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What sleeping bags would you recomend. I have about narrowed down my choice on sleeping pads and tents. I need to find me a sleeping bag now.
What sleeping bags would you recomend. I have about narrowed down my choice on sleeping pads and tents. I need to find me a sleeping bag now.
You cannot get a better bag IMO than a Western Mountaineering bag... They are down bags, superlite and very compressable... Not very easy on the wallet but... You get what you pay for!
"This is A Way of Life"
I agree Western Mountaineering bags are the best I know of. Its the best I have tried. My gear has changed a lot since I first backpacked in for elk about 9 years ago. I would recommend taking a 4-season tent just in case. It could be t-shirt weather or you could be tracking in snow, and occasionally you get to do both in the same day. Beating snow off your tent all night to keep it from collapsing is not the most fun. The 4-season tents I have used you sometimes don't even know it is snowing until you hear it slide off the tent. They do tend to be heavier. A two man Sierra Designs I used in the past weighs around 11 lbs. I currently use a Hilleberg Soulo, which is about 5.5 lbs including footprint. This is the best tent I have ever used. Expensive, but I would have saved money if I had just started out with this one. Several options to save weight, but being able to set up in the rain without getting the inside wet is a big plus.
Anybody have any experience with the Kelty Cosmic Down 20 degree bag?
Ranchhand I am an Okie as well doing my first DIY hunt this year. I have started putting together my gear as well and I have a western mountaineering badger bag and a 4 man seek outside tipi with a stove. I am hunting with my brother so we can split the weight.
I use a Marmot Helium 15 degree for my pack in adventures from mid sept through early winter. I use a kelty lightyear 25 degree down for August high country.


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PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, Md. (WUSA) - A viewers called to raise an alert about a particularly brazen kind of theft going on in Metro parking lots.
The target is catalytic converters on the exhaust systems of cars.
At the Branch Avenue Metro Station, the thefts happened in broad daylight Friday , involving people crawling under cars with power tools to the catalytic converters off. See the above video for Scott Broom's report.

subset: commoncrawl


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In Kenya, great geographical conditions – bright-red, iron-rich soil and high altitudes – combine with excellent processing techniques to produce some of the most sought-after coffee in the quality-coffee world.
One of the most famous co-ops in all of Kenya, the Ndaroini Cooperative in Nyeri has long been a Counter Culture favorite. Over the years, Ndaroini and its sibling cooperatives built systems to ensure excellent cherry selection and processing that help to make their coffees among the best of the best.
Ndaroini refines the classic Kenyan flavor profile and embodies the very definition of a great Kenyan coffee. Look for lime, blackcurrant, and blackberry above a round, juicy body, with hints of sweet savoriness.


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June 11–16, 2012 | Beijing, China
Microsoft Research was proud to be a Gold Sponsor of the 33rd ACM SIGPLAN conference on Programming Language Design and Implementation (PLDI 2012). The first PLDI to be located in Asia, this year's event was co-loated with the European Conference on Object Oriented Programming (ECOOP) 2012 in Beijing, China. It will featured a special Asian Experience track; an open-house event introduced participants to the Microsoft Research Asia Lab.
Microsoft Research Participation
More than 20 Microsoft Researchers from labs around the world attended PLDI, involved in presenting papers, running workshops and tutorials, and helping with the organization. Learn more…
Microsoft Research Open House
All PLDI and ECOOP attendees were cordially invited to a Microsoft Research Open House. Microsoft researchers from around the world demonstrated their latest and coolest projects in the beautiful Microsoft Research Asia building for the Microsoft Research Open House on Monday, June 11, 2012, from 6:00 to 9:00 P.M. We invited all participants from PLDI, ECOOP, and associated workshops, tutorials, and conferences to join us for this free event. Transportation from the PLDI/ECOOP conference venue was provided. Learn more...
About PLDI
PLDI is a forum where researchers, developers, educators, and practitioners exchange information on the latest practical and experimental work in the design and implementation of programming languages. PLDI presents original research papers that focus on the design, implementation, development, and use of programming languages. PLDI emphasizes innovative and creative approaches to compile-time and runtime technology, novel language designs and features, and results from implementations.


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Cyclone Divers Take the Road to Recovery
AMES, Iowa – With three top-three finishes against TCU last Friday, the Iowa State diving team is starting to hit its stride. Preparing for a season of Big 12 competition is a tall order alone, but two divers on the Cyclone roster have had more than just that on their minds. Senior Jessica Henderson and sophomore Elyse Brouillette have been battling injuries since early on last season.
Henderson, the lone senior diver on the team, was sidelined for the remainder of her junior year after sustaining a concussion during a 10-meter platform practice last fall. When Henderson attempted to return to the team, her headaches became so intense that she was forced to pull herself out of class for the spring 2013 semester just three weeks into the year.
Returning ISU most valuable diver Elyse Brouillette began experiencing pain in her left shoulder after returning from winter break last year. With the aid of physical therapy, Brouillette was able to make it through the rest of the season; however, it wouldn't be enough to get her back on the boards for the 2013-14 season.
Henderson's Road to Recovery
During a routine Saturday practice in Iowa City last fall, Henderson attempted a front full, two and a half summersaults with a full twist, from the 10-meter platform. Upon entry, Henderson over rotated causing her knee to collide into her head with great force.
Slightly shaken up by the incident, Henderson left the pool not even realizing that she had been injured. It was not until the following Mondaywhen she returned to practice in Ames when Henderson felt that something was not right. Team trainers evaluated the diver and concluded that she had a concussion.
Prescribed rest and time off from diving, Henderson attempted to return to the boards during the team's annual winter break training trip just a few weeks after sustaining the injury. Henderson began to experience chronic headaches induced by the training program quickly after her return. She was once again bench ridden as a result.
Following her second leave of absence from the team, Henderson's headaches began to intensify. Now three weeks into the spring semester, Henderson was forced to remove herself from the classroom for the remainder of the spring semester. At this point, she wondered if the side effects of her concussion would ever end.
With the rest of the spring semester devoted to recovery, Henderson was finally able to make her long awaited return during the team's summer training. According to Henderson, her experience carried her through her return to the boards.
"Things went pretty well in summer training," Henderson said. "All of the work that I have put in over the past three years was still there. That was comforting."
After eight months of slow and painful recovery, Henderson was hit with yet another injury at the start of the 2013-14 season. Henderson was hampered early on by a strained quadriceps muscle, an injury that developed over a period of time, according to the diver.
Again, Henderson attempted to battle through the injury, causing her to collapse on the board in Brookings, S.D. during the South Dakota State meet.
"It's frustrating because I can get through the pain, but my leg gave out," Henderson said.
Brouillette's Return from Surgery
Midway through the 2012-13 season, then freshman Elyse Brouillette began to experience a slight pain in her left shoulder as she was executing dives. Without much concern, Brouillette continued to train and compete through the pain that she felt.
By late winter of 2013, Brouillette's injury became more severe as she began to lose range of motion in her left arm. After seeking help from team trainers, Brouillette continued to prepare for the Big 12 Championships.
"It started to bug me back in January or February. I did physical theory, rested, and trained as much as I could," Brouillette said. "I kind of limped my way through the rest of the season."
Following her freshman year, Brouillette sought further medical attention regarding the pain she had been in for several weeks. Prescribed nothing more than time away from the pool and rest, Brouillette returned for Iowa State's summer training program only to find herself in the training room again as the pain came back.
Then came the bad news for the 2012-13 Iowa State most valuable diver of the year: she would have to undergo surgery to correct an impingement in her left shoulder. With the operation scheduled for July 19, Brouillette had just over two months to prepare for the opening meet.
Given three to four weeks of recovery time, Brouillette feared that she would not be prepared for competition. In addition to the physical setbacks that she had to battle through, Brouillette was dealing with nerves during the first dual meet competition in Lincoln, Neb.
"Coming back to practice and watching the other girls, I thought that I was missing out on training and that I wouldn't be prepared for meet season," Brouillette explained. "It was really hard."
Returning Stronger than Before
While there can rarely be a silver lining in the injury of an athlete, Henderson and Brouillette agreed that their time away from the sport did help make them better divers. With a limited number of reps for both athletes in training and in practice, they were forced to focus on their mental toughness, performing each dive in their heads over and over again.
"You get more of an opportunity to work on the mental side of diving," Henderson said. "Going through your dives mentally and visually, picturing yourself doing it perfectly every time, it really does work."
Head diving coach Jeff Warrick applauds his team's determination and toughness throughout this difficult stretch. In addition to their improved mental game, Warrick feels that his top performers have recaptured the "fire" after being forced out of the sport for extended periods of time.
"They are very tough. Even though they get frustrated because it is hard to be patient, they persevered and have done a great job coming back," Warrick said. "I think the one positive is when something is taken away from you, it means that much more when you get it back."


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All Mardi Gras Masks
Carnival and Fat Tuesday are a wonderful time for costumes and crazy props. Masquerade masks are the unofficial symbol of the holiday and the perfect item to complete any look. Like many modern festivities and traditions, Mardi Gras masks can be traced back to Renaissance Italy. Venetian masks typically come in full or half face designs and are decorated with feathers, beads, sequins and glitter.
Feather Plume and Glitter Eyemask
Long Nose Music Green/Purple Mask
Deluxe Feather Mask Black and Gold
Capture the romance and glamour of Venice's Carnival in this Venetian Half Mask with Stones. This mask is made from black felt trimmed with a golden border. Encrusted with beautiful stones and adorned with a swirled gold glitter pattern, you'll be sure to captivate at your next masquerade or Halloween party.
Venetian Half Face Mask White/Gold
Mardi Gras Gold and Black Eye Mask
Some masks can be tied on while others are attached to sticks. Half masks on sticks off a more feminine flair and are a wonderful choice for women's costumes. That doesn't mean women can be the only masked figures at the festival. Men will look dashing in a white and gold stylized mask or a plain black cocktail mask.
Covering your face adds to the fun and mystique of your outfit. The colors and style you choose can make a big difference in the overall feel of your look. A suave and classy Mardi Gras costume for a king might pair a crown with a simple Masquerade mask design while a court jester outfit might go well with a more colorful design. Find a mask and hat that complement each other for an even cooler look.


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Well this is it.
After six years or so this will be the last entry on Quit Your Day Job.
That's right this blog will no longer be updated.
However, this is nowhere near the end. I'm simply moving to a new blog and starting a fresh beginning.
My new blog is called Too Short To Be A Storm Trooper (although I'm clearly not).
QYDJ has served me well over the last six years and you guys have all been really amazing but for reasons that I slightly touch on in this post I feel that I need to close up this shop and start off somewhere new.
I will be keeping the site on though for at least a couple of years (you never know I may need to come running back to its familiar embrace after failing miserably with the new blog) in archive only mode.
I really do hope that you come over to the new site, not for more of the same but a new start and a new energy. I'm not making any promises with the new site but I do want to forge ahead into the unfamiliar for a while and I'm really looking forward to it.
This wasn't an easy decision, but it's the right one.
As a friend quipped when we discussed this new world:
"The blog is dead, long live the blog."
Head on over to the new site and make sure you update your feed reader!!
Thanks for everything!


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|Dragons thump Bulldogs on opening day
|Written by Chris Lee
It was a great March day for the first pitch—even if it was a bit breezy. It didn't slow the boys in green and gold down however, as they flew by Haxtun in dominating fashion Saturday, March 10.
The Holyoke Dragon baseball team won both games of the doubleheader on the Bulldogs' home field, 19-0 and 9-4.
"We played very well," coach Kyle Bules said. "We made routine plays which is what we have to do."
The coach also pointed out the Dragon hitters were very disciplined at the plate and worked the Bulldog pitchers into some deep counts.
With the entire team only having about a week of practice under their belts as a group, the coach was pleased to see them play so well.
"There were a few expected mental lapses," Bules said.
Holyoke 19, Haxtun 0
The game was well in hand after Holyoke managed to get nine players across home plate in the first inning of play Saturday.
Holyoke got a lot of help from the pitching of Haxtun. Twelve Dragons were walked and three were hit by pitches giving Holyoke 15 free bases. Holyoke only walked one Haxtun slugger the entire game.
The Dragons added two runs in the third and eight more in the fourth to close out the game early by run rule.
Four of the runs in the fourth inning came off the bat of Trevor Dalton who belted his first homer of the season with the bases chalk full of Dragons. The bomb increased the Dragons' lead to 17-0.
Pitcher Deyten Klein looks to fire a pitch towards home during Holyoke's
Deyten Klein took the win on the mound after four innings of work. He faced 14 batters, striking out seven and walking one. He gave up two hits and zero runs.
Logan Tharp earned the save after facing four batters, striking out two and giving up one hit.
Dalton finished the day with two hits, three runs and four RBI.
Eight players finished the game with at least one hit. The sizeable lead allowed coach Bules to utilize numerous players as they are still trying to find out what order and layout works the best.
Holyoke 9, Haxtun 4
After blowing out the Bulldogs in the first game of the doubleheader, it was Haxtun who jumped out to an early lead in game two.
Holyoke was unable to score any runs in the first and second while Haxtun put up three in the first.
The Dragons got on the board in the top of the third to close the gap.
Bules made a pitching change in the bottom of the third inning. Jaydin Goldenstein took the mound in relief of Alfredo Santos. Bules said they weren't planning on using Goldenstein due to a sore elbow but he was cleared and hit the mound as if nothing was wrong. Goldenstein threw strike after strike to cool the Bulldog bats.
Neither team produced a run in the fourth.
The bats began to connect for Holyoke in the top of the fifth as they drove five runs across home to take a 6-3 lead. Haxtun again was unable to score any runs in the bottom of the fifth.
Holyoke's Alfredo Santos slides in under a tag at second base Saturday during Holyoke's season opener against Haxtun. —Enterprise photo
Holyoke added two more in the top of the sixth and gave up one to Haxtun in the bottom of the inning.
Holyoke scored the last run of the game in the top of the final inning to secure the victory.
Santos began the game on the mound and pitched two innings. He faced 15 batters and struck out three of them. He walked two, gave up five hits and three earned runs.
Goldenstein pitched four innings and faced 16 batters. He struck out eight, walked two, allowed two hits and one earned run.
Reid Baumgartner got the save after one inning of work. He faced five batters and struck out three of them.
Chris Bieber finished the game with two hits, two runs and one RBI. Dalton had two hits, one run and two RBI.
Upcoming Dragon baseball action
The Dragons will host Sedgwick County Saturday, March 17 for a doubleheader that is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. Bules said they will be up against a strong left-handed pitcher in sophomore Chase Dunker. "He can beat anybody on any day," Bules said.
The junior varsity team is scheduled to travel to Haxtun for a doubleheader Tuesday, March 20. Games are set to begin at 4 p.m.
Holyoke Enterprise March 15, 2012


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BRADENTON, Florida -- A Bradenton school teacher raked in some serious cash on tonight's Wheel of Fortune.
Laura Cassidy was in the middle spot to spin the wheel. She's a second grade teacher at Team Success.
Cassidy made it through the final round, taking home more than $78,000 in cash and prizes, including a spring break trip to St. Lucia.
"I went on the show originally to pay off my student loans," Cassidy said.
Besides paying those loans, she also plans to take her 2nd grade class to Chuck E. Cheese to celebrate before putting the rest of the money away. She says it was both an amazing and overwhelming experience, and even if she won more money, she wouldn't give up being a teacher.
You can see Wheel of Fortune weeknights at 7 p.m. on 10 News.


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May 31, 2016
Huge crowds dominated the annual Kansas City Southern holiday train tour in Meridian.
People of all ages lined the sidewalks of Union Station Friday afternoon and evening to see 6 car train. The kids couldn't wait to see Santa and tell him what they want for Christmas.
"Like, lots of stuff," one child said. "Like, a ice hockey table, foosball, lots of stuff."
For the parents and adults, there was a little more work and a little less play involved.
"Ah, back breaking," Toni Need said. "Long line, babysitting."
The train was actually created back in 2001 after volunteers spent over 8,000 hours transforming the retired rail cars. Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Missouri are just some of the other states where the train will be stopping. It's also important to note that Kansas City southern will be giving out more than $100,000 worth of gift cards to the Salvation Army as it visits various states.
Click Here to access the online Public Inspection File
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Several top prospects among 23 non-roster invitees to Royals 2011 Major League Spring Training
The Royals announced today that the club has extended 23 non-roster invitations to 2011 Major League Spring Training in Surprise, Ariz.
Among the 23 non-roster players will be six of the Royals' Top 10 prospects according to Baseball America, including first baseman Eric Hosmer (ranked #1), third baseman Mike Moustakas (#3) and left-handed pitcher John Lamb (#4). In addition, the ninth-rated prospect according to Baseball America, right-handed pitcher Aaron Crow, is a member of the 40-man roster and will be in camp. The Royals are inviting 13 non-roster pitchers, three catchers, six infielders and one outfielder.
The Royals kick off the 32-game exhibition slate on February 27 against the Texas Rangers as the visiting team at the Surprise Recreation Complex. Individual game tickets will go on sale this Saturday, January 8 at 8 a.m. CT. The tickets will be on sale at the Surprise Stadium Box Office, through Royals.com or by calling 800-745-3000. Mail orders and several multi-ticket packages are available now at 623-222-2222 or by visiting www.royals.com/springtraining. For more information, including information on special Spring Training travel packages, fans may visit royals.com.
Pitchers and catchers report on Monday, February 14 with the remainder of the squad scheduled to arrive on Friday, February 18. The first full squad workout is scheduled for Saturday, February 19.
The 40-man roster can be found at http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/team/roster_40man.jsp?c_id=kc. Here is the full list of non-roster invitees, with their position and age listed:
Pitchers (13)
Louis Coleman, RHP (24)
Tim Collins, LHP (21)
Danny Duffy LHP (22)
Chris Dwyer, LHP (22)
Blaine Hardy, LHP (23)
Gaby Hernandez, RHP (24)
Patrick Keating, RHP (23)
John Lamb, LHP (20)
Luis Mendoza, RHP (27)
Zach Miner, RHP (28)
Mike Montgomery, LHP (21)
Steven Shell, RHP (27)
Will Smith, LHP (21)
Catchers (3)
Cody Clark (29)
Ryan Eigsti (25)
Salvador Perez (20)
Infielders (6)
Joaquin Arias (26)
Irving Falu (27)
Johnny Giavotella (23)
Eric Hosmer (21)
Mike Moustakas (22)
Lance Zawadzki (25)
Outfielders (1)
Brett Carroll (28)


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This Week
"This Week" Continued...
Worst since WWII
More than 1,000 workers in central Germany clawed through debris in search of victims-and clues-in Germany's worst train disaster since World War II. At least 100 passengers were confirmed dead after the country's fastest train, the ICE, derailed near Eschede. The lead locomotive of the Munich to Hamburg express broke loose at 125 mph last week, leaving behind 12 passenger cars and a second locomotive that left the tracks and smashed together like an accordion. Nearly inaccessible to rescuers were a dining car and a first-class compartment, wedged under a collapsed overpass. Police gave differing accounts of how the accident occurred, indicating that an automobile on the track or the overpass may have caused the derailment.
Death of a pioneer
Barry Goldwater rode out of the West in 1964 and forced conservative views into national prominence when he ran for president. The Cold War right lost that time but gained a thirst for victory that was finally quenched by Ronald Reagan in 1980. Too bad that by the '80s the Arizona senator had metamorphosed into a talking head for the political establishment that once wanted him guillotined. Mr. Goldwater died at age 89 and was buried last week. Upon his death, "Mr. Conservative" was called "a great patriot and a truly fine human being" by Bill Clinton. Planned Parenthood president Gloria Feldt mourned him, saying, "He may very well have been everything the founding fathers had hoped for in a political leader." But back in 1964, things were different for the man known by the chemical symbol AuH2O. Mr. Goldwater called for states' rights, wanted Social Security made voluntary, and talked of lobbing a bomb into the men's room at the Kremlin. Back then, the Republican party was run by a cadre of East Coast liberals who loved big government but didn't feel guilty enough to become Democrats. The establishment figured that since JFK had just died, nobody could pull the presidency away from Lyndon Johnson. That opened the door for Mr. Goldwater and his anticommunist, anti-big government message. He upset liberal Nelson Rockefeller for the GOP nomination, famously telling the convention that "extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice." Liberals wasted no time painting Mr. Goldwater as just that-an extremist. One shrill Johnson campaign ad juxtaposed a shot of a little girl picking daisies with a nuclear explosion. The message: Barry Goldwater wants to blow up the world. Nothing the Republican nominee could do with his dedicated but outmaneuvered campaign team worked. He lost by 16 million votes and carried six states. Yet the Goldwater movement pushed on toward Ronald Reagan. The aftershocks never stopped; even today the most liberal Republicans must pay lip service to conservative ideals. After his defeat, Mr. Goldwater himself went back to the Senate and fought the Cold War as chairman of the Armed Services Committee. Over the years, conservatives noticed something different about their hero. The political world was changing. The Roe vs. Wade decision reminded the right that America's moral decline was now a bloody mess. But Mr. Goldwater was nowhere to be found. He began to "grow," as the liberals say, and started taking shots at the same sort of conservatives who made him a national icon. The loose cannon pointed in the wrong direction. Mr. Goldwater gave soundbite after soundbite opposing social conservatives, especially Christians. "His social views were like what you would find in The Washington Post," says Paul Gottfried, author of The Conservative Movement. Instead of Mao, Khrushchev, and Ho Chi Minh, he declared war on Jesse Helms, Jerry Falwell, and Pat Robertson. "Religious factions will go on imposing their will on others unless the decent people connected to them recognize that religion has no place in public policy," he said in 1992. Mr. Goldwater campaigned against school prayer and lobbied for abortion, gays in the military, and forced busing. When he endorsed a Democrat in a 1992 congressional race over Christian conservative Doug Wead, Arizona Republicans considered removing his name from party headquarters. "He was a politician, not a consistent thinker," said columnist Joseph Sobran of Mr. Goldwater. "I want to remember him the way he was in '64."
Big government. Now understandable.
A governmental initiative has been undertaken wherein plain language, shorter sentences, and active voice is required for use by bureaucrats in communication with the citizenry. Vice President Gore-who last year added the incomprehensible "no controlling legal authority" to the Beltway lexicon-said last week executive agencies will have until Oct. 1 to make the change. The new policy applies to all new federal documents that explain how to get a benefit or service or how to comply with an agency requirement. "Short is better than long. Active is better than passive.... Clarity helps advance understanding," Mr. Gore said of his campaign against government language gobbledygook. The rule will not immediately apply to new federal regulations, however; reg-writers have until New Year's Day 1999 to eschew obfuscation.
Chin music and divine protection
Two months into the major-league season, the New York Yankees are sporting the best record in baseball, and one of their best players has been Andy Pettitte, a 25-year-old left-handed starting pitcher who is open about his Christian faith. Mr. Pettitte and the Yankees are keenly aware that other teams are gunning for them now and are trying to intimidate them. Recently, after he gave up a home run, Baltimore Orioles reliever Armando Benitez intentionally hit a Yankee player with a pitch just below the back of his neck. The on-purpose plunk caused both benches and bullpens to empty, and a full-scale brawl worthy of promotion by Don King ensued on the field and in the visitors' dugout at Yankee Stadium. When WORLD caught up with Mr. Pettitte during a Yankee stop at Boston's Fenway Park, he said that he was "not really a fighter," but he defended the involvement of Christians in such bench-clashing battles. "Nothing happened to me personally in that Orioles game," Mr. Pettitte noted, "but something happened to my teammate. It looked like someone was trying to hurt one of my teammates. The Lord doesn't want me to be a wimp, or to just say, 'Go ahead and keep drilling us. We're going to keep taking it.' You have to take a stand sometimes. You do have to control your emotions a little bit, but you also have to let the other team know that you're not real happy about what they're doing." What about brushback pitches and beanballs? Should a follower of Christ be pitching inside and administering a little chin music to batters, a la Armando Benitez? "It's part of the game," Mr. Pettitte answered. "The Lord wants me to do my job on the mound to the best of my ability, and if a guy gets in the batter's box and feels too comfortable against me when I'm pitching, then I'm not going to be able to pitch to the best of my ability. So I'm going to throw inside just as much as anybody else does. I'm not trying to hit anybody, but sometimes when you pitch inside you're going to hit someone." WORLD also asked Mr. Pettitte about being struck by line drives hit back to him. Pettitte was recently hit twice, on the right knee and on the right leg, and he pitched poorly in subsequent appearances. Is there a fear factor involved while pitching, or concern that a career could be snuffed out with one swing of a bat? "No," Mr. Pettitte replied. "Before every start I ask the Lord to watch over me and to keep me safe. I never ask for wins. I just pray that I can stay healthy and not do anything to let my testimony for him down. I just pray that he will take care of me on the mound."
Viagra: Leading men into temptation?
Did your boyfriend dump you? Maybe Viagra made him do it. Seventy-year-old construction executive Francis Bernardo popped the tiny blue pill last month. Two days later, he left his common-law wife in search of someone new. He even left her a note bragging about his new energy. The pair had been shacking up since they first met at a Hilton Head country club in 1988; now it's over. So says the longtime companion, Roberta Burke. That's why she's suing her man for $2 million. She claims the impotence drug led him to infidelity. "I was looking forward to our old age," she says, "holding hands and walking on the beach." Widower Bernando says his thrice-married live-in just wants his money. "Have you ever heard of an inanimate object breaking up your marriage?" says his lawyer, Raoul Felder.
Nation in brief
Drudge in the lions' den
Matt Drudge, the gadfly Internet journalist no journalist in Washington will call a journalist, met the "mainstream" press last week on its home turf, the National Press Club. Mr. Drudge held court during the lunch hour, delivering a short speech and parrying mostly hostile questions to some laughter and smatterings of applause. He was introduced by Doug Harbrecht, Washington news editor of Business Week, who duly noted Mr. Drudge's unpopularity with the group. But Mr. Harbrecht noted, "My children, ages 20 and 17, know who Matt Drudge is, but they don't know who David Broder and Helen Thomas are, two of Washington's legendary journalists." MFN: Mustn't forget nukes?
As his high-profile trip to the edge of Tienanman Square in Beijing edged closer, President Clinton urged Congress last week to renew Most Favored Nation trading status for China. Mr. Clinton argued MFN would help during this time of tension in Asia, especially between India and Pakistan. On Capitol Hill, human-rights activists and lawmakers marked the ninth anniversary of the Tienanman Square massacre (June 4, 1989) with anti-Beijing rallies and congressional resolutions. The president's MFN request, said Gary Bauer of the Family Research Council, "overlooks the fact that stability in Asia has worsened, the transfer of weapons of mass destruction has continued, and now, thanks to his policies, Chinese missiles are better able to target Americans." Fat and fatter
Americans may not necessarily be getting fatter, but the government threshold for fat got slimmer last week. A panel of government experts concluded that a person with a body mass index as low as 25 should be considered overweight and anyone with a body mass index of 30 or above is obese. Using those new guidelines, about 55 percent of the population would be considered overweight or obese. March for Jesus
Local March for Jesus rallies captured the attention of newspapers across the country last week; most of the papers noted the ecumenical spirit of the events, which drew an estimated 1 million Americans in 700 U.S. cities and some 10 million other believers in 160 countries. The Kansas City Star, the Omaha World-Herald, and Denver's Rocky Mountain News called particular attention to the denominational diversity. Theological distinctives were often swept aside, several papers noted. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported two Protestant ministers led the local throng in prayers for the persecuted church in China, parts of Africa, and the Middle East; later a Roman Catholic led a prayer for Christian martyrs, past and present.
A failing grade
Report cards came in for the federal government-and D.C. gets a big fat "F" for failing to fix the 2000 bug. The computers running many large federal agencies are on a collision course with the millennium unless things change fast. "We must not panic," said Rep. Steve Horn, R-Calif., as he announced the grades. He said President Clinton must mount the bully pulpit and make the bug a national priority. A House panel flunked the EPA, along with the Departments of Transportation, State, Energy, and Health and Human Services. The worst case is the Agency for International Development, which won't be fully ready until 2019. On the other hand, the State Department is in better shape; its computers will be ready for 2000 by the year 2005. Overall, 13 of the 24 biggest agencies are set to miss the big deadline. The Social Security Administration was the star pupil, earning an "A+" from the subcommittee. But that doesn't necessarily mean Grandma will get her monthly check, because they're issued by the Treasury Department, which earned a "C." The bug comes from faulty computer software, especially the programs that run on musty old mainframes in bureaucratic offices. Cryptic computer codes must be tediously rewritten in time for the millennium. Also, electronic equipment with bad microchips must be hunted down and replaced. The FAA alone says it has 10,000 devices with these problems. Another sector checking heavily for the Y2K bug is banking. Banks are in much better shape, according to the FDIC. Bank examiners reviewed more than 6,000 institutions and found 88 percent are making satisfactory progress at fixing computers. These banks aren't out of danger, but they're making headway. Still, the FDIC threatens action against those who don't make repairs on time. "We consider Year 2000-associated risks to be the No. 1 safety-and-soundness concern for the banking industry," says Nicholas J. Ketcha Jr., director of the FDIC's Division of Supervision.
CEOs mean business
When President Clinton last month vetoed for the second time legislation that would have given publicly funded school vouchers to 2,000 of the poorest children in the nation's capital, some observers wrote that school teachers' unions had once again received a payback for their generous support to Democrats in the 1996 election cycle. Yet if the price of liberty is eternal vigilance, so is the price of keeping inner-city kids imprisoned in bad schools: New voucher plans continue to emerge. This fall 150 low-income children in Memphis and 300 in Louisville will attend private schools through vouchers provided by new private voucher programs in those cities. These students join more than 12,000 children nationwide who have received privately funded vouchers since 1991 at a cost of more than $45 million. The biggest plan, San Antonio Edgewood, has already garnered some publicity (see WORLD, May 2). The plan promises to spend $50 million over the next 10 years to offer vouchers worth up to $4,000 for high school to any interested low-income student in the Edgewood district. More than 30 other private voucher programs are based on a model advanced first in Indianapolis in 1991 by the Golden Rule Insurance Co. and now affiliated with the Bentonville, Ark.-based CEO Foundation, which is funded partly by Walmart heir John Walton. Although critics still accuse the programs of skimming able students from the public schools, the CEO-affiliated programs provide scholarships (typically worth $1,000 to $1,500) on a first-come, first-served basis to children eligible for federal free or reduced-price lunches. Demand for the vouchers outstrips available resources: There are more than 45,000 kids nationwide on waiting lists in the communities where voucher programs exist; the list includes large cities like New York, Los Angeles, Detroit, Chicago, Atlanta, and Philadelphia, and smaller cities like Indianapolis, Little Rock, Albany, Austin, and Milwaukee.
Just say no
Taxpayers in Ohio said no to higher taxes to benefit public schools, rejecting by a lopsided margin of 80 percent to 20 percent a plan supported by the Republican governor and GOP-controlled legislature to raise the sales tax from 5 to 6 percent. Even though voters were promised that half of the increase would go toward reducing property taxes, they were unwilling to give more money to education without accountability. The Ohio affiliate of the National Education Association supported the measure, but the Ohio Federation of Teachers and the AFL-CIO opposed it. Ohio voters also said no-but by a smaller margin-to plans to fund low-interest loans for school construction, a measure similar to that proposed by President Clinton as part of his supposedly popular federal education agenda. Meanwhile, the Buckeye Institute, a think tank based in Dayton, Ohio, has proposed what The Wall Street Journal called "child-centered" education. Instead of money going from the state to school districts, $4,000 in "opportunity grants" would follow students to whatever school, public or private, their parents choose.
Legislating phonics
Phonics is back-and many teachers aren't happy about it. State legislators, impatient with declines in reading scores, have begun to try to legislate phonics from the statehouse. Education Week reported that since 1990, 101 bills mandating phonics instruction in the public schools have been offered in states throughout the nation. Sixty-seven of those plans were offered in the past two years. The legislation is too specific, critics complain, meaning it "leaves little room for interpretation," as EW put it. University professors of education are complaining about "mandates for professional practice," and "simple solutions to very complex problems." The legislators, for their part, cite recent research that points to the importance of phonics-based reading instruction in the early years.
World in brief
Panic attack
International bailout patrols continued to eye Russia for an Asian-styled economic meltdown. On May 31 President Clinton pledged U.S. support for an international financial-aid package if Russia is unable to meet its short-term debts. That statement was timed to shore up the country's declining markets, but the following day Russia's main stock index sank more than 10 percent. The economic crisis is tied to shortfalls in oil revenues and taxes, together with declining foreign investment in the wake of a political crisis that stems from the shakeup of President Boris Yeltsin's cabinet. A bailout package brokered by the International Monetary Fund would mark the fourth time in nine months the fund has been called in to soothe market panic. Afghan disaster meets relief shortage
Relief agencies remained unable to confirm the number dead from a May 30 earthquake in northern Afghanistan. Estimates ranged from 2,000 to 5,000. The quake, registering 6.9 on the Richter Scale, struck an area devastated in February by another massive quake, which claimed more than 2,000 lives. UN agencies and the Red Cross-operating with only three borrowed helicopters-struggled to meet the need for food and medicine among the now-homeless and at the same time ferry the injured to emergency medical facilities. Soccer snarl
France's socialist government accused airline pilots of holding the World Cup hostage. With the beginning of the world soccer championship scheduled for this week, Air France pilots were nearly a week into a strike that has grounded 80 percent of flights. Air France, the official carrier of the World Cup, promised to transport the 32 national teams competing in the event, but it directed other passengers to trains. French train drivers, too, have scheduled a walkout over pay cuts for the eve of the tournament.
Nuclear chest thumping
Pakistan exploded another nuclear device less than 48 hours after its initial detonation of up to five atomic bombs set off an Asian arms race. U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen called the nuclear rivalry between Pakistan and India, which in mid-May launched the initial nuclear tests, "a very dangerous situation." The two nations, he complained, were "engaging in a chauvinistic chest-pounding about their nuclear manhood." Foreign ministers from Britain, France, Russia, China, and the United States-who are the world's major nuclear powers as well as the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council-met to discuss ways to head off the nuclear escalation. What they did not discuss was multilateral economic sanctions. With scant support from its allies, the United States moved to impose restrictions on foreign aid to India and Pakistan, as well as to oppose international loans to both countries. In Washington, business interests ranging from multinational bankers to wheat farmers took a number at the Commerce Department to lodge their opposition to regulations imposing the trade restrictions. Undeterred by Western chest-pounding, India's ruling Hindu Nationalist Party unveiled its first budget since taking power just over two months ago. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee said there would be "no compromise on defense preparedness" and pledged to raise defense spending 14 percent. The government proposed spending increases of 68 percent for its Atomic Energy Commission, which oversees civilian and military nuclear programs, and hefted the Department of Space budget by 62 percent. It oversees the development of rockets for satellites and military purposes. Meanwhile, a review panel convened by CIA chief George Tenet concluded that U.S. intelligence failed to warn of India's nuclear weapons tests because of poor leadership and substandard intelligence gathering. The panel said U.S. espionage efforts in places like India are stretched too thin and spy satellite data is not adequately evaluated. In its key finding, the panel blamed the Clinton administration, including Mr. Tenet, for ignoring the pledges of the incoming Hindu nationalist party to conduct nuclear tests.
"It's just lunacy"
Carl H. Silverman of Waynesboro, Pa., succeeded in removing Gideon Bibles from his local school district in 1996, and now he is trying to stop the Hagerstown (Md.) Suns minor league baseball club from giving ticket discounts to churchgoing families. Mr. Silverman, 42, recently filed a complaint with the Maryland Human Relations Commission challenging the Suns' practice of allowing families with as many as six members into general admission seats for $6.00-if they're carrying a church bulletin. The Suns, a Toronto Blue Jays affiliate, have offered such a deal for five seasons. Neither Mr. Silverman nor the Maryland Human Relations Commission would offer any comment about the complaint, but some legal experts believe that Mr. Silverman has a good chance of winning against the Suns. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination at places of public accommodation based on race, color, national origin, or religion. Maryland state laws track the language of the federal act. If the Maryland Human Relations Commission cannot settle the case, then it will hold a public hearing before an administrative law judge. The Suns could be fined up to $500 if their church bulletin policy is found to be discriminatory in nature. Hagerstown Mayor Robert Bruchey summarized community opinion about Mr. Silverman's complaint: "Most people I've talked to think it's just lunacy."
Chopping funding
Education Week reported on a recent meeting between school and local government officials in Reno, Nev., to discuss budget problems caused by recent victories by environmentalists. For the past decade, logging has been sharply limited in the country's national forests. In 1987, 12 million board feet of timber were harvested; 10 years later only 3.5 million board feet were harvested. Since one-fourth of the money raised from timber sales goes by law to schools and local governments in affected areas, the cost to schools has been high. In 1987 schools received $1 billion in timber money; in 1997, even though prices have increased, they received $500 million. Many angry education officials believe the logging ban is irrational. It leaves many forests with dying trees that could be harvested for money but instead eventually fall to the forest floor, providing tinder for fires rather than money for school books. Teachers' unions, however, have not attacked environmentalists for defunding public education.


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|Extension Corner
|Written by Holyoke Enterprise
Safe and delicious holiday foods— temperature matters!
Ice cold eggnog, tender and juicy turkey, perfect pecan pie—there are many special foods we associate with the holidays. According to CSU Extension educators, maintaining recommended temperatures during food storage and preparation can often make the difference between delicious or disastrous results. Don't overlook monitoring food temperatures in the holiday rush.
Do you have the right thermometer for the job? From the refrigerator to the oven or stovetop, using a thermometer can assure food reaches the recommended temperature for "doneness."
Sea-level time and temperature guidelines can be used for roasted meats because oven temperatures are not affected by Colorado's altitude, but internal temperature is the gold standard for obtaining the best results. Monitoring temperatures assures safety and also helps prevent overcooking, which may result in a dry or tough end product.
Likewise, keeping cold foods chilled properly limits the growth of bacteria and helps maintain their nutritional value.
There are a variety of food and appliance thermometers available at hardware and kitchen stores. These essential kitchen tools come in several styles and vary in level of technology and price. It is recommended that all kitchens have a thermometer in both the refrigerator (at or below 40 F) and the freezer (0 F), as well as one available for safely cooking and reheating foods.
Holiday food temperature recommendations for consumers include:
—Roasted turkey or chicken, 165 F.
—Stuffing, 165 F.
—Ham, fresh, 145 F.
—Ham, pre-cooked, 140 F.
—Beef, pork, veal and lamb, 160 F.
—Leftovers, 165 F.
For more info, visit USDA/FSIS at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/home/index.asp.
And don't forget to keep uninvited microbial guests from crashing the party. Holiday events often require transporting and serving food in a variety of situations. Remember to take temperature into account at holiday get-togethers and potlucks—don't leave food safety to luck!
Keep cold foods cold (below 40 F) and hot foods hot (above 140 F). Use insulated containers and warming plates to help maintain the temperature of hot foods. Cold foods should be stored in the refrigerator or a cooler until serving begins. One convenient way to keep chilled dishes cold is to nest them in bowls of ice.
What about leftovers? Traditionally after potlucks and group meals, guests take a portion of the leftovers home. Foods that were kept at room temperature for less than two hours can be refrigerated and saved. Leftovers should be reheated to 165 F and consumed within 2-3 days. Leftover foods that exceeded two hours in the temperature danger zone (between 40-140 F) should be discarded.
It is always important to follow the manufacturer's instructions for using and calibrating a thermometer. If instructions are not available, check the stem of the food thermometer for an indentation, or "dimple." This indicates the location of the sensing device.
When checking food temperatures, insert the probe the full length of the sensing area, usually 2-3 inches. Check the temperature of meats at the thickest part, away from bone or fat. The internal temperature of turkey should be checked in the innermost part of the thigh and wing and the thickest part of the breast. If measuring the temperature of a thin food, the probe should be inserted through the side of the food.
Treat thermometers with care. Wash them by hand between uses with hot soapy water to prevent cross contamination, but do not immerse them in water. If placed too close to heat sources, the plastic faces of some models may melt or break.
Monitoring holiday food temperatures can increase your chances of a healthy, safe holiday season!
For more information on safe food handling throughout the holiday season, visit CSU's Farm to Table Food Safety website at http://farmtotable.colostate.edu/prepare.php.
Holyoke Enterprise December 13, 2012


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Brent Schrotenboer, USA TODAY Sports
Lance Armstrong once again has decided not to cooperate with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency but said he still plans to "cooperate fully" with other anti-doping authorities instead.
For the second time in two weeks, the famed cyclist has rejected USADA's deadline to submit to a full debriefing about how he cheated on the bike and got away with it for years. If he had agreed to cooperate in time, his testimony could have paved the way for a reduction in his lifetime ban from sanctioned sporting events.
But Armstrong still has issues with USADA "for several reasons," according to a statement released Wednesday by Tim Herman, his attorney. And now he may pursue a different route, possibly through an independent international tribunal yet to be established.
"Lance is willing to cooperate fully and has been very clear: He will be the first man through the door, and once inside will answer every question, at an international tribunal formed to comprehensively address pro cycling, an almost exclusively European sport," Herman's statement said. "We remain hopeful that an international effort will be mounted, and we will do everything we can to facilitate that result. In the meantime, for several reasons, Lance will not participate in USADA's efforts to selectively conduct American prosecutions that only demonize selected individuals while failing to address the 95% of the sport over which USADA has no jurisdiction."
For USADA and other anti-doping authorities, the goal is full disclosure. They want Armstrong to give a confession under oath without holding back on certain subjects as he did in his televised confession last month with Oprah Winfrey. In that interview, Armstrong did not want to discuss the role of his cycling team manager Johan Bruyneel, among other key figures and incidents.
Previously, USADA imposed a deadline of Feb. 6 but granted Armstrong a two-week extension at his request - until Wednesday, which he declined to meet.
Herman told USA TODAY Sports last month that Armstrong's offer to cooperate was not contingent on having his ban reduced.
But personal mistrust and other issues got in the way of Armstrong cooperating with USADA, whose chief executive officer, Travis Tygart, has long been Armstrong's nemesis.
USADA has said Armstrong was the ringleader of the "most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen." In October, the agency released a massive evidence file against Armstrong that spelled it all out, including statements from 26 witnesses that described how Armstrong doped, avoided detection and lied about it for several years.
After being banned for life and stripped of his seven titles in the Tour de France, Armstrong finally confessed last month in his interview with Winfrey. He said he used banned drugs and blood transfusions from the mid-1990s through 2005. But he still disputed key points of USADA's case against him. He denied being a ringleader in the scheme and said he stopped doping after 2005 - statements that Tygart said were not true based on the evidence.
Not surprisingly, Armstrong preferred to cooperate with other authorities on this issue. If the goal is to clean up cycling, Herman argued that USADA was not the proper organization to handle the task because doping is a mostly a European sport.
USADA didn't have much leverage with Armstrong anyway. Though Armstrong wants to compete again in sanctioned triathlons and marathons, the best USADA might be able to offer him was a reduction in his lifetime ban to eight years, when Armstrong, 41, would be near 50.
If Armstrong were to provide substantial assistance to anti-doping officials, a lifetime ban could be reduced to no less than eight years, according to the WADA code.
"An eight-year ban, that would be a lifetime ban (for Armstrong)," Herman recently told USA TODAY Sports last month.
USA Today


text:
YouTube, Real News Network
Aaron Swartz - a Fighter Against the Privatization of Knowledge
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These are, as I began, cumbersome ways to kill a man.
Simpler, direct, and much more neat is to see
that he is living somewhere in the middle
of the twentieth century, and leave him there. --Edwin Brock
Twenty-first century. As Matt Stoller shows, Aaron Swartz was killed by corruption. His destroyers were placeholders in a weak, vicious, and corrupt rentier state.
Immanuel Wallerstein describes such a state in World-Systems Analysis:
[W]hat does it mean to be a strong state internally? Strength certainly is not indicated by the degree of arbitrariness or ruthlessness of the central authority. … Dictatorial behavior by state authorities is more often a sign of weakness than of strength. … The weaker the state, the less wealth can be accumulated through economically productive activities. This consequently makes the state machinery itself a prime locus, perhaps the prime locus, of wealth accumulation—through larceny and bribery, at high and low levels. It is not that this does not occur in strong states—it does—but that in weak [e.g.] states it becomes the preferred means of capital accumulation ["savvy businessmen"], which in turn weakens the ability of the state to perform its other tasks. … In states that have raw materials which are very lucrative on the world market (such as oil [or some forms of intellectual property]), the income available to the state is essentially rent, and here too the actual control of the machinery guarantees that much of the rent can be siphoned off into private hands.
Sound familiar? For our rentier state then, siphoning rents on intellectual property into private hands is central to mission. Swartz stopped SOPA because his mission (or vision) was radically different:
There is no justice in following unjust laws. It's time to come into the light and, in the grand tradition of civil disobedience, declare our opposition to this private theft of public culture.
We need to take information, wherever it is stored, make our copies and share them with the world. We need to take stuff that's out of copyright and add it to the archive. We need to buy secret databases and put them on the Web. We need to download scientific journals and upload them to file sharing networks. We need to fight for Guerilla Open Access.
Which is what Swartz did, and for which he was punished. (empty wheel points to the procedural sloppiness of the charges, but that's hardly the point when a rentier's rice bowl is broken, and weak states are lousy at law anyhow.)
This isn't a post about intellectual property rights, so I'll merely present an example of the good that Swartz's vision can do. As is well known, Swartz wrote the spec for RSS (Really Simple Syndication). At age 14. And so:
RSS changed our lives
I need to let the people who knew and loved Aaron know that his work changed my son's life for the better, forever.
Diagnosed with autism at age 2, My son's best help came from the RSS feeds and papers that I could get access to that offered the truth and science about autism. Every morning I read the RSS feeds from academic journals world wide to find out more about my son's regressive autism, fragile X premutation (which is only known in scientific academic circles) the MTHFR gene and new and critical treatments. Because of his work I was able to find out about UC Davis, about current scientific treatment, and research studies to get us this treatment. My son is now four and his is doing great… BECAUSE of the scientific information I had access to. I have an MLIS. I interned at Elsevier. I have seen all sides of the academic pay wall and I have felt my ignorance around my neck like a boulder, at great cost to my son's health. But Aaron, you helped us. Thank you. Until we see that the populace will never be scientifically aware UNLESS we have access to the information we will not be able to go from a people of belief to a people of ideas [not a bug].
In other words, Swartz helped this woman and her son by removing information from the grasp of rentiers. That's what "open access" means, operationally. (See also on PACER, where Swartz provided open access to the law.)
I would now like to dolly back from Swartz's views on open access, and show how three overlapping lethal systems, each one structured for its own corrupt purposes by our rentier state, narrowed his life chances by piling on risk factors, and set him up for an untimely death. First, I'll look at the health care system, then at health in the tech community, and finally at health in the technical activist community. In each system, Aaron Swartz was at risk -- or the nature of our current arrangements in political economy put him at risk.
Risk Factors from the Health Care System
As Swartz wrote in "How to Get a Job Like Mine":
Undoubtedly, the first step is to choose the right genes: I was born white, male, American.
Unfortunately for Swartz, he should also have chosen to be born in a different generation: My own, for example. Check out this chart from the New York Times:
Clearly, we are failing millions of our young people -- of whom Swartz, 26, was one -- in the most basic way imaginable, by shortening their lives! Of course, I don't claim that there was a linear relation between Swartz's death and health care he would have gotten under a humane system, had he needed it (although depression, though often treatable, is hard to treat). What I do claim, and what the chart shows, is that Swartz, because of his age, was at risk of dying younger than I will (drawing me into collusion as a rentier, come to think of it; I didn't do anything to this life chance). And of course, our system of health-care-for profit is both uniquely profitable and uniquely bad at delivering health, dominated as it is by health insurance companies -- rentiers -- who contribute no value to any of the transactions in which they participate, and who have corruptly used the power of the state to entrench themselves (shocker, I know). I'd also note that suicide* is a problem our health care system seems unable to address.
Risk Factors in the Tech Community
Zooming in to civil society, Swartz was not the only tech genius to commit suicide**. Two examples; see if you can find a common factor with Swartz.
First, Ilya Zhitomirskiy (22). His project was Diaspora:
Instead of creating a central database like Facebook's, where information about hundreds of millions of members is stored and mined for advertising and marketing purposes, their idea was to develop freely shared software that would allow every member of the network to 'own' his or her personal information.
Second, Len Sassaman (36). His project was Mixmaster:
Len Sassaman, [was] a highly-regarded 31 year-old cryptographer who helped create secure communication systems. … The former engineer for Anonymizer, which obscures a user's IP address, was a well-known "cypherpunk" who maintained the open source Mixmaster remailer software. The Mixmaster protocol was designed to protect against traffic analysis and offer users a way to send email anonymously. Sassaman's work focussed on 'attacking and defending anonymous communication systems, exploring the applicability of information-theoretic secure systems for privacy solutions, and designing protocols which satisfy the specific needs of the use case for which they are applied', according to his profile at the computer security and industrial cryptography research department of Belgium's Leuven University.
Before you ask, Sassaman, like Swartz, suffered from depression, and Zhitomirskiy was bipolar. However, if you look again at their work, you will also see that both men had an additional risk factor in common with Swartz: They too were directly assaulting the interests of rentiers with a vision of open access, Zhitomirskiy with the radical notion that users should own their own data (the nerve!), and Sassaman with the equally radical notion that people should be able to communicate without having their own byte streams monetized.
Adding to the risk factors for Swartz in the tech community, entrepreneurs suffer massive stress -- and Swartz, a co-founder of Reddit, was an entrepreneur. From commenter debasishbera in a long thread at YCombinator, the entrepreneurial incubator:
As a startup owner I feel like I am a sinking man and each floating wood chip around is a hope - Learning to float between moving from one wood chip to other is the key to me.
I guess I will fail that day when I will conclude that I am too tired of trying (not really, really tried -- and still failed).
I don't believe "The truth is ... that it takes a special and lucky person". The truth is we need one or two hands on our shoulder and someone to stand during the darkest hours and say "darkest hours are always before the sun comes"
And a final risk factor Swartz shared with other tech entrepreneurs is being on the wrong side of the law (however righteously). From a long thread on Reddit:
Most people should check out just how most people in Tech start out their careers. Every person I know that starts a successful company, has to do illegal things at the start. Why? Because being legitimate isn't profitable for a small business in the US... you cannot make it through the first year without skating that line.
In other words, corruption is part of the bootstrapping process, beyond the corruption imposed by rentiers. I could tell a story about my entrepreneurial grandfather, but Steve Jobs is a better example. The "blue box" is a device, back in the analog days, that was widely used for making free—and illegal—phone calls. "Open access" again:
[Jobs] told me about how the blue box article had inspired him and Wozniak. How they'd taken down the cycles-per-second of the tones AT&T used to translate phone numbers into audio signals, some of which I'd disclosed in the article, and how they'd found the others in some obscure technical journals and had begun building their own blue boxes, hoping to sell them on the underground market. (Gamblers and mobsters liked to use them to keep their communications outside the system.)
Mobsters? Well, alrighty. Today's Steve Jobs would have been thrown in jail and tortured by solitary confinement: No Apple! (But as Wallerstein says, weak states aren't really about economically productive activities.) I'm not equating Swartz's community service-level offense with being mobbed up, but pointing out that getting on the wrong side of the law is yet another tech stressor, and hence a risk factor for anyone fragile (not the first word that comes to mind when thinking of Steve Jobs).
Risk Factors in the Activist Community
Zooming in to Swartz's associates, friends, and family, we find additional risk factors when the power of the state*** was brought to bear on him. Stoller explains:
Corruption isn't just people profiting from betraying the public interest. It's also people being punished for upholding the public interest. In our institutions of power, when you do the right thing and challenge abusive power, you end up destroying a job prospect, an economic opportunity, a political or social connection, or an opportunity for media. Or … you are bankrupted and destroyed. … Corrupt self-interest, when it goes systemwide, demands that it protect rentiers from people like Aaron, that it intimidate, co-opt, humiliate, fire, destroy, and/or bankrupt those who stand for justice. … [T]he person who warned about the downside in a meeting gets cut out of the loop, or the former politician who tries to reform an industry sector finds his or her job opportunities sparse and unappealing next to his soon to be millionaire go along get along colleagues. I've seen this happen to high level former officials who have done good, and among students who challenge power as their colleagues go to become junior analysts on Wall Street.
And such an additional stressor — and I'm sure there were many others besides this one — put Swartz at risk. Quinn Norton's howl of pain:
We were destroyed by the investigation, and by enduring so much together in the five years of the difficult love affair of difficult people. In the end he told me he needed to get away from me. I let him go, and waited for the day he'd come back. I knew that one day we'd have a day to be together again, though probably not as lovers. Together, as something that doesn't have a word. He went on to another relationship, and I know he touched her like he did me, because that's how he touched people.
I don't have the right word for the way that the rentier state zeroed in on Swartz until he cracked: How it piled a rentier-directed health care system on top of a rentier-optimized technical ecology on top of a rentier-driven justice system. But perhaps I have a metaphor: The Salem Witch trials, where those convicted by the justice system of that time were "pressed" to death with stone after stone after stone:
Simple, direct, neat.
However, I am hopeful because I believe that our state acts as it does because it is weak, not strong. And I expect to have a way to use the cold and burning anger I too feel in the service of justice.
NOTE *,** If you or anyone you know is considering suicide, do, please, seek help (for example). Multiple asterisks for emphasis!
NOTE *** Ortiz was a leader in collecting fines for lawbreaking:
Ortiz and her office have won attention for taking on a number of high-profile cases, including the ongoing murder prosecution of notorious mob boss James "Whitey" Bulger. Her office also announced in December that it was the largest contributor to the $13.1 billion in criminal and civil fines recovered in 2012 by the nation's 94 U.S. Attorney's offices. Ortiz's office collected $8.8 billion during the fiscal year, accounting for almost 67 percent of the total collection.
These cost-of-doing-business fines are corrupt, as Yves points out. They are the precise equivalent of shell game operators passing the cop on the beat a fiver while they continue to rope in the shills. Ortiz is, as one would expect, a rising star in the Democratic party, and she's not spending more time with her family. Yet.
NOTE *** One very, very obvious thing the left should be seeking to redress is the different life expectancies shown in Chart 1. Single payer health care would be of great help to the Aaron Swartz's of this world who are still alive. And we shouldn't be fighting merely to "save" Social Security, but to make the benefits age neutral. How the elites must laugh among themselves for having inveigled us into selling out our own children!
NOTE Originally published at Naked Capitalism.
Aaron Swartz - a Fighter Against the Privatization of Knowledge


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|First Baptist dedicates new facility to the glory of God
|Written by Darci Tomky
|Tuesday, 26 March 2013 19:32
Around 220 people gathered Sunday morning, March 24 for worship, fellowship and the dedication of the new First Baptist Church facility located on the southeast edge of town at 1000 E. Johnson St.
The special service was a time to reconnect with current and former members, friends, community members and those who helped with the building process.
Guest speakers Dr. Paul Borden, director of the Rocky Mountain Church Network, and Pastor Gary Jones, who served the church from 1990-2006, both emphasized that the new facility is merely a tool to be used for God's glory and to reach out to the community.
Dr. Paul Borden of the Rocky Mountain Church Network encourages the congregation to look out the windows and doors of the new church during his prayer that they be community-minded, using the church as a tool for God's work. Pictured from left are Borden; deacons Darrell Tomky and Mark Farnsworth; pastors Gordon Penfold, Ismael Lopez and Chad Rozelle; and deacons Curt Schroetlin and Efrain Becerra. —Enterprise photo
Ivan Wiebke, Allyn Robinson and Mark Farnsworth were presented with plaques for their dedication and work on the process of building the new church. Jim Kienholz also received a plaque for the many hours he spent at the building site, supervising and coordinating the construction of the new church.
Others who served on the building committee were Olga Conde, Troy Killin, Leon Atkins, Jean Clayton and Curt Schroetlin. Many of the congregation also dedicated much time to construction, painting, cleaning and decorating.
Ivan Wiebke presents Jim Kienholz with a golden broom and a plaque for his hours of work at the new facility, including keeping the church neat and clean during the construction process.
In its 125-year history, this is the third building for Holyoke First Baptist Church. The first two, both located at 343 S. Baxter Ave., were built in 1893 and 1928.
The church broke ground on the new $1.6 million facility in July 2011, with the first services held the weekend of Jan. 19-20 earlier this year. The 14,000 square feet offers a large auditorium that seats 240, a big fellowship hall, multi-purpose/youth room, nursery, offices, kitchen and several classrooms.
Former First Baptist pastor Gary Jones takes time to catch up with Mary and Jay Bohlender. —Enterprise photo
The congregation has moved into the new building debt-free, with plans to continue adding furniture/decorations, landscaping and a parking lot.
Holyoke Enterprise March 28, 2013


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You might remember the late spring phenomenon of the marine layer from earlier this year. The marine layer is a relatively thin but solid deck of cloud cover that forms due to the influence of the Atlantic Ocean, and it can wreak havoc on what would otherwise be a sunny and pleasant day. It can happen any time of year here in the DC Metro, but it's most common in the late spring and the early fall.
The picture below is of a "skew-T" diagram (short for skewed temperature, logarithmic pressure diagram). It shows changes in temperature and dewpoint through a vertical profile of the atmosphere at one location. In this case, the location is Dulles Airport. Picture the bottom of the diagram as the ground, and the top of the diagram as the highest part of the atmosphere. Notice how the red line (temperature) and the green line (dewpoint) are far apart everywhere except in one thin sliver of the vertical profile. This is where the cloud cover formed- where the temperature and dewpoint are very close to each other.
Why did such a consistent deck of cloud cover form here, and nowhere else? It's because of the unique geography of the DC Metro area, and the precise location of our weather elements today.
An area of high pressure is centered over New England. Air rotates in a clockwise direction around high pressure, resulting in an east or northeast wind direction for us. The easterly wind brings some Atlantic moisture in to the DC Metro in the form of low clouds. You can see it on this surface map:
The arrow indicates the airflow off the Atlantic. You can see how the air travels across hundreds of miles of cool ocean water before it moves inland to Washington! The moisture doesn't condense into cloud cover until it starts to move into higher elevations to the west of the District, toward the Appalachians. Once the condensation process starts and clouds begin to form, the clouds start "back-building" toward DC. If you were to watch the clouds form and build on satellite, you would see the initial cloud formation close to the mountains, then expand eastward to cover a larger portion of the area. By sunrise, it was basically overcast through the Beltway area, and the clouds hung tough until the early afternoon.
With similar conditions persisting into Saturday, we might see this same deck of morning clouds again. The center of high pressure starts to slide out of its current position on Sunday, so it looks like Sunday will be the sunniest day of the weekend!


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Terre Haute, IN (Sports Network) - Jake Odum had 13 points and banked in the
deciding bucket with 19 seconds remaining, as the Indiana State Sycamores
escaped with a 66-65 win over the Southern Illinois Salukis in Missouri Valley
Conference action at the Hulman Center.
R.J. Mahurin shot 5-of-7 from beyond the arc and finished with 16 points for
the Sycamores (16-8, 9-4 MVC), who were coming off a 19-point win over No. 16
Creighton earlier this week. Khristian Smith tallied 12 points and six
rebounds off the bench in the victory, as he shot 6-of-8 from the floor.
Freshman reserve Jalen Pendleton had a career-high 17 points for the Salukis
(9-15, 2-11), who find themselves back in the loss column after snapping a
six-game skid against Wichita State on Tuesday. Desmar Jackson added 16
points, Dantiel Daniels scored 12, and Anthony Beane finished with 10 off the
bench for the visitors.
SIU raced out to a 13-1 lead to quiet the home crowd. However, Indiana State
weathered the early storm and eventually took a 29-27 lead on Smith's layup
with 2:45 to play until halftime. But the Salukis finished the half strong and
took a 34-31 lead into the break.
The Sycamores had the hot hand in the second half, as they shot a healthy 55.6
percent from the floor (10-of-18) and from 3-point range (5-of-9). Still, SIU
was leading by one in the final minute with a chance to add to the margin when
Beane committed a costly turnover to give the ball back to Indiana State and
set up Odum's go-ahead basket.
The Salukis have now dropped 14 consecutive MVC road games, which is one short
of matching the school record (1982-84).
The Sports Network


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Recently I had the opportunity to gain some valuable information on Muskie Fishing at Shabbona Lake from the Top Muskie Guide Duane Landmeier. Duane has caught over 150 Muskies 30" long or longer, many from Shabbona Lake. He is also the author of a book titled "Muskie Fishing In Illinois." The book features over 30 lakes in Illinois that have been stocked with Muskies. Duane guides out of Shabbona's Lakeside Bait Tackle & Boat Rental at Shabbona Lake State Park. He also guides for Muskies at other lakes.
Duane has studied everything he can get his hands on about Muskies at Shabbona Lake. The Illinois Department Of Natural Resources, along with the Illinois Muskie Alliance, published a creel survey which revealed some very intriguing facts & figures, which Duane helped me deciphered.
The best months to catch a Muskie 36" or larger at Shabbona Lake is July through September (Get That Muskie Tackle Out !!!). During this time the Muskie are gorging themselves on the high protein forage base of Shad at Shabbona Lake. The Lake has a moderate number of Muskies, but not a huge population. This, according to Duane, is one of the reasons that Shabbona Lake has such big Muskies. Less competition for food and space.
It is amazing that a 318 acre lake, just 60 miles West of Chicago, could produce 4 State Of Illinois Record Muskie, including the current record of 37 pounds, 13 ounces, caught April 1, 1997. The vision that the State Of Illinois had, along with the vision of Muskies Inc. and the Shabbona Lake Sportsman Club, has certainly become a reality.
According to Duane, in the last survey done (1997), there were 373 Muskies reported to the IDNR-IMA Survey. The largest was a 44" brute. Anglers not specifically fishing for Muskies caught 227, while those fishing for Muskies caught 146. That means us Crappie & Bass fishermen have a chance too !!!
The best lure choices were :
The best color of lures were :
Shabbona Lake has a large variety of types of structure that Muskie relate to : Points, Sunken Roadbed, Bridge, Foundations, Trees, Brush piles, Fish Cribs, Creek Bed, Ditches, Weedbeds, Drop-offs & Humps. Muskie that you catch at Shabbona Lake will most likely be over 35" long. There was a 3 year span in which no Muskie were added. But, that has been corrected by stockings the last two years.
Duane has noticed a trend of more anglers trolling for Muskies at all times of the year. Remember to adjust your trolling speed according to the water temperature. For instance in 40-50 degree water go very slow, in 50-60 degree water go a moderate speed and in 60-80 degree water go fast.
When you make that trip out to Shabbona Lake and you are in need of a Muskie fishing guide I can highly recommend Duane Landmeier. Duane can be reached through Shabbona's Lakeside Bait, Tackle & Boat Rental, 815-824-2581 or you can contact him at 815-286-7170. See You Out On The Water !!!
Don't forget to check out our web site at : http://dnr.state.il.us/parks/parkinfo/shabbona/table.htm.


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Business Partners are invited to join IBM in Las Vegas, Nevada February 27 - March 2, 2011, for Pulse 2011. There are activities throughout the event that are geared to help Business Partners "Be Bold. Be Tivoli." in 2011.
IBM Tivoli Business Partner Summit at Pulse: Sunday, February 27
Kick off your Pulse experience with the exclusive Business Partner Summit. The Summit will focus on selling in a Smarter Planet through a general session offering insights and directions from IBM Software executives, as well as information-packed Insight and Breakout sessions that help you maximize business opportunities. The Summit will provide the information you need to be bold in 2011!
2011 Tivoli Business Partner Awards
Tivoli is again pleased to invite Business Partners to submit nominations for the 2011 Tivoli Business Partner Awards. Nominations are open through February 4, 2011. Award details, criteria and nomination form are available here.
Business Partner Café
The Business Partner Café is the perfect place to network with other Business Partners, meet with the IBM team to build future plans, and hold one-on-one meetings. Grab a cup of coffee and learn more about marketing programs and best practices, tools and tips, and available resources.
Pulse 2011 Expo sponsor
Don't delay, there is still time to sign up for sponsorships. The Expo is the heart of the conference and provides a great environment to connect with thousands of conference attendees.
Pre-Pulse Smarter Sales Academy, February 25 - 26
This year's Academy will once again focus on interactive selling education sessions designed to assist you in planning and executing effectively in 2011. Register now!
Tivoli whiteboard workshops
Participate in these workshops and learn to deliver the Tivoli overall Integrated Service Management strategy, as well as focused solution strategies.
- Tivoli Whiteboard -- Monday, February 28 - 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
- Cloud and Automation Whiteboard -- Tuesday, March 1 - 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
- Maximo Whiteboard -- Wednesday, March 2 - 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
- Security Whiteboard -- Wednesday, March 2 - 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Stay connected and let others know you are going to Pulse
Get the latest news on Pulse for Business Partner, view the Pulse 2011 page on PartnerWorld.
General Pulse information can be found on the Pulse conference community including the Pulse community conference blog, and on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.
Add an "I'm going" or "I'm exhibiting" or "I'm speaking" button or banner to your website to help spread the word!
Now is the time to "Be Bold. Be Tivoli." and register to join us at Pulse!


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The big countdown has begun for this upscale hit. It's the final season of HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER, and, as Barney would say, ''Wait for it...it's going to be legendary.'' It's one more season of the inseparable Ted, Marshall, Lily, Barney and Robin; one more season of witty flashbacks, zany antics and inspired comedy; and finally, one more season for Ted to tell his kids (and legions of loyal fans) how he met their mother.
Josh Radnor | Ted Mosby; Jason Segel | Marshall Eriksen; Neil Patrick Harris | Barney Stinson; Alyson Hannigan | Lily Aldrin; Cobie Smulders | Robin Scherbatsky
Return to Only CBS


text:
I plan to upgrade my 5.0.18 Zimbra server based on Ubuntu 8.04.2 32 Bit to 6.0.7 (once available) on Ubuntu 10.4, potentially 64 Bit, in VMware server. The easy migration procedure recommends to rsync the /opt/zimbra directory, install the same zimbra software on the new server and upgrade afterwards.
I use Zimbra since version 4.x. Hence the /opt/zimbra directory collected more and more old data like a ton of zmstat data, various jdk directories, multiple clamav version directories, etc.
My users only use Mail and calendar. On the other side, before I want to cut over, I would like to test the 6.0.x environment. On the Zimbra wiki, I found a description how to syncronize with a 2nd server using imapsync. imapsync also allows me a simple downgrade if necessary.
What are the implications when I use imapsync instead of rsync-ing /opt/zimbra? imapsync ensures proper e-mail synchronization with the new server. User accounts and passwords are under control, user preferences must not be taken over to the new server. However, what about
calendar data?
SPAM training data?
Other data I should be taking care of?


text:
US citizen held by Egypt in secret location with no charges
Newscast Media CAIRO—Egyptian state security services have been holding US
citizen Jeremy Hodge and Egyptian filmmaker Hossam Meneai, originally from El Arish,
in a secret location without charges since Wednesday 22 January. The two have not
been allowed to meet with a lawyer nor has Hodge been allowed a visit by US
embassy staff.
The Egypt Independent reports that around 7pm before their arrest, security forces
came to their Dokki apartment and began asking questions about Meneai's film work
and Hodge's Arabic. READ FULL ARTICLE>>
Categories: News Tags: Hossam Meneai, Jeremy Hodge, Jeremy Hodge filmmaker Egypt, Mostafa Bakry Egypt


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Do you sell just the BC part if I already have the backpack? If so, how much for just the bladder and inflator?
Hello, here is the link for that item: http://www.scuba.com/scuba-gear-5/004099/XS-Scuba-Pony-Pac-Companion-Wing.html
The Ultra Compact Travel BC
'Now with two releasable 5 pound weight pockets'
40% lighter than traditional BC's at only 5 pounds
Back inflation design with 30 pounds of lift
Two trim weight pockets with Velcro release carry
up to five pounds each
Exclusive MicroPac backpack gives the stability
of a "hard pack" and the comfort of a "soft pack"
Includes two standard length cam bands p/n BP500
Fits cylinder diameters of 4.3' to 5.5'
Versatile adjustment allowing a wide range of fit
Time proven, reliable Alliance inflator
Two-way adjustable sternum strap
Comfortable neoprene neck collar
Rear pull dump on right side
Buoyancy Compensators
With proper care, your XS Scuba BC will provide many years of reliable service. The following preventative maintenance must be performed to extend the life of your BC:
• Avoid prolonged exposure to direct sunlight and extreme heat. Nylon fabric can quickly fade when exposed to the sun's ultraviolet rays, and extreme heat may damage the welded seams of the BC's air cell.
• Avoid repeated or prolonged use in heavily chlorinated water, which can cause the BC fabric to discolor and decay prematurely.
• Do not allow the BC to chafe against any sharp objects or rough surfaces that could abrade or puncture the air cell. Do not set or drop heavy objects such as block weights on the BC.
• Avoid any contact with oil, gasoline, aerosols, or chemical solvents.
• To preserve the life of the air cell, thoroughly rinse it inside and out with fresh water after every day of use, following these steps:
1. Pressurize the power inflator with low pressure air via the LP hose.
2. Using a garden hose, direct water through the oral inflator to flush the interior of the air cell, and then thoroughly rinse the exterior of the BC. Before rinsing, ensure that the power inflator is pressurized with air. This will prevent debris and contaminants from entering the inflator valve if the inflator button is accidentally depressed.
3. Completely drain the air cell of water through the lower OPV/dump valve by pulling the ball/cord assembly.
4. Fully inflate the BC, and allow it to dry inside and out. Then store it partially inflated, away from direct sunlight, and in a clean, dry area. Do not store the BC in an enclosed space, such as a car trunk, where it may be exposed to temperatures below 0º F (-18º C) or above 120º F (49º C).
5. To avoid stress on the air cell or harness assembly, remove all weight from the trim weight and X-Lock™ releasable compartments before storing the BC. Soft weights especially, can discolor the BC over time.
CAUTION: DO NOT attempt to perform any disassembly or service of your XS Scuba BC. Service requiring disassembly must only be performed by a factory trained XS Scuba technician. To obtain any service or repair, it is important to bring your BC to an Authorized XS Scuba Dealer.


text:
Update on RehemaRehema appreciates her previous loan that improved her living standards. Her previous loan enabled her to expand her business and earn a higher income, which she used to stock her cereal shop. She would like to apply for a loan of KES 80,000 to buy more stocks of maize, beans, and rice for resale. She thanks Yehu for their financial support.
Previous Loan DetailsRehema is 55 years old. She is a widow and has five children. She lives in her own home in a very calm neighborhood. Rehema operates a cereals shop, selling household consumables. She continues to work in the business because it is doing very well. She has a good customer base and has reasonab... More from Rehema's previous loan »
Additional Information
About Yehu Microfinance TrustThis loan is administered by Yehu Microfinance Trust, which was founded in 1998 as a project of CHOICE Humanitarian Kenya. In July 2007, Yehu became a separate entity from CHOICE and was registered as a trust. Since then, Yehu has expanded to cover over half of Kenya's 13 coastal districts.
Concurrent and Successive Loans
Our Field Partners often work with borrowers over a series of loans as the borrowers build credit, take out bigger loans, and expand their businesses. In order to make it easier for our Field Partners to post loans for borrowers who have been listed on Kiva before, we allow them to post successive and concurrent loans for their Kiva borrowers. This means that our Field Partners are able to post a borrower's second, third, etc., loan on Kiva without having to re-enter all of the borrower's information.
This borrower has been listed on Kiva before, so you'll see an updated loan description, as well as excerpts of the original descriptions from earlier loans. Most borrowers take out loans consecutively, meaning that they receive a second loan after having repaid the first. However, sometimes our Field Partners give out concurrent loans, allowing borrowers to take out one primary loan and a secondary "add-on" loan along with it. These "add-on" loans are typically smaller than the borrower's primary loan and serve a different purpose. Because Field Partners can now post loans as successive and concurrent loans, you will be able to track borrower progress over time and see the various ways a borrower is working with our Field Partners through funds from Kiva's lenders.
About Kenya
515View loans »
Success!! The loan was 100% repaid
- Repayment Term
- 13 months (Additional Information)
- Repayment Schedule
- Monthly
- Pre-Disbursed:
- Oct 10, 2013
- Listed
- Oct 26, 2013
- Currency Exchange Loss:
- Possible
- Ended:
- Oct 17, 2014
Photo from previous loan
Kiva allows our Field Partners to re-use the same photo for individual borrowers that have been posted on Kiva's website once before in a 24 month period, and we allow them to re-use group photos for up to 24 months, provided that 80% of the current group's membership is represented.
Taking, collecting, and uploading photos of borrowers is one of the most challenging elements of using Kiva for our Field Partners. In order to make Kiva easier for Field Partners to use, we have allowed them to post successive and concurrent loans without taking a new photo of the borrower if the criteria above are met.


text:
I have been using Zimbra for 9 months as it is connected to my website through Intuit. Lately I have been having some serious problems and I'm getting very frustrated. First, when I try to reply, I can type my message and then it will not allow me to hit send. The send button is grayedout and not clickable. Then I have to exit and start and email instead of being able to reply to the one I'm replying to; and it asks me if I want to save the draft of the one I abandoned so I try to and it won't let me. I have to cancel and start a new one. This has probably happened to me 50 times in the past month.
Second, my customers are telling me they are getting notices that their emails to me did not go through and are having to retype messages. I can't tell you how awful this is as they don't get the message for a few days and it is really affecting my sales and ability to meet their needs quickly- not to mention I'm sure there are some customers who don't bother to try again and some who don't notice the notice that it didn't go through and thus think I am ignoring them. I am also missing automated emails which are supposed to notify me of orders (luckily these come through to another email as well)- but also concerns me. What the heck! This has all started in the past month. Here is an error message one of my customers sent me:
Sorry, we were unable to deliver your message to the following address.
<Message expired for domain *****. Remote host said: 452 Too many recipients received this hour [RCPT_TO]


text:
Use a gel or serum to keep your hair locked into its curl pattern and prevent frizziness. Kinky Curly Curling Custard is a great soft gel, but when using products with more hold, remember to use your favorite leave-in or oil first to prevent crunchy curls.
Top 5 Back to School Tips for College Curlies
2012-08-15 16:07:37
2012-08-15 18:14:22
Top 5 Back to School Tips for College Curlies
Tips to help you rock your natural texture in college


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i hope one of the giants comes out in 2012.
I'd like to get those giants, but I'd like them to have at least ball jointed shoulders... Tytus and Megator are too static, in my opinion.
i hope one of the giants comes out in 2012.
I just asked ToyGuru about future Giants... but didn't have any clues
Q: Hello ToyGuru,
We bother you again :-)
There is a BEAST SKU and the AWESOME Tytus and Megator are already released.
But after them, will we see more Giants in the MOTUC line (e.g 3 MYP giants from the council of evil, Procrustus from the mini comic, Horde Prime interpretation by the 4H, Filmation Molkrom, MYP BoneMonsters, Filmation Colossor or the Giant Gorgon Woman from the Brazilian comic ...)?
Thanks again !
A: Sorry, we can't comment on any specific figures past Thunder Punch He-Man for now.
Source: http://forums.mattycollector.com/eve...217#7491027217
Yeah... last year, it was the exact same sentence, except it was King Hssss instead of Thunder Punch He-Man.Sorry, we can't comment on any specific figures past Thunder Punch He-Man for now
I wonder... will we even see any new reveal(s) during Power Con ? First, TG seemed to imply it, but his last batch of answers show much more hesitation on the matter.
how do you ask matty?
or more importantly how do you submit a question?
Here : http://forums.mattycollector.com/eve...m/f/2131094575
didn't work for me. i sighed up for matty forums. i tryed posting a question & spent a good deal of time. all i got was that i'm not authorized. disappointed for i have lots of ideas & concerns. thank you though.
Just an idea regarding the ABC Giants release -
Since these guys are always seen working together, like Tuvar and Baddrah, what if in 2013 (or some other future year) they are sold in a giant 3-pack with a similar price point to Granamyr. Instead of $40 ($44) 3 times ($120 -$132) maybe sell them all together for $80-$100. Definitely make them an outside the sub item like Granamyr. They can share parts with each other and Tytus/Megator to make them more affordable. Like Tuvar and Baddrah, if you want them at all you probably want each one. This would be a good way to include them in the line but not make it so everyone would have to get them, but that if you do want them then you could get them all at once instead of getting one of them and hoping that the other 2 eventually get made. This will probably all depend upon how well Granamyr sells and the ABC giants popularity.
Last edited by Zargon; January 31, 2012 at 09:42am. Reason: grammatical error
Top MOTUC wants: Sagitar, Great Black Wizard, Fang-or, Skeletor's Skeleton Warriors, Odiphus, Illumina w/Sleetah, Lady Slither, Tuvar & Baddrah 2-pack
Do fans really want them to keep reusing the Tytus buck?
It's not really a good buck, is it?
I guess they had to make Megator once they tooled Tytus.
But I would recommend moving on at this point.
And IMO they need to be scaling back to a line focused more on essential releases anyway.
ABC Giants are not popular characters, they'd be very expensive no matter how they are released, and in the grand scheme of things they don't add to the line in the way that more, highly-requested figures, or even the Battle Ram would.
Here are their advantages:
• The ABC Giants are more known than Tytus or Megator, since they had four cartoon appearances in MYP.
• They have better weapons than the original giants do.
• They aren't dead characters.
• They complete the Council of Evil.
• The colorful giants have the Megator vibe, rather than the normal Tytus vibe.
Last edited by MegaGearMax; January 30, 2012 at 06:20pm.
The Official 200X Sorceress vs 200X Evil-Lyn 2 Pack Support Thread
The Blonde Teela Thread
Sagitar (Jetlag) Azdar Belzar Chazdar 200X Evil-Lyn 200X Teenage Prince Adam 200X Teenage Teela 200X Sorceress General Rattlor (MYP) 200X King Randor and Queen Marlena 200X Battle Armor King Randor and Battle Armor Queen Marlena Ice Armor He-Man WMD Roboto
I actually like your idea, Zargon-quite a bit! I really hope to get all three giants (as well as Gorgonne and Procrustus!) eventually. I'm up for a three-pack if that works. Honestly, the Tytus buck doesn't bug me either. I'd prefer softer "clothes" and if we could get a better buck, that'd be great too. Bring 'em on!!!
Not to sound like a creepy cheerleader for Uki, but it's nice to know there is at least one person on this forum who is extremely positive & friendly all the time. I don't think I could be that nice even if you paid me. If we ever give out awards for "forum member of the month", Uki gets my vote. -Mr. Shokoti
Instagram & Snapchat: Just_Thommy
All this talk about giants and nobody mentions COLOSSOR - the coolest one of them all.
I would actually buy these giants (I skipped Titus and Megator).
For the red and green dude, they can use Megator parts while the Purple dude can use Titus parts. All with new heads, weapons and armor of course.
I would like all three sold at once outside the sub.
the red & green giant may look better with a new buck.
Skeleton-Warriors, Ra-Jar, Spinwit, Rock Golem, General Tartaran, Hawke, Slob-Boar, King Agho, Hunga the Harpy, Sh'gora, Masks of Power Demons, Nocturna, Lizzor, Sagitar, Crimson Fury, Lodar, Vizar, Angast, Negator, King Miro, Melaktha, Crystal-Man, ABC Giants, Stridor, Road Ripper, Land Shark
I'm hopping the abc giants are not off the table.
Skeleton-Warriors, Ra-Jar, Spinwit, Rock Golem, General Tartaran, Hawke, Slob-Boar, King Agho, Hunga the Harpy, Sh'gora, Masks of Power Demons, Nocturna, Lizzor, Sagitar, Crimson Fury, Lodar, Vizar, Angast, Negator, King Miro, Melaktha, Crystal-Man, ABC Giants, Stridor, Road Ripper, Land Shark
In my Opinion They do belong to the MOTUC line becuase they were in the original cartoons as well as the 200x toons which they became members of the council of evil, and besides all that they are just plain awsome! Whether each one is sold seperate or a three pack (The best way) I want them!
Who else can swat a buzz-off like that!
i want these guys real bad. when i was still a kid i wanted more than anything to have a giant of some kind to battle my motu figures. i mean a proper giant. the abc giants fit the bill perfectly.
Skeleton-Warriors, Ra-Jar, Spinwit, Rock Golem, General Tartaran, Hawke, Slob-Boar, King Agho, Hunga the Harpy, Sh'gora, Masks of Power Demons, Nocturna, Lizzor, Sagitar, Crimson Fury, Lodar, Vizar, Angast, Negator, King Miro, Melaktha, Crystal-Man, ABC Giants, Stridor, Road Ripper, Land Shark
hope we get at least 1 this year
the King needs his Queen and pet! Queen Veena and Battle Lion for MOTUC!
For the Love of Illumina & her Cat Sleetah!!
my Feedback http://www.he-man.org/forums/boards/...d.php?t=205099
my sale page http://www.he-man.org/forums/boards/...d.php?t=205041
If we get the giants, they need to come with their battering ram to take down Castle grayskulls door.
There are very cool characters, and would add a lot to the line. I would bet it may be a while before they would be considered given the Tytus and Megator mad matty sale stuff, but one can hope someday.......
Azdar, Belzar, and Chadzar. MUST COMPLETE THE COUNCIL OF EVIL!
I'd buy these guys in a heartbeat.
I would support the ABC giants in MOTUC.
My top 5 wants for MOTUC: Lodar, Hunga the Harpy, Sharella, Snake Goddess & Hawke
FILMATION ruined my He-Man!