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The penultimate point of a grueling Miami Open final spoke volumes.
Top-ranked Novak Djokovic drew an exhausted Andy Murray into the net with a drop shot and then continued the torture by lobbing the ball into the glaring sun over the gangly Brit's outstretched racket.
The slender Serb followed that with a kick serve to Murray's backhand and countered the reply with a volley winner into the open court to seal a 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-0 physically draining 2-hour, 47-minute match to win his fifth title on Key Biscayne and second straight under scorching conditions Sunday afternoon.
Former Top 10 grinder, Brad Gilbert, now working courtside for ESPN, wrote a book entitled,...


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Fox Business: Market & Investing Debate
I recently visited with Melissa Francis on Fox Business News, along with two other panelists, to discuss the current market and investing strategies. My position currently is that holding cash in the short term is the best hedge against market volatility and uncertainty. Moreover, as I discussed with Liz Claman recently, the importance of "harvesting" profits from your portfolio cannot be overlooked. The issue is that if we don't sell from as markets rise we do not have capital to invest with following market declines.
In the discussion this point is taken way out of context. When I suggest holding cash it does not mean over the long term. The immediate rebuttable by long only invested portfolio managers is that cash loses out to inflation. This is true but only over a very long period of time, in the short term the losses to any potential short term inflation push will be far smaller than the potential loss from the markets. Increasing cash during periods of rising volatility and uncertainty reduces the potential loss of capital which is far harder to recover than a missed investment opportunity.
Also, towards the end of the debate I discuss the correlation between "asset classes." In today's investment market all assets tend to rise and fall together. When markets are rising all sectors tend to lift together and vice versa. My point is that "rotating" from offensive sectors such as technology to defensive sectors like staples will not protect your capital from a decline. While staples may decline less during a market rout than technology you will have sold a winning position (technology) and immediately made a losing investment. Holding the cash from the previous sale protects the gains.
Furthermore, the current "defensive" sector (staples, healthcare and utilities) have not been laggards but leaders during the recent rally. The "chase for yield" has pushed valuations of typically low valuation sectors to abnormally high levels. When the correction comes in force, sooner or later, these previously "defensive" plays are likely to be leaders during the decline. The same goes for high yield "junk" bonds. There are clearly signs of an asset bubble being formed in the "yield" plays (including MLP's and REITS) which will not end well at some point.
Let me clear - I am not saying, and have never implied, that you should sell everything and go hide in cash. That is just as imprudent as being fully invested in the stock market at all times. However, I am suggesting that you apply some basic risk management tools to your portfolio and reduce investment related risk when it greatly outweighs the potential for reward. This is the environment that we are in currently.
{youtube} siru6qCp4WA {/youtube}

subset: commoncrawl


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- Equipment World - http://www.equipmentworld.com -
Kraton Polymers increasing general price for polymers, compounds
Posted By Equipment World Staff On May 2, 2012 @ 10:13 am In Industry Briefs | No Comments
Kraton Polymers LLC is increasing its general price in North, Central and South America of $330/MT or 15 cpp, for all Kraton SIS and SIBS polymers and compounds.
Subject to the terms of any applicable contracts, these price increases will take effect June 1, 2012.
Article printed from Equipment World: http://www.equipmentworld.com
URL to article: http://www.equipmentworld.com/kraton-polymers-increasing-general-price/
Click here to print.
Copyright © 2012 Equipment World -- Development. All rights reserved.


text:
Check these out, too...
If you didn't get a chance to catch the show last night, don't fret—we've got a
list of winners (and our picks) for ya to peruse right here. Enjoy!
Best Hero
Bilbo Baggins, The Hobbit: An Unexpected
Journey (winner)
Snow White, Snow White and the Huntsman (GL's pick)
Iron Man, The Avengers
Batman, The Dark Knight Rises
Catwoman, The Dark Knight Rises
Hulk, The Avengers
Best Kiss
Emma Watson & Logan Lerman, The Perks
of Being a Wallflower (GL's pick)
Jennifer Lawrence & Bradley Cooper, Silver
Linings Playbook (winner)
Kara Hayward & Jared Gilman, Moonrise
Kerry Washington & Jamie Foxx, Django
Mila Kunis & Mark Wahlberg, Ted
Best Villain
Javier Bardem, Skyfall
Leonardo DiCaprio, Django Unchained
Marion Cotillard, The Dark Knight Rises
Tom Hardy, The Dark Knight Rises
Tom Hiddleston, The Avengers (winner
& GL's pick)
Shocking Moment
Anna Camp, Pitch Perfect (GL's pick)
Denzel Washington, Flight
Jamie Foxx & Samuel L. Jackson, Django
Unchained (winner)
Javier Bardem, Skyfall
Seth MacFarlane, Ted
Male Performance
Ben Affleck, Argo
Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
Channing Tatum, Magic Mike
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln (GL's pick)
Jamie Foxx, Django Unchained
Movie of the Year
The Avengers (winner & GL's pick)
The Dark Knight Rises
Django Unchained
Silver Linings Playbook
Female Performance
Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables
Emma Watson, The Perks of Being a
Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Mila Kunis, Ted
Rebel Wilson, Pitch Perfect (GL's
Breakthrough Performance
Eddie Redmayne, Les Miserables
Ezra Miller, The Perks of Being a
Quvenzhane Wallis, Beasts of the Southern
Rebel Wilson, Pitch Perfect (winner)
Suraj Sharma, Life of Pi (GL's pick)
Musical Moment
Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables
Channing Tatum, Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello, Kevin Nash & Adam Rodriguez, Magic Mike
Emma Watson, Logan Lerman & Ezra Miller, The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Anna Camp, Brittany Snow, Alexis Knapp, Ester Dean
& Hana Mae Lee, Pitch Perfect
(winner & GL's pick)
POSTED IN entertainment, movies, movies we love, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, MTV, Celebs, Emma Watson, Selena Gomez, Jennifer Lawrence


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text: It was great, my wife and I really enjoyed ourselves and got some great information. We are planning a kick starter campaign for ourselves and we will keep the group informed and let you know how it works out.- Ben On Sun, Mar 2, 2014 at 12:59 PM, Mark Danburg-Wyld <danburgwyld at gmail.com> wrote: > Mission accomplished! We had a couple of dozen people show up for the talk, > and five very informative panelists. I got several compliments afterwards > from attendees, everyone seems to have enjoyed it and learned a good deal. > Hopefully some of that will turn into additional people visiting the space > in the coming weeks as well. > Special thanks to James and Bob for printing up a bunch of EMS fobs to hand > out, to Clif for AV help, to Darrell for running the video cameras, and > most especially to Craig and Piotr for being on the panel. > We'll be figuring out how to splice the film together and get something to > post on EMS's youtube channel in the near-ish future. > Thanks, > Mark > On Mon, Feb 3, 2014 at 9:33 PM, Mark Danburg-Wyld <danburgwyld at gmail.com>wrote: >> I know, I send a lot of emails about this. Hey! Hey! Kickstarter Panel >> Discussion is UNDER A MONTH AWAY! March 2, 10-11:30am, at the downtown >> library! >> >> And I need help! (keep your snide comments to yourself! or not, if they're >> amusing enough...) >> >> Specifically, help in advertising the event. If you are part of a >> Eugene-centric email distribution list or online forum (other than this >> one) which would be an appropriate venue to publish info about the event, >> would you *please* push the event there? I'm asking early-ish in case your >> possible venue only publishes once a month or something. >> >> Also specifically, I need help in running the event. I would like to have >> a table set at the door with fliers about EMS or whatever other collateral >> we can come up with and a person or two to shake hands and talk to >> attendees about us. >> >> I would also love to have someone record the event - either video or just >> audio - for us to publish online afterwards. Photos? Sure, that's be great >> too! >> >> And finally, I've got the room for 30 minutes prior/post the scheduled >> time. There's not a lot to do for set-up/tear down, but a few extra hands >> helping would be appreciated. >> >> Let me know if you can help out with any of the above. >> >> Thanks! >> Mark >> -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://eugenemakerspace.com/pipermail/com.eugenemakerspace.discuss/attachments/20140302/da3359ff/attachment.html>


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Do you feel Ayurveda is the most comprehensive of traditional healthcare systems and could you explain what Ayurveda is as well?
Ayurvedic medicines have been proven to be have no side effects at all and have been practiced for thousands of years. So I feel we have to take the diagnostic systems from allopathy and there are other modern gadgets we have to use. But as far as treating the patients, once the diagnosis is done, it [Ayurveda] seems to be working very well. Again, you know, we can't be very fanatical about any system. We have to have a holistic approach to health because if we are fanatically attached to any one system, I think we will not be benefited the most. Definitely Ayurveda, I feel, has been time tested for many ages and it has helped millions of people keep their health. You know, there are people who are living healthily for 100 years, or for over 100 years, and their health is sustained by just Ayurveda - in many parts of the Himalayan region, in Tibet, in Southern India. It's amazing how it works if you follow certain principles, not just the medicine aspect of it, but also the lifestyle - how you eat, what you eat, when you fast, and how much water to drink. I think it's most valuable, though it has to undergo more research and scientific up-grading for today's world.


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Four men have been charged with murder after a man was fatally beaten outside an eastern Louisville restaurant early Sunday morning, police said.
The victim, who has not been identified, was assaulted about 4:15 a.m. outside Barbara Lee's Kitchen at 2410 Brownsboro Road, police said. He died around 2 p.m. on Sunday at University Hospital, Mitchell said.
Mitchell identified the four men charged with murder in the man's death as Donald W. Hays, 30; David A. Pryor, 28; Justin M. ...


text: Comments on the entry: Earth Day New Orleans 2009 - NOLA.com https://blog.advance.net/cgi-bin/mte/mt-search.cgiindex=comment&template_id=entry_comments_feed&search=&limit=20&affiliate=nola&filter_entry_basename=earth_day_new_orleans_2009&searchall=1&IncludeBlogs=1519 2010-05-04T19:19:20Z Movable Type Enterprise 4.29-advance Comment on Earth Day New Orleans 2009 tag:blog.nola.com,2015:/ohno//1519.10549588 2010-05-04T19:19:20Z 2010-05-04T19:19:20Z @sgtrocknroll Get your head out of your a** dude. I bet you give a sh*t now that your precious shrimp & crawfish are about to drown in oil & prices skyrocket. People like you are the reason the rest of Harlee Comment on Earth Day New Orleans 2009 tag:blog.nola.com,2015:/ohno//1519.10057700 2010-03-27T12:48:47Z 2010-03-27T12:48:47Z PPPUUULLLLEEEASSSEEE! Earth Day?...this is such BS...these people don't have anything better to do?....I plan on celebrating Earth Day in my own way....At 8:30 tonight I'm going to turn on every electrical device in my house, every light...hell I might even sgtrocknroll http://sergentrocknroll.blogspot.com/


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- Detail Images
- Community Images
Options for winter and spring.
Wear the Hestra Heli Mitt's removable liner while you skin up to the hut, and slide the liner into the weather-blocking shell when you get ready to shred.
- Army Goat Leather and wind- and waterproof Triton/Entrant fabric keep the wet out
- Wear just the removable liner when you're working up a sweat on the skin-track or trying to keep your hands from freezing on the heli ride or the drive up to the resort
- Wear just the shell for slushy spring skiing
- Wolf Paw design reinforces the fingertips and eliminates seam exposure
- Eagle Grip pre-curved design follows the natural curve of your hand for comfort
Share your thoughts
Hestra Heli Mitten
- Familiarity:I've used it once or twice and have initial impressions
- Fit:True to size
- Height: 5'6"Weight: 120 lbsSize Purchased: 9
I thought the overall service with the mitten and also the representatives from the site were great. I haven't gotten to be able to try out this mitt yet, but I put it on and it was extremely warm. I was recommended to the Hestra brand by my friend and I think that I made the right decision. I haven't gotten a chance to go on the slopes with it yet but so far so good. :)
No more cold hands
can't go wrong
- Familiarity:I've put it through the wringer
- Fit:True to size
Solid, solid, solid glove. I love hestras.
The warmest mitten with great features!
- Familiarity:I've used it several times
- Fit:True to size
- Height: 5'0"Weight: 120 lbsSize Purchased: 7
I was looking for a ski mitten to keep my daughter's hands warm while skiing. I liked them so much I bought some for myself! I wanted to wait to review these until I used them a few times. We skied there days in a row in temps between 5 and 15 degrees and our hands never got cold. The other thing I noticed is that our hands didn't sweat. They stayed the same comfortable temperature all day. It really was amazing. I love these mittens and only wished I bought them sooner. The only downfall, as with all leather gloves, is they need the balm rubbed on them to keep them soft and supple. A small price to pay for such a great mitten. Would definitely recommend buying them! I bought the size 7 which is just perfect. I measured right between the 6 and 7. So I'm glad I purchased the 7. My hands are small so I thought I should probably get the 6 but the 7 is just perfect.
Sean S, Employee
Great Quality
- Familiarity:I've used it several times
- Fit:True to size
I was really impressed with the overall construction of these. The leather feels really nice, the stitching is even, they feel really sturdy. I haven't had a chance to wear them more than a couple times since this winter has been so warm, but they certainly seem toasty. The removable liners are a plus--makes washing easy. The elastic keeper cuffs are a HUGE pro for me, and much more comfortable than other shoelace type cords on other mittens. I'd say my only gripe so far is the lack of a goggle or nose wipe. For sizing, the BC sizing chart for this item was accurate.
Good Mittens
- Familiarity:I've used it once or twice and have initial impressions
- Fit:True to size
Warm enough for XC-skiing downhill at -5 F in Vermont. Fits well, like the leather.
The Best of the Best
- Familiarity:I've put it through the wringer
- Fit:True to size
Not a chance my hands are getting cold! The mitt style keeps powder from getting trapped with your fingers, and the long gauntlet style keep your hands dry and toasty. They've also included a high quality wrist strap that is completely unnoticeable when riding, and keeps your gloves secure when you need to take them off for any reason. I've yet to have them get wet at all, even though the very supple leather feels like it would. The build quality is apparent the first time you touch these, and I'm excited to put these babies on every time I ride.
Amazing to begin with, then...
- Familiarity:I've put it through the wringer
- Fit:True to size
I don't get how hard it can be to make a glove liner that's both insulating and also keeps its shape after a few weeks of wear. That's the problem with this and every other high-spec glove I've owned. They're thick and fluffy to begin with, and make you feel like you've just put your hands in a pizza oven, but give it a couple of weeks and the dense inner becomes a shadow of its former self, and suddenly your fingers are wriggling around in this cavernous empty space where once there was warmth. Can't NASA or someone find a material that's part springy bathroom sponge part merino part UNIQLO heat-tech?
Otherwise yes the leather on these is lovely and great, they look good, smell good etc. But the past reviewers who say they kept them warm all season.. I just have to assume they didn't use their hands all season for fear of wearing down their glove linings. Yes that's probably exactly what happened.
The best I've owned
- Familiarity:I've put it through the wringer
- Fit:True to size
I wore these gloves through a whole season of working as a lift operator in VT - they were life savers. My hands have been cold in every other pair of gloves/mitts ive worn. Not these.
Side note, I bumped chairs as it was a fixed grip lift, and the leather totally held up. Many of my co workers went through 4 or 5 pairs of gloves throughout the season, these lasted with 0 issues and I still have them. No holes, no tears, just a little wear on the thumbs and palms.
I finally found what I was looking for!
- Gender:Male
- Familiarity:I've put it through the wringer
- Fit:True to size
I was looking for a mitten that didn't have finger separation inside. These had great reviews so I figured I would give them a try. These are better than I was expecting.
I love the fact that there are so many different sizes. I measured my hands and got the size 10. They fit better than any glove I have previously had.
The removable fleece-y inside is so warm and soft. The fact that it is has Velcro holding it in is great. It is easy to remove the liner and dry it overnight (it is polyester so it dries fast). There are no obstructions inside the outer mitt either so reinstallation is as easy as putting on any mitten and making sure the Velcro is stuck.
I have never had a little elastic wrist band that goes around my wrist to lanyard my mitten to me but oh boy, it's such a great feature! Being able to take these off to use a map, cool off my hands on a chair lift, or eat is nicer now that I never have to worry about dropping them.
This was the first time I ever spent more than $30 on a pair of gloves or mittens. I do love the sno-sealed cheap kinco glove you see so frequently for backcountry skiing, hiking, working, etc. and they do have their place in my life, but, for me, those don't cut it for in-bounds skiing or crazy cold days. These mittens cost a bit more than I usually spent in the past but if I lose these (which shouldn't happen because they attach to me), wear them out, or someone who is jealous (pretty much everyone that sees or tries them) steals them, I will definitely buy another pair. For the record, I don't expect these to wear out soon either, they feel durable and the leather palm is nice and supple.
So, if you are looking for a pair of mittens that are high quality, have no internal finger separation, will never fall in the snow when removed, and are built to last, trust me when I say, $135 is worth what you get with these.
The Search has ended!
- Familiarity:I've used it several times
I absolutely love my new mittens But the search went on all winter. My sister and one of my daughters bought their Hestra Heli Mitts several years ago and loved them...so I thought I would try a pair. I actually had to try several pairs before I finally secured a pair that fit well. The first pair I ordered was the women's style and I measured according to the company guide. Because I have slender fingers and wear a size 5 ring I thought the women's style would be better for me. I was wrong. The women's style has a very different construction and feel to it compared to the men's (unisex??). It is much narrower and the thumb is at least a half inch longer which felt uncomfortable when I gripped my ski poles. I exchanged them and received a pair of unisex style size 7. They were so comfortable at first. I really appreciate the gauntlet - no chance of losing a mitten while checking my phone or taking a picture. After the first two days I began to sense a difference between the L and R mittens in the wrist area. The mitten would twist a bit and then it became uncomfortable while gripping my ski poles. This sensation increased and after 4 times wearing them I ordered another pair. When the new pair came I actually decided to measure the first pair. As I was doing this it became evident that there was 3/8" difference between the L and R wrist area. Doesn't sound like much - but it made for discomfort while wearing. Back Country has been FANTASTIC about allowing me to return the first pair. Thank you! Bottom line - buy these mittens if you want warm, comfortable hands, that you won't lose on the ride up if you take them off. They come with leather conditioner and can actually function as two separate mittens as the liner and shell separate easily - and go back together easily. If you don't get the right size to start with don't give up! They are worth the hassle and the price.
so warm :)
- Familiarity:I've put it through the wringer
- Fit:True to size
Ive used these mitts 5 times now, all on Catskill skiing, outdoor temps ranged from 15-30 F
very warm, i would take my hands out to take a phone call or get a snack, once i put my hands back inside the mitts, 10 seconds later, my hands were nice and toasty!
the white leather does get dirty VERY easily, but it washes off easily. I noticed that the leather is already starting to show wear and tear, kind of concerning....
i still rate these mitts @ 9/10
Awesome Mittens
- Familiarity:I've used it several times
- Fit:True to size
I bought these gloves for my husband who had been complaining of ice cold fingers for the past few winters. I gave him these mitts prior to our ski trip out west and crossed my fingers. I don't know what their secret is but he swears these mittens keep his fingers toasty warm and he has not used hand warmers ever since. They are comfortable, not very bulky and warm !!! I am considering purchasing a set for next ski season for myself. Needless to say he skied out west in some very cold temperatures and never complained about his fingers once. I would definitely recommend these mittens.
Can these gloves be tucked under the jacket...
Can these gloves be tucked under the jacket sleeves?
no, the mitts will go on top of the jacket sleeve and then u can tighten it with the draw-string
Best Mittens Ever
I live in Big Sky and it gets REAL cold here. This is my 3rd season with the Hestra Heli Mitts. Two weeks ago it got down to -43F, lifts were closed, but I was still outside most of the day and my hands never got cold. They still look great after three 100+ day seasons, but if they ever wear out I will definitely buy another pair.
If you like it hot...
- Familiarity:I've used it several times
- Fit:True to size
These replaced my Burton mitts which I've been using for a while and held up great for snowboarding. They did get chilly on the coldest days especially on the lift. My new Hestra mitt's have been pretty toasty and even a slight bit too warm for 0 degrees when I was last at Whistler. Ultimately no complaints remembering back to those days on the lift when I wished I had thicker gloves. I'm off to Niseko and will see how the leather holds up to some more regular wear from snowboarding. The sizing chart worked fine for me.
SO SO warm
- Familiarity:I've used it once or twice and have initial impressions
- Fit:True to size
I like my mitts to be snug, i wear a Large in gloves. I bought a size 8 Heli Mitt. Its a bit tight in the wrist area when you are putting them on, but after that, they are so comfy and warm. Lets mention warm one more time! I was skiing in 10 degree weather, whenever I would take my hands out of these mitts to grab a granola bar or adjust my bindings, my hands would freeze. within 10 seconds of putting the mittens back on, my fingers were toasty and warm. I actually started to sweat a little in my hands, but I am okay with that. The liner is removable and absorbs moisture very well. Construction is excellent, great stitching. I am a HUGE fan of the wrist straps. I ordered 5 other mittens to try on and these are by far the best.
- Familiarity:I've used it several times
- Fit:True to size
After seeing my riding friends loving theirs, I bought my own. They are great gloves. Inside removes easily for drying. Make sure to apply lanoline oil to help preserve. Use for cooler days at the resort when riding lifts. Too warm for backcountry days. Only flaw is that my plastic pull tab broke off on the cuff.
Not for cold weather
- Familiarity:I gave it as a gift but have feedback to share
- Fit:Runs small
After some research, I chose these mitts as a Christmas gift for my wife, who needed some warm mitts primarily for walking our dogs in the winter. As an added benefit, they seemed like they would be good for boarding as well.
Two issues, sizing is on the small side, so no room for a liner if you measure your hand and buy from the Hestra sizing chart; and, they are not warm.
I was excited to receive these mitts just after Christmas, but before we were to go skiing for a few days. Unfortunately, my wife's hands got cold walking the dogs in -4 degrees celsius for less than an hour. Not a good sign. Needless to say, we didn't bring them on our trip; my wife's hands stayed reasonably warm with some $40 mitts, in some very cold skiing temps, -20 degrees Celsius, with added wind chill.
It would also be helpful if these mitts had a pocket for a warming pack, which most ski mitts have these days.
On the plus side, they look good. So if you want some stylish hand wear for temps no colder than freezing, these might be for you.
Oh, and the company hasn't responded to my email voicing my concerns.
Ralph Backstrom, Sponsored Athlete
For those cold times
- Familiarity:I've used it several times
- Fit:True to size
This is a very warm mitt when both the liner and shell are used. The times I've used them have been for summit attempts on Denali, hanging out at 14 camp of Denali when the sun goes down. Very cold times, and my hands were nice and cozy. I wear a size 10, and would wear a large in regular sizing.


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Samsung 55-inch OLED due in second half for about $9,000
updated 10:28 am EDT, Thu May 10, 2012
Samsung shows production-ready 55-inch ES9500 OLED
Samsung is showing off production-ready models of its 55-inch OLED HDTV flagship introduced at CES. The ES9500 set is on display at the 2012 World's Fair in Korea and it will retail for more than 10 million won in its home market (over $9,000), according to the Associated Press. For that kind of money, buyers will get OLED technology and an upgradable dual-core CPU.
The panel will have 3D capability and it can be used to let users watch two different programs at the same time. Dubbed Smart Dual View Technology, 2D content can be displayed to each viewer wearing 3D glasses, and this requires headphones to be worn for individual sound to be sent to each user.
Samsung touts OLED pixels produce 20 percent better color reproduction that current LED-backlit LCD HDTVs. The sets are expected to launch during the second half of the year.
The company also announced new LCD sizes between 60 and 75 inches.


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I hear ya but it will cost a boat load of money to bring this ore body to a 43-101 resource. Always strike when the iron is hot. Minimize dilution !!!


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There was a time, not all that long ago, when a company's responsibilities stopped at the office door.
Those days are over. As connectivity increases and activists grow more savvy about forcing transparency in the sourcing of goods (think, for instance, of the blood diamonds campaign or the use of cell phones to reveal the origins of food), William Gibson's prophetic remarks on accountability ring more true every day:
"It is becoming unprecedentedly difficult for anyone, anyone at all, to keep a secret. In the age of the leak and the blog, of evidence extraction and link discovery, truths will either out or be outed, later if not sooner. This is something I would bring to the attention of every diplomat, politician and corporate leader: the future, eventually, will find you out. The future... will have its way with you. In the end, you will be seen to have done that which you did."
The practical manifestation of this trend is that everything matters. Where once a company was held accountable for what it did, it is increasingly held accountable for that which it caused to happen. As the consulting outfit SustainAbility puts it in their report The Changing Landscape of Liability, "boundaries of accountability will progressively expand through the value chain and through the whole life-cycle of a product's development, production, use and disposal."
A company's suppliers matter. Those suppliers' subcontractors matter. The labor standards of everyone who had any part in making the product matter. The materials in the product matter. The energy used to make it matters. The manufacturing process itself matters, as does the producer's plan for the disposal of the product when it's over. Indeed, as far a corporate reputations are concerned, accountability is becoming a vast web of entanglements in the actions of others, some of whom the leaders of that corporation might be hard-pressed to name.
This is something new, and powerful. We already have an increasingly effective global NGO movement aimed at forcing whole classes of businesses into compliance with certification systems (think FSC timber, fair trade coffee, etc.). In his excellent book Branded!: How the 'certification revolution' is transforming global capitalism, Michael Conroy notes that a whole array of industries are now coming into compliance with third-party accountability systems that certify whether or not that company's actions meet basic environmental and social standards. It's not just coffee and chocolate anymore, but also mining, banking, apparel, chemicals and so on. If you're in business, you can be sure that someone, somewhere has a certification system with your name on it.
But in this new phase, it is not enough simply to stop being evil. As Marks & Spencer executive Ed Williams said, "consumers increasingly want to be sure that the companies they deal with reflect their values, can be trusted to behave responsibly, are who they say they are and are the kind of organization they like to be associated with." In simpler terms, companies are finding themselves held responsible for the whole backstory of their products.
A product's backstory, you'll remember, is everything that happened to get the object or service to us, everything that will happen behind the scenes while we use it, and everything that will happen after it leaves our lives. The backstory tells us who we're being when we make a choice.
Good companies are getting better at telling the backstories of the things they make. Other companies -- the ones who can't figure out how to tell their backstories, or whose backstories are shameful -- are sailing into the storm. Indeed, how companies tell their backstories is the critical business communication challenge of the next decade. We're entering an era of holistic accountability and backstory management.
So far, attempts at creating tools for telling backstories have been mostly unsuccessful.
One reason for this is complexity: the backstories of even simple products often link together a staggering array of people, places and things.
Another difficulty in backstory communication has been the lack of clear targets. Effectively revealing your backstory conveys explicit goals about the kind of company you're trying to be, and it is still difficult to know what the gold standard is for any particular product or service: What does a sustainable shoe look like? How does a responsible masonry supply chain operate?
There are some practices smart companies should definitely avoid. Lying is obviously at the top of the list, but not much farther down the list is trying obscure negatives by emphasizing the positive -- even when this doesn't devolve into outright greenwashing, it risks being seen as such. But neither will vague goals help much.
Vague goals are dangerous because they're clueless. Consumers and investors both want effectiveness, and at a time when cluelessness about sustainability equals liability, to display muddle-headed thinking is to send a message that you are not entirely worthy of their trust.
A well-intentioned example of flawed goal-setting is the site Actics, which means to help individual and institutional members turn values into action, but which assigns no absolute value to the goals towards which the action aims, thus making the whole site rather wishy-washy. For instance, the most popular action on the site is "Have an interest in and concern for ideas, opinions, practices, etc., foreign to one's own; a liberal, undogmatic viewpoint." To say that this leaves some wiggle room for irresponsible behavior would be an understatement.
In contrast, the path to really managing your backstory runs through big visions, hard targets and open admission of shortcomings. Shoe manufacturers should work to envision a boldly responsible shoe, one which not only incorporates their ambitions about the future of footwear, but also encompasses the cutting-edge standards in ethical behavior: a shoe, say, that has a one-planet ecological footprint and meets the highest possible labor standards. That company should share the vision of that shoe with every one of its customers.
And then it take the hardest step of all: admit the degree to which its current shoes fall short of that mark, and explain the steps it's taking to bring its shoes closer to the gold standard. This has three benefits: the first is that achieving the gold standard is a competitive advantage in and of itself, reducing liability and often raising the bottom line in the process. The second is that companies which reveal their shortcomings and an understanding of what those shortcomings matter earn an astronomical amount of market trust. They may even win over ethical consumers who wouldn't normally support the product but want to help the company in its efforts. When all is transparent, nobody can accuse the company of greenwashing. The third is perhaps less tangible, but I believe no less real because of it: the people in that company will be making shoes they can be proud of.
It's hard to do work you can be proud of these days. We live in an ethically compromised global economy, and almost every aspect of our lives is compromised as a result. But by acknowledging the gaps between practice and aspiration, and setting concrete plans for bridging those gaps, we lift a good part of that burden. Our shoes (or laptops or meals) may not be perfect, but we are pushing in a realistic way towards shoes and laptops and meals that will one day meet our ideals, and that, in and of itself, is something to take pride in.
I've said before that in these times optimism is a political act. Intelligent thinking about backstory management shows us something more: when doing business during a global crisis, idealism can be a practical act.
(image: Background Stories Project)
Excellent post about the necessity of transparency, trust, and honesty. Personally, being the founder of Actics, I find it a pity you extrapolate your correct criticism of the mentioned vague statement on Actics to our medium & tool as whole. Mind you that we've just launched, and the mentioned statement is only at the top due to being one of the first input in the system, whereas the excellent tangible statements on the service by organisations, like our featured member (http://www.actics.com/the_green_insurance_company) has not been on it long enough to crawl up in the ranking.
With a closer look you'd actually find that Actics is indeed a tool for exactly what you're looking for:
1. Organisations make it transparent what they are doing to be socially responsible
2. They demonstrate tremendous courage in opening up for being measured publicly by their stakeholders & the public on how well they in reality are living up to their intentions
3. They show trust in their stakeholders to give constructive feedback, allowing the organization to improve!
What you cannot see from the outside, Actics is multi-stakeholder tool for ethical improvement, not just an ethical profile. In your dashboard, you can group your invitations for feedback and hence, the tool becomes your navigation & management system on what, where and with whom improvement is called for.
E.g. with accountability in the supply chain that you take up in the article, the tool can be used to monitor 24/7 unlimited number of suppliers dynamically if you demand them to establish their profile in the system. In your dashboard feeds of their performance as perceived by their stakeholders are displayed for you to investigate swiftly if a change occurs in the stakeholder perception to a given supplier. A courageous company would certainly build trust to their stakeholders if they made their supplier display public.
I think you've got a strong point in regards to pointing out that it is difficult to establish the 'gold standard' of sustainability. This is where I think that all static & universal certification standards fail. The way we're suggestion with our system is to introduce an objective measurement of subjective perception, i.e. Actics focuses solely on how well the company manages stakeholder value – whatever it might be. Thus, the gold standard should be how well you deliver on what matters to you and your stakeholders, and not a universal criteria of what is right or wrong. Please read the academic foundation for in our white paper that you can download here: http://www.actics.com/info/philosophy
Nicolai, thanks for taking the time to comment.
The challenge is the sentiment expressed here:
"Thus, the gold standard should be how well you deliver on what matters to you and your stakeholders, and not a universal criteria of what is right or wrong."
The problem with this is that there are universal criteria of what's right and wrong -- at least in ballpark terms. We know that we need, for instance, one-planet environmental performance, support of labor standards and human rights, non-corrupt practices, etc. While the application of the standards to the context of particular businesses may be unique in every case, the standards themselves don't much change.
Having "what matters to you" be the standard seems a wide-open invitation for irresponsibility couched in terms of moral relativity.
Nor, to be honest, does what I've seen so far on Actics constitute transparency. Transparency is based on what others are able to see, not on what you choose to show them. The initial cases I've seen on your site are all chosen examples, not revelations of operational practice.
Alex, great response.
Well, transparency in systems like Actics arise not so much from what you initially state as your ethical actions but in opening up for a many-to-many feedback/scrutiny from all your stakeholders. Nothing stops e.g. an employee of a particular company to share anonymously what the real situation is. With these systems it will be impossible over time to uphold an image of you which is not true.
Luckily, I believe there's a meta trend towards an proactive approach by companies to embrace real transparency because of its benefits in innovation, talent attraction, and stakeholder loyalty, including clients/customers. In this case, tools like Actics will help these companies to get structured feedback from a complex stakeholder picture.
Probably where we stand in loggerhead is in regards to universal standards. As you know, it is pretty easy to demonstrate with an ethical dilemma that universal standards can be unethical. They are not universal from an ethical point of view – you can maybe hope to make it universal through regulation & power but is that what we want? A better term would be 'best practise' that we want share & apply globally. As best practise is the accumulation of experience with what works, it opens up for dialogue. That dialogue I believe would be stronger and better with the involvement of people, rather than only let the industry compromise on what the minimum standard should be 'universally' in order to prevent the free-rider problem. Actics is a best practise sharing medium, and – for me – it will be interesting to learn what best practises will emerge over time when it happens from the bottom-up, rather than from the top-down.
Let's not sidetrack your main point in the article that it requires big visions, hard targets and open admission of shortcomings. That I endorse fully, and I hope Actics can contribute to that.
The executives at your site's sponsors (Sun Microsystems, Google) and M$, Ill-Begotten Monstrosities and many others should read your piece.
We're watching, and we're all stake-holders, and torch-holders, and pitch-fork holders. Merely trying to stone-wall will not work anymore. Too many people have noticed, too many remember, and too many will refuse to buy or work with you.
But repentance and forgiveness are available to all. "Tools for telling back-stories" tend to be attempts to avoid admitting errors and ethical failings. You've got to come clean. Don't say "mistakes happened". Say, "I did This thing. It was wrong. I should not have. I'm sorry. I'm paying full restitution and penalties to those harmed and won't do that ever again. I've set this up to avoid such errors in the future."
This disagreement doesn't seem to have much substance. We will indeed see if Activa works the way it intends, but the idea is a great start to setting such a gold standard, and should be supported. And the standards are indeed important, the whole thing's an empty shell without them.
The term standard seems to be causing difficulty - drop it from this conversation. One Planet production (as an example) is a goal as much as anything. It's about a destination, and iterative attempts to get closer to it. So there Alex is right, we can't do without these goals, and yes they are universal. But the *means*, which is what Nicolai is talking about, are as varied as the brains that come up with them. Best Practices are techniques for achieving goals.
If Activa becomes a site for corporate sustainability best practices, it will have achieved something profound, but without definitions of what sustainability is - goals - you have nothing.
You're talking about two components of the same solution. You can't do it without both.


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The public spoke Wednesday night, and the Anderson County Board of Education listened.
The board voted unanimously to leave the property tax rate where it is, and where it has been for the past two years.
The property tax rate will remain at $5.52 per $1,000 of assessed value, meaning the school's portion of this year's tax bills will neither increase nor decrease.
Dozens of concerned citizens attended a public hearing on the tax rate Wednesday, and most of them implored the board not to raise taxes.
About 10 minutes prior to the kickoff of Anderson County's district football opener with Grant County last Friday, the gray sky dropped a steady rain on Hollie Warford Stadium.
The minor nuisance lasted only a short time but a major storm really was brewing. It wore red jerseys and white pants and was still smarting from a game that had been snatched away seven days before.
When someone has been around this business as long as I have, he can usually decipher coach-speak.
You know the routine. Coach speak – Rex Ryan not included – has become even more widespread with the Internet making nearly every publication available at the click of a button.
"They are a good football team." Translation: "They are the next team on the schedule."
A Circuit Court judge on Monday rejected the last-minute pleas of one of Anderson County's largest property owners to halt the sale of his delinquent tax bills.
Brad Smith, owner of SmithCo Properties, which includes Eagle Lake Convention Center and a host of strip malls, sued the county attorney, judge-executive, sheriff and county clerk in an effort to stave off the sale of his 2009 back taxes, which totaled roughly $95,000, nearly $10,000 of which includes his home.
The Burgoo Festival rolls in to town this weekend bringing with it a Civil War re-enactment, disc golf tournament, and truck and tractor pull.
The festival, in its 17th year, seems to expand each year.
Last year saw the expansion of the Civil War re-enactment into Anderson County Community Park, where it will be located again this year.
This week in Anderson County Sports
Friday, Oct. 1: Anderson Co. at Jeffersontown, 7:30 p.m.
Junior varsity football
Monday, Oct. 4: Anderson Co. at Mercer Co., 6 p.m.
Freshman football
Thursday, Sept. 30: Boyle Co. at Anderson Co., 6 p.m.
Girls' soccer
Wednesday, Sept. 29: West Jessamine at Anderson Co., 7:30 p.m.
Junior varsity match at 6 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 2: Anderson Co. at Bardstown, TBA
Anderson County celebrated homecoming with the annual parade through Lawrenceburg on Sept. 23. These are some scenes from the parade.
FRANKFORT – Every time Franklin County cleared a ball over the top or took its sweet time to get things moving Monday night, it was a lesson to remind Anderson County of the pecking order in the 25th District of girls' high school soccer.
The scoreboard recorded that Anderson earned an impressive 4-1 win over a team that was 10-3-1 heading into the match.
But it was not impressive enough.
I don't know about the rest of you folks around central Kentucky, but I have a hard time remembering the last time we actually had fall when fall was supposed to actually be happening.
Rusted and swayed beams beneath a bridge at the Anderson-Franklin county line have forced state Department of Transportation officials to close it indefinitely, county highway foreman Chip Chambers announced Monday afternoon.
The bridge, located on Lanes Mill Road, was downgraded following a state inspection earlier this year and restricted to vehicles weighing 3 tons or less, Chambers said.
Copyright © 2015
The Anderson News is your source for local news, sports, events, and information in Lawrenceburg, KY and the surrounding area.


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Fans speak out on Dez Bryant's $55,000 dinner
This afternoon, we put up a poll asking readers the simple question: "Dez Bryant's $55000 dinner: What do you think?"
Here were the results, as of 10:00 Wednesday night:
1st – Maybe he should have carried Roy's pads (~31%)
2nd – Too excessive, especially in this economy (~26%)
3rd – Hey, it's part of being a rookie (~22%)
4th – Why didn't he invite me? (~20%)
SportsNation, ESPN.com's polling center, also asked fans a series of questions about the situation. Here were those results:
What would you do if you knew the new guy was getting stuck with the dinner bill?
1st – Order what you want most (~64%)
2nd – Order the most expensive item (21%)
3rd – Order something cheap (~15%)
What do you think of Dez Bryant paying his rookie dues by footing a $54,896 dinner bill for the team?
1st – Kind of a disturbing amount of money (~61%)
2nd – Kind of cool (~39%)
Who do you have a better personal opinion of?
1st – Dez Bryant (~69%)
2nd – Roy Williams (~31%)
Which receiver will have a better season?
1st – Dez Bryant (~70%)
2nd – Roy Williams (~30%)


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Is Congress Trying to Convince Iran that US Policy Is Really Regime Change?
The House of Representatives is currently considering putting forth a vote on additional sanctions on the Iranian economy. Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif has declared unequivocally that additional sanctions would mean "the entire deal is dead."
Well, that seems to be the point. This piece in Al Monitor authored by Daniel Kurtzer and Thomas Pickering, two former U.S. diplomats, along with former Iranian diplomat Seyed Hossein Mousavian, spells it out in plain English:
[I]f the West does not lift the specified sanctions or, worse, should US Congress or another country actually impose greater sanctions during this six-month period, it will be a clear sign that the West is not interested in a negotiated deal and that the United States has not distanced itself from a policy of regime change.
I argued something similar in a piece for Al Jazeera back in September. On the road to high-level diplomatic negotiations, Washington's biggest obstacle was in convincing Iran we weren't solely after regime change. Typically, rival states don't engage in good faith negotiations if one is convinced the other is out to destroy their regime.
But Congress is doing everything in its power to make sure not to disabuse the Iranians of this view. They say it will strengthen the West's negotiating hand, as if they are pretending not to hear the Iranians saying explicitly that talks will fall apart if more sanctions are imposed.
10 Responses to "Is Congress Trying to Convince Iran that US Policy Is Really Regime Change?"
I think that there are strong competing interest groups in the US. Congress is owned by military contractors and the Israel lobby. This group wants war. The other group looks like it is in the executive branch. Seymour Hersh mentioned in his interview with Democracy Now an important piece of information. He said it was the military, not the American people who prevented Obama from attacking Syria. I think congress doesn't want to take responsibility for war. It could cost them their lucrative seat when it ends up being a huge debacle.
It is quite simple.
The preferred US policy is regime change. The bottom line for the past 40+ years has been to prevent any regional hegemon from emerging in the area as Kissinger tells us. Perhaps now that the US has its hands full trying to take down China-cum-Russia, it has to settle for a neutral Iran which will not take sides in the "pivot." Not optimal for the Empire but acceptable for the moment.
Thinks for add blog and news about Convince Iran.United state and Iran is two power full country . I think that there are strong compensation between us and Iran. Amazon.com
I also think Hersh's remark about the military, and not overwhelming popular opposition, forcing Obama to stand down on Syria was quite interesting. CJCS Gen. Dempsey's opposition to such an attack was well known, though he had to hold his tongue once Obama pushed for this strike. Maybe those realists in the military/CIA will also prevail if it comes to an attack on Iran. We can only hope.
very nice
The issues related to sanctions against Iran, is not easy to accept but it should be used when needed.
First of all, I long ago declared eternal hostility towards anything that "expands the government's tool box" or its bank account or its bathing-suit areas or whatever else it wants to expand. But the larger point is that it is clear this initiative is just a reiteration of the hypercritical approach to tyranny Washington has displayed for decades.
First of all, I long ago declared eternal hostility towards anything that a??expands the governmenta??s tool boxa?? or its bank account or its bathing-suit areas or whatever else it wants to expand. But the larger point is that it is clear this initiative is just a reiteration of the hypercritical approach to tyranny Washington has displayed for decades.
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What did a teddy bear ever do to Miley Cyrus? I know the whole cyber universe, plus the real-life flesh-and-blood world, are all angry about how conduct at the VMA show. Apparently, her gyrations were the equivalent of the "twerk that was heard and seen around the world."
Frankly, I'm not shocked. I'm just saddened that Miley had to drag a hug of teddy bears into the mix. The MTV awards program has always been a launchpad for inappropriate behavior and controversial costuming. This time, however, Cyrus coupled her barely-there outfit with a bunch of bears who looked like they'd rather be anywhere else.
There have been editorials now by TV talking heads—from both sides of the political aisle—bellowing for MTV to fire its executives, put more guidelines into place, and do some in-house cleaning to make sure nothing so disturbingly dirty ever happens again!
From where I sit—and I've only seen the "dance" in rerun form, didn't catch it "live"—it's embarrassing, stupid, uncomfortable, and juvenile. What really makes it something to rail against is that the young "lady" doing the acting-out was a Disney star, once upon a time. It seems it was only three years ago that Miss Miley Cyrus was grinning broadly and rocking modestly on "Hannah Montana." How could a supposed good girl go so, so, so wrong? The answer is easy: she was acting. Either Miley was never as sweet and pure and down-to-earth as her Hannah role suggested; or, conversely, she's really not a tongue-wagging, pelvis-thrusting, pigtail-sprouting freak. Take your pick: Miley is a master at make-believe.
So, with that in mind, I wish she had kept her hands and other body parts off the teddy bears. With everyone else clamoring for lawsuits and litigation, the big bear manufacturers—Gund, Steiff, Merrythought, etc.—should band together in a class action suit. Their charge? Her interaction with the Teddies has damaged the nature of their goods. I, for one, would support that claim. It's taking me a while to shake the graphic images from my head.
But Miley and her mohair accomplices aren't the only examples of bizarre bear behavior. In the ill-fated big-screen adaptation of TV's "The Avengers," a group of villains donned teddy bear suits to hide their identities. Folks unfortunate enough to see this flick—and I was one of them—were treated to the sight of Sean Connery emerging from a full-fledged teddy bear torso. It was disturbing on so many levels.
I suppose teddy bears have a reputation for being tender and caring and sweet. It's not an accident that the "Care Bears" are an actual licensed brand. Teddy bears just equal love and kindness and protectors of children's dreams. That's why so many teen idols and child stars are given the teddy bear treatment. This year's popular boy band (One Direction) has a whole range of teddy bear versions of each cute band member. Girls can collect their favorite 1D'er in individual, brightly colored hoodies and T-shirts.
The girl of the hour—actually, a few hundred hours now since the VMA fallout—Miley Cyrus was marketed as a teddy bear when she was part of the wholesome Disney brand. There are even shots here in this blog of her hugging and gently caressing a teddy bear, not beating and molesting them like she's been doing in her dance routines.
My, how times have changed!
When I was younger, I had attended quite a few Grateful Dead concerts, and the Dead Bears were always there on T-shirts, tattoos, patches, pins, and bumper stickers. When they were manufactured as actual teddy bears, I acquired a few. You might be able to take the girl out of the Grateful Dead tour schedule, but you can't take the . . . well, you get the picture.
It's funny that when I was a teenager, I used to hear the grown-ups complaining about the merging of Dead Heads with teddy bears. The adults used to say that the Dead Bears had that goofy, openmouthed grins on their faces because they were all tripping on acid or were blithely stoned out of their teddy bear skulls.
I recall people looking to ban the bears as part of the Grateful Dead culture. The claim was akin to the marijuana argument—that it's a gateway drug. If teddy bears were being shown as dancing, tripping toys today, what would be the next step two decades down the road?
Well, I don't want to say that those nay-sayers from my youth were right, but, gosh, look at what has happened to poor Teddy this past month. The teddy bear was pulled into a televised strip show that was unflattering for everyone involved.
As a mom, a teddy bear aficionado, a onetime Dead Head, and a gal who loves pop culture, I was saddened to see Teddy in such a tawdry setting. But maybe the bear will rise from this twerking tempest and emerge with a whole new set of street cred: the teddy bear that was strong enough to survive a teen starlet scandal.
Let's wait and see, and hope that Lindsay Lohan isn't looking to visit Build-A-Bear Workshop anytime soon.


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When I tell people that I write for WoW Insider, they often have a lot of questions. "What does Mike Sacco's hair really smell like?" "What's Tyler Caraway's deal?" "Can I have Dawn Moore's personal cell phone number?" I answer them all, of course (seriously, it smells like strawberries; he's overcome with Fox-induced hero worship; and no, you can't!). Today, though, I want to answer the one that comes up most often: "Do they let you write about whatever you want?"
In short, yes. My employers are gracious folks, who seldom resort to physical violence against their writers. Every once in a while, though, the editorial gods issue an edict from their digital version of Mount Olympus. Three months ago, that edict was "now that Cataclysm is out, write a [your spec here] 101 article."
You see, lots of World of Warcraft players are interested in reaching out and trying new specs, but are overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information they need to get started. They want to know all about talents, gems, and what the spec is all about, but they don't want to sift through 50 articles to get the information. They want the Cliff Notes version. And that's precisely what the 101 series is all about.
All my fellow writers here finished their Not as Cool as Shadow 101 articles back in December or so. Since I was too busy staring at my own reflection to get it done in time ... well, here it is, three months late: Shadow 101.
1. What is shadow?
Many people assume priests are just about healing, and that's simply just not true. Shadow priests sacrifice power in their healing ability to increase the power of their damage-causing spells.
Shadow priests has come a long way over World of Warcraft's 6-year history, evolving from a primarily PvP-oriented spec to one of the most powerful PvE specs currently available.
2. Shadow benefits
There are a number of absolutely amazing benefits to being a shadow priest.
- Ease of leveling While it's certainly possible to level as a holy or discipline priest, most players find the leveling experience to go the most smoothly in the shadow spec. Simply put: If you're going to be playing solo, you should strongly consider rolling a shadow priest over a holy or discipline one. (Or at least, you should consider making it one of your dual specs.)
- Easy to gear If it's cloth, we can wear it. We gain some level of DPS benefit from all of the secondary stats found on cloth armor: haste, critical strike, spirit, hit, and mastery.
- Excellent buffs Shadow priests offer their allies strong party-wide buffs: increased stamina, increased resistance to shadow spells, and a 5% casting speed increase, all while providing a constant-but-minor amount of party-wide healing through dealing damage.
- Can provide emergency heals While playing as part of a group, shadow priests can provide some (limited) direct healing if there is an urgent need. A quick-thinking shadow priest can save a party from what would otherwise appear to be a sure wipe.
- Visual appeal Between the hazy purple glow of Shadowform, creating an army of shadowy clones, gracing your form with a pair of darkened wings, and being able to transform into a pure shadowy ball that's largely impervious to damage, shadow priests have some of the most visually appealing abilities in the game.
- High damage per second potential In the current build of Cataclysm (patch 4.0.6), shadow priests are one of the strongest damage-dealing classes in the game.
Of course, as awesome though we may be, there are a few drawbacks to being a shadow priest. They include:
- Weak healing ability Shadow priests can fire off a large number of healing spells. There's a cost, however: Healing as a shadow priest costs more mana, is less powerful than the healing provided by a holy or discipline priest, and requires you to drop out of Shadowform (which costs your group its 5% speed buff).
- Difficult to perfect Shadow priests use a number of damage-over-time spells, and managing them all can be exceptionally difficult for a beginning player. The more you practice, the better you'll get, though only a small, select handful will truly achieve shadow priesting greatness.
- Long waits As a DPS spec, shadow priests can expect long waits to obtain a slot in an endgame random dungeon finder group. Healing priests often wait less than 10 minutes; shadow priests can expect waits of 30 minutes or more.
- Jealousy Everyone is secretly jealous of the cool kids, and in World of Warcraft, nobody brings the cool quite like a shadow priest does.
Shadow priests are only capable of wearing cloth gear. Thankfully, virtually every piece of cloth gear available (after level 20 or so) contains at least one useful stat for a shadow priest, if not more.
- Intellect Intellect is easily a shadow priest's best stat. It increases your maximum mana, it makes all your spells more powerful (that is, gives you more spellpower), and it lets you crit (deal double damage) more often. If given a choice, always prioritize the gear with intellect.
- Spellpower Almost exclusively found on spellcaster weapons, spellpower is a shadow priest's second-best stat. Like intellect, it increases the raw power of your spells, but it does nothing to increase your maximum mana or chance to critically strike.
- Haste The more haste you have, the faster you're able to cast spells and the faster your damage-over-time spells will tick for damage. And, obviously, the faster you're casting spells, the more damage you're dealing per second. And that's what DPSing is all about.
- Hit/Spirit The higher your opponents' level, the harder it will be for your spells to connect for damage. Hit rating increases the base chance that your spell casts will be successful. Through the talent Twisted Faith, shadow priests are able to convert spirit directly to hit on a 1:1 basis. Endgame priests usually want to cap their hit -- that is, carry a hit rating that guarantees a hit 100% of the time on any boss-level enemy.
- Critical strike The more critical strike you have, the more often your spells will hit for double damage. Crit is not a shadow priest's best stat, but it's still competitive with haste and mastery.
- Mastery A stat found only on gear obtained after level 80, mastery improves the power of your damage over time spells. Like crit, mastery is a relatively competitive stat -- the best endgame shadow priests achieve a delicate balance of mastery, crit, and haste to maximize damage.
- Stamina Stamina increases a shadow priest's maximum health. Generally, shadow priests do not actively seek this stat out through gemming and enchanting. We accept that our gear will have a base level of stamina on it, and we accept that for a DPS role, that level of health is more than adequate.
Intellect = 1.0 (standardized)5. Stats to avoid
Spellpower = 0.75
Haste = 0.39
Spirit/Hit = 0.37 (up to the hit cap)
Crit = Mastery = 0.35
Priests are a caster class and thus benefit from virtually all stats found on cloth gear (as shown in 4, above). Priests should never melee, and as such, should avoid stats that favor melee/tank classes: agility, strength, attack power, expertise, and dodge.
If you are a strictly PvE priest -- that is, you focus on attacking monsters, not your fellow players -- you should avoid the PvP-oriented stats such as resilience and spell penetration. If you do participate in PvP, resilience is a tremendously useful stat.


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Akron senior Hanna Luburgh has developed into the top scoring threat in the Mid-American Conference.
The former Tri-Valley standout put those skills on display last week, surpassing 1,000 career points in a 90-80 loss Sunday to Wright State. She finished with 16 points, eight rebounds and four assists in that game.
Luburgh, who was named Mid-American Conference-East Division player of the week, hit five 3-pointers as part of a 33-point effort in a 118-71 win against Tennessee Tech and followed with a career-high 37 points - one shy of a school record - and 11 rebounds in a 94-80 defeat to ...


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- Age / Gender:
- 23, Male
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- Nosgoth
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- 3/13/05
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Favorite Movies
The Real Legend 4 Rated 4.3533 Stars Link's New Adventure at the Water Temple! Comedy - Parody Resident Evil 4 Animation Rated 3.8804 Stars Leon S Kennedy goes to grand mission: rescue the daugther's president and a lot of things Comedy - Parody Dune Pirates Rated 4.3140 Stars Dune pirates are those that sails on the seven deserts. Music Video C. Crashing a Wedding Rated 4.4296 Stars The Castle Crashers must save the princess, who is forced to marry! Or is she? Action
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Zombie Survival: SM Rated 4.0456 Stars Make your way through hordes of undead zombies, slaughter them all! Action - Shooter - Run 'n Gun Smileys War Rated 4.2483 Stars Customise your smiley and join the fight in this epic platformer shooting game. Action - Shooter - Run 'n Gun Flash Halo: CTF Rated 3.1401 Stars Play Capture The Flag at Blood Gulch, in this 2D Halo remake!! Action - Shooter - Run 'n Gun Bloody Blades Rated 3.9292 Stars Kill as many ninjas as you can Action - Platformer - Other
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EASY AS CAKE 5 Points Easy as... Cake! Medal Stats.
JohnnyUtah's Halloween Candy 10 Points Visit JohnnyUtah on Halloween. Medal Stats.
Reading Rainbow 5 Points Read through all of the intro and instructions text Medal Stats.
a000 5 Points a000 Medal Stats.
King Slime 10 Points Slay the giant slime. Medal Stats.
Total Medals Earned: 5 (From 5 different games.)


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HARRISBURG, Ill. (KSDK) - It's been one year since a 'Leap Day' tornado tore across parts of the bi-state area, hitting one Illinois community especially hard.
In Harrisburg, eight people died and nearly 400 homes were destroyed or damaged.
On Friday, Art Holliday went back to Harrisburg to check on the community's recovery, one year later.


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This video walks you through the installation of JBoss Developer Studio 5, uses the JBoss Central HTML5 archetype, introduces the Mobile BrowserSim to demonstrate an application that supports both desktop & mobile UIs and finally uploads it all to OpenShift for testing on real devices.
For more information on how to Get Started with JBoss, please visit jboss.org/developer, follow us on Twitter @jbossdeveloper or you can follow me directly @burrsutter
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In this article
What is whooping cough?Whooping cough, also known as pertussis, is a bacterial infection that inflames the lungs and airways. The pertussis bacteria also infect the windpipe, where they bring on a persistent, violent cough.
The name comes from the birdlike "whooping" sounds that children who have the illness typically make when they try to take a deep breath between coughs.
Babies younger than 6 months and adults may not make the typical whooping noise (VDHS 2005). It can often be hard in young babies to tell the difference between whooping cough and a regular cough from a respiratory infection.
In Australia there is an epidemic of whooping cough every three or four years and the disease is more common in spring and summer. It is estimated that 7 per cent of all cough illnesses in adults are whooping cough (VDHS 2005).
What are the symptoms of whooping cough?Whooping cough often starts with cold or flulike symptoms – sneezing, runny nose, and a mild cough, which may last up to two weeks before the more severe coughing spells begin. Your child may also have a fever, though not always.
A child with whooping cough will typically cough for 20 or 30 seconds nonstop and then struggle to breathe before the next coughing spell starts.
Listen to whooping cough with whoop:
(Won't play? Click here.)
Listen to whooping cough without whoop:
(Won't play? Click here.)
During coughing episodes, which seem to happen more often at night, your child's lips and nails may turn bluish from lack of oxygen. She may cough up or vomit a thick mucus.
Babies can develop apnoea as a complication of whooping cough, which means she may stop breathing for long periods. While your baby is unwell with whooping cough it is a good idea to keep her close by and watch her carefully in case she stops breathing. If your baby has any trouble breathing, call 000. If she has persistent vomiting, seizures, or signs of dehydration see your doctor or take her to your local emergency department.
This illness can be very dangerous for babies under a year old, who are especially susceptible to complications. Complications can include pneumonia, convulsions and brain damage. Pneumonia is the most common cause of death related to whooping cough and is most likely in babies. Although there were only 18 deaths caused by whooping cough between 1993-2005 in Australia, 16 of these were infants. (VDHS 2005).
If you think your baby may have whooping cough or if she has been in contact with someone with whooping cough you should see your doctor. It is possible to reduce the risks of giving whooping cough to other people by taking an early course of antibiotics.
How could my baby catch whooping cough?Whooping cough is very contagious. Your child could have gotten it from direct contact with someone infected with the bacteria or by simply breathing air infected with the germs. The bacteria usually enter the nose or throat.
It is estimated that if someone has whooping cough, 80 per cent of susceptible people who live with them will also catch the disease (ATAGI 2008). In a school or childcare centre it is likely that 50-80% of susceptible contacts will also catch the disease. Your baby is susceptible if she has not had the full course of three doses of the vaccine. You may be susceptible if your childhood vaccinations have worn off.
The incubation rate is most commonly 14 days and it is advised that children stay away from school or childcare until 21 days has passed from the first onset of coughing, or 5 days after they start taking a course of antibiotics (VDHS 2005).
How can I prevent whooping cough?Most children receive several vaccinations against whooping cough (pertussis) when they are 2 months, 4 months and 6 months old. There is a whooping cough booster vaccine given as part of the scheduled 4 year old immunisation and since 2004 it is also included in the 15 year old booster vaccination program.
Your child's protection against the disease increases with each shot she receives, so her risk of getting it will be at its lowest after she receives the forth shot of the series, at 4 years old. Even then she has a small chance of coming down with whooping cough, because the vaccine isn't 100 percent effective.
Unfortunately, it's possible for someone who's had whooping cough to get it again, although any later infection is usually much milder than the first. It is recommended that if your baby has whooping cough before she has had the full course of vaccinations, she continues the course of vaccinations.
Because babies are at risk of catching the disease before they get the full three doses of the vaccine, the government recommends that parents of newborns, grandparents and close caregivers are all vaccinated. Check with your doctor as some states and territories are offering the vaccine free for parents of newborns.
How can I treat my baby with whooping cough?It is difficult to get an accurate diagnosis of whooping cough. Your doctor will listen to your child's cough, and perhaps swab her nose to test the cells for the pertussis bacteria. If he suspects that your child has whooping cough, he won't wait for test results, though, as these can take some time. He will probably recommend an antibiotic to fight the infection and to reduce the chance that she can give the disease to other people. He may recommend that all of the child's close contacts will need to be treated with antibiotics as well.
Antibiotics can help relieve symptoms if given very early on. If given later, they may not shorten the course of the illness, but they can still remove the bacteria from your child's secretions, preventing her from spreading the infection to others. The cough typically takes six to ten weeks to subside and unfortunately there is no way to make the recovery quicker.
While your baby is recovering from whooping cough it is important to give her plenty of fluids, so she doesn't become dehydrated. Smaller more regular feeds can be helpful when babies are tired from coughing and not able to take their full feeds. If you are worried that your baby is not getting enough fluids or is lethargic you should see your doctor.
Don't give your child a cough suppressant unless your doctor recommends it. Coughing is what the body naturally does when it needs to clear the lungs of mucus. If you suppress that reaction, you may be hindering your child's ability to heal.
Cough and cold medicines are not recommended for any child younger than six years old. Cough and cold medicines that contain antihistimines, antitussives, expectorants, mucolytics or decongestents have not been proven to help children. They may actually cause harm and side effects including allergic reactions, increased heart rate, convulsions, nausea and constipation (TGA 2012).
Of course, if the cough gets worse even with antibiotics, call your doctor immediately. In serious cases, children have to be hospitalised, put on oxygen, and given intravenous fluids to avoid dehydration.
Last reviewed: July 2010
ATAGI. 2008. The Australian Immunisation Handbook 9th Edition Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation. [Accessed April 2010]
TGA. 2012. Children's cough and cold medicines – TGA advice, Therapeutic Goods Administration. www.tga.gov.au
VDHS. 2005.The blue book – Guidelines for the control of infectious diseases. Victorian Department of Human Services, Communicable Diseases Section, Public Health Group. www.health.vic.gov.au [Accessed April 2010].


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Initial Thoughts
One of the most anticipated sex films of 2006, John Cameron Mitchell's Shortbus boasts high production values, a non-porn cast, and good reviews...Well I'm not buying it.
The Film
There's an old saying: you can put garbage in a new place but you can't make it smell better. Transversally, this saying works in regards to this film in that you can take hardcore sex out of its modern shot on video gutter and put it into a glossy film, but without artistic substance you still have the same thing: porn.
Shortbus caused quite a stir when it came out in mid 2006. I remember walking past the local cinema playing it to see a line out the door of people waiting to get in and buy tickets for it. I saw it, not knowing quite what to expect but still expecting something marginally interesting; at least different. My sole expectation was not men and I left the film neither feeling good or bad about having seen it, rather just disappointed.
Shortbus, the film given a positive reviews by so many "mainstream" critics, was nothing more than a cinematic mouse in cat's clothing. Again, it's not that the film was bad, for it wasn't. It's not even that it was offensive, had it been I could at least have given it credit for that. No, the film was just boring, un-insightful, and most of all unoriginal! Its frequent misguided attempts at being "arty" were simply tedious. And as for the sex, that which the film was sold on, it was nothing different than cinematic depictions of sex have been since X Rated films first became legal.
I suppose before I continue my rant I should provide some of the films narrative. I shall preface the following description by saying that the so-called story which occasionally pops up is nothing more than a politicized retelling of Damiano's Deep Throat set in the 21st century. Sook Yon Lee plays a marriage counselor who has never had an orgasm. Lucky for her, a kindly gay couple decide to solve her sex problems by taking her to a nice underground sex club with good mood lighting where all sex is free and Sook might even be able to solve her sexual hangups!
Meanwhile, it is revealed that all is not well in the homo love heaven of our gay couple. Tensions are rising and their "marriage" may be in peril! (oh no!) At the same time, an attractive blonde guy is watching them screw and bitch and is taking pictures of said goings on. His big secret? He's sad, lonely, and has a crush on one of our homo heroes, awwww. All eventually works out and, in good porn fashion, the film "climaxes" in a nice group grope.
So continuing on my previously started rant, it's not that Shortbus isn't a well made film for it certainly is. The photography, lighting, and production design are on par as the best late 70s/early 80s hardcore features, but unlike those films, Shortbus is not being cinematicly transgressive simply because it's a well made film which also has hardcore sex. That's been done and it continues to be done and done much better. The film doesn't push the envelope by doing anything innovative. Narrativly it's unoriginal, sexually it's less than shocking, and artistically it's pretty empty.
Throughout the film, Mitchell tries to inject liberal political jargon into the rather succinct narrative and does so to no effect. The characters are so flat and forgettable, if not downright annoying, that trying to present them as the fallout victims of an evil capitalist system is laughable. These characters represent the problems of society, not its victims for all of their problems can be traced back to their own selfishness and senses of entitlement.
Moreover, taking into account that Mitchell is gay and therefore focuses the film on the gay side of things more than the straight one, he immediately turns this movie into a hackneyed plea for gay rights, in particular marriage (an ironic liberal plea that a conservative ideal be allowed for all) while simultaneously trying to cast fault on the idea of monogamy. At one point, in a typical porn turn, the "faithful" gay "married" couple engages in a threeway with photographer boy as a means of solving the relationship problems. This action completely destroys the presumed integrity of their supposedly loving relationship and is laughably played.
Returning to the real world for a moment, I must again ask myself a classic question: who was this film made for? The answer is simple: it was made for older "art film" buffs and people like me (that is, 18-30 y.o. counterculture kids who listen to "alt" music, dress "emo," embrace bisexuality and liberal politics, and watch "indie" movies and art films). This film is trying to make a positive statement that the liberals of my generation can rebel against "the man" by having lots of sex and being sad. Wow. I think if Mitchell tried to stop crowd pleasing and make a serious comment on just how fucked up my generation actually is, and how much of it is their own fault, instead of playing into its self serving "we're the victims of the Bush administration" crap, he could have made a good serious film.
Shortbus, a term referring to retarded...errr..."mentally challenged" people, is the perfect "art" film for just those individuals. It's pretty, surface level, and has naked people running around talking about crap only people on a shortbus would find deep.
A/V Quality
This being a Hollywood-ish film coming from a mainstream DVD company, the transfer is flawless.
A nice little "let's pat ourselves on the back" doc. about the making of the film is presented. It's a shits and giggles as the various players and crew members all have a jolly time and try to come off as intellectuals.
Cuts Warning
None, however a bit more editing could have done the film some good...
Should You Buy It?
If you've heard the hype, which you probably have, you should rent it. It's still an interesting, though very misguided, film to see if for no other reason than because of its hype. If after renting it you too discover you belong on a shortbus and wish to add this to your collection, do.


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Olive Garden Map
223 Wilmington W. Chester Pike, Ste. 214
610-459-9404 | Make Restaurant Reservations | Menu
Now that you know where you want to enjoy a meal, it's time to find the restaurant. Print out this Olive Garden map and take the driving directions with you so you can locate the restaurant easily.
Check out the 2015 edition of GAYOT's Annual Restaurant Issue, which features the Top 40 Restaurants in the US and more.


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Web Animation: Space Goose
Wake up, children! It's time for the fanciful, far-fetched, futuristic fables of Space Goose! Accompanying the fantastic fowl on his adventures are Joe Rabbit, Sally Brosity and First Mate Ugly! With the help of this motley crew, Space Goose battles the evil Dr. Donkey, whose hobbbies include taking over the universe!! ... And ping pong. Who will be the victor in this battle of the cosmos? You won't know until you watch it, so keep your eyes on the screen and your enemies closer... You're watching SPACE GOOSE!Space Goose is a Web Animation series about a goose in space, created by Aaron Long.
—Space Goose opening sequence
Episode 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhqnZa45wms
Episode 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDVJwetLSIk
Episode 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENx7dmF2_Zs