ivy League Cherry Twin/Twin Step Loft Bunk with Chest and DeskSALE $1,444.00
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Belmar White 4 Pc Twin/Full Bunk BedSALE $888.00
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Pink Cottage White Loft Bed with Slide and TentSALE $499.00
Creekside Stone Wash Twin/Full Bunk BedSALE $575.00
Belmar Black 3 Pc DaybedSALE $575.00
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Belle Noir Dark Merlot 3 Pc Canopy DaybedSALE $577.00
Belle Noir Champagne 4 Pc Twin Canopy BedSALE $577.00
Every girl needs a first-rate bed. At Rooms To Go, we offer a large selection of quality twin beds for girls. Our inventory includes classic bed designs, such as poster, panel, and sleigh beds, as well as unique twin bed styles, like canopy, bookcase, and daybed varieties. We also offer novelty beds and specialty beds from our Disney bedroom collections.
In addition to twin bed style, we also offer enough color and graphic choices to fit any girl's tastes. With an abundance of color options, our girls twin beds frames range from basic blacks and whites to vibrant hues of blue, green, purple, pink, and red. We also offer deep finishes, such as pine, merlot, cherry, and cinnamon. Some of our girls twin beds include designs that incorporate well-loved animated characters, as well.
If you have a little princess, consider getting her a scrolled metal carriage-style bed or a majestic canopy bed for girls. For a more traditional option, discover a poster bed frame made from wood solids. For a twin bed with a backboard, look at our selection of panel beds. Whether you seek simple and understated or fun and novel, we have the ideal twin bed for your daughter.


text:
Rangers Vs. Coyotes
7:00pm, Madison Square Garden
Rangers Record: 19-13-1
Devils Record: 14-9-6
Well after last nights
heroic come from behind victory against the leagues elite team we really saw
the resiliency of this Rangers club. The Penguins were absolutely dominant for
2 periods yet the Blueshirts, behind strong team defense and Hank, made it to
the third trailing by only 1 and the rest was history.
So tonight's recipe for
success will be similar, as Phoenix plays an aggressive fore-checking style
like the Rangers and Penguins. The
Blueshirts have faired quite well against Phoenix when they have come to town,
but the Coyotes will be playing with a chip on their shoulder as the Devils
shut them out last night in Jersey.
So with Callahan out for
a likely 6 weeks, the boys in blue have to step it up; Especially from Gaborik
who has only 1 goal in his last 6 games.
As for Callahan's defensive and special team skills they will look to
the captain to step in.
Early talk was that
Henrik will be in net, but i believe this could be a good game to get Biron in
the mix as Torts will not want him on the shelf too long.


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Artists Artist: Jean Giraud
Artist Jean Giraud
Available series in store category "Comic books"
Jean Giraud (AKA Gir, Moebius) in the
" Jean Giraud lives one of the most interesting double lives in comics history. Under his own name, he is the artist of the legendary 'Blueberry' western series, and under the pseudonym of Moebius, he is one of the most innovative artists of the 20th century. After having followed..." [ Read more ]


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Beloit, WI -- The Beloit College Women's Basketball team, and particularly Kandace Fox, had Senior Night in Flood Arena spoiled by Carroll University, who used a big first-half run to propel them to a 74-62 win in the home finale.
Carroll led from the opening tip but after going up by six points at 13:38 the Bucs fought back and pulled to within 19-18 at the 9:06 mark. The Pioneers then took off on what-proved-to-be the game-changing run, a 20-4 burst over five-plus minutes that gave them a 39-22 with just under four minutes left in the half. Beloit chipped awa a little in the final minutes and trailed 41-30 at the break.
The Buccaneers got back within 44-36 just over three minutes into the second half but a 7-0 CU run put them back up by 15 with 15:04 left and Beloit never got the deficit under double figures the rest of the way. The largest lead was 19 at 68-49 with 6:51 remaining. A closing 9-1 run by the Bucs got them as close as ten with 31 seconds left before Carroll hit two free throws and closed it out.
Fox, the squad's lone senior, had 23 points in her final game in Flood Arena, 19 in the first half. She added five assists. Lauren McNanna had ten points and six rebounds while Lana Wieseman scored nine with a team-high seven boards.
The Buccaneers close out the 2012-13 season on Saturday afternoon at nationally-ranked Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa. Tipoff is at 1:00 p.m.


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50 Years Ago: The Beatles Release Their First Single, 'Love Me Do'
Not all cultural revolutions take place overnight. Some begin with little fanfare and take a while to gather steam. That's exactly what happened on Oct. 5, 1962, when the Beatles released their first single, 'Love Me Do,' in Great Britain exactly 50 years ago today.
Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney a few years earlier, 'Love Me Do' was one of four songs the Beatles performed during their successful audition for George Martin several months earlier and slated for their debut single. However, Martin was dissatisfied with drummer Pete Best, who was subsequently fired.
His replacement, Ringo Starr, had barely had time to rehearse with the band by the time of their first session on Sept. 4. Martin asked that they re-record the song a week later with studio musician Andy White on drums. Starr played the tambourine. Still, the version with Starr behind the kit was chosen by their label, EMI, as the single, with White's version used for the American release in the spring of 1964.
Although it hardly ranks as one of their best songs, 'Love Me Do' is noted for John Lennon's harmonica part, inspired by Delbert McClinton's playing on Bruce Channel's 'Hey Baby,' a big hit that summer. It also resulted in an added bonus. With no overdubbing, Lennon's harmonica playing meant that Paul McCartney had to sing the a capella title line at the end of the verse by himself. Nerves caused McCartney's voice to shake, which only made the girls scream even more.
'Love Me Do' reached No. 17 on the British charts, an unspectacular but respectable spot for an unknown group from Liverpool. But it was their second single, 'Please Please Me,' released in January 1963, that rocketed up the charts and kicked off the phenomenon that became known as 'Beatlemania.'
Watch the Beatles Perform 'Love Me Do'


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Simply Marv-elous [9:27 AM]
Buffalo News reports: 'From Canton to Western New York to all the pockets of transplanted Buffalonians around the country, Levy's Hall of Fame induction Saturday was a celebration of Bills fandom and the man who led the team to its golden era.'
Levy notes importance of steps along the way [9:26 AM]
Buffalo News reports: 'His goal was to get his team to prepare the best it could each day, to get the players to get the most out of themselves, to leave everything they had out on the field. If they did all those things, there's a good chance winning would result.'
For the record: Text of Marv Levy's acceptance speech [9:25 AM]
Buffalo News reports: '"To know the game is great. To play the game is greater. But to love the game is the greatest of them all."'
Bills still not passing the protection test [9:24 AM]
Buffalo News reports: 'For the Bills, Saturday's gathering against the Cleveland Browns bared that the running game is making progress and the defense is solid, but the pass protection, which allowed 11 "sacks" (defenders touched but were not allowed to tackle the quarterbacks), needs work. The outcome was a very ambiguous 30-12 Bills loss, but the score was secondary. The primary reason for the scrimmage at Sox Harrison Stadium was evaluation.'
Williams shows Lombardi's toughness; does he have his touch? [9:23 AM]
Buffalo News reports: 'The point of this story? It's that it isn't clear whether Gregg Williams knows when to play 'em and when hold 'em.'
Brown's ejection leaves Bills feeling blue [9:21 AM]
Buffalo News reports: 'Brown and Cleveland Browns rookie defensive tackle Gerard Warren were ejected for fighting late in the controlled scrimmage at Edinboro University, and Brown's loss was felt immediately. Brown was replaced by rookie tackle Marques Sullivan and he and lineman Robert Hicks had a difficult time keeping the Browns' defenders away from quarterback Rob Johnson.'
Levy carved greatness with sharp intellect [8:30 AM]
Canton Repository reports: 'Perhaps better than any, Marv Levy typifies what a Hall of Famer is. The former head coach of the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs doesn't just break the stereotype of dumb jocks. He shatters it with a set of encyclopedias.'
Levy inducted into Hall [7:32 AM]
Chicago Tribune reports: '"It's been a long trip from the corner of 71st and Stony Island to Canton, Ohio. I wouldn't have missed it for the world. Every step has been a joyous journey accompanied by remarkable companions."'
Warren, Brown ejected after tussle [6:22 AM]
Erie Times News reports: 'The melee didn't sit well with the first-year head coaches, Gregg Williams of the Bills and Butch Davis of the Browns. "We need to improve the discipline aspect,'' said Williams, who was an assistant with the Tennessee Titans before replacing Wade Phillips in Buffalo this season.'
Four-year Super Bowl run makes for many memories [6:13 AM]
Canton Repository reports: '"There seems to be an appreciation in the difficulty of going back to the Super Bowl and what those teams accomplished to get there," Levy said.'
Spielman, other former players show respect for Class of 2001 enshrinees [6:12 AM]
Canton Repository reports: 'I hold Marv Levy in the highest respect. His consistency as a person ... he is a guy I've not known a long time, but it's felt like I've known him my whole life...He treated his players like professionals, and he knew what to expect from us. In turn, we knew what we would get from him."'
Scrimmage a plus for Browns [6:10 AM]
Akron Beacon Journal reports: 'Overall, the Browns were pleased with the way things went -- even though Buffalo's first-team offense opened the scrimmage with a nine-play, 65-yard drive that ended with Shawn Bryson's 1-yard touchdown run.'
Positive vibes start with Couch [6:09 AM]
Akron Beacon Journal reports: 'The defense got pushed around pretty good on the opening drive. Davis said the team lacked the necessary tempo -- but it's worth wondering what they expected in a live scrimmage.'
Levy never at loss for words [6:07 AM]
Akron Beacon Journal reports: 'He is the master of the one-liner, who while trying to shake his Buffalo Bills out of a 22-game road losing streak posed the question: Why did the Nazis fail to rule the world despite having such a powerful war machine? "Because Hitler couldn't win on the road."'
Browns impress in scrimmage vs. Bills [6:06 AM]
Lorain Morning Journal reports: 'The defense sacked Bills quarterbacks 11 times and Tim Couch completed 10 of 14 passes during a full contact scrimmage yesterday before 8,537 fans in Sox Harrison Stadium. Technically, the Browns won 30-12, but the scrimmage was not about keeping score.'
Davis takes advantage of players' strengths [6:05 AM]
Lorain Morning Journal reports: 'A fight broke out when Bills tackle Ruben Brown took exception to remarks by cornerback Daylon McCutcheon. Brown weighs 304 pounds, McCutcheon 180. McCutcheon did not back down. He didn't have to. Teammates Keith McKenzie and Gerard Warren jumped into the fray as players from both teams joined in.'
Hall class about grit, not glamour [6:03 AM]
Lorain Morning Journal reports: 'He said he'll likely be coming back to Canton in the near future for the enshrinement of three of his former players -- quarterback Jim Kelly, running back Thurman Thomas and defensive end Bruce Smith.'
Shuffled line exposes weakness of the Bills [5:28 AM]
D and C reports: 'Based on what happened in yesterday's scrimmage against the Cleveland Browns, the Bills still aren't ready. They are, however, getting closer.'
Bills' offense sent scrambling for answers [5:27 AM]
D and C reports: 'Had quarterbacks been live targets in yesterday's scrimmage against the Cleveland Browns -- you know, like they are in real NFL games -- Johnson would have been limping, frowning and his snowy white uniform would have been covered in mud and blood.'
Modest Fisher establishes his case with three sacks [5:25 AM]
D and C reports: '"I think I showed the coaches that I could play a little bit, but none of it really matters, it was just a glorified practice," he said. "Next week it will be a little more live and I have to continue to improve over the next 3-4 weeks to prove they should keep me around on the 53-man roster."'
Henry impresses in scrimmage vs. Browns [5:24 AM]
D and C reports: '"He brought an attitude to the running game the same way the offensive line brought an attitude to the run game," Coach Gregg Williams said. "That is, get up in the hole, get north and south."'
Levy takes place with NFL legends [5:23 AM]
D and C reports: '"Where would you rather be, than right here, right now?" said Polian, the former Bills general manager who hired Levy in 1986. "Marv, there is no place in the world we would rather be than right here, right now with you."'
Levy shines during his finest hour [5:22 AM]
D and C reports: 'In 14 1/2 minutes, he hit the high points of an extraordinary 76-year journey and the people who made it possible. To paraphrase Churchill, this may have been Levy's finest hour.'
Henry surpasses expectations in scrimmage against Browns [8:50 PM]
AP reports: '"It seems I'm made to play in this league."'
Ex-Bills pay homage to Levy [2:30 PM]
North County Times reports: '"He's a respected leader, kind of a grandfather type, but knows his business. He's very articulate, one of those guys that you want to listen to because he always coming up with a great analogy, great story. I can't say enough about the guy."'
Listen to Marv's induction [11:58 AM]
BuffaloBills.com reports: Buffalo Mayor Anthony Masiello declared Saturday, August 4th Marv Levy Day in the city. Listen in to the enshrinement ceremony (11:30 a.m., ESPN2) as Levy becomes the third Bill to enter the Hall of Fame...
Marv Levy: Hall of Famer [11:57 AM]
BuffaloBills.com reports: Bills coach Marv Levy was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on August 4th, 2001. Levy is the third member of the Bills organization to enter the Hall, and is the winningest coach in team history and is already a member of the Buffalo Bills Wall of Fame...
Sam Cowart Q & A [11:35 AM]
BuffaloBills.com reports: How will you carry over your skills from last year to this year? A: "This year hopefully I can rebound and have a good of a year this year as I did last year. I hope I can do better...
The Bills take extra protection [11:33 AM]
BuffaloBills.com reports: In light of the recent heat related death of Minnesota Vikings offensive tackle Korey Stringer, Head Coach Gregg Williams addressed the media yesterday about what steps he and the Buffalo Bills coaches are taking to help reinsure safety for their players.
Bills vs. Browns Scrimmage [11:32 AM]
BuffaloBills.com reports: Saturday's scrimmage between the Bills and the Browns will be different than a normal NFL game, as according to Bills coach Gregg Williams, each team will get 5 different series of plays starting from their 35-yard line, with 12 plays to try to score a touchdown. Should the 12th play put either team inside their opponents 10-yard line, the offense will get another three chances to put the ball in the end zone.
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GPS is the world's first satellite navigation system. It was developed by the U.S. Government's Department of Defense, who gave GPS its official name: the NAVSTAR system (Navigation Satellite Timing and Ranging).
GPS consists of 3 key elements:
Satellites in space
Monitoring Stations on Earth
And last but not least, you and your GPS receiver.
The satellites
GPS has 24 satellites that circle Earth in six orbital paths, sending out radio signals from their position in high orbit, 12,600 miles/ 20,300 kilometres above our heads. Being so high, each satellite's signal covers a large area of the earth's surface and their orbits have been 'choreographed' so that your GPS receiver back on Earth is always getting signals from at least 4 satellites, the number you need to pinpoint your location.
The monitoring stations
There are 5 monitoring stations: the master station in Colorado Springs, USA and four unmanned stations. One on Hawaii, the other three in remote locations as close to the equator as possible: Ascension Island in the Mid Atlantic; Kwajalein in the Pacific and Diego Garcia Atoll in the Indian Ocean. The 4 unmanned stations receive constant data from the satellites and forward it to the master control station, which 'corrects' the data and then sends corrected data back up to the GPS satellites.
GPS signals
Your GPS receiver picks up signals from GPS satellites to work out your location. The last, important step in the process is of course you making use of that information. Each satellite transmits low power radio signals on different frequencies for different users. The signals travel by so-called 'line of sight'. This means they pass through clouds, glass and plastic, but not usually through solid objects, such as buildings.
Put simply, your TomTom device consists of two distinct elements: the software and the hardware.
A small computer inside your device ensures the software runs smoothly. Depending on the device you've got, the software is to be found on either the SD card or the hard disk. The hard disk itself can store some 20GB of data.
A 'boot loader' in the computer searches the hard disk or SD card for the software and your map data. It then transfers the software to the 64MB internal RAM memory in your TomTom device and starts the software. Only that part of your map that's actually needed at that moment is then loaded. When you consider that in 1991 an IBM personal computer ran on only 16MB, you realize what a powerful little device your TomTom actually is!
A Linux system in the device makes sure the hardware functions properly. The hardware itself starts the GPS and the navigation application. The navigation application then reads whatever settings you have installed, such as your preferred voice and your last chosen route.
The GPS module in your TomTom device makes sure that the satellite signal is translated into co-ordinates pinpointing your exact location on the map.
Once everything has been 'started up', the GPS module in your device calculates where you are from the satellite signals it receives. The satellites constantly send out signals and the module picks up those that are nearest to it.
As you know, the GPS module works out its position by calculating its distance from at least four different satellites. But while your TomTom device may know its distance from these satellites, it still doesn't know exactly where you are until it also knows where the satellites are positioned. Even then it's not straightforward, as each satellite is constantly moving in orbit around the earth.
This last problem is solved by the fact that the GPS signal the satellites send out contains so-called 'almanac' information. Information about such things as the altitude of the satellite, which satellite it is, its position in relation to the other satellites, and so forth. Using this information, your GPS module can translate these signals into co-ordinates, which it then sends on to the navigation application.
Which is where your GPS module really comes into its own. Inside the module is a small, highly sensitive GPS chip that can receive and register signals even when it's in very inaccessible locations, such as down narrow alleys, amongst high buildings or in dense woods. Which obviously greatly improves the accuracy and consistency of your TomTom device.
The world is made up of countless millions of roads, from huge motorways to quaint country lanes. The mapping of all these routes, as well as all the various street directions and other details that affect them, is carried out by governments and other statutory organizations across the globe. Their maps form the basis of all maps, including the digital maps for your TomTom.
The advantage of digital mapping
Digital maps can be updated
Apart from the fact that traditional maps are less convenient and less interactive and therefore less efficient than digital maps, one of the main reasons traditional paper maps are being superseded by digital maps, is that a paper map cannot be updated. On average, 5% of roads are altered in some way every year. So with a paper map that's only 2 years old, you have close to a 1 in 10 chance of being wrongly directed with each reading you take! In fact, given the time-lag between getting the data for the maps and then drawing them up, getting them typeset, printed, distributed and so on; a new paper map is already out of date before the ink on it is dry. The on-going challenge to digital mapmakers is to reduce the delay between a change occurring in the road system and its appearing in the map in your navigation system. The leading digital map suppliers (there are several, of which TeleAtlas and Navteq are the largest) employ literally hundreds of people to meet this challenge and make your digital map as up-to-date and accurate as possible.
More than just directions..
Even the earliest maps enhanced their basic cartography with additional information they hoped would be of interest to their readers. So with medieval maps you often see written across areas on the edges that were as yet unexplored warnings like 'Hic sunt dracones' meaning: 'Here be dragons". The huge range of information digital maps can provide (with traffic signs, prohibited manoeuvres, vehicle restrictions, post/zip codes, house number ranges, points of interest, tourist information, speed camera data, and much more) is just another example of how much more user-friendly they are than traditional maps. So whereas even the best traditional maps simply show you where you are, and perhaps indicate road signage etc (as it was at the time of printing), digital maps take the information you get to another level altogether:
With route calculation – the best route according to the driver's criteria (speed, scenery, fuel-consumption, etc), distances, points of interest, and so on.
With route guidance – real-time information, for example on traffic flow (and non-flow!) and safety cameras; and support, for example with negotiating complex intersections, preparing you in advance for turn warnings; and much more.
Keeping digital maps up to date
There are 3 main ways to collect the data to develop and update digital maps:
Fieldwork. Data collectors driving the road networks of the world, recording changes and discrepancies.
Analysis of aerial and satellite imagery.
Customer feedback. At TomTom, for example, any map feedback from customers via the website are reported to TeleAtlas, who look into every single case and , where appropriate, actually send inspectors out to physically check the locations.
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Posted by CURE:ROBERT | 20/04/15
The Twilight Sad new single 'It Never Was The Same' is now available to pre-order. The limited run of AA-side vinyl will feature Robert Smith's cover of 'There's A Girl In The Corner'. You can hear the whole song here https://soundcloud.com/thetwilightsad Vinyl is priced ... View Story
Posted by CURE:ROBERT | 12/12/14
The Cure will be performing a small clutch* of 'Happy Hits' at 'Brian and Robins Christmas Compendium of Reason' on Thursday 18th and Friday 19th December - Two great nights of science, music, comedy and wonder, including charm quarks, strange quarks and confusion, plus Very Special Guests - A few ... View Story
Posted by CURE:ROBERT | 07/11/14
"DUE TO PHENOMENAL DEMAND THE CURE HAVE ADDED A THIRD AND FINAL DATE - TUESDAY 23RD DECEMBER - FOR IMMEDIATE ONSALE" http://bit.ly/TheCureLdnDec2014 http://www.eventim.co.uk/tickets.html?fun=erdetail&doc=erdetaila&erid=1290982&affiliate=HAL Maximum Tickets is 4 tickets per household ... View Story


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Adjunct Hoodie (Women's)
Out of Stock Product Number: 30974
You can wear the women's Horny Toad Adjunct Hoodie as comfortably in the Rocky Mountains as you can the streets of Tokyo — and all places in between. Organic cotton, yarn-dyed colors harmonize in a twill plaid on the outside. Solid, super soft broadcloth on the inside. Full zip front with an extended collar on the hood and handy button flap chest pockets are cozy and travel-worthy attributes.
- Hood with extended collar
- Full-front zipper with kissing welts
- Angled front and back yoke seams
- Button-flap chest pockets
- Single-button cuffs
- Rounded hem with side gussets
Gender: Women's
Weight: 0.25 lbs.
Material: 98% Organic Cotton/2% Spandex
Technologies: [Two-Layer Crumble]
Two-Layer Crumble
Season: F14
Vendor ProductId: H1251204
Review ProductId: 30974
Reviewed by 2 customers
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Comments about Horny Toad Adjunct Hoodie (Women's):
I like the hoodie. It is soft. It may run a little small but not crazy small. I just think a hoodie should be less fitted so I say a little small.
- Very Comfortable
- Washes well
- Nothing
Best Uses
I loved this shirt so much I bought both colors. They are now my very favorite shirts/sweatshirts.


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Tag Archives: Barbara's Brides
Austin Lake Wedding at Nature's Point by Barbara's Brides
Oh what a happy day this was. I help couples create all different kinds of weddings that reflect who they are. When Mimi contacted me she needed someone to step in and bring her ideas together so that their wedding … Continue reading


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My dad and I like taking photo's together. Here are some photo's my I took while on a day trip with my dad. These were taking up by Dayton
My husband and I also like to go for motorcycle rides in the summer. This was a trip to Little Goose Dam last summer.


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Three years ago - the same year that he was classified as morbidly obese - Arthur Miller IV's asthma was so bad he was hospitalized on life support for three days. Even last spring, the 292-pound New Orleans teen was so incapacitated that his family needed a handicapped-parking placard when driving him around.
At Compuware Corp. in Detroit, software developer Dean Politis, 39, struggled for years with severe obesity. He tipped the scales at nearly 400 pounds. Fortunately, his firm emphasizes physical fitness and healthy eating by providing a partially subsidized gym, nutrition and fitness classes.
A 65-year-old mechanical engineer from Boulder, CO, Kent Rieske shed more than 40 pounds after his doctor warned him about high blood pressure. "After doing some research, I went on a high-fat and high-protein [but low-carbohydrate] diet that really seemed to work for me. I know I look better these days after losing 40 pounds, and I certainly feel better."
Two years ago, Kyle Williams was a 16-year-old who stood 5 feet, 5 1/2 inches tall and weighed nearly 300 pounds. "People picked on me so much with fat jokes I became a quiet type," he says.
When Leigh Smith turned 60, his doctor warned that he was badly overweight at 268 pounds. High blood pressure and high cholesterol were likely to shorten his life.
Soon after paralegal Lynn Brown of Salisbury, Md., had her second child in the mid-1990s, she started putting on weight. Within 18 months, she recalls, "I was 50 pounds heavier than I should have been, and I was miserable."
After two decades of obesity, Peggy Dixon had had enough. "I'd had my stomach stapled and I'd tried acupuncture, but nothing had worked,"says Dixon, 56, of Anchorage, AK. "And then one morning in February of 2001, I woke up and just said to myself: 'You're gonna do something about your obesity!'"
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ジョン ドラマニ マハマ
Supporters hold party souvenirs to cheer re-elected Ghanaian... ニュース写真お土産,アクラ,アフリカ,ガーナ,ジョン ドラマニ マハマ,会議,似姿,受け取る,喜び,大統領候補,大統領選挙,希望,手に持つ,支持者,政党,政治,政治集会,旗,横長,立候補者,選挙Photographer PIUS UTOMI EKPEICollection: AFP 2012 AFPSupporters hold party souvenirs to cheer re-elected Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama during a rally to accept his mandate at Kwame Nkrumah Circle in Accra on December 10, 2012. Local observers on December 10 urged respect for Ghana's election results giving victory to Mahama after the opposition alleged fraud in a nation trying to uphold its image as a model African democracy. According to the electoral commission, Mahama won with 50.70 percent of the votes cast, compared to opposition candidate Nana Akufo-Addo's 47.74 percent. With eight candidates in the race, more than 50 percent was needed to avoid a second-round runoff. AFP PHOTO / PIUS UTOMI EKPEI (Photo credit should read PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/AFP/Getty Images)


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ALL ROADS LEAD THROUGH THE ATLANTICImproving Against the Division Will Be Key
There is one huge hurdle that the Islanders have to clear to have a successful 2011-12 campaign. The beginning, the end and everything in between during this Islanders season will rest on how they fare against the rest of the Atlantic division (and in the on deck circle is injury, waiting to pounce). By beating the Rangers on Saturday night the Islanders successfully completed the first of 24 divisional games they will play this year.
It's no secret that the Atlantic is a tough division, if not the toughest in hockey. As the perennial doormat of the division, the Islanders need to make strides against teams they either cannot beat or have had trouble beating. Their records against the Flyers and Penguins are atrocious, even worse on the road. The Devils and Rangers are close rivals that always come ready for a fight. We've all heard the recitation of statistics a million times about how long it's been since the Islanders beat the Flyers. I'll go into some numbers later but I'll try not to further the beating of that dead horse.
The point I'm getting at is the sobering reality that despite all the optimism that comes with a new season, all the improvement you can expect out of an entire freaking roster of young and up and coming players, every other team in the Atlantic has improved or at least stood pat. Even if the other teams didn't significantly improve, there's still the mental hurdle that comes with failing against a team so much for so long.
As for their opponents, the Rangers added Brad Richards and as we saw Marian Gaborik will wreak havoc on defenses. The Flyers turned over the whole roster — make no mistake they replaced stars with stars — and finally may have a functioning All-Star caliber netminder in Ilya Bryzgalov. Regardless of Sidney Crosby's health and the fact that they stood pat, the Penguins are still the Penguins and every report out of Pittsburgh is that we're going to see a whole new, Evgeni Destroyer of Worlds Malkin this year. And the Devils? It's impossible to say what they'll be. They certainly won't be the last place horror show they were under John MacLean and it's too early to tell if they'll keep up with the best second half record pace they had at the end of last season. Chances are it'll be somewhere in between. And that "somewhere in between" is right in the wheelhouse of where the Islanders will be as well.
We know this Islander team isn't going to sit at the bottom of the conference all season — at least they shouldn't. But there's also a ceiling here. They're likely not winning this division by any stretch of the imagination. John Tavares has improved light years from where he was a year ago. Between Al Montoya and Evgeni Nabokov, the Islanders seem to have found some very solid netminding, now the rub is staying healthy. Having Mark Streit back and cranking at 100% has been enormous thus far. So we've seen the worst of them on opening night and, presumably, their best against the Lightning. Now the question is, what is the reality? It's probably somewhere in between the two — but where exactly is that point?
As much as we want to say this is the year, this is the playoff competitive team that will finally get over the hump after years of waiting it's hard to think that they'll be anywhere in the top six of the conference without taking care of business against their division. It's simply the nature of the schedule and league setup that all five teams in a division will not make the playoffs. As much as this team has seemingly improved from last year, there are two factors that above all will contribute to their success or failure this year. The looming factors are, in my opinion, the injury bug and divisional play.
If I'm Jack Capuano and staff, I'm doing whatever I can to find a way to beat the four teams that we play 30% of our games against. I can sit here and talk goaltending or how much the kids improved this summer all I want. Those will be difference makers this year for sure as we have seen but the beginning and end of the season is going to be how the Islanders handle their divisional opponents. 24 games: nearly a third of the entire season against four teams! There's a cumulative impact when you have prolonged and consistent troubles like the ones they have had against the Atlantic. This season will depend heavily on if the Islanders can beat the teams they have not been able to beat in recent years.
Past two seasons (not including Saturday's game):
vs. Devils: 4-6-2 overall (1-4-1 road)
vs. Rangers: 5-7-0 (2-4)
vs. Flyers: 1-10-1 (0-5-1)
vs. Penguins: 3-5-4 (0-5-1)
The first thing to notice about those numbers is that they don't have a winning record against any of those teams. Let me restate this for emphasis: the Islanders do not have a winning record the last two seasons against anyone in the division. They are a combined 13-26-7 against the division the last two seasons with a 3-18-3 road mark good for 28% and 12.5% win percentages, respectively. Compare that to their numbers against non-divisional opponents the last two seasons and I think you'll see my point.
The team's record against non-divisional opponents is 51-50-17 (43%) and 21-26-11 (36%) on the road. There's nothing scientific about this math and I know it's basic. But what really sticks out is that the Islanders are an NHL .500 team against non-divisional opponents the past two years! 20-game losing streak included! Being .500 alone will put you in the mix for the playoffs. It won't get you in, but it's a lot closer than the Islanders have been these last few years. From the numbers, they're 15% more likely to win any game, home or away, against non-divisional opponents. So study those gametapes and light a fire under them coach, the Rangers win was a big one but there are still 23 more to go.


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Metrosexual icons such as David Beckham and Christiano Ronaldo have inspired a new generation of men to spruce up their act and embrace the ever-growing range of grooming products designed with men in mind. Many of these products as likely to feature in style magazines, newspapers, on television and billboards, in the run up to Christmas. With retailers expecting sales to be brisker than last year (Centre for Retail Research, 2009), one might also expect the market for men's grooming products to follow suit. However, although Mintel (2007) estimated the overall market size for men's grooming products was a good-looking £806m, it still continued to exhibit unfulfilled potential.
The slow uptake of these products seems to be because of the continued identification of grooming and self-presentation practices with women and femininity. Harrison's (2008) visual semiotic analysis of male cosmetics advertised online by Studio5ive found that the organisation reframed mascara and eyeliner in masculine ways ('manscara'; 'guy-liner') in order to distinguish it from women's products. Those men who actively engaged with such products, risked being critiqued and rejected as non-masculine (hence accusations of homosexuality, effeminacy and narcissism) and so tended to invoke conventional masculinity signifiers (e.g. heterosexual prowess, self-respect etc.) in order to justify their consumption (Hall, 2009). The apparent difficulty men face in enjoying such hitherto feminine identity products shows how more conventional or 'hegemonic masculinities' (see: Connell, 1995; Connell & Messerschmidt, 2005) still remain culturally available and are likely to influence men's (and women's) consumption patterns this Christmas.
Analysing Discursive Constructions of 'Metrosexual' Masculinity Online: 'What does it matter, anyway?'
The Journal of Popular Culture
Men's Grooming Habits – UK – March 2007
UK Christmas retail sales to rise 1.9 pct